Author: Misty Rain of Jiangnan
Date: 2023-06-06T22:00:00+00:00
Keywords: Action; Adventure; Fantasy; Harem; Mature; Xuanhuan

City of Sin

1 - City of Sin

Prologue

Spring. It had always been a season that brought euphoria to the many races, transcending mere continents and planes of existence.

Of course, there were exceptions even to that. The world had myriad planes, large masses of continents, and legions of races with billions upon billions of living creatures. Small they may each be, but in total they far exceeded what most presumed.

The world was exceedingly complicated, so much so that even the gods couldn't understand all of it. Life and death were ever-intertwined, the energy of the stars caught up in an incessant cycle of creation and destruction. The heavens too were intricate, a curtain of glittering stars hung upon the boundless night sky oblivious to the gazes of those beneath them. To some they represented hope, and to others annihilation. A few saw in them the transcendent stillness of ancient times, while others the natural movement of the laws of the world.

To most people. The stars were emblems of the gods. To some sages, they represented planes, continents, and boundless assorted worlds. They were infinite, their destruction only foreseen by few. They would fall eventually, unseen by most of the beings that fell with them, oblivious to their own mortality until death came knocking upon their doors.

Spring was also common, present in any random plane of existence. However, this specific plane had only two seasons: in spring all things grew vibrant as nature came back to life, and in autumn deathly silence enveloped the world as they went into hibernation. The prime material plane's laws dictated the seasons, having them cycle every twelve years.

Three suns hung high up in the sky, with huge white stars lining the horizon. The radiance of the suns and stars intermingled, strengthening each other so much that the stars could be seen clearly even in the day, just like the ring of colourful lights beyond that was the source of countless beautiful legends across the world.

There was more than one continent in this plane made mostly of ocean, the carrier of life. A sixth of the world was land, and from a bird's eye view the planet radiated a deep violet glow that was magnificent and enigmatic. Six moons circled it, at least three visible each clear night. They all glowed in different colours, being the foundation of magic in civilisation.

Mountains, rivers, lakes, and forests littered continent, making for vibrant colours of their own. However, violet was still key, the largest and most important of them all. The majestic mountain ranges spanned 10,000 kilometers at minimum, with peaks higher than 10,000 metres common themselves. Cities of various sizes dotted the continent like stars.

The most magnificent of them towered atop the tallest of peaks at 20,000 metres high and sharp as a blade. It was littered with spiraling skyscrapers, glowing with a metallic sheen. The thick violet of the world loomed around it, growing bright and dull as if it was breathing with life.

At the centre of this large city was a 3000 metre tall spire, emitting violet light from its violet tip that formed a splendid band around it. Atop this spire stood a majestic being, a well-built man above the waist with reversed joints at the legs leading to huge hooves. His blue skin did not tarnish his dignity, tens of tentacles waving along his cheek and chin with a life of their own. He was dressed in bizarre armour with a metallic sheen, certain parts of it like the shoulder pads actually integrated into his body.

The man was old, time having left deep marks on his skin. Numerous runes floated around the room he was in, seemingly moving irregularly at first but following the orbit of the stars if one looked close. The ten metre tall wall in front of him was completely transparent, giving him a panoramic view of the outside world and the miraculous city atop the miles-tall mountain peak. From his position he could see the obvious arc of the horizon, and if one squinted hard enough they would feel like they were looking at the entire world.

The aptly named Overlooking Hall was a place all the beings of the plane dreamt of standing in, its sky-piercing spire a holy land for the entirety of the continent: the Twilight Church. A light flashed in the hall to reveal a well-built young man, trudging forward with big steps as his hooves caused sparks with the metal floor. The hall vibrated with every heavy step he took, his enormous strength not contained even by his muscles, spilling out with every step he took as raging dark storms failed to stain his flawless armour.

The youth rushed to the old man, kneeling down on a knee to say, “Shaman! My men won't be able to hold on long, please leave as soon as possible!”

The old man didn't reply, not taking any action as even the tentacles on his face seemed to droop down. He was still looking at the outside world through the wall, like nothing could distract him from the view. It was currently twilight, the most beautiful time in the world where the noise and clamour of the day gave way to the faint violet sunset as two setting suns and three rising moons shared the sky; the horizon was a spectrum of colour past what life could ever lay eyes on, bringing numerous legends to life. It was what gave the Twilight Church its name.

And yet the twilight this time seemed to represent doomsday. Balls of light flickered throughout the mountain range, as pillars of fires spewed forth a thick, heavy smog that covered the skies, which extended as far as the naked eye could see. Numerous black dots in the sky flew across the mountains, chasing, knocking into each other. At times, some of these figures would fall to the ground while being set ablaze. The Overlooking Hall was trembling, the magic barrier was able to block the noises but not the vibration.

A red sun suddenly occupied half the sky, the numerous large shadows meandering across the sky with ease under its light as if walking on flat ground. Far away they looked like nothing much, but up close one would notice that these creatures were as big as cities, with large fins that looked like sails connected to even bigger bodies. They were like the gargantuan ancient oceanic beasts people had heard of in folklore, and their size was purely inconceivable.

These beasts swayed their bodies to let loose sheets of fire that covered entire cities. This was neither magic flame nor divine fire, radiating almost no heat but still able to burn anything. They were almost impossible to put out, wiping out city after city to the tune of grim, miserable screams. This fire could turn inanimate objects to ash, yet living creatures would be set alight for a long time, giving a painful slow death filled with anguish.

Another cluster of red clouds appeared in the sky, only signifying the arrival of another ancient beast. Shadows rose from the mountain and charged towards it, but both the youth and the old man knew that the brave fighters of their clan were just giving their lives up in this fight against the never-before-seen enemy. Their strikes were valiant and fierce, but ultimately ineffective; many already burned by the fires before they even got close and fell from the skies.

Flames, followed by spikes of ice and bolts of lightning were shot forth from the ground. People who could attack at such great distances were well-known beings on the continent, and even if the spells looked small they had the strength to flatten an entire mountain range. The spells looked simple from a distance, but with names like Azure Roar, Void Smite, Blazing Binds, Dragon Breath, and Sundering Slash, each one of them was breathtakingly awesome.

However, even such power was useless against these beasts, merely rippling out as a few mushroom clouds upon their bodies without doing any harm.

The young lad was still kneeling on the ground, but he too lifted his head to look at the silent apocalypse outside. He'd felt the power of this enemy himself, having been amongst the brave warriors charging up into the sky but a few moments ago. He only survived due to his extraordinary strength, coming here to the Overlooking Hall instead of continuing. He did not lack the courage to fight to the death, but he had a greater responsibility he had to see through.

When he spoke once more, his tone carried a faint trace of despair, “Shaman, only our strongest fighters can do any damage to these creatures, even the spells of our legendary mages and divine officials are useless. Even the strength of the gods doesn't help, our attacks are like ant bites. The gods have abandoned us!”

“Don't worry, we still have the divine beast,” The shaman said slowly.

“But,” The young lad stop mid-sentence, turning to look at the armageddon once more. The earth quivered as a silver dragon rose out of a distant mountain range, a graceful beast who illuminated the surrounding mountains with its radiance. This beautiful creature was a divine beast in her peak form, the guardian of this plane; it was the Frost Dragon, Sera.

The growl of the dragon who had defeated numerous other invasions in history broke through even to the isolated Overlooking Hall as she flew towards an enemy's back, attacking with her claws, her horns, and her Dragon Breath. Even she looked minute next to the giants in the sky, but still this was the first time an enemy was injured from the start of the battle. The first enemy casualty of the apocalypse fell to the ground amidst an ocean of cheers from all across the continent.

“But we only have one Sera,” the young lad said, so confident it could be considered blasphemy. The shaman just sighed; this youth was the most talented one in the past decade, his strength already at a legendary peak. He was the only one who'd been able to even survive a fight with these apocalyptic enemies, so his judgement wouldn't be wrong.

The wrinkles on the shaman's body deepened, as if he'd aged decades in an instant. He shook his head and sighed heavily, causing a few tentacles to fall and turn to ash before hitting the ground.

A pillar of pale grey light emerged in the horizon, connecting the earth to the sky where Sera had eliminated her opponent. The frost dragon was trapped within the pole of light, struggling to get out of its grip, but she howled in pain as her wings were destroyed quickly, her body disintegrating into ashes. All that was left of this magnificent being was silver sand.

“Let's go, Shaman, we still have time. I can open a passage to another plane with my strength; as long as you're still alive the legend of the Twilight Church will live on!” Even now the youth had resolution in his voice. He didn't mention that opening a portal to another plane would require his life, his very soul. He knew that this was the last hope of this world.

A bronze tome suddenly surfaced in the hand of the shaman, looking heavy and ancient. It filled the hall with an archaic aura, holding the history of the plane for the past billions of years.

“The Book of Eternity!” The lad's eyes lit up with hope. He had almost forgotten that the shaman still had a divine weapon on hand.

The shaman maintained his composure as he flipped the book open. An image appeared on the first page, the scene of Sera struggling within that grey pillar of light. Even on pale yellow parchment the image caused the hearts of those seeing it to quiver, as if depicting an indescribable despair.

The young lad knew of the properties of the Book of Eternity. He only glanced at the image before focusing his attention on the shaman's hand, hoping he would turn to the the next page soon. And so the shaman did. The page flipped silently, revealing what was behind it.

But there were no new chapters after the fall of the guardian.

The young lad looked at the book in a daze, and his mind went blank.

The harbingers of apocalypse outside the hall went up in flames, causing more pillars of light to appear that set the whole plane ablaze.

That was how the Sixth Era had come to a close.

That was the end.

Spring. It had always been a season that brought euphoria to the many races, transcending mere continents and planes of existence, and this was even more true for the Norland continent, a beautiful, amazingly fertile, and incredibly vast land filled with mystery.

The Evernight Forest was a beautiful gem in the jewel-studded fabric that was Norland. It wasn't the biggest or the most beautiful on the continent, but it was still bigger than it seemed and there were rumours circulating that it hid multiple planes and the kingdom of the silvermoon elves. Rumours were rumours, however, and the elves themselves were the only race to have entered the plane to public knowledge. Any humans or others that had been inside were extremely discreet about it.

A caravan with tens of carriages and more than twenty guards was crawling across the lands not far from Evernight Forest. The unhurried pace was something rare for merchants, who lived by the adage of time is money.

Spring was the most beautiful season in the continent, a season that lifted spirits and brought joy. The warm breeze was interlaced with the scents of various seasonal flowers as it blew over the earth softly, carrying away the worries and fatigue of the travellers.

The caravan wasn't very big, nor were their goods particularly heavy. The guard seemed too extravagant for it, made up completely of young men at the prime of their training, dressed in refined armours with neat weapons and superior saddles for their horses. It was evidence that they weren't to be trifled with, those with good equipment being good fighters as well in general.

The owner of the guards didn't seem thrifty, outfitting such young men with such good equipment. This meant something, as money and power were intertwined on Norland. Those with experience could see that this caravan had goods from Evernight Forest— the flesh and fur of demonic beasts, various materials, and rare wood.

The symbol of a branch upon the carriage was a mark of aristocracy, and scholars who studied the sigils of various houses would recognise the three quails at the centre. The family running this caravan had at least 400 years of history, ancient enough, and had received merit in past wars. It wasn't extremely influential, but it wasn't declining either.

The gear itself could make up for incompetency on the guards' part, so it caused the bandits eyeing them to rethink themselves. The profit from this battle wouldn't outweigh the blood shed, and logic dictated that the glistening armour would affect their decision more than the actual ability of the guards. The caravan hadn't met any bandits yet in its travels.

A teenage girl amongst the group yawned loudly as she looked around with lively eyes, saying with boredom, “It's so quiet... Why aren't there any bandits? Have they gotten smarter?” She was fitted up in an extravagant yet light suit of armour, her beautiful hazel hair pulled up into a ponytail. She had a look of childlike innocence to her, one that was marred by the two swords hanging at the side of her horse.

An older-looking girl in plain robes smiled knowingly when she heard this, “Those who aren't smart have already been wiped out. Haven't they?”

The younger girl was rather indignant, “Aren't there any courageous bandits?”

“The courageous ones die faster.”

This reply left her speechless. She pouted for a while, following up with, “I can never win you, Elena.”

The girl named Elena was dressed in plain robes, the attire of acolytes and weaker mages. Her dark hair swayed freely behind her, a few strands tracing the sharp curve of her face as they landed on her chest. She didn't look outstanding, but her pure charisma was enough to attract attention. Elena evidently had a soft spot for the younger girl as she comforted her, bringing her spirits up again.

The footsteps of a horse suddenly sounded from behind the caravan, immediately alerting the guards. Even if the carriage didn't stop they prepared their weapons to strike. This may have been the territory of Viscount Axecar who put in extra effort to eliminate bandits, but they were trained well enough to take nothing lightly.

Thunderous thuds resounded from a horse's hooves as a rider emerged from the thick smoke. He looked rather brusque, with a head of messy hair kept at bay by a red cloth. There wasn't any shirt beneath his armour, only a bare muscular chest that was overgrown with thick hair.

It was unknown whether the man was purely showing off or he really was that offhand, but the black horse he rode was also much larger than regular horses, quite obviously from the lineage of a demonic beast. He may have been one man on horseback, but he radiated an aura of a thousand soldiers.

The colour drained from the guards' faces as the rival closed in on them. They tightened their grips on their swords, some even half-drawing them. These weapons shone brightly with magic enchantments, every single one more expensive than an entire carriage of normal demonic beast skin.

*Clang!* The ponytail girl's swords rang as they flew automatically to her hands, her eyes shining as she pinned them on the approaching rider, “Bandit?!”

“Nonsense!” Elena stopped the excited girl, signalling her guards to give way. Several of them showed faces of dismay, but they all remained silent and followed orders.

The rider sped past them as fast as lightning, a human and horse like tiger and dragon that blew Elena's long, luscious hair into the wind. He dashed ahead of them for several tens of metres, but then suddenly stopped and circled in place, yelling towards the approaching caravan, “Hey, beautiful! I'm Gaton!”

He was gone as soon as he shouted the words, making it far away. The caravan was left in confusion.

“Elena, was he trying to hit on you?” the younger girl said after being in a daze for a while.

“He was talking about you, Tzu.”

“No, he was looking at you—” The girl wanted to continue, but a small whirlwind from the tip of Elena's fingers smacked her horse, sending her far ahead. All she could do was cry out reluctantly.

Nothing much happened after this episode until the caravan reached the inn they'd booked at Ludwig Town, preparing to spend the night there.

Ludwig town was not huge in any sense. It had a road that linked the whole town together, and was only populated by a few hundred people, but due to its advantageous location in between the territories of Viscount Anzikar and the Evernight Forest, it prospered in trade. There were countless inns and hotels in the town, as well as shops that sold weapons, magical tools, and the skin of magical beasts.

The most popular of all, however, was the local liquor. The town came alive in the evenings, the breeze carrying the scent of food and alcohol. Dinner was a time when everyone could get some rest after a long day of work, and all the members of the caravan made their way to the lounge of the inn for that very reason. The restaurant of this inn was quite large, so their group didn't occupy much space amongst the other mercenaries and caravans.

Three wandering bards were giving a performance near the bar, two of them playing the guitar while the older one in the centre playing the djembe as he sang a poem about the heroic Black Rider, Alexander. His hoarse voice combined with the strong rhythm of the drum to add sentiment to the music, creating a unique charm to the passionate story he was telling. It probably explained why the audience was still captivated, despite having heard it more than enough times. The alcohol was downed jar by jar, mixing into the bloodstream and rushing to the head. It seemed to make the rhythm of the drum even more alluring, even affecting Elena herself.

Suddenly, the booming footsteps of a horse sounded outside the door, stopping right at the entrance to the inn. A well-built man entered the place, so big he had to duck to enter the door. He scanned the area, and his eyes lit up as he took big steps towards Elena and Tzu, oblivious to the daggers shot at him from the eyes of the guards as he sat right beside the girls. He stared at Elena with a wide smile, as if the two of them were the only ones in the world, “Hey beautiful, we meet again! My name is Gaton!”

With a more clear view of him, the man seemed rather brusque; a show-off with iron forged muscles. Despite the thick needle-like mustache on his face, he was noticeably young. His eyes were two emerald orbs, seeming more alive the longer one stared at them. The tanned man had a faint red scar that extended from the corner of his eye to the left side of his cheek, fairly new yet not ruining his looks at all. The scar instead added a pinch of manliness to him. The armour he wore was nothing high-level, and already had some wear and tear.

Tzu's eyes lit up as she glared at Gaton, “Bandit?”

“Adventurer.”

“Lame,” Tzu was evidently disappointed at Gaton's answer, but she continued to ask, “So why are you stalking us?”

Gaton smirked and pointed to Elena. “Because I like her!”

“Ah, a lecher I see,” Tzu did not bother hiding the disappointment in her face.

Elena sat quietly, but the clattering armour of the man alerted many of her guards; most of them had pulled their swords out. The aura of the guards changed the moment the swords were out of their sheaths, as they gave off a biting and murderous vibe. The temperature in the restaurant lowered instantaneously, and the mercenaries who were previously making noise also quieted down as they looked over at the commotion. They had been adventuring long enough to understand what was going on and, though these guards were not experts, they had taken lives before. Their skills far exceeded their young looks.

Elena furrowed her brows and looked at Gaton with her light blue eyes, not avoiding his fiery stare. The guards retrieved their swords the moment she signalled them, sitting back down but still glaring at Gaton. A single funny movement and they wouldn't hesitate to put their swords in his body.

Elena simply said, “I don't like meaningless clinging, you won't get anything out of this.”

Gaton laughed, “I like you, and you will fall in love with me. This was prophesied.”

“So you're saying that you like me because of a prophecy?” Elena remained indifferent, not even asking where the prophecy came from.

“The latter half was prophesied, not the former. I liked you when I saw you, it's that simple.”

“And whose prophecy was it?”

“Mine.”

Elena sighed in despair, she was still curious about him moments ago, but now she could almost confirm that he was just another persistent rascal. But the innocence in his eyes surprised her, the reason why she didn't let her guards make a move just now. Nonetheless, she's had enough of his nonsense.

Tzu became excited again and interrupted, “Right, if you like Elena, you've gotta prove it! Why not buy us a drink?”

Gaton took his pouch out before Elena could reject, and poured all his coins on the table. He pointed to everyone in the caravan and shouted, “Hey, boss! I'm treating, give every man here a glass of grape— ah no, ale!”

He'd poured out a lot of coin, but most of them were coppers. There were few silvers, even, forget about gold. This was not enough to buy even a glass of ale, much less the expensive grape liquor. Gaton scratched his head in embarrassment, “Uh, my adventurer life just started. I haven't earned any...”

This resulted in roars of laughters in the restaurant. The lives of the other adventurers were dull and dangerous, and it was rare for them to get entertainment like this.

The guards, on the other hand, got even more displeased. Tzu seemed to grow even more interested about Gaton. “I'm prettier than Elena, and I have a better body too. Why don't you like me?” She was full of energy, and half a head taller than Elena. Her combat training gave her a body that was graceful and tempting, generally deemed more attractive to men.

Gaton scratched his head and answered, “Well, I don't have a reason for liking her. I saw her and I liked her.”

Tzu was not going to let this go, “Then talk about yourself, what do you have to deem yourself worthy for Elena?”

“Look, I'm royalty!” Gaton fumbled through his pocket for an emblem. Even though the ingrained patterns on it had already faded, it was still recognisable as an ancient object. Social status remained important as long as humans existed in Norland, because many rights were granted solely to aristocrats.

“Then where is your castle? How many live there?” These were factors that signified the power of an aristocrat.

Gaton blushed a deep red and he said, “The inherited castle...It was sold a few generations ago. As for myself, I haven't yet been granted the rights to inherit it.” His words were tactful, but they admitted that his family had long lost power and maybe even territory. He was someone without an inheritance from a family of aristocrats that likely lost their lands.

“What about other things?”

“I'm just a level 3 warrior who hasn't found his path in life yet.” Gaton flexed his muscular arms and his rock-like chest. Sadly, that proved nothing about his ability; the skills of a high level warrior were not measured by mere muscles.

Tzu pouted petulantly, “Level 3 warriors, aren't they everywhere?”

“I'm different from other level 3 warriors! I'm a genius, and my body can be inscribed with runes! Look here!” Gaton stretched out his arms and removed his arm guards, revealing a vivid tattoo of a bull on his forearm. This wasn't a simple tattoo, instead a rune with magic power. It was a small spell formation inscribed into his body that strengthened his abilities.

Runes greatly affected the power of an individual, and were extremely precious commodities for their power and rarity. Every other person could bear a rune on their bodies, but it was difficult to find one amongst hundreds who actually had one inscribed into them.

“It's just Bull's Strength, nothing to be envious of. This much is being ingenious?” The knowledgeable Tzu saw through the ability of Gaton's rune instantaneously. Bull's Strength could enhance a warrior's physical prowess, but as useful as it was it was a common rune. Still, Elena's gaze stayed on the tattoo on Gaton's arm, her brows knitted as she fell deep in thought.

Unfazed, Gaton put on his arm guards and said, “I do not have the money to obtain a better rune. But wait till I discover treasures that someone left behind or kill a high level monster, and I'll have the money. Look at my body, it can withstand the power of four different runes.”

“That's more like it!” Tzu was barely satisfied. A person's gifts were measured by both his class and the number of runes they could bear. Most could bear only one, so someone like Gaton who could take four was considered pretty good. It gave him better stats and abilities than ordinary people of his level.

Since there were no further conflicts on this side, everyone stopped paying attention to their conversation. The voice of the wandering bard echoed through the bar once again as the steady rhythm of the drum and the strong alcohol complemented each other. Tzu soon became familiar with Gaton, and they exchanged their experiences from their adventures non-stop as they downed their liquor. In fact, this was the first time she has been so far from home, but Gaton's captivating stories kept Tzu fascinated.

As time passed, the atmosphere in the dining room remained great. There was hustle and bustle, but incidents of people fighting or creating trouble never occurred. By the time everyone scattered at late night, it was obvious from the bartender's content smile that they have already drank much of the owner's expensive liquor. Even Tzu was staggering as she walked, and Elena had to drag her back.

The next morning, the travellers resumed their journey as per normal. While they were leaving the hotel, they were surprised to see that Gaton had long been awake, wearing robes, and was in the stable bathing the horses. This was a job only servants took on.

“Gaton, what are you doing?” Tzu called out loudly.

“I didn't have enough money to pay the bill or the rent. It can't be helped, looks like I can only work to pay off my debts!” Gaton's voice was bright and clear, filled with joy. Even with his status of an aristocrat, he did not feel embarrassed at all to take on a servant's job. His actions were skilled and serious, and the fur of the horses was soon sparkling clean under his hands.

Tzu could only vaguely remember now that she had pushed all the liquor bills to Gaton the previous night. She burst out into laughter when she remembered, leaving Gaton to enjoy his work as she left on her horse. The caravan headed out smoothly, but when she turned she saw a tall and mighty figure waving them goodbye from the stable.

The caravan went north-east, leaving Viscount Anzikar's territory and passing through Earl Vernon's lands before entering Earl Tudor's domain. Half a month passed without disturbance, and they hadn't once run into the bandit groups Tzu was anticipating.

It was instead Gaton that they'd met, twice. He followed the caravan on their journey, regaling Tzu and Elena with stories of his adventures as he treated everyone to liquor. He'd end up forced into labour for 3 to 5 days every time to pay off the debts. The areas the caravan was passing through were rather safe and serene, so there was no chance for adventurers to earn money here. Tzu pretended not to know the size of Gaton's wallet, drinking till she dropped and having him handle all her bills.

“This is his punishment for always clinging onto you!” Tzu laughingly said to Elena, leaving the mage with no option but to shake her head in silence.

The caravan continued on their journey, stopping at every rest stop to replenish their food and water supplies. Even so, the supplies on their carriage never increased or decreased, still the same old goods from the Evernight Forest. Every few days, Gaton would surely appear. Each time the thunder-like clatter of his horse's steps rang out, and the bright peal of laughter resounded, the guards would know he was done paying off the last time's debts. At this point, they even felt like something was missing whenever Gaton appeared a night late.

Two months had passed, and Gaton treated the caravan to six rounds of liquor in total. Everyone knew that Gaton was working hard every day except— no, perhaps even including those six days. Even the guards who used to dislike him grew a soft heart for him, while Tzu still carelessly and joyously left the considerable amount of liquor bills to him.

These whole 2 months, Elena and Gaton spoke no more than 20 sentences, but the enthusiasm in his eyes was slowly becoming unbearable for her. The journey was tranquil, yet not so.

That's how they made it to the lands of Earl Kyle of the Sacred Alliance. The Sacred Alliance was a tremendous force in the entirety of Norland, a coalition of big and small aristocrats alike, and unlike the traditional empires their royalty was just the most powerful family in the coalition. This land was just around 3000 kilometres from the legendary city of the continent, the Sacred Alliance capital Faust. The caravan steadily entered the small streets of Noivudor, part of the territory that belonged to Earl Kyle. This was to be where they stopped for the night.

But when they were about to enter Noivudor proper, the caravan was greeted by the sight of ten riders surrounding a mage who was dashing out of a small alley. The people who entered and exited through the alley were mostly travelling merchants, and the merchants who commonly use the alley quickly gave way for the mage and riders. The riders were quite skilled, swivelling their warhorses away from the people who couldn't avoid them while still managing to keep up the pace.

The horseback mage let out an expression of surprise as he passed the caravan, his gaze locking onto Tzu and Elena. The slim middle-aged man exuded a greenish-black glow, likely because poison from various experiments in the laboratory had sunk into his very skin. Although his pupils were turbid, his sinister gaze did not fail to make others shudder uncontrollably. His robes were unusually extravagant and intricate, an accessory that could harness magic runes. This was something only mages who were level 9 or above.

The riders soon grew distant on the main road, but the gloomy eyes of the mage left a deep impression on those of the caravan, causing the atmosphere to grow dreary. When they arrived at the scheduled inn, Elena stopped the guards as they dismounted and prepared to enter, “Let's leave immediately!”

“Ah... But Gaton will be catching up with us today.”

“Let's. Leave. Immediately,” Elena repeated herself, and this time Tzu didn't rebut as she silently got on her horse. Elena was someone of few words, and one repeat was all she would get.

It was nearing dusk, and the closest road was ten kilometres away. If they left Noivudor now, they would only be able to pitch their tents in the wilderness. Tzu didn't oppose Elena's decision, however, not probing further either as she signalled to the guards to get going. Everyone got back on their horses again, and the caravan resumed their journey. Once they stepped out of Noivudor they began to accelerate, even abandoning a few of their slower horse carriages on the streets as they went on. Even so, having travelled not even 20 kilometres, they were alarmed by the booming sound of horse steps behind them.

Elena pointed to a low mound on the side road and said in a hushed voice, “Change direction, protect and defend!” The guards promptly abandoned their carriages and charged up the hill on their horses. They got off immediately, drawing their weapons. Even though each of the guards had a longsword, more than half drew their bows as their main weapon. This was definitely not normal in a common mercenary troop.

The thunder of multiple horses closed in on them from the end of the main road, warhorses clad in armour rushing out from the smoke. The riders were heavily armed as well, each with a two-metre-long iron sword in hand. There were about 50 riders from Earl Kyle himself here, more than half his elite troops!

Flanking with the armed riders were hundreds of lightly armed troops, and at the centre of it all was that mage the caravan met at dusk. He was still dressed in those extravagant robes, but now he had a three-metre-long staff in hand as well, the tip embedded with a huge crystal. The light from the crystal converged with the patterns on the robes, making them shine mysteriously in the twilight.

The guards' expressions stiffened with the appearance of the armed riders. The people of the caravan knew some martial arts, and even the coachmen were level 2 warriors, but they were all lightly armed and didn't add up to more than 50 people. Normal bows posed a limited threat to the armed riders, and on top of that their opponents even had a mage with them! With the mage no longer concealing his aura, the caravan could notice that he was a great mage who was at least level 12! Even high-ranking aristocrats like Earl Kyle had to treat such powerhouses with courtesy, so he was most likely working for someone higher up the ladder.

Everyone on the mound quietened down and prepared for battle. Their only hope now was that they were not the targets of the riders and troops, but that hope seemed bleak...

Sounds of horse steps rung in the streets of Noivudor once again. Mounted on a black warhorse, Gaton rushed through the streets to stop at the front door of the largest inn in town. However, he didn't see the familiar horse carriages of the caravan nearby, and the stable was also practically empty. None of the horses he'd come to know over two months of working the stables were inside.

Gaton's thick brows furrowed once again. The black warhorse spun around in place for a bit, its hooves sounding against the ground once more as Gaton rushed out of the streets on his horse like the wind. The horse and rider disappeared into the vast night...

The mound had already become a place of bloodshed, the slope soaked in red as the corpses of horses and humans alike were stacked on one another. Even so, the sound of horseshoes clinking against the ground never ceased, the armed riders fighting fiercely at the foot of the mound as they prepared to strike once more.

The caravan's defences hadn't wavered, and nine of them had already been lost. There were still 41 of them left, however, and their battle might remained rather frightening. Their first blow directly blasted through the defences of the mound, ending the lives of tens of people from the caravan. However, the bows of the guards were extraordinary as well, even one arrow able to pierce through their armours and cause great damage. More than twenty of the lightly armed troops who were meant to control the opponents had been shot down, the light armour practically useless in front of the sharp arrows.

Tzu was panting hard, both hands on her sword as she aimed it forward. Her body was slightly bent, trying to maintain a posture that was ready to strike at all times. Her eyes were firmly fixated on the mage who was a few hundred metres away.

Her two-handed sword emanated a beam of light, revealing it to be a powerful magic sword. Although she wasn't very high level, the girl had excellent swordsmanship and burst damage capabilities. Even an armed rider would be split in twain if they tried to take her attack head on, and she was in fact the one who'd done half the damage to those riders.

Fire, lightning storms, and explosions littered the battlefield. Elena was in the midst of an intense battle with the mage, possessing the sheer control to block his attacks despite only being level 6. Still, such a great difference in power could not be bridged. Elena's face had turned pale, and her forehead trickled with sweat.

This caravan was truly bizarre. They weren't high-level on average, inferior to Earl Kyle's troops, but their gear and skills were so much superior to their opponents that they could resist the attacks of the stronger enemies for so long.

Tzu was trying to save her energy, her eyes revealing her intention to launch an attack. The target wasn't just anyone, instead the great mage. Theoretically she shouldn't have been a threat to him, with the 40 armed riders in her way and the hundreds of metres of distance, but the mage still shuddered abruptly as he sensed some kind of unknown threat.

He shifted his gaze immediately, spotting in between dozens of melees that the girl had drawn a well-crafted and exquisite short bow. It was tiny, like a child's toy, but just the sight of it made the biggest threat to his life.

The mage smiled at Tzu, his eerie smile caused her to shiver. Still her hands remained steady, her actions skilled and precise. An intricate small arrow was nocked, and like a bolt of lightning it shot towards the mage's forehead. The path of that arrow completely defied the principles of nature, traceless as if it leaped through space before arriving at its destination. The protective shields on the mage's body slowly disappeared.

This was one of the most powerful archer skills, Magic Break!

As the arrow left the bow, Tzu involuntarily let out a breath of air. But the scene before her caused her to widen her eyes, causing her body to stiffen up.

The mage continued to smile strangely. The fumes from the explosion of spells seemed to gather behind him, silently drawing a large sword and having it sit in front of the mage. The arrow struck the blade and bounced off like it really was just a toy, and the smoke disappeared to reveal a heavily armoured knight.

Irresistible light was glowing from the joints of the knight's armour, and the warhorse he was sat on was half a fold bigger than the rest. There was no armour or harness on the horse, but complex runes were inscribed on its fur.

“Rune knight!” Tzu cried out, and this was the first time she'd ever revealed such terror.

Rune knights were the epitome of human strength. Powerful warriors with custom enchanted armour to start off with, the true source of power lay in the runes inscribed into them and their horses. One could only be called a rune knight if they could handle at least five runes!

On the battlefield, a single rune knight could massacre a whole army easily. They had such control over the flow of a battle that the first batch of rune knights centuries ago became the nightmare of the other races of Norland. Runemasters, those who could inscribe these runes, became the most wanted people on the entire continent, but the number of them available could be counted with one hand. It took great talent to become a runemaster.

Tzu was baffled by the appearance of the rune knight, but before she could react a flurry of dark green leaves wrapped up her body. The leaves throbbed with magic energy as they covered her, and no matter how hard she tried to resist the magic she couldn't.

“Elena!” she screamed, but her body slowly turned transparent and vanished. The leaves were a powerful magic tool, usable only once. Their purpose was to send the target to a designation location in dangerous situations, and their power was something Tzu couldn't resist. She could only watch on as a surge of mana seeped out of Elena's body, draining her until she fell to the ground.

Elena was hurting so bad her vision blurred. She couldn't even see the few remaining guards. The earlier burst of magic had affected them as well, and the opponents' armoured knights were readying another charge. While they could deal with light armour, this assault would wipe them all out.

As for herself? She wouldn't bother thinking of the consequences of falling into her opponents' hands, for she knew that would not happen. A jade dagger appeared in her grasp, positioned towards her heart. The blade glistened with a silver sheen, the runes inscribed within capable of taking both her life and soul. Very quickly this dagger would turn her into a pile of ash.

There was one last barrier remaining around her, and a spell stored in an ornament she was wearing. Once everything was broken, she would take her life. She would never leave anything behind for these humans.

The armed riders let loose a thunderous charge that blocked out all noise. But this time, Elena picked up something familiar amidst that flurry of movement...

Gaton had been on the side of the battlefield, and the sturdy imposing demeanour of the rune knights had caused his pupils to shrink. Subconsciously he'd wanted to leave, but the moment he caught sight of Elena's barrier breaking his face turned pale. The whites of his irises filled with threads of blood as he roared like a maniac, charging towards the rune knight.

'It's too late for anything now.' Elena's consciousness grew weak, and she gripped the dagger and stabbed it into her heart—

*Thud!* Her wrist suddenly suffered a heavy blow, causing the dagger to fly away from her body. The dagger had already scratched clothes, almost piercing skin. Once blood was drawn its effects would have been set in stone.

A powerful arm coiled around Elena's body, carrying her up. She felt herself heave with the ups and downs, like she was floating amidst the clouds. A familiar scent calmed her nerves, relaxeing her senses. Her vision darkened, and she finally fainted. The last thing she felt was a sensation on her back. That man's body burned, but it was sturdy as steel.

Elena didn't know how much time passed before she opened her eyes, but the first thing she saw was a naked back with tanned skin and tight muscles, littered with scars. The man didn't have to turn for her to know it was Gaton.

Her head was still fuzzy, and her body had no strength. She wondered how a level 3 warrior managed to bring her out of the battlefield as she looked up; she wasn't in a castle dungeon, but in a cave.

She struggled to sit up and felt a sudden coldness hit her chest that made her realise that her robes were completely ripped apart. Even the resistant innerwear had been torn, and as she sat up her clothes fell apart to reveal her chest in its entirety. Gaton heard the movements behind him in that same instant, turning around see Elena in all her glory.

“You!” Elena shouted angrily. She lifted her hands, preparing to unleash a burst of magic, but with her mana long since exhausted the act caused her vision to black. She almost fainted again to the immense pain in her hands, her body weakening as she fell to the ground.

Gaton was startled. He rushed to catch her, hugging her in support. Elena struggled violently, but then Gaton protested, “I've already seen it all, so stop struggling will you?!”

His voice carried a mysterious power, and Elena slowly came to consciousness as she saw his blood-covered face, reeking of blood yet carrying a tender expression. The left of Gaton's chest was wounded right over his heart, and her struggles had caused the wounds to split open once again. Blood spurted out of it like an arrow.

Seeing the colour draining from Elena's face, Gaton laughed rather lightly, “The rune knight stabbed me, but I'll be fine. I needed to take a blow to escape from him. Darkmoon is too young to be that fast.”

Elena stopped moving, not bothering to wipe the blood on her face. Her chest was still exposed but she didn't think about that anymore, focusing on the wound at Gaton's chest. Even with all the luck in the world, a level 3 warrior would have to face consequences if he tried to escape from a rune knight. The man's heart was likely penetrated, judging by the depth of the wound.

“You—” Gaton seemed to understand before she continued, taking her hand and putting it on his chest. Elena felt a strong, steady heartbeat under his staunch muscles.

“I have two hearts, and can recover faster than beasts. It doesn't mean anything to lose one.” His laughter was still bright, giving Elena a sudden peace that made her feel safe. When Gaton leaned down to kiss her, she did not resist...

As night fell, the bonfire in the cave chased away all the coldness. Gaton and Elena sat beside the fire. A wild rabbit was being barbequed, but Elena had little appetite as she hugged her knees and rested her head in them, blanking out. Right at the climax of their intimate session, she'd just shoved Gaton off. Any other guy would probably be furious, but he acted like nothing happened and instead turned happily to make dinner for the both of them. His eyes were filled with an innocent bliss and love, and she could see no signs of hatred or resent in them.

“Do you like me?”

“Of course!”

“Why?”

“No reason.”

Elena sorted her thoughts before speaking again, “We barely know each other. You don't understand me and don't know my past. Did you even think about why we got attacked by Earl Kyle? You should know I have secrets.”

“Doesn't matter. I'm an Archeron, and if we like someone we like them. There's no rhyme nor reason to it,” Gaton said casually.

“At any price?”

“Of course.”

“What if I wanted you to die?”

“If there was a need, then sure.” Gaton smiled.

Elena did not say much, growing silent. She didn't really believe the man's words. They had no great understanding of each other, in fact they hadn't even spoken much. Even Tzu was more familiar with him than her, but he was willing to die for his love?

Humans. They give mindless promises, but are never prepared to uphold them. And yet she saw the bright red gush of blood still flowing out of Gaton's wound, and Elena wavered.

Silence reigned. It took what seemed like an eternity for Elena to speak, “Is everyone from your family so—”

“Stupid?” Gaton asked with a laugh, continuing, “Perhaps it's true. We're all silly when we're young. But it's okay to be stupid, the scariest thing is never being able to find someone to grow stupid for.”

“Your statement is invalid. But this surname, Archeron, is a little weird. Could you tell me your name?”

“Gaton Isaiah Satanistoria Archeron.” Surprised, Elena lift her head to gaze at Gaton. His eyes were still like the purest and most perfect of gems, but her heart was no longer at peace. The name was ridiculously long and difficult to pronounce, but she could recognise that this was a naming tradition of demons. If this man really had demon blood in him, the name alone would be able to bind him greatly. The power wasn't the same as with a demon's truename, but it was still comparable.

She kept quite for a while, finally saying, “Didn't your family tell you not to give your name out like that?”

“You mean my truename?” Gaton chucked. “My mother told me the moment I matured not to tell anyone. But if I had to, it could only be one person.”

So, he knows everything. Suddenly, Elena could not find the words to speak. She only felt that this man, like everything related to him, was very absurd, yet so very real. Somehow, such a thing that touched one's heart existed between the realms of illusion and reality. Just like Gaton had said, his words were a sincere pact of his willingness to die for her. Telling her his truename was as good as putting his life in her hands... Truly, how could there be such a silly man?

“What do you want to be, then? You'll remain an adventurer?”

“Of course not! I'll create my own army and fight the other races, pave out lands, and establish my own kingdom!” Gaton said with dignity, as if he was a general who had led thousands of troops before.

Elena kept quiet and only looked at the jumping fire. Her face looked dull and dark in contrast to the bright fire, bringing out the faint distress in her expression. Wind floated by from the other side of the sky, quietly cloaking the three moons as the night darkened.

She stood up, “I'm leaving.”

Gaton was surprised. “Leaving? Where to?”

“Where I'm supposed to be,” She did not at all slow down, heading straight outside the cave.

“Next time, we—”

“There shall be no 'next time'!” Elena shouted as she disappeared into the night, but her voice echoed within the cave. Gaton stayed there, stunned, and did not chase after her. He'd just lost a heart, so he didn't have the strength to chase after a level 6 mage. Moreover, the girl had mysterious powers that normal mages didn't.

Gaton sat down defeated, pulling at his hair. He was silent for awhile before laughing hysterically, “It's alright. Archerons go crazy anyway. 'Give in to the insanity or die in the silence...' Which bastard was it that said that?”

His laughter echoed far and wide in the silent night. The bonfire remained lit, the rabbit having long since burned to ash.

......

Time never stopped ticking, and five years had swiftly slipped through their fingers. The Evernight Forest lost its peace in the sixth spring, as the humans brought armies that made it into the depths of the forest layer by layer. The beauty and serenity of the forest was destroyed by brute force and magic. Flames engulfed the place, and trees were burnt to the ground. Magical beasts were forced out of their habitats, because even the strongest of them were no match for the humans.

The Evernight Forest was traditional territory of the silvermoon elves. Generations of elven royalty had protected this forest they called home, and they would do anything they could for their lands. The elves' biggest enemies were the humans, attacking them again and again in their greed for any materials they could get.

But the invasion this time round was different from that of the past, the commander of the armies an unprecedented genius at war. He led a troop of 50 rune knights that decimated the advantages of even the most experienced archers. Conflict erupted between the tribes, putting the troops in disarray as the strongest of the lot fell one after the other. More than half of the twelve elven kings had died in battle, and even the sacrifice of a majority of the soldiers couldn't keep the invasion at bay. Weapons clashed as fires burned, violence spreading throughout the Evernight Forest as the humans charged to Silvermoon Palace at its depths.

With no way out, the many tribes of silvermoon elves joined forces and launched an all-out war, but alas the elves were wiped out. After 1300 years of reign, the elves of the Evernight Forest had fallen...

A small group of elves was running away within the Evernight Forest. They seemed to be one with the woods, leaving only shadows behind as they moved swiftly between the galloping horses and murderous war cries. Fires devoured the ancient trees to clear a path for their frontlines, and their appalled faces spoke volumes of how this battlefield was no longer the forest they were familiar with. Groups of knights leapt forth to intercept them from time to time, but they continued to move on.

The world tree burned in a raging inferno in the distance, the tongues of fire dying half the sky red. The elves surrounded a young shaman protectively, only leaving formation when an enemy tried to intercept. They put their lives on the line to protect the young lady, powerful elven warriors falling one by one as the onslaught of rune knights continued unabated.

The female shaman hugged a thick golden book close to her. This was the Codex of Alucia, the most sacred item of the silvermoon elves. She wasn't slower than the soldiers she ran with, and one wouldn't be able to tell she was actually a mage on first sight. Having passed through trial after trial, she was left with only two warriors by her side.

The path in front of them opened up abruptly, and a calm lake came into sight. This was the pearl of the Evernight Forest, the Crescent Lake. There was a knight sitting quietly next to the lake, blocking their way.

A tense aura filled the air, disturbing the peace and serenity of the forest. If one looked in the water, they would find all the organisms had put a halt to their activities, dropping to the bottom to hide.

Even though there was only one knight blocking them, his tall and lofty stature made him appear like a mighty mountain. Even the black warhorse he rode was bigger than normal, and his vestments were so thick he could probably scare off commoners. He seemed unfazed by anything, only huffing out bursts of fiery air from his nostrils every once in a while. The sword in his hands was three metres long, still covered in fresh blood— silvermoon elf blood.

The female Shaman stopped in her tracks as the warriors by her side charged forth, attacking the horseback knight. This was a battle that could only end in death— all they wanted to do was drive their swords into the chest of the knight. They ignored the response coming their way as they charged, but a vile laughter resonated from within his helmet as a sword swept forth like lightning.

The knight dismounted from his horse, visibly stained with bestial blood. He walked towards the shaman and laughed, “The beautiful and elegant Shaman of the Moon. You're so important amongst the elven royalty, did you really think I'd let you and the sacred book get away so easily? My reward would be halved if I did that! This is my first time commanding such a large and powerful army, I surely can't let that happen!”

As soon as he was done speaking, two lifeless elves fell onto the ground. Even the best elite guards of the silvermoon royals hadn't been able to dodge the knight's blade. However, the shaman only shuddered slightly, asking in exasperation, “Gaton?!”

The knight's body stiffened like a stone statue as he took off his helmet and revealed his chiselled face. Indeed this was Gaton, the past five years having left no trace on him but maturity and resolution. The adventurer had become a general that led thousands of troops, achieving things no human had ever performed in this plane. Only, that pair of eyes was just as pure and clear as it was five years ago.

Gaton stared at the female shaman, and his expression turned to one of great joy. He exclaimed loudly, “Elena!”

Standing in front of Gaton was a beautiful shaman of the Moon Goddess, not the plain-looking human mage from years ago. Still, Gaton managed to recognise those eyes. The once-level 3 warrior now understood the silvermoon elves' secret transformation spell.

Gaton's joy slowly faded as he grew bitter, and he said slowly, “So you were a silvermoon elf, and the Shaman of the Moon on top. You were actually royalty, no wonder you were so strong with magic all those years ago.”

His gaze remained fixed on Elena for a while, before he smiled with cheer, “Hey, beautiful! You're more beautiful than the most perfect woman in my imagination, but I still liked you better as a human mage.”

That familiar chuckle... It made Elena feel like she was five years in the past again, but the thick and cold codex in her hands awoke her from her thoughts. The Shaman of Alucia had to be pure and flawless.

Elena held up the Codex of Alucia, saying coldly, “Gaton, your hands are stained with too much of the silvermoon elves' blood. Only one of us can leave here alive today.”

Gaton rubbed his nose gently and smiled bitterly. “You... are no match for me—” He could not finish his words, because Elena had already started charging towards him at the speed of an elven warrior. The codex glowed as the cover page flipped open.

Gaton twirled the two greatswords in his hands as he looked at the charging elf, his incredibly fast attack able to kill even man-eating demons, much less the delicate elves. He already possessed inconceivable skill.

Death was already knocking at her doorstep, but Elena did not sense it. Even as she charged towards him, the only thing going through her mind was scenes of her encounters with Gaton.

“What if I wanted you to die?” she'd asked in front of that flickering bonfire.

“If there was a need, then sure.”

Five years had passed, his looks did not change a bit. He really had become a general leading a few thousand soldiers, but why did his troops have to be pointed at the Evernight Forest...

The corners of Elena's lips suddenly lifted. The sword tips were zooming closer and closer in her eyes, but she did not dodge. A short sword emerged from the codex as she sped up, aiming it brutally at Gaton's chest. She still remembered that night when she'd felt his heartbeat with her own hands, and she knew the position of his second heart.

Elena knew that Gaton would not be able to dodge this strike. This was the most powerful skill of the Silvermoon Palace, the Secret Moonlight Slash. As the Shaman of the Moon, her swordsmanship was actually stronger than her magic and holy spells. No armour would be able to stop this sword once blessed by Alucia herself, and not even the rune knights that were the epitome of human prowess would survive. The short and sharp blade left no mercy.

Images of the deep wounds on Gaton's chest appeared in Elena's eyes. Five years ago, he'd lost his first heart to save her life. Now, the short sword in her hand was about to pierce through his second.

She did not intend to dodge Gaton's sword at all, and she could not dodge it either. She could only hope that her sword pierced Gaton's heart before his sword slashed her waist. She had to avenge the lives of the silvermoon elves lost to the raging fire.

Let us... Let us stay together, together in this forest... was what she thought.

The Moonlight Sword ruthlessly slashed through Gaton's armour, piercing through his chest and penetrating deep into his throbbing heart. The raging power within the sword completely destroyed his atria and ventricles.

The greatswords stopped all of a sudden. They had made contact with her skin, but the tips went no further. The hands that gripped them remained as steady as mountains.

Gaton looked at Elena like he wanted to say something, but he could no longer make any sound. However, he was smiling as he fell to the ground alongside his weapons, into Elena's embrace. His blood soaked half her body, just like five years ago.

“You—” Elena was speechless. The world before her was a blur, and hot blood rushed through her body.

”It's okay to be stupid, the scariest thing is never being able to find someone to grow stupid for. The words this man had once said filled Elena's head. It was right after that he'd told her his truename without hesitation.

The codex dropped to the ground. Elena wrapped her arms around Gaton, and his body slowly lost its temperature in her arms.

“No!” she hugged him closely, whispering, “You won't die!”

Gaton spent the next seven days between dream and reality. When he opened his eyes after, he found himself lying in a cave.

He could feel no heartbeat, but he was nonetheless alive. He turned around to find some scattered shaman robes with dry bloodstains on them. The blood reeked, but not enough to overpower the fragrance of the woman he so loved. A faint, sweet fragrance that enveloped him too.

The scent lingered, but he could no longer see Elena's beautiful silhouette. The past few days of tenderness, spring and intimacy were all but an illusion, leaving no traces anywhere.

This time, there really was no 'next time'.

2 - City of Sin

Growing Up

Spring was a well-liked season. Humans could finally start the new year after the slow crawl of winter, no longer needing to bear with the freezing cold and being able to obtain food much easier. There was an increase in the variety of food as well, so spring was the most important season of the year. Be it for humans, dwarves, orcs, elves, or even ogres, supernatural creatures and carnivorous beasts, they had important events during spring.

Of course, the world was really complicated, and there would always be exceptions. For example, spring was mostly meaningless to those that lived underground. In the most extreme case, snow demons absolutely hated spring. On the other hand, however, a majority of the human race found the season delightful. When the warm, moist air flowed crossed the mountains and the sea with difficulty to reach the village of Rooseland, the villagers knew that spring had arrived.

Rooseland was located amidst a mountain range near the coast. It was a tiny speck amidst the enormous mountains that stretched for thousands of miles, ruled by Baron Tucker under the Sacred Alliance. It was almost three hundred kilometres from the Baron's castle, so only during harvest season would the villagers see the Baron's tax collectors come over. His leadership was otherwise negligible, only felt for this short time.

The Baron taxed lightly as well, only collecting the specialties of the area so that it didn't have much impact on the daily lives of the villagers. Were the tax to increase in a poor harvest year, there would be dire consequences. It wasn't all that bad living in the mountains. As long as you worked all year round, you would be able to survive.

The lands outside the village needed to be plowed and seeded in spring, and the food harvested in summer. Hunters would begin to enter the forest at this time as well. The magical beasts, having just woken from their hibernation, would be exceptionally dangerous and aggressive in their search for food, but there were some specialties in their bodies like precious medicinal ingredients or glands that could be turned into perfume. Their quality would be the highest in spring, so despite the casualties and injuries every year hunters always entered the mountains without fail. This made the Goddess of the Hunt the most worshipped of all the gods. Aside from the Eternal Dragon, there were as many gods and religions in Norland as there were stars in the sky.

Norland was a continent with abundant resources, ruled by divine powers under a strict hierarchy. Even a remote and peaceful village like Rooseland had quite the history, and despite being simple and sincere the villagers respected experts and disdained the weak. The small village, with only tens of households, followed its own implicit hierarchy.

The petite figure of a boy appeared outside the village, carrying a wicker basket filled with breadfruit almost as tall as he was. The winter reserves would normally be used up by spring, so before other sources of food could be obtained even this bland fruit was still an important source. It was easy to find as well, growing in the forest beside the village.

There were three other boys beside him, each one of them a head taller than the child. They had bows and pitchforks in hand, and daggers at their waists. Even if they were less than ten years of age, they were all carrying deer and rabbits on their backs, able to go hunt already. Of course they only targeted the docile animals, but it was no simple task to lay the traps to catch these animals. Be it of commoners or nobles, children of the village learned these things from their parents.

The leader of the trailing group suddenly shouted out, “Hey Richard, where's your father? Hasn't he taught you how to hunt? I was already in the mountains at your age, setting traps to catch rabbits by myself!”

A boy beside him followed up with a giggle, “A kid without a father can only pick fruits!”

The three older boys laughed as they dashed past Richard to enter the village. Their steps were light, making it hard to believe that each was carrying over ten kilograms of prey from the way they moved.

The little boy didn't mind their mockery, however, continuing to carry the basket on his back as he entered the village. A middle-aged man sitting at the entrance saw the entire thing, calling him over and stuffing some dried magical beast meat into the boy's hand. He caressed the boy's head with affection, “Little Richard... Aren't you mad about Beirut and his friends bullying you like this? I'll teach them a lesson later, even if they're just kids they shouldn't be so careless.”

He hadn't expected the child to shake his head in reply, “There's no need, I'm not angry.”

“But...” The man used his large, black and calloused hand to scratch the back of his head, finding it a little hard to understand the boy. He thought the kid was scared of them, and couldn't help but want to say something. After all, kids in the mountains could lack anything but courage. Please visit 𝒇𝚛𝙚𝙚𝘸𝙚𝗯𝓃𝗼ѵ𝚎𝘭. c𝑜𝘮

However, the boy then smiled and continued to say, “Even if I don't have a father, I have the best mom!”

The man just continued to scratch his head, shocked into a silly smile by the statement, “That's right! That's right!”

The little boy hummed as he continued to carry the large basket, skipping his way into the village. His slight gloominess had given way to joy, because his mother had to stay happy no matter what.

Little Richard had turned six this year, and he'd learned happiness.

The middle-aged man was the village blacksmith, Bobby. The boy's mother was a magic acolyte named Elaine, having come alone to the village of Rooseland when pregnant with her son. She wasn't exceptionally beautiful, but her personality was as gentle as water and her presence meant the village had a doctor for the first time. They didn't need to run a dozen kilometres to the nearby town anymore even when they were only slightly hurt or sick. Sometimes they'd even chosen to bear with the discomfort because of the distance in the past.

Elaine had set up a small medicinal clinic beside the village. Even though she could only make the most basic of medicines, she'd already saved many villagers since she arrived. The village head and some elders thus decided to give her some land, officially making her a villager of Rooseland. With a majority of the villagers being hunters, there were three main centres of authority in the village now. One was Bobby the blacksmith, and another was the village head who was a retired military officer. The last was now Elaine, who along with the other two supported the future of the entire village.

Life in Rooseland was very peaceful and slow-moving, a year passing again in the blink of an eye.

Richard was a couple centimetres taller this spring, looking like kids that were eight to nine years of age. Traditionally he'd already have learned to set traps for rabbits and other small herbivores by now.

There were many small magical beasts in the forest near Rooseland, the large ones almost never seen. The place was a training ground for the children of the village, so the hunters didn't hunt the smaller animals. They only patrolled the area every once in a while, eradicating any dangerous creatures or the rare larger magical beasts in the depths of the forest.

Still, Richard continued to carry a basket on his back up the mountain every few days. It wasn't as beat up as it used to be, but it proved he was still plucking breadfruit that was everywhere on the mountain. Breadfruit wasn't delicious, and the villagers much preferred the meat of magical beasts which was tasty and also gave them strength.

This was all at his mother's behest. He also collected medicinal grasses, collecting a different type for each of the four seasons and having to deal with them using certain complicated processes. Taking the grass home was only half of the job, the rest only done once he'd gotten back.

What he didn't understand was that even the breadfruit needed to be processed like the grasses. In fact it actually took more time than the grasses themselves. The other villagers didn't do this, and just ate them directly after they picked up the ripened fruits that had dropped onto the ground at night. His mother instead had him pluck the fruits from the tree, with a fixed requirement for the colour and size of the fruit and even a special way to pluck it. However, when he ignored her instructions and thought there wouldn't be any difference his mother had caught him, so he didn't play any more tricks after being berated a few times. He picked the fruit seriously, processing them to perfection. Only in winter did his mother tell him that this was all to train his perseverance.

Little Richard had turned seven this year, and he'd learnt perseverance in his tasks. If he had to say what he'd disliked in all seven years of his life, it was that breadfruit was his daily dinner. It was a small nightmare that he'd never forget.

Rooseland remained the same as ever the next spring. Bobby was still single, and Elaine still had low business. The village head was as healthy as ever, being the first to charge forth in dealing with strong magical beasts. Richard, however, had finally learned to set traps. Still, Beirut and the rest had already started using short bows and following the hunters into the mountains. Already ten, they could call themselves youths. People in the town would even think they were about fifteen or sixteen with their well-built bodies.

Setting traps required a lot of experience. One needed watchful eyes, a pair of agile hands, and some luck. With the crude tools used in making the traps, there was a high possibility that traps made by an inexperienced hunter would injure him. Richard had talent, overcoming these problems for the village youths in the very first try. His success accrued praised from the adults of the village, and Bobby especially was jubilant since he thought of Richard as his own son. This was something everyone in the village knew; if Richard were willing to call him father, Bobby would probably agree to close his shop up.

In but a few days Richard was proficient in many types of traps. He started going deep into the forest, setting up large, complex traps. Large magical beasts appeared here on occasion, and with his luck a kamchatka wild boar appeared in his sights, setting the trap off head-on. The beast's front legs were captured securely amidst thorns, rattan rope, and iron nails, and even though it was really strong the trap was so meticulously made that its struggles were borne by the entirety of the trap. The boar was unable to break free even after a violent struggle.

Hiding nearby as he observed the boar's struggles, Richard's hands were covered in sweat. It was the first time he felt like the hunting knife in his hands wasn't reliable. An injured boar was extremely dangerous, and even though the wild boar in front of him was really small he himself was only a kid.

Just when Richard was certain that his prey couldn't escape the trap, wanting to charge out, he felt a great force knocking him to the ground from behind him. He felt giddiness as blood filled his mouth and nose, hearing an arrow whistle and the boar shriek. He then heard cheers from his side, belonging to voices he knew.

Richard slowly climbed up to his feet, seeing Beirut and his party having appeared at some unknown time. One of them had pushed him aside, and Beirut was the one who'd shot the arrow. It had landed a fatal blow on its neck, a difficult task even on a captured beast as it had been struggling constantly.

“You stole my prey!” Richard suddenly realized what they were doing, and shouted in rage.

“Everyone here can prove that I shot the boar dead. How can you say I snatched the kill? Because of that trap of yours? A good hunter knows that this sort of trap can only be used to capture rabbits.” Beirut looked at Richard with disdain.

He was almost a head taller than Richard, and was well built. Being the son of the village head, he was much stronger than other kids his age, almost like an adult. The head frequently hunted powerful magical beasts from nearby, and the meat of those beasts greatly toughened the bodies of those who consumed it.

“Why are you here hunting wild boar then?” Richard's counter question made Beirut tongue-tied. They looked down on Richard's thin and frail body, but they couldn't deny that he was really intelligent. They heard that he could write a lot of words, but that was no cause for respect. What was the use of words when they couldn't help one hunt?

Richard's question enraged Beirut. He made a rough downwards motion with his hand, signalling a youth at his side to move behind Richard and push him to the ground again.

Richard's small face was flushed as he climbed back to his feet. He then gripped on his hunting knife tightly. His aura at that instant caused these youths to feel extremely cold, but Richard hesitated for a moment and Beirut took the chance to kick Richard down. The youths charged on him together, snatching the hunting knife away and assaulting him with kicks and punches. Beirut even stepped on Richard's head, causing his head to be deeply buried into the soil!

The bodies of these mountain youths were filled with strength, and their blows were not light. However, Richard didn't struggle, resist, or plead for mercy, just quietly bearing the assault even as Beirut hit harder and harder with his growing rage. The lack of response made Beirut feel like he was being mocked.

“Do you concede?” The youths began to hit harder and harder, but Richard just let them attack him like his body wasn't his own. Beirut actually grew terrified after a short while, scared that he'd injured Richard severely. He'd definitely be beaten when he got back home, and while the village head was as hot-tempered as him Elaine had an outstanding image in the village.

The youths gradually stopped their assault. Richard then took a while as he slowly climbed up to his feet, and Beirut tossed a few harsh words his way before taking the wild boar and leaving. Seeing them disappear from view, he rested at a tree for a long time before struggling to stand up and head home.

When Elaine saw little Richard's body covered completely in bruises at night, tears flowed out from her eyes. The boy instead consoled her, saying he was fine and that it only hurt a little. The boy looked at his mother after medicine was applied to his wounds and asked, “I still can't fight back?”

“Mhm!” Elaine gritted her teeth and nodded with all her might.

“Alright, I won't fight back. But I also won't concede.”

Beirut sought trouble with Richard a couple times after that day, beating him again and again. The worst time left Richard unable to get back on his feet, but he still didn't plead for mercy, or even groan. He always eventually got back up after they were tired of beating him, preparing to leave. He'd then stare at Beirut quietly, his calm demeanor causing the boy to feel an iciness in the depths of his heart. That gaze was the same gaze one levelled at a corpse.

Beirut started to have nightmares that year, suffering from them for a couple of days every time he beat Richard up. The difference in their physiques was only growing, but Richard still never resisted. Beirut didn't understand why Richard never complained about him to his father, which would get him whipped a couple of times at the least. In fact, Richard hadn't spoken to anyone in the village about being beaten.

The youths sought less and less trouble with Richard as time went on. One time, the boy smiled at them as blood dripped from the corner of his mouth, causing them to disperse in confusion. It was also the last time they beat him up.

When Richard was eight years old, he had learnt tenacity.

3 - City of Sin

Ceremony

Little Richard lost his childishness by next spring. The hunting knife at his waist was no longer a decoration, used as he started to join the hunters in the mountains. He wouldn't venture too deep, nor was he at the frontlines fighting the magical beasts, but he still helped around with tasks like setting up traps and collecting prey. Blacksmith Bobby had grown elated at this, making the child a new knife with strong, tempered steel. He grew joyous whenever Richard used it to kill a magical beast.

There was always some danger associated with a hunter's life. Countless magical beasts were hidden along the coast and inside the mountains, and some occasionally got lost and headed for Rooseland. Richard once met an ashen devilwolf, a genuine rank 2 magical beast that even the village head had to treat seriously. There were only two other hunters beside Richard at the time, and it took a bitter fight to kill it. All of them suffered heavy injuries, but they still managed to drag the wolf's corpse back to the village.

Richard's abnormal calmness in dealing with the battle to the death amazed the villagers, even the best hunter of the village wouldn't be able to do better. Moreover, if it wasn't for a clean slice from him at the back claw muscles of the devilwolf, the outcome might have been different.

No matter what, little Richard had calmly faced the many dangers he'd met this year, staying collected as he dealt with the situation. He'd never cowered in the face of danger.

At nine years of age, Richard had learnt courage. It should have been the easiest thing to learn, as mountain youths never lacked guts, but the courage his mother had taught him was extraordinary. With his success Elaine stopped calling him Little Richard.

“My Richard is finally a real man!” she always said, brimming with smiles whenever she looked at him.

One day, Richard puffed his chest out at this statement, “I still need wisdom to be a real man!”

This shocked his mother, who looked seriously at him and asked, “Tell mother who told you that.”

“It was written in a book!”

“Which book was it?” Elaine asked patiently. Even acolytes possessed great knowledge, and Elaine had taught her son many languages that were complex and archaic. Reading wasn't a problem for the child, and he'd even completed many books on the basics of magic during the uneventful winter. However, Elaine couldn't recall such a statement in any of them.

“It was that book in the attic. There were a lot of interesting things in it, I didn't know the world was so big!” Richard replied in excitement.

“That book?” Elaine seemed to remember something, continuing with a smile, “It really is interesting. My Richard... A real man truly can't lack in wisdom, but tenacity, perseverance, and courage are harder to master. You're so smart, you definitely won't lack wisdom when you grow up. Mother just wanted to nurture some more traits in you. Do you understand?”

“You forgot happiness!” Richard added hastily.

Elaine smiled as she caressed Richard's head and replied, “That's right, and happiness. Was my Richard happy these past few years?”

Richard shook his head and said gloomily, “I haven't always been happy. Beirut bullied me, and I hate breadfruit... Anyway, Mother, what kind of person is Father?”

Elaine's expression changed instantly, before she replied in a gentle manner, “Your father is a true man...”

Richard immediately followed up, “I know! He's also the worst villain, someone Mother hates the most!”

Elaine chuckled. Her son asked her this question every year, and this was her reply every time. He'd already memorised her answer, but the smart child had frequently heard her light sobbing in the middle of the night. He felt her deep hatred for his father every time the man was mentioned. Children had really simple minds. Their mothers loved and doted on them, and they in turn loved their mothers the most. Richard would hate whoever his mother hated.

Richard asked about his father regularly for two reasons. One was curiosity, as his mother told him more and more every year. On the other hand, he wanted to have a greater understanding of his father so he could avenge his mother once he grew up. As for how, he was naturally clueless, but this matter had already been ingrained into his heart.

However, Elaine stopped telling Richard about his father after this, just saying that she'd only spent a little time with him so she only knew that much.

“You'll really understand your father one day.” It was unknown why Elaine's face changed after she tossed out this statement. It was as though something had seized her heart; even she herself didn't know why she had uttered such words.

Richard sensed his mother's mood had turned bad, so he secretly stuck his tongue out and said, “I'll go read something.” He then ran to the back of the house, to Elaine's study room cum laboratory where she brewed her potions. There weren't many books here, all about the basics of magic, medicine, the history of the continent, the scenery, and the like that were related to her identity as an acolyte, but Richard loved to read books here at night. There was a dim magic lamp in the study room, able to shine the entire night once Elaine filled it up with magic. With oil as expensive as it was, only Elaine, the village head, Bobby, and some of the best hunters of the village could have light long into the night.

Richard slowly passed his childhood in this rundown but warm little room. He could see a larger more complicated world from these thick books, distant from Rooseland yet fascinating. He'd always dreamt of leaving once he'd become the most outstanding hunter of the village, bringing his mother to the world outside the mountains.

In the living room. Elaine heard the sound of pages rustling from the study. Richard was hard at work reading again. The child already had a stable foundation to practice magic, but he'd never really done so. She'd forbidden him from even meditating, making him miss the optimal age of four or five to become a good mage which would've given him the accumulated mental strength to start practicing at his current age. Despite this Richard didn't think in the slightest that her arrangement was bad, being ignorant and just assuming whatever his mother did was correct.

She sat there quietly, thinking of that one extra sentence she'd spoken. A door opened up in her sealed memories, flooding forth with several events that she couldn't suppress. She felt a mild headache coming on, gently massaging her temples as she sighed discreetly. Her gaze landed on the calendar, noticing a cross on it indicating Richard's tenth birthday would be in a couple more days.

Ten years of age was the threshold for a boy to be considered a youth, only three or four years away from adulthood.

'A decade's already passed?' She stared at the flickering flames in the magic lantern, a bright light from the brass lamp illuminating her face. She couldn't be called pretty, but she still looked decent, making her one of the top beauties in the village. Ten years hadn't placed a single mark on Elaine's face, and if it wasn't for her dressing her age probably none of the villagers would remember. Strangers would think she was still only in her twenties.

Her face in the lamp was an unfamiliar sight even to her. It was too plain, not the same face she'd been born with. Even she wouldn't have imagined a decade ago that she'd be living such a simple, plain, and difficult life a decade ago, but right now she was just satisfied with watching Richard grow up day after day.

When she entered the study, Elaine saw Richard hugging and reading a thick picture book with great interest. She smiled, “My Richard is going to be ten years old soon. Mother will prepare a special ceremony to celebrate your growth.”

“Yay!” Richard leapt to his feet, “Will there be presents?” These kinds of moments made it clear that he was still a boy.

“Of course! In fact, it'll follow you for life! But you need to rest well these next few days, understand? It's late already, you should head to bed.”

4 - City of Sin

Enlightenment

Richard nodded and headed back to his room. But judging from his look of excitement, he probably wouldn't be getting any sleep that night. Elaine shook her head endearingly, and headed up to the attic with her magic lantern.

The attic was a storage for their junk, but it was well-maintained with not a speck of dust in sight. Elaine shifted a box to reveal a tiny altar of stone, a meticulous spell formation carved at its base. The only thing amiss was that the idol was missing.

Elaine took her time cleaning the altar, even getting at the difficult corners before she let her gaze fall on the thick book lying beside the box. It looked extraordinary at first sight, with at least a thousand pages. It was at least four times as large as a normal magic tome, weighing no less than a dozen kilograms. Its bronze surface shone brightly, not tainted in the least by dust or dirt of any sort, an obvious indication that it had been read often. This surprised Elaine. She hadn't been in contact with the book longer than she could remember, so Richard was obviously the one reading it. She hadn't expected the child to be reading it so actively.

She walked towards it and flipped it open. Her face didn't match up to her delicate and beautiful fingers, being a cause for numerous discussions amongst the men of the village.

The cover of the book was made of real bronze, weighty and cold as it radiated a solemness of time. Within the book were hundreds of crystal beads that would create a small altar when activated, allowing one to listen to the voice of the Moon Goddess, Alucia.

A poem in the ancient elven language decorated the title page, praising the Moon Goddess in all her glory. Elaine still vividly remembered every note of the poem, every intonation. She flipped through the book mindlessly, the pages slipping through her fingers smooth as water. They were mostly filled in the elven language with lifelike drawings, different from the catechisms of the humans in that the doctrines of the goddess only occupied a small part of the book. Instead, the book detailed the events and experiences of Alucia's time, including events outside Norland or even the plane. Richard was probably amused by it because he read it like it was a geography or history book.

It was hard to see anything special about the book outside of its weight, but this was once the most treasured gem of the Silvermoon Palace, the Codex of Alucia. It recorded the seven divine spells unique to the Goddess and those she deemed worthy, and Elaine had been able to use five in the past. She was the one with the greatest comprehension of spells outside of the Great Druid, possessing power and the acknowledgement of the Goddess herself. Now, though? She could barely cast one spell, and even that required her everything as well as the support of the tome.

The 7 spells loomed about in the depths of her mind: Alucia's Destiny: Enlightenment, Alucia's Blessing: Healing, Alucia's Wrath: Punishment, Alucia's Sword: Silvermoon Armour, Alucia's Will: Trial...

There were two other spells that Elaine remained unable to cast. One was Alucia's Mind: Prophecy, while the last, Alucia's Daze: Dark Moon, was something nobody had managed to use to date.

Elaine placed her hand on the book, bathing in the remnants of its divine aura. The bleak moonlight of the fifth moon shone down on her through the rooftop window, the divinity of the moonlight entering her body stealthily as she built up power for the ceremony the coming week. That would be Richard's present for his tenth birthday, the divine spell Enlightenment...

Richard was woken up in the middle of the night on his birthday, brought to the attic and made to kneel in front of the altar. The book had been flipped open already, prayers upon it that he had never seen before.

This was the ancient language of the elves, an extremely difficult and enigmatic language, but one he already spoke like a native. The prayers praised the Moon Goddess, but as he recited them in his heart Richard felt like his body had oddly turned transparent. It was as if something or someone without an aim had made a discovery, charging towards him to enter his body. He felt an icy sensation in his abdomen, spreading out to his limbs and the rest of his body as well. It was a fleeting but distinct feeling, a common phenomenon during worship or ceremony. Richard knew many ceremonies even required the target to endure excruciating pain, so he kept quiet and followed his mother's instructions to clear his mind of all distractions.

“My Richard... You will be entering Goddess Alucia's halls in but a moment, there to receive enlightenment with regards to your destiny. If you're presented with some choices there, you may choose...” Elaine stopped abruptly and shook her head. “My dear, choose whatever you want, just be sure to listen closely to the voice of the Goddess and follow your heart.”

Richard nodded despite his confusion. He felt his consciousness slowly blurring with his mother's soft prayers, as if he was disengaging from the world. When he woke up again he found himself in front of a magnificent shrine.

From his position in this arena, the shrine that was thousands of metres around made him feel as insignificant as an ant. The surroundings were made mostly of silvery-grey stone that glowed faintly, and when he scanned his surroundings he was shocked to see stars upon stars in the sky, seemingly so close that he thought he'd be able to pick some if he just stretched his hand. Both the arena and the shrine itself were floating in the starry sky.

The huge area put immense stress on him, causing his heart to beat uncontrollably as he didn't dare look around even once more. He made a beeline for the shrine, crossing the entire arena and scaling thousands of stone steps to arrive at the entrance. Were it not for his stamina and endurance that he'd trained just like any other child in the mountains, he'd long since have collapsed. He didn't stop for a moment since he started running, feeling like the arena filled his horizon and his surroundings moved in tandem with him. It was like the entire area would crumble the moment he stopped, falling into an endless abyss.

By the time Richard arrived at the shrine's entrance, his breaths had grown ragged. His heart was threatening to jump out of his chest, and it took a while for him to calm down before reminding himself of Elaine's words as he raised his head and looked into the shrine.

The shrine wasn't a dome, instead surrounded by a circle of pristine, jade-like white stone pillars. At the middle was an altar with three goddesses atop it, all in different postures and positions.

There were supposed to be six statues on the altar, each representing different abilities. The more Richard could see, the more abilities he would be able to evoke with his enlightenment. With his extraordinary memory Richard could make out the three he had now:

Extraordinary Divinity, bestowing epic strength.

Currents of Life, giving him the power to heal.

Wind's Swiftness, increasing his speed and agility.

This rendered Richard slightly disappointed. He'd already wished for the blessing of wisdom in his heart, believing real men needed to be intellectuals. Still, it was good enough that he had these three choices, since his mother had wanted him to have more than one. Elaine hadn't told the clueless boy that more than half of those who went through this ceremony only saw an empty shrine.

The boy walked towards the altar, trying his best with wide eyes to find the blessing of wisdom, but this shrine and everything that accompanied it wasn't real. What would be the result of his efforts? The only effect was that the three statues he could see were starting to blur in his hesitation.

“You want more abilities, don't you?” A voice suddenly sounded in Richard's ears. It caused him to jump and look around frantically, but he saw nothing. The voice had come abruptly, its cold robotic tone evoking a chilling fear within the boy. Google search f𝚛𝗲𝒆we𝙗𝙣o𝙫e𝗹. 𝐜o𝚖

“Who- Who are you?” He plucked up his courage, shouting in a trembling voice. His words resonated within the shrine, the strong echo shocking him once more.

“It doesn't matter, I won't appear again. Strictly speaking, I'm your other half, hidden within you,” the voice answered.

“Impossible!” Richard denied with resolution. His mother once told him his soul was extremely pure, and there was nothing that would taint him. His fear dissipated in a couple of words, the initial confusion and surprise fading as the courage of a mountain youth set in.

The voice ignored his comment, continuing, “Now go, choose whatever you want.”

The altar before Richard lit up once more, revealing three more statues. Apart from the blessing of wisdom were elemental compatibility and nature's advocate. The former was pivotal in a magician's training, allowing them to communicate with the elements outside their body and reducing the exhaustion of their powers. It let them cast a couple more spells than other magicians of a similar grade, strengthening one's advancement. The latter allowed humans to know more about nature, increasing their stealth and speed in complicated terrain as well as strengthening nature spells. It also gave one poison immunity. Enlightenment had given Richard all six abilities.

“This... This is-” Richard was rendered speechless, his little head in a mess of confusion. The only logical explanation for everything was that everything was an illusion; how else could everything be so different from what his mother and the book said?

Still, despite everything, the boy didn't forget his own purpose. He walked towards the statue of wisdom, reaching forward to touch the feet of the Goddess. This was the significance of the ceremony, having the worshipper bow before their Goddess with humility.

The moment Richard's hand touched the statue, a sharp crack resonated within his mind. It was like the entire world became lucid and clear to him, giving new meaning to the words he'd read in the holy book, “Wisdom allows people to see the world more clearly...”

All the other statues disappeared the moment he touched the statue of wisdom. The ceremony should have ended here by right, but the shrine didn't disappear yet. Richard glanced around nervously, seeing a new statue emerge on the altar.

The statue had its arms crossed in front of its chest, the head tilted to the side looking sullen but focused. What made her different from the other statues was that she didn't seem tangible, instead made up of shadow.

'Could this be another ability?' Richard tried his best to recall, but couldn't think of what this statue represented. Even the holy book had no records of this statue, but he could still recognise it as one belonging to Alucia.

“Don't you want another ability?” The voice sounded again.

“What is it?” Richard paused, announcing, “I don't want to give up wisdom.”

“You can call it truth. It allows you to look at the world from another perspective, and at the end of the path you might see other things.”

“Other things? What are they?” He asked out of curiosity. Silence was his only answer.

Richard wanted to leave. He knew that he could leave this place and go back to the real world at any time, leaving this world made from the power of the enlightenment ceremony. The shrine had fulfilled its purpose to allow someone with talent to grow clear about their abilities and carve their future paths.

On the other hand, this place wasn't completely virtual. The floating shrine was filled with the divine power of the Goddess, and all six abilities were blessings granted by the Goddess herself. The voice and the unknown seventh statue overthrew everything Richard knew, making him feel a devilish temptation.

'But how could the power of a devil appear in the Moon Goddess' ceremony?' He truly hesitated as he looked at the seventh statue. Two voices fought in his head for dominance, but to no avail. 'Take it, or no?'

Despite his internal struggle, Richard's body was honest as it walked towards the statue. “The world is balanced, everything comes at a price.” Balance was one of the core teachings of Alucia's doctrine, so what would he have to pay for this second ability?

This was the first time Richard had ever fallen into a confused struggle, but he ended up sticking his hand out anyway. His mother had told him to choose as he pleased, and he didn't want to give up on the opportunity despite the price. Little Richard was a brave boy, willing to fight for unexpected yields. He was also smart, knowing that his mother truly hoped for him to be a hero, a really great and important person.

A greater person than Baron Tucker.

5 - City of Sin

Truth

As Richard's little hand touched the seventh statue, it scattered into shadows that bore into his body. For a moment he felt like he was on fire, his whole body burning with soul-rending pain that kept him awake but drove him insane. An icy sensation shot forth from his body to collide with the flames, making him feel like he was about to be torn apart.

He ground his teeth, exercising his tenacity and resolution to persist till the entirety of the shadow entered his body. Only after the last bit of it was absorbed did he relax, the shrine in front of him starting to fade.

His vision blurred, he saw the beautiful worried face of his mother just before he lost consciousness. “I got two abilities, Mother will be so proud of me!” he exclaimed within the darkness.

A large crack appeared on the altar in the attic, the very fact that such a rare altar could be damaged being appalling. Elaine didn't look good at all, blood dripping from the corners of her lips, but she could care less as she searched Richard's body, only calming down when she saw no harm was done to him.

However, she then saw a shadow looming between her son's brows, something neither the lamp nor the moonlight could cast from their position. It was like a fog that moved across his forehead, not in a hurry to leave. Ordinary eyes would not be able to see it, but under the power of the fifth moon Elaine trembled as she reached out for it. She felt a cold twinge of pain upon contact, the result of a collision between dark energy and Alucia's divinity.

“NIGHTMARE CREATURE?” Elaine screamed. She clenched her teeth and jabbed her fingers right into Richard's temple, starting to chant the spell for prophecy from distant memories. It was a spell that she'd never been able to grasp, but right now it was her best shot at freeing Richard from the menacing creature.

Ever since she lost her position as a divine official Elaine had foregone all her blessings and the spells of her Goddess. Still, her desperate actions proved fruitful as a picture scroll flashed before her eyes. It showed a never-ending void of darkness, with no moon, no stars, only a chaotic energy pervading the universe. A large shadow loomed within the chaos, the originally messy trajectories of the energy ultimately being aimed at one position, her son.

The scroll flashed across her sight, the brief vision exhausting all her energy until she couldn't even lift a finger if she tried. Still, even if she was full of vigour the image wouldn't have left her in a different position.

Nightmare creatures were different from the darkness, their energy not a part of nature. Many species of wandered aimlessly between the planes, feeding on the chaos of different worlds. They were cunning, dangerous, and powerful— making them loved and hated alike by various mages.

Shadow summoning was an ancient, mature art— ranging from level 6 to level 9 spells that could grant control of a nightmare creature to the caster. The chance of failure was minute, but once out of control a shadow creature would devour its summoner like it was the most delicious food they'd ever seen. Every year there was news in the mainland about accidents where mages were devoured by shades.

The nightmare creature looming between Richard's brows seemed to have some indication of life, but it wasn't complete. The dark energy it possessed wasn't significant, able to be cleansed by a common shaman, but Elaine saw in her prophecy that it was a beacon for various dark beings, summoning them to this particular plane. Even if the shadow was cleansed it would be too late; the various dark beings had already set out, and Richard would be the anchor they used to infiltrate this plane.

Once a large number of creatures attacked this plane, Richard would only be met with two outcomes. He would either be killed in the violent collision of energy, or become possessed by the strongest of them and lose control of his body forever, becoming a vessel for the creatures of the dark. Nobody could comprehend the laws of the planes; these creatures could take a few centuries to arrive, or they could come here next month.

“How did this happen...” Elaine mumbled as she closed her arms around Richard, her tears wetting both herself and her son. She lifted at head and looked at the crescent moon in the sky, and the mark like a dried bloodstain that hadn't been there before. So the change in the moon had resulted in the change in the ceremony. This probably would not have happened if she was still a shaman of Alucia. Please visit 𝗳𝒓e𝚎𝙬𝒆𝙗𝚗o𝙫e𝗹. 𝐜𝐨𝙢

'Is this Her punishment?' Elaine thought bitterly, having lost all strength to complain about destiny or wallow in self-pity. She carried her son downstairs, tucking him carefully into bed. His brows were slightly furrowed, but his constant smiles made it seem like he was having good dreams.

Richard was a pretty boy. He'd already begun to lose his childlike features, looking more handsome and dashing by the day. Elaine looked at her own son endearingly, the center of her life for the past ten years. A decade was but a moment in her long life, but now it had seemed like forever. Richard had grown up rather slowly, looking more childlike than others of his age, but this was to be expected with his silvermoon elf blood giving him five hundred years of life. However, the reason for the brusqueness being added to his exquisite appearance was something only Elaine herself knew.

The shadow continued looming over Richard's face, causing Elaine to sigh softly as she left a goodnight kiss on her son's forehead before leaving the room. She sat alone in the living room and stared at the night sky, events of the past playing in her mind like they'd just occurred yesterday. Those nights were the essence of all the passion, hatred, and love in her entire life, and she couldn't help but think of them once more. The fifth moon had just given way to the sixth; when the seventh peeked on the horizon, it would be a new day.

......

The radiance of the seventh moon spilled through the window. Elaine looked more worn than ever, but also more attractive than before. The mirror on the wall now reflected a beautiful figure, Elaine's original appearance that she'd almost forgotten over these ten years. It was a beauty only silvermoon elves possessed.

She stood up, taking out a piece of magical parchment decorated with stars and spreading it on the table. She then took out a well-sealed magic pen made from a griffin feather, checking the unique unicorn blood ink to see whether it was still working. There was little ink left, but she wasn't writing a long letter either so it would suffice.

The light feather quill felt oh so heavy in her arms, and she couldn't bring herself to write anything for a long while. It took the first ray of sunlight shining through the window for her to laugh and mumble, “Someone who destroyed the Silvermoon Palace will be able to defeat dark beings, won't he? What's more, it's been ten years...”

She finally convinced herself to draft a meticulous spell formation on the paper before penning down a long name:

Gaton Isaiah Satanistoria Archeron.

The magic pen shook the moment she finished writing the name, its tip shining with red light like the burning flames of a fire. All that was left when the fire extinguished was a faint, almost invisible mark. Nonetheless, the mark could only be eliminated only if the precious paper was destroyed. As an ex-shaman, she was aware of the secret of bloodlines. The burning flames signified that this name written down with demonic power had already triggered the power of law, being felt by the owner of the name. Everything she wrote down next would be delivered to the person in question, across the boundaries of space and time.

The pen stopped again, the hand that held it trembling. This had proven another thing— Gaton really had given her his real name. Though she hadn't once suspected him, it had been proven true for the first time. With the advantage of knowing his real name, she could cast the most malicious curse on him with just a little demonic power. Even as a legendary being he wouldn't be able to escape the damage, truenames being the most significant secrets of certain bloodlines.

'That idiot actually revealed his real name,' she couldn't help but think. But these thoughts were easily replaced by memories of the large and decadent forest. Her hands grew cold, but they no longer shivered. She jotted down her thoughts with short yet precise words, only hesitating again when it came time for her to sign off. She hesitated, but proceed to pen her name down with exquisite and elegant writing:

Elena Moonsong.

The paper burned intensely and turned to ashes within the blink of an eye. The information within was being delivered. Elena put down her worries and troubles with that pen, looking quiet and beautiful.

6 - City of Sin

Parting

Little Richard slept for seven days straight, only opening his eyes when the sun shone into his room on the seventh.

The first thing he did when he woke up was to run out of his room and look for his mother. Finding her in the study, he threw himself at her immediately, exclaiming, “Mother! Guess what I got from the Moon Goddess' shrine?”

Elena turned around and caressed his head gently, “Let me guess... My Richard always wanted to be a mage. Did you get the blessing of elemental compatibility?”

However, the woman who'd turned around to face Richard was someone he'd never met before. He was dazed for a bit, but he still had his own way of recognising people. He sniffed around for a bit, smelling a familiar scent, “Are you... my mother?”

“My dear Richard, this is Mother's real form. Am I pretty?” Elena cooed with a smile.

Richard nodded his head, “Mother is the prettiest!”

Elena, or rather Elaine, had always been the prettiest, most beautiful woman in Richard's little heart. But now that his mother had revealed her true form, the beauty of the silvermoon elves that was on par with their magic had revealed itself.

Children were an impatient lot, and Richard didn't have the restraint to let his mother continue guessing. “I got wisdom and truth!”

“Truth?” Elena was shocked. She knew about the blessing of wisdom, but she'd never heard of a blessing of truth before.

Richard furrowed his brows, trying to explain with his newfound wisdom, “Truth is... Hmm, the blessing of truth is something that lets me see the powers of the world more clearly. It isn't very useful right now, but it can be enhanced in the future and let me look farther, listening more clearly.”

Elena hummed in response, her hand on Richard's shoulder as she told him to cherish his newfound abilities. She also spent an entire hour, at least in Richard's view, nagging at him not to forget her teachings either. He made a funny face in response to his mother's unending speech; he was a smart boy with an excellent memory in the first place, and with his blessing of wisdom he wouldn't need to listen to the same thing twice.

Elena finally stopped once she realised she'd been going on too long, “My Richard, do you want to see Father?”

Richard furrowed his brows again, thinking hard for an answer that wouldn't come. Elena ended up interrupting him before he came to a decision, “You'll be able to see him very soon. He sent some people to pick you up, they're on their way now. Now, you better remember to be on your best behaviour, alright?”

“Huh?” This was coming all too fast, and Richard didn't even have the time to formulate a proper response. He suddenly realised, “What about you? Won't you be coming as well?”

“No, Mommy is not going.”

“Then I won't go either!” the child said with resolution.

Elena smiled in response, “No, you have to go. Mother has a wish you need to help fulfil.”

“Don't worry about that, Mother! I'm already all grown up; tell me what you want, I'll get it done by hook or by crook!” Richard said with confidence.

Elena's warm tone completely contrasted the intense gaze she levelled on her son, “When the day comes that you've grown to become a real man, I want you to bury me in the highest layer of your father's family tombs.”

The boy nodded his head, albeit a little too enthusiastically. He was still too young to understand what this wish really was, but a mountain youth wouldn't ever back down...

Mornings in Rooseland were normally calm and quiet, but the serenity of the village was broken by light tremors today. The vibrations increased in scale, eventually shaking even the slowest of the village elders out of their slumber. The villagers peeked out of their houses, looking at the end of the road, feeling cold.

The mountain winds were cold, causing even the bravest of warriors to shiver and tremble. However, the chill they felt today was a different kind, one of the heart that foreboded of something bad to come.

The villagers all gathered at the village entrance as the tremors continued, shaking the mountain to its core. They could see smoke rising in the distance, the trees swaying in a menacing manner as the birds fled their nests, flying straight for the mountains.

A demonic knight suddenly rushed out of the forest on horseback. His black armour was covered in spikes, with a skull on his breastplate. Even his horse was nothing like what they'd seen before, at least half a metre taller than average. It too was adorned with thick, spiky armour, indicating that the spikes weren't just for defence. Beside the horse were two huge swords, looking like they each weighed over a hundred kilograms. Such power wasn't something you stood up against.

The battle horse destroyed the gravel path in its wake, sending stones and mud flying all around that left dents everywhere. 20 more followed the first knight, and behind them was an army of warriors, all equipped with shiny magical bows and sophisticated armour. An army like that could easily wipe out Baron Tucker's castle, but here they were invading their small village.

The villagers paled. The hunters may be brave, but they knew they didn't stand a chance against these knights. Even the village chief picked up on some signs from the unusually tall horse— his military experience and instincts told him that these knights were very strong.

The knight brought his steed to a halt, its hooves creating yet another dent in the humble path as a gust of fire swept out of its nostrils. The knight scanned across the villagers, expressionless, “Do any of you know where Elena stays?”

The villagers looked at each other, puzzled. There wasn't a woman named Elena in the village. The blacksmith and village chief seemed to recall something, but they chose to stay mum as well. The knight turned gloomier by the second.

However, Elena emerged from her medicine shop before he could speak, “Did Gaton send you here?”

The knight's expression changed almost the very moment he looked at Elena. He swiftly got off his battle horse, landing in front of the elf. His helmet was removed as he bowed his head in respect, “I am Mordred, a knight of the Lord. I'm here under his orders, to bring you back.”

Mordred had spiky maroon hair, and even with his head bowed down his aura was no joke. Everyone near the medicine shop trembled in his presence.

Elena's own dress waved slightly, but she didn't back away. It felt like she was standing atop a gust of wind as she spoke, “That makes me feel much safer.”

Mordred laughed heartily, “Thank you for your compliment, my Lady.”

Elena grabbed Richard from behind her, putting his small hand in Mordred's, “This is the one Gaton wants. His name is Richard...... Richard Archeron.”

Mordred looked at the child carefully, before taking Richard's hands in his, “I am at your service!”

The knight looked up to Elena, “I believe you've already packed, my Lady. Let us set off immediately, Lord Gaton must be very anxious to see the two of you!”

“There's something important I have to take, please wait here.” Elena walked back into the shop, closing the doors. It left Richard alone with the big and mighty Mordred. The child stared right at the knight, and the knight returned the favour. After a while, Mordred burst into laughter for no apparent reason.

However, his smile then froze upon his face.

A sudden burst of flames emerged from the medicine shop, blasting its roof almost ten metres into the sky. Even a powerful knight like him hadn't noticed when the explosion occurred!

The knight let out a shout, charging into the medicine shop. The walls were like cheese to him, even the raging flames unable to do the slightest bit of harm. Inside he was greeted by the sight of an elegant Elena. He wanted to save her, but was shocked to see that the flames were coming out of her body. Elena had set herself on fire!

She smiled once when she saw Mordred— And then she burnt and disappeared, leaving no traces behind.

Mordred stood up straight, his body still engulfed in flames as that smile was etched into his memories. So beautiful, so elegant... And yet, so complicated.

Richard was hysterical, kicking at the other knights that were stopping him from entering the shop, but his efforts proved futile. The place crumbled down right in front of him, Mordred walking out of its ashes to see a devastated child crying like his life depended on it.

He remained silent for a short while, before saying, “You had a great mother. Let's go, I'll bring you to your father.”

The abrupt event stupefied the villagers of Rooseland, as they watched the flames die down in a daze. They didn't want to believe that the medicine shop that had been there for them these past ten years had been ruined in the blink of an eye.

Mordred stayed behind with the army as the remaining knights got back in formation and escorted Richard out.

He didn't intend to have Elena buried— she'd been lost entirely to the flames. Only a crazy genius would be able to burn themselves completely, and it gave Mordred a newfound respect for this woman he'd only met once. The corners of his mouth curved into a smile as he looked at the ruins, mumbling to himself, “This woman truly is worthy of my Lord.”

A knight approached Mordred from the side, “What should we do with the villagers here, Sir Mordred?”

He glanced at the folks that gathered round the commotion, caressed his prickly stubble and saying with indifference, “This village has too many grown men, the Lord will not be pleased. Kill everyone!”

7 - City of Sin

Family

Gazing at the distance, Richard realised that his father was a great man. He was looking at the distant Azan Peninsula, and its city with a population of over 100,000. The city was built along the shape of the coast, looking like an arc extending to the archipelagos of the Apennine Seas while being steep in the northwest. The long, narrow piece of land was like a beast in slumber lying between the heavens and the seas.

The houses and streets of Azan were organised systematically, with a 20-metre tall wall surrounding it to protect its residents. Vast lands and inexhaustible water lay on the outskirts of town, the Rhine River cutting through its centre to empty out into the seas as it provided unending irrigation for the fertile land.

The renowned Blackrose Castle upon a hill within the city, a complex and majestic building that could house more than 3000 warriors. Trebuchets were built atop the various towers of the castle, looking over the city with disdain. None of them had ever been put to use since their construction; no enemy had ever breached the city walls.

The castle city was the best of deterrents, designed more than carefully with a fortified core and complex mechanisms protecting it. The wooden battlements at the top could be extended and retracted, and the tunnel-like entrance to the city had at least five layers of sluice gates at least ten metres deep. There were many other traps as well, not visible to the naked eye. Indeed, it was claimed that only a thousand warriors could protect Blackrose Castle once it had been completed, the castle being impenetrable as long as they had sufficient supplies.

Many travelers of various identities visited this city, each with their own motives, but they all had to agree that the architect of Blackrose Castle was a genius. An unnamed general from a noble family was once invited to perform a thorough analysis of the castle, and he concluded that even with a well-equipped army of 50,000 alongside siege one would have to pay a disastrous price to take the castle.

However, the castle had never been put to the test. Its previous lords had never been keen on defence, and even if they had the weaker army they'd rather use the vast plains of steep mountains to kill their enemies using guerilla warfare. What's more, they'd always won.

The lunacy of the Archerons was well-known within the Sacred Alliance. Nobody would fight these lunatics, especially with the family having geniuses within its ranks at all times. Duke Joseph of the Renon Peninsula, once the biggest enemy of the Archerons, once said the combination of lunacy and genius multiplied the family's power. A 20,000 man troop of his had been defeated by the Archeron elites in a long, violent battle, less than a tenth surviving the battle. And this wasn't with any random soldiers; Joseph's troops were amongst the best on the entire continent!

The Acheron family tree had two marquesses and seven earls to its name in its several hundreds of years of development, alongside numerous viscounts and barons. The family also held more than 25 million acres of land despite their rather short history, their strength and influence in the Sacred Alliance not to be belittled. It was bizarre how many of their ranks occupied noble positions despite them not having a duke, forget a grand duke, to their name. They had great armies, powerful mages, strong warriors, and countless subordinates of strange occupations like dragon warlocks, hellriders, and shadow shamans. This was in a continent that was never at peace.

Indeed, Norland was always enveloped by the fires of war. The human race occupied less than half of the continent, and was constantly at war with the other races for land and survival itself. However, humans didn't war like the demons; the latter did fight against the other races, yes, but they also fought ceaselessly amongst themselves. The neverending battles on the continent affected the depths of the oceans, and even many other planes.

With such chaos in the lands, it honestly wouldn't have been difficult for the Archerons to have a duke or grand duke of their own in a couple of generations. They just had to use their resources wisely, establishing a complete government with law and economy and distributing their profits amongst their ranks. At least half of the current dukes of the Alliance came about through these methods, something that made the royalty of the other kingdoms act like the Sacred Alliance was a bunch of parvenus and country bumpkins, the royal family being the worst of them all. However, the Sacred Alliance's royal family had inconceivable might, so it had still garnered the respect of the old, esteemed families.

The rise of the Archerons was inferior to none, but their short history left them without as much wealth and power as the other families. Another problem was that they were simply too crazy to garner any respect.

The current leader of the Archerons, Marquess Gaton, was a prime example. He was a mere grade 3 warrior fifteen years ago, but he improved quickly with time. Just a decade had passed since he'd defeated the Silvermoon Palace of the Evernight Forest, shocking the entire Sacred Alliance. Many had stepped foot in the forest before him, but none were daring or skilled enough to succeed at the task with fifty rune knights and a thousand men.

Gaton was already a marquess at 33 years of age, having moved into Blackrose Castle and taken control of Azan, which was the territory of the Archeron leader. His experiences were described like legends as they spread mouth to mouth, and they were still being written down in books. The truth was, however, that his influence only extended to Blackrose Castle and the lands he'd usurped. The other members of his family almost always turned a blind eye to his commands, and he was merely a titular leader who'd have been disregarded completely if not for Blackrose Castle.

Some historians who'd studied the Archeron family tree had concluded that there was one reason for the Archerons not having a grand duke in their ranks: there was a rebellious streak in their bloodline. No Archeron would be subordinate to another, even if the other was their own father.
ｆ𝑟𝑒𝐞𝚠𝒆𝚋𝚗૦𝐯ℯ𝙡. com

The study wasn't detailed, nor were the historians extremely knowledgeable or reputable. The cold, hard truth was that they wished for sponsorship from the Archerons, or they'd end up on the streets. Those with capacity wouldn't have delved into research on an uncharted family to begin with, and these people would ultimately die as plagued beggars on the streets.

Rumour had it that the leader of the family had flipped through their research for only a few seconds once it was sent to him, ordering all its members to stop supporting the historians. It was the first time the rebellious Archerons had followed through with an order. There was only one reason for this. Even if the report was filled with utter nonsense, with illogical statements and baseless accusations, their conclusion was the absolute truth.

Rooseland Village was a mere 3,000 miles from Azan, a journey less than half a month. Mordred had filled Richard in on his family history during the trip, along with some information about the customs and the distribution of power on the mainland. By the time they'd arrived in Azan, Richard knew a little more about his family.

Family. It was a fairly new term to the boy who couldn't even grasp the concept of a father in the past. However, it was very important to the mighty knight, and held a broader meaning than most. It wasn't just the direct and distant bloodline relatives, also including the various noblemen and knights under the various members. The bloodline linked every member of the clan, but it also transcended that. Different bloodlines possessed different abilities, and their combinations would often result in new powers. Some were stronger than others, and many died to chase after them. Thus, royal marriage held a completely different meaning in Norland. It wasn't just political, also intended to produce stronger, more powerful descendants.

As Richard stood before the entrance of the castle, he should already have had a deep understanding of his roots, the Archerons. However, he found himself more confused than ever, the information Mordred had given him like tiny puzzle pieces that he could not put together.

8 - City of Sin

An Irresistible Woman

The army dispersed upon returning to Azan, returning to their homes to rest. Mordred entered Blackrose Castle with Richard in tow, settling him down in a guest room on the outskirts of the castle. Two young maids soon brought him brand new clothes and accessories, even filling the wooden bathtub with hot water. Marquess Gaton would see him at dinner, and by then the boy would have to bathe, change, and rest.

Richard was done with the bath quickly, leaving himself an hour to rest in bed after he was changed. Although he was still tired from the long, arduous journey, he couldn't calm his excited brain in the slightest. The two maids had bathed him personally, and he didn't even lift a finger before the process was complete. He'd tried to refuse, even struggled, but they'd easily repressed him with strength greater than that of the village chief. They appeared delicate, but he hadn't been able to resist them at all, ending up obediently letting them clean him from head to toe. Even the roots of his hair and the crevices of his ears were scrubbed squeaky clean.

The guest room Richard was in wasn't very expansive, but the ceiling was still more than five metres high. A tall, narrow window was located at the three metre mark, letting the daylight shine in on the unpolished obsidian walls. The rough walls were adorned with tapestries, swords, and shields, a deep scarlet that Richard couldn't distinguish from dried blood. The room itself was still dark, blurring his sight even at midday without a lamp. He could feel a sinister aura radiating from every corner of the room as he lay in bed.

There was also the fire flowing in his veins: something the two maids had started. They'd been secretly giggling amongst themselves during the bath, but the smart boy had been aware of their 'special' intentions.

With both the gloomy cold and searing heat affecting him, Richard's thoughts grew even more chaotic. Ever since he'd left Rooseland— nay, ever since the enlightenment ceremony that fateful night, everything had felt like a dream. The world right now just seemed so unreal.

He finally heard a knock on the door while he was lost in thought. It was time for dinner, and he was taken to a dining hall within the castle that was quite a distance from the guest room. As he followed the maid to the place, Richard's only impression of the place was that it was large and dark. All the buildings were extremely tall, to the extent that even though the long, winding passageway was illuminated it couldn't cast light on every single corner. It left silhouettes looming across the castle amidst the swaying shadows and pitch darkness that normal sight couldn't pierce through.

At the centre of the castle was an outdoor area he'd passed before, with the vegetation casting flickering shadows that messed further with his vision and caused him to tense up involuntarily.

A faint odour seemed to be diffused throughout the castle, lingering behind and clinging onto him with every step he took. It made him feel repulsed and uncomfortable from the depths of his soul, a disgust that he couldn't express in words.

The dining hall he was led to wasn't the largest in Blackrose Castle, but its size was still befitting of even a duke. The hall was fifteen metres tall, extremely lofty and gloomy in spite of the torches lining the walls. Their light could hardly illuminate the mural on the domed roof.

The table was twenty metres long, and Richard sat upright at one end dressed in the attire of a young noble. He was facing his father across the table that could serve up to thirty people at once.

His father was an oddly charismatic man, with a smile on his face. His hair was combed back so neatly that not a single strand was loose, forming an indispensable part of his face alongside his short, thick mustache. Time had already left a noticeable mark on him, fine wrinkles creeping along the corners of his eyes. Those emerald orbs were clear and pure, but those who gazed upon them would feel like they were staring into an abyss. Sat there casually, he skillfully sliced the roasted lamb chops on his plate as he ate in quick bites, sipping on the red wine on occasion. His actions were strangely rhythmic; in fact, even the most fussy etiquette trainer wouldn't be able to pick out any slip-ups in his actions. Of course, he was eating too quickly, and too much, but his elegance made it hard to notice the several kilograms of lamb vanishing in a few breaths.

Richard couldn't deny that Gaton was very graceful and charming, even as he wanted to smash the silver plate in his hand into the man's face. It would be a while before he learnt of the sheer number in that same camp.

But for now he had to bear with it; not for himself, but for his mother. He still didn't understand the implications of his mother's wish, but his unwavering determination, patience, and wisdom let him know that he'd understand its profound meaning in the near future.

Little Richard tried his best to sit with his back straight, and handled his food clumsily. The feast laid out in front of him was sumptuous; the delicacies by the huge kitchen of the Blackrose Castle were renowned, and the kitchen crew was made up of the best rotisseurs and patissiers in the entire peninsula. However, he didn't at all know how to appreciate the food he had put in his mouth. He hadn't received etiquette training, and one would be able to tell that he came from the countryside just by looking at the way he gripped his fork and knife. He had no clue about table manners.

However, Richard looked very handsome after his change of clothes, and his composed melancholy greatly resembled Gaton's own. Quite a few amongst the streams of maids entering and leaving the room cast secret glances at the adolescent who'd grow into his manly charm in a couple of years.

After gracefully yet miraculously polishing off over 20 kilograms of lamb chops, Marquess Gaton finally wiped his mouth clean with a snow white napkin and smiled. His huge mouth revealed two rows of dazzling white teeth.

“You are Richard.”

Richard merely nodded, and didn't say a word. He could tell that Gaton was using a narrative tone, and that sentence didn't need to be answered.

Gaton smiled. “You're quite fortunate to be an Archeron... You're also quite unfortunate, for the very same reason.”

Richard lifted his head and met Gaton's gaze. He said calmly, “My name is Richard.”

Gaton's gaze was as clear as water, yet few could look at him in the eye. Yet, Richard had held his head up high and didn't retreat even by the slightest bit.

Gaton laughed, before exclaiming, “You're quite like your mother! But she never mentioned that your name was Richard Ragobar?” Although it was a question, he said it as though he was making a statement, just like before.

Little Richard hesitated for a while before speaking. “That's right.” Now, he had more or less understood a little of his mother's intentions.

“So, your surname is still Archeron, regardless of whether you acknowledge it or not.” Gaton said. At this point, he had already finished eating the main course. Ten maids stepped forward with a wave of his hands, clearing out the dishes he'd polished off like a stream. They replaced the silverware with brand new ones, and served seven dishes for dessert.

Gaton devoured the dessert once more with the same elegance and speed, speaking at the same time. “Allow me to digress.

“Even the most experienced nobleman would be unable to pick out a flaw in my posture, but those old-school nobles still think that I am part of the nouveau riche. Yet there's this prominent figure we call Bloodthirsty Philip, someone whose favourite dish is raw demon meat that's less than an hour old normally. The only exception he makes is to extend it to a day for rare breeds. On top of that, he likes to tear the meat apart with his own two hands before he eats. Still, the old people think he's the true role model of all nobility. Do you know why?”

Richard shook his head. The world of nobles was an unknown to him, what little information he did have coming from Mordred on their trip. The knight clearly wasn't a qualified tutor.

“Because this Philip is the great emperor of our Sacred Alliance. His Imperial Majesty wields formidable power and is very temperamental, so the older noble houses don't wish to infuriate him. There's benefits to having someone so big in their circles, and the hefty benefits are irresistible.”

Richard understood a little of the explanation, so he nodded.

“You are unfortunate to be an Archeron. You must grow strong and powerful, making the world your paradise, for without strength only hell awaits you in every corner! You won't have to bother about whether you grew up in the mountains or were born in the most magnificent and majestic of castles. You won't have to put on an act like I am now, those are all meaningless illusions! You only need to become formidable! You are an Archeron, and Archeron blood courses through your veins! As long as you carry this family name, people will look at you with hopes and expectations, placing you on a pedestal unlike any other! If you are only a tad bit stronger than the ordinary person, YOU WILL DISAPPOINT EVERYONE!”

Gaton's voice grew louder as he spoke, and by the end of his speech his words were like thunderclaps resounding in Richard's ears, so much so that the boy started to grow dizzy. He gripped tightly onto the cutlery in his hands as he blankly turned towards the man who continued to maintain impeccable poise despite his volume. He couldn't care less about the piece of food that had rudely fallen from the tip of his fork and onto his plate.

Gaton suddenly restrained his thundering voice, and revealed that charming smile once more. “As long as you possess enough power, you can do anything you please, regardless of whether it has any meaning or no matter how absurd it is. Just like this.”

As he said that, Gaton called upon a maid and grabbed the clothing in front of her chest. He ripped her entire assembly apart with ferocity, instantly revealing her bare, naked body. The maid instinctively cried out in fear, but immediately choked back the shrieks that were about to follow. She obediently placed her hands on either side of her body, without the slightest intentions of covering up her exposed breasts and abdomen.

The butler, some male servants, and guards and knights were also present in the dining hall, leaning against the wall like statues. Mordred, who'd brought Richard over from the village, was amongst their ranks. They all seemed to come to life at that moment. Even though they remained in standard position, there was no doubt that their eyes were all over the maid's body. She wasn't considered extremely beautiful, but her youth gave her a body brimming with attraction.

Richard was dumbstruck, the scene almost too much for the ten-year-old to handle. The toughness he'd trained in since his youth took effect, however, as he held firmly onto the cutlery in his hands to ensure that it didn't fall out of his grip.

The maid only dared to gather her clothes after Gaton waved his hands, but she didn't dare cover her bodied. She curtseyed as she maintained normal posture, retreating from the hall while still facing her masters. She only dared to turn around after she reached the hallway, afraid that she'd meet with more misery if she ran away without courtesy.

Indeed, Gaton's voice sounded from behind her. “I originally wanted to kill someone for you to see, Richard, but I was in a bad mood a while ago so I killed everyone I could get rid of. The other nobles had planted some moles in here! A pity I couldn't control my temper when I found out.”

Richard turned pale. How could one speak of murder so easily, in such a frivolous tone? Yet, the expressions of everyone in the dining hall remained the same, from the servants to the knights. It was as though what their master just said was as common as him hunting for animals and serving them up with vegetables. It was then that Richard became vaguely aware of what exactly that faint odour permeating the castle was. It was the stench of blood, accumulated over months and years.

Just like he with the main course, Richard couldn't appreciate the dessert even as he finished it. He tried his best to resist the churning in his stomach, a gruelling task to prevent the food he'd just eaten from rushing up his throat. The smell grew more distinct once he realised its origins, lingering at the tip of his nose.

However, Richard ate quite a bit. He was in puberty, and children who grew up in the mountains were used to eating more. Gaton was rather satisfied. “Eat more, so that you'll grow quickly. Richard, did your mother have any wishes that she wanted you to fulfill?”

Richard's expression changed. His silence was an affirmative, but he had no intentions of telling Gaton about them before they'd become reality.

Gaton didn't press Richard any further, merely saying, “No matter what your mother's wish is, achieving it is probably no easy feat. I will not assist you directly, nor grant you any power, but I will give you enough chances to grow stronger. As for how far you will go, it all depends on you. I hope that one day, you'll be able to speak loudly to me.”

Richard nodded, but didn't speak.

Gaton muttered to himself for a while, and said, “I'll get you a teacher, and you'll spend the next few years with her, learning. I hope you'll give me a pleasant surprise the next time you return. Not just for me, but also for yourself, and for your mother.

“That's all for tonight. Now go, go meet your brothers and sisters, it'll be very... meaningful.”

9 - City of Sin

An Irresistible Woman

Richard didn't understand what Gaton meant until half an hour later. Still, it would take him a few more years to understand the deeper significance behind this truly profound experience.

He'd been on a high-backed chair in the meeting, as stiff as a statue. His gaze had been tilted up a little, fixed on a mural above the door.

The meeting had taken place in a small drawing room in the inner part of the castle, located in a different wing from the dining hall that was meant only for the family to use. The grand, lavish decorations here greatly contrasted the rest of the castle, warm and bright with light from illumination spells making it as bright as day inside. The numerous candles in the gorgeous holders added a perfect warmth to the room aside from the lighting as well.

Richard's siblings were seated on couches to either side of him, two younger brothers and six sisters of various ages. He'd never imagined that he had so many half-siblings; when his cousins were added on, this number would probably grow.

His brothers were seated on his left, and his sisters on his right. He was right in the centre, bearing their scorching looks as they watched him attentively, like a rare demon just waiting to be dissected. Unlike the statue that was him, his siblings were much more unbridled and arrogant.

The two boys were much younger than Richard, but their gazes were filled with explicit curiosity, contempt and hostility; everything but affection. Their stares made the hair on Richard's neck stand, which only happened when he could feel murderous intent. His six sisters were all of different ages: the eldest proved to be a young lady judging by her swelling bosom, and the youngest was likely less than five years old. The looks they gave him were much more complicated as well; there was inquisitiveness, but also hesitation as they scrutinized him. The two oldest were huddled together, discussing in low voices and glancing over at him from time to time as they occasionally erupted into unbridled laughter. Richard still couldn't understand what it was, only that it was definitely of no concern to their brothers and younger sisters. It would take some time for him to realise that it was what women did to men they wanted to sleep with.

Richard didn't speak a word. He didn't know what to say at all, and his siblings didn't seem intent on conversation either. They levelled their constant, piercing gazes at him, some filled with such pointed callousness that they threatened to stab a hole through him while others radiated a hatred like they wanted to devour him whole.

They only met for ten minutes, but to Richard it felt like an extremely long day had passed by the time the butler brought him out of the drawing room. He discovered the dress shirt he was wearing underneath his clothes was already drenched.

He later realised that the ten minutes in which he met his siblings was actually a sort of ceremony that represented their approval of him as part of the Archerons, and that he would be part of the family from now on. Such a ceremony also allowed the members of the Archeron Family to get to know each other, giving them opportunities to select each other in the future.

Richard departed Blackrose Castle the next noon, escorted by a small party of troops as he headed west. He hadn't seen Gaton again since dinner, and his father hadn't come out even when he left Azan. The meeting was simpler than he had imagined, and also much more cold and indifferent. He hadn't had any expectations in the first place, but he still felt a vague sense of loss when he left. The number of siblings made him understand that he was just another child to his father.

However, Richard secretly clenched his fist so hard that his fingernails scraped his palm. Two scenes superimposed themselves in front of his eyes: one was of his numerous siblings, and the other was the raging flames that continued to burn that day. He suddenly felt that his mother died such an unjust death.

The team headed west, with Mordred still being Richard's escort. The knight spoke much less this time, only adding a few sentences in on occasion for the twenty day journey. They passed through dark forests, crossed the Roman River that stretched across continents, trudged along the pale mountain ranges for another ten days, then passed through the territories of a dozen nobles and even a grand duchy before they finally arrived at their destination: the Deepblue, a magical tower in the territory of the legendary Grand Mage Sharon.

Space possessed power of its own. An immensely vast space will always exert some kind of actual pressure on people.

Standing in front of the Deepblue, Richard truly understood how vast a magical tower more than 500 meters tall could be. This wasn't just a standalone structure, but an entire complex of buildings extending from the Everwinter Mountains to one of the tributaries of Floe Bay. The central building was built in gothic style, its flying buttresses adorned with complicated and exquisite carvings. An eye-catching spire and pointed arches supported the door, while colourful clouds of elemental particles and arcane energy encircled the peak. The entire magical tower seemed to be floating up towards the sky.

Richard met Sharon quickly. This was a legendary mage, a guardian of the Sacred Alliance, and the instructor his father had chosen for him. Only face to face with the dragonslayer did he realise that she hadn't even agreed to coach him; the journey was entirely his father's wishful thinking.

Richard now stood in Sharon's magical hall, which was a dreamlike space. The walls and the ground were made of some unknown, sparkling material that was a translucent navy blue. One would be able to peer into the depths of the hall with one glance, but it also felt as though they couldn't look beyond the surface. Multicoloured optical disks whirled around the walls and the floor from time to time, moving freely like a bunch of fish frolicking around, as agile as though they were alive.

A throne carved out of an entire chunk of natural crystal stood atop a platform at the end of the hall, Sharon herself seated on it. Her feet were on the same level as Mordred's chin, and over Richard's head--she was literally lofty. But with her legendary status, no one would think she was lacking in manners whatsoever.

Sharon's golden hair flowed freely, and her long regal dress with a plunging neckline revealed her bare shoulders and much of her snow white bosom. Her complexion was unbelievably fair, and one would have an urge to bite any part of her body if they saw it. Of course, one would choose to lay their teeth upon her full chest if they had a choice, and next would be her face. She seemed seventeen or eighteen at most, with a small face and quiet disposition. The grand mage was the definition of a classic beauty, seated atop the towering crystal throne like a goddess that had just descended.

Those who met her for the first time would totally be unable to associate such a young and beautiful woman with a legendary mage. But even the youngest mage would know that the Deepblue had been around for more than a century.

Her hands were criss-crossed upon her knee, and every single finger was adorned with a long fingernail guard forged from enchanted adamantine, each finger embedded with gems and designs of every colour. The designs on the guards were in fact formed from tiny spells inlaid in the myriad of gems that included rare stones only seen in legends. Those who knew value would be able to see that these guards were all impeccably powerful magical transmitters, or perhaps they were more like godly tools, and Sharon could actually cover all ten of her fingers in them! Her earrings, necklace, and even the string that she used to tie her hair were magic transmitting equipment similar to the fingernail guards!

The crystal throne was so dazzling that even Richard, a child who knew nothing about it, could tell how precious it was. However, this magic hall itself was worth a hundred times the throne. The crystals built into the walls and floors were actually used by mages for their staffs!

Standing in the magical hall, Richard suddenly felt his range of perception expand substantially, and traces of energy had started to enter his body as though they were flowing along some strange passageway. When the fine energy particles entered his body and were gradually absorbed, he suddenly heard the sound of glass shattering in his consciousness. It was as if some protective screen had been smashed into pieces at that very moment, allowing his perception that was once bound and restricted to dissipate completely.

In the next second, Richard came into contact with a magical ocean! Undercurrents ebbed and flowed in this water void of light, flowing along the seabed, ready to silently devour a gigantic whale at any moment. If Richard fell into this ocean he would instantly be engulfed without a single ripple, but he was standing on its surface at this very moment!

The momentary feeling of confusion immediately made Richard turn pale, and he began to tremble involuntarily. It all felt so real, and it was beyond his abilities to determine if it truly was.

Meanwhile, Mordred and Sharon were having a serious discussion about Richard's tuition fees.

“It is my master's wish that you put your heart and soul into guiding our young master, on account of old time's sake.”

“Old time's sake? Yeah, I recall now. That Marquess from your family still hasn't paid me for many of my materials!”

“He has already paid the principal amount, hasn't he?”

“How about the interest?”

Discussing numbers with a mage was not a wise move at all. Mordred immediately changed the topic, and threw out plan B. “Young master Richard has an exceedingly outstanding innate gift for magic.”

“Hmph, dozens of geniuses approach me to learn magic from me every year! I've even rejected three to four clerics.”

With a solemn face, Mordred dealt his trump card. “Our young master has the bloodline of the Archerons, and few adults can compare to the degree of purity of his blood. Well, at least no one else among this generation of Archerons is his match.”

The legendary mage was initially calm, but her eyes suddenly lit up so bright that the entire magical hall twinkled a little, as if she had seen an enormous dragon made of jewels. Although she spoke in a composed manner, anyone would be able to tell that she was just putting on an act. “Then what can I do?”

“You can trample on him any way you wish!” This didn't sound like something that solemn and old-fashioned Mordred would say. As a matter of fact, these were the exact words of the Marquess, not him, but Mordred maintained a solemn expression even as he said those words. Or perhaps his appearance didn't convey his emotions.

It was then that Sharon and Mordred both became aware of Richard's peculiar behaviour.

Sharon looked as though she was in deep thought. “This little chap could actually establish a connection with my magical hall's magic power reservoir, that isn't an easy feat. Well... I guess he barely qualifies to learn from me,” she said slowly.

“Of course!” Mordred smiled, but he was thinking otherwise. This was a magical hall constructed entirely out of abyss crystals! The magical powers here were so strong that even a knight like himself whose only capability were his fighting abilities could detect it. What's so hard about that? This excuse was really too far-fetched.

“However, that is not enough.” Sharon said, “The two planes that Gaton has with him are pretty good. I want 10 years of his profits from either one of them.”
ｆ𝑟𝑒𝐞𝚠𝒆𝚋𝚗૦𝐯ℯ𝙡. com

“In plane time?”

“No, Norland time.”

The corner of Mordred's mouth twitched a little, but he eventually nodded. This had already slightly exceeded the baseline that Gaton had set for him, but it was still narrowly acceptable. Norland wasn't the sole plane in this world, but it was one of the top few. The timeflow here was slower than in most secondary planes, and ten years in Norland could be equivalent to centuries elsewhere. The bottom line that the marquess had initially set was already unimaginably generous. This was half of Gaton's earnings that they were talking about, which would inevitably affect his plans for expansion in the future. One must know that Gaton's next goal was to establish his presence in the capital city of the Empire: the legendary city, Faust. In order to establish one's ground in such a place, no matter how abundant the resources prepared were, it would never be too much.

It was only then that Mordred recalled a title that the elites in the Alliance secretly circulated among themselves, one which was prefixed to Sharon's name, 'Bloodsucking Sharon, indeed...'

Her maxim was widely known as well, “I might not be the strongest, but I will definitely be the wealthiest.”

However, Sharon continued, “I'll help little Gaton a bit during the next prayer to the Eternal Dragon.”

Mordred heaved a sigh of relief. This was unanimous with the baseline that Gaton had set. Yet he immediately felt a bizarre feeling rise in him. Although this was such a significant matter, both parties had quickly reached a deal at their baselines without probing each other numerous times and the push-and-pull process of haggling over prices.

What chemistry they had!

The most important task had already been successfully accomplished, and Mordred departed immediately. Right before he left, he couldn't help but turn back and take a last glance at Richard, with a complex look in his gaze. When more than a century worth of aggregate profits from a certain plane were stacked together, regardless of what shape or form, anyone would look back at them like that.

Sharon waved gently. Eighteen mages all above level 12 immediately retreated without a noise, leaving her alone with the boy who was straining himself not to get overwhelmed by the magic power. Although his clothes were thoroughly drenched in sweat, Richard still braced himself and didn't collapse. The tenacity that he had been training since his youth was finally revealing its effects.

The legendary mage sitting atop the crystal throne lightly tapped her fingers, and two of the fingernail guards collided with a “ding”. As the tides of the magic power reservoir hidden underground slowly came to rest, the rich and never-ending illusions in Richard's mind also vanished. When the tides were all focused upon little Richard, even someone with no talent for magic could display an 'extraordinary' innate gift.

This was a tiny disguise that Mordred definitely saw through, and Sharon had no intention of covering it up. It wasn't that she didn't have more superior and obscure strategies and excuses, just that she was too lazy to use them. No matter how botched a reason was, it was still a reason. Even if Mordred saw through Sharon's tricks, he didn't dare to mention it. That was the crux of the matter.

Richard calmed his breathing and slowly raised his head to meet Sharon's gaze. He was a little startled; although Sharon was high and mighty, her imposing loftiness was far more powerful and dangerous than the fiercest demon he had ever seen. This woman only looked about 17 or 18, and was so stunningly beautiful with her fair skin and a full chest that one would itch to sink their teeth into. She was going to be his teacher from now on?

“Your father has already sold the next few years of your life to me.” The legendary mage used the word 'sold' in a very ambiguous manner, knowing that Richard wouldn't be able to understand it clearly since he didn't have the listening skills of a level 7. Even if he heard it distinctly, he wouldn't understand what it meant for now. While the great magic tutor and the murderous maniac were negotiating over the price, this young man was struggling to endure the tides of the magic power and prevent himself from being washed away, clueless about everything else that was happening.

“From today onwards, you will be my student. You must execute all my orders accurately without fail, regardless of what they are.” Sharon's voice was stern and distant.

“Yes.” Richard replied. He had already learnt the responsibilities and obligations of an acolyte on the journey here.

Sharon tapped her fingernails together once more. Two powerful mages entered the place and took him away. He maintained his display of respect and humility as her acolyte, not raising his head to look at her because it would be impolite. That's why he didn't notice the strange looks being shot at him from the cold beauty, the look bears gave salmon as they salivated with greed.

It wasn't easy for Sharon to wait until the entire hall cleared out. She might have just erupted into laughter involuntarily moments ago, an unconcealable delight on the legendary mage's pretty little face as she unrolled an enchanted scroll in one swift motion. The scroll projected an image that formed a three-dimensional magic map, filled with innumerable magic symbols that indicated hundreds of planar coordinates.

Sharon was in high spirits as she scanned through the dozens of dragon signs on the map of the plane. Since she was in a good mood, she decided to pillage a few dragon nests to celebrate the day's events.

“What should I do tonight? Rob a dragon, or rob a dragon, or rob a few dragons?!” The beautiful legendary mage was distressed in her own way.

10 - City of Sin

Examination

The work of art that was the Deepblue's central tower wasn't constructed in the normal way. It was more than thrice the height and twice the width of an ordinary magic tower, adding up to a twelvefold increase in surface area. And this was excluding its large subsidiary building complex! The total of the resources used in constructing it was unimaginable, allowing it to house more than ten thousand people in its premises. With its large population, the Deepblue on its own was on the level of a small city, but to be more specific it was a large monster. The amount of resources sent in and out of it every day was worth tenfold its size.

Sat atop a hill near the sea, the Deepblue had its own harbour to move supplies, docks pulled up from the solid bedrock of the sea using magic. At least three large roads connected to the different entrances to the Deepblue from this port, and fifty to sixty small towns prospered from the trade these roads established.

The Deepblue was situated at the apex of Floe Bay in the northwestern part of the continent, an estuary of two large rivers. The bay itself was as large as an ocean, spanning more than 1500 kilometres from the Starlight Peninsula to the northern Everwinter Mountains. The bay froze over in the winter, leaving only the southernmost parts of the coastline open for business. The Deepblue's own harbour was located near some warm currents, though, so it was ice-free.

The Deepblue was located in a prime location. Transportation was convenient, and it guarded one of the three main roads at the south of this icy continent. The only other option for the grey dwarves and mystical beasts in their attacks was to pass through Sunset Canyon, which was a thousand kilometre detour that forced them through the Thunderlord Stronghold of the Sacred Alliance.

Still, they would rather do that than try and force their way through Sharon again. War after war with the Deepblue had put them in their place, and the woman was already on par with the most terrifying demons of their legend. When she officially entered level 20 and became a legendary mage, the Deepblue had grown completely peaceful. Even the fierce, brutal, and valiant grey dwarves of the underground didn't dare destroy its serenity, allowing the surrounding lands to prosper.

That was how an old mage that was well into his nineties told the story to Richard. His abilities weren't considered spectacular at level 8, and he was in fact amongst the weakest Richard had ever seen in the Deepblue, but he was extremely good-looking with an alluring voice and an understanding of this land that was second only to Sharon herself. His job was simple; he was to explain the history of the Deepblue to visitors and new acolytes like Richard, something deemed more important than the mana and talent examinations.

One's talent at magic determined how far a mage could travel the various paths of magic in this complicated world, while mana determined whether they could even attempt to become a mage at all. As a hand-picked student of Sharon's, Richard was different from the rest. What normally only took a single day had been extended to three, a challenge not only for him but also for the old mage who had to spread the tower's history over the span of three days.

Many details were missing from the old man's story, and some parts had been intentionally left out. However, one could only choose to accept and learn from the rich vaults of history, or forget about it as a whole. It was all for the sake of knowledge, and Richard had managed to piece together a quite complete image with his blessings.

The three days of brainwashing seemed to be effective nevertheless, as Richard no longer looked as Sharon as an innocent, delicate girl. His desires for her diminished, replaced by a lack of vocabulary to describe this woman whom even the grey dwarves feared.

Of course those weren't the mage's original intentions, but he wouldn't know how his teachings affected the student either. Everyone knew Richard to be a quiet kid who hardly expressed his feelings, never laughing nor crying despite reprimands and bullying. He did as he was told to the best of his abilities, and there was almost nothing to nitpick about in this ten-year old who did not act like his age.

Richard hadn't seen the sun in three days as his history lessons sped by at lightspeed. The next thing he knew, he was being brought to a special hall that was filled to the brim with alchemic tools and equipment. At least twenty mages were present here, with one main conductor who was the most superior. When Richard tried to use Truth to see through him, all he saw was an appallingly huge flaming ball of magic instead of the mage himself. He was at least level 17, a great mage, strong enough to be appointed as the imperial magice of any kingdom, yet here he was conducting an examination.

Richard removed his clothes, and was tied into a freezing metallic chair with all sorts of ropes and bandages. The conductor placed crystal needles in his body, an excruciating process that the boy endured silently. Just the scale of this part told Richard this examination would be no small matter, but he didn't know the full extent of it yet. The examination for a common acolyte was just the casting of a grade 0 spell on a crystal ball, but these mages treated it like an important experiment, exuding a solemn tidiness and the agility unique to powerful mages.

Richard didn't know Sharon was sitting behind the enchanted one-way wall, supervising the entire process from the comfort of a sofa. One hand held the notes of a legendary mage, while the other sent fruits into her mouth every now and then. Still, nobody could predict someone of her power; she could still control the entire situation at ease without sound or sight, so it only made sense for the mages in the lounge to put their utmost effort into examining Richard. There was only one master of the Deepblue, and everyone apart from her was a servant or a slave. Most mages here strived to make her happy in order to receive better treatment.

One of the mages walked over to Richard, placing a beaker under his nose and instructing him to inhale all of the mist within. Richard did as told, and felt himself slipping out of consciousness only moments later. A part of him was still awake, however, and aware of what was going on.

Odd sensations started to crawl all over his body, and he heard a voice, “High elemental affinity. Strong with fire, shadows, and divinity. Innate elements... none.”

Almost immediately, agonizing pain shot through Richard's body, aimed to test his tolerance for elemental destruction which would measure his magic resistance. The same voice announced favourable results a few moments later.

Richard then felt like his consciousness was pierced by a needle, experiencing pain that cut through his very soul. Even unconscious he couldn't help but writhe, yet with his body tightly bound there was no way to escape from the pain.

“Excellent spiritual force, almost at the level of a genius.” Richard relaxed upon hearing the comment, as he realised that he was still being examined. His results seemed good so far.

The subsequent tests examined the various functions of his body, even his genitalia, which were deemed to have extraordinary potential that could be put to use soon. Overall he fared better here than in magic.

The examination ran for around three hours, and resulted in a twenty page report. Sharon had finished two books of notes through the gruelling process, experimenting with a new magic concept and finishing five kilograms of fruit even as she constantly monitored their progress.

When Richard woke up, he was told that his overall result was excellent, with no special tendencies. He also possessed decent talent as a fighter, able to advance to level 11 or 12 in the profession in his lifetime. He was pleasantly surprised by his results as he was brought to rest after the long, debilitating torture. He'd been drained of all his energy and strength.

'There should only be one rank above excellent, right?' he deduced, thinking that one remaining rank would only be granted under certain rare conditions. Little did he know that there were a total of five ranks above excellent in that examination, namely genius, outstanding, legendary, unique, and Sharon.

11 - City of Sin

Numbers

Sharon was sat lazily on her sofa in the monitoring room, reviewing the report. Truth be told she couldn't be more clear on the data it contained, but she wanted to review it nonetheless. It showed her approval of the mages, and was also a test of their ability.

“Pretty balanced in all fields, without any obvious strengths or flaws. He has passable mana, and his build isn't bad. With those well-defined abs and hood flexibility he should last a long while... Well, I can look at that further when he matures. Is this all?” Sharon raised her head from the report, pressing the grand mage.

The mage shuddered under her intense and threatening gaze. He chose to ignore the racy words Sharon muttered under her breath, answering in a respectful tone, “It's the most comprehensive examination we can conduct for now, rounding up to 16,000 coins. Everything we could find is already on the report, and we didn't manage to detect any other talents yet.”

The word 'genius' was inadequate to describe someone who could reach a stunning level 18 as a mage, but Sharon seemed to think otherwise. Her brows furrowed in perplexion, “All he can advance to is level 18? How useless!” The 'useless' level 18 mage's sincere and humble smile didn't falter even as he listened to her words.

“This can't be. His Archeron bloodline is more pure than even Gaton's. It's odd for him not to have any other talents, is it a collision with his silvermoon elf lineage?”

“The Archeron bloodline is of a superior grade, and we don't have the ability to test his bloodline talents yet.”

“Nonsense!” Sharon berated, “I clearly remember there are at least six ways to test the talent of superior bloodlines, even for the best of the best. Do I have to remind you just how important a superior bloodline is? What in the hell are you idiots doing, am I wasting my money on maggots? If he has a chance of possessing a powerful bloodline ability, you should know to give your all in the examination. Forget the price, just test him, am I clear?”

“The cheapest method will cost more than 600,000 coins,” the mage answered, unaffected by Sharon's outburst.

“Oh? Alright then, forget it.”

......

All these discussions remained unknown to Richard, who lost himself in dreamland after the day of torture. He'd returned to the village in his dreams, once again carrying the breadfruit he knew all too well home. He saw their little house in the distance, his mother waiting for him at the entrance. The savoury fragrance of pie wafted up his nose, telling him it wouldn't be the bland fruits teasing his palate tonight, and that newfound happiness seemed to give him a sudden burst of energy as he ran towards his home like never before. Elaine smiled at him.

Then she went back into the cottage all of a sudden, and tongues of flames started to lick the windows.

Richard shot up and screamed, wanting to throw himself into the fire before noticing the room he was in. His sleepwear was drenched in sweat, and he took long, deep breaths in an attempt to calm himself down. He took his time examining his surroundings, to realise he was lying in an extravagant bed big enough to support five or six people. The rest of the room was extremely large as well. Richard only had to scan the area once for precise details to start appearing in his vision.

The room alone was larger than their entire cottage back in Rooseland, measuring sixty by fifty feet while being about twenty feet tall as well. It made him feel like a lone boat in a colossal ocean, puzzling him as to why it only accommodated one person. He pondered for a little while more before getting off the bed and observing everything that was present in the room. It had been a month since the nightmarish fire, a month of him forcing himself to forget whatever had happened. It was no doubt naive of him to believe that forgetting it would let his mother return, but even if he was aware of this he couldn't help but submit to this belief, even worship it.

The room was furnished lavishly, the ornaments and furniture characteristic of mages and aristocrats. Richard realised he received numbers and data on whatever he focused his vision on, accurate to two decimal spots. This was the second level of the Truth ability he'd received from the enlightenment ceremony: Precision. He'd unlocked it during the examination, where he also felt the lurking power of the third and fourth levels. They would allow him to analyse the body compositions of various organisms, and appraise different materials. However, he did not know when these abilities would be triggered.

Even now he was unsure of the true use of this blessing, only finding himself drowning in wave upon wave of numbers. Thousands of numbers emerged out of literally everything he saw, starting to give him hallucinations. One chair alone had up to 111 numbers, explaining its length, its width, its surface area, so on and so forth. If he wished to he could even increase them thousandfold, by examining say each fibre of the cloth draping the chair, or the microscopic scales of the leather that made the armrest. Both these things were tough and durable, like they were from the skin of some dragon.

However, living in this world of numbers was miserable, and the young boy felt his head throbbing from dizziness. Thankfully his enhanced intelligence came into effect, and he classified and sorted all these numbers and data. He quickly eliminated what was useless, leaving only a few important fields. This took Richard the entire night, cutting down everything pointless and making sure the important bits remained.

The sun soon rose, marking Richard's first day as an official apprentice of Sharon's.

The main portion of the first day involved bringing Richard around and letting him gain an understanding of the Deepblue. He was shown the public areas and restricted zones, being informed about how to apply for various supplies and the people he had to look for if he needed any help. He was also given general safety precautions, and given a tour of his personal region.

Indeed. Fitting of the Precision ability, region was an accurate term to describe his personal space. He had his own magic lab complex, with one common lab and six specialised ones. There was the enormous bedroom, and the living area which was made up of eleven rooms with different uses, something that surprised him. One of them was meant just to store hats and clothes when all of his belongings could fit into a single small suitcase! And most of those were prepared by Gaton's instruction at that, the fires started by his mother's suicide having burnt down all the magic books and other souvenirs of his childhood. Indeed, the flames from a powerful shaman burning themselves were more powerful than a dragon's breath.

There were storage areas as well, also divided into several rooms. Richard was beyond loss as he stood in the spacious area with tall shelves, unsure how one could even fill such a huge place. It was big enough to store winter supplies for his entire village!

The guide was a youthful acolyte, her voice as sweet as her appearance. She'd dropped her name multiple times over the course of the tour, hinting for Richard to find her whenever he needed help. She'd even emphasised that 'whenever', squinting her pretty eyes into cute crescents. Richard hadn't understood what 'could be put to use soon' and 'outstanding potential' meant in his report under the body section yet, but he would in due time.

They bumped into a bustle of mages along the way, most making way for Richard and some even bowing to him. His abilities let him see that their eyes were on the symbol on the fresh robe he was wearing, a sign of status indicating he was hand-picked by Sharon herself. It was then that it dawned upon him; his status wasn't to be trifled with in the Deepblue.

The official, systemised lessons began the next day, and Richard felt his head spin again when he received the long timetable for it.

The Deepblue had unconventional practices, away from the norms of the magic world. Foundational magic courses, for example, were split up into magic philosophy, the system of the world, planar organism study, planar geography, mathematics, world theory, composition study, material sciences, planar geometry, spatial geometry, the history of races, the analysis of living beings, and so on and so forth. These subjects were divided further the deeper one went, and one could learn their entire life.

The Deepblue's curriculum placed much emphasis on magic philosophy, and this was where Richard's lessons truly started.

12 - City of Sin

Start From the Top

The lesson was held in an enormous classroom that could accommodate 300 people at a time. There was an elevated stage in the centre, with a handful of spacious and comfy-looking seats, with the rest being crammed into the sides shamefully. Richard was pointed to the centre stage as he entered the classroom, warranting attention from his classmates and discomfort on his part. The students were of various ages, from seven-year-old kids to octogenarians. This was a semi-public lecture, attendance being open to any mages who'd given their services to Deepblue for a year. The central seats were reserved for Sharon's personal apprentices, which was why Richard became the centre of attraction and jealousy the moment he sat down.

There were two others here, a girl and boy at levels 6 and 5 respectively in spite of looking just two or three years older than Richard himself. Richard was the thirteenth of Sharon's apprentices, and only three remained in the Deepblue to date. The rest had begun their journeys across the continents and planes, the best one already dominating an entire plane himself.

The classroom's door swung open again just as Richard sat down, and a bald, short, and stout mage walked in. This was their professor, Popovich. At level 16, he wasn't anything in the continent or the Deepblue, but Popovich wasn't someone known for his magic abilities anyway. He was instead renowned for his contribution to world theory.

The professor looked less than average, with a humorously large button nose and rounded jaw. However, it wasn't easy to attend a lecture in the Deepblue, and everyone in the classroom was here to propel themselves further in the magic world. The entire class quieted down in a few moments.

“The world of magic exists with reality as its base. When you observe the world, you do not hear and see true reality, instead only experiencing sensations sent to your mind through your perception. This process is unavoidable, but the perceived world and the real world have so many differences...

“How, then, do we limit the chance of error? It's through the way you think! In other words, the way a mage thinks decides the kind of world they perceive!” He paused, waiting for the confused or fascinated students and mages to take down notes before continuing, “This lesson is not going to teach you formidable spells at level 8 or 9, that's something even I can't do.”

The classroom was dead silent, no one appreciating Popovich's humour. He could only scratch his head awkwardly at the reaction of these serious and pragmatic students, muttering “what a boring bunch” in defeat under his breath before returning to the lesson. “Alright, let's get straight to the topic. I am here to teach you how to think.

“Don't belittle this subject. As insignificant as it seems, your school of thought is the foundation for everything that comes further on in your life. It can ultimately decide your accomplishments in the world of magic. The right train of thought will bring you closer to the truth of the world, allowing you to make wise and calculated decisions at crucial moments. It will shield you from ignorance, and decisions that you will regret your entire life. It will also decide crucial factors in your experiments or your choice of spells in a battle.

“Simply put, you have to start from the top. Always remember this: the world before yourself. You need to know the world to know yourself. If you only act like a certain person in this tower who puts themselves before everything, you will only have a myopic view of things. How can a sparrow compare to an eagle? Such thinking is utter foolishness, and will only limit your future accomplishments!” Popovich only began the official lesson after verbally attacking 'a certain fellow'.

“The basis of everything is origin force. It's the foundation of the world, and something that grows alongside it. It's a majestic power that we haven't been able to harness till date. We can, however, treat it as a foundation; the foundation of our world and possibly many others.

“The power of laws acts as the skeletal structure of the world, its various planes the flesh filled in between. These laws are far greater than planes, but still use these planes as a foundation. Every plane is an embodiment of one or more laws, and the more laws a plane can bear the greater it is, the higher its status in the world. Planes that bear complex laws, like Norland's, are considered superior planes, also known as prime planes.

“So I suppose you lot understand by now that laws and planes integrate into one whole. You need to follow the laws of the world to grow in strength, and even if you're someone strong you WILL face punishment if you disregard them. If you wish to change or eliminate the basic laws of a plane, you need to be ready to battle the entirety of that plane!

“The only possibility, thus, is to work with laws that branch out of the basic laws of the plane, the so-called derived laws. You have some hope in this field, but that too will only remain just that, hope. Miracles occur, but don't expect them to happen to you. The stronger ones may think about using or challenging the derived laws of the world, but only fools would think of touching the basic laws. Google search 𝗳𝔯e𝒆𝙬𝘦𝙗𝓷o𝘷el. c૦𝑚

“The laws of a plane determine its fundamental characteristics and the plane's power system. Some impossible day in the future, one of you might cross planes in attempted conquest. If and when that happens, your primary objective should be to analyse the derived laws of the plane and its power system. That will let you adjust your battle methods to the plane, allocating resources and exploiting the environment instead of being restricted by it.

“Speaking of, there's one essential thing throughout the process of conquest. Do you know what it is?” Popovich paused for water. He'd spoken quickly and at length, so he poured an entire jar of magically purified water into his mouth before growling out, “The Dragon of Eternity and Time!”

The Dragon of Eternity and Time, the Eternal Dragon, had unprecedented status in the world. It was above the many gods, its powers incredible and unfathomable. The Eternal Shrine was pretty much the most important location in the entire continent, because it was the only place where one could communicate with the Dragon. Its position was fixed, unaffected by changes in time and space.

The Eternal Shrine had existed from way before the first records of civilisation. The magic of all the races and in all regions of Norland was heavily influenced by the Eternal Dragon, and it was the Dragon's guidance that a weak race like the humans whose only strength was their fertility could advance to become a magic civilisation that stood up to the elves and dragonblood gnomes. It wasn't just the three big human empires. The other races, too, were influenced by the Dragon, the capitals of the six empires on the continent being established on ruins or relics from the Eternal Dragon itself.

“The Eternal Dragon is an archaic creature that surpasses laws themselves. It has left its mark on thousands of planes, and when you enter a new plane your ultimate goal is to find the trace it has left behind in that plane. It may be a female dragon, an egg, or even faeces, but as long as you find its traces you will be able to understand the laws of the plane clearly. It will allow you to leap forward in strength! Compared to the Eternal Dragon, the so-called gods are just parasites leeching off the laws of the planes. Those who control lesser laws are considered weaker, and the opposite is true as well.”

“The world is that simple. Start from the top, and work your way down!” Popovich's face was flushed from exasperation, enough to worry someone that he just might be blown to pieces by chaotic elements the very next second. But his voice continued to reverberate, “The origin, the world, the laws of the planes, and mana. Simply put, they are all parts of a whole. Once you find the correct train of thought, you will find yourself standing on the horns of the Eternal Dragon, looking at the myriad of planes from above. The sword saints and even those with legendary power are but dust in your eyes in that moment. Other than Master Sharon, of course, she is the boss, the special one!”

Finally, Popovich rubbed his chubby hands together and spat out every single word with all the determination he could muster, “Your thinking dictates everything!”

Every word rammed into Richard's mind like a hammer, making him fuzzy. It wasn't because of his booming voice; the professor had used a technique akin to a mana shock that suppressed the minds of the students with his power as a great mage.

The bell rang at the moment everyone started to recover from dizziness. The lesson for the day had ended. “That's all I have to say for today. Let's curse a certain person in this tower together! Dismissed!”

Richard was unable to calm down for a long time after the lesson. He read through all the books Popovich had prescribed like he was possessed, only snapping out of it at dawn. It was like Popovich had opened an unknown door for him, revealing some of the world's secrets. It was like the first time he'd opened the Codex back in the cottage.

13 - City of Sin

The First Spell

The next day's lesson was still magic philosophy, but the lecturer was a level 17 great mage named Riley, the 'certain fellow' from Popovich's lesson. The man was lean, wearing a pair of golden magic glasses and dressed meticulously from head to toe. His gaze was deep and wise, looking like he'd already seen beyond the facade of the world.

With him behind the lecture, the class was still as quiet as could be. A level 17 mage was on the verge of becoming a grand mage, and that advancement could take anywhere from an instant to eternity. One had to know that the extra grade 8 spell slot a level 17 mage possessed allowed them to be far superior in battle to a level 16 mage. This was something even a child would know.

The advantage extended to lower level spells as well. While grade 7 and below spells wouldn't be as useful in that level of battle, they would still give the level 17 mage an advantage. This was why Riley perfected many aspects when he first advanced to level 17, unable to care less about the affairs of insignificant idiots, let alone talk about them.

Standing behind the lectern, Riley felt good. At least in that moment, in that classroom, he was the most superior; the one who had control over everything. It'd really be perfect if he wasn't reminded of Sharon.

Riley's voice was gentle but not soft, ringing in the ears of all the students at the same volume, “Everything has its foundation, like the world is built on origin force and planes and laws rely on each other. We and the other races are beings that live on the various planes, and though we're minute we aren't insignificant! There are no two similar souls in this world, not similar people. So then, what is the point of our existence? It is to comprehend the world, to become stronger and gain resources which in turn gives us freedom. We live in a world where might makes right, and the basic regulations of the world can decide most of our fates here. Try to break them, and you'll be destroyed before you can even break any of the derived laws.”

Most students nodded in agreement, the point resonating even more so with the older ones.

Today's lessons were much more interactive than the previous day's, with spiritual force being pushed into their bodies. Riley smiled at their positive reactions, explaining without a hurry, “Grand mages can feel the derived laws of the plane, and those with legendary might will be able to understand the basic laws. How many of us here can actually reach such levels? Even geniuses fall.

“Yes, I can tell you what the world is made of, and what the laws of the planes are, but this is all irrelevant because anything is possible in this world of magic as long as you have great power. Where does this power come from, then? From your understanding of yourself, from exploiting the environment around you. Everyone is complicated, and it might take you your entire life to understand yourself. You have to be grounded, increasing your power with your self as the root. Start from the bottom, and move up to the top; go from yourself to the world. This is how you'll control your destiny!”

Riley waved a hand, and a projection of a human body flashed in front of him. He pointed at various parts of the projection and began to explain the core content of the lesson, “Power isn't something complex, but it's not as simple as having more spell slots. Though we all know that three level 8 spell slots are definitely stronger than two, we have other factors to consider as well. Overall, a person's power can be categorised into 4 major classes: Their attributes, their equipment, their abilities, and their bloodline.

“There's also intelligence, but that varies from person to person and you'll have to work on that yourself. I won't go into that, so let's start from your attributes.

“So, what is spiritual force?”

Richard gained a lot from this class. For the first time ever he learnt that spiritual force came from the soul, and magic came from mana. Fighters accrued power by training their physical bodies, while clerics borrowed the power of the gods they served. All legendary beings, regardless of their original path, would start to borrow the power of laws, the more power they could get from laws the more powerful they were.

At the end of the lesson, Riley did not fail to make a conclusion that was on par with his elegance, “Don't be greedy for unrealistic goals. Always stay grounded. What you should do is to take one step at a time in your path to power, using the increased lifespan from that extra power to grow even more. So... know yourself, know the environment, learn how to distribute resources, and exploit your power the best you can. The more powerful you get, the more influence every action of yours has. The difference between level 17 and level 16 mages isn't as small as you'd think...”

The next professor, Philip, added another line of thought to the broth before Richard could completely digest what he'd been given already. He drew a circle in the air and cut through it with a line, making the left side red and right side blue.

“There are tons of mysteries in the world. But can we know all of them? This is where opinions start to diverge; some believe they can, and some not. The former group includes most mages while the latter is mostly worshippers and clerics who believe only the gods can do so.” He'd cut the circle into two exact halves, not for the ratio but to show that he wouldn't make a stand for the correct view, staying neutral in his introduction of the topic.

After he explained the contrasting views of whether the infinities of the world could be broken up, he also talked about a dozen alternative views. Richard and the rest didn't really understand what was going on, thinking about how useful these things would be since they wouldn't help in increasing mana.

But, of course, no one raised any questions about that. Technically the difference between levels 17 and 18 was just one spell slot. One grade 9 spell slot, that is. So not only did nobody question Philip— despite the content being... slightly unrealistic— everyone in the classroom listened beyond attentively. Not one in ten mages could be so lucky, even in their entire lifetime, to be able to attend a lesson conducted by a grand mage.

A dazed Theodore stood behind the lectern on the fourth day, similarly drawing a circle and splitting it. The only difference was, the line started in a different position. The red of mystery occupied most of the circle, leaving the blue to be a thin strip.

“The world is profound, we can't possibly know everything, only the gods are all-knowing...”

Richard only learnt afterwards that Theodore wasn't a mage. He was instead a cleric around level 16 or 17. The Deepblue was a world of mages, so it was rather strange to have someone divine here. What's more, Theodore wasn't of one faith. He worshipped three different gods, somehow not having their faiths clash with each other. It allowed him to cast divine spells from three systems, giving him power surpassing clerics at the same level. But as Richard thought about it, and with prior knowledge he gained from various books, he realised that the only way to have three or more faiths was to cheat.

He could cheat the gods? And three of them at that? This fact alone told Richard that Theodore was no simple man.

On the fifth day, Teslifa did the same thing with the circle and the line, and when the outcome was almost all blue Richard knew immediately that he was a mage. One that believed in agnosticism. Yet, such a precise and quick judgement did not help much.

On the sixth day, Master Fuchsia pointed at a bunch of irregular numbers and said, “When you see beauty in these numbers, you'll have completed half your journey in mathematics.” Master Komu wanted the students to see numbers in a series of complicated and beautiful three dimensional images on the seventh. The intention was to abstract numbers with aesthetics.

Richard then fell into a cycle, trying his hardest to see beauty in numbers and numbers in beautiful images.

......

A month passed in the blink of an eye, and Richard only learnt insignificant theory and knowledge that mostly wasn't related to magic or spellcasting at all. Many of the teachers even contradicted each other, presenting large amounts of information built around four specific keywords: Sharon, special, boss, and dictator. It left a huge impact on Richard.

Another thing the teachers liked, from Popovich to Teslifa was to say 'the world is that simple.' It seemed like the motto of the various schools of thought in the Deepblue.

The world may be simple, but Richard was growing more confused than ever. Nonetheless, he'd had his own gains too. In some serendipity, he had placed his first foot into magic. Google search f𝐫e𝘦𝘸e𝗯𝒏𝗼ѵe𝗹． c𝑜m

He'd learnt how to create a fireball.

14 - City of Sin

Fireball, Fireball

Put precisely, Richard had learnt to cast a grade 1 fireball.

Fireball was a legendary grade 3 spell, just as important as Sharon herself for mages level 1 to 3. The spell was a unique existence with many myths and proverbs floating around it, the most common of which was that a mage who could only cast fireballs wasn't a good mage. Regardless of that proverb's views, though, its very spread acknowledged how unique this spell was. Fireball was simply far too important for mages at and below level 3. It allowed mages under level 6 to play a role in the battlefield as well, making it the first spell one would learn when they advanced.

The spell took three seconds to cast, and could be launched at a target up to thirty metres away. There was a 10 metre area of effect where enemies would face slight burns, and a direct hit would eliminate a normal level 5 warrior. The strongest of grade 3 spells, the ability to target more than one person ensured that warriors who had to target individuals wouldn't meet a good end at the hands of a mage.

The spell's might had sparked a lot of research by low level mages once upon a time, directly instigating the creation of that proverb. At the pinnacle of research into it, a level 8 mage had once stated that it was possible to kill even a grand mage with five fireballs.

This came from a study that altered the course of magic history, making the fireball a popular subject for people to study and discuss. The study, originally titled, 'Probing Into The Compounding Of The Fireball's Power,' had concluded that even a level 18 mage wouldn't be able to survive a head on collision with twelve fireballs at the same time. In the most extreme of cases, if the mage was inside a sealed space that reflected the explosive power back onto him, only five would be required to finish him off.

This study had actually gone unnoticed for a while, until that particular busybody had changed the study title to 'A Grand Mage Can Be Killed By Only Five Fireballs.' It enraged the grand mages; the people were downplaying their strength, but the logic of this study was detailed and sound. The calculations were accurate and the conclusion was proper despite the fact that it remained theoretical.

No grand mage would allow themselves to be put into a sealed space and have five fireballs strike them. They had great amounts of spiritual force and mana, being unaffected by low-grade magic spells like fireballs. These effects could only be brought about in a controlled environment. Still, weaker mages and those who couldn't use magic alike couldn't care less about these facts. The only thought they had was that a fireball could slay a grand mage.

This made the grand mages furious, but they were helpless as well. It would be stupid to argue the idea of being hit by five fireballs at the same time. This school of thought caused some hindrance to the progress of magic, so a grand mage ended up taking it upon himself to lead a team of tens of mages and hundreds of acolytes in intense research. Three years later, their report concluded that a mage who spent too much time on studying the fireball would face difficulties in advancing in the future. The fireball could very well be the last spell they mastered!

The paper sent the mages who excelled in the spell into a clamour. Countless criticisms were levied against the data used in the study, mentioning that the collated statistics were illogical and full of errors. Still, the weak mages performing research on the spell couldn't cross-reference the data with their own findings, and they didn't have the resources to get their own. Thus, everyone ended up having to cite this study in their own theories, turning messy data into fact along the way. If someone's theories didn't tally with this data, then their experiment had to have been wrong.

No matter how much this caused these fireball mages to fume, they eventually accepted the 'truth.' They themselves had been scared by the possibility of their research affecting their own advancement as well; while the grand mage wasn't particularly famous, he was still a grand mage after all.

This ended up changing the situation around the fireball again, easing up the development of magic in the long run. Still, the process had proven that group size didn't matter as much as the levels of the mages.

Fireball was fireball, in the end. No matter what people thought of it, the spell itself was special. Even a level 20 grand mage, in a battlefield against tens of thousands of soldiers, would likely start off by tossing a few fireballs. Instant casting, silent incantations, upgrades to the precision, a slowing effect... All sorts of research had been performed into the spell, making it the best spell below grade 6.

The mage who wrote the original theory was forgotten by the time the fad had come to a close, labelled the Five Fireball Mage and banished to the annals of history...
𝘧𝗿𝚎e𝓌𝗲𝒃𝑛𝒐ѵ𝗲𝒍. c𝐨𝗺

Having browsed through the vast information resources of the Deepblue, Richard understood the complicated history behind the spell.

The only things related directly to magic in an entire month of study was the various schools of magic, basic meditation, and beginner spells. This had only taken up three days out of the whole month as well.

The professor teaching beginner magic was also a grand mage, so he only taught them to stabilise the elements as well as the theory behind spellcasting. Incantations, hand techniques, and other practical portions were mentioned briefly and left for self-study. The month of schooling had shown Richard that the professors focused on theory, delving into it more. Practical lessons like spellcasting were brushed over, and the students were left to figure things out on their own.

A different place would have labelled them frauds or low-level, but in the Deepblue theory was put up on a pedestal; good research was a shortcut to Sharon's delight. Besides, other than the old history teachers everyone else was at least a great mage at level 14. That alone crushed all forms of suspicion.

Richard had learnt fireball from a magic text he'd received. It wasn't that hard to cast or control, the main reason for it being a grade 3 spell being that it required a lot of mana. He'd practised after the lessons each day, both meditating and training his casting. He'd taken a total of fifteen days to master all six grade 0 spells, gaining an understanding of the lower end of the magic system as he looked for his first spell.

It was there that his blessing of wisdom had unconsciously been put to play. He'd discovered the grade 3 fireball was extremely easy to cast, much more than even some grade 1 spells. Thousands of years of research and study had brought the spell close to perfection, making casting it effective and efficient. Richard was still a youth, and his curiosity could not be satiated. When he applied everything he'd learnt, and simulations showed that he already had the mana needed to cast the spell, his heart had sped up tremendously.

15 - City of Sin

Expedition

The world was already digital in little Richard's eyes. He'd moved past his initial confusion, starting to make use of the numbers coming from Precision. He could already sense the total mana of an average level 1 mage, and he'd set that to be ten. With that as a reference point, he was at about eight points. Little did he know of the endless possibility resulting from his actions, of the start of the digitisation of magic.

A fireball required fifteen points of mana to cast, while a general grade 3 spell needed about 20. This was why it outshone the numerous other spells of its grade; it had a lower mana requirement, was more formidable, and was easier to cast to boot. However, even in this process there were a lot of points which wasted mana, and depleting all of one's mana in one go would injure any mage. Richard instinctively realised that there was still a lot of improvements to be made, and after countless hours of burning the midnight oil he'd actually discovered that the mana consumption could be dropped to just eight points. If the cast was perfect, the drop in power wasn't as massive either; only dropping to ten points from fifteen. Such a fireball was far more cost effective for the damage it did, and was overwhelmingly more powerful than other grade 1 spells which had a maximum damage rating of 5.

Curiosity is the lust of the mind. Richard tried to cast a fireball the very next night, succeeding on the first try. The bundle of flames was evidently smaller than average, but it was a more vivid scarlet as well. He watched as it flew slowly towards a steel doll 25 metres away, so nervous that his heart almost stopped beating.

The fireball exploded suddenly upon contact, the flames spreading everywhere and sending a burst of hot air Richard's way. The scorching heat and the explosion dealt a double blow to the doll, deforming it and burning it with magic flames. The doll was equivalent to a warrior with plate armour covering half their body, so one could imagine how this fireball would've killed someone of that level.

Success! This was the first spell that little Richard had casted from birth, and he was drowned in immense joy that very moment. He wanted to leap up and cheer, but his legs gave way beneath him and he slowly collapsed against a wall. His insides felt empty all of a sudden, as if no part of his body would listen to him anymore. It was difficult to even lift a finger.

This was the price he'd paid to cast a spell that depleted all his mana in one go. He couldn't even bring himself to meditate, only able to quietly wait for his passive mana regeneration. Precision told him it would take 3 hours and 6 minutes to recover a single point of mana, the bare minimum before he could stand and meditate.

Richard was immensely bored as he waited for his mana and energy to recover. He started to wonder about everything he'd learnt of magic so far, since there was nothing else for him to do. He discovered that a higher level of spiritual force would enable a caster to use less mana to cast a spell, because spiritual force enabled one to be more meticulous and detailed in manipulating their mana. Beyond the actual collating of the elements to cast the spell, spiritual force was required for a lot of processes.

Richard felt like the fireball spell could be improved greatly. There were at least 16 points in the spellcasting process that could be improved— four of them involved cutting down the mana consumption, three allowed him to increase the spell's power, and so on and so forth. Weighing the trade-offs, he first chose to reduce the mana consumption.

The next half hour was full of dry calculation, making Richard realise the importance of mathematics. He finally managed to improve on one of those 16 points, dropping the mana consumption of the fireball down to 7 without reducing its power. This would allow him to remain standing after casting a spell, even jogging a few steps instead of being limp and weak like he was now. His Precision ability allowed him to assess the condition of his own body, so with the proper reference point he'd be able to monitor his spiritual force and mana in the future.

Little Richard's heart was now bursting with delight for the first time. He simply couldn't wait to recover his mana and attempt to improve on his fireball, seeing whether he really had done it. The joy of exploration and discovery was so immense that it allowed the boy to see the first ray of light in months of darkness, helping him realise how miraculous and complicated the world was. Magic was so vast that even an entire lifetime wouldn't suffice to explore just a single corner of it.

Eventually his mana climbed back to a full point, and Richard struggled his way into the meditation room. He slurped down a mana potion and started to mediate, recovering his mana in a few hours. He rushed out impatiently as soon as that was done, launching another ball of fire towards the damaged steel doll.

Richard's mana was drained rapidly as the fireball took shape in his hands. The ball of flames trembled and flickered, but eventually launched itself out of his hands and went flying towards the doll.

The experiment had succeeded once more. Richard's method for improvement was both feasible and effective, just that his zeal caused a tiny flaw in the casting process that slightly increased the mana he consumed. He was paralysed once more, but fortunately the mana potion's effects weren't done yet so he could recover quickly. He only ended up sitting down for an hour. Richard spent the entirety of that hour in calculations.

It was already daybreak by the time he got up. The day's lesson was in mathematics, and this was the first time Richard was this serious. He wasn't sick in the mind like Fuchsia, but he could finally see the beauty in the endless numbers. He'd truly experienced the function of mathematics, and was now living in a digital world.

Richard didn't feel lethargic at any point in the day's lessons. He found it easy to understand the contents of the lectures, but looking at the other students staring blankly or being deep in thought he realised it wasn't as simple as it was for him. It seemed like the blessing of wisdom was rather useful.

The young acolyte who brought him around the Deepblue the first time around was waiting by Richard's gates when he returned. She greeted him with a sweet smile, passing him a silver badge for the end of the month. She said it was for his income and expenditure this month, and he could examine it in the laboratory forge or just by using mana to view the content within.
f𝔯𝒆𝑒we𝚋𝓃૦ν𝙚Ɩ. c૦m

The young lady had a pleasant appearance and a charming bearing. She exuded a gentle and beautiful aura just standing there quietly, but Richard only stole a glance at her as he thanked her and walked into his region.

As the two lustrous heavy gates closed slowly in front of her, the young girl stamped her feet fiercely. She had a strong urge to pry those gates open with magic, but she knew that they were forged with antimagic metal and were protected by spells. Even a level 6 disjunction spell wouldn't be able to deal with that door, forget her strongest spell that was merely a level 2 acid arrow.

The metal gates alone cost a considerable amount, let alone the lands behind them. Land was at a premium in the Deepblue, and even if what lay behind these gates was empty it would be considered priceless.

“You! You've already seen me twice, but why didn't you even ask for my name?” The young girl muttered angrily to herself. She immediately recalled that Richard had just turned ten according to the data in his profile. He was too old for someone who'd just started his magic journey, but too young to be a man. She could only shake her head helplessly and depart with regret. What was she to do? If Richard really possessed the abilities of a grown man, it would be too late to take action, and she would never stand a chance.

In the Deepblue, competition was at every turn.

16 - City of Sin

Sharon's Delight

Richard walked straight into his forge, inserting the metal badge into a counter. A clear projection appeared in mid-air, containing a record of his finances for the month. It took five points of mana to activate the badge, and Richard would rather have that come from the magic crystals on the counter than himself. He wanted to spend all his mana on actually learning magic instead.

Seeing the first line of the bill. Richard was dumbstruck. This was what was written there: Replacement of 1 Magic Doll— 1600 gold.

This was the steel doll he'd practised magic on. He'd seen it had been replaced on his way, but that puny thing was worth 1600 coins?! Richard couldn't grasp the concept of currency very well, but he knew that his mother's lifetime savings after living in Rooseland Village for ten years only amounted to a dozen or so coins. The fur of a gigantic demon was worth only about 1 or 2 coins in the city, yet fully-grown hunters had to risk their lives in order to hunt them. Perhaps the village chief, who was the wealthiest of them all, had a couple hundred coins saved up, but even that would be accumulated from his pay and other rewards throughout the time he spent in the army.

He had only launched two fireballs, and had already blown 1600 coins? He began to recall every single detail about the steel doll, and realised that apart from its defense capabilities being almost identical to a standard half-body armoured warrior, there wasn't anything outstanding about it. Little did he know that this was the very reason for its cost.

The average magic doll had a point or two of energy level discrepancy from the real deal, but the steel dolls of the Deepblue were accurate to a tenth of a point. It cost nearly 30 times of a difference to increase about one energy level of accuracy. The energy level being spoken of here was a significant concept in the world of magic, referring to the amount of energy possessed by a standard grade 1 magic missile.

Beads of cold sweat rolled down Richard's forehead without end, the gigantic numbers suffocating him. Rooseland was also part of the Sacred Alliance, and its currency was interlinked with that of Deepblue. 1600 coins was a debt that he would never be able to repay in his lifetime. He didn't like owing debts; a trait that he had inherited from his mother. Elena's reluctance to be in debt to anyone put an immense psychological pressure on the boy that almost made him faint, and it was extremely difficult for him to calm down and slowly look down the list. As he'd expected, the prices of the rest of the goods he'd consumed were shockingly high as well. That one mana potion he'd used cost nearly 500 coins!

He thought about the bottles of potion in his potion room in the storage area, and saw things from a different perspective. These potions were labeled with their properties and directions for use, most of which were supplementary potions which raised magical awareness and compatibility, and they were designed for recovery purposes and so on. They were mainly used by mages to expedite their training process.

Richard was gaining a greater understanding of the world beyond the mountains after arriving in the Deepblue. Even back in Azan he'd been appalled by the high prices of expensive items, but compared to in the Deepblue they were so much simpler and cheaper that they were practically free. A single mana potion was worth a mere 10 coins in Azan, but in the Deepblue it cost 50 times that.

However, what little Richard didn't know was that the mana recovery potions sold in the Azan market only lasted for 3 hours, and they only afforded half a fold of increase in recovery rate. The one he'd used would last an entire 24 hours, and doubled the recovery rate on top. That made for a total of a 32 times increase, and consequently the price was fifty times as much.

Refining better and better potions was harder the farther one went, just like in any other profession. It cost more with every advancement, a pyramid of power that was prevalent across practically all fields. This concept that little Richard had just learnt allowed him to interpret this principle from another angle, and apply it across physical boundaries.

At the end of the first page, Richard saw his total expenditure for the month: 18000 coins.

His income was listed on the second page, and there was only a single line at the top. The item was listed as a tuition subsidy, and its monetary value was 30,000 coins. As he was browsing through the expenses, Richard had already gotten used to the large numbers. Yet, the huge value of the subsidy still caught him by surprise.

Just a day ago, even 30 coins was a huge sum that little Richard had never set his eyes on before, much less 30,000. He didn't know how he could spend it either. Life in the mountains revolved around self-sufficiency, and apart from materials which had to be purchased, Richard couldn't even think about what else he could spend the money on.

But 30,000 coins... “It's probably enough to lay the floor of this laboratory!” Richard couldn't help but think this to himself as he gazed at the vast smelting laboratory, still stuck in a dizzy state.

With just a glance across every corner of the laboratory, Richard obtained an exact answer. If he used all his Sacred Alliance coins to lay the floor, it would require 333,300 of them.

Little Richard shook his head forcefully to rid his brain of these distressing numbers. 30,000 or 300,000, there wasn't any difference; they were all just huge sums beyond his imagination.

And the subsidy of 30,000 coins was just the beginning. The second page still contained several empty columns, just the names of the main categories without any income. In the future, these would be his sources of income. However, Richard found the last column rather difficult to understand. Sharon's Delight... What kind of income was that?

After calming himself down, little Richard immediately realised that a subsidy of 30,000 coins actually wasn't much. There were countless places in the Deepblue for him to spend his money on, and it was only the first month. He'd spent much of his time having lessons, and with only a week of practising magic where he'd only consumed a pathetic amount of materials and supplies, he'd still expended close to 18,000 coins. It would be great if he could just maintain equilibrium next month, and this same 30,000 definitely wouldn't be enough a month later.

Richard didn't put much thought into it. Although he still couldn't quite grasp the concept of currency, at least he knew that every single day spent learning in the Deepblue consumed huge volumes of resources. Even though he had the subsidy of 30,000 coins, he knew that it came with a price. It looked like Marquess Gaton had used up a significant amount of resources to allow him to enter the Deepblue, but this was a chance his mother had sacrificed her life for.

The history and politics of Norland was something all mages had to learn, so Richard had gained a preliminary understanding of the world. He knew at least that his position of being a personal apprentice to Sharon was something countless prominent figures in the Sacred Alliance could only dream of. Marquess Gaton himself didn't have the power and status for this, so he must have paid a greater price than others to get a hold of this opportunity. There were no boundaries when exploring the world of magic.

Richard quietly stopped the magic projection— using magic crystals also required money— and placed the badge in an eye-grabbing spot. All the items in his financial balance were already engraved into his memory, even more firmly than if he were to use a memory spell. With that, he jumped straight back into learning more about the world of magic.

Two months passed in the blink of an eye. Every day, Richard immersed himself in the world of magic and numbers, and was practically unaware of the passing of time. Now, he had an excellent understanding of two innate abilities: Wisdom and Truth. The digitised world wasn't bizarre and uninteresting anymore, becoming an irreplaceable benefit that outweighed everything else.

For example, Richard was able to intuitively understand others' strengths as long as they were within his perception range. Take the other two of Sharon's students still in the Deepblue, for instance. Minnie and Randolph were level 5 and level 6 mages respectively, both only at the age of fourteen. Minnie had 70 points of mana, while Randolph had an astonishing 110. Just the amount of mana he possessed made him no different from a level 7 mage, putting him far ahead of others of the same rank. Both could cast more spells than their peers, which was the most direct discrepancy in terms of ability. Moreover, they had to have something special in their bloodlines if they were Sharon's direct disciples. A strong bloodline was always the crucial tie-breaker in many high-level battles between professionals.

It was just... A fire burnt before his eyes every morning, and a silhouette of his mother would appear amongst the flames. His bed was occasionally tainted with blood from his mouth as he clenched his teeth in his dreams.

17 - City of Sin

Rune Armour

Richard had discovered in his studies that he was outstanding with math, runes, and body movement control. He could understand complex formulae easily, and the more he learned the more mysterious he felt the world of magic was. It made him feel even more ignorant than he'd felt before. The boy was extremely focused, and could deal with solitude well. Right now, there was nothing in his life but magic.
𝙛𝘳𝐞𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝗻𝘰ѵ𝗲𝙡. 𝑐o𝓶

Winter arrived in a flash, but Richard wasn't even aware of the first flakes of snow. The Deepblue remained as warm as spring, and with so many months of his life spent here he was already accustomed to the warm magic lights in his surroundings.

A meteor flashed past the sky tonight, unbelievably close to the earth as it sped across the snow-filled sky to land on the highest platform of the Deepblue. 23 mages were already present there, waiting in anticipation of someone's arrival despite the cold and the snow. Three of them were even grand mages.

The meteor split open, revealing Sharon's petite figure within. Two female mages immediately went forward and draped her in towels, while four others laid out a red carpet before her feet, continuously unrolling the carpet as she walked. More mages rolled up the carpet behind her, ensuring that her feet never once touched the ground since she landed.

The three grand mages walked beside her, hurrying reports about the events in the Deepblue during her absence. Sharon remained nonchalant about it all, until she brightened with the third mage's report about classes and talents. “You're saying little Richard has talent in setting up spell formations?”

Facing Sharon's gaze, the grand mage whose beard was almost completely white quivered in place, beads of cold sweat forming around his body. The gaze of a legendary being was like a snake staring at a frog. The sheer difference in spiritual force would put great pressure on the lesser mage, making them feel like they were facing a dragon.

The man would never have thought that Sharon was interested in such a small matter. Fortunately he'd prepared the report well, immediately handing over two small magic formations Richard had sketched. Sharon's interest was piqued the moment she saw the sketches, and she slowed to a stop as she perused them in detail.

Cold sweat continued to pour out of the old man's body. These two sketches seemed extremely normal to him, just the most basic of spell formations. There were in the standard format, and there was nothing innovative about it. The runes at the front were extremely simple, and the logic was clear and limited. Still, there was no need for innovation here. It was a standard formation Richard had learnt in his classes, and the only reason the grand mage even reported it was because Sharon was interested in the boy. She'd remained close to the examination room for the entire gamut of tests they'd run on him.

This was several hours in a primary plane! Time was precious to a legendary mage, so the man had figured that Sharon was greatly interested in Richard. He'd thus kept an eye on the boy, and reported his improvements since it would be an important milestone. The grand mage was just trying to gain her favour. After all, Sharon's Delight was an important field in every month's paycheck.

This was indeed some small improvement on Richard's part. The sketches had no mistakes, but that wasn't really a big deal. Anyone with proper training would be able to avoid all mistakes in such a basic spell formation. The only thing worth commending was that this had been done first try, but which grand mage wasn't a genius? The old man wouldn't bat an eyelid at such a drawing. Of course, the formation was almost identical to the textbook version, and the errors so tiny it was somewhat surprising, but rune drawing wasn't alchemy; there wasn't as strict a margin of error. Once one crossed the threshold, any more perfection was useless. If a millimetre of tolerance was allowed, what was the point of being accurate to ten micrometres?

If Richard could innovate on these basic spell formations, the grand mage would've looked at him differently. However, someone under level 10 wouldn't have the ability to create a spell formation of their own.

Despite all these thoughts of his, Sharon had been looking at the sketches for so long. Even if he was an idiot he'd realise things weren't as simple as they seemed. Still, he just couldn't discover what was special about them.

“Really, wonderful!” Sharon cried in joy, bringing her hands out to pat the grand mage. She was minute compared to his mighty figure, so he had to bow his waist to allow her to reach his shoulder.

*Thud!* However, the grand mage felt like he'd been hit with a dragon's claw when that snow-white hand touched him. He couldn't muster up any resistance to the force, falling straight to the ground.

“Oh!” Sharon exclaimed as she waved her hand, forming a water shield to stop the grand mage from falling and lifting him up, “I was a little too excited, and did not control my strength.”

“It wasn't heavy, it wasn't heavy! It was great!” The old grand mage smiled like a fresh flower that had just bloomed.

Sharon waved the two sketches in her hand and said excitedly, “I never thought that you'd be able to discern the anomaly in these two sketches! You seemed to have gotten smarter since I last saw you! What have you been eating recently?”

“It was all due to your teachings.” The grand mage smiled humbly, as if he was rejecting the credit given, as if he knew about why the two sketches were special. He wasn't a simple man by any means, after all he was in his current position today, but his heart was racing right now. Sharon's unbridled laughter meant his income this month would be an amazing figure!

Sharon seemed like a little girl, impatient and eager to share her joy. She showed the sketches off to the grand mages, saying, “Look! The sketches are almost identical to the textbook!” Only after her stress on the word identical did the three grand mages look on the sketches once more, a look of revelation flashing in their eyes.

“The difference between these drawings and the standard is just a tenth of a millimetre, and even that is pretty much constant. This precision and accuracy... Only someone above level 10 who's practised rigorously can have such precision. Richard did it at level 1!” Sharon continued.

One of the grand mages said in realisation, “This is a rare talent! He has outstanding spiritual force...”

“He has excellent stats all round, with no shortcomings,” another added.

The third handed the sketches back to Sharon, inhaling a deep breath before he spoke in a tone of disbelief, “We have a runemaster in the making?!”

“Indeed!” Sharon grinned widely.

Rune knights were an ultimate display of power amongst the humans. Originally archers, defenders, frontliners, or even mages, they all had the ability to bear runes on their bodies. A mid-tier rune would raise the might of a melee fighter by thirty percent, putting a level 13 or 14 rune knight on par with a level 17!

Power levels were a pyramid in the world. The higher one went in level, the fewer there were with such might. There were few level 18s in the world, and they were all experts that many factions wanted to rope in. None of them would join an army to become cannon fodder. On the other hand, rune knights weren't inferior to these saint classes but were far more numerous. There were enough of them to turn the tides on a battlefield.

Ever since rune knights had been introduced to warfare, all generals shared a maxim— Only rune knights can resist rune knights. The ones who made this miracle possible were runemasters.

Still, despite there being far, far more level 13 or 14 warriors than saint classes, the Sacred Alliance only had roughly a thousand rune knights. Even at the peak the empire had no more than three thousand.

This was all due to a bottleneck of runemasters.

Rune knights were strategic forces, and legendary mages were strategic deterrents. Much the same way, a runemaster was a strategic advantage. However, becoming a runemaster was difficult, requiring great talents in magic, control, and the ability to create with patience. Rune knights were limited in the number of runes they could bear, so runemasters needed to shrink large spell formations down to the size of a palm before inscribing them on their bodies. A powerful runemaster's drawings were often so small the regular eye couldn't even see it. The powerful inscriptions often took months to complete.

Even as one of the three human empires the Sacred Alliance possessed no more than a dozen odd runemasters, even when beginners were included. Nobles vied for the services of each, as even novice runemasters could add a small troop of rune knights to a family in a decade. This was an irresistible attraction, one that put runemasters not much lower than legendary mages in status.

These two sketches had revealed the most important attribute of a runemaster, precision. Sharon seemed happier the more she looked at them, her smile growing wider as a peal of laughter travelled across the earth and the skies.

'This woman...' The three grand mages perhaps thought of criticising her, but they still continued to smile with her on the surface. Their smiles were extremely affable, as if this runemaster in the making, Richard, was their own child.

“I really can't stop smiling!” Sharon sighed, before resuming her laughter.

Sharon had no desires for a secular army, and rune knights were of no attraction to her. However, having been with her for a long time, they knew the true reason for her happiness.

It was simply because she finally got to teach a runemaster! It meant she could now stomp the other runemasters of the world beneath her feet! While Sharon had many talented mages as her students, there was never a runemaster amongst their ranks till now. She'd offended a runemaster once, and now he'd become a national treasure of the Sacred Tree Empire as a great runemaster, so even as a legendary mage she couldn't touch him. Her long grudge would now be fulfilled.

However, nobody knew how the target of her delight, Richard, would be treated. Her desires were extremely wanton, but nobody wanted to point it out because they'd lose Sharon's Delight.

It was not easy for the legendary mage to stop her laughter, but she eventually turned solemn. “Give Richard full support from today, and groom him into a runemaster. I want this to be kept secret as well, nobody but you should know,” she said strictly.

The grand mages and the others present all criticised her in their minds. Sharon's laughter had travelled through several towers earlier, and not long after this she would not be able to suppress her smugness and announce it to the entire world. But for now, they all agreed to her on the surface and put on a solemn expression.

......

It was close to the month's end today, and Richard returned to his region in the evening. The girl was already waiting silently by his door, and handed over the bill to him as usual. And he didn't ask for her name. As usual.

Richard activated his badge in the forge, reading the contents of the bill. Just as he'd expected, his expenses had only increased as he continued practising broader and broader fields of magic. His expenses had already outstripped his stipend, which meant his savings from the first month were no more. He either had to slow down cultivation, or find ways to earn more money. However, he had no idea of how to earn a single cent outside that stipend. A level 1 mage was already an official mage in the outside world, but in the Deepblue those at level 3 and below were only considered apprentices.

Just as Richard was vexing his frustration, he noticed that another field was filled in his income.

Sharon's Delight — 500,000 gold coins.

The delight of a legendary mage was indeed of value! Richard's mind completely turned blank, emptied of all thoughts.

18 - City of Sin

Art

Life in the Deepblue was nerve-wracking, but also systematic. Time continued to pass without Richard noticing it, the boy remaining unchanged. However, he continued to receive more and more unexpected income as the months went by, most of it under Sharon's Delight. Richard didn't understand why he was getting it, but he could practically feel the weight of all that gold at the end of every month. Even a grand mage would go bankrupt if they spent like that.

Though Sharon seemed to be appreciating him every month, Richard only managed to break even. His spending had only gone up to unimaginable heights, almost growing to be endless. This was partially due to the change in his timetable as of late, where formerly infrequent lessons had been extended in his schedule. Unlike philosophy, politics, or alchemy, sometimes he was the only one in these classes, definitely not a good sign.

A professor commanded a certain amount of remuneration for every class they held, and this fee was normally split across all the students attending the lesson. If one were the only student in a class, they would have to bear the full cost of that class, which was an ever-growing expense.

Richard noticed the attention he'd been getting ever since the first time he'd been given money under Sharon's Delight. There were often people pointing fingers and whispering about him as they passed by. His perception wasn't strong enough to know just what they were talking about, but the newfound attention made him feel increasingly uncomfortable.

Sharon couldn't keep the secret in for more than a week. She spilled the beans to her inner circle, and they in turn spread it out through theirs. The legendary mage's newest disciple was a runemaster in the making!

It took only two months for the entirety of the Deepblue to learn of the situation. Sharon's predictions always held true despite the future being ever-changing, and she'd predicted the birth of a new runemaster. People still doubted it, but they were smart enough to not say anything. Only the stupid were honest about such things, and other people would long since have eliminated those idiots for some of Sharon's Delight.

By this point, there was only one person who didn't know about the future runemaster, and that was clearly Richard himself. Of course he wasn't clueless to the changes— the increase of lessons related to spell formations like math, geometry, practical art, and art appreciation— and there was also the fact that he was the only student now in some classes that had started off with others beside him as well. However, the only thing that worried him was the ever-increasing lesson costs, and not what the actual reason for the changes was.

Richard's timetable had been changed again as of late. He'd experienced an exponential increase in drawing lessons, the foundational subject being sketching. This was a new domain for him, but still every piece of work he handed in only netted a dumbfounded lesson from the level 15 artist-mage that was teaching him. The robotic precision of the sketches surprised the once-renowned artist: Where was the charm?

Sketching was art, not just a simple recreation of reality. Was it still art if there was basically no difference from the actual object? It frustrated the man to see Richard's works, and they were like giant stones that smashed against his chest to crush his original beliefs and understanding of art itself. How could he possibly be so precise?

And yet he couldn't reprimand Richard even once. Although the sketches didn't fit with his conventional thinking, was not any extreme—in this case, the precision— an art unto itself? As a mage himself, the man knew well— even if Richard didn't have a flair for the arts, this unerring accuracy made him an unrivalled talent as a mage; especially as a runemaster.

There was no need for him to make any unnecessary comments despite his passion, because he too could not overlook Sharon's Delight. Coin was a foundational requirement for art as well. And if he ruined a future runemaster just because of his personal taste for the arts, what awaited him may instead be Sharon's Rage. The mysophobe shuddered at the thought; he'd rather just be killed by the dwarves.

Richard had less time to stress over his bills now. He had homework to complete in the evening— an average of a drawing, two to five magic formation breakdowns and a mountain's worth of planar geometry every night. And yet, even ignoring the difficulty of the homework, the stationery too was a considerable expense. First, he needed a large number of magic papers to write on: constellation papers, moonscar papers, abyssal nightmare paper, and the like. He also needed all sorts of inks from regular dark ink to Lorskar Hell Ink. The one thing everything had in common was how expensive it all was, and the longer the name the more pricey it generally was.

And because planar geometry involved 3D compositions, he had to use a magical projector to finish his assignments. Richard had already lost count of the number of magic crystals that had used up; it was a common thing now for fully loaded boxes to be emptied by the time he was done.

Richard didn't know what he would've done without the continued joy of the legendary mage. His best case right now was maintaining a balance, and even then his time wasn't managed well. He still had meditation and magic practice outside of the lessons, and the time given to them had been compressed to an absolute minimum. His growth would be affected if he cut down any further. Richard only paced himself to the average student instead of people like Minnie, but even then he had to rely on the 500 coin mana potions every day to maintain a basic rate of progress. That was another 15,000 coins down the drain.

The only thing he could do anymore was cut down on his sleep, but he was a growing boy. He was being provided with curated meals, the flesh and blood of various rare mythical beasts, and the blood essence that they condensed in his body only increased his growth when he was asleep. Thankfully there were tons of meditation techniques in the Deepblue that could be used in sleep, and although they had limited effects they were better than nothing.

And thus Richard's biggest problem right now: He had too many things to do, and too little time to do it. He faced the mathematical problem of how to allocate time and resources to maximise the effects of every part of his school life, and the complexity of this problem only increased as time went by. Richard ended up spending four days sorting this all out, categorising it and specifying some essentials. This only spoke to the boy's intellect— he'd taken those few days to compute the best way to distribute resources and time, finally solving the question that had been hounding him. The four days were well spent, his gift of Precision told him that the new plan saved far more than the four days he'd lost in coming up with it.

At this point Richard realised he was living like a homunculus, but that didn't bother him. His world was already a digital one, so it didn't matter if he grew more robotic. And that was how he welcomed his first spring in the Deepblue, as a perfect robot with a jam-packed schedule.

On the morning of his eleventh birthday, Richard stood before his mirror to stare at his reflection; what looked back at him was a young man.

Kids from the mountains were normally a little larger than normal. With all the special meals he'd been eating lately, Richard was already half a head taller than others his age. He looked 13 or 14 years old, his childlike features fading into maturity. His eyes had already grown so deep that people could mistake him for an adult. Perhaps it was because of the many misfortunes he'd experienced, or maybe it was because of his Archeron bloodline.

He also already had defined muscles along his jaw, crescent eyes, thick luscious brows, and a straight tall nose. These were features of superior royal elves. Richard was never one who cared about looks, but all those art lessons made him aware of his good looks.

Oops, Precision corrected him, rare looks.

So what? Little Richard didn't care all that much. The six intensive months in the Deepblue had deeply influenced his mindset: beautiful things only served as accessories, decorations. Just like how accomplished men took beautiful women as trophies. Of course, he'd learnt by now that pretty men were even rarer than trophy wives.

Nonetheless, Richard had turned 11 years old now. Children from the mountains matured quickly, and 12-year-olds having families were not unheard of. Elena had summed up his year for every birthday so far, telling him what to take away from the year. But now?

The only thing Richard saw on his eleventh birthday was a reflection in a mirror. The only thing on his mind? The raging flames from his memories... Please visit f𝒓𝑒e𝓌e𝚋𝘯૦𝘷e𝗹. c૦𝒎

19 - City of Sin

Duel

Another thing Richard had achieved in all this time was more improvements to the fireball spell— he'd shortened the incantation time by half a second. This was the first step towards instant casts, and also the most important. The process greatly enriched his understanding of the principles of magic, especially because he wasn't using the same method for a standard quick cast of a spell. If he could continue enhancing the spell to its limits, he would one day be able to instacast great fireballs, a mark of a powerful mage.

Richard continued to look in the mirror. Those with elven blood flowing in their veins naturally took care of their own appearances, but today he was prepared for something specific. He'd ordered a pure white bouquet, and was going to scatter the petals from the Deepblue's outer terrace. It was said that Deepblue's summit was near the trade wind region, so in theory the neverending air currents would spread these fresh flowers out hundreds of kilometres if he threw it from up high and had good luck. He wished his mother would be able to see them from the heavens.

Richard walked out of his residence as usual, this time with that bouquet in hand. He headed for a teleportation point that would take him to the top of the Deepblue, an expensive but convenient means of transport that could send a little over ten people to a specific floor.

When he got closer to the spell formation, Richard found quite a few familiar faces waiting around it; they were people he used to have lessons with. There were other people he'd never seen before, though, seemingly waiting for something else.

These people seemed to change their minds the moment Richard walked in, pushing their way into the crowd. The formation wasn't large and there were already some people within, so it grew crowded immediately. Still, the shaking of the formation only lasted a few seconds before the restrictive feeling disappeared. The teleportation had ended, and Richard had reached the twentieth floor of the Deepblue.

He needed to take another teleportation point here, going up to the fortieth floor. This would continue a few times, until he finally got to the eightieth floor of the tower where the terrace was located.

The moment he stepped out of the light, Richard felt a sudden, stinging pain at his buttocks. Someone had mercilessly made a move on him! Not expecting it at all, he only let out a cry of surprise and charged out immediately.

However, something tripped him as he tried to make his way out, causing him to fall. He slid across the glazed blackstone floor for a few metres before stopping, the pain from the fall so intense he couldn't get up for a moment. The sudden impact had left him slightly dizzy, but the laughter and teasing that sounded out suddenly from behind him told him he had been made fun of.

Richard didn't care all that much about that low blow, but the flowers he'd planned on spreading for his mother had fallen down and been strewn everywhere. Petals were everywhere, and the stems of the flowers seemed to be broken.

He darted over in a hurry, intending to pick the bouquet up. These were the flowers his mother had liked the most, and although they weren't rare in the village they were hard to get this far up north. He'd had to order them from a flower shop a month ago to be able to get them today.

However, another hand reached forth the moment he was about to make contact with the bouquet, grabbing the flowers first. Richard stiffened as he stood up slowly, glancing ahead of him.

A young mage, about fourteen or fifteen years of age, stood smirking in front of him with arrogance. Half a head taller than Richard, the boy dressed in acolyte robes twisted his head to study the bouquet in his hands. He was one of the acolytes who'd been waiting in front of the teleportation point before, and by the looks of it the leader of the gang. The others advanced towards him one by one, subtly encircling Richard.

No matter how slow Richard was he'd finally understood that these people had come here especially for him. What he didn't understand was why him? Immersed as he was in the world of magic, he hadn't even interacted much with anyone other than the professors, and he'd never talked to this group before. How had he offended them? The exceptional memory granted from his blessings allowed Richard to vaguely remember that this youth in front of him was called Papin, someone from an average noble family of the Sacred Alliance. He had some amount of magic talent, but in the Deepblue he wasn't really exceptional enough to have Richard hear about him. As for his magic... The numbers in Richard's vision jumped around for a bit as Richard calculated Papin's mana reserves through his aura. The value ended up at fifteen points, equivalent to a level 2 mage.

Papin took a closer look at the disheveled flowers, even shaking the bouquet hard. It only caused more petals and leaves to fall. He then glanced at Richard from the corner of his eyes, arrogance lining his words as he asked, “Are you that Richard? I really can't tell what's so great about you that Sharon herself took you in as a disciple. Honestly though, you have a pretty good butt!”

The young acolytes all began to roar with laughter, evidently having experience and understanding in what this meant. Even without having had experiences like this before, Richard could understand the malice in their eyes. His face immediately turned red, but his persistence allowed him to hold the fury at bay as he spelt out slowly, “Return, the, flowers!”

“Ah, the flowers! I almost forgot!” Papin exclaimed in an exaggerated manner, and then put on an act as he gazed at the bouquet in his hands. He actually licked the flowers before speaking, “Is this important to you? Let me guess... Is this for a woman? Little Richard, I really wonder if you've even started growing hair down there. You're already learning from other men and giving women flowers? This isn't good. Who are you giving it to? Let me help you! Look, I'm such a great person. I love helping people! Then again, these flowers do look rather terrible. They're already in this state.” He then swung the flowers hard, causing more petals and leaves to fall, “It's like something you'd give to a prostitute...”

“Return it to me!” Richard's voice was very low, sounding like the roar of a young lion.

“Oh! So you really like this thing...” Papin bowed slightly and leant closer to little Richard. However, he released his hold and allowed the flowers to fall. Before Richard could even react, one of the acolytes nearby stomped down, and then crushed them. The pure white flower petals fell everywhere, and the bouquet could no longer be restored. Even more petals were crushed under the young acolyte's shoe.

Richard's response exceeded all expectations. He did not charge forward to protect the flowers, nor did he stop the acolyte. Instead, his body moved backwards, and then like a rebound from a stiff bow that had been pulled back, his hard forehead mercilessly smashed onto the smile on Papin's face!

The teleportation formation lay in front of a large path, so there were a fair number of people gathered here. A sound of crushed berries rang out as bones snapped to the force of the blow. The attack even caused some people to twitch their noses in fear.

Things turned black in Papin's eyes, and then red, yellow, and all other colours. The world began to spin as he lost all hold of his location. Even then Richard took advantage of everyone being in a daze. He pounced onto the youth, putting all his body weight into his hands as he pulled the older boy into the air. His hands firmly on Papin's head, he planted that bloodied face firmly into the ground. As long as this smashed down firmly, Papin's skull would break!

However, such a terrible thing could not be allowed to happen amidst the swarm of mages in the Deepblue. A grade 6 physical shield was cast on both boys, and the repulsive force between the spells caused the two to bounce off each other like balls.

Only great mages, at least at level 14, could instantly cast grade 6 spells. Two middle-aged mages walked out as expected, stern looks on their faces. “What's going on?”

Physical shields were very effective, only disappearing to a dispel or if they took enough damage. A bloodshot Richard ignored the words of the mages, doing all he could to attack the shield and get out.

On the other hand, Papin finally recovered from his dizzy spell. He grew both afraid and furious at what had just happened, still feeling the unbearable pain from his nose. He touched the place with trembling fingers, realising everything was a mess.

The discovery almost caused the youth to faint; the face he'd always been proud of had been destroyed! The discovery almost caused Papin to lose his mind, to the point that he managed to suppress the pain for an instant. He pointed at Richard, beginning to yell in a crazed manner, “Bastard! Do you have the guts to enter a magic duel with me? The one who loses has to kiss the winner's ass!”

Richard calmed down at Papin's shouting, stopping his attacks on the shield. He tidied up the sleeves he'd bunched up his arm, speaking calmly with an expression not befitting of his age, “I accept.”

“No!” The middle-aged mage who had separated the two frowned as he tried to stop them, but the other one just pulled at his robes. “Let them do as they wish!”

The middle-aged mage froze, whispering, “But Richard is a student of Her Excellency...”

The other man chuckled, and then answered in a low voice, “The one challenging him is called Papin, a follower of Randolph who's also a student of Her Excellency. The duel was probably Randolph's idea, but this idiot almost messed it up.”

The middle-aged mage came to a realisation, “We have no need to involve ourselves in matters between Her Excellency's students. Fine, let's go by the book!”

Traditionally, unresolved disputes in the Deepblue were ended with money and magic. If one proposed a magic duel and the other party agreed, if there was no obvious disparity between the strengths of the two parties a duel would be held under the supervision of the supervisors of the Deepblue. A specific arena had been set apart for this very purpose, and some mages were appointed to protect the place.

A large amount of money needed to be offered if two parties wished to use the duelling arena, to make up for possible losses from damage. The mages stationed there would then act as overseers, protecting both parties. After all, in principle a duel shouldn't endanger any lives. Of course, there was no such thing as absolute fairness. For instance, Papin was still registered as a level 1 mage, but he already had the mana reserves of a level 2.

Richard and Papin were inside the arena half an hour later, twenty metres apart and facing each other. Papin's injures had been crudely taken care of by then, and beside the slightly pale face he didn't look as pathetic as he used to. His blood-stained robes had also been changed, though the sunken bridge of his nose still looked unusual.

A fair number of people were here to watch the duel despite the fact that it was between two level 1s. News of the conflict had spread quickly, and Richard's special identity ensured that the viewing platform that could support two hundred people was rather full.

The audience seemed relaxed, acquaintances greeting each other without much thought to the upcoming duel. As high-profile as it was, this was still a battle between acolytes. Grade 1 spells wouldn't kill anyone, and with their mana reserves these acolytes would only be able to cast three of them at most.

Most people were only here out of curiosity. They wanted to know what was so special in Richard that Sharon herself would take him in as an apprentice, and it would be great if the boy was humiliated here. Watching a lucky person fall to the depths was something most people took guilty pleasure in.

Two of Sharon's apprentices stood behind a one-way window within a box up on a high platform, Minnie and Randolph.

Minnie was a tall and slender girl who looked cold and arrogant, possessing an imposing aura despite her youth that threw off anyone soliciting attention. Randolph was a large, tall young man; possessing an appearance, background, aura, and power well beyond his peers. Only a genius among geniuses could become apprenticed to the legendary mage herself.

Minnie looked down at the two in the arena as the countdown began, saying coldly, “A pretty good idea, Randolph. If Richard loses this duel with those conditions, Master definitely won't want him anymore. However... Why do you need to use such methods to take care of a mere level 1 mage?”

Randolph shrugged it off with an elegant smile, “I just want to see what's so special about this future runemaster. The famed runemaster, His Excellency, Saint Klaus, determined that I'm talented in the field long ago, but Master didn't let me train in the field... Besides, would it make sense for an apprentice of Master to lose to trash like that? It's just a difference of one level.”

Minnie mocked Richard, “Indeed, just one level— level 1 and level 2, that is. Are you insulting my intelligence, Randolph, or your own? Besides, aren't you afraid Master will be furious once she's back?”

Randolph chuckled arrogantly, “Master wouldn't give up on a genius like me for a loser. I get over 100,000 coins every month from her! On top of that, Father... Nevermind, the duel's about to begin. Let's watch!”

Minnie gazed towards the arena as well, but she muttered to herself, “But why is it that I hear Richard gets 500,000?”

Randolph did not speak, as if he had not heard Minnie, but his expression darkened.

20 - City of Sin

Abandoned Child

Richard and Papin began chanting their spells at the same time, accompanied by the corresponding gestures for their incantations. Papin's first gesture was precise and distinct, and one could tell at a glance that he was using the most practical and powerful of the grade 1 spells— a magic missile. The spell had been cast solidly, and even the fussiest of teachers wouldn't be able to find an issue with his foundation in magic.

A level 1 mage should rightfully only be able to cast two magic missiles at the same time, but 3 glows lit up between Papin's hands. The crowd grew a little restless at the boy's unexpected talent. Being the fastest spell to cast, the magic missiles had already been shot out before Richard could complete his spell.

Papin only had the ability to control one of the three missiles. He had that lock onto his target, while he sent the other two to Richard's left and right. With this tactic Richard would be hit by two of them no matter where he tried to dodge. The only exception would be not dodging, but even then he would have to face one.

Papin knew that a single missile definitely wouldn't be enough to defeat Richard; he'd personally 'experienced' the boy's physique in their scuffle. However, he was a level 2 mage himself; he could launch two more salvos of magic missiles. Three rounds of explosions would be enough to deal a disorienting blow.

On the other hand, Richard was only a level 1 mage; he would be able to launch two salvos total at best. Papin reckoned he'd be able to hold out for that extra round; even if it was quite unbearable, such was the nature of a magic duel. Had he been a level 3 mage his win would be guaranteed, and the duel wouldn't have been approved in the first place. All was fair in the Deepblue; one would require a tremendously strong backing and a large sum of material investment if they wanted everyone in the Deepblue to momentarily close an eye towards injustice, and Papin's family was far from having such a high status.

Papin began chanting once more after the three missiles were launched. Richard still wasn't done with his spell, so the youth could already smell victory at hand. He couldn't help but feel an itch for whatever his backer had promised him: equipment, coin, and status.

Lost in thought, Papin didn't pronounce the incantations quite accurately. The normal second and a half of casting time was increased to two, but even so the crowd seemed to roar out like crashing waves before he could complete.

'Are they cheering? Is it because of the victory I'm about to receive?' Papin thought. Still, he had at least some knowledge of his ability. He raised his head blankly to look at what was going on.

It was then that his eyes grew wide in an instant, the spell he was about to cast forgotten in his surprise. Papin could hardly believe his own eyes! What was he seeing, was that a Fireball? How could a level 1 mage use a grade 3 spell? Weren't scrolls and other props like that banned from magic duels? Why was there a fireball here?

A genuine fireball had already been launched in Papin's direction. It wasn't controlled after the launch, but with how fast fireballs traveled and their area of effect they didn't need control anyway.

Papin was dumbstruck, only able to react after the fireball crossed the five metre mark. He cried out loudly as he tried to dodge it, but even though at that moment he ran the fastest he ever had in his life the surging waves of flame landed only three metres away. The explosion hit so hard that he was thrown out in a small arc across the sky, landing heavily a few metres away with a muted thump. He couldn't get up!

The huge racket in the arena suddenly turned into a deathly stillness. Everyone subconsciously held their breaths. There were many experienced and knowledgeable magi among the spectators who could tell that Richard's fireball was weaker than normal, but ten points of damage was still very powerful against someone below level 3. Although Papin hadn't been charred to death, he would have to recuperate for a few weeks!

Another muted thump attracted the attention of the spectators once again. Richard had just come face to face with the magic missile that Papin launched earlier, protecting his chest with both arms to endure the blow as he prepared his second spell. It was all done without the slightest expression on his face, his gestures unbelievably precise.

At this moment, the arena was so quiet that even the sound of a feather falling to the ground would be heard clearly. Although Richard recited the magic incantations in a low voice, a few prominent magi with exceptional senses could hear it, and they were all visibly frightened! Although a substantial part of the magic incantation was modified, they could still identify it. The second spell was also a fireball!

Richard had already turned pale. His mana was being consumes so rapidly he felt his body draining of power, and he had less than four points of mana on hand. Even with the effects of a mana potion that would only be 5.

However, he was preparing an alternate version of the fireball this time. It was at an experimental stage, but it reduced the mana the spell took. He would be able to launch a smaller fireball with 8 points of damage, but even then he would need 6 points of mana. He pushed his way forth with sheer power of will, not hesitating to overdraft his mana just to finish this spell!

While the fireball may have been small, it was sufficiently lethal. It forced the overseer to flash into the centre of the arena, dispersing the incomplete spell with a wave as he stabilised Richard's mana.

“That's enough. This spell will cost him his life; that does not fall in accordance with the rules.” The umpire turned to check on Papin's condition, then declared, “The winner of this duel is Richard Archeron! Now, Richard, as per your earlier agreement you can collect on the bet. You can choose for it to be completed at another location, but I personally recommend you choose a... erm... similar but more flexible method. That is within the scope of the rules.”

Having heard the overseer's piece, Richard walked over to the prone Papin, boorishly lifting the boy up to scan the charred and swollen face. Without a single strand of emotion in his voice, he said, “Someone once told me to return a blow to the buttocks with twice the impact.”

With that, Richard stood up and used every single ounce of energy in him to ruthlessly kick Papin's bottom right square in the middle! The youth squealed like a pig in a slaughterhouse, his voice turning hoarse as he took short breaths between his shouts. Nobody could even tell whether the fellow was laughing or crying!

Richard walked two steps away, then suddenly turned around and delivered another kick! This one immediately raised the youth's voice an octave, and caused the overseer to raise his brows. It seemed rather inappropriate to attack the centre of Papin's behind, but he did agree that the kick was far more merciful than the original stakes. He expressed his approval by announcing the end of the duel, causing the spectators to disperse. Everyone was excited as they discussed Richard's fireball. However, although nobody paid attention to Papin's bum right now it would clearly be a hot topic for a long time.

Minnie and Randolph had never expected such an outcome. The girl suddenly sneered, “You were right, Randolph. Seems like little Richard is worth 500,000 coins indeed!” With that, she walked out of their luxury box without even bidding Randolph goodbye or consulting him.

Randolph's face was ashen, and his eyes were practically about to erupt in flames! His glare was fixated on Minnie's slender waist and swaying bum that seemed to have a life of its own, as he clenched his teeth tightly.

As she was about to open the door of the luxury box, Minnie suddenly turned around and said with a gentle smile, “Don't just stare at my buttocks. Instead, I think you now need to think carefully about your bum's future. Master will be back in 6 days!”

She slammed the door resolutely in Randolph's face with a thump, unregarding of etiquette or being a role model. Randolph could only snarl, smashing practically everything in the room he found. He could afford to pay for it anyway.

As for Papin, he was now an orphan abandoned by the world. Even those acolytes that used to follow him around like shadows were now nowhere to be seen anymore. Only now had they remembered how terrifying Her Excellency Sharon was. Only those who hadn't been studying long in the Deepblue would act so foppish. Google search 𝗳𝔯e𝒆𝙬𝘦𝙗𝓷o𝘷el. c૦𝑚

21 - City of Sin

Balance

With her appreciating her personal space, the top third of the Deepblue belonged to Sharon and Sharon alone, closed off to everyone else... Technically that wasn't true— the security golems that were around level 15 warriors in strength would attack you as long as you weren't recognised, but if you got through them you could enter the place; and all you had to face after that was a dozen grand mages, and then Sharon herself. Then you'd be free to move in these top floors however you want. All theoretically speaking, that is. Google search 𝗳𝘳ℯ𝑒𝓌ℯ𝚋𝐧oνe𝘭. c𝐨ｍ

Intermittent shrieks reverberated in Sharon's personal area, blood-curdling screams that resonated within the dark grey corridor to induce goosebumps. Those who knew what was going on would have an entirely different reaction.

Minnie appeared at the end of the corridor with quick steps. It was evident from her hurried pace, pursed lips, furrowed brows, and shivering body that she was prepared to run from this place at any time— that she wasn't exactly fond of this gloomy corridor. That was understandable— after all she was still considerably young— but the dark and damp theme of this sinister place had been decided by the mighty Sharon herself, and she could never go wrong. Nobody dared raise any opinions against the setup of these floors.

More indistinct screeches sounded from the corridor, and this time Minnie recognised the owner of the voice. She smirked and spat at the ground, reaching the end of the jail region which had a dozen cells of various sizes and functions. The region was more than a thousand square metres in area, and Randolph was tied to a rack at a cell in the centre. His limbs had been stretched out, his clothes ripped apart as a half-naked jailor brandished his 5-metre-long whip on his back mercilessly.

The dark-skinned man's tight muscles had a sheen of grease, making him look sickening. His shorts were ripped at the sides, stained with large blotches of muddy brown— probably dried blood from people or animals.

If one neglected the brutality of the situation, they would notice the jailor's extreme skill with his instrument. The long whip howled and weaved through the air as it repeatedly struck Randolph's tender butt, leaving red hot scars in its wake. The skin wasn't being torn apart; the damage was enough to be torturous but not lasting. Standing four metres away, the jailor even distributed his attacks. Almost every part of Randolph's butt was covered, and still even where the marks crossed each other the skin remained intact. From afar it looked like an abstract, bestial art; a mishmash of colours and lines with an inexplicable beauty that was near perfection. The jailor probably counted as someone very strong.

Randolph's butt was swollen, and there was a mixture of tears mucus and saliva on his once-handsome face. As an outstanding mage coming from a family of aristocrats he had a high degree of bravery and endurance, but the punishments in this region were designed for tougher races like hellspawn, abyssal devils, lesser dragons, mix-blooded beastmen and grey dwarves. Humans, especially the ones who weren't as strong physically, were as easy to finish up with as a bowl of water. Take this jailor, for example— the simplest of whips and Randolph was already on the verge of collapse. The cell had sixteen different tools of torture, and he could use a full nine.

Randolph was cramped after the whipping, but even though he trembled he could not faint. The excruciating pain came in huge waves with no zenith or nadir, just a continual invasive pain that stabbed at his consciousness. He felt like he would die the very next moment.

The most humiliating part was the fact that all his injuries were in the area Minnie had reminded him to take care of— his buttocks. It almost drove him insane, but thankfully for his strong will he didn't collapse until the very last minute. Still, he'd lost all strength by the end of the punishment, unable to even feel the insult anymore. The worst was already done, and all he wished for now was for this matter to stay out of the public eye, especially Sharon's. Such a thing could jeopardise his position as her apprentice.

He shivered at the thought. If he got kicked out of the Deepblue... He couldn't even bring himself to think of a life after that. Not everyone could handle being dropped to the ground from such heights, and through the course of these events Randolph had realised that it was his family background and his identity as Sharon's apprentice that was what made him special, not his talent or appearance. And in that moment, fear and regret swallowed him whole. So much so that he forgot to curse Minnie's butt.

......

A dark-skinned slave was bowed down in one of Sharon's favourite lounges, a huge pot made of gold on his back with various fruits within. Some of the fruit was plump and alluring while some more was twisted and with bizarre colours, but whatever these things were the pot had everything. Many of these fruits weren't even in season, and some were produced from other planes. In a raised crystal glass at the centre were some prized fruits that were normally guarded by powerful beasts. The half ton of fruits served perfectly as Sharon's snack for the day.

The man moved forward with heavy steps, following the pebble path that lead through the forest with big trees. He passed a vast plain to come before a lake with tables and chairs set up beside it, the furniture simple and pure unlike the glamorous pot yet giving off an aura of coziness at first sight.

Sharon was lazing on a couch, sending fruits into her mouth from a similar golden pot that was almost empty beside her. The slave replaced the old pot with the new one before returning. Although this was a lounge, it still occupied more than a thousand square metres and had its own ecology and heating systems that made it like a comfortable mountain forest.

A few grand mages were surrounding Sharon's couch, reporting about important matters. They took turns by status, most of the information being about financial affairs, Randolph, and Richard.

One of them was reporting on the winter finances of the Deepblue. Before he could finish that quick and simple report, a cherry that was supposed to be on its way to Sharon's mouth stopped itself in mid-air. Her intense gaze landed on said grand mage, a massive threat radiating from her that instantly caused everyone present to wobble a little. “What? We made a loss last season?”

The person in charge of finances was different from everyone else. He was a grey dwarf, a supposed nemesis of the human race. Few of his species had any magic talent at all, so they didn't have many grand mages. On the other hand, their meticulous nature with money made them very capable with finance.

The dwarf lowered his head and bowed immediately, avoiding eye contact with Sharon as he answered carefully, “Yes, but it was only about 60,000 coins.”

But Sharon cut him off, “That's still a loss! I remember I robbed a handful of giant dragons in the middle of last year, and some of that went into managing the Deepblue. How could you still make a loss? Did you investigate?”

“I found the cause, but...” The dwarf hummed and hawed, not daring to speak up.

“Continue!” Sharon raised her voice again.

Eventually, he ground his teeth and forced the words out, “You've been in a good mood lately, master...”

The cherry continued into the abyss that was Sharon's mouth when she heard these words. The legendary mage furrowed her pretty brows, brooding over the matter before replying, “Well, I think I'll be in better mood in the coming days so let's put that aside for now. Is there anything else?”

A human mage stepped forward, “We've already punished Randolph as per your orders, Master. How should we take things forward?”

“What do you suggest?” Sharon asked lazily as she toyed with an aquatic fruit in her hand in disinterest.

The man replied, “His aptitude isn't too bad, and he was evaluated as outstanding in the tests. Moreover he's the son of Duke Solam of the Sacred Tree Empire, and Master Klaus even confirmed his aptitude as a runemaster. I suggest we keep his position.”

The legendary mage scoffed, “Klaus dares to call himself a master? I hear he added 'Saint' before his name? Bah, since when has that piece of old garbage ever been right about people? We already have a great future runemaster in the Deepblue; discard the trash before we waste more of our resources on him. We already made enough losses last season... Here's what, send Randolph according to our original plan.”

“But he's still the son of Duke Solam...” The human mage reminded. Even in the Sacred Tree Empire, where powerful beings were everywhere, Duke Solam was someone with great influence. He was known as the Dragonslayer, Demonslayer, and Hellslayer, having acquired such titles despite being one step away from becoming a legendary being. He wouldn't necessarily lose an open war with Sharon.

Sharon waved her hand dismissively and cut him off. “The boy is Solam's son, but he's not the only one. I'm sure the other eleven wives will help us, and I remember two of his other children were good enough not to embarass me. Give them this slot as long as Solam will contribute half of his original sponsorship.”

“That's enough to stop the losses, right?” Sharon turned to the grey dwarf with great expectations.

The man made some quick calculations, but he only frowned, “It can only secure us for spring. You said your mood will only grow better.”

Sharon grew serious, searching around the pot of fruit but not finding anything for a long while. She remained conflicted for a while, eventually speaking out, “My mood... I can't control that, what do we do now? Even the dragons are poor after I visited them last year, so I won't be able to find anything even if I go again. And they're even moving further and further away, becoming difficult to find...”

The dwarf suggested with wariness, “Why not... add another apprentice who pays for themselves?”

An older mage interjected before Sharon could react, “That won't do! How noble is it to be apprenticed to Her Excellency Sharon herself? How could you just sell that spot away? One might be fine, but more? Apprentices who don't have the ability to hold up their status will seriously damage the reputations of the Deepblue and Her Excellency!”

“Worry about the losses before you worry about reputation! Even after this every genius will fight for a spot as Her Excellency's apprentice, regardless of whether they pay or not. Do you want the most beautiful Master to stop being delighted? She has an apprentice that will become a runemaster in the future now, everyone else pales in comparison!”

By that point the dwarf had started to shout. Sharon waved her hand to silence him, causing the two mages to wait on her words as she loitered between loss of finances and reputation. It took a while for her to make a painful decision, “Let's add another self-paying apprentice.”

To distract herself she quickly changed the topic to Richard. “Now, let's look at what our future saint runemaster has been up to.” The financial stress had immediately brought Richard's prospects up to becoming a saint runemaster.

22 - City of Sin

Accident

Another grand mage took out two sheets of information, presenting them to Sharon. The legendary mage scanned through the papers and shot up immediately, “He made improvements to fireball? Let's take a look... Wow, a total of seven improvements, that's impressive. He can even cast a grade 3 fireball at level 1, even I couldn't...”

The legendary mage suddenly cleared her throat before continuing, “I could only cast grade 4 or 5 fireballs, nothing impressive. Still, this boy's a genius mage and a budding runemaster and he has the Archeron bloodline!”

Sharon chuckled as she flipped through the papers again and again, as if she could never have enough. Eventually, she just burst out laughing, turning to the dwarf in between her laughs, “Make some adjustments to Richard's budget this month. Add more!”

The grey dwarf knew his master all too well. “Your Excellency, you seem to be in too much joy right now!” he reminded her before she could mention an exact amount. Sharon understood what he meant, but even if she found it funny she decided to push the change back for now.

The 'future saint runemaster' knew nothing about these things. Richard was standing naked in his bathroom, pouring a basin of ice-cold water over his head.

He'd long since switched off the magic heating in his residence. It was no doubt a brilliant system, able to regulate temperatures in any season, but it had a huge maintenance fee of a thousand coins every month! Besides, the freezing water was the only way to calm the boiling blood.

Richard was still puzzled about his own actions, from the fight with Papin before the duel to the actual battle in the arena. Why had he gone so far? Was it because of the boy insulting his mother? No, it had to be more than that. Smashing the youth's head into the ground or casting the second fireball, they were both fatal strokes. The mountain kid in Richard still had a pure heart, and even though he believed Papin had to be punished he did not think the boy deserved death.

And yet, in that moment of offence, Richard could only feel the blood gushing into his head, the heat like he was placed into a furnace. Papin seemed irrevocably detestable, so much so that tearing him in half would not be enough to sate Richard's fury. So when Richard smashed his face against the ground, it was only the start of it all. On the battlefield, he would have done anything to burn Papin alive. That second fireball was meant to turn the defenseless Papin into a human torch, consigning him to a painful death.

It was taboo for mages to overdraft on their mana, and the consequences of such an act varied based on the severity. A mild exhaustion would cause a drop in mana recovery from a period varying between a month to several years. A severe overdraft would cause a direct fall in power, or even the loss of life. Still, despite those heavy consequences, Richard would have paid any price for Papin's death. But he knew, even a hundred dead Papins wouldn't calm the wrath surging within him.

The duel had left him dizzy, and he didn't even know how he got back to his residence. The only thing he vaguely felt was that there were more people around him, and they expressed more anxiousness and concern for him than before...

It took three days for Richard to wake up again. His blood was still boiling, and he felt the urge to find trouble with Papin again. It was at this point that the boy realised something wasn't quite right— he was unusually agitated and had inexplicable murderous thoughts. It was like he wasn't in control of himself, still wanting to smash something to pieces or throw something away to release the fire burning within.

*Splash!* Another pot of cold water poured down on his head. With the weather as it was, even if Richard's body was far sturdier than those of other youths his age he still shivered with the cold, his face paling. But just as a cold breeze swept past he felt his burning blood stirring once more, this time even resonating with the mana within his body. He clenched his teeth, using that already-rigid hand to grab the wooden barrel again. This time he shovelled some crushed ice into it, even that simple movement very strenuous with a majority of his joints stiff and his fingers numbed.

Just as Richard struggled with the wooden barrel, a sweet, crisp voice sounded behind him. “Hey! Anyone in there? It's time to eat!”

The unexpected situation blanked Richard's mind, making him feel once more like a young child being stalked by a wolf. Instinct took over as he threw the barrel aside, jumping at the source of the voice in an attempt to fight for his life. As he turned, he saw a girl standing before the door of the bathroom, peeping in. He recognised her as the girl who delivered his monthly bills, but by then he was already no longer in control of his body as he threw himself on her and pushed her to the floor.

Richard was already like a fifteen-year-old youth, his build about the same as the girl's. He crushed her below him, causing her to shriek in pain immediately.

Richard didn't know why he suddenly grew a little dizzy. Things that he could normally think clearly of now required a long time for him to understand. His body temperature had already dropped too low, but that boiling blood deep within his body grew restless, and the clothes of the girl below him were very thin— the magic robes of the Deepblue kept people warm even in winter. He could feel the girl's curves, and the burning heat of her body, all through the soft clothes.

The touch of his ice-cold skin to that burning heat caused his senses to be heightened to an unprecedented level. The girl's body was both soft and flexible, full of youthfulness that caused Richard to feel strange. It was like something was awakening in him, his boiling blood seemingly having found a target as it rushed down below.

This journey was hardly smooth, the cold water from the bath still affecting him. It didn't make it very far before Richard tried to sober himself, questioning her in shock, “It's you? How did you get in?”
𝑓𝙧𝙚𝙚w𝙚𝙗𝒏oν𝐞l. c𝑜𝙢

“I'm in charge of delivering your meals now. But you are always sleeping, and this is my second time coming. How would I know that you will disappear and... ugh!” The girl answered innocently. She felt light-headed from the fall just now, and her body was hurting immensely. Level 2 she may be, but mages didn't have tough physiques like fighters. They were mostly similar to humans.

It was only then that Richard realised he was still on top of the girl. He tried to get off in a hurry, but his stiff joints locked up and stopped him from doing so. He fell back quickly on the girl the moment he tried to get up, and the more he struggled the more it looked like he was trying to grind into her. After all, Richard was not a fighter, the several buckets of cold water were not for nothing.

Richard's movements caused the girl's cheeks to tint a bright red, and she attempted to push him off. But then she felt his taut muscles, and something seemed to change in her mind as she hugged him closer and reciprocated like a mischievous feline. Her eyes grew hooded as she raised her body continuously, rubbing her soft breasts against Richard's rock-hard chest. Moans escaped her in waves— a mixture of pain and indistinct breaths.

Richard was somewhat baffled by the girl's reaction. She obviously wanted to help him stand up initially, so what was she doing stopping him? Still, it caused him to feel something different sprouting within him. This was the first time in his eleven years of life that his heart had sped up so strangely, and all of a sudden he actually thought it felt good to be laying down on her like that. He didn't want to get up anymore, not really, shifting his attention. Was the softness he felt the tender breasts of a girl? It was indeed pleasurable, if only they were bigger...

Richard wasn't overthinking, as data sprang up in his mind to support this. Precision and wisdom worked together, giving him descriptions and equations of her body's curves and structure. Richard once again understood the beauty of numbers, but a pity that it was untimely. The veil of data seemed to halve his desires.

The girl was nothing impressive when compared to the other women in his memory. Still, she wasn't too bad! Age was another variable affecting all this, and his abilities corrected his views once again.

It was then that the girl stretched out one of her legs and positioned it between Richard's thighs, continuing to move upward. She prodded her leg up as much as she could. And in that instant, the numbers in Richard's eyes flew off with no connection to each other.

23 - City of Sin

Watering The Fruit

Richard had no idea how he managed to stand up, but he got away from the girl and straightened his body. She had limited physical strength, and much to her surprise his body was firm and heavy. Just a few movements had left her sweating all over, limbs like jelly. Seeing Richard successfully stand up, she almost bit her lips to the point of drawing blood.

Didn't they say boys from noble families started learning the difference between the sexes at six years of age? A ten-year-old would already know everything there is, and by fifteen most young men from large noble families had already experienced over a dozen women. Why was it that Richard didn't seem to know anything? Which student of Sharon's didn't come from the noblest of families?

“That's impossible! He's her excellency's student. He must think I'm not good enough!” The young girl was so perplexed that she accidentally revealed her thoughts out loud.

“How are you not good enough?” Richard asked, at a loss. He was feeling like everything was just a dream.

The girl gritted her teeth, and then pretended to suddenly feel weak as she leaned into Richard. Seeing her look so feeble that she was about to fall on the hard, rocky ground, he had no choice but to help her. The girl used this chance to twist her flexible waist, pressing her towering portions into him.

Having tried to help, Richard couldn't help but gasp. The girl had used a hand to sneakily grab a hold of his lower body, rubbing it with force!

The feeling the girl got in her hand made it clear to her that this was a fruit about to ripen. There was still a tiny bit left, but it would take some months to a year to do it. Of course this would shorten if it was tended to, and if she forced the issue she could push Richard over the edge herself. After all, even if he was young a fruit was a fruit.

The young girl bit at her lower lip, evidently considering something, but she ended up not going through with it. She hadn't suddenly found a conscience or anything, but forcing the boy to mature could harm him. While the chances were low, any unexpected repercussions weren't something she could take a risk on.

That's how Richard was finally allowed to put on a dark robe, sitting down on the dining table. He spaced out as he stared at the roasted meat filling the silver basin on his table. This was his lunch, and he would get the same amount food for dinner.

This was an entire two kilograms of meat before one even counted the side dishes that were substantial and the large glass of alcohol with a strange and difficult name. This was the amount he would eat in an entire day in the past, but now it had been compressed into a single meal. And he had to finish it all! One of the girl's tasks was to ensure Richard ate everything.

Even though he picked up the fork and knife, Richard found it difficult to go on. He was hungry, and that annoying feeling in his blood had disappeared after his struggle, but this much food would be very difficult for him to take. The smell of the meat was already making him nauseous, lingering at his nose and quickening the flow of his blood. He was afraid that mysterious hot blood would be stimulated again if he ate this.

The young girl saw Richard hesitating and grinned, “Eat with all your might! Her excellently has a famous saying, 'One must have a dragon's appetite to earn a dragon's strength.' That's why all the high-ranked mages in the Deepblue have large appetites.”

While he was Sharon's apprentice and was filled with reverence for her, Richard was skeptical of this saying. It wasn't just the food and drink that was causing a reaction. Every smell that entered in his nose seemed to make a vein tremble, and the girl's eyes blazed whenever they flitted past the food. She managed to remain nonchalant as she sat with her elbows on the table and her palms supporting her chin, but he could tell that there was more to this lunch than met the eye.

“What kind of meat is this?”

“The rib of the Komodo Earth Dragon,” the young girl answered instantly.

“The alcohol?”

“The warrior alcohol of elite ash dwarves from the raging flame valleys.”

“Ah, then what about these dishes?”

“Xelan, Blood Parrot, Kub Berry, and Speelan. These are the main ingredients in many strengthening potions, and have been cooked using special methods. They boost strength and vitality.” The girl seemed to know everything like the back of her hand, though this did not seem to be her main profession. Richard could tell that she was almost at level 3 already; that wasn't rare, but even in the Deepblue such talents weren't found everywhere.

Richard nodded and waved the girl over, “Come and eat a little! I can't eat so much.”

The girl cried out, and then hastily shook her head, saying, “No, no! They're all so expensive, I can't bear the cost...”

“Then take it as helping me cheat.” Richard said with a smile. Without his blood boiling he was a smart kid, and the past year of suffering had helped him mature quicker.

His words caused the girl to relax, but she shook her head once again, “No. I know you're doing this out of goodwill, but these are all special recipes meant only for men.”

She hadn't mentioned that these dishes could also help men mature more quickly. That was information she wasn't supposed to know.

Richard took another look at the girl, and stopped hesitating as he did his best to finish all the food. He ate hard and quick, his packed schedule spurring him on even here. When he picked up the pungent alcohol and downed it all in one go, the girl's eyes flashed. It was like she was seeing an almost-ripe tree being watered.

Richard finished off all the food in ten minutes, leaving the silver plates so shiny they looked like they'd just been washed. The girl's reactions told him there would be another striking number at the end of this month's bill.

After the struggle in the bathroom, Richard's feelings for the girl had changed. He recalled the intertwining of limbs and the intentional touches as she began to pack the cutlery slowly, his gaze causing her to blush slightly. His own body started to heat up, the soft body under those robes beginning to draw him in with a mysterious force.

“I haven't gotten your name,” he said suddenly.

The girl's body trembled and she looked down awkwardly, “Erin. Erin Fayla.”

“Well then Erin, what can I hel... No, you've helped me with so many things, how can I repay you?” Richard picked his words with care, afraid to offend the girl or harm her pride. He'd inherited his mother's thoughtfulness, and his time spent in the Deepblue was starting to educate him on social relationships.

Erin finally looked up, showing a smiling face, “It's Deepblue tradition to provide something if you wish to earn gold. I know a lot, so if there's anything you want to learn about the Deepblue just ask me. I'll take a fee, of course, and it will be based on the rarity of the information.”

Having stowed all the cutlery away, the girl suddenly drew close to Richard and planted a quick kiss on his lips. “Thank you!” she said quickly as she left. Seeing the girl's brisk and lively footsteps, Richard suddenly found himself in a good mood...

The magic formation flickered with light as the heavy gates closed themselves slowly, isolating the area from the outer world. All noise was eliminated, and the entire residence grew tranquil. Richard regained his calm, beginning his studies for the day. The turkey-feather pen seemed extra smooth today, and the Lorskar Hell Ink that he'd just unsealed seemed extra dry. He made mistake after mistake as he drew on the abyssal nightmare paper, some so terrible that the entire formation was almost wasted. These materials cost more than 50,000 gold, and a successful inscription would give him 30,000 back. That was an amount equal to his entire stipend for the first month.

The pen didn't seem to listen today, not stopping where he wanted as it overshot everywhere. He felt something off about him— his heart was beating fast, and he was anticipating dinner far more than normal. This magic formation wasn't particularly difficult for him, only requiring more precision from him, but it took him much more time to finish than the most complicated formations he'd drawn before.

'Mm, I seem to be less efficient today, but that's not...' Richard was deep in thought. Efficiency at 25%, Precision had answered him. It had to be said, this talent wasn't all that charming sometimes.

Dinnertime finally arrived, and Erin was right on time. She watched silently as Richard emptied everything, planting another light kiss on Richard's lips. This time she grabbed his hand, placing it on her chest. “You owe me one gold!” she said with a sly smile before she quickly left the residence.

The girl was in a particularly good mood. Jogging away lightheartedly, she didn't notice the group heading over towards the residence from the little square some distance away. Central to the group was a tall, handsome noble who looked to be about seventeen or eighteen years old. He was dressed in simple form-fitting clothing, tailored to perfection with a small dull gold emblem on the left of his chest. At the centre of that was a two-headed eagle with a large twisting snake caught between the claws. Anyone familiar with the politics of Norland would be able to recognise this symbol: it was the Hawkserpent Insignia of Duke Solam of the Sacred Tree Empire. Few within the Solam Family were allowed to even have this emblem on them.

There were about ten or so people following behind the youth. Half were warriors and the other half were mages, creating a huge disparity with the usual scene in Deepblue of mages forming groups. The teacher who had once taught Richard the history of the Deepblue was now following by the youth's side eagerly, his voice rising and falling as he explained everything in a lively manner. The only thing beside this youth's background that could cause this old mage to work so hard was the power of gold.

The youth listened absent-mindedly, focusing more on the construction of the insides of Deepblue and the crowds that came and went, his sharp gaze not letting any detail escape his notice. He would even pause on the magic lamps that provided light.

He spotted Erin's back heading into the distance, cheerful like a beautiful swallow. Deep in thought, he paused his footsteps and then took a look at the place that Erin had come from. That was a residential area, and on the long walls that extended into the distance, there was a heavy metallic gate that moved with magic. This meant that, astonishingly enough, only one person lived in this region.

“You said that this belongs to... ah, Mister Richard, right?” the youth asked the old mage.

“Yes! Richard is Her Excellency's newest student. He might be young, but he's a real genius! You can tell just from his residence. Only two of her apprentices have such large residences. On top of that, there's another huge secret...” The old mage lowered his voice at this point, acting secretive.

“Oh, what secret?” The youth drew closer to the old mage, his interest piqued.

The old mage looked left and right, and answered so softly only the two of them could hear, “Mister Richard is a future runemaster!”

“What? Didn't you just say that he just turned eleven?!” the youth exclaimed in shock.

The old mage was so anxious that he stamped his feet, “Quiet, quiet! This is a secret! I did say that he's a future runemaster. A future one!”

The youth then understood, “That's unthinkable! Who determined that he had the talent to become a runemaster? Was it Her Excellency?”

“Who else could it be?”

The youth smiled, and then produced a small bag of gold coins and handed it to the mage, “Thank you for telling me such a huge secret.”

Estimating the weight of the bag, the old mage immediately beamed. This information was secret only to the Deepblue, but he was already experienced in 'revealing' it to any new entrants for money.

The youth gave the gate in the residential area a meaningful look and then told the old mage, “It's almost time to meet Master. Let's go, it would be impolite of me to have her wait.”

24 - City of Sin

Legendary

A rare scene was playing out in Sharon's private library. The legendary mage was sat at the table, flipping through a thick tome with hundreds of similar books floating in the air around her. Some of these books were upright, displaying text or images, waiting to be used. They flew to the legendary mage whenever she needed them, automatically flipping to the right page and adjusting angle so they could be read in the most convenient way possible. She was frowning slightly as she read through everything, altering some of the content on occasion. She was illuminated by a ray of light shooting out from a crystal arch that created a region of bright light in the semicircular room, sitting at the centre of this spotlight.

This may be called a private library, but there were seventy rows of bookshelves in front of and behind her. The shelves were all seven metres tall, filled with all sorts of magic tomes. This place didn't lose out to even the National Public Library in scale.

The partially covered door to the library was opened slightly, and a dwarven grand mage with a white beard cautiously walked in, watching as the legendary mage was hard at work. The grand mage's footsteps immediately grew lighter, and as gently as possible he called out, “Your Excellency...”

“I'm busy!” Sharon answered in annoyance, not even shooting him a glance.

The dwarven grand mage was startled, but then recalled the importance of what he was to report. After weighing his options for a while, he decided to whisper, “Your Excellency, Duke Solam's son has arrived and is awaiting an audience...”

*Thud!* Sharon slammed the table, causing the dwarf to swallow the rest of his words. She finally looked up, but her expression was icy as she spoke an undeniable command, “I said I'm busy. Have him wait!”

“But...” The dwarve grand mage finally shut up, only speaking softly once he'd closed the door to the library, “Let's have him wait, then, Let Solam's son wait. After all he's only been waiting three hours, even though you said it would be within two...”

The door to the library suddenly opened, and a magic book almost half as tall as the dwarf flew out to strike his back loudly. He immediately felt his innards jolt so greatly he almost fainted, and only then did the grand mage realise that Sharon truly had something important to attend to. For its sake, she wouldn't even mind offending Duke Solam!

It took an entire hour longer for the dwarf to be summoned again. He darted to the library at breakneck speed, and a slightly fatigued Sharon tossed him a piece of paper filled with scribbles on it. She instructed him on what to do, then headed towards the meeting room.

The annoyance at the interruption remained on the mage's beautiful little face. The grand mage maintained a respectful pose with remorse written on his face as he watched her leave, only beginning to read the contents of the paper afterwards. He was rather curious about what exactly was so important.

On this paper was a diet, consisting a total of a hundred and twenty raw ingredients and twenty-eight recipes. The precision of the portions were exact to a tenth of a gram, and the time for eating was specified to within minutes. This recipe sheet was for Richard, but this only seemed to be for one month.

Seeing this piece of paper, the dwarven mage reevaluated that future elementary runemaster into a possible saint runemaster. No ordinary runemaster qualified to have Sharon herself spend four hours of her precious time to customise a month of his diet.

A youth was waiting with his hands behind his back in a majestic meeting room, admiring the beauty of the large Floe Bay outside the french window. Scattered sheets of ice could still be seen floating on the surface of the sea amongst the fleets of ships entering the port with their snow-white sails. There were likely large icebergs floating underneath a lot of these sheets. Although the Deepblue never froze up, the ships still had to be careful of icebergs for half the year.

One could see the Everwinter Mountains from this position, extending far off into the distance in the right. Precipitous sea cliffs and majestic mountains lined the north of the bay, while the southern geography was much smoother with dense coniferous forests. The deepwater port on the southern coast had more than half of its twelve docks filled despite it being winter, including a magic-operated open sea ship that was over thirty metres tall and a hundred long. The port was filled with people, and loading vehicles of various colours were lined up at the docks, making it less apparent that this was an off season. A busy port led to prosperity and opportunity.

There were some flags fluttering in the distance, the sheer number of masts revealing that the incoming ship was designed for the open sea. The youth's gaze was fixed on the port, the slight smile that had been on his face all this while vanishing in his contemplation. Only Minnie remained beside him in the meeting room, and she'd made herself comfortable on a sofa as she flipped through a tome.

She seemed somewhat distracted, however. A four hour wait had already exceeded her limits, but she had to endure it because of the close relations between their families. She was the only one who could accompany this youth; after all, his subordinates weren't allowed into this place.

“What splendid scenery!” the young man suddenly praised.

“Randolph said that a lot too,” Minnie answered coldly.

The young man turned back, a nice smile on his face, “My name is not Randolph, I'm Steven. The biggest difference between us is that the only thing he knows to do is speak, while I won't comment any further.”

“You sound like you're all that,” Minnie languidly raised her arms and stretched out. Her pubescent body revealed itself, flirting with him inadvertently. Her eyes still didn't leave the book, but Steven's words had caught her attention. “Duke Solam's son, Steven. Although a dragon warlock like you is rare, you're not much in front of a runemaster.”

There was little change to the arch of the young man's smile. “That's why I want to be taught personally by Her Excellency. Saint Klaus can still make me a runemaster, but I'll have to give up my bloodline in exchange for it. I believe Master Sharon has the ability to solve this problem.”

Minnie nodded slightly. Truth be told, warlocks were rare spellcasters amongst the mages who depended on the abilities of their bloodlines to cast spells. There was a limited number of spells they could learn, but all of them far exceeded mages of the same level. Dragon warlocks were the rarest and most prestigious of all warlocks, having the potential to become grand mages in the future.

It was a difficult choice to make, to give up a dragon bloodline to become a runemaster. That he was here showed how special Steven really was; it was public knowledge that the Sacred Tree Empire had marked him as the person with the greatest potential in the next generation of the Solam Family.

“Master may or may not agree to take you in. You're too old.” Minnie spoke the truth, as she usually did.

“Her Excellency will definitely take me in, I'm paying for my own studies.” Steven also used the truth to elegantly shut Minnie up.

25 - City of Sin

Legendary

Seeing how frustrated Minnie was, Steven continued, “Once I become Her Excellency's apprentice, there will be many things I need your help with. For instance, I know very little about the Deepblue.”

He paused for a while, before continuing, “Besides, I feel like we can better our relationship and connect to each other in a more intimate manner. Through marriage, for instance.”

Minnie trembled before looking up at Steven. She wanted to speak out, but eventually pushed down her desires. Her chest still heaved, however, and it took her a few deep breaths to calm down. She lifted her feet off the sofa and sat up, speaking in a serious voice, “This is only our first meeting. We obviously don't know anything about each other at all, forget me liking you. Don't you think you're moving a bit too fast?”

Steven chuckled in answer, “My lovely Miss Minne, you should know as a direct descendant of an illustrious noble family that marriage does not require love. It's alright as long as we don't outright hate each other; we're bound by family benefits and common interests.

“If you want to talk about understanding each other, I believe I understand you well enough. Randolph was successful in proposing to you, so I already gathered all the information I could. Of course, some people have sent me more information later, and I'm sure you've heard of me as well. There's ample time for you to understand me better.

“Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, the Niall Family and Solam Family are in an alliance that needs to be cemented through marriage. There's no better target for that marriage in your family than you, so what is it going to be? If not me, are you going to marry one of my brothers?”

“I can choose not to marry anyone!” Minnie answered coldly.

Steven smiled calmly and continued, “That isn't very honourable. If you do that, you will have no choice but to leave the Niall Family. Without the support of your Marquess, I don't think you'll be able to pay even a fifth of what I do. I hear Her Excellency hates it when people owe her money.”

Seeing Minnie sink into deep thought, he rolled his shoulders, “Look, I'm not a hateful person. As for you, Miss Minnie, it's hard to find a better person than you as a wife. I suggest you think properly over this proposal. Then again, there's no hurry to make a decision; the greatest merit of us mages is that we're rational and calm.”

Sharon's voice suddenly sounded from outside the meeting room, “Indeed, that's a merit of mages, but warlocks aren't mages. There's a certain madness ingrained deep into their bones.”

Sharon floated inside, dropping herself down on the master sofa and pulling down a scarlet sash on the side. A sharp ring sounded as a side door of the meeting room opened up, and six tanned slaves entered in line. They brought a special red coffee table, an incense stove, and of course the luxurious and eye-catching golden bowl, in which the snacks of the legendary mage was stored.

Making herself comfortable, she then instructed, “Call Blackgold over.”

An acolyte immediately dashed off, and the dwarf made his way over in moments. This was Blackgold, full name Blackgold Savek Stormhammer. The Stormhammer tribe was a large tribe of the grey dwarves, so large that it had its own kingdom. Blackgold in particular was a very special one; his affinity lay not with alcohol, but with appraising ore and gemstones. He also had great talent in magic, which combined with his love for gold and unique appraisal abilities netted him a position as the treasurer of the legendary mage.

Steven chose a sofa at the side and primly sat down, looking stern and even slightly pale.

Sharon read the information she had in her hands and spoke nonchalantly, “A dragon warlock, huh. Not bad, quite rare even. What kind of dragon bloodline is it?”

“Red dragon.” Steven answered respectfully, and then turned even paler.

Sharon's eyes flitted across a line of small text that Blackgold had underlined to mark importance. Her grim face brightened at the sight, causing her to display a rare patience as she explained, “I've bullied and killed many giant dragons before. Over time it's developed into an aura that scares dragons. Since you have dragon blood in you, you definitely won't feel comfortable at my side.”

“You are truly admirable!” Steven said. This was something that came from the bottom of his heart. This aura had to have formed from the accumulated curses of several dragons at the brink of death. The curses wouldn't be able to inflict true harm to her, but this negative aura wasn't going to help her in battle either. Instead, it was intended to remind the dragon to keep its guard up. All dragons within a hundred kilometres of Sharon would know of her presence. However, how many dragons had to fall for this aura to be formed on her body?

Blackgold had marked the last few paragraphs as important. He'd even written some small lines down himself, listing the items and fee Duke Solam had paid for the youth's entrance into the Deepblue. Scanning over the last few lines, Sharon's face brightened into a sun. She wanted to laugh, but stopped herself in front of her new pupil. It was important for her to maintain her appearance as a legendary mage.

“Then... Steven, was it? Come and take a seat here. These fruits are quite good. You can have a taste!” The mage was in such a great mood that she felt like she could share her snacks. Duke Solam was paying the full amount, not the half that they'd agreed upon!

Steven went closer to Sharon upon hearing this, but knew well enough not to touch her snacks even if there were some things in there that he wanted to bite on impulse.

After looking through the list a few times, Sharon then handed the piece of paper back to Blackgold, albeit reluctantly. Only now did she finally look up and gaze at Steven seriously, asking him, “How's Solam doing lately? Has he been advanced to the legendary realm yet? He should've become one long ago, no?”

Steven immediately straightened up. He'd obviously been waiting for this question, “Father successfully advanced at the end of last year. He's now a shadow antimage.”

Shadow antimages combined powerful physical bodies with the power of shadows, gaining great resistance to all sorts of magic. They were even immune to many low-ranked spells, and although their physical attacks weren't all that powerful the sheer speed of their attacks and movement was not second even to powerful thieves. They could use their skill to close the range in the shortest amount of time, sticking close to the opponent. This allowed them to become the bane of all spellcasters, which was what gave them the title of shadow antimages.

Even though Solam had only advanced recently, Steven believed that the advantages of his profession made him a dangerous opponent for Sharon. Before that, however, Solam had paid twice the agreed price. Great strength combined with humility, it was bound to make Sharon treat him as the most important person to nurture. However, Steven still had no idea why his father had taken the initiative to pay such a great amount when the fee had already been determined.

After hearing that Solam had become a legendary, Sharon froze as expected. She then pressed on, “He really advanced to become a shadow antimage?”

“Yes, I can confirm that.”

She remained frozen for a moment, before she burst into laughter, “He didn't become a paladin like he was suited to! Oh, Solam, looks like that vicious beating I gave you back in the day left you with some serious trauma. Hehe, does he think becoming a shadow antimage will allow him to enact revenge? Looks like I need to teach him a more memorable lesson so he knows that even legendaries need to be humble in front of me! Ahaha! I can't wait anymore!”

Legendary mages always made swift decisions. Sharon stood up even as she spoke, instructing people to prepare her luggage as she walked towards the patio of the meeting room. It looked like she didn't plan to waste even a second, about to fly south and duke it out with Solam immediately.

Only after she stepped on the dark red floor tile on the patio did she remember something, turning towards Steven, “You're my apprentice from now on. I'm busy right now, so I have no time to teach you anything. Come back in ten days; use that time to familiarise yourself with the Deepblue. Tell Minnie if there's anything you need, I'm off!”

She turned into a meteor shooting into the sky, leaving a gaping Steven behind still half-sitting and half-standing like a comical statue. He'd wanted to call her back a few times, his mouth flapping open and closed, but he ended up unable to make any sounds.

He finally understood why Duke Solam was willing to pay twice the fee, and why the man had warned him to never reveal the news of him advancing.

26 - City of Sin

A Traumatic Experience

Steven's arrival only caused a slight splash in the Deepblue, disappearing into the surging waves. Sharon's return ten days later caused a larger stir, but even that wasn't significant. The legendary mage's entrances were always loud and grand, even if she'd only gone to the White Deer Forest a hundred kilometres away for an excursion. Nobody had a clue about the result of the battle between the two legendary beings, however; even Steven hadn't obtained any news from his family.

Things remained normal in the Deepblue, the torrent of glow pushing things along in a tense yet regulated environment. Richard realised Sharon's Delight had grown a fair bit, reaching a record 800,000 coins. But then he found he had another class to attend now too.

He'd been enrolled into Basis of Complex Magic Formations, a one-to-one lesson from a grand mage. The class naturally used up a lot of high-grade raw materials, and with the Deepblue's abnormal prices Richard's huge bonus began to melt like snow in the sun. The additional income would be voided by the time summer arrived, and he would have to start worrying about his money again.

Erin continued sending food over to him. The amount Richard had to eat only increased, and the way he had to eat it grew increasingly strange. The frequency and timing of his meals grew even stricter, to the point that it was slightly unbearable. However, Erin's company and explanations miraculously made it more stomachable.

The girl got intimate with him in different ways every time he finished a meal. Sometimes a kiss, sometimes a caress, or even a simple hug; under her lead Richard had already learnt of the general anatomy of the female body. The blood in his veins boiled occasionally, and he would need to use something like meditation to suppress it.

However, even with how ignorant he was, Richard had gotten a feeling for what was about to happen. Although he was young and inexperienced, his instincts pushed him to explore the depths of the girl's body. The young girl didn't stay long after the meal, though, only lingering around for five minutes at most before she left. She was so accurate that it seemed to him there was an enchanted clock timing her.

One day at the end of the month, at the usual time for dessert after the meal.

Erin grabbed Richard's hand, pushing it up so he could lightly feel the front of her bosom with the large frills and pearl button. The surface seemed coarse, the patterns on it bumpy. Richard's senses had grown more keen after eating, making the fabric contrast even more with the plump satiny bundle his fingers slid into. He suddenly felt his body heat becoming increasingly apparent, and in his hurry he found he'd already opened the girl's buttons up.

There was nothing hindering him inside. The young girl's body posed a fatal attraction that caused him to use his strength to pull the last of her clothing away. It flustered the girl a little at the start, but then she held his hand and pulled him up, pressing herself into his body as she slid down with a bent head. This was a fierce watering, the moment where the fruit would finally mature!

Even as Richard anticipated the next moment, Erin suddenly jumped up and exclaimed in a hurry, “Oh my! Time's up!” She hastily pulled at her clothes, grabbed the plates, and darted away.

'Will anything happen tomorrow...' Richard wondered vacantly, his heart still pumping away near the limits of its ability. He felt slightly suffocated...

Nothing at all happened the next day. Erin seemed troubled, her expression unable to hide her gloom. When Richard asked her about it she refused to divulge more. After the meal she just grabbed his arm and pressed down on her chest lightly before running off.

There was a price to such intimacy. No matter what degree of contact there was, Erin would receive a gold coin. Richard knew the prices of the Deepblue well by this point, and that one gold coin was nothing. It may not even be enough for the girl to have a good meal, which was why he asked her so many questions and paid for the answer. However, the girl was strict here as well, only asking based on the value of the information and not a bit more.

Honestly speaking her information wasn't reliable. The priciest of the lot was that Papin and his followers had disappeared after the duel, some not returning to their families. It also said this was related to another of Sharon's students, Randolph. Still, the price of all that was 120 coins, and there was no information worth more than fifty past that. Richard knew that the entirety of her month's work wouldn't be able to support a day of training. Of course, that was based on his own standards.

Erin's attitude had changed from that day. She grew more restrained in her interactions with Richard, and no matter how intimate they got she never took things further. Even though the fruit was already matured.

Richard had sensed the change as well, but no matter how much he asked directly or with innuendo, there were no results. However, he'd find sobs instead of the bright smile he used to see when he took his focus off eating. It caused his world to turn dark, causing him to lose enthusiasm about anything.

Nothing much happened in the coming month, although someone called Steven had come over to introduce himself as another of Sharon's apprentices in a public lecture with a few hundred people around. Time passed as per usual, and summer quietly arrived.

Erin seemed to be growing even more hurried. She was starting to keep an obvious distance from him, to the point that she stopped taking the daily fee of a coin. The food grew increasingly difficult to swallow even as the servings grew larger and larger.

Richard had grown noticeably taller and more sturdy by now, his classes including fundamental physical training as a warrior. His training in magic had quickened so greatly even he himself found it unimaginable, and most of his time was taken up by the tedious classes.

The arrival of summer brought Floe Bay's most beautiful season. The surface of the sea was as calm as silk, the glaciers a gentle blue. The air in the azure sky was clear and fresh, and the green glow of vegetation was the most dense it had been all year, looking diverse and splendid. There was an obvious increase in traffic through the Deepblue, and the number of beautiful couples sunbathing by the beach became part of a beautiful landscape. However, Richard lacked the mood to admire this; he was still worried.

One certain night, Erin left Richard's residence as per usual. An enchanted rune flickered at a corner of her clothing the moment the heavy metal gates closed, sending a notification far away. A mage dressed in dark robes fixed his sight on the girl from the distant shadows, his gaze so sharp she couldn't help but quicken her steps. Once the notification told him she'd left within the designated time, he nodded and pulled the robe over himself before disappearing into the shadows.

Erin quickly walked towards the path that led to the upper layers. While teleportation spell formations were convenient, they were expensive. Only official mages appointed by the Deepblue had the means to use them regularly, and even though the path took more time anyone with some degree of fitness could get from the bottom to the top in one go.

Erin found someone standing right in front of her as she turned a corner, their appearance so sudden she almost fell into the person's embrace. The young girl cried out, but thankfully she had the reflexes to avoid bumping into them. She apologised and tried to walk past them, but found herself being grasped firmly by a strong hand. Unable to get away from the grip, she felt like the bones in her wrist were about to break.

“You're Erin?” asked a tall young mage. He had a gentle voice, but the vice-like grip on her wrist made it obvious to the sensitive girl that this person didn't actually have a good temperament.

“I am Erin. May I know how I should address you?” Erin asked politely, not changing her expression as she attempted to retract her hand. However, her efforts were in vain.

“My name is Steven. Since you earn tips by selling information, you should know who I am.” The young mage said with a smile.

That sharp, cold gaze made Erin feel like a frog being hunted by a snake. Cold sweat beaded on her body, causing her clothing to stick to her skin uncomfortably. She felt a chill inside her heart when the youth announced his name— The Deepblue belonged to Sharon, and every one of the legendary mage's apprentices made the headlines. While she could clearly sense malicious intent from Steven, his identity didn't let her fight back. She grew horrified, and a thread of despair began to rise without her bidding.

“Esteemed Mister Steven, I've always left without delay and never done anything out of line. What do you want from me?” She cried out in fear.

Steven leaned forward, pressing his face close to Erin's as his right hand caressed the girl's waist. It moved up, testing her chest. It wasn't quite supple, instead soft and springy. He then pushed the girl's chin up, bringing their faces so close together that the tips of their noses were practically touching.

“I heard that you get a gold coin from Richard every day. Now tell me how you get those coins.” Steven's voice lowered, sounding like the hiss of a snake. A long red snake-like tongue emerged from his mouth as he spoke, brushing the girl's lips.

Erin felt her body go cold. Steven was giving off an aura that made her feel extreme terror, and her body was beginning to stiffen. It was like she was being struck by some weak fear skill, likely some sort of bloodline ability. It made her feel even more despair, for the talent to use a bloodline ability at such a young age was rare even in the Deepblue.

However, Steven's words got the girl's eyes twinkling. She had a sudden surge of strength as she pushed him away, yelling, “You're not an enforcer mage!”

27 - City of Sin

A Traumatic Experience

Steven froze, and then began to laugh, “I didn't expect you to be so smart! Indeed, I'm not an enforcer, but...”

“No buts! Don't even think of touching me, or I scream!” The young girl's voice grew louder. They were in a remote area, and all parts of the Deepblue were designed to minimise the leakage of sound. Her loudest screams wouldn't make it far enough to be able to save her. However, there was magic recording equipment all over the Deepblue's public areas. Her voice would be recorded.

The Deepblue was under the ownership of a legendary mage. If Steven tried to take her by force, Sharon would find out soon enough. With her temper, Steven's best outcome would be being beaten up ruthlessly like Randolph had been and getting thrown out of the Deepblue. Everything here had its own value, and Erin knew hers very well. No sane person would give up their identity as an apprentice of Sharon's just for her body.

Steven stopped as expected, not taking a step further. She didn't dare provoke him much— this man's aura caused her to shudder in fear— but she didn't linger any further as she started to run off towards the teleportation point. Even if it would use up a lot of money, Erin didn't want to remain close to him for one more moment.

“You might want to reconsider,” his voice suddenly sounded from behind her. There was something else that made her hesitate— the crisp jingle of gold coins hitting each other.

'At least 200!' Erin judged instinctually, slowing down to look back. Her heart rate increased, and she began to think, 'I'm already safe anyway...'

Steven remained where he was, gazing upon her like a wolf looking at prey. His calm smile was filled with confidence as an intricate leather pouch swayed in his right hand, continuing that oh so sweet jingle of gold. The pouch wasn't large, but it had been stretched greatly.

Erin was even more certain of her initial guess upon seeing this. There had to be at least 200 coins inside, and her abundant experiences and keen senses revealed a slight magic glow in the darkness. This leather pouch had been made with magic!

Magic leather was extremely expensive, and it was very rare to see it used in pouches. Only a core member of a noble family could afford such luxuries, increasing the amount of space within the pouch and lightening the contents within. They also caused any materials inside to last much longer as well. A pouch with even the most basic of flash spells as decoration would far exceed its capacity in cost.

Steven's grin grew more and more similar to that of a venomous snake that had trapped a frog, “I just touched you, so this is your payment. Come, take it!”

Erin felt her throat go dry, unable to say a word. She really wanted to just turn and run, but her feet began to shift in Stevenson's direction while all sorts of thoughts ran through her mind unceasingly.

'He won't force me to do anything. Besides, he's already touched me, so this sum of money is compensation for what happened, right...' While her thoughts were in a mess, she suddenly found that she had unconsciously walked over to the noble youth. He seemed to know her every thought, grabbing her hand and placing the pouch in her palm with a demonic smile, “This is yours.”

“But I...” Her throat was so parched at this point that she couldn't continue. Nothing made sense to her, but she couldn't tell what exactly the issue was either.

“I know you're in dire need of money, and the Deepblue has always been about peace and voluntary exchange. Here's a suggestion...” Steven paused, his eyes sweeping over the girl's body in such a way that she shivered. “If you maintain your current body and come to bed with me, I'll definitely give you a satisfying reward. For instance, I can pay off all your debts...”

“No, I can't...” Erin shook her head with all her strength, looking pale as she retreated step by step. However, her grasp over the pouch was strong, her joints already turning white from how much force she was using.

Steven stood with his hands behind his back, not looking like he was going to pressure her. “There's no hurry, take your time to consider it. The proposal is valid for the month.”

Erin suddenly turned and darted away.

Minnie appeared behind Steven, like a spirit walking out of thin air. Her dull eyes trained themselves on the girl who was heading into the distance as she spoke coldly, “Someone like her living on the boundaries of the Deepblue could do anything for money. This is the kind of person you want? If that's the case, don't even think about touching me.”

Steven suddenly chuckled, speaking in a low voice, “Our marriage has already been established. Based on the law, I can touch you however I like!”

He pulled Minnie to his side, right hand reaching into her robes as he began to fondle her forcefully. The girl turned pale from anger, but all struggles and resistance was rendered pointless. The seventeen-year-old Steven was sturdy and strong, completely suppressing a young lady like her.

“Master won't let you off!” Minnie exclaimed with all her might. She kicked and punched, trying her best to resist. She'd completely forgotten that she was a mage, not just a lady who'd recently come of age.

“Master?” Steven snickered, “Do you think you could pay the Deepblue's fees without any financial support from my family? So much has changed in one month; if not for our help, Marquess Niall may not even be able to keep his own land. He wants to turn every gold coin into a magic arrow, so how would he have the money to support his genius daughter studying in the Deepblue? Stop being so naive. If he were that capable, why did he sell you to us?”

The girl grew one shade paler when she heard the word 'sell.' A trade had been conducted behind the scenes of the marriage; the hasty exchange of benefits was basically just selling her away.

“Without me, my dearest Miss Minnie, your glamorous and relaxed life as the apprentice of a legendary mage could disappear tomorrow. Have you really thought this through?” Steven's words blew over Minnie like freezing winds in an icy hell. Her joints stiffened, and her struggles grew feeble.

His hands were just as cold as his voice as they slid down, “If you've thought this through, then please spread your legs.”

Minnie suddenly trembled violently, tears involuntarily falling from her closed eyes. Steven soon resumed his elegant tone with a slight smile on his face, “As for Erin, I only have one reason for being interested in her. Our little Richard obviously likes her, which is why I have to make her mine beforehand. You'll help me with Richard, right?

“My dearest Minnie, you're too fixated on your magic research, and haven't paid attention to the outside world for such a long time. I'm sure you haven't even paid attention to the news about your own family, no? Do you know who it is that attacked Marquess Niall? I can tell you that it's Viscount Alice Archeron, the same family as Richard Archeron. You should actually be happy; if it was Richard's father Gaton that had attacked the marquess wouldn't have been able to hold on until our reinforcements arrived. If that had happened, do you think you would remain worthy of marriage into the Solam Family? You'd be no different from that girl in the border districts. Still, though, the body of a defeated marquess' daughter would be worth gold. A lot of gold, yes, but still a buyable commodity.

“Alright. This is all to say that Richard is a common enemy. That's why, dearest, you should help me.”

Steven patted Minnie's face, and then watched in satisfaction as she looked towards Richard's residence with hatred.

28 - City of Sin

A Summer Like Winter

Erin's sudden change covered Richard's vast summer sky with haze. Her teary face and bitter smile appeared within his mind every break he got, and he couldn't rid himself of it no matter what he did. His heart was filled up by her image, and his gifts of wisdom and truth ensured that every word, every laugh, every move of hers had been recorded in his mind without any discrepancies. This included detailed images of every part of her body, including the mysterious bit he hadn't uncovered completely yet. Google search 𝗳𝔯e𝒆𝙬𝘦𝙗𝓷o𝘷el. c૦𝑚

The mind was always subject to changes. Just days ago every memory of Erin brought Richard warmth, joy and anticipation that had him looking forward to the next day. Now, as those memories grew day by day, those heartwarming moments became a scalding iron that branded his young heart, leaving a thin trace beside the gaping scar already present.

Richard knew that Erin had changed greatly, and also that something was bothering her, but he didn't know the exact cause. She didn't even reply whenever he asked her what it was.

It was only now that he realised he didn't have a single friend in the Deepblue beside Erin. Even as Sharon's apprentice he only saw her three times so far in the entire year he'd been studying, and outside of the grand mages who taught him now most of his time was spent with the girl.

The heartache grew even more vivid whenever he was alone, and sometimes it hurt so badly it felt like the raging flames that haunted his deepest nightmares. The only way he gained peace was by devoting himself to the vast world of magic and knowledge, putting all his focus into complex formulae, graphs, mana, and foreign creatures.

This summer, as far as Richard was concerned, was just as cold as winter. His performance was excellent in every aspect of his study, the standard of his works leaving even the experienced grand mages speechless regularly. The only thing they could do was praise the wisdom of Her Excellency, unable to comment further. His mana growth had doubled this summer, and he would likely become a level 2 mage by the end of it.

Even outside magic his performance was shocking. Philosophy, history, politics, economics, the young man was like a thirsty desert as he absorbed every single drop of knowledge sent his way.

One day, even the picky maestro who taught him art was sent into silence for a long while. Richard had turned in an image of a girl holding a huge thermos box, her back turned as she walked briskly towards a dark tunnel. That frozen silhouette completely brought across her depression, panic, and worry, the edge of the magic robe seemed to continue swinging with the wind. He wasn't sure why, but the maestro felt like the thermos box was the central theme of the art, the strokes used for it different from those used for the girl. Although the girl seemed to be alive, the box actually seemed to be in motion, a heavy rock that dragged the viewer's heart down. The colouring was simple and plain, everything drawn by a magic quill, but the numerous lines of varying depths made this piece of art breathtaking.

Even after an hour staring at it the artist found it hard to make a comment. He finally let out a sudden heave, telling the assistant by his side, “Even a depiction of reality, once it surpasses the limit, can become art. This is but a moment he caught in time, but it will be engraved in eternity!”

The assistant was left in great shock. Never had he expected that such a simple sketch would earn such great comments from the maestro, someone who was one of the few at the peak of the Sacred Alliance in terms of art. Something with such high appraisal from him would easily sell for millions in other worlds, the only restriction to the price being that Richard was still alive and would likely continue to be for a long time. But even then, the boy would perhaps not create something like this again in a long time.

The Maestro had mixed feelings. He shook his head heavily after a long while, waving to his assistant to leave before he sat down before the easel to stare at the work. Time passed, but as dusk arrived a mass of mana lights came into being around the maestro to add another source of illumination to the dim room. The dim light made the sketch seem even more infectious, having the viewer feel like they were in that dark, cold tunnel that was vast and endless.

“How long has it been since I last saw art like this? This kid... His heart must have been twisting as he drew her...” he murmured to himself. He was once young as well, and the peak of his own artistic career came in the midst of his worst devastation. He hadn't been able to find the same passion and impulse he'd once possessed once fame and accomplishment came his way... He seemed to see Richard himself through this piece of art, a beautiful quiet boy who hid a wild passion within him.

The maestro felt a sudden urge of panic, unable to sit still as he stood up and paced to and fro. It took him an entire hour to make what seemed like a hard decision in his heart, and he eventually turned to look at a corner of the art room.

There was a delicate machine there that stood out from the casual surroundings. It was used to activate a month's bill, and he was supposed to find a place to put it, but as someone who was easygoing he'd just let the expensive machine lie in the corner of the art room, only fishing it out of the scrap papers whenever it was needed. The sight of it naturally brought the monthly bills to mind, and Sharon's Delight.

The legendary mage hadn't been delighted with him in months...

This piece of art... it was far too realistic for him to pretend it didn't come from a place of truth. This was an exception, and one that Her Excellency had explicitly told him to report if he saw it. Even if he only thought with his feet he'd know that a failure to report would garner the legendary mage's anger. As an artist he would struggle a little to choose between his conscience and Sharon's Delight, but there was no question about the choice between his conscience and Sharon's Rage.

Full of misery, the Maestro took down the sketch, wrapped it up carefully, and left the art room in a hurry.

29 - City of Sin

A Summer Like Winter

An hour later, the portrait was placed in front of Blackgold.

The grey dwarf had the maestro waiting almost forty minutes before he crawled out of the heap of gemstones which occupied the entire table and jammed half the entrance, only spending a minute to listen to the man's explanation. The Deepblue was a world of magic and money, unrelated to art. Thus, even if the dwarf only came up to the maestro's chest despite having one foot atop a mountain of gold and the other held aloft by magic, he seemed to tower over the artist instead.

The dwarf didn't pay much attention to the maestro's words, skipping everything to take a look at the piece of art which was the key point. Her Excellency Sharon had stipulated such things be reported, and because of that he carefully used his rough hands with calluses as thick as beast scales to unwrap the portrait.

Silence ensued as the grand mage started at the portrait with full concentration, his lips moving fast as he mumbled unknown words to himself. The maestro was astonished by the sight; he'd never thought Blackgold would be able to appreciate the beauty of this piece of art.

The dwarf eventually heaved out a gust of turbid air, rubbing his dry eyes, “Just this?”

“Huh? Yes...” The maestro was confused.

“The piece isn't even coloured yet?”

“...” The man couldn't keep a hold on his irregular heartbeat. He took in a long breath before he answered softly, “This is a sketch.”

The dwarf came to a sudden realisation, taking another look at the sketch, “Hmm... Not completely mature, and her face and figure should be average... Of course that's from a human point of view, if I judge based on Stormhammer tradition... Wait, AHA! I see, the thermos box! That's the one specially prepared for Richard, and the details are completely accurate without a single fault... So much like Richard, did you know grand mage Loton who teaches him spell formations came back to praise him thrice this week? This year... As I recall, it's like fifty or seventy times... Whatever it is, it's a lot! That old man hasn't had this much praise to give out in the past ten years!”

The maestro couldn't describe his feelings at that point, nor could he shout at Blackgold. He tried to guide the man patiently, “Take a closer look at the precious moment caught in this piece...”

The dwarf took a second look, and then a third... Still, he felt the piece was too dull without any colour. The artist's mood was as dark as Richard's by the time he left Blackgold's office; he'd never faced such a setback that made him lose confidence in art itself before. He couldn't understand; why did this master appraiser of jewellry, magic equipment, and antiques not have any flair for art? His comments as an outsider were so destructive!

The two simple yet elegant bronze doors of Blackgold's office slowly closed behind the maestro's back. The doors were double the height of normal ones in the area, representing high office, wealth, and status. They garnered the jealousy of many for the position they represented. Of course, there was no need to explain why a dwarf only half as tall as a human would want to have his office so tall.

Blackgold sneered once the doors shut, muttering, “How could it be so simple to make boss happy?” There were a total of 67 items in his cabinet vying for Sharon's Delight, including this one.

The dwarf instantly made his way back towards the mound of gems, but then he frowned and stopped. He returned to his desk, unwrapped the portrait, and examined it for a little over ten more minutes before he stowed it away into a smaller cabinet after some hesitation. The small cabinet had the same kind of things, but there were only five items here; he put the art piece in second place. The difference between the two cabinets was that the ones in this one would soon be handed to the legendary mage for perusal, while the others would be thrown out like trash over the next few months.

Summer passed in the blink of an eye for Richard. The next day was already the autumn festival, marking the beginning of autumn where fish could no longer be found in Floe Bay. Millions of people living nearby would hold a grand celebration on this day, expressing gratitude to the god of the sea for granting them the food to survive the long winter. The Deepblue, located right next to Floe Bay, commenced autumn with this festival.

Of course that was all meaningless to Richard. All his time was spent either completing the heaps upon heaps of assignments he had, or meditating and practicing magic to increase his mana. He wished to fill up the entirety of his time; if he didn't wild thoughts would bubble up in his mind that were hard to get rid of.

Erin reached his place on time the night before the festival. She already found it hard to carry the box with his dinner in one hand now, and one could imagine how much heavier it would grow in the future. She sat quietly by his side as he ducked between all the food, just watching him eat.

At this point the gold had stopped exchanging hands, and the two rarely spoke. Erin didn't get a single coin from Richard, while eating for the boy had grown completely miserable. No matter how she tried the young lady couldn't hide the fact that she was troubled, but she refused to tell him why no matter what. It left him with a pain he could not soothe.

Richard swallowed the last bit of dessert with great determination before he raised his head to really look at the girl for the first time that day. He wanted to thank her like he usually did, but the string of numbers that appeared on the girl's body made him freeze on the spot. The girl's figure had changed!

The minute changes were enhanced in his digital mindscape, the numbers aligning in front of him. Her breasts had grown larger, but they weren't balanced. This wasn't some natural growth, instead due to some external injury.

Her position was quite awkward as well, especially her trembling legs that caused her to shift her weight around subtly on occasion. It was like the cotton cushion of the chair was a bed of needles, poking into her down below. Her eyes were a little swollen as well, more red than normal seemingly from her crying just moments ago. Her robe was much thicker this time, wrapped tightly around her, but an accidental movement had exposed a hickey on her neck. Her heartbeat was much faster than usual, faster than his own. In fact, it was so fast that a serious event should have occurred.
f𝗿e𝙚𝙬ℯ𝚋n𝚘ν𝗲l. 𝐜𝐨𝗺

Adding up all the traces and marks, an immediate answer welled up in Richard's mind, one that he refused to believe.

“You... slept with someone else?” Richard's voice was dry and husky, so much so that even he couldn't recognise it. At the age of eleven he hadn't known what nobles started to learn at the age of seven or eight, but in this past half year this girl in front of him had taken him halfway. He'd already learnt of how males and females could interact.

Erin trembled, her face turning white. Yet the truth being out somehow calmed her down, and she raised her hand to tidy up the messy hair by her cheeks, “Yes, last night.”

Richard took a deep breath and closed his eyes, refusing to see the devastating numbers stacking up in his vision. “Why?” he asked, his voice growing as calm as hers. He had become ice-cold.

“I need money.”

“I have a lot myself.” Ever since Richard started noticing Erin change, he was like a bird breaking out of its shell. He'd started to learn of the outside world, and that he couldn't judge others by his own standard. Take expenses for example; his monthly income would be enough for over ten people to live a good life in the Deepblue.

Still pale, Erin looked deep into Richard's eyes and shook her head with determination, “But I don't want your money.”

She cleaned up the thermos box as usual. Walking towards the door, she turned and said, “Oh, I forgot to inform you. Someone else will be delivering your food from tomorrow. So, Richard... See you around.”

The gates shut slowly with a loud thud, and Richard lost all his energy as he leaned back into his chair. He pulled at his hair, trying to convince himself that nothing had happened just now, but both his abilities and the traits he'd developed in his childhood told him this was cold hard fact.

What he couldn't understand was why Erin didn't want his money. The boy still didn't know that people insisted on things for unknown reasons when they were young, persisting with their emotions as they let go of whatever truly meant something to them.

30 - City of Sin

Just Like Winter

The winter-like summer had just passed.

Even early in autumn Floe Bay was freezing cold, no different from the harsh winter. The only way to differentiate was that the colours of the vegetation hadn't faded completely yet.

Richard was like a volcano that had been lying dormant for a long time, overflowing with great energy that had suddenly erupted out of nowhere. His craze for knowledge surprised his professors again, and they'd already been dumbstruck by his progress in summer! It was almost unbelievable that someone could do so much in such little time, but this tiny boy was living proof.

He'd already tweaked his schedule many many times, leaving himself no break to reflect. His schedule had been planned to the second, so whenever his fatigue peaked he just cleared his mind and collapsed on his bed to enter deep sleep instantly. He'd thrown out even the most basic vigilance he'd learnt by living in the mountains, the only way to sleep so soundly that three hours would be sufficient to pull him through a day of learning. That was also how his mana gain during sleep was no less than what he would get while meditating.

The reports Blackgold received were as abundant as the flakes of snow outside, causing the dwarf to rage. He spared no effort in ensuring as few made it to the legendary mage's desk as possible, just in case Her Excellency grew overly ecstatic and disrupted the already-frail balance of expenses and income in the Deepblue. However, the grey dwarf's powers failed him at times. Written records fluttered to every corner of the Deepblue like water gushing out of a geyser, and many of them flew so far that they bypassed him and delivered themselves to Sharon on their own.

The finances of the Deepblue began to shake with uncertainty once more. Thankfully Duke Solam had made it up to them with a huge support fee out of the blue for some reason, and they'd sold another spot as a paid apprentice to the Millennial Empire which was one of the three major human empires.

Although these events covered for autumn and winter, grey dwarves didn't lack foresight. Blackgold was very good at financial speculation, and was used to worrying about the Deepblue's situation 300 years into the future. Now, it looked like they wouldn't be able to make it past spring.

The grey dwarf grew more haggard as the days went by. Some miracle had thinned his sturdy and stocky frame, making him a little bony. His coat evidently didn't fit him anymore, fluttering slightly in the wind whenever he moved his arms to cast a spell. This was just like the unstable accounts.

Blackgold had to deal with a sea of numbers every day. He had a pretty steady income, but his expenses were always hard to estimate. They tended to exceed his funds rather than fall short, which made him upset. Every piece of his profit consumed was like a piece of his flesh gouged out while he was still alive. However, the legendary mage's joy wouldn't be put aside just because of the grey dwarf's determination; at times, she would even celebrate the tiniest of Richard's achievements.

This autumn, the grey dwarf was the only person in the entire Deepblue who didn't want to see Sharon happy. At his most helpless, he'd even considered embezzling funds from Sharon's personal stores. If Her Excellency deigned to open the slightest crack in her purse, the Deepblue's finances would be solved with the snap of a finger. He had once been bewitched by this idea: who knew how many gigantic dragons' worth of wealth Her Excellency had in her exquisite little wallet? However, it was fortunate that he quickly regained his senses and realized how silly his plan was. Even the mighty dragons dared not lay their hands on Sharon's funds, what would a tiny dwarf be able to do?

However, he wasn't intimidated, instead finding his own motivation in this. If he couldn't solve the Deepblue's finances right now, what was the use of keeping him as a treasurer? Any high-level elf could take care of accounting...

Richard and Blackgold were equal in their gloom, but while the dwarf was growing haggard the boy couldn't be any more different. Stood in front of a full-length mirror on the last day of autumn, he carefully scrutinised himself.
f𝗿e𝙚𝙬ℯ𝚋n𝚘ν𝗲l. 𝐜𝐨𝗺

He was growing into a model male form: broad shoulders, a muscular chest, a rapidly shrinking waistline, a tight yet powerful behind, and even a pair of elven legs that were slender yet toned. His face had changed a little as well. Perhaps it was because he hadn't smiled in ages, or perhaps because of how much time he'd spent in a thoughtful silence. The remnants of his immature gentle youth were wiped away, being replaced by sharpened and obvious edges. It was much like a steely rock being shaped by a giant axe, flowing lava hidden within every single line. As for his eyes, they were peaceful as the depths of the world— gloomy, ice-cold, and bottomless.

A fleeting thought passed his mind as Richard turned his gaze towards his lower body. His member was already standing upright, ready to thrust and conquer at any moment. It still had room to grow in the future, but it was extraordinary even now. Laying eyes upon this proud, lethal weapon of his, a trace of a long-forgotten smile surfaced at the corners of Richard's mouth. He was already a man.

At that moment, Erin's sharp and clear yet serious voice suddenly sounded next to Richard:

“Yes, just last night.”

His body immediately started to shake. He raised both hands in an attempt to cover his ears, but put them down mid-way. He knew; no matter how hard he tried, this conversation would play out to the end once more.

“Why?”

“I need money.”

“I have plenty.”

“But I don't want yours.”

He stopped looking at himself in the mirror, instead taking big strides towards the laboratory even as the conversation continued to ring out in his ears. In the corner of the laboratory was a steel doll, crafted for him to test the might of his spells. Right now, however, it served as a whetstone for his fist. This was what he did whenever his heart burned so painfully that he couldn't contain it; using the doll to build his physical strength even as he tormented himself. This time was no exception.

Richard walked towards the steel doll, standing in front of it as was his usual practice. His legs were a shoulder-width apart, the perfect stance in preparation for a fight. He took a deep breath as he looked at the steel doll, its bright and clean surface clearly reflecting his face.

For some reason the sight of his face on the armour overwhelmed him with an uncontrollable surge of wrath. He loathed himself to the core, detesting how he hadn't realised Erin's embarrassment even more earlier. Instead he'd just indulged in his own loss, silently waiting for an outcome he couldn't accept! His wrath set his veins on fire, and his blood boiled as it turned into waves of lava that crashed into the top of his head.

The burning blood suddenly bestowed upon him an endless strength. Every vein, every artery was so close to bursting open under immense pressure, and every energy channel of his meridians seemed to be broken by the gushes of blood. Richard let out a crazed, bestial roar and raised his fist, pounding it fiercely on the steel doll's chest!

The refined steel caved in, leaving faint cracks on the surface of the doll. Richard's entire forearm made its way through the doll's chest, so strong that a subtle whirlpool of power formed as he clenched the doll tightly in his fist. The object got deformed further and further, and by the time his newfound strength was completely gone, he'd managed to throw the doll out behind him and crush it against the wall.

This was a standard magic doll, designed to emulate a knight wearing half-body plate armour. The damage done to it meant Richard's single punch was strong enough to kill an elite knight in one shot, able to compare to the weakened fireball in terms of damage.

That was how, on the day autumn gave way to winter, Richard Archeron awakened his first bloodline ability: Eruption.

Winter passed just like it should have, a somber and desolate time for every being in the plane. Even the creatures that could survive freezing climates preferred spring and summer, because that was when they could seek out food, mate, and store up in preparation for late autumn and the next winter.

To Richard, however, there was no difference. The young bird staring at the world with an inquisitive gaze had shut its eyes completely, sealing off its senses. He no longer concerned himself about anything else in the outside world, only devoting himself entirely to the world of magic. His mana growth remained insane, and he even achieved 24 points of peak mana to exceed level 3. Nearly all of Richard's professors grew wild with joy over his improvement.

There was one exception, the maestro who taught him art.

Every painting the boy submitted made him feel more and more suffocated. It was all sketched plainly, drawn stroke by stroke with a fine quill pen. His art had paid particular attention to the composition of light and shadows at the start, portraying all kinds of characters. The man had taught him that portraits were the soul of art, but the people in Richard's art pieces grew fewer and fewer in number even as the environments grew more stifling and depressing. By the end the paintings were better off without any life forms in them, and even the scenery was gradually blurred. In the eyes of the maestro they'd only grown more powerful than before, like the surface of a dark ocean whose gentle waves didn't warn of the upcoming storm.

Sometimes, the master couldn't resist but analyze the lines in great detail. Every single sketch, every coil, every smooth line seemed to speak to him like a soul crying out from the depths of hell, each stroke holding great power. The artist couldn't imagine how Richard felt as he painted them, and one day the man who was a mere level 12 mage found himself unable to bear the impact of these images.

It was his duty as a tutor to seriously examine every single painting that Richard had submitted, but the light in Richard's paintings was growing fainter and fainter. The backgrounds were growing more fuzzy, huge shadows starting to devour large areas. There finally came a day when Richard submitted a 'painting' that was just messy lines. He'd smashed every single object he could destroy in the studio!

......

There were two trivial matters in the winter that slightly disrupted Richard's life.

First, Richard had encountered that young mage called Steven once again during one of his lessons. The youth was so cordial and elegant that there was nothing one could criticise him about, fully exhibiting the etiquette of a child of nobility. As he was also another of Sharon's personal apprentices, it was only natural for the two to not be estranged. Another of the legendary mage's students was present as well, Minnie. The girl was usually reserved and dispassionate, but this time she was quite lively as she actively participated in the conversation after listening for a while, bringing some topics up herself.

Both Steven and Minnie were quite accomplished in their study of magic, so their discussion didn't stray far from the field. Although Richard normally didn't wish to speak to anyone, discussions about magic were an exception. He had to bite the bullet, chatting with them for a while. Thankfully the lesson started soon, so he managed to return to solitude quick enough.

Throughout that conversation he'd been able to feel a subtle hostility from them. Although they concealed it very well, Precision caught the tiniest movements of their limbs and his intellect allowed him to analyse the meaning of those gestures.

It was normal for rivalry to exist, and practically everyone in the Deepblue except Sharon and Erin viewed him with some amount of hostility. However, he didn't understand why Steven or Minnie would see him as a threat even though their family backgrounds were much greater than his own. In any case, they weren't actually important to him so they'd been mostly wiped from memory by nightfall.

The other trifle was that he had seen Erin again. It was just a glimpse of a silhouette far away in the trading area near the bottom level, where it was bustling with people. She had only flashed by, but Richard knew that it was her. Erin was accompanied by a guy who was openly grabbing her waist, and they seemed very intimate. It didn't matter where they were going or what they were doing, because it was crystal clear that what had to be done was already done; it made no difference even if it was any more or less.

Richard didn't chase after her, nor did he take a second glance. The young man next to Erin seemed to be Steven, but he didn't care to continue along that line of thought either. Whoever it was was no longer important: Richard erased her and the man from his mind relatively easily.

It was still difficult to forget everything, but there were many ways to stop the pain. This was perhaps one of Richard's takeaways that winter.

31 - City of Sin

Breakthrough

The two 'trivial' affairs— especially the scene he'd witnessed of Erin being intimate with another man— had actually greatly affected Richard. It was just that he had no clue of the extent of it at the time.

The next morning, the entirety of Floe Bay was still in a deep slumber. Winter was passing and the solstice was coming soon, so there was still time before the sun would appear. Still, this didn't affect how brightly lit it was outdoors. Icicles filled the ground, the hills, the vegetation, and the river's surface. Everything was frozen solid, reflecting blue and white light everywhere. Only the surface of the sea in Floe Bay was still rippling with waves.

Richard couldn't sleep. Stood in front of the full-length window which was more than 10 metres tall, he silently observed the magnificence of Floe Bay in all its frigid and desolate glory. Spitting out a mouthful of foul air that he had kept repressed inside him, he suddenly felt as though his horizons had been widened and he had grown more open-minded. It was as though he could practically contain the entirety of Floe Bay within him.

The past few seasons had only left faint traces of darkness in such a massive space. Perhaps these feelings of gloom would linger in his own mind for a long time to come, or perhaps he would feel the ache whenever he thought of them for the rest of his life, but what followed every memory of suffering and pain was wealth.

Richard began to open his eyes and observe the world around him. The first thing that caught his attention were the various kinds of people in the Deepblue. He'd interacted most with his mage professors, and by now they weren't refined machines that sputtered out knowledge any longer. Instead, they were living humans, elves, dwarves, even drow.

These mentors had their own share of emotions, and demanded their own benefits. They regarded everyone differently, and didn't treat everyone the same as well. Every single action of theirs led to a different conclusion in Richard's reality: waving a hand, throwing a kick, raising an eyebrow, or even adjusting their gaze. Even the same phrases, when spoken in different languages with different intonation, had different meanings behind them. Richard's understanding of his teachers grew with each passing day, and he observed them with great detail, adding on to the number of samples in his memory that he could use for comparisons. He suddenly realised that most of his mentors' words and expressions actually had hidden meanings behind them, which he was still gradually discovering.

The professors came from various fields, so their relationships were different as well. Some of these fields were located near each other, while others were probably worlds apart. Those who came from similar fields often didn't share good relationships, and those like Popovich and Riley explicitly trampled on each other's words. On the other hand, the ones who came from fields that had nothing to do with each other were on much better terms, and some of them were even close friends.

Contemplating these newfound observations of his, Richard discovered that the key to all these relationships was competition, something governed by benefits called coins.

After he opened his eyes, Richard gained more knowledge. For instance, he now finally understood why so many geometry, mathematics, drawing, and magic formation lessons had suddenly been added into his curriculum. He also found out about his future status as a saint runemaster.

'So Master wants to groom me into a runemaster...' Richard thought to himself. Although he was a youngster who had grown up in the mountains, Richard's horizons had widened substantially after spending more than a year in the Deepblue. He was no longer that young boy who had no clue about how things worked. However, although the position of a runemaster surpassed many others, it was as insipid as water in Richard's eyes. The boy had no idea how the decade of Elena's implicit influence turned him indifferent to privileges or humiliation.

Regardless of his thoughts, he wouldn't let his Master's expectations of him go down the drain. Children who grew up in the mountains were often stubborn, but they were also clear about their preferences and dislikes. Richard was very intelligent, and having been exposed to a great deal of suffering and twists and turns in his life he was more mature than his peers. Now he knew well he had a special position in the Deepblue, and even better about how many people would go wild over the amount of 'delight' that he received from his master every month. Many gazes levelled on him came with hidden motives, containing envy, longing, and a desire to rob him of everything he had. Yet those kinds of people kept a distance from him, not daring to conspire against him as they wished. The incident with Papin was an accident; he was just one of those noble children who knew not how deep the waters he was treading in were.

He also realised that a couple of people always tailed him from a distance, wherever he went. Perhaps it was because of how those giving him the harsh, malicious stares always retreated in fear, or his own gut feeling, but he knew that these were protectors, not spies. Thinking of how carefree and thrifty his master was, these actions caused him to feel faintly warm and fuzzy. This was the only source of warmth that Richard received this winter.

Fortunately his studies weren't affected at all even during these confusing times, and he instead made leaps and bounds in his magic progress. The newfound thoughts of his gave his maturing self some reassurance.

The winter passed as it should, and spring was somehow here again. After completing his studies for the day, Richard dragged his lethargic body back to his residence. When he passed by the steel doll that was standing upright and alone in a corner, he suddenly realised that it was his birthday again.

Apart from its intact head, the rest of the steel doll had already been distorted so severely that it was deformed, and it was practically impossible to envision how it used to look. This was the result of the numerous times that Richard had lashed at it with Eruption activated. The wall around it was also covered in bumps of all sizes, traces of the doll having rammed into it.

Richard walked next to the doll and gently caressed the motley indentations of all sizes. Some of the dents had pointed edges and razor-sharp crevices; it wasn't just his fists that left these marks, but also his elbows, shoulders, knees, and even his head. Some of these dents were even tainted with dried-up bloodstains.

After experiencing the faint feeling of pain from his fingertips and seeing the patches of bloodstains, Richard finally understood how he actually wasn't lonely at all throughout winter. He thought he had spent it occupying himself and passing the season in silence, but the pain was always lingering around. It was just hidden so deep that he nearly thought that he had forgotten it.

The head of the steel doll was in perfect condition. Its squeaky clean and round surface reflected Richard's somewhat changed face, but the rest of it was utterly destroyed. Most of the parts were only held together by thin wire at this point, ready to disintegrate with just another blow to the main body. Richard smiled and patted the doll's face, before taking big strides towards his bedroom.

The next day's curriculum included a drawing class. After listening to an entire lesson about the theory of art appreciation, a dozen students courteously submitted their rough sketches, which were assigned as homework, before leaving one after the other. Richard was the last one to step forward.

For some reason the maestro felt extremely uncomfortable even if Richard still looked like a teenager. He subconsciously averted his gaze, the mere thought of Richard's drawings making him feel like a moist, freezing creature was pressed up against his body. He couldn't shake it off no matter how hard he tried, making him very upset.

The man's gaze swept across the assignment that Richard was about to submit, and he heaved a sigh of relief when he realised that it was just a small drawing in a 30-centimetre-wide square.

It was a scenic drawing, depicting Floe Bay during winter. Through his usual brushwork, Richard had illustrated the bitter winter in its somber yet exceptionally magnificent beauty in great detail. In comparison to his previous works which were ominous and hysterical, this drawing finally marked a rare return to Richard's normal works. However, the power contained in the lines of this drawing still sent a faint chill down the mage's spine. After letting out a relieved sigh, he suddenly realised that Richard's gaze was still fixated on him. The boy's bottomless pupils were like blue gems.

“Does this painting look a lot more comforting?” Richard's gentle words actually caused the maestro to break out into a cold sweat. He instinctively jumped up from his seat and almost tripped over the edge of his robe. He couldn't be bothered about how unkempt he looked, and wagged a finger at Richard, “You... You....”

In contrast, Richard was as cool-headed as an iceberg. A graceful and beautiful smile was plastered on his face, yet it looked like the enticing expression of a devil trying to lure him in. But no matter how attractive the devil's murmurs were, the maestro knew that there was a much more painful price to pay behind it: his soul would be lost in the deep abyss forever! Upon seeing that rare smile on Richard's face, more beads of cold sweat started to drip down the man's back. What frightened him the most was this— if he didn't remember wrongly, Richard had only just turned 12!

The level 12 mage wanted to question how Richard had read his mind, but even if the words were at the tip of his tongue he held back. Regardless of how it was that this pupil of his had found out, he knew it all. The man calmed himself down, realising Richard still had more to say. He was only a 12-year-old child, yet it was so hard to fathom him. These paintings were constant reminders of how crazy it was in this young boy's inner world.
ƒ𝑟𝐞ewe𝚋𝑛ｏ𝙫𝚎l. 𝒄o𝗺

The great artist took a deep breath. He straightened his clothes, adapting the proper demeanour of a teacher before sitting down and motioning for Richard to do the same. The boy didn't take a seat, however, instead greeting him with a respectful bow just like any other acolyte consulting him about schoolwork. He then asked gracefully, in a practised manner, “Professor, first of all I would like to ask about how the world of a runemaster looks.”

The maestro was stunned by this question, but he shook his head in reply, “I'm no runemaster, just a useless level 12 mage. If you want knowledge about runecrafting ask grand mage Fayr, he teaches you as well. You could try Professor Huru as well, either of them has much more knowledge of runes than me...”

Richard interrupted the maestro, “No, I'm not looking for professional knowledge about runecrafting. I want to know more about the outside world: what a runemaster does, what duties they have, and how they live their lives. I'd also like to know which runemasters are famous right now, their lives before they made a name for themselves, their past achievements and so on. Professors Fayr and Huru both spent most of their time in the Deepblue, and aren't well-traveled like you are. You were also an honoured guest at the royal families of the three human empires at one point in time, so you must certainly know more about these matters than others.”

Richard's question startled the man once again. He didn't understand why the boy wanted to ask about stories that had nothing to do with the matter at hand. Or rather, he'd thought of a possibility but felt like that was rather unbelievable. Conventional logic stated a 12-year-old would't be considering things like that. He still asked out of prudence, “Why do you want to know about all this?”

“I want to become a runemaster, so I need to know about what the world of runemasters is like, and how I can gain an upper hand in that industry. Learning about the lives of historical and actual great runemasters will tell me about the setbacks and experiences that they once faced. At least I can learn from history and refrain from making the same mistakes that they did.” Richard replied. After a short pause, he added, “The world of a runemaster is probably different from what bystanders see.”

The great master instantaneously broke out in cold sweat once again. This was precisely the possibility that he had in mind.

Now, he couldn't decline Richard. He was also willing to impart his knowledge to this young child in front of him, just because he felt like it. After those silent exchanges with Richard through his drawings all this while, he felt that the boy was rather different from the rest of his students.

He organized his train of thought, and slowly said, “Alright. Firstly, in my opinion, runemasters aren't the creators of miracle, instead the weavers of nightmares. They're the very reason that rune knights are armed to the teeth, able to crush forts, checkpoints, and mountain passes that were once considered infallible to smithereens under their iron hooves. Their appearance turned the world around, substantially accelerating Norland's expansion into other planes. Without them, the world wouldn't be the same, and so many lives wouldn't have been lost...”

“In other words, the runemasters are actually the creators of the war corps,” Richard interrupted the artist, concluding his words concisely. The man sighed with deep sorrow.

“You could say that. But...” The great master was reluctant to have Richard arrive at such a conclusion, and he struggled to justify himself. However, after much consideration, he couldn't help but say, “Fine, you're right. It's just like how legendary beings pose a fatal threat to royal families and other nobles. Legendary beings, regardless of occupation, can become the most dangerous of assassins. On the other hand, runemasters are held in high esteem because they can destroy countries. A small troop of rune knights can defeat a large army of thousands of people regardless of how small they are.

“Now, let's start with Lord Rodandar. He was the first runemaster in the continent who actually had a sense of justice...” The maestro's retelling was concise and animated. His few words made it seem like a once-almighty runemaster was standing right before Richard's eyes.

Runemasters made use of their wisdom and talents to create countless troops of rune knights, each branded with the mark of the runemaster who created them. All runemasters had vastly different creations, allowing one to exhibit their personality and innate talents at will. The most famous runemasters of history had left behind their own masterpieces, like Lommen's illusory suits, Ricardimo's crimson knights, or Saint Peter's holy equipment. Although these things had eventually been copied, they were never surpassed.

It took an entire hour for the maestro to draw a clear outline of the history of runecrafting. Had he spoken in any detail, it would likely have taken him ten days to a month.

Richard spoke once again after the maestro took a break, “Thank you, Professor. My second request is that you introduce me to someone.”

The artist nodded and replied, “I know of a lot of people in the Deepblue, one could say I know most of the special ones. What kind of people do you want me to introduce you to? Women? Haha!”

The maestro's joke didn't elicit a smile. Richard instead lowered his head, keeping silent for a long while before he looked back up with determination in his face, “I'm looking for someone who can teach me how to kill.”

32 - City of Sin

The Art of Killing

“What?!” The great mage suddenly felt his entire body turn cold, as if he had jumped outside the window into Floe Bay, naked. He had never imagined Richard would ask him something like that. While this boy was more taciturn than the average child, he was still a twelve-year-old who was diligent and ambitious. Here he was, wanting to kill someone?

All the works of art Richard had drawn before appeared in the great mage's mind in that moment. The boundless strength hidden within them... the great mage realised that he was wrong in treating Richard as an ordinary little boy.

Some twelve-year-old human nobles were extremely mature, while fifteen was their standard for adulthood. Outside human control, some beast tribes considered children who were six or seven to be matured as well. Google search 𝐟r𝚎ewe𝚋𝚗૦ν𝘦𝘭. 𝐜𝚘𝗺

Coming to this thought, the maestro stood tall and asked with seriousness, “I do know someone you'd like to meet, a true expert at murder, but first tell me why you'd need to learn how to kill.”

“Runemasters are harbingers of war,” Richard answered, “Only by learning how to kill can I create outstanding rune knights.”

Richard's answer left the great mage helpless yet again. It took him a few deep breaths, but he eventually managed to suppress his feelings and speak slowly, “That's a great reason. It sounds untrue, but never mind that. Any reason is good enough as long as there is one. As for the person I was talking about, his name is Naya. Many years ago, most everyone called him the Blade of Calamity. You should be able to get what you want from him.”

Richard nodded, bowing primly to the great mage before he handed the man a sheet of paper. The maestro thought it was an assignment, but it was actually a proof of payment signed by Richard, showing that the great mage had taught him a certain number of lessons. Most of these lessons didn't exist, but with this receipt the maestro would be able to get gold from the Deepblue. It would amount to over ten thousand extra, an amount he couldn't just ignore.

This process was extremely safe as well, because one-on-one lessons was something students paid for themselves. The Deepblue would check with Richard for this, and if there was no harm to their finances, they naturally would not pursue this matter further.

Seeing this proof of payment, the artist's mage went into chaos. Was this a bribe?

“Richard!” he called the boy who was about to leave, grabbing his messy hair to ask, “Why ask me for help?”

“Because I thought it would be the easiest way.”

“Then what if I didn't help you? Who would you look for help from?” The grand mage did not back down.

“Blackgold.”

The great mage suddenly understood. In little Richard's eyes, those who worked in arts and played with gold were both quite unreliable, which was why he had chosen this place. However, he was very curious about something else, “Who will you look for if this doesn't work out?”

Richard answered instantly, “Those grand mages who only want to teach students!”

......

Late into the night, Richard left the Deepblue's main towers to arrive at some buildings at the borders.

There were many mages within the main towers, with at least twenty to thirty people serving them each. This pushed a lot of people into the surrounding areas, because the rent in the main towers wasn't something any mage below level 10 could afford. Even a little room with only a bed was impossible to get.

The external districts were graded into different regions based on their distance from the main towers. The ring closest to the Deepblue had many mages, most of them below level 10. They didn't have the means to stay in the Deepblue itself, but they could somewhat settle in the outer regions with difficulty.

Covered up in a dark cloak, Richard weaved his way through numerous districts to reach the outermost one. He sensed all sorts of gazes trained on him on the way, some from arrogant level 8 mages and other malicious ones from shady characters.

Most were of curiosity. After all, those who wandered these districts were acquainted with each other or at least had seen each other before. That made strangers very eye-catching. It was the marking of a level 3 mage on the cloak that helped Richard avoid a great deal of trouble.

At the end of an alley that was dark and devoid of people stood a worn-out little tavern. There was a huge gash on its wooden signboard, where one could barely make out the crude image of a half-naked woman. The door was ajar, revealing the dimly lit and quiet interior of the tavern without any bards. The only thing that made it outside was the pungent smell of alcohol.

It was now winter, and the harsh cold was everywhere. The Deepblue had its magic to keep the inner regions warm, another factor leading to the high rent in the place and the arrogance of the residents, but a small alley outside the main tower like this was very cold. With a tavern of this size, even if it supplied heating that would only make it slightly warmer than the outside; an entire month's profits would not be able to support keeping it at room temperature for a day.

The bit of warmth was quite substantial in Richard's senses, but most ordinary people did not find much of a difference between -30 and -50 degrees celsius. In such terrible weather and with such a remote location, this tavern obviously would not have many guests.

Richard pushed the tavern door open and walked in. The tavern was not very large, with only three tables, and the bartender was a man of average physique and appearance. His half-grizzled hair was beginning to show his age.

Two tall, sturdy men dressed in tattered clothing were sitting at a table in the corner, leaning comfortably into the wall as they ate and drank bit by bit. The alcohol smelled strong, which meant it had come cheap. Paired with that was a small plate of an unknown sliced meat, so dry that it seemed to have no water at all. Just the sight of it could make anyone lose their appetite, but these men were ever so careful as they picked it up piece by piece, chewing and trying to appreciate the taste before they took several large gulps of the strong alcohol. It was just a small plate, but by the looks of it they wouldn't finish it by the end of the night.

Richard took a look around, understanding the situation here soon enough. The man behind the bar cleaned a glass while shooting Richard a glance, “Little guy, didn't your mother tell you that you can only drink after you become of age? Of course, if you have the money, I wouldn't mind pouring you a glass or two.”

Richard lifted his hood and spoke, “I'm not here to drink. I'm looking for someone.”

“Who?” The bartender seemed interested.

“The Blade of Calamity.” The moment these words left his mouth, Richard felt like he'd fallen into an icy cave. He froze so stiff he couldn't even move a finger, and all parts of his body except his head stopped listening to him. The chilly air assaulting him pierced his skin sharply, feeling like the pinpricks of millions of needles. This was the first time in his life Richard had been exposed to killing intent.

It was like time itself had stopped. The two men by the table halted all movement, maintaining their poses. One was stuck pouring the drink down his throat, while the other still had a piece of meat that was so thin it seemed translucent held high in the air.

However, they didn't seem immobile like he was. While their movements did stop, their gazes locked on to the boy. Their expressions said nothing.

The man behind the bar stopped cleaning a glass, gazing at the flickering candles on the wall. It took him a moment to return from his memories, after which he turned towards Richard, “That's a name I haven't used in a long time. Call me Naya; anyone who knows about the Blade of Calamity is a friend. I'm curious, though, what does a child want with me?”

“I want to learn how to kill.” Richard's words were to the point, just like always.

“Why?”

“Because I feel like I'll need the knowledge soon.”

Naya nodded, not pressing him further. He switched tracks, “This is the Deepblue, even if it's an outer region...”

“I've prepared the fee.” Richard answered.

The corner of Naya's lips curved as he smiled, the icy sting of the killing intent disappearing, “My lessons are expensive. I'll need at least 500 gold coins everyday.”

Richard produced an intricate magic pouch, opened it, and poured out a pile of flickering gold coins onto the bar counter. “I've prepared a thousand, so teach me everything you can.”

Naya nonchalantly glanced at the pile of gold coins in front of him and chuckled, “Isn't a prepubescent child with so much money unafraid that I'd gobble you down, seeing as you ran into the nest of a killer? I'm guessing that guy who loves drawing women introduced you, but that guy is a spineless person and can't be trusted. So, tell me why I shouldn't kill you right away.”

“Because I only brought the gold coins for today.”

Naya grinned even more brightly, “Smart kid! But it's best if you give me another reason. Sometimes I do things for money, but other times not so much. For safety's sake, it's best that you don't assume that I just want that bit of money.”

Richard hesitated for a while before speaking again, “My name is Richard, Richard Archeron. I'm a personal apprentice of Her Excellency Sharon, and the son of Gaton Archeron.”

The smile on Naya's face froze, and he suddenly coughed out some spittle, yelling at the two men at the table, “What do you say, guys?!”

The man on the left put his glass down, “Those two are maniacs! If you do anything to this boy here, Gaton will drag you out of hell if need be, and Her Excellency will make sure you regret ever having lived for the next thousand years.”

The man on the right placed the meat back on the plate and looked at little Richard, saying, “Don't you think this little guy is interesting? Teaching a little guy like him must be very fulfilling and profitable! If you think you're earning too much, pass him to me. It's been over a decade since you were the Blade of Calamity anyway, who knows if you can still move that blade quickly enough anyway. I need money now!”

“You can keep dreaming, Redbeard!” Naya yelled, swiping all the coins on the counter into his pocket like he was afraid they'd go away if he was too slow. His gaze on Richard changed slightly, “What I'm going to teach you isn't just how to kill someone, it's how to destroy a life. We start now.”

......

It was early morning when Richard returned to his residence. He saw the steel puppet that was ridden with wounds on the way to his bedroom, and the eye-catching head devoid of any damage. He stopped to gaze at it for a while, before sighing suddenly and muttering to himself, “I won't need you anymore in the future.”

He brushed past the puppet, his left hand barely discernible as it brushed the puppet's neck before he headed towards his room.

With a clank, the puppet's head silently detached from the body and crashed to the ground, flying a far distance. The cut at the neck was as smooth as a mirror, like it'd been sliced by a sharp blade.

33 - City of Sin

The Power to Change The World

Spring arrived once more, and Richard was about to turn thirteen. Of course, the boy did not know that this spring would hold a special meaning for him.

As controllers of war, it wasn't truly important for runemasters to kill with their own hands. This was especially true for someone at Richard's level. However, every night he spent in that little tavern in the outer regions gave Richard a newfound understanding of magic formations, dimensions, or his other homework. What had originally been a bunch of static numbers now connected, everything affecting everything else not just in the moment, in that place, but elsewhere and other times as well.

The fireball spell formation was a simple example. Its instant attack was the same whether it was used in a desert or a forest, but over three to five years the formation would increase the fire elements in a desert. Oases would shift several kilometres away, perhaps drying out further as well. On the other hand, a large formation would burn many trees away in a forest, reducing the density and variety of the greenery. However, once the trees burned to ashes the wind would spread their seeds elsewhere. The soil would recover over time, growing fertile once more.

Such long-term effects were useless in a single battle, but over a prolonged war that lasted more than a century these things could affect the development of societies and entire races. It gave Richard a proper understanding of what runemasters were, of what they did and why they were called controllers of war. However, even he himself was in disbelief of such a thing. Such thoughts could be coincidental, but pure logic told him it was more probable that excessive fatigue was causing him to hallucinate.

One certain night, he found himself unable to sleep. All his experiences from childhood till date suddenly surged to the front of his mind, and the huge amount of knowledge he'd gained in the Deepblue merged and linked to answer many questions he'd had in the past. Inspiration surged like a spring, while his heart began to pound quickly.

He suddenly sat up and charged into his laboratory, preparing over a hundred items in one go. He spread the hide of a high-level beast out, taking a few magic pens with special mithril tips to begin carving a magic formation.

The night silently passed, but the rays of magic never faded, causing one to lose track of time. Switching through twenty two different types of magic pens, damaging six, and using no less than 200 different types of magic ingredients, he finally managed to draw a complete magic formation. The square hide turned extremely rigid, and the rays of light from the formation itself circulated around it. As long as Richard pushed his mana inside, the spell formation would activate automatically to increase his innate agility.

Once he saw this hide, Richard himself couldn't believe his eyes. This was the result of his entire night passing like a dream, and if one ignored the material issues and small flaws it had it would garner another name in the outside world.

This was a rune! Although only the most basic of runes, Elementary Agility, it was a rune nonetheless!

He may have learnt all the theory and the foundational subjects systematically over the past years, but Richard had yet to start on making runes. Although this rune had a lot of room for improvement, and was almost useless, it was a substantial improvement for him personally! Once a mage could cast a spell of a certain grade it wouldn't be hard for them to learn other spells of that grade, and the same was true of runemasters and runes!

Holding this crude rune, Richard's mind was filled with all sorts of thoughts. His hard work, his conjectures, the suffering... it all came to mind. All that time of being unwilling to waste a single moment, working hard bit by bit, had finally come to fruition. The pain and fervour that he'd hidden deep in his veins had pushed him to success.

If one wished to find the source of his motivation now, it could be seen easily with three words: success follows accumulation.

All sorts of feelings welled up in his mind, but Richard only allowed himself three minutes to dwell on them. He knew full well that everything in the Deepblue was built up high in the clouds, where his dreams could be destroyed in an instant.

The massive fees, the great amount of materials he needed to use, the mana potions he drank like water everyday, and this residence that was so huge he felt uneasy living in it... It was all built on Sharon's Delight. Put bluntly, Richard's life depended on the legendary mage's moods. Before his talent gave way to true power, he was just like a painting on the wall, something that could only be admired not used.

A proverb had made it down the annals of history: there was no free lunch in the world. This lunch that came from a legendary mage, so rich and ridiculous, how could it possibly be free?

Naya's reaction had told Richard that the father of his, who he hated to the core, was definitely someone well-known on the continent. He'd also learnt that people feared Gaton Archeron far more than they liked him. That background gave him some conjectures as to the source of Sharon's Delight. Of course his own hard work was a part of everything, but Gaton's influence had a hand in it as well.

Richard knew full well that everything he owned, including the money he was planning to use to help Erin get through her tough situation, had actually come from his father; the man who he was once curious about, but was now unwilling to even recall. However, he could not just reject all this. It was impossible to continue down the path of magic without a great amount of wealth to support him. WIth how stubborn he was, he would definitely return all the money he had gotten from Gaton with interest before he could fulfil his mother's wishes and never see his father again.

Or perhaps one day the father and son would meet again, on the battlefield in another plane. After all, the world was filled with inconceivable events.

However, Richard had learned a lot from his philosophy classes. Even if he was set on returning everything in the future, with interest, would that mean he could use Gaton's gold as he wished now? Many would perhaps have no qualms with this, but he could not do so. Deep within his blood was an instinctual pride that came from both his parents, and this pride told him he couldn't cheat himself so shamelessly.

Now, however, this rune was a turning point. This thin piece of hide was proof that he could create standard runes quite soon, and developing from Elementary Agility into other basic runes. Even as someone who was used to living in the Deepblue the price of the most elementary runes had astonished him in the past, and now he could make money by crafting and selling them. That would make for a sizeable amount of money, even if it couldn't compare to how much Sharon was giving him in recent months.

Of course Richard wasn't so stupid as to reject that money now that he had the means to earn some himself. The extra gold would give him more ingredients, allow him to train quicker, and granted him even more freedom.

'If...' Just as this word popped up in his mind, Richard forced it down. However, he knew full well what he truly wanted to ask. If he had the ability to craft runes before, would he have been able to save Erin?

This was a young and innocent question, but instinct gave the boy a brutal, practical answer. Nothing would change. What had happened had happened, and time could not flow backwards.

As Richard studied the world of Deepblue more closely, he garnered a better understanding of the laws of the place. He was gaining greater and greater clarity about the expressions behind people's faces, growing able to see things that were once obscured by numerous veils.

Time lost was simple, but this world was complicated.

34 - City of Sin

The Power to Change The World

Daybreak.

The sun leapt out of the icebergs at the boundaries of Floe Bay, rising up into the sky. A bright sunshine shot through the window and diluted the rune's magic light, causing Richard's fatigued eyes to sting. He rubbed them for a bit before he stowed the rune away, leaving his residence quickly in search of grand mage Fayr who taught him magic formations. He wished to determine the next step in his studies.

Fayr definitely lived up to his title as a grand mage. He was level 19, with profound knowledge and innovative theses in the philosophy of magic coming about with fair, genuine ways. Currently his professor in magic formations, he would also teach him to craft runes one day.

Runecrafting touched on a great many things, requiring a lot of knowledge, but there was no specific path to it. A thousand years of research had separated runes into seven grades, with the first four being considered standard. Elementary runecrafting didn't qualify one to be called a runemaster, the title only going to those who could craft runes at grade 2 and above. Great runemasters could craft grade 3 and 4 runes, while anyone who could make grade 5 runes was considered a saint runemaster. As for grades 6 and 7, those runes were only conjecture as of now.

It was still rather early in the day, and few were out and about in the Deepblue. Richard controlled his heart that was thumping with joy, walking hastily away from the teleportation formation to stand at the entrance to Sharon's personal region in the upper layers.

Two giant copper gates guarded the entrance, but they were open be it night or day. There was a magic puppet on each side, and one directed its ruby eye at Richard as it shot out a crimson ray of light. The emblem at the corner of his magic robes immediately lit up in response, and the puppet immediately returned to position as the light in its eye dimmed.

The upper layers of the Deepblue were reserved for the legendary mage, while the layers just beneath were allocated to a few greatly qualified grand mages in a display of Her Excellency's generosity, trust, and fondness. The daily lives of seventeen grand mages revolved around this area that had five full levels of the tower, and Fayr was one of those mages.

By the time Richard was allowed into Professor Fayr's personal region, the man had just completed his morning meditation.

The grand mage wore his robes before he came out, emanating a dense elemental aura. With his affinity for the elements, the sheer concentration of mana around Fayr far exceeded that in ordinary space. Just listening to the Professor speak would result in long-lasting benefits in terms of mana building, but Fayr only released this elemental aura in two cases: either he'd just completed his meditation, or he was teaching his most important student. Please visit 𝙛𝓇𝑒𝗲𝒘e𝘣𝓷𝘰ѵe𝚕. com

A tiny trace of approval flashed in Fayr's eyes when he saw Richard, hard to discern. He pointed at a chair nearby and gestured for Richard to take a seat, grabbing a mana potion and taking a few sips himself.

Richard did not sit, however. He instead produced the beast hide with the rune on it, handing it over to the grand mage, “This is something I was inspired to write last night, Professor. Please have a look.”

The intricate and compact patterns alone made it obvious to Fayr that this was a superior formation. Fayr flashed a rare smile as he took the hid. Just as he was about to praise Richard, however, his expression suddenly changed. He took a few more looks, and couldn't help but begin to tremble.

The grand mage suddenly stood up in a hurry, knocking the half-empty potion in the process with his sleeve. The bottle fell to the ground, wasting a lot of the 2000 gold coins it was worth as it shattered with a crash.

The usually frugal Fayr suddenly didn't care for the potion anymore. He glanced at Richard, his eyes shining with mana as the elements entered chaos around him. He'd practically caused an elemental storm indoors!

He asked sternly, “You said you did this last night? Do you know what this is?”

The berserk elemental storm caused Richard to feel suffocated, making it difficult to stand in place. Still he answered calmly, “It's a basic buff-type rune, Elementary Agility. It's only somewhat complete.”

It was only now that Fayr realised he had lost control over himself. The mage slowly retracted the elemental force he'd scattered everywhere, looking at the beast hide in his hands before he spoke slowly, “Only somewhat? Ha, indeed, as a rune it can only barely meet the standards, but few people in history could make a rune that meets the standards before the age of thirteen! I trust you aren't lying, but this just doesn't make sense. Your lessons haven't converged yet... There should be some other factors that allowed you to gain this sudden enlightenment, giving you a comprehensive understanding of the various systems of magic. If you don't mind, could you tell me of any special situations you've been in lately? It will be useful for your future development.”

Grandmaster Fayr was someone worthy of respect, and Richard felt no negative emotions from him. Besides, the most important thing in this complicated and dangerous world of magic was to have a wise guide. Richard summarised everything he'd experienced outside of class over the last year, although he hid the part that had to do with Erin. He didn't even hide his studying with Naya.

Having heard all that, Fayr's eyebrows twitched. He wanted to stand up by instinct, but he controlled himself and leaned against the back of his chair before lifting his hand and indicating for Richard to stop. He then gazed up at the ceiling, deep in thought.

He spoke again a moment later, “So it's him. I never thought that the Blade of Calamity was in the Deepblue. He's called Naya now? That's his real name, something he almost never used. His teachings should be one of the prime reasons you could break the walls between the different subjects; after all killing and creation are two sides of a coin. Both need knowledge in various areas.”

Richard hesitated, and then asked, “Can I still continue studying with him?”

Grandmaster Fayr sighed for a while, and then answered, “By the looks of it now, yes. The Blade of Calamity— no, he's Naya now— was once someone quite influential in the underworld. He nearly turned killing into an art, so at the very least he should be able to teach you for the next few years. However, I'm curious. Why did you suddenly get the idea to learn the art of killing?”

“To create a more powerful rune knight, I need to know the most efficient ways to kill.”

35 - City of Sin

The Power To Change The World

Richard's answer caused Fayr to give him a long look. However, the old grand mage eventually shook his head, “That isn't your real reason, I can see it in your eyes... Forget it, I shouldn't be interfering. But know this: this is the Deepblue, and everything here belongs to Her Excellency. If anything troubles you, you can approach either me or Sharon herself.

“The Deepblue is also a world of mages, and secular power cannot extend all the way here. If the disputes you find yourself affect too much of the outside world, then you can tell your father. The Archeron Family's power has caused many people fear, and Marquess Gaton himself has begun to establish himself in Faust, the capital of legends. That means he has enough power to be at the peak of the secular world.”

Richard's gaze shifted away. It took a while for him to speak, “I do not want to borrow Marquess Gaton's strength.”

Aged wisdom allowed Fayr to find Richard's little secret in his addressal of the man. However, this didn't surprise him; everyone who carried the Archeron name was a strong character. Of course there were other families like that in Norland, such as Saint Peter's descendants and Wisma, Agarest, Solam, Julius and the like.

Fayr nodded and spoke in a low voice, “I actually have one more doubt... The art of killing far exceeds the limits of this domain, which was what allowed you to see the possibilities. However, to merge all 46 of the fundamental runic subjects isn't something even a genius can do. That needs diligence and wisdom; true wisdom, mind you, not intelligence. You, Richard, aren't the most outstanding in the Deepblue in terms of your wisdom. I thought you'd only be able to craft runes of your own once you turned fifteen, but you've done it at twelve. That doesn't make sense...”

Even as he asked this, Fayr knew there was no answer to this question. The fact was that Richard had taken the most important step for all runemasters, and since he met the requirements the reasoning didn't matter.

Having studied magic philosophy intensely, Fayr knew there was a reason behind this. If he couldn't find one right now, it only meant that he didn't see it yet, not that one didn't exist. Norland had far too many secrets, and the numerous universes with their innumerable planes could never be completely explored. It wouldn't be absurd if some bored god suddenly gave Richard complete knowledge of runecrafting out of nowhere. Even Saint Peter, who crafted holy equipment, revealed before his death that most of his inspiration had come from the gods.

Fayr stood up, stowing the rune away, “Nevermind, let's not waste time on trivial issues. Whatever the reason is much of your breakthrough can be attributed to luck, but luck only becomes a greater factor of your strength the further you get.”

Pausing for a while, the grand mage Fayr spoke profoundly, “Richard, perhaps you still have no idea about how lucky you are. This is an open secret, so there's no need for me to keep it from you: Her Excellency has a habit of having only one apprentice in every domain, so as to continue passing on her knowledge. Her students are dazzling pearls on the crown of magic, and that is especially true for runemasters.”

“So...?” Richard suddenly understood the malice that came from Steven and Minnie, as well as the reason for Randolph's plot to kill him despite them having nothing to do with each other before that.

“From what I know Steven was interested in becoming a runemaster, and he seems very resolute. However, you're already ahead of him with the most decisive step. That's the reason I told you how to take care of disputes that cannot be resolved. Remember to take care of yourself as well.”

Richard could tell what Fayr was implying, but he remained in disbelief, “But this is the Deepblue!”

Grandmaster Fayr chuckled, “No matter how powerful the law is, it can only control the rational people.”

This caused Richard to bow his head in contemplation. He eventually seemed to understanding the meaning of the words, nodding to Fayr.

The old mage had packed everything up by then, and some students he had summoned had hurried over, “Now, come with me, lucky boy, and I'll show you how runemasters create miracles. I'm sure seeing this will give you a greater understanding of the world of runemasters than half-true sayings and old legends.”

An hour later, Richard and Fayr were seated within a magic laboratory situated outside the Deepblue. The place was giant and open-air, allowing the testing of large-scale magic or even legendary spells. It was normally also used as an arena for beast fights, to test new magic beasts or fresh summons.

A violent, armoured warhorse was brought into the lab arena under Richard's gaze. This was a type of magic beast local to the Deepblue, much larger than ordinary warhorses with a layer of scales as hard as steel covering its back. The beast was untamable, its metallic hooves able to crush a polar bear's skull while its speed and jump height could compare to maers deer. All these factors summed up to give it few natural predators.

The most valuable part of the armoured warhorse was the metallic scales on its back. They were stronger than the strongest metals in production, but still as light as feathers. On top of that they took easily to magic, not requiring too much of a complicated process to attach runes to.

In order to prevent these tyrannical magical beasts from suddenly going berserk, they had to pass through a very long, dark and narrow pathway. The moment the armoured horse entered the laboratory, the open space that suddenly appeared before it caused it to pause. This was a huge area with a circumference of over a thousand metres, with all sorts of terrain on it. After so many experiments, the dense mana remnants and the many bloodstains from magic beasts over the years caused it to grow guarded.

The moment the warhorse paused, Richard saw that a portion of the scales on its chest had been removed. The elementary agility rune had been placed there instead, and this obviously wasn't just a simple embedding. The beast hide had been trimmed and processed, planted on the corresponding spot with meticulous care.

The armoured warhorse's snorts grew rougher, and the rune at its chest began to flicker. This was a sign that the rune had absorbed the beast's mana, beginning to activate.

Stimulated by powerful bloodlust, the horse went completely berserk! It got up on two legs and released a long neigh, beginning to charge like lightning once its hooves touched the ground. It looked like it wanted to jump over two piles of logs in its way, breaking through the border fences to regain its freedom.

Just as the armoured horse jumped into the air, the rune suddenly emanated dazzling light. The horse showed astounding ability as one leap took it astoundingly far, crossing the first pile but then smashing it into the second. This jump alone was half a fold of increased jump distance!

Wood shavings flew everywhere, and the heavy logs were sent rolling by the impact. A log that was half a metre long was the one to bear the brunt of the impact, almost being torn in half!

The warhorse grew dizzy with the impact, its head spinning as it couldn't determine its location. It started charging in all directions, the rune on its chest glowing as it further increased its speed.

However, this evidently surpassed the limits of the horse's control. It sometimes ran too far, or sometimes it misjudged the distance and crashed into the fence. Sometimes it just jumped too high or too far, causing it to lose its balance mid-air and fall face-down.

Dull thuds sounded everywhere, and pieces of wood, mud, and stone fell everywhere. The gigantic body of the warhorse practically turned into a black phantom as it darted around at unimaginable speeds, smashing right into the obstacles with its body. With its body weight and speed, the horse itself had become a terrifying weapon, the slightest of impacts causing terrifying damage.

Watching the armoured horse speeding around the lab like lightning, Richard could only gape. He was quite familiar with this often-seen beast, but he'd never thought it could reach such speeds. Seeing the terrifying power of the horse after it sped up... This was like a whole new species!

Was this the power of a runemaster?

Little Richard suddenly found his mouth going dry. He felt like he was a baby who had grabbed a metal sword, wanting to use it as a toy, but only found out after brandishing it that this sword had the power to destroy anything he saw.

36 - City of Sin

The First Blow

However, could he handle this strength? For the first time in his life, Richard found himself wavering.

The horse lost stamina quickly, slowing down. It was still much faster than most armoured horses, but its stamina dropped faster and faster until, after bashing into one last obstacle, it was completely fatigued. It gave a pitiful cry, collapsing to the ground with a large amount of froth at its mouth. Its hooves twitched for a moment, and then stopped moving.

Richard cried out, not expecting this outcome, and gazed with urgency at grand mage Fayr. The old mage patted him, saying, “No need to panic. An ordinary rune would only raise its speed by 30%, but the one you made isn't good enough. It's up to a 50% increase, so the horse couldn't bear the rune. This was just an experiment anyway, that's why we just forced the rune on it. If everything was perfect, the rune wouldn't have harmed it at all. Now, I'm sure you've seen how runemasters can change the world.”

Richard nodded. His heart was still thumping wildly, leaving him unable to speak.

“This is a power that can change the world. Use it wisely, you in particular.” Fayr stated meaningfully and took Richard away.

Richard was given permission to rest that day, something he needed desperately. Drawing the rune had left him in a state of excitement the entire night, and he'd already lost all his strength and mana. He hadn't been able to contain his excitement at the sight of the rune he'd made himself, but once he calmed down he felt a wave of fatigue overcome him. It felt like heavy stones were pressing down on his eyelids, leaving him unable to open them all the way. The only thing he wanted at that point was to fall asleep in place.

Fayr called a mage on shift and asked him to bring Richard back to his residence alongside two strong beings of another race. Once the mage on duty left, he thought over it once more and called a student next to him. He passed a receipt for things to buy, sending Richard a box each of powerful mana potions and energy potions from his own pocket.

This student was already thirty, and had followed the grand mage for many years. Although he only looked slightly shocked on the surface, his mind was already surging with storms. The two boxes would only have ten potions each, but each potion would be far more effective than those from the outside. While Fayr had a high rank in Deepblue, and his income matched his status, these two boxes of potions were akin to his salary for an entire month. This was the income he used not just for his own expenses, but also to operate his lab and pay his staff!

The other young students next to him couldn't hide their thoughts either. There was a lot of astonishment and envy, and only a small number were indifferent to the situation...

The testing of the rune took up the whole morning. Fayr took a look at the magic hourglass that told the time, and found that the afternoon magic philosophy lessons were about to begin. The teleportation formation in the northeast corner flickered at that moment, and Steven and Minnie walked out.

Seeing the grand mage in the distance, Steven immediately cried out, “Professor Fayr, I finally found you!” The cultured and refined youth revealed an impatience and joy that could not be restrained.

The youth ran up to Fayr, giving him a respectful blow while filled with anxiousness. It had to be said that his etiquette and bearing was outstanding amongst people of his age. Considering his great family background and splendid talent, the fact that he was even doing this was admirable. Compared to him Sharon's other two apprentices as of now were obviously lacking. Minnie often unknowingly displayed arrogance, while Richard mostly cared for nobody and nothing. Be it in class or in break, the boy was focused on his notes and the teaching material, basically ignoring everything in his surroundings. Many who wanted to befriend him would find themselves at a loss.

“Professor Fayr, I created this last night after a sudden gush of inspiration. Please appraise it!” Steven's tone showed his eagerness. His humble attitude couldn't hide the pride he felt in his accomplishment, and one could not help but be curious about what he'd brought. The youth carefully opened a leather suitcase in his hands that was made with magic, revealing a hexagonal beast hide that he passed to Fayr.

This dark red beast hide had a strong smell of sulfur. There were dark patterns on it that looked like bloodstains, with the large black spots showing that it had been taken from an extremely dangerous beast— the blazing earth dragon. Exceptional sturdiness and great magic conductivity made earth dragon hides the standard materials to draw runes, useful at ranks 2 and below. The specific hide Steven took out was even more exceptional than normal, able to perhaps make a rank 3 rune in the hands of a skilled runemaster.

The hide had been tailored and processed exquisitely, evidently not Steven's own work. At the middle of the hide was a complicated spell formation in the shape of a closed fist, exuding a savage aura.

The lines and composition of the formation made it evident that the one who'd drawn it was quite proficient, and it was good by normal standards, but the shape was still somewhat crude. Since this was a formation that fused three smaller ones together, it required a precision and grasp of the big picture that could not be measured by ordinary standards. Although the formation wasn't complete, the occasional magic light flickering from several corners indicated that some parts of it were effective.

Grand mage Fayr scanned the spell formation on the dragonhide for a while, nodding with slight surprise, “Elementary Strength, and it's about... 20% complete. Hmm, not bad for your age and ability.

“This rune obviously has Saint Klaus' style. Looks like he's quite attentive in coaching you. I'll have Luce study it when he gets back, and see how you can improve.”

Having said this, Fayr passed the dragonhide to a student next to him and headed for the teleportation point. The old grand mage paused when he was next to Steven, taking a long look at the young dragon warlock before saying, “Also, that dragonhide was pretty good. This is a bit of a waste.”

Escorted by a few students, Fayr's figure disappeared into the rays of the magic formation. The skies were dark, and the wind was chilly.

37 - City of Sin

The First Blow

Yet to turn eighteen, and with the red dragon bloodline, drawing a complete rune would be the most important step in Steven's lifetime as a runemaster. Once a rune crossed 10% completion it was just a matter of time before he finished it. Even if he'd be stuck with elementary runes, he would definitely become a runemaster in the future.

Steven was still young, and definitely did not lack time. He'd assumed that this piece he'd spent most of the month toiling on, spending more than a million of the Solam Family's gold coins to gather and process, would completely blow Professor Fayr away. However, the response had only been lukewarm.

Had this work been handed to Saint Klaus, he would sing the greatest of praises and compliments for it. On the other hand, Fayr had remained indifferent and cold. It was like the grand mage had poured water from Floe Bay on Steven's burning heart.

Who was Luce? Steven knew that Luce was Grandmaster Fayr's student, someone who was 31 years old. He was a level 13 mage with no special bloodline, only average for his age. The work he'd laboured over for a month had been tossed to a piece of mediocre trash?

If Fayr himself acted like this, it was easy to imagine how a legendary mage like Her Excellency would act. Steven suddenly felt his heart turn cold, thinking of the dwindling income every month and feeling at a loss. Was it really so difficult to obtain the legendary mage's delight? What had gone wrong? Not considering Richard, even that piece of trash Randolph used to get a great amount before.

Steven didn't prize money, but he wanted the recognition and teachings of the legendary mage. What Sharon's Delight showed was her attitude; if he couldn't even obtain that, how would he have the qualifications to become a legendary runemaster?

It had been around half a year since he had come to the Deepblue. In this time, Steven had not been slacking off. He would make ample preparations for each meeting with the legendary mage, all with the intent to show her his most perfect side. Some of these meetings were placed in his schedule, while the chance encounters were created by using manpower and physical resources. The time he spent on learning magic and training was a lot greater than before, and the speed at which his mana grew was proof of his hard work. He'd done everything he should've, and also gone beyond what was required of him. For example he'd done his utmost to deal with Richard, his largest competitor who'd been earmarked as a future saint runemaster. Unfortunately Richard seemed to be walled in like a rock, leaving Steven with no way to get to him.

In all situations, Steven would maintain the best manners and elegance as was becoming of the child of a great noble family. Even though there were times he wanted to punch someone's nose or tear one's clothes off, he knew the social construct of the Deepblue extremely well. He understood how everything worked and knew the temper, habits and likes of all the important people. He'd even succeeded in getting a group of friends, isolating his enemies. However, there was something a little off about the last point, because Richard had always been alone.

However, after putting in the most effort he ever had in his life, Steven had also gained the greatest disappointment in his life. Grandmaster Fayr's nonchalance had completely woken him up. The Deepblue was a tremendous and matchless monster, and he'd thought that he knew it well. However, he hadn't even seen its full appearance yet.. In a place where so many grand mages gathered, a 17 year old dragon warlock was nothing, even though he called himself a genius. There was no lack of people like him here.

One of Fayr's students was still in the lab, cleaning up the area. Seeing Steven's pale and blank look, he suddenly felt some pity. Besides, he'd obtained quite a number of little gifts from Steven. While not particularly rare, they represented Steven's thoughtfulness. For someone from a noble family like Steven, this was very rare.

He greeted Steven, looked to the left and right to check that nobody was around, and then whispered, “Professor is very busy today. Richard gave him a rune this morning, and he spent the entire morning testing its effects. His schedule is completely messed up.”

While the student's voice was gentle, the words were like thunder to Steven's ears, to the point that he found himself almost unable to stand steadily.

“Richard? Rune? What rune? How complete was it?” Steven asked with a last trace of hope. His voice was hoarse, and purposefully unkempt hair grew completely dishevelled. A few strands on went damp with sweat, sticking firmly to his forehead.

However, he knew full well that any testable rune was far more complete than just 20%.However, he knew full well that a rune that could be tested meant that no matter how terrible it was, it still surpassed his 20% by a huge amount.

The student gazed at Steven with sympathy, pointing at the carcass of the armoured horse in the distance that was being towed away by some strong men. “It's Elementary Agility, and the completeness... that doesn't actually matter. See that armoured horse? The rune has already been made into a rune slot. The experiment was a success, which means that this rune slot only needs a bit of tidying up and it'll be done.”

While he'd already prepared to hear this, the answer still surpassed Steven's expectations. The rune had already been made into a rune slot, and the experiment had been a success? This was the second barrier on the path of becoming a runemaster, and that was placing a rune on the body of a particular being. However, Richard had easily passed this barrier. Steven knew the significance of this very well. If one used the loosest of standards, Richard could now be considered a runemaster!

This information smashed Steven's bottom line. While there was still a long way to go till Richard could truly be a runemaster who could create rune knights, what was worse was that he had much more time than he did! Richard was only 12, and even if one were to say he was a year older than that, he would still only be 13!

Everything suddenly turned dark in front of Steven's eyes. All his hopes for the future, his glamour, his honour... it seemed to disappear in an instant. The huge investment his family had placed on him now only seemed cold and heavy. Steven had borne witness to Randolph's plight, and even jeered at the boy before, but soon enough it could be him in that position.

Steven grabbed at the student's hand, and because he'd used too much strength, his fingernails sunk deeply into the other's flesh. With a hoarse voice he pressed on, “Are you sure it's Richard? Richard Archeron? That little guy who isn't even thirteen yet?”

The student silently tore Steven's hand away. He could understand how Steven was feeling now and how he had lost his calm. Little Richard had given everyone a tremendous shock, to the point that even the grand mage Fayr could not keep his calm, much less Steven.

The habits of the legendary mage had long since become an open secret, which was why students in the same field would always compete and even trample on each other. Each improvement from Richard meant Delight from the big boss for all the mentors who had taught him. However, this was a huge blow to the rest of her students. With Richard's current achievement being so dazzling, the student couldn't even bear to imagine how great the blow to Steven was. To be honest, there was nothing to imagine. Just the lost look on the face of this dragon warlock who had never lost his calm before was proof enough.

Steven was in no hurry to see what he had received, and just took out a little crystal bottle which he handed to the student as thanks. This was a potent mana potion, and although it was a small bottle it would fetch at least 500 coins on the market.

This gift was extremely pleasing, and it was merely thanks for revealing this piece of news. With how intelligent Steven was, he would definitely be giving a lot more in the future in exchange for what he'd just handed over. The student kept the little crystal bottle well, the cool, smooth and exquisite feeling from the bottle leaving him unwilling to move his fingers away.

This was a day with great harvests for him: he'd witnessed the birth of a miracle, and obtained a 'little gift' that was extremely pricey. There would even be more on the way! His mood only grew better, there was nothing more he could expect. Before stepping foot into the teleportation formation, the student could not help but look up at Floe Bay's skies, thinking that the weather that day was splendid.

Steven also looked up, but all that filled his sky was grey clouds. It was the omen of an incoming blizzard...

Only Steven and Minnie were left on the large viewing platform of the lab. Minnie was stood by the formation, and only when the strong men cleared the armoured horse from the arena did she take a few steps closer to the railings to look attentively. She hadn't drawn close for Steven's conversations with either Fayr or his students.

“This shitty weather!” Steven cursed, unable to hold himself back. The beginning of spring was extremely cold in Floe Bay, and the chilly wind blew on his sweat-soaked clothes to make him feel like he'd fallen into an icy hole. He opened his palm and looked at what the student had given him, his expression even worse than before.

This was a half-charred animal hide, obviously taken from a subspecies of some lizard. It was at least four grades worse than the blazing earth dragon he'd used, 1/1500th of the total price. The smart youth immediately understood the meaning of this: Richard's formation had been drawn on something that barely met the standards.

Everyone knew that the better the material, the higher the success and efficiency of the magic formation. The half-charred fragment seemed incomparably heavy in Steven's hands, difficult to even hold. There had always been a disparity between him and Richard in his mind, but because of this half-charred fragment, the distance had gotten even wider.

Yet another gust of chilly wind blew, and Steven's expression paled. He suddenly felt that he hated this place, this stupid weather, the stupid things, the stupid people! The only thing that he was satisfied with was that grand mage Fayr had acted appropriately while speaking to him in front of his students, and had not gone too far.

But what was the point? He'd already lost in general. What was the point of winning at trivial things then?

Steven waived his arms and signalled for Minnie to walk towards the teleportation formation, wanting to leave this place as soon as possible. Minnie suddenly asked nonchalantly, “What did he give you just now?”

Steven's body stiffened, and he gritted out, “A good piece of hide!”

38 - City of Sin

Secret Scheme

Deep in the night, Richard was in a dreamless slumber. Deep sleep allowed his fatigued body to recover slightly, and the powerful mana and energy potions concentrated the entire process.

The grey dwarves had a popular saying in ancient times— time was money. However, that referred to the time of ordinary people, or those in secondary planes. For people like Richard or Sharon who came from primary planes, the worth of their time could not be measured in mere gold.

Richard knew he had taken his first and most important step, something that gave him an exceptionally peaceful sleep. All the frustrations of his previous days had been vented by that armoured horse, and the boy rested without realising the extent of the shock his rune had on others and even the Deepblue itself...

Steven's residence was bigger than Richard's, the building three levels taller. In the eyes of outsiders this showed the value and affection Her Excellency had for the dragon warlock, and it was also a symbol of his identity as the child of a large noble family. However, only Steven himself knew the price of maintaining this illusion.

Richard's accommodations were completely free. On the other hand, he had to pay the full rent for this larger and more opulent residence. Even someone like Steven, who had full support of the Solam Family, was burdened by the nearly 300,000 coins he had to pay for this place's rent. On top of that, he paid twice the normal school fees. Although Duke Solam had paid off years of Steven's education in one go, the costs of studying at the Deepblue weren't that simple. Even without using special methods to calculate the monthly expenses, the huge rent on the residence alone was racking up a huge amount of interest.

The resources of a large family like the Solam Family couldn't be used on one person. The only reason he'd convinced his family to send him to the Deepblue was that they wanted a runemaster of their own blood. This was a desire any ambitious family on the continent held, and Randolph had wasted his chance like a fool before he could even begin. As a dragon warlock with the potential to become a runemaster in the future, Steven managed to gain even more resources than Randolph and he'd begun to take part in matters related to his family in the past few years, showcasing his outstanding capabilities.

However, the family expected a return on its investments. With Randolph as a precedent they had limited patience, and Duke Solam would only use two or three years to consolidate his position as a legendary being before he began a large-scale expansion.

Steven also had to bear Minnie's fees. With the marriage established, Marquess Niall had been impatient to stop paying his daughter's fees. Things were getting tense on the frontlines of the battle, and with the war affecting his own lands it was a question whether he'd even be able to hold on until the end of the next year. Ultimately, this was because the Marquess' men were too incompetent.

Of course Steven added his own uncle into the list of useless people. That man had been charged with leading the reinforcements the Solam Family had sent. Even with an absolute advantage in military strength, battling on familiar ground, their armies couldn't hold up against Alice. Forget crushing or surrounding her smaller army, they had yet to truly defeat her even once.

This woman was extremely sharp when it came to the battlefield. Her tactics were erratic, and the moment she found the opponent's weak point she would immediately strike like lightning, fierce and merciless. With less than a third the troops her opponent had, on a battlefield that was large and average in size, she'd sent the allied forces running everywhere, tired to the bone. She looted Niall's fields, mines, forests, and towns, seizing all their resources. What she could not move she destroyed, leaving the Marquess' heart bleeding and the man unable to fall asleep.

The one-sided nature of it all had caused the surrounding noble families to grow restless. Solam's powerful intervention had cost him a corresponding amount, and with the war reaching a stalemate most of the benefits Solam had gotten from Niall had disappeared. If this continued further, he would be facing a loss.

Steven's information said the family had already decided to make peace with Alice Archeron if they couldn't take her out within a week. As for the compensation for this war, Niall would have to rack his brains.

Steven had kept his residence classy for the past half year, but now the sounds of utensils shattering rang out in the house. The elegant and intricate art pieces were smashed mercilessly into the walls or the ground, throwing fragments everywhere. Some shards even brushed past the youth's own face, leaving a few shallow bloody lines on him. The tangible and intangible weight on his shoulders was leaving him almost suffocated, and while smashing things could help him vent a little, that was only temporary. Still, venting was exactly what he needed right now, or he'd definitely go crazy.

“It's Archeron. It's Archeron again! They're a whole bunch of lunatics! Those devils should go to hell, why are they here to obstruct my way!” Steven yelled and cursed as if he was delirious, but that still wasn't enough to calm the fury in his heart.

However, there was nothing left to smash in the bedroom. The only thing remaining standing was an antique gold vase with crystals embedded in it, the most valued treasure of an emperor in another plane. Even ignoring its artistic value, if the superior purple crystals were removed from it and sold, they would definitely be worth over a million gold coins. Steven definitely couldn't bear the cost of such a treasure; this was actually a prized possession of the Duke's that he'd borrowed so he could show off.

Steven's anger did have a limit. He could smash up a number of items, but even if Richard were to kick his face in front of an audience, he wouldn't dare even touch this one.

Minnie stood in the corner quietly, looking lonely yet beautiful. She was at an age where she was beginning to bloom, and her great figure and arrogant attitude only enhanced her youthfulness. However, her face and arms too had thin red lines on them, Steven's anger had reached her as well. The flying shards did not discriminate.

Looking at Minnie, Steven felt his anger rise further. In his eye she was no beautiful girl or genius mage, instead a huge black hole for gold. Her fees were only a fifth of his, but it was definitely not a small amount. While her residence was not as large as Steven or Richard's, it was not smaller than that of a regular grand mage. The house alone cost more than her school fees in rent. And all this didn't even include the amount she spent in training!

It wasn't all that difficult for the Solams to support Minnie. However, with Steven's own expenses reaching such an astounding number, the addition of hers would leave anyone breathless. Even a tiny stone could cause people to feel suffocated in a ship that was about to sink.

Steven knew full well that the amount of money Duke Solam had invested in him left no room for failure. All legendary beings had long lifespans, so the duke would have no lack of heirs in his lifetime. Quite a few would be talented as well.

From youth Steven's instructors had told him that he was no genius before he held true power. Countless geniuses were born each other, but only those with enough resources could actually develop themselves. Those without the talent could only possess an empty, glamorous title, and that too was only before they came of age. Once they grew up they would truly be nothing, lesser even than the ordinary people. The glamour they'd experienced in their youths would only serve as trauma for their future lives. Randolph was the most recent example of this.

Steven thirsted for success, and was just as fearful of failure. The path he had walked had turned into one that headed straight into the abyss of hell, and retreating just one step would leave him only a horrible death.

A mere dragon warlock was not deserving of such massive financial support. His social reputation also wasn't worth that much. In terms of his abilities in managing matters of the family, this old family that had continued over a hundred generations had numerous managers. In actuality, in order to obtain the chance to study under Sharon and become a runemaster, not only had he used his family and Duke Solam's personal resources, he had also put in a lot of manpower and material power from his mother's side. Once the family chose to abandon him, he would be no better than those busy mages in the outer regions of the Deepblue, focused solely on earning money.

However, Richard loomed over this difficult path like the Augustine Mountains, 'God's Heavenly Moat.'

He'd acted of his own accord to marry Minnie, causing Duke Solam to have to pay even more. This couldn't actually be blamed on him; he was only doing things based on the laws of nobility. He'd made the right decision in that moment, the one most useful to his development in the future. It wasn't just his father's family, even his mother's and wife's side were extremely important resource. Who would have thought that Marquess Niall would be so shameless and heartless as to toss his outstanding daughter to the Solam Family?

Steven practically pasted his face into Minnie's as he yelled, “You! Tell me what use you serve to me now! I'm paying so much for your fees every month, so tell me, how can you help? Are you helping improve my runecrafting, or in gaining me favours from Master? TELL ME! THAT RICHARD HAS ALREADY LEFT ME FAR IN THE DUST, WHAT COULD I EVEN DO?”

Seeing her stay silent, Steven found it even more difficult to suppress his emotions as he snickered, “I almost forgot that you're a woman. At the very least, you can come to my bed. Now strip, and scram to the bed!”

Minnie did not argue, nor did she retaliate. She silently took off her clothes, lay on the bed, and spread her legs. Her expression was calm as she did this, but she turned her face to the side when she lay down to hide the tears leaking from her eyes.

She squeezed her eyes shut, but the violent ravaging she'd expected didn't come. Hearing nothing even after a moment, she couldn't help but open her eyes again. She saw Steven stood at the bed, holding a bottle of an alcohol bottle in hand as he took the occasional large swig. His gaze passed her body, instead settling on Floe Bay that was outside the window. The night view of the bay wasn't pitch black, the icicles always emitting strange glimmers with no sign of life. It seemed extremely desolate and cold.

He looked at Minnie and said coldly, “You're a smart woman. Now isn't the time for you to show your temper or be stubborn. If I'm not successful in becoming a runemaster, everything's over. Status, fame, money, power— I will have nothing. You should be aware of this fact. Marquess Niall has long since forsaken you, and your fate is now tied with mine. You should feel lucky, because large noble families with long histories like ours still prize official marriages. I don't have plans to invalidate the marriage yet. Right now, you need to do something about your future to prove your usefulness to me, the Solam Family, and that you're worthy of the 500, 000 gold coins that you spend monthly. If you can't do it, or don't want to, then I won't force you to do anything. Leave the Deepblue the next month. I believe nobody would be willing to spend 500, 000 gold coins on the daughter of a defeated Marquess who's been used before. That's for every month!” Steven was slightly drunk by the end of it all, and his last words were bellowed out.

Minnie stared up at the ceiling blankly, unmoving. Steven had spoken the truth just now. Without the Solam Family's financial support, it wasn't just her status that fell— she'd be put in a worse position than Erin! Many men would want to leave something on the body of a former lady, and her talent with magic would grow insignificant at that point.

Sharon had a saying, “There's ample geniuses in the world, it's gold that's finite.”

39 - City of Sin

Secret Scheme

To be fair, Steven was the one who'd invested his time into this wedding agreement. Minnie blinked in a moment, finally sitting up. Although her expression was still cold, the arrogance and ridicule in her eyes had died away. A smile of mockery rose about her lips, but this time, it was meant for herself. Her two feet touched the ground and, just like that, she stood by Steven's side, gazing out of the window as he did, “I have nothing to be so proud of, but I can't give up on everything I have now. I choose to stand with you. You can treat me as a woman, a companion, a friend, or even a subordinate, but I won't be a toy.”

Steven did not reply, merely narrowing his gaze on the wintry scene outside with a dangerous look.
ƒ𝑟𝐞ewe𝚋𝑛ｏ𝙫𝚎l. 𝒄o𝗺

Minnie sighed and continued, “Don't you think this situation is strange? Richard's never learnt how to make complete runes, while you're mentored by Saint Klaus and have top-notch materials to use. Even then it took you half a month with 41 failures to reach 20% completion, but Richard could make a full rune directly?”

Minnie's words calmed Steven down, and he began to consider, “You mean there's a possibility Richard didn't make the rune? No, there's no reason for Professor Fayr to lie, he has no need to be biased towards either the Solams or the Archerons. Richard should have made it himself, but you're on the right track. His class schedule says he'll only begin learning runecrafting next year at the earliest, so there must have been some decisive factor that allowed him to break through this obstacle that so many never do in an instant, soaring so high. We need to find that key factor; even if I can't use it, I could get some inspiration.”

Minnie frowned, “That's going to be difficult.”

“It is. Richard has practically no friends, and rarely has dealings with people not related to him. His greatest contact is with the grand mages who are his Professors, but those guys are basically emotionless beings. This is the Deepblue, I definitely can't stalk him to see who he makes contact with. Even buying information about his whereabouts will cause too much of a fuss.” Steven could not help but furrow his brows, Randolph's pitiful experiences fresh in his mid. Malice towards another of her apprentices would not gain him Sharon's favour.

“Erin! We should just ask her. Who knows, we might just get an answer,” Minnie suggested. “After all, she's the only woman to get so close to him.”

Steven shook his head, “Erin? What use is she? I thought she was someone Richard liked, why else would the enforcers ban her from getting in bed with him? The only reason I had her first time was because I wanted to make Richard angered or dispirited, hoping he used some fierce methods in retaliation. As you can see, though, there's no effect at all. There's no change to Richard's studies and lifestyle, and there doesn't even seem to be a change in his emotional state. Is that liking someone? So much time has passed already, and Richard must have lost his interest in her. Why would he tell such an important secret to such an unreliable woman? The situation now is different as well; if Richard finds out about me and Erin it might even have the opposite effect. After all, those old guys are obviously on his side! Don't assume they're all confused geezers!”

Minnie was not of the same opinion. “There's no harm in trying. Besides, you don't know how a woman thinks. Erin likes him a little, which is why she will definitely not tell Richard what happened between you, or at least not the details. However, she definitely knows that she and Richard have no future. After being used by you, she's even more clear about that. Since there's no hope, why not use past feelings to earn some money? That's all as long as this amount exceeds what she expected. All women living at the district at the edges are all the same. If she really could hold on, you wouldn't have been able to get her so easily.”

Steven hesitated for a moment, and then nodded. However, he then sighed and said with a hint of disappointment, “Even if I were to find out the secret, the gap it's caused is hard to be compensated for. He might only be evaluated as excellent, but that doesn't mean everything. At the very least the talent he's shown isn't much different from mine. On top of that...”

Steven laughed wryly and continued, “The resources he can use for his training far exceeds mine.” Minnie went quiet.

That was reality. Richard's monthly income was no large secret, and anyone with enough power could easily learn about it. His total income wasn't exactly ridiculous, but his expenses were far lower. Steven used most of his money to pay for rent and fees for two, as well as other social costs. Removing all that, he didn't even have half as much to spend on courses, materials, and potions as Richard. Those were the true expenses that could affect one's improvements in magic. That elementary strength rune had already used up practically all his savings.

Steven took another huge swig of alcohol, allowing the liquid to burn its way from his throat to his chest. He could already feel that his efforts since entering the Deepblue had gone awry. He used to believe he'd used the perfect schemes, both openly and in the shadows, using Erin to cause trauma and seizing every possible moment to isolate his opponent. Using all his resources, he would then show his talent and strength in becoming a runemaster. However, the result had dealt him a damning blow. Using progress that exceeded his own by two large grades, Richard had won a battle that hadn't even been declared.

Steven could not help but begin to reflect on whether he had done too many useless things. Had he used the entirety of his energy and focus on runecrafting from the start, would the result have been different? Deepblue was not like the outside world. There was no need to butter up the public, no need for status. All that was required was Sharon's Delight and absolute power.

Minnie gazed at the crestfallen face of the ambitious man next to her, suddenly feeling a chill on her naked body. Even her heart began to squeeze, and the humiliation she'd felt but moments ago gave way to freezing cold. Even if Steven gave up now he still had his bloodline and the connections from his mother's side. What did she have?

Minnie hesitated for a long time, and then said, “There might be a last option, though it might not work.”

“What is it?” Steven's eyes brightened as he asked, like a drowning person who'd suddenly found some flotsam.

“Get close to Master, and obtain her favour. I've been feeling lately like she's grown increasingly unstable, so this is a very good opportunity. While she's a legendary mage, she's also a woman...”

Steven froze for a while, and soon understood what Minnie was implying. His eyes began to brighten up. Yes, the legendary mage was a woman. Why hadn't he thought of that? As expected, women understood women the best.

“So you're saying that I should try making Sharon mine?” Steven wondered, his expression slowly gaining life again to reveal the flawless smile of nobility once more. Although he lost completely in runecrafting, he had an absolute advantage over Richard in this area. It wasn't such a rare thing among aristocrats, nothing to blush over. This was another type of battle, but its stakes were no less than any other.

Determination flashed in Steven's eyes, “That is a method, but the rate of success is minute. I can't place my hopes on that. There are a few more people I can use in the Deepblue. If it's absolutely necessary, I'll make that kid disappear.”

40 - City of Sin

Tender and Delicious

Time passed without anyone paying attention, and gigantic cracks began to form on the ice sheets north of Floe Bay. Spring had arrived, a season where the many magical beasts began to mate from gophers to dragons.

Everyone by Sharon's side could sense that Her Excellency was growing extremely strange. Her emotions were starting to fluctuate without pattern, like those of a little girl with a rabbit's heart. The grand mages in contact with her grew extremely cautious, paying attention to her every thought. Even someone like Fayr had to grow prudent. Some people guessed that these were the stirrings of love, and the grand mages who had vast experience knew that beasts were most dangerous in breeding season.

The afternoon sun was shining brightly, and the legendary mage was laid lazily on her couch as she pondered something so hard she'd even forgotten to eat her favourite fruits from beside her. She was dressed casually, the soft ivory-coloured silk gown sticking to her like a second skin.

A pair of bare little feet were rested high on another armrest, her tender skin revealing a gentle lustre akin to a pearl under the warm sunlight. This was a pair of bare feet that was extremely tempting, the tiny bit of calf they revealed enough to make the ignorant do all they could to imagine the scene deeper between those legs.

However, no ignorant people could stay by the legendary mage's side. They all chose to disregard the spring radiance Sharon exuded, no stray thoughts in their minds.

Most of the people here had followed Sharon through battles from plane to plane, while the rest had taken part in the creation of the Deepblue. They all knew her terrifying methods very well, and in their eyes the person reclining in front of them wasn't a little woman who was so tender one couldn't resist the urge to take a bite of her. No, she was a true, ancient, dragon! Anyone without this awareness had long since disappeared into the planar storms.

The mages made their reports as per usual, but Sharon herself was obviously lazy and disinterested. Her eyes were even flickering shut.

At this moment, a servant walked in, saying that a great master in art had come to seek an audience with Her Excellency. Sharon's narrowed eyes did not move for a long while, and only when the servant was almost unable to keep this half-bowed pose and began to send helpless looks to the grand mages did she lazily nod. The maestro then approached her fearfully, artwork in hand.

As someone without the qualifications to attend a meeting with so many higher-ups, he'd never had such a feeling before. When his gaze shifted to Sharon's shining bare feet, everyone saw the master's throat move. Tens of blade-like piercing gazes immediately caused him to become aware that he had forgot his manners, and cold sweat immediately covered his body. Thankfully Her Excellency had not opened her eyes, instead still looking dazed as if she was thinking about something. She hadn't even noticed the rudeness and strong physical reaction of the artist.

The maestro came to the couch and bowed his head down, not daring to let his gaze land on any part of Sharon's body. He revealed the work he was hugging tightly to his chest, and then said with respect, “Your Excellency, your student Steven has made a portrait for you. It has great artistic value, which is why I was so bold as to take some of your precious time to hand it to you.”

Sharon's narrowed eyes finally opened completely, and she began to focus. She was like a cat sunbathing as she shifted her body lethargically to look at the portrait from a better angle. The legendary mage had many pupils, and she had also obtained all sorts of strange gifts before. However, Steven was the first to give her a portrait.

This was a half-body portrait, the background being of Floe Bay during summer. The foothills of the Everwinter Mountains had been dyed a tender green, the peaks still covered with snow year-round. The background seemed like peppermint milk, a famous dessert in Norland.

The sea was tranquil and deep, while the skies seemed lofty. Various shades of blue filled the space between them, with the legendary mage at the centre. Sharon was dressed in her favourite sky-blue robes, leaning against a parapet wall and staring into the distance.

This truly was a masterpiece!

There was no lack of portraits of the legendary mage, even once done by accomplished masters. However, all of them accentuated her identity as a legendary mage. While they would express her beauty, it was all centred around dignity and magnificence. Earlier works sketched out the scene where she battled on other planes, showing both her beauty and her cold killing intent alongside the power that caused others to bend their heads.

This half-body portrait displayed originality, and in this work she seemed more like a beautiful woman with a graceful temperament.

The background of the painting was in blue, green, and white, the purest, most tender and sweetest of the palette. They had all been handled quite well too, none obscuring the focus. If not for that robe that only Sharon wore, it would be difficult to tell that the indistinct and dispirited woman was actually a legendary mage.

The half-body portrait was ingenious. They revealed Steven's thoughts in their entirety, yet remained ingeniously vague.

Sharon's eyes finally twitched slightly, and the maestro noted the slight change. Having once wandered through many kingdoms, mixing with courts and aristocrats, he had been a lady-killer himself. Be it young or old, he'd seen the look in Sharon's eyes many times before.

Indeed. All these years people only remembered that Sharon was a legendary mage, keeping in mind her powerful magic, wealth, and growing prosperity that could be compared to groups of dragons. Everyone forgot she was a woman; although the lives of legendary beings were very long, their state of mind would change with time. With time, they would age as per usual, then feel young again, then change again. At the end was indifference. The high-grade elves on the Norland Continent had once had this glamour, and had a profound understanding and recounting of this.

Sharon had long since entered the legendary realm, but she was still in the same state of mind as an eighteen or twenty-year-old. It was hard to tell, but the haziness in her eyes was something the maestro had seen in many young women dreaming of love. The painting had evidently had great effects.

Once, in the past, the art master had been taken in by Sharon's beauty and might, willing to give up on the colourful world outside and settle in the Deepblue. However that one-sided admiration had been dulled by time. Love needed a real basis, and once he started taking money from Sharon to maintain his lifestyle his distant hopes quickly disappeared.

He felt no jealousy at Steven's wishes. All that hard work only brought to mind the memories he thought he'd sealed away. As he pondered over them, all he could feel was sadness, a sign of age. Ten years ago, helping Steven with this would have been unthinkable even if it gave him a huge amount of gold.

Perhaps startled by the art master's gaze, Sharon suddenly opened her eyes completely. Her eyes were completely clear, shocking the master into lowering his head.

The legendary mage greedily took a look at the half-body portrait that Steven had drawn, and then beamed brightly, “This was drawn quite well. Am I actually so beautiful, though?”

“Of course! You are the most beautiful of all legends!” The maestro seized the opportunity to say this before all the other grand mages.

Sharon chuckled reservedly, and then turned to the grey dwarf, “Blackgold! Little Steven isn't half bad. How about this, add a little of my Delight for him this month. As for the amount...”

Having said this much, Sharon suddenly saw the art master still rooted to the spot in a daze, “You should leave!”

41 - City of Sin

Tender and Delicious

All sorts of thoughts in his mind, the maestro didn't dare linger in the place. Knowing that Sharon would give Steven some of her Delight was enough, that piece of news would bring the youth enough joy to net even more benefits.

On the way towards the teleportation point, the maestro suddenly slowed his footsteps. He was shocked at how he'd changed; since when had he grown so philistine as to help a young noble he was not familiar with pursue someone he liked? Was it just for the money?

The man began to struggle in his mind, and a voice told him practically all grand mages were fighting for Sharon's Delight. Wasn't that all for gold? If all the great mages did that, then what did a little mage like him have to boast about?

However, rationality and experience ruthlessly reminded this maestro that the two scenarios were different. All the grand mages had their own bottom lines— they contributed to the Deepblue in their own ways to receive the rewards they did. Sharon's Delight definitely did not come out of nowhere, it was a show of acknowledgement for their achievements and hard work. These grand mages who had aged all viewed Sharon as they would a cute little girl, willing to joke around with her. Of course, there were also people working only for gold, but the common trait between them was that they were loyal to their work. Every gold coin that they earned was earned with a clear conscience. Someone with no principles definitely could not survive by the legendary mage's side.

With this thought, the art master immediately felt that the gold coins and magic crystals in his pocket were beginning to heat up. He could not help but wonder if it was this self-defeatist attitude that didn't let him create a work he was truly satisfied with in years.

In the meeting hall, Sharon continued to stare at the portrait after the maestro left. There was a complicated look evident in her eyes that caused the grand mages to exchange glances of worry. Steven's meaning was obvious, and they weren't afraid that Sharon didn't understand it. However, she was acting very strangely now, which left them uneasy. Could this legendary mage be so foolish as to be touched by this shrewd young person?

A while later, Blackgold couldn't endure it anymore and coughed a few times. Getting Sharon's attention, the grey dwarf spoke in a loud voice, “Your Excellency, you haven't decided on Steven's reward for this month.”

Sharon heard the grey dwarf's unusual tone, but her eyes were still fixed on her portrait as she said nonchalantly, “Just a hundred gold coins is enough.”

“This... how much?” This was the first time that the grey dwarf found himself doubting his ears. Watching how taken the legendary mage was with the portrait, even a million wouldn't have shocked him as much as this.

The legendary mage finally peeked out from behind the portrait, answering in annoyance, “A hundred! Have I not made myself clear? How much more do you want to give? Are you going to pay for it?”

“Oh no, of course not! You're joking here. How could I have the money?” The grey dwarf hastily rose his hands, frightened. The grey dwarves and the dragons had similar likes. Gold was not a currency for him, but a collectible item where more was better. Getting him to give up his money was just as painful as cutting off his beard.

The legendary mage's little nose wrinkled as she hummed, “That's fine then. Also, give that guy who just left ten thousand. This was drawn well, and he's improved quite a lot. He needs to be rewarded.”

Blackgold could not understand why Sharon was gazing at the portrait Steven had given her, yet said that she wanted to reward the art master. A few grand mages seemed to be deep in thought. Based on how familiar they were with each other, they exchanged gazes and then nodded slightly. Of course, nobody thought of clearing up the confusion of the grey dwarf who lacked a single artistic bone in his body.

However, Sharon had no intentions of hiding anything. She waved the portrait in her hands around, “Look, the composition and fundamental colours all have that guy's style, and only the portrait, layering of colours and details are different. It's obvious that he made the base sketch and Steven only coloured a little on top. Hmm? What kind of expression did you show just now? Did you really think I couldn't tell? I'll remember this! Be careful of your salary next month! And you, Blackgold, it's about time you learn art. Don't just focus on money!”

The grey dwarf nodded hard, “Rest assured, Your Excellency! I will definitely study hard. The next time I participate in the Sacred Tree Empire's treasure meet, I'll definitely get a few renowned works that will rise in value!”

Sharon's gaze returned to the portrait of herself, and she took a few more looks before sighing, “Actually, seeing this only urged me to make a decision. Alright, enough of that. Is there anything else from you?”

Fayr took a step forward and reported Richard's studies with Naya in detail. At the very mention of the young man Sharon's eyes brightened, and she cut in before Fayr could even finish, “No wonder Richard's made a breakthrough in runes. So this guy has been interfering. Professor Fayr, do you think he will be a negative influence on Richard?”

Fayr had long since pondered over this question and shook his head, “No, he might be beneficial to Richard's future.”

Sharon's eyes immediately glinted dangerously, “Someone is thinking of putting their hands on my Richard?”

Fayr hastily said, “That's not what I mean. We know that Richard will become a runemaster in the future, and it's rare for runemasters to avoid the battlefield. Learning a few dark arts will be useful for his survival.”

The legendary mage then nodded, “That's true. However, Naya's actually secretly teaching my apprentice without my permission. He's still as gutsy as he was back then; the Blade of Calamity was extremely annoying. I wanted to give him a lesson he would remember, but that guy actually didn't care about his reputation and holed up like a little mouse! I left him be, but who knew he was actually hiding inside the Deepblue? Hm, good, very good, hehe, hehe, hehe!” Google search 𝑓𝘳𝚎𝘦𝚠e𝚋𝘯o𝘃el. 𝒄om

When the legendary mage's laughter began to sound strange, all of the grand mages went quiet. Naya was truly gutsy to dare hide in the Deepblue even after offending Sharon. It had to be said that this was both a great surprise and a good idea. However, now that his identity was made public, it would be too late even if he were to leave the Deepblue immediately. Sharon might not be the most powerful legendary, but she was the one who held the most grudges, which was why her tracking and hunting abilities were just as well-known as her magic.

Nobody really minded the Blade of Calamity's identity as a killer. All kinds of people came to the Deepblue, the flow of residents at the borders comparable to the capital of a small country. Who knew how many of the people living here had once worked in the shadows to survive? As long as they followed the Deepblue's own laws, nobody would care about their pasts. The Deepblue only upheld their own laws, and the rules in the outside world did not matter in here.

Sharon gritted her teeth and said, slightly vexed, “While the Blade of Calamity offended me before, those were trivial matters now that I think about it. I did also look through his personal treasures decades before... Hmm, it's been so many years, so forget it. He's tactful, though, because he's teaching Richard the real things and hasn't hidden anything. That makes it a little difficult to handle this...”

At this moment, the grey dwarf took a step forward and reminded her, “Your Excellency, taxes!”

“What?” Sharon froze. It had to be said that her reactions were rather slow these days.

“Your Excellency, Naya isn't paying his taxes! He takes a thousand gold coins' worth of fees from your Richard everyday but doesn't pay taxes! That's plain stealing gold coins from you!” The grey dwarf became more agitated as he spoke, beginning to wave his arms around to emphasise what he was saying.

The legendary mage's beautiful eyebrows lifted!

To some extent, she and the grey dwarf had similar interests, and that was money. She quickly got up, exclaiming, “Blackgold! Go get Naya and all the taxes he owes me! Bring a few more people, he always has companions around.”

The grey dwarf immediately straightened his back and, like an ape, began to thump his chest hard while yelling, “There's no need. I can go myself! This is the Deepblue!”

He seemed like a true warrior as he took big strides out of the room, his vigour matching that of a rune knight preparing to charge. However, the grand mages were indifferent to this all. Having worked together for almost a decade, they knew that the grey dwarf would definitely call for a dozen enforcers before he had the guts to cause trouble for the Blade of Calamity...

The discussion ended there. After the grand mages all left, Sharon stared at this work for a very long time, and then got a servant to call Richard over.

The place where Richard and the legendary mage met was a small hall that was decorated in an elegant and warm manner, rather than those thousand-metre long large halls that created a distance akin to that of mountains and rivers. The legendary mage had worn some long clothing atop her silk robe, with a collar covering her neck embedded with flowery patterns. It caused her little face to seem even younger and more beautiful.

Her long hair had now become incredibly messy, and she bunned it up with two dragon teeth. A few stray strands still fell on her rounded shoulders, however, seeming exceedingly enticing.

When Richard entered, the legendary mage was kneeling on a dark red carpet made of pure fur. Half her body was spread out over the mahogany coffee table, as she stared at a little golden magic scale in front of her eyes.

At the two ends of the scale were standard weights of different sizes. The scale was already imbalanced, the pan on the right practically touching the chassis, and Sharon was playing with an intricate little weight in her left hand, hesitating over where she should put it. This was a very small weight, tinier than any of those on the table, and looked like wherever it was placed, it would not have a decisive effect.

However, Richard soon astutely noticed the faint aura of magic emanating from the coiled dragon and demon carved on the pillar, and immediately realised that this was a magic scale. It was balanced not just based on the weight of the items, but the amount of magic within the item. It was also very sensitive to the surroundings and would react to the erratic elemental energy in the plane, which affected the balance. Hence, it could be a tool to test the quality of magic in items, and also to divine the future.

Richard stood silently and did not disturb her. He liked this sort of silence, and also liked the shocking charm that the legendary mage was unwittingly giving off. Sharon, on the other hand, only noticed him standing there after a long time. She turned to give him a glance, murmuring “tender and delicious” before she tossed the weight to the pan that was sticking high up on the scale.

*Clang!* The sound of magic gold was extremely crisp, and took a long time to disappear. The little weight seemed to be as heavy as a mountain, pressing the pan all the way down to the bottom.

Sharon looked at Richard, then at the scale, and back at Richard. She repeated this a few times, her expression strange.

42 - City of Sin

Deepblue Aria

Every year, on the last day of April, Norland's seven moons would hang side by side in the beautiful night sky. This day was said to be a life-changing moment for many, and was known as the Day of Destiny.

The Day of Destiny was a festival celebrated by many countries on the continent, and was also common with many less intelligent tribes, especially those who practiced magic.

It was said that this was a day when all the Gods would hear the voices of their followers, sending spokespeople or even transforming into mortal forms themselves as they roamed the streets to listen to their people. The devout would receive rewards, while the unbelievers would end up empty-handed. Only those who'd crossed planes knew that folklore would remain folklore.

Nonetheless, there truly were many life-changing things on that fateful day. Alice's rune knights had broken through the combined ranks of Solam and Niall in a brilliant ambush, counter attacking the rune knights of the combined army. 20 against 18, the disadvantage to her, she'd lost only 5 knights to wipe out her opponents completely!

This was a battle that would decide the standing of both parties. Viscount Alice had put her knights on the frontlines, piercing through her opponents' defences like a hot knife through butter. A large opening was made into their steel defence, only growing larger as the battle finally concluded with her victory. Tens of thousands of men were enslaved, and about a thousand cavalry had been lost as well. The Solam Family announced their withdrawal from the battle, while Niall sent an ambassador almost immediately to start peace talks.

Military law from ancient times dictated that any peace talks were determined by the outcome of the battle just prior. Marquess Niall ended up losing over a third of his territory in exchange for ten years of peace, giving Alice the land she needed to become an earl. The only thing left was the Sacred Alliance Emperor's decree.

The battle between the rune knights resulted in both victory and losses, but the talk of the public was of course about the huge difference in the strength of both parties, which was the main reason for Alice's victory. They would start guessing at the enigmatic runemaster under Alice from then; whoever it was, they far exceeded the famous Saint Klaus.

Alice may have been a hot topic in the southwest of the Sacred Alliance, but even more people on the continent were discussing Gaton. On the Day of Destiny, Gaton Archeron had chosen to enter the capital of the Sacred Alliance, the city of legends Faust!

The road to Faust has always been paved by metal and blood. Many tried to hinder the path of visitors, both openly and in the dark. Some just sent men to kill the new entrants directly.

This was all a rule the first emperor implemented, now a tradition of the Sacred Alliance. People without the ability to break through the defences and live through ambush after ambush had no right to step into the city of legends. It was also deemed legal for anyone to attack the territories of anyone entering Faust.

This was something that had been passed down for hundreds of years. Behind the glory of everyone who managed to enter Faust was a road filled with roses and bloodshed. People often only remembered the ones who succeeded, not those who disappeared along the way.

Gaton's decision had evoked many discussions in the continent. The Archerons had obtained the power to challenge Faust long ago, but they had never had the unity to do it. As chief, Gaton could only represent himself. Moreover he was rising too quickly, which in the eyes of the older royals was not a good thing. They thought that he lacked foundation, a word which meant many things in contest. Secret and private planes, neverending wealth, mature rune knights, well-equipped elite troops, and talents that could be further improved. All this took time, a lot of it.

A lack of foundation why upstarts fell quickly, and in their eyes Gaton was without doubt a very stupid upstart.

The road to Faust was not a smooth one for Gaton Archeron, but he was not like the other families before him who brought all their troops to break through the defences. Instead he did the complete opposite. All his soldiers across various planes were stationed where they were to prevent invasions, and even his authority as family chief wasn't made use of.

When Gaton Archeron set off on his journey, he only had 13 rune knights with him. It was thus shocking to the entire Sacred Alliance that he appeared before the entrance of Faust right on time at noon.

This was the first time any Archeron had stepped foot into Faust, and it also signified that from this day onwards, the Archerons would become one of the most influential families in the continent.

The Day of Destiny was special for Richard, as well. At 11 in the night he was called to meet Sharon, and his gut told him this meeting would be a special one...

As night fell upon the beautiful Floe Bay, the Deepblue was brightly lit. Waves of what looked like blue smoke flowed out of various parts of the tower, ascending its sides. From afar, it looked like a elegant and mysterious blue crystal tower stood high on the far end of Floe bay. The land around the Deepblue had thousands of bonfires lit and burning fiercely, making it seem like a starlit sky if one looked down from above. The people didn't seem to feel the chilly spring as they gathered around the bonfires, singing, dancing, drinking, and admiring they once-a-year lighting of the Deepblue.

Most of these people lived on the outskirts, and the Deepblue was an asylum to them that served as a pillar of strength. As long as the Deepblue stood tall, their pride would never cease.

Yet on this night of celebration, the Deepblue itself was dead quiet. The grand mages had long since grown indifferent to the event, having seen bigger celebrations in the past. To them, the world of magic was already endless, there was no need to numb and lose oneself through these meaningless celebrations and festivals.

It was time for Richard to see Sharon. The huge magic puppets opened the heavy metal doors before Richard, revealing the spiral staircase that led up. Designed according to the liking of the higher-ups of the Deepblue, the doors were tall and simple, a deep red ochre with a natural veiny pattern. This primitive beauty reminded one of the origin; a savage wasteland of destruction and despair.

The stairs were fine and delicate, radiating light everywhere. At first look it seemed like nothing, but anyone who stared at the radiance would immediately feel dizzy and confused until they couldn't make out what material they were made of. The statues on the handrails were all intoxicating, standing out even more under the dim light as mesmerising works of art. The height of the stairs made Richard dizzy, this was already the highest region of Deepblue, and any higher would mean Sharon's personal area. Even the grand mages had no rights to enter that.

The legendary master wanted to see him in her personal region?

43 - City of Sin

Deepblue Aria

Richard calmed his mind down, slowly walking up a flight of stairs. An openwork door that was made of all sorts of shapes opened itself on its own to welcome him, revealing two dark elves behind it. Seeing the underground race that was legendary for its ferocity appear before him he almost instinctively cast a spell, but then he reminded himself that this was Sharon's private territory and it was impossible for there to be enemies here. The dark elves were likely subordinates she'd raised in private.

The drow clearly knew Richard, and one of them made a gesture of invitation, “Mr. Richard, please, come with me.” She then led him on as the other one closed the door.

Watching the silent footsteps of the drow in front of him, fine beads of perspiration suddenly dotted Richard's entire body. Naya had once taught him to observe other people's movements; every step of this girl's was as precise as the movements of a pendulum, no greater and no less than the width of her shoulders.

The girl brought Richard into a very vast space. If Sharon's kilometer-long reception hall used for discussing business simulated an environment of mountains and rivers, then this huge space of nearly a hundred thousand square meters would be a copy of every dimension of the natural environment. There was lava, polar snow, coniferous forests, dry deserts, moist and muddy swamps... There was even a dragon's nest here!
𝘧𝔯𝑒𝒆𝓌𝘦𝘣𝓷𝘰ѵ𝑒𝘭. 𝐜oｍ

The different regions were separated by magical barriers, each not affecting the others. Every environment seemed alive, with magic barriers of various attributes flickering with shadows of purple, green, blue, and many other colours. The shadows zoomed across the landscape, their movement so quick one could barely recognise that they were strange creatures moving about that could only be seen in bestiaries.

They passed through this area, then followed a flight of steps up another level to another door. This one was made of stone, and except for its surface being polished smooth there was nothing particularly odd about it. The girl made a light stroke on the door and it opened silently, before she refused to take another step as she signaled Richard to enter by himself.

At the end of the long, deep passageway was a dream-like place. Numerous ice crystals were embedded on the walls here, and stars littered the dome-like sky. They emitted a blue radiance of varying brightness, painting everything in the room a fantastic blue. The floor was bright and clean like a mirror, made of an unknown material. It didn't at all feel cool to the touch, instead being warm and comfortable to walk on. Just like a mirror it reflected the starry sky, making Richard feel like he was in the centre of a galaxy looking at an endless sea of stars.

In the distance was a wall of french windows, displaying a panoramic scene of the Everwinter Mountains under the night sky. The tall, magnificent mountain range was like an ancient titan, majestic and solemn as it lay there witnessing the changes of history without participating at all.

A graceful figure was stood in front of these 10-metre-tall windows, almost undetectable in this dream-like space. However, even if he hadn't noticed her at the start, his gaze locked on to her the moment he did, unable to shift away.

This was the legendary mage Sharon, the conqueror of planes, the dragonslayer, and the demonkiller.

Such a place, such a time, and such a woman... It all combined together to make Richard feel like he was in a dreamland, but also like he'd entered another person's memories. His body and mind experienced the vicissitudes of time, as if he'd been on an expedition for more than thousands of years in this plane.

Richard eventually suppressed his peculiar emotions, stepping forward to ask, “You were looking for me, Master?”

The legendary mage slowly turned around, staring at him as she said, “You're already a man, Richard, and you've displayed your talents and abilities...” Her expression and aura were dar different from usual right now. She looked like a gentle, dignified woman, but also like a young lady who hadn't yet lost her youth. She paused for a faint moment before asking, “Are you willing to continue on with my knowledge, advancing on the path of runecrafting?”

Richard's heart jumped as he bowed, “Yes, I am.”

Sharon laughed as she replied gently, “You know, everything comes at a price. Until now, all of that price was paid by your father, Gaton Archeron. But I know that is not what you want, so I am offering you a chance; a chance for you to use yourself as the price in exchange for greater power. Do you accept?”

Richard didn't answer immediately. Sharon had been casual, but he had to wonder what exactly he had that could compare to his father's financial aid. Even if he hadn't known originally, he now knew what ten years of Norland time in profit from a plane was; even if he sold his very life away he wouldn't be able to beat that sum.

Richard was a smart boy, and his own intellect alongside what he'd learned in the Deepblue allowed him to recognise his own value clearly. Even ten of the current him wouldn't be enough to nurture a runemaster, and as for the future... Even to attain Gaton's current achievements he'd need both unrelenting effort and a modicum of luck. Just like Professor Fayr had said, luck had always been an important part of one's strength, perhaps the most important part.

That was a cruel truth, but it was the truth nonetheless. Everyone had their value, and no matter how one insisted that they couldn't be measured in gold others would decide for them. There would always be a huge difference between one's perceived value of oneself and their true value, so he couldn't make such a promise before he knew the extent of his own achievements in the future.

But Richard could tell from the words of Sharon that she was... biased.

This made him hesitate even more, because deep down he knew that he already owed her so much. He would put shame the values Elena taught him if he continued to desire more and not think about whether or not he could return all these favours. The haughtiness of Elena— unique to silvermoon elves— had been passed down to him. The only reason he hadn't rejected outright was the flames burning deep down in his heart.

If he rejected Sharon's help, Richard wasn't sure if he could get enough resources elsewhere to become stronger and fulfil his mother's last wish. His father was a huge shadow towering over him, and this shadow was still expanding infinitely. He'd never thought a choice could be so hard.

Sharon walked before Richard and carressed his face, making him raise his head. This was the first time they'd made contact, and he realised the legendary mage's hand was so cold that it caused him to shiver. But Richard realised as they stood facing each other, that they were actually about the same height. Demons were far taller than humans, while the silvermoon elves were also a head taller on average. With the bloodlines of both as well as his childhood spent in the mountains, he was far taller than peers of his age. The breadfruit he ate for the first ten years of his life was actually an ancient elven prescription, while Sharon had spent a bomb on specially curated meals for him this past year. At this point he was the size of a normal youth.

The face of the legendary master looked so gentle at such a near distance, encouraging him to say what was on his mind.

“Master, I— I have nothing equivalent to your nurture. The future is still far away, who knows what would happen in three years' time?”

Sharon let out a tender laugh, and even the magic radiance-filled room could not overpower the glistening of her eyes, “So you were worrying about that? Stubborn little thing, you're just like your mother.”

Richard was really taken aback this time round, “You know Mother?”

“I saw her twice, and we could be counted as good friends. Elena was someone that deserved respect, and your personality is a copy of hers so I thought of her. But her and your father... Forget it, those were things in the past, let's not talk about them. I just want to let you know that I can guess bits of what you're thinking right now.” Her voice was calm and gentle, but it easily cracked through the walls of Richard's fiercely-guarded heart. He could only lower his head, trying to prevent Sharon from seeing the tears rolling down his face.

“Elena is part of the reason I'm offering you a chance like this, but another part is me giving myself some hope, to try and achieve a dream I never thought possible. Some time earlier, I was in a hopeless despair, but your appearance has given me a glimmer of hope. So you don't have to think about what you can give in return, giving your all is enough.”

That eliminated all of Richard's hesitation, “I accept! As long as I live, I'll dedicate my life—”

Sharon cut him off, covering his mouth as she laughed, “That's unnecessary. The first two words were all I wanted to hear.

“Alright, Little Richard, it's time for you to see a real magic rune.”

Sharon took a few step backs, light as water without any gestures or spells. It was like she lost all mass as she ascended into the sky, only stopping once she reached a metre of height. She spread her arms gracefully like a swan, and her magic robes as well as all her clothes turned into a million rays of light dancing around her.

Richard was shocked beyond words. Never in his life had he thought he would see such a dreamlike body without anything covering it, and his master's body was more breathtaking than he'd thought.

By the time he recovered from his shock, blue lines were running all along Sharon's body, like branches with a life of their own as they spread throughout her body before shining suddenly with a faint blue light.

Richard's mind blanked out, filled only with this beautiful blue as his train of thought ground to a halt. He couldn't think anymore; this beauty before him was beyond words— no, beyond everything.

Sharon's voice came lightly, like it was something that was not of this world. “Did you see that? This is a rune unique to me, the Deepblue Aria. It isn't complete yet, and I thought I wouldn't be able to complete it in my lifetime, but now I'm willing to give myself some hope. Richard. If it's possible in the future, complete it for me.”

44 - City of Sin

A Radiant Trauma

Richard approached her subconsciously, each step feeling like he was in dreamland as the light seemed about to brush against his face. He raised his arm to touch the dancing blues, but his fingers just passed through the magnificent colour and left him touching Sharon's body straight-on. The point of contact seemed to explode with the might of a legendary spell, causing both Richard and Sharon to tremble involuntarily.

So in awe of the beauty and mystery of the Deepblue Aria was he that he could not even express himself right now with words or senses. He found that roiling blood gushing into his body once more, the most powerful it had ever been, and this time it could not be stopped. It engulfed his frozen consciousness once again. His hand couldn't help but explore further, instinctively wandering up along the legendary mage's glistening thighs.

At that moment, Richard suddenly felt like he'd awakened a volcano. A rumble sounded as Sharon seemingly ignited like a torch, blue flames spurting out to form a depthless azure around her. She gritted her teeth and lifted Richard up in one go, boundless mana surging into his body. Richard himself began to emit an elemental storm that tore his clothes apart before turning them to dust!

With a bang, Richard was thrown to the ground. The surface was extremely hard, and the impact was strong, but with all the mana Sharon had poured into him racing through every cell he felt no pain at all. However, the strong impact still numbed his limbs, leaving him unable to get up right away.

The legendary mage's mana had not been able to suppress Richard's berserking bloodline, and even as he lay down the mark of a mature male pointed sideways, aimed at her. “Damn it!” Sharon gritted out, moving ten metres in an instant to appear above him before she shot straight down. She pulled a blue band of the light around her, forming gigantic wings that covered most of the room. These wings were radiant, unwilling to dissipate so easily.

Richard's body rose instinctively, welcoming this dazzling and ambiguous temptation as a bestial roar was shot out of his throat. He suddenly felt a certain part of his body enter a mysterious region, dark wet and powerful, and each powerful thrust seemed to bombard his nerves with a crushing sensation. He couldn't help but howl, retaliating by sheer instinct as he placed his hands on her thighs and, grabbing tightly, doing all he could to head deeper and deeper in. Sharon's tightly furrowed brows first began to relax, before they finally rose.

On that fated night, as the Deepblue dreamt, a boy became a man. Seven moons hung high in the sky, dying the night seven different colours as many people's fates were altered.

Even the most special of days pass, however, and the Day of Destiny was no different. Morning light shone on Richard's body to slowly wake him up; a new day had come. He found Sharon still there, lying in a deep sleep. Her body seemed flawless under the morning sun, shining with an ivory lustre. The two reddish bumps at her chest seemed to sense Richard's gaze, beginning to tremble slightly. The azure patterns from the night before had already disappeared from her body, and everything seemed to be but a dream.

Everything was perfect, but their bodies were positioned oddly. Richard's body was curled up, and his head rested in the curve of Sharon's arm. His arms and legs were over hers, as if he was afraid she would escape, or as if he lacked a sense of security and independence. The legendary mage, in contrast, was lying down casually with her right arm around him as she slept in satisfaction.

Mornings were normally the time when men had the most energy, and as he began to recall the events of the previous night, Richard couldn't control himself at the sight of the sleeping Sharon. His hands began to move, but the tiny movements immediately awakened the legendary mage. Sharon stretched out lazily, and then crisply slapped away the hand that was wiggling all over her body. She then unwillingly opened her eyes, feeling extremely uncomfortable as something hot and hard moved as it pressed into the side of her buttocks. She grabbed it by instinct and gave it a wring, causing Richard to let out a groan.

The legendary mage turned and opened her eyes, her gaze gradually brightening to let Richard know she was truly awake. She didn't seem the least bit surprised to find him lying next to her, first covering her mouth to yawn a couple of times before she stretched for a while.

Richard could only continue moaning. Even as Sharon moved, his right hand was still on his member. On top of that the scene before him made his nose want to bleed, and he almost climaxed at that moment.

The legendary mage sat up and looked at Richard, actually asking, “Want more?”

Richard flushed, but nodded. He was at his most energetic age right now, and even if the blessing of wisdom meant one year of development was equal to three for others, he was still only as mature as a seventeen- or eighteen-year-old. Having just become a man, and especially with a woman like Sharon who was second to none, it was obvious he would want more.

“How many times do you want it?” the legendary mage began to laugh in a strange manner, the gentle woman from the night before seeming to be an illusion.

Richard actually began to think this through earnestly. He still had no idea of the limits of his body, but there was something he was sure of. No matter how much it was, it would not be enough. He felt full of energy, like he could persist even if he had to get it up twice. His blood stirred, fully supportive of his fantasies and unworried of being sucked dry.

“Three times,” Richard hesitated, “No... Five...”

Sharon suddenly burst into laughter, her right hand moving a few times and practically killing Richard who was already at the edge. She then stood up, waved her hand to summon new underwear and robes before she began to dress. “It's day, so you don't get any!”

A major disappointment... Richard silently stood up. He saw a full set of male clothing in the corner of the bedroom, and confirming with Precision that they were measured out for him, walked over to wear them.

Once clothed Richard felt like the awkwardness and apprehension had diminished. Sharon was no longer the woman who made him go completely crazy last night, instead that legendary mage that he knew before. She looked completely normal, as if nothing had happened at all, leaving him unable to adjust to the situation. Two very different Sharons matched up, leaving him unable to tell if the last night or this morning were dreams.

Sharon looked at Richard and then walked to the French window, gazing at the majestic view of the sun rising from behind the distant Everwinter Mountains, “Is there anything you want to say?”

Richard organised his feelings and forced himself to calm down, “Why? Also, what do you need me to do in the future?”

“Why?” The legendary mage laughed melodiously, and then said with a shrug, “What's there to ask? It's simple. I've been in a bad mood, so I took advantage of you. That's all there is! Hm, if you really want a reason, then it should be enough that you're tender and delicious!”

Seeing Richard turning slightly pale, Sharon could not resist the urge to laugh harder. It took her a while to continue, “To be honest, there is a reason. My favourite hobby is to leave some trauma in every powerful being that could change the history of Norland in the future. But everyone's different, so I have to give them different psychological blows. I was thinking about you, and eventually decided that what I did last night was the best. I'd take your virginity! So from hereon, whenever you find another woman, you won't be able to help but remember me! Haha!”

The legendary mage's expression and tone made her words seem true, and Richard was speechless. He had to repeat his second question once she was done, “What do you need me to do, in the future?”

“The future...” Sharon suddenly went quiet. She sighed, stretching her left arm and pulling up the sleeve to reveal a tender forearm. Threads of blue mana began to appear on the snow-like skin, “The Deepblue Aria is a grade 6 rune, and Norland right now has knowledge only upto grade 5. If you wish to complete it, you'll need to head to the depths of the boundless planes and look for its secrets.”

“I will explore the planes,” Richard said peacefully, not vowing or being hot-blooded.

“Then I'll be waiting for you!” The dark blue rune slowly disappeared, and Sharon lifted her bright face, regaining her willful temperament. However, Richard now knew that the unrestrained, fearless legendary mage that everyone saw was not the true Sharon. The one wreathed in blue flames last midnight was truly her, or perhaps she was like him; one personality hidden so deeply nobody could find it.

The skies brightened as the Day of Destiny came to a close. A lonely Richard left Sharon's residence, and as the magic gates behind him closed he couldn't help but halt his footsteps to turn back and take a look. Their worlds were separated once more. Who knew when he would be able to open these magic doors again?

Sharon's last words were still ringing in his ears, “You definitely can't let anyone know about last night!”

Of course he wouldn't do such a thing. This event, this experience... it was hidden deep inside his heart, stored carefully as the most valuable of treasures. It was the mage's other declaration that brought a slight smile to his frozen face. Sharon had succeeded in leaving behind a mark in his heart after taking his first time. She'd branded her own trauma into him, one that would be difficult to eliminate.

Quite a radiant trauma, indeed.

45 - City of Sin

The Second Blow

Richard's life resumed as per usual after the Day of Destiny. He'd been at his limit already, so all he could do now was continue to persist with the day to day. He would surprise the grand mages again and again with each day, so much so that even knowing how mysterious the world truly was they were surprised by how such a young body could be the most precise of machines. He worked with no emotions, no fluctuations, pushing on and on without tiring.

The constant diligence brought forth an astounding amount of energy. The youth seemed to be improving so fast it astonished everyone. The only part of his growth that didn't seem to be taking a shortcut was his mana, which continued to creep up at a normal rate.

Time should've flown by like water, but some little incidents disturbed the peace. Richard was determined to hide the events on the Day of Destiny deep in his heart, but it took less than a week for the legendary mage herself to blab about it, proudly emphasising her evaluation of him being 'tender and delicious.'

Just like any other information this spread quickly through the Deepblue. Most men, and half as many women, remembered the name of Richard Archeron, feeling varying amounts of hatred and wishing they could've been the one in his place. While they couldn't actually beat Richard up, many loved doing that a few times a day in their minds. It gave them pleasure, sometimes a lot of pleasure.

No matter how unthinkable this might seem, nobody had the courage to doubt Sharon. Not one person. The boss was the boss, and the person giving out gold was always right. This was the truth in the Deepblue. With the cost of living here, anyone without Sharon's Delight would have difficulty even surviving, and most people without the right to even obtain that bill every month had no right to say anything. It was the most effective of lines that separated the residents into the core of the Deepblue and the 'others.'

Those who knew the Deepblue well knew that this was not Sharon's intention. The legendary mage did as she liked, and wasn't proficient in managing societies. It was just that this structure had been formed naturally, and people got used to the hierarchy. Without it many would be at a loss, and the silent mages who formed the foundation of the Deepblue actually liked this lifestyle.

The hierarchy of the Deepblue was just like a feudal society. The residents paid taxes while the feudal lord took over responsibility for their protection. With war everywhere on the continent, being able to live under the wing of a legendary mage was blissful.

The seventeen grand mages gathered by the legendary mage's side could give her suggestions. However, unlike what many people thought, they were actually happy to see this. For them, the legendary mage's happiness in body and mind was the most important of all, and the only one who felt conflicted by the events was Blackgold.

The grey dwarf's first response to Sharon's proclamation was elation: he felt like Her Excellency had been truly wise to use this method to show her 'delight.' It had to be said that Richard was getting more and more Delight lately, and it was growing heavy on his mind. Although it was nothing for the legendary mage's personal wallet, it was a huge amount for the Deepblue. There did not seem to be a need to be too picky about this.

The grey dwarf had believed resolutely that since Sharon was delighted both in mind and body, there was no need to express her delight in terms of gold. Richard's stipend should have dropped greatly. But that lucky Richard...

The grey dwarf truly had to call Richard lucky. With the natural judgement of his race he saw the boy's body strengthening by the day, mana flowing faintly as his bloodline began to reveal its true power. No matter how he looked at it, he couldn't see how Richard was 'tender and delicious.'

Blackgold was a special dwarf; he'd left behind the stubborn persistence that flowed in the blood of his species. Thus, since Richard had received such a special honour, he believed he wouldn't need to hold back when he bought the cheaper runes Richard made in the future. The boy's gift at runecrafting was increasingly shocking. He'd learnt the craft himself from his other studies, and his knowledge could even be considered expansive at this point. Once he began studying runes officially, the stability and precision of the complex spell formations he created was difficult for anyone to comprehend. They could only say this was enlightenment from the gods.

All great beings, or those dedicated to helping them, possessed amazing foresight. While the grand mages were fixated on Richard's prospects, Blackgold was focused on the numerous runes he would create in the process.

Because of the Day of Destiny the grey dwarf dropped his pricing target for the runes by 40%. The profits at this price weren't too large, but compared to the general price on the continent it was 70% cheaper. This was a way for him to try and console himself, even as he found himself being very generous. No matter what the price he bought at was, wouldn't it all go to Her Excellency in the end anyway?

He was in an excellent mood the next few days. The Day of Destiny would reduce his expenses on one hand, and now he had a stream of revenue in the future. There could be nothing greater than that. However, those days came to a sudden halt when Sharon decided Richard's monthly allowance: the boy's stipend did not drop at all! The grey dwarf had been left dazed for a long time. The increased revenue in the future still consoled him, but his price was dropped another 10%.

The news rippled out in all directions, like the splash of a pebble falling in a lake. Anyone sensitive to information could judge just how far they were from the core based on how long it took them to receive this news.

Steven was one such sensitive person. He didn't receive the news too early or too late, but it was definitely later than he had expected. However, he didn't have the energy to feel angry over his position in the Deepblue; the news itself was so shocking he could never imagine it.

After obtaining the news, Steven appeared to be calm. At the very least, there were no other sounds in his residence. He stood in front of the magic mirror naked, and stared at himself for a whole two hours. Minnie stood by the French window behind him, unmoving as though she was a lifeless statue.

It was still snowing outside, and it felt like the weather had never improved from the day they'd returned from the testing area. While Floe Bay's springs often had snow, it had never been so heavy and lasted for so long as it had this year.

The residence had always been completely isolated from the callous world outside. Even if one opened the window the magic barrier would be able to block the chill and haze, but now the stifling grey from the outside seemed to pass through the window and extend into the residence. The air seemed stiff, the dark grey mist so heavy it left one feeling suffocated. Minnie subconsciously hugged herself tighter, feeling like her frail body under these magic robes could not take on the ravaging of the storm.

Floe Bay was magnificent, but it was not friendly. Before the blizzard revealed its wrath, there was normally an exceeding calm just like now. The residence was deathly still.

Steven's residence was very, very large. The space was beautiful, and was a representation of his status and power. In the past she had been intoxicated by this beauty, but now it felt like this place was far too big. It left her uneasy as the two of them stood in this huge space, feeling both the unknown chill as well as the terror of being about to get lost.

Minnie had the urge to escape, but she bit her lips hard and did not allow any movement or sound to escape her. She knew that the longer the silence was, the more terrifying the blizzard would be when it arrived. Steven had already stood there silently for two hours, and who knew how much longer this would last? With only the two of them in this large residence, she would be the person he'd vent on. She'd be the target when the blizzard hit.

Steven finally started moving. He showed off each muscle of his body in front of the mirror, his dragon blood and powerful physique making him far sturdier than the normal mage. The young but mature man in the mirror was tall and strong, with no traces of excess flesh. The proportions of his limbs could be called perfect, and he could be proud of this body that was a personification of male beauty. The dragon bloodline seemed like a dark red mist in the magic mirror, circulating around the surface of his body to give him even greater charm.

Judging himself objectively, Steven could naturally come up with a few evaluations. Most were praises he'd received two years ago, when he'd just turned fifteen and truly stepped into the world of nobles. He could definitely be proud of his body and appearance; unlike that damned Richard who still exuded a juvenile aura due to his age, he had true masculine charm.

There was no lack of words like handsome, determined, sturdy, and powerful in the evaluations Steven had of himself, but there were some things missing.

He turned his head and then asked with an eerie voice, “What does 'tender and delicious' mean?”

Minnie's body trembled without permission; the blizzard had arrived. She lowered her head without saying a word; anything she said at this moment would be like dripping fresh blood in front of a ravenous wolf. It would only make him more brutal.

*Bang!* The skin on Steven's right hand was sliced open as he punched the magic mirror, blood spurting out from a dozen spots before dripping to the ground. He didn't seem to sense the pain, however, instead turning and staring at Minnie with bloodshot eyes as he yelled with all the strength in his body, “I'm asking you, WHAT DOES TENDER AND DELICIOUS MEAN?!”

46 - City of Sin

The Sediments of Memories

Minnie was sent flying into the french window, crashing hard into it with a dull thud. The classically fired danube glass showed why it was worth a thousand gold every square metre, not jolting in the slightest as if a worm had crashed into it instead.

Minnie was like a lifeless cloth doll, bouncing back from the impact as she fell to the ground forehead first. She lay there unmoving, a stream of blood gushing from her long hair that seemed to wriggle and squirm on the shiny obsidian floor like a strange being.

It took her a moment to move, her hands groping around her before she pushed herself up with difficulty. Blood continued to flow from the sides of her hair, dyeing one side of her cheeks red and sticking her hair to her face. It wasn't just the forehead; the corners of her lips and nostrils were also spurting blood, and Minnie touched her face to feel the warmth. Seeing her hand covered in red she rubbed it hard on her clothes, before she tore off a corner of her skirt to clean up her face. She then bunched up her hair and tied it using that very blood-stained cloth, swaying as she stood up.

Steven remained where he was, his chest heaving as the wisps of blood in his eyes did not seem to dim at all. His muscles twitched under his skin, and his tightly-clenched fists occasionally caused crisp, cracking sounds. Dragon warlocks had powerful physiques, and while not comparable to true warriors they were far stronger than normal mages. An attack made in the midst of absolute fury would be powerful.

Minnie swayed as she walked towards Steven, closing her eyes to await the next painful blow. Her long white dress had large bloodstains on it, and half her face had swelled up. Still her expression remained peaceful, and she still didn't make a sound; crying or begging would only net her a more powerful beating.

The corner of Steven's eye twitched. He suddenly grabbed the collar of her dress and gave a powerful tug, splitting its upper half into two. He then pulled away her undergarments, revealing her naked upper body.

However, what he saw was not a naked body that could excite him. On the original pale skin that exquisitely radiated her youth were bruises of all sizes. It made for a shocking sight, like a carved jade vase that had been smashed until there were cracks everywhere.

The youth took a deep breath and closed his eyes. It took a few minutes of silence for him to calm down completely, but other than the wisps of blood in his eyes that wouldn't disappear so soon everything went back to normal. He told Minnie, “Don't go to class for a few days, and rest and recover here. I'll have a cleric come and take care of the injuries to your face.”

He paused and began to pace around in the room. After doing dozens of rounds, he suddenly stopped. He waved his fist around, as if that would help make up his mind, “It's time to resolve everything. The situation really can't be saved at this rate. Once you've dealt with the injuries to your face go look for Erin, you know what to do. It's about time that girl was of some use!”

Minnie nodded silently, and after seeing him wave his fist and indicating he had nothing left to say she dragged her heavy body along, doing her best to maintain her stability. She entered the bathroom and began to wash the blood off, while Steven dressed himself neatly and twisted a large ruby ring on his finger. The ruby emitted a dazzling ray of light and immediately dimmed, magic taking its message through layers of obstruction to be transmitted to every corner of the Deepblue.

It took but a moment for two capable men to arrive before Steven. One was a warrior, while the other was a cleric. The two listened carefully to Steven's instructions, and the warrior left immediately while the cleric stayed to treat Minnie.

The cleric crossed his arms in front of his chest in prayer, beginning a chant that caused a pure white light to pour out of his hands and splash on Minnie's head like water. The light flowed along her skin, causing wounds to close at a speed the naked eye could see everywhere it went. The bruises dissipated and the swelling went down slightly.

Although Minnie's injuries looked frightening they were only superficial. There was no need for a greater heal to be cast on her, but since Steven was extremely impatient for her to recover the cleric didn't mind putting in the effort to cast three such heals on her.

Once the treatment was done, Minnie was left with slight traces of injuries at the corner of her forehead. Knowing what she had to do, she did not linger or rest, instead wearing her robes and leaving the residence immediately. The fatigued cleric left silently as well, leaving Steven alone in the residence. He seemed to pace back and forth in worry, taking a few looks outside the window on occasion and cursing the wretched weather.
𝒇r𝘦e𝘸𝒆𝚋𝐧o𝘷𝘦𝘭. 𝒄oｍ

Finally, the warrior hastened back to stand behind Steven, whispering, “Everything's been prepared. How should we do it?”

Steven gritted his teeth, raised his arm and slashed down towards the front. He answered in a deep voice, “Do what you can!”

The warrior trembled, and a ruthless look appeared on his face before he left quietly.

Many fates had been changed on the Day of Destiny, but Richard continued to work hard for the sake of the future. His progress towards the peak was just like how he climbed the rocky slopes in his youth, having to be done step by step. Every early morning, every late night, it was all a tiny step towards his goals.

Deep in the night, Richard walked towards his residence, filled with satisfaction and tiredness from a day's work. However, just as the heavy metal gate to his residence was in sight, he suddenly heard crying and sounds of abuse in the depths of the alley nearby. The voice sounded slightly familiar, and Precision immediately told him that it was Erin's.

Erin... It was a name that had practically disappeared from his life, but now it had come up once more. It sounded like she was in trouble, something Richard found rather strange— who would dare cause trouble here? Then again, the surrounding area was extremely quiet and the magic lamps used to illuminate the public regions were soft and dim. On the other hand every residence here other than Richard's own had grand mages staying within, or children of nobles or even the emperor. The security was tight, and there were magic eyes everywhere without any areas being neglected. If anyone wanted to kick up a fuss, they would find numerous enforcers surrounding them out of nowhere.

The sounds of crying came from an alley at the side that was rather deep, and came from a bend, which meant Richard could not see what was going on. He frowned and immediately walked quickly towards the alley, turning the corner to see the source of the ruckus. It was indeed Erin, being accosted by three men with obvious malicious intent.

Right behind the girl was an extremely tall and sturdy man, his body so big it was equivalent to three young ladies stacked up. His bulky hand was gripping the girl's wrists, practically lifting her off the ground. Another tall man, this one skinny, was standing at the side with his arms crossed, his gaze wandering up and down Erin's body while lingering at her chest and abdomen. At the front of her was a fierce fellow who was groping her— it seemed like he was searching her body for something, but his hands didn't leave the sensitive regions at all.

Erin could only kick around in her attempt to struggle free, but the man grabbed her thigh and clasped it under his armpit. His hands began to wander up her legs as he chuckled, “I almost forgot. There's a place here that can hide a lot of money. Come, let's see how much gold you've got hidden there that has you so nervous!”

“Let me go! I'll return the money! It's not time yet!” Erin shrieked, but the sturdy man behind her used his left hand and cupped her mouth, stopping the girl's screams.

The man in front of her seemed to have no intentions of stopping and wanted to continue searching all the way. His smile was even more lewd now, “It's not time, but it's just a few more days. We want to retrieve our interest in advance now. If you really have no money, then sleep with us for a few nights to repay your debt! It's not as if you've never earned money from a man's body before...”

The three men's attention was entirely on Erin, until they suddenly felt a boiling-hot heatwave surge over, blocking the area around them well. Next came Richard's voice, “Let go of her!”

The man in front of Erin halted his movements but did not let go. He stared at the emblem on Richard's collar hesitantly, finding it difficult to ascertain Richard's identity. However, the fireball leaping up and down at Richard's right hand was scaring them witless. A mage, and one so young at that appearing in such a luxurious region was, at the very least, an enforcer. For people like them who lived at the borders, enforcers were basically gods who could not be crossed.

Richard furrowed his brows. These three men were obviously not residents in the area, and did not even seem to be official residents of Deepblue's towers. Otherwise, they definitely would have understood the significance of his emblem.

The men saw Richard's expression and immediately retrieved their hands, and summoned the courage to ask, “May I know who...”

“Richard. Richard Archeron.”

The three men were obviously startled, and they immediately became deferential. All who lived by the borders knew the names of the legendary mage's pupils and the grand mages. This was the minimum requirement for survival. In this region, they did not even dare have thoughts of doing evil. Everyone knew that there were magic eyes everywhere monitoring the area. This was a public warning to prevent the impetuous and ignorant people from harming the residents in the luxurious areas. This was because these residences included not just powerful mages, but children of aristocracy who were not all that powerful as well.

The three men immediately let Erin go, and the girl darted behind Richard like a frightened rabbit, trembling hands grabbing onto his robes.

The leader glared at Erin, and then smiled as if fawning on Richard, “Lord Richard, this woman owes us a lot of money, and because she can't repay us she's hidden inside the Deepblue and is unwilling to come out. We've only come to the Deepblue because we have no other choice. Look, we've come all the way and found her, but she still won't return us the money.”

“But there's three more days!” Erin shouted from behind Richard.

47 - City of Sin

Assassination

The man glared at Erin immediately, saying in a self-righteous manner, “But this isn't the first time you've stalled. The Deepblue's laws allow me to ask you to return the money immediately. If you don't want to, you can come with me and work to pay off your debt, or scram!”

The man then turned towards Richard, his expression shifting to a smile so fast it was like magic, “Lord Richard. We probably shouldn't have appeared here, but we're acting according to the laws of the Deepblue, which we wouldn't dare to ignore. Her Excellency once said contracts must not be blasphemed, and this woman hasn't returned the debt or even paid interest. She doesn't even provide services as per the law! Don't be taken in by her pitiful appearance!”

Although he seemed extremely respectful, the man's words revealed his unyielding nature. Although the Deepblue did not have many laws, those that were in place were as strong as steel. Even grand mages didn't have the right to break them, forget someone like Richard.

Richard furrowed his brows and turned to look at Erin, seeing the terror and recoil in her eyes. She didn't even dare to meet his gaze. He balled his hand up, and the fireball floated several metres into the sky before dissipating into a small explosion.

Such exquisite control over magic immediately caused the three men to have a change in expression, and they couldn't help but take several steps backwards. While what they were doing was reasonable, given the difference in their positions if Richard injured or disabled them in a bad mood the most they would get was gold in compensation.

Richard's eyes swept over them, “I'll repay her debts on her behalf. Now scram!”

“But...” The man in charge was obviously unwilling, secretly peeping at Erin who was hiding behind Richard.

Richard snickered, “What, you doubt my words?”

The three immediately went pale and answered no. However the leader suddenly glared at Erin and said fiercely, “Just you wait, little thing. Don't you go home alone!”

Richard turned grim, and the three immediately hastened their footsteps. When their figures disappeared into the distance he turned and looked at the girl, who was hugging herself quietly. He sighed, “How much do you owe them?”

“One— One thousand and two hundred gold coins.” Erin's voice was soft, with some obvious tremors in it. Her shoulders shook slightly, making it obvious that she was crying with her head down.

Richard wanted to speak, but eventually he stopped himself with just a sigh. He clearly remembered the time when Erin had been unwilling to 'earn' his money, but in less than a year that had changed. If she hadn't been at the end of her rope this girl wouldn't have told him about the magnitude of her debt, and the very act of doing so meant that she'd left her purity, her ego, and her pride all behind her in one year. The girl who'd poked her head through the bathroom door with a sunny disposition was no longer there.

Richard's heart squeezed involuntarily. Part of it may have been because of that 'It's not as if you've never earned money from a man's body before,' but mostly it was because the amount that left her at her wit's end was a mere 1200 coins.

Even a year ago that was worth a mere two mana potions after he'd tested his magic. Now he didn't even drink normal mana potions because they were weak and slow, and he basically ignored the last four digits of his monthly bills because, be they four zeroes or four nines, it was all the same.

Richard was quiet, and it was difficult to see any fluctuations in his expression. He only asked calmly, “I'll return this sum for you. Are there more?”

Erin hesitated, and then whispered, “I still owe a few other people four hundred gold coins, but I'll do something about that on my own...”

Richard interrupted her, “A total of 1600 gold coins, right? No problem.”

Erin finally raised her head, but before that she hastily used the back of her hand to wipe at her face. She looked at Richard and smiled helplessly, combing her hair with a newfound calmness. “But I have no way to earn that much money, at least within half a year. I have nothing at all, except myself. If you want me, you can look for me anytime.”

Richard seemed not to hear anything she was saying. He took out a memo and wrote a receipt, signing his name on it before he shoved it into Erin's hands. Without even saying goodbye he strode towards his residence.

However, he suddenly turned back after a few steps. The girl had yet to leave, and her two hands were hugged tightly around her as she crouched where she was. He sighed inside once more and walked to her. Erin lifted her head, gazed up at Richard, and whispered, “I- I'm very afraid. I'm sorry...”

“Because of those men?”

Erin nodded silently.

Richard stretched his hand out to the girl, “Let's go. I'll send you back. I want to know who has the guts to stop you.”

Richard's words had a faint trace of killing intent. Now that he had already promised to return her debts, he did not mind giving them a lesson to remember if those people dared cause trouble, or perhaps even sending them down to hell himself.

The residents of the main tower of the Deepblue were completely different from those at the borders, with a huge disparity in power. Even if he killed someone all he needed to give was monetary compensation, and if the other party provoked or humiliated him first he had no need to do even that.

Erin grabbed Richard's hand and stood up with his help. She then retracted her hand and stayed a half-step behind Richard as they walked. The road from the main tower to the borders was a long and quiet route, and there were few people here in the dark. There were some who walked about hastily, but nobody spared the two another glance. A bustling day had depleted everyone of their stamina, and all they wanted to do was to return home and have a warm night of good sleep. There was more work waiting for them tomorrow.

Both Richard and Erin remained silent along the way, not saying a single word. They had no idea what to speak about despite a year having passed.

Erin's home was in a little alley at the outer regions of the borders. It was a confined room that didn't reveal the scenery outside the Deepblue, the windows inside more like decoration as they opened inwards to the wall of a patio. The magic lamps burning within were the only source of light.

Similar homes could be found everywhere in the borders, and those with windows showing the outside cost thrice of four times as much as those without. Although a few scattered towns surrounded the Deepblue, most would rather stay at the borders even if these houses were dark. There was still more dignity in living at the Deepblue than in those towns.

After sending Erin to the door and memorising the location, Richard turned to leave, intentionally not meeting Erin's eyes of anticipation. The dark night here was extremely quiet because of the cold weather, the poor fuel for the lights extremely unstable as they flickered and swayed. They formed large shadows that were like monsters from another plane, crawling everywhere, about to leap out and hunt their prey at any time.

For some reason, Richard suddenly felt slightly cold. This was already near the outermost part of the borders and it was -10° C, but Richard's robes were naturally better than normal. No, this was not a natural cold, instead a dark wet chill that met his body like a glacier that had not melted in ten thousand years. Even the air had frozen, making it feel like he'd fallen into a room of reptiles with something slithering past his back on occasion. Richard soon felt a thin layer of sweat break out, and his clothing soaked completely and stuck to his body, making him feel extremely uncomfortable. He breathed out and loosened the button at the collar of his mage robes.

However, he burnt himself when his finger accidentally touched the emblem at his corner! At some point the emblem had begun to emit a hazy lustre, and had become boiling hot. This was a unique item possessed by all of Sharon's apprentices, both a show of status as well as a tool to detect malicious intent. For it to become so hot meant that an enemy was nearby, and they were not hiding their killing intent!

Richard suddenly froze. The shadows behind him arched as a humanoid figure rose from within, It tore out like the shade was a cocoon before it pounced forward like a cheetah, thrusting a dark grey dagger with no sheen towards Richard's lower back.

The attack was merciless, and had been performed at such close quarters. Even the most well-trained of warriors would find it difficult to evade a surprise attack such as this, much less an acolyte who had yet to reach adulthood. Hitmen and archer-types had always been nemeses of mages, with one being at close quarters and the other from a distance.

Despite all that, however, the dagger was deviated the moment it came in contact with the robes. It remained unable to penetrate the fabric, but the hitman wasn't rattled in the least as he quickly focused the power on one point and thrust with more strength. The magic robe immediately lit up in a dim yellow, beginning to expand as they activated a translucent shield.

The hitman immediately felt as if his arm and weapon were in dense mud, and it was difficult to brandish his weapon. However, this was not the first time that he was assassinating a mage, and was experienced against magic shields. He continued to focus the tip of the blade on the same point, using all his strength to push the dagger further in. A loud noise rang out as a huge hole was created in the robes.

However, behind the robes was nothing. The hitman had to toss them away with a wave of his hands, and he saw that Richard had already used the opportunity to dart towards a dark alley several metres away.

The hitman immediately grew delighted, a companion of his would be in that alley, but even if Richard was seeking his own death the payment differed based on who killed him. The man immediately sped up, his body practically parallel to the ground as he began to close in on the youth at twice the speed.

Perhaps he had been too hasty in escaping, but Richard suddenly stumbled and actually tripped. In a hurry he reached out and grabbed a metal bar at the side of the alley, probably trying to use that to steady himself.

The hitman who was only a small distance away from Richard was immediately delighted. Richard now was a live target for him, and he could definitely kill him before he escaped into the alley. The moment Richard entered the place, it would be difficult to steal him from his companion. As fast as he could, the hitman thrust his dagger towards Richard's ribs.

However, the youth suddenly revealed a completely different strength with the metal bar in his grasp. Using the bar as a pivot he drew a half-circle with his body in the air, smacking into the wall to dodge the fatal blow just in time. The hitman's efforts were rendered fruitless, and because of the strength he'd put in he couldn't control his direction anymore. The assassin only brushed past Richard with his momentum, basically revealing all the vulnerable points of his body to his target. Thankfully this was a mage, if he was also a hitman...

Even as the hitman was thanking his luck he suddenly saw the target's right hand twist. The fixed 3 foot bar broke off from the outer walls, and the youth used the bar as a dagger to thrust into the man's ribs. Richard twisted the bar inside, digging through the ribs to break his spine and tear the nerves it was attached to. This left a gaping hole in the assassin's abdomen, the few unremarkable little movements leaving behind fatal injuries that even a high-levelled cleric could do little about. Richard's methods were clearly amongst the most exquisite in the underworld.

48 - City of Sin

Participation

Richard did not pull the metal bar out, instead releasing his grip on it. He then pushed the hitman's back, sending him flying high and far. He then shadowed the assassin, whose limbs didn't respond to him anymore. The man could still think a little despite the shock, and he suddenly remembered that his companion was inside!

A couple of dull thuds sounded as two daggers thrust into the hitman's body simultaneously. One pierced into his heart through the gaps between his ribs, and the other bore a hole through his backbone with enough ruthless precision to take his life in one go. Sadly, these attacks of his companion's had found the wrong companion, a fatal mistake.

Richard dodged away like an apparition, his red hands swiping at the assassin. The mage's hand seemed to possess a certain sharp energy that took the assassin's head off, blood gushing out of his neck.

Richard stretched to grab the head that had been sent flying, bending over and pushing it on the ground like a ball. The face was still a mixture of shock and fear as the head rolled into the depths of the alley, stopping in front of a dark shadow. Meanwhile, his open eyes stared emptily at the shadows.

The person in the shadows seemed to feel uneasy upon seeing this, finally moving slightly and opening two tiny slits. Wild, bestial eyes met those of the assassin, a slight change that was practically impossible to notice. However, the numbers jumping in Richard's vision told him that the shadow didn't match its surroundings at all, and he was able to notice right away.

A blazing fireball flew into the alley with a whoosh, exploding in the half-sealed space. Its might was amplified manifold by the walls, giving it nearly 50 degrees of damage that was basically fatal to any being below level 10. A pitiful cry rang out amidst the surging flames, and a figure on fire danced within.

A heat wave rushed out, still unbearable despite the impact being ten or so metres away. Richard chose not to evade it, instead entering the alley as it struck. He stood by the wall at the entrance and retracted his aura, raising his right arm slightly and aiming his palm at the entrance.

The surging wave of heat finally stopped, and the magic flames were faintly discernible now. However, the half-charred body in the depths of the alley still continued to twitch, releasing pitiful moans that signified he was about to reach his end. At this moment, a slim male appeared at the mouth of the alley, and peeked to take a look inside. This new entrant wielded a heavy single-handed axe emitting a dull, chilly luster that did not match with his physique.

The first thing he saw was Richard's palm spitting out fire! The flames were aimed directly at the man's face, causing him to cry out in pain as he felt his face burn and everything go black. He quickly drew back; although Hand of Flames was a grade 1 spell with only two degrees of damage often used to light the way in expeditions, it could display an immense power itself when used appropriately.

The man took several steps back and suddenly felt a chill at the side of his abdomen. He then roared, the heavy axe chopping down lightning quick to practically flit across Richard's scalp.

Richard, who wanted to take advantage of this time to make a sneak attack, immediately broke out in cold sweat. Who knew the man could still counter him with such speed and precision despite losing his axe? The surging energy from the axe told his this was a warrior of at least level 10!

Richard immediately dropped down with a strange motion, beginning to crawl around like a lizard until he was ten metres away. The decision proved correct, because the man continued with a barrage of attacks at his earlier position. The axe had already brushed over his head thrice in succession, getting closer and closer every time. The most dangerous one had even sliced the clothing on his back!

Richard stayed and pressed himself into the wall, remaining unmoving. The pit of his stomach was hurting and he felt like he was burning up, the feeling of suffocation continuing to assail his senses. He felt like a fish on land, forced to open his mouth wide to breathe, but he controlled himself and endured the splitting pain in his stomach. He breathed far slower than normal, just in case the warrior who'd lost his sense of sight managed to find him.

The effects of Eruption had passed, and having burst forth with such strength several times greater than usual he would feel drowsy and fatigued for a while. Even if he drank a potent energy potion immediately it would still take him half an hour to return to normal. For that half hour, he basically wouldn't be able to move at all.

Richard's gaze was focused on the ground in front of the warrior's feet. He used the little light there was to observe his movements, a small technique from the the underworld that allowed one to avoid a direct gaze that would alarm the other party. He calculated the mana he had left in the meanwhile.

His body had grown very frail, and having cast two spells already he only had enough mana to cast a regular fireball. However, that would have limited effect on a warrior above level 10.

When the warrior found that his axe had cleaved through air a few times in succession, he was quite shocked. Never had he thought he would miss all of his blows; even if he was blinded his senses and techniques were still active. With his memory of the target's last position and the sneak attack, as well as a judgement of the opponent's speed, he could figure out where the youth would dodge and seal all of the escape routes off. He'd even touched him once, but he'd still failed? Unless Richard had crawled away like a lizard.

The man held his breath and turned slowly, preparing to find the darned kid. However, he suddenly felt something cold at the side of his abdomen as he moved. A near forty-centimetre-long wound appeared on his body, splitting up his insides to release intestines and other organs into the open. The warrior swayed, a look of disbelief on his face as he released his grip on his weapon. The axe crashed down to the ground, while his own body felt like a sack of potatoes.

The flickering light of magic was beginning to light up in the distance, and it was starting to get clamorous. Hurried footsteps closes in, those of the mage enforcers that had already been alarmed. Even at the borders it was forbidden to cast ranged, dangerous spells in public, and the fireball was a classic example of such a spell. The arrival of the enforcers was obviously good for Richard, and he relaxed to let loose a breath of warm air.

Just as Richard relaxed, a series of hoarse and low chuckles sounded. This was followed by a charming voice that seemed to speak into his ear, “You can die peacefully now, Richard!”

However, the hitman herself was nowhere as close as her voice was. The moment she finished speaking, a dull dagger that did not emit any rays of light stretched out from three or four steps away, piercing towards Richard's lower back. The dagger was a strange deathly-grey, with toxins smeared on the surface. Even if his vital areas were not struck, just having it swipe across his skin could take Richard's life in half a minute. Just as the dagger was about to touch the middle of his back, the outline of the hitman's body appeared like a translucent being.

However, the attack she prepared for did not work. A strange-looking dagger with a dark-red lustre wound around it appeared out of nowhere, blocking her own with skill that surpassed her's.

This was no nameless dagger. On the contrary, the strange groove on its blade and signature blood-red luster was well-known in the world of darkness.

“The Blade of Calamity!” The female hitmen yelled. Her figure now was extremely clear, and even her face grew somewhat discernible. She just stared as the crimson dagger disappeared into her body, instantly recalling the many legends in the past regarding the Blade of Calamity. The decade-old memories surged into her mind.

The most terrifying thing about the Blade of Calamity wasn't the sharpness of the dagger, instead how exquisite and outstanding the technique was. There was also the mysterious and unpredictable curses of calamity.

Everytime the dagger killed someone, it absorbed part of the other party's soul, using that power as fuel to activate the curses of calamity. There were a total of six, and while they could only be used once a day those who were struck by the curse wouldn't be able to tell when they'd be attacked; the longer the Blade of Calamity had his eye on someone, the more dangerous it was.

The dark red lustre being emitted from the dagger didn't feel like anything at all once it entered her body, but the assassin knew that the Blade of Calamity had unleashed the Blood Trace on her. This was his most well-known curse, allowing him to determine her position at any time for the next three days.

The assassin jumped high and performed a backflip, silently landing ten metres away. She crouched low on the ground like a shadow panther, a pair of lifeless eyes staring at the blood-red dagger.

A hand appeared at the hilt of the dagger, followed by an arm that seemed slender. Next was clothing so normal that it seemed unpresentable, followed by an average-looking face. However, the smile on it seemed philistine and vulgar. If not for that malicious and terrifying dagger, Naya could definitely be taken to be the boss of a little restaurant or tavern, using the little earnings he had to fill his stomach, so busy everyday that he could only fantasise about beautiful women to pass time. Whatever it was, it was difficult to connect him and the handsome man who had sparkled in the world of darkness a decade or so before.

Naya was completely opposite of the female hitman, who looked as if she had seen a great enemy. Instead, he made a show and began to flaunt his skills with his dagger, gazing vulgarly at the powerful curves of the assassin like a dirty old man, “So it's you. What was your name again? Let me think, it's Blood Parrot, or Ash Sparrow... It doesn't matter what you're called. In the blink of an eye, it's been ten or so years since I last saw you. I didn't expect your body to become this hot! But your level, tsk, how should I say this... How is it that there's no change even after so many years? You're still level 14? Have you been spending all these years accompanying old nobles to bed without the time to train?”

49 - City of Sin

Participation

Blood Parrot maintained her stance, ready to attack at any time. However, despite his casual posture and loud boasts that made him look like a vulgar street thug, there were actually no gaps in Naya's defence. There was no way for her to even attack, much less escape. She was a level 14 assassin and she was rendered almost completely unable to retaliate; how powerful did Naya have to be in his prime?

Naya had no intentions of attacking right away, instead continuing to mock Blood Parrot. He made ample use of his ability to make scathing remarks about his opponent, “Oh my, look at that posture. Why is your bottom sticking out so high? Are you trying to seduce me? While I have been earning quite a bit of extra income, how did you know I have money? Hehe, hehe...”

He laughed weirdly a few times, but his tone abruptly changed. He stopped the exaggerated vulgarity and boorishness, saying coldly, “Blood Parrot, how can people of your calibre dare come to the Deepblue and behave like this? Tell me who hired you, and I'll let you go. If you don't want to, I wouldn't mind practicing some techniques I haven't used in a long time. Oi Richard! You can stand up already, don't be so nervous. This is my territory, she won't touch a hair on your head.”

Richard voiced a reply, but didn't get up the normal way. He first shifted to the corner of a wall, and pressed himself to it like a lizard before he stood up. The entire motion was nimble, and he'd moved in tricky directions. If someone tried to attack him while he was standing up, they would likely misjudge his position and fail.

Richard's movements left Naya extremely pleased. It was Blood Parrot who was astonished by the youth's actions, and only then did she understand the situation. An ugly, hoarse voice sounded out, “Blade of Calamity, you taught this boy all your assassination techniques? No wonder those people failed.”

Naya shook his head in dissatisfaction and spat out, “You think this is everything? Pfft, it's just the tip of the iceberg; it can't even be considered the art of assassination. But this little guy learns fast and never forgets to keep his guard up, so he does have a bit of talent. However, my dearest Blood Parrot, are you trying to stall for time? Haven't you noticed that I'm doing the same? This is my territory, and no matter how many reinforcements you call in, you won't be able to escape my grasp...”

Just at this moment, an aggressive voice full of energy called out from the distance, “Her reinforcements have been taken care of, and so have yours! Also, there's something I need to correct you about. The Deepblue is Her Excellency's territory! Since you're standing in her territory, you need to pay taxes!

Despite the huge ruckus, it was only now that the mage enforcers reached the scene. Blood Parrot's body trembled, but she didn't dare change stance in the slightest, lest Naya immediately deal her a fatal blow. A small yet imposing figure walked over from the end of the valley; Blackgold.

The grey dwarf's imposing gait was only thanks to the huge crowd of mage enforcers around him, numbering more than a dozen. They were even guarded by about ten heavily armed foot-soldiers. These large men with steel on their bodies were all extremely mighty, using heavy weapons. They would have great power in these small alleys, something that gave Naya a headache. On top of that, there were more than ten mages behind them that were full of vigour!

The foot-soldiers were escorting three corpses and two men. The men were the ones Richard had seen in Naya's tavern, but even seemingly taken hostage they appeared to be relaxed. Blackgold was just here for taxes, which was Naya's business since they themselves had no income at all. Those three corpses, on the other hand, were reinforcements Blood Parrot had been waiting for. Unfortunately they weren't all that smart, and had dared to retaliate against the enforcers. They died without causing any damage to the grey dwarf's forces; in a frontal battle between assassins and regular soldiers equipped to the teeth, the assassins would face a heavy tragedy.

Truth be told, the grey dwarf's troop was strong enough to deal with even thirty of Naya's comrades, forget just three of Blood Parrot's companions. Naya himself would have to drop everything and escape alongside his group if faced with them. This was why the smile on his face turned into one currying favour with the dwarf, even if it seemed awkward and pained.

Blackgold's eyes flashed with a dangerous glint, “You only taught Richard the tip of the iceberg? You haven't taught him the essence of the art of assassination, but you still dare to take a thousand gold coins a day... You must know; when it comes down to it, this is Her Excellency's money you're taking. Her. Excellency's. Money!”

Naya smiled as if he was ridiculed and pulled the grey dwarf aside, speaking in a low voice, “Wasn't I boasting just now? Look, Richard can even take care of four assassins alone, so how can it just be the tip of the iceberg? That's the essence of everything I've experienced over the years! That's why it's understandable to take fees like that. Besides, I paid all my taxes last month. Your bringing so many people here is just...”

The grey dwarf too spoked in a hushed tone and glanced at Blood Parrot, “I heard there was a tiny issue here, which is why I brought more people here to take a look in case you couldn't take care of it and injured Her Excellency's little Richard. Who knew they're all at this level? How are you planning to take care of this woman?”

Naya furrowed his eyebrow, saying, “This is actually hard to say, and I'm not certain I'll get any answers. Would you like to stay and watch?”

“No no, I'm only in charge of collecting taxes. This has nothing to do with me!” the grey dwarf rejected straight out with a wave of his arms, “And I don't want to hear what she has to say. If you get any answers, take care of it yourself. Don't you people of the underworld have your own laws?”

Naya frowned even more, “But this is the Deepblue, so everything works according to the laws of the Deepblue...”

The grey dwarf waved his arm and vulgarly interrupted Naya, “The law of the Deepblue is to pay your taxes honestly, that's all. I'm off! Remember the taxes this month, I'll pretend I didn't see anything else here!”

The troop immediately tossed the corpses and men to the ground with a wave of Blackgold's hand, escorting the dwarf back.

Naya turned grim. Blackgold's tone had implied that the Deepblue had enough military power to destroy the underside of the city, an obvious warning and demonstration of power. He'd implied that, even without Her Excellency acting herself, those of the Deepblue could definitely take care of anyone without good intentions no matter how impressive they were ten years ago in the outside world. This was the Deepblue, Sharon's Deepblue.

Blood Parrot remained with her buttocks raised high even as the grey dwarf left, as if she had some kind of fetish. The ground she was lying on had long grown damp with her sweat, but Naya's killing intent that had remained locked on her from the start left her with no way out. Blackgold's troop was even more terrifying than Naya himself, and she wouldn't dare move at all.

When Naya's gaze landed on her once more, Blood Parrot finally understood there would not be any lucky breaks. WIth a yell, she pounced towards Naya!

With a dull crash, Naya's dagger wondrously appeared at the back of Blood Parrot's head and knocked her unconscious. He kicked her a few times after she collapsed to the ground, confirming that she was unconscious before he turned to Richard, “I need to interrogate her after this. The entire process will be exciting and bloody, and you can watch from the side and even give me some help; it will be extremely useful for your understanding of the dark arts. That isn't necessary, however; it might be a little too early for you, giving you too much of a shock. Decide for yourself whether you're going to participate. What do you think? Want to give it a try?”

Richard turned slightly pale. He'd already been instructed in the dark arts Naya spoke of, understanding the excitement and bloodiness he mentioned. He still nodded with resolution, however, the sheer speed of the decision surprising the former Blade of Calamity. The killer who'd been unmatched in the underworld a decade ago couldn't understand quite how someone with Richard's illustrious background was so determined in his pursuit of the dark arts. It was to the point that one might suspect Richard had been born with perverted tendencies.

Actually, Richard's mindset had been pretty simple when he made the decision. What would Gaton Archeron do? he asked himself, would he cower in fear? The answer was obviously no. Gaton had seen far more blood in his life, creating more scenes like this himself. Most importantly, his mother had told him— and he'd seen it for himself— that the man was completely fearless. That was why he decided to participate.

Seeing Richard starting to look pale yet determined, Naya shrugged, “Fine then, come. But first, prepare a bucket and make sure it's big enough. You'll need it.”

50 - City of Sin

Blood and Purity

Naya dragged the unconscious Blood Parrot back to the little tavern quite casually, as if she was just a bundle of supplies. The borders were quiet this far into the night, and even those who roamed the dark streets were nowhere to be seen. With the ruckus the mage enforcers had made with their arrival, all the doors and windows of the various alleys were shut tightly, with not a tiny crevice to peep through. The pressure of survival had broken all curiosity,

Richard followed silently, only looking slightly paler than normal. The hands hidden in his sleeves were clenched, however, and the muscles of his forearms kept twitching. Drops of fresh blood seeped out from between his fingers, the injury coming from the granules that unpolished metal bar had left on his palm. The wound had only been superficial at the start, but with the amount of pressure Richard was putting on his hand the pain from the wound was enough to suppress the wild throbbing of his heart. His mind was already a mess; had there been nobody around all he'd do was yell, kick, and smash everywhere. Only that would help him vent some of the extreme tension he'd just been through, even if it was slightly delayed.

This was the first time Richard had killed someone, and he had taken four lives in but a few moments. He'd slashed open that warrior with his own hands, damaging many organs and consigning him to a painful, fearful death. Inches away from his own demise, Richard had grown completely tranquil; awareness of movement turned into cold calculation, and every technique he'd learnt from Naya was utilised as if it was natural. The four assassins had all assumed Richard was just a rookie mage, and this thought had had them pay with their lives. Besides the fireball killing one of their numbers, the other three had died to Richard's astonishing proficiency at the assassination arts. When it came down to it, even that fireball's timing had to do with such techniques.

Battles of the underworld determined life and death in but a single brush with the opponent. In that decisive battle Richard had felt like he was in a dream; a real and chilling dream, filled with numbers. He only woke up once Blackgold had left, leaving his nervousness, frailty, nausea, and all sorts of negatives to erode away at his heart.

Besides the distress of killing someone for the first time, Richard was also very nervous about Blood Parrot's upcoming fate, in a way that he could not describe. For some reason Naya's carefreeness only increased his nervousness.

He'd always been meticulous with observations, and he'd noticed the look of unease on the faces of Naya's companions when he hoisted her up. For but a moment, even Blood Parrot herself hadn't been able to hide the terror and despair on her face before fainting.

Naya's words told Richard that Blood Parrot had possessed some reputation in the underworld even a decade ago. For someone like that to grow so tense and fearful, what was it that Naya would show him soon? The very thought of the bucket Naya had reminded him to bring caused Richard's stomach to churn, and he felt the urge to find a corner and vomit everything in his stomach immediately. Naya was just like Sharon and many of the grand mages, never joking in proper matters.

While he wanted to throw up right away, Richard still gritted his teeth and followed behind Naya, persisting all the way to the tavern. Even he himself felt like that was a miracle.

Naya's two companions seemed to shed all their sloth the moment the Blade of Calamity left, clearing up the bodies and cleaning the scene with unbelievable speed. In mere minutes all traces had been wiped away, the only remains of the battle being the marks made by the tongues of flame in the depths of the alley.

When the people at the borders walked outside their homes early morning, they would feel like nothing happened that night. With the chaos in the borders they'd long since grown used to tremors, explosions, and all sorts of strange sounds. Deepblue law stated any breaking and entering of the houses or damaging outer walls was an invasion of the Deepblue itself, so such things were definitely disallowed. Their houses were thus safe havens from the outside world, only affecting the residents if the people themselves were too curious for their own good.

Naya dragged Blood Parrot through the tiny lobby, past the counter and into the kitchen at the back. Richard found that the kitchen in the tavern was strangely large, seemingly larger than the lobby itself. There were many liquor and food cabinets beside the stove, and there were iron rings large and small nailed into the wall. There were also a few block and tackle that hung from the ceiling, with many iron hooks of varying sizes hung down from there as well.

The concentrated smell of soot and poor alcohol permeated the air. However, these two strong odours could not suppress the smell of mould around. The walls and floor were all made of stone and had been washed clean. However, there were still irregular and faint marks left behind over a large area.

“Close the door properly,” Naya instructed, dragging Blood Parrot to the middle of the kitchen.

Richard did as he asked, seeing that there really was a rather large wooden bucket behind the door. The bucket seemed quite old, and although it had been washed clean with no strange smell Richard couldn't hold the intense reactions of his body anymore. He bent over the bucket's side abruptly, beginning to throw up.

Not having had the chance for dinner, there was little food that came out. Most was clear gastric acid, the strong smell filling his senses and covering all the other smells in the kitchen. However, this suppression revealed a faint smell that hadn't been too obvious before. Richard could determine the source in an instant; this was a residue of years of blood and grit.

It was terrible that he found out at this moment, because his body's instincts now had the upper hand. His stomach churned intensely and practically contracted, basically spurting acid from his mouth.

Naya seemed to have guessed Richard's reaction, just sending him a nonchalant glance before beginning his own work. He pulled the iron hooks on the ceiling down to the tune of a crash, piercing them into Blood Parrot's limbs. She was suspended in the air with a pull of the chain, her limbs stretched out in various directions.

The immense pain made her regain consciousness, crying out on instinct. The assassin immediately stopped once she grew lucid, however, relaxing her body and taking a look at her surroundings. Despair immediately flashed in her eyes when she saw Naya, however, and she couldn't help but sigh. Please visit 𝒇𝐫e𝑒𝔀𝒆𝚋no𝐯𝘦𝘭. c𝑜𝗺

Naya stretched out his hands, squeezing and caressing her body absently. His obscene expression made him seem extremely vulgar, but these caresses robbed Blood Parrot of her strength, ceasing her struggles and replacing them with complete despair.

Naya hummed a little song off-key, beginning to remove Blood Parrot's clothing piece by piece. Only after he took the last bit of cloth off did he stop, leaving her hanging naked in the centre of the kitchen just like that. Her damaged muscles and nerves caused her to twitch on occasion, but strangely enough the pierced spots didn't bleed much. The blood only crept out slowly, dripping to the ground.

Richard finally stood up. He was looking deathly pale, only able to hold himself steady by supporting himself with the wall. He wiped at some of the filth that had splashed to his chest and mustered his courage to look up, gazing at Blood Parrot's naked body. He knew that what came next was the true test.

Blood Parrot was probably past middle age, but her great power had allowed her appearance and body to be maintained in a very young state. No matter how one looked at it, she did not seem to be over thirty. Her tight and powerful legs, chest, and bottom were excessively curvy, something quite enticing for men. Her appearance and body were her greatest weapons, but now they weren't enticing to Richard. He instead remained extremely focused on it, because the numbers he saw there were strange.

51 - City of Sin

Blood and Purity

The tears continued to surge out uncontrollably, causing Richard's vision to blur. In that moment, he felt like he saw that arrogant and despotic face of his father, with a pair of eyes so calm they could make one shiver.

Father... This word held no warmth or familiarity for Richard. It only aroused hatred, bringing forth a cold and stifling pressure. He had no idea of how much strength his father possessed, and every time he recalled the man he could only judge him to be enigmatic and unmeasurable. Were Gaton here, would he find this hard to stomach?

Richard thus strived to turn up whenever he won control of his body, keeping his eyes wide open to watch what Naya was doing. He wiped away the tears that blurred his sight, shook away the buzzing in his ears so he could hear Naya clearly. When his body was so fatigued he just wanted to fall to the ground, he took hold of the metal rings on the wall and used them alongside the wooden bucket to stay upright in the least.

Richard vaguely saw Naya chattering away like some old man, using his hands to search Blood Parrot's body carefully without leaving out an inch. Every place his hands passed ended up with large splatters of blood, something Richard's body wanted to avoid with all strength. The boy couldn't understand well what Naya was doing on his own, but Precision and Wisdom showed him the cold truth.

There was a sharp pain coming from his abdomen that almost caused him to faint, to the point that he suspected his stomach wasn't whole. All sorts of filth was splattered on his body, but he couldn't feel that anymore. The kitchen was filled with the fresh smell of sweet blood, completely suppressing the years upon years of rot.

There were no extra sounds in this space. Blood Parrot hadn't made a peep since that first scream, and the only sounds besides Richard's occasional dry heave was the slight whoosh of Naya's fingers as he worked, alongside a brush that seemed to be a highland peacock feather scribbling on parchment.

Naya quickened his motions and created hundreds of gestures in a moment with his two hands. However, each movement was extremely clear. A splendid blood rose bloomed into the sky, right in Richard's view.

It truly was a rose. When it blossomed on Blood Parrot's body, one could even see the young petals trembling! It took up all of Richard's vision, and by the time it faded all he could see was Naya handing something thin over to him. Although he didn't know what this was at the start, the full wooden bucket tipped over once he got a closer look, spilling filth all over him.

The magic patterns stained in blood were something familiar to him, patterns he could draw with his eyes closed: Buff rune, Elementary Agility.

......

Richard had no idea how he managed to clean his clothes of the filth, or leave Naya's tavern. When his body finally calmed down the rune was left lingering in his vision, as well as all sorts of bizarre weapons. Blood Parrot's body and looks had been disposed of from his memory, the only vestiges of her existence being her voice. Naya hadn't been able to gather any information from Blood Parrot at all. Perhaps she'd persisted all the to the end, but perhaps Naya just hadn't given her the chance to speak at all.

A long, dark alley stretched out in front of Richard, going into the depths of darkness with no seeming end. The few dim lamps couldn't light the entire place, each one not nearly as bright as the ones in the main tower. Every time Richard walked from post to post his shadow would grow longer.

He felt extremely cold, fatigue and hunger assailing his senses even as his mouth and throat seemed to burn with fire. Richard had long since vomited everything that he could, and having use Eruption multiple times in a row his stamina was drained completely as well. Only now, when he was relaxing his tense nerves, did everything start to act up. He felt like he couldn't take the smallest of steps forward, but by this time a familiar door had already appeared in front of him.

This was where Erin lived.

Richard had no idea why he had returned to this place. However, after seeing this door, all the events of the night linked together like lightning. He seemed to come out from under a rock, the truth of the matter spiralling in his mind. Perhaps this was just a guess, but Richard knew it was likely true. So many coincidences would not occur in the real world. Blood Parrot and those killers had been waiting for Richard in advance, and Erin had been the bait to lure him into the trap.

*Bang! Bang! Bang!* Richard knocked the door.

A window at the side suddenly opened, and a head full of fat peeked out. Without his eyes fully open, he looked extremely ferocious, and he kept mumbling things that could not be heard clearly. Evidently he was annoyed at being disturbed from his sleep, but seeing Richard's attire the head went back in a hundred times as fast as it had come out. The window closed rapidly, without making too much noise. This technique was miraculous in its own way.

Without his outer robes on, the complex and extravagant patterns sewn all over Richard's clothes had been on display. This was no decoration, instead a real magic formation that had protected him from the first assassin's dagger earlier in the night. Only those of the Deepblue's main tower with talent, bloodline, background, and hateful luck could wear such clothing.

*Bang!* Richard smashed on the door once more, this time much louder than before. However, nobody dared to open their windows again. A small fist-sized slot on the door that was meant for letters was opened up, revealing Erin's guarded face. She made a sound of surprise at the very sight of Richard, pulling the door open.

After the door opened completely Richard saw Erin with a wand held tightly in her hand. The materials showed it was the most ordinary of wants, and the gems embedded within could store two grade 1 spells at most. Still, such devices could cast spells instantly, and the power of two grade 1 spells was not to be trifled with in the borders. While Erin herself was already a level 3 mage, it was still difficult to cast a grade 2 spell for her. It was also impossible for her to cast grade 1 spells instantly, and in a real battle the opponent would've come over and sent her to the ground with a few slaps before she could finish a chant.

Low level mages were useless in solo battles. Only with the help of wands, magic rings, or scrolls could they take such fights.

Seeing Erin holding that wand tightly, Richard felt something inside himself. He instantly got a better understanding of her usual living conditions: only in an environment where danger was everywhere would she have such an instinct for self-preservation. Even if this wand was weak, the worst of wands was still worth four or five hundred gold coins minimum. Although this was nothing in the Deepblue, for someone like Erin who had debts of 1600 coins she couldn't pay this was a huge amount. That she would rather shoulder a debt for this wand meant that she would feel no sense of security without it.

52 - City of Sin

Blood and Purity

Richard noticed a great many things in that moment. Erin looked like she just wanted to jump into his embrace the moment she rushed out to stand in front of him, but she suppressed it and instead pulled Richard into the room. Taking a look outside, she closed the door with a bang and locked it. Her chest heaved as she stared at him, back to the door. A flush crept up her body, making her emotions obvious.

Richard sized up the room. This was a very small, utilitarian place, formed of two rooms and a little bathroom. Its size was pitiful, with just the bedroom having a window to the patio while all the other rooms just had four walls. The room also had a magic lamp, but it wasn't lit. In its place was a candle.

The small room with a single bed and cupboard was full of the smell of candle smoke and the girl's own scent. The bathroom was barely large enough for one to shower in, while the hall wasn't much larger than the bedroom itself. There were many things in the hall, but they were arranged neatly to make good enough use of the space to not seem cramped.

As Richard was looking around, Erin noticed that her own hand was slightly sticky. Raising it to take a look in the candlelight, she found her palm was full of blood! She suddenly noticed the blood flowing out from between Richard's fingers.

She recalled that she'd pulled on Richard's hands to bring him into the room, and couldn't help but exclaim, “You're hurt?!”

Richard waved his hand and answered nonchalantly, “It's just a small wound, nothing much.” This really was how he felt, especially after he'd seen the entire process of Naya dealing with Blood Parrot.

However, Erin had a clear view of his palm. The skin had already been cut open by the coarse surface of the metal bar, and with Richard applying the pressure he did to it the wound looked terrifying. It was as if his entire hand had split apart!

She couldn't help but raise her voice, shouting, “How did you get hurt? They told me they wouldn't really hurt you...”

Erin cupped her mouth the moment these words left her, turning pale. Richard looked up at her without the slightest of astonishment, his piercing gaze sweeping past her face to record her reaction. The gaze grew calm and distant, his voice peaceful as he said, “So you did have a part in this. Tell me, who was it?”

The calmer Richard was, the colder Erin felt. She subconsciously grabbed at her collar and looked down, speaking so softly it was almost indiscernible, “Minnie. She looked for me and told... told me to lure you here, saying she had something personal to speak to you about. I... I couldn't reject her, so I could only agree.

“But she promised she definitely wouldn't hurt you! She also said that you're Her Excellency's favourite student, so how would she dare harm you?”! Erin's voice became louder and louder, and seemed more like she was convincing herself.

On the other hand, Richard was calm and asked, “Minnie? How much did she give you, and what was the reason you couldn't reject her?”

Erin gradually calmed down and laughed wryly, “A total of 500 gold coins, and she also agreed not to cause trouble for my father.”

“500 gold coins? So that's how little I'm worth. However, with your father involved, I guess that's enough.” Richard smiled self-mockingly and looked at Erin. The smile on his face gradually vanished, and he enquired, “You've sold your first time as well, right? Can you tell me how much you did it for?”

Erin paled in that instant, and hung her head lower. It took her a while to speak, “2000 gold goins.”

“Four normal mana potions,” Richard compared rather brutally. He then pressed on, “Who was it? Why were you willing to earn his money and not mine?”

This was a very old question and one that had been raised before. This time, Erin did not choose to evade it. She seemed to have nothing left to lose, and answered quickly, “Steven, another of Her Excellency's apprentices. I was in urgent need of money then and he made the request right at that time. I... I'm just a normal person living in the borders and somewhat managed to make contact with the nobility. With his power and status, I couldn't reject him.”

“Steven...” Richard contemplated over the name. It was like the most important piece of a puzzle had fallen into place, slowly revealing the outline of a scheme. However, even if he could understand it that violent blood within him was beginning to twitch.

“How much are you now?” Richard's words caused Erin to involuntarily tremble, and as if unable to bear the cold she answered in a whisper, “Besides Steven, there hasn't been anyone else. He sometimes looks for me and gives me 200 or 300 gold coins each time. Sometimes, when I... I'm in dire need, I'll look for him as well...”

“How much are you now?” Richard asked once more.

Erin finally gritted out, “I owe you 1600 gold coins. If it's you, 100 each time.”

Richard slowly reached out and grabbed at the front lapels of her clothing, the violent tendencies ravaging in his chest becoming dangerous and more difficult to hold in. He suddenly wanted to see blood, and the matter that Erin had doing her best to avoid kept replaying in his mind.

“You betrayed me just for 500 gold coins and almost lost me my life?!” Richard gritted out, eyes now bloodshot. He abruptly pulled his hands apart, ripping Erin's sleeping attire in two. He grabbed the girl and walked to the bedroom, tossing her on the bed and pressing down!

Coarse gasps from the depths of the girl's throat mixed with bestial groans to fill every corner of the room. Erin was like a little boat being ravaged by a storm, her body arching and falling repeatedly without her bidding. Her hands gripped tightly on Richard's back, and when it grew hardest to endure she'd left behind ten deep marks of blood there. The great pain caused Richard to cry out, but it seemed to only fuel his fires. Erin's cries rose in pitch as well.

The storm continued for some time, leaving the two with no energy when they finally parted. With how small the bed was they were nestled up to each other, staring at the grey ceiling together. Nobody knew who started it, but the girl talked about herself while Richard listened silently.

Like the protagonist of many stories, Erin came from a small noble family. Her father was a knight from his family, with a small piece of land amounting to two villages. It was situated at the borders of the Sacred Tree Empire, adjacent to Marquess Niall's lands and not too far from Duke Solam's fief. Because Erin's father was thus a vassal of Marquess Niall, she couldn't say no to Minnie or Steven.

Erin's father was extremely taken with the arts, committed to socialising with the upper class. The one thing he was not proficient at was managing his own land, and over time the debts he had fallen into reached an astonishing number that couldn't be returned. Erin had been sent to the Deepblue to study magic at age ten, and she did have good aptitude in the field. However, that was by the standards of her father's lands. She was nothing in the Deepblue, and soon enough she'd used up all of her savings and the financial support from her family grew smaller and smaller. She could only rely on herself to continue her education and mere survival in the Deepblue, and with no money her progress had slowed.

The old knight had no money to support a growing mage in Deepblue, and he also did not want to nurture a great mage. What the knight truly wanted was the name of Deepblue, so that Erin could be sold for a good price. In the terms of the aristocracy, this meant that Erin could get married to a viscount, or be the mistress of some earl or marquess with some power. Without having been in the Deepblue, Erin could only be the wife of a baron, and depending upon circumstances even barons could ask for a dowry.

Hence, Erin used all her might to earn money, all so she could continue to stay in Deepblue. The moment she returned to her family, she would be used as a bargaining chip in a political marriage. On the other hand, there was another reason that the old knight had not forced her to return home. That was because his debts had escalated to a crisis for him, and his land could be taken at anytime. The reason the debtors had not forced the matter to the courts and had him declare bankruptcy was the future mage studying in the Deepblue. They didn't want to offend a possible great mage just to collect debts, so as long as she stayed in the Deepblue they would not go too far. Of course, if she was willing to return, the problem with the debts would also be easily solved. There was already an old widower viscount with ample assets willing to take on the knight's debts, but that was only if Erin agreed to marry him.

Minnie had obviously investigated Erin's background and knew her father's circumstances. If Erin was unwilling to cooperate, then she would use her own family's power and take away the knight's land. The knight had long since lost the means to return his debts, and with all his income going towards the interest he couldn't even keep up with his honourable lifestyle. The loss of his land was the loss of his noble reputation, and be it the knight or Erin herself this would lead to a drop in status.

Minnie had even hinted to Erin that she wanted to make contact with Richard. Making it seem like this was an issue between a boy and a girl, she'd also promised never to hurt Richard. On top of that, wouldn't Her Excellency's might stop her?

“That's why I had no way to reject her.” Having said this, the young girl reached out to grab Richard's hand, caressing the new wounds on his hands and asking, “They didn't do anything too harsh to you, right? Are you injuries serious?”

“It's nothing. Everything's taken care of.” Richard said casually.

He did not state how things had been 'taken care of', nor did he want to explain the process. For Erin, Niall and Solam were two large mountains blocking basically everything in her way. Marquess Niall's battle failures were only news in the aristocracy for now, and there was a long way to go before it reached her ears.

However, despite her reasons, Erin had betrayed him for a mere 500 gold coins. In hindsight her decision seemed quite foolish, because she had no idea about Richard's background or anything about Sharon's relationship with the boy. However, most normal people didn't have as much information when they were making their decisions, so the foolishness or intelligence in those choices boiled down mostly to luck.

For Erin to give up the slight purity and persistence she possessed to Steven, the superficial reason was that she had debts she couldn't repay. However, the true reason for this debt being formed in the first place was that she and her family had no ability to bear the burden of living in the Deepblue.

“Then why don't you return? You can regain your life as a true noble and won't have to suffer so much,” Richard asked.

“No! I'm not going back! That's just a tiny place in the outskirts, and you can't even imagine how dull and boring it is there. Even if I were to marry a viscount, that's only walking from a small village to a slightly larger village! Everyday, I'll live in a dark castle or a villa in a town, dealing with farmers, slaves, and servants. Every other year, I'll have a child and find a few nobles in nearby territories to be my lover. That's the entirety of my life! In my lifetime, I can probably see an earl a few times. Things are different in Deepblue. Every inch of this place here is filled with dreams, and I can see people with great status in the continent here anytime. This is a place that can change my destiny!”

The girl's voice was filled with emotion and earnestness, but that only made Richard silent for a long time.

“Is it that important to stay in the Deepblue?”

“Very much so!”

Having been in the Deepblue for nearly three years, Richard had seen too many people struggling everyday, only so that they could continue staying here. As long as they could stay, they were willing to give up everything. Before this day, Richard had been unperturbed by all this and had no prejudices nor sympathy for these people. Now, however, when the same thing was happening to Erin, he felt a sense of pain in his heart.

Some time later, Richard said dully, “Alright, I understand.”

53 - City of Sin

Burying Boyhood

The candles finally burnt through, and the room descended into darkness. After passing that storm on a scale she'd never experienced before, making her worries and dreams known, Erin began to feel waves of fatigue hitting her. Her eyelids grew heavy as lead, able to finally close without resistance.

The slumber was anything but peaceful, riddled with many strange dreams. Most of them were meaningless and grotesque images, but there was one dream that made her heart skip a beat. In it she owed Richard a great amount of money, and he came every night to collect the debt. Each night he'd 'collect' a number of times, but the debt continued to snowball...

When she opened her eyes once more, Erin was greeted by the sight of a familiar ceiling. The curtains that had been pulled and flattened vigorously the night before, not closed properly yet. Faint light shot down from the window, meaning it was noon in the world outside.

Startled, she quickly sat up. She'd gotten used to a packed schedule so she could alleviate her debts even slightly, and there had never been a day when she'd slept in. It was only once she sat up that she abruptly remembered— where was Richard?

The bed was void of anyone else, and on Richard's side was a piece of paper that looked extremely familiar in style and format.

This was a receipt, a cheque for 31,600 gold coins signed by Richard himself. Even once she paid off her debts this amount would allow Erin to live extravagantly at the border for three years.

The huge sum it represented added great weight to this thin piece of paper. However, even as she held onto this card that would change her fate, Erin's heart was filled with an empty desolation. Tears beaded down her face in large droplets, unable to be stopped.

......

A thin layer of clouds had gathered above Floe Bay, and the sunlight that occasionally passed through it gave the crystalline waves of the great sea a smatter of brightness. The surface may have thawed, but there were still some scattered icebergs that glimmered attractively under the sunshine.

The skies were still dim with the lack of sun, and the winds extremely cold. A gale caught the edges of Richard's long robes, allowing the cold inside and causing the youth to shiver.

Richard was stood by the sea, a cliff only a few metres in front of him that went straight down into the water. The waves crashed into the rugged rocks to cause giant splashes on occasion, some of the surf actually reaching the sides of his feet even though the cliff was high and steep. One had to know Richard was stood about twenty metres away from the sea— the seemingly calm waters occasionally exploded forth with shocking might.

The 'rock' under his feet was a dark reef, many deep crevices within owing to the constant erosion of the waves and the sea breeze. Small white flowers grew at the sides of the rock, a common sight in Floe Bay. The cecilian had the tenacity to grow in any environment, present all year round even in the north where the temperature was below ten degrees for most of the year. The flowers lay frozen in ice at night, but once it melted slightly they would grow frail branches and leaves, bursting forth with life.

Richard wandered aimlessly by the sea, occasionally bending down to pick one of the flowers up. He'd gathered an entire bouquet in a short while; even if the flowers didn't seem gorgeous, when bunched together their plain purity made them look beautiful. He then climbed up a little hill, arriving at an expansive view that allowed him to see the curve of the bay's horizon. Behind him was the majestic Deepblue.

The sea breeze blew into his face, cold and wet. The great waves cried out in a low tone, but nobody could tell what they were saying.

Richard leant over and began to dig at the cold soil with his fingers, creating a tiny pit. He then placed the little bouquet of flowers inside and buried it gently. He suddenly felt much more relaxed when he stood back up. Facing the sea breeze, he took a deep breath of the chilly winds. Right now, he felt like even the strong fishy smell displayed the massive magnificence of Floe Bay...

He turned to leave, dark magic robes flying in the wind. Buried on that hill was the inexperience, purity, and once-beautiful dreams of a youth...

Back at the Deepblue, Richard returned to the places he was most familiar with. Once more he began his tight schedule that any onlookers would find stifling. Erin, Minnie, Blood Parrot, and Steven... if the leads were put together the truth of the matter would be out, and Richard believed that Sharon and the grand mages could see it if he could. Richard had no intentions of taking the initiative and asking how they dealt with the matter, prepared to forget everything and immerse himself in his exploration of magic.

At this point, the youth understood that every step he took forward was a huge blow to opponents like Steven and Minnie. The path to becoming a runemaster was tough, and only one person in the Deepblue would be allowed to walk through. This was a battle that nobody could afford to give up on.

In many situations, strength only had meaning when it was compared. The more powerful one was, the weaker their opponents would be in relation. Richard now understood that the rate of his improvement in the various domains of magic would cause other resolute people to be stifled and feel despair.

A blood-dyed conspiracy gradually disappeared into the dust of history, as if nothing had ever happened. Not even a trace of a rumour about the night had appeared in the Deepblue. No apprentice of Sharon's had faced assassination, and the mage enforcers had never come out to maintain the peace. Nobody took notice of the marks from the flames in the depths of that alley, as if that was just more vandalism by a bored wanderer.

Of course, there had to be consequences. In fact, the consequences of this conspiracy were dire, but the information was only limited to a small number of related personnel. Information brokers were always attentive, and knew very well what could be sold and what would curse their lives. If the higher-ups of the Deepblue had yet to conclude an incident, then it did not exist. It would naturally not be sold.

From the night that contact was lost with Blood Parrot, Steven grew extremely uneasy. Richard's daily routine was as precise as that of a machine, and all aspects of the trap had been arranged flawlessly. If the fish did not bite the bait, then a few other plans would immediately begin.

Things had begun extremely smoothly, and everything had gone according to plan, up till the scheduled time when Blood Parrot had sent a signal that the target had entered the assassination zone.

What came next was the part that Steven was most proud of in this plan. Blood Parrot had once objected, saying the plan was well thought out and made great use of the terrain, but even if it prevented anyone interfering in the assassination by accident it would need seven people to be executed. The target was a mere rank 3 rookie mage, while all of them were assassins above rank 10; just a single person could take care of him. Even without the high costs of using so many people, having so many hitmen sneaking into the Deepblue in a short period of time was also troublesome. However, in the end, Blood Parrot's side still accepted this, because the one who handed out the money was boss.

Based on Blood Parrot's style of killing in one strike and this plan that had been perceived to be excessively well thought out, three minutes was enough no matter how cautious the target was.

Three minutes was just the time to savour a bit of red wine, which was why Steven had poured himself a shallow glass of strong, aged ale. He sat by the window, admiring the night scenery of Floe Bay, swirling his wine and drinking slowly. It had to be said that no matter how terrible a reputation or how evil the grey dwarves were deemed to be, the wine they brewed was of great quality. Steven had been extremely patient and very confident. When dealing with an opponent like Richard, it was never excessive to be cautious. Blood Parrot was a mere assassin, so how could she know the principle of a lion using all its strength to catch even just a rabbit?

He soon saw the bottom of the glass of ale, but there was no news. He'd frowned slightly, but he continued to sit firm in place as Minnie poured him his second glass. That time, it was almost half-full.

The grey dwarves' strong ale was stronger than humans' brandy, and half a glass was enough to get a person with average tolerance drunk. That was why Steven did not drink too quickly. Blood Parrot was a prudent person and had to be carefully cleaning up the area, not leaving behind any traces. This was no small issue. If this were to be exposed, Steven had no idea of how to deal with it.

Using his family and father? That wasn't quite possible. The legendary mage had already used her actions to prove that she was not afraid of shadow antimages, and Duke Solam had unexpectedly donated a huge amount of money to her. That alone spoke volumes about the results of the battle between legends.

However, if he succeeded and was not caught, the situation would completely change. Nobody would suspect a talented runemaster for the sake of the dead person. As for the Archerons, his own family would naturally deal with them. As he'd taken care of an up-and-coming star, the family assembly would probably give him great merit.

Blood Parrot had brought a total of six people. No matter how meticulous one was, using six to kill a rookie mage required not more than ten minutes. Ten minutes was the perfect time to slowly savour half a glass of strong alcohol.

54 - City of Sin

Terror

The bottom of the glass had been seen once again, but there was still no news. Steven had grown slightly dizzy, wondering if he'd drunk the alcohol too quickly. Minnie, on the other hand, poured him another round; this one a full glass. It rekindled the dragon warlock's hope, and he began to savour it slowly once more. This was a critical moment, and every person of greatness would have moments such as this. The commonality between those who were great was that they grew calmer the more crucial it was. Steven, for all his ambitions, had read many biographies at a young age. He naturally knew such things well. He thus kept his cool, remaining proud in his patience.

The glass was emptied again; and filled again, and emptied again. Once he'd gotten through the entire bottle, Steven could maintain his calm no more. It had been two whole hours! That was more than enough to kill an entire street of people! However, the news was like a stone that had sunk into the sea, nowhere in sight. It never came. Be it success or failure, he didn't know!

Cold sweat suddenly broke out and soaked his clothes through. When he raised his head and widened his eyes, he saw a Minnie that was just as pale in his blurred vision holding the empty bottle and trembling slightly. She grew shocked when he grabbed her hand, to the point that the bottle crashed down and shattered to pieces. Steven did not get mad over that, however, instead grasping her hand and stroking it gently.

Minnie's hands were ice-cold in her worry and fear, as if they had just been washed in ice water. In the past she could consider herself separate from the matter and watch on as a bystander, but now she was deeply involved in this conspiracy. Her fate was tightly linked to Steven's own.

Minnie did not even dare consider the consequences of this conspiracy failing. Even Randolph's end wouldn't be a reasonable punishment if she was found out.

“So? Should we flee?” Steven suddenly asked. Fear had already taken over his heart, causing him to lose his rationality. All he wanted now was to leave the Deepblue as quickly as possible and flee to his family's territory. His future, being a runemaster, the glory— everything that he'd once been willing to give up everything for was suddenly so insignificant compared to his life.

On the contrary, Minnie remained calm in this moment. She drew her hand back and grabbed Steven's palm, speaking in as calm a voice as she could muster, “No, we can't flee. Floe Bay is over six thousand kilometres from the Sacred Tree Empire, escape wouldn't be practical. Besides, are you confident in being able to escape a legendary mage? We wouldn't be able to escape even one of the seventeen grand mages for more than a hundred kilometres.”

These words finally calmed Steven down a bit, and he began to count on a fluke, “Perhaps they've already succeeded...” However, halfway through his sentence, he halted. Even when the alcohol had dulled his senses and his mind he knew that conjecture was laughable.

"What should we do now?” Steven was now completely at a loss. Minnie, who still remained calm, was the only thing he could grasp at to steady himself.
f𝔯e𝘦𝒘e𝑏𝙣𝑜𝚟𝚎l. co𝑚

“Don't do anything!”

“Are we just going to wait?”

Minnie shook her head, “Of course not. I'm saying that we can't execute any more schemes to target Richard. Nothing at all. Now, if we want to keep ourselves alive, we can only ask for help from our families. Tell them everything that's happened, and see what they can do for us. If our families are willing to offer enough compensation, then Her Excellency might forgive us.”

Minnie's words left Steven dismayed and full of despair. He hung his head and grasped at his hair, mumbling, “What can they help me with? There's nothing! What I've done is no trivial matter. The person I want to kill is Richard, the legendary mage's little lover! Even Father can't do anything. Though he hasn't said anything, I know that he must have lost the battle with Sharon... Ah, no! There's one more way! Declare war! Declare war on the Deepblue! Deepblue has a bunch of mages, but not enough military! Why didn't I think of this? I should get my father to lead an army to attack the Deepblue...”

Minnie shook Steven as hard as she could, but the dragon warlock's brain had completely been taken over by the alcohol, and the more he said, the louder he got. While this was his personal residence, Minnie was not sure that there was no magic surveillance or any peeping devices secretly installed here.

Declare war? Declare war on the Deepblue? Even if the Deepblue's military power was weak, Solam would have to fight through six thousand kilometres of the Sacred Alliance to get to it!

Seeing that this wasn't enough to stop Steven, Minnie simply carried a basin of ice-cold water and splashed it over his head.

Steven shivered and immediately jumped up. The cold that seeped into his very bones dispelled the effects of the alcohol, and helped him become sober. Seeing the slightly panicked Minnie, he then took another basin of could water and poured it over his head, shaking hard. With a clang, he tossed the copper basin to the ground.

“We haven't reached the point of complete despair yet...” Steven said slowly. While his voice had gone completely hoarse, the dragon warlock could still give confidence. He pondered over this and walked around in circles. The effects of the alcohol were quickly vanishing, and after suppressing the panic and terror that had been difficult to hold in, various ways of dealing with the matter arose in his mind. While the chances of success were miniscule, there was still hope.

After walking a few rounds like this, Steven quickly made a decision, “Every action can be made up for. Prepare some magic paper and a pen for me, I want to write a few letters. You should also write a letter to Marquess Niall. At this point, he shouldn't think this has nothing to do with him!”

Minnie quickly perked up, and prepared everything quickly. Steven sat at the table, his pen flying as he quickly wrote four letters. One was to the duke, and two others to Saint Klaus and his own mother. Unexpectedly, the recipient of the last letter was Blackgold.

After seeing the contents of the four letters, Minnie was silently startled. Steven was basically threatening Duke Solam. If the duke did not help him get past this, then he wouldn't mind making a few things that the duke had been doing public. While he had only touched upon this briefly, even Minnie could see the seriousness of these things done in the dark. While they had nothing to do with the legendary mage, the moment they were made public, the emperor of the Sacred Alliance would immediately be furious. However, the most furious person here would not be that bloodthirsty sovereign of the Alliance, but Peter The Great, Emperor of the Sacred Tree Empire!

The letter to Blackgold was simple. It only showed that Steven was willing to discuss terms with him, and he was willing to consider anything.

Seeing Steven placing the letters into the magic formation, Minnie could not hold it back and asked, “Can this really work? There won't be any turning back for you and your family!”

“Turning back?” Steven sneered, “Only if we can live past this can we even consider turning back.”

55 - City of Sin

Terror

Minnie nodded, spreading out a piece of paper to write a similar letter to her father, Marquess Niall. Having long been abandoned by the man, she had much less of a psychological burden in doing so. Every gold coin she could squeeze out of him would be additional income.

The light of the spell formation suddenly dimmed, completely devouring the four letters. Steven sent out a magic signal of the highest grade, gathering all of his subordinates in the Deepblue to his residence.

Minnie knew the significance of the signal, and could not hold herself back from asking, “Aren't you exposing everyone now?”

Steven glanced at Minnie and then laughed deprecatingly, “Don't be naive. Is there anything we have that they don't know about?”

The dragon warlock subconsciously swivelled the magic ring on his finger, pondering over the current situation, “... Gathering all my people is also actually a show of my stance. It means that I've already completed failed and won't do anything else. Only with this will the other side temporarily set aside thoughts of dealing me a fatal blow right away. Besides, this will also alarm the higher-ups of the Deepblue and make them do something. It would be the most terrifying if they did nothing at all.”

At this point, Steven was basically admitting that all their actions and plans had failed.

However, he thought of another possibility. Within his mind, he cursed at the old mage who had brought him around the Deepblue. It was this silver-tongued old man that had informed him that Richard was a future runemaster, and had also given him some other information. For instance, the fact that Richard was pursuing his education in the Deepblue alone. He had actually believed this and not confirmed it. How could a direct descendant of a large family, who was an important person to be nurtured into a future runemaster, not have helpers by his side?

Steven assumed the helpers the Archerons had sent were twice as strong as the group of assassins that was between levels 10 and fourteen. This might wasn't anything to worry about, but the few people he had by his side couldn't match up to that. He'd just made use of direct violence, something forbidden in the Deepblue, so all the higher-ups had to do was remain silent and not intervene in the upcoming battle... At this thought, the fearless dragon warlock shivered.

A moment later, the warrior from before entered the residence. He looked terrible, his eyes sunken and bloodshot. He'd evidently been anxious throughout the night.

He knelt immediately at the sight of Steven, speaking gravely, “Young Master, there has yet to be any news. I am planning to investigate...”

Steven waved his hand and stopped him, “There's no need to investigate. Bring your people back later, all the orders I had for you are cancelled. Do whatever you wish and act as you normally do when you don't have orders. If... If you hear any news then tell me, but do not look for information. Is that understood?”

The warrior was slightly confused at first, but when he soon understood what Steven was implying he turned more grim than before. Steven glanced at the magic clock, frowning as he asked, “Where's the cleric? Why isn't he here yet?”

Just as Steven was about to get impatient from waiting, the cleric finally arrived. While looking all mysterious, he dragged a large rectangular box and entered, placing it carefully on the ground before bowing to Steven.

“Young master, I discovered this item by chance. It's said that this is a magic puppet that Richard once used, and because there was no value in repairing it, it was going to be sent to be resmelted. However, I thought it was valuable and that you needed to take a look, so I bought it with 30,000 gold coins,” the cleric said.

30,000 gold coins? Even a magic puppet in the Deepblue was worth a mere thousand, much less one that had been beaten up to the point that it was irreparable. This caused the two to grow extremely curious, while only the warrior doubted the price the cleric had paid out of competition. A puppet that cost not more than 2000 gold coins had been bought with 30,000; the discrepancy was too large. Whether the extent or quantity, both had far surpassed Steven's bottom line.

The cleric knew how serious this was, and did not spend any more time keeping this a mystery. He immediately took the puppet out and explained quickly:

The one in charge of destroying and melting this puppet down was an able aide of Blackgold's, and he'd kept muttering to his subordinates that it was extremely strange. Some of the cleric's friends were amongst these subordinates, so the cleric heard about it and rushed over quickly.

The aide was quite similar to the grey dwarf himself; almost stubbornly persistent in obeying the laws of the Deepblue, but affected by a high enough price. Taking a look at the pupper Richard had used, the cleric had decided to bring it back to Steven immediately, so he'd bought it for the unimaginable price of 30,000 gold coins.

The moment the puppet was taken out, the damage marks on it caught Steven's attention. The spots of blood left behind were shocking, causing him to reach out and lightly touch the depressions and cracks on the puppet. He asked the warrior, “What do you think?”

The warrior looked serious, “It doesn't seem like a special move for a specific area, so he should have been hitting it at random. But that strength... It's terrifying! Only trained level 10 warriors can have such explosive strength! This puppet should be about the level of a knight in half-body plate armour; in other words, Richard is strong enough to the point that he can kill a knight with one punch... Isn't he a mage, though?”

Although he'd been quite sure of how the assassination attempt had played out, Steven's guesses took a strange direction once he looked at this puppet. An acolyte with the power of a level 10 warrior? Another chill surged into him. Although it wasn't all that unthinkable—racial gifts, bloodline abilities, and some powerful magic items could provide such pure strength— how many other secrets did Richard have that he didn't know of?

For the first time, Steven felt that he had chosen the wrong opponent. But then again, it wasn't his choice; he was merely an apprentice paying for himself, and Sharon would only nurture one runemaster.

“Why didn't you give it to me earlier?!” Steven yelled at the cleric.

The cleric had nothing to say in response, because he'd only gotten this news that morning. Being able to bring the puppet back was already the most he could do. How could it be done quicker?

When Steven's anger calmed slightly, the warrior reminded him, “Young master, the puppet's head...”

It was only now that Steven realised this was a headless puppet. The head, which should have been the most crucial part, had disappeared, the slit at the neck very smooth. There was no cut from the other side, and it was difficult to determine how it had been sliced off. Seeing Steven's gaze shift in his direction, the cleric immediately said, “The aide said the head was special, so Blackgold took it for himself. He said it was a collectible that could be sold, but it would be very expensive. At least 100,000 coins...”

A very special head?

“I'll give you 150 000. Get me that head!” Steven no longer cared about the costs. At the very least, he wanted to know his opponent well and find out how he had lost, and therefore calculate his next move.
𝒇re𝐞w𝐞𝚋𝒏𝚘ѵeƖ c𝗼𝑚

The cleric took a look at the warrior and suggested, “Young Master, how about having someone else go instead?”

Steven shook his head, saying, “No, you go. I believe in you!”

The cleric left, looking incredibly touched. Right before leaving, he glared hard at the warrior, eyes full of fierceness.

Steven did not have to wait too long. The cleric was back in a mere half hour, a defeated look on his face as he held an intricate locked copper box in hand. He was hesitant, unwilling to open it, but Steven seized it without a word and opened it with a bang, dragging out the head within. He was then stunned.

This was the head of a puppet as bright and clean as a mirror, looking so new it could reflect one's appearance. This was indeed very special compared to the body, but that was because there was no damage whatsoever to it.

“Just this cost 150 000 gold coins?” Steven's voice was so cold that it was like a gale blowing in hell, and sweat soaked the cleric's back as he could only reply in the affirmative.

Steven suddenly burst into laughter and tossed the head of the puppet into the garbage bin in the distance, “Good, you did this well! It's good as long as you could spend the money!”

The warrior and cleric both found this behaviour strange, while only Minnie knew what was going on. However, she could not laugh out like Steven was doing. Every dent, every bit of blood on the body of the puppet weighed on her mind. From this puppet she saw a crazed and animalistic Richard, a volcano about to erupt at any point that he usually kept hidden in the depths of his heart. If she had a second chance, she definitely would not choose an enemy like him, just like Steven who was currently yelling abnormally. Why hadn't they seen this puppet earlier?

That was how Minnie knew that Steven was in an even worse mood. However, the fact that Blackgold was willing to take the money was a silver lining, some good news in the darkness...

In the meanwhile, Blackgold was in a rather good mood as well. Humming a warsong of the Stormhammer tribe, he was organising the Deepblue's accounts. In the small category called unexpected income were two numbers; first 30,000 and next 150,000. He looked at them again and again in satisfaction after writing them, like each was a huge precious stone. The cost of this transaction was less than ten coins, the amount he'd recover for melting the steel from the puppet; to sell something that should have been tossed into a large furnace for such an astronomical figure was like reaching a new realm of artistic attainment. Who said being a financial officer was just about taking charge of the bills?

The additional income had Blackgold's senses soaring, and he did not find this amount of money difficult to deal with at all. Since all the money was going into the Deepblue's warehouse, he was willing to accept the money regardless of the quantity.

56 - City of Sin

Reopening the Gate

No matter how much concentration one had, how slow they were, it wouldn't take too long to write these two numbers down. The grey dwarf unwillingly closed the book of accounts and took out a report related to Richard and began to read. This day-to-day account recorded Richard's daily activities, lessons, and all sorts of expenses, arranged according to time. There was a report similar to this everyday, and there was not much variety in the content. After seeing the densely-packed lessons and experiments, the grey dwarf could not help but feel dizzy. Sometimes, he wondered if Richard was even human or if he was a magic puppet with a refined metal core. Otherwise, how could he spend years studying, studying and studying every single day with basically no time for entertainment?

Even though his own schedule was packed, Blackgold knew well that some of what he called work was extremely entertaining; gemstone appraisal an example. Richard, on the other hand, lived in the most rigorous way that used his time optimally, with no personal hobbies.

Seeing the densely packed day-to-day account, the grey dwarf's breathing involuntarily became rough. Just seeing this list was giving him a huge amount of pressure. If one were to see a list like this everyday, the accumulated pressure would definitely make anyone go mad.

He suddenly sympathised with Steven, thinking that what this guy had done was not as foolish as he had assumed. If he and Steven were in different positions, perhaps the grey dwarf would long since have made a move. Richard was like an ancient behemoth, anything in his way ruthlessly sent flying, and Steven had the misfortune of being right there. Without Richard, then the dragon warlock would likely blossom in the Deepblue. It wasn't his fault that Sharon had such a strange rule as to only allow one apprentice runemaster.

Sometimes, luck was a factor that could decide everything. Steven was obviously an unlucky guy, and his strength... The grey dwarf looked at the day-to-day account again, feeling that Steven did not seem to have the upper hand anymore. With Richard's current progress he would far surpass the dragon warlock when he reached the same age.

The Archerons were a bunch of lunatics, and Richard truly was one of them. Although he only had average magic talent, he was actually able to match up to the others' improvement in mana with just diligence, and his terrifying talent at runecrafting was just incomprehensible.

If that was the case... The grey dwarf suddenly had a whole bunch of thoughts, and his heart began to pound from excitement. In his eyes Steven was a dying mine, but even a mine that was starting to get exhausted could still draw a lot of value. For instance, there would be fragments of ores scattered around the main vein, associated minerals, and even the slag could be used to extract many uncommon metals. Of course, that was only with the smelting techniques of the dwarves. Back in the day, the grey dwarf had started out by buying abandoned mines at a low price.

If Steven could be excavated, he was even more valuable than ten abandoned mines.

The grey dwarf had already thought up quite a few plans and run them through his mind, finding them feasible. Duke Solam would eventually find himself on the losing end in the future, but what could he do? Challenge the Deepblue? That wasn't an option at all. Change the target of his hatred to Richard? Good idea, but a mere viscount of the Archeron Family could defeat an allied army of Solam and Niall. What would he do provoking Gaton, who'd used a mere thirteen rune knights to establish a presence in Faust? The grey dwarf felt like a legendary being wouldn't be that stupid.

The Deepblue continued to operate in peace and order that day, as if none of the disharmonious incidents had occurred. The next day was the same, and the one after that, and the one after that... There was no change whatsoever, as if Blood Parrot and her companions had never appeared in the Deepblue.

Then came the day for Sharon to decide everyone's rewards again. The discussion still occurred in that meeting room with hills and water, and the grand mages were delighted to see Her Excellency having returned to normal... Well, at least her taste had returned to normal; the two large gold pots of fruit next to the soft couch were obvious proof of that.

Her face was shining and her eyes were clear and bright. An astounding amount of vitality emanated from her entire body, which were all obvious proof that even a blind person could tell— the legendary mage who had once been invincible had not only returned, but her energy was so abundant that it was as if she had just gnawed at a huge, nutritious dragon.

A huge, nutritious... the grand mages all associated this with something in their minds.

The grey dwarf was exceptionally lively today, and gave a lengthy report at thrice the usual speed. He also occasionally used vigorous body language to reinforce his words. This was because he was going to be met with opposition from basically all the grand mages today, and his will to fight for this was therefore exceptionally high.

Actually, the main content of his report was simple. He kept chattering for Sharon to give Steven a chance: while the warlock's actions to date had completely crossed the Deepblue's bottom line, the grey dwarf had another point of view.

He felt that there was no proof that Blood Parrot and her people had anything to do with Steven. Erin and Minnie were only somewhat involved in the matter of the assassination of Richard, and with Blood Parrot and her people all dead there wasn't the testimony to convict Steven. Of course, there was enough evidence to indicate that the dragon warlock had done many things in the shadow targeting Richard, but this could be punished in a more gentle manner, such as with a 'reasonable' amount for a fine.

The grey dwarf kept emphasising that Steven was very talented, and those with talent should not be given up on so easily. Richard had yet to fully prove his talent as a runemaster, which was why the door in this path was still open to Steven.

All of the grand mages were shocked by the grey dwarf's vigour. However, besides volume, the grey dwarf's logic just could not stand. If Richard's prior achievements weren't proof of his talent, then what was? Blood Parrot had disappeared in Naya's territory, and Richard had been studying with the man. This meant there was an 80 or 90% chance of the Blade of Calamity having done it, so if any of the grand mages went to the scene they could basically piece together the events of that night. The records of the mage enforcers having been moved could not be wiped away, and they had obviously been ordered to keep silent. That could be taken care of with just a word from Her Excellency Sharon.

The grand mages were no fools. While they listened to the grey dwarf's speech full of loopholes and conflicts, most focused their attention on the legendary mage, though there was a small number of people who suspected he was doing this for his own gain.

Richard obviously was favoured by Sharon, and had had intimate relations with the legendary mage on the Day of Destiny. However, she seemed to have a very ambiguous stance here. Rather than reprimanding the grey dwarf for his over the top and clumsy performance, she even seemed to be encouraging him. What Steven had committed was not a small crime, because he had wanted Richard assassinated!

The strange situation told them there had to be some other secret here, so they all waited calmly for what was to come. When the grey dwarf threw out his final suggestion, everyone came to a sudden realisation.

57 - City of Sin

Subject

The grey dwarf proposed a six month grace period for both Steven and Richard, after which the two would compete again in a subject of Sharon's choosing. Hopefully, both would use the extra time to improve on and refine their preparations, the outcome of the battle determining which of the two would eventually inherit Sharon's runecrafting expertise.

The grand mages all realised that Blackgold's proposal for a six month grace period was self-serving. In all honesty, this proposal would give him an extra half year of fees from Steven. Could it be that Her Excellency's finances had deteriorated to that extent? Yet, such doubts were immediately rebuffed. The legendary mage's finances were robust; it was only the Deepblue that was struggling to make ends meet.

For many materialistic people whose primary objective in life was to amass wealth, time was an extremely precious resource. This was especially true for time in a primary plane like Norland, so without a split second to spare in the legendary mage making decisions a delay was inconceivable. The subject of the competition was decided in that very meeting.

Both this decision and the topic of the competition were sent to the participants the same day, a copy sent to Minnie as well. Of course nobody harboured any hope for Minnie; the top hierarchy of the Deepblue had long since received news of Marquess Niall's defeat. The news had spread from the grand mages to the outer circle of disciples, and Richard was starting to be viewed in a new light. Before he'd just been a fellow with some talent who'd had the good fortune to win Her Excellency's affection. Now, with the explosive rise of the Archerons, nobody in high society would dare look down upon him. At the very most, they would only scoff behind his back about his upstart origins.

As day turned to night, explosive cheers burst forth from within Steven's mansion. Clutching the documents with some disbelief, the dragon warlock read over them again and again to confirm that it wasn't a dream. For the first time, he felt Sharon had affection for him as well. Forget any penalties, the bloody conspiracy hadn't even been brought up once.

Just like that, the affair he was most concerned about passed. Since the top hierarchy of the Deepblue had agreed upon the result, the Archerons or even Richard himself would not pose a threat of retaliation. The thing giving him most jubilation was that the doors of runecrafting had been opened to him once more, giving him and Richard a fair fight.

Was that even fair? Steven didn't think so for a moment.

He was a seventeen-year-old dragon warlock over level 10, with the financial backing of his entire family. More important was that he had a true blue runemaster backing him, and while the competition was six months hence the subject had already been made known. Everything worked to encourage him to cheat! He could leave any manufacture of components and purchase of materials to his family, and the development and design of the rune itself to Saint Klaus. Six months would be enough for him to improve on any weaknesses and manufacture a proper magic rune!

Two metal cages were added to his residence. One was built to contain magical beasts, specifically a powerful winter wolf. The winter wolves of the north were two metres long, and this one was amongst the most ferocious of its kind. It had tough flesh alongside the natural ability to cast frostbite and ice arrows. Old, powerful wolves could even spout freezing breaths!

In the other cage were a few strong, stout, polar snow rabbits. This particular type of rabbit had snow-white fur that gave it excellent defence against the cold, and they bred extremely quickly. However, apart from being lightning fast on their feet, they did not have any real means of attack. Snow rabbits were a common beast in the north, amongst the most elementary of prey on the food chain. They made up most of the winter wolves' diet.

This was Sharon's competition: craft a rune that would allow a snow rabbit to defeat a winter wolf. Although it seemed deceptively easy, it was not easy to resolve.

The winter wolf was far stronger in battle, and it didn't even fare too badly in terms of speed. The rabbit was weak and small in front of the wolf that could attack upto thirty metres away, and its frail body made it difficult to slot runes on it. The rabbit was literally hapless in the face of a winter wolf: this task was clearly not something an elementary runemaster could succeed at.

Yet, even the most difficult of problems had their solutions. If even Saint Klaus couldn't solve this, Steven believed Richard wouldn't be able to either. Moreover, the rules had been made very clear: if the snow rabbits of both parties failed to defeat the wolf the winner would be decided upon at discretion.

After a period of initial ecstasy, a calmer Steven begin to seriously consider the topic assigned by the legendary mage. On the day of the competition, the winter wolves provided by the Deepblue would definitely have similar strengths, but the participants would choose their own rabbits. Like any beasts rabbits varied in size and strength, and because they needed to withstand a rune they would eventually undergo several rigorous rounds of selection to result in rabbits of different power. Six months would be enough time to breed two generations of completely new snow rabbits, and the accumulated knowledge of the Solams could easily produce beastly rabbits in that time. Steven was confident that he could definitely have a very surprising edge over Richard.

Even though breeding a beast with a new genetic make-up required heavy investment, that would not deter Steven at this juncture. Were he to win the battle, all his efforts would have paid off. Of course, the beasts in the two cages had been provided by the Deepblue free of cost for experimentation, but after that buying more would definitely be a huge expense. It would be more feasible to catch his own.

When one was in desperate straits, even a slight mirage of hope would allow them to burst forth with the full extent of their capabilities. This was something Steven was experiencing right now; although he'd already accepted his loss in terms of talent, in the face of this new opportunity his family's status and finances forced some determination into his path as a runemaster.

A note about the latest developments had been sent back, along with a letter expressing Steven's resolve to devote himself to magic once again. It didn't take long for the magic communication array to light up, sending a leaf with a magic letterhead back over. This was written by the duke himself, concise and straight to the point. The Solam Family would henceforth wholly support Steven's endeavours for the competition, on the one request at the end that Steven wouldn't commit such a folly again.

Steven understood what that meant— Gaton's deeds had already spread through the mainland, and now the Archerons were no inferior to the Solams in status. If he did something foolish like try to assassinate Richard again, nobody would be able to save him.

And Steven was determined to beat Richard this time fair and square, with proper means. Sharon may favour the boy, but her taste... was a little strange. The dragon warlock felt like since the legendary mage would let Richard in, he himself could have a chance in the future. He had absolute confidence in himself, so he would wait for such a day. However, one thing was that he would find it impossible to put on a manly front with her unless she was willing to contain her dragonslayer aura. However, it seemed quite improbable for such an aura to even be contained.

......

Richard was crouching down in front of two metal cages in the basement of his residence, observing the snow rabbit and the winter wolf. Sharon's decision had definitely thrown him off, even made him feel wronged and resentful initially, but once he got to solving the problem he slowly pushed those things to the back of his mind. He immersed himself into the world of runes.

Having already gone through the entire dictionary of elementary runes, he hadn't found any that could allow a snow rabbit to defeat the winter wolf. The wolf had a strong resistance to poisons, so even if it were to swallow one infected with a potent poison it would only feel some mild discomfort in its stomach with no serious repercussions.

Richard continually flipped through the thick pages, unable to find any usable rune even at grade 2. It wouldn't be until grade 3 that multiple attributes could be added, and only at the fifth grade could one stimulate the blood. An example of the latter was the holy equipment crafted by Saint Peter, able to strengthen all divine creatures.

Richard closed the book, taking his eyes off the dazzling names at the back to train his attention on the cages once more. He'd only crafted a half-finished rune at best so far, and even with his rate of progress he'd barely be able to make grade 1 runes in half a year, forget grades 2 or 3. However, Sharon would definitely not have given him an impossible challenge; it left Richard pondering.

There were endless possibilities in the world of runes, the existing runes but a small and insignificant part of the whole. All runemasters who left their own indelible marks on the world had one common characteristic— they were unique in their own ways, without imitating anyone else. This had made Richard grow pensive; since it was impossible to solve the problem with normal runes, he would need to think out of the box.

Innovation was an everlasting theme in the world of runes, and Richard's thoughts eventually gained some clarity. This was only a test from Sharon, to ascertain whether he possessed the one quality that would allow him to grow beyond even a saint runemaster— innovation.

Becoming a saint runemaster could not be the end of his progress— the Deepblue Aria exceeded the scope of fifth grade runecrafting. Even if he was only a humble apprentice of Sharon's, Richard's pride motivated him to dedicate his entire life to fulfilling his promise to her. To him, this promise was second only to his mother's dying wish.

It would take a long time for the boy to realise that this sort of pride, radiating from his very soul, came from his Archeron blood.

58 - City of Sin

Preparation

Everyone felt the flow of time differently. Some would feel like it flew by like a white steed, while to others it was as slow as an earth elemental in its corresponding plane— a thousand Norland years for just a kiss, so slow it made one angry. Receiving the topic of the competition from Sharon, both Steven and Richard began to strive towards the target.

Actually, Richard did things as per normal, and there was not much of a change in his lifestyle and daily routine. Even his training in magic and meditation was not interrupted, with just a slight alteration to his schedule. A part of the time he normally spent on magic philosophy was now spent on runes.

Richard soon found himself heading in the wrong direction. Some of his classes in rune design were about analysing the classics of his predecessors and understanding their great designs. He had to turn back and flip through some fundamental theories, being startled to find that— regardless of how complex and astounding a rune was— at its core it came from an understanding of magic. This told him it wasn't spell formations he lacked knowledge of, instead a philosophy of magic that would be more useful in his creations.

In the meanwhile, he began to touch on creating and attaching rune slots. A rune could only display its uses after being fixed to the snow rabbit, and a full slot could be attached to the target and eventually become a part of its body like a tattoo. The step past this was to draw the rune directly on the target, completely integrating the rune with it in an unrivalled manner.

Besides this, creating a whole new rune meant the study of magic ingredients was essential. Finding out which ingredients could produce the corresponding results was not as simple as it looked. Even the same magical being could have different reactions to magic based on which part of the skin was used. There were also up to a hundred ways of hide tanning, and that could produce thirty to forty magic hides with various magic properties. The decorations and materials for runes numbered over a thousand, and with the processing midway and at the end, as well as the unique methods that every grandmaster-level runemaster would have, there was an unimaginably large number of combinations.

Richard explored this vast maze of knowledge, studying and practicing the fundamental techniques required for creating runes. He was very patient, not the least bit anxious as he moved forward step by step. At the most, he would review the effects of his learning in the past a few days before, and then adjust his schedule slightly.

To be honest, there were numerous shortcuts that could be taken in terms of procuring magic ingredients. For instance, he could have requested aid from the family. The Archerons were a model example of a family with recent success, and they could supply Richard with materials and processed items that were definitely ten times or even more stronger than the ones he made himself. Steven's intricate blazing earth dragon hide was a first-rate material, but it was something the Archerons could give as well.

However, Richard would rather use ordinary magic beast hide that was 1500 times cheaper than take one from Gaton. Even though he clearly knew the importance of using high-grade magic ingredients in completing quality runes, he stubbornly disregarded this little convenience and searched a way for himself to move forward.

......

Steven was busy in a whole other way. He would exchange letters with Saint Klaus practically everyday, discussing about the runes needed for the snow rabbit. He also began to delve deeper into an understanding of these runes.

Sharon's theme was also difficult for Saint Klaus. Of course, the difficulty was in Steven's limited technique in drawing runes. Saint Klaus not only had to find the solution to this, but also had to ensure that this was something that Steven could accomplish now.

A few days after the topic was set, this runemaster who had been famous for decades created ten or so feasible rune blueprints, but after evaluating them he found that none of them could be drawn by Steven. Hence, while Saint Klaus thought up new methods, he urged Steven to practice more in this area, and gave him ten or so practice session in drawing parts of magic formations. While there had yet to be a way to solve the issue, he had a general idea. These ten or so parts of magic formations would be of some use in the future.

The consumption of a long-distance dispatch spell formation, especially one that spanned over an exceptionally long distance of five thousand kilometres, was immense. However, in comparison to the first batch of specially-created magic ingredients that the Solam Family had scheduled to be sent to Deepblue, the few thousand gold coins from a dispatch was nothing much.

Duke Solam gave Steven a million gold coins in advance so that he could buy materials within the Deepblue. The modification and nurture of the snow rabbits would be a tremendous expense, and with a limit of half a year the cost would greatly increase. It would take over three million coins to develop a powerful magical beast that was still a snow rabbit.

In actuality, the reason why the items in the Deepblue were tenfold or more expensive than in the outside world was because the quality of items here was far superior. In Duke Solam's eyes, the prices in the Deepblue were still reasonable. While the Deepblue was becoming increasingly prosperous every year, there was a limit to their products and based on their contracts they would only supply items to the Sacred Alliance. Any remainder would then be released to the mass market. In the world outside, the Deepblue's items were usually high-grade goods that could not be bought easily even when one had enough money to do so. As the Solam Family's young generation was the legendary mage's direct apprentice, they had somewhat joined ranks with the Deepblue's clientele. Duke Solam and his allied family had deemed it beneficial just from this point alone.

In less than a month after the money was sent to Steven, the aid of the Solam Family that came in supplies reached Deepblue. Along with the arrival of the magic supplies was an additional two million gold coins, because the Deepblue's midsummer festival that came once every four years was fast approaching.

The midsummer festival wasn't something traditionally celebrated on the continent, instead a large-scale magic material auction within the Deepblue. It had been held thrice before, and this was the fourth. Each of the three auctions had been increasingly sensational, with the third even attracting the interest and participation of even the largest families of the Sacred Alliance. It was said that many bigshots of the three empires had been sent to take part this time.

The midsummer festival was definitely no ordinary auction. While the format was about the same, the Deepblue and the suppliers it had invited would supply the main goods, while those who participated would also bring their own materials and request an exchange. Most of the time, gold was not the main way of settling the bill. Precious and rare materials were usually exchanged with items. The fundamental reason why the Deepblue's midsummer festival was not ordinary was actually because it was a lavish occasion once every four years. Even the legendary mage herself would open her personal warehouse and select some materials to be auctioned off publicly.

Anything that was hoarded by the legendary mage was definitely not a commonplace item. Due to the her unique tastes, there was a large number of things related to dragons in her personal collection. As long as it had to do with dragons, any material was great. For the true old aristocracy and powerful beings in the continent, gold was nothing, and these top-grade materials were items one could only hope to even see and not obtain. How could anyone miss this opportunity to use gold to obtain first-rate materials?

59 - City of Sin

Sunk Cost

Not just anybody could get a hold of dragon materials. Even a new legendary being would have to be quite cautious dealing with one, and such an act would leave them constantly on guard against the dragons' vengeance.

Still there was a fair number of people in Norland capable of killing dragons, but few also had a passion for collecting treasure. This was why the midsummer festival had grown popular, its scale far surpassing that of the large auctions of the three human empires. The supply of top-grade materials available at it far surpassed the others in both quality and quantity.

Blackgold had long since busied himself on this front. The festival this year would be three times larger than the last one based just on the invitations the Deepblue had sent out directly. The difficulty and complexity of the preparations had increased more than tenfold.

The Deepblue's main tower and even the borders needed to be cleared out to make space for the aristocrats on their way. Many caravans, servants, warriors, and mercenaries would be relegated to the villages nearby, and the dwarf had already commissioned over ten thousand slaves and a thousand artisans to build three new towns they could rent out. Once the midsummer festival was done, these new towns could house new immigrants.

The Deepblue was bustling with life, and the function of the harbour began to show itself. The south knew of the products and prosperity of the north, so even before peak season huge fleets almost filled the entire harbour up one by one. The farsighted dwarf had already begun expansion works, making use of the festival to let the aristocracy see the value of the produce in the north. Top-grade materials were a brand in itself, and large supplies of basic items would make good profit. This was a flood of gold coins!

The moment the Deepblue's power surpassed a certain point, the ambitious grey dwarf was going to consider expansion into the northern continent. Indeed, the northern continent was ruled by the mighty and merciless grey dwarves and beastmen, but the grey dwarves too were known for being able to be bribed. Blackgold was prepared to use his unique status and progressively invade the grey dwarf tribes. His final target was to buy the Stormhammer tribe!

However, while the blueprint was grand, the most important work to do was make inventory of the items that the legendary mage was preparing to toss out and auction off. Blackgold had to categorise them and appraise their value so that he could determine the starting price for the auction. Then, he would hand it to the artist who would make the catalogue for the auction. There was not much time left.

All sorts of strange and unfathomable items were piled into a room that was over a hundred square metres in area, forming a heap nearly ten metres tall. Buried underneath these miscellaneous items, there was actually a complete set of bones! If any necromancer was to see this, they would go crazy over this. However, the grey dwarf had a different attitude towards it. In front of this huge pile of treasure that he had to gaze up at, he found that he was extremely small. Clearing and categorising them was definitely not going to be easy.

Blackgold was the one with the least helpers amongst the grand mages, to the point that once he'd arranged for everything else he didn't have one extra person with him. As he began labelling a meteorite, he began considering getting another helper for the first time. However, at the thought of the gold coins he would have to pay out of his own pocket for that, the grey dwarf resolutely shook his head and put more effort into work.

The legendary mage's choice of auction items had been very simple. She just wanted to dump everything that was either about to expire, had an unknown function, looked annoying, or just took up too much space. Her own trove had evolved with time, and with the increasing number of items an increasing number of precious resources such as materials from rare animals grew in number. Another asset was minerals not native to Norland, as well as magic crystals which were a currency of the powerful. The number of precious items had grown to the point that they needed to be cleared out; the semi-plane serving as the legendary mage's warehouse wasn't all that big, and there would eventually come a day when it was filled up.

The set of dragon bones, for example, had been Sharon's most precious treasure twenty years ago. Now, it had turned into trash that was using up precious space.

From the items auctioned away at the midsummer auction that happened once every four years, people could trace and deduce the general strength and wealth of the legendary mage. As the items became more abundant and rare, the Deepblue gave the arrogant powerful beings of the continent a clear message that the legendary mage's strength was still quickly rising. Hence, after every midsummer festival, the Deepblue would welcome four years of increased prosperity.

The midsummer festival was truly a large event for the Deepblue. It was a chance to soar, able to make dreams come true as one could exhibit their abilities. Most aristocrats used the event to expand their networks, while ordinary people got a rare chance to make contact with those in power. This was a chance for them to achieve their dreams. The midsummer festival was also a time for a flood of alcohol, and a time when many young girls were dragged to bed, willingly or unwillingly.

In actuality, the Deepblue had begun making preparations for the midsummer festival three months ago. However, for Richard and Steven, this had been deemed pointless. Normally Richard progressed at a speed that would stifle anyone, while Steven was suffering as he balanced strengthening his body and striking his opponent. However, now that he was using the strategy of utilising gold to widen the path in front of him, Steven began to value the midsummer festival for the first time. If he could get a few top-grade magic materials from the legendary mage's personal auction items, that would have a decisive effect on the results of the competition.

While Steven currently lacked the technique and could not use quite a few methods that Saint Klaus had come up with, the concept of the design was still of value. If he could find specific precious materials and use natural qualities to make up for the technical aspects, he would be effective.

If he obtained an ice dragon tooth, for instance, the snow rabbit would gain a large increase in its cold resistance. It would also give it the ability to use frostbite and icicle blasts. On the other hand, a fire dragon hide would give it total immunity to the cold, rendering the winter wolf's innate spells useless. The crystal core of an abyssal rot-consuming monster would allow the rabbit to spray out corrosive acid that would leave even polar mammoths with several deep holes in their bodies, forget a measly winter wolf.

Another property of rare materials was that they could lower the difficulty of runecrafting greatly. For example, if the fire dragon hide was a hundred percent resistant to cold, the snow rabbit would only need a rune that would impart about 10% resistance to become completely immune, the rest taken care of by the hide itself. In other words, since the material itself was powerful, the effects of just a small amount would be able to meet Saint Klaus' requirements. That could also lower the difficulty to doable levels. Steven had already heard from Blackgold that amongst the items to be dumped from the legendary mage's personal cache was a large number of dragon materials.

This was actually a cheap trick, a very wasteful method. However, since the Solam Family had already invested tens of millions of gold coins to nurture a runemaster, they did not mind adding in two or three million more. If not, the amount they had invested would become pointless. The grey dwarf had zeroed in on this, which was why he had incited the legendary mage to re-pick her runemaster apprentice in a competition that would take place half a year later. In order to obtain this placement, the Solam Family would definitely continuously pour money into the Deepblue.

The situation had developed just as the grey dwarf had expected. That was why, during one of the internal meetings, the grey dwarf had proudly introduced the results to date, and also invented a term just for the tens of millions of gold coins that the Solam Family had invested previously: the sunk cost. In the grey dwarf's point of view this was like a huge warship sunk deep inside the Floe Bay; although it having sunk meant all previous investment had come to naught, it would still be able to drag more ships to the bottom. Sunk cost was what made many people walk further and further down the path of ruin.

The grand mages expressed their shock with a lack of words. Who knew that Blackgold had actually come up with such a theory to gain gold unscrupulously through conspiracies? They couldn't help but change their view of the dwarf. Although they'd worked together for over a decade, their deep-rooted prejudices against his race had never been diluted. Although the Deepblue flourished immediately upon his appointment as financial officer, they all just thought this was due to Sharon's strength and not his skills.

In the past decade, the grey dwarf had been doing all he could to change this view of him, to show them that a finance officer didn't just do the accounts.

The upper class people had their politics, the middle class had their stresses, while those at the bottom only needed to do what was expected of them, and they did not even need to do it well. If they could not even meet the requirements, then they had two choices. One was to fall to the bottommost layer of the social hierarchy, and the other was to mess up the hierarchy by breaking the rules. With violence, they could overthrow what had been the upper class, sending them to the bottom and obtaining their power.

This was the law of the jungle, how things worked anywhere, be it the Deepblue, the Sacred Alliance, or anywhere else in Norland.

To some extent, even if Richard qualified to be a personal apprentice of Sharon herself he needed to rely on her for study materials. He was definitely in the lower strata. Steven, continuously obtaining the aid of his family was in the middle class of this hierarchy. When these individuals of different levels met on the eve of the midsummer festival, they obviously didn't feel good about it.

60 - City of Sin

Conflict

Richard hated it when people blocked his way; it reminded him of Papin.

Even if Papin's moronity was a feat in itself, he'd still managed to interrupt the first anniversary of his mother's death. The blow it had dealt was far worse than anything Steven had ever done, even if Richard was just as eager to get rid of Steven because of the events with Erin.

Truth be told, Richard thought nothing of the assassination attempt. He knew fully well that he would need to get on the battlefield at some point, and when compared to the conquests of planes this mere assassination wouldn't even be considered child's play. The only thing he'd retained was Naya's brutal interrogation of Blood Parrot. He still had no idea whether the Blade of Calamity had gleaned any information or he didn't care and just wanted to prepare him for the blood he'd see in the future.

And yet, despite Richard not liking his path being blocked, it was blocked all the same. And the person ahead was the one he least wanted to see— Steven.

The dragon warlock still had on a graceful smile, reaching a hand out to Richard with flawless elegance in his posture, “Long time no see, Richard. Are you here for a catalogue of the auction as well?”

Richard looked at Steven's face and then the proffered hand, having no plans to shake it as he spoke bluntly, “What do my actions have to do with you? The only way your smile will grow wider is if you never see me again.”

Steven's smile immediately froze, astonishment and fury appearing on the faces of his attendants. Nobody would have thought that Richard would not give him any face. At the very least, such unreasonable words and actions were not fitting of someone who was a noble. Solam and Archeron were both now large noble families with power, even if Gaton was the only person with such power on the Archeron side.

This was one of the primary paths to the midsummer festival, so it was bustling with activity. Since it was so close to the festival already, there were more foreigners here. Perhaps it was because of a lack of wealth and status, but they hadn't entered the Deepblue itself yet. They had still come to stroll around, however, perusing the market prices and broadening their horizons. From the borders to the lower floors of the main tower were stalls for travelers; even if these weren't items from the Deepblue itself they couldn't be lacking in quality given where they were sold. Google search 𝐟r𝚎ewe𝚋𝚗૦ν𝘦𝘭. 𝐜𝚘𝗺

A crowd began to gather as tensions almost erupted. However, this was in line with Steven's plans; he wanted to provoke Richard and humiliate him in public, even if that would be of no assistance in winning the competition. Hence, Steven immediately curbed his fury and retracted his hand calmly, continuing to speak in a poised manner, “I finally understood why the Archerons could rise so quickly. Not just anyone can complete a path that other families spend thousands of years working on in just a few decades.”

The onlookers immediately chuckled quietly. The reputation of the Archerons had spread throughout the Sacred Alliance with their sudden rise, the news making its way to the other two empires as well.

Richard remained stoic in the face of the provocation, however, unagitated as he gazed straight into Steven's eyes, “The Archerons are hypocritical to their true opponents by custom.”

Steven immediately turned pale, while his subordinates could no longer hold it in. A warrior took a step forward, hand on the hilt of the sword at his waist as he shouted in fury, “You dare humiliate the Solam Family? How gutsy!”

Richard didn't even glance at the warrior and continued to look straight into Steven's eyes, “I thought the previous events had made you a little smarter, but who knew you'd continue to be as foolish as before. Is the pressure so immense that you couldn't sleep if you didn't see my reaction?”

“Haha, I have no idea of what you're talking about!” Steven burst into laughter, but he obviously looked unnatural.

Richard's counter was like an attack from an assassin, unexpected but fatal. This was something that Steven, who was used to the method of refined ways of the upper-class who hid their intentions, found difficult to adapt to. Every word from Richard hit right where it hurt, and did not leave any leeway.

The bystanders quietened down, waiting to watch the show.

“If you don't know who Blood Parrot is either, then watch your dog lest it run around and create a ruckus. I'm not the one who'll be embarrassed.” Watching Steven's face that had suddenly gone steely, Richard did not ease up, “Besides, I really have no idea where your courage and self-confidence comes from. It seems like Solam and Archeron just fought a war. I wonder what the results are?”

“That's Alice Archeron, not Gaton!” Steven snickered.

“Indeed,” Richard nodded.

The watching crowd burst into collective laughter, and only then did Steven realise what he had said. If it had been Gaton, then the allied armies of Solam and Niall would long since have been destroyed. The fight wouldn't have drawn out so long.

Of course, the other nobles of the Sacred Tree Empire wouldn't have just watched as Gaton strolled up into the battle. A small bandit like Alice was just a gust of wind to them, but someone of that sort of power would be an invader. Politics was very complicated.

Ignoring that, however, the results had been quite simple. It was an ironclad fact that a second tier viscount of the Archeron Family had brutally destroyed an army made of Marquess Niall's entire forces and soldiers from Duke Solam.

The laughter that nobody held back made Steven more keenly aware that this was not Solam's territory, and not everyone would give Duke Solam face. At least, those who dared laugh were definitely not afraid of the Solam Family. What made this worse was that a fair number were laughing.

Steven barely suppressed the fury surging in his heart, and actually had no idea of what to say in that moment. He was well-acquainted with the rules of battles between true aristocrats, and he could grasp timings well. However, Richard completely disregarded the laws and said whatever he wished, each word condemning him and revealing the filthiest and darkest secrets casually. Was he not afraid of being laughed at?

That was what made him depressed. The Archerons had long since been labelled upstarts, and their reputations couldn't get any worse. However, the Solam Family had had eight centuries worth of history, significant even if they couldn't be considered ancient. Steven would not win in slinging insults; he didn't want to lower his standards to the level of one of those lunatics. Besides, the most recent war had Solam on the losing end, and his title of being the most powerful weapon and threat in this war had become empty.

Everyone knew that it was best not to threaten the Archerons with war. They were a bunch of maniacs, and if they would respond to that threat. Marquess Niall was a prime example of that.

Going by the unspoken rules of the age of his family, Steven should have left with magnanimity and pride at this point. Nobles were different from commoners; they resolved conflicts through battles on the field and in court. Bravery and power— those were the domains of nobles, and any humiliation if he left now would only be superficial.

However, Steven was not even eighteen yet. He couldn't hold it in, asking, “I heard you and that girl called Erin have something going on. That was a praiseworthy decision, she's pretty good.”

Richard's eyes flashed and then dimmed down, before he regained clarity and calmness in his gaze. He nodded with composure, “I agree with what you said, but what I'm worried about isn't that. How are you preparing to clean up after yourself if you lose the competition?”

Steven's eyelid twitched, and he then laughed calmly, “If? Sounds as if there's really an 'if'...”

Without waiting for Steven to finish speaking, Richard interrupted him, “There may be people more talented than me at runecrafting, but you definitely aren't among them. Think carefully about what you're going to do if you lose.”

Steven was left with nothing to say. This was a truth even he couldn't deny— the only hopes he himself had for the competition was a large amount of resources, his family's strength, and possible favouritism from Sharon. However, Richard's words had made him think about the circumstances he had not dared even think about. What would happen the moment he lost? The Solam Family's total investment in him was nearing twenty million gold coins, and even his mother and Marquess Niall combined couldn't shoulder the burden if he lost.

Now, he was confronted with a nightmarish possibility. What if the Archerons were supporting Richard? What if Sharon was biased towards him instead? That evaluation of ''tender and delicious' was a trauma weighing down on him, refusing to dissipate.

Besides, the battle of rune knights in Niall's lands had shown that the Archeron runemasters far surpassed Saint Klaus, at least in battle might. Although Klaus called himself a saint, he wasn't even near the ranks of a great runemaster yet. There was at least one in the Archeron Family.

This thought told Steven his chances of winning weren't as high as he'd assumed. Although there were still a few months until the competition, and he had some time, this time used up so many resources that it created a downward spiral. The more he didn't want to lose, the greater his investment... He suddenly felt like half a year was far too much time.

After seeing Steven's expression, Richard chuckled and continued on the route he had planned out. The dragon warlock walked to the side and gave way; continuing to create a ruckus would only insult his own family. He'd seen some familiar faces amongst the onlookers, people he'd seen before on all sorts of reports that were true bigshots.

Richard's words were like a barbaric punch that broke magnificent tinted glass, revealing the true cruelty of the world to him. Steven had been doing all he could to avoid this matter, there was no good thinking about unbearable consequences since that would only disturb him and hinder his progress, but now the darned kid had made him feel uneasy. It made him furious.

Richard halted his steps as he passed the warrior, looking up to examine his face. The warrior suddenly felt like the boy had turned into an unsheathed dagger, so sharp it made him uneasy. It was as if he'd gotten too close to a deadly beast. He subconsciously took a step back, and slightly unsheathed his blade.

Richard currently had mixed feelings. Given Eruption and Precision he had at least five methods of hurting the warrior greatly in such close quarters. This was actually an issue; it made him fear that he really would act if his violent bloodline erupted one day. He wasn't skilled enough to do such a thing with ease, so the moment he acted he would find it difficult to save the situation.

However, Richard still had control himself, which was why he acted as if he had not seen the blade and continued gazing at the man, speaking calmly, “A dog is a dog. Even if my face is right here for you, you wouldn't have the guts to hit it.”

The warrior immediately turned red, turning towards Steven. The warlock's features twisted as well, his breathing turning coarse. Still he just shook his head with resolution, causing the warrior to push his blade back into its scabbard even as his face turned redder. He watched Richard leave, pace quick but even.

The bystanders broke out into discussion. While they weren't loud, they completely disregarded Steven and his people. They hadn't lowered their voices, so the content of the conversations would leave nobody from the Solam Family happy. However, the warrior had lost the courage to pull out his sword. Not considering whether there were tyrants of the continent here who could fight with Solam himself, there were still many who could kill him with one blow. He recognised the emblems of the Archeron Family and its allies nearby; the only reason they hadn't acted yet was Sharon, not Solam.

Steven did not say a word, leaving with his entourage with a wave of his arm. He didn't even bother getting a catalogue for the auction.

After they got to a quiet place with no people, the warrior finally could not help but ask, “Young Master, why didn't you let me kill him? Just put all the blame on me when the time comes!”

Steven looked grim and did not answer, while the cleric snickered, “Immature! Did you think that if you were to act, you'd be able to take on all the responsibility? With how the Archeron Family works, they'll declare war on Solam regardless of the reason, even if Young Master gives them your head.”

Steven sighed and looked at the warrior, “All those with the Archeron name are lunatics. Stop provoking him. This is the Deepblue, not our territory. You've been with me for so many years, and I don't want you to get into trouble.”

The dragon warlock looked gloomy as he walked towards his residence. The warrior was the last to move, and he watched the traces of ridicule and gloom that flashed in the cleric's eyes.

61 - City of Sin

Mountainsea

With that little episode done, it was almost time for the midsummer festival. The atmosphere both inside and outside the Deepblue grew extremely lively, with many people dressing in exaggerated bright clothing unique to their races. Some even had colourful wigs on, while others had drawn strange patterns on their faces. Large barrels of fine liquor made it to the Deepblue through horse carriage, but they emptied out at an astonishing rate. The Deepblue had been lit up once more, countless flames decorating the night skies into a diverse, dreamy world. There was bonfire, song, and the aroma of food everywhere; on this day, no worries existed in the world.

In the upper layers of the Deepblue's main tower, the true bigwigs remained extremely clear-headed. This was where the true auction was to be held, the legendary mage's personal collection revealed here in detail. It was a stunningly huge event, because the sheer amount of rare materials the legendary mage could bring out was far in excess of the last festival. It led the aristocrats to have a whole new understanding of Sharon's strength.

The most striking detail was definitely the set of dragon bones placed at the centre of the hall. A few mages kept hovering around it, the way they drooled over it obviously exposing their identities. However, the most precious thing here wasn't the dragon bones, but the heart of an ancient beast from the Wild Plains, half of the fingernail of an archdevil of the abyss, as well as the complete soft neckhide of a fire dragon, all arranged at the highest place. All were rare items that were estimated to have a value of millions of gold coins.

The rules for the auction were very simple. There was a card in front of each auction item, and people who wanted to buy them would write the price they were willing to pay and their identities there. If someone was going to bid higher, they would continue writing on the row above. This went on until the auction was over and nobody offered a higher price. Of course, if someone was in particular need of any item and could not wait for the auction to end, they could quote a price to the whole audience. If nobody fought for it, then this item would belong to the person. While the auction hall reached an astoundingly large area of 13 000 square metres, a mere rank 10 warrior could have his voice heard throughout the area. Even if the aristocrats that entered this auction lacked this amount of power, they definitely had hundreds and thousands of rank 10 warriors under them.

Those with territory weren't as interested in magic materials like the bone and hide. They instead paid attention to the ores placed at the west of the hall in a four-tiered annular stand. To the practical nobles who forged their own equipment, the bones and hide were far less useful than tens or hundreds of kilograms of rare ore. The former could make for one or two precious tools, but with the latter they would be able to craft armour, heavy weapons, and magic arrows. Equipping them on suitable warriors would immediately bolster their armies.

Those with power were actually quite repulsed by individual might, but were extremely fond of creating large-scaled armies.

Large amounts of ores like this obviously could not be piled up in the exhibition hall, which was why there were only a few samples placed there. The Deepblue had always had a good reputation when it came to delivering goods be it in the auction or daily sales, so the shipments would have the same quality as these samples. The nobles gathered in front of the counter, studying the grade and the colour of the ore. Families with good relations would even whisper to each other while eyeing the representatives of families who were not their allies from the corner of their eyes. They would carefully read the captions of the items. Besides the quality, quantity was also one of the most important points. After careful calculation and rethinking, they would then carefully write each price.

The atmosphere in the hall was heated yet controlled. It was still far from dawn, and there were only undercurrents flowing right now. It was not yet time for anyone to make a loss yet. However, the quantity and quality of the auction items that had surpassed the expectations of everyone had seemed to ignite the gunpowder. The ores' variety and quantity had been a lot greater than expected, and people could not help but wonder how many planes with rich mineral resources the legendary mage had occupied in the past few years.

Steven was not dazzled by the ample items on display in the hall. He maintained his elegant demeanor, exchanging conventional greetings with the representatives of a few allied families before he walked towards the exhibition area of dragon items with utmost confidence. Besides the warrior and cleric, following behind him were two appraisal experts that Duke Solam had sent over, as well as two high-ranked warriors above rank 16; there were hardly any saints here, those near rank 18.

Through pleasant conversation with Blackgold's assistant over time, Steven had long since come up with a goal he had to meet. He needed that hide of the fire dragon!

Indeed, the legendary fire dragon, not a red dragon. It was no easy task to kill any dragon, but red dragons were considered above average amongst the chromatic dragons with the most powerful bodies. The fire dragons were technically a branch of the red dragons, but there were few of them. Each of them was very powerful, however— if a red dragon over a thousand years of age grew exceedingly powerful, it could evolve into a fire dragon by chance.

In terms of human power, a newly advanced legend like Solam would place his life in jeopardy to fight a mature fire dragon. The small group of rune knights Saint Klaus commanded would be wiped out right away, so it was near impossible for the Solam Family to use its own strength to obtain the complete neck-hide of a fire dragon. Saint Klaus had once formulated a rune for the competition based on the fire dragon's hide, but even if it had the best effects it was also the first to be denied.
𝒇r𝘦e𝘸𝒆𝚋𝐧o𝘷𝘦𝘭. 𝒄oｍ

Steven stood by the card for a long time, seriously studying the caption full of little words and a few illustrations and not letting any word escape his attention. Just by gauging it visually, it appeared that the skin was better than before and much larger than regular Fire Dragons, and it was excellent and intact. This fire dragon was over a thousand years old, which meant the quality of its hide was far beyond that of a small red dragon that had lived a mere few centuries.

The caption on the card was lengthy, the first paragraph speaking of the valiance with which the legendary mage had battled the fire dragon. This sort of content was normally skipped, but multiple revisions by a historian, artist, and Blackgold had ensured that anyone trying to deduce Sharon's abilities through this would definitely regret it.

The second paragraph was a lot more important, detailing the powers of the dragon itself. The Deepblue's reputation ensured that these descriptions were accurate, just like the last paragraph that touched on the dragon's habitat.

There were already two rows of tiny words on the auction records. The prices quoted were 1,000,000 and 1,050,000 coins respectively. The inscriptions with the names implied that these two had to be incredibly powerful— no matter how powerful an individual was, it was difficult for them to match up to noble families like the Solams without the support of an organisation in power or wealth. Of course, Sharon was an exception.

After listening to the appraisal specialists carefully, Steven tried to retain a calm look on his expression, but the corner of his eye could not help but twitch slightly. The skin on the neck of the fire dragon was far too important to him. With it Saint Klaus could create a powerful rank 2 rune, and the snow rabbit defeating the winter wolf wouldn't be consigned to mere legend.

Seeing this skin, Steven felt like he could see the gates that led all the way to becoming a dragonblooded runemaster!

He muttered to himself and asked for a magic pen from his subordinates, preparing to write his first amount. After some deep thought, Steven chose to set the price at 1.3 million, and then add 200 thousand to it later. This would show strength and determination without being too much of a show off, just in case others saw through his anxiety and purposely participated in an attempt to raise the price further.

At this moment, the hall that was becoming more noisy suddenly went quiet, and practically all those over rank 18 turned back at the same time, gazing towards the entrance of the hall. An invisible but blazing gust surged into the hall and filled the hall in an instant. The temperature in the hall abruptly rose by quite a few degrees, and the air that had been warm and moist became dry and blazing-hot. A sombre aura of desolation filled the air, and many even heard the faint roars of beasts in their ears.

This was an extension of pure power. The change to the hall was slight, but the sheer range of it was huge while it had happened in an instant. The thought of the power this being possessed was terrifying in itself. However, while this aura had come fiercely, there was no killing intent or pressure. This meant the person hadn't done this intentionally— this was just a byproduct of his power.

62 - City of Sin

Mountainsea

Many of the powerful beings in the hall instantly made their own assessments of that invisible force, coming to a conclusion that made nobody happy. A line of people entered the hall in that moment, the most eye-catching of them all being the young girl at the centre escorted by a group of people. Her robes indicated that she was a martial artist, styled strangely with all sorts of wild bestial patterns. Her clothing was only strange, not specifically luxurious in terms of materials or accessories, but her very presence managed to gather the attention of everyone in the room in a moment, as if she was a true king amongst beasts.

The girl was well-proportioned and thin, and although her slightly tanned skin was not exquisite it seemed to be glowing. Her waist-length hair was nearly black, draping loosely over her shoulders in seven or eight little plaits with bones, pearls, beast teeth and all sorts of other accessories holding up the ends.

This was a more physical beauty, mixed with a primordial desolation and aggression that was difficult to put into words. The two white lines drawn on the left side of her face radiated an unforgettable barbaric aura, like boundless old plains and hills. Even a commoner would be able to sense the sheer power held within, and it caused the faces of those who were truly powerful to warp. They could tell it was no simple adornment, but they could not discern whether it was a rune or one of the saint totems spread in the wilder parts of the continent. Whatever it was, the girl was no ordinary person.

The girl had a graceful posture, but her stride definitely wasn't light. It felt like the hall shook with every step she took, like it wasn't a girl walking in but an ancient beast weighing hundreds of tons! Such might definitely didn't come from the servants behind her— the rhythm of the tremors lined up with the girl's steps.

At this moment, all the nobles in the hall had strange expressions on their faces. Some were angered by her disregard for everyone else, while others were just fascinated by her. However, as their gazes began to change, they suddenly felt a sting in their eyes. Their visions blurred, and tears flowed. Their personal servants wanted to attack, but the powerful ones stopped them.

Just then, a petite and wrinkled old man entered amongst the servants covered by her powerful presence. His arrival seemed to break through a fog, entering the view of everyone present. The man had a pair of muddy amber eyes, looking so old he practically couldn't walk. He was dressed in strange and luxurious mage robes, with bright feathers stuck on his head. There were at least ten necklaces made of different materials layered on his neck that was like a withered branch, making one worry it would break under the weight.

The old man had a wooden staff in his hand made out of three branches, made obvious by the unevenness where cloth and beast hide were used to connect them. A coiled venomous snake was carved at the top, with beast teeth and bones hanging down from it in a string.

The old man followed closely behind the girl. No matter how fast or slow she walked, he seemed to remain in tune. He was tottering like he would fall and die at any moment, but that did not happen. Originally he had no presence to speak of, only registering to a select few people, but now he'd intruded into their sights and pushed the image of the girl out of mind. Anyone who wanted to focus on the girl, her face, her waist, her chest, and her butt now only saw the man's withered face and blackish-yellow teeth.

In that moment, tens of people could not hold themselves back and began to tear up or were startled, amongst which were included those with power. There was no lack of influential people amongst those present, but the period of chaos seemed to be so short that it did not exist. In just a few moments, people acted as if nothing had happened. Everyone went back to their places and regathered at the stand of the auction items, doing whatever they had to. This was the Deepblue and not their territory, and the power that the old man had displayed made it clear to them that the girl was someone they had no right to provoke. All of them smiled and backed down because of this little issue, planning to make sense of the situation before doing anything more.

The fools who would rush out roaring at these times would long since have turned into mincemeat decades ago, and they wouldn't have made it into the Deepblue's auction long enough to cause a disturbance.

To be honest, this did not attract everyone's attention. There was still a fair number of people single-mindedly studying the quality and strategising on the pricing for the auction items. For people like them, that was the most important thing. Some of them were so focused that nothing could affect them, while others were so weak that they could not sense the deterrence from the gap in their strength.

Steven was amongst that second group. He was stood in front of the fire dragon hide, writing each digit vigorously with his pen. It seemed like none of the bigshots were interested in this yet, and those who wanted to compete were just people with individual power. The price was only 1.3 million right now, far from the limit of 3 million he was prepared to give up.

When Steven wrote the 3, he saw the faces of those who'd already quoted their prices change from the corner of his eyes. He smiled slightly as he wrote the first of the zeroes, planning to write them all as round as he could. There wasn't any hurry anyway.

However, before he could finish the fourth zero, he suddenly sensed a hot gust of air filled with a great aura of desolation blow by his side. A graceful figure appeared in his sight, and before he could even react he was sent flying through the air as if a mammoth had crashed straight into him. His vision whited out, and all he heard was the roars of the wind and wild beasts.

Next came an intense crash. The great pain of the impact woke Steven up from his near confusion, while his subordinates all hastened over in a flurry to help him up. The cleric had already instantly cast an intermediate heal on Steven's head, allowing the dragon warlock to somewhat see in front of himself clearly.

However, he almost coughed up blood at what he saw. A young girl walked to the exhibition counter in front and pulled the dragonhide right off, shaking it powerfully and rubbing it a few times before saying contentedly, “It's not bad, the texture is very soft! I just happened to bring one less item of clothing.” She then placed the dragon skin around her shoulders and even looked to the sides, as if this was a luxurious shawl.

An extremely sturdy warrior behind her stooped down and reminded the girl by her ear, “Your Highness, the money.”

The girl suddenly realised this and patted her head, and then said apologetically, “Oh, my, I'd have forgotten if you didn't remind me! The Norlanders prize money the most, so I need to take note. Thank you, Steelrock. Who hosts this auction?”

The girl raised her volume for her last sentence. In actuality, there was no need for that, because the grey dwarf had already hastened over at lightning-speed the moment the girl's hands were on the skin, and he was waiting at the side. With Blackgold's keen sense of smell from years of hammering and refining, he was stunned to find that the girl's aura was the most powerful he'd ever seen in his life. It was even more powerful than Sharon's! The concentrated smell of gold— no, a smell that surpassed gold, had the grey dwarf's blood boiling and left him unable to control himself.

Seeing the grey dwarf that had charged towards her, the girl grabbed a rock the size of a fist from the animal skin bag at her waist and, without even a glance at it, tossed it to the grey dwarf and said, “This is the... money for the dragon skin.”

The rock was grey and unremarkable, but when tossed in the air it lit up with many silver speckles. It left many streaks of silver in the skies, like the threads of a spiderweb.

In that moment, the grey dwarf's entire body went stiff as he reached out to catch the rock. His expression of nervousness, caution, and solemnity was the same as when he was doing the report forms for the total finances of the Deepblue at the end of every month. However, the muscles on his arms were all jerking, his posture so stiff that he was like a gem underground. When the grey rock reached his palm, his fingers actually refused to listen to him, missing and letting the rock bounce straight to the ground. The grey dwarf cried out miserably and he fell hard to the ground like a rock, and then used all his strength and stretched out. Finally, he was able to grab the rock firmly before it fell to the ground.

At this point, tens of dazzling silver spiderwebs filled the skies, clearly showing the traces of the trajectory of the grey rock.

Tens of people had changed their expression, while the grey dwarf that had slowly gotten up spoke in a trembling voice, “It's beyslace... a spider crystal. It really is a spider crystal!”

The item that the grey dwarf was holding was one of the necessary materials to make rank 4 runes. It could be sold in any part of the continent for five or six million coins, and just the sheer quantity and length of the lines made it obvious that this was a higher-quality crystal worth nearly ten million! The feeling of holding ten million gold coins in his hand was enough for the grey dwarf to feel waves of dizziness. Not every grey dwarf would have the chance to be hit by ten million gold coins in their lifetime.

In that moment, numerous gazes fixed on the bag at the girl's waist. Everyone could see that this was spatial equipment, but it was hard to tell how much it could contain inside it. Even an ordinary leather bag containing beyslace would be enough to leave anyone suffocated, but this was actually spatial equipment!

Steven had actually reached out towards the dragon skin on the girl's shoulders and shouted in a hoarse voice, “That dragonhide is...” But when she tossed the spider crystal out, the word mine immediately caught in his throat. His mouth opened and closed, then opened again, but he couldn't make any sound at all. Even if he were to sell dragonblood he wouldn't be able to get a bit of powdered beyslace. It was a whole other level of contest, and this wasn't something he had the qualifications to participate in. If he wanted to raise an objection, the only reason he could have was that he had been sent flying by the girl.

The girl seemed to remember something at that point and frowned, before turning to ask the barbarian warrior, “Steelrock, did I knock into something just now?”

Steelrock bent his gigantic body that was nearly three metres tall, beaming in answer, “Just a tiny thing in your way.”

He looked up and stared at Steven and his servants, and then said disdainfully, “Just a bunch of people who aren't all that rich. There's no need to worry about them; you're a student of Her Excellency.” Please visit 𝒇𝚛𝙚𝙚𝘸𝙚𝗯𝓃𝗼ѵ𝚎𝘭. c𝑜𝘮

At this point, Steelrock looked around and raised his voice, speaking every syllable of a magic phrase clearly, “Who's paying for herself!”

63 - City of Sin

Mountainsea

There was a huge uproar in the hall as everyone broke into discussion, no longer needing to hide their curiosity.

Flames burned in the depths of Steelrock's eyes, a clear sign that he was a saint. Against a level 19, possibly level 20 warrior, nobody here was confident of their chances in a battle. The two warriors Duke Solam had sent to guard Steven didn't even dare make eye contact with the man; in a real battle, both of them would likely fall to a few punches from him.

However, Steelrock wasn't the hot topic of the conversation. It was no news that Sharon had auctioned off a spot for a paying student to the Millennial Empire, but the elites of the continent knew that Empress Gelan's granddaughter was the one who got it in the end.

The Millennial Empire's heritage could actually be traced back to the elves. The imperial family had elven blood in it, so the empire too was known for its arts, magic, and excellent martial techniques that allowed them to gain fame worldwide. Nobody expected Empress Gelan's granddaughter to actually be a barbarian girl, with barbarian bodyguards by her side. This was far too large a difference. They only realised that she was the girl in strange attire once Steelrock made the announcement. That meant the troop following her was made up of elite guards of the Millennial Empire!

Once the young lady's identity was known, people started to change their perspective of her. Despite the dissatisfaction some elites had displayed earlier on, as of this moment, all of them appeared dignified. They remained humble, with a tinge of pride that was not too overpowering. They totally exemplified the behaviour of aristocrats. The title of being the Millennial Empress's granddaughter had already overwhelmed everyone that was present.

Steven's mouth moved again, wanting to say he was a paying student as well, but he wasn't stupid enough to actually do such a thing. The term self-supporting was tagged with different connotations based on the one that used it— it gave the young lady an imposing stature, but it made him sound like a joke.

Steelrock clearly hadn't finished expressing himself, wanting to say more. His eyes scanned around the room as he made grabbing gestures with his hands, evidently showing that he wanted to pick a fight and loosen his muscles up a bit. However, the young lady raised her hands all of a sudden, having him go quiet immediately. The gesture quietened the entire hall down in the blink of an eye.

The young lady shut her eyes and raised her head, her small but bridged nose twitching continuously as though she smell something in the air. The elder behind her awoke from a slumber, scanning the hall before resuming his repose.

The young lady slapped Steelrock's arm with great strength, saying, “That smell! Did you smell that?”

Steelrock took a deep breath, the air howling into his chest, but his expressionless face implied that he didn't smell anything. The young lady closed her eyes once again, starting to follow the intangible smell in the air. Around ten other barbarian soldiers followed after her, not making any noise as they moved. These soldiers' movements followed the rhythm of a tribal dance, but with a few humans marching alongside them the sheer difference in stature made the whole thing comical.

Yet, nobody in the hall laughed. Teasing these few level 18 guards of the Millennial Empire is not a wise thing to do.

The young lady acted as though there was nobody around, walking past the elites and ignoring their looks of curiosity, disappointment, and expectation. Yet everyone before her scrambled to make way for her. Those who were slower or are not quick to adapt would be sent off like Steven was just now. The young lady would hit the obstacles blocking her away without hesitation, whether they were there on purpose or no.

The small body of the girl contained an absurd amount of power. She was practically a primordial behemoth, easily throwing a couple of level 12 warriors a few metres away in one slap. Nobody dared to block her path to the source of the smell.

In a nondescript corner of the hall, Richard was standing before a piece of monitor lizard hide, pen and paper in hand as he calculated something. This piece of hide was worth 120,000 coins, and was of relatively good quality that could be used as a medium for an elementary rune.

However, the hide was so large that a complete rune would take up less than 10% of it. A hundred and twenty thousand was far too expensive for someone who didn't want to take a single coin from Gaton, and Richard would not be able to afford the loss. He was thus calculating a way to maximise his usage of the skin, such as using it to make other goods that he could sell to earn back some of the cost.

The lizard's skin was irregularly shaped, indicating that the person who'd skinned it wasn't very professional at the time. Parts of the edge had grown uneven even if the skin itself was whole, and some of the steps of processing the hide would be extremely quirky, making the final shape even stranger. However, Richard needed a uniform piece of skin to make the rune. Hence, the separation process was also a relatively profound problem. On one hand he had to make sure that the best part of the skin was used for the rune, while on the other he had to ensure that the remaining products wouldn't be too shabby. As he continued calculating the best course of action, the magic paper was already filling up and cramping with numbers.

To be honest, this hide didn't qualify for the auction. Nobody knew how it had made its way into the legendary mage's hands, either. In fact, Blackgold had wanted to get rid of it once, but he gave up on that thought on the principle of even mosquitoes being meat. He wanted to see if auctioning it off could increase its value.

The description of this hide wasn't as detailed as those of high-grade products, except for its dimensions and material. Its origin could only be marked unknown.

The grey dwarf suspected that this creature ran into Her Excellency when she was hunting. It wasn't her target in the first place, but coincidentally it could be used. However it was not worthy of investigation, so he used a useless term like 'unknown' for its origin.

Despite all this, to Richard who had limited money and materials, this skin was like a gift of coal in the snow. Absorbed in his numbers, he turned oblivious to his surroundings. In any case, this area of the exhibition hall was near the stores, and not many people would be interested in something that wasn't special. He could finish his calculations peacefully.

However, Richard did not realise that he became the centre of attraction all of a sudden. Being watched by so thousands of people was like being stared down by a huge dragon, however. He broke out in a cold sweat and regained his awareness of the surroundings, instinctively raising his head to look across the hall.

A uniquely dressed young lady was rushing towards him! Her raised head revealed that both her eyes were closed, and she only used her nose to sniff the air continuously. Following behind her were about ten other guards that seemed to be barbarians, with a few soldiers in fancy armour alongside them. From Richard's perspective, their light footsteps made them look like they were preparing to steal something, but his instincts warned him of danger. There were motives behind those comical movements, because even with a whole suit of armour, they were able to move quietly without making a sound.

On one hand was the attention from everyone in the hall and on the other hand was the group of strange people marching towards him. Richard became nervous suddenly. He looked to his left, no one. To his right, nobody there either. However, he was clearly in the young lady's way. Since no one was beside him, then the young lady's target might be behind him, But behind him...

Richard came to a sudden realisation, turning to look at the lizard skin hung behind him. He then looked at the barbarians behind the young lady who were glaring at him, as if he had insulted their goddess, or as if they had a great hatred against him.

64 - City of Sin

Mountainsea

The guards from the barbarian tribe were all very skilled. They stared daggers at Richard, making him feel like dozens of swords continually pierced through his body. The immense stress left him unable to catch his breath, bursting out in cold sweat. No matter how slow-witted he was he would've understood not to mess with these guards, but he was clearly in the young lady's way.

As Richard started to break out into a cold sweat, the young lady's nose fidgeted more and her footsteps sped up. She was in front of him in a split second. As Richard moved two steps to his left, the young lady turned right at the same time, increasing her pace. It was as if she was already jogging.

The moment the young lady picked up her pace, Richard's mind became a mess, the scenery in front of him changed drastically and the graceful and pretty young lady disappeared all of a sudden. She was replaced by a behemoth pouncing towards him, and at that point a single thought flooded his mind— if he didn't dodge in time, he'd be crushed to pieces. The creature wouldn't even realised that it had stepped on something!

At a point of life and death, Richard subconsciously burst forth with his innate power, using pure strength from the tip of his heel to move himself. Without even shaking his upper body he'd managed to move five metres to the right. This monstrous method of movement was clearly a battle technique from the underworld— once one avoided the enemy's strike, they would follow up with a thunderous counter.

Richard was garbed in mage attire from head to toe, but he displayed the strength of a powerful soldier and exquisite techniques from the underworld. The sudden movement shocked everyone, especially those who knew his identity prior. Steven, who'd been standing in the same spot the whole time, suddenly broke out into a cold sweat. He finally realised that it was actually very dangerous to stand close to Richard.

In the blink of an eye, the group of warriors behind the young woman unsheathed their weapons and positioned themselves like they were planning an attack. However, nobody actually struck forth, nor did anyone make a single noise! Even having witnessed Richard's ability, they seemed confident in being able to kill him before he even attacked.

At that moment, a strange ambience permeated the hall. Be it the unsheathing of the weapons or Richard's movements, nobody had made a sound. There wasn't even a rustle of clothing, the only movements being the graceful young lady's footsteps.

However, the girl was caught off guard in the air, falling down. She gasped in surprise, but she kept her eyes closed as she straightened her legs to gently step onto the floor. Her body then changed directions, chasing after Richard like a lightning bolt. Even if Richard was using Eruption she was still twice as fast as him.

A web of cracks spread around her foot, penetrating a few metres into the solid lazurite floor. Richard felt a wind blowing his way from her, unable to breathe at all. He wouldn't be surprised to be broken into pieces if the both of them were to collide. He quickly considered between a counterattack and a dodge, deciding to dodge even though he knew that he wouldn't be able to get away in time.

Right at that moment, he lost his focus. He couldn't help but look towards the barbarians, where the old man opened his eyes. That pair of eyes was everything in his vision all of a sudden, but the illusion passed in a split second.

However, Richard realised that both his feet seemed to be pinned to the ground. They couldn't move an inch, while the young lady was still charging towards him at an unbelievable speed. The surprising part was that her eyes were still closed! Richard's eyes rolled up, and he waited for the last hit in despair. He doubted whether that thick stone wall behind him could stop him from being rocketed out of the hall.

However, the collision he was expecting did not happen. The young lady stopped right in front of Richard, the tips of their noses less than ten centimetres apart. He was clueless as to how she managed to stop that much momentum so suddenly.

The young lady's eyes was still closed, but her small nose kept twitching. Her tiny face started to show an engrossed expression as she moved closer to him. Richard wouldn't be more scared even if a fierce tiger was sniffing like this, and cold sweat continually trickled down his forehead, but his legs were still fixed. The best he could do was try and move his upper body back, but the girl kept her hands at her back and tiptoed constantly towards him. By the end of it all, his body was 45 degrees to the ground, completely mismatched with what he knew about the world. Indeed, when faced with elites, general knowledge often failed.

Richard had already bent backwards to the extreme, but the young lady continued to bend over, their noses eventually touching. She finally opened her eyes, revealing two bottomless pits as vast as the stars.

There was strength within that space. Richard felt his very soul sucked in by those two pitch black dots, freezing and unable to move a single step. Even if he wanted to move, he wouldn't even be able to lift a finger. He already felt numb throughout his body, as if he was being locked down by more than ten assassins. If not for some mysterious power having shunned the murderous intent, he may not even have been able to bend backwards earlier. He'd already realised that power came from the elder, and if that elder stopped he'd grow numb once more.

Just as Richard was attracted by the girl's pupils, she was looking at him as well. Her small nose continued to twitch non stop, and she suddenly beamed with joy like a scene of a thousand mountains and rivers had appeared in front of Richard. She then stuck out her tongue... and firmly licked Richard's lips. She then straightened up, her eyes already smiling with satisfaction.

Richard was traumatised, and found it difficult to straighten his body. Eruption had been cancelled out when he'd made eye contact with the old man, so right now he had to rely on his own physical strength to support himself. If he continued to endure this position, he suspected he'd likely fracture his lower back.

The young lady's scent still lingered on his lips. It was difficult to describe, not sweet but cold and distant. It was as bold as ten thousand mountains, making it difficult for him to differentiate it from her overpowering aura.

Yet the young woman was ignorant of Richard's feelings. She just squinted her eyes as she revelled in the taste, “Mmm, such a rich smell of sulfur, and burning lava... what, there was supposed to be a strange smell of a few abyssal devils, where did it go? Mmm, such a sweet and familiar smell, is this...... the smell of an elf? The smells mixed so well together, no wonder it's so nice!”

The young girl had mumbled this in an ancient barbarian language, so not everybody in the hall could understand her words. The aged man opened his eyes again, throwing a deliberate glance at Richard.

The young lady shuddered all of a sudden, regaining her senses. That incomparably arrogant aura was donned once more, and she pointed at Richard. “You, accompany me for 3 months! I like your smell, this money is for you!” she said, her tone leaving no room for question.

She pulled out some beyslace spider crystals from her pocket at the same time, forcing about five or six into Richard's hands without letting him say a word.

Richard immediately felt the stares on him intensify, the daggerlike glares increasing tenfold. These were spider crystals, and there was a bunch of them! However, the people in this hall were wise. Even if they glowered in Richard's way, there were no looks of greed towards the pouch at the girl's waist, not even a quick glimpse.

Perhaps Richard was still unfamiliar with most precious and uncommon goods, but he'd surely heard of beyslace crystals; after all, he was a budding runemaster and they were materials used in high-end runes. He obviously knew the value of this bunch of crystals, and that this was a sum of money he probably wouldn't be able to earn in his whole life. Ordinary elites could basically forget about this term; without reaching the legendary realm it would be impossible for them to get a hold of such things.

Richard shook his head and returned the bunch of crystals back into the girl's hands. “Sorry, I can't accept these. I won't be able to accompany you for three months, either.”

The girl was shocked by this. “Why? I thought you people from the mainland would do anything for money. Did I not give enough money? It's just three months!”

Honestly, Richard felt a little hesitant and uncertain when he handed back that huge sum of money. After all, it was a shocking amount of wealth. But once the crystals were handed back, he felt extremely relieved. He smiled at the girl, saying, “I'm not short on money. I have many things lined up for me, so I can't accompany you.”

“Not short of money?” The young lady looked at Richard and then the lizard's skin, confusion written all over her face, “Then why are you spending so much time calculating here? Isn't this priced in gold? Gold isn't even worth anything! Ah, or are you interested in monitor lizards and want to become a lizard man? You don't need to take that trouble, nagas already exist. There are even draconians, who are much stronger. You don't have to sacrifice yourself!”

The young lady's words almost made Richard collapse. He said helplessly, “Alright, I don't have much money. Still, I can live with what I have, so I don't need your money.”

“Ah! I understand now, are you saying that I offered you too little? Then you can have all this!” The young woman actually took out the pouch made of hide from her waist.

More than half the people in the hall were sent to the verge of insanity at that moment. She actually took off that pouch? Didn't she know that it was spatial equipment?

“No!” Richard was starting to feel frustrated. The solution he'd almost arrived at was starting to fade away from his mind. He didn't want that, and he couldn't let this piece of skin go to waste.

“How about a month?” the girl asked with clenched teeth.

“I'm not free for a single day!” Richard rejected her firmly.

Her face gradually turned murderous, but that didn't scare Richard. He lifted the magic paper that had fallen to the ground, continuing his calculations. The quill moved rapidly across the paper— outside of the lizard skin, the most precious thing to him right now was time.

Richard's actions were a little rude, but the young lady smiled all of a sudden. She turned around and ran towards the old man, shouting in their tribe's language, “This person doesn't want money!”

The elderly man opened his turbid eyes and nodded. The girl cheered, ran to Richard, and grabbed him by the collar, lifting him up till he was one centimetre away from her face. She then shouted, “You! You have a nice scent and don't want money! I've decided, you'll be my man!”

This time around, the shock was not small. Both of them were similar in height, so Richard felt like he'd hit that continuously moving mouth if he moved even a bit. However, the girl had tremendous strength, and after eruption he'd lost all his own. Caught in her hands, he couldn't even move an inch. There was no result to his struggles, and Richard was sure that nobody would help him out of this situation. He could only force a smile and say to the young lady, “That is not a good idea.”

The young woman instantly groaned and said, “What's not good about it? I'll throw anyone who has a problem with it into the sea! Last time, my father brought a troop of soldiers to attack our tribe's territory and was eventually defeated by my mother. He then became my mother's man and that was how I came about. Since you cannot win against me, then you should follow me! Don't worry, I won't bully you immediately. We have to live together for at least one to two years for me to know if you are annoying, in case you take advantage of me and I cannot train up skillful warriors. If I find out that your strength is only in your fragrance, I'll throw you into the sea too!”

Richard was left speechless after the young woman's declaration. The elder coughed all of a sudden, and Steelrock stepped forward and whispered to the girl in their language. She frowned and glanced at the elder, and then inspected Richard. She asked, “What is your name?”

“Richard. Richard Archeron.” Richard replied impatiently. He suddenly realised that there was an increasing number of times that he needed to use his family name to break away from awkward situations.

“Archeron... never heard of it, are they famous?” the young woman turned around and asked. Steelrock immediately took out a book made of sheepskin, flipping through the pages. He then pointed to a line on one of the last few, shouting out, “They are very poor!”

The leader of the guards whispered to Steelrock, though, and he added, “But they are able in fights. They are true warriors!”

The young woman gently released Richard onto the ground and adjusted his shirt. She then took a few steps back and looked at Richard seriously, saying, “Very good, I like real warriors. You may be weak, but you're brave, not greedy, and have a nice scent. I still want you to be my man.”

“This...” Richard forced a smile again, he was ready to reject tactfully, but the girl interrupted, saying, “But I have decided to follow the rules of the mainland. My father said, when two people want to get together, they have to become friends first.”

Steelrock moved forward again, trying hard to lower his voice, “Your Highness! The rules on the mainland are that when two people get together, their families have to discuss deals first.”

“Ah, is it like that?” The young lady was astonished, and looked towards the elder helplessly. The old man took a lot of effort to open his eyes once again. He looked at Richard, and then showed an ugly smile and said slowly, “Rules are set by people. In this piece of land, Your Highness can decide what is reasonable. At least, nobody will object here.”

The young lady obviously wanted to make it short. She instantly said, “Alright, let's be friends then! This is what my father said. Although he cannot defeat my mother, my mother once said he is a wise man.”

The girl fixed her gaze on Richard's eyes, her right hand clenched into a fist in front of her chest as she asked seriously, “Richard, are you willing to befriend me?”

This was another scene that Richard did not expect, but he could feel that the girl was serious and persistent. The young lady's straightforward disposition actually matched his own preferences, so he replied seriously as well, “I'm more than willing to be friends. But—”

“Just friends will do,” the girl interrupted him again. “We'll talk about you wanting to be my man next time. I won't force it since we're friends.” Her expression grew divine and solemn, “Since we are friends now, I need to let you know my name. My true name is Jessamine Beshaba Tor Terrathemus...”

Steelrock's expression had changed drastically the moment the first few syllables were spoken. He wanted to walk over and stop her, but the elder shook his head so he stepped back after some hesitation. The old man gently knocked his cane against the ground, the sound of the impact spreading across the hall to make the girl's words indiscernible. The crashes continued until the name was completed. Everyone knew what he was trying to do, but didn't say anything out loud about it.

The young lady's name was extraordinarily long, taking a whole minute to finish. To Richard it sounded like a long string of syllables pieced together, and were it not for his great memory and his gift of wisdom he wouldn't have been able to remember it the first time around.

“Did you memorise it?” she asked with expectation.

“Yes.” Richard nodded. This astounded the girl, but then she said with elation, “Great! That was the only time I'll say it!”

However, Richard's worry was now how he was going to address someone with such a long name.

The young woman guessed what Richard was thinking and said with a smile, “The people in the tribe call me 'Mountainsea', you can call me that too.”

“Mountainsea?” Richard was curious of the reason for such a strange name. Even ignoring her exotic dress and personality, she was astonishingly beautiful by the standards of the mainland. Her name, however, seemed vast and powerful, unlike those used normally to describe girls.

Surprisingly, Mountainsea nodded firmly and said, “Yes, it's what the elders said. I have a mountain of wealth right now, and my future strength will be as deep and unmeasurable as the sea.”

“Alright then. We're friends now, Mountainsea!” Richard said.

The girl gave a cunning smile all of a sudden, “Then I have a present for you. Have this!” Thus, before a stunned and dumbfounded Steven, the girl took off the dragonhide she'd just bought and pushed it into Richard's hands.

Richard frowned instantly in rejection, “No! This is far too precious!”

“No, you will have to give me a present too.” The young lady was very serious.

“Of course, but I don't have something so expensive. You should take this—” Before he could even complete his sentence Mountainsea reached out her hand and pulled him over. She then kissed him on the lips, separating with a smile, “That will do!”

Richard froze up. To everyone else it looked like the young lady had given him an intimate kiss, but he knew that she actually just bit and licked at his lips. The girl then reminisced in satisfaction, commenting, “So sweet!”

......

The midsummer festival finally ended, leaving the people with enough to talk about for another four years. That night, Blackgold's feelings for the girl rose shockingly, to the level of adoration. Both smelled of money to him, but evidently spider crystals far surpassed gold as a unit of transaction.

And yet, that wild night, Steven may or may not have been the most disappointed one. Nobody wanted to talk about the dragon warlock who was thrown away by accident, instead focused on many other topics— the young lady's leather pouch, Richard and Mountainsea becoming 'friends', even Steelrock, that elder, and the Millennial Empire's elite guards. Across these topics, beyslace spider crystals and self-supporting students were repeated portions. Who would spare the time to care for a small dragon warlock? Even if he was mentioned a few times, Steven was only referred to as the guy who got hit out.

Only he himself was clear that the pressure from Mountainsea wasn't limited to that impact. Nay, it was crushing him...

65 - City of Sin

Friends

The night of the midsummer festival was a night branded deeply into Richard's mind. All the way till he returned to his residence, he'd been in constant disbelief over what had just happened. Everything was unbelievable, however despite this, the fire dragon's hide on his neck was very real.

This item that was worth nearly ten million coins had been scrunched up into a bundle by Mountainsea, and had been handed over to him as a gift. Richard opened it up and laid it over a huge worktable, caressing it gently.

Spread out, the dark red hide which had bright patterns threaded throughout it was nearly two square metres in size, taking up most of the table. Despite the magic lamp that emitted a light as bright as sunlight, the faint red luster which the hide emitted could still be seen, wafting off from the its surface like mist. When Richard stroked the hide, he could feel a boiling heat from the tip of his fingers.

A large amount of data surged out as Richard's hands came in contact with the hide, allowing him to grow familiar with its properties. This was the most precious material that he had ever touched in his life, and if he were to use this hide as a material for his rune, many of his plans could become reality. With its help, he was at least 30% sure that he could make a rune powerful enough that it would allow the snow rabbit to win over the winter wolf. However, at least to Richard the origin of this skin remained a mystery.

Honestly, Richard was very willing to befriend Mountainsea, although becoming her man was another story. For now, however, he still was unsure of her true intentions.

His heart told him the barbarian girl was simple and sincere. On the other hand, the wisdom and logic he'd formed after many years warned that there must have been some kind of conspiracy behind her actions.

Richard had his own principles and thoughts. Although he wanted to become friends with Mountainsea, he wasn't going to use any of that vast wealth of hers. His mother had moulded his ethics when he was young, and the shadow of Gaton Archeron loomed over him in the present.

Before sending him to the Deepblue, Gaton had once said something that was deeply imprinted within his mind, “Every Archeron has a burning arrogance inside them. Rather than asking for help from others, they would rather use their own two hands to break new ground. Of course, this comes with pros and cons. The cons are that the Archerons will forever find it difficult to band together. However, the pros are that every successful Archeron will be feared by others.”

Silvermoon elves were obviously proud as well, but it came with detachment and arrogance. The pursuance of perfection which came from their very blood made it difficult for them to see anything else.

These two different kinds of pride mixed into one within Richard, and he himself had no idea whether he was more like the silvermoon elves or the Archerons.
ƒ𝚛e𝘦𝙬𝗲𝒃𝓷𝒐𝘃𝘦𝑙. 𝒄o𝓂

He rolled up the hide once more and set out to seal the magic material. Unless he kept it in a semi-plane, if the hide was not sealed and stored with magic, the magical force within it would gradually dissipate. At this moment, however, Richard found that there was a slight power flowing around the dragonhide, which he immediately linked to the barbarian girl through its desolate aura. She hadn't added any forces to the hide when she'd used it as a shawl, only doing so when she gifted it to Richard to ensure that the magic inside wouldn't dissipate. Who knew that someone who charged around everywhere without regard could be so attentive?

Richard subconsciously flashed a small smile. He then cautiously placed it on the top rack of the magic material warehouse.

That afternoon, his schedule was filled with classes. However time flew by, and soon enough it was lunchtime. Richard saw lunch and dinner everyday as a battle. Although his diet was no longer modulated by the legendary mage herself, it was still being modified every now and then by the best alchemist of the Deepblue. The similarity between the two was that the ingredients used were equally expensive, and the portions equally astounding, which was why two strong, tanned slaves were now needed to bring him his meals.

Returning to the residence, Richard was surprised to see Mountainsea waiting for him at his door. Behind her were only Steelrock, the old man, and two court guards. After bringing the girl and her people inside, Richard's lunch was also sent over by two tanned slaves.

After the food was arranged properly, the girl immediately made a squeal of enjoyment and sat by the table, “Treat me to a meal! Treat me to a meal!”

“Of course!” Richard replied, wanting to be friends with her. He also called out to Steelrock and the old man, but was tactfully rejected by the barbarian warriors. The gigantic Steelrock seemed to treat everyone with disdain, but it looked like he had a good attitude towards Richard.

After being invited to eat, Mountainsea did not hesitate. She immediately made her move, using her hands and not bothering with the ten kinds of exquisite cutlery available on the table. Whether it was the dragon ribs or the turtle shell, all were easily torn into pieces and tossed into her mouth, which she swallowed after chewing and crunching. Even the boiling-hot soup and its ingredients were all poured into her mouth. No matter what was inside, they were all swallowed in a gulp. Her teeth seemed to be able to crush all substances in the world, and the dragon bone and turtle shell appeared to her as mere crispy kernels or nuts.

The old man expressed his desire to see the residence of a legendary mage's disciple, and Richard happily allowed them to move around as they wished. All the information he had here was on the basics of magic and was no secret in the Norland continent. He returned to the table after taking care of the old man and Steelrock, only to freeze upon seeing that Mountainsea had finished everything.

He'd only spoken a few words during that time...

Mountainsea looked at the empty plates, and even she felt a little sorry, “Ah, while this place isn't all that good in other areas, the food is not bad!”

The girl stood up and pulled at Richard, saying, “How about you come to my camp? My people went to the sea to fish last night. If you go now, you can eat sharks and even devil whales!”

“You don't stay in the Deepblue?” Richard was rather curious.

“Of course not! What's good about this place? You can only see the mountains and seas outside through such a tiny window. I like being able to see the sky right after I wake up. Floe Bay is actually very magnificent and almost measures up to my hometown. Why do you hole yourself up in such a tiny cage?”

Richard found this funny, though he could not say much after seeing Mountainsea looking so sincere. Forget winter, even at the beginning of spring or late in autumn people freeze to death here, he'd wanted to say, but from the looks of it the girl had no idea about what cold was.

Richard could only refuse her invitation, “No, I have to meet Master this afternoon.”

Mountainsea made a sound of surprise and suddenly remembered, stating, “I have an appointment with her this afternoon too— I'd almost forgot about that. Actually, it doesn't matter whether I see her, but since you're going, let's go together!”

Though there was still some time before the appointment, Richard had no plans to get food elsewhere. He could only use the internal communications system and ask the people who sent meals over to bring a few light refreshments when they came to clean up. He then found a place with a wide view by the large French window and began to chat with Mountainsea.

The girl talked about the glory of the barbarian world. From her narrations, Richard learnt that they lived on a huge island at the east of Norland called the Desolate Continent. This was because in terms of surface area, it could already be considered a continent. The native tribes that lived there called this continent Klandor, the Land of the New Heroes.

Richard also mentioned the great life he'd had in Rooseland. Although it was the life of people who lived at the very bottom in the continent, Mountainsea listened on with keen interest.

At this point, Steelrock and the old man had completed touring Richard's residence once.

Steelrock's gaze swept through the various magic materials and books, even secretly taking a thick and dull 'Planar Geometry' book from the bookshelf and flipping through it. There were many notes wedged inside, in which Richard had written his thoughts. Every note only had one or two lines, but there were a fair number of them accumulated throughout the book. Steelrock placed the book back and used his fingers that were as thick as a steel pillar and lightly grasped a book on magic theory. After flipping through it, he found a similar set of notes and nodded, before pushing it back on the bookshelf. Compared to normal humans, Steelrock was basically a giant, but his current movements were surprisingly agile, not leaving behind a single trace.

The old man stood in front of Richard's work table, bending over as he looked carefully at one of Richard's incomplete ideas for a rune. The large parchment paper spread on the table was filled with countless numbers and formulas, as well as two rough drawings of parts of a magic formula. The final structure was yet to be completed, and there was still some calculations and validating formulas to be done. An incomplete concept like this was something no runemaster would be interested in taking another look at. Yet, the old man stood still in front of the table, as if he had a great interest in these dull numbers.

Steelrock headed to the old man's side and glanced at the table. Obviously unimpressed by the numbers, he immediately began to frown. “This is a rune? It's far from our saint totems. This kid is diligent, frugal, and disciplined, but he's quite poor. This rune seems incomplete. Look, there's a fatal flaw here in this formula.”

The old man shook his head, “Whether an eagle can soar into the blue skies is obvious from the moment it flaps its wings from its nest.”

Steelrock rubbed his gigantic palms together, “This kid will be an eagle in the future?”

The old man did not answer, and instead said, “It's time to meet Her Excellency, Sharon.”

66 - City of Sin

Meeting

On the other side of the residence, Richard and Mountainsea were getting increasingly engrossed in their conversation. She was enthusiastically recounting glorious hunts in recent years, where she'd captured mammoths alone in the cold.

It was at this point that Richard realised something was amiss. “Hold on,” he asked in disbelief, “You're a warrior?”

Her reply indicated she'd expected this, “Of course! The elders even say I could be the heir to all totemic warriors in the future!”

Richard grew slightly confused. “Then can you learn magic? I mean, won't there be clashes with your path that slow you down if you try to learn both at the same time?” He fumbled around for the right words to say, hoping not to hurt her pride.

“Why would I want to learn magic? It's so complicated and useless... Oh I'm sorry, I wasn't talking about you...” She stuck her tongue out in apology, but the gaze she had fixed on his lips was one of a glutton.

Richard immediately turned around, a subconscious reaction that told Mountainsea she'd exposed herself. She immediately sat upright, explaining with a straight face, “Magic really is of no use to me. I can destroy spells below grade 5 with a single slap already, and it's virtually impossible to lock me down with grade 6 spells either. Besides, I'm still young and inexperienced. When I get older I'll be able to avoid or block stronger and stronger spells.”

Even though Richard already knew that Mountainsea's strength was formidable, he hadn't expected it to be so great. It looked like Klandor was no weaker than Norland.

“Alright then. If you're not planning to learn magic, why did you become an apprentice of Master?”

Twirling her finger around one of her braids, Mountainsea answered as though it were common knowledge, “Because Her Excellency is a legendary mage. I just wanted to find someone of that level for a mentor, not her particularly. With her addition I'll have three legendary mentors now, and my Mother and Grandma on top. The elders said it's for background, something you Norlanders consider very important. Even if I don't learn anything here, it's worth spending some money to come to the Deepblue for the background. In your words, this is... this is... Steelrock!”

The small hill of a barbarian warrior jogged over, leaning down to Mountainsea's ear with much difficulty. He tried to whisper softly, “It's called gold plating.”

“Gold plating?” she asked in return, “Why gold? Isn't it everywhere? Wouldn't magic ironjade from the ninth abyss make for a better image?”

The barbarian warrior evidently hadn't thought this through before. He rubbed his hands together awkwardly, trying to find a reasonable explanation for the thing, “Maybe gold is considered expensive and precious in Norland. Look, everything here is priced in gold.”

Mountainsea finally seemed to understand, “No wonder the elder said spider crystals and gold were two completely different things in Norland.”

“Exactly!” Steelrock exclaimed, impressed by the girl's wisdom.

Even though Richard felt that something was amiss, he could not quite point it out. If Blackgold were here, he would have been able to criticise the barbarians' ignorance with irrefutable evidence. The smaller units of currency weren't the same as items of more value; spider crystals would never replace gold coins. Regardless, even Blackgold would have to admit that gold coins and spider crystals were in entirely different realms.

The time to meet the legendary mage arrived in a flash. Sharon was someone who always paid attention to punctuality; when it came to others, of course. She herself had an ironic lack of the same, something very dragon-like. An hour or two of delay from sleep was quite common, and most of the grand mages were understanding of the situation. After all, the legendary mage couldn't possibly waste any time; even sleep was a good time for her mana to grow. She was the root of the Deepblue's foundation with her vast and profound abilities. In general, other people in unique situations who were there to meet the legendary mage wouldn't mind waiting for her for a couple of hours.

That afternoon, Richard and Mountainsea had both good and bad luck. On the good end, the mage was already up when they went to visit. On the other hand, she hadn't woken up on her own.

The legendary mage had scheduled the meeting with both Richard and Mountainsea in the same venue, a small reception hall. Less than two hundred square metres in size, it was one of the most modest halls in her private residence.

At the moment, the legendary mage had been lying on the wooden couch, her leg perched high on the armrest. Her left hand was extended across the seat, her fingers occasionally reaching for the fruits in the golden basket. As though moving on their own, the fruits landed in the legendary mage's mouth one by one, disappearing within. Her posture wasn't the least bit elegant, but with her porcelain arms and calves the visual impact was strong enough to ignore her lack of grace.

Sharon's eyes were half-open, but the shiny pupils lacked focus. Anyone who knew her would understand that this was a sign of her being half asleep, and this was exactly the time when she was at her most dangerous.

The sweet and melodious sound had been echoing throughout the reception hall for a while. Although it contained an awakening power, this was completely lost on the legendary mage. Her eyelids were drooping, as if she was going to continue her endless nap.

Just then, a strand of her hair suddenly stood up like it had a spirit of its own, looking around vigilantly. It started to tremble more violently, before jumping up straight and causing the mage much pain. She let out a cry before sitting up.

Her eyes thus fully opened, pupils blazing with fury. A colourful breath came spewing out of her tall nose bridge, containing unbreakable elemental energy. The elements in the air seemed to arouse in a split second, cheering as they danced towards the legendary mage. They formed a mysterious trail around her, seemingly prepared to obey her orders.

Sharon looked around for an enemy with an electrifying gaze, only to find not a soul in sight. All that was here was the snacks and fruits, no target needing destruction.

Sharon glanced at the constant ringing of the clock, seeing the strand of her hair fall down to rest. She suddenly started laughing, a few small knocks to the armrest of her couch setting off a dozen such clocks at the same time. This was a signal, summoning the grand mages of the Deepblue to an emergency meeting.

Seventeen grand mages filed in a moment later, a group of dark elves moving their respective chairs into position. Sharon drummed her nails, indicating to the attendant outside to bring the visitors into the hall.

Mountainsea pulled Richard into the hall affectionately, Steelrock, the elder, and two other palace guards following closely behind as well. Not all visitors were allowed to bring their attendants into the hall; this had only be done today by Sharon's orders.

The legendary mage's eyes instantly brightened as the line of visitors entered the hall. Her squinty eyes scanned past Steelrock, the elder, and the palace guards one by one. There was nothing peculiar about Steelrock and the guards at all, and although the elder's steps were a tad slowed he immediately kept pace with Mountainsea.

The seventeen grand mages involuntarily straightened their bodies, undercurrents of mana flowing in the air. Their experience allowed them to see that the two guards were level 18, with Steelrock being even higher. In such close proximity, just those three would be able to kill them all if they didn't have their guards up. Moreover, there was still that elder at the side, who even they couldn't see through. On top of that, even if the girl looked young and delicate, she exuded a wild and desolate aura of toughness that made her seem like a young beast.

Since the legendary mage seldom called for emergency meetings, the grand mages knew that unexpected events must have occurred. Now that they saw the girl's wild entourage, everyone could sense the tense atmosphere. What bewildered the mages was why the legendary mage did not bother to hide her hostility when Richard seemed to be so close to the barbarian girl. Those who were meticulous would have put two and two together to link her fury to the Day of Destiny.

Richard felt a strange and stifling atmosphere once he stepped into the hall, an omen of an impending thunderstorm. He raised his head to meet Sharon's piercing gaze, immediately being stumped for words. Sensing something wasn't right, he quietly pulled his hand backwards.

Much to his relief, Mountainsea released his hand and bowed politely to Sharon and the group of grand mages, before retreating to a corner. Her unexpected consideration took Richard by surprise. Given her immense strength, had she not wanted to let go he would have been unable to get away no matter how hard he struggled.

Mountainsea walked up to Sharon, and automatically took a seat in the large couch directly opposite her. Leaning backwards and finding a comfortable position, she was no less imposing than the legendary mage.

Sharon squinted her eyes, asking, “And you are?”

“You can call me Mountainsea, I'm the paying student. Are you my mentor?” the girl replied naturally, her imposing manner on equal footing with Sharon's.

“My student?” The legendary mage laughed wryly. “Although I don't really care about the aptitude of students who pay for themselves, you're a barbarian warrior who's the inheritor of the sacred totems. Why would you learn magic from me? If I recall correctly, the greatest power of your totems is the abolishment of magic.”

“Ah, I don't have plans to learn magic from you at all. I came to the Deepblue because you were a legendary mage, so I could gold-plate!”

67 - City of Sin

Collision Course

Mountainsea didn't forget about 'gold-plating' the second time, treating the word casually. She'd remembered to be respectful to her new teacher, but didn't notice the legendary mage's face darken. Of course, even if she had noticed anything, she would've continued to speak.

Sharon laughed all of a sudden, her eyes crinkling into charming crescents as the haze dissipated. “Gold-plating? Just because I'm a legendary mage?”

Mountainsea nodded in reply, “Yes! You included, I'll have three legendary teachers to boost my background.”

Sharon smiled elegantly in response, “Who are the other two?”

“One is the elder of my tribe, and the other is the Sword Saint of the Millennial Empire,” Mountainsea answered with delight, tucking a stray lock of hair behind her ears and tilting her petite face. Nobody would have thought this girl from Klandor could exude such a ladylike aura.

Sharon let out a laugh, “You're saying you have connections to Empress Gelan of the Millennial Empire?”

“She's my grandmother.”

Sharon's smile froze for an instant, but she returned to her normal self. She glared at Blackgold, but the grey dwarf only reciprocated with a look of innocence. The information about this new student had been handed down to Sharon long ago, but knowing the legendary mage she'd only read the numbers within and ignored everything else.

Sharon stretched her slender hand out and grabbed an aquatic fruit that was bigger that her hand. She flicked its shell off easily, revealing flawless flesh within. She peeled one petal off and popped it into her mouth, “I heard the Millennial Empire has the bloodline of high-grade elves, how did they get a granddaughter like you? You came from the Klandor Continent not long ago... Oh right, the third prince of your empire, the youngest of your four best generals, Greyhawk, led a 50,000 man army on an expedition to Klandor decades ago, is it...”

“Oh. Not long after he landed on Klandor he led his army to battle with the brave warriors of my tribe at the Eaglefall Plains, but it didn't take long for my mother's totemic warriors to take him down and capture him. She only wanted to scare them, so she released all the men a few days later, but the prince ended up becoming my father.”

A crunchy sound came from Sharon's mouth as she shattered the seeds of the fruit with her teeth. She remained expressionless as she swallowed, as if the fruit was seedless. Sometimes the legendary mage had equivalent bite force to a dragon.

“That's saying that your mother is a legendary being too. Four legendary beings behind your back, not bad at all.”

Mountainsea nodded, “Yes, and with you it will be five. The elder said a background like that will make me formidable almost anywhere in Norland. I'll just need to mention it whenever I get into trouble and the enemy will retreat in fear. No fighting needed.”

Sharon cackled and spoke in a weird voice, “Why is it that it feels like you're using four legendary beings to suppress me? That's why you're not giving me any respect. So, let's see, is any one of you standing behind her interested in fighting me?”

Beams of light shot out of Sharon's eyes, her blonde hair rising into the air. The light was so blinding that one couldn't see her face. Remaining seated, the legendary mage scanned the four people standing behind Mountainsea.

The two guards groaned as the force sent them flying ten metres away, as if an invisible hammer had struck them hard. They were slammed into the wall, sliding down to the ground after the impact. Steelrock had to move a few steps back as well before he yelled and steadied himself, about to charge as he glared at Sharon with a bloody nose. Only the old man stood still, but that did not stop his hair flying backwards as if being blown by the wind. The two bone accessories that were hung on his neck exploded loudly, giving out a thin white smog.

A helpless smile surfaced on the face of the old man as he opened his eyes, dried lips moving like he wanted to say something. But his movements were as slow as ever, unlike the legendary mage who spoke so speedily. Before the old man even said anything, Sharon had already spoken a handful.

“Ha, finally exposed! Though we have not met before, the aura of the ancient beast cannot fool me. You woke me up from my nap! Shaman Urazadzu, is it? What are you doing here instead of staying in the shrine of the Vastdome River located in the Great Snow Mountains? It looks like you want a fight!” Sharon waved violently at the grand mages, “Get out! My beloved guests shouldn't complain that I won because of numbers. Hey, old man, you've already been in the legendary realm for about fifty years now, don't accuse me of taking advantage of you if you lose. And that big thing, you can join too! Those two useless ones won't be able to stand for a while.”

The grand mages looked at each other, but no one moved. They finally understood why Sharon always called them over urgently whenever she met with guests. It was to show off her strength, and guarantee numbers if it came to a fight. The legendary mage was confident in the current match up, so she only needed them to be an audience.

Sharon finally stood up in the midst of the chaos and rubbed her hands togethers, excitement filling her eyes. “It's been a while since I've had a good fight. I hear you barbarians prefer fighting over talking. I'm not in the best mood today, so let's end it quickly. Attack now, or I will!”

Urazadzu hit his staff against the ground, and stopped Steelrock who was ready to attack. He shook his head, saying, “Your Excellency, the reason I'm here is to protect the girl. It's also to show you our greatest sincerity— if our only purpose was to find any legendary mage as a teacher for Mountainsea, we wouldn't have given up such a huge sum.”

Sharon's expression relaxed a little. The shaman was right; if the girl only wanted status, the price of 2,000,000 coins would be able to get almost any legendary mage that she wanted. Not every mage had the ability to accumulate wealth like she did.

The shaman saw the hesitation in Sharon's eyes, and quickly took the chance, “Not all legendary mages qualify to teach Mountainsea. Honestly, the final list was very narrow.”

“Oh? How many?” he'd managed to hook her successfully.

“Two.” The number took Sharon by surprise, but she was obviously delighted. The other was definitely the Sword Saint of the Millennial Empire, and that truly was someone comparable to her.

This meant the Azuresnow Shrine and Empress Gelan disregarded all the other legendary mages on the continent. There may have been other reasons behind this choice as well, but Sharon couldn't care less about that.

“Well well, old man; even though you disturbed my nap, you have great taste blessed by the Beast God, not bad at all! The payment showed your sincerity well enough. Right, Mountainsea, why is your name so odd? It doesn't seem like a Klandor name.” Sharon's gaze towards Mountainsea had grown much gentler. Of course, this was not due to Urazadzu's words, instead being about the price. The huge sum was enough to soften the legendary mage greatly.

Having just been woken up, the legendary mage's mood had been poor. It was only now that they were facing the true Sharon.

Mountainsea's answer this time was different from the one she'd given Richard, “The elders told me only the height of the mountains and the depth of the seas can qualify to describe my wealth.”

Sharon covered her mouth and laughed demurely, “Wealth that could only be described by mountains and seas? So you're saying that you're richer than me?”

It was a really cold joke. The grand mages could only force out a laugh or two to show support for their master. Only the grey dwarf had a twisted expression on his face, stuck between laughing and crying.

Mountainsea nodded as expected, replying in her usual straightforward way, “I'm a student of yours who's paying for herself; it only makes sense that I have more money. Ten million is nothing, you don't have to take it to heart. Of course, I understand why gold-plating is preferred to plating with abyssal ironjade in Norland.”

Sharon's smile froze, and she raised her brows and asked with a sweet voice, “You said you're richer than me?”

“Of course!” Mountainsea nodded furiously.

68 - City of Sin

Collision

Sharon was about to say something, but then she saw a few black crystals on Mountainsea's braid as the girl nodded. Her stomach immediately dropped— those were isla diamonds, one of the most prized spatial crystals! This item was beyond rare, not something that could be acquired with money. Even if one traded for it with magic crystals, they'd still have to bank on their luck. Materials like these usually only traded for others of the same grade. Sharon herself only had about a dozen of these diamonds, but there were seven on Mountainsea's braid!

The legendary mage continued to scan the girl's other braids, her vision unsurpassable when she was serious. And just as expected— crystal dragon tooth, millennial unicorn horn, phoenix crown feather... These were things of similar rarity to the isla diamonds. What really shocked her was the sheer skill required to shrink items like dragon teeth and unicorn horns to a tenth of their original size to turn them into mere accessories!

She suddenly felt her head spinning. If one were to take all the accessories to Mountainsea's hair and sell them, they would be worth over a hundred million coins. But the problem was, even if one had that much money there wasn't normally any outlet to buy such items. Sharon couldn't bear the thought of carrying that much money on her head.

It wasn't like she was intimidated by just this much; she had her own collection of rare items. But the very fact that all this was just in Mountainsea's braid implied that this was just the tip of the iceberg. Maybe, just maybe, her wealth really could only be described by mountains and seas.

Sharon swallowed whatever words she was about to say, the peculiarity in her expression growing impossible to hide. The feeling of defeat she exuded could suddenly be felt from miles away, her imposing aura withering. She finally stretched out and waved her hand, the golden pot of fruits flying before Mountainsea in no time.

“There! Mountainsea, these are for you. Stay as long as you want to, and look for Blackgold if you need anything. He's that grey dwarf over there. I have urgent matters that I need to see to right now, and I'm not sure when I'll be back. Don't wait for me.” Before getting any replies, Sharon open a teleportation portal on the spot and disappeared from the place.

“I will pay my fees!” Mountainsea shouted in Sharon's wake. In that moment, everyone looking at that departing back had an illusion that the legendary mage's mood changed for the better.

The grand mages left one after another, but all of them cast inexplicable gazes at Mountainsea. Blackgold alone stayed, his eyes overflowing with adulations for the girl. Said girl was in no hurry to leave; she stayed behind and cleared the pot of fruits Sharon left for her at lightning speed. Within a minute the pot was wiped clean, and she stared with dissatisfaction at the empty pot as she licked her lips. This obviously wasn't enough to satisfy her.

The grey dwarf immediately said, “There are more fruits! As long as you pay the school fees...”

A spider crystal came flying and hit the grey dwarf, making him swallow whatever he was about to say. Mountainsea waved her hand dismissively, “Get 50 pots to my room!” and then turned and looked at Steelrock and the old man before saying, “Another 50 for them too, send them to our campsite on the beach. Do it daily!”

Mountainsea was strikingly similar to Sharon in terms of appetite. If one went by the legendary mage's theory of appetite determining power, this young girl would surely become a legendary being, maybe even surpassing that level. And thus Richard was left forgotten in the corner, his own future still a mystery.
ƒ𝑟𝐞ewe𝚋𝑛ｏ𝙫𝚎l. 𝒄o𝗺

“That won't be a problem at all!” the grey dwarf replied loudly. He was holding onto the spider crystal with both hands, his movements growing rigid again. Thankfully he was still in the right state of mind as he asked, “But, Your Highness, you don't have a residence in the Deepblue yet. Should I get one for you?”

“No need for the trouble. I'll just stay with him for my duration in the Deepblue!” Mountainsea directed her finger at Richard.

Richard was stunned. The grey dwarf could sense something amiss too, but the spider crystal was so bright that he did not raise any objections towards her suggestion. Richard's own opinion? Nobody asked for that.

The girl stood up and said the to old man, “Weird, didn't elder say that we need to bring out our profile and background when dealing with people of status, and that money is only used to bribe second-rate people? Why is mentor not afraid of my background but rather my wealth?”

She could feel the grey dwarf's hesitation from the side and prompted him, “Say what's on your mind!”

The grey dwarf spoke as softly as possible, “Um... Actually, Her Excellency can tolerate people who are stronger than her, but not people who are richer than her. So I'm guessing that she's out to earn more now...”

Mountainsea was flabbergasted, “Do you need any effort in earning money? Just dig the mines in the mountains! Shaman, what do you think about this?”

Urazadzu touched his bare chin and smiled, “Your granny found you a cute mentor.”

Mountainsea nodded in full agreement, “Yes! And mentor smells really good as well, I want to take a bite of her! Just wait till the day when I can beat her!”

“It won't be a long wait... Just half a...” the grey dwarf muttered under his breath, but the young girl had heard everything. Richard felt iffy about the whole situation the moment Mountainsea mentioned smell, quickly backing away and leaving this bizarre place.

The competition against Steven was due soon, and he didn't have the time to take an extra shower with his packed schedule. He didn't want Mountainsea to be added on top of all this. Moreover, he was already a man, and naturally knew that Mountainsea staying over would upset Sharon. He got shivers just thinking about the mage's bright, blinding eyes. However, with her departure, the girl suddenly became the most influential power in the Deepblue. She could probably do anything she wanted now, and the grey dwarf had betrayed Sharon right before his eyes to join her side.

Richard found it hard to deal with this genuine 'friend' of his.

'I guess I'll hide...' he thought, but before he could take even two steps forward Mountainsea had emerged before him. She was all smiles, and her eyes lingered on his lips. All unrelated personnel looked away at that moment, acting like they could not see anything. However, they kept their ears alert.

“Ugh!” Richard let out a suffocating noise, but then a slap sounded followed by a roar of fury, “WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?”

What he got in reply was a satisfied ring in the girl's voice, “Why are you angry? It's just a kiss. You don't lose anything from it. Richard, can you give me a gift again tonight- Hey! Why are you running? You think you can run away with my gift?”

On that very night, Mountainsea moved into Richard's place.

69 - City of Sin

Days Together

Richard knew all of the Deepblue's laws. One could throw a trespasser out by brute force, and they would not have to compensate for any injuries incurred or damage sustained. The law effectively allowed one to deal with intruders as they liked, but he got shivers at the mere thought of Mountainsea's abilities and immediately crossed out that idea. Another way was to lodge a complaint to Blackgold, whereafter the enforcers would teach the intruders the law. But would that really work out? Telling that grey dwarf about this girl? He removed this thought from his mind as well.

That was how Richard realised that the supposed laws of the Deepblue were pretty much useless before someone with strength and status like Mountainsea. It was thus that the two began living together. The girl moved in alone, only bringing a handful of clothes along. Steelrock, that old man, and her other guards did not follow. Nobody would know what went on once the door closed.

Of course, if anything violent were to happen, Richard would not be the cause.

That night, a bonfire illuminated the campsite of the barbarians, and fresh whale was being roasted atop it. The grease from the whale dripped into the dancing flames, making them sizzle. Warriors and young girls alike danced in a circle around the bonfire, to the tune of horns, drums, and flutes in the backdrop. The music was intense, its strong rhythm pulling the audience into dancing to it. These people simply had far too much to celebrate about, for instance their most beloved princess receiving a 'gift.'
𝙛𝘳𝐞𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝗻𝘰ѵ𝗲𝙡. 𝑐o𝓶

Steelrock and the elder were sat in the corner, enjoying drinks and meat. It took entire barrels of alcohol for Steelrock to let out a satisfied sigh, “That Richard lad is pretty fine, but he's still too young. With Mistress so close to him, will there be any issues?”

The old man laughed in reply, “Steelrock, did you forget Mistress's unique innate ability? What she's really fond of is the smell of Richard's bloodline. It's quite rare for someone to have the blood of both devils and elves.”

“Devils and elves? Well, that's rare, but nothing special, right?” Steelrock scratched his head in confusion.

The old man shook his head, “No, it's not that straightforward. It is almost impossible for two pure bloodlines to crossbreed. And by right, the strength of a hybrid's blood grows weaker by the generations, and they won't be easy to spot after a while. That boy is strange; I felt an unknown strength lurking within him, but couldn't determine its nature. Someone covered it up; maybe Sharon, maybe someone else, but that bloodline ability of his is only the start. His soul is pure and forthright, and he has many essential abilities that could guarantee his ascent.”

“That makes sense. Honestly, after travelling to so many places in Norland I've rarely seen anyone who can't be knocked down with money. Sharon is one, and this young boy is another,” Steelrock praised.

Were the legendary mage present, she would have first grown elated before beating this cunning and deceitful giant up for playing a fool in front of her.

The old man raised his head to the starry night of Floe Bay, the five moons in the sky unable to steal its limelight, “We don't have to worry. The Beast God will lead Mistress to the people she should get close to,” Urazadzu lifted his cup and drank everything in one shot.

......

The days with Mountainsea were a bizarre but unforgettable experience. There were only three things in her daily routine. She was either eating, sleeping, or clinging to Richard. She never set aside time for practice, instead wasting her days away like someone who really fitted the definition of 'gold-plated.'

Richard was somewhat worried about Mountainsea; since she'd already spent millions of coins to become Sharon's pupil, he thought she might as well make full use of it. Learning something was better than learning nothing at all, and she should have served her money well. But these coins were worthless in the girl's eyes. She told Richard that she didn't need to train specifically as long as she had enough food and sleep to grow.

Richard's first reaction upon hearing that was to stare at his schedule for a long time, before he eventually focused on an experiment to put an end to the conversation. Talking to Mountainsea was normally a pleasure, but sometimes it really pushed his buttons.

Mountainsea pushed away the plates in front of her, following Richard to the lab before curling up in a large chair for her afternoon nap. These days, the only thing that satisfied her in Deepblue was eating; that included Richard's meals and Sharon's fruits.

For the first three days she'd moved in, Richard had never been full. His meals had grown to ten kilos by virtue of Sharon, but even if the alchemists wanted to double his meals several of the rare ingredients in them had short shelf lives. They usually had to order these foods a month or two early, and the cooking took a lot of effort as well. They used up all their reserves, but they couldn't bring out any more.

At one point, they thought about bringing out other food items for Mountainsea, but she looked at the plates and gagged in a disgusting manner, just like a picky child. Before she could say anything Steelrock had done the work for her, yelling at Blackgold as the dwarf thoroughly wiped his sweat and promised that both of them would have similar treatment in regards to meals in the future. In Blackgold's eyes, Steelrock's brown skin had started to glow emerald like that of his mistress.

On the third day, Sharon who was earning money on another plane sent a message back with a menu. Thus, from the fourth day, Mountainsea had her own personalised lunch and dinner. The girl resembled a house cat ever since then, looking forward to meal times everyday. Richard could never figure out how she could finish a 50kg meal within 3 minutes, just like he could not figure how Sharon was perpetually eating fruits. Their stomachs seemed to be spatial voids. Regardless, he could finally have a meal that filled his own stomach.

Mountainsea's preferences were rather bizarre, and the meal that Sharon curated for her smelled strong and grotesque. The girl did offer some to Richard, but he lost all appetite the moment he took a whiff of the food. The girl herself found it strangely tasty, using both her hands to sweep through the box like a tornado. She would leave deep tooth marks in the cutlery, especially ones from her canines, even if it was all made of stainless steel. They changed it into carbon steel the next day, but with even that failing they switched to high-carbon steel used to make shields. They then tried lafite steel on the fourth, the same material used in rune knights' breastplates. The destruction only stopped on the fifth day, when they changed to obsidian. Only a handful of even rune knights qualified to have weapons made out of this material.

70 - City of Sin

Days Together

It took Richard a while to realise Mountainsea's secret. She wasn't really particular about the taste the food offered, no. What interested her instead was the amount of nutrients packed within. The discovery made him feel like she'd even gnaw on magic crystals if she could.

Outside of eating, the most important part of her life seemed to be sleep. This was especially true just after meals, when she'd immediately fall into deep sleep. She slept as Richard meditated, worked, and studied, only leaving him to play in some unknown corner of the Deepblue when he had lessons to attend. Most of the time, she was within five metres of him.

She continued to 'abide' by the laws, taking up just enough classes as was required for a personal apprentice of the legendary mage, but the only use of this timetable of hers was in calculating her monthly payments.

She also didn't seem to understand the meaning of reservations. She never tried to avoid Richard, even when she showered, so he had to get used to her beautiful slender body. Her emerald skin was glossy like silk, and looked so tender to the touch it made his imagination run wild. On top of everything, her long straight legs were enough to make any man go crazy.

Richard was already a man, so sleeping next to her was a nightly torture. She couldn't keep her hands to herself in bed, taking every chance she could to lie on Richard's chest. She'd eventually end up wrapped around him, leaving their private parts in close proximity. At the peak of his vitality with an ever-hungry bloodline and food curated specifically for such purposes, it was unbearable for him to be so close to her.

“We're just friends, just friends...” he muttered to himself whenever he failed to fall asleep, suppressing the urge to press down on the unrivalled beauty with overflowing youthfulness. Sometimes he looked at her face in sound sleep and comforted himself, “This isn't my choice...”

He didn't realise that he didn't lose energy during the day despite the restless sleep, nor was his progress slowed. He also didn't understand the danger of trying to subdue the girl until a mosquito flew nearby one day.

Mosquitoes were exotic creatures. It was impossible to keep them out even as a legendary mage, and they existed even in the Deepblue. However, as the particular mosquito barrelled towards Mountainsea's face under Richard's close scrutiny, it was only able to reach a metre's radius of her before a soft pop left it vanished into thin air. All that was left in its wake was a faint green trail of smoke. It had left him in cold sweat.

For her first few days moved in, Mountainsea disappeared whenever Richard had classes. She said she performed all kinds of activities, including fishing with her tribe. However, she seemed more and more disinterested in such things as time passed, spending increasing amounts of time with Richard. She was even following him to classes. Urazadzu and Steelrock were hardly seen as well, and her guards seemed to be enjoying a rare vacation.

However, this caused the grey dwarf who was observing everything quietly to grow more nervous. The responsibility for Mountainsea's safety had just fallen on his shoulders. Putting his duty and the possible consequences aside, the Deepblue's annual finances were dependent on Mountainsea as well, and that was enough to make Blackgold more careful than ever. Personally, too, every time he looked at Mountainsea it was like seeing the largest and most abundant mine of his life. His feelings for her were beyond worship and adoration; as long as this mine so much as walked past him, he would be up in the clouds for a long while.

So the grey dwarf decided to give his all in protecting Mountainsea, specially increasing the number of enforcers around Richard's residence and public areas twofold, as well as adding a fully equipped rune knight to the patrol. The number of mages that were on duty the sentry points on each level were also doubled, and the seventeen grand mages were stationed at the ground floor of the tower so they could take immediate action in case of emergency.

The borders of the Deepblue were surrounded by a dark aura, and many in the grey areas of life were alerted as the atmosphere around them grew more tense. It was as if a pair of invisible eyes was posted at every dark corner, staring at them, watching their every move. The street rats were hypersensitive to any possible danger, and the grey dwarf had added a thousand magic eyes at the borders in one go. That may have been a little too much, but the message was clear and it also brightened up the grey districts.

A few rats seemed unable to get a hold of the situation, still going on the hunt even if they sensed danger thinking that they were invincible. However, curiosity was a deadly weapon. Any that ventured out disappeared without a trace into the gloomy night, as if they'd never even existed.
𝑓𝙧𝚎𝑒𝔀𝙚𝑏𝑛𝑜vel. c૦m

Any who dared find trouble with the grey dwarf at this critical juncture would realise the fear his drunken kin inspired when enraged. The grey dwarf did not need a warning accompanied by great fanfare— the disappearances were notice enough. Eventually, all the mice went back to hiding in their nests.

......

Naya's mood hadn't been pleasant the last few days. The bloody smell lingering in his kitchen would take a long time to fade, and the putrid stench turned his dishes foul. It also added a weird smell to the wines stored in the cellar. Truth be told, the longer one stayed in the underworld the more they would grow to hate the smell of blood. The only exceptions were perverts.

Another reason for Naya's mood was that he'd already done so much for Blackgold, but the dwarf hadn't allowed him to pay a single coin less in tax. The grey dwarf had felt it inappropriate for the enforcers to step into the borders with nothing having happened, so the dirty work was left to the Blade of Calamity and his brothers. His dagger that had been used to execute major characters had been stained by rats' blood.

Even killers had their dignity, and when Naya complained to Blackgold that he couldn't take it anymore, the dwarf only replied with a “The times have changed.” The times changed, yes, but the tax never did. That was something the grey dwarf knew to be unwritten rules.

This had gotten an angry reprimand from Naya. “Unwritten rules, what utter bullshit!” he cursed, of course only in secret and after the grey dwarf left. He had no choice but to continue searching earnestly for the rats that didn't know better, feeling his heart ache at the amount of tax he would have to pay the month. His monthly tax was already greater than the yearly profits of his small tavern.

Naya was still willing to do this sort of tough work for the dwarf, however, because Blackgold possessed immeasurable power. And indeed, he couldn't escape the pursuit of the legendary mage either. But the true reason he was willing to work so hard was that he'd already fallen deeply in love with the peace and stability in the Deepblue. He loved to watch Richard grow under his guidance, day by day by day.

71 - City of Sin

Days Together

To be fair, the Deepblue was relatively safe, especially around the main tower. Men like Steven were in the minority, with few being formidable enough to take such risks that could endanger one's own life. However, he was still living well in the Deepblue, and the power of his subordinates was increasing day by day. To ensure victory in the competition, Duke Solam had sent another large army in assistance, and now the grey dwarf was starting to regret advocating for the warlock to stay. Mountainsea and Richard were stuck together every day, and it wouldn't be all that surprising for Steven to dare assassinate Richard or harm Mountainsea. After all, someone who'd lost all rationale wouldn't consider the consequences of their actions.

The grey dwarf firmly believed that Mountainsea was invincible. No matter the race, age or method of accumulating riches, someone as wealthy as Mountainsea was no doubt beyond fortunate and greatly blessed by the gods. Yet Steven happened to be a classic example of the exact opposite. Thus, Blackgold was not worried that Mountainsea's life would be threatened; he was only worried that she would be harrassed.

Stuck between a rock and a hard place, the grey dwarf finally made a difficult choice. Steven started to see four mage enforcers and two knights surrounding him the moment he left his residence every day, to 'protect' him. They wouldn't leave his side at all, even in lessons.

News travelled relatively fast in the Deepblue. Everyone had become aware of Mountainsea's status and 'background' within two days of her following Richard to classes. Nobody dared to joke about her name in the open anymore, and she almost stopped becoming the topic of idle conversation.

Time flew by day by day, and the competition drew closer. The grey dwarf personally met Richard in the meantime and spoke to him for a long time. Describing all the hardships Sharon had to go through, he first explained how it was not easy for her to acquire the wealth she now possessed. Next, he tactfully expressed that Sharon's delight towards Richard was by far unprecedented, following which he made clear at the dire state the Deepblue's finances were in. In the words of the grey dwarf, the Deepblue practically had to be broken up tomorrow to be sold for cheap in order to repay the heavy debts. With a heavy heart, Richard was wondering if there was anything he could do for the legendary mage. Just then, the grey dwarf changed the topic and started singing in a high tone, telling Richard that the saviour of the Deepblue had appeared, and that was none other than Mountainsea.

Finally, the grey dwarf jumped onto the coffee table in front of Richard. Looking him in the eye, the dwarf implored Richard in his most sincere and solemn tone— the time to repay Sharon had come. The best thing he could do for her was to be a good companion to Mountainsea, keeping her in the Deepblue as long as possible. The girl had only reserved a month's worth of lessons the first time, and the next round of reservations was coming up soon. In addition, the grey dwarf also hinted that Richard should fulfil all of Mountainsea's requests to the best of his abilities, such as giving her more little 'gifts', since they would not be to his detriment anyway.

Dumbstruck at his words, Richard started to suspect whether the grey dwarf had planted magic eyes around his residence. As long as Richard was willing to lend his support, the grey dwarf promised that he would be indebted to him forever and will help him win the competition.

A downcast and solemn Richard left Blackgold's office. Although he couldn't exactly define his feelings right then, he felt like the pure, unadulterated relationship he shared with Mountainsea was tainted. He decided to forget all about the promise the moment he stepped out the door.

That night, Mountainsea received a long-awaited 'gift' after dinner relatively successfully. Of course, if Richard hadn't resisted the process could have been called completely successful, though there wasn't much of a difference.

Though pleased, Mountainsea was observant enough to realise Richard seemed to be down. Concerned, she asked, “Is something bothering you?”

Richard nodded.

“Willing to share?” she continued expectantly, hands on her face.

This time, Richard shook his head. The girl let out a sigh before standing by his side quietly, looking at him design a new magic rune.

And thus their time passed quietly, the day of the competition drawing closer and closer. Mountainsea stayed in the Deepblue far beyond the original month she was supposed to, but showed no signs of leaving. Every additional day she stayed made Blackgold view Richard in a more positive light, since each day translated to a hefty amount in tuition and living expenses that relieved the Deepblue of some of its heavy debts.

Life was always full of coincidences. Though it seemed like Richard could wait as quietly he had been until the arrival of the competition, one day he ran into Steven by chance at a class. This was a rare occurrence; either by purpose or not the two of them hadn't picked the same class since the topic of the competition had been revealed. Blackgold himself had been extra careful to keep them apart in the general classes.

Seeing Richard again, the dragon warlock's blood began to boil. His face darkened immediately, but he kept himself calm and collected as he instantly walked up to Richard while pulling Minnie up at his side.

The dragon warlock's confidence did not come from his own subordinates. It was instead backed, literally, by the four mage enforcers and two knights behind him. Though he already knew that these were men sent by Blackgold to control and keep an eye on him, many others misunderstood the men as an elevation of the dragon warlock's position in the Deepblue. After all, not even the grand mages warranted such high levels of protection! Thus, Steven decided to make the best out of the misunderstanding to force Richard to give way, even if such temporary suppression held no significance in the grand scheme of things.

Striding up to the centre of the road, he was just about to speak before he felt an emptiness behind him. Looking back hurriedly, he found his guards standing far from him at their original positions, with no intention to follow close. All of their gazes were focused on the girl next to Richard. Puzzled, the dragon warlock immediately turned towards the girl, only to be reminded of Mountainsea's true identity and how she easily knocked him off his feet that fateful midsummer night.

It was at the same time that Richard looked up and saw the dragon warlock, frowning in reaction. He didn't fear Steven, but the youth's blood-drained face confused him.

Before Richard could even react, Steven took a large stride towards the other side of the road with Minnie by his side. Not dropping his gaze, he looked as if he had meant to cross the road in the first place.

It was only when he reached the other side of the road that Steven put on an act and turned around to glare fiercely at Richard. He was especially careful in avoiding Mountainsea; it was one thing for Duke Solam to anger Richard— Gaton hadn't yet begun his expansion that would shock everyone— but another matter altogether to incur the wrath of the princess of the Millennial Empire! If that were to happen, Steven had no idea what he could do.

Richard on the other hand was stumped for words, confused by Steven's puzzling actions. With no answer after a minute of deep consideration, it was only when his gaze fell on Mountainsea by his side that he finally understood the dragon warlock's attempt. By this time, however, Steven had already disappeared beyond the corner of the street safely.

Richard was unable to hold back a laugh, not taking the incident to heart. Since the dragon warlock had never appeared in Mountainsea's field of view, to her he was amongst the objects that could just fly away on their own.

72 - City of Sin

Truth And Lies

Dusk arrived once more, and a long-absent roar resounded from Steven's residence. Minnie curled up in a corner of the sofa without a sound, yet another fresh red handprint added to her face. In the meanwhile, a few alchemists of the Solam Family were busying themselves in front of the laboratory table. All of them had intensive knowledge of runes, even if they didn't have the innate skills to be true runemasters. Their knowledge with regards to the handling of magic items alone saved Steven a lot of time. Upon hearing the roar, the magic alchemists merely shot each other glances, shrugged their shoulders, and pretended not to have heard anything while continuing the tasks at hand.

Steven shattered yet another vase, but that wasn't enough to abate his rage. He shouted with unrestrained rage, “Richard! It's Richard again! What else has he been withholding from me? First, it was Sharon, and now it's the princess of the Millennial Empire. Why are all the women attracted to him? What do they see in this prepubescent kid?”

After his outburst diminished some of his anger, Steven turned to look at Minnie. Minnie was beautiful and bright, but she failed in all aspects when compared against Mountainsea; even when it comes to her appearance. Perhaps the only area in which Minnie could have rivalled Mountainsea was her personality, but even then it was hard to determine what was superior between wild and aloof. Mountainsea still stood out as being purer, however, but that was all in the past. The Minnie here, today, had been withered away into a pitiful soul, her former confidence beaten out of her.

In Steven's eyes, Minnie was but a burden who could give him no aid at all, let alone back him up decisively like Mountainsea would Richard. Minnie was very clear about the connotations that lay within Steven's gaze. Even though she had certain fantasies before, the slap had fully awakened her. She suddenly sneered, sat up straight, and stuck her chest out, commenting, “That girl's name is Mountainsea.”

“Of course I know her name! I even know that she's the granddaughter of Empress Gelan! Literally everybody in the Deepblue knows, you're useless!” Steven once again suppressed his anger.

“I heard that the astonishing amount of wealth she has was because she uses beyslace spider crystals as currency.” Minnie's voice remained calm, as if she was not afraid of a potential outburst from Steven.

The dragon warlock laughed exaggeratedly, “I already know this! The first time she used the spider crystals to pay, I was the one who suffered a blow from her. Are you trying to mock me?”

Minnie gave a faint smile, “She's already living with Richard. That is to say, he can fully use her resources. I'm afraid a single crystal will send your plan of gold and influence up in smoke. Should she be willing to take out two crystals, or resources of an equal value, your chances of success would be less than half.”

Steven was startled, his face instantly overcast. He'd been afraid of the exact thing Minnie was talking about, but because the repercussions of the matter were too severe he'd intentionally chosen to neglect any possibilities in the area. Duke Solam had given his entire support to him, but he could still only take out two or three more million, not even a third of a spider crystal's value. The thought of that fire dragon neck hide caused his heart to wrench.

“In that case, what do you think I should do now?” Steven hesitated but eventually decided to ask. He could tell that Minnie had more things to say, and could even guess what she had thought of. That was why he didn't look too good.

“It's very simple. You can't just immerse yourself in your own matters. You have to know what Richard is doing, obtain his designs, and then make a targeted attempt at improving your own.”

Steven smiled gloomily, but still furthered the conversation with more questions, “In that case, what can I do to find out what Richard is up to? He isn't going to come forth and tell me, is he?”

Minnie straightened out her messy hair, “I'll go. I'll pretend to join him and plead with him to take me in. Richard is still a child, and is empathetic. Furthermore, he has just became a man not long ago. As long as I act the part, he should take the bait.”

“Just became a man not long ago...” Steven repeatedly mouthed those words. He placed his arms behind his back, and paced back and forth countless times before finally stopping before Minnie. He gazed into Minnie's eyes, and slowly commented, “In order to make it more believable, you will most probably go to bed with him, is that not the case?”

Minnie admitted, “That's for sure. If not, he will never trust me.”

The dragon warlock laughed weirdly, “Haha! What a sacrifice you are making!”

“Because you've already paid a high price, we cannot afford to lose further!” Minnie's reply truncated the dragon warlock's laughter. He stared at Minnie with a dead gaze, but her own was clear and determined; not once did she avoid him.

“Women are indeed tough creatures...” Steven muttered. He straightened his body and walked towards the full-length window, watching Floe Bay illuminated by the moonlight. The dim rays seemed to make the ground even darker today, and it took a quarter hour for Steven to speak up, “Then go. But remember our marriage pact. If you conceive with him, and decide to give birth, then our marriage pact will lose effect immediately.”

“I know my boundaries,” Minnie said indifferently. She stood up, and stationed herself behind Steven. “Give it to me once more, the slap earlier wasn't enough.”

Steven squinted his eyes and levelled another dead gaze at the blue-red new moon on the horizon outside his window, before suddenly making a turn and lifting up his arm, using the back of his hand to slap Minnie with a force that sent her flying in the air.

Minnie's weak body turned a few rounds in the air, before falling heavily onto the ground. Blood flowed uncontrollably from the corners of her mouth and her nose. Her face had swollen up immediately, and the fresh red of blood covered the imprint on her face. Her forehead knocked into granite as she fell, crimson flowing down her sideburns to cover more than half of her face.

Minnie did not cry, instead revealing a distorted smile. “That was sufficient,” she said.

......

Midnight. Richard was still working hard in the world of math and formulae. Mountainsea was stood next to him, staring at the densely packed numbers in deep thought.

For some reason, she'd slowly begun participating in Richard's designing sessions. She had a gift with numbers and sensitivity for mana that allowed her to catch up to Richard's own train of thought, and although she was unfamiliar with the specific structures of runes she could use the theories behind sacred totems to offer suggestions. A lot of times, these suggestions had offered Richard many alternatives that he himself hadn't thought of.

Mountainsea was also very mesmerised with the theory behind rune design, mostly because of the simple yet precise explanations Richard gave her of the principles and mentality behind runecrafting. Of course, helping would also give her a good reason to stay with Richard and enjoy his presence.

A magic bell suddenly rang at this moment, meaning someone was lurking outside the residence and wanted to meet Richard. Richard's brows furrowed, and he hurried to open the door for fear of breaking his train of thought.

A woman shrouded in a black cape was stood outside the door, her lowered face concealed beneath her cap. Richard could tell just from the figure that it was Minnie, however, and thought it quite incomprehensible.

“Minnie?” Richard attempted to ask.

The teenage girl lifted her cape, and mocked herself, “I didn't think you would recognise me.”

What alarmed Richard most was not his accurate guess, but Minnie's severely deformed face, and the blood stains that she had not completely wiped clean.

“Not inviting me in?” Minnie asked nonchalantly.

“Your... Alright, come on in.” Richard had seen the handbag in Minnie's hands. The bag was unzipped, and one could see many clothes and other items within. Settling her down in the living room, Richard came forth with a plate of fruits.

Ever since Mountainsea arrived, Blackgold was sending over fifty plates every day. Mountainsea wanted to pay him with spider crystals, but he rejected it. All the services and food provided to her was done strictly by the book, and this included school fees and other miscellaneous expenditure. Just because Mountainsea had an ocean of wealth didn't mean that they'd overcharge her by even a single gold coin. Of course, Mountainsea's truancy and the costs incurred during the Deepblue lessons were two different matters. Only the midsummer auction was an exception, because the customers had the freedom to bid whichever price they deemed fit.

These minute details showcased the pride of the Deepblue. No matter how much Sharon and the grey dwarf loved gold coins, they would never receive more than what they were entitled to. The grey dwarf depended on providing perfect service as a source of income, whereas the legendary mage would rather earn her keep in the endless planes.

Having been in the Deepblue for about 3 years, Richard has also been heavily influenced by this mindset. He'd hesitated himself before taking out this expensive plate of fruits, because it belonged to Mountainsea. However, other than this he had nothing else to offer the girl who'd just arrived.

Richard sat across Minnie, the magic light illuminating the living room making the wounds on Minnie's face even more clear. It made his heart twitch. He didn't have any designs on her, but he felt sorry that a beautiful girl had been beaten to such a state.

“Who did that?” Richard asked, his brows furrowed. Minnie was Sharon's apprentice; there were few with the guts to lay their hands on her.

Minnie smiled bitterly, “It was Steven. Don't bother looking for the enforcers, this is a family matter. The two of us are engaged.”

Richard understood immediately. He looked at Minnie calmly and asked a direct question, “Since it's a family matter, all the more reason I can't interfere. However, what ideas did you have when you brought your luggage and came over? Do you actually think that I will take you in?”

Minnie lowered her head, “As you can see, I simply cannot stay with Steven. You... you're the only one I can look to...”

“Lies.” Mountainsea walked over all of a sudden. It was already her sleeping time, so her eyes were half closed as she walked to the tableside and sat beside Richard. She nudged her head into Richard's own before going to deep sleep on the table.

He smiled at the girl, but once he turned to look back at Minnie that smile vanished. An ice cold serenity filled the air, “You heard what she said. I trust her.”

73 - City of Sin

Unforgivable

Minnie gritted her teeth and asked, “I... Alright, then, are you confident in winning the competition?”

Richard grinned, “What makes you think that I will answer you?”

Minnie let out a huge sigh, “I understand. But I only have one request. If you think you can win, then please take me in for two months, just two months. Steven will definitely be exiled from the Deepblue, and I won't be able to pay the fees anymore. I'll stop being her apprentice as well; it seems clear that Master will keep you as the only remaining student. My family already sold me to the Solams, but I don't want to sink together with Steven. As long as you help me through this ordeal, I... I will definitely be like Erin and depend on myself to survive in Deepblue after this.”

“Truth,” Mountainsea said groggily.

Richard did not know whether to laugh or to cry. The tense atmosphere had been broken entirely by her comment. He knocked playfully on her forehead, before continuing to stare at Minnie. Only Richard was able to act in this manner towards Mountainsea. If it were somebody else, even before they came into contact their hands would have been amputated.

“Is that so? Then tell me, how does it benefit me if I decide to take you in? Currently, the only outcome I can foresee is the Solam Family growing even more vengeful,” Richard said calmly.

Minnie straightened her body, displaying her curves that would entice many, before stating seriously, “I can tell you about all the plans and preparations Steven has been making so far. I also have a lot of information on the Solam Family's resources and funding proposals. And, and... During the entire time you take me in, I'll be... I'll be all yours.! You can do whatever you want with me!”

“Truth.” Mountainsea was in deep sleep, and had already begun to snore, but had not forgotten to assess the situation. Richard could not help it but to raise his hands wanting to hit her forehead once more, but he eventually decided against it.

Minnie struck while the iron was hot, and continued, “Your relationship with the Solam Family was never good anyway. There's no love lost between the two of you, how big is this addition? Besides, at the scale of huge families there's no permanent allies or enemies. Such a small matter is insignificant in the grand scheme of things, the Solams won't make it difficult for you even if just for Marquess Gaton's sake. Should Steven lose the competition, he would have to give up on his bloodline and move on to learn from Saint Klaus. Judging from his three level 3 runes, Saint Klaus is not even qualified enough to be termed a runemaster. Should Steven depend on him, he would not be able to overcome the obstacle to becoming a level 2 runemaster. Only as a dragonblooded runemaster can he build specific level 3 runes.”

“Truth.”

Richard challenged, “But no matter what, he would still be able to become a runemaster, wouldn't he? That is already a good outcome in itself.”

“No, it's not the same. The Solam Family has invested too much in him. Should he not be able to become a great runemaster, he will have to serve for the rest of his life without any status,” Minnie retorted.

“Truth.”

Richard got up, “No matter what, you'll still be the wife of a runemaster who's also an elite warlock. That's already much better than having to forcefully stay in the Deepblue. I'm afraid I can't help you, please leave.”

“Ah! No! Why? I didn't wish to be his wife! That engagement contract was one that practically sold me over to the Solams! And it's your fault too! If it wasn't for your Viscount Alice, my father wouldn't have sold me!”

“Truth.”

Richard furrowed his brows, and asked calmly, “So, are you trying to push the blame on me now?” Google search 𝗳𝘳ℯ𝑒𝓌ℯ𝚋𝐧oνe𝘭. c𝐨ｍ

Minnie's faced dimmed. She lowered her head instantly, tears flowing uncontrollably down her face. She explained gently, “Who am I to pursue the responsibility? My father just hopes another Archeron doesn't attack us. Alright, I know I've done many things that have let you down in the past, but I believe this competition is important to you too. If you would still take a second look at me, as long as you are willing, I'm yours from today onwards. Please?”

“Truth.”

However, Richard had already opened the gates of his house, “I have zero desire to find out what Steven is doing, or even what you're doing for the matter. Forgive me, I'm afraid I can't help you in any way. It's about time for me to enter meditation, please leave.”

Minnie lifted her luggage with both hands, and walked out of the gates of the residences with low spirits. The metal gates shut tight behind her, letting out a deep thud as they closed.

“Richard! I hate you!” Minnie rushed towards the metal gates and shouted with all her might, before slumping to the ground. She hugged her knees and started sobbing. Her voice could still be heard despite the gates.

“Truth...” Mountainsea said yet another word groggily. Feeling that her posture was uncomfortable, she propped herself up and reluctantly opened her eyes only to realise that Minnie was already gone. “Eh? Where is she? You chased her away? But she was speaking the truth all this while.”

Richard went silent. He let out a huge sigh before nodding his head.

“Cruel!” she stood up and straightened her body, but even so her eyes could barely open.

Richard sighed once more, “Some animosity can never be forgiven.”

Mountainsea instantly became more alert, and tried once more to widen her eyes before gazing seriously at Richard, “You appear more like a 130 year old old man than a 13 year old teenager!”

Richard smiled helplessly, and could only explain once more: “Perhaps I went through a lot more when I was younger...” Although he already had a general understanding of his blessing of wisdom, it wasn't something he could explain to others.

Mountainsea covered her mouth and yawned repeatedly, disrupting Richard: “I know, I know! You've already said it upteen times, isn't it just because of love and enmity? Norland's men are all like that! What about this: you can be my man, and I'll avenge you! I have everything you Norlanders want. Just like Norlanders would say, 'I have manpower, money, and such a prestigious background too!'”

Richard felt angry, but was amused at the same time. He clenched his fist and knocked her head, “Who taught you all this nonsense? Also, don't imitate your mentor!” Richard was slightly baffled as to how Mountainsea could imitate the legendary mage even though she had only met her for a short while.

“Alright.” Mountainsea was exceptionally well-behaved, and even offered her head for Richard to knock on. But Richard did not have the heart to do so. Furthermore, he knew that she was merely doing that to get closer to him.

“It's time for me to go meditate.” Hearing that, Mountainsea let out a cheer.

A while later, Richard settled himself down in the meditation room and slowly went deep into meditation. The incense from a finger-length joss-stick diffused throughout the whole room, the aroma sending him there faster. At the same time, this incense stick that Mountainsea used had powerful magic that increased the effectiveness of this session. Even if he dozed off, the effects would be much better than proper meditation elsewhere.

And now, Mountainsea curled up next to Richard like a tiger cub. She held onto him tightly, and let out gentle snores.

74 - City of Sin

A Fateful Battle

The competition had finally arrived. The missing legendary mage finally returned to the Deepblue just the night before, allowing the grand mages to heave a sigh of relief that they wouldn't have to postpone the event. This competition was no doubt one of the most important affairs of the Deepblue in recent times, and as time passed more and more people had started placing bets on the match. Although the competition was of a more personal nature and between Richard and Steven alone, the title of inheritor to Sharon's runecrafting expertise was enough to attract public attention.

Once she arrived in the Deepblue, the legendary mage immediately called for a meeting with all the grand mages. Her brows were knitted, an obvious indication of her ill mood. This prompted all the grand mages present to sit still, and not engage with her. Sharon waited and waited for her snack to be served. When the dark-skinned slave finally came, she was surprised to see that the golden basin only consisted of a pathetic amount and variety of fruits and her favourites were all missing.

She relaxed her furrowed brows, raising a single one, “What is this? Where are all my fruits?”

Blackgold came around her immediately and muttered, “All sold.”

“Impossible! I had enough stock for half a year!” she raised her voice.

“Mountainsea's appetite is larger than yours, Master. And she has already been eating them for 3 months now, so... there isn't much left in the stock now,” Blackgold reported carefully.

“Why is she still here?” Sharon's voice turned icy-cold. But the gray dwarf was long prepared, as he handed her two receipts, “This is the amount of money we've earned just from the fruit sale alone. And this is her overall spending in the Deepblue.”

Sharon's expression did look a lot better after looking the receipts. Earning money almost always made her happy, even if it was just an extra gold coin, and Blackgold knew that very well. Nonetheless, these earnings did not make her as delighted as expected, and even her hard work out there for these two months did not lift her spirits a bit.

Sharon had actually obtained an Isla diamond in her two months away, something equal to her annual expenses. But that hadn't brought her happiness either, and the reason was simple: the more she earned, the more she saw the difference between Mountainsea's wealth and her own.

The sulky legendary mage put down the receipts after praising Blackgold and asked, “How's the preparation for tomorrow's battle?”

“All the preparations are done. We were only awaiting Your Excellency.”

“Alright, let's begin on time. It doesn't seem like I could get anymore out of Solam either, and I'm excited to see what kind of surprise my little Richard is going to bring me.”

“Your Excellency, should we make any prior preparations?” The gray dwarf asked with precaution.

“Preparations? What preparations?” The legendary mage was slightly flabbergasted. She was already ready to leave as she stood up, but she could tell Blackgold was trying to hint at something and it seemed bizarre. “How can my little Richard lose?” Please visit f𝒓𝑒e𝓌e𝚋𝘯૦𝘷e𝗹. c૦𝒎

Blackgold had no choice but to be more straightforward about what he was trying to say, “But the Solam Family is fully supporting Steven. Even if he made his runes himself, the designs come from Saint Klaus. Richard has been exploring things himself, and never asked for any help from either his family or Mountainsea.

“Didn't Mountainsea give him a piece of fire dragon neck hide?” Sharon asked coldly.

“He stowed that skin away, and did not even touch it,” Blackgold explained.

That made Sharon a little happier, and something like a smile almost immediately spread across her face. She stretched lazily and said, “Don't worry, Saint Klaus is a piece of trash that only know how to follow rules with no creativity at all. He won't ever become a proper great runemaster his entire life, and he won't be able to design anything impressive. I already took him into consideration when I was setting the topic. Even if there were thirty more Saints behind his name he still won't be able to win with Steven's abilities.”

Blackgold realised that Sharon knew nothing about Richard's design, and reminded her again, “But Richard might not be able to win either!”

Sharon was getting annoyed as she waved her hand dismissively and said, “Stop complicating matters! However the competition turns out, just announce Richard as the winner, won't that do?”

The grey dwarf was stunned upon Sharon's words, “How do we explain to Solam's clan then?”

The legendary mage scoffed, “Just say Gaton paid more! If Solam has any dissatisfaction he can go straight to him!'

The grey dwarf's breath caught in his throat. Before he could even say anything Sharon was already halfway out the door. Judging from her incessant yawns with her fist against her mouth she was likely going to go sleep. Blackgold couldn't do anything but agree with her for the time being.

The peaceful night passed quickly, the battle set to start at nine the following morning. The venue was a personal experiment arena of Sharon's, and apart from the participants themselves only she and the other grand mages were present on scene. Mountainsea was seated next to Richard as a supporter of his, with Urazadzu, Steelrock, and her guards behind her.

The Solams had protested against this to Blackgold, saying Mountainsea and other unrelated personnel shouldn't be present since the battle wasn't public. They claimed that they wouldn't know at all if Urazadzu killed Steven's snow rabbit in the dark.

But those allegations were shot down mercilessly. Blackgold told them that Mountainsea was still a student of Sharon's, and that they shouldn't look down on the Deepblue. Even if the Solam Family members present here couldn't tell, Sharon and the other grand mages present could. The dwarf's imposing manner left Steven feeling in the wrong.

Besides, Steven and his family wouldn't have dared to go against even the grey dwarf openly, more so let Mountainsea know about their unhappiness. Both the legendary mage and Mountainsea were considered superior powers, and regardless of the outcome of this battle offending either would affect Duke Solam's entire life and future. It'd be even more risky now that everyone knew about Mountainsea's 'background'.

The entrance of the winter wolf into the arena signified the start of the battle. They'd drawn ballots, and Steven was the first to step up. Walking towards the arena, he solemnly lifted the cloth covering his cage's entrance and opened the door. Outside stepped the snow rabbit that the Solams and Saint Klaus had poured their blood and sweat into for the past half year.

What shocked everyone was that the snow rabbit was as large as a hunting hound.

75 - City of Sin

A Fateful Battle

This snow rabbit was obviously mutated. Not only did it have sharp fangs and claws, scales had covered many parts of its body. What's more, the area not covered in scales was protected by meticulously forged scale mail as well.

Blackgold jumped at the sight of it, exclaiming, “What is that? It can use equipment?”

“It's a snow rabbit! Alright everyone, quiet! Begin quickly!” Sharon yawned with a hand over her mouth.

Steven sent a fervent gaze in the legendary mage's way, feeling like Sharon was still biased towards him. The Solams had prepared all kinds of explanations in case they investigated into their armoured rabbit, but their participation was still upheld. Sharon just brushed it aside the moment Blackgold brought it up. It was a pity, though; she didn't spare a single glance at Steven, like something else was on her mind. It was obvious she had no interest in watching this battle.

The winter wolf sent a low howl echoing throughout the arena, crouching towards the ground. This was an enemy it had never come across, so it chose to be both cautious and observant. As a mature male, it was both fierce and cunning.

On the other hand, the mutated snow rabbit was evidently somewhat afraid, even before the wolf released its predatory aura. It jumped around uneasily in circles, attempting to leave the arena. It was this opportunity that the wolf seized to strike.

The wolf threw itself behind the rabbit with a single jump, biting down on the rabbit's rear end. However, there was armour protecting the backside of the rabbit as well, protecting its vulnerable anus. The bite of the wolf was strong enough to deform the lafite steel, but not enough to kill the rabbit.

The intense pain triggered the ferocious side of the rabbit, and it kicked hard enough at the wolf's head to leave an unexpected indent in its wake. It let out a beastly howl before jumping on the wolf, taking a large bit of its shoulder flesh. The wolf's own bestial instincts came into play, however, and it fought back.

The more attentive ones in the audience had already seen the Elementary Agility and Elementary Strength runes inscribed on the rabbit, but it still depended on its scales and armour. Lafite steel was the same material used in rune knight armour, but it was modified here to suit the strength and body of the rabbit. Even so, this was far superior to the natural fur and scales of other beasts, requiring the winter wolf to gnaw at it repeatedly before it wore away.

The rabbits Steven had bred were all as strong as hunting hounds, and this particular one was the best out of hundreds. That was why it could bear two runes on its body, its fighting ability actually slightly at an edge over the winter wolf for the very same reason. On top of that, its scales were bred to be resistant to cold, so the frost breath of the winter wolf was greatly weakened. For a moment, it seemed like both the beasts were equal in strength.

The Solams were all holding their breaths, and Steven was clutching tightly to the railing before him, sweating so much that his palms could slip out under him at any moment. Every bite the wolf took out of the rabbit made him shudder, like the damage was not to the rabbit's body but to his own.

The winter wolf was already a mess, a large amount of its flesh having been torn off by the rabbit's incessant attacks. However, its own bestial nature had been pushed to the extreme, its attacks more and more threatening. The contrast between the two creatures began to show, the pure predator that was the wolf dominating the rabbit who'd never hunted in its life. The rabbit was only biting and tearing to survive, but it didn't know at all what vital areas were. With only two generations of breeding it was impossible to raise a species' intelligence significantly. Although some runes could indeed increase intelligence, those were all at least grade 4 with few runemasters able to make them. Even an alpha winter wolf wouldn't be able to bear that, let alone a snow rabbit.

The wolf was exhibiting its vicious cunning. It circled the snow rabbit, each of its attacks aimed at the latter's vital points. The neck, anus, abdomen and joints were all targeted, and as the wolf grew more familiar with the armour over battle it learned how to tear it apart and aim at the weaker areas. It even managed to rip out many of the rabbit's natural scales.

Although the wolf was bathed in wounds at this point, the injuries were pretty much all superficial. It hadn't weakened at all, while the rabbit already had one of its back legs bitten off so its movement was impeded greatly. Most of its armour, especially at the back, was also torn, revealing vital weak spots.

From this, many could already tell the outcome of this battle. As expected, the wolf ended everything by jumping onto the rabbit, using its weight to flip the smaller creature over and take a fatal bite of its tender abdomen.

“Aww!” Steven sighed in disappointment. The rabbit was still not a match for the wolf despite being mutated and having fangs. But he was also in relief, because the wolf was substantially injured as well. If the snow rabbits from both sides could not defeat the wolf, then the outcome would be judged based on the amount of injuries left behind.

Richard didn't have the kind of mutated snow rabbit the Solams had invested so heavily into, meaning it was impossible for it to carry two runes. If a rabbit with two runes couldn't beat a winter wolf, then it would be impossible for a rabbit with only one. Saint Klaus had already mentioned that it was impossible for a snow rabbit to beat a winter wolf with only elementary rune slots.

The injured wolf returned to its cage, whereas the carcass of the mutated rabbit was collected by the mages of Deepblue for further examination to ensure that all the runes on it were all made by Steven. After a clean-up, a new mature winter wolf was introduced to the arena. It was Richard's turn now.

Steven let out a sigh of relief as he saw this wolf, but also felt somewhat downcast. This wolf was almost identical to the one he faced in terms of size and strength, showing the Deepblue's impartial nature. He felt sad that Sharon's bias had its limits, and was unpredictable. It could be a source of light when he'd lost all hope, but it could also disappear when he was most expectant.

If a mutated rabbit was still alright, then why not give Richard an alpha wolf?

76 - City of Sin

A Fateful Battle

The creature Richard released was a snow rabbit as well, but less than a third the size of Steven's it was only a little larger than its domestic cousins. The difference between this particular snow rabbit and any other was that its torso was light brown in colour, the fur shed when it was implanted with runes. This showed that Richard's rune slotting still needed a lot of improvement, unable to fuse the rune into the creature's physical body perfectly. On the other hand, it also showed that the snow rabbit itself wasn't all that strong, the rune had to be implanted by force.

A collective sigh of relief spread out from the Solam camp once they saw the snow rabbit. How could such a weakling defeat a winter wolf? It was only Mountainsea that still rested her head in her hands, looking around the laboratory attentively without an ounce of worry or anxiety on her face.

Professor Fayr straightened up when he saw this snow rabbit, revealing a bewildered expression. Shaman Urazadzu opened his crusty eyes, sizing up the snow rabbit before he slowly shut them again. There was a slight smile on his face.

As for Sharon herself, she tilted her head and dozed off with her hands supporting her face. It looked like the trip hadn't been a lucrative one, and the legendary mage hadn't completely recovered yet.

The winter wolf caught the attention of the snow rabbit once Richard left the arena. It was a gutsy creature indeed— its fur stood up at the sight, and it started squealing at the canine.

Being provoked by such a weak being, the wolf went into attack mode with no hesitation. It let loose menacing deep howls, streamlining its body before jumping forward at the speed of lightning. With one bite, it sank its teeth into the snow rabbit.

However, the rabbit that wasn't scared of the wolf earlier didn't resist in the least, taking the attack without doing anything. It grimaced in pain, trying to struggle, but the wolf had already lifted it off the ground. Any attempt of struggle was futile.

But just at that moment, the snow rabbit took in a deep breath with all its might. Its eyes turned from icy blue to blood red, its body inflating rapidly as its thick coat of fur couldn't withstand the glow of the flames within.

*Boom!* An explosion erupted in the middle of the arena, flames rising into the sky before morphing into a mushroom cloud that continued the ascent. They only dissipated when they reached the ceiling.

The dust cleared to reveal a distinct lack of a snow rabbit. However, the winter wolf's mouth was missing as well, and the upper half of its body was charred black. It took a few unsteady steps forward, but then suddenly fell head first to the floor. Its four limbs spasmed before they grew motionless.

Silence descended upon the laboratory. The sudden reversal of the outcome came far too suddenly. It took but a few moments from the start of the battle for the explosion to occur, and nearly nobody had expected such an outcome.

Richard stood by the laboratory, feigning a calm that could not conceal his feelings of pride. The legendary mage suddenly opened her once-closed eyes, her eyes turning to happy crescents as she blinked at him.

The silence was soon interrupted by a hysterical cry, “Cheating! He cheated!” The dragon warlock, despite being held back by his subordinates, was trying to climb over the railings to charge at Richard.

But Richard remained motionless; his eyes curved into two half slits exuding happiness. His left hand's fingers began moving subconsciously, and should the dragon warlock really charge forth he would find out what the true fighting techniques of the underworld were. Steelrock stared at Richard's left hand, before looking at the dragon warlock who was resisting with all his might. His face revealed a sense of nonchalance as he deliberately and very obviously spat in the dragon warlock's direction.

The members of the Solam tribe pretended not to have seen Steelrock's actions, before a few warriors came forth to pin Steven down. A few mages were exchanging whispers, discussing the battle in hushed voices. Meanwhile, Minnie gazed at Richard blankly from the Solam seats, her face twisted with complicated emotions. Please visit 𝒇𝚛𝙚𝙚𝘸𝙚𝗯𝓃𝗼ѵ𝚎𝘭. c𝑜𝘮

The Solams had turned into a mess, but the professors of the Deepblue remained sitting in their upright positions, not making any dramatic movements and only exchanging glances from time to time. At the same time, Mountainsea cemented her gaze onto Richard, neglecting anything else that appeared in her vision. However, having fixed her eyes onto Richard, Mountainsea's expression revealed an immense sense of longing, which she tried hard to suppress by maintaining her upright sitting posture, retaining the virtuous disposition that Norlanders were known to have.

Although a majority of the barbarian warriors hadn't been able to understand what happened, the change in expression of some of the palace guards implied they came to a certain realisation regarding things. The half--charred body of the wolf lay motionless in the middle of it all, with no chance of standing up once more.

“I won't accept this! He cheated!” Steven was in a frenzied rage, resisting with all the strength he could muster, making it hard for the four warriors holding him down to keep him there. He even went as far as to bite the arms of the warrior in front of him, but although the man flinched a little he wouldn't dare let go.

An old man dressed in common clothing stood up from the last row of the Solam seats, letting out a huge sigh before casting a sleep spell on Steven. The spell took full effect despite the dragon warlock's resistance, sending him into deep sleep after a short struggle. The sheer effectiveness of the spell spoke volumes of how formidable this mage was.

The old man took a look at Steven before commanding, “Take him back.” The Solam warriors took their leave, bringing the warlock out of the laboratory.

Only afterwards did he walk out of the Solam seats, bowing deeply to the distant Sharon in apology, “Forgive me, my family hasn't taught its children well. I hope you won't take it to heart.”

Sharon yawned and barely opened her eyes. The effectiveness of the spell, albeit it being very top-notch, had not impressed her. Had she cast the same spell she would have sent all the Solam Family members here to sleep. She'd even have a near 50% chance of it working on Steelrock, a totemic warrior of the barbarian race. The only reason why Sharon had decided to be a little more formal was due to the old man's social standing and his respectfulness.

“Earl Fornon Solam... Why sneak in without a word of greeting? Were you afraid the competition wouldn't be fair?” she asked in a mocking tone.

Fornon was Duke Solam's younger brother, a powerful level 18 mage who controlled a formidable branch family himself. It was evident why he appeared in the Deepblue this time, requiring no extra explanation.

Earl Fornon let out a huge sigh, and looked at Richard with complex feelings, “No, the results were very fair. We did lose the competition. The rune that was attached to the snow rabbit's body was likely a self-destruction rune, that's a grade 3 rune condensed down to an elementary one. Even if it was only a third of the efficiency, that's already very close to being a true runemaster. The competition was a test of one's understanding of runes, and Richard managed to create his own while we only stuck to the standard. Regardless of whether he designed it personally, we've failed the test.”

“I'm glad you think that way! There's no need to be too devastated about it, it's only one chance lost. There's no lack of such with me,” the legendary mage revealed a dimpled smile, “Considering our long relationship, I can consider giving you another slot. The fees will be the same as before, only half of what a paying student would give. Of course, it won't be in runecrafting. Hmm, how about this: I haven't taken in any apprentices to train based on bloodline, perhaps you might want to take up that domain? A strong warlock is like a mobile cannon on the battlefield!”

Fornon's face twitched a few times, before he thanked the legendary mage once more for her kind intentions and expressed his plans to discuss it with the duke before sending over a disciple with a bloodline to learn from the legendary mage. The Earl indeed had the demeanor of an aristocrat. Only after expressing his well wishes towards Richard once again did he lead the members of the Solam Family away.

Once the Solams left, Blackgold sighed deeply in regret. His gaze had been the same as Sharon's as they watched Steven being taken away, reluctant to part with him. Not every student could burn money like the warlock did. Steven indeed had no fitting opponent in that domain. It was a pity that, even though Sharon offered to teach him as a warlock, the Solams had decided to cut their losses...

The grand mages entered the arena, beginning to clean up. They flipped the charred winter wolf carcass over, beginning a hushed discussion.

Eventually, Professor Fayr couldn't help but stand forth and ask, “Richard. That rune you attached to the snow rabbit, did you simulate self-destruction or an implosion spell?” His voice was trembling just at the mention of the latter. Implosion was a grade 9 spell, something only the Solomon Family's fifth grade set that was passed on from generation to generation could recreate. Having asked the question, Fayr noticed how overly agitated he was as well. Even a simulated implosion would be at least grade 3, and the spell that Richard had implanted onto the snow rabbit was obviously just an elementary structure.

Richard suppressed his own agitation, slightly bowing towards the grand mages before answering like he was in a classroom. “I referenced self-destruction, but that's not what gave rise to the explosion. There's many kinks I have to iron out before I can recreate a grade 3 spell, so I actually just added three fireball spells into the rune, ignited by the vitality of the snow rabbit. Two of them had differing amounts of delay, so all three effectively burst forth at the same time. The life energy the snow rabbit could burst forth with on the edge of life and death triggered the effects of the rune.”

The explosion of three standard fireballs at the same time would have more than seventy degrees of power, definitely enough to fatally injure the winter wolf even if they didn't hit a vulnerable area like the mouth of the creature. Only grade 2 runes could cast multiple spells simultaneously, however, and they weren't something Richard could make now. Thus he'd decided to use the method with three fireballs and delays, but even so this wasn't something an ordinary runemaster could do. Only someone with precise calculations like Richard was capable of this feat. Just the delays on two of the fireballs had taken him a good half month to complete, requiring lots of practice and luck to get it within the 0.2 millimetre window he had.

However, Richard's words sent the mages into an uproar, and they couldn't help but start speaking in hushed voices.

“Three fireballs with two delays, and the timing of the delays was controlled so accurately? How unexpected!”

“So many different spells in one elementary rune?”

“Is this really something Richard built?”

It was no surprise for so many of the mages to be shocked. Implanting so many spell structures in such a small rune was no easy task. Furthermore, the rune itself had been custom designed, and if Richard really was the one who came up with it he would face no obstacles on his path to becoming a grand runemaster. Grand runemasters were very esteemed people in the three kingdoms, and some of them were people even Sharon couldn't offend. There were runemasters amongst the mages as well, but they watched on in wonder at the birth of a legend.

Having heard Richard's explanation, Fayr nodded his head and sat down slowly. He said profoundly, “Richard, the creativity you've shown with this rune is quite commendable, and it has your style. But remember that the gates of power have only just been opened ahead of you, and there is a long way to go before you reach the peak. Only when you complete your journey can you have the last laugh. Things like self destruction are a last resort, something you shouldn't use in most other situations. Putting everything into offense is not the best choice.”

Richard smiled faintly. Fayr's words confused him a little, but they also touched him. Runes really were a two-way bridge: the runes he created would allow others to peer into his own self.

Fayr had said his piece, but Richard felt distinctly that there were others paying attention to him as well. Chief amongst them were Sharon and Mountainsea. He'd won this fateful competition, revealing for the first time his gift that could take him to the level of a grand runemaster.

However, this was but a small stop in the grand scheme of things in his heart. He knew the hatred between him and Steven wouldn't cease just yet. Just like he'd told Mountainsea, some animosity could never be forgiven.

77 - City of Sin

Farewell

Things returned to normalcy the day after the competition for Richard, except for one thing. This was the day he had to bid farewell to Mountainsea.

Several months of daily interaction had already deeply imprinted this girl into his heart. The day she was to leave, he accompanied her to the foot of the Everwinter Mountains as was tradition in mountain villages like Rooseland.

It was only when she was at the crossroads heading east that Mountainsea finally stopped in her tracks. Steelrock and the rest of the barbarians continued to drive the carriages ahead, only stopping a few hundred metres away to give the two some space alone.

“I'm leaving now; don't miss me too much,” she finally spoke up for the first time in the journey.

“Don't worry, I've always been able to control myself.” The conversation was awkward between the boy and girl, a byproduct of months of intimate contact.

“Why don't you come with me, and be my man? We've already lived together for a few months— just one year and I'll be able to make a decision. Don't worry, I feel like I won't throw you into the sea when the time comes.” Mountainsea tried to persuade Richard once again.

“No!” Richard firmly rejected, just as he always had. It was not an answer that required much thought, since every day in the past three months he had to reject her in the same way several times.

Mountainsea frowned. This was the only thing she had picked up from Sharon after spending tens of millions of coins in tuition fees.

“Richard... What could you even do if I carry you away right now?” The threat immediately silenced him. It was both real and effective— even if he could produce runes now his defensive abilities were lackluster when faced with Mountainsea. That was how Mountainsea got her daily 'gifts.'

He eventually replied with a forced laugh, “I know you think I suit you, but you'll eventually be able to find someone more to your tastes.”

Mountainsea shook her head vigorously. “Even if there are, I wouldn't be interested anymore. Come with me! The power of our sacred totems is much greater than your magic runes; you can study them for life!”

Richard laughed helplessly; he had answered the same question numerous times beyond count, yet all he could do was to shake his head resolutely every time. He had long given Mountainsea his answer. “I cannot leave with you, there are other matters that require my attention. You can pull me away by force, but you will never be able to get my consent.”

This time, Mountainsea fell silent as well, staring at Richard for a while. All of a sudden, Richard realised that there seemed to be something unclear in the pupil of her eye.

After a long pause, Mountainsea raised her hand to untie the string of animal ivory attached to her braid and placed it in his palm. The tooth in the middle was particularly large, with some holes carved on it. It looked to be a whistle.

“For you. Remember to keep it with you all the time, and don't lose it,” she told him.

Richard looked back from the ivory to Mountainsea, and it suddenly seemed heavier in his hand. After some thought, he decided to wear it as a bracelet on his left wrist.

Seeing his actions, Mountainsea let out a tiny smile. “I know you Norland men all want to be stronger than your wives. If you want to dominate me according to Norland tradition, though... I can't see it happening at all. But that's okay; I'll wait for that day to come.

“Remember, blow into that whistle in the middle and I'll know, no matter where I am. If your life is in immediate danger one day, and you're about to be killed, I'll come and avenge you. If you decide you want to become my man, then just blow on the whistle as you step into mainland Klandor. I'll join you for the ultimate duel.”

Richard was completely at a loss for words. The only thing he felt was the ivory being as hot as fire, burning him so hard he almost couldn't catch his breath. Google search 𝗳𝔯e𝒆𝙬𝘦𝙗𝓷o𝘷el. c૦𝑚

Mountainsea suddenly let loose a smile as bright as the sun, saying with a laugh, “If you fall down to my beating, I'll directly throw you into the sea!”

Mountainsea's laughter filled the air without a hint of pretense. Still, Richard grew even more solemn as the atmosphere relaxed.

“Now then, time for a present!” The girl approached Richard, rendering him practically helpless. He gave up on any resistance, but he didn't expect Mountainsea's actions.

She didn't go in for a passionate 'kiss,' instead giving him a long, deep hug.

“I'm off!” Mountainsea turned around right as she finished, taking large strides towards the barbarians' carriages in the distance. Her steps were heavy but firm; every single one making her look like a prehistoric giant that left everyone trembling in fear.

Speechless, all Richard could do was wave. And although Mountainsea didn't even turn around, she lifted her right hand and waved hard, as though there were eyes at the back of her head. Her shadow stretched towards him with the rising sun, almost as though she didn't go away at all...

The sun shone brightly above Floe Bay as usual the day after, the blue crescent moon faintly discernible on the horizon. The winds had turned chilly, and bits and pieces of ice started to float on the surface of the sea. There were fewer ships entering and leaving the harbour today, displacing less water as well. The ships that couldn't withstand iceberg impacts were almost gone, but the business in the harbour wasn't much different from usual. The number of ships able to plow through the ice had multiplied greatly ever since the midsummer festival.

To Richard the day was a brand new start, but just as much it was a continuation of the past. This day forth he could focus completely on exploring the world of runecrafting, but there wasn't much change to the actual rhythm of his life. His activities, tallied once a month in great chronological detail, still left the grey dwarf gasping for air trying to catch up.

As winter arrived, Richard finally made the first complete magic rune in his life. It was a standard Elementary Agility rune, the one he'd first made a breakthrough in. From the selection and processing of the material, to the production of usable components, every step in the creation of this rune slot was made by Richard alone, with no help from anyone else. Normal runemasters usually made use of ready-to-use processed materials to save time, but Richard started from scratch, all the way at the beginning where he cut the pelt.

The rune had taken two whole weeks to make, and by the end of it Richard had grown able to memorise the entire procedure by heart. Completing all the steps, he realised his understanding of runecrafting had been elevated once more.

This was a high-quality rune, able to improve agility by 41%. The magic formation this time was stable, expanding its range of use greatly. If it was slotted onto an armoured warhorse again, the horse wouldn't die to a lack of energy.

Any rune had three basic sections to it— a controller, a mana supply, and the main magic unit itself. Most grade 1 and 2 runes relied primarily on absorbing energy from attached magic crystals, or using the life force or mana of its host itself. The first rune he'd tried to make had problems in the mana supply, leading to an excessive absorption of life force without anything to keep it in check. This led to the horse running about wildly, dying from exhaustion. Naturally, he would never commit such a mistake.

He'd redrawn the same formation he'd used then. Although there weren't any new things in the design, the pure precision of the rune this time was so terrifying it was nearly only possible in theory. Anyone who actually had an idea of the craft would likely break out in cold sweat if they saw this rune because of how closely it resembled the base draft.

The precision of the rune was so high that even Richard himself was not confident of making another copy again. Only after a long time, once his skill had increased significantly, would he be confident in stabilising at such a level of accuracy.

Honestly, Richard did not really understand the significance of his work, and only treated it as a practice piece from the get go. Thus, he did not pay much attention to it after completion, and just threw it directly to Blackgold for thirty thousand gold coins. On Norland, most standard elementary agility runes were priced between a hundred thousand to a hundred and fifty thousand coins. Just like he'd decided to long ago, Blackgold had ended up offering 20-30% of the market value.

78 - City of Sin

Taking Flight

Richard did not know what the market prices were like outside of the Deepblue, and even if he did he was not interested. At this moment he was simply overwhelmed with excitement. Although these few tens of thousands were completely insignificant in comparison to the cost of the resources he had used, this was the first sum of money which he had earned through his own effort!

Richard only indulged in the pleasure of receiving this additional income for a few more minutes before immersing himself back into endless work and learning. Blackgold, on the other hand, had put on his high-power magnifying glasses made of refined gold and thrown himself onto his work desk. Completely oblivious to the passing of time, he studied the rune that Richard had delivered meticulously, line by line.

Only when the room had turned completely dim did Blackgold suddenly realize that the sky was already dark. He then promptly proceeded to light seven to eight magical lamps which filled the room with light as bright as day before he jumped back onto his working desk, continuing to inspect the rune which he had only spent thirty thousand on.

Before he knew it, it was already daybreak. He let out a long breath and stood up, his growling stomach reminding him that he hadn't eaten for the past day and night. However, Blackgold couldn't care less as he searched wildly to retrieve a magic briefcase of the best quality. Carefully placing the rune inside, he left the Deepblue in a hurry.

At the end of the month, when Richard scanned through his bill as per usual, to his surprise he found an additional income entry of a huge amount of 800,000 gold titled 'Dividend from Auction of Rune'. This was on top of the 30,000 gold he'd received from selling the rune to Blackgold, as well as the gold from Sharon's Delight, which in total, accumulated to an astounding amount.

Richard tried hard to recall. He had only handed an Elementary Agility rune to Blackgold, and from his knowledge such a rune couldn't exceed 200,000 in price no matter what. Even if he'd exceeded the maximum 50% boost, it would still only be 200,000 coins. So how was it auctioned at a price so high such that even the dividend was worth eight hundred thousand coins? Moreover, this sum of income did not come from Sharon, but Blackgold. From Richard's understanding of the grey dwarf, he would never give all of his auction earnings to Richard. In fact, he would not give half or even a quarter of the earnings to him! This was merely Elementary Agility!

Yet, as Richard soon encountered a new tricky problem in his research on rune design, this matter was quickly tossed to the back of his mind. It was the grey dwarf who, on the other hand, took much greater interest in him. He checked up on Richard from time to time, often to inquire kindly whether he needed anything. The abnormality was evident in his behaviour, but Richard's attention was fully devoted to his problem which seemed almost impossible to overcome. As a result, it completely did not occur to him what the grey dwarf's behaviour could mean.

Richard still did not know that his copy of Elementary Agility had been auctioned at the Sacred Alliance for a sky-high price of 5 million! This was because it was unimaginably versatile in its adaptability, and had a boost range exceeding 35% of a standard rune of its type, allowing it to be attached onto many fourth-grade and even third-grade rune slots to combine into a compound rune. Such a compound rune would take up less space on a rune knight's body.

The more adaptable a rune, the less taxing it was on the capacity of a knight's rune slots. No rune could afford to exceed the maximum capacity, and a certain margin had to be set aside when crafting one. Thus, there was always a problem of wasting a part of the rune slots even with a custom-made rune. Additionally, the higher the grade of the rune, the more of the capacity wasted. The sheer amount of wasted capacity from a few grade 4 runes would be enough to accommodate an elementary rune. The original conception of a compound rune was to maximize the usage of a rune knight's slots, in turn maximising their effectiveness in battle.

However, the adaptability and effectiveness of a rune were mutually exclusive. While a more adaptable rune wouldn't take up as much of the rune slot, it wasn't as powerful either. While there were runes in the market that could compare to Richard's standard in terms of adaptability, most of them only had a boost of about twenty percent, which was far below the standard boost of thirty percent. The value of Richard's rune was in the fact that it had a boost of up to 41%. With double the effectiveness of a similar rune, people were willing to pay fifty times the price.

Rune knights who were truly skilled could make use of the rune's adaptability to the fullest. If Richard could make a rune with a 42% boost, the price would reach six million instead. This was how things worked at the higher end of the market, prices increasing in geometric progression with the rarity of the object.

Richard still did not know of all these details, and he couldn't care less even if he did. He was much more farsighted than that, and would not falter simply for these meagre material gains right in front of him now. At the same time, Blackgold was an extremely reasonable grey dwarf who would stand firm by his principles. Even though he looked forward to more runes, he never pressed Richard for them.

Time crept by quietly. The Deepblue seemed to have kept to its status quo, except that the people living in here would age with every passing year. Spring had come and gone again, and it suddenly dawned on Richard the next spring that he was now fifteen years of age.

In Norland, adulthood began at fifteen years old. Richard was now already a level 8 mage, and had just completed his last standard elementary rune last night. Now he had a grasp of all elementary runes, and only had to manufacture a single grade 2 rune before he could officially declare himself a runemaster. This was merely a matter of time, and it would not take long. In fact, if not for the fact that Richard insisted on learning all of the elementary runes first, he may have already been able to make second-grade runes.

More often than not, the legendary mage was still nowhere to be seen. Ever since she had met Mountainsea, she had been spending less and less time at the Deepblue. She was always travelling the boundless planes, and although nobody knew what exactly she was busy with it was most likely related to earning money in any case.

As time slipped by, spring was here again. Richard's birthday was coming up as well. The Day of Destiny would be here soon as well, the specific date never the same but still in the same general timespan. The power of destiny was only triggered by the tides of all seven moons in the sky at the same time.

On the night before the Day of Destiny, Richard suddenly felt that it was time for him to leave the Deepblue. Sharon still hadn't returned, and he had the slight feeling that she wouldn't until after he left.

On that day Richard packed his luggage, and informed Blackgold that he would be leaving. He was still unsure as to where he would go, but he believed he would have the answer once the Day of Destiny passed. Richard's intuition had grown sharper, an indication of his burgeoning mana reserves.

On that night, Richard didn't do anything for once. He just brewed a cup of tea like an aged man would, sitting wordlessly in front of the french window. He stared out, at Floe Bay, lit brightly under the seven moons, and reminisced about the last fifteen years of his life.

He'd had his fair share of joy and gloom. Not passing any judgement, he just thought back to the important moments of his life and nothing more. At fifteen years of age Richard had the wisdom of someone ten years his senior, and the sentiment of one ten older than that.

When the first ray of morning light shone onto the surface of the sea, the seven crescents disappeared behind the mountains one after the other. The Day of Destiny had passed, but little did anyone know how many fates had been changed that night.

......

An eagle suddenly spread its wings and rose into the sky from the Everwinter Mountains, flying across the vast Floe Bay before disappearing far and beyond into the horizon. A pair of bottomless eyes caught sight of the eagle's figure, waves of emotion stirring within the pools of red so thick it resembled blood.

This was a towering knight with a brawny figure practically comparable to a barbarian warrior. He was clad in heavy black armour that appeared to be worn out, with fuzzy patterns of mottled crimson on the body. The helmet was covered with chops and stab marks, making for a ghastly sight, making it such that people would hardly dare imagine the sheer number of life-or-death battles this armour had accompanied its owner through. Many of the thick thorns on the shoulders, arms, and knees were already blunt, not having been polished or repaired. This set of full body armour was designed to cover its owner completely from head to toe, and from the protruding edges it seemed like it was five millimetres thick. The entire set would be astonishingly heavy.

Yet, the knight's movements were not affected in the least, as though the set of heavy armour weighed nothing at all. Every move of his seemed to radiate a fog of blackish-red blood vitality from its gaps, something that the armour absorbed back immediately after. With this cycle, it seemed like the knight was covered in heavy red mist.

The horse the knight was sitting on was of great stature as well, about half a fold taller than the regular warhorse. Its huge body was covered with black heavy armour, the skirt hanging down to the knees of the horse's legs. As its iron hooves galloped along, one could see the light gold of magic symbol on them faintly.

Right now, the warhorse was reined in to a stop by its master. It was digging around the ground impatiently using its iron hooves. Every kick disintegrated the green rocks nearby to pieces.

The knight raised his head slightly and watched as the eagle flew further away before he smiled thoughtfully. He lifted his helmet to reveal a chiseled face, with dark red hair and a stiff, bristle-like moustache. If not for the fact that the devil accessory on the front of his chest armour had already been marred by countless strikes and was beyond recognition, many would surely be able to recognise his identity from the head carved upon it. This was the leader of the thirteen knights who followed Gaton Archeron into Faust— Mordred.

As though he felt the impatience of the warhorse, Mordred patted it lightly on the neck. The ferocious and brazen beast let out a long neighing sound, trotted on his hooves and continued forward with steady ease.

Ahead of Mordred, the Deepblue was already growing visible on the horizon.

79 - City of Sin

Journey

Richard left the Deepblue as soon as the calendar flipped to the first day of April, taking all his luggage with him. The spring wasn't all that cold, and the refreshing winds felt soft and cool when they blew against his body as he headed east, towards the border roads of the Sacred Alliance.

The sideroads to the Everwinter Mountains twisted here to face north, continuing alongside the main road which itself was wide enough for four horse carriages to travel side by side. They headed deep into the Sacred Alliance.

Reining in the warhorse, Richard turned back. Far in the distance the spectacular constructions of the Deepblue had faded out into the indistinct fog, leaving only it's elegant pointed tip flickering in and out of existence above the clouds and mist. Buried under that thick fog was Floe Bay, whilst the Everwinter Mountains' snowy peaks penetrated through the mist, standing tall in the sky.

What he'd left behind in the Deepblue was not just five years of his life, but countless precious memories as well as a remaining debt of over twenty million gold coins. He viewed all of Sharon's Delight as debts, which he would definitely return to the legendary mage in the future. In the last two years, Richard had successfully earned over six million gold coins through selling magic runes to Blackgold and returned part of his 'debt'. While the grey dwarf had no idea why Richard was so persistent in this, he more than welcomed it, especially when Richard never argued about the huge difference in the selling and buying prices.

Even if there came a day where Richard repaid all of his debts, Sharon's Delight would forever remain a precious memory to him, worth far beyond just thirty million.

“It's time to go, Richard,” Mordred's voice sounded from the front, interrupting the myriad of thoughts running through his mind.

Richard sighed internally and urged the warhorse on, catching up to move alongside Mordred. Mordred gazed at his warhorse and nodded with approval, “That's a fairly good horse.”

Richard was currently riding a specialty of Floe Bay, an armoured warhorse. This was a species they'd nurtured for over three generations, and they'd dulled the violent streak of its wild cousins without damaging its valiance.

Richard's horse, however, was obviously much taller and larger than the common armoured warhorse and was only one size smaller than Mordred's own mount. The horse was clearly feeling uneasy, but under Richard's control, it managed to move alongside Mordred's steed. In Mordred's eyes, any horse that could get close to his 'Lava' and not collapse was a good horse. Unlike ordinary warhorses, Lava was carnivorous.

During numerous battles of life and death, Lava had always been the first to seriously injure, kick or even bite the opponent's mount to death, allowing Mordred to achieve the upper hand and kill the opponent cleanly in one go. Hence, a fair number of powerful magic beasts had fallen under Lava, and like Mordred Lava emanated a bloody aura at all times.

Richard sat comfortably on his horse, seemingly unperturbed by the bloody aura radiating from Mordred. Now a true youth, his body had grown and though a part of him now looked like Gaton, he was more handsome in the same way the silvermoon elves were. Only the constant slight smile, plastered on his face, concealed that his thoughts did not belong to either Elaine nor Gaton.

Mordred looked at Richard's sharp features through his side profile and smiled in satisfaction. Being able to linger by his side without concern meant that Richard would not make a fool of himself in the bloody battles that were to come.

While studying with Naya, Richard had seen him torture others not just once. Interrogations more bloody and terrifying than the one with Blood Parrot were not few in number. By the third time, Richard no longer needed the wooden bucket and after the fifth, he began to help Naya out. After the eighth time, he'd even possessed enough strength to clean up the kitchen at the back on Naya's behalf! Compared to the smell from Naya's kitchen, Richard did not even seem to notice the bloodiness arising from Mordred. Despite this, however, Mordred's endless bloodlust was something Naya could never match up to.

When he had gone to Rooseland to retrieve Richard and Elaine, Mordred had brought with him a middle-ranked, heavily armoured group of knights along with two light cavalry. Now, five years later when collecting Richard from the Deepblue, he had only brought two knights to accompany them.

Two rune knights, that is. These rank 2 rune knights were only slightly weaker than the entire troop Mordred had brought to Rooseland in the past. Even two brigades would have to spend a lot of time and effort to take them out.

The small group of four people and five mounts slowly travelled further into the boundless land between the mountains and seas, the extra mount carrying the small luggage they had between them.

To be honest, there were many methods of long-distance travel on Norland. With enough money, trained two-legged wyverns and griffins would be a good option to carry people along fixed routes. The physically larger moslan two-headed eagle was also known for its great endurance and ability to fly three thousand kilometres within a day and night. In addition, the dwarves' famous Floating Vessel was a miracle created by alchemical techniques and contained a very comfortable interior within the flying machine. However, the danger and cost of the products of alchemy were several times higher than taming beasts, rendering this method unfavourable in comparison.

Going along the waters was also a pretty good option if you were unwilling to bear the wind pressure along with the cold and weightless feeling that came with travelling through the skies. This option included large ships powered by magic, which could travel distances over a thousand kilometres everyday along with tamed masha baleen whales', able to travel about the same distance, but in a bumpier journey.

With the Archeron Family's current strength and status, Richard would have been able to hire enough griffins to ferry them between the Deepblue and Faust a couple times with the money he had on hand. Only when away from the Deepblue did gold seem to have gold's worth.

Rather than a journey which could be completed within a week by riding a griffin, Mordred had instead prepared to travel the length via horseback. This way, there would be numerous dangers and the length of the trip would be extended to around a month. In Richard's perspective this month lost was very precious, and its worth could not be measured through money. He was now very proficient in creating elementary runes, and with arduous study, he could still continue with the practice of creating the most basic elementary agility rune and even create two in one month. Subtracting the costs of the materials, earning a few hundred thousand gold coins would not have been an issue at all.

Hence, Richard had voiced his dissent to Mordred regarding this from the very beginning, but Mordred had said that this was Gaton's decision.

Faust was over seven thousand kilometres away from the Deepblue as the crow flies, and taking into consideration the limited terrain one could cross on horseback that distance more than doubled to over fifteen thousand. They would have to travel through mountains, forests, rivers, and huge uninhabited areas full of various dangers. They would even have to pass through ten or so territories that belonged to families harboring malicious intent towards the Archerons. In light of this, one could definitely foresee that there would be many battles along the way. Gaton wished for Richard to be trained through constant battles, so he could gain battle experience and learn how to coordinate with rune knights and other heavily armoured melee troops, especially since he knew the boy was a budding mage.

In other words, by the time Richard entered Faust, Gaton hoped that he would already be equipped with some battle experience.

80 - City of Sin

Journey

Indeed, Richard's destination was the legendary city of Faust.

There was a certain kind of magic to time. When Richard had left the Blackrose Castle five years ago, entering Faust was but a thought in the mind of the daring lunatic called Gaton. Now? The Archerons were already an official member of the city.

The bards of the Sacred Alliance always spoke of the exciting experiences of the many families that tried to enter Faust. These families prepared meticulously for over a hundred years, and even then they still needed well-recognised heroes to lead them as they tore down various barriers on a journey of blood and fire with their very lives on the line to step foot into Faust and settle down there. Every family currently in Faust had such an epic behind it.

But Gaton had changed everything. He compressed a hundred years of preparation into a mere three, and changed what would be a magnificent ballad into a zealous aria.

Richard was currently fifteen years of age, and could now be considered a true runemaster. Although Gaton seemed indifferent to this on the outside, he had long sent Mordred to bring the boy to Faust. He had plans for his son's future, and the arrival of Mordred in the Deepblue signified that he was thoroughly aware of Richard's progress. On the other hand, Richard had come to know more about his father in the past years, growing levels past his confused former self.

Gaton setting the place of their meeting to Faust wasn't as simplistic as it seemed. Entering the city of legends was only the beginning; every family there had only been given a ticket to participate in the game of power and authority within the city. A long path awaited them if they wished for their voice to be heard at the highest echelons of Norland.

Any new clan that successfully entered Faust would be discriminated against and ambushed for the next ten years or so. Even though the same skirmishes occurred between established families as well, it was at least in secret ways that wouldn't affect their reputation. This was why many successful families had a handful of influential allies within the city of legends, to help them through the challenging phase that came after they were severely wounded during their entry.

In the past 400 years, 53 families and clans had embarked on a journey to Faust, with only 21 succeeding. And yet, the number of clans actually within Faust still remained at a constant 14. Richard wasn't sure if his father had any allies, but there were certainly more enemies than one could count. The situation the Archerons faced when they first entered Faust could be described as mass abhorrence; everyone they met or passed was an enemy. Two years had passed since then, and in theory the Archerons should have been in their most difficult phase but Gaton surprisingly managed to send his best knight—who extravagantly brought along two rune knights—to escort Richard. This was proof that he had already steadied his status in Faust.

And to Richard, this news was both good and bad. Google search 𝙛𝘳𝘦𝐞𝑤ℯ𝗯n𝗼ѵe𝑙. c૦𝑚

The first day after they left the Deepblue, they set out even before the sun rose and only stopped advancing when dusk fell. The only meal they had was some bites of rations, along with some cold water that they'd carried on the spare horse. A ten-hour journey had taken them over 300 kilometres away from the Deepblue, with the resting site Mordred had prepared beforehand nearby.

It was a small, unknown town, but rather prosperous due to the road that connected them to the neighbouring empire. There were less than 100 families in the town, but it strangely had six inns which was clearly the main source of their income.

Riding a horse gets fairly tiring after long periods of time. When the horses walked onto the firm and even ground of the town, Richard showed signs of exhaustion on his face. Yet he remained alert, and seemed to have energy left over. The armoured warhorse was a beast meant for short bursts of power, but this day-long trek didn't seem to faze it either as its steps were still steady and it looked rather spirited.

Mordred and the two rune knights looked the same as they did in the morning, apart from some dirt and dust that had settled on them. They were physically trained to be able to run at their highest speed whenever a situation called for it, so this journey was a piece of cake for them. But the two rune knights now looked at Richard with a newfound admiration, and Mordred praised him, “That's a pretty good horse there, Richard. And you too!”

They all knew Richard was only a level 8 mage, technically supposed to be quite frail. Mages weren't exactly weak with their bodies, still considerably stronger than regular humans, but they couldn't compare to warriors. Even if a mage's body also grew stronger with level Richard was only level 8 at the moment, his limited mana making it difficult to sustain magic like Bull's Strength and Agility of the Breeze that would increase his energy. It was unlikely for him to have harnessed additional strength through magic.

Because of time and other reasons, half of their day's journey had been off the main road, going through a shortcut filled with hills and streams. The road was extremely bumpy, so Richard was supposed to be worn out without any enhancing magic. The fact that he was showing this level of energy even now implied that his body was much stronger than peers of his level.

One of Mordred's intentions in this trip was to strengthen Richard's physique and willpower on top of his combat ability, but it seemed like the original 300 kilometres he'd planned for a day had underestimated the boy. It wasn't all that strange for Richard to be so strong, after all the care and nurture of the legendary mage left all of the Deepblue's mages as strong as bears, but how did his horse have such endurance?

Mordred took another look at it and something caught his eye. “Richard, you added a rune to this horse?”

“Yes. It's an elementary rune that can reduce energy consumption and increase regeneration. It's called Vitality.”

“Vitality? I don't think I've heard of it?” Mordred asked in confusion. As a high-levelled rune knight, although he did not know how to make runes his knowledge of them was comparable to that of an ordinary runemaster.

“It isn't a standard rune, instead something I designed after some reading on both magic and divine spells.” Richard drew up the sleeve of his right arm and revealed a complicated yet graceful motif on his bicep, “Look, I gave myself one too. This allows me to regenerate faster.”

“Why not something that can increase your fighting strength, like those that can enhance your attacks with magic?” Mordred furrowed his brows.

“That's for the future,” Richard answered, “Vitality gives me more time and energy to learn and practise magic, which will grow my power more in the long run. I'll consider runes that increase my combat abilities when my body can handle more rune slots in the future.”

Mordred stroked his needle-like beard and laughed, “You don't behave like a fifteen-year-old, do you?”

81 - City of Sin

Conquering Heaven

Richard raised his head and gazed at the night sky before replying, “But there are a lot of 15 year-old Archerons who behave like me, aren't there?”

Mordred did not keep his laughter in this time round, as he carried Richard off the horse and gave him a pat on his back almost strong enough to swat him into the mud before roaring, “You're overthinking things! There really are a lot of intelligent fifteen-year-old Archerons, but that's all there is to them. When master was 15 he was rather silly himself, and there were tons of kids smarter than him. Look where they are now, the clever ones are nowhere to be seen!”

Richard's eyes lit up, “You're talking about Gaton Archeron?”

“Yes, your father!” Mordred corrected.

“It's Gaton Archeron, right?” Richard repeated his question.

“Alright, alright, it's him.” Mordred shrugged before saying, “You Archerons are really weird beings.”

“So, you meant?” Richard continued to probe.

“It's simple. You're already quite outstanding amongst the fifteen-year-olds of the family, but the tables might turn when you reach sixteen. The one who laughs last will always be the best, so first you've gotta make sure to stay alive till you're sixteen, kid! That's also why Master wanted me to lead you into a few battles along the way. Faust isn't known only for its wealth, prosperity, and women!”

Before Richard could say anything, Mordred took the chance to continue, “Alright kid, you have to seize the time now to eat and sleep. Since you have that strange 'Vitality' rune now, we have to make some changes to the plan. Tomorrow's journey will be 700 kilometres!”

......

Cloudy skies, rainy skies, and clear skies. The weather continued to cycle around as time elapsed. A month had passed within the blink of an eye, and Richard's party was close to reaching Faust.

The world is complicated, and accidents happen to the smartest of people. Neither Gaton nor Mordred expected the old enemies of the family to be so... restrained. None of them had picked a fight or provoked Mordred, smiling and gritting their way through it when he took his fully equipped rune knights through their territories or even stepped foot in their castles. They didn't respond to any of his provocations for a fight, and that left him speechless.

Although Mordred was blood-thirsty and adored killing, he wasn't a rascal without morals. How could he initiate any form of attack when all people did was smile at him and some even offered to let their personal demon blacksmiths to check the hooves of Lava when he accidentally knocked over their important monuments? He could only leave and give them a bag of gold coins as compensation for the monuments he destroyed.

So Richard did not actually engage in any fights throughout their journey to Faust. The only things he did kill were passing beasts.

Richard did not take part in any anticipated battle all the way until Lava stepped foot onto the ground of the Eternal Plains. It seemed like the reputation—no, the infamy— of the Archerons had already spread throughout the Sacred Alliance. Nobody wanted to face these madmen alone, without sufficient benefits and a steady ally.

The Eternal Plains were the territory of the legendary city. This meant there were no more chances for them to face danger now— immediate danger, at least. The plains were gentle and smooth, the horizon stretching farther into the sky than Richard had ever seen before. The plateau was decorated with mahogany rocks, and shy grasses peeked through the cracks with innumerable colourful flowers adorning them. The explosion of colour was a feast to the eyes.

Richard stopped his horse and raised his head. The strong winds blowing strongly in his direction made him feel a little suffocated, but another thing that took his breath was the exceptional scenery before him. Looking at it, Richard felt as if he could see almost the entire plain at once.

The total area of the Eternal Plain wasn't actually big, its circumference a mere hundred kilometres, but it was more like a giant platform that rose within Norland. As small as it was, it wasn't something that could be viewed completely in one shot. Anyone who did get a full view of it would immediately feel suffocated!

There is power within space. Even Richard, who was used to seeing indoor spaces thousands of square metres in area was awestruck by the current view in front of him. He felt a sudden compulsion to stop himself from getting lost, holding his breath and furthering his line of sight bit by bit before he saw a mountain peak resembling a fiery red pillar at the very end of his vision. This disrupted his sense of space and distance, and because of that the numbers describing the scarlet peak in his mind didn't correspond to what he was seeing. It was an error that was driving him insane!

It was said that blessings would be given to first-time visitors of the miracle-filled Eternal Plains, and they would gain the ability to be able to look at every corner of the plains. Richard finally knew for himself now that the legend was true. The feeling of receiving the blessing wasn't as good as he thought, but it was still exciting.

This fiery red peak was the Miracle Peak that sustained Faust. The mountain was surrounded by an extremely thin line— almost not distinguishable to the eye— that led upwards. That was the path to the peak, and the peak was actually hidden in the clouds! There was a mass of clouds covering the peak, pure and white, moving slowly and gracefully as if with a life of their own. They were never swayed even by the strongest of winds.

However, Richard saw something looming within those divine clouds. He was shocked beyond words as he rubbed his eyes and tried to look as far as he could and he finally realised that it was a floating island! There were mountains and streams and vegetation on the island, and he even saw buildings, each unique to their own.

“Is— Is that...” Richard pointed at the island within the clouds, and was rendered speechless.

“That is the Floating Island, where all fourteen acknowledged families of Faust live. When I first saw it, I couldn't believe my eyes either. But at the time when I was fighting alongside your father in Faust, and we didn't sleep for around 6 months. I can't remember how many battles I've been in or how many people I've killed. When we finally arrived at the Eternal Plains, I was dead beat and only wanted to find a place to sleep, so how could I have any strength left to appreciate things like this? I was thinking that since we were already here, it's only a matter of time that we make it up there.” Mordred watered down their epic advance to Faust to a few dull and ordinary sentences, but his natural arrogance and dominance still seeped through his words.

82 - City of Sin

Conquering Heaven

“Alright, it's time for us to go. You'll have plenty of time to look at all this later,” Mordred waved dismissively as he urged Lava to move forward towards Miracle Peak. Richard managed to suppress his awe and follow suit.

The party took an entire hour to reach the foot of the peak, and only at such close proximity did the five-kilometre-wide and three-kilometre-tall mountain truly show its awe-inducing magnificence. It was impossible for any humans to take in the beauty of the vast landscape all at once, and one had to continuously turn and adjust their viewpoint to look at the different areas, be it the peak or the pathway to the top.

The thin line they'd just seen leading to the mountain peak now revealed itself to be a wide passageway that could accommodate four large carriages side by side. The road was paved in slabs of uneven rock, but they all strangely fit together without any cracks in between. One could see dense granules on the seemingly smooth surface if they looked hard enough, intended to prevent the wheels of carriages from slipping. The edge of the pathway was lined with a steel railing, and barriers topped with metallic beast heads that seemed truly alive. There was a strip of raised stone in the middle of the path, painted yellow to distinguish opposing traffic.

Richard tilted his head upwards, his vision following the pavement. Looking from where he was, even if he craned his neck to the maximum he would only be able to see the thick clouds that surrounded the peak. It was hard to imagine or even think about the island that lay above. Nonetheless, his mathematical ability did not fail him, as he calculated the total length of the pathway from the gradient. However, just how much did they have to spend for a pathway of such a length when every piece of brick and every barrier here was so meticulously crafted? It was an incomprehensible sum of money for Richard. He only ever felt this way when he tried to calculated the construction costs of the Deepblue in the past. And yet, this was only the path to the city of legends.

“Hey Richard, look there!” Mordred's voice sounded out, and Richard's eyes flitted to the direction the older man was pointing to. There he saw a mass of peculiar-looking buildings, about one kilometre away. The most prominent characteristic of these buildings was their flat roofs, upon which griffins landed every now and then to build up momentum before taking off. They flew about for a while, before going higher towards the clouds that enveloped the peak.

Most of the time they only carried a person or two, flying alone. But there were some groups that carried crowds up, painting a rather awe inspiring image as the entire pack spread their marvellous wings all at once and darkened the sky as their majestic hoots resounded. One could hear those yells from far away.

“This is the griffin stop. You can get on one to go up or down the mountain for convenience, but do take note that won't allow you to bring your own ride along. On the other end of the hill, there's also two wyvern stops and morsehill hawk stops. But then, the people of Faust have a strong distaste for the smell of dragons so the wyverns can only be used to transport goods. Anyway, it's time to go up, so follow me closely. It'll be a long journey, so add some more magic to your horse while you can.”

Lava growled lowly and started making its way up when Mordred gave the ferocious beast a pat on its neck. Although the road was wide, it was still relatively crowded due to the high traffic of other knights and carriages sending goods. Surprisingly, many of the knights they saw along the way were rune knights, some making Mordred and party pale in comparison.

When their horses finally stepped into the clouds, Richard could feel a faint sense of magic in the air. The flow of mana was cryptic, but if one put their heart into it, it was still detectable. It formed invisible, condensed threads of energy. When Richard decrypted the purpose of these threads, it shocked him— these were actually part of a spell formation! If every part of the clouds was filled with these threads, how big was the spell formation exactly?

“Look out! The door to Faust is right in front of you!” Mordred's voice travelled over to Richard from higher up the clouds. Richard gathered his thoughts again, speeding his horse up as he detoured around the path. He found himself having entered a large field.

With no clouds disturbing his vision anymore, the horizon instantly widened. He found that he'd come to a large field that was about a kilometre in perimeter, made out of bronze rock that even he couldn't tell the origin of. Judging from the fact that their horses failed to leave even the tiniest of scratches on the surface, however, it was clear that this material was quite tough. The entire area was a light gold, with numerous veins dotting it coloured a mixture of navy and deep green. These lines resembled runes and spell symbols, and seemed to be making up a giant spell formation. Richard couldn't tell the constituents of this rock either, and he was also unable to feel any trace of mana flow from the giant spell formation.

Richard had a gut feeling that he was stepping on a spell formation, but this was something he hadn't learnt about before. Not only was it different from the conventional spell formations he knew of, he couldn't even understand the meaning of the individual symbols of it. This spell formation was impossible to explain using what he knew of magic theory.

His attention was soon caught by two huge sculptures at the centre of the field. They were each a hundred metres tall, depicting warriors holding onto swords with their faces covered by cloaks. The swords within their hands were plain and simple, only that there were two peculiar runes— both navy in colour— in the middle of the blade. They were bowed slightly, as if saluting a supreme being somewhere. Although these were merely lifeless sculpture, he could feel their sincerity bursting forth. And somehow, Richard could feel a vague sense of power and killing intent from these sculptures.

Behind the sculptures were two pillars, both a hundred metres tall as well, with the space between them bridged by a domed roof. Be it the pillars or the roof, they were both made of the same rocks used to build the arena, with the same magical veins of navy and green around them that he couldn't understand. However, no matter how close Richard observed these constructs, he couldn't find any point with cracks that indicated the joint between two rocks. What exactly did this suggest? Were the two sculptures of warriors and the pillars behind them all carved from a perfect big piece of rock?

Who was it exactly that had the ability to sculpt such a phenomenal piece?

Richard found it hard to breathe again. He closed his eyes, attempting to empty the thoughts from his head till there was nothing but white space. He then gradually opened his eyes to gaze at the domed roof of the arched door. At the centre was the name of Faust, engraved by the same spells used elsewhere throughout Norland. Other than the fact that the name of the city was carved by magic spells, Richard could not find any other evidence of the link between this humongous arched door and the city of legends.

83 - City of Sin

Conquering Heaven

There were thick chains coiled around the domed roof, falling down to suspend a large dragon head. The head was a deep black, covered in numerous pricks and thorns that was eerie despite the lack of life in the beast. This dragon seemed to have died a long time ago, and unlike ordinary members of its species it had a dozen eyes of varying sizes and a twisted mouth with hundreds of fangs. Richard knew at first look that this was no common beast, instead a demonic dragon from the abyssal planes. Judging from its size and strength, only the primordial dragons he'd heard of in folklore could compare.

Slaying the Abyssal Dragon Daramore was the best achievement of the Sacred Alliance's founder, Emperor Charles. It also spoke of the unprecedented military success of the human invasion of the abyssal planes. When Emperor Charles was the ruler, he'd gathered a millions-strong army from across dozens of planes to aid him in overturning the abyss. It took a month just to get the main troops into the Abyss, with more than thirty million soldiers participating. The bravest of warriors had laid down their lives to give their emperor and his seven best generals a chance to fight to the core of the Abyss. There they killed the dragon in one strike, bringing its head back to Norland and hanging it at the gates of Faust as a proof of their unrivalled power.

Emperor Charles had died a mere year after his conquest, but Daramore's head was passed down from generation to generation. It would be the spiritual pillar for humanity: as long as they reigned in the city of legends, the dauntless children of each generation would go forth and explore the depths of the myriad planes to forge their own legacies.

Behind the enormous arch was a road leading upward to the famed capital, a beautiful city lying atop the mountain.

Behind the verdant green of the uneven mountainscape was a city of light gold. The sunlight fell on it rather gently, highlighting the gorgeous decoration of every visible part of the city. The roof, the walls, even the streets themselves all seemed untainted, like it was some sort of wonderland.

Floating islands of varying size were moving across predetermined trajectories in the incomparably clear sapphire sky. There was a certain stillness here, one that gave the bizarre feeling that space and time were frozen in this place.

The seven colours of the rainbow arced across the sky, one from each moon. If it weren't for the daylight, Richard would have thought that the seven moons of Norland were right there in that arc.

Richard had grown uniquely sensitive to the seven moons after the ceremony to Alucia when he turned ten. He actually felt a faint presence of moonforce when he saw the seven moons on that arc. It was vague, almost unnoticeable, but most definitely real.

Even as Richard was revelling in his new discovery, Mordred pulled him out of his reverie with a loud question, “How is it? Spectacular, right? I was awestruck too, when I first arrived here with your father. I wouldn't have believed such a place existed in the world if I hadn't seen it for myself. Right, since you're a mage it's best not to look at the Rainbow of the Moons. There were mages in the past who didn't know about this taboo and stared at the moons for too long. Their bodies ended up lighting on fire, and they ended up burnt to death. There are a handful cases like these every year!”

Richard was shocked upon hearing that. He'd felt the individual power of the seven moons stirring the magic within him just now, but he felt like he wouldn't be set ablaze like what Mordred had described earlier if he continued to look at the rainbow.

Mordred smiled again before saying, “Follow me, Little Richard! I'll show you some interesting things that get your adrenaline pumping!”

There was a lot of traffic here, after all this was the main road connecting to the city of legends. Mordred's unruly behaviour and loud voice attracted a lot of unwanted attention in a short period of time, but nobody actually stopped him. Of course most didn't bother to hide their annoyance either, glaring daggers at the fellow. It was only after Mordred urged Lava, whom they'd picked back up from the stable, to move forward and away from the masses that these people started their endless venomous discussions, disdain and derision lacing their every word.

Faust was a brilliant and glorious city of legends, and fierce knights who reeked of blood like Mordred seemed relatively out of place indeed. Both he and Richard heard every comment the people made about him, but he only laughed them off and didn't take the nonsense to heart. He took Richard through the entrance of Faust, straight to a pretty and exquisite field east of the entrance.

Richard shuddered right as they passed through, raising his head in a bodily response to look at the dragon head above him. Right at the moment they passed he felt like one of the dragon's eyes moved, but nothing out of the blue happened and the head remained stagnant just like it had for the several centuries it had been prior.

Mordred took him all the way to the edge of the field before jumping off Lava and passing it to a youth standing nearby. The horse was extremely intelligent despite its poor temper, and obediently followed the arrangements of its owner as it tailed the youth to a stable specially made for mounts at the side of the field. However, a huge commotion broke out the moment it entered, and all the other mounts retreated to the corners like their lives depended on it. Even a huge armoured polar bear jumped to the side with an agility antithetic to its impressive size, leaving a vacancy in the centre. Lava stepped into that emptied space, staying there quietly and letting out heaving breaths every once in a while that were enough to scare the already-frightened mounts once more.

Richard looked at Lava with overflowing envy. He was a runemaster, and naturally knew that the mount was a critical portion to creating a rune knight. Judging from things, it was likely that Lava contributed a significant amount to Mordred's strength.

“Richard! Here!” Richard got off his horse as well under Mordred's urging, walking towards him and looking in the direction he pointed.

This was a magical model of Faust, meticulous down to the finest of details. Even the floating islands and the Rainbow of the Moons were detailed intricately, floating alongside the city itself atop a sizeable magic crystal and moving along the same trajectories as their real counterparts.

Richard saw it clearly this time around. The floating islands were positioned according to certain rules, in a total of seven layers according to the height of their flight. The first layer, the topmost one, had a single island which was the biggest of the bunch. The second had two smaller ones, and the third had three, and so on until the seventh layer which was even lower than Faust's foundations. Additionally, those islands closer to Faust even within the same layer were bigger and their construction seemed more luxurious and beautiful.

Richard pored over every detail, seeing many family and clan names as well as magic seals of their emblems on the floating islands. On the third island of the seventh layer was the symbol of the Archerons. Given their innate weakness as a 'family' the Archerons had diverged into dozens of different emblems over the years, and they were still multiplying in number. However, there were two essential constituents to all Archeron emblems: flames, and devils. Gaton was the only one who had volcanoes and devils.

“Richard, that floating island is your father's territory. It's third in the seventh layer, and I think you can see for yourself at this point the higher the trajectory the bigger the island. And islands closer to the centre are bigger as well. Clans that are able to step foot into Faust are all ranked, and the islands represented their rank. There are currently four clans behind us in Faust.”

“What's the significance behind the rankings?” Richard asked.

“The significance is huge. Firstly, it decides the frequency and amount of time every clan can enter and stay in the Church of the Eternal Dragon every year. In addition there's a fixed number of clans that can enter Faust. Whenever a new clan successfully enter the city, the clan that ranked last would have to exit Faust and have their place replaced. This is why when a new clan tries to enter Faust, the current clan ranking last will fight to the death. It's a battle deciding their fate, so even the other clans lend some measure of assistance.

Richard thought of a question, “Won't the new clan need to quickly prepare themselves for battles with other clans who are also trying to enter Faust? But isn't the new clan badly injured after successfully entering? How will they be able to hold up through more fights?”

Mordred nodded in agreement, “Yes, that's why the first ten years after entering Faust is the toughest period.”

Richard frowned and pointed at the island that belonged to the Archerons, “But we're not last?”

“That's because we took down two clans when we entered Faust! Your father was impatient, so he cleared out the clan who was originally on the third island and made it his own. This lets us not worry about battles for a while. As for the ones we cleared out, it's just too bad that they placed their strongest men and elites to block our journey.”

Richard did not know what to feel about Mordred's words. However, he knew that he still had many things to understand and familiarise himself with.

And at this moment, Mordred let out a sudden and cunning laugh. “Little Richard, make a guess now. Where does our venerable emperor, 'Bloodthirsty Phillip,' lives?”

Richard scanned through the place and his eyes landed on the massive palaces located on the highest mountain of Faust, “Here?”

“That's the Church of the Eternal Dragon.” Mordred shook his head and pointed to the fourth island of the fifth layer. “This, is where the palace of our greatest emperor is!”

“Oh?” Richard was shocked. “That's just the fifth layer! There are clans stronger than the imperial family in Faust?”

“Of course not! Our mighty emperor wouldn't be the ruler if there were. Actually, all the islands above the fifth layer are sealed. The first three islands of the fifth layer are also sealed,” Mordred explained.

“But won't somebody claim them?”

“The islands are sealed, and only a blessing from the Eternal Dragon can lift the seal. One needs to make enough sacrifices to the Eternal Dragon to do that.”

“Sacrifice? What kind of sacrifice? And what kind of blessing does that render? And what's the point of unsealing an island, just for another habitable place?” Richard realised that there was still so much for him to learn.

“Alright, you'll know about the use of the church soon. It's about time for you to see your father, I'll bring you over. It wouldn't be nice to make Master wait!”

84 - City of Sin

City of Legends

Even without looking up at the miraculous sky, the ground of Faust was a sight that was equally vast to behold. Buildings of different styles dotted the landscape as far as the eyes could see, some with round roofs and others pointed; some with curtain walls adorned with colourful tinted glass and huge french windows... Winding hallways were aplenty, and impossible to count. Passing through an intersection, Richard even saw a triforium covering the entire block. Fountains and modest plazas of all varieties were scattered all over the place, each decorated in a unique manner. Essential ornaments like columns, banisters, carved statues, porcelain, and murals of embedded mosaic were everywhere, but never once repeated.

Bathed in pale gold light, the entire city seemed to be frozen into the most beautiful dusk. Even the pedestrians passing through the streets were dressed immaculately, behaving with grace that befitted the style of the city.

However, Richard saw a completely different sort of perfection, one that ignored the awnings, the promotional tricks, the badges and emblems, the bonsai, and all other man-made tricks. No, the city itself was perfect. Be it material, colour, shape, or style, all the roads and even small city creations like fountains and plazas displayed a peculiar type of precise harmony; one that made them seem complete and inseparable, as though they were all an integral whole designed and built at the same time without a single bit of modification. For a city of such a large scale, it was rather inconceivable.

The main road of the city was a simple example, a long boulevard that he was following Mordred through. Other than the fact that every stone on the path had a unique pattern on it, everything was the same. It was like everything had been extracted from the same huge piece of rock.

The boulevard itself was a gentle upward slope, and the further up one went the more secluded and quiet it got. The massive trees lining the boulevard were so huge that their treetops nearly covered the entire sky, branches drooping down with strings of unripe fruit that were a full shade of red. The wide and plump branches and leaves swayed in the breeze.

Richard observed the trees along the path attentively— even though he could not name them, he could tell from their features that the natural habitat of such trees should be in the south where the climate was more tropical, not here in the northern highlands where it was dry and cold.

The weather of the Eternal Plains seemed unable to penetrate Faust's front gate. All year round, regardless of what season it was in the outside world, the city of legends remained warm and damp with little changes, which was the main reason for the abundance of tall, shady trees, clear streams, and pretty fountains.

A magnificent shrine entered Richard's view as they approached the end of the road. Standing at seven stories tall, it was accessible from sixty seven paths that surrounded it from all directions, each slightly narrower than the long boulevard. The square in front of the temple was filled with vehicles of all types, as well as stops for griffins, wyverns, and morsehill hawks. Robed in coats embroidered with the crests of various houses, groups of slaves moved heavy goods in and out of the stations without rest. There were occasional griffin packs descending together, dropping off well-dressed aristocrats.

Twelve metres tall and ten metres wide, the main gate of the temple was big enough for three large carriages to pass through simultaneously. Right atop the gate sat a crest in the shape of an hourglass, the sacred symbol of the Eternal Dragon. Richard was greeted by a large main hall upon entering, with seven exits and a winding hallway that led upwards.

Richard followed Mordred through the third exit from the left, into a slightly smaller hall. Smaller was relative— this hall was still several hundred square metres in size, able to hold the largest of cargo chariots. There was a magic formation at the end of the hall, with two clean and unique-looking magic puppets crouched by the side. A beam of light occasionally shot out of their chests, melting a small piece of magic metal that they then beat into shape.

Mordred pointed at the two magic puppets, commenting, “They're prophets of the Eternal Dragon. Honestly speaking, nobody knows where they come from; they were already here when humans first discovered Faust and settled down in it. You can see them in every part of Faust related to magic. They automatically restore damaged magic formations and repair roads and shrines. They're just like worker bees.”

After staring at the two magic puppets for a while, Richard asked, “They seem rather strange, and different from what I have learnt about magic puppets. What powers their movement?”

Mordred shrugged his shoulders. “Probably some sort of magic force that we are not aware of as yet. In any case, when these fellows run out of power, they run to the Church of the Eternal Dragon and stay there for the night, after which they can be active for a couple of months. Isn't it fascinating? People just started viewing them as servants of the Eternal Dragon as time passed, showing them great respect and reverence. Without them, Faust probably would have ceased to exist a long time ago. At least up till now, the smiths of mankind are still unable to fix anything in this city.

“But, Little Richard,” he added, “Nobody has been able to find out what these puppets are made of yet. A family secretly captured these puppets in the past to analyse them, but that angered the Eternal Dragon. That very night their island was rocked by a volcanic eruption, a hurricane, a tsunami, and a thunderstorm. It was as if the very end of the world had arrived, and eventually only a few people managed to escape and survive. Since then, no one has dared to disturb the magic puppets.”
f𝚛e𝚎𝙬𝑒𝚋𝚗𝚘ѵ𝐞𝒍. c𝐨𝙢

Richard immediately caught onto the main point, asking, “So you mean Faust originally existed since a long time ago, and all we did was discover the place and occupy the city? Is that it?”

“Of course. Building a city of this scale with our current strength would only be a miracle!” Mordred sighed ruefully. Evidently such miracles could subdue even a bloodthirsty and murderous knight like him. Patting Richard's shoulder, he commented, “The reason so many great families, including your father, are so eager to establish a presence in Faust at any cost is for the Church of the Eternal Dragon. Offering sacrifices to the esteemed Eternal Dragon in the church gives them a chance to have the dragon's grace bestowed upon them. Blessings of all aspects are included, though the most valuable blessing among all would be one related to the flow of time. Whatever happens, though, eventually depends on luck. The offering of sacrifices is the biggest privilege of the royal family and the fourteen aristocrats families.”

Mordred had already brought Lava along as he spoke, stepping into the teleportation formation. The teleportation formation started to radiate a brilliant turquoise light, as a thin curtain of light rose from the ground and surround the two of them. Richard only felt a faint dizziness before everything was covered by a screen of rainbow light.

They reappeared at a small plaza, only a few thousand metres in size but separated from other areas with some low railings. A short distance behind Richard was the edge of the island, and he could even see some scattered rocks floating independently in mid-air, tumbling around and orbiting the island they were on.

A pier— tens of metres long and radiating a metallic luster— extended to the west of the plaza, the bulk of it off the island. That was the runway for the griffins and wyverns to take off and land. A row of storehouses sat right at the end, with the nests of the griffins and wyverns occupying the left and right of the runway respectively.

85 - City of Sin

Knights

Towards the east of the plaza was a tower that stood a hundred and twenty metres tall. A giant ballista was in place on a shooting platform atop it, with two knights standing guard at the side observing their surroundings vigilantly. The teleportation formation and runway were both within the tower's firing range, making it capable of defending the huge airspace from enemy invasions.

The foundation and stairwells of the tower seemed relatively new, as if only completed recently, but the body itself had many scars of battle. Cast in metal, the ballista platform had several areas that needed mending. Evidently this tower had passed the test of battle not long ago.

The island wasn't particularly large, a rough circle that was about five hundred metres in diameter. More than half the island was uneven terrain, with the highest point in the north being a good fifty metres taller than the plaza in which he was stood. It wasn't until he'd actually stepped foot on the island that he realised the interior was nothing close to the model's.

Be it from the model, or when he was gazing into the distant Eternal Plains from Faust, everything in his line of sight had been a scenic, beautiful landscape with shady foliage everywhere. All of Faust seemed to share that particular climate, just on different scales. Here, however, Richard could see that the highest peak was actually a volcano, and an active one at that! Covered in pale grey ash, the mouth of the volcano unceasingly spewed out wisps of thick smoke. In contrast, there was even a forest at the bottom, the shades of green clearly distinguishable from the bleak grey of the volcano behind.

A grand and majestic ancient castle stood at the foot of the volcano, sitting amidst the undulating terrain. The dark walls and the spire as tall as the volcano itself were very similar to Blackrose Castle, although the imposing and steady aura in Richard's memory had been replaced by a fierce and menacing one. There was a bunch of buildings just outside the castle, built in the same way and densely packed. Most had solid walls and narrow windows, making them good bunkers if war reached the streets. Several striking arrow towers stood tall on a few high vantage points, encompassing the whole of the island in their firing range.

As he looked at the volcano, Richard's heart started to beat faster and faster without his knowledge. The smell of sulphate lingered in the air, giving him a sense of familiarity.

Two fully armoured knights walked over just at that moment, taking over Lava and the armoured warhorse. Mordred then led Richard towards the castle.

Although the path to the castle was wide, it meandered along on the way. Richard could see sturdy towers at every turn, with many flat and long nozzles aimed at the road. The crossbows within could easily pierce through the heavy armour of knights within the ten metre range.

There was a significantly smaller crowd here than down in Faust proper, with fewer women, children, and elderly. There was an exceptionally high number of warriors.

The path from the plaza to the castle was merely a few hundred metres long, but Richard had seen at least six warriors with two runes on their bodies. Although they weren't qualified to be called rune knights, they were already elites as foot soldiers. More importantly, these warriors were still young with plenty of room for improvement. As long as their bodies could bear one more rune, they could meet the standard of rune knights. Following the standard of five runes per knight, they still needed to make up for two more runes and would need a year of special training before they could serve that role. However, even if rare there were steeds capable of bearing two runes themselves. Still, one such steed could easily cost more than over ten foot soldiers, and the fighting strength of the mount clearly wouldn't be on the same level as its master's. Ideally, a rune knight had four rune slots himself with a single one on his mount.

Lava was an exception here. The stallion had a whopping four runes on its body, of the same rank as Gaton's Darkmoon Ember and Darkmoon Blackflame.

Judging from what he'd seen so far, Richard felt like this island was a strong floating fortress, equipped to the teeth. But then again, the Archerons were a military family and Gaton had only just made headway into Faust. It would be strange for him to have remodelled it into a bunch of palaces and gardens. Thinking about it, Richard grew curious about how the bottom-ranked seventh island would look.

The gates of the castle began opening slowly on their own, even without Mordred's instruction. Behind the gates was a small open-air plaza with ten metre tall walls surrounding it. The walls were equipped with arrow towers of their own, capable of targeting the interior. This ensured that there was no need to fear the castle gates being breached. Anyone who managed to do so would only enter the plaza to meet their own doom.

It was rather dark and gloomy inside the castle, and one needed magic or oil lamps to light the way. The passages were far from wide, instead winding and complicated. The passages were filled with dark rooms and weapons of different ranks, with many thick rectangular metal shields resting against the walls. The weapons were so polished that one could see their reflections on the shields. Sharp and flickering against the light, these fearsome weapons were clearly not for decoration. In times of need, one could stick the shields into the ground and prop them up against special ranks to make sturdy and effective bunkers. This castle was evidently built from the start to fight an enemy to the death.

The ground floor of the castle consisted of the arms depot, the granary, a weaponry storehouse as well as some secret paths. The guest rooms and living rooms were above, and it wasn't until he walked into the command hall on the fourth floor that Richard spotted his father.

A gigantic stone platform stood in the middle of the command hall, shining with faint magic light. A pale yellow glimmer was floating ten metres above the platform, showing a three-dimensional map of some place. Geography was a compulsory course in the Deepblue, and given the sheer scale of the area depicted Richard would have identified it immediately if it was in Norland. However, the map was completely foreign to his eyes, and none of the signs made much sense. It couldn't be mainland Norland.

There were four people aside from Gaton in the command hall, the most peculiar of them being a man that looked to be in his forties. He looked devout, dressed in overwashed cleric robes with tattered embroidery on the sleeves. A thick religious tome was hung from a copper zip on his robes, but the black cover and copper rose engraved on it didn't ring any bells as to his religion.

To the right of the cleric was a strong man who looked to be at least 2.5 metres tall. His muscular body told of his fearsome strength, and the leather armour he was dressed in left the densely packed tattoos under the thick hair on his arms and chest completely exposed. The tattoos added to his ferocious image, but to Richard they had an even worse effect. He could tell from one look that those weren't any normal tattoos— they were grade 3 runes! Given the strong physique of the man, he looked capable of sustaining five or more such runes at that!

86 - City of Sin

Knights

On Gaton's left was an extremely eye-catching tall woman. She had a head of fiery-red hair that looked like flames leaping over her shoulders, and when she turned she showed thick lips with an unconcealable sex appeal. She was wearing dark red robes, the dense elemental aura flowing from them indicating this was a rare mage robe that could provide a powerful boost to dire elemental magic. However, unlike normal robes the neck was cut exceedingly low, revealing fair flesh and half of two swollen globes. Few mages wore something so revealing, but the elemental aura she continuously emanated made it obvious that she was a grand mage.

There was a realistic black dragon tattooed between her breasts, its head and tail occupying the two spheres. It seemed built to attract the attention of all males, and Richard's gaze landed there naturally as well.

However, he suddenly froze when he looked at it. That tattoo was a rune as well, but he couldn't tell its use!

As if sensing Richard's gaze, the woman suddenly laughed and looked towards him, twitching her mouth in his direction and silently sending him a flying kiss.

“Lina! That's my son. If you dare lay your hands on him, don't blame me if I don't show you face.” While Gaton's head had been lowered as he stared at the magic map, he seemed to have noticed everything she was doing and eyed the female mage from the side.

Lina chuckled, the melodious laughter somehow seeming extremely pleasing to the ear to Richard. There seemed to be a strange sort of charm to it, making Richard feel a closeness to her for some reason. He wouldn't even mind sharing more private information with her. Her laughter gradually filled his ears, and that boiling bloodline in Richard began to stir once more, the instincts of a male slowly raising its head.

Lina blinked and said, “Master, your son seems pretty amazing. It looks like he knows everything. What if he looks for me of his own accord?”

Gaton chuckled, “If you can seduce him to your bed without using your innate abilities, I won't care at all.”

Lina smiled again and then sent Richard a flying kiss with larger gestures. Richard couldn't help but flush. It was the first time he was being teased by a woman in public like this. Please visit 𝗳𝚛𝐞𝘦wℯ𝚋𝓷o𝚟el. 𝐜𝘰𝒎

Just as he was feeling flustered, a young and handsome man suddenly appeared by her side. He had a sunny disposition, and a pair of blue eyes. He wasn't tall and sturdy, instead rather frail and thin. He looked even slightly shorter than Richard himself, not even reaching six feet in height. He was dressed like a younger noble, but the quality of the clothing itself was pretty mediocre. The design wasn't plain, but it wasn't specifically gorgeous either.

There seemed to be no special equipment on the youth, nor could Richard sense any power from him. In all honesty, his presence was so tiny it was shocking. When watching Lina, Richard had even completely disregarded his existence, which was shocking in itself. Even with Lina's undeniable beauty and natural seductiveness in the way, being able to hide from Richard's view meant he must have used some special methods, or there was an absolute gap in their strength.

The man saw through Richard's shock and smiled slightly. “Hello, Little Richard. My name is Cyrden, and I'm someone who walks the underworld. I'm not an assassin, instead of a more widespread profession. You'll find people like me no matter which city you go to: I'm a thief.”

“Thief?” Richard was now truly astonished, and he almost shouted the word out. Just the fact that Cyrden could completely mask his aura and escape his senses was terrifying enough. How could he be a mere thief? With such power, he could steal everything from anyone below sainthood and grand mages if he truly was just a thief. On top of that, the fact that he could stand here in this hall and analyse the map with Gaton was more than enough to indicate his strength.

On that day, Richard had seen four amazing people, four of the thirteen knights that had marched to Faust alongside Gaton Archeron. Asiris the Dark Priest, Lina the Dragon Mage, Ward the Berserker, and Cyrden the Odd Thief. He'd already met Mordred long ago as well. And in the middle of all these people, Gaton was the first person one would notice if they entered this command hall. While he didn't exude an aura of power, he still managed to be a natural centre of attention.

Gaton furrowed his brows and swept his gaze over the four knights, and then pointed at a symbol of a town on the magic map and said, “Lina will lead the army this time. Within fifteen days, I want to see you reach this castle. Within thirty days after that, I want to hear a report of your success.”

Lina first cheered, and then cried out in alarm. “Wait, reaching in fifteen days? Goodness, then shouldn't I leave right now? Even if I do that, I might not even reach in time! Master, you're doing this on purpose, aren't you? Are you afraid I'd take your Little Richard to my bed?”

Before Gaton could answer, Ward exclaimed with a sturdy voice akin to steel, “So you don't want to go? Good, then I'll go! It's been far too long since I did anything. The defence of this castle is great. Only someone like me who specialises in attacking towns can do it. Having you go is just a waste of time.”

Lina immediately cried out in anger, “What rubbish! Since when have I been unable to take towns? Can this castle ward off my Sarumbel? You want to look for a place to duke it out?”

Ward licked his lips and sneered, “Let's do that! What, do you think I'm scared of you or something?”

*Clang! Clang!* Gaton rapped on the stone counter lightly, and Lina and Ward immediately went quiet.

“Lina, are you going?” Gaton asked calmly.

“Yes, of course!” Lina was practically shouting now. The two orbs of her chest bobbed up and down with her movements, as if about to free themselves from the restraints of her clothing at any time.

“Then you'd better make it quick. There's only half a day left for you to make preparations,” Gaton reminded her.

Shocked, Lina glared at Ward before she left. She gave Richard a long look, walking past him while emanating a fragrance before she left the command hall. She really didn't dare waste any time, opening a portal right in the corridor the moment she left the large bronze gates and stepping through. It was still rather expensive for a grand mage to cast a rank 8 spell like that, shaving off a quarter of one's battle strength.

Gaton pointed at another canyon and told Ward, “I'll give you fifteen rune knights. Within ten days, you are to occupy the commanding heights at the two sides of this canyon. When Lina is attacking the town, not one man nor mount can be allowed through.”

“No problem!” The burly man quirked his mouth and answered, thumping his chest hard to show his determination. Cyrden and Asiris were then given their own missions, and they all left the commanding hall.

It then became still in the hall. Mordred retreated, pulling the doors closed on the way out.

87 - City of Sin

Legendary Spell

Gaton just stared at Richard for an entire minute, not speaking a word. Richard for his part stood and met his father's gaze with no intentions of backing down. Sweat beaded all over his forehead very quickly, rolling down his cheeks until his clothes were drenched, but he held strong.

The stress of meeting Gaton's gaze could not be described in words. Richard's body was trembling within the blink of an eye, and he felt like he would fall apart at any moment after very little time. And still he gritted his teeth and pressed on, looking to continue standing there second to second.

Just as his gaze began to grow blurry, the mountainous pressure suddenly disappeared without a trace. Richard sighed, growing so feeble he almost collapsed, but he kept himself upright with sheer force of will.

Gaton suddenly burst into laughter, exclaiming, “Great! Looks like Sharon wasn't stingy with your training after all! That's rather rare... Wait, it feels bad to start badmouthing her now. Come here, kid! Your dad's going to show you something good!”

Richard furrowed his brows, obviously feeling uncomfortable with the term Gaton had used for himself. He didn't speak up however, instead walking to the magic map just like Gaton had asked him to.

“See this? This is a partial map of the Resting Orchid Plane. It's a name I came up with myself, the actual registration number for it is 17658 in the Church of the Eternal Dragon. I've been campaigning in this plane for nearly ten years, and have a fifth of the land here. That's only an estimate, however. I haven't finished exploring the borders of the continent so I don't know the full size.”

The map made it evident that the plane's topology was similar to Norland's. There were mountains, rivers, oceans, and plains here, and based on the markings and calculations on the map borders it covered over a million square kilometres! The huge patches of green on the map showed that this was a continent full of life, with all sorts of natural resources. The best part was that, because the planes were similar, there wasn't much need for processing the gathered resources which would reduce any wear and tear. Even if Gaton possessed a mere fifth of the area shown on the map, that was still 200,000 square kilometres! That was enough territory to create a large duchy on Norland!

A charming smile appeared on Gaton's face as he spoke to Richard, “Kid, do you know why I want you to see the map of the Resting Orchid Plane?”

Richard obviously had no idea, and Gaton did not expect him to answer. He continued without pause, “The entirety of my earnings from the Resting Orchid Plane, as well as a small amount from another common plane went into your studies in the Deepblue. Even if you're back I need to give Sharon my income for another five years. I've already made inroads into these planes, and the profits from the territory I own every year already exceed a million gold coins. On top of that, they're slated to increase by over 30% year on year for the next five years.”

Richard immediately went quiet. He didn't even need to think it over to realise that the income from these planes over the next five years would exceed ten million coins. This amount was something that even he, someone who'd gotten used to the costs of the Deepblue, felt stifled by. When a standard rune knight cost 500,000 coins to create, ten million would give someone two entire squads!

Gaton looked at Richard and continued, “The reason I'm telling you this is because I want you to know the price that had to be paid to make you a runemaster mage. We Archerons are always fair. There are 37 members of your generation of or nearly of age. Nine are my children, your half siblings. There's also a total of 71 who aren't yet of age as well. Amongst all of these contenders, you're the one we've invested the most into. In fact, the total investment we've put into you is more than the total sum of your brothers and sisters combined. And that's just the beginning, I will only pour more and more into you in the future. Your teacher, Sharon, will be doing the same.”

Richard instinctively wanted to reject Gaton's financial aid, but he found he didn't have the means to do so. He'd already used up far too much of Gaton's resources, and with the man mentioning Sharon as well he couldn't say anything to object. Only after leaving the Deepblue had he come to understand just how much Sharon had given him.

A world of magic had been opened up to Richard inside the Deepblue, a special treatment only he had been entitled to receive. With her imperceptible influence on Professor Fayr and the other grand mages, and the custom schedule she'd built for him, Sharon had actually taught him a school of thought and pushed him onto his path as a runemaster. That was actually the most precious thing a teacher could give a student.

Far too many people studied a lifetime of magic from mediocre teachers, forever moving in circles within the same box of set rules. All they grasped of spells was accurate chanting and precise mana allocation. Even if they spent their entire lifetime throwing out fireballs, they would never be able to even understand the principles behind the spell, let alone make improvements upon it.

Most mages could only replicate past spells, forever unable to invent their own. And just like such mages made up a majority, runemasters without their own creations were a majority in the field of runecrafting as well.

Gaton saw that Richard hadn't rejected him, and nodded in satisfaction, “Not bad, kid. You've grown up quite a bit, far better than your old man back in the day. But it won't be all that easy for you to achieve as much as I did when I was at your age. You've been quiet, you don't make a ruckus, you don't drink, you don't flirt around— why? Men need friends and brothers. When you have enough brothers, nobody will dare provoke you. There is strength in numbers!”

“But Master relies on herself!” Richard objected, an instinctive reaction that would arise regardless of what exactly Gaton said.

However, he had nothing to back these words of his. After all, there were as many as seventeen grand mages in the Deepblue, and numerous other great mages as well. All information of her battles was altered twice by the time it reached him, sometimes even thrice, so one could only imagine how trustworthy it was.

Of course she only fought alone after reaching the legendary realm, but that was more because those under level 20 were of no use in battles of that level. Moreover, being the person with the most intimate relationship with her he'd vaguely sensed the strangeness of her battle style. She didn't seem to walk a path of firm courage.

The moment Richard's words left his mouth, Gaton's expression immediately turned strange. He stroked his moustache, but could not completely cover his mouth that had opened wide. Richard only saw soundless laughter from the man as he tried his best not to make any sound.

Only after a long while did Gaton finally stop laughing and ask Richard, “Kid, do you know what your teacher's favourite legendary spell is?”

The higher the ranking of a legendary mage, the greater the number of legendary spells they could cast. However, there were few legendary spells that were spread around extensively, and Richard had seen them all in magic tomes before. He knew that Gaton had to have a reason for asking this, and he tried his best to recall and make conjectures, “Summon Red Dragon? Sun Strike? Vampiric Mist?”

These three spells were publicly acknowledged to be the legendary mage's favourite spells. They were extremely powerful, simple to cast, and were very effective at increasing one's offensive power in battle.

88 - City of Sin

Legendary Spell

“It's Summon Red Dragon. More precisely, when Sharon uses it it becomes Greater Dragon Summon,” Gaton answered quickly.

“Back in the day, when your teacher first entered the legendary realm, there were some... let's say some little conflicts between her and the Archerons. I was young, hot-blooded, and competitive at that time, and I brought six friends with just as much energy as me from the family to battle her. We weren't legendary ourselves yet, but we had strength in numbers and the combination of classes wasn't too bad. Altogether, we had just about enough battle might to fight a legendary being.

“Sharon had just advanced, and only had one legendary spell. Once she cast it she would only be a peak grand mage, and while there would definitely be people amongst us who died to that spell... When has a true Archeron ever feared death?”

Gaton raised his head and looked outside the window as he recounted the past, an unintended arrogance in his expression. The fact that seven young Archerons had the guts to challenge a legendary mage was a definite proof of their courage in any era. Of course, courage and recklessness were inseparable twins, with a close sibling called stupidity.

And just as expected, Gaton grew bitter after that hint of pride, speaking slowly, “The very first spell your teacher learnt was Summon Red Dragon... The beginning of the battle that day was classic: our grand mages used Time Stop to counteract Sharon's own, and she used her absolute advantage at cast speed to stop all our movements with Bind Group. She followed up with a portal that shifted her a hundred metres away, before she finished her legendary spell.

Halfway through the incantation we realised that it was the Summon Red Dragon spell, and at that moment it was like we'd seen some hope of success! After all, red dragons themselves didn't have legendary strength, and we could hold it down with a mere two people. The rest could then focus their efforts on attacking the legendary mage, but...”

There was a sense of struggle in his expression, indicating that the trauma he'd acquired from that battle wasn't insignificant, “When her chant finished, we were actually faced with three dragons, not one! And only one of them was red, the other two actually black! And then... and then everything was straightforward. The three dragons charged out and made us all fall, while your adorable little teacher began eating fruits at the back.”

Richard gasped, asking in shock, “Three?!”

“I only found out later, but Sharon's bloodline ability is extremely rare, boosting the power of her summoning spells. It turned the ordinary Summon Red Dragon into Greater Dragon Summon, a spell that could summon both stronger and more dragons than the former. Of course, there's no real difference between two dragons and three.” Gaton sighed in admiration before he shook his head and smiled at Richard, “If Sharon were to cast a Greater Dragon Summon now, there will definitely be more than three. You understand, don't you? If anyone wants a one-on-one battle with her, they won't end up in good shape.”

A matured red dragon wasn't much different from a paladin in terms of battle prowess, being somewhere between levels 18 and 20. Although a red dragon was a powerful supporting force in a battle between legendary beings, it wouldn't be a deciding factor.

However, three dragons was a whole other story. Even three red dragons could be a deciding factor in a battle, and two of Sharon's summons were black dragons instead. A mature black dragon was about level 20, an existence on the verge of stepping into the legendary realm that was far more powerful than a red dragon. Even a single black dragon had the might to turn the tables in a battle, much less two or three of them.

What Gaton was trying to get at was that his teacher was actually rather poor at solo battles, relying on her powerful talent in combat.

However, Richard would obviously stand on Sharon's side. He immediately expelled such thoughts, asking instead about the outcome of the battle, “So? How many of you died?”

Gaton laughed, saying, “None. Our conflict wasn't very major, and besides your teacher doesn't really like killing people. Rather, she actually enjoys doing business. She let us all off and even gave each of some money as the starting funds for campaigns to acquire our own planes. In exchange, we would give her half the income from the first plane each of us conquered. Of everyone, I got the most money. However, these campaigns weren't without risks. Of the seven Archerons then, only three of us are still alive.”

Even from Gaton's light-hearted manner of bringing this up, Richard could still tell how tragic it was. Of the seven young fellows gutsy enough to challenge a legendary mage while not having stepped into that realm themselves, four had fallen in planar battles in a relatively short period of time.

Gaton gazed out of the window at this point, now looking stern, “Alright, it's getting late. Let's not dwell on the past any longer. Richard, you're already of age and considered an official member of the Archeron Family. As the head of the family, not as your father, I will continue to give you resources. However, in return you are to abide by the three ancient traditions of the Archerons. In addition, before you completely repay the family, you need to pledge loyalty to it.”

“Before I completely repay the family?” Richard asked.

“Someday in the future, when your contributions to the family surpass the amount it has invested into you, you will no longer be restricted by the family, and can do as you wish. Many Archerons have walked this path in the past as well.

“However, before you are relieved of your duties, you must abide by the ancient traditions of the family. This is the responsibility of every Archeron,” Gaton said sternly.

“What ancient traditions?”

Gaton's expression became even more solemn as he straightened his back and said in a low voice, “One, all Archerons shall maintain the purity and continuity of the family bloodline. Two, there shall be no internal battles between members of the family. Three, the strongest Archeron shall be tasked with guarding the family tombs.”
f𝗿e𝙚𝙬ℯ𝚋n𝚘ν𝗲l. 𝐜𝐨𝗺

The last two were easy to comprehend, but the first one had Richard stumped. Gaton knew that Richard knew very little about the Archerons' traditions and secrets, and thus explained further.

The Archeron bloodline was very ancient and mysterious, powerful yet unstable. An entire twenty two different types of abilities had appeared so far in the family, and the purer the bloodline the more powerful the abilities became. It gave rise to beings of unparalleled power.

Thus, the Archerons had a centuries-old precept, which was that the most sacred duty of every member of the family was to maintain the purity of the family bloodline and pass it on. One needed descendants to pass on the bloodline, and to keep it concentrated and pure one would need to marry other Archerons. Thus, all members of the Archeron Family that were supported by its resources had to marry an Archeron and have a child unless they contributed greatly enough. In many cases, their significant other was chosen by the family head or other powerful members, and they had no right to choose anything. The weaker one was, the less they could say. There were many cases of intermarriage in Archeron history, including that between even blood siblings.

Only after hearing this did Richard understand why the atmosphere had been so strange in Blackrose Castle when he'd met his sisters.

“Things aren't as bad as you think they are, kid!” Gaton chuckled. “As the only runemaster amongst your generation of the Archerons, you have a lot of privileges! Besides getting the most investment, you can choose a few of the girls who don't have partners yet for your own. Of course, this will only continue until you have your own child. In no time at all, you'll know what you can get from the family.”

Richard released a long breath and said, “I... I think I'll rely on myself.”

Gaton looked at Richard, his gaze seeming to have a penetrative force that let him stare right into the depths of Richard's heart. It made him let out an involuntary tremble.

“Kid, don't reach a conclusion so quickly. You'll definitely regret this decision in the future. I think your mother should be the most valuable person in your life.” Gaton's voice was like magic, leaving Richard stunned once more. In that moment, Richard even felt that Gaton knew of his mother's dying wish. However, this was a secret hidden deep in his heart. No matter what, he would not share it with this man.

Even as Richard remained bewildered, Gaton's voice sounded by his ear once more, “Alright, kid! I'll bring you to the family tombs. That is a ceremony that every Archeron has to go through once they come of age.”

Family tombs?!

The term stunned Richard this time, and his mother's voice seemed to ring in his ears once more, “When the day comes that you've grown to become a real man, bury me in the highest layer of your father's family tombs!”

89 - City of Sin

Wish

Richard hadn't expected that the volcano in the centre of the island was actually the ancestral cemetery of the Archeron Family.

Following Gaton out of the back door of the castle, Richard stepped onto the volcano. He immediately felt a gentle fluctuation in the surrounding space, as without warning the lush green forest around them was replaced by red and black. The fresh warm air disappeared, replaced by a strong stench of sulphur. The blue sky was covered by dense grey clouds, the parts that did remain visible being tinted a fiery red. The signature pleasant warmth of Faust had been replaced with blazing heat. It was hard for even Richard to bear, almost as if the air would spark in a moment and set his hair and skin ablaze.

The entire volcano was composed of charcoal-black volcanic rock, with a single meandering path leading to the crater at the centre. The volcano itself wasn't just spouting smoke dormantly anymore, instead shaking in its entirety from time to time. One could see huge amounts of fire and smoke from the crater rolling into the sky, merging into the dense clouds.

The main body of the volcano was no longer a mere fifty metres tall, instead near a kilometre high. Hot lava spurted out of the crater on occasion, seeping past its edges and flowing down like a river of fire. Trickling down slowly, some of the lava solidified en route, morphing into a part of the mountain altogether.

What was most unusual was that even though the volcano was trembling non-stop and lava came spilling ever so often, all other parts of the mountain except the fire, smoke and lava river remained completely unchanged, without a single loose or ruptured rock.

Richard combed through his memory, recognising that he'd been taught about such things in preparatory magic classes; this was a place with spatial properties. However, Richard was stunned the moment he realised this— the biggest example he'd read of was the Lost Paradise, but the entirety of that was as big as one of the larger laboratories in the Deepblue. And yet the towering volcano in front of him was more than a thousand metres tall, making it impossible for him to imagine how it was built from scratch. Looking at the scale and frequency of its spurts, Richard was sure the interior of the mountain was connected to at least one plane of the fire element, if it didn't actually just contain half a plane within. Or perhaps this was a miracle from some god.

On both sides of the uneven path were tombstones of different sizes, erected upon the dark black rock. The graves looked rather strange, Both sides of the path was lined unevenly with the volcanic body, with tombstones of different sizes erected on the dark black rocks. However, the graves looked rather strange, with only the tombstones and no protrusions underneath. As well, there were at most a few hundred of them on the entire volcano, located sparsely apart. He also noticed that there were fewer the closer one got to the mouth. Although the Archerons didn't have a very long history, even the several hundred years they did have would give easily give them tens of thousands of dead members. And surely, given the size of the volcano it would be able to more than a hundred thousand total.

Richard silently trailed behind Gaton, continuing to climb uphill. He found that the volcano was actually roughly divided into five levels, the number of tombs on each level fewer than the last. The inscriptions upon the tombs ranged from simple names to more elaborate descriptions and well-wishes for the deceased.

It wasn't long before they were standing at the edge of the crater, lava less than ten metres ahead of them with hot air blasting into their faces so hard it was difficult for Richard to even open his eyes. This was the highest layer of the Archeron family tombs, the place his mother wanted to be her final resting place.

There were only six tombstones altogether here, spread out in a large area. The tombstones themselves were made of solidified black lava, with no ornaments or additional carvings on the tombstones as if they were just naturally formed cuboids. This level didn't list the lifetime achievements of the deceased like there were in the last few levels. No, there were only names here; unusually long names, written in a script Richard had never seen before.

Richard started reciting the names softly as soon as he saw them, as if a power deep within him gave him an innate ability to recognise the writing at first glance. He could feel every drop of blood in his body trembling as he read the words aloud, jumping along with every syllable he uttered. Every name seemed to contain an immeasurable strength, leading Richard to feel as though something buried deep within him was being awakened from its slumber.

As if he were possessed, Richard read the names on all six of the tombstones once through before jolting back into reality, as though he just woke up from a dream. Gaton nodded at the sight, remarking, “Not bad! Your blood is extremely pure. Maybe you will be able to come to rest right here in the future, returning to the lands of our ancestors.”

Richard was still reeling from the shock, distant desolate roars still echoing in his ears. It was as though an ancient existence was within his reach, shouting across time and space without rest. He scanned the six tombstones again with trepidation, although this time he didn't dare say their names aloud again.

“Here lie the six strongest and most formidable Archerons. They fully understood the secrets lying deep in their blood, and awakened the true ancient bloodline within them. That gave them a truename that belonged to them and them alone.

“Amongst them were extremely talented geniuses, who owned their truenames since they were young and weak. Most of them did not possess the gift from birth, however, and emerged as the strong only through battles of blood and fire.”

Gaton paused before continuing, “Truenames are the biggest secrets of every Archeron; they are the source of our strength. As you experienced just now, every truename possesses a great amount of power, each different from the other. Our truenames allow us to touch upon the laws of the plane. Although that touch may be so small it is undetectable, that touch is what allows us to ultimately understand these laws. Thus they give us great strength, and thus they are our biggest secrets. Once someone else learns our true name, they are in control of our life and death. All they have to do is say our truename out loud, and we will know the message they wish to convey. If they say it with the most malicious of curses, even an ordinary man with no special powers can remove all traces of us from the plane.”

Heart trembling with fear, Richard wondered, “If that is the case, why would we want others to know our truenames at all?”

Stroking his beard, Gaton laughed, “Oh, you brat! One day you'll also probably meet someone you're willing to reveal your truename to as well. It'll allow you to immediately know whenever she thinks of you.”

Richard fell silent again. He recalled that his mother had once told him when he was very young that his father had a very, very long name.

Looking around this level of the cemetery, Richard could feel an immense invisible power coming from every tombstone, although there were only six lone tombstones in the wide area. With some difficulty, he asked, “Is this a burial spot only for Archerons with truenames?”

Gaton stared quietly at Richard, his gaze making Richard flustered as if his secrets were getting exposed. Just as Richard was breaking out in nervous sweat, Gaton said, “Only Archerons can be buried here. Upon my death, I will be the seventh.”

“What about people who are not Archerons?”

Gaton explained meaningfully, “Then they would need the approval of all the Archerons, including me. Richard, there is Archeron blood in you. This too shall be your resting place when you pass. Thus, you should know what getting the approval of the Archerons entails.”

Of course he knew. To get the approval of an Archeron, the easiest and most direct way was to defeat them. There was no other way around it. To fulfil his mother's last wishes, Richard would have to defeat all the Archerons, including his father.

Including Gaton Isaiah Satanistoria Archeron.

90 - City of Sin

Inheritance of the Silver Moon

“Is there something on your mind?” Gaton's voice startled Richard out of deep thought. He regained his composure immediately, shaking his head in denial, “Nothing.”

Gaton didn't continue questioning him, instead walking a couple steps to randomly sit on one of the tombstones. He seemed to have no respect for his ancestors, something that left Richard greatly astonished.
f𝘳𝒆𝑒𝓌𝒆𝗯n𝗼𝘷ℯl. 𝑐𝚘𝘮

From what he'd learnt the nobles of Norland were very respectful of their ancestors. Many families passed down secret magic to preserve parts of their ancestors' souls, using their inherited knowledge to unleash powerful secret arts. Outside of the various deities and the Church of the Eternal Dragon, ancestor worship was an important part of the continent's faith. In fact, the barbarians of Klandor and the various marine tribes paid more importance to their ancestors than the deities themselves. Ancestors were the main target of their faith.

“You think this is unbelievable?” Gaton smiled and looked at Richard.

Despite always feeling like he was being stabbed in his heart, Richard had to admit that Gaton's actions seemed to match his intentions, and Gaton's smile was indeed filled with charisma.

“Us Archerons only care about practicality. If we want to express our respect to the ancestors, we'll awaken the power of our bloodlines and sire offspring with great power. That's more effective than anything else, and it's the sort of respect that runs deep in our blood and soul! Alright kid, now let's see what you've learnt in the past few years. Forget magic and runes, I'm not knowledgeable about that myself. Your body and footwork makes it look like you've learnt some techniques. Show me!”

Gaton crossed his arms and sat down randomly, his gaze continuously sweeping across Richard's body. Every glance he took made Richard feel like the man was seeing his true self.

Richard calmed himself down, taking out a dull black dagger before he started displaying the underworld battle techniques he'd learnt from Naya. The Blade of Calamity's curse was actually a bloodline ability, so he couldn't learn it, and even if he could he was still a runemaster and mage. He wouldn't have the time to include such distractions in his daily schedule, lest he end up being a jack of all trades.

These techniques weren't very complicated, their difficulty lying in the accuracy of the execution. When the Blade of Calamity attacked, he could use his knife to cut a strand of hair into three. Naya's limiting factor was actually the power of his body, but he could use his pure skill to jump levels in a fight. Before disappearing from the underworld, a mere level 16 Naya had repeatedly relied on his curse and battle techniques to kill even saint level elites.

Richard's numeric vision allowed him to extend this to its logical limit. He could even identify the millimetre-level changes to the position of his blade after every strike— if he was five millimetres high, or two millimetres low, he would amend his next strike to fix that difference. Of course he wasn't a martial artist himself, so there was a limit to the control he had over his own body. He could choose the right tool and place when crafting his runes, so he could control his precision to under two tenths of a millimetre— one tenth was the limit of a runemaster and any further improvement would have to come from one's understanding of magic and usage of materials— but in battle it would be great if he could adjust to a single millimetre. And when he used Eruption, his accuracy would plunge.

It took less than three minutes for him to execute a set of battle techniques. In fact, this set of battle techniques was made up from a few separate moves, some of them being very peculiar. For example, a move that once saved Richard's life— the lizard crawl. This set of fighting techniques was executed perfectly, such that even the Blade of Calamity would be impressed if he saw it. Strangely, Richard automatically performed at his best whenever Gaton was around.

Richard was not a warrior. Although he had a good foundation to become one from his life in the mountains, he had sacrificed some of his physique for the sake of becoming a mage. Even with Sharon's meticulous care he didn't have the makeup to be a gifted warrior anymore, so moves focused on accuracy were more suited to him.

Gaton showed no sign of joy or admiration when he saw it, however. He instead shook his head, saying, “Hey, show me that piece of broken metal in your hand!”

Richard handed over the dagger to Gaton obediently. This dagger was made of refined steel, six times heavier than normal steel and enchanted with obscurity and sharpness. The obscurity enchantment was what made it a dull black, almost unable to reflect light so it could be concealed in the dark. The sharpness enchanted made it 20% more effective than a normal blacksteel dagger as well. In the hands of a decent assassin, this dagger could exhibit great ability to kill.

All this quality made it expensive. It was easily worth over 8000 coins. Of course this wasn't anything in the Deepblue, but it was a dagger that Naya had gifted Richard from his personal collection for self defense. Just this could highlight the insurmountable gap between a normal elite and a legendary being.

Gaton snorted, just crushing the dagger into a ball and throwing it into the mouth of the volcano. “That's a weapon for pansies! You're my son, Elena's son! You're a runemaster and mage, not a rat sneaking around in the underworld! Of course you could possibly become a legendary being by poking people in the ass, but that isn't what you're meant to be! You don't have that in you at all! Luckily the person who taught you only gave you something basic, it can barely be called a common battle technique, and it won't affect your future. If not, hmph, I'd have to make a trip to the Deepblue and chop him into pieces!”

Richard wasn't any normal fifteen-year-old youth. His wisdom had greatly been strengthened over five years of intense testing, to the point that he'd absorbed four times the knowledge the average person would. Thus, his capacity to understand the world around him was equivalent to someone who'd reached his thirties, and his knowledge matched up to someone who was thirty-two or thirty-three.

He did not seem very affected by Gaton's bold words, instead replying faintly, “I don't think you need to make a trip down to the Deepblue to deal with the person who taught me this. Forget Mordred, even any one of those four we saw just now would be enough. Why do you want to make a trip down yourself? Are you worried about Master?”

“Why would I be worried about her? What a joke!” Gaton pranced up from the tombstone and raged with an ashen face. This was the most lack of control Richard had ever seen out of him. The man himself realised it as well, immediately forcing a laugh before he slowly sat down on the tombstone as if nothing had happened.

The moment he spoke again, Gaton's unruly and frivolous behaviour disappeared into a solemn dignity. He looked like an exemplar of an aristocrat, but Richard could sense it was something he was doing to brush off the awkwardness.

“Hmph, that Sharon, why would I be scared of her? But um, honestly, although your father is skillful, I cannot defeat three to five black dragons by myself, at least not yet. So it isn't very practical for me to fight that money-obsessed woman solo. But if I go to the Deepblue to kill some small fry, she won't go to the extent to retaliate and kill me. Moreover... For certain reasons, I can't grievously harm her.” Gaton's tone was solemn, but his imposing manner was not even half of what it was initially.

91 - City of Sin

Inheritance Of The Silver Moon

Richard thought of something all of a sudden, asking directly, “Master didn't leave any trauma with you, did she?”

“Of course not!” Gaton replied furiously. But then he realised that he'd stood up, sitting back down so forcefully the tombstone under him let out a creak, as if it would collapse at any time. This was a tombstone with the truename of one of the Archeron ancestors!

Under the pressure of Richard's look of suspicion, Gaton gradually turned quite green. He finally snorted, and said, “There's some trauma, but that doesn't even matter! Isn't it just money?! Your old man is actually a great leader, I'm sure I'll be able to pay back the debt if I conquer several more planes over the next 180 years!”

These 'wise' words didn't seem very right in Richard's ears. He wanted to ask about that 180 year timeframe, whether it was plane time or Norland time, but he hesitated thinking it would be too much to attack the man.

However, Sharon and Mountainsea being in his life had largely influenced Richard's disposition. One aspect of that was that he was predisposed towards being on the offence.

But the moment Richard was about to speak, Gaton felt a sudden but familiar ill feeling. His sharp intuition told him something bad was going to happen, so he instantly interrupted Richard, “Alright kid! Stop beating about the bush, and forget all that rubbish you learnt in the Deepblue. I'll teach you some real techniques, ones that will allow you to use the power of your bloodline.”

Gaton rose up and looked at Richard's unsettled expression. He let out a sigh, saying, “Don't be in such a hurry to say no, I'm not teaching you any Archeron arts. Your mother should've taught you these, but since you don't seem to know I'll have to do it myself.”

“Mother?” Richard was startled. Although he'd realised during his study in the Deepblue that Elena was not just an acolyte, he didn't expect her to be at the level of a great mage.
𝗳𝐫𝘦e𝔀𝚎𝚋𝓃𝚘vℯl. 𝑐o𝚖

Gaton nodded, “Your mother was once a royal of the Silvermoon Palace. In fact, she was the Shaman of Alucia, the Goddess of the Moon. So a part of your bloodline actually comes from the silvermoon elves. What I'm going to teach you now is a secret technique passed down from their shrine.”

Gaton swiped his wrist, and a peculiar weapon appeared in his hand. It was around a metre and a half long, with a four centimetre wide blade that had a perfectly straight edge. Sharp on only one side, it seemed more like a long, thin knife than a sword. When Gaton gently flicked the edge of the knife, it started ringing as its tip vibrated endlessly.

“Look carefully. This is one of Silvermoon's secret swords, Annihilation.” Gaton stepped forward suddenly, raising the weapon in his hand abruptly and holding it straight in front of him.

A blue crescent slowly emerged above Gaton's head, concentrating gleaming azure moonlight on him like a screen of water. The tip of the weapon glistened blue as well, and some mysterious power seemed to push Gaton's body as he launched ten metres forth in an instant. The weapon pierced forth without warning.

This move was beautiful yet desolate, and Gaton's steps left behind a trail of blue as if this was a dream. But the sword contained the strength of the fourth moon, the blue moon, and whizzed ahead on its path. It looked like it would pierce through even a huge dragon in its path.

It was unknown when exactly Gaton appeared in front of Richard again. He'd already stowed the sword away, although it still seemed like the blue moon had leapt across space to stay over his head. The projection was still within ten metres of Gaton, shining cool moonlight onto Richard's body.

Gaton gently stroked the long sword, saying disappointedly, “This is a move your mother used once, so I could remember it clearly. The other moves I figured out on my own in the free time I've had over the past years, but without the silvermoon bloodline I'm not sure if they're correct. Take mine as a foundation, and perfect the moves when you have a chance.”

The crescent above Gaton's head turned red, changing from the fourth moon to the first. His momentum burst forth again, and this time the sword with a blanket of scarlet moonlight on it chopped silently through the air as he took the same forward steps.

The first move was like the advance of a lone brave warrior, but this was more like a regiment exerting irresistible force. The crescent in the air faded as it followed the sword's trajectory, and it looked like a light red crystal was infused into Gaton's graceful moves as he outlined a new moon. This was the secret technique corresponding to the scarlet moon: Beheading Newmoon.

This was soon followed by the second moon, the amber moon, and this attack was one that covered an entire area around him. The violet moon, the fifth moon, was a single fast attack able to tackle quick opponents. The silver moon, the sixth, created a spiral of endless attacks at the enemy.

To end it all, when the moon above Gaton's head turned a jade green, he stopped moving immediately and stood straight. Light green moonlight poured down his shoulders like the flow of mercury, diffusing the moment it touched the ground and spreading a few metres away. A rich smell of life spread everywhere the moonlight touched, dyeing even the black volcanic rock a rich green. This stone, that hadn't budged even during an eruption of lava, actually cracked apart to reveal young seedlings growing out. This was the third moon's secret sword: a devout prayer that could restore life.

Once the green moon slowly disappeared, the smell of life faded back into that familiar boiling sulphur. The young seedlings wilted immediately, turning to a dark gray ash that eventually just disappeared. Everything returned to normal, leaving those six illusory moons seeming like nothing but a dream.

“There should be a technique corresponding to the seventh moon as well, but I can't figure it out.” Gaton threw the long sword over to Richard, “There, it's now yours! I snatched this sword from an elven kingdom in a strange plane. You can give it a name later.”

Richard felt abnormally at ease when he got the sword, so much so that he couldn't help but feel surprised. There was still a hint of the six moons on the blade, and it made his body hum slightly. The seventh moon itself, the gold moon, was the darkest of the lot. It only appeared a few days every year, and was easily neglected with how dull its colour was. Its power was bound to be the hardest to unearth.

The sword was sheathless. Richard stroked the blade gently, but accidentally cut himself on the blade. A drop of blood landed on the blade, but it slid down quickly and dripped onto the ground. There was no bloodstain left on the weapon's blade.

He automatically grabbed the shaft with both hands, pointing it straight ahead. The blade gently vibrated here, and a faint blue appeared on the tip. Richard had felt something unique from the first move Gaton had displayed that allowed him to already vaguely feel the power of the fourth moon.

'Maybe it was because he saw Mother using the move, so he could understand it better than the rest,' Richard thought. What he didn't know was that Gaton had discovered this technique when it pierced through his own heart. He'd also neglected another problem at that moment: how had Gaton used a secret sword of the elves that was only passed down within Silvermoon Palace?

Gaton sat down on another tombstone and returned to his original state, saying, “Now tell me, what are you planning to do next? You can stay here and continue runecrafting, or come to my territory and form your own troop. I'll give you ten for the time being, and you can also join my own troops in attacks. It's Archeron tradition to start training as a normal troop leader, but since you're a runemaster you can start off as the troop mage at once. You'll also have your own rune knights to protect you. Of course, you can also just build your own lab and experiment with magic if you want.”

Richard had already decided what to do in the future. He took a deep breath and replied, “I want to go take part in the war for a plane.”

“Alone?” Gaton was stunned, and rather doubtful of Richard's decision.

“Mm, alone. I want to discover the secrets of the planes by myself, conquering a few of them along the way. I don't want to follow you and a big army.” Richard was very firm with his words.

Gaton laughed, “Not bad! But this is war you're talking about, not some ordinary adventure. Even adventurers need parties. Wars aren't games, you can't conquer planes alone!”

Richard frowned and replied, “I am already a qualified runemaster. Within two to three years, I can form two ten-man troops. I can give you ten rune knights, and leave the other ten for myself to form a core troop for planar battles with. From what I remember, ten rune knights is enough for an elementary force in some of the lower planes. The ten warriors that I hand to you can be considered repayment for what the family's given me. I'm aware that it isn't enough, but I want to start exploring the planes earlier.”

Gaton's eyes glistened as he listened to Richard, “You're saying you can build twenty rune knights in a mere three years?”

Richard nodded, “All novices, but yes.”

Gaton broke into laughter all of a sudden and slapped Richard's shoulders, almost making him fall, “That's enough! I didn't expect you to be that capable. Maybe you can get some results in the endless planes before I did!”

92 - City of Sin

Pride

Gaton's happiness was not unwarranted. Even if all twenty of the rune knights were novices equipped only with elementary runes, that was at least a hundred runes that Richard needed to produce. Over three years that was an average of about three a month.

Runemasters weren't always successful in producing their runes. Even great runemasters failed on occasion, and regular ones only had a success rate of about 30% for a grade 1 rune. Although grand runemasters were better, they still had a failure rate of about 30% as well.

Although the time taken to manufacture an elementary rune could range from a few days to an entire month, the process couldn't randomly be compressed. The bulk of the time used in the manufacture of a rune was to check for mistakes in the hand-drawn magic formations, and making additional amendments to them. The likelihood of such mistakes having occurred depended on the precision of one's drawing, making it a core quality of a runemaster. And Precision was precisely Richard's greatest strength.

Richard took a little under seven days to build an elementary rune on average, with a failure rate hanging between 10 and 20%. These statistics alone put him almost at the level of a saint runemaster. That being said, none of the saint runemasters on the continent were bored enough to manufacture elementary runes. This was the main reason his earlier runes fetched such exorbitant amounts: the adaptability of his runes and their boost was far beyond the average.

Given the same set of materials, a lower rate of failure and shorter manufacturing period could accumulate and turn two sets of runes into three. This made Richard's profit margins inconceivable; after all this was far more lucrative than producing quality runes every once in a while, since all runes sold at a minimum fixed market rate. That was also how he'd earned over a million coins in the last year, and the reason he dared to join the ranks of Archerons who were waging wars in the countless planes.

Just like Gaton had said, expeditions into planes were dependent on one's armies. While the military prowess of an individual was important, it was in no way a deciding factor. There were exceptions like Sharon, who could turn a duel into a team battle, but those were just that, exceptions to the rule. With ten level 1 rune knights and the income from selling quality rune slots, Richard could build a small core troop of his own to explore some of the tamest planes.

The planes were boundless and inexhaustible, with nobody knowing exactly how many of them existed or what would happen on unknown planes. Rumours were abound of some lucky people discovering invaluable precious materials in lesser planes at times, and of some tragic brave soul paying a heavy price to attack and occupy a greater plane that was barren and penniless.

Gaton fell deep into thought after having a hearty laugh, muttering to himself for a long time before speaking up more loudly, “Since you're so talented, we'll need to bring many things forward. Before you enter an actual plane I'll prepare all the equipment you need. You'll also have to visit the Archeron base camp and select a few bodyguards, and then choose a partner of pure Archeron blood. If there is more than one who you fancy, you can choose two or three; it doesn't matter. That is a special right exclusive to you. Then, if you wish to try making real rune knights, you can go ahead; just one for now, no more, but I'll provide you with the candidate, the mount, and the materials. After all that is done, I'll more or less be able to prepare the sacrifice offerings for you entering the Church of the Eternal Dragon. You can see what the Dragon God graces you with.”

Richard noted everything down diligently, and Gaton thought it over before he continued, “That woman Sharon still owes me a favour. She promised to help once with a ceremony at the Church of the Eternal Dragon. Since I don't need any urgent blessings from the Church, let's use the chance on you! I'll write her a letter to see how she can help.

“Now I don't think there's anything else. Your residence should be ready for you. You can also move around Faust as you wish, there aren't any areas restricted to you, but do be careful if you go downtown. Enemies are everywhere here, but there shouldn't be any issue in public areas. Those old men may be very cunning, but few of them would actually be willing to risk their lives to fight. Just don't be seduced by girls with unknown backgrounds and follow them into secluded alleys.” Gaton laughed, stopping only when he saw no reaction from Richard. Clearing his throat, he concluded, “Last but most importantly, spend more time looking around at your sisters; most of them are still on this island. As long as they do not have actual partners, you are free to appoint them as yours.”

Richard frowned, asking, “Can't we let this matter lie?”

Gaton let out a laugh again, though his tone was firm and resolute. “No. This is the duty of every single Archeron. In any case, partners don't actually restrict you in any way. You can just take it as...a form of continuing the bloodline.”

“I am not an Archeron,” Richard replied coldly.

“You cannot abandon your blood. It is one with you, a part of your very soul. That goes for your silvermoon blood, and for your Archeron blood as well. Besides, I don't think you have the right yet to reject your duties.” Gaton was calm this time around, a total opposite of Richard. It made him realise that he did indeed have no right to reject Gaton's words, so he fell silent.

......

Back at his residence, Richard threw himself directly onto his bed, staring at the ceiling above. As with every meeting he'd had with Gaton in the past, this was yet another unpleasant encounter. Regardless of occasion, no matter the circumstances, they had never had a happy meeting. All he saw in Gaton's presence was the image of his old house burning in the raging flames.

Truth be told, he'd always had questions in his mind. Why did his mother live in Rooseland village for an entire decade? Why would she rather set herself on fire than meet his father? Recounting his childhood memories, and adding them to all his new experiences, he knew clearly that his mother had loved Gaton very much.

This was what left Richard conflicted, and the reason he accepted all of Gaton's help despite his own inner struggles. It was only today that he'd finally understood the true meaning of his mother's final wish.

Elena actually still wished to be together with Gaton, but her method was just different. It was one almost impossible to accomplish, but her pride was no less than that of any Archeron.

The three traditions of the Archerons suddenly swept past Richard's mind, stirring his heart. It was almost as though he could see the flames and blood, the scene of every Archeron in the past centuries fighting valiantly in battle. People fell without end, but the others stood back up yet again. Their ancient and mysterious blood was awakened in the raging inferno of battle, continuing to be passed on with the first cry of every newborn. This was a struggle, an unyielding spirit of battle. The Archeron blood would continue to live and spread, just as how the volcano that was its final resting place spurted lava without end.

The only reason there were few tombstones on the volcano was because only Archerons who'd been enlightened with the power of their blood had the right to rest in their family cemetery. As for those who rested at the top, the six Archerons who'd awakened their truenames, they'd irrefutably been heroes in their lifetimes. Even though their lives weren't documented on the tombstones, the mere presence of the truename explained it all. Google search 𝐟𝓇𝘦𝒆w𝚎𝐛n𝐨ν𝙚𝚕. c𝚘ｍ

Just like Gaton.

It was already dark outside. The pale blue fourth moon hung high in the night sky, its azure light spilling through the tall and narrow windows. The trees and mountains outside seemed a faint shade of indigo bathed within.

The unsheathed sword was sat by the bedside, its blade reflecting the blue moonlight. Sparkling stars seemed to jump in the reflection of the blade, a beautiful illusion with a trace of the blue moon's power. The faint presence of the moonforce hazily awakened the silvermoon elven blood within Richard's body.

He didn't know why, but he was exceptionally sensitive to the blue moon. When Gaton had used the secret sword of the fourth moon, Annihilation exuded a sad yet beautiful determination, one that made him feel like Elena was right in front of him. His father had said this was a sword he'd seen his mother use, then under what circumstances had she used a technique that would end in mutual destruction?

The numerous events of the day had finally tired Richard out, and he fell into a deep slumber under the azure moonlight.

Richard saw the Rainbow of the Moons in his dreams. He also saw the volcano erupt, Archerons rushing past him one by one as they roared their way into the battlefield. The road under their feet was naught but endless skeletons, and a river of blood. Fog filled the air, and plane after plane floated into his sight with countless people risking life and limb for their control. Sometimes a plane exploded and collapsed, completely destroyed and sinking into the endless abyss away from the haze.

There was no sky, no earth. Outside of the endless massacres was an endless void...

Richard was suddenly awakened from the dream. Rubbing his eyes, he was greeted by dazzling sunlight outside the window. His difficult escape from the chaotic dream left his mind and body equally exhausted.

It was a brand new day, but Richard suddenly recalled that today seemed to be the day when he was supposed to meet his siblings.

93 - City of Sin

Banquet

The hands of the magic clock indicated nightfall, and Faust was shrouded in the shades of dusk. Nighttime in the city of legends wasn't the normal black and white, instead being bright and colourful. The fourth and fifth moon hung high on either end of the sky, the soft blue and violet mingling together to illuminate the night.

If one were to walk out of Faust's gates and look up at the night sky of the Eternal Plains, the two moons would be much more distant. Perhaps because of that distance the colour of the moonlight was unable to make it across the great distance, leaving night in Norland a black and white affair.

The belts of light hung high overhead, revolving ever so slowly along their wondrous orbits. The seven moons followed along in a certain pattern, but humans had never been able to understand the secret behind the Rainbow of the Moons even since they settled in Faust. Tonight was the turn of the pale blue and violet moons to illuminate the sky, so the two were duller in the rainbow. Yet, no matter when it was, the gold moon was always the dimmest of all. Throughout the year, with the exception of a few days, people could hardly even spot its presence.

Surrounding the cloud layer of Faust was an incomparably large spell formation that kept the city tropical throughout the seasons, regardless of the harsh cold in the Eternal Plains. Threads of magic light could occasionally be seen through the mist, indicating its presence, and countless of these very same threads coloured the clouds like a splendid rainbow. It made Faust's night dazzling.

The higher islands were floating around in a lonesome silence, but the sixth and seventh layers were bustling with activity. Every building was brightly lit, indicating that this was a place where the most powerful families of the Sacred Alliance converged. Countless conspiracies and deals were hatched with every passing minute, and these exchanges were often carried out at private rooms or banquets. Thus, there were many private rooms in every building of every island, and banquets of all sorts were held every night. Even the Archerons were no exception to this.

The banquet that particular night was neither large nor small. It was held in a tower outside the castle, close to the edge of their island.

This three-storey building was originally designed for larger parties or gatherings, with even a garden built outside according to common aristocratic tradition. The north wings of the first and second floors were essentially big multi-purpose rooms, divided into several smaller areas by the activity they were meant for. On the other hand, the south wing contained rooms of various sizes. Half of the third floor was an interior balcony facing the island, and the roof was designed like a sky deck so the participants could enjoy a view of the other floating islands as well as Faust itself.

Currently, all of the separate areas in the north wing on the lower levels had been combined into one hall. The place was brightly lit, and long tables which lined up on either side of the area full with plates of food. Maids and servants were going around, delivering cup after cup of red wine to the participants before collecting their empty glasses.

There was a musical band who was performing with great fervour in the corner, though the performance did not seem so great. In any case the guests were more concerned about the chance to interact with one another than the music or any exquisite wine.

Eight rooms of varying sizes had been opened behind the winding corridor outside the hall, with more on the second level. These private spaces provided a necessary convenience for those who wanted a private word or intimate exchange with someone. That being said, though, many actually preferred the lush outdoor garden for the latter. Even though there was a higher chance of being seen, it was much more exciting. Besides, most people did not care if anyone was watching anyway.

The banquet this night was for the younger generation of the Archerons, and Gaton and his thirteen did not show up at all. The youths were gathered together in twos and threes, exchanging pleasantries with one another while enjoying the food and wine. Needless to say they only discussed casual or partially overt topics here, with actual negotiations and deals taking place only in the rooms provided or other private rooms.

There were many families other than the fourteen of Faust who had settled down or set up contact points on the ground in the main city. However, the fourteen were the sole occupants of the floating islands, being true aristocrats with access to privileges above the rest. Although the Archerons were viewed as upstarts, it was still a symbol of high status to be able to receive an invitation to an Archeron Family party. All of the families in Faust clearly recognised the Archerons' military capability, especially after Gaton conquered both the seventh and third islands of the lowest level single-handedly. Please visit f𝓇ℯℯ𝚠e𝒃𝘯𝒐νel. co𝐦

Having spent all their money on their plans to make use of the Archerons and stop upstarts from joining Faust, the ancient families had grown divided. Many had turned towards Gaton and tried to rope him in, attempting to reel in this beast by trying to have him attack targets outside the Alliance.

It was only after Gaton had successfully established a presence in Faust that the Archerons appeared more like a family clan. Many Archerons who were on expeditions had sent youths from their branches to Faust. This would allow them to broaden their horizons, and would keep them secure and give them more opportunities to develop. Ultimately, that meant more opportunities to choose partners as well. However, those willing to send their youths here were not doing very well on the mainland. Those who were basking in their own limelight wouldn't even pay attention to Gaton. Instead, some of these successful Archerons even accelerated their pace of expansion, rather keen on replacing him.

There were about a few dozen or so young Archerons in the hall, but Richard was not amongst them. He was at the top floor, in a smaller hall where the true party was being held.

This banquet hall made up for its small size with the unique style of its furnishing. The floors and walls here are adorned with volcanic lava, while the light in the room came from torches burning on the walls. Every decoration was made of metal or stone, with the wall hangings and curtains typical of aristocrats completely missing from the scene. The room was extremely hot, and had a mild hint of sulphur in the air. It was similar to the volcanic environment in the clan's cemetery, but not as extreme in terms of the heat and its harsh conditions.

There were four young men and nine young ladies standing in the banquet hall other than Richard, all between the ages of thirteen and eighteen. They'd naturally formed three separate groups, all appearing very familiar with one another. Two of Richard's half-brothers and three of his half-sisters were here, with the rest being youths from branch families. The commonality amongst them all was that none of them had a partner yet.

The youths conversed with ease, the topics being nothing more than war and sex. This banquet was meant to gather them together so they could choose their partners. This was because, although Gaton's two other sons Warren and Wennington as well as his two adult daughters Venica and Demi had the right to choose their own partners as well, this was limited by certain boundaries. If they spotted someone they liked they had to first inform the higher-ups of the family, who would ultimately decide if that pairing would be allowed.

On the other hand, Richard who was standing in the corner could choose a partner at will. Thus, they all knew that he was the main character here. That was also what made him one of the only two people who did not fit in with the crowd.

As for the other? It was a girl who looked rather delicate and weak, seated quietly on a sofa in a corner of the room.

94 - City of Sin

Banquet

Formal attire was a must during occasions like this, and the combination of red and black seemed to be an unspoken decision amongst all the Archerons. These two colours represented sulphur and lava, the very symbol of the Archeron bloodline. Almost every Archeron was fond of blazing temperatures and the stench of sulphur, because they represented the purity and richness of one's bloodline as well as the onset of bloodline abilities.

Only two people here weren't all that keen about the event: Richard, and that frail-looking girl in the corner.

On Richard's part, he felt uncomfortable with all the eyes almost boring into him, whether the gazes were obvious or not. Another reason for his discomfort was the intense volcanic ballroom. After all, it was his elven bloodline that had awakened first.

But were these other people really that fond of volcanoes? It seemed to him that only Wennington, Venica, and Demi were in the process of having their bloodlines awakened here, and the extreme temperature was becoming apparent. Many people were showing signs of discomfort— beads of sweat were rolling down their necks, and there was a tense expression in their faces.

A trueblood Archeron would feel nothing in a ballroom of 40 degrees. Richard, who'd already awoken his bloodline with Eruption, was a good example. Even standing near the mouth of the volcano in the family tombs with Gaton he was rather unaffected by the heat.

However, he personally wasn't too fond of heat. It was near 70 degrees where he was standing! The other people in the room were just putting on a pretense, as if they had pure bloodlines themselves. It was common behaviour in many families with a long history, as many strived their hardest to act like truebloods to gain the favour of the family heads.

Gaton had risen like a comet, and was now like the brightest star in the night sky. If the choice of emblem was a volcano, then these people would act like they could die for anything related. And what better to represent volcanoes than high temperature and the smell of sulphur?

There was an answer to that question— lava. But of course, none of these rats would actually throw themselves into lava. Richard was filled with derision as he scanned through the ballroom.

His eyes landed on the girl again, holding there for a while before he looked away. The fault wasn't his— she was wearing a long white gown in a sea of black and red. Even if she didn't accessorise much, she was really eye-catching.

Information about her floated up in his mind: Coco Millie Archeron. Age 16, 1.67 metres tall, and a level 2 illusionist. She was the daughter of Pierre Archeron, titled cavalryman and level 10 warrior with an elementary double rune of strength and defense. He was the current vice-captain of Blackrose Castle's guard.

Richard furrowed his brows at this information. Coco was of the lowest status of anyone present here, only present because of her father being a titled cavalryman. Even that was rather forced, given that he was only level 10. The only reason he had a title was likely his long service to the Blackrose. This title could not be inherited. His measly achievements indicated that this Pierre wasn't courageous enough to fight on the battlefield, if not he could have been a titled knight that had the potential to reach at least level 13.

Pierre's real intention in sending Coco to Faust was apparent. He wanted her to marry a man with status and power, and if luck permitted, give birth to an Archeron of purer blood. However, Richard saw at first sight that a mere level 2 illusionist at 16 years of age meant she had no talent at magic. Her physique revealed even more that she wasn't suited to melee either. Thus, the only thing she had left was her bloodline, but Richard didn't find that to be quite rich either. Her father was incapable of awakening any bloodline abilities in her, and she seemed to have inherited her mother's weak physique.

It had been a year since Coco had come to Faust, and given her status she could only be delegated to a marriage that she had no right to resist. If she refused to follow through with the first of the ancient traditions, she would be banished immediately from the Archerons, so she may as well follow through with protocol.

That being said, however, not every Archeron would be designated to a marriage. Once a partner had been decided, the family had to provide a certain amount of support to ensure both parties raised their strength and produced better offspring. Coco was a pretty girl, her soft features and tender aura plucking at the heartstrings of many, but her weak build left her without a partner despite a year spent in Faust.

The Archeron bloodline was known to be fierce and violent. Hundreds of years of arranged marriages had made it clear that one needed two powerful parents to have a child with a greater chance of awakening their bloodline. It was also found out that it was easiest to give birth to offspring with pure bloodlines if direct family tied the knot— especially those with truenames.

Coco wasn't either, and that explained why she wasn't chosen by any of the ambitious Archerons. The leaders would have taken this into consideration as well, so they hadn't appointed her to someone themselves. Google search 𝐟r𝚎ewe𝚋𝚗૦ν𝘦𝘭. 𝐜𝚘𝗺

Richard looked at the people in the ballroom once again, focusing on his half-siblings. He had long gotten a hold of the information on everyone attending this banquet.

Warren, 14, level 5 archer; Wennington, 14, level 8 blaze guardian; Venica, 14, level 7 blaze warrior. Demi, 15, level 10 cursemaster.

Apart from Warren, who was slightly weaker than the rest, it could be said that none of them paled in comparison to Richard. Wennington and Venica were already showing signs of their bloodlines awakening, their attacks also inflicting damage of the fire element. Moreover, Demi's talent in magic was astonishing. Richard would have been able to match her level if he'd focused on magic instead of runecrafting, but a mage's role and power weren't the same as that of a cursemaster.

But of course, Richard was the star in this ballroom. A personal apprentice of the master of the Deepblue, level 8 mage who was also a runemaster, and he possessed the eye-catching appearance that came from his elven bloodline that set him apart from the rest.

Furthermore, Gaton had personally evaluated Richard's bloodline to be on par with his own. That was insane in itself. It was no longer a secret that Gaton had a truename, which meant that Richard would ultimately have his own truename on top of being a runemaster.

This explained Venica and Demi boring into him with hawkish gazes. Both of them were tall, their appearance leaning more towards the paternal side of their genes, as well as hot and flirtatious. They were wearing near-identical evening dresses with plunging necklines, tailored to the simplest cut with nothing unnecessary to cover up their beautiful curves. Not only did the dresses bring out their stunning breasts, the high slits in the dress also showed off their alluring legs. This was especially true of Venica. Although she was a year younger than Demi, becoming a fighter had contributed to her voluptuous bosom that looked like it would fall out of her dress.

95 - City of Sin

Banquet

Wennington was very calm as he watched Richard, also observing the other young ladies. It was Warren who looked at him strangely, his gaze containing an undeniable envy and some hatred as well. There was another boy from a branch family here who was on par with Warren in capability and age, but he seemed far more reserved with it. All three of them were obviously interested in Demi and Venica, as well as another beautiful and provocative young lady that attracted a lot of attention.

Not one of them paid any attention to Coco. Taking her to be one's partner was almost resigning oneself to tragedy— in a world of power, beauty was the most worthless thing of all.

Conversely, both Venica and Demi had the right to choose their partners, and Demi was a key interest in the family as well. She'd demonstrated outstanding talent at a young age, and with a decisive calmness to her she seemed to many to be the next Alice.

This went even further with Richard. In the mere two days since his arrival people were already discussing the possibility of him becoming the next Gaton. Needless to say it was openly acknowledged that he might never be able to reach his father's level of power, but the fact that he would become a runemaster would certainly get one's blood pumping.

The two were entirely different prospects altogether. Richard didn't need to prove himself in combat— his identity as a runemaster alone was enough to suppress all the youths present in this hall for a relatively long time.

Ordinary runemasters could gear up two to three elementary rune knights. If one were to make a simple comparison of power— the sale of one of these rune knights would make up the cost of manufacturing, and even one of the remaining would be able to wipe out the entire batch of youths here easily. This was an exceptional battle ability of its own kind.

Every young lady in the hall was rather beautiful in general, while the young lads shone in valiance. Venica and Demi were all the more charismatic amongst them, due to their parentage and prowess. This was particularly so for Demi, as indifference could evoke the carnal desires deep within men. Her shapely legs and curvaceous figure also made it clear that her performance on the other battlefield— the bed— would be very much comparable to her gift at battle.

Richard stood alone in a corner, holding onto a glass of wine. He occasionally loosened his collar to get some fresh air. He was not afraid of high temperatures, but he didn't exactly like the smell of sulphur, and disliked formal occasions like this one even more. The evening suit that he was clad in had cost approximately a thousand gold, and was sewn personally by a top-notch tailor specially recruited by the family's housekeeper. Richard's distinctive charm was brought out to the fullest in this attire, a product of his elvish and Archeron blood mixing together. Yet, it only made Richard miss his own magic robes more.

He really liked his robes for the enchantments they had on them. During battles they could enhance one's concentration despite the chaos, increasing their chances of finishing a spell successfully. As this was a permanent enhancement, it was extremely expensive. Though it did not have much practical use outside of actual combat, its price was more than ten times than the enhancements for stored battle-type magic. Thus, few would choose to get it. However, this was the most important enhancement to Richard, and that was simply because it could further improve his accuracy in runecrafting.

Richard was already used to living and working under the effect of that specific enchantment, and with the suit lacking it the change felt particularly uncomfortable. An article of clothing made by a top-notch tailor was only worth about a thousand gold, but that robe of Richard's was worth at least ten times as much. This was the difference in costs between the world of magic and the ordinary world, one that could never be bridged.

Disinterested, Richard swirled the wine in his glass, letting the scarlet liquid swish around the insides of the cup. At the same time, he silently began to calculate the time. It had only been slightly more than half an hour since the banquet had begun. This meant that there was still at least another two and a half hours before this ordeal was over. This duration was already equivalent to the amount of time Richard usually took for a meditation session, which was at least a tenth of a point increase in his mana reserves.

There weren't many shortcuts to increase one's mana or energy. One had to rely on perseverance and determination, improving gradually over an endless stretch of time. This also meant that if Richard were to do nothing but meditate for thirty years continuously, he would become a great mage purely in terms of his mana. Of course, there was barely any one who could continuously meditate for thirty years, but the meditation technique that Richard was using currently was already close to Norland's best. Nothing would come close to anything passed down from the Deepblue.

When he passed level 10 he would be able to begin learning the beginning portions of Sharon's personal meditation technique, the Deepblue Fantasy. When he reached the level of his professors he would be able to practice the Deepblue Dream. Finally, once he stepped into the legendary realm himself, he would be able to practice the Deepblue Aria. Only after stepping out of the Deepblue had Richard realised exactly what it meant to be Sharon's personal apprentice.

With far too much to be done to fulfill his goals, and things constantly pressing for his attention, Richard was obsessed with time. Despite the strong purpose and atmosphere of his banquet, he couldn't bring himself to be enthusiastic at all.

In fact, it was not too much of a commitment to choose a partner. More often than not they just ended up being people who shared a bed, going their separate ways after a descendant was born. Richard had long since become a man, so he naturally wasn't repulsed by woman or resist them either. Moreover, Demi and Venica each had their own attractive qualities, and the rest of the girls were not too bad either. As a partner in bed, they were definitely above the standard. Yet, there was a reason for him to reject the idea of choosing a partner. This entire process was situated with the Archerons, a family Gaton represented.

Richard did not make any move, but that did not mean that the rest did not as well. The youth from a branch family had long since gotten intimate with two girls who also came from branches. Intentionally or otherwise, they brushed past one another at their sensitive zones, and remained wise enough not to attempt to partner with someone of higher status than them. The youth was only able to have one partner, though both girls were vying for him. The youth's capability and bloodline was considerably good, therefore he was naturally their best option.

The Archeron Family had been on countless quests in the past hundreds of years, and many grown men had died on the battlefield. Thus, there were fewer men in the family than women. Additionally, their ancient bloodline made it a lot harder for them to procreate than normal humans.

In Norland, an average human's lifespan was around 70 years, while the pregnancy period was 6 months. An average woman could give birth to three children in two years. However, it took an average of three years before Archerons could possibly conceive a child. Together with the pregnancy period, it would take nearly four years for a child to be born. The six-fold increase of birth time may not seem significant in the short term, but if one were to look broadly at the period of sixteen years from when a child reached adulthood, all of this would translate into the fact that every Archeron couple would only be able to give birth to four descendants, while others give birth to twenty-four! As the second generation grew up to become adults and began procreation, this gap would only continue to widen. A century later, the gap would be impossible to bridge.

When it came to war, either on the continent or in the various other planes of existence, the population of a community was always an important factor. Even if the peak of a civilization's power was able to transcend the boundaries of time, the efficacy would be limited. No matter how formidable any inheritance was, it would need to be passed down and sustained for generations through the bloodline. Thus, this gave rise to the Archerons' ancient yet divine first rule.

As a means to remedy this, every Archeron also had many non-Archeron partners as well. This increased their chance of having children, but diluted the ancient bloodline as well. The ancestors hoped that, with the sheer number of children born in that way, there was some chance of a child with a particularly strong bloodline. Richard himself was an example of its success.

Not only would procreating take up a lot of time, it also would cause the mother's power to decline significantly. The more gifted a child was, the greater the extent by which the mother's power would decline. Of course a strong mother would weaken less, but that only applied to those like Demi and Alice who demonstrated outstanding ability at a young age. For ordinary Archeron women, their social status would be determined by the child they gave birth to. If they had given birth to a child who could meet the basic requirements of unleashing the inherited ability in their veins upon adulthood, the clan would then reward her with a well-provided life and the right to a second chance of choosing her partner.

And this time it was a choice, instead of being forced. Many fortunate Archeron women had climbed up society in this way, or found men with whom to live for the rest of their lives as their second partner.

96 - City of Sin

Invitation

The two young girls soon started to fight over the youth openly. Although only the more talented youths had the right to choose their partners, if a willing couple applied to be given to each other the request would be granted unless someone with such a right interfered. The number of such youths in the family was limited.

This was even more true of those with the right to choose multiple partners. Even if Wennington, Demi, and Venica had two choices because of their talent and parentage, their choices still needed to go through higher authority in the family. Richard was the only special one here, with the right to choose whomsoever he desired. If he chose someone like Venica, her rights would automatically be waived. His position allowed him to overlook the laws set within the family.

Just as Richard was immersed in his train of thought, he saw Demi leave the group of people surrounding her and suddenly walking towards him.

“I'm Demi, I can be considered your younger sister.”

“Richard.”

Demi was almost as tall as Richard himself. Her crimson hair was coiled up, and there was a blazing flame ignited in the depths of her pupils, a sign of her bloodline awakening. It was quite rare for any Archeron to awaken their bloodline at a mere fifteen years of age.
f𝘳𝒆ℯ𝑤𝚎𝚋𝗻𝚘𝘷el. c𝗼m

The girl was also gorgeous, her arrogance only adding to the charm of her figure. That arrogance was not unfounded— she did possess great power. She wasn't just any level 10 mage, instead a cursemaster which was very rare.

Necromancy was a branch of magic. Cursemasters were weak at the start of their training, but proceeded to grow increasingly strong over time. Past level 10 they could easily keep up with mages of the same level. Their best abilities were at reducing an opponent's power and distracting them. Unless one had extremely strong mana reserves, anyone who met a cursemaster would get a headache. At level 10 cursemasters could even unleash group attacks, which only served to show how truly terrifying they were on the battlefield.

Demi looked straight into Richard's eyes as she stood so close to him her breasts almost came in contact. Her chest shifted up and down as she breathed, occasionally brushing against Richard as she spoke in a slightly husky voice.

“Richard, I've been following Father to planar battles for a year now, and am now a qualified mage in the army. You should already know of my strength through the profiles you've been given,” she said proudly.

Richard was shocked by her words. She'd followed Gaton into the planes at such a young age? Real battlefields were unpredictable, everchanging. A strong army could be distracted from protecting her on the battlefield, and mages were a priority target second only to clerics.

It was only then that Richard fully understood Demi's arrogance. The girl was full of potential, and she was very wild. A true Archeron.

He carefully examined her as per habit, but due to their proximity couldn't take in her entire body. When he looked down his vision was occupied by her breasts, the data on them growing prominent to him. As per habit as a runemaster, he classified them on a scale of one to seven.

Demi's breasts were an undoubted 4, while Venica was closer to 5. As for 6 and 7, even if they weren't only present in legends like equivalent runes he hadn't seen any yet.

However, he'd known trouble was coming when Demi approached. He stopped all these weird thoughts, replying politely, “Yes, I was quite surprised when I saw your profile. Cursemasters are quite rare— if one doesn't have the gift it will be hard to bring out the true power of their spells. Pardon me, but if I'm not wrong you've already awakened a bloodline ability, no?”

“Yes. My bloodline ability increases the effectiveness of my spells,” Demi said with pride.

Richard was surprised once more, reevaluating the girl in front of him. Bloodlines were divided into greater and lesser in the world, and the same held true for the abilities they granted. The common classification in Norland had four different types of bloodline— A lesser bloodline, an intermediate bloodline, a greater bloodline, and a legendary bloodline. The classification was based on the level and number of powers one's bloodline could grant. Lower bloodlines only granted three or less, but each descendant had a greater chance of unlocking their powers. A middle bloodline could get between three and ten, while greater bloodlines could awaken even more types. As for legendary bloodlines, they only came from ancient, horrifying creatures. The chance of awakening such a bloodline was as low as advancing to the legendary realm. At least in the Sacred Alliance, there was not a single family with a legendary bloodline.

Normally one could only unlock a single bloodline ability. A few lucky souls could have two or three, but they were usually born into lower bloodlines anyway. The higher the grade of one's bloodline, the lower the chance of awakening. This also corresponded with the plane's rules, creating a pyramid of survival.

Bloodline abilities in Norland were divided into seven categories themselves, just like runes were. They were ranked in order of power and number of uses, with levels 6 and 7 basically existing only in legends. From their usage, they could be divided into skills, talents, and special powers. Skills were most common, referring to things that increased one's ability when called upon. This included those like Richard's own Eruption, which could increase one's strength and speed by half a fold to a fold. Eruption was normally just a level 1 power, but in Richard's case it was strong enough to be level 2.

Talents were far rarer, and correspondingly much stronger as well. This was similar to Demi's increased spell effects, falling into level 3 as an ability. There were many similar to this in the category, such as increased spell damage, increased penetration of spells, accelerated casting, and the like. The best talent of all was penetration, which reduced the effects of an opponent's resistance to magic, but the increased damage was good as well. As for other talents like silent casting and instant casting, they were categorised as level 4 and 5 due to their rarity.

Special powers were extremely rare and strong, most at level 4 or above. One example was Sharon's greater summoning, which empowered her summoning spells greatly enough to boost her power by a level or two. It was extremely close to being a level 6 ability.

However, in comparison to the billions of people in Norland, the number of families with a special bloodline was less than a tenth. Besides, having a powerful bloodline didn't mean being able to awaken it. Take the Archerons for example— in their centuries of existence less than a thousand tombstones had made it to the family tombs. This showed how rare it was to awaken one's bloodline. However, this also made families with special bloodlines superior to the rest. Even for the Archerons, with the difficulty of awakening their bloodlines, they'd become so accomplished in a mere few centuries of existence.

But then again, one's bloodline wasn't everything. Even if one had the best bloodline abilities like greater summoning, a level 15 warrior could easily kill a level 10 mage with one stroke. Even if one could summon a level 7 storm bear instead of a level 5 boar, even if they could summon multiple, the warrior would slaughter them in the blink of an eye.

97 - City of Sin

Invitation(Chapter Audio, give it a listen!)

Demi had both looks and talent, was gifted yet diligent, and possessed the courage to take risks as well. If nothing went wrong in the future, she would grow up to be comparable to one of Gaton's knights. A young lady like her was worthy of respect and admiration.

“My ability is Eruption,” Richard stated in response.
𝐟𝓇eℯ𝒘𝙚𝚋𝓃𝐨𝘷𝗲Ɩ. co𝓶

All of the youths had actually focused their attention on Richard and Demi. Many of them looked envious on hearing that he'd unleashed his ability as well, but Wennington and Venica didn't have much of a reaction. Even though the two of them didn't have their own abilities unlocked yet, they were quite close. Besides, as fire-related classes their abilities were quite likely to fall under the category of fire-based damage. Any such ability would exceed Richard's Eruption in level.

On the other hand, Warren's face was full of jealousy and disdain. He even grunted under his breath, “Bah, just Eruption!” Although the rest might not have noticed it, Richard clearly heard the boy. Still, he pretended not to have heard anything. While Eruption was a common and average ability, Warren himself hadn't unlocked his own. As for the hatred and jealousy Warren had towards him, Richard didn't take that to heart either. Not every Archeron was a hard-working genius that could work together with the rest. That schism was in fact something that governed the family.

“Eruption?” Demi was stumped for a moment, with her brows slightly creased, “That isn't really compatible with your class. That's really unlucky, but it's not too much of a concern. What's most important is that you are a runemaster, so it doesn't matter if your ability is wasted. You were unlucky this time, but good luck for the future!”

“Thank you!” Richard raised his glass in toast, taking a small sip.

One normally unlocked their ability after they chose their class. If it matched their class well it would strengthen their powers, with Sharon and Demi being perfect examples. A lot of families took care of this— if the family's inherited abilities were all melee or related to warriors, the younger generation would mostly choose corresponding classes.

However, that wasn't viable with more powerful bloodlines, with abilities encompassing both melee and magic or even divinity. Although they may be inclined towards a certain domain, the children of the family needed some luck when choosing their class at a young age.

In the case of the Archerons, it was widely known that half the abilities were magical and the other half melee, with nothing related to divinity at all. Thus, when a child of the Archerons was choosing their class, it was like they were flipping a coin for their ability.

There were many cases in history of people changing classes after unlocking an exceptionally powerful ability. Generally speaking, one would contemplate their future direction if they unlocked something past level 3, and it became absolutely worth it at level 4.

Richard was an example of failed luck, at least for now. Demi's wish of good luck hinted at the possibility of him unleashing a second ability, a wish with good intentions behind it. As charming as she already was, this only served to leave Richard with an even better impression of her.

Wennington walked over as well, glass in hand. He smiled, “Eruption? I want this marvellous skill as well! I already took the leap of faith in choosing my class, but without my ability unleashed yet I don't know whether it's compatible as I hope. If I get something like a level 2 magic ability it'll be a real headache.

“Also, Demi, Eruption isn't as useless as you think for Richard. On the battlefield, it'll serve a great purpose.”

“You have a point,” Demi nodded in agreement after a moment's consideration. One of the most difficult things for a mage was to preserve their life on the battlefield. Unquestionably, Eruption would be able to allow one to escape death much faster in times of danger. As for runemasters, their importance far outstripped that of mages. Runemasters of a higher level had the right to retreat from the battlefield at any time at their own discretion.

“Alright then Richard, since you're already a runemaster can you make any magic-related runes?” Demi asked. She knew that most elementary runemasters were only able to craft a few of the standard runes.

Richard went silent for a moment, before speaking again, “I actually can make one that boosts mana, but it's weaker than a second grade rune. Are you interested?”

Demi's eyes lit up, “A mana boost? Is it a custom rune? How much is the effect?”

“Mm, and the effect is between 13 and 15%. I'll only know the standard after the rune is complete.”

Demi's eyes lit up even further as she cried out, “An enhancement rate this high with a fluctuation range this small?” She clearly had an ample amount of understanding on mana boost runes. Standard second grade runes fluctuated between 15% and 22%, which meant this custom elementary rune was comparable to one of the poorer second grade runes. Yet, this rune required far less capacity to carry.

A mana boost was identical to an increase in mana conservation. An enhancement of 15% would allow Demi, with about 400 points of mana, to cast an extra fourth grade curse. This increase in battle capacity would be similar to what a magic effectiveness rune would grant her. At the same time, this enhancement was relative to her own strength, only increasing as she grew in power.

Richard nodded his head in acknowledgement.

Demi took a deep breath, and stuck her impressive chest out before saying, “I want this rune! But I don't want it to be a rune slot, I want it tattooed directly on my body. I can already withstand any elementary rune.”

Her words sounded like she was hinting at something in particular, which made Richard feel somewhat strange. He cast a casual detection spell on her body, a basic diagnostic test runemasters used to learn where to attach their runes. He actually didn't need the spell to gauge the location, but used it to confirm his suspicions, because the location was simply inconceivable.

The detection spell flashed past Demi, and in Richard's perception the entire area from her chest to her lower abdomen lit up in response. That was the only region where she could have runes tattooed.

Richard suddenly felt Demi's fervent gaze on him, which made him rather reluctant to look her in the eye. This was now another sort of invitation altogether.

“Venica, don't you need a rune too?” Demi turned around and beckoned Venica over. Venica strode forward and looked at Richard before saying, “I want a direct tattoo as well. As for the rune, an elementary agility will be enough. I'll change it in the future.”

Yet another detection spell was cast, this time on Venica's body. In response, the magic waves covered her back all the way to her thighs. Richard could sense a headache coming his way.

Wennington chuckled before saying, “Even I'm getting a little jealous of you now, Richard! How about this, help me with a rune as well and I won't resent you any further. I'll give you the materials, so you can charge me a lower price for labour. However, I want a slot. Don't get me wrong on this, but I'm different from the girls.”

Wennington's words, particularly his emphasis on the invitation from the two girls, were practically adding fuel to the flames. This caused Richard's headache to worsen.

Thankfully, the youths began to discuss planar wars shortly after, the discussion growing so heated Richard could barely get a word into the conversation. Although Demi was the only one who had truly participated in battles, Wennington and Venica had a lot of related knowledge too. Their zeal for combat was simply startling as well. In some sense, Richard felt like these people in front of him were battle-crazed lunatics.

Warren did not join in on the conversation. It was evident that he hated Richard even more now, perhaps even abhorred him. Demi who'd been beside him had gone over to Richard on her own, and then even took Venica away as well. At the moment, the both of them were seducing him ever so blatantly, while that damned Richard actually barely even responded! To make things worse, Venica and Demi had no intention of giving up! Any straight man would surrender in the end to their persistent ways of seduction.

Warren downed the wine, glass after glass, but the scarlet liquid tasted more acrid than ever. A young lady beside him was trying to talk to him, but he was not paying attention to any of it. The fiery rage burning in his heart had already blinded him to anything other than Richard, Demi, and Venica.

98 - City of Sin

Conspiracy

Luckily, Gaton didn't choose a partner for Richard himself after the banquet. In fact, the father-son pair almost never met if not for special occasions and events.

Richard was assigned to a rather small room near the family library, a place where he spent most of his days undisturbed. He flipped through dozens of books that illustrated the history of the continents, or the doctrines of different faiths.

Of course this was no deterrence to Venica and Demi. The two had visited the very next day, but thankfully they hadn't stayed for long because they had an important asceticism course to attend. He thanked lady luck, because they didn't bother him for the next four or five days.

Their second visit was focused on a discussion about runes. The two girls were beyond excited to witness the crafting of such an amazing thing first hand. Before Richard could drive them away with an excuse of not having enough ingredients, the girls suggested that he first 'familiarise' himself with the locations where he would have to tattoo the runes. This was an important tacit understanding between them.

That was a rather dangerous thing to accept. Were Richard to familiarise himself with them, he would need to be joined to both by marriage. It was law for all Archeron girls to remain virgins before their first partners, to maintain the purity of their children's lineage. Of course this wouldn't be in effect if they were marrying out of the family.

Dismissing the overly enthusiastic girls, Richard finally got some well-deserved rest for a few days. Other than one time where Wennington brought him the ingredients for his rune, Richard didn't meet anyone else. He couldn't care for the rest of the girls present at the banquet anyway. It didn't matter whether they were qualified for him, or had let go of any ill thoughts regardless of their status to make moves on him.

It was like he was back in his days at the Deepblue. He drew up another schedule, as precise as a magic clock, and went about filling his mind up with tons of informations. Planar wars, the history of Faust, the Church of the Eternal Dragon... once he was done reading for a day, he didn't have much leisure time remaining— he still had to go about making Wennington's rune, planning his future equipment, and meditating.

Nonetheless, the peace was only on the surface. Elsewhere in Faust, undercurrents were rumbling.

The sixth floating island on the sixth layer was the territory of Duke Joseph. His family was amongst the top ten of the Sacred Alliance, neither advancing nor declining for a long time. And yet, it remained like an ancient oak tree, its foundation stabilised over the many years such that it was almost impossible to shake them. They were rooted deeply into the soil of the Sacred Alliance.

Joseph's family was vastly different from the Archerons on the third island of the seventh layer, who were brimming with war and conflict. His island, the sixth of the sixth, corresponded more to the aesthetics of human aristocrats and royalty. Centuries of efforts and hard work on this island that was a kilometer wider than the third of the seventh had made its architecture and greenery iconic.

Viewed from a vantage point, the whole island was shrouded in faint purple dome shield. It was rather hard to distinguish under Faust's brilliant sky, but if a foreign object strayed too close the shield would trigger and ripple outwards like a blooming flower.

The ground was mostly covered in lush vegetation, the leaves and grass crisp and green. Flowers bloomed and trees flourished at the prime of their lives under the constant tropical climate. Stepping on this island was like stepping into the legendary garden of the gods, Clearwater. The buildings were evenly spread out and exuded an ancient elegance, surrounded by pergolas, pavilions and carefully trimmed thickets.

A stream flowed from the southwestern side of the island's mountain, emptying into a small lake at its foot. There was an ancient castle beside this body of water, and at the centre a field faintly lit by magic light that showed off an exquisite statue standing atop a beautiful fountain. It attracted the attention of all visitors.

Somewhere in the study of this castle, several calculative-looking men were seated in a row. They all looked sleek, the atmosphere filled with the power of their auras.

Before them was stood a lean aristocrat, who looked rather young in age. He was hugging a book close to his chest, seemingly looking for something within. The boy was dressed casually, and had a pair of crystal spectacles on. A pretty good-looking lad, one would say, that exuded wisdom and intelligence. The one downside was that he was a little skinny.

“Is this news confirmed?” he asked as he flipped through the pages of the book.

An experienced-looking middle-aged man on the far left spoke up, “We've already verified through many avenues that Richard Archeron is an elementary runemaster. But we've been unable to gather more information from the Deepblue, so his current standard is unknown. It's bizarre; there's exceptionally little information about the boy in the Deepblue. The traders were behaving quite strangely as well— they either said they didn't know anything when asked, or only gave us trivial and unimportant information. None of us were able to get our hands on any details.”

“What more do you need? A runemaster at the mere age of 15, do we still need further verification?” another man quipped before waving his hand aggressively, “Even if Richard remains at his current level his whole life, how many more rune knights will the Archerons have as he grows older? We should have killed him while we could! Even if he was only a mage, he deserved to be killed for studying at the Deepblue for 5 years! That means he'll become a grand mage in the future!”

Someone who looked like a mage laughed, “You say that as if everything is so easy, Cybil. Do you think it's easy to just kill him? Gaton sent that demon Mordred to pick Richard up! Even if you could locate them through the complex terrain, what price would you have to pay to kill Richard under his watch? What's the point if this boy was just going to be a grand mage in the future? There are all sorts of capable people in every family, do you want to kill them all too? Or are you telling me you can kill Mordred? Nobody can do that if the man is set on running away. Don't you think it's too late for you to say all this, now that we know Richard is a runemaster?”

He laughed cynically before adding on, “Naseby, why don't you take a team to kill Mordred? Getting rid of that demon would be much more useful that getting rid of a future runemaster!”

The man named Naseby flushed immediately and bellowed, “Kevin, what are you trying to say?”

The said mage only sneered, “I'm trying to say what you were trying to say just now! Since you have doubts about my planning, why not be of some help and lead your troops to do something? But perhaps Mordred is too tough for you to handle, just kill any of the other twelve knights of Gaton. Cyrden? Caryn? Lina, maybe?”

This was when the old man on the right end decided to speak out. “Kevin, Naseby! It's pointless to fight now. It's without a doubt that the Archerons birthed another talented lad. But currently, he only possesses talent. The issue is, how much priority should we put on him?”

The youth who stopped pacing around the room, raising his head, “Right, I almost forgot. Young master told me that Richard is planning to craft a rune that increases mana. That's a custom built rune! You lot don't think he'll be able to craft a standard grade 2 rune, do you?”

“A custom rune?” Kevin exclaimed. He had substantial knowledge of runecrafting, so he continued on, “It seems like this Richard boy has a high chance of becoming a great runemaster in the future.”

This instantly quintupled Richard's future value, He became the top threat amongst the younger generation of the Archerons, and one of the top ten within the entire family.

“I also found some interesting information about an auction a year ago.” The youth adjusted his glasses as he flipped through his book with grace and pointed to a line, “The most attractive item was an elementary agility rune. It could be compounded onto even a grade 3 rune slot, but the increment was upto 41%, reaching the standard of a second grade rune already. It was sold at a sky-high price of 5 million, which should be enough to prove its rarity. What's interesting is that the Deepblue was the entity that put it up for auction.”

The young lad raised his head and smiled elegantly, “Now, we all know that Deepblue never produced runes before. It was almost impossible for ordinary runemasters to survive there given Sharon's extreme expectations of rune quality and the hatred she has towards runemasters. So we can make a bold guess that this rune was likely produced by Richard. If that is true, then he does deserve our full efforts in getting rid of him. But even if it isn't, it is a worthy price to pay as well for a future runemaster.”

He paused for a while before smiling, “Everything that we're able to give right now will only be seen as another huge price in the eyes of the Joseph clan.”

Everyone got it instantly: they had to get rid of Richard at all costs!

“Should we prepare for war?” Naseby asked. He looked bloodthirsty at the very mention of it, and although he still maintained his etiquette before the youth his body was already bursting with excitement.

The young lad closed the book and placed it gently on the table, speaking with confidence not befitting of his age, “No, not for now. Our fight with them now is beyond the battlefield. As long as we make this flawless, Gaton wouldn't want to engage in a war either. He is a smart man, he knows that a war at this point in time won't be beneficial for either of us. The only one who'll gain from a war between us and the Archerons will be that old maggot Orelius. Gaton will wait, he will wait till the Archerons recover from this blow and till he gains an advantage against us. But...”

He smiled knowingly, “Time, might not be on Gaton Archeron's side.”

99 - City of Sin

Conspiracy

The youth took out a leather scroll from a bookshelf after finishing his words, laying it on the table and unfurling it to reveal a map of Faust. It magically expanded upon his touch, becoming a three-dimensional model of the city of legends.

He lightly tapped on the third island of the seventh layer, “First we have to get our little Richard off this reeking island. And... Hmm, he definitely will want to check the Church of the Eternal Dragon, so this will be a good location. What do you think, Master Valen?”

The old man named Valen looked at where the youth had pointed, a place between the Church of the Eternal Dragon and the Teleportation Temple that was relatively quiet and peaceful. Of course, that relatively was important— because of how close it was to the city gates and the flight stops it still had quite a bit of traffic. Valen's pupils constricted the moment he saw the place, and he nodded, “This is a great a place, but you have to be fast. Who are you sending?”

“Faulk, Faulk Joseph. He's our best pick.” The young man answered without hesitation.

There was a subtle change in mood within the room, and Kevin even commented, “Faulk? Is that necessary?”

The young man took out a white handkerchief and replied indifferently while wiping his hands, “Of course it's necessary. Do you think Gaton will just give up if we send someone else? Those old foxes will see through our little plan, but we need to force him to tolerate it for now. That needs enough of a sacrifice on our part. He'll be aware of what we're doing, but we need to force him to deal with us at a later date. What we need now is time. Alright, Master Valen, I'll leave persuading Faulk to you.”

“We will do as you ask,” the old man said with respect. He then stood up, leaving with the rest of the men in tow.

The young man, Raymond Joseph the fourth son of Duke Joseph himself, did not like to be questioned after he'd made a decision. He was one of the three most powerful members of his family, having shown an affinity for both the planar wars and governing their territory. But that wasn't what he was known for— he'd recently defended his little baronage from the attacks of two Archeron viscounts!

......

After a few boring days of continuous reading and meditation, Richard decided to take a stroll and match the streets of Faust to the information he'd read in his books. Downtown Faust was truly flourishing, with hundreds of alliances and many powerful groups and individuals trying to make a fortune or find something useful there. Truth be told, as long as one had enough gold in Faust, they could get almost anything they desired.

Demi and Venica had become a big downside to staying on the family island. It was growing increasingly difficult for him to ward off their aggressive advances, and they'd already started to end their classes early to visit him at least once a day. It wouldn't be long until they ended up becoming mates if this continued— the girls' ultimate goal.

Demi and Venica were different from normal Archeron women. Producing powerful offspring was only one facet of their consideration; they were more interested in participating in the planar wars alongside him.

That was why, when Warren invited Richard to visit the Church of the Eternal Dragon together, he'd agreed at once. Although it was rather bizarre for Warren to ask him out with his obvious hostility, he believed it was still logical to an extent. Who wouldn't want to build a good rapport with a fifteen-year-old runemaster? Any well-trained child of nobility had learnt to set aside their personal feelings for the sake of interests and benefits. If not, they would long since have been eliminated in the internal wars of their families.

Richard, on the other hand, was excited to see the church, so he called his personal butler to report his plans. Gaton had asked him to inform the family whenever he wanted to leave, and await their arrangements.

The butler made his way to a small room at the side of the castle upon Richard's request, informing a female knight of his plans.

The woman was dressed in light yet elegant armour of an unusual style. Unlike conventional designs that focused on protecting the chest, throat, and groin, her armour seemed to be focused on bringing out her outstanding figure. It fit tightly to all her curves, almost comparable to a custom-made night gown. There was no visible special protection nor defense of her vital parts, while the entire armour was decorated in pretty floral lines and embedded with many gems and crystals.

The veiny patterns were spread all across the breastplate, the jewels shining like stars that seemed almost translucent in certain areas. Apart from the traditionally designed shoulder pads, it seemed as if the entire armour was just for show and wouldn't be effective in combat at all. However, the distinct magic aura radiating from it said otherwise— this surely wasn't any ordinary piece of armour.

The woman was relatively pretty, even a little sultry, with her eyes moving flirtatiously. She looked around 20, her brown bob cut making her appear playful yet experienced. Her whole body was fitted comfortably in the chair, legs resting on the table. Of course, her thighs just <i>had</i> to be exposed. The fair and delicate-looking skin seemed extra-desirable under the golden light of the sun.

She appeared pretty laid back under the purposefully-strengthened daylight of Faust, like she could fall asleep at any time. The sword that she left leaning against the armrest of the chair was slowing slanting away, seeming like it could fall and collapse on the worn floor any time. The butler knew all this was just a front, and of the men who'd died to the deadly weapon would have agreed if they had the chance.

To the enemies of the Archerons, Blood Paladin Senma was nowhere near adorable.

It took five minutes of the butler's reports for Senma to finally yawn, taking her legs off the table before stretching lazily. This was a rather frustrating process, because the lower half of her armour was styled like a long skirt, exposing the area beneath it here and there. Of course, a woman with both strength and beauty was a man-killer. Many had died under her sword, being impaled within a split second of thinking to peek under her skirt.

But the butler who has been working for the Archerons for 30 years was more than familiar with the 13 rune knights, so he kept his eyes ten centimetres from his feet from the moment he entered the room. They didn't waver a bit.

The 13 knights all had their own pet peeves; Senma loved dressing provocatively, but if one eyed her indecently she would grow furious.

“Our little Richard wants to take a stroll? With Warren?” Senma asked with squinted eyes.

“Yes.” The butler replied with respect. Please visit 𝑓r𝙚ew𝚎𝚋𝐧૦ѵ𝗲𝘭. c𝘰m

“Alright, got it. Let the boy see the world, it's not good trapping him all day long on this island either. All the sulphur will be bad for his skin! Don't worry, I'll keep him safe. But that's only exclusive to Richard, that half-elven peasant's son could die for all I care.”

The butler bowed and left, pretending like he didn't hear Senma's last words. The Blood Paladin cursed on occasion, another of her habits. However, her promise left him at ease.

100 - City of Sin

Conspiracy

Richard and Warren walked out together from the Teleportation Temple, heading along the shady boulevard to the church at the peak of the mountain. The journey was several kilometres long, but there was enough scenery along the way to make it feel shorter.

Richard had come alone, but Warren brought along four guards each with a striking Archeron emblem on their chest. There was a lot of traffic here, with lavishly armoured rune knights, extravagant carriages and a horde of pedestrians littering the streets. The Church of the Eternal Dragon, being sacred in Faust as it was, had a large mass of followers. That the church could not be rebuilt only strengthened its status in the hearts of its believers. Once they got within a kilometre of the church, even the Alliance's emperor, Bloodthirsty Philip, would get off his carriage and head the rest of the way on foot to show his sincerity towards the Eternal Dragon.

Richard conversed with Warren as they made their way to the church. Having spent more time in the city, the boy knew much more about it than Richard did, and talk of the secrets of the fourteen families and the imperial household would be enough to keep them occupied the entire journey.

Just as they turned a corner, about to take the road leading to the church, a group of people appeared in their path. It was a handful of giggling aristocratic youths, alongside five to six guards. The one that stood out amongst them seemed to be protected and escorted by the rest, dressed in a refined and luxurious outfit that projected his status and deep background. Most importantly, the emblem of the three longswords on his chest indicated that he was a blood descendant of the Joseph Family.

Richard was about as clueless as one could get with regards to the grudges between the Archerons and the Josephs. However, Warren didn't look so well as he scoffed and took a few big steps, blocking the path of those in front of him.

The teens were initially shocked by the sudden action, before showing signs of annoyance. This was very provocative, causing the guards from the opposing side to roll their sleeves as they stepped forwards, all ready to fight.

Although Warren's own guards were inferior in terms of numbers and strength, they showed no signs of fear. Nonetheless, not being afraid didn't equate to not having a brain, as one of them had already run off to report back to the castle. It seemed like this conflict would be difficult to handle now.

“Seems like your days have been well, Faulk,” Warren spat through gritted teeth.
𝐟𝘳ℯ𝚎𝘄𝒆𝑏𝗻𝑜ѵ𝚎l. c𝘰𝑚

The youth whose name had been called laughed out loud, noticing that Warren was speaking before answering dramatically, “Hey! Isn't this little Master Warren of the Archerons? I indeed am living my life, thank Thor. I earned a good sum at the casino, and even won something that's said to be the family heirloom of an ancient elven tribe! I also heard something very shocking today, are you guys interested to find out?”

The teens surrounding Faulk talked over each other at once, acting like they were eagerly awaiting an oracle from the gods. Warren's expression didn't look good at all, because he was the one who'd lost that heirloom. As for Faulk's shocking news, he had no idea what the boy was babbling about but he was certain that it would be nothing good.

Richard was standing behind Warren, looking at Faulk and his gang with squinted eyes. Countless numbers bounced about before stabilising to clarify many critical statistics. He could speculate the approximate power of the opposing party from the changes in their movements, the method similar to how he would calculate the mana pool of a mage from their aura.

Faulk seemed to be a melee class between level 10 and 12, while his guards were all between level 8 and level 10. As for the remaining teens who were flocking around Faulk, they either had little power or were weak; the strongest amongst them was only around Warren's standard.

Richard quickly patted Warren on the shoulder and said, “Let's go, we still have to make our way to the church.”

If they were to make a move in that situation, it would only end up with the two of them beat up. Richard wouldn't be able to go up against six strong guards and Faulk even with his underworld techniques; he wasn't a warrior to begin with. He likely needed a blessing from the Eternal Dragon before he would be able to fight such a large group of melee fighters, what with there being no space to cast magic at such close range even if he had tools to do so instantly— which he didn't.

Additionally, Warren was the one who started this. According to aristocratic custom this would be a pointless fight, likely even making them the joke of the city. Richard didn't like to get beaten up for no reason, and moreover he wasn't all that close to Warren. He would barely be an acquaintance if not for the shared bloodline.

Warren turned and shouted at Richard, “What do you know about this? This fellow is from the Joseph Family! He's the third son of Duke Joseph, and the most annoying one!”

Richard didn't look too well after being yelled at, withdrawing his hand from Warren's shoulder and taking a step back. He'd never been interested in the fights and grudges of the family, and it was obvious that Warren was trying to create a scene here. Faulk's tone implied that the incident between him and Warren had little relation to the hostility between their families, being more of a childish fight between youngsters.

And Richard wasn't fond of being used, even if it by was his own family member.

Just then, Faulk spoke up, “I heard someone went to fool around at the Enchanting Garden after he lost to me. Guess what that slut Nancy told me afterwards? She said that certain someone couldn't last more than 5 minutes! And his appendage was smaller than that of ground elves, hah!”

The teens surrounding Faulk bursted out in laughter. To them, the bedroom was a battlefield that was sometimes more important than the planar wars. Warren's face was burning with embarrassment, and he shouted in a twisted voice, “Faulk! Who are you talking about?”

Faulk's eyes turned icy cold, and he said, “I'm talking about the bastard of a slut. Why, any comments?”

Warren screamed furiously in response, before charging towards Faulk and landing a punch on his face. His movements were quick owing to his training as an archer, so Richard didn't even have the time to react.

*Wham!* A low sound resonated from Faulk's cheekbone where Warren had landed his fist, and the boy's upper body leaned backwards from the impact. Faulk hadn't avoided the attack, instead standing his ground and allowing Warren to slam into his face. As a level 10 warrior, he barely budged from the attack. Still, even if strength wasn't Warren's forte the punch was strong enough to cause Faulk's face to swell and paint a purplish bruise on his eye.

Faulk winced as he looked at Warren, and smiled sinisterly, “Bastard! I've been waiting for this!”

Fear gripped Richard's heart as he sensed danger. He saw murderous vibes in Faulk's eyes! However, it was already too late for him to prepare any sort of magic, and he quickly reached into his pocket but found nothing dagger-like. The dagger Naya had given him for self-defense had long been thrown into the volcano by Gaton.

The situation he dreaded finally played out, as Faulk pointed an accusing finger at Warren and exclaimed, “Kill these Archeron motherfuckers!”

The six guards of the Joseph Family charged forward and enveloped them. The several teens that were following Faulk also followed; although their individual strengths were mediocre they still had an advantage in numbers that was quite effective in gang fights like this one.

As for his part, Faulk remained where he was for a while before he stretched his hands and walked forward.

101 - City of Sin

Sacrifice

Three of the Archeron guards were immediately sent flying. Each around level 5 or 6, they qualified to be adventurers in the mainland, but in front of the Joseph Family's guards who were level 8 to even level 10, they couldn't even stall for time. In the meanwhile, Warren acted crazy as he charged everywhere wildly, smashing everything. By the looks of it, those young nobles and the Joseph Family's guards did not dare get too rough. This actually meant Warren could hold on for a while, though he did have to endure quite a few kicks and punches.

The sense of danger grew increasingly evident to Richard. However, everything had happened far too suddenly. Even as he tried to retreat a guard darted out and sent a flying kick towards his ribs. This attack was powerful, obviously infused with a lot of energy, and was definitely capable of breaking a normal mage's ribs!

A hint of fury flashed in Richard's eyes, which quickly turned icy-cold. He silently took a step backwards, dodging the kick before he grabbed the guard's boot and applied force. The guard's ankles creaked, completely deforming. However, at that very moment the whistling wind sounded from behind Richard!

In a small forest not too far away, Senma was sitting lazily on a tree, her upper body leaning on the trunk as she dozed off. However, her dazed eyes suddenly opened, her charming face immediately filling up with dense bloodlust. She raised her slender blade with a cold hum, jumping off the tree in the direction of the battle.

However, the Blood Paladin came to a stop after but a single step, as if spacetime itself had been frozen in this place. A wizened man appeared out of nowhere at the tree trunk behind her, decked up entirely in a dark grey. Even behind his hood, his hair was the colour of dry grass, with a few strands sticking out messily from the sides. While his features could not be seen clearly from the shadows of the hood, those sinister eyes were exceptionally bright. There was a large bulge at the front of the cloak, with some sort of weapon pointing at the middle of Senma's back.

Senma remained completely immobile and slowly twisted her head, stating in a voice as cold as ice, “Poison Snake!”

The man let out a hoarse and unsettling chuckle, “Senma, my dearest, this is the third time we've met. We're familiar with each other by this point, so I'll cut the bullshit. You better give up on rushing over to save them. If you try to hurry this, you'll immediately face a serious injury. You might even lose your own life here, without saving anyone! That's why the most intelligent thing for you to do now is to slowly, I repeat slowly turn around. Don't do anything funny, or this lousy crossbow worth a few thousand gold coins is going to open a hole in your adorable tiny waist. Do you want to use that pretty and impractical armour you have and test out its strength? I'm actually very keen on shooting it at your buttocks, but that will have to wait until I'm done with the first arrow.”

Senma didn't take another step forward. As expected she began to turn, slowly but surely. However, she was not infuriated by Poison Snake's provoking words and exclaimed icily, “Poison Snake, I know fully well how capable you are. Once I turn around, it won't be so easy for you to escape. Don't assume that I don't have the guts to kill anyone in Faust!”

Poison Snake licked his lips and let out a giggle, “There's actually no need for us to make such a ruckus, no? Young master Faulk finally grabbed this chance to discipline your family's Warren, who doesn't know any better. Actually, Warren doesn't have any status in the Archeron Family, so why get so serious? Besides, the most you can do is seriously injure me, but you can't kill me. I'm confident that I can run to the church, and I'm sure you won't have the guts to kill someone in front of the church's guards. If you really want to attack me then, the famed Blood Paladin will be accompanying me in death, so that's still a profit.”

Senma's expression became increasingly cold as she answered, “No matter how useless Warren is, he is still one of the Archerons. It's not up to you to dishonour him. I'm giving you one last chance. If you don't disappear in three seconds, this world will no longer have a Poison Snake.”

“Is this a real threat, or are you just talking big? Let me help you count down!”

Poison Snake obviously thought nothing of Senma's threats, leaving the situation at a standstill. Meanwhile, the results of the fight at the street corner had grown clear. As expected, the Joseph Family's superior numbers and strength had won out.

The four Archeron guards were all on the floor, unable to get up. Even the one who'd run away to send word had been intercepted. The young nobles had surrounded them, kicking them mercilessly every once in a while as they called them names. On the other side, Warren had also been kicked to the ground and was being pressed to the ground by a guard. However, nobody dared kick him.

In the world of aristocracy, punches and kicks were just part of a fight. However, if one of the parties had lost the ability to fight back but the other still continued to attack, that was instead humiliation. These young nobles came from Faust itself, not any of the islands, and were mere vassals of the Joseph Family at best. Warren and Faulk were of similar status; if they dared cross the line, although the former might not be able to take down the latter he would still be able to take care of them. Their families definitely wouldn't come in his way. Although it was an old adage to look at a dog's owner before beating it, smart dogs had to learn not to attack everything in sight.

Richard was laid down on the ground as well, but the difference was that there were two guards holding him down. Two more from the Joseph Family were on the ground next to him, one cradling his right foot that had bent at an unnatural angle while the other was hugging his kneecap, pale from the pain.

Of the two, Richard had broken the ankle of the first when he'd thrown a flying kick his way. The second had tried to knee him, in reply to which he'd smashed the man's kneecap with a piece of ore he carried on him at all times. Richard had actually gained the upper hand after using Eruption, and his underworld skills allowed him to precisely target key weaknesses in his opponents' defense. However, when it came down to it, he was a mage and not a high-levelled warrior, which was why he had not been able to dodge the surprise attack from behind him. A third guard had mercilessly pounded the back of his head, and he had fallen down and was pressed to the ground.

Richard was now suffering badly, and the immense pain was making things go dark in front of his eyes. If not for the impressive physique he'd acquired at the Deepblue, that one full-strength punch alone would have been enough to knock him unconscious. The damage to his critical faculties could cause lasting damage that would affect his future as a mage, an injury that could only be healed by powerful clerics. Besides the head, Richard's arms and body were filled with an acute pain, and his shoulder was hurting so much that it seemed on the verge of separating from his body. His face was pressed to the ice-cold stone ground, and the only view he had of what was going on came from his right eye.

Great shock and humiliation flooded Richard's mind. All of the blood rose to his head, and he was on the verge of boiling from it. Mere <i>guards</i> were holding him down in such a humiliating pose, and they were gutsy enough to not lighten their attacks! For every second that he was held down, Richard felt like he'd been given another slap in public.

Everything had happened very quickly. Less than two minutes had passed from the beginning of the conflict to the current situation. Richard lost his calm, releasing an animalistic howl. Using all his strength, his upper body actually began to move up!

One of the guards holding him down was sent flying, as he had been caught unprepared. The other had rather quick reflexes, and used another arm to hold onto Richard's waist. However, the great power Richard had burst forth with caused him to sway, and it seemed like he would release his grasp.

The guard who'd been holding Warren down immediately used his strength and charged over, throwing a precise kick at Richard's back that caused him to crash down again, smashing head first into the stone floor. Blood immediately flowed from his forehead.

There was now a fair number of people watching by the road at this point, but after seeing the family emblem of the Josephs and Archerons, nobody dared come closer. Seeing the blood flowing from Richard, many exclaimed in shock. Richard was obviously wearing the colours of nobility; he was no guard!

Faulk only seemed to notice Richard now, walking over, “Who's this kid? Why haven't I seen him before?”

Richard somehow lifted his head, but just as he wanted to speak, Faulk used his foot and stepped on his head, forcing his face back to the ground!

102 - City of Sin

Sacrifice

“This kid has a pretty bad temper, to dare to be obstinate even at this stage!” Faulk smiled with his foot on Richard's head, speaking to the group of young nobles.

However, this time he did not get a warm response. All of the young nobles turned pale and looked at him, at a loss. They were more aware of what was going on than regular bystanders. Not only did they recognise the colour of Richard's clothing that showed he was a noble, but also with the quality and style, Richard perhaps was even of greater status than Warren!

They just could not understand how a trivial little fight that would at most result in just some bruises and slight cuts could develop to this extent. Seeing the huge pool of blood from the nameless young noble's head under Faulk's foot, as well as the area on his shoulder and back where he'd been seriously injured, and the clothing had completely split open, they knew that the situation had gotten very serious, and it was impossible to save it now. With their tiny backgrounds, it was impossible for them to take on the fury of the Archerons. At the thought of Gaton's bloody methods when entering Faust, these young nobles who had never entered the battlefield and seen little could not hide the chill that rose in their hearts.

Meanwhile, in the small forest, Senma produced an astounding vigour. She stopped midway her turn, halting at a position that was at an acute angle of 30 degrees from meeting Poison Snake's gaze head-on. Like a cheetah, her body was crouched down low, her alluring body suddenly accumulating an explosive strength.

Poison Snake was now obviously nervous, and Senma must have sensed something, which was why she had begun moving despite the risk. In front of a powerful and terrifying aura like this, he was now completely certain that he couldn't stop her with just the crossbow.

If this arrow could not delay her ability to move and allowed her to charge to the scene at the corner of the street, even at the brink of death the Blood Paladin could kill all of the Josephs there in seconds!

Just as Poison Snake was planning on throwing caution to the wind and pressing the trigger of the crossbow, Senma suddenly stopped moving and slowly stood up straight, and then gazed at Poison Snake with the gaze of one looking at a dead person. With mockery in her tone, she said, “You all did well with this, even I'm impressed! It's a pity that the only thing you lack is luck. Next time, before scheming anything, it's best to pray at the Church of the Eternal Dragon! For now, you need to consider how you're going to escape.”

Practically at the same time, Poison Snake sensed two powerful auras ascending from the distance, and his expression instantly changed!

At this very moment, Faulk had a twisted smile on his face, and all the energy in his body blazed with explosive might as he viciously stepped down on Richard's head. This amount of energy could easily shatter Richard's skull under his foot!

This was Faulk's true motive!

Faulk believed that with all the pretence beforehand, this sudden attack could easily make it difficult for the hidden experts hidden in the crowd to react in time. By the time they charged to the front, Richard would have received a fatal blow!

There was no doubt that Richard had experts around to protect him. However, because of the rules of the nobles, fights and duels between the younger generation were not to be interfered with by the family's experts. Conflicts between those of similar strength had to be resolved amongst themselves. This was a hypocritical principle of fairness, but also training for the younger generation. This was respect towards individual strength, while also preventing large families from being called in for such trivial matters.

However, there were always bottom lines in all matters, and that was life.

As one of those in line for the Joseph Family's inheritance in the future, nobody would have thought Faulk could be so crazy.

Only Faulk himself knew that, being a true son of Duke Joseph as well as a talented warrior, he was fated to be the family's sacrifice. If it didn't happen this time, it would in the future. His fate was determined by his mother's low status, and his own gifts weren't great enough to turn the tides. Instead, the talent that he seemed to have only served to fix his fate all the more.

Before one entered the core ranks of their families, the value of a noble's child was determined by their blood relations. Thus, Warren and Faulk were essentially equivalent in status, while Richard was the same as well. After killing Richard, Faulk would not be spared.

At worst, Faulk would be killed at the spot by the Archerons there, but the best case scenario was that he successfully returned to the family and then died with honour. This would make it up to the Archeron Family, as well as to the imperial family of the Sacred Alliance and the aristocrats of Faust.

Marquess Gaton would lose a son, but so would Duke Joseph. This was quite a fair result, at least on the outside.

However, from another perspective, the Joseph Family had merely lost a warrior who might not even enter the ranks of sainthood, while the Archerons had lost a future runemaster. The loss could not be equated at all. To be blunt, even a hundred Faulks could not match up to a single finger of Richard's.

The reason the Joseph Family had chosen to do this now was that of these considerations. Richard had yet to establish himself in the family, and no matter how great his potential and talent was, for now he was only a son of Marquess Gaton. If he was given more time, becoming the official family runemaster or given a title, the life of even a small nameless knight could not be exchanged with that of a duke's son. When that happened, what they needed to hand over was, at the very least, a child of the family. This was political fairness.

However, the limited loss to the Joseph Family was everything in his life to Faulk! That was why, when he stomped down with all his strength, he was chuckling almost maniacally!

However, at this moment, Faulk suddenly found things going dark before his eyes, to the point that he could practically see nothing. A large, dark sword suddenly appeared in the air, taking up his entire field of vision. An invisible pressure covered Faulk's body, leaving him suffocated.
𝒇𝑟e𝗲𝚠𝚎𝐛𝗻𝐨νel. 𝒄om

'Am I dying?' The thought flashed through his mind like lightning, and he closed his eyes in despair while stomping with his right foot down more forcefully. If he could bring along a future runemaster with him in death, then it would be worth it.

Just as the large sword was about to pierce into his chest, another ordinary longsword came flying over and knocked it aside! Just as Faulk heaved a sigh of relief, he suddenly found his body stiffening, and he was rendered immobile with his right foot unable to move at all. He shouted from the depths of his heart, burning all the energy he could in an attempt to struggle free, but this force was far too powerful, to the point that he could not fight back at all. Just a little more, and he would be able to destroy Richard's head. However, this little distance was as far as a large moat.

Faulk despaired at the knowledge that his body was rising constantly, but he still did his best to kick with his right leg, attempting to deal Richard the fatal blow. Just a little more, and he would gain the sufficient price for his life.

A well-built, burly man appeared in front of Faulk, unbeknownst to even the onlookers. The middle-aged man had a spiny beard, and his short hair made him appear exceptionally sinister and formidable. His boorish and uncouth aura gave the surrounding young nobles the misconception that the being in front of them was not a person, but an ancient beast.

The burly man had one hand gripping Faulk's neck, and the other holding an ordinary longsword. The corners of his mouth were drawn back, and he let loose a laugh that seemed to come from hell itself. A young, beautiful woman appeared behind him, with short crimson hair and an obvious scar on the right side of her face. It matched with the chilling, sombre aura she gave off, as well as the large, dark sword with hints of bloody light on it that automatically stopped any impractical fantasies any men had of her.

103 - City of Sin

Conclusion

The burly man's laughter alone shook the earth so intensely that the young nobles and the Joseph guards lost balance, collapsing one after the other.

A sinister look flashed on the man's face, as he brandished the longsword in his right hand to slash unbelievably smoothly at Faulk's knee. The boy's right leg was cut off, just like that.

The only thing Faulk noticed at first was a peculiar hollow feeling coming from his knee, but that was followed by an overwhelming pain that immediately drowned out his consciousness. He screamed out in pain, blood spurting out from his knee like a waterfall. Richard, who was still below him, was drenched.

The burly man turned his head to look at the powerful and unrestrained woman, “You don't need to dirty your hands for a small matter like this, Alice. I'll handle the trouble from here; you just conquered a big territory, and are still fatigued.”

Indeed, this beautiful red-haired young lady in her twenties was the person deemed to be a god of war amongst the younger Archerons. Alice Archeron, the youngest ever to become an earl through merit and not inheritance.

Alice shrugged her shoulders, “If I knew you were coming, I wouldn't have made any move.”

The burly man laughed, “I simply happened to be passing by. How should I put this... Is it that this bunch of Joseph lads is too unlucky, or is our boy extremely fortunate?”

At the moment, a few of the guards from the Joseph Family who could still manage to move about saw that Faulk's right leg had been chopped off. Their eyes turned red in agitation, as they frantically shot up from the ground and rushed towards the Archerons. With Faulk injured as he was, they would either be sentenced to a life of labour upon their return to the clan, or worse still, directly executed!

The longsword held in the middle-aged man's hand flashed a few times. Two charging guards immediately lost control of their bodies, falling to the floor. Just as their bodies touched the ground, their arms came off at the elbow and their legs at the knee. The cuts were flawless each time, and both guards hissed out in pain as they rolled about on the ground, blood flowing everywhere.

The third one took a step forward, but upon being freed Richard suddenly shot up and punched the side of his rib. He then stepped on the man's ankle.

This guard was a level 8 warrior with a powerful body, but the sound of bones cracking rang out from his ankle. The blow to his rib was powerful as well, almost causing him to black out. However, he was an experienced fighter. He didn't dodge the abrupt attack, instead elbowing back almost upon reflex.

Richard took a deep breath. He chose not to dodge the elbow, instead letting it hit his own abdomen. However, even with this strike the guard couldn't budge an inch from his position. It was then that Richard started a barrage of punches with both fists on the man's rib, his strength boosted by Eruption.

*Thump! Thump! THUMP!* Heavy and dull thuds echoed one after the other, each attack packing as much power as the last. The guard was trapped in desperate straits, held in place at his injured leg and forced to take the onslaught of punches. He couldn't even change his posture; the slightest of shifts would expose a larger weakness to the boy, which would subject his vitals to Richard's attack. Thus, he could only direct his elbow with all his might towards Richard, in attempt to pit his strength against Richard's to free himself.

Richard did not dodge at all. There was a trace of insanity on his calm and composed face as fists of steel smashed into the guard's rib again and again and again with a steady pace and strength. It was as if he wasn't being attacked at all, even if the blood frothing at his mouth proved that he definitely wasn't having an easy time dealing with the death throes of this warrior.

The guard's rib eventually caved in. He yelled out a final scream of despair, spitting out a mouthful of blood with bits and pieces of flesh within before he collapsed.

Richard only raised his foot from the guard's ankle after the man completely collapsed. Once that was done, he couldn't help spraying out a mouthful of misty blood himself. He watched the severely injured guard, hesitating for a while, but eventually chose not to make any more moves. He instead raised his head, fixing a wolf's gaze onto Faulk.

He was silent for half a second, before his body glowed with a faint blue radiance. He stepped forward, advancing abruptly as if he was being pushed by an invisible hand behind him. He aimed his hand forward like it was a sword, transforming into a streak of blue lightning that rushed towards Faulk. If one looked closely enough, they would notice that the pale blue light had formed a sword in Richard's hand!

Silvermoon's fourth secret sword, Annihilation! It was the only one Richard could execute right now, but although Faulk's body possessed the tenacity of a level 10 warrior he would still seriously get injured by this dagger formed purely from the moonforce of the fourth moon. Had he been in possession of a real sword right now, even a powerful cleric would have to spend a great deal of effort to heal the damage he would leave behind.

The burly man stuck his long sword into the ground, before holding out a big palm in Richard's way. The attack crashed into his palm, but for a moment it was Richard that felt like he'd knocked into a mountain at full speed. The violent collision caused his insides to churn, with an indescribably uncomfortable stuffiness in his chest. The moonforce of the pale blue moon that Richard had taken tremendous effort to gather dissipated all at once, and he stumbled back several steps before managing to steady himself.

“Oi, Gaton's son, the same goes for you too! Don't dirty your own hands for this, it's such a trivial matter,” The burly man shook his head, “Gaton is indeed making me jealous, though. He actually got himself a son like you without saying anything about it! Young lad, you've got to call me your uncle. Just wait till I'm done dealing with this, then we'll test how much you can drink!”

Someone from the gathered crowd suddenly exclaimed, “It's Goliath, Earl Goliath!” The name instantly caused a small commotion.

At the same moment, in the biggest room at the top floor of a club building thousands of metres away, Raymond was sitting in front of the window with his brows knitted in deep thought. He was holding a silver monocular in his hand, observing the incident taking place at the faraway street corner. The monocular seemed splendidly made, its design ancient.

Raymond suddenly exclaimed, “It's Alice! Why is she here too, and at this timing!”

Upon hearing Alice's name, a few faces in the room paled slightly. Naseby stood up and spoke in a low voice, “I'll go deal with her!”

Just as Naseby took large strides towards the window, about to jump out, Raymond abruptly extended his left hand to block his way. That long, fair, and delicate hand that resembled a woman's barely responded to the collision at all, with only the fingertips trembling slightly.

While Naseby was feeling baffled by Raymond's act, Raymond had already placed his monocular down. He let out a sigh, “You don't have to head over anymore. Goliath is there as well, and we certainly don't have anyone right now who can stand in that fellow's way. Faulk is finished.”

While both of the Archerons mentioned were earls, Alice was known for her wit and cunning on the battlefield. Although her might was nothing to be scoffed at, with her being at level 17 Naseby who was a level 18 warrior could suppress her. However, Goliath Archeron was of an entirely different standard. He'd long reached level 20 in terms of individual combat power, and he had the capacity to wipe out everyone in this room.

This half-brother of Gaton's, named after the ancient giant, had long shown his physical prowess. His level didn't represent his actual combat power. Although he wasn't ready to take on legendary opponents yet, he could easily take on two saint warriors. His one shortcoming was his mediocre leadership and governance, which left him unable to advance from the earlship he was born with.

During wars across the Sacred Alliance, across human history, and even in the planar wars, Alice's threat was undoubtedly far beyond that of Goliath. However, in the current situation Goliath alone was enough to foil all of Raymond's plans.

At this moment, Kevin suddenly remembered something. His face paled, and he said, “There's still Poison Snake!”

However, the old man Valen shook his head, “Poison Snake is most likely done for as well. However, that's something we only lost a bit of money on at most. Faulk, on the other hand...”

The people in the room all fell silent. Other than Raymond and a few others, the rest who were present only realized Faulk's purpose in the plan after witnessing the event taking place in front of their eyes. As it turned out, Faulk, who was gifted, diligent and well-liked by Duke Joseph, had been prepared to be sacrificed from the start. After all, Faulk was Duke Joseph's biological son.

104 - City of Sin

Conclusion

The street corner was filled with a river of blood. The guards' limbs had all been chopped off, while the young nobles who'd participated had all given up an arm for their transgressions. Faulk was still held in Goliath's left hand, looking very pale due to the blood loss. He was too weak to even cry out now, only moaning and groaning on occasion.

Earl Goliath looked at Faulk with interest like a brown bear that had seen fish in winter, lifting the boy up further and turning him around, “So, child of the Josephs, you're just a discarded item. How unexpected, I didn't think that old fellow would use his own son like this! Don't worry I won't kill you; that'd be too troublesome for me. But you... you won't be useful as a pawn anymore...”

His hand shook vigorously as he spoke, jolting Faulk around like a cloth puppet. The sound of bones cracking sounded unceasingly from within his body, and his pale face was suddenly suffused with colour before his eyes rolled back and he fainted.

The bystanders all turned pale, but none made a sound. Goliath had inflicted serious damage to Faulk's internal organs, eliminating all his energy. From hereon, Faulk would no longer be able to train as a warrior. He would live the rest of his life out as a sickly, weak fellow.

Senma hummed coldly within the forest, and a light swing of the slender sword in her hands let loose a string of blood pearls that drew an elegant symbol on the ground. Ten metres away, Poison Snake was leaning against a huge tree, one hand on his chest while the other pointed at the Blood Paladin, his face full of shock. Blood flowed from between his fingers despite his hand pressing down on the wound, dyeing most of his front robes red. He wanted to speak, but the moment he opened his mouth all that surged out was a bloody froth.

Senma took two steps forward, picking up the intricate navy blue crossbow from the ground. She took a look at it, “So it's a refined gold crossbow. Let's see what's carved on it... Tsk, tsk! It's actually the renowned Poison Needle! You really did spend a lot on this, no wonder it felt so threatening! I'll be taking this, you won't need it anyway down in hell. Thanks!”

Poison Snake reached out as he watched Senma's figure disappear into the distance, as if trying to grab her. But he was overwhelmed by a sudden sense of weakness, and slowly slid to the ground.

Senma walked to the fringe of the forest, frowning as she looked at a navy blue arrow embedded in her abdomen, with only a bit of the tail feather showing. She didn't fiddle with it, instead gritting her teeth and walking onto the street. Only upon seeing Richard stand up using his own strength did she heave a sigh of relief. The colour on her face suddenly disappeared, and the imposing aura she had before disappeared just like that. One could even see a trace of delicacy in her expression.

By this point, Warren had gotten up and stood beside Richard himself, deathly pale as he stared at the blood, dismembered limbs, and people moaning miserably on the ground.

By this point, Goliath had already tossed Faulk nonchalantly to the Joseph Family servants who were tossing and turning, looking at Senma with a smile, “You're still as pretty as ever! Your tastes seem to have changed, though. Why do you like sticking something in that pretty waist of yours? If you don't hurry back and get it treated, you'll have to lie in the Church of the Eternal Dragon for a few days! Of course, Gaton will be paying for the treatment from the church, so that has nothing to do with me. It wouldn't be bad to see him suffer a little for once!”

Senma took a deep breath, expression frozen as she strode towards Richard and lifted him up in one go. She then bowed slightly to Goliath and Alice, saying, “Then I'll be on my way.”

“Go. I'll deal with those old guys from the assembly,” Goliath waved his large hands casually.

Senma did not linger, leaving for the teleportation temple with Richard in tow. Once she turned the corner, she would enter the sights of the guards of the temple. If anyone dared attack them then, they would be attacked by the guards.

“Hey, bring me along too!” Warren cried out. However, Senma did not bother with him as she disappeared into the temple with Richard.

Warren cried out a few times, but it was to no avail. He could only stop, a malicious and poisonous look on his face. While he was Gaton's son, he did not hold a high position in the family. It was impossible to compare him with the thirteen knights that had followed Gaton through life and death. While Gaton had many children, nobody had had any special treatment before Richard's appearance. It appeared that Warren's own privileges were even lesser.

Glaring at Senma's back, Warren muttered hatefully under his breath, “Damn it, isn't she just a whore? Does everyone look down on me just because my mother is a commoner? Someday in the future, I'll fuck you to death!”

The moment he finished speaking, Warren was startled to find there were two powerful beings behind him. Terrified, he quickly stole a glance and found Goliath and Alice speaking amongst themselves. It seemed like they had not heard what he'd said, something that let him feel relieved.

Goliath's eyes narrowed slightly as he gazed at a building on a hill in the distance, “There are a few mice over there. Even with the distance, I can smell their stench! Raymond Joseph should be there as well. While I can't sense his aura, the others should be his underlings. I've heard that kid's status in the family has been rising quickly lately, and I think this issue probably has some relation to him.”

Alice snickered and then said, “Not probably. This was orchestrated by him. I'll head over to have a chat with him now!”

“Alright. I'm not very proficient in this area, so I'm counting on you. If I were to go, I'd probably kill a few people,” Goliath answered.

“Leave it to me. However, you have to help me with that problem!” Alice exclaimed straightforwardly.

“Deal! I've got a good impression of Richard, but I'm not sure if he'll be able to convince Gaton. He can only try his best.” Goliath's smile widened as he laughed.

*Clop! Clop!* The sound of hooves rang out like thunder at the end of the boulevard. A team of knights dressed in golden armour and red caps, the splendid attire of the imperial guards, turned around the corner and quickly charged to the end of the street. The leading knight saw the pool of limbs and blood, paying attention to the emblems of the Josephs and Archerons, and the corner of his eye involuntarily twitched. He immediately jumped off his warhorse, walking up to Goliath and speaking with a bow, “I am Dean, leader of the imperial patrol. May I know how to address you, and what exactly happened here?”

Goliath hugged his arms, “I'm Earl Goliath Archeron, lord of the Westway Province. As for what happened, there's a fair number of people here who saw the entire thing from start to end. I am willing to accompany you to the assembly and explain everything.”

Dean's pupils shrank the moment he heard Goliath's name, and he began to act even more respectfully. He turned around immediately, having the knights under him invite some clerics and priests over. Nobody except a few servants had really died, but if they continued to dither a life would be lost. And that might be considered his fault. While he was doing all this, Goliath stood calm and motionless like a mountain.

......

Raymond had already stowed away the precious monocular, but he didn't leave. He instead seemed to be waiting for something.

Three knocks sounded from the door to the room, following which the door was opened without approval. Alice Archeron walked in, stabbing her large sword into the ground before she pulled a chair up and sat before Raymond.

Raymond stood up and bowed towards Alice, speaking with a smile, “It's my honour to meet the Archerons' beautiful goddess of war!”

Alice was completely unmoved by this and said dully, “Sorry, but I don't plan on being courteous to true enemies. However, I do have to admit that this scheme of yours was truly unexpected, and you almost succeeded.”

Raymond took a seat and calmly smiled, “Almost doesn't mean success. However, my only loss this time was in the field of luck.”

105 - City of Sin

Punishment

Alice nodded in approval, “Luck is a very important part of one's power. Offer some more sacrifices to the Eternal Dragon. Also, don't think that sending Amilon and Sheff packing means you'll be able to deal with the other Archerons. Those two pieces of trash are a disgrace. Honestly, I'm quite regretful that our territories are three thousand kilometres apart.”

Raymond laughed, “I find it regretful too! If our territories were to be joined together, that might have been enough to form a marquisate. However, the true wars are fought on the endless planes. I anticipate the day when I come to know the coordinates of yours.”

Alice smiled, “I anticipate the same thing. However, I'm afraid what happened today can't be resolved so easily. You've already infuriated Gaton, and even I'm a little afraid of that guy. Take care of that little barony of yours!”

Having said this, Alice stood up and headed outside the room. She suddenly turned around at the doorway, scanning everyone in the room and saying indifferently, “If I were you, I'd definitely return home more often in the near future to see if anything's happened.”

In that moment, the expressions of practically everyone but Raymond and Valen changed. They all understood the threat behind Alice's words: the incident with Faulk was a terrible opening. The fight between their families would no longer abide by the age-old traditions of nobility, and the Archerons would begin to use underhanded means as well...

A long while after Alice left, Raymond sobered up from his thoughts.

The atmosphere in the room was stifling, and everyone looked terrible. The Joseph Family had a long history, and as experts who depended on the Josephs each and every one of the people here was a small noble with their own land. Valen and Naseby themselves were barons, the titles inheritable, which was why Alice's threat was straightforward and effective.

The results of Faulk's failure was obvious. The big shots of the major families were no fools, and they would see through the conspiracy behind this matter. Later this very same day the news would spread out, and would include some details outside the actual scene as well. Time had been tight, and they would not be able to erase all traces.

Now they would have to expect the Archerons' revenge. Faulk being injured and crippled was a part of the price, but that was not enough. The only reason he wasn't killed was that Goliath wanted to avoid any issues that would bring, and also to leave some room for them to exact a more proper revenge. Or perhaps they would use this as a pretext, making a big fuss about it. They would follow the culture of revenge amongst nobility: an eye for an eye, blood for blood, and plunder until the price had been paid.

However, things were different if the Archerons targeted these minor nobles. Although they were part of the Joseph Family's core strength, they were not a part of it by blood. Outside of Valen and Naseby, the rest of their families hadn't accompanied them for generations, so Duke Joseph would likely be willing to let them go.

Poison Snake, for instance, was only an expert temporarily hired by them. Even as he was dying probably thought that the fight was just a battle between two hedonistic children of large families, with no idea of what was truly going on. Even if he died the Joseph Family could just hand over some compensation in the form of gold. In the eyes of families with great backgrounds like them, gold was one of the least valuable things.

Their values to the Josephs followed a similar logic. Although they could be considered experts individually, experts were the thing the Archerons lacked the least. If the Archerons went all out on them, nobody in their midst would be able to escape. The Josephs did have people able to contend against Goliath, and even Gaton or Mordred, but the issue was that they would not send out these people just for a few trivial characters like them.

Even if this situation was on a bigger scale and applied to the family, things would still be the same. Now, just Gaton alone could contend against the entire Joseph Family. If all the Archerons were seen as a single entity, then in terms of individual strength, they had an absolutely crushing advantage over the Josephs.

Thankfully, this bunch of lunatics had never truly worked together, and some even betrayed and sold each other out. An example would be what had just transpired. However, the temporary alliance between Gaton, Goliath, and Alice was already enough to cause Duke Joseph a headache. It would be a simple task to deal with those people who were attached to the family.

Thus, all eyes landed on Raymond in that moment. If the Joseph Family was willing to protect them, then the Archerons would target the direct descendants of Joseph. However, this matter...

Raymond gazed at these subordinates that had followed him for many years, and gently said, “With Alice's personality, that was definitely not an empty threat. Hence, if the family is to protect you, then there is a large possibility of war with the Archerons.”

Everyone's expressions turned even worse. But then Raymond smiled with confidence, “However, I have no habit of abandoning my comrades. I anticipate exchanging blows with Alice, and even Gaton, on the battlefield.”

Everyone, including Valen, heaved a sigh of relief. Joy and gratitude surged in their hearts.

......

Meanwhile, Richard had returned to the Archeron island, and Senma disappeared immediately after handing him to the butler. The arrow from Poison Snake was actually extremely dangerous, with astounding power that allowed it to penetrate both her magical armour and skin, reaching deep into her internal organs. The poison and indistinguishable curses attached to it were already eating away at her strength, and only by relying on an unknown tenacity had she managed to bring the boy home.

The butler was shocked upon seeing Richard's state. The boy's forehead, the back of his skull, and many other vulnerable areas were all bruised black and blue, with blood still seeping out of some parts. His clothes were completely ripped apart at the chest, abdomen, and back, obviously not from tearing but from powerful attacks to his body. It was easy to imagine the harm that must have been done to him.

When a powerful cleric from the family was rushed over, he wrinkled his forehead upon seeing the state of Richard's injuries. He proposed that the areas with lighter injuries were handled externally, lessening the strain on the divine spell and allowing him to expend some effort after casting it to check if there were any other repercussions.

Soon enough, Richard returned to his own room. The butler believed Richard, who had gone through shock, needed to get a good rest. Richard did appear tired as well, though that was because he had used Eruption twice in succession. His injuries had mostly healed, and the areas where the skin had broken had ointment applied on them. His internal organs had obviously been shaken up, but after a few days he would completely recover.

The cleric had spent the most time on his head. He hadn't actually felt uncomfortable at the start, but after being fiddled with for so long, he had begun to feel slightly dizzy.

106 - City of Sin

Punishment

Richard now sat alone by his bedside, his hands cradling his forehead. The events which had just transpired replayed in his mind scene by scene, every instant incomparably clear.

Things had just happened far too suddenly. He had only felt a distinct sense of danger at the beginning, which was why he'd grown furious when those guards attacked him. He had chosen to retaliate with full strength, mercilessly crippling two of them, but he'd fallen with that attack from the third. This was a result that Richard had anticipated already, he was not arrogant enough to think that he could win against the joint attack of three warriors above level 8. That he was able to take two of them down with him was already an unexpected result.

While this was only his first time experiencing a situation like this, Richard knew that it concerned the reputation of the Archerons. Tiny issues like it weren't common in Faust, but they weren't exactly rare either. Every family that successfully entered and established itself in Faust normally had some form of animosity with the older and more powerful families already present there. Thus, Richard was prepared for humiliation. Faulk stepping on his head was one form of such, although it was an extreme kind that would create a blood feud. However, in the next moment everything had changed.

When he thought back to it, the force coming from Faulk's foot had been great enough to crush his head, smashing his skull into pieces like porcelain! In that moment, a true shadow of death had shrouded all of his senses. Faulk had wanted to kill him! This wasn't a heated decision, but instead premeditated murder!

Richard had never felt such a close shave with death before. That one attack from Blood Parrot had been fast and silent, not giving him even a chance to feel afraid. This time, things had been different. The terrifying pressure from that shoe, and the creaking of his skull under the force... It replayed itself clearly in his mind, time and time again.

His ice-cold hands were trembling without end, and he felt so weak he could lose his consciousness in the next moment, sinking into boundless darkness. He felt bursts of pain from his fingers, a result of clobbering a level 8 warrior with his fists using no technique. His joints were still swollen up, and he was sweating from the pain.

However, Richard was thankful for the pain. It was what allowed him to remain sober. The great amount of sweat soaking his clothing made it stick tight to his skin, but the discomfort only kept him clear.

If not for Alice and Goliath appearing suddenly, if that foot had stomped all the way down... Richard couldn't stop himself from thinking of that over and over again. He wanted to control himself, but could not suppress the terror in his heart. Once the fury and humiliation had vanished, all that was left was a fear of death. It was a huge terror that Richard had never even imagined before!

He looked up, forcing himself to see everything in the room, observing it attentively to expel the fear. Precision had grown erratic, however, with countless numbers appearing in his vision. Try as he might, he couldn't make any sense of them, as if his mind had been sealed in ice. It was only when that strange blade appeared in his vision that Richard's heart leapt slightly.

His residence wasn't large, only containing a hall and two rooms. The bedroom was about ten or so metres long, so the blade that was a metre and a half long took up quite a large amount of space already. Without a scabbard, it was wrapped up crudely in beast skin and placed horizontally on the writing desk by his window. A corner of the skin had opened up, revealing a bit of the sharp blade within.

Richard's heart thumped. As if enchanted, he jumped out of bed and slowly headed to the writing desk, grabbing the shaft and removing the beast skin that was wrapped around the blade. He then closed his eyes, breathing slow and deep.

This was an ancient longsword, shaped to support stabs. The threads at the shaft were showing wear and tear, but it felt extremely comfortable to hold. In just a breath's time Richard's mind spread through the handle and to the blade, his silvermoon blood beginning to flow as it absorbed the moonforce from the sky and poured it into the blade. It gave the blade some colour that fluctuated with the moonforce, changing irregularly with the colours of the moons.

It was only then that Richard's mind began to steady itself, the blade in his hand making him feel like he had some power to depend on. He still couldn't help recalling the scene near the church, but things were different now. He was now simulating the course of events had he had this longsword in hand during the fight.

The sword would have allowed him to draw enough power from the moons at the first inkling of danger, and with the added power from Eruption his battle might would have increased threefold! He would be able to kill most of the guards and young nobles on the scene by the time it took a feather to drop, and the destructive power of the ashen indigo moon would leave Faulk seriously injured.

Only when he was truly near death, coming into contact with the reaper's scythe, did Richard truly understand terror and the importance of power. If nobody had been able to stop Faulk, who cared whether the Archeron Family would pursue the matter and the Joseph Family would have no choice but to execute Faulk? He would already be dead, and the dead couldn't fulfill any wishes or dreams.

His thoughts finally calmed down, and everything before his eyes returned to normal. Richard let loose a long sigh and slowly placed the sword down. He then took a seat by the window, beginning to think over his experience that day. Numerous suspicious events began to link together one by one, and he had the jarring feeling that something was wrong. It was only then that he realised he knew far too little about his own family and the world outside, with no way for him to link everything together logically. Fatigue finally got to his weakened body and mind, and he couldn't help but lean against the desk and fall deep asleep...

Some time later, a little bronze bell magically began to ring within the room, awakening Richard from his dreams. He rubbed his eyes in a daze, finding that it was already night. The room was already pitch black, with only a small area lit up by the moonlight coming through the window.

The bronze bell continued to sound, and was followed by a gentle knock on his door. Richard opened it to find his butler, but instead of dinner he was brought to the basement of the castle's keep to participate in an internal trial of the family.

A short while later, a bewildered Richard followed the butler to a floor underneath the castle's main tower. The corridors here were different from the damp and dark of the castle, instead being dry and stuffy. Passing through a large gate guarded by two fully-armed footsoldiers, Richard was brought into an underground hall of considerable scale.

This hall was hundreds of square metres large, and two floors tall. The walls were made of rock, and had a few dark red flags hung on them that could be considered decorations.

At the end of the hall was a platform with five chairs. Gaton was seated in the middle, with Goliath and Alice in order on his right. On his left was an aged mage, followed by an icy middle-aged man dressed in black leather armour. Lined at the two sides of the hall against the wall were many other Archerons, and he recognised a few youths that he'd seen on the day of the banquet.

Richard headed to the sides, standing amongst the crowd. The two large wooden doors with iron embedded in them slowly closed, and with a desolate and distant sound of a bell a corner gate was opened in the hall. A bare-chested, boorish-looking warrior carried Warren and walked to the middle of the hall.

107 - City of Sin

Punishment

“What are you doing? Bastard, get your hands off me! I am Gaton's son, the son of the family head! What right do you have to treat me like this? Are you trying to revolt?” Warren exclaimed at the top of his voice along the way, and resisted with all his might, but the warrior managed to carry him with the ease of carrying a little chick. His eyes were covered by a piece of black cloth, and he couldn't see what was going on around him. And while there was a fair number of people around in the hall, nobody made a noise.

He seemed to sense something when he was brought to the centre of the hall, suddenly stopping his shouts as he involuntarily began to tremble. Gaton nodded towards the warrior, and he took off Warren's blindfold.

The sudden, piercing brightness forced Warren to close his eyes. Only after a long time did he manage to see what was going on in the hall. He immediately realised that this was a trial, and he began trembling even more violently to the point that he couldn't even stand up straight. Only with the warrior behind him supporting his weight did he not collapse to the ground. After seeing the state Warren was in, the old man and middle-aged man on Gaton's left shook their heads, expressions turning cold.

Warren suddenly shouted, “Father, what's going on? Why did they suddenly apprehend me? Save me!” Near the end, his shouts turned into wails, and he did all he could to run towards Gaton. However, the large hands of the warrior behind him were like iron, and he had no way to struggle free.

Gaton originally looked calm, with his expression deadpan, but now he began to stroke his short mustache with a smile. Only those familiar with the man would be aware that this was when he was at his scariest.

He made a small hand gesture and the warrior cupped Warren's mouth, disallowing him from making any more sounds. When things got slightly quieter in the hall, he looked to the left and right, “Warren is here now. What are your opinions?”

Goliath sneered and said, “That half-legendary ring is iron-clad proof! Do you still need to ask me about this?”

Alice nodded as well, saying coldly, “There's too much evidence.”

“Guilty,” the old mage said.

“Guilty,” said the middle-aged man as well.

Warren suddenly began to struggle with all his might, wanting to say something, but could not release himself from the hold of the warrior behind him no matter what he did. In a moment of desperation, he even bit at the warrior's palm, but it was as if he was biting at elephant skin. Not only did he leave no traces behind, he almost lost his own teeth.

Gaton nodded and then said calmly and imposingly, “Fine. There is enough evidence to prove that Warren colluded with Raymond Joseph and attempted to murder Richard Archeron, causing Knight Senma, who was in charge of his protection, to end up gravely injured in a risky circumstance. Since Richard was determined to be a core member of the family by the elders, Warren's punishment will be immediate execution.”

Warren's struggling suddenly ceased, and as if all the strength in his body had been sapped out he slumped down. If not for the warrior still holding onto him, he would have completely crumpled to the ground.

“NOOOOO!” A piercing scream sounded from amidst the crowd, and an absolutely stunning young woman darted to the centre of the hall, embracing Warren tightly. She did her best to shove at the warrior and save Warren, but no matter how she kicked, hit, or bit him, he remained unmoving like a rock. The woman was only level 3 or 4 at best, and that was far too little for her to cause any damage to him.

The woman finally realised her actions against the warrior were in vain, and instead turned to yell at Gaton, “Richard is your son, but Warren isn't? My Warren grew up by your side, but what about that bastard that just suddenly showed up from the mountains? Besides, isn't he still alive and standing there well? Why are you executing Warren?”

Gaton frowned and answered calmly, “This is a meeting of the Archeron Family. You may be one of my women, Jade, but you have no right to speak here. And while I'm not in our family lands very often, don't assume I don't know how you've raised him! If not for you, he wouldn't have such guts!”

Jade suddenly jumped up, roaring at Gaton like a lioness, “So what if it's me? I want him to crawl towards the top and get the most power in the family and beat down all the people in his way! Gaton, don't think I don't know that the reason you wanted me was because I'm a half-elf, and look slightly similar to that elf who's always in your thoughts! I know Richard is her child, which is why you're killing my Warren for this little bastard!”

Gaton chuckled and merely said, “Jade, don't forget yourself. You don't have the right to speak here.”

The old mage at Gaton's left lightly waved, and a muting spell was tossed towards Jade, resulting in her voice immediately vanishing. Two warriors charged out and forcefully dragged her to a corner.

However, she continued to struggle as if she had gone crazy. While the muting spell made it such that she could not make a sound, heartbreaking cries seemed to resound in the hall.

Goliath stared at Gaton, and let loose a booming chuckle that made him seem like a man-eating beast, “Gaton, this woman of yours really is very gutsy. What's the punishment for interrupting a family trial? My brain hasn't been serving me too well lately!”

Gaton turned ashen and made a sound, “Ten lashes... Alice, you do it!”

Alice had no intentions whatsoever of rejecting this. She stood up and took a leather whip from a bare-chested warrior, drawing it back slightly with her wrists before cracking it a few times in quick succession. The whip was like a toxic dragon as it struck Jade's body, tearing her clothing up and leaving a bloody welt on her skin!

Jade suddenly gasped, and her body went stiff before she began to tremble vigorously. The whip continued to crack, hitting her body with a consistent strength. The half-elf had fainted long before the tenth, and once it was done Gaton waved for two warriors to drag her out of the trial hall.

Gaton watched Warren and then took a look around, before speaking in a low voice sternly, “While us Archerons have never been united nor do we promote unity, true Archerons will not harm each other. This is a tradition passed down from the ancestors, and nobody can defy it, not even my own son. In Faust, in Norland, in the numerous planes, we have never had a lack of enemies, which is why there is no need for enemies within our midst. If anyone else wishes to go against this principle, then let this be an example!”

Gaton raised his right hand, lay it flat, and pressed it down.

The warrior in the centre of the hall raised Warren, the muscles all over his body twisting as he then lightly knocked the middle of Warren's back with a fist. His body went completely stiff, eyes as wide as they could ever get, and his throat moved, but he could not make a sound! His body shook a few times, and he then crumpled to the ground, the lustre in his eyes rapidly dissipating.

As he watched the life seep out of Warren's body, Richard could not describe how he was feeling. It definitely wasn't sympathy or pity; no, all his suspicions and the abnormalities he'd noticed linked together in that moment. It was no wonder that Warren still wanted to provoke Faulk despite his lack of battle might. No wonder that Senma was seriously injured, no wonder that the duel had actually been premeditated murder. Richard had no pity or sympathy for this boy who wanted to kill him, no. If Warren hadn't died today, then someday in the future he would have made sure to force him into a dead end.

No, what Richard paid attention to was Jade's words. Her description of Gaton confused him greatly. Was she speaking the truth? Had Gaton lived all these years with a certain elf in his heart?

108 - City of Sin

The Cornerstone Of Heroes

News of the trial within the Archeron Family quickly spread out to Faust's nobility. Some were shocked by the news, while others were left deep in thought.

In a private library within the Joseph Castle on the sixth island of the sixth layer, Raymond was in a rare state of deep thought as he listened to a report on the trial. After a long time, he turned to Valen, “Gaton isn't just disciplining his family with this; he's also telling all the nobles of Faust that this matter isn't done yet. His own son is dead, but Faulk is still alive.”

Valen fell silent, a grave expression on his face. With their assassination attempt failed, it didn't seem like the Archerons had suffered any losses. In fact, they managed to cripple Faulk and several youths from their subordinate families as well. Although those other youths weren't from the fourteen, they were still children of nobles who'd settled down permanently in Faust proper. Even Earl Goliath had to bear an entire week of suspicion and enquiry for that— although Gaton was also a member of the assembly, being in the seventh layer only gave one the power to vote, not veto.

Alas, the matter was fated to reach no conclusion. The Sacred Alliance Assembly was just that— a place where the members of the alliance met to discuss affairs. Whether the results of the votes were executed depended on the checks and balances of the various powers behind the scenes. An Earl as tyrannical as Goliath couldn't possibly be sentenced to anything severe just for harming a few noble children.
𝒇𝑟e𝗲𝚠𝚎𝐛𝗻𝐨νel. 𝒄om

Besides, even though the public was allowed to sit in at the assemblies, only the fourteen families actually possessed official seats. The members of these families at least knew everything, including inside information about the issue with Faulk. The week spent on making things difficult for Goliath was simply to help the average families feel better about themselves and keep their reputations intact after he hurt their children. Without any major infighting in the Alliance right now, some covering up was necessary.

Still... Not only was Gaton able to find evidence against Warren immediately, he'd also called for an internal trial on the same night and executed Warren in front of the entire family. It was impossible for a trial of such scale to be kept secret, but it wasn't like he wanted it hushed anyway.

The conclusion now would be that, since Gaton had lost a son, Duke Joseph had to as well. However, that son could not be Faulk. On the other hand, he'd also transmitted a clear message to all the nobles of Faust— Richard Archeron was the one person that was completely off limits. Anyone who even wanted to touch him had to be prepared to face a war with all the Archerons.

Valen stood up, responding solemnly, “Young master, the status of Richard in the Archeron family is much greater than we had anticipated. This time around, Gaton even directly declared that he is one of the core members of the family, though he hasn't even made a real rune knight yet. There must be some inside news that we did not get. I think we have to prepare for war.”

Raymond sighed, feeling helpless, “The war between us and the Archerons never stopped. However, this means that we can't attack Richard in Faust anymore. If we do something like this again, then that's a provocation not to the Archerons but to Bloodthirsty Philip himself. Master Valen, you need to make some preparations. We need to move to the Mason plane as quickly as possible— the war there needs to be ended quickly so we can free up our elites. We have a troop stationed in the family territory already, but we need to increase our vigour in espionage. I need information on Gaton's privately-owned planes so that we can attack as soon as circumstances permit.”

Valen nodded, assuring him, “Don't worry too much, Young Master. The Archerons have Richard, but that can only bring everything back to square one. Aren't you a runemaster yourself?”

Raymond shook his head, “I can't produce compound runes of that quality yet. My runecrafting is definitely inferior to his.”

“But Young Master, Richard definitely can't compare to you in knowledge, and leadership and governance. You are the hero who will bring the Josephs to the fifth layer!”

“Hero?” Raymond laughed mockingly, “With a body as weak and frail as mine, how can I become any heroic character? I doubt I'll be able to cross level 5 as a warrior in my lifetime.”

A faint look of sorrow flit across Valen's face. “But you still have the gift of magic. It is a great feat to be a level 12 mage at your age, and you're a scholar of Soremburg on top!”

“You're not wrong!” Raymond burst out laughing, as if his world had suddenly filled with sunshine.

Though Valen was smiling along with his master, he knew in his heart that what Raymond lacked the most was time. If he couldn't break through as a warrior, he had less than twenty years left to live. Twenty years was but the blink of an eye in the planar wars. But with the innate flaws in his physique, it would be a miracle for Raymond to achieve any such thing.

In the endless planar wars, with the chaotic and turbulent times, the one cornerstone for a hero to rise was mere survival.

Be it in reality or the void, the fifth layer was always up high in Faust. The islands were far above the level of the city proper, the highest points of their orbits almost reaching the Church of the Eternal Dragon. It would take more than a century to push the Josephs to the fifth layer. Compared to all of history, twenty years was as insignificant as a small flower in a long river.

There wasn't much land even on the fourth island of the fifth layer, where the valiant emperor of the Sacred Alliance, Bloodthirsty Philip, lived. At a kilometre and a half in diameter it was the biggest of the occupied islands, but it was still difficult to put something as magnificent and vast as the Sacred Alliance's Imperial Palace into such a small place. Despite prevalent use of spatial magic, a lot of the space needed for gardens had to be given up.

The palace was built into the mountain itself, with the main hall sitting on the top which had been flattened out manually. Every window, every balcony, and every pillar of this seventeen-storey-tall building was adorned with innumerable exquisite carvings. Individually, every part was rich in historical and artistic value, yet when piled together, they did not seem to be in harmony.

When the pale golden light of dawn gradually filled the dining hall of the palace at breakfast, the long table was already filled with light refreshments and wine to whet the appetite. Ten maids stood by the side in attendance, carrying silver trays of food. Several court officials, dressed to the teeth and with wigs on, also stood by in preparation to report the happenings of the day before.

A crisp and melodious bell started to chime in the breakfast hall, and a bird larger than a mountain falcon suspended from a copper stand on the ceiling started to chirp, “All hail the Emperor! All hail the Emperor!”

A door on the other side of the hall opened, and a tall, strong-looking man walked in. He stood over seven feet tall and had a curly blonde wig, his skin glowing like Faust's sunlight as well. A shiny flush radiated from his cheeks— which trembled as he walked— as well as his moustache that was shaped like a smile. A weaved satin top concealed a shockingly large belly, outlined in gold and secured with a wide golden belt. The belt was embedded with all sorts of gems; the buckle of the belt was even embellished with an Azshara star diamond! This jewel was precious enough to be included as a core component in a level-five rune or legendary item, yet it was being used purely as a powerless ornament on this belt.

This man, who was dressed so extravagantly it was almost amusing, was none other than the supreme emperor of the Sacred Alliance, Bloodthirsty Phillip.

Moving his enormous body to the dining table, he barely managed to squeeze into a chair three times the average size with great effort. Panting roughly, he exclaimed, “The chair became smaller again!”

109 - City of Sin

Appetite Determines Power

A delicate-looking, lanky court official immediately bowed deeply, saying solemnly, “The chair is completely at fault! I'll have it replaced right away! As for this thing with the audacity to shrink, it'll be taken care of accordingly after it gets dragged away!”

Philip waved his enormous hand, “That's not necessary right now. Eating is what matters most, it can wait until I finish my meal.” He held up a custom-made goblet, drinking about a bottle and a half's worth of aperitif in a single gulf. Then, with another brief wave, all eight plates piled with appetizers were emptied into his bottomless pit of a mouth.

The maids immediately rushed in, skillfully clearing the empty plates before serving the main course one dish after the other. Judging simply from their nimble movements, it was clear that they were knights or assassins of at least level 4 or 5. While a dining table which could hold ten dishes at once may seem large, it merely appeared average in the Emperor's presence. They then removed the silver lids off the next set of plates, revealing enormous steaks so raw they were still flush with blood. The origin of this meat was unknown, and even those who'd served here for more than three years couldn't identify every type of meat. Although the edges of the plates were garnished with fresh flowers and a sauce, the steaks themselves were almost fully raw. Raw steak was the Emperor's favourite dish.

Philip's eyes lit up. Before digging in he threw a piece of ribeye steak mid-air, upon which that peculiar bird swooped down to catch the meal before taking it back to its own perch and pecking at it intently. The Emperor himself began to polish off kilograms of raw meat at an astonishing speed, one piece after the other. However it was strangely quiet when he ate, with barely any sound of chewing coming from his mouth. This piece of dining etiquette was the closest the Emperor came to fulfilling any sort of aristocratic manners. As for the massive bones in the steaks, they silently disappeared down the Emperor's throat as if they were meat as well.

Another court official cleared his throat, and began to recount the past happenings in the day in a melodious voice. It was mainly about an important event that took place while the Emperor was sleeping at night. “The grey dwarves and their beast allies launched a sneak attack on the Thunder God's Fort. Of course, they were fought off... As for your immediate territory of Munro, the first round of taxes were just levied, with the total being...

“The Archerons also held an internal trial last night—”

“Wait!” Philip swallowed a mouthful of meat with some difficulty, “What were you saying just now? Gaton killed his own son, Warren?”

“That's right!”

Phillip put down his fork and knife for once, and thought for a while before saying, “Seems like that Richard is an interesting character, Gaton should intend to let him become the successor. What do you know about Richard?”

“He's a personal apprentice of Sharon...”

“What?!” The Emperor spat out a mouthful of unchewed meat in response.

The court official was astonished as well. Yet, he waved his hand at once and maids flocked over to clear the mess on the table. At the same time, they passed down orders to the kitchen to prepare ten more portions of the main dish. This instantaneous reaction was enough to show his capabilities as a court official.

Phillip coughed a little, spitting out another half-chewed bone before he breathed in, “Which Sharon are you talking about...”

The court official replied carefully, “The Alliance Guardian. You personally conferred the title upon her...”

The Emperor looked unsettled. He asked, “What has she been up to recently?”

Information about the legendary mage was obviously a priority for them. The court official was ready, replying immediately, “I heard Her Excellency has been exploring planes a lot recently. It's been a long time since she returned to the Deepblue.”

It was only then that the Emperor looked slightly more at ease. He stopped eating for once, and looked at the entire table of steak before he said ruefully, “Oh dear, this woman... When she came looking for me back then, she actually wanted to compete with me in terms of appetite!”

“Your Majesty, you certainly claimed an overwhelming victory!” The court official immediately said. This was not entirely flattery.

The Emperor snorted, and said after a long time, “It was merely a small victory... no, in fact it was just a narrow one.”

“Your Majesty, you are truly a noble ruler to be able to hold the legendary mage down!” The court official pretended not to notice the Emperor's tone and continued to praise him relentlessly.

“It was merely good luck back then. If she were to come again now, the outcome of the competition may not be the same anymore. Never underestimate the legendary mage, even if it is just in terms of appetite!” The Emperor chided.

“Certainly! Of course!” The court official repeatedly nodded in agreement.

Philip waved his enormous hand and said, “How about this, you can go prepare a ton of dragon's rib steak later and give it to Richard in my name. Just say that these are extra meals for him!”

“One ton of dragon's rib steak!” The court official inhaled sharply in an exaggerated manner, and politely expressed his objection, “Isn't it a little too much for him to finish? We have less than a hundred tonnes total in the kitchen.”

Philip impatiently waved his enormous hand, “Just do as I say! Appetite determines power! Don't tell me a young lad who caught Sharon's eye can't even finish this bit of food? But there really isn't much stock left in the kitchen... Why don't you think of ways to buy first, and get General Garmel to lead men on a hunt for a few more dragons. I don't want green dragons, their meat is sour! He knows my taste!”

He then thought for a while before saying to the aged and thin vice minister of financial affairs who was on the other side, “Go to my treasury and see if there's any tools there that can be used for self-defense. Take two of them and give them to Richard, together with the steak. It doesn't have to be the best, as long as it is sufficient to make it clear that I am on their side. After all, Gaton is considered a member of royalty as well. We cannot let his new successor meet with any mishaps in Faust. Otherwise, those who create trouble for him should also need to pay a price for it.”

“How should we deal with Faulk, then?” the court official who came forward to report the matter inquired.

“Leave it to those old folks from the assembly, we shall not meddle. Let the Josephs and Archerons battle first!”

Richard discovered after the trial that people were looking at him differently now. The hostility and disdain had faded, and whenever he was out the increase in the number of people taking the initiative to greet him was obvious. And they were all more respectful than before as well!

Additionally, he'd now been allocated a laboratory for his own use. He could craft elementary and grade 2 runes, performing experiments of a similar level as well. He was also assigned two assistants, and three people to help run errands. At the same time, Gaton had also delegated four young and rather powerful knights as a reference for Richard to study his own creation of rune knights.

It was barely past lunchtime. Less than two hours since he'd been notified of the laboratory, Richard was already rushing towards the place. Magic held far greater of an attraction to him than the Archeron surname.

With how small the island was, the laboratory was a short walk from his residence. It was one of only three, all built on the fringes of the island for the sake of safety, and was protected by two magic ballista towers. This way, the island was protected from external enemies. At the same time, in the event that an explosion took place in the laboratory, the extent of damage could also be minimized.

The laboratory was a three-storey building that took up little space. The first floor was an administrative and leisure area, meant for the assistants and servants. The second was a storehouse for magic materials, while the third was his actual workplace.

But as he set foot on the third level and entered the laboratory, Richard's brows creased together at once. Even with all three floors together this place still wasn't as large as his laboratory in the Deepblue. The sign engraved on a corner of the desk suggested that this was a product of dwarven make, built with refined gold about thirty years ago. As far as normal magic laboratories went, this place was above average. However, the one Richard had been using in the Deepblue had been designed exclusively three hundred years ago, by a now-extinct dwarven kingdom. There were few of its kind in the world.

110 - City of Sin

Unexpected Offering

The other equipment in the laboratory was similar to what he had in his own, but even they were still at least three grades lower in quality. Just the work desk alone from the Deepblue was worth more than all the three laboratories of this island combined.

Two assistants, a man and woman both over the age of twenty, were already prepared in the laboratory. The man was a level 8 mage, while the woman a level 10. As Richard walked in, they were carefully cleaning all the apparatus in the place alongside a teenage girl.

Looking at her from behind, Richard found this girl vaguely familiar. When she turned around, it gave him a huge shock, “Coco?”

The last time Richard had seen Coco was when he'd attended the banquet to select a partner. The lights were dim that night, and her demure and elegant demeanour against that romantic volcanic backdrop had left an impression in his mind. However, he'd completely forgotten about her after the banquet. In terms of leaving an impression, she could not compare to Demi or Venica.

Seeing Coco here once more surprised Richard. It seemed to suggest that Coco's father wasn't able to support her well. The Archerons did provide some resources to the youths sent to the island, but those resources came largely in the form of free training, and didn't give much for one's day to day life.

Even though Faust was cheaper than the Deepblue, it was still more expensive than the rest of the Alliance. The Deepblue's wares were extravagantly priced because they sold high-end products, with everything able to be described as luxurious goods. On the other hand, even basic necessities like food or clothing were priced unreasonably in Faust. But then again, Faust and the surrounding Eternal Plains weren't fertile enough for agriculture to be a possibility. Any food had to be transported from far away to the top of the mountain, making just the transportation fee exorbitant. And this wasn't even considering other expenses.

Coco seemed to grow rather anxious upon seeing Richard. She took a step back, as if to hide herself behind one of the assistants, but because of how small the laboratory was she immediately bumped into a rack of potions. The ten or so test tubes at the front of the rack swayed dangerously, and a few almost fell down.

The female mage furrowed her brows, speaking sternly, “COCO! Why are you always so clumsy? You wouldn't be able to pay for those test tubes even if you wanted to! What if this happened when Master Richard was in the middle of an experiment? The family gave you a great chance to work here, so stop your vain attempts to amount to something greater. You'll never be able to rise through the ranks to become Master Richard's partner!”

“I'm sorry! I'm sorry!” Coco's face was pale, as she bowed incessantly. Tears welled up in her eyes, but she forcefully held them back. Having been denounced by the female mage, she stuttered as she tried to explain: “No! I never held those intentions, really!”

“Are you sure? Ha!” The female mage mocked, while the male mage furrowed his brows and remained quiet as well. Richard was undoubtedly the most eligible bachelor in the Archeron Family, the target of even highly-sought-after girls like Demi and Venica. While bloodline was the most important factor, Richard's talent, future prospects, and stellar appearance were other important reasons. After the night of the trial, the news of him becoming a core member of the family had already been spread around, signifying his entrance into the hierarchy of the family's power. Perhaps it was a bit too premature to talk about the powers he possessed yet, but Richard was only 15 years old, and everything had just begun.

As for Coco, she could neither choose nor reject a partner for herself. Hence, the two assistants thought that her statement about not having any such thoughts were extremely fake. Any Archeron who chose to come to the floating island had very obvious intentions.

In Norland, one's strength came from their physical body, while their demeanour originated from factors ranging from one's bloodline, family background, education, cultivation, and one's personal abilities. A woman's worth was the sum of all of the factors above. Those like Coco, who had personal attributes such as an exquisite appearance and a elegant demeanour, were a dime a dozen. In the large-scale slave markets, one would be able to easily find half-elf teenage girls that would rival Coco's appearance and elegance. Furthermore, Coco's weak physique and her current status as a level 2 illusionist suggested she had no talent to speak of. As such, it was practically impossible for her to become a woman of standing. If she couldn't even cast a level 2 illusion, how would she possess any semblance of rich magic and and refined knowledge? Even if she were to memorise everything, she would be at a disadvantage compared to powerful mages who had intellectual capabilities common people could only dream of.

As for artistic abilities... who cared?

The assistants would still be able to accept Coco being inept at the job. However, her defensive attitude had crossed their bottom line. It seemed the girl herself realised this, however, so she stopped trying to explain herself. She instead lowered her head and placed herself at the mercy of the female mage, allowing the woman to berate her. Only this time, the tears that she was fighting hard to control eventually slid down her face, one after another. This job was very important to Coco, which explained why she did not rebut the female mage nor leave without a word even though the woman wasn't mincing her words. In a place like Norland, where the difference in status and power was pronounced, walking away from such a situation wouldn't just lead to one losing their job.

Richard furrowed his brows, and tried to defuse the situation, “Alright, end it here. We didn't lose anything anyway. I'll be starting an experiment, so please just set up the work table.”

The man began to inject mana into the table, while Richard passed a list he'd prepared before this for the female mage to get from the warehouse. While waiting for the table to be ready, he had Coco, who was about to leave, to bring over an inventory of the materials in the warehouse. When she handed him a thin notebook and was about to leave again, he gave her a list of apparatus that he had written to prepare for later use.

Coco looked at Richard with a confused expression, before nodding her head vigorously as she conscientiously went on to do her work. She too knew that this was an alternate form of protection. If she did whatever Richard told her to well, she would naturally be allocated more work to do. In places like these, many would jump at the chance of doing more work, actually fearing a lack. In brief, she would not be asked to leave the laboratory for no good reason.

As the female mage prepared the materials, Richard read the store checklist and let out a huge sigh. The quality of the materials in the Archeron warehouse was a far cry from that in the Deepblue, and even the quantities couldn't match up. He saw barely any grade 2 materials in the list, forget grade 3 or 4. Materials in Norland were classified the same way as runes. A rune of a particular grade would require its core materials to be of that grade.

Looking at what he had on hand, Richard realised that there weren't enough resources to craft even many standard runes here, forget the incomplete custom designs he had. Resource-wise, the Archerons had to be the poorest of the fourteen families of Faust, not comparable even to the minor nobles who didn't even have their own islands.

At this moment, he thought back to the first words Steelrock had said about them, “They're poor!”

The second thought that flashed across Richard's mind was the rune materials Wennington had passed to him a few days ago. It appeared as if those materials couldn't be from the Archeron warehouse... However, Richard did not put too much thought to it, and quickly tossed the thought to the back of his head.

111 - City of Sin

Unexpected Offering

Richard flipped through the few pages at the back of the list, looking at the pitiful amount of grade 2 materials in the family, and shook his head helplessly. For the first time in his life, he found himself needing to carefully plan his ingredients.

He already had a rune knight model in mind, but without the proper materials he would have to stop that halfway through. He wanted to match a custom-designed Eruption rune with two Elementary Strength runes and a Vitality rune, giving the mount a Dash rune that was again a custom design. This sort of rune knight would possess terrifying instant offence, giving them a 150% boost to their offensive power when Eruption combined with the strength runes. Vitality would boost their endurance in compensation, shortening the time they needed to rest after battle. The core of this plan would be the three runes he'd designed himself.

After rethinking the quantity and scope of the materials he could use, Richard had no choice but to give up on all non-standard. However, he made a new list, writing out ten or so materials that would raise the effects of the standard runes and handed it to the female mage to purchase. He'd inquired already, knowing that there was still some money left over from the construction of the laboratory, so as long as he spent within a certain limit he didn't need to apply for money from the family. With all arrangements in order, Richard used the materials he already had at hand and began crafting a rune.

Once immersed in the world of magic, Richard temporarily forgot all the worries in the world. As had been his habit in the past, he did everything from scratch. He'd already decided to create his first batch of rune knights all by himself, including preparing the materials.

One by one, the materials were refined. It was as if the complicated procedures were carved into Richard's mind, and there was no need to check any notes or books whatsoever. A thick, large, and heavy piece of magic beast hide was carved into three pieces, his hands extremely steady as he used the knife. One could see practically no difference in the thicknesses of the three pieces if they looked with the naked eye.

As he drew the magic formation, Richard was like the most precise of dwarven gold-smelting machines, working for hours on end without the slightest of mistakes. Lines flowed from the tip of the magic pen, each curve not one whit different from the standard design.

Every time Richard began drawing the magic formation, the two assistants could not help but halt their breathing, afraid to make any sound and unwilling to let any detail escape their eyes. Never in their dreams did they think that the magic formations that existed as standard pictures in their books could be replicated before their eyes with not a single difference! <i>Was this the world of runemasters?</i>

They tried to remember every move of his, every detail; all the steps while preparing the materials, and every hand gesture. This was their greatest benefit as assistants— they could observe the experiments of a runemaster at close proximity. Now, they could learn all about Richard's methods and his secrets. Even if they didn't have the talent for runecrafting themselves, an improved ability to draw magic formations would still be very beneficial to them. If they could just learn some procedures that only needed practice to master, the scope of their careers would increase greatly.

WIth every section that Richard finished, he would take a rest. The time he took to make each section varied between an hour and three, but when Richard rested, he would always find that his two helpers looked more tired than he was. Studying also sapped at one's physical strength. When Richard was refreshed once more, they still looked pale and unsteady on their feet. With his Vitality rune equipped, the speed of his recovery was several times higher than that of these two mages.

This way, the two helpers actually weren't doing much, while Coco helped with passing the materials or tools over at the side. Under Richard's guidance, she even successfully washed an intermediate equipment and did all the assistants' work. This time, the female mage did not scold her, because she could spend all her energy on learning and pass on all the miscellaneous work to the girl.

Four days later, an Elementary Strength rune was completed, the pace having left the two assistants dumbstruck. After using a specially-made box to store the rune, Coco who was standing by the side passed a piece of paper over. In neat and clean writing, the total sum based on market prices of all the materials used in the creation of the rune were listed out in a detailed manner, including the quantity used. This was a record Richard wanted her to make at the same time, and this paper indicated how diligent and attentive she was.

At the bottom of the paper was the total sum of all the materials, in other words the costs of the materials of the rune, which came to 17200 gold coins. This came as a surprise to Richard, and he smiled at Coco, while she secretly stuck her tongue out. She obviously knew the average price of an elementary rune, which was why the total cost was a huge surprise to her as well.

Of course, this was merely the costs of the materials. If one wanted to go into the details, then the pay of Coco and the assistants, the rent of the laboratory as well as wear and tear of equipment, and other costs would all add up. Lastly was another huge expense— Richard's time. Not putting his price into consideration, the cost of the rune was about twenty thousand. Due to the rate of failure, the average runemaster would have a cost nearing sixty thousand

However, Richard was not satisfied with this rune. As he lacked some key ingredients, he could only make it based on the standard version, and the final amplification effect was exactly the same as the standard one at 30%. When put on the market, the price would be around seventy to a hundred thousand at most.

While he was unsatisfied with the effects of the Elementary Strength rune, Richard could only continue, because this was all the materials he had. The materials he needed to improve this were not something he could purchase in the near future. Price was secondary. Many materials, such as flamestripe stones, were often out of stock due to multiple uses and low supply. One could only exchange for them with families that had mines in their territory.

The new model Richard had decided to use was a traditional jack-of-all trades, with one strength rune, two defence runes, an agility rune and a powered-up mount. Such knights were useful on any battlefield, but in exchange they couldn't exactly turn the tides of as many. Using them well would require wisdom from the commander. The total cost of a knight's rune would be about a hundred thousand gold coins, and that of the armour, weapons and mount was at about twenty thousand gold coins. However, this did not include the energy and value of Richard's time.

Richard was extremely proficient in these standard runes, which was why when he began the second strength rune, he was soon immersed in the world of magic again.

112 - City of Sin

Unexpected Offering

Floe Bay was glowing in its summer beauty. The grand mages of the Deepblue had all met up as usual in Sharon's public meeting hall, about to discuss the operations of the Deepblue for the following month. From the french window here, one could take in the entire beauty of Floe Bay.

All of them looked relaxed, Blackgold included. While they hadn't had the extra income from Richard's runes in the past year or so, the amount of Sharon's Delight they'd given out had also decreased in turn. The grey dwarf quite liked this situation, because the financial condition was much more stable and easier to predict. Anyone working in finance hated uncertainty in either direction.

It didn't take a long time for the discussion to come to a conclusion. The mages all completed their arrangements for July and August, falling into some rare idle chatter. Sharon hadn't participated this time, but there was no need for her regular presence anyway. The grand mages could take care of most of the work, and the legendary mage's whereabouts were often unpredictable, After the blow from Mountainsea, she'd been gone for months at a time to the endless planes to earn money. While it had been two years, the effects had yet to completely disappear.

Now, for instance, the grand mages had not seen Sharon for nearly three months, and nobody knew how long she would wander the various planes before her return.

In the past, there was often more joy than worry when Sharon returned. Recently, however, the grand mages learned from her words that the places she went to were quickly diminishing in profits. With the strength of her dragon-repelling aura increasing with each expedition, the difficulty in capturing greater dragons increased as well. With the dragons now able to sense her arrival from a hundred kilometres away, they would immediately flee. Even the legendary mage found it hard to make up for that distance. In fact, more mature and powerful dragons even had the time to pack up their most precious treasures before taking off!

Just as the grand mages were relaxedly enjoying the great afternoon sunshine, a violent magic undulation ripped through the hall. Chaotic elemental particles spread in all directions, repelling and charging into each other as the hall was quickly enveloped by a small storm. The mana in the grand mages began to stir, and with it being so unexpected the protective magics of the grand mages were completely ineffective as the storm caused them to sway everywhere.

Just as all the shocked mages did their best to control the chaotic magic, an exceedingly terrifying, berserk aura descended upon the place, leaving them all without the ability to even move or think.

This pressure came from a disparity of strength, similar to a dragon's aura with regular humans. However, to be able to completely pressure them even with an elemental storm here, this was a strength that far surpassed even the legendary mage!

While everyone was overwhelmed with shock, a teleportation gate suddenly opened at the centre, and a snow-white and satiny thigh peeked out amidst the brilliant rays of magic. But then, as if pulled by an invisible hand, it was forced back into the gate.

The abrupt change, with the large gap between the terrifying aura and snow-white thigh, immediately caused the grand mages' thoughts to short-circuit for a moment. The portal closed for a moment, gone as quickly as it opened, but just as it seemed to disappear it shone brightly all of a sudden, spitting out mottled light like it was a fountain.

*Whoosh!* The familiar figure of the legendary mage charged out of the portal. She turned around in mid-air the moment she was out, shooting out a dazzling ray of light that slammed into the gate.

The teleportation gate flickered violently, to the point that the space around it was showing signs of twisting, but it did not shrink as the legendary mage had anticipated. Instead, it increased in size a few times, to the point that it nearly filled up the space in the tremendous hall.

The leaping rays of magic dimmed till it was almost impossible to see, and the raging waves of corrosive hot air occupied everyone's senses. An enormous demon head peeked out of the gate, its sharp horn rubbing against the edges as if this wasn't a portal made of magic but a solid body. Numerous sparks flew out, and the sound of metal crashing against metal rang within the hall. The most striking thing on the head was the terrifying large mouth with fierce teeth all over, large enough to swallow all of the grand mages a short distance away. There were ten or so forked tongues within, coiled together like snakes. They reached out over ten metres far, practically licking Sharon's fingers!

This boundless and deep aura that could stimulate the fear in the depths of a race made it clear to the grand mages that this great demon had a rank that far exceeded their knowledge. When the front half of the demon's head peeked out of the teleportation gate, the pressure had left the grand mages paralysed on the ground. The little bit of mana they had somehow been able to gather dissipated instantly, and the raging elements in the hall had long since gone quiet except for a portion that was timidly coiled at the legendary mage's side.

The demon did its best to peek further in, but with the legendary mage controlling it, the teleportation gate finally began to slowly shrink. Failing when success was in sight, the demon descended into fury. Its large mouth opened and closed as it roared loudly, “Sharon, don't let me see you in the abyss again!”

The legendary mage hummed and valiantly gestured her middle finger at the demon, “I've already heard this twice from you!”

The pulling force from the other side of the gate immediately strengthened, and the time of activation of the channel between planes reached its limit. The enraged great demon was forcefully sent back to the abyss, and the teleportation gate then completely closed off. However, the aura of flames and rot still pervaded the air, leaving proof of the connection with the abyss just then.

Due to the shock of the pressure from the demon, the minds of the grand mages were still half frozen. It took them a moment to recover, and in this period of time the one thing that stuck in their minds was that middle finger from the legendary mage.

The grand mages struggled to get up one after another, and only then did they notice how terrible the legendary mage looked. She seemed to be even worse off than they were.

A part of her long hair had been singed, and her blue legendary magic robes were damaged everywhere. Her skirt was practically torn into rags, revealing more than half of her snow-white thighs. Signs of burns could be seen everywhere on her skin. The grand mages that had followed her after the Deepblue became peaceful had never seen her so pathetic before, and it was obvious it had been a difficult battle in the abyss.

Two grand mages that had entered Deepblue sixty years ago recalled ruefully, finding that they had seen her this terrible only during the third expansion of Deepblue. At that time, they had merely been young level twelve or thirteen mages, while Sharon herself was only level 16. Most of their memories of then were of war and smoke. Dwarves, orcs, werebeasts, and draconians had allied to attack the Deepblue one after the other, but had been defeated again and again.

The grey dwarves did not know magic, but amongst the orcs were many shamans and mages. While the draconians had the smallest numbers, they were known for their great battle might and powerful spells. At that point, Sharon often fought with countless enemies in the vast Everwinter Mountains, and when she returned to the Deepblue this was often the state she was in. However, at that time, regardless of what kind of dangers there had been, she was always beautiful and refined, and her eyes were as bright as they were now.

At level 16 Sharon had once left the draconian grand mages fleeing ignominiously. The two grand mages had then fought by her side, pursuing one for nearly a thousand kilometres. They had obtained countless valuable experiences in battle, and understood many secrets of magic. After Sharon officially became a grand mage, it was rare to see her fighting this hard. Once she became a legendary being, the Deepblue had become a forbidden area for many races in the north of the continent.

Having to bear witness to Sharon fighting that hard again naturally left them shocked.

113 - City of Sin

Unexpected Offering

“Your Excellency, was that...” Fayr had already guessed who the demon was from its characteristics and power, but he couldn't manage to say it out loud.

Sharon groaned and blurted indifferently, “Bermond Gauguin, a greater demon lord from the abyss. That fellow is too narrow-minded. All I did was kill a lesser lord from his level and he chased me for more than a month! Hmph, he didn't even manage to catch me in the end and I sent him back! Hahaha!”

The legendary mage became more excited as she continued, and she ended up bragging about herself with her classical laughter as a finale. Yet, all the grand mages could not hide their astonishment, and they did not feel that Sharon was being sarcastic at all. Rather, they could say that she was being modest. Even Fayr had thought that was at most a lesser demon lord, not expecting it to be a greater one who ruled an entire level of the abyss! Sharon had even killed a lesser lord!

After laughing hard, Sharon, who had finally cheered up, was reminded of something that she was holding onto on her right hand. She then threw that lump of meat, which was still moving and bleeding, to Fayr, saying, “Seal this up immediately, and send it to that fellow Gaton right away. Right, use the teleportation array to do it. Don't worry about spending, Gaton will be responsible for these wear and tear costs. Do it quick, this thing is perishable!”

The moment he received the meat lump, Fayr took two steps back to stabilise himself. Although the lump of meat was not big, it was extraordinarily heavy, as though it had the same weight as a crystal of equal volume. It was still wriggling rhythmically, and the wild and confusing odour it emitted made Fayr really frightened. He almost couldn't get a hold of it, and the others around hurried to give him a hand. They carried the lump of meat together, running towards the teleportation array to send it off.

On the other hand, the legendary mage started to change her clothes, shower, do some skin maintenance, and eat some fruit. She seemed to be busier than the other grand mages.

Within thirty minutes, when Sharon was still lazing in the bathtub, a magical bell beside her rang melodiously and Fayr's voice rang out, “Her Excellency, that object has been sent. Marquess Gaton wishes to have a word with you. What are your thoughts?”

Sharon laughed gently and replied, “Since that fellow is not afraid to spend money, what's the big deal? Answer the call!”

“Yes!” Fayr's voice disappeared from the magical bell, and shortly after the bell radiated rays of light, casting a three dimensional image in the space in front of Sharon. She could see Gaton holding onto a black seal, his face ashen, staring into the box where the meat was still moving vigorously.

As Sharon caressed her skin, not caring that half of her chest was exposed above the water, she said, “When did you become this indifferent with spending money? Even I feel the pain of spending on such a long-range communication spell! Since you are so rich, pay back those loans that you owe me!”

The other end of the magical projection was at the Archerons' island, in an enclosed room in the basement of the family castle that could only be reached with magic. This basement was themed red and black, with a ceramic table that looked like an altar in the middle. On the altar was a burning flame, with a similar magical image above it from where one could hear Sharon's voice and the sound of splashing.

However, the magical image on Gaton's side did not show the calm scene of Sharon taking a bath, but a projection of Blackgold instead. The projection of the grey dwarf was rotating continuously, tossing out a gold coin for every full turn that increased a number on the top right corner of the image once.

Gaton, however, wasn't interested in the contents of the image. His gaze was fixed on the sealed box, while his expression became worse.

Very quickly, an angry voice sounded in that basement, “Your Excellency! You already know the Archeron bloodline might have traces of demons, but you still send us a demon's heart. This is the second time! My dearest Sharon, can't you just take a detour and walk around in hell instead of the abyss? The devils there will definitely have what you need!”

A loud and beautiful laughter was emitted from the grey dwarf's body, “This is the heart of a lesser demon lord! Hehe, Gaton, you have to be aware that it is not easy to find a greater demon lord of the abyss that cannot catch up to me! That is why I want to walk around in the higher levels. As for hell, I will end up there eventually, but it depends on my mood. You should know clearly that I might have a good mood if you clear your debts.”

The moment debts were mentioned, Gaton's confidence went down immediately. He groaned and closed the seal box, saying “I looked too lowly upon Richard. But this item cannot maintain its full magic power for long, I have to go to the Church of the Eternal Dragon to hold the ceremony tonight. I have many things to do. Do you have anything else to say?”

“You don't plan to tell Richard about Elena?”

“Elena...” Gaton smiled bitterly and replied, “How can I tell him? Should I tell him that I was the one who executed his mother's family back then? That the reason she didn't want to come back to me was that hatred coming from the extermination of her nation? How could I tell him about that? Elena's death was my fault!”

“Then are you going to just continue delaying it?” Please visit f𝙧ee𝙬ℯ𝐛𝓃𝐨𝚟𝒆𝘭. c𝒐𝓂

“What else can I do... Perhaps... Perhaps it'll be resolved one day.”

Sharon did not continue any longer, instead changing the topic, “Richard's mana is growing stronger now. When he passes level 10, the seal I cast on him back then will grow weaker. The nightmare creatures will be able to see him again, and although it'll be dim at the start he'll continue to grow clearer and clearer in their world. When the seal completely disappears after twenty years, he will glow like a lighthouse in the dark, attracting countless nightmare creatures to Norland. Norland is a prime plane, the effect will be very obvious. You need to send him to a lesser plane to weaken the effect with the spatial distortions. Perhaps that will help stall for some more time.”

Gaton's expression changed, and he started pondering.

Sharon let out a sigh, “Maybe we don't have to be so worried. Once the specific nightmare creature of that tribe is annihilated, the lighthouse in Richard's soul will naturally disappear as well. Alright, go on to prepare your ceremony soon, teleportation array communication is very expensive. Blackgold will send you the bill shortly.”

Gaton nodded, but his expression remained the same. The nightmare creatures were a strange and mysterious race that wandered the planes. They could be small and weak, or extremely strong. Nobody had ever acquired enough details to understand them, nor did they know how large their population actually was.

The flame on the altar was still burning, but the magical power within the flame had disappeared. The grey dwarf that was rotating above it had vanished too, leaving the moving flame that reflected Gaton's contrasting expressions.

114 - City of Sin

The Road At Night

Dusk was approaching, and Norland's second sun began to set in the west, the last of its brilliance dyeing the rivers, the horizon, and the entirety of Norland red. In the time it took to shut the arched gates Faust was enveloped by a gentle, fragrant golden glow. It was as if the world stood still, and time passed in tranquility.

Richard released his mana, the beast skin in front of him shining with layers of spell formations like a gentle breeze on a river. Another rune was now completed, and while the effects of it were barely better than the standard he was extremely satisfied considering the materials used. He sat quietly and waited for the power of the spell formation to finish taking effect. Suddenly, a wave of fatigue swept past him, which caused him to feel drowsy. Every time this happened, Richard's first countermeasure was to gulp down a bottle of revitalising potion.

With one hand rubbing his temple, Richard's other hand reached for the side of the table. However, what greeted his hand was not the familiar, icy, smooth touch of the cylinder, but a warm and bouncy piece of flesh. What followed next was a startled gasp, as the piece of flesh hurriedly left his hand. Richard was flabbergasted, and he turned his head. He saw Coco standing a metre away with a flush on her cheeks. She was staring at him in shock, coupled with restrained anger. The piece of flesh that he had grabbed was her buttocks.

Not bad to the touch, but not exceptional. This was the first thought that came to Richard's mind.

Back in the Deepblue, Richard always had a revitalising potion by his side to drink when he was weary. However, the ARcherons could not provide such a good environment, and the few potions they had were saved for times of war. However, Richard had just recently left Deepblue, so this habit of five years would not be that easy to forget.

'Maybe I should apologise to her?' Richard pondered, not knowing how to explain himself.

The two assistants were by his side, so it would be inappropriate of him to comment on the impoverishment of the Archerons. Furthermore, Richard did not think that being poor was something wrong. Right now, he was extremely aware of the vast differences between the outside world and the Deepblue. Take these two helpers, for example. In their lives they would rarely have seen more than a few powerful mana potions, so they would never be able to imagine sustaining one's daily tasks with such things. This was were the awkwardness lied. Richard wanted to tell the truth, but nobody would believe him.

The female assistant only harrumphed and turned away, not saying a single word. As for the male assistant, his gaze flitted and landed on Coco's buttocks briefly, before he shrugged his shoulders. As for Coco, her cheeks were still red. She bit on her lower lips, and her eyes seemed to glisten with tears. However, she too did not speak as she continued with her tasks of tidying and preparing the table, except that she now maintained a certain distance from Richard.

In actuality, with the disparity in Richard's and Coco's identity, a brief touch of her buttocks was no big deal. Even if the person who touched her was the male assistant, he would at most be reprimanded lightly. If that happened, some might even consider that it was Coco's motive to bewitch the man.

Richard knew of the many rules of the nobility, and knew that if he were to apologise now it would create trouble for Coco in the future. However, Coco was evidently livid, and her expression betrayed her intentions to stay at a distance away from him, something that caused him to feel rather uncomfortable.

The hourglass was already halfway down, indicating that it was almost time for dinner. Seeing the many materials and apparatus set up on the table, Richard felt rather impatient. Soon, he tossed the equipment he held in his hand on the experiment table, before standing up and walking away.

However, just as he took two steps forward, he felt something split apart deep in his consciousness, and a incomparably crisp clap sounded loudly before a sliver of iciness mixed with darkness appeared, as if a shadow dissipated in his consciousness.
𝐟𝓇𝒆𝐞w𝐞𝙗𝓷o𝘷𝐞𝒍. c𝐨𝒎

Richard was taken aback and immediately halted. He concentrated deep on his consciousness, yet could not find any traces of the shadow, as if what had happened was just an illusion. He scanned his body with his senses, but he did not discover anything amiss. However, there was a lingering trace of danger that remained. Something had happened, but he couldn't figure out what it was.

At this moment, the thuds of heavy footsteps sounded in the corridor. Senma appeared at the third floor of the laboratory, saying to Richard, “Master wants to see you, follow me.”

Richard nodded his head, and instructed the two assistants to keep the runes that he had just crafted before following Senma outside. Senma's face was still ashen, and the aura that emanated from her was rather weak. She took out an exquisite vial and tossed it to Richard, “Drink this along the way, you don't have much time left.”

Richard was rather stupefied as he looked at the invigorating potion in his hands. This potion was designed to restore both energy and mana at the same time, something much more valuable than a regular revitalising potion. Something big had to have happened for him to be given this, but instead of asking he drank it all in one gulp before following her to the main castle.

Richard once again saw Gaton in the command room, and the magical map in the centre already had its contents changed. The plane was unknown to Richard, but the area was steeped with magma. This plane was most likely to be a level of hell, or the deep abyss. Or perhaps it was another place with similar properties.

Gaton's hands were pressed on the edges of the map as he stared fixedly at the projection. A powerful aura was continuously emanating from his body, so thick it was almost visible to the naked eye.

On the end of the map was a pair of knights dressed in heavy armour. There were no exposed areas other than 'T' openings on their helmets, with even their palms covered in scale mail. Their armour was frighteningly heavy, and if one looked from the side they could see that it was over fifteen centimetres thick. It was unknown just how much power one needed to pierce through such dense armour.

The two knights looked the same, dressed in black stinger sets which were the most popular among heavy knights. However, the Archeron emblem was embedded on different sides for them, one on the left and the other on the right, to differentiate between the two.

This was Kaylen and Kayde, a pair of brother-sister twins that belonged to Gaton's thirteen. Although their equipment was ordinary and seemed not to have any additional effects, their auras were no lower than Senma's.

Mordred stood quietly behind Gaton, and when he saw Richard enter, his lips cracked open into a silent smile as a form of welcome.

Gaton stood up straight, and looked at Richard with his hawk-like eyes. “Richard, you're here. Let me see how much magic you have recovered. Hmm... Yup, a good deal of it. You'll be ready by the time the ceremony starts. Senma! Take another invigoration potion for use on the journey later.”

Senma responded with a noise from her throat, as Richard looked in bewilderment, “What ceremony?

“An offering to the Eternal Dragon! Kiddo, your luck isn't too bad.We have enough tributes now. But then, your luck can be said to be very bad as well, because there isn't much time for you to prepare. Take this!” Soon, Gaton tossed a black box over to Richard.

The moment Richard caught the box, both of his hands sunk down, causing him to nearly fall to the ground. This box was close to a hundred kilograms heavy, and he had to activate Eruption to regain his balance and catch it firmly.

“Open it and look inside!”

Richard opened the box, and a burning stench wafted out from within. Shockingly, this stench had an overwhelming surge of power! There was a mass of flesh in the box, blazed so much it had turned black. The power of laws circled it, releasing a powerful aura to the pulse of its beating.

“Demon heart!” Richard said, aghast.

“Mm, from a lesser demon lord! And this too, catch!” Gaton tossed a larger box over this time. This box was extremely heavy too, but the moment it reached Richard it stopped on its own, before floating down and resting gently on the ground, as if there were a pair of invisible hands that had carried it. The moment Richard could see the box's opening, the lid lifted.

There was an equally stinging stench here, but it wasn't accompanied by any heat. This aura was thick with darkness and rot, the head of a devil with more than ten amber eyes open. The numerous horns on the head were still sharp and well-preserved. Even the arc of the horns were not changed, and everything seemed to come to a still, as if its appearance had been like this for a long time. This head was chopped off a long time ago, and no longer showed any signs of life. However, the powers of corrosion and darkness were still well preserved under the powers of magic.

“The head of a devil!” Richard gasped.

“It's a greater devil! However, it has been dead for some time now, and it's not that easy to sever the head of another devil. This is for you, the private property of your old man. You struck it big this time!” Gaton said as he put on the helmet he carried in his hands, as if he was going into a battle shortly.

Richard looked blankly at the two boxes, as his gaze swept past the people present. Kaylen and Kayde were masked, so he naturally couldn't see their expressions, but both Mordred and Senma were just as shocked as him.

Richard's abilities had recorded the data of these demon and devil remnants that were only spoken of in the books he had read. To humans, going to the deep abyss or hell to kill either a demon or a devil was extremely difficult. As for those devils and demons that had managed to traverse planes and enter Norland, they had long since been slain and offered to the Eternal Dragon. To look at these prized items that were still filled with power was not something common.

The demons were from the deep abyss, and the devils from hell. These were both prime planes just like Norland, but vastly larger. The environment there was extremely special, giving an abnormal boost to its residents' powers. Each level of these places was a semi-plane unto itself, with a being unifying the area. As for the exact number of layers they had, nobody knew for sure. They were both an amalgamation of countless layers of planes.

115 - City of Sin

The Road At Night

It was said that the deepest trenches of the abyss and hell were linked, with countless demons and devils in the midst of an endless battle killing each other ceaselessly. This information had been procured from other races that humans had met while travelling the countless planes. Even that was but the tip of the iceberg, gathered from traces in songs of myth and legend.

The quintessential part of a demon was its heart, while the power of a devil came from its skull. Even a fragment of a devil's skull was extremely expensive in Norland, forget the complete one of a greater devil. Gaton spoke of it casually, but this devil's skull must have been one of the Archerons' greatest treasures. Only before that fresh lesser demon lord heart did the devil's skull lose some of its lustre.

At this moment, a handsome youth appeared in the common room, invisible to Richard until he showed his presence. It was the Odd Thief, Cyrden.

Cyrden smiled enchantingly, yet his voice sounded solemn, “Master, high priestess Ferlyn has already made preparations, and the ceremony can begin at any time. As for the other nobles, they have already discovered traces of our plans, and begun to amass experts along the road leading to the Church of the Eternal Dragon. I sense at least seventeen powerful experts, should I dispatch some of them first?”

Gaton was already in full armour by now. He tidied himself up, saying, “There's no need for that. I know we're outnumbered right now, but we can't wait for the rest to return. Let's set off now, where's my sword?”

Mordred placed an ancient sword in front of Gaton. It didn't look particularly remarkable, its copper scabbard already rusted. Apart from a few undecipherable runes on the blade, it looked just like any other.

Gaton hung the sword at his waist before saying, “Let's go. we'll see if those old fogeys of the sixth level dare to strike! Richard, take the two boxes along with you. Remember to cast a floating spell on each of them or you won't be able to move them.”

Moments later, a party of knights appeared at the teleportation temple, the road before them leading to the church. They trudged upwards on the winding path, the tall and magnificent trees littering the path gleaming with the brilliance of the Rainbow of the Moons as they cast large shadows on the ground.

The church was only a few kilometres from the teleportation temple. From leaving the sight of the temple's guards, there were only two bends and a kilometre's straight walk before they reached the church. However, that night this small distance seemed neverending.

The party was formed of six of the thirteen knights, with Gaton leading at the front. The horse he rode was clad in black armour, its footsteps occasionally sending out a burst of flames. This was Darkmoon Ember, a trademark of Gaton's that was the nightmare of many nobles of the Alliance. Richard himself was guarded by the twins Kaylen and Kayde, with Senma right behind him. Mordred brought up the rear, guarding their backs. Lava was different from Gaton's horse, its hooves stomping the floor restlessly, as if impatient at the unhurried pace of the party.

Richard was sat on an armoured horse, and the two boxes, one large and one small, were hung behind him without any concealment or disguise. His heart was beating irregularly, as he felt multiple icy spiritual forces scanning his body as well as the two boxes. Many pairs of hawk eyes were looking over at their party from deep in the forest, with quite a few bearing news to the outside world.

Up above in the distance, the Church of the Eternal Dragon was shrouded in a glow of golden light, as if a palace of the gods. It stood tall in the sky, vanquishing the rainbow light of the moons to leave behind only a faint silhouette of an hourglass, with many layers of mysterious and obscure runes encircling it. This miraculous sight was a sign of the Church of the Eternal Dragon preparing to host the highest form of sacrificial ceremony.

There were three grades of ceremonious sacrifice to the Eternal Dragon, with the highest requiring the participation of many priests and clerics. It would give the offerer tremendous amounts of blessings, and rumour had it that one could get a chance to talk directly to the Eternal Dragon itself. However, not even the imperial family had managed to do that.

Or perhaps someone had done so once, keeping it a secret afterwards.

The grade of the sacrificial ceremony was dependent on the sacrificer and the offerings. However, a higher grade of ceremony did not necessarily mean better rewards. If one tried a greater ceremony without the offerings to match, they would not receive the blessings of the god. This had already happened once before in Faust, so looking at this odd party and the phenomenon on top of the mountain even an idiot would realise they had goods which could carry them through the highest grade of ceremony.

The value of these goods could drive a third of the fourteen nobles of Faust crazy, especially those who were ranked towards the back. Even including the imperial family and the top five noble houses, there wasn't a guarantee of such a ceremony being held every year in Faust despite the number of ceremonies performed in general. The Archerons had already demonstrated their prowess by taking over the third island of the seventh layer, but barely over a year in that position the general evaluation of them was still low. This upstart family had yet to stand firm on its two feet, but already wanted to perform the highest grade of sacrificial ceremony! Even if there weren't any direct conflicts of interest, this had brought upon the Archerons the unrest and annoyance of the aristocrats. Furthermore, a sacrificial ceremony of the highest grade could very well affect the current balance of power in Faust.

Hence, this one kilometre stretch felt neverending, and the current situation was as tense as a pulled bowstring. It could be further tightened, or released immediately in the next moment.

Richard's palms were soaked with cold sweat, the killing intent around him suffocating. It was only now that he could truly feel the pressure brought by power. It was a natural suppression due to a difference in strength, making him feel as powerless as the first humans to discover the endless planes. This had nothing to do with courage at all.

'Calm down, and stay even more calm...' Richard reiterated these words in his heart, maintaining his posture while riding the horse. He did not dare cast any magic. In such a precarious balance, any unnecessary actions could tip the scales of the current situation.

With a crashing noise, the sounding of snapping twigs suddenly sounded in the nearby trees. Immediately after, Richard felt a black-garbed figure slowly advancing towards his party. His body tensed immediately. Each time his senses alerted him of the approaching figure, the pressure that was threatening him grew. How could such a skilled expert tread across tree branches but not conceal himself in such a dark night? This was a probe, and a provocation. If not handled properly, their party would very well be facing an all-around attack.

Gaton seemed not to have discovered anything, his expression relaxed. He had even begun humming a rhyme of a distant, unknown plane. The notes were light and merry, even mixed in with some high and low pitches. Ember trotted along happily as well, its hooves matching the upbeat rhythm of Gaton's humming. That somehow began to unravel the tension Richard was feeling.

The dark figure gradually got closer, and it seemed to be stuck close to the ground. It was like a creeping leopard, able to launch a fatal attack at any moment. He had already left the camouflage of the forestry, and now had a large shadow projected on the ground. Under the eyes of everyone present, this figure pressed on closer. Six metres, five, four... When Gaton was about to pass it by, they were just one metre apart.

At such a distance, the black figure need not advance any longer. With just an outstretched hand it could attack Gaton at any moment, and a number of fatal points on Gaton's body were exposed. Darkmoon Ember's flank, its limbs, Gaton's thighs and ankle, even his waist was blatantly exposed! Richard, who was several metres behind, could clearly see that the black figure shuddered ever so slightly, and the body swelled with power, ready to launch a killing blow.

However, Gaton passed him by, and his attacks were never unleashed.

116 - City of Sin

Ceremony

The next to meet the dark figure were the pair of twins, Kaylen and Kayde, with Richard in between them. Kaylen was on his right, and the dark figure stood right in her way. However, she was the same as Gaton, seemingly unaware of the existence before her as she continued to ride at an unhurried pace. Her mount's metal hooves were raised in the next moment, preparing to stomp the ground. A flicker of flames unusually appeared at the bottom when the front two hooves were raised. It seemed like Kaylen had a strength rune attached to the hooves, and if this stomp hit its target they would suffer the equivalent of an all out attack from her!

The black figure did not dare act recklessly, but this knight under Gaton did not fear anything in her path! The figure hesitated for a moment, but chose to duck in a lightning-quick manner when the hooves stomped down before disappearing into the darkness. He had not dared to strike after all, and could only choose to retreat. After the dark figure left, Richard suddenly felt that the forestry on the sides of the road seemed much quieter.

The party advanced for another hundred metres, before rapid thuds of hooves were heard. A squad of imperial knights approached them, and when their leader saw Gaton from afar, he immediately raised his voice, “Marquess Gaton! By decree of His Imperial Majesty, we are to escort you to the Church of the Eternal Dragon for the sacrificial ceremony!”

When the imperial knights appeared, Richard knew that he was now safe. However, he knew that he could not have avoided walking through the stretch of road earlier. If they hadn't relied on their own strength to make it this far, they would never have seen this squad of knights.

Both parties exchanged greetings, before getting off horseback. They chose to walk the remaining distance, in a show of their reverence for the Dragon of Eternity and Light.

Two rows of young and beautiful girls from the church were stood before the gates. The faint gold high-collared robes added an elegant and pure look to them, making them all the more captivating. These were members of the Church of the Eternal Dragon. As they gained more blessings from the Dragon, they would become clerics, then shamans, then priestesses, before eventually becoming high priestesses in charge of their own church. It was no secret that the Eternal Dragon favoured girls.

The imperial knights stopped in front of the gate, while the Archeron party continued moving forward. In this party of armour-clad knights, Richard who wore mage robes and carried two boxes of differing sizes was extremely catching to the eye.

The gates of the church were a towering twenty metres tall, and when they entered Richard's vision suddenly blurred before he found himself in a desert. This was an endless desert plain, as if the concept of a horizon did not exist. The skies seemed to connect to the earth, yet some mysterious powers had grounded the sand into powder which littered the air. Several sand dunes close by had broken stone pillars, evidence of the passage of time. From the outside, the Church of the Eternal Dragon was just a square kilometre in size, but within it Richard couldn't tell the area of this desert even with Precision.

At the centre of his vision were traces of the church, only that half of it had already crumbled. The tall granite walls and few remaining pillars could allow one to guess the magnificent glory of the church in its heyday.

At the centre of all this was a broken stone platform. It was where the sacrifice would be offered, and the ceremony would take place.

Several threads of light were flowing in from the corners of the desert, forming a huge hourglass in front of the party. Once fully formed the hourglass shattered, to reveal a woman that exuded a divine and dignified aura. She was wearing sacred white robes, with a triple crown resting on her head. In her hands was a faint golden sceptre, while mysterious golden runes that evoked an archaic feeling filled the robes and crown.

Gaton stepped forward, bowing as he paid his greetings, “Exalted High Priestess Ferlyn, this is my son Richard. He will be the one performing the sacrifice this time.

Ferlyn smiled and nodded her head. This smile of hers was beautiful and gentle, yet it was also distant and faint, surpassing the existence of humans, overlooking on all life.

The high priestess looked at Richard and smiled, “Fortunate child, I hope that your sincerity will allow the Supreme Dragon of Eternity and Light to be satisfied with your offerings. The sacrificial ceremony has been prepared, I will wait for you at the altar. After you have made your preparations, you can come by my side and begin the ceremony.” After finishing, the high priestess walked on a faint golden road made of light towards the altar.

“Preparations?” Although Richard had tried his best to understand the process of a sacrificial ceremony, he did not know what he needed apart from the offerings.

Gaton chuckled and patted him on the shoulder with vigour. “There's nothing much to prepare. Even if it's the same offerings, different people will receive different blessings. So kiddo, everything depends on your luck. Ah right! There is something I'd forgotten to tell you. Because the Archerons have our own floating island, the Eternal Dragon will ask how you want to allocate the blessings between your family and yourself. Remember to keep it all. Alright then, go on kiddo! Good luck!”

And thus, albeit with some difficulty, Richard dragged the two boxes towards the altar in the middle of the desert. Although he'd used a floating spell on them, these organs weren't light at all.

Finding his spot, Richard couldn't help but look around. Only standing right in front of the altar could one truly feel the archaic grandeur that had withstood the erosion of time. There seemed to be no beginning nor end, and no matter how extravagant something was, it would perish with time passing by, turning it into something for future generations to lament. But why did they not want to rebuild this place?

As if reading Richard's doubts, Ferlyn said gently, “Child, any true church of the Eternal Dragon is rubble like this, and can never be repaired. Even if we built a magnificent church here with the greatest of spell formations, when a ceremony begins it will all be reduced to rubble in the river of time. Not even gods can withstand the sands of time, so the scene you see before you is the same one that has existed throughout the eons.”

“Thank you for your teachings.” Richard's heart skipped a beat, as if comprehending something from her words. He bowed slightly, like he would towards the teachers in the Deepblue, before asking, “What should I do now?”

“Firstly, prepare your offerings.” Ferlyn ordered. After watching Richard open the two boxes, even she with her indifference was still slightly moved, “The head of a greater devil? What a rare offering. This... it's actually the heart of a lesser demon lord! What a lucky child! Let us begin the ceremony, then, the heart cannot be out here much longer.”

Ferlyn clasped her hands before her chest, as she lowered her head towards the altar. She began to chant a mysterious and obscure incantation with varying notes. As she spoke each syllable, the endless skies began to be filled with traces of golden scriptures, like a rain of gold. A mysterious and ancient aura emerged from the void and began spreading through the area. Very soon the skies turned dark, and finally they were devoid of all colour.

Transcending the voidless sands of time, a new universe gradually appeared, with light and life of its own. Countless brilliant stars began to travel their paths, sucking Richard's soul in. He'd been trying to decipher the meaning behind all the runes, but now he felt his bloodline racing quickly. This was not the fervour and rage he felt during the awakening of his bloodline, but a thirst for the source of life and belonging.

As the incantation reached its climax, Ferlyn's voice had grown extremely shrill, as if she was a dragon singing in the sky. She touched the altar with the sceptre in her hands, causing the broken stone platform to radiate golden light, forming a pillar of light that penetrated the skies. The pillar began to expand, beginning to cover the entirety of the ruins, with undecipherable scriptures glowing and fading seamlessly on its surface. As for the skies, they were filled with the cries of a dragon, as well as the whistling of the desert wind.

An incomparably mighty aura descended, and high priestess Ferlyn retreated from the borders of the light pillar. Richard was left alone on the altar, and from that moment on the people outside would not be able to look within.

117 - City of Sin

Ceremony

Ferlyn's sceptre stopped moving, and she disappeared from her position to reappear beside Gaton. She smiled, “Marquess Gaton, I'd never thought you would have brought such great offerings this time. The blessings I receive will increase significantly as well. However, while this child will undoubtedly become a runemaster in the future. That level of offerings... it seems to be a waste. I hear the enemies of the Archerons are still aplenty, and equally strong.”

Gaton inhaled deeply before saying, “This is what he deserves, and very soon he will be sent to a different plane. If he can get more blessings, then so it shall be. As for our enemies, ha! They can come if they want to, I'll teach them regret.”

The high priestess Ferlyn nodded her head and spoke elegantly, “Then we shall see the results of this child's blessings, and pray that the gifts will be related to the sands of time...”

An inconceivably massive conscient had already enveloped Richard in that pillar of light, pulling his consciousness back from the void. Back to his senses, the boy was shocked to find that he was now a regular human, just like any other. His mana was sealed, and so was his bloodline. Realising the ceremony had already begun, he immediately lifted the devil skull from the larger chest and painstakingly placed it on the altar.

Brilliant light was formed as soon as the skull made contact with the altar, turning into another pillar that charged up into the skies. The skull gradually turned transparent in the light, before innumerable runic scriptures appeared from within. They then converged, disappearing into the void. It seemed as if the altar was set ablaze, as the countless scriptures turned into golden butterflies that fluttered towards the distant stars. As for the skull itself, it had disintegrated into nothingness.

A ray of light appeared from the void, shining directly onto Richard. It soon turned into a cocoon of light, manifesting those countless runes within. Richard heaved a sigh of relief. The appearance of the light cocoon indicated that the Eternal Dragon was satisfied with the offering. At the very least, he would not receive any divine punishment. However, there were no need for worries right from the start. Under usual circumstances, a greater devil's skull was enough to conduct the highest grade of sacrificial ceremony.

Although it was extremely difficult to grasp the different forms of the light cocoon, Richard still tried to observe it. All of his knowledge before this came from books or libraries, and to witness something like this up front gave him a greater understanding that would benefit him greatly as he tried to learn the laws of the worlds in the future.

Every scene, every rune, represented a certain type of divine blessing. For example, a rune shaped like armour would indicate a chance to get more powerful equipment. Crystals and gems would yield rare resources. What these runes manifested into now would be determined by the degree of the blessing received.
f𝔯𝒆𝑒we𝚋𝓃૦ν𝙚Ɩ. c૦m

Of course, the most precious of all was the emblem of the Church of the Eternal Dragon, the hourglass. Any blessing which touched upon the sands of time would be incomparably powerful. The time the blessing took to manifest determined its power, and from what the numbers in Richard's vision told him, the blessings were random with no set rules.

The light cocoon abruptly split open and formed an hourglass, and a large one at that! Richard's breathing halted for a moment, before he was overtaken by glee. Golden beads of sand flowed within the hourglass, the sands of time itself.

The gargantuan will enveloped him once again— the first stage of the ceremony had ended. Richard suppressed his glee, before using copious amounts of effort to place the demon's heart on the altar. Without any of his powers, it was no easy feat to lift this thing that weighed over a hundred kilograms. If not for him being force-fed his way into a strong, healthy, body, he wouldn't even have been able to move this heart.

Very soon, Richard looked at the altar with anticipation. The offerings made to the Dragon of Eternity and Light all possessed mighty power. They could be fragments of divine weapons, or even whole gems. Items that came from foreign planes would receive even more blessings than those from Norland. The more powerful the offering, the more the blessings. Thus, just based on the ranks of power, the demon lord's heart was much more precious than the devil skull.

The altar trembled as the heart was placed upon it, before coming to a stop. Once more, Richard unknowingly held his breath.

A low sigh suddenly rang out, in the raspy voice of a dragon. Blinding golden light seeped out from every corner of the altar, forming several dozen torrents of gold before piercing the demon heart. The heart writhed violently, and an ear-piercing wail actually came from within. Very soon, it floated in midair together with the torrents of golden light. More light appeared above the altar from the void, once again boring into the heart from all directions. The heart gradually turned transparent, and the light gold of runic scriptures appeared and rose into the skies once again.

However, this scripture still had strands of golden light connecting to the heart, causing it to beat ten times faster than it was. Each pulse pulled some of the runes back, but with the passage of time more left than returned. Eventually the runes began to break apart, forming golden butterflies that soared into the void.

The process of digesting the demon's heart was evidently much slower than that for the devil's head. A little under half remained even after ten minutes, and by then the light of blessing appeared once again in the void.

This time, the light cocoon did not transform much before adopting the form of an hourglass. However, the glow did not cease. This cocoon was much brighter and more powerful than the one before, causing Richard to divert his gaze after a while as he was left unable to look on. As the pillar of light continued to shine, the ball of light turned even brighter.

The demon heart finally disintegrated, leaving two hourglasses floating atop the altar. The piercing brilliance of the powerful light subsided, revealing a ball of pure gold light.

Richard was shocked. That ball of light was not very rare in such a ceremony. It was an egg, one that could be opened to reveal powerful divine weapons or rare resources, which while valuable wasn't of much use.

At this moment, a bizarre, almighty, and emotionless voice rang in Richard's ears. “Mortal, how do you want to allocate the blessings amongst your family and yourself?”

Richard immediately recalled Gaton's words, but the happenings that occurred on his way here surfaced once again in heart.

Gaton and his rune knights had relied on their extraordinary might to repel their enemies in the darkness. Perhaps their enemies could have annihilated them, but the price to pay would be excruciatingly high. At the very least, the enemies at the forefront would accompany them in the afterlife. The Sacred Alliance was but a pile of scattered sand. They could not work together, fingers forming a palm to crush the enemies before them. Although the parties spying on the Archerons could not wait for their death, they did not want to sacrifice themselves to elevate the status of others. Back then, if the knights of the Archerons had not displayed such an impressive show of might, the wolves in the darkness would have lunged forward and devoured them.

Richard had read traces of the silvermoon elves' history from the books in the family library and had some glimpses of the truth. He acknowledged that Gaton had his own considerations for the conquest of Evernight Forest. Regardless of what the actual truth of that expedition was, he had a sudden impulse.

It was now time to return some favours to the Archerons.

The almighty voice rang out again in his consciousness, “Mortal, how do you want to allocate the blessings amongst your family and yourself?”

Richard's expression grew resolute, “Split them evenly.”

As soon as he made his reply, the two hourglasses shrank immediately to half their size, with no further changes to the ball of light. The voice rang out again, “Mortal, you may now receive your blessings.”

118 - City of Sin

Ceremony

Richard stood up and stretched his hands out to reach the three divine marks floating in the air. When his fingers came into contact with them, the mysterious power of the Eternal Dragon would take form as an appropriate blessing.

He first touched the hourglass formed by the devil skull. It cracked open, and the fine golden sand entered his body to form a complicated golden scripture that disappeared into him.

Richard felt a new mysterious force in his body, which filled his muscles with vigour. The meaning of the scripture surfaced in his consciousness: Divine blessing, Torrent of Life. In the next fifteen years, his body would not age.

This blessing was akin to prolonging one's life by fifteen years. Humans in Norland only naturally experienced this at two stages in their lives— when they entered the saint realm, and once they entered the legendary realm. Apart from these, the only other way to prolong one's life was through the blessings of the Eternal Dragon.

To prolong one's life was the desire of all intelligent creatures, so the blessings of the sands of time were the most valuable of all. It was needless to emphasize the importance of life. Even during struggles for power, in eras of dazzling stars and brilliant heroes, many a time the easiest victory was outliving your opponents.

Richard had never expected to receive such a blessing in his first ceremony. He suppressed his elation, and reached for the second divine mark.

The second hourglass broke as well, the beads of golden sand becoming a ray of light that entered his body in the form of a scripture. Once again, he was given knowledge of the blessing: Divine Blessing, Unhurriedness. When he entered a lesser plane in the future that did not possess a Church of the Eternal Dragon, the timeflow there would jump to ten times Norland's time. This effect would last for thirty years, but would not affect Norland or a higher plane.

Thinking about it, this was truly a divine gift. With it, he could enter another plane and war for ten years, but only a single year would pass in Norland. Although the flow of time varied in the myriad of planes, the differences were normally quite small. Unhurriedness actually gave him tenfold the time! Of course, one would still spend their life force in that lesser plane. Staying there for thirty years would age their body correspondingly. Only in tandem with Torrent of Life could one proceed ceaselessly with planar wars.

Although the first two blessings did not provide him with any battle prowess, life and time were the greatest blessings for humans.

Richard could barely control his excitement and glee as he once again reaching for that ball of light. He was extremely curious as to this mysterious blessing, but he did not harbour much hope. Mathematics told him that his good luck so far would not affect the third try.

However, even if this ball of light did not reveal any precious blessings, Richard would not be disappointed. Because his luck had already been good enough until now. However, the ball of light had completely absorbed most of the demon's heart, so to claim that there were no expectations at all was impossible.

However, before Richard's left hand could touch the ball of light, a ray of light suddenly flitted past the string of beast ivory on his hand. The largest piece in the centre suddenly flashed, absorbing that ray of light. It seemed to be set ablaze immediately, radiating golden flames of time that burned Richard's hand in the process.

“ARGH!” Richard screamed, stumbling backwards as he waved his left hand continuously. Fortunately, while the timeflames were violent they were extinguished in the very next moment.

He took the ivory bracelet off his hand, discovering a deep scar in the shape of that ivory upon it. The pain the timeflames inflicted upon him was different from that of regular fire. Although it hurt terribly in that moment and he'd been scarred by it, the pain disappeared almost immediately. Richard moved his left hand, but could not feel anything amiss. He looked at the bracelet again, and it seemed to be as good as new with no traces of being damaged. Richard heaved a sigh of relief, not knowing why he had favoured this bracelet so heavily. It might have been because of Mountainsea's barbaric farewell hug, or the words that she had said.

He put on the bracelet once again, wanting to continue on with the ceremony, but was interrupted. The almighty aura descended upon the altar once more, this time even more dominating than before. When the ancient and distant aura flashed past Richard, he felt the birth and destruction of the endless planes through the eons of time.

This overpowered existence filled Richard's soul immediately, and his body no longer heeded his own will as he slowly knelt before the altar.
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“Mortal...” Once again, the mighty voice rang in Richard's consciousness. However, this time it wasn't a robotic cold voice, but an ancient one that commanded utmost reverence.

Richard suddenly trembled and understood that this was no longer a thread of divine power which would illicit automatic responses, but the direct conscient of the Dragon of Eternity and Light itself!

He was momentarily stunned. It was simply indescribable to have a direct audience with the Dragon of Eternity and Light, that was sovereign even of the higher planes.

At this moment, outside of the light pillar, Gaton stared at a golden hourglass in his hands, his face filled with disbelief. This small hourglass was made of translucent crystal, the fine golden sand within it trickling down continuously regardless of the angle it was held at. There was a total of ten such hourglasses, and when put together they weren't larger than Gaton's palms. The important thing was that they weren't simple decorative ornaments, but formed from the divine energy of the Eternal Dragon. Anyone who broke them would obtain blessings.

Just one minute ago, ten streaks of light were shot out from within the pillar, forming these miniature hourglasses that fell freely to the ground. This incident happened too suddenly, and even with Gaton's physical prowess he was caught unprepared, almost allowing two of the hourglasses to fall to the ground. Fortunately, high priestess Ferlyn had waved her hands and two rays of light caught them before sending them to his hands.

“This is...” Gaton stared at the hourglasses in his hand, stupefied.

Ferlyn looked at the hourglasses and understood the situation. She said, “This is the blessings that the Eternal Dragon has given to the Archerons, with each hourglass blessed with Torrent of Life. Whichever Archeron opens these hourglasses will be given three to five years of life force.”

Ferlyn smiled, “You have a good son, Marquess Gaton.” She had heard Gaton's instructions to Richard before the ceremony. There was nothing secret to her within the church's bounds.

It was simply unfathomable to be willing to allocate such a massive blessing to his family. Ferlyn had presided over many ceremonies, and it was extremely rare for a family to allocate them to one individual. On the other hand, it was unheard of for an individual to allocate the blessings to their family.

Gaton raised his head and looked at the light pillar. He could not see anything within, and only smiled wryly, not saying anything.

Ferlyn noted the expression that Gaton put on, seemingly in thought. Her eyelashes suddenly fluttered, which gave this revered high priestess a tinge of humanity. She then reminded Gaton, “Marquess, the blessings that were granted to the Archeron Family far exceeded these ten hourglasses. You had better look at the situation of your floating island.”

Gaton received another shock, as he raised his hand in a gesture. Senma left the church grounds immediately, and returned within a minute. Although her voice was suppressed, the slight trembling was still evident. “Master! Our floating island is absorbing the elemental energy of the void! The perimeter has grown by fifty metres, and it's still expanding. Furthermore, the trajectory of the islands is shifting. As per my judgement, we'll soon swap places with the second island!”

After hearing this shocking news, Gaton did not seem happy. Instead, he squinted and muttered, “This smelly brat!”

119 - City of Sin

Seed of Destiny

There were two ways for the families in Faust to improve their position. The first was direct conflict, while the other was what was currently happening to the Archerons— to have luck so supreme that they would receive blessings from the gods. The expansion of the island here was secondary; what was more important was that it proved the family had the grace of the Eternal Dragon for a while, at least for the next year and at most for the next three. To launch a frontal assault on such a family in Faust would likely result in dire consequences, such as a drop in blessings received by the attacking family themselves.

However, there were very few families who have actually done this throughout the history of Faust, one of the contributing factors being the randomness and unpredictability of such grace from the gods. Besides, without the strength to make such rankings foundational, it would all be false glory. Barely achieving such a ranking would not ensure that the family could maintain it for a long time to come. Unless the family has already made sufficient preparations to climb through the hierarchy, it would be futile to try their luck. For example, the islands on the seventh layer did not have any magic defense, while there was divine magic protecting the islands in the sixth.

This was not the first time Gaton had offered a sacrifice. For the island to change orbits required luck, yes, but it had to come from the blessings of the sacrifice. Unfortunately, it seemed like Richard had left half of the blessings given to him to the Archerons.

Suddenly, before he could utter a word, Gaton turned pale. High priestess Ferlyn also revealed shock from the side, the hands holding onto her sceptre beginning to tremble uncontrollably.

“This is...” Gaton was dumbstruck. He immediately looked towards high priestess Ferlyn, expecting her to have been her usual calm and elegant self. Yet, what greeted him was an unrestrained look of astonishment, ecstasy and bubbling reverence.

Mordred, though late by a moment, had the same change of expression. He looked up into the endless sky above the church, where an indescribably enormous conscient was slowly descending.

Outside of that, everything was peaceful and serene. Be it the rest of Gaton's knights or the other members of the clergy further out, none of them were aware of the events at all. The only thing they realised was the peculiar behaviour of their master, which earned various stares.

High priestess Ferlyn tried her best to maintain a calm expression, though her voice did not stop trembling. In a low, almost mumble, she said, “This is the main conscient of the Eternal Dragon, a true miracle! This is impossible, it was merely the heart of a lesser demon lord, how did it draw the descent of the conscient of the mighty Eternal Dragon?”

Suddenly, she turned to stare at Gaton, eyes shining like stars. “Marquess! What other offerings did you prepare?”

Though shocked upon hearing that this was the main conscient of the Eternal Dragon, Gaton was able to relax, loosening his taut nerves. Smiling bitterly, he shrugged, “Those two are all I offered. This is the Church of the Eternal Dragon; how can I keep any secrets from you?”

The dazzling shine from the eyes of high priestess Ferlyn started to dim. Without saying anything more, she gazed at the pillar of light with incredible zeal, conviction, and sincerity. It was a pity that even she could not see through the screen formed from the strength of the Eternal Dragon. Even her superior status did not grant her the right to disrupt a ceremony that did not belong to her.

All of a sudden, high priestess Ferlyn leaned her head towards Gaton. In a deliberately hushed voice, she whispered, “Marquess Gaton, I recall you saying that Richard will be going on an expedition to the numerous planes very soon?”

“That's right, I have already prepared a suitable secondary plane marking for him; I've already established a foothold there,” Gaton replied.

“I have an apprentice, a level 8 cleric named Flowsand. I hope you can give her a spot on Richard's core team.”

With a stern expression, Gaton asked, “The same one who received the title of 'Daybreak'?”

Ferlyn nodded, “That's her.”

Titles were not self-conferred in the Church, instead granted by the Eternal Dragon after one received enough blessings. Only two officials of the Church in Faust had been conferred such a title, Ferlyn the First Light of Dawn, and Flowsand Daybreak.

Muttering to himself, Gaton nodded repeatedly while signalling agreement. “Sure!”

High priestess Ferlyn laughed, the divine beauty immediately lighting up everything before everyone's eyes. Reaching out her arm, she placed it on Gaton's chest, promising, “Gatpm, if you fulfil this promise, you shall have the highest level of friendship from me for ten years.”

Gaton grinned along. The effects of Ferlyn's friendship on the Archerons, even if only personal, was a valuable asset in Faust that would have clear effects. The time limit was just something any priest of the Eternal Dragon would impose on anything; it was their way of expressing their faith.

Ferlyn added, “Richard hasn't chosen his followers yet, has he? What about his soulguard? Any candidates?”

“There were a few suitable candidates from our death camp recently. He will choose for himself when the time comes. But yes, there aren't enough followers in his core team,” Gaton explained.

High priestess Ferlyn smiled meaningfully. “I heard that the batch arriving at Mokoff Port next week is pretty good. Morfan, the portmaster there, still owes me some favours.”

“I understand,” Gaton responded with a nod...

At that moment, Richard who was within the screen was indescribably shocked, unable to recover the autonomy of his body. The will and soul he'd thought of as firm were actually tottering with the ripples of time, threatening to collapse and dissipate at any moment. This was no intentional attack, just an aftereffect of the descent of the Eternal Dragon. However, the dragon's will was far too powerful. Even if it had slowed its descent, it still gave rise to tsunami-like waves of time.

“Mortal...” The voice of the Eternal Dragon rang once again in Richard's soul. This time, the formidable existence only let a strand of consciousness into the range of the altar, and the strength of the soul's echo was halved. The first time it called out, Richard's soul was nearly destroyed.

“What can I do for you, mighty Eternal Dragon?” Richard responded through clenched teeth, barely clinging on to his unstable consciousness.

“Mortal, I see offerings from you that please me. Put them on the altar, and you shall have a title and blessings.”

Offerings? Richard was stumped for words: he'd given all the offerings already... Unless— he suddenly got an idea. He glanced at the ivory on the bracelet around his left wrist; it was radiating pale gold light, the power of time. This gift from Mountainsea was what had attracted the central will of the Eternal Dragon!

Richard's thoughts immediately went over to the barbarian girl. Someone with hugs as heavy as mountains, with the greatest of backgrounds and most incredible wealth, but who'd never taken it all to heart... He did not hesitate for long.

“Almighty Eternal Dragon, forgive me for my impudence. This bracelet is a gift from my friend; I'm afraid I cannot offer it to you.” It was difficult to say this, but Richard was firm.

“Mortal, all that you treasure now will eventually turn into nothingness.”

“But it is what I treasure now, having it now is sufficient for me!”

The conscient of the Eternal Dragon appeared to have been shaken, though it rang again in Richard's consciousness afterwards, “Mortal, if you ever change your mind after today, you may offer sacrifice to me in any of my churches.”
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Soon after, the indescribable conscient gently faded, leaving Richard gasping desperately for air. He laid paralyzed on the ground, so weak he barely had strength to move his finger. As the gigantic conscient slowly rose above, he could almost feel his soul being lifted and drawn out of his body. However, he did see that as the main conscient of the Eternal Dragon left, there seemed to be a few specks of light dropping from overhead, blending into the time sphere that was still floating in the sky above the altar. Suddenly, a ripple of violently strong life force burst out of the time sphere

After catching his breath, Richard managed to stand and walk towards the time sphere, albeit with much difficulty. This was the biggest prize, though he had no idea what was inside. However, no matter what it used to hold, Richard completely did not have any expectations after rejecting the request of the Eternal Dragon. He reached out to touch the time sphere, causing a burst of strong light. A dark green egg appeared on his palm soon after, radiating a strong life force that could be felt even on the outside.

Upon receiving the strange egg, Richard only got a short message in his mind. In fact, it was so short there was only a word, “Seed.”

Seed? What seed?

While Richard was left confused, the brilliance of the altar had already faded. Once again it became an abandoned stone tower that was corroded by the sand and winds. The screen of time also slowly scattered into nothing.

As Richard stood dazedly in front of the altar, carrying the 'seed' in his hands, high priestess Ferlyn had already cried out in alarm, “HOW IS IT A SEED?!”

“Seed? What is that?” A glimmer flickered in Gaton's eyes; though he had no idea what the seed was, he could tell from Ferlyn's terrible complexion that it was definitely something unusual.

With a complicated expression, high priestess Ferlyn started to explain slowly, “It is formally called the seed, but in private we refer to it as the seed of destiny and destruction. It is a blessing that is hard to describe; its specific purpose is one of the most classified information of the Church, that must never be leaked. It is both good and bad news that Richard was conferred the seed. On the good side, he will be able to give his enemies in the myriad planes a huge surprise. However, his journey out must be brought forward. We cannot let the seed take root in Norland, it has to enter another plane within a month. This request... You can take it to be a divine command from the Eternal Dragon himself.”

Grimacing, Gaton grabbed Richard's shoulder and pulled him by his side. Frowning, he asked, “Just one month?”

“At most a month. The earlier he goes, the less damage there is to his sacred blessings.” Ferlyn was firm in her decision.

“What about Flowsand?” Gaton tried to sound Ferlyn out from another direction.

“Of course she will follow along.”

120 - City of Sin

Preparations

What is this seed? Richard could not obtain any more information no matter how hard he looked at the dark green egg. The only hint he'd received from the Eternal Dragon was that it was a seed, and none of his detection spells gave him any further information.

Before he left the Church of the Eternal Dragon, high priestess Ferlyn stopped him to have a word. She mentioned her travels to other churches on the continent when she was young. During these practice years, she'd once read an extract from an epic written before recorded history. It praised a king who held a very hideous weapon. He treasured the supreme weapon at all costs, keeping it with him everywhere he went as he protected and improved its abilities at all costs.

Richard thanked high priestess Ferlyn sincerely despite the vagueness of the information she'd given him. It was evidently a hint to the use of the seed, telling him of its importance and the amount of resources he'd have to give it in the future. The sharp boy also noticed little wrinkles appearing at the ends of her eyes after she spoke to him, making her look a few years older. She'd looked exceptionally bright right after the ceremony had ended!

This was immediate evidence that Ferlyn lost some grace. The priestess hosting the ceremony normally gained the grace of the Eternal Dragon, but just this bit of cryptic information had actually lost her far more than she'd earned even from a ceremony of this magnitude. Just that explained the importance of the seed.

That was why Richard bowed to Ferlyn sincerely before leaving the Church of the Eternal Dragon, saying earnestly, “Thank you for your guidance!”

Ferlyn smiled and gently tapped Richard's shoulders with the sceptre in her hands, “Richard, don't show any mercy. Destroying every enemy before you will be the best way to show your gratitude.”

Richard nodded seriously, standing up straight with a stern look on his young face. He'd experienced countless unforeseen events over the past few days, and the trials of life and death had instilled an aura in him that did not match his age.

Gaton patted Richard's shoulder, “Let's go kid, you don't have much time. You need to pack up tonight, making a move tomorrow morning. We'll talk about everything along the way... Ah, right, take care of that seed in your hands. Don't let it get too far from you.”

They left the church the same way they'd arrived, with Gaton in the lead and Kaylen and Kayde guarding Richard. Senma and Mordred were at the back.

As they followed the route down from the church, they could see the still-expanding Archeron island switching positions with its neighbour. The second island of the seventh layer was filled with shouts, countless lights shooting up around it as those living on its edge teleported away from the crumbling buildings. The rocks on the outer rim just split off, falling down into the clouds. The foundations of the buildings collapsed, and they slowly tilted before falling down themselves.

These islands were three kilometres up in the sky. Without a powerful ability or spell for flight, any living being would die immediately if they fell from such a height. All the plants, vegetation, and rocks immediately disappeared into the clouds. However, the buildings and living things that came later? They fell.

At that moment, countless eyes were fixated on that stunning scene. From the other islands, from Faust, even from elsewhere in the continent this incident had drawn attention.

Gaton pointed at those two shifting floating islands, saying, “Do you see it? Kiddo, this is the result of the arrangement you made. It doesn't matter whether our floating island shifts forward or backwards, that is just false reputation. If I wanted to move up further, I would have continued my conquest. If you really want to return the favour of the Archerons, then survive the planar wars. Only after you've accomplished yourself and reached my age should you talk about giving back to the family!”

Richard hugged the seed and nodded silently. He had a lot on his mind now, and was clueless on how to handle his relationship with Gaton and the other Archerons. He thus decided to face the situation calmly and rationally.

Once they got to their island, a butler moved to pack Richard's luggage. The children of the family had gotten wind of Richard's departure, so they came over to send him off. Demi, Venica, and Wennington were amongst them as expected, but all of them were there to demand their runes. However, their motives weren't exactly the same.

Demi especially looked like she wouldn't let Richard off easy. She'd arrived just as Wennington was about to leave, forcing Richard to promise to complete her rune before she left in a huff. Once she left, the butler came to inform Richard that Gaton was waiting for him.

The meeting point this time was Gaton's study. The room wasn't big, with shelves resting against the wall storing maps that were painted out on magic paper. There were a handful of history and philosophy books, with many more being about battle techniques and the art of war. There were about ten-odd books about cultural history, but all of it seemed to be about silvermoon elves. On the wall behind Gaton was a map of the Norland continent, along with maps of three other planes.

Thus, Richard didn't sense any cultured or scholarly aura when he first walked into the room. He instead smelt a thick scent of blood and fire. Gaton was sat on the table, cleaning a magical sword. He gestured to Richard to close the door behind him, muttering, “Kiddo, you have to start exploring other planes right away because of the seed. There's a saying in planar wars, 'Even the beasts of Norland are prettier than the elves of other planes.' Every living thing, even the gods of life in the plane, will be your enemy the moment you step foot in there. Every. Single. Person. Kill your enemies first, before you consider any other problems. Be merciless and apathetic, and know that in most cases the best choice is to extinguish all your enemies. You will only be digging your grave with kindness.”

“I will not show any mercy,” Richard replied.

Gaton chuckled, “Don't be too confident yet, kiddo. There is a huge difference between wars in Norland and planar wars. Even I wasn't used to it. You're going to be visiting a lesser plane that restricts the power of its inhabitants to about level 15 by our standards. I've already set up a base there, so you'll have some guides when you enter. But don't be startled if anything unexpected happens. It would be odd if there wasn't any incident. You can never be prepared enough.”

121 - City of Sin

Preparations

“What kind of preparations should I make,” Richard asked, “I'll also need a batch of magic ingredients to craft elementary runes.”

“That we have, but no more. Planar teleportation requires a large amount of magic crystals, and tunnels aren't stable to a new plane so powerful magical objects might harm the connection. The plane you're going to explore this time will only be a low-grade one, so your party will be more important than the gear. Most of our magic crystals will be allocated towards the teleportation.”

Richard nodded his head in understanding.

Gaton harrumphed, and then solemnly said, “Kiddo, you're already grown up. There's something I have to tell you. When you were younger, your mother performed an awakening ceremony with you, no?”

Richard's heart skipped several beats. Pure instinct told him that the secrets of this ceremony could not be revealed to anyone. Having obtained the blessings of wisdom and truth from the Codex of Alucia, he felt a need to keep mum about it.

However, Gaton did not wait for his reply, “I heard that there was a small hiccup during the ceremony, one that will change your life from those of regular humans. Nightmare creatures are likely to disturb your life in the following years, appearing randomly with unknown numbers and strength. Dealing with them will be fairly simple: just blast them to shreds with your spells. Just remember that fire and ice aren't very effective against them.” There seemed to be a twinge of regret in Gaton's gaze.

“Remain vigilant, and constantly try to grow in power. Tomorrow will be the first stop of your journey, the death training camp of the Archeron Family. The commoners and slaves of the family are trained there, groomed into experts through the law of the jungle. Choose anyone you wish to be your soulguard, but pay heed to the choice you make. I only have one soul contract with me, and normally the only way to obtain one is a blessing from the Eternal Dragon. Don't think of getting a second copy any time soon. Head to Mokoff Port afterwards, and find portmaster Morfan and tell him you're there to pick some slaves. He'll arrange everything for you, and you can choose the best suited warriors. Remember to pay attention to quality, not quantity.”

Gaton seemed to realise he was growing long-winded, “Alright kiddo, do you have anything to tell me?”

Richard thought in earnest, but eventually shook his head. “Let's talk about it again when I return alive.”

Just as Richard was about to leave, Gaton called out to him. “Right, I'd forgotten something! The first rule of the Archerons! Before you go to a different plane, you must choose a companion. At least one. And do it for your old man by today! As for packing your items, leave it to the housekeeper. Come, tell me, who do you want as your companion? Don't be shy, just say a name! Ah, that's right, as a spectator, I have a pretty good suggestion, want to hear it?”

“Who? Demi?” Richard asked. Amongst the teens that he had seen, Demi had the most potential.

“Of course it's not that lass! It's your cousin, Earl Alice.” Gaton grinned.

“What?” Richard almost cried out.

In recent times, Alice had become a rising star amongst the Archerons, second only to Gaton. Having become an Earl only recently, her rank and feudal lands were second only to Gaton and Marquess Sauron.

Alice was different from Gaton who relied on his thirteen knights. She had overwhelming strategic might, and great command over the battlefield. There was unspoken agreement in the family that she would exceed even Gaton if they had equal firepower.

Richard had met Alice once, when he'd been caught up in that conspiracy with Faulk. Beautiful with fiery red hair, her scars and the killing intent displayed with that giant sword had left a deep impression on him. Alice Archeron was a stormy blaze of a woman coupled with a pair of ice-cold eyes. If he were to describe her on instinct, she was ice wrapped by fire and lightning.

Nobody would even think of becoming the partner of such a god of war.

Richard smiled bitterly, “This... Earl Alice wouldn't agree to it, would she?”

“She will. Because she won't be able to find a better companion than you. If she doesn't agree, that's very easy too; just start an elders' conference! Okay, I'll partner you two up now! Your old man has the final say in the council anyway!” Gaton was brimming with confidence, but Richard felt like his father's smile held a trace of conspiracy.

“Hurry and choose someone for now, though. You can have more than one anyway, As for your elder cousin, we can put that aside, she has already returned to her land. I heard the place she just conquered is in turmoil. If only she'd waited two more days to return!” Gaton said with disappointment.

Richard could feel that being paired with the earl would end in tragedy. Right now, he still had apprehensions and contradictions welling deep in his heart. He didn't feel close to the Archerons yet, even if he could never sever his relationship with them.

After pondering for a bit, a figure flashed in his mind, and he spoke immediately. “I choose Coco, and I'll pick the next one when I return.”

“Coco?” Gaton was taken aback. This was a completely foreign word to him.

“Coco, Mary, Archeron.” Richard spat each word out. His cool demeanour let Gaton know that no further discussions were needed on this matter.

Gaton did not dwell on the matter any further. Instead, he looked at Richard deep in the eye and said, “Kiddo, remember this. After you have arrived at the new plane, every decision of yours will affect your followers' life and death. There is no place for impulse when you make a decision! Housekeeper!”

The door opened slightly, and the old housekeeper walked in. Gaton pointed at Richard and instructed, “Bring this kid to... umm... Coco. She will be his companion henceforth!”

The housekeeper was startled, but he quickly returned to his normal calm before taking Richard with him.

*BANG!* After Richard had left, Gaton smashed his fist on the table.

He still couldn't recall who Coco was! That could only mean one thing: that girl had no special ability whatsoever. She was no different from an ordinary member of the family.

After some time, Gaton's green face resumed a normal complexion. He sighed, and shook his head.

122 - City of Sin

Partner

The housekeeper brought Richard to a part of the island he'd never been to, leading him through a murky corridor until they came upon a set of stairs.

This was a six-storey building, situated behind the castle. There was no special layout to the construction and the rooms were extremely cramped, with many people being forced to fit into limited space. There were a total of five such buildings, built for the branches of the Archeron Family and the best of slaves, as well as high-ranked officials and young knights.

Because of the relatively small area of the floating island, two to four people would share a single room. Coco, however, was on the top floor that was allocated to the youths of the family. Those were single rooms, because their partners hadn't been decided yet and they needed the convenience to enter and leave.

The housekeeper seemed to be extremely familiar with everyone in the floating island. Although there were slaves which bowed towards him along the way, he did not stop and ask for directions. Instead, he brought Richard to a room at the end of the corridor, and knocked on the door.

“Who is it?” Coco's gentle voice appeared from behind the door.

The housekeeper reported his name, and Coco seemed startled, “Ah, please wait for a moment.” Moments later, Coco opened the door. She had a shawl draped over her shoulders, covering the upper half of her body, and a white gown which extended to the legs. Her dainty white feet which stepped on the carpet seemed rather striking. The time now was extremely late in the night, and it seemed like Coco had been woken up from her sleep.

To the youths of the Archeron branch families, the housekeeper was a secondary figure of authority behind only Gaton himself. This was more so for the weaker families. Thus, the moment she heard the housekeeper was standing outside Coco immediately got up and wrapped a shawl around herself without a change of clothes.

She looked at the housekeeper, and then at Richard who was standing behind, as if understanding everything. She immediately bowed, “Are we going to conduct a magic experiment now? Please wait a few minutes, I'll have a quick change of clothes!”

To Coco, this job was far more important than her sleep.

The housekeeper stopped her, speaking in an unhurried tone, “No, this has nothing to do with magic experiments. Coco Mary Archeron, you have the honour of being chosen by young master Richard as his first partner. Since young master has to set off at first light tomorrow, he shall be spending the night with you.”

“What?!” Coco cried in surprise, and her face turned pale as she unconsciously retreated by two steps.

The housekeeper was not going to repeat things a second time for her. Instead, he went to the side and said to Richard, “Young master, please enter. Also, I will be waking you up at five in the morning for breakfast. We will be setting off at six-thirty. The journey tomorrow is long, so please restrain yourself slightly tonight.”

Richard nodded with an indifferent expression.

The housekeeper turned around to leave, but Coco dashed out from her room, pulling on his hand and asking fervently, “Sir! How could it be me? You must have made a mistake. Yes, it can only be an error!”

The housekeeper did not try to pull away his hand nor explain, and seemed not to be bothered by Coco's words and actions. He only bowed elegantly to Coco, but the lack of explanation ascertained that none of this was wrong. In fact, this old housekeeper that was over sixty had never committed any mistakes in the past 20 years.

Richard who was still standing by the door said indifferently, “It's not wrong, I chose you.”

Coco's little mouth gaped open, and she was shocked for a moment. Afterwards, she hurried to Richard's side and bowed deeply, “Young master Richard, please consider again! I have no bloodline ability, and am only a level 2 illusionist without any other talents. A commoner like me cannot be matched with your peerless talent. I definitely will not be able to give birth to a prodigious child!”

Richard's brows furrowed, he could astutely feel that Coco's reactions and words were too unbefitting of the situation. No matter what reasons she might have, anger began to swell deep in his head. Any youth brimming with vigour, if rejected in such a blunt manner, would definitely be angry.

Coco's voice was rather loud, and several doors on the corridor had opened. Heads popped out from these doors, belonging to the young men and women. When they saw what was happening, they had spat their tongues out in jest or smiled politely towards the housekeeper before returning back into their rooms. The faces of several young women were filled with envy and jealousy. They could not piece together why Coco, whose only positive was her looks, would be chosen by Richard. Was she lucky or charismatic, and if so why didn't they notice it before?

Richard heard the curses of the young ladies, but acted as if he didn't. He looked at Coco's ashen face, as well as her eyes that began to well up with tears. He raised his head and asked the housekeeper, “Can I still change partners?” Google search 𝐟r𝚎ewe𝚋𝚗૦ν𝘦𝘭. 𝐜𝚘𝗺

The eyes of the housekeeper did not betray his thoughts, and in an unchanging tone of voice, with neither lack nor excess of respect, he replied. “This is your choice, and it has been approved by Master. Now that it has officially taken effect, it is even harder to revoke it. If you have a better candidate in your heart, my own suggestion is for you to choose again. After all, you have multiple choices granted to you. This complex authority granted to you, to my understanding, is limited to just one. However, if you insist on changing and choosing another companion, it can be done. But it requires Master Gaton's approval as well as some procedures. Next, you have to prove whether you used Coco before or not...”

After the long explanation from the housekeeper, some hope seemed to appear on Coco's face. It seems like she had wanted to speak, but she was not so stupid as to interrupt the housekeeper, nor to try persuading Richard again.

Suddenly, hastened footsteps sounded on the stairs, and a handsome young man appeared by the stairs. Richard seemed to notice it and turned around, his icy gaze landing on the young man. The housekeeper turned around as well, standing quietly and observing him.

In an instant, the temperature of the sixth floor seemed to drop to sub-zero levels, causing some people to shiver.

The young man suddenly turned rigid. His gaze flitted from Richard, to the housekeeper, and then to Coco before he looked her deep in the eyes. Under the penetrative yet silent gaze of the housekeeper, sweat began to form on his forehead, causing him to be unable to speak. He greeted the housekeeper with a stiff bow, and said, “I came to the wrong floor.” He turned around, his heavy footsteps seemed to reflect the feelings in his heart.

Just then, Richard's somewhat ruthless voice sounded out, “I'm not changing anymore, it'll be her!”

123 - City of Sin

Partner

Richard's voice wasn't loud, but it travelled quite far in the quiet corridor. Several disappointed gasps slipped through the throats of the young ladies peering out their rooms, and a huge thud resounded from the staircase as if something heavy had fallen to the ground. Coco's face remained pale, her little mouth opening and closing but with no words coming out. She stood rooted to the ground for a while, but neither Richard nor the housekeeper hurried her, as if they hadn't noticed her abnormal behaviour. She finally lowered her head and returned to her room, waiting for Richard to enter.

Before the door closed, the housekeeper reminded Richard to rest and not exert himself too much.

Coco's room was quite small, a mere ten square metres in size. The small bed, closet, and table were all it took to make it look packed. However, the room was quite neat, with a diary lying on the desk. Beside the diary were a quill pen and a bottle of ink. A vase of orchids sat on the windowsill, occasionally emitting a bout of fragrance.

There were no extra decorations in the tranquil room, making it seem like that of the daughter of a gentleman from a village. This room was like a patch of plain white flowers amidst the floating islands and the volcano, possibly destroyed at any time. The room was obviously themed after Coco's temperament.

The said girl was stood by the door, her hands clutching the hems of her skirt. Her head was kept low, hiding her expression, but just that showed her absolute nervousness.

Richard looked over the room once more before walking in front of Coco. He reached for her light brown hair, stroking her face before he lifted her bowed head to make her look him in the eye.

The girl trembled violently the moment his hand made contact with her skin. She tried to lower her head again, but Richard's hand firmly kept it in place, letting her know that this was a request that could not be refused.

Coco lifted her head, her eyes filled with despair and fear. Tears had already welled up, but they did not flow. She suddenly sneezed, wrapping her arms around herself and trembling as if an extreme cold had descended upon the room. She had indeed felt chilly— Richard's hands were extremely cold, and his gaze all the more so.

“So, apart from those like you, there's high-ranked slaves, guards, and...” Richard paused, speaking the following words with intent, “... novice knights here.”

Coco shivered once more.

Richard did not let the conversation carry on further, instead taking his hand off her chin and allowing her head to bow down once again. He then proceeded to pry the hands wrapped in front of her chest apart, albeit in an unhurried manner. The shawl fell to the ground, revealing the young lady's rapidly heaving bosom.

Coco's skin was snow white, and a trace of cleavage could be seen through the nightgown. Her breasts weren't proud mountains like Demi's, but for her body size they were perfect.

Richard's right hand touched Coco's neck, causing her to tremble again. However, he paid no heed to her silent refusal, bringing his hand down along her skin all the way to her breasts. His finger hit the collar of her nightgown, but it did not stop. He instead pulled the gown down, revealing the surface of her breasts. Just as a tinge of pink revealed itself he stopped, but his hand remained in that precarious position.

Coco's heart was beating rapidly, but she mustered all her might to control her breathing. Any big movements and her breasts would spill out of the gown.

At this moment, a devilish voice rang in her ears, “Archeron women must maintain their chastity before a partner is selected for them. Have you abided by the laws?”

Coco's body froze like a statue, and after some time she nodded her head with great difficulty.

Richard smiled, tracing his fingers along the exposed flesh before speaking, “Really? But I don't trust you. How about you prove it to me right now?”

After several minutes in this position, Coco relaxed her tensed body, and her hands dropped to her side as she abandoned all form of resistance. There was no use at all to resist in the first place. Her destiny had been set the moment she set foot on this island. If not Richard, someone else would have chosen her. This was a duty she had to perform in exchange for the privileges she received. If she did not want to do such a thing, she would have to leave.

Coco knew that she was unable to leave. Once child of the family gained a certain amount of sensibility, they would realise the duties they had to fulfil and the privileges they could enjoy. They had to accept their fates.

Richard harrumphed at the sight of Coco dropping her resistance, retreating before he cast a detection spell on her body. As expected, there was very little magical response. She was almost like a regular human, and no runes could be attached on her body.

Richard removed his outer garments, tossing his shoes by the door and climbing onto Coco's little bed.

“Come here!” he patted at the space beside him. Coco bit her lips, accepting her fate as she laid beside Richard.

The bed was extremely narrow, and Richard's body was already fully grown. With Coco on it now, it was extremely cramped. The moment she laid on bed, Richard embraced her and their bodies stuck close together, each even being able to feel the heartbeat of the other. Coco's heart throbbed frantically, but Richard's heart actually slowed down, each thump resolute and strong.

Contrary to her expectations, Richard did not make any other moves towards her. He instead closed his eyes, and after some time a light snore rang out. He had actually fallen asleep!

Coco couldn't believe her eyes, yet it had happened before her. She did not dare move at all, she was afraid of waking him up. She maintained her awkward position for a while longer, but could no longer withstand it. This had only been ten minutes, but to her it seemed to be a century. Her body softly collapsed on Richard's body, and exhaustion assailed her, causing her eyes to close. In her dreamy, half-awake state, Coco could feel a strange sense of security leaning into Richard's embrace.

The magic lamp in the room had consumed its resources, eventually dimming. A seed in the corner of the room projected a hazy drizzle of light, giving a touch of serenity to the place.

Coco wasn't aware of how long she had slept, but when she woke up the sky was still dark. Richard got off the bed and wore his clothes, just before the door was knocked several times in a certain rhythm before it quieted down again. The loudness and rhythm was a custom, something only the old housekeeper knew.

Coco sat up from her bed, still unable to believe that Richard had let her off. However, there was some worry mixed in with that glee.

Richard picked up the seed after putting on his clothes. Only once he reached the door did he turn to look at Coco, saying, “I don't plan to change partners.”

“Oh,” Coco replied lightly, the slight trace of hope she'd held out sinking into a valley of despair.

Richard was quite aware of Coco's attitude and what she wanted, and even more sure of the reasons behind her actions. The problem was that Coco was the best target if he wanted to maintain his distance from the Archerons, at least until he returned from the planar wars. He had no love nor care for her, so he wasn't going to fulfill her wishes if they inconvenienced him. That was especially true in important affairs.

Coco was like a white flower at the foot of a volcano. Fragile yet beautiful, and easy to overlook. People often plucked such things on a whim.

124 - City of Sin

Journey

The old housekeeper shot a glance at Coco as Richard left the room, before closing the door and following him out. He asked along the way, “Master Richard, should I have Coco move to your residence, now that she's your partner?”

Just as he was about to nod, Richard saw a handsome youth standing in the corner not far away, the same one who'd run up the stairs yesterday. He looked slightly older than himself, about twenty years or so of age, but had good proportions and looked rather fit. He didn't have bulging muscles, but his body still radiated life energy. On top of everything, he was handsome and had distinct features with a pair of clear eyes.

Richard noticed that he was a novice knight— backup for true rune knights— the moment he'd seen him last night. If he grew more powerful within the next few years, to the extent that he could bear four runes, he would truly become a rune knight. If he didn't, he would be sent to Archeron territory as a low-ranked officer.

Amongst the novice knights were children of far-out branch families, and external elites who'd been selected and trained from their youth. Richard hadn't seen this young man on the night of the banquet, signifying that he was either not an Archeron or was only the offspring of a distant branch with no status to speak of. In other words, he didn't possess the right to have a partner.

Richard halted in his steps as he strained his eyes, trying to look at the lad who was pacing back and forth. The young man quickly took his leave as soon as he made eye contact with Richard's cold and indifferent gaze.

Richard watched the diminishing back view of the man and his expression fell slightly. After a moment of uncomfortable silence, he told the housekeeper in an unsympathetic tone, “Forget it, let her stay here”.

The housekeeper nodded in response, not uttering a word. It was as if he did not see the young man at all.

A small team was already waiting for Richard at the plaza. He didn't carry much baggage, only a case of clothes and daily essentials, along with another that stored his runecrafting materials. It wasn't Mordred escorting him this time around, instead Dragonmage Lina. There were also four rune knights, and ten light cavalry.

The team set off towards the teleportation temple, where Richard saw the first comrade that would accompany him through his planar wars— cleric Flowsand of the Church of the Eternal Dragon, title Daybreak. He got off his horse at high priestess Ferlyn's indication, entering Flowsand's carriage.

Lina scoffed at the carriage at first, but once she got closer her opinion changed. The carriage was for more than just comfort; although it looked like any common noble carriage, there was a spell formation imprinted on the outside that would keep anything happening within completely concealed.

It would be a long but urgent journey, and this would be the only chance for Flowsand and Richard to talk alone. It was clear that the cleric had something to tell him.

Along with the carriage were two coachmen, but both would return to Faust as soon as they arrived at Mokoff Port. The interiors were plain but sophisticated, its base colour a light gold similar to that of the church. Richard felt a sense of majesty as he stepped foot on the carriage, as if he was in the Church of the Eternal Dragon itself.

Flowsand was seated opposite him, looking about the same age as himself. The girl had long, light-gold hair and eyebrows, the colour making the brows barely visible if one didn't look close. However, that gave the already-beautiful lady an air of mystery— vaguely reminiscent of the ruins at the centre of the Church of the Eternal Dragon. There were complicated veined lines between her brows, with it being another mystery whether that was the effect of certain divine spells or she was just born that way.

“I am Flowsand, level 8 cleric of the Church of the Eternal Dragon.” Flowsand introduced herself the moment Richard got on. “Ignore the unusual name, it was something Teacher Ferlyn gave me. I do not know what my true name is, I was abandoned before the entrance of the Church when I was still an infant.

“Outside of the more common divine spells, I specialise in the divine spells of the Eternal Dragon. This is my weapon, the Book of Time.” Flowsand took out a thick, gold leather book, showing it to Richard before she took out a map and revealed it to the boy. It was a hand-drawn map of Mokoff Port and the surrounding sea area, detailing the hundreds of islands scattered nearby.

Flowsand pointed to one of the further islands and said, “I know Marquess Gaton set up a military base for you in the plane we're going to, but he's yet to pick a teleportation point. Teacher Ferlyn chose this place for us, no one knows about it as of now. This island has enough plains, forests and essential deepwater ports. The continent isn't far away, and it's especially close to Mokoff Port and Port Rose of the Archerons so we can set up the portal there.

Richard nodded, making a mental note of the position of the island. Flowsand then stowed the map away, passing Richard an emerald gem before saying, “This life crystal will be able to stabilise the seed for a while, so you won't have to carry it everywhere. You can just leave it in this carriage during our journey.”

The girl didn't speak further after Richard stowed the crystal away, closing her eyes. All signs of life seemed to dissipate the moment her eyelids closed completely, leaving Richard unable to feel her aura at all. It was like she'd disappeared into thin air.

This shocked him beyond words. He opened his own eyes again, seeing the girl sitting there deathly still. It wasn't that she had no aura, no— she'd already become one with the archaic aura within the carriage.

It seemed like Flowsand had her own unique way of meditation and practice, and Richard didn't want to disturb her. He took out a book himself, reading it to pass the time. The journey was long, but the inside and outside of the carriage were worlds apart. He felt almost no jolts, and could hear nothing from the outside world.

Richard took his time with the book, even repeating a few pages. He was so focused on reading that he didn't even realise when Flowsand woke up to observe him silently.

“You're studying history?” Flowsand asked out of the blue, seeming a little surprised.

“Hm,” Richard raised his head as he answered, closing the book and passing it over. He was particularly willing to interact with Flowsand, since she would be an important companion in the dangerous planar wars. Trust and chemistry between comrades was a factor that could decide life and death on the battlefield.

Flowsand received the book without any hesitation and asked, “You're interested in the history of the silvermoon elves? They are the descendants of the ancient elven empire, but today there only a handful of tribes left on Norland. With your father's assault on Evernight Forest, there aren't any big groups left in human territory, a mere few tribes scattered here and there.

“If you're interested in the elves and elven culture, you should visit the Evergreen continent. It lies to the west of Norland, across the vast oceans. The continent is still ruled by an elven monarch. Or you could come to the church once we return from the planes and look through some art pieces Teacher Ferlyn collected from the time of the elven empire.”

Richard gave her a simple smile, “My primary interest is in the attack Marquess Gaton led on Silvermoon Palace. It's a classic example of a major victory with a numeric disadvantage. But I realised there's rather few records about it, so I can only read up more and learn about it indirectly.”

125 - City of Sin

Journey

Flowsand nodded her head, apparently not finding it strange that Richard didn't just ask his father about the events of that day. She spoke naturally, as if this was a common topic, “Indeed, there are few records on that battle. Marquess Gaton suffered a severe injury in the final moments of that war, but his vice-commander had already finished surrounding the remaining silvermoon elves. The elven royalty would never surrender, so there were no royal prisoners from that war. The only elves they managed to bring back were peasants, which became slaves of the imperial family. Marquess Gaton himself never publicised the results of his campaign, so there wasn't much recorded about it. Furthermore... If I were to speak the truth, not many people like the Archerons, so they naturally wouldn't want to chronicle their feats.”

“So that's what happened... Thank you, Flowsand,” Richard said in earnest.

However, now done with her explanation, Flowsand continued to speak, “If you have the time to browse through history, I suggest you take the time to read the notebooks Teacher Ferlyn gave you. They contain information about the myriad planes, as well as the teachings of the Eternal Dragon. It will benefit our expedition.

“If you don't have any interest in that, from what I've heard you are an amazing runemaster. Think of the battles we will face, and decide on a rune befitting of me. When we arrive safely in the new plane, you can make a set of runes for me.”

“Runes?” Richard was rather surprised. He looked between Flowsand's brows, “Isn't that a special rune on your forehead? If I guess correctly, this rune contains some form of powerful ability, does it not? It should be grade 4.”

“But I only have one rune on my body right now,” the cleric countered.

“A grade 4 rune isn't enough?” Richard laughed hoarsely, but when he saw Flowsand's solemn look, he withdrew his smile. He instead pondered in shock for a while, before asking, “You can withstand more runes?”

Flowsand nodded her head.

A grade 4 rune required ten times the carrying capacity of an elementary rune. Richard was already surprised that Flowsand could bear one; after all, anyone that could even withstand a grade 3 rune below level 10 deserved to be proud of themselves. He'd never have thought that Flowsand could actually bear even more.

“If that's the case, I'll have to offend you for a moment.”

“It's no offence. Don't tarry, if you can craft a rune for me I will allow you to inscribe it on my body.”

Richard was rather stupefied. The chest was the most likely location on one's body to place a rune. Of course inscribing a rune directly was much better than using an attachment slot, reducing the capacity requirements and allowing more efficient energy transfer, but the tolerance for modifications was also low at 5% and it would be extremely difficult to change runes in the future. The process of removing a tattooed rune was excruciatingly painful, and with the failure rate of the normal runemaster most knights wouldn't even consider direct inscription if it wasn't a high-grade rune.

However, since Flowsand said that she did not mind, Richard would no longer dwell on this matter. But when he cast the detection spell, he received yet another shock.

Flowsand's arms and legs, as well as her chest and stomach all responded with powerful energy waves. Richard immediately realised that she still had the capacity left to withstand another, albeit weaker, grade 4 rune! This toppled his knowledge on the world of runecrafting.

There were two things that influenced the runic power of a rune knight. One was their carrying capacity, while the other was the number of possible positions on their bodies to attach runes to. More positions with the same capacity would be able to fit in more runes. Although a grade 4 rune took up ten times that capacity of an elementary one, a rune knight with ten elementary runes would easily defeat one with a single grade 4 rune. Many rune knights, including several powerful figures on the continent, were often troubled by the lack of rune positions at higher levels. For example, the illustrious divine set of Saint Peter required at least five slots, and one needed enough capacity on top of that.

Richard himself only had two, but Flowsand showed a whopping six options to choose from!

“How is it?” Flowsand asked.

Richard rubbed his temples and smiled wryly, “This... exceeds my expectations. I'll need some time to think.”

“That's no problem. We have enough time, so have at it!” Done with what she wanted to say, Flowsand closed her eyes once more.

After a more than ten hour non-stop journey, the party finally reached Giantwood Village. This was an unassuming town under Earl Goliath's governance. It was located in a remote area, in the midst of mountains and endless forests. The only specialty of Giantwood Village was their wood, but due to difficulty in transportation that didn't bring much economic benefit to the villagers. Since there was no trade to speak of, there were very few visitors as well. From any angle, Giantwood Village was an ordinary, poor, and quiet village. There were only a hundred or so families here, and their lives had not changed in many years.

In the depths of the forest behind this village laid the death training camp of the Archerons. This camp was over a hundred years old, having groomed countless assassins, cursemasters, and warriors in its time. This was a place free of race and class— every individual that entered was trained, and the only task they were given was to survive. To survive until their training came to an end.

Most of the participants of this death training camp were orphans, death-row criminals, and slaves. There were also psychopaths and fanatics here, those who found joy in the act of killing. There were also a significant number of Archerons, in order to pursue greater power and strength, that were willing to volunteer and enter this camp. However, all participants were treated equally. In the face of death, an Archeron and orphan had no difference in status. If they wanted to live, they could only rely on their brains or brawns, or perhaps both.

Of course, Richard was not here to receive training, but to choose a soulguard. This was one of the resources that the family would provide for promising talents.

The soulguard would be bound by a soul contract that tied their soul to Richard's. Any thoughts of betrayal would wipe out their very soul, and they also served to assist Richard in resisting soul attacks. Of course, the reverse was not true. A soul attack directed at the soulguard would not affect Richard at all.

Under the power of the contract, the soulguard and their master would have their destinies intertwined, making for the most loyal of guardians. However, such contracts were extremely rare, with most coming from the blessings of the Eternal Dragon. Legendary clerics and priests could create them as well, but making even one required a large amount of divine power and a small portion of one's very soul. A new legendary cleric would drop out of the legendary realm with just two, so few would be willing to do such a thing.

As for the contracts coming from the Eternal Dragon, there was a factor of chance involved. Only those who were extremely lucky would be able to obtain such a thing.

Richard took out his soul-binding contract when they arrived at their destination, causing Flowsand to blink her eyes several times in surprise.

126 - City of Sin

Death Camp

Most of the party remained in Giantwood Village, at the village's only inn. In the company of Dragonmage Lina and the village chief, Richard headed towards the death training camp.

The Archeron death training camp was located deep in the forest with a total of seven different gathering points. The location closest to the village was at least a hundred kilometres away, without any trail to follow. Even with the village chief as a guide, the three of them took over three hours to arrive at the camp.

The ones being trained here were warriors and other classes who depended on physical strength. Passing a disorganised fence, Richard entered the camp. He saw several shabby huts within that made it seem like a small village, finding it difficult to believe that this was the famed death training camp of the Archerons. Only when the instructor here, Schiller, was stood in front of him did he confirm that he was at the right place.

Schiller was a man of average build, with short, grassy hair that was a complete mess. There was no magic armour on him, only a saber that was hung at his waist. The weapon's scabbard was plain and dirty, but the man's clothes were clean. Outside of that, there was nothing special in his appearance.

However, for some reason Richard felt like he was being pricked by a needle as he looked at the man standing before him, even having to squint his eyes a little. His eyes soured very quickly, almost tearing up. Just as the tears were about to flow, a gentle magic enveloped his entire body and soothed that needle-like sensation.

Lina chided Schiller in an icy voice, “Schiller, what are you trying to do? Are you tired of living?”

Schiller smiled like nothing had happened and his expression was relaxed. He spoke in a casual manner, “Nothing much. I just wanted to see what the young master who's about to take away my best warrior is like. Young master Richard has a great appearance.”

Lina snorted icily a couple of times, “What does the Young Master's strength have to do with you? Do you really think that this death training camp belongs to you? You're just this place's manager. Have you been here so long that your brain rotted away?” Her rebuke was harsh and direct, not giving the man any face.

A black aura coiled around Schiller's face. Although he maintained his smile, it seemed like the calm before the storm. “This is Earl Goliath's land. And Lina, I don't recall you being my match.”

There was an extremely explosive atmosphere in the air. Richard watched the two bicker on with an indifferent expression, but an almost undetectable light started to glow under his robes. He'd prepared a curse already, but he wasn't sure how useful it would be in a battle between the two.

Suddenly, Lina chuckled coquettishly. “I am just a mage, how could I be a match for a shadow guard like yourself? Why don't I change places with someone else? Who do you want? You definitely wouldn't dare fight Mordred, so how about Byfang or Asiris? Or the two tanks, Kaylen and Kayde? Maybe you want all of us to come at you together...”

Schiller snorted, and his expression turned even darker. He had wanted to say more, but eventually decided to suppress it. Gaton's thirteen knights were not the strongest individually, but they were extremely united when facing an enemy. Even if more than half of Gaton's rune knights were not Schiller's match, any two of them would be able to beat him up easily.
𝒇re𝐞w𝐞𝚋𝒏𝚘ѵeƖ c𝗼𝑚

Lina's haughtiness had yet another meaning contained within. Many of the thirteen knights were generals who were able to lead the troops, and their status was different from Schiller. She had no need to fight the shadow guard one on one to know who was better.

Lina suddenly withdrew all of her arrogance, and said solemnly, “Schiller, I'm telling you this because of Earl Goliath; I sincerely urge you to stop all your tricks. Every important Archeron outside of Marquess Sauron has agreed about Young Master Richard. If you delay his plans, the first one to come for your throat will likely be Earl Goliath himself.”

Schiller's eyes flashed as he stared intently at Lina. The Dragonmage was calm and collected, however, looking him straight in the eye. He eventually had to turn his head and look at Richard, before speaking in a deep voice, “Alright then, young master Richard, please follow me. I hope you will be able to find a suitable candidate.

“Let me first give you a tour of our small camp, for you to better understand the environment our brave warriors have been living in.”

Richard walked into the largest hut under Schiller's guidance, frowning immediately at the sharp smell that assaulted his nostrils. The hut was big, but with thirty people crammed into there was very little free space. There was no bed in the room, only mattresses laid onto the floor spread apart to allow one to walk through the middle. Several large brutes, stark naked, were laid on the floor in a disorganised manner. Their barbaric, unruly aura could not be concealed.

Inside the wooden hut, several brutes were wildly fucking a woman. The woman was just as muscled as them, and seemed to be a participant of the camp. However, she wasn't strong enough to avoid being a toy of these savages. Another woman was wrestling a large man in a contained space. The result of a loss went without saying.

Seeing Richard and company walk in, especially the voluptuous Lina, the brutes lying on the ground stood up immediately, their eyes blazing with fervent passion.

Lina did not get angry. She instead pouted her lips, sending them a flying kiss. This was adding fuel to the fire, and the clamouring noises grew much louder as more than half the people here had already stood up. However, while their eyes were spewing flames, their bodies remained clenched and on standby. No matter what, these two coming here at this time was extremely bizarre.

Once Schiller entered as well, all of them turned solemn. Those men with killing intent retreated as well.

Richard stood unmoving by the door, and his gaze swept past the room. He suddenly spoke, “There's no need to look any longer.” Before even waiting for Lina or Schiller to reply, he turned around and walked out.

After exiting the hut, Richard walked to the centre of the campgrounds and looked up at the night sky, not saying a thing. There was indeed no need to look any longer. These brutes in the hut were level 7 or 8 warriors. Furthermore, in such an environment, he did not discover any extraordinary talent. Even just taking them to another plane would be a waste of resources, forget using a soul contract on them.

The fifth moon hung in the night sky, its light purplish moonlight representing Alucia's divine wrath.

127 - City of Sin

Death Camp

Lina followed Richard out of the wooden hut, standing beside him with a trace of a mysterious smile on her face. She crossed her arms, looking at Schiller as if she was waiting for a scene to play out. Schiller walked out as well, although his face had grown somewhat unsightly.

Lina was about to speak, but was stopped with a wave of Richard's arms. He didn't look at Schiller at all, instead staring up at the purple moon that hung in the skies. He said indifferently, “This is the night of the purple moon, Mister Schiller. Do you know what it represents?”

Schiller growled, “I am just a brute.”

“It represents Alucia's wrath,” Richard explained pleasantly.

Schiller's expression froze for a moment, “I'm just a brute. I don't understand what Young Master is trying to say. Is this Alucia you're speaking of a beauty?”

Richard responded with a question of his own, “What is this place?”

“The Archerons' death training camp,” Schiller replied.

Richard looked at the moon and asked softly, “Mister Schiller, I still don't know your surname.”
𝑓𝔯e𝚎𝒘𝗲𝚋𝒏oѵ𝒆𝒍. c𝗼m

“Toller,” Schiller replied, but his expression somewhat changed.

“What is the relationship between the Archerons and Tollers?” Richard pressed on.

“... There is none.” Schiller seemed to understand Richard's intentions, and his face turned extremely dark. It actually looked like tears were about to fall.

“So, what level are you at right now?”

Schiller paused for a moment before saying, “... Level 19, Shadow Guard.”

Only then did Richard turn around to look Schiller in the eye, his voice turning icy, “Neither an Archeron, nor a legendary being. I don't understand on what basis you assume that the people in this camp are your private property!”

Schiller pupils constricted, and a murderous aura poured out of his body. This outright reproach left him unable to repress his killing intent. He was the one who'd brought this camp to its current level of power, his greatest achievement in the family. However, it was only in the past few years that the family had shown any interest in him.

It was understandable why his actions were completely different from his pleasant words. The relationships between the Archerons weren't too good, and those with equal levels of bloodline had great rivalry between them. Earl Goliath and Marquess Gaton, for example, were basically enemies. This death training camp was built in Goliath's territory, so of course it was controlled by the Earl. Schiller was thus one of Goliath's men.

Schiller wanted to retort, but his expression suddenly changed as a tiny golden scroll revealed itself in Richard's hands. He recognised this item— it was a soul contract. Just the presence of this scroll was several times more effective in confirming Richard's authority than Lina herself. The blessings of the Eternal Dragon were based on a factor of luck, but to get the soul contract meant one definitely had to offer a sacrifice that satisfied the Eternal Dragon. This scroll was equivalent to a thirty-year boost to one's life!

Richard casually tossed this priceless item to Schiller's hands and spoke icily, “I'm sure you know what this item is. I'm not here to play around, and my current mission cannot be changed by someone like you. I give you two choices: show me someone worthy of this scroll, or we leave.”

The scroll flashed a golden light, revealing a faint aura of time that allowed Schiller to confirm its authenticity. However, that put Schiller in a bad spot. This piece of paper now seemed as heavy as a mountain.

Just like Richard had said, nobody would bring out a soul contract if they were playing around. Not even the Sacred Alliance Emperor, Bloodthirsty Philip, would do so.

One of the resources the Archerons gave their core members was a personal bodyguard, trained at the death camp. However, the strength of that bodyguard was determined by the camp's manager, and normally nobody would press the issue even if someone was assigned a weakling. Since this camp was in Earl Goliath's territory, it was only natural that Gaton's son would be given a poor guard.

However, there was a huge difference between a regular bodyguard and a soulguard. The moment Richard took out the soul contract, Schiller was left with no room whatsoever to maneuver in. If he sent the boy back empty-handed, he was sure that Gaton's knights would come looking to kill him. Mordred or Asiris would definitely be overseeing the attack, so there would be no chance of escape. The best end would be being killed on the spot.

Schiller had never expected Richard's attitude to be this unyielding, causing this stalemate in the situation. In fact, once Gaton had successfully entered Faust the relationship between him and his brother had mellowed. They had even begun to explore some avenues of cooperation, giving Richard a soulguard being an important one. But despite this change in circumstances, Schiller still treated Richard and Lina in such an unbecoming manner. Whether it was that he was being obstinate or that he wasn't up to date on the information, only he knew.

The original missive Schiller had been given was to do his best to make things difficult for Richard, but not to hide the participants from him. He still had to show Richard the best talents in his camp. This was a contradictory command, but it worked well to sum up the relationship between Gaton and Goliath.

Schiller's expression wavered, but Richard did not press on. He instead looked up at the purple moon, something that only caused the invisible pressure to grow. Schiller finally made up his mind and returned the scroll to Richard, before easing his tone and saying, “I understand your request. Please follow me; it's already growing late, and we still have a ways to go.”

Schiller got on a horse, taking Richard and Lina through the forest. It took another hundred kilometres for them to reach a stream at the foothills of a mountain. There were two rows of disorderly wooden huts here, along with several caves that led deep into the mountain.

Schiller pointed ahead, “This is the true death camp. The most talented warriors of the family all walk out of here. Right now, there are three people who are above level 10. I'll call them back right away.”

Richard nodded his head, and Schiller took out a metal whistle. He blew hard on it, and a shrill ear-piercing screech travelled throughout the area, causing a nearby flock of birds to fly away in fright.

Several of the wooden huts opened up, young men and women of various appearances walking out. The one commonality between them all was their wolf-like eyes.

Richard's gaze swept past every participant present. Suddenly, the door of the wooden hut at the highest point of the stream was blasted open, as if the hut was going to collapse. A large brute walked out, almost completely naked except for some beastskin wrapped around his waist. He was extremely tall and sturdy, his chiseled muscles looking as hard as steel. The tiny wooden hut seemed barely able to hold his large body within, and he'd had to bend down to step through the door.

The large bloke walked out, and exclaimed, “Oh hoh! Boss, you brought new prey again?”

128 - City of Sin

Soulguard

Schiller spoke bluntly, “No, we are here to choose. Tonight, one lucky fellow will be chosen to be a soulguard. You get to show off your killing prowess in another plane!”

The big fellow's eyes flashed like lightning, his gaze sweeping past Lina as his pupils constricted. He then looked over Richard, immediately picking up a poorly-crafted two-handed axe and waving it several times in the air. “Hey!” he roared, “Young master, pick me! Look, my axe can't handle the hunger anymore!”

In the face of such a fervent request, Richard could only smile wryly. Schiller pointed at the man, “This is Gangdor, 21 years old. He's a level 10 warrior with the bloodline of giants, having awakened Gaia's Force. When it's activated, it greatly increases his strength and defense. He's one of the best candidates.”

Several people emerged from the caves of the mountain. Schiller pointed to another skinny youth, saying, “This is Kerfe, a level 10 assassin at 19 years of age. He has a mixed bloodline of humans and dark elves, his ability being Stealth. He's also a good one.”

Finally, Schiller fingers pointed towards a woman with a cold and detached expression. “Dify of the Kamires, descendant of the highland wizards with powerful innate talent for magic. She is a natural-born warlock, possessing great firepower at any moment. Her bloodline ability is a magic boost as well. She's the last candidate I want to introduce.”

The Archeron death camp only trained its participants upto level 10. Their talents and abilities would have awakened by then, so their future growth would depend on battle results.

All three of the candidates Schiller had picked were obviously much stronger than the other participants. They were extremely suitable for Richard's requirements. The plane he was travelling to didn't have a permanent portal yet, so level 10 was the limit of the portal. Anyone above that boundary would likely affect the spacetime tunnel with their overwhelming power, being tossed into the currents of spacetime. Even a legendary being would not want to be caught in such a chaotic current.

Richard raised his hands and began a chant, but Lina was one step faster. She cast a group detection spell, avoiding having to cast one on every individual.

Richard vividly detected the magic response from each of them, confirming their rune capacity. With the standard requirement of an elementary rune at 10 points, Kerfe had a total 43 points of capacity, Dify 41, and Gangdor a tremendous 72! This fellow with his thirsty axe could actually withstand a total of four runes, and one of them could even be grade 3 as long as it was on the weaker end. If they were willing to spend several millions on him, he would immediately turn into a rune knight!

Gangdor sensed Richard's gaze on him changing, so he bellowed even more loudly before. But this time, it was towards the other candidates, “Hey, you useless maggots. Did you see that? The young master wants me! Me, Gangdor! Whoever is not happy can come forward, and we can battle! Let me show you how to use wits in a fight! Come, anyone? My axe can't handle the hunger anymore!”

Nobody moved, not even Kerfe or Dify. Gangdor's roar seemed to intimidate everyone else, and their behaviour indicated that he'd regularly beaten them in fights before. Richard was rather satisfied with this brute: He was already level 10 at 21 years of age, so it wouldn't be a problem for him to reach level 14 or 15 in the future. Even if he didn't improve from there, his high carry capacity would allow him to become a high-ranking rune knight. He would hold an important position in Richard's team in the future.

However Richard continued to think deeply, unable to make up his mind. Gangdor was an exemplary candidate, but it seemed unfitting to use a soul contract on him. A good warrior was different from a good bodyguard, and Gangdor's talent didn't awe Richard all that much. Having lived in the Deepblue for a long time, Richard's appetite had already grown.

Noticing that several huts were still empty, Richard asked Schiller about it. That was when he learnt that some of the participants were still out in the forest, hunting. They hadn't been able to make it back in time because of the distance, but the man said it wasn't a problem since the promising candidates were already before Richard. There was no need to wait for any other people.

Just then, an ear-piercing scream split the skies above the forest, followed by the sounds of twigs and branches snapping. A bloodied man dashed out into the open in a flash, jumping into the stream and flailing in the water as he tried to swim away as fast as possible. The stream was rather deep, with fast-flowing currents and jagged reefs at the bottom. In his panic to run away, the man seemed to be severely injured. In a few moments, the fresh blood had already dyed the stream a faint pink.

“Level 11 warrior, no special abilities. This fellow is just prey for the death camp's participants,” Lina whispered lightly into Richard's ears.

There were magic beasts amongst the prey for the death camp, but there were many humans as well. Many warriors of different race and class were placed in the forest, and the participants were tasked with hunting down and killing them before they escaped. They 'prey' was normally higher-levelled than the participants, with those awarding the most marks being level 14 or 15. The hunt was thus a perilous one, with plenty of cases where the predator became the prey.

Richard gazed at the edges of the forest, having the unknown feeling that the hunter would give him a surprise.

A rather scrawny white figure emerged silently from the forest. It was a young girl in a tattered white dress, her clothes torn so badly that they could only be called rags. She had no defences to speak of, and the clothes didn't even cover her entire body. If not for cloths wrapped around her chest and waist, she would be essentially naked.

She was standing on top of a branch, her long fair legs contrasting the gloomy backdrop of the forest. The sight of her bare feet gripping the branch was somewhat eye-catching— every single one of her digits could be seen clearly. She had wild, shaggy hair that she seemed to have cut short herself. The silhouette of her face seemed rather beautiful, but the deep green eyes flashed like a hunter looking at their prey.

129 - City of Sin

Soulguard

The branches she was resting on were very delicate, making it hard to believe that they could even hold her weight. The branches were swaying even in the wind, but abruptly they sunk downwards under her force. Just before they crossed the breaking point they were relieved of her weight, and by the time they even returned to position she'd catapulted away at the speed of lightning.

Even just a jump left Richard gasping in awe. He'd learnt the techniques of the underworld himself, so he could recognise the profound control of strength behind that leap. Breaking a branch might seem like a small matter, but it would leave behind traces that were impossible to erase. A brilliant hunter could use such traces to track their prey. Even with her target right in front of her the girl didn't slack off in the slightest, leaving no tracks behind. If her actions were not because of prior training to take care of such detail, she had to have a natural disposition as an assassin.

The girl hugged the ground stealthily, reducing the distance between her and her prey at an unfathomable speed. She shot forth like a rocket every time her feet touched the granite rock, moving a few metres in a near instant. From a distance she just looked like a white apparition moving across the river-bank.

The injured prey had made his way across the stream with great difficulty. His steps were unsteady, and he eventually landed flat onto the ground. Injured and having to travel across the ice-cold water in the stream, he was obviously only seconds from falling apart. He struggled to crawl back up, but he fell down again pretty quickly, before eventually getting himself up and fleeing the scene in haste.

“This fellow is pretending, biding time for a final attack. It seems like he wants to take her down with him,” Lina commented. Even though she'd only recently become a grand mage herself, her intuition and combat experience were not something Richard could quantify. Lina could sense that Richard had grown interested in that hunter, so she added more information to help his judgement.

The youth sped up, leaning forward so much now that her hands almost touched the ground. She instantly charged through the riverbank, before going on all fours and leaping up like a ferocious beast. She left a blur of white in the air, using both hands to steady herself on the emerging rocks that dotted the surface of the stream as she shot from rock to rock.

To Richard, it was like a cunning winter wolf was chasing after her prey with all her might. She crossed the ten metres of the stream effortlessly, catching up with her target. Despite her great speed, she didn't seem to give out a single sound in the process.

On the other hand, the injured man had accurately predicted her exact position. He decided to give up the facade in that instant, turning around quickly as he pounced at her with a roar. Given the builds of the two, one could easily tell that his strength far exceeded hers, giving him the advantage in close quarters combat. However, the teenage girl did not have any idea of escaping, and she too, prowled towards the man.

Just as the two seemed about to collide, the girl jumped faster and higher than the man. She changed her position mid-air, avoiding the collision as she stepped on the man's body. Using him as a pivot she somersaulted forward, placing herself behind him. And then, with what seemed like a mysterious hand supporting her, she mysteriously changed direction to land on the man's back with a thud.

Time seemed to have stopped at this very moment, as the teenage girl held the prey in a chokehold with her right hand. Her left hand had suddenly conjured a blacksteel weapon.

Thus, under Richard's careful attention, the iron rod in the girl's hand viciously moved towards the man's hips. It sent shivers down Richard's spine, so much so that he subconsciously clutched his glutes. Thankfully for him, many others reacted in the same way, Lina included.

The man abruptly let out a pathetic squeal, his body tensing up as he was fiercely catapulted to the ground. The girl flicked her wrist, burying the rod in the man's behind before she harshly removed it, leaving behind a spray of fresh blood.

She followed that up by rolling away from the prey, giving no chance for the man who was making a futile effort to survive. She instead steadied herself on the floor like a wolf, glancing at all the students in the wooden huts and on the cliff with the threat evident in her eyes. Kerfe, the one with the drow bloodline, moved towards her, but seeing her with no heavy injuries nor any signs of fatigue, he waved it away and retreated to his original position.

As for the other students, many largely avoided the teenage girl's vicious glance.

No one came forth to fight for the prey, and the man eventually lost any signs of struggle as he began to twitch on the ground. Having observed the scenario, the teenager then decided to walk to the prey, before she used a sharp blade of the steel weapon to slit the prey's throat, ending his suffering. Afterwards she probed around the prey's chest, and retrieved an engraved silver placard. She broke the chains of the placard took it in hand, walking towards Schiller.

The girl stopped only a few metres away from Schiller, not daring to get too close to him. Her body tensed up, evidently showing that she was in a very defensive state. The anxiety she showed at this juncture proved to be more intense than when she was facing the others of the training camp.

A dull thud rang out as she threw the placard in Schiller's direction, announcing in a rigid voice, “Placard... this month.”

Schiller nodded his head, “This is your third placard in this month. That's great! I'll get someone to send you your items tomorrow.”

Lina explained the situation with a whisper. It seemed like the death camp added prey to the training every once in a while, giving all the prey placards. The students had to kill such prey every month, being rewarded with medals and reimbursement for their effort. The reimbursements included things such as equipment, resources, as well as potions that would enhance one's physique. Of all the rewards, the potion was the most sought after as they would enhance the member's fighting physique. And the students all had placards that would certify their identity. Should they be mistaken for prey, they could merely produce their placards to prove their identity to seek freedom. This would be much safer than simply running away.

As for the students who did not manage to fulfill their quotas every month, they would receive punishments in the first three months. The punishments included beatings of varying intensities, and were administered independent of gender.

The fourth time the students failed to complete their quota, they would be rendered the same status as the prey.

After the teenage girl threw the placard to Schiller, she shot a glance at Lina before slowly retreating. She was still very much guarded, and refused to leave her back facing any of them. Just at this juncture, a ray suddenly shone onto her body. The teenage girl watched the debris behind her fly into the air in shock.

A thud ensued almost instantly as she went prone, stealthily arming herself with the weapon that still had fresh blood on it. She levelled a deathly gaze onto Richard.

Lina took a step forward and shielded Richard, as she wielded the magical staff in her hands. With regards to the teenage girl's vicious aura, Lina appeared to have certain reservations. The Dragonmage was also taken aback by the fact that this teenage girl would threaten even herself, as the teenage girl's strength was not particularly outstanding.

As for the ray of light shining on the teenage girl, it was a testing spell, just like what Lina had previously released. A typical mage only obtained conventional feedback about the target's strength, magic powers, and bloodline, but with Precision Richard was amongst the esteemed ones who could tell a target's capacity from the magic waves alone. It was not something even many true runemasters could manage.

Fearful of Lina and Schiller's formidable strength, and not feeling like she had been hurt, the teenage girl's killing aura slowly dissipated, as she retreated once more.

“Hold up!” Richard suddenly called to the teenage girl. He then pointed to her as he declared to Schiller: “I want her!”

Schiller's brows furrowed, “This is Waterflower, somewhere between 16 and 18 years old. She's currently a level 9 assassin, with an acute sense of smell for danger. She also has outstanding talent at combat, but she's not your best choice. The other three are all level 10 already, and unlike her they've actually awakened their bloodline abilities. Furthermore, she's very hard to tame.”

Richard looked up and down over the teenage girl, and stated: “I have a soul contract, training her doesn't pose a problem at all. Also, why does she have such an uncommon name? Does she hail from any rare tribes? You don't seem sure of her age, either.”

Schiller hesitated, before explaining, “I picked her up during one of my trips in the forest. She was living with a pack of moon wolves at that point, probably raised like a wolf cub. She looked about five years of age by normal standards, but even having learnt to speak she hasn't been able to explain exactly how long she'd lived with the wolf pack. That's why we don't know her definite age. As for her name, it was given to her by the other students in the training camp. They say that she's akin to an aquafloral fruit, tasty yet formidable with the protection of lethal poison. She's completely unattainable by the common person.”

“Alright! She's the one I want!” Richard had already made his decision.

Lina could not help but raise her concerns,: “Richard, are you sure you don't want to reconsider your decision? Even though she is gifted in combat, she has not been able to showcase her bloodline abilities yet; that's a flaw that you will not be able to make up for. Furthermore, Schiller said that she was raised by a pack of wolves, so we will never be able to properly confirm her heritage; we can't be sure whether she even has any bloodline potential at all. We should err on the side of caution, and choose a more suitable option like Gangdor.”

Lina's worries were not unfounded. Theoretically, both one's bloodline and their rune capacity were instrumental components of their battle might. In a battle between two rune knights of equal level, the one with the higher-ranked ability would be able to completely suppress the other. Gaton had deliberately assigned Lina to Richard. It was done so that Richard could tap into her rich knowledge in the field of magic, aiding him in the selection of a befitting soulguard.

Having said that, Lina eyed Waterflower's attractive figure once more. She started to think that Richard wanted to choose the girl for her appearance. After all, Waterflower's looks were extraordinary. The earlier scene also suggested that she had a formidable sixth sense on the battlefield, allowing her to compete with those with more innate abilities than her. However, to use a soul contract on her seemed a bit of a waste.

Lina herself came from the upper class, possessing high expectations for class and elegance. Thus, she found Waterflower's tactics in attacking her prey's vitals quite distasteful. However, she wasn't surprised. A girl raised by wolves would naturally fight like one. The death camp itself focused on the opponent going down, not how that was accomplished.

Having thought of this point, Lina immediately turned to look at Schiller: “How many guys have bedded Waterflower?”

What the dragonmage was hinting at was very obvious. For a girl to hail from such a chaotic place, she would probably have had intimate relationships with many men. The sight they'd seen in the initial location was proof of that.

However, Schiller's next words defied that rule, “Right now, she's still pure.”

“That's impossible!” Lina immediately retorted.

“I picked her up myself. Before the age of 10, I did not allow anyone to touch her. And once she did reach that age, the other students of her batch haven't been able to grow intimate with her either.”

130 - City of Sin

Contract

Lina frowned, not saying a word. This was not the time to jest; Schiller would not lie.

Schiller looked at Richard and sighed, “I am the one who adopted Waterflower, after all; she's like a daughter to me. Of course I'd want her to be chosen to leave this place. But I have to say; apart from the purity of her body, which will be valuable to you, she really isn't worthy of a soul contract.”

However, Richard had already taken out the contract, “I scanned her just now. She can carry grade 4 runes, possibly even grade 5. It doesn't matter anymore whether she has bloodline abilities.”

“Grade 5 runes?” Lina and Schiller were both shocked. Even just grade 4 runes would allow her to become a third grade rune knight! This was the power level of one of Gaton's knights, even if at the lower end! Indeed, such rune capacity would totally make up for a lack of bloodline abilities. Waterflower would be much more valuable than Gangdor that way, worthy of a soul contract.

However, Richard didn't mention all of his observations. Waterflower had a capacity as high as 153 points, far more than the eighty to a hundred and twenty needed for a grade 4 rune. In this regard, even Flowsand with her 180 points of capacity wasn't much better. On top of that, the magic had radiated from all over Waterflower's body; she had as many as eight possible positions on her body, one more than Flowsand's seven!

'Daybreak' Flowsand was a cleric of the Church of the Eternal Dragon in Faust, one who could possibly take the position of the current high priestess Ferlyn in the future. She was a talent to be reckoned with. Waterflower was already a monster for having more rune positions than her!

“Waterflower, come here,” Schiller waved the girl over. At this point, neither he nor Lina had any objections anymore.

The young girl looked at the three people before her with caution, but from their conversation she was more or less aware of what was going to happen. She moved over hesitantly, her guard held high. This was something that she'd learnt from beasts; to be extremely careful and alert when facing anyone or anything with great strength, regardless of their identity.

Schiller glanced over at Waterflower with an inexplicable look in his eyes, “You will be Master Richard's soulguard from today, and won't have to stay here anymore. You will be his second lifeline, someone who shares his destiny. Always act like how you did here, continuing to improve your power.

“And take this blade! It's been with me for years, I think it'll suit you.” Schiller unlatched the metre long war blade from his waist and tossed it to Waterflower. She caught it in an instant, moving back at the speed of lightning as she looked at the other members of the camp. She only drew out a portion of the blade once she was sure that nobody would ambush her.

The weapon was less than three centimetres wide, with almost no reflections coming off the jet-black blade. It seemed inexplicably obscure, giving off an unnerving vibe as it left its sheath.

Lina was a master in appraisal as well, and she exclaimed the moment she saw the blade being drawn, “Mythical Goldsand! This is the Shepherd of Eternal Rest!”

Richard was shocked by it too. This material was indeed superior to even alchemic blacksteel, one of the highest-quality metals used to forge weapons. Weapons formed from it would be twice as strong as ordinary carbon steel weapons, also able to bear the power of two more enchantments. The sword Waterflower had in her hands was made by a great master, with the enchantments of Bleed, Tear, Sharpen, and Armour Break added within. Its power was clear.

Waterflower finally walked towards Richard under Schiller's urging, kneeling down upon Lina's orders. It was obvious from her expression and the cautious fiddling of her fingers that this proximity caused her great discomfort. It was possible she could hurt someone at any moment. With the Shepherd of Eternal Rest in her hands, and within such a small distance at that, even Lina felt uneasy.

Lina ended up casting two calming spells on Waterflower, finally causing the wolf-like teenager to settle down a little. Richard slowly unfurled the soul contract in his hands, chanting the spell written upon it. “In the name of Eternity, I unite my soul with the person before my eyes...”

As the chant was read out, the contract started to emit a beam of golden light that grew brighter and brighter. It disintegrated piece by piece, becoming grains of sand scattered in the air to form a golden cloud of dust. Waterflower raised her head slightly, gazing curiously at the coagulated magical sand that seemed to have taken a part of her life. She felt no more fear, instead a faint anticipation. Her sharp intuition let her know that this was the moment her destiny was changed.

The spell was complex and tedious, but finally all the golden grains of sand suddenly gathered into a stream of light. The light instantly shone onto Waterflower's forehead, condensing between her brows into an hourglass of light gold. It quickly turned upside down, its traces slowly disappearing into her body. Waterflower grew sluggish, fainting with a grunt while Richard felt like a portion of his soul had been extracted from his body in a split second, vanishing into the depths of space.

A strong sense of weakness struck Richard's heart, and he couldn't help but stagger two steps back, leaning into a warm embrace. Lina had been well-prepared, catching him before he fell. The Dragonmage was fully aware of the consequences of soul contracts, so she took out two energy potions that she'd prepared beforehand. One she passed to Richard, while the other was fed to Waterflower.

Richard felt his strength return slowly once he took the potion, growing a little better. He realised then that he could clearly tell Waterflower's exact location from just his mind, also being aware of the state of her mind.

The girl slowly got up again. She bolted out of Lina's arms the moment she regained consciousness, unsheathing the sword and observing her surroundings warily. Richard could feel that she did not know why she'd lost consciousness, and was instinctively trying to identify unknown enemies.

The youthful girl looked at Richard in surprise, as if she felt the effects of the soul contract as well. Richard sent her waves of comfort through their connection, having her calm down enough to sheath the sword again and steadily inch towards him. With the power of the contract acting on her, Richard's breath felt like the safest and most peaceful place in the world.

Schiller let out a long sigh, “You've already chosen a soulguard, it's time to leave this place. I hear that your schedule is quite tight.”

Richard nodded, turning his back to leave only to feel the earth suddenly shaking. A thunderous roar echoed from behind him, “Hey there, young master! That Waterflower chick is pretty awesome, but Gangdor isn't all that bad too! Now at least she's no match for me. Look, my axe can't handle the hunger anymore. See how rough and tough it is! It sure won't let you down!”

Richard stopped in his tracks, staring at the tough man who'd darted all the way here. Waterflower took a careful step forward, gripping tightly onto the Shepherd of Eternal Rest. With this sword in hand she wasn't afraid of him at all.

Richard hesitated for a while, before he said to Schiller, “I want to take this person with me too.”
𝐟𝘳ℯ𝚎𝘄𝒆𝑏𝗻𝑜ѵ𝚎l. c𝘰𝑚

Schiller muttered to himself for abit and replied, “Although the orders were for one protector, it isn't forbidden to take a second with you as long as Marquess Gaton provides some additional compensation. However, I need to remind you that there is no loyalty with the people who come from the death camp. Only great power can force them into submission. My suggestion is to use an enslavement contract, you'll come to see that the investment is worth it.”

Richard nodded, turning towards the giant brute. Gangdor had consciously kept a 15-metre distance from him, avoiding stepping into the danger zone. Richard asked him, “Then are you willing to bear a slave contract?”

Gangdor laughed, “If you need me to prove my loyalty, I gladly accept! As long as I can leave this damned place, as long as I can slaughter my way through a real battlefield, I can do anything! Look at this rough and tough axe, it can't handle the—”

“Alright, I get it!” Richard cut him off, turning to the Dragonmage, “Lina?”

“The preparations are complete.” Lina took out a crimson scroll, throwing it over to Gangdor. The brute opened the scroll without hesitation, activating its power. A dark beam of light immediately bore through his chest, but even with the immense pain he only slightly bit his lip. Another black beam entered Richard's body.

Magic enslavement contracts were rare and precious. Through it, Richard could cause intense pain, even serious damage whenever his heart desired. If he died, anyone contracted to him would experience a significant permanent drop in power. In Norland, where power meant everything, this sort of severe punishment was unbearable.

An enslavement contract was far less powerful than a soul contract, but it was still an effective restriction. Everybody accompanying Richard on his journey this time would be bound to him in the same way, with the obvious exception of Flowsand.

Lina was still on her guard. When the contract was completed, she used soul magic again to carefully investigate Gangdor and confirm that the contract was in effect. Richard then nodded his head in acknowledgement.

Gangdor then excitedly waved his giant axe and shouted at the other members of the death camp, “You maggots! Your good days have arrived. I, Gangdor, am finally getting the hell out of this damned place! You don't need to cower under my giant axe, praise your luck for that! Hahaha!”

Looking at the growling Gangdor, Richard suddenly felt his head ache. He said to Schiller, “This was your original best recommendation?”

“If we're looking at the aspect of battle power, then yes. Of course, that was excluding Waterflower,” Schiller replied expressionlessly.

Richard studied Gangdor again, as well as that eye-catching axe of his that was 'unable to handle the hunger.' He sighed, “Alright, let's get going. We still need to continue on the journey tomorrow.”

131 - City of Sin

Mokoff

Early morning the next day, the bolstered party headed back to Giantwood Town, embarking for Mokoff Port in the east. When Flowsand saw Waterflower and Gangdor, she was a little shocked.

However, obstacles surfaced even before the team took off. The party didn't have any horses that could withstand Gangdor's weight. On top of that, none of the horses would even let Waterflower get close, forget letting her ride them.

Richard eventually had to give his personal armoured warhorse to Gangdor, while Lina found the gentlest horse and fed it calming pills before Waterflower finally got on. It was only then that the journey began smoothly. Truth be told, Gangdor and Waterflower would rather just run to Mokoff on foot. To them, that was faster.

After a three-day-long journey, the small party finally made it to Mokoff, a northeastern port-city of the Sacred Alliance that boasted of natural protection from the winds. It was only because of the Constellation Harbour being closer to Faust that it was more frequently used. On top of that, there was a mountain range to the north of the port but none of the surrounding regions had any specialties, which meant it could never prosper.

The fief was basically independent, with its leader only seeming to vow loyalty to the Sacred Alliance Emperor on the surface. Morfan only paid their taxes for formality's sake, as the annual proof of his 'allegiance.' In this city of only ten thousand people, he was the supreme ruler. A supreme ruler known for his audacious slaving business.

Because of the port's location, Mokoff had slaves of almost every race. From grey dwarves to the nagas, and because of its nearly sovereign nature even third-generation human nobles without position and certain elven and winged tribes. If the buyer paid a high enough price, they could even get their hands on creatures with royal blood in them! However, the sale of such “merchandise” was an underground business. The buyers needed wealth and status for the deal to take place, and these were all people who acquired bizarre things and creatures as trophies or for experiments. Every inch of Mokoff's land exuded the scent of blood and money.

Stepping into the port's lands, Richard was detained by a patrol team. With rune knights, light cavalry and mages in his party, they obviously weren't ordinary adventurers, basically as good as an army. This was enough to attract everyone's attention.

Richard took the chance to observe the people who had stopped them. All six of the guards had both weapons and armour of superior quality, exceeding normal standards by at least 20%. The guards themselves were also at least level 5 each, giving one a sense of Mokoff's power.

The coachman who'd come along with Flowsand was the one who negotiated with the guards. Once they saw the token of the Eternal Dragon that he gave them, their attitudes turned on the head. The leader sent two of his guards to report the group's arrival, before leading them personally to the city proper.

Morfan was a middle-aged man who seemed more like a merchant than a portmaster, and negotiations with him went rather smoothly. He welcomed Richard and Flowsand with appropriate enthusiasm, asking his men to bring the two to select slaves immediately.

Their destination for this trip was a small slaving camp at the outskirts of the city. There were thrice as many guards here as in ordinary camps, making it clear how valuable the prisoners here were. There was another odd thing about this camp;—Richard and Flowsand did not hear the usual shouts and sounds of agony. The guards were the only ones moving around the large area, making the entire campsite look quite deserted. It was quite evident that the common slaves had been moved away.

Richard followed Morfan's assistant to a shack in the north of the campsite. A pungent odour assaulted their noses the moment they stepped in, but ever since the death camp Richard seemed immune to such things. He showed no discomfort as he trailed the assistant, something that surprised the other party and caused him to reevaluate this young mage.

Even more surprising was that Flowsand actually followed them this time around. Her expression was emotionless as usual, making her seem oblivious to the bad environment.

Thick metal fences separated the shack into different cells. This place was the living quarters of the slaves, but only seven slaves occupied the entire shack. Or rather, seven groups of slaves; the biggest cell actually had two ogres within.

Of course, the ogres attracted Richard's attention. They were an intelligent race that was found commonly in Norland, related by blood to both humans and therianthropes. Of course, this didn't stop them from having these 'cousins' of theirs in their diets.

The strength of a ogre was as great as its size, with a mature adult easily surpassing a level 10 warrior in strength. They weren't dumb despite their big size, and in fact many believed that their intellect did not lose out to that of the humans and elves. That fact was evident merely from the number of mages and shamans in their ranks. Google search 𝗳𝔯𝒆e𝘸𝗲𝗯𝓷𝗼𝘃𝘦l. 𝒄o𝓂

When ogres reached a certain level of power, there was a chance for them to undergo a mutation. The most common of these was growing another head, with two-headed ogres far surpassing their kin be it in magic or physical strength. One often needed a team of adventurers of different classes with good chemistry to deal with such power.

Richard saw these two ogres had yet to mature, their physiques being noticeably smaller than ordinary members of their race. However, an unnerving feeling settled in the pit of his stomach. They were clean, almost too clean to be ogres. And unlike ordinary ogres who were easily incensed, they were quite relaxed as well. Just as Richard was observing them, they too were looking at this boy before them. It was clear that they were smarter than normal.

“Why are there two ogres here?” Richard asked.

Morfan's assistant replied, “They were discovered by an adventurer team in the north mountains. They used to live with an old druid, I hear he's the one who'd brought them up. He taught them language, writing, even magic. His influence left them with various human habits.”

“And then?” Even if he asked, Richard could predict the latter part of the story.

“Then...” The assistant shrugged, “The team realised their worth, so they killed the druid and sold the ogres to us. Ah, this was the first time Master Morfan spent ten thousand on a single ogre! But of course. These ogres are smart, far smarter than average. It also makes them far more dangerous.”

The assistant pointed to the taller and stronger one as he explained, “That one is a warrior, called Medium Rare. The one beside him is a mage, name Tiramisu.”

“Sorry, what?” If Richard's mouth had been filled with water, the assistant would have been sprayed down right about now. Ogres were commonly named after epic skills or weapons, like Flamefist or Gianthammer. This was the first time he'd heard of such unique names.

132 - City of Sin

Mokoff

The assistant laughed, “Special names, aren't they? These two are self-proclaimed gourmets. But be warned, as intelligent as they are trolls are trolls. Intelligence doesn't relate to appetite, only danger; they see us as food. Don't count on them abiding by the laws, and don't have any hopes for their loyalty either. They only pledge loyalty to those who have the power to kill them in the moment.

Tiramisu grew displeased upon hearing the ill words about him, “Ignorant human! Don't treat us as if we are ordinary trolls! We are gourmets!”

Richard laughed this time. These two trolls were interesting indeed, but he still decided to look through all seven cells before making a choice. He'd already known Morfan would prepare a batch of unique slaves for him, but from the quality of these slaves it seemed like Morfan really viewed high priestess Ferlyn with great respect. Sadly, he couldn't take all of the slaves. The interplanar portal only allowed for a small number of people.

There were mages, warriors, assassins, even a priest amongst the slaves, a real priest! It was beyond remarkable that one could abduct someone of faith, turning him into a slave. It caused Richard to grow curious about Morfan's background.

An unusual entry was an elven bard. The man was quarter human and three quarters sun-elf, a rare species. His elven heritage made him look beautiful, so much so that he could pass as a beauty if he dressed as a girl.

Another thing that caught Richard's attention was the last cell he visited. Inside was a drow warrior, a classical example of her race: arrogant, sultry, and murderous, with dark skin and long silver hair.

When Richard first saw her, she was cowering in a dark corner of the cell, avoiding sunlight at all costs. Her dark skin made her almost indistinguishable from the shadows, and one would have missed her if they were not attentive.

Dark elves were quite restricted in the day, but at night they turned into the most dangerous of opponents. This one was a warrior, not one of the dreaded shamans, but Morfan still priced her at 60,000 gold, more expensive than the two trolls combined.

That was just the cold hard truth, though. The trolls were good-for-nothings apart from their use in battle, but the young and beautiful elf was different. Her main use wasn't on the field, it was instead on a soft and fluffy bed. She was worth the price for most royalty.

Once they'd gone through everyone once, the assistant turned around and asked, “So? Have you made up your mind, young master?”

Richard was still considering it, but Flowsand was quick to speak, “The trolls and the bard.” She then sensed Richard's inquisitive gaze, saying indifferently, “They have the potential to become saints. The rest do not.”

“You can probe their potential?” Richard asked in shock. He'd gone through a test when he first entered the Deepblue as well, but he remembered it being an unbearably long and painful procedure.

Flowsand nodded, “Yes, but it has a great price. Such things drain my blessing, if I probe any further I will fall in level.”

Richard understood her immediately, walking over to the assistant and pointing Flowsand's choices out, “I want these three.”

The assistant was rather dumbfounded at his choice, taking a glance at the drow. He didn't understand why she was not one of Richard's choices, given how many uses she had. The dark elf came from Morfan's personal collection, one that he'd curated for royalty. He'd only added this rare treasure here as a gesture of goodwill once he saw that Flowsand had come along as well.

But then, he had second thoughts as he looked at the elven bard. Royals had all sorts of bizarre fetishes, and this bard had more than one use as well. In fact, he might even have more uses than that elf.

The assistant sorted his thoughts out, no longer doubting Richard's decision. He proceeded to finish his duty, explaining the precautions they had to take, “Alright. I need to remind you that slaves are slaves, regardless of quality. None of them took on this role willingly, so you should not count on their loyalty. Be alert at all times, and prepared to deliver harsh punishments if the time calls for it.”

“No need to worry, I have contracts,” Richard said, taking out a scroll for each slave.

“Magic slave contracts! Okay, I understand. Still, young master, remember my words.” The assistant's tone held respect, but his thoughts were otherwise. Although these contracts were the best assurance of a slave's loyalty, it depended on the situation. The scrolls in Richard's hands were almost the same price as the slaves. He would rather use that extra money to buy more slaves instead of being wasteful like this. There were plenty of ways to train them, and the occasional sacrifice of one or two was nothing.

The trolls and the elf stood still as the contracts took effect, before following Richard out. The elven bard introduced himself, his background, and his skills using poetry.

He was Olar Floatwind, the child of a strong sun elf warrior and a half-elf. His impure heritage left him facing discrimination since birth, causing his mother to take him and wander alone. He was eventually captured by a team of adventurers, becoming a slave. However, Olar's bloodline abilities and talent started to show as he grew. He was currently a level 8 bard, and rather skilled at archery as well, all without any formal training. He would be thirty this year, but that only barely made him an adult amongst the elves who lived to two hundred years of age.

Bards were similar to clerics, mages, and assassins all at once. Those of this class mainly supported their party in battle. This wasn't a class Olar had chosen himself; it was something he had been forced into by slave traffickers to please the aristocrats and royalty. His beautiful soothing voice, striking looks, and aura made any banquet calm and satisfying. Some ladies even fell head over heels for him.

Richard paid the assistant upon their arrival at Mokoff, and bought some equipment for his newly acquired slaves in the market. They quickly made their way to a docked ship without rest, starting their journey for the final goal of this journey.

The ship was enormous, able to hold up to 500 people at once on a long-haul journey. Everyone occupying it was from either the Archerons or the Church of the Eternal Dragon, carefully selected after multiple stringent tests. Apart from sailors and soldiers, they'd also brought along dozens of craftsmen of different specialisations, as well about ten low-level mages.

Their destination this time was an island not on the Alliance's records, leaving Richard able to claim it for his own the moment he arrived. And Richard already had a name in mind for it: Yessë-va-ilu. It was a term from the ancient elven language, meaning the beginning of everything.

The passengers of this ship were to become the first settlers of Yessë-va-ilu, the first of Richard's citizens. And for this, Richard had added another 15,000 coins to the debt he owed the Archerons.𝐟𝓇𝒆𝐞w𝐞𝙗𝓷o𝘷𝐞𝒍. c𝐨𝒎

133 - City of Sin

Behind The Scenes

Having sailed the vast ocean for three whole days, the ship had long since departed from common routes. It was on the fourth morning that Yessë-va-ilu appeared on the horizon, an island over tens of kilometres wide with springs on the eastern mountains for water, and a forest that covered half of its land providing timber. After Richard stepped foot on the island, he had a small village and port set up.

The ship dropped anchor, sending the group of people and their belongings through a smaller boat. Richard, Flowsand, and Lina entered the forest, searching for a suitable area to set up the portal. As Richard's soulguard, Waterflower lurked in the vicinity as well. He could occasionally feel some faint joy from the girl through their connection, likely being related to having returned to the forest.

Lina eventually decided on the foot of a small hill, taking magic crystals out of her spatial pouch to set up the formation. The formation was extremely complicated, requiring even the Dragonmage one day at minimum to set up.

That night, Richard had a few bonfires set up around the area. He sat down with Flowsand at his side, grilling the prey that Waterflower had captured. Lina continued to work, placing crystals into their position from time to time as the formation flashed with a wondrous brilliance.

They could see the bonfires at the shore from their location, with the tens of tents set up there. If his expedition into the plane was successful, future generations could stay here, using the port and village they were setting up.

The bonfire flickered continuously, illuminating the two's faces from time to time. Neither spoke. Even if they were heading for a low-level plane, with nothing expected to happen, nobody could be sure of what they would face. On the eve of their expedition, the pressure had magnified itself in front of them.

......

It was not a tranquil evening in Faust. Several griffins glided across the night sky, bathed in the brilliance of the seven moons as their riders skillfully landed them onto the first island of Faust's seventh layer. Several important figures gathered in a lavish and spacious living room, representing not themselves but the families standing behind them.

Between the two sides sat a stern-looking old man. This was Duke Bickar Mensa, the head of the Mensas that occupied what was commonly called island 7-1. Like the Josephs, the Mensas were well-known aristocrats that had their legacies passed down through generations. Their existence was even older than that of the Sacred Alliance, their power evident just from their position amongst the fourteen.

On the duke's left was Baron Raymond Joseph, while on his right was a handsome yet sinister-looking youth. That was Viscount Dasher of the Wellington Family, true big-shots that occupied the island 6-3. As for the last representative, the one from the Schumpeters that occupied island 7-7, he could only sit further away, at the side of Viscount Dasher.

These four families combined made for an extremely powerful force. As for the issue that had gathered them all together? The threat of the Archerons, of Richard Archeron.

Paying his greetings in respect to the Duke, Raymond surveyed everyone in the room before he spoke solemnly, “Everyone, the Archerons have not been on the floating islands of Faust for even two years, with only three sacrifices to their name, but they've already managed to have their island shift. I'm sure everyone present here is quite clear on what that means. We cannot allow this group of lunatics to expand any further, and need to adopt a powerful strategy to suppress them

“The first target is Richard Archeron. I've gathered that he's not just a student of the legendary mage, but also someone who has the potential to become a grand runemaster in the future. Indeed, a grand runemaster! That isn't something I'm exaggerating in order to incite action; my latest reports say that a compoundable rune he crafted was sold on auction for over five million gold.”

*Pat!* The Schumpeter family representative slapped the sides of his seat, saying passionately, “If we'd known that earlier we would have killed him the night he went to the ceremony with Gaton!”

Dasher harrumphed, saying cynically, ”Kill him? I heard there were several families waiting in the dark to ambush them, but nobody dared step up in the end. Being this afraid of Gaton, hmph! I'm sure the Schumpeters were amongst those in ambush?”

The representative of the Schumpeters turned red with anger, but he didn't dare rebuke the viscount. As the family occupying the seventh island they were in an extremely awkward position, having to face the onslaught of any new entrants first. They needed the Wellingtons' support in crucial moments.

However, given their sensitive position how would they dare arouse the wrath of the Archerons? If they started a war with that bunch of lunatics, even if they managed to survive they would lose an immense amount of resources. Who knows if any of the families eyeing the floating islands would seize the opportunity and attack them?

And this was all assuming they would be able to withstand an Archeron assault, something even this representative himself doubted. Gaton had cleanly destroyed the family that had occupied island 7-3, engaging in a full frontal war with someone like him? Don't even think about it. Even the nemeses of the Archerons, the Josephs, would never do such a foolish thing.

Raymond spoke up to dispel the awkward atmosphere, “Everyone. According to what I know, it wasn't Gaton that performed the ceremony that night. It was Richard.”

“Richard?” Duke Mensa snorted and furrowed his brows, “The fellow seems to have left Faust the moment the ceremony ended. He likely obtained a powerful time-related blessing. If he's lucky enough, it could even have been prolonged life, or accelerated time in a different plane. The next time we see him, he could very well pose a huge threat to us.”

“If he was blessed with innate talent, or a specific rune, we might be facing a saint runemaster in the future! Don't forget Saint Peter and his legendary divine set!” Raymond added.

The atmosphere in the discussion room turned gloomy in an instant. All those present acknowledged the threat Richard posed from the information they had been provided. It greatly increased the level of his threat even beyond Alice, putting him second in the Archerons only to Gaton himself. And the most terrible thing? He received even more blessings than Gaton. Even if everyone present knew the Josephs had some selfish desire in their proposition, the rest were just the same. Gaton's shadow was like a sword looming over their heads, and the very first to be beheaded might just be the Josephs.

Duke Mensa eventually made up his mind, breaking the long silence, “We have to take action. We cannot let Richard grow in power.”

134 - City of Sin

Behind The Scenes

“Take action?” Dasher looked at the Duke with contempt, snorting, “What kind of action? Richard left Faust a week ago, his destination unknown. He's definitely embarked on an expedition to a plane, and don't dream of getting the coordinates anytime soon. High Priestess Ferlyn even had Daybreak accompany him! Do you think we'll be able to get the location out of the Church of the Eternal Dragon?”

“Richard and Flowsand... You haven't realised?” Raymond asked with a smile. He didn't seem dismayed, instead very confident..

Dasher's face darkened, and he obviously wasn't happy with Raymond's behaviour. Although they both occupied the same layer, the Wellingtons were undeniably far stronger than the Josephs. In fact, the Josephs had only lost power through their war of attrition with the Archerons.

However, Raymond didn't continue to keep them guessing, “Richard and Flowsand being together will mean that they're going to a low-level plane. A party formed for such an expedition will be limited to level 10 or so. We don't have to get the coordinates from Gaton or the Church, in fact we don't have to get the coordinates at all. As long as we're able to shift where they end up, our plans can be achieved.”

“You mean to...?” Dasher's eyes flashed. He didn't seem to dislike this fellow as much anymore.

Raymond immediately replied, “Simple. We can perform a ceremony of our own, using the entirety of the blessing to change the coordinates Richard will be teleporting to. Turn it into an intermediate plane that needs those at least at level 18 to conquer! Then we can get the coordinates for this new plane, and send our own parties to vie for the resources there. While we're at it, we can have Richard killed as well. The laws allow us to send expeditions capped at level 15, so it won't be a huge strain on our resources and won't draw the attention of the Archerons. And based on levels alone we'll have an absolute advantage over his party.

Duke Mensa pondered for a while before speaking, “This is a good idea, but it has already been a week...” Sacrifices could only change the future, not the past.

Raymond added in a hurry, “He should still be off somewhere making preparations. We've always had our eyes on important Archerons, and Richard definitely didn't have the resources for an expedition prepared before the ceremony. We must still strike quickly, however; our time is running out.” Raymond's confidence caused the representatives of the other families to exchange looks. With the two families being arch enemies, the Josephs spying on the Archerons was nothing new.
ｆ𝓇𝘦𝚎𝑤e𝗯𝑛𝗼ѵe𝗹. c𝒐𝘮

Duke Mensa chimed in, “Richard's blessings weren't low. We'll need a ceremony with thrice the offerings.”

“We'll be able to accomplish that if we divide it amongst ourselves,” Dasher interjected. He then turned to the Schumpeter representative, frowning, “As for you guys...”

The Schumpeters had just performed a ceremony a few months ago, and their strength had dropped greatly in recent years. They wouldn't be able to take anything decent out of their vaults. However, they would definitely be thrown out of this circle if they didn't make any contributions at a time like this.

When Dasher's gaze swept past him, the Schumpeters' representative gritted his teeth and said, “Leave the boy to us. We'll divide the resources from the new plane equally amongst our families.”

“It won't be that easy to deal with those two,” Dasher didn't release his hold on the man, “Who'll be in charge of the mission?”

The Schumpeter representative gritted his teeth again, “Sinclair!”

“Very well then, it's all settled!” Dasher seemed to be satisfied, a rare sight. He moved the discussion forward, discussing the sacrifices with the other two...

Midnight. Duke Mensa personally led a party of knights to the Church of the Eternal Dragon, beginning a ceremony in a bid to obtain blessings. This was supposed to be a low-grade ceremony arranged at the last minute, so Derlyn herself did not show up. A random priestess would be enough to officiate.

Once the ceremony began, however, the light in the church grew more and more radiant. Divine energy surged from the void, and just the sheer amount of it indicated that this was the highest grade of ceremony. This was an extremely rare occurrence, causing the officiating priestess to nearly faint with happiness. Such a grand ceremony wouldn't normally be open for her to conduct, so this was a blessing. She was even more solicitous than usual afterwards, personally escorting the Duke out of the church.

The ceremony performed in the middle of the night was a hot topic in aristocratic circles for a few weeks. Duke Mensa's close friends visited him on occasion, congratulating him. They all believed that such a great blessing would cement his position in the Sacred Alliance further, perhaps to the point that he wouldn't have to worry about the Archeron threat anymore.

Every time, Duke Mensa only expressed his gratitude. He didn't reveal any details of the ceremony, leaving these 'close friends' with no information about the events leading up to it.

......

Richard had no idea of the events that had unfolded in Faust. They were on the eve of departure, the final night of preparations finally here. And that passed quickly as well— between the head count, preparing equipment, readying themselves for emergencies, and many other little matters like that, the sun had crept its way back onto the horizon.

Lina had already prepared the formation, leaving it awaiting activation. She remained prudent, ensuring that there were no problems with the coordinates repeatedly. Richard made a final confirmation as well, just before he would teleport away.

The party this time consisted of him, Flowsand, Waterflower, Gangdor, the trolls, Olar, and a small group of footsoldiers provided by the Archerons. Nobody except Richard, Flowsand, and Waterflower carried high-grade equipment so they wouldn't have to use much energy for teleportation, and all of his runecrafting supplies were stuffed into two large boxes.

Once she ascertained that everything was in place, Lina activated the portal. Immense mana surged from the crystals placed all over the formation, tearing the void above it until an ancient law stabilised the rift. It eventually formed a portal that they would be able to pass through one at a time.

The footsoldiers were the first through the portal, followed by Gangdor, the trolls, and then the rest. Once Flowsand stepped through as well, Richard was the only one remaining.

“Wait a minute!” Lina called out, walking up to Richard, “Good luck, Little Richard!”

“Thank you!” Richard smiled, wanting to shake her hand. However, the Dragonmage instead gave him a warm hug, one so tight that Richard could distinctly feel her figure pressing into his body. However, it conveyed her sincere well-wishes and concern.

Richard walked back to the portal. In the final moment before he left, he turned around and waved, “I'll definitely return!”

There was a common saying amongst those of Norland embarking on an expedition: the portal was like a mirror. But one step, and one would end up in an entirely different world. Nobody knew what they would encounter in the other plane, forget whether they could grow a base and stabilise their position there, obtaining resources and returning home. Once Richard stepped foot through the portal, nobody knew when it would be that he stepped back onto the soil of Norland once more.

Seeing the boy's figure disappear through the portal, Lina felt a sudden urge to cry. It wasn't because Richard was special, but because this scene brought back many memories from the past. This wasn't the first time the Dragonmage was setting up a portal to a different plane, personally sending off many people on their journeys. There were strangers, comrades, family members, friends, and lovers. They were all bold, decisive and intelligent, and were outstanding people of their times.

Many of them had remained uncontactable since.

135 - City of Sin

A Mishap

The feeling of passing through a planar portal was about the same as any other. One's consciousness blanked for a brief moment, before glitching back into existence. It felt longer than usual, though, but then again they'd crossed an immeasurable distance in a mere few seconds.

Archeron men were waiting at the other side, having built a reconnaissance base and set up a Lighthouse of Time to guide those who came afterwards. In the vast and chaotic currents of time and space, the Lighthouse of Time would provide a stable position to lock on to, preventing the traveller from losing their way to a deviation in the teleportation route that was set up on short notice.

According to the information Richard had acquired, the base wasn't particularly large. Even including the natives they'd subjugated there weren't more than fifty people present, and the place was barely larger than an adventuring party's camp. Seventeen of the Archerons sent out in the original party had survived, having explored less than fifty kilometres out. It could be said that they were still rather clueless about the plane's situation.

However, the coordinates of every stable plane were extremely precious. Once the plane was completely conquered, it would result in a large fortune and innumerable resources. Gaton only had one unconquered lesser plane himself, so Richard didn't exactly have a choice.

Richard was already quite satisfied with lodging at a relatively safe vase, with men who'd arrived beforehand and were already familiar with the environment. Many of the initial dangers involved in planar travel had already been avoided.

A burst of dazzling white light appeared in Richard's sight. It blinded and hurt him, taking away the colourful lights that had pervaded his vision upto that point. There were no dazzling lights when he regained vision, however; he instead saw a cloudy sky, with trees and mountains around. A gentle breeze blew past his face, telling Richard that a whole new world had opened up ahead of him.

Outside of the purple flora, everything present looked quite the same as Norland. It was unknown whether it was due to a particular season or it was normal all year round, but the mountain range that stretched endlessly under the azure sky was covered in various shades of purple that exuded vitality.

However, there was barely any time for Richard to admire the scenery of the plane. A strong sense of danger suddenly welled up in his heart, and the sharp whistle of the wind suddenly rang in his ears. A cry rang out, and from the corner of his eye Richard saw Waterflower charging towards him.

Waterflower pinned Richard to the ground, and an arrow whizzed past them right after to bury itself right next to his cheek. The strong winds hurt his eyes, the arrow still making a disturbing hum as it vibrated in the earth.

Although this was a close shave with death, Richard was a lot calmer this time. Enemy attack! That was the first thing that came to his mind.

“Follow me!” Waterflower said stiffly. She leapt up like a cheetah, her figure constantly switching between paths. She took a winding path as she charged towards a tree not far away. Richard flipped onto his feet as well, swiftly running alongside her.

A novice knight was running as well, not far from them. However, he'd barely taken a few steps before some arrows whizzed by and pinned him down. A sharp whistle rang in the air as a hatched flew over, burying itself into his back. The knight shouted in agony before collapsing to the ground.

It was only then that Richard managed to distinguish between the various sounds he heard in his ear. Murderous screams echoed from every direction, making it clear that they had been surrounded. Incessant howls of agony rang out from the jungle, many of them from voices he was familiar with. The ones he didn't recognise sounded foreign and strange; they had to be from the enemies.

Richard rapidly took note of his surroundings. This was a sparse forest, a mixture of various trees and shrubs. There was only the occasional bulky tree that seemed old, with agile soldiers running amongst them. They took cover behind the trees and bushes, inching closer to their location.

Just from their movements Richard could tell that all of these enemies were level 5 or higher. They were familiar with battle in the woods, with a large number of archers amongst them. The only good news was that there were no signs of magic yet.

As he was looking at all this, Richard jumped towards the large tree that Waterflower had found. Once he was under cover, the young lady leapt forward like a wolf, charging towards the approaching enemies in the depths of the jungle with extraordinary agility. He was quite confident in her ability to deal with multiple lower-level opponents in a forest environment.

Surely enough, endless shrieks soon echoed around the area. Waterflower was like a true wolf hiding in the woods, pouncing from fallen enemy to enemy.

Richard composed himself, quickly buffing himself with a magical shield and stone skin. He then began to make his own way towards the most intense part of the battle.

He heard Gangdor snarl right ahead of him, following which the huge figure charged through two trees that were bound closely together. The hanging vines didn't hinder the brute in the least, falling to the ground one after the other as if they were cut off by sharp blades. With more than half of his upper body already bared, the long arrow stuck into his back was quite noticeable.

However, all of Gangdor's body was radiating with vengeance. It was evident that the arrow wouldn't affect his might in battle, as he wielded an unknown's tree trunk that was even thicker than his arm. The trunk was coloured a sticky red and white, blood and brain matter all over it.

There were unsettling movements in the shadows surrounding them. The enemies were cautiously closing in on them, but neither that nor the injuries seemed to affect the part giant's fighting spirit. On the contrary, it only made him more ferocious. He took large strides forward, brandishing the large trunk in his hand. His heavy footsteps shook the ground relentlessly, while his snarls reverberated in the jungle, “You lowly creatures! Get yourselves out here and face your deaths! Don't think these toothpicks of trees will save you, I can smell your stink from kilometres away! Look at this axe in my...”

Gangdor's voice came to a halt. He looked at the tree trunk in his hand, unsure as to how he should continue. All their weapons were transported together in a chest when they teleported, cutting down on the mana required to run the formation. His axe wasn't in his hand right now, instead packed tightly into the chest.

However, it was evident that the slaughter was more important than his warcry. Gangdor only paused for a moment, before continuing with his roar, “No weapon in my hand can handle the hunger! Shudder, you lowly creatures!”

*Whoosh!* The response Gangdor got was an arrow, shot forth towards him from behind. However, he displayed an agility not befitting of his build. In a flash he'd leapt to the side, easily dodging it. The trunk in his hands flew out into the jungle, ruthlessly smashing into a half-exposed archer.

The cracking of bones rang out, and the archer's body instantly distorted. The man couldn't even manage a groan before collapsing. Gangdor looked around for another weapon, but not finding anything he resorted to tearing down a nearby tree and holding it in his hand.

The commotion of battle suddenly grew intense in another direction. Four knights tightly encircled Flowsand to protect her, continuing to retreat. They weren't armed well, with only one of them having a shield in hand while the others had to make do with longswords and axes. Sharp arrows rained down on them from the jungle, leaving all of the knights injured. However, their bodies were all shining with a faint radiance. Every time the tip of an arrow touched this glow, it came to a halt like it had fallen into water. The force of the arrows was halved at minimum.

Range Shield was a spell common to clerics and mages, one of the most practical of the elementary spellbook. Even in an unfavourable situation Flowsand appeared calm and collected. Although she was on the move as well, she was casting spells cleanly on the knights, one by one. The spells replenished their shields, and healed those who'd suffered more serious injuries. Although she was casting elementary spells, they were shot out one after the other. It was like she had inexhaustible power.

A burst of laughter suddenly echoed from the woods opposite Flowsand, sounding like grinding metal. A voice rang out, saying the same thing again and again. The cleric immediately cast a language proficiency spell, hearing what the other party had to say:

“Foreign invaders, you've landed in the hands of Sir Kojo. Don't even think of putting up a struggle! I'll kill all of you, and hang your bodies in front of the baron's castle to show everyone in the lands how invaders end up! Hahahahaha!”

136 - City of Sin

A Mishap(2)

A soldier who was fully covered in glistening silver armour emerged from the shrubs to the tune of booming laughter. He took wide steps, followed by dozens of others who rushed forth in order. They divided themselves evenly, flanking Flowsand and her knights in an arc.

However, a burning fireball suddenly shot out from the forest, heading for the soldiers furthest away. This 'Sir Kojo' exclaimed in shock, “Damn it, they have a mage! Defensive mode, now!”

With the spell being launched from so close, it was definitely too late to make any adjustments to their formation. Running wildly would only make them active targets for the opponents. Thus, they could only make use of the time between the mage's spells to adjust their positions, deciding whether to retreat or advance.

Crouching behind one's shield was an effective way to withstand fireballs. Those without could only pray for luck. Kojo kneeled at once, his body hunching as he buried his sword into the ground in front of him. The wide blade and his arm served to cover most of his vital parts, as he gathered energy for a defensive layer around himself. Please visit 𝘧𝔯𝙚𝐞𝘄ℯ𝚋𝘯𝚘ν𝐞𝑙. c𝑜m

However, a second fireball shot out from the depths of the forest before the first had even landed in place! The knight's hands trembled at once— there was another mage! There was just a second between the fireballs, two mages had to be casting them around the same time.

There wasn't much time for him to think, with the first fireball already having exploded loudly. Blazing waves of heat surged through the area, engulfing him and nearly half of his troop.

Kojo heard a chilling voice sound from amidst the ringing of the explosions, “I really must thank you, Sir Kojo. If I didn't know your position, I would not be able to determine your power.” The opponent was talking in common tongue, but his pacing was monotonous and his tone completely flat. This was a typical language comprehension spell. Indeed, they were invaders from a foreign plane!

Kojo roared in fury, but two more fireballs were shot out of the jungle at the same time. All four were placed in a square around Kojo, with him at the centre of the converging blasts. Such control was extremely good: the earliest fireball had landed the farthest, while the last was closer.

In a mere two breaths of time, the entire area was set ablaze. The soldiers who were originally the farthest and fastest to set off rushed out of the fire, but even they were burned by the enchanted flames. They rolled on the ground, leaking long howls.

As for those near the centre, there were no signs of struggle from them.

Right at the centre of it all, Kojo bitterly endured all the heat waves engulfing him one after the other. Four surges of heat assaulted him less than a second apart, depleting almost all of his energy.

When the final blast passed him, the knight disregarded the excruciating pain of his burns and struggled onto his feet. Just as he raised his head, he saw Richard taking large strides towards him, sprinting with another fireball conjured in his hand. He moved close until he was less than twenty metres away.

“You wretched lunatic! Curse you!” Kojo was so alarmed that his hairs were almost all standing. He no longer had time to consider how many mages there were exactly in the jungle. This was the first time one was charging towards him directly in the battlefield, and this one had a lethal spell in hand!

Richard slightly shoved his hand forward, causing an unavoidable fireball to zoom over towards the knight. Kojo let out a bellow of rage, drawing on his energy once more as he raised his enormous sword up high, bringing it down in a flash to strike the spell coming towards him.

The fireball exploded, the force of the impact flinging him up in the air. The energy radiating from his armour flickered a few times, before eventually dying out completely. Attacking a fireball directly only slightly decreased the damage it could do, unless they had enchantments or were using enough energy to weaken the magic. Warriors still had to rely on their armour and shields to withstand the heat waves.

Kojo fell heavily to the floor, his helmet falling off to reveal a face that was already burned black and red. His lush beard and hair had long turned to cinders in the high temperature.

Despite his skill in battle techniques, the knight hadn't been able to withstand Richard's five consecutive fireballs. The only reason he was still alive now was because of his excellent energy reserves, which was in part due to his superior armour.

He struggled his way up once again. He glared at Richard like a wounded lion, only his left eye open as his right bled profusely. He barely managed to steady himself, saying with a sardonic smile, “Insignificant bastards from a foreign plane, don't get too ahead of yourselves! You'll all die very soon, alright!”

Richard lifted his hand, making a slash in the air as he said coldly, “You'll be first.”

Kojo seemed like he wanted to say something else, but Waterflower's graceful figure had already appeared from the woods in a flash. Her movements were quick yet soundless, the 45-degree angle her body made with the ground making her look like a ghastly bolt of lightning. She moved behind Kojo at once, the Shepherd of Eternal Rest flashing in her hand.

Kojo's head suddenly flew up high, forming an arc of blood in the sky. However, his body stood up straight as before, refusing to collapse even as blood spurted from the neck.

Waterflower herself staggered for a moment upon performing the blow. That stunning move earlier had used up more than half of her own power. Just as she began to recover a bit, she heard Richard's sudden roar, “GET BEHIND COVER!”

Years living on the edge had given her the experience to leap instantly. She flipped a few times, making her way behind a large tree quite quickly. Two short spears whizzed by, burying themselves into the ground that she'd been standing upon but a moment ago.

“There are still enemies here! Kill them all!” Richard roared loudly, choosing to charge forward instead of retreat. He forged ahead, taking large strides towards the soldiers emerging from the jungle. As he advanced, he had already begun to chant his spells. When he brushed past Flowsand, Richard pointed his right hand to the front. An intense pulse of magic ran through the area, before four brutal boars were spawned in the forest, charging towards Kojo's soldiers ferociously.

The four creatures weighed more than a hundred kilos each, but they sprinted wildly, with frightening energy. They had long fangs and sharp bones on the back, all deadly weapons. Their hooves, harder than rock, caused the earth to rumble like thunder as they charged across the forest.

Even Kojo, were he still around, would have to take these boars seriously. With the remaining soldiers being around level five or six, they couldn't even take them on one-on-one. When they collided with the boars, they suddenly discovered that these magical creatures were more difficult to deal with than they had expected. All of the brutal boars were sparkling, covered by a faint divine radiance. They'd completely transformed into a whole new level of threat after a blessing had been cast on them.

Flowsand remained silent, having cast the blessing with a mere wave of her hands. She hadn't chanted any spells aloud from the start. It seemed like all of her spells could be cast silently, and her reserves seemed endless.

As Richard saw the four brutal boars disrupt the enemy's line of battle, he finally let out a breath. Everything in front of him went black at once, causing him to nearly fall. A warm, soft, yet strong body supported his weight. Soon after, an icy streak of spiritual power was instilled in his body, letting his drained mana recover faster.

Grade 3 spell, Vitality. It had come just in time.

137 - City of Sin

A Mishap(3)

The four knights originally guarding Flowsand had already dispersed to the sides, ready to face their enemies who'd freed themselves from the boars head on. Now, the only person left supporting Richard was Flowsand.

Before Richard even had the time to express his gratitude, three warriors were charging them down. With the knights tangled up, they likely realised that it was best to dash towards the mages in a straight line. Unable to break away from the enemies that outnumbered them, Richard's knights were helpless as the warriors pounced towards him.

Richard quietly tried to gather some mana, but gave up quite quickly. He didn't have enough to power even a single fireball, but the warriors were so close that he could see the flames burning in their sinister gazes. His face flushed a peculiar shade of scarlet on this line between life and death, and strands of hair flew back as he leaped forward to dash right between one of the warriors.

*Bang!* The collision was loud and powerful, taking the warrior by surprise. He stumbled backwards immediately, spouting fresh red blood all over his opponent. With Eruption having been activated, Richard was currently no weaker than a level 10 warrior. The level 5 opponent was seriously injured in just the one frontal collision.

Richard himself already took advantage of the moment to remove the axe the man had in his hands. The amber second moon suddenly flashed out above his head, moonforce flowing into his body at an astonishing speed. He placed the axe level with his body, spinning on the spot to leave a ring of yellow sweeping past the remaining warriors.

Silvermoon secret sword, Ring of Destiny.

The two aggressors were still charging at full speed, and nothing seemed to be out of place for the first few steps they took. However, just as the edges of their swords approached Flowsand, they staggered, unable to stand steadily as they split in twain. The amber ring of light had been powerful enough to separate arms from their bodies, leaving unbelievably deep wounds on their lower torsos.

Shocked out of their wits, the two warriors howled loudly as they pressed on the wounds with all their might. Blood and innards spilled out wildly, however, not enough for the single remaining hands to stop. The violent struggles only made it worse, blood spurting out like a fountain as the cries quickly grew faint. Even that quickly faded away.

The amber moon disappeared silently, the axe in Richard's hand spotless and free of any trace of blood. He rested the head of the axe on the ground, staring calmly at the enemies who were standing mere metres away. Even though the warriors had an absolute advantage in numbers, none of them dared to take a single step forward.

Richard glanced at the axe in his hands, noting with a beautiful but cruel smile, “This seems to be a little too sharp.”

Colour immediately drained from the volunteers' faces, and they retreated by instinct. Even veteran warriors would grow fearful when faced with a homicidal maniac who found joy in torture and blood.

However, explosive claps rang out from the forest behind them. The woods were instantly engulfed in smoke and dust, with trees collapsing continuously. It was so much more chaotic than the encounter with the boars, almost as if some gigantic beast were charging through. Please visit 𝒇𝘳𝗲𝚎w𝑒𝚋𝚗𝐨v𝒆l. 𝒄𝒐𝚖

All of a sudden, two archers flew out of the woods, crashing heavily onto the floors. Their bodies lay there, unmoving and at weird angles. It was obvious that they hadn't come out willingly.

The shrubbery surrounding them collapsed, a loud explosion sounding as two trolls rushed out of the dust with a thunderous snarl. Each one had a thick tree trunk on hand, with no regard for the class of opponent they were facing as they smashed heads in without exception. Absorbed in the chase, they even knocked nearby trees aside, roots and all. The arrows raining down on them were ineffective as well; the archers had no vision. More than half of the trolls' bodies were covered by branches and leaves.

Both trolls had several arrows stuck in their bodies, but their naturally tough skin and thick fat made for armour of its own. The arrows were like mere toothpicks, not hindering their movements at all.

They did not observe the surroundings, nor did they have any concept of teamwork. All they did was to dash directly into the frontlines of the remaining troops, sending two or three warriors flying with every wave of the trunks in their hands. One of the Archeron knights would have been sent flying as well, had he not ducked away in time. Tiramisu didn't even look like a mage, wielding his trunk with the same ferocity that Medium Rare did.

Gangdor rushed over as well, roaring his way into battle. His body was covered with flesh wounds, but looking at the blood on the trunk in his hand his opponents must have been corpses by now. Waterflower bounded over behind his enormous frame, making no sounds regardless of whether she stepped on solid ground or twigs. The Shepherd of Eternal Rest was resting diagonally in her hand, not stained by a single drop of blood even though it had obviously seen its fair share.

Completely surrounded, the last dozen or so warriors were cut down in a flash, leaving only a handful of critically injured survivors.

Richard seemed to remain unfazed, standing straight with the axe still on the ground. The smile in his face hadn't faded in the least as Flowsand walked over stealthily, patting him on the back and whispering, “Hey. There's no enemies left!”

To her utter surprise, Richard went weak at her slightest touch. She held her hands out to catch him in a hurry, but couldn't prop his heavy body up for long. Just as she was about to collapse under his weight, a white shadow flashed past her. Before she knew it, Waterflower was already on the right, helping her support Richard.

Having overdrafted his mana, using Eruption and forcefully executing a secret sword left Richard completely spent. He'd been near-unconscious by the last sentence, barely holding up his intimidation on the strength of will alone.

Flowsand and Waterflower laid Richard flat on the ground. The cleric raised her hand, about to cast a vitality spell on Richard, but the boy caught her arm. Seeing her startled expression, he responded weakly, “There's many injured. I'll be fine after some rest, don't waste your power on me.”

Flowsand cast a meaningful glance at Richard, standing up without protest and walking towards the injured. She cast minor healing on everyone, ensuring that outside of severe injuries everyone would heal in three days at most. Resting in Waterflower's arms, however, Richard started to gasp more violently. The mana depletion this time was a lot more unbearable than he had expected. All he wanted to do was to close his eyes, but he knew that at such a time he could not afford to lose consciousness lest his mana pool be damaged. He struggled to ask, “Is there anything that can keep me awake?”

“Alcohol!” Tiramisu chimed.

“Some very strong alcohol!” Medium Rare emphasised.

Both trolls then turned to face Gangdor, staring straight at him. The brute eyed the two trolls suspiciously before rummaging through his fabric belt, finally finding a small silver bottle that he passed to Waterflower.

A strong alcoholic smell hit everyone as she unscrewed the bottle. Waterflower took a deep sniff, even tasting the drink with her tongue before she eventually let Richard take a big gulp.

Gangdor immediately yelled angrily, “Hey, that's uncalled for! That's a drink I made for myself! Do you really think I'd poison myself?”

“Hard to say,” Waterflower replied harshly, glaring coldly at Gangdor.

“WATERFLOWER!” Gangdor roared, grasping the trunk in his hand tightly. However, Waterflower stared at him with a poker face. Her fair, slender right hand was placed right on the Shepherd of Eternal Rest by her side. Gangdor's expression fell as his gaze darted between the trunk in his hand and the sword in hers. At last, he shouted begrudgingly, “Don't you dare use that sword!”

Waterflower just stared at Gangdor pitifully, almost like she was looking at an idiot.

138 - City of Sin

Annihilation

Richard downed half the bottle of alcohol, and some warmth began to radiate from his stomach. He felt better quickly, struggling to stand, “Knock it off! Where's Olar?”

“I heard his voice coming from that direction,” Gangdor replied immediately, “I'll look for him.” He then headed deep into the forest in a bid to avoid the awkward situation.

Richard shook his head with a wry smile, ordering the soldiers who could still stand to scour the battlefield. The trolls were put on sentry duty, to ensure that there were no more enemies hiding in the woods. Their naturally keen sense of smell would help sniff any out.

Of course, any enemies present should only be stragglers. Over fifty warriors had died trying to kill Richard's party, and that had to be around the limit of what a mere knight could command. The knight's strength had already caused Richard some shock.

Flowsand had finished with the treatments at that point, returning to Richard's side. Her face was somewhat pale, but Richard looked at her intently before saying, “You seem to have an endless supply of holy spells.”

Flowsand looked at Richard, asking him in an indifferent manner befitting of her class, “I saw someone summon four brutal boars just earlier. Which powerful god of magic gave you the gift to summon a full four boars?”

A grade 4 summoning spell could only bring forth one or two boars. Even with enhancement, the spell would normally limited to three. Without any special additions, even a great mage would not be able to summon four boars with a grade 4 spell.

Richard snickered, not continuing the conversation with this cleric that seemed not to run out of mana.

They soon had proper information on the state of the battlefield. A total of 69 enemies had died, including Kojo, with ten heavily injured and just two unscathed. This was over 70 elites, far surpassing the forces a Norland knight could command. Some of the poorer barons only had that many warriors under them...

Gangdor found Olar after some time, unconscious in the forest with two arrows stuck in his body. Fortunately, Flowsand used the last dregs of power she had to cast a greater heal on him, preserving his life.

Three of the ten soldiers who'd come with Richard had died, while two more were heavily injured. However, they managed to find the supplies they'd sent through the portal, with two crates of armour, one of weapons, and one with ingredients. Richard immediately had the survivors arm themselves.

Questioning the captives proved difficult. Be it the heavily injured ones or the two without much damage, not a word came out of their mouths. Thankfully, some information could be made out through their curses. For example, one of their gods had decreed the arrival of invaders. Kojo was the knight in charge of the reconnaissance party, and the one to follow right after would be a baron.

This meant that their encounter with the soldiers was premeditated, which is why they went under attack the moment they made it through. Their entire group was scattered, with each of them left to fend for themselves. If not for their individual power, they would have been annihilated on the spot.

Richard's mind grew clouded, and he looked at Flowsand. Her brows were furrowed— this plane had gods, and their enemies had strong faith. This was definitely not good news to a priestess, or for that matter to Richard. It meant he would need to spend more effort gathering information. However, there was something else which required his attention immediately.
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“Where is the base that we will be setting up in?” Richard asked. The receiving end of the portal was supposed to have a base set up, but they'd appeared in a forest instead.

One of the soldiers Richard had sent out to scout returned soon, “Lord Richard, I've found the base. But... there isn't a single person there!”

The base was just a kilometre away, and the foot soldier couldn't seem to explain himself well, so Richard eventually decided to go there personally to have a look. If there was something that he did not understand, Flowsand would most likely know it herself.

However, when they found the base, even the indifferent Flowsand was somewhat stupefied.

The base was the size of a small village, the only difference being a layer of tall, strong walls surrounding it with a tower for scouts and archers that could fit three people. Even with the tall walls the tower in the middle of the camp was visible, and if one looked close enough they could see the runes inscribed on it in the shape of an hourglass. The top was flat-roofed, with torches on it that were supposed to be lit with the eternal flames of time. This was the Lighthouse of Time, the most important construct here that was supposed to have led them on their way.

The entire camp being eerily empty caused one to be flustered. The flames of time were already extinguished for who knows how long, with the gates wide open. Several huts could be seen inside, some with their doors ajar, but there seemed to be no activity whatsoever.

As Richard was about to enter, he was stopped by Waterflower. She jumped onto the wall, her sword in hand as she looked around. She sniffed the surroundings before nodding her head and jumping in.

Gangdor had a shield in his left hand and a giant axe in his right, storming through the gates. Medium Rare and Tiramisu followed, the latter's magic defense and iron skin spells finally proving that she was a mage. Only after nearly everyone else entered did Flowsand let go of Richard's hands. However, she was still holding on to his robes.

“I'm not that important!” Richard smiled wryly at Flowsand.

“If you die, so will Waterflower. The others will lose power as well,” Flowsand said solemnly.

“Why would you be concerned with all that?” Richard attempted to reason with her.

“The Dragon of Eternity and Light values you more than me. I cannot allow you to die,” Flowsand said seriously.

Richard didn't know whether to laugh or cry, so he spoke in an equally solemn manner, “But I've never had the habit of letting a woman defend me.”

“Is that a tradition of the Archerons?” Flowsand asked.

“Umm... Probably.” It was a simple question, but one Richard found difficult to answer. Fortunately the cleric didn't dwell on the matter, instead letting go. However, five or six holy spells were cast on him by the time he took a few steps. Physical shielding, magic resistance, ranged shielding, poison immunity... There was even a rejuvenation spell! Richard's body shone in all sorts of colours, becoming extremely dazzling. Under such circumstances, it would be difficult for him to die even if he wanted to.

Richard and Flowsand finally entered the base after this minor episode. There was a strange aura all around, so Richard ordered the soldiers to search the perimeter just to be safe, notifying the rest with a whistle if there was an ambush waiting.

The base wasn't large at all, and it took less than ten minutes for the party to survey everything within. Standing on the empty ground in the centre, Richard's expression had grown extremely serious. Flowsand walked out from a hut near him, her expression not good either.

There were huts designed for a single person to occupy here, but there were also bunks for soldiers, a granary, an armoury, and a general purpose warehouse. This was alongside a smithy, a lab, and even a small pub. However, no matter where one looked there was no sight of anyone at all. There was still some food left on the stove, but the firewood underneath was burnt out! There were dishes placed on the bar, with a half-eaten steak on the ground.

Armour, weapons, and clothes were strewn across the area, every pile being a perfect set of undergarments, robes, outer clothing, and armour. If a stark naked man walked over and picked a bundle off the ground, all he needed was a weapon to be fully armed. Of course there were other sets as well, like those belonging to cooks, mages, and maids. While all these sets were present, the people who should be wearing them were not. It seemed like they had all vanished at once, without any resistance to speak of. It was absurd.

The scouts returned to Richard, but everyone was left alarmed by the bizarre scene. They subconsciously gripped their weapons tightly, staring at the surroundings.

139 - City of Sin

Annihilation(2)

All of this was no longer justifiable by common spells. A banshee's scream would have left bodies behind, while disjunction would have affected the clothes as well. Either would leave greyish-white dust behind as well, something that was quite difficult to clear. Even a legendary spell like Vampire's Embrace would leave its victims as dry, nearly mummified corpses.

Flowsand walked towards the Lighthouse of Time, touching the patterns carved onto the tower's body. She extended her senses carefully for a moment, before saying, “All of the power of time is gone, and with my current level of power it's impossible to restore. The flames of time are extinguished as well... They were crucial, containing Norland's coordinates. Without them, we can't return to Norland for now. Those in Norland won't be able to track our location either.”

“WE'RE LOST?” Olar exclaimed. If they were lost in the streams of time, death was their only fate.

“It's not that serious, you sissy! We've at least come to a plane, and are all gathered together!” Gangdor bellowed.

Gangdor was right, but the circumstances were not optimistic either. Losing the coordinates of their plane meant that they did not know how long they had to stay on this foreign plane. This was no different from being sent into exile.

The only silver lining was that the terrain and life forms were quite similar to Norland's own. It would be relatively easy to gather resources for their survival. Had they been thrown into an elemental plane, or some place like the abyss or hell, they would have trouble even surviving. It also seemed like the base had a complete set of basic supplies, including enough weapons and armour to equip hundreds of men alongside months of rations.

Tiramisu's voice suddenly sounded from the tavern, “This steak is a little strange. It looks delicious, but it's as if it was here for a few hundred years. I wouldn't dare eat it!”

“Then give it to me, I'm starving! I can tell it's grilled to perfection!” Medium Rare bellowed.

“Let's just bring it to that young lady Flowsand, and have her take a look first. Something's odd about this!” Tiramisu insisted.

The quarrelling ogres squeezed their way out of the tavern. The thick flesh on their large bodies strained against the door a few times before they were able to pass through, gods know how they entered before.

Tiramisu carried a whole steak of lamb over. It seemed like it was just taken off the pan, and Medium Rare's eyes were fixed on it as he constantly swallowed saliva. He really could be called a master of etiquette for an ogre, able to restrain himself from drooling even when he was hungry.

Flowsand's slim figure seemed delicate as a reed in the wind in front of the two ogres who were more than 2.5 metres tall. However, the ogres were extremely respectful to her, second only to Richard himself. Tiramisu squatted down on the ground, bending over with much difficulty to present the steak so Flowsand could check more easily.

She gently chanted the spell, the first time she'd ever done so aloud in front of Richard. A ray of golden light was produced from her fingertips, transforming into grains of sand that landed on the steak. The surface shone with a golden radiance immediately, the intensity varying depending on the part of the meat. Some of the areas were completely dim, while on others it was so strong that these grains directly solidified into sands of time. Even then they couldn't hold the energy in, eventually charging towards the sky in a golden fountain.

Flowsand had a grave look on her face. She ordered Tiramisu to place the lamb steak on the floor, “There's some disordered remnants of the power of time on this. It was likely eroded in the streams of time, but I'm not sure why it's still intact. Some of the parts are new, while others are thousands of years old. If anyone eats this steak, some of their internals will likely age and degrade a thousand years instantly. You should know the outcome of that.”

Tiramisu immediately broke out in a sweat. He looked at his own hands, and finding that they weren't showing any strange signs he let out a breath of relief. On the other hand, Rare's legs had given in as he collapsed to the floor. It had never occurred to him that such a delicious steak could contain hidden dangers as well.

Richard had been watching quietly from the side all this while, only speaking after Flowsand stated her conclusion, “Don't you think this is strange? There are many abnormalities at the base. Those soldiers who ambushed us earlier were around level 4 or 5, which was not bad even for Norland's standards. Knight Kojo himself was a level 12 warrior. If this was really a low level plane, how could a robust level 12 warrior only lead less than a hundred soldiers over to battle?”

Flowsand raised her head, waiting for Richard to continue.

Richard went on calmly, “If I'm not mistaken, we are currently in a secondary plane. The greatest powers here might already have reached legendary might if we guess based on Kojo's power. This surely isn't our original destination.”

Flowsand said indifferently, “I don't know what has happened, but we clearly deviated from our target destination during the teleportation. The reconnaissance base that originally linked to us was shifted here, so we were led here as well. Without the proper defences, the base did not manage to survive the shift, so all life forms disappeared. That matches with the current situation: everyone in the base ought to have disappeared when it was displaced. That is why there's armour strewn everywhere, with half-cooked food and half-eaten steak. It explains everything we've seen.” Please visit 𝗳𝚛𝐞𝘦wℯ𝚋𝓷o𝚟el. 𝐜𝘰𝒎

“Why?” Richard creased his brows. They had stable coordinates, and he was accompanied by a cleric of the Eternal Dragon itself. How could something like this still happen?

“Anything can happen in the myriad planes,” Flowsand replied. This was an answer based on common sense, but in this situation, it was an answer of extreme helplessness as well.

Flowsand thought for a while, “Someone could deliberately have disrupted the streams of time. From what I know, the Eternal Dragon's blessings have some hidden rules to them. A certain type of offering can be exchanged in turn for a certain type of blessing, and some ancient families have the methods to choose what they get. Although doing so will give them a weakened blessing, they might deem that appropriate under special circumstances. Richard, you have to consider whether there are people who would pay such a heavy price just to kill you.”

140 - City of Sin

Annihilation(3)

Richard's brows furrowed as he thought back to the Josephs' assassination attempt. However, he was barely sixteen years of age... Who would pay such a huge price to kill him? But it wasn't the time to ponder about such matters. “I heard that the natives of a plane will treat us as enemies when we first enter it.”

Flowsand nodded, “Large scale teleportation like our party's will definitely alert the experts who've grasped the laws of the plane. If this plane is as strong as you claim, then it will house at least a few legendary experts. We're now in an extremely dire situation, what do you plan to do?”

What to do?

Richard inwardly flashed a wry smile. No matter how much they struggled, if the experts of this plane arrived here they would have no chance of survival. Flowsand, Gangdor, Waterflower, the trolls, Olar... Everyone was looking intently at him, waiting for him to come to a decision.

Richard was suddenly alarmed, reminded once again that he was the leader of this party. Even without his sheer power, he would have to make the decisions. The strength of their party, alongside the scouts already sent out, should have ensured that things wouldn't be too rough. However, the destination had been changed to an intermediate plane, so their priority was now mere survival!

Richard looked at Flowsand, asking the critical question, “There's no chance of going back, is there?”

“There are three methods if you wish to go back. First, conquer the entire plane. That will give me the resources to build a tower that can search for the coordinates of the Eternal Dragon. Second, if we're lucky enough we might be able to find some ruins of the Eternal Dragon here. We can activate the church once more, performing a sacrifice for the blessings to reopen the tunnel to Norland. Third is for us to capture another party coming to this plane.” Flowsand spoke indifferently. As a priestess of the Eternal Dragon, she was naturally familiar with such matters.

Richard surveyed the area again, before he spoke loudly, “I really want to have luck like that, to be able to find the vestige of a church and then return to Norland. But even if we found a church, where are we going to obtain the items to sacrifice? Will obtaining the items to sacrifice to the Eternal Dragon easier than actually conquering the lands here? The item that sent us here was the head of a greater devil!

“We're already here. As an Archeron, I don't want to run back home with my head bowed down. I would rather choose the first option. In fact, that is our only choice!”

Richard's voice resounded in the camp. Archeron... Just that word seemed to have some strange effect on the party. Everyone's pulse quickened, their hearts coming to life in trepidation as they thirsted for fire and blood. And Richard was the leader of that zeal!

Gangdor roared at that moment, “Hey boss! Your martial arts were extremely dashing when you fought, but if you want to lift our fighting spirits you need to drink wine! That'll give you the atmosphere!”

Richard stared at Gangdor blankly, “You aren't nervous?”

Gangdor shrugged his shoulders, “I was a little afraid at first, but now that I think about it the death camp was much more dangerous. Every creature there wanted your life! Since that lass Waterflower isn't afraid, why should I be?”

Waterflower had her sword hugged close, leaning against the wall. Her eyelids were half-closed, as if she was about to sleep. It was as if she did not hear Gangdor's provocation at all. It seemed like the current circumstances didn't matter to her much at all. With her white robes and bared legs, it made for a striking scene.

Richard looked at the two trolls. Medium Rare scratched his head, saying slowly, “I'm just afraid that there will be nothing tasty to eat!”

Tiramisu raised its fist and smashed it against Medium Rare's skull, “All you know is eating! It'll be perfect if there's trolls in this plane. We can infiltrate their camps.

“The ten most beautiful ones are mine! You can start from the eleventh!”

Medium Rare jumped and howled, “No way! You get the best one, that's it!”

“I'm a mage!”

“So what?”

The two trolls were going at each other's throats by then, so Richard turned to Olar. The bard's face was still ashen, he hadn't completely recovered yet. Perhaps it was the blood loss due to the injury, or maybe he was just afraid, but he shot a weak smile when he met Richard's gaze.

However, he hesitated a bit before looking at Flowsand. He mustered up his courage, “If the beautiful Miss Flowsand could give me some encouragement, perhaps a sweet kiss, I'll be filled with courage!”

Flowsand smiled gently, “You're teasing a priestess of the Eternal Dragon. Aren't you afraid of losing lifespan?”

Olar was stumped, not daring to press on. He turned elsewhere for his courage, this time to Waterflower, “If this beautiful lady can give me some encouragement, I'll be bold enough to conquer the whole plane!”

Waterflower's brows twitched as she opened an eye. She stared at the elven bard and said indifferently, “When the environment is better.”

Olar's face suddenly flushed red. He opened his arms out to the skies, as if wanting to embrace something. He then turned to Richard, getting on one knee before proclaiming, “You have the most courageous warrior, my Lord!”

Richard did not know what to say. He could vaguely sense the girl's thoughts through their connection, and she didn't try to hide her feelings. While she had spoken the truth, it was only technically so. This scene was filled with many chops and slices, but it didn't seem appropriate to tell the elven romantic the truth.

It was only then that Richard realised it would not be easy to lead a party. He could not fathom how Gaton had managed to amass thirteen knights under his banner. From Mordred to Lina, they all had their own quirks. And each of them were not to be trifled with, and were not saints.

And now, Gangdor propped his chin with his hands and looked at Olar like one would at a fool. He had wanted to laugh, because he felt like there was a sense of accomplishment looking at somebody acting like this.

“The baron's troops may appear shortly.” Flowsand interjected.

Richard inhaled deeply, “We can deal with a baron. I have to hurry and try to understand the seed.” Indeed, the seed, that azure grey egg, was the only resource they hadn't used.

“Seed...” Flowsand's body shuddered. Richard looked at her, but he could only see her head bowed down with a blank expression.

141 - City of Sin

Seed

Everyone was aware that the fight just then was only a beginning. Endless battles would ensue, and they would be the enemies of all the inhabitants of the plane. Thus, they all went their separate ways once the situation was clarified for now, busying themselves almost as if they were puppets powered by magic crystals.

Flowsand began conducting checks all over the base. The Lighthouse of Time was a magical building, blessed with the supreme power of the Eternal Dragon itself. Although the entirety of the building could be seen on this plane, a part of it was actually connected to a rift in the void. This rift was what allowed it to guide travellers, but even with the flames extinguished this meant the magic arrays still connected this base to the rift. Extra precaution had to be taken, lest a crack in the void tearing the place apart, or worse, swallowing it whole.

Besides, traces of turbulent time flows were still scattered in various corners of the base. This was fatal to a commoner, but as a cleric of the Eternal Dragon Flowsand could use this power to replenish her own, or even gradually strengthen her mana.

She measured it silently in her heart. If she could clear out the power of time from the entire base, she would be able to advance to level 9. Even if she still wouldn't be able to cast grade 5 spells, her energy pool would increase to an extent. It could count as having profited off a disaster.

On the other hand, the knights grew busy packing up the mess of weapons and armour that Flowsand had already sorted out. These supplies were extremely useful, with the better equipment besting even what they'd brought along on the trip. A lot of the supplies on their trip had been magic resources. After all, their leader was a runemaster. The weapons and armour they could prepare paled in comparison.

As they packed everything up, they also buried their dead comrades right next to the base. If the day came when they could return home, they would take their ashes along back to Norland. Otherwise, they would end up fertilising the same earth.

The enemies were buried or cremated as well. Norland's code of chivalry espoused respect for deceased enemies, and any mishandling of opponent corpses was considered disgraceful and dishonorable. However, all weapons, armour, and personal belongings left behind by the deceased enemies were considered spoils of war, and would be recovered carefully.

On the other side, Waterflower and Gangdor were exploring the surrounding terrain. Olar had initially wanted to tag along with Waterflower, but for some unknown reason decided to stay behind in the end. As Gangdor left, he looked back at the elf with regret.

Of course, the bard didn't stay behind for nothing. Richard immediately assigned him to interrogating the surviving captives for more intel. Sir Kojo was merely a sentry, and had a baron backing him up. Who, then, was backing up the baron?

The two trolls ran outside the base, plopping down at a random spot to nap. With their natural vitality, they could recover with mere food and sleep. The two arrows that nearly killed Olar would only be minor injuries to them, ones that would heal in a couple of days.

Flowsand had completed a rough check of the base by the time dusk fell. Thankfully, she didn't find any rifts in spacetime. As soon as the power of time was cleared out, the base could be put to use once again. The provisions, weapons, arrows, and other supplies stocked within were an immediate solution to Richard's desperate situation, with enough to equip hundreds of soldiers.

Seeing that everything in the base was in good order, Richard left on his own. He found an empty plot of land, preparing to try and plant the 'seed'. The area he chose was on high ground, within sight of the base. He would be able to rush over immediately if there was a problem.

At that moment, Richard had the seed in his hands. The azure eggshell trembled continuously, almost as if there was a little life inside waiting to burst through at any moment. Richard believed that the seed was a special life form; its life force was growing increasingly powerful, almost as if it had absorbed some power when they were crossing planes. The closer he held it to himself, the stronger the pulse of the being within grew.

What could possibly be in this egg? A frightening biological weapon? A magical beast? Something that could cause even high priestess Ferlyn to lose a great deal of her blessing to reveal little information about was likely much stronger than a mere lesser dragon.

The eggshell was like an impregnable fort, standing strong in the face of the strikes of the life within. With the egg in hand, Richard was at a loss for what to do. The seed didn't respond at all to his mana.

It was when he tried to project a strand of his consciousness in an attempt to look within that something changed. Richard's consciousness was pulled in, flooding frantically into the seed! An excruciating pain hit him, and he felt as though his head was about to split apart. His very soul felt like it was being torn apart with great strength; if not for his tenacity and willpower, he would have fainted then and there. However, the flow of his consciousness continued on uninterrupted, with no way to stop in sight.

Richard was well aware that a failure to stop this would lead to his soul itself being drawn out. However, the pull from the seed was so large that none of his attempts worked. The acute pain tormented him, leaving him paralysed and unable to move. He couldn't utter a single word, or even throw the seed away.

Although Richard's consciousness was far stronger than those of his peers, he did not have infinite power. All of his strength was exhausted in the blink of an eye, the tremendous force then pulling his soul itself towards the shell. At this moment, brilliant rays of light erupted from several magic symbols in his sea of consciousness— the imprints of his soul contract and slave contracts! Formidable power suddenly grabbed firmly onto Richard's drifting soul, going head-on against the force of the seed.

*CRACK!* Richard felt something snap deep in his consciousness. His soul was torn apart by the two great powers, a small bit of it sucked in by the seed with force. His vision blacked out, before he collapsed onto the floor. His taut nerves had relaxed in a flash.

At the same time, Waterflower who's been prancing around in the trees suddenly fell head-first to the ground. She had lost consciousness.

In yet another direction, a running Gangdor abruptly clutched his head, yelling in pain. His mind was sent into chaos, rendering him unable to distinguish directions as he ran into a large tree. A loud snap sounded, and this tree that was more than ten feet in diameter actually broke in half as Gangdor crashed into it.

Outside the base, the two sleeping trolls awoke with a start. They bolted up at the same time, clutching their heads as they howled in anguish. In the base itself, a certain elven bard spouted a mouthful of blood and fainted at a crucial moment in his interrogation.

......

Not long after he lost consciousness, Richard was awakened by the feeling of a pinprick. Barely able to raise his head, he saw the seed that was stuck to his cheek fall in front of his eyes. His vision was filled with azure blue, glossy and gentle; it lacked the pores that were present on normal eggs.

An indistinct mind suddenly transmitted a message from within the seedling, a faint voice ringing at the bottom of Richard's heart, “Blood... Blood...”

142 - City of Sin

Seed

Having absorbed a piece of Richard's soul, the larva in the egg had built a spiritual connection with Richard, just like the one he shared with Waterflower. It hadn't cracked its shell open yet, but it was already asking for Richard's blood.

Its calls were quite feeble, almost as though they were about to fade away. However, that thirst was exceptionally distinct. Richard lost himself in a trance for a moment, not catching on until he felt some warmth from his face. He wiped with his hand, finding his palm covered in red.

It was only then that Richard found his mouth was reeking of blood as well. This was probably due to injuries inflicted to his organs when he was trying to withstand the severe pain of having his soul torn apart. Blood was also flowing out of his nose and the corners of his eyes, which was why it covered his face.

“Blood...” the seed was still calling out. This was no known language, instead a fluctuation that bombarded his very soul with the request. He decided to simply smear the blood on his hands onto that flawlessly smooth and shiny eggshell.

The moment he did so, all of the blood was consumed. Richard could tell in his mind that the life within the egg was beginning to grow rapidly, ever changing as its presence grew stronger and stronger. By the end, even he himself had to shudder.

The 'seed' asked for no more blood. That single drop was akin to a spark, igniting the fires of its life. A soft click rang out, and a visible crack appeared on the eggshell, soon followed by many more. A sharp blade of darkness eventually made its way out, signifying that the egg had hatched. The 'seed' had sprouted.

The eggshell shattered with that blade as the centre, pieces falling to the ground as what seemed like a black insect crawled out from within. This creature had six limbs like an arthropod, with an exceptionally large abdomen. Two sharp blades were attached to the area near its head, making it look like a comical little ball with a few blades stuck on it.

The creature dived for the remainder of the eggshell the moment it made its way out, chewing it all up in the blink of an eye. It cleared the fragments out thoroughly, leaving nothing behind at all. It was like a vacuum had sucked everything on the ground away.
ｆ𝑟𝑒𝐞𝚠𝒆𝚋𝚗૦𝐯ℯ𝙡. com

Another thing the creature did was cleaning up Richard's bloodstains. It was unknown how exactly it managed to absorb all the blood, but the grass had lost all remains of his blood.

The creature then forced itself up, its entire body trembling rapidly as the sticky fluid on its surface was rapidly absorbed within. Its shell gradually grew hard, beginning to sparkle even as its body grew at a visible pace. Clearing the remnants of the eggshell on the ground, it lifted up its torso with all its might, looking at Richard with six pairs of eyes. The complex organ that it had for a mouth began to open and close rapidly.

Numerous unintelligible syllables rang out in Richard's consciousness, incessant, rapid, and chaotic. It took a while for them to transform into a clear, albeit peculiar, voice, the voice of this newborn creature. It had just been looking for a way to communicate with Richard, and it had identified that to be Norland's common tongue instead of the spiritual wave it had used before.

“Need... High-energy... Food.” The creature struggled to express itself.

“You are the seed?” Richard probed.

“Seed... Hibernation... For when we travel.” It still couldn't formulate a proper sentence.

“We? What are you?” Richard asked.

The voice grew unclear once more when Richard asked that question, growing comprehensible again with great difficulty, “We... I not sure. I don't know what we are... Memory only goes back to birth. Everything before is... blank... I am a broodmother, exist to exterminate enemies.”

“Who are your enemies then?” Richard asked warily. This little creature had just been born, but it was already giving off an aura that made him shudder. Its enemies would definitely be even harder to deal with.

“Your enemies are my enemies, Master.” This time, the reply was fluent and clear.

“You call me your master?”

“Yes, you brought me to life. Only my predetermined... Master can bring me to life. I will follow... orders.”

Richard squatted down, looking at this little creature that seemed to be a bizarre insect, “Broodmother... What kind of food do you survive on?”

“Blood, flesh... all kinds of life... energy crystals...” it answered with some difficulty, making the problem of vocabulary obvious. “I'm still in my first stage, larva. I can scavenge for food on my own. I still need to learn your language, Master. That will require a day.”

Richard was a little speechless. Even grand mages with the assistance of language proficiency spells would need at least half a month to master a language fully. Even basic communication needed three days, but this newborn was saying it would need just one!

“I'll go get you something to eat, there are still some food reserves left in the base. You were just born, and might meet with danger outside.”

“No, I can feel it. Over here... I don't have any predators.” The broodmother then opened up the shell on its back, revealing small wings. It flapped them hard, getting its body airborne until it was level with Richard's eyes. It then flew into the jungle, slow and clumsy.

All of a sudden, Richard was startled. Precision told him that this creature was already half a fold larger than when it was just born, the increased size equivalent to the mass of the eggshell it had ingested. This was near lossless absorption of food, a terrifying prospect!

Subconsciously, Richard felt an indescribable fear towards this creature he had never heard of before. There were no magic records accounting for its presence, and while it looked like a beautiful shiny insect right now it chilled him down to the spine.

Richard could remember several life forms even more peculiar than the broodmother. Even the subterra of Norland had creatures like soul-sucking devils and driders, as well as the people of the sea. However, no matter how hideous and horrifying these races were, or how destructive or eerie their powers could get, there was normally a lot of recorded information about them. They were formidable, yes, but not frightening. Only the unknown frightens men.

Richard could tell the broodmother's rough position through their soul connection, just like he could with Waterflower. He was even able to touch upon its mind, a lifeless icy world devoid of emotion. The truly frightening part was the appalling focus of its thoughts. At this moment, the entirety of its being was devoted to its search for food. That was its one directive: to consume food rapidly so it could grow past its larval stage.

The broodmother's functions? Richard received information that it would be shown to him once it was finished with the task.

At that moment, Flowsand ran over with two knights alongside her. She only let out a sigh of relief once she saw him safe and well in the distance, probing, “What happened? Are you alright?”

“I just succeeded in planting the seed. It contained a 'broodmother,' and the creature is already off scavenging for food. Do you know anything about these things?” Richard looked unsettled.

He described the creature's appearance in detail, but Flowsand said she hadn't seen nor heard of such a thing before. However, this was not the first time that the Eternal Dragon had blessed someone with the unknown. These discoveries enhanced their own records.

Since the broodmother had already formed a connection with his soul, she said there wasn't much cause for worry. With it being a contract creature bestowed by the Eternal Dragon itself, there would certainly be no problem.

143 - City of Sin

Message

A moment later, Richard returned to the base alongside Flowsand. He'd already understood the situation, having sorted out his priorities. The first and foremost task was to gather information, both about the incoming baron and their environment. Next was to boost everyone's morale, and finally was the problem of forming an army in this plane.

Everyone contracted to Richard rushed back to the base as well, making sure that he was safe. Richard reassigned their roles, sending Olar out alongside Gangdor and Waterflower to inspect the terrain. The trolls, now awake, would help the knights clean up the battlefield and repair equipment.

Tiramisu would get to showcase his skills, transcribing a large number of language proficiency scrolls. The first step to root themselves in this plane would be conquering the language barrier.

With Olar's progress on the interrogation being lacklustre, Richard decided to interrogate the captives himself. Flowsand would assist him, keeping them from dying if he lost control.

Olar had already found out some information, but he was so gentle that he was slowed down at key points. They gave him illogical, contradicting statements on the number of soldiers and knights the baron had, and even their original follow-up plan as well as the relief of the Baron's territory. With the intense sense of crisis enveloping his heart, Richard had already lost his patience.

Every passing hour at that point signified growing danger. Perhaps the baron's army was already on its way, or the deities had sent out a new order through their oracles. How could he afford to let these captives waste any more of his precious time?

Richard was still in a daze as he walked into the small but well-equipped interrogation room. The two captives originally felt like they could bear more punishment, but they shriveled with cold as he walked into the room. The very light in the place seemed to have dimmed. Google search ƒ𝑟𝑒𝙚𝚠e𝗯𝘯𝗼𝘃𝑒𝚕. c𝒐𝒎

The duo were covered with injuries, but none of them were serious. They both looked to be in their thirties, of strong build and seemingly of decent skill as well. Level 5 warriors as they were, their sharp gazes indicated that they were determined to just survive whatever they were put through. They were likely veterans.

With just one look Richard realised that this would be relatively difficult to handle, but there were no solutions for that. Two kinds of people could not be defeated by torture: ones with strong faith, and those who would protect something no matter what.

These soldiers were observing Richard as well. He'd walked in expressionlessly, and the sight of his, long, exquisite, and stable arms, their gazes changed. When they saw Flowsand walk in behind him, the two who could tease the elven bard finally had a change in expression.

Richard quickly went through the tools in his hands, inspecting the warriors' injuries. His movements were swift and skilled, practised countless times when he was at Naya's tavern. The procedure had been drilled into him so well that he could be accurate without even thinking. That was one of the most authentic skills of the underworld.

Richard didn't speak a word from the moment he walked into the interrogation room, just taking care of his tasks silently. That scared these soldiers.

“Hey. Hey!” one of them shouted as Richard chained him up, “What are you trying to do, kid?”

Richard turned a deaf ear to any threats and howls, just hanging the man up and reaching for his tools.

“AH! CURSE YOU, HERETIC! YOU SHALL BURN IN FLAMES!” The warriors cries penetrated the interrogation room, spreading out into the rest of the base. Richard remained quick and steady, not stopping regardless of the volume of the man's screams. One by one, all his tools were stained by blood and thrown away. Flowsand had already begun casting lesser heals, having to cast the spell a total of seven times by the time Richard went through his entire repertoire once. The soldier had lost all energy, his former rage now just soft moans coming from his throats.

“Next.” This was Richard's first word since he stepped into the interrogation room.

“No! Don't touch me, I'll tell you whatever you want to— AAAH!” The first warrior had been let down, and the second hung up instead. Richard didn't even consider listening to the man's words, repeating the process once more.

Five minutes and six lesser heals later, the tools had been exhausted once more. This time, Flowsand had even needed to cast a greater healing spell to keep him alive. The two were returned to their original positions, still covered with injuries. They looked about the same as they had ten minutes ago, but the arrogance in their eyes had completely disappeared.

Richard threw the blood-stained tools into a pail of cold water with a loud crash. He conveniently washed his hands as well, sitting in front of the soldiers, “Now, what do you folks have to say? Just so you know, the cleric has only used a third of her mana.”

Minutes later, Richard had gathered everything he needed to know. He'd 'questioned' them several times, ensuring that they were not lying. The soldiers fainted a few times throughout the process, but were awakened by splashes of cold water, keeping them from losing their consciousness.

Cold water was the best thing to use in these kinds of situations, not magic. Bone-chilling moisture enveloping one's entire body was the most refreshing of 'medicine', the streams of water trickling down the back and droplets falling off the hair keeping one awake.

By the time they were sure they couldn't get any more clues, Richard and Flowsand met gazes. Both sensed the worry in the other's mind. They had confirmed that this was an intermediate plane, with great military might. Their reconnaissance base had ended up in the Whiterock Duchy, a land of complex terrain that was made mostly of mountain and forest. There was a river flowing through this land, more than ten kilometres away, keeping the land outside the mountain range fertile and arable. At the bend of the river was Baron Forza's castle, alongside a port city. Kojo had been one of five knights subordinate to him.

The plane had plenty of rain and fertile soil, allowing them to develop their agriculture to a level where food was abundant enough to support a large population. There were nearly 200,000 people living in a few hundred square kilometres, with a corresponding standing army of over a thousand people with dozens of knights in training.

The tradition in this plane allowed any commoner to be knighted on the basis of merit and power, granting them a small fief with a manor. However, one had to be over level 10 to be afforded such treatment. Forza was only level 8 at more than fifty years of age, but that didn't lessen the danger Richard was facing. The Baron's huge army could extinguish Richard's tiny party that had less than twenty men.

Moreover, the Baron was the ruling noble of this large territory. If there was a crisis he could mobilise retired veterans, freemen, mercenaries and trained youths into a militia that was twice the size of the army. Of course that still meant less than two hundred leaders that were over level 5, with the rest weaker than that.

144 - City of Sin

Message

This finally explained Kojo's formidable forces. The soldiers following him weren't his own subordinates, instead elites from the baron's army. Warriors normally chose a specialisation at level 5, be that archery or martial arts, giving them the ability to rival three to five level 4s.

The situation of this plane was quite similar to Norland's. Both planes had numerous intelligent creatures, but at least in the Whiterock Duchy humans were in control. Status was based on a line of succession or military merit, which promoted a healthy martial culture amongst the people of the plane, quite like Norland. However, that military culture only spelled bad news for Richard.

The main god of the Whiterock Duchy was the God of Valour, Neian. There were other gods that Flowsand hadn't heard of before as well, likely including aboriginal ones. The number of devotees would put Neian at an intermediate god, with five or six other regions of similar outreach. Ancestral worship was quite common here as well, with humans not losing out to the beastmen and elves in that regard.

Baron Forza was a strong devotee of Neian, and had recently set up an altar to the deity within his castle. The priest had recently been given an oracle, prompting the baron to send Kojo on a manhunt alongside his troops, tracking down the intruders to their plane. Were he to suffer defeat, the main army would follow.

Richard and Flowsand made their way to an empty plot. Richard moved a table out, while Flowsand placed a map made from the captives' information onto the table.

Their base hadn't ended up in a particularly good or bad situation, about five kilometres away from the end of the mountain path. The terrain and dense forestry served to block any cavalry from advancing, forcing even titled knights like Kojo to advance to the base on foot.

The base itself was located on an abrupt miniature cliff. On three sides were steep slopes, with only the main entrance being a gentle road. With the cliffs being more than twenty metres tall, it would take a knight in training to scale them during battle.

However, if they retreated to the base they would end up trapped.

Richard scrutinised the map, deliberating over it repeatedly before he pointed at a small town about twenty kilometres from the base. “If the Baron's troops have already set off, they'll arrive here by tonight. This place is the last chance for them to replenish their supplies and get some rest before entering the mountains. They're likely to try and track us down at first light, so if we scout this place out now we'll be able to get some general details about those troops.”

“They might have brought some priests along this time,” Flowsand remarked, “Those should be our first targets. I'm not sure if they'll have mages as well,”

Richard nodded in agreement. Staring at this map of the towns and villages under Forza, he silently made his own calculations, “It hasn't even been a day yet, and the reaction to Kojo not answering shouldn't be this immediate. With the upgraded equipment and levels of the troop, they wouldn't expect the entire force to have been annihilated. Baron Forza will be unlikely to turn out in full strength tomorrow as well. The oracle should have mentioned our numbers and strength, but that shouldn't tell them about the number of people we have that are skilled at spying and assassination. The losses we'll suffer the first time around will be negligible, we'll meet a third of his army at most. About two titled knights, a dozen novices, and two to three hundred soldiers.”

Contemplating over it for some time, Richard looked to Flowsand and asked solemnly, “Flowsand, I need to know how much better you are than a regular cleric. I need to accurately deduce our military strength.”

Flowsand raised her head, fixing her gaze upon Richard before going, “Sure, but let's start with you. Don't tell me that a normal level 8 mage can set off five fireballs within five seconds. You should have been handicapped just from the mana cost, forget how quickly you cast the spells. I would also appreciate it if you explained the four boars you summoned as well.”

Richard chuckled, nodding, “Alright. I have a vitality rune tattooed onto myself that can speed up my energy and mana recovery. I also have enhanced control of my abilities. I may be a level 8 mage, but my mana pool is close to level 9.

“My main focus amongst grade 3 spells is Fireball, and at grade 4 it's Nature's Beckon and Icicle Storm. I've enhanced the fireball spell to allow me to quickcast it in under a second, and allowed it to consume less mana than normal as well. Nature's Beckon might be due to my elven bloodline, but it's effects are boosted when I cast it. As for Icicle, even if I haven't perfected it yet it has immense power. However, it takes five seconds for me to cast it, too much to be useful in actual battle.”

Richard hadn't explained things completely. The ivory bracelet sitting snugly on his wrist had proved to have another function: it was easier for him to communicate with his summons. That's why he managed to summon an additional boar.

“What about your bloodline abilities?” Flowsand continued to ask relentlessly.

Richard hesitated, before explaining, “I've only awakened one so far— Eruption.”

Flowsand lowered her head, writing in the air with her fingers. It took a while for her to reply, “Great, I think I know how to support you in battle now. Alright, my turn. I'm different from the average priest. I'm a cleric, titled Daybreak by the Eternal Dragon. You can assume I have thrice the mana reserve of an ordinary priest of my level.
𝐟𝓇ℯe𝒘𝘦𝒃𝑛𝒐ѵe𝙡. 𝑐𝗼𝓂

“You have also noticed the rune on my forehead before. I acquired it along with my title, and it gives me a special ability called the Lens of Time. It allows me to change the time flow of a target for fifteen seconds, with half a chance of being successful if the target is five levels higher than me and no chance at all at seven levels of difference.”

“How much can you speed them up?” Richard's eyes lit up.

“For now? About four-thirds the normal timeflow. That will increase with my level.”

“Great! That gives us a way to deal with those knights!” Richard could not contain his excitement. He took a look over Flowsand, “I'm thankful we're not enemies.”

This time, Flowsand showed him an elusive smile, “So am I.”

Richard beamed. They could finally see a glimpse of light on the horizon.

145 - City of Sin

Battle

Thinking over things for a moment, Richard continued, “If the army coming for us is as we expect, we have a chance at success. Our first job is to ambush them once they enter the mountains, killing all their priests in one go before retreating to the base. We can then make use of the natural defence, slowly whittling down their numbers, bleeding them out until they can't handle the losses anymore and have to retreat. Normally a commander here pulls back their troops once a third of the army is destroyed, unless they have a special mission or fixed target. We should be able to hold on until then. The ordinary soldiers are fine, but our primary targets should be their knights and novices. Attack from the walls and kill them instantly!”

Flowsand spoke up, “I should remind you about the broodmother.”

“The broodmother? It's still a larva...” Richard found her line of thought strange.

“Perhaps so, but it still has offensive abilities. You remember what it said when it told you it could forage for food itself.”

Richard furrowed his brows, put deep into thought. His mind connected with the broodmother the moment he thought of it, sensing that it had already captured some prey deep inside the forest and was halted there. It was eating, radiating satisfaction through their link.

'Return to the base early tomorrow,' Richard ordered, and the broodmother replied with an affirmative.

......

Night fell slowly in this unfamiliar land. The sky was an inky, near-black blue, with only one moon that emitted pale light that was practically drowned out by the resplendent stars that filled the skies. There were far more here that could be seen with the naked eye than on Norland, so crowded that they made the night sky look like the skirt of a lady, adorned with pearls.

The little town of Osfa would normally be in the world of dreams at this time, but there was a large clamour throughout the place. Teams of fully armed soldiers were stood guard right outside, with only the knights able to sleep comfortably on beds within. Their squires were in the town as well, taking over the residents' homes.

None of the residents of the town were asleep, instead busy preparing supper for the soldiers and aristocrats who'd come from afar. The town had a total population of merely 300, and with about the same number of soldiers suddenly having joined with ten or so powerful people that even the mayor had to bow his head to, the place was naturally in chaos. Forget the knights themselves, even the squires could do as they wished in the town.

The mayor was now stood inside his own small yet intricate dining hall, respectfully facing a few aristocrats who were comfortably bent over their food.

Sat in the middle was a middle-aged man with a thick moustache and bear-like stature, seemingly about forty years of age. He had a vicious scar on his neck, his high-collared linen shirt leaving it exposed. The scar was incredibly eye-catching, like a fleshy red mollusk just resting on his neck.

The knight swallowed a piece of searing hot beef, raising his head to look at the mayor, “Is there still no word from Sir Kojo?”

“No, Esteemed Sir Menta.”

“He might just have met with some trouble. It looks like we'll have to be more cautious,” Menta said.

“We have priests with us, what's there to be afraid of?” a malicious-looking man at the other end of the table asked, obviously showing little respect for Menta, “Didn't high priest Camy say the God of Valour told him that the invaders were quite ordinary? I think Kojo just discovered something valuable from the invaders, and is planning to take it all himself. If he sends word back his share of blessings and credit will be divided with us.”

A hint of anger arose on Menta's face, “Kojo is just the vanguard! I'm the leader here!”

“Who knows? Don't forget that the people Kojo brought with him were all elites, proficient in battle on hilly terrain. How could there be no news at all?” The man shrugged before continuing, “Perhaps he won't be the vanguard anymore once we get back.”

Menta hummed loudly, speaking no longer. He instead brandished his fork and knife, furiously stabbing at the beef on his plate.

A few pairs of eyes were making use of the cover provided by the forest at the outskirts of the town, watching from the branches to monitor any movements. Gangdor leapt off the top of a tree, displaying agility not befitting of his physique. His landing was soundless— if someone wanted to engage in guerilla warfare based on his looks, they were likely to land deep in trouble.

Richard was stood under the tree, making use of the shadows to conceal himself. He had no experience in stealth battles, so he didn't dare scout as close to the enemy as Waterflower and Gangdor did.

Gangdor approached Richard, “I'm done counting, boss. There's two knights, fifteen novices, and 280 soldiers, out of which 80 are elites. If we take care of all of them, and adding on those we already wiped out, two thirds of Forza's elites will be done for.”

Richard nodded, “Good, let's return. The ambush will be at the place we determined yesterday, Waterflower will keep watch here.”

Gangdor nodded, cooing out like a bird. This was the sound of the local owls, something he'd learnt on the way. Olar showed himself from the other side of the forest, his mostly elven heritage giving him the ability to move around freely. Bards had numerous little skills that allowed them to conceal themselves.

......

The skies began to brighten, and Osfa grew noisy. The knights had tidied up with the aid of their servants, finishing their breakfast. Soldiers formed lines outside the town, joining up with the novice knights to advance into the mountains.

Less than a kilometre after the town they found the end of the path. The horses could travel no further, so the knights and novices got off their mounts and had their servants bring them back to the town. In the meanwhile, the lower-ranked soldiers headed deeper into the mountains. The knights and novices changed into chainmail that was two grades worse than before; although they could bear tens or even hundreds of kilograms of weight, without their mounts it would be difficult for them to navigate the soft earth with that weight. Energy couldn't be wasted, and what they would lose bearing the weight of heavy armour over such a long distance would be enough protect their entire bodies from one or two attacks.

Besides the two knights with their magic helmets, the most striking members of the troop were the two priests. They were dressed in crimson robes with rounded collars, the only difference between them being the gold embroidery on those of the older one signifying higher rank. The surrounding soldiers were extremely respectful to the two priests, their reverence surpassing what they had even for the knights.

Menta may have had a horrid temper, but he was quite practical when it came to his troops. He'd already sent out the lightly armoured scouts, clearing the path ahead and the places surrounding them. However, the further they went into the forest the longer their formation stretched. The general location of the invaders had already been passed down through the oracle, so they were marching in a fixed path. The knights knew very well about the areas where there was a high chance of ambush. Menta took the lead, while Sir Huber was at the rear alongside four novice knights, protecting the priests.

When they came upon a steep incline, Menta looked at the peak of the slope with unease filling his heart. However, the area was wide and spacious, with an ambush not really a possibility here. The scouts had also signalled that there was nothing to worry about, so he walked over with large strides.

The face of an elven bard slowly showed itself from the top of a large, leafy tree on the slope. He was practically one with the tree, stuck to its thick bark with very little presence of his own. He even swayed slightly to the tune of the wind.

Olar's gaze fell onto the two priests that had just entered his sights. In the shrubbery at the foot of the tree were the corpses of two scouts, still warm. The bard slowly pulled his bow, the arrow's tip gradually pointing at the priests. There were two of them? This was an unexpected situation, but the decision was a simple one to make. Shoot the one with the most elaborate clothing, and one couldn't go wrong.

146 - City of Sin

Battle(2)

Drawing his longbow back to the fullest, Olar knocked on a branch with an end of the bow. The trolls walked out atop the hill, panting heavily as they threw an enormous rock weighing multiple tons down the slope. It rolled down with ferocious momentum, heading right into the middle of the advancing troops.

The two priests turned to look, and their faces filled with extreme panic. They were right in the path of the rock! It was rumbling down like thunder, fierce winds already buffeting their faces.

Someone with great strength like Sir Menta could withstand the force behind that rock, but outside of that even a novice knight would be dealt a serious injury if they were hit. The most likely targets would be the priests and the novice knights guarding them, so the troops immediately went into a frenzy. They ran all over the place, disrupting their formations and spreading chaos. Some people were knocked down, losing their orientation when they got back up and running back into the path of the rock instead.
ｆ𝓇𝘦𝚎𝑤e𝗯𝑛𝗼ѵe𝗹. c𝒐𝘮

The trolls let loose an astonishingly violent roar, stomping the ground with all their might. The entire slope trembled at once, causing the rolling rock to shift direction slightly towards the frontlines. The situation immediately worsened.

Olar chose that exact moment, narrowing his eyes as he let go of the arrow in his right hand. It shot forth, sheathed in a layer of light green mana that imbued it with a minor targeting enchantment.

Sir Menta hadn't bothered stopping his subordinates from running wildly all over the place. Just as he was about to charge forward to block the rock, he'd seen a flash of red in his vision. A fireball had been shot out from the jungle, aimed at a group of soldiers huddled together amidst the chaos. It wouldn't take more than two seconds to reach its target, and the soldiers would be unable to escape the blaze that would soon engulf them.

He'd bellowed in fury, snatching a heavy shield and rushing over in large strides. He just managed to intercept the fireball in the midst of its flight! The spell exploded loudly on the surface of the shields, sending waves of magical flames everywhere. Menta held the shield firmly, however, not taking a single step back. Glowing energy pushed the fires away.

The edges of the shield had softened a little by the time the heat wave passed, but Menta himself hadn't been hurt in the slightest. However, his sharp ears caught onto the faint yet shrill whistle of an enchanted arrow, rapidly approaching him.

The knight had rushed out from behind the shield, only to see a long arrow sparkling with magic pass him by, plunging its way through the older priest's back! The tip poked through the other side, a faint sound echoing forth from his body as an indication that his internals were damaged. Looking at how the priest had fallen to the ground, there seemed to be no life left in him anymore at all.

A priest had been killed!

“Damn it!” Sir Menta's eyes were practically on fire as he drew his saber, bellowing in rage before rushing towards the slope. The alerted knights whipped out their weapons at once, their bodies glowing in different colours of energy. They charged towards the attackers at full speed, a few of the faster ones already next to Menta by the time they made it up the slope.

However, the instant they rushed into the jungle they saw Richard. Both his hands were held flat out, and he'd just completed the last line of an incantation.

A frigid wind poured out from Richard's hands, countless icicles forming in the air. Menta immediately recognised this to be a level 4 spell, shouting for everyone to be careful even as his own footsteps came to a halt at once. He planted the large shield firmly on the ground before him, shrinking behind it completely. A direct blow from the spell would leave even him seriously injured.

The novice knights quickly entered defensive stances as well, securing themselves in their locations one after the other. However, one of them hadn't reacted in time, rushing two steps forward into the rain of icicles.

The winds lasted for but two seconds, countless icicles continuously ramming into Menta's large shield. Clinks echoed in his surroundings as the icicles struck the armour or gauntlet shields of the knights in his surroundings. A few painful howls rang out.

When the wind finally stopped, the surface of Menta's body was covered in a thick layer of frost. He shook it all off in a jerking motion, letting it disintegrate and fall to the ground. Although his face was still frosted over, he prioritised taking in his surroundings. All of the novices were injured to some extent, with one being severely hurt. Their armour had been limited for the sake of easy movement, but now they had paid the price. The mage himself was nowhere to be seen.

“Leave ten behind. Carry him down, and protect the priest's dead body. The rest are to follow me. The mage has already cast two spells, so he has another two fireballs left at most. What's there to be afraid of? Chase them!” Menta roared. The novice knights led the soldiers in a charge into the forest, swiftly running along the tracks Richard had left to hunt him down.

The heavy infantry clearly couldn't move fast enough to catch up to their enemies, but the scouts managed to track Richard down. After chasing them down for a few kilometres, a novice knight adept at agility and mountain combat returned to report that they'd discovered a base ahead of them. The invaders had escaped behind the high walls.

That did not alarm Menta, pleasing him instead, “The bastards ran back into their den? Perfect! Follow me, we will end them all!”

A moment later, Menta's troops had already completely encircled the reconnaissance base. The knight wasn't anxious to attack, instead circling its perimeter and thoroughly familiarising himself with its layout before he returned to the main entrance. He turned to the perspiring younger priest, “Is this the invaders' base?”

The young priest looked at a map, replying with absolute certainty, “This is where the oracle pointed us!”

Menta nodded, saying to the young priest, “Hide in the back, and do not use your powers randomly. My soldiers could still need you to save their lives, I will appoint people to protect you.”

Soon after, a small group of soldiers escorted the priest and retreated back into the jungle. Menta did not want anything to happen to him— priests had high status, and any further casualties would be difficult to explain to the church. Even if they captured all the invaders and brought them back for divine trial, that would only be considered atoning for their sins. Anyway, he didn't think a mere level 3 priest was capable of many useful spells.

All his troops were gathered by this point. Menta squinted, looking at the base a few dozen metres away. The walls were made of stone, about four metres tall, and the entrance had two thick wooden doors that were tightly shut. There were archery towers beside the entrance, with marksmen already stationed on top. The grave demeanour of those archers was proof enough of their outstanding capabilities.

“That's already comparable to a knight. Bastard!” Menta cursed under his breath. His gaze landed on Richard atop the entrance, recognising him as the mage who'd ambushed them in the jungle. Richard was in a dangerous yet crucial position, the sight making Menta want to shoot an arrow at him immediately. However, this fellow had managed to escape in the jungle with speed unbefitting of a mage, and he himself wasn't confident enough in his archery to shoot him down successfully.

Moreover, there was a warrior with a tower shield at the mage's side. More than 1.5 metres tall, it made it practically impossible to kill the mage with a single arrow.

Sir Menta stroked his beard, a sinister smile gradually creeping onto his face. He waved his large hand forward, “Teams one to three, attack!”

147 - City of Sin

Battle(3)

Three ten-man troops advanced towards the base, each led by a knight. The archers on the tower were prepared, their hands steady on their tightly pulled bows. Two soldiers hit the ground the moment they let go, greatly injured. The sheer speed of the arrows left the three knights surprised.

“Should I send in more soldiers, or should we let them stay?” a knight asked Menta.

Menta shook his head, “There's no need for that. Those techniques will drain them completely with twenty arrows or so. Also, they only have two archers, how fast can they shoot? Have the troops speed up!”

Without any need for further urging, the knights leading the teams sped up as they charged towards the gate like a flood to a dam. The base didn't have particularly tall walls, at least not too tall for them to climb over. If not for special materials in the middle of that thick wooden gate, it wouldn't have been able to withstand their attacks either. They only had to be wary of the suppressing spells Richard would launch.

The leading soldiers actually had a savage task. Their purpose was to exhaust Richard's mana, stripping the enemy of their long-range firepower to ease up the battle. From their interactions so far, they had determined that the enemy mage was around level 7 or 8. He could probably cast two more fireballs at most. It would be up to the God of Valour to determine who would live through them.

Seeing the frontlines charging into the mage's range, Menta issued another command, “Troops four and five, raise your shields. Your target is the towers, charge!”

Two more knights moved out, leading their companies as they split off from the main army to charge towards the towers. The archers had no choice but to switch targets, and as he'd anticipated Menta saw a giant fireball fly down from the main gates. Tumultuous fires swallowed an entire troop of soldiers, covering two knights as well.

Richard began reciting incantations in the midst of that raging fire, launching another fireball but three seconds later. This spell landed in nearly the same location as its predecessor, stacking with the older flames to take out all the staggered enemies on the floor.

Mages with no inhibitions about the spells they were casting were like portable meat grinders on the battlefield. Both the knights were left wounded, one more severely than the other, and the entire ten or so soldiers of that company had been wiped out as well!

*Whoosh!* A few sharp arrows flew in Richard's direction. The opposing archers' eyes had gone red with immense concentration, and they had all used their greatest skills. This was despite knowing that arrows not supported by magic were useless at such a great distance. Surely enough, the infantry around Richard formed a shield wall between him and the arrows, leaving them to bounce off harmlessly.

More soldiers appeared on the city walls, while Richard left under the cover of the shields. His retreat signified that the battle was finally about to begin!

Menta had finally gotten the opportunity he oh so desired, so he waved his hand forward as he bellowed, “Teams 6 to 10, follow me! Advance together! Hubert, you're second in command. Lead teams 10 to 15. Everyone else is to await further orders!”

Ten knights shouted their war cries, charging forth under Menta's lead. The arrows of the few enemy archers couldn't stop the waves of soldiers, with the two titled knights and ten novices leading the charge.

Menta lead the charge up the base's walls, leaping up and punching a hole into them to hold onto. He used the momentum of this punch, vaulting himself over to the other side.

However, a battleaxe suddenly showed itself, heading straight in his way. Menta let out a growl in mid-air, twirling his sword with both hands as he defended himself from the attack. The iron weapons collided like thunder, the tall brute that seemed even stronger than Menta himself sent retreating with blood oozing out of the corners of his mouth. But Menta's plan to scale the walls was obstructed as well, causing him to start cursing as he was flung back by the impact. He fell heavily to the ground.

Falling from four metres high was surely hard for Menta to bear. He struggled for a few moments to get back on his feet once again. Unfortunately, the two soldiers he'd fallen down upon had died to the impact.

That small episode didn't deter the stream of soldiers from climbing up the city walls one after the other. A novice knight had already made his way up, alongside a few other warriors. Archeron soldiers rushed out of the arrow towers, shield in one hand with hatchet in the other. They viciously rushed forth towards the enemy infantry— melee may have been the soldiers' strength, but it was even more so for these Archeron elites. Even knights couldn't compare to them at the same level, forget the ordinary warriors who were still making their way up the base walls. Two of the Archerons had used their extraordinary might to cripple the enemy morale. They chopped off one of the knight's limbs, sending him hurtling down the walls as he howled in pain. Numerous corpses were sent right behind.

“Retreat!” Menta's roaring voice sounded once more. The soldiers began to back off in the midst of all the chaos, with the intruders on top of the walls seemingly having no intent to pursue. The archers at Menta's side shot two more volleys before falling back as well, while the Archerons retreated to the arrow towers once more.

A single charge had left Menta with more than twenty losses, and three novice knights heavily wounded. It also left his entire army devoid of morale, while the young priest busied himself trying to treat the less-injured knights with his limited skill. The youth did not seem well-versed as a cleric, with nearly no visible effects from his spells other than stopping the bleeding.

As the warriors rested, Menta looked at the nearby base and smiled bitterly, “They only had six fellows at the level of novice knights, and a feminine archer. That seems to be it. The mage seems to be only level 8, and he's exhausted his mana. That's why he's choosing to rest— mages can take days to recover.”

Hubert nodded his head, speaking with his normal dark tone, “The next attack should be able to take them down. However, it shouldn't have been a problem for Kojo to subdue them if they were so weak. Where did he go?”

“Who cares? Can we focus on cleaning up his mess?” Menta grew irritable at the very mention of Kojo. He extended his hand towards the base, remarking harshly, “In any case, this is the place the oracle mentioned. Conquering it is our biggest priority. Of course, it would be a splending touch if we could find Kojo's corpse in one of the cells!”

Hubert shrugged his shoulders, showing no intent to continue the topic.

Menta shot out a mouthful of spit, cursing Kojo's unknown location once more. Turning back to look at his exhausted soldiers and the drained priest on the ground, he roared loudly, “All of you, attention! NOW! Soldiers, prepare to attack! Let's take down these intruders in one go!”

The resting soldiers immediately assembled into formations. Menta explained to Hubert, “We still have eleven knights who can battle, minus the two who'll need to take care of the priest and make other preparations. Take four and twenty elites, and bring them around to flank. The terrain there surely won't be a problem. I'll take the rest, curbing their main force. Of course, I don't mind taking out everyone on those walls. Go!”

Hubert instantly called out to four knights and some elites, detouring towards the side of the base. Menta and the remaining knights raised their shields, bringing their troops in a concentrated formation as they took sturdy steps towards the base in preparation of an attack.

Gangdor and the rest got on top of the walls once more, with Olar taking up a good vantage point. However, the archer did not pose much of a threat to this shield wall. And even if Olar could take an enemy down with every arrow he shot, the number he killed would still be counted on his fingers by the time they'd charged to the base of the walls.

Standing at the highest point, the soldiers also saw the troops Sir Hubert had brought along to flank them with, only able to send two warriors to hold them back.

148 - City of Sin

Stalemate

Menta had already switched to a morningstar, laughing sinisterly as the enemies divided their forces. He suddenly charged forward, getting to the bottom of the walls in the blink of an eye and leaping up. He made use of sheer momentum, running up and actually jumping higher than the wall itself. An enraged howl sounded as his weapon smashed down on a footsoldier's head.

*CLANG!* The heavy shield in the soldier's hand sunk in, and he took two steps backwards. He was left unable to control his body, falling down from the walls.

Gangdor suddenly came in from the side, his battleaxe slashing at Menta's calf. The angle of attack was incredibly tricky to deal with, and in mid-air Menta would have trouble dealing with this no matter what. He did his best to twist his body, using his shield to block the attack, but he was pushed away from the wall and lost his balance, landing heavily on the ground. Even with his ability, falling down from such a height with armour on was harsh.

However, the attack had opened up a gap in the invaders' line of defence. The novice knights made use of this opportunity to charge up the wall, and while two were sent flying back the rest gained a foothold. Veteran troops surged up the wall as well, grabbing onto its edges with but a single leap, flipping over it without trouble. Google search 𝐟𝚛e𝗲𝚠𝗲𝑏𝓃𝑜ν𝐞𝘭. c𝒐𝓂

The two warriors taking the side soon lost position as well, and Hubert rushed up the wall as well. He didn't pressure them, however, instead jumping off the wall with his troops and charging into the base. There was a far more valuable target within— the mage without any more mana.

The base was about as large as a village with a hundred people. The ten-odd buildings of various sizes seemed to be arranged very messily, and even the roads were curved and twisted with not a single level path. However, the place was large and the terrain not very complicated.

Hubert chose the largest three-storey building, kicking down the door and charging straight in. His luck appeared to be tremendous— the mage was on the first floor! Besides the young mage, there was also a strange but beautiful young woman standing in the hall. She had what seemed like a huge book in her hand, currently flipping a page open.

Hubert brandished his longsword, yelling, “Give up, invader! Follow me to the altar of the God of Valour, and repent for your sins! You might just extend your vile lives!”

However, Hubert saw Richard suddenly stretching his hands out, the soft muttering from before ringing louder. He was stupefied— this was the sound of an incantation!

They'd been prudent, noting down the types and levels of the spells the invader had cast— fireballs and Icicle Storm... These spells made it obvious that he was level 8 or 9; how could he still have the ability to cast?

Hubert's first thought was that this was a trick, and the enemy was stalling for time to escape. However, the moment Richard's hand started to emit a chilling wind, he felt his anxious heart fall. He cared no longer about the great merit of catching a live sacrifice, instead waving his sword and swinging it down towards Richard's head.

Flowsand suddenly spat out a word nobody could understand, and the golden pattern between her brows flashed. Hubert's figure began to blur and distort.

Lens of Time!

In Hubert's eyes, everything started moving so fast it was unthinkable. This included Richard, Flowsand, and that white-clothed young girl who'd suddenly appeared above him. That longsword in her hands smelled strongly of death, forcing him to abandon his target and use his sword to block the girl's own.

The power behind that dim sword wasn't all that great, to the point that even without a particular gift of strength Hubert felt like it was weak. However, it left a crack on his own weapon's edge, which meant the difference in quality between the two weapons was vast. The girl's movements were fast as lightning, and with the attack failed she'd already used the momentum to dart away. She landed in a corner of the room, crouching down like a wolf ready to deal a fatal strike at any moment.

Hubert steeled himself, preparing to fight back, but the girl was so quick that his heart started to thump wildly. That incredible sword, her speed, and the narrow space... He suddenly felt like retreating.

But then he felt a sudden wave of cold, followed by a powerful impact that sent jolts of pain through his body. Numerous icicles pinned his body down, even more flying past him to stop the two soldiers who wanted to charge in and support him. Hubert staggered forward, but in that short moment his entire back and shoulders were instantly covered by a frost that then extended to his chest.

Hubert was utterly appalled. He'd been distracted by the threat of that white-clothed girl, and utterly forgotten about the mage! Alas, there was no point remembering now— Richard's quick spell had left him with no time to adapt to the situation.

Hubert still felt his rate of gathering energy having slowed considerably. Breaking out of the icy restraints would already be tedious, but the girl in the corner had already pounced towards him with sword in hand!

Hubert did his best to raise his sword to defend himself, but he could only stare helplessly as the opponent's weapon pierced his chest and abdomen. In that moment, with the added enchantments of sharpness and armour penetration, the Shepherd of Eternal Rest had burrowed through his energy barrier, making a hole through the breastplate to dig deep into Hubert's abdomen. Its tip had even pierced through, appearing behind his lower back! Lacerations were left all over his body as the girl pulled the blade out, leaving him with a terrifying injury.

Retrieving the sword from his stomach, the barefooted Waterflower retreated quickly. Landing at the corner of the room in a flash. *Thump!* Shards of ice flew everywhere as Hubert finally broke out of his restraints, but his blazing energy could no longer seal the wound. Waterflower's attack had practically cut through his waist, and he was left unable to stand tall. He collapsed, blood and innards rushing out of his body.

It was then that the golden light around Hubert dissipated, and that he realised it wasn't them moving fast. He had been slow.

Richard's Icicle Storm spell finally came to a stop, passing through the door and freezing a novice knight and three soldiers who were desperate to enter in their tracks. Seeing Hubert surrounded and killed by Richard and Waterflower in only a few seconds, the knight was already terrified. He went all out, speeding up his energy as he struggled free of his restraints. He managed to roll out of the path of a fireball heading his way.

Waves of fire swept through everything once more. It wasn't just the three frozen soldiers at the door— the conflagration swallowed a few of Hubert's soldiers who's been rushing over as well. These ordinary warriors could not take on the full impact of the spell, beginning to collapse and roll on the ground as they began to go up in flames. Pitiful howls resounded in the area.

Ahead of the base was complete chaos. The wall had already lost all function, with Gangdor and the footsoldiers having withdrawn to fight within the base. They split into teams and moved from building to building, using their familiarity with the terrain to their advantage.

149 - City of Sin

Stalemate(2)

Menta's thundering roar echoed throughout the base, the whizzing of his morningstar through the air so sharp it made one's heart race. However, even with his advantage in level and energy, he had no way to win over Gangdor. The brute's innate strength allowed him to match Menta blow for blow, and unlike his rough appearance he was extremely slick. He made great use of the narrow roads between the buildings; the restrictions to Menta's morningstar were worse than that to his axe.

What enraged Menta even more was that the buildings in this base were sturdier than the typical houses. Be it the walls or the wooden doors, they were stronger than they seemed. Menta often knocked through a corner with a swing of his weapon, but it would get caught on walls and the chain would rebound, bringing shattered bricks back his way.

After a blind flurry of attacks without regard for his stamina and energy, Menta eventually caught Gangdor in a strike. His wild strength cracked his opponent's axe, the spikes of the morningstar leaving deep wounds on Gangdor's chest. However, Gangdor did not even groan because of the damage. His hand still held tight to his axe, as if nothing had happened to him.

Getting hurt was normal in the Archeron death camps. Anyone who could survive that hell was abnormal, able to completely ignore pain. Menta's breathing grew heavier, but Gangdor seemed to be undead as he stood back up regardless of the toughness of his injuries. It was as though he could be injured but not killed, his energy still going strong as if he had no limits to his strength. Menta had determined at the start that Gangdor was only level 10, but even with a three level difference their fight was this close. He couldn't help but rage.

Behind Gangdor was another knight, shield in one hand and axe in the other. He guarded the brute's back, leaving the opponent knights charging them down with no way to attack. He kept Gangdor's back and side protected.

These level 10 knights that Gaton had dispatched weren't particularly talented, but they were all experienced at war. They were like rocks in the middle of battle, unmoving and undefeatable.

Menta had grown so enraged at this point that he was preparing to end Gangdor in one blow. However, a faint voice sounded out at that moment, faint light flashing across Gangdor's body even as a song was sung. The exhausted giant regained lucidity immediately, his strength even seeming to grow as he once more blocked off Menta's numerous full-power blows.

“Damn it! VERMIN!” Menta cursed in fury. Gangdor had regained his strength from the song of the elven bard. In this plane bards weren't only about their arts— most of them sold their bodies. They were basically the same as female dancers.

However, it was this 'cheap' class that disrupted this battle greatly. Olar was extremely agile, moving back and forth between the buildings freely as though he was in the forest. He chose the occasional opportunity to jump up on a roof, quickly shooting down some unlucky warriors before he fled to somewhere safe before he was encircled. Every draw of his bow let loose an arrow at an opponent's vitals, all without much time taken to aim. Those shot were either immobilised, or outright killed.

At his level, Olar could bless three people with the power of his battle song. Gangdor and two other knights radiated energy immediately, lengthening the battle once more.

Gangdor retreated without end, while Menta advanced. By the time the former backed out of the narrow alley to stand at a crossroad, a ray of sacred light shone down on him. The wound marks on his chest stopped bleeding immediately, as the flesh wriggled at a speed visible to the naked eye. The wounds slowly closed up.

“Greater heal!” Menta roared hysterically. This one skill destroyed practically all of his morale. Who was this priest? The spell was even more powerful than the older priest they had brought along, and he had been level 10!

The rarest type of intruder was a priest. Differing planar laws led to the dominion of differing deities, and a priest often lost their connection to their god— and thus their power— when they entered a new plane. Replenishing one's mana wouldn't be a problem, but they would not be able to advance.

Menta scanned the surroundings, spotting the window of a building at the street corner immediately. There was the silhouette of a woman who looked like a priest behind it.

He instantly pointed to that building, shouting, “MEN! SLAUGHTER THAT WHORE!”

Two soldiers responded, breaking into the building, but a dim sword crossed them the moment they stepped within. It sliced across them, before Waterflower left the floor with the Shepherd of Eternal Rest in hand. She went up to the second floor, jumping into one of the rooms before exiting through the windows to disappear into another building. Richard and Flowsand, originally at the second floor as well, were nowhere to be seen.

Another ray of sacred light landed in the blink of an eye, stopping the bleeding of a badly injured soldier immediately. A fireball exploded not far away, taking out the enemies who were chasing him. The knight used the opportunity to duck into one of the buildings nearby. Flowsand's spell would treat most of his injuries in a few minutes, which was enough time for him to regain some energy as well.

The third, the fourth, and the fifth... Even more rays of sacred light flashed across the battlefield, each one only fuelling Menta's flaming rage. His victory had been reversed, just like that, and none of the enemies had been killed yet. Every ray falling down tipped the scales of the battle a little, and this didn't even count that mage! He'd already cast five fireballs and two icicle storms— was his power neverending just like that priest's?

Menta felt like attacking that hateful priest himself, but Gangdor who was standing before him held on tightly, giving him no room to escape. The smell of blood in the base grew stronger and stronger, but most of it was from Menta's troops.

“HUBERT! Where did that scoundrel go? HUBERT! KILL THAT WHORE!” Menta's roar covered the base once again, but the reply he received this time was actually a strange mournful shriek!

His heart skipped a beat, an indescribable hurriedness suddenly filling his mind. He recognised the scream to be from a subordinate, but these warriors had all seen blood and death before, most even fighting those of other races. Even dying in battle they should not have been screaming like this! This was a scream of extreme fear.

Even the undead would not scare his warriors. These intruders seemed to be humans themselves, what was it?

The shriek had come from a small house at the corner of the base. A warrior was rolling around on the floor, trying to get a large, exotic insect off his body. It was a metre-long worm that shone black, dragging along a strangely large abdomen with six stout legs. It looked very clumsy.

The shell on the creature's back was open, and it flapped its wings from time to time. A pair of short yet sharp pincers pierced the warrior's body, the creature burrowing into him. The panic-stricken warrior could only try and hit the bug with his hands— his weapons were long lost.

Another warrior rushed over to the scene, taking a breath of cold air at the frightening sight. He froze for a few seconds, before charging forward with a roar, his sword held in hand. That roar was not to threaten the enemy— it was meant to give him courage.

This was the broodmother that had hatched from the Eternal Dragon's 'seed.' It had grown severalfold in a single day of foraging, from the size of a kitten to the metre-long beast that it was now. Seeing a new enemy, it pulled its head out of the previous warrior's body, fixing its eyes upon the charging prey.

The warrior lying on the ground them started to feel an unbearable pain. He looked down, only to see the armour, skin, flesh, and even bone at his waist all gone. The resulting scream did not even sound human, and he collapsed with his eyes rolled up.

The broodmother's shell opened up once again, and it swayed as it flew up and pounced at the opposing warrior. Its movement was comical, as if it was difficult for it to maintain balance.

Hearing his comrade's scream, the man felt goosebumps rising on his body. He roared again, the longsword in his hand slashing down like a howling wind as he attacked the creature's head and back thrice. Attacked in mid-air, the creature fell to the ground with a thud. The sword's hits on its shell had done nothing, only leaving a clang of metals colliding behind. The level 5 elite's three powerful strikes had only left scars on the shell, not making their way through.

The broodmother's mouth suddenly moved, and it let loose a mental attack on the warrior. The veteran of battle only felt like there were tens of sharp needles piercing into his brain, taking his vision away as he lost his balance and fell. The broodmother pounced on him immediately, clinging firmly to his head with its six legs as it pierced through his back with its pincers.
ƒ𝑟e𝘦we𝑏n𝑜𝚟𝙚Ɩ. 𝒄𝚘𝐦

Richard's silhouette appeared at the door of the house. Seeing the two warriors defeated, he quickly moved onto the next battlefield. Flowsand followed closely, peeking into the room as well. Her pupils shrunk at the sight of the broodmother, but she hurried behind Richard without saying a word.

150 - City of Sin

Counterattack

Flowsand suddenly came to a stop after passing a crossroad, flipping through the Book of Time quickly. A stream of divine power rushed forth from the pages, forming a healing spell that landed on Gandor who was about ten metres away. His laughter echoed through the base, even as Menta roared in fury.

Richard looked up, finding Olar on top of a roof at the corner of the street, pointing in a certain direction. He immediately brought Flowsand along, running in that direction. A blood-soaked knight soon appeared at the end of the alley, seeing their backs and laughing sinisterly as he chased after them with large strides.

However, Waterflower silently appeared atop a roof at the end of the alley, jumping down wordlessly behind the knight as if she was a ghost. She moved in short strides, taking fast and nimble steps as she neared him quickly. The Shepherd of Eternal Rest darted across his body, sending his head flying into the sky even as the body continued to forge ahead. By the time it crashed down, not even a shadow of the assassin remained.

Richard seemed like he was dashing around the base aimlessly, but every so often he appeared at critical locations of the battle. Flowsand's holy spells healed the injured Archerons, restoring them to fighting form. Being connected to Waterflower and the broodmother, Richard could tell their locations clearly, and although it was more vague and limited with the others he could sense the rest of his team through the contracts as well. Thus, though the battle within the base seemed to be beyond chaotic, that was only true for Menta's troops. Hubert had already died to Flowsand's Lens of Time, and the rest who were experienced with sieges were left fighting for themselves.

Richard had taken control of the situation, the team of him, Waterflower, and Flowsand lurking all over the battlefield and supporting those who were in crises. They used magic to massacre regular warriors, offering themselves up as bait to lure novice knights into a chase before ambushing them. The battle continued to tip in their favour bit by bit, Menta's troops being eroded away.

The thing Richard was most worried about was the broodmother; not because it was small and weak, but because of an indescribable feeling he had. He really couldn't predict this creature's actions like he could with the rest, only convincing himself that a gift from the Eternal Dragon would not harm its worshippers.

Richard turned to look at the broodmother, and the creature stood quietly by the side of a defeated warrior as it flapped its wings to show that it was well. However, the moment he looked away it buried itself into the prey. Flowsand had come right behind, seeing everything clearly, but chose not to say anything.

Exceedingly horrifying cries resonated from a corner of the base, though they gave way to silence very quickly. Nearly everyone felt a shiver down their spine, leaving even Menta's knights subconsciously keeping their distance from that area. The broodmother moved out of a small house a few minutes later, making its way for the headless corpse of a knight at the end of the road with all its strength. It used its sharp claws to drag the body into a house by the side.

By the time the creature emerged from the house once more, its body seemed to have doubled in size. The broodmother's abdomen was so swollen by this point that it was almost a sphere, and no matter how hard it flapped its short wings it only hovered not a metre off the ground.

At that moment, a warrior happened to turn the corner. Seeing a black object floating under his nose, he let out a frightened scream as he hacked at it with his sword. However, the broodmother had already spotted him with its compound eyes, dashing towards him in a flash. Before the warrior could even lift his arms up completely, he was bleeding from his nose and ears, falling without a sound. The broodmother dropped to the ground as well, climbing onto him with some difficulty before it dragged him to another of the houses nearby.

Richard and the broodmother were each aware of the other's location. Be it intentional or otherwise, every time the broodmother ate it was quite a distance away from him, in some remote area.

Putting yet another warrior down, Richard finally stopped to catch his breath. Even with the doubled support of both his vitality rune and Flowsand's blessings, he was nearly depleted of both mana and energy. The battle had reached its limits as well— Menta's howls could no longer be heard in the base, giving way to coarse gasps for breath. Gangdor didn't have the strength remaining to talk about his axe anymore.

It was time!

Richard sent out orders to two faint points within his consciousness. Although the ogre brothers only sensed indistinct trembles in their own souls, they understood the signal. It was time to launch their attack.

The dozen-odd warriors guarding the priest and the injured outside the base suddenly felt the earth beneath them tremble ever so slightly. The leaves on the trees started to shake, as the earth began to let out an intense rumble. They looked around in fright, suddenly seeing two enormous boulders flying out of the forest!

Piercing winds howled as the boulders smashed down right in the middle of their formation, bouncing a few more times as they smashed an unlucky fellow to pulp and severely injured three others. Everything had happened so abruptly that nobody had a chance to react.

*Whoosh!* A fireball came flying out of the forest, a standard example of its kind. The power, cast time, and mana consumption were all average, but this spell finally proved that Tiramisu was a true mage. The blaze left half the warriors collapsed, even if the young priest was able to escape quickly enough to only be lightly injured.

The tremors in the ground grew even more powerful, as Medium Rare's huge shadow surged forward. He charged towards the disorderly warriors with unparallelled power, and this time he wasn't completely naked. The ogre was garbed in thick steel armour, with a helmet like a spiked steel ball on his head with leather-padded steel boots on his feet.

The armour had no enchantments whatsoever, the mere weight and strength of the steel being sufficient to leave his enemies in a state of despair. Hundreds of kilograms weighing one down would leave a human warrior with difficulty moving, but Medium Rare's movements were barely even affected. The ogre was so strong that he even had a hammer in each of his hands, a single one weighing just as much as the armour itself.

Even on Norland fully grown ogres forced ordinary adventurers to retreat. On a secondary plane like this, they were frightening monsters that only the best of elites even tried to challenge. What, then, if such a monster had weapons and armour?

Medium Rare was almost like a mobile fortress, pouncing onto the remaining survivors ferociously. But perhaps the opposing warriors weren't already dejected enough— two brilliant rays of mana shone on the ogre's body, the second immediately turning him ash-brown from head to toe. The severely injured knights had originally armed themselves with shields, ready to resist, but those rays of magic caused them to cry out in despair.

If there was anything that was more frightening than an armoured, weapon-wielding ogre, that was Rare right now. He'd been buffed by Bull's Strength and Iron Skin. His giant hammer smashed into a heavy shield with a suppressed thud, sending the warrior flying in the air. The man's body twisted in mid-air, distorting just like his shield had into an unnatural form.

“Leave me two of them!” Tiramisu bellowed through the forest. He dashed, holding a hammer just like Rare's in hand, but with only leather armour on his body. The mage shared his brother's love for hammers as an ogre, but being a mage he couldn't wear suits of metal.

By the time Tiramisu rushed to the battlefield, Rare had already crushed all of the enemies. He'd also lightly tapped the young priest with the hammer in his hand, leaving him with a minor swelling on the back of his head. Attacking so gently with a hundred kilograms in hand was something he was proud of.

“YOU KILLED THEM ALL!” Tiramisu roared in accusation, but Medium Rare was already charging towards the base in big strides. “The battle there hasn't ended yet, Master is summoning us!”

Tiramisu hurried towards the base as well, but even without any heavy armour on he could not catch up to his brother. The distance between them continued to increase.

“Damn it!” he howled in futility. He began to consider casting a slowing spell on his brother; after all, he was a mage.

151 - City of Sin

A Brave Warrior

Once the two powerful ogres joined in, the barely sustained stalemate was finally broken. The fatigued soldiers and knights were unable to withstand their magic-enhanced blows.

One knight collided head-on with Medium Rare, staggering backwards with a loud crash. His left arm was deformed by the impact, dangling from the side of his body with his dented shield.

Medium Rare exploded into a violent rage. He'd hammered with all his might, but he hadn't been able to knock this feeble enemy aside. He roared wildly, whirling his heavy hammers again to send the knight flying into the distance like a puppet with its strings cut. He then straightened himself, thumping his own chest as he roared thunderously, “Damned pieces of steak, who still wants to fight?!”

Nobody responded to the ogre's warcry. He hadn't had a language proficiency spell cast on himself, so to them his roars were meaningless voices. Of course, the same could be said the other way.

As Rare roared to his heart's content, Tiramisu rapidly overtook him. He brandished his own hammer, ruthlessly smashing a warrior into the ground. His brother roared in rage, chasing after him at once.

A moment later, Menta and his surviving soldiers were surrounded at an open space at the corner of the base. Menta's helmet was nowhere to be seen, sweaty hair sticking to his forehead.

The morningstar seemed to grow heavier by the minute, so much so that it had grown difficult to hold it up. Every single muscle of Menta's body was aching. A crack had formed on the shield in his left hand, with its edged being a little deformed.

Menta looked behind himself. There were only two knights left, soaked in blood all over, as well as ten or so warriors who were all injured as well. On the opposing side was Gangdor and seven Archeron soldiers, as well as the two formidable ogres. The elven bard was crouched atop a roof, his hands trembling with fatigue as he held onto his bow and arrow. However, even then that damned warsong didn't stop coming from his lips.

His gaze finally fell on Richard, Waterflower, and Flowsand. The cleric seemed not to notice his animalistic gaze, instead flipping through the Book of Time as she cast one spell after another on their own front lines, including Gangdor and the knights. Although these were only minor spells this time, they provoked Menta so much he almost went insane.

It was this woman! Her divine power seemed endless, rescuing his enemies one after the other from the brink of death and bringing them back into the battlefield. When the battle first unfolded, the original two knights who hadn't yet recovered from their serious injuries had only been capable of self-defence. However, with how weary and injured his army was, even they had become a force to be reckoned with.

Richard stuck the nameless sword Gaton had given him into the ground, taking a step forward as he spoke to Menta, “Surrender, Sir Menta. There is no need for more futile sacrifices.”

Menta laughed out loud, before retorting menacingly, “Surrender? What can you even offer me?”

“Vowing loyalty to me would certainly be the best choice, but if not you will become a prisoner of war. I will have Baron Forza pay a ransom for you, giving me a piece of your land.”

“In your dreams!” Menta snarled, tightening his grip on his weapon, “Those who worship the God of Valour never cave in to intruders! You will pillage, slaughter and destroy! No one will cooperate with you!”

Richard smiled, “As far as I know, the God of Valour is not the only deity here. There a lot of others, some of whom are his enemies. Besides, not everyone here is religious. I can always find someone who's willing to work for me. You aren't as valuable as you think you are.”

Menta spat harshly on the ground, sneering, “My value lies in dignity and conviction. You son of a bitch, do you dare duel me? Even without any energy I can beat your ass to the ground!”

The corner of Richard's eye twitched violently the moment he heard the expletive thrown at him. He took two steps back calmly, holding the sword buried into the ground in a backhand grip.

Menta squinted his eyes, subconsciously cowering a little as if he'd seen a dangerous beast. Although he was baffled by the mage holding an outrageously long and slender sword, deep down he was pleasantly surprised. This young mage was clearly the chief of the intruders. If he could capture him, it was likely that he would be able to get his men out of this predicament.

Flowsand and Waterflower huddled towards Richard, while Gangdor turned around and held his axe at the ready so he could intercept Menta instantly. The battlefield suddenly fell silent, with the exception of some rustling from a corner.

Richard extended his hand towards Gangdor, “Gangdor, wine!”

Gangdor was stumped for a moment, but he only mumbled a bit before retrieving the small silver flask attached to his waist. He twisted the lid off, handing the flask over to Richard. Richard didn't take a second look, raising his head and gulping all the hard liquor down in a few mouthfuls.

“Master, poison!” Waterflower reminded stiffly.

“Waterflower! You...” Gangdor turned to glare at Waterflower, but the girl didn't relent as she glared back in turn. She intentionally raised her sword a little higher, weakening the brute's ire significantly in an instant.

Richard's face quickly reddened with the alcohol entering his system, his eyes brightening like the dark sky at night. He returned the empty wine jug to Gangdor, while his grip on the sword gradually loosened finger by finger.

Richard looked up at the sky, letting out a breath that reeked of alcohol before turning to Menta once more, “This is a planar war, not a living room of a noble. You don't get to ask for a duel. Charge, all of you! Finish him!”

Menta roared, beginning to charge in his own attack, but he immediately met a firm line of defence. Gangdor and the ogres intercepted him successfully, moving with an agility not matching their enormous frames.
ƒr𝒆𝑒𝔀e𝒃𝚗𝒐𝘃𝐞𝑙. c𝗼m

In extreme despair, the knight burst forth with astonishing strength. The morningstar's force grew earth-shattering, forcing Gangdor and the ogres to retreat continuously. However, a dull yellow light shone on Menta and instantly slowed him down for more than a second. The ogre mage quickly raised his hammer, dealing the knight a heavy blow on the back. Two relatively unscathed Archeron knights took up two more positions, the five encircling and trapping their target.

“Those who do not wish to die, drop your weapons. Face the wall, and stand still.” Richard said coldly, pointing the surviving soldiers to a corner of the wall.

One novice knight stared blankly at Sir Menta's direction, barely able to see his figure behind the veil of dust. He hesitated for a moment, before dropping his weapons and slowly turning to stand facing the wall. At the same time, he raised his hands up high. With a precedent, the other soldiers did not hesitate any longer as well. They dropped their weapons one by one, and gave up resisting.

Menta's roars grew softer and softer. By the time his tall, sturdy figure finally collapsed, he had innumerable injuries all over his body. Everyone fighting him, be it Gangdor, the ogres, or the knights, had sustained great injuries as well. This was a warrior who fought like a lion, never giving up no matter how desperate it was.

Richard walked over to the side of Menta's dead body and squatted down, extending his hand to touch the blood flowing out of the knight. It was still boiling hot.

He sighed, standing up before saying, “This was a respectable enemy, bury him well. Have his equipment accompany him in his eternal rest.”

152 - City of Sin

Growing Up

Everything in the base was a complete mess. A lucky soldier who'd managed to escape stealthily was hidden in a corner, attempting to flee by climbing a wall. However, he felt something at the front door of a nearby house. He took a peek in, and his expression instantly turned to one of horror. He parted his lips in a scream. Please visit fr𝗲𝙚𝔀e𝙗𝓃oν𝐞𝑙. c𝚘𝘮

However, that scream never came. The soldier's body shuddered, and his expression stilled. Streams of blood spurted out of his ears, even as a puddle of murky green liquid flowed out from under the door and squirted into his mouth.

The liquid was extremely corrosive, stifling the soldier's scream as large amounts of gas erupted from his mouth. There was no chance for him to call for help as he fell head first to the ground, facing the sky. Both his hands were grasping at his throat in a desperate struggle, but two sharp blades flashed from within the room, biting into his calf and dragging him into the house.

The broodmother's soul had grown exceptionally in a short period of time, and it had gained the ability to spew acid.

......

The surrendered soldiers were detained in the cellar of the pub, bandaged and given a modicum of treatment. The two novice knight, more seriously injured than the rest, had lesser heals cast on them as well. This relaxed the prisoners; the priestess would not be willing to waste her precious holy spells on them if they were going to be slaughtered.

Two knights followed Tiramisu to the outside of the base, picking up two more prisoners that were rather valuable— a knight who'd been immobilised by his injuries and the fainted priest. The rest were up to their own tasks; cleaning up the base, collecting the spoils of war, or searching for hidden enemies.

A handful of opposing soldiers had escaped at the very last minute of the battle, but Olar was already chasing them down. It would be impossible for him to capture all of the escapees alone, but he was also the only one of them with the energy left to pursue while observing the situation.

The battle had finally ended, and weirdly enough Richard's entire party had come out of it scot-free; a beyond miraculous situation. Of course, the biggest miracle was Flowsand. Her Lens of Time had allowed them to kill Hubert off instantly, and during the stalemate she'd used seven greater heals, twelve normal heals, and a whopping thirty lesser heal spells in total. This was like giving every individual in their troop half a life. Flowsand alone had been as useful as a group of clerics, the Book of Time of course playing as important a part in that as her talent did. Nearly a third of the spells she'd cast had been stored within the book before.

Richard, Gandor, and Waterflower had made equally significant contributions to the battle. Gangdor had maintained a stranglehold on Menta until he died, while Richard had killed a substantial number of normal warriors. He easily had the most heads to his name of anyone here, with even Waterflower only having a dozen odd kills. Of course, five of her kills were knights, with the others being elite veterans.

Moving on, Richard calculated that the next biggest contributor was actually the elven bard. His warsong could support three people, effectively boosting them from level 10 to 11 in terms of ability. While that didn't seem like much, the results of his voice echoing throughout the battlefield spoke for themselves. He himself had ten kills of his own; the smart elf had intentionally avoided fighting knights, targeting injured warriors and taking them out with a single shot for each one.

All of the seven knights had survived, their willpower and rich experience definitely helping in the pivotal situation. A veteran like that was far better in an actual battle than any young genius. Only now did Richard understand why Gaton had used up ten teleportation slots for them.

Numbers aside, Richard had actually made more contributions than one could see on the surface. His soul contracts allowed him to know the locations of more than half the enemies, as well as the overall tides of the battle. He'd constantly made it to the most crucial areas at critical times. On top of that, he'd set up the ambush with the two trolls outside right from the start, to act as their last resort in case both sides had suffered great casualties.

Richard was currently standing in the plaza of the base, listening to his knights' reports regarding the battle. The veterans were extremely proficient in these administrative affairs both before and after battle, doing it out of their own will without Richard's requests or reminders. Such a thing made people like Gangdor, the elf, and the trolls who only knew to kill pale in comparison.

However, he was sensitive to numbers and something felt off. The sum of escapees and corpses fell short of the numbers of the army that had attacked them. Of course he didn't know everything on the battlefield like the back of his hand, but a difference like this was hard to ignore.

He tried to remember, but he eventually came to the conclusion that the missing warriors were neither hidden in the base nor escaped, they'd likely died. So the real issue was this— where were the bodies? The battle had just ended, so the base couldn't have any enemy presence.

As he was immersed in thought, Richard suddenly felt waves of pain assault his mind. Fragmented noises sounded in his ears, but amidst the splitting headache he thought they were just background sound. However, these noises grew clearer and clearer as time passed, becoming extremely eerie.

Richard shot up, nimbly picking up the sword on the ground as he signalled for Flowsand, Waterflower, and Gangdor to come after him. He followed the direction of the noises in his consciousness, coming to a secluded corner of the base. The noises sounded exceptionally clear here, coming from the ground floor of this two-storey building.

“Broodmother?” Richard called out. He could feel its presence right here within his mind.

The creature's reply immediately rang out in his head, “I am here, master. It is safe, you may enter.”

The words had been spoken quite fluently. The creature had been true to its words, learning Norland's tongue in a mere day.

Richard remained suspicious, leading the small party through the door. However, he was shocked by the sight the moment he step foot into the building!

This floor had originally been a living room, but now everything was in complete disarray. All that was left of the furniture was a pile of rags, leaving a huge empty space at the centre of the room where the broodmother was crouched. Its head was down, continuing to chew on broken armour, shields, and weapons. These were the noises that Richard had heard in his mind.

Everyone here was shocked by the broodmother's current appearance, even Richard himself. The creature was currently two metres long, being a metre tall and wide as well. Before the battle it was less than half this size!

Gangdor and Waterflower had already assumed battle positions subconsciously, the large broodmother radiating an intense feeling of danger. Even though they'd already seen it before, and they knew that it was a contract creature, it was almost impossible for them to draw connections between that rather large insect and this monster before them.

“What's going on?” Richard asked in shock.

“These metals can strengthen and harden my armour. Everything I chose was scrap, there was no way to reuse it.”

Richard was shocked once more, but this time at the creature's intelligence. It was barely a day old, but it was already familiar with the concept of value. Even as he talked to it through their soul link, it didn't stop eating once throughout the conversation. The tough metal was easily crushed in its mouth before it swallowed, drool dripping onto the armour and weapons every now and then as it sizzled a hole into the alchemic metals.

Gangdor and Waterflower grew more alert at the sight. The battle might of the broodmother was still unknown, but if one came into contact with its saliva... the consequences were obvious.

153 - City of Sin

Growing Up(2)

The broodmother's abdomen had devolved into a big round ball, out of proportion with the rest of its body. The creature's shell was almost bursting apart, a few transparent wings popping out of the cracks. The mere size of the broodmother had already ensured that these wings were mere decorations now.

The broodmother stopped in its tracks, its abdomen expanding quickly as a cracking sound emanated from its body. Fissures started to appear all over its dark black shell, widening as they leaked a yellow liquid. The liquid vapourised as soon as it came in contact with air, soon forming a black mass.

Everybody, Richard included, was bewildered by the creature in front of them. It had literally doubled in size once more just now! They also felt a sudden sting in their eyes, tears rolling down without control even as their skins started burning. Although most of the gas had solidified, whatever did remain seemed to be very corrosive.

The broodmother spoke again, “I produce a large amount of acidic gas when I grow, Master. Please leave for now.”

Richard led his team out of the building immediately, but the thick gas still rolled out in waves. Eventually, Flowsand had to dispel the corrosive effect on everyone.

What Richard didn't see was the huge pile of bones behind the broodmother being corroded rapidly by its acidic fluids. This was the source of the gas, but the creature didn't want Richard to see that. Moments laters, all that was left of the bones and wreckage was a lump of black ash, with no way to tell its original form...

By the time the gas completely dissipated, the broodmother had grown once again. This time, it was half a metre wider and longer, looking even chubbier than before. It was almost impossible to tell head from tail, and while its body had grown its pincers and limbs had not, making them seem rather out of place.

At that point, even leaving the room grew difficult due to the creature's increased size. The entrance had now grown too small for it to pass through, causing it to let out a sound of annoyance before it charged forwards and broke apart the frame to get through.

This took out half of the building's walls as well, and the ceiling collapsed on top of the creature's head. The window and balcony caved in as well, burying the broodmother underneath. It shook off the rubble, crawling out as if it was nothing.

Two knights had been alerted by the collapse, and they were shocked as soon as they saw the broodmother. They readied themselves, entering combat positions as they called for help and cordoned off the route to the rest of the camp.

However, Richard came over and stood by the broodmother's side, tapping its shell as he spoke to the two knights, “There is no need to worry. This is a broodmother, a creature contracted to my soul.”

The two knights shared a look of incredulity, one of them shuddering involuntarily as he looked at the bee-like creature before saying, “Alright, Master. But... it seems like a good idea to keep your distance from the creature.”

The broodmother propped itself up, waving its mandibles at the knight menacingly. Its actions seemed to take effect, as the knight jumped back into a stance. It only calmed down a little when Richard tapped its shell once more.

There were a lot of things left to do after the battle, so Richard dismissed the rest of them as he stayed behind to communicate with the broodmother. It delivered all the information it had over to him in an instant.

The creature was still in its larval stage, but it was more than half of the way to evolution. Having observed the humans and the power system of this plane, it had enhanced its physical defences. Its shell could now take the blow of a level 10 knight without any damage, with only those on par with Menta being able to even damage it. In terms of magical defence it was almost immune to acid, poison, cold, and electricity, fire being the only major element able to hurt it.

Its ultimate offence now lay in its soul attack and the acid it could spew. The acid spray had a short range, only ten metres, but if one got hit by it even a fully armoured soldier could only resist the corrosion for a minute at most. Outside of its reduced movements and the lost ability to fly, the broodmother was actually a force to be reckoned with. And even though its oversized abdomen seemed weak, it was multilayered and made of a substance similar to its hard shell that could only be cut open by a knight with a heavy axe. The arrows of archers like Olar wouldn't be able to penetrate it.

This evaluation had come from the broodmother itself after the day's battle. Its clear and simple analysis surprised Richard, yet again reminding him of its intelligence. Its head was about as large as a regular human's, but the creature told him that it wasn't a critical component of its body. It had more than a dozen brains, most of them safely protected by the thick shell of its chest.

Still in its larval phase, the broodmother needed to consume a lot of food. Once it finished the report, it asked Richard permission to hunt.

“Will you even be able to catch prey?” Richard asked, “Or should I have Olar come along?” He was rather doubtful of the broodmother's speed, and its soul attack and acid spray were pretty limited in their range.

“I can breed drones right now. They will capture my prey, flesh and blood are the best food I can have at this stage.” The broodmother seemed to be implying something, and Richard instantly remembered the hundreds of bodies in the camp. He lowered his voice, “No humans, but other than that I'm not interested to know. Do you need anything else? I'll try my best to get it for you.”

“The drones will be enough.”

Permission granted, the broodmother slowly crawled out of the base. It seemed rather displeased with its own speed, flapping its wings several times to no avail. It took off several times, but it always fell back within ten metres, having to crawl again.

Even aware that this was their master's contract beast, the knights couldn't hide their faces of shock. They'd seen many powerful beasts on the battlefield, Gaton's own mounts were majestic creatures, but the one before them gave these veterans a feeling they'd never felt before. And it was not a good one.

154 - City of Sin

Responsibility

Cleaning up the battlefield was an arduous task. The knights dragged the corpses out of the base, collecting their amour. Richard started to question the prisoners about the geography, religion, and customs of the region. He even asked them about the idiosyncrasies of the baron, writing page after page of notes from interrogation to interrogation.

It was almost dusk by the time the place was cleaned up. Hundreds of bodies were piled up outside, while the smell of food wafted within. Flowsand awoke from her meditation, walking into the pub to see Richard still interrogating a warrior. There was a large stack of records on the table.

Despite his visible exhaustion, Richard's eyes were alert. His writing remained neat and tidy, the fatigue not affecting them at all.

She sat down next to him, saying seriously, “You need rest. A mage without mana is inferior to even a common warrior.”

Richard looked up at the sky and replied, “There's only two more left, I'll eat once I'm done.” He patted the stack before continuing, “This information is more important than my mana reserves. We know nothing about this plane, and have no idea what to expect. I have to draft a quick outline to aid us in our future decisions.

“A third of Forza's elites have been eliminated, with three out of his five subordinate knights losing their lives. I don't think they'll be able to attack us in the near future. They only have the manpower and resources to guard the core of their territory, so I have more than enough time to recuperate.”

Richard sighed at that moment, “Tch, I just realised I made a grave mistake. We should have chased the runners down and taken Osfa. The knights' horses were there, at least a few dozen. That would've been a great advantage, a huge fortune! But now, those guys will definitely have taken all the horses away.”

“Richard. It's impossible to not make any mistakes at all. Your performance in this battle was on par with an outstanding general. Don't be too hard on yourself, you're barely sixteen.” Flowsand might look rather emotionless, but her words were laced with concern.

Richard ruffled his hair and smiled bitterly, “We're in a plane we're unfamiliar with, facing strong enemies we've never encountered before. The gods of this plane already sent an oracle down predicting our arrival, and us? We don't even know how we got here, and have nothing outside of basic resources. Our advance troops were lost in that time rift you mentioned, and three of our veterans died the moment we stepped through the portal. We don't even know if we can rally the locals to our aid in battle. We have no room for mistakes!”

Flowsand put her hand on Richard's to comfort him, “You have to calm down. You can't stress yourself like that, you are our leader. And that is not something I'm just saying. You have the greatest power amongst us, and you're a runemaster on top. You also have the blessing of the Eternal Dragon himself. The broodmother and I are the greatest proof of that, no?

“As for the oracle from the god of valour, it should only have predicted the position of our portal from the spacetime fluctuations it caused. It's unlikely for him to know our next plans. If their god really was that powerful, Kojo wouldn't have been the only one waiting for us.

“You should also remember this: if anything happens to you, none of those contracted to you will survive.”

“That seems to be a large responsibility,” Richard sighed dejectedly, but Flowsand looked him in the eye, “But it was your choice. Wasn't it?”

Richard nodded, a smile finally returning to his sullen face. “I know what to do now. We have enough resources for me to make a total of four runes. I'll create a mana amplification rune for you later, it's the only one that can suit you given our current ingredients.”

“Alright, but I'll have to take care of the bodies first. Send two knights and ten of the prisoners with me.”

Richard agreed, calling two knights over and picking ten prisoners to help Flowsand. He'd already interrogated most of them by then, and given his extraordinary memory he knew what state they were all in. He'd picked only normal warriors, and even if their injuries were light they were all quite meek in nature.

Gangdor came in just as Richard finished assigning the men to their jobs, calling out barbarically, “Master, dinner time! Anything else can be dealt with after we've eaten!”

The aroma that hit Richard's nostrils brought a near-instant hunger with it. Still, Richard managed to wait until he finished the last interrogation before walking towards a temporary kitchen with Gangdor.

The smell of food filled the entire floor. Three knights, Waterflower, and Olar were all sitting around the dinner table, each with a big bowl before them devouring everything within. Richard saw Tiramisu alone in the kitchen, stirring a pot with all his strength. It seemed like this food that everyone was in love with came from him.

Gangdor brought a bowl over for Richard as well, saying, “Master, I can't believe your ogres are such good cooks! Their meat stew is so much better than the ones at camp.”

Olar scoffed at the side, “I've had my fair share of meat stew in the past, what's the big deal? Still, this one is truly well-cooked.”

Olar had worked for a handful of royal families before, so he naturally had a good taste for food. For even the elf to acknowledge it meant the food had to be good.

Just then, the ogre that was busy in the kitchen shouted in Gangdor's direction, “Hey shorty! I have a name, don't call me 'ogre!'”

“Ah, my bad!” Gangdor raised his arms in surrender, “Alright, Medium Rare.”

But then, Medium Rare roared from the outside, “THAT'S ME! He's Tiramisu, shorty!”

The bigger ogre peeked into the restaurant, glaring at Gangdor as if he was about to attack the man. Richard quickly stood up to stop things from escalating, “Alright, Gangdor didn't—”

However, when he turned to see Gangdor's sneaky face, he was forced into an awkward silence. He wanted to say Gangdor didn't mean it, but this fellow had done it on purpose!

Gangdor laughed loudly at the scene before him. “Right, I did it on purpose. I'll call you by your names, but you can't call me shorty!”

“Deal!” Tiramisu and Medium Rare echoed.

Richard shook his head and sat down, all ready to dig in. He tried a spoonful of the stew— it was indeed delicious, cooked to utter perfection. This was better than anything that the Archeron chefs had ever cooked, only slightly behind the chefs of the Deepblue itself.

“This is really good!” Richard complimented.

“Of course!” the two ogres answered proudly, “We are gourmets!”

......

Halfway through the meal, Richard stopped abruptly. This attracted Waterflower's attention while Gangdor asked, “Are you alright, Master?”

Richard quickly reverted to his normal self. “I'm fine, eat up!” he said, continuing to finish his food.

He'd just felt a worrying decrease in the broodmother's power, but that had gone back up just as fast so he was relieved.

155 - City of Sin

Responsibility(2)

The broodmother was laid on its stomach in the forest nearby, its shell creaking and cracking everywhere as it grew once more. Its swollen abdomen had grown relatively smaller, implying that it had already consumed most of the stored food. This growth spurt put the creature at more than three metres long, and about as tall as an adult human. However, its limbs, pincers, and head had little changes to them.

The broodmother staggered forward, leaving three translucent oval eggs behind. They started pulsing the moment they touched the ground, and one could see beings within rapidly taking form and growing. Pincers pierced through the eggshells, and half-metre-long worker drones that looked like the young broodmother crawled out. There was about ten minutes of difference between the creatures being laid and breaking out, and just like the broodmother the first thing they did upon coming out was to consume their shells. They then shook their bodies as their outer shells hardened, growing to near a metre in length by the time the process ended.

The worker drones spread their wings and flew out, soaring in a circle around the broodmother before swiftly heading into the depths of the forest. The broodmother itself lay quietly in its position, looking like a black rock under the night sky.

The weather remained pleasant, with stars littering the sky. The moonlight itself was dim, but there seemed to be a thin veil of grey shrouding the forest. The broodmother suddenly moved its body at one point, withdrawing into the shadows of the trees as it was put on guard by human voices in the distance. However, it smelt something familiar and opened up once more, laying down quietly in the forest again.

Hundreds of metres away, an open space in the forest was illuminated so brightly that it practically looked like day. Ten of the prisoners had dug two pits, one large and one small. They moved their fallen comrades from a cart into the larger pit, supervised by two Archeron knights in full armour. The two titled knights and the novices were placed in the smaller one, obviously with preferential treatment. This wasn't just in line with the traditions of this plane— it followed Norland customs as well. Nobles and commoners were different, even in death.

The bodies were quickly buried, and Flowsand had the knights escort the prisoners back, saying she still needed to pray for a while. The day's battle had left her status second only to Richard in their eyes, so they agreed. Almost all of them owed their survival to her, and now they only felt safe when she was on their side.

Flowsand stood quietly in place for a long time, watching as the footsoldiers and slaves disappeared from sight. She then opened the Book of Time, flipping to a page with an intricate illustration recording stories of the Eternal Dragon's priestesses wandering the planes. They spread the Dragon's teachings, searching for and curing a magic plague called the Paling Decrepitude. There was a strange spot of light in the picture. Flowsand looked at its location, and headed deep into the forest...

A bear roared out somewhere in the woods. One of the workers flew over to the broodmother and threw a rabbit towards it before returning, while the shrubs rustled as another dragged in a grey wolf larger than the drones themselves.

A furious snarl soon erupted nearby as a plump black bear charged out, another of the workers flying not far ahead of it. The bee-like creature flew along leisurely, always low enough for the bear to attempt clawing at it but still able to soar and dodge them by a hair's breadth. The bear itself had an obvious injury on its head, evidently a result of a fierce bite from the drone.

Seeing the bear pouncing towards it, the broodmother excitedly stood up and crawled forwards. When the opposing creature was about ten metres away it sent a mental attack on its mind, causing the black bear to suddenly stiffen before it rolled on the ground in pain. Moments later, it moved no more.

By the time Flowsand walked out from between the trees, she saw that the black bear was almost completely eaten. The broodmother stopped eating to look at her wearily, its mouth opening slightly as concentrated acid dripped out in a steady flow. It was evident that any hostility or further approach would be greeted by an acid arrow.

Flowsand halted her footsteps, “There's no need for you to be uneasy about me.”

The broodmother moved its mouth slightly, and the shell behind its head suddenly opened up a chunk to reveal a membrane. This 'mouth' moved, allowing the creature to speak somewhat like a human, even if its voice was hoarse and strange, “You don't have a soul contract with Master.”

Flowsand smiled, “My relationship with your master is even more stable than one arising from a contract.”

“I only believe in contracts,” the broodmother replied.

“Why don't you link to me?” Flowsand suggested, “That way, we'll be able to communicate with our minds.”

The broodmother rejected the thought immediately, “Your divine force is powerful. Before I evolve, I definitely won't link to your mind. Also, I suggest you put that book in your hand down, it is making me feel uncomfortable. I am already on the verge of attacking you.”

“This? No problem.” Flowsand raised the Book of Time as she spoke. Her movements immediately caused the broodmother to spread its shell, but then she crouched down and placed it properly on the ground to quiet it down.

“We can now talk properly. My name is Flowsand.”

“You can call me broodmother. Beautiful Flowsand, why have you sought me out?” it asked.

Flowsand sounded an 'oh' in answer, asking with interest, “Am I truly beautiful?”

The broodmother answered with a unique honesty, “Very much so. Everything with power, balance, and perfection is beautiful, and you meet all three criteria. Especially the pattern on your forehead, it has unimaginable strength. It's so beautiful that it shocks me.”

“You flatter me,” Flowsand smiled. Even unsmiling Flowsand contained a mysterious, hallowed beauty. She was like the ruins of the Church of the Eternal Dragon, gleaming amber with great change concealed inside. However, when she smiled it was like the flow of time itself, encompassing the magnificence of the myriad countless planes. Her beaming face bloomed in a way that shook one to the core.

However, the priestess quickly withdrew that smile and stated solemnly, “Richard, your master, is not in a good state. He is very much in need of your strength.”

“I'm working diligently to grow,” the broodmother answered, “In fact, you're disturbing my meal.”

Flowsand took a look at the black bear that was almost completely destroyed, asking, “Does this sort of food satisfy you? How far are you from full maturity?”

“The black bear is very good and powerful. I am currently three fourths of the way to evolving.”

“Very powerful...” Flowsand astutely caught the phrase used, “So besides flesh and metals, you need beings of great power as you feed in your larval form?” Please visit 𝗳𝚛𝐞𝘦wℯ𝚋𝓷o𝚟el. 𝐜𝘰𝒎

“Flesh and metal are the basis of my growth. The more powerful my meal was in life, the more useful it is to me. I can analyse the source of their power, making use of it for myself. Once I evolve, I will need food with mana in it.”

“Very good,” Flowsand nodded, “Come with me. I believe there is food that will be of use to you over there.”

The broodmother hesitated for a moment, but eventually followed the priestess. The rest of the black bear couldn't be wasted, so it summoned two of the drones back to drag it over.

Flowsand led the broodmother to the open space where the dead warriors had been buried. The creature spread its shell in excitement once it reached the area, but after several steps it stopped.

“Master said humans are not food,” it said.

“Humans can be friends or enemies. There is no need to hesitate over eating those who want to kill you. What's more important is that Richard needs your strength.”

“But Master...” The broodmother still held back, but after reaching this place, the black bear was no longer attractive to it.

“Richard abides by his own thoughts and principles. That is a source of incredible will, and is also why people will follow him, but I shall take over for the necessary things that he does not have the ability or desire to do. Broodmother, there is no need to hesitate. This is my responsibility. You are smart, and you should realise that this applies to both you and your master— your principles only matter if you can stay alive.”

The broodmother didn't move, but the two drones quickly tossed the bear aside and flew over, shovelling at the ground to reveal the corpses buried underneath. Right at the centre was Sir Menta, still in full armour and helmet. His large damaged shield covered his body, while the morningstar was placed in his hand.

The broodmother shifted its body, crawling to the open space. A giant shadow slowly covered the knight who had been consigned to eternal rest.

156 - City of Sin

The Fall

Night fell, and Flowsand returned to the base. She checked on the physical condition of the prisoners, and met up with Richard at an arranged time.

Richard's room was in a small courtyard at the north side of the base. It was the residence of the leader of the reconnaissance troops, so it was quiet, spacious, and comfortable.

When Flowsand entered Richard's bedroom, she saw tens of ingredients on a table, divided neatly with the precision and discipline of a true runemaster. He had her sit on the bed, saying, “I've made some small alterations to the mana amplification rune. Based on the materials I have on hand, it should be around 20%. We don't have three important materials, so I can't reach the theoretical maximum of 30, even 25% will be difficult.”

“That's already quite good, I'll be able to use another greater heal.” Flowsand smiled as she asked, “Where will it be drawn?”

“On your right arm. It might hurt a little, take your clothes off first.” Richard lowered his head as he focused on preparing the materials, not watching Flowsand remove her clothes. By the time he looked up again, he couldn't help but stare blankly, bewildered.

Flowsand had actually taken everything off save her underwear, leaving her beautiful upper body completely bare before Richard. She was slightly thin, but even if her full breasts weren't as large as Venica's, their arc was perfect. Her nipples were amazingly not pink, instead the same light amber of her eyebrows and pupils. They were slightly translucent, making them look like the most refined of carvings.

“You don't have to take so much off.” Richard's voice was so small at that point that even he couldn't hear himself properly.

“It's not all that much. Anyway, you'll be able to see clearly like this,” Flowsand stated indifferently. What she'd said was the truth; although the rune was to be tattooed on her upper right arm, Richard would need to strip her entire right side to ascertain the directions of mana flow. There wasn't much difference between revealing one breast and and both, but to Richard's ears it sounded very strange.

Seeing Richard slightly distressed, Flowsand added, “This is all for the sake of survival.”

Richard picked up his magic pen and steeled himself, “Fine then, I shall begin.”

The tip of the pen used to tattoo the rune was actually an extremely fine, hollow needle. All the materials flowed down through the pinhole, allowing him to draw the lines on the subject with designated magical properties. This was why any pen used to create runes was a top-grade alchemic item.

Richard grabbed Flowsand's arm with his left hand, while his right held the pen. Calm as ever, he drew a light stroke on the arm. His breathing grew more level, the pen so stable it was unnatural. The tip touched her skin gently, leaving a fine, shallow trace. The magic ink dripped from the tip, leaving an exceedingly meticulous line on her arm. Despite the natural curve of the human arm, this line's arc was so precise it was unimaginable.

As the pen touched her skin again and again, a beautiful and complicated magic formation began to emerge on Flowsand's arm. Tiny beads of sweat had already begun to show on Richard's forehead, but his gaze was still focused, his breathing calm and drawn out. Those who heard him would feel a sense of peace and quiet.

The priestess' free left hand held the interrogation notes Richard had prepared, and she was currently looking through them intently. There were two main parts to the material: one was about the political structure, social customs, and the power hierarchy of the Whiterock Duchy, while the other was a topological map of Baron Forza's land and its surroundings. This map was much more detailed than the one they'd drawn up earlier, with signs indicating all the larger towns, Osfa included.

Flowsand finished going through all the material quite quickly, later turning to look at Richard silently. The youth in question himself didn't notice her gaze.

Another complicated line was on the verge of reaching its end, one of the most crucial and longest lines in the formation that extended to the interior of her arm. At the last moment, when he was just about to draw his pen back, a sparkling amber nipple entered his line of sight.

His breathing instantly grew rough, the power he'd controlled meticulously in his hand fluctuating. The tip of the pen lowered, stinging Flowsand's skin and creating a drop of blood.

“Crap!” Richard was vexed. Even a small mistake like this would lower the final amplification by half a percent. He rarely made such errors, so how could he explain this? Could he say that Flowsand's breast was so beautiful he'd been moved by the sight? That he lost control because of that?

Richard looked up to see Flowsand looking at him. Her eyes were sparkling like gems, while she had a slight smile that made it seem like she was well aware of anything.

Before Richard could say anything, her uniquely hoarse and slightly rough voice that was like a grain of time sounded indifferently, “I believe even a grand runemaster would definitely have made three to five mistakes by now.”

Richard immediately felt relaxed, heaving a long sigh. He was about to explain that this was the first time he was drawing a rune on someone else's body, but to his surprise Flowsand continued, “But you really shouldn't have made a mistake like this.”

All explanations were forced back in his throat.

Flowsand then continued, “Actually, you can look as you wish. You can touch if you want to as well.”

If these words could be considered powerful blows, her last ones were the ultimate, “Any time you want.”

“I... um, that's not what I meant...” Richard suddenly felt his gift of wisdom leaving him.

She smiled, “It's fine even if you did mean it. You'll look and touch in the future anyway. Once you're more used to it, you won't mind much.”

Richard found himself speechless once more, and decided to just not explain as he continued his work. However, since he could he stole a few more glances at Flowsand's breasts before he continued.

As expected, that was effective. He reached a third of the way through the rune as planned, making no more mistakes. Richard looked up after finishing the last line, his gaze naturally landing on Flowsand's chest as he praised, “Very beautiful.”

Flowsand straightened her back as she answered, “They're also springy. Want to give it a try?”

And thus, Richard suffered a complete defeat.

By the time he was done stowing away his materials and tools, Flowsand had put on her clothes. He immediately sighed in relief, feeling that the priestess exerted much less pressure when she was dressed.

Flowsand waved the notes in her hand, “All these notes, are you planning on taking on some of the people of this plane?”

Richard nodded, “That's essential. It's impossible for us to take over an entire plane with such small numbers.”

Flowsand looked at one of the pages, “Three knights and nine warriors... Why isn't that priest in here?”

Richard froze, “He's a priest of Neian. There's faith in the equation now, how could we bring him over?”

Flowsand smiled, “Already 25 or 26, but still only level 3. His devotion is obvious, and it makes him the best person to take in. Someone of faith cannot go back once they give up on their god. Once the time comes, his head will be a bigger priority than ours to Neian's worshippers.”

“But what's the point? Without any favour from his god, won't it be impossible for him to rise in rank?” Richard frowned.

“That's the second step, one you don't need to worry about. Leave it to me, the faith of the Eternal Dragon is far greater than of the gods of a secondary plane.” Google search 𝗳𝙧𝘦𝒆𝑤𝙚𝘣𝙣𝘰𝘃ℯ𝑙. 𝐜𝐨𝑚

Richard nodded and questioned, “What next, then?”

“Use the methods you used on those two warriors on him.”

157 - City of Sin

The Fall(2)

A short while later, miserable cries rang out from the interrogation room once more. The priest's voice was high-pitched and bright, the sheer volume of the scream showing his ability to praise his god. It was a pity, however. Despite his age he was only level 3. That showed how 'great' his devotion was.

The priest, Marvin, first cursed Richard loudly. However, that quickly devolved into prayers to his god, and not long after he was begging for forgiveness. A bout of pure misery later, he quieted down. The entire process took less than three minutes.

Richard had said that the five minute session he used on the sturdy warriors could kill the priest. He didn't possess the iron will that the veterans did, so even if Flowsand could heal his physical wounds his mind would likely crumble. However, this simplified three minute set seemed to work just as well. By the time Richard let Marvin down, he hid in a corner and hugged himself as he wailed, “What do you want to know? I've already told you everything, there isn't anything more. I even told you about the church!”

Having said this, the young priest actually hugged his knees and burst into tears.

“Quiet,” Flowsand stated indifferently, and Marvin immediately withdrew his tears. To him, Richard's torture was nowhere near as terrifying as this cold rock in front of him, who'd constantly cast lesser healing spells to make it impossible for him to faint.

“Stand.”

The young priest bounced off the ground immediately, his back sticking to the wall as he stood ramrod straight.

“How many lesser heals did I use just now?”

“Eight!” Marvin answered instantly. However, he suddenly realised the meaning of that after he said it, and couldn't help but begin to tremble.

Richard shook his head. Flowsand evidently had much more control over the situation than he did, so he silently went to the side to clean his tools. However, just as he turned away he heard Flowsand call out to him, “Richard, give him another round.”

“No!” Marvin yelled, “NO!” He pounced towards Flowsand, looking like he was about to grab her thighs as he begged, “I'll say anything, I'll do anything! Please, no more!”

Flowsand took a small step back, just enough to escape his embrace. She then bent over, placing her right index finger by her lips in a shushing gesture.

Marvin's cries dissipated even as he maintained posture, his two hands outstretched in a mock embrace as he froze in position like a statue. Their faces were now no more than twenty centimetres apart.

Flowsand's eyebrows raised, and Marvin slowly nodded. However, he obviously didn't understand what she meant.

She pointed at the wall once more, and Marvin immediately retreated to his original position, standing straight against it.

“You're willing to do anything?” Flowsand asked.

“Yes!” Marvin was extremely resolute.

“Then surrender!”

“Alright!” Came the answer, but only then did Marvin start to feel slightly dizzy.

Surrender? How would that work? He was a priest of the God of Valour, and only level 3 at that. If he betrayed his god he would drop in level, being unable to even use divine spells anymore. What use was a priest without his spells?

He tried to think harder. These invaders were the natural enemies of the gods of this plane, or at least of the God of Valour. Even if it wasn't too late for him to change his faith, it was impossible for divine force to traverse the countless planes. Even if there was a god in that other plane, how many years would he have to work to return even to his current level?

However, Marvin did not look confused in the least. There actually wasn't much difference between a level 1 priest and a level 3. They were all trash, just of a different standard.

Flowsand turned to Richard, smiling as she said, “Look, he's already surrendered. How easy.”

Richard almost fainted at that point. Indeed, it was easy, but that was a problem. It made his words worth little, but Flowsand likely had more in store for that.

As expected, she gave Marvin a piece of paper and had him draw the sigil of the God of Valour on it. Marvin looked confused, but he didn't dare go against her words. He even infused a bit of his divine force into the sigil, drawing it out completely. He wouldn't dare play any games in front of a priestess who could easily cast eight lesser heals.

Flowsand gave him another piece of paper and instructed, “Recite this!”

Seeing the short few lines on the paper, Marvin's hands began to tremble. His face finally turned pale, as he looked up at Flowsand and then at Richard. This time, Richard's bloodstained tools finally served their purpose— he lowered his pale face, beginning to chant the words on the paper phrase by phrase in a trembling voice. This was a paragraph written in the language of the gods, something that remained basically constant through the myriad planes. It was the first thing he'd had to learn in his training.

These words... They were the most vicious of curses against his god!

“I hereby swear upon my soul... I shall abandon your so-called glory, and throw it to the dirt...” Marvin's trembling grew worse the more he spoke. “... Such is my testimony!” He felt weak the moment he finished, his face turning an unusual red as all the divine force in his body began to burn up. The scorching pain wasn't as bad as Richard's torture, but it wasn't far apart!

Thankfully, he was only a level 3 priest. Had he been level 10, then the burning of his divine force would leave him dead. As someone who had once been a servant of this god, the curse would bring his god's attention on him. It could be said that Neian paid more attention to Marvin then than at any other moment in the priest's life.

Flowsand flipped open the Book of Time, a stream of light shooting out of the page. It formed a wisp of the golden sands of time, emanating an aura of dignity that came from the will of a supreme deity.

“Let go of your mind, and use all your soul to take in the favour of your new Lord. What you see now is what you will pray to for the rest of your life.” Flowsand's voice was solemn, and the Marvin who was being burnt by his divine force could endure it no longer. He knelt down, beginning to pray loudly towards the wisp. Just as the prayers left his mouth, it turned into a strand of golden light that charged into his body, becoming a freezing cold that suppressed the heat.

A light golden lustre suddenly surged out of Marvin's body. He took a look at his hands, unable to believe his own eyes! In that short period of time, he who had lost all grace felt the new divine force filling the gaps left behind by Neian's power. His strength actually rose rapidly, only stabilising once he reached level 6!

However, the golden flames blazing on his body seemed slightly pale, and there was a slight scent of rot on him that was starkly different from Flowsand's power.

Marvin placed his hands before his eyes and took a close look, his body beginning to shudder slowly. He looked up, forcing out a question after a struggle, “I've... fallen?”

Flowsand closed the Book of Time, speaking indifferently, “Congratulations, you're now a fallen priest. Now, feel the great power you've been granted!”

A priest would face divine punishment if they cursed their god, the most common of which was having one's divine force burn out. If they could get through that without dying, then another god could take them in. Many evil gods welcomed fallen priests, with some instances of the reverse as well.

The problem was that although such priests could obtain the divine force of their new god, the mark of the old one would not be erased. Thus why they were called fallen— their expertise wasn't in spreading faith, but in eliminating the worshippers of other gods.

Marvin's eyes stared hard at the Book of Time in Flowsand's hands, and he took a step forward with the desire to touch it. However, Flowsand's eyes flashed the moment he got close, and his fingertips burnt a pale gold. The pain was so bad that Marvin began to cry miserably, and in the blink of an eye he was sweating profusely.

“You can burn his divine force?” Richard was astonished.

Flowsand nodded, “His fallen divine force is under my control. The burning of level 6 divine force can weaken him, but at level 6 now betrayal will cost him his life. This is just a small warning; now that we're done with the punishment, we can stop.”

The flames burning Marvin's fingers disappeared as Flowsand spoke, leaving no traces of injuries at all. However, the soul-rending pain had been carved into the fallen priest's mind.

“Go back to the prisoners, and hear what they're saying,” Flowsand instructed, and Marvin immediately followed a footsoldier to leave.

Richard couldn't hold his curiosity in once he was gone, “How did he connect to the divine force of the Eternal Dragon? I feel basically none of his power in this plane.”

Flowsand raised the Book of Time in her hands, saying, “The Book of Time allows me to connect directly to the Eternal Dragon, no matter which plane I'm on.”

Despite Flowsand's words, Richard felt that the ease with which they'd subdued Marvin wasn't really because of the Book of Time. Flowsand herself was the likely reason for such effectiveness. However, it was late into the night. He sent Flowsand off to sleep, while he returned to his room to meditate and restore his mana.

158 - City of Sin

Preparation

The next three days, the base was bustling with activity. Olar, Gangdor, and Waterflower took turns to guard against surprise attacks by the baron's troops, while Tiramisu spent day and night transcribing language proficiency scrolls, or just directly casting it on some. Ogres were an impatient race, and even his side job as a chef didn't help increase the mage's restraint.

In fact, the ogre felt like the dull work was torturing him to the verge of insanity. However, he was smart, and wouldn't let his dislikes affect things of true import. With these scrolls, everyone would be able to learn basics of this plane's common tongue, including the seven knights. Although it would take time to grow fluent in it, speaking it at all would be a significant first step in gaining a foothold in this plane. Their return route long broken off, their best case scenario upon failure was currently death.

Tiramisu wasn't really fond of work. However, if the alternative was death then he considered being able to work a blessing. As for the tedium of it all, the clever ogre knew to compensate himself with delicacies. Every day, all he did was copy the scrolls, sleep and eat. The most unique gift of ogre mages and priests was that they did not need to meditate; sleep was the best way for them to recover mana. In fact, rest for them was even more efficient than meditation was for a human mage.

Medium Rare was preoccupied with an entirely different matter. He took on as much of the intense labour as he could, using his free time to repair the steel armours and weapons in the forge. The ogres left their human comrades in shock once more— Rare was as skilled at the craft as a dwarven smith.

Although his job was just as dull as his brother's, Rare considered this to be a chance to hone his strength. That was the most important attribute of a ogre, the one thing they were most proud of. An increase in sheer strength translated into both offence and defence. Their striking power would grow, while they would be able to wear heavier, more powerful armour. Moreover, increasing their strength was a direct way to increase their level.
𝑓𝙧𝚎𝑒𝔀𝙚𝑏𝑛𝑜vel. c૦m

Ogres also had great energy reserves, although they didn't rely on that as much as human knights did. Their strength always made battles easier anyway. Medium Rare felt like he wasn't far from getting to level 11, something that would allow him to add twenty kilograms to the 100-kilo hammers of his. If he accomplished that, he could send even the strongest of knights flying with a single swing, with even titled knights having trouble. Someone like Sir Menta may be able to block a few blows at that point, but even so he wouldn't be willing to fight Rare head on— that would be like digging his own grave.

Everyone was busy in their own ways. Waterflower was working on new clothes— she'd been stubbornly attached to her white trousers, but she didn't like how restricted she felt in them. She thus tore the corners apart, making them more like a skirt. She still remained barefoot all the time, but that hardly stained her snow white soles. Another thing she was working on was the Shepherd of Eternal Rest. Whenever Waterflower held the dull longsword in her hands, one was left feeling nervous and uneasy.

Olar, on the other hand, continued trying to get close to Waterflower and win her heart. The bard came up with a new poem everyday, presenting it to the girl who never smiled. It was rare to see him practising anything at all— it was like chattering non-stop was the route to him levelling up. Otherwise, it would be really hard to explain how he was level 9 at this point.

Having been caught between the two beauties of Flowsand and Waterflower for a brief period of time, he'd instinctively ended up distancing himself from Flowsand and choosing Waterflower instead. He was captivated by her wild personality, and the way she never directly rejected his flattery, tests, and even subtle pursuit egged him on both directly and indirectly.

As for her new fashion, he never held his praises back, always gasping in admiration. As long as her clothes were light, thin, small, and revealing, nothing could go wrong. The same couldn't be said for her sword, however, which was always met with astonished sighs.

Anyone who wasn't blind would be able to see that the power of the Shepherd of Eternal Rest was beyond comparison. Even Gangdor, who was far more powerful than Waterflower, wouldn't want to provoke the girl when she had the sword in hand.

However, the bard didn't approve all of her actions with it. Perhaps it would be better to say that some things he just couldn't comprehend. For example, nothing was more important in his opinion than using such a rare enchanted weapon as the Shepherd of Eternal Rest, but Waterflower spent a lot of time fiddling with a crude chisel and grinding the sword down.

However, she wasn't sharpening the Shepherd. No, she was working to make it even rougher. She said this would increase its power, but no matter how hard Olar tried he still couldn't see how that would increase its power. When he saw a look of understanding on Gangdor's face, however, he grew angry without reason.

'What a barbarian,' the graceful and knowledgeable bard thought to himself, 'He's pretending to understand something he doesn't!'

If Olar were asked to talk about the eyesores in the base, Gangdor would absolutely be on that list. This brute spent a great deal of time around Waterflower, and she didn't seem to mind him by her side as well. Another thing that dissatisfied him was the way Gangdor looked at him, which always seemed exceptionally strange. In fact, his gaze constantly centred on his rear!

That type of gaze made the elven bard especially alert against the barbarian's likes, and it also reminded him of some unpleasant memories.

As for Gangdor, every time he saw Waterflower fiddle with that chisel he always felt chills going down his spine. He felt like taking the time to polish his own axe, sharpening it. The battleaxe had grown almost as rough as a chisel by this point. He was also anticipating the time when the bard couldn't help himself from grabbing Waterflower's butt: that would definitely end wonderfully.

Such things had happened more than once in the Archeron death camp, and every time it was a topic of idle conversation for quite a stretch of time.

Life in the death training camp was actually very dull and tedious, so everyone would always hope to leave that ghost-like place as soon as possible. To be able to see an ignorant fellow suffer heavily, both physically and mentally, was most definitely a delightful pleasure. Since such incidents were not uncommon, and there were different categories. Those who didn't touch would be left able to walk, albeit barely, but they were afraid to sit and could only lay on their stomachs. Those who'd actually made contact? They were all dead.

......

Richard was spending large amounts of time perfecting Flowsand's rune. He didn't make a single mistake over the three days, finally completing the mana amplification rune successfully. As Flowsand had said, once he saw more he got used to it.

The amplification rate was 21%, about as much as Richard had expected. With their current materials, it would be too much to ask for anything more. Flowsand estimated that this rune could grant her an extra greater heal, three more normal heals, and seven lesser heals. That was equivalent to the life of one of the infantry knights.

This increase in Flowsand's ability directly translated to an increase in the power of their party. Richard was now quite confident in dealing with Forza. Ultimately, however, Forza was only a small lord in the borders of the duchy.

Over these three days, plenty of food, rest, and healing magic had left everyone cured of their injuries, returned to optimal fighting strength. In addition, with Medium Rare's unexpected craftsmanship, the warriors were all dressed in new shiny armor.

It was time to take action.

159 - City of Sin

Battle Beasts

Marvin left all by himself on the third night, heading out of the base. He took advantage of the darkness to hurry towards Sir Kocat's territory.

Kocat was Marvin's father, as well as Baron Forza's brother-in-law. Although he'd never surpassed level 9 even at the peak of his youth, his heritage and marriage had cemented his knighthood. In fact, Kocat was more important to the baron than even Hubert and Kojo, only falling short of Menta by a little.

This plane was chaotic with power struggles. Even though wars weren't as frequent or immense here as in Norland, they were still a norm. The elites made use of far too many excuses to wage war on each other; hell, they did it even when someone's horses trampled crops! There was no need for logic here, one only needed a minor excuse to wage war.

Of course, there were actual reasons for these wars being fought, prime of which was one party setting their sights on another's possessions. This could be things such as land, mines, certain local specialties, or even trade routes. Of course, those fools who fought to take their enemies' daughters or wives had already been eliminated over time.

Menta was a formidable fighter and commander that could not be missed, and Kocat was well aware of this. He'd always been a pragmatic person who could analyse the situation, and knew that his marriage alone would not be enough to give him full control of his lands.

Marvin had decided to look for Kocat for that very reason. If one wished to persuade him to stand on the side of the invaders, helping them at least from the dark. Richard had faith that Kocat would be convinced— after all, his only son had become a fallen priest, an arch-enemy of the God of Valour.

One source of Marvin's confidence in being able to convince his father was that Flowsand could offer a path to faith. The god of the invaders was so strong that they could infiltrate their plane. The primary reason the locals of a plane put everything into eliminating invaders was because their gods had a clear stance on them. No matter how powerful these intruders were, as long as the gods were willing to pay enough of a price they would be able to at least drive them away.

However, these invaders were different. Although they were much weaker than previous ones, they had the ability to provide faith! This lost the local deities their advantage in that respect, perhaps even reversing it. That was something he'd understood well from his experience.

Richard continued to pore over the dukedom's map after Marvin left, trying to figure out a point of attack. There were numerous labels on this map in the aftermath of the recent interrogations, giving him a lot of information.

As he continued to deliberate, a sudden thought entered Richard's mind. He raised his head, looking towards the dim and gloomy forest outside the window. He'd just gotten news that the broodmother had matured, growing to level 1. He was needed immediately to decide its future path.

He immediately put aside his current tasks, donning a coat and leaving his house. The broodmother was a few kilometres away, and he'd only need about thirty minutes to make it there.

However, as he left the base two giant worker drones that were over a metre long suddenly flew towards him, giving him a rude shock. Even in daylight these enormous creatures would be able to scare someone unsuspecting of them. Thankfully, Richard knew that these were the broodmother's drones used for foraging, sent to direct him to it.

He first went around the broodmother, examining his strange contract beast. The creature was still covered in shiny black armour, its abdomen taking up two thirds of its entire body, but it wasn't as deformed as it was at birth. There were folds all over, vibrating gently as the broodmother breathed. The head was almost the same as when it was first born, difficult to spot against its current frame. The pincers had remained the same size as well, what was supposed to be a weapon now looking simply like cutlery.

As far as power was concerned, the broodmother's strengths currently lay in its mental attacks and the acid it spewed out, something that was far more useful than a large pair of pincers would have been. Furthermore, its six legs had grown even more sturdy, albeit more stubby as well. They could support its weight, but speed was a problem.

“Were there any other changes when you matured? Did you get any other means of attack or defence?” Richard asked excitedly.

The broodmother's voice sounded out in his mind, “No, Master. I'm not meant to fight in battles myself, and my mental attack and acid are my only ways to do damage. However, those are only self-defense mechanisms. Only when enemies are within a thirty metre radius of me can I use them, and if they choose to flee it's impossible for me to catch up. However, now that I've matured I have the ability to create attack drones. You can use them like soldiers.”

“Attack drones?” The concept was unfathomable to Richard, “You mean like those workers?”

The broodmother explained, “Somewhat, but not entirely the same. The workers were the only drones I could conjure in my infant stage, and they have limited energy. They're only comparable to sturdy wolves at best, so even a low-level warrior with the right equipment could take them down. Their primary purpose is to forage for food, not to protect me.”

Richard nodded. The workers were all bark and no bite, with many more terrible monsters out there. Other than a limited ability to produce paralysing venom, they had no special ways to attack. A level 5 shield warrior could easily defeat a few of them at the same time.

The broodmother continued, “The attack drones are different. Their sole purpose in life is battle, and that will remain the same unto death. Now that I'm mature, at level 1 I can create three a day, with enough energy to control a total of ten. Originally I could only spawn normal attack drones, but because of some special sustenance in my larval stage I've been able to enhance their traits to an extent.

“Here, this is information on them. Their blueprint was constructed based on the environment in this plane, but as I grow in levels you can amend it as you wish.” A few three dimensional blueprints suddenly appeared in Richard's mind, all accompanied by large amounts of information.

These were land creatures similar to prehistoric raptors, with a pair of strong hind legs that allowed them to sprint quickly. Their front limbs were blades akin to the broodmother's pincers, while they had well-developed, sharp canines that could pierce through plate armour. Each one was about as big as a large wolf, and they could erupt with power for short periods of time. They could travel faster than sixty kilometres an hour, faster than most warhorses.

In a one on one fight, these creatures were akin to level 5 human warriors. However, while it took years for a warrior to train to that level, and basic equipment for him to perform to ability, the broodmother could spawn three of these beasts in a day! And that was only at its current level— the production would pick up as it grew in power. This particular attack drone was called the raptor.

The broodmother had even been able to enhance the raptors, growing their strength by upto 20%. These enhanced raptors were sturdier than their normal kin, and at somewhere between level 6 and 7 in terms of power they could beat level 5 warriors with ease. However, they also took more energy to create so at full capacity the broodmother could only have upto eight total. On the other hand, it could still create three of them in a day.

Of course, there was a drawback to offset this— the raptors had a mere one year lifespan.

Richard had already expected great things from the broodmother, but even so he hadn't anticipated the amount of assistance it could provide. Within a month of maturing a broodmother could create a troop of a hundred-odd raptors that could rival elite soldiers in a month! This made planar conquest no problem for Richard. He could just step into a strange plane and overcome the military powers there— the broodmother would solve much of his problem. The only prerequisite was to ensure that it was fed well, but that wasn't a difficult task to accomplish.

More attack drones wasn't the only function of the broodmother's rising levels. It would unlock additional functions with each level, and its physical body would continue to be strengthened as well. At the same time, the process could be sped up by feeding it some special items like mana-filled crystals and the like. It could also absorb powerful creatures such as wyverns, draconians or even multi-headed snakes. The broodmother also stood a chance to crack the mysteries of those creatures, using their traits to enhance its drones. For example, the strength enhancement to the attack drones was uncovered because the broodmother had consumed a creature of great strength.

Of course, what Richard didn't know was that the person who'd made such a special contribution to the broodmother was Sir Menta.

Considering that Flowsand would be supporting his troops, Richard decided to focus on individual power over numbers. “Could a batch of the strength-enhanced raptors be spawned by tomorrow? I've decided to begin the offence in the morning.”

“Please wait patiently. You'll have the first batch in ten minutes,” the broodmother answered.

160 - City of Sin

Rallying The Troops

The broodmother's huge abdomen began to squirm the moment it finished speaking. It quickly laid three eggs in succession, each more than a metre tall. The shells were a pale green, and started vibrating the moment they fell to the ground. The powerful beasts within burst out in the blink of an eye, quick and violent as they devoured their shells whole before standing next to the broodmother.

Richard felt a cool wind in his mind, coming from three more points that had been added to his perception. These were the minds of the three raptors— they were connected to him from the moment they were born.

'Come,' Richard tried to command them, and the three raptors immediately ran to his side. They stared at Richard, watching him attentively with their small amber eyes. Dense, noxious air spewed out of their nostrils.

These enhanced raptors were a lot bigger and stronger than normal beasts. They were almost as tall as Richard standing upright, leaving even the biggest and thickest of blades useless against them. Even a metre-long sword would cause about as much damage to them as an axe swung by an elite.

'Turn... Stop... Accelerate... Strike!' Richard continued commanding them from his mind, and the three beasts followed his instructions without mistake. They seemed rather easy to control.

Of course, this was also because there were only a few of them now. Once there were more than a hundred, no matter what Richard wouldn't be able to exert as fine a control over them as he could now. He could already feel that there would be thousands of them in the near future.

One thing Richard was a little lost about was how he was to handle the broodmother. It could move five kilometres in an hour at best, making it quite difficult for it to take part in their attack. However, the broodmother possessed the strongest offence against anything within its range. Even if Menta were to come back to life, he would die to just one of its acid attacks.

“I can stay here, Master. Take the drones along, they will be the most loyal of warriors,” the broodmother spoke up.

“But what about your safety?” Richard was still rather worried about the broodmother. These beasts gave him a profound, direct understanding of its importance. He couldn't afford to lose it or put it in danger.

“There is no need to worry about me. There are no enemies nearby, only food, and I have nine workers to escort me now. Besides, I will have new beasts to guard me tomorrow. It is more important for you to destroy our enemies— as far as my knowledge of war goes, we'll be safe once all the enemies are gone.”

Richard nodded, gently patting the broodmother. Without delay, he brought the three beasts along and left in a hurry.

He gathered his troops together at dawn the next day, looking around at everyone before speaking up, “We have come to this foreign plane, and everyone dispatched before has gone missing. We've endured two bloody battles in succession ourselves, and lost three of our brothers. Nearly every one of us has been injured! Now? It's time to teach those sons of bitches a lesson!”

Richard's voice was so clear and powerful that there could be no doubt about his determination and strength. Perhaps it was his elven blood, but he looked so handsome that the only thing missing from him now was an imposing and murderous aura.

“That was much better than the first time,” Flowsand commented expressionlessly, “As far as rallying speeches go, it was acceptable.”

Gangdor, on the other hand, was very much impressed. He stroked his short, grizzly beard, “That was good swearing, boss!”

Richard didn't know whether to laugh or cry. All of the hard work he'd put into that war cry was wrecked in an instant by the brute's comment.

With how important this counterattack would be, Richard had prepared their battle plans with great detail. Almost every famous general in history rallied their troops before war, increasing their soldiers' morale and thus growing the army's power. Although there were only a dozen soldiers, three beasts, and a broodmother under Richard's command, that was nearly a small army unto itself. The rallying speech was essential.

Richard was well aware that he had to learn to lead troops in battle if he wanted to return to Norland alive. He'd spent the little free time he'd had in the past few days trying to recall famous historic battles and the biographies of revered generals, all in an attempt to learn what he could. 99% of the books he'd read in life were about magic, with so few on war and history that it was almost pitiful. And he'd only read those books in a hurry once he'd reached Faust, so he didn't have many resources either. To nobody's surprise, his first attempt at rallying his troops had failed.

At that time, Richard involuntarily thought of Gaton. That unbridled, boorish man always seemed to have a sort of charm to him, but he never seemed to be fake. No matter what someone was following him into, they always ended up feeling more confident. Just like on the night of the sacrifice— whenever he'd seen the view of his father's back, Richard had immediately felt more at ease.

Seeing Richard's embarrassed look, Gangdor laughed heartily, “Boss, you actually don't need to say so much to us, everyone already knows this. Something like you want to us to follow you to do something, right...”

He suddenly clenched his fists, punching the thick wooden table in front of him. With an ominous glint in his eyes, he roared, “Kill those fuckers!”

Richard was caught between laughter and tears, “How?”

“Kill them and fuck them, however you want to!” Gangdor answered, as if for granted.

Richard spoke in all seriousness, “But we should be sure of the terrain, enemy numbers, and settle battle plans before waging war, no?”

“Haven't you already thought of all that, boss?”

“Yes, but...”

Richard was about to add something when Gangdor interrupted, “Then we do that!”

Rendered helpless, Richard took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down, “But my decisions might not always be right.”

In a loud and casual tone, Gangdor exclaimed, “No boss, your decision will always be most correct! You don't have to be humble, no one here would know the situation of the battlefield better than you. Your commands at the battle a few days ago were absolutely brilliant! Every time I felt like giving up, you appeared like a miracle, lending me a hand or having Miss Flowsand heal my wounds! You should have seen the look on that Menta fellow's face, it was priceless! I'm definitely not alone in feeling this boss. Trust that you were born to be a general, and let your talents shine now!"
𝙛𝐫𝑒𝐞𝘄ℯ𝘣𝚗𝘰𝘷𝙚𝘭. c𝘰m

Richard's face turned red once again— he had indeed turned the situation around time and time again in their last battle, but that wasn't because of his proficiency in the art of war. Precision allowed him to determine from even the smallest signs who was about to collapse, so he could run up and support them. He could also detected the positions of the people contracted to him, so in that small battlefield it was like everything was transparent to him. The combination of these two aspects, along with a little luck and the massive support from Flowsand's endless spells created that miraculous result. This left him unable to tell whether Gangdor was speaking the truth, or singing formal praises for his leader.

Gangdor was not done, however, “Especially that call for us to gang up on them in the end. That was practically the bearing of a famous general!”

Those who ganged up and beat others extended beyond generals and mages. In fact, the gangsters on the streets were more familiar with such things. Richard was left in an awkward position, only bailed out by Gangdor following up with another question, “Boss. If you want to rally your troops before war, don't you have to tell us why we're fighting and what we'll get when we win?”

The answer was not difficult. Richard immediately replied, “Of course, it's to return to Norland!”

To his surprise, Gangdor merely shrugged. “Going back might not be better than staying here. Besides, to be honest that goal is too far away. You need to give us something immediate, something tangible. It doesn't need to be a lot, or even grand. For example, I defeated a man at the death camp to steal his meal. I won a fight with a woman, and got her for the night. If you're the first to submit your plaques in a month, you get two extra doses of medicine. It's all that simple, but it's definitely effective.”

Gangdor's words left Richard in deep thought. Just as he was thinking, Gangdor suddenly yelled strangely. He abruptly jumped across the table, bolting to the other side of the hall. The brute may have been big and sturdy, but his speed and agility did not lose out to that of a rogue.

Everyone turned to look at Gangdor at once, but that fellow just shocked everyone with the cheek to stand there like nothing had happened at all. His expression remained neutral, betraying no hints of the scene that had just played out. It gave one the illusion that he hadn't moved an inch, and had been at the same spot all this while.

But he had lost his composure, so of course something had happened. Even as he was speaking, something had poked into his lower back and continued moving down. His instincts had fired up in the face of true danger, and as familiar as he was with this killing intent he didn't spare the time for a second thought before following those instincts to flee to safety.

Hugging the Shepherd of Eternal Rest, Waterflower's head was hung low and her eyes were half-closed as if nothing had happened. She'd learnt the art of disguise within a few days of leaving the Archeron death camps.

This little episode livened up the atmosphere, just in time to melt Richard's awkwardness away. *BANG!* He struck the table hard, mimicking Gangdor. This punch seemed somewhat legitimate, even though it was still too intricate and lacked power. However, it was probably too much for a mage who based his life around precision to follow in the rough and unconstrained ways of a warrior.

Smashing the table, he declared articulately, “This attack is for money and women!”

“Not bad!” Gangdor cheered, and Olar's eye lit up as well, “We're snatching women? I like this!”

Flowsand smiled faintly, “I like this too.”

The elven bard paused for a moment, glancing at Flowsand. It was difficult to continue with this topic, since what Flowsand had said sounded extremely ridiculous, but of course there were all sorts of eccentrics in the nobility. Olar also couldn't make out whether she was serious or sarcastic, so he shut his mouth. There were only tough battles ahead; smart people would know to stay out of trouble and avoid offending the priestess.

The ogres clearly didn't think as deeply as the elf. Medium Rare immediately followed up with a shout, “Let's get ogre women too!”

“Of course! If we meet any, we'll take as many as we can!” Richard replied with a smile.

And thus, a chaotic rally to arms came to an end.

161 - City of Sin

A Sudden Attack

Richard spread out a map on the table, pointing to a small town, “This is Joven, the target of our attack.”

Unlike Osfa, Joven was quite large and prosperous. It connected many towns in the mountains to the Baron's castle, making it a hub for materials like wood, ore, and hide. The town's position also made it a supply point for adventurers that many preferred to Osfa.

With a total of more than 500 families and 2000 citizens, the town had many shops. Adventurers could easily find the supplies they needed here, with everything from blacksmiths to goldsmiths. The only building missing was a church, but the only one in the barony was in its capital.

That was one grand building, built to prove Baron Forza's devotion. It was as expensive to build and maintain churches as they were big, however, so the baron wouldn't be able to afford a second in his territory.

Joven was also Sir Kojo's fief. He normally lived in a large estate outside the town, with a training camp for his soldiers being nearby. The thirty-odd elite warriors under his command were normally stationed in that camp.

However, that camp was now deserted, with the only ones there now being a few of his younger retainers. All of the warriors had followed their lord on an expedition to kill the invaders, but none had returned.

As a result, the knight's manor had been packed densely these past few days. There were a lot of guards, with frenetic, lost people all over. These guards had only been training for a short while, not even considered normal soldiers. However, with the loss of their elites they had no choice but to call on the militia from the farmlands to make up for the guard posts.

The few escapees from the second battle had returned a few days ago, bringing news of their loss. The bad news had spread like wildfire in a drought-ridden grassland, spreading quickly across the entire barony. Even Menta and Hubert had been killed, so the fate of their expedition was obvious.

Nobody could predict when the demons from another plane would appear, so some of the branch families had already started packing, prepared to flee. Their actions were a result of excess panic, however; most were calm. They weren't all that far from the capital, and the baron's troops were still there. The Church of Valour wouldn't ignore these intruders either, and Baron Forza still had Earl Jayleon backing him, one of the three earls of the duchy. Thus, despite the panic and disturbance the people of Joven would be able to survive another night.

Joven was about forty kilometres away from the mountain range. Since there were many mercenaries and adventurers moving through the cities, and with the occasional rebellion from those in the mountains, there was a wall surrounding the town. Kojo's estate had its own defences as well.

A fast shadow appeared before Joven as night fell, quietly circling the town before vaulting over the three-metre-tall walls without issue. It quickly appeared once more at Kojo's estate, wandering around and examining the terrain and defences under the cover of the night. The militia on the arrow towers didn't even notice the new presence, letting the intruder examine key areas before leaving in the dark.

One hour later, a sizeable troop quietly appeared on the outskirts of the town. Richard looked into the distance through the darkness of the night, faintly able to see Joven's outline. He waited patiently, and Olar soon emerged from the darkness to whisper, “There's about fifty militia in Joven, Master, weak and poorly armed. However, there are many adventurers in the town with a small mercenary troop that total another fifty as well. Those people are far better than the militia. I felt like some of them were over level 6, but I didn't dare approach them.

“There were many men at Kojo's manor, but they're just the militia. However, the training camp isn't far away, with almost thirty retainers there and an equal number of hired help. If needed, they'd be able to form a troop themselves.

“What about the warhorses?” Richard voiced his main concern.

“The warhorses are concentrated around the estate and the training camp, about twenty in each with all of excellent quality.”

Richard was quite satisfied with that information. He confirmed things with the map once more, before pointing at the prisoners they'd brought along, “They were good at leading the way, give them some weapons!”
𝒇𝙧𝐞ℯ𝒘e𝚋n𝚘𝙫𝐞𝑙. c𝐨m

Medium Rare took a sack of weapons and shields off his back, passing them to five of the captive warriors. Everyone was given a sword and a small, round wooden shield.

These five warriors had been born commoners, with little loyalty to their lord. Under the threat of death, they chose to serve. Their head was familiar with the lay of the land, which was why Richard's forces had managed to make it to the outskirts of Joven undetected.

Richard had only brought along three of his knights this time, armed with shield and axe. The remaining four had been left at the base, tasked with guarding the prisoners who refused to capitulate. Everyone else had followed him into the attack.

“The estate first!” The troop went under the cover of the darkness once more under Richard's orders, prowling towards Kojo's manor. Between the many contrasting silhouettes were the profiles of three oddly shaped beasts.

The main entrance to Kojo's manor was tightly sealed, with only a small area before it lit up by some lamps. There was an archer in each of the two towers guarding the gate, behind the cover of the walls to scan through the darkness regularly. Although it was early into the summer, it was extremely cold that night. The wind was especially strong so far high, making the two soldiers stationed there suffer.

One of them was already curled up, his worn-out armour was like a steel plate that was immersed in water. He was cursing at the weather under his breath, but just as he wanted to start moving he heard an extremely soft noise.

The sentry immediately stood up, on his guard as he looked over the wall. However, Richard had already entered the tower like a ghost, covering his mouth with one hand as he sent a dagger through the man's back. The sentry struggled and twitched for a while, but soon grew motionless. On the other side, Olar had struck the archer down like a shadow, having him collapse immediately.

Seeing that Olar had already defeated the other guard, Richard conveniently cast an elementary magic flame. It was extremely striking in the darkness, prompting many murderous silhouettes to rush out of the darkness as they pounced upon the manor. Olar leapt in as well, watching Waterflower break the lock with the Shepherd of Eternal Rest and use her strength to slowly pry the heavy doors apart.

The patrolling militia discovered the gates opening, but by then it was too late. Warning whistles, screams, and alarms rang out, and the entire manor delved into chaos!

162 - City of Sin

A Sudden Attack(2)

A few patrolling guards burst towards the front gate with torches in hand, just in time to see a pack of armed enemies surrounding the manor. Their leader could clearly see the faces of these bandits under the torchlight, and he was able to make out a few familiar faces. He exclaimed in shock, “Pierre! Is that really you? Uncle Yomen? Why are you guys here? Didn't you follow Sir Kojo to find those demons from another plane?”

Being exposed, Pierre and Yomen were forced to stop in their tracks. The remaining three of Richard's prisoners stopped as well, but despite the momentary stall the patrol couldn't figure out the situation. Gangdor betrayed a cruel smile from behind the prisoners, holding tight to the axe in his hands. The knights moved forward to flank, while Waterflower remained hidden in Gangdor's shadow, holding her breath.

That very moment, Richard issued a cold order from the tower he was surveilling the situation from, “Yomen... Kill them!”

The moment his voice sounded out, the middle-aged warrior immediately waved his sword subconsciously, almost as if he'd heard the whispers of a devil. The youth across him was stunned, looking down in disbelief at the wound on his chest. The cut was long and deep, almost revealing his internal organs; Yomen had evidently used all his strength.

That strike had hit the youth's vital points in a single strike, so fast he hadn't even had the time to react. It was a swing that broke the bones in his body, but he didn't so much as sway. It was clearly an exquisite, vicious strike.

Yomen had definitely showcased his fundamental skills as a veteran warrior with that one strike.

As the sword landed, even Yomen himself was stunned for a moment. However, he recovered immediately and took another step forward, stabbing the young guard in his abdomen.

“KILL THEM!” a shout rang out, but this time it wasn't Richard.

“KILL THEM ALL!” Yomen was cutting down a guard with every one of those shouts, and the other prisoners seemed to awaken from their reverie as they pounced on the guards as well. Despite being outnumbered, they killed their opponents off one after the other. Seven to eight guards had been cut down instantly between the flashes of blades.

Regardless of age, all the prisoners that had accompanied Richard this time had seen blood, had deaths on their heads. How could a civilian militia hope to match them in a melee?

Since the fight had already begun, the prisoners freed up their hands and feet completely, holding up shields and swords against another pack of guards who'd rushed up to provide assistance. Blood was spilt once more, the new arrivals defeated as well without a single survivor remaining. Even the ones who were critically injured weren't let go, swords slashing into or stabbing them without question. The viciousness of these men without escape caused even Gangdor to shrug his shoulders.

Richard had prepared a fireball, but it turned out to be of no use. He jumped down, casting a featherfall spell as he fell gracefully to the ground. A loud commotion rang out from the central and side towers at that moment, with large numbers of guards marching out. They were all disheveled, some even unarmed, but their sheer numbers would still give them an overwhelming advantage.

The five prisoners were gasping rapidly, huddled close to each other. Every one of them was injured to some extent, but that only increased their ferocity. They glared at their former comrades with bloodshot eyes, holding firmly onto the steel swords in their hands.

Flowsand walked out of the dark at that moment, healing spells already falling onto the two most severely hurt of the lot. Although the warriors were surprised, it served to be a huge boost to their morale!

Richard was already floating in mid-air. He infused mana into his voice, screaming loudly, “KILL ALL WHO DARE RESIST!”

The voice engulfed the entire manor, leaving the charging guards startled. They slowed down involuntarily, but soon they were pushed forward by the waves behind them. Their battle cries this time were exceptionally fierce, as if hoping to boost their own valour.

Richard walked out of the crowd with his right arm raised, waving out a signal. A sudden, sharp hiss rang through the night sky, as a piercing arrow nailed one of the guards on the front lines dead to the ground. Richard pushed his hand down, spawning four brutal boars in front of him. These creatures were all blessed by Flowsand the moment they emerged.

Four huge shadows galloped into enemy ranks, leaving them a huge mess. One of the boars had sunk its teeth into the waist of an unlucky chap during the charge, raising him up into the sky to the tune of piercing screams.

Gangdor was so excited that his face was flushed red. He rushed out of the crowd, exclaiming, “My axe can't— ”

But at that exact moment, a loud cry rang out near him as an attack of blazing energy rushed past him. The fireball moved out farther, exploding in the midst of the patrolling guards, the edge of the explosion only a few metres away from the brute. Had he been any faster just then, leaping into the guards, he would have been bathing in fire right now.

Gangdor was well aware of how scary Richard could be. He could cast fireballs extremely quickly, and if the first one had exploded that meant the second one would already have left his hands. He couldn't help but retreat— the second one would only be faster.

As expected, even as the waves of the last fireball continued to spread out another one had already flown past him, exploding between the remaining guards. In fact, these two fireballs also encompassed the brutal boars that were in the melee. Two of them had broken out of Richard's control with the first one, turning to look at the culprit with revenge in their eyes. However, the second one had sent the remainder of the four boars and all of the twenty-odd guards straight to hell.

The manor fell silent at once.

In a matter of seconds, with three spells in total, the first wave of guards had been cleared out. As they looked at the messy but now-empty square, it wasn't just the opposing guards that were awestruck— even many of the people on Richard's side were secretly scared.

Gangdor's eyelids started to twitch vigorously. Had he not listened to Richard's orders, jumping into the crowd according to plan, he would have died to the explosions before he could wave his axe. No level 10 warrior would want to suffer a single fireball, much less two less than a second apart. Even a level 11 warrior wouldn't be able to recover from that.

In fact, a level 12 warrior like Sir Kojo, who also had excellent armour, had been defeated by five of Richard's fireballs. If not for Richard 'taking care' of the knight's subordinates, he would have been able to focus the damage on the knight and take him down with just four.

The second batch of guards were just gathering, when they suddenly cried out in alarm. They turned to leave in a hurry, escaping into the manor itself. They seemed to forget that Richard could set it ablaze with two of his fireballs, killing them nonetheless.

Although there were still nearly a hundred guards left in the manor, their will to fight had been wiped out by those three spells. Richard raised his right arm high once more, pointing out at the central building of the estate, “Leave the women and children alive. Kill any men who dare resist!”

Richard had barely finished his sentence, but Gangdor had already thrown himself out like a whirlwind. His thunderous roars echoed through the night, “I've been waiting all night for this! Watch out for my tough axe, lizards! It's hungry for blood!”

*SHLICK!* Gangdor's axe sliced at the waist of the last of the patrol guards, nearly splitting him in half. Following that, the giant rammed his way into the main building, shouting louder than the endless cries and screams.

“My axe can't handle the hunger anymore...”

“My axe can't handle the hunger...”

“My axe...”

“Handle...”

“Hunger...”

“HUNGER!!”

The brute was evidently killing so fast he couldn't shout as fast as he killed.

The prisoners, knights, raptors... Even Waterflower and Flowsand rushed into the manor, leaving the trolls to block the front and rear exits with their huge bodies. However, there were still some people scurrying about, trying to escape by climbing the walls of the estate. But how would they ever escape the sight of Richard, who was standing alone on the square? All Richard had to do was to point his finger at those figures, and bows would be drawn in the dark, arrows one after another piercing through their bodies in a split second. It was like he was a god of death, ordering their lives away.

In just a few short minutes, the noises from the massacre had audibly lessened. Gangdor's deafening chant had also become more and more complete.

A fortunate patrol guard had escaped through the back door of the main building, and cleverly jumped onto a horse in the back stable as it rushed out madly. He sped along the walls, trying to hide in the shadows of the trees as he quickly approached the now-unguarded main gate.

Olar quietly appeared by Richard's side, his bow long drawn. The arrowhead was burning with tracking flames, and the elf already knew that he would definitely pierce through the man's heart. Just as he was about to release, however, Richard suddenly held him back.

Surprised, Olar exclaimed, “Master, he'll definitely notify the training camp!”

“Let him go,” Richard replied calmly.

A short while later, the guard safely made it out of the manor on his horse, disappearing into the darkness of the night.

163 - City of Sin

Trap

The battle in the manor ended quickly, and the battle outside was reaching a close as well. The women and children had been chased to a side hall, while the surrendered soldiers were locked up in several rooms. If anyone tried anything silly, there would be nothing a fire inside a sealed room would not fix.

It was only then that Richard entered the manor— such close-ranged battles were far too dangerous for a mage, especially at his level. He searched for the three raptors in his mind, trying to determine how much they had left in them. All three still had more than half their strength remaining, so even if they'd been unavoidably hurt the result was pleasant. He ordered them to search for any hidden soldiers, bringing his own out. Dead beasts were replaceable, but his knights were not.

There were more than ten women in the side hall, with about seven or eight children as well, all huddled together in fear. They'd watched helplessly as their enemies appeared suddenly, and while the thick stench of blood had made a few of these ladies swoon at first, they had persevered on.

Richard paced from side to side in front of these ladies, memorising the reactions of each. He then spoke up, “If any of you here can point out Kojo's wife or children, you will immediately be released.”

The women all kept their calm at first, but the vicious gleam in these thugs' eyes and the blood still dripping from their weapons was a constant reminder of what would happen if they didn't leave this dangerous place immediately.

A horrendous wail suddenly resounded throughout the building, striking fear into the hearts of those present. A young woman who was dressed like a peasant immediately jumped up, pointing to one of the ladies and shouting, “It's her! She's Kojo's wife!”

“Plebeian! You will die a death by whipping!” the lady screamed, her voice a mixture of extreme terror and fury.

With someone opening it up, the rest of the women followed. Their only fear at that point was that the others would give up a name before they could. “That's Kojo's son! That hag is his mistress!”

All of Kojo's family had been named within the blink of an eye. He had a main wife, two mistresses, a son, and a daughter. In a rare gesture of generosity, Richard waved to the women dressed like peasants, “Very well. You are free to leave.”

The women trembled as they slowly dragged to the door, but when they realised that there was nobody stopping them they ran out screaming.

“Olar. Bring two men with you. Take this esteemed lady for a walk. Please apprise us of the Knight's collections, my lady.”

“Your wish is my command, Master!” Olar answered politely. His extensive background with the wealthy and influential had given him a keen perception that made him the ideal candidate to confiscate Kojo's possessions.

“You only have ten minutes,” Richard reminded the excited elf.

“If that is the case, it will be necessary to use some slightly unscrupulous methods,” Olar replied.

“That's up to you,” Richard waved him off. Olar took two of the knights along with him, pulling the wife and mistresses from their positions as he headed upstairs.

Just as expected, the bard managed to clear out Kojo's treasures in the ten minutes he had been given. Gold, jewels, and precious metals, the total value worth about 5,000 gold coins.

That was all expected, however. What Richard hadn't expected was an ornate box with three mana crystals the size of a finger within. Those were really useful— they could be used to enchant equipment, or create potions. The crystals could also be used to power a magic formation as well.

These crystals looked and were structured the same as the ones Richard was used to, indicating that mana worked pretty much the same way in this plane as in Norland. It also implied that there was a vein somewhere here— something that was great news to a mage like him.

The expressions of the three women were quite unnatural, especially of the prettiest of Kojo's mistresses. It was obvious that Olar had cast his charms on them, and the effects were more than desirable.

Richard took note of the time, immediately giving the men their next missions. He stuffed the women and children into two horse carriages, ordering someone to escort them back to the base. At the same time, the five defectors led twenty men who'd surrendered to ambush the reinforcements from the training camp.

Richard cast a glance at the arrow tower of the manor before setting off, ordering it lit up in flames. Smoke shot up into the sky as the building became an enormous torch, visible more than ten kilometres away. This was a hint that the invaders had already retreated, also preventing the reinforcements from Joven or elsewhere from running in the wrong direction. Please visit fr𝗲𝚎w𝒆𝚋𝘯𝚘ѵel. c𝗼𝐦

The defectors had provided the ambush site, and they succeeded in catching more than ten cavalry and twenty infantry from the training camp. A wave of soldiers rushed forth under Richard's command, comprised of the newly surrendered soldiers who'd been armed with weapons. The trolls were right behind along with Richard's knights, while the three raptors stealthily flanked to the enemies' rear, ready to attack.

These reinforcements didn't have powerful knights like Kojo's original army, and they were crushed almost immediately. Richard didn't even get a chance to use magic. They just cleaned up casually, before moving on to the next point of ambush. These were the guards from Joven.

This ambush was slightly more difficult than the previous one. Aside from the guards, there were more than ten adventurers as well. An old level 5 mage had actually showcased his power, launching a fireball at the army. However, that had also made him a target for execution, and Olar had sent an arrow punching through his chest in a matter of moments.

Still, they'd only lost two of the defecting soldiers and had three more gravely injured by the time the enemies were annihilated, all due to that old mage's spell. However, with Flowsand's healing magic the injured would only need to rest for ten days before they could enter the battlefield once more. The very fact that they'd been healed greatly boosted the morale of the surrendered soldiers.

One attack and two ambushes had completely destroyed all remnants of Kojo's power. At least for that night his fief was like a young lady with her clothes ripped off, about to be raped and pillaged at will.

Even outside of the treasure, Richard had gotten more than thirty new soldiers. They'd gotten armour from the training camp, along with more than twenty warhorses that allowed Richard to form his own cavalry.

......

They moved on Joven at dawn. The trolls and the raptors had been left behind, in case they scared the citizens.

“Enemy Attack!” “Lord, it's the devils from another plane!” “Quick! Get help!”

Amidst the tense, chaotic screaming and warning alarms were a few tragic wails, fragmented and dispersed. Any guard that rushed towards Richard's contingent was hacked to death in seconds. His knights were well-rounded soldiers, able to fight on horseback or on foot.

Eventually, nobody outside of a few rash idiots came forward anymore. All the buildings shut their windows tightly, and the people hid behind their doors with bated breath.

Richard moved along on his warhorse, gradually coming up to an empty square in the middle of the small town. He asked indifferently, “where is your mayor?”

He hadn't been loud, but with the utter silence in that moment his words had travelled far. A two-storeyed building opened after a moment, the wizened mayor shuffling out from within. He stood in front of Richard's horse, mustering all his courage to ask, “I am Joven's mayor, my Lord. Might I ask what brings you here, and what you require? I will try my best to satisfy your needs, but I have one tiny request: please stop the massacre!”

The townspeople had quietly followed the mayor's lead, gathering in the empty square. A few corpses were still strewn on the ground, the blood barely coagulated as its stench wafted out with the morning wind.

Richard glanced at the gathered crowd, “Anyone who dares touch my men will be killed immediately. I will brook no discussion.”

164 - City of Sin

Tax

“Most of our guards have perished,” the mayor exclaimed with a pained expression on his face, “As for those who have not... I see that many have joined you. There isn't anyone else here who would dare put up any resistance.”

“I would hope so,” Richard said as he waved his hand in front of him. “We may come from a different plane, but we aren't some demons who seek to destroy and slaughter. Do not be fooled by your puny god of valour, we have our own god backing us, and he is far more powerful! Flowsand!”

Flowsand moved forward upon hearing her name, flipping open the Book of Time as she cast a blessing on the old mayor. The man panicked as everyone saw a blinding flash fall upon him, but that light gave off a warm glow. Despite carrying with it the vicissitudes of time, it held a strong aura of life and death, clearly displaying the power of a true god, not something dark and evil.

Blessings were an elementary divine spell, but at their core they were unlike any other. They were bright and potent for their level, their effects simply mind-blowing. Seeing one in front of their very eyes, the townspeople went into an uproar.

Richard took advantage of the situation, loudly proclaiming, “We are here upon the true god's directions, to spread his glory! Joven shall henceforth be my territory, and I, Richard Archeron, shall be your leader. All property that once belonged to Sir Kojo or Baron Forza is now under my charge.”

The announcement brought great relief to the villagers. Wars between aristocrats were normal, but most of them had lived in Joven for generations and only a few had migrated from elsewhere. Life went on regardless of who the ruler was, the only change being the amount of tax they paid.

However, the past few skirmishes from Richard's army had caused great casualties. Many soldiers had died at their hands, and the families of the dead militia despised him right now. Such hatred could not be quelled easily, but that was something Richard was well aware of. He was not going to ease their resentment of him, instead ruling with the power of fear.

The mayor asked a crucial question, “Lord Richard, are you planning to take over this territory permanently?”

Richard glared at the mayor and loudly proclaimed, “Indeed. However, I am required at another battlefield right now, and I will be leaving soon. You shall make your decision by then, but I hope you will not let me down when I return. For now, though, pay me all the tax that you owe Kojo.”

The mayor frowned, about to reason that it wasn't time yet to hand over their taxes. However, a loud protest suddenly rang out from the townspeople behind him.

“You demons from another plane, get out of our world!” a young teenager shrieked, brandishing a dagger he'd carefully concealed as he made a mad dash for Richard.

“Son, come back!” a middle-aged warrior rushed after him. The man was tan, his muscular physique indicating that he was full of strength and vigour. However, he was too slow to stop the teen.

“For the God of Valour!” the boy shouted, rushing towards Richard.

However, he seemed to lose all control of his body mid-charge, falling to the ground. The boy twitched a few times, but soon stopped moving completely. A tiny wound appeared on the portion of his back behind his heart, and blood started seeping out. His clothes were dyed red.

Waterflower remained in place, seemingly never having moved. It was unknown when the Shepherd of Eternal Rest had been unsheathed, but a drop of fresh blood dripped off the tip of the blade. However, its sharp edge still seemed newly polished, without a trace of the attack remaining.

“SON! I WILL AVENGE YOU!” The warrior charged forth as well, his eyes bloodshot as he bared his sizeable fists at Richard. However, the young lady seemed to move slightly once more, another drop of blood appearing on her blade.

The man managed to take two more steps, before falling head first at the mayor's feet. His blood rapidly soaked the old man's shoes.

Richard barely seemed to notice the two casualties, speaking coldly to the mayor, “Do you see this? I never issue empty threats, and there is a limit to my patience and respect. I'm just following aristocratic tradition.

“Now, if you still wish to resist my rule, then you are my enemies. That is, you are forcing me to become a demon. Demons do not need followers.”
f𝑟𝐞𝙚𝘸𝐞𝑏𝙣𝑜v𝑒Ɩ. c𝐨𝙢

“I understand, my Lord. Please give me some time, I will hand over the taxes we were supposed to pay the next season.” The mayor had spoken with a pained expression of resignation on his face, and he slowly retreated to his humble residence.

Richard's tax from Joven was a hundred gold coins, two full hides from slain beasts, as well as two boxes of books. That was all the literature available in the town, used in place of 300 coins. The mayor believed the books to be worth a tiny fraction of the amount Richard had waived for them, however, something that gave him some consolation.

Thirty defected soldiers followed behind Richard as he left. During the entire time they were here, these thirty had been the target of even more attention than Richard himself. Almost all the soldiers were close to or at least knew someone from Joven. After all, the land was only so large and the leaders had formed intricate bonds.

The defectors had blood on their hands, but they didn't have any option but to continue fighting for Richard. Unlike those who dared stand against him, they did not have the will to fight the mage. They had seen the trolls and raptors, and knew that resistance would be futile.

......

It wasn't until noon the next day that the Baron's reinforcements arrived. There were several hundred of them, their scale far exceeding Menta's army, but there were only three novice knights and a handful of veterans past level 5 amongst their ranks. Even if they had strength in numbers, Menta's smaller army was actually better than them in terms of capability. That was why they had barely managed to cover twenty kilometres in a day.

The Baron had sent half his army over. Logically speaking they should have been led by a titled knight, but with Kojo missing and Menta and Hubert confirmed dead, the other two titled knights had suddenly fallen gravely ill as well. Forza was already fifty years old, and at level 8 he would only be more powerful cannon fodder in the army. It was unlikely that he would lead the troops personally. Thus, these three novices who had often offended people had been pushed into leadership.

The army only made its way into the town once their scouts confirmed multiple times that the invaders had left. They'd come with a renewed ambition to take over, and the knights were outraged when they learnt what Richard had done. They felt like the mayor and townsfolk and colluded with the invaders, using torture, arrests, and threats of violence to have them pay twice what they'd given Richard to prove their loyalty to the Baron. And unlike Richard, it went without saying that they wouldn't accept books and waive the taxes owed. If they didn't have powerful family or friends to back them up, the wealthier citizens had everything taken from them.

At the same time, all the adventurers who had stayed on in Joven had been arrested. The dozen of them were marked as accomplices of Richard, and they would serve as the army's accomplishment on this deployment. There was some fighting and death in the process, but the sheer size of the army managed to detain most of them, bar a few who managed to get away.

The adventurers were of unknown origin to the three knights, and since they weren't citizens their deaths did not matter. They would be the best display of the army's might. Who was to say that they weren't the invaders' guides?

As for Joven, it was a fief with its lord gone. Kojo's family had been taken away by the invaders as well, and finding a suitable heir from his bloodline would be a long and arduous process. The Baron himself could find some reasons to take the land over. This left the town without a master, with anyone able to come and pillage it without repercussion. The lion's share of these 'taxes' would go to these knights and their subordinates, with the remainder heading to the Baron.

Having been heavily plundered, the citizens of Joven wondered how they would pass the cold, hard winter. Their main income was from adventurers, the military, tourists, and merchants. After this storm, no adventurers would dare to come to this barony any time soon. However, that was of no concern to the knights. Why would they care about the lives of people not under their charge? That was Kojo's responsibility.

Things were exactly as Richard had envisioned them.

165 - City of Sin

Reputation

Unlike Joven which had been plundered twice, Osfa had turned out to be much more fortunate. This tiny town that was closest to the mountains and the invaders' base hadn't been visited at all.

Joven's luck had been terrible both times, and in varying ways. However, Richard had gotten most of his gains from Kojo's estate and the training camp, with the tax he collected from the town itself being minimal. On the other hand, all of the money the baron's army collected had come from the town. At this point, it was difficult to tell who the town hated more.

It was Richard's intention to bypass Osfa. He pondered over things deeply, simulating the situation on the map countless times over before he decided to let off the closest, most probable supply point. He'd instead decided to lay his hands on the heart of Kojo's territory at Joven, and as expected they'd won in a single battle and achieved many of their fundamental goals.

From another point of view, not touching Osfa gave his enemies the misconception that they'd long since left their base, choosing another one instead. If they hadn't there would be no reason to avoid removing the thorn in front of their eyes.

Richard's army took advantage of the night, heading towards the mountains. They would reach the foot of the range by dawn, and with only a single village along their route it would be easy to hide their tracks. Of course, the ones leading the way were the defected troops who were familiar with the terrain.

By the time dawn broke, the group was already thirty kilometres from Joven, having travelled through a small forest to arrive at a lake at the foot of a mountain. They would reorganise themselves here, setting up camp. Richard's next plans were vague and incomplete for now, and would have to wait until he got news from Marvin.

The lake wasn't very large, but the water was clear. Its serene surface made it reflective, like one side of a polished sapphire. A few streams flowed into the lake from a short distance away, and at the banks it was like a patch of grassland. The warhorses had been loosened up, with the experienced soldiers bringing them to drink water and eat the grass.

Two carriages were parked by the lake. This was the furthest they could travel, for further ahead was the precarious mountain path that even horses would have trouble moving through. When the women and children who had suffered through the night alighted from the carriages, they all looked pale and unsteady, unable to remain on their feet. A few of the young, pretty ladies looked ready to faint any time, but when they realised that the ones who'd come to support them were two terrifying trolls they immediately shrieked, growing more alert and alive than anyone else.

Trolls were a powerful, intelligent race that also existed on this plane. They were famous for eating humans, be they male, female, young, or old. The captives had erupted into chaotic screaming, and were gathered up and forced to sit as they waited for the defected troops to build the camp.

Medium Rare was off helping these new soldiers cut trees, while Tiramisu set up a huge wok in preparation to cook his best meat stew. Richard found a shady spot and spread out his map on the grass, continuing to analyse their current situation and environment.

However, a message suddenly radiated in his mind, the broodmother's voice ringing out, “Master, I've discovered a camp of goblins. There are about two hundred of them, and I am preparing to clear it out.”

“Alright,” Richard answered, “Be safe.”

Goblins were weak individually, about equal to a level 1 or 2 human on average. Even their most powerful were level 5 at best, but their strength lay in their fast breeding and adaptability to many environments. They were present on a lot of planes, but their existence here only meant this plane was even more similar to Norland. A camp of two hundred was considered small for the race, and these creatures were by nature the kind to disperse when they met a powerful opponent, unable to form an effective counterattack. Thus, Richard wasn't really worried about the broodmother's safety. It was a new day, and it already had three more enhanced raptors at its side ensuring its chances of victory were even higher.

However, the goblins and Richard's own observation of the surroundings over the past few days told him that this plane was far more abundant in food than even Norland itself, making the races more diverse as well. He picked up a pictorial bestiary from amongst the books he'd received from Joven, beginning to flip through it. These books to him were more important than thousands of gold. They would give him a better understanding of this plane, thus increasing his survivability.

But despite his confidence in the broodmother, Richard still kept watch over the general situation. His blessing of precision automatically labelled the creature with an image in his mind, a half-full bar next to it that had changed from blue to red. This bar represented the amount of energy the broodmother had in reserve, something that decided the number of drones it could produce.

The broodmother was over thirty kilometres away from Richard himself, and it only needed to take care of a little goblin camp. Thus, he didn't have his own raptors go over and help, instead having them disperse into the forest to capture their own food.

In the distance, Olar was busy writing a letter to Baron Forza under Flowsand's direction. While the elven bard still didn't have a good grasp of the new language, his understanding of art allowed him to write these completely foreign symbols out beautifully. The content of the letter was simple: it was basically a demand for ransom, in exchange for the wives and children of Sir Kojo. If Baron Forza was willing to pay more for them than a slave trader would, then he could retain his dignity and reputation amongst his subordinates.

Richard knew that this letter was fated to come to naught. Even if the Baron was willing to pay the ransom, his own status as an invader from another plane made them fated enemies. There was nothing that could be done about that— the God of Valour had sent an oracle down, so trades of any kind with the invaders would be seen as disrespecting the gods.

Of course, Neian wasn't all-knowing, unable to be up to date on everything happening in the world at the same time. In truth, even the master of all gods was only close to being omniscient and omnipotent. Neian had eyes and ears in this territory through his clerics and priests. And while those eyes and ears could be muted for a while for a certain cost, that price would be far higher than what he lost if he refused to pay the ransom.

What Richard needed now was to hurt Forza's reputation. And that wasn't a hard task, given that it wasn't very high in the first place.

Within the forest, Waterflower had the Shepherd of Eternal Rest in her hand as she performed the same slashing motion again and again as if she did not know the meaning of fatigue. Gangdor was leaning by a large tree not far away, the axe by his side finally satiated with fresh blood. He watched on lazily as a few of the defected soldiers transported the wood he had just chopped to the side of the lake, for use as support for the camp.

“These guys work pretty hard,” Gangdor stated leisurely.

“I don't like them,” Waterflower answered without enthusiasm. All of a sudden, she performed a horizontal slash, speaking with a hint of bloodlust, “They actually hate us. If they get the chance, they will murder us immediately.”

Gangdor shrugged and answered, “Most of them are cowards, and timid trash. Boss definitely knows that. He doesn't need their respect, only enough fear to keep them obedient. The brave ones were already fed to my axe.”

166 - City of Sin

Reputation(2)

At that time, the broodmother was wiggling its heavy body across the forest. It possessed great strength, knocking down every tree in its path as it left a visible trail through the woods. Once the last tree fell with ado, the goblin camp came into clear view.

The camp took up the entirety of a hill, surrounded by a fence of branches that acted as a crude enclosure. It was littered with many crudely-built huts, and what made it strange was that there was a cave leading underground in it. Most goblins had grown used to living in caves— only the richest and most powerful of them had the luxury of staying in huts.

There were many goblins scurrying in and out of that cave. This wasn't just a camp with two hundred, it was a full-blown tribe with more than a thousand residents!

The attack began without much hesitation. The countless goblins screamed, brandishing all kinds of weapons as they rushed out of their camp. They went up against nine huge worker drones that were about a metre and a half long, with great offensive abilities alongside paralytic poison and razor-sharp blades. The workers killed a goblin with every movement they made, but alas the goblins won out in numbers. One of the workers was a split-second too slow to react, downed by a couple of goblins in an ambush. After that, ten more rushed over to it and buried it alive. The broodmother could feel its life being drained away in its consciousness.

A low-pitched rumble sounded in the forest, as three ferocious raptors charged towards the goblins. This time, it was a bloodbath. These were attack drones, specialised for combat unlike the workers who were meant to gather food. Their bladed front limbs could effortlessly cut a goblin apart, and coupled with their enhanced strength they could effortlessly dismember a few goblins in a strike. The raptors also possessed another deadly trait— their abnormally large mouths. Their mouths were capable of ripping the strongest goblin into pieces without breaking a sweat.

The raptors had strong bodies, and were also very agile. The most these goblins could do was leave some superficial cuts, not doing much damage at all. Some of their attacks just missed with the sheer speed of the raptors.

With the raptors added into the fray, the goblin tribe suffered many casualties. What made things worse was the silhouette of the broodmother outside their camp. It was the last straw, shattering any confidence they had left, even though they had lost just over two hundred soldiers so far.

The goblins began to disperse in all directions, running into the forest where the sluggish broodmother could not catch up. All it could do was send out orders to the raptors and workers, having them split up and give chase. While goblins were weak at fighting, they were fast little creatures. With the limited number of raptors and worker drones, and having maintained a safe distance from the broodmother, they only suffered a hundred more casualties. This hunt had drawn to a close.

The broodmother continued its journey into the camp, paying no mind to all the food on the floor. It felt a very alluring presence from this goblin camp, an indescribable wave of spiritual power beckoning to it.

The fences guarding the camp may as well have been withered twigs. The broodmother passed over them with ease, making its way to the centre of the camp to stop at a stone which looked like an altar. This two-metre altar was the source of that inexplicable attraction— to the goblins, it would be considered a magnificent structure.

There was a stone statue erected on the altar, a depiction of a fully-armoured gnome carrying a gigantic axe with both its hands. It was carved intricately, seeming very lifelike completely unlike the normal crude and messy sculptures of the goblins. It cut an imposing figure, exuding a faint aura of death. Goblins could not possible produce such an exquisite piece of art, but here it was.

Ancestral worship! This statue was an idol of a goblin ancestor that this tribe worshipped, and also the thing that greatly attracted the broodmother. Nobody would have thought that goblins would practise such a thing.

The cracks and erosion on the statue suggested that it had suffered the wrath of nature for a long time, and was at least a few hundred years old. The goblins had worshipped it for that entire length of time, which was the reason it had manifested god-like powers. And those god-like powers were exactly what called out to the broodmother.

The broodmother propped itself up, opening its large mouth as wide as it could before it swallowed the statue with one big gulp. It didn't just stop there, however. It instead used the pincers on its mouth to cut the altar apart, the stone crumbling as though it was freshly baked bread. It then lazily picked up the fragments swallowing them as well. Even if it wasn't as much as with the statue, this altar possessed some faint divine power as well. It would not let anything go to waste.

Even as the broodmother quickly began digesting the statue, a sudden, blazing pain struck its body. This was the result of the divine powers being decomposed and absorbed.

“Broodmother, are you alright?” Richard's voice came immediately in its consciousness. He had felt its pain, and was voicing his concern. Google search 𝗳𝘳ℯ𝑒𝓌ℯ𝚋𝐧oνe𝘭. c𝐨ｍ

“I'm fine, Master. I found an altar for ancestral worship at the goblin camp. It was just what I was looking for— a source of extraordinary energy. It can vastly improve my abilities, so I ate the whole altar. I just need some time, digesting such great power is challenging and painful.”

“An altar for ancestral worship? You can absorb divine power?” Richard was extremely surprised.

“Is this power divine? I don't feel like it is as vast and esoteric as true divine power. I'm completely unable to absorb Miss Flowsand's powers at all.”

Richard let out a laugh, “Flowsand possesses the power of the Eternal Dragon, and even powerful gods cannot match up to its powers. There may be greater powers in the countless planes, but we know nothing as of now. Anyway, what powers did you gain from the altar?”

“I haven't fully absorbed its powers yet. For now, it just gives me more energy capacity,” the broodmother replied. Richard could also feel the energy bar of the broodmother expand in his mind, increasing steadily until it was a little more than a third larger than before. This meant that, if fed adequately, the broodmother could now maintain upto twelve raptors.

He also felt a hazy spot of light deep within the broodmother's body, but he couldn't discern what it was.

Once it had consumed the altar, the broodmother started on the rest of its meal. Its energy slowly increased.

......

At a riverside, about ten kilometres away from the barony's capital, was a scenic little town. This was Sir Kocat's territory, known for its optimal location and plenty of local specialties. The mackerel from the river was fresh and delicious, a favourite amongst the dinner tables of nobility. With the wealth of his lands, Kocat had even managed to build a small castle.

The exterior was classical, with high walls and narrow windows. The interior, however, was extremely beautiful and extravagant. The rooms were also decorated tastefully, with style and comfort in mind. This was a palace, not meant for battle.

The upper section of the castle also broke off from tradition. A semi-circular balcony was suspended over the top, allowing the owner to admire the scenery in his spare time. This was well in line with the knight's style. He loved using gold and politics to deal with his enemies, not violence.

However, in the hall he loved the most, Sir Kocat was currently as angry as a lion. He paced back and forth relentlessly, but that did little to quell the rage in his heart. He swung out with his hand, sending an intricate vase flying to the wall where it shattered to pieces. The butler was startled upon hearing the broken vase, starting to tremble in fear without the courage to knock and ask if everything was alright. He tiptoed away, distancing himself from the door so he wouldn't hear something he wasn't supposed to.

167 - City of Sin

Seeking Help

“All invaders are demons! And even if they aren't, they will be dealt with like they are. Anyone who associates with them will be treated like their allies, tied up at the church and burnt at the stake! You... How could you do such a thing?” Kocat raged, his voice deliberately low in fear of being overheard.

Marvin was sitting comfortably on the sofa opposite him, sipping on fragrant black tea. He waited for Kocat's anger to subside a little before saying, “Father, I'm already working with these 'demons.' Come, have a look!”

He reached out his hand as he spoke, and a crimson flame suddenly appeared upon it. The flame was as dark as centuries-old blood. Although the flame didn't last long, it still drained enough mana to leave Marvin pale, having him gasp for air.

Kocat was overwhelmed with shock. He took in a sharp breath, exclaiming, “Dark flame! You, you've become a fallen priest?”

“I'm only level 6, so I don't qualify to be called a full priest yet. For now, I'm a fallen cleric,” Marvin corrected his father calmly.

“Who is the new god you've started to worship?” the knight asked frantically, his gaze unwavering.

“The Eternal Dragon,” Marvin replied before adding, “It isn't a god from our plane.”

An unreadable expression overtook Kocat's face, and he took a while to speak again, “This Eternal Dragon definitely has to be a powerful force, if it can channel its energy across planes.”
𝒇𝘳ee𝚠𝘦𝚋n૦𝐯el coｍ

Marvin poured himself another cup of tea, “My dear father, I'm sure you understand now that I'm bound to the 'demons' henceforth, unable to separate myself from their camp. As for you, if it's discovered that you're the father of a fallen cleric, you will be burnt at the stake as well. Instead of this anger, wouldn't it be better for you to think of a way to get me out of this?

”These invaders evidently aren't as weak as the priests made them out to be. Even though they're young— twenty years of age at most— they have astonishing power. Think about this: a number of level 10 invaders, despite being ill-equipped, managed to completely annihilate an army led by Sir Menta and Sir Hubert! That's two of the Baron's titled knights!”

Sir Kocat groaned heavily, not saying a word. Marvin was his son— he naturally couldn't lie. These intruders were clearly of high status in their own plane, and likely had great powers backing them.

Kocat paced up and down the hall relentlessly, eventually reaching a conclusion. “The Direwolf Duke might be able to help you solve the problem. His clan worships their ancestors, and is at odds with the God of Valour. I'll write you a letter of recommendation that you can bring to Baron Fontaine, the Duke's brother. He will be able to introduce you to the Duke.

“But...” he paused and looked at Marvin with concern, “The Direwolf Duke is notorious for his tyranny. You must be careful when dealing with him. If his mood grows bad, he might tear you to shreds!

“Also, here's the map of Baron Forza's castle you wanted. I can only help you so much. When you leave, take extra precaution not to let others recognise you.”

Marvin took the letter of recommendation from his father, carefully stowing the thick scroll away. He then bowed deeply, “Father, I have a premonition that you won't regret your decision today.”

Kocat could only let out a snort to that, not knowing what to say. Even level 6 wasn't much of a deal given his son's age, and divination and prophecy were arts that could only be performed by true priests at level 12 and above. Such priests also had to have great favour from their Lord to be able to adequately perform such spells. All this talk of premonitions was just nonsense.

......

Around the same time, a vase more valuable than any of Kocat's possessions hit the wall in Baron Forza's study, shattering into a million pieces on the floor. The Baron was evidently dejected— even after wrecking the vase he pounded his table without end until he was left huffing and puffing.

His butler had been hiding in a corner throughout this tantrum. “My Lord,” he finally managed once Forza's rage faded, “Priest Essien has been waiting on you for the past half hour.”

Forza grunted heavily, trying to fix his disheveled hair as he slowly followed the butler to the hall. Essien was a priest who was already at level 12, and was the person who had coordinated his territory's rise in the divine ranks. Even in secular influence the man wasn't far off from Forza himself, and with the baron's army taking a significant blow that especially reduced his elites' fighting strength by more than half, the priest's own army of about thirty paladins had become a formidable force in the region.

Baron Forza had an alarmingly thin frame, and a head of white hair. Late nights for many days had left him with an ashen complexion, and with deep bags under his eyes. Upon entering the hall, the Baron saw Essien admiring an oil painting of the Goddess of Spring. He addressed the man, “Priest Essien, if you are here to ask for help with the invaders, I'm afraid there isn't much for us to talk about.”

Essien managed a smile, seemingly unbothered by the Baron's cold demeanour. “My Lord,” he responded, “I indeed am here to discuss that very matter. You know the oracle—”

“Don't talk to me about the oracle!” Forza raised his voice. “Only you know what it contains! If the intruders were as weak and insignificant as you made them out to be, and fewer than twenty in number, how is it that the last three knights and the hundreds of elite troops I sent out were all defeated by them?”

Startled, Essien replied “The oracle is never wrong. As a priest who serves the God of Valour, that is something I could never lie about. There is only one reason for the way the battles turned out. If I were to put it bluntly, my Lord, you should train your troops properly.”

Forza grunted, looking uncomfortable, but he didn't say a word. Essien was criticising him for powerless leadership, but when he'd received the battle report he himself could only conclude the same thing. But he was helpless now— the remaining two knights weren't good at military matters, having been given their position due to social connections and blood ties. It wouldn't be very useful to send them out to battle.

“My Lord, you are in quite the plight at the moment. My humble suggestion is that you promptly seek the assistance of Earl Jayleon. If you send a messenger now, he should be able to reach the Earl's castle within three days. We might still be able to catch the invaders. You might be losing some money and reputation, but that is much better than the incident at Joven occurring once more.”

Forza replied coldly, “Even if the Earl accedes to my request, his troops will need at least ten days to get here. What will the church do until then?”

“I have already sent out a messenger to ask for help from the bigger church in the duchy.”

Essien's reply stunned Forza for a moment. Turning to a bigger authority for help meant that Essien conceded to not being able to handle the matters of his region by himself, which would make it even more difficult for him to be promoted or to be given divine grace.

While he felt that Essien's decision was a little peculiar as it would put himself in a disadvantaged situation, it made Forza feel a little more at ease. He called upon his personal attendant to write a letter on the spot, and gave orders for this letter to be delivered to the Earl within three days.

168 - City of Sin

Agreement

By nightfall, the camp at the lakeside had fallen silent. Both the soldiers and their captives were thoroughly exhausted after the long, hard day, and they'd gone to bed early. The only ones full of energy were the three raptors, who'd just had a heavy meal. They took on patrol duty.

Richard meditated until he completely recovered his mana, before walking out of his tent and slowly wandering towards the lake.

Standing by the lake was the graceful silhouette of Flowsand. Even though she rarely meditated, it seemed like she could recover her mana just as fast as him. She was quietly gazing out at the lake, her thoughts a mystery. The Book of Time was hanging from her waist, glowing faintly that when coupled with the misty haze from the lake made her seem dreamy.

Richard walked over and casually asked, “What's on your mind?”

“You and I,” her slightly hoarse voice was as lethal as ever.

Richard stopped, coughing a few times in an attempt to hide his awkwardness. Flowsand had an extraordinary charm, great enough to make him feel awkward with that dubious answer. He'd retreated a few times before, but this time he wouldn't back off from the exchange. He clarified, “What about us?”

“Our relationship.”

Richard gritted his teeth and continued, “What relationship?”

However, he realised how stupid that sounded the moment the words left his mouth. This evidently surmounted to a type of defeat.

Flowsand turned around, gazing deep into Richard's eyes, “I've been thinking of how many years we can keep this up.”

Her reply was really vague, and seemed to conceal another meaning. However, it was also possible that she meant nothing at all. Richard sighed, “Many. As long as we can survive.”

She let out a faint smile, “We will as long as you want us to.”

This made Richard curious, “You seem to be more confident in me than I am in myself.”

“You have a strange ability... The depths of the battlefield seem transparent to your gaze. What's more, you also have your broodmother...”

She deliberately paused for a while before continuing, “And you have me.”

Everything she had said was correct. However, some of it was especially lethal. Looking at the priestess under the moonlight, Richard couldn't help but think back to her body. It took a difficult struggle for him to control his desires, and he spoke sternly, “You've seen the information on our surroundings. The commoners aren't necessarily hostile to us, we might even have an opportunity to work with the nobles. The only ones who truly want to destroy us here are the deities.”

Flowsand replied, “That goes without saying. Our presence here already violates the law of the planes, they will definitely try to get rid of us. However, even if you conquer the entire plane the nobles will still find a place in your regime.”

Richard nodded in agreement, “So we actually have a high possibility of finding good allies. There are two candidates. First is the Direwolf Duke in the west, who comes from a clan that believes in ancestral worship. And the other is Earl Oliver in the south. Rumours say he's dabbled in the dark arts for almost twenty years, and he has numerous connections to the abyss. I've heard that he's secretly created a pool of blood, frequently killing his prisoners to present them as offerings. It indicates that he's trying to summon demons, and they definitely won't be from this plane so they won't be in the same camp as the God of Valour.

“Most interestingly, neither territory is particularly far away, but they've still continued their existence. This means that they have enough capability that the church cannot just destroy them.”

“Indeed. A violent tyrant and a murderous maniac,” Flowsand hit the nail on the head.

Richard nodded, “We have no choice but to work with murderers and tyrants now.”

“Watch out for them. They may eat you alive!”

Richard laughed, “They can try. They'll most likely break their teeth.”

The two continued to joke around for a while, something that finally allowed Richard to grow less tense. He gazed at the calm lake, saying, ”Ah... I feel like it takes more time for me to increase my mana pool here.”

“That is normal. The greater the restrictions on power in a plane, the slower one grows as well. Primary planes don't have many restrictions on power, which is the entire reason they've grown to their positions. To a certain extent, expeditions to lesser planes are a waste of your lifespan, exchanging time for resources. If your only ambition is power, you need to remain in your primary plane to hone your craft.”

“Oh... And before I forget, this plane only has two moons. Why can I still draw the powers of the seven moons when I use the secret swords?”

Flowsand shook her head, “That I don't know. There are far too many mysteries in the planes, and my knowledge barely scratches the surface. The only things I know are from written accounts.

Richard let out a long sigh, “Alright, I understand now. I've had a few ideas recently, and a breakthrough in my research into fireballs...”

“Fireballs again! That spell is only good when you need to roast a pig!” Flowsand couldn't help but let out a laugh that faded into a tight-lipped smile. Shrouded in the moonlight reflecting off the lake, she looked indescribably beautiful.

“No, there's always room for improvement. I can now delay the spell by upto a second. If I launch three fireballs in a triangular formation, I should be able to delay them such that they explode together—” Richard immediately squatted down, scribbling on the ground by the lake.

Flowsand didn't think anything of it at first, but after some deeper consideration her complexion rapidly changed. If Richard really could control the spells so well, then the target in the centre of that triangle wouldn't just be a roasted pig. She hadn't heard of anyone under the level of great mages who had such great control over their magic.

Richard continued rambling, but then he suddenly looked up to gaze at the distance. He then gasped in surprise.

“What is it?” Flowsand asked.

“It's nothing, let us continue.” The broodmother had just informed him that it had discovered a valley inhabited by troggs. It had sealed the mouth off, and was preparing for a meal. Troggs were just like goblins, a community that could barely pass off as an intelligent species. While they weren't as smart as even the goblins, however, their fighting strength was far superior. Richard had grown concerned for the broodmother for a moment, but he quickly dismissed it. It was capable of discerning the threat its prey posed.

Richard had just said a few words, before suddenly turning his attention towards the forest. He stood up, frowning, “It's late. Why is Olar running towards the forest? The raptors are taking care of patrolling... Come, let's have a look.”

169 - City of Sin

Agreement(2)

Flowsand nodded, stretching her hand out towards Richard. She pointed first at him and then at herself, divine energy flowing into their bodies that froze the external forces around them. As long as they remained silent, they could now avoid the detection of even the most seasoned of scouts.

She then cast a spell that allowed them to blend in with the nature, something akin to what was used by the druids who worshipped the Goddess of the Forest. Any organism under the effects of this spell would blend into the woods perfectly. Even if they touched the trees and leaves, the result would just sound like the wind or any other natural noise.

Flowsand had casually displayed something special about herself, but Richard noticed nothing strange. He didn't have experience with the priestesses of the Eternal Dragon.

The two became one with the dark forest, stealthily heading in Olar's direction. With the magical contract in place, the elven bard couldn't hide his position from Richard' mind. He'd been in the same part of the forest for a few minutes now.

Richard had felt that was strange at the beginning, but then he had a hunch that something may be happening that made him hesitant about getting any closer. However, Flowsand would bump into him whenever he slowed down, her faint breath blowing onto his neck. She would gently push against his back, urging him to go further. The priestess couldn't feel the movements of the elf.

As they closed in on the foot of a hill, the night wind was really strong. The wind whistled loudly past the forest, covering any other noise. However, Richard felt like the atmosphere had changed, growing increasingly ambiguous. The physical contact with Flowsand was growing ever more distinct, and thoughts of her body started to appear in his mind. He tried controlling himself, but it was to no avail.

The elven bard didn't venture quite far into the forest, so the two managed to catch up very quickly. There were a few other strange sounds apart from the wind now, the voices of Olar and someone else. Richard slowly lowered the dense bush and branches in front of him, looking ahead.

Ten metres away, the elf was holding tightly onto a woman as he fiercely rammed into her body again and again. At the same time, he was using his melodious voice to whisper sweet nothings into her ear. The woman had her back against a tree, her arms wrapped around the bard's neck while her legs held tightly to his waist. Outside of what the tree supported, all of her weight was on Olar.

She was in pure ecstasy, each moan louder than the last. The elf reminded her to keep her volume down, so she buried her head into his collar and proceeded to bite his shoulder. Muffled noises escaped her throat, making it seem like she was crying and in great pleasure at the same time.

This aroused the elf further, and his thrusts increased in intensity until the woman's body began to spasm violently. Under the night sky, her dazzling white legs repeatedly coiled and twisted.

“Damn!” Richard cursed softly. He would never have expected to see such a thing. If this were any other day, he would not have minded admiring such sights for a while, but now that Flowsand was behind him, how would he have the cheek to watch on? Flowsand's presence wouldn't let him watch on in peace, and he was starting to feel some uncontrollable reactions.

The worst thing was that Flowsand put her entire weight onto his back, leaning over his shoulders just enough to watch the frantic display.

“Olar and... Ah, the knight's mistress... What are they doing...? Oh, I understand now.” The hoarse voice sounding next to his ear made it even harder for Richard to control himself, and he was on the verge of crumbling.

The elf continued its battle with the woman's flesh with a rigorous degree that was unimaginable. It appeared that his strength vastly exceeded its handsome exterior.

Richard had had enough. He could no longer fight against both his sexual urges and what was happening in front of him, so he got ready to stand up and shout for the elf to stop. It would be easy enough to find a reason for that— liberties couldn't be taken with the prisoners, at least not by the elf.

Flowsand seemed to have sensed what Richard was about to do, so she used her weight to pin him down, saying gently, “Don't move. Let us continue to watch, I've never seen something like this before.”

Richard couldn't control his urges any longer, his manhood reaching its limit. He turned his hand over with an angry cry, grabbing Flowsand's breasts and groping them hard.

In response, the priestess only grunted out an affirmative.

The elf and woman were gyrating vigorously, reaching orgasm. However, they seemed to stay there for an especially long time. It looked like the bard wasn't just naturally gifted; he'd gone through rigorous special training to be so effective in 'combat.'

In this amorous moment, Richard felt especially exhausted instead. It took a long time for the bard to stop, and by then the woman had grown limp as mud, softly hanging onto him. They quickly put their clothes on, leaving in a hurry. Olar continued his sweet nothings along the way, making promises in his singsong voice. Whether he would make good on them was anyone's guess.

Richard and Flowsand remained in position, not moving an inch. The bard was done with play, and he'd returned to reality. He was a good scout, and it would be awkward if they were discovered. Since Richard hadn't stepped out to stop them earlier, it would be even more inappropriate to be found out now.

Once Olar had left, there was a renewed calm in the forest. Richard suddenly grabbed Flowsand and pinned her to the ground, grabbing her robes at the collar and pulling them down to her waist in one forceful motion. This exposed her amber nipples, further enhancing Richard's lust.

Flowsand looked at the youth who was grinding his teeth, gently squeezing his arm as she whispered, “Ravage me, and there is no turning back. Think before you act.”

“What is that supposed to mean? Are you telling me that the priestesses of the Eternal Dragon need to remain pure?” Richard asked. The small, cold hand rested on his own, sending his blood surging violently throughout his body.

“No, there is no such thing. However, I can tell you confidently that starting a sexual relationship with me is going to be very troublesome, more than you could ever imagine. At the same time, I myself am a very troublesome person as well, if you treat me as just a woman. But treat me as a priestess, a reliable companion, and you will not be disappointed or burdened. On the contrary, I can help you solve a lot of issues.” Flowsand rarely spoke this much.

Richard seemed undeterred by her speech, ripping her robes off completely to show her naked legs. He then positioned himself before speaking, “You're clearly trying to provoke me. I'm not someone who fears trouble, and if I want to prove that my only option here is to eat you up. I don't know if we'll ever make it back to Norland, so there is no need for me to consider issues of the future.”

Flowsand gently said, “We may die tomorrow anyway, so let's just have some fun before we do? Is that it? You can drop the gentlemanly act now!”

Flowsand's words were like a cold shower over his head. Richard had been prepared to begin, but he ended up holding for a full minute as he thought over it.

He suddenly seemed to understand something, exclaiming, “I will survive, and I will bring you all back to Norland. One night before we head back, I'll eat you up.”

Flowsand smiled faintly, speaking in a gentle voice, “Alright, then. I will resist when that time comes.”

This sentence caused Richard to tremble, and he almost couldn't stop himself from penetrating her body.

170 - City of Sin

Reprisal

Richard was full of fresh energy as he walked out of the forest with Flowsand, no longer feeling like this plane was perpetually shrouded in grey. He thought back deeply on his relationship with her, finding that it was full of accidents and mistakes.

On the eve of returning to Norland... That wasn't just a promise he had made, it was an agreement between the two. However, how was he to get to that step?

He kept thinking it over on the road, but couldn't come to a clear conclusion. This was a problem even his gifted intellect couldn't solve, so engaging even the broodmother's messages didn't come to his attention.

'I've already captured the troggs. Two-thirds of the prey escaped.' That was news from ten minutes ago.

'I'm having the third batch of raptors continue to follow me, it will increase hunting efficiency.' That was five minutes ago.

'Found the nest of a whiteback devilbear.' One minute ago.

Lost in his own thoughts, Richard didn't even notice the sheer increase in the broodmother's hunting, and that it was only giving him news of the difficult targets. Perhaps it was just as it had said before, and the mountains really didn't have any natural predators for it to be wary of.

Returning to camp, Richard finally ceased his thoughts on what transpired just earlier and put out his manhood. However, it felt extremely uncomfortable and he ended up unable to sleep, instead continuing to study his map. It felt like the twists and turns of the night had expanded his plane of thought, and his eyes began to trace back and forth along a series of small towns on the map.

Time passed quietly. Although Richard and Flowsand both acted as though nothing had happened, Olar seemed to be aware of something. He didn't engage with Kojo's mistress again, although he still took the opportunity while on shift to give her some extra food. However, Richard pretended not to see that.

Noon of the third day, Marvin returned to the lakeside camp. The schematic of Baron Forza's castle came as a surprise to Richard— while the fallen cleric was terrible at the divine, he was not without merit. He was a master of conspiracy and negotiation.

After some thinking, Richard decided to take the letter of introduction from Sir Kocat, going to Baron Fontaine to see if he could get in touch with the Direwolf Duke.

On the fourth day, Gangdor brought back the news Richard had been waiting for. Forza refused to pay a ransom for Sir Kojo's family, even publicly executing Richard's messenger. The corpse was hung high up on the entrance to Joven, with a sign set up prominently next to it. Written on the sign was a warning in crimson blood: anyone who dared collaborate with the demons would suffer the same fate.

The news quickly spread through the temporary camp. The captive women and children immediately burst into tears, not stopping until several knights shouted in a bid to silence them. The soldiers had more varying expressions, but most of them were shocked into silence while a few were whispering to their neighbours.

The area was filled with an oppressive air of despair. These men had never been fearless, at least not in front of the enemy. Now there was no way to retreat, and faced with the terrifying might of Baron Forza and Earl Jayleon they naturally lost all colour in their faces.

“What do we do now, boss?” Gangdor asked casually, not caring that his voice resonated across the entire camp.

“What do we do?” Richard laughed, “What else can we do? Of course we're going to teach Forza a lesson he won't forget! And on the way, we'll find more distinguished and beautiful ladies to take as companions!”

Richard immediately started assigning roles, leaving only two knights and ten soldiers to guard the captives. Everyone else left the camp, their first destination being Joven with the veteran Yomen leading the way. The forces were strangely silent as they marched along, everyone aware of Richard's unusual determination and bloodlust.

However, anyone who knew Richard as a person would know he wasn't angry for that one soldier's death. He'd already estimated that anyway. Thus came the question: how had this change come about?

That question was near impossible to answer.

Following the troops were nine raptors. Seeing these savage beasts move silently caused even Gangdor to tense up unnaturally, the only ones unaffected being Flowsand and Waterflower. Flowsand knew the origins of the broodmother, while Waterflower sensed no hostility from these creatures.

Nine in the evening was a time when most people in remote villages went to sleep. Joven's inns were still lively, but the houses had no lights coming from them anymore. These days, even families not in the habit of sleeping early shut their doors and blew out the lights early.

The Baron had stationed almost a hundred soldiers in Joven. Although these energetic fighters were helpless against monsters, they were good at oppressing and bullying the townsfolk. The core epithet of this plane's government was that people fulfilled their obligations to their lord while the lord had the responsibility to protect his people. With the lord missing and his family kidnapped, the town was free for the taking.

'I hope you will not let me down when I return...' When the bloodshed and screaming began once more, more than one resident of Joven recalled Richard's words. Those words were still ringing in their ears, but nobody had expected him to return so quickly.

However, things were different from his first time here. The people now felt a little relieved, some even overjoyed, except they found it difficult to express. At least they could witness these soldiers receive a proper lesson.

Nearly a hundred soldiers still posed some amount of threat to Richard's army, even if they were only ordinary warriors without a single knight among them. Even their leader was only level 6, but as an army they were relatively complete. If the infantry and archers could take advantage of the town's defences, it would cause them some trouble.

However, such trivial obstacles never came to be. They weren't prepared to fight, and more than half the soldiers were drunk in the tavern. When Richard rushed in with his men, they weren't even able to escape. It was a massacre.

A third of the soldiers were captured, another third killed, while the remainder fled. Richard had anticipated this when he called the attack, having grown more capable now of reading the battlefield. As long as he had enough information, the results wouldn't deviate much from his expectations.

However, those who fled were not fortunate. In the dark fields were nine raptors, and Richard had decided to let only ten go. They would spread the news everywhere, letting Forza know that he had returned.

The so-called battle had ended as soon as it began. Richard's army had struck down ten men like they were falling leaves, and the rest of them had completely collapsed. Even the thirty deaths total was mostly because a certain few people couldn't restrain their violence, Richard himself being one of the culprits.

The first thing he'd done when he rushed into the barracks was to cast a fireball with a five second delay. Even though he'd immediately felt that something wasn't right, absorbing the second one before he could cast it, the delayed explosion lit a patrolling squad head on and lit them aflame. Of course, Gangdor and the trolls were savage as well, every swing of their weapons taking the lives of several men.

Joven was occupied once again. Now, none of the townsfolk dared to go out onto the streets, and Richard simply called for someone to take down the corpse of the executed soldier and burn the Baron's signpost. They left quietly with their prisoners, leaving only the dozens of bodies and a strong stench of blood. Google search f𝙧𝒆𝚎𝘸e𝚋𝓷o𝘷𝚎𝒍. co𝑚

While the Baron's territory was not small, all major towns were connected by road. Fast horses could reach the capital in under three hours, and there were enough escaped soldiers to bring news of his real power to the Baron.

However, the commander overseeing the standing army refused to dispatch forces to provide assistance. He insisted on waiting for the Baron's command, or at least for dawn to send troops.

However, dawn? By then, the demons would have fled far away. The Baron had ordered that he not be disturbed while he slept, since he hadn't rested well recently. Any matters would have to be discussed with the butler, and any intelligent people would know to ignore the light coming from Forza's study room window.

171 - City of Sin

Retribution

While the higher-ups under Forza were searching for a reason to stay put, Richard had already found his way to a different manor. A fireball sent the place's main security, composed of several strong, young soldiers, straight to their graves. He then calmly pointed forth from up on his horse, and a group of soldiers with only shields and swords rushed in.

These were the prisoners who'd surrendered earlier in the night, given weapon and shield but no armour to protect them. However, most of the defenders had been swept away by Richard, so the chaotic mob managed to overrun any resistance with sheer numbers.

The lord of the manor, an elegantly dressed knight, finally appeared, but he'd spent too much time putting on his full body armour. Gangdor and Waterflower saw him as he entered the battlefield imposingly, and a minute later he had been taken prisoner.

Half an hour later, Richard moved out with a large number of troops once more. They passed through two other manors, capturing the knights that ruled them before finally arriving at their destination at dawn. This was Woodtown, Sir Menta's home. Now, Kojo's wife would have several peers of similar status alongside her.

Once they'd captured Woodtown, Richard left the soldiers and captives who were too tired to continue behind. He had two mounted knights escort them back to camp, alongside two raptors, while he himself took the team from Norland and headed to Sir Hubert's territory of Sequoia Town. A true battle broke out there, with more than thirty guards and warriors from knighted lineages joining the desperate struggle. As valiant as their sacrifices were, however, they were completely in vain. Flowsand's presence had rendered them unable to severely wound even a single one of their foes.

With Sequoia Town captured, Sir Hubert's family was taken prisoner as well. A total of 28 guards had been slain, shrouding the town in an atmosphere of deep sorrow that won Richard's respect.

However, there would be nothing more. Richard left the place at a predetermined time, not delayed in the slightest. The desperate resistance had left them little time for looting.

Within a single day Richard had taken out half of the Baron's forces, capturing three knights, killing one that refused to surrender, and even making off with two of the dead titled knights' wives. If it was just one family, Forza could still feign ignorance. However, with three households raided, not doing anything would be the end of his reign.

After raging for an entire afternoon, the Baron finally sent out his standing army to pursue the invaders. Five hundred soldiers left his capital at dusk, led by five knights as they rushed to Joven to attack the invaders who had already moved on. Forza was not a genius, but he wasn't stupid— he knew that the numbers of his men did not make up for their skill. In the meanwhile, the invaders' strength was quite clear. They had at least fifteen strong warriors that were more powerful than his knights, and a mage nearing level 10.

A damned mage!

Mages in this bountiful hinterland were even rarer than priests and shamans. Any mage close to level 10 would be more esteemed than the baron himself. Such high status did not just come out of their destructive prowess on the battlefield— there were many goods and equipment that only a mage could acquire. Things such as magic equipment and enchantments were very valuable.

Because of such prestige, power, and wealth, many wanted to become mages. However, the traditions of this plane placed heavy emphasis on one's lineage, with the requirements on one's ancestry being extremely strict. A mage around level 10 could only accept around 10 apprentices, with no guarantee as to how much these apprentices would be able to learn. Thus, any aristocratic family with the means, even royal families as well, gave any of their children who had the slightest aptitude over to these veterans, filling up that limited quota. Even if some commoners had greater talent, many never had a chance to step foot into that world.

Over time, these traditions reinforced the scarcity of mages and made them even more valuable. And the more valuable they became, the more scarce they were. The invaders had a powerful mage on their side! This threat was greater in Forza's eyes than the rest of the invaders combined. There was a saying on this plane— only a mage could deal with a mage.

Of course, the one who'd come up with that saying was a mage himself. But his status as a grand mage made the saying unquestionable.

While priests, clerics, and powerful warriors could match mages in theory, without many battles to analyse there weren't many efficient tactics for such confrontations here. The accepted practice was to find a way to exhaust the opponent's mana before they tried to kill him.

Forza may have had the funds to build a church to the God of Valour, but he couldn't afford a level 10 mage. He'd asked for help from Jayleon because the Earl had three mages at level 10 or higher. That would be the most traditional of tactics, using a mage to deal with another.

Forza was counting the days in his ornate, beautiful study. It would take five days at the latest for the Earl's reinforcements to arrive, and if he was lucky the vanguards could make it here in two. At that moment, he would be safe.

However, the cost of such safety caused Forza to shudder. Earl Jayleon was infamous for his greed, and surely hadn't passed up the chance to extort a heavy price. Having lost nearly all his fighting forces, Forza had been in no position to bargain. He would lose at least five knights' worth.

That wasn't just the land, taxes, and manpower. It was also five powerful, loyal, knights.

Had he known such a day would come, Forza would never have provoked these 'insignificant' invaders. The word had a precise definition amongst oracles, indicating that the invaders weren't higher than level 10. However, these very 'insignificant' people could cause losses great enough to threaten him and his knights.

Forza regretted the choice to use force. The much wiser option would have been to give them some benefits, and a map that led them to the Direwolf Duke. If not that, at the very least the church's paladins should have formed the main force. Forza hadn't had a good night's sleep in a few days. Dark blue eyebags were already hanging from his fleshy face.

One could look down on the city harbour from the Baron's study. The lighthouses and the Church of Valour were the most eye-catching buildings in the night, with a magnificent beacon tower taller than even the lighthouses themselves built in the church building. The beacon was lit whenever an oracle was received, or during a festival. The brilliant light would be visible for miles, and would not be extinguished for ten days.

Forza subconsciously gazed up at the magnificent church, and suddenly found the dancing flames blinding. He snorted heavily, pulling his curtains closed to prevent all light from entering his window. His only prayer now was that his army would not encounter the invaders, for he was extremely clear as to what such an encounter would bring about.

The vicious intruders could break the morale of these normal warriors with a single flurry of blows. There was an untold reason he had sent his soldiers out at night— should they scatter, more of them would be able to escape under the cover of darkness. Such was Baron Forza's last military maneuver.

The prayer was only partly effective. His men had barely left the barracks, walking only five miles when they were discovered by a prowling raptor that immediately sent a telepathic message to Richard who was far away.
ƒ𝑟𝐞ewe𝚋𝑛ｏ𝙫𝚎l. 𝒄o𝗺

A knight had discovered the beast in the long grass, but had taken it to be an unknown monster that had descended from the mountains. He had no interest in hunting at the time, only thinking of swiftly bringing his troops to Joven and guarding it. The Baron had given him a secret missive before he left— explaining to him that his only task was to safely wait out these last few days before the Earl's reinforcements arrived.

The beast seemed reluctant, and tailed the troops from afar for nearly two miles before disappearing into the night.

172 - City of Sin

Attack

Forza's army made it all the way to Joven without incident, making the knight leading them feel like the journey was unusually smooth. He didn't know that the raptor fleeing into the night had made Richard well aware of his route, and that the mage had no plans to ambush him. There were more pressing goals than the 500 warriors.

At that very moment, Richard was standing at the top of a small hill that overlooked a flourishing city. With a population of over ten thousand, it could be called a large city even in Norland. With the fertility of this plane and humans being in a dominant position, the plane had more of an urban population than Norland itself.

There were about 500 more soldiers guarding the city, led by a titled knight. However, these soldiers were mostly level 1 or 2, comparable to ordinary men who were blessed with natural strength.

He marked the positions the raptor had sent back on a map, making a line that roughly led towards Joven. Rough calculations told him that the Baron's army would require about two hours to reach Joven.

He then turned back to face the people resting in various positions on the hill, proclaiming, “We will rest for another hour. After that, be prepared to strike immediately!” Even if the five hundred soldiers were quite mediocre, they could still be a threat on their home ground in the heat of battle.

Olar whistled, “My lord, please be gentle with any beautiful girls. Try to keep them alive!” The elf's words drew a knowing smile from the men in the group, while Flowsand and Waterflower remained expressionless as if they'd heard nothing.

Richard smiled, ignoring the elf's idle talk. He instead concentrated his mind on giving the raptors orders, having them return from their patrols. This was what had allowed him to know the army's position when they left camp, and by the same link the raptors could find him as well. Already comparable to level 6 warriors, the darkness and chaos would make their bestial senses useful, increasing their effectiveness in the upcoming battle.

Half an hour later, all the raptors were back at Richard's side. The broodmother had sent some information back as well— the bears had been destroyed.

Richard was startled for a moment. It had six raptors assisting it, so taking this long to take out a single nest was questionable. The broodmother alone could take down those equivalent to knights already.

However, now was not the time to ponder. It was ten in the night, the scheduled time to attack. A majority of the people in the port city were already fast asleep, and all the people who were out to make merry were more or less drunk. There wouldn't be more than fifty guards on patrol, with the rest back at camp or at home, resting.

Richard waved his hand, and the party began to sneakily advance towards the port. The city had strengthened its defences given the circumstances, but in Richard's point of view it was still like they had no defences at all.

Medium Rare was hidden under a section of the wall, sending the elf and three knights over the top. The walls were only five metres tall, so the ogre could just raise his arms to send a person on top. In fact, Waterflower and Gangdor had caught on to the edge in one leap before vaulting over, while Richard just cast a floating spell and made his way directly up the side.

A hundred metres away, a squad of soldiers was lazily patrolling the city wall. Richard swiftly motioned forward, and Waterflower immediately rushed over with the Shepherd of Eternal Rest in hand. Her bare white feet made no sound against the floor as she disappeared into the shadows like a ghost.

The patrolling guards had been focused on the streets, with almost nobody looking at the tall walls. Waterflower had stuck to the walls as she charged across the dozens of metres separating them, and by the time the two leading the team looked at her she was already speeding past them. They couldn't even make a sound before her blade had sent five heads flying into the sky.

Richard's pupils contracted as he looked at the spurt of fresh blood, and the smell of death increased in the air. He took large strides towards the city gates, with Olar, Gangdor, and the knights rushing forth before him. But the young lady had already rushed out from another guard tower nearby, stalking another team of guards. The sword softly hissed in the air a few times, and she walked back without incident. Once the few drops of blood fell off the tip of her blade, one would notice nothing but her beautiful, well-defined face. None would realise what she had just done.

Gangdor begrudgingly slowed down, there was no use of him rushing over when Waterflower had taken care of everything on her own. The big axe in his hand seemed destined not to see action for a while. Olar and the infantry, in the meanwhile, went down the city walls to move the obstacles out of the way before they opened the gates.

The ogres brought the warhorses to the city gate, while the raptors followed quietly behind. Richard and the others mounted, facing the wide passage that led to the city that housed the grand church to the God of Valour.

The first thing someone new to this city would notice was the magnificent church. Atop the church building was a large axe, held by a hand that faced the sky. On top of that was a lighted torch, burning with passion. This was Richard's goal for tonight.

The Baron's territory was in its most vulnerable state, and the standing army had all been sent away. Mobilising them again would require half a day of work, and there were only four powerful knights left in the land that were all in Forza's castle. No matter what happened in the port itself, the Baron would likely keep his own safety in mind and not deploy the two that were guarding him.

And thus, the only resistance Richard would face were two knights, Priest Essien and two more priests around level 8, thirty paladins, less than a hundred squires, and a few hundred militia. He'd done his best to disperse the Baron's forces, causing massive casualties in the port. He had to make full use of the destruction— it would be hard to get another such chance in the future. If he continued to put things off, more powerful enemies would converge on him.

Looking at the distant church with the nameless sword in his hand, Richard suddenly felt a burning sensation from his chest. This would be his first major assault against a powerful enemy.

“Attention! Our target this time is the Church of Valour. Let's make quick work of it, charge!”

173 - City of Sin

Attack(2)

Richard spurred his horse on, and they picked up their pace as they galloped swiftly towards the church that was a distance away. The fragmented sounds of the hooves hitting the ground resounded throughout the area, causing hearts to race.
𝐟r𝑒ℯ𝘄𝐞𝙗ｎov𝚎𝙡. 𝑐𝘰𝘮

A man peeked out through the blinds of a house on the road, trying to make sense of the commotion all around him. He gasped in surprise at the sight, immediately covering his mouth when he realised he'd let out a noise. He then shut his windows tightly, slumping to the floor without the ability to stand back up.

The ground shook with another rumble, the two trolls behind the army charging forward with big strides. There were shadows passing between the buildings on the sides of the road as well, the nine raptors flanking around from the side quickly. They displayed great agility as they leapt through rooftops and dark alleys.

The raptors were different from normal beasts. They had a certain level of intelligence, and Richard could give them some simple commands like have them stay close to each other, roam freely, stop and observe, or attack enemy targets.

When the church was less than half a kilometre away, Richard kicked his horse again. The sound of hooves against the ground intensified, like muffled thunder before a storm. Two intoxicated youths stepped out of a brightly lit tavern, dressed in army uniform and looking like they were supposed to be on nightly patrol. They looked out at the streets to see what had disrupted their merry-making.

Seeing the warhorses bounding towards him, one of the drunk men uttered in complete shock, “My goodness, what are those?!”

The other one, a little more sober now, saw the menacing silhouette of the trolls in the distance, “THEY'RE THE BEASTS FROM ANOTHER PLANE! GOD, THEY'VE ACTUALLY MANAGED TO ENTER THE CITY. HURRY, WE NEED TO RAISE THE ALARM! QUICK—”

Before he could continue, an arrow from the dark pierced his throat. The remaining words never came out, and even as his swaying partner tried to make sense of the situation a mounted knight charged over like a gust of wind. He hacked the man's head off with his one-handed axe, sending it flying into the air.

The troop continued to gallop past the tavern door, and with the two trolls following them the guests were completely shaken, quelling any ideas they had of stepping outside. They closed the doors in a panic, putting all the light out.

The church was now within view. Atop the stairs leading to the building were two knights standing tall like statues, both dressed in elaborate gold outfits. Truth be told, they were actually just squires— it was only on guard duty that they had the chance to be armed completely like the church's paladins.

Richard kept his sword by his side, charging all the way up the steps without hesitation. The guards had already discovered them— one raised his greatsword with both arms, while the other shouted loudly to warn of the invaders.

*Whoosh!* Another two arrows flew out from behind Richard, hitting the two guards. The one who had shouted to alert the rest was hit in the face, falling down, but the other managed to ward it off with his sword. Olar wasn't a professional archer— the faster he shot, the weaker and less accurate his arrows became.

However, the troops on both sides overtook Richard, charging up the steps all the way to the entrance of the church. They used the momentum of the charge to slam their swords into the guard, causing him to tumble backwards. Two red gashes appeared on his chest, red blood gushing out. He fell back against the door with a dull thud, before collapsing onto the ground.

It was only now that an alarm began to ring loudly. It was loud and filled with a sense of urgency, undoubtedly waking every sleeping soul in the city. Even Forza, who'd just laid down on his bed, sat up with a start. His face turned pale, and his heart almost jumped out of his chest. He ran towards the window, pulling apart the curtains to see fires raging in the direction of the church.

“This... the church is under attack by the intruders?” Forza could not believe his eyes.

The church gates were tall and grand, but they weren't particularly built for defense. The two trolls managed to crush them with a few powerful strikes, and Richard used the chaos and dust cloud to take a few steps forward and begin chanting. Two fireballs flew into the church in quick succession less than three seconds later, leaving it buzzing with alarm and chaos. None of the guards could make it in time to ward off the attack.

Richard's line of sight was obstructed by the dust cloud, but that didn't matter. The spells had been cast as intended, and they were far from a shot in the dark. Based on the intel he'd received, if they weren't blocked they would land right in front of the altar, suppressing the church's divine power. In the partially sealed space, the fireballs could exhibit great power.

“Tiramisu, Medium Rare, the rest of you, that way!” Richard pointed towards the right side of the church. The trolls, two knights, and Olar swiftly moved out, rushing towards the paladins' housing in the distance. The raptors dashed forward as well, a sea of black rushing across the floor.

Waterflower took advantage of the chaotic situation, keeping close to the wall as she stealthily crept into the church. On the other hand, Gangdor barged in with his large axe in hand.

“TREMBLE, WEAKLINGS!” he howled, a knight with a huge shield following right behind to defend him if needed. This was a habit developed through numerous battles; after all, Gangdor's eye-catching build and the fact that he was loud left him easy to notice on the battlefield.

Richard and Flowsand entered the church as well, seeing six fully-armoured paladins charging out from the pillars on both sides. Richard's eyes shrunk, “How are there so many?”

It was late in the night, and all the paladins should have been resting. There had to be three or four taking guard duty at most, but six fully-armoured paladins had appeared at the time. However, one look at the situation near the altar told him why exactly this was the case.

Even though the damage to the building itself didn't seem all that extensive from the outside, the scene in front of him perfectly showcased the destructive capabilities of his tactic. The damage was even greater than he had expected, leaving a sea of destruction before the altar. There were seven or eight dead bodies scattered around, and the statue of Neian leant precariously to one side, the entire surroundings bathed in magic flames.

It seemed like the attack had interrupted some kind of secret ceremony. There were only a few seconds between the doors breaking down and the advent of the fireballs, and with the first one having a delayed explosion the damage had been dealt at the same time. This had left the officials who were performing the rites with nowhere to run to, completely defenceless against the flames.

174 - City of Sin

The Priest

However, one man was left standing amongst this messy pile of corpses. A man who had a very majestic appearance.

He was of average build, but his sturdy body stood tall like a steel tower. His red robes were glowing with a holy light that even his shiny bald head seemed to emit. He had a prominently thick, short moustache, and his right hand held a bulky shortstaff with a valuable white crystal radiating divine power atop it.

Even if he didn't recognise the iconic red moustache, the sheer power this man was radiating would tell Richard who he was. He was the priest of this branch of the Church of Valour, Essien.

All of the clergy that had participated in the ceremony had died to Richard's fireball, but Essien hadn't been harmed at all. He had relied on the protection of his magnificent divine powers, but he hadn't been able to react in time to protect his comrades.

Essien glared at Richard, raising and pointing his staff towards the mage as he exclaimed loudly, “Hideous monster from another plane! Your greed and audacity will bring you endless suffering...”

Essien's first words were already deafening, his voice as loud as thousands of people shouting in unison. A strange phenomenon occurred even before he could complete his words, the tilted statue of Neian slowly returning to its original position.

An indescribable fear suddenly hit Richard, and Flowsand suddenly yelled from behind, “Don't let him finish! My powers are suppressed!”

Waterflower avoided a paladin to throw herself towards the priest, but Richard immediately yelled out, “Waterflower! Come back!” She was startled, but obedience was already an instinct so she flipped around in the air as she returned to the paladin. The Shepherd of Eternal Rest slammed directly into his unprotected face.

A fireball shot out of Richard's hands, aimed at Essien's left rear. It landed without exploding, spiralling continuously in place as the destructive energies within grew increasingly violent. This was another delayed fireball!

Essien's pupils shrank, but he remained still as he furiously continued his chant. The holy power that had built up in the church for years was stirred by his voice, continuously gathering in front of his staff. The crystal began to emit milky white light that grew stronger and stronger, as if thunder was about to erupt.

Another fireball whistled past him, landing behind and to his right, but even this did not explode. However, a mere second later a third headed his way. This one landed right in front of him, but it wasn't delayed. The three fireballs formed a perfect triangle with Essien right in the middle.

Essien raised his fiery eyebrows, and it looked as if his heart had stopped beating. No more sound came out of his wide open mouth, everything suppressed as the only thing in the hall seemed to be the ringing of the magical explosions.

*BOOM!* The three waves of fire broke out at the same time, a wave of heat sweeping through the church. The two paladins nearest to the fire were sent flying back, and even if Richard was outside the church his robes were pulled close to his body. He clenched his teeth, resisting the dizziness from the sudden drain on his mana as a fourth fireball formed in his hands, also shooting out with a sizzle.

A thick, bright beam of light burst out from the centre of the explosions, spreading out to extinguish the magic flames. Essien's figure was revealed when everything dispersed, still standing tall in front of the altar with his staff raised. Although there wasn't any holy light around him anymore, he was so majestic it seemed like the God of Valour had descended himself.

The priest turned to look at the hideous monster from another plane, but all he could see was a spinning ball of fire heading his way. It slowly grew larger, eventually completely filling his field of vision!

*Boom!* Another wild explosion rang out, followed by a raging voice, “I CURSE YOU ALL!”

Essien's body was tossed into the sky, crashing heavily into the statue of Neian and tilting it once more. A deafening roar sounded as the statue slowly collapsed, several divine rays flashing from Essien's body in the middle of the rubble. The priest leapt up, dashing through the back door of the church as he disappeared into the night.

Richard was caught by surprise, only able to watch on as Essien escaped. This fight had taught him a lot about the survivability of a high-ranking priest— having launched six consecutive fireballs, he was too drained to pursue the priest.

With the priest gone, the six paladins all around level 8 weren't his opponents anymore. Flowsand managed to heal the injuries on Gangdor and the rest, although still only able to cast normal healing spells. Even with the source of its power destroyed the church still suppressed her abilities, and if not for the Book of Time she wouldn't even be able to heal minor injuries.

Waterflower and the rest went looking for the defeated enemies without Richard needing to give the order, exterminating more than a dozen servants in the blink of an eye. They did not hesitate to rush out the back, surrounding the paladins' quarters where the battle still raged on.

Richard remained alone, dragging his sword along as he walked towards the battlefield once he recovered a little from the discomfort. Although he did not have much mana left, he could still fight as long as he had his sword in hand. Moreover, both Gangdor and Waterflower had searched around so there was no chance of someone being left behind. After all, the thing they spent most of their time on in the Archeron death camp was forcing prey out of hiding.

The smoke and dust finally cleared up as Richard made it to the rear, and a flash of light suddenly caught Richard's attention. A pile of stone fragments had fallen on the altar after the statue collapsed, almost burying it, and the flash was coming a corner of a piece of paper under the rubble.

Richard was shaken, walking towards the rubble to reveal the object below. The complicated formations of the altar had been destroyed by the fireballs, and it was no longer functioning. Richard could not recognise the symbols etched on it, the spell not something he knew. Anyway, what attracted him was that piece of paper.

The page was unusually large and made of unknown materials, and had been placed at the center of the altar. It was jagged on only one side, indicating that it had been torn off a book, but it was completely blank. Even the statue of the God of Valour had been destroyed under the bombardment of the six consecutive fireballs. And yet somehow, this page remained unscathed.

175 - City of Sin

Faith

Just the fact that it could withstand so much damage made this page a valuable artifact, but the church had closed up to secretly perform a ritual centering around it. Whatever that ritual was, the magic had to be related to the page.

Richard snatched the page off the altar without hesitation, hastily folding it before keeping it on his person. However, when he released his grip the page bounced open and reverted to its original position, without an inkling of a mark upon it.

This page was twice the size of the pages in Flowsand's Book of Time, and was in fact bigger and wider even than the pages of the Codex of Alucia that he'd seen in his younger days. It would be difficult to carry it around without folding it up, so Richard had no choice but to roll it up like a scroll before he could stow it away.

By the time Richard made it out of the church, the paladins were almost completely exterminated. Gangdor's trademark roars sounded out from afar, and his hungry axe scared the paladins like insects. It was needless to say that the squires' morale was depleted even further.

Richard glanced up, and the first thing he could see was the brute weaving through the cold and cheerless battlefield as he destroyed everything in his path. His abilities seemed to have grown since the past battles, and the sheen of his popping muscles indicated that he was using the full strength his body could muster. It was obvious that both his offensive and defensive capabilities had improved— even the heavy weapons of the paladins could only leave small superficial cuts on his body. On the other hand, each swing of his axe was so strong that nobody seemed able to withstand more than three hits.

This was Gangdor's true might in battle. During the battle at the reconnaissance base, he'd been stuck fighting Sir Menta who was much stronger than him, and after that his enemies hadn't been powerful enough to bring out his full strength. He hadn't had many chances to display his skill. Please visit ƒ𝘳ee𝒘𝚎𝐛𝘯𝐨ν𝑒l. 𝒄o𝘮

The two trolls were killing machines in their own right as well. They didn't use any special abilities, crushing their opponents' morale with their raw strength alone. This was especially true for Medium Rare, who was dressed up in armour so strong he was like an immovable steel fort. On the other hand, the paladins hadn't been prepared and had armed themselves hastily as they jumped out of bed. None of them had armour, while some didn't even have weapons.

Faced with these three killing machines, the unprepared knights were massacred by the big axe and heavy hammers. It was a thorough feast of blood and meat, every movement of the big weapons letting loose chunks of bodies and big spurts of crimson.

The remaining paladins knew that outside the base was a death trap, so they retreated to camp and tried to put on their armour behind cover. However, Waterflower and Olar had already made their way over. The elven bard was not skilled at melee, but the chaos proved to be a haven for the young lady who never wore armour herself.

As for the squires, they were equally unprepared and none could face a single raptor on their own. Still, however, final victory remained difficult. The paladins were much stronger than the Baron's army in battle, a product of their unyielding spirit even when faced with certain defeat. Even in their dying moments, they still found ways to injure their enemies one last time.

By the time the battle ended, Gangdor and Tiramisu had sustained considerable injuries. Even Waterflower had a deep wound on her thigh, and although Flowsand had been present one of the infantry was still heavily wounded. What's more, two raptors had perished in battle.

As for the other side, including the six in the church building itself, all thirty of the paladins had died. Half of the squires had perished, while most of the rest had sustained major injuries. Only five or six had surrendered after losing the will to fight.

The battle at the camp finally ended, Flowsand cast spell after spell like they were water flowing out of her hands. They returned life to the soldiers who'd suffered grave injuries, and she also healed Waterflower's thigh perfectly to leave no scars. Even with mana comparable to three clerics of her level, she grew pale with exhaustion after healing everyone.

Having already inspected the war zone, Richard was deeply shocked by this outcome. He was especially surprised by the tenacity of these knights and squires in desperate straits. It was quite admirable.

By his original calculations, the paladins who were around level 8-9 just posed no threat to them, even more so because it was a surprise attack and they had run out of their beds without armour. The paladins' armour was complicated, and although its defence was exceptional it required at least half an hour to don perfectly. And the difference between a knight with his armour on and without was like night and day.

However, the final outcome of the battle differed vastly from Richard's expectations. If not for Gangdor, Waterflower, and the trolls' relentless pursuit of the strong knights, coupled with Flowsand's sheer ability as a cleric, casualties would have been near unavoidable. In fact, if the raptors were taken into account there were casualties anyway.

As he looked on at the corpses on the floor by Flowsand's side, Richard felt like there wasn't a single paladin with his body intact. He heaved a long sigh, “This was a tough battle.”

“It's nothing out of the ordinary, they were men of faith.” Flowsand was so weak she could not stand on her own. Leaning on Richard's body, she nonchalantly remarked, “Those of strong faith do not feel exhaustion, do not feel pain.”

The battle at the church thus died down, and the city resumed its calm. Nothing seemed different, apart from the flames atop the church being extinguished.

Most of the people awakened by the town bell hid at home, locking their doors and windows tightly. Even if this land hadn't been attacked in more than ten years, the news from various sources left them able to control their unwanted curiosity. The ordinary citizens hoped for reinforcements from the garrison, while the scattered soldiers hoped for reinforcements from the Baron's elites.

However, Forza remained in his ivory tower. The bridge had been pulled up long ago, and the gates had been closed at the start of the battle. These actions clearly showed his strategy— he had no plans to attack.

All this time, hundreds of soldiers assembled at the gathered and armed themselves one by one. The titled knight in charge sat at the command building, with no plans to send them out as he kept asking them to wait for more to gather. He wanted more intelligence gathered as well, and anyone who suggested speeding up the reinforcement efforts was sent out to scout the enemy's situation.

Some of the first parties that had set out did manage to return, but others did not. Thus, nobody brought up such suggestions again. By the time there were almost two hundred soldiers ready to move, the church's alarms had been ringing for more than an hour. Flames started to shoot out from its direction, rapidly forming a conflagration that lit up more than half the port city and sent smoke billowing into the air.

Baron Forza stood at the very top of his castle, looking into the distance as flames engulfed the church with a volatile expression on his face.

Richard and the others had gathered at the public square in front of the church once again. This time, they had more than a dozen warhorses with them, some carrying weapons, others armour and spoils of war, all tied to their bodies.

The church had been searched in a hurry, and anything that seemed to be of value had been snatched up. Apart from the strange page, the most surprising find was fifty polished mana crystals. There were also some rubies, and magical apparatus worth nearly a hundred thousand gold coins. Flowsand especially gathered two boxes of manuals of the God of Valour, planning to start some research the next day. Lastly, there were many magic manuals that filled up three boxes.

The spells of Neian were not something that Flowsand could invoke. The labels indicated that they just had some low-level magic anyway, so nobody could understand why she would want to collect such items.

176 - City of Sin

Reaping Rewards

From Gangdor's point of view, these useless scrolls were just scraps of papers. If they didn't want them landing in enemy hands, their only option with only a couple dozen minutes to scour the battlefield was to burn them all. There were many valuable items in the church, and they would not be able to clean it all up and take it away. For instance, there were a lot of topaz gemstones embedded in the statue of Neian.

Essien's sceptre was incredibly expensive as well, but the crystal used to concentrate his spells had used up all of its energy reserves to defend him from the fireballs earlier, and had already turned to ash. The sceptre itself was bent and deformed as well, but being made of gold, fine minerals, and some amount of obsidian, it would still be worth about ten thousand gold.

Richard's time in the Deepblue had made him a grandmaster at material usage, so he naturally knew the value this fight had brought him. In the beginning stages of invading a plane, pillaging and looting were the best methods to accumulate wealth. Although such actions necessitated blood being drawn, they were undeniably the fastest route one could take.

Another special reward had been scoured from Essien's room— a diary. Just the cover of the tome was so thick it took up half its volume, and the locks were guarded by complicated runes. If one deciphered it wrongly, the locks would immediately activate and turn the diary to ash. The intricate defensive measures alone assured that this book was not ordinary. A true, full-blown priest of a god in a foreign plane would definitely have invaluable experiences.

Richard decided to take this diary back with him. The locks were a type of spell formation, and such things would not pose any trouble to him especially when from a secondary plane. A single glance told him that deciphering would be an easy task, and the only thing he'd need to put in was time and effort. Although he didn't understand the runes and incantations of this plane, Norland was more advanced and its own spells much more complicated. Deciphering this would not be a problem, especially since this was a very traditional spell formation with clear effects.

Furthermore, since the runes in the spell formation wouldn't be too difficult to crack, he could take another look at them later to help him understand the laws of this plane. That way, he could buy materials and construct runes that worked with this plane's laws perfectly.

Richard got back on his horse, looking at the castle of the Baron who would defend unto his death. He felt a tinge of pity; Baron Forza had surprisingly grown either so clever or so cowardly that he'd shut his doors, not ambushing their party on the way. They'd been waiting for such an ambush, so this left them somewhat disappointed.

However, even without the defences of the castle Forza had at least a dozen elite soldiers under him. If they fought head on, injuries would definitely not be light and death was unavoidable. This was the greatest problem Richard faced right now— he could not risk losing another member of his party. The new footsoldiers were alright, but the loss of another knight would be too huge to bear.

Even if he had a map of the Baron's castle, fighting head on once again needed Flowsand's energy to be restored. Outside of Richard himself, nobody on the frontlines could leave her care right now. Without Flowsand supporting behind them, they would feel that something was amiss when they charged in the forefront. However, Flowsand already consumed most of her divine energy.

A cleric of Flowsand's level was often a second life on the battlefield, the amount of support she gave comparable to Richard's sheer firepower. The only reason Richard was above her was that his situational awareness and control of the battlefield allowed him to dispatch her from his side to the right locations at critical times.

Richard looked at the garrison in the distance. It was dark all around, with no loud commotion coming from it. Had he not known beforehand that this long stretch of houses was a military camp, he would have assumed it was a settlement of commoners.

During the start of the battle, several scouts had been dispatched over to check on Richard's party. However, with many of them shot down by Olar, no more scouts were sent. It seemed like the titled knight commanding the garrison was a smart person. If he was asked why he stopped sending scouts, the worst case scenario was being dismissed from his post. That was much better than losing his life.

Richard turned back to look at the burning church with a trace of pity in his eyes. The battle had generally gone according to plan, but the results were merely alright. Outside of the astounding wealth they'd just amassed, the rest of their results weren't all that spectacular. Essien had escaped, and the Baron hadn't lost any of his knights at all. As for the paladins being eradicated, that was only satisfactory and even then they'd sustained injuries. It was important to kill core members of the enemy army, which were those of high level, but that hadn't been accomplished.

“Let's go!” Richard let go of his regret and waved his arm, charging through the castle gates together with the cavalry.

The castle gates were wide open, and the obstacles that were removed were still in their positions. As for the corpses of the garrison troops lying in the sea of blood, nobody had cared about that. The warhorses neighed loudly as they galloped through, followed by two trolls and a group of raptors.

After riding for a while, Richard turned back and looked over. Flames were still licking the church, and from where he was he could see it engulfed by the conflagration. The smoke was thick, and it seemed impossible to put the fire out now. It was a fortunate thing that the area around the church was empty— if a fire of this scale were to spread, it could very well destroy half the city.

Richard suddenly recalled the page in his hands, faintly feeling that it was perhaps the biggest bounty of the night. Before leaving, he ordered posters to be put up all the way from the city centre to the gates. They all had the same information— telling Forza that the families of the three slain titled knights were in his hands, and he wanted a ransom of 5000 gold to set them free. If he did not provide the ransom within two days, then they would all be sold as slaves.

It was common for nobles to ask for ransom for prisoners of war. Most fights were not blood feuds, and it was rare for someone to just massacre an entire battlefield. Besides, 5000 gold coins wasn't too much of a request, and was well within the Baron's boundaries. However, the decree of the God of Valour ensured that Forza could never agree to such a request. Richard knew this as well, but what he wanted to do was make sure that decision was known everywhere. The death of the three knights would already show the difference in their strength.

Once they left, Richard released the raptors into the wild. He had them scout the area, preventing any chasing troops or upcoming ambush.

The party was en route to Joven, and two raptors were scouting several kilometres ahead, one on the left and the other on the right. They were already familiar with the route, and wanted to know what direction the troops in Joven were heading. If any of them turned back to help save the Baron's land, then Richard wouldn't mind setting up another ambush to deal with them. These common troops would be tired from the endless travel, and wouldn't have much energy left. A blitzkrieg strategy with the raptors would end them.

Flowsand was slowly recovering her own mana, and with the vitality rune on him Richard enjoyed an even faster recovery rate. He could also feel that the several difficult battles had left him on the verge of a breakthrough. He would become a level 9 mage quite soon, able to learn grade 5 spells. His experience left him confident of victory, which was the reason he was willing to start the battle with 500 soldiers. However, the knight leading the garrison was a prudent person who holed himself up, and it seemed like he had no plans to leave until the sun was up. From the distance, one could see that the fork on the road leading to the garrison was littered with barricades.

Passing over Joven, Richard could only wryly shake his head as he looked at the camp behind him. Sieging and eliminating these reserve troops would indeed be effective, and they wouldn't have to face any difficult battles, but since they didn't want to move at all he was left with no choice. He could only change his route, moving back into the mountains as he prepared to digest the outcome of this battle.

177 - City of Sin

Visitor

By the time night fell once more, the party could see the mountain lake in the distance. Both Richard and Flowsand turned to look up at the northwest, as a meteor streaked across the night sky to plunge to the earth. It was extremely dazzling, making everything else up there look dim, and the trail it left behind didn't dissipate for a while.

Both of them had felt a ripple in spacetime, of the same kind that had spread when they'd stepped through the portal to this plane.

A thunderous clap echoed through the tranquil night sky as the meteor landed, and with his eyes still fixated upwards Richard felt many cryptic messages coming from it. This was a bellow of rage that caused lightning to disturb the quiet, and a commoner watching this would feel like the sky itself was falling down!

Was this the wrath of the gods? Flowsand and Richard exchanged glances, before the cleric spoke up, “It seems like there's more invaders now. I wonder where they came from.”

Richard looked at the direction the meteor had landed in, calculating the location with the help of Precision and searching for it on the regional map. The corners of his lips curled upwards, “This is good news! Now we have more time, the gods of this plane won't be purely focused on us!”

“That might not be true, my Lord. It's better to be safe!” Olar said in trepidation. Please visit 𝒇𝒓𝗲e𝔀𝗲𝚋ｎoѵℯƖ. c𝑜m

Richard smiled in reply, “There's no need to worry. No matter which party is heading here, they definitely will be stronger than a party like us who were just heading for a lesser plane. The gods will definitely be more wary of them than us.”

“They'll just be high in level,” Waterflower said icily. Her prey in the death camps were normally two to three levels above her, some even four or five.

“Isn't that better?” Richard laughed loudly, “If that's the case, it won't be much longer till we get another valuable planar coordinate.”

“Normally, only primary planes can open a passage to a secondary plane. The coordinates we get might very well be to a primary plane,” Flowsand spoke her mind.

“And wouldn't that make those coordinates all the more valuable?” Richard asked indifferently. However, those who picked out the meaning in his words would feel blood surging through their veins.

......

By the time they returned to camp, the new hostages were placed in captivity alongside Sir Kojo's family. There were close to fifty footsoldiers now, with several novice knights in the mix.

The atmosphere in the camp had been extremely delicate. There were only two soldiers left on duty, sitting by the campfire with their weapons by their sides. There were two raptors as well, laid down somewhere in the vicinity. There were no lights coming from the tents, and it was extremely silent, but once Richard returned many flaps opened to reveal that these soldiers hadn't slept. The strung-up atmosphere that seemed ready to break at a moment's notice completely relaxed.

Seeing the families of the three slain titled knights and hearing of the infiltration and annihilation of the church, three of the captured knights finally chose to capitulate. This way, Richard would not pillage their lands for the time being.

Richard split the defected soldiers into three groups, with one of his knights leading each. Several of the soldiers who'd killed for him before formed the backbone, while the remainder was filled with fresh faces. This allowed for absolute control over these groups, and at the same time would greatly enhance the effectiveness of his forces. The Archeron knights weren't just good on a personal level— they had a wealth of experience in group battle as well.

Staying by the lake for two more days, and estimating that the reinforcements from Jayleon had almost reached Forza's lands, Richard made a surprising decision. He had all the hostages released, with two of the novice knights who hadn't defected sending the group of women and children back. They were given two carriages for transport, while the rest could only travel by foot.

After sending the hostages away, Richard set off from the camp as well. The forces were split in two— two knights took some of the defected soldiers on horseback to search for a secret path to the Direwolf Duke's lands, while Richard took the rest back to base. There were many materials to restock on there, and others that they would need to take later. The most valuable part of the base was the Lighthouse of Time, but sadly that was something that could not be carried away.

Richard planned to rest in the base for several days, deciphering Essien's diary. For now, they had time to spare.

After lunch the next day, dust clouds set off on the road leading to Baron Forza's castle. Group after group of knights advanced steadily, their bright silver armour and crimson cloaks giving them an imposing aura. Behind the knights were roughly three times as many squires, armoured soldiers who could hold their own in battle. Behind the squires were footsoldiers, most dressed in chainmail of wooden plate with various heavy weapons or giant shields on their persons. At the back were a hundred longbowmen, their enormous bows each as tall as themselves.

The army wasn't all that large, only about 500 men strong, but its gear and aura allowed it to quash Baron Forza's forces. Several golden-red flags were hoisted up high, showing off Earl Jayleon's crest. These flags had been through many battles, and any enemy who saw them would feel their guts shrink.

Forza's scouts had already informed him of the procession. The Baron stood atop his keep, using a telescope to look at the distant flags billowing in the wind. His vision remained fixed on a black flag with a crimson axe on it, his lips pursed.

“Piersage... Why is it him?” Forza muttered, feeling a throbbing pain in his head. The problems he'd had recently were already more than enough, and Baron Piersage's arrival would add another to the list. And he didn't know when this problem would leave.

The baron himself was at the centre of the procession, dressed in his trademark black armour. The man had an extremely thin figure, with a flaky yellow face. The short, perfectly trimmed moustache didn't add an air of elegance to him, instead giving him a rather sinister aura. His eyes were always half-closed, as if he hadn't slept well the night before. But he remained upright on his horse, with no unnecessary movements. That revealed the aura of someone of true power.

The group of elite troops soon reached the entrance of the castle, meeting with another caravan heading from a different direction. This one was led by two novice knights, with several tens of horse carriages behind them. Seeing the Earl's emblem, they immediately halted in their tracks and sent their greetings to Baron Piersage, allowing his army to move ahead of them.

The doors to the castle had already been opened, and Forza came forward with several of his retainers to greet his guests. Piersage's gaze swept past Forza's body in an unrestrained manner, but what caught his attention was actually the horse carriages behind him. He raised his hand, and the entire procession stopped.

“Call the three of them here.” Piersage pointed at the three titled knights.

178 - City of Sin

Visitor(2)

An attendant rode over to call the three knights, and they hurried over to Piersage and stood respectfully before him. Baron Forza remained on his bridge over a hundred metres away— it wouldn't be alright to go forward and receive the man, but not welcoming him would be improper as well.

“Who are those people in the horse carriages? Why are you here?” Piersage questioned them. His voice was extremely raspy, like the sound of wind passing between granite; quite unpleasant to the ear.

The three knights looked at each other, before the oldest of the lot stepped forward to answer the question. These carriages carried the family members of the deceased titled knights, and Richard had let them go alongside the two others. They'd been sent to Joven, where the knight in charge didn't know what to do with them and so gathered several tens of carriages and sent his assistant along with 200 warriors so that they could get to the Baron's lands safely. Baron Forza would make the decision.

Piersage nodded, “So the rumours I heard were true. This means you two were captured by the invaders and then set free?”

“Yes! We would rather die than surrender, and since those invaders needed the noble ladies to be protected they had to set us free as well,” one of the former captives spoke up.

“What about the rest? I heard some of them surrendered?” Piersage asked.

“There were a total of seven of us held captive, and one died from an untreatable injury. Everyone but the two of us were subjugated by the invaders.”

“Very well, I understand,” Piersage nodded once more. But then, he raised his voice, “Men, capture these two!”

Several soldiers shouted in unison, moving forward to apprehend the two knights. They were startled, struggling as they cried out, “We are loyal to the church and to the Baron!”

However, despite their resistance, they were simply outnumbered and could not wrest free from Piersage's troops. They were hit on the back of their heads, to prevent their cries from annoying the Baron. Piersage did not like noisy things.

“Send those in the carriages into Baron Forza's castle,” Piersage instructed a group of knights.

It was only then that Piersage took a look at Forza. He urged his horse over to the other baron's position, getting off with a smile as he nodded, “My Lord Forza, it seems like I've made you wait quite a while.” He tapped the reins of his horse to his metal gloves as he spoke, as if he'd just come back from a hunt.

“Of course not!” Forza forced a rigid smile. That nod wasn't even the most informal of noble greetings, and if he greeted his counterpart with propriety that would acknowledge his own inferiority.

Piersage did not seem to mind the formalities, and his attention was no longer on Forza. He looked at the surroundings and said casually, “So then, do bring me for a look around your castle. And arrange for lodging for my warriors as well. Also, I wish to watch the interrogation of the prisoners later.”

“Prisoners?” Forza was somewhat befuddled. He didn't remember any interrogation scheduled for that day.

Piersage turned back, holding a gaze into Forza's eyes so long that the latter's forehead glistened with sweat, “Those prisoners who secretly sided with the invaders.”

In that moment, Forza's expression grew extremely unpleasant.

Two hours later, a partially public trial was held in the Baron's halls. The ones being tried were the two knights who were released by the invaders, as well as the wives of the deceased knights, their seven mistresses, six grown daughters, and eleven children. As for the three grown sons, they had already been slain. They had a blood feud with Richard, and he would not let go of people who were destined to hate him throughout the remainder of their lives. As for the sons who weren't yet mature, he did not worry about them— he had no interest in killing children.

By the time the younger ones grew into enough strength, Richard would have stepped into a realm that they couldn't even dare look upon, and he would be back in Norland as well. If he wasn't, then he would have been turned to ashes in this plane.

Those watching over the trial had some status in the baronage. The two surviving titled knights had been summoned over, and those familiar with the dead knights were present as well. Those in charge of the city were already here, so the hall was crammed with dozens of people.

The ceiling of the dimly lit hall was very high, making it somewhat gloomy. The flickering torches did not make it much brighter, instead adding a sinister touch to the atmosphere. Baron Forza was seated at the head, with Piersage in black robes beside him. The man seemed to drowsily adjust his collars, his gaze flitting across the hall.

The hall was extremely quiet, and even the women being tried did not dare weep. Piersage was well-known for enjoying his peace, and the consequences for disturbing it would be severe.

Piersage wasn't just the top general under Earl Jayleon; he was the man's nephew as well. There were rumours that he was a bastard child of the Earl as well, so no matter how many strange habits he had and how many people he killed the Earl still heavily favoured him. Looking at it from another angle, even if the two weren't related by blood someone at level 15 was still a notable expert in the Whiterock Duchy, and as a Baron Piersage was also a capable leader.

There were two other generals under Earl Jayleon with similar commandership, and a level 15 expert who was a little stronger than the Baron as well. However, Piersage was the only one who could both lead troops and fight himself, so he was the last person Forza wanted to see. In fact, because of Piersage's unique position and power, Baron Forza had no intention to get into a conflict with him. Not to mention avoiding conflicts, he would not even be able to reject any absurd requests the man had. If the fellow had been normal, he would already be a Viscount.

Piersage's demands were normally unreasonable, with no time given for preparation. The trial being held now was a good example. However, Forza was acutely aware of the consequences of not meeting those demands. Five years ago, Baron Lowry's family had been exterminated for getting on his bad side. Jayleon had only berated and fined Piersage for his misconduct, but even now half of Lowry's fiefdom remained under Piersage's rule.

Forza listened expressionlessly to the stories of the knights and Sir Kojo's wife, and then looked at his subordinates who were quietly listening to the story as well. He then looked at Piersage.

Piersage's half-closed eyes continuously swept past the people being tried, but he never turned to look at Forza. Forza knew that this judgement could not be avoided, so he gritted his teeth as he pointed at the knights and spoke in a deep tone, “You... Have conspired with the demons. There is no further explanation needed, you shall be punished by hanging!”

Once the judgement had been made, a clamour arose in the hall.

179 - City of Sin

Visitor(3)

"What? My Lord, we've endured endless torture! Our loyalty to you and the God of Valour are beyond reproach!” The two knights were steeped in disbelief, and started yelling. They even tried to get to the platform.

They turned into wild beasts, shocking Baron Forza into standing as he tried to get behind his chair. The judgement had caught his own guards by surprise as well, and they could not believe their ears. Unable to react to the horror of those words, nobody moved to stop the maddened knights. Only the loyal guard captain rushed to protect his lord, but he was knocked away by these two knights who were prepared to sacrifice their own lives.

Forza himself was only level 8, and he'd long lost his wits. He had absolutely no idea how to deal with the current situation, and just as he was about to get caught he heard the loud sound of a sword being drawn out of its scabbard.

The knights' fingers had just been about to reach Forza's sleeve, but the two were sent flying into the crowd, knocking down many of those in attendance as they fell to the ground. They were left unable to get up, crying in pain as they rolled on the ground. Blood continuously gushed out of their limbs.

Piersage seemed to move very little originally, but he took his time easing his sword into its sheath. It was as if he was worried that the rest would miss the sharp edge of his blade. In but an instant, he'd cut the tendons and nerves of the two knights, robbing them of their ability to move.

"How dare you attack your lord?” he asked, his voice cold and detached, “You deserve to be minced meat.”

Most eyes fell onto Baron Forza, who was known by many for his reputation. Only he could challenge Piersage's authority here.

Forza's face fluctuated between green and white, as he struggled in his mind. However, a faint tingling arising out of Piersage's murderous aura told him that this was a baron he could not oppose. If he angered the moody fellow, the man would have no qualms about annihilating everyone in this hall and claiming that they were cooperating with the invaders.

Gritting his teeth, Forza spoke up reluctantly, “Baron Piersage is right. You first collaborate with the demons, and now you attack your lord. Either crime is worthy of hanging! Drag them out, and hang them on the gallows!”

Even as the guards dragged out the two knights, they were still cursing and screaming. Forza returned to his position once again, the torturous episode leaving him weak and breathless. The chair felt like it was on fire, and he was unable to sit still. The silent gazes chilled his heart beyond measure, for he knew that nobody would come under his wings ever again. The worst reputation a lord could possess was of being incapable of protecting his subjects.

And that was exactly what Piersage wanted to see.

He laughed cheerily, approaching Forza and speaking in a low whisper, “Sir Menta had a good relationship with me when he was alive, I could even call him a friend. With him dead at the hands of the invaders, I should naturally do something for him. I'll be expecting his wife, sister, and daughters in my room.”

Forza nodded expressionlessly, his actions incredibly stiff.

A short while later, Menta's wife, sister, and two oldest daughters were taken to a room at the corner of the castle. The guards here weren't Forza's men anymore, they were Piersage's knights.

Menta's daughters were twelve and fourteen, both quite pretty due to their youth. After the fright from that judgement, they anxiously looked at the room they had been brought to. It did not look like prison.

The door suddenly opened, and Piersage stepped in. He stood at the doorway, slowly taking off his gloves as he inspected the women within. Menta's wife took a step forward in surprise, “My Lord! Have you come to save us?”

His youngest daughter flew to Piersage's arms, calling out 'uncle.' However, she suddenly screamed in pain and fled, covering her chest with her arms. She had been pinched.

Menta's wife and sister turned pallid with horror. “My Lord, you...”

The knight had been close to Piersage, at least in the past. Now...

Screams and cries rang out from the women in the room, but after some loud whips they were muted into low weeps. Piersage's growls and pants, on the other hand, grew louder and louder. Two knights stood tall outside the door, just like metal statues as their cold eyes swept across the dark and gloomy corridor. They were ready to drive anyone who dared even come close away.

......

Back at the reconnaissance base, Richard was carefully inserting a magic needle into the lock on Essien's diary. He infused mana into its body, causing the seal to glow with a green flame before it completely dimmed. A snap sounded out, and the lock was opened.

Richard smiled gently, satisfied with the results he'd had in a short period of time. He'd revised his theory on several special magical formations in the process, and also obtained a clearer understanding of the standard of magic in this plane. He also managed to grasp the differences between here and Norland, which would allow him to build runes with local materials in the future.

There wasn't much in the diary, and it only recorded the most significant events in Essien's life. The writing was vigorous and powerful, exuding an atmosphere of piety.

He'd recorded an incident that occurred when he'd first joined the church, fifteen years ago. An old level 5 cleric had fallen, seduced by the devils. He'd cast a forbidden summoning spell to save the life of a bastard child, building an altar to the devil in his own basement. However, he'd only just traded his soul away when he was caught by the church, eventually sent to the gallows. The child and her mother were put into the lord's dungeons as well, tortured to death.

However, there had been an accident when they tried to destroy the altar. The devil summoned by the old cleric turned out to be very powerful, and although its main body could not pass through the portal it had tossed two imps out. These imps were not weak, and six knights were sacrificed to kill them. Essien himself had been bitten, but thankfully he had enough divine power to resist and eventually dispel the corrosive power. He'd thus managed to avoid his own fall.

Essien had noted his concerns at the end of that incident in his diary. Those imps were only the most basic of creatures in hell, but even suppressed by this plane's laws they managed to make the church's elites pay a heavy price. If someone managed to build a stable portal to hell, wouldn't it spell a catastrophe for the entire plane?

Gods could not meet every worshipper's prayers, and it was impossible to fulfill everyone's desires. The old cleric was just one example.

However, Essien knew that there were more people who sold their souls for health, power, and money, not to mention eternal life. This was a temptation nobody could resist, not even him. It was just that his knowledge as a cleric was far more profound than that of the commoners. Devils themselves were not immortal beings, so how could they give other creatures eternal life? However, the worshippers of a god could enter their kingdoms after death, and that would be true eternal life.

180 - City of Sin

History

The diary pages after the incident recorded Essien's interest in the planes. He'd pored through many tomes and books, even abusing his position to study taboo scriptures. He pinned down his inspirations in the diary, and his research indicated there was more than just one planar invasion. The effects of these invaders varied, as did their forms. Not many were human, but human invaders weren't particularly rare, either.

The oracles from the God of Valour and other gods did not have much information about planar invasions, but there were still some traces. Two important factors were sent down with these oracles— their strength, and their numbers.

Insignificant invasions like Richard's, where the aggressors were level 10 or below, were extremely rare. Only one such incident had occurred before. Those under level 13 were classified as a mild threat, while those who reached level 15 were considerably dangerous. As for those past that point, they were considered extremely dangerous.

The numbers didn't matter as much, as their levels often defined their power. Even the largest group of invaders had only numbered close to a hundred, so the numbers of the invaders were rarely mentioned.

Throughout history, none of these invaders could compare to the gods of the plane. Any of the experts within the plane could exterminate all of them single-handedly, but they often left it for the lower strata to deal with.

However, there was one exception. Three astral beasts had invaded from a foreign plane, and after a devastating battle almost all the experts of the plane had perished. Even one of the deities themselves had fallen, and the northwest of the continent had been separated from the rest, drifting towards the seas and turning into a lone island. It took great sacrifice to slay the three beasts and destroy the portal connecting to the other plane.

The gods had kept mum about the truth of the matter, and no further probes could be made. Even the most secret of holy tomes only mentioned it in passing. At the end of it all, Essien had written down a simple line— Are planar wars inescapable?

That doubt had come twelve years after he'd begun his research into other planes.

Level 16 offered an intrinsic change in this plane, regardless of class— mages turned into grand mages, warriors became saint warriors, and priests became high priests. Essien was only above-average as a priest, and it was unknown whether he could cross level 16 in his lifetime. But this short, succinct diary proved to Richard that he was no ordinary person. He was a genius, his intelligence far surpassing his faith.

The diary entries from the past year noted that the priest had begun a search for relics of ancient times. That was why he'd come to manage a church at the edges of the Whiterock Duchy— the Land of Turmoil was nearby, in the mountains that Richard's base had wound up in.

The Land of Turmoil spanned great swathes of land, more than 10,000 square kilometres in area with only the edges settled. The place was extremely dangerous, with tall mountains, steep cliffs, deep ravines and ridges being common sights. There were few humans nearby, with mostly powerful beasts roaming the lands.

The Land of Turmoil was wedged between the fertile plains and the Redrock Highlands, capped off by the Bloodstained Lands to the north. Spacetime ripples weren't uncommon here, and foreign creatures regularly drifted in from the rifts. It was unknown how many foreign species had made this place their home, and Essien wanted to find vestiges of the tear in the void caused by the rifts they'd come here through. He wanted to use those traces to unravel the mystery of the planes.

The priest had vast ambitions— he wanted to discover the essence of planes and time, finding a method to link to other planes. He'd realised that the plane's overall might had dwindled from invasion to invasion, and also guessed that this signified that the gods were growing weaker as well.

The deities would send out oracles for every batch of invaders, and the stronger the enemies the more information was provided. They had to consume a great amount of energy to even make these prophecies, and for them to be clear required inordinate amounts.

The withering powers in this plane was proof of his assumptions. The plane had yet to recover to its peak from before the battle with those astral beasts, and even to this day was a third away from its former heights. What's worse, no new god had replaced the one that had fallen. No churches had been formed in recent years, and even the Chosen, saints, and petitioners of the old ones had not recuperated.

In the thirteenth year of his search, Essien had finally come up with a new conjecture: this was not the only plane with gods in it. Such thinking was extremely taboo under the teachings of the gods— if his diary was leaked, he would definitely be burnt at the stake.

He believed that since war was inevitable between the myriad planes, then resources and power were paramount. One had to think of a way to open portals to another plane if they wished to break this deadlock, invading them successfully. Stealing the wealth, resources, and talents of those planes would be the only way to strengthen their own. It was also the only way to ensure that their power would not regress further.

All this information left Richard speechless. According to the gods, this plane was known as Faelor. Richard gathered from the diary's information that, more often than not, these 'invaders' were people who'd accidentally wound up here through the rifts in spacetime; they didn't originally intend to conquer it. As for the astral beasts, they were likely powerful beings that could open portals in spacetime and travel the myriad planes themselves, like his own master, Sharon.

Interplanar wars were already deep-rooted within the psyche of Norland's inhabitant. Any family that had stood the tests of time had at least one plane's resources backing them. Because of this, wars in Norland far exceeded those in these secondary planes in scale.

The first time Richard met Gaton, this marquess had been allocating tasks to nibble away at a certain plane. Due to the importance of interplanar war, those matters were extremely complicated. They needed a standard battle plan from the moment of infiltration, inclusive of their setup and expansion all the way to total conquest.

Thus, even in Norland only the upper echelons of society were involved with interplanar wars. Theory and tactics on such conquest only spread through the inner circles of nobility, and commoners would never be privy to such information. Richard's own knowledge came from Gaton's study, and all his actions had been an attempt to adapt the theory he'd learnt to practice. Put bluntly, he was far from devising his own unique methodology to conquer planes.

Essien had discovered the pressing importance of interplanar war without even experiencing a proper war in Faelor himself; to call him a genius would be a shame. His foresight was acute, and he managed to derive great visions of the future from small details. If time permitted, he could very well have become an influential figure that brought forth a revolution.

However, he was just a priest. Every time Richard thought of this point, he could only lament in pity.

181 - City of Sin

Holding

Essien's main weakness was his lack of power. He needed to be the pope of the Church of Valour at minimum to influence history, and even then realising his wishes would only be a mild possibility. Popes were normally level 18, in order to suppress the cardinals who ranged from level 16 to 17. Level 17 high priests could possible become popes, barely containing their cardinals, but that was the limit. Even level 16 would be too far-fetched, and after their fight Richard knew the priest would be lucky to get to even 15.

Even more important was that Essien had secretly conducted research into the taboo of planes and spacetime, so Neian didn't favour him as much as he would otherwise, stumping his growth. Thus, this priest who had pried open the door to the mysteries of the endless planes would forever disappear into the sands of time as someone insignificant. The real reason for the seal on the diary was that he had foreseen his death, and one day before it he planned to activate the destruction magic so this book that he'd poured blood and sweat into would disappear from the plane alongside him.

However, things didn't always go according to plan. Essien could never have guessed that Richard would boldly barge into Forza's lands and attack the Church of Valour. His diary had thus fallen into the invader's hands, and what's more this was a runemaster with an extremely strong foundation. Richard easily dismantled the seal which otherwise couldn't have been broken in Faelor.

Rather surprisingly, Richard discovered the heritage of the indestructible page at the end of the diary. It was something that belonged to a divine being from another plane, found by an adventurer in some ruins. It was from the Book of Holding, of which Essien had recorded there were a total of nine pages. Once all nine pages were found, the book could be reformed and completed, and it was rumoured that a part of the book's powers could be realised for every two pages assembled. Even Essien did not know what the completed book would grant its wielder— even including the one Richard had found, the Church of Valour only had two pages.

These pages only appeared randomly during rifts in spacetime. Nobody knew who they belonged to or where they came from, nor why the book was damaged or what sort of existence created it.

This single page could store a single spell of grade 6 or below, and only for a month. However, it could be used repeatedly. A single page wasn't useful for much else, needing two to activate at least part of the book's powers, but for Richard who was about to advance to level 9 it was an extremely powerful magic tool. It was akin to having an extra instance of his strongest spell, increasing his combat power by a third.

Richard officially broke through to level 9 the day after breaking the seal on Essien's diary. After some thought, he decided to upgrade Nature's Beckon to grade 5. The spell could be upgraded all the way to grade 9, summoning a different creature every time.

Richard took less than half a day to master the upgraded spell, after which he took out the page and studied it. This page seemed different from regular magic scrolls— the spell wasn't written onto it, and the page instead served as a container. Richard's heart skipped a beat as he thought of the books he had browsed through in the Deepblue. Some intelligent species did not use words to communicate, instead talking through runes or even spiritual force. Perhaps this page he'd found from Essien had been made by one such species.

Having studied it for some time, Richard decided to experiment. He held the page in his hand as he cast Nature's Beckon once. After a perfect incantation with no mistakes, he felt the elven blood in him come alive and the ivory bracelet radiate a current of warmth. The two powers fused into his body, assisting the formation of the grade 5 spell. It flashed in Richard's palms, but instead of being cast it entered the page of holding.

An image of several lifelike direwolves appeared on the originally blank page. These creatures were the same as the boars, scale-like armour padding their backs and shoulders. However, their offensive power was greater, leading to a significant increase in battle prowess. Even drawn on the page they seemed awe-inspiring.

However, Richard felt that something was amiss. He picked up the page and observed closer, counting a total of five wolves. Indeed, five!

Nature's Beckon always summoned anywhere between one and three familiars. With Richard's gifts, his incantations, hand movements, and mana transfer were perfect to the textbooks. His summons thus normally reached the upper limit of three, and the buffs from his elven bloodline and the ivory bracelet pushed that to four. However, now that he'd grown in level there was one more creature in the summon.

Richard replayed the spellcasting process in his mind once more, and determined that his elven bloodline had strengthened once more. The direwolves were equivalent to enhanced raptors, making Nature's Beckon the strongest spell for him at grade 5.

However, he did not know if this buff would apply to other types of summons as well. If such a thing was possible, then the higher grades of summoning spells would be overpowered. The summoning of demons, wyverns, and golems were all powerful spells. However, as powerful as those summons were the success rate of those spells were low. Even when cast only one familiar would be summoned at most. If the buff worked on these spells, it would make for an absolute increase in strength. However, he would only know that after he advanced to level 13 or 14.

However, he could attempt Summon Undead at his current level. Richard suppressed his excitement, immediately casting the spell. Sadly, only three skeletons were left dancing around the room after the flash of light, indicating that the buffs did not apply to undead.

He calmed down and eventually snapped his fingers, dispelling the spell. Even just a buff for Nature's Beckon was more than enough. He sat down again, looking at the five wolves on the torn page as he finally allowed himself to feel a little proud. Ever since Gaton had mentioned that Sharon had a summoner's bloodline, he was eager to show her these spells.

Even the legendary mage wouldn't be able to do better than five wolves at the same level, could she? Even with the addition of her bloodline, she would be able to summon six at most. Richard wondered: if his master saw his achievements today, would he earn a lot of Sharon's Delight? For some reason or the other, the Night of Destiny surfaced in his mind once more. That beautiful yet realistic dreamscape of the Deepblue Aria once again waltzed in the void, carrying his master's expectations.

There were still many things he had to do. The promises he made to the two most important women in his life still required a great deal of work.

Once he regained his calm, Richard stowed the page away and opened up his map, pondering about his next step. In fact, most of his theories about the buffs to his summoning were right, except that he got one thing wrong. In the scenario he'd imagined, Sharon's spell would be much more powerful than he thought.

It would only be in the distant future, when he would see his teacher cast a legendary Red Dragon Summon, that he would realise Sharon's gift had three unique properties. The first was an increase in familiars, the second was an increase of one to three grades of the creatures she summoned, and a mana reduction when casting summoning spells. Hence, if a level 9 Sharon were to face off against Richard and both of them were limited to Nature's Beckon, Richard's five wolves would be facing over a dozen direbears.

182 - City of Sin

Coincidence

Richard marked a new spot on his map, indicating the projected location of the other invaders. Although he did not know which plane they had come from, they definitely were not friendly forces. It was more dangerous to join forces with another invader during a war than to ally with the natives themselves.

Having deduced several possible paths to take, Richard fell into a bout of hesitation. No matter what, they had to forfeit their base. This position had been exposed far too long ago, and staying would bring a risk of death.

However, they'd only returned to pack supplies, confusing their opponents while they stalled for time. Richard's hesitation was not for that— he was wondering whether they should remain in Forza's lands for a longer period of time. If he could deal a heavy blow to Jayleon's reinforcements, then the Baron's lands would have their doors wide open to give him anything he wanted. The castle definitely wouldn't be able to stop him and his ferocious party.

But there was great risk in staying, the sort of risk that arose if one stayed in position too long in guerilla warfare. The opponents would figure out the threat of his forces, analysing and predicting their movements. After all, he was just an intruder in Faelor. Even if he came from a stronger plane with a better path to power, he had no allies.

Right now, the most important thing to do was to determine the strength of the troops coming to aid Forza. He took out another map, one that marked the factions and powers in the Whiterock Duchy. Under the Whiterock Duke himself were a marquess, three greater earls, two lesser ones, and over fifty barons. Jayleon himself had a viscount, four barons, a powerful knight, and two great mages under him.

And when Richard saw information on Piersage, his eyes slightly constricted. Baron Piersage was similar to Sir Menta; they were both powerful individuals who could also lead armies. Piersage was a famed general in the entire duchy, and if he was the one leading the reinforcements they would be impossible to defeat in one fell swoop.

Richard's army definitely put him at a disadvantage. Even if regular soldiers were taken out of the equation, Piersage was sure to have his own core elites. A fight with the baron would only end in a bitter victory that took out part of his army, unless he could find a suitable battleground and divide the man's forces. However, the probability of such a thing happening was far too low. Piersage was a much better leader than Forza, which meant that Richard lost his edge both in elites and in leadership.
𝐟r𝑒ℯ𝘄𝐞𝙗ｎov𝚎𝙡. 𝑐𝘰𝘮

Richard heaved a sigh of relief, dismissing the idea of taking out Forza's castle. The amount of wealth the baron would have accumulated was tempting, but no matter how he thought it over he didn't have much of a chance against the reinforcements. If Piersage really was the one leading them, he would have no chance at all.

He thus picked up his map and began to look at routes going to the northwest, tracing many such routes with his fingers. He followed the intersection between the Land of Turmoil and the Direwolf Duke's Sequoia Kingdom, before entering the desolate yet chaotic Bloodstained Lands.

The Bloodstained Lands were an area where humans, barbarians, and the desert people mingled. There were patches of both barren and fertile land, with the terrain being quite hilly. There was a constant shortage of food, making it a den of thieves, criminals, and murderers that was a nightmare for the common man. Many criminal ringleaders and slave traders operated out of the place, treating all creatures as prey like hyenas.

The place was chaotic and dyed in blood, but it suited Richard's current needs. As for Forza's lands, the seed had already been planted. He could harvest it whenever he was ready, and that time wasn't necessarily too distant.

......

Richard did not know that an extremely intense battle had occurred nearby. It was where he'd marked the other invaders to arrive, a fair distance off his travel route.

Tens of kilometres away from the Bloodstained Lands, a towering, strange portal stood tall as it flashed with vibrant light. Gravity was warped, many small objects floating in mid-air while others sank deep into the earth. Many images flashed in the rift formed by the portal, looking like several magical beasts. However, when these images contorted and disappeared, they turned out to be mere illusions.

The portal was so massive the spacetime around it was warped. Black rifts were floating around everywhere, extremely dangerous tears in the fabric of space that could even cut a saint warrior from Norland in half.

The portal expanded and contracted as several knights in heavy black armour leapt out. Each of them was of large build, looking extremely malevolent. Even the horses that they rode were very strange, as all of their bodies were black. Their fur was long and thick, with two canines on the side of their jaws.

The surroundings of the portal were not peaceful at all, instead a vicious battlefield filled with shouts and slashes. Native warriors and paladins had already surrounded the portal, doing their best to destroy the black knights that were here to invade them. Behind the warriors were tens of priests and clerics, casting spells incessantly as their hands glowed with divine light, buffing the warriors under them.

The buffs were equivalent to an extra level for these warriors, and they roared praises for their priests and hurled curses at the enemies. Even if the opponent plunged two swords into their bodies and they could feel the cold of the blades piercing their organs, they still wielded their weapons against these black knights. Everything would be worth it as long as they could injure these opponents in the slightest.

They were brave unto death, and coupled with their sheer numbers their valour had great effect. The black knights were forced down from their horses, slain by a surging swarm of warriors. However, every death of a knight also made for ten losses on their side, and those warhorses were extremely brutal as well. Even without their owners they ran free, trampling and charging down the battlefield if their owner was not dead. Their hooves and sharp teeth were fatal weapons, and one of them even ripped off an opponent's head and started to eat it in the middle of the battle!

Such a terrifying sight scared the cowards, but the greater number were thoroughly enraged. A paladin howled loudly as he crashed into the warhorse's flank, plunging his sword deep into its heart. The black warhorses had a coat of extremely thick fur that could rival a direbear's defence, but the undaunted all-out attack was something that fur could not prevent. The warhorse neighed loudly like a savage beast, even as a dozen more weapons buried themselves into its body. Most only made about a dozen centimetres in, but some managed to get to its insides.

The clobbered warhorse writhed, using its last dregs of strength as it moved forward and chomped down on a paladin. The creature's jaws had frightening power, disfiguring the knight's armour and smashing half the breastplate and a pauldron to smithereens as he wailed in agony.

Even as each warrior gave their lives to the cause, the black knights were unbreakable like a reef in a current. They surged out of the portal endlessly, their front lines spreading wide to form a defensive line. As time passed, this line began to push forward.

183 - City of Sin

Coincidence(2)

At over 2.5 metres tall, these black knights were tall and built like beasts. Their warhorses were much larger than normal as well: even at their height the knights were barely taller than their mounts. The hundred kilo greatswords and large halberds seemed weightless in their hands, as they swept through their opponents like whirlwinds without using the tips much at all. Every time one of their weapons touched something, it was completely decimated.

When two old mages stepped out of the portal, the situation began to change. The moment they saw the situation, they instantly cast Acid Fog. What's more, the spells didn't avoid the black knights at all!

Once the spells were cast, the sky was filled with large clouds of yellowish green mist that enveloped almost half the battlefield. Screams rang out when it made contact with skin, and blisters started forming on all the enemies.

The paladins roared out to bolster morale, trying their hardest to repel the acid fog with their energy. But ordinary soldiers, even those at level 6 or 7, did not possess the ability to do so. Bone-crushing pain begot cries of agony, sending the soldiers into disarray. Burnt by the acidic air, their eyes turned completely red. It stung so hard that they couldn't possibly open their eyes.

On the other hand, the black knights glowed with energy as they nonchalantly forged past the mist. Their weapons left behind a rain of blood and flesh, while even their horses charged ahead without being affected at all.

The area within the fog experienced a massacre. The priests in the distance were enraged, stomping their sceptres into the ground with full force as they cast a curse. Divine light shot out of their fingertips, exploding into a blinding sphere of light at the destinations. The divine power brought forth a violent gust of wind that scattered most of the fog, but in that short period of time ten knights and two paladins had been hacked to death. And even though the mist was blown away, those already tainted by the corrosion continued to suffer.

The clerics grew increasingly busy as they continued to heal even as they purified the air, spells constantly shooting out of their hands. Alas, the battle seemed increasingly hopeless.

The portal suddenly stopped for a few seconds, a strong ray of light seemingly bursting forth with a fog that was black as ink. The fog tossed and tumbled, and a few ferocious roars sounded out from within.

The fog finally dissipated to reveal a female knight up in the air, riding a large black beast. She gently patted the creature on its neck, and it immediately stretched out and floated down to the ground.

Only once it landed would people realise how large this beast truly was. It resembled a lion, with long sharp teeth protruding from its upper lips. Its mane flew majestically even without any wind, making it look incredibly mighty. Stood upright it was even taller than the black knights, but its stance was unimaginably graceful. Black armour extended all along its back to its tail, the tip of which was like a scorpion's sting.

The knight atop the beast would be considered petite by human standards, and atop a creature of its size she seemed like a little doll. She was dressed in black armour and cloak, with her eyes and hair being of the same colour as well. She blended in perfectly with the knights and beast, but the style of her armour was quite unknown. Its defence and any other capabilities were unknown, but the design was even more revealing than that of Blood Paladin Senma. Outside of the gauntlets and boots, the armour covered even less than just underwear would. Outside of her breasts and three strategic thin leaves at the abdomen, she was almost naked.

The woman had a lethargic expression on her face, as if she'd been woken from an intoxicating dream. She had a hand on the beast's mane, while the other was clenched into a tiny fist that she pressed against her lips as she let out a few lazy yawns. She opened seemingly perplexed eyes to study the surrounding area, immediately kicking the beast in the thigh to have it crouch.

“What's going on?” Her voice was extremely gentle, so tender it was like she'd been woken up early in the morning with her lover beside her.

The black knight standing beside the beast's landing spot hadn't joined the battle, instead assuming a guarding stance the moment the dark fog exited the portal. He was a head taller than the rest of the knights on the battlefield, his strength and imposing aura more powerful than the rest. It was plain to see that he was their leader. “It's the natives of this plane, my Lady. They had an ambush set up outside the portal, I guess they wanted to destroy all of us at once. It's a pity that their abilities are so weak. Please wait a little longer, we'll eliminate these plebeians who don't know what's good for them at once!”

“An ambush by the natives? That's really a surprise!” The knight completely opened her seductive eyes, studying the surroundings before finally resting her gaze on the group of priests not far away. She narrowed her eyes slightly, “Level 15 priests? It looks like the ambush was well thought out, what determination! But... do they really think level means everything?”

“Rest assured, my Lady. I'll go and behead all of them right now!” the leader solemnly promised.

The knight let out a sweet smile, “How could I wait that long?” She jumped into the air the moment she was done speaking, twisting herself behind her cloak before disappearing completely.

She appeared in the midst of the priests in the blink of an eye, as if the several hundred metres between them were non-existent. The knight poked her tiny head out from behind the cloak, charmingly and gently sticking to a priest's body. She wrapped her left hand around his shoulder, boldly reaching into the neckline of his robes to gently touch his chest. A dagger that was black as ink inexplicably appeared in her right hand, and she pierced his throat with hardly any effort. The extremely sharp edge of the blade immediately cut into half of the priest's neck before it was quietly withdrawn.

Everything had happened so fast. The priest hadn't even realised anything, casting one last spell before feeling something wrong with his neck. That was the exact moment that fresh blood started spurting out, and as he struggled to keep from falling eight of his kin had experienced the same fate. Blood either spurted out of their necks, or there was an eye-catching red scar on their neckline.

The high-ranking priest at the centre sensed something amiss, sweeping his gaze all around as he raised both hands at the same time. A holy barrier that seemed to be liquid shot out of his hands, covering his entire body. Half a second later, the Wall of Valour would be complete. Only a warrior above level 15 would be able to break it once done, and even such a warrior would have to use their full power.

However, a split second from completing the spell, the old priest's body suddenly trembled. The mana he had condensed withered, scattering away as his spell failed.

184 - City of Sin

Coincidence(3)

The priest froze with an indescribable fear as he slowly looked down. Seeing the black dagger that had inexplicably appeared at his chest, he raised a stunned face to look at an enchanting visage.

The knight truly was extremely beautiful, with an air of mystery surrounding her. Her misty eyes made it seem like she was forever stuck in a battle with a lover, and at that moment she was so close to him she was practically leaning. Their faces were merely ten centimetres apart, and the priest could feel the warmth of her glowing face and enchanting breath.

He struggled to lower his head once again. Outside of her deep cleavage and the rest of her body exposed by the scant outfit, the most shocking thing was that her hands were held tightly onto a double-edged dagger.

Even with the dagger completely buried into his chest, the wound did not expand. Only a little blood seeped out, but while the dagger's tip had been in front of him before now it was the hilt instead. He hadn't even felt the change happen, much less see it.

The old priest did not speak a word, but he was not yet dead. The short blade had pierced his spine, not his heart, and lifeblood was still pumping vigorously from his beating chest.

The knight suddenly let out a malicious smile, but her beauty added an element of animalistic charm to it. She suddenly placed her hand on his chest and pushed in with abrupt force, managing to pierce his ribcage and pull out a violently beating heart.
ｆ𝓇𝘦𝚎𝑤e𝗯𝑛𝗼ѵe𝗹. c𝒐𝘮

The priest gaped up at the sky, his gaze slowly blurring. The knight stuck out her crimson tongue and crudely licked his face, after which she took his heart to her mouth.

*Squelch!* A crushing sound rang out as she took a clear bite, starting to chew.

However, she frowned after a few bites, spitting out flesh and blood as she cursed loudly, “It reeks!”

She waved her hand at the same time, sending the remains of the heart flying. It lit up with gentle flames as it arced through the air, and a gust of wind whistled past as her beast swallowed the heart whole. It then landed in the midst of the battlefield, narrowing its eyes as it opened its big mouth in delight. It was as though that small heart was the best thing it had ever tasted.

The beast had crushed dozens of soldiers with its weight, and judging from the minimal twitching of their bodies it seemed like they had met their end.

It was only then that the old priest's body slipped down, falling to the ground with a thud. The knight fished out a clean, white handkerchief out of who knows where as she carefully wiped the blood off her left gauntlet. The fights were still raging on in her surroundings, but the battle was already over. The loss of the priests and clerics were a heavy blow to the enemy soldiers, the magic supporting them vanishing as they lost more than 30% efficiency instantly. Tens of black knights continued to step out of the portal, and with the front lines collapsed the battle became a massacre. Some deserters could even be seen at the edge of the battlefield.

The knight finally finished wiping her gauntlet clean, and followed up by dabbing away the blood and flesh left at the corners of her mouth. However, her lips were still stained crimson— it was as though they would drip with more blood at any time.

She looked at the old priest's corpse with eyes still wide open, spitting out viciously with a look of disdain, “A level 15 priest but he's still rancid! As expected, old meat really isn't for me. I should find something soft and tasty...”

By that time, the battle had already ended. The fierce knights had decimated the ambush with the help of the great mages, even taking out those who tried to flee. The deserters hadn't gotten very far before they were caught.

The near three metre tall leader walked to the female knight once again, bowing almost ninety degrees to reach her height. He spoke in an incredibly respectful tone, “All the enemies have been killed, my Lady. We lost nine of our own in battle, and our number now stands at 71. What instructions do you have?”

The knight was in no hurry as she surveyed the battlefield. Over six hundred corpses lay on the battlefield, with more than half of those surrounding the fallen knights and their mounts. The knights, and even their mounts, had launched a formidable counterattack when they neared death.

The battlefield reeked of blood, with more still flowing out of the piles of corpses to seemingly dye the entirety of the land red. The knight took in a deep breath to soak in the stench in the air, closing her eyes with a look of incomparable euphoria on her face. After what seemed to be forever, she finally murmured, “Wherever you are, blood always smells so good!”

The knight captain let out a few maniacal laughs, “So true!”

The female knight opened her eyes once more, “For a plane limited to level 18, sending a level 15 priest is quite the effort. But all that's useless against me. Alright, gather everyone around, I want this battlefield cleaned in ten minutes. After that, let's go take a look at what the people at the base were doing and why the portal opened up at such a god forsaken place that we got ambushed!”

Having given the order, she walked to the large manticore while saying coldly, “I hope there's a few tasty humans in the base. I'll only consider sparing those worthless creatures if I'm satisfied tonight.”

The leader of the knights let out a deep laugh, “Then it looks like there will be more blood tonight, Lady Sinclair!”

Sinclair responded viciously, “Don't rain on my damned parade!”

The knight immediately went quiet, trembling slightly.

Any noble from Norland would recognise this female knight. She was Sinclair Schumpeter, one of the elite daughters of the Schumpeter Family. At the same time, they would also recognise the family's elite warriors— the bearguard knights.

From their mounts to the knights themselves, the bearguard were specially bred. Each individual was at least level 12, and they had three runes on them as a standard. Only being a few hundred years old, the Schumpeters only had about 150 of them, but the fact that Sinclair brought out more than half to this plane proved that they put a lot of stock into this battle. It also showed their sincerity and determination to remain in the top circles of Faust: were Sinclair to meet with any mishap on this incursion, the family would not be far off from losing its island.

Only in her early twenties, Sinclair was just level 15. However, most people focused on her leadership in battle— her strange and ferocious style of command would be put on for all to see. If not for Alice Archeron's meteoric rise to the top, she might have been the brightest female general in the Sacred Alliance.

In a secondary plane with the power limit capped at level 18, the Schumpeters had sent Sinclair, two great magicians at level 14, and eighty bearguard knights alongside support from an existing base. This would be more than enough to serve as the seeds for controlling this plane. Why would there be any chance for failure? The biggest expense for the family had been transporting this entire team.

However, any accidents could happen in the endless planes. Half an hour later, Sinclair was stood in front of the Schumpeter base with an ashen complexion.

185 - City of Sin

Trial

She had been informed that this base used to belong to the Mensas, and had been operating for more than ten years. There were over 500 soldiers stationed, controlling a ten-kilometre radius like a small town. This place was far larger than the small outpost the Archerons had given Richard, and the difference was obvious from first sight— these walls were more than ten metres tall, unlike the minuscule ones Richard had mounted a defence behind.

With another ten stable years of operations, the family could have applied to the Church of the Eternal Dragon and have the plane earmarked and numbered. If the leader of the base remained strategic, resourceful, and unscrupulous, it wouldn't even take that long. A plane with an identity with the Church of the Eternal Dragon would have a stable passage, which meant greater volumes of resources and benefits could be drawn from it. This was another reason why the Schumpeters were so willing to invest their capital into this.

However, the base in front of Sinclair was deathly quiet, the gates half open with not a single person in sight. The silence was deafening, and surrounded by forest the base wasn't even connected to any other location.

How could a base with more than 2000 people, 500 of them being soldiers, survive in this barren forest? Even not considering agricultural supplies they would have had to establish more than ten hamlets nearby. Sinclair didn't think the Mensas would make a mistake of this nature, as it was common sense.

Her eyes narrowed, a strong sense of unease building up. With a wave of his hands, the leader of the bearguard knights personally led ten knights and a great mage into the base.

Half an hour later, they walked out of the base with extremely unpleasant looks on their faces. The knight captain and the mage stood in front of Sinclair, but they were both at a loss for words.

Sinclair spoke coldly, “Speak! What is it that you can't say? Is there a pile of dead people inside? Even so, what's the big deal? After all, they should all belong to the Mensa Family.”

The captain finally spoke up, “My Lady, there isn't a single person in the base. However, everything else is still present, including armour, supplies, and clothes. The only thing absent is the humans.”

The mage opened his mouth to speak, but what he said was even more depressing. “Unfortunately, none of the items are usable. The place is overflowing with the power of time, and it is impossible to purge. These are not livable conditions.”

“And what about the Lighthouse of Time?!” she screamed in question.

The captain and mage exchanged glances, and the former admitted, “It's been extinguished...”

“EXTINGUISHED?!” Sinclair's voice resounded through the empty base.

“Yes.” The captain braced himself for the worst.

For her part, Sinclair was dumbfounded. Everyone grew quiet in a split second, the only sound in the area being that of the wind.

“Heh... Heh... Hahahahaha!” Sinclair started with a giggle, that grew into a full-blown laughter that startled the birds on the mountain. The manic guffawing continued on for a good ten minutes before she finally calmed down. By then, her face had started to turn a peculiar shade of red, looking even more bewitching than before.

It took her some effort to catch her breath, “So we've reached a completely foreign plane, and can't go back. And Norland won't be able to reach us unless we can find a way to rekindle the Lighthouse of Time... You guys need to make a decision now. Are you ready to tough it out with me?”

The captain and two mages glanced at each other, before agreeing to stick by Sinclair and vowing to listen to her every instruction. Even if they'd been unwilling they would have had no choice. There were only two ways to conquer a plane— occupy it all, becoming an enemy of every creature of the plane in the process, or infiltrate society and gain allies. Both were comparable in terms of danger and difficulty, but the second would cause one's standing in their home plane to fall.

Either way, the captain and mages only knew combat, not politics and strategy. Even if this plane was limited to level 18, leaving Norland's protection meant they wouldn't be able to hold on very long themselves. And given Sinclair's personality, if they didn't declare loyalty she would likely have them killed anyway.

Sinclair faked a smile and eyeballed the expressions on the three faces in front of her. She then said, “Smart move. Anyway, you lot have a bit of good luck. Don't you feel anything yet?”

The two great mages tried to extend their senses and analyse the situation, but could only get a hint of what was going on. They couldn't pinpoint this good luck Sinclair was talking about. As for the captain, the powers of space and time were not his domain. He decided not to waste his efforts.
𝙛𝘳𝐞𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝗻𝘰ѵ𝗲𝙡. 𝑐o𝓶

Seeing all three of them baffled, Sinclair flashed a sinister smile before sticking out her bright red tongue and licking her lips, “The timeflow of this plane is anywhere between an eighth and a tenth of Norland's. That means it has been blessed by the Eternal Dragon! When we take this plane and return home, we'll leave the old fogeys with an unforgettable impression! I can't wait to find out how their hearts will taste!”

She patted the neck of the manticore, causing the humongous creature to stand upright as it abruptly let out an earth-shaking roar.

“All of you, come with me! Let's find a place to rest tonight. Better still if there's young and beautiful men and women!” The manticore leapt over the knights in the midst of her speech, being the first to race down the mountain.

......

Back in a church in the Whiterock Duchy, Essien was kneeling inside a room as he spoke of the invasion of Baron Forza's lands. Although the place wasn't big, there was a tall platform to one side with three elderly priests behind it. From their dense divine powers to the glow of their skin, it was evident that they were higher in rank than Essien himself. And from the looks of things, it looked like Essien was on trial.

And he was on trial indeed. The Church of Valour in Forza's territory had been torn to shreds, and the page from the Book of Holding which was held in high regard by the God of Valour had sadly been destroyed. Furthermore, all of the clerics and paladins of the church had been killed. Any one of these charges was sufficient for Essien to be served a cup of poisoned wine.

However, Essien's voice still resounded through the hall. Once he was done explaining the situation, he didn't try to defend or clear his name, instead sincerely asking for the church to send out a troop of battle priests along with an army of paladins supported by elites to eliminate the invaders. He even asked for the elite mountain troops of the Whiterock Duchy!

186 - City of Sin

Trial(2)

“Why?” the old priest in the middle questioned in a dignified manner.

“This group of invaders is unlike any that has come before. They're much younger, with great potential and the cunning to obtain what they wish for. Their style of battle is unusual and unpredictable, and most importantly they have a cleric amongst their ranks!”

The one on the left commented, “Does a group of insignificant invaders really require our battle priests and the more powerful paladins? Even intruders of a higher level would not need the church activating all its troops.”

“This time is different. I have a premonition that this invasion could cause an interplanar war!” Essien remarked bitterly, a pained smile on his face.

“An interplanar war?” the priest on the right sneered, “Less than two dozen invaders could cause a war between planes? Hmm, that term is interesting though, it's my first time hearing of it. Are you saying that these insignificant invaders are all individually as powerful as the astral beasts of the past?”

Essien helplessly repeated himself with a sigh, “They have a cleric...”

The old priest sitting on the right sniggered even more piercingly, saying, “A cleric? How many spells did they cast? Don't tell me it was more than ten. This is Faelor, the God of Valour's plane. Which demonic god can secretly send their power here? Even children know this, Essien! I once thought you were bright and responsible. I didn't expect you to fabricate nonsense in a bid to cover up your defeat!”

Essien opened his mouth, but was momentarily at a loss for words. The priest was right; even he himself was unable to believe it until he saw that priestess perform more than ten spells. Even if Baron Forza's soldiers brought back news that all pointed to this conclusion, he'd never once believed it himself, thinking all along that it was an excuse they'd given to shirk responsibility.

Despite knowing the outcome, he heaved a sigh and repeatedly nodded his head, saying, “The cleric did in fact perform more than ten spells.” Such a reply could very well increase the degree of his punishment, and he knew it, but he really needed to warn the high priests.

The moment he said this, the faces of the three priests immediately changed. It was not with surprise, however, but anger. After a period of silence, the one in the middle asked those to his sides, “How should this be dealt with?”

The priest on the left hesitated to speak, but after a while he couldn't help but blurt out, “Penal servitude.”

The priest on the right sighed deeply, looking at Essien with a piercing gaze, “Penal servitude!”

The one in the center nodded in agreement, looking at Essien, “Priest Essien. Your negligence has destroyed a church, lost a sacred relic, and had the church's paladins killed. The clergy hereby sentences you to five years of penal servitude in a barren land. Do you have any objections?”

Essien shook his head. In fact, the priests were already letting him off by punishing him in this manner. Even though people who were dealt with the same punishment as him rarely survived past three years, he himself could likely survive more than ten. This was much better than an immediate execution, as through this they were giving him a chance to live. Penal servitude was considered a punishment with pardon.

The priest in the middle ended with a question, “Essien, do you have any requests?”

And in response, Essien resolutely lifted his head, “My last request is for battle priests and at least a hundred paladins to be deployed to destroy these invaders, and leave none of them standing!”

The priest looked conflicted, saying with a sigh, “There is something that you're still not aware of, my child. Another batch of powerful invaders has recently entered our plane. The church's battle priests and half of the elite paladins were transferred out to deal with them, but the results of the battle are out— the combined forces of two big churches were all wiped out.”
𝘧r𝙚e𝓌𝐞𝑏𝗻𝑜𝘷𝙚Ɩ. com

“What?!” Essien stood up abruptly in shock.

“Nothing can be done about the invasion of Baron Forza's lands at the moment. We can only rely on Earl Jayleon's troops handling the situation. We need to use all our might to rid us of these new invaders.

“We have already cautioned the cardinals of the central church, and will soon gather an army to suppress these enemy troops.”

Essien sighed and said helplessly, “I still stand by my request. Even the strongest invaders can be defeated if they have no priests in their midst, but these ones are different. They will establish themselves here and grow, eventually destroying all of Faelor!”

“Enough! Essien, I've had enough of your wild imagination!” the priest on the right rebuked angrily, “If only you didn't live in your fantasies all the time, and spent that time studying the Lord's teachings. Your achievements would greatly surpass what they are today!”

“Perhaps...” Essien sighed, but he stopped retorting and let two paladins drag him out of the hall.

......

Early that morning, Richard set off from the base alongside his troops. It would be a long journey, and nobody could estimate the time of their return.

The trolls and Gangdor each had big chests in hand, while the rest carried their own equipment and supplies to head towards the depths of the forest. Without the right equipment to transport their belongings, there were still many goods and supplies that they had no choice but to leave at base.

It had only taken a few minutes for Richard to decide whether to leave them or destroy them. He'd followed his intuition— after all, it was no big deal to leave this equipment here. With Baron Forza's strength, the most he could do was hold on to these items for now. When he returned, he would recover it all with interest.

The path leading to the northwest wasn't a proper road. There were small tracks that snaked deep into the mountains and untouched forest, with most of the area deserted. The only people who passed by this area were adventurers. Despite all that, Richard steered clear of the beaten path to avoid being tracked. He signalled the broodmother to pave a new path for them a few kilometres away, parallel to the existing one. Safety wouldn't be a problem— any dangers the broodmother passed through would be completely swept away.

And thus, the troops progressed smoothly along this new path. The forest was deathly quiet, with no beasts in sight. There were still a few ruins of goblin camps and the like along the way, but none of them had any life.

They walked for an entire day in the lifeless and unchanging surroundings. Everyone except Richard slowly started to tire, and even the trolls who were in such high spirits that they were cracking jokes at the beginning started to quiet down. Having been in this desolate forest for a significant amount of time, everyone was starting to feel a measure of gloom in their souls.

Only Richard knew the reason for this. The path had been paved by the broodmother, so any dangerous beasts along the way had become food. Those that were lucky enough to escape death steered clear of this place once they smelt its presence.

Richard suddenly stopped in his tracks, closing his eyes as he seemingly tried to make sense of something. There was a clear fluctuation in his sea of consciousness, as the number of raptors near the broodmother started to drop. Three of the lit spots in his mind's vision had disappeared in the blink of an eye.

“Broodmother, what's wrong?” Richard asked in alarm.

“There is a really unusual, strong enemy here, Master. I might need your help,” the broodmother replied. This startled Richard— this was the first time the broodmother had asked him for help. He immediately identified its location, relieved to find that they were less than ten kilometres apart.

187 - City of Sin

Necromancer

“What's wrong, boss?” Gangdor asked.

Richard blinked open his eyes, replying, “Get ready, we're going into battle! And it could be a bitter one this time.”

Gangdor was stunned for a moment, but then he burst out into a wide grin, “That's great!”

Waterflower gently pursed her lips together, but her eyes lit up as well. Most of the rest were equally pumped up upon hearing the news— they'd been walking through this dreary forest for too long, and it would be good to have some action to revive their drooping spirits.

Once he'd figured out the broodmother's whereabouts, Richard rushed towards the battleground. The ground terrain shifted to a downwards slope in a few kilometres, before a swamp shrouded in grey fog came into view.

The broodmother's huge body was hard to spot in the thick fog, occasionally flitting out of sight. Everyone who saw it was taken aback for a moment, and even the ogre brothers stopped abruptly in their tracks at the sight of the two metre tall and six metre long creature. Medium Rare scratched his head in astonishment, unable to believe his eyes.

The broodmother was in the midst of battle, screeching continuously as it slowly moved its bulky body, spraying acid in all directions. Its large, sunken belly expanded and contracted regularly, sending greenish-yellow liquid spurting out from all its folds. The rancid odour could be smelt from miles away, and even the ogres who were resistant to corrosive damage wouldn't dare rush into this mist that was as strong as a grade 6 spell.

Richard squinted. Even though the fog and acid spray made for poor visibility, he could see that the broodmother was fighting over a hundred undead creatures. And to add to that, an uncountable number of undead were crawling out of the fog without end.

Around it were many wounded raptors fighting a significant number of the undead for their very lives. Even though these creatures were only low-level skeletons and zombies, no matter how hard the raptors bit or how fast they threw themselves at these opponents it was impossible to have them back down. Breaking an arm or leg would hardly affect these creatures, the only way to victory being destroying them to bits.

Worse still, the acid fog from the broodmother had limited effect on undead. Although it caused the bones to decay and break, it took some time for these creatures to stop moving from just that. It was actually easier for the raptors to rip them to shreds with their bladed limbs.

The battle was taking place on the edge of the swamp, and there was mud everywhere. These conditions made it difficult for the raptors to exercise their superior agility, and the zombies and skeletons poured forth relentlessly. The raptors were almost all out of energy, and it seemed like they were about to be overpowered. Waves of about ten skeletons and zombies surged forth without end, completely cornering them and pressuring them deeper into the sludge.

There were many skeletons and zombies crawling all over the broodmother's body, with hundreds more nearby. However, the limited offensive power of these creatures left their damage to it insignificant, unable to breach the outer shell.

Where had all these undead come from?

“Broodmother, stop the acid fog!” Richard realised that the acid wasn't doing much to the opponents, instead only causing his own army to be afraid of approaching.

At that very moment, however, strong mana emanated from the swamp and attacked the broodmother. Its actions immediately grew sluggish, and it let out a shrill cry. Being one with the broodmother in soul, Richard felt his consciousness being penetrated by a needle, as if a ray of light had swept across his brain and blanked it out. This was only momentary, however, as the remaining contracts lit up and divided the damage. He regained consciousness just as suddenly as he had lost it, with a throbbing pain to remind him that it wasn't just a fantasy.

This was a soul spell, Mind Flay!

Even as the broodmother's consciousness blanked out, another wave of mana emanated from the swamp. This time, it caused the broodmother to lose control of its body, and even if it only took a split second to recover that control Richard could feel the substantial effects of that second wave.

Mind Control! Many skilled mages believed this spell to be the first step to controlling a magical creature, cast just before Enslave.

Richard and the broodmother were connected via soul, and there was a soul contract between him and Waterflower as well. There were four other members of the party contracted to him on top of that. If this opponent wanted to exert control over the broodmother, they would have to do the same to everyone else he was linked to. How could that be possible? Richard, Gangdor, the two ogres, and Olar all had steadfast determination.

However, the most unexpected member of this battle was Waterflower. The young lady's thoughts had always been pure and simple, her soul as clear as a glass of water. Once she grew aware of the attempt at control, she erupted with power.

The short self-cut hair on her head stood up, as she opened her mouth with a sharp hiss. She let loose a burst of unadulterated killer instinct, countering the source of the attack. Despite his initial surprise, Richard didn't hesitate to channel his own mental power over, stoking that desire to kill even more.

An indistinct roar sounded from the centre of the swamp, and all the undead stilled for a moment before moving again. Now, however, it was evident that they were sluggish, disorderly, and chaotic, unlike the originally ordered swarm.

Richard gritted his teeth with a cold glint in his eyes, “There should be a necromancer somewhere here. To think he has the guts to try and control my broodmother, what guts! This fellow really has an appetite!”

He stretched out his right hand, shouting loudly, “Sword!”

An armed knight passed Richard his unnamed sword, and Flowsand silently walked over before reaching out to touch it. The tip of the sword instantly lit up with sacred fire.

Waterflower's eyes lit up, and she quietly placed the Shepherd of Eternal Rest before Flowsand. The cleric lifted her gaze to eye the girl, before reaching her hand out to the cloth sheath of the sword.

“This is great!” Gangdor exclaimed loudly, daringly extending his axe over as well. Every weapon was burning with sacred flames not long after, and according to Flowsand it would last nine minutes corresponding to her level.

The broodmother followed Richard's orders to climb out of the swamp, slowly approaching the army. The curtain of acid fog was left behind, while the ten surviving raptors managed to extricate themselves from the weak undead and began drawing closer to Richard. As for the rest, Richard could see their corpses sink into the mud.

He took large strides to the edge of the swamp, lightly waving his sword to slice two skeletons in half. He then followed up with a slash to a zombie's stomach.

“Whoever is inside, listen up. I'm giving you one chance— SURRENDER IMMEDIATELY!” Boosted by mana, his voice echoed throughout the swamp.

188 - City of Sin

Necromancer(2)

The only answer Richard's question got was a deluge of skeletons and zombies. He raised his burning sword in response, slowly pointing it forward. All sorts of howls and roars erupted from behind him, as the ferocious monsters that were his party led the army forward, pouncing towards the group of undead.

The fastest of the lot was Waterflower, bounding across the sludge like it was level ground as she flitted past Richard into the midst of the undead. Flowers bloomed in her path, looking quite like lotuses as the enemies were set aflame like torches of holy fire. The sheer effectiveness of Flowsand's flames far surpassed anyone's imagination, as even a thousand enemies melted away like butter without the ability to withstand a single blow.

The opponents were cleared up quickly, and the party came up to the centre of the swamp. As if on cue, the holy flames at the tip of Richard's blade disappeared.

A lone island appeared in Richard's sight, with an attention-grabbing two-storey building upon it. The place looked crude and dilapidated, apparently having already been around for quite a while.

A lanky man was stood by the door, looking at least thirty years old. The unkempt hair, dark circles, and pale skin would leave a deep impression on anyone, and his robes were so filthy that it was impossible to tell what they once looked like. His lips were dried out, looking an ashen green. If not for the slight rise and fall of his chest, he would seem no different from a zombie himself.

Richard stepped foot on the little island, his sword screeching against the ground. He narrowed his eyes at the man in front of the building, speaking dully, “You dare to try and control my contract beast. The guts! Is this considered robbing me?"

The man furrowed his brows, his eyes stuck on Flowsand. A hoarse and unpleasant voice sounded out, “What a terrifying cleric!”

It was only then that he scanned the rest of the party, his eyes narrowing at the sight of Waterflower. That mental counterattack had evidently etched a strong impression, or rather great pain, onto his mind.

At the end of it all, his gaze landed on Richard once more. “You're a mage?” He couldn't help but frown, asking that question with uncertainty. He'd felt great sword skills from Richard during the battle, but now he was feeling powerful mana from the boy.

“Mm, level 9,” Richard answered calmly.

Richard had tossed over a detection spell while the man was judging the rest, and strangely enough he seemed not to have noticed it as he didn't shield himself with his mana. The results had left him slightly surprised— this was a level 12 necromancer with six rune slots and upto 90 points of capacity!

The necromancer gave Richard a close look, “Well then, esteemed sir, I would like to duel you based on magic tradition. Although I am of a higher rank, I've already lost all of my servants and have less than a quarter of my mana remaining. My request is not unfair.”

“Magic tradition?” Richard asked, an underlying meaning to his words, “Do other mages consider you one of their kind?” Outside of the abyss, hell, and planes that leaned towards evil, even places under control of dark gods had no favour for necromancers who played with souls and disturbed the peace of the dead.

The man's expression changed, immediately growing malicious and twisted as he howled, “That's true. Since everyone believes us to be evil and blood-thirsty, then so be it! I hid myself here because I don't wish to kill with abandon, but you still come knocking at my door. Since you aren't willing to acknowledge my right as a mage, then come at me together! I'LL TEAR YOU ALL APART!”

Richard took a close look at the necromancer, the dancing numbers in his vision gradually growing clear. It was true that the necromancer didn't have much mana left, and basically all of his permanent familiars had been killed. A necromancer without undead was like a knight without a mount.

He quickly decided on his next tactics, “Although you aren't acknowledged by the rest of the mages, I am still willing to duel you based on tradition.”

“My Lord! There's no need for that, is there? Can't we all just swarm and defeat him like when you dealt with Menta?” Olar asked from the side. He was the last person whose weapon was enchanted by Flowsand, and the holy flames on his arrows would be a huge threat to the necromancer.

Richard waved his hand to stop the bard, “No, this one is different. He's a mage.”

A mage? While the necromancer was a mage indeed, Olar could not understand why they needed to treat mages and melee fighters differently.

On the other hand, the necromancer's stiff face changed. He adjusted his robes, taking two steps forward to state solemnly, “I am Zendrall, a level 12 necromancer.”

Richard buried his sword into the mud without much thought, taking a step forward himself, “Richard. Level 9 mage, and runemaster.”

The word 'runemaster' sent a sliver of doubt flashing across Zendrall's face. He'd evidently never heard of such a profession. However, they quickly moved on to the duel, facing each other with twenty metres of distance between them.

Although it was impossible to tell what spell Zendrall began casting because of the different language, a dark grey magic formation immediately appeared in front of the necromancer. A dense power of death pervaded the air, and power surged into the throbbing formation, as if some live creature wanted to break out. Richard's senses told him that this would be a Summon Undead spell, and with Zendrall's level a powerful undead creature would soon appear on the plane.

The formation pulsed with negative energy, sending out terror and darkness into the minds of those nearby. The creature already had such great spiritual power before even appearing, making it obvious that this was a powerful formation. The only downside was the duration of the cast.

Richard had no intent of casting a spell himself, instead retrieving the remnant page of the Book of Holding as he silently activated it with a shake of his hands. Five direwolves immediately appeared on the battlefield, howling as they pounced onto the necromancer together. Dozens of blue and green lights did their utmost to protect the necromancer's body, but a crackling sound rang out very quickly. His defensive spell had been damaged, and although two of the wolves were sent flying he was pushed back as well. The summoning spell he was halfway through was naturally interrupted.

Richard patiently waited until Zendrall could hold on no longer, raising his hand and dispelling the spell to break the direwolves down into pure mana. The shield spell had been completely decimated under their attack, and the necromancer's already shabby clothes were almost turned into mere strips of cloth. There were bruises and injuries all over his body, but his fatal points were still protected even though on the verge of breaking down. None of the injuries he'd sustained would kill him.

Zendrall struggled to sit up as Richard drew closer. He tidied up his tattered robes, “To be able to die in a fair duel is my honour. Do it!”

Richard gazed at Zendrall, “Are you that eager to die?”

“Of course not! I still have far too many hypotheses to test... But I am an evil necromancer, not tolerated by any humans. If someone finds out, I will be burnt at the stake,” Zendrall laughed bitterly.

Indeed. Even in Norland necromancers were few in number, considered the enemy of all living souls.

189 - City of Sin

The Bloodstained Lands

"Although I gave you the duel you wished for, you are still a necromancer...” Zendrall's expression dimmed at Richard's initial words, but what followed reignited his hope, “However, I can consider giving you a chance. After all, a level 12 great mage is worthy of respect. But know this: before I make my final decision, you are my captive. I hope that as a necromancer you remain as noble as any other mage. I'm taking a huge risk here, if you try to escape or attack...”

Zendrall didn't care about the pain all over his body, straightening up as he spoke proudly, “In terms of magic, I am no worse than a great mage. Furthermore, my pride and dignity are even greater than those of mages who have been corrupted by mortal pleasures! I swear in the name of the Lich King, I shall do nothing unbefitting of my status in my captivity. However, I would like to ask why you wish to capture me. If you plan to offer me to any kingdom, then please execute me now. I am not willing to be nailed to a stake and burnt for display!”

Richard rummaged through some information from his memory, speaking calmly, “I suppose I will be heavily rewarded or blessed if I offered a level 12 necromancer to a king or a god.”

Zendrall remained silent for a moment, but then spoke up, “Indeed. At the very least, you can become a titled knight if you offer me to a king or a grand duke. The amount of divine grace you will earn for sacrificing me to a god will be great as well, enough to advance a priest to level 10.”

Richard nodded, but before he could say anything Flowsand chimed in from behind him, “Necromancers would also make a great sacrifice to the Eternal Dragon. Although there isn't any church here, we can perform the sacrifice through the Book of Time.”

Richard's gaze at Zendrall immediately changed with Flowsand's words. The expression on the necromancer's face clearly wasn't great either. The cleric's holy flames had caused such great damage to his undead that he feared her despite her lower level.

Looking over him a few times, Richard shook his head and sighed, “Although I'm reluctant to give up on such a blessing, there is no need to worry. I won't be offering you to a god or king, for now at least. Our destination in this trip is the Bloodstained Lands, with only robbers, slavers, and barbarians. There is no king there, nor even a grand duke. However, even though the vow to the Lich King proves your sincerity, it is not enough. It is evident that our beliefs are completely different, you need to persuade me to believe in you.”

“Please wait a minute,” Zendrall said with a nod. He went back into the small, run down building, coming out shortly after with an exquisite box that he handed over to Richard.

"This is a magic box made out of a devil's skull that I prepared for myself. If I can advance to level 16, I am prepared to turn myself into a lich when my life nears its end. This is my future phylactery, a priceless tool for a necromancer.”

Richard nodded, stowing the item away, “Welcome, Zendrall. We now have another member on our team for the journey to the Bloodstained Lands!”

While Zendrall spent time packing his items, Richard stood in front of the broodmother and fed it some magic crystals that it had asked for.

One would truly feel the creature's formidable size when standing close. When the black shell filled one's entire vision, they would feel a sense of oppression that made it seem like they were facing a black hole. Even with his connection to it, Richard felt the awe of its form was a little too strong.

He threw the crystals out one by one, and the broodmother devoured them instantly. It stopped after twenty pieces, laying down quietly for a few minutes. Then, there was a sudden crackling sound from within its shell as its conscience flared up once more.

“Master, I now have enough energy to advance to level 2. You need to choose another ability for me to strengthen, either for myself, or for the attack drones.

“There are three options if you wish to strengthen me— speed, defence, or the pace of creation of drones. As for the drones themselves, you can strengthen the raptors further or choose to add one of two new forms.”

Richard's mind was immediately flooded with information on the two new attack drones. One was a blood-sucking creature that resembled a bat, a fast-moving flighted beast with great perception that could be used to scout ahead. Although these things weren't strong in combat alone, a swarm of them would grow to be terrifying especially since they could develop toxicity in the future. A single egg from the broodmother could hatch one raptor, but if he wanted these then it could hatch six.

As for the second type of attack drones, they were wind wolves. These creatures looked exactly the same as ordinary wolves, except their claws were extraordinarily large. They were also quite fast, able to move quickly through complicated terrain. For offense, their characteristic ability to shoot wind blades made them special, the effects being the same as the magic spell. The recovery cycle was about the same as a human mage, and they could cast the spell thrice in a day. Overall, they were comparable to level 7 soldiers in terms of comprehensive combat ability.

With a sufficient number of wind wolves guarding it, the broodmother would not have been so badly harassed at the battle by the swamp. The range of the sharp wind blades would have been of great help in a group battle.

After repeated consideration, Richard decided to start off by increasing the broodmother's agility. Although it was strong in combat, its slow movement had now become its achilles' heel. He then set aside twenty more crystals for it to eat, allowing it to gain the ability to birth wind wolves.

The basic consideration behind everything had been survival. Wind wolves looked no different from normal demonic wolves, and be it humans, orcs, or barbarians, everyone had a tradition of domesticating them. It wouldn't be odd for this team to have ten wolves alongside them.

Once Richard's team set off on their journey once more, the broodmother had finished its transformation. Its carapace had grown openable at the chest, revealing translucent organs that had reduced in weight by a third. The tiny limbs molted off, replaced by new, thicker, and stronger ones. Once the mutation was complete, the broodmother could move at ten kilometres per hour. Even if this was still slow, it was twice of what it could manage before.

The broodmother's mind grew stronger and clearer with this upgrade, and it contacted Richard once more, “Master, if you find statues or altars of ancestral worship, please bring them to me. I'm in dire need of divine power; if I get enough, I can both accelerate my progress and possibly form my second mind.”

“Second mind?” Richard asked.

“A new consciousness, able to think independently and assist in commanding the attack drones. It will greatly elevate my combat capabilities.”

“Ancestral worship...” Richard noted the request down, immediately thinking back to the statue of Neian back in Forza's lands. However, the broodmother answered that it could not absorb the divine power of a true god yet, and that such a feat would only be possible after it reached level 7.

The team passed through mountains and forests, but three more wind wolves surrounded them every day. As they reached the borders, Richard decided to have his team speed on as he left the raptors with the broodmother for protection and hunting. The broodmother would slowly move through the area that was abundant with food and without any enemy, replenishing its energy as Richard found a base to set up in.

Ten days later, they finally made their way out into a vast, desolate world.

190 - City of Sin

The Bloodstained Lands(2)

This was a world of red, yellow, and brown. Small rock formations were everywhere, making for a forest of weathered stones. Endless canyons and caves made for complex terrain with numerous hiding spots, an unknown number of dangers hiding in the shadows.

This land was barren, with almost nothing to be seen but rock and sand. There were a few shrubs to be sighted on occasion at the foot of a rock, but there was no river in this vast land that flowed through the year. Numerous small streams did flow during the rains, but they dried up as summer arrived. A handful of oases decorated the land like pearls, becoming centres of power.

There were a few parts of the Bloodstained Lands that were rich in resources, but they were all close to the barbarian ancestral spirit planes in the west. Countless battles there had turned the once-fertile land barren, painting it with blood.

Richard took a deep breath as a gust of wind blew their way, immediately feeling a dry heat rushing up his nose alongside a few grains of coarse sand. Two scorching suns hung up in the sky, their boiling light pouring fire onto the dry land. If one looked into the distance, the red pillars of stone would look like burning torches.

Just the day before, they were struggling with the dark and damp of the forest. And now that they'd left the mountains, they'd entered a completely different world.

Countless villains, gangs, and robbers lived on this land, the hands of the slavers stained with the blood of various races. A majority of the Bloodstained Lands were barren, but the place was also full of opportunities. Most of the specialty products from the barbarian plains could be sold for astronomical prices in civilised society, with compelling alchemic treasures and magic goods to be found.

It was rumoured that there were several mysterious death zones deep into the Bloodstained Lands, places where the fabric of spacetime was distorted. Exotic foreign creatures roamed the land, but there were also ruins with valuable treasures buried within. Even though the distorted spacetime was a powerful opponent, countless adventurers remained attracted by the prospects of those treasures.

It was high noon, and within half an hour of entering the desert Richard was sweating hard. The others looked tired as well, so they had to look for a shady spot under a cliff to rest as they waited for the heat to subside.

Horses became extremely important in the Bloodstained Lands. All of the horses they'd seized from Baron Forza had been sent alongside the vanguard, successfully crossing through the Sequoia Kingdom to reach the Bloodstained Lands. The vanguard had two raptors with them, and through those Richard could keep tabs on the vanguard's location.

Once they were under the shadow of the peak, the group immediately collapsed to get a drink of water and some rest. Richard went out of the shade, squinting his eyes at the two suns that seemed motionless in the sky. He shook his head helplessly, turning around to shout, “Let's rest! It seems like we'll have to wait until the evening to set off!”

Thus, the men all struggled to get up and tidy some flat ground to rest upon. Medium Rare then set up some simple crockery, beginning to cook food for them all. Richard wiped the sweat from his forehead, returning to the shade and opening a map to study.

This map was very simple and lacking, not even outlining the entirety of the Bloodstained Lands. It was hand-drawn by rogues, so even if it did indicate the locations of several well-known oases and camps it could not be considered precise. If they used it as the basis of their movements, they would end up deviating a great distance from their destination.

However, this simple map was a prize obtained from wiping out the Church of Valour. In this plane, maps were priceless.

The Bloodstained Lands were filled with unpredictable dangers. Outside of the oases and a few permanent neutral camps, a large part of the area was completely blank. There were only a few simple terms on the map, some pointing out well-known places and some even just naming locals. The true maps were in the hands of the slavers, who'd been navigating the place for years.

Richard had already marked a path on the corner of the map, filling out details of the terrain around the parts they'd already crossed. Precision allowed him to draw complicated magical formations with ease, so cartography wasn't too much of a problem.

Olar ran over to Richard's side, asking, “What are we going to do next, my Lord?”

Richard pointed to a camp symbol on the map, “We'll start by meeting up with the vanguard. Once we have horses, we can try our luck at Camp Bloodstone. We need to find a guide familiar with this area and look at what we can do.”

Olar was puzzled, “Try our luck?”

Richard smiled, “We'll be settling down here. Aliens, scum, and the rubbish from everywhere are left here, and they'll make for natural allies. Here, nobody will care where we come from as long as we have the capabilities.”

“Including barbarians?” the elven bard asked cautiously, although his expression was somewhat unnatural.

Richard cast an odd glance at him, “Of course!”

The unpleasant expression was followed up with a pale face. Richard wondered what the fellow had experienced that had left such great trauma against barbarians.

Having sent Olar away, Richard walked over to Tiramisu and patted him on the back, “I need you to transcribe a few more magic scrolls. I heard that stuff is exorbitant in this plane, so we could potentially make a fortune. It will also help grow your mana pool.

“Speaking of, when do you expect to level up?”

Tiramisu scratched his head, “I'll be level 10 in about a month.”

Ogres were different from humans, weaker in magic at the same level. A level 10 ogre mage was about the same as a level 8 human.

Richard nodded, “Not bad! I'm really anticipating the day you get to level 12!”

Ogres were likely to experience a mutation at level 12, growing another head or evolving some rare bloodline ability. Even the most common additional head would be great, since the mage would be able to cast spells much faster that way.

After circling around and talking to everyone, Richard found a place to sit down. He took out a piece of hide, continuing to draft an unfinished rune. Some training had left him fully able to draw runes in any environment, be it the special dwarven alchemy tables back in the Deepblue or the small desk back on the Archeron island. Even the flat stone before him now was no matter, not affecting the precision of his formations at all.

This specific rune was Elementary Strength, being drafted for Gangdor. Richard would be able to make for a 30% boost given his current materials, making Gangdor's strength equivalent to Menta's. That would also greatly increase his combat capabilities.

Flowsand was sat beside Richard, watching as he drafted the rune. “It's not easy to lead, is it?” she asked.

The pen didn't stop, the line remaining flat and neat, “Yes. I need to consider everyone and everything, and understand all your thoughts. I still need everyone in the future, I need to gain their trust instead of relying on the contract that binds them. Besides, even if I want to I don't have any slave contracts left.”

He continued to complete a curve, stowing his pen away as he said thoughtfully, “But trust seems hard to gain.”

Flowsand smiled slightly, “You have already gained mine.”

He flashed his own in response, “But there's still the others.”

Flowsand brushed through his long hair, “That is easy. You just need to lead them to victory in a few more battles.”

Richard nodded, “That's true.”

“But you seem to have forgotten someone,” she reminded him.
f𝘳𝒆ℯ𝑤𝚎𝚋𝗻𝚘𝘷el. c𝗼m

“Who?”

“Waterflower.”

“Waterflower?” Richard found it strange at first, but immediately understood. Their souls were connected, allowing him to know the girl's location and summon her when he wanted, but this did not mean that he knew what she was thinking, whether she was happy or dejected. He'd neglected her for a long time.

“I understand now, thank you!”

Flowsand smiled slightly, “You don't have to thank me. I still look forward to the day you bring us back to Norland.”

He replied profoundly, “I'm looking forward to the day before.”

Flowsand was stunned for a moment, but then she pulled a long face before leaving with a snort. That look of surprise gave Richard a little sense of accomplishment.

191 - City of Sin

A Chaotic Order

A bright, round moon rose up when night fell, illuminating all of the Bloodstained Lands. The stars decorating the sky seemed to be set apart from the unrest on the ground, leaving many pillars of rock that had been eroded faintly glimmering under the silver light. Under the bright moonlight, Richard led his party to rendezvous with the team that had set out earlier.

However, when he got to the meeting point all he saw was a group of injured soldiers. The horses were gone, and there were only twelve soldiers remaining.

Flowsand immediately set to task healing the wounded soldiers, while Richard made rounds around the wounded soldiers to look at their injuries. Afterwards, he approached the leader of the knights to ask, “Who is responsible for this?”

“They said they were Red Cossack's men. They took an interest in our horses and offered a single gold coin per horse, a hundredth of the market value! They attacked us the moment I rejected them, with more than two hundred men and ten knights. Their strength far surpassed our team's, and few of us escaped.”

There was a cut so deep on the knight's back that his bone was almost showing. When he'd just met up with Richard, his wound was still discharging copious amounts of pus. Outside of that, he had more than ten other slashes of various sizes all over his body, showing the intensity of the battle.

“Red Cossack...” Richard repeated the name repeatedly, his face growing more pensive each time. He then asked, “Would you be able to recognise these attackers if you saw them again?”

“That goes without saying! Their leader was a knight who was at least level 13, wearing red armour and carrying a two-handed sawtooth blade. He's easy to recognise.”

Richard paced up and down, only stopping once Flowsand was done healing the troops. He patted the knight on his shoulder, letting out a sigh, “You did well to survive. We can still snatch those horses back later, but if you perished in battle where would I find such trustworthy people like you?”

It had become increasingly apparent to Richard that the knights Gaton had granted him were immensely valuable.

An expression of gratitude crossed the knight's face, and he struggled to perform a meticulous salute, “Serving Lord Gaton and the Archerons has always been our purpose in life!”

The knight had never viewed Richard as his master. He served Gaton and the Archerons. This was something Richard had sensed long ago, but he did not say anything especially since every other knight who heard this sentence felt the same way.

Such was the cohesiveness of the family, the legendary might of its leader. Their loyalty to Richard was an extension of their servitude to Gaton, and in the future they would do the same for Richard's son. Whoever led them, these knights served the Archerons as a family. Even Gaton's mention was because of his sheer contribution to the family, so much so that he compared to the most talented of predecessors. In another ten years, the man's achievements could surpass those of the ancestors.

Many of these knights had served the Archerons for generations. In return, the family had schooled and trained their young, giving them status, wealth, and the chance to advance. Those who excelled were given better protection for their families, relatives, and even their squads. They were like vines on fir trees in winter, depending on each other for support. This was the way of life for most noble families in Norland.

In the cool, refreshing winds of the early morning, Richard brought his troops over towards Camp Bloodstone. The sun's first light started to slowly warm the desert, and eventually they were walking on boiling sand and burning stones. Beads of sweat started pouring out of Richard's forehead, but he had slowly gotten used to the dry heat as he steadily walked forward step by step. However, the name that had lost him half his soldiers and all his horses constantly popped up in his thoughts.

Red Cossack.

There were roads through the Bloodstained Lands as well, beaten paths made by the many passing travellers. These roads ended at neutral camps, areas with greenery and a water source. There were other roads formed by the passage of trade caravans, but as greenery dried up and camps changed, such roads grew smaller and eventually disappeared.

Walking through the hot weather for half an hour, Richard came across a small road. It wasn't paved or marked, just a surface that had been levelled by the passage of horses and vehicles. According to the marks on his map, following this for a few kilometres would allow them to reach the main road leading to Camp Bloodstone.

In part due to luck, Richard managed to make sense of the crude markings on the map. Sound judgements allowed him to take the correct path at every intersection, putting the party on the right track without much deviation.

However, the path in front of him looked blocked. A few sharp tree trunks had been joined together to make an artificial blockade between two large rocks, sealing almost all of the path except a few metres. A few vicious-looking men could be seen aimlessly wandering around behind, with a flag tied to the highest point of the structure. The flag was drooping down vertically with the lack of wind, containing the picture of a bloody scythe.

The Bloodstained Lands were quite traversable, and it would not be impossible to deviate from the main road. The only drawbacks were an increased chance of danger and a higher chance of getting lost. Even though the path ahead was blocked, a short detour around the path would bring them back to their desired path. However, whoever had build this structure had made it obvious that such a thing would not be easy. These blockades were designed to deter anyone from entering or leaving Camp Bloodstone. Hiding would be useless.

Richard frowned slightly, walking towards the roadblock. Seeing the party from afar, a man behind the roadblock suddenly jumped up and blew hard on a whistle. Ten fierce, burly men stood up one after the other, grabbing their weapons as they rushed out from the sides of the rocks.

One hefty man walked aggressively to the front, wielding his axe with great force as he shouted loudly, “Hey! You people over there, come here now! This place belongs to Blood Scythe Mark, whoever is heading to Camp Bloodstone has to pay a toll!” Please visit 𝗳re𝐞𝓌e𝚋n૦ѵ𝗲l. co𝐦

Roughly a hundred metres away from the roadblock, Richard stopped walking, “We are not going to Camp Bloodstone!”

The man was startled. With the direction that Richard was heading, it was inconceivable for him to not be heading towards Camp Bloodstone. If he was just passing through the Bloodstained Lands, he would not have turned this way. He gave it some serious thought— if this fellow wasn't going to Camp Bloodstone, there was nowhere else for him to go.

At this point, a man who was at least half a head taller than the rest walked out as well. He slapped his counterpart who was still deep in thought on the head and angrily rebuked him, “IDIOT!”

He then pointed to Richard and howled out, “I don't care whether you're going to Camp Bloodstone. Now that we've seen you, you need to pay the toll. That's an order from Chief Mark!”

192 - City of Sin

A Lucrative Project

Richard led his troops towards the roadblock without a change in his expression, “We're going to Camp Bloodstone to try our luck. How much is the toll per person? We didn't pay a toll when we travelled this route in the past, do the people in Camp Bloodstone know about this blockade?”

The burly man sat down, gently stroking his battle-axe as he spoke menacingly, “One silver per person, two for the bigger ones. One look at your party and I know that you're all a bunch of poor men. You don't even have a horse but you want to try your luck at Bloodstone? Be good and hand over the toll. If you don't have money, you can pay us with whatever you own. Once you pay your toll, you'll receive a card. Nobody in Bloodstone will bully you if you have it. Blood Scythe Mark is the big boss of Bloodstone Camp!”

Richard frowned, “Isn't Stormhammer the boss of Camp Bloodstone? Was there a change of leadership?”

The man's complexion suddenly changed, and he spoke angrily, “Of course Stormhammer is still the boss, but Blood Scythe has a lot of say in the camp! Stop giving me your bullshit, and hand over the toll now!”

Medium Rare grew angry, baring his tusks and stamping the ground with force. He wanted to charge ahead, the earth shaking for a moment with the impact of his stomp.

Looking at the might of the large ogre, the burly man's expression immediately changed. He grasped his axe tightly to guard himself and shouted, “What are you lot up to?!” His companions behind him also grabbed their weapons and readied fighting stances.

Even though the burly man was not afraid of a full-gown ogre, he did not dare underestimate Medium Rare either. This ogre looked different from the rest.

By that time, Richard had been made fully aware of the situation behind the roadblock. There was a camp that could accommodate twenty to thirty people there, with 28 men waiting in tow including the ones they were talking to right now. They all had different kinds of weapons and armour, some leather and some iron. There were even some people with plate mail boots but a full suit of leather armour instead. Most of these people looked tanned and rosy, and it was difficult to say whether they were sunburned or a lot of dirt and grime had accumulated on their skin. The conditions surrounding the Bloodstained Lands made baths a luxury not all could afford. Google search f𝙧ee𝔀𝑒𝚋𝐧૦ѵ𝑒Ɩ. 𝑐𝘰𝒎

Once all his observations were made, Richard was sure of the capabilities of these soldiers. The burly leader was around level 10, making him about the same as a novice knight. The rest were mostly between levels 5 and 8, but judging from their fierce expressions it was obvious that they were used to seeing blood. The Bloodstained Lands really lived up to their name— a mere roadblock had a group of soldiers equivalent to veterans and captains outside.

Richard reached for a gold coin, tossing it to the burly leader, “We're not up to any mischief, we'll pay the toll. One gold coin should cover our group, no?”

The gold coin danced in the air, forming a high trail as it reflected blinding sunlight that made it difficult for everyone to open their eyes. One gold coin in the mainland was equal to a hundred and twenty silver. There were less than thirty people in Richard's party, so even with the addition of the ten wind wolves the tax for passage would still be less than a single gold.

With a soft pop, the gold coin disappeared in the burly man's hand. He unfolded his hand to closely inspect the beautiful gold coin, suddenly inhaling a breath of warm air as he cried out lowly, “It's a church coin!”

Even though the weights of the coins on the mainland were standardised in weight, there were different bodies that issued them. The three most common ones were the churches, the kingdoms, and other nobles. Church coins were the highest quality of the lot, with great craftsmanship that was not easy to replicate. This made them more valuable than the rest, being worth 150 silver.

The gold coin Richard tossed out came from the Church of Valour, but how he acquired it was a story for another day. Looking at the gold coin, the burly man's eyes turned red with greed and the soldiers behind him grew even more excited.

They were only brought back from their daze after Richard coughed several times. Richard then asked, “We've given the toll, can you hand over the Blood Scythe card? Since I've already paid, I feel like a trip to Camp Bloodstone would be nice.”

The burly man put the gold coin in his pocket, making no effort to hide his greed as he spoke loudly, “No. One isn't enough, I want two... No! Ten gold coins before I let you through!”

“Isn't the tax per person one silver coin? How can it be inadequate?” Richard asked, but he already knew the answer.

“It's one gold coin now!” The burly man proclaimed.

“When did it rise?” Richard asked

The burly man waved his double-edged axe with brute force and said, “Just a few moments ago!”

Another fighter walked up beside the burly man, poking him as he said, “Boss! They have women!”

The burly man stared at him and angrily cried out, “I don't care about women! We're here to collect tolls, not snatch girls! What kind of girls can't we find back at camp if we have money? Your brain is worthless!!”

The man cowered in fear at the lash, but he continued to insist, “Boss, these two are different. Please, look at them again.”

Only then did the burly man shift his gaze towards Richard's companions. This was a very interesting bunch of troops— not only did they have two ogres, they had elves and more than ten domesticated wolves. He obviously didn't know the difference between a wind wolf and a normal one. Even if he did not take them into consideration, Gangdor was also someone who would demand attention due to his large physique and aura of dominance. His outer appearance would even make one wonder if he was a strong barbarian warrior. Apart from Gangdor, the three novice knights from amongst the defected soldiers gave off awe-inspiring vibes as well. As for the two women in the party, Flowsand and Waterflower, they were wrapped from head to toe in long white robes to protect them from the strong heat and the sun's glare. Even though their faces could not be seen clearly, their postures were graceful.

His gaze then fell on Waterflower's legs. The young lady was still barefoot regardless of circumstance, and her snow-white legs stuck out from under the long robe. The tips of her feet were touching the ground lightly, as she stood there on the scorching sand and stone.

Looking at her pearly white legs, the burly man's throat violently throbbed as he swallowed a large gulp of saliva.

Richard reached back into his bag, grabbing a fistful of coins. However, the man waved him away, “There's no rush to hand over the toll. Hey, ladies! Take off your robes and show me what you have! If you'll keep me company for a while, I won't collect any toll from your party!”

Waterflower's body slightly sunk down, as she spread open her ten sparkling toes to get a firm grip on the ground. This was a sign that she was ready to strike. On the other hand, Richard let out a quick laugh and threw over ten gold coins in the air, the light even covering the charm of her legs for a moment.

The coins bumped into one another in the air, producing a melodious clang before they fell back into Richard's hand. Not a single one fell, displaying some of Richard's skill. With a crashing sound, Richard put all the gold coins back into his pouch. Smiling at the burly man, he asked, “How should I address you?”

“They call me Big Axe Sam!” The burly man proudly proclaimed, even waving his large axe a few times. Gangdor's expression turned ugly as he bowed his head slightly, glancing at his own big, thick axe. When he raised his head again, he shuffled his right foot in preparation to charge forward.

“Sam, I won't be paying the toll anymore. If you don't wish to die, please be loud in surrendering!” Richard smiled and waved his hands, “Capture them all! If they struggle, there's no need to hesitate to kill.”

Just as he was done talking, a loud boom sounded as the party behind him surged forward. They threw themselves into the crowd, starting pure slaughter.

193 - City of Sin

A Lucrative Project(2)

Sam raised his large axe up high, but just as he started a battle cry Waterflower had already passed by his side with a light hop off her toes. Her long white robe suddenly left her body, landing on his head like a cloud to cover it completely.

Sam was startled, and hurriedly stuck out his hand to get the robe off. However, once he raised his hand the back of his head was struck hard by the Shepherd of Eternal Rest. The young lady had struck him with the back of the blade, and with a dull thud the man's sturdy body fell straight to the ground even as the robe wrapped more tightly around his face. For a while, all he could feel was his head spinning as he saw stars all around him.

He tried to get up in a panic, but another heavy blow struck his head which almost knocked the wind out of him. Following that, a barrage of attacks trampled his strong body, giving him the illusion that he'd fallen from a hill and was being trampled by a pack of mammoths.

Richard, on the other hand, witnessed something else entirely. Once Waterflower got next to Sam and covered his head with her robe, she'd struck him down with the back of her blade. Afterwards, Gangdor had rushed forward to punch and kick the man's face, followed closely by Medium Rare as the group launched a joint attack on this enemy. Watching the trio attack him viciously without touching any critical organs, he couldn't help but let out a resigned sigh and cover his eyes. He'd thought such tactics only belonged in the underworld before.

The other side of the battle was different. A massacre ensued, as the ogre mage cast out slows and various other curses. The elven bard boosted the spells with his own chants, leaving the two groups on completely different levels. Sam's troops were shocked to discover Richard's army was more ferocious than even them, and their coordination was on a completely different level to their own. Half of them were beaten in a flash, with some of the cavalry surrounded by wind wolves and cut to pieces from all directions.

The battle was over quite quickly, and by the end of it all there were only eight live captives including Sam. A few unlucky ones had been killed by accident, too slow to surrender. Sam remained as fierce as before, but he was beaten so badly he could barely even stand.

Thus, Richard came into possession of more than ten horses and a small camp. The knights skillfully cleaned up the battlefield, looking through the spoils of war along the way. There were several passes to Bloodstone on Sam's body— it seemed like these troops really were only there to collect a toll before they grew greedy upon seeing Richard's money and the women of his party.

Even as they were cleaning up, Olar wasted no time in interrogating the captives. He'd learned many interrogation and torture skills from Richard, and was exceptionally talented at their use. Perhaps a large contributor to that was the fact that he had no moral bottom line.

On the other hand, Richard walked around the camp and the blockade, observing everything. He finally stopped in front of the simple barricades, pondering over some things silently.

It took a while before he suddenly flashed Flowsand a smile, “I just had a new idea. At least I know that we can make money off this land in the future!”

“Robbery would be fastest,” Waterflower interjected as she passed him.

Richard was startled, but to everyone's surprise he nodded, “Mm, that's more or less what I thought of. At least in essence, that is.”

“You really want to steal?” Flowsand was stunned. However, Richard knew that her only concern was whether the profits would match the risks they would take.

“Robbery? That's a good way to make a living!” Medium Rare said from not far away.

Some of the people had puzzled expressions, with others skeptical and still more excited. Richard continued, “The idea is essentially the same. Let's set up roadblocks to collect tolls.”

Tolls?

Everyone was left at a loss as to how this would be a profitable enterprise. This camp they'd just uprooted had almost nothing valuable, except the horses and perhaps the people themselves. Selling them off as slaves would be a way to turn a small profit.

Richard had no plans to explain himself. This was only a preliminary idea, but he would have to wait for his power to extend throughout the Bloodstained Lands, before he used these roadblocks as a form of control. Wealth would flow freely then, and by his calculations the total income he stood to make was an extremely shocking figure.

Looking at the captives, Richard could sense that everyone but Sam was terrified. The burly man had been beaten badly with his face covered, and the thuggy fight had left him feeling utterly humiliated. What's worse, he didn't even see how his underlings lost and died.

Sam's men were fugitives, relying on instinct and fierceness to battle. On the other hand, everyone in Richard's army from Waterflower to his own knights to the surrendered ones were from the military or had been otherwise rigorously trained as killing machines. There was no room for comparison between an angry mob and an elite fighting force.

Richard walked in front of the captives, taking out a white handkerchief to wipe his already pristine hands. He spoke slowly and politely, “All of you are under my charge from now. If anyone is thinking to exploit my kindness, do think of that pile of corpses over there that used to be your companions. My name is Richard Archeron, and I will only show you grace this once. Attempt a revolt or escape, and only death awaits you.

“Moreover, I can promise you...” he paused, “... The process will be slow, and painful.”

The speech proved quite effective. Richard swept his eyes across the crowd, to see even Sam slightly cowering. He quickly glanced at the man before returning his gaze to his long, clean fingers. His hands were like a woman's— elegant and fair. They were also the source of various runes and spells. He wiped once more as he spoke gently, “Sam, I will always be watching you.”

These words sent a strange chill down the burly man's spine. He couldn't help but break out into a cold sweat.

......

The troops quickly packed up and left. Richard and his core party now had horses, while the nine captives walked. Zendrall was especially quiet amongst the eight from the Bloodstained Lands. He didn't look strong, but that strange deathly-pale complexion with a tinge of cyan made him look like a zombie. Sam and the others subconsciously tried to keep their distance from the necromancer.

Flowsand and Richard walked shoulder to shoulder, her white cloak wrapping the whole of her body to leave only her amber eyes visible. She looked at Richard and let out a faint smile, “That went well, didn't it?”

Richard couldn't help but nod as he asked, “How did you know that it would scare them?”

“I'm an official of god,” she replied, “The study of religion is also the study of the will of the people. Of course I know the kind of threats that would scare them...”

Looking at Richard's unrelenting gaze, Flowsand knew that this was not an answer he would accept. Of course, she'd known that from the start. She spoke seriously, “Fugitives like these don't fear threats, and they're not afraid of blood. They don't even fear death. The only kinds of people they're afraid of are lunatics and maniacs.”

Richard snorted with an unnatural smile and continued to ask, “What else?”

“What else?” Flowsand's voice sounded like she was trying to hold in her laughter, “There is nothing else. I'm just telling you that you're suited to such a role, so they got scared of you!”

“Suited? Suited for what? A lunatic or a maniac?” Richard raged, but controlled his volume in fear of letting the others hear him.

Flowsand bluntly said, “Both!”

Richard was at a loss for words. After what seemed like forever, he managed to stutter out, “What about you? What are you afraid of?”

Flowsand replied immediately, “A man who does not keep his promises.”

Richard was rendered speechless once more, but her words lingered on in his head. He felt there were so many things held inside them that hadn't been mentioned out loud.

194 - City of Sin

Ruffian

The army gradually made their way out, the dead warriors and horses left abandoned. This was a tradition of the Bloodstained Lands— once the humans left vultures, hyenas, and scavenging rats would feast on the corpses until only bone remained. It was considered the only way for the spirits of the dead to break away from the curse that plagued this land, moving on to the afterlife.

The wind wolves were left behind as well. They needed food, and the horse carcasses would do. However, unlike the scavengers of the Bloodstained Lands they would also eat the bones. Unless there wasn't enough food available, Richard wouldn't allow them to eat human remains.

Camp Bloodstone finally came into view by the evening, although it was still distant. The place was in the middle of stony peaks, with a crude wall erected between the natural rock formations to form a barrier. There was a watch tower built on top of the camp, giving them extensive warning of anything that came their way. A skilled archer would be able to shoot down anything in the camp from this position.

As the camp approached, the intelligence reports he'd acquired about it started to flow through Richard's mind. Camp Bloodstone was close to the fringe of the Bloodstained Lands, not far from the Sequoia Kingdom and the Blackwater Duchy. It was an important stronghold for both adventurers and caravans alike leaving from the human countries, but the permanent residents of the place only numbered about 2000 people at most. At the limit, there could be as much as five thousand people travelling in and out of the place, the limit of the eight underground springs that provided the place with water.

Of the eight springs in Camp Bloodstone, four were under the control of a half-orc tribe called the bloodstone orcs. The remaining were split between four weaker points of power with the Blood Scythe, Mark, being one of them.

The head of the bloodstone orcs was called Stormhammer, and he was the most powerful person in the camp. The level 14 warrior was a force to be reckoned with, be it in his own capacity or due to the hundred ferocious half-orcs he controlled. His was an imposing presence, giving him a lot of say in Camp Bloodstone. Even in a human kingdom the half-orc would easily have been knighted, so in a small territory like Camp Bloodstone his status was a given.

Mark the Blood Scythe, Chiron the Cyclops, Bowen the Lame, and Howie the Razor were the remaining four centres of power. Each of them had a hundred soldiers themselves for the most part, individually ranging from level 12 to 14. Howie was a level 14 warrior himself, but rumours were abound that he would never dare challenge Stormhammer.

Mark had now become Richard's first target. He was a fierce and cruel man, a level 13 warrior who fought with two heavy, enchanted short-handle scythes. Outside of his innate strength he possessed no special abilities, making him an easy target for Richard. With his current army, he had many ways of dealing with this man who was only high in level.

As Richard was deep in thought, he subconsciously started wiping his spotless hands once more on horseback. He only stopped daydreaming when he caught a glimpse of Flowsand holding back her laughter. After a moment of embarrassment, he suddenly figured out why and calmly put the handkerchief away.

A few half-orcs stood guard at the camp's gate, and the arrival of Richard's army sent them into a small frenzy. After all, there were two conspicuous trolls and more than ten wind wolves amongst them, making for a formidable group. The most important thing was that Richard's group was made of unfamiliar faces, and it didn't look like a caravan. It was obvious from the formation that they weren't ordinary adventurers either, so their experience and intuition told the soldiers that this was a sign of trouble.

“What are you here for?” the leader asked.

Olar passed over the blood scythe pass to the man, pointing at Richard as he spoke, “My master would like to obtain some good wares from the barbarian plains, and we're here to try our luck. We've already paid the toll.” This was a script they'd agreed to earlier.

The half-orc leader looked at the pass, and then back at the crowd. He looked at Richard who had a cold, arrogant expression on his face, before letting out two breaths, “Mark, that son of a bitch! There's no toll to enter Camp Bloodstone, and this pass is worthless without any benefits. That fellow is hated, I suggest you throw this pass in the trash. If you've already paid him, you're of no use to him unless you're willing to give him more.”

“Thank you, my friend,” Olar said sincerely, handing over a few coins.

The half-orc seemed to relax after taking the money, but he still spoke up, “Orcs and elves can never be friends, but I still wish you good luck. Go ahead!”

He then had the passage opened with a wave.

A pungent odour assaulted the party's nostrils the moment they entered the camp. It was a mix of excrement, rotting food, trash, and the scent of slaves who had never showered. It stung hard, like a grade 6 acid fog. The party's expressions warped in disgust for a while, the two trolls being the most affected. They loved food the most, and their noses were particularly sensitive.

There were buildings of varying heights all over the camp, their walls seemingly made of weathered red rock. It was obvious that not much thought had been given to the place's construction, the infrastructure likely formed over a long period of disorderly growth and territorial war. However, it was still relatively easy to tell the distribution of power amongst the springs, with tall walls separating the streets from the buildings whenever one was nearby.

In the middle of the camp was a five-storey building that looked like a castle. Several sharp, wooden stakes extended into the sky from the walls, giving the structure a strong orcish flair. There were several flags flying from the castle, a background of dark red with a warhammer dripping blood on the front. This was the flag of the bloodstone orcs.

Outside of the castle, the other buildings in the camp had no style to speak of, especially so in the west which was home to a large ghetto. The 'houses' in the area were crudely built, the walls made of piled rocks and the roof's materials indiscernible. They were so short any adult human would have to bend down to enter, and it was unlikely the buildings would even survive the entrance of someone like Gangdor or the trolls. The places was littered with garbage and stale water, so many flies buzzing around they were like black clouds hovering on top.

As Richard was passing by a small alley, he happened to witness a few shabbily dressed but fierce-looking men surrounding a sack on the floor. They were relentlessly punching and kicking the sack, and one of them was even attacking with a spiked wooden club. Every hit left a dark stain on the sack's surface.

The sack twisted and turned, leaving an indistinct sound coming from within. It likely contained a human given the size, but the people surrounding it were unrelenting in their attacks, harbouring an intent to kill.

Richard stopped his horse, sweeping his gaze over the attackers as he frowned without saying a word. These people were just ordinary folk, but they were committing such violence in public without remorse that their insane thirst for blood made him feel a little uncomfortable. If this craziness was rampant throughout the Bloodstained Lands, he would have to adjust his conquest to accommodate. He would have to make the kind of adjustments Flowsand had in mind.

The men realised they were being watched, stopping to turn around and stare at Richard. They were skinny and dirty, with no physical strength to speak of, but their bloodshot eyes made them look very fierce. It was obvious that Richard's party outnumbered them, and the two trolls looked formidable at first glance, but this did not deter them at all. One of them even raised his head and shot Richard a look of contempt, the provocation in it obvious.

195 - City of Sin

Ruffian(2)

These people were a bunch of rabid dogs. Even with a dragon standing in front of them, they would still jump forward and try to take a bite or two first.

An older man took two steps forward, tapping the bloodstained spiky club in his hand as he spoke menacingly, “Oi kid, there's nothing fun to watch here!”

Richard's eyes narrowed slightly, as he pointed out two men and said lightly, “I hate those eyes. And this old fellow has clearly lived too long.”

He'd barely finished speaking when Waterflower appeared in front of the first in a flash. She stuck her two fingers in, gouging his eyes out in a flash without mercy. At the same time, the ground shook as Medium Rare rushed forward with large strides, his hammer twirling around. A dull bang echoed in the air— he'd hammered the old fellow who was brandishing his club into the wall, reducing him to a ball of flesh and blood that could barely be recognised as once human.

Looking at the bloodshed, fear finally flashed on the faces of the other three men. They turned to escape, but a bowstring resonated thrice in a row. Olar had responded to Richard's gestured command, sending an arrow through their backs. The three men were rendered motionless, collapsing at once.

A few of the impoverished commoners nearby slowly straightened themselves. From the looks of it, they seemed to be the ones who lived in the shacks nearby. They'd paid no heed to the violence before, but the toughness of these foreigners seemed to finally stir something in them.

An old man with grizzled hair stared at Richard, saying slowly, “You have formidable power, Sir, but you should not abuse it.”

Another robust middle-aged man spoke broodingly, “This is Bowen's territory, and we are his subordinates. He isn't to be messed around with!” He crossed his hands over his chest as he spoke, gripping tightly to have his fingers crackle.

Richard didn't say anything, merely pointing at the latter. Gangdor took big bounds over, landing a ruthless punch on the man's face. The hammer-like fist distorted his figure, blood and teeth falling out of his mouth as the sturdy fellow was sent flying into the wall. He collapsed into the dark, humid, shack, not a sound to be heard from him again.

Gangdor maintained his fighting stance, grinning in a display of his pearly white teeth to everyone nearby before he gradually pulled his fists back and returned to Richard's troops.

Richard's piercing gaze fell on the elderly man, its intensity making him feel throbs of stabbing pain that forced him two steps back. It was only then that Richard spoke in a detached tone, “The use of power is in being able to gouge out the eyes of crazed dogs that glare at you. If any mongrel still wants to bite, I'll kill them all.”

Richard looked at the man once more, continuing, “To me, you're all no different from crazed dogs. The only humans are the ones hiding in their shacks.”
f𝚛e𝚎𝙬𝑒𝚋𝚗𝚘ѵ𝐞𝒍. c𝐨𝙢

“As for Bowen the Lame...” Richard glanced at the middle-aged man who landed into the shack, “He's not to be trifled with, sure, but that applies even more so to me.

“Does anyone still wish to say anything?” Richard's gaze swept past the entire ghetto, and this time everyone subconsciously avoided his gaze without the guts to make any more comments.

Once they entered Camp Bloodstone proper, Richard chose a decent inn to settle down at that was under Stormhammer's sphere of governance. Unlike the other regions, this place was clearly safer. The half-orcs had built this camp, which meant that under most circumstances they could firmly uphold order. And thus, the price was also correspondingly high. Even twenty gold church coins only got Richard and his party a lodging of twenty days.

Camp Bloodstone had inns, barracks, casinos, taverns, and other facilities. There were also over ten slave camps and an arena that could accommodate an audience of hundreds of people. The arena was the prime entertainment at Camp Bloodstone, and Stormhammer's greatest source of wealth.

The ring was open when they arrived, so after dinner Richard brought everyone along to watch a match. Slaves and fighters of different backgrounds engaged in battle here, turning it into a place where those in power resolved their conflicts covertly. Richard was going so he could estimate the power of the fighters in Bloodstone.

For the price of two gold coins, he booked a compartment on the second level, surrounded by other similar viewing platforms. By the time he settled down in his seat, the entirety of the arena was almost full. Everyone in the crowd was standing, their bodies pressed against each other. The bustling noise almost threatened to tear the roof apart, but the murky atmosphere had reached its peak. Strangely enough, this mix of hormones, adrenaline, and blood in the air slowly and continuously strengthened the bloodlust in the crowd.

*Clang! Clang!* Two loud crashes echoed from the platform on Richard's left, capturing his attention. A short yet sturdy man had thrown his crutches on the railing of the platform, using his hands to maneuver his body as he threw himself into the wide and cozy chair and let out a breath of satisfaction. The crutches were solid and sturdy, seemingly made entirely out of steel. There was a row of burly guards behind the man, and they were clearly not weak at all.

That man turned his head around and offered a brilliant smile to Richard before saying. “I am Bowen, but the people here all call me Bowen the Lame.”

“Richard. Richard Archeron.”

Bowen continued to beam and asked, “Ah, so it's Mr. Richard. I wonder where you come from? If I am not mistaken, you should be a respected noble.”

Richard replied indifferently, “My family does have nobility, but I know my title is of no use in this land. I have no intention of using it to get anything either, my sword will get me what I want.”

“Well said!” Bowen praised and continued, “In this cursed red land, you can only use your fists and swords to fight for your say. Those nobles who arrive here thinking otherwise mostly end up as a target for robbers or foreign creatures. But your guards all look very powerful.”

“It's not just the looks. This afternoon, they even tested their abilities out and cleared a few crazed dogs,” Richard corrected with a smile.

“Is that so, what a coincidence! I lost a few dogs myself!” Bowen responded with a laugh. A ferocious glint then flashed in his eyes, and he remarked meaningfully, “Could Mr. Richard give me an explanation for this coincidence?”

“Explanation?” Richard finally turned his head and looked straight into Bowen's eyes, unfazed, “You sent a few crazed dogs to test my capability and power, and I hacked them to death. This should tell you enough that I'm more powerful than you, what's there to explain about such a simple matter? Don't tell me you're really foolish enough to want to attack me. Try, and it won't be as simple as your teeth being knocked out. The hyenas might not even have a chance to nibble at your bones.”

Bowen's expression darkened slightly before he burst into loud laughter, “Mr. Richard is not tactful at all! This isn't exactly the conduct of a respectable noble.”

Richard retorted, “You're saying you still know the meaning of the word tactful after having lived so long in the Bloodstained Lands?”

Bowen stared blankly and pondered for a moment before nodding, “Looks like Mr. Richard will have a pleasant stay here, unlike me. Those poor fellows in the ghettos rely on me for a living. But I only lost a few dogs. I've heard that the Blood Scythe lost a few family pets? One of them was even taken away, I reckon he's already enraged by now. You're a foreigner, so you should be careful.”

Richard nodded and replied indifferently, “If he's smart enough, he'll know what he should and shouldn't do.”

“Mark never seemed wise,” Bowen continued to probe.

Richard stretched a little and leaned further into the back of his chair. After he got into a comfortable position, he spoke slowly and deliberately, “They say fools die early.”

196 - City of Sin

Gamble

Right at that moment, a bell rang out from the arena. A loud host stepped out, an energetic dwarf with a fiery red beard. Behind him were two naked women, bodies smeared with glistening oil from head to toe making them look like gems dipped in dew. They paraded out in all sorts of poses to the tune of the dwarf's exaggerated yells.

At the same time, more than ten people started to make rounds through the ring, taking bets from the crowd. Young ladies of various ethnicities made way to their positions in the various compartments on the second level— outside of basic services like food and drink, they would provide some key services. When matches got to the most gory part, for example, a few guests grew so hysterical and animalistic that they pinned these girls down and took them on the spot.

The ring was an open arena with a diameter of about twenty metres. It was less than a metre deep, surrounded by low walls that were about half a metre high. However, this minimal protection was one of the attractions— there would be incidents of accidental gore in the places nearest to the ring during some very intense matches.

The compartments on the second level were already fully occupied. Bowen, Chiron, Mark, and Howie were all present in their compartments, Stormhammer the only one who was nowhere to be seen. Richard took the chance to observe the Blood Scythe a little longer.

The man was humongous, with muscles as sturdy as steel and a layer of thick black hair covering his chest. His shirt left the chest bare, as if to display a medal for show. It seemed like he was of barbarian, if not orcish, descent. Separated by a single compartment, Mark was glowering at Richard from the start. Richard had only turned to him after his exchange with Bowen.

Unlike Mark, who looked so menacing he was on the verge of leaping forward to kill at any time, Richard was calm and collected. The corner of his gaze rested on this upcoming opponent, not letting any detail slip him by. Be it Mark's glares, roars, or obscene gestures, Richard simply continued to keep an eye on the Blood Scythe and do nothing else. The more elaborate the man's motions grew, the more details his numeric vision would grant him.

The Blood Scythe was eventually unable to withstand Richard's passive gaze. He cursed viciously under his breath, turning his own to the ring. As unrestrained and crazy as he was, he would not openly disturb order by getting into a fight with the outsider on the viewing platforms. That would be a display of defiance towards Stormhammer, the most powerful man in the camp. Of course it would be another matter altogether if the outsider was provoked first, but unfortunately that did not happen.

The matches had already begun, four human slaves being pit against a starving direbear. The battle quickly turned bloody as the bear clawed into the warrior's chest, slicing all the way down his body. A moment later, the wild beast had tackled the rest to the ground and was chewing them up to its heart's content right in front of the crowd.

Blood flowed, and organs shattered. The gore only hyped up the crowd, as the cheering intensified. The crowd was so pumped up that they could barely find a way to vent their adrenaline, and as they jostled against one another an unlucky fellow was pushed over the wall and into the ring by accident. This quickly got the attention of the bear, which pounced on him amidst screams of despair and took half his head off with a single swipe. The audience didn't so much as flinch, continuing to jostle as they were overcome by another clamorous cheer.

The battles continued, one after the other. After a few rounds, warriors with background began to take part in the battles, and two of the leaders even pitted their men against each other directly. From the matchups it seemed like Bowen and Chiron were at odds, while Howie had some urgent conflict with Stormhammer. Although the bloodstone orcs had lost, they left a deep impression with their strength.

On the other hand, Mark didn't seem to be on good terms with anyone.

When a dark-skinned man working under the Blood Scythe stepped into the ring, Richard called over the waitress and tossed a gold coin onto the tray in her hand. He gestured to the dark-skinned fighter, “I bet that he'll lose this round.”

An outsider who'd directly entered the second level was already a focus of attention, but the radiance of the gold coin just intensified that. There wasn't even an opponent in the ring yet, but Richard had immediately bet on the man losing. It was clear that this was deliberately targeted at someone, and it caused an instant uproar within the ring as people began to engage in animated discussions.

Mark shot daggers at Richard with his eyes in response. However, he wasn't as chatty as before— he didn't say anything.

The battle ended very quickly, the dark-skinned warrior winning without much ado. Richard could already tell that he was a level 10 warrior gifted with innate strength, while his opponent was only level 8 without anything special whatsoever. The victory was actually a given.

Mark glared harshly at Richard, before letting out a smug roar. He then grabbed hold of a waitress and dragged her over, pinning her against the railing. Ripping her skirt of ruthlessly, he forcefully entered her body and began thrusting vigorously.

Richard smiled for a moment before calling his waitress over. He gestured towards the dark-skinned man once more, “I bet he'll lose the next round.” Please visit ｆ𝗿𝗲𝒆we𝚋ｎ૦𝘃𝚎𝒍. 𝒄o𝚖

Ten gold coins leapt into the tray, and as they fell in they didn't just grab the crowd's attention this time. Mark's manhood was brought to a strangling halt, as he momentarily forgot what he was doing.

He snapped out of his reverie in an instant, however, and realised what was happening. The instant, tremendous humiliation drowned out his sense of reason, and he pushed the young lady away before pointing at Richard, “I want to bet against you! Do you dare have someone battle my Black Reaper? I'll bet just as much money as you!”

Richard gave a reserved smile. At this moment, his expression reflected his status as a true-blue aristocrat— a state of absolute grace coupled with a faint arrogance of leadership that was not displeasing to the eye, “What an excuse for guts! I thought you'd say you'll bet many times what I do, but it turns out it's only one to one.”

Mark's face reddened instantly, and turned purple the next moment. He had already tightened his grip around the short scythes that made him famous, and the arena quieted down at once.

Richard remained still in his seat, appearing completely unfazed by Mark's response. He took out a coin pouch with his dazzlingly fair, delicate hands, emptying its contents onto the tray to make a small mound.

“This should be enough for now, I wouldn't want this fellow to lose his pants to me. He seems like he hasn't washed them in the longest time,” he said lightly. His bright, clear voice travelled to every ear in the arena, causing countless pairs of eyes to look towards the lower part of Mark's body. The repeated setbacks had shrunk his manhood to its smallest size, so much so that it was pathetic to look at.

In the next moment, booming laughter drowned out everything else.

197 - City of Sin

Gamble(2)

Richard turned to look at the people behind him, asking, “Who wants to go down and play?”

Waterflower, Gangdor, and the trolls had no intention of moving. This battle posed no real challenge for them, and the girl additionally didn't like to put on performances. If anyone wanted to watch her perform, she would gouge out their eyes.

One of the footsoldiers took a step forward, saying in a low voice, “I'll go.”

Richard nodded and said, “Don't end it too quickly.”

The foot soldier immediately understood what Richard meant, and in a confident and cruel way stated, “Don't worry, my Lord. I will ensure the battle goes on long enough!”

This was a battle without requirements or restrictions. Both sides could use their own weapons and armour. The Black Reaper chose two axes, while the much smaller soldier chose light armour, a small square shield, and a dagger. This immediately gave rise to hisses of displeasure from the audience. The ring preferred blood to the clash of metal, and warriors with such complete defensive equipment were rare.

Regardless of how the audience opposed this, the match officially began with the roars from the host. The Black Reaper pounced at the soldier from the start, his axes hacking down like a gale as he showered the man with successive strikes. The soldier was like a boat in a storm amidst his resounding roars, seemingly about to capsize at any moment. However, while he was constantly pushed back and seemed to be on the verge of reaching the end, he was always able to narrowly get through the attacks.

The storm of attacks had left the steel shield completely deformed, and his armour had a couple of cracks as well. Unlike the Black Reaper's axes, the dagger was so small it looked like a toy. Thankfully the two weapons never clashed, so it was still intact.

However, his opponent had suffered quite a few injuries as well. The footsoldier had constantly managed to find the time to counterattack from the midst of his defence, using extremely tricky angles that left long, thing wounds on his target's body.

These tiny injuries did nothing to affect the Black Reaper's battle capabilities. On the contrary, they only made him more fierce. The powerful movements and heart shaking bellows would make anyone feel restless as they felt their blood pumping.

Even Mark, who'd already lifted his pants back up, had thrown himself at the railing, waving his arms with full strength as his roars resounded even louder than his fighter's own!

All he wished was for himself to be in the ring, using his heavy scythes to chop that footsoldier into pieces and throw them at Richard's face. Seeing the Black Reaper losing golden opportunities to thoroughly defeat his opponent time and time again, his anxiety peaked repeatedly.

Mark had already immersed himself in the battle, unable to see many details. It couldn't be helped, however— Richard had taken out a staggering 50 gold coins, and those were church coins at that! While he wouldn't have to lose his pants for this, it still was comparable to a few months of his income. Folks like him who'd only risen up in the past few years had pitifully meagre savings.

In the meanwhile, Chiron shifted to Bowen's side. Practically stretching his head over the viewing platform, he asked, “Hey old man, do you see anything with that Richard's subordinate?”

Bowen answered with another question, “What have you discerned?”

Chiron chuckled, knowing that this was the man's typical behaviour, “His movements are short and effective, not sloppy in the slightest. He's firm and radiant, and doesn't seem to feel anything at the sight of blood. That's completely different from our guys who go crazy with their bloodlust.”

Bowen looked at the noble youth viewing the match with interest, saying slowly, “He's a true veteran. If he was in an army, he would have at least five hundred soldiers under him.” Please visit 𝗳𝚛𝐞𝘦wℯ𝚋𝓷o𝚟el. 𝐜𝘰𝒎

Chiron twitched his lips, looking in Richard's direction, “You can't judge a veteran's power from their rank. Take a look, it isn't just one fellow like that next to Mr. Richard.”

Bowen looked to be deep in thought, “It seems like Mark will be in trouble soon.”

Chiron nodded, “Whatever it is, this is good. However, this Mister Richard really doesn't know how to hide his wealth. Even I'm feeling something after seeing all those gold coins.”

Bowen, however, sneered, “But what if his original intention was for you to feel something?”

Chiron's expression changed, and he silently thought it over for a while. He then glanced over, finding that many people's gazes were filled with fervour and greed as they watched Richard. However, the man himself seemed oblivious and merely watched the battle keenly.

The match had gone on for a whole ten minutes, and by now the Black Reaper was panting hard. His roars had dulled and he'd grown dispirited, and although his axes were still powerful his quivering muscles were proof that he was nearing his limits. He blocked fewer and fewer attacks, the dagger increasingly making contact with skin and leaving behind wound after wound on his body.

Mark suddenly stopped shouting, because even he had realised something was off here. The Black Reaper was showing even more of his weaknesses, but the footsoldier still was as guarded as he had been at the beginning, finding opportunities to retaliate and keep leaving little wounds behind on his body. There were a few opportunities to send his dagger in to the hilt, but he gave them up and chose to pare off some skin. The Black Reaper already had tens of wounds on his body, and every one of them continued to bleed. He left behind bloodstained footprints with every step he took.

All of a sudden the footsoldier quickened the pace of his attacks, and the style kept changing. Each time the dagger attacked, a thin layer of flesh would be skinned off from his opponent, leaving the man howling in agony. The bloody footprints on the ground soon grew more pronounced, and a mist of blood dispersed in the air.

Such brutal tactics immediately gave rise to a new merriment in the match. By the time the footsoldier swept at the Black Reaper's throat to end his drawn out misery, the ring was burning with energy once more.

He then straightened his body, loudly striking his shield with the dagger before he turned to Richard, arms raised high to proclaim victory. There were a few injuries on him as well, and some were even long and deep, but none were fatal. They wouldn't even affect his abilities— receiving injuries properly was a basic yet important element of experience. The footsoldier's eyes were clear and direct, seemingly unperturbed by the cheers. The reason he had showed a victor's pose was actually merely to match with Richard's aim of suppressing Mark.

Just as the foot soldier accepted the cheers for the victor, he suddenly sensed a trace of danger. Richard's own expression rapidly changed, mouth opening and closing as if yelling something to him. An instinct borne of years in battle instantly surfaced, and he went low and covered his back with his shield.

A heavy force rammed into the shield, a short steel spear! The thing had so much force behind it that it made its way through the metal, burying itself deep into the soldier's shoulder and re-emerging from his chest.

198 - City of Sin

Gamble(3)

Richard immediately stood up, his face darkening. A warrior in leather armour was taking out a second spear in preparation to attack once more, but two rays of holy light flashed past the arena to fall on the soldier. One was a greater heal, while the other was a protective spell similar to a magical shield. Another ray of light shone on the man after the first two had passed, augmenting his long range defences, a spell cast by Tiramisu.

The entire arena was shocked by the three consecutive rays of light. All the high-ranked warriors knew exactly what that meant— Richard had a mage and someone of faith under him! And looking at the negligible timespan between the two holy spells, it had to be a priest at minimum!

Even at level 12, priests in Faelor had great position in society, and in battle they were even more useful than the level 14 Stormhammer. As for a mage of the same level? Their status would surpass even the priest's!

The assailant was intimidated, blanking out for a moment. It was only then that he remembered that his previous blow had not been fatal, and with the greater heal that had just come in the enemy's combat abilities would not be affected if they recuperated well. He raised his arm in preparation once more, but the slight hesitation had forever lost him the chance. A sharp whistle rang through the arena as Gangdor's axe whistled through the air. A numbing rip sounded as it crashed into the man, instantly cutting him diagonally in two. Three spectators within range of the axe were killed as well, before it finally dug deep into one of the rock platforms. Even after the axe stopped, the handle was still buzzing.

Richard suddenly turned his head to look at Bowen, asking, “Whose?”

Bowen had wanted to delay as per usual practice, but seeing Richard's charming smile he nearly jumped out of his chair, as if he'd been drenched by cold water.

“Mark's!” he answered as fast as he could.

Richard nodded, and a fireball instantly shot towards Mark's compartment. All of a sudden, the entire arena fell into chaos!

“It's another mage!”

“Oh no, run! It's a fireball!”

Fireballs were much more effective in enclosed spaces, and although they weren't much of a threat to high-ranking warriors they were fatal to commoners. Mark's face distorted under the onslaught of flames, and surging fire soon engulfed the Blood Scythe and filled every bit of space in the room, even overflowing back outside. A painful groan sounded from within, and the wall at the back exploded to reveal a path outside. Half of the platform crumbled from the wall, crashing into the chaotic crowd below.

Richard snorted, sitting down slowly, “That escape was quick.”

Gangdor had already brought two knights to charge into the arena, carrying their wounded comrade back to Richard's room where treatment immediately began. None of the guards dared interfere with his actions— the two mages and priest were more than sufficient intimidation.

The ground level had become a mess, with people pushing one another in a fight to rush to the exit. On the other hand, the second level was very quiet. Outside of Mark's men who had all fled, Howie, Chiron, and Bowen remained calmly in their seats with their gazes fixed on Richard. However, even they had some uneasiness and fear on their faces. Richard hadn't even displayed his full power, but it already put heavy pressure on them.

Richard took out a white handkerchief and began wiping his hands, seemingly to wipe away the ashes from the fireball. However, the magical flames of the spell left no ash behind at all. The expressions of the three leaders changed slightly after seeing Richard's actions.

This was in fact a strategy Flowsand had taught Richard, using iconic actions to greatly intensify the other party's impressions of him and conveying his emotions through physical cues.

Richard spoke indifferently as he was cleaning his hands, "You're smart, Mr. Bowen, and I like smart people. Maybe we can work together on some matters in the future."

“I look forward to it!” Bowen replied.

By this time, the dwarf managing the arena had rushed into Richard's room, raising his voice as he exclaimed, “You've blown up the are—”

However, his words remained unfinished as he was cut off by the ten coins Richard threw over. He frantically picked up all the coins, rubbing his eyes hard and counting them repeatedly. He then spoke cautiously, “Two of my guards died as well, Sir. They were elites, amongst the bravest, most loyal, and most handsome warriors of the bloodstone tribe...”

Richard threw over another twenty gold coins and asked nonchalantly, ”Is this enough?”

“Enough, it's enough! That's too much!” the dwarf said, picking it all up frantically.

Richard's chair turned around and he faced the dwarf, “Really? That's good. Alright now, my warriors faced a sneak attack by Mark's man in your arena. How are you going to account for this?”

The dwarf was startled, and his eyes quickly turned a few times. He finally smiled in response, “You see, many people died in this arena because of you. I suggest you just let it go.”

Richard's gaze remained level as he said indifferently, “Let it go? Are you saying that my elite warriors are the same as these useless guards with no power? I don't think that's how the bloodstone tribe sees it. Is it a rule of your arena to allow the defeated to ambush the victors as they wish? Is that the reputation of the half-orcs?”

The dwarf was surprised, not expecting Richard to be so well-versed in the laws of the camp. The last sentence had been quite profound, and his smile grew even more flattering, “You are wise, my Lord. Of course those ordinary people cannot compensate for your loss, but you will obtain the goodwill of the bloodstone tribe. I believe that is far more important than a few gold coins. As for those despicable scum, they should be condemned and punished!”

Seeing the knight's wound taken care of, Richard stood up, “Punishment... Very well, I believe in the goodwill of the bloodstone tribe. Let's go!”

After waiting for Richard to make it far away, Bowen, Chiron, and Howie all left after exchanging glances that seemed to speak volumes.

Once he was back at the inn where he lived, Richard immediately changed into clothes that would allow for swift movement. He then issued a quick series of orders, and moments later dozens of warhorses galloped out of the inn and into the darkness. On both sides were wind wolves running at a similar speed as well. Although they'd exhausted their wind blades at the battle at the blockade, Flowsand's Vigour spell combined with half a day of rest had given them the energy to use the ability once more.

The person at the front of the cavalry, right beside Richard himself, was actually Sam. His hand was pointed ahead, towards the location of Mark's lair.

199 - City of Sin

Vengeance

The Blood Scythe and his forces occupied the entire block, along with the surrounding areas. The most important part, the spring's mouth, sat right in his courtyard. Besides the taverns nearby, Mark's only income was through a single casino. However, despite it being prime time there were barely any people here.
𝙛𝐫𝑒𝐞𝘄ℯ𝘣𝚗𝘰𝘷𝙚𝘭. c𝘰m

Richard mulled over it for a moment, concluding that this definitely wasn't due to the incident at the arena earlier in the evening. News of that definitely wouldn't have spread so quickly. It seemed like the business wasn't going well for some time, which should be why he'd sent Sam to collect a toll outside Camp Bloodstone. With Mark's personality and the way he handled affairs, it would be a surprise for him to ever improve the casino's profits.

Bloodstone wasn't considered particularly big— it took but a few minutes at full gallop for Richard's army to reach Mark's base, and although the advancing soldiers alarmed nearly half the camp the attack was so sudden that the half-orcs were barely alerted before Richard and his troops were long gone.

At the entrance to Mark's base, everyone was just dismounting as the trolls made it over as well. Medium Rare sped up with a wave of Richard's hand, throwing himself towards the entrance with a bellow. He leapt up as he was about to make contact, ruthlessly smashing his hammer into the gates. A loud rumble sounded out as they gave way, detaching from the frame before flying out into the yard. Smoke and dust rose from the ground.

As he stood before the main entrance, the remnant page of the Book of Holding appeared in Richard's hand. Five direwolves charged up in the next moment, brutally attacking anything in sight that was moving. Cries and screams of alarm filled the air, turning the entire courtyard into a mess.

The sentries along the wall had been dozing off. The attack was so quick that it was only now that they realised something was amiss. However, two arrows screeched through the darkness and buried into their throats, stopping them from shouting out. Richard calmly stood at the gates and cast Nature's Beckon, spawning five more wolves that caused even more chaos.

As the pack of ten wolves pounced around in the yard, Richard started to chant the spell for the all-too-familiar fireballs. However, several of his men started to look at him with peculiar expressions.

Magic affected everyone in a melee, including the allies of the caster. However, Richard's tactic allowed him to cast without restraint. This was not the first time this had happened— an array of delayed fireballs engulfing even his own summons. It was likely that someone unfamiliar with him would suffer disastrous damage if they charged forth, but the reward was as great as the risk.

The target of the fireballs this time was the second floor of Mark's residence. Three fireballs all landed around the same area, detonating at the same time and turning the Blood Scythe's cries of surprise into calls for help. Waves of fire engulfed the entire courtyard in a flash, even as tongues of flames spewed out of the windows.

As well-built as Sam was, he trembled as he stared at the scene before him. It wasn't long before his quivering legs gave way, leaving him to land on his bum.

Richard pointed into the courtyard once the fire died down, and his men threw themselves inside ruthlessly, starting a massacre. Dozens of wind wolves circled out back, leaping over the walls to attack the enemies from behind.

A few minutes later, the battle cries slowly started to fade. Mark's tall, sturdy silhouette appeared in the courtyard, staring at Richard who was by the gates. Beams of hateful rage shot out of his eyes, and with a scythe in each hand he rushed towards Richard after roaring wildly.

The Blood Scythe staggered with every step he took, his clothes already soaked crimson. Yellow light flashed over him before he could take more than two, a spell from Tiramisu that slowed him to a third of his original pace. Dozens of weapons then stabbed into his body, the Shepherd of Eternal Rest plunging into his back.

Right before he drew his last breath, however, Mark roared and took a few more strides to everyone's surprise. However, a sacred flame descended upon him from the sky, and he immediately screamed in agony. He staggered aimlessly a few more steps, before collapsing head first into the ground. The weight of his body caused him to slide forward quite a bit, stopping right at Richard's feet.

A snow-white handkerchief slowly floated down onto Mark's head, and immediately after Richard stepped down as he grinded his feet on his fallen foe's skull.

Flowsand happened to walk out of the yard at that moment, witnessing the scene. She whispered into Richard's ear, assuring him, “There's no enemies around you now, you don't have to do this...”

Richard stopped what he was doing, and without even batting an eyelid quietly reached out and pinched her buttcheeks with all his strength.

However, Flowsand didn't cry out as she spoke calmly, “These are all our men. You don't need to do this either...”

This started to stifle Richard's breathing once more, even though he'd just gone back to normal a while ago.

The battle was long over, but the raging fires continued to engulf Mark's two-storey residence. Olar lugged a huge chest out from amidst the blaze, also carrying about a dozen sacks of all sizes on his person. The elf was extremely sensitive to the scent of wealth. Even the hidden stores of experienced nobles could not escape him, let alone the Blood Scythe who had naught but muscles in his brain.

He walked over to Richard's side, handing him the chest before kicking Mark, “This fellow is a pauper! He doesn't have more than 300 coins!”

Richard turned to Gangdor, “How many survivors?”

Shrugging, Gangdor replied, “Most of the survivors are amongst those who ran at first chance. There's only dead and crippled people in the courtyard, and they couldn't run if they wanted to. Forget about captives, boss.”

Richard realised the hidden meaning behind Gangdor's words, finding that there had been a problem with himself. Since he was already at the Bloodstained Lands, there was no need for him to capture enemies and turn them into his soldiers. Gold and slaves would work much better.

Richard agreed with a nod, pointing at Mark's body, “Alright. Bring him along, We're heading back!”

Everyone mounted, and Mark's body was thrown on the back of a horse as well. They made their way back to the inn without a hurry, noticing a wave of heavy and chaotic footsteps in the distance. Half-orc soldiers came out of the corner, stopping Richard in his tracks. These were warriors of Bloodstone, the core force maintaining order in the camp.

They'd actually made it quite quickly, but all they could do was stand in Richard's path. He'd already finished what he'd set out to do. Before Mark could treat his wounds after escaping to his base, Richard had already taken his troops out to kill him. Of course, this wouldn't have been possible without Sam's help, since he knew Mark inside out. Without the fellow leading the way, Richard's troops would not have acted so quickly, and it would have required more effort to win the battle.

200 - City of Sin

Vengeance(2)

Richard reined in his horse, sizing up the half-orc warriors standing in his way. The longer he took to observe, the more information he would receive about his target.

There were a total of eight bloodstone orcs stopping Richard, each about two metres tall with the levels between 6 and 8. However, with their innate strength they were similar to warriors a level higher in combat. However, 6 to 8 and 7 to 9 weren't much different to Richard's group. There were two mages in their party, and orcs had pitiful resistance to magic.

The leader took two steps forward, pointing at Richard's nose, “Human! You've killed at Camp Bloodstone, and Chief Stormhammer doesn't like trouble. You're to come with me now, if he is free he will interrogate you tomorrow.”

“Orc! Dare point at a mage that way again, and your arm will instantly be severed,” Richard answered apathetically.

A few orcs immediately showed looks of terror, and some even retreated. Mages were terrifying to orcs, their existence second only to the evil dragons. However, the leader roared in fury, “Are you threatening the brave warriors of Camp Bloodstone?”
ƒ𝔯ℯe𝘄𝐞𝐛𝒏𝐨ѵ𝘦𝒍. com

But even if his snarls were fierce, the hand he'd used to point at Richard lowered. Mages were evil and terrifying to orcs, and the legends had made them out to be omnipotent. They could render the most powerful warriors impotent forever, a punishment more frightening than death itself.

“Threatening a mage will result in far worse outcomes,” Richard said with a hint of laughter.

However, the half-orc warrior didn't seem to think the same way. However, he hummed and finally conceded, “You burnt Mark's residence. You should at least let us know what happened, no?”

Richard waved his hand, and a footsoldier lifted the corpse's head to show the orcish warriors its face.

“It's the Blood Scythe!” one of them cried in alarm.

The violent and powerful fellow was notorious in Camp Bloodstone, but now he'd fallen into the hands of this young and handsome mage. It was unknown whether he was even alive! Mages were truly terrifying aberrations.

Richard spoke leisurely, “This fellow lost a gamble to me at the arena, but he wasn't willing to pay up. I had no choice but to collect on the debt myself. His life can be considered the interest he owes me.”

“This...” The half-orc scratched his head, at a loss for answers. From the standpoint of maintaining order, it did indeed make sense to enforce debts. Such disputes occurred everyday in Bloodstone, and every once in a while some lives were lost. The problem here was that Richard had created a big mess, and from the looks of it he'd killed off the Blood Scythe's family as well.

Just as they were at a standstill, a short, stocky figure hastened over from the distance, calling out from his location, “Sir Richard, Lord Richard! Wait, I have something to say!”

This was the dwarven host of the gladiatorial ring. He ran till he was gasping for breath, but even ten or so metres away he couldn't wait as he spoke out, “Mark isn't someone to be trifled with! Sir Richard, please do not be too rash... Ah!”

The dwarf was stunned; he had seen Mark's corpse. His gaze seemed to stay on Mark's face for an entire minute, and only then did he gulp, turning to look at Richard. At that moment, the charming face seemed no different from that of a devil.

Richard looked down at the dwarf, “These brave warriors of Bloodstone do not want me to return. I remember you promised me some goodwill as the price for not pursuing your poor management of the arena.”

“But of course!” the dwarf quickly replied, darting over to the leader and saying something. It seemed like the dwarf was regarded highly by the bloodstone orcs, as his explanation was accepted without objection. The captain led his small team of warriors and left.

Richard shook his head slightly. So the orcs just left like that? It seemed like this dwarf had quite the status, and Mark wasn't all that liked either. However, he had only used a small portion of his mana, and the might of most of his subordinates had not been displayed. He'd wished for the warriors to be more forceful, so he could test the abilities of the bloodstone orcs. However, since they were smart enough not to provoke him he would not indulge in competition.

Richard then chuckled aloud, guiding his horse ahead till they reached the inn safely. Numerous pairs of eyes spied on them from the shadows along the way, but seeing Mark's corpse none dared make a move.

Returning to the inn, Richard patted Sam on the shoulder, “Well done!”

Ever since he'd come to Faelor, he'd found himself liking people like Yomen and Sam more and more. They could do many things, and were of great use as guides.

He then had people hoist the Blood Scythe's corpse up, bringing it to the room Zendrall currently resided in.

Zendrall had stuck to his position as a prisoner along the way, not stirring any trouble. Their interactions during this time told Richard that this necromancer was someone who valued trust and promises, arrogant but stubbornly persistent in mage tradition. Since he'd defeated the man properly in a magic duel, Richard had gained his respect.

The power of the Book of Holding was still viewed as a part of Richard's own power on Faelor. Here, the use of magic equipment was alright in a duel. There were few mages in this plane, all of them of high position, and they monopolised the production of any powerful magic equipment. Thus, they showed off the importance of such items in duels, and the more powerful the equipment a mage could use the more respect they garnered.

After all, one still needed mana to activate such equipments, and acolytes skipping levels to use powerful items was impossible. Thus, the art of magic battle involved a perfect combination of both mage and equipment.

In other words, the five direwolves Richard had summoned had given Zendrall less of a shock than the single page from the Book of Holding.

Entering Zendrall's room, Richard had the corpse placed on the floor as he smiled, “Zendrall, I've found you some fairly good material.”

Zendrall's eyes flashed and he crouched by Mark's side. He took a careful look and then sighed in praise, “This is a very sturdy warrior. His body and bones weren't damaged much, and if processed well he can become the perfect dark knight. He might even grow more powerful than he was when he was alive!”

However, the fire in his eyes immediately died out, “It's a pity that I'm only a prisoner.”

“If you are willing, you don't have to be one,” Richard stated.

201 - City of Sin

The Path Of A Mage

“You want me to capitulate?” Zendrall asked seriously.

Richard shook his head in answer, “Mage tradition ensures that your life has belonged to me ever since you lost the duel of life and death.”

Seeing Zendrall look like he had something to say, Richard preempted him with a wave of his arm, “I know, you can give up on your life whenever. But before that, I want you to think this through seriously. Is there any meaning in that? Are you willing to give up on the most mighty dream of mages, give up on exploring the boundless mysteries of magic, give up on possibly making contact with the gods themselves? What about leaving Faelor and exploring the boundless planes? Those are things mages take pride in, goals they persevere towards!”

The necromancer was completely taken by Richard's words. He hadn't ever heard or considered what the young noble in front of him had just mentioned, but once he thought it through he realised that this was the attitude all mages had to have. Touching upon the mysteries of the gods themselves? Even as a necromancer, he didn't have the guts to dare attempt it. And then, Richard had given him another prospect to think about, exploring the myriad planes. He'd never thought such a thing would be possible, but coming from Richard's mouth all this seemed like a given. It definitely wasn't something the youth made up!

At that moment, Richard was an imposing mountain in Zendrall's mind, one which he could gaze upon but whose peak he would never find.

Richard's words had been simple, but the things he had spoken of were quite significant for the future of a mage. These were paths that could be walked very far in the future. Indeed, it was so far off that this mere level 9 could not have found out on his own. It showed that his inheritance and knowledge with respect to magic far surpassed the peak of what he himself had learnt from Faelor.

Of course, that was a given. Even in Norland the magic inheritance of the Deepblue was of the highest calibre. The knowledge of anyone from the Deepblue's streets would likely surpass that of Faelor greatly.

“You... Do you speak the truth?” Zendrall's voice trembled as he asked a question he himself knew to be foolish.

“What do you think?” Richard asked back with a smile.

Zendrall had grown so emotional his face was completely red, but a moment later he sat down with disappointment, hugging his head, “But... I am a necromancer.”

Richard understood where that dejection came from, “If I did not consider you a true mage, I wouldn't have agreed to the duel. Nor would I have used a divine tool like the page from the Book of Holding from the beginning.”

Zendrall was stunned by these words. He looked up at Richard before slowly standing up as he finally made up his mind. “What do you need me to do?”

Richard muttered to himself for a while before speaking up, “I search for supreme strength, the sort of power that surpasses the limits of this world. I need you to give your all for its sake, carrying out my every order as I make it without question. I believe all your doubts and questions will be answered, but you will perhaps continue to discover more unknowns. I can release you from the confinements of this plane, I can allow you to explore what is beyond! There is still a long path ahead that even I know nothing of, and the search will be very long. However, is it not this very charm that is worthy of our very lives in an effort to investigate the mysteries of magic?”

The necromancer's eyes continued to brighten with Richard's every word, as if a blueprint of the massive and magnificent world of magic had been laid before him. He looked at Richard, done speaking and merely watching him with a smile, and composed himself, “There is one more thing I need to remind you of, my Lord. I am a necromancer, and in the eyes of the gods we are heretics that must be burnt at the stake. We work with the souls of the dead, and that is a domain no god will allow to be violated. If I join your party, you might end up wanted by many of the large churches.”

Richard burst into laughter, “Don't worry! I have the guts to cooperate with demons, so what do necromancers matter? I've never planned to cooperate with the gods of this plane, and I'm not afraid of their pursuit.”

Zendrall nodded sternly, kneeling halfway. “In that case, I am willing to follow by your side as you seek supreme strength. You have my loyalty, my magic, and an army of undead.”

He then followed up with a magic oath, one of the most restrictive at his level. While these weren't nearly as powerful as slave contracts, going against that oath would lead to a permanent drop of a level. Thus, the higher level the mage was, the more restrictive this oath would be.

Richard smiled slightly, “Then this corpse is yours. I hope a powerful warrior of darkness will join your army in the future.”

“You shall not be disappointed,” Zendrall answered.

“Good. Do give me a list of any magic materials you need for your research. My subordinates still have a batch of many materials.” Having said this, Richard left Zendrall's room and let the anxious necromancer begin working on resurrecting a warrior of darkness.

Once he was out of the room, Richard saw Flowsand waiting with half a smile on her face. He beckoned to her, and she followed him up to the second floor and entered his room.
𝗳𝐫𝘦e𝔀𝚎𝚋𝓃𝚘vℯl. 𝑐o𝚖

She only spoke after closing the door, “It's such a pity that you aren't a priest. Whether or not you really have faith, your ability to muster up followers is enough to make you great at the job.”

Richard pulled her into his embrace and gritted out, “If you dare tease me further, I'll rape you!”

“That's impossible.” Her slightly hoarse voice was enticing as always.

Richard's eyebrows shot up, “You think I don't have the guts to do that?”

Her upper body leant backwards slightly in response, showing off her perfect breasts, “It's obviously not that. I'll be doing my best to cooperate with you, so how would you call that rape?”

“You...“ Richard was so frustrated in that moment that he was left tongue-tied.

Flowsand grinned, looking up to plant a light kiss on his lips, “There's actually no need to wait for the day before we return. If one day you're truly certain you can bring us back, that's fine as well. At that point... I'll do my best to resist!”

The raging inferno within Richard's body was ignited again with her words. The arm fastened around her grew more tight as he asked, “So what about before I have this absolute confidence then?”

“I just told you,” came the reply, “I'll do my best to cooperate.”

202 - City of Sin

Inspiration

Richard's smile faded as he shook his head, letting go of the priestess. He moved over to his table, attentively examining a piece of hide placed upon it. This hide had a complete magic formation etched into it.

“Oh? Getting ready for work?” Flowsand did not seem to let Richard go.

Richard brushed the hide lightly with his left hand. The sensitive touch of his fingers could reveal even the smallest flaws on this rune. This would be its final inspection.

“Mm. This is the rune I prepared for Gangdor, an elementary strength rune. Even if it's only grade 1, it's quite suited to him. It'll complement his gaia bloodline quite well, giving his enemies a big surprise in battle.”

“This doesn't seem to be a normal elementary strength,” Flowsand said suddenly.

Richard was slightly surprised, but at this point he was already used to her vast knowledge. He explained, “There's some variation to the structure of this rune. It only activates when needed, and the amplification goes up to 50% instead of the standard 30. The disadvantage is that stimulating this requires strong intent, and it consumes energy at twice the normal rate. Even with Gangdor's stamina, he can only sustain five minutes in this berserk state. However, when fused with Gaia's Force the instantaneous boost in battle will be heavy. Even enemies who were originally equal to him will fall at his hands in that period.”

“That sounds similar to your bloodline ability.”

Richard nodded, “Yes, it was inspired by Eruption. However, my bloodline shouldn't be limited to that, and even Eruption itself continued to grow stronger as I grow.”

“This rune...” Flowsand touched this hide like it was a work of art. She seemed to think of something, looking more and more surprised, “I've never heard of a rune like this that can boost one's natural abilities. Richard... You've created something amazing!”

"Isn't that a little bit of an exaggeration?” Richard asked with a smile, “This isn't all that much better than an elementary strength rune, but the energy consumption is substantially higher. The passive boost to strength has become active and triggered, but there isn't too much significance to that."

“No, it's not that simple,” Flowsand shook her head, “What if you consider this rune an ability? There's almost no difference from Eruption, outside of the degree of amplification. How many people in the myriad planes have bloodline abilities? It pales in comparison to the number of people who can bear runes. Runes that can simulate bloodline abilities are considered to be grade 3 at minimum, but you've used a grade 1 rune to accomplish the same! Have you thought of using a similar method to simulate other grade 3 runes? If you can achieve that...” Please visit 𝗳re𝐞𝓌e𝚋n૦ѵ𝗲l. co𝐦

Richard was shaken by those words. Flowsand had opened an unprecedented path before him, and all the grade 3 runes instantly flowed through his mind. His strong foundation from five years of study at the Deepblue was put to use, as he solved many problems one after the other. He discovered he could simulate more than half the grade 3 runes he knew with grade 1's, if he could give up enough efficiency. Even some grade 4 runes weren't impossible to simulate!

And at that moment, another vague idea passed through his mind like lightning. He seemed to grab hold of something important, but it also seemed like nothing at all.

"Richard..." Flowsand called out, but he immediately quieted her with a wave of his hand. He was staring out the window, but his gaze was fixed on nothing. His brain worked at great speed, trying hard to capture the inspiration he'd just gotten a flash of. However, this information was so complex to handle that even with his blessing of wisdom he started experiencing a severe headache.

But even as the splitting headache seemed to take over, he suddenly understood!

Why were standard runes even designed? Most runemasters started off by creating standard runes, using them as a basis to design rune sets according to the physical requirements and restrictions of the user. Standard runes existed because these were old, matured designs that had undergone hundreds and even thousands of years of improvement. A considerable level of balance between stability, performance, capacity, and usage had been found, and they thus became a foundation for the mass production of rune knights.

However, it was impossible for standard runes to completely suit everyone's requirements, and powerful high-levelled people wouldn't be able to exhibit their full powers with standard runes. Thus, true runemasters customised rune sets based on the user's characteristics.

Runecrafting was a mixture of both art and science. Standard runes were utilitarian, scientific, while custom-designed runes were an expression of art. The grade of a runemaster also depended on their artistic ability.

It was only then that Richard understood why so many art subjects had been added into his course at the Deepblue. Rigorous and open artistic training had ended up showing him a new path— no, a brand new world!

Art has soul. A rune set could consist of one rune or quite a few, but regardless of that count the entire set had to become one with the person that used it. They needed to make a complete package, with the same theme and the same soul!

Richard quickly raised his head to look at Flowsand, “Thank you!”

Flowsand looked seriously into Richard's eyes, a smile slowly forming on her face. It wasn't a slight grin like normal, but a full, brilliant and beautiful beam. It was only then that Richard realised how charming this priestess was when she was smiling merrily. The current Flowsand was gorgeous beyond recognition.

“You should,” she tapped lightly on his chest with her fingertips, “You're quite gifted, with many valuable qualities, but your character is such a problem. You're introverted, persistent but proud. Sadly, you're extremely sensitive and fragile. At times you even seem like a poet, always hiding yourself as you drown in depression and grief, as if everything from the myriad planes has hurt you.”

Richard blushed and exclaimed angrily, “Flowsand!”

Flowsand stuck out her tongue and said quickly, “Alright, alright, I won't say anymore. Actually, you always lack confidence!”

Richard quickly pinched her face and laughed, “But I seem to have confidence now. So thank you, for giving me most of that confidence!”

Flowsand snorted, straightening up, “Of course! Conquering women is the fastest way for a man to gain confidence. And whoever conquers me will have a lot...”

203 - City of Sin

Favour

Richard held up the hide once more to closely examine it, before carefully placing it back on the ground. “I have an idea, but I need a bit more inspiration to come up with a rune that I can call my own. This rune has many memories that make it worth keeping, but I'll just give it to Gangdor.”

“Alright. Also, what next now that Mark was destroyed?” Flowsand asked, “Are we taking control of his lands or do we have a discussion with the rest of the powers here?”

“There's no hurry, let's just wait. Stormhammer will look for us,” Richard carefully tucked the rune away as he set up the tools to build a slot.

“Why Stormhammer? Why not someone else?” Flowsand was relentless.

“Because he's the boss.” Richard wasn't distracted by the conversation, continuing to use both hands precisely and smoothly as he built the slot.

“Are you going to talk about an alliance?”

“It isn't necessarily an alliance. We might just strike a compromise, or merely sound each other out. We're foreigners; if we want to carve some space out for ourselves we need to observe what the bloodstone leader is like.”

“Why not just wipe out the bloodstone orcs and take the camp for ourselves?” Flowsand made a murderous suggestion.

Richard broke out into uncontrollable laughter, hitting her once on the head as he said, “Why would we want to take over such a lousy space? For those few springs? Stormhammer is a level 14 warrior with more than a hundred level 7 or 8 half-orc soldiers under him. If he had the right equipment or a bloodline ability, even with a sneak attack we'll lose more than half our troops. Who do you suggest should die first?”

“Me.” Flowsand's words always made him both love and hate her.

Richard clenched his teeth and grabbed hold of her collar, but on her end she actually propped up her chest and seized the opportunity to wiggle her waist, loosening her robes. It seemed like she had spoken the truth— before they were sure about their return, she would fully cooperate. However, her actions were too much for Richard to take. Was it a sort of rebellion?

When that thought came to mind, he could barely control himself. It took a while for him to return to normal, chasing the priestess out before going back to the work he had on hand. Gangdor was large and strong, so the slots themselves didn't need much work. Roughly two hours later, he'd finally finished it.

At that moment, Olar walked into Richard's room. The news he bore wasn't surprising, but it came faster than he had expected. Bloodstone orcs had come to their inn, inviting Richard to lunch the next noon with Stormhammer himself.

“It was quite the etiquette for a bunch of half-orcs!” The elven poet did not forget to add his own derision after the report, looking down on the creatures who tried to act noble but never even cleaned themselves.

......

The meeting with the most powerful leader of Camp Bloodstone was held at the central castle. Unlike the rest of the bloodstone orcs, Stormhammer looked more human than orc. He was roughly half a head shorter than the average warrior of his tribe, but one could see his muscles were dense and hard as iron. His head was almost bald outside of three black and white pigtails, and from outward appearances he seemed to look like someone who was over fifty years of age.

However, this was only due to the tough conditions in the Bloodstained Lands making its residents look older than they actually were. It wouldn't be too much of a stretch for Stormhammer to only be in his early forties.

The two seemed like real nobles having lunch, both seated at opposite ends of a long table. However, this was where the similarities came to an end. The table only had barbecued meat and strong alcohol on it. This was considered a feast in the Bloodstained Lands, but even a titled knight from the human kingdoms could host a banquet that was infinitely grander.

Still, Richard maintained impeccable manners that wouldn't lose out in the parties of the most prestigious nobles. Most unbelievably he looked calm and joyful, completely unbothered by the fact that the plate was chipped, the table had holes in it, and even the wineglass hadn't been washed clean. He completely immersed himself into the act, as though this was a real grand banquet.

Yet, the entire demeanour was a facade. He was already watching the half-orc on the other end of the table through his peripheral vision, bracing himself for whatever may happen. Stormhammer had been radiating a strong sense of danger from the start— if he ignored his own safety to launch an attack on Richard, his knights would not have the time to save him.

It took until they were halfway done for the man to finally ask, “Mr. Richard... You're a mage yourself, but you also have another mage in your party?”

“That is right,” Richard nodded in acknowledgement.

The half-orc's face stirred with emotion, but he quickly suppressed it to continue his questions, “I hear that great mages are skilled at manufacturing magic artifacts?”

“I'm no great mage,” Richard said with a smile, “But I'm almost at that level. As for your question, the world of magic is very vast, and no mage is skilled enough to understand all forms of magic well. If you wish for magic accessories, that is the job of alchemists. If you want something you already have enhanced, that falls under the purview of an enchanter. Even roughly, there are more than ten main divisions of magic.”

Stormhammer was startled, not expecting there to be so many different and complicated fields of magic. The half-orcs did not have any traditional inheritance in the field, and what little knowledge they did have came from passing visitors. He had been under the impression that any mage could manufacture magical equipment.

He paused for a while to look at the graceful smile of the young mage seated across him, deciding to get to the point, “I am 41 years of age this year, and growing my power through exercise has become a difficult task. I need a magic item, whatever it may be, to put me on par with a level 15 warrior. Is there a way you can help me with this?”

Richard muttered to himself for a while before speaking up, “It isn't implausible, but such a thing would need a lot of materials. In addition to that, it might require a lot of time—“ he paused at that moment to notice that Stormhammer had waved the need for materials away. It would not be a problem. “Also, I would like to know what aspect of your abilities you need to enhance. This is crucial, it will allow me to tailor the item to your requirements.”

The moment Richard brought up his need for resources, Stormhammer's eyes had lit up with unconcealable glee. In the Bloodstained Lands, a high stakes proposal signified the possibility of a successful partnership. He wasn't worried at all about being cheated— the mages of this world had an excellent reputation. Any powerful mage treated promises and trust more seriously than their own lives. Moreover, he himself had an absolute advantage in strength, which would make for the cornerstone of a successful partnership.

204 - City of Sin

Favour(2)

Seeing that his wish of many years might come true, even the powerful Stormhammer could barely contain himself. Hearing Richard's conditions, he immediately explained, “In the stone forest west of Camp Bloodstone is a powerful beast called the Fleeting Shadow. It is a mutated demonic wolf, possessing power so great that my two strongest sons died at its hand one after the other. Even with my strength, I can only match up to it, unable to kill it at all. I need the power to exterminate it! I am in my prime now, but in a few years my strength will begin to decline. If I don't kill it now, I never will!”

Pointing to the half-orc warriors on either side of the man, Richard asked, “You have so many warriors here. Why don't you take an army with you?”

Stormhammer sighed in reply, “The Fleeting Shadow is extremely cunning, as smart as any human. It will accept my lone challenge, but if I bring our warriors it goes into hiding. Even the most experienced adventurers who are adept at tracking cannot find it.

“Besides, the terrain of the stone forest is extremely helpful to its combat style. It appears when you least expect it to, launching a surprise attack. None of my elite warriors can withstand a single full power blow from it, so be it our own operations or with outsider help, no one can get rid of it. It simply treats the place like its property, coming to the camp to hunt in winter or during droughts.”

Richard was taken aback by this. The elites of Camp Bloodstone were warriors on par with his own troops, reaching level 10. Of course it was another matter altogether in actual combat, Norland's inheritance of training and strategy making them two levels higher than those from secondary planes. Richard's team knew how to complement each other, all of them professionals with valiance and extraordinary might. They could take on two bloodstone orcs of the same level and emerge victorious. However, both parties weren't much different in terms of body strength. If the Fleeting Shadow could take out an elite warrior of Camp Bloodstone in one blow, the same would hold with his own men.

He paused in thought for a moment before speaking up, “If it is just to raise your power to make you on par with a level 15 warrior, and it only needs to be activated in combat, I might be able to help.”

Stormhammer's eyes lit up, “Even if it's temporary, I want it! As long as it can last ten— no, just five minutes will do! What do you need, Mr. Richard? Not just the materials you need, I can give you anything! This deal... What do you need from me?!”

Richard leaned back into his chair, looking very relaxed, “I need a lot of things. Large numbers of warriors, slaves, horses, and basic equipment. I also need magical materials, rare minerals, and other exclusive materials from the barbarian ancestral spirit plains. I also need a map of the Bloodstained Lands that details the distribution of power, the more detailed the better. This is all I came to the Bloodstained Lands for, how much of it can you offer for this deal?”

Stormhammer thought it over for a moment before declaring, “We have some magical materials, and ore as well. They were left untouched because none of us knew how to use them, so you can take your pick. As for warriors, I can lend you twenty powerful ones. I only have a detailed map of the areas around Bloodstone, with the map of more remote places not as accurate. But before all that, might I know how you plan to raise my power? Is it a set of magical armour, or a formidable scroll?”

“I do not have a set of armour with me, nor do I have an enchanter. As for scrolls, one that can raise your power by an entire level has to be at least at the sixth grade, something I likewise do not have. Even if I did, you would not be able to use it. It is none of the above.

“In fact, I have an even better option for you. Gangdor!” Richard gestured to the brute.

Gangdor took a few steps forward, arriving beside the table, “What can I do, boss?”

“Test your strength with the respected Stormhammer over there. While you're at it, give your new rune a try as well,” Richard instructed, subtly shooting a meaningful glance at the man.

Gangdor nodded, ripping his shirt apart to reveal the magical patterns on his right chest and shoulder. He took large strides towards Stormhammer, extending his right hand. Stormhammer sternly sized up the man in front of him, secretly assessing his level before he stood up and got into position as well. His hand held Gangdor's with complete ease.

Letting out a roar, Gangdor began to exert his powers. However, Stormhammer's body only shook slightly before he was stable once more. Orcs were normally gifted in strength, and Stormhammer was already level 14. Although Gangdor was equivalent to a level 13 human warrior himself, he couldn't do anything to make the half-orc budge in arm wrestling. After all, this fellow was strong enough to exceed even a level 15 human warrior.

However, Stormhammer was still taken aback by this level of strength. He could already tell that Gangdor was only level 10.

After a few attempts that resulted in complete failure, Gangdor suddenly bellowed loudly. The rune on his body suddenly lit up, and brilliant rays of light spurted out from the magic formation. A surge of tremendous energy rushed forth like a tide, quickly exceeding Stormhammer's resistance. The half-orc stumbled backwards, bellowing loudly as well. His body ended up flushing red as he brought forth his full power, only then managing to resist the brute's force with some difficulty.

“Alright!” Richard called for the two to stop, pointing at the rune on Gangdor's body, “This is called a rune. It is a technique that is known solely to my family. Now, let's talk about its price.”

Stormhammer nodded, looking at the formation with astonishment. He'd felt the formidable strength that it had brought forth quite clearly, combining with Gangdor's own strength to form a raging force that almost could not be defied. If he could have such power... The half-orc leader's gaze began to blaze in anticipation, and he could almost see the next time he battled that wolf.

He led Richard to his warehouse, piling all the valuable resources he had collected over the years for the mage to pick.

When he saw a box of twenty magic crystals, his eyelids twitched a few times without control. However, when he then saw a yellowish-green ore with tiny crystals embedded in it. This was crystalline yellowsteel, and there was at least a kilogram of it!

Just as he reached over to pick up the crystalline yellowsteel from the ground, another material tumbled down from the pile of items. It looked like an ordinary piece of amber, but the interior was covered with veiny patterns. Holding the fist-sized piece of amber in hand, Richard could smell a faint smell of flora. His fingers trembled slightly as he recognised what this was— maple amber!

205 - City of Sin

Trade

Crystalline yellowsteel and maple amber were very rare materials that were used in the crafting of grade 2 runes. The former came from unusual ore veins, while the latter could only be excavated from ancient ruins. Both were extremely scarce in Norland, sold by the gram. This piece of yellowsteel alone would be a hundred thousand gold back home, while the large maple amber could be sold for twice that.

His intelligence reports also gave him some understanding of the economics of this plane. Twenty magic crystals could be sold for nearly 10,000 coins, but that was only in the human empires. Because of how rare mages were and their monopoly on high-end magic equipment, few people purchased these things in bulk. There wasn't much demand from apprentices either.

And in the Bloodstained Lands, such top-notch materials were worth even less. Because of the chaos in control of the place, transportation costs themselves normally made for a third of the price. Even with all these goods one needed to stay alive to be able to ship them out. Thus, it was considered rather decent for this batch to be sold between 3,000 and 4,000 coins. Back in Norland they would be worth up to 20,000.

The fact that so much yellowsteel and maple amber could be in Stormhammer's stores without being segregated into their own piles meant that these materials were rather common in this plane, and they had limited use here. The prices indicated that this plane wasn't very advanced in alchemy, incomparable to the splendour of Norland.

Richard remained composed as he pointed to more than ten materials including the crystalline yellowsteel and maple amber, enquiring about their prices one by one. Sure enough, both were only considered mediocre, priced at 200 to 300 coins.

The magic materials in Stormhammer's resources were worth a little more than 10,000 coins total, and with open trading channels could be sold back in the human kingdoms for nearly 30,000 gold. Even by looting the Church of Valour Richard had only acquired less than 100,000 but at this small camp on the outskirts of the Bloodstained Lands he'd gotten so much. This land clearly had ample opportunities.

Of course, these opportunities also meant the Bloodstained Lands were rife with fighting. This tribe of half-orcs wasn't even proficient at magic, but they had such an abundance of materials. It was obvious how these things were collected. Had he not portrayed aggression by executing the Blood Scythe without pause, Richard felt like his own materials would have added to this pile. Stormhammer was only negotiating with him because he revealed formidable magic.

Back in Norland, all these materials would be worth half a million coins! It was only now that Richard realised the true profit of planar warfare— it was ultimately a trade for rare goods between both planes.

Richard picked out all the materials he could use in addition to the box of magic crystals, worth about 8,000 coins in total. “All that, and twenty adult fighters.”

Stormhammer hesitated slightly, but eventually the half-orc waved his hand. The materials were all wrapped up and tossed to Richard, after which he asked in a low voice, “When can I get my goods?”

“Three days later, but I'll need to activate it for you myself as well. That will take another day to complete.”

Stormhammer smashed a nearby desk with his fist, speaking in a low voice, “I have waited five whole years, a few more days won't matter! But I hope you won't let me down!”

Richard seemed oblivious to the half-orc's murderous glare, weighing the bag in his hand and tossing it over to Gangdor as he spoke lightly, “I'm an esteemed mage, and as such I treasure my reputation. The world of magic is incomparably mysterious, not something ordinary people can understand. I would like to remind you that it is extremely foolish to doubt a mage!”

Another thud, and Stormhammer's beard blew in the wind. His muscles writhed in anticipation, but he eventually restrained his fury and did not act any further. He merely glared harshly at Richard, “Three days. I'll be waiting!”

Richard nodded, taking his generous profits along as he left Bloodstone Castle.

When they returned to the inn, Richard clapped Gangdor on the back and said with a laugh, “Well done!”

Gangdor grinned widely as he burst into raucous laughter, “I'm an expert at this! I've fooled my enemies into thinking I'm weaker than I am way too often!”

The brute had only activated a little more than half the powers of the rune while wrestling Stormhammer, the boost not even reaching 30%. However, the half-orc had been fooled into thinking that it was the peak of his power. This big fellow had turned purple in the face, the vein on his neck throbbing violently, but it was all an act. He'd even drenched himself with sweat, so much so that he nearly wet the ground he was standing on!

“Get used to your new rune, there will be more in the future,” Richard said before carrying all the materials back to his room. He would sort and organise his immense profit, and with the inspiration from Flowsand he also had a few new rune concepts that he was lacking the materials to act upon. With this and the resources he already possessed, he could make nine standard runes instead of four, or six of the new runes he thought up as well.

However, just before he headed upstairs he saw Waterflower's figure flash by. From behind, the young lady seemed a little... forlorn?

However, this doubt only flashed for a moment in his mind. Richard returned to his room and sorted out his new materials, setting up his tools to prepare for Stormhammer's rune.

The rune he was building retained the basic function, but severely lacked in all other areas of performance. The surface area tripled, but Stormhammer's back was broad enough to fit such a large rune. The parts of the spell formation that required more expensive materials were omitted where possible, while the circuit that lowered the capacity requirement was completely removed.

Lastly, the rune was designed to be active and not passive. The demand for capacity exceeded that of a grade 2 rune, and the energy consumption was 1.5 times higher than Gangdor's. However, the final boost was only 20%, and even that was not stable.

The only unique part of the design was an absorption array for embedded magic crystals. This allowed the mana in the crystals to activate the rune, one crystal allowing for about an hour and a half of activity. This meant the rune could only be fully activated nine to ten times.

Of course, the purpose of this was not to improve the rune's functionality. On the contrary, an array absorbing energy from magic crystals was far less complicated and required far fewer materials than other methods like those based on warriors' energy, mana, vitality, or even spiritual force.

206 - City of Sin

Trade(2)

The magic crystal array wasn't just to simplify the design. Someone like Stormhammer, who had no knowledge of enchantments or magic in general, would be more impressed by it than plain-looking animal hide, even if the hide itself was the true representative of Richard's skill. In fact, if the rune was tattooed onto skin like in Flowsand's case it would look quite unassuming for its power. Even when activated it would only cause a dull glow.

However, Richard did not need to have Stormhammer display the full power of any rune. In this plane with no runemasters, even the 20% amplification would astonish people. A 40% increase would not be much different in effect. Rather than building a more powerful rune with six times the resources and eight times the crafting time, it would be more fruitful to beautify it and just make it look stronger instead. This would require some 'delicate' touch-up that made it look complicated enough for anyone looking to forget the actual effect.

Richard had studied art for a long time, so such designs would pose no problem. The additional time and effort spent on the task were so negligible that this way might as well be less complex. The elven blood in him contributed as well— elves were historically known in Norland to be superior at producing flashy items.

In Faelor, this attention to aesthetic would be equivalent to doubling the strength amplification from the rune itself in terms of selling price.

Those weren't the only reasons to make the rune look intricate. The spoils of war they'd seized in past raids indicated that the mages of this plane took pleasure in using the design of their equipment to denote status. From staffs to scrolls, weapons, and other magical products, they all looked exquisite and beautiful, reflective of their status as high-end goods. To Stormhammer and most others who had seen magic artifacts before, this intricate design which displayed the working of the magic crystal was undoubtedly an extremely advanced artifact well worth 10,000 gold coins.

......

When Flowsand knocked and entered at dinnertime, the rune was nearly finished. This thing wouldn't even be worthy of being called a defective product in Norland, but it had been sold at a price equivalent to 400,000 gold. It only took Richard three hours and less than a thousand coins worth of material to do this, and that included the hour spent in art. In comparison, the rune on Gangdor took up a week of Richard's time, with the materials being five times as expensive.

When Flowsand laid her eyes on the product, she immediately let out a low cry, “This thing... This... rune...”

“Crude?” Richard laughed heartily, “There's no need to produce quality goods for Stormhammer. We just need to match his expectations, and he only needs five minutes of a level's worth of boost to his strength.”

Flowsand nodded, but she was unable to take her eyes off the newly-crafted rune. The thing looked really shoddy, a stark contrast from Richard's usual works. One familiar with the youth would struggle to believe that this trash had come from his hands.

In her eyes, all those beautiful lights and patterns were unappealing. They were all redundancies to be removed, and the only clear thing was the simplistic formation that formed the rune's core. To her, the perfect rune was one that used the minimum number of strokes.

However, despite this being such a shoddy piece of work the lines and curves were precise as ever. The core of his style still remained. Flowsand knew Richard had the proper idea, but this rune seemed like a seasoned artist deliberately imitating a child's scribbles. It made even her unwavering mind feel a twinge of discomfort.

It took her a while to settle down and ask, “How much did this cost?”

“Less than a thousand coins,” Richard replied calmly.

“That's so cheap! How?” Flowsand was shocked. Any rune in Norland cost at least 10,000 coins to make. Now it seemed like Richard was benefiting greatly from his partnership with Stormhammer.

“What about the amplification?”

“20%, and it's activated by a magic crystal.”

She understood that this was a way to limit Stormhammer's capabilities. After all, he was a strong level 14 warrior. Even in a Norland Army he would be an officer, and with a proper rune he could become a rune knight. With the capabilities of Richard's current army, a level 14 rune knight would easily wipe them out.

But despite all that, despite agreeing with his actions, the priestess still felt that this rune was an extreme eyesore. Still, she settled down and opened a magically sealed box that she'd brought with her. She took out three magical scrolls from within, “These are some scrolls I prepared for Stormhammer. The first is a blessing, the second a magic shield, and the third is a heal. They can all be used by normal warriors, and are considered grade 3 scrolls.”

“Spell scrolls?” This time, it was Richard who was shocked. He stared at Flowsand reproachfully, “Do we need to give him such valuable items? Aren't you afraid he'll use them and turn on us instead?”

“Why don't you have a closer look?” she laughed faintly.

In response, Richard carefully opened the healing scroll and studied it. He was a master of enchantments, and his perception had long reached great heights. It took him a single look to realise that even if the material of the scroll was grade 3, there were pathetic amounts of mana within. The spell composition was different from usual as well, especially one unremarkable alteration...

Before he could ask Flowsand spoke up, “These are modified from the spells I obtained from the church. The spells are well and proper, but I only added enough mana in for them to be activated. The scroll will draw on Stormhammer's own life force to run, and each scroll will shave as many years off his life as their grade. With one at each grade upto 3, that means a full six years off if he uses all three. Google search 𝗳𝔯e𝒆𝙬𝘦𝙗𝓷o𝘷el. c૦𝑚

“I asked around, and the average life expectancy of the people of this plane is shorter than on Norland. It's rare for them to live up to sixty years of age, and with Stormhammer being over forty this will shave his battle capabilities away.”

Richard let out a long sigh, carefully stowing the scrolls away in fear of accidentally activating them. It had taken large sacrifices for him to get the twenty years of life from the Eternal Dragon, and accidentally activating these things and losing six years of that would be extremely unfortunate.

With these sinister scrolls being adapted from the Church of Valour's scrolls, even the church's insignia was intact on them. Flowsand paid attention to detail, so this was definitely intentional. From an outsider's perspective, this signified that one needed to pay a high price to cast the spells from the God of Valour, losing their lives to him. The church's scrolls could in fact only be used by clerics, but nobody would believe that.

With that thought in mind, Richard cast a deep look at Flowsand, “It's a good thing that I'm not your enemy.”

Flowsand smiled slightly, “But you want to be my man, that is clearly worse!”

With that, Richard was rendered speechless.

207 - City of Sin

Ritual

Three days later, the addition of the scrolls to the rune clearly surprised Stormhammer. Flowsand repeatedly emphasized that the dignity of the God of Valour could not be violated, and any ordinary person activating these scrolls would pay a hefty price, but the stricter her warning the more determined the hot-blooded half-orc grew.

At the end, Stormhammer personally chose twenty of his warriors for Richard as final payment for the rune, and thanked him for the scrolls as well. This group made for almost a third of the young elites of Bloodstone, and were it not for the scrolls Richard would likely only have gotten a troop of old, weak, sick, and lame soldiers.

Of course, he would have to wait until Stormhammer killed the Fleeting Shadow for them to truly obey him.

Early the next day, Stormhammer left Camp Bloodstone under a starlit sky, walking alone on a path of revenge. Richard took control of the new warriors the moment he left, wiping out the remnants of Mark's influence and taking control of the spring he used to own. With such a precedence and the alliance with Stormhammer, Howie, Chiron, and the rest maintained a silence that tacitly acknowledged the change in power.

He then began research on Red Cossack. It turned out that the Red Cossack wasn't merely the name of a person, but of one of the largest trade groups in the Bloodstained Lands. Any group that could prosper in this chaos was actually more terrifying than the bandits and horse thieves, more fierce than the orcs, desert people, and barbarians. Without being more vicious than all these groups, they would not be able to survive in the Bloodstained Lands and expand their influence.

Red Cossack was one of the largest slave trade groups in the Bloodstained Lands, with a guard troop comparable to a standard army. With more than 5000 warriors the army was like that of a human earl's, but with the constant fighting in the Bloodstained Lands the individual warriors far surpassed common soldiers. Besides, that wasn't even their strongest combat force. That honour belonged to the slaving parties.

Most slaves shipped out of the Bloodstained Lands were powerful barbarians and desert dwellers who were good at battle, with the occasional orcs as well. The slavers worked all year round, and all of them were bloodthirsty hunters.

The vanguard he'd sent ahead had encountered a border guard of the Red Cossack. Of course, the title of border guard was just in name. Most of the time, they acted as horse thieves. The red-armoured knight leading them was actually quite infamous— the name of Red Hook and his cavalry was known to many people even outside the Bloodstained Lands.

A small flame shot forth from Richard's palm, lighting the few pages of information he'd acquired on fire. He watched as they burnt to ash.

'Red Cossack... Looks like a pretty good target, and I have a righteous reason too. You snatched a hundred horses, so I might as well wipe you out...' Richard thought, as he casually summoned a gust of wind to blow the ashes out the window.

......

It took five days for Stormhammer to return. The half-orc's skin had turned an abnormal green, and he had many more wrinkles on his face now. It seemed like he'd aged ten years in the mere five days, his three braids now far more grey than black. Although he stood with his head held high, one could see a faint hunch in his back and sense the added weight to his steps.

Despite all that, however, the aged half-orc had glistening eyes. The huge enchanted hammer that he'd named after himself was in his left hand, with a wolf head larger than a lion's lifted up in his right. His leathern robes were torn everywhere, and many open wounds could be seen under the cloth padding.

Stormhammer stood at the gate of Bloodstone, holding the wolf head high as he screamed with all his might, “This is the Fleeting Shadow, the mighty beast that ate a dozen of our brave warriors. It's head is now in my hands, can you see?!”

The warriors guarding the camp's entrance howled one after the other, clashing weapons or hitting their chests with their fists. More and more of them gathered, and Stormhammer continued to hold the head up high. Every raise of his arm was met with loud cheering from the half-orcs, and the cheering grew even louder as it spread throughout Camp Bloodstone.

"They really are a group of heroic warriors. That Stormhammer isn't bad either,” Richard praised sincerely from the top floor of their inn.

Flowsand spoke calmly from beside him, “Do you feel regret for letting him use my scrolls? If you have even the tiniest bit, do think of the origin of those materials he gave us.”

“No, this isn't regret...” Richard's gaze remained fixed on the half-orc as he went silent for a moment, “... I was just reminded of something. If I fight in interplanar wars for a long time, I don't know if I will change; I don't know what I will change into.”

“I will not let you lose direction as long as I am around,” Flowsand said confidently, a smile on her face.

“I'm not saying I'll lose myself... Rather, I might grow cold and blood-thirsty,” Richard explained.

"That, isn't it inevitable?" Flowsand looked at Richard innocently. Of course, her bottom was pinched heavily in return.

Stormhammer sent someone to invite Richard and his men to their tribal celebration soon after he returned to Camp Bloodstone. And before this banquet, he specifically invited Richard to their sacrificial ritual.

The altar of the bloodstone orcs was buried deep underground in their castle, centred around the statue of a strong orc warrior. This seemed to be the strongest fighter in their history, Bloodstone himself. Once he broke through to the ranks of saint warriors, the entire tribe was named after him.

There were several other statues as well, smaller but about the same size as ordinary orcs, that surrounded the altar. These were great warriors in the history of the tribe, those like Bloodstone who'd also become saint warriors themselves. Stormhammer originally had a glimmer of hope to have his statue join these ranks, but his vengeance against the Fleeting Shadow and his desire for the tribe's survival had led him to use Flowsand's scrolls. This had completely ruined his hopes of advancing.

Richard was the only outsider in the underground ritual hall, the rest being the strongest warriors and smartest elders of Bloodstone, making for a dozen-odd orcs in total. Stormhammer began by singing a sorrowful and vigorous warsong, placing the head of the Fleeting Shadow on the altar.

All the orcs sang in resonance, surrounding the altar as they started a powerful ancient war dance. The steps were clumsy yet powerful, the voices hoarse yet majestic. Richard's heart began to throb to the strong beat, and he gradually seemed to fuse into the ancient and mysterious atmosphere in the hall.

208 - City of Sin

Ritual(2)

Once the singing came to a close, the head started to tremble. The clot on the neck broke apart, blood flowing freely once more to rise up the altar and converge at the hammer beside the sculpture's leg. It eventually permeated into the statue itself, giving it a life of its own. Richard faintly felt a strong consciousness awakening within.

The statue's eyes turned a blood red, its gaze seemingly sweeping across everyone in this ancestral hall. When it looked upon Richard, the eyes abruptly grew exuberant. Richard felt a disturbance in his mind like a thunderclap, as if thousands of ferocious lions were roaring at the same time. He was jolted in an instant, his vision going black as he nearly lost consciousness.

However, a few strong minds immediately entered his own mindscape to help fight off this imposing will. They managed to eliminate the invader immediately, freeing his mind. The orc ancestor could not stand up to the combined might of Waterflower, the broodmother, and his slaves.

Unexpectedly, the broodmother's strength of will surpassed that of even Waterflower herself. Zendrall— who had buried his head in research— was also made aware of the battle, and joined in to assist. However his oath was much weaker than a true contract, and the fuzzy connection didn't let him transmit too much of his power. If not for that, his strong spiritual force as exhibited in that swamp battle would have dealt a heavy blow to the invading consciousness.

The spiritual battle ended in a flash, and Stormhammer and the remaining orcs suddenly felt great pain in their brains as they collapsed to the ground. By the time they recovered from the shock, they discovered that the wolf head had dried up to look like a dessicated corpse. The statue had stopped glowing, and the lingering energy from the ritual had disappeared.

Stormhammer dizzily pressed into his head, staring blankly in the direction of the altar. The fall had left him throbbing with pain all over his injured body, so intense that his face distorted. He looked at his men as they did at him, but none were able to figure out what had actually happened. They ended up concluding that the sacrifice had summoned the presence of their ancestors, but they were too weak to accept that might.

The elders and warriors regained their composure quickly, while Stormhammer himself limped his way towards Richard. The half-orc gazed solemnly into his eyes, “Majestic mage from afar, your assistance has allowed me to kill the Fleeting Shadow, and in doing so avenged the fallen warriors of our tribe. You have seen our rituals, and from henceforth shall be considered a friend of the bloodstone orcs for eternity. We may not be strong, but if the need ever rises you can trust us to lay our lives down for our friends!”

As he said that, Stormhammer reached out with both arms to give Richard a hug, completing the ceremony. Feeling that powerful embrace and looking at the withered face and injured body, Richard felt an inexplicable sensation in his heart. Had he made a rune similar to Gangdor's, Stormhammer would not have had to use Flowsand's scrolls to win. He would not have reached the end of his life so quickly.

And yet right now, the half-orc proved to be a true warrior, a qualified leader and trustworthy friend.

However, he suddenly remembered Flowsand's words earlier in the day, that the resources he'd been given had obviously been acquired from somewhere else. There was a considerable amount of blood behind each item, and Camp Bloodstone itself was not known for its hospitality to commoners. Many deaths had occurred under Stormhammer's charge.

Several strange feelings mixed together, leaving Richard at a loss as to how he should judge the bloodstone orcs. He ended up just sighing silently in his heart, remembering his own identity as an invader.

The Bloodstained Lands were chaotic and cruel, but they still held a child-like purity. It was hard to tell right from wrong.

Before leaving the ancestral hall, Richard looked at the sculpture once more. The consciousness should have been dealt a heavy blow, returning to the depths of the statue to recuperate. He'd felt a strong hint of divinity within that consciousness, the only reason it could contain the remaining will of Bloodstone.

This was Richard's first experience with the power of ancestral worship.

He now understood why the broodmother would want these idols; it wanted to suck out this divine power from within. However, for now at least, he did not want to touch the bloodstone tribe's altar.

'In any case, as far as I can see there are countless tribes in the Bloodstained Lands and beyond that practise ancestral worship. I just need to slowly seek them out and I'll be able to find many. As for Bloodstone... I can just wait for Stormhammer to die and figure things out then. He won't be living much longer anyway.' Such was the way the young mage consoled himself, rationalising the situation...

The ritual was followed by a tribal celebration. Several bonfires were burnt in the semi-circular arena, and barbecued meat and shoddy liquor handed out. The orcs surrounding the bonfires danced their war dance to the beat of the drum, stopping every now and then with a stomp of their feet as they raised their chests and bellowed a warcry out into the sky. This was a tradition passed down from ancient times, an oath to their ancestors that they would protect their homeland. Once tired of the dancing the orcs would sit down, eating meat and drinking alcohol to replenish themselves before they joined their brethren once more.

The banquet that night played host to a number of special guests. Apart from Richard were the two trolls as well, having prepared a big pot of fragrant meat soup for the occasion. The standard of the soup alone qualified Medium Rare and Tiramisu to call themselves gourmets, but till date this was the only dish Richard had seen them cook. It seemed like this was the only thing they knew.

The only thing Richard couldn't stand in the midst of all this merriment was the alcohol. He was forced to drink three full bowls with Stormhammer, each bowl sized for orcs. He also had a bowl each with the orcish elders and then one with each famous warrior of the tribe.

By the time it all ended, Richard had to be carried away on Medium Rare's back. He wasn't completely drunk, but the churning of his stomach made him feel weak and it felt like his brain was on fire. All prudence and apprehension vanished in this daze, but the drinks had netted him a considerable reward. He came out with thirty half-orc warriors, not twenty. Unfortunately, the ten additions were only ordinary soldiers and not elites.

Medium Rare had a steady gait and his back was wide and flat, but Richard still vomited twice on the way back to their inn. Throwing up made him feel a little better, the cool wind of the late night freshening up his mind. However, the alcohol still burning in his blood made his consciousness foggy.

As they travelled, Richard started thinking about the next day. There was not much reason for them to continue on in Bloodstone now, and the insignificant stream or even the entire camp weren't his true goals. They weren't even good enough to be considered a start.

Besides, he was an invader after all. Camp Bloodstone wasn't far from the human kingdoms, and if Neian decided to send an army into the Bloodstained Lands his current forces would be in significant danger. Essien's strength and the fearlessness of the paladins even in the face of death had left a lasting impression in his mind. Had that been a direct battle, the victory would have been bitter. Since he'd already reaped his rewards from Bloodstone, it was time to go even deeper.

By the time he decided on their path, Richard found that they were at the entrance of the inn. He finally mustered up the strength to walk on his own, and thus waved the trolls away to get some rest. Sleep was more important to trolls than humans— their power grew depending on how well they slept.

His already-empty stomach started to churn again, making him feel like throwing up. He dashed across the hall and opened the back door, preparing to find a corner to relieve himself in.

209 - City of Sin

The First Visit

As soon as he entered the backyard, Richard suddenly felt a strange feeling envelop him. He quietly stopped moving, using the door to prop himself up.

The yard of the inn was quite large, and the presence of the stables and lots of junk made it look very disorderly. A ghostly white figure was flying around under the night sky, gliding across the air as if it was water. Her eye-grabbing white outfit looked fuzzy as the air seemed to glide around her, as though gray lightning dancing around her body.

This was Waterflower!

Richard quietly stood beside the door without disturbing her. The young lady seemed not to notice, moving around the messy backyard without issue. She was fast as lightning yet completely quiet, blended into the night sky and its surroundings. Judging from her speed she'd levelled up, but even then she would need to have acquired a skill to reach this limit.

It took an unknown amount of time for the girl to finally tire, appearing in front of Richard with a flash. She lifted her tiny face, fixing her gaze onto him.

Richard looked closely at her as he asked, “You upgraded in level? And you have a new skill?”

Waterflower sounded her agreement, speaking slowly yet awkwardly, “Level 10 now. New skill... You could call it Wind Walk, it's what I showed just now.”

There was a wild side to the girl's pure eyes, but there was something else in her gaze as well. She still had that scraggly short hair she cut herself with her sword, and the awkward and rigid tone showed how seldom she interacted with other people. Even now, as a member of Richard's party, she was no different.

These few sentences were enough for Richard to finally realise how much he was neglecting his soulguard. She seemed like a lone wolf, always carefully avoiding humans, but he just hadn't taken the initiative to get to know her further.

He muttered inaudibly to himself for a while before speaking up, “Wind Walk? It seems powerful. I'll come look for you in a few days, let's see if I can craft a suitable rune.”

The young lady's eyes brightened up for a moment, but she remained silent and only nodded her head.

The alcohol seemed to be fading from Richard's bloodstream by that time, but the headache started to grow worse. The pain was extraordinary, as if something inside him was tearing his mind apart. He let out a low groan, rubbing his forehead as he waved at Waterflower and proceeded up the stairs to his own room. The orcish alcohol was disgusting, but it was strong and the hangover was violent. He struggled to bear with the intense pain as he got back in his room.

He scanned the entirety of his room out of habit as he entered, a habit cultivated under Naya's tutelage in the Deepblue. Whoever one was, being attacked at random every few days as you entered the room would imprint such a habit onto oneself. This was merely habit, however, and once he was done scanning the room Richard prepared to throw himself onto the bed.

However, his body suddenly grew rigid as all his hairs stood on end. His breathing came to a halt, and he scanned across the room inch by inch from left to right. Details about the things he usually ignored grew clear and magnified.

Now he could confirm the anomaly in the illumination in the bedroom, which was darker than usual. Even with the clouds covering the moon and stars some light normally seeped into the place, it should not have been as dark as it was.

He tried to look over once again, this time concentrating on the shadows everywhere. He was finally able to make out the outline of shadows slowly making their way towards him from the other end of the room.

He exhaled slowly, shifting his body to the right. Two metres away, the nameless sword was standing erect against a corner of the wall. The shadows seemed to sense the unusual movement, however, suddenly coming to a stop.

Richard's heart filled with an overwhelming sense of danger as the shadows began to converge onto a position. A creature that looked like a tigress appeared in the room, a smooth black figure made of formless shadows. A pair of faint red dots blinked into existence on its face, watching Richard with a cold stare.

All Richard saw in those eyes was a cold desolation. There were no emotions behind that hollow existence, none of the intimidation a predator put on its prey. It was merely... empty.

In the short period of time the shadows needed to take form, he'd taken the opportunity to glide two steps forward and get his hands on the hilt of his blade. His heart immediately calmed down, as he managed to identify this being and subconsciously go through the information he had about it.

This was a nightmare panther, a low-level nightmare creature known for its speed and cunning. Even as the lowest tier of nightmare creature, however, it still carried all that came with that name. These beings spent most of their time travelling the void between planes, braving the violent energy within. It was strong and mysterious unlike a planar being, with even the weakest of nightmare panthers being between level 11 and 12. Their intellect also far surpassed other beasts, the median of their intelligence comparable to shamans and mages. Higher-level nightmare creatures were smarter than legendary beings, some even more clever than demigods!

The panther in front of Richard crouched low, bending forward in preparation to attack. However, just as it was about to raise its paws a strong smell of sulphur burst forth from Richard's body, and a silver full moon flashed into existence above his head. The edge of his longsword started blazing with the power of the silver moon, the tip flying out to strike at the creature!

Eruption and a secret sword of Silvermoon. Richard had brought all he could to bear in but an instant!

The nightmare panther had already leapt forward, but it still awkwardly maintained the same crouching stance in mid-air. It fell onto Richard's blade, as though it had sent itself to its death.

The sixth secret sword: Snow Moon. Silver moonforce pervaded the area, forming a spiral of attacks that would not stop till the target was killed. The tip of the sword penetrated the nightmare panther's body, but the creature did not flee at all. The shadows grew more viscous as they wrapped around the blade, making Richard feel like it had suddenly sunk into a marsh. Even moving a single step proved to be difficult.

Richard reacted instantly, however. He let out a loud cry as he placed both hands on the sword, energy bursting forth from his entire body as the fourth moon took its place atop his head instead. The moonforce at the edge of the blade turned blue instead of silver.

The fourth secret sword: Annihilation!

The room was suddenly filled with gleaming blue moonlight that tore all the shadows apart. Richard's body crashed into the nightmare panther, the energy tearing it completely apart. As the creature died, he finally managed to shatter the countless shadows apart.

210 - City of Sin

The First Visit(2)

The blade flew through the air without pause, halting only when it was buried into the opposite wall upto the hilt. Richard maintained his stance, finally letting out a deep breath that he'd saved up. Immense fatigue flooded his body, nearly drowning out his consciousness. Sweat poured out of him like a torrent, instantly drenching his clothes as he swayed on the verge of collapse. Were he not holding tightly onto the hilt of his sword, it was likely he wouldn't even be able to stand in place.

He'd used up all of his energy to deal those two blows, bringing out his fullest in the face of impending death. However, this meant that he had drained practically every bit of his strength to do so.

*THUD!* Gangdor suddenly shuttled through the room's door, and Waterflower who was a step earlier stood silently against the wall. The two of them looked at the chaos in the bedroom, but for a moment they didn't understand what exactly had happened. They looked at the window simultaneously, as if in sync with each other. That was the only exit, but the window was half-closed and the curtains were not drawn. Everything looked perfectly intact, and it didn't seem like any enemies had fled the scene. There were no traces within the room either.

Flowsand rushed into the room right after, and as she took in the surroundings her face instantly fell. She squatted down, looking at a few inconspicuous scratches on the floor before reaching out to touch them. They resembled the claws of a beast, and these ones had come from the nightmare panther. There were still remnants of shadowforce left behind, something she clearly managed to notice.

“Nightmare creatures?” she asked, her tone sombre for once.

Richard nodded, before lowering his head to look at his own chest. The clothes covering his chest had split open, revealing three long cuts. Fine red lines had appeared on his bare skin, eventually splitting apart to reveal the flesh underneath. The incisions were extremely even and smooth, penetrating all the way through his body and only stopping at his ribs.

A moment later, Richard collapsed on his back amidst a spurt of blood.

A day had passed by the time Richard eventually woke up. He was laid on his bed, his chest wrapped snugly with bandages. The bandages were tight but not painful, a display of outstanding technique that could only have come from Flowsand.

He tried to move but his chest immediately started hurting, so he had no choice but to lie back down. This was another distressing thing about nightmare creatures: spell resistance. Shadowforce lingered on in the wounds of those they injured, able to counter the healing energy of magic and divine spells and diminish the effects of even greater heals. Those injuries inflicted by powerful nightmare creatures could render such spells useless until one found a way to disperse the shadowforce. Otherwise, one could only wait for the power to dissipate on its own. The only choice would be to use herbal medicine to boost the body's natural healing, trying to recover normally. As a result, many who sustained serious injuries from nightmare creatures ended up dying helplessly or being crippled due to the lack of treatments.

Dim light began to seep into the room, indicating that it was the crack of dawn. Everything outside was quiet, with no movements at all. Most people were still sound asleep.

Bedridden as he was, Richard couldn't help but think back to the battle with the nightmare panther. Nightmare creatures had no physical presence, relying on their powers to advance or retreat. The crouching was only to confuse the opponent, the attack had already begun.

Richard had read up as much as he could about nightmare creatures once he found out about his situation, and his powerful intellect clearly retained all the information he had acquired. Thus, he immediately launched his own attack when he saw the nightmare panther crouch. Had he delayed any further, it wouldn't have been as simple as getting clawed in the chest.

Since they had no physical presence, regular attacks did not affect nightmare creatures. Fortunately, he could still draw upon Alucia's power in this plane. The damage the moonforce inflicted upon the creature was evident as well, and this calmed him down a little. He knew now he would not be completely helpless in any future encounters.

Nightmare panthers were amongst the weakest of nightmare creatures. Since one had already appeared, more would be soon to follow. In the future, the battles would not be as simple as this one was. Lying quietly on the bed, Richard began to recall every detail of his battle with the nightmare panther over and over again.

The fight had ended in a short instant, but Richard knew better deep down. He could feel himself being pushed forth by the formidable power of the blue moon, moonforce bursting forth from the edge of his sword to boost Annihilation to the next level. The explosive power had thoroughly shattered all the shadowforce the panther had managed to gather.

And despite all that, the panther's claws had reached his chest before it was destroyed. The blades of energy that came from its paw had made their way right into his body, leaving a strange icy sensation coursing through him as his flesh was sliced apart. Any deeper and the creature would have cut his ribs open, stabbing into his heart. With the spell resistance of shadowforce, the rupture of his heart would have been incurable. Flowsand, only level 9 still, definitely would not be able to salvage the situation.

His soul shuddered at the prospect of another close shave with death. Richard wasn't afraid of risk, but that did not mean he didn't fear death itself. Death was the end of everything. He had many hopes to fulfill, and boundless prospects ahead for him in the vast future. If he died, all of that would boil down to nothing. Far too much in the boundless planes was still undiscovered; there were a lot of exciting and wonderful moments he had yet to experience in his mortal life.

The more important a character was, the more unwilling they would be to die. This was not simply due to fear. They held responsibilities, worries, and a great deal of unfulfilled wishes in their hearts.

And thus, Richard savoured the fear of his brush with death repeatedly to strengthen his endurance. He hoped to overcome this fear one day, and face it with ease. The calmer he was when coping with death, the greater his chances of survival would be. Although he wasn't afraid of risk, risk without any assurance turned courage into foolishness. One who charged forth despite a slim chance of victory were not wise.

These two days had been unsettling. He'd endured the will of Bloodstone, witnessed Waterflower's breakthrough and her new skill. He'd also gone through a life and death battle with a nightmare creature, employing two secret swords in succession alongside Eruption to eliminate the first of many that would arrive from some foreign place. He had suffered a close shave with death once more.

211 - City of Sin

Inspiration

Recalling the incidents of the past two days, as well as everything that had happened ever since he entered Faelor, Richard felt like his blood was boiling. The inspiration from his conversation with Flowsand appeared once more, this time growing clearer and clearer by the moment. It was like a playful wisp of fire, tempting him continuously but not letting him catch it.

He didn't hurry it along, instead stopping to ponder quietly. At that moment, all the lessons in philosophy from the Deepblue passed through his mind. 'Your thinking dictates everything!' The words that almost every teacher of his shouted before dismissing the class reverberated through his head. He realised that he was passively responding to the changes in his surroundings, rarely thinking of the path he was prepared to take.

The pursuit of power was an empty catchphrase. A realistic question would be to ask what means he could take to obtain that strength, and how far he could go.

As far as he could see, the laws on Faelor and Norland were quite similar. Although the limit of Faelor's power was lower than Norland's, it was still a plane that could produce people of legendary might. At the very least, he himself was far from being suppressed by the laws.

However, the many battles had revealed several other key differences between the planes. An enemy who seemed comparable to them on the surface would be easy to win against, and in fact most of the time it was without any issue. Outside of Flowsand, he himself, the broodmother, Waterflower, Gangdor, and other unique factors, one other stark difference between the two planes had already reared its head.

Runes!

The art of runecrafting that Norland had developed over millennia was the ultimate manifestation of the application of magic for war. Gangdor with a single rune could compete against opponents who were two to three levels higher than him for a short duration, and if he had a complete set of runes that suited him he could easily defeat even a level 14 Stormhammer.

Any standard rune knight that he built up with his knowledge would be able to compare to a saint class of Faelor. Knights at level 13 to 14 would be pushed to level 17, some even to level 18. It was as though a large number of powerhouses could be created out of thin air. If at equal numbers Faelor could perhaps resist Norland's might, the appearance of runes and armies of rune knights that were thousands strong all comparable to saint classes would easily tear this plane's resistance apart.

As for he himself, his talent, position, resources... Most of what made him unique came from runes.

It was only then that Richard understood the importance of his philosophy classes. It wasn't to show him a constant path to success, instead to teach him a framework for his thought process that would elevate him.

With the answer found, inspiration came naturally. The spark floating before him was completely within reach, and could be grabbed with a stretch of the hand. And thus he stretched out, grabbing hold of this spark to come to a realisation.

However, even after capturing the inspiration Richard refused to let go. On the contrary, his grip grew stronger as he rubbed it, the feeling of that flame disappearing from his mind. His hand began to feel a soft elasticity.

At that moment, Flowsand's hoarse voice rang in his ears, “You're pinching my rear.”

“It can't be,” Richard opened his eyes to see Flowsand beside his bed, “I'm grabbing a hold of inspiration.” He did not let go, instead pinching it harder a few times.

“What about now, then?” she asked, “Is it still a mistake?”

He smirked in response, “Now? I'm touching your butt of course!”

Flowsand took a step closer to the bedside, allowing him to easily touch more of her. She also asked, “Do you want me to take off my clothes? But looking at your current health, it doesn't really seem suitable.”

Richard snorted, stretching out and smacking her rear. The exertion affected the wound on his chest, however, and his face paled with pain. Enduring it with much effort, Richard let out a breath of turbid air, “Heal me quickly, I know you have a way!”

Flowsand removed the bandage on his body as she spoke, “I just thought of a way, but it won't be able to solve the root of the problem. Shadowforce is not simple. Its origin is more profound than that of any deity on this plane.”

The wound on his chest was aired, but it revealed that the three slashes hadn't closed up. The bleeding was only stopped due to thick ointment, and shadowforce lingered around that as well. Richard felt a faint darkness in the corner of his vision.

Flowsand took out a bottle of colourless water. However, the overflowing mana it showed upon removal indicated that this was far from ordinary. “This will hurt a bit, bear with it.”

Richard nodded without much worry. His will was quite firm, and he was confident of his tolerance for pain.
f𝔯e𝘦𝒘e𝑏𝙣𝑜𝚟𝚎l. co𝑚

Flowsand tilted the bottle in her hand, pouring the water onto Richard's wound. The moment it came into contact with the lingering shadowforce, it was as though it had been poured into a hot pan. It instantly started boiling, splattering everywhere as it released large amounts of mist.

At that instant, the severe pain caused Richard to black out. His body abruptly jumped off the bed, before falling back down once more. This was an instinctive reaction to the severe pain. He also opened his mouth wide, his face beginning to distort. Being able to hold it in without screaming was already his limit, but he still let out a few guttural roars.

How was this a 'bit?' This was clearly torture!

And yet, the holy water had eliminated all traces of the shadowforce on the wound. Traces of black lines could be seen entangled with holy light, reluctantly fading into the mist.

Flowsand began chanting, and two greater heals fell upon Richard's body. The wound on his chest closed up at a visible speed under the magic's effect, and in the next two to three days it would heal completely.

Following that, Flowsand continued her chants. This time the spell took three to four times longer than a greater heal, and the mana consumed was just as great. A ray of divine light fell upon Richard's body, causing the searing pain to fade in an instant. This was Restoration, a grade 5 spell. Greater heals only affected surface injuries, unable to fix bones or internal damage. This was where restoration came in. The nightmare panther had penetrated Richard's chest, leaving a row of incisions on his ribs. Without restoration, it would take as long as three months for him to recover.

212 - City of Sin

Inspiration(2)

Flowsand immediately grew weak after she cast restoration. She knelt down, her upper body lying on his bedside. However, Richard had just healed from his injuries, and the baptism of the holy water had left him leaking cold sweat. At that moment, he didn't even have the strength to sit up.

Both of these weakened bodies ended up leaning against each other.

Finally calming his breathing a little, Richard asked, “Flowsand, the holy water didn't feel right.”

Flowsand nodded, answering lazily a few moments later, “What's wrong with holy water that has divine power infused? It's a little painful, I admit, but isn't it very effective?”

“How is that a little?!” Richard didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He barely lifted his hand to comb through Flowsand's hair, “Why do I feel the God of Valour's power in it?”

“Well it's holy water with divine power infused. Did I say it came from the Eternal Dragon?”

“Where did it come from, though? I don't remember taking any from the church.” Richard was puzzled.

“Didn't I take a lot of scrolls? I gained some understanding of Neian's power, so I infused it into the holy water while I was modifying those scrolls. That way, I wouldn't be wasting the extracted energy.”

Richard was taken aback, “You can steal divine power?”

“Isn't that something normal?” Flowsand stated as a matter of fact, “It's no big deal. Only the people of this plane think that the deities are omniscient, omnipotent, and cannot be deceived. It isn't difficult to make use of the power of a lesser deity like Neian.

“Speaking of, there's someone named Theodore who really excelled in this field. Not only could he steal divine power, he could even deceive gods themselves and intercept faith! Forget small fry like Neian, he managed to deceive the gods of a primary plane! Right, he's been living in the Deepblue all these years. I remember you said you attended his class before.”

Richard was rendered speechless. Such words could come from anyone, but uttered by a priestess herself made him feel an indescribable sense of discomfort. Theodore had given him an impression of someone knowledgeable and somewhat dull; he hadn't expected the man to be so remarkable as to intercept divine faith itself.

“Be careful to avoid his detection. We're still in his territory, and aren't ready to withstand divine punishment yet,” he warned seriously.

“Yes!” Flowsand nodded firmly, looking obedient and adorable. She didn't seem one bit like someone who would dare to steal divine power.

“We need to stay here for a month longer, I have some matters to attend to. It might be faster, but a month at most,” Richard said.

Flowsand was a bit surprised, “Is it something important? I thought we were going to leave this place already!”

“Yes, very important!”

“How important?”

Richard lifted Flowsand's chin, staring into her bottomless amber eyes, “Extremely. So important that if I succeed, you can prepare to resist.”

“I'm always ready,” Flowsand smiled.

Only after another entire day of rest could Richard move freely, and he headed straight for Waterflower's room when he got out of bed. His soulguard had been moved to the largest room on this floor as per his instructions, with two adjacent rooms opened up completely to give her a huge space of more than 200 square metres.

It was already deep into the night, but Richard moved his worktable and tools into the young lady's room. His table was filled with all sorts of magic materials.

The girl stood in the center of the room, looking like an ethereal spirit. There were no lights within, the only illumination being the rays of moonlight shining through the window. The moonlight reflected off her, making her look even more beautiful and unearthly.

Waterflower knew that Richard was crafting runes for her, and it filled her with a strong sense of anticipation and some nervousness. Richard took a deep breath and let it out, calming himself down before hinting for the young lady to remove her clothes.

Waterflower was stunned by the request, hesitant to complete it. She seemed to think of something quite quickly, however, beginning to remove all her clothes to stand before him fully naked.

This was a near-perfect body. Her smooth skin was unblemished, the two average breasts perky and her legs slender and long. Unlike Flowsand, Waterflower's body was filled with a sense of strength. However, it also seemed illusionary as though enveloped in layers of mist.

Scanning over her with a spell, Richard walked up to Waterflower and circled around her. He closely observed every inch of her skin as close as possible, muttering to himself, “This is truly a work of god, it's supreme art! It seems like the concept will work out...”

At that moment, Richard was completely immersed in the wonderful world of runes and magic. He didn't notice the young lady's breathing growing more rapid, nor her body trembling slightly. At that moment, every part of this perfect body was radiating a magical light: her carrying capacity was so great that he would go crazy! Although Waterflower hadn't unlocked anything else from her bloodline upon reaching level 10, her rune capacity had increased. She was now on par with Flowsand in that regard! In Richard's eyes, Waterflower was the ideal rune knight that any runemaster could only dream of.

By this point he'd made it behind her, half-squatting with his face less than ten centimetres away from her body. His gaze slowly moved down, tracing the curve of her butt. This beautiful line fit perfectly with the idea for a rune that he had in his mind. He was engulfed in happiness for a moment, and couldn't help stretching out to touch that perfect skin.

However, the girl's body heated up the moment his fingertips made contact. It seemed as though an intense flame had been ignited within her body.

Originally lost in the world of runes, Richard suddenly felt his heart clench. Before his body could respond the world was turned upside down, shaking hard. A loud bang sounded out as various lights flashed in his vision. All his internal organs seemed to be displaced, the pain from the severe impact excruciating.

However, things were not over. He felt a sharp pain in his rear, and in that moment he could see Waterflower killing him. “STOP!” he screamed.

At that moment, the girl was already pressing down on his back with one hand, the other trained against his butt in preparation to strike. It wouldn't matter even if there were no steel spikes in the Archeron death camps, because her hands were actually even more powerful. There was more than one fellow who had his intestines ripped out by her hand.

With the loud exclamation, Waterflower awoke from her shock. Her mind being blank before, she'd moved on instinct and only now did she realise what she had done. She immediately pulled back at the speed of lightning, her entire person silently retreating a few metres. She stood straight, staring down at an area ten centimetres in front of her feet. She looked so well-behaved it was as if nothing had happened just now.

213 - City of Sin

Breath of Darkness

Richard struggled to stand up, a stinging pain burning his shoulder. Thankfully he could still walk, meaning his injuries weren't too severe. Unaware that his clothes were already in tatters, he reached his hand behind himself only to feel something warm and damp. When he pulled it back, all he could see was fresh crimson blood.

“WATERFLOWER!” he rebuked angrily.
f𝑟𝐞𝙚𝘸𝐞𝑏𝙣𝑜v𝑒Ɩ. c𝐨𝙢

The girl shivered ever so slightly, but she made no attempt to move. It was almost as if she'd heard nothing, her expression blank. However, this was only proof that she was far from calm in her heart— even if the girl was one of few words and expressions, her eyes were rarely so empty. Most of the time she observed her surroundings with the gaze of a hunter eyeing its prey.

Richard tried to move, finding that it wasn't too bad. The injuries were minor cuts that didn't affect his mobility, and would heal easily with a lesser heal. Even without the use of magic they would heal in three to five days. However, the problem was this: how was he to account to Flowsand about these injuries?

He could already imagine what a laughing stock he would become once the priestess found out. Were he to one day grow famous as a saint runemaster, he was sure that this woman would publish a book titled 'The Secret History of the Saint' and include all the details of this event within. Passing his deeds down through generations, she could earn a bit of fame as well. In fact, as a cleric of the Eternal Dragon she could do much more than just spreading this tale far and wide. It was quite possible that she would put this book in the Church of the Eternal Dragon!

Sighing, Richard just tended to his wounds and decided to let them heal on their own. Clenching his teeth he walked towards Waterflower, inspecting her body once more as some of his concepts gained added details. Once he got to work the episode gradually slipped from his mind, and he immersed himself in the world of runes.

A short while later, he started to mess up the room in a mad frenzy, haphazardly setting several chairs in the middle to form obstacles. He then had the girl demonstrate her skill— Wind Walk.

Once again Waterflower floated up like a specter, and the faster she flew the less of a hindrance the obstacles became. At times the obstacles only supported her, or became objects to defend herself with.

By now she was completely naked. Every move she made, the relaxation of every inch of her skin, it was all clearly revealed in front of Richard. The girl's body had a wonderful cycle of tensing and relaxing, with most of her time spent loose and extended as she glided through the air. Her body then curled up tightly, tapping lightly on the next place she would land. Her beautiful silhouette would then burst forth with immense power, catapulting out like a hunting wolf.

The entire process was silent and wordless, the darkness embracing her as always. Indeed, the girl was a ruler of shadows and complicated environments.

With the last of his inspiration acquired, Richard waved for her to stop and had her lie down in bed. He didn't bother spending the time to light a lamp, illuminating the room with a spell as he grabbed his pen.

The girl lay quietly on her back as Richard used his pen, pricking her calf to draw elegant and complicated lines.

Time passed quietly in the tranquil night. One pen replaced another, and bit by bit the materials were slowly emptied into her calf. The illumination spell faded an hour into the task, but Richard still wouldn't spare the few seconds it would take to light a lamp. He instead just cast another spell and continued on.

Someone knocked on the door at dawn, seemingly to ask about breakfast. However, they were immediately turned away by a 'Don't disturb me!' Richard hadn't even listened to them.

He'd prepared a total of 37 pens, and by the time he was through every one of them the sky had grown dark once more. Waterflower had beautiful patterns all over her right leg, all the way from the knee to the ankle. Most of the tattoo was blue and black, but there was an occasional deep violet as well.

Setting the brush down, Richard felt slightly faint. A whole night of high-intensity work had completely depleted his power, leaving him with no choice but to take a short break.

A night of meditation didn't just recover Richard's mana. He also gained a deeper awareness of the world of magic, inspiration surging once more as he developed even more ideas for the girl's rune set.

He thus took out all of his materials, including the piece of maple amber. Carefully slicing a third of it off with a mithril knife, he grinded the gem into powder before dissolving it into the rest of his ink. The mix was allowed to rest for an hour and then filtered, purifying and boosting its power. An entire afternoon passed before he had the ink for his pen.

The pen could hold a mere three drops of ink, but these three drops of liquid alone were worth over 10,000 gold of raw material. Besides, not just anyone could even produce it— that was limited to grand alchemists or runemasters. The time and labour involved would easily add another 50,000 to the price.

At that moment, the pale gold pen in Richard's hand turned transparent. The magical int could be seen sloshing around within, almost as if it had a life of its own.

Maple amber had a special characteristic in that it was quite lively. Popular belief was that the gem was formed by the crystallisation of the blood of powerful ancient beings upon their death. This ingredient exponentially increased the magical properties of the runes it was used in, equal to roughly a single grade's increase. It was commonly used for grade 3 runes as well, sometimes even for grade 4. This was why maple amber was much more expensive than most other grade 2 ingredients.

Once the ink was prepared, it would only be effective for an hour. This was like the blood of some mythical creatures— outside of their body its use would drop quickly.

Richard didn't dare to dally, heading directly for Waterflower's room. Once she undressed, he had her stand straight and started with a dot on her knee. The line he drew was extremely long, extending all the way to her thigh and belly before going down the other leg all the way to her ankle. The second started from her stomach, crossing the first before moving up across her left breast to her shoulder. It split in two at the back of her neck, stretching to the back of her ears. The third line started from the stomach as well, going to her right breast, shoulder, and ending up at the middle finger of her right hand.

Just drawing these three lines left Richard drenched in sweat once more. The ink in the pen had almost run dry as well.

“Get some rest, we'll continue in an hour.”

214 - City of Sin

Breath Of Darkness(2)

Waterflower may have had an hour to rest, but Richard did not. He busied himself preparing the inks for the next phase the moment he returned to his room. His pen pricked her knee once again after the hour passed, and time passed in silence.

By the time the rune was completed, another night had passed. The young lady's legs were completely covered with complex magical patterns, giving off a mysterious aura.

Richard stretched his weary body, looking at the rune he'd completed himself with a smile. “Move around and try it out; don't use Wind Walk.”

The girl was a little puzzled, but she complied and leapt off the bed. Her speed picked up after a gentle landing, and she bolted towards a chair as quick as lightning. Without Wind Walk she was supposed to slow down and change directions to avoid the obstacle. However, this time something activated in her mind as the rune on her legs twinkled slightly. She automatically stepped over the chair, striding over it with ease. Her movements were fluid and natural despite her speed, and she showed no signs of slowing down at all.

The room was only so big. The frenzied dash at full speed brought her to the wall in an instant, but even then she kept going. She gracefully dashed up the opposing surface, keeping her momentum going as she even took several quick steps on the ceiling before jumping down to land in front of Richard.

It was only then that she showed a look of surprise, lowering her gaze to her legs. The radiance of the rune there was slowly fading.

She moved suddenly once more, erupting into a chaos of swift movement around the room as she constantly brushed past the runemaster at the centre. It was as though she was a ghost, the obstacles in the room not slowing her down in the slightest. This speed was only slightly inferior to Wind Walk itself! Back in front of Richard again, the surprise in her eyes had transformed into amazement.

“This is Call of the Wild. It can allow you to move easily through most complex landscapes with a minimal loss in speed. It also enhances your acceleration, allowing you to keep your speed up even over sand, stones, or marshes. It also lets you move uphill faster than you used to.”

To the young lady who was adept at moving in forested areas, using darkness to land a single lethal blow, this enhancement to her mobility was a straight boost to her combat power.

“Thank... you...” Despite remaining expressionless, Waterflower finally managed to force the two words through her teeth.

Richard laughed in reply, “There's no need to thank me, we're two parts of a whole. Besides, this is only the first. There's still four more to come. You'll have to bear with me for the next two weeks.

“Alright, I'll go get some rest. I haven't slept properly for a few days in a row now.”

Four more runes?

Waterflower's body jolted slightly, her lowered eyelids slightly trembling. Watching as Richard left the room, she clenched her teeth and began in the most unnatural and stiff manner, “Umm... Your injury... Does it hurt?”

Richard's laughter ground to a halt, and he threw a glare the girl's way. She grew uneasy, understanding that she'd said something wrong.

“This matter... Don't ever mention it again!” Richard huffed angrily, slamming the door to leave the room. However, his gait still didn't look natural.

Things rarely went according to one's wish. Even back at his room to rest, Richard didn't get any peace. The source of his distress was naturally Flowsand, the only one in his party with the right to enter and leave his room at will.

Flowsand stared intently at Richard as he was about to go sleep, “You don't look too good.”

“I'm just tired,” Richard replied casually.

“Nope, that's not it. You're injured?” Flowsand clearly wasn't that easy to dupe.

“No!” Richard's voice grew in pitch.

“Where's the injury?” she insisted, reaching out to undo his clothes, “Let me see.”

“There's really no injury!” Richard grew furious.

“You can think of bluffing a cleric of the Eternal Dragon after you have ten more levels on you!” Flowsand shot back sharply. She absolutely wouldn't give in when it came to the matter of his injuries.

However, something else suddenly occurred to Flowsand. Richard hadn't headed out in the past few days, so how did he get injured? He was clearly crafting a rune for Waterflower all this while—

As his process came to mind, she blurted out without thinking, “How did you get injured? Did you not explain clearly what you were doing, so she instinctively retaliated...”

She stopped abruptly after bringing up the matter. Her unintentional words were infinitely close to the truth, and the memory of Waterflower's usual target instantly sealed her mouth shut. Her gaze towards Richard changed, as a smile curled up at the corner of her lips.

Richard grew livid, grabbing Flowsand and throwing her out. He then closed the door with a thud.

However, gentle and even knocking rang out only a moment later.

Richard begrudgingly opened the door, yelling, “WHAT DO YOU WANT?”

Sure enough, Flowsand was still at the door. Her smile made it seem like flowers were blooming everywhere, “I can treat minor injuries! I need to cast a lesser heal!”

Richard looked up at the ceiling for a bit, before gritting his teeth and dragging her into the room with a tug. He then slammed the door shut with a heavy thud.

......

Ten hours later, Richard made his way over to Waterflower's room in large strides, prepared to continue his runecrafting. The rest seemed to have a rather positive effect; at least Waterflower couldn't spot anything amiss from the way he walked.

What followed were two more days without rest. An expanse of silver patterns was added to Waterflower's chest and abdomen, covering her vital parts and enhancing the defence of her body. This was another custom rune from Richard, Truesilver Ornament. It would provide just as much protection as a suit of refined armour. Outside of that, this new rune also strengthened her magic resistance, especially towards nature magic.

Waterflower did not like to wear armour, her skills brought out to the fullest when she was clad in light clothing. Some advanced magic could track its target, while some other spells affected an entire area. The ability to resist magic was of utmost importance to her.

Resting for another ten hours, Richard then started on his third rune. This one was at her head, behind the ears. Two matchlessly fine and elaborate runes decorated either side of her head, each only the size of a fingertip.

The Dark Sight rune had one simple function, affording Waterflower upto 30 metres of vision in the dark. Since the young lady could already see in the dark to some extent, her range went up to a total of 50 metres. As she advanced in levels, the range would continue to grow.

It had taken Richard about a day and a half to complete Dark Sight. He then rested once more, beginning the next rune when he was ready. This one would be drawn on her right forearm.

This rune was a dull, dark grey, looking like a bunch of curled-up petals. Passively it boosted Waterflower's ability to hide her breathing, and when she launched attacks it also imbued some properties of shadowforce into the attack. This was an additional boost to her power.

Shadow Seal... The inspiration for the rune had come from his near-death battle with the nightmare panther, thus the origin of the name.

215 - City of Sin

Breath of Darkness(3)

Call of the Wild, Truesilver Ornament, Dark Sight, and finally Shadow Seal... These were all custom designs, and although they were only grade 1 they served to accent the user's abilities. They weren't normal runes that just enhanced a particular attribute. Technically, they would be classified as somewhere between grade 1 and grade 2, and moreover they had all been tailored to Waterflower's abilities. Not only had Richard considered her combat style and special abilities, he'd also optimised the positioning of each rune to fuse them together perfectly with her. Nobody else could make use of them as well as she could.

However, that was not the end. He drew an additional dark purple rune on her solar plexus, pouring out all of his inspiration.

Counterguard would form the heart of Waterflower's rune set. It was designed to increase her mental and spiritual defences, allowing her to more easily aid Richard in case of a soul attack. As the core of the set, it took him five days to craft it. Once done, all the magic patterns were ignited, the runes combining to form the complete set.

Once the runes joined, the set gained another ability: Breath of Darkness. When activated, Waterflower would perfectly meld into her surroundings, her attacks growing more lethal as the shadow damage of her attacks growing even more powerful. Once she activated this ability, she would truly become a nightmare for her opponents.

This was the first rune set he had ever crafted— the Breath of Darkness had been completed!

A short while later, he summoned Flowsand to Waterflower's room. Explaining everything from Call of the Wild to Counterguard, he followed up, “Once the five runes combine, a new ability is formed. I've named the set after this, calling it the Breath of Darkness as well. This is only the start. The set was built to be extensible, developed and strengthened sometime in the future. The whole series will be called the Savagery of Darkness.”

Having said that, he allowed Waterflower some time to change before summoning Gangdor to the backyard. The two would test out the Breath of Darkness in real combat.

It was still late at night. The messy courtyard was Waterflower's favourite kind of environment. However, the girl had placed a full set of knight's armour on a wooden rack nearby, not telling anyone what it was for.

Hearing he would be fighting Waterflower, Gangdor roared with delight. The axe in his hands began to tremble— ever since his powers had been enhanced with a rune he hadn't heartily engaged in combat. Moreover, both he and Waterflower were raised in the death training camp; they understood each other very well. In his heart, she was definitely one of his most dangerous opponents. With her recent advancement and the five tailor-made runes, how much more powerful had she become?

However, even if he was laughing boorishly, Gangdor had long since removed that 'one of' in his heart. She was definitely his greatest opponent!

The young lady was adorned in white, standing in front of him with a sense of majesty. She emitted an extremely unfamiliar aura in the night, as if she was only partly visible in the darkness. It made it difficult to grasp her position.

Out of habit, Gangdor let out a few hearty laughs. He rubbed his bald head and suddenly waved his axe, speaking seriously, “Waterflower! Let me say this in advance, you're not allowed to use that steel spike!”

A coarse and rusty spike appeared in the girl's hand, none the wiser as to where it had previously been hidden. The young girl threw it out lazily, and with a boom the spike was embedded into the yard's wall. She then slowly drew the Shepherd of Eternal Rest, holding it with both hands. The blade was pointed at the floor and her heel was slightly raised as she stared at Gangdor with both eyes, her short hair lifting even in the absence of wind.

Gangdor put both hands on his own axe, growing silent. He bent both knees, bursting forth with a cold and imposing aura!

It was as though the aura pushed Waterflower's hair up. However, her figure did not float up alongside it, instead slowly disappearing into the darkness.

Before she could vanish completely, Gangdor let out a strange cry. He swung his axe horizontally, bringing it beside his body.

A soft ding rang out, the Shepherd of Eternal Rest quietly appearing from within the darkness to strike the big axe. Waterflower's silhouette appeared by Gangdor's side, but it grew fuzzy again before he could even see her clearly.

*Ding! Ding!* Gangdor swung twice behind him, barely managing to block Waterflower's next two blows. However, even before he could retrieve his axe her blade had appeared in front of him once more. This time, it was much faster!

Waterflower was as fast as lightning, scurrying between Gangdor's front and back as she rained a torrent of blows upon Gangdor. She used Wind Walk to completely suppress him with her movement, leaving him without time even to block her hits. All he could do was force all the power out of his runes, hoping the increased strength could let him spin his axe faster. His only hope at this point was to become a windmill, but whether that would protect him all depended on luck.

His heart suddenly felt an unspeakable chill, and Gangdor was stunned for a moment as the icy, beautiful face of Waterflower appeared clearly before his eyes. However, that clarity only existed for a fleeting moment before the young lady flew past him like the wind, the Shepherd of Eternal Rest flashing in her hand.

Gangdor stood rooted in place, while Waterflower appeared a few metres away. She quietly stood tall despite being a little short of breath; her strength was almost completely used up, but the battle had long since come to a close.

Gangdor slowly turned around. Around two metres behind him was the set of full armour, in the same position Waterflower had originally placed it in. He'd thought she wanted to use the armour as an obstacle to give her an advantage in battle, but he realised now that it was not the case.

A slanted crack suddenly appeared on the armour, following which the bottom silently split off. The rest of the armour crashed down to the floor, the clamour extremely loud in the silent night. The hazy moonlight revealed a glimmering cut in the armour.

Gangdor's throat suddenly trembled violently. He swallowed down a wad of saliva, his complexion growing extraordinarily unbearable. Had Waterflower targeted him with the blow instead of that armour, he knew clearly that he would have met the same fate.

At that moment, the young lady had become the ultimate opponent.

By Richard's side, Flowsand suddenly let out a gentle sigh.

Richard paused for a while before asking, “What are you thinking about?”

The Breath of Darkness far surpassed even his own imagination. As long as it was in the night, Waterflower could even destroy Stormhammer at his peak with her current prowess!

Flowsand maintained her own dazzled expression for a while before speaking, “I was just thinking of a few hundred years ago, when runemaster Lugatti showed off the first-ever rune set. Ah, what a grand scene that must have been. That set was what brought rune knights to the mainstream!”

Richard let out a faint smile, “My only concern now is whether or not you'll resist me in the future.”

Flowsand threw a glance back at him, speaking firmly and with determination, “I won't let you get it easily!”

216 - City of Sin

An Endless War

Their last night in Camp Bloodstone.

It seemed quiet and peaceful, but in the inn things were far from being so. A loud bang sounded as Flowsand's lithe body was sent flying across Richard's bedroom, landing on his bed.

Richard's throw was calculated and meticulous. He'd used the bare minimum strength to send her the entire distance, not slamming her against the wall or otherwise hurting her. Nonetheless, the cleric was left crouching over the bed panting, apparently unable to get up. The robes covering her body were torn and tattered beyond recognition, exposing her snowy shoulders and almost half of her back in naked glory. The bottom half had been ripped to shreds, displaying her alluring thighs as her toes dug into the sheets.

Richard scoffed, seeing through her act. Of course he'd be gravely wrong to think she would let him have his way so easily. His previous experiences had taught him well, he wouldn't be fooled by her tricks this time around.

He took off his clothes without much hurry, showing off a perfect body that was beyond his age and occupation. He then slowly ambled to the side of the bed, asking, “Did I hurt you?”

Flowsand kept her face buried in the sheets, moaning softly in reply.

Richard took the chance to grab onto her ankle, tugging her towards him before peeling off the remainder of her clothes and getting into position. Just as he was about to start his enjoyment, her legs wrapped around his waist and pulled him in, causing their bodies to collapse against each other. Her legs were unusually strong, pulling their bodies into an intimate distance.

A ten centimetre change from their previous position quickly turned the tables, as the sly girl attacked his groin. Flowsand controlled her strength perfectly, causing great amounts of pain to the boy opposite her but without leaving any trauma or lasting injury. Nevertheless, it wasn't a good feeling for one's privates to be attacked.

Richard groaned internally, his head spinning with rage. Flowsand was still bursting with energy, supporting herself against the bed to flip him over in a split second before landing gracefully. This was definitely not the weak physique of a cleric.

Flowsand ran for the door the moment her feet touched the ground, obviously wanting to escape. However, her fingers barely grazed the doorknob before her body was yanked backwards.

“Thinking of running, huh,” Richard said petulantly, dragging her back.

The pair entangled once again, becoming a mess that fell to the bed. Flowsand managed to wriggle out another time, but this time things weren't in her favour. She'd landed in front of one of the room's corners, and before she took the chance to run Richard had already cut her off.

Just as she'd said to him, she wouldn't let him have it so easily. It had been a while since this battle for dominance started, and the cleric had proved her melee skills over and over again. She practised something similar to wrestling, her strength and direction unpredictable. Her great agility and flexibility only served to elevate her technique to another level.

Richard had only learned later that the priestesses of the Church of the Eternal Dragon were trained in self defense just in case they were ambushed from behind. However, that training proved to be his biggest obstacle.

And yet, the more familiar he grew with her techniques the stronger and more targeted his counters were. This pushed Flowsand into more of an unfavourable position every time. He'd almost gotten her in a few attempts, ripping her robes and garments apart to leave her with almost no defences.

The cleric was running out of stamina as the brawl continued. Richard was drenched in sweat himself, but that only hyped him up further. He was a man— the more fierce the resistance, the more excited he grew.

It was growing harder and harder for Flowsand to get herself out. Her struggles were finally put to an end as Richard held her down against the table. She twisted her body in an attempt to escape, but her strength was running out and she only managed to bounce up a little before being pushed back. He grabbed a hold of her hand and held it against her waist, before moving in.
𝐟r𝑒ℯ𝘄𝐞𝙗ｎov𝚎𝙡. 𝑐𝘰𝘮

Two screams rang out from the room at the same time. One was a man's bestial growl, while the other a woman's repeated pants of pain. Richard kept Flowsand stuck beneath him, only lifting the pressure once he thrusted into her. He barely waited for her to catch a breath before going in once more, his movements rough and hard.

It seemed like Flowsand had finally reached her limits, bending over the table to bear the unending attack. The only thing she could do was let out soft moans here and there, her sweat soaking the wood.

Richard himself almost reached climax in a short while, likely because of the intense battle that served as a precursor to this. He took a deep breath and halted his movements; this wasn't an easy prize, he couldn't end up finishing so quickly.

However, Flowsand who looked drained of energy suddenly took the chance to move her body, attempting to wriggle her way out of his grasp. An inexplicable feeling filled Richard as he roared, “WHAT ARE YOU TRYING TO DO?” But then, he lost control of himself and released.

He then leaned over Flowsand's bare back, panting hard. The cleric lifted her head, caressing his face, “Nothing. I wanted to flee, but didn't get the chance.”

Richard fumed at the thought. She was thinking of fleeing in this manner?

He stayed silent for a few more minutes before suddenly getting up, picking the priestess up and throwing her on the bed. He then got on top of her. It was now Flowsand's turn to be shocked; she hadn't expected him to recover so quickly. Their second battle was especially intense, lasting a long time.

According to Norland's military traditions, a raging first battle would be followed by a prolonged war. As for the third...

Richard, sweating buckets at this point, lay next to Flowsand and let out a snort. He then asked in high spirits, “Finally honest with your feelings this time?”

Flowsand laughed lightly, only answering with a vitality spell.

The third battle would be a counterattack. The formerly oppressed party would mount a comeback, switching their positions completely.

The night was still young when the third battle reached its end. The war had not concluded, especially with one party relentlessly provoking the other. The fourth battle inevitably began. This time, Richard gave it his all...

By the time the sun finally rose, Richard was completely worn out and drowsy. On the other hand, Flowsand was energetic as ever, exuding a radiance that made her look irrevocably beautiful in the light of dawn. She clung onto Richard without letting him sleep, intending to start a fifth battle.

“What are you thinking about?” Flowsand propped her chin onto Richard's chest and gazed at him expectantly. Her eyes were deep with meaning.

“I was just reminded of times when I was younger,” Richard replied weakly.

“When you were younger?” Flowsand was rather surprised at his answer, especially in a moment like this.

“Yeah, I was still in Rooseland back then with my mother. When I grew a little older, she let me help out with the herb farm. I watched the villagers farm as well.

“Rooseland was a mountain village. The farmers raised magical bulls to spare manpower. This just reminded me of those times.”

“What about it?” Flowsand grew even more curious, but she was sure that Richard was distracting her to avoid the fifth round.

Richard turned his head to look at Flowsand. He then flashed a vague smile, “I feel like I'm the bull and you're the farm. From my experience, bulls died from exhaustion but the farms never spoiled.”

And once again, the only reply he was met with was a vitality spell. Of course, his departure from Camp Bloodstone was delayed yet again.

217 - City of Sin

Oasis

Early morning two days later, Richard's troops left Camp Bloodstone. They made use of the cool morning air to hurry along to Bluewater Oasis, the closest Oasis to this edge of the Bloodstained Lands.

Their party now had more than ten horses, a few carriages, and thirty half-orc warriors. The extra ten had been given to Richard for his valiance in fighting on in terms of alcohol intake. It was also partly due to Flowsand's scrolls.

The unexpected experience with Stormhammer and the remaining half-orcs had changed Richard's views on these warriors. He'd originally planned to just treat them as cannon fodder, but now he would treat them as part of his core troops.

As for Sam and Mark's other subordinates, they were tasked to stay behind at Camp Bloodstone. Their duty was to manage the spring and all the other businesses nearby. The parting words Richard had left Big Axe with were quite cheerful, “I always place enormous trust in my subordinates.”

Camp Bloodstone was roughly 80 kilometres away from Bluewater Oasis. However, this seemingly short journey was actually quite dangerous. Many caravans had used the oasis as a place to resupply and trade, and as the number of caravans heading there increased bandits and robbers were naturally attracted to the place. Many big-time slave traders also found suitable opportunities to join these rogues and murderers.

Richard's team was of moderate size. Although they had several carriages accompanying them, it was clear that these carriages held their own belongings and not goods for trade. The powerful robbery groups didn't think they were worth the effort.

On top of that, the team had two heavily armoured trolls, thirty orc warriors, and a dozen wind wolves following them. They seemed quite tribalistic. Most tribes believed in ancestral worship, and held deep-seated notions about vengeance. Make an enemy of one, and their relentless blood feud would last generations. As such, bandits who plied their trade in the Bloodstained Lands were often afraid of provoking orcs unless they were confident of destroying the entire tribe.

Even then, there were barely any benefits of doing so. Orcs were still primitive, without much material wealth. Most adults of the tribe were strong warriors, and destroying even the smaller tribe would require a lot of effort for little profit. Very few people were interested in such a lop-sided business model.

The bloodstone orcs were actually an exception. Saint warriors had appeared amongst their ranks in several generations, allowing them to maintain firm control of Camp Bloodstone which was a major crossroad. Even without any saints in Stormhammer's generation, the half-orc tribe had doubled in military strength since the last. What's more, the tribe was more open and orderly, not completely rejecting the influence of outsiders. That was why those like Bowen, Howie, and the like had any say in the camp. And it was precisely this openness that meant these 'outsiders' would help in case the camp faced an external threat.

More than half of the bloodstone tribe's accumulated wealth over the past century had entered Richard's hands, most of it poured into the Breath of Darkness on Waterflower. Richard himself was only left with enough materials to craft two more runes, and even those would have limited might.

Riding his warhorse, Richard squinted his eyes and closely inspected the stone forests and red earth of the Bloodstained Lands. The sun shone down brightly without obstruction, the air hot enough for the scenery to distort. This place was barren, yet many intelligent races survived here. In fact, they led very exciting lives. Nobody was sure of what would happen tomorrow and as such everyone lived frantically, trying to accomplish many things at once. Bloodthirsty murder, sexual services, slave trade, even drugs... every conceivable crime could be found somewhere in this land.

The harshness of the environment gave the people here tremendous energy and unlimited freedom. Such was the beauty of the Bloodstained Lands— the place was completely free, and as such the weak grew worse and the strong continued to grow unrestricted.

Gazing at this blood red land, Richard felt a sudden faint inspiration. All of his inspiration for the Savagery of Darkness series, aimed at lethal ambushes, had been poured into creating the Breath of Darkness. However, looking at the crimson sand and how people struggled to survive here, new feelings started to stir within his mind. Perhaps he still needed an opportunity, but he might be able to start on a brand new series of runes. As of yet, however, he had no idea whether he really would be able to do so, and what that signified.

After the long, arduous battle with Flowsand that brought them both pain and joy, he'd gotten to know this favoured child of the Eternal Dragon a lot better. That understanding could give rise to another series of rune sets in the future. He was already at the point of capturing the essence of the first set, and he'd even thought of a name for it.

Assuming all other circumstance remained the same, Richard believed Mystic Glory would be a series not at all inferior to the Savagery of Darkness.

His mind occupied with such thoughts throughout the journey upto Bluewater Oasis, nothing eventful happened until they reached their destination.

Bluewater was called an oasis, but it was actually a large freshwater lake that spanned a few hundred square kilometres. Underground springs had kept the place fed all these years, and it had never dried out. The humans and other similar races only occupied cities on the edge of the oasis. There were other creatures as well, with a large variety of unfathomable flora all around. There were likely many terrifying creatures swimming around in the depths of the clear blue water.

Bluewater Oasis was merely 200 kilometres away from the Sequoia Kingdom, which was only a few days of travel. As such, food and other necessities could be brought over by caravans from the human kingdoms. This proximity also made it one of the Bloodstained Lands' greatest hubs of slave trade.

As a result of the vast range of interests in controlling this place, no single party ruled over the entire oasis. The Sequoia Kingdom, slave traders, and even bigger bandit groups of the Bloodstained Lands had their own parts to play. After many years, they'd reached a delicate balance of power.

Located at the side of the lake was a big chaotic city that formed the core of Bluewater. This city had no walls, a result of all the power struggles that had unfolded in the past. It was ringed by camps both large and small, most foreign caravans setting up on the outskirts to conduct their business inside the city. A large number of slaves were held captive in specialised camps with high walls and heavy guards, the tight security visible from afar. Given the hundreds of such bases all around, it was easy to tell just how many slaves were traded regularly.

Richard's troop slowly passed these slave camps without attracting much attention. Dozens of parties of this size entered and left the city every day.

218 - City of Sin

Tyrant

Richard had done his homework on Bluewater before arriving. He pitched camp on the outskirts of the city, instructing his subordinates to guard the camp before bringing a handful of men into the city. He was planning to sell a few more of his runes here, in exchange for the materials he needed. He also planned to start building his personal army further. His strength was pretty evident by now, he could easily take down a hundred-man bandit group if he wanted to, but he had his eyes on greater things.

It was already night when they entered the city. Richard booked the best rooms in the most renowned inn here, getting some dinner before he brought his men out to dig for information at a rather established bar.

It was still a little too early for the bar to be crowded. A middle-aged man was cleaning cups behind the bar counter, on the lean side with observant eyes that exuded an eerie, cold aura.

Richard scanned through everyone present upon entering, getting a rough idea of their powers and abilities. He then found a seat at the bar, while his subordinates found a large table and settled down. He took out a gold coin at the counter, sliding it across before saying to the bartender, “Give my men a glass each of your best liquor.”

*Snap!* The bartender caught the coin instantly, proceeding to bring out a dozen cups before pouring a golden liquid into them. A strong scent of alcohol burst out, and the man snapped his finger to have a handful of scantily clad waitresses bring the drinks to their table.

There were two women in Richard's group, but they seemed to have no aversion to hard liquor as they downed it rather spontaneously, faster even than the surrounding men. Alcohol was definitely one of the things the city of blood was known for.

Richard took his own glass and had a sip, exclaiming, “This is great!”

“But of course. You lot seem to be new here. The first order of every night is at half price, but there are no special discounts after,” the bartender informed him.

Richard smiled, “That's fine by me. Here, a second glass for everyone.” He slid two more shining coins across the counter.

The bartender poured out the liquor skillfully, taking the chance when Richard was distracted to size the boy up.

It was then that Richard flipped out a small coin pouch, pushing it towards the man, “This is twenty gold coins, minted by the church. Tell me, what do you know of Red Cossack, and specifically Red Hook?”

“Red Cossack?” the bartender asked, weighing the pouch in his hand before proceeding to place it in his drawer. “Alright, wait a bit.”

He took out a bigger cup, selecting a half-full brown bottle from his shelf and pouring out half a cup of blood-red liquor. He then pushed the glass over to Richard and smiled sneakily, “Here's your Red Cossack.”

Richard frowned as he gripped the glass tightly.

“Please make your payment now. That is 300 gold in total. Here's the rule boy: no refunds once the drink is prepared.” The bartender crossed his arms, squinting at Richard as he laughed menacingly.

And yet, Richard was exceptionally indifferent, “You dare exploit me?”

The bartender glanced over with a look of derision, speaking in a patronising voice, “You're just a little rascal, how dare you not pay for what you've order? Bloody look around you, at the kind of place you're in! Black Devil!”

A few fierce men stood up from the corner, one of them nearly 2.5 metres tall; his head almost hit the lights on the ceiling when he stood up. The man was tanned, his upper body naked with a skull painted on his chest with some kind of white paint. Richard could feel some unusual energy radiating from the skull— it seemed like some tribal totem. This man was a level 10 warrior, and his physique made it obvious that he clearly had some other unique abilities as well.

The group walked over to the counter, and the bartender pointed coldly at Richard, “This rascal refuses to follow the rules, he actually wanted to buy information from me! He's also pretty rich.”

The tanned man nodded his head as he cracked his fingers loudly, “Leave all your money, you bastard, and your right hand too. And take your men and piss off! I'll make sure you leave all your limbs behind if you dare refuse!”

“You want my right hand?” Richard smiled icily.

“Don't bargain with me! Now, I want both of your hands!” Black Devil growled.

Richard was still swirling the liquid in his cup, causing the blood-red liquor to spin quickly. His gaze was fixed on the glass in his hand throughout their conversation, and he didn't even spare a glance at either the bartender or Black Devil. When he spoke up again, his tone was nonchalant, “Which rotten bastard amongst you thinks I'm just a pushover?”

Black Devil raged and growled, “Don't even think of leaving now! You won't even be able to crawl after I'm done with you!” His threatening fist came fast the moment his sentence came to an end.

Richard was looking at the crimson liquid, seemingly unaware of what was going to happen to him even if his hair flew with the wind created by the fist.

Just as the fist was half a metre from Richard's face, it stopped in mid-air. A pincer-like hand grabbed a hold of his wrist, so powerful that Black Devil couldn't move anymore. Gangdor had appeared out of nowhere, stopping the man's punch. He was much smaller than his opponent, but the murderous aura he exuded was tenfold that of his opponent. Black Devil certainly had killed a fair number of people, but how could he compare to the blood and gore of the Archeron death camps?

The fellow's biceps looked ready to explode, his face reddening from all the strength he exerted. But no matter how hard he tried, he was unable to move forward. Gangdor was like a statue of steel, simply unmovable!

Gangdor stuck his tongue out at the man in front of him, revealing his pearly white teeth. At the same time his own muscles started to move, two distinct auras bursting forth from his body to wrench a dreadful scream out of Black Devil's mouth. The latter cringed with the pain, cracks sounding from the hand Gangdor held. His fist was pulled up without his control, twisting in an unnatural angle. Finally he couldn't tolerate the pain any longer, screaming as he fell to the ground.

Gangdor smiled at the sight, increasing the force he exerted to completely shatter his target's bones.

All this while, the bartender's cocky expression faded into surprise and astonishment. He screeched when he saw Black Devil fall, “Slaughter them! ALL OF THEM!”

The rest of the men charged towards Richard and his team, bringing out metal rods and machetes. One of them even tried to go for Richard's head; if he succeeded, he would split the mage in half.

The city of blood lived up to its name; any ordinary fight could end in death.

219 - City of Sin

Interrogation(1)

Richard's face was colder than ever as he took out the remnant page of the Book of Holding and unfolded it. A faint yellow radiance erupted from the page, filling half the bar. Anyone caught in the light was slowed down by at least 30%.

This was a grade 5 spell, Mass Slow. Richard had adjusted the reserve spell from an offensive to supporting one, since the main goal of this visit was a transaction and not a fight.

The result matched expectations. Not only did the few large fellows slow down, the other patrons in the bar were affected as well. It was apparent that there was nobody outside of Richard's men here who could resist grade 5 magic.

Richard himself completely ignored the machete right above his head. He had faith in Gangdor, who'd activated both Gaia's Force and the strength rune. The brute let loose a punch on the attacker's face, and the sound of bones cracking echoed as the man flew across the bar, knocking down a few tables in the process before landing on the floor. He twitched uncontrollably on the ground, unable to get up.

He then grabbed a bottle nearby, slamming it into Black Devil's head. The battle was far tougher than average, but Gangdor was far stronger than an ordinary human. Black Devil swayed a little before falling, and Gangdor took the chance to step on his left arm. Pressure gathered at his boots, and bone-shattering sounds rang out once more. The shriek this time drowned out all other noises in the bar.

But nobody could care less about him right now. Olar had already drawn his dagger, infiltrating the chaotic crowd and taking out two of the burly men like an assassin. This gave him a metal rod, which he used to strike another fellow. Although the danger of this rod wasn't as great as that of his dagger, the loud collision and the splatter of blood from the action were far more rousing. The elven bard had put his full strength into that strike, so much so that his expression was oddly twisted. This was the first time anyone had seen his dark side.

The fellow obviously wasn't satisfied with one hit, as he proceeded to pound into his opponent until all that was left of the body was a big, gory mess.

Nonetheless, Waterflower interrupted his berserk act.

A cold “Move!” caused the bard to quiver a little, growing clear-headed as he instantly moved backwards. The girl swept past the elf at the speed of lightning, and all their opponents were frozen mid-action as if someone had cast a grade 9 Time Stop on them. Suddenly, half a dozen heads flew into the air, blood splattering down like rain.

Nobody had managed to see the young lady's moves throughout this time, the Shepherd of Eternal Rest already pointed at another table of patrons in a split second. These people had all managed to struggle their way to stand despite the slowing spell, and most had a weapon or glass bottle in their hands. They were evidently planning to join the fight, but they hadn't been given the chance.

Just like the last batch, their heads would be sent flying the moment Waterflower stepped forth.

“Don't,” Richard said from afar, and Waterflower stopped in her tracks.

Richard scanned the bar. One of the knights he'd brought along had already taken out two opponents, aiming for their joints. Both had lost mobility almost immediately, and they were definitely crippled for the rest of their lives. There were still a dozen-odd patrons left in the bar, most looking like they were about to engage. However, a handful were trying to escape the bloody battle. They'd seen that the situation was unfavourable, and were probably planning to inform others and gather more manpower.

Seeing this, he ordered, “Cut off the right leg of anyone trying to flee.”

Before he could complete the sentence, Waterflower had finished a circle around the bar. The right legs of all who were planning to escape fell of their bodies the moment they took a step. They were all caught off-guard, slamming into the ground. It was only then that their brains caught up to the excruciating pain, turning them into howling beasts. The girl had already charged towards the rest of the enemies who were picking up weapons without Richard's instructions.

Both the vision and skill of the girl were exceptional. Limbs flew out everywhere in the bar, left and right arms all holding onto weapons. The most unlucky of them all was a big man who'd held an enormous axe with both hands.

Effortlessly finishing her task, Waterflower returned to her seat and sat down in peace. The Shepherd of Eternal Rest was back in its sheath; this blade of massacre would never be stained by the blood it drew.

The girl was too fast for Richard to even stop or change things. The men in this bar were mostly around levels 7 and 8, ants in front of this teenager who had the Breath of Darkness.

Richard shook his head. To everyone's surprise, he violently hurled the glass in his hand across the bar. The glass which could hold a litre of liquor screeched across the air, slamming into the face of the bartender who'd tried to run. The impact had broken the tough glass into countless fragments, leaving crimson fluid running down his face like a waterfall. It was impossible at this point to tell what was blood and what was liquor.

Richard then jumped over the counter, grabbing the man by his hair and towing him back. The lack of his target's resistance shocked him— the person who'd started this bloody mess was actually an ordinary human.

The bartender shrieked in a high voice, “I'm a subordinate of the Two-Headed Dragon, Schitich! If you dare touch me, you'll be dead before you know it! Master Schitich will catch all of you and mince you up before feeding you to his dog! The two girls will live longer, but there'll be hundreds of men lining up to fuck you everyday!” Google search 𝑓𝒓e𝑒w𝑒𝒃𝑛𝒐𝘃ℯ𝙡. c𝚘m

“What a trash-talker. It's no wonder that you're only a bartender.” Richard lifted the bartender and pressed him against the bar counter. He then pulled his left arm up against the bar counter and made Gangdor hold it down it.

The bartender's shrieks intensified as he realised things weren't as expected. He struggled for his life, repeating, “Master Schitich has the best cavalry! Let me go now and I'll forget whatever happened today! Or else, Master Schitich will wipe your whole family out!”

Richard sat back down at the counter, laughing at the bartender's ridiculous words, “I'd like to thank this so-called Schitich guy if he managed to find my family. Now, tell me everything you know about Red Cossack. Be detailed, and don't you dare lie.”

The fight in the bar has died down, leaving a mountain of corpses and casualties in its wake. A river of blood flowed out, with only a few left standing. Most of them were the waitresses, and others who were smart enough to respond correctly. They'd been fast to abandon their weapons, squatting down without trying to run. That was the only reason Waterflower's blade did not strike them.

Richard did not make any threats, but the pressure on that left hand served as enough of a deterrent. The bartender finally trembled, struggling to make his last warning, “Master Schitich will never let you off...”

“I think it's better to worry about your own fingers first.” Richard snapped his fingers, “Olar!”

220 - City of Sin

Interrogation

“Hold on, Master!” The elven bard drew his dagger, suddenly lifting a waitress up by her long hair. He lightly slapped her smudged face with the flat side of his blade, and just as she forced a smile he abruptly cut her hands off.

The woman screeched in pain, and even Richard was rather distressed by this action. “What are you doing?” he questioned in a threatening tone, “You need to cut this man's fingers, not her hands!”

The elven bard kept the woman suspended by her hair, turning her to face Richard. He shook her twice, causing an exquisite small scroll to fall out from her clothes. He grabbed it just before it fell into the puddle of blood on the ground, hurling it towards Richards. Richard realised the moment he pulled the scroll open that it would send out an alarm when torn apart.

This was a little trick of the higher classes, somewhat like a magical toy. It was rather effective in this case, however; he would never have expected a random waitress to have it on hand. She was beyond what she seemed.

“Master, this woman was trying to give you away. If those who try to flee deserve to have their legs cut off, then those who try to spread information deserve to lose their hands,” Olar said with resolution.

“Put her aside for now,” Richard replied coldly, “Come here and do your job!” The bard was intelligent, and the slave contract ensured his loyalty. He was just growing more and more unlikeable as his true nature revealed itself, but he was still someone who couldn't be let go.

Olar wiped his dagger clean, glancing at the bartender indifferently before asking, “Should I take my time, Master, or should I finish it fast?”

“I want you to make him spill.”

Gangdor had already replaced Richard to hold the bartender down, so he took his time to look through the bar's shelf and picked something good for himself. He poured himself a fair bit of alcohol before leaning against the counter, waiting for a result.

Olar looked at the bartender's fingers and said to Gangdor, “Lend me your axe.”

“What for?”
ƒ𝑟𝐞ewe𝚋𝑛ｏ𝙫𝚎l. 𝒄o𝗺

The bard rolled his eyes, “Because the blade is rough enough!”

Gangdor was delighted by the answer, passing the axe over, “Careful with it, it's heavy!”

The elf snorted, grabbing the axe rather effortlessly. Bard though he may be, he was still level 9. He may not be able to use the axe in battle, but lifting it was no big deal. However, he soon realised that lifting and using the axe were two different matters. Cutting off one of the bartender's fingers would prove to be a huge challenge. He needed to torture the fellow slowly, slicing his fingers up instead of chopping them all off at the same time.

Thus, it was only expected for him to miss with his first strike. The axe landed slightly off target, and had little strength behind it. Nevertheless, the weight of the axe alone crushed the first joint of the fellow's finger into a bloody mess.

The bartender cried aloud, the pain so excruciating that his scream escaped Gangdor's hand on his mouth.

The elf's forehead was beading with sweat, and he looked rather tired as he tried to use the axe again. He shouted unhappily, “SHUT YOUR TRAP! I can still cut this finger three more times, leave whatever you have to say until after I'm done. Nobody cares right now!”

“I yield! I yield! I'll tell you everything!” The bartender gave in under the pain and pressure. He'd just recognised the truth— these people before him definitely did not pale in front of Schitich or Red Cossack in terms of their cruelty. Knowing that the axe in the elf's hands might fall again any time soon, he spilled everything he knew.

Red Cossack was a well-known slave trade group in this city of blood, so they naturally had slave camps in Bluewater. There were many camps spread out, and they could handle 30,000 slaves at once. Normally, they detained several thousands of slaves there.

The place had a team of 300 guards to guard these slaves, true elites unlike Red Hook's knights. Even so, this wasn't Red Cossack's base; that was at Moon Bay, over a hundred kilometres away.

As for Schitich, he was considered a significant force in Bluewater Oasis. He had a force of 200 cavalry and 400 infantry, tasked with maintaining law and order in Bluewater alongside five other factions. The six organisations were mostly just mercenary groups that moonlighted as bandits. They were considered a single party, having two votes total in the Bluewater Council. The representative of the Sequoia Kingdom had 3, Marquess Anrick had 1, while the remaining 10 were with various slaving organisations which changed rather frequently.

The Bluewater Council had a certain level of authority. After all, one needed a stable environment for trade to thrive. However, when things involved specific benefits and interests it wasn't unusual for things to be settled outside of its control.

Schitich himself was level 14, with a dozen of his subordinates being level 12 or above. However, he wasn't close to the strongest in the oasis. That was the representative of Marquess Anrick, sword saint Rolf. His level 16 strength was the sole reason the Marquess even had a vote in the council.

The doors to the bar suddenly flew open at that point, and a few drunkards came in. The bloody mess and the noise in the bar seemed to sober them up a little, however, and they grew completely clear-headed when they noticed the icy stares of Richard's men. They quickly bowed apologetically. “Sorry, wrong place!” they shouted out, before running out at the speed of lightning without forgetting to close the door.

Richard raised his glass and had a sip before throwing it aside, “We're done here. Prepare for the next battle.”

His subordinates got up, but Olar still had the bartender in hand, “What about this one?”

“Let him go,” Richard waved dismissively and walked out of the bar.

The bartender hit the floor the moment the elf released him, looking like he would faint at any moment. However, there was a fiery hatred in his eyes as he watched Richard exit. Almost everyone followed after Richard, even Flowsand who hadn't made a move till then. However, he felt rather strange, as if something was missing or wrong.

It was then that it dawned on him that the beautiful, diabolical elf wasn't there. He turned around, only to see the glimmer of the elf's blade blinding his eyes.

Another head flew up in the air, and Olar shrugged indifferently at the headless body that was spewing blood, “Sorry, I'm sure Master wouldn't have liked the way you looked at him just now.”

221 - City of Sin

Free Horses

Even though the bar wasn't at the centre of the city, it wasn't far from it. The place was also rather big, and a significant amount of time had lapsed since the massacre. Despite it being sudden, it was enough to incite a forceful reaction.

Once he walked out of the bar, Richard took in a deep breath of the cool and refreshing night breeze. He dusted his clothes, but wasn't in any hurry to leave.

The convenience store next door was still open, the shopkeeper sitting on a bench that was half in the shop and half out. He smiled mysteriously at Richard, “Youngsters these days are so rash. You killed so many of Schitich's people the moment you came to Bluewater, he definitely won't let you off easily.”

Richard's men were leaving the bar one after the other, but he still showed no intention of leaving. He replied with a smile, “I'm not being rash. I don't like being blackmailed, and hate having to spare lives even more. This isn't a small grievance.”

“It isn't big either, at least around here.”

“Perhaps. If so, then let me make it a bigger issue.”

The old shopkeeper sighed, “Young people are always teeming with confidence. Being a troublemaker isn't a good trait.”

Richard retrieved an immaculate white handkerchief, starting to clean his hands which had been stained with alcohol during the battle. He smiled deeply, “I really don't like trouble, but if anyone comes looking for some then they'll find they got a lot.”

The old shopkeeper shook his head, “You're definitely an outsider.”

“Bluewater is a huge lake. What Schitich controls is basically a small cup. Besides, outsiders aren't the easiest to bully. They're the ones who have to live here, it's useful to have eyes that aren't blind,” Richard replied without enthusiasm.

“Fine. Since you've killed almost all of Schitich's men in the bar, why aren't you leaving?”

Richard flashed a mysterious smile, “I'm waiting for some horses to be sent to me.”

Just as he finished speaking, the faint sound of hooves could be heard approaching from the distance. A cavalry troop turned a corner just a hundred metres away, heading rapidly for the bar. There were more than twenty of them, their horses swift and forceful. It was evident that they had great control; even though the streets were bustling with life in the night, they managed to avoid hurting anyone. They had excellent horsemanship, and they also exercised restraint.

There were many different powers in Bluewater Oasis. Outside of the slave traders, there weren't many big groups. The slave traders themselves were split into four, and it was likely because of the abundance of other influences that these knights were acting so cautiously.

By the time they covered the short distance, Richard could tell that their leader was level 12 while the others were level 7 or 8. This fellow had to be one of Schitich's leading subordinates who happened to be nearby, rushing over immediately when he heard of the attack.

Richard was unperturbed, stowing the handkerchief away, “Here they are.”

The knight spotted Richard's group from tens of metres away, egging his horse on as he sped towards them. The party was quite eye-catching in the Bloodstained Lands— a freely roaming purebred elf would attract attention no matter where they were. The mostly elven Olar didn't look much different under the moonlight.

“Who dares stir up trouble in the Two-Headed Dragon's bar?” the knight roared loudly from afar. Six idle people immediately raised their hands in response, pointing to Richard at the same time. He thus charged forth without hesitation, twirling his morningstar to a terrifying tune.

Richard started chanting a spell, but the speed at which the knights were sprinting left him with only two minutes to cast it. Just as the knights were about twenty metres away, Waterflower stepped forward. Her eyes were glowing with a faint radiance, her short hair flying about wildly. She suddenly howled like a wolf.

The horses on the frontline were immediately shocked, unintentionally flinging their riders off and sending them careening towards the ground. They seemed to lose all sanity, flailing, kicking, and biting aimlessly as they rushed around like they were blind. Their sole intention was to find an escape route, to get as far away from that young girl as possible. As far as they were aware, it wasn't a beautiful young lady in front of them but instead a powerful demonic wolf that could tear them to shreds at any time.

The leader's horse was the same as the rest, but he was clearly more skilled than his subordinates. He clamped down with his thighs, ensuring that he wasn't flung off his mount. However, the sudden loss of balance left his morningstar flying out of his hand, leaving a gaping hole in a nearby building.

Even though he managed to control his horse, the soldiers behind him could not react fast enough. They continued charging forward at full speed, crashing into the berserk horses in front of them. It was a complete disaster. The leader eventually succumbed to his fate as well— no matter how good he was at controlling his horse, two people had crashed into him. His control didn't exceed the fear its companions were radiating, and it eventually tumbled to the ground.

In the midst of all this chaos, Richard finally completed his spell. It was another mass slow, shrouding the majority of the knights and three of those who provided directions.

Gangdor, Waterflower, and two other members of the party rushed out immediately, three arrows flying past from behind them to hit three of the opponents and causing them to collapse. The leader struggled to get up from the ground, one of his legs trapped under the mess of fallen horses. He suddenly saw Gangdor flying towards him with axe in hand, slashing swiftly and maliciously. He gasped in horror, but was too slow to dodge the attack. His only option was to try and use the chain of another morningstar to try and block the attack.

A malicious shadow flashed across Gangdor's face, and pale yellow light radiated from his body. The eruption rune lit up from under his shirt, the strength amplification alongside Gaia's Force causing the huge axe to generate a strong wind like a drizzle transforming into a thunderstorm. Stunned by what was happening, the old shopkeeper who was originally sitting calmly opened his eyes wide in shock.

The strength of the brute's axe was unrivalled, mercilessly cutting through the chain. It then cut into the knight's suit of armour, eventually taking off his head. The leader's head flew up in the air, but his body still remained in a seated position, refusing to give in and crumble.

With their leader beheaded on the spot, the remaining knights who were still stuck in the chaos were no match for the bunch of demons facing them. They were beheaded efficiently one by one. Seventeen or eighteen of the twenty-odd horses were still usable as well, giving each member of the party two horses.

Richard watched leisurely as his subordinates cleaned the place like professionals, gathering the horses and conveniently punishing one of the fellows who'd pointed them out. Of course, the punishment was cutting off all his limbs.

There were six people who'd directed the knights, but only one of them was this unlucky. The fool had tried to be funny after the situation had more or less settled, whipping out a dagger he had hidden in his sleeves.

Such obstinate opponents were bound to give them a headache, which was why Richard's men explicitly dealt with them. There were only two ways to deal with these people: either have them killed, or strip them of all fighting ability such as by taking their limbs.

Generally speaking, some of Richard's team were inclined towards the latter option. Although killing the person would have instant results, crippling them left their enemy with an unshirkable burden. Of course, this wasn't as good of a method in the Bloodstained Lands.

222 - City of Sin

Two-Headed Dragon

The old man watched on as Richard's men took care of the rat. It was only when all the horses were prepared and Richard was about to leave that he sighed, “Young man, what purpose do you have in coming to Bluewater Oasis?”

Richard smiled elegantly, “Business. I hope to strike it rich.”

“That's great!” the old man nodded, “There's plenty of opportunities to make money here.”

“I hope so, but right now I have to leave this place. Before I can start my business, there are some issues I need to take care of.” Richard gave the man a mage's bow, mounting his horse and vanishing into the night with his party.

Once they left the city, Richard and the rest made a beeline for their camp. The moment they entered, Richard saw a group of half-orcs eating and making merry around a bonfire. He kicked them up and roared, “All of you, up. NOW! Go don your armour and get your weapons, I want to see everyone ready for battle in ten minutes! We have a fight coming!”

Medium Rare responded from inside a tent. He walked out with a huge ladle in hand, the aroma of meat assaulting one's nostrils. He swung the thing around eagerly, asking, “Boss, what kind of battle is it? Will we need to run around, or are we going to defend?”

Richard swiftly walked to his side, poking the troll's fat belly, “Go, wear your thickest armour. Get a large hammer and tower shield ready, we'll be standing ground!”

A look of delight flooded the troll's face, and he beat his chest hard, “Don't worry, boss! I'll smash them like patties!” He hated fights that needed him to move. His armour weighed a few hundred kilograms, and even with his strength that was enough to compromise his speed. On the other hand, when he was just standing ground the combination of his heavy armour, buffing magic, and war songs was enough to break formations entirely by himself.

“Prepare yourselves, we'll be facing a cavalry troop. The leader will most likely be level 12, but there's also a chance that he'll be level 14. There will be a hundred of them.

“You lot! Go to the woodpile and sharpen the stakes. Bury them in the ground, sharp end facing out with no more than a metre and a half exposed. I want a stake every five metres!” Richard walked through the entire camp, rallying the troops one by one. He also gave them instructions and orders.

The camp entered a frenzy, but in the short period of time a couple hundred stakes had been placed all over the side of the camp that faced the city. These stakes were designed to hold off cavalry. Richard's soldiers were quite experienced, so they hadn't sat down doing nothing when they got to camp. They organised troops to go into the nearby forests, gathering wood to bring it back to camp. A small portion was to be used as fuel, while the rest was cut up and placed to make a fence at some point. There wasn't enough time to do that anymore, so they instead used them as a line of obstacles.

The stakes weren't everywhere. Even a soldier with mediocre skill could maneuver his horse past them without getting hurt, but if he tried to rely on the speed of his horse to try and ram through the stakes it would be impossible.

Richard had ten knights, all level 10. These fellows were the real deal, able to fight both on foot and on horseback. Although there were only ten of them, they were formidable. They were divided into two groups to guard opposite sides of the camp, with a wind wolf in each.

The remaining wind wolves were dispatched alongside the half-orc warriors, every team consisting of five orcs and one wolf. The orcs were to follow the wind wolf and attack the designated target. This allowed Richard to minimise the number of direct orders he gave out, only needing to control the wind wolves with his mind.

A short while later, the ground started to tremble as neighs and warcries rang out from the direction of the city. The camps within a kilometre were alerted, their guards quickly clutching their weapons as they nervously stared in the direction of the city. A few of the clever ones lit torches under their banners, preventing any friendly fire under the dark night sky. The stronger camps weren't nervous, but they strengthened their guard anyway.

A fierce cavalry rushed out of the city, following the trail left behind by Richard's group as they hurried towards the camp. There were obviously a few good scouts in their midst.

There were more than eighty soldiers in the troop. Their leader was tall and strong, riding a black warhorse that looked to have demonic heritage. This was one of the authorities of Bluewater Oasis— the Two-Headed Dragon, Schitich.

This was less than half of Schitich's total army, it seemed like he hadn't been able to gather as many men in such a short notice. His lair may have been in the city, but that did not mean all his forces were concentrated there.
f𝔯𝗲e𝒘𝙚𝚋𝐧oѵe𝗹． 𝒄𝗼m

A 200-man troop in dragon formation could also be seen moving over from the city. This was Schitich's infantry, but given the several kilometres of distance of the camp from the city the battle would likely have ended before they even got here.

This was exactly what Richard wanted, eroding his opponents' power over several waves of battle. He knew that it would be difficult to gather a full army in such short notice.

Richard did not have the lights in the camp put out. Even if vision wasn't ideal, the oncoming army could easily see the stakes that had been prepared for them. Although the core of his own party wasn't afraid of a battle in the night, a large number of the human and orc warriors did not have this capability. Richard didn't hope for these stakes to cause much damage, only having them placed to stop the enemy from charging them down.

Seeing the obstacles at the front of the camp and having learnt a lesson from the team that got destroyed at the bar, Schitich was in no hurry for his soldiers to rush forward. He instead reined his horse in, stopping in front of the stakes and raising his right hand. His troops started adjusting formation, coming up to a neat horizontal line behind him.

Schitich cast a gloomy glare at Richard who was at the centre of the field, crying out coldly, “Kid, tell me where you're from! If your father is rich enough you can surrender without any resistance. I'll only chop off an arm and a leg and let your father ransom you back!”

Richard laughed, pointing at Schitich's face with contempt, “You're a nobody, why would I be afraid of you? Forget my family, look at my age and status as a mage. Use your brain, do you think my teacher will forgive you if you mess with me? Don't assume the Bloodstained Lands are any big deal!”

The man's expression warped. Richard was not wrong; any mage capable of casting grade 5 spells at such an age would be a notable force in any large empire. Richard's teacher had to be a grand mage at minimum, and could very well be a key person in the mainland. This troop seemed unusually strong as well.

Even if a grand mage couldn't personally sweep through the Bloodstained Lands, a mage's position and capabilities did not rely solely on their personal power. With their heavy control over the trade of magical equipment, a grand mage would be perfectly capable of offering a high reward to topple him from his position in the Bloodstained Lands.

Even 10,000 gold was nothing to a mage. However, as far as Schitich was concerned that was enough to have him fight for his life. Besides, whoever killed him would also obtain the favour of a grand mage.

223 - City of Sin

Two-Headed Dragon(2)

Schitich's complexion changed, and some turmoil broke out amongst his troops as well. Bluewater wasn't too far away from human kingdoms, which was why there was a representative from the Sequoia Kingdom and Marquess Anrick here. Nobody would be willing to provoke a grand mage without reason; that almost always ended with death.

Just as Schitich started to hesitate, Richard made his own offer, “Afraid, are we? Then leave your hands and all your horses and scram!”

Schitich's expression fluctuated several times, before he ended up with a sardonic smile, “You're just a child, but you dare threaten me? I don't care who your teacher is, I'm killing you today! Once you die, you don't need to worry about how big the Bloodstained Lands are. Kill him!”

The soldiers at the wings charged out with Schitich's bellow, twenty on each side rushing for Richard's own wings. Schitich led the remaining forty through the obstacles at moderate speed, before dashing towards them.

Schitich was an axeman as well. His jet-black weapon was enormous, shining with light as he brandished it. Evidently, it was a piece of powerful magic equipment. He rode straight for Richard.

Waterflower appeared behind Richard once more, letting out another wolf-like howl. Dozens of the warhorses behind Schitich were startled, leaving more than half the riders thrown off. However, all five of the level 12 captains managed to keep their horses in control, and Schitich's own horse wasn't affected by the girl at all. He pressed on, dashing straight towards Richard.

Medium Rare roared as he charged out from the side, ramming straight into an incoming horse. He actually sent both the horse and its rider flying, following which he smashed his heavy hammer into another nearby causing its entire chest to nearly cave in. The horse let out a long and painful neigh before plunging head-first to the ground. With it battered and hurt, the captain riding it had to leap off as quickly as he could, nearly falling in the process.

Dressed in his heavy armour, the ogre roared thunderously. Although the hammers in his hand seemed to be swung chaotically, every strike was actually calculated. He only smashed the horses and never the riders. One of the captains had a lapse in judgement, unable to deflect the weapon in time causing him to fall from his horse. Another of the captains bellowed with rage, ruthlessly smashing a morningstar into the ogre's armour, but Medium Rare only laughed maliciously as his hammer struck the man's horse.

Two heavy thuds sounded out on the battlefield, seemingly at the same time. These strikes could not be ignored, even by the ogre with all his armour. Medium Rare roared in anguish as he staggered back a few steps, but on the other side the warhorse buckled in the face of the blow, flinging its rider far into the distance. The captain fell to the ground with a loud thud, too extended in his attack to protect himself. The fall itself resulted in severe injuries.

On the other hand, divine light poured over the ogre's body. The greater heal, barrier, and blessing spells excited the ogre once more, and he howled loudly as he wildly swung out once more. He pounced at the last mounted captain, attacking relentlessly. Once again, blood for blood, he managed to knock the man off his mount.

While a few of the captains who'd fallen off their horses were still groaning in pain, another greater heal landed on the ogre's body, making him lively and vigorous once more. In an instant he'd forced all the captains off their mounts. Although these level 12 leaders were comparable to Richard's knights, they were all suited in heavy armour for mounted battle. Once they fell, their might dropped with them.

When he'd first entered this plane, Medium Rare was already capable of fighting knights. Now he was suited in armour, with divine spells, buffing magic, and Olar's warsong supporting him. Any of the captains who attempted to fight the ogre would be smashed in an instant, sent flying.

At the frontlines, Schitich's axe didn't even graze the top of Richard's head before it was blocked mid-air by the shaft of another.

The collision was fierce. Both these warriors focused on strength— one was high-levelled and had the support of a magical horse, while the other was born with innate strength, Gaia's Force, and an Eruption rune. The fight was surprisingly even.

Schitich's magic horse was stopped in its charge, whinnying with all its might as it staggered backwards. Its hind legs went weak before it fell to the ground. Gangdor didn't have it easy either. He spewed a mouthful of blood, flying backwards and falling down hard.

Although their powers were evenly matched, the weapons definitely were not. A gaping crack was formed in Gangdor's axe, and it most definitely would break with just one more clash. Schitich laughed like a maniac, a stream of blood flowing from his mouth as he waved his axe once more. However, a divine radiance shone in front of him at that moment. This was a greater heal!

Gangdor jumped back on his feet, grinning as he brandished his axe. The healing would take time to act, but with it acting on his body he had no need to fear this opponent. Besides, even injured Gangdor's aura actually grew in power. He actually advanced in level in the midst of this fierce battle!

They had a cleric! The mere presence of Flowsand put Richard's team on another level completely!

Schitich's expression changed drastically. He sent Gangdor flying once more, scanning the area around Richard to try and find the cleric. In Faelor, clerics and mages were targets that had to be killed at first sight.

However, right at that moment he felt an indescribable danger. He abruptly turned back, catching Richard pointing at him as a wave of mana invaded his body.

The strength of this spell was very weak, so weak in fact it was almost negligible. He realised that his surroundings had grown bright, looking up to see a ball of magic light floating a metre above his head. The ball illuminated everything in a ten-metre radius.

Illumination wasn't even a grade 1 spell, but it made Schitich the most striking target in the battlefield. All of a sudden, a tall tent in the camp opened up. A tall warrior dressed in black armour and armed with a two-handed sword walked out in large strides, cold air spurting out of the cracks in his helmet. The deep footprints left behind with every step he took showed how heavy this armour was, and the warrior's aura was no less imposing than that of heavy cavalry.

The warrior of darkness took large strides towards Schitich the moment he appeared, his longsword leaving a deep line in the ground as he dragged it along. Haste and stone skin spells fell on him one after the other as he ran, faint light starting to shine from beneath his helmet. Olar's warsong started to take effect as well.

Schitich could feel his hair stand. This black warrior chilled him down to the bone, and it was not due to a difference in strength. The man's entire aura seemed eerie, making him very uncomfortable. However, he didn't have the time to discern the source of this discomfort. Holding tightly onto his axe, he prepared to fight hand to hand once more. The sheer number of spells on this warrior would increase his prowess by more than a level.

224 - City of Sin

Two-Headed Dragon(3)

A loud bang resounded in the battlefield as the axe crashed into the warrior's enormous sword. Schitich's horse was finally left unable to withstand the impact, collapsing to the ground. The man immediately jumped off, wielding his enormous axe as he fought the warrior of darkness.

The warrior was strong, but he wasn't very agile. Schitich managed to retain the absolute advantage, but then Gangdor started to attack him from behind as well. He was locked into a struggle with the two, but Richard's knights joined in as well. Tiramisu also cast a slowing spell on him as he ran past.

Richard didn't rush to attack himself, instead constantly issuing commands as he stayed aware of the situation on the battlefield. He suddenly realised the time was ripe, shouting, “Knights, retreat!”

The knights on both wings immediately moved back, retreating to the camp.

“Orcs, retreat!” The half-orc warriors also began to fall back, moving behind the line formed by the knights.

“Zendrall. 30 metres ahead and to the left, Strengthen Fear!” Five seconds after the command, a group of almost invisible balls of light flew out of the torn tent. Powerful magic shot out from these balls, enveloping almost all the enemies on the left wing. Half of the cavalry and their mounts immediately fell into chaos, screaming in fear. Some collapsed on the ground, while others ran around aimlessly.

Following that, another of the same spell was cast 40 metres ahead and to the right. The enemies there were confused as well, and under the wind wolves' lead the orcs seized the opportunity to attack once more. They formed six distinct arrows, killing more than a dozen of Schitich's men in an instant.

Schitich was tied up by the warrior of darkness and Gangdor, left unable to escape. The five captains who'd been dismounted fell apart rapidly, all killed under the combined attack of the two trolls and Waterflower.

Zendrall didn't continue to summon any more undead, instead continuing to strengthen the curses on Schitich as per Richard's command. The battle tilted quickly once all the captains were killed, and Richard began directing his troops in repeated attacks that destroyed the enemy formations in the blink of an eye. All of Richard's contracted slaves then surrounded Schitich and attacked him, while the knights split into two teams and pursued the remnants of the cavalry.

The battle had completely collapsed at that point, and Schitich's men began to flee. Schitich himself felt a great threat, roaring as he twirled his axe around himself a few times to force Gangdor and the warrior of darkness back. He then roared again, tossing his enormous axe towards Richard with all his might.

The enormous axe bore down on Richard with terrifying force!

Gangdor roared out, exhausting all his strength to put himself between Richard and the enormous axe. The broken axe in his hand was finally split in two, and Gangdor himself was thrown a few metres away unable to get up. Fortunately this left the axe spinning in another direction, cutting two orc warriors in half before it buried itself into the ground. Even after all this, the handle of the axe continued to vibrate.Richard's body was shining with magic light. Three defensive spells— Barrier, Range Shield, and Nullify Damage— were impacted by the shockwaves, and Richard himself was pushed a few metres back. However, the spells would have made it quite difficult for Schitich to kill him even without Gangdor's desperate defense.

Schitich immediately fled towards the city the moment he threw out his axe. However, the darkness parted to reveal an ethereal Waterflower behind him. The Shepherd of Eternal Rest flashed past his body, and the girl stopped pursuing.

Breath of Darkness. The most powerful ability of Waterflower's rune set had been put on display.

Schitich sprinted a few more metres, but the back of his armour suddenly split open to let loose a rain of blood. He struggled two more steps forward, but eventually collapsed.

With their leader down, the rest of the cavalry had no more will to fight. A small number of them fled, while dozens surrendered.

Richard walked over to the enormous magic axe that was still stuck in the ground, gently stroking the handle. His hand seemed stable, but in fact his fingertips were trembling ever so slightly. The power behind this axe was enormous— if not for his defences, a direct strike from it would definitely have killed him. Flowsand would not be able to save him; she would only learn to revive others at level 18. Besides, the side-effects of revival were as great as its use.

Of course, the tight protection he had meant it was quite unlikely for him to be struck. But seeing the handle of this mighty axe fly towards him, he'd felt another brush with death. His heart had shuddered for a moment, but there was an unusual hint of excitement in there as well.

This dance with death seemed to be inspiring another rune series. Richard himself felt like he was a bit of an extreme lunatic.

“Good work tonight, this is the first time we won with you only commanding. It seems like Norland won't just have a new runemaster when we return, but a talented commander as well,” Flowsand's voice sounded from behind him.

Richard smiled awkwardly, clenching his fist to relax the fingers that were stiff from nervousness. He lowered his voice, “I was almost killed. What's so good about that?”

“Haha!” Flowsand laughed, “You're a mage of the Deepblue!”

“What do you mean?” Richard did not understand.

“If you were in Norland, many people would realise you were trained in the Deepblue the moment you joined the battle.”

Richard was very puzzled, “How? I didn't use any special magic just now. The Deepblue has some unique spells, sure, but most are Master's creations and are at the legendary realm. They're impossible for me to learn.”

Flowsand shook her head, “I'm not referring to any special spell. It's the style of your fights. Mages of the Deepblue are all strong physically, and also put great focus on self-protection. They're much better at staying alive.”

Most mages in Norland were protected by reliable knights. At a critical moment, the knights would instinctively act the same as Gangdor had, using themselves as shields. Thus, many mages focused purely on the pursuit of the ultimate offence, not putting too much thought into defending themselves. On the battlefield, a mage wouldn't last long if all their defenders were taken out anyway.

Richard was startled slightly, as he hadn't thought of that point. The moment the battle began, he'd taken the chance to channel every protective spell he could onto himself as he gave out his commands. If not for the increase in danger that would arise from reduced mobility, he would have cast stone skin as well.

Thinking over his experience from multiple battles, Richard was convinced by the Deepblue's definition of a strong mage: 'The greatest deterrence a mage can pose is being able to stay alive and conserve mana on the battlefield.'

“Go, save them!” Richard gave Flowsand a pat on her back, “Remember to keep half your mana in reserve.”

225 - City of Sin

Cruelty

Almost half of Schitich's army had yet to show up, but news of his death had been spread by the soldiers who managed to escape. The dragon formation that had been making its way over from the city could be seen turning back, indicating that the rest of the soldiers were unlikely to continue their attack.

After all, eighty of Schitich's strongest soldiers, all personally under his command, had been almost completely wiped out. If they attacked now, the remaining captains and the less than hundred cavalry would all face the same fate.

Richard started moving all around the camp, barking out orders, “Clean up the warzone. Heal the wounded and gather the captives. Take the corpses away, gather the horses...”

Everything went quite smoothly, and the aftermath of the battle was taken note of. There were 16 captives and more than 50 intact horses. Eleven enemies had escaped, while almost sixty had died. Richard himself had lost three footsoldiers and five half-orcs. Roughly a dozen more were injured, but Flowsand could fix anything outside of death and broken limbs. They would soon be brought back to full capacity.

Richard's core party didn't participate in the cleanup. They took the time to rest and heal, recovering their abilities as soon as possible. Outside of a second attack from the city, they also had to be ready for any attacks from the surrounding camps.

Everyone here was no saint, most looking to take advantage of the rest. It was just that Richard had won by a landslide, and the surrounding camps didn't know too much about him. They didn't know whether they would benefit much even if they won, and after seeing the battle they weren't sure they could.

“All the bodies have been searched, my Lord. How do you want us to deal with them?” A foot soldier came to ask for instructions.

Richard muttered to himself for a while before saying, “Stake the ordinary soldiers and leave them propped up at the side of the camp. Send the bodies of the captains over to Zendrall. As for Schitich... Zendrall!”

“Yes?” the necromancer asked without lifting his head. He was busy retrieving the injured warrior of darkness.

“I have some plans for Schitich's corpse. Would leaving him on the stakes for a few days be a problem?”

Zendrall was a little shocked, saying helplessly, “If we make some preparations beforehand, he can be transformed into a skeleton knight. However, that will leave him two levels lower than a warrior of darkness. If I have his corpse now, I will be able to summon a warrior of darkness with his soul.” To be honest, the expression and response seemed unlike that of a necromancer.

Having seen the capabilities of the warriors of darkness, Richard didn't have any grand illusions of their powers. As such, seeing Zendrall send his current one back to his summoning plane. He immediately said, “You have thirty minutes to take care of Schitich's corpse, but I want his face to be preserved without damage.”

The necromancer had to extract the soul from Schitich's body, flooding the corpse with the energy of death to preserve his original power. It only took a few minutes to finish the task.

Half an hour later, tens of stakes were erected at the outskirts of Richard's camp on some empty land, a lifeless body without armour nailed to each. At the centre was a pillar that was thrice as high, with Schitich hanging from atop it. There were ten lit torches nearby, illuminating the Two-Headed Dragon and his subordinates.

If not for the necromancer's requirements, Richard would have cut their limbs off before displaying them.

Under the cover of the night, countless pairs of eyes bore witness to this horrific scene. The bustling camps quieted down, and the bonfires originally burning in the city gradually faded away.

“I want to make an example to the rest of these rats, this is how anyone who tries to kill me ends up!” Richard said as he gazed at the city. He then waved his hands, “It looks like there won't be any other incidents tonight, you can go sleep.”

Gangdor was stood half-naked on an empty patch, using a pail of water to clean the wounds on his body. His compact muscles and the rune on his right shoulder seemed full of energy. Once Richard made his way back to his tent, Gangdor gently stroked his chin, “Boss is growing more cruel.”

Olar suddenly appeared out of nowhere, nodding in agreement. He spoke up in a tone full of emotion, “Behind every cruel boss are at least two cruel women.”

Gangdor nodded his head vigorously, “That makes sense. Who said it?”

“Me!”

The bard's words caused Gangdor's face to warp to one of disappointment. Had it been some great person in history who said this, it would have made for a great quote. Coming from Olar, they didn't have enough strength. However, something lit up in his big head as he asked, “Two cruel women... Did you provoke Waterflower and Flowsand?”

Olar's expression immediately soured. The curiosity in Gangdor's gaze immediately faded away, and there was no sarcasm or schadenfreude either.

“Which one?” he asked, expression full of sympathy. He didn't believe the elven bard would dare provoke both of them. Had he really done so, he would not be here standing perfectly intact.

Olar hesitated for a long time before speaking, “....Waterflower.”

Gangdor shrugged his shoulders, “Why not Flowsand?”

“It seemed like Waterflower was a little interested in me, and it's obvious Flowsand is not. Sounding her out would only get me a little hurt at most, she wouldn't go so far as to kill me. Flowsand, on the other hand... If she wanted to hurt or kill me, she would have many ways.”

“You're smart!” Gangdor praised him. He then pulled Olar closer, lowering his voice, “How did you 'provoke' Waterflower, give me details!”

Gangdor's arm was thicker than both of the elf's combined, and it was at least three to four times as strong as well. The steely grip left Olar hardly able to breathe, and he understood the threat. Gangdor wouldn't let him off easily if he didn't tell him everything. But that didn't matter, the only reason he even came over was to look for someone to share his woes and stress with.

“I then touched her butt...” Olar managed to squeeze the words out of his throat.

“Touched her butt? Did you really touch it?” Gangdor's eyes turned extremely bright with anticipation. Sadly the bard still disappointed him, even though that was only to be expected.

“It wasn't a full touch, my finger just bumped into her, and...” Even though it was a small, cheap thrill, it still resonated strongly with the bard.

“And?” Gangdor asked eagerly, even more pity in his tone.

“And...” Olar forced a smile and continued, “And I realised the true purpose of her steel pike.”

Gangdor laughed heartily, sweeping up and down over the bard's body and then patting him hard on his shoulders, “You found out about Waterflower's pike, but you could still stand and fight with such strength tonight. Did you go look for Miss Flowsand as well?”

Olar's body trembled uncontrollably as he nodded his head, continuing with an unbeatable darkness in his tone, “I was hurt so badly that I could barely walk. If I didn't want Master to find out, I had no choice but to look for Miss Flowsand in secret. However... She only cast lesser heals on me throughout the night!”

The corner of Gangdor's eyes twitched a few times.

All healing spells were similar, utilising magic to quicken the healing process. The only difference was the rate of acceleration. Lesser heals accelerated the process as well, but the effect was much smaller.

In a plane that advocated violence and war, being able to bear the pain of an injury was fundamental to every man. No warrior worth his salt cried out in pain during the healing process, just gritting their teeth and dealing with it.

However, even though Olar's injuries needed much more powerful healing Flowsand had insisted on lesser heals. Gangdor estimated it would have taken twenty to thirty sessions at a minimum, each a few hours long. The movement of the wounds every time would greatly intensify Olar's pain, and the bard suspected that Flowsand had secretly added a spell that heightened his perception during the process.

Olar had previously witnessed Richard and Flowsand's process of interrogating criminals. He shivered as he recalled how Flowsand maximised the pain as she treated the criminals with lesser heals.

Gangdor coughed once and patted Olar on the shoulders with sympathy, “You've been given a fright.”

“It's not as simple as a fright! You don't understand the feeling!” the bard suddenly grew agitated.

“Alright alright. Looking at how pitiful you are, let me give you a word of advice. Waterflower is not as simple as she seems.”

“Waterflower?” Olar was startled. In his eyes, the girl had just used her strength by instinct.

“Think about it. Why did Waterflower allow your finger to brush against her butt? If she didn't mean for it to happen, you definitely wouldn't have had the chance. Even with ten hands, she would cut them all down before they reached her!” Gangdor prompted profoundly.

Olar broke out in a cold sweat, “Don't tell me... She did it so I couldn't tell Master? After all, I was the one who started...”

Gangdor opened his big mouth, “You touched her with a finger, but she returned it with a pike. Isn't that fair?”

The bard turned white as a ghost, starting to resemble a lost soul. What kind of fairness was this? However, he felt powerless to complain.

“You said it yourself. Behind every cruel boss are two women who are even crueller.”

226 - City of Sin

Business

The Bloodstained Lands followed a simple yet effective principle: one's wealth should not exceed their power.

In simple terms, one needed the ability to protect themselves. They could only possess wealth and status proportional to their strength. Of course this wasn't written down anywhere, but many years of unregulated conflict had made it a basic way of life.

Two desert lions at the top of the food chain were more likely to try and intimidate the other than fight, gauging the other's strength and limits before moving on to weaker prey. In most parts of the Bloodstained Lands, including Bluewater Oasis, the law of the jungle prevailed.

Or at least, that's what Richard came to believe after an hour-long conversation with the old man from the store about the place.

With the sun having dawned, the bloody events of the previous night and Schitich's fate became the talk of the city. The events may seem exhilarating at first, but to those who had lived on the edge for a long time this was just like any other news. There were even some brazen people who approached Richard's camp, looking at the display of corpses. It spoke volumes about Richard's determination.

Richard had entered the city in the early hours of the morning, bringing the same people as the last time. However, the bar was closed this morning and he was not here to drink. Seeing the shop opened and the elder sitting there with nothing to do, he went over and sat across him for a chat.

His subordinates weren't courteous to Schitich's business. They smashed the bar door open, scaring the waitresses who'd been lucky enough to survive but had nowhere to go. They weren't there to slaughter, however; they just took the tables and alcohol out, seating themselves close enough to protect Richard. The ruckus of the previous night had clearly left a lasting impression.

This street had tens of shops, all of various sizes. There were many other workers like this old man, just sitting at the entrance without any work. They rarely saw any customers; while they were stacked with items, most things were torn and tattered. It was obvious they were of little value.

The old man's store, on the other hand, had proper stock. But that was what made its presence on this street right next to the bar seem strange and out of place.

Only after the chat had Richard realised that the items in the shops were only for show. In fact, each shop had a power behind it, its type and size hinting at the real business. Hide shops represented orcish slaves, while cloth shops were barbarian trades. The shops selling stone carvings traded in large numbers of desert people, while in addition to alcohol and women the bar took on bounties and had a mercenary business. If Richard saw someone unpleasant, he could have spent a sum of money to hire Schitich's troops to kill him in the middle of the streets.

It wasn't wrong for Richard to buy information, just that he looked too young and delicate. He was a completely unfamiliar face, and didn't even look like a passerby from somewhere else in the Bloodstained Lands. Even more important was that he had paid too much money at the start for information. Schitich's cavalry itself only took half a coin to hire two of the captains, and for fifty gold Schitich himself wouldn't have minded coming out.

As for this shop owner, he dealt in the trade of all kinds of rare materials, including many goods prohibited in the human kingdoms. Richard's curiosity had been piqued immediately, and his interest only grew deeper the more he listened. The mention of maple amber, flying snake venom and lafite steel had made him grow excited.

“It's just a daring question, but who is the owner of this shop?” Richard had asked. The place was pitifully small, with only two similar shops along the entire street. It made him all the more curious about the old man's identity.

The elderly man had smiled, “There's nothing to tell you, it's an open secret. My store belongs to Anrick, widely known as the Marquess of Strength.”

One's aristocratic title was changed in Faelor to signify that they were different from anyone else. This may be due to them being a hero, or having royal blood coursing through their veins. There may be very strong fighters under their control, or they might have supernatural powers. Whatever the reason, these nobles had more strength and influence than normal, but because of some factors weren't higher in the hierarchy.

“That's quite the influence,” Richard commented.

The old man nodded, "Indeed. I've grown old in recent years, and my passion isn't as high as it used to be. I like personal chats more these days. My influence is really good for you, it should be enough."

Looking at the followers behind Richard, the old man continued, “You're young and remarkable, those guards definitely aren't simple. It seems like you have both a strong family and a great teacher as well. Only those idiots like Schitich will have subordinates who assume you're inexperienced and try to take advantage of you.” He then laughed at his own statement.

The old man had been quite gentle when talking to Richard since the last night, as if he wasn't facing a dangerous outsider but a good chatting partner instead. “Schitich already paid for his idiocy, though. However, these matters tend not to end so easily.”

Richard stretched his body in a relaxed manner, “I admit I was a bit heavy-handed in the matter, but I don't believe this is any problem for the Marquess. My teacher taught me to let work be handled by professionals, and I believe there are many professionals in this city. The Marquess might be one of the most professional of the lot.”

"Very clever of you, little one," the old man nodded approvingly, “But why should the Marquess solve your problems for you?”

“Because Anrick and I have a lot of business to do together.”

"I? Not we?” The old man was very keen to capture the meaning behind Richard's words. Google search 𝐟𝓇𝘦𝒆w𝚎𝐛n𝐨ν𝙚𝚕. c𝚘ｍ

“I. Not, my teacher, not my family; the business will be with me,” Richard said in a calm tone.

227 - City of Sin

Business(2)

The old man wasn't disappointed by the answer, his interest instead piqued further. “Like?” he asked.

“I need a large amount of magic materials of all varieties, for one. I would also like to ask, is the Marquess a worshipper of the gods?” Richard's eyes widened as he made the query, carefully watching the old man as he awaited a reply. He was just like any studious young noble, humble and well-mannered and brimming with a desire for knowledge. This seemed to be a quality the old man appreciated the most.

“My Lord is of royal blood, and they've produced legendary heroes in the past. His family has worshipped their ancestors for generations.”

Ancestral worship wouldn't be a problem. Richard realised he was growing more and more fond of ancestral worship.

“If the Marquess has no objections, I can sell you a batch of magic scrolls that mainly contains healing spells.” Richard's voice was so low this time that only the old man could hear him.

A bright glint suddenly swept past the old man's eyes, his expression growing much more serious as he said solemnly, “Which god? One needs the appropriate cleric to use a scroll.”

“The God of Valour. The beauty of this batch is that they can be activated by anybody. However, the drawback is that there's a great price to pay to use them. They take a few years off a person's life.”

The old man fell silent for a long while before saying, “Any intelligent being knows what to choose between a short life and immediate death. That won't be a problem, but... It's truly astounding that you have such tainted scrolls on you. Rest assured, neither I nor the Marquess will dig deeper into the reason why you have them, that is a rule. You also have my word that nobody wants to get you in any trouble with the gods. If you could pass these tainted scrolls to my shop for business, the trouble with Schitich can be solved for gold.”

“Good, I'll bring some along when I visit tonight,” Richard decided swiftly.

When he left, Richard noticed that those sitting at the shops were looking at him differently. They seemed more normal now, with less greed and murderous intent.

Most of them were agents for powerful men, with no need to pay attention to a living Schitich, much less a dead one. Those who'd pointed Richard out were all lesser agents who worked for the weaker people.

Even after Richard had come back to the city, these people had still been evaluating him. They were mainly looking at his wealth, determining whether his abilities matched up to his worth. If Richard was too rich for his power, they wouldn't mind teaming up in the dark to 'reclaim' the excess that they felt didn't belong to him. However, his agreement with Marquess Anrick meant that, at least to a certain extent, he was off limits.

Richard visited the old man's grocery store once more after nightfall, bringing along three magical scrolls. There was one for each of the first three grades of spells.

The only one in the shop was the old man, and after accepting the three scrolls he gave Richard a hundred coins as deposit. He could only determine the real worth of the scrolls after a detailed evaluation, so Richard took the deposit. He was rather shocked to find that these were church-minted coins, not from the God of Valour but from the Highland Wargod.

Richard didn't return to his camp outside of the city, instead going back to the luxurious inn he'd booked the first night.

The inn was luxurious and comfortable, but that was not the sole reason for its expense. The place also had a certain amount of security to it. It belonged to the Golden Warflag group, one of the three most powerful groups in the Bloodstained Lands. They were far stronger than Red Cossack, and scum like Schitich wouldn't dare to mess around near one of their inns.

Once Richard left, the old man closed the shop's door and took out an alchemist's magnifying glass to closely study the composition of the three scrolls. He looked them over for a few hours, eventually letting out a long sigh. He then smacked his own lower back before taking out a small bottle and pulling the cork off. A few shadows flew out, swiftly disappearing everywhere without being obstructed by the walls. Google search f𝚛𝗲𝒆we𝙗𝙣o𝙫e𝗹. 𝐜o𝚖

Half an hour later, three hooded men arrived at the grocery shop. They were all very familiar with the place, heading straight for the back room.

When they took off the cloaks, it was revealed that all three were rather old. They didn't bother to greet each other, instead going straight for the scrolls and beginning to research them in detail. After the three scrolls passed through each man's hands, an hour had gone by.

“Where did you get this, Armin?” one of them asked the old man.

“A kid named Richard sold them to me. He's the one who slaughtered Schitich and half his men, putting their bodies on display outside his camp.”

Another one of them snorted coldly, “What an arrogant fellow!”

“He's a young man after all,” another brokered a compromise, “And he looks like he has a strong family backing. It would be hard for him not to be arrogant. Kellac, you were a priest of the Highland Wargod, have a look and see if they're real.”

The old man named Kellac was reticent. Ever since he entered the shop, he'd constantly flipped through the scrolls, studying each line under a magnifying glass and tracing each pattern carefully.

He spoke with a hoarse, unpleasant voice, “These are real scrolls, not fakes produced by magic. They should have been smuggled out from one of the Churches of Valour. The spells look alright and completely usable, but they differ slightly from the real scrolls of the church. The mechanism is slightly different, but I can't tell where exactly.

“Look at this.” Kellac pointed at the side of a grade 3 healing scroll, “I haven't ever seen this part in any spell of the God of Valour. Nine of the seventeen inscriptions are ones I don't recognise, and their structure is unprecedented. I can't understand the meaning behind these things at all.”

The four men grew dignified, looking at each other before Amon spoke up, “It seems like these really are genuine tainted scrolls. And we don't know which force tainted them.”

“I only need to perform a small experiment to make sure,” Kellac offered.

He fished out a golden plate, placing the scrolls from Richard atop it. He then took out a small sceptre, reciting an incantation. The crystal atop the sceptre shot out a beam of red-hot light.

The grade 3 healing scroll immediately caught on fire, but most of the flames didn't escape the plate. Only a thread of orange-red with a faint column of gold slowly wisped out to a metre's height, making for an extremely eye-catching sight.

228 - City of Sin

Background

Kellac unfurled a scroll that he'd brought himself to reveal a series of names of deities. Every name corresponded to a strip of colour, together forming a chart that transitioned from black to white. Chart in hand, the former cleric carefully compared the colours and names to the wisp of flame rising from the plate. The reddish orange could be seen corresponding to the God of Valour on the chart, but there was no name for the light gold apart from a neighbouring strip of golden red.

Once the scroll burned completely, Kellac let out a long breath and wiped the sweat off his forehead. He looked quite exhausted, exercising extreme caution as he stowed the scroll away before relief finally showed on his face.

That small, exquisite scroll didn't have any special powers. Its only purpose was that the colour chart listed every known deity on this plane. The strips of colour had a trace of the deity's divine power sealed within, but when the scroll was rolled up this presence would vanish without a trace. It was evident that this was a rare material.

Be it in the human kingdoms or otherwise, any religious places would burn the possessor of such a scroll at the stake as per an oracle sent down by their god. Human kings or even popes of churches would be no exception, and if someone was powerful enough to ignore most powers divine punishment or a deity's avatar would be sent to seek them out and kill them.

This small scroll was known as the Book of the Gods, amongst the highest level of classified information of every church. It was a first order taboo, to be found and destroyed no matter where it surfaced.

Thankfully, the Bloodstained Lands had always been forsaken by the gods.

The three other men watched as Kellac pondered over his results. Carefully sorting out his scroll, he finally spoke up, “Indeed, most of this scroll came from the God of Valour. If someone else was handed this scroll, they might not have noticed the anomaly within. However, there's a faint trace of another power nestled within Neian's own. As for its nature... It's somewhere between Runai and Cerces, the deities of time and space.”

Amon slowly spoke up, “Doesn't that mean this trace of divine power doesn't belong to any true god of this plane? Is it a heretic god of another plane?”

Kellac shook his head in reply, “That can't be. Since he can nestle his own divine power within Neian's, it's clear that he's extremely familiar with the rules of this plane. Foreign gods would not be able to achieve this. This trace of divine power exceeds the threshold of a demigod, approaching that of a true deity. It's likely some unknown demigod of this plane is preparing to transcend. This batch of scrolls was tainted by a true cleric, it isn't a counterfeit.”

Silence pervaded the room for a moment, the atmosphere so heavy it grew nerve wracking. The impending birth of a true god was incomparably significant to the entire plane. The people and interests involved could overthrow countries, kill entire peoples, or even tear lands apart!

All four of these old men had their own identities and held uncommon power. However, in front of such an important matter all of it seemed negligible, not worthy of mention at all. In front of a true god, the entirety of the Bloodstained Lands may as well be nothing, forget characters like them who held limited power over some parts of it.

Another of the old men gazed at Kellac, finally speaking up, “This might be your chance, old friend.”

Kellac was preoccupied with something, but the words of this man caused his entire body to jolt. It was evident that the other man had expressed his own concerns. It took a while for him to speak up, “I'm already very old. My body has been burned by divine power and is falling apart. Besides, this is merely a demigod... If I don't receive his genuine acceptance and blessings, it will be completely impossible for me to become a high priest.”
f𝐫ℯe𝘸𝙚𝑏n𝑜ѵ𝒆l. 𝐜𝚘𝓶

Amon sighed, “You can't live much longer anyway. The gods of this plane no longer accept you, and you're not willing to rely on foreign gods. This is your last chance.”

Kellac laughed bitterly, “Even if I wanted to rely on the heretic gods of foreign planes, I wouldn't have a chance. None of the invaders we've met have had a cleric able to cast spells. This means that these foreign gods cannot extend their power into Faelor at all.”

“This Richard is clearly close to the new god. Perhaps there might be a chance with him,” another said.

Kellac nodded, “If there's a chance, let's contact him and see exactly what he wants. It definitely won't be as simple as doing some business to earn gold. The birth of a new god normally implies crisis and battle.”

“There's another interesting bit of news,” one of them spoke up, “A formidable group of invaders appeared northeast of the Bloodstained Lands not long ago. The churches of Circe and Neian sent a combined force with hundreds of paladins to meet them, but they were all wiped out. Their current whereabouts are unknown.”

“Whereabouts unknown?” Amon immediately took out a map and examined it carefully under a magic lamp, tracing his finger south the entire time. “That can only mean one thing: they've entered the Bloodstained Lands.”

The four men looked at one another, all thinking of Richard at the same time. However, they quickly dismissed the idea. One of them had been observing the entirety of the massacre outside the city last night, and they understood some details of the battle. The kid did indeed have capability and power that surpassed his age, but he was still far from wiping out the combined forces of Circe and Neian.

Amon looked at everyone before speaking up, “Looks like we have some more preparation to do now. Things definitely won't be peaceful in the future.”

The few old men nodded their heads and left.

......

Richard spent that entire night on high alert, even though he appeared relaxed. Although he was staying in an inn of the Golden Warflag and had established connections with Marquess Anrick, this was still the Bloodstained Lands. Anything could happen at any time.

Contrary to Kellac's assumptions, Richard really didn't have too much of a motive at Bluewater Oasis. He merely wanted to do some business to earn money. Gold meant equipment, warriors, and materials. The first two would directly amplify his power, while the last he could use to boost his forces further given he spent some time.

229 - City of Sin

Background(2)

And thus, Richard started to manufacture the goods he wanted to sell. He wanted to craft two strength runes that worked with magic crystals, the design even simpler than the one he gave Stormhammer while the amplification was controlled to 15%. They took up four hours of his time, costing roughly 2000 coins total. A single magic crystal could activate these runes ten times.

It was a particularly busy night for Olar as well. The elven bard was busy embedding two magic boxes with rubies. Elves were famed for their aesthetic ability, and Olar was no different.

Although embedding more rubies into the box wouldn't enhance the runes within in any way, Richard had still made him embed more than a thousand gold's worth of rubies into the boxes. The bard was initially confused about this, but once Richard explained the purpose of these rubies that turned into intense adoration.

Since runecrafting hadn't been discovered before in Faelor, Richard believed that they lacked an impartial standard for how much a single rune would cost. The stronger and closer to their limit a person was, the more valuable runes became. The magical boxes were actually for the sake of the buyers, who'd never seen a rune before. If even the boxes used to store these runes were worth over a thousand coins, whatever was within would definitely be worth much more.

Early morning the next day, Amon sent someone over with a letter inviting Richard to lunch. It was at a venue not far from the hotel, known for its unique dishes and tribal flavours.

Outside of Amon, the rest of the shopkeepers from the street were attending as well. There was also an obese, sly-looking businessman called Devon and an old man named Kellac who Richard had never met before.

Devon introduced himself as the leader of the Golden Warflag's contingent in Bluewater Oasis, and a member of the Bluewater Council. Of everyone present here, he had the highest rank. Kellac was a high-ranking member of the Demon Hunting Spears, a group of adventurers, slavers, and mercenaries. Even though they were only a few hundred strong, each was extremely skilled in battle. Since they weren't a large group, they were swift and flexible, a group that the larger merchant groups did not wish to offend. Others hired them for jobs they didn't want to make public, like exterminating a rival.

Everyone greeted each other once they entered the meeting, exchanging compliments and sounding each other out. Of course, Richard didn't manage to get any new information, but that was the same for everyone else. Everyone here, young or old, was a cautious and sly fox. Perhaps Richard's age made him less mature than the rest, but his caution did not lose out. He kept certain matters extremely well-hidden as he spoke, not allowing any information about his background to leak.

However, who amongst those present was ordinary? Without Richard needing to mention it, his bearing, knowledge, age, level, and following already indicated what sort of person he was. Had he been thirty years old he would not be worthy of everyone's time, but at the age of sixteen or seventeen any smart person wouldn't be willing to provoke him senselessly. Everyone present had many thoughts in their hearts, some even guessing that Richard had the backing of both a Marquess-level family and someone of legendary might.

Their guesses were quite close to the truth, except for two things— His background was far greater than even their boldest imaginations, and his legendary backer wasn't even from this plane.

Once the pleasantries were done with, everyone got down to business. Kellac was the first to express interest in buying the scrolls; he wanted every scroll on offer. He would pay ten gold for a grade 1 scroll, 30 for a grade 2, and tripling again with every next grade. This was a fair price as long as one talked about the more common scrolls that were grade 5 or below. Any grade 6 scroll could easily cost more than 10,000 gold, while anything above couldn't be bought even if money was not an issue.

These tainted scrolls were priced much higher than normal ones. Even though they came with a cost in life force, anyone could use them. On the other hand, normal scrolls could only be used by the clergy, limiting their usage greatly. Where was one to find a priest or cleric to activate these scrolls in the Bloodstained Lands? Even if there were some, they still had to take care not to overstep the bounds of their faith.

As such, be it robbers or mercenaries, once someone got hurt in battle they could only rely on holy water or other herbal medicine to recover. They had to depend on their sturdy physiques to live through the ordeal, as these medicines paled in comparison to healing spells. Besides, since they were the only choice they didn't come cheap.

This was when the value of the scrolls Flowsand had taken shone through. Flowsand could cast grade 5 spells herself, so scribing grade 3 scrolls wasn't impossible for her. However, she could only scribe one such scroll a day with her divine power. On the other hand, the divine power from the Church of Valour's scrolls allowed her to manufacture upto three grade 4 scrolls a day.

And that ignored these tainted scrolls that sacrificed the user's life force. These were even easier to make, and Flowsand could modify five of them in a day. She said that this was because most of the might came from the God of Valour, not requiring much of her own mana. Besides that, she'd also hinted that producing these scrolls actually helped her grow her mana pool, not taking away.

And now that he heard Kellac's offer, Flowsand's image had warped in Richard's heart. She was now a gold mint, able to create more than a thousand coins in a day. His interest in the various churches increased as well— there were virtually countless such scrolls in those places. Even though they had carted away two boxes with over a hundred scrolls on their attack back in Forza's territory, that was less than a third of what the church there had!

Devon was greatly interested in these tainted scrolls as well, but only in the grade 4 ones with greater heals. He offered 300 coins a scroll, wanting twenty of them.

Richard could roughly guess what use Devon had for the scrolls. A strong fighter armed with one technically had another life in battle. Besides, a powerful business group like his naturally had a slaving group he could call his own. If he armed the battle slaves with these scrolls, the team's capabilities would shoot up and allow them to attack stronger groups and catch more valuable slaves.

Thinking it over for a while, Richard was pleased with the offered prices. He would sell twenty grade 4 scrolls to Devon, and thirty grade 3 scrolls and ten grade 4 ones to Kellac. This was nine days of work for Flowsand, and made for the entirety of stock she had. This transaction alone would make him more than 10,000 coins.

Once this deal was closed, the relationships amongst those present grew more cordial. Even the greediest fellow who saw these tainted scrolls realised that Richard had his ways to keep his assets in control. There was a simple reason behind this. The offer of only a few scrolls could mean that Richard had bought them somewhere else. However, the magnitude of this deal and his openness to another one later only meant that he had a powerful group or family backing him.
𝒇re𝐞w𝐞𝚋𝒏𝚘ѵeƖ c𝗼𝑚

The presence of these tainted scrolls indicated great strength, and promised frightening repercussions if Richard was ever provoked. Sometimes, there was no need for death and destruction if a deal could be reached for gold.

230 - City of Sin

Slaves

Devon was obviously quite pleased with this transaction. He could hardly wait to see how great the benefits his slaving hounds could reap with this.

He raised his cup towards Richard with a smile, “Mr. Richard... Let us forget about that idiot Schitich, and have a good celebration. I hope we can have many more successful partnerships after today. Amon has many magical materials, while Bivier can procure a shocking amount of minerals. As for me, outside of gold you are most welcome to visit my slave camps if you're interested. You might find something to your liking over there.”

Slave camp? Richard's heart skipped a beat, and he immediately smiled and asked, “What kind of goods do you have in your camp, Mr. Devon?”

“Whatever you may want! Barbarians, orcs, demonic beasts, half-orcs, elves... Even the cruel and savage desert people, you can find them all at my slave camps!” Devon was brimming with confidence, waving his hands mightily before he lowered his voice and spoke with an air of mystery, “I recently came into possession of a batch of interesting goods. If you're interested, I can show them to you tonight.”

Richard muttered to himself for a while before asking, “I want to select a group of people from your camp to form an escort team. Do you have any suggestions?”

A glimmer of light flashed across Devon's eyes, “Slaves are the best kind of cannon fodder! They're just quite dangerous and hard to control. As for the kind of slaves, you should choose based on the scale of your team and the terrain you normally fight in. If it's a team that needs less than 500 and they'll be fighting in the Bloodstained Lands, then the desert people are your best choice. They can conquer the harshest of conditions, fighting two to three days without food or drink and still being in optimal condition. They're also natural horsemen.

“For smaller battles needing more personal strength I recommend headhunter orcs. Adult warriors are level 7 at least, and slaughter is their second nature. However, they're extremely dangerous. Barbarians of the snowpeak tribe make the best personal guard. Even teenagers are level 8, while trained adults can reach level 10. They have their own weakness though. They're too expensive, haha!”

The joke was quite lame, but everyone present still laughed merrily. This response showed the status this obese man enjoyed.

Devon had thrown out a few leads in that ardent explanation. He was sounding out Richard's future plans— whether he would be fighting in the Bloodstained Lands, his usual battle style, and whether the fights would be small in scale or large. Of course, to no one's surprise the young man maintained the same graceful smile from start to finish. There was no information to be gathered from his expression, as he didn't respond to Devon's questions in any way.

Through their private room's door, Richard glanced outside to see an eye-catching warrior who was obviously much taller and stronger than ordinary humans. He was half a head taller than even Gangdor himself, radiating a valiant aura from head to toe. Even though he was dressed in human clothing, one could still see that he was a barbarian warrior roughly around level 10, similar to Gangdor.

Richard pointed to the burly man, “That's a warrior of the snowpeak tribe?”

“Indeed. Zagu is my number one guard, and he's been following me for seven years.” Having said that, Devon had the fellow come over so Richard could get a close look at him.

Richard stood up and went a few rounds around Zagu. He even cast two detection spells, grabbing the barbarian's body from time to time. Zagu's face flushed with anger, but he stopped himself from acting up. Everyone present could see his displeasure, but nobody cared for the anger of a slave.

Richard didn't bother either. Norland had similar practices with slaves, and he was actually doing something important. He wasn't grabbing the barbarian out of curiosity, instead taking the chance to understand the structure of his body and especially the distribution of his bones and muscles.

Having completed a detailed inspection, Richard understood a little more about the barbarian race. He then returned to his seat, closing his eyes as all sorts of data was analysed and tidied in his mind. The figure of an adult barbarian slowly started to form in his consciousness, and although it was still a little fuzzy it would grow more detailed the more of Zagu's kind he met.

Barbarians were naturally gifted with tremendous strength, not unlike the orcs. They were natural fighters, easily able to cross level 10, but from that point forward advancing was extremely challenging. They found it hard to train their energy reserves, and unlike humans they were too primitive to have systems of skills and training method. Devon's bodyguard seemed to be quite strong, but there wasn't much room for improvement. He would cap out at level 12, and had little capacity for runes as well. He could use a single elementary rune at best.

Even though he was a single level above Zagu, Gangdor's eruption rune gave him immense strength. He also had a powerful bloodline, and had gone through rigorous training in the Archeron death camp. His skill was high enough for him to defeat even six or seven such barbarian warriors with ease. Things would only be different if the barbarians could also have bloodline abilities and high rune capacities.

Waving the man away, Richard asked, “This Zagu is an outstanding warrior indeed. However, he is after all a slave, how do you guarantee loyalty?”

“Zagu is a third generation barbarian. The barbarians of the snowpeak tribe have one good point— their faith in their ancestors' spirits. As long as they swear to something on their ancestral spirit, you can rest assured that they will be loyal. This is why I recommended them as guards,” Devon explained with a smile. He then shrugged his shoulders, “However, they really are extremely expensive. A young warrior with potential can cost more than a thousand gold, while I wouldn't sell someone like Zagu even if you gave me 1,500 coins.”

Richard knocked on the table as he thought it over, before making up his mind. He would go with Devon in two days, visiting a slave camp to have a look.

At that time, Bivier the mineral merchant spoke up with a wide-eyed gaze, “Mr. Richard, I heard you're a respected mage. Mages never fail to surprise us; do you have anything to offer aside from the scrolls? As long as the artifact is good, gold will not be a problem.”

Richard and smiled and said, “I so happen to have a good artifact here, I can let everyone appraise it. This is the result of my teacher's latest research, the pinnacle of his achievement in alchemy and magic.”

He gestured to Olar, and the bard took out a magic box and carefully placed it on the table. Everyone with knowledge of the business could immediately tell that the jewels embedded into the box alone were worth more than a thousand coins. The craft was especially exquisite as well, obviously made by elven hands. Just the box alone could fetch a price of 1,200 coins.

The room grew quiet and everyone waited with bated breath. They watched closely at what sort of valuable artifact would emerge from this box that was worth more than a thousand coins.

231 - City of Sin

Slaves(2)

Richard put on his gloves, his movements gentle and elegant. He slowly opened the box, showing the rune to everyone. Nobody knew what this piece of hide was used for, but many could tell that it had come from a thunder lizard. The magic crystal within was easy to recognise, and as for the magic arrays it was evident that these intricate lines were formed of very precious materials. The entire thing was simply a work of art.

Kellac studied the rune for a long time, but he couldn't tell the function of the array. However, even if he couldn't understand the principle it worked on he could tell what some of the smaller parts did. Most importantly, he understood what this array signified. It was a display of amazing technique, some parts reaching the level of grandmasters. He'd only had the chance to see such beautiful arrays twice or thrice in his life, and every one was the work of a grand mage.

He was the last of everyone present to sit back down, spitting out the warm air he'd held in for way too long. He spoke solemnly, “This is the work of a grand mage.”

Amon exchanged a glance with the former priest before asking, “Mr. Richard, what is the use of this masterpiece?”

“This is called a rune, it can be attached to the body. With a small amount of life force and the mana from a magic crystal, it can amplify one's strength by about 15%. Each activation lasts for five minutes.”

Everyone went deep into thought, pondering over this unprecedented 'rune' and its uses. Amon's hands trembled as he asked in a shaky voice, “This... rune... Does it have any effects on powerful people who've already entered sainthood?”

“Of course!” Richard replied. Norland's runes were effective even on those of legendary might, what were these mock saints of Faelor in comparison?

“And what about other magical equipment? Will there be a clash?” The old man's voice was trembling even harder.

“I'm buying this!” Devon suddenly yelled out, reaching out to snatch the box.

However, a slim yet strong hand gripped Devon's hand. Amon stared directly into Devon's eyes, enunciating each word, “Rolf needs this.”

The sword saint Rolf was Marquess Anrick's younger brothers, one of the members of the Bluewater Council. He was also the most powerful person in Bluewater Oasis, his capabilities unrivalled. Powerful saints found it extremely difficult to advance in level, and no matter how short the burst was a 15% increase in strength was a huge benefit to one's combat abilities.

However, Devon seemed undaunted by the mention of Rolf's name. The Golden Warflag did not fear Marquess Anrick's power, and his hand remained extended towards the box as he said with a sneer, “Rolf's enemies need this as well!”

“But this artifact is of no use to you!” Amon's expression grew sombre.

“It's of use to the Golden Warflag. Even if I don't need it personally need it, others do. I'm not the right person for you to ask about this, go look for Lord Trevor instead,” Devon replied sarcastically.

A disturbed look crossed Amon's face. Trevor was the Golden Warflag's second in command, the one leading the slave trade. A strong fighter and a level 17 saint, he was an enemy Rolf most definitely would not want to meet. His need for this kind of strength far exceeded that of Rolf.

Bivier, who was seated at the other end, suddenly leaned forward and looked into Richard's eyes. “This really is some good stuff,” he said slowly, “Name your price!”

Devon and Anrick were startled, levelling penetrating gazes at Bivier as they said simultaneously, ““You want a piece of this as well?””

“Why not?” Bivier retorted, showing no signs of backing down. This was quite rare; his backing was far weaker than Marquess Anrick or the Golden Warflag. However, his next sentence caused both Devon and Amon to have a complete change of expression, “General Rislant is getting ready to launch a large-scale expedition against the Dragon Church. He definitely needs this rune!”

Marquess Rislant was a famous general of the Iron Triangle Empire in the north, nearly undefeated in his entire life. At level 17, he was known for his tyrannical strength and the power of his subordinates. Bivier being under him now was a surprise.

However, the Iron Triangle Empire was a significant distance away from the Bloodstained Lands, separated by two duchies. Because of that, neither Devon nor Amon grew afraid as they continued struggling for the box.

Eventually Devon banged hard on the table, roaring in Richard's direction, “50,000 gold! Sell this to me!”

Seeing that the situations wasn't dire anymore, Amon folded his arms and laid back calmly as he raised the bid, “60,000.”

“80,000” Bivier's confidence was comparable to that of the other two men.

“80,000? Do you even have that much on you?” Devon sneered.

Bivier smirked in response, “I still have five kilograms of Mithril!”

Being amongst the most outstanding magical metals, a kilogram of mithril could fetch upto 20,000 coins in a human empire.

“90,000!” Amon remained calm and collected, continuing to increase the price.

Devon broke out into a sweat. He chuckled maliciously, fixing his gaze on Richard as he spoke, “Mr. Richard! Just name a price, I'll pay whatever you ask.”

Richard thought about it for a while, smiling in reply, “Alright.”

Everyone grew nervous once he opened his mouth. Outside of the three already bidding, two others had expressions that indicated they wanted to join in as well. Without batting an eyelid, Richard scanned everyone's faces.

He gestured to Olar, and the elf took out another magic box and opened it in front of everyone, showing the exact same rune.

Everyone here was stunned for a moment, but this only riled them up further. Emotions ran high as another part expressed interest. Since there were two runes now, many felt that no matter what they had to at least bring one back. Gold was aplenty, but powerful saints were few and far between. Many of those sitting in the room could use this as a way to build a rapport with a powerful saint.

Richard thrust both boxes forward, “Both together will be 50,000 coins.”

“What?!” Everyone was taken aback by what they heard. It wouldn't have been shocking if Richard had asked for 500,000 instead.

The first rune easily drew a high price of nearly 100,000 coins, and if bidding had continued everyone had the backing to easily push it past 300,000. An accessory to increase the strength of a saint, with no need for an agreement with the mage that crafted it, was worth any amount of gold.

Bivier was the first to react, immediately offering, “100,000!”

“120,000!” “150,000!” Another round of bidding broke out, raising the price past 200,000 in a short amount of time.

Helpless, Richard laughed bitterly and lifted his arms to silence the crowd. Every pair of eyes was fervently glued onto him as he spoke, “These aren't the only runes, I might be selling more in the future. I only ask for 50,000 for these, anything else is up to you guys.”

All sorts of expressions clouded the faces of those present. They all had different opinions and judgements about what Richard had just said.

Regardless of what they were thinking, however, the most important important matter at hand was to determine the allocation of the runes. Another round of intense contest later, it was ultimately decided that Devon and Amon would get a rune each while Bivier and the two others would receive some compensation.

The efficiency of the traders in the Bloodstained Lands was unparallelled. A chest of 50,000 gold was placed in front of Richard in a flash, so heavy it needed two strong men to carry it.

232 - City of Sin

Expedition

Lunch had turned into an unexpectedly successful deal, but the gold didn't stay in Richard's hands for a long time. It only took him a day to give it back to the various powers of Bluewater. In fact, spending 50,000 coins in a single day garnered unordinary respect and envy, except from Red Cossack.

There were no secrets in Bluewater. News of the enmity between Richard and Red Cossack had quickly come to the attention of the local hegemons.

Richard was cruel and determined, defeating Schitich over a series of battles in one night to scare many people. Barely two days later, a business deal involving magic artifacts had given him a connection to the biggest powerhouse of Bluewater, sword saint Rolf. He also had a business relationship with the Golden Warflag, a group even more powerful than Red Cossack. This made Red Cossack somewhat worried, but the didn't dare to strike outright.

These worries were mostly limited to the confines of Bluewater. Once Richard left the city, it would be hard to predict what would happen.

Two-fifths of the gold had been exchanged for an array of magical materials, allowing Richard to make a total of seven more runes. And that was proper runes; he could now make more than twenty of the inferior ones. As for the rest of the coins, they were traded for a hundred desert people and fifteen snowpeak barbarians.

All of the desert people were adult males. They weren't particularly strong, but they had dark skin and a habit of keeping thick beards. They were mostly level 5, nothing special, but like Devon had said their survivability and horsemanship were unordinary. As long as they had a horse and a machete, they would make for dangerous enemies in the desert.

The desert folk were naturally fierce and skilled in war. They were extremely dangerous, news about slaves killing their masters not uncommon. Thus, they were mostly sent to labour in mines or sent out as the first wave of a battle to act as cannon fodder.

As for the fifteen snowpeak barbarians, they swore loyalty to Richard on their ancestors. This gave him full control over them.

There were many ways of controlling slaves. The barbarians had theirs, but Richard chose something else for the desert folk. He split them into ten groups, each having one of the stronger men as the leader. If someone tried to escape or rebel, both he and the leader would be killed. In addition to that, two other members of the team would be selected at random and sacrificed as well.

On the other hand, Richard promised that ten kills in battle would immediately give them freedom along with ten gold coins. If they chose to remain thereafter, they would be rewarded with two coins for every kill.

As for the barbarians, Richard was much more careful with arming them. He spared much more gold for them, giving them proper weapons and armour. He promised them that they would be set free after twenty kills.

He wasn't sure whether this method would be effective, but that would be tested in future battles.

Stopping at Bluewater for a few more days, Richard finally finished preparing his supplies and equipment. He then brought the entirety of his troops out of Bluewater, heading to the depths of the Bloodstained Lands.

His forces had grown stronger, and he now had allies in the Bloodstained Lands who could give him certain benefits. Richard had gotten a small piece of land on the fringe of Bluewater, complete with a residence, a training camp, a jail, and much more. Servants were arranged for him as well.

All that wasn't cheap, having come as a combined present by Devon and Rolf. The land was both a treasure and a sign, a sign that he had carved out his own niche in Bluewater. The gift was due in some part to the runes he'd sold them, but most of it was because of the imaginary demigod backing him.

Richard wrote Red Cossack a letter before he left Bluewater, asking for them to hand Red Hook over and compensate him with a hundred warhorses. Their leader flew into a rage the moment he read the letter, smashing half the items in his room to pieces and vowing to dismember Richard's body. The irritating kid didn't know what was good for him.

It wasn't a hard vow to fulfill. As long as he assembled the hundreds of guards he had in Bluewater, it was only a kilometre's march to the inn Richard was living in. However, he eventually decided to confine his anger at the mage to his office. He didn't respond to the letter.

However, that did not mean he would completely ignore it. He spent the entire afternoon writing eight letters out to people he knew well, successfully putting Richard's name on Red Cossack's blacklist. If Richard was found in the wild, their border guard would kill him on the spot. He also sent a bounty out to bandit groups through dark channels, offering 10,000 coins for Richard's corpse.

The mage himself remained unaware of the sizeable bounty on his head, taking his army into the depths of the Bloodstained Lands.

Nobody knew the purpose of this expedition. Those of Bluewater just assumed Richard had some other covert mission. He'd left a deep impression on everyone who attended the meeting, especially with the conduct during the sale of the rune that showed wisdom beyond his age. People speculated that he was acting under the influence of a powerful family or backer. They'd originally thought he was a child of a noble clan with a bright future, but now they believed he was a core member in the line of succession.

However, Richard and the few people closest to him knew that they had no exact destination. This was nothing more than a hunting expedition, using war and massacre to grow their strength. It was something common across all planes.

Their team was quite unique, with a hundred desert people led by his footsoldiers and knights all on horseback. Although the half-orcs weren't skilled riders, they could still control the horses at the pace of a trot. The trolls and barbarians could only walk, with no warhorse able to carry their weight. It was a good thing that they were used to running; be it while sprinting or over time, they were not inferior to the horses.

Richard, Flowsand, and Zendrall rode ahead on their horses, with no carriage in sight. Most of their equipment was placed in boxes on the backs of the reserve horses.

The team of a little more than a hundred had close to 300 warhorses, guaranteeing their mobility. Surrounding the troops on the outside were wind wolves.

......

On the fifth day, another strange team appeared in front of Richard. Over twenty knights that were distributed in various teams were slowly advancing through the desert, almost a hundred barbarians huddled close together in between. There were both adults and children, men and women, but there were no elderly. The barbarians were all injured, but they pressed on. If they walked any slower, they would be whipped viciously.

This was Richard's first encounter with a slaving team. Most concerning was the flag the slaving team carried— they were from Red Cossack. As such, it took him only half a minute to make the decision. He pointed at the slaving team, speaking icily, “Kill them all!”

233 - City of Sin

Expedition(2)

The ensuing battle was short but intense. A mere ten minutes later, the entirety of the slaving team had been reduced to a bunch of corpses.

The weakest knight of the team was level 10, and the strongest level 13. Their fierce defense had killed thirty of the desert folk, and there were some casualties amongst the barbarians and half-orcs as well.

However, once the battle was done thirty wounded warriors swore loyalty to him on their ancestors. In exchange, Richard let the remaining barbarians go free, permitting them to try and return to their ancestral plains.

The process was unusually smooth, partly because the snowpeak barbarians had told these new compatriots in detail about Richard's kindness of freeing them after twenty kills. In a place like the Bloodstained Lands that was constantly embroiled in war, killing twenty people was hardly a difficult task.

As for the dead slavers, all possible value was extracted from them. Zendrall successfully managed to turn half of their number into warriors of darkness, replacing his thousands-strong army with a small group of elite, everlasting warriors. This had been at Richard's request, matching up to standards in Norland. One couldn't rely on a large number of weaklings in war; given certain conditions, certain elites could destroy any amount of cannon fodder.

Cleaning up the aftermath of the battle, Richard's army continued to wander aimlessly around the Bloodstained Lands. No less than ten battles were fought over the next fifteen days, all of varying scale. He'd destroyed two more slaving teams, and battled a hundred man troop of horse thieves. He'd also captured a small caravan, although he ended up just buying their goods instead of plundering them. That being said, he bought their goods at cost price.

Richard now had more than 300 desert people and 100 barbarians under him. Six of the desert people and eleven barbarian warriors had hit the required number of kills, winning freedom and gold. The barbarians were extremely fond of their homeland, and every one that secured their freedom chose to leave.

His magnanimity had paid off. Those who hadn't yet reached the quota stayed on and fought bravely, convincing all the other barbarians they came across to pledge loyalty to him and work hard for their chance at freedom. The number of barbarian warriors under his command was growing quickly.

This wasn't the same with the desert people. There were already five attempts to run, with one where an entire small troop escaped. However, even if they were fierce beasts in the desert Waterflower was a child of the wild. She alone was enough to hunt these traitors down, executing them all.

Richard kept his promise towards them as well, showing a balance of cruelty and grace. Five leaders had been executed because of subordinates trying to escape.

However, what was surprising was that the desert warriors who earned their freedom chose to stay. Their lands in the northwestern desert had been razed when they were captured, so even if they chose to leave there was no place they could call home. They were a fierce people, quite interested in the gold Richard had to offer.

Every fight ended with deaths and rewards.

In the midst of all this battle, Richard finally broke through to level 10. The elven blood in him continued to evolve, giving him an affinity towards nature. This affinity passively strengthened any nature spells he cast, also raising his perception and ability to conceal himself.

The trolls grew to level 11 and mutated, both growing tougher. Their strength, endurance, vitality, and recovery rate were all boosted, putting Tiramisu on the path to becoming a battle mage.

What shocked Richard was Gangdor. He'd only just entered level 11 before they left, and he'd quickly grown to level 12 even if he wasn't completely stable there. This ox of a man had finally overtaken Waterflower by two levels, the latter still a little ways from level 11. However, even if he were two more levels up the young lady and the Breath of Darkness would prove to be a formidable opponent.

In the midst of all this, none of the experienced knights who'd come with him advanced in level. Besides that, only one of the novice knights captured later advanced, growing to level 11. The differences in innate talent between his team and the rest was growing more and more apparent.

However, the one whose powers had grown the most was the necromancer, Zendrall. He now had nearly twenty warriors of darkness that he could summon at will, although he only had the mana pool to support ten at a time. Whatever be the case, these warriors were all level 12 or above, and even with their slow reactions they were definitely over level 11 in terms of fighting ability. They would play a decisive role in any small battle.

Richard had made a name for himself in the past month, his reputation spreading to many horse bandits, mercenary groups, caravans, and slavers. However, that was all; powers rose and fell every day in the Bloodstained Lands, power and gold being the only order of the land.

This new everyday had grown mundane. Richard felt the month pass by like it was a year, blending into a red world of red memories. He woke up to a red morning, seeing the red land and rocks everywhere as he advanced. Every battle saw flashes of scarlet blood, and dusk bathed the entire land in crimson. In this chaotic land of murder, the colour red had already grown synonymous with blood. There was no way to tell them apart.

In the midst of this blood red world, another two of the Archeron knights left Richard forever. Those who lived did not have the time to reminisce or mourn.

......

As night approached one day, Richard got up on a high rock. He crouched down on the side of a cliff, looking down to sweep over the orc camp in the valley.

This was an average orc tribe, made of roughly 250 members. There were tents of varying sizes all around, with an altar erected at the back of the camp. A colourfully dressed shaman could be seen dancing an esoteric dance in front of the altar, a solemn drum beat continuously playing from afar and tempting Richard's heart to dance.

There was a bonfire lit at the centre of the camp. The women and elders were cooking food for the night, while several young ones were play-fighting off to the side.

Flowsand and Waterflower were stood at Richard's left and right, watching the camp as well. An orc hunter and his pet desert wolf were down in a pool of blood behind them, already having become a corpse.

This peak was in an excellent position, revealing the movements of everything within a few kilometres. That was why the tribe had placed a hunter on guard here. Sadly, it was his exact position that had exposed the location of their camp. Richard's vision was now far superior to that of an orc.

234 - City of Sin

Expedition(3)

The orcs of this tribe had brown skin, indicating that they had been in the Bloodstained Lands for a few generations. Most orcs who came from the western plains were green or grey.

The orcish tribes of the Bloodstained Lands were not to be trifled with. Even smaller tribes often had bloodthirsty level 12 warriors, and they were natural hunters and soldiers that could adapt to harsh conditions. They possessed great tenacity, making them difficult to capture and at the same time even harder to control.

Most enslaved orcs were just sent off to work at mines, or forced into hard labour until they died of exhaustion. Some were sent to become gladiators in various arenas, but given the difficulty of turning them into a troop of cannon fodder they had little value. Thus, orc slaves weren't very expensive; in fact, they were even cheaper than desert warriors. Most slavers rarely ever tried to catch them, since even if they had a level 14 leader the desert people and barbarians were easier to capture. Besides, orcs weren't a profitable commodity.

These creatures bred quickly. Even though they lived about two thirds as long as the average human, they were twice as fertile. Even at the age of ten their children were qualified warriors as well.

The orcs of the Bloodstained Lands did not practise agriculture. Their food mostly consisted of fruits, roots, and animal meat. They didn't eat other intelligent races, even though if there was a drought they didn't mind feeding their wolves with the same.

As such every once in a while the orc population ballooned out of controls, and the slave traders would launch a joint expedition to cut down on their numbers. This was to ensure that their trade routes were unobstructed, and these brown-skinned beings didn't flood the vast land.

A few days ago, a Golden Warflag group they encountered had told Richard that a new hunt was beginning. Considering it for a while, Richard had agreed to this invitation from an old friend.

Standing on top of the cliff, Richard saw a group of more than ten orc hunters returning to the camp from a few kilometres away. They had two fat wild boars on hand, all looking to be in high spirits. It seemed like there would be no need to worry about food for the next few days.

Surrounding the hunters were seven or eight desert wolves. As far as orcs were concerned, these wolves were the equivalent of hunting dogs.

Richard issued orders in his mind.
f𝔯𝗲e𝒘𝙚𝚋𝐧oѵe𝗹． 𝒄𝗼m

The desert wolves suddenly stopped in their tracks, letting out a few restless low groans. They started turning in place, putting the orc hunters on high alert. They set the prey down, tightly grabbing onto their weapons as they let out a few threatening growls towards the rocks on each side of the path.

A few massive wolves jumped atop the rocks, their threatening auras causing the desert wolves to yelp as they slowly retreated. The orcs, however, did not realise that this was a fatal threat. Although they couldn't recognise this breed, they weren't afraid of mere wolves.

That would be their undoing. The wind wolves weren't ordinary animals but weapons of destruction.

A shrill screech rang through the sky as a sharp arrow struck the chest of an orc. It passed through until even the feathers couldn't be seen, dropping him to the ground. This was when the orcs' resilience showed, as he stood up despite the damage he'd taken. It was then that the ground started to shake, as the sound of hooves neared the location. It soon grew thunderous, ringing in the orcs' ears!

Standing atop the cliff, Richard saw a few of the desert warriors rushing towards the hunters under the guidance of the wind wolves. He knew this spelt the end for the orcs.

The barbarians, led by Medium Rare and Tiramisu, formed a line between the hunters and the orc camp. The tens of orcs who rushed out collided with them, unable to pass.

Gangdor, leading the half-orcs and knights, instructed the defensive line to let the reinforcements through. They then turned around, rushing into the emptied camp. Their target was the shamans of the camp.

The orcs who'd just rushed out of the camp roared, trying to make their way back. However, the barbarians instantly held them up, killing enough of them to break their main force. The intense resistance lasted for a mere few minutes before the battle turned into a massacre.

It was only once all the adults— male or female— were dead that the tribe gave up on resistance. The 250-strong tribe had been reduced to less than fifty members, all either old or very young. Richard had lost more than twenty of his own slaves as a result of the battle, and not for no reason. When Gangdor had killed their shaman, all the orcs had gone crazy.

Richard cast a featherfall spell and jumped off the cliff, covering the more than ten metres of height without issue. He floated down to the camp and took large strides towards the dead shaman, kicking the corpse aside as his gaze landed on the statue of an orc on the altar. The statue was less than a metre tall but it looked quite lifelike, its entirety made of pitch black rock. The surface was sparkling all over, and upon closer inspection he felt a strange power within it. This was the same power he had felt in the altar of the bloodstone orcs, likely the spirit of the orcs' ancestor.

Richard stowed the statue away; this was the entire reason he had attacked this camp. He did take a round through the camp, but there wasn't anything else of value.

Zendrall grew busy once more. The tribe had two strong level 13 warriors who could become warriors of darkness, and he was preparing to convert them. This had become a normal state of affairs. The necromancer was occupied at the end of every battle.

While everyone was busy clearing the battlefield, Richard took out a map and marked out the topology of the camp and its surroundings. A month ago this map was practically blank, but now there were many marks on it.

An hour later, Richard brought his troops with him as he disappeared into the crimson dusk. He left the camp in ruins, with only slightly more than a dozen lucky survivors. It would be difficult for this tribe to survive now; their only choice would be to merge with others.

As a human, Richard wouldn't be concerned with the survival of the tribe. Were he in an orc kingdom, nobody would care about his own fate.

The orcs of Faelor paid great attention to ancestral worship, quite similar to the ones back in Norland. Almost every established tribe had a sacrificial altar, making them a target for Richard. Although they'd met some tribes in the initial stages of their expedition, he hadn't given the order to attack. The invitation from the Golden Warflag group had cleared the last of his hesitation.

Another two camps were wiped out in the next few days, and Richard took the idols they worshipped. He still remembered that the broodmother required such objects, and Flowsand was quite interested in them as well. Well, she was interested in anything related to magic or the divine.

The Bloodstained Lands turned out to be quite fertile. Richard would look for orcs or desert people if he needed idols, and slavers if he needed soldiers. Most slaving teams he met ended up forfeiting all their slaves to his control, while the slavers became warriors of darkness under Zendrall's control. If he needed gold he often met up with caravans. Even though most of the time he brokered a deal and bought their goods, it would be at or near cost price. As long as one could defeat their enemies, the Bloodstained Lands were a haven with everything one desired.

Even though he had only been here for a short time, Richard was starting to feel that such a life would never end.

235 - City of Sin

Frontier

Still out on the expedition, Richard received an unexpected piece of news from the Golden Warflag.

It had come from Marvin, the fallen cleric who had been sent out to negotiate with the Sequoia Kingdom. Despite not showing any interest for a month, the Direwolf Duke's attitude had changed greatly in recent times. He'd granted Marvin an audience, promising protection for Richard and his party.

Since Richard didn't have any official title or rank, Marvin had crafted a fake history for him. He claimed Richard was from an ancient clan, finding a dead clan from eons ago and using its name. Such things were quite common in the Sequoia Kingdom, so all he needed was some gold to make it work.

An empty nobility like that was meaningless, even if one's ancestors had ruled entire duchies. Nevertheless, the Direwolf Duke conferred upon Richard the title of frontier knight, allowing him to choose a village on the border as his fief.

This was the foundation of any noble clan. Even though his title would not pass from generation to generation, the point of the title was to legally allow him to expand. A frontier knight would be the rightful ruler of any territory they conquered.

In all of recorded history, frontier knights were the cornerstone of human expansion. They were always on the frontlines, allowing the race to slowly conquer the mainland. Frontier knights decided themselves how much land they would conquer. In theory, they could become the rulers of large countries as long as they earned it all through battle. Please visit ｆ𝗿𝗲𝒆we𝚋ｎ૦𝘃𝚎𝒍. 𝒄o𝚖

The title from the Direwolf Duke had actually opened up two paths for Richard. He could attack east towards their long-time rivals in the Whiterock Dukedom, or head west and conquer the foreign races of the Bloodstained Lands.

Baron Fontaine became Richard's biggest supporter. He had wealth and fertile land, able to provide sufficient supplies as long as Richard could afford them. At the same time, he would be a point where Richard could dispose all of his stolen goods. The slave output would be quite high in the initial stages of development, something the Baron was quite interested in.

The Direwolf Duke obviously had his own reasons for his generosity. At the end of the letter, Marvin indicated that the man wanted a rune of his own in return for everything he'd done. Memories of his transactions in Bluewater coursed through Richard's mind as soon as he read that; it gave him just a glimpse into the complicated relationship the Oasis shared with the neighbouring human kingdoms.

The last line of the letter was that Marvin had levelled up. Having completed his task he'd unexpectedly been granted more divine grace, growing to level 7. Richard pondered about that for a while before telling Flowsand, but the latter did not seem surprised.

In addition to picking his fief, Richard had to clearly state the scope of his expansion. As such, Richard wrote a short reply that picked a small village in the west of the Sequoia Kingdom, demarcating a scary scope of land for expansion.

He wanted the Bloodstained Lands and the barbarians' ancestral plains!

Having sent the letter out, Richard left the Golden Warflag supply base once more, leading his team out to explore more of the depths of the Bloodstained Lands.

The Bloodstained Lands were full of dangers, piles of white bone littered all over the place. Richard had long since grown used to scenes of death and massacre, having witnessed several caravans being plundered by horse bandits and what the aftermath was. As such, he wasn't shocked at discovering the remnants of a battlefield up ahead. He reined in his horse, waving for a novice knight to take a small group of desert people and investigate the scene.

The knight returned not long after, asking Richard to look at the scene himself. The battle had occurred at least ten days ago, and the corpses on the floor had already rotted away. Scavengers could be seen circling the battlefield, and a group of vultures was feasting on a corpse. Only when Richard's horses were within ten metres did the birds fly away, but they still continued to circle in the sky.

Richard slowly swept his gaze across the entire battlefield. This had been a violent fight of a large scale, the flag and crests of one side showing that they were guards of the Bloodstained Lions, one of the top merchant groups in the land. More than 300 guards were left behind as corpses, a formidable army that would have struck fear in the hearts of the toughest bandit groups.

In the midst of the battlefield was the wreckage of ten carriages, completely destroyed by heavy weaponry to leave all kinds of goods scattered on the floor. A large portion of their goods was different kinds of ore, which were both expensive and rare. With more than ten such vehicles carrying this to the human kingdoms, it would have been worth tens of thousands of coins.

Around the carriages were more than a hundred corpses, these ones looking like merchants. They were all laid in various positions; some had resisted, some had tried to escape, while others had begged for mercy. Whatever they did, they all met the same cruel fate. Based on the number of corpses, Richard was sure that there were no survivors.

Having inspected the corpses and goods, what struck Richard the most was that there were no containers of food or water on the scene. He quickly concluded that the attackers had only gone for supplies and whatever few items had the most value. They weren't interested in this heavy ore.

Even with the Red Cossack flag, such a caravan would have given Richard some serious consideration. However, the whole caravan had been reduced to corpses, and what about the enemies? Did they escape unscathed? Could it be that an unknown force followed the same custom as they did, collecting the remains of their dead?

It was then that his gaze landed on a knight adorned in black armour. This knight was extremely big, seemingly larger and stronger even than barbarians. The heavy armour on him was at least a few hundred kilograms, the quality allowing him to go toe to toe with even Medium Rare. Given such a sturdy body, he undoubtedly couldn't be carried by any ordinary horse.

A short distance from the knight was another corpse, this one of a horse that was at least a metre longer than the knight himself. This warhorse had two large fangs sticking out of its mouth, with spikes of varying length jutting out all over its body. The frightening creature had traces of dried blood on its hooves and spikes, and a severed arm was held in its mouth.

Only such a horse had the strength to carry that black knight.

More than ten weapons were pierced into the knight's body, tens of corpses scattered around him in a circle. It was obvious that they had all been killed by a single fierce enemy. The horse's body was pierced by a few polearms as well, and more than ten of the caravan guards were laid across it.

Despite being dead for so many days, the knight and his horse still gave off an intimidating aura. Jackals, vultures... not even insects were willing to come close. Forget the corpses themselves, everything in a range around the bodies was still in good condition.

Richard frowned. This black knight gave him a very uneasy feeling.

236 - City of Sin

Discovery

Richard jumped off his warhorse, making his way to the body of the black knight. He kicked the half-decomposed guards away and kneeled down, turning him to show his face.

The man's boorish face resembled that of a barbarian, still stuck in the scowl he'd had before his death. His hair was cut neatly like a soldier, unlike the unkempt style of most of the powerhouses of this plane. He was mostly human, but certain characteristics made it evident that he had the blood of other races in him as well. Be it strength, endurance, or energy, it was evident he was top notch.

Precision and Richard's own artistic intuition was sending him some very strange information. This mixture of bloodlines actually maximised the man's potential, and the process itself could be considered perfect. It made him think back to records in the Deepblue of a way to craft a mixed-blood race. This fellow in front of him seemed to be the fruit of such methods.

The marks of the battle made it obvious that he was around level 15, but be it his armour or his weaponry they were all standard issue. The rest of the battlefield also indicated that he was no more than an ordinary knight in his team. What kind of team was made of level 15 knights?

Even in Norland such a team would be an elite force of a powerful family, second only to rune knight platoons.

Richard stood up and waved his hands, motioning for ten desert people to come over. He wanted them to strip the black knight of all his weapons, and take his armour off as well. A dark and gloomy aura was constantly radiated by the corpse, making even the fearless desert people show signs of fright. Their hands were trembling as they took the weapons away.

Once three of them got the heavy breastplate off, another took a machete and cut open his flaxen clothing to expose the knight's chest.

Richard suddenly lost his breath.

On the greening chest was the lifelike tattoo of a bear's head. The bottom part of the head went quite deep, with a complicated magic array inscribed on it. This array was extremely familiar to Richard, he could draw it with his eyes closed.

It was a rune!

Richard was certain that nothing even vaguely similar to runes existed on Faelor. Even if someone successfully drew a magic array on someone's body, this was rare and only performed on powerhouses. Only those of a high level here had the carrying capacity for runes. The mages of Faelor didn't even know of the concept, unaware of how to calculate the carrying capacity for a rune.

These seemingly basic magic principles had been established in Norland for a long time. They were drafted by more than ten legendary mages, who had spent centuries slowly perfecting the craft.

Richard didn't need any kind of test to conclude that the rune on this corpse wasn't from this plane, and he was also 90% sure that it came from Norland. This was a standard rune on Norland— elementary defense. It would reduce the damage its wearer took by roughly 10%. Even if other planes also had runecrafting heritage, it wasn't possible for them to replicate a rune in such detail.

Flowsand stood up as well, extremely astonished by the sight of the rune.

The filth and smell of the corpse had long slipped Richard's mind. He snatched the machete from the warrior, cutting up all of the knight's undershirt. Sure enough, he saw a standard strength rune on each arm.

His expression turned ugly, “A bearguard knight of the Schumpeters...” His subconscious occupied, the words coming from his mouth were actually in Norlandic— a language he hadn't used in a long time.

Flowsand was puzzled, “They look similar, but how can you be sure? Many knight troops use bears as their trademark.”

Richard pointed to the corpse's arms and chest, “Two strength runes and one defense rune, this is a standard issue set for the bearguard knights.”

“Ph...” Flowsand still had some doubts.

“This knight has special breeding. He has the blood of giants, barbarians, and direbears in him. This breeding can only be found in Schumpeter warriors. I'm sure this is a bearguard knight!”

Looking at the knight's corpse on the floor, a shadow flashed past Flowsand's face.

Rune knights differed based on the rune sets they used, but the threshold to form a rune knight was very high. This made many noble houses vie for the creation of 'rune knight-like' knights, those that had three or four runes. Although these groups couldn't match up to true rune knights at all, the lower threshold meant far more of them could be made. This allowed a family to quickly raise its powers, using elementary or grade 2 runes alone.

And thus, many powerful families had accumulated forces that were unique to them, the bearguard knights of the Schumpeters being one of these. The strength of the Schumpeters did not lie in their runes, instead in the careful breeding of their bearguard knights. The knights were gifted with immense strength and endurance, benefiting greatly from the runes they were given. Alongside their specially bred magic horses, the bearguard knights were known for unparalleled strength in their charges.

As a saint runemaster in the making, Richard naturally had a deep understanding of the existing rune combinations, even this simple yet unique combination used by the bearguard knights. Every bearguard knight was around level 15, and even though they couldn't compare to true rune knights who were level 16 or above the Schumpeters had less than 30 rune knights but close to 200 in the bearguard. If the entire groups were pit against each other, there would hardly be any difference.

Flowsand frowned, “Why would a bearguard knight appear here?”

Richard's eyes narrowed, "If it's the Schumpeters, it can't be anything good. If they sent bearguard knights over, they should be aware of the coordinates and strength limit of this plane.”

“EVERYONE STAY PUT!” Richard roared, “NOBODY IS TO MOVE!”

Once that was done, Richard brought Gangdor, Waterflower, and the trolls along on an inspection of the aftermath. A lot of time having passed, the traces of the battle were unclear. They had also arrived in a large crowd earlier, with many horses amongst them. It would be difficult to tell what happened before.

However, Tiramisu discovered a hoofprint a few hundred metres away. Judging from the positions of the corpses and broken carriages, this seemed to be where the knights had attacked from.

Richard went around the location once, calculating that there were roughly seventy bearguard knights. Furthermore, at the front of the formation were several claw marks, looking like the print of a large beast that was about ten metres long.

“Do you know who did this?” Richard pointed at the giant claw marks.

Flowsand shook her head, “I spend most of my time cooped up in the church. I rarely met outsiders.”

Richard frowned. Whoever it was, leading the bearguard knights was no simple task. However, he had limited understanding of the nobility of Norland, and wasn't able to tell who it was based on the few claw marks. Just like the Archeron death camps, every other family had its own secret source of power. Richard had spent too little time in Faust, and he'd spent most of that time reading up on interplanar battles. He didn't have the time to read up on the hierarchy of the Schumpeters.

Having circled the location thrice, Richard returned to the dead knight, deep in thought. “It's no coincidence that Schumpeters are in this plane. It's likely that they're here for us.”

Having said that, Richard looked at Flowsand with meaning, “The great Dragon of Eternity and Light collected such a generous sacrifice from me. Why didn't he tell me when he changed the plane I was going to, and that other families would be coming here as well?”

Flowsand spread out her hands, “The turbulent time flow has nothing to do with the Eternal Dragon. As for the other families, you need to know that the old dragon is a cunning and greedy cheat. Never take its promises to heart.”

Listening to this evaluation, Richard's eyebrows twitched uncontrollably. However, he did not interrupt her so she continued, “What's important is this: what are we going to do now?”

“What else can we do?” A dark shadow flashed across Richard's face, and he spoke in an icy tone, “We find a way to kill them! Give me a knife!”

A desert warrior who was nearby handed Richard a knife, and he kneeled over by the side of the corpse and proceeded to use it to cut the three runes out. He then placed them in a box.

“What is this for?” Flowsand asked, unsure of Richard's use for them.

Richard waved the box in his hand, “If I make a few alterations this rune can still be used, even if its performance degrades a little. It should still be alright to just sell it to someone else in Faelor.”

Having said that, Richard hopped on his horse and asked for his army to gather up. He had the desert warriors who were familiar with the land clean all traces of the battlefield, taking them along the direction of the bearguard knights' trail. This would be the easiest way to avoid being found.

237 - City of Sin

Massacre

Twilight Oasis was the largest oasis in the deserts of the Bloodstained Lands, amongst the best in the entire region. Two streams running down from the barbarian plains merged into its basin, forming a huge lake. If the fertile land nearby was fully developed, it could support a hundred thousand people.

However, this potential to generate wealth made the lands nearby highly contested, resulting in few areas being properly developed. They were still mainly reliant on merchants travelling in from the distant human kingdoms for food.

Similar to Bluewater, a mix of individuals and groups with varying degrees of power ruled Twilight Oasis together. Unlike Bluewater, however, the hierarchy here was always in flux. There was no stable power structure, every change in leadership accompanied by the spilling of fresh blood.

One normal night, a thick mist rose from the lake and spread all around the oasis. The inhabited parts of the city nearby was completely covered with fog, with the situation even worse in areas with vegetation. In some places, one couldn't see past ten metres. However, such fog was a common occurrence in Twilight Oasis.

Thick fog and a dark night... These were the perfect conditions for murder. This was why deadly situations were common in Twilight Oasis.

Once the fog covered a substantial area, a large black-armoured knight slowly stepped out. He was of massive build, with magical armour and heavy weapons making him seem like a wargod. More such knights stepped out of the thick fog one by one, forming the frontlines of a battle. Every single one remained silent, pointing their weapons towards the ground. Outside of the occasional squeaks of armour rubbing against itself, nothing else could be heard.

Two mages threaded their way through the group of knights, making their way to the front of the group. They were fully covered up in mage robes, the hoods drawn over their heads making it impossible to identify them.

The fog in a fifteen metre radius suddenly gave way, as a large dark manticore descended from the sky to silently land in front of the knights. It restlessly circled the area once it landed, releasing low snarls.

Its appearance caused the bearguard knights to grow restless, while the mounts nearby were agitated. Even the knights themselves couldn't calm the creatures down.

Sinclair, seated atop the manticore, pounded hard on its head. Her small fist was surprisingly powerful, the collision sending the creature's head burrowing into the ground. The manticore managed to get its big head out with some difficulty, but remained subdued thereafter. It was afraid of moving about wildly like before.

Looking at the outline of the buildings in the distance, Sinclair's breathing grew faster as her face flushed red. The great mages were familiar with her style, knowing this meant she was about to erupt. They started chanting spells in response, buffing the knights and their mounts. It was like the powerful beasts had been given an extra fang.

Sinclair was clearly gritting her teeth, her face contorting. It was strange to see her refined and exquisite face distorted in this manner, as if she had two different faces. She spoke through gritted teeth, “Oi, you bastards. Will you listen obediently and not rebel?”

“That...” one of the mages carefully picked his words, “It's hard to avoid this. There's so many fools on secondary planes.”

Sinclair nodded her head vigorously, her eyes growing redder and redder until even her sclera was completely crimson. She suddenly whipped out a pair of daggers, letting out a resounding shriek, “KILL ANYONE WHO DARES TO GO AGAINST ME! ATTACK!”

The bearguard knights lifted their weapons one after the other, urging their mounts on as they made their way forth without hurry. They slowly sped up, accumulating power as they approached the peak of their charge. The combined acceleration eventually erupted forth with unrelenting strength; they were impossible to stop at full charge!

Sinclair bounded off her manticore, wrapping herself within her cape in mid-air. She disappeared into the night sky, already at the edge of the city when she was back.

“KNEEL!” she commanded in a shrill voice.

The knight in charge of the garrison flew into a rage, bellowing, “We belong to the Golden Warflag! Where did you come from, you...”

Only the first few words were audible, his voice growing softer and softer as he spoke. His last few words even disappeared into the night wind. He wanted to lower his head, but couldn't seem to do so. The world started to spin, eventually being blanketed in darkness.

Sinclair slid past the knight, her black cape fluttering in the night sky as wind blades were shot out of her cape. These wind blades were unimaginably sharp, cutting off the heads of the patrolling knights without issue.

She had no intention to use her knife in dealing with this mix of soldiers. Her silhouette appeared and disappeared everywhere on the streets, and in a flash she was concealed within the layers of buildings far away. A bloodbath ensued wherever she appeared, forming a river of blood on the ground. Almost half of the fog-covered city was quickly reeking of blood.

A dark shadow flitted across the sky yet again, and the manticore silently landed in the middle of the city. It crushed a building in front of it to the ground, exposing the room within.

Tens of knights were sleeping in these quarters, the sheer pace of these events meaning half of them were still in their dreams. Only two were quick enough to jump off their beds, but unfortunately they were greeted by a plume of poisonous fog from the manticore's tail.

It was as if this fog had a life of its own. It enveloped the entire room almost instantly, condensing into a vapour as it left no corner untouched.

The knights all swayed about in the fog, quickly falling to the ground while frozen in stance. Their bodies twitched uncontrollably, bubbles forming on their skin as if their blood was boiling. They soon grew unrecognisable, the bones and flesh melting into a heap of boiling liquid wrapped in skin.

A short sword that had been suspended on a wall suddenly dropped down, piercing a body. It was as if it had fallen on a bag of water and cut it, leaving a flood of black liquid gushing out. The person instantly shrivelled up.

The thunderous sound of hooves rang out at the city's borders. The bearguard knights had rushed in at that exact moment, promptly setting about a widespread massacre!

Everywhere the knights went was filled with fresh blood and broken limbs. The buildings in the oasis were no match for the massive weapons of the knights, almost seeming like they were made of paper. The violent black knights razed everything to the ground, burying anyone within alive.

Two powerful saints normally kept watch over Twilight Oasis, but only one was present in the city tonight. Sensing danger, he woke up from his slumber and was about to alert the necessary people, but he was unable to escape his own fate.

As he was gazing out his bedroom window into the city and trying to make sense of the sight before him, his odour was like a lighthouse in the dark that attracted Sinclair to the scene. She moved about in stealth, mounting a lethal attack. In a sudden and quick confrontation, she'd gotten herself a bland but still palatable heart.

Without the powerful saint's protection, the attack on Twilight Oasis became a one-sided massacre. The fight lasted an entire hour, before things finally started to settle down. More than a thousand dead bodies lay on the floor all over, causing the thick fog that shrouded the entire city to be tainted by the putrid smell of blood.

However, this fog had helped the inhabitants as much as it had the invaders. Many had utilised its cover to escape the city, bounding out towards the rest of the Bloodstained Lands.

238 - City of Sin

Massacre(2)

Twilight Oasis had nearly ten thousand residents, and the bearguard knights were exhausted by the time the entirety of the resistance was cut down. The manticore roared out from the city centre, a call to gather all of Sinclair's troops. The knights all abandoned any dead or dying prey, making their way towards the location.

At the same time, a mage's voice amplified by magic spread throughout the entire city, “Everyone, put down your weapons! Anyone found bearing arms will be killed on the spot!”

However, the mage's words were of no use. Those who would not submit were already dead or escaped.

The bearguard knights dispersed once more, going from house to house to chase everyone and have the entire city gather at the square. Everyone who saw the huge manticore shivered uncontrollably; this creature was thrice as large as a thunder lizard, the largest beast of the Bloodstained Lands. One of the ladies started screaming uncontrollably, and was immediately pulled out of the group and executed right away.

Sinclair stood on the manticore's head, smirking innocently without a trace of guilt on her face. Her lips were a dazzling dark red, the same crimson as blood. She swept her gaze across the entire square, causing everyone to shiver in fear. They felt as though she was staring directly at them,

“My name is Sinclair, and from this day onwards I shall be your master. Your life, and death, will rest solely in my hands. I love peace, obedience, and pretty things. Please me and you may live, dare to resist even the slightest...”

She waved her hand lazily, and an ordinary-looking middle-aged man flew out of the crowd. Her silhouette flashed away from the top of the manticore, suddenly appearing behind the man. A quick glimmer of her knife later, she was back on the manticore's head.

Thick, viscous blood now stained her daggers, one of which was longer than the other. They seemed to have life of their own, the blood rolling at the edge of the blade. Not a single drop dripped down even after a long time.

“... And this will be the result.” She glanced at her hands, and a quick jerk later the fresh blood flew out to leave pitch black blades. She shot a look of disgust at the middle-aged man, speaking icily, “Just a piece of level 13 trash, and you dare play tricks on me?”

The middle aged man fell to the floor, unable to get up for a while. It took him a lot of difficulty to prop up his upper body, pointing a shaking finger at Sinclair, but no matter how much he tried not a single syllable left his mouth. A red line suddenly appeared on his face, his body falling apart into four pieces even as blood and organs fell to the floor.

Some people had still been stirred up till then, but faced with the prospect of death they covered their mouths to muffle their weeping. Sinclair's gaze passed over the few of them, but she didn't take any further action. Only the two mages knew that this was not mercy, just laziness. It was now time for her to enjoy and entertain herself.

“You, you, you... And you, get out here!” Sinclair pointed twenty people out one by one, and her targets wasted no time in coming out to form a line. All of them were shivering with fear.

Everyone selected was young and good-looking, with an equal number of men and women. Seeing the small number the mages knew that Sinclair had grown tired of the slaughter. Even though she wanted to indulge herself now, she would not go overboard.

She randomly pointed at a grand, tall building in the area, having the bearguard knights take a few people over to clean the hall. She then shouted at the people she had selected, “Strip!”

The youths hesitated for a brief moment. Although none of them dared to disobey Sinclair, it was still hard for them to strip naked in front of an entire city's worth of people.

In that mere moment of hesitation, one of the mages shot out an arcane missile from his fingertips, directly striking a young lady who was standing completely still and knocking her out of the formation. The bearguard knights by the side twirled their giant hammers, starting to smash the young lady to a pulp. It was like a fruit was being squashed, leaving blood and flesh flying onto the youths in the line. This instantly caused them to start screaming.

“Shut up!” The mage's words silenced a majority of the men and women, but two of the young ladies couldn't stop themselves. As such, they were dragged out of the line as well, their throats slit.

“Our mistress has no patience, and she doesn't like noise. All you have to do is clearly listen to every command, and do exactly as you are told. Now, strip! If you still don't, we'll choose a new batch!” The mage's voice was as cold as the northern wind. If a new batch were chosen, the rest of this batch would share the same fate as the three young ladies.

The square immediately fell silent. There was no more resistance, no protests, and no attempts to escape.

Sinclair then chose three more young ladies to make up for the shortfall, and this time the youths stripped as fast as they could. They then awaited their fate, trembling all the while.

The hall had been cleared by this time. Sinclair chased all her naked toys inside, starting to laugh maliciously. She took off all her clothes as well, leaving what little black armour she had on the streets as she sashayed into the big hall.

She looked around her surroundings before pointing her finger at a handsome young man, “You! Come here and show me all your skills. Make sure I enjoy it... Don't play any tricks, do it now!”

The young man's mind suddenly blanked out at her chiding, and in his state of extreme panic his manhood naturally withered. Sinclair was immediately enraged; she shot her hand into his chest, crushing his heart in a single go. His body flew out with a wave of her hand, landing at the centre of the city square. Her sharp roar could be heard from the door, “Useless piece of trash!”

She then grabbed a weak young lady, ruthlessly giving her two slaps on the ear that made her bleed from her mouth and nose. She then threw her on the floor and got on top of her. A trembling youth then walked up at her instruction, pressing himself into her from behind. In the blink of an eye, the inside of the hall had become a world of debauchery that reeked of blood.

It was only then that the people gathered at the square were allowed to disperse. Two mages started patrolling the regions where violent clashes had occurred, taking stock of the situation.

Even with the saint taken care of by Sinclair, Twilight Oasis had more than a thousand warriors with no shortage of those of high level. As such, the battle was quite hard fought. Five of their numbers had died in battle.

They discovered another knight down in a corner of the city, unable to get up. Two long spears and a two-handed sword were stuck to his body, and a terrifying hole in his back revealed some of his innards.

The mage who found him inspected his injuries, eventually shaking his head. Thus, another bearguard knight came over and used a dagger to slit the wounded knight's throat, ending his misery.

Now, only 64 bearguard knights remained.

The mage sighed. The cruellest part when one was establishing a foothold in a foreign plane was at the start. Without the proper channels of communication and a priest's magic, each metre of land could only be acquired through a sacrifice of lives and gold.

If they were still in Norland, the knight's life could have been saved. However, all they could do in this plane was watch him die.

A priest would rather die than heal a follower of another religion, much less a planar intruder. Every true god promised this to their followers— if one died at the hands of an intruder, they would earn the right to enter the god's divine kingdom. Their soul would be granted eternal life, regardless of past sins and faith.

What these worshippers didn't realise was that death at Sinclair's hands would not free their souls. No, they only became food for her manticore.

239 - City of Sin

Search

It took two days and two nights for Sinclair to finally come out of that hall that reeked of blood and other liquids, finally done with her revelry. Black flames lit up all over her body, burning away all the filth covering it. This was soulfire, containing far greater power than one could imagine. And judging by the number of dead bodies lying back in the hall, it was needless to say what fuelled these flames. Soulfire was normally colourless, but with how tainted Sinclair was these flames were a depthless black.

As Sinclair was putting on her clothes and wearing her armour once more, the two mages who had completed their tasks stood at the side. They did not avoid the sight of her seductive body, but they kept their behaviour in check and didn't gaze at her with intent either.

One of them opened up a map, “We obtained many maps from this raid. I've already marked out important places in the Bloodstained Lands, please have a look.”

Sinclair grunted in agreement. She scanned the map, pointing out a spot that was marked as an oasis, “It looks like there are a lot of people here, let's head there next. How many fighters can we assemble?”

“According to our preliminary estimations, there are about 500 people qualified to be soldiers,” the other mage replied.

Sinclair nodded, “Give them a weapon each, and a set of armour. Hmm... no, half a set will be enough, and have them follow. Ah wait, 500 is too few, give anyone who can walk a weapon, we head out tomorrow morning to conquer a new oasis! They'll be first in line.”

The two mages exchanged looks, and one of them spoke up, “If we keep doing things like that, my Lady, we'll soon become the enemies of the entire plane.”

“Haha! Are you saying that you're here in this plane to make friends?” Sinclair asked sarcastically.

“That's not what I meant, my Lady! This plane isn't the one we intended to visit, and those amongst its ranks are very powerful. Its rumoured that there are even legendary beings here, though we cannot verify that.

“We've come to know that this plane has far more gods than we originally intended for. If we get caught by the powerhouses of the plane...” The mage didn't complete his sentence, but the message was clear.

The rich and powerful families of Norland, the ones with floating islands to their name, all had legendary beings amongst their ranks that formed a deterrent to anyone else aiming to attack them. But this was a different plane, not Norland. Should a legendary being appear here, everyone would be dead.

“Legendary powerhouses? At level 18? Bah, that's just like their saints. They boast about such meagre, power, I don't know where they learned to call themselves that,” Sinclair said mockingly, as if it wasn't a problem at all.

The other mage tried convincing her as well, “My Lady, our original aim was to get rid of Richard. Now that we've come to an unfamiliar plane, we can put that aside. This is a mature plane that is abundant in resources, quite similar to Norland as well. Our role now is to be pioneers; as long as we return safely to Norland and give them the coordinates of this plane, it will be a huge achievement. The Schumpeters' strength will be boosted greatly in the next ten or so years, and your status will eventually rise with that. It isn't our business to get rid of the powerhouses of this plane... We should let the family's rune knights take care of that.”

Sinclair grunted, gloom clouding her face, “So you're saying I should let Sisley finish conquering this place?”

The mage's body trembled, and he immediately replied, “Even if she does, my Lady, your contributions will far exceed hers. Discovering a new plane is the most important thing. Also, if she does a poor job of it she'll have no recourse.”

Sinclair understood that everything the mage said was true. Her expression grew less menacing, but her finger stubbornly remained pointed at the oasis on the map, “This place looks interesting. We'll follow the original plan and set out tomorrow, we're taking this place down!”

The other mage contemplated for a while, eventually deciding to speak up, “Your highness, that oasis is comparable to this one. If we start a war, we'll need to deploy the bearguard knights. There aren't many knights under your control right now, and we don't have any clerics. Please... Think it over the soonest possible!”

Sinclair waved her hand impatiently, retorting, “Enough! I already know! Only a few of them died, what's the big deal anyway? It wasn't easy to get away from those old rascals, of course I'll have to celebrate and enjoy myself! After all, the more people I kill the stronger my baby becomes. Don't take the people of this plane too seriously, they're all barbarians. They've never even heard of runes, what kind of power can they even have? I just killed someone who called themselves a saint, and he was only level 16. Stop talking so much, I know what's going on. Once there's less than 40 left I'll get serious.”

The two mages were rendered helpless, left with no choice but to return to what they were doing prior to the discussion.

......

Towards the south of the path Sinclair intended to take, Richard was leading his own troops north. They had already entered the northern parts of the Bloodstained Lands.

At nightfall, they chose a place sheltered from the wind to set up camp and rest. Richard took out his map, thinking things over under the magic light. There were two paths marked on the map: the one he was taking and the one tracing the Schumpeters' path.

He followed the traces of the bearguard knights, extending from north to south as he circled some key regions to search. The bearguard knights were quite distinctive— their horses crushed rocks under their hooves, so even with more than ten days having passed it was possible to find traces of their presence. He extended the currently known route towards the south, winding up near Twilight Oasis. Even further south were Saak Oasis and Saltwater Valley, both occupied by a mix of different races.

Towards the north, he had already found three areas that had been destroyed by the bearguard knights as well as the remnants of a caravan. The Schumpeters hadn't left a single soul alive, with traces of mass murder in inhabited regions. There were five dead knights on their path, allowing Richard to recover seven more runes. The rest of the runes were either destroyed in battle or rotted beyond recognition alongside their owners.

He took a look at the southern path, understanding that the three inhabited places there wouldn't be lucky enough to escape their faite. However, Twilight Oasis and Saak Oasis both were rather strong, with powerful saints watching over them. Even if this plane's saints were two levels lower than in Norland, the bearguard knights wouldn't be able to take the oases without a fight. The more these bearguard knights were weakened, the safer Richard would become. He was more worried about these killers from Norland than the military forces of this plane.

240 - City of Sin

Search(2)

Flowsand sat down beside Richard, looking at the map as well. She then pointed at the north, “Once we reach this point, we'll have left the Bloodstained Lands and set foot on the borders of the Iron Triangle Empire. They have great power, but many of the nobles there have conflicts with each other; even the imperial family itself isn't harmonious. On top of that, their territory is so extensive that the control at the borders is extremely lax.

“And look here. This is a mountain region full of forests, stretching into the distance without any sign of human habitation. The Schumpeters' base probably ended up somewhere in this place.”

“Very likely,” Richard nodded, “But the chances of us finding a Lighthouse of Time that's still lit there are rather slim. I feel like the Schumpeters were lost just like us, or they would've sent proper rune knights instead of the bearguard knights. Bearguard knights are only suitable to clean up inferior planes that cap at level 16 or 18.”

“It doesn't matter whether it's still lit. If the base was lost in spacetime like ours, that's even better. There's bound to be a large amount of the power of time remaining there, what I need most at this moment. Once we find the base, I'm sure I can advance to level 10. At that moment, my title will be boosted as well.”

“Your title? Daybreak? I didn't know a title from the Eternal Dragon had special abilities.” Richard was very surprised. He'd originally thought that the title was simply to impress others, like those given to emperors or other monarchs throughout history.

“Of course not, the Dragon of Eternity and Light is not that senseless,” Flowsand said with a smile.

Richard creased his brows and replied, “A while ago someone told me it was just an unreliable greedy dragon.”

“Indeed, but the old dragon isn't senseless.”

“Old dragon... Flowsand, I really doubt your devotion towards your religion. How did you even become a cleric?” Even if they'd already shared a bed, Richard discovered he was only starting to get to know this girl.

“It's not like the Eternal Dragon cares about your faith, all it wants are offerings.”

“And your title?”

“A title is nothing great, just an acknowledgement of talent and capability. If the person with the title can't present enough offerings to satisfy the thing, it will void the title. So you need to work hard, Richard! I'm depending on you!”

“Really?” Richard was astonished.

“Of course not!” Flowsand smiled lightly.

“Flowsand!” Richard growled in frustration. Intentionally or not she was leading him on, and the only way to vent his frustration was to pin this young lady down. She took every single opportunity to frustrate him.

After an intense 'battle', Richard lay down on the blanket as his gasps slowed down to regular breathing once more. On the other hand, Flowsand curled up in his arms like a feline. He wasn't just venting his frustration; he'd accumulated a lot of fatigue and stress over the past several days. Right now his body felt hollow and drained, as if his marrow had been extracted, but his mind was now calm. As his stress dissipated, his thoughts grew clearer.

He huffed as he spoke, “To think they sent more than seventy bearguard knights over. The Schumpeters really have gone to all lengths with their capital.”

“It doesn't seem like one family could afford to come up with this capital alone. No, I'm not saying that the Schumpeters don't have the resources to do it, but it would be meaningless to spend this much on a potential threat instead of using it to expand their own power. However, if it was a collaboration between a few families it would be another matter altogether. Each family wouldn't take out much alone, so it wouldn't have any serious impact.”

“Just to deal with me? Is that necessary?” Richard creased his brows and asked.

“If it could eliminate a future saint runemaster, then it would definitely be necessary.”

Richard creased his brows once again, falling silent. He was already certain that he would become a grand runemaster once he reached level 12. As for becoming a saint runemaster, if he could finish the second set of the Savagery of Darkness series he could be considered to have met the basic requirements to start on the path. If one thought of it that way, he really was worth a lot.

Every plane was structured like a pyramid. The people at the top had the most resources, and the number of positions at every level was set in stone. A person's status was only relative to others; if one wished to advance, they could only trample others as they climbed up the ladder. Although the methods were different for different people, the net effect was the same.

Richard sighed; he understood this truth as well. Although he hoped to empower himself instead of just trample over others, the positions at every level were fixed just like the floating islands of Faust. Every step he took forward was sure to trample over someone else, whether that was his intention or not. Please visit 𝘧𝗿𝐞𝐞𝒘𝗲𝘣n𝘰𝘷ℯ𝒍. 𝒄o𝗺

He felt a wave of fatigue wash over him, so he closed his eyes and fell into slumber...

The next morning, Richard led his troops and set off to continue their journey. He found traces of the bearguard knights in the marked areas, but he wasn't in a hurry to go north. Several kilometres east was a supply camp of the Golden Warflag.

Richard handed a few letters to the person in charge of the camp, asking for a caravan to bring them back to Bluewater Oasis.

One of the letters was written to Marvin, requesting him to urge the churches on the border of the Sequoia Kingdom to send troops into the Bloodstained Lands to suppress the foreign invaders. The rest of the letters were written to the agents of the forces he was familiar with in Bluewater, including Devon and Amon. He mentioned that he found traces of invaders in the middle-north of the Bloodstained Lands, and that these violent and diabolical intruders were heading south. It was possible they would rush all the way to Bluewater, so he wanted these old friends to step up their preventive measures to avoid losses. He also described in detail some of the distinctive traits of the bearguard knights.

He believed the news would spread quickly once his recipients read their letters. Then, the bearguard knights wouldn't just be facing scattered resistance and hurried attacks, but elite troops and well-trained warriors. The gazes of the powerhouses of this plane would be drawn to them, having them overlook a small and weak invading army like Richard's.

As for Baron Forza, people like him would just think they became a meal in the belly of a magical beast if he didn't show himself for a while. After all, the oracle from the God of Valour only assessed them to be an insignificant force. It wasn't even worth dispatching the central church's forces to deal with someone of such capability.

The only thing Richard needed at the moment was time. At the Bloodstained Lands, the two troops from Norland practically brushed past each other before they slowly grew further apart.

241 - City of Sin

Waiting

Faelor had endured invasions from many foreign planes, but peace would eventually be restored every time. The two recent invasions weren't significant when compared to the threats of the past, only a small ripple in the long river of history. The only thing that mattered was that the plane would survive. As for the future, nobody would be able to tell.

However, a primary plane like Norland was never peaceful. The night view of Faust was as beautiful as ever, but Gaton's mood was nowhere close. Accompanied by two rune knights, he haughtily made his way to the Church of the Eternal Dragon. There he met with high priestess Ferlyn in a private room.

In the face of a bubbling volcano like Gaton, Ferlyn appeared resigned, “I truly am sorry, Lord Gaton, but I cannot contact Flowsand at this moment either. Although I'm unwilling to admit this, I have to say their party was likely lost in the streams of time. If luck is on their side, they might have appeared on an unknown plane.”

She didn't say what would happen if it wasn't, but that was clear even without her speaking.

Gaton fixed his gaze on Ferlyn, his eyes blazing with fury as he spoke slowly, “We presented the Eternal Dragon with such a rare and precious offering, but in return we are lost in time?”

Ferlyn sighed and replied, “The Eternal Dragon was quite satisfied with the offering, bestowing generous blessings on the Archerons in response. However, mere mortals cannot comprehend a god's will. The endless planes are filled with mystery, the things we know and see are merely a drop in the ocean. Anything can happen when one is travelling through spacetime; you should know how common getting lost is.”

“But the offerings were different!” Gaton replied coldly.

“I'll admit that, but Richard has also received a lot of blessings. The will of the Dragon himself descended upon this plane during the ceremony. Nothing we already know applies, and anything is possible now. The best idea is to wait patiently,” Ferlyn said gently.

Gaton fell silent. He knew what Ferlyn said was right. During a regular ceremony, the Eternal Dragon only sent down a trace of his divine power to the church, and it would handle the sacrifice and blessings by itself. With the dragon descending itself, any previous rules didn't matter anymore.

Gaton suddenly raised his head and looked at Ferlyn, uttering each and every word slowly, “This matter, did it occur entirely by chance or did someone interfere?”

Ferlyn thought for a moment before she answered, “I can't tell.”

“Can't tell...” Gaton smiled grimly, “Alright, I understand.”

He suddenly stood up, walking towards the door. He only turned his head back once he was about to leave, “I'm very grateful!”

Ferlyn smiled, “Waiting is often a wise choice.”

Gaton grinned in reply, “But the Archerons are always quick-tempered!”

From the beginning, they hadn't talked further about the fates of Richard and Flowsand. They had both avoided the topic, and it was intentional.

......

Atop the famed Snow Cliff at the east of Klandor, a young lady with her hair combed into many braids was sitting atop a large rock as she watched the sun set.

The side of the Snow Cliff facing the sea was a straight, precipitous drop that was over a thousand metres tall. True to its name, the the precipice was made of rocks that were white as snow, while at the top was a meadow that was green as jade and smooth as velvet. It appeared extremely beautiful from the distance, a generous miracle nature had bestowed on all living things. It was one of Klandor's most famous sights, and a sacred place for the barbarian tribe.

According to tradition, every young warrior in the tribe was elected by the shrine to undergo trials once they gained enough strength. They would be tested to see whether they were qualified to inherit the sacred totems, and Snow Cliff was one of the trial venues. The young warriors who wished to prove their courage had to leap into the sea, and climb back up to the top once more. If they completed this process, they would be acknowledged as a successor of the sacred totems. Every warrior who even had the chance to participate at this trial would consider it the greatest glory of their lives.

Yet, the trial was extremely dangerous. The impact of a fall into the sea from so high would leave even the sturdy barbarians extremely frail, and the waters below had reefs everywhere. Those undergoing the trial had to pick the point where they dropped carefully from the hundred kilometre length of the cliff.

Once they fell, most didn't have the ability to climb back up anymore. However, these fearless warriors would not give up. They did their utmost to climb back up, using every bit of their strength before they fell back down once more. Before they fell these warriors would nail the ivory they wore onto the cliff as a testament to their courage. The higher a warrior climbed, the more valued he was by the tribe. In turn, this also meant he had a higher chance of inheriting the sacred totems.

As for the few who had successfully climbed back up to the top of the cliff, they had eventually becoming outstanding characters whose names resounded throughout history.

The young lady quietly gazed into the distance. It seemed like her beauty blended into the scenery in front of her, the lines of pale totems on her cheeks adding a unique grace to her beauty.

The sun had just fallen below the horizon. Once the golden radiance banished completely, the only separation between the sky and the sea was a reddish afterglow that was both light and dark. They gradually joined into one, becoming a vast expanse of blackness.

The grassland on Snow Cliff gradually turned dull as the sky darkened. The wind grew stronger and colder, and an old man with a walking stick appeared at the end of the meadow. His movements seemed sluggish and weak, but he crossed numerous kilometres in the blink of an eye to appear behind the young lady.

“The elder is very worried about your situation, Your Highness.” The old man was Urazadzu, great shaman of the tribe. And of course, the young lady sat by the sea was Mountainsea. Despite having left Norland for a few years, the only change to her seemed that she was a little taller.

“How does he know about my situation? It's not like he can talk to the Beast God,” Mountainsea replied lightly.

Urazadzu coughed heavily a few times, “... I can.”

“Such a trivial matter, do you really need to communicate with the Beast God?” the young lady asked.

The shaman threw a knowing look towards Mountainsea and shook his head, “Clearly, this is not a trivial matter.”

The young lady let out a sigh and replied, “Maybe. But he's just an outsider who smells good.”

Urazadzu smiled, “He also doesn't want money, and taps you on the head.”

A smile crept onto the young lady's face as she remarked, “Yeah! Sometimes I wonder if I should just forget the promise, and snatch him like Mama did with father. I don't see any chance of him beating me anyway.”

“Elder Greyhawk has been working hard all these years, practising his martial skills. Do you know why?”

Mountainsea shook her head, her little braids flying all over as she did, “Even if Mama slept everyday without doing anything, he still won't be able to beat her. He could train for 30 more years, and it still wouldn't change.”

Urazadzu laughed hoarsely before continuing, “I believe the wise Greyhawk is aware of that, your Highness. Even with no hope at all, he still trains hard without slacking off.”

Mountainsea was sent deep into thought.

“Norland's men are all very prideful. Although we feel like their pride is absolutely unreasonable, it can become a formidable force that propels them. They're all very persistent. Even in the most desperate straits without any hope, they will never slack off. Only people like that can create miracles.”

“You mean Richard is someone like that too?”

“I'm sure you know what he is like better than I do,” Urazadzu replied, “However, you just can't contact him now, am I right?”

Mountainsea nodded and extended her right hand, shaking it slightly. A string of ivory just like the one she gave Richard was wrapped around her wrist as well. As she shook her hand, the ivory pieces rattled against each other, making a crashing sound.

“Listen to this, the ivory tells me that he is still alive. I don't know where he is now, but he's definitely not on this plane. If he went to participate in a planar battle, then I should be able to know which plane he is on. Yet, I do not know. This means that he is lost.”

“It may be dangerous to be lost in time, but not all hope is lost. As long as he is alive, he can create miracles anytime. Do you hope for him to be a weakling who needs your help and support all the time, or to become a fighter who performs miracles with a wave of his hand, just like the most outstanding warrior of our tribe?” the shaman asked.

The young lady thought for a moment, “Alright, I understand. I'll give him five more years. If he dies, I'll find Umur, Jagger, or any other fellow to hand down the sacred bloodline before heading off to avenge him. Even if he's still alive, I'll hand down the bloodline once five years are up.”

The shaman sighed, not saying anything.

Mountainsea stood up, “I'm a little bored, and want some exercise. Wait for me, I'll be quick!”

The young lady then looked up to the sky as she let out a long, thunderous howl that reverberated into the distance. The long grass of the meadow collapsed and lay flat, rippling out layer by layer as the ground shook. Even as the howl still echoed, she had already leapt up and spread her arms open as she threw herself into the deep ocean!

A few minutes later, a drenched Mountainsea climbed up the side of the cliff. She shook her head hard, causing a lot of water to spray out of her hair. She then turned to Urazadzu, “Let's go, we'll return to the shrine!”

242 - City of Sin

Wealth

In the midst of the endless void between the myriad planes was a small floating island.
f𝐫ℯe𝘸𝙚𝑏n𝑜ѵ𝒆l. 𝐜𝚘𝓶

This island was about a hundred square kilometres in size, with undulating terrain. At the west was a small snowy mountain with a sparkling lake, gentle waves breaking on the surface. Its water flowed down into a small stream, before branching out into more than ten small pools midway. These pools were clearly man-made— each was fashioned out of different materials.

If one looked from afar, the mountain was covered with dense mist and dew. Each pool shone with its own unique colour and glamour in the midst of this fog, the different glows making one feel like they were in a dreamland.

Any mage that stood atop the mountain would be surprised to find the sheer density of mana in the trickling stream, as if the lake was made of liquid mana. Just a sip of it was more effective than the strongest potion.

As this mana-filled water flowed into the various pools, it miraculously transformed into different elements. Air, fire, earth, light, electricity... It was as if each pool was a purifier that extracted elemental power from this mana. Most of the pools transformed this liquid into elemental power, but some even transformed it into various kinds of potions.

Sparkling crystals littered the bottom of the elemental pools. These were crystallised elemental power, sources of great amounts of mana. Sparkling crystals were scattered across the bottom of the element pools. This was the crystallisation of elemental power, the source of magic that also birthed the runecrafting, alchemy, and the entire world of magic.

At the bottom of the lake were heaps of magic crystals, some as tall as a person, that were continually expanding. The swelling water in the lake brushed up against them and then flowed across the land, taking away some of their mana even as new crystals formed at the bottom of the lake.

At the foot of the mountain and all around the perimeter of the island were exotic trees that formed a dense forest. Their trunks stood tall and straight, with no leaves on the countless golden branches that hung downwards like those of a willow.

The primal energy of the void generated explosive energies that constantly battered this small island, and these trunks stood tall and unyielding while their golden branches danced wildly in the commotion. The energies of these storms were like the sun and rain to these trees, eagerly absorbed by the branches. Whenever the energy storms passed through the forest ringing the island, almost all of the violent energy was devoured and depleted, causing it to die down to a gentle breeze.

Once these unusual trees took in enough energy, they radiated dazzling gold light. Sine if these rays fell on the magical barrier protecting the island, repairing the portions that had been damaged and preventing the storms from completely ravaging it. The rest of the energy was sent into the interior via the roots, eventually converging at the lake atop the mountain where they transformed into pure mana.

This formed a cycle. Whenever the trees were depleted of the energy they had absorbed, they would lose the ability to repair the barrier and a part of it would break, forming a gaping hole that allowed the chaotic energy to enter. The storm would rush forth like water from an opened dam, destroying everything in its path. But then it would meet the dense forest, and they would absorb its energy to repair the barrier and stored some of it in the island.

The slope grew gentler the farther one went from the mountain, eventually ending up in a flat plain. Lakes and streams were everywhere, nourishing the grass and flowers that were everywhere.

East of the plain was a rather magnificent tower, its seven stories making for a total height of fifty metres. The entire structure was made of blue magic crystals, the rarest and most precious material used in building magical structures. There were actually four materials that were better for such construction, but legend had it that only gods could afford to build palaces out of them.

A secondary building attached to the tower transformed the entire place into a palace. A stream of enchanted puppets constantly entered and exited the palace, occupied with their own tasks.

If one looked up at the sky, they would only see an endless black void. Splendid beams of light occasionally flitted across the sky; only experienced mages knew the terrifying destructive powers of those rays. They came from the random explosions of energy storms, always magnificent to look at with their myriad colours. Even an expansive mountain range would burst into a million colours and disappear into the void if this beam struck it.

A powerful will suddenly descended upon this island floating in this void, infusing it with vitality. The branches of the strange trees danced in the chaotic power of the energy storms, and the exquisite flowers in the fields of grass started to blossom and bear fruit. The speed of the enchanted puppets increased greatly as well.

A huge teleportation gate was activated at the field in front of the palace, countless magical symbols interweaving in the void. Sharon took big strides as she walked out of the portal, casually waving her hands to toss a few magic balls to the ground.

The balls exploded upon hitting the ground, revealing a number of elves. Silvermoon elves, high elves, dark elves, sun elves... it seemed like every elven species was represented in the tens of elves present here. The elves were of all races, and be they male or female they were all beautiful. In an elven tribe, each would be an outstanding individual.

Mana poured out from under Sharon's feet, and she floated up three metres to tower over everyone else, even the puppets.

She waved her hands with vigour, her gown gently falling back to reveal a slender white arm, “You guys, go there! You lot, move all the boxes in room 3110 to the east side. You, you, and you, go activate the cages in a few of the bigger rooms— How many? You decide, if there's too many or too few, you'll get it from me!”

The legendary mage spoke with lightning speed. Everyone present set off in a frenzy, starting to fulfill their tasks. The puppets and elves all did their share, but it was still hard to finish the job.

However, there was peace amidst all this chaos. The puppets were surprisingly lively, possessing remarkable intelligence. The elves were rather skilled at their jobs as well, each at or above level 12. Even mages at that level wouldn't have trouble moving boxes that weighed several tens of kilograms, and those of the Deepblue were widely known for their strength.

Amidst all this chaos, the enormous gate was activated yet again. Sharon pointed at an exquisite brazier atop the gate, and it blazed with blue and gold flames. The energy surges on the other side grew quite intense.

243 - City of Sin

Wealth(2)

A wave of mana blasted out of the portal with an explosion, carrying dozens of figures alongside it. In the lead was Gaton, decked out in full battle gear with the heavy sword that instilled fear in all enemies in his hand.

The surge of energy from the teleportation had been quite strong. Even though the people who came out were using their own energy to counter it, the wave of mana had left them dizzy and disoriented.

The stronger one was, the faster they would recover from the shock. Gaton was back to normal almost immediately, but he still let out an angry roar. The portal had been formed three metres off the ground, so as they were shot out of its centre they awkwardly fell down. To make things worse, this small island had one and a half times the gravity Norland did!

Even as the roar was still resounding through the island, the people behind Gaton all fell to the ground in a mess. Even though he himself managed to stabilise himself before he fell, he was knocked down by Kaylen who was covered in heavy armour. Finally losing his balance, he fell to the ground as Sharon watched on with glee.

Gaton pushed aside the heavy Kaylen who was pressed on top of him, hurriedly tidying his hair and taking big steps towards Sharon. He gritted his teeth, “This isn't funny, Your Excellency!”

Sharon continued laughing proudly, only pausing with great difficulty to say, “But I'm having a good laugh!”

Gaton turned around to find his subordinates still in a daze. Most of them had thick, heavy armour on, so it had been a recipe for disaster. They were still piled one atop the other, struggling to get up, but these struggles only exacerbated the problem. Looking at the stone platform that was three metres high, he flew into a rage once more. He waved his hands as he roared, “Your Excellency, why would you build a teleportation gate that was three metres in the air?!”

The legendary mage's face seemed to well with regret as she blinked, “About that... I'm not really good with magical calculations so I made an error with the foundation. Look, it's only off by a bit...”
𝐟r𝑒ℯ𝘄𝐞𝙗ｎov𝚎𝙡. 𝑐𝘰𝘮

Hearing the words 'magical calculations,' a dark aura covered Gaton's face. He immediately ended the conversation about the portal's height, instead turning to admire the scenery of the island.

This island was Sharon's semiplane. Every legendary mage had their own, but as proved by the Deepblue Sharon was quite special. Naturally, her semiplane wasn't normal either. He had visited another legendary mage at their plane before, it had only been a deserted island that was roughly a few square kilometres in area. Based on area alone, Sharon's island was twenty to thirty times larger.

And just like the area, other aspects of this place were far grander as well. Take the elemental pools for example. A normal legendary mage had three or four, but she had a magic lake and a pond for every major element. Even that could barely digest the mana from the lake, so she'd even built a few pools that created potions! Even if Sharon retired one day, she could just sit on the liquid of these pools and sell a diluted version to make a fortune! The time it took to just mix this liquid with some common laboratory liquids was almost negligible.

Besides, even if the elemental pools contained the same attributes as he had seen before, they seemed a little different this time. Gaton squinted his eyes to look at them, quickly discovering an anomaly, “Your Excellency, these pools are a metre wider than the last time I had the pleasure of standing here, and that was just a year ago! Could you let me go to the bottom and look at how much the elements have crystallised?”

“Forget about it!” Sharon's eyes glowed as she rejected him outright.

“The other legendary mages have elemental pools that are only slightly larger than bathtubs; it takes them ages to condense an elemental crystal. You have a full ten, and they're full and proper ponds! The only thing I don't understand is where the water from atop that mountain flows from, I've seen nothing!” Gaton offered high praise as he stroked his short beard, once more looking at the strange trees scattered all over the semiplane.

“It looks like you got a new batch of energy absorption trees. Tsk tsk, they really grow so fast in such an environment. Your Excellency, I've searched through a dozen planes, but why haven't I so much as heard of these trees?”

Sharon let out a grunt, absolutely refusing to answer the question.

Gaton's eyes glazed over with passion as he looked at the peripheral forest, “Your Excellency, let me dig out a few of these trees and take them home!”

At that moment, the lock of hair on Sharon's forehead stood up, “You're welcome to try!”

Gaton laughed a few times, dropping the topic. The unbelievable effect of these energy absorption trees was the source of this semiplane's growth. Having visited another legendary mage's semiplane, Gaton knew many other legendary mages would be willing to work under Sharon for fifty years in exchange for a single one of these remarkable trees. They had long lifespans anyway, but only Sharon had these trees.

This forest was the source of the plane's growth. As long as these trees were around, Sharon would have unlimited access to magical supplies. He knew well how valuable they were, so Gaton was only using them as a way to agitate Sharon.

He was still unsatisfied, his gaze lingering over every blade of grass, every piece of wood, and every inch of land in the semiplane as he inspected everything thoroughly. A close, unrestrained inspection of Sharon's semiplane did wonders for the growth of his own abilities. This place followed special laws of her own making, and even if her path to power could not be replicated it was a valuable experience for all who were still seeking the door to the legendary realm. Even if one had already crossed through, her experience would still be extremely valuable.

As his eyes fell on a steep cliff on the snowy mountain, he was suddenly startled. He recalled that the place had been much shorter the last time he was here; in fact, it had grown by tens of metres. It was protruding out, its top even broader than the mountain summit. One could already see the vague beginnings of a pillar being formed, with many caves at the top.

Gaton was a powerful figure who had travelled through many planes. He realised the protrusion was abrupt at a glance, and upon closer inspection the structure looked familiar even if it was a few times smaller. A shocking thought floated up in the back of his mind, and when he looked at it again his gaze was completely different.

“Your Excellency...” Gaton slowly spat out a breath, speaking as slowly as an old man who was about to bite the dust, “Are you planning to build a dragon kingdom here?”

244 - City of Sin

Wealth(3)

Sharon's exquisite little face immediately filled up with a dazzling glow, as if she was a little girl talking about her favourite toy, “Why not? I looted those wretched things blind. They used to run away before they even saw me, letting me go and gather their treasures without having to fight, but now they're acting strange. An old fellow is leading the way, and now they don't escape. They don't even gather treasures! Every time I go visit them all I see is a completely barren nest, and a dragon giving me a helplessly weak gaze!”

At that point, the mage's expression grew vicious. “Can you imagine a dragon looking at you like it's a weakling? Did they really think I wouldn't slaughter them?” she said through gritted teeth.

“You didn't just kill them all?” Gaton enquired, baffled.

“No! Not even one!” Sharon ground her teeth, “I already robbed that old guy thirteen times, and he knows me very well. That's why it told the others that I wouldn't kill them as long as they didn't resist. At most, I'd just beat them up. I already have enough dragon materials on hand, and I basically can't use them all. There's no need for me to replenish my stock right now. That sly old bastard!”

“So you're creating a weyr...” Gaton went deep into thought. He rubbed hard at his short beard, completely unaware that he was using too much strength and pulling out quite a few hairs.

Sharon's voice rose an entire octave, “Yes! Since those lazy things aren't planning to go find treasure, they should at least work and fight for me! I don't think there are any dragons that should just eat and sleep all day! Once my weyr is done, I'll stuff them all inside and let those lazy bones know that there's a greater legendary being in this world, and she's the boss!”

Gaton squinted until his eyes narrowed into slits, speaking slowly, “Do you mean you'll be able to summon the dragons in your weyr for battle?”

Sharon seemed completely oblivious to Gaton's probing, elated to show off her new toy, “Of course! Once the weyr is done, I'll be able to summon a fair number of them in one go. My enemies definitely won't expect real dragons in the middle of all the magic ones! Even as they're dying, they'll just wonder why my summons could fight for so long on the battlefield. Hehe, HAHAHA!”

The corner of Gaton's eyes twitched, and he stated calmly, “Your Excellency, this Summon Weyr spell... It should be your greatest secret...”

“That's fine! It isn't a problem for you to know, or for anyone else! I'll have so many dragons, and I'll be so powerful anyway. What's the point in hiding my strength?” Sharon's eyes were bright as morning stars.

Gaton could only laugh wryly in response. So what if her enemies weren't surprised by her techniques? Even if the dragons were expected, there would be so many of them. What was one to do in that situation?

This was another famous saying of the legendary mage. When one could look down on the enemy's strategy, they could also disregard their tactics.

“Um, Your Excellency...” Gaton was still unwilling to lose, trying to probe out any weaknesses, “This weyr of yours will be very powerful, but it would cost a lot to bui—” Before he could finish speaking, even Gaton himself realised he had nothing to contribute to that conversation. The immense cost was nothing to Sharon. With that forest of energy absorption trees, building a weyr was merely an issue of time, not cost.

“But maintaining the weyr would need so many resources. Dragons are huge eaters,” he immediately changed tracks.

“That's true!” Sharon actually agreed, nodding vehemently. She then used her little hand to viciously smack Gaton in the back, nearly beating the sturdy man to the ground, “Don't worry, you'll be in charge of their food!”

“Me? WHY ME?!” Gaton yelled. This wasn't the first time such a thing was happening.

He'd gone to great lengths on numerous expeditions, nurturing a batch of courageous elites and powerful, bloodthirsty generals. He'd gained control of numerous planes in a short span of time, and was nearly done with an expedition into a secondary plane as well. This was truly an immortal feat to anyone in Norland. However, regretfully he still wasn't considered wealthy, having to worry about supplies for every war.

Much of his wealth flowed into the purse of this legendary mage next to him, and always in a manner that he could not understand. While this didn't affect the benefits he gave to his followers to maintain their loyalty, his personal funds were nonexistent, not matching up to his current status.

Sharon often sponsored his expeditions. Strategic goods and materiel were cheap, and sometimes she even gave him priceless treasures for free. For instance, the heart of the lesser demon lord that she'd presented to Gaton for Richard's ceremony wasn't something that could be measured with money or power. Any of the three major empires would be willing to make her a duke in exchange for the heart. Used only to exchange for time, that sacrifice could grant one 300 to 500 years of life. All monarchs in the mortal world desired immortality the most.

Even so, the tremendous wealth he was acquiring flowed straight into Sharon's hands. Gaton couldn't tell whether he was making profit or loss over all their exchanges, only that his debts from that one contract in the past were still ballooning with no signs of stopping. Forget the principal, even the interest he had to pay every year would leave him feeling suffocated.

And now, Sharon was leaving the costs for the dragons' meals to him. Although the Archeron leader was attempting to fight back, he knew that would all be in vain. When it came down to it, the legendary mage never fought a battle she wasn't confident in.

Sharon made some simple calculations, explaining to Gaton that he had a misunderstanding. In order to pay his interest for the year, he had to feed tens of dragons until they were full, and the quality of the food had to be high as well. Gaton's face had long since turned dark, but thankfully, none of his underlings could tell.

The few dozen people finally steadied their minds. Once they got used to the high gravity, the dizziness went away.

Most of them were fine, but Lina was not in a good state. The Dragon Mage was still sat on the ground, supporting her chest as she glared fiercely at her companions. The unlucky mage had been stuck at the bottom of them all, crushed under the large berserker Ward and the steel-like Kayde.

They all knew this was Sharon's semiplane, so they took a curious glance around them the moment they stood up. It was a rare opportunity to see such a place that was only mentioned in legends, especially since it belonged to Sharon. However, when they looked out all they could see was a tall barrier that was nearly dozens of metres tall, with a pitch-black void on top where a few streaks of colour occasionally streaked across.

Some tried to cross the screen, but they were viciously sent flying back. This was Sharon's home turf, and her power was boosted greatly here. The screen was extremely powerful, and even those who had already crossed into the realm of legendaries would be sent flying back. What could one expect from Gaton's underlings?

245 - City of Sin

Persuasion

The legendary mage didn't want others to visit her semiplane. Be it the weyr, the magic lake, the elemental pools, or the energy absorbing trees, the were all things that would cause a sensation on the mainland. Gaton was just an exception, and Sharon wasn't worried about him because he was due on his debts. In the foreseeable future at least, it would be impossible for him to pay them off, meaning his future was tightly under her control.

Gaton would never have the thought of cheating her. He was an Archeron, and every one of them was extremely proud, cherishing their honour. He would rather fight in a field of blood and fire night and day to earn a scanty profit than owe a debt.

Of course, cheating a legendary mage, especially one like Sharon, was a dangerous thing to try. The half-built weyr alone was enough proof that even huge dragons paid a price for such actions. And they didn't even owe her anything!

Sharon cast a glance at the dozens of people who were stuck inside the barrier, frowning as she said unpleasantly, “Why are only eight of your rune knights here? Where are the rest? And those at the back, are they grade 2 rune knights? Are they just here to make up for the shortfall?”

Gaton shook his head, “The rest need to guard our island in Faust, the war there has yet to end. Cyrden's abilities aren't suitable for the environment in hell, so it's useless for them to go. I brought thirty grade 2 rune knights; these are elites that have followed me for a long time. They're not very strong individually, but they have unimaginable prowess as a team! Even hundreds of devils led by a few greater devils will have to retreat in defeat. Combined, this thirty man troop isn't much worse than the other eight!”

Sharon spreaded her hands, “Alright! I don't know how to fight in hell, I'm not as familiar with it as you are. I'll believe you this once. But I've never been to hell, are you sure we have to kill enough devils for the archdevil to listen to us?”

“Yes!” Gaton spoke with certainty, “We Archerons have traces of demon blood in us. The strongest of our ancestors have all experienced battles in hell, the devils are the creatures we hate the most. The family records on the places are rich and accurate; I can guarantee that killing enough of their number will cause the archdevil to listen to what we say. If you kill enough, he might even believe everything you say!”

Sharon held her own chin as she thought out loud, “That sounds interesting... But we should also take note of...”

Her expression suddenly grew very dangerous, as her speech slowed down, “It doesn't matter. This time I'll make sure to leave a deep impression on the archdevil, so he'll consider every suggestion I make in the future. Alright, I'll start the teleportation gate! I spent a lot of money to get the coordinates of one of the hells from an old guy. Sigh, even though it isn't easy to find one already ready to invade Norland, the feeling of being extorted still makes me unhappy! I hope the rewards this time are sufficient to make up for the loss!”

There was a lot of emphasis on the word 'rewards.'

A moment later, the busy enchanted puppets and elven servants had built a new teleportation gate within that magic barrier. Waves of damp, corrosive air wafted through the portal the moment it formed, and the faint roars of a beast sounded out from the other side.

Gaton lifted his two-handed sword with a groan, the blade lighting up with abyssal flames. He walked into the portal, the first of the lot to rush into hell. Behind him, his eight knights entered battle formation as they entered the portal as well. A neat box formation of thirty rune knights followed after, each one comparable to level 18. They were a significant power no matter where they went, and unlike individuals they were an entire army!

The legendary mage was the last to move, lifting her robes as she hopped through the portal. With that, the portal went quiet as though nothing had happened.

The puppets and elven servants remained busy, continuing to carry out Sharon's previous orders. They rebuilt the screen of light that had surrounded the Archerons, preparing boxes, chests, and even a flying ship that were all spoils of a previous battle. Naturally, the cages Sharon wanted were prepared as well.

It only took a few minutes for the portal to open once more. This time, the regular rune knights came out first. Their armour and weapons were badly damaged, stained with blood everywhere. Some of their wounds were still emitting green smoke, corroded by devil blood. Of the thirty rune knights who'd gone in, only twenty one had come out. One could see what a disaster the battle was.

Soon after, Gaton's subordinates stepped out of the portal one after the other. They were all injured, but fortunately none were lost. However, Kaylen had to be dragged out by her twin. She was motionless, stuck between life and death with serious wounds all over. There were three deep cracks on her fort-like armour, constantly emitting smoke.

The moment Asiris stepped out of the portal, he immediately began treating her. He constantly flipped through a divine book covered in black leather, casting spells that healed, cleansed, and blessed her. The cleansing spell was used repeatedly, but Kaylen only let out the occasional soft groan as she still couldn't move her body at all. It was obvious that the injury was barely being controlled, and it wouldn't get better like this.

Gaton's roar sounded from behind the portal, after which an extremely strong aura passed through and permeated the semiplane. A strong pressure was exerted on everyone present, and suddenly the volume of green smoke arising from everyone's wounds rose. Both of Asiris' hands trembled, his spells almost being stopped. He clenched his teeth and tore up a scroll, following which a stronger blessing landed on Kaylen's body. That was the only reason the situation didn't grow worse.

The energy absorbing trees in the semiplane suddenly swayed rapidly, breaking down the frightening aura in an instant and absorbing it. Following that, an even more furious roar resounded from the portal, the sheer volume causing the island to shake.

Gaton's roars were still sounding everywhere, but Sharon's voice soon interrupted him without being buried by the noise, “Why aren't you going back? What are you still waiting for? Go, don't block the way!”

Gaton suddenly flew out of the portal, a fair foot appearing behind him at the same time. It was apparent that Sharon had kicked him out, his body barrelling through the air as he fell straight to the ground. Unlike his normal majestic posture, he was now covered in blood all over his body. Half his hair had been singed by devil blood, now looking like a bunch of steel wire. The flames on his sword had long since been extinguished, the blade full of holes. It was unknown just how many devils he had killed, but the man stood there with great vigour.

For her part, Sharon showed no signs of following. Her foot pulled back from the portal as a crisp voice sounded out, “I'll deal with this guy!”

The portal shook violently. It was evident the collision of power between the two parties was so strong that its very stability was being threatened. The devil's roar was getting louder and angrier, but it was interrupted by the sound of a dragon. As more dragon roars joined the fray, the devil's own weakened rapidly as it disappeared into the distance.

246 - City of Sin

Persuasion(2)

When Sharon finally appeared, only half of her body moved out of the portal. Both her hands were still stuck on the other side, seemingly lugging a heavy object. It took a burst of force for her to pull it through, revealing a severed pitch-black arm that was more than ten metres long and three metres thick. The arm fell to the blue crystal floor with a heavy thud the moment it came through, sinking deep into the ground. The exposed portion leaked thick, ink-black blood that created a corrosive mist the moment it landed. If it wasn't for the magical properties of the blue crystals making them resistant to corrosion, a deep hole would have been formed in the ground.

Sharon finally jumped out of the portal, landing on the arm. She waved her own, and a the blood seeping out of the devil's arm started floating up and converging into a spinning orb that steadily grew larger.

”Looking at the converging blood, the legendary mage sighed. She looked at Gaton, asking helplessly, “Do you want some of this?”

Gaton's face turned gloomy as he shook his head, “I have no use for it.”

She immediately let out a sigh of relief, stowing the blood somewhere hidden as she spoke up, “Good, it isn't worth much anyway! Tch, that big fellow ran away and I only managed to get his arm, what a pity. It isn't enough to make up for the loss with the coordinates. It seems like you came back without much reward as well, little Gaton.”

Gaton let out a long breath, “Being able to kill more than a thousand devils is reward enough. Besides, this will make you credible with the archdevil, and that will be a great way to teach the Schumpeters an unforgettable lesson! If they don't react quick enough, they may even be destroyed!”

A layer of frost covered Sharon's tiny face the moment the Schumpeters were brought up, “Hmph, these guys have some nerve, messing with my little Richard! They think I can't deal with the big families of the Sacred Alliance directly, so they try these little tricks! I've been busy getting rich the past few years, spending little time in Norland. It seems like these fellows forgot the lesson I taught them all those years ago! I may be shy to act, but I can always force others to act on my behalf!

“Wait, no way! I lost my little Richard, there's no way I'm letting them off that easy! I can't just rely on the devils alone... There's some people I'm... umm... “familiar” with in the Abyss. Little Gaton, the portal is right there, take your troops back. I have to make a trip to the abyss, I need to visit one of the old fellows there!” The legendary mage grew angrier as she spoke, even brandishing her fist. She ignored the fatigue and injuries, immediately opening a portal and rushing through without pause.
ƒ𝑟e𝘦we𝑏n𝑜𝚟𝙚Ɩ. 𝒄𝚘𝐦

Watching the fire and lava shooting out of the portal, Gaton had a bewildered expression on his face. Sharon's reaction to Richard being lost in the streams of time was much worse than even his; he was the boy's father!

......

In the depths of one of the hells was an iron palace that was a few hundred metres tall. It was black in colour, coming from the spit of the many imps who were tasked with building it. The baptism of devil spit made the metal resistant to the corrosive atmosphere of hell, making it extremely valuable in other planes. Even a small piece of this metal could fetch a sky high price in other planes; something that could resist hell's corrosion was virtually indestructible almost everywhere else.

Thousands of devil soldiers were gathered at the plaza in front of the palace. Their bodies were naturally strong, comparable to the armour mankind used in battle.

They were all armed with different weapons. The hells were rich in various ores, and the craftsmanship of these weapons was not inferior to those made by dwarves. Even though these soldiers' weapons were not enriched with magic, the innate quality of the metal made them quite effective, also giving them many other attributes. There were all kinds of arms here— pikes, axes, jagged swords, javelins, even bows. The army was nearly ten thousand strong, the various branches divided meticulously. Just looking at the precision of their military formations would let one know this troop was a formidable opponent.

Coordinating in a formation could greatly raise the power of even ordinary humans who had limited bodily strength, so what was one to say about the devils whose bodies were naturally much stronger?

At that very moment, a dark fog was churning in the overcast sky, and an extremely large devil fell from up above. The lower half of his body resembled that of a large dragon, his upper half shaped like that of a human. The devil had a solemn expression; ignoring the colour of his skin and the fine sharp horns on his head, he would be considered cold and handsome from a human perspective. However, his body was currently littered with scars, some even a few metres long and a metre deep. These wounds refused to heal, abyssal flames continuously burning on the wounds. One of his six arms had also been ripped out at the root, its whereabouts unknown.

The devil landed at the plaza, starting to make his way towards the palace. The entrance was tens of metres tall, but it seemed stuffy when he stood in front of it. He had to bow his head to walk through the doors.

Right past the entrance was the main hall of the palace. The place was large, more than a kilometre wide and a hundred metres tall. A throne lay at the end, with a row of strange devils standing at each side. A devil who himself was no more than four metres tall was sat on the throne, holding his lower jaw and seeming deep in thought. Based on size alone the smallest of his subordinates was three to four times larger, but everyone remained silent without the guts to interrupt his train of thought.

This was the ruler of this layer of hell, Archdevil Abaddon.

The large devil who had lost an arm stood at the centre of the hall, kneeling down on his four legs as he spoke up solemnly, “Forgive me, my Lord, I am useless. We could not defeat the enemies, our troops suffered absolute defeat!”

The lower-ranking leaders in the palace were shocked. Cardis was a powerful general in Abaddon's army, in charge of one of the army's two most powerful legions. On top of that, his own battle capabilities put him in the top three of Abaddon's subordinates. There had been less than fifty invaders, and yet he had returned in abject defeat. His legion had been wiped out, and he had lost an arm. If the humans had gone all out and chased him, he may not even have been able to escape.

Of course, if the invaders dared step foot into the palace they would be courting death. Everyone here thought the same way.

247 - City of Sin

Persuasion(3)

The archdevil on the throne showed no emotion at all. He stared quietly at the general below with his obsidian eyes, speaking in a grating voice, “Those humans have already left. They weren't here just to massacre one of my armies, did they leave a message?”

Cardis pulled out a letter, written on high quality magic paper that could resist the corrosive atmosphere of hell. The general pushed it forward with both hands, and a ball of black energy took over and brought the letter straight to the throne.

“These invaders were all strong, headed by a female mage. The only reason she would let me bring this letter to you is if she had some suggestions for our attack on Norland, my Lord,” Cardis explained.

The archdevil nodded in agreement, “She can kill of an entire legion, and cut off one of your arms. Her advice would certainly be worth heeding. What was her name?”

“Sharon, Your Highness.”

“Sharon...” The archdevil muttered this name several times under his breath. He had exceptional power unlike the other devils under him, able to obtain a lot of information about a target through their name along. He quickly opened the envelope, only to find two short lines.

At a single glance, the archdevil could tell that the first line specified the coordinates of a part of Norland. The information was so precise that he would be able to spawn his portal within ten metres of the specified location. As for the second line, it was some text sealed with magic, the meaning within being transferred directly to his mind. However, it somewhat puzzled him.

“Out the door and turn right.”

The archdevil pondered over this for an entire day, leaving everyone else waiting for the same amount of time. He eventually probed, “What else did this Sharon say, Cardis? Tell me everything.”

Cardis tried his best to recall. Greater devils were comparable to human grand mages in intelligence, so it was impossible for them to just forget things. He thought over the entire battle in an instant, “Right, she said something strange. 'Sharon will be on the left.'”

The archdevil nodded silently, sending Cardis off to rest. A black flame sprung forth from his hand, burning the letter completely before he pointed to two of the leaders, “The two of you will lead this invasion into Norland. Take the first legion, and ensure to cause enough damage and reap as many souls as possible. The ultimate fall of Norland will depend on accumulated impact.”

The two lesser lords were surprised and excited, falling to their knees as they accepted the command.

With a wave of his hand, the devil on the throne summoned two balls of black energy that floated up to them, forming sparkling black gems that were embedded into their chests. At a critical moment, these gems would be able to bring the two back to this palace in an instant. Every lesser lord was a valuable asset, unlike the normal soldiers who were just cannon fodder. Every time their armies grew larger than ideal, devils made use of war to cull the numbers.

After some further contemplation, the archdevil commanded, “Once you exit the portal, all troops are to march right and attack. No matter what is to the front or left, ignore it all!“

Although the lords found the order very strange, they still indicated that they would comply. Devil hierarchy was quite strict, and one could never go against their ruler's commands.

......

Moments later, the roar of a demon lord shook every corner of one of the levels of the abyss. All sorts of demons were left sprawled over the ground, not daring to move in fear of incurring their lord's wrath.

A powerful demon was floating in mid-air above a lake of lava, with indescribable power. His powerful aura formed countless mysterious demonic characters that fluttered around him in the air. Across him was a magnificent ball of blue light, with a small lady floating within.

“SHARON! How dare you appear in front of me? Do you think there is no way for my fury to reach Norland?”

The legendary mage stuck out her tongue, chuckling, “Bermond Gauguin, I only came because I know you are already prepared to invade Norland. Come on, don't be angry, you know it won't help at all. You're not chasing me away! Imagine how crushed your dignity would be if another fight like that broke out. The lords of the other levels would be talking about it for millennia!”

The demon lord snorted, licks of fire spurting out of his nostrils. “What are you here for?” he demanded in a cold voice, “To stop me, or to provoke me further?”
𝙛𝐫𝑒𝐞𝘄ℯ𝘣𝚗𝘰𝘷𝙚𝘭. c𝘰m

“Neither. There is little benefit for me to provoke you. I'm here to offer a deal,” the legendary mage said as she straightened her hair, “I can give you a set of coordinates to Norland. In exchange, your troops will have to abide by a simple rule when they go through. Also, I want the right to hunt in your lands.”

Bermond grew more suspicious, asking, “What rule?”

“Very simple. Out the door and turn left.”

The demon lord snorted once more. He didn't agree yet, asking, “What's on the right of the portal?”

“I am.”

“What about the front?”

“A legion of devils. They will turn right themselves before launching their attack. I doubt you'd want to fight them in a bloody battle in Norland, no?”

The demon lord nodded, “So the ones on the left are your enemies?”

Sharon broke out into a wide grin, showering him with high praise, “As expected of a demon lord, so clever!”

Bermond moved his body, the lake of lava below him starting to bubble and boil. “Alright!” he declared in a thunderous voice, “I agree. I shall forgive you for killing one of my subordinates in that earlier hunt, and you can hunt in my lands again. However, you can only take regular demons!”

“I'm off then! Here are the coordinates.” The legendary mage ejected a blue bead of light from her fingertips, shooting it towards Bermond Gauguin before flying out through the back. In just a few moments, she was dozens of kilometers away. She suddenly plunged down, fishing up a large demon before she escaped through a portal to the tune of Bermond's furious bellows.

“It's just a small repayment for the coordinates, don't be so petty!” Sharon had already disappeared, but her crisp and melodious voice still echoed throughout the abyss.

Sighing heavily, Bermond Gauguin stopped short in his chase. In any case, even if it wouldn't be hard to get coordinates in Norland he would have had to sacrifice dozens of such demons. And since the standards of measurement differed because of the laws of the planes, there were bound to be problems when they started building a teleportation gate. In the worst case, several of his troops might have died. He had actually gotten the better deal, with the legendary mage just taking one. It was just that demons were normally not that calculative.

As for the deal, Bermond Gauguin was determined to keep his word. Only lesser lords could pass through such portals, and this was Norland's mainland they were heading to. If they turned right and ran into Sharon, they would most likely end up without a way to return. He didn't want to return from a trip to a primary plane with nothing but a bloody fight with devils to his credit. Demons may love chaos by nature, but they weren't completely senseless.

The only choice left now was to turn left.

'The fellow on the left better pray hard,' the demon lord thought to himself.

......

At that time in Norland, Gaton was walking out of a portal with his battered troops, returning to his family's territory. Although he had lost a third of his rune knights, he managed to slaughter an entire legion of the devils. In the end, his gains outweighed the losses. Additionally, having experienced the cruel bloodbath in hell for four days and three nights, the survivors were all stronger than ever.

Breathing the fresh air of Norland once more, Gaton's frown slowly disappeared from his face. Stabbing his longsword into the ground, he gazed into the distance. In that direction, behind a long mountain range, was a rich and fertile plain. This was the ancestral land of the Schumpeters, the most important of all their lands.

248 - City of Sin

Escorted Into Battle

War and plunder was a perpetual cycle between the myriad planes.

Norland wasn't the only primary plane, with many known planes that were no inferior to it like hell, the abyss, the celestial plane, and the astral plane. Some secondary planes possessed unusual single powers that made them no inferior to primary planes, like the elemental and shadow planes. The relationship of all these planes with Norland was complicated; they weren't so distant that they existed only in legend and folklore like normal men thought, but they weren't friendly like some theologians claimed. The only constant was conflict and war.

Just as Norland's nobility was intent on expanding their influence outward, many other planes wished to conquer them. Every now and then, some powerful beings would construct a portal that connected to Norland, leading troops out in an attempt to conquer this beautiful and fertile plane.

Given the power system and sheer area of the plane, it was impossible to conquer Norland with power alone. After all, the number of troops one could transfer through any passage between planes was rather limited. However, with enough numbers came a swathe of fools. There were always some hot-headed powerhouses from another plane attempting to launch attacks on Norland, although they couldn't even conquer an earl's lands with the meagre armies they managed to send.

Such invasions took place practically on a daily basis. Norland's gods didn't issue oracles for this at all, or any other form of warning either. After all, the number of invasions was just too large. Even if they weren't fed up with it, they had limited followers and resources.

As for the invaders, their fate was very simple. Since Norland itself was constantly embroiled in war, it made no difference whether the opponent was an enemy from this plane or from another. Invaders were actually far easier to deal with; issues of politics, power balance, and family feuds were of no concern.

With the Eternal Dragon holding a firm position, Norland's pantheon did not reign supreme like those on lesser planes did. Numerous legendary beings were always plotting to build up their own power, advancing to become demigods after which they would transcend. Who would want to worship these deities that weren't too far beyond them?

As a general rule, the more powerful a plane the lesser the status of the gods presiding over it. Those who transcended everything had no need for faith, like the Eternal Dragon or the rumoured Overgod.

No matter what, the powerhouses of any primary plane had an extremely good understanding of the frequent visits from the abyss and hell. The founding emperor of the Sacred Alliance had even organised a military expedition so large it was unprecedented in history. The two planes themselves had launched countless attacks on Norland in the past, so Norland's understanding of them was quite thorough. Google search 𝑓𝘳𝚎𝘦𝚠e𝚋𝘯o𝘃el. 𝒄om

Needless to say, all of these invasions had met a bitter end. Only formidable powers like greater devils and lesser demon lords managed to escape to their homes, with none of the average soldiers surviving the battle. However, these invasions didn't mean the rulers of hell and the abyss were foolish. They simply used these invasions to cut down the number of their lowest classes, at the same time drilling their troops. Only those who could survive the harsh environment of a planar war were valuable, qualified to join the endless war in the depths of the abyss and hell as the two planes vied for greater power.

The Schumpeters had considerable reputation on Norland, at least in the human empires. Being one of the fourteen families of Faust wasn't just a symbol, it actually held great advantages. The family got the chance to enter the Church of the Eternal Dragon much more often, the blessings they received exceeding expectations. A powerhouse having their life extended, coordinates of a new plane, formidable divine tools... these were all important to the ascent of a family.

The Schumpeters had possessed high status for a long time, allowing them to accumulate an abundance of wealth and knowledge. Not only did they know how to breed the bearguard knights and their magical mounts, they also had a profound understanding of demons and devils. This extended beyond just their power system, including relevant information on more than a hundred lords. They knew of the endless war, and the brutal relationship between the demons and devils. To them, this was all common knowledge.

Marquess Riain, the highest authority of the Fjord of Longing, was naturally someone equipped with that common knowledge.

Riain had become a saint thirty years ago. Although his individual ability was beginning to decline, his experience would not fade with age. If anyone wished to belittle this towering old man for his greying hair, they would surely pay a heavy price.

At that moment, Riain was dressed in a magnificent suit of silver armour, exquisitely designed with a faint glimmer of magic radiating from it. Clearly, it wasn't just some flashy equipment without any substance. The marquess also had an equally exquisite longsword in hand; it was magical equipment as well. Behind him were ten rune knights and thirty of the bearguard. With Sinclair having taken away half of the bearguard knights, the fact that such a powerful force had been assembled this quickly showed how important the fjord was to the Schumpeters.

Behind this troop were about two hundred heavily armed knights, as well as ten mages and thousands of elite infantry. Riain was well aware that the power of this army wasn't enough to wipe out the incoming devils, but he was still confident of withstanding their attack and turning it into a battle of attrition. He would make use of the extensive lands and complex terrain in the territory, fighting for time. As long as he held them off for a day, the powerhouses of the family would be able to rush over. These powerhouses were an army's soul.

The marquess' confidence came from the more than twenty clerics amongst his troops. Not only could they sustain the rune knights and bearguard knights on a large scale, but they could also inflict serious harm on the devils that came from hell.

Another part of his confidence came from the existence of the Archerons nearby. Marquess Gaton's territory was adjacent to the fjord, and intel said the marquess himself and half of his knights were currently in the territory. That force alone would be able to defeat the invading troops. Even if the devils were led by lesser lords, they could only exhibit less than legendary power in Norland. In the same vein, humans would lose some of their strength if they battled in hell.

Although the relationship between the two families was strained, there would be no difference in the attack of the foreign invaders. They wouldn't bother to differentiate between the Schumpeters' rivers and the Archeron jungles.

The Schumpeter troops were arranged in orderly formation, with Riain standing alone at the head. He squinted his eyes, already noticing the spacetime warping in the region. He knew that the passage from hell would open up soon, involuntarily tightening the grip around his sword as he felt like he could smell the rancid odour of the devils.

Across the vast field, the Archeron troops could be seen entering the battlefield from kilometres away as they gradually spread out. There weren't many of them, less than 500 in total, but Riain could feel several extraordinary auras amongst their ranks. The towering figure atop a tall, black warhorse in particular heightened his nervousness and worry even further.

Gaton was here in person!

249 - City of Sin

Escorted Into Battle(2)

Decades of experience allowed Marquess Riain to pick up an unusual scent. Gaton wasn't supposed to appear on this battlefield. Even if he was in his territory at the moment, he would be busy planning planar invasions. As the premier powerhouse of the Archerons and an exceptional commander, his use was on the planar battlefields, not here. Something as simple as an invasion from hell could be taken care of by three or four of his thirteen knights. Google search 𝙛𝘳𝘦𝐞𝑤ℯ𝗯n𝗼ѵe𝑙. c૦𝑚

It wasn't just Gaton; the most terrifying of his thirteen knights, Mordred, was present behind him as well. And behind that fiend were seven more of the thirteen knights!

And in a line behind them were fifty other rune knights. The rest of the troops were made of elite soldiers, with none that weren't adept at sudden attacks. Given the Archerons' military prowess, there was no need for heavy troops. A sudden assault by Gaton would breach even the strongest of armies.

In front of the Archerons, Marquess Riain felt like his own army was as fragile as a crystal. An absurd thought suddenly entered his mind: could it be that Gaton was going to help the invaders from hell take his army out?

However, something entirely unfathomable followed. Just as the portal from hell was starting to form, spacetime started to distort in an empty space a few kilometres away. Another portal was taking shape as well!

At the same point in time, with almost overlapping coordinates, two invasions were actually occurring at the same time? And this was happening at the border of the family's most important territory? A rough estimate with the size and intensity of this new portal indicated that the invasion was about the same size as the one from hell. Riain could hardly believe his eyes, a chill penetrating his bones as he felt the weight of his sword increase tenfold. He felt like he would lose his grip any moment.

The marquess suddenly felt the immeasurable warmth of the Archeron troops, and was grateful for the fact that they neighboured the Archeron lands. His only concern right now was whether the Archerons possessed the legendary military might they were known for, and whether it would be enough to defeat the invaders.

The two portals stabilised at the same time, and large numbers of devils and demons poured forth. The frontlines were less than two kilometres apart; they were about to clash in a melee.

Riain suddenly felt very lucky. It was unexpected for devils and demons to appear at the same time. This was no simple matter, as one these two groups met they would erupt into a vicious battle. Perhaps this invasion could be resolved without much effort.

He lifted his sword up, ordering, “Everyone stay where you are! Remain on the defensive, none of you is to initiate an attack without permission. Mages, you are not to cast spells!”

Everyone understood the reasoning behind Riain's orders. With a chance that the devils and demons would take each other down, it would be extremely silly to do anything to provoke them.

The two invasions had clearly spotted each other. The devil troops immediately got into battle formation, while the demons started roaring in a display of might. They did spot the humans around, but at that moment their innate hostilities erupted to blind them to everything else. A battle was about to ensue.

The last to step out of the portals were two greater devils and a lesser demon lord. Then, the strangest thing happened in front of everyone's eyes.

Seeing the demons, the two greater devils started emitting a strong aura. However, they merely stared menacingly at the demons before waving the weapons in their hands, giving out multiple orders. The organised devils then turned to the right, marching forward.

The greater devils had been ordered to turn right the moment they left the portal. They weren't daring enough to ignore their lord's orders, so even though there were demons right up ahead, they resolutely followed their orders.

The demon lord, for his part, was startled. However, seeing the devils' actions calmed him down, Bermond's order ringing clearly in his mind.

This was an order that could not be disobeyed. Even though his innate nature egged him on to rush forward and kill, there were two greater devils in front of him. Starting a fight with them would not result in anything good. He unwillingly looked towards the right, and the unmoving Archeron men made him feel nervous. Eventually, he realised there was no other choice but to abide by Bermond's orders; that would be the only way to keep his life once he returned.

Sharon was also apparently towards the right; that fact alone was sufficient to leave him trembling with fear. Even though he didn't see her, this demon lord firmly believed that the lady who instilled so much fear in his kind was definitely hiding somewhere.

He eventually let out a thunderous roar that echoed throughout the battlefield. The demons hesitantly changed direction one by one, but a few of the fiercer ones couldn't hold back their urge to advance towards the devils. This agitated the demon lord, and he leapt on top of a few of them. Two of them were crushed under his feet, while another was torn to shreds. He then grabbed three more and threw them towards the left, in the direction of Marquess Riain.

Out the portal and to the left, never look back. This was the order Bermond had given him on his life.

The ground started to shake as black mist and raging flames mixed to form dark clouds that pressured over the Schumpeter territory. The demons' roars were akin to a sudden clap of thunders, while the devils' solemn silence was suffocating.

With a clang, the magic sword fell from Riain's hand. The marquess was completely unaware of that, his mind completely blanked out. He had completely forgotten to pass down any orders, stunned by the inconceivable sight in front of him.

Nobody could have imagined that the demons and devils would charge at them, side by side.

If one looked from above, the two armies would look like two rushing streams of the same colour. This pair of adversaries who'd been evenly matched in the endless war took the chance to showcase their military strength.

The demons didn't have formations or strategy. They just rushed forth towards every obstacle they saw, until every living being in the region was torn to shreds. Conversely, the devils were a neatly organised army. The two greater devils were capable and qualified commanders, fiercely leading their troops' assault.

In the coming days, the armies from the abyss and hell would forge ahead side by side, none faster than the other. They occasionally dispersed and gathered back together, although they never came within a kilometre of each other. No conflicts of any kind occurred between them, creating the false impression that the endless war was but a myth.

This strange event caused a huge blow to the Schumpeters. They quickly organised four lines of defense, but each was made short work of. When more than a thousand soldiers had been slain, they had no choice but to give up on reinforcing the Fjord of Longing. They reluctantly gave up a significant plot of fertile land and a few valuable ore mines, gathering over 3000 soldiers at the core of their lands. They spent all the magic crystals they had in stock, building two portals that pulled their elites back from planar wars. This was the only way they managed to put up a fight.

All this time, the Archeron troops followed the invaders while maintaining a comfortable distance between them. They didn't stray too far away, but they didn't take part in the battle either. The demons and devils turned a blind eye to this, remaining fixated on a ferocious charge towards the Schumpeter troops.

250 - City of Sin

Escorted Into Battle(3)

The final battle occurred at a seaside harbour near the Fjord of Longing. With nowhere to run, the Schumpeters gathered all their remaining troops and began a desperate, bloody battle with the demons and devils. With the three powerhouses on the invading side competing with their own, the battle ended with no winner. The demons and devils had only a hundred or so warriors left, of which a dozen had successfully levelled up. More than half of the Schumpeters' army was wiped out, with the rest retreating into the harbour and preparing to defend the city to their deaths.

The Schumpeter Family still had a few garrisons in other territories awaiting orders, and the core of the family in Faust had been locked in heated debate for a while whether they should reinforce, yet to come to a decision. However, the war came to a screeching halt as the three lords who had completed their tasks took those who had advanced and returned to their own planes. Those that were abandoned would continue fleeing within Norland, soon to be completely exterminated.

Gaton watched as the two parties disappeared into portals from a few kilometres away, only then waving his arm to have his subordinates turn around and return to the family's lands.

At the harbour, Marquess Riain was watching the scene from atop the tallest watch tower, laughing miserably as he huffed out a long breath. Those at his side all heaved a sigh of relief when they saw Gaton leave; their fear of the Archerons exceeded their fear of the devils and demons.

Although he hadn't yet made a move, Gaton decided to go back anyway. The Schumpeters here had been thoroughly destroyed, and he could follow up with legal ways more conveniently as he eroded their power. Were he to attack them now, he would be condemned by almost all of human nobility. Watching on without lifting a finger to help was one matter, but taking advantage of this situation would cross a bottom line. It would give an excuse for the Schumpeter Family's allies to intervene.

Even the Schumpeters knew that, but who could be sure when it came to the Archerons? The entire family was known for their lunacy, and every move of theirs was unpredictable.

At that moment, a young man from a branch family asked with puzzlement, “What did those damned Archerons want if they weren't going to fight us or the invaders? Were they just here to have a look at the fjord?”

Nobody could answer his doubts, but these words were like thunder as they rang in Riain's ears! “DAMN IT!” the old man cried out involuntarily, “Dragon Mage Lina was in that team! The Archerons know the coordinates of our family planes!”

The moment he finished speaking, the marquess spat out a mouthful of blood and turned pale, falling backwards. His servants hurried to grab ahold of him, but still gasping he didn't waste any time as he grabbed one of them, yelling, “Quick, prepare a griffin! I need to go to Faust right away, hurry!”

An hour later, the griffin had finally been prepared. The feeble marquess disregarded the advice of the people around him, stubbornly mounting the creature. However, at that very moment clear and melodious griffin-calls rang out in the sky as more than a dozen flew past. They had come from the direction of the Archeron lands, their destination obviously being Faust.

The marquess swayed as he felt the world going dark before his eyes, blood seeping out of the corner of his lips once more. A moment later, three griffins of their own took off from the harbour and headed for Faust as well.

In this peculiar invasion that had lasted longer than a week, more than half of the Fjord of Longing had been destroyed. The fields the devils and demons had walked through were polluted by the aura of hell and the abyss, and wouldn't have normal yields for years. It would take several months for the collapsed mines to start production as well.
𝐟𝙧ℯe𝙬𝚎𝒃𝗻𝒐ѵel. 𝐜o𝓶

Over the continuous battles, nearly four thousand soldiers had met their end, alongside fifteen of their rune knights. Not even twenty bearguard knights were left as well, marking the Schumpeters' fall from an exalted noble family to a second class one. It was obvious they would be forced out of their island in Faust.

However, the worst loss was the coordinates of their planes being leaked when they'd built those portals. Henceforth, the Archerons could assault their planes at any point in time. The Schumpeters would have no choice but to station massive forces on their planes, but even then their current weakness meant that going against the rabid Archerons would be an impossible task. The only thing Riain could hope for was stopping the Archerons on the battlefield of politics.

However, would that even work? Politics without the military power to back it up was like cheese baked until it went soft. People would be able to cut them apart however they liked.

......

At that moment, in a remote plane by the name of Faelor, Richard had no idea of the incidents back home. He was deep asleep, covered snugly with a blanket.

They had crossed into the desert, the sandy earth now uneven. The blazing sun turned the place into a world of fire during day, and at night it grew so chilly the cold would seep into one's bones. There was practically no signs of life across the land except for a few cacti growing stubbornly in the shade of some sand dunes.

That night, they were camped under a rocky peak that had caved in, shielding them from the biting cold winds. However, there were no tents set up. Hundreds of people slept in their normal clothes on, or covered themselves with blankets.

The past few days were full of fighting and fleeing. At least four or five slaving groups totalling hundreds of people had been waiting nearby, hoping for the chance to deal him a fatal blow. These hunters were mainly from Red Cossack, although there were some smaller merchant groups, horse bandits, and mercenaries as well.

They were like wolves in a field, coming and going like the wind. Battles could start at any point, so they had no time to set up camp at all. The past few nights they were all resting in their clothes and armour, ready to get up and battle at a moment's notice.

Nights were chilly and very quiet. Far in the distance one could hear the sounds of the two trolls snoring, but strangely enough it gave one a sense of security. The cold left Richard snuggling further into his blanket, only to feel waves of comfortable warmth. That was Flowsand, pressed closely into him. Only in her dreams would she reveal her more fragile side, reminding people that this was a young girl who wasn't yet eighteen.

Cold, clear moonlight shone on this small, temporary camp. Richard and Flowsand were naturally at the centre of the circle, ringed by Gangdor and the knights from Norland. Next were the barbarians, orcs, and the kind, with the trolls squeezed in between. The trolls snored quite loudly, and only the barbarians and the orcs who had the same tendencies could tolerate it. At the outermost circle were hundreds of desert warriors. Their long robes functioned as natural blankets, and no matter how rough the ground was they could fall asleep once they laid down.

At the peak of the rock formation, Olar was sitting around bored. His ability to see in low light helped him scan over the surroundings, his bow in hand. As long as there was any sign of malicious intent, an arrow would fly out immediately. This was a great location, allowing him to monitor everything in his line of sight.

The elf wasn't the only one on vigil, though. He was accompanied by Waterflower, but he couldn't see where she was and only assumed that she was hidden off somewhere in the curtain of the night.

A few wind wolves randomly wandered around the outermost edges. They made for excellent sentinels. Even if the most terrifying of assassins appeared and killed them in an instant, the deaths alone would send alarm bells ringing in Richard's consciousness.

The past few days had been an entirely new experience. Every day the battled and fled without rest, sleeping as much as they could at night to recover their stamina. Food and water became extremely valuable, and they had no place to shower. Being filthy had grown normal, leaving nobody caring about their appearance. All unnecessary materials were abandoned, leaving behind only the most precious magic materials and scrolls.

Even as a mage who was commanding the army, Richard was getting injured a lot more recently, proof of how intense the battles got. He had learnt how to receive injuries properly on an elementary level, turning life-threatening attacks into mere light cuts.

At the end of every battle, he was completely worn out. Not only did he have to direct the battle, he also needed to judge when best he could use his spells. He had to keep note of dozens of targets even in the smaller fights, so even with his digital vision and blessing of wisdom he was being taxed greatly. All he wanted whenever the enemies retreated was to collapse and sleep.

This was when the importance of the vitality rune began to show itself. With the continuous cycle of fleeing, battling, and fleeing again, in a situation where he didn't have mana potions to use, the ability to quickly restore his strength became an important factor.

At this point, Richard had to admit that there were some amazing people amongst Red Cossack. The armies were like a pack of wolves, circling their prey and taking a bite at every opportunity. The moment he showed an opening they leapt forward and tore off flesh, leaving a dripping wound behind with every attack. Whether the attack succeeded or not, these attackers immediately retreated. They never kept up the fight.

251 - City of Sin

A Murderous Dream

The pack was growing by the day. New bandits joined every once in a while, and it soon had more than 4000 men. A lot of the new enemies were horse bandits that were unafraid of death, easily mobilised to serve other functions. And while there weren't as many slavers, they all were far more powerful individually. Everyone who managed to survive in the Bloodstained Lands had their own set of skills.

A strong killing intent permeated the serene night. However, everyone was still sleeping very soundly. After countless battles of life and death, they had come to trust their comrades. A good rest was key to survival, so they let their worries go and caught up on much needed rest.

The chilly weather left Richard snuggling into his blanket more and more. He furrowed his brows, looking to be in the midst of a tumultuous dream.

And dreaming he was. For a mage that had a considerable foundation in meditation, this was a very rare event. Inside the dream he saw himself riding a warhorse, gazing into the vast mountains and rivers ahead of him.

He was in the Schumpeter Family's lands, with that of the Josephs across the river bank. One could see a chaotic scene in the distance, with men and troops running all over. They were fleeing from a city, forming streams of humans that were trying to escape.
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One could see groups of knights emerging from the villages and towns nearby, merging into a steady stream of soldiers that assembled in front of him. This stream seemed to be endless, new knights appearing every once in a while to join the enemy formation. Their origin was unknown.

He could sense that more knights would gather as he waited. He thus raised his arm, ordering the attack. Two battalions suddenly split off from the army behind him, hurrying to flank around the opponent. They formed a large arc that converged on the enemies, cutting off their path of retreat.

He was giving out command after command. Two more troops charged towards the opponents' flanks, following which the infantry behind him inched forward and crushed the enemy in. The archers had already nocked their arrows, letting go at his command to launch a rain of arrows that hit the enemy formations with complete accuracy.

However, the archers were actually kilometres away from the enemy. How even did the shower of arrows reach his opponent? Even Olar did not possess such skill, the ability reserved for elven great archers over rank 15.

Richard looked inquisitively behind him, seeing rows of elven archers of huge status on the plains behind him. These elves were an entire third larger than normal. It was said that elves grew in size when they became archers, their strength and endurance increasing greatly. This was quite similar to demons; one only needed to look at a demon's physique and stature to judge their power.

However, Richard didn't understand what was going on. Since when had he acquired so many elven archers?

Despite his inhibitions, his subconscious mind linked to them just like he was to the broodmother. Richard continued to set their targets, thousands of arrows penetrating into a small portion of the enemy's left flank. Another volley rained forth, travelling over a thousand metres and blanketing an area. Every enemy there was instantly wiped out; hundreds of knights collapsed to the ground, creating a hole in the enemy formation.

A split second later, he saw thousands more arrows pierce through the skies. He took a glimpse behind him, realising that each archer had three arrows nocked instead of one. He had no time to marvel at the technique, however; his subconscious mind had already contacted the soldiers on the left flank, adjusting their directions to have them spear into the hole in the enemy formation.

However, the moment he issued the command he realised the warhorses of the enemy knights had warped into enormous earth dragons. He looked at the infantry that was inching towards the opponents, realising they were growing inch by inch with every step they took. By the time they were close enough to engage in the melee, they had become huge, malevolent demons. Roars echoed in the sky as giant dragons flew out, hovering in mid-air as they awaited his commands.

Across the field, the escaping commoners transformed into giant knights that charged towards his troops in an attempt to outflank them. He was stunned, immediately ordering a change in formation as he reinforced the offensive. However, it was too late. Both parties had already charged into each other, creating a strange scene. When the opposing troops were attacked, the knights transformed back into commoners that collapsed in a bloodbath.

Richard felt nothing for this, his conscious mind in a whirl as he sent out new commands every few milliseconds. However, both armies now had more than a hundred battalions in the fight, and he began losing sight of the whole picture. His head was throbbing so much he felt like it would explode at any minute, but Richard could only grit his teeth and continue.

Just as the battle entered an impasse, the sky began to darken as colour seeped out of the entire world. Eventually the dream was in black and white, the soldiers halting their movements as everything blurred into everything else. Countless shadows formed numerous nightmare creatures, so many that they were impossible to count. All these creatures started hurling themselves towards Richard, leaving his vision full of talons and tusks.

*Whoosh!* The sound of wind parting was audible as Richard flipped through the air, sitting up. It was only then that he realised everything was just a dream. However, the dream had thoroughly exhausted him, as if he really had commanded an entire army in an endless battle.

A gush of cold wind flew past the area, the piercing cold causing him to shiver. This made him realise he had broken out in cold sweat during the course of his dream. His clothes were completely soaked, and the endless gusts of wind grew extremely unbearable.

It took him a few deep breaths to regain his composure, but just at that moment he suddenly felt faint tremors in the ground. He sprawled down immediately, putting his ears to the ground. His senses were heightened at that moment, and he realised that the ground was shaking harder and harder by the second.

He instantly leapt up like a flying fish, shouting at the top of his lungs, “INCOMING! EVERYONE, GET UP!”

Olar also got up from the formation at the same time, starting to scream, “Enemies coming from the northeast! There's about five hundred of them, with at least ten powerful members! They're a kilometre away!”

The enemies could cover the kilometre of distance within a few minutes at their fastest charge. The soldiers who were lying on the ground instantly got up, grabbing their weapons which were within arm's reach.

As the campsite was embroiled in chaos, the elven bard sent out three arrows that were augmented by magic. They flew out more than five hundred metres, sending three of the knights at the lead off their horses. However, with the hundreds of soldiers charging towards this place, these were like small ripples in a raging river. They wouldn't matter in the grand scheme of things.

The surviving wind wolves charged off the rocks, plunging into the frontlines of the enemy to engage in close combat. Six or seven more knights fell off their horses with blood-curdling shrieks, crushed by the oncoming stampede.

252 - City of Sin

An Ambush In The Dark

Once they unleashed their wind blades, the wind wolves fell back to the rock formation and returned to position. They looked towards the sky, letting out desolate howls.

Ten or so of the wind wolves were marked with special colours that glowed in the dark. This allowed the chaotic camp to quickly enter formation, as the half-orcs, barbarians, and desert people found their respective wolves and conglomerated around them. The entire army assembled quickly into battalions, each led by a knight. The knights would command the troops, while the wind wolves showed them their targets.

Even as the troops were finding their positions, Gangdor and the two trolls started roaring in anticipation of the incoming cavalry. Their immense strength allowed them to be fearless in the face of the opposing horse bandits who were below level 10.

The axe in Gangdor's hands glowed with magical light; it was taken after Schitich had been killed. As long as one could keep the axe above ground level, they could easily split apart the oncoming riders. This new weapon exponentially increased the brute's capabilities, making him a meat grinder on the battlefield.

At the same time, the hammers Medium Rare and Tiramisu wielded also boasted of immense might. Tiramisu remembered to play his part as a mage, casting Bull's Strength and Stone Skin on himself and his brother before hand. It was a simple yet effective strategy, increasing their attack and defence to make them huge threats on the battlefield.

The three of them were like an ocean reef, standing strong despite the surging tide of enemies. Anyone who encountered them was instantly destroyed, their formations crumbling apart. However, most of the oncoming army bypassed them, heading straight for the heart of the battlefield.

In the meanwhile, a magic ball of grey light exploded out on the battlefield, Zendrall's Strengthen Fear spell. It sent more than ten of the oncoming riders into chaos, slowing the incoming wave,

At that point, Waterflower stealthily sneaked out from behind a canyon. She let out a piercing shriek, killing intent radiating fear in all directions. However, the effects were limited. Only ten or so warhorses that were close to her were startled, causing the riders to stop and hinder their comrades' charge. However, the rest of the horse bandits were largely unaffected. Closer inspection would reveal that the bandits and horses all had their ears stuffed with cloth. Evidently, they were prepared for this line of attack. It was something they had learnt from experience, where they had lost many lives to the young lady's shriek.

Thankfully, Waterflower's move was not without gain. She had made use of the momentary stall to take out two soldiers who'd fallen close to her, before retreating into the darkness once more.

A large majority of the riders didn't have the time to care about the girl, continuing to charge towards the camp. The horses at the front even leapt up, charging into the midst of battle.

Two novice knights skillfully laid their swords in the path of a leaping horse, causing it to let out a huge cry before losing balance. However, it landed in an area that had the most concentration of humans, and a few desert people who couldn't escape in time bore the brunt of the damage. Many perished.

More and more riders rushed towards the camp, only to be met with three fireballs shot out by Richard. The fireballs lined up in a row, exploding abruptly to cover an area that was ten metres wide and thirty metres long. This wasn't the end of the damage, however. Even if the horses' ears had been stuffed, they were not blindfolded. The flames started the creatures that were nearby, creating chaos on the periphery of the flames.

The void created by the spells was immediately occupied by Richard's troops. Two wind wolves led thirty-odd barbarians and half-orcs into forming a living wall, using their strong bodies to block the knights who couldn't stop their momentum in time. Even though that sent many of them flying back with bloody mouths, it managed to put an end to the charge.

Two other wind wolves led the desert warriors who'd mounted their own horses to flank on the left and right of the gap, immediately splitting a third of the attacking troops off from the main body. At the back of the camp, the remaining wind wolves were converging with their troops. It would be a mere few minutes before they assembled into a tight, impenetrable formation.

The horse bandits were dauntless and experienced. However, faced with a disciplined army that had the necessary preparation, they would only end up massacred. Zendrall repeatedly chanted a few spells, sending warriors of darkness out one after the other. He called three of them out at a time, casting a spell on them to boost their powers. He then sent them forward to charge into the enemy.

That had been Richard's idea as well, and it had proven effective in actual battle. Groups of three warriors of darkness were essentially machines of slaughter when faced with ordinary enemies.

A deep yet melodious voice rang out in everyone's ears, its tempo fast yet stable. The impassioned rhythm brought forth the last dregs of one's power, allowing the soldiers to fight longer without growing fatigued. Their reactions grew nimble, and their strength increased. Warsongs that could stimulate one's potential were the reason bards were so important in warfare. Even though the reasoning might seem a little far-fetched, it made Olar an indispensable part of the army.

Elven warsongs weren't passed down very often, normally only mastered by shamans. Even a grade 1 song could boost one's strength and agility by 10% or so, and when applied to an entire army that was a huge addition to capability. The bard didn't disclose where he had learnt the warsong from, but they were almost as effective as those of a true shaman. His rich bloodline and abilities allowed him to boost the army's strength and agility by 8%, in a range of about fifty metres. This was a much larger area than a group buffing spell from a mage.

Given that Richard had about 500 subordinates, Olar's contribution to their capabilities far surpassed that of any soldiers. Only after a few more levels would Richard and Flowsand have the group buffs to compete.

Richard quickly took command of his troops, sending spells in all directions. These were mostly foundational, to supplement other spells he would cast in the future. In a battlefield of thousands, it wasn't easy to turn around a situation with even fifty direwolves, forget a mere five. Every second he had to observe the battlefield, analysing the situation before he sent commands to the wind wolves he was linked to. He was constantly mobilising and redirecting different groups, many times having to shout his commands to achieve his goals.

Under that meticulous command, the chaotic battlefield instantly stabilised and skewed towards Richard's army as it slowly exhibited its prowess.

Zendrall had already sent three groups of undead warriors out into the battlefield, and a fourth was on its way. The two trolls were at the peak of their ferocity, running around the chaotic battlefield as they wreaked havoc with their sturdy bodies and heavy hammers. Gangdor was also drenched in blood, having returned to Richard's side after a large group had broken through the front lines. He hadn't faltered despite a rain of attacks, leaving a mountain of corpses in his wake.

Waterflower was like a ghost, occasionally, popping out of the darkness with a breathtaking attack. Every time the Shepherd of Eternal Rest flashed on the battlefield, one of the stronger bandits would perish.

As the battle tipped in their favour, the army converged and dispersed to eventually form ten or so small teams that served different functions. They weaved between the opponents under Richard's command, taking many out before returning to Flowsand to be healed. After some time, they would join the battle once more. Once the advantage was on their side, there was no going back. Please visit 𝑓r𝙚ew𝚎𝚋𝐧૦ѵ𝗲𝘭. c𝘰m

However, an inconspicuous bandit suddenly took out a whistle and blew on it resolutely. The piercing sound resounded throughout the area, and the bandits turned around and fled at top speed as they showcased their prowess at sudden attacks and retreats. Only ten or so of them lagged behind, and they were quickly attacked and kicked off their horses.

Once the battle came to a close, Richard could estimate the losses on both sides without even inspecting the battlefield. The 500 bandits had left behind a hundred or so corpses, with more than ten heavily injured warriors that would soon be put to death. On their side, a little more than ten people had perished, most of them desert warriors. There were also sixty-odd injured soldiers, mostly barbarians and half-orcs.

Because Flowsand was around, the victims needed only one or two days to recuperate fully. However, this would quickly consume her mana. The opponents definitely wouldn't give them the time to recuperate after that.

This was the wolves' strategy. Many of them pounced down on the army and left numerous small wounds, some trying to chomp down on larger chunks. Even though some of them were killed, it was of no concern to the entire pack. This prey was always smaller than them, and many of the wolves didn't mind their numbers being reduced anyway.

Nobody had a single ounce of sympathy for the bandits who had died at the army's hands. Not even their peers who had similarly been killed would care, because of one simple line of reasoning— every man down was one less person to share the loot with. It meant everyone else got more in the end.

Richard patrolled the campsite, only to find that it had become a land of massacre. The soldiers were already experienced with cleaning up battlefield, expertly inspecting the corpses and looting anything of value. They then sent the corpses to Zendrall, allowing the necromancer to use them to summon undead.

The desert warriors used their machetes to cut down all the horses that were heavily injured, having them collapse at the side. They then cut the creatures' veins open, draining the blood into buckets before filling numerous cups and distributing them to everyone.

Someone passed Richard a cup as he passed, and without even looking at it much he gulped the contents down. The blood was viscous and smelled of iron, but at the same time was scalding hot. Just like the red blood that this entire area had been dyed in.

253 - City of Sin

Tug Of War

The battlefield was cleared very swiftly, and Richard mounted his horse as he led the sleepy army away with the bandits following behind. The rest of their journey proved to be a long and arduous tug of war, as the two entered a constant cycle of clashing and separating. The army's march was erratic, first advancing northeast before they turned north after a few kilometres. Google search 𝙛𝒓𝚎𝙚w𝑒𝘣𝘯𝘰𝐯𝚎l. cｏ𝙢

The large barbarians couldn't ride horses, but thankfully they could move fast and had great endurance. However, they couldn't compare to the short horses of the Bloodstained Lands. These horses were well-suited to the desert folk; although they weren't great at short charges, their endurance and adaptability far surpassed the large horses from the human kingdoms.

The troops marched at average speed, with the wind wolves keeping close watch a few hundred metres away. Given their keen sense of smell and their heightened perception, Richard had a rough grasp of everything a kilometre around them. This was a good measure that allowed him to constantly adjust the direction of the army.

His final destination was far up north, in the lands of the Iron Triangle Empire. The Schumpeters' base was most likely there, and within it an important Lighthouse of Time. Moreover, it was in a mountainous region filled with dense forest and a large amount of fierce magical beasts. Given the complicated terrain, the pursuing troops would have no way of demonstrating the strength of their numbers while Richard's own troops could use their strengths to the utmost. After all, himself, Flowsand, and his core party were Richard's strongest trump card.

Even now Richard had no idea how the pursuing bandits managed to track him down without mistake every time. He also didn't understand how they had quietly gathered such a large number of troops. The first small engagements hadn't raised much suspicion, but the attacks had soon grown unending and relentless. A few familiar faces were seen again and again, and Richard had sensed that his scattered enemies had banded together through unknown methods. He learnt that these people could ambush him instantly at any time and from any direction.

Richard's biggest advantage was that he had no reinforcements. He only fended off the attacks mechanically, relying solely on his knowledge of the situation to constantly maneuver his troops as he eluded the encirclement each time. He wanted to crush the pursuers, escaping the ring completely.

When he first started, Richard had moved steadfastly towards the north. However, it had grown increasingly apparent that the enemies knew of his intentions, and the presence up north was much more obvious than elsewhere. Thus, he had decisively changed his path, making a sudden attack on the east and crushing the opposition in that direction. He then used the chance to escape the Red Cossack troops, forcing them to lag behind him.

As such, the wolf pack and its prey had traded blows. Both sides seemed to have reached their objectives; Richard was forced off his path, but he had also managed to escape Red Cossack's trap. He also dealt heavy casualties to the enemy.

It went without saying that the scale of the battle was growing bigger every time. Besides trying to drive Richard further away from the Iron Triangle Empire, Red Cossack was also trying to force him off common trade routes. To the best of their knowledge, he had no foundation in the Bloodstained Lands. This made it difficult for him to seek substantial reinforcements, but it would not be hard for him to send news out. Red Cossack did not have the ability to shut down the entire intelligence network in the Bloodstained Lands, so they had to stop the news from spreading before Richard's backers found out. Killing this arrogant joker who dared to challenge their prestige wasn't worth it if the hunt ended in a war.

Realising their intentions, Richard had immediately worked to do what he could to stay on common roads. Even if he couldn't hit the main road, he tried to ensure that he hit all the smaller routes he could. Of course he didn't have any information to convey, but he could use it to control the enemy's deployment. It also meant the occasional addition of manpower and supplies.

He passed two small caravans in his travels, quickly persuading them to give him their supplies and guards. Red Cossack was hot in pursuit behind him, and if they were spotted they would inevitably be wiped out. Such things were quite commonplace in the Bloodstained Lands; the large slaving groups often moonlighted as horse bandits.

Despite constantly losing men, Richard still had almost five hundred soldiers under his charge. If soldiers were ore, war was the best of furnaces. Some of the ore became strong metal under the flames, while the rest would become waste. Of course, 'waste' in the Bloodstained Lands was corpses.

As they continued to head north, Richard was quietly analysing his military strength. Altogether, an army of 821 had fallen down to 460. However, the ones who survived had grown to be cool-headed yet fierce warriors. As for him, his reward for the constant outstanding leadership was that his blessing of wisdom had advanced by a level.

There was little difference between the new grade of blessing and the old, the only enhancements being to his thinking speed and memory. In essence, he now had near photographic memory and could process much more of the information he was acquiring. The originally messy formations had grown much more organised, and his orders were now faster and clearer than ever. Consequently, his control of the battlefield had reached new heights.

An army of a few hundred soldiers was the best Richard could ask for at the present moment. It would allow him to perfectly display his commanding prowess. However, a clear train of thought and reaction was one thing, but drawing accurate conclusions was another matter altogether. Accurate strategic decisions had little to do with processing ability; the boost to the blessing only allowed for a smaller number of errors made in a hurry.

Even so, the effects clearly showed. The army had completely grown used to Richard's command at this point, gelling together to form a cohesive unit. Just like during the earlier surprise attack, the troops would be prepared very quickly to form an invincible battlefront. This group of warriors from different races and backgrounds had been tempered, transformed into a well-oiled machines that destroyed enemies at an alarming rate.

......

About a hundred kilometres behind Richard, a train of carriages was making its way through the desolate desert.

This was no regular caravan. There were a few scarlet red carriages in the midst that ferried passengers, with an unassuming yet luxurious carriage that was drawn by a huge horse. The carriage's four wheels were enhanced with shock-absorbing magic, making the rider feel like they were floating over even the most bumpy of roads.

Even if one were to ignore labour, the materials of the carriage alone were worth tens of thousands of gold coins. It definitely wasn't just for comfort over long journeys. It was actually a magical war-carriage, used to provide a quiet and stable environment for mages during journeys to allow them to recuperate their mana. The interior of the carriage held a magic circle that could be activated with magic crystals, boosting the results of meditation.

The powerful mages of Norland had no need for such vehicles, while great mages and the like were too poor to afford one. Only in Faelor where mages had unusual status did such things appear. Were Richard to see this, his perspective as someone from the Deepblue would naturally allow him to discern its true use— it was something that allowed the mage to boast of their wealth and status.

254 - City of Sin

Salwyn

Inside the war-carriage was a mage who looked to be more than thirty years old. He wore luxurious robes that had strong enchantments, while his long white fingers had three rings with large rubies embedded in them. The constant magical glow was proof enough that these were magical artifacts, and undoubtedly premium products. The man himself was handsome with impeccably groomed facial hair, his demeanor radiating a sense of calmness and unbelievable confidence.

The interior of the carriage was extremely big, with a bed, table, and two cupboards. There were two beautiful young apprentices seated nearby; although their standards as mages weren't high, their purpose was not battle. They acted as the middle-aged mage's assistants, managing his messy documents and reports, and when required utilising their youthful bodies to help their master relax.

A large map was pinned onto the wall, covering the entirety of the Bloodstained Lands with extreme detail. It was ten times as accurate as the rest of the maps Richard had seen put together, not just containing information on inhabited regions like oases and streams but also about the distribution of power in different areas and the zones where slavers operated. Regional specialties, slaves, agricultural produce, ores... they were all clearly marked.

Such a map had immense value. It had slowly been drawn up and refined by Red Cossack at the cost of innumerable gold coins and countless lives.

At that moment, there was a knock on the carriage. Getting the mage's permission, an experienced warrior opened the door and passed several reports over to the two apprentices, who opened the envelope and passed them to the middle-aged man after some inspection.

The reports were quite detailed, densely packed into three pages. However, it took a mere half minute for the mage to scan through everything and grasp the crux of the situation, “Saul's cavalry suffered heavy losses. They lost 112 soldiers while killing thirty enemies, with almost a hundred soldiers... Argh, this fellow isn't telling the truth. The enemy should only have sustained half the damage he's reporting at most...”

The mage stood up from his table, making his way to the map. Performing some quick calculations, he used a magical pen to draw an outline of the battlefield, filling in numbers. He then knitted his brows, deep in thought.

The inside of the carriage had gone quiet. The two young ladies consciously slowed their breathing, trying to avoid disrupting the mage's reflections. They were perfectly aware that the esteemed Salwyn hated being disturbed while he was thinking.

In Faelor, grand mages were mostly level 16, with some exceptions at level 15. Anyone who could discharge powerful grade 8 spells had a qualitative leap in battle capabilities. Correspondingly, the title of great mage was granted to those at level 11, who could cast grade 6 spells that could hurt groups. That was the point at which mages started showing their prowess in a small battlefield.

In a battlefield of a thousand people, even if they weren't useless grade 6 spells couldn't significantly affect the outcome of a battle. However, this did not affect the high status of a great mage. Mages weren't merely good for the tasteless art of murder; their main ability was in the production of powerful magical artifacts. Besides, any mage who had lived a long life could not be looked down on. Their personal capabilities may not be great, but they would have accumulated a large number of scrolls over their lifetime. Even in Norland, the mages of a fortress had so many scrolls they were the biggest powers on the battlefield.

Even though Salwyn was a level 12 mage, his status outside of that was much higher, something quite uncommon in Faelor. He was a prince of the Iron Triangle Empire, famed for his strategic abilities. For someone so reputed to be commanding the Red Cossack troops in the Bloodstained Lands, the empire would go into an uproar if news got out.

He quietly performed some calculations before drawing a line on the map, indicating that the enemies would flee northeast from the battlefield. He then drew three arrows, indicating the possible directions of escape. He also made an obvious mark on the northern arrowhead, something that would greatly shock Richard if he saw it— the route this mage had marked was almost exactly the one he had chosen to take.

There were ten wolf heads on the map surrounding this route. All of a sudden, the number of bandits sent out to capture Richard had now increased to 5000. This was an extremely formidable force, but with the speed of Richard's army he managed to escape the encirclement time and time again.

Moreover, the terrain of the Bloodstained Lands was vile and complicated, with other powers scattered all over forming an additional obstacle. There were some camps that Richard wanted nothing to do with, and it wasn't feasible for Red Cossack to destroy every force they saw.

Salwyn took out a piece of paper, writing down the latest casualty counts on both sides. Needless to say, some adjustments needed to be made for the inflated number of deaths on Richard's end. Once he was done updating the numbers, a shocking ratio showed itself. Red Cossack had lost 2300 men, while Richard had lost only 310.

This nearly 8:1 ratio was extremely shocking to witness. It was clear that these armies were not of similar capability.

Salwyn was well aware that there were no level 12 warriors in Richard's army, and yet he'd sent one or two such men as the commander of each wave. He had superior numbers, stronger warriors, and endless battles to tire Richard's troops out. Yet, even then the result was this lopsided; it was something he found unbelievable.

Looking at these numbers, one would think Richard was the one chasing, not him.

Salwyn was aware that Richard had priests and mages on his side, but he assumed the few he had wouldn't make a great difference to the outcome of the battle. Besides, a bulk of his army was made of desert warriors and barbarians. The capability of slave armies had been documented countless times in history; Salwyn himself was confident in killing a thousand desert warriors with a few hundred elites.

However, the truth that was in front of him toppled his acknowledgment of customs. Most of Richard's losses were slaves, and still he'd been hurt far less than the theoretical minimum.

The core of Salwyn's strategy was to put a constant pressure on Richard, attacking relentlessly until his enemy was pushed to the limit. The battles would slow the fleeing army down, and eventually his encirclement would be complete. That would allow him to use his powerful forces to decimate Richard's troops. However, despite the uneven numbers he didn't hit his two main targets. He was still engaged in a game of cat and mouse.

As such, he had come to conclude that Richard was a gifted tactician. Fighting him with equal numbers in a battlefield was as good as committing suicide.

Despite all those thoughts, though, Salwyn still stroked his beard as he happily muttered to himself, “This Richard is a rare opponent! Even that old joker Rislant couldn't have managed such a thing in his younger days. However, you've met your match with me; just blame your luck. Let me teach you a thing or two about the difference between strategy and tactics. You can win a few more battles, the more you win the closer you get to death. You want to escape to the mountains? Good, then the mountain range will be your grave!”

255 - City of Sin

Salwyn

Salwyn hooked a wolf-head pin with his pen, placing it in the north to block Richard's front. He then moved the other wolf heads around, ensuring that the east and west were surrounded. Only a single troop was left in the south, slowly following behind Richard as he went. Salwyn himself tagged along with this unit.

The Iron Triangle Empire was to the north of the Bloodstained Lands, indicated by three humanoid skeletons. They looked like a pocket that was waiting for Richard to get in. The closer Richard's army got to the location, the smaller the chances that they would change route. Sometimes, victory and defeat could be determined by a single wrong move.

He thoroughly looked looked over the map, about to give out new orders, but suddenly frowned. Richard's route on the map ended up being a series of complex S shapes. Although it looked like he was doing his best to escape north, he had only moved thirty kilometres north since the start, compared to an entire two hundred kilometres east.

Looking at the route, he felt a bad premonition stirring up in his heart, “This is wrong! Is it that he doesn't want to go north and instead consume my resources through guerilla warfare? Damn it, the number of casualties is already so high! This mob isn't the same as the soldiers of the empire, the death rate will cow them until they're scared of the slightest thing. We need to be fast!” He took another look at the map, observing the terrain around Richard's current position.

At that moment, the magical clock in his carriage rang out with a melodious alarm. His apprentices reminded him that it was time for lunch, so he stopped pondering and placed his pen down before he alighted from the carriage with them in tow. The caravan came to a halt, resuming quickly after he boarded another carriage.

The dining table inside this new carriage was already covered with a thin, snow-white tablecloth that was made of flax. A sumptuous lunch had already been placed atop it, alongside pure silver cutlery. This carriage was actually a dining car!

Also amongst the carriages was one meant specifically for his rest and meditation, alongside some others that transported supplies as well as two carriages that accommodated the chefs and maids.

Salwyn's lunch lasted a full two hours before he returned to his carriage. This wasn't normally a waste of time; he used the opportunity to think and receive visitors. However, when he returned he found new reports that immediately made him frown.

Richard, who was initially heading north, had suddenly turned east. He'd plowed through the troops there, leaving no traces behind. The battle had been short yet intense, with more than 150 of the 500-man troop guarding the direction dying before they were forced to withdraw. With the high death toll, there was no way of scouting Richard's next direction.

Once the battle had come to an end, the reinforcements found only a few bodies that belonged to Richard's army, a majority of them being desert warriors.

“East... Was his true goal to return to the Sequoia Kingdom?” Salwyn grew unsure. The earliest reports of Richard's position were towards the borders of the Sequoia Kingdom. Generally he would want to prevent the foe from heading back to his homeland, but it was no secret that everyone in the Bloodstained Lands was more than meets the eye. It was obvious to him that Richard had wanted to go north at the start; based on his intuition, he did not think this was a false trail.

Furthermore, the results of the battle itself were incredible. It was normally impossible for troops of that caliber to kill a hundred and fifty experienced soldiers in a mere ten minutes. Salwyn quickly decided that he had to view Richard's commandership in person. He instructed his assistants to prepare horses and magic scrolls, telling the guard leader to choose fifty of their best warriors to accompany him to the frontlines of the battle. Google search f𝙧𝒆𝚎𝘸e𝚋𝓷o𝘷𝚎𝒍. co𝑚

However, this decision was met with tactful resistance on the part of the two female mages. They felt that the absence of adequate protection would make it a dangerous mission, and this was a hunt that had been conceived at the last minute. Salwyn had been thrilled by the prey, thus taking over command from Red Cossack's members. This had already delayed them greatly; if Salwyn were put in danger during the mission, they would most likely be executed when they returned to the empire.

In their point of view, a possible heir to the throne like Salwyn was a thousand times more important than some unknown group of thieves.

The guard leader took the assistants' side. He was more firm and blunt, stating directly that nothing was more important at that moment than vying for the title of emperor. The secret forces of the empire had already headed south, there was no time to be distracted by other issues. This guard leader had been a trusted aide for many years, causing the mage to hesitate.

At that moment, two swift horses raced towards them carrying scouts with information to report. It made the normally calm prince frown.

First was that the Iron Triangle Empire's secret forces had met up with two marquesses and the forces of the Church of Valour, together forming a 2000-strong contingent with 200 paladins, 200 imperial knights, and more than ten priests that were awaiting his command.

The next was even more urgent. The black demons from a foreign plane had broken into Twilight Oasis, killing more than 2000 people and enslaving the rest to form an army of more than 3000.

“Three thousand!” Salwyn laughed mockingly, “Looks like these friends from afar issued a weapon to anyone who can move. Alright, let me look at the map...”

Standing in front of the large map that indicated the location of his troops, Salwyn looked towards Twilight Oasis and sighed, instructing the caravan to turn around as they headed towards their camp. He was already deep into the northern portions of the Bloodstained Lands. He needed to set out immediately to rendezvous with the secret forces, lest he be attacked by these enemies.

Salwyn reluctantly looked at the various marks he had made all over the northern Bloodstained Lands, letting out a deep sigh. These marks signified battle after suffocating battle, with numerous plot twists and unexpected outcome. The pack of wolves he had sent had left their bite marks on the prey, but the prey only sustained superficial wounds while the predator's teeth were ruined.

“Richard.. You better live on! Once I get the chance, I will show you what strategic dominance is all about, haha!” Salwyn shook his head. Richard was a gifted general in his eyes, but not a true commander. However, he himself was a commander over all others, one vying to be a monarch. He only needed a bit of effort and luck. The Iron Triangle Emperor was short lived, and there were more than seventy princes who wished to succeed him.

The fleet made a beautiful red arc in the desert, swiftly turning southeast. A few swift horses passed the news to the roaming wolf pack, passing command back to those of Red Cossack.

256 - City of Sin

Turning Around

Richard was sitting under the shade of a stone cliff in a withered stone forest, recuperating with his eyes closed. His mana was being restored bit by bit, but right now he was only half full. As for the other two mages, both Tiramisu and Zendrall were only at a third of capacity. Even more worrisome was that Flowsand was only left with a third of her own power. Half of her scrolls had been used up, leaving her with less than thirty on hand. Many of those were still blank, yet to be scribed.

Even the desert warriors who were normally known for their endurance and stamina had started to show signs of fatigue. Many of them had fallen to the ground, entering deep sleep. Quite a few of the barbarians were wounded as well, but Flowsand didn't have the energy to care about flesh wounds. Only fifteen of the half-orc warriors were left standing.

All but nine of Richard's wind wolves had perished. These spawns of the broodmother were ten times as important as any other level 7 underling; their link to his mind was the sole reason Richard could control several hundred people like his own arms.

At this point, the capabilities of the troops had entered an all time low. Richard had ordered all of his party to burst forth with full strength in the most recent battle, resulting in a swift decimation of the opposing forces that left more than a hundred of the five hundred bandits dead. The opponents hadn't been able to mount a good defense, eventually dispersing in confusion.

This was an outcome that Richard had chosen. After the long tug of war, he could roughly predict where the familiar groups would be stationed. He sent his wind wolves out to determine their position, decisively pulling his entire army east and pouncing on the bandits who were only supposed to fight them two rounds later.

Given Red Cossack's encirclement, it was extremely risky to take the initiative to attack you. Another group of well-prepared forces was always nearby, getting ready for the next ambush. If the blitzkrieg was met with a stalemate, Richard would have been pincered from two ends.

Fortunately, the battle had developed in his favour. His contracted party had fought without reservation, achieving far greater results than expected. The rest of his men abandoned all other pursuits, focusing on changing their direction. Even though this had left them at their weakest point, Richard was sure the enemies weren't much better off.

He opened his eyes, silently estimating the time that had passed as he stood up with the support of the rock behind him. His entire body was stiff, the six unhealed wounds on his back and shoulders still aching dully. One wouldn't even know the original colour of his robe anymore; it had hardened up like leather and grown red. Sweat and blood had blended with the characteristic red soil of the Bloodstained Lands, soil that had acquired its colour as blood constantly seeped into the ground and dried up.

Richard's mouth was filled with an unpleasant taste. He spat out two clumps of sand, the horse blood still churning in his gut making him feel like he was burning up from within. He felt the constant urge to clear his stomach of its contents.

He chose to ignore that need, combing his hair as he inhaled deeply. The vitality rune was slowly replenishing his strength and mana, allowing him to force his eyes open and flash a refreshed grin. He then made his way to the soldiers who were sprawled on the ground everywhere, barking loudly, “All of you, wake up! Get ready for battle! Let's show those bastards who are chasing us what we're made of!”

Hearing his loud call, many of the soldiers immediately got up and grabbed their weapons, preparing for war. The continuous battles had elevated his status in their hearts, making him a divine existence. They instinctively followed his every command.

Although the mere half hour of rest was not enough, they still clambered up as fast as they could, rushing to the wind wolves in charge of them. A few were simply too tired and deep in slumber, but a few kicks got them on their feet.

A few minutes later, the entire army hid itself within the forest. Sand started blowing in from the horizon not long after, as a troop of horse bandits came bounding towards Richard while following the trail. This was about as expected, making Richard pleased with the increased calculative ability from his blessing growing. His grasp of the situation was now stronger than ever before.

Light was just starting to leak into the sky. The very fact that these soldiers could accurately follow his trail in the dim morning light told Richard that their leader was quite skilled.

There weren't many soldiers in this group, only 200 or so. They looked like they were newly formed, with a foreign flag and outfits, but Richard could clearly feel that some of the desert warriors and barbarians were starting to feel a little shaken. There was a mix of fear and strong hatred on their faces.

That reaction told Richard that this group consisted mostly of slavers. With that in mind, he started to plan the engagement in his head...

As they were nearing the stone forest, the leader of the slavers suddenly stopped his horse. Many years of battle had sharpened his intuition, and he could feel extreme danger coming from the stone forest ahead.

However, the moment he stopped his horse a sharp arrow from the darkness shot straight for his heart. The shot was extremely crafty and dangerous, leaving the leader with no time to respond. He reined his horse in immediately, causing it to stand and take the shot for its master. Suddenly, the slaver saw a young girl dressed in white float past him from at the corner of his sight. Startled by the inexplicable sight, he looked around to search for her, but she had disappeared.

The leader suddenly felt a slight chill run down his back, quickly extending to the rest of his body. All energy seemed to drain out of him in the next moment, and he blacked out and fell from his horse.

Seeing the opposing commander brutally murdered. Richard promptly started commanding the wind wolves and knights to charge out from within the forest and counter the attack. A mass slow from him and a fear spell from Zendrall impacted the enemy cavalry moments before the melee, leaving at least thirty of them in turmoil.

“They have a mage!” one of Richard's knights shouted. Some people on the enemy side tried to warn their mage of the danger, but the man had only just started on a spell before he was beheaded by Waterflower who had appeared out of the blue. The mage's four guards ended up being completely useless.

The two armies clashed violently. The chaotic battlefield was like a chessboard in front of Richard's eyes, every piece under his control. The movements of his pieces allowed him to even influence the opponent.

As with the last battle, this one was short yet intense. The slavers. Although individually powerful, had met with an ambush that killed their commander early into the battle. They immediately went into retreat, quickly leaving a hundred corpses behind as they escaped. Richard himself hadn't been able to escape injury, with ten of his men laid to eternal rest in this forest. Yet, he couldn't afford to care. They cleaned up the battlefield in a mere ten minutes before he took his troops and sped north.

This was tens of kilometres away from his original route. Even if the enemies had an ambush up north, Richard believed they couldn't move over in time.

257 - City of Sin

Spectator

The next three hours, the team rapidly moved through the desert to arrive at a towering mountain range. They had encountered a single attack in the entire duration, easily defeating the opponent and killing more than thirty of their number. Once that battle had come to a close, they had remained safe from nightfall to the next dawn.

Richard frowned as their vanguard reached the foot of the mountain range. He stared south towards the Bloodstained Lands, growing silent.

“Why did you stop, boss?” Gangdor asked from beside Richard, taking down a waterskin from his horse and shaking it hard before he took a few big gulps.

A familiar, tart smell assaulted Richard's nostrils. The waterskin was filled with horse blood, and half of it had coagulated at this point. It was giving off a rancid odour.

“Have everyone rest here, we wait for the enemy.”

The warriors got off their horses one after the other and laid down on the ground, many falling asleep immediately. Those who used magic took the chance to meditate, restoring their mana.

Richard was still pondering over the situation. Countless thoughts ran through his mind as he made innumerable deductions in a short span of time.

Ever since they'd changed tactics and charged out, the bandits' movements had grown extremely strange. Regardless of what their motive was, it seemed like the situation was swayed into his favour. The fewer encounters gave his army much needed rest, and when they did come the attackers didn't have great morale. The weaker spirits of the bandits allowed them to get away with far fewer casualties.

Richard squinted as he looked at the foot of the hills at the north. What was waiting ahead? His gaze soon shifted southeast, to the stone forests of the Bloodstained Lands. No one would have expected that to be his true destination.

The moment he realised their army had been caught up in the wolf pack tactic, Richard had changed his strategy. He used guerilla warframe to deplete Red Cossack of their warriors, and planned to follow the eastern border of the Bloodstained Lands to detour back to Camp Bloodstone. The broodmother was still moving around in the vast mountain range there, having become the overlord of the area. It had devoured many level 12 and 13 beasts, accumulating an army of hundreds of wind wolves and it could spawn more and more every day. It wasn't far off from levelling up again.

Richard had planned to converge in the mountains near Camp Bloodstone, waging a war of life and death with Red Cossack. However, the situation had strangely changed over the past day and night...

Richard closed his eyes hard and tried to clear his head, concentrating on meditation. The most important thing right now was the upcoming battle. If his tactics couldn't prevail, strategy wouldn't even matter.

The wait was an entire two hours. His warriors managed to get a good rest, even having time to roast and eat horse meat. They had recovered greatly by the time he saw the surge of dust on the horizon, a cavalry troop charging in the distance.

However, their path was perpendicular to his. It wasn't until a sharp-eyed scout noticed an anomaly in their direction that the leader whistled. They adjusted direction, but stopped a few kilometres away from him. It was as though they were unsure of whether to attack head-on or split up flank him.

In the more than ten days of constant battle, this was the first time that Richard had encountered such a situation. His troops were well-rested, and his enemies were in disarray. Recalling how a 300-man troop retreated after losing only a tenth of their numbers, Richard suddenly smiled as he pointed at the bandits, “Let's send them packing!”

The warriors got up immediately, the barbarians forming a neat frontline and starting to advance. The cavalry on both sides started flanking towards the left and right. The desert warriors were like hungry wolves that ripped into the charging opponents, tearing the enemy formation apart.

The horse bandits were quickly flustered, and a whistle sounded quite quickly causing them to turn around and escape. Their prey was no longer exhausted, having regained the ferocity of a beast. Past experience told them that the only outcome of taking this fight would be the complete destruction of their side.

The difference in ability between Salwyn and Red Cossack's men was like night and day. The sheer number of losses had accumulated to a breaking point, completely crushing their morale.

Richard decided to lead his troops north. Although he originally wished to loop around to Camp Bloodstone, exploring the mountain range at the border of the Iron Triangle Empire was just as important. As long as there was an opportunity, it was worth trying. He thought over the recent battle repeatedly, eventually flashing a clear and relaxed smile as he figured it out, “Our opponent seems to have changed. That's good.”

Although he didn't know what exactly happened, the mysterious person manipulating this pack of wolves had disappeared. Red Cossack was back to being a bunch of hunting expeditions that were as loose as sand. This was great news. The tightening hold over them had relaxed once more; whatever the reason was, whatever conspiracy their pursuer had been embroiled in, was none of his concern. As long as he could preserve his army's core strength and find the Schumpeter base in the mountains, that would be a great victory.

The constant fighting was an iron hammer that had tempered his heart, the harsh battles constantly strengthening his will. Now, Richard had a natural dignity to each of his gestures. He still didn't speak much, but each of his words was concise and direct. The elven beauty he had inherited from his mother had been ground away, his face no longer as refined and delicate.

......

“Do you sense anything?” Richard asked Flowsand. They had already entered the mountain range, his judgement on the change in Red Cossack ringing true.

Flowsand had the Book of Time in her hands, a pale gold hourglass slowly rotating on the page. She stared at it for a while before pointing northwest, “There are strong spacetime fluctuations in that direction.”

“Alright, we'll head there and have a look.” Richard waved his troop forward, and they disappeared into the vast forest...

Once night fell, the warriors built tents and lit a bonfire on a gentle slope. Magical beasts that they had hunted were washed clean in a stream, roasted by the fire. When the fragrance of roasted meat diffused into the air, the camp suddenly burst into cheers! They hadn't bathed in more than ten days, nor even drunk clean water. Being able to bite into a piece of hot, greasy meat would be heavenly.

Richard finally had a bath. Although the forest stream was chilling to the bone, it washed away the grime that had accumulated over the past weeks. It made him feel so comfortable he wanted to moan.

They were at a hidden alcove upstream from the camp. The river curved here, the flow relatively mild. Flowsand was cleaning up right beside him. Seeing her beautiful amber features and the rune tattoo that had integrated into her body, Richard couldn't stop himself from helping her wash. Halfway through the process he dragged her up the bank, pushing her down. A unique sound of intense pants sounded out as a battle began at the side of the stream.

They had only just begun when Richard's body suddenly stiffened. “Someone's peeking,” he whispered.

Flowsand squinted her eyes, asking with a soft moan, “Who?”

“Waterflower.” The soulguard couldn't hide her position from him. And even if he didn't know her position, nobody but her could get so close without him noticing.

Flowsand's body suddenly heated up, and she started moving violently, “Let her see!”

Richard had never been watched during the act before. It was a strange feeling, giving him an unusual sense of excitement. He snarled loudly, becoming as ferocious as a beast himself...

An hour had passed by the time Richard and Flowsand returned to camp. Waterflower had watched them for the entire duration, only leaving quietly when Richard stood up.

258 - City of Sin

An Effortless Attack

Most of the soldiers had already filled their stomachs up by the time Richard returned, washing up downstream before they returned to their tents to sleep slowly. They were already used to sleeping at any time; anyone who wasn't on patrol or night watch slipped into slumber quickly.

Someone had placed a plate of roasted meat in front of Richard's tent, alongside a piping hot bowl of meat soup. Just a whiff of the delicious aroma told him this was cooked by the trolls, so he ate to his heart's content.

Both his mind and body were currently relaxed. Contrary to expectations, he was in great spirits with no hurry to sleep. He thus took out the runes he had retrieved from the bearguard knights, beginning to repair them. Some ended up unusable, but most of them would work.

By the time the night passed, Richard had five strength and a single defense rune on hand. The boosts varied from 15% to 25%, a far cry from their original effects but still divine compared to the goods he sold to those of Faelor.

He left a single 15% strength rune untouched, while he attached the rest to slots and slotted them onto the Archeron knights. Only five of them were left; the only one at level 11 got both a strength and defense rune, while the youngest got nothing. With the boost in power from the runes, the power of the rest was boosted and stabilised at the calibre of level 11.

Richard led his troops through the boundless hills and woods, all of them stronger than ever before. They walked for five days before finally managing to locate Sinclair's base.

Unlike their own, this was an enormous base that was comparable to a small city. The towering Lighthouse of Time was extremely striking, just as striking as the Mensa Family's crest on the wide open gates. However, it was extremely quiet. If one looked through the gates, they would see not a soul in sight. It seemed to be a ghost town.

The base was located on an open plain that was out of place in the middle of the dense forest. Richard didn't enter right away, remembering the circumstances when he had first reached Faelor. He stationed a majority of his troops in the distance, personally leading his direct subordinates who were used to forest battles and five of the wind wolves as he began to search the surroundings.

That decision proved to be fruitful. They found a small army camp not far away, with about a hundred soldiers, five paladins, and a young cleric. Looking at the crest on their robes, they were worshippers of Cerces. Richard had spent a lot of his time in the Bloodstained Lands learning about the gods of Faelor. In a certain sense, they would be his true arch enemies.

He later found traces of a portal and the remains of a battlefield on the other side. Although the place had been cleaned up, some of the permanent traces provided enough indication of how tragic the battle was. All of the dead bodies had disappeared, however. They were probably carried away by those of the church.

Richard quietly returned to his own camp, waiting until the dead of the night before stealthily leading his soldiers out under the cover of darkness. They surrounded the enemy camp, waiting until two past midnight before launching a surprise attack on the sleeping soldiers.

After the extremely arduous battles in the Bloodstained Lands, this surprise attack was so effortless it was startling. The normal soldiers woke up to a sword in their face, their first reaction being to kneel down in surrender. The paladins showed their usual spirit, fighting with their fists even if they had climbed out of bed naked. However, an impeccable will would not reverse the situation in front of such brutal and vicious enemies.

When Richard stepped into the tent that the young cleric occupied, the youth had just sat up on his bed. He was still half asleep, unable to figure out what was happening.

The surprise attack ended in overwhelming victory. Not one of his men had suffered even minor injuries, while ten of the opponents had died before the rest surrendered. Three of the paladins had been killed in battle, while two more were knocked out before the battle stopped. As for the cleric, he had surrendered as well.

Seeing the results of the battle, Richard shook his head in resignation. Repeated battles on the edge of death had toughened up his subordinates, making every blow of theirs fierce and violent. Now the problem was that they often couldn't stop themselves in time. As such, more opponents were killed than injured.

Richard had his soldiers clear up the battlefield, making an inventory of the spoils of war as he entered the cleric's tent and sat down. He had the cleric escorted over, beginning the interrogation.

Someone who surrendered without a fight certainly wouldn't have a strong will. The fellow wasn't of the sort to sacrifice his life for his faith, and he was exceptionally cooperative as he rapidly answered all of Richard's questions. This would surely affect the grace he was afforded, maybe even forcing him to drop in level, but to him that was a small price to pay to keep his life.

Kars was as young as he looked, only 22 years of age but already level 5. In the pantheon of Faelor, someone serving a greater god like Cerces could only be called a cleric at level 5, given independent charge of a task.

According to him, a great battle had ensued on the day that the invaders moved through the portal. The allied armies of the greater god Cerces and the intermediate god Neian had suffered a crushing defeat, their battle priests and paladins completely wiped out. This was nearly the entire combined force of two large churches, severely diminishing their power.

Some time later, the church had joined with the Iron Triangle Empire to launch a second expedition. However, they discovered that the formidable invaders were nowhere to be found. They only found a base of unknown origin. Many priests, mages, and paladins as well as the commander went to investigate, but they were abruptly met with mishaps as people suddenly lost parts of their bodies to sudden, rapid aging. Some even died immediately.

Having paid a heavy price of nearly thirty lives, the army finally retreated from the base. It was only then that they realised the seemingly peaceful base was flooded with the chaotic energies of time. Any unassuming corner could be a death trap that no man could withstand. Even a saint level powerhouse had been lost to it.
𝐟𝓇𝒆𝐞w𝐞𝙗𝓷o𝘷𝐞𝒍. c𝐨𝒎

The pope had thus declared this entire base dysfunctional, making it a forbidden ground because of the effects of the chaotic spacetime. He just had a group of soldiers stationed beside the base.

Guarding this bse that was deep into the desolate mountains was unquestionably an arduous and unrewarding task, no different from being sent into exile. It was obvious that this handsome young man was in some sort of trouble if he was assigned to it. The reason he had set up a kilometre away from the base was that he was afraid of the chaotic energies leaking. A single trace of that energy could kill him, regardless of whether it was time energy or spatial energy.

Once the young cleric was done saying all he could, Richard finally looked him in the eyes and stated indifferently, “My name is Richard. I'm a frontier knight of the Sequoia Kingdom.”

“Sequoia Kingdom!” Kars exclaimed, immediately aware of the crisis he was in. The country founded by a legendary hero had a chaotic relationship with religion. Three churches existed within their borders, but more than half the population were atheists or worshipped their ancestors. Besides, none of the three gods they did worship was Cerces.

Kars had been cooperative all this while because he could tell that the other party was an aristocrat who didn't slaughter him. He assumed they had just stumbled upon this deserted and cursed place, having high hopes of freeing himself by letting the man take him as prisoner and turn him in as redemption. He'd never thought the other party wasn't someone of his empire, so the matter quickly grew complicated.

Richard thought for a moment before saying, “You should understand that I do not wish for anyone to know that I have showed up here, not to mention my attack towards Cerces's warriors. You have two options. Remain loyal to your god and sacrifice yourself, or change your faith and live on.”

“Change my faith? You're a follower of the vile god Jadosh?!” Kars exclaimed, his face looking extremely pale.

“You have no need to know. You'll understand our god when you convert.”

Kars seemed extremely frightened, his throat bobbed up and down as he swallowed, before he asked in a strained voice, “Will my divine power be burned?”

Richard nodded, “Becoming a fallen cleric is your only chance to survive”

Kars closed his eyes, going through a short internal struggle before nodding his head.

259 - City of Sin

Purification

Although the burning of Kars' divine power was painful, it was quite brief. A wisp of gold flew out of the Book of Time and entered the young cleric's forehead, brimming with the power of the divine that strengthened him until he hit level 6. A faint golden radiance rushed out of his body, lingering on his person.

This result made Flowsand shake her head, while Richard was taken a little aback as well. Marvin had managed to go from level 3 to level 6, but Kars who was already level 5 couldn't do any better.

However, the aforementioned cleric did not know that the two people in front of him were quite dissatisfied with his advancement. He was rather surprised, not expecting at all that he could still advance to level 6. This new god had to be quite formidable, at least on par with Cerces!

However, there were only three greater gods on all of Faelor. If Kars had been dilligent in his studies, he would have discovered instantly that this divine power belonged to no known god. However, that didn't matter; Flowsand would inform him of it all the same. Hearing the title of the Dragon of Eternity and Light, the fellow was clearly dumbfounded. He tried his best to recall, but the name didn't ring any bells.

Flowsand gave him a simple explanation that covered two basic points. Firstly, the Eternal Dragon was matchlessly formidable. As the name suggested, its powers transcended spacetime. Secondly, were Kars to betray the burning of his divine power would accelerate his aging. Every level would cost him ten years of his life. This damped the newly fallen cleric's excitement, warping it into astonishment instead.

However, at least he managed to stay alive. That was the only way the youth managed to console himself. He didn't really feel any conflict against this new religion that claimed to pursue mysticism. It was quite common for clerics to secretly propagate their god's doctrine, and this divine power he felt was real. The aura of this new god was vast and dignified; it definitely wasn't some evil spirit.

What Kars cared more about was Richard's identity as an aristocrat of the Sequoia Kingdom. His own father was a baron from a historied family, but now his own status in that family was in shambles. The Sequoia Kingdom and Iron Triangle Empire weren't exactly at odds with each other, but they weren't steadfast allies either. Although there wasn't any war on a national level, armed conflicts were common at the borders. Besides, both countries were interested in the chaotic Bloodstained Lands; it was an open secret that powerful nobles on both ends had representatives there.

Nevertheless, the fallen cleric was rather optimistic. Having come to terms with reality, he didn't feel too dejected; his future prospects in the Church of Cerces had come to an end anyway. Richard questioned him about that, and he admitted that he'd seduced an earl's mistress.

Richard had nothing to say to that. His subordinates came from all sorts of backgrounds, being a mix of slaves, murderers, and heretics. As he walked out of the tent with Flowsand, he looked at the captive soldiers and realised that they were a thorny problem. “How should we deal with these people?” he asked her.

She thought over it for a moment before answering, “Let Kars handle it, he should know what to do.”

Richard nodded, calling the fallen cleric out, “Kars!”

The youth immediately ran over to his side, asking if there were any orders. Richard pointed to the captive soldiers, “Think of a way to deal with them, you're not allowed to kill them all. You can't let them divulge my secrets either.”

Kars looked reluctant, but he nodded his head and took the task upon himself. As such, Richard left some soldiers in the camp as he brought his party back to the Mensa base.

Flowsand walked into the base, reaching out to gently touch the gate. A wisp of golden light flew out, drifting in the air without any pattern. This stream of light was extremely beautiful, occasionally refracting at certain angles to form a rainbow of colour. However, Richard understood this was the power of time, an extremely dangerous thing that not even a grand mage or saint level powerhouse would willingly approach.

Flowsand lifted the Book of Time in the air, bringing it close to this light. The stream brightened for a moment, before dissolving into a puff of golden sand that sprinkled onto the book. They then seeped in like raindrops being absorbed by soil, the book itself growing a little brighter in the process.

Flowsand absorbed three scattered belts of time energy in a row, before proceeding to walk in. Every graceful step she took revealed one or more of these streams in the lifeless town, before dissolving them into golden grains. The entire base was lit up in a strange yet beautiful light.

The Mensa base was very large, and it took Flowsand an entire week to absorb all the power of time within. This also meant the death trap had been purified.

In the meanwhile, Richard had gone to camp to craft a rune. This one was a mana boost, prepared for himself. With the understanding he had of his own body, substantial changes had been made over a standard rune. The boost wasn't affected at all, but the demand for capacity was greatly reduced. The final product was an exquisite rune slot that was only the size of a palm.

When done, he took off his clothes and activated the rune by transferring some mana into the slot. He then placed the slot in front of his chest, smoke rising from his skin the moment it came into contact as a thin layer was quickly burned away. The rune then fused into his skin, merging at a speed visible to the naked eye.

The entire process was extremely agonising. The skin the rune was attaching itself to experienced scorching pain, as though a red-hot iron had been placed upon it. By the time it finally finished fusing, he had to let out a deep breath as he wiped the cold sweat off his forehead.

A few gentle knocks sounded from the door at that moment, as Flowsand pushed the door open and walked in. Her gaze landed on the fresh hide on Richard's chest, and she stared at it blankly for a while before asking, “New rune?”

Richard nodded, “Mana boost, same as yours. This will be equivalent to another powerful spell in battle.”

The cleric smiled gently, “I like that we're using the same rune. Also, guess what I found?”

She opened the Book of Time as she spoke, retrieving a torn page. The page stretched out the moment it left the book, growing to twice its initial size.

260 - City of Sin

Upgrade

“So, it isn't just one more spell at the highest rank,” Flowsand said with a smile, passing the page of the Book of Holding to Richard.

Richard couldn't contain his joy as he took the page from her hands. He hadn't expected to be able to see another page of the Book of Holding so quickly. The one sheet he got from the Church of Valour was already one of the most powerful magic items he had, and with two on hand now he could verify the information about its extraordinary powers. If the Book of Holding really would develop new powers after the two pages were combined, then it would be a priceless artifact.

“Where did you get this?” he asked doubtfully.

“I found it within one of the cracks in spacetime. It might have been floating around aimlessly and met the base when it was being shifted, being swept into this plane.” All of this was said calmly, but Richard was well aware that nobody but her could have retrieved the loose page even if they knew where it was. A crack in spacetime was one of the most dangerous things in existence.

“We must be really lucky!” Richard exclaimed.

Flowsand laughed in response, “I'm a cleric, and you're blessed by the Eternal Dragon. There's no way we'll have bad luck. That's a part of one's ability.”

Richard spread the loose page on the table, placing it next to the one he already own. Before he could examine how to piece them together in detail, the two loose pages that were close to each other started glowing with mysterious light. They were pulled towards each other on their own, the light growing brighter as they approached. When they finally made contact, a blinding glare flashed out and forced Richard to close his eyes.

By the time he opened his eyes once again, the two loose pages had already combined to form a thin book. On the cover was a half-missing picture, with vague spiral patterns that couldn't be deciphered. Two thick pages could be seen within, slightly yellow like aging parchment. The pages were pliable but tough.

Caressing the pages, he started to slowly gather mana to cast a normal detection spell. The usage and new abilities of the Book of Holding quickly appeared in his mind.

With the two loose pages combining, there was an extra spell slot and every spell could be upto grade 6. This meant a total of three grade 6 spells! With the current levels of the enemies they were fighting, that would be enough to completely reverse the situation. This was like the addition of half the power of a level 14 great mage.

The Mensa base still had large amounts of supplies. They were undoubtedly very valuable, but Richard couldn't use them. Just like the Archeron base, this one was right under the nose of a church and a regional ruler. The Church of Cerces would soon discover that their garrison there wasn't making the daily reports, and would examine the region. Richard didn't have dozens of bearguard knights under him; although his army had grown stronger over time, it would be too much of a stretch to fight a group of battle priests. Please visit ƒ𝘳ee𝒘𝚎𝐛𝘯𝐨ν𝑒l. 𝒄o𝘮

Having collected all the magical resources, Richard swapped out the equipment of his men for whatever was stored in the base. Sadly, the barbarians were far too large; there was no armour that would fit them. Some simple measures were taken instead, armour plates placed at their chests and backs and bonded together with pelts. He estimated that this change in equipment grew his army's prowess by at least 15%.

Another surprise was that all the captive soldiers joined Richard's troops. Kars had used a method similar to Flowsand's own, having them pray non-stop in a seven day ceremony. However, these prayers weren't in praise of their god, but to curse Cerces. They would spit at their god's image repeatedly as well, and the seven days of cursing ended up shrouding them in an unnoticeable dark energy.

These soldiers were now blasphemers. The dark energy surrounding them would be clearly visible to any cleric of Cerces, and would be detected by anyone with powerful magic. If they dared to return and were caught, they would immediately be burnt at the stake. Even if they went forth and sought mercy, confessing everything, they would not escape punishment. It would only be considered their redemption.

As a greater deity, Cerces would not tolerate even the slightest of blasphemy. Repentance alone would never redeem them of their sins.

Richard could only shake his head at this 'contribution.' The order had been his, and the fallen cleric had completed his mission perfectly. With the exception of the two paladins, everyone had been tied onto his chariot. The paladins themselves had much stronger faith; they resisted the moment they stirred, ready to perish alongside the heretics. Richard was left with no choice but to have them killed.

Once they packed everything they could take, Richard led his troops away from the Mensa base and back towards the Sequoia Kingdom. It was time to finish his deal with the Direwolf Duke.

In the meanwhile, Richard was also prepared to look for an opportunity to draw the bearguard knights out to the open in the Bloodstained Lands. The Schumpeter troops were extraordinarily special, with no chance of integrating or masking themselves into the hierarchy of the plane. Thus, the endless battles in the Bloodstained Lands would undoubtedly weaken them significantly.

Now, with his identity as a frontier knight, Richard didn't mind using the influences of his plane to get rid of his enemies. He was well aware of how valuable the bearguard knights were; every one he killed was an additional blow to the Schumpeters. Richard wasn't afraid that they would not head south; his own presence there eventually would be too tempting for them not to take the bait.

Deep in his heart, Richard felt like there was no meaning to this war with the Schumpeters. However, he had no choice but to fight back. It was as if there was no end to those who wanted to kill him ever since he returned home. Even when on a foreign plane, there were people from Norland sent to take his life. Although he felt helpless about this, a ball of fury silently burned in his heart.

The troops silently marched along the eastern border of the Bloodstained Lands, heading south towards their destination. Along the way, Flowsand completely absorbed the power of time from the base and became a level 10 cleric. Even though that only allowed her to cast more grade 5 spells, the powers of her title had advanced.

The title of 'Daybreak' allowed Flowsand to decipher and borrow the divine powers of other gods. At the first level, she had the ability to strip away small amounts of divine power, and now she could both absorb more and use her own power to drive those of other gods. She could basically use the scrolls and divine items of other deities without having to alter them at all. All it would take was a small amount of her own power.

This was a frightening ability, one that caused Richard to reassess the clerics of the Eternal Dragon as a terrifying opponent. Not only could they use the powers of others, they would be able to analyse and dissect the power of their enemy. And he didn't even know what the title of First Light of Dawn granted high priestess Ferlyn. However, even as he evaluated Flowsand he forgot to consider his own blessings from Alucia, his talent, and the broodmother...

Just as Richard was about to reach his destination, a rare war of great proportions was playing out in the Bloodstained Lands.

261 - City of Sin

Unwilling Defeat

Salwyn was stood atop his carriage, gazing at the battlefield far ahead as he continuously yelled out orders. His voice was already amplified by his mana as much as possible, but in this battlefield full of death cries, yells, and world-shaking howls, his range was limited.

By this point, the great mage had already lost his calm grace. Sweat continuously dripped from his forehead, and despite the aid of magic his voice had grown hoarse from all the roaring. However, he himself was unaware of all this.

His loyal messengers were still shuttling between the carriage and the army like a stream, but facing the ever-changing battlefield even his orders were too difficult to execute accurately.

“Right wing! Hold the right wing, who let you send in the cavalry, withdraw! Don't you see the back lines ready for the attack... Damn it, they already charged. Block... Tch... Send a team of imperial knights to the right wing and break their charge. Remember to take a cleric!”

Twenty imperial knights in bright armour started charging out from near the carriage after Salwyn's roars, gradually speeding up until they reached maximum speed in a few hundred metres. They had already levelled their long lances, using the inertia to crack down on the bearguard knights who had broken through the frontlines on the right wing.

Two currents of steel clashed into each other, but the violent collision ended with the defeat of the imperial knights. The tall, strong men had encircled the bearguard knights, but the difference in power was far too great. Most of them were sent flying away alongside their horses as the enemy's magical horses burst forth with unimaginable strength. There seemed to be no resistance during the collision, as the black-armoured knights didn't pause for even a moment. They just sped up to chase the imperial knights who were thrown out, cutting many knights and their horses in two with their swords.

It was as though the bearguard had been possessed by a god of death, sweeping back and forth across the region until none of the imperial knights were left alive. The gap on the right wing grew even larger. Fortunately, these demons didn't seem able to withstand a long battle. They retreated after disrupting the right wing, and countless warriors in all sorts of attire began fighting in their place.

The right wing was embroiled in complete chaos. The bearguard knights had chiselled through the middle of their formation, ripping it apart and allowing a large number of fierce and extremely vicious warriors to break in.

When the allied armies of the Iron Triangle Empire and the churches of the Sequoia Kingdom couldn't hold on much longer, a ray of holy light poured out from the middle of the formation that was on the brink of breaking apart. It was like the warriors within had drunk potions, their spirit boosted as their strength, reflexes, and endurance were greatly enhanced. They immediately brought disastrous casualties to the enemy, even pulling two bearguard knights off their magical mounts.

Not far away, Sinclair squinted her eyes from atop her manticore's back, licking her lips lightly as she murmured, “The stench of magic again... I hate priests...”

She had neither joined the attack nor commanded the army this entire time. It seemed like she was a little girl who was out of her mind, standing blankly in position and repeatedly talking to herself. However, once she was done murmuring her silhouette suddenly disappeared. She maintained her posture from before disappearing when she returned, her expression still one of naive and innocent confusion, but she was right behind the only high-ranking priest on the battlefield. She had moved hundreds of metres away from her original position, and now she looked around and screeched like a lost little girl as she fled to his side.

The small troop of paladins protecting the priest did not manage to respond in time. A petite, beautiful doll of a girl who was almost naked was screaming as she ran towards them, and nobody even though of stopping her.

It looked like she didn't do anything, but the priest's magic was suddenly cut off. Soon after, the blessings he'd cast on the soldiers disappeared one by one. The priest was stunned, looking down at his chest only to see an unknown large hole in the luxurious and expensive robes he wore. The hole revealed a terrifying cavity in his exposed chest, with nothing inside.

Isn't that where the heart is supposed to be? With this last doubt, the priest lost all light in his eyes before rapidly collapsing onto his back. As for the little girl, a heart had unknowingly appeared in her hand.

However, this heart was not the priest's. That one was already in her stomach. She sniffed this one and threw it aside, before another heart miraculously appeared in her little hands once more. The warm heart was still beating tenaciously, unaware that it had left its owner.

Just like that, Sinclair's silhouette appeared and disappeared in this battlefield where thousands of people were killing each other. Her appearance was tender and delicate, completely at odds with the brutal fighting around her. She was just like a wilful little girl that was picking fruits from the trees along the way, taking a bite from the delocious ones and throwing away those that were not. It was just that any other little girl would probably be picking real fruits; she was picking her enemies' hearts. The soldiers she walked past suddenly paused in their movements, falling off their horses without a sign. Only then would one see fresh blood rapidly pooling below their bodies.

Sinclair passed through the battlefield, returning to her frontlines before she conveniently shoved the heart in her hand into the manticore's mouth before jumping on its head. She looked at the battlefield and let out a sharp whistle, pointing ahead to ten bearguard knights. The manticore immediately leapt forward.

They quickly crossed towards enemy ranks. Just ahead of the bearguard knights' charge, the paladins fell off their horses one after the other. The chaos in the right wing was slowly starting to bleed into the left.

“Damn it, we can't guard that any longer!” Salwyn smashed down on the guardrail of his carriage roof, turning his head abruptly as he shouted, “A squad of imperial knights, paladins, a hundred infantry, and a priest!”

Salwyn's voice suddenly became faltered after giving the orders. The neat square formation of the reserve troops behind him was now staggered apart. The soldiers corresponding to the orders stepped out immediately and charged into the battlefield to reinforce the defensive line, but that left only a few hundred soldiers behind. Of that, only twenty of them were knights. All the mages and priests were already on the battlefield.

The only ones capable of magic who weren't deployed apart from Salwyn himself were a level 15 great mage and a level 16 priest. The two were considered the cream of the crop in the Sequoia Kingdom, their status no lower than his own. They were truly distinguished figures that could not be placed in danger. Please visit 𝗳𝚛𝐞𝘦wℯ𝚋𝓷o𝚟el. 𝐜𝘰𝒎

“Demon... She's a real demon! We need to annihilate her, regardless of the price!” The priest's grizzly beard was trembling, his old wrinkle-filled face distorted with rage. Words were not enough to express his anger, as he smashed his jade-embedded gold sceptre into the roof of the carriage.

'MY CARRIAGE!' Salwyn snarled inside his mind, but he didn't speak it out loud, 'Since you hate demons so much, then go kill her already!'

However, he knew quite clearly that this priest in front of him wouldn't dare go out onto the battlefield after seeing Sinclair take out his companion so easily. The most he could do was bless the reserve troops who were prepared to move out.

Neian's influence in the Sequoia Kingdom was limited, with only three level 16 priests in total. One of them would be a cardinal in the future, and now that one of them had died unexpectedly in battle the possibility for the remaining ones to advance had increased from a third to a half. This was a huge increase, but if he died in battle as well the one priest who hadn't come here would be guaranteed that spot.

The mathematics was simple, but human minds weren't. Even while working for the honour of their god, worshippers were allowed to retain some amount of selfishness.

262 - City of Sin

Unwilling Defeat(2)

“That girl is really only fifteen?” Salwyn asked the great mage next to him with a grave expression.

“My magic doesn't lie, she is level 15 at most!” the great mage answered with an equally serious tone.

This great mage was still young, almost the same age as Salwyn himself. He seemed destined to become a powerhouse in the future. As such, Salwyn had great respect for him, also being certain that he wouldn't go on the battlefield unless he gained full control of the situation. Such a young character with a promising future likely wouldn't risk placing himself in danger.

Before the battle even began the mage had cast various buffs on the army, fulfilling his purpose in accompanying the troops. He had nothing left to do.

In his entire life, Salwyn had never lost absolute control of a battle. Single battles aside, even long campaigns were under his thumb from start to finish. Everything went exactly as he planned, and even if there were small hiccups along the way he had a habit of maintaining strong reserves to deal with them.

His reputation as a war artist wasn't something he had engineered himself. It had come naturally through his various military victories, both large and small. The only reason Rislant outranked him in the Iron Triangle Empire was due to a difference in age and experience. At least, that was the way Salwyn and his subordinates saw it. It was only because of this reputation that Salwyn was selected as the commander of the alliance. If not for that, this post would customarily have been taken up by a powerful general of the Sequoia Kingdom.

Watching the battle from the sidelines, the nobles of the Sequoia Kingdom hid far away from the frontlines. The high-ranking officers were secretly happy that command had not gone to them; Salwyn was the only one who could sustain such a difficult battle. They themselves would likely have lost their frontlines to that female demon's surprise attacks long ago.

However, the only thing Salwyn seemed to change was the length of the struggle. With his carriage acting as the core of the army, ahead of them was a muddled battlefield with thousands of people.

More than two thousand elite soldiers had started the battle, and hundreds more had been engaged as it went on. There were still a hundred or so elite soldiers around Salwyn, but they were the personal guard of the more than ten groups of nobles here. They couldn't be activated unless they were surrounded and in immediate danger. The same went for Salwyn's fifty imperial guards. They were the protectors of the royal household, and their chief duty was to protect the prince.

The allied forces were up against more than six thousand soldiers, but the opposing army was far inferior to theirs. There were all kinds of people amongst the troops, ranging from fierce robbers to ordinary men who just swung their weapons wildly. However, there was no place for weaklings in the Bloodstained Lands; even ordinary men were comparable to common soldiers of the human kingdoms. The slight difference between them and the elites they were facing was overcome by their strength in numbers, especially in a staggered melee like this one.

Professional soldiers took advantage of formations, discipline, and teamwork on the battlefield, amplifying their individual prowess. Their training allowed them to be twice as good as they were alone, also keeping their morale up. However, this battlefield was devoid of such superiority. The allied forces couldn't maintain their formation at all, every organisation attempt by Salwyn broken apart by the ferocious bearguard knights as they completely shattered all resistance.

Once the black-armoured knights managed to penetrate the toughest defences of their enemies, they would return to a square formation and await further orders. They used this time to get some rest; following them were ravenous slaves who would fight like wolves and tigers. Please visit f𝙧ee𝙬ℯ𝐛𝓃𝐨𝚟𝒆𝘭. c𝒐𝓂

The two great mages of the Schumpeter Family didn't cast spells to assist the soldiers in their engagements; all their energy was used up in keeping the powerhouses of the opponents at bay. Four mages above level 10 had already fallen to their spells, alongside three level 12 priests. This alone showed the difference between Norland and Faelor; if two mages of similar level from Faelor were to take their place, there would be no crushing victories. They would have had to exert all their effort, only barely coming out victorious.

On top of all that, Sinclair's cunning was terrifying. She constantly had a dazed expression on her face, with nobody knowing when her hysteria would break out once more. The messy battlefield posed no distraction to her at all; she appeared and disappeared when and where she pleased. Her split=second teleport abilities allowed her to quietly appear behind her target, killing them with one swift blow.

Her hands, legs, knees, elbows... every part of her body was a deadly weapon, and most deadly of all was the two black daggers that she wielded with pinpoint accuracy. Faced against these blades, even an imperial knight's heavy armour seemed to be nothing but paper.

Sinclair didn't attack often, but every move affected the outcome of the battle. A level 16 priest, a level 14 great mage, a saint-level paladin had all died at her hands. In fact, the only injury she had sustained on the battlefield was when the paladin had returned a blow in his last moments. However, the attack had only made her spit out some blood that was a dirty black.

The manticore was quietly crouched down, its huge ten-metre body an unspeakable deterrence on the battlefield. Its abilities hadn't been put on full display; it seemed like it was only responsible for Sinclair's safety when she was alone. A group of elite soldiers had rushed at it early on, but its sting had emitted a cloud of poisonous mist that killed them within thirty seconds. The manticore seemed to tire after the discharge, but a few hearts from Sinclair in quick succession revitalised it. After that display, nobody dared near a ten metre radius of it, not even the bearguard knights that were on the same side.

Salwyn had assumed that a battle against an unorganised mass would have been easy. Their disadvantage in numbers was merely superficial; having led Red Cossack before, he knew that his three thousand elites actually far surpassed the opposing army. And that was before the effect of battle on the mixed mob that had no training was considered.

However, the battle had not gone as planned. That demonic young lady used her keen sense of smell on the battlefield, removing his powerhouses one by one. The stable frontlines had been smashed to bits by the bearguard knights, turning the entire battlefield into a huge brawl.

And Sinclair had brought six thousand people with her! Given his understanding of the Bloodstained Lands, Salwyn feared every adult male had been herded to this battle. The hardest thing to comprehend was that the enemies were losing more men than he was, but that mix of soldiers that had been forced to battle showed no signs of wanting to retreat or escape.

When Sinclair disappeared and resurfaced among a group of imperial knights, Salwyn knew that the group was certainly done for. How many people had this demon killed? It seemed like she never tired, and never got hurt. It made him feel like every time she was tiring, she healed herself by eating the hearts of his strongest soldiers!

This was no misconception. Sinclair had a grade 4 rune on her body, the Dark Sacrifice. This rune could absorb the enemy's vitality, boosting the user's stamina and endurance. It effectively made her invulnerable to normal damage. This was an extremely powerful rune that was comparable to some grade 5 runes, but it had one breakout flaw. Its power irked the Eternal Dragon, making it difficult for anyone using it to be granted an extension of their life. This meant that they had a hundred years fewer than others on their path to power.

Looking at Sinclair inflict wanton destruction on another group of paladins, Salwyn grabbed the great mage standing next to him with one swoop. His eyes were blazing red as he gave the man a death stare, roaring at the top of his voice, “Look at what's happening! You say she's only level 15? YOU STILL DARE SAY SHE'S ONLY LEVEL 15?!”

263 - City of Sin

Unwilling Defeat(3) Google search f𝙧ee𝔀𝑒𝚋𝐧૦ѵ𝑒Ɩ. 𝑐𝘰𝒎

“She's level 15 at most.” The young great mage had extraordinary confidence and calm, coolly shoving Salwyn's hand away as he spoke without holding back, “My magic does not lie. Someday in the future, Sir level 12 mage, you will believe this.”

The emphasis on his level caused Salwyn to feel miserable. As a level 15 great mage at about the same age, this fellow's status was actually slightly higher than his own. As someone from the Sequoia Kingdom, he didn't have to acknowledge a prince of the Iron Triangle Empire. If not for Salwyn's own reputation as a war artist, the young great mage would long since have been offended by these words and grown hostile. The audience near the commander's carriage looked united, but they were anything but. A fair number of people here could tell that the situation was not going well.

More than two thousand of the opponents had died on the opponents' side, but they themselves had lost more than a thousand. This turned a 1:2 battle into almost 1:4. The frontlines could crumble at any point, while those hated black knights were assembling once more behind their opponents. It wasn't just ten this time; all of them had converged. Sinclair evidently wanted to end her opponent in a decisive assault.

“Retreat!” Salwyn send out his last command, his mouth tasting bitter as he did. This failure would become the largest blemish of his military career, one that was difficult to clean off. He'd lost an entire legion of imperial knights and 500 elite infantry; it was a huge blow to the Empire's strength. All of the paladins and battle priests being wiped out would also deal a great blow to their ally in the Sequoia Kingdom, the Church of Valour. The death of a level 16 priest, a saint paladin, and numerous mages was far beyond the loss of the knights.

What he found most difficult to accept was that the great mage was still insisting that demon was level 15, because 'magic tells no lies.' These words had come from a future grand mage, so he couldn't even doubt them!

When the horse carriage started to pull back, Salwyn swept his eyes over the battlefield one last time. He suddenly had the urge to curse. That woman had dealt with a dozen heavy knights in that moment, she was a restless killing machine! She'd even taken out the powerful priest and sacred knight before this... if this was the battle power of someone who was merely level 15, he would gouge his own eyes out.

Salwyn really wanted to ask if this genius' brain was filled with magic or dead yeast. Nobody below level 18 that he knew of could achieve such results on the battlefield. He was willing to swear on his royal ancestors that no matter what level the demonic girl was, her battle might definitely reached level 18.

With retreat being called, many of the nobles realised the situation was not ideal. They left immediately, their personal guard forming tens of streams that headed out in different directions. As for the soldiers still engaged in the brutal battle, they were ruthlessly abandoned.

This was a very common sight in war. More soldiers could be recruited if they died, and if that didn't work one could employ mercenaries. However, once a lord was taken as a slave they would likely be beheaded. Even the best case scenario would be paying a huge ransom, so why not just use that money to employ new soldiers instead?

Sinclair suddenly shrieked in the distance, her voice so sharp it resonated through the sky. The giant manticore carried her into the sky, its tremendous body that was tens of metres long moving at a speed unbelievable for its size. It charged into the battlefield, pursuing Salwyn.

There was no lack of powerhouses amongst the retreating troops, so there was only a slight panic. Salwyn and the level 15 mage launched disjunction spells at the same time, two balls of dark green locking onto Sinclair and flying towers her like bolts of lightning.

However, the girl merely jumped and teleported over to the defensive line that blocked her way to the carriage, beginning a massacre. This time, her figure no longer flickered in and out of existence, instead becoming a black tornado that tore through the formation in a storm of blades that took four or five lives every time it spun.

However, the two balls of light changed direction in mid-air, still aimed at her. She raised her arms and grabbed two of the guards, tossing them towards the spells. One immediately turned green all over, crumbling apart in the blink of an eye.

The other was noticeably sturdier and with better reflexes. His energy poured forth to protect him, wearing the disjunction spell away. The green light that could take lives grew much milder, eventually fading away, but the soldier was seriously injured as well. He spat out blood and lost his consciousness. The two disjunction spells had affected Sinclair as well, causing a pale green to rise on her face, but she continued charging nevertheless.

The priest atop the roof of the carriage ended up activating an intricate and elaborate divine scroll. An enraged roar rang out as Neian's symbol appeared in the air, divine power surging around the giant symbol and forming a great destructive force. The priest guided this power, pushing it towards Sinclair.

This was a grade 7 spell: Word of God. It was normally used to affect an entire area, but the priest guided all of the damage towards Sinclair. She actually spat out a mouthful of black blood and fell backwards, crashing towards the ground.

The manticore roared out, tearing a few warriors who wanted to take advantage of the situation apart. It protected her well until the girl managed to groan and grab its fur, climbing onto its back. She stared coldly at the priest atop the carriage, but didn't continue her attacks. The priest seemed terrified under her steely gaze; it was all he could do to stay upright and not move, but even so the hand on his sceptre trembled slightly.

Salwyn took a look around, seeing nearly a thousand elites escorting their masters as they fled in a hurry. He couldn't help but want to curse once more. Were these soldiers under his command, and if the two on the carriage could have attacked earlier instead of just standing there and criticising the situation, saying things like 'magic does not lie,' then the results of the battle might have been far different.

It was a pity that there was no place for ifs in the world.

The rest of the soldiers were still fighting to the death. Although they were already abandoned, their faith and honour still compelled them to battle until the end. They knew this girl was a representative of demons, killing her slaves as she wished. Even if they became her slaves, they would meet the same pitiful end. Besides, they were not the refugees of the Bloodstained Lands who had no future— they were soldiers with families and homes. Between a pathetic life and a glorious death, they chose the latter.

The valiant soldiers held the enemies back, allowing their lords the time to leave. However, they would not be remembered by anyone except their families.

Sinclair was stood quietly atop the head of the manticore. Just a moment ago she seemed as frail as a broken doll, but now she seemed to be much better as her aura strengthened without end.

Salwyn had gotten one thing right. Although Sinclair was merely a level 15 assassin, she was also a grade 3 rune knight with a grade 4 rune like Dark Sacrifice that allowed her to be far stronger than others. A total of three grade 3 runes in addition to that made her comparable to a saint of Norland. And in Faelor, the standard of a saint dropped to level 16 from level 18. In addition to all that, the regenerative abilities of Dark Sacrifice amplified her might in large scale battlefields.

Just as Richard had concluded, the power of runes was a decisive difference between Norland and Faelor.

264 - City of Sin

News

Sinclair was in a great mood after defeating their enemies, strolling through the corpse-filled battlefield on her manticore which was taking casual bites out of the bodies as it walked past. The creature was rather picky, only eating paladins and priest, completely interested in anyone who wasn't a cleric or was below level 10.

Wherever the manticore passed, everyone stopped looting and gave it wide berth. The beast wouldn't favour these people just because they had fought tirelessly for its master; clawing up everyone it bumped into and fiddling with them like they were toys. Given its poisonous claws, there were no chances of survival.

One of the mages approached the manticore's side, reporting the aftermath to Sinclair. 2800 enemy soldiers had been completely wiped out, with less than a hundred escapees. There were no captives this time; the troops who had grown dejected the moment Salwyn fled were immediately massacred by their men, while the rest had fought all the way to the end. After all, the men of the Bloodstained Lands were all bandits; they naturally wouldn't show mercy. Sinclair's own side had their losses as well, with 3500 dead while half of the rest were injured.

The girl waved her hands in annoyance, “I don't care about that trash, it doesn't matter if all of them die! How are my knights, that's the most important.”

“Six dead and four seriously injured. Two of them can't be saved,” the mage replied with respect.

“Meaning I'm only left with 31 men who can continue fighting?” Sinclair furrowed her brows.

“Yes, we've faced too many losses...” Sinclair waved him to a stop before he finished.

She thought things over for a moment before sighing, “It looks like my game is at an end. I need to get more serious. Things come back to what we talked about before; whether there are real legendary beings on this plane. Anyone can call themselves a saint, but legendary? That's a different matter altogether. Only those who reach level 21 can unlock a legendary ability.”

“Perhaps the so-called legendary beings of this plane don't have any legendary abilities, just calling themselves by that name like those mock saints. They might just be level 17 or 18.,” the mage conjectured. This is what Sinclair had been thinking as well.

“No!” she eventually shook her head, her fingers subconsciously twirling the manticore's fur, “I've already killed two of those mock saints, three if we count the one today. There's also the two level 16 priests as well. We haven't even been here that long, and this isn't even a powerful region of the plane. How could there be so many level 16 individuals if the plane greatly restricts such power? Faelor feels vaguely similar to Norland, I already feel like I'm going to advance again.”

A look of surprise painted the mage's face as he rejoiced, “That's great!” If Sinclair managed to advance to level 16 at this age where strength was everything, it would greatly increase her standing and ability to win planar wars.

However, the girl herself wasn't all that happy, “It's nothing! The only thing it means is that the upper bound of this plane encompasses legendary might, and those rumours are all true! With how we massacred this army, we might end up facing a true elite of this plane. I may be a grade 3 rune knight, but that won't mean anything in a fight against a legendary!”

“Perhaps we should start integrating into the plane,” the mage suggested after much thought, “At least we should branch out into the human kingdoms that aren't theocracies.. After all, the gods of this plane are our biggest enemies.”

Indeed, that was one of the ways to invade a plane. However, it was a move that reeked of desperation.

When one entered a new plane to explore it, there was a limit to the power of the people that could be teleported over. For example, a secondary plane limited at level 18 would only allow stable passage of those at level 15 or below. Any higher and the portal would grow unstable, giving rise to rifts in spacetime. However, the support of runes allowed the invading party to go head to head against the powerhouses of the new plane, or at least hold out against them for a while.

Most expeditions failed due to one of three reasons. First and foremost would be direct interference from the gods of said plane. Second was human wave tactics from the residents of the plane. Last and most unlucky of them all was entering a plane without the resources to build a portal back. Those parties ended up being trapped unto their deaths.

However, Sinclair had met none of those issues. Her problem was that they had come to an unknown plane, the standard of which appeared to be far higher than most other secondary planes. This posed a great disadvantage to her; her individual strength was rather poor for this expedition. It wouldn't be difficult to imagine the ending if she were targeted by one of the powerhouses here. Thus, the best plan now was to move discreetly, only expanding when she had enough power and influence.

Nonetheless, the mage wasn't able to understand how she felt. As a user of the Dark Sacrifice rune, she was extremely sensitive to the passage of time. The Eternal Dragon would never extend her life, making her unwilling to waste ten years of her existence on a plane like this. That was ten years of her precious youth!

But it didn't seem like there were any other choices now, causing her to be in a terrible mood. She laughed a sultry laugh, containing the charm of an enchantress that could smite tons of men and women. The mage didn't feel too good at the sight; he knew this meant she was in a bad mood. He also knew better than to speak in a moment like that.

The other mage arrived just then. He hadn't been cleaning up the battlefield, nor was he pursuing their enemies, instead going around and interrogating a bunch of people. He rushed over to Sinclair and said in a hurry, “My Lady, there's news about Richard!”

“Richard? Which Richard?” She has been so relaxed and reckless this entire journey that she had almost forgotten the target of this expedition.

“Richard Archeron! I heard a handful of people talking about him just now. Damn their stupid language, it was so hard to decipher it. They talked about the magic equipment bought by some sword saint that greatly increased his power. Apparently it was a device that was fit onto their body. Mistress, they're talking about runes!”

The mage was particularly excited, “I asked around, and found out that Richard was at Bluewater Oasis for a while, having built quite a reputation for himself in the Bloodstained Lands. The information on him wasn't kept secret; the deal had been quite expensive and involved a lot of high-profile people. As long as we catch him, we can get the coordinates to go back!”

Sinclair shook her head, “It won't be that easy. If I'm not mistaken, Richard's team should have met with the same accident we did. Even if we catch him and find his base, we'd only find an extinguished Lighthouse of Time like the one at the Mensa base.”

The second mage was shocked at Sinclair's words, speaking hesitantly, “So what do we—”

“A runemaster will still be valuable to us, even if his lighthouse has been extinguished! We find him, catch him, and kill everyone around. I want to make him my slave, one that will craft runes for me his entire life! That way I'll have a never ending supply of rune knights. If he could make such notorious transactions with these locals, it seems like he's already integrated himself into this plane. That's exactly what we need at this moment, we can use his status to hide ourselves. We will begin our conquest only when the rune knights are ready!”

265 - City of Sin

News(2)

Sinclair roughly grabbed at the manticore's mane as she spoke, causing the beast to shake its head as it breathed out black air, “Once this plane becomes mine, I'll definitely find a way to go back. At that point, I'd love to see the faces of those old rascals of the family. I'll strip a few of those old farts, hanging them up to have the orcs from here fuck them up the ass!”

The more she said, the more excited she grew. Her face turned a bewitching red. Sinclair never hid her resentment for her family, but even the two great mages were unsure as to the origin of this hatred.

Her eyes were glistening by the time she finished her last sentence. She licked her lips once done, continuing, “I heard that Richard is a handsome little rascal. When I catch him, I'd love to test him out a little. Maybe I'll even use him a couple times.”

One of the mages cleared his throat and reminded her, “The point of Richard's existence is to help you build a team of rune knights, Mistress.”

He had been by Sinclair's side for some now, having seen first hand the plights of many strong men who she 'used a couple times.' Richard was a runemaster and mage, he definitely wouldn't be tough enough to withstand her.

Sinclair nodded with a conflicting expression, “Then I'll use him sparingly.”

......

Richard's team was trailing the eastern border of the Bloodstained Lands. His expression was terse, clearly pondering over something throughout the horse ride. Smoke could be seen rising from afar, as a group of armoured troops were escorting a middle-aged noble. They were heading in his direction, looking rather alarmed.

'This is the fourth group...' Richard thought silently. He pointed to the incoming riders, “Stop them for questioning.”

The noble ahead had already seen Richard from a distance, being scared soulless. However, his horsemanship was rather limited and it would be impossible for their team to outrun the desert warriors he saw. The only thing he could do was to follow Richard's command.

He quickly recovered once he saw Richard's mage robes and his crest of nobility, quickly greeting him, “I am Asadis, the Golden Maple Viscount. You are?”

Richard smiled in response, “Richard, a frontier knight of the Sequoia Kingdom.”

“Oh, a frontier knight...” there was a hint of arrogance on Asadis' face, but he quickly reined himself in. He scanned through Richard's fierce army, asking politely, “Who is your lord?”

“The Direwolf Duke, Bevry.”

Asadis straightened up upon hearing that name, but his face didn't warp to one of disgust. Unlike the first three nobles Richard had stopped, he showed no resentment towards that name.

“Ah, someone who leaves a great impression on others, with true pioneering spirit. He's quite suitable to be the lord of a frontier knight like you.”

This was an ingenious response, but his opinion of the Direwolf Duke was obvious with his words. Of the three dukes of the Sequoia Kingdom, Bevry was the one who loved war the most. He was always fighting somewhere; he directed most of his menace towards the enemies of the kingdom, but he still engaged with opponents within on occasion. That was the reason for his famous title.

The relationship between the three dukes of the Sequoia Kingdom was peculiarly balanced. The two remaining dukes had a lot of conflicting views, but to restrict Bevry's insatiable desire to expand they allied often and kept him in check. Thankfully, neither Bevry himself nor his generals were particularly outstanding generals. They mainly won battles through fierceness over strategy or tactics.

Many years of battle had drained a huge portion of Bevry's fortune. The Direwolf Duke had the largest territory in the kingdom, and a lot of it was fertile, but he didn't have nearly as much wealth as his peers.

The viscount's shrewdness was obvious at this point. He wasn't like the other nobles who had judged Richard for his status, only showing disdain thinking he was riding someone else's status. This fellow had some knowledge of military affairs, and he himself was level 8. He was well aware of the might of Richard's troops; they weren't inferior to his own army. In fact, he could probably defeat the standing armies of most of the kingdom's barons. Thus, he treated Richard like he would an equal.

At the same time, Richard was observing Asadis as well. He was familiar with this name, having come across it before. If he didn't remember wrongly, this viscount's lands were only about 200 kilometres away from his own village. A lot of the fertile land had been cultivated, and there were mountains with mysterious mines and forests that produced precious food.

The addition to the title made it evident that he was from a massive and rather renowned family. The Maple Marquess in the north of the kingdom was his father. Richard escorted Asadis for a part of the journey, chatting with the viscount along the way. He inquired about the details of the battle against the invaders.

Asadis provided a rather neutral and accurate account of the battle, matching with Richard's own expectations for the bearguard knights. He didn't exaggerate the fighting ability of the two level 14 mages either; level 14 mages from Norland with some runes could easily go head to head with level 16 mages of this plane.

Richard himself didn't care about any mages of Faelor at a similar level. He was hovering on the edge of level 11, and at that point he would be confident in destroying a level 12 mage of Faelor in a magic duel.

Asadis also confirmed the appearance of a demonic young girl that the allied army was calling a nightmare, the cause of his sunken mood. Her bizarre way of killing, the massive manticore, and the overpowering battle strength allowed him to confirm her identity: Sinclair, of the Schumpeter Family.

Sisley and Sinclair; the reputation of the two Schumpeter girls exceeded even that of the family head. Their traits were well known, especially those of Sinclair. The girl had been participating in planar wars since she was 14, and it had already been more than ten years since then. If not for an underperformance in wars on Norland itself, she would be much more famous than Alice who had defeated Solam's alliance.

The arrogance of Norland was showcased in many different ways. For example, internal battles were much more important to those of Norland than planar wars, unless it was with another primary plane.

Combining the previous rumours and Sinclair's performance in this battle, Richard suspected that she was equivalent to someone at level 18. This was definitely an unwanted fight, the powerhouses on his side could barely hold her off. Sinclair could kill off anyone outside of Waterflower in the blink of an eye, taking it easy as she roamed around and took every chance to kill his subordinates. His entire party could end up killed at her hands as she nibbled away at his forces one by one.

266 - City of Sin

A Necessary Enemy

Once they were done escorting Asadis, Richard parted with the viscount and continued advancing southeast.

“What do we do now?” Flowsand asked. She was always close to him, so she had heard everything.

Richard let out a long sigh, “We need to change our plans. If Sinclair is the leader of the enemy troops, we don't have the capability to fight them off. She's already close to Bluewater, so she'll definitely learn of my existence. So... we have to take some risks!”

“What do you intend to do?” Flowsand asked.

Richard gently tapped the saddle, pondering for a while before he answered, “I want to meet our lord, the Direwolf Duke.”

At that moment, the sound of hurried horses started to make its way over to them. A group of twenty or so knights could be seen on the horizon.

They were undoubtedly the personal guard of a noble who had pulled back from the frontline. Regardless of age and level, all of them were good at riding and had sharp foresight, being able to escape the demonic clutches of Sinclair. Of course, from another point of view they could also be considered deserters who abandoned their comrades just before battle.

Richard had already gathered enough information, and had started initial talks with Asadis about a trade agreement. As such, he wasn't interested in the latest developments on the frontline anymore. Since that was the case, he didn't ask his subordinates to intercept.

However, the oncoming group made an abrupt turn and made a beeline towards them of their own volition. Without a need for his instructions, his subordinates who had experienced innumerable bloody battles immediately assumed battle formation. The mages and cleric were protected in the centre, while the knights formed the wings in preparation for attack. Since Richard hadn't given an order to stop, they had done all this while on the move.

The opposing group had no more than twenty men, and there didn't seem to be anyone exceptional amongst them. One attack, and they would all be wiped out. Having fought Salwyn's troops who used pack tactics to assault them, Richard's own subordinates were unintimidated by the sudden attack of such a small group.

The knights who were in a perfectly straight formation only started to rein in their horses when they were a mere ten horses away. The stones kicked up by their mounts even managed to hit the barbarian warriors at the very front.

Richard frowned, waving his hand. The entire army came to a neat stop.

The barbarian warriors were now armed with axe and shield. The stronger warriors who were gifted at battle even had a weapon in each hand. They all stabilised themselves, getting in defensive position as they placed their shields on the ground. The rude provocation had angered many of them, but not one took a step forward. They had grown used to obeying Richard's orders— if Richard wasn't commanding them directly, they would only follow the wind wolves.

At that time, Richard's core party looked at each other before casting a look of disbelief at their opponents. Having met several forces in the Bloodstained Lands, both strong and weak, they had never come across someone with the nerve to provoke an army of hundreds with a mere twenty riders. With how close they were, a simple order for the barbarians to throw out their axes would completely decimate this group of morons.

At the centre of the formation was a young noble, his luxurious clothes covering a fat body that was certainly more than a hundred kilograms. He himself didn't look beyond level 5, but his riding ability was beyond his weight and level. At the very least, he was fast enough to run for his life in the earlier battle. Naturally, that was also in part due to the breeding of the horse he rode. It was taller and stronger than the rest.

The youth raised his head and arrogantly looked at the opposing side, his gaze staying on Richard for a while. He had been most concerned about Richard's mage robes and noble crest, but he grew even more haughty after realising the crest was unfamiliar. He couldn't even be bothered to speak, merely waving his fat hand.

One knight immediately brought his horse forward at a gallop, covering the ten metres very quickly and almost hitting the barbarians at the front. A mere two metres away, the horse stood up and turned two rounds on the spot, before landing on its front legs.

The knight didn't have that much control. It was just that his steed was intimidated by the invisible killing intent of those opposite, not daring to move any closer. However, his expression was the same as that of his master. His nose was up in the air, and he seemed unable to notice the rage on the barbarians' faces.

“This is the great and mighty Highland Unicorn, Viscount Zim! Who the hell are you people?! Tell me now!” he roared.

Richard slowly raised his hand, stopping his subordinates from acting. The wind wolves crouching in their positions represented his intentions; as long as they didn't move, neither would the warriors.

“My name is Richard, Richard Archeron. I'm a frontier knight under the Direwolf Duke,” Richard replied calmly.

Having heard of his rank, unbridled laughter broke out amongst some of Zim's knights. However, the viscount in question didn't pay attention to Richard at all, completely focused on Flowsand's face. The cleric was eye-grabbing even in a crowd of hundreds. Even if one ignored her perfect complexion, her amber eyes and eyebrows lent a mysterious charm and aura to her face.

The knight at the front took out a lasso, spinning it a few times in the air before covering all the barbarians and desert warriors at the front. He didn't even let go of the trolls and half-orcs, or the defected soldiers who had been following Richard since early into his invasion.

“Frontier knight what's-his-name, consider yourself lucky. The noble Zim needs bodyguards, I declare that all these slaves have been confiscated by us. Take your personal guards and leave. Make it snappy! Don't force me to punish you further!” the knight ordered haughtily, as if he was a king.

He didn't even bother to remember Richard's name, showing a clear lack of manners. This fellow wouldn't even be classified as a noble, but he was already this arrogant. In fact, his arrogance surpassed that of his master.

“Wait!” Zim shouted, before gasping out some air. He pointed at Flowsand, “I want to buy that woman!”

The knight followed the viscount's finger to Flowsand, lust starting to radiate from his eyes. However, the fact that his back was turned to Zim ensured that his expression couldn't be seen.

The knight reached for the purse at his waist, fiddling around for a while. Giving it some thought, he didn't throw the entire purse and instead tossed a few gold coins out to Richard, “Here's ten coins! It's already too much to pay for a woman. You, follow me now!”

As he spoke, the knight urged his horse in Flowsand's direction. In his view, the slaves who were in the way would give way automatically. If they didn't, he would just get his horse to trample them to death. Even though barbarians were strong, they weren't strong enough to stand the trample of a horse. The death of lowly slaves would be no big loss. He might even be able to seek compensation from the frontier knight, who wasn't of much higher rank than the slaves. He would just claim his horse's hooves were damaged.

However, the slaves had no intention of giving way, their shields firmly rooted to the ground. The horse was the one who gave way, refusing to move forward. The knight's face immediately burnt red with shame, and he growled with anger, “You damn slaves, move!”

*Whoosh!* he brandished his whip, lashing viciously at the barbarian at the front. The warrior didn't avoid the whip, merely raising his thick arm to block. A loud smack resounded in the area as the whip landed on his arm, coiling around it a few times. The tip left a scar on the unarmoured warrior.

267 - City of Sin

A Necessary Enemy(2)

The ten gold coins flew towards Richard's location. If they continued along their path, one of the coins would hit him square in the face. Of course, that would never happen. All of the coins hit an invisible barrier, dropping to the ground. They jumped around on the ground, clinking against each other.

None of Richard's soldiers moved at the sight, not even glancing at the coins. Hundreds of gazes were focused on the knight at the front. The fellow's horse seemed more perceptive than him, refusing to go forward and even starting to retreat as it showed signs of irritation.

Richard stroked his chin lightly, slightly unused to the feeling. A short, grizzly beard had covered his face during the long hide and seek with Salwyn, so the newly shaven face felt off. Although he had the exquisite appearance that came from his elven blood, every bristle that grew on his face was as stiff as a needle.

As he looked at the astonished viscount, Richard slipped into thought. The knight turned red as he pulled hard on his whip, but the level 10 barbarian warrior stood still and unyielding. His arms seemed to be cast in metal; no matter how hard the knight tried, they wouldn't budge an inch. On the other hand, the warhorse's irritability was about to make him lose his balance, throwing him off. This absolutely couldn't happen! His hand fumbled around for the longsword at the side of the saddle.

The knight suddenly felt a strong gust of wind heading his way. Before he could turn his head to see what that was, a strong wind wolf suddenly pounced on him, pushing him off the horse and onto the ground. The warhorse was startled, bursting out into a long neigh as it raised its front hooves. Gangdor had already moved out of the crowd by this time, chopping diagonally with his gigantic axe to cut the creature's chest and abdomen open.

The horse collapsed on its back, blood and internal organs gushing out of the tear. The ghastly sight intimidated Zim and his subordinates for a moment.

The knight who had been attacked let out a long, bloodcurdling screech as the wolf bit into his right soldier, ruthlessly tearing out a large chunk of his flesh. Thankfully he was still a level 8 warrior himself; even though he was covered in dirt as he tossed about, he could still counterattack. Yet, just as he waved his fist, a few barbarian soldiers had already thrown themselves forward and jumped on him, firmly pinning him to the ground.

“How should we deal with this, Master?” a tall and burly barbarian asked menacingly.

Richard glanced at Zim and his subordinates, “Anyone who draws their weapon gets their right arm chopped off. No exceptions.”

Zim's knights had their hands on their sword hilts, but Richard's words caused them to grow stiff.

It was only Zim that began to shriek, “What did you say? SAY IT AGAIN!”

Richard didn't have the habit of repeating orders. His soldiers were quick and thorough with their execution, not needing him to say them twice. Even as Zim was shrieking, one of the barbarians forced the leading knight's arm open, while another raised his axe and chopped it off cleanly. The arm was separated from his body instantly.

Zim's entire body was shaking as he pointed at Richard, “You... you...” However, he was already unable to recall Richard's name. A chaotic mix of excessive anger, humiliation, and fear that he would never admit had stopped him from getting a proper sentence out for the longest time.

Richard ignored the slob as he said to Gangdor, “Next time, just hack the rider and not the horse. Mounts are expensive, humans aren't.”

Gangdor nodded vigorously as he answered loudly, “I know, boss! People like this in particular are about as valuable as dogs!”

Richard nodded his head in praise, “You've grown smarter!”

“It's because I levelled up, boss!” Gangdor said proudly.

It was only then that Richard raised his head, glancing at Zim as he spoke indifferently, “Who are you to dare come and take my slaves?”

Zim's face turned so red that it seemed like blood would leak out of it at any time. His voice was so high-pitched that he was basically squeaking, “I'm the noble Highland Unicorn, Viscount Zim! The title is from...”

Richard didn't bother waiting for the man to finish his sentence, repeating his own, “Who are you to dare come and take my slaves?”

“I am the noble...” Midway through the shriek, Zim finally realised the meaning of Richard's words. His already-red face started turning purple. He yelled hysterically, “How dare you humiliate me?! A lowly frontier knight actually dares to humiliate a viscount with royal blood?>! Someone, kill him for me! Wait no, I want to keep him alive and torture him. Just cut off his limbs! Kill anyone who dares to resist!”

The viscount's screams reverberated throughout the empty plains. His knights had already drawn their swords, but they were hesitant in their movements. Richard had only brought a few hundred people, while they had less than twenty.

Most of these soldiers weren't as undiscerning as their master. They naturally realised the extreme disparity between the two armies, both in terms of quantity and calibre of troops. If they really charged ahead, Richard could kill all of them in a few minutes as long as he ordered his troops to retaliate. Zim's status wasn't high enough for a frontier knight to just resign himself to death. This was easy enough to realise from how the leading knight had his arm chopped off, that fool now rolling and screaming on the ground.

“WHAT ARE YOU LOT DOING? KILL EVERYONE BUT THE WOMEN!” Zim raged, waving his whip and lashing at his guards.

The knights thus roared loudly, getting into formation as they tried to charge forth. However, their horses refused to move faster than a trot. Sadly, the frontier knight in front of them disappointed them again. Richard didn't retreat as they hoped, giving them a way out of the embarrassing position. This frontier knight didn't need any of that, and it seemed like he didn't intend to let Viscount Zim off so easily either.

In fact, Richard just repeated his earlier command, “Anyone who draws their weapon gets their right arm chopped off. No exceptions.” His subordinated faithfully executed the orders at once .

All of Zim's guards were brilliant soldiers for their level. They were unwilling to resign themselves to having their arms chopped off, but they were eventually surrounded by the barbarian soldiers and pressured until they collapsed. By the time the fifth person collapsed, they finally gave up on resistance. A few who were still dawdling and hadn't drawn their weapons yet could only thank their luck.

Zim was scared silly, using a trembling finger to point at Richard. His mouth opened and closed, but no words came out at all. Two barbarian warriors pulled him off his horse, dragging him in front of Richard.

Richard didn't get off his horse, looking down on the fat viscount condescendingly as he asked, “I'm really curious. This is the Bloodstained Lands, why did you have the audacity to get close to an army ten times your size, even demanding my slaves and woman? How has a fool like you lived so long?”

268 - City of Sin

A Necessary Enemy(3)

Zim's expression warped between shock, humiliation, and insanity, but the terror Richard had expected did not show itself. “I'm the Highland Unicorn—”

He couldn't help but interrupt the deranged viscount, “I know. You're the son of Earl Yatu, and your mother is the king's cousin. Those of royal blood in the Sequoia Kingdom typically have Highland at the start of their titles. Unicorn is a good follow-up, but is that it?”

Zim was stunned, speaking with disbelief, “You know all that but you still dare teach me with such disrespect? Let me go immediately! Once I'm back in my lands I'll bring my army and get revenge! When the time comes I'll kill your entire family, and torture you, and...”

“And take my woman,” Richard kindly reminded him.

“Yes, yes, your woman! That little girl isn't half bad, I never saw such pretty eyes before! Once I drain all your blood, I'll entertain her properly! First will be me, then my beloved dog, then my loyal guards...”

Watching as Zim sent spit flying everywhere, Richard frowned slightly and asked, “Aren't you afraid I'll kill you here?”

“You're just a frontier knight...” Zim suddenly went silent, regaining his senses as his face filled with panic. Beads of cold sweat surged from his forehead.He wasn't completely stupid, and now he realised that his opponents were so strong none of his men could flee. If this frontier knight in front of him ordered everyone killed and his own body thrown into the wilderness, nobody would learn what had occurred in this desolate land.

Richard chuckled and jumped off his horse, “So you aren't that dumb. Let's make sure you remember this better, I think you need some more entertainment. You lot, strip the honourable Viscount. Olar, flog the lord ten times. Remember to use his own whip, ours aren't as high-quality!”

The barbarians stripped the viscount quickly; Zim squealed like a pig being slaughtered, but soon he was completely bare. The obese youth's skin was fair and tender, an almost blinding white.

Given how vile and ruthless Olar was, the elven bard took the whip and spared no strength as he lashed out at the viscount's buttocks. The whip's end left a deep, bloody imprint on Zim's inner thigh, pushing his screams an octave higher.

Richard raised a hand, stopping the elf's second whip as he pointed between Zim's legs. “Olar. Take care not to ruin that part of our beloved viscount. They're extremely tender! If I'm not wrong, most of his value is in that place.”

The elven bard didn't quite understand the underlying meaning behind the words, but he still understood the direct order. His wrists twisted once more, the whip landing on Zim's fair, tender buttocks and his lower back. He left a few more bloody imprints on the inner thighs, but this time he took care to avoid the sensitive areas. The viscount's pitch raised with every whip; it seemed like there was endless energy in that fat body supporting his squeals.

The ten whips were finally finished with great difficulty, but the fellow was still howling. The marks from the lashes were slowly puffing up, the process slow and painful. It wasn't much better than the actually flogging.

Richard finally walked over to Zim and lifted the man's chin, their faces no more than ten centimetres apart. The viscount's eyes were blazing with flames that were a contradiction of fury and fear.

He smiled tenderly, patting the man's face, “My name is Richard, Richard Archeron. Don't forget it this time. Once you get back, gather your army as soon as possible for your revenge.

“Also, I'm a frontier knight, not a normal one. Know the difference between the two, so you won't make such a foolish mistake in the future.” Having said this, Richard stood up and brought out a handkerchief, wiping the hand that had patted the slob's face. This act upset the so-called Highland Unicorn no less than the ten whips. The fury was so intense in that chubby face that it looked like he would suffocate.

The naked noble was then tossed to the ground. The guards whose limbs were fine immediately helped him up, removing their own clothes for him to change into. Those whose arms were chopped off had already bound their injuries, withstanding the pain with great difficulty as they headed towards the viscount. Nobody cared for the corpses of their dead companions; they would end up feeding the beasts of the land.

Watching Zim's figure recede into the distance, Richard shook his head and pointed at the guards whose limbs were fine, “If I were them, I'd definitely find a way to escape right now.”

“What will happen after they return?” Flowsand asked.

“They're doomed to die. Those that lost their arms won't be spared either.”

“Why did you treat that moron so well?” she continued with a frown. From her point of view, there were many methods to take care of such arrogant fellows and teach them a lesson. The best would be to kill him and have the wind wolves eat his body. That way, there would be no traces at all. Richard's method seemed to be the most violent, but there were also issues that would crop up in the future.

“We need enemies now, and Zim is the best kind to have,” Richard smiled in answer.

“Also...” he paused, “He dared think of taking you. I'll leave a shadow in him for the rest of his life!”

......

With the episode concluded, the troops continued to advance. Dawn the next day, they had reached Richard's first true territory on this plane, a little village called Bran with about a hundred families.
ｆ𝑟𝑒𝐞𝚠𝒆𝚋𝚗૦𝐯ℯ𝙡. com

Bran was at the foot of a mountain, with a little brook passing through the village. It was less than ten kilometres away from the path between the Sequoia Kingdom and the Bloodstained lands. The Land of Turmoil in the southeast had forests, swamps, and a steep mountain range. That was where the broodmother was wandering around, clearing out all the powerful beings it could find.

Richard didn't stay at the village for a long time. He just met the village head and some elders, learning a little about the population and the environment before he left for the Land of Turmoil.

At the foot of the mountain, tens of wind wolves walked out single file, escorting two of his that had bundles tied around them back. Some stayed by Richard's side, giving him twenty in total. This was the maximum number that he could simultaneously control.

Having sent the four orcish idols he'd obtained from the Bloodstained Lands to the broodmother, Richard led the group forward to Baron Fontaine's territory. A messenger had already sent word that he hoped to meet the Direwolf Duke. And back at the forest within the Land of Turmoil, the broodmother heeded Richard's command and turned back, heading towards the borders of the Bloodstained Lands.

Now, everything was put in play. All that was left was the meeting with Duke Bevry. The results of that meeting would determine Richard's next bait. While he himself felt like the bait he'd thrown out was ample and would pander to the tastes of the duke, he couldn't be a hundred percent sure of the results.

269 - City of Sin

Crisis

The third night after leaving Bran, Richard's army finally reached Baron Fontaine's castle, meeting the person the Direwolf Duke had appointed to be his supplier.

The castle was built on a small island in the middle of Lake Windermere, connected to the shore by a short path. This wasn't a natural landform, built by the baron's family generation over generation. The manpower and financial resources invested into this task was immeasurable, and yet it had taken an entire century's worth of construction to reach its current grandeur.

The outer ring of the castle had classical architecture, full of solid cylindrical spires with battlements and a watch tower on each roof. As for the buildings within, they could be considered works of art. Roofs of all shapes were around, with pillars that linked two or three storeys together and wide terraces that were exquisite and beautiful. One could admire the scenery of the lake as well as the mountains and forests nearby from the main building.

This castle had an ancient name that translated into Twilight on the Lake. Over time, it had been shortened to Twilight Castle.

Seeing the castle, Richard's first instinct was to think of how he would siege it. Even with his amateurish perspective, he could find three or four effective routes of attack. That alone showed how weak its defences were. Even the strongest defence was the less than twenty metres of narrow road from the lake shore to the castle gates. Even if it limited the number of attackers, however, eighty heavily armed knights could charge through it at a time. It was only later, when he discovered the charm and beauty of the castle, that he realised it was never meant to be a fort.

Before this visit, Richard had already heard that Baron Fontaine was an outstanding swordsman. He had inherited his family's sword arts and was currently level 14, fully deserving of his title as master swordsman. He was also an artist and poet, adoring the two far more than he did battle.

Unlike the other subordinates of Duke Bevry, Fontaine was someone with an extraordinarily mild temperament, rarely growing his army. He had 800 soldiers under his command, of which about a hundred were elite knights.

The Baron's military looked weak, but those who underestimated him had all suffered bitter consequences. Fontaine was talented in many aspects, including his strategic and tactical prowess in war. He had defeated several of his family's enemies one after the other, expanding their lands to over five hundred square kilometres. This already surpassed the limits of an average viscount.

The land was fertile, producing food in abundance. At the same time, coal, iron, and copper were plentiful as well. Although these weren't specifically valuable ores, they were still the most common metals used to build arms on Faelor.

Richard stationed most of his troops at the camp outside Fontaine's castle, taking ten or so of his subordinates to enter and meet him. The baron was about forty years of age, in the prime of his life. He was genuinely taken aback by Richard's youth when they met, and during the banquet after was thoroughly impressed by his profound knowledge of magic. He himself had three sons and seven daughters, some of whom were quite interested in the field. He had them come out, allowing Richard to get to know them and assess their potential.

Richard thus cast a few detection spells when they were having tea, discovering that the children were all rather gifted enough that reaching level 10 wouldn't be a problem. He thus congratulated Fontaine, and he was immediately able to tell how overjoyed the man was.

By the time Fontaine was done arranging for accommodations for Richard and his subordinates, the sky had already grown dark. Richard chatted with him as they sipped on their tea, finding out a lot more about the history and secrets of the Sequoia Kingdom.

The reason for the mild-mannered Fontaine being subordinate to someone like the Direwolf Duke stretched back to three generations prior. The Baron's ancestor had sworn generational loyalty to the Duke's, and that pact had stood tall for over seventy years already.

Internal affairs in the Sequoia Kingdom were extremely complicated. The royal family was the ruler of the entire kingdom in name, but it had limited influence over the military and political affairs of the various nobles within it. If one thought about it, it was only inevitable for a kingdom that granted so much autonomy to its fieflords to enter a state of disorder.

Besides, the various churches were an issue as well. Three deities had official churches in the Sequoia Kingdom, supported by powerful nobles. There were even more trying hard to wriggle their way in as well. However, these churches were completely antagonised by a group of nobles worshipping their ancestors, led by the Direwolf Duke. If the churches spread their influence, their ancestors' spirits would not be nourished by faith anymore and would gradually wither and fade. This would be a decimating blow to such families. Someone like Duke Bevry who had reached level 16 owed at least a part of his power to his formidable ancestors.

On the other hand, if their ancestors' spirits gained enough power of faith, they could ignite their godfire and transcend to godhood. On the other hand, certain sacrifices could connect these spirits to their descendants, allowing them to bestow some of their power and thus greatly increase the descendant's chances of advancing to the saint or even legendary realm.

Thus, there was an absolute conflict of interest between ancestral worship and the pantheon. The battle between the two sides was incomparably intense, with no methods too low to be used. The only time the two groups joined hands was when invaders from another plane threatened the entire plane's safety. However, when the matter was resolved their death feud would resume. Even alliances were formed they were quite unstable, as evidenced by the crushing defeat of the combined forces of the Iron Triangle Empire and the Sequoia Kingdom.

When Richard had first received Marvin's letter, he had already understood how important the rune had to be for the Direwolf Duke to take him under his wing. Now that he had enough information, he understood the sheer intensity of Bevry's thirst for power. Although the Duke knew his identity and origin were problematic, and the history had been fabricated by Marvin right under his nose, he would still protect Richard as long as he could obtain the strength-boosting rune. This was extremely favourable in Richard's opinion— a bond based off mutual benefit or collaboration was much stronger than any oath or treaty.

Baron Fontaine was a charming man who spoke with grace, broadening Richard's horizons after a night of chatting. Richard left a good impression as well, especially with his calm and collected presence. This was something reserved for the cream of the nobles of this plane.

It was getting late into the night, so Richard headed back to his room to rest. The baron's envoy would set off the next morning, heading to Duke Bevry's capital and informing him of Richard's intentions. After that, they would simply wait for a reply.

270 - City of Sin

Crisis(2)

Baron Fontaine also informed Richard that the Duke had dispatched a team of elite knights led by a saint, and they were currently en route to the castle. Their main task was to escort the rune in his hands back, but he could also follow them on their return journey; they would be able to ensure his safety.Richard's hands.Even though they weren't at war, the conflict between churches and ancestor worshippers ensured that armed battles could break out at any time.

The guest room prepared by the Baron was grand and spacious, offering scenic views of the lake right outside the ceiling-to-floor windows. It wasn't far away from his subordinates as well, showing the thought and consideration that went into his accommodations.

However, as Richard lay on the bed, he kept tossing and turning while unable to fall asleep. An uneasy feeling in his heart kept him wide awake.

'What is it? Does Fontaine have any plans to kill me?' he furrowed his brows, deep in thought. Nestled somewhere within that deep feeling of unease was a fear for his very life, as if a sharp blade was about to fall from the sky at any time. However, the passion and sincerity of the Baron had been heartfelt, that was something Richard was sure of. No additional defences had been placed in the castle, and when he toured it he hadn't once felt the presence of any additional weapons.

This likely wasn't just the natural paranoia from being in unfamiliar territory. Although Baron Fontaine had some degree of strength, it wasn't enough to alarm him. Both Zendrall and himself could summon a steady stream of magic creatures, while Waterflower's fighting abilities far surpassed her level. He also had Flowsand, who had the Book of Time. With the upgrade to the bonuses from her title, she could use far more scrolls at one go than before. As long as she didn't run out, she would be an untiring machine.

Where was this danger coming from?

Richard sat up, wearing his clothes and removing the nameless longsword from its scabbard and placing it within arm's reach. He mentally gave commands to those contracted to him to remain alert and on guard, at the same time making contact with the broodmother and having her proceed towards the baron's lands and wait at the fringe of the mountain areas for further orders.

However, at a speed of a mere ten kilometres an hour, it would be impossible for the broodmother to reach the battlefield in time to offer assistance. It had to be informed in advance, so that it could wait in ambush at a specified place or clear an escape route. If the situation was so bad that the broodmother had to break out of a siege, it could knock any chasing soldiers out.

The premonition of danger was growing stronger and stronger. It was mere intuition, but for mages like Richard intuition normally hinted at such a thing. There was a reason he felt this sense of danger, only that he couldn't figure out why exactly that was.

Gangdor, Waterflower, and the others got up one by one as per his command, outfitting themselves for battle. Waterflower quietly made her way to Flowsand's room and informed the cleric to prepare, remaining there to protect her.

At the campgrounds outside of the castle, the two trolls got up and woke the remaining soldiers rather violently, trying as much as possible not to alert the defenders of the castle. The soldiers were ordered to get ready for battle.

This was the first night where Richard had come into contact with the Direwolf Duke's strength. With Baron Fontaine's attitude and intentions not clear at the time, all of his soldiers had slept in full armour, ready to emerge from their tents and fight the moment they picked up their weapons.

......

Earlier that evening. The sun seemed reluctant to set, painting half the sky crimson. A young hunter walked briskly towards Bran, a plentiful harvest of prey on his back.

The mountains and forests here weren't completely peaceful and safe. There were recent sightings of gigantic wolves that had never been seen before. Experienced hunters loathed coming across bears and wolves, and this youth was no exception. He was hoping to make it back to the village before the sky turned dark; it would be too dangerous in the forest before nightfall.

As the village slowly came into view, the hunter couldn't help but pick up his steps. However, just as he was doing so an unfathomably beautiful lady that he could never even have dreamt of appeared in front of him. Gazing at her almost nude body, the youth almost went cross-eyed.

“Is the leader of this village named Richard?” the beautiful lady tenderly asked.

“Richard? No.. Oh wait, yes! Our new leader... He's named Richard Arc—” the youth's train of thought slowed down, his gaze refusing to leave the lady's chest. Thankfully he wasn't smitten to the point that he couldn't answer questions.

“It better be him! Come here, my baby, help me find out where that little Richard went,” the beauty said as she turned to the side.

A huge lion head popped out all of a sudden at her words, almost the size of the hunter's full upper body. The manticore opened its mouth wide open, biting off the youth's head, shoulders, and chest with one bite. Shortly after, two rays of light shot out of its eyes and projected an image in the air. A young man on a horse was patrolling Bran, and although it was rather blurry one could make out his features.

Sinclair naturally recognised him at a glance. Before she left home, she'd memorised this face. However, the Richard in the young hunter's memory was clearly much more and composed than the one in Norland, seeming more deep and profound.

“Oh! The beautiful young boy grew even more handsome! We have to use him well!” Sinclair said, almost moaning.

The light coming from the manticore's eyes slowly dimmed, as the image retrieved from the hunter's soul started to disappear. A mere two minutes of projection was enough to drain its energy, leaving it dispirited and listless. However, Sinclair was now brimming with excitement. She grabbed the creature's mane and pulled hard, murmuring in its ear, “You'll definitely sniff Richard out, won't you?”

The manticore let out a deep howl, showing its acknowledgement. It then gazed towards Bran that wasn't far off, roaring twice in succession.

Sinclair patted the creature with force, “You can have as many of the people in the village as you want!” Please visit 𝑓r𝙚ew𝚎𝚋𝐧૦ѵ𝗲𝘭. c𝘰m

Half an hour later, she left Bran atop the manticore's back, the surviving bearguard knights and two great mages following behind her. They headed north, rushing along Richard's trail as they charged towards Twilight Castle.

The small village was left in complete silence, all lights extinguished. Black mist lingered in every corner, as viscous liquid continually streamed out of the half-closed doors. This liquid wasn't the dark red of blood, instead a pitch black.

Although souls weren't exclusively in the domain of the gods, even touching the field of soul-reading was an extremely trying task with a huge price to pay. Despite its size and power, the manticore had exhausted all its strength to extract the hunter's memories from his soul, making it extremely hungry. However, the entirety of Bran added up could only fill it up halfway. The manticore thrived not on flesh and blood, but on life force and soul essence. There weren't any strong individuals in Bran, so they didn't suit its taste.

In the dark of the night, the demons who spread fear and death scurried along. Based on their speed, they would reach Baron Fontaine's castle before the crack of dawn.

271 - City of Sin

Untitled

All of a sudden, Sinclair gasped in surprise and reined in the manticore, looking at the woods by the road. A humongous wolf was pacing back and forth there, its eyes vigilantly fixated on this group of soldiers of strange shapes and sizes. She felt extremely uneasy, as though she was being watched.

She instantly leapt off the manticore, wrapping herself up with her cloak as usual before vanishing into the night. The huge wolf was evidently startled, displaying a degree of intelligence that wasn't typical of most beasts. It retreated cautiously, only managing to take two steps before Sinclair silently appeared behind it. She sent her two blades into the creature's neck, sending it to the ground with a thud...

The light from one of the wind wolves was extinguished in Richard's mind, causing him to stand abruptly and hurtle towards the window, drawing the curtains open in a flurry. It was a tranquil night, a gentle breeze blowing as moonlight shone upon the lake. Everything seemed serene and beautiful, without any indications of an impending fight...

Having sliced the wolf's head off, Sinclair returned to the manticore. The creature sniffed the air and continued on its way, no slower than the flight of a magic bird. It was like a black current surging towards Twilight Castle.

They didn't move far before Sinclair reined it in once more. She pointed at a bush not too far away, with another huge wolf crouched as it calmly observed the group. This wolf looked exactly like the one earlier. Seeing the group stop in their tracks, it immediately turned and ran off, but a bearguard knight had already flung out his axe. The axe spun through the air with a terrifying whistle, hitting the creature's waist in a split second before slicing it apart.

The knight then had his mount move over to the wolf's corpse to retrieve his axe, also picking up the body as per Sinclair's orders to bring it to the manticore.

“These wolves are rather odd. Come, my darling, devour it and let's see what it knows.”

The manticore let out a deep howl in response to the command, reluctant to get to work. Soul reading was an exhausting affair, and it had only ate half its fill earlier. If it had to examine another soul, its stomach would be rumbling with hunger again.

However, Sinclair would not tolerate such lazy behaviour. She shoved the creature's head down, pinching it vigorously. The manticore let out a begrudging roar, lowering its head as it slowly gnawed on the wolf's carcass. It was extremely unwilling.

Although the wind wolf was much bigger than other similar creatures, it was extremely small when compared to the manticore. Sinclair's contract beast gobbled it down completely, laying on the ground unable to move. It only managed to get back on its feet after a full ten minutes, shaking its head forcefully as it let loose a listless howl.

“It doesn't have a soul?!” Sinclair was taken aback. Without a soul, the manticore naturally wouldn't be able to scout out any memories. However, every wild animal should have a soul. Even contract beasts were no exception; the only animal without a soul was those summoned with magic that were made of pure energy. However, such creatures wouldn't leave behind a corpse either.

One reason why the manticore couldn't find anything from the wind wolf was the possibility that it didn't have sufficient ability to examine the creature's soul. However, that was extremely unlikely. Even in Norland it was a rare and formidable creature, with soul reading being its innate ability.

Despite this small episode, Sinclair wouldn't delay their journey just because of a wolf without a soul. Faelor was a new, foreign plane; anything could happen here. A huge soulless wolf was nothing in the grand scheme of things...

As the second wind wolf was chopped in half, another beacon of light dimmed and vanished in Richard's mind. But this time, it had transmitted a clear image of Sinclair and the bearguard knights to Richard through the broodmother.

“The Schumpeters!” Richard instantly identified the group in the image. He opened up his map, examining it under the moonlight. If one connected the locations of the deaths of the two wind wolves, the path clearly led towards Twilight Castle.

He gave it some thought before ringing the bell in the room. A gentle sound resonated in the distance through a tube, and not long later a maid knocked on his door. “May I know what you need, Sir Richard?”

Richard opened the door and went straight to the point. “I want to see Baron Fontaine immediately! Tell him it's very important!”

“But... Baron Fontaine is likely asleep at the moment. Would it be possible to call on him tomorrow morning?” the maid replied awkwardly. She was sleepy as well; it was currently one in the night.

“It's very important!” Richard emphasized. Although the maid was extremely tired, she wasn't foolish. She immediately went to call the butler. Regardless of the reasonability of the request, it wasn't something she could decide on herself. She didn't have such authority.

The baron's family had a long history, making it comparable to some of the more wealthy and influential families of the empire. This also meant there would be relatively stringent regulations. Richard wasn't going to wait for the maid to pass the message through the hierarchy, giving Gangdor a command through his mind that caused the brute to radiate an intense killing intent. The sheer aggression bubbled up like a current, engulfing half the building like a violent tide!

Baron Fontaine was a level 14 swordsman, making him extremely sensitive to murderous intent. This would surely be more effective at waking him up than anything else.

As expected, it took only five minutes before the casually dressed baron appeared before Richard with his sword. Seeing the mage and his entourage already armed to the teeth on the other side of the corridor, he immediately narrowed his eyes. “An enemy attack?” he asked with a sharp gaze.

Richard nodded, “A fierce battle between the alliance and the demonic invaders occurred not long ago at the Bloodstained Lands. I assume you heard of it, my Lord?”

Fontaine replied with a nod. This battle was the most significant event in the Sequoia Kingdom this year. The allied armies had suffered a crushing defeat, with nearly half of them completely annihilated. Neian's church lost more than half its power in the kingdom, while two other nobles were greatly humiliated. This event would be followed by a period of political unrest.

Richard said solemnly, “One of my subordinates just passed information to me in secret that Sinclair, the leader of the demons, is rushing towards Twilight Castle at full speed. She's brought along her heavily armed knights and the two mages, already having passed Bran. We have little valuable time to prepare our defences!”

This was a shocking piece of news; Fontaine almost couldn't believe his ears. “She's launching an attack on the Sequoia Kingdom!”

“She wishes to attack the entire plane,” Richard replied.

“But... Alright, I'll prepare everything I have right away!” Having said that, the Baron turned to the butler who had just arrived in a hurry, “Call the captain on duty. There might be an enemy attack tonight!”

As the butler dashed off in panic, Baron Fontaine turned to Richard and spread out his arms helplessly as he asked, “Thank you for the prompt warning, my friend. Now...”

“My men and I will certainly stay behind to help you resist these demons!” Richard replied.

272 - City of Sin

An Attack In The Night

Baron Fontaine experienced a fleeting ominous feeling. As one of the Direwolf Duke's most trusted aides, he knew how much of a mystery Richard's past was, and that he was linked in some way to the myriad planes. However, the Duke had still elected to work with the mage, so he would also treat him as an ally.

Fontaine didn't suspect that Richard's unusual behaviour was directed at himself, even at the start. There wouldn't have been any need to wake him up if that was the case; Richard could have taken action right away. When he first welcomed Richard to his castle, he naturally had some defences in place as well. However, their interactions made him admire this young mage that was brimming with talent and elegance. Without any inside information, one wouldn't be able to tell that he was a foreigner, being convinced by his act as a descendant of some ancient family.

However, the news that Richard had disclosed astonished the Baron greatly. News of Sinclair's deeds had already spread across the human kingdoms like wildfire. Although the rumours had grown more and more exaggerated as they moved around, those who heard them agreed that it would be impossible to collaborate or even compromise with this demonic young lady. She was a complete lunatic, a perverted homicidal maniac.

The few minutes they spent waiting for the chief of guard seemed to take forever. “Perhaps... Should we leave?” Fontaine attempted to suggest.

“No, it's too late,” Richard shook his head solemnly, “We won't be able to outrun her and her knights. And once we leave the castle, we won't even have any defences. It would only quicken our deaths.”

Baron Fontaine was a decisive person as well. Hearing this advice, he immediately decided to hole up and strengthen his defences, waiting for assistance.

Richard had already expressed his willingness to stay, and the mage and his group would be of great assistance. He himself was a level 10 mage, and his followers were no weaker. With such a powerful army agreeing to assist his defense, his confidence undoubtedly grew.

However, that growth was worth very little. The baron doubted his ability to defend against Sinclair, someone who had actually wiped out the allied armies of the Church of Valour, the Sequoia Kingdom, and the Iron Triangle Empire. His only hope was to defend the castle to his death, awaiting the Duke's assistance. However, this glimmer of hope was also dim; the Duke's army would take a minimum of three days to reach this place.

The captain quickly arrived, and Fontaine gave out a string of commands. He had someone go notify the army outside the castle to prepare for combat, before having some light cavalry dispatched every ten minutes to scout the direction Richard had pointed them in. Four fast horses and two messengers were prepared, ready to set out at any moment to request the Duke's aid.

He then had Richard summarised the numbers, capabilities, and military structure of the troops Richard had brought, allocating them different posts to defend. Everything was in order. Finally, the baron sent people to inform his wife and children to get up and prepare to leave. However, he wasn't so anxious as to sound the alarm that would mobilize everyone. Instead, he waited for news from the soldiers who were out scouting.

Once the initial shock had passed, the Baron had regained his composure. Although he completely believed Richard, he wasn't about to cause a pandemonium in the castle based on a scant few words. Richard wasn't worried either, keeping the man company in the study as they drank tea and awaited news.

At the same time, the broodmother transmitted a violent wave of energy to him. She was no longer a fuzzy glimmer of light in his mind, the divine power from the four idols that she had absorbed turning her into a twinkling star. She had managed to level up at this critical moment, completely digesting all the power she obtained and arriving at level 3.

Richard quickly inspected her new abilities, skipping past the options to add new drones and using all the energy to boost her speed. She could now fly short distances through the air, allowing her to cover twenty kilometres an hour, double her previous speed.

As per her previous orders, the broodmother was already hurrying towards Twilight Castle at full speed under the darkness of the night. Twilight Castle was fifty-odd kilometres away from the mountain ranges she was in before, so she would be able to get here fast enough to have a chance of entering the battlefield. Richard changed his orders with a thought, having her pass through the baron's lands right after reaching the border of the mountain range, heading straight for the castle.

Within the woods on the mountain, more than a dozen wind wolves were gathered to protect two abnormally large eggs. Even though the broodmother had levelled up, she still wasn't exceptionally fast. She thus decided to lay her eggs where she was, leaving wind wolves to protect them.

Half an hour later, the two eggs started to crack apart. Soon after, two enormous wind wolves crawled out, twice as big as their kin. They finished eating their shells, before shaking themselves dry and howling into the sky.

These wolves' eyes glowed with intelligence and wit, completely different from the ordinary drone. They communicated with each other for a moment, splitting the wind wolves into two packs. With each leading one of the packs, they sped through the forests and rushed towards Twilight Castle at top speed.

In Twilight Castle, Baron Fontaine was already done arranging appropriate defences. The moment the alarm sounded, all personnel would instantly take their positions. He glanced at the clock atop the fireplace once more, his expression growing more gloomy. It had been an entire hour since the first batch of light cavalry had been dispatched, and not a single one had reported back.

He stood up and grabbed his sword, saying to the chief of guard, “Toll the bell!”

At the same moment, the messengers who were awaiting commands at the stable left stealthily through a sewer behind the lake. They crossed Lake Windermere under the mask of the night, reaching the shore across the baron's territory. After passing through the forest, they would rush towards Duke Bevry's lands to seek help.

Richard nodded inwardly as he secretly studied how Baron Fontaine made arrangements. The silence of the night was quickly broken by the low yet resounding alarm, the entire castle instantly awakened from sleep. Troops of soldiers marched out of the barracks, entering the castle in an unending stream. Their roles had already been assigned, and they immediately headed for their posts to stand guard.

On the highest towers of the castle, the soldiers lifted the tarp off the ballistae, twirling the capstans with force. Bolts as big as javelins were inserted into the machine one by one. Each one was enchanted; outside of sheer power, they could automatically lock onto targets and chase them down. These things could fire as far as a kilometre away.

Twilight Castle was originally a vacation home, its construction based on aesthetics and the view. Although the outermost structures could be used as a barrier in battle, there were inevitably some imperfections all over to accommodate the overall beauty of the castle. Its defences were thus quite weak, making these ballistae quite important.

Baron Fontaine had reinforced some of the parts when he acquired the castle, but even he had made sure not to affect its appearance. He had also paid a huge sum to acquire these enchanted ballista bolts. Anyone under the level of a saint would be heavily injured if they were shot.

273 - City of Sin

An Attack In The Night(2)

Fontaine already had his ancestral magic armour on, his favourite sword polished and ready. He moved to the castle's main gates and instructed sternly, “Lights!”

The guards immediately spread the orders, and braziers all over the castle were lit up simultaneously to illuminate their surroundings. A flock of ravens swept out from several towers, either resting on the roofs or circling the night sky. They had bloodshot eyes and small bodies, gifted with the ability to see invisible objects. These mid-rank magical beasts were called scarlet-eyed ravens, and with them around it was practically impossible to launch a surprise attack on Twilight Castle.

Baron Fontaine was sat peacefully atop the highest tower, not anxious in the slightest. His castle was already prepared for battle. Generally speaking, these soldiers would be alert for a day at most, while their peak strength would only last a few hours. As Richard saw it, however, this was exactly why Baron Fontaine was so clever. If Sinclair saw the tight security and decided to delay her attack, the elite party dispatched by the duke would make it here. The leader of the party was a saint powerhouse who would greatly strengthen the castle's defences.

As long as the castle didn't fall to enemy hands, Fontaine's troops wouldn't suffer much damage. He could subdue the enemy troops without going to war, and it would be best if Sinclair retreated voluntarily. As for what would happen afterwards, well... The duke, the various churches, and the powerhouses of the kingdom would grab this woman who was so bold as to invade the Sequoia Kingdom by the neck.

On the other hand, Richard wasn't as confident. The Baron didn't understand either Norland or Sinclair, and his own judgement told him that this battle was inevitable. However, a large group of wind wolves and the broodmother were already en route. The two packs, headed by the two elites, had already overtaken the broodmother and were only five kilometres away. He grew safer with every passing minute.

They were now in the dead of the night. Thick mist from the lake's surface had enveloped all of Twilight Castle, gradually spreading out. Even inside the castle one could only see the blurry silhouettes of the structures nearby in the light.

Fontaine maintained his upright posture, still at peace. Although he was gradually growing uneasy, his expression showed no signs of panic. After all, he was a powerful level 14 individual and within Twilight Castle where his ancestors' souls resided his senses were exceptionally sharp.

The moment he felt extremely disturbed, he knew that Sinclair had finally arrived. “She's here.”

Richard was about to stand up, but upon realising that the Baron still wasn't moving he sat back down. Fontaine rested his sword on his lap, speaking calmly, “Richard, do you think she'll dare to attack my castle?”

Richard flashed a helpless smile. Giving it much thought, he eventually decided to speak the truth, “Judging by how arrogant she was when she defeated the alliance, I think she won't even bother to rest before starting the siege.”

Fontaine didn't speak a word in response, but his grip on the hilt of his sword quietly tightened.

Hundreds of metres away from the castle, there were some sudden movements in the dense mist. The manticore silently emerged from within, SInclair rested lazily on its back.

Behind the manticore, the magical horses stepped out one by one. The earth trembled lightly with their every step, and yet they didn't make a single sound. These mounts had the ability to conceal every sound they made, allowing them to travel in absolute silence.

Even though they were separated by hundreds of metres and shrouded in dense fog, Sinclair had no problem looking across the distance. She squinted her eyes, fixing her gaze silently atop Twilight Castle.

One of the great mages furrowed his brows, “How are they this alert? It would have taken more than an hour to mobilise the guards and have them take position. Could they have other enemies?”

“No, they're waiting for me. I already see Richard.” Sinclair glanced at the two great mages by her side and continued, “It seems like those two weird wolves or the light cavalry had some way of transmitting information through magic.”

“No matter, won't we understand it all once we catch Richard?” one of them responded. In his eyes, these local armies were absolutely pathetic, not matching up to them at all. He definitely wouldn't have a problem dealing with a few mages of the same rank as him. As for Richard, even if he came from Norland he was still young, and wouldn't be beyond level 10.

“Well said!” Sinclair straightened herself and gently caressed her alluring lips with her fingers. “Then, charge!”

The exceptionally burly captain of the bearguard knights slowly urged his steed forward, gradually speeding up until they reached peak charge towards the main gates. The soldiers atop the walls had already discovered the knights the moment they emerged, pulling their longbows back to send a dozen arrows whizzing through the sky. The arrows that rained down were shockingly accurate, nearly none off course. It was clear the Baron had spent quite the effort on training them.

Seeing the shower of arrows targeted at him and his mount, the captain didn't even bother to hide as he instead laughed sarcastically. Most of the arrows bounced off the strong armour, and those that did make it through caused nearly no damage. Both the captain and his mount felt absolutely nothing.

He quickly made it close to the city wall, bellowing loudly at thirty metres away as he tossed the axe in his hand. The battleaxe spun rapidly in the air, producing a sharp whistle that would send chills down one's spine as it headed right towards the top of the castle.

Baron Fontaine immediately turned pale at this attack. Even he wouldn't dare to resist the power of this axe!

The moment the battle-axe had left the bearguard chief's hand, Richard had already leapt out of his seat. His subordinates had also dodged it sooner than expected. Richard knew how powerful magic equipment was, and was also clear of the bearguard captain's actual strength. He wasn't willing to suffer the full impact of this powerful level 16 individual.

Fontaine had immediately made the best judgement as well. He roared for everyone to get down, being the first to lay low.

Seeing his actions, most of the other guards who originally wanted to stop the axe got down as well. A few of them hesitated, worrying about hurting their dignity or their lord's, instead attempting to resist it using their weapon. However, the blade of this single-edged axe was already as wide as a table, much bigger than the largest two-handed axes of the guards. In the face of such horrifying power, none of their weapons were effective at slowing it down.

Countless snaps rang out before the axe whirled back to the captain's hands at the foot of the castle. The soldiers who were still standing swayed a little. Their weapons split in two, followed by their bodies. In fact their torsos exploded, sending their top halves hurtling into the distance.

274 - City of Sin

An Attack In The Night(3)

Once the enormous axe was gone, Fontaine instantly jumped back up. His face was pale, but his eyes seemed to be shooting flames as he glowered at the bearguard captain at the castle's foot. He quickly raised his right hand, sticking out three fingers. This was a command to fire the enchanted ballistae.

Seeing the signal, Richard urgently spoke up, “Three isn't enough, we need all of them!”

The Baron hesitated for a moment, but quickly clenched his hand into a fist. The surroundings were filled the sharp whistle of arrows once more as four enchanted bolts followed close behind the three that had already been fired. They all adjusted their trajectories after drawing an arc in the air, collectively heading towards the bearguard captain.

The enchanted ballista bolts travelled at high speed. The first three had practically reached the bearguard captain at the same time as his axe. The chief stretched out and retrieved his axe effortlessly, calmly using it to block the bolts whizzing towards him.

“DODGE IT!” Sinclair suddenly screeched from behind him, but he had no intention of retreating in a fight with these inferior locals even if he had heavy defences. He brandished his axe as he roared like thunder, striking the bolts one by one with astonishing skill and speed. The massive impact of the magical bolts caused him to sway, his mount pushed back step by step.

The remaining four bolts were already quite close. He would be able to jump off in time, but his mount would definitely be shot head on. Based off the heavy hits he had just suffered, even a magical steed with reinforced armour would be pierced through by these bolts. Sadly, he didn't have much time to think of a way to counter them. He raised his axe without much thought, fending them off at the speed of lightning. Cutting one of them apart, he used the momentum to slice horizontally across another arrow that was heading straight for his steed.

Right at that moment, he suddenly felt a light grey flimmer of magical light flash over him, causing the axe in his hands to grow heavier in an instant. He was slowed down greatly, and even his control of his weapon suffered. The axe cut the bolt in two with difficulty, but it couldn't even slow it down, forget sending it to the ground. The projectile that was supposed to pierce through the mount now brushed past its abdomen, leaving a deep wound in its underside that revealed its organs.

The magical mount let out a sorrowful cry, abruptly leaping upwards and dismounting its rider. Losing control of his horse, it grew extremely difficult for the captain to block the two remaining bolts. He finally realised why his axe had grown so difficult to control— he himself had been crippled.

The bearguard chief had a fleeting thought: was that a weakening spell earlier? His axe finally flew out of his grasp under the impact, one of the arrows shooting through the side of his rib while another pierced through his steed.

He let out an indignant roar, eventually losing his footing and collapsing onto the ground. The wound at his side was big as a basin, the bolt pierced deep into his body and peeking out from the other side. The strong enchantments on the weapon had completely shattered his vulnerable organs.

The captain couldn't get up. He had been cursing his opponents' luck from the moment he was shot all the way until he was dismounted. All bearguard knights had decent resistance to magic, and grade 4 spells like the weakening spell earlier were quite unlikely to affect him. He himself was level 14, and with his runes and mount he was comparable to a level 16 individual. However, the weakening spell had still taken effect.

Outside of the two great mages on his side, the only others who could achieve this were those powerful mages from Norland who had a deep understanding of magic. One had to know to supplement a resistance-piercing component into the spell to make it work, but the primitive mages of Faelor hadn't reached that level yet. Most of them could only foolishly cast their spells, with a mere handful even thinking to boost the effects. Of course, those that thought of it wouldn't necessarily be able to actually do it.

Right before his death, a stroke of lightning flashed in the bearguard captain's consciousness. Richard! He was a mage from Norland!

As he watched the bearguard captain collapse with a loud thud, something snapped in Fontaine's mind. The tension completely dissipated, his thoughts enlivened once more. In that split second, he'd been astounded by the formidable strength that erupted from the bearguard captain. That burly demon clearly emitted the aura of someone at level 13 or 14, but he had the strength of a saint! He wasn't even the leader of this army, what terrifying powers did Sinclair possess?

If he hadn't decided to comply with Richard's advice and fire all the bolts in one go, coupled with that timely weakening spell, this dreadful enemy might already have made it to the main gate. Just looking at his powers, that knight was someone who could siege entire towns. And the arrogance in his arrival suggested he intended to do just that. One could only wonder how many hits from him the refined iron gates could withstand.

If that gigantic axe came flying once more... Fontaine shuddered at that realisation. His morale rose as he lifted his sword up high, commanding the soldiers to reload the ballistae. He pointed the sword at Sinclair who was atop the manticore, about to issue an order to fire.

“Wait!” Richard, who had been observing the battlefield, stopped the Baron. “Shoot the great mages! Focus on one of them!” he said quickly.

The Baron agreed without further thought, shifting his sword to one of the great mages standing behind the troop as he yelled loudly, “Concentrate fire!”

Sinclair had been stuck staring at the corpse of the bearguard captain. The moment the Baron gave his command, her face contracted sinisterly. She suddenly pointed towards Twilight Castle, shrieking hysterically, “KILL THEM! KILL THEM ALL!”

The manticore growled and got up abruptly, racing towards the castle with Sinclair on its back. Dozens of magical mounts were urged forth, following closely behind their leader as the bearguard knights charged forth.

The two great mages had already buffed the knights with every spell they had, falling back for now. Sinclair and her knights could cover the distance in the blink of an eye, and they could almost see themselves ripping the hateful enemies into pieces. The looming walls and sturdy gate wouldn't pose an obstacle to them.

However, the castle shone with magical light once more as the seven ballistae produced vibrations that could cause one's heart to drum with fear. Enchanted ballista bolts shot out like lightning one by one.

The bearguard knights clearly had great battle techniques. The moment the bolts were launched, they immediately retreated. However, the enchanted bolts flew over their heads in no time, landing right behind them and piercing one of the great mages who had just finished his spells and was about to prepare for the next round.

275 - City of Sin

A Bloody Battle

Sinclair's face changed immediately. Jumping off the manticore's back, she tried to intercept one of the huge ballista bolts. The sheer force of the impact left her pale, pushing her back a few metres to land on the ground. The six others effortlessly shot towards the great mage who was completely shocked.

Her small face contorted even more fiercely. She bit her lip so hard it seemed like blood would spurt out, flinging her head vigorously and shooting a venomous glance at Twilight Castle. Anyone on the walls that met her gaze was left trembling uncontrollably.

The demonic young lady hopped onto her beast, pulling hard at its mane. With a roar of pain, it leapt at least ten metres into the sky and made its way towards Twilight Castle at the speed of lightning. She didn't look back; that great mage's fate had already been decided.

The six remaining bolts seemed to arrive at the same time. A magical radiance illuminated the great mage's surroundings; he had already spent the mere three seconds he had to cover himself with three different protection spells. However, these spells wouldn't be enough to handle the magical bolts that had even killed the bearguard captain.

All of his defences crumbled under the magical light, the mage's body ripped apart by the explosive energy. All that was left of him after the attack was half a skull that flew far away. The other mage had retreated swiftly in his shock, hurriedly casting another spell on his companion once he determined he wasn't the target, but it was all for nothing. With his colleague dead, he was left without the time to care for the rest of the knights who had advanced; all he could think of was getting far away to avoid the attack of the ballistae.

The combined might of the seven heavy bolts was comparable to an all-out attack from a saint. Even if he cast his defensive spells and used magic scrolls, there would be no escape. These heavy hits had given him a new perspective of the might of this plane; he no longer thought lowly of its inhabitants.

Richard stood behind the city walls, his gaze fixed on the battlefield. Endless amounts of information bounced around his head in a frenzy, too much to handle for even his superior intellect.

Most of his previous battles had been with far larger armies, but the information he had to process throughout hadn't reached a tenth of what he needed to now. Be it Sinclair or her subordinates, any one of them could seriously threaten his life in a one-on-one situation. As such, he needed to keep track of the current bearing and situation of every one of them. He spent ten times as much effort on a single bearguard knight as he would with a normal soldier, while Sinclair alone was tens of times more. Everything movement of hers, big or small, was kept track of in his mind.

This was the first time Richard had felt like he didn't have as much control of the battlefield as he wished.

His entire body was trembling, hot as lava in one moment and cold as ice in the other. Sinclair's face was magnified in a corner of his subconscious, every detail of her expression being tracked. Outside of that, the killing aura of every single bearguard knight relentlessly assaulted his morale.

Amidst all the killing, he had to use all of his willpower to stop himself from sounding a retreat. However, the trembling in his legs was hard to control. This was an innate problem of extremely intelligent beings— their instincts were normally hard to control. With no way of resisting the oncoming enemies, his mind was screaming for him to flee.

However, it was this battle between instinct and wisdom that had grown his will from day to day. Richard's legs were still trembling under his robes, but that trembling would slowly come to a stop. Time itself seemed to come to a standstill, every leap and landing of Sinclair and her knights growing clear in his mind.

In that split second, Richard had managed to process an absurd amount of information. He could figure out the path of every knight, and the flight pattern of the manticore upon which Sinclair was sat. Everything was extremely clear.

This was a sudden and esoteric sensation, as though the whole world was in his hands. Even he himself didn't understand how he managed to get to this level, but the sensation only lasted for a fleeting moment. He immediately felt drained of all his strength, as though a significant portion of his mana had vanished into thin air.

Sinclair slowly became that rapidly flashing demon once more, drifting through the sky before she covered herself with her cloak and disappeared into thin air.

When she vanished, that vile shadow was only about ten metres from the castle walls. Everyone on top suddenly felt great danger, as though they would be her next target. The subconsciously assumed battle stances, and even the archers slowed down their attacks on the bearguard knights.

“Baron Fontaine! Look out!” Richard suddenly screamed.

Fontaine was startled, suddenly feeling a light breeze brush past his face. He reacted instantly, bursting forth with all his power. He relied on his experience to determine the direction of his strike, thrusting his sword out to directly stab into the hollow space in front of him.

The shining blade was covered with his energy, growing fast and agile. A low whistle sounded as the blade cut through the air, proving its incomparable sharpness. This single strike was enough to show his skill; even without the aid of runes, he would be a formidable presence back in Norland.

A soft clang sounded as two blades appeared out of thin air, Sinclair's figure revealing itself as she shot an astonished glance at the Baron. She never would have expected the trash nobles of this plane to use such an exquisite strike. The attack had been swift and precise, breaking her own aggression perfectly.

Fontaine's blow had locked up a cubic metre of space exactly where she would appear. If not for a timely counter, it would have pierced straight into her chest! Her body was extremely delicate; if her chest was cut open, she would be severely injured. Without a healer's help, it would take a long time for her to recover.

Ever since she reached Faelor, this was the first time someone below the level of a saint had forced her to materialise. Of course, this was also the first time she had launched a frontal assault.

276 - City of Sin

A Bloody Battle(2)

Sinclair's blades entangled Fontaine's sword, twisting it away to one side before she used the dagger in her left hand to attempt a stab at his throat. However, Fontaine's aura suddenly rose in power; although it wasn't ferocious, this aura was one of resilience. A few shakes of the wrist allowed the man to slip free of the entanglement, thrusting his weapon towards her almost-bare chest. Google search 𝐟r𝚎ewe𝚋𝚗૦ν𝘦𝘭. 𝐜𝚘𝗺

Sinclair slightly frowned; the pressure she felt on her hands was a clear indicator of her opponent's strength. She began moving to the side without a trace, as long as she could build some distance she would be able to disappear immediately and launch a deadly blow from an inconceivable angle.

However, the Baron's swordplay and power were unexpected. He stuck close to her like a shadow, not giving her the room to use her ability. The pair battled back and forth, the sword and daggers clashing countless times. Even though Fontaine was at a disadvantage, he still managed to reserve the strength to strike back, his sword skills on full display. For a short period of time, Sinclair was actually trapped by him.

Not far away, Richard was silently watching the battle from the side. He'd already taken command of the defense, and was continually casting spells that allowed the Baron to maintain his agility. He had also directed the two level 8 mages under the Baron to curse Sinclair as best they could. Even though they were weak, dispelling spells weren't affected by the target's resistance. The three mages had together managed to scatter Sinclair's defense.

In a mere minute, Richard had already given out seven orders. The guards on the walls had been set in motion, the originally tidy formations growing fuzzy. However, these commands weren't from the dark; his contracted party and the wind wolves were charging back and forth, congregating the soldiers at their positions.

By this point, the bearguard knights were already within ten metres of the castle, while the manticore paced back and forth nearby as it looked for the perfect time to strike. Twilight Castle's walls weren't very high, and it could definitely get up there with a single leap. Even the clumsy and heavy bearguard knights would be able to make it if they found a foothold to boost themselves off at the midpoint.

Once the situation started developing as per his plans outside of some confusion that he had accounted for, Richard suddenly had the illusion that everything in the world was under control. He was towering above the entire battlefield, looking down on everyone.

The shock of the attack by Sinclair's army, the bearguard knights, and the great mage who had just managed to escape the range of the ballistae was slowly starting to fade away. The chaos on the walls was nothing but a facade; in a mere minute, all his warriors would reach their stations. Those knights who managed to scale the walls would end up facing tremendous pressure, being injured all over as the resistance they faced would only grow fiercer.

A majority of people would not notice the difference on the battlefield. However, Richard new that the key to victory lay in bleeding out his enemy bit by bit.

Sinclair had felt the shift in momentum as well. Fontaine's ruthless attacks left her unable to clearly judge the battlefield like Richard could, but her keen intuition from years of battle allowed her to sense an aura of danger. With a quick glance at her surroundings, she knew that a few people were rushing over in an obvious attempt to surround her.

She couldn't help but laugh coldly at the thought. How could any ordinary person try to interfere in this fight? Even the level 14 baron was nothing but trash in her eyes, leave alone those losers who were merely level 11 or 12. The only question was whether it was worth it risking small wounds to rid herself of these irritating insects, or whether she would wait for the opposition to show signs of weakness or make mistakes.

Richard... That was her true target on this expedition.

The opportunity came soon enough. A sudden, forceful swing of her daggers forced Baron to retreat, and she took the opportunity to attack. The surrounding warriors who hadn't found the opportunity to attack found their chests and throats gushing with blood. They wobbled, but they did not fall.

At that moment, the assassin strode forward with her charming eyes locked onto Richard. The longer dagger in her right hand was held in reverse grip, her hand raised as she stabbed down. There was nothing nearby, but this was Sinclair's greatest advantage in battle: unpredictable movements and mysterious strikes.

Her peripheral vision started to blur, as a line between her and Richard had already been formed in her mind. Anyone who tried to block her would either be dodged instantly or killed. Whatever the case was, by the time the blade in her right hand fell, it would definitely hit Richard in the throat.

In Sinclair's eyes, any mage was an easy target. If she made it close, even a great mage wouldn't be able to escape their fate. At worst, they would be able to survive a few more slashes. The daggers in her hands had the ability to repel magic, they were godlike weapons even in Norland.

Her right foot toed the ground, her entire body shaking with rage. Just as she was about to explode with rage, however, Richard suddenly screamed manically, “FLOWSAND!”

The scream was far too fast and eager. Richard's face was already distorted in Sinclair's field of view, but even so she was slightly startled. Flowsand? This was a familiar name, but she couldn't remember at all where she had heard it before. She only paused for a moment, before continuing to run in his direction.

All of a sudden, she started to realise that her surroundings had changed. She felt like she was inside water, Richard's contorted face extending all around her. It was like waves were pushing her back, and everyone else had suddenly sped up. Sounds grew sharp and fragmented, as though two pieces of rusted iron were rubbed together. There was no way she could decipher the contents, but she was almost certain her enemies were cheering!

In the next moment, she finally understood. She indeed had heard human voices, it was just that they were so much faster that they seemed piercing to the ear.

She continued with her strike, her feet shooting off the ground uniformly as she charged. Her ability distorted the light in her vicinity, and the explosive burst of speed would give others the illusion that she had teleported. However, with everyone else moving so much faster now, she had instead become the slowest in the bunch.

Something must have happened! An unprecedented fear started to rise in Sinclair's heart, but her actions and thoughts were still sluggish. Even now, she couldn't comprehend the situation. The only thing that gave her comfort was the confused gazes of many soldiers as they swept through the area trying to find her. At least she was now in her half-invisible state.

At that moment, she started to feel a pain all over her body. She looked down, aghast to find that golden flames had covered her entire person. This was a pure, divine fire, something only priests and great mages could dispel. The fact that they would cause constant harm was secondary; Sinclair's greatest fear was that the flames surrounding her would cause her invisibility to fade away. There was another major problem— the power that propelled these flames was the divine might of the Eternal Dragon!

277 - City of Sin

Life and Death As One

How did the Eternal Dragon's powers appear on this plane? Sinclair had already checked before, confirming that the only gods on this plane were locals. There were no legends or myths related to the Eternal Dragon at all. All kinds of thoughts flashed past her head at once, especially that extinguished Lighthouse of Time. Could it be that this plane was already conquered by some major influence from Norland, and she had been led into a trap?

Just as fear and hesitation flooded her mind, she suddenly felt burning pain at her heart, the middle of her back, and the side of her waist; this was a premonition of fatal strikes being launched at her. The sense of danger at her heart was the greatest; that was a blow that could determine her life and death!

She suddenly started to shriek, every strand of her long hair standing erect as the size of her heart almost doubled. A loud explosion sounded out as the energy erupting within her smashed apart the invisible divine power shrouding her body, allowing her thoughts and movements to return to normal speed.

It was too late. She saw a sharp glint heading her way, the tip of Baron Fontaine's sword. The radiance at the sword's edge was completely different from the flickering light before, appearing reserved yet dignified with nearly twice the might. This was clearly a secret sword art! If this sword pierced her heart, the formidable energy behind it would immediately crush it to pieces. Even Dark Sacrifice wouldn't be able to save her from an irrevocable death. The heart was her greatest weakness!

An enchanted axe was aimed at the small of her back, while another longsword was cutting its way towards her ribs. The burly man who was using the axe burst forth with great might, the power behind his blow extremely astonishing. However, even that didn't demand her attention. On the other hand, the young lady with the sword was only level 11. That sheer disparity in level meant she had no need to pay heed to that attack at all.

She knew she could cut the girl's head off with a flip of her hand, but the young lady looked unruly and attractive. She possessed this indescribable sense of wild beauty around her, especially when she moved at high speeds. Despite enormous experience with both sexes, Sinclair's interest was aroused; she had no intention to murder this beauty at all.

It was in that critical instant that her movements abruptly stiffened. A slowing spell from Richard and a curse from Zendrall had landed on her at almost the exact same time.

“RICHARD!” Sinclair shrieked with venom. The small delay bought enough time for Fontaine's sword to arrive, and she was forced to defend herself. Her daggers cast blurry shadows everywhere— while one blocked the sword, another flipped over to aim for the Baron's chest.

A look of unyielding determination flashed over Fontaine's face, as the sharp sword jolted and flung the short dagger off. It continued on its path towards her heart, the flaming energy on its surface growing more and more concentrated. At the same time, he struggled to twist his body in a bid to protect his own.

The sharp sword and long dagger hit their opponents at almost the exact same time. With weakening spells holding her back, Sinclair couldn't care less about the attacks from behind. She moved her body as well, struggling to use the armour on her left breast to block the edge of the sharp sword.

A loud clang sounded as the breastplate broke into pieces, leaving a bloody slash on the snowy white of her breast. The left of her bosom was exposed, making for an appalling sight. The fair and smooth appearance of SInclair's perfect breasts only stopped at the exposed flesh— the part covered by armour was actually a refined gold plate covered in radiant blood-red runes.

This was her grade 4 rune, Dark Sacrifice!

Having sent the armour flying, Fontaine's sword slipped into Sinclair's shoulder and almost penetrated it. Although such an injury would only be a flesh wound normally, a blow with his full strength was not so easy to withstand. Sinclair herself didn't excel at defense, shattering sounds coming from the rune on her chest as cracks appeared one after the other on its surface. The entire thing was almost completely destroyed!

“AHHH!” an extremely agonizing wail sounded out. A flip of her wrist cut Fontaine's ribs apart, leaving a gaping wound in his chest while his left arm was chopped off completely.

At the same time, Gangdor's axe and Waterflower's blade landed on Sinclair. Although there was no wind, the cloak on Sinclair's back suddenly rose to reveal a pair of golden, demonic wings extending out the back of her armour. The wings spread themselves out eerily, fending off Gangdor's full blow.

All the muscles on Gangdor's body were bulging, Gaia's Force and the rune combining to amplify his strength greatly. A tremendous force that could cut gold and crush boulders landed on Sinclair, blowing the cloak to pieces. The gigantic axe cut open the black armour on her back, leaving a bone-deep wound before it was flung off by her energy.

The Shepherd of Eternal Rest pierced right through Sinclair's side. A trace dark aura flitted across the edge of the sword before it plunged into Sinclair's body. The dark radiance gleaming faintly on Waterflower's body came from her rune set, allowing her to meld into the darkness. It caused her opponents to subconsciously neglect her presence.

It was still in the dead of the night, the sky its darkest shade of black. The full power of the Shepherd of Eternal Rest were unleashed, its powers boosted multifold by the black tint that had appeared on the edge. That was the shade of the Breath of Darkness.

This was the ability of the combined set, making for the most powerful blow Waterflower could deal. A sinister, icy feeling instantly flooded Sinclair's mind; she had never come this close to death. It was almost as if the reaper had stuck out his icy, wet tongue, gently licking her earlobe. She shrieked hysterically, sending Fontaine flying with a kick that parted his sword from his hands. Beads of blood that were black as ink stained the edge of the sword.

Sinclair brandished her daggers behind her, causing Gangdor and Waterflower to dodge by reflex. She took this chance to charge wildly towards Richard.

Although every person who had set off on the expedition had been ready to face death at any moment, Sinclair had never imagined that the moment would come so soon. The serious damage inflicted on her rune was far more critical than the severe injuries elsewhere on her body, especially on a foreign plane where she could not find her way back.

At that moment, she had only one notion in her mind. Even if she was to die, she would drag Richard down with her! Everyone else here was useless trash with no power; only Richard could match her status, being worthy of her dying on.

All of a sudden, three majestic and powerful figures appeared between Sinclair and Richard. These were three of the Archeron knights. They couldn't see Sinclair's movements at all, but the trail indicated she wanted to harm Richard. The sheer difference in ability disallowed them from contending against this demonic young girl, so the only choice they had was to use their own bodies as a barrier to stop her. Please visit ｆ𝗿𝗲𝒆we𝚋ｎ૦𝘃𝚎𝒍. 𝒄o𝚖

Sinclair couldn't even bother telling them to get lost. She didn't take a glance at the weapons they wielded, nor did she try to dodge their blows. She used her sheer speed to shove the blades and their owners away, her daggers flying at unbelievable speeds. She would cut them up into tens of equal pieces that would fly away upon impact.

278 - City of Sin

Life and Death As One(2)

Gangdor chased behind Sinclair, but speed wasn't his forte. Waterflower quickly overtook him, her runes activating and boosting her speed leaving her only a hair's breadth away from Sinclair.

The three knights were sent flying away, cut into pieces right in front of Richard. His eyes quickly turned bloodshot, his entire body trembling with intense fear and wrath. However, he stayed calm and accurate as he took out the Book of Holding. A rich power of death spread through the area, and a tall and strong warrior of darkness added to Sinclair's obstacles.

A loud bang sounded as Sinclair pushed into the warrior, but she couldn't send the creature who weighed hundreds of kilograms flying away. She ended up thrusting her left dagger into the gap in armour at the warrior's neck, twisting his head off and rendering him completely useless.

Finally, there were no more obstacles! Sinclair grinned, gritting her teeth in pain as she raised the dagger in her right hand once more. In less than half a second, she could slash thirty times to cut this mage in front of her into pieces. She would only keep his head, heart, and organs; the only parts of him that were valuable.

The tip of the dagger would start with his crotch. Richard's keen awareness as a mage told him that this demon in front of him had at least fifteen strikes lined up for it. She believed it would give him an unforgettable memory as he neared his death. In her opinion, the more terrified one was before death the more delicious their heart would be.

However, what met her was not a panic-stricken teen but a man and his sword. Her gaze was attracted to an eye-catching scarlet moon atop his forehead.

Richard had the nameless sword held up high, the power of Eruption combining with scarlet moonforce, putting his abilities on full display. There were no yells or roars, a mere calm swing towards his enemy. The energy formed a crescent in the direction of his strike, forcing Sinclair to block. The secret sword of Silvermoon had stopped her in her tracks; had she forced the issue, he would have cut her in two before she could even start her 'operation.'

“A sword art? Isn't that the power of the scarlet moon? HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE?!” Sinclair yelled in shock. However, her blades still struck towards Richard without hesitation.

With the support of Eruption, Richard's body was surging with power. The moon atop his head grew clearer and clearer, the secret swords of Silvermoon being boosted in power. All of Sinclair's movements were encompassed within the range of his moonforce, forcing her to retreat from a fatal blow.

Under the brilliance of that half moon, the two were fighting evenly!

The insides of Richard's body were burning, every surge of power from his bloodline accompanied by severe pain. Eruption was destroying his nerves and blood vessels like it was lava. Thankfully, he only needed to hold on for a short while until his team could surround Sinclair once more. The demonic girl whose body was still burning in magical fires was no longer invisible, and the power of the Lens of Time was displayed as well. Although Sinclair had forced the spell to break, she had suffered great damage for doing so. Her movements had been slowed down.

Numbers were still leaping up everywhere in his vision. Richard clearly knew that Sinclair had suffered far worse injuries than he had, so he just clenched his teeth and persevered. He switched from secret sword to secret sword as though he was mad, completely disregarding the consequences.

Sinclair attacked twice more, but then she suddenly let out a wailing scream. She flipped into the air and leapt over Waterflower's head, raining blows onto the young lady. Numerous clangs rang through the air as the two brushed past one another.

Sinclair was left with another shallow wound on her chest, but a dense black energy was visibly wrapped around this one. However, Waterflower's wound was much more serious. Her abdomen was almost completely cut open, exposing her wriggling intestines.

The young lady stumbled back, almost falling down. However, she clenched her teeth and covered the horrible wounds with her left hand. The blade of her sword was still vibrating slightly, ready to launch a fatal blow at any time!

"Waterflower! Back off!" Richard shouted desperately. However, the young lady did not bother. She was still staring at her opponent like a wolf, even crouching low in preparation to pounce.

Sinclair saw the runes on her abdomen, before looking down at the black energy spreading from her own wound as she cried out once more, “Runes! You have a rune set!”

Even a grade 1 set created by a master that was compatible with its user was comparable to all of her grade 3 runes, barring Dark Sacrifice. Sinclair's runes were just selected for individual purposes, so they weren't a set at all. Seeing a rune set on a young level 10 girl was astonishing. There had been many unexpected surprises this night.

She wanted to pounce on Waterflower once more, but silver moonlight flashed down before her eyes. The moonforce disgusted and terrified her; several injuries had left her fearful of coming into contact with this unknown power. She thus fled in horror, leaving her original position.

However, the expected attack did not come. Sinclair lifted her head, only to see Richard waving his sword. The silver moon over his head flashed— its intention was not to attack, but to frighten.

Richard's face was pale, the hands holding his sword trembling. Yet, Sinclair did not dare to launch a hasty attack. The Snow Moon left her feeling a strong sense of danger. Throughout this battle she hadn't been able to see through this mage or anticipate his actions, so she didn't know whether this weakness was just a trap. Although the opponent in front of her was a mere level 10 mage, she no longer had the confidence to kill him in one blow.

Hesitation was not tolerable in the battlefield. The warriors from the two wings drew close, and countless weapons stabbed into Sinclair.

Flowsand quietly appeared behind Waterflower, hugging her and dragging her away from the frontlines. Waterflower struggled at first, but when she turned her head she saw streams of amber liquid flowing down from the cleric's eyes, nostrils, and lips. This was her blood, fused with divine power. It was the price she had paid for forcing the Lens of Time on Sinclair.

279 - City of Sin

Life and Death As One(3)

Waterflower's eyes lightly twitched, and she allowed Flowsand to take her away. The blow from Sinclair's blade had a lot of negative energy on it, and although she was stubbornly resisting it all to stand there a mere puff of wind would knock her to the ground...

With the fear of death having passed, Sinclair's hysteria gradually faded away. She could still kill normal soldiers with ease, making her feel like her injuries weren't nearly as bad as she thought they were. At the very least, there was still a chance of survival.

She finally chose to retreat, dodging a strike from Gangdor before rushing towards the castle walls. A few other soldiers dropped dead on the way, with none the wiser as to how she had done it.

Before she managed to get away, Richard cast a profound glance her way. His gaze was clear and unperturbed, but nobody could comprehend the intent behind it. For some reason, the Schumpeter girl felt a strange chill permeating her heart, damping her rage and frustration. The experience of countless fights told her that some people didn't bellow and rage against their opponents.

When she finally reached the walls, Sinclair stopped and turned around, holding her daggers up as she cast a menacing death glare at everyone nearby. The bearguard knights were already down below, and the guards at the main gate weren't competent enough to hold them off. She would wait here until her soldiers scaled the walls, giving them the opportunity to kill everyone in the castle.

Fontaine and Waterflower had already lost all of their strength, no longer posing a threat. Richard's earlier display of skill came as a surprise, but thinking it over rationally she could tell that it was nothing more than a desperate fight for his life. She wouldn't even need to face the mage directly; she could wait in a corner until he drained all of his energy.

However, Richard's cold voice sounded from the distance, “You're trying to delay for time? Not so fast!”

Richard took out the Book of Holding once more, and two more warriors of darkness stepped out to surround Sinclair. With the limited space on the battlements, these warriors who had immense strength and a lack of fear for their lives were boosted greatly. They waved heavy axes against their opponent, tiring her out as she was forced to block again and again.

Another warrior of darkness quickly appeared as well, this time summoned at the ground in front of her position. This had been Richard's directive, forcing the two bearguard knights who wanted to scale the wall there to fight it first. The warrior wouldn't last long in a 1 vs 2 battle, but all it needed to do was stall for time and put Sinclair in even more danger.

Sinclair held another heart in her hands. Although she would normally feel like this heart was unpalatable, she wolfed it down in a few bites without hesitation. However, she didn't manage to absorb the energy within, instead coughing violently as black blood spurted out of her mouth. The rune on her left breast started leaking blood as well.

Some of the bearguard knights had finished scaling the wall by this point, but they were faced with countless pikes and heavy axes, fighting warriors skilled in both offence and defence. Every swing of their axes reaped a few lives, but they suffered several injuries each time as well. The baron's elites, Richard's knights, and the barbarian warriors were all capable of causing damage, and surrounded as they were the bearguard knights couldn't hide themselves. Defence wasn't the bearguard forte either— a knight off his horse lost half of his manoeuvrability.

Zendrall was hidden in the darkness, summoning warriors of darkness one after the other. With how chaotic the battle had become, these level 12 undead creatures could make full use of their might.

Richard was constantly moving his forces to resist the bearguard knights, at the same time keeping an eye on Sinclair atop the walls. Even though she was constantly digging out hearts and consuming them, her injuries showed no signs of recovery. In fact, it seemed as though some force was interfering with her rune, making things worse every time she absorbed energy. She was stubbornly trying to fend off her attackers, waiting for the knights below to finish off the warrior of darkness and scale the walls.

Richard had to grit his teeth to fight the weakness from using Eruption. He was handing out spells like water, trying to weaken the bearguard knights and buff his own warriors. The entire battle seemed like a complex alchemic machine, constantly moving the way he envisioned thing.

There was a desperate battle at the side of every bearguard knight. He watched as the ogre brothers dragged one each and leapt off the walls, crashing down together. The impact of the fall left both parties unable to get up, but the bearguard knights suffered far more damage under the combined weight. Without the remarkable regeneration that the ogres boasted of, they would not get up again. The ogres would eventually continue battling, but they would turn into armoured corpses.

On another side of the battlefield, three barbarian warriors armed with spears had pierced into a knight's body from three directions. Desert warriors and Fontaine's troops moved in from behind, jabbing through the crevices in the knight's armour continuously. The knight managed to remain standing despite being pierced everywhere, roaring as he waved his fists and knocked down the enemies nearby. A knight suddenly leapt up and waved the large two-handed sword in his hand, slashing half the bearguard knight's neck off. The fellow roared in pain, grabbing the knight's legs in his dying moments and ripping him in two mid-air. Only after that did he slowly collapse.

Blood was flowing everywhere.

At that thought, Richard's gaze inadvertently swept back to Sinclair. Her charming face was stained with black blood, the broken rune on her chest also gushing reddish-black liquid. He felt a strong sense of disgust, a natural loathing that seemed to come from his elven blood. This was no illusion, instead true antagonism between two polar opposites. Google search f𝙧𝒆𝚎𝘸e𝚋𝓷o𝘷𝚎𝒍. co𝑚

Irked by the black blood, Richard's own silvermoon blood grew exceedingly powerful. It started boiling with energy, as though urging him into battle. Richard muttered to himself as several thoughts flashed through his mind, eventually deciding on something inconceivable.

He estimated the distance between himself and Sinclair, suddenly stepping forward as a jade green moon appeared atop his head.

The third moon, the green moon. The corresponding secret sword was Devout Prayer, a skill that was equivalent to a cleric's healing. The sword's user could cast it upon themselves, or cast it on the sword's target. This was Richard's first successful attempt at using this skill, jade green light slowly radiating from his body. Mosses started to grow on the floor below him, forming a sheet of green..

Sinclair had no idea of what was happening at first, but her keen senses told her something very dangerous was happening. She instinctively tried to evade, her figure starting to fade into the night. However, the skill had already formed a beam of jade-green light that fell down on her position, giving off an aura of vitality that seemed to envelop the entire sky. Her figure grew visible once more.

This skill that would normally heal injured people caused the girl to scream!

The moonlight started to corrode Sinclair's skin the moment it touched her, creating a large cloud of fog. It was as though she was being burned by the strongest of acids as the beam shone on her perfect skin, the exposed flesh from her wounds starting to melt. She shrieked and jumped off the castle walls, but the green moonlight refused to let her go, only fading away once all its energy was used up.

The manticore leapt out from the darkness, catching its mistress. It had already devoured twenty knights in the midst of this chaos, but that only slightly helped sate its empty stomach. The soul-reading had left it far too hungry, and alas there were too few powerful fighters on the battlefield.

Sinclair could barely manage to sit on the beast, her charming face charred beyond recognition by the moonlight. She had to use all her effort to avoid falling off the creature's back.

She glared at Richard with immense loathing with a swollen red right eye, her left already blinded by the attack. She pointed a finger at him and hoarsely cried out, “Darling! Eat him, don't leave a single bone! Remember to leave the heart for me! Take all his women with your tail, I'LL TORTURE THEM FOR TEN DAYS BEFORE KILLING THEM!”

The manticore let out a low roar, quickly getting up. However, it didn't rush towards the top of the castle, instead turning its body around as it sent a threatening roar into the distant darkness.

Sinclair was astonished. This manticore was a creature she had reared from its youth, and it possessed human-like intellect. It was extremely rare for it to defy her orders.

She suddenly turned around, seeing Richard look at her with a determined gaze from atop the walls. He pointed towards her, before making an action of slashing his own throat.

The broodmother had finally entered the battlefield.

280 - City of Sin

The Broodmother Enters Battle

Richard cast one last glance at Sinclair from atop the castle walls, never looking at her again. He struggled to keep himself from blacking out, waves of dizziness washing over him in his exhaustion. He willed himself on, staying clear-headed and awake as he continued to oversee the defense.

He had to eradicate this incoming army before he could eliminate Sinclair. Nobody knew how long his skill and Flowsand's divine flames would last, or how much power the young lady still had remaining. He had to kill and injure as many of the bearguard knights as possible she could conceal herself and launch her attacks once more. This battle was a race against time.

The wind wolves had already spread out in an arc around the battlefield, closing in with the broodmother at the helm. The battle was still gory and intense, tens of soldiers dying with missing limbs. The bearguard knights were thrown off the walls one by one, roaring as they fell to their deaths. The soldiers were using their very lives to stop these foreign demons from making their way up.

The vicious magical horses lingered around at the foot of the castle, tearing the opposing soldiers apart. Anyone that fell down, be it a warrior of darkness, a normal soldier, or a half-orc, was bitten to pieces. At times they cooperated with their masters who were trying to hack the gates apart, collectively ramming into the iron as if they were a battering ram. Sparks could be seen every now and then, and it didn't take long for the gates to be dented everywhere. Cracks that were wide enough to let light seep through were forming as well.

The soldiers behind the doors were doing everything they could to reinforce the defences, while a mage's forehead was covered in sweat as he prepared a long, tedious, area spell. Even with a scroll in hand, this spell took a long time to chant while every syllable had to be pronounced perfectly. Once complete, a two-metre-tall barrier would rise out of the ground, becoming a stable fortification. All of them had already witnessed the prowess of the bearguard knights' captain, they absolutely couldn't allow these demons to barge in on their magical beasts!

Medium Rare and Tiramisu were fighting the horses at the base of the castle. They were the only ones who had managed to get up from the fall, continuing to battle fiercely. Although Tiramisu was casting stone skin on himself and his brother at the slightest chance, they were both covered in cuts and bruises all over as a result of the bites. Fortunately, Olar had found a good spot at the top of the walls that allowed him to support them with his warsong and bow.

Richard bit his lower lip, trying hard to maintain his inner composure. He calmly sent out order after order, directing the mix of soldiers on the battlefield.

More than ten elites and fifty soldiers had been lost during the battle with Sinclair, but now that Richard had command the damage was immediately brought under control. Ordered formations displayed great offensive and defensive capabilities; although a few lives were still taken by every blow of the bearguard knights' giant axes, other soldiers would fill up the empty space in the blink of an eye.

This victory would be built on the lives of countless men, but that was also the only way it would arrive. The faces of the barbarians, desert warriors, and the baron's own elites were completely taut, their eyes blazing red. They charged forwards dauntlessly, wave after wave, without any fear of death.

In Richard's eyes, the battle that seemed to be complete chaos had already reached a pivotal moment. Although he still didn't have complete assurance of victory, he wasn't willing to wait anymore. He sent a command to the wind wolves and broodmother, launching the attack!

The great mage under Sinclair was rapidly approaching Twilight Castle in the cover of the dark. The defence had succeeded with the terrain-changing spell, leaving them with no choice but to attack and occupy the walls. More than half of the bearguard knights had already made their way onto the castle, a few of them reaching the top of the towers and cutting the ballistae to pieces. The greatest threat to his life had been eliminated.

What the Schumpeter army didn't know was that each of the ballistae had only come with two bolts. These bolts that could track enemies were far too expensive, and even two each had taken more than a decade to acquire.

The great mage didn't make it far before he suddenly stopped in his tracks, looking around warily. Huge wolves emerged from the thick fog one after the other, the same as the soulless wolves they had encountered before.

The great mage grew anxious. Although these wolves weren't very powerful, they somehow gave off a strong sense of danger. More and more showed up with every moment, seeming like an endless stream. One of these wolves was clearly much bigger than the rest, watching him attentively. For a moment, the mage felt like he was being watched by a human.

And indeed, back on the castle walls Richard's vision had synchronised with that of this elite. The great mage was cautious and didn't dare to act hastily, but that was exactly what he wished for. These were his wind wolves, not normal beasts who only knew to pounce at first sight.

'Inner circle flat down, middle circle crouching, outer circle tall!' Richard commanded the elites. The two then let out numerous long howls, directing the packs under them just like captains taking orders from their general. This way, Richard only needed to issue a few orders which allowed him to conserve a great deal of energy.'

“Damn it!” Although these creatures weren't behaving like ordinary wolves that were about to pounce, the great mage was instinctively aware that this was nothing good. These huge wolves were just too orderly in their movements! They resembled a well-trained army, so adjusted to uniformity that it frightened him.

He couldn't care anymore about his precious advanced scrolls, unravelling one that could teleport him away to a random location. Even a great mage needed a brief chant to use such a powerful scroll, so he cast a barrier around himself before he started. This would be a short chant, only needing fifteen seconds. Even if these wolves tried to pounce on him, he would be able to last that period of time.

However, Richard had already issued another command, 'Fire!'

An explosion sounded as hundreds of wind blades shot out from the mouths of the wind wolves, converging on the mage and breaking through his shield at once. Countless injuries riddled his body in an instant, arrows of blood shooting out and gathering into a cloud of blood mist. He then split apart into countless lumps of flesh, collapsing to the ground with a loud thud as if he was a destroyed pillar.

The two powerful armies then surged past the great mage like currents, charging towards Sinclair who was at the foot of the castle. Google search f𝐫e𝘦𝘸e𝗯𝒏𝗼ѵe𝗹． c𝑜m

Sinclair felt an indescribable fear from atop the manticore. The mist was too thick for her to look hundreds of metres away with the naked eye, particularly so towards the forest as dense fog masked everything in darkness. She wasn't sure what on earth had happened to the distant great mage; why on earth had he still not rushed over so long after she'd sent the signal?

281 - City of Sin

The Broodmother Enters Battle(2)

The bearguard knights kept collapsing one after the other. Even though each one took a significant number of enemy soldiers down with them, these were quasi-rune knights, irreplaceable elites. Their loyalty and skill were unquestionable, but those who died on Richard's side? They were barbarians, desert warriors, and the inhabitants of this plane. They were all assets seized from Faelor, the only loyal ones being those few knights Richard had brought over from Norland. However, even ten such knights weren't as important as a single bearguard knight to Sinclair.

Although the green light on her body had already started to fade, the pain from her burning wounds was only just starting to ease. The pale gold flames were so dull at this point they might as well be non-existent. She started to ponder: once she regained mobility, should she first kill or capture Richard, or save a few of the knights? It would be difficult to expand and develop in this foreign plane without loyal subordinates. Without the Eternal Dragon's divine favour upon her, she wasn't willing to waste her precious life on this lowly foreign plane.

At that moment, the manticore's body started to crouch as dark green flames started to fire out of its nostrils. It looked like there were terrifying enemies hidden in the fog.

Just as Sinclair was contemplating things, wind wolves started streaming out of the mist. The surrounded the manticore quickly, starting to howl loudly. However, they didn't instantly pounce on the creature. They stopped in their tracks, sending a volley of wind blades its way.

These attacks would cause limited damage to the manticore, at most causing small cuts on its body that wouldn't even make it through its skin. However, there were just too many of them. Sinclair scanned the scene and figured there were more than three hundred of these huge wolves surrounding her, making it clear that these soulless creatures were definitely sent by someone. Perhaps it was even Richard from atop the castle walls!

A rain of wind blades buffeted the manticore, causing the enormous creature to howl loudly with rage. It sent the occasional counter out, using its big claws and sharp teeth to cut into the wind wolves. This was a level 16 creature; it wasn't impossible for it to kill these level 7 enemies. However, despite the desperate situation the manticore seemed fearful and wary of something, not daring to let go and start a slaughter.

Sinclair eventually decided to leave the damned place, grabbing onto the creature's mane with force as she shouted, “Darling! Kill all of them, then let's leave this place! Quick... AHH, WHAT'S THAT?!”

Less than a hundred metres away, the thick fog separated to reveal an enormous black shadow. Sinclair had seen all sorts of magical beasts before, but looking at this huge creature that was six or seven metres tall and about thirty metres long, she was still overwhelmed with shock. Compared to the broodmother, her manticore was just a meek little cat.

Of course, this 'cat' quickly broke away from the pack of wolves, swiftly charging towards this newcomer. It easily leapt onto the broodmother's back, ferociously digging in. Its senses told it that this was the most dangerous enemy.

Even though the broodmother's shell was hard as steel, it was hardly able to fend off this desperate attack. The manticore's claws were about half a metre long, digging deep into its back. Its sharp tail pierced into the broodmother's unbelievably small head, the entirety of the deadly venom within emptied within. The manticore's breathing instantly grew faint.

This venom was deadly enough to kill off an entire city, but the broodmother was only slightly impaired. It carried the manticore on its way to Twilight Castle as if nothing had happened. It was immune to poison and acid, making it the manticore's nemesis. And although the head had turned to mush from the manticore's attacks, it had somehow managed to get its small but strangely sharp pincers onto the tail.

The pincers eventually cut the manticore's tail in two, causing it to shriek in pain as it almost threw Sinclair off.

The creature had poured all its strength into the initial engagement. Sinclair only had so much control over it, and devoid of all fighting strength she could only hold on tightly as she hoped to not be thrown off. Her one free hand held tightly onto her two blades as she continually tried to muster her energy, but the damage from the green moonlight was far too intense. Whenever her energy tried to surface, it would clash with the remaining moonforce on her wounds and boil, causing her soul-piercing pain.

The manticore continued to dig into the broodmother, but couldn't penetrate the shell. The broodmother's shell was a metre thick, and the manticore had to drill relentlessly to reach its insides. The broodmother was different from most normal insects; the head only contained its breathing apparatus and some eyes. Its destruction had absolutely no impact on its function. The small size wasn't a detriment but rather a trap.

The surrounding wind wolves stopped in their tracks, opening their mouths as one in the manticore's direction. The hairs on this hybrid of scorpions and lions rose, and it felt the urge to leap up and run away. However, it felt an indescribably sharp pain in its mind, its four limbs weakening as it collapsed on the broodmother's back.

The broodmother had launched its mental attack. The full force of the ability would only slow the manticore down by a few seconds, but even such a slight delay was extremely deadly at the moment.

“NOO!” Sinclair screeched, burying herself in the manticore's mane. In the next moment she felt countless knives streaking across her back, the pain and fear making her shriek hysterically. In a moment of desperation she launched some attacks of her own from her daggers, managing to bring down some of the wolves, but the moonforce mixed with her energy to make her feel like she was boiling from head to toe.

The three hundred wind blades fell down like a rainstorm, enveloping the broodmother. Half of them landed on her enormous body, cutting out countless pieces of carapace or the thick, creased skin from its belly, while the other half ploughed through the manticore and Sinclair. The manticore's mane, black blood, and pieces of broken armour and hair danced in the wind, following which black blood spewed out like a dark fog.

Sinclair lost all strength in her grip, tumbling down from the manticore and crashing to the ground before she went completely still.

The manticore cried out in pain, sliding down from the broodmother's body. A single wind blade couldn't cause much harm to it, but there were simply too many. Flesh spilled out of its torn skin, the bleeding alone enough to kill it. The pain rendered it insane, causing it to ditch its mistress in an attempt to escape alone.

''Stop it!'' Richard and the broodmother ordered simultaneously. The wind wolves who had fully exhausted their wind blades surged forward, pouncing on the manticore and biting down. Their teeth and claws could not breach the creature's defences, but as long as they didn't let go it was effective at stopping its escape. With so many wind wolves clinging onto its body, the manticore's speed was greatly reduced. Its ferocity showed itself as it retaliated, tearing the wind wolves to shreds in seconds.

Richard was watching this crucial battle from atop the castle walls. Once he saw the manticore stop moving, he coldly ordered, “Broodmother, acid spray!”

The broodmother suddenly lifted its upper body, the rotting head dislodging to reveal new breathing apparatus underneath. A dark green acid spewed out, travelling the ten metres to completely cover the manticore!

282 - City of Sin

The Broodmother Enters Battle(3)

Tens of wind wolves were still hanging onto the manticore, scorched by the acid alongside it. The liquid was strong enough to corrode even steel, and as the wolves' fur and skin melted away they dropped off the manticore in quick succession. They rolled on the ground a few times before they stopped moving, turning into a black mess in a flash.

The manticore only grew more crazy after the acid spray, rapidly killing the few wolves still sticking to it as it tried to escape once more. However, before it could turn around the broodmother had used another mind flay to attack it, paralysing it until scores of wind wolves leapt on once more and held it down with their body weight. A few seconds later, the dense acid doused the manticore once more.

The broodmother quieted down, not moving any more. It had used up all of its acid, and the two mental attacks had taken all of its energy. The manticore's skin was completely corroded, its entire exterior melted away. The creature was left lying lifelessly on the ground, the remaining half of its sting twitching involuntarily.

The battle at the castle hadn't yet ended, but it was coming close. Ten-odd fierce bearguard knights were still stubbornly fighting atop the walls, while the elites led the remaining wind wolves to fight below.

Seeing the fight drawing to a close, Richard's determination was like the string of an instrument that had reached its limit. He was close to breaking, his vision blurring even as his lungs felt like they were on fire.

The entire battlefield reeked of blood, while the acidic mist and poisonous fog from the creatures continued to float around. Some of it had even made it to the castle walls, turning the ash-white stone black. The human warriors on top were left gasping weakly for a long time, while someone grasped their own throat and fell to the ground screaming.

Richard bit his tongue hard, forcing himself to stay awake as he issued order after order. His brave warriors already obeyed all his orders on instinct, and once his commands rang out his own soldiers started a silent retreat as Fontaine's elite subordinates continued charging towards the bearguard knights with reckless abandon.

The Schumpeter knights knew by this point that their mission would end in death. This knowledge only made them fiercer, taking down their opponents with abandon. Every time the baron's men fell down, even more surged in to fill the vacant space. This tactic pushed their demonic enemies towards their death.

This war of attrition was not unlike a meat grinder. With the battle having reached a conclusion, this was their most desperate moment. Richard sighed in his heart but he had no choice to force himself to regain his icy calm. His strategy at this point was quite simple; all he wanted was for his own soldiers to fall back from the war zone.

Many of the baron's warriors had a dazzling glow on their bodies, the mark of a magic blessing. However, Flowsand's spell had been changed slightly; the magnification to their abilities was no different, but she had added a motivating force in. Anyone blessed by her suddenly had the courage to face whatever enemy was put before them. Even faced with ten thousand soldiers, they would still have the courage to charge forward!

This was definitely a result of the cleric's research into the God of Valour's powers. However, its current purpose was slightly different; the warriors blessed by her only had the bearguard knights in their sight, having no qualms with heading to their deaths on the frontlines. They used their very lives to leave injuries on these demonic opponents.

Once the last bearguard knight fell with a loud thud, the bitter war finally came to a close. Richard slowly swept his eyes across the battlefield, seeing blood, corpses, and severed limbs everywhere. Not many people could still manage to stand upright. As for the number of deaths, even without a headcount he feared it was almost a thousand. And that was even excluding the baron's knights and warriors! Even though Richard had tried to save some of his army towards the end of the battle, there were only about a hundred people left.

His mind finally relaxed, but that only caused him to grow dizzy. He could barely remain standing, but thankfully a vitality spell kept him from fainting.

“How is Waterflower?” Richard asked eagerly as he saw Flowsand walking towards him.

“Her injuries are stable, she's fine.” Flowsand seemed like she would black out at any time. She had her mouth covered with a handkerchief, making her voice seem lower than usual. Richard could sense her weakness; her injuries were definitely not mild. She'd used some unknown method to draw out her mana at the beginning of the battle, growing her power by about three levels. This was the only reason the Lens of Time had been successful against Sinclair, causing this dangerous enemy to suffer heavy injuries, completely turning the battle around.

“What about you?” Richard continued.

Still covering her mouth, Flowsand spoke up, “I used too much of my mana, I'll be fine after a few days of rest.”

“A few days of rest?” Richard's shining gaze landed on Flowsand. A forced leap in level, and it was three levels at that, would definitely have heavy consequences. Even though he wasn't extremely familiar with the clergy, that much was general knowledge.

Flowsand helplessly smiled a weak smile, “Alright, I did indeed pay a heavy price. But don't worry, I can I can fully accept this. I can even do it a few more times.”

Richard nodded his head, choosing to believe her. At that moment, Olar came to Richard's side and whispered, “Master, Sinclair is still alive. How do you want to take care of this?”

A cold glimmer flashed in Richard's eyes as he brought the few of his party who could still walk down the castle, reaching the empty space outside. They walked all the way to Sinclair's side before finally stopping.

Gangdor frowned, taking half a step forward to use his body as a shield. A skilled assassin like Sinclair would most likely try one last attack in her dying moments. However, Richard shook his head and reached out to pull the brute back, “It's alright, she can't strike back anymore.”

The closer he got to Sinclair, the more vigorous the elven blood grew. Even his Archeron bloodline was starting to stir. This was a two-way street, but it ensured that the assassin couldn't hide the condition of her body from his eyes.

Sinclair was no longer the pretty young lady, her entire body filled with injuries. The black blood seeping out was like hot lava, leaving deep burns on her skin. Richard could sense the remaining effects of the green moonforce coupling with the black blood; it carried a sense of impending death, being the reason for the surge in her body temperature.
𝐟𝘳ℯ𝚎𝘄𝒆𝑏𝗻𝑜ѵ𝚎l. c𝘰𝑚

Richard kneeled by Sinclair's side, gazing at this most worthy enemy. Even though her skin had been burnt, even with one of her eyes blinded, one could still see traces of her original beauty on her face. She was like a human doll that had been destroyed.

283 - City of Sin

An End And A Beginning

Sinclair seemed to notice Richard's gaze, tilting her head and making a huge effort to look at him with her one eye. She smiled at him, but it wasn't the charming smile she once had. There was an unspeakable melancholy behind the expression; this was a smile that would make others sympathise with her helplessness.

“I... look awful now, don't I?”

Richard hadn't expected this to be her first sentence. He hesitated for a while before nodding.

“Ha! You mages are a bunch of dull characters,” Sinclair laughed in self-mockery, “I... I want to live on, can I surrender? My body is very special, given some time I'll slowly return to normal. There's no need to worry about my ability in combat.”

“That was never my concern,” Richard said calmly, “But you...”

He stretched out his hand. Olar, who was adept at reading his body language at this point, immediately tossed a dagger over. The dagger was surprisingly heavy and cold, a chill permeating Richard's body the moment he touched its handle. Originally left with the last dredges of his energy, Richard felt the cold surge through him like a tide as it stimulated the moonforce within, like cool water that refreshed his spirit. He felt strange, realising that the elven bard had given him one of Sinclair's daggers.

Richard held the dagger as he continued, “Some hostilities can never be erased. However, if you can share the reason for your presence and give me some details about the Schumpeters, I won't harvest your runes in your death.”

Once the removal of the rune was mentioned, Sinclair couldn't help but shudder. Her rune hadn't been slotted in, instead tattooed onto her body. If it were removed, her corpse would be left an unrecognisable mess. Even though she didn't want to die, she was not afraid of death. However, death at the hands of a runemaster would definitely not end well.

The young lady inarticulately expressed that three families had joined forces to offer a sacrifice to the Eternal Dragon, changing Richard's destination. Even though their offering was extremely valuable, there were many rules and limitations to the effects. The Dragon would not allow Richard's destination to have a stable passage, nor would it allow a change in the basic characteristics of the destination plane. They had to find a new plane, one not registered with the Church, with fewer restrictions on level. The end result had surpassed everyone's expectations, landing both parties in the unknown plane of Faelor. Moreover, those of this plane surprisingly could possess legendary might! Google search 𝐟r𝚎ewe𝚋𝚗૦ν𝘦𝘭. 𝐜𝚘𝗺

Sinclair's mission was to kill Richard, the cost of transportation being shared by the three families.

Sinclair's answers validated Richard's prior suspicions. However, he still held onto a last glimmer of hope as he asked, “Do you have the coordinates to return to Norland?”

Sinclair forced out a smile, “If I did, I would have returned long ago. You should be well aware just how valuable a plane of this level is. Pity; our Lighthouse of Time was extinguished when we left the portal.”

Richard sighed before finally saying, “Do you have anything else you want to say?”

Sinclair started coughing violently, only able to speak after some time had passed, “If you... If you manage to get back to Norland in the future... Help me... Help me kill the entire senior generation of the Schumpeters... All of them! Kill them, kill their families... Don't leave anyone. Also, kill that bitch Sisley. But... But torture her as long as you can, don't let her die so easily!”

Richard was slightly shocked, asking, “You seem to have a lot of hatred for your family and Sisley? Isn't she your twin sister? The people call you two the Schumpeter flowers.”

“Sister? Haha, yes, sister...” Sinclair laughed once more, but this time her smile was distorted and her voice strange. She continued mumbling, “She's the older twin, but her training speed was slower than mine. When I was fourteen years old, she thought of a plan to sabotage me... I... I was brought to the elders for a trial... “interrogated” by nine old men... for an entire night! That was when I first became a woman... It was with nine men at once, each at least thrice my age... No matter how many men and women I've had in my life... I haven't been able to erase... them from memory. My father... he was only a small character in the family at the time... He used the situation to ask for favours from the elders, making his title hereditary... This is why I want to kill them all... All these matters... I can slowly tell you about them in the future... I remember every detail of that night...”

“Not interested.” Richard plunged the blade into Sinclair's heart, cutting it apart. Sinclair's body shook; her eyes turned wide in shock, but they eventually turned into an expression of release before they closed forever.

He stood up and looked over the corpse, many regrets coming to mind. This mighty, beautiful, yet insane young lady had turned into just another corpse. There were many stories behind her madness, but with her death all of her glory and hatred had been reduced to a heap of yellow soil. His own perseverance in battle, his constant strive to move forward... Did it have any meaning?

His contemplation was interrupted by the broodmother's voice, “Master, I need the manticore's body. If I eat it, I might be able to add an ability to my drones.”

“Good!” Richard immediately agreed. The final reason for their victory in this battle was still the broodmother. It had sacrificed over four hundred of its wolves, relying solely on strength in numbers to crush the manticore, great mage, and many magic horses to death. The sheer number of wolves was in effect a fundamental change to their power.

The broodmother had used up all its energy. Not wanting to move at all, it directed the remaining wind wolves to push the large manticore over, starting to eat.

Richard cast one last glance at Sinclair's body, about to have her cremated. Suddenly, the broodmother's voice sounded again, “Master, this woman is very important. If I get her body, I might be able to acquire a very important ability. It is related to divinity.”

Richard frowned, “About that...Let me think about it.”

Even though Sinclair was an enemy to the death, and the broodmother's battle capabilities were of utmost importance, Richard still had a problem with her devouring humans, live or as corpses. Just as he was hesitating, the fallen cleric Kars hurriedly rushed over to him, “Master, Miss Flowsand wanted me to tell you that she wants Sinclair's corpse. It's very important to her.”

284 - City of Sin

An End And A Beginning(2)

By this time, Zendrall had finished unsummoning the remaining warriors of darkness. The necromancer came out from the castle, his eyes glowing the moment they landed on Sinclair's lifeless body, “Give her to me! Half a month, and I'll be able to turn her into a formidable black knight, level 15 at minimum! Give me the manticore's carcass too! I'll be able to... Wait, what? Is it eating the manticore? NOOO! It was such a powerful corpse to work with!”

Zendrall pointed towards the broodmother, yelling in grief. His normal composure was completely gone; he had never been close to the fresh corpse of such a powerful being before, and he never might. Most important was that the souls hadn't fully dissipated yet. If he acquired these corpses, he could attain new peaks in necromancy.
𝐟𝙧ℯe𝙬𝚎𝒃𝗻𝒐ѵel. 𝐜o𝓶

“The broodmother gets the manticore,” Richard announced. Even though Zendrall's warriors of darkness weren't too shabby, they weren't all that great either. Giving him the manticore would only have a limited effect on the army's power. On the other hand, the broodmother was stronger and more dependable. Its abilities would only grow in the future. RIchard finally understood why high priestess Ferlyn had once called it a weapon on a planar scale.

The manticore's specialty was its lethal venom. Devouring it would allow the broodmother to give the wind wolves this ability as well. Even if the drones didn't advance in level, their fighting prowess would increase substantially. This was very important— few beings in the myriad planes were resistant to poison.

But why did Flowsand want Sinclair's corpse? Was she interested in necromancy as well? Interestingly, that request didn't garner any aversion from the broodmother like Zendrall's did.

'Wait, did Flowsand ask for the corpse on the broodmother's behalf?' Richard suddenly had a brainwave.

He ordered his subordinates to look over Sinclair's corpse, prohibiting anyone from touching it. He then hurried to the room Flowsand was resting in. He only had one question for her, “Did you want Sinclair's corpse for the broodmother?”

Flowsand propper herself up with some difficulty, “How did you find out?”

“A wild guess,” Richard sighed, “Will it be a great benefit?”

“Anyone with great power will, yes.”

“But that would mean she starts to eat people,” Richard argued helplessly, “What if she gets used to it...”

“But she only follows your commands,” Flowsand explained patiently. She was saying that as long as Richard could control himself, the broodmother would be able to as well.

Richard furrowed his brows, “So you're saying she's eaten humans before?”

The broodmother's original request had made him feel somewhat uneasy. The possibility brought his mind to the bans he had set for her before. However, before he could even react to the possibility, Flowsand came clean, “I allowed her to do it. Powerful beings, regardless of species, greatly help the broodmother's advancement. If not for Sir Menta's corpse, she wouldn't have the strength boost for the raptors.”

Richard looked at this young lady he had intimate relations with, only feeling that there were more and more things he didn't know about her. However, the one thing he was certain of was what her intent was: she had stepped forward to make tough decisions for the sake of their party because she didn't want him to bear the bulk of the guilt.

She would stand alone in the darkness, giving him the chance to be in the limelight.

Richard pondered over things for a while before looking up, his eyes clear and determined, “Do you enjoy such things?”

Flowsand was rendered silent for a while, but she eventually shook her head, “No, I don't. But someone has to do it.”

“If you don't like doing it, then don't.” Richard smiled weakly, tilting the girl's chin up and gently planting a kiss on her lips. “Let me make these decisions in the future.” Having said that, he turned to leave the room.

“Wait... No! You can't possibly do all that! I'm already used to making these decisions!” Flowsand panicked, leaping down from her bed in an attempt to hold onto him. However, she was so weak that her legs gave way the moment she got off.

Richard turned back, managing to catch her before she fell to the floor. He then locked her in an embrace, looking solemnly into her eyes, “Yes, Flowsand, these things have to be done. And someone has to do it. In that case, I'd rather do them myself than have you suffer. I don't want your dainty hands sullied by such dark things.”

He then grasped her hands, gently pecking her on the cheeks before carrying her back to the bed. He covered her with the sheets, going back outside.

Flowsand watched on as Richard disappeared out the door. Her eyes were wide open, but her face showed no emotion. One could not tell whether she was happy or distressed...

Richard quickly returned to the base of the castle. Sinclair's corpse was still in its original position; Gangdor had brought ten soldiers to guard the area as they awaited his return. This wasn't to defend against enemies, but the necromancer on their own side.

Zendrall was very persistent towards the possibility of his first ever black knight. The more he observed SInclair's corpse, the more he felt that he could turn it into a black knight of such strength that it had never been seen before. He even felt like he could turn Sinclair into a black warlord! The warlord could advance in level if the God of Death blessed it, having an independent mind of its own!

By this point, the broodmother had already completely ingested the manticore. She had entered a quiet rest; her head was turned in Sinclair's direction, but nobody knew whether she was paying attention to the corpse. Only Zendrall, extremely sensitive to spirits and souls as he was, could feel a formidable consciousness resting on the corpse. To think he had once almost controlled this magnificent creature by force; only months later, the power of its consciousness rivalled that of his own.

Richard hurried over and waved to the broodmother, “Take it, it's yours.”

“Master Richard, but...” Zendrall still wished to fight for Sinclair's corpse, but Richard had already made up his mind.

“Master, please have everyone take a step back. I can't let them see me eating the corpse this time,” the broodmother relayed to his mind. In turn, he ordered Gangdor and the rest to move twenty metres away from Sinclair.

The broodmother slowly crawled over, giving off a dense, sour-smelling fog which engulfed the entire area and blocked all vision. She then used her joints to prop up her enormous body, before the armour on her belly opened up to reveal a hole that was like a giant mouth. She swallowed Sinclair's corpse whole, engulfing even the dagger that was in her chest.

Having consumed the corpse, she then quietly laid down on the same spot without moving an inch. Richard felt numerous lights jumping around within his mindscape where she was, slowly converging to form parallel lines that entered her body.

It would still take some time for the corpse to be completely digested. In the interim, Richard planned to help clean up the battlefield. However, at that exact juncture one of Baron Fontaine's knights suddenly came over, very anxious as he spoke to Richard, “Sir Richard, the Baron doesn't have much time left. He hopes for you to go over as soon as possible, he has some words for you.”

285 - City of Sin

An End And A Beginning(3)

“The Baron won't make it?” Richard asked in shock. Even though Fontaine's injuries were serious, he had seen clearly at the time that they weren't serious enough to be untreatable. Flowsand had healed him in time as well. Of course the wounds would affect his might in the future, but how was it so critical all of a sudden?

Fontaine had been carried out of the battlefield after the battle, brought to the central keep to be treated by an elderly family doctor. By the time Richard got there, the Baron's bedroom was already filled with people, many being women and children. Fontaine himself was laying in his bed, his face ashy white.

Two old, clearly worn out men were sitting at a sofa in the corner. They were shamans of the Fontaine family, using blessings from their ancestors to heal their patients. They were similar to clerics in their duties, but lagged far behind in terms of power. It was evident that they had used all of their power, but they could do nothing to cure their liege.

Richard swiftly made it to the bedside and sat down, grabbing Fontaine's hand. His gaze quickly swept over the man's body, but that only made his heart shrink.

The Baron's vitality was being consumed not by wounds, but a power of death and decay within. This was obviously an after-effect of Sinclair's attack; most of the man's internal organs were already destroyed.

Richard felt his heart tightening, suddenly thinking of Waterflower who had similarly been dealt a heavy wound by Sinclair. He immediately searched his consciousness for the young lady's presence. Thankfully her soul was still stable, albeit quite weak.

When he saw Richard nearby, Fontaine showed a cheerful smile, “Richard, my friend. We fought side by side in battle, and defeated a mighty foe. It is such a shame that I cannot share one last drink with you...”

“You must hold on,” Richard said encouragingly, but deep down he knew that the Baron would not survive. These wounds were impossible to heal even for a powerful cleric, and Flowsand was drained of all mana during the battle. Only the grace of a god could pull him back from the brink of death, but such grace would only be granted to the god's followers. Being from a family that worshipped their ancestors, he would never seek a god's intervention.

Fontaine smiled weakly, “I know I won't make it. For the sake of... our partnership in tonight's battle, can you help me take care... of my children?”

Richard followed the man's finger, seeing four children of different ages. The oldest was fifteen years of age and a level 7 swordsman, his youth having faded quite a bit already. The youngest was only four.

“Alright!” Richard nodded, “What paths would you like them to take in the future?”

Fontaine struggled to prop himself up. The assistant by his side immediately took up pen and paper, knowing that this would be Baron Fontaine's last will and Richard would be witness and executor.
𝘧𝐫𝑒𝗲𝑤ℯ𝚋𝐧૦𝘃𝒆l. c𝚘𝓂

The Baron's oldest son would take on his mantle, preserving the family's traditions. The two youngest would live their lives out in this territory as well. What came as a surprise was the request with respect to his second son. He asked for the fourteen-year-old to give up ancestral worship, following in Flowsand's footsteps as a member of the clergy.

Richard was astonished by the decision, gazing deep into Fontaine's eyes in an attempt to find some reasoning behind it. Unfortunately, the man would never get to explain himself. Baron Fontaine's eyes quickly dimmed, the room lapsing into silence.

His wife and children did not cry, a request made known before his death. This was not the time for them to be weak. The Baron had died in the prime of his life, and the impact of this on his family was undoubtedly great. More than half of the family's elites and soldiers had died, while half the rest couldn't fight again. Even if they summoned their reserve troops and other platoons at the earliest, that was only about two or three hundred people. Such a pathetic number of troops would be pathetic even under a normal knight; and the strongest remaining warrior was only level 11.

The haze in the room lingered for a long time, eventually getting up and walking in front of Fontaine's second son. “What is your name?” he asked.

“Caesar, Sir Richard,” the teenager replied shyly.

“Now then, Caesar, are you willing to serve a true god? To become his loyal disciple, fulfilling every wish of his in the mortal realm?”

Caesar looked left and right before finally bowing his head, not daring to look Richard in the eye. He spoke softly, “Those are the wishes of my great father, so... I am willing.”

The moment these words left his lips, some fierce glares landed on Caesar. The son of a family that worshipped their ancestors producing a cleric was difficult for many people to accept, especially the two elderly shamans. Even though they had heard this from the Baron's own mouth, given their status in the family they could still reject such a wish. The Baron could refute that, but that was only if he was still alive.

Richard raised his hand and waved it slightly, bathing Caesar in a magic glow that calmed his mind. It was a simple spell to calm the spirit, but it also reminded everyone present that Richard was a mage.

He looked over the boy, speaking seriously, “Caesar, your father had incredible foresight. It is a pity that he could not keep you company for a longer time. Follow me, I'll bring you to your master. Her name is Flowsand, someone destined to be a high priestess.”

Before he left the room, Richard looked at the Baron's wife before casting a glance at the young man who had just taken over as Baron. He eventually sighed, speaking to Fontaine's wife, “Baron Fontaine originally made a deal with me to provide, food, weapons, and supplies for my lands. It was a sign of our friendship, I hope the deal can still be honoured. As long as I remain here, I will be a steadfast partner of the Twilight Castle.”

The woman controlled her sadness, speaking in a clear tone, “We shall fulfill all of the Baron's wishes from when he was alive. Please rest assured, Sir Richard.”

Richard sighed without saying anything, grabbing Caesar by the hand and leaving the room. He himself was a teenager who was no older than seventeen, a mere three years older than the boy. However, the few months he had spent in Faelor felt like years.

Once he walked out of the main building, the dense stench of blood returned. Faint cries filled the air, the citizens of the castle coming out of hiding to look at the front of the city. Their greatest fear was recognising a familiar face amongst the piles of corpses that were being cleared out from the battlefield.

Richard walked around aimlessly, looking at the fresh life around him. It was now dawn, but the dense clouds still covered more than half the sky. In the hazy morning light, the world seemed to be one of black and white. Everything seemed unreal.

Richard felt a void in his heart. Baron Fontaine's death had caused him unexpected shock. This was a special feeling, one known as the mourning of a friend.

286 - City of Sin

Spoils Of War

Although the battle had already ended, they still needed to spend some time cleaning up. There was some small conflict with the new Baron's subordinates over the spoils of war, stemming from Richard's request for all the dead bearguard knights.

Of course, the dispute was apparently over the thick, sturdy armour and weaponry. However, the equipment wasn't really Richard's goal. Just like when his team had come over, transferring magic equipment required a huge price. Thus, the bearguard knights' armour was merely tough and nothing more. However, he couldn't make the fact that he needed the corpses more than their equipment known.

Ultimately, this small conflict was resolved by Richard paying the Fontaine Family some gold. He managed to retrieve about 50 runes from the bodies, able to be used again after some slight repairs. This was a huge amount of wealth, and the gold he had paid was nothing in comparison. If not for the conflict, he had originally considered leaving a few runes behind for Fontaine's family, but the increased hostility before the man's body was even cold meant he couldn't arm a potential enemy himself.

This was normal in Faelor; those who worshipped their ancestors and those who worshipped gods were like fire and ice.

Many attempts had told Zendrall that he couldn't convert the bearguard knights into warriors of darkness. The knights had been bred so thoroughly they didn't even have complete souls left. More than being sorry for the loss, this information left Richard even more wary of the Schumpeters. Breeding a being with an incomplete soul was extremely time-consuming, requiring at least several hundred years. The Schumpeters likely had many more secrets than they let on.

Ultimately, the corpses of the knights and their mounts were handed over to the broodmother. Even though she hadn't yet finished digesting Sinclair's body, she still asked for these corpses all the same. By this point, Richard already knew that any creature with formidable power was beneficial for her evolution and growth.

Under Gangdor's command, the strong barbarian warriors had carried the corpses over, throwing them one by one into the broodmother's acidic fog. Nobody could see what was happening within.

By the time the sky was completely bright, the losses had been counted. The combined defense originally had about 1500 people, and now there were less than 400 left. He only had a hundred or so desert warriors and barbarians under him. However, what pained him most was that all the footsoldiers had met their end, and only two of the knights had survived. Over 400 wind wolves had been reduced to 111, more than half of the casualties coming at the manticore's claws.

The battle was a pyrrhic victory. Had their luck been even slightly worse, he would have lost Waterflower or Gangdor. No amount of gains could make up for such a loss.

Once the aftermath had been analysed, Richard realised that he had suffered very serious losses. If he wanted to replenish his strength quickly, he would need to depend on the broodmother evolving.

Once they finished cleaning up the battlefield, Richard allowed all his soldiers to withdraw from Twilight Castle and settle down at the nearby barracks, even bringing out their injured warriors.

Kars shared much of Flowsand's burden; although his healing ability as a fallen cleric was greatly limited he could still use divine scrolls. Flowsand seemingly had a premonition of the tragic battle, and she had stored up a batch of lesser heal scrolls. They may seem weak, only able to treat minor injuries, but when used on a large group this was much better than slowly recuperating over time. It was a good method to allow the army to retain as much of its strength as possible.

Only the billows of acidic fog continued to linger in the middle of the battlefield, but by the time darkness fell once more the broodmother had contacted Richard again. She had transmitted a large amount of information, requesting that he go over immediately. There were some details regarding a special unit that required his presence.

Richard felt a little strange at that. The broodmother had never asked him such a thing before; whenever it accumulated enough energy he had been allowed to choose the upgrades through their mental link. Even standing right next to the broodmother he still had to communicate through their souls; after all, she could not speak well.

Richard thus put on his clothes, walking over to the broodmother in the middle of the battlefield. He used the short time he had en route to quickly analyse the information he had received, and couldn't help but be astonished.

The manticore, Sinclair, the bearguard knights and their mounts, even Sinclair's dagger that could pierce armour and had destructive energy... It had all contributed greatly to the broodmother's evolution, allowing her to jump directly to level 4. There were now more than ten options for upgrades!

As expected, the manticore's lethal toxicity had been assimilated. Now, all of the drones had an element of poison to their attacks, even long distance ones like bone arrows. Besides that, the broodmother's own acidic properties had been integrated into the drones as well. Even the normally harmless raptors had great combat strength with the toxic acid.

The main use of the bearguard knights had been in giving her the energy to evolve. Only one ability had been gained from them; his drones could now have their defences enhanced by 20%. It was practical, but not exactly outstanding. Still, it greatly increased his options.

At the same time, a type of combat drone called the thrower had been added. It was a small humanoid, similar to a trogg or dwarf. They were short and nimble, suitable for complex terrain like mountains and forests. They used all types of throwing weapons, their primary ammo being bone throwing axes that grew out of their backs. Although the range was less than a hundred metres, these creatures had more powerful attacks than humans with crossbows, and their attacks could be coated with poison that increased their might severalfold. However, each thrower could only grow one axe everyday, with a maximum three total on their bodies at the time. Once the axe was broken off, it would lose its toxicity in a matter of minutes.

Richard's biggest concern was that these were the first drones in humanoid form, able to use actual weapons. Outside of their own bone axes, they could use all types of throwing axes, spears, and the like; even rocks were no issue, but their power would be greatly reduced.

Once the regiment of throwers reached a large enough scale, their power would be beyond imagination. Richard even thought of several plans on the battlefield that could combine them with long-range magic.

The broodmother herself had gotten a few options as well. Amongst others, he could increase her speed, defence, or the range of her mind flay. However, having experienced the volley of wind blades from the wind wolves Richard decided to strengthen her core-most ability— drone creation.

Of course, it was a must to select the ability to create one additional combat drone every day. Another ability caught Richard's eye as well: an increase of 20% to eating speed, range, and energy storage. The speed and storage were understandable, but he didn't understand what a 20% increase in eating range meant.

However, the broodmother herself was unclear on what that was. This information had already been stored in the depths of her soul when she was still an egg, so she only gradually learned these things as she grew.

287 - City of Sin

Spoils of War(2)

In the end, Richard chose the increased drone production as well as the boost to its eating speed, range, and capacity. As long as there was sufficient time and the broodmother was adequately fed, she would grant him an endless supply of soldiers. At the moment there was no rush to strengthen the combat drones; he planned to give his options some serious thought before he came to a conclusion.

The acidic fog in the middle of the battlefield had faded greatly. When Richard approached the broodmother, she breathed in strongly and sucked it all into her majestic body that was like a small hill.

At that moment, standing in front of the broodmother, Richard felt an invisible pressure wrap over him. The creature's small, strange head contrasted starkly with the rest of its shell, one new and the other old. The scars of the battle with the manticore were still all over her body.

Richard raised his head to meet her eyes, asking, “You were so eager to have me come here, what's the matter?”

“It concerns the construction of a special unit, Master,” the broodmother replied.

“A special unit?”

“Yes. Building one is a matter of chance, and requires the use of divinity. The demonic assassin you gave me had the power of death; I can use the divinity I absorbed from all those idols to turn her into a special unit. However, the process cannot be seen by anyone, not even Miss Flowsand.”

“Not even Flowsand? Why?” Richard was very surprised. Both Flowsand and the broodmother had come from the Church of the Eternal Dragon; to the best of his understanding, they were on the same side.

“I do not know either, it comes from instinct. Nobody outside of you can know, absolutely nobody!”

“Alright,” Richard nodded, waving his hand to cast a darkness spell that enveloped the two of them, “We can start now.”

The broodmother sent large amounts of information to Richard, giving him three choices for the type of the drone. He could create a humanoid, a beast, or a mount.

Richard didn't need to think the question over, immediately choosing the humanoid. He needed more strong guards by his side.

She then gave him three more choices. He could use all, two-thirds, or a third of the divinity to create this special unit.

The broodmother had completely absorbed the divinity of the idols of fifteen orc tribes in total. The weakest special unit needed five idols' worth; from her information, this was a basic unit of divinity.

Richard quickly familiarised himself with the measurement system, asking a different question, “What's the difference between using all three units of divinity and just one?”

“The battle might, capacity, and special abilities increase with the amount of divinity I pour in. Using a single unit of divinity each will allow you to create three units.”

“Use everything you have,” he decided immediately. Right now, he had no shortage of cannon fodder. His deficiencies were at the top end of the power spectrum; without the broodmother herself and the combined might of 400 wind wolves, he could not have killed the manticore. Even during the battle against Sinclair, although his tactics had been executed near-perfectly they had still lost almost all their resources to pull off a close victory. If the battle had been in the open instead, their chances of victory would have been slim.

“As you wish,” the broodmother replied, going silent for a brief moment before continuing, “You have a few last choices. You can spawn it with its maximum battle capacity, but in exchange you will lose some of the drone's potential. If you choose the reverse, the drone's capacity will be greater in the future but it will be weak as a newborn. Also, you can choose from a few affinities as well. Since the drone will be based on Sinclair, you can choose any of invisibility, sudden attacks, and assassination. The more of these traits you choose, the lower the level and potential.”

This was the toughest choice. Richard pondered over it intensely, using the full extent of his abilities, but it still took a while to come to a decision. Images of Sinclair disappearing in mid-air and reappearing among his troops crossed his mind. The effectiveness of her abilities was still fresh in his mind.

“Maximise the potential,” he eventually said with determination, “and give it all three abilities!”

“Are you sure?” the broodmother started to hesitate. Her own calculations told her that this route would greatly minimise the maximum level of the unit. However, Richard was very certain; his own life had been at stake when he witnessed the horror of Sinclair's powers. There were many circumstances where such a specialised character like Sinclair gave people more headaches and instilled more fear than balanced fighters.

“Just do it!”

“As you wish, please wait five minutes,” the broodmother replied. Her stomach started to churn violently, and it wasn't long before a gigantic egg that was larger than the average person was pushed out. The egg started to hum when it hit the floor, and to Richard's surprise a blade pierced through the walls. A few cuts later, the egg was cut open and a humanoid creature emerged.

This was a strange being, looking like a female human with a well-proportioned body. There was a layer of armour on the outer body, but this armour covered very little and left large parts of jade-like skin visible. The half of its face that was exposed was extremely allured, but the rest seemed to be covered by a helmet of sorts. The being's eyes looked like crimson crystals. The right hand was long and slim, delicate like a lady's, while the left was a metal blade.

The blade seemed familiar to Richard, and it wasn't long before he realised that it was one of Sinclair's daggers. It had been swallowed by the broodmother when she absorbed the corpse, and she had used it in the construction of this creature. The blade had no sheen to it, but focusing on it would cause one to grow nervous. Richard cast a detection spell and was astonished to find that it still retained all its properties from before. This included the ability to pierce armour, and the power of destruction within. This was nothing short of a miracle.

Richard's gaze returned to the unit's face. The finer details seemed a little lifeless, but the appearance was immensely familiar to him. He had already understood when he looked at the blade; if one didn't look close enough, they might even mistake this drone for Sinclair herself! However, that similarity was only partial. Richard spent a long time looking at it before he realised the true root of the familiarity he felt.
ｆ𝓇𝘦𝚎𝑤e𝗯𝑛𝗼ѵe𝗹. c𝒐𝘮

“Broodmother, who did you base the special unit's face on?” Richard asked, and the answer confirmed his suspicions.

“Sinclair, Flowsand, and Waterflower.”

288 - City of Sin

Aftermath

Richard was unsure whether the resemblance to Sinclair and the girls in his party was intentional or there were other reasons. It may have been a coincidence, but judging from the broodmother's answers he had a thought he never had before: perhaps the broodmother had its own mind and soul, and wasn't merely a contract beast that just followed his orders.

The special unit was the same as any other drone. Once born, it picked up its eggshell and devoured it clean. Its outer armour grew slightly harder, thicker, and more glossy. Once done with the task, the unit stood in place without moving.

The broodmother then transmitted a special spell to him called Enlighten. It would activate this special drone, enlivening its nascent soul. It also branded a trace of himself in the soul, ensuring that this being would recognise him as the master and not the broodmother herself.

Newly created as itel was, the special unit's soul was still in slumber. It was very weak and vulnerable, only at the level of its creator. Zendrall and Flowsand were both proficient at their classes, specialising in the spiritual. This made their wills stronger than the broodmother's own, allowing them to enslave this new being. This was why the spawning had to be kept secret.

Richard acted according to the broodmother's guidance, placing his hands on the new unit's forehead and reciting a spell. A tiny spark of his soul was sent into its body, igniting its hidden divinity into a burning soul.

The being's entire body shook, its eyes rapidly gaining life. It first turned its gaze towards the broodmother, “Thank you, creator.”

Just as Richard was shocked by the unit's ability to speak, it turned around and bowed like a noble towards him, “I shall obey your every command, Master.”

“Oh, umm... That... is good.” Richard was left at a loss for words; the events in front of him were fat too shocking. Had he not seen this “drone” being created, he would have assumed it was a human or some humanoid sentient being. Even with the broodmother explaining that the presence of a soul was because she had used the power of divinity, even when all of this had happened right in front of his face, he still felt a great sense of amazement.

The scriptures of many churches mentioned that the realm of the soul was the domain of the gods; mere mortals were restricted from meddling in it. This was why humans could not create new, intelligent races: they could not create souls. Only the gods could create sentient races, and even then it was the domain of the few gods that were very powerful.

Richard calmed himself down, but he still felt uneasy as he spoke to the unit, “Wait a second, I need to think of a name for you. Your current clothes aren't adequate either, I need to get you some new ones to protect your body.”

“My name is Phaser,” the special unit replied.

“Phaser?” Richard was startled once again. He turned and asked the broodmother, “Did you name her?”

“No, Master,” the broodmother replied immediately.

Phaser spoke up, “This name was carved into my soul, arising when you awoke me. However, that is only what you can refer to me as. My real name is ”At the same time, Phaser added, “This name is carved as a symbol in my soul, it came out at the same time as my soul. I can only use it as my name. My truename is Phaser Repersie....”

Phaser went on to recite a very long name that was made of almost a hundred syllables, taking more than ten seconds just to speak. Thankfully, Richard's great memory allowed him to memorise it. However, the shock in his heart just grew in magnitude. A truename at birth? Even in the deep abyss, that only held true with the more powerful demons.

He didn't know whether this was a trick of his mind, but when Phaser looked him in the eye he felt like her gaze held complicated emotions behind them. Thinking about it, he felt creeped out...

Richard returned to camp, fetching a hooded cape for Phaser. He also got her a masked scarf that was commonly used by assassins, allowing her to cover the visible portion of her face. Only then did he dare bring her into the castle. This wasn't because Phaser looked strange, but more because her face just looked too much like Sinclair's. His soldiers had just fought a bloody battle, and would have nightmares of the demonic young lady for a long time to come. Exposing them to Phaser's case would definitely not be a good idea.

The common soldiers weren't the least bit interested in this new companion. It was common for nobles to have new ladies by their side, and what's more this one was dressed like an assassin and spent most of her time in the shadows. Anyone who was smart knew better than to disturb her.

Everyone contracted to Richard felt the presence of another soul belonging to the same owner, but with knowledge of Olar and his spike they didn't try to find out more. Richard himself couldn't think of a perfect backstory even after deep thought, so he merely passed it off, saying, “This is a contracted being.” Flowsand cast an indifferent glance at her, not asking further.

After a bit of back and forth, Richard handed over all the magic crystals he had gathered to the broodmother as an energy source, increasing her ability to create drones threefold. However, every subsequent upgrade needed more and more energy, leaving him with less than ten crystals. It was only enough for him to make some ordinary runes for Faelor.

Once the upgrade was done, the broodmother could create six wind wolves or three throwers in a day. The throwers were even enhanced with poison, their bone axes able to kill even level 10 knights in a minute if they broke skin. Only strong warriors that were level 12 or above could use their powers to endure it for a while.

Needless to say, the manticore's venom was not that gentle. The broodmother had diluted the power of the poison she granted to the throwers; only someone at level 15 or above would be able to survive the actual poison. And this was merely the might of the replica; a single sting of the manticore itself could even kill a Faelor saint.
𝐟𝓇ℯe𝒘𝘦𝒃𝑛𝒐ѵe𝙡. 𝑐𝗼𝓂

Once everything was done, Richard allowed the broodmother to retreat back into the Land of Turmoil; that area could provide enough food for her, and operating in an area full of humans would be too conspicuous anyway. A majority of the wind wolves followed the broodmother back, only forty left by Richard's side. He could only exercise perfect control of thirty units right now, so this was more than enough. When the new wind wolves that were enhanced with poison were created, these old ones would naturally be phased out.

It was only the second day after the battle that the reinforcements started to arrive. The reinforcements had reached at the same time as the original party the Direwolf Duke had sent, led by Lord Moonbear who was one of Bevry's three saints. Moonbear had rushed forth with two hundred elite knights, managing to catch up with the messengers who had set off much earlier.

289 - City of Sin

Aftermath(2)

Lord Moonbear was about forty years of age. The bristle-bearded was tall and bulky, covered from head to toe in silver heavy armour and with a two-handed axe by his side. Most of his troops were covered in chainmail, giving them a balance between mobility and defence. This elite army was definitely quite powerful.

However, Richard could only sigh at the sight of the Moonbear Lord's reinforcements. If not for his own army being present last night, Twilight Castle would have been massacred by Sinclair. These reinforcements didn't have a single mage amongst their number, only two shamans. If they had to fight Sinclair outside Twilight Castle, even escaping required Lord Moonbear to assess the situation clearly at the start and begin the retreat immediately. However, that instant retreat would only be able to save their strongest and fastest men.

Lord Moonbear and the Duke's messenger met with Richard at the camp, verifying the results of the last night's battle. The traces of the battlefield and piles of corpses caused the arrogant lord to show a dignified expression. He didn't avoid the filth and stench of the corpses, personally looking over the wounds on the corpses. His expression only grew more serious afterwards, any contempt and doubt fading from his gaze.

Richard had kept a few of the bearguard knights and mounts around, the intention being to shock and awe. Even though none of the bodies were intact, one could still see the strength they had when they were alive.

The messenger from the Duke was an old titled knight. He was immaculately dressed, not a speck of dust anywhere on his person, and displayed great etiquette and style in conversation; one could only call him impeccable. He accompanied Richard on a walk through the barracks, looking through the entire place. The man was extremely talkative, informing Richard of the history and customs of Duke Bevry's lands as they walked, but not once mentioning anything about Richard's origins. He only vaguely spoke about the matter with the rune as well, asking that Richard finish handling the aftermath as soon as possible so he could meet the Duke immediately.

Richard agreed.

In a single day, the attitude of the Fontaine Family had changed greatly. Intentionally or otherwise, they kept hurrying Richard to leave the lands as soon as possible. This was a sign that a power struggle was beginning; Baron Fontaine had died too young, and his successor was still a youth. His personal guard was almost completely wiped out during the battle, so the eldest son didn't have military power at hand. Although there were many witnesses to Baron Fontaine's last will, the decision to let Caesar follow Richard in serving a god made the entire will objectionable.

Richard had read a lot about these kinds of struggles in his books. Any family with over a century's history had a myriad of complicated internal struggles. Although it was an undisputed fact that the title and castle belonged to the eldest son, there were a lot of benefits to be had elsewhere in the family lands. Added up, these benefits were worth no less than Twilight Castle itself.

Richard couldn't stand the disputes in the Fontaine Family, wanting to intervene, but Flowsand had stopped him. This was not the time to interfere; he needed to wait until the meeting with the Duke to take note of the situation.

The envoy stayed for another day before urging Richard to make a move. Lord Moonbear, on the other hand, stayed behind to assist the Fontaines who were currently drained.

Lord Moonbear had asked to see Richard's “giant creature” sometime during his stay. Richard knew that the lord was talking about the broodmother, but he definitely wouldn't show her to him. He thus evaded the issue by claiming it was a magic summon that required a large price and took a long time. Moonbear was skeptical, but he didn't probe too much.

Two days later, Richard finally arrived at Deepcliff City. This was the largest city in the Direwolf Duke's lands, built on a hillside with his own majestic castle halfway up. The castle was enormous, larger even than the Archerons' ancestral Blackrose Castle.

Deepcliff City was extremely busy, the architecture rough but orderly. It seemed like the place had been planned properly when it was built, many of the taller buildings built with large stones.

The city had a population of over 100,000, with a permanent garrison of around 3,000 knights with thousands more stationed in the surroundings. Counting the other armies spread throughout his lands as well as the soldiers he could conscript from his vassals, Bevry could gather a large army of 30,000 if needed. This already approached the scale of the royal army.

The city walls were over thirty metres tall, making them seem greatly majestic from the distance. Richard stopped at the gate to look up, only finding them even more stunning up close. It took him a few minutes to snap out of it, only following the messenger in after a few minutes. The knight didn't urge him on this time; the man was proud of his city's majesty.

Of course, Richard was looking at it from the perspective of a commander, analysing everything he could see. A 10,000 strong army could hold this city against even five times their number for a considerable time.

Once they entered, Richard noticed the portcullises at the start and end of the entrance were made out of steel arms that were as thick as an arm. The gate was mounted on a track, driven up and down by a capstan. No ordinary siege weapons could break this gate apart; one could only send powerful soldiers up the walls and have them open up the gate for the rest of the army.

However, the vanguard of any attacking army would undoubtedly be heading to their deaths. Even a powerful saint couldn't guarantee their lives in front of these powerful defences. Without any assistance, they would be attacked from all sides once they scaled the walls. On top of the squeezy battlements, no matter how strong one was they could still suffer a disastrous defeat. That was evident even from Sinclair's fight atop Twilight Castle, and Deepcliff City would only be worse. As one of the three dukes of the Sequoia Kingdom, the Direwolf Duke didn't lack strong subordinates. Moreover, his belligerent nature only ensured that those under him were stronger than the rest.

Most of Richard's army remained in the barracks outside the city; he only brought along a dozen or so bodyguards as he entered the castle.
𝒇𝙧𝐞ℯ𝒘e𝚋n𝚘𝙫𝐞𝑙. c𝐨m

The hustle and bustle of Deepcliff City attracted Richard's attention. There was a wide road from the gate to the southern plaza, enough for three chariots to pass through side by side. As his own group advanced, the hurried clops of horses rang out coming towards them. Dozens of cavalrymen sprinted towards the city gate, shouting loudly along the way to clear the streets of pedestrians and other vehicles. They were all covered in dark grey armour, with the crest of a direwolf on their chests.

Hearing the shouts from the distance, the Duke's messenger had the team move to the side of the road. Dozens of horsemen swept past them towards the city gate, gone like the wind in but a few moments. Not all the pedestrians and carriages along the way had cleared the path— the road at the city's entrance was very crowded and with people of different speeds— but none of these riders had trampled over any of the slow ones. It was a fine display of ability.

Richard looked over at the leaving troop from atop his horse, his eyes narrowing undetectably. Every one of these riders was level 8 at minimum; their control over their horses was one thing, but each one emitted a cold, murderous aura. These weren't rookies without experience.

He opened the window of a carriage wide to give Flowsand a look, and the two exchanged a silent glance. There were no words or movements before he closed the window once more.

290 - City of Sin

Bargaining Chip

Richard had done his research on Bevry before the meeting, so he knew instantly that the riders who had just passed them were from the Knights of the Direwolf. However, the Knights of the Direwolf were more than a thousand strong. If the weakest of them were level 8, this was a terrifying force that was more than a match for his own army.

WIth superior equipment, comprehensive training, and a capable general in charge, a group of elites could easily wipe out an entire army on the battlefield even if their opponents were of similar level to them. The mere group of ten knights that had passed caused Richard to feel more pressure than a hundred horse bandits.

Looking at each other, both he and Flowsand had a common line of thought. Only after looking at the majesty of Deepcliff City could they figure out the might they needed to conquer Faelor. In fact, the two of them had already made some analyses; if they wanted to conquer the entire plane, they would need the full strength of one of the three human empires from Norland! After all, Faelor was only a few levels below Norland and there was minimal difference in area.

This plane was like a humongous mountain of cheese, but his own might here was less than an ant's. Careless greed would cause him to suffer, maybe even die under this mountain's pressure.

The Duke's messenger brought Richard to a small inn at the southern plaza, quickly scurrying back to the castle to arrange a meeting. The old knight repeatedly warned Richard to stay in the city before he left, awaiting news of the appointment. Duke Bevry would likely fix an appointment with him the very next day.

When night fell, Richard entered Flowsand's room to find her healing Waterflower. The young lady had sustained life-threatening injuries in the battle with Sinclair, only saved because of the cleric's best efforts. Even though the injuries seemed to be healed on the surface, Waterflower's internals were still damaged. She needed Flowsand to regularly cast Rejuvenation on her to speed up the recovery.

Once the spell was cast, traces of weariness appeared on Flowsand's face. She sent Waterflower out and sat by the desk, opening a mana recovery potion and slowly drinking it. Such potions aided clerics as well, although they were less effective than they were for mages. Without a shrine to the Eternal Dragon being present on Faelor, Flowsand was left with no choice but to waste her potions.

Richard sat beside her, inspecting her face carefully as he examined her aura. His face suddenly warped, “Was your mana pool damaged?”

Flowsand grunted in agreement, speaking indifferently, “It's alright, this is the price I had to pay to force my level up. It's a good thing that the damage isn't too great. I didn't lose a level; this is the best I could have hoped for.”

Richard sighed, but he did not know how to console her. If she hadn't forcibly used the Lens of Time to slow Sinclair down, all of them would have perished at the hands of that demonic lady. However, the consequences of that decision were beginning to reveal themselves. Even though her mana pool would continue to increase as she levelled, what was lost would not come back.

Flowsand smiled at Richard's concern, holding his hand in hers as she spoke gently, “This is the price I had to pay. The decision was already made, so there is no need to dwell on it. I know why you are here; you want to discuss how we hook the Duke when we meet him tomorrow, no?”

Richard nodded with a frown, “Looking at Deepcliff City and the Knights of the Direwolf, I'm afraid our old ideas won't work. The Duke became a saint long ago, and he has political power as well. Individual power might not be as important to him as we expected. He needs a number of powerful elites serving him; he himself won't have many chances to show his prowess. Neither runes nor magic equipment increase one's intrinsic power, so a watered-down rune isn't of much importance to him. If someone like the Church of Valour is prepared to offer him a divine or even half-divine weapon like the Axe of Valour, then it would be much more useful than any rune I can make. Unless, of course, I'm willing to tailor-craft a rune set for him.”

“If you really want to do so, don't expect him to go easy on you,” Flowsand said with a faint laugh.

Richard sighed helplessly, “Yes, I think so too. However, Bevry knows that there are some problems with our background. The gods of this plane are very generous when it comes to destroying invaders of other planes.”

Flowsand smiled sweetly and said, “Any god in any plane is the same. In fact, the gods of Faelor are actually quite slow to react. This plane has probably seen large armies from primary planes before.”

“Whatever it is, I'm worried the Duke will give us to the church as gifts.”

“That is not impossible.” Flowsand held her head in hand, falling into thought for a while before she spoke up once more, “It seems like we need to find something more attractive than a boost to his strength.”

“Something more important than strength....” Richard muttered. His eyes suddenly lit up, “That's it! The most important thing to a powerhouse is their lifespan. Isn't the very reason the Eternal Dragon is revered over the other gods that he is the only one that can grace someone with time?”

Flowsand saw Richard's intentions, and her own eyes started sparkling as well. She spoke quickly, “Yes! How could I have forgotten this? I have the Book of Time. Even though I can't make a sacrifice through it to give anyone an extended lifespan, I can still fool Bevry into thinking I can prolong his life! This might actually work...”

Richard suddenly remembered that there was another deity of time in this plane, “Oh right, what about Runai? Doesn't he control the same domain as the Eternal Dragon?”

Flowsand laughed mildly, “Runai wouldn't even be a greater deity on a primary plane, how could he call himself the God of Time? I paid attention to him and his teachings; his powers can only warp the speed of time. It's a mere distortion, and the warped time eventually returns to normal. If you step in and out of its field of influence, you won't discover any changes.

“Also, I didn't find any records of a significant prolonging of one's life in this plane. If Runai was a true God of Time, an extension to one's life would be a blessing granted to the core of his church, given to worshippers who made great contributions to him.”

After a slight pause, Flowsand continued, “Most importantly, the power of time transcends that of the planes. Ant deities who control time are beyond their very planes. So there can't be a God of Time that is restricted to this plane.”

This was information Richard was not aware of; it was also one of the true mysteries in the myriad planes.

Flowsand gazed into Richard's face, a faint golden glow in the depths of her eyes, “Besides, your life force still contains the divine grace of the Eternal Dragon. That should be proof enough that the Eternal Dragon's will is above that of this plane's gods. This Runai is not something we need to worry about.”

Richard shook his head, “Not necessarily. If Runai finds out about you, he will be the one god that wants to kill us the most. He will enter a frenzy that knows no bounds.”f𝘳𝒆ℯ𝑤𝚎𝚋𝗻𝚘𝘷el. c𝗼m

291 - City of Sin

Bargaining Chip(2)

When Flowsand heard Richard's words, her expression grew heavy. If the Church of the Eternal Dragon really did begin to spread through Faelor, Runai would be the one deity that was hurt the most. The very foundation of his faith would be destroyed. The Eternal Dragon did not need faith, but someone like Runai was born of belief. If the foundations of his faith were shaken, he would drop to becoming a lesser god, perhaps even falling entirely.

Richard thought it over a moment, but the dark cloud hanging over his mind seemed to part slowly, “Alright, let's not worry about that for now. Bevry's family worships his ancestors, and he's diametrically opposed to the churches. If we give him hope of an extended life, he'll definitely keep things secret and prevent the followers of Runai from destroying us. Besides, the churches are incredibly weak in the Sequoia Kingdom anyway. Our first goal should be to have the Duke believe we can extend his lifespan!”

Flowsand nodded before shooing Richard out of the room, flipping the Book of Time open as she started to ponder their problem.

As someone grew in power, their lifespan would only increase. Most people had a relatively long lifespan past level 18, upto 150 years or so. When they reached the legendary realm, this lifespan would extend once more depending on their class and power. Legendary powerhouses lasted a minimum of two to three hundred years, the oldest getting to over a thousand years of age. A longer life was the goal of almost every powerhouse; this was also the reason for the Eternal Dragon being revered more than any other god.

Beyond an extended lifespan was immortality, the ultimate dream of everyone in existence.

......

Early morning the next day. Richard had just finished breakfast when he received news of an appointment with Duke Bevry. He was to immediately follow the envoy towards Deepcliff Castle, which clearly showed how anxious the Duke was.

This caused Richard to relax. He fixed himself up meticulously, before carefully unsealing an enchanted box under the envoy's watch. It took an entire half hour, the rites were tedious and complicated, but the envoy didn't urge him on or otherwise display any sign of impatience.

Before the box was completely unsealed, Richard pointed at it and said to the envoy, “This is a must if we want to retain the rune's power. It will gradually lose power once it's opened, so I could only open it just before I met the Duke. We couldn't have His Grace wait that long, could we?”

The envoy completely believed Richard's words. Even though he was only a titled knight, he came from the famous Nottling Family and had spent decades amongst the upper class. His experience gave him a sharp eye, discerning enough to tell with one look that the enchanted box in Richard's hand would cost 3000 gold to even make. The final price of a magic item was often tenfold its original cost, and such an expensive item was used merely to hold this so-called rune. Even if Richard was a swindler, he would have had to invest far too much into it.

But that point was moot. Richard was a great mage, what need did he have to swindle others? He only needed to express some interest, and any Duke would open their doors wide open to welcome such a young great mage by their side. Money was nothing in the face of a future grand mage.

Only once he'd made enough of a show did Richard let Olar pick up the enchanted box, taking Flowsand along with the entourage to make his way to the Duke's castle.

It was in Bevry's favourite lobby that Richard finally met this man who could be considered one of the true powers of Faelor: the Direwolf Duke. Duke Bevry was 46 years old, in both his physical and mental prime. The man was of lanky build, but a broad frame made him seem formidable. His noble robes weren't too ornate, with a single jade ring on his left ring finger glistening like a clear spring.

Bevry had a short, neatly trimmed beard, and a brilliant light shone from the depths of his long, narrow eyes. There weren't any indications of his strength save for his dignified aura, one that came from having possessed high status for a long time. There was no sense of oppression from his aura; a clear indication of his exquisite control over his own power. On the contrary, a single look from him left Richard feeling like he was seen through from head to toe; he couldn't help but feel deeply alarmed.

The abilities of hiding one's aura and seeing the power of others were secret techniques that were incredibly useful. In Norland alone, there were almost a hundred different methods for each, passed down through various factions. However, Bevry had completely hidden his strength and could see through Richard with a single glance. Even in Norland, this would be first class.

Richard had lost all contempt for Faelor long ago. The deeper he explored, the more he interacted with the societies and powerhouses of this plane, and especially with this meeting, he was starting to respect it.

After all, this was a plane that housed true legendary beings. If not for his runecrafting, he himself would only be a dazzling genius here. The word genius only indicated that one had a higher chance of becoming a true powerhouse than the rest. It wasn't a guaranteed promise of that power. All powerhouses were geniuses, but not all geniuses would become powerhouses.

Duke Bevry smiled after that single glance, “A level 11 great mage, and such a young one at that! That isn't a common sight anywhere in the continent! I hear you're not even 20, Mr. Richard?” Although Richard was considered his vassal, the Duke still added a customary honorific as respect for his achievements as a mage.

“I turned twenty only a few days ago,” Richard answered. He was really only seventeen this year, but there was no need to give the Duke even more surprises. Even a 20-year-old great mage was a rare genius in Faelor's history.

“That is still very rare!” The duke settled down on the main sofa, gesturing for Richard to have a seat as well. He then instructed the maids to serve some black tea.

Once the tea was served, the Duke waved the maids and servants away. That left himself, Richard, Flowsand, Olar, and the fallen cleric Kars remaining in the lobby. Richard noted that the Duke didn't have a single trusted aide by his side.

Although Kars was himself from a prominent family in the Iron Triangle Empire, being so close to the Direwolf Duke left him nervous. However, he could not be blamed for that; power and noble status were closely intertwined on this plane. Dukes of the Sequoia Kingdom and the Iron Triangle Empire were quite close in terms of power, meaning Bevry would be an important character even in his homeland. This was a far cry from his own status.

Richard took the enchanted box from Olar's hands, placing it on the tea table as he said, “This is the rune I crafted for you, Your Grace.”

The Duke lifted the lid, only glancing within before he set the box aside. He smiled warmly at Richard, “Very rare and valuable indeed. However, it still cannot compare to a divine weapon. Now, how are you going to convince me not to hand you over to a church? Cerces and Neian have always been generous deities.”

Although his tone was as casual as in a conversation about great weather, the content within his words was extremely aggressive.

292 - City of Sin

Gods And Planes

The room went dead in an instant. The only sound to be heard was the breathing of Olar and Kars, something that seemed especially heavy and fast.

Richard leaned into his sofa, staying relaxed, “If they could give you what you wanted, I wouldn't be sitting here.”

Duke Bevry chuckled, “You have courage, but too much of that is just foolishness. If even Cerces and Neian can't give me what I want, how could you? If all you have are runes, we have nothing to talk about. A boost to my power is very attractive, but it isn't enough.” The Duke remained gentle and approachable, but his smile started to grow sharper.

Richard remained unruffled under the pressure, “Of course it's impossible on my own, but I have my family behind me, a true legendary powerhouse, an entire plane, and a true god who transcends planes themselves! That's the very reason I can sit in front of you right now.”

“A god?” the Duke broke into laughter, gently stroking the ring on his finger, “You know my family worships our ancestors, completely incompatible with the gods. If you could somehow change my beliefs, why would I have waited so long? You brats are from a different plane, I could have handed you over to a church long ago.”

The atmosphere grew a little stale once more. Marvin, who had been pulling the strings in the Sequoia Kingdom, certainly wouldn't admit that his lord was an intruder. However, with Baron Forza's lands being so close, Richard's abnormal movements couldn't be hidden from Bevry's sight. Despite all that, this was the first time the man had clearly mentioned a different plane.

Richard continued to stay calm, as if he was engaged in a rigorous academic debate, “The faith of descendants allows an ancestor to absorb their offerings. The ultimate goal is still to allow your ancestors' souls to become demigods, giving your family the option to borrow the power of your bloodline for a breakthrough when needed. This is only incompatible with the pantheon because it splits up faith, something they need as well.”

The Duke grew interested, “You know all this, but you still dare mention a god. Are you saying your god does not need my faith?”

“Indeed!” Richard replied.

The Direwolf Duke was a little surprised, but he didn't question this reply which seemingly violated the rules of the plane. He instead nodded, showing greater interest as he glanced at Flowsand, “So that girl is a cleric? Level 10 at such a young age, the god really has to be powerful. She has a promising future; if she was in Neian's church, she would have a chance to become pope.

“Richard, it seems like the plane you come from is indeed remarkable. However, what's the point of bringing this little girl to Faelor? This plane has a long history, and the gods have sealed it off from the outside. The heretic gods... Forgive my discourtesy... No foreign god can extend their might here. When the power stored in this little girl is used up, she'll become useless. Her only use here is to show me the power of your god.”

“Your words are only half correct, Your Grace. Flowsand is indeed here to show you the power of the great Dragon of Eternity and Light, but even in Faelor she can restore her mana and advance as normal.”

“Oh... She can restore powers... Wait!” The Direwolf Duke's expression suddenly changed. As the leader of a family of ancestor worshippers whose history was longer even than some powerful royal families, he understood very clearly what it meant for Flowsand to be able to restore her mana. It meant that the god she served was so powerful he could break through the seal on Faelor!

This god was formidable! Either he was strong enough to suppress the gods of Faelor, or the laws he controlled were beyond Faelor itself. No matter what that was, it wasn't good for any life on Faelor. Richard's arrival implied that this great god had turned his attention to them.

Bevry had almost stood up in his momentary surprised, but his rear had only just left the sofa before he sat down once more. The shock on his face slowly faded away.

His gaze grew extremely sharp, and he scanned over Flowsand and Richard repeatedly. However, Flowsand was a titled cleric while Richard had a legendary master. In the Deepblue, someone of Bevry's level wasn't even worth fighting. The Duke's intent gaze and the pressure he subconsciously gave off didn't cause them to grow timid in the slightest.

“Forgive my discourtesy, but how can you prove what you've said?”

Truthfully, this was quite easy to prove. As long as Flowsand performed a few powerful spells and dried up her mana, she could wait a few days and show that her mana pool had been restored. However, this matter was far too important; Duke Bevry would not have the necessary patience for that.

Thankfully, that was well within Richard's expectations. Richard turned back to Kars, “Kars, go to the Duke and let him have a good look. Hmm, you can cast a few spells while you're at it.”

Kars responded and got up, walking to the centre of the lobby before he cast a healing spell on the Duke.

Bevry grew a little doubtful. Healing spells were basics that every cleric possessed, but despite Kars' low level the result was confusing. The spell was only half as effective as the Duke had expected. However, another close look at Kars left the man shocked.

He had just realised that Kars was a fallen cleric!

Having observed Richard for so long, the Duke had to admit that it had grown hard to differentiate him and the other intruders from the residents of the plane. It would be normal to assimilate some of the locals over such a long time, but the appearance of a fallen cleric was something else entirely. A fallen cleric could only be formed by the power of a god. Kars was level 7, but Flowsand was only level 10. Even if she had emptied her entire mana pool into him, it would have been impossible for the now-fallen cleric to reach his current state. His presence alone was enough to prove conclusively that this god's power could extend into Faelor.

Soon after, Kars took out a pot of a flowering plant called the Queen of the Night. This was a common plant on Faelor, the specialty being that the flower bloomed for less than a minute before withering. There was only a bud on the plant right now, but Richard took out a bottle of magical solution and poured it over causing the flower to slowly blossom. This kind of magic solution that could promote plant growth was quite common even on Faelor.

By the time Richard began pouring the solution, Kars was almost done with his chant. The spell was long and tedious, taking half a minute to finish. When the Queen of the Night just bloomed, his spell fell on the sparkling white flower. Even as everybody held their breaths, the plant stayed blossomed for three whole minutes before withering.

The Duke suddenly stood up!

The power that had fallen on the plant was not something that promoted growth, nor was it a mere stimulus. It was the power of time! This was a power of time that was completely different from that of the God of Time, Runai! It was boundless; although incomparably weak, the Duke perceived that it surpassed Faelor itself! Even with his best efforts, Bevry could only touch a small drop in that ocean of power. The vast majesty of it all rendered him speechless!

293 - City of Sin

Gods And Planes(2)

The Duke subconsciously stretched his arm out, wanting to take the Queen of the Night and inspect it closely. However, he froze mid-action for a moment before slowly retracting his arm. He knew he had forgotten himself; the eyes were worth nothing when gauging the power of the divine. Everything could be an illusion, the only reliable thing was his perception. Bevry did not think any of these children could cheat him, not even that level 11 mage.

It was only then that he remembered what Richard had said just before, speaking extremely seriously, “You said this god is called the Dragon of Eternity and Light?”

The slight tremble in the man's voice went unnoticed. If nothing else, the Eternal Dragon's full title was simply too shocking; some careful consideration would lead one to an unbelievable conclusion!

There was a limit to every life. Even legendary powerhouses died one day, and the gods themselves were not immune to death. They lit their godfires and grew, attempting to grow in power and rank, building larger divine kingdoms. But then they declined, falling as they got replaced by new gods.

Some gods lasted to the end of their planes, but even planes were eventually destroyed. Sometimes this destruction was so fast every creature upon it felt the moment, while other times it was so slow that it felt like an eternity. When the plane perished, the gods would follow it to their end.

A god's title wasn't carelessly given. Most times their domain was decided when they ignited their godfire; once their transcendence was complete they would know their title and inform their followers of it. The only reason Runai could claim to be the God of Time was that no other deity on Faelor had a similar domain.

Bevry had met the priests of Runai before, and he understood the scope of his power. This feeling from the Dragon of Eternity and Light completely changed his mind on her greatness, making him think his reputation was exaggerated. Runai's powers could distort the flow of time, but it was only temporary. Once the effects ended, the affected region would return to normal. It was like a dam blocking the flow of a river; once the floodgates were opened, the built-up water would rush out like a torrent. The Eternal Dragon was different. His power changed the fundamental laws of time. It was nothing like building a dam on a river, more akin to widening a stream.

“Dragon of Eternity and Light, Dragon of Eternity and Light......” The Duke repeatedly chewed over this name he had never heard before, spacing out for a while. The word Eternity had shocked him greatly.

Richard sat quietly, sipping on the top-grade black tea. The only thing in his eyes seemed to be the swirling beverage in his cup.
𝒇𝘳ee𝚠𝘦𝚋n૦𝐯el coｍ

A god controlling time itself who didn't even need the faith of his followers... This dragon truly had to be above the planes themselves. That was the only reason he wouldn't need belief.

“If...” Bevry calmed down quickly, “If this Dragon of Eternity and Light has the same domain as his name, then does his grace have the power to prolong one's life?”

This was exactly what Richard was waiting for. He raised his head to meet the Duke's clairvoyant gaze, speaking as indifferently as possible, “Indeed. That is the highest level of the Eternal Dragon's grace.”

The Duke nodded, inquiring further, “Then how does one attain the grace of the Eternal Dragon?”

This was a key moment. Richard had prepared a reasoned answer for it long ago, “Firstly, you need to show some basic respect to him. Prepare an offering, and give it over through a sacrificial altar. The blessing you receive depends on what you sacrifice.”

“Similar to the offerings we make to our ancestors. What kind of sacrifice should we make? Livestock? Magical beasts? Slaves?”

“Any item of incredible power... and living beings. Anything unique is likely to pique the Dragon's interest.” Richard had used the term 'living' after careful deliberation, but it didn't paint the whole picture. He believed the sacrifice of someone like Runai would grant one thousands of years of life. If someone had talent and luck, that would be enough to light their own godfire.

Bevry laughed as Richard completed his explanation, “In that case, sacrificing someone like the Goddess of Time will give me thousands of years?”

Now it was Richard's turn to be shocked. He stared at this Duke who talked about killing gods as if it was nothing, casting a glance at Flowsand before answering, “That is correct.”

The Duke smiled, asking another crucial question, “Since a sacrifice must be made, then an altar must be incredibly important. You didn't bring an altar from your plane, did you?”

“Indeed. We need to build a new altar,” Richard admitted. This was his main objective.

Bevry pondered over it for a moment, “I suppose we could say it was an altar for ancestor worship. However, if sacrifices are so important to the Dragon of Eternity and Light aren't there any special requirements to build the altar?”

Richard turned to Flowsand, and she nodded her head in answer, “We need to form a stable connection to the Eternal Dragon that can deliver sacrifices. The altar needs tremendous power. Most of that power will be evoked from the first sacrifice, so the offering must be great. The construction of the altar itself also needs a lot of magical materials. I can provide a detailed list, but I don't know if this plane has enough of the required materials.”

“Sounds doable...” the Duke ruminated, his tall, straight brows locking together. This was clearly an important decision, one that would be difficult to make.

Richard remained calm on the surface, but in his heart, he couldn't help but begin to feel nervous. The Duke had reacted differently than he had expected. It seemed like the man wasn't very keen on obtaining a longer life, but that was the anchor of this plan. If the Direwolf Duke was not interested in immortality, then this entire meeting had become a trap. The only thing that granted him some sense of security was that it would be nigh impossible to fake belief. If the Duke wanted the grace of the Eternal Dragon, his help needed to be sincere.

The tea in his cup had long since been drained, but he was still subconsciously swirling it. Time slowed to a crawl' at some point this pleasant lobby had grown hot and stuffy, causing sweat to bead on his body. His clothes started to grow uncomfortably sticky.

After what seemed like an eternity, the Duke finally put down his own teacup that seemed to have been worn thin. “Richard,” he said with a smile, “You're basically having me betray the entire plane.”

294 - City of Sin

Gods And Planes(3)

The Duke's question only brought calm to Richard's heart— he was completely prepared for it. He placed his teacup down with a smile, “You're only betraying the pantheon, not Faelor itself.”

This answer greatly surprised the Direwolf Duke. Even though he worshipped his ancestors, something that went against the gods, he was still essentially on the same track. The ultimate goal of worshipping one's ancestors was to allow their spirits to transcend mortality, becoming deities themselves. When someone in the family ignited their godfire, this worship would naturally transform into the worship of a god. Thus, even Bevry held the gods in high esteem. He was just unwilling to put aside his dignity and interests for a god who was not related to him by blood.

The gods were above everything— everyone in Faelor understood it. It was the same belief held by primitive gods who had not figured out the myriad planes.

“The gods you speak of,” Richard responded to Bevry's puzzled gaze, “are merely powerhouses who have aligned themselves with a law. These laws depend on the plane they reside on, and these fellows who take control of them through the faith of mortals can only be called parasites. They are no different from the majority of humans, mere attachments to the plane. How could they possibly be above the plane itself?

“The only reason the gods claim to be above Faelor is that it supports their own agenda. If Faelor is destroyed, these parasites who feed off it will die as well, but even if the gods are destroyed Faelor will continue to exist!”

The Duke was an experienced, knowledgeable man. As an ambitious leader of his family, the profundity of his knowledge would astonish most people. However, he had never thought of things from the viewpoint Richard just demonstrated.

In a land ruled by the gods like Faelor, any public heresy would end with one burnt at the stake. The Direwolf Duke was at odds with the pantheon, but on the whole it was just internal strife in the same camp. Bevry himself placed the pantheon in high regard, even higher than Faelor itself. However, some consideration led him to understand the irrefutable value behind Richard's words.

And yet, there was an easy method to deal with such irrefutable facts in the teachings of the gods: whether Richard's words were true or not, he would still be burnt. There would be no other reply, no chance for him to hold a debate.

Bevry lightly knocked on the table for a while before finally raising his head, “Whatever I choose, this is an extremely difficult decision. I would like to add a small weight to the balance. Come, follow me; there is someone I want you to meet.”

Kars and Olar were left behind in the lobby, with only Richard and Flowsand following the Duke. Bevry brought them along a maze-like path, guards popping out from hidden alcoves everywhere to greet him with a bow.
ｆ𝓇𝘦𝚎𝑤e𝗯𝑛𝗼ѵe𝗹. c𝒐𝘮

Deepcliff Castle was Bevry's permanent residence, but the interior wasn't cosy at all. In fact, it was full of fortifications. A single, isolated courtyard in the upper levels contained a five-storey building that housed the Duke's entire family.

Normally, Bevry's kin would rather visit the beautiful countryside than spend their days cooped up in this cramped castle. Only the Duke himself spent most of his time here, occasionally heading out to the mountains to hunt with his family or attend important events. The layout of this castle allowed Richard to peek into a corner of the Duke's heart. This was a wise man, courageous and firm of will...

Opening a dark door, Bevry walked into a dark, moist passageway. This hidden path was long and narrow; it felt like a gentle downward slope, the walls growing damper the further they went. Richard silently computed his bearings, discovering that this passage actually led to the belly of the mountain this castle was built on. However, he didn't feel particularly threatened; the Duke had no need to wait so long to kill them. He had no way of putting up a fight if that was the man's wish.

The passageway finally opened into another heavy metal door, revealing a vast space behind. This was a courtyard constructed in the interior of the mountain, several rooms illuminated by magic light reflected in the waters of an underground spring.

Bevry was extremely familiar with this place, opening each door along the journey and showing the two what lay within. A majority of the rooms had countless scrolls, books, and other papers randomly scattered about. There was an endless amount of data and pictures everywhere; all familiar to Richard but supposed to be highly abstract knowledge on Faelor. Some of them were theories that still needed proving, but at his level it was all common knowledge.

Magical mathematics was one of the basic foundations of runecrafting. In a plane like Faelor where runecrafting was yet to be discovered, this foundational field wasn't well developed either.

Richard picked up a piece of paper and was astonished by what he saw. This paper had some illustrations with basic planar geometry. The biggest use of planar geometry was in the construction of portals to other planes! Even in Deepblue this was a profound subject, abstruse and difficulty because one had to understand the workings of time.

A breakthrough in planar geometry in this backwater... Even if it was simple guesswork, whoever had come up with it was a rare genius. This was just like when he had read Essien's diary, far beyond the means of Faelor.

However, careful thought reminded him that this wasn't strange. This plane was large, developed and prosperous. There were hundreds of millions of residents here, so there were bound to be geniuses among the rest.

It wasn't long before Duke Bevry opened the last door, the one that was the deepest in. This was a room that was a few hundred square metres in area, the walls filled with bookshelves with a large desk in the centre of the room. A magical light was shining down from the ceiling, making the entire room glow splendidly.

A white-haired old man was sitting at the desk, scribbling non-stop. He was making calculations after calculations, evidently thinking of something.

He didn't even raise his head in response to the noise from the door, “Is it mealtime already? Alright, just set the table in the next room.”

“Perrin, I wanted to introduce you to two new friends.” The Duke's voice was expectedly calm and friendly, showing true sincerity.

Perrin turned around, glancing over both Richard and Flowsand. He then returned his gaze to the paper in front of him, speaking impatiently, “Alright, I saw them. You can all leave now. You know how precious my time is, Your Grace. If there is no special reason, please don't disturb me. I'm at the brink of a breakthrough, this is a crucial moment!”

295 - City of Sin

Territory

When Perrin turned around, Richard was surprised to realise that the man had an extremely youthful face. This was definitely a young man, definitely no older than thirty. However, his white hair and hunched back made him look no different from a sixty-year-old man from behind. And yet, when he saw the fellow's back again, he sensed that the fellow's aura was truly old. This caused him to turn to Flowsand, who nodded slightly to confirm his conjecture. Perrin's body truly was aged, but he had a young soul!

Perrin gave off the aura of a weak mage, somewhere around level 6 or 7.

The Duke gently closed the door behind them, bringing Richard and Flowsand to a nearby lounge. He personally brewed a pot of rich black tea, speaking bitterly, “Perrin is my third son...”

Richard was slightly shocked. Duke Bevry was only 46 years old, Perrin was in his early thirties at best!

The Duke paused for quite a while, seemingly finding it tough to choose his words, “Perrin... His mother was the greatest love of my life, but she passed away due to a difficult childbirth. Even when he was young, the boy had talent beyond comparison. He wasn't a one in a million genius, no, he was far beyond that! He was the kind of genius you never see in your entire life! Everything you saw was solely his research. He says it is the path to the final mystery of magic arrays, and that he already found the key to that great door.”

Richard appeared very calm on the outside, but he was actually shocked further. Faelor and Norland had similar systems of magic, just that Faelor was a step behind. The ultimate mystery of magic arrays... Whatever it would be called, the final result was runes!

“Perrin is only twenty,” Bevry said calmly.

“Is it a curse?” Flowsand probed.

“Yes. I suspect it was a curse from the God of Time. When he was fifteen, Perrin publicly announced some opinions regarding Faelor's origin. He thinks the plane's power system is not perfect, so Faelor itself cannot be considered the perfect, flawless, and supreme plane the gods claim it is. There has to be a plane out there whose power system far surpasses ours, but we call them all primitive and barbaric. He also theorised that the gods of Faelor are not the strongest; somewhere in the myriad planes, there is likely a formidable god who exceeds them.”

Indeed, this Perrin was just like Essien. It was an extremely bold conjecture that displayed his sheer genius; at the tender age of fifteen, the boy had taken a step closer to the truth!

Richard fell silent. He knew from history that anyone who was a step ahead of their time would become a great person, but someone who was two steps ahead would just be a sacrifice. Perrin's statements regarding the power of Faelor's gods was basically blasphemy.

The Duke's voice grew bitter, “Not long after his opinions shocked the kingdom, Perrin suddenly started to age ten times faster than normal. Five years later, he just grew to be 20 but his body is already that of a 70-year-old man. Many people whisper that it is because of his treacherous words. The gods were angered, and thus they punished him.

“Ever since the incident, he started to fear the sun and the winds. Only deep within this mountain, where our ancestors' powers and magic formations protect him, can he avoid the torment of his curse. His only wish now is to complete a foundation for magical mathematics before the reaper knocks on his door.”

“This is that weight?” Richard asked ambiguously.

“Yes. Perrin... I owe his mother too much, and I owe him too much as well.”

Richard turned to Flowsand and asked, “Is there a way?”

Flowsand nodded, “This is a powerful ageing curse, most likely put down by Runai himself. This curse doesn't affect the flow of time, instead catalysing his body itself. Yes, this is likely a divine punishment.

“Of course, the curse of a god is beyond me. I'm not yet powerful enough to lift this curse directly. However, as long as the altar is built and a sacrifice is successfully made to the Eternal Dragon, the Dragon's grace can lift this curse. However, the damage has already been done. Perrin will need a much stronger blessing to restore his body as well.”

Flowsand quickly explained how such a blessing would work, finally concluding, “The altar and an offering will be key to saving Perrin.”

For the first time since their meeting, the Duke's eyes started to glow. He'd been trying his best in the past five years. Outside of pleading for mercy from the gods, he had already looked through countless methods. He went through endless ancient records, sending envoys to distant countries to search for legendary herbs, magical beasts, materials... Anything that could prolong one's life.

And now, for the first time, he felt that there was hope.

He carefully enquired about the grade of the required offerings. When informed that a blessing of time required a powerful demon or devil at the least, his face contorted a bit. However, the expression of difficulty was soon replaced by determination and resolution.

Greater demons and devils all surpassed the power of Norland's saints. The more powerful ones even approached level 20. This was a powerful enemy for the Direwolf Duke to provoke, but he would not hesitate.

“Where will the altar be built?” the Duke asked.

“My territory,” Richard replied quickly. He had already considered this question, ”That way, it will be easier to keep it secret.” Google search 𝘧𝓇𝗲e𝑤𝑒𝙗noѵ𝒆𝚕. 𝒄o𝓶

“Alright! I will try my best to support you. What do you need? Supplies? Gold? Troops?” This was clearly a display of support.

Richard pondered over it for a moment. He could not ask for a lot— for now, all they had was a preliminary agreement. Their relationship was very fragile, and excessive requests could break it apart.

“Thank you for your kindness, Your Grace. I do indeed need help now, and it's mainly in three areas. First, I need a steady transaction channel for food, weapons, slaves, and materials. Next, I need a list of names; I need to know your true allies, as well as the powerhouses I need to be wary of. That includes legendary beings as well, and the more detailed the better. Last, and most important, is a large number of materials to build the altar with. I will pay for the supplies, but I need a guarantee that you will supply them to us.”

The Duke cast a deep glance at Richard, speaking with a faint smile, “You're not asking for money or troops, eh. You're a very ambitious brat!”

Richard was slightly frightened in his heart, but his face remained stoic.

296 - City of Sin

Territory(2)

Bevry picked up a pen and pointed to a nearby map, outlining a small area. “I've already given you the rank of frontier knight. You know this is a permit for you to campaign against others under my name, but a frontier knight is not a true noble. For future convenience, I'm also making you a titled knight. The family you claim to succeed has good pedigree already, so you can be considered a true member of nobility. As for any higher ranks, you'll have to fight for them. This is the breadth of your land; take a look, see if there's anything to supplement.”

Richard moved towards the map, closely inspecting the area the Duke had outlined. The land was a few kilometres in circumference, including what was originally Bran Village. It covered a junction of three areas: the Sequoia Kingdom, the Land of Turmoil, and the Bloodstained Lands. A third of the place was mountainous, with a small river flowing through the centre allowing for farmland on either side.

What concerned Richard more was that the road leading towards the interior of the kingdom passed by the edge of the territory, and there were marks for iron, copper, coal, and sequoia trees in the mountains. Although the area hadn't been completely developed or even explored yet, this place was rich in minerals. Nobody knew just how vast the underground reserves were.

Richard had learnt a lot about minerals in the Deepblue; he knew that the depths of even ordinary mines had a chance to contain rare materials. There was a hope for these lodes to be the same. As for the sequoia trees, they were the namesake specialty of the Kingdom. They were tough and hard, able to conduct magic well. They were used to make magic bows, weapons, and the like.

If these lands were developed well, they would be no worse than Baron Fontaine's territory.

“Thank you for your kindness!” Richard said.

The Direwolf Duke waved his large hand, “It's a small matter. I hope you can start quickly, establishing a proper business. Time is of the essence!”

He had clearly emphasised the last sentence, and Richard understood what that meant. Perrin was now the equivalent of a 70-year-old man. It was impossible for him to become a saint, so if he continued to age at the current rate the best case was for him to last three more years.

“Alright, it's getting late. Richard, your party can stay a night at Deeprock Castle, we can have dinner together. It will be a good opportunity for me to introduce you to my friends and children.

“Now, about the rune...”

As per Richard's request, the rune was to be attached in the chief mage's laboratory. The chief mage was level 14, and his specialisation in healing magic garnered him many friends and apprentices. The man was already over fifty years of age, so the sight of the young Richard left him with a bizarre look on his face.

Richard briefly introduced the rune he had prepared for the Duke. It was a general strength rune with six slots for magic crystals. If all slots were filled, it could give one a steady 20% increase in strength for a duration of three months. However, the rune would break after five uses and had to be changed for a new one.

“20%? Simply unbelievable!” the Duke said as he shed his outer robe, revealing a powerful body covered in muscles. He stood calmly before Richard, the aura of a powerhouse faintly seeping out. Richard then cast a detection spell on the Duke.

A low rumble sounded as Bevry's body started to glow. Even Richard, someone who always had great control over himself, started trembling slightly. The Direwolf Duke had incredible capacity, with at least six possible slots; the man could easily become a grade 3 rune knight, and top of that add two grade 4 runes! If all of his slots were filled, Bevry would immediately reach the level of Gaton's thirteen!

The man saw Richard's expression changing, stretching out a little as he asked casually, “What's wrong. Am I not suitable for the rune?”

“No,” Richard said after composing himself, “It's unrelated to the rune. I was shocked by your strength. I didn't know you already surpassed the strongest powerhouses of the kingdom!”

The Duke flashed a small smile at those words, not saying anything. Rather, it was the chief mage who looked at Richard with a bizarre expression once more. This young mage was only level 11, while the Duke was level 18! It wasn't impossible for a detection spell to find the Duke's level, but to do it despite such a difference in level and yet accurately figure out his power was something he himself could not have done at that level.

Richard acted as natural as possible, turning around to busy himself at the workbench. Thankfully he had figured out that Bevry was nearing level 19 with the detection spell, using that secondary knowledge as a substitute for the information on the man's capacity. In order to nudge this fragile alliance in the direction he needed, he needed to give a reasonable explanation for the smallest of things. The Duke was too sharp for anything but.

He prepared a batch of solvent, before taking the slotted rune out of the enchanted box. He embedded all the magic crystals needed, bursts of magical light condensing into bright spots in the arrays. The fuelling crystal in his hand halved in volume and turned a dull grey.

Before attaching the rune, Richard solemnly spoke up, “There is something I need to explain regarding this rune, Your Grace. Without any knowledge of the characteristics of your strength and the properties of your energy, the rune was built with safety and non-interference in mind. Its amplification is a little worse than that of a tailor-made rune that integrates into the user's system.

“This rune uses magic crystals as a power supply, and can be used for about a year and a half. The advantage is that it doesn't draw upon your energy, so it won't be a burden on the battlefield. However, this decreases the amplification and usage time further. It's only half as useful as a normal one.”

“That's alright,” the Duke smiled, “You were very thorough in your considerations.”

The Direwolf Duke held great power, both personally and politically. Before he established full trust with Richard, he definitely wouldn't allow this foreigner to affect his energy usage. Only in Norland, where runes were an integral part of every powerhouse's strength, did people allow runemasters to tattoo runes directly.

297 - City of Sin

Territory(3)

Richard sprayed some solution onto Duke Bevry's shoulder, quietly reciting the spell to slot the rune as he carefully put it in position. The skin started to sizzle the moment the rune came in contact with it, a thin layer burning off to allow the rune to fuse with him. Half a minute later, the magic arrays started to glow, the skin at the shoulder looking somewhat different from the rest of the body.

Flowsand waved her hand, casting a lesser healing spell to eliminate the pain of the attachment. The damage was insignificant to anyone with a modicum of power; the main purpose of this act was to let the Duke see her casting spells.

Bevry stretched his body, feeling no signs of discomfort. In fact, he felt a surge of power that gave him an unexpected surprise. “Let's go!” he said as he wore his robes, “We should head to the training grounds to see this thing's power.”

Very quickly, the Duke's personal guard had set up three practice dummies in the training ground, one each covered with chainmail, light plate, and heavy plate. The last one was built to simulate the capabilities of enchanted armour, while Bevry himself only wielded an ordinary two-handed axe. There was no enchantment on the weapon, while the material was just ordinary steel.

The Direwolf Duke wielded this giant axe with a single hand, making it look as light as a piece of hide. He didn't hesitate in the slightest, taking large strides forward and instantly cutting the first two dummies apart. He then walked over to the one with thick plate armour, taking a deep breath and swinging the axe with pure strength alone. Even without the support of his energy, a devastating strike landed on the armour!

A deep crack immediately appeared on the thick plate. The hardwood dummy was crushed in an instant, the armour deforming into scrap metal. However, it did not break; on the contrary, the axe in the Duke's hand bent completely while the surface was distorted. The steel handle twisted up as well, ruined beyond recognition. This ordinary axe could not withstand the Duke's tremendous strength, thoroughly reduced to scrap metal.

Having felt that burst of power, Bevry casually threw the axe to the ground as he laughed heartily, “Good! No, great! I would love to see what that old fool Whiterock can use to resist my axe now!”

......

The evening's banquet was exceptionally noisy, bustling with excitement. Everyone could sense the sheer joy of the Direwolf Duke.

The Duke spoke with high spirits, talking about a direct assault on the Whiterock Dukedom. His powerful body language and penetrating voice got even Richard's adrenaline pumping. This was the first time he had seen Bevry's skill as an orator and leader.

The banquet was much larger than expected. All of the Duke's adult sons, the chief mage, the treasurer, prime minister... even the court marquesses who had no territory corresponding to their status, and several commanders of the army... there were a lot of attendees. Basically every power of Deepcliff City was present.

In the face of such a fervent atmosphere, Richard could no longer be sure whether it was the rune that had brought him joy or the hope for Perrin's survival.

The banquet only ended when it was late into the night. The Duke's butler rapped on his door shortly after, having two servants bring in a leather box that was sealed with magic. Informing him that it was a gift from the Duke, the butler retreated from the room.

Richard opened the box to find that there were more than ten small compartments within. Each compartment had a different type of magical material, with a note indicating its name, uses, origins, and standard price. Some of the compartments only had the note; the materials they talked about were far too precious to just be lying in the Duke's treasury. Such materials were traded by the gram.

This box of samples was much more important to Richard than a single box of magical materials. Gathering and sorting the natural resources of this plane was one of Richard's most important goals, something that would allow him to find ways to maximise profit once the portal between the two was formed.

Such things were crucial to planar conquest, and formed a cornerstone of strategy. Blackgold had previously given him a real-life example as a vivid illustration on how important the quality of management was in interplanar trade. Two extremely similar planes had more than an order of difference in profit! This box of samples from the Duke would halve Richard's work in the future.

Richard spent almost all of his time over the next few days meeting various officials. A true noble position was completely different from that of a frontier knight, which only required a nominal document. It was extremely complicated and tedious to verify the borders of his territory, reporting to the Kingdom's council to confirm his crest and symbol.

Contrary to expectations, Kars was actually a capable assistant. Although he was a little incompetent and lazy, he still had the basic poise and ability of a true noble. He did a good job of taking care of the documents, especially with the formatting of the texts.

Marvin, who Richard hadn't seen ever since he arrived, also showed up after the banquet was done. He said he had been living in an inn under the Duke's control all this while, treated like an official envoy by Bevry's subordinates. However, everyone was aware that the fallen cleric would likely never see light again if the negotiations fell through.

With two nobles of Faelor under him, all of the tasks were progressing in order, although they were still difficult to accomplish. The biggest problem was that Richard had to report a complete family tree: in the eyes of the upper class, it was unthinkable for a powerful family to have no history. Marvin had already claimed that Richard had come from a dead house, thankfully, so all he had to do was fill in some details.

Once the tree was finally prepared, Richard hesitated for a long time before penning down the Archeron name. The work afterwards would be taken over by Marvin and Kars, where they ingeniously added this as a branch of a true ancient clan. The Duke's officials were smart enough to ignore the minor discrepancies.

It took a full week for all these procedures to be completed. News had already arrived from the troops who had been sent back to his territory, stating that the villagers of Bran were all dead. Richard sighed at the knowledge; no wonder Sinclair had shown up at Twilight Castle.

Citizens were indispensable to the development of a territory. The lands given by the Duke were rich and fertile, but most of the place was forests, mountains, or grasslands. Bordering on both the Land of Turmoil and the Bloodstained Lands, the place was susceptible to a two-pronged attack by magical beasts. The place was thus desolate, with few signs of human habitation. There were only three to five villages in the entire area, the total populations hovering around 2000 people.

Farming, mining, rebuilding the roads, constructing a castle, manufacturing weapons and tools... Even building the altar to the Eternal Dragon required a lot of people. The one thing Richard didn't have to worry about was a military; the broodmother would take care of that. However, even on that front things weren't too well. He had less than a hundred desert warriors and around thirty barbarians remaining under him, with fewer than twenty of the surrendered human soldiers still alive. Zendrall had only four warriors of darkness remaining as well, but that wasn't even the worst of it. Almost all of his knights were dead as well, robbing him of a trustworthy chain of command.

298 - City of Sin

Unexpected Developments

The battle with Sinclair had been the final push that allowed Richard to advance to level 11, making him a great mage on Faelor. The two trolls had levelled up as well. Phaser was only born at level 1, but with all of Sinclair's abilities as well as that dagger for her left hand, she was equivalent to a level 5 or 6 elite. In fact, she could even maim level 10 fighters if she managed to sneak up on them.

On top of all that, he had eliminated the biggest threat and formed the basis of an alliance with the Direwolf Duke. Despite the many losses, Richard felt that everything was clear.

He was in no hurry to leave, instead staying over at the Duke's for a few more days. Borrowing the chief mage's laboratory, he picked out the most damaged of the runes from the bearguard knights and repaired ten of them. This ended up with runes that offered between 10 and 15% boosts to strength, all active runes run off magic crystals unlike the passive one he had given the Duke.

All ten were sold to Duke Bevry for a total of 200,000 gold coins. 50,000 coins were given in gold and jewellery, while the rest was substituted with magic materials and enough equipment to outfit 200 soldiers.

As for whether the Duke would give these runes to his subordinates or resell them for profits, that was none of Richard's concern.

Richard had been careful in setting the price of these runes. Back at the Bloodstained Lands, he had sold two for 25,000 each. Although he knew that those people could resell the runes for twice their price in profit, the key idea was to keep the price bearable for a level 15 fighter or any great mage.

Although the runes sold to the Duke had some disparity in power, Richard had used other factors to make up for the difference. He extended the duration of the boost for some and reduced the mana drain on others, extending the lifespan of yet some more.

Any rune would lose its effects as the arrays faded. Some would die out in as early as a year, while most lost effectiveness in three years at most. Norland had already resolved this problem, but centuries ago when runecrafting was in its infancy it had been an issue for every runemaster. Only the talented saint runemasters who were like shooting stars managed to overcome this problem, building arrays that could be sustained indefinitely. Thus, few rune sets had been passed down from ancient times. However, every one of those ancient sets was of exceptional quality.

After careful consideration, Richard had decided to use the Duke as a channel to sell his runes. On one hand this allowed him to hide the origin of these runes, while at the same time giving Bevry a host of benefits that would only strengthen their alliance. Building these defective runes that were far below Norland's standard didn't take much time and energy; Richard could make two or three in a day. He had even managed to reduce the cost of production to about a thousand coins. As long as he had a stable channel to dispose of them, money would make its way into his hands.

Gold was just a symbol, but a stable channel like the Direwolf Duke could quickly transform that symbol into useful things like materials, equipment, and horses. This gold he was earning held a lot of power.

Once the transaction was completed, Richard took his party and returned to his own territory. He used 20,000 coins along the way to hire a bunch of masons and buy metal that wasn't produced nearby to build a new castle on his territory.

This castle was to be built on the river bank at the foot of a mountain, not far away from Bran Village and close to the Bloodstained Lands. A castle here would protect the fertile river banks from horse bandits coming in from the Bloodstained Lands, and as long as those were blocked there was no need to worry about opening his lands up to agriculture.

Most of Faelor was tropical, and the lands were much more fertile than on Norland. The plane was thus rich in natural resources, needing two-thirds of the land to produce more food than Norland. Famines were thus extremely rare, most of the deaths being due to endless wars. Humans were gradually expanding, occupying more and more of the main continent as they forced the other tribes off to the larger islands. Although the population loss was stemmed due to this, as long as the unused arable lands were developed there wouldn't be any famine on the plane for centuries. Food was the basic driving factor behind a large population, an efficient labour force, and an abundance of luxuries like alcohol and meat. This was a basic principle.

The desert warriors and barbarians had already been sent ahead, clearing a basic path and building a simple barracks and stable. One of the two surviving knights was negotiating with the successor to Baron Fontaine, hoping to hire workers and purchase basic construction materials such as stone and wood. These materials were cheap, bulky, and needed in large quantities; they could only be sourced locally.
𝑓𝚛𝚎𝗲𝙬ℯ𝘣𝚗𝘰ν𝐞l. co𝗺

When Richard arrived at the castle's construction site, he was surprised to find a mere outline of the boundaries. Outside of about a hundred people from a nearby village, there were no workers at all. These were all his own subjects, but based on the situation in his fief this was as many as they could recruit. How long would it take to build a castle with just a hundred people?

Richard took another round around the construction site, realising that most of these people were handling stone and wood. The stone was mined from a nearby mountain by the powerful barbarians, cut and ground by the commoners. The lumber came from the nearby forest as well, needing a long time to peel, dry, and chop.

Even this little progress was because the knight in charge of building the castle had prior experience, with skill in masonry and carpentry. The commoners definitely didn't know how to prepare or treat raw materials.

It wasn't just a lack of labour. If even the stone and wood had to be made from scratch, then it would probably take 3 to 5 years to build this castle.

Richard wasn't a small, countryside knight who could only rely on taxes to accumulate wealth. He had a lot of hold on hand that would turn into materials and labour, so it should not have been difficult to build a small castle. He had already given his knight 5,000 coins, but he definitely didn't see a corresponding labour force or materials.

A single round around the place caused him to grow a little gloomy, and he immediately called the knight in charge of the construction over to ask what was happening. This man was one of a mere two left under his command.

The knight was in his early thirties, with strength corresponding to his age. This meant that there wasn't much room for him to improve in the future. However, the man had followed him through many battles and was familiar with managing a noble's territory. That was why he had been put in charge of the castle's construction.

299 - City of Sin

Unexpected Developments(2)

Small castles could normally be built with just seven or eight thousand coins. Richard had some additional requirements regarding the strength of the defences, so the costs here would exceed 20,000. The addition of rebuilding roads and the like was no small expense either, but still the initial stages wouldn't take more than 5,000 coins.

The knight respectfully saluted Richard upon saluting him, but that etiquette did not improve his mood in the least.

“What's going on here?! Why aren't there more workers? Are you planning to build my castle with just these fellows, little by little? Where's Pierce, where did he go?!” Richard's voice became increasingly stern.

The knight broke out in a cold sweat, realising that this handsome and gentle-looking young master was enraged. The imposing aura Richard was giving off made his heart palpitate. “Sir Richard, you wanted Pierce and I to go to Baron Fontaine's territory to hire craftsmen and procure stone and wood...”

“That's right.” Richard nodded his head, seeing the knight's expression. He furrowed his brows, asking with a sneer, “What, did I not give you enough gold coins to purchase the items and hire the craftsmen?”

The knight laughed bitterly, “Logically speaking, the gold you gave us should have been enough. However, we truly could not buy the items or hire people. The new Baron increased the cost of all construction materials tenfold, and did the same with the masons' salaries. We didn't dare to make the decision ourselves, so we could only wait until you returned from Deepcliff to decide.”

Richard looked slightly stunned, “So the new baron has no intention of selling to us...”

The knight spoke carefully, “We were of the same opinion, but since it was your command we had to continue to fight. Pierce is still at Twilight Castle, and I returned first to recruit men. However, there are only so many people here, and we can only mine and chop for the materials.”

Richard nodded wordlessly, slowly circling the construction site once more before speaking deliberately, “It seems like some people don't wish for me to build a castle here...”

“My Lord, then...” the knight asked cautiously. He had followed Richard for quite some time, but he felt increasingly unable to see through this young great mage. Even now, Richard's stern expression frightened him greatly.

“Continue to take care of things here, and don't stop the construction. I'll take a trip to Twilight Castle myself tomorrow.” Saying that, Richard returned to a two-storey wooden residence set up for him in the barracks, spreading out a copy of the map he'd obtained from the Duke and looking up the neighbouring nobles from the list Bevry had given them.

He wasn't engrossed in thought for long before a soft knock sounded on the door.

“We've been travelling an entire day, why aren't you resting?” Richard put down the list in his hands, smiling as he pulled Flowsand towards him.

The cleric huffed, smacking his hand hard, “Business first!” Google search 𝒇𝚛e𝗲𝘸e𝚋𝑛o𝘃𝙚𝒍. c૦𝒎

Richard didn't let go despite the pain, but at least there was no further action. “Alright,” he said, “Let's talk. What business? We have our own business to attend to later.”

Flowsand grew furious, viciously biting down on his shoulder as she spoke through clenched teeth, “Every day and every night! Aren't you afraid your level will drop?”

“How could that be?” Richard laughed, “My mana surges during 'business.' It's the perfect time to understand many principles of magic and runes.”

“Hmph! You're growing more and more obscene. Are you really a great mage?”

Having spent a long time with Flowsand, Richard was starting to grow more brazen as well, “According to Norland's standard, I'm far from being a great mage.”

Hearing about Norland, the faint smile on Flowsand's face suddenly disappeared. She sighed softly, straightening her back, “About returning to Norland... Do you have any ideas?”

“I don't have any concrete methods, but I do have some ideas.” Richard loosened his grip, bringing her before the map as he spoke with a smile, “We've already taken the first steps. Now, we need to raise our strength and increase our chances of survival. The key to that is resources and military. If nothing else, as long as we have a stable channel I'll be able to sell runes to keep the flow of gold steady. That wealth can be exchanged for materials, slaves, territory, or even mercenaries.

“We would also do well to establish some trade lines. Now that we've fought so many battles, I can guarantee victory in any small battlefield. As long as we're about a thousand each, and the quality isn't far too disparate, we won't lose. If we continue to defeat more enemies, we can get the two materials we need the most: magic crystals and worship idols. With them, the broodmother will grow stronger and stronger.”

He then jabbed a finger at the Bloodstained Lands, “In less than three years, we will control all of this land.”

Flowsand stared at Richard's profile, realising that this youth had slowly grown confident and decisive over time, starting to take on more responsibility. She sighed in her heart, focusing on the map as she said, “Idols aren't as effective as the statues of a god.”

Richard was taken aback, speaking hesitantly, “That would cause an open war with a church. Even if we can do that, we should at least wait until we've opened a passage to Norland first. Only after we return to Norland will we have the backing to resist legendary beings.”

“Maybe going back isn't as difficult as you think,” she said gently, caressing his face.

This time, Richard was the one that was truly shocked. He raised his head, startled, “What? We can go back right now?”

“Of course it isn't that easy,” Flowsand smacked Richard on the head with her small fist, “The main reason we cannot return to Norland is that we lost the coordinates. Our own strength is not great enough to determine our location in the myriad planes. However, I thought of something when we were telling Bevry about that divine grace that is impossible to get. It's difficult, but not out of the question.”

“Hmm? Can we really offer sacrifices to the Eternal Dragon through a random altar?” Richard was shocked once again.

Flowsand ran out of patience, rolling her eyes at him before smacking him again, “Of course not. The Eternal Dragon has no use for an altar without a mark. However, the Book of Time can connect to him and we can ask for the coordinates of Norland. We already know the locations of two Lighthouses of Time here on Faelor, so we can take them apart to build a new one that leads back home.”

“What?! Why didn't I think of this method before?!” Richard said after a shout.

Flowsand looked at Richard and sighed again, “Richard... it isn't as easy as you think it is.”

300 - City of Sin

Principle

“Hmm? Why not?” Richard asked dubiously.

“An offering is a must in any wish to the Eternal Dragon,” Flowsand said slowly.

“Offering...” Richard's expression changed as well. He had been through the ritual himself, so he knew exactly what level of offering was needed to attract the attention of the Eternal Dragon.

“Yes. That old dragon doesn't need our faith, only our sacrifices. It follows the eternal principle of equivalent exchange,” Flowsand said viciously. She had grown up in the Church of the Eternal Dragon, so she naturally knew the kind of offerings they would need to make to return to Norland. At minimum they needed the head of a greater demon with the essence of its power still within.

She could exchange such a head for twenty years of life, but some careful consideration would show that it wasn't much. In the eyes of the Eternal Dragon, that was worth less than a bit of powder off one of its scales. Please visit 𝘧𝗿𝐞𝐞𝒘𝗲𝘣n𝘰𝘷ℯ𝒍. 𝒄o𝗺

However, Richard immediately relaxed and released a long breath, fiercely groping Flowsand's butt as he spoke with a smile, “You're such a miser! A way to return is already good enough, how could we be concerned with the expenses? Even if we need them, it's not like we have to take care of that personally. We can definitely just trade runes for them or something. Anyway, isn't Bevry taking care of that right now? Faelor is only a few millennia behind Norland. You can't underestimate the power of a Duke.”

“It's an indirect method!” Flowsand argued, “The initial sacrifice needs to strengthen the Book of Time, only then can we communicate with the Eternal Dragon and have it substitute the role of a church. Even if the Book is a divine weapon, it can't be compared to a real church. We'll lose a lot of the blessing, a lot! Only a third will be left!”

“Alright, alright! In any case, we have a method. Don't worry about the expenses, we're not taking care of that personally.” Richard's hand started to trace the curve of Flowsand's rear as he spoke, and when he reached the bottom he grabbed the hem of her robe and started raising it. He was prepared for 'business.'

Flowsand sighed helplessly, no longer bothering with the issue. She was just very unaccustomed to such a thing. The same kind of offering back in Faust could be exchanged for almost thirty years of time, but through the Book of Time it was only worth ten. Still, even ten years was incredibly difficult. If they managed it, they could claim to have an incredibly solid foundation in Faelor. With that being the case, why complain? Richard's mischief had caused her to unwittingly relaxed.

Still, she pressed down on the hand that was up to no good under her robes, “I'm not done talking! I just tested Caesar, he has incredible talent for the divine. Given our current conditions, we should consider quickly raising his level. I need a few capable helpers.

“Also, I'm running out of scrolls. We have to consider getting another batch, should we find and raid another church? Also, your own power is important. You should consider giving yourself another rune.”

Hearing the words 'raid a church' coming from the mouth of a cleric so naturally, Richard felt an indescribable incongruity.

He hastily sorted out his thoughts, “Don't worry about raiding a church yet. It's not like that's impossible, but we need to do it in secret. Before we finish the passage back to Norland, we can't easily reveal our identities. I already have some ideas for my next runes as well. First, I'm preparing one that allows my spells to penetrate magic barriers and the like. After that, I plan to craft something I'm calling Nature's Domain. It will enhance my nature affinities, empowering my elven blood. That will allow for an increase in the power of Nature's Beckon.”

Flowsand furrowed her brows, “So you're saying you'll get an extra summon? Six direbears at once, isn't that a little too brutal?”

Richard only chuckled in response, saying nothing. Normally, a grade 6 Nature's Beckon would only summon one to three direbears depending on the caster's luck. These bears were all around level 8 or 9, three of them together able to overwhelm a level 10 warrior. His elven blood allowed him to summon five with a single spell, and the addition of a rune would make that six. That was exactly twice as many as even the luckiest of normal mages!

And it wasn't just that. With the Book of Holding in his hands, he could store three grade 6 spells. At the same time, his own precise control of magic allowed him to cast two grade 6 spells at his current level.

In other words, if some naive fellow wanted to challenge Richard, he would end up surrounded by thirty direbears in less than a minute. This was a complete landslide, much like Sharon's own ability. Of course, it was too early to claim that he was like the legendary mage. He only had a group of bears, while she could summon groups of dragons. There was still a fundamental difference between the two; even the weakest green dragon could destroy hundreds of direbears.

And as someone who was a student of that legendary mage, Richard would not feel complacent over his achievements, “I can only defeat a normal mage of the same level. It might be useful when adventuring or on small battlefields, but it quickly loses effect as the scale grows until thirty direbears are nothing. Eventually, the bears just end up being equivalent to a cavalry unit...

“I'm actually a little confused right now, unsure of which path to choose. If it was adventuring or small battles, strengthening my summons would not be a bad idea. It could even fundamentally change the direction of any battle. However, a strong fighter like a ranger or an assassin who can attack from afar is best fought with explosive power. And as for war, I should strengthen my group buffs or curses, like slow, haste, bull's strength, or iron skin...”

Flowsand huffed, muttering something under her breath before she spoke up, “Hey! Stop complaining about imaginary problems. What do you want your normal mages to do? Your choices are pretty good right now. At our level, thirty direbears are definitely nothing to laugh at. As for larger battles, Olar and Zendrall are much more useful than you. And once I advance another level, hehe, even you won't be able to take me down!”

301 - City of Sin

Principle(2)

Richard actually nodded in agreement to Flowsand's words, “Yeah, Olar's warsong and song of exhaustion are really useful weapons. I wonder where he learnt them. However, it will be a huge problem if the opponents have a bard as well.”

“There seem to be few bards in Faelor. You should be looking out for shamans,” Flowsand warned.

“Mm, that's why Zendrall is important as well.” Zendrall was a high-level necromancer, so his large-scale curses were a great way of restricting opposing shamans and clerics.

“Also, what's with Phaser? She has an aura of the divine around her, she might be able to learn magic in the future.” This was the first time Flowsand had spoken up about Phaser since her appearance.

“She's... Hmm, how do I put this...” Richard wanted to explain, but he remembered the broodmother's warning, “She's a special drone that draws on divinity for her power. She has a mind and soul of her own, so we might be better off treating her like an actual person.” Richard still knew very little about the broodmother herself, forget divinity and the soul. He didn't know how to accurately describe Phaser.

Flowsand creased her brows, falling into deep thought. However, Richard glanced at a clock and slapped her butt hard, “Alright, it's time. Beautiful Miss Flowsand, you have two choices right now. You'll have to go with me to see what went wrong with Fontaine's side tomorrow either way, so you can be good and go back right away. If you don't want to leave, then let's get down to proper business!”

Flowsand quickly leapt out of Richard's arms as her face turned towards the door. Yet, her body moved backwards instead of forwards as she leaned back into Richard's embrace and rested her head on his shoulders. Her arms reached around the back, holding onto his waist for support as she ground against him slowly but vigorously. “Can you, young man?” she whispered slightly, the words almost inaudible.

“Why don't you find out?” Richard heard a loud boom within himself, as if a volcano was erupting in his body. He couldn't hold himself back at all, pinning her to the map and making himself in immediately. What followed after was simply an explosion of chaos.

Flowsand's screams were hoarse and a little hysterical, only causing the raging inferno within to burn incomparably brighter. He was almost unable to support himself, for a split second thinking he was trampling over Faelor's mountains and rivers. This woman was just so irresistible.

The great battle was intense and lasting. By the time Richard finally subdued the cleric, he was already deathly exhausted. He even needed Flowsand, who was the one who was pinned down in the first place, to cast a vitality spell on him. Only under the triple effects of the spell, his own rune, and an energy potion he chugged down did he start to feel better.

Sending Flowsand away, Richard pulled himself together with some difficulty as he began to wrap up his work on Nature's Domain. What could originally have been completed within two hours took double that time.

Richard took his clothes off, soaking the rune that was drawn on magical paper in solution. He then identified the position for the rune, fitting it onto the right side of his chest. The magic arrays on the cloth lit up at once, countless streaks branded into his chest as they heated up like golden-red threads. The pain was comparable to placing a soldering iron on one's body, but Richard was already used to such a thing. He just let out a grunt, enduring the agony as if it was nothing.

A few potions later, Richard's mana had already fused with the Nature's Domain rune. His perception of the surrounding forest grew clearer and clearer, the fuzzy elven bloodline within him growing distinct and powerful.

What surprised Richard the most was the strengthening of his connection with Norland's seven moons. This was particularly so for the seventh, the golden moon. He could only sense it rarely before, but now it was much more present. He had never been able to use the power of the seventh moon before.

Once he ensured that his body and runes were in good condition, he began to meditate and rest. The mana piercing rune could be put off until a later date, even a month or two would be no problem. Nature's Domain had greatly boosted his summoning spells, making him as good as a druid of the same level. More ideas came to his mind for the piercing rune as well; once the ideas were realised completely, the final rune would be grade 2.

Even at grade 2, runes that boosted magic weren't common. On the other hand, his own rune would be able to drop an enemy's magical defences and resistance by an entire two levels. A grade 5 shield would only be as effective as grade 3 under the influence of his power.

However, there was another major significance to that. This rune would finally allow him to officially join the ranks of true runemasters!

The framework of the magic arrays was already completed. He just needed to finish some calculations and choose the materials for the rune; it was merely a matter of time.

Even for someone as calm as him, the idea of becoming a true runemaster set off a whirlwind of emotions deep in his heart. He couldn't help but think back to the lives of those saint runemasters, powerful and glorious heroes in Norland's history. How many of them were true runemasters by the age of seventeen? Did he already have his own place in the history books?

Sadly, the memories left him a little dejected. There was no lack of young geniuses amongst the saint runemasters. Outside of Saint Peter, who had only made sudden progress in his middle age to create the divine rune sets, most other saints had been great intellectuals. Some had even become true runemasters at the age of twelve or thirteen, or were extremely quick to progress when they took up the craft.

Truth be told, there was no lack of gifted individuals in Norland. There were many in history who had advanced earlier than Richard had; it was just that most remained stuck without much progress for the rest of their lives. Only a small minority even became great runemasters.

Still, Richard smiled as he set all his excitement, anticipation, and apprehension aside. Even as a grade 1 set, Breath of Darkness was enough for him to leave his mark on the ages...

A night of meditation passed quickly, and early the next morning he had already finished breakfast and gathered all of his companions. His equipment packed, he left for Twilight Castle in the company of tens of desert warriors and barbarians.

Amongst the small troop were twenty throwers, looking like hybrids of troggs and dwarves. They were clad in custom leather armour, each with five hatchets hanging from their belts. However, their mightiest weapons were the bone axes on their backs.

The troop was led by an elite thrower, a creature that possessed power equivalent to a level 10 warrior. This was two levels higher than the power of the average thrower, and atop that the elite possessed outstanding intelligence and authority that allowed it to command its lesser kin. It was used to relay Richard's orders to the remaining drones. Such elite units would only grow more relevant as the scale of the wars continued to increase.

Richard's army wasn't particularly large, only about a hundred strong, but with both his common soldiers and elites depleted in the battle against Sinclair, the new Baron didn't have any way to resist it.

However, this change in the young baron truly was too abrupt. Less than half a month had passed since Richard had fought side by side with his father, but the boy's attitude had already changed completely. Richard didn't believe this was for no reason. However, an internal battle for power couldn't possibly have caused such effect so quickly. After all, the young baron was the appointed successor to the position. As his liege, the Direwolf Duke himself guaranteed the boy's rule.

On the other hand, Richard had just established an alliance with that same duke. Bevry couldn't possibly resort to such useless tricks behind his back, there was simply no need. If the Duke wanted to harm Richard, he could just hand him over to a church. The man clearly had expectations for this alliance; the 200,000 gold in currency and supplies was proof enough of that.

Although Richard had only known the old baron for a while, they had gone through a life and death battle together. His knowledge, wisdom, and excellent swordsmanship had left a deep impression. If it wasn't necessary to do otherwise, Richard was still willing to act unaware of the cold treatment of the baron's remaining family. However, Fontaine's lands happened to be in the middle of Richard's own lands and the heart of the Sequoia Kingdom. Some major trade routes passed through those lands, and if he wanted to avoid them he would need to detour for almost a hundred kilometres. Many cheap, bulk goods would become more expensive to transport than to buy.

Moreover, there was zero development in his new fief. The large swathe of land was almost devoid of human habitation, and supplies from the Fontaines were absolutely necessary to actually get it somewhere. No matter what, Richard wouldn't let problems with logistics arise at his own base. If the matter wasn't settled right away, his lands would constantly be pressured under dagger point. He would head over to Twilight Castle himself, and find out who was manipulating these events. The new baron was basically still a child; that boy didn't have the courage and experience to try this with him.

302 - City of Sin

Meeting

Richard's territory was only a short distance from Twilight Castle, so a quick march soon brought them to the castle gates.

When they reported the reasons for their arrival, the guard had them wait outside as he informed the Baron. The officer's strength was quite amazing for his role, he was already level 9. This would make sense in an Earl's territory, but it was far too extravagant for a mere baron. A level 9 warrior could find good employment anywhere. It wasn't like none of them were willing to guard gates, but most barons didn't have the income to employ them.

Richard remained detached as he watched the officer enter the castle, realising that he had never seen this man in the previous battle. In that battle where they just piled soldier after soldier on the bearguard knights, a level 9 warrior would definitely be a central focus. Richard trusted his own memory; he wouldn't forget any of Fontaine's subordinates who had that much strength.

'An outsider is guarding these gates,' he pondered as he waited patiently, 'It seems like they want to filter out unwanted people.'

Richard dismounted quite early into the wait, sitting peacefully on the road in front of the castle gates. A fair number of people in the castle were ordinary warriors or commoners, and a few of them seemed like they recognised the mage who had won the desperate battle for them. However, their expressions were slightly strange. They didn't say a word when their gazes landed on him, only starting to discuss things amongst themselves once they got further away.

They were completely aware that Richard was unwelcome. However, they weren't foolish enough to jump out and make a ruckus to gain some merit. Although he was merely a frontier knight with some noble background, he still wasn't someone the commoners could humiliate as they wished. He could just have them killed in return, just offering Fontaine some compensation to settle everything.

The afternoon sunlight grew increasingly fierce, the shade of the tree Richard was resting under gradually fading away. A strong, murderous intent began to grow from behind Richard. Waterflower, Gangdor, Zendrall, and even the barbarians were all filling with bloodlust. The only constant was the desert warriors— however, that was merely because they were always violent and merciless. Only the throwers seemed to be rooted to the ground, not moving at all. They were mere drones with no minds of their own; only the elite had any form of intelligence.

The wait ended up lasting an entire hour. Just as Richard was about to get up and leave, the guard officer hastily walked out of the castle, “The Baron is free now; he is waiting for you.”

Richard nodded, standing up and heading towards the castle. However, the officer immediately barred his way again before pointing at Gangdor and the barbarians who formed his personal guard, “They can't go in. You enter alone.”

Richard slowed his footsteps, looking at the officer and asking calmly, “My army's already been left behind, but now I can't even bring my own personal guard?”

The officer spat hard at the ground and said fiercely, “You're just a tiny frontier knight! Just be thankful the Baron is willing to see you. What personal guard are you talking of?” The officer was originally indifferent towards Richard, but now he was sharp as an arrow.

Richard stared mutely at the officer for an entire thirty seconds before he laughed, motioning behind him as he instructed, “Gangdor. Half his teeth and a leg.”

Gangdor grunted an acknowledgement, his large hand grabbing the officer. The fellow was stunned, only able to feel a steely grip around him. His parrying arm was knocked aside with a thump, and he ended up raised by the neck. A dozen or so powerful slaps left his head spinning, sending bloodstained teeth flying everywhere. Gangdor then threw him down with force, crushing his knee under his feet. The steel armour deformed completely, sinking down into the flesh.

The officer wailed like a pig, his eyes rolling back as he quickly fainted from the pain. Even though he knew the man couldn't hear him speak anymore, Richard still spoke coldly, “You're not even a frontier knight, but you dare speak to me this way?”

The dozen guards who had originally been lined up by the statue in front of Twilight Castle, waiting silently, suddenly went into an uproar. They held their weapons tightly as a few swordsmen poked their heads out from the castle gates, drawing their swords and starting to flank around Richard.

Richard glanced at the guards and said coolly, “You'd best inform the Baron of this quickly. Also tell him this: if anyone waves a weapon at me, I'll consider it a challenge from him!”

The guards looked at each other, many growing afraid as they slowly lowered the weapons that had been raised high in the air. The few swordsmen that had emerged from the gates looked fervently at the unconscious officer on the ground, swords tightly grasped, but nobody dared draw close.

Richard gazed icily at the people before him. There were a few familiar faces amongst the guards, but the swordsmen were all entirely foreign to him. However, he noticed two with swords that were quite similar to the late Baron's.
𝘧𝑟𝙚eｗ𝑒𝒃n𝒐𝘷𝑒𝚕. c૦𝙢

A few of the older guards quickly bypassed the swordsmen, charging into the castle to send word to the Baron. Those that stayed behind took several steps back, eyes flickering as they avoided Richard's gaze. They looked at the unconscious officer from time to time, and then at the people behind Richard. However, nobody had the guts to charge forth.

Most of the guards here had participated in that terrifying battle. They were very familiar with Richard's party; those were all vicious monsters who could fight even Sinclair herself. All twelve of them wouldn't even be a match for the one brute!

It was only then that they remembered how terrifying the power of this unremarkable frontier knight was.

This time, Richard only waited two minutes before the butler of the castle ran out. His forehead was beaded with sweat, evidence of his extreme anxiety. He gasped for breath once he caught sight of Richard, saying, “Lord Richard, the Baron welcomes you.”

“Then what about my people?” Richard asked, as if nothing had happened just now.

The butler took a look behind Richard, “The army has to be left outside the castle, but you can definitely bring your personal guard.”

“Alright, come in with me!” Richard pointed out to twenty people.

“That... seems a bit much...” The butler kept wiping away the surging sweat, but couldn't muster the courage to stop him.

A short while later, Richard and the little Baron met in the drawing room of Twilight Castle. The boy still looked rather juvenile; the luxurious clothing did not increase his dignity, rather leaving him at a loss. Perhaps to reduce his fear, a row of tall and sturdy warriors was stood behind him. There were even two middle-aged nobles seated at one end of the room. One of them was the late Baron's younger brother, while the other was someone Richard had never seen before.

Although Richard had brought twenty people into the castle, he suddenly grew very amicable once he entered and left most of them in the outer hall. Only he, Flowsand, Gangdor, and Olar headed in.

303 - City of Sin

Meeting(2)

Richard surveyed the room, finding that the little Baron was secretly watching the expressions of the middle-aged man. He asked gently, “Lord Fontaine, your father and I fought side by side not too long ago. Out families should only be growing closer.”

Before the young Baron could answer, his uncle snickered, “A frontier knight wishes to have a close relationship with a Baron's family? Wait till you become a titled knight!”

Richard glanced calmly at the man, “Indeed, a frontier knight is not a noble.”

“A frontier knight clearly isn't a titled knight!” the Baron's uncle burst into laughter, “Wait till you have your own territory, and earn the recognition of the royal family. Only then are you a true noble. You need to be a title knight!”

Richard chuckled, but refused to explain further. Since the man couldn't understand the meaning behind his words, there was no need to say any more. His gaze landed on the little Baron once more, “Lord Fontaine, it seems like you don't want me building a castle in my lands?”

“Ah, no... Wait, what does your castle's construction have to do with me?!” the youth answered in a panicky manner. Although he had a row of warriors behind him, they gave him no comfort.

At that moment, the silent middle-aged man finally spoke up, “Lord Richard, the location of your castle doesn't seem to match up with the lands you've registered for yourself. If my memory doesn't fail me, that piece of land should belong to the Direwolf Duke.”

Richard took a look at him, answering without a change in expression, “Yes. His Grace knighted me officially a few days ago. That piece of land is mine.”

The man frowned, “That land is much larger than a normal knight's. This doesn't seem quite right.”

“May I know who you are?” Richard asked with a smile.

The fellow waved his arm around, “It doesn't matter who I am—”

“If it doesn't matter,” Richard immediately interrupted him, “then shut up.”

The other party's face flashed with indignance, and he even opened his mouth to rage, but in the end he quieted down. Although he looked extremely grumpy, he was cunning enough not to fall for the trap. He clearly had great background and status.

Still, Richard had already discovered that this middle-aged noble was the key to the Fontaines' change in attitude. The uncle obviously held all the power over the youth, using the child as a figurehead for his own purposes. Most interesting was that Lord Moonbear was nowhere to be seen; the Lord had planned to stay behind to defend the barony for some time.

“Lord Fontaine. I have basically no residents in my territory. I need wood, stone, and people to hire. Can you provide them?” Google search fr𝚎𝘦𝘄𝙚𝗯𝗻𝗼𝐯e𝗹. 𝑐o𝒎

The uncle answered ahead of the Baron once again, “My deepest apologies, Sir Richard. Our family needs to renovate Twilight Castle now as well, so we have few materials to give. It's not that we won't supply to you, but it will be slightly expensive.”

Richard suddenly laughed, shaking his head, “Ten times the normal price is slightly expensive? Ha, fine. I understand. Where's Pierce? Hand him over, and I'll leave right now.”

The little Baron paled slightly, apparently not expecting the matter to be resolved so easily. The uncle's eyes flickered as well, he was clearly stunned. For his part, Richard stood up and began to admire the ancient decorations placed in the room. The Fontaine Family was several centuries old, so they naturally had many exquisite items. A vase on a platform and the oil painting on the wall were both quality goods with exorbitant prices.

Richard picked up the vase, flipping it over in his hand as he played with it. Seeing the crystal vase worth thousands of coins being tossed about, the little Baron couldn't hold back any longer, “Sir Richard...”

*Crash!* The crystal vase fell from Richard's hands, breaking apart into pieces. Richard turned and smiled gently at the young Baron, “What is it, Lord Fontaine?”

Everyone but Richard immediately focused on the crystal shards on the ground. Even without much ability at appraisal, one would know how valuable this vase was. Thousands of coins had disappeared in a single, crisp sound.

The young Baron grew incoherent, the boy having no idea of what he wanted to say, “Richard... You...”

“What about me?” Richard asked with a smile. His hand elegantly brushed by the mantel of the fireplace. A gorgeous, handmade enchanted clock made of expensive materials slid down from his fingertips, crashing hard into the floor. Thankfully, the thick carpet below ensured that the clock was only dented a little, but with how precise magic tools were any tiny harm could destroy the formation within. Restoring it would not be an issue of just a few hundred coins.

Watching another thousand coins disappear at Richard's hands, the uncle couldn't sit still any longer. He suddenly got up, pointing at Richard as he scolded loudly, “How dare a mere knight behave so atrociously in Twilight Castle?”

“Oh? I'm behaving atrociously, am I? I don't think so, I'm just in a bad mood. Besides, I may just be a titled knight but don't forget that I'm a frontier knight as well. Even if I'm behaving atrociously in Twilight Castle, what can you do about it? Are we going to fight? How about a war?!”

The baron's uncle was stunned, wanting to shout, but found himself unable to speak a word. A true battle? He was the only remaining high-level swordsman in the entire Fontaine Family, and he was only level 11. The personal guard of the Baron looked fierce, but they were only level 5 or 6. In front of true powerhouses, they were no better than a group of sheep.

Richard's men were only ten or so metres away, resting in the outer hall. Even if he ignored Gangdor, those barbarians alone left him terrified. The innate talent of their race allowed them to fight beyond their level. If they really were to fight, everyone in this drawing room would be killed in a matter of minutes.

As for war, no matter how haughty and ignorant he was even he wouldn't think the less than two hundred experienced soldiers and a few hundred fresh recruits could stand up to Richard. The uncle was utterly shocked, frantically looking towards the middle-aged man who was sitting still.

This was not what they had planned. They knew Richard was a powerful mage, but he was also a child of a historied noble family. Despite his connections with the deceased Baron, the Fontaines were expressing their disdain. They also flouted the supply contract that the Direwolf Duke had arranged for. Richard should have furiously stalked off, looking for Duke Bevry to right this wrong. This was a common path in an altercation between two nobles who served the same lord.

As for any accidents that might occur on his way back, that would have had nothing to do with the Fontaines. But what could they do now? If they couldn't fight, and they couldn't wage a war... Were they supposed to reason with Richard?

304 - City of Sin

The Next War

When Richard pulled the oil painting off the wall, that unknown noble couldn't hold back any longer, “Young man! You may not be afraid of fighting the Fontaines, but what about others?”

Richard chuckled, “So now we see your true intentions. Let me guess... Who could it be that wants to declare war on me... If I'm not wrong, your master should be the Highland Unicorn?”

The middle-aged man's expression changed as he hummed, not speaking further. He was a clever fellow; this was not the primary battlefield, and nothing would come of offending Richard. He was also occupied with trying to think of the reason for which Richard had managed to identify him so quickly. If the Direwolf Duke received word before they could eliminate Richard, things would become difficult to settle. Pulling away one of Bevry's vassals and attacking another would not look good. Google search 𝗳𝙧𝘦𝒆𝑤𝙚𝘣𝙣𝘰𝘃ℯ𝑙. 𝐜𝐨𝑚

Viscount Zim was a special existence. If Richard was killed, the situation would end up completely different. After all, history was written by the victors.

“Enough. End the games, now. My time is precious. Bring my man out, or my mood is going to get worse and worse,” Richard stated calmly, reaching out and dragging his hand across the painting. A sharp crack sounded as the expensive piece of art was cut apart in the centre.

The uncle glared furiously at Richard, telling his servants to bring Pierce out immediately. It was a scant few minutes before the knight was dragged out, injuries all over his body. As someone who knew the arts of the underworld himself, Richard could tell that Pierce had been locked up and tortured for a few days. The man's two attendants were even worse off; if not for Flowsand, they might even be left handicapped for life.

The servants had brought Pierce out as quickly as possible, but in those few minutes nearly ten thousand gold's worth of antiques disappeared under Richard's hands. Richard didn't even bat an eyelid upon seeing his subordinate, merely telling Olar to carry them out of the castle. He then stood up, bidding the young Baron and his uncle farewell. At no point did he seem shocked or infuriated by the state of his men, not even asking anything about the obvious injuries on Pierce's body.

However, that display only left the Baron's uncle even more disheartened. His plans to make use of Pierce to force Richard's hands had dissipated into thin air. Seeing the mage about to leave, he couldn't help but get up with the urge to sound the alarm. However, seeing the elite guards in the outer hall, he had no choice but to acknowledge his situation and avoid doing something foolish.

Richard only halted once before leaving the room, turning back and stating calmly, “It's impossible to distance oneself from the Duke without paying a price.”

Once they left Twilight Castle, Olar approached Richard and asked, “The Fontaines treated you so badly, my Lord. How are you not angry?”

“Angry? Why would I get angry?” Richard still retained a little smile, “There's no point in that. We'll just wipe them out.”

......

Back at the base, Richard immediately had his army prepare for battle. Since Zim wanted to battle, he obviously wouldn't wait till the castle was built. The Viscount was acting much faster than he had anticipated; it seemed like the fat fellow really did have some skill to back up his insolence.

Pierce was one of Richard's two remaining knights. Thanks to Flowsand's treatment, all of his hidden injuries had been healed. Marvin and Kars would treat him over the next few days; although fallen clerics weren't exactly proficient at healing, they were still high enough in level to cast the basic spells. With the severe lack of mid- and low-ranking officers, people like Pierce were the true supportive structure of his army.

He had the equipment he had purchased from the Duke brought out, equipping the hundred or so desert warriors. Their leather armour was replaced with chainmail, the ordinary machetes, replaced with steel falchions. The might of his cavalry was boosted immediately.

Fontaine would undoubtedly bar his way back to the Sequoia Kingdom, so Richard knew he couldn't look for supplies and much-needed troops from there. Obviously, that also meant he couldn't send word to Deepcliff City. However, he had no plans of asking the Direwolf Duke for help anyway. It seemed like Lord Moonbear had been pulled away from Twilight Castle although recruitment for new troops hadn't been completed. Whether the man was deceived by the Baron or there were other reasons pertaining to Bevry, Richard couldn't afford the distraction of asking for assistance. The most important goal now was to achieve victory in the imminent battle.

The strength of Richard's army was steadily rising. Every three days, nine throwers entered the fold. He had exhausted basically all of his magic crystals, allowing the broodmother to create three throwers, six ordinary wind wolves, or four poisonous wind wolves in a day. The throwers were more useful in direct warfare, so he'd tasked her with creating batches of them immediately.

The increased ability to consume food had left the broodmother with constant energy reserves, to the point that there were few situations where she was below half capacity. This left Richard curious as to what exactly she was eating in the Land of Turmoil. However, regardless of what it was, her presence ensured that time was on his side.

And yet, Zim didn't take long to arrive. Before Richard could get another batch of nine throwers, an army of over a thousand people arrived from the Bloodstained Lands. They were less than fifty kilometres away from his territory.

With his wind wolves wandering the Bloodstained Lands on patrol, Richard quickly understood the structure of this gigantic army. There were 50 elite heavy cavalry, plus another 150 light cavalry and 100 archers. That left the remaining 700 soldiers to as footsoldiers. This was a sound, balanced army; the most complete and effective that Richard had faced to date. With this balance of troops, an experienced commander would be very difficult to deal with.

Zim had no lack of quality equipment for his troops, and outnumbered him five to one. The only advantage Richard had was that he had a number of powerhouses on his end that could hold down the opponents.

An army of this scale could even siege a Baron's territory. That alone was sufficient evidence of the sheer trauma Richard had left Zim with in the Bloodstained Lands. The more troops the Viscount deployed, the more difficult the aftermath would be to deal with. Still, he had brought a majority of his soldiers.

Richard had checked up on Viscount Zim after that day, getting detailed information about him from the Direwolf Duke. The Highland Unicorn did indeed have the right to be arrogant and rude, and Richard had guessed correctly that day as well. Most of the Viscount's value came from the thing between his legs.

Zim's father was Earl Yatu, while his mother was the current king's cousin sister. His uncle was one of the three dukes of the kingdom as well, Duke Grasberg. However, background alone was not enough to justify his rashness and overbearing behaviour.

All sense of superiority was inherited. The royal bloodline of the Sequoia Kingdom was said to descend from ancient sacred beasts. The first humans of the family had only appeared after a few generations. Zim had the most concentrated bloodline in the last two decades, and it was even a powerful unicorn bloodline.

That was why he had grown so arrogant. Many nobles— including branches of the royal family— sent their daughters to him in the hopes that they would have a child with a powerful bloodline, even though history had made it clear that the chances of that happening were minute. The special favours and free reign ended up shaping the Viscount's current behaviour. He had never lacked power, status, or women; Richard was the first large obstacle he had come across in life.

305 - City of Sin

The Next War(2)

Richard spread out a map, cautiously checking the terrain and situation around them. The opposing army had a lot of footsoldiers, so they moved at a slow pace. They were currently fifty kilometres away, which would require an entire day's march to cover. Even after that, they would need a night's rest before they could attack.

The lands on the border of the Sequoia Kingdom and the Bloodstained Lands experienced a sudden rise in elevation, so Richard's fief was several hundred metres higher than the Bloodstained Lands. The terrain was complicated here, with many mountainous regions that were difficult to traverse. The place lent itself greatly to guerilla warfare, so Richard decided to fight Zim's army here. Although his troops were fewer in number, they were all elites with the experience of numerous battles. He always prized their adaptability, and this battlefield was one that required exactly that.

......

As night fell slowly, Viscount Zim's army came to a stop. They would set off at dawn, reaching Richard's lands the next afternoon. The young Baron Fontaine had already been bought over, agreeing to not provide labour and materials to Richard. This would leave their enemies without any defensive structures; even the barracks would be a temporary building.

The Highland Unicorn himself was pacing around a huge, luxurious tent in the centre of the base, occasionally cursing loudly at Richard. When not throwing expletives, he was imagining how he would torture that damned frontier knight, leaving him so excited he could not sleep. Please visit 𝘧𝔯𝙚𝐞𝘄ℯ𝚋𝘯𝚘ν𝐞𝑙. c𝑜m

There were four beautiful noble ladies in the tent, making it seem slightly crowded. These daughters of noble houses were acting like maids, pouring him water and wine. The traditional laws of not bringing women along only applied to the regular soldiers, holding no power over Zim. Most of this army was made of his personal troops anyway.

Zim continued waving his fist around, declaring that he wanted a fight to the death in Richard's territory. As a true noble, he would defeat that mere frontier knight who had come out from goodness-knows-where. However, at the same time, many warhorses used the cover of the night to gradually near the base. The horses' hooves were covered with cloth, preventing any sounds from their trot. The desert warriors atop were masters at horsemanship, so their mounts remained very docile under their command.

A small group of soldiers was patrolling the temporary base in circles, gradually growing farther away from the small team. Richard waited until they were out of sight to raise his right hand, upon which Olar immediately brought out his bow and aimed straight at the camp. When the hand fell, two enchanted arrows flew soundlessly through the night sky like comets, burying themselves into the two sentinels on the watchtower.

The sentinels immediately fell down. Although the couldn't make any sounds themselves, the heavy thuds still alarmed quite a few of the warriors. However, it was at this exact moment that Richard pointed forward, having the dozens of desert warriors behind him spur their horses on towards the camp.

A few barbarians charged towards the sides of the camp with large strides, making quick work of the crude fence with the large axes in their hands. They met a few soldiers who had just run out of their tents, chuckling menacingly as they brandished their large axes to bring down the first few who weren't adjusted to the darkness. They then headed towards another tent, where alarmed shouts were ringing out. The soldiers within were still wearing their clothes and armour, unaware that the god of death had already come for them.

Two sturdy warriors surrounded the tent, taking a deep breath before whirling their axes at the same time. A sharp whistle sounded before the cries within suddenly disappeared; with its pillars broken apart, the tent had collapsed completely. Blood quickly soaked the cloth.

The warriors were still eager to continue, slashing wantonly at the bulges in the cloth a few times. Every attack turned the cloth redder, and it was only when a dozen soldiers approached them in formation that they were forced to stop. A low-ranking officer was at the head of this group of soldiers, preventing the barbarians from advancing any further.

At that moment, a burning fireball pierced the darkness to land in front of the soldiers. The explosion sent four of them flying, turning four more into human torches. The barbarians seemed fearless, quickly moving into the broken formation and charging the officer down. Their goal was not to kill as many as they could; it was more important to sow chaos and kill the leaders. Without their captains, the footsoldiers would just be scattered sand.

Even as the barbarians' axes were raised high, they suddenly felt a breeze blow past them. How could any breeze blow in this world of raging flames and energy? Their eyes twitched as they continued to prepare the attacks, but the officer in front of them suddenly went stiff. A blade with no lustre poked out of his chest, piercing right through his heart.

Phaser appeared behind the officer like a demon. Her body half-bowed, she swiftly passed between the two barbarians and hid behind them. These warriors knew that this assassin was one of Richard's warriors, so they roared and brought their axes down, cutting down the soldiers who were pursuing her.

Richard was currently moving along the borders of the camp. He already had a clear picture of the chaos in the camp, three sides already broken into by his army. Zim's enormous and eye-catching tent was less than a hundred metres away, but over a hundred elites were already gathered around it. A level 14 general was shouting out commands, gathering the scattered soldiers and grouping them in defensive formations.

The ability to form a defensive line around the Viscount was proof enough of this general's ability. The soldiers under him were also courageous and powerful. Seeing the neat defensive formation around the large tent, Richard gave up on his initial plan of using the ambush to capture Zim alive.

However, the true attack had yet to occur. Wandering around the camp in the night, Richard launched fireball after fireball into the fray. The large projectiles normally set three or four tents on fire, and the raging winds from the flames only helped the chaotic inferno spread further.

All of a sudden, many cries started ringing from the camp's stables. Nobody had noticed as a greyish ball of light flew into the stable, silently exploding into a mental attack on the squires guarding the place. Everyone started panicking, and the warhorses were startled as well. They began to kick and bite, doing their best to struggle free of the ropes.

In the midst of that chaos, screams and shouts rang out in the night sky. A bunch of hatchets whizzed through the air, cutting down seven or eight of the squires in the confusion. These hatchets were immensely powerful, able to cleave the bone off even the majestic warhorses.

*BANG!* The stable fences were torn apart by the two trolls, and the barbarians and desert warriors quickly flooded the stables to begin an attack on the squires. Another fear spell landed in the midst of the enemy. The location and timing were extremely precise, ensuring that the seemingly chaotic desert warriors were not caught in its effects. The squires were all debilitated, and the barbarians who had charged ahead were barely affected given the natural valour of their race. WIth half their opponents incapacitated, the battle ended up being a massacre.

Another strange wave of yells rang through the night, but nobody could tell the language of these screams. Another wave of hatchets quickly flew through the sky, cutting down ten of the squires who were huddled together. Their morale finally hit rock bottom in the face of this fierce offense, and they began to escape in all directions.

306 - City of Sin

Nightly Attack

Richard's army did not give chase, instead starting to steal the horses. Desert warriors were natural horsemen, so the quickly managed to take forty of the elite warhorses and leave. The trolls and barbarians followed rapidly, escaping into the darkness.

Hatchets were flying everywhere in the night sky, this time aimed at the remaining warhorses. Four fireball spells landed in the middle of the barracks as well, not very powerful but covering a wide area that enveloped almost half of the horses. The raging flames lit tens of horses on fire.

Seeing the stable burning in the distance, Richard knew that the ambush was a success. He immediately sent out a mental order to retreat. A long whistle pervaded the night sky, and all the attacking warriors immediately stopped and retreated. They had withdrawn in an instant.

At the fence, Phaser was making use of the shadows to hurry and escape. However, one of Zim's warriors blocked her way.

Phaser was rapidly gasping for breath. Still a newborn, the rapid killing spree had expended more than half of her energy. The soldier laughed maliciously as he approached, his eyes on her exquisitely fair neck. To him, it was obvious that this neck belonged to a beautiful woman. His breath grew rough as he looked down, seeing the bulge of her breasts. Even the dark robe covering Phaser's body could not hide her curves.

Without the necessary energy, Phaser could not use her powers. The mere level 6 soldier in front of her was a major threat. Seeing the seasoned veteran shift his gaze, she suddenly opened a slit in her long robe to reveal her body from neck to novel. Every inch of exposed skin was white as snow, and from that angle it seemed like there was nothing under the robe!

Even as the soldier was stunned, she threw herself towards his chest. Before the man even had a chance to react, he felt a slight pain in his abdomen before a strong numbness pervaded his body. He lost all feeling in a flash, lowering his head to find that this girl's left arm didn't end in a hand; it was a blade! The sharp edge of the dagger had penetrated his abdomen.

The soldier tried to struggle, but she raised her right arm and tore his armour apart. Another slash later, his ribs were torn apart. Her right hand then dug deep into the wound on his chest, grasping his violent heart and tearing it out with a strong yank. She then pulled down her mask, downing it in a few bites before she rushed back towards their own camp.

However, she stopped in her tracks only a few steps later. Her exposed eyes started to flicker, continuously scanning her surroundings in search of something.

A blade silently appeared around her neck, making her stop moving altogether. A cold, harsh voice sounded by her ear, “There's no need to look, I'm right here.”

Phaser slowly raised both her hands and turned around, meeting Waterflower's steely gaze.

“What are you? How.... are you related to Sinclair?” Waterflower asked coldly. She had not witnessed Phaser's birth, so all she knew was that this girl was a new follower of Richard.

Waterflower had sustained severe injuries in that battle with Sinclair, so she bore immense hatred and trauma from the event. Phaser had just displayed several skills similar to Sinclair, especially with that dagger and the devouring of hearts. Memories of Sinclair flashed across her mind; Phaser seemed like a shadow of that demonic lady.

Phaser's eyes twinkled as her mind raced at inhuman speeds. Only a blink of an eye later, she started speaking words that were completely foreign to Waterflower. The only clue that it was a language at all was the pattern of speech.

The young lady locked both her brows, but she was unwilling to let the other party know that she didn't understand any of what she said. Phaser opened her mouth and spoke non-stop, leaving her completely baffled. The Shepherd of Eternal Rest was still on Phaser's neck, but Waterflower started to have second thoughts.

The wild girl was someone who relied on instinct; it was extremely rare for her to think things out. However, the conclusion she drew from her reflection left Waterflower unsatisfied. As Richard's soulguard, she knew that there was a link between her master and that of the lady in front of her. This meant Phaser was a reliable ally; soul contracts were the most reliable method of controlling someone else.

However, the young lady's instincts kept telling her that she had to kill these creatures right now. If she did not do so, she would regret it greatly in the future.

The thuds of many footsteps sounded not far away; a team of soldiers was rapidly making its way towards them. Waterflower let out a groan, slowly sheathing the Shepherd of Eternal Rest and disappearing into the night. Phaser looked at the approaching soldiers, her own body blending into the darkness. The heart she ate had allowed her to recover enough energy to go invisible.

The broodmother hadn't told Richard everything about this special unit. Phaser had a potent venom of her own; although it couldn't be compared to the manticore's yet, there wouldn't be much difference once she reached level 15. Even now, her toxin was fatal if injected directly into the bloodstream. Just like Sinclair, she could also devour enemy hearts to restore energy. Of course, that was mainly for humans; different species had different centres of power.

......

The troop of soldiers had seen two enemies from far away, but now that they had rallied together and approached all they could see was the boundless night sky. They couldn't even find any traces of the escaped enemies.

The fire in the camp was soon put out, and Viscount Zim made a round around the camp under heavy guard before returning to his large tent. There was chaos everywhere, with several soldiers placing the bodies of their fallen comrades in a corner while wounded warriors were everywhere. Three low-level clerics had started healing the wounded, but seeing the long line they turned pale and felt helpless.

“Bastards! Useless BASTARDS! How exactly did you keep watch that the enemies made it right in front of my tent? If not for my innate luck, would I not be hurt by those bumpkins? Tell me, what do you do except waste my gold? TELL ME!” Zim's roars could be heard from within, with shattering sounds ringing out every now and then.

His personal guards stood still and upright with no expressions on their faces; they had long grown used to hearing such things. Once he grew tired of the shouting, he sat down to catch his breath. It was only then that the general started reporting casualties to the Viscount. Most of the major casualties had been to footsoldiers, with more than a hundred dead. On the other hand, less than ten light cavalry and a mere two heavy cavalry had perished.

Zim's expression improved slightly. The heavy cavalry were his elite soldiers, while the light cavalry were mere soldiers and the footsoldiers just cannon fodder. Their deaths meant nothing. Most of the Viscount's gold was spent on the elites— equipping a heavy knight was as expensive as outfitting fifty normal footsoldiers.

307 - City of Sin

Nightly Attack(2)

The general seemed extremely distressed to report the serious losses in terms of their mounts. Over forty of the heavy cavalry's horses had been snatched, with a lot more dead or gravely injured. An initial headcount left them with only a hundred horses, with less than ten that could carry the heavy knights.

“WHAT?!” Viscount Zim shrieked, turning pale as if he was about to faint at any moment, “Only ten of my adorable, expensive horses are left? What's going on?!”

Every heavy cavalier of the Viscount's army had two elite warhorses assigned to them, the single greatest cost of building the heavy cavalry in the first place. If only ten such horses were remaining, that was a loss of tens of thousands of coins! How could he not feel heartbreak?

The general hung his head down low, not saying a word. He hadn't said something: the enemy's true goal with this ambush was likely the stable itself, not the Viscount. However, if he said this he knew the arrogant Highland Unicorn wouldn't stand it. In order to wash off the disgrace, he would order the army to advance to a battle to the death with the people who had humiliated him.

The general knew Zim quite well. This information would lead the Viscount to strip him of command, leaving a bleak fate for the army. Richard's forces had shown ferocity and tactical brilliance with this nightly attack, passing through them like a breeze to break them in a single strike. They dealt a heavy blow and fled into the distance, not wishing to fight further. The general wouldn't dare underestimate an enemy like this, even if their numbers were less than half of the Viscount's own. If Zim were to take command...

The general was already prepared to suffer through the tongue-lashing. Once the Viscount tired out, he would go to sleep. Everything would be forgotten the next day, and Zim would follow his suggestions. In the end, those warhorses and soldiers were only a loss of gold. That was the one thing the Viscount lacked the least, although he still felt his heart ache at the loss of even a few hundred coins.

However, once the storm passed the captain of the Viscount's personal guard entered the camp. Seeing him, the general immediately turned grim. This fellow was tall, bold, and magnificent, but his level 10 strength was only so-so. The only reason he had the position of guard captain was that he was the Viscount's cousin, and specialised in sucking up to the Viscount and tattling on others.

As expected, the first sentence from him was, “My Lord, the main target of the enemy's ambush seems to have been our warhorses.”

The general felt things go dark in front of him.

“What did you say?!” Zim immediately shrieked, “In the eyes of those country bumpkins, I, with my incomparably noble blood and high status, don't even match up to a group of BEASTS?!”

The captain looked pained, “It seems so, my Lord.”

“Those wretched bumpkins! Plebeians smelling of horse shit! I'll definitely capture them myself, and cane every one for ten days before hanging them on display at my castle gates! I want everyone to see clearly the consequences of belittling and humiliating me! Tomorrow morning, the army is to move at full speed. I'll destroy those peasants at their own dirt wall!”

......

Richard camped a mere ten kilometres away from Zim, an audacious move. However, given the upper hand they acquired that night, he had no fear of the Viscount pursuing them right away.

Marching in the night required one to be familiar with the terrain. Besides, even if Zim really could pursue then ten kilometres was far enough to expend half the stamina of the troops. What lay in wait then would be another ambush. The Bloodstained Lands were a place Richard was extremely familiar with, and he had many eyes in the form of wind wolves prowling in the night.

Richard stood on an elevation in the base, surveying the trickle of troops still returning to base. The night wind felt cool and comfortable, giving him the urge to cry out. He had grown used to controlling the battlefield, and was now extremely fond of having every detail within his grasp. Every engagement gave him more and more advantages, allowing him to defeat the enemy completely in a single move.

This was a feeling of control. It came from his blessings of truth and wisdom, but more importantly it came from influence.

The darkness behind him split in two, revealing Phaser's silhouette. The girl's aura had strengthened quite a bit, enough even to surprise him. A quick detection spell told him she had already reached level 3! The spoils of war may have been great that night, but it still shouldn't have allowed her to advance so quickly.

Phaser was currently full of energy, able to use all her abilities. At level 3, she could fight head to head against level 6 warriors, and if the conditions were right— such as in the night or with a sneak attack— even level 10 warriors could die at her hand.

However, he still felt a slight aching feeling all over, as if he was being pierced by needles. This was the astute perception of his elven blood, indicating that this girl had the ability to pose a threat to him. This left him feeling confused; he was a level 11 mage, able to instantly cast a grade 3 shield that could withstand any attack from melee level 3 fighter. It also greatly reduced the damage from anyone level 10 or below. Despite all that, Phaser was still a threat?

He pondered the issue quietly, feeling that Phaser's battle might did not quite match up with the broodmother's description of her.

Right at this moment, the darkness began to flicker again, and Waterflower appeared at Richard's other side. Her hands were on her blade the moment she appeared, a cold gaze levelled in Phaser's direction.

Phaser seemed slightly startled, immediately retreating into the darkness. “Waterflower!” Richard scolded, “Don't scare her!”

The young lady hummed, not saying a word as she disappeared into the night. Phaser didn't slow her footsteps either, completely disappearing from his line of sight. Although the two had disappeared from sight, Richard could still use their soul links to identify them. The two had spread thirty metres apart with him at the centre, standing on each side. The three of them formed a straight line.

Richard had no idea what this situation was, but Waterflower had always stingy with her words, and there were even little changes in her expression. That hurried gaze he'd had on her just now did not allow him to discern anything from her face.

It was at this point that Flowsand walked over from the distance, seeming not to notice the strange atmosphere as she started reporting about the results of the ambush.

Given his two gifts, these numbers were already known to Richard. Still, he preferred that Flowsand verify them. The casualties and resulting change in power were left in her hands as well.

“Zim lost 150 men, with more than half his horses killed or injured. Only about a hundred of his horses are usable, while we obtained forty elite horses which can work as mounts for heavy cavalry. On our side, we sustained fifteen injuries and lost two desert warriors.”

These results could be called exemplary, but Richard had already experienced countless battles. This ambush to him was just more of the same, only the beginning of a longer war. Please visit f𝘳𝐞𝒆wｅ𝚋𝗻𝚘𝚟e𝑙. c𝘰𝓂

308 - City of Sin

A Battle Of Fury

Richard could not tell how the war would end up. His control was limited to the battlefield, and yet external influences and confrontation were the greatest of variables. There were far too many elements to war, and a grade 2 blessing of wisdom was not powerful enough to give him that much control.

Whenever this came up, Richard normally thought back to what Sharon had told him when he was still in the Deepblue: “Most of the time, adaptability is more important than planning.”

The troops returned to their stations in order, the injured looking for the two fallen clerics for treatment. Caesar had only followed Flowsand around for less than half a month, but even he was already a level 2 cleric who could case weak cure spells. Although he wasn't worth paying attention to when planning, his help could not be disregarded.

Richard moved to the centre of the camp, commanding in a low voice, “All of you are to rest up overnight. We leave early in the morning!”

Setting up camp a mere ten kilometres away from the Viscount was proof of Richard's guts and arrogance. However, it was just as he had expected; Zim really wasn't in the mood to pursue. Please visit 𝒇𝐫e𝑒𝔀𝒆𝚋no𝐯𝘦𝘭. c𝑜𝗺

Richard's army had managed to ambush the enemies despite tight security and wariness; it would be foolish to pursue when it was still dark. A day's march had left Zim with quite an impression of the area; without a guide who knew the terrain well, they could trip over themselves before they even found Richard.

That night had already added to Zim's trauma, and he definitely wasn't going to gather his troops to pursue. He was worried that sending his troops out would leave his base empty, giving Richard a chance to return and pose a real threat. The Viscount didn't believe that Richard would truly dare to kill or even handicap him, but if that gutsy frontier knight did something else like getting a girl to have sex with him and get his bloodline, it would be a huge loss. It wasn't like such a thing had never happened before.

However, he began to have second thoughts. If Richard sent that amber-eyed girl, then he wouldn't mind being taken advantage of. But then he remembered what would come next. It would be an unspeakable humiliation to the great unicorn to have his bloodline in that damned frontier knight's lineage. Zim was immersed in a mix of panic and fury, his mind full of all sorts of strange thoughts. He couldn't sleep at all.

He paced around the tent, remembering everything he had seen and heard. He was filled with hot blood from time to time, wanting to wage a righteous war at Richard's castle, allowing the fool to see the siege techniques of a true royal. He had forgotten that his pull on Baron Fontaine had stopped even the foundation of Richard's castle from going up. Even if he didn't interfere, a mere base would take half a month to make. This was including the work of a great mage like Richard himself.

The subordinates who had followed the Viscount on this campaign had known him for many years, and had a good understanding of his temperament. The general responded appropriately to Zim's mood swings, but didn't take the youth's words to heart. He knew that the Viscount would be back to normal once dawn struck, returning the command of the army to him. Of course, Zim would still decide the general strategy.

Given the experience of the nightly ambush, the troops were far more guarded during the day's march. Thankfully, even if Richard had shown great prowess, Baron Fontaine confirmed that the frontier knight did not have too many soldiers.

The army quickly advanced, entering Richard's lands at two in the afternoon. Viscount Zim looked at the messy construction site and the completely barren barracks, his face ashen.

The base was very crude, built of small wooden tents covered in water-resistant canvas. Only the two-floored building looked to be worth anything. However, the castle's construction site was now disorderly, with the stones not cut properly and the pit shallow. Even the wood had yet to be nailed in.

The Viscount's expected outburst only came after a period of silence, “Where's Richard?! Where did he go?! Isn't this his territory? His castle? The place that he has to protect with his honour and his LIFE?”

This is just a pit without even a castle. Although many had such thoughts, nobody dared to put them to word.

“Is Richard actually a noble?!” The first thing many people recalled at this question was Zim himself disdainfully saying that frontier knights and titled knights without at least two generations in the family were not true nobles. However, Zim was not one to remember his own words; or at least, he temporarily forgot such things for the moment. He pointed at the empty camp and roared. “BURN EVERYTHING HERE, UNTIL THERE'S NOTHING LEFT!”

All the soldiers darted forward. A moment later, a raging inferno swallowed the base. However, this place was little more than a well-equipped barracks; it made no difference if it was burnt. Richard's castle was a mere pit; even if Zim wanted to tear something down, there was nothing to destroy. The tiny sparks and fires did nothing to calm the fury in the Viscount's heart.

“The peasants! Capture all of the peasants!” Zim roared a new command. This time, even the guard captain did not act on it.

The general turned away to direct the soldiers who were trying to burn the pile of stones, and the captain walked over to Zim and whispered, “My Lord, Richard's territory is a barren land with a scant few people. If we want to capture those worthless scum, we'll have to divide our forces. Once that sly Richard...”

There was no need to say any more. Zim had enough common sense not to divide his forces so casually, especially with that frightening ambush that left him worried for his safety. Only with his army around him did he have confidence and courage.

“Then what shall we do?” the Viscount hummed, “We can't find any signs of Richard.”

The general and captain gazed at each other. The former still remained silent, as the latter snickered at him and said to Zim, “My Lord, I have a few men who are proficient at tracking. Richard has many troops, so my people can definitely find them!”

“Then look for them immediately! Once we find them, the entire army is to attack!” Zim stated coldly.

309 - City of Sin

A Battle Of Fury(2)

“Wait!” the general finally stepped out, saying in a low voice, “Once we find the trail, we can't send the entire army right away. We'll need to send some scouts to check first, it could very well be a trap...”

“Trap?” Zim didn't seem agitated any longer, levelling a cold stare at the general, “Before we set off, you promised me you could defeat Richard successfully. Now, you're telling me that my near two thousand elites can't deal with a mere frontier knight who has less than three hundred soldiers? Is it so? Hmm?”

The general was left tongue-tied. No matter how powerful an army is, it only serves a purpose with the proper guidance... Of course, he was intelligent enough not to express that thought.

An hour later, the trackers had found traces of Richard's army. Zim mobilised his entire army, starting a grand chase. The number of trails increased along the way, making the captain's smile increasingly warm. However, the general at the side turned increasingly glum.

By the time night fell, the Viscount had chased Richard all the way to the common border between the Bloodstained Lands, the Sequoia Kingdom, and the Land of Turmoil. The terrain was very rough and complicated here, with caves, limestone formations, and small valleys everywhere. An army of a few hundred people could be hidden anywhere quite easily.

It took painstaking persuasion on the general's behalf to convince Zim not to chase them through the night, instead setting up camp nearby. Richard attacked in the night as expected, and not just once, but their defence was much tighter than usual; the most he managed was to wake Zim up a few times. With the heavy casualties sustained in the first ambush, nobody dared lower their guard.

The sleep-deprived Viscount struggled to put on his armour the next morning, needing the help of his attendants to mount his horse. Gazing into the distance, he suddenly saw a familiar figure. Despite their separation, he instantly recognised Richard's face.

Richard was perched on his own mount at that moment, watching as the army began to surge towards him from far away. He couldn't help but smile, speaking to Flowsand who was next to him, “I won again.”

Flowsand hummed unwillingly before saying, “Let's bet again, this time it'll be about how long he'll pursue you.”

“At least three days,” Richard stated unhurriedly.

“With his stamina and perseverance? I'd say one.”

“It'll be three,” Richard smiled, “But you need to cooperate!”

Flowsand grunted an approval, “Fine, I lost this time. I'll resist with all my strength. Do you really have elven blood in you? You're such a violent fellow!”

“It isn't violence, it's conquest!” Richard corrected her, defending his actions.

Seeing Zim's army head over, Richard solemnly waved to the people behind him. Tens of barbarian warriors stepped out in a row, while the desert warriors shouted from atop the cliff.

“He's finally fighting like a noble!” Zim yelled excitedly, “Everyone, attack! I'll completely decimate him this time. See that? He has so many people on foot, and I've finally caught up!”

Looking at the warriors on the cliff, Zim immediately sidelined the general and directed the army in a three-pronged attack. Two mixed groups of infantry and light cavalry split off from the main force, moving to flank Richard and cut off his escape. The rest would charge straight on. Of course, he himself would be supervising at the back lines from the safety of his personal guard.

......

The battle had ended just as swiftly as it began, but it was poles apart from the hot-blooded noble battle that Zim had expected. Richard summoned six direbears at the top of the cliff, sending the thick-skinned beasts charging into the vanguard. The direbears weren't particularly strong offensively, but they had great endurance. The power behind their charges was astonishing, able to send the vanguard into chaos in a few moments.

When the right flank passed a huge stone pillar, they were suddenly subjected to a bombardment of flying axes. A dozen of the cavalrymen at the front were knocked off their horses. Before the team could recover from the chaos, piercing whistles rang out and another round of hatchets flew over, throwing the rest of their horses as well.

The soldiers finally saw their enemy, but they were left rooted to the ground. The throwers looked strange and inhuman, creepy enough to stun these trained soldiers for a short moment. They recovered quickly, charging forward with a yell, but all that greeted them was another round of hatchets.

The hatchets weren't like mere arrows, more comparable with javelins. The ability to block them was reserved for the heaviest of tower shields; the armour of these soldiers could not withstand their power. The wave of axes whistled past the troop, leaving a hole in the frontline.

What followed the axes was the thunderous sound of hooves and boots. A small team of twenty or so barbarians and desert warriors charged out from a rocky cliff, mercilessly cutting into the messy formation. The Viscount's soldiers fell in swathes, the right flank being dealt a devastating blow that left it on the verge of breaking apart. Many of the soldiers started to hesitate.

That brief moment of hesitance perfectly played into Richard's hands, allowing his own troops to retreat quickly while escorting the throwers away. They made it very far in the blink of an eye.

As for the frontal assault, Richard had put his most mobile troops there. The desert warriors charged forward and destroyed the vanguard's formation, and right after that he led them diagonally through the battlefield to bore another hole into the gravely injured right flank. Then, they left as abruptly as they had come.

“Give chase! They have infantry, they can't escape!” Zim had paled with fury. The seeming panic in Richard's flight gave him a boost in confidence.

This chase lasted three days and three night, and it was the kind where neither party got any sleep. Richard escaped in the day and attacked at night, his energy seemingly endless.

There were many types of attacks. Sometimes a group of direbears suddenly appeared in Zim's camp, and on other occasions a barrage of fireballs assaulted them. Occasionally, Richard gathered all his troops and charged into the camp before fleeing quickly. There was even one instance where a warrior of darkness had appeared near the Viscount's tent. Caught unprepared, half a dozen of Zim's elite guards were done in by the fierce undead soldier.

Every attack brought about great losses to the Viscount's armies. At minimum he lost a dozen soldiers, but there were occasions where many more wound up dead. It was enough to cause heartache, but not enough to leave him scared.

Three days later, completely exhausted, Zim finally lost all interest in further chase. He actually had more stamina than most, granted an outstanding physique by his unicorn bloodline. Since even he could take it no longer, the ordinary soldiers were so fatigued they wanted to sleep for several days. At this point, there were less than a thousand troops left in his army. More than a third of his soldiers were lost, with his horses almost completely wiped out. The soldiers may still be alive, but cavaliers without their horses were worse than footsoldiers.

Zim was now 200 kilometres away from Richard's castle, and nearly 400 kilometres away from his own. The Viscount suddenly realised that he had gone too far, and more importantly his army had grown weak. He passed down an order to return to Fontaine's lands, where he would resupply and await reinforcements from his family.

Richard was travel-worn as well, looking fatigued. However, his back was still as straight and tall as ever atop his horse, and his eyes twinkled brightly. Seeing the Viscount's army meandering into the distance, he flashed a slight smile and muttered to himself, “Trying to escape? It won't be that easy.”

310 - City of Sin

Catching The Prey

Richard spurred his horse forward, following closely behind Zim's army. Behind him were nearly a hundred desert warriors, a people who had grown up on the backs of horses. The full gallop of the over hundred horses was enough to shake the earth!

Zim watched the chasing Richard in a daze, finding it difficult to believe that this was the same frontier knight he had chased until he had nowhere to run.

Seeing the momentum of Richard's charge, the general's expression immediately changed. He abandoned the Viscount, rushing to the back of the formation and infusing his energy in his voice to roar thunderously, “Rear infantry, shield up! SPEARS RAISED!” Google search f𝘳𝚎𝗲𝘸e𝐛𝑛𝐨𝘃𝘦𝚕. co𝚖

It took but a few moments for a thin but complete defensive line to form. The Viscount's army had been in a hurry, so they didn't have any heavy infantry. They also lacked the royal pikemen who were normally used specifically to deal with a cavalry charge. Unless they arranged themselves in an ordered formation that used their very bodies as obstacles, there was no way to obstruct Richard's men!

The desert warriors were born riders. Now equipped with the light armour from the Duke and the elite warhorses of the Viscount, their might had grown by two entire levels. Richard slowed his horse slightly, and the desert warriors flew past him one by one in a rush towards the disorderly enemy. The guard captain had shouted out at the same time as the general gave his own orders, commanding any infantry with shields to move to the Viscount's side to defend him. This left the army in complete chaos.

Richard had originally wanted to wait until Zim broke before swallowing his army, but seeing the unexpected confusion he immediately raised his right hand. A bright flame shot into the sky, a signal for a full frontal assault!

The desert warriors all began to shout, spurring their horses on with their long, sharp falchions held high. *THUD! THUD! THUD!* Dull impacts resounded through the battlefield, the light infantry sent flying at their hand. The dozen or so desert warriors at the front were thrown off their horses from the impact. Their warhorses squatted down, while they themselves used the great inertia as they slid across the ground to neuter a few enemies who couldn't evade in time.

The barely complete defensive line was completely smashed apart. Those charging from behind manoeuvred around the obstacles despite the high speeds, breaking into the large hole in the formation. Their falchions flashed everywhere, the dazzling gleams leaving carnage in their wake.

A large group of desert warriors broke right into the centre of the infantry, beginning a wanton massacre. The defensive line was decimated, leaving a single unmoving boulder in the tide of horses.

That unmoving boulder was Zim's general. He was like a black-armoured wargod, his two-handed sword a lethal weapon that mowed desert warriors off their horses as they came. His helmet was already dyed red with blood, and yet his cries did not seem to weaken one bit. If it was just the desert warriors, the general would have become an unyielding hero who could save the impossible situation.

However, the rest of Richard's army had arrived.

Several dozen metres away, Richard reined in his horse as he gazed coldly at the bloodbath around the general, “Medium Rare, stop him from the front. Tiramisu will support you. Gangdor, move behind him and attack his legs. Olar, help them with your warsong. Zendrall, curse him again and again until you succeed. I'll cut off his escape.”

Every order pushed the general further towards the abyss. The man found that he didn't lose to the trolls' axes in terms of strength, but behind him was an agile, sturdy brute whose every attack held mountainous power that eclipsed even the trolls! More and more cracks started to cover his two-handed sword, the weapon that had accompanied him for many years actually growing difficult to control. Zendrall's curses were taking effect.

It took no time for numerous fierce enemies to surround the general. He was level 14, but each of his opponents was just as powerful. With all of them fighting him at the same time, he knew he wouldn't be able to hold on for too long. He thus gave up on the rear immediately, preparing to retreat to his troops.

However, Richard had been observing the situation. He took out the Book of Holding the moment the man made his move, the power of magic surging out from within. Just as the general knocked Gangdor back, he found to his despair that six direbears with thick, coarse fur had suddenly appeared in front of him.

*BAM!* In the midst of all the chaos, a heavy punch landed on the back of the general's head; the immense force immediately smashed his head into the ground. Medium Rare then jumped high, his large body that weighed hundreds of kilograms aimed to crush the general upon landing.

Richard's heart twitched. “Keep him alive!” he yelled quickly, but it was too late. The troll's huge buttocks crashed into the general, crushing his body.

“No...” Richard covered his eyes...

Once fifty throwers made their way over, the situation changed dramatically. He ordered them to unleash their toxic bone axes, and the pale white blades drowned the ten remaining heavy cavaliers. These axes were heavy and sharp, more powerful than even metal hatchets. Once they cut through the plate armour and touched the flesh, it didn't matter if the wounds were only light. As long as blood was drawn, the toxins on the blades would take the soldier's life in minutes.

The second throw of the bone axes sent twice the number of squires to their demise. Had there been enough warhorses, these armoured squires would have made for an excellent light infantry. However, off their horses they were fated for death.

The throwers quickly emptied their three bone axes and five hatchets, annihilating most of the Viscount's elite forces. The whistle of the axes had become every soldier's nightmare; even those covered from head to toe in plate armour could not block them.

The perfect attack had completely destroyed the Viscount's army. The guard captain had taken Zim and fled as fast as they could the moment the general went down. Some of the warriors followed, while the remaining abandoned soldiers gave up their resistance out of despair and surrendered to Richard. He left behind less than ten of his soldiers to watch over the more than 300 prisoners of war, having his army reorganise as he started a fervent chase for the rest of Zim's troops.

The chase took an entire day and night. Richard was like a wolf seeking its prey, prowling around it and taking a vicious bite every now and then. In the deep mountains behind Rooseland, this was how the wolves hunted prey that was much larger than them.

Fleeing the entire way, Zim did not realise that the pursuers had managed to force him to change his route. He was now nearing the Land of Turmoil.

311 - City of Sin

Catching The Prey(2)

A while before the first light of dawn, Richard sat up from a blanket spread on the ground, ending a half-hour nap. He cleaned up his armour and equipment, calling on his party to separate from their army. He then mounted his horse, leading them on a full-speed charge into the night. A large group of desert warriors and barbarians crawled up from the ground below, continuing the chase of the Viscount's army under the lead of an elite wind wolf.

Richard was practically pressed into the back of his horse. It was still night, and at the speeds they were travelling at the frigid wind was painful. The team followed his mental route at breakneck speed; if nothing went wrong, he would intercept them in half an hour. The Viscount would be left with only his personal guard when they caught up; most of the soldiers would be lagging behind to stop the bombardments of the advancing throwers.

Richard's party was quite small, with only a few important people. There were already dozens of wind wolves lying in wait at the interception point, and even if Zim showed heaven-defying ability and somehow broke through the ambush, the broodmother was waiting only a few kilometres away. The Viscount's fate had already been decided.

......

Dawn had just arrived when Zim caught sight of Richard. The Viscount's face paled, his lips trembling without the ability to say a word. The guard captain beside him grimly shot a glance at Richard's small party, and his eyes suddenly twinkled as he whispered into Zim's ear. A bright red immediately rose on Zim's face, and his signature piercing voice rang out, “Right! He doesn't have a lot of people anymore, and our numbers are several times of his! There's no need to fear him, CHARGE!”

Richard looked to his left and right in an easy-going manner. The only ones with him were Gangdor, Waterflower, the two trolls, Flowsand, and four of the strongest barbarians.

While it was indeed difficult to find mounts that could carry the trolls and barbarians, both races grew in the wilderness. They had amazing stamina that didn't lose out to that of a horse in a long-distance run. Zim had assumed Richard would be slowed by his footsoldiers, but this was an infantry that he could never catch up to.

Zim still had nearly 30 personal guards by his side. His captain was level 10 as well, and judging by the huge advantage in numbers he decided to give it a last shot, going all out to carve a path of escape.

Richard gazed calmly at the Viscount's distorted expression. The strength of his perception allowed him to hear Zim's battle cry, “We have the numbers! Go, destroy them!”

He couldn't help the smile on his face at that. The Highland Unicorn wasn't completely stupid after all; knowing he could not win in speed, he decided to fight straight on and use his numbers to attain victory in a single go. Showing one's back to a great mage was a terrible idea; magic was always faster than humans.

But... does he really have the numbers? Having reserved most of his mana for this battle, Richard naturally had absolute control over the battlefield. He dismounted calmly, taking out the Book of Holding and casting the two grade 6 Nature's Beckon spells stored within. A wave of magic passed through the battlefield, spawning twelve direbears between him and the Viscount.

Seeing the sudden appearance of the twelve direbears, Zim suddenly felt his mind go blank. Twelve direbears needed at least four or five grade 6 spells to summon. A great mage who could cast that many spells in one go was only one step from becoming a grand mage! Was this frontier knight he had been chasing all this while actually be a powerful grand mage? The Viscount decided to punish his intelligence officer the moment he returned to his territory, and officially ask for reinforcements from the family.

However, the nightmare had yet to end. More magic flashed, and Zim now found six direbears each on his left and right. Now, there were a total of 24 direbears surrounding his personal guards. Just that alone would require great effect to overcome, but on top of that there were still Richard's fierce subordinates to consider.

When the bears began to growl at him, the Viscount did the only sensible thing— he fainted.

Zim was actually lucky. He hadn't noticed the dozens of wind wolves appearing behind his men.

The captain of the guard noticed the pack of wolves that had just appeared around them, instincts telling him that these were Richard's summons as well. He then took a look at the unconscious Viscount, quickly choosing to surrender. Thankfully the wind wolves and direbears were all under Richard's control, or it would be a one-sided massacre. Google search f𝚛𝗲𝒆we𝙗𝙣o𝙫e𝗹. 𝐜o𝚖

......

When Zim slowly opened his eyes, the first thing that entered his vision was a face that he had seen in his nightmares in recent times. He immediately screeched loudly, his voice so sharp it was like that of a little girl being raped.

The sudden, resounding cry left Richard shocked, causing him to split up in laughter as he watched the man crawl backwards. Seeing the terror in that expression, Richard couldn't help but touch his own face and wonder if his Archeron bloodline had awakened. Did he now have the face of a demon lord?

“Don't- don't come over! Don't remove my clothes!” The Viscount's shouts caused Richard's expression to change rapidly. The man's enslaved guards and even Richard's own entourage started to look at him with an unknown meaning in their eyes.

The nobles of Faelor normally played with every kind of thing in their youths. One of the freshest things to play with was people of the same sex. This wasn't the only interpretation of the scream, but it was one of a select few. Had Richard been screaming, things would have made sense. However, Zim's shrieks made his personal guard think Richard's tastes were rather unique.

They couldn't help but think back to when Zim had returned to his territory. He had gathered his personal forces as fast as he could, too impatient to wait for the powerhouses sent by his family. This current behaviour only cemented a few of the guesses these people had made as to the interaction between the two. Zim had already executed the entirety of his escort from that day in secret, so nobody knew the true situation.

Richard didn't need to turn back to know there was a half-smile in Flowsand's eyes. Feeling slightly embarrassed and angry, he yelled for Zim to shut up. However, that caused the Viscount to just grow louder.

He promptly made a decision, having Gangdor lift the Viscount and tie him to a barren tree. The guards, who were about to see everything, started to look terrible as they began worrying for their lives.

Zim kept shouting, scolding, threatening, and begging throughout the entire process. “You can't kill me, Richard!” was the most common sentence, “I'm the Highland Unicorn...”

Eventually realising that those claims had no effect, Zim then started to bring up the statuses of his mother and father. When Gangdor began to strip him of his clothing, he completely broke down and started mentioning Duke Grasberg. He promised Richard that, as long as he would let him go, the Duke would give him more benefits than the Direwolf Duke. In his anxiety, he even promised the position of a Marquess.

However, Gangdor had already prepared the whip and opened up the wine pot by his waist, soaking the whip in alcohol.

312 - City of Sin

Pursuit

“You're currently my prisoner, Zim,” Richard said with a smile.

“Yes. YES! That's right, I can pay ransom! Just tell me how much you want. My family is very rich, just let me go and you'll be paid! You're a real noble, aren't you? You'll surely abide by the laws of nobility? Don't kill me, don't kill me!” By the time Zim reached the end, he was wailing. In the deep, dark forest, his pale body grew even more dazzling.

“Of course I want a ransom,” Richard said slowly. The sentence immediately relaxed the Viscount's pent up nerves, but then the suppressed fear burst forth in the form of tears.

“However...” Richard's single word immediately stopped Zim's crying. He pressed so close to the Viscount that their faces were less than twenty centimetres apart, enunciating every word, “I need you to remember my face and name. I told you last time, but it seems like you're memory isn't all that great. I should probably help you strengthen it a little.

“How many lashes did I give you last time? More than ten, right? Oh, you see, my memory isn't all that great either. It will be double the number this time. Thirty lashes, maybe that way you won't forget who I am.”

The whip in Gangdor's hand rose like a poisonous serpent, lashing onto the Viscount's back to leave a swollen mark. Zim cried out loud, his entire body twitching and squirming as he lost continence.

Richard took a few steps back and leaned against a large tree, resting his eyes as he silently counted.

Gangdor knew Zim's limits. The lashes never overlapped, nor did he ever draw blood from the bruises. The internal clots would sting the young Viscount's nerves further, leaving him in even more pain. The lashes seemed to cover his entire body, but there were no serious injuries anywhere. The groin, especially, wasn't touched.

By the time the punishment was done, Zim was left a moaning mess that couldn't take a single step. Flowsand had to cast several healing spells on him before he could barely lie on Gangdor's back, carried out of the forest.

Everything had been settled in a single battle, so there was no need for the broodmother. She returned to the Land of Turmoil, but before doing so she reminded Richard once more that she needed large amounts of magic crystals or any other sources of energy to strengthen herself.

There wasn't much Richard could do regarding those requests. Magic crystals were a rarity in any sort of plane. Simply put, these were extremely pure crystals that could hold large amounts of mana. The broodmother needed more and more magic crystals to upgrade itself with each level; now that it was already level 4, each grade 4 ability needed forty magic crystals to activate.

She was beginning to show her prowess as a war machine. Once the throwers reached a certain level, their power would increase geometrically. However, the more powerful they grew the more energy it took her to make them. Richard had already invested what was basically the entire wealth of a baron to bring her to level 4, and he could already see that even a Duke's wealth would not satisfy her in the near future.

If she had no limit to her growth, or the limit was at least very high, she could perhaps require entire planes to support herself one day. Richard frowned at this thought, something fleeting flashing across his mind.

......

With Zim and his personal guard now prisoners of war, Richard's party met up with the rest of the army. This war that had lasted several days had completely annihilated Viscount Zim's army. Over a third of the army was dead, another third was injured, while the rest had surrendered.

Richard had no plans on raiding the camp of the wounded soldiers; doing so would only burden him greatly without getting him much in the way of additional ransom. There were dozens of elite knights in those four hundred wounded soldiers, but even combined their value couldn't compare to Zim's.

Richard's army took some time to rest, setting off the next day with twice their number in prisoners. He and Flowsand travelled side by side on their way back to his territory, with Viscount Zim on horseback not far away, squeezed between a few knights. The Viscount was the only one among the prisoners with the luxury to ride a horse; the rest had to walk. However, with the knowledge that Richard planned to collect a ransom, they were no longer filled with anxiety.

Flowsand frowned with her gaze on Zim's back, and she said softly, “I don't like this guy.”

“I actually rather like him,” Richard responded.

“I can tell that he hasn't given up completely. If you let him go this time, he'll be causing trouble for us right away. Will you give him sixty lashes next time? Wouldn't it be the same to kill him right now?”

“Isn't it a good thing if he wants to cause trouble?” Richard asked with a smile.

“A good thing?”

“Of course. With Zim's personality, he'll definitely stop others from causing trouble for us until he gets his revenge. I'd rather have him as an enemy than most others.”

That explanation left Flowsand shocked. She stared fiercely at Richard, “Sometimes I feel like you're becoming a sly old fox!”

“If we're talking about scheming,” Richard said with a snort, “you've always been better than me.”

Flowsand straightened up, putting on a pure and innocent expression, “I spent my entire life in the church. I don't know anything.”

Richard ground his teeth at her actions. If they weren't on the road, he would have pushed her over for a long 'fight' right then and there.

For some reason, this reminded him of Sharon. Pretending to be innocent, kind, and pure... The legendary mage was quite suited to such a thing. However, once the thoughts started he couldn't keep an inexplicably sour feeling from welling up in his heart. He hadn't dared to think of her when he first came to Faelor. At that point, he didn't know whether he would even be able to return to Norland.

Only now that he was through the initial crisis, with a ray of hope in returning to Norland, did Richard dare to allow these memories to surface from the deepest corners of his heart. However, Flowsand did not notice the slight change in his mood. She was deep in thought over something, and only looked up to speak after some time.

“So, about Perrin. What are you planning to do with him?”

“What I'm planning to do?” Richard was startled. He hadn't thought of this question before.

“Perrin's a real genius,” she said seriously, “If we receive the grace of the Eternal Dragon and lift his curse, he could finish the foundations of magic mathematics. Faelor isn't much weaker than Norland. If their magical abilities go one step further and they start acquiring resources from other planes, it could rise to become a new primary plane. Although it's an extremely slow process, even the possibility is frightening.

“Forget that, even the immediate consequences are dire. He doesn't have many accomplishments in magic due to the divine punishment right now, but once that is taken away his accomplishments will be limitless. Someone who can lay the foundations for an entire field is an extraordinary genius! If we don't deal with him, he could become our biggest enemy on Faelor in a mere ten years!”

Richard was finally forced to face the problem Perrin posed. The youth was the key to their return to Norland; only with his father's support could they obtain the offerings needed to summon the dragon. However, just as Flowsand had said, that process would birth one of the most terrifying enemies they would ever face.

Richard mulled over it for some time, speaking slowly, “Flowsand, you know the Archerons have many enemies and there are numerous people who are willing to pay a hefty price for our lives. Take the Josephs, Mensas, and Schumpeters for example. Their interference with our expedition is a typical example of how far they will go. Do you think it was worth it for them?”

Flowsand hailed from the Church of the Eternal Dragon, so she was naturally familiar with how much of a sacrifice such a thing could cost, “So far, they've lost quite a bit. They had to send us to Faelor, and then move Sinclair and the bearguard knights. The resources they gave up would have been enough to acquire a lesser plane. If their luck wasn't too bad and they put in the time and effort to develop it, the earnings from that plane would definitely exceed the investment.”

“Exactly,” Richard smiled, “Say I wipe Perrin out. Maybe one day in the future I'll have to wipe out someone else just like him. There are a hundred million humans alone on Faelor, forget the other races. Geniuses are born all the time, should I kill them all one by one?

“The truth is, strength is the best way to take care of them. My enemies today won't qualify for my attention tomorrow. Think of it like climbing a mountain; some people want to pull others down, while others wholeheartedly focus on getting to the top. Those who always want to pull others down to their level will never get the chance to reach the peak.”

“But...” Flowsand frowned, “What if someone like Perrin grew to be stronger than us? Wouldn't we regret not eliminating him when we had the opportunity?”

“Even if Perrin grows, I'll stay higher than him as long as I keep my eyes on the top. You should know this; are there any things in life that don't require a price?” Richard returned the question with a smile before following up with:

“I'd rather aim to be the best and end up middling than aim to be mediocre and end up at the bottom.”

313 - City of Sin

Ransom

With less than a quarter of his enemy's numbers, Sir Richard Archeron had completely annihilated the invasion of Viscount Zim, the Highland Unicorn. This feat immediately gained him some fame in the Sequoia Kingdom.

A few days after they returned, hundreds of men and dozens of carts of lumber and stone reached Richard's territory. They were all from Baron Fontaine, a part of Zim's ransom. The young Baron was now obligated to keep Richard supplied at low prices.

The fact that the Baron immediately sent everything over without objection after receiving Richard's letter verified Richard's conjecture— he had defected to the side of Duke Grasberg and Viscount Zim.

This caused Richard to raise his evaluation of the Viscount's aides. Even in the midst of the military action, they had taken into consideration Baron Fontaine's territory and made use of its location to block communications between Richard and the Direwolf Duke. This prevented Duke Bevry from intervening in advance and also blocked Richard's escape route; these were decent tactics. However, decent was only decent; victory in such a huge operation would have gained Zim nothing, but the potential losses were immense. The fellow had acceptable tactics, but lacked the vision for strategy. Of course, it was possible that whoever did this actually did understand strategy but just couldn't employ it under the Viscount's rule. Google search 𝙛𝒓𝙚e𝚠𝐞𝚋𝙣𝚘𝐯𝗲𝚕. c𝚘𝓶

All that didn't matter now. Regardless of whether Fontaine now served Grasberg or Bevry, he still had to become Richard's supply base.

Once the labourers and materials arrived, Richard could finally start construction on his castle. He headed to the construction site every few days to inspect the progress, occasionally making adjustments to the blueprints. The basic form of the castle would be completed in four days, and when the time came he could look into decorating the interiors.

Not waiting for the construction to complete, Richard sent out numerous emissaries to turn the gold on his hand into battle strength. Outside of lumber and stone, he bought large quantities of rations and high-quality weapons. Fontaine had been reluctant to supply weapons at first, but Richard brought up Zim's ransom to change the situation. Because of that, the young Baron ended up having to supply the best quality of equipment for 200 elite footsoldiers at a low price.

The rest of Richard's envoys headed to Bluewater Oasis, where many of his old acquaintances were located. It took a mere few days for them to return, coming back with the latest news from the Bloodstained Lands.

Although Bluewater had suffered massive losses under Sinclair's short tyranny, that was just a loss of manpower. The soil and buildings were still undamaged, and in the blink of an eye she had met her end at Twilight Castle. All the organisations that had ruled before immediately regained stamina, taking over the oases once more. However, not all of them had suffered equal losses; some were practically unharmed, while others had suffered greatly.

The delicate balances had been tipped. Every organisation wanted different things when it came to the new distribution of power. Some of the larger oases were in imminent peril, about to face a civil war at any point. The human kingdoms bordering the Bloodstained Lands were eyeing immense benefits as well.

The situation greatly increased the price of slaves, weapons, magic crystals, and magic artefacts. On the other hand, the prices of minerals, raw materials, and any other precious good had fallen instead. Richard had wanted to employ a mercenary group to defend his territory, but now he found that their prices far exceeded his expectations. An increase in the price of cannon fodder was a great indicator of imminent war.

Richard stayed in his territory for a few days, extremely busy. He had to reorganise the rest of the troops, and the new desert warrior and barbarian slaves he had acquired needed to grow used to working with the wind wolves and throwers. They also had to learn to understand and obey the elite wind wolves, who communicated through physical actions and howls. The two wind wolves would relay orders from Richard himself.

Just organising the training took most of Richard's time every day. Thankfully, a few days of intense training allowed the new troops to begin integrating into the singular body of his army. With the first steps taken, his army had strengthened once more.

At night, Richard would clear his mind and craft runes. Most of his time was spent on the grade 2 penetration rune, and when he ran out of energy he moved on to restoring the damaged runes from the bearguard knights. The task was simple enough not to require too much precision or mana control, so he could complete them on instinct. This kind of work that wasn't complicated was basically his rest. By the end, he managed to recover two runes that were almost completely intact, one for strength and the other for defence. He also restored three sub-par strength runes and one for defence.

Time passed rapidly with his packed schedule. It wasn't long before an emissary from the Direwolf Duke arrived at Richard's territory.

This was the same envoy as before, the middle-aged titled knight called Chanton Nottling. Following him this time were thirty knights and over a hundred footsoldiers, as well as dozens of carriages filled with supplies.

Once they were done with the pleasantries, Sir Chanton immediately asked to see the imprisoned Viscount. Richard agreed gladly, because this was the Direwolf Duke making his stand clear. Bevry knew what had transpired, and would take care of any hidden threats.

With the Direwolf Duke acknowledging that his vassal had only been protecting his territory, Duke Grasberg would have no choice but to abide by the rules of the kingdom. He would have to pay a sufficient ransom for Zim's trespassing, and any revenge would be limited to prevent a direct war between the two Dukes. In principle, the three Dukes of the kingdom were not allowed to directly wage war, or the royal family would intervene.

Zim was trapped on his own in a courtyard with a wooden house. Outside of being disallowed from leaving the courtyard, he was free to move around as he pleased. There were even arrangements for a young maid to stay there and take care of him.

Chanton took a look at Zim's location, having a word with him and listening to his complaints attentively for an entire ten minutes. Zim beleaguered him about not getting the treatment he deserved. He wanted a dozen maids, more than ten main courses for his meals, and the like. When ten minutes had passed, Chanton abandoned the blithering Viscount and instead accompanied Richard to the imprisoned soldiers.

These 400 slaves weren't treated as well as the Viscount was. The guard captain, the rest of Zim's personal guard, and any low-ranking officers had been squeezed into a single wooden house. The rest of the soldiers were all crowded in tents. All weapons and armour had been confiscated, and there was a fence restricting their movements. Archers were posted on a nearby tower; if they so much as stepped outside their bounds, they would be shot dead without mercy.

The camp wasn't large in any means, leaving all the prisoners congested. Sir Chanton took a round around the camp, conversing for a short while with some of the prisoners before he left for the accommodations Richard had arranged for him.

314 - City of Sin

Ransom(2)

Chanton suddenly spoke up on their way back, “Sir Richard, why are you only giving the prisoners half a portion of food? That goes against the customs of nobility.”

Richard had expected this question, so he waved his hand as he answered directly, “My own men number less than half these prisoners. Restricting their food is just a precaution; if they don't eat enough, they won't have the energy to run. I know this doesn't quite match noble tradition, but it's a special circumstance. Besides, isn't it enough for Viscount Zim to be fed well?”

The titled knight nodded in approval, continuing solemnly, “Richard, this is a personal suggestion. No matter what you feel about Viscount Zim, do your best not to harm his body. In the last four generations of the royal bloodline, he is the only one to have awakened the blood of a powerful sacred beast. He is extremely important to the royal family. I'm informed that His Majesty and the elders have plans for him to leave at least twenty children behind.”

“So I should let him just attack my territory?” Richard retorted.

“Did you?” Sir Chanton wasn't someone so easily deceived. The answer he gave with a smile left Richard speechless for a moment.

Indeed, he had won both clashes with Zim completely, and he was the one who had egged the Viscount on. Just as he had told Flowsand, Zim was an enemy that was hard to come by.

Chanton didn't press much further, “As long as you avoid hurting his body, you will not hit the bottom line of the royal family. Your clash with the Viscount will remain a purely personal grudge, and Duke Grasberg and the royal family will remain neutral and not intervene. The worst case is for Earl Yatu to enter battle, but I don't think he'll do so publicly. At most, he will sponsor Zim's war activities in secret.

“Looking at your ability, Yatu may be a threat but he can't shake your foundations. As well, the moment he joins the battle you'll have the right to invade his territory as well. I don't think he wants that,” Chanton said with a chuckle, “Viscount Zim's territory is well known for the daffodils, while Earl Yatu's lands are known to have a lot of lafite steel.”

Richard nodded at the Knight, “Alright, I know what to do. I won't yield easily in the ransom discussions.”

Chanton's residence was a single two-floored wooden building. It was a temporary construct just like Richard's own, and seeing how desolate Richard's lands looked the Knight didn't get fussy. He cleaned himself up before inviting Richard to the drawing room for some afternoon tea. The black tea and even the snacks had been brought by the Knight himself, and looking at how he handled the tea he seemed to enjoy the activity greatly.

Once the tea was served, Chanton had the servant leave the room. He then produced a letter, passing it to Richard. “This is a letter for you, penned by the Duke himself.”

Richard opened the envelope to find two pieces of paper enclosed. Bevry started off with a polite greeting as per etiquette, before mentioning the relationship between the three dukes and the royal family.

Duke Grasberg had royal blood in him, making him a natural ally of the royal family. The Direwolf Duke and the Duke of Tulips were occasional allies, united by a common interest against Grasberg and the royal family. However, the royal family clashed with all of the dukes on occasion, which was why politics was extremely important in the Sequoia Kingdom.

The royal family was in power on the basis of their unique and mysterious bloodline abilities. However, their bloodline had thinned from generation to generation. Zim's appearance was very important; if he succeeded in having children with powerful bloodlines, then the royal family would nurture them with care to bring up a generation of powerhouses that would guard the kingdom. The Duke mentioned, however, that it was something that could only be accomplished in two or three decades. Reading between the lines, he was hinting that someone who only had a chance to become a guardian, and that too only in decades, had no ability to change the current situation.

Richard understood exactly what Bevry was saying. Zim himself was good for nothing, completely useless. The chances of him having a child with a bloodline ability, and that child then growing up to be powerful enough to defend the kingdom, about the level of a saint from Norland, were less than 1%. Richard didn't even bother himself with a genius like Perrin, so why would he kill Zim over the minuscule possibility of a future saint?

He continued reading the Duke's explanation of Viscount Zim's importance. Bevry obscurely mentioned that the royal family prized him for his bloodline, not for his reputation. Richard couldn't help but raise his brows, reading those words once more. They seemed to hint that there was no need to worry about a saint appearing to resolve internal conflicts.

The words on the back of the letter were even more interesting. Bevry hinted that the Viscount's existence was actually a burden to Duke Grasberg and the royal family, one that could not be harmed. This was, to some extent, in line with Richard's own thoughts.

At the end of the letter, the Duke mentioned that he had sent Richard supplies as payment for the next batch of runes. These supplies included four ballistae, as well as enough equipment to outfit 200 warriors. While the ballistae weren't enchanted, they were more than enough for Richard's crude little castle.

The Duke also mentioned that a battalion of 300 swordsmen was stationed not far from his territory. Nominally, they were to impose a border on Richard's territory, but if there were any issues he could not deal with he could seek refuge there. The battalion would defer to him for some time, protecting him until he could reach Deepcliff City.

Once he saw that, Richard skimmed through the rest without halting. The second page was just a list of the supplies that Chanton had brought, as well as the steel components for the castle's defence that would be sent later.

Richard lit the letter alight once he was done reading it, burning it to nothingness. “I'm very grateful for His Grace's generosity!” he said to Chanton, “Is there anything else he wants to tell me?” There were many things that could not be written on paper.

“Yes,” Chanton smiled, “His Grace wants me to tell you that he's preparing to go to war against the Whiterock Dukedom. The army will set out in less than half a month, targeting Earl Jayleon. The Duke's true target is a dragon skeleton displayed in the Earl's castle.

“Alright, that's it. Once you've taken inventory of the supplies, I will need to rush back to Deeprock City. His Grace needs to know Viscount Zim's current situation. Once the army sets off, I will send the second batch of materials.”

“Thank you. However, I have one more question. How will the young Baron Fontaine be dealt with? He's currently blocking the path between my lands and the Duke.” The Fontaines had cut ties with Duke Bevry, and were now sitting at a major crossroad. However, Twilight Castle was currently still too weak to defend itself.

Knight Chanton muttered to himself for a while and then said, “I have no personal advice for you. However, I discussed this matter with the Duke before I set off. He has given you full authority; handle it as you wish.”

“Full authority?” Richard frowned. That was a very broad power.

“Yes, full authority! Do whatever you think is necessary to deal with the Fontaines,” Chanton repeated.

Richard frowned once more, understanding the hint.

315 - City of Sin

Negotiation

It wasn't all that easy for Baron Fontaine to break away from being the Direwolf Duke's vassal, joining Duke Grasberg's ranks. Thankfully, Duke Bevry was about to go to war. He obviously wouldn't deal with the problem of the Baron anytime soon, especially since it concerned a special character like Viscount Zim. However, even if the Duke didn't mind for now, Richard had to step in.

With his barony being in such a key position, the young Baron was going to be a huge threat. Once Richard obtained the ransom and released Zim, he would have no bargaining chips to keep the youth at bay outside of his own military might. Zim's side may be peaceful for some time because of an agreement as the losers of the war, but the barony would soon be reinforced.

Richard didn't express anything to Sir Chanton, immediately taking his leave from the titled knight's residence. Returning to his own, he headed to the rudimentary laboratory to find a way to complete the last part of his spell penetration rune. However, no matter how many times he tried to concentrate he kept failing. Almost writing the entire thing off, he eventually just stood up and headed to the window for a view of the lush forest outside.

Every detail from the short period of interaction between him and the late Baron flowed through his mind. Twilight Castle was elegant and exquisite, dazzling in the old Fontaine's hands. The finest of details in the castle were still impeccable, showing the Baron's taste and meticulous care...

The wind brought along the fresh smell of vegetation with a hint of smoke. The smell came from the masons burning the shrubbery nearby, tainting this primaeval scenery with the scent of war.

'Your son is causing big problems, Fontaine!' Richard thought with a wry smile. 'When you handed Caesar to me, had you already foreseen this situation? But... I'd rather believe that you're someone who does things based on intuition...'

His imagination ran wild for a long time before he slowly cleared his mind, thinking quietly to himself, 'Alright, you win. I'll protect the castle you left behind, and help your son root out the black sheep in your family. Bah, who let me owe you a life?'

At that moment, he suddenly didn't feel like he was only two years older than his friend's son.

With new determination infused in him, Richard's mood settled down and he completed the grade 2 spell penetration rune in one go. He also fixed the rune slot onto his chest. Concentrated on his work, he had quietly transitioned from an elementary runemaster to a true runemaster.

Now, all he needed to do was wait; to wait for Zim's family to ransom their people.

It took a little longer than expected, but when Earl Augen, Zim's uncle, appeared before Richard with a caravan of twenty heavy wagons, he understood why the Earl was three entire days late.

The Viscount clearly understood his people. He didn't panic in the least when he was told that his family's envoy was late, proudly and arrogantly stating that they were bringing a ransom suitable for his noble identity as the Highland Unicorn. He claimed it would be eye-opening for a mere titled knight, finally remembering to at least call Richard by his correct title. However, Richard did not know whether to laugh or cry; he couldn't help but wonder, was the Viscount's family so used to paying ransoms?

The wagons were especially heavy, making Richard very curious as to what they contained. It seemed like these goods would be a part of the ransom.

Earl Augen had pale skin quite similar to Zim's; this was a visual cue of the Sequoia Kingdom's royal blood. The man had just passed forty years of age, his magnificent noble robes adorned with fine jewels.

The Earl had brought along a group of 300 men, all light cavalry from the royal army. This cavalry would possess shocking deterrence even against a duke's army.

Once he received the report, Richard brought along a group of barbarian warriors and throwers to welcome the incoming party. The Earl was sat high on his horse, the cavalry behind him already forming three rows. Their armour glimmered in the sun as they assumed position, ready to charge.

Behind the light cavalry was the Earl's own army. Although their red and gold armour was equally bright, one could tell at a glance that they had only chainmail and most of the soldiers weren't even level 5. This was worse than even Forza's elite troops, incomparable to the light cavalry that had an average of level 9.

Had this private army not appeared, Richard might have held Augen in higher regard. But now, he did not plan to lose to the man in imposition. He stopped his warhorse a hundred metres away from the earl, waving his hand behind him to cause fifteen barbarian warriors in heavy armour to fall into a steely defensive line. Behind them were about seventy throwers. These creatures who looked like troggs could not compare to Augen's private army in terms of looks, but only Viscount Zim who had personally experienced their terror had the right to say anything about their might. Please visit ƒ𝘳ee𝒘𝚎𝐛𝘯𝐨ν𝑒l. 𝒄o𝘮

Seeing Richard put on such an aggressive stance, Earl Augen snorted loudly and spurred his horse forward to the central point between the two armies. “Sir Richard!” he yelled.

“Earl Augen.” Unlike Augen's deep and majestic voice, Richard seemed calm and easy-going. However, the cold arrogance in his voice would not lose out to Augen's.

Augen's anger clearly showed on his face. “Sir Richard,” he asked coldly, “I still don't know which family you're from.”

“Archeron.”

The man lifted his chin slightly in response to that, stating proudly, “I have never heard the Archeron name anywhere in the continent.”

“The Archerons were never famous, the family doesn't have a long history.” Indeed, the Archerons weren't even a thousand years old. They couldn't be considered a historied family, but in a Norland that was constantly burning in the flames of war the most important factor when weighing a family was its military might. History only mattered when both parties were equal in power.

Augen clearly didn't know the differences between Norland and Faelor. He laughed coldly when he heard Richard's answer, “So you're a country upstart!”

Richard maintained a charming smile on his face from beginning to end. However, he had no intentions of being cowed. In the face of the provocation and humiliation, he made a single, indifferent reply, “Indeed. I'm just a country upstart who captured a viscount.”

316 - City of Sin

Negotiation(2)

Augen's face immediately turned the colour of ash. “SIR RICHARD!” he barked, “You're trying to provoke an earl!”

“A court earl,” Richard poked coldly. This was Augen's soft spot; a court earl didn't even have as much territory as a titled knight. The fact that he had managed to gather two hundred soldiers and dress them up in flashy armour was an accomplishment. Of course, any hope that such an army would actually be effective in battle was just wishful thinking.

The man almost turned green at that point, having to use all his restraint to keep from whipping Richard's face. It was extremely foolish to fight a great mage; Augen had some of the shortcomings common of court nobles, but he definitely wasn't foolish.

“Do you want to start a war against Earl Yatu and Duke Grasberg?!” Augen roared.

“Earl Augen, do not forget your position! Do you even have the right to stir up a war? Remember what you're here for; if you want a battle, I will honour your wishes. However, let me give you a word of advice: I have no intention to earn any gold from you. A court earl is not worth much,” Richard icily reminded him.

Internal battles between nobles were normally solved by war. Although many powerful nobles tried to suppress such things, strife could never be controlled. However, unless the warring families had a blood feud the loser could surrender without being killed. Besides, the amount of ransom depended on the value of the prisoner as well. Even if Richard didn't want to kill Augen, he could still easily maim him.

Augen's complexion flashed between green and white, no words coming to his mind. He wanted to order all his troops to charge, killing Richard and his army with one quick move, but his rational side reminded him that the only ones who would obey such an order were his personal troops.

The 300-strong light cavalry belonged to the royal army. They were here on Zim's mother's behest, to protect her son. They had only been loaned to Augen to avoid Richard making unreasonable demands. If his orders threatened Zim's safety, the battalion would kill him first.

The Earl took several deep breaths to quell his intense anger. He then said coldly, “Now then, Sir Richard Archeron, are you here to discuss the ransom with me?”

“Of course not!” Richard laughed. Ransom was a word that always brought him joy, “Follow me, I'll bring you to Viscount Zim. Once we're done with that, we'll proceed to a meeting room to discuss the ransom.

“Just so you know, I don't have any premium tea or refreshments. Nor do I have china or oil paintings. Everyone outside of your personal guard should be a kilometre away from the barracks. Of course, you can send the supply trucks over first!”

Not long after, Augen had met the Viscount and confirmed his health. Zim's booming voice alone was proof enough that he was well.

However, the process of the negotiation held some surprises. Augen's anger did not seem to have dissipated. He was unwilling to budge on any aspect of the discussion, determined to duke it out with Richard. He even threatened to go back and have someone else take his place.

This unyielding attitude surprised Richard. Normally, the royal family should have gotten someone unemotional for the negotiations, especially for such a special prisoner like Zim. Bevry's words about the royal family considering the Viscount a burden were starting to make sense.

Augen's unexpected stubbornness caused Richard to reexamine the ransom amount. It seemed like he was near their bottom line, and had he had no wish to carry Zim around as a prisoner for much longer. If the Earl backed out and a new person had to take his place, more than half a month would pass before negotiations would resume. Time was currently of the essence.

Augen's final offer was 50,000 gold, 20,000 worth of magic materials, and twenty carriages of precious goods that were worth a total of 30,000. This amounted to 100,000 gold in total.

However, Richard had already seen the 'precious goods.' They were things like marbles, black sand, and golden silk. Such things would definitely meet an Earl's standards for a palace, implying Duke Grasberg had put some thought into it. Gathering all these things was not easy at all, and the conversion to gold had actually understated their value a little. Any honourable noble would be overjoyed at such a gift for the construction of a new castle.

There was one problem, though. Richard had no plans for luxury or comfort, only concerned with the castle's defensive capabilities as a fortress. There was no meaning to these materials outside of their sturdiness. His interest lay in the 50,000 gold and the magical materials, both of which could boost the strength of his army.

Richard examined the offer closely. Even with just 50,000 coins, he could have returns of more than 20,000 in a month. There was no need for further negotiation; his most pressing need was to participate in the disputes in the Bloodstained Lands.

In the end, the two finally made the deal. After paying the ransom, both sides signed a permanent truce. Needless to say, everyone knew that this truce would only hold until one of them was strong enough to start a war. The only meaning to this paper was that the Viscount's next ransom would start at twice the current amount.

The very next day, Augen took Zim out of Richard's territory. As for the captured soldiers, they would be released in batches. It seemed like a happy ending for everyone involved, be it Augen, Zim, or Richard. Of course, the reasons for everyone's happiness were different.

For Richard, it was the gold and materials he urgently needed. Zim was elated to not be a prisoner any longer, returning to his lavish lifestyle. He could even gather a whole new army, trying to exact his revenge on Richard.

As for Earl Augen, he was happy to only spend 50,000 of his 80,000 gold budget through his defensive negotiations. The rest of the gold went directly to his pocket. He had taken a huge risk for these earnings; when he first heard Richard's threats, he had thoughts of giving up. Only the shimmering allure of gold had given him the courage to fight on.

317 - City of Sin

Recovery

Once the matter with Zim was settled, Richard wrote a few letters that very night and sent a few quick-witted subordinates to Bluewater Oasis and Deeprock City.

One of the letters was addressed to Sir Chanton, telling him to send magic crystals worth 50,000 gold with the next batch of supplies. That was enough for a hundred magic crystals on the market, and with Chanton's ability he could probably get close to 120. This would be enough to give the broodmother three more grade 4 skills, and allow her to get to level 5 as well well. At that point, she would be capable of creating combat drones at level 10.

The other few letters were addressed to Devon, Amon, and Bivier from Bluewater. Richard needed a new batch of barbarians and desert slaves from Devon, as a large number of his current troops had already been granted the freedom. The barbarians were only fighting for him out of gratitude, helping out at a time where he desperately needed their support. However, it was only a matter of time before they would leave for their homeland. Their love for their ancestral plains was something poets waxed lyrical about in their writings.

As for Amon, Richard hoped for an official alliance with Marquess Anrick. He also wanted to employ a troop of elite swordsmen; the Saint Swordsman Rolf was not just famous for his swordsmanship, but also for his ability to train troops.

As for Bivier, Richard was looking for a batch of refined carbon steel and lafite steel.

Once all these resources were acquired, Richard would be completely out of funds, including all that he would earn from the restored runes that he hadn't yet sold. However, that destitution would be exchanged for an unprecedented, formidable military might! This wasn't just fervently building up an army. No, Richard was giving it his all and betting everything on a single throw!

The scale of this army made it obvious that it wasn't meant for defence. Richard was looking like a complete warmonger, ready to seize what he wanted with weapons and bloodshed.

He could not explain this sudden impatience. Or rather, he knew deep down in his heart, but he was unwilling to admit it. Thoughts of Sharon, the Deepblue, and Mountainsea brought him great distress. The blessings of wisdom and truth didn't just mean that he planned everything carefully. These traits also imperceptibly influenced his state of mind. He could only stay calm when everything was within his control, and any changes were within his expectations.

Calmness was often just another word for indifference.

Having stayed too long on Faelor, Richard had almost forgotten everything about Norland. However, now that he thought about these things again, and the three promises he had made, he felt a fire burning in his chest.

He wanted to transcend the limitations of the planes. For Sharon, he wanted to finish the Deepblue Aria. He wanted to defeat all of the Archerons, to put his mother's tombstone on the peak of that volcano.

But what about Mountainsea? Had he made any promises to that aggressive and domineering young lady? Richard couldn't recall any, but he still felt like he had to visit Klandor just to see her ones. As for what would happen when they met, not even the gods could predict that.

Richard was terribly unsettled that night, but no matter how long a night was the sun would eventually rise. Without a wink of sleep to his name, Richard's eyes were completely bloodshot. His mind was still racing, analysing the topography for the potential distribution of minerals in his surroundings.

The next week passed peacefully, but the situation was continually in flux.

Fontaine behaved as expected, growing more harsh once Zim had left. Perhaps it was unintentional. But a batch of goods from Deeprock City had been hijacked under his watch. All the men carrying the goods were completely annihilated, with not a single soul surviving. Naturally, all the goods disappeared. Even though these were iron ingots without much value, the team had more than ten blacksmiths.

Richard kept a close watch on every one of the Baron's moves. Within a short week, his defence had been strengthened greatly. A troop of over 300 Golden Sparrow swordsmen had been stationed in forts just outside Twilight Castle. It didn't take much knowledge to realise these swordsmen that were level 6 on average came from Earl Yatu's private troops. The Azure Deer seemed very enthusiastic in protecting his new subordinates. Whoever wanted to attack Twilight Castle would be waging war against the Earl himself.

As for the switch in Fontaine's alliance, the normally intense Direwolf Duke kept silent. This was proof that Bevry's strength was not great enough to decide the outcome. At the most, he could control Duke Grasberg's movements through politics. After all, even the Direwolf Duke could not fight on two sides. The Whiterock Duke was a far bigger monster than Grasberg, and he had no confidence in victory.

Sir Chanton had indicated in private that Richard could act whenever he wanted, but the unspoken understanding was that he would then have to bear the consequences by himself. Or most of the consequences, anyway. The Direwolf Duke was in the midst of an attack on Earl Jayleon; those dragon bones weren't of much use to him personally. Richard guessed these things were to be used as an offering. Perrin's importance to the Duke was quite evident; he was definitely more valued than Richard.

On top of that, even though Chanton hadn't mentioned anything Richard could guess that Bevry had been adequately reimbursed for Fontaine's switch. Thus, he would have to face the pressure from Zim's family alone.

The Duke had given him a safe haven in the form of that troop of swordsmen. Their duty would be to ensure he and Flowsand could return safely to Deepcliff City. As long as the two of them did not perish, the altar could be built and the Direwolf Duke could pay for the construction himself. However, that force was also indicative of Bevry's feelings towards subsequent developments. Using those swordsmen would mean Richard would lose all independence, no longer an equal party in negotiations. partnership with the Duke. Google search 𝗳𝙧𝘦𝒆𝑤𝙚𝘣𝙣𝘰𝘃ℯ𝑙. 𝐜𝐨𝑚

Thankfully, there was some silver lining in the midst of all this bad news. His allies in Bluewater had turned out to be more reliable than expected.

Devon had sent 50 barbarians and 300 desert warriors. Bivier had gathered all the metal Richard required, and even added ten ballistae and 500 bolts.

As for Amon, he offered a combat treaty; if Richard could successfully help Rolf defeat his enemies around Bluewater, he would be granted a seat in the Bluewater Council. The Venomous Scorpion Michla, with more than 500 soldiers under his charge, would be the first target. Amon placed a bounty of twenty coins for the death of each subordinate of the Venomous Scorpion, and ten magic crystals for Michla's death.

Magic crystals... Richard was increasingly starting to like those words.

318 - City of Sin

Recovery(2)

Training the new barbarians and desert warriors took another ten days. Richard had to teach them to understand the new command structure and let them get used to the equipment.

When Sir Chanton arrived on schedule, he brought over the promised goods and some other commodities that Richard had requested. He urgently needed blacksmiths and enough iron for 200 suits of armour, shields, falchions, and boots. Fontaine had dared to rob the caravans headed towards Richard's territory before, but wouldn't dare to do so when Sir Chanton was in the group. Sir Chanton didn't have a high status, but everyone in the kingdom knew that he was a trusted aide of the Direwolf Duke. He also came from an ancient, powerful family. Besides, it wasn't smart to provoke a random noble either.

In the blink of an eye, Richard had 400 desert warriors and seventy barbarians. Even though they had more manpower, this army was significantly weaker per person than in the past. Besides inadequate training, there weren't any knights to take charge as captain, reducing their overall capabilities in battle.

Richard found some time to visit the Land of Turmoil, feeding the broodmother the 120 magic crystals. This allowed her to get to level 5 directly, and as per his wishes increase the abilities of her combat drones. Once the advancement was completed, she would be able to produce six wind wolves or four throwers every day.

When Richard rushed back from the Land of Turmoil, he was followed by forty throwers and two elites. He now had more than a hundred throwers under him, and as long as the elites were around to take charge there was no need for training. By very nature, they would be strict, disciplined soldiers.

When he returned to the camp, Richard headed straight for the training grounds to continue training the barbarians and desert warriors.

Gangdor was wrestling with three barbarians there, his burly body glowing with the sheen of oil as his muscles writhed around like centipedes. The barbarians were grunting regularly, while he only roared on occasion. Every roar sent one of the barbarians flying, landing hard on the ground. In a collision of raw strength and muscles, the barbarians gathered around felt their blood boil. They erupted with fighting spirit, all hoping to be the next to join the battle.

When Gangdor spotted Richard arrive, he let out a loud roar and erupted with energy, slamming all three warriors away. He then walked towards Richard, evidently not having given his best in the earlier battle, “Boss! You're back!”

Richard nodded, raising his head to look over the brute. With Gaia's Force making him bulkier, Gangdor now stood at over 2.2 metres tall. He seemed exceptionally tall compared to Richard who was less than 1.8 metres. Once the force of his bloodline faded, he would slowly shrink back to his original height of two metres.

“How was the training when I was away? Did anything happen?” Richard asked.

The training and leadership of the troops had been passed to Gangdor. He hadn't learnt any such skills in the Archeron death camp, just using the same techniques they had used on him here. This used to be the duty of the Archeron knights, but with all of them dead there was nobody else to pass this job to.

Waterflower wasn't exactly sociable. Olar only knew courtly arts and things about nobility. As for the trolls, there wasn't much to say; they salivated at the mere sight of the strong barbarians.

That left Flowsand, but she was far too busy nurturing two fallen clerics and the young Caesar. On top of that, she was decoding the God of Valour's magic, researching spells, and spent nights with Richard. She was a young lady, not a labourer who worked day and night, but her current workload made it seem otherwise. The only difference was that she was a labourer who could multitask.

“Not bad! These fellows are good at battles. As long as they have good food, some training will have them unleash a lot more of their potential. Their foundation is great!” Gangdor seemed very satisfied.

“Of course! They weren't cheap!” Richard laughed. The slaves Devon sent over all had strong foundations, making them twice as expensive as ordinary slaves. However, this was upon Richard's request. He had wanted to buy a batch of soldiers.

“Oh right, boss!” Gangdor suddenly remembered something, “The training over the last few days was rougher than normal, so we were very generous with the rice and meat. We're running out of bacon; didn't you say a few big trucks would deliver cheese and bacon when you left? It's already been ten days, why don't I see any?”

“The delivery isn't here?” Richard was surprised, but his expression quickly turned sombre. He remembered these supplies were coming from Deepcliff City, having to pass through the Fontaines' land. If it was so long overdue, then it was definitely hijacked by 'bandits' in the Baron's territory.

Richard suddenly burst out into a smile, “These jokers have some nerve. They're not even letting food supplies pass!”

Looking at that handsome, radiant smile, Gangdor suddenly felt a vague chill in his heart. However, the big man pretended not to have seen anything as he continued grinning, “What do we do now?”

Richard took a deep breath, his hands moving subconsciously. Even without a handkerchief, it seemed like he was cleaning nonexistent dirt from his hands. He squinted his eyes in the direction of Fontaine's lands, speaking with enthusiasm, “We prepare a caravan for them to rob!”

Ten carriages of goods left Richard's territory under the guard of fifty cavalrymen, following a remote path towards Deepcliff City. The fifty desert warriors were a powerful guard detail, and horse bandits wouldn't dare provoke them even with twice their numbers.

The caravan took a remote, broken path. It was obvious the vehicles were loaded, leaving deep imprints on the path. Not long after the caravan left, a few men on horses appeared on the path. These scouts were completely covered in unmarked hoods, with no identifying marks and no way to see their faces. They got down from their horses and closely inspected the wheel marks, quickly getting up on their horses to leave swiftly...

At that very moment, Richard was meditating in a carriage in the middle of the caravan. A weak, magical light illuminated the inside of the carriage, lighting up the Book of Time in Flowsand's hands.

There were three more people in this carriage: Phaser, Waterflower, and Olar. Their presence made the carriage appear even smaller, but after the painful lesson in the past, Olar sat straight even if Waterflower was nearby. He didn't dare even sway, afraid of brushing against a corner of the girl's sleeve.

The elven bard had recently grown closer to Gangdor, so he learnt some of Waterflower's habits. This quiet and stern young lady relied a lot on instinct and intuition to do things, so regardless of whether a touch was intentional or not he would suffer the painful lesson once more. Besides, the atmosphere in the carriage was especially icy. The young lady's eyes were closed, but a cold aura was radiating from her body.

319 - City of Sin

If One Was God

Richard suddenly opened his eyes, looking at Flowsand who was still immersed in the Book of Time with a puzzled gaze, “You're always reading the Book. Haven't you finished it?”

Flowsand smiled in response, passing the book over to him with both hands, “Try reading it.”

Richard accepted and took a look through, but all he could see was balls of dazzling light. “What is this?” he asked in shock, “Were you always reading this stuff?”

Flowsand made a sound of surprise, clearly astonished, “You can actually see something?”

“It's just balls of light, I have no idea what they mean,” he said with a frown.

This just surprised her even more, “Wait, use your divine grace to read it, the one you received from the ceremony to the Eternal Dragon. It should permeate your soul, try it!”

Richard frowned and followed Flowsand's instructions, concentrating on gathering the Eternal Dragon's grace. Surely enough, the constantly moving balls started leaving visible trails, faintly tracing out a divine text. However, the text was extremely blurred; he could only identify a few incoherent words with much difficulty, unable to understand their meaning. He wanted to continue gathering the divine grace, but a wave of fatigue suddenly hit him causing a loss in focus. All of the text disappeared instantly, and the balls of light soon followed. All he could see in the end was an empty page.

Richard was taken aback. He flipped through a few more pages, realising that every page in the Book of Time was blank.

“It's blank?!” he exclaimed in surprise as he returned the book to her.

“One needs to use the divine power of time to see the contents. You can see whatever you want,” Flowsand explained.

He could only smile at that, “We're about to enter battle. Why are you so hardworking?”

“I'm researching a completely new divine spell. I'm about to figure out the last link, and it might be in time for this battle,” she said as she buried her head into the book once more.

“What divine spell is it that needs so much effort? It's only a group of bandits.”

“You'll know soon enough. Right, tell me before you start casting spells.”

“The spell works on me?”

“Of course. It's designed for you!”

......

The caravan continued on its bumpy journey, entering another uninhabited area. However, the desert warriors guarding it suddenly grew tense. They started to look around, their grips on their falchions growing tighter.

The ground started vibrating at that moment, the sound growing more and more pronounced. The experienced warriors immediately dispersed to form a perimeter around the carriages; they knew this was the sound of a large cavalry approaching.

The first cavalryman flew in from the foot of the mountains, and in the blink of an eye over 200 had rushed out before the caravan. The group all had simple, dark cloaks over their armour, concealing the style and crests of their equipment. Their faces were masked with raised hoods.

The faint murderous aura coming with every move was a clear indication that this was a group of veterans. The leader stood out from the crowd, looking at the wagons and desert warriors before he slowly raised his hand and clenched his fist. This was a common signal among the knights of the Sequoia Kingdom: a command to kill every enemy.

This group clearly wasn't just here to steal goods. They were out for blood, not even checking what their target was carrying. The knights advanced in two groups, one on each side of the leader, slowly approaching the enemy. Their killing intent grew more intense the closer they got, a habit of experienced hunters. The intense aura would force the prey into a frantic flight, maximising their chances of victory.

However, the hood of one of the carriages was suddenly pushed open completely. Richard stood up from the cart, looking at the not-distant leader as he spoke with a wry smile, “If you're robbing me, shouldn't you ask what's in the wagons first?”

The knight lifted his hood, revealing a face covered in hard lines. He stared at Richard with his hawk eyes, his eyes immediately narrowing as he forced a cold sentence through gritted teeth, “Since you're here, the contents don't matter!”

Richard laughed heartily, “Alright, don't say stuff like you're so-and-so and I can't tell you later!”

The leader naturally understood the implications in those words. His face turned purple with anger, but the ridicule would not interfere with his intent to fight. He threw his raised arm down and roared, “FULL ASSAULT, KILL THEM ALL!”

Seeing the two cavalry groups speed up, Richard narrowed his eyes. Mana surged forth around him, his hand rising in preparation to launch a fireball. Although the fireballs wouldn't hit the enemies at this distance, he could still burn the ground to reduce their speed or change the direction of attack. Forces like these, somewhere between light and heavy cavalry, lost a lot of their power when slowed down. At that time, his desert warriors could display their own horsemanship and combat skills.
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It was then that Flowsand started chanting a rapid incantation completely in divine language. An indiscernible pale-gold hourglass appeared over Richard's head, rotating faster and faster until it was almost a blur.

Richard's entire body shook. He felt his mana surge violently, practically boiling over with its power. The fireball he was about to cast was interrupted, the small delay enough for the incoming cavalry to enter range.

A brilliant divine light filled his body, burning brightly like a flame. His mana went from boiling to flaming in the blink of an eye and... started circulating manyfold faster than before? An idea flashed across his mind and he suddenly raised both hands, his hurried incantations so fast that the words blurred together into a sharp whistle.

*Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!* Fireball after fireball continually shot out of his hands. Eight projectiles were launched into the air in an instant, and that wasn't even the end of it!

The leader's jaw dropped open. One moment he was in the midst of directing the cavalry into assault formation, and the next all he could see was a sky of fireballs. He frantically wanted his subordinates to stop their charge, but he knew it was already too late. All he could manage was a crazed roar of despair.

As for the knights racing forward at high speeds, their eyes filled with fear. All they could see around them were fireballs! This was the most extreme display of magic; a miracle of beautiful destruction!

*BOOM!* The first of the fireballs exploded violently, the surging waves of fire instantly covering everything in a radius of five metres. It was followed closely by the second, third, fourth... all the way to the fifteenth! All of the explosions rang out in quick succession, instantly forming an arc of fire ahead of the caravan. The constant bursts merged together into the sound of one complete, gigantic explosion!

The cavalrymen could not control the charge of their warhorses, getting thrown into the sea of fire as they howled out loud. A scant few managed to barely come to a halt, but their comrades merely rammed into them from behind and sent them tumbling in.

All of the desert warriors were stunned. Thankfully they had received exceedingly strict training, so they had not recklessly rushed out to meet the enemy. However, the fire was so close it was starting to singe their hair. They had to use all their strength to control the frightened horses, stopping them from jumping around wildly.

By the time the flames fizzled out, a third of the incoming cavalry had been turned to ash. The rest were stopped just before the line, using all their strength to control their frightened mounts. Only those in the rear were completely unharmed. Faced with the grievous deaths and injuries of their fellow soldiers, they were thoroughly enraged and charged in without waiting for the flames to completely die out.

Richard had both arms stretched forward, stuck in the same posture since he launched the last fireball. His hair was blown back by a burst of hot air, dancing in the wind before slowly falling back to his shoulders. He felt a deathly emptiness in his body; in less than two seconds nearly 90% of his mana had flooded out of him. However, what he saw left him stunned. Sadly, there was no time to relish in that godlike feeling.

320 - City of Sin

Outburst

Although the feeling of his mana leaving him so suddenly left Richard wanting to collapse, he did not forget that he was still in a battlefield where every second counted. He steadied himself by holding onto Olar's arm, sending a series of commands out in his mind.

Many thuds sounded out as the boards of the carriages were smashed to pieces by sharp axes. Groups of throwers leapt out, grabbing hatchets from within and tossing them at the enemy. A sharp whistle permeated the battlefield, and the hatchets spun and smashed into the disorderly cavalry. With less than fifty metres separating the two armies, the power of these axes was astounding. The armour of the cavalrymen could not hold up at all, and be it human or horse anyone hit by the axes was heavily injured.

The throwers' axes were unimaginably fast. Their minds would not be influenced by any external factors in battle, and they would not be intimidated no matter how many spells Richard used. The moment he gave the order, all the hatchets were thrown as quickly as possible.

The hundred throwers were at an optimum distance from the enemy; they sent out five waves of axes as fast as possible, the rain of attacks growing to be a terror for the vanguard. Words could not describe the emotions one felt when they saw hundreds of hatchets flying towards their heads. Once the five waves were done, less than fifty cavalrymen could stand.

The leader's mouth finally closed. He yelled out, having all his troops retreat.

“Trying to run?” A cold smirk rose on the corner of Richard's lips.

The desert warriors had long since moved to cover both sides. In the meanwhile, the throwers switched from their depleted tomahawks and all lifted their armour, producing the bone axes that were glimmering with a pale white lustre. Stopped by the elite throwers, none of them acted. They instead formed three files, slowly advancing forward. No heavy infantry could outdo them.

The knight captain had experienced hundreds of battles, and was immediately able to discover that Richard's side was the weakest of them all. Seeing the troops gathered at the frontlines, he knew it would be too late to escape. Desert warriors were known for their resilience; it would be near impossible to get away. Did it not make more sense to just charge through the formations of the throwers? Who knew, perhaps they could break through and capture Richard.

However, just as he was about to give the order, he found a towering figure standing at the front of the throwers, his axe level. There were no knights at the vanguard leading this formation, only Gangdor. Please visit 𝑓r𝙚ew𝚎𝚋𝐧૦ѵ𝗲𝘭. c𝘰m

Although it was just one person, the captain showed a rare hesitation. However, that slight hesitation lost him his last chance. The hapless cavalry did not receive the next order. Some charged forward, others retreated, while yet more clashed with the desert warriors flanking them from the sides. However, they were completely surrounded.

Richard slowly raised his left hand, clenching his fist in the exact same way as the cavalry's leader had before. The desert warriors all shouted out their battle cries, hacking out at the cavalrymen with their falchions.

The moment the battle began, an elven warsong rang out to boost the strength of the desert warriors. The opposing cavalrymen fell one after the other, and no matter how much the leader shouted he could not stall Richard's momentum. Having witnessed Richard's storm of magic, their will had been obliterated. In front of an opponent who did not lose to them in power and even bettered them in viciousness, they were instantly left at a disadvantage.

Olar continued the elven warsong, all the while taking opponents down with his bow.

Stuck in the desperate situation, the leader was like an injured lion that erupted with power. The large, blood-stained sword in his hand sent three desert warriors off their horses the moment they approached him, but even so he could see more of his own men were dismounted as well. Even without those trogg-like monsters attacking them, the desert warriors were ganging up on his men two or three to one and taking them down. He knew it was impossible for him to leave this place alive; Richard's attitude at the beginning of the battle spoke volumes of his bloodthirst.

Just like how he hadn't asked what was in the carriage when he began 'robbing' them, Richard didn't care for his status or backing. Everything was an open secret, with the superiors just pretending to be ignorant. Such were the rules of this 'noble' game.

The leader's grim gaze landed on one of the desert warriors, but at that very moment he felt a thread of chilly wind by his throat. Goosebumps appeared where the wind blew, and he yelled as he threw himself at the ground without care for his horse!

The dull black blade of the Shepherd of Eternal Rest was unremarkable even in daylight, but its might could not be underestimated. The tip of the sword suddenly flashed at the leader's neck, brushing across it to leave a terrifying gash between his neck and shoulder. Although the wound was serious, it had not been able to send his head flying like Waterflower had expected.

Still, the young lady reacted quickly. A quick turn of the blade and she cut downwards, but only managed to tear into his armour to leave a long wound. Even the second strike had failed to kill him.

*Thud!* The knight captain hit the ground loudly, rolling a few times to dodge a few metres away. Having put some distance from the girl, he supported himself as he resumed body stance before looking backwards. Only then did he see Waterflower nimbly standing on his horse's back. Was it this wild girl who looks so frail that nearly took his life? The man didn't have much time to be bewildered, however, as he suddenly felt a chill at his back. The tip of a blade erupted from his chest.

The fellow's throat gurgled some words, but he could not form a complete sentence. Looking down at the short tip, he did his best to turn around and look at the face of the person who killed him. However, he had barely turned sideways before a numbness spread through his body and the dark overtook his sight.

He never managed to see Phaser's appearance.

......

Once the last of the cavalry fell, the short yet intense battle finally came to an end. Richard grabbed Flowsand quickly and asked, “Is that the divine spell you were working on? What is it called? Why have I never heard of a spell like this before?!”

“Outburst, comparable to a grade 6 divine spell. It can increase the rate of a mage's mana flow, also speeding up the flow of time in their body. How is it? Feels good, no?” Flowsand asked, pleased with herself.

“It's madness!” Even now, he was still blown away by that godlike feeling. An entire group of cavalrymen had fallen easily at his hands! Such strength, such destruction, such control... It was something he had never imagined even in his dreams!

“Mm, as long as I'm around any mage can show unimaginable prowess. I shall be the lighthouse of all mages!” Flowsand proudly declared. However, under that proud little face of hers hid a craftiness difficult to sense.

Richard nodded several times, taking her words to heart. A divine spell able to let him use his entire mana pool in two seconds was definitely very powerful. With this and his own magic penetration rune, he could get rid of a grand mage from Faelor in direct battle! After all, even a grand mage could not take the might of fifteen fireballs exploding together, especially when they had the additional magic penetration property.

321 - City of Sin

Reparations

The power of the Outburst spell didn't fade until a while after he was done with his spells. The increased flow of mana had combined with his vitality rune, his mana pool quickly restoring itself. Only once it was a third full did the effects of the spell vanish.

The average mage could normally use only a third of their mana in a battle. Once one's reserves fell below 50%, the chances of failure started to increase exponentially. When it dropped below a third, it would be difficult to cast even the weakest of spells. Thus, most mages considered their mana to be exhausted when they only had a third of it left. However, the Outburst spell actually overcame this issue and virtually increased every mage's battle might by half.

“Flowsand,” Richard asked seriously, “How many times can you cast Outburst in a day?” Please visit ƒ𝘳ee𝒘𝚎𝐛𝘯𝐨ν𝑒l. 𝒄o𝘮

“In a day? You're quite optimistic! The spell takes a lot from me, so for now... I can only use it once a week.”

“Once a week...” Richard was slightly disappointed, but when he thought things over it made sense. Such a powerful spell would definitely have its own limits. The more powerful something was, the more it touched on the might of the laws. In extension, one needed to use more mana. Flowsand was a mere level 10 cleric; she was already skipping ranks to use what seemed like a grade 6 spell.

“Can others use Outburst?” This was another crucial question.

Flowsand shook her head, “No. The spell requires me to coordinate the power of the Book of Time with the Lens of Time. I can do without the Book of Time once I'm stronger and have the divine power, but the Lens of Time will still be necessary.”

Only then did Richard understand that this was a spell exclusive to Flowsand. Of course, that was unless he could craft that grade 4 rune. However, even when he became a saint runemaster in the future he wouldn't be able to create every grade 4 rune in existence. Outside of the massive amount of research required for each, many special runes had restrictions on them. For example, Saint Peter's divine rune sets needed the creator to be someone of strong faith.

And thus, Flowsand had grown from a core position in the group to someone irreplaceable.

A headcount once they started clearing the battlefield told Richard a total of 206 cavalrymen had attacked them, all currently dead. Under the concealing cloaks was excellent plate armour, centred around a strong breastplate with the remaining part connected by chains. The design was unique and the work intricate, allowing for agility while not compromising protection. Although the armour had no insignia or other identifying patterns, Richard was already well-versed on Zim's family. He knew at first glance that these men were from Duke Grasberg's Golden Eagles.

Richard hadn't been in Faelor very long, but he had already experienced dozens of battles both large and small. All of his followers had ample experience in clearing up battlefields. They stripped the cavalry for all valuable items, not even leaving behind the inner armour. This was considered disrespectful in a battle between nobles, but since they pretended to be bandits they would die as such. That was why he hadn't asked them for their identity at the start.

The bodies were all piled into some of the carriages, while the retrieved armour and weapons managed to fill four of the carriages up nicely. The throwers' hatchets were collected as well; every batch was made entirely of stainless steel, and was rather expensive. A single hatchet was worth thirty sharp arrows. Another large harvest came in the form of fifty unharmed horses. As for his own side, Richard had lost less than ten desert warriors.

It didn't take long for the battlefield to be looted clean. The carriages then turned back, returning to Richard's territory. A large number of horse carcasses were left behind, while the throwers did not return immediately either.

Olar turned back and asked Richard carefully, “Master, why aren't the throwers coming?”

“They need to feed,” Richard said calmly.

Olar felt his entire body tremble. Although the word 'feed' seemed benign, it hid a lot of other meanings.

The throwers looked more malicious than troggs. If not for their unthinkable levels of discipline, even Richard's followers would believe them to be monsters. They normally didn't live in the same area as the normal soldiers, so nobody bothered with their food. It just seemed like they consumed very few rations.

Just feeding on horse carcasses wasn't very frightening. However, if Richard intentionally wasn't letting everyone watch it, that in itself was thought-provoking. What about next time? If they were in a desperate situations, what would these creatures eat?

The elite throwers had already estimated the number of carcasses, sending Richard a mental report. This feeding session would sustain their normal survival needs for an entire week.

Having received this news, Richard began to think it over. Even at level 4, the throwers were only slightly weaker than the wind wolves in hand to hand combat. Their long distance attacks were comparable to level 8s, while the elites could even compare to level 10. Another special characteristic was that a good feeding session would last them a week, while the wind wolves could only last two to three days. This meant the throwers needed fewer supplies, increasing their value further. If he could overcome his own revulsion and allow them or the wind wolves to feed on enemy dead, their strength reserves would rise without limit.

'Could this be considered an advantage of the broodmother's troops?' Richard wondered.

......

The very next day, the victorious army returned to Richard's territory. Gangdor walked over and pointed at the bodies of the dead cavalrymen, asking, “How should we deal with the bodies, boss? It's hot here, without a spell protecting them they'll start smelling in an afternoon.”

“Same as we did at Bluewater,” Richard replied, “Clean them with antiseptic, and erect stakes on our border with Fontaine's territory. Hand the bodies there— right! Remember to be thorough, and handle them with care. Don't let anyone see something like their crests or insignias.”

“No problem, boss!” Gangdor agreed loudly, but then he suddenly remembered something and asked Richard, “By the way boss, their leader actually isn't weak. He seemed to be level 13 or something, should I leave him to Zendrall? That frowning pile of ribs could get another warrior of darkness out of him.”

“Not a bad idea!” Richard nodded. It was necessary for one to use every resource they could in a planar campaign. Fortunately, Richard had Flowsand, the broodmother, and Zendrall. This way, every part of the enemy, body, faith, and soul, could be utilised to the utmost.

Luck was also a part of one's power. It was normally the most important factor in an extended planar battle. Those who rose through the ranks depended on great luck. Richard's own wasn't anything special; anyone who could rise through the flames of battle amongst the millions was incredible.

Gangdor directed their soldiers to pick out the body of the knight captain. There were two other level 11 knights in the attacking army, powerful enough to be titled, but among the Golden Eagles they were only lesser leaders. This legion was evidently quite powerful.

322 - City of Sin

Secret

The barbarians and desert warriors worked together, moving all the bodies off the carriages. Zendrall sprayed some antiseptic medicine on them, before casting some spells. The corpses were drained of their moisture, but they didn't shrivel too much and retained their original appearance. At level 12, the necromancer could handle a whole slew of bodies at a time. He only needed five rounds to go through the more than 200 bodies.

The Necromancer did not approve of Richard's showing the corpses off in public. In his eyes, such a thing was pointless. Who would be frightened by a body? Richard should just have left them to him. These were obviously all veteran soldiers who had trained long enough to have sturdy bodies. They could become elite skeleton warriors in his hands, forming an army of level 4-5 beings who could wield sword and shield.

At his level, Zendrall could restrict the level drop from when his army was alive to only two or three levels. If he prepared meticulously and used a large number of supplementary potions, he could even avoid a drop in level at all. However, the resources such an act would consume would be immense, and it was only worth it when creating warriors of darkness.

Zendrall had not gotten high-grade materials in a long time, but Richard only smiled at his complaining. Weak undead creatures like skeleton warriors weren't anything in the mage's mind. Every mage could use spirit summoning spells, so using a few in small-scale battles was no issue. However, a larger number of undead would make it obvious that a necromancer was serving him.

Necromancy was a taboo on Faelor, comparable even to demonology and second only to planar invaders. It had taken much effort to blend into the locals, and he did not want to attract the attention of the gods for a useless army of skeletons.

By this point, Richard had a much better understanding of Faelor's pantheon. Although he was indeed an invader from another world, his limited strength had marked him as an insignificant threat. Sinclair had come quickly on his heels, and given her many large wars with the allied armies of Cerces and Neian, she had inflicted great damage on the churches in the Sequoia Kingdom. Any eyes that had been following Richard had been attracted to her.

And now, the deal with the Direwolf Duke solved any issue of identity. There was no further news regarding the first intruder, and the people of the Whiterock Dukedom quickly forgot about any invasion by some insignificant force.

Richard was basically a mosquito to the gods. Annoying, but tiny. He would not be able to cause any trouble, and even if he went missing they would only assume he died in some dark corner. One would slap a mosquito if it bit them, but wouldn't care even if it flew away. The gods felt the same about him.

Richard returned to his residence. What he needed now was to meditate and restore his mana. However, just as he sat down the hurried sound of someone could be heard bounding up the stairs and Zendrall rushed into his room.

The necromancer erupted with fury at the very sight of Richard, “The leader's body doesn't have a soul at all! What do you want me to create a warrior of darkness from? I have less than five warriors of darkness left, do you want me to start fighting with just curses?!”

“No soul?” Richard was stunned. This was unusual. It took a few days of rotting after death for a soul to fade completely. Until then, the body would have some fragments of the soul left within. Necromancers relied on activating the power of these souls to turn corpses into undead.

The souls of the pious could normally head directly to their god's divine kingdom upon death, which was why necromancers needed to cast a soul-locking spell right away with such people. However, few outside of paladins would ever reach this level of faith. Richard had not seen the knight captain praying to anyone during battle either.

Richard thought back to the leader's death. After sustaining heavy injuries from Waterflower, he had been dealt the last blow by Phaser.

“Alright, I understand. I'll get to the bottom of this.”

Only after getting Richard's guarantee did the necromancer leave. Corpses and souls of powerful beings weren't just materials to summon undead with; they were also necessary for him to advance.

“Phaser, come to my room,” Richard ordered in his mind. Moments later, Richard's window opened soundlessly and Phaser flitted in like a ghost to stand before him.

Richard looked over this special unit who was covered in her robes, saying, “Remove your robes.”

Phaser did as instructed, removing her robes and even the armour underneath. Outside of the natural armour of her body, she was completely nude.

He found her appearance strange. Phaser's body was vibrating quickly, a very good state in battle that would allow her to deal a fatal attack at any moment. However, right now all it served was to make her skin ripple like it was a body of water.

She had grown again from when he had last seen her. He started off with a detection spell before walking circles around her, comparing her appearance to the memory of when she had just been born.

The light that glowed in response to the spell was weak, but they were stable. Shockingly, and in the span of a mere two battles, she had already grown to level 5! This was a horrifying rate of growth!

There were some changes to her body as well. She seemed much taller right now, already at 1.6 metres in height. He did not understand the use of this in an assassination unit. A larger stature supported more strength, more energy reserves. However, at a mere level 5 Phaser was far from filling out her physique for either. It would only mean she needed to waste more energy to conceal herself.

On the other hand, the coverage of her natural armour was starting to reduce, which was something he found difficult to comprehend as well. Phaser's natural armour was similar to the broodmother's shell, hard as steel with a quarter of the weight and much better flexibility. It was as good for defence as refined mithril armour, although not comparable to magic artefacts.

“You're already level 5? How did you advance so quickly?”

323 - City of Sin

Secret(2)

Phaser went silent for a moment, endless light flashing through her eyes before she spoke, “It was because of the fighting.”

She spoke in a complicated divine language that came from the same family as the broodmother's, different from all known divine language systems in Norland. Only because of the broodmother could Richard understand her words instead of relying solely on telepathic communication.

This was another small detail that he found strange. Humanoid as she was, a drone was supposed to be a drone. Spoken language was supposed to be unnecessary, especially when it was just the two of them where telepathy would be faster. However, Phaser acted like any other human. Regardless of whether he spoke to her physically or through telepathy, she normally replied with her actual voice.

However, her answer this time clearly couldn't satisfy him.

“Be a little more specific.”

“... The souls of those I kill in battle are extracted, transformed into power to use. This allows me to grow quickly,” she finally said clearly.

“Where did this ability come from?”

“I had it since I was created; it should be an ability extracted from the original template.”

Richard nodded in understanding. It seemed like Phaser had inherited a number of Sinclair's abilities, even enhancing some aspects. After all, she was a special unit created with three units of divinity. He still didn't have a concrete idea of how much that was, but it was definitely no weaker than the ancestral soul of a large orc tribe.

Looking at her growth, Phaser seemed to be giving up on her enhanced defence to focus on increased speed and damage. Richard thought over it for a while, deciding not to interfere with her natural evolution and just have a set of light armour custom-crafted for her instead. Defence was just as important as offence on the battlefield; focusing on the latter exclusively only worked in small-scale battles. Even basic defences could oftentimes save one's fate, Sinclair being a prime example.

Once Phaser left, Richard's thoughts drifted back to Waterflower. That wild yet icy young lady was the same, overlooking all defence and refusing even leather armour. She relied solely on the power of her runes, but that would not protect her in the least from the attacks of a true powerhouse. He decided to get her a set as well, unwilling to let her fight as she wished anymore.

......

With the over two hundred stakes erected and the 'bandit' bodies put on display, the fight quickly became a hot topic in Baron Fontaine's lands. In a short few days the news seemed to have grown a pair of wings, spreading throughout the Sequoia Kingdom. Richard and his essentially barren territory drew the attention of the powerhouses of the kingdom once more.

He became the centre of discussion at countless afternoon tea parties, evening feasts, and game tables. Because the Archeron name had never been heard by the people, and his official lineage was said to be broken for four generations, he was classified as one of the nouveau riche who was 'cool'.

However, these nobles did not think that Richard was cruel; he had just used methods common to all aristocrats to deal with the bandits. There had been instances where a lord had chopped up any bandits, cooked them, and fed them to his dogs. Richard's actions weren't very alarming.

Richard's identity as a great mage was another curiosity. Such a young great mage was uncommon throughout Faelor's history, so many were inclined to believe that a grand mage stood behind him, one close to the legendary realm at that. This unknown grand mage was likely hidden away in the dark world.

The 'dark world' referenced here was basically any place humans rarely or never visited. This included the ancestral plains of the barbarians to the southwest of the Bloodstained Lands, or the Ashen Plateau to the northwest where the orcs, dwarves, and mountain people had their own kingdoms.

This incident barely had any impact on Richard's territory; it was originally a desolate stretch of land without many villages. However, it was definitely a big deal in the eyes of the ambitious nobles of the Sequoia Kingdom.

Within a secret room in Twilight Castle, a middle-aged noble with an imposing aura smashed the valuable porcelain cup in his hands, bellowing at Baron Fontaine's uncle who was before him, “THIS WAS YOUR GREAT IDEA! Didn't you say Richard wouldn't dare raise a hand even if he knew we did it? What about now? Two squadrons of the Golden Eagles completely killed off, stripped of their armour and clothing, hanging in the wilderness for everyone to see! Tell me, how will you clean this up?!”

“My Lord, Richard dared to kill the Golden Eagles and even hang their corpses on stakes, this is definitely an insult! You should mobilise a large army, directly eradicating this small—”

A sharp smack sounded out, the loud slap to the face sending the fellow flying mid-sentence. It was so powerful he fell onto the cart of tea sets behind him.

This middle-aged aristocrat was only level 8, but that single slap had sent the level 11 man flying. Fontaine's uncle was only a titled knight, so facing this earl with royal blood in front of him he did not dare to retaliate at all. He didn't even have the guts to evade, only able to endure the slap.

This man was Earl Layton, the nephew of the king. His lands were rich in exclusive products, giving him a powerful army. Even without his royal blood, he would be someone hard to offend. Of course, he wasn't here just for the benefit of the Fontaines or for Viscount Zim's reputation. However, the Baron's family was so incompetent that even despite his low expectations the Earl was fuming.

“He made them out to be bandits, you idiot! He even destroyed their faces, and ripped off the secret marks on the inside of their linen! It's completely impossible to confirm their identities. He already complained to the Baron that his caravans had been robbed a few times, didn't you announce there was a bandit group in your territory at that time? Now he's suppressed those bandits! What can we say about that?!”

“Y-yes, my Lord, I didn't think it through,” Fontaine's uncles said in a low voice as he scrambled up, not daring to even clean off the blood at the corner of his mouth.

Earl Layton huffed loudly, giving the man a contemptuous look as he spoke coldly, “Do you think it's so easy to solve this issue? An apology? 200 Golden Eagles! How should I explain this to their families? There aren't even any remains to speak of, and then there's the pension! If it wasn't for your idiocy, how would they have been annihilated?!”

'Weren't you strongly in support of this plan at the start?' Of course, the young Baron's uncle did not dare put this thought to word, only able to wail in the depths of his heart.

When Zim was defeated, they had planned to obstruct the goods en route to Richard's lands, angering the knight and forcing a counterattack.

324 - City of Sin

Frontier Knight

Richard counterattacking was the most important aspect of their plan. They had hidden five hundred knights all around the territory to defend from his attack, planning to use it as an excuse to attack him in the future. After all, they were not the Highland Unicorn. Publicly invading another noble's land would cause great troubles at court. It would be even worse if Richard did not use the law to sue them; that would give him the right to legally attack their territories.

The caravan that set off from Richard's territory only had fifty guards. Although desert warriors were brave and powerful, they were nothing much in front of the Golden Eagles who were the elites of the Sequoia Kingdom. The desert people were mere slaves, and when it came to battle might the level 5 warriors could not match up to the level 7-8 members of the cavalry. Their equipment was inferior to the knights, and on top of all that the desert people were a scattered group of tribes with no organisation nor military discipline. A team of elite knights could take on three times their number if such warriors were their enemy, driving them away with their tails between their legs.

Right before the Golden Eagles had engaged, everyone with real power gathered at Fontaine's lands. Earl Layton was at the lead, with Sir Booker who was the leader of the Golden Eagles, great mage Senth, a level 10 cleric of Cerces, as well as Fontaine's uncle alongside him. They felt that it was a given that the 200 Golden Eagles would win over the desert warriors. It would be considered a minor accomplishment if not one was allowed to escape.

This was why the sight of all the knights hanging on wooden stakes left everyone completely shocked. However, Richard had not let any of the knights escape; none of these bigshots had any idea of what had happened in the battle.

They found the battlefield, but all of it had intentionally been destroyed. This terrifying aftermath could not come from what they knew of Richard's power. Outside of shock, the only thing they felt was doubt.

Once he was done venting, Earl Layton turned extremely grim. He had originally expected Richard to fight back, yes, but he had never expected it to hurt so much.

Zim's defeat and this ferocious reply spoke volumes of Richard's abilities. The mage definitely could not be treated like a mere titled knight.

Frontier knight... Layton pondered over this term that had nearly lost all of its original meaning.

Richard was also a frontier knight. He had no illustrated title, no base, no supplies, or even a huge, shocking army. However, this frontier knight had completely annihilated Viscount Zim's army. And somehow, two entire squadrons of Golden Eagles had fallen at his hand.

This heavy news caused Layton to think back to history, a few thousand years ago when humans were starting to expand. The human kingdoms at that time had less than a fifth of the land they did today. They conferred titles on a large number of frontier knights, and every one held their battle flags high as they sent their mediocre armies into the vast, boundless dark world.

That was a generation where heroes came in droves. The frontier knights defeated strong enemies from time to time, seizing fertile land from the other races. Their achievements were unthinkable, beyond common sense. The lands and heads of their enemies were the greatest show of strength; countless unknown frontier knights distinguished themselves in battle one after the other. Not all of them became generational commanders, but many shot out like comets that could intimidate any enemy.

Stories of men advancing to the legendary realm were not uncommon during those years, and so many saints were popping up that not everyone even qualified to leave their names in the history books.

Some legendary humans fell in tough battles, but even more rose to take their place. Some established the foundations of various kingdoms, while others went all out to become demigods. Some even ignited their godfires, flying into the deep blue skies to join the pantheon of the gods. The Goddess of Fire, Selia, was one of the most resplendent names of that era.

And now, thousands of years later, humans were the leaders of the plane. The dark world occupied less than a fifth of the continent. When later generations thought back to the time of expansion, they began to refer to those centuries as the Era of Glory.

In the Era of Glory, frontier knights were the most famous of nobles. When one lead dozens of warriors in wretched equipment on their first steps into the war, it could have been the first step in the appearance of a legendary being in a few decades.

Layton saw a shadow of such glory in Richard. The title of frontier knight had long been worn down by the ebb and flow of time, to the point that most had forgotten its former glory and brilliance. The ghosts of the past seemed to be shining through this young great mage.

However, the Earl was well-versed in history and politics. This light would need a great deal of blood and destruction to fuel its glow.

'We need to put our full power into dealing with him!' Layton came to a conclusion even he himself was unwilling to believe. However, far too many miracles had come from Richard's hands. Looking at it on paper, Zim's army could wipe Richard out several times over and still not be destroyed.

It was now obvious that a few groups of elite knights or swordsmen would not be enough to get rid of him. A proper army had to be built up, with an experienced commander at the lead. It needed a decent mix of types, and powerful warriors, mages, and clerics. Perhaps a saint? Layton's mind whirled as he began to think up a plan.

Although the appearance of a saint meant things couldn't be kept under wraps anymore, he felt a strong sense of danger. This was the scent of an enemy whose terror he did not want to admit; one that he wanted to crush before it grew to surpass him.

Indeed, enemy. Richard's importance had grown in the Earl's mind, turning from cannon fodder that was just a distraction to someone on his official list of enemies to destroy.

Richard had no idea of Layton's thoughts. Although the clash with the Viscount had been a part of his plans, the appearance of the Golden Eagles was far too quick and powerful a reaction for his liking. However, this would not affect his strategy. He did not care for the complications in the kingdom; in the near future, his status as a noble would be cemented. His eyes were on the masterless, vast Bloodstained Lands, a chaotic place with ample resources.

He knew any reaction to the 200 knights on stakes would be a large army that would be challenging to handle. The army would have a considerable number of mages and clerics, and could even have saints.

However, this was his goal. An Earl would have to do everything in his power to gather such an army. It was obvious that this was no simple matter, and needed prudent consideration.

325 - City of Sin

Dilemma

Earls were amongst the highest nobles in the Sequoia Kingdom. If Layton were to enter full-fledged war with Richard, he would definitely attract the attention of the nobles of the kingdom. Most importantly, there seemed to be no reason for this war. Richard was a destitute noble with no wealth, his territory void of people. And one had to get past the Direwolf Duke to actually take over his lands

Internal friction was unavoidable in any country; to a certain extent, it was a process of self-adjustment that followed the law of the jungle. However, civil war for no reason was something no leader with a clear mind would allow.

Besides, Richard was the vassal of a powerful law. Layton would still have to consider the Direwolf Duke's reactions to all this and would have to make some deals in the shadows. That was all a part of politics.

However, Bevry was currently at war with the Whiterock Dukedom, and this war would take a few months at minimum. Since he could not return to his lands at this time, it would be difficult for Duke Grasberg and the rest to discuss Richard with him. Now was their only chance.

Placating the Direwolf Duke, gathering an army, mapping a route, ensuring the troops were rested, even borrowing clerics from a church... These were all troublesome tasks, but necessary to finish. And with their constraints, they had to be done quickly.

Time was the one thing Richard lacked the most. As long as he had time, his power would only grow. The broodmother would continue to create battle drones, and the level 4 throwers were already comparable to elite knights. Richard himself would continue to turn materials into runes, a part of which would strengthen himself and his army. The rest would turn into ten times the gold as the material costs. The gold would then buy more magic materials, and the cycle would continue.

Less than half a month had passed, and only a few thousand gold coins remained from Zim's ransom. Richards new troops had completed elementary training, only needing to experience actual battlefields. That day, when another elite thrower brought a dozen or so of its brethren to his camp, Richard felt the time was right.

When night fell, he gathered all his core followers and had them make preparations to depart for the Bloodstained Lands two days later.

“Boss, how many people are you bringing? Who's going to watch over the territory?” Gangdor asked. Ever since Richard had left the training of the troops to him, this big lug had diligently started learning about war. Of course, he didn't have a great foundation. Outside of getting two novice knights to cram all the knowledge they could into his brain, he still had to learn to read. Elementary language spells could only give one the ability to understand and speak a language, not to read or write.

“Everyone. There won't be a single soldier left behind.”

Richard's decision left everyone shocked. The castle was still being constructed, the roads still being levelled, and residents were being recruited to clear the barren lands of the territory. Everything had only just begun, and the young Baron Fontaine was still eyeing these lands covetously. If nobody was left behind to guard it, then wouldn't others be able to take over their nest?

Seeing everyone's expressions, Richard knew what they were worried about. He smiled and nodded at the map, looking over them as he asked, “Tell me, is there anything worth guarding on this land?”

“The castle's foundations have been completed, and then there's the roads and lumber...” Gangdor's eyes rose at that point in his speech; he finally understood.

“Yes, that's it,” Richard said with a smile, “That's all they'll see when they come. These things are not valuable, or cannot be moved away. More importantly, this is still my rightful territory. Even if they march in with an army, they have to return it to me later. Unless I die, this place has no use to them whatsoever. That is a fundamental order of nobility, and cannot easily be flouted. So my most precious wealth on this land is my army, you! As long as I take all my men out, Zim, his father, his uncle... everyone will be left at a loss. Would they occupy my land? If they leave once they find nothing, that's fine. If they don't, the more troops I leave behind the worse it will be. If I don't leave anyone behind, we can come back at any time and destroy them!

“That's why,” Richard emphasised with a knock on the map, “We'll be going out at full strength!”

Early in the morning two days later, Richard took his army and set off from his territory, disappearing into the red world of the Bloodstained Lands.

Days later, an army of about a thousand people entered Baron Fontaine's lands. This army had a mix of heavy infantry, longbowmen, and even arbalests who were there specifically to deal with cavalry. The army was full of elite veterans, the forces coming directly from earl Yatu.

At the army's head was Sir Hogan, commonly called Old Hogan. The titled knight was already fifty years old, with an illustrious military career spanning more than three decades. He was cautious and reliable when leading troops, and had suffered few losses in his life. Old Hogan had been born a commoner, starting as a common footsoldier and slowly accumulating a reputation until he gained his title. Although this ageing knight did not qualify to join the ranks of the high nobles, Earl Yatu still thought of him at crucial times.

Richard was a tough enemy to deal with. No truly intelligent noble would target him if all they wanted was glory. Only extreme egotists or masochists would fight him instead of a group of brigands or bandits.

Amongst the army that had just arrived in Baron Fontaine's lands were two great mages and two level 10 clerics, as well as six weaker ones. The reinforcements were still gathering. This follow-up army had 200 elite heavy infantry, 600 light infantry, and 200 paladins from Cerces. The Highland Wargod's church had also dispatched its own legion, led by a level 12 cleric. There were great mages amongst that army as well.

The one commanding the reinforcements was Sir Odom, a saint warrior who was Earl Yatu's younger brother. Odom was violent and merciless, not knowing when to give up. Some years ago, he had raped a noble lady from the royal bloodline and was demoted from being a baron to a mere titled knight. However, his power as a saint left the punishment minor. As for the noble lady, her family considered her a disgrace and sent her off to the countryside to be the wife or a remote knight. Odom chased her all the way there, and that titled knight soon met an 'accident' that left her to become Odom's mistress.

Ignoring those 'tiny' imperfections, Odom possessed great individual strength and was a talented commander. The powerful nobles still had a use for him.

Once these reinforcements arrived, Baron Fontaine would have a balanced army of over 3000 soldiers, all with high-quality equipment. There would be four great mages, a legion from the Highland Wargod, and a saint amongst their ranks, as well as the reliable Old Hogan in command. Even if they attacked frontally, they would be able to crush Richard's army. Even the Direwolf Duke couldn't wipe them out without effort.

326 - City of Sin

Dilemma(2)

The upper class of the Sequoia Kingdom fell into idle chatter once more. Of course, they had been taught a lesson to not directly ridicule the Highland Unicorn making a mountain out of a molehill, but the countless innuendos and gazes were obvious. Everyone eagerly awaited the result of this fight between elephant and ant, as if they were watching a new drama. They didn't care about victory or loss; no, that was obvious. They were waiting to see how long the grand mage behind Richard would take to show himself.

However, there were also people calmly watching this farce. Although the Direwolf Duke was not at Deepcliff City, the more powerful of his vassals were visiting the city more and more. Bordering Richard's lands were a marquess and some viscounts and barons. Many amongst them were silently increasing their defences.

There was a joyous atmosphere in Twilight Castle. Once Old Hogan's army had reached them, the former gloom had been swept away.

Within the most luxurious conference room in the castle, Hogan, Layton, Booker, Senth, the cleric Bayenne, and others with power were sat discussing their next move at a round table. The young Baron's uncle had no right to enter the conference room, treated more like an errand boy. As for Fontaine and his mother, they had been chased out of the castle. On the surface, they were on a vacation in the country, hoping for the fresh air to help the young Baron grow strong and calm his mother's grief.

Earl Layton had already finished a brief on Richard's territory, terrain, and troops. He also listed any important forces that belonged to Richard. He didn't want to keep the introduction simple, but there was pitifully little information on Richard's core party. Most had been taken from the surviving warriors from the battle with Sinclair.

They also had information from Deepcliff City, but by the looks of it it was not as reliable as that from Viscount Zim and the released prisoners of war.

Sir Hogan, whose hair was already half-grey, was stood in front of the map with a magic pen in hand, marking out a few important choke points as he chose their path of advance. The plan was already prepared, and they were in the midst of carrying out. Hogan was only repeating himself for the sake of the mage and the cleric.

These magic classes were very troublesome. They did not understand anything about warfare, but if they didn't know the battle plan they would grow cross. Mages could normally choose their position on the battlefield; outside of cooperating with the main forces to launch bombardments, duels with the opponent's mages were something they decided on their own.

Sir Hogan drew a wiggly line from Earl Yatu's territory to that of Baron Fontaine, “Gentlemen, Sir Odom's army has already gathered. We are awaiting the arrival of the Highland Wargod's clerics and another great mage. They are estimated to be here in ten days.”

“Ha! Once Odom's army gets here, we'll be able to teach that Richard an unforgettable lesson!” Sir Booker said with a chuckle, spreading his arms, “Let's hope Richard can build his magnificent castle in ten days!”

Loud laughter rang out within the conference room. Although they had been gathered into such a massive army, everyone who had come late was confused by Layton making such a huge fuss about this. The death of the Golden Eagles had already become a taboo topic that nobody was told about. Outside of the core members, most of the people here only knew that Richard had annihilated Viscount Zim's army.

“Should we give Richard a little lesson first? That'll exert some pressure,” a great mage suggested. This 40-year-old man had complicated resentment towards Richard.

“No! Our first order of business is to strengthen our defences. Firstly, we have to station more troops at Twilight Castle. Secondly, we have to protect the path from here to the Earl's territory.”

“Would Richard actually dare attack Sir Odom's army?” another great mage said with a laugh. He felt like he was making a joke, but Layton and Hogan did not laugh. The latter had been informed about everything upon arrival, and did not believe it was impossible for Richard to do something in that vein.

Sir Hogan cleared his throat, not addressing the attempt at humour, “I believe we should station 400 guards around Twilight Castle, I will decide the constitution. I hope the great mages and clerics can stay in the city for a while; I wish Richard would attack the castle over Sir Odom's army.”

Everyone in the conference room nodded in agreement. While 400 wasn't a large number of defenders, there would be enough mages and clerics to cause serious damage to Richard if he came knocking. Although nobody thought Odom would fail, it was still best to avoid being attacked on unfamiliar terrain.

A light knock suddenly rang through the conference room. A handsome young noble, an officer of the army, entered and saluted to Sir Hogan, “My Lord, our scouts have just sent new information. A few days ago, Richard took all his troops and left for the Bloodstained Lands. His exact destination is unknown.”

““What? All of his troops?”” both Hogan and Layton questioned, their faces warping.

The young officer looked nervous but continued, “Yes. The scout took the risk to enter deep into his territory and even saw the castle's construction site. Not a single soldier is in his lands.”

Layton slowly fell back into his chair, looking serious, “He actually took all his men away. Isn't he afraid...” Halfway through his sentence, he did not say any more.

What did Richard's land have except stone, food, and the foundations of a castle? Could they move a large pit? Commoners and masons were valuable assets, but how many could there even be in his lands? Even if all of them were caught and brought back, they would not make up for the expenses of this army.

On top of that, such an act would be in direct defiance of the Sequoia Kingdom's laws. The people were the personal property of the ruling lord, nobody could take them away. Any noble, especially one with power, would do all they could to protect the laws of the kingdom regarding land and subjects. These commoners were the cornerstone of society, the base upon which all nobles stood.

“What should we do now?” Layton asked Hogan.

“I don't know either,” Old Hogan laughed wryly.

“When Sir Odom's army arrives, we will have 3500 people here. Fontaine's lands don't produce enough to support the expenses of such a large army,” Layton said with a frown.

“We can get that kid Fontaine to give up his family's savings,” Bayenne interrupted coldly, "after all, we're stationed here to protect them.”

Many in the conference room were nodding. Layton and Hogan exchanged a glance, but did not say much. Little Fontaine was just a child, and his uncle's level 11 strength was nothing. This young Baron who had recently sided with them was just a pawn in Duke Grasberg's eyes.

It took a lot of gold to keep up this army, something even Earl Yatu and Viscount Zim could not handle. The cost of the normal soldiers itself was a part of that, but most of the money was spent on the great mages and clerics from the Highland Wargod. The greed of these magic classes far exceeded the power of their spells.

327 - City of Sin

Level Up

Richard had walked away just like that, but this left Layton and Hogan in a dilemma. If they did not pursue and attack, they would have nothing to do. But if they did, Richard's army was as mobile as a group of horse bandits. The Bloodstained Lands were so vast, how could they ever catch up?

......

As he walked on the red earth of the Bloodstained Lands, breathing that familiar, acrid air, Richard felt like he had returned to the time when he was being chased by Red Cossack all over the place.

Even now he did not know who that enemy was. He only knew it was the one person outside of Sinclair who left him that suffocated. They had backed him into a corner with a group of unorganised horse bandits, unlike Sinclair who relied on sheer power to crush her enemies. It was thanks to that pack of wolves that his ability to direct and control the battlefield had grown rapidly.

As he stepped onto this red land, Richard felt the Archeron bloodline deep within him stirring in anticipation. It was calling out to him ferociously, thirsty for blood and destruction, bewitching him to destroy all the enemies in his path as he moved forward.

The army advanced in silence. Behind approximately 400 desert warriors and a hundred barbarians was a square formation of 120 throwers led by four elites. Within was a supply caravan of ten light carriages fully loaded with food and water.

The troops were moving at a normal soldier's jog. This was considered fast for a normal army, but it was only average for Richard's soldiers. This little disparity grew particularly obvious the longer a war stretched on.

As they all marched on, Richard was sat upright on his warhorse and moving in tandem with his troops. His horsemanship had grown to great heights by now, to the point that he was a rare presence among mages.

However, Norland's grand mages usually had their own unique mounts. And even without one, a pacifying spell could tame the most aggressive of horses. Faelor's mages were quite inferior in that regard. Magic was still grand and extravagant, and it seemed unthinkable to use it for convenience. Personal enjoyment came about through ordinary methods.

Faelor's great mages used carriages when in an army, having high demands for their comfort during the march. They could not match up to Richard's mobility at all.

Richard was connected to the broodmother's mind as they advanced. She had been in deep slumber all this while, in the midst of advancing to level 5.

“Master, I finished digesting all the magic crystals you sent. I finished levelling up, you can choose what aspects you want me to adjust.” She sent a large amount of information through their link. Having advanced to level 5, the broodmother's mind had grown more powerful and she could communicate far more clearly with him. The range of their communication had increased from 200 kilometres to 300 kilometres.

Richard's spirits were lifted greatly by the news, and he went through the information he received.

It seemed like level 5 was a watershed. The broodmother had acquired many special abilities, one of which was to analyse her advancement. The creation of Phaser had played a crucial role in this evolution, contributing almost two-thirds of the key constituents she needed to advance on her own.

She also listed a few essential factors that would contribute to her advancements. Divinity from a god, divinity from an ancestral soul, the power of a divine soul, powerful creatures, elemental items, magic crystals, so on and so forth. The regular food she ate contributed almost nothing to what she needed. The list showed that the growth from just creating combat drones had decreased substantially as well. Given current circumstances, she would need five or six years to advance if she created combat units continuously day and night.

The new level also came with great personal growth for the broodmother. Her acid spray could now travel upto twenty metres, harming even the most poisonous of lizards. The venom she produced from her own body now was only slightly inferior to Sinclair's manticore at full strength, and her mind flay had been strengthened significantly.

She could defeat most people at level 14 one-on-one. Nobody under the saint level could do anything to her, and even if they could she never battled alone.

The only disadvantage was that her mobility dropped again, back to ten kilometres an hour. This was because she grew in size once more. The broodmother was currently ten metres tall, and a whopping sixty metres long. This was a huge monster, larger even than some giant dragons.

The broodmother also added several new species of combat units. Richard felt like a particular species of poisonous bat was something he urgently needed. It was an aerial combat drone that had great speed, powerful venom, and could be manufactured in great numbers. She could create as many as thirty every day, albeit only two if they were elites. Richard's eyes were set on these elite bats.

The elite bats were about level 8 in power; common beasts could not match up to them in the least. Moreover, their vision was particularly more acute than the ordinary bats. These elites could also be given an additional boost, giving them night vision, but then only one could be spawned per day.

However, even a single one would make for an irreplaceable spy. This was because elite drones could sustain a mental connection with him, transmitting anything they saw or heard. These elite bats weren't strong of mind, only able to communicate over 30 kilometres, but a permanent scouting range of thirty kilometres was extremely formidable.

Richard thus had the broodmother create four elite bats, before creating two more with night vision. He then continued browsing through the information.

After advancing to level 5, the broodmother could upgrade herself once more. This included additional defence, magical protection, magic resistance, increased speed, and enhanced range and damage from the acid spray. She could even develop flying spikes that could be shot hundreds of metres away. This way, her personal combat power would be strengthened to its maximum. However, if there was a choice Richard would prioritize additional capabilities in drone creation.

Just as he was pondering over this, the broodmother spoke up in his mind, “Master, you might want to consider upgrading the worker drones or creating a combat drone of your own.”

Richard grew intrigued, looking through the two sections of information that she had mentioned once more.

328 - City of Sin

Level Up(2)

The worker drones had been around since the broodmother's birth, but because she was always spawning battle drones more hadn't been created after they dried out. An upgrade would increase their size and speed, also giving them a storage capability similar to that of a worker bee. They would be able to break down the food they ate into nutrition in their bodies, feeding the broodmother when they returned to her. That way, the problem of her food would largely be resolved.

As for designing his own combat drones, the broodmother had blueprints for several fundamental elements that he could combine as he liked. One special ability could allow him to create new drones based on his own current measurements. However, every custom drone cost more to unlock than the broodmother's imprinted soldiers, needing seventy magic crystals compared to fifty.

Richard grew hesitant for a moment, but decided to try making a new drone anyway. The broodmother still had about ninety crystals' worth of energy left in her body, which would be enough.

The first choice was the form, for which there were dozens of options. Outside of some strange insect-like forms, the rest seemed to be the physiques of beings she had eaten. This included troggs, goblins, lizards, and so on and so forth. For this, Richard did not hesitate to choose a humanoid form. That way he wouldn't have to explain where his soldiers were coming from.

He also chose hands instead of claw-like weapons. An enhanced keratin layer under the skin gave them a natural layer of leather armour. Their speed and strength were increased as well, making them the equivalent of a barbarian.

Lastly, he decided to strengthen their intelligence and energy storage. They could thus act like the throwers, able to last weeks on a single big meal, greatly boosting the flexibility of the army. The increased intelligence would allow them to learn to use complicated weapons, and also allow them to accumulate fighting experience. Although the broodmother's normal drones could not grow in level, there was a vast difference between a veteran and a rookie. This was especially true in the tactical department, where one could be severely outsmarted.

The broodmother's name for this new type of soldier was not exactly creative: strengthened humanoid warrior. They were about level 8 upon creation, level 9 if equipped with weapons and armour like Richard envisioned. After some time training and fighting, they would approach a knight's power. It was just that they could not lead armies.

Given the power of these new soldiers, the level 5 broodmother could only spawn three humanoids a day. They were slightly weaker than adult barbarians, but Richard was quite satisfied with them. The broodmother's troops would grow in number until they held an absolute advantage.

Instructing the broodmother to create a week's worth of workers and then put all its effort into these strengthened warriors, Richard led his army into the depths of the Bloodstained Lands. The crimson world seemed much more pleasing to the eye this time around.

Noon the next day, two giant bats the size of a horse's head flew straight towards Richard, circling him a few times before landing and hanging from each side of his warhorse. The mount was immediately alarmed, but Richard cast a pacifying spell to calm it down.

He looked over one of these bats carefully. The creature was many times larger than the normal bat, with two long fangs on the sides of its mouth. Normal vampiric bats were grey, but this one was deep black with a few streaks of scarlet running from its head to the rear of its claws. This made it seem particularly ferocious.

These elite bats had much higher intelligence than normal ones. They could be considered intelligent life with a bat's appearance, so when Richard held it up to study it curled its two rear claws and retracted its poisonous fangs. These claws and teeth were its most formidable weapons.

Richard was very satisfied with the creature. He threw it into the air, and it flew out to orbit the troops in a thirty kilometre range. It would come back to rest after a while, and the other would fly out.

The same time the next day, two more elites turned up. Richard's surveillance of the surroundings grew much tighter, and with a supplement of over ten wandering wind wolves there was almost no chance of him being ambushed.

The day after, a bat even larger than the elites caught up to his team. It had an additional pair of tiny blood red eyes on its head, the source of its night vision.

By now, Richard was extremely confident about his trip to the Bloodstained Lands. He was in no hurry to reach Bluewater, instead wandering aimlessly through the area nearby.

In order to meet his goals, he needed to train and warm up his army before the war. It didn't necessarily have to be Michla's forces as designated by Amon, other horse bandits were fine as well. He wouldn't mind attacking a caravan under Red Cossack either.

The Bloodstained Lands was originally a world of chaos and bloodthirst. Once Sinclair destroyed its delicate balance, it had turned into a completely lawless world. Only after a new balance of power was established atop a pool of blood would order be restored again.

A caravan would also provide intelligence. Zim definitely wouldn't let matters rest here. The large army could not possibly wait until Richard returned, nor could it dissolve without doing anything. If that was the case, even his father Earl Yatu would lose all face. Thus, this large army would eventually chase him into the Bloodstained Lands.

And if they did, Richard had no plans of letting them return.

War was a good source of wealth. The new humanoids were certainly strong, about as powerful as elite knights, but the problem was that too few of them were created in a day. The broodmother needed 50 more crystals to increase her output, and thankfully magic crystals were a mass-produced product on Faelor. In other words, one could purchase them with gold.

The army advanced through the Bloodstained Lands for a few days at leisure. Richard's connection with the broodmother started to break, indicating that they were almost 300 kilometres from the Land of Turmoil.

Just as everyone was falling under the illusion that the Bloodstained Lands was a beautiful, peaceful place, the elite bats suddenly brought a message to them. A large, armed caravan was on their right, and through the bat's eyes Richard could see a blood-red flag flying atop the caravan. It was Red Cossack, and judging from their direction and constitution they were cutting through the Bloodstained Lands to return to a human kingdom.

Any caravan that could avoid the normal roads to cut across the Bloodstained Lands was extremely fat, very difficult to chew.

329 - City of Sin

Toll

The elite bat hovered around the target, watching their every move. This was a large caravan of more than fifty supply carriages and twenty just for troops. The guard was comprised of nearly 400 cavalrymen, and atop the carriages themselves were arbalests.

Perhaps it was because they were nearing the human kingdoms, but the guards of the caravan seemed relaxed as they chatted and joked with one another. Richard could vaguely make out through the bat's sharp ears that they were discussing the bonus after the mission was accomplished. These conversations told him that the bounty was valuable.

Richard reined his horse in, “Gangdor, stop the troops. We have something to do.”

“HALT!” Gangdor roared before taking his battleaxe off his back, “Who are we attacking this time, boss?”

“An old friend. Red Cossack!”

Gangdor, Waterflower, the trolls, and even all the warriors who had fought in the bitter war at the Bloodstained Lands had their eyes light up. They had killed many Red Cossack men, but had lost a lot of comrades as well. Richard's army was now more powerful than ever, and the same went for his party. They would naturally be a menace to Red Cossack.

“Don't get too excited, they're still thirty kilometres away!” Richard couldn't help but shake his head at the murderous aura of his subordinates. He took out his map and looked through it, deciding on a route.

The troops then took off, arriving at the designated location before getting an hour of rest. When the Red Cossack stopped three kilometres away for lunch, they had already travelled an hour longer than Richard's army without rest nor food. When time came for battle, their soldiers would use up their energy more quickly. This was a very small detail in a quick skirmish, but if the battle dragged on it would grow to have a heavy impact.

The enemy scouts discovered them when they were two kilometres from the temporary camp. The caravan was stirred up momentarily, but it quickly died down as everyone grew unsure of what to do. Only the guards mounted their horses one by one, tightly gripping their weapons.

“Looks like they're full of confidence,” Richard said drily from afar.

“Can we win?” Flowsand asked. This caravan was enormous to her; it would not be easy to defeat them in one fell swoop.

Richard had already estimated the difference in strength between them, “You'll have a lot of work after the battle.”

“I have three others under me now, don't you mean all of us have to work hard?”

“Even combined, all of them aren't worth half of you.”

A group of cavalrymen rushed out from the camp, reining in their horses when they were ten metres from Richard. Their leader, a burly fellow, roared out, “Who the hell are you people? This is a caravan of Red Cossack! You cannot come any nearer. Tell me your identities, now! Or get ready to face the consequences!”

This was a real threat. Caravans and bandits were often interchangeable in the Bloodstained Lands, especially with the cruel Red Cossack. They often turned into brigands if they met caravans with profits to be made.

“My name is Richard Archeron. I'm a frontier knight from the Sequoia Kingdom,” Richard said peacefully.

“A frontier knight!” the rider laughed heartily, “Red Cossack doesn't have much to do with the Sequoia Kingdom, so don't try to threaten us with any fancy titles! We've been in a good mood for the past few days... Let me give you a word of advice: leave. Now!”

“What a coincidence. I'm in a good mood as well. Right now, I'm using my title as frontier knight to demand a toll.” Google search 𝑓𝒓e𝑒w𝑒𝒃𝑛𝒐𝘃ℯ𝙡. c𝚘m

“What toll?” the leader roared in disbelief, “This is the Bloodstained Lands! We have to pay to pass through here? Where's your checkpoint?”

“Checkpoint? Gangdor, go plant my flag.” Richard then pointed at the new flag on the red soil, “Here it is.”

The captain grew so angry he laughed uneasily, “Who are you to collect a toll?”

The caravan had a bountiful harvest this time, and with their goal not far away they weren't interested in a fresh battle. If not for that, he would have had his men charge forth the moment a toll was mentioned.

“The Bloodstained Lands is the territory I marked out,” Richard explained seriously, “I can charge any amount of toll to whomever I want in my territory. For now, I'm setting it to be a hundred gold coins per goods carriage. Go back and get the money ready.

“Also, let me inspect the goods in your carriages. If there's anything valuable, there will be additional taxes.”

Richard's serious attitude and speech were completely absurd. The Red Cossack leader turned red all over, his mind blanking for a moment without a way to react. He huffed a few times, saying fiercely, “You want a toll? I have no gold, you can take my life. If you want to, bring it on!”

“Good!” Richard unexpectedly said with a nod.

Without any need for a command, sixty throwers suddenly tossed their axes out. With a mere ten metres of distance to cross, the flying hatchets held unbelievable might. These axes were not thrown without aim; with four each targeting every cavalryman, there was little chance the attacks would miss.

Seeing the sky of flying axes, the Red Cossack riders felt a large shadow looming over their heads. The fear of death paralysed them, stopping even their breaths! Four of the axes produced the sharpest whistles of the lot. These came from the four elites, all aimed at the knight who had spoken to Richard.

Once the wave of flying axes passed, there was nothing blocking Richard's sight anymore.

“What happened?!”

“He killed captain Johnny!”

“Get ready for war!”

The roars grew louder and louder. The guards already on their horses rushed forward, creating a barrier in front of the supply vehicles. The labourers and carriage drivers readied their shields and machetes. Some of them even climbed atop the vehicles, crossbows in hand. Even the carriage drivers of caravans who dared to cut through the Bloodstained Lands could become bandits at any time. And Red Cossack was known for their violence and strength.

Richard did not rush into the battle, waving for two groups of desert warriors to flank the left and right so they could block off all escape. The barbarians lifted huge shields in a neat formation, pressing forwards with no hurry. The soldiers of the caravan were not fully dressed in armour, so the barbarians could fight them based on physique alone. And there were two waves of throwers to get through before that was even a possibility.

Powerhouses like Gangdor and the trolls were placed between the ordinary soldiers or behind the troops, awaiting their chance to deliver a fatal blow to the enemy.

330 - City of Sin

Toll(2)

Richard got off his own horse, escorted by a few barbarians as he drew closer to the caravan. It wasn't easy to cast spells off the bumpy back of a horse. It was at that moment that one of the Red Cossack cavalrymen roared out, following which an entire squadron started charging towards him.

The commander was prepared to cut through the line of barbarians, wanting to kill the young noble in mage robes in one go. With their master lost, these slaves would turn into scattered sand. He had plentiful experience with capturing barbarians, so he was very confident in the might of his troops. Red Cossack caught more than 10,000 barbarians every year from the ancestral plains. These barbarians were sturdy and outstanding warriors, but that did not mean they could compare to trained soldiers. He wanted to show the foolish noble the might of a true army!

The sight of hundreds of cavalrymen charging at full speed was rather terrifying. The bloodlust in the air, the thunderous roar of the hooves hitting the ground... it would be enough to terrify more than half of these barbarian warriors. This heavy infantry may already be in formation, but they wouldn't be able to help but panic. On the battlefield, breaking formation was a death sentence. As his cavalry grew faster and faster, the commander's lips had already parted in a bloodthirsty laugh.

Richard had a cold smile on his face as well. His barbarians were genuine soldiers; anyone who thought they were still the same tribalistic savages would have to pay a huge price. This fellow wanted to compete with him in terms of troop quality and command?

Even as the cavalrymen reached their peak speed, the throwers had already tossed out the first wave of hatchets. The whistling axes turned into a shower of death, taking out thirty to forty soldiers in one go. At the same time, Richard quickly took out the Book of Holding. Eighteen direbears suddenly spawned in front of the cavalry's charge, all lined up in a row. This instant judgement and control was an art unto itself!

Numerous dull thuds rang out. The cavalrymen were going too fast to dodge, crashing into the enormous direbears. While the bears were all knocked down, the knights and their horses were both sent crashing to the ground, bones shattering. The second row quickly reined in their horses, but their comrades rammed into them from behind. Another round of thuds rang out, accentuated by the breaking of bones.

The fierce assault formation of the cavalry was thrown into chaos instantly. However, before they could even recover the throwers continued with the remaining waves of hatchets. Although accuracy was compromised to an extent, that was no problem for a bombardment with no specific target.

360 hatchets flew through the sky, turning into a dark cloud. Once they landed on the incoming cavalry, only a few dazed men were left standing. All eighteen direbears had died in battle, while less than a hundred of the attackers remained.

Although this was not their first time seeing the throwers' attack together, Gangdor, Olar, the trolls, the barbarians, and even Richard himself were stunned with disbelief.

However, Richard quickly recovered from his stupor, “Barbarians! Line formation! FORWARD!”

The voices of the barbarians rang out in a united battle cry as they raised their shields, forming tight rows that took large strides towards the cavalrymen that still remained.

Only a dozen of the Red Cossack troops had the courage to maintain morale in this terrible situation, growling as they charged towards the barbarians. However, what met them was a steel-like barrier. The front row of the barbarians raised their shields and pressed on, while their brethren just behind placed their shields to guard their backs. They were all glimmering with light, being empowered by the elven warsong.

*BOOM!*

The violent, forceful collision ended in the barbarians' victory. The wall of shields knocked the cavalrymen backwards, and they quickly moved the shields aside to brandish their axes. The row of axes glinted as they struck in unison to draw blood.

Seeing his barbarian warriors defeating the attacking cavalry troops face-to-face in an instant, Richard was very pleased.

However, at that very moment, a powerful sense of danger surged in his mind. Before he could even detect the source of the problem, he saw a faint grey light shining on his body. The moment it touched him the chill of death pierced into his soul. He trembled, the minds connected to his vibrating as they struck back to disperse this will.

A pale gold flame immediately fell on his body, breaking up the deathly will. This was Flowsand's divine spell, Death Guard, able to resist any magic that could cause instant death. Even though it wasn't a powerful defence, it did serve its purpose. The target could only suffer grave injuries at worst.

Flowsand had been unimaginably fast in casting this spell. Her divine flames were burning on Richard practically the same instant the grey light shone on him. However, even so Richard turned pale, snorting two lines of blood from his nose.

It was not easy to counteract a grade 7 death spell. Even if the instant death was disrupted, even with the many souls linked to his resisting it, Richard was still heavily injured.

Yet another brush with death! And this time, it was his soul! Please visit 𝗳re𝐞𝓌e𝚋n૦ѵ𝗲l. co𝐦

A very complicated emotion arose in Richard's heart, a mix of fear and rage. His short hair began to float in the wind as he locked onto the great mage amongst the supply carriages, seeing the remnants of a scroll burning in the man's hands!

“Flowsand!” Richard yelled fervently.

There was no need for anything more. Flowsand immediately cast a divine spell on him to produce a magic barrier. They had grown so used to each other that they did not require words to communicate. She retreated the moment she cast the spell, putting some distance between herself and Richard. This time, she did not try to cast Outburst.

Richard's mind was completely focused on the opposing great mage, an inferno raging within his eyes like a volcano about to erupt. He gritted his teeth, squeezing out incantations at an unthinkable speed paired with hurried yet precise gestures. It took less than a second for a fireball to form in his hands!

Fireball after fireball whistled forth, forming a straight line between Richard and the opposing great mage. The opponent's magic barrier started flickering once the first few had landed, changing his expression. “How is this possible?!” the man yelled out. A mere three fireballs had left his grade 6 defensive spell on the brink of destruction! It could normally defend against six to seven fireballs in succession!

His life endangered, the great mage burst forth with everything he had. Despite the disturbance of the fire he successfully completed the chant for another magic barrier. However, the shield's lustre only stabilised for three seconds before it dissipated under incessant attacks.

The great mage was hard pressed to reply, his forehead beading with sweat. All he could see was fireball after fireball in a seemingly endless line. His mind had already been stunted by fear and shock, and he could only shout as he instantly cast a weaker barrier spell. However, even as it flickered into existence that spell was completely shattered as well.

The magical flames licked at the great mage's skin, leaving him in immense pain. He fell into despair, going as far as to mock himself, “I've fallen under an illusion!”

He was far too busy at that point to realise that people grew happy on the verge of insanity. His other mistake was not realising that all of Richard's fireballs had been enhanced with magic penetration, naturally being more painful than those of someone else.

By the time the eleventh fireball had exploded, the supply carriage had been reduced to a pile of black ash and charcoal without any hints as to its previous form. The great mage had disappeared as well, but two more fireballs still ravaged the earth that had already been melted by the waves of fire, completely wiping out all vestiges of anything that had once existed on the ground.

Richard was not perverted enough to torture corpses, but he'd had no idea when he would be able to destroy the great mage's defences. The fireballs had been launched far too quickly, and he hadn't been able to stop himself from wasting a few more.

However, the sound of a dozen explosions focused on one point had basically covered everything else on the battlefield. Most of the soldiers on either side had stopped fighting, looking at the place where the great mage's carriage had once been with stunned faces.

In a mere eleven seconds, thirteen fireballs had turned a level 13 mage to nothingness.

331 - City of Sin

Raging Flames

Richard spat out a breath of red-hot air, as if abyssal fires were burning in his lungs. He started to feel empty, waves of fatigue enveloping him. The violent surges of his bloodline had faded away, but the side-effects did not go away.

All his fury had congealed into a violent eruption. His blood had grown as hot and dense as lava, destined to destroy all obstacles in its path. Such was the fury of the Archerons.

He was panting hard, still overtaken by the desire to crush his opponent with his own hands. And indeed, that was what he had done. Not just any mage could cast a continuous stream of fireballs that could burn the opponent to ashes. Nobody had seen such a duel before, nobody had likely even imagined it.

That was how he unlocked another ability of his Archeron bloodline — Blaze. It would increase his casting speed for offensive spells, somewhat similar to Flowsand's Outburst although nowhere near as powerful. However, unlike Outburst that had a week-long cooldown Blaze could be used once a day.

His heart was still raging when the wave of heat dissipated. At its most extreme, violence was an infectious art that could shake the very soul. This thrill of destruction was something Richard had never experienced before.

His elven blood strengthened his summoning magic, giving him a calm elegance and control. On the other hand, his Archeron bloodline strengthened his offense and turned crude violence into art. These were two sides of a coin, two extremes that could never combine.

Eventually recovering from the violent phase, Richard didn't so much as change his expression as he sent the order to attack. He then took out a mana potion, downing it in one go. Flowsand also cast a vitality spell on him, and alongside his own rune he recuperated his mana at five times the normal speed. In just a few minutes he had enough mana on hand to cast three or four more fireballs.

Many of the Red Cossack men were still in shock from the scene. Only when the desert warriors and barbarians closed in did they brandish their weapons, trying to resist the aggression despite being unsettled.

It was at that point that a thunderous boom rang through the battlefield, so much that Richard felt his ear starting to hurt. This sound was even louder than the consecutive fireballs! Green smoke rose into the sky, but any vision of its source was blocked by the carriages. It was impossible to see what was going on.
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Richard felt his connection with two wind wolves disappear. The two had been leading a group of desert warriors to flank around the caravan, and after his command to attack they had just begun the attack. His heart sank as he quickly jumped back onto his warhorse. Looking into the distance, he saw the fifty desert warriors alongside them all fall off their horses, blood spurting out of their bodies.

Nearly all of them had been killed in an instant.

For a second, Richard even grew suspicious that they had been attacked by a group of throwers. How were his desert warriors demounted in a moment? The attackers had to be within that green smoke, but the carriages were lined up there to act as a defensive structure. He couldn't see what was behind.

He immediately had his soldiers speed up, while his core party joined the battle as well. Two of the elite bats flew overhead to see what exactly was going on behind the carriages.

The image from the bats left Richard shocked. Behind the carriages was a row of about fifty dwarves. They had strange-looking guns in hand, aiming at the desert warriors that were tens of metres away and pulling the triggers once more. Balls of lead were shot out of the flared mouths, forming a dark cloud that flew towards the desert warriors.

Countless tiny spurts of blood bloomed on the desert warriors' bodies. All of them looked stunned, but they couldn't stop themselves from falling off their horses. They had evidently never seen weapons like these before, and had no idea how to defend against them.

Even if one curled themselves up against their horse like they were dodging arrows, it was impossible to completely avoid an attack you couldn't see. The smell of smoke and the loud sounds left many of the horses chaotic as well, making them hard to control.

Up against a similar number of dwarves, an entire fifty desert warriors had been reduced to less than ten in two salvos.

Each of the dwarves had two long guns and two short ones. Done with the long guns, they skillfully pulled out their shorter ones and sent a concentrated wave of bullets towards the surviving warriors. The last of the opponent fell to the ground with a loud thud, the inertia leaving his body sliding across the ground to leave a red trail. The body ended up about three metres away from the closest dwarf.

He was just three metres away, but he no longer had the energy to cover that distance. A dull thump rang out as a leather boot covered in metal struck his head hard, sending him on his way.

“Dwarven gunmen!” Richard cried out involuntarily.

He had no time to wonder where these dwarves had come from, immediately ordering the troops on the frontlines to fight faster and harder. The right flank also charged forth with full strength.

The dwarven gunmen had tremendous might, but their weakness was very obvious as well. Their guns took a long time to reload, and now that they were done with all four they were at their most vulnerable.

Sharp screeches rang out from the sky, and four elite bats pounced down and charged into the ranks of the gunmen, biting and tearing at them with their poisonous claws and teeth. A warrior of darkness appeared in their midst as well; summoning magic had much greater range than offensive magic.

Gangdor activated Gaia's Force and his strength rune, his bloodthirsty axe chopping away like the wind. Full-powered vertical chops were sending even his own heavy body jumping off the ground, and every strike rent a knight and his horse in two. The trolls were even more ferocious, crashing into the opponents in their way to send both man and horse flying.

They advanced side by side, quickly opening a path through the Red Cossack troops as they darted towards the carriages. Gangdor's large axe and Medium Rare's metal hammer hit the carriage in front at practically the same time, destroying it in one strike. They didn't have any time to make a detour because of Richard's command, choosing to just go through the obstacles.

With a new hole in the wall of carriages, an indistinct silhouette flashed past the two burly fellows. It was so quick it was unthinkable.

That was Waterflower. Although they were both angry at it, neither Gangdor nor Medium Rare could do anything about her speed. However, just as they were preparing to press on another figure brushed past them to enter the ranks of the dwarves.

Phaser!

332 - City of Sin

Raging Flames(2)

Gangdor and Medium Rare exchanged a glance, leaping into the fray without another word to begin a wanton massacre. The four gods of death showed off their might, leaving most of the dwarves dead before the barbarians could even draw close.

Richard was astonished; he had never expected this situation. These dwarven gunmen were only level 5 on average, and without any ammunition in their guns his four followers were far too powerful for them to bear. Outside of Phaser who was stabbing enemies one by one, the rest were harvesting lives in batches.

“Leave a few of them alive!” Richard commanded immediately, both mentally and with a loud yell. Only then did they hold back.

Disregarding the accident with the dwarves, Richard had killed the great mage while most of the cavalry were exterminated as well. The Red Cossack caravan was at the end of the line, and all that was left was a one-sided massacre. Their leader had been level 14, but Gangdor, the trolls, Zendrall, and Waterflower had all ganged up on him in the middle of the battle. Having fought side by side for so long, the entire party had developed good chemistry. After the battle with Sinclair, they also knew to eliminate the opponent's powerhouses first.

The battle ended very quickly. Most of the remaining guards and merchants chose to surrender, while those who were stubborn ended up dead. Richard's army was normally full of enthusiasm for such massacres. They suffered few casualties, but many of the enemies had died. Even though Richard called for them to stop almost immediately, less than ten of the dwarven gunmen had survived.

Richard took his horse in a circle through the battlefield, studying the situation before giving out a stream of orders, “Check the carriages, look for prisoners, heal the wounded! Also, bring me all the dwarves!”

The ten dwarven gunmen were pulled before Richard, all with huge bruises on their faces. Dwarves had terrible tempers and were very stubborn; they kept muttering under their breaths even after they were taken captive. Naturally, the desert warriors escorting them were no gentlemen. A few kicks and punches served well enough to calm them down.

“Who are you? Where did you come from? Why was a Red Cossack caravan here?” Richard asked in Faelor common.

All the dwarves began talking at once, but none of them were speaking in common so Richard did not understand a word. He immediately cast a language comprehension spell, listening hard for a long while before he barely understood the language.

These dwarves all came from the Ashen Plateau, one of the largest stretches of the dark world in Faelor. Deep into the Plateau were kingdoms of many non-human races. These fellows came from the largest dwarven tribe, the Anvil of Lightning.

A team of slavers from Red Cossack had run into the Anvil of Lightning, coercing them with alcohol, gold, and other luxury items to sell all their ore. A company of gunmen had also been sent out as mercenaries.

Richard frowned, pondering over what he had just learned. The dwarves were a huge race in Norland as well. Even there they could create and use guns, but theirs were far weaker than what he had just seen. The Anvil's volleys were more powerful than those of his throwers! The throwers were comparable to level 8 warriors, and ordinary archers could not compare in equal numbers.

Richard's eyes suddenly twinkled as he ordered a nearby guard to pass him some of the guns.

The barbarian quickly gave him one each of the long and short guns. He eyed them carefully, quickly taking them apart. Moments later, the two guns had been reduced to a pile of parts. His studies at the Deepblue had been comprehensive and profound, dipping into various fields. Mechanics was one such field of study.

Having taken them apart, Richard found that these guns were quite different from those of Norland. They were far more complicated, requiring precise work and exquisite materials. The barrels required cutting, grinding, and other techniques unlike those in Norland, which were just a bunch of crude parts without much processing. The bore was made of an alloy he had never seen before, extremely resistant to high temperature and pressure, allowing it to hold more ammunition.

Richard was surprised as he fiddled with the guns in his hands. These weapons seemed nearly a millennium ahead of Norland's, in part because Norland's progress on guns was very slow. The current state of firearms back home was not much different than it was three centuries ago.

The grand mages of the Deepblue thought of dwarven guns as a joke. They were just coarse metal pipes crudely put on top of wooden handles. They were only effective within twenty metres, and even then only against leather and chainmail. A knight in full plate could completely disregard a gun's might.

As long as they were more than ten metres apart, a gun could not destroy the ranged defence barriers of a mage. However, given how slow gunmen moved, how could one even attempt to get so close to a mage? The mage would bombard them with fireballs before they could even approach, burning them to a crisp. Besides, even if they could get so close just pouncing on them and kicking them might have better effects. As for melee fighters, anyone who could shield themselves with their energy had no need to fear their minuscule power.

All he had learned about guns in the Deepblue was that they were tools the dwarves used to hunt wild animals, not useful against even the more powerful magic beasts. They were a good invention, but their main use was in mining.

However, the guns from the Anvil of Lightning were very different. Richard had personally seen their tremendous power at a fifty-metre distance through the eyes of the elite bats. They already had the power to threaten weaker mages, being tenfold or perhaps even more powerful than those of Norland.

According to Richard's estimations, these guns had the offensive power of heavy infantry against even heavy cavalry with full-body armour as long as it was within twenty metres. These weapons were extremely powerful; even though they couldn't pierce armour, the mounts would still be lost. Even worse was the effect of the explosive sounds and the smoke. Normal horses would grow unsettled by both, growing hard to control. A cavalry assault against a concentrated formation of these gunmen was basically suicide.

Richard's throwers could threaten any heavy cavalry that was level 10 or below within fifty metres. However, while they held much higher power than the dwarves they could attack no more than ten times at most. The gunmen, on the other hand, could shoot continuously as long as they had enough loaded guns.

333 - City of Sin

Transaction

Richard received a leather bag that his soldiers had found on one of the gunmen, opening it to find that it was full of gunpowder. He poured some into a bottle and placed it on a rock, moving far away before sending a wisp of fire out towards it.

*BANG!* The explosion was far louder than he had expected. The small bottle had destroyed the rock underneath, affecting even him who was a dozen metres away. The shrapnel even cut a few of the barbarians who were standing too close.

This explosion told him all he needed to know. This was obviously a new formula of gunpowder, several times more powerful than what Norland's dwarves used. This was the reason those guns were so tremendously powerful.

He called Flowsand over, passing the guns and powder for a look as he spoke in awe, “I never thought there would be something on Faelor that was more advanced than on Norland.”

Flowsand sensed the vigilance and worry within his words. These guns might just be the start; the dwarves might have all sorts of puppets or strange machines that worked with this gunpowder as a base. Please visit 𝒇𝚛𝙚𝙚𝘸𝙚𝗯𝓃𝗼ѵ𝚎𝘭. c𝑜𝘮

This was a system of power not much weaker than Norland's. Faelor already had legendary beings, and so far it didn't seem much weaker outside of a lack of runes and the absence of the Eternal Dragon. Norland's magic was much more developed, yes, but the endless fighting with countless planes had already told them that magic was not the only high-ranking power system.

Flowsand took a close look at every part of the guns and then at the gunpowder, flipping through the Book of Time for a few moments before she spoke up, “Indeed, these guns are far more powerful than those on Norland. However, we probably don't need to worry too much. Think about it. Norland's dwarves are a powerful race that occupy a lot of land. They also have several large empires. Don't you remember what the dwarven tribes are known for?”

Being quite knowledgeable himself, Richard immediately answered, “The foundation of the dwarves' combat is in their warriors, crusaders, and clerics.”

“Mm. Guns are not their forte, so they have no need for them.”

This left him deep in thought, “You mean to say that Norland's advanced magic and melee combat systems stunted the growth of guns?”

Flowsand raised the gun in her hands, “These guns are powerful, yes, but in Norland they would still be used in the same way. Their only use would be to deal with monsters.

“You should know that it's easy to find a dozen great mages in Norland. In front of such a force, any number of dwarven gunmen is just a bunch of cannon fodder holding metal sticks.”

A moment of thought later, Richard shook his head, “That might not be the case. These guns might not affect battles between powerhouses, but they can certainly change the situation on a battlefield. If there's enough of them they become just like my throwers, gaining unthinkable power. They can also bring nightmares to the enemy in certain special situations like fort defense.

“Also, don't forget that this is Faelor. Nobody here can pull out a dozen great mages so easily.”

Turning back to the dwarves, he asked about the situation with the Anvil of Lightning and found that it was a large tribe with hundreds of thousands of people. They had 'uncountable' guns. Dwarves as a race were quite reluctant to deal with numbers, so none of these fellows in front of him could give him a precise range. The only thing he could infer was that they had a lot of these weapons.

Hearing that, he instructed for the dwarven gunmen to be imprisoned. He would take his time to process all this before taking a decision.

By the time Richard was done with the questioning, the battlefield had already been cleaned up. The caravan had been transporting rare ores mined by the Anvil of Lightning, an entire dozen different types ranging from refined iron to mithril and even spherulite steel. If these ores could be taken to the Sequoia Kingdom they would sell for over 200,000 gold coins, and the entire cost of buying these ores and transporting it would sum up to a mere 20,000!

As expected, one could earn back ten times as much as they spent when travelling through the Bloodstained Lands!

Richard's path to the Sequoia Kingdom was blocked for now; he would have to go through several organisations in Bluewater to sell these goods off. The Iron Triangle Empire was not far away, but it was also the main base of Red Cossack. He wasn't so stupid as to rob their caravan and dispose of the stolen goods at the source.

This battle had given Richard a whole new understanding of the value of the Bloodstained Lands, especially with its adjacency to the Ashen Plateau and the barbarians' ancestral plains. He even found a few large magic crystal ores within the carriages! If they were cut into standard size, there were over 70 to be had! This would allow the broodmother to create a new type of grade 5 troop, or unlock another grade 5 upgrade. It was enough to make a dozen elementary runes as well!

Most important was the information that there was a deposit of magic crystals in the Anvil of Lightning's lands. This caused Richard to grow even more interested in the dwarves.

There were a hundred survivors from the caravan. Richard ordered for them to be released, allowing them to spread news of him having appeared in the Bloodstained Lands once more. He wasn't specifically merciful nor was he addicted to killing, and he was starting to find a harmony between the two. However, this specific act was not to ease the tensions between him and Red Cossack. The memories of being pursued around the Bloodstained Lands were still ever-present, and he was resolved to wipe the group off the map of the Bloodstained Lands.

It was impossible to keep one's power hidden if they wished to gain profits in the Bloodstained Lands. Disabling or eliminating a powerful organisation was the best method of proving your strength.

Having dealt with everything, Richard sent one of his guards rushing straight for Bluewater to get in touch with a few important people. He needed to be flexible to deal with such a large group, and that was not possible with dozens of carriages of goods.

The next five days were spent quietly as Richard travelled to Bluewater Oasis once more. He met a few old friends at the same hotel he had auctioned his runes in. Although Bluewater had endured a baptism of blood by Sinclair, these old fellows were knowledgeable people. All of them were completely fine.

Devon was evidently much fatter than before. He said it was because nothing good had happened lately, that he could only eat good food for physical pleasure to fill the void in his soul. The more depressed he became, the fatter he got.

Amon's temperament had grown sharpened, while Bivier looked to be worried about something. Kellac seemed to be even more interested in Richard himself, not even bothering to hide his curiosity as he constantly observed him. Thankfully the fellow had some self-control, not doing something like casting a detection spell.

The meal didn't take much time; the main event would only come after. Once the table was cleaned up. Richard took out a box and placed it on the table, “This is a sample of my most recent harvest, see if any of you have a need for it.”

334 - City of Sin

Transaction(2)

The box was separated into over ten small compartments, each containing an ore sample with a note attached stating the quantity. Bivier's eyes lit up at the sight; being someone from the ore business in the first place, he did not need the information on the note to notice the quality. He didn't immediately express an opinion, simply picking up each sample and carefully identifying it. He seemed so serious it was like he was playing with a lover's breast.

Devon stretched out his fat hand, grabbing a piece of ore to fiddle about with as he spoke almost carelessly, “I heard that one of Red Cossack's second-class caravans was robbed recently, and it was delivering various rare and precious ores.”

Richard knocked the box with a hand, saying with a gentle voice, “Aren't they all here?”

“So it was you! You have guts!” Devon gave him a meaningful look.

Richard smiled in response, “When I first came to the Bloodstained Lands, a group of men under my command were essentially all killed by Red Cossack. I sent someone over to negotiate, and the response I got a few months ago was war. They sent thousands of horse bandits after my life. Pity; all they accomplished in the end was losing hundreds of their men. Since they started it first, it would be improper to refrain from a response.”

“Those fellows are all deadly criminals,” Devon stated.

“Deadly criminals, eh? Might as well make them dead,” Richard joked coldly with a light smile.

“This issue between you and Red Cossack... If it needed to come to an end,” Amon asked indifferently, “I mean if, how would you put an end to it?”

“Their offence is too grave,” Richard replied, “It won't be that easy to forgive. The only way to end the hatred is if I see the head of the idiot who made the decision to come for my life.”

“It really is unwise to provoke you,” the old man said with a shrug.

Everyone here was experienced and could tell that Richard wasn't just looking for revenge. His real aim in taking on Red Cossack was to establish his own power in the Bloodstained Lands.

“Then this batch of goods...” Richard looked around, waiting for everyone's decision.

“If all this was shipped to the human kingdoms, it could sell for as much as 280,000 gold at market price. I don't care why you didn't send these things to the Sequoia Kingdom, but this is the Bloodstained Lands and these goods once belonged to Red Cossack. The highest price I can give is 40%, but the good thing is I can buy it all.”
f𝔯𝒆𝑒we𝚋𝓃૦ν𝙚Ɩ. c૦m

Bivier's price wasn't bad, but Devon followed up with something better, “I can offer 50%. Anything to make Red Cossack suffer a loss.”

“Then it's up to you.” Bivier would not offer a higher price.

Richard muttered to himself for a moment before speaking, “55%, but half that can be replaced with barbarian slaves.”

The Golden Warflag was just as big in the slave trade as Red Cossack. Richard's suggestion wasn't bad in Devon's eyes: considering the profit he made off barbarians, he would end up paying less than 50% of the market price for the ores.

He gave Richard a deeply meaningful look, “Good! You don't have to worry about the quality of the slaves, you'll be able to see them tomorrow.”

70,000 gold coins. If Devon wanted to take care of Richard, he could get eighty strong, young barbarians. Barbarians were natural warriors; with the proper equipment their power would range from level 8-10. With these slaves added to his army, Richard's power would rise again.

Once the transaction was completed, Richard and Amon agreed on a time for his visit to Rolf. The Sword Saint had gotten one of the two runes he had sold before and he clearly wanted more, so he had put aside a little of his pride to meet up with Richard.

With the business taken care of, Kellac asked about the battle at Twilight Castle. Everyone immediately showed an expression of great interest.

Sinclair and her bearguard knights had been completely annihilated in the battle of Twilight Castle, but the details were not known to many. The nobles of the Sequoia Kingdom would not pay much attention to a battle in a barony; many stranger things had happened in the Direwolf Duke's lands. In the eyes of the great nobles, any intruder that could be eliminated by a baron was far too weak.

As for the defeat of the allied armies under Salwyn, it was clearly because they were far too useless. Baron Fontaine was a well-known commander and swordsman, having been undefeated for many years even as he grew his territory. With him even dying in battle here, people naturally attributed most of the credit to him.

However, those of the Bloodstained Lands only believed in power. They had first-hand experience of Sinclair's power, having lost tens of thousands of lives and even saint-level powerhouses. They did not believe a word of the nobility, so only Richard who had personally experienced the battle could tell them the truth. Even if he hid some things, it would still be much more believable than the words of the nobles. Moreover, in the eyes of people like Kellac and Amon, just the tainted scrolls Richard had taken out previously meant he was most likely the key to Sinclair's death and defeat.

Richard muttered to himself, rapidly analysing all sorts of possibilities in his mind before he spoke, “Truth be told, Sinclair was already seriously injured at the start of the battle...”

He recounted the events of the day, but made some 'minor' changes. Of course he wouldn't mention the broodmother, and he left out many key details about his own men even as he weakened Sinclair through injuries. He also overstated Fontaine's personal strength and the quality of his troops. Yet, despite all that, it took him ten whole minutes to describe the thrilling battle.

Everyone in the room held their breath. Those with power and a keen eye secretly tried to verify his words, but a lie painted by someone with the blessings of wisdom and truth could not be caught so easily.

A moment later, Kellac spoke up with a hoarse voice, “Mr Richard, I heard that there is a young and promising cleric by your side?”

“You mean Flowsand? Yes, she is devout and pure in her faith. Why, do you have an interest in her?” Richard answered. Already having a deep understanding of Faelor, he knew her identity as a cleric was the best cover for his identity as an invader.

“I was once a priest myself,” Kellac said slowly, “but that is a long time ago. I heard you needed mercenaries recently; the Demon Hunting Spears have many competent fighters. If you're interested, we can find time for a private discussion later today.”

Richard was a little surprised. From what he knew, the Demon Hunting Spears had few members but every one was exceptionally strong. They rarely accepted employment, even more so to venture deep into the Bloodstained Lands. However, Kellac was clearly not talking about mere employment, but instead a deeper cooperation.

Without any reason to reject, Richard nodded in reply, “I would welcome that very much!”

335 - City of Sin

Secret Of Sunset

Once night fell, Kellac visited Richard at his residence. Being notified of this in advance, a barbarian warrior brought him to the backyard where he met Richard in a visitors' area.

Richard had returned to Bluewater a new man, his army now a decisive force. With Sinclair having visited the oasis before, even if the buildings on his lands at the fringe of the city were fine the servants had either died or escaped. For now, he had booked the entire inn he had stayed in before.

The original customers could only begrudgingly accept being moved elsewhere. This was a strong and thought-provoking hint: the Golden Warflag was not afraid of anyone and did not care for gold.

With him robbing the second-class caravan, everyone in Bluewater now knew of Richard's grudge with Red Cossack. Some even thought back to his battle the first time he had arrived here; even though this mage was still very young, his ferocity did not lose out to veterans who had been here for many years. Nobody dared to come out and blame him, only able to fling shade at him from behind his back.

As per Kellac's request, Flowsand was present alongside Richard. The only one outside of the three was Phaser, who was stood by the side of the hall covered from head to toe with a cape and helmet. Kellac's eyes had glimmered with fear upon first seeing her, a shocked expression on his face as he couldn't contain himself for a moment.

Phaser did not reveal any part of her skin, with even the lower part of her face covered in shadows. She felt two spots on her body burn as Kellac's gaze landed upon her, as if scorching iron had been placed on her person. Shaking uncontrollably, she took a step back as her bladed left hand trembled slightly, letting out a threatening low buzz.

Richard felt a sense of danger stirring in his heart at this sight, but he did not let it show on his face. “What's wrong, Mr. Kellac?” he asked, “Are you interested in my guard?”

Kellac looked deeply at Phaser once more before retracting his gaze, shaking his head in response, “I would never have thought I would see a warrior of the Sunset Shrine here. And she's even your guard! I haven't even heard of a sunset warrior being a guard.”

“Sunset warrior? I've never heard of this before, could you please explain?” Richard asked with an inquisitive expression. He could faintly sense a strong aura from Kellac's body. This fellow was supposed to be a mere level 11-12 mage, which would not give him any pressure. However, it was as though a shroud of mist enveloped his entire being, leaving Richard unable to see through him. As such, Richard would not take him lightly.

Kellac did not answer immediately, squinting at Richard as though he was trying to determine whether he was speaking the truth, “How did you find this guard?”

“Coincidence. She needed a job, so I asked her to come and work for me.” He naturally wouldn't reveal that Phaser was a special unit made by the broodmother. There was an implication in his words that he was unwilling to reveal much about Phaser's background, and if Kellac was smart enough to read between the lines he would drop the matter.
f𝘳𝒆ℯ𝑤𝚎𝚋𝗻𝚘𝘷el. c𝗼m

Kellac nodded, the doubt in his face slowly fading. He raised his head and looked at the large round moon out the window, saying slowly after a second, “The history of the Sunset Shrine can be traced back to a long time ago, when the astral beasts invaded. That time was a huge disaster; these beasts of unknown origin defeated almost every legendary being of the plane. They wanted to pour their energy into it, turning it into an astral plane. If the pathway had been constructed, Faelor would slowly be changed by this energy.

“Failing to suppress them indirectly, the gods eventually joined the battle personally. Paying a heavy price, they finally managed to kill all the invading astral beasts. Not only did the God of War descend to fight himself, several other gods were injured as well. The one who was injured the most was the Lady of the Night.”

“The Lady of the Night? Didn't she go missing in that battle?” Richard asked. He had seen written accounts about her in Essien's diary. The battle with the astral beasts had killed almost all the powerhouses of Faelor, leaving a part of the continent in ruins. A greater god was destroyed, while a number of other deities were injured. A few of those whose injuries were more serious had gone missing.

“That isn't the truth. The Lady of the Night did not go missing, the battle caused her to fall. With her divine kingdom damaged, she had no choice but to give up her divinity for a mortal incarnation as she found a way to slowly recover. However, the God of Day took the chance to send out his most elite soldiers, successfully killing the Lady of the Night.

“Once the battle came to an end, the paladins who had done most of the work were found guilty of blasphemy, with orders given out for their capture and execution. One of the gods that gave out this order was the God of Day.”

Richard's mouth twitched slightly. He wanted to ask a question, but he held his tongue. Abandonment and sacrifice were a common act amongst nobles, and apparently it wasn't uncommon between gods either. In both cases, it was always dressed up in a righteous cause.

Kellac paused for a while before continuing, “The paladins were left with no room for survival. They were originally the God of Day's most elite soldiers, and were each granted some divine power to help them kill the Lady of the Night. When they were successful, they had obtained some of her divine power as well. When the gods gave the order to capture and kill them, they ultimately chose to resist.

“There were a total of 119 paladins. They fought in various corners of the continent for several years, breaking through encirclement countless times through numerous wars both small and big. Because their combined power of day and night, as well as their fallen status, they were called the warriors of the Sunset Shrine. The entire process of their pursuit was an apocalyptic war that followed right after the battle against the astral beasts. It was only after the last of them died that order was restored. Two legendary powerhouses had fallen at their hands, and so many saints that it was impossible to count.

“Battle after battle, a majority of the sunset warriors channelled their rage into curses that allowed their powers to be passed down through rituals. Even with the original 119 destroyed, they had scattered their seeds of hatred and vengeance all over the plane. People occasionally awaken the power of the Sunset Shrine, obtaining the powers they passed on. These are the greatest of heretics; some just pass things on in secret, but many became infamous in the mainland. Some others just go into hiding, secretly choosing to conserve their energy.”

336 - City of Sin

Secret Of Sunset(2)

Having heard this, Richard asked an important question, “Why would the God of Day want to attack the Lady of the Night?”

“When the Lady of the Night fell, her divinity and power were absorbed by him. This allowed him to jump from a lesser deity to an intermediate one, and at the same time he changed his name. He is now known as the God of Time, Runai.”

This was confidential information. If this was true, it was undoubtedly one of the biggest secrets of the entire plane. If news were to spread, one would definitely arouse Runai's wrath. And judging from how the sunset warriors had been treated, it was evident that the gods of Faelor would not like these rumours.

“Why do you think my guard is from the Sunset Shrine? Look, she's still very weak.” Although he knew Phaser wasn't from the Sunset Shrine, Richard was intrigued by this mysterious group Kellac had spoken of. If his words were true, they would be a natural ally to him in Faelor. The only unknown was whether they valued the gods or the plane more.

“The combination of darkness and divinity. It's a common characteristic of the sunset warriors, and a unique one.”

Divinity was not something just anyone would be allowed to possess. A commoner with divinity was like a beggar with a bag of gold; the gods would undoubtedly intervene.

Richard frowned, gently tapping his hand on the table as he asked, “The Sunset Shrine seems to be the primary target of the gods. Since you think my guard is a sunset warrior, should I be worried about priests and paladins knocking on my door in the near future?”

Kellac's mouth twitched, settling into a bitter smile, “The divinity of the sunset warriors rests deep in their souls. Even the gods cannot find them. Strong or weak, the only way to sense the existence of a sunset warrior is if you are one yourself.”

Richard was astounded by this revelation, “So you are...”

Kellac nodded, his gaze returning to Phaser, “Sir Richard, can you hand your guard over to me? I can guide her, and help her realise her true potential as someone of the Sunset Shrine.”

“Not possible,” Richard answered without hesitation. Phaser was the spawn of the broodmother; her darkness came from Sinclair, while her divinity came from various ancestral idols. She was definitely not a sunset warrior, so there was no potential for Kellac to bring out. Besides, she was already level 6 now, and would soon be an essential member of his party in the future. How could he hand her over to him? Whatever conditions he was thinking of, there was no room for discussion.

Kellac was obviously unhappy, he tried over and over to sound Richard out, but Richard was adamant. He was left with no choice but to drop the subject.

“Alright then, Mr. Kellac,” Richard changed the topic, “Let's discuss that partnership with the Demon Hunting Spears. No need to worry, my lips are sealed about what I just heard.” He glanced at Phaser who had withdrawn into a corner, “If anything, I will do it for her.”

Kellac leaned back with a strange smile, “I trust you completely. Now, Sir Richard, what do you want?”

Richard got straight to the point, “I'm in urgent need of a dependable group of elite soldiers.”

Kellac nodded his head, passing a scroll to Richard, “The Demon Hunting Spears have a total of about 700 men, the weakest of us being level 6. They are loyal and trustworthy: this scroll contains details about them and their corresponding rates. However, the key to our partnership is not in gold, but the tainted scrolls you sold to me last time.”

“The tainted divine scrolls?” Richard had his doubts. He reached out to grab the scroll on offer, starting to inspect its contents.

Before Kellac could explain, Flowsand suddenly broke her silence, “Was your divine power burnt a long time ago?”

Kellac's body shook all of a sudden, leaving him feeling incredulous. He raised his head, his hawk eyes giving Flowsand a death stare. The cleric's eyes had turned dark as ink, but deep in her pupils was a pale gold glimmer. He felt as though his very soul had turned crystal clear under her gaze, all his secrets out in the open.

He managed to calm himself down quickly, “Indeed. I was once a high priest for the Highland Wargod, twenty years ago. I offended another deity, and was punished by the burning of my divine power. I was lucky to have survived.”

Richard suddenly looked up from the scroll and stared at Kellac, “Don't you have to be at least level 16 to be called a high priest?”

“I was level 17 at the time.”

“A level 17 priest surviving the burning of his divine power? It's simply a miracle!” Flowsand exclaimed. As a cleric herself, she knew clearly how unbelievable such a thing was. Even a level 7 cleric whose divine power was burned would be left half dead; it was unheard of for someone above level 10 to be able to survive the process.

“It's because I was also a sunset warrior. The divinity hidden within saved me at the most crucial moment, but because of that most of my divine power faded away,” Kellac laughed bitterly.

Flowsand's gaze roamed about as she asked, “So then, you need a new religion?”

Kellac hesitated. It seemed hard for him to make the decision, but eventually he nodded his head.

“My body is currently broken beyond repair, my life almost at an end. If I do not acquire the grace of a new god, I will not live to see the next year. However, I have a few unfulfilled wishes, I need to live on.”

He only grew more and more resolute as he spoke, “I inspected those tainted scrolls. If I am not wrong, that batch of scrolls came from a new power. This power is not amongst the current pantheon, so it likely comes from a new demigod. If I get the favour of this demigod and a new lease of life on my divine power, I can continue to fulfil my wishes. So long as this new god's requirements do not contradict my wishes, I am willing to serve.”

Hearing what Kellac had to say, Flowsand opened her mouth to speak but was stopped by Richard. Richard looked Kellac in the eye, asking, “What would you offer to your new god?”

Kellac had long since been prepared for this question, “I was a powerful priest after all. If I garner the favour of this new god, I will grow very swiftly in level. With enough grace, it is not impossible for me to recover completely. A high priest in the mortal world can be of great use to a new deity.

“Secondly, outside of my unfulfilled wishes, I will give my body and soul to my new Lord. The entirety of my subordinates in the Demon Hunting Spears will be at His disposal, and we will dress in the church's colours.”

337 - City of Sin

Refugee

Richard and Flowsand looked at each other. Kellac had been an unexpected surprise, a gargantuan one. If all he said was true, and he really could regain his powers as a high priest, he would be a great boon for Richard's growth. Flowsand nodded in response to Richard's inquisitive gaze; she could do this.

Richard's heart was thus set at ease, and he asked Kellac one last question, “Now then, what were those unfulfilled wishes?”

Kellac fell silent for a while, his face contorting as he recalled unpleasant memories. He eventually let out a long sigh, “I wish for the crucifixion and burning of Cardinal Markville of the Highland Wargod!”

The Highland Wargod was a lesser deity, so a cardinal of his would normally be around level 16, maybe level 15 in the best case. Of course, the level was not the biggest problem. Burning a cardinal at the stake was basically declaring a crusade against their deity!

Richard continued his questioning, finding out that Markville had originally been a level 17 high priest just like Kellac. The source of their enmity was not important; all he'd needed to know was whether Kellac's wishes contradicted the will of the Eternal Dragon.

Richard nodded his head towards Flowsand and she spoke up, “The master I serve, his name is the Dragon of Eternity and Light.”

“What?!” Kellac involuntarily cried out.

He immediately realised that he had lost his self-control, but the name that Flowsand uttered was far too shocking. If this was really the god's title, then it wasn't some new demigod but a deity whose powers transcended Faelor itself!

The Book of the Gods ensured that Kellac was well aware of the deeper systems of the plane. He knew the laws of Faelor would not allow for such a powerful god to exist.

If Flowsand was telling the truth, there was only one possibility. However, she could not be lying, because that was a meaningless act. He would naturally feel the presence of this new god when he converted.

Kellac's mouth contorted and his voice suddenly grew hoarse, “The Dragon of Eternity and Light... This is a god from a different plane!”

“Not a different plane,” Flowsand corrected him, “He reigns supreme over many.”

Kellac inhaled a deep breath, “But... There is essentially no difference! You lot are invaders!”

“Yes, we come from another plane. However, a majority of the pantheon on Faelor won't accept you,” Flowsand pointed out harshly. She had some understanding of Faelor's gods by now.

Kellac painfully closed his eyes, his face warping. He was already prepared when he spoke the truth about the Sunset Shrine, prepared even before he took a step through the door. He knew there would be a bumpy road ahead, where he could follow a new deity's transcendence or even witness the blasphemy of killing a god. However, the truth was always more frightening than what one expected. This unbelievably mighty god would allow his wishes to come to fruition easier, but these invaders clashed with his beliefs. It was an extremely difficult decision to make.

It took a long struggle before he finally spoke again, “Yes, indeed... I... I am willing to worship the Dragon of Eternity and Light.”

Having said that, he leaned back into his chair, sweating profusely. He looked very weak, as though he was suffering from a grave illness.

Flowsand stood up, a stern expression on her face, “You will not be disappointed! Follow me, we can start the ceremony now.”

The ceremony was held in Flowsand's room, the altar was a piece of wood that had been nailed crudely to a wooden frame, the workmanship shoddy. Kars and Marvin served as assistants, while Richard was the only spectator.

Flowsand placed the Book of Time on the wood, giving Kellac a quick summary of the Eternal Dragon's teachings, his domain, and his blessings. The old dragon's teachings were actually quite simple, with almost no specifics. In other words, there were no lengthy codices to solidify the religion, most of the information passed on being related to sacrifices and blessings.

These teachings truly left Kellac surprised, but after seeing the cold divine might being emitted by the Book of Time he immediately turned serious. Every type of power in nature could be fabricated, but not the power of the gods.

A faint gold glimmer started flowing from the Book of Time under the melodious sound of Flowsand's chants. She motioned for Kellac to step forward, kneeling in front of the Book of Time and stretching out his hands to receive the divine power. Kellac was so excited his entire body started trembling as he complied with all her instructions.

The pale gold glimmer exploded onto Kellac's hands like a rain of gold. His body immediately shook as he felt a cold, metallic divine power roll through his body. His dry, cracked soul screamed, absorbing the divine power that it had not seen for a long time. The wounds to his soul slowly closed up.

The ash-black on Kellac's face was washed away by the cleansing might, the face that resembled an old tree bark slowly swelling up as several deep wrinkles flattened out. All his bones started crackling, his body growing in size.

Kellac was completely transformed by the divine power, and his powers were returning just as quickly. It wasn't long before he had passed level 10, and he didn't seem to show any signs of slowing down.

Small beads of sweat had started forming on Flowsand's forehead but she continued the constant chant, controlling the sparks flying out from the Book of Time towards Kellac's hands. This process was taking longer than expected, but it was also the most important. It was only now that Kellac would grow so quickly; once the ceremony came to an end, he would have to regain his power bit by bit like anyone else. As long as he could absorb the power of time, she had to persist.

The pale gold energy had slowly spread to Kellac's waist, covering the top half of his body. A blinding glow suddenly radiated from his shirt, seemingly plating the entire room in gold.

For a moment, it seemed like that gold glimmer had absorbed all the power of time. The portion of his shirt quickly turned dark, decaying into ashes. This was the power of time; it might not be as violent as a burning flame, but its might was unstoppable. Who could weather the passage of time?

All of Kellac's clothes were corroded in an instant. Some expensive magical artifacts, including powerful scrolls, could not resist the flow of time and were completely destroyed. The only exception was a small scroll, which instead of fading away started to absorb more and more power from its surroundings. It turned red hot, eventually looking like a brand that burnt a part of Kellac's skin in the blink of an eye. He was forced to retreat involuntarily, but the scroll remained in its original position, floating in mid-air.

338 - City of Sin

The Sight Of Divine Grace

Richard watched the scroll that was burning with the power of time with a look of shock. He could faintly feel that the material was similar to what the Book of Holding was made of, able to withstand the erosion of time.

On the other hand, Flowsand looked at the scroll with surprise. She even stopped in the middle of her chant, quickly asking Kellac, “What is this?”

Kellac endured the pain that came from the power of time altering his body, speaking with clenched teeth, “This is the Book of the Gods. It has records of the divine power of almost every true god in Faelor's pantheon. It is a divine artefact left behind by the Sunset Shrine. The gods of Faelor regard its owner to be the greatest heretic on the plane. You must be careful, do not open it! It can only be opened without the gods noticing through a special method and spell.”

Flowsand reached out and took the scroll, ignoring Kellac's advice as she opened the scroll. Her amber eyes released constant ripples of pale gold, the power of time binding the divine auras without letting any spill out.

Carefully reading through it from cover to cover, Flowsand asked. “This is how you figured out that my tainted scrolls didn't come from Faelor's gods?”

“That's right,” Kellac nodded his head.

The Book of the Gods was still continuously absorbing the power of time. Even though Flowsand was not singing anymore, pale gold light still poured out of the Book of Time as though it was drawn by the scroll.

Flowsand's eyes grew brighter and brighter, and in the end she spoke to Kellac in a stately, solemn voice, “The Book of the Gods would not be a bad offering to the Eternal Dragon. Sacrifice it to him, and you will receive a divine gift. So, Kellac, are you willing to offer the Book of the Gods to the Eternal Dragon?”

To a devout worshipper, this would be something that went without saying. However, Kellac struggled for a long time before expressing his will to offer it. That was how precious the Book of the Gods was to him.

The Book of the Gods was the only reason Kellac remained above level 10 even though his divine power had been burnt. At the same time, it was the origin of the power of many of the heretic clerics under him. They were not true unbelievers, just people who shifted the target of their faith to the Book of the Gods. Because the Book contained the divine power of Faelor's gods, it could also faintly accept the power of faith and bestow divine power in return. Of course it could not compare to a real god, or even a demigod for that matter, but this ability still gave it the right to be called a divine tool.

With Kellac's consent, Flowsand started another incantation. The light coming from the Book of Time suddenly grew ten times as intense, the intense pale gold converging into what seemed like a solid pillar that shone straight towards the ceiling. However, it seemed to hit an invisible barrier near the top and quietly disappear. It wasn't just the ceiling; even if the entire room was filled with the power of time, not a bit spilt out.

The Book of the Gods bobbed up and down within that pillar of time, slowly falling towards the Book of Time until it eventually became a single page that turned into a part of the book.

A distant and desolate aura, one with an indescribable imposition, suddenly descended upon the room. This was the will of the Eternal Dragon; although it hadn't descended with its actual body, this will was no weaker than the one in the Church of the Eternal Dragon. This was a great sacrifice that satisfied the Eternal Dragon, enough that its will crossed an unknown amount of spacetime to absorb the offering and bestow a blessing.

With the Dragon's aura pervading the room, the neverending light pouring out of the Book of Time grew even more turbulent. It all converged together, eventually condensing into two pale gold balls of light that floated in the air. Three smaller points of gold floated up and down nearby.

Watching the balls of light floating in the air, Kellac suddenly felt a dryness in his mouth. His heart almost leapt out of his chest, as he clearly felt that one of these balls belonged to him. It was very likely that it hid what he had dreamt of for so many years!

Flowsand's unique hoarse voice rang out once more, startling Kellac from his reverie, “Kellac, the Eternal Dragon is very satisfied with your sacrifice, so he exerted a great deal of divine power to break through the plane's seal, bestowing a generous gift upon you. Go, take that which is yours!”

Kellac took a deep breath, stretching his hand out towards the ball of light that was his. The sudden influx of information almost stopped his heart!

Divine blessing— Spring of Life. For thirty years, his body would not age.

Kellac immediately understood the significance of this blessing: it was an additional thirty years of life! No god in Faelor's history could extend their worshippers' lives! There were other ways to prolong life, like becoming a lich, but there was nothing that did not require a great sacrifice. A longer life gave one the chance to make miracles happen!

Once the Spring of Life took effect, the ball of light dimmed until it was only a tenth as bright as before. However, the power of time still surged into Kellac's body. By the time it disappeared completely, he was already a level 13 fallen cleric. Outside of the Spring of Life, this was another divine gift.

Divine Blessing— Excitation. It was a gift bestowed upon priests of the Eternal Dragon, using the power of time to immediately increase their power anywhere between one and three levels. At the same time as he had received the much-needed Spring of Time, the remaining divine grace had raised Kellac's power by two levels.

The other ball of light belonged to Flowsand. The sacrifice had left the Eternal Dragon very satisfied, so the cleric who conducted the ceremony would also gain a certain amount of divine grace. This was the fastest method for those of the Church of the Eternal Dragon to raise their level. However, when Flowsand reached out to touch the ball of light, she started to hesitate.

Before her were a number of options for the blessing, but she could only choose one. She quickly filtered out most of the options, but could not make a choice between two. One was the same blessing Kellac had been bestowed, Excitation, while the other, Eternal Passage I, would strengthen the Book of Time. The divine grace that was supposed to belong to her would be transformed into a pure power of time that could be absorbed by the Book of Time, increasing its powers. The most visible effect was that it would become easier to communicate with the Eternal Dragon, and any spells that used the Book of Time would be strengthened.

Looking at it from the point of view of strengthening herself, Flowsand's choice would naturally be Excitation. This blessing would immediately allow her to grow three levels. Although Eternal Passage I could also increase the might of her spells, it was nowhere near as effective.

339 - City of Sin

The Sight Of Divine Grace(2)

However, Flowsand knew that Eternal Passage I had two more hidden effects. One of them allowed her to gain more grace during sacrifices. As her channel to the Eternal dragon grew more stable, the loss of power during a sacrifice would naturally decrease. The other was that it could transform the Book of Time into a proper altar in the future, one that could replace the Lighthouse of Time. if the Core of Time blessing was used to further enhance the Book of Time, it would become a temporary Lighthouse. As the Book of Time continued to strengthen, it would be granted a special gift from the Eternal Dragon, the coordinates of a primary plane!

She could go back to Norland! Although they could only build a temporary passageway that had limited effectiveness, it was a way back home!

Looking at the dozens of other gifts on the list, Flowsand could not help but clench her teeth. It wasn't like the remaining options were useless, but Excitation and Eternal Passageway I were the most effective in their current situation where they were lost amongst the myriad planes.

Other circumstances would have made some of these gifts equally attractive or even better. For example, the gift of wisdom would permanently improve one's intellect. A commoner could become a genius, while a genius would become a polymath. The blessing would immediately place her on the same level as Richard.

Another example was the divine gift, Reincarnation. It was a set of weapons that could trigger the power of time. This was a set, not a single piece. Even the current Flowsand would be as strong as a level 18 high priest if she wore the set!

Flowsand had obtained a limited amount of divine grace, and she could only exchange it for the weakest component of the set: the Necklace of Spring. Even that she could not get a whole version of, only a flawed piece that could just slightly increase the effect of time-related techniques. It also slowed down the wearer's aging slightly, and had a supplementary grade 4 healing spell that could be used up to thrice a day.

However, Flowsand could see all the components of Reincarnation in the list, especially their effects. She was left clenching her teeth again.

Another attraction was the divine gift, Heavenly Guardian. It would form a divine warrior from the power of time to act as the guard of the recipient. Heavenly Guardians were not puppets; they had wisdom comparable to human geniuses, but their loyalty to their master was unshakeable. They would start around level 12, able to grow to level 16 through battle or divine power. There were further stages to this gift, increasing the number of guardians and the limit to their level. One could obtain a loyal level 20 guard after choosing it thrice!

If there was sufficient grace, the conductor could even obtain an entire troop of level 20 guardians! Even many normal legendary powerhouses would not willingly provoke such a group.

If only there were sufficient divine grace... Flowsand clenched her teeth even tighter, the sound of grinding teeth audible to everyone present.

“What's wrong?” Richard asked, sensing the change in her.

“We... we're too poor!” she said through gritted teeth.

“Poor?” Richard was puzzled.

Flowsand's chest heaved rapidly. She simply closed her eyes, taking a deep breath as she fiercely chose Eternal Passageway I. When she opened her eyes and looked at Richard again, a murderous aura was flowing out of her.

Richard grew even more confused, but past experience told him that now was not the time to ask.

The sentence was still lingering around in Flowsand's head: If only there were sufficient divine grace.

The Church of the Eternal Dragon was accustomed to extensions of life as a measure of divine grace. The divine grace needed to summon a Heavenly Guardian was enough to prolong one's life for an extra fifteen years. This required a sacrifice that was comparable to a greater devil. The majority of greater devils were at or above level 18, and at least three were needed for a level 20 guardian!

Devils were not sheep; they could not be caught as one wished. Even Gaton treasured the greater devil's skull he possessed.

However! If five more greater devils could be offered up, the guardian could be raised by another level to level 21. This was crossing from the saint realm to become a legendary being! A mere nine greater devils could be exchanged for a legendary guard. The sacrificer would benefit greatly in this exchange!

Flowsand could not remain calm any longer, her breath growing heated at the thought of a legendary guard.

“What happened?” Richard could not help but ask again.

The rest of her retinue were shocked by the formidable power of their god. Not knowing Flowsand well enough, they only felt their young leader's expression grew more solemn, not noticing the undercurrents.

“You don't know!” Flowsand raged, leaving Richard bewildered.

She could not pay attention to his feelings right now. She was roaring in her heart, as though an ancient beast had emerged from deep within her, 'Don't let me see it! You damned old coot! You obviously knew what I needed, and you know I don't have so much divine grace. Why did you let me see so many gifts? Do I have to collect offerings my entire life, living for you? Damn you! But... Ugh, I really want those things... Fine, you win! You damned old dragon, curse you!'

Regardless of her cursing, the Eternal Dragon would last through all time, unmoved by her anger. Even if she dedicated all of the world's most malicious words his way, she still had to work obediently to collect more offerings and sacrifice them to him.

The many options were a habit of the Eternal Dragon. How could one not be motivated to collect offerings when they saw what they could get? People always believed in themselves, and always had desires. Flowsand was no exception; if anything her desires were even stronger. The more capable and talented one was, the more they wanted to obtain things that were hard to reach.

A new imprint of an hourglass appeared on the cover of Book of Time after it absorbed the divine grace, while the Book of the Gods became one of its pages. The ribbons of light representing the power of the various deities of Faelor still populated the page.

340 - City of Sin

Future

As the ceremony was coming to an end, the three pale spots of light entered Kars, Marvin and Richard. Kars and Marvin had assisted with the ceremony, contributing their own divine power to allow for the communication with the Eternal Dragon. They received a small amount of grace in return, allowing them to grow by one level to get to level 9.

However, a mere bystander like Richard receiving a little of the grace left Flowsand unable to help but feel indignant. He even received a time-related blessing, even though it was to a lesser degree.

Divine blessing— Dewdrop of Life. His body would not age for an extra six months.

'Six months! You can do a lot with just six months. If there were thirty dews...' Flowsand thought angrily, converting things to divine grace once more. Of course, her expression was still tranquil, even solemn.

When Kellac left the room, he looked like a middle-aged man once more. His skin even shone with a pale gold lustre. The enormous divine grace had not been fully absorbed yet, so he would need a few more days to look like an ordinary person once more. He wrapped himself completely with a hooded robe, leaving just as quietly as he came.

Back at level 13, Kellac now qualified to be called a priest even in Norland. There were many mass buffs amongst grade 6 divine spells, so his presence greatly boosted the strength of Richard's army. Of course, Richard had also accepted an enemy of a high priest of the Highland Wargod, perhaps even the whole church. Of course, as an invader was the natural enemy of all the gods of Faelor; there was no difference whether he offended them greatly or just a little.

He left that very night, going to the Demon Hunting Spears to bring over all the troops directly under him, also looking to see if he could hire the rest as well. He had seventy elites and fifteen unbelievers under him, the latter of which would soon become followers of the Eternal Dragon. They did not have the problem of changing their faith, so unlike a fallen priest like Kellac they would become proper clerics.

Richard didn't care about the Dewdrop of Life at all. However, the knowledge that it was worth a thirtieth of a greater devil told him that this drop was not so easy to obtain. With his current power, any greater devil could defeat him with ease. Besides, he'd just stood by the side watching the ceremony and still obtained some grace; that fact just made Flowsand angrier.

Although this beautiful cleric was a titled member of the Church, this was still her first time taking charge of such an important ritual by herself. That meant it was also the first time she had seen so many options for divine gifts. The sheer number of treasures blinded her for a moment, turning her into a kind of shopaholic. Her list of wants was so long the end could not be seen, so every drop of divine grace was extremely important.

However, that small gift showed how much value the Eternal Dragon attached to Richard.

The process of absorbing the grace this time was much shorter, and Richard was also used to the surging power of time. However, numerous colourful ribbons of light flashed past him during the process.

Previously, he would have thought this was just a normal phenomenon when one was absorbing divine grace. However, now that he had read the Book of Time once he felt like it was familiar. Something seemed to be hidden in those rays of light, so he used all his energy and called upon both his blessings to maximise the speed of his thought. He was trying to find a way to catch what was hidden behind that glow.

With the upgraded blessings of wisdom and truth, Richard's perception was already equal to that of a saint. He finally managed to see the scenes behind that veil of light, just that there were far too many flashing by at a time. Almost a thousand different images crossed his sight per second, not something ordinary men could catch. Richard's heart beat wildly as he tried his best, but still he only managed to catch a few scenes with difficulty. Even then it was all blurred out, so much so that he could barely distinguish silhouettes.

But when he organised the afterimages in his memory and saw these scenes clearly, Richard suddenly felt his entire body freeze!

......

Flowsand still had a lot of work to wrap up the ceremony. By the time she was done with everything, it was already night. The exhausted cleric headed to Richard's room, only to see him stood still before the large map while deep in thought. His face was as dark as murky water.

She sat behind him without a word. The two had their own worries, each immersed in their own world. The room was quiet one could hear the beating of hearts, and time quietly slipped by in the stillness. By the time they somewhat broke out of their reveries, two hours had passed.

Richard seemed to have set his mind on something, pounding his fist heavily on the map.

Flowsand got up and stood behind him, looking at the map to see that the fist had crushed the marker of a slave camp. This camp belonged to Red Cossack and wasn't far from Bluewater, an important interchange point in the Cossack slave trade.

Flowsand frowned. The raid on Red Cossack's caravan could still be passed off as revenge for their attempt on his life, but an ambush against their slave camp would strike them at their weakness. They would be forced to confront him head-on, leading to an inevitable all-out battle between the two parties.

A plane was developed atop blood and bodies. Flowsand was not a naive girl; she had a mind to completely eliminate Red Cossack as well, but the chief issue was time.

“Aren't you being a little impatient?” she asked. It was not wise to make too many enemies at the same time.

Richard did not answer, clearly still conflicted. The surprise attack could buy them some time, but the benefits were not worth the risk. They were both blessed by the Eternal Dragon, time was forever on their side.

“Flowsand. I saw some blurry scenes when absorbing the divine grace. What do they mean?” Richard asked.

Flowsand was startled, growing serious as she asked, “Were they clear?”

Richard hesitated for a moment, “No, it was incredibly blurred. I could only see that something was happening, but couldn't tell who was involved at all.”

“Oh,” Flowsand didn't continue to press for details, instead explaining, “The divine grace of the Eternal Dragon is a condensation of the power of time. Thus, your mind and soul could enter the river of time when absorbing it, getting a premonition of possible events in the future...”

“A premonition of the future?!” Richard's expression changed greatly.

Still looking down at the map, Flowsand did not notice his unusual expression. She just nodded, saying, “What you absorbed was the power of time, so there's a chance to see the future. However, you need to be a saint at minimum to actually distinguish what you see. You don't have that ability right now.”

The room was very dimly lit. Flowsand herself had not broken through her own worry, so she was too absent-minded to notice how unusually pale Richard's face was.

She did not think he already had the ability to get a rudimentary glimpse of these scenes. Most of what he saw was blood-soaked campaigns through foreign planes. Even in the most desperate of situations, his will was indomitable. However, two specific ones left him feeling like he had fallen into the abyss.

One was of a pitch-black void. Sharon was floating in the empty space, devoid of all signs of life.

The other was five years later, where Mountainsea waved goodbye to him and walked forward without looking back. In front of her was a sea of enemies, like a sea of oppressive black.

Looking at the map once more, Richard's gaze grew so cold it could burn.

If... If this was an inevitability, that only meant he needed to take a more active role!

341 - City of Sin

Future(2)

The vision of the future was like a massive mountain crushing Richard's heart, leaving him unable to even smile. The joy from a powerhouse like Kellac joining his side was completely washed away by this looming fate. For some reason, he couldn't disregard these visions even if they were only a slight possibility.

He had achieved greatness at a young age. Few throughout Norland could better him at his age. Landing alone in a powerful secondary plane, cut off from reinforcements, he had quickly gotten himself together and become a qualified leader. However, throughout his life, even including when he had learnt about the nightmare creatures, this was the most despair he had ever felt.

He was left wondering what kind of fate was recorded in the scenes he could not capture. The feeling of knowing the future but only being able to see small bits of it was truly terrible.

A dim light shone over the large table with the map, the glow only going an inch beyond its bounds. The moonlight from the window was the only main source of light, so the room was shrouded in shades of black and grey.

Richard was sitting quietly, his back drawing random lines on the wall behind him. His heart now thirsted for strength more than ever. No matter how he thought about it, the best method to prevent that future was to offer sacrifices to the Eternal Dragon in exchange for great power. He would use the broodmother as a great tool of war, having her twist the outcome of his battles. Magic crystals, divine items, and food were a constant investment into her strength. In other words, the broodmother's power came from gold.

And be it items to sacrifice or gold to buy with, war was the quickest way to obtain either.

With his mind made up, the rest of the matters would be dealt with. Richard looked up and spoke to Flowsand, “Can you tell me about the gifts of the Eternal Dragon? It's best if you tell me every variety you know.”

Flowsand snapped back from her own world of thought, nodding in reply, “The Dragon of Eternity and Light has countless gifts on offer. Everyone can be granted different things, his will changes based on the situation of the offerer. However, there are a few large categories— time, divine weapons, abilities, and domains among others. He adjusts the range of gifts based on the offerer's greatest needs, and picks one at random from that range. This is merely the law of luck in play: luck is a part of one's power, after all. A lucky fellow could get what he wants each time, while an unlucky one would have to aim for what they want through multiple ceremonies and sacrifices.

“Now, I can only tell you the gifts I know of. Time-related ones are the rarest of the lot; every living being instinctively wishes for immortality.”

The Eternal Dragon had innumerable gifts to give. Flowsand alone could list hundreds, and as she summarised each one the carriage of time unknowingly made its way till midnight.

Richard analysed how best he could combine these gifts as he listened, using them to develop most effectively. By this point, he didn't care for what needed to be sacrificed anymore.

Just like Flowsand had said, luck was a sovereign law that surpassed planes. The Eternal Dragon had harsh requirements for offerings, and one required luck to gather objects to sacrifice.

Once Flowsand was done with the last type of gift, he brushed her hair and chuckled, “Enough, go to bed! It's already very late. We have to make sure we're alert; we will be fighting again tomorrow!”

Flowsand pursed her lips and hummed, “What a fake smile! If you don't feel like smiling then don't!”

However, she did not ask Richard why he was so down all of a sudden. If he was going to keep quiet, then that would be the end of it. The two stripped out of their clothes and got into bed, but did nothing more than cuddle.

Richard gazed at the ceiling quietly, devoid of all thought. Flowsand lay in his embrace as she listened to his heartbeat, her mind a bitter blank as well. That sleepless night, the pair of young man and woman seemed to have matured slightly.

......

When the first light of morning shone through the window, Flowsand leapt up and pinched Richard, “Hey, you lazy bum! Get out of bed, we're still fighting a war today. Tell me, who are we robbing?”

Richard awoke without hurry in front of the girl who was glimmering with enthusiasm, wearing his clothes before he suddenly grabbed her. He stared into her eyes and planted a light kiss on her lips, pinching her face hard, “Your smile's pretty fake too...”

Putting on her robes, Flowsand immediately left for her own room to get her equipment, checking her scrolls and making preparations for battle. In the meanwhile, Richard stood in front of the morning sun for a long time as he watched the chaotic yet exuberant Bluewater Oasis. He was deep in thought, with no hurry to gather his army and set off.

War was a double-edged sword. It could destroy one's enemies, but it would also harm oneself. The volcano in his heart was already on the verge of erupting, but he was in no hurry to act. Instead, after just standing there for an hour or so, he simply returned to his room and pondered in the silence.

If those truly were visions of the future, it was even more important that he stay prudent and calm now. The long river of fate was an indomitable existence, meandering through the myriad planes. Regardless of why he had seen that specific image, it was only a possibility of the future that was not fixed. The river was not a single current, instead a mix of countless small flows that covered the past, present, and future.

Given his current strength, he could not compare to a drop of water within that huge river. In other words, a lack of caution could leave him dead before those scenes ever played out. When that moment in fate arrived, he would have lost the right to participate.

Even though everything around him looked peaceful, Richard knew it was actually quite dangerous. Although his army had accomplished many miracles, they were only performed while dancing on a razor's edge. Outdoing those stronger than him was only a last resort, and there was a limit to how much he could do himself. The moment he met a saint, he would face extreme danger. Even if he could overwhelm his enemy with numbers, it would require a devastating price. A single wrong step would completely end this army with limitless prospects.

Whether he could change the future or not, he wanted to be there. If he were to just die before even accomplishing that, everything else would just be empty talk.

First, he had to return to Norland. Only a fool would be innocent enough to want to use this army to take over all of Faelor. The road back was already halfway paved; Flowsand had obtained the Eternal Passage blessing, all that was left was the Core of Time. The key now was enough of a sacrifice to acquire it. However, that did not need to come through war alone. There were still many other methods, like trade, cheating, or persuasion.

And he had enough items on hand for trades.

342 - City of Sin

Collaboration

It took the entire morning before Richard managed to walk out of his room. Gathering a few desert warriors, he brought Olar and Phaser along and left Bluewater Oasis, hastening towards the Red Cossack camp.

10 kilometres away from the slave camp, he came to a stop. The information he'd gotten from his friends told him this was the furthest the camp's sentinels would patrol. He waited patiently until night fell, sending out the enhanced elite bats. They circled the sky above the slave camp, using their night vision to give him a clear understanding of the camp's defensive layout.

This was an enormous camp, with nearly 8,000 imprisoned slaves. There was an army of 500 watching over them, with a stable not far away. Interactions between two guards as well as the routes of the patrols gave him an estimate of about three hundred cavalrymen guarding the outer perimeter. His robbing that second-class caravan had caused them to strengthen their defences for a while.

Having figured out the situation, Richard silently left and returned to Bluewater. When he knocked on Amon's door, it was already late into the night. The old man was still at the grocery store, running his ordinary little shop. Foreigners would not be able to tell that this wizened old man was someone who could influence the entire oasis.

Seeing that it was Richard at the door, Amon was slightly surprised. However, he didn't say anything as he allowed the mage to enter. A few moments later, he brought over a pot of tea and a plate of refreshments, pouring two cups and sitting calmly in front of Richard as he waited for a reason for the visit.

For his part, Richard did not hesitate, “I'll be obtaining a batch of slaves soon, and I need my hands off them as soon as possible.”

“How many, and which race?” Amon asked without a change in expression. Please visit 𝘧𝗿𝐞𝐞𝒘𝗲𝘣n𝘰𝘷ℯ𝒍. 𝒄o𝗺

“A little more than 8,000. Nearly 4,000 each of desert people and dwarves, with a few hundred wild elves, dark elves, and barbarians. The elves and barbarians aren't males.”

Amon gazed at Richard with profound meaning in his eyes, “You are too anxious.”

“It's a lack of confidence,” Richard answered calmly, “If we can work together, I'll be 80% confident. We can't just act when we're merely 10% confident, can we?”

“80%? You really are quite self-confident,” Amon chuckled, “But it's a good thing for young people to be confident. I'll take it as... 60%. Do you need Lord Rolf's support?”

“Yes,” Richard nodded, “Red Cossack has two saints. While they're not from the Bloodstained Lands, it's hard enough for me to deal with one right now.”

Amon took a small sip of black tea and said gently, “Contending against saints is no small matter. Have you prepared enough?”

“We can split Red Cossack halfway. It should be worth the cost.”

“Indeed, that's not small,” Amon muttered to himself. But then, he slowly continued, “The worth of battles between saints cannot be measured in gold. Victory is often more important, so Lord Rolf might be very careful in considering this.”

Richard immediately understood what Amon was getting at. The two saints in charge of Red Cossack were the same as Rolf, level 16. It was hard to say who would win even in a one-on-one matchup. Amon was implying that he wasn't confident in Rolf's chances against them. If the Sword Saint lost, then Richard would have even fewer chances of victory against them. Rolf likely wouldn't want to step into these murky waters, regardless of how much Richard had on offer.

However, Richard only wanted Rolf to stall the Red Cossack saints. He had quite a few spellcasters on his side, making it a powerful army based on Faelor's standards. The clerics' buffs on Rolf would make him so powerful the enemy would be ashamed. On the other hand, all sorts of curses would assault the enemies, forcing them to use more energy. On top of all this, the Sword Saint had bought a rune from him before; unless the opponents were two levels higher, they were bound to lose. Flowsand's Lens of Time, in particular, could grant a definite kill if she was successful.

But he obviously couldn't go about revealing his trump cards; he had far too many secrets that nobody knew of. He would never show all of his cards when making a deal. Thankfully, there were other methods. He lifted the teacup and drank a mouthful, “Mr. Kellac already has a new religion. He has decided to forge ahead by my side, and I will help him fulfill the wishes he has held for so many years.”

Amon startled. This information was out of his expectations and reminded him that backing Richard was a new demigod.

No, the fact that Kellac had already converted implied that this existence was only a step away from igniting their godfire, becoming a true deity. Right now, he was likely condensing a divine domain. With a backer like that, it was no wonder that Richard had the guts to attack the violent Red Cossack.

Kellac had been a good friend of Amon's for many years. That was exactly why Richard had used him right at the start. “It's great that he found a new faith,” the old man muttered to himself, “but he doesn't have many years left. He probably cannot be of much help to you.”

Richard smiled lightly, “He's actually doing quite well now. It won't be an issue for him to live another two decades.”

“What?!” Amon was shocked, “That's impossible! I know his situation well. Even if he has the divine power of a new god poured into him, it will only extend his life by two or three years!”

“He will return in a few days. You'll know his situation when you see him.” Richard put the cup down, tossing out his second card without any hurry, “If Lord Rolf is willing to pay a certain price, and he trusts me enough, I can help him overcome his enemies.”

*Crash!* The teacup in Amon's hands fell to the ground, shattering into bits. The old man still hadn't recovered from the surprise about Kellac's lifespan, and this shock had left him without control of himself.

His experience told him that the entity backing Richard had to be something incredible. The boy's words surprised him so greatly that he did not even have the time to bother with the shattered cup or his damp robes. His voice shook slightly as he asked, “Do you mean... Your 'rune' can help Lord Rolf jump levels?”

343 - City of Sin

Collaboration(2)

“It should be possible. My mentor just made a breakthrough and finished a new piece that is unmatched. However, both creation and activation use up large amounts of magic crystals. The rune can only be used twice as well,” Richard said calmly.

Amon tried to suppress the excitement he was feeling, but he could not contain his emotions as he exclaimed repeatedly, “Unimaginable, unimaginable!”

Only equipment close to the calibre of a divine weapon could possibly raise the power of a saint by an entire level. If it could be used twice, this new rune by Richard's mentor could be called a quasi-divine weapon. In a crucial moment, it granted the wearer two additional lives.

Having learnt of this, Amon couldn't care less about Richard's lengthy explanation that had a string of technical terms. Nor did he pay attention about the materials needed to activate it; no number of magic crystals was too much for a prospective divine weapon.

There could be a drastic difference in the power of two saints, even if they were both level 16. Various factors like equipment, skill, energy type, experience, and talent came into play, all affecting the outcome of a battle in some way or the other. Although the two saints of Red Cossack were only level 16, they had been born commoners who only advanced to their level through the endless flames of massacre. They were now known as battle maniacs who were no different from normal level 17 fighter. Rolf had lost more often than he won against them.

However, his chances of victory would be boosted to about 70-80% if his power could be boosted by an entire level. That would be enough. He could go all out as long as he was 70% sure of the outcome; someone able to become a saint would not lack even that amount of courage.

To Rolf, this wasn't just a matter of defeating two opponents. It was the experience of wielding the power of someone a level higher than him, something that would be greatly beneficial to his own advancement in the future. Every level once one became a saint was extremely difficult to cross.

Amon immediately made up his mind, “Alright! If your rune really is that effective, I can promise you right away that Lord Rolf will become a resolute ally in your fight against Red Cossack!”

The interests involved in this matter were so major that it was no longer necessary to inform Rolf beforehand. Amon knew the saint swordsman extremely well, and that he would have no room for hesitation at all. He did not suspect the capabilities of Richard's mentor either; he had always been paying attention to any news related to the youth, and although there were a lot of secrets the knowledge of the existence of runes was extremely handy. He managed to find out about Richard selling an entire batch to the Direwolf Duke through his channels, and if these things were beginning to show up en masse then the crafting style and quality had to be stabilising. Naturally, that meant more formidable products would follow.

Richard passed a list to Amon, “In that case, this is the list of materials needed to equip and activate the rune. Also, forgive me but some extra materials were added to keep things confidential. They're roughly worth the cost of the basic components of the rune that I already have.”

The old man had no objection to this. Any mage would ask for more materials than they needed when manufacturing for someone else; that way, they could prevent others from figuring out how their artifacts were made.

“I hope to receive them in a week's time. It will take about ten days or so to process, and Lord Rolf should need a few more days after that to get used to it. Time is tight.”

Looking through the numerous items on the list, Amon couldn't help but inhale sharply, “The things on this list are worth 200,000 coins at minimum!”

“200,000 coins for two chances to defeat formidable opponents; it isn't expensive at all. Gold can be earned again, but the opportunity to obtain great power does not come frequently.”

The old man nodded gravely. Richard was right; it was impossible to buy a chance to defeat a saint with even 2 million coins, forget 200,000. He scrutinised the list once more, “Time is rather tight, but I will make sure these materials are in your hands in five days. However, can the crafting time be reduced? The Red Cossack saints could be here any time.”

Richard shook his head, “I'll be the one crafting the rune; ten days is already the lowest it can go. You should know my mentor took an entire two months to finish the basic components. Besides, even for it to be done in ten days there can be no flaw in the quality of the materials you give me. The higher the quality, the faster I finish.”

“In this case...” The old man creased his brows, hesitating a moment before speaking up, “I suggest you speak with Devon as well. The conflict between the Golden Warflag and Red Cossack is only growing, and that old fatty is always interested in anything that hurts them. However, it won't be easy to convince him. If the Golden Warflag is willing to stand by our side, things will be a lot easier to handle. They have two saints themselves, and Lord Falcao will be able to rush over very quickly.”

Richard thought it over for a moment before replying, “Alright, I'll go talk to him. I believe he will join our side.”

Only half an hour later, Richard met the large man in his dazzlingly furnished hall. Devon had fallen asleep a short while ago, and he did not seem too pleased with Richard interrupting his dreams. The only reason he had even gotten out of his warm and cozy bed was Richard's dual identity as a runemaster's disciple and a great mage.

He shifted himself onto the spacious sofa, letting out a huge yawn before he spoke, “Dear Richard, you must have some good news to make up for the precious sleep I lost.”

“Me, you, and Amon— what say we divide Red Cossack up?”

Richard's voice wasn't loud, but it caused Devon's eyes to widen in an instant. The man's enormous figure leapt up from the sofa immediately, and he pointed at Richard and began a little incoherently. “You... Y-you crazy! This is impossible!”

If it was someone else speaking such words, Devon would have thrown them out long ago. However, Richard was an extremely young great mage. Anything a great mage said ought to be taken seriously; they were people who combined talent, power, and wisdom in a single package. Their judgement was rarely wrong.

“You don't have to pay a huge price. Just call Lord Falcao over to Bluewater to keep watch for a few days, and back me up with some soldiers or battle slaves.”

“Explain. In Detail.” Devon was already devoid of all sleepiness, gazing at Richard with bright eyes.

344 - City of Sin

Desires

Devon had already agreed to join hands with Amon, seeking more power in Bluewater's new order together, but that was nowhere nearly as crazy as Richard's plan. The mage wanted to kick Red Cossack out, a group that held a fourth of the influence in the Oasis on the whole!

When Richard explained the details, Devon immediately pointed out two problems, “Even if Lord Falcao was here, both he and Rolf would not be a match for the two saints of Red Cossack. But let's ignore that for a moment, say we can hold up the opponent's saints, can you sweep away all of Red Cossack's forces? These men are known throughout the Bloodstained Lands for their ruthlessness and ferocity!”

Richard smiled calmly, “I have a solution to the first problem, at some cost of course. As for the second... Yes. Yes, I can.”

The fellow's eyes sparkled. “Interesting!” he said as he rubbed his hands together, “Interesting!”

And thus, the deal with Devon was sealed. The fatty had his own logic to things: if Richard could convince Amon of the feasibility of this operation, then he would trust the boy as well. The mage already had great military successes that inspired confidence, and the Golden Warflag was not afraid of Red Cossack anyway. Falcao definitely wasn't as good as the opponent's saints, but Lord Trey, who was handling affairs elsewhere, could destroy one of them without issue.

The contract was thus finalised, but it still required some steps on Richard's part to bring it into effect. The mage needed to bring back thousands of slaves as proof of his power.

Neither Amon nor Devon considered Richard's current army to be worth even a mention. Although they didn't want to force the cards from this friend's hand, he still needed to prove his ability on the field if he wanted to ally with them.

When the sun rose the next morning, Richard and his entire army took off for the slave camp. The sun was setting when he returned to Bluewater, an enormous group trailing behind him. Although there were less than 8,000 slaves, the number wasn't too far off. The group looked magnificent from a distance, the 1000-strong army at the helm looking extremely weak in comparison.

The 8,000 slaves all entered Bluewater, alarming almost everyone within. Many were still unaware of the origin of these slaves, but any fool could understand the benefits they represented.

Most people were envious, some even thinking of snatching the batch of slaves away. However, the appearance of both Devon and Amon in a welcoming position caused the restless crowd to calm down.

Only a small number of people could see what was really going on. The composition of Richard's army spoke roughly of their marching speed. Given how long it would take to travel to and from the battlefield, and adding in the time it would have taken to reorganise the slaves, one would come up with an astonishing duration for the battle.

Richard's friends were stood side by side, unable to help but glance at each other to notice the shock in their eyes. They understood the strength of that Red Cossack camp well, and that the number of cavalrymen guarding it had increased recently. Even if the battle was extremely short, they had expected Richard to be at least two hours slower. After all, he still needed to let his soldiers eat and rest before the attack.

The fact that Richard returned this early proved how little time they took for both rest and the attack itself. It gave them a brand new understanding of his army, especially since he had returned with almost the same numbers that had gone out.

Since when was Red Cossack so weak that they collapsed with a single blow?

The question emerged within the minds of the two at the same time. However, these sly old foxes realised that such a thought would be mistaken. Red Cossack's might only grew and grew, never waning. This was an accomplishment of Richard's army alone.

Did he have some other troops he did not expose earlier? That couldn't be. Supplying, garrisoning, and dispatching an army was a big affair that was impossible to hide perfectly. Moreover, how could their information networks miss an army hiding out near their own headquarters?

Even if Richard held the numbers advantage, the slave camp was on defensible terrain. With 500 strong defenders and a troop of a few hundred horse bandits on top, it wasn't easy to wipe them out in a single attack. Both of them knew one thing in their hearts: the high-ranking generals they knew might not be able to get the job done with even two or three thousand people, nevermind the 1,000 men Richard had taken with him.

Looking at Amon and Devon from afar, Richard stopped his horse and waved to them from a distance. After that, he pointed behind himself with a smile on his face.

Devon patted his head repeatedly, turning to his subordinates and roaring, “Why aren't you lot preparing?! Those are our slaves! Camps, guards, food, and doctors, is everything ready? Did I not make myself clear to you this morning, why are you all still standing here like idiots?!”

Since when had this fatty told them anything? Forget 8,000 slaves, he hadn't even brought up 80! A few of his subordinates had doubts in their hearts, but how could someone stupid be able to rise so high in the Golden Warflag? Every one of them just repeatedly said 'yes' with a terrified face, rushing off to handle their tasks.

Richard returned to the inn alongside his party; naturally, there were some subordinates who could take care of the complicated matter of handing over the slaves. He believed this display would leave enough of an impression on the Golden Warflag and Marquess Anrick.

Red Cossack didn't just rely on their saints and ferocity to rule the roost. Their guards were widely known for great strength, their army comparable to that of a Marquess.

Powerhouses and elite soldiers were two sides of the coin of war, both were indispensable. One or two saints could not match up to an entire army; it would be like pitting a lion against a pack of wolves. However, an army without a powerhouse would falter under the attack of saints. The slightest gap in their defences would allow the saints to decimate them with guerilla tactics.

Richard didn't want to put on a display of personal power, or of the power of his runes. He was showing off his ability at the helm of an army. He was the only one who could destroy Red Cossack's defences without much of a military advantage. That way, both Anrick and the Golden Warflag would go all out to support him. The army would not be an issue; either of them could give him enough soldiers and equipment.

Richard had become the centre of focus in the entire oasis. Hundreds of gazes were fixed upon him, a mix of envy and curiosity that did not lack hatred. Although nobody discussed it publicly, the rumours spread very quickly and soon everyone knew where those slaves had come from. The Red Cossack camp was the only place nearby with so many slaves, and the fact that they were his enemies was already a public secret.

Riding his tall horse, Richard could overlook the majority of the people in the city. He had already become someone with a modicum of infamy. Workers were already beginning large-scale construction in his lands and refurbishing the existing buildings, with everything that used to belong to Schitich now falling under his name. His territory in the Bloodstained Lands was now large enough to build a large camp that could house 3,000 slaves.

The new camp would be completed by the time Red Cossack was eliminated from Bluewater, just in time to consolidate his new status as one of its key influences.

However, none of this was what he desired. All the power, all the reverence, the surging wealth, the ability to kill as he pleased... nothing mattered. He couldn't bring himself to be happy with these achievements.

345 - City of Sin

Desires(2)

That dark premonition was like a piece of lead in Richard's heart, urging him on to grow as powerful as he could as quickly as possible. He had to return to Norland.

The power at his hand was indeed growing rapidly, but the further he walked this path the more distinctly he understood how strong Sharon and Mountainsea truly were. He had known before that Sharon was powerful, but had not possessed the ability to gauge the extent of her ability. It was like a mortal gazing up at the starry sky, knowing it was vast but not how much.

He now felt like he had a slight idea, but that only made it clear to him that they were leagues apart with a vast ocean between them. As for Mountainsea, she walked a completely different path to power that he still couldn't see through.

Back at the inn, the first thing he did was to enter the basement. The place had been turned into a temporary interrogation hall, the large room in the centre connected to a dozen small cells. Numerous instruments of torture were placed in the middle, most of which had been borrowed from the Golden Warflag.

Most of the prisoners here were dwarves, with some leaders of the second-class Red Cossack caravan added on. A few sinister half-naked torturers were currently dragging a dwarf who was at his last breath off the rack.

Standing at the side, Caesar quickly flipped through the holy tome in his hands. A gentle voice trembled out the chant for a healing spell, a ray of holy light pulling the near-dead dwarf back from death's door. The youth looked pale, evidently finding it difficult to handle the bloody scene. However, that difficulty did nothing to affect his spells.

A shadow of the late Baron now lay across his face. His gift for the divine was apparent: it hadn't taken him long to get to level 3 where he could start casting healing spells. He would qualify to be a full cleric in any church on Faelor now.

Olar was in charge of the entire procedure. His handsome, feminine features had been warped by fury, eyes shooting out a cold, cruel radiance.

“Hang him up and sober him with a few buckets of freezing water! Let's see if he can remember the route back to the Anvil of Lightning then!” the elf shouted in exasperation.

Two torturers hung the dwarf up, pouring the water right on his face. The unconscious fellow yelled as he regained consciousness, all the wounds on his body throbbing with pain. He couldn't help but groan, but every grunt was laced with curses. The many rounds of torture had not broken him.

There was practically no bit of skin on the dwarf's body that was still in good condition. Caesar was constantly casting lesser heals to preserve his life, but the cleric did not yet have the ability to fix the wounds. That was something only someone at Flowsand's level could accomplish.

Richard's eyes swept through the room the moment he entered, and his face immediately distorted into a frown. “What?” he asked Olar, “They're still not willing to talk?”

“These guys are like... No, they're the same as the dwarves back home,” Olar smiled bitterly.

Already cruel and merciless, the bard had learnt a great many torture methods from Richard. On top of that, he had the help of a cleric. And yet, after an entire day and night, he still couldn't force these dwarves to give up the most important piece of information— the location of their tribe.

One had to note that the presence of a cleric greatly enhanced the cruelty of torture. Of course, the extent of that depended on the level of the cleric— even if one slipped up, a high priest could bring someone back from the brink of death.

Richard's brows wrinkled even more, “They're still insisting on what they said?”

“Yes, Master.” Olar smiled bitterly, wiping away the sweat on his forehead, “They've signed a contract with Red Cossack, witnessed by their god. They will support Red Cossack for thirty years, refusing to go against their oath. These dwarves are very stubborn, we need time to wear them down.”

Richard looked over the prisoners, asking, “Did you tell them clearly what that means?”

His tone was extremely cold, to the point that even Olar couldn't help but tremble. “I've already warned them that allying with Red Cossack will make them our enemy, and that we're never lenient to our foes. They know cooperating is their only chance of survival, but—”

“The dwarves of the Anvil will never betray an oath to our god!” a coarse roar sounded out, interrupting the elf's words. It was a rough gunman, his moustache so coarse it looked like a horse's mane.

Richard headed to the dwarf's cage and crouched down, speaking calmly, “I don't need you to betray your god. Just give me the formula for your gunpowder, and I'll let you go. If you still want to support Red Cossack after that, do as you wish. However, let me remind you— Red Cossack is a target I must exterminate. I won't hold back if I see your kind at their side.”

“You want the formula for the Thunder God's Fire? Dream on!” the gunman guffawed, spitting at Richard.

Richard's expression grew cold. Air surged as his magic barrier stirred, sending the saliva flying back to paste itself on the dwarf's face. He did not have the patience to waste time on the dwarf, instead walking up to the caravan captains, “What about you? Are any of you going to tell me what I want to know?”

Most of them were silent, only one middle-aged man spitting in contempt as he said fiercely, “You dare steal Red Cossack's goods and kill our people... Wait for your death! Once our army arrives, you should pray you die in battle. If you don't, burly men of all races will be waiting for your ass! Your women won't do any better... They'll be taken by at least fifty every day—”

Richard stood up, a silencing spell cutting off the man's words. “Why is it that everyone we meet is smelly and stubborn?” he frowned, “Isn't there anyone in Red Cossack afraid of death?”

His voice was calm, but Olar shivered once more. He had no idea how to answer, but he could not remain quiet either. The atmosphere was stifling in the silence.

“Master... We might just have had bad luck this time,” he said carefully.

346 - City of Sin

Desires(3)

The dwarves had actually played along in the beginning, talking about their battles with Red Cossack. However, when it came to matters of principle like their gunpowder recipes or the location of their tribe, they turned into rocks that would not open their mouths. Olar tried every method he knew over the entire day, but there was no progress. This was something he had never encountered before; even Norland's dwarves weren't this unyielding. Any decently sized group, regardless of race, was bound to have some people who were timid and greedy. However, every prisoner they had taken from the caravan was extremely stubborn. It could only be chalked up to bad luck.

“I don't have the time!” Richard coldly interrupted, pointing at the middle-aged Red Cossack captain, “Drag him out!”

A few men opened the door of the cage, pulling the man out and placing him in front of Richard. The mage did not speak a word, merely closing his eyes as his breathing grew more ragged and his face ashen. It only lasted a short while, though— his breaths were back to normal by the time he opened his eyes again. However, in the depths of those pupils was something nobody here could see clearly.

Richard's gaze bored into the middle-aged man's eyes, “I've run out of patience. Tell me right now, where is the Anvil of Lightning?”

The middle-aged man groaned, not answering the question. However, Richard did not frown this time, only taking the sword from Olar's waist.

*Schlick!* The blade cut off the man's right hand. Blood spurted out like a fountain, turning the fellow's face white. He let out a stifled groan, but still remained unyielding as he tried to stay upright without shouting.

Richard looked him in the eyes, saying solemnly, “I do not have any more time. The more you delay me, the lower the chances that these other two survive. And they're very important to me!”

“Then let them die!” came the response.

*Schlick!* The left arm fell to the floor.

“Where is the Anvil of Lightning?” Richard asked twice more, the lack of response robbing the man of both his legs.

“Caesar!” Richard called. The youth could not keep his hands from trembling, but still managed to complete a lesser healing spell. This would only slow down the bleeding, causing the man to die a slower death. A simple healing spell could not fix such deep wounds.

Richard passed the sword back to Olar. The bard noticed that the fingers gripping the blade had turned pale, an indication that the mage had overexerted his energy. The mage wasn't actually feeling as calm as he looked; his heart was boiling with a volcanic rage that could erupt at any time.

Richard took out a handkerchief, wiping his hands that were stained with blood as he spoke to Olar, “You can go and rest now. Come back tomorrow morning. If they are still unwilling to yield, cut all their limbs off in the evening and throw them outside the city!”

“Yes, Master!” Olar replied with his head lowered. For some reason, even though some past orders had been crueller, this one felt especially bone-chilling. It was as if his master had completely transformed into someone else over the past few days.

Only after Richard left the interrogation room could the bard manage to relax. He let out a deep breath, thick beads of sweat pouring down his face to drench his entire outfit. Feeling uncomfortable, the elf cast an angry gaze at the captives and hurled expletives their way, having the guards keep a close eye on them as he left the interrogation room.

That night he felt especially depressed, as though something was stuck in his chest. He needed to find a place to have a drink and relax.

......

When he returned to his room, Richard closed the door and forced himself to calm down as he tried to start meditating. The Archeron blood in the depths of his body was roaring without end, giving him a strong urge to rip apart everything in his way!

He sat down and tried to quiet the restless blood, his consciousness slowly becoming still.

His inner mind was initially black everywhere, but a starry blue light slowly lit up in a corner. A spectre of himself revolved around that blue sea, a translucent silhouette of his own body that was covered in faint mist.

The dull lights were a representation of his current magical abilities. Given his blessing of wisdom, it did not take any time to accurately calculate the depth of his mana pool. As a level 11 mage, he currently had a total of 800 points of mana. He wasn't far from level 12.

The colour of the magic lights represented the distribution of the different elements. His own mana pool was a mix of different colours, a balanced chaos with no specific affinity. This was the most common type of mana. Google search 𝑓𝘳𝚎𝘦𝚠e𝚋𝘯o𝘃el. 𝒄om

Numerous dark-red lines roamed all over his body, each as slender as a spiderweb. If he concentrated on them and magnified the image, he could see that these traces resembled blood vessels. However, the blood flowing within them was close to boiling temperature.

This was not the first time he had come across this scene during meditation. He knew that they were not his real veins, merely a vestige of his Archeron bloodline's strength.

The Archeron bloodline was unbelievably powerful. Even a mere grade 2 ability like Blaze was extremely strong. It could speed up his spellcasting by over 20%, only limited by the fact that his immature bloodline would not allow him to use Eruption at the same time. Using Blaze was equivalent to forfeiting his own survival skills.

In the deepest part of his body was a large, fuzzy tree, with lush branches that spread out everywhere. They reached the extremes of his body, intertwining with that crimson web. One could not trace the branches back to the root, nor could they find the end.

A vast array of roots encircled five trunks, with most of the branches and leaves growing out of one. This tree was a manifestation of his elven blood, the five trunks representing the affinities granted by his bloodline: nature, the elements, recovery, illusion, and moonforce. The most developed of the lot was the trunk of nature, the origin of the boost to his Nature's Beckon spell. The moonforce trunk had grown a little as well, but the other three were mostly stems without much growth.

A cloud of mana pervaded the tree and the spiderwebs, constantly pumping into both bloodlines and spilling out once more. However, the mana was being worn down a little in this process; the effect was so minute that Richard only sensed it because of his sharpness and care.

347 - City of Sin

To Return Home

Bloodline abilities had been studied extensively in Norland. They did not pop out of thin air, instead drawing power based on the wielder's class. For a warrior that was energy and for mage mana, but there were other options like astral power, fire, and moonforce. This absorbed power was then mutated into the ability, be it powerful or useless. That was why only a lucky few had the gift to be born with them. Most people unlocked abilities as they grew in level.

Those like Richard, possessing multiple bloodlines that could grant abilities, were often met with the quandary of choice. The more they used one of their bloodlines, the more it would develop. With time, it would grow to dominate the rest.

Richard allowed his mind to still once more, his soul force gradually spreading out. The mana within his body started to radiate outside, seemingly sensing something.

With the mana rippling out from his silent sea of consciousness, it revealed the occasional ray of blue astral light nearby. These rays were trapped by the mana, pulled into his body to slightly strengthen him. This light immediately dissolved once it entered his body, but it turned a small portion of his mana blue.

This was the beginning portion of Sharon's unique meditation technique, the Deepblue Fantasy. This method allowed one to sense rays of astral light that held unknown properties, not using elemental mana. This blue energy was somewhat similar to astral power, but it wasn't exactly the same. Outside of the ability to substitute for all other kinds of mana, Richard hadn't been able to find any of its unique strengths yet.

Richard had only begun to use the Deepblue Fantasy after he advanced to level 10. Every ray he caught was equivalent to a tenth of a point of mana. He could normally capture anywhere from one to three rays for every hour of meditation, making the technique thrice as fast as any ordinary methods. These details were proof of how rich the Deepblue's inheritance was.

Meditation was not easy. Richard found it difficult to enter the depths of his mind, which was why he only managed to find a single astral ray within the hour. On top of that, his Archeron bloodline suddenly grew boisterous the moment it entered him, absorbing the power quickly!

This was the first time his bloodline was absorbing power of its own accord. All of a sudden it flashed an image in his mind, one that was extremely familiar to him: a fragment of the future scenes he had witnessed due to the divine grace. It was an image of Sharon, her body floating in the boundless void.

Richard abruptly opened his eyes, spitting out a mouthful of blood. The crimson liquid did not even make it to the floor, vapourising the moment it spurted out!

*Bang!* The door to his room was suddenly pushed open; Flowsand had darted in from next door, barely in time to see the wisp of bloody mist. She couldn't help but cry out, “What's wrong?”

Some shuffling sounds rang out, and Waterflower and Phaser charged in as well, in that order. They were both closely connected to Richard's soul, and immediately sensed him wavering. This distress was like a haze that stretched out to push them down, as if about to devour the entire world in a moment.

Richard swayed, suddenly feeling fatigued and weak. He couldn't help but lean into Flowsand's embrace, looking pale as he closed his eyes and said gently, “I'm... I'm fine. I... I just want to go home.”

Seeing the blood still flowing from the corner of his mouth, Flowsand hugged him tightly, “We will! We'll go back very soon! What's wrong with you? Don't... don't scare me!”

She tried to wipe the blood off his face, but her ice-cold hands were shaking. She only managed to smear the bloodstains further.

The blood Richard had coughed out reeked with the aura of magic, feeling very similar to the greatest catastrophe a mage could ever be plagued by— mana disintegration. Flowsand's mind had blanked the moment she came through the door to see the evaporating mist. She was no longer the divine cleric who was calm as water, instead holding the young man tightly in her arms as she felt just as helpless as any other.

Although their souls were not connected, she could still sense the haze of despair appearing in the depths of his soul, practically covering the last light of his consciousness. It felt like the heavens themselves were collapsing, leaving her without the strength to reach out and resist.

Stood at the side, Waterflower just held the Shepherd of Eternal Rest tightly while at a loss. She only knew to kill, not to heal. While those delicate fingers of hers were pale with the exertion already, she knew that her blade could do nothing in this situation.

It was instead Phaser, standing silently in the corner so far, that said something stiffly. This was still divine tongue, but it was the same language used in Norland so Flowsand could understand. “Divine spell. Restoration.”

Flowsand suddenly returned to herself, only then remembering that she was a cleric. She helped Richard up and quickly started a chant, preparing the healing spell. It would not fix the mana disintegration, but at least it would treat the wounds. However, even this spell that she could recite in her dreams she failed twice, only managing to cast it properly on the third attempt.

The rejuvenating power immediately seeped into every part of Richard's body, returning a rosy tint to his pale face. The violent movements of his Archeron bloodline finally abated, the berserking mana quieting down.

Richard closed his eyes, recovering for a moment before he opened them again, “I'm fine. There were just some small issues during the meditation. There's no need to worry.”

Flowsand opened her mouth, but eventually decided not to continue the topic, “Alright... But don't meditate anymore tonight. The spell needs time to work.”

Richard nodded, smiling as he always did, “Fine, no problem. You lot should get back to sleep now!” His elegant elven face had been sharpened and restrained by numerous trips to death's door.

It was indeed late. Just like they had arrived, Waterflower and Phaser turned into two shadows that silently left the room. When Flowsand was at the door, she suddenly turned back and said earnestly, “We will return quickly.”

Richard maintained that striking smile as he shook his head, “There's no rush. We shouldn't hurry the matter, just keep working on our own schedule.”

“Mm!” the cleric nodded hard before returning to her room, giving him some space.

Richard lay down on the bed, but just couldn't fall asleep. The restoration spell was showing its effects: the divine power had activated his body's healing abilities, healing the injuries very quickly. By the time the divine force was completely exhausted, a biting fatigue ate into every sinew of his body that left him craving rest. However, the moment he closed his eyes those premonitions that shook him to the very core appeared in his sight once more. They were impossible to get rid of.

Since he couldn't sleep, he got dressed and made his way out of bed, taking out his tools as he began to craft runes.

348 - City of Sin

Ogre's Battle

Richard found no problem with crafting an elementary strength rune, even with his mana depleted. The only adverse effect was that the boost would be slightly lower than normal.

The rune he was currently working on was meant for Medium Rare, and would raise the ogre's might greatly. Runes weren't limited to humans: elves, dwarves, gnomes... any race with adequate intelligence could use them with only minor adjustments. Even some powerful magic beasts could use runes, an example being the mounts of rune knights.

However, few people in history had crafted runes for ogres and barbarians, even for elementary runes. Most runemasters in history had come from humans and elves, and with the elven empires split apart most current runemasters were human. Every single one was a person of high esteem, and regardless of the quality of their runes demand always outstripped supply. Who would create runes for barbarians and ogres, beings that humans believed were only a step above beasts?

Ogres could indeed equip runes. They were different from orcs in that regard, many even having talent for magic. Tiramisu himself was a prime example of this.

Although the rune Richard was crafting wasn't customised for ogres, given his strong vitality Medium Rare would only feel slightly uncomfortable when using it. However, his strength would still be boosted to a great extent. Costs would skyrocket if he wanted to make the custom rune, and it would take three months to craft. On top of that, outside of the comfort when using it, the bonus to the strength boost would be a measly 5%.

The elementary strength rune was nearly complete by dawn. It would only take two more days to finish.

......

A calm day passed in Bluewater. People had many things to discuss, mostly with regards to Richard returning with nearly 8,000 slaves. Although he had kept all the sturdy barbarians and wild elves to himself, the remaining desert warriors were still worth 50,000 gold. And this was only the price in the Bloodstained Lands! 50,000 gold was no small amount to anyone, so everyone was naturally happy to chat about it throughout the day.

However, once night fell the people had one more thing to discuss. That was the sudden appearance of a dozen people at the boundaries of the city.

It was a mixed group of humans and dwarves. The attention-grabbing detail was that all of them had their limbs amputated, but were still healed by divine spells. The stumps were not bleeding profusely, and at the very least they would not die in the next few days. They tossed about, their wails of anguish so agonising that even the hardened residents of the Bloodstained Lands were appalled. Some had recognised that the humans hailed from Red Cossack, but nobody dared relieve them of their pain. They did not even have the courage to end their suffering.

People had already noticed that Richard's subordinates were the ones who had dumped these fellows here. Now, this handsome young mage was no different from a demon in their eyes.

The same night Richard had plundered the second-class caravan and reached Bluewater with its goods, the Red Cossack agents in the city had silently left to avoid his blade. However, nobody would believe that the ferocious merchant group had conceded to the great mage. The local agent just felt like he did not have the strength to engage Richard in combat, so he retreated for now. Red Cossack had started out as a bandit group, and they were scattered across the vast land. They rarely placed massive military forces in a single city. Their response to this provocation would definitely be fierce.

The conflict between Richard and Red Cossack had reached the point of no return. Given how he had dealt with the entire situation, it was obvious that he had no more mercy than them. Blood did not scare these people, but it definitely stopped anyone who harboured ill intent for him because of his age.

The onlookers naturally had their own opinions of the situation, but they consciously lowered their voice. This was a display of Richard's power.

Night fell once more. Richard was finishing up on his strength rune, while Flowsand was in the middle of her nightly classes for her apprentices where she taught them how to amass divine power and use it.

Waterflower was still hidden in the darkness; nobody outside of Richard could pinpoint her location. Phaser occasionally hovered nearby, but sometimes she just wandered around in the city. Gangdor and Tiramisu stayed with the army; with a hundred new barbarians and sixty elven archers, training had to be stepped up so they could integrate into the forces as soon as possible. The others had their own matters to attend to; Richard would be staying in Bluewater for some more time.

News had already arrived from Kellac's side. He had finished absorbing all the divine power, and he was bringing his own army over. 300 warriors of the Demon Hunting Spears had accepted Richard's recruitment and would hasten over once their current missions came to an end. While they would take a collective 3,000 coins per month, elites that were level 7 at minimum with two powerful level 13 swordsmen meant he was getting his money's worth.

All that was left was to wait for the saint of the Golden Warflag, Falcao. When he arrived, there would be no need to fear any sudden attack by Red Cossack.

The rune meant for Rolf was already in production. It cost a great deal to make and would last half an hour per activation. Whenever active, it would enhance the user's strength by 20% and defence by 10%, the combination of two effects signifying its status as a grade 2 rune. Most of the magic arrays would be shaved off after two uses, however, leaving behind very little power. This was the most important part and the reason for the high cost. A self-destructing magic array that had a limit on the number of uses was difficult to draw. A normal grade 2 rune would only cost two-thirds as much.

......

In a tavern at the side of the city, Medium Rare, Olar, and Phaser were drinking at a table. They were mostly here because of the ogre's existence: Medium Rare was unwelcome in most taverns because he would scare off the other customers.

Perhaps it was due to his soul contract with Richard, but Olar had been jittery as of late. He'd thus pulled Medium Rare away for a few drinks, and for some reason, Phaser had come along as well. However, the elf had no other thoughts for the night, eager to rinse his throat with alcohol and wash away the restlessness with the ogre.

Phaser was wrapped up in a dark robe, hiding the unique features that would attract attention. Business was slow in the tavern anyway, with only two tables filled, but bottles were already strewn over theirs. Medium Rare alone had the capacity of seven or eight sturdy men, his large body not even fitting into the chair. He had to sit on the floor, bringing him to the same height as the seated Olar. The elven bard himself was used to high society where alcohol tolerance was an essential weapon, while Phaser wasn't half-bad either. The alcohol seemed to have no effect on her.

349 - City of Sin

Ogre's Battle(2)

The tavern boss walked out, six bottles of home-made whiskey in his hand. He almost couldn't keep up with the pace of the ogre's drinking.

“This batch is from my personal collection. It has a diff'rent taste, but be careful! The thing's strong!” he politely reminded them. However, his tone made it seem like he was actually egging them on. It was obvious that these customers could drink up all his stock, earning him a great deal of money.

Medium Rare hummed an affirmative, grabbing the tray and placing it on the table. He took one of the bottles by the neck, pouring the liquid down his throat. A wood-tinted smell of fruit spread out as the alcohol flowed out, and the mellow taste was much better than anything they'd gotten before. This rich fluid was actually very strong; by the time the bottle's contents were in his stomach, even the ogre felt a comforting dizziness.

The door to the tavern was pulled open, and two groups of people entered one after the other. Looking at their attire they were bounty hunters, a common profession in the Bloodstained Lands. These sorts of people did anything to earn the money for drink, be it working as bodyguards or bandits.

The first group of four managed to find a good place, leaving the three behind discontent. There were only two tables left in the tavern, and both were next to Medium Rare. Nobody dared get close to the ogre, as good-natured as he seemed.

The three bounty hunters muttered something, but it was already far too late and they seemingly didn't want to find another place. They chose a table and sat down.

One of them was a little clumsy while taking his seat, sending his coat flying to brush against the back of Medium Rare's head.

“Hey! You touched me!” Medium Rare stated roughly.

“Sorry, friend. This place is a little narrow,” the hunter answered apologetically, fear in his voice. His companions looked over nervously as well, nobody daring to do something that could cause a misunderstanding. Thankfully, Medium Rare was in no mood to bicker. The matter was concluded with a wave of his hand, and Olar just glanced at the hunters without bothering about them.

The ogre was starting to get tipsy, putting him in a good mood. The continuous battles had left every bit of his body filled with strength; it wouldn't be long before he could break through to level 13. His body had grown more nimble as well, a sign of an upcoming mutation. Although he hadn't mutated at level 12, it wouldn't be bad to do so at level 13. After all, only one or two out of every ten ogres could mutate in the first place.

However, he felt a slight numbness in the back of his head, as if a mosquito had stung him. He scratched at the place, cursing the savage creature. The Bloodstained Lands truly were strange, there were mosquitos here capable of piercing an ogre's thick skin.

The hunters at the two tables sat down, ordering alcohol and dishes as they began to brag noisily. They mentioned their escapades and adventures, the occasional chuckles making the place more lively.

Medium Rare and Olar were chatting happily as well, “You don't know this, but Old Nasir made me and Tiramisu eat some sludge that was roots, grass, and leaves mixed together every day. It was just nasty! But Old Nasir said I'd slowly get smarter if I ate it every day. What's the point of being smart? Strength is always better for strong enemies. Tiramisu's smarter than me, by he never beat me before even with magic. Right, little Olar, did you know Old Nasir told me I could learn magic too? Ugh, but I hate staying in a single pose like a fool. Oh, of course Master is an exception! I just prefer going directly, using my hammer to smash the enemies' heads!”

Olar snorted in response, “Didn't you and your brother like cooking then? When did you get the chance to crush skulls? Also, I'm older than you. Stop calling me little Olar!”

Medium Rare scratched his head and wondered in confusion, “I liked cooking then? Did I say that? Eh, I could. Old Nasir's food was horrible! And then... and then he died. Although his food was terrible, me and Tiramisu really liked him. We also like humans.”

“The humans that turned you into a slave!” Olar stated coldly. He had once been a slave to humans' wills. His mixed blood ensured he would never have status amongst both humans and elves.

Medium Rare scratched his head, “But Master is human.”

Olar nodded this time, showing his approval. Richard was actually a fairly good master, treating his subordinates very well. His future was also promising. He'd be even better if those two fierce women weren't by his side. Flowsand and Waterflower were exceptionally beautiful, but he rued the very thought of them now. In fact, he didn't think he could even get it up for them.

At that moment, Medium Rare felt the back of his head itching once more. The mosquito's venom seemed to be quite potent. Ogres had nature resistance to toxins and illness, and a mosquito able to hurt him was something he had never seen before. He reached over to scratch, but then he suddenly shouted!

There was a huge, swollen sore on the back of his head the size of a bowl! It was fine before he scratched it, but it burst apart the moment he scratched it and sprayed black blood everywhere. The pain was bone-piercing.

“What's going on?” Olar was terrified and stunned, immediately sobering up. He quickly stood up, only to see that the seven bounty hunters that had come in late were drawing weapons from their robes. A few crossbows were already aimed at him!

The hunter closest to the ogre had already drawn a dull, large dagger at some point in time, aiming it to pierce the ogre's back. The attack was fast and fierce, unexpectedly quiet. If not for Olar coincidentally looking that way and seeing it, he wouldn't even have noticed someone was there.

An assassin. A powerful assassin! Olar's hair practically stood on end, the chill of death already pervading his heart. The four crossbows fired simultaneously, the short, tail-less bolts whistling through the air. Three of them shone with a mysterious blue light, evidently laced with powerful toxins.

Given how close they were, Olar couldn't dodge at all. Given his physique, even with chainmail on he could not block the mass of arrows coming his way!

Medium Rare roared furiously, the bellowing noise causing everyone to see black. All the bottles of wine in the tavern exploded, fragments flying everywhere. He didn't seem to be affected by the dagger piercing his ribs, agilely getting up and placing his broad body as a barrier that protected Olar and Phaser!

Dull sounds rang out as the four poisoned bolts entered the ogre's back, embedded deep into his body. They only left four small holes on the surface of his back.

350 - City of Sin

Ogre's Battle(3)

“Go!” Medium Rare grabbed a table and threw it behind him. His tremendous strength turned even the blunt edge of the table top into a terrifying blade.

The faces of the hunters changed. They jumped out of the way one by one, not one having the courage to receive the blow. They knew all too well how terrifying the power of an enraged ogre could get.

The assassin stuck close to Medium Rare, his actions practised and skilful. Using the whirling table as a blind spot, his dagger left a frightful wound on the ogre's enormous body.

The muscles around the injury squirmed non-stop, as if trying to close the wound. However, it was to no avail; a stream of blood poured out, as if a wine barrel had been smashed open against a counter. Even the ogre's powerful vitality could not stem the blood flow; the dagger clearly was enchanted to enhance its cutting power.

Medium Rare turned around, howling as he threw a punch at the assassin. The nimble killer seemed to turn into a shadow as he avoided the heavy blow, once again plunging his blade into the back of the ogre's knee. It left behind a wound that was at least ten centimetres deep.

The ogre roared in pain. The tendons in his right leg had been broken, leaving him unable to support his body as he landed heavily on his knee. The brief exchange proved that the assassin was at least level 14, and even the others disguised as bounty hunters were level 11 or above.

Olar's face paled. For a split second, he entertained the thought of escaping alone.

This was clearly a planned assassination. Given his ability, if he stayed he would undoubtedly die. However, that hesitation was fleeting. He clenched his teeth, quickly starting a spellsong. Sadly, there were few spells he could use in this situation, and they were all weak. Neither his skills at archery nor his warsongs were useful in an indoor melee. Facing many high-level opponents, he knew that these grade 3 spells couldn't do much. Still, this was the only way he could help Medium Rare.

Phaser stood up, but she remained in a strange curled posture as she tried her best to reduce her size as a target. Her gaze was fixed on the tavern boss. He looked like any other old man to the ordinary eye, his expression one of panic, but in her vision he was lighting aflame as he prepared for battle. His internal energy was murky and thick, putting him at level 13 at minimum!

“Careful of the boss!” she shrieked urgently. Her sharp voice pierced everyone's ears like a needle, stopping them in their tracks.

Originally driven insane by the alcohol and acute pain, Medium Rare immediately sobered up. A dark silhouette flashed behind Phaser only moments after her shout, a jagged armour-breaking sword entering her back. Even her natural armour could not hold out against the sharp blade, an ear-splitting crack ringing out as the weapon pierced straight towards her heart.

Medium Rare started howling once more, his skin quickly turning red. This was a sign of him going berserk. The ogre swung horizontally, sweeping his fist towards the tavern boss who was making his way towards him. The boss paled in shock; the air blown towards him was bitingly cold, holding overwhelming might. There wasn't enough distance to dodge; he could only erect a barrier of energy as a last-second measure before crossing his arms, doggedly trying to fend off this attack.

Cracking sounds rang out as the man's bones were shattered. He was flung away by the punch, sent flying through two walls before crashing outside the tavern. Even though he had level 14 energy, he was only an assassin; he was bound to be injured in a direct confrontation against someone with extraordinary strength.

With that done, Medium Rare slammed into the wall. The wood collapsed like cardboard, the broken piece fished out by the ogre and thrown towards the crowd of assassins. A fierce whistle rang out as the wall smashed towards their head, powder flying everywhere. Even the level 15 assassin didn't dare try and block it.

One of them was a little too slow to dodge the attack. The edge of the broken wall knocked into him, sending him flying into the distance.

On the other hand, their leader had fallen to the ground in a flash. Moving like a lizard, he made it to Medium Rare's feet in the blink of an eye. Using a dagger that was as wide as an axe, he sliced into the ogre's foot and cut off two of his toes.

“ARGH!” Medium Rare howled in pain, punching the floor with his huge fist. The blow smashed a deep pit into the floor, the explosive wind coming from the outburst blowing away some of the customers who could not get away in time. The snake-like assassin was long gone, even having left another wound on the ogre's elbow. This cut was too hurried to make it to the bone, but the diagonal slash exposed red and white tissue to leave blood splattering everywhere.

On the other side, Phaser's body trembled as she swept her left arm behind her. However, the assassin only smiled sadistically as the dagger in his hand pulled out and stabbed her twice more. His level was so much higher than her's that her actions were extremely slow in his eyes. There were numerous flaws in her defence, and even after the two extra stabs he could calmly stretch out his left hand to grip her attacking hand's wrist.

This exchange was enough for him to learn of her strength. His hand was like a steel vice, and he had full confidence that it would shatter her wrist.

And indeed, her left hand fell into his, but he didn't feel like he had grabbed a wrist at all. He could feel a blade's edge within, and given how much force he had exerted that one grip stung his palm hard enough to reach the bone.

The assassin felt enraged at losing to this hidden weapon, immediately drawing his sword to stab Phaser's heart again. However, a strong wind blew in his face as a huge fist entered his sight! He hadn't thought that the ogre, injured as he was by his comrades, would choose him as the target. Only able to use his arms to block, he was sent flying by Medium Rare.

“Go! Quickly!” The ogre scooped Phaser up, tossing her out through the hole in the wall. He then reached out and grabbed Olar, throwing the bard away as well. His actions were violent and sudden, interrupting Olar's spellcasting.

“You're more important to Master. Go quickly! I'll stop them!” Medium Rare yelled, using his huge body to plug the hole in the tavern's wall.

The face of the assassin leader fell. He waved his dagger and charged forth like a shadow in the wind, every flash leaving deep wounds in the ogre's head. Rare's heavy fists did not hit him at all. The ogre was covered in wounds that severely slowed him down, only relying on instinct to throw punches just to buy time. How could such random attacks hit a level 15 assassin?

However, the leader's expression only turned colder. His dagger flashed faster and faster, basically splitting Medium Rare apart until there was no more blood to spill, but the ogre remained standing as he threw punches that were each stronger than the last. A momentary slip up could spell lethal danger. Ogres were indeed tenacious, but this was unheard of. The most wretched thing was that the thing had sent away its weaker companions! Was this not just cruel stupidity?

Outside the pub, Olar and Phaser had fallen to the ground. The bard turned over and got up; there were no thoughts in his mind outside of saving Medium Rare. His vision red, he stared at the tavern and started dashing towards the ogre who looked like he was made of blood. However, his feet were suddenly pulled back and he fell again.

“Escape.” Phaser only said this one word, her tone inhuman. She then paid no more attention to him, jumping up from her spot and rushing off into the dark night. She shrugged off her robe, exposing her body completely as she melded into the darkness in a few steps.

Being sent to the cold ground calmed Olar down. He finally understood clearly that rushing back would not save Rare's life; it would only add to their own casualties.

Medium Rare was originally the most likely one to escape. An enraged level 12 ogre was someone perhaps only a saint could stop without getting hurt. However, he still chose to let the weaker Olar and Phaser escape. In his simple mind, he only knew that they were more important to Richard.

He raised his head to look in their direction one last time. The ogre's large body was like a firm mountain, blocking the hole in the wall. Blood, flesh, even his organs constantly spilt out from his sides, but his humongous body stayed still to the end.

Olar turned around and flew out, not daring to look back even if the pain in his chest screamed for him to take it out on someone. He was scared of attracting the attention of the assassins; they had already managed to get to the small window in the kitchen and jumped out to attack.

His steps felt far heavier than usual. He knew that he now carried the weight of the ogre's original responsibilities on his shoulders.

351 - City of Sin

No Need For Anger

Back at the inn, Richard had just finished the last stroke of his rune. He suddenly raised his head, looking out the window. Only a moment ago, he had felt an intense throb in the bottom of his heart. A strong warning was blaring out from Medium Rare.

“Something happened?”

The slave contract only allowed him to know his slaves' approximate location. If they were too far apart, his party could only send vague emotions over. He had an intense feeling of danger, but couldn't tell what exactly had happened to Medium Rare. On top of that, he had only sensed a fighting will as well as a warning. There was no sign of any request for help.

He immediately sealed the rune he had just crafted, changing into robes that were equipped with a defensive spell formation. He then took out a sealed box, removing an assortment of scrolls and placing them in the pocket.

A loud shout woke Flowsand up, getting her to prepare for battle as quickly as possible. He also stirred everyone connected to his soul, ordering them to get ready for a fight.

He was now certain that something had gone wrong. More fuzzy warnings were coming from Olar and Phaser. However, the two were too weak; given the distance, the information transmitted was a lot fainter than what came from Rare.

Richard went about his preparations like this was any other war, finishing up within a single minute. He then made his way downstairs to the inn's ground floor.

The entire inn was bustling. Richard's personal guard had rushed out from their rooms, throwers flooding out from the basement. Humongous bats flew out of the attic, hovering high in the night sky. They used their powerful hearing and the sharp vision that came from being the broodmother's drones, scouring the entire city for any suspicious activity.

In the army camp nearby, Tiramisu abruptly woke up from his dreams. His head was splitting with pain, and he howled as he cradled it in his arms.

Thunderous roars rang out as Gangdor drove the sleeping soldiers out of their tents, grabbing their weapons and armour before gathering at the plaza to await orders.

Hundreds of desert warriors rushed into the stables. The leaders and elites were all veterans who had followed Richard through more than a dozen major battles, making them both loyal and powerful. These valiant soldiers only needed a falchion and a horse to become elite cavalrymen.

The cavalry had gathered up by the three-minute mark. Gangdor led them in a charge towards the inn; the infantry would be taken care of by the two novice knights.

Within a few minutes, Richard's troops had been mobilised. The elites were already in formation, able to enter battle at any time. However, this information did not overwhelm him; his gift of wisdom was being used to the fullest. Although the information coming from the trio of Olar, Medium Rare, and Phaser was growing more ominous as time went by, he still maintained absolute calm. This was a part of his fundamentals as a mage of the Deepblue.

Just as he walked past a row of windows in the corridor leading downstairs, Richard suddenly grew alert. He dropped to the ground without thinking, instantly casting a range barrier.

A light buzz sounded out, the magical shield flickering out of existence. It had been shattered practically the moment it appeared, a long silver arrow soundlessly flitting through Richard's original position. The arrow then plunged into the darkness, flying off towards the unknown.

Richard leapt up. This was another brush with death, but he was no longer afraid. In fact, there were no fluctuations in his emotions as he stood in front of the window, looking outside.

It was already late into the night, everything shrouded in pitch-black darkness. Richard couldn't see the archer with his naked eye, only knowing that someone in the depths of the darkness was definitely watching him. He merely stood in front of the window, natural and calm as he looked at the unknown opponent. There was no provocation or wrath, instead an inexplicable calmness that made it seem like nothing had happened just then.

Standing in front of the window made Richard a good target once more. However, there was no second arrow shooting towards him. He certainly wouldn't continue to wait, merely standing in front of the window for a while before turning to head downstairs. He then took command of his personal guard and the throwers.

A slender figure was stood atop a wooden building a few hundred metres away. A longbow that was even larger than his body was put down, before he shook his head and turned to fly to the outskirts of the city.

Richard finally felt an intense fluctuation in his consciousness, coming from the node that belonged to Olar. It was clear that the elf was much closer now, but he didn't rush towards the inn. As a bard, he quickly made his way to the barracks so he could join the troops. His abilities could only be used to their fullest when amidst an army.

On the other hand, Phaser had crossed half the city at an extraordinary speed to return to his side. She was injured as well, but the damage was not fatal. The assassin had assumed she was human and attacked accordingly, but her internal structure was completely different. This was another of the broodmother's deceptions.

Stood at the inn's plaza, Richard watched the strong barbarians and throwers gather together. The troops were almost ready in the time it had taken him to walk here from his room. However, just as he was about to issue orders Richard's face suddenly fell. The node belonging to Medium Rare had dimmed completely, disappearing to his mind's eye.

Still, he only stopped for a moment before he mounted his horse. He then led his troops on a charge towards the tavern the ogre had been attacked in. Everyone who hadn't slept yet was left stunned, none having the guts to stand in their way.

At that moment, a majestic aura rose up from a corner of the city. “Who dares wreak havoc in Bluewater?” a dignified voice resounded throughout the city.

This was the aura of a powerhouse. The Sword Saint Rolf had already risen into the sky, energy swirling around his longsword to emit a bright radiance that was extremely striking in the night. All of the starlight in the sky seemed dim in comparison.

However, more than ten black shadows had already left the city by this time, quickly escaping into the depths of the Bloodstained Lands. A few of them were the assassins who had disguised themselves as bounty hunters in the tavern, the level 15 assassin among them as well.

One of them suddenly raised his head, speaking to the level 15 assassin, “Sir, something's wrong. That bat in the sky has been following us ever since we left the city!”

“Don't bother. Someone will take care of it,” the assassin replied calmly.

A long arrow flew out from nowhere, nailing the bat's body like a lightning bolt. The creature struggled for a little while after the arrow penetrated its body, but it wasn't long before it suddenly burst into a cloud of bloody mist!

352 - City of Sin

Brothers

Far away, Richard suddenly squinted. Tears streamed out from his eyes as though they were stung by smoke, but a quick wipe from his handkerchief took care of that. The broodmother's elites used their own power to sustain their connection with him, so even if they were eliminated it would only cause a little irritation at most.

However, this was the first time one of his elite bats had been exterminated. It reminded Richard of the archer that had ambushed him at the inn. That fellow's archery was extremely impressive, far surpassing Olar. His range had to be over 800 metres, making him a nemesis of mages. However, most long-range enchanted arrows used the power of nature to track their targets. His elven bloodline ensured he was extremely sensitive to them.

A plot for a serial assassination had been put into action that night. The actual killing began with a remote strike ambushing his subordinates, and when he received this news he was expected to look his calm. Hurrying into the open, he would then be killed himself. However, his calm vigilance and quick mobilisation of the troops had been unexpectedly immaculate. In addition to that, Richard himself had an extraordinary perception that allowed him to sense the threat and avoid the fatal blow.

Rolf was neither too early nor too late. However, Richard knew that it would be far too difficult for him to catch up to the assassins. And even if he did manage to chase up to them, even a saint would have no choice but to flee in the face of a level 15 assassin, level 14 archer, and more than ten level 11 killers. If the opponents deployed themselves properly, even escape would be impossible. The difference between level 15 and level 16 wasn't too apparent: it was level 18 where most mages and other powerhouses received new, powerful skills.

Richard had already memorised their general characteristics. Although they were experts at disguise, there were numerous secret spells in the Deepblue that were beyond their comprehension. Once he was of a higher level, there would surely be a way to catch them.

A moment later, Richard was already standing at the small tavern where the bloody battle had taken place. All of his followers were staring at the gory battlefield in silence.

Medium Rare was collapsed on the ground, still in the midst of an attack. His enormous body was riddled with countless injuries, all his organs bled out. The ogre's left forearm was only left with a tiny patch of skin, all on the upper side. Two other corpses were left behind in the tavern, the chest of one completely caved in. Judging by his posture, the ogre had likely rammed his head into the man's body and sent him flying. The ruptured ribs had pierced through his heart and lungs, making the injury fatal.

The ogre was collapsed in the opening in the wall. The assassins would have had to walk over his corpse to walk through.

Richard stood unmoving before the dead body. Heavy footsteps sounded behind him, as Rolf's deep and mellow voice rang out, “A subordinate of yours?”

“A follower,” Richard corrected.

The difference between the two words was minute, but it was extremely important to Richard. Subordinates were often temporary, but followers would be companions for a long time. They were like brothers and comrades in arms.

Rolf shrugged in response, “Merely an ogre. But he really was formidable, what a pity.”

“His name is Medium Rare,” Richard insisted. It expressed his stance tactfully, but still showed his resolution.

“Medium Rare... A strange name.” Rolf understood Richard's meaning, but he merely smiled in response. He just thought it was another eccentricity of the noble mage, ignoring it as he started to inspect the traces of the battle. The more he looked around, the graver his expression became. The bloody scene during the battle was reconstructed in his mind.

For his part, Richard had been informed about the battle by Olar. A single sweeping glance allowed him to see every detail by heart. He didn't need to know how exactly it had happened; the killer's name was enough.

Rolf checked the ogre's injuries once more before commenting, “This looks like the work of Blackwing... Oh! This Medium Well could actually keep up with Blackwing's subordinates for so long!”

“Blackwing?” Richard focused on the name.

“Mm. He's the most fearful fellow in Red Cossack, even harder to deal with than their two saints. Although he's only level 15, even I would have to be extremely careful if he decided to target me. Blackwing is a fiend of the shadows, a cockroach who can survive in the filthiest of places. Besides, he isn't alone. He has nearly twenty assassins over level 10 under him to dispatch as he pleases. Those two over there are his subordinates.”

Richard nodded, repeating, “His name is Medium Rare.”

“Alright then, Medium Rare...” Rolf replied a little grudgingly. Already finished inspecting the battlefield, he was secretly astonished. This ogre had actually stalled Blackwing and his subordinates for so long. His body had sustained more than a hundred blows! It was completely unfathomable.

Blackwing was infamous for his vicious dagger techniques. The wounds he left behind weren't only meant to disable. Every slash at muscle and bone brought along the most intense of suffering. If one continued fighting after receiving a wound from him, there was a high chance that they would rip the wound apart. Medium Rare's own left arm was mostly ripped apart during the intense battle. What sort of resilience did it take to endure such suffering?

However, Rolf did not ponder about this any further. He just chalked it up to the ogre's superhuman physique and vitality.

“How do you want to handle his corpse?” Richard asked Tiramisu, who had been silent all this while. Only after Richard's question did Rare's brother speak in a low voice, “Hand it to me, we have an ancient tradition in our tribe.”

“Alright,” Richard nodded at once.

Rolf turned around, casting a profound glance at Tiramisu, but the ogre did not even notice the gaze. The entirety of his focus was on his brother.

The ogre suddenly reached out to Gangdor, “Lend me your axe.”

Gangdor silently handed his weapon over. Even as everyone thought Tiramisu wanted to hack the assassins' corpses apart to vent, the mage walked over to his own brother's corpse. He looked over his brother's tragic state, unperturbed as he raised his axe and cut the head off in a single forceful blow!

Some of the human soldiers cried out in alarm. Many of Richard's followers also changed expressions, unable to understand what the ogre was thinking.

He raised his brother's head in his hand, speaking in a low voice, “As long as I eat brother's brain, his soul will settle down in my body. I will use his skull as a necklace, always carrying it with me. This way, whenever I behead our enemies he will see it too.”

This was a strange tradition, one that made the atmosphere suffocating.

Richard pointed to the headless corpse, asking, “What about the rest of him?”

“He can be handled in any way. In our tribe, the dead would become a meal. Otherwise, they would be deserted in the wild to feed the wild beasts. It was a way of giving back to nature,” the mage explained.

Richard nodded, “Then we can send him off with magic fire.”
𝒇re𝐞w𝐞𝚋𝒏𝚘ѵeƖ c𝗼𝑚

He stimulated his Archeron bloodline, extracting blazing energy and mixing it with his mana. A crimson wisp flew out with a wave of his hand, landing on the corpse with a dull boom before beginning to burn violently.

This spell was a variant of Hand of Flames, not considered a proper form of magic at all. However, the addition of the power from the Archeron bloodline turned it into a blaze.

He pointed to the two other corpses, “Zendrall, I leave these to you. They shouldn't be liberated in death.”

“No problem. If I use them carefully, I can keep them for a very long time.” The necromancer's voice was low and hoarse, carrying a hint of the sinister and stifling feeling of a graveyard.

Rolf's countenance changed slightly, his gaze at Richard growing somewhat different. The mage was just far too young and handsome, giving people the impression that he depended on his family background to achieve success. It caused one to overlook the feats he had achieved. Richard's military successes were all glorious and splendid; even though he wasn't a veteran of many kinds of battles yet most high-ranking generals could not beat him in a melee. That was all the more true for an individual powerhouse like himself.

The Sword Saint hadn't paid much regard to this overly handsome noble in the past. Although Richard's mentor could provide items he was unable to reject, this did not improve his impression of Richard himself. He hadn't lived too long yet, but he had already seen many geniuses who rose like comets but fell in a short time. It was this cruelty that caused him to reevaluate the youth. Still, he did not think the level 11 mage could pose any threat to himself. A few more years, perhaps.

There was an ancient saying in Faelor: 'Level is very important, but it is not everything.'

When people drew from the wisdom of ancient times, they emphasised the parts that they related to and valued. Those at higher levels would focus on the first half of this saying, while those who were weaker would focus on the second.

Soon after, the tavern was swallowed by the raging flames. The two assassins' corpses were carried towards Richard's camp, with Rolf and Richard moving together on horseback. The Sword Saint was escorting him back to the inn, to prevent any further mishaps on the way. A huge part of the swordsman's profit was bound to the young great mage, and frail mages were always key targets for protection.

Along the way, Richard described the general course of Medium Rare's battle to the death. The Sword Saint imagined the gruesome battle in his head, sighing involuntarily and speaking in a rueful tone, “I truly did not expect an ogre to sacrifice himself to protect his comrades. That is simply unlike... his kind.” He had wanted to describe the ogre as brutal and foolish, but had thought better of it in the last minute and stiffly forced the words back down his throat.

Richard seemed not to catch the implications in Rolf's words, replying calmly, “Every ogre is different. It's just that most people never cared to understand them, thinking there was only one type of ogre in the world.”

353 - City of Sin

Brothers(2)

It was rather late into the night when they returned to the inn, but Richard wasn't feeling sleepy at all. He rearranged all the magic alarms and traps in their surroundings.

Assassins were the nemeses of mages, but there were still a handful of ways to deal with them. High-level alarms and traps would render most of their kind helpless, and many spells could lock onto and track one's soul. Any assassin that was caught by a mage wouldn't have long to survive.
𝒇𝘳ee𝚠𝘦𝚋n૦𝐯el coｍ

This was all the more true in Faelor, where the standard of magic was much weaker than in Norland. The abilities Richard had gained from the Deepblue would ensure that even an antimage would find it hard to break in, forget a regular assassin. Only a level 14 mage could remove Richard's alarms, but mages couldn't hide their aura like assassins. It would be near impossible for them to get past Waterflower's sensitive nose.

Once he was finished with the defences, Richard took out the rune that he had just crafted and walked towards the barracks. A bright bonfire was lit in the middle of the peaceful camp, most of the tents rolled down without much movement outside of the nightly patrol.

The only place that still had some semblance of activity was near the fire. Tiramisu and Gangdor were sitting together, drowning out their sorrows in alcohol. Next to them was a pile of empty barrels, and two that were still unopened. It was obvious that it wasn't enough.

An iron pot was perched over the bonfire, with the ogre's signature soup boiling within. However, it seemed like Tiramisu was the only one interested in food as he had a plate before him. The only things in front of Gangdor were jars of alcohol.

Richard walked over and sat down, passing the box over to Tiramisu, “This is a rune I made for Medium Rare, a standard elementary strength. None of us could have guessed that it would never be put to use.”

Tiramisu was stunned, unable to receive the case from Richard, “Master... We are... ogres. Can we even use runes?”

“All living beings can use runes,” Richard replied.

Tiramisu still did not take the magically sealed box, scratching his head out of habit as he asked, “I never heard of an ogre that could use runes. This is expensive stuff, you can get many barrels of wine with it.”

“A standard elementary strength rune is worth about 100,000 gold in Norland,” Richard answered indifferently. What he didn't mention was that his own runes were usually worth much more than market price. The one he had made for Medium Rare would go for at least 150,000 coins due to a greater boost.

“100,000 gold... Even quality ale costs 10 gold a barrel, I can actually get 10,000 barrels with this! If I exchange half of it for cows, I can get 3,000! If I spend carefully, I'd be set for the rest of my life!” Tiramisu quickly calculated the value of the runes in his own terms. Ogres were actually smart creatures, and their mages were used to numbers as well.

“Indeed.” Richard pushed the case towards him.

The ogre shook his head profusely, eyeing the thing rather weirdly as if it was a bunch of delicious meat and wine instead of a box, “Medium Rare can't use it anymore. Give it to someone else, Master, don't waste it.”

“This belongs to your brother, no one else.” Richard fixed his gaze upon the bonfire, sighing, “The two of you have been by my side for a long time now, but I haven't been able to give you anything. Consider this a memento for Rare's sake. If you want you can bury it with your brother like humans do, as a companion.”

“Brother doesn't need to be buried, he'll be together with me very soon,” Tiramisu pointed to the pot of boiling soup. Only then did Richard notice something floating in the middle. Although it was only a third of its original size, this was undoubtedly Medium Rare's head. Indeed, then. With the body already burnt to ashes by magical flames, there was nothing left to bury.

Tiramisu took the pot down, ignoring the scalding heat as he held up the head and gnawed at it. Every movement was solemn and serious like in a devout ritual, the ogre himself seeming rather divine.

Richard and Gangdor watched in silence.

Moments later, the only thing left of Medium Rare was his skull. His brother had not let go of any flesh at all. It seemed like the soup was cooked using a secret method, because the skull both shrank down and gained a jade-like turquoise sheen that was completely different from a regular skull.

Soon after, the ogre emptied all the contents of the pot before sticking his tongue in and licking every nook and cranny clean. It was only then that he threw it aside, patting his belly loudly, “Ah, I can feel brother settling down nicely.”

He then took out an iron chain that he had prepared earlier on, threading it through the skull and hanging it on his neck. “Now he'll be able to watch me avenge him.”

Richard looked over the mage from head to toe, “Well, use the rune for yourself then. It could be a companion that way too.”

Tiramisu didn't think much of that, merely laughing happily. In his heart, this rune truly was a fitting companion for his brother.

The process of attaching the rune was quite simple. The ogre had both the slot and the capacity, so within a few minutes Richard had fixed it onto his chest. This way, Medium Rare's skull could rest directly upon it. As for the extent of the strength boost, none present looked into it.

Ogre mages were different from the mages of other races. Their ability at magic was weaker in comparison, but they were extremely strong and had tough physiques. Even as the smartest of ogres, they did not forget about their primal battle instincts. As long as a hammer was brought into the picture, Tiramisu would become a dreadful killing machine.

The three then sat around the bonfire, all drinking in silence. The two barrels of wine were emptied very quickly, but none of them was tipsy in the slightest. Their faces were all serious as they focused on the jumping sparks. No conversation was made; they all seemed to be thinking about something.

The wine was soon gone. Gangdor tipped the last barrel upside down, but only a pathetic few drops fell out and he tossed it aside begrudgingly. He thoughtlessly grabbed his huge axe, wiping it as he asked, “Master, don't you hate Red Cossack?”

Richard flashed a smile typical of nobility, shaking his head as he replied gently, “Hate? No, I don't. There's no need to hate the dead.”

354 - City of Sin

Once Lazy And Luxurious

The sky in Norland was just as dark as in Faelor, especially over Floe Bay. The thick clouds were so low the top of the Deepblue almost pierced through them, and even though it was morning the sea was dark as dusk. All the ships were anchored into the harbour, even the open sea ships that moved with magic not daring to set off. In the high seas, the weather was the true master. No matter how grand and large a ship was, one wouldn't dare go through a storm with it.

All the grand mages of the Deepblue were gathered at the conference room. It was time for their monthly meeting, and the figure of the legendary mage was missing as usual. Sharon had recently been coming and going in a hurry, showing her face for no more than half an hour each time. She would just open another portal, travelling to another plane.

The atmosphere in the hall was just as stressful as the weather outside. All of the mages looked glum, with no sunniness in sight.

Blackgold had a thick stack of papers in hand, and was reading out from it with a hoarse voice that made it sound like his mouth was filled with wood shavings. This was the report for the income and expenditure of the Deepblue in the past month. The numbers indicated that the finances were improving rapidly— no, they were going straight up. The most significant part, the categories of income and profit, had doubled from the last month. If not for their consumption increasing greatly as well, the profits would have grown much more than twofold.

This was a number that could stir anyone up, but none of the grand mages could bring themselves to be happy. Even the dwarf himself was listless. Looking closely, one would realise that this increase in income had come solely from Sharon obtaining ample harvests during her journeys through the myriad planes. Every time she returned, she normally left some of her profits in the Deepblue.

She had gone to more planes in the past month than in the previous year. Normally in a hurry, she flung the spatial equipment with her harvests out and picked up new equipment. She would then set out immediately. She would hand Blackgold a list detailing the allocation of these things before tossing the huge pile of spatial rings, belts, bangles, and boxes over. She didn't even want to waste time discussing how to split it up in detail with the dwarf.

The flow of time in every plane was different, which was why nobody knew how long the mage was spending out. However, the statistics in the financial report gave Blackgold a rough idea. The legendary mage was working hard in a way that she never had before, and the wealth of the Deepblue was growing at a startling rate. With the wisdom of the grand mages, this increase in finances was turned into a method to raise their strength or to build a new source of income. This also served to increase the Deepblue's status on Norland.

However, they could not be happy with this upgrade.

Sharon could not hide the slight hints of fatigue whenever she returned. Her outfits seemed dusty and travel-worn, but even without resting she would leave once again. Her beloved fruits and snacks had already filled up the storage room, but if Blackgold didn't stuff some into her spatial equipment each time she wouldn't even think of taking them along on the journey.
f𝘳𝒆ℯ𝑤𝚎𝚋𝗻𝚘𝘷el. c𝗼m

The legendary mage was the soul of the Deepblue. When she lost her smile, the sky above Floe Bay would turn gloomy.

Blackgold was vexed as well. This was the first time in his life that these high numbers were aggravating in his eyes. He wanted to kick all this wealth from different planes away.

He would rather go back to the time when there was only a slight increase in income every month, when he worried about the increasing deficits. He did not want to see the legendary mage so dedicated. The myriad planes were rife with dangers. Sharon surpassed normal legendary beings, but every time she explored a foreign plane there was the possibility that the trip was only one way.

It was when Sharon spent all day eating lazily that she was a true inspiration.

The long, tedious financial report turned into a hypnotic weapon under Blackgold's monotonous voice. Practically all of the grand mages were half asleep.

The elements in the room suddenly grew lively the next moment, the smooth flow of mana turning into a storm that blew the grand mages everywhere. A portal appeared out of the blue above the table, and Sharon jumped out. Her golden hair was tied casually in a ponytail, her blue robes showing signs of damage and corrosion. Her little face was even stained with dirt.

The legendary mage seemed like a girl next door who had just returned from a long journey. Under her robes were pants and shoes that were suited to travel, her normal extravagant clothes nowhere in sight. She jumped onto the conference table just like every other time, but this time it could not hold out. A crash rang out as the table broke apart into a pile of debris.

Only a few months ago, this would have enraged the legendary mage. She would start looking into the quality of the table, kicking up a mediocre storm. Now, however, she just stared at it blankly with seemingly no intention of flaring up.

Truth be told, the table was still the same one that could handle a mammoth weighing several tons. The real reason it was destroyed was that Sharon had a huge bundle on her back that was much larger than her body.

The grand mages all had a strange look in their eyes, unable to guess what exactly was in the bundle that she had to carry it on her back so clumsily. Was all her spatial equipment full? The portals Sharon cast consumed a lot of mana. Without spatial equipment to seal it, any item she carried through would greatly increase the drain.

She shook her right hand, six rings coming off and flying towards Grandmaster Fayr, “Put these in my personal warehouse.”

Before Fayr could sigh at the mage's sheer control to have two rings a finger, Sharon switched the hand carrying the bundle and sent three more rings and two bangles towards Blackgold, “These will enter the Deepblue's stores. Also, get me new equipment.”

“It's already prepared!” the dwarf immediately took a little pouch out of his robes, the insides clanging from the spatial rings and bangles filling it.

At some point, the legendary mage had started to wear more and more spatial equipment. Nobody knew her limit, but at the least it could not be counted on one's fingers. With Sharon's appearances growing more and more unpredictable, the dwarf always had spatial equipment on his person with some common supplies within.

The redundancy of so many items cost them a fair amount of money. The dwarf knew that property left idle would not garner profits. However, if it could save the legendary mage some time then these idle items did have value and their cost could be absorbed.

Two pieces of paper flew towards Fayr and Blackgold, “This is the plan to distribute and handle everything. Do as instructed.”

Both were made of magical paper that could be inscribed with a grade 8 spell, but Sharon was only using it for notes. The legendary mage then produced a little box from somewhere, tossing it to the dwarf, “Organise the things in here. Put them together with the special items from my last two visits, and send them all to little Gaton in Faust.”

The grey dwarf caught the flying box, rings, and bangles in a flurry, “I'll get to it immediately!”

The legendary mage nodded in satisfaction. “Alright then, I'll be off.” She opened a portal, taking the giant bundle and disappearing within.

“Wait! Your Excellency, you forgot to take your fruits!” the dwarf jumped up, raising a little spatial box that was enchanted to preserve food. However, Sharon had already made it far away. All that was left in the conference room was remnant ripples of mana.

......

Gaton wasn't in Faust, instead within Blackrose Castle in the traditional land of the Archerons.

The charming scenery of the peninsula had disappeared from the fields outside the city of Azan. With Blackrose Castle at the heart, great numbers of barracks had been erected extending to the outside of the city. More than 40,000 soldiers had been gathered here.

Eight of the thirteen rune knights had already reached Blackrose Castle. An army of sixty rune knights was stationed outside, most of Gaton's military strength. The five remaining ones were the bare minimum requirement to keep a hold of his personal planes.

It wasn't just Gaton's banner in the barracks outside the city. A dozen or so camps had different flags flying high, although there were few troops stationed there. There were less than five hundred in the most populous one, with about a dozen in the least. Every branch family of the Archerons with basically any status had been gathered here.

The atmosphere in Blackrose Castle was as gloomy as the clouds over Floe Bay. The smell of sulphur and smoke pervaded the air of the meeting hall, making it evident that the people sitting around the table weren't in a good mood.

Gaton was sat alone at the head, looking exhausted. The stubble all over his face made it known that he hadn't shaved for quite some time, and his eyes were bloodshot. At the right side of his neck was a thin wound that had just clotted over, looking like a new injury. Although the injury itself was insignificant, the position pointed to the risk he had suffered in that attack.

This was a meeting of all the Archerons. Despite being the family head, Gaton didn't seem the least bit impressive amongst them. His muddy boots were set on the table, arms crossed and eyes slightly closed as if he were napping. This attitude angered practically everyone present, and the hall was resounding with criticism.

355 - City of Sin

Once Lazy And Luxurious(2)

The criticism and even expletives were fine; none of it could hurt a hair on Gaton's head, and nobody did anything too drastic. His strength was unfathomable, and few even knew the degree of his might. However, what they did know was that the demonic Mordred standing silently behind him was growing stronger by the day.

*Thud! Thud!* A red-robed man lifted his staff in the midst of the chaos, knocking it on the table to quiet everyone down. He stood up and surveyed his surroundings, stating sternly. “In view of Marquess Gaton using the family's resources to fight meaningless wars, I suggest that he be stripped of his role as the family head. Island 7-2 should be managed by the family council.”

“I agree!”

“As do I!”

The moment his words rang out, voices seconding him rang out in succession. At least seven Archerons raised their hands in agreement, nearly half the people there. A few hesitated a bit, but in the end their hands were raised as well. This way, more than half of those present were in agreement. Based on the idea of these new rules, this decision would be passed.

However, it was only the small lords that were speaking up. Most of the powerhouses of the Archeron Family had not made their stand known. The representative of Marquess Sauron merely rested his head on his chin, as if deep in thought. Earl Goliath was leaned back into his chair with his eyes closed, while Alice was trimming her nails with her longsword that was almost at the level of a divine weapon.

Gaton finally reacted to it all. He opened his eyes, glancing at the red-robed old mage and sneering as he spat. Thick phlegm landed on the floor.

This only served to make the mage furious; the spit had effectively landed on his face. He was angered beyond belief, knocking the table with his staff once more as he yelled out, “Marquess Gaton! Take note of your actions! You are no longer the head of the Archerons, we do not need a leader who only thinks for himself! All your powers as head, including Blackrose Castle, are to be shifted to the family council!”

Gaton seemed not to have heard the old mage's snarls, merely saying lazily, “Wine cup.”

Blood Paladin Senma immediately handed him a goblet that was astonishingly large, filled with half a bottle of red wine. Gaton swirled the liquid around; despite the enormous size of the cup, his movements looked elegant and practised. The liquid released a faint aroma, as would happen when one was tasting wise.

The mage only grew more enraged, this was another act of humiliation. He was about to break out into a vehement speech, but the goblet in Gaton's hand suddenly appeared in front of him and exploded on his face. The impact sent him flying backwards, crashing to the ground like a pathetic doll.

The old mage struggled to stand up, his face a mix of blood and wine. He raised his trembling fingers towards Gaton, lips shaking, but words would not come out of his mouth. The fellow started swaying before he fell to the ground once more, unable to get back up.

This act had intimidated everyone into focusing on Gaton. Only then did the Archeron family head take his feet off the table and stand up, scanning through everyone and saying coldly, “Leadership of the Archeron Family has always been decided through battle. Since when were things chosen?”

His thunderous voice echoed throughout the meeting room, leaving nobody able to refute. He rapped at the table and laughed coldly, “I don't care what you think, and I don't care about this whatever family council that popped out of nowhere. I became the head through battle, and anyone who wants to take that from me and live in Blackrose Castle needs to use their fists to chase me out. Now tell me. Who wants to be the head?”

Gaton's gaze landed on Sauron's representative, “Does Uncle have such a thing in mind?”

The representative of Marquess Sauron was the young Baron Sua, his son. Although only just twenty years of age, the youth wasn't flustered at all under Gaton's forceful gaze. His cheek didn't even leave his hand as he replied, “Father told me that I'm just here to watch the show.”

An intelligent glint shone in Gaton's eyes as he nodded, “Not bad. Seems like Sauron's got a good son.”

Baron Sua smiled, but he did not speak.

Gaton's gaze then landed on Goliath, “What about you, my dearest brother?”

The man with a large physique burst into laughter, “I need to get a few more pieces of land and a new personal plane. Once I become a Marquess as well, I'll start considering going to war.”

Gaton nodded, looking towards Alice next. Before he could even say anything she spread her right hand and waved it in his direction, “Five rune knights will be enough to bribe me. Don't try to fool me with grade 1's.”

Gaton stroked his beard, unable to help but laugh, “Bribe you? Why should I bribe you?”

“If you're going out in full strength, your nest might be destroyed by others. If Richard suddenly returns, I can be his protector. I just need five rune knights in exchange.”

Gaton chuckled in response, “There are quite a few people who want to kill that kid. If I'm not around, do you really have the guts to get him?”

Alice returned to trimming her nails as if nobody was around, speaking dully, “What's there to be scared of? There's nobody in existence who hasn't regretted picking a fight with me, forget the pieces of trash in this room.

“Oh, and if any of you has anything to say about me I'll take that as a declaration of war. We'll start battling tomorrow, and it will be to the death.” Alice's voice wasn't loud, but her exceptional strength was enough to suppress the clamour. All the curses immediately faded away; everyone knew that she really would do as she had said. It wasn't wrong to speak freely in the meeting, but if those words resulted in war that wouldn't be any good.

Gaton took it all in, “The meeting is over. I've decided that the war will continue. Also, this council or whatever is to be dissolved immediately; I better not hear anything about it in the future. The elders will uphold the family rules, and the rules state that he who has the power shall possess Blackrose Castle. If you want to join the ranks of the elders, power speaks for itself. If you don't even have that right, stop grumbling.

“As for the rest, do as you like. Those who want to stay here for a few days to have fun are welcome to, but your costs will be on you alone.” Having said this, Gaton left the hall. All the Archerons within broke into discussion, while the old mage was helped up and left. He was only a level 14 great mage, and not the sturdy kind that came from the Deepblue. How could he withstand a hit from Gaton, even if it was casual? He was left without the strength to walk on his own.

And thus, the first Archeron family council meeting ended in violence, curses, intimidation, and threats.

Alice stood up after most of the others had left, stretching lazily before heading outside. Baron Sua had not left first either, his twinkling eyes not moving off her in the slightest. Seeing her prepare to leave, he took large strides towards her as he asked with a smile, “Beautiful Earl Alice, may I have the honour of sharing dinner with you?”

Alice looked towards him with interest, the short red hair that looked like a fire giving her a blazing charm. The youth was outstanding in his own right, having made major contributions in planar wars. His personal strength at level 15 was more than enough to show that he had great talent. Although this wasn't unfathomable for his age, he was of the rare breed that had no obvious weaknesses in any category. On top of being handsome, he also had the natural pride and unyielding character of the Archerons. In many situations, this was a fatal attraction.

“Dinner would just be the start, right?”

“Of course! if there's a chance of it going further, I definitely won't give up,” Sua admitted honestly.

“For a partner?” Alice asked bluntly.

“No, for marriage!” Sua was very resolute.

Alice smiled slightly, “But we don't know each other.”

Sua's eyes shone as he said in a low voice, “We will become comrades who fight side by side, companions who scheme great things; partners who live and die together. Love is merely an adornment in this process. Passion is like a volcano; after it erupts, all that's left is cold ashes.”

Alice could not help but laugh, “A person with ambition! Ha!”

“A true wolf!' Sua added. His bright eyes were fixed on Alice's beautiful face.

Alice shook her head, “I know what you're thinking very well. What's the point of making things so troublesome? I'm actually a very easy person to woo. Let's put it simply: two rune knights for a dinner together, five for a kiss. Seven to touch my breasts, ten for sex, and twenty to be partners. Like I said before, don't dupe me with mere grade 1's.”

Sua was stunned.

“What, aren't my prices clear enough?” Alice asked, confused.

“Ah, no, no... This... Let me think about it...” Baron Sua was completely speechless. No matter how he thought about it, he could never have imagined this situation. It was difficult for him to even find the words to answer. Only now did he begin to understand how Alice's enemies felt. This beauty always did the unexpected.

Sua truly felt like she was an ideal partner, and she had realised this as well. He didn't doubt that she would do as said. As long as he had the necessary rune knights, she would eat, sleep, even have children with him just as promised.

However, that was what left him at a loss. He was Baron Sua, not Marquess Sua. He didn't even have a single grade 2 rune knight on hand. Only if he took over all of Sauron's lands and became a Marquess could he have the funds to buy Alice. And yet, his father had six daughters and eleven sons. Even though he was rather outstanding amongst his siblings, there was still a long way to go until he was a Marquess.

And when he really did become a Marquess, he definitely wouldn't be willing to pay such an amount.

Unable to pay when one wanted to, not wanting to pay when they could. Such was life, full of helplessness.

356 - City of Sin

Once Lazy And Luxurious(3)

Alice didn't wait for Sua's reply, walking straight out of the hall. His response was well within her expectations; although if he really did have the ability to provide twenty grade 2 rune knights, she wouldn't mind honouring her commitment. She knew clearly of her own worth and standing.

Blood Paladin Senma was waiting outside the door. When she saw Alice approaching, she immediately jumped up to welcome her, “Earl Alice! My Lord would like me to accompany you to select rune knights. You can choose five grade 2 rune knights from his personal guard.”

“The Marquess is very generous!” Gaton's personal guard comprised of his most powerful elites.

“It's just a part of the deal,” Senma said without expression. She didn't care much for Alice, and made no attempt to hide her disdain. With a big war approaching, five grade 2 rune knights were a powerful force. Outside of that, Alice was beautiful enough for even her to be jealous, which only added to the hate.

The Earl took large strides out of the ancient castle, her servants already waiting at the door with a bunch of draconic horses. She got up on her mount, towering over everyone else as she spoke to Senma who was behind her, “Tell him we have a deal. However, he can give me the knights another day, after the war ends.”

Without waiting for the surprised Senma's response, Alice left abruptly alongside her personal guards and servants. She was getting busier with every passing day, and she had no interest in staying at Azan and watching Gaton's soldiers prepare for war. She immediately returned to her own territory. Looking at the shrinking back of the young earl, Senma couldn't help but soften her gaze.

Over the following days, several branch families left one after the other. Only a minority remained in Blackrose Castle.

At the back of the castle, a huge portal was almost complete. In but a few days, Gaton and his army would set out. A majority of the Archerons who stayed had a good relationship with the Marquess, or were at least on neutral terms. They were here to learn more about the construction of the portal, its protection, and the army.

A majority of families, even the more famous and powerful ones, did not have their own personal planes. That was a privilege of the most powerful bloodlines.

The Archerons had a total of eight planes under them combined. Three were controlled by Gaton, two by Marquess Sauron, and one by Earl Goliath. Alice had just obtained control of a lesser plane, and was in the process of constructing her forward base there. As for the last plane, that was held in tandem by five relatively small branches who all shared control. The rest of the branches did not have any to their name.

However, there was no shortage of ambitious families amongst the Archeron branches. Many of them were quite weak and would be completely destroyed even in a plane limited to level 18, but they never missed a chance to learn about planar warfare. As the family head, Gaton was willing to provide them that knowledge.

There were quarrels amongst the various branches of the family, and as they gradually expanded many scumbags had started to emerge from their ranks. However, an increase in the family's overall power was still a good thing.

Take Gaton for example. He had only come from an ordinary family himself, but he had fought his way to his current status. Who was to say that there weren't more like him amongst the family's youths?

While the portal was being finished, Gaton returned to Faust for a while. His first task was to visit the Church of the Eternal Dragon. Nobody knew what he had discussed with high priestess Ferlyn, but when he returned to the Archeron island he seemed downcast. He locked himself in the highest tower of his castle.

This was Gaton's personal territory. Outside of him, nobody in the entire family was permitted entry. However, this tower was designed in a simple manner with nothing inside. There wasn't any decoration, leaving it bare apart from the rocks littered all over the place. The only thing beautiful about the place was the scenery of Faust through the full-height windows.

Gaton was sat upright at the centre of the empty hall, his two-handed sword laid by his feet. He shut his eyes, bringing himself to a strange realm of calmness. This was something he did before every major war. Such was his true self, being calm when necessary and exploding forth when it was time to fight.

The impending war was started in dangerous circumstances, completely unlike anything he had faced before. He had never been afraid of necessary risk, but that did not mean he was willing to shoulder unneeded dangers. In fact, it was quite the opposite; he had to make better preparations for this war, minimising his chances of failure.

However, this plan failed completely and utterly. The empty space in his surroundings suddenly shook violently, a shudder that was all too familiar stopping any thoughts of attacking. He had just opened his eyes when a huge package fell from up high with a resounding thud, landing right in front of him.

Looking at Sharon who had just jumped out of a portal, he forced a smile, “Do you really have to appear like this? Someone with a weaker heart would have been scared to death.”

“Someone with a weak heart isn't worth a spacetime beacon on them,” the legendary mage responded dully.

Gaton found it difficult to get used to the lack of the hearty smile and the boasts. It felt like the person in front of him was a stranger who had only put on Sharon's face. However, even though the legendary mage's mood had changed so greatly there was still a faint aura of power that constantly reminded him of her identity.

“You really are Sharon,” he said strangely.

“Haven't you changed as well?” The legendary mage replied.

“Only for the time being. I'll be back to normal once the war is over,” Gaton answered.

“My change is only for now as well.”

Gaton stared at the legendary mage for a while before shifting his gaze towards the large bundle, “What is this?”

“DON'T TOUCH IT!” Sharon launched an ice arrow, freezing half of Gaton's body to stop him from loosening the parcel. “Don't open it, that is antimagic cloth. Inside is the skull of an astral beast; once it fixes its gaze on anyone, even you, they'll immediately turn to stardust.”

Even though Gaton was experienced and knowledgeable, he was still shocked upon hearing this. If the astral beast's gaze was that strong even when dead, not even a legendary being would dare to gaze upon it directly. If he had been quicker just now, his luck slightly worse, he would have disappeared from existence.

357 - City of Sin

The Pillar Crumbles

Gaton looked at the bundle with trepidation. It wasn't easy to identify that this dusty cloth could actually seal magic. Every square inch was worth a gram of abyssal emerald; so high was the quality of any material that could shield one from an astral beast's power. He furrowed his brows, “How did you get a hold of this terrifying thing?”

“I happened to see it when I was passing through a semiplane, so I slaughtered it along the way. Thankfully it wasn't as difficult as the lesser demon lord,” Sharon said nonchalantly. Now that her hands were finally freed, she fixed her dishevelled hair before continuing, “When you come back alive, throw it to that old dragon. That way, we can eradicate the root of the problem.

“If there's nothing else, I'm leaving. I've been very busy lately.”

“Wait!” Gaton called with a frown, “There are countless planes in existence. Without the Eternal Dragon's help, you won't just chance upon the plane Richard was sent to. You're doing this all for naught! It's extremely dangerous!”

“Who says I'm looking for him?” the mage snorted. “I'm just going through the planes and trying to get some money. You should worry about yourself, little Gaton. You should give up on the Mensas' plane and focus on the Schumpeter one. The stars are telling me your luck is awful right now.”

It was Gaton's turn to groan, “If I don't take out the Mensas' plane, they'll continue to cause trouble with me. The old fellow has a lot of family property, who knows how many more sacrifices he can manage. Besides, they'll only spill details on what they offered after I beat them up. With that, we'll be able to find the plane Richard went to.”

“Regardless, it'll be a very challenging journey. Besides, it's not likely for us to find Richard that way. The Schumpeters sent a team to hunt him down, but they still haven't followed up on that. You can tell they don't have the coordinates either,” Sharon commented rudely, coming to a conclusion, “Giving up would be a smart move. Richard was one of my students, this small issue won't faze him.”

Gaton laughed heartily and retorted, “You still have the cheek to speak about me. What about you?”

A dangerous blue fire flashed subtly in the legendary mage's eyes. She replied indifferently, “When I was young, I made an agreement with the Sacred Alliance Emperor that I would never lay my hands on the houses of Faust. If not for that, I would've burnt the old Mensa lands to the ground already. Hmph! He has such high tolerance. He isn't responding no matter how much I provoke him, and refuses to let me get a hold of him.”

Gaton stroked his short, steel-like beard, revealing a charming smile that was rife with danger, “Isn't that exactly what I'm about to do?”

Sharon's gaze locked deeply into Gaton's eyes, “If you want to court your own death, it's up to you. Also, I've told Blackgold to deliver a batch of items, keep them well. They're all little things to throw to the old dragon. If little Richard comes back suddenly, give them to him. Take it as a gift, for my sister's joy.

“But it's for Richard, not you Archeron fellows!”

“As long as I'm around, nobody will dare lay their hands on his things,” Gaton answered.

The legendary mage nodded, turning around to step through a portal. Her ponytail jumped around in the air as she disappeared into the light.

Sharon's visit had been brief, but it left Gaton feeling troubled. He looked at the bundled head of the astral beast, feeling lost for a moment. Even after pondering over it for a long while, he couldn't think of any method to hide it somewhere safe. Eventually he just issued a death order to guard the tower; as long as he himself wasn't present, nobody was allowed to enter the highest floor.

As for thieves, no thief could steal from the islands of Faust. And even if one somehow infiltrated the sacred land to try and steal the astral beast's head, they would likely just disintegrate into stardust that was too small to be seen by the naked eye.

A few days later, the portal to the Mensa plane had finally been constructed. Gaton had invested many years of his savings to build it, even doubling his debt to Sharon for the sake of a gigantic, stable passageway. The other end was located in one of the nine personal planes of the Mensas.

Personal planes were the core of a family's economy. If one was under attack, they would be hurt greatly.

Even as the construction of the portal was completed, Gaton was waiting before it. Eight of his thirteen were lined up behind him, followed by a troop of thirty grade 2 and sixty grade 1 rune knights. Behind them were 40,000 elite soldiers. Please visit f𝙧ee𝙬ℯ𝐛𝓃𝐨𝚟𝒆𝘭. c𝒐𝓂

When the dazzling rays of light burst open at the portal, Gaton had Darkmoon Blackflame move forward. He raised the sword that had reaped countless lives, leading the army through the gate.

The ferocious soldiers charged in after him, beginning a journey with their fates unknown. The Mensa family was unlike the Josephs and the Schumpeters. They had accumulated a profound support system over thousands of years. Even Gaton couldn't predict the outcome of this battle.

As the last team entered, the radiance of the portal started to dim. Although it was a stable passageway, it still took an immense amount of energy to transport the huge army. Left with its last dregs of energy, it could barely maintain contact between the two planes.

When the expedition reached its end, the people on the other side would transmit a special signal. Those appointed to stay behind on this end would then supplement the portal with magic crystals, allowing the troops to return.

The cost of travel was the greatest expense of this expedition. If their profits weren't abundant enough, they might very well incur losses from this war.

Dozens of mages were busy at work below the portal, trying to stabilise it and lower its mana consumption even as they set up some defensive formations. There were also plenty of arrangements in place to deal with the aftermath.

However, that very moment, sudden waves of strange energy burst forth from the stable portal. Although the light had almost been extinguished, it suddenly burst open and even started to shake violently! The mages were astonished. Before they could even process what had happened, they were assaulted by an unknown force and shoved into the formations. Their mana was sucked away like water, the vibration of the portal growing more and more violent. The rays of light coming from it started to burn!

Eventually, under their horror-stricken gazes, the portal exploded loudly! The severe explosion didn't just destroy the infrastructure in the plaza, covering the entire wall of the castle facing the plaza in cracks! The Archerons who were watching the troops depart, yet to regain their senses in the face of this magnificent scene, suffered an instant death.

However, there was something much more important than the lives of these branch families: Gaton's troops had no way back!

358 - City of Sin

The Pillar Crumbles(2)

The incident with the portal exploding shocked the entire Sacred Alliance. Although it wouldn't affect the situation in Norland too greatly, it had definitely given many sensitive people some new ideas.

Gaton's large army was trapped within the Mensas' personal plane. Judging from the timing of the explosion it should have passed through the channel, but few were optimistic about the Archeron head's future. Dire was an understatement to describe the situation of a large army without supplies.

The battle between the Archerons and the Mensa-Joseph-Schumpeter alliance was without a doubt the core of Faust's recent politics. Gaton had used an unbeatable offence to sweep across the Schumpeter Family's plane and followed it up by defeating a united army that included the Josephs on Norland's soil. His fame and power were currently unparalleled in the Sacred Alliance!

The fight against the Mensas had just started, but Gaton had already forced his way into one of their personal planes with great momentum. Nobody had expected such an abrupt change.

Nobody knew why the Archerons' portal had suddenly exploded. Logically speaking, a portal to a registered plane should have been incredibly stable; the destination and Norland were basically tied together by chains. If not for that, there wouldn't be nearly as many families who paid exorbitant sums of money for the coordinates of their opponents' planes.

Few times in history had such an explosion occurred, not more than could be counted on one's hands. Of course there were many more incidents with unstable passages, portals being destroyed more than half the time.

Earl Goliath received the news only two hours after the explosion. His lands were very close to Blackrose Castle, and as a step-brother that was related to the Azan branch within the past three generations he was basically the first to receive the news.

Hearing about it and calmly verifying the information, the giant had locked himself in his study for a day and night without word or food. Only the next evening did he walk out of his room, returning to managing his territory and his plane as usual like nothing had happened.

......

Evening the next day, Alice received the news as she was going through her army. It was small in scale, but all the soldiers were shockingly powerful and well-equipped. When her right hand passed on the information, the warlord who never lost focus blanked out for a moment. The longsword in her hands fell quietly to the ground without her even noticing.

And yet, she had recovered in the next moment. Her sword flew back to her with a beckon, and she spoke up to her right hand, “No worries, don't do anything for now. Let's talk about it after a while, that fellow always creates miracles.”

“As you wish, my Lady,” came the response. However, the right hand thought things over for a moment and reminded Alice softly, “My lady, what about Faust...”

*Smack!* Alice hit her own head heavily, “I completely forgot! Send a few capable men over imme— no, go yourself, and get to island 7-2! Right away!” Alice's lands were incredibly far from Azan, and she intentionally avoided having intelligence officers in the region, so it was already a little late when she received the news.

The right hand was a young and beautiful woman, but the unconcealable killing intent was a constant reminder that she definitely wasn't someone to belittle. The Earl herself held her in high regard. Hearing Alice's instructions, the woman's murderous aura burst forth as she responded fiercely, “No need to worry, my Lady. I'll definitely snatch the islands for us!”

Alice was stunned at this response, laughing despite herself, “Why do we need something so flashy? Your only assignment is to monitor Faust for Richard's return. I've had a premonition that he might come back at any time, and if he does appear it's most likely to be at Faust. If he returns and there is still no news of Gaton's return, then you should do whatever it takes to bring him back to my lands!”

“Richard? The one who's rumoured to be a future saint runemaster? But there are many people who want him...” The right-hand was a little worried.

The corners of Alice's lips curved up slightly in a smile and she said, “There's nothing to be afraid of, he just needs to reach my territory. Anyone who wants to snatch Richard away can come and try. Don't forget, I'm the goddess of war!”

The right hand smiled helplessly, quietly reminding her master, “Only a few people recognise that title!”

“Why does the number matter? Anyone who has ever fought me recognises the title, that's enough!”

The right hand nodded her head, her confidence boosted a little.

......

News of the incident spread explosively, even faster than the ripples of an earthquake.

The day before Faust's Assembly of Lords met, the city's central square was filled with luxurious carriages. This definitely wasn't something seen often, and had only occurred because of the events at Blackrose Castle.

The assembly building was large and white, with twelve huge, pristine pillars that served the purpose of magnificent decoration. The building that could accommodate a thousand people was just like these pillars, originally just a flashy institution. Even though all the powerful families of Faust had seats in the Assembly, they normally never attended these meetings. Any resolutions passed here did not even apply to them. The families occupying the flying islands had paved their path with blood, and blood was the price if one wished to restrict them.

However, this meeting was different. A majority of the seats in the outer amphitheatre were already filled with people, all here to listen to the meeting. Even if not many were eligible to participate in the meeting, many could at least manage to qualify for a visit.

In the exact centre was a round table encircled by luxurious and magnificent seats. Every chair had tall legs with exquisite and intricate carvings, a throne-like backrest and armrests that curved outwards. So spacious were these seats that they bordered on excessive, each at least twice as big as a normal chair.

These were the exclusive seats of the families that occupied the floating islands, the Silver Chairs. Even the royal family could only occupy one.

These chairs that represented supreme power and luxury were normally left empty. However, just as the assembly was about to start wheels sounded on the pavement as a luxurious carriage stopped before the steps. An old man with grizzled hair that was fully clothed in formal attire strode up the steps and into the meeting grounds. The moment he entered, a buzz sounded from the venue as everyone broke into discussion.

“Isn't that an elder of the Schumpeter Family? Why is he here?”

“That's right. Weren't they heavily wounded, desperately trying to intercept the Anan Family that's advancing towards Faust? How is he still in the mood to appear here?”

“Don't tell me he still wants to take one of the Silver Chairs...”

“Exactly!”

The Schumpeters had been defeated twice in the battle with Gaton, their fertile personal planes captured and their rune knights annihilated. The family had lost at least half its power, and it was but a foregone conclusion that they would be kicked out from Faust's families.

Every high noble required a minimum amount of strength of character. Weakened as they were, the Schumpeters definitely couldn't bend to the normal families of Faust. They either had to defend their status with blood or completely withdraw. However, none here had expected an elder of a family that was on the eve of being driven out of Faust would still appear at the assembly.

However, the representatives of various other powerful families started appearing one after the other as well. Almost all of the Silver Chairs were filled.

A moment later, the crowd went into an uproar once again. The royal family had actually sent a representative! Prince Morden had just arrived, leaving all but two of the seats occupied. Only the Archeron and Mensa seats were empty.

And everyone that was well-informed knew that these families were the stars today.

Footsteps sounded from outside the building once more, and the people immediately cried out in surprise. The Mensa Family hadn't sent out any normal representative; Duke Mensa himself was here!

The Duke was hale and hearty, his steps powerful as he strode to his seat. He was in no hurry to sit down, his lips curling into a small smile with relish as his gaze passed over the empty Archeron seat.
ｆ𝓇𝘦𝚎𝑤e𝗯𝑛𝗼ѵe𝗹. c𝒐𝘮

The Duke raised both hands, quieting the entire venue down before his bold and powerful voice resounded through the area, “Ladies and gentlemen. Before this meeting begins, I have two important pieces of news to tell you.

“The first is very disappointing. The family's Rosie plane, the one I named after my beautiful granddaughter, faces an abnormal situation. The portal to it blew up, and more importantly, its registration in the Church of the Eternal Dragon disappeared as well.”

He hadn't finished speaking before an uproar erupted. The registration disappearing meant that the plane had broken away from the Eternal Dragon's system, once more a drifting plane. Not only would re-establishing the connection require a great expense, the original coordinates weren't even necessarily valid.

However, Duke Mensa's expression was very thought-provoking; despite the loss of such a fertile plane, he did not seem upset in the least. Some of the insiders knew that this was precisely the plane that Gaton had attacked. As for those who did not know before, few were too stupid to miss the connection.

Erasing the registration of the plane was equivalent to turning it into a prison that completely trapped Gaton and his large army within. There had been theories on how to accomplish such a thing, but nobody had ever truly tried it or even explored the idea before.

A plane was invaluable, with the more mature ones having no shortage of resources and area even compared to Norland. It normally took hundreds of years to barely establish some footing in one of the larger planes.

Families rose and fell in the endless planar wars, but nobody would completely give up on a plane. Even if it fell into the hands of the opponent, once could still seize it again.

359 - City of Sin

The Pillar Crumbles(3)

This was extremely shocking news. Most of the people gathered here actually just wanted to confirm the fate of Gaton and his army. Even groundless rumours would be good. However, Duke Mensa had just sated their curiosity and perhaps even more. The only thing he hadn't done was announcing his hand in the destruction of the Archeron portal, trapping Gaton at the expense of an entire plane.

And yet, the process wasn't all that important. It would only be a topic for idle conversation over meals. The most important bit was the result: when would Gaton return, or rather, could he?

Allowing the audience to take in this first piece of news, Duke Mensa then threw out the second, “Also, the Mensas and Schumpeters will henceforth be the closest of allies, joined together by blood. My most beautiful granddaughter, Rosie, is to be engaged to the head of the Schumpeter Family, the mighty general, swordsman, and artist, Dario Schumpeter! Their children shall inherit the family's status and lands. Any malicious intent aimed at the Schumpeter Family will henceforth be considered a declaration of war against the Mensas!”

This sent everyone into an uproar once more.

This was both the most and least common kind of marriage contract one could hear of. Most often because marriage alliances were normal; such an act would greatly increase the two families' cooperation in certain areas. Least common because such contracts almost never designated the heir to the family, especially with powerhouses like the Schumpeters.

Mensa was toying around with a concept commonly seen amongst the aristocracy. When the Schumpeter leaders had Mensa blood flowing in them, it would not be difficult to swallow up the family. Although this was a slow process, it was also the best way to combine the strength of two families. Houses that had been in power for millennia employed such tactics often; the small cost of a marriage was nothing if it would give them the Schumpeters.

A noble suddenly got up from his seat at that moment, shouting, “Your Grace, the Anan Family's army is currently marching towards Faust. What is your opinion on this matter? Will you be participating?”

Duke Mensa smiled in response, speaking with calm confidence, “The Mensa Family will abide by the old traditions, sending out suitable forces to stop them. This is tradition that has held ever since this very city was built. However, I believe Dario's eye for strategy is strong enough for him to retain his island.”

These words sounded pompous, not giving anything away, but the message they conveyed was very clear— the Mensas would do all they could to beat down the Anan Family.

Marquess Anan was an ambitious, formidable person with great skill and strategy. Three of the fourteen families of Faust were close allies of his, but even combined they could not compare with the Mensas. He had chosen impeccable timing to march for Faust, exactly when the Schumpeters had been beaten down by Gaton. Their close allies in the Josephs had also suffered greatly. However, nobody could have thought that such terrible misfortune would occur while the Archerons were going all out to attack the Mensa Family.

Just as Duke Mensa finished his words, a few of the nobles in the assembly turned pale and coughed loudly. He definitely heard these sounds, but only brushed his gaze past them without any other response. The Anan Family was already halfway to Faust, having paid a huge price. Whether they advanced or retreated, the situation would not end up well.

The Duke returned to his seat after the announcement, occasionally whispering something to the person next to him. He had no interest in the proceedings of the assembly whatsoever, only taking the opportunity to hand out information that he had exchanged a plane for Gaton and his army. Although this was a huge price to pay, it was definitely worth it.

The Archerons had no lack of people with ambition. Gaton was a formidable legend of his generation, quiet and unknown in his younger years but rising like a comet to bring the family to new heights as he obtained huge profits in his campaigns. He wasn't just the family head, instead an idol worshipped by all the younger Archerons. He could even be called their spiritual leader. The boorish, uninhibited man had a charm that was hard to pull down. Only he could gather thirteen knights of varying abilities, leading them on a magnificent march towards Faust. Only he could keep Mordred the Devil King under control.

Gaton's disappearance also entailed the immediate loss of most of the thirteen. Even those who stayed for a day or two only had too much luggage to pack quickly. Eliminating him was akin to removing the Archeron Family's spine. Although Alice had amazing ability as a general, she was just far too young. She was a rib at most.

Sitting comfortably in his seat, Mensa's mind was not on the vehement debates. He was still here purely for the sake of manners; that was a field in which the rich and powerful never failed. Even Prince Morden was calmly listening to the elegant rhetoric that was devoid of substance. Patience was a virtue of true nobles. Duke Mensa was already impatient to see the huge profits from Gaton's disappearance, as well as what kind of drama the Archerons would stir up.

Gaton's floating island was empty in a way it had never been before. Five of his thirteen knights could keep guard on it at most, but this was an impossible ask. The reason he had only taken eight of his knights on the expedition was that the other five were left behind to guard his personal planes.

The islands of Faust were more a symbol of status and glory, not producing actual resources. In fact, they actually cost a lot to maintain. That was why the five knights would likely continue protecting the planes over the island. As long as a plane was around, the Archerons would have the capital to rise once more.

......

The sun set, and Faust entered a radiant, confusing night that was like a dream.

The light of a portal flickered within a secret room in the Joseph Family's castle, and Raymond Joseph stepped out. The screen of light shook the moment he exited it, a common sight with spatial passages. One could withstand such a thing as long as they had a modicum of strength, but Raymond swayed and his legs went weak. He staggered forward; if not for a guard at the side of the portal supporting him in time, he would have fallen to the ground.

“Lord Raymond, are you alright?” the guard asked quickly.

360 - City of Sin

Politics

Raymond looked pale, his forehead beaded with cold sweat. The arteries on his neck were still pulsating; he spent a while coughing intensely before he could finally calm his breath.

A tall, dignified old man walked into the teleportation hall. Seeing the state Raymond was in, he immediately quickened his footsteps and went over, “Do you need a priest?”

The youth feebly shook his head, “No need. The spatial ripples were a little strong is all, I'll be fine after some rest. A divine spell... I can't use them too much. Don't worry about me, Father. Time is limited, let's go to the command centre, I'll tell you about the developments in the campaign.”

The Joseph Family's command centre was tall and spacious, the table in the middle a high-ranked artifact that could store up to nine complete three-dimensional maps. Outside of the map of Norland, the Josephs had five personal planes. Their dream was to someday use the table to its fullest.

The servants had already moved a tall chair over that was meant especially for Raymond. It would allow him to save his strength, looking through the maps from a seated position. Raymond hadn't always needed it, but it had been used more and more frequently as of late.

Two of the family's mages injected the table with mana to reveal a map before they retreated immediately. This was one of the family's greatest secrets, and they could not pry.

Raymond placed an information crystal into a slot at the centre of the table, and the map immediately changed. Numerous cities, stronghold, and other labelled positions showed themselves, including numbers of knights, swordsmen, mages, and the like.

Using a custom-built pointer, he indicated an extensive river valley, “The seven-month expedition into Alfar ended in a decisive victory. We dealt a heavy blow to the allied armies and took over Torrent Valley. Here are the details: I started with having the sixth light cavalry unit detour around the Werewolf Ravine and cut back into the allied forces...”

Raymond's voice was soft, his words interspersed with light coughs. However, a thrilling battle played out on the table to complement his gentle narration. Both sides had used a total of nearly 50,000 troops, and Raymond had been at a disadvantage. However, the tides had ebbed and flowed for an entire month before his unpredictable, relentless attacks had completely destroyed the enemy's army. No more than 4,000 enemy soldiers had died in battle, but an entire 15,000 were taken captive to leave the army in chaos.

This campaign had pushed forward the Joseph Family's lines in the plane greatly, and over 500,000 locals had come under their domain. They had obtained a strategic location in Kerra Pass, proof of Raymond's ability in command.

Duke Joseph just scanned through the image before turning to look at Raymond, his eyes filled with a complex worry. He knew that travelling between planes was a huge burden given Raymond's physical condition. If he could, he would rather exchange the entire plane for Raymond's health.

After finishing the difficulty explanation, Raymond looked up and stated confidently, “Father, nobody can chase us out of the plane anymore. However, a few of the gods are still a little troublesome. We might need two lesser sacrifices to prevent them from doing anything crazy.”

“Sacrifices aren't the issue,” the Duke said with a sigh, “Raymond. Stay here from now, don't go to other planes. There's no need for you to worry about these matters anymore. I just hope you'll be able to relax and do what you like in the coming years. Leave the planes to your brothers and sisters; they may not measure up to you, but they're still capable of stabilising the situation. If that doesn't work out, I'm still here. Do you think I'm so old I can't even go to our planes?”

Raymond coughed a few times before he could reply, “Father, we aren't in a good situation. These past few years... the war with the Archerons used up too many resources. We may look strong on the outside, but we could collapse at any moment. I... I can't see the family like this. Progress in the planar wars is extremely important now more than ever, we just have too few resources especially to sacrifice. Although I never asked you before, I know that most of our reserves are gone. Besides... our opponent is Gaton, and perhaps Richard in the future. When you fight these lunatics, taking it slow will be the death of you!”

Duke Joseph's lips twitched, and he paced back and forth in the room. Finally, he made up his mind, “Raymond, don't worry about the offerings. My reputation is still worth something; some old friends already agreed to give me some. In addition to our own stores, we have enough for two intermediate sacrifices. You should offer them both times; if there are any time-related blessings, use them on yourself! If you're lucky, you might just get a few more decades!”

Raymond shook his head, “You're being foolish, father. You know my condition; blessings of time have no effect and will only stop my body from ageing. It won't cure me of my disease. Why waste them on me? It took us great effort to establish a foothold in this new plane, we need a way to prevent the native gods from meddling. If they stop caring about the consequences, won't our situation be destroyed? We'll have to build a new passageway!

“As for me, a few years don't matter. As a son of the Joseph Family, I am willing to put my life on the line. I'm very unstable; no matter what you say, I'm not going to be the one performing the ceremony.”

Having said all this, Raymond broke out into a fierce round of coughs. His face turned red, body curling up like a fish out of water.

The Duke smashed his fist on the tabletop, speaking furiously, “Can't your disease be healed by a high-ranked offering? Am I unable to do even that?!”

Raymond smiled, “A? You're being impatient. You should know; even if we acquire a high-ranked offering, it isn't guaranteed that we'll get the blessing we need.”

Joseph froze up, only able to sigh heavily at the end.

The blessings of the Eternal Dragon were restricted to a certain range. High-ranked offerings could limit this to what the offerer most desired, but that still left over a hundred different things that were chosen from at random. While the most fortunate greatly improved their chances of getting what they wanted, that did require a great deal of luck.

One needed to have unsurmountable power, great luck, or the liking of the old dragon himself to be given exactly what they wanted. The fortunes of both him and his father were far from good. How else would they have gotten on bad terms with an enemy like Gaton? There were bound to be many stepping stones that adorned the rise of someone formidable.

“There's no harm in trying,” the Duke said with a wry smile. He then continued, “Perhaps I should seek out Her Excellency Sharon. She definitely has enough offerings at hand, it's just that the interest is a little high.”

Raymond was unsure of whether he should laugh or cry, “Father! You're becoming a fool! Have you forgotten that Richard was from the Deepblue? It's said that Her Excellency paid special attention to him, and he created a record in terms of her Delight. Besides, if not for her support, how could the Archeron Family— no, how could Gaton Archeron have so many powerful offerings? We've basically pushed the student she is most proud of into a desperate situation! Don't forget, not only did we change the coordinates of the plane Richard was meant to go to, we also interfered with Gaton's sacrifices that were meant to find him twice!”

Duke Joseph could only take a deep breath and state bitterly, “Things might have been better if we hadn't touched Richard. We paid such a large price, but we still don't know if he's dead.”

“No, he has to be!” Raymond was surprisingly resolute. “He's no normal genius, but someone who can turn the tides of a battle! If it was a regular runemaster, there would be no need to pay such a huge price. But I managed to see his runes... They give off an indescribable feeling! Unbelievably precise, filled with unconstrained imagination that challenges convention yet somehow not breaking the rules. His runes have soul! And his own soul is a volcano sealed in ice! Cough, cough...”

Raymond got more agitated as he spoke, his face swelling red. The coughing grew so intense he had to pause and recover before he could continue, “If he's allowed to develop, we might very well be driven out of Faust. In the entire history of Norland, who has managed to challenge a saint runemaster and ended up well?”

Duke Joseph frowned, “Richard shouldn't be returning. While we've nearly used up all our offerings stored up, there's still the Mensas...”

At this point, the Duke suddenly remembered something and stopped speaking.

“The Mensas...” Raymond muttered, continuing after a long while, “Father, we should be careful with them. Duke Mensa is one of the few people I cannot see through, but I know he is very ambitious. If we assume that his edge has dulled with age, it's a huge mistake. The battle with the Archerons needs to be controlled, just in case he takes advantage and enters. He... He's the wiliest of wolves.”

The Duke nodded in response.

Raymond remembered something, “Right, I almost forgot. How's the trap we prepared for Gaton? Did his army set out? According to my calculations, it should be nearly time.”

Duke Joseph hesitated, “Mm, it was only yesterday. Gaton took eight of his thirteen, bringing along his main elites and 40,000 troops to enter Rosie.”

Raymond was both alarmed and delighted, “What about his teleportation gate?”

“Completely destroyed in the explosion, just like you planned,” the Duke stated calmly. However, there was no joy on his face.

“Great!” Raymond jumped in excitement, “Even if Gaton's amazing and can create miracles, he'll need at least ten years to get back! These ten years will be very important to us! Hopefully, I can hold on for that long. Of course, there's the chance he'll never return and just die there. Rosie is comparable to a drifting plane now, after all. Since that's the case, I'm in no hurry to return. There are still some people amongst the Archerons that are difficult to deal with; I'll stay behind just in case they're driven to do something desperate.”

Duke Joseph glanced at Raymond and sighed again, “Mensa announced the news about the plane at the assembly today. He also announced something else: Rosie is going to be engaged to Dario Schumpeter.”

“What?!” Raymond was greatly shocked. He stood still for a second, suddenly turning pale before he sprayed blood from his mouth.

Duke Joseph didn't know what to say. All he could do was lightly pat his son's back, using his powerful energy to appease his son's chaotic blood.

Coughing out another mouthful of blood, Raymond took out a handkerchief and wiped at the corner of his mouth. He gradually calmed down, eventually just laughing bitterly, “Is this... politics?”

......

The next morning, island 5-4. The Sacred Emperor entered his breakfast room, footsteps as precise as a clock. Standing in front of the tall window that overlooked Faust, he squished his huge body into the chair with difficulty.

The chair had been changed many times. The only reason it wasn't bigger now was that the material was far too precious. Even the Sacred Alliance Emperor couldn't make too large a throne out of a material that was used in grade 4 runes.

The aperitif was wine, with the main course being medium-rare dragon tail. There were some scales here and there, something tailored to the emperor's unique tastes. Chewing on the fragrant and crisp scales was a type of pleasure.

When the emperor began eating, a servant started to report every important event from the previous day. The news of Gaton's army being trapped on Plane Rosie was the headline.

Philip suddenly halted his movements, freezing like a statue. The servant knew that this was a sign of His Imperial Majesty pondering over the matter, and was tactful enough not to continue. He instead just watched the Emperor think.

Philip's body gradually grew hotter and hotter. Three minutes later, his dazed expression suddenly twitched and an intense flame spouted out of his mouth. It roasted the dragon tail until it was well done.

361 - City of Sin

Ripples

The Emperor swallowed the burnt tail in one go, his fat neck suddenly swelling up as the near ten kilos of meat fell into his stomach with a loud thud. With everything back to normal, he squinted his eyes and said slowly, “This move was really unexpected!”

The servant started racking his brain to figure out what those words meant before speaking up, “With Lord Gaton's strength, he will likely return to Norland within ten years.”

“Not necessarily! It depends on the time-flow in the Rosie plane,” the emperor said dryly, revealing a tiny bit of his ability, “The plane's time moved half as fast as in Norland before, but nobody knows what Mensa did now. I don't believe that he did nothing; I hear he's been to the Church several times recently.”

The servant immediately put on an arrogant expression in an attempt to earn some credit, “As far as this humble servant knows, Duke Mensa and Duke Joseph offered three sacrifices recently. They all concerned the Archerons' young master, Richard. I don't know what the specific blessings were.”

Ceremonies held at the Church of the Eternal Dragon were secret events. Not even the royal family could interfere in the matter of the blessings. As for Ferlyn, the First Light of Dawn had status surpassing all else. Nobody could force her to do something she didn't want to, not to mention that offending her would cut off one's route to offer sacrifices. Even visitors would think twice before trying to get her to do anything. She was a mysterious character; nobody knew of her true power, there was just no need to ever showcase them.

However, Ferlyn being watertight did not translate to the rest of the priests and priestesses. The servant had already bribed some clerics, and although they didn't know of any vital information it was still news that would otherwise go unknown.

The Emperor nodded, seemingly thinking of the same thing, “If that is true, Mensa and Joseph really put in some capital.”

“Yes, Your Majesty! However, is it really worth it?” the servant sighed with sorrow. Interfering with a blessing required a more powerful offering than the original. Richard's original sacrifice had been pretty valuable, and the two families needed something that was twice as great to hurt him. That was why the Emperor said they had really put in some capital.

On the other hand, even if they themselves were poor the Archerons had the support of a legendary mage. Although Sharon wasn't wildly wealthy either, she could still destroy a few powerful families without issue. At least in the Sacred Alliance, she only lost battles of wealth if they were sneak attacks.

The servant's thoughts were forgivable. He was someone of authority within the alliance, but even if he fought his entire life he would not have the resources to offer the lowest level of sacrifice. The Church of the Eternal Dragon was completely out of his reach.

“Those old fogeys don't do useless things. They definitely wouldn't joke around with sacrifices. If they've offered so many, this kid has to be worth a lot. We might have to pay more attention to him; is there any news?”

“About that...” the servant stretched his memory, finally remembering a small excerpt, “I heard he set out on an expedition into a lesser plane, but some problems occurred and he got lost in time. There hasn't been any news since.”

Philip pondered for a while before asking, “I heard the Eternal Dragon came down personally during his sacrifice?”

“I heard of it as well, Your Majesty. However, there is no way to verify it.”

The Bloodthirsty Emperor nodded his head, “Then it's most likely true. If the old dragon favours this Richard kid, then he'll be safe wherever he is. It isn't too far-fetched to think he could appear in front of us soon.”

The servant grew very excited, “No need to worry, Your Majesty! If Richard were to return, your humble servant will be the first to go look for him. I heard that he is a gifted runemaster; it just so happens that your knights' runes are ageing. Grandmaster Lunor's 'body' hasn't been in good condition lately; if someone were to come and make alterations in his stead, it would be helpful.”

Grand runemaster Lunor had acted as the Sacred Alliance's chief runemaster for over thirty years. As he shifted to the creation of grade 4 runes over the past decade, his creation of standard runes had decreased even as he consumed more and more raw materials by the day. This was a problem every royal household faced with these kinds of runemasters.

Philip nodded, having the servant continue the report. The second piece of news was naturally the engagement between the Mensas and Schumpeters. Hearing this news, Philip immediately stopped cutting through his meal. He knew exactly what it implied.

“Your Majesty, are you going to allow Duke Mensa to do whatever he wants?”

The Emperor didn't answer, instead asking a question of his own, “Rosie is getting married to Dario?”

“Yes, the pearl of the Mensa family. Your humble servant heard that this was a request made by Duke Dario himself. There are twenty young ladies in the Mensa Family worth him, but he only wanted her.”

“Hmph! That lecher hasn't changed his ways... However, this is still a smart move. It won't let Mensa get too comfortable. Ugh... since that is the case, we shall do nothing for now.”

The servant responded with a puzzled look, “Your Majesty... Would this not allow the Mensas to grow too quickly?”

“Rosie was meant to be betrothed to Raymond Joseph. Hmph, his old man must not be feeling good about this. For now, we don't have to do anything.

“A wolf and tiger in the same valley would naturally band together if a hunter appears. However, if there is no hunter they will likely fight until only one is left standing.”

“Your Majesty is brilliant!” the servant complimented glibly.

“Now, go fetch the court mage. Tell him I'll be waiting in my living room, I need to know how one can erase a plane from the Church of the Eternal Dragon.” Having said that, Philip stood up. A maid naturally moved over to wipe his mouth, wash his hands, and change his clothes.

The servant made a sound of acknowledgement, but then he realised most of the food on the table was untouched. “Your Majesty!” he called out in astonishment, “You haven't eaten anything!”

“I don't have the appetite.” The Bloodthirsty Emperor took big strides out of the dining room. His footsteps were as loud as a dinosaur storming off.

362 - City of Sin

Ripples(2)

Island 7-2 had already become the focus of the Sacred Alliance. The news of Gaton's main forces being trapped in the Rosie plane spread like wildfire across the mainland. Outside of the Sacred Tree Empire and Millennial Empire where the Archerons didn't have much of a reputation, all the nobles were talking about the rarity of a planar portal exploding. However, no matter how one looked at it, the Archerons were an important family in the Sacred Alliance; they were very careful when the topic was mentioned.

The Archeron Family was now incomparably empty. Even a random Marquess could enter their territory and basically tour the place without an issue. But only someone whose head was broken would do so; the normal ones only felt a little pleased. Not many were willing to provoke the bunch of lunatics, the line between madmen and geniuses was often very thin.

Gaton was a man of miracles. There were no enemies that could not be crushed under the weight of his greatsword and Darkmoon Ember's iron hooves. Who would dare say the Rosie plane could keep a volcano such as him trapped forever?

And thus, island 7-2 was like a slab of meat that radiated a draconic aura. Even though a pack of wolves was surrounding it, none dared to take the first bite. Every group wanted someone else to test the waters.

There were actually a lot of people on the island itself. However, most of them were sent by the branch families for various reasons. Of course, the true intentions behind these fellows being here couldn't be more evident.

Ever since Gaton went missing, his steward had become the busiest person on the island. Not one of the five remaining knights was keeping watch here, and Gaton's children were still small. Wennington and Venica were only fourteen or fifteen years old and lacked the power to control the situation. Their mothers' families were already trying to impede each other, so how could they frighten the wolves and tigers from the branches?

Within a few days, the man was left wan and haggard, like he had aged ten years in the blink of an eye. He had already relayed the news to the five knights who were guarding other planes, but they had all replied that they had to remain. As long as the planar portals were under guard, those planes would still belong to the Archerons. Anyone who was sent out to defend a plane had to have an eye for strategy; they immediately saw the root of the problem. The only issue was that the steward had to suffer a little.

The steward was only a servant after all, while those of the branch families were still nobility. The more of them that arrived, the harder his life became. An increasing number of people were trying to order him around, and he still had the problem of protecting Gaton's wealth. Although nobody had the guts to break into Gaton's own room yet, semi-public places like the library, laboratory, and parlour had been infiltrated by wandering relatives. They were 'losing' items much more often than normal.

As the steward hurried past the castle, a servant suddenly ran over to him while out of breath, “Steward! There's a magical message from the Deepblue. Without the Lord here, only you can receive it.”

The old steward was stunned, quickly following the servant down to the castle's basement. Gaton's personal guards were still around here, it was one of the most central regions of the castle. The old man entered the area, steadying his breathing and standing firm before he pushed open the door that was engraved with a transmission array that could cover great distances.

Once he entered, the old steward immediately saw a grey dwarf floating in mid-air, reading what seemed to be a heavy tome. This was a magical image, not the person himself. As someone who once dealt with everyday matters concerning the Deepblue in Gaton's place, he recognised the financial officer who worked for Sharon.

Upon seeing the old steward, the grey dwarf jumped up and yelled, “You came so slowly! You know how much it costs to keep a communication channel up over such a long distance? We're even transmitting images, I'm burning gold by the second!”

The old steward smiled wryly, he was just a normal person who was not even level 10, and an old man at that. He was already out of breath running down to this place, how could he have come faster?

Blackgold had already grown impatient, not waiting for an answer before he followed up, “Hurry up and get ready, I'm sending things over right away! These are all to be reserved for Richard, no one else is allowed to use them! There are a lot of things, don't you get confused.”

The magic circle slowly lit up, emitting waves of mana as packages, boxes, and specially sealed magic chests were sent over one after the other. The old steward moved about in a flurry, shifting them out of the circle so the next items could be sent over.

New items were continuously sent over on the magic circle with no end in sight, causing the old steward to break out in sweat from the exhaustion. The items weren't too heavy, but it was incredibly taxing for him to bend over constantly. By the time the transmission ended, the pile of items next to him was almost as tall as himself.

“Transmission complete! Let me reiterate, this is all prepared for Richard!” Blackgold said with a sharp voice, immediately cutting off the communication. He wasn't willing to waste a single second longer on such an expensive task.

The steward immediately began to carefully organise the items that were sent over. Fortunately, most were properly packaged and looked like they could be kept for a long time; nobody knew when Richard would return. On every item was a set of instructions explaining its type, quantity, preservation method, and so on.

The more the old steward read, the more shocked he was. He could be considered experienced and knowledgeable, and he realised that these were all offerings that could be taken to the Church of the Eternal Dragon! No matter the quality, offerings were offerings. They could not be bought with gold as one pleased, nor were they something the average noble could even think about. Every single item felt scaldingly hot in the steward's hands.

The old steward took a few hours to organise all the offerings and register them in a list. The list was so long it dazzled him, and he could barely breathe. He steadied his mind before calling in a few of Gaton's trusted personal guards to bring them all to a special storeroom and seal them. Done with that, he brought the list with him and moved to the upper floors of the castle.

As he passed by a flight of stairs, he saw a girl suddenly hurry over. Her head held low, she almost bumped into the old steward. She immediately straightened up, falling into a panic the moment he saw his face, “Sorry! I'm sorry!”

The steward remembered that this was the partner Richard had chosen, Coco. He gave way with a smile, and she immediately left in a hurry. She was clearly flustered, but with the list burning in his mind the eyes that never missed a single detail didn't notice how strange she was acting. Google search 𝐟𝓇𝘦𝒆w𝚎𝐛n𝐨ν𝙚𝚕. c𝚘ｍ

He returned to his room and carefully hid the list before leaving in a hurry. There were just far too many things for him to do on this island. Gaton's— no, Richard's wealth had now increased a thousand-fold, and the responsibility of protecting it all fell on his old shoulders. It was such a heavy burden that his ramrod back was starting to hunch.

Without any ferocious hounds to guard it, a piece of fresh meat would always attract vicious wolves. This time, the wolves were already circling around. The old steward didn't know that the contents of the list had ended up in someone's hands the very next day, quickly spreading across the entire upper class of Faust. Outside of some of the more powerful families, any who saw the list were unable to remain calm. This was especially true of people like the Schumpeters and Josephs who had used up almost all their resources.

Still, no matter how much a powerful family had declined it would still exercise patience and only move after it acquired intelligence and came up with a plot. However, the Archeron branch families were nothing of the like. Always fickle and impatient, they were especially proactive now that they saw a chance.

It wasn't long before some of the Archerons had found all sorts of excuses to talk to the old steward, trying to find ways to hear about the offerings. The man was incredibly tough, sending all of them back. He dismissed a few of the servants he suspected of betrayal, but couldn't touch Gaton's personal guard. They had no problems when it came to loyalty hen Gaton was present, but without their master there who could vouch for their honour in the face of great benefits?

Things calmed down on the surface, but this was only the beginning of a larger wave. The steward was relying on Gaton's remaining forces to stay put, but as the days passed without news of him that power would only wane.

And thus, the people on the island were all a little agitated, just each with different reasons.

......

As day turned to night once more, Coco quietly left her residence. Borrowing the darkness of the night as a cover, she arrived at a small forest next to the castle. This place was hidden in the shadow of the castle, and outside of an area with some miscellaneous trees that led to a steep cliff coming from the family volcano, there was nothing else. Not even the nightly patrols would come here; it was rather well-hidden.

A young man was already waiting in the forest. Seeing her rush over, he immediately beckoned to her and said excitedly, “You're finally here!”

Coco's struggle showed on her face. She spoke with hesitation, “But I... I shouldn't be here. I... I'm Richard's partner after all.”

This was the young knight that Richard had seen twice before. In the scant few months, his aura had clearly grown stronger. He took a step forward and grabbed Coco's shoulders with force, saying in a low voice, “Coco. Look at me! I'm already an official knight now, and I can even equip three runes! I'm still young, and have place to grow. It won't be too long before I can equip another and become a real rune knight!”

363 - City of Sin

Ugliness

“But...” Coco was still cowering, not knowing what to say. Richard's words and icy gaze were still deeply imprinted in her mind, as clear as if it had just been yesterday. It left her scared, terrified. She had no idea what would happen if he discovered her crossing his bottom line.

“Coco! I know what you're worried about. It's Richard, isn't it?!” the youth grew more and more agitated, puffing out his chest, “How does he matter? What's so good about him? He just has a great father, only a bastard son between Gaton and some random bitch. Why hadn't we heard of him for ten whole years? His father is a Marquess, so they made some sacrifices to the Eternal Dragon. If not for that, how would he have become a runemaster? He isn't even a level 10 mage! I can kill someone like him with a single strike! If he's been on the island for so long, why hasn't he made a rune in all this time?”

“No, Richard is...” Coco had once been Richard's assistant, and had some knowledge of magic. While she had no clue about how far Richard had come as a runemaster, he most definitely wasn't anything like what the youth was saying.

“Come with me!” the youth interrupted emotionally. He didn't pay any heed to the weak rebuttal, completely immersed in his own thoughts.

The cool night breeze blew through the forest, causing Coco to tremble in the cold. She thought of the consequences of Richard finding out and took a step backwards, speaking quietly, “Erwin, it won't work. I'm the partner Richard chose. We can't go against the family!”

“How about this...” Erwin settled for the next best thing, “bear my child, in secret!”

Coco considered it seriously for a moment, but then remembered something else and shook her head, “No. He hasn't touched me.. If we do that, he'll definitely notice! How about waiting till—”

Erwin made a sound of understanding, both delighted and shocked as he grabbed her, “He really hasn't touched you?”

“Yes.” The pressure on her shoulders suddenly increased. Coco had a bad feeling and began to tremble, fear creeping into her gaze.

“Then give yourself to me!” Erwin suddenly pounced over, holding her in his arms!

“No, Richard will kill us!” Coco did all she could to resist, her voice raising an entire octave. However, Erwin only turned a deaf ear as his hands grew more fierce and his breathing urgent. The moment he touched her supple, energetic body, it was as though his entire being was ignited; he no longer cared about the consequences. He wasn't an Archeron anyway, only a part of a branch family through marriage. Strictly speaking, he wasn't even a vassal. Now that he had the potential to become a rune knight, he would get a fairly good position in any family.

Coco was merely a level 2 illusionist. Although she was stronger than most girls, that was not a match for Erwin. It took a short struggle for him to press her down on an empty area, her clothing unable to restrict his strong hands.

Hurriedly removing everything in his way, Erwin started panting, “What is Richard anyway? He's already lost in some random plane, and definitely won't be coming back! His bones have probably turned to ash already! Who'll know about what happens between us? His damned father is already trapped by the Mensas too, and won't be coming back! All the Archerons he bullied have allied in secret, and are preparing to chase his family off the island! You have no idea how many offerings he's kept in secret. As long as we get them, we'll be able to perform ceremonies at the Church of the Eternal Dragon. When the time comes, we'll become legendary beings! Who cares about Gaton?!”

“No! We'll all die!” Coco's voice gradually got louder. She did love Erwin, but no matter how weak she was, she was still an Archeron. Someone like her could not handle the consequences of what was happening right now. Both Gaton and Richard gave off a similar feeling. They were taciturn volcanoes; once they erupted, they were unstoppable.

However, Erwin steeled his heart and continued. Coco's purity had caused many of his worries over the past few days to ease, and he decided to grab this gift from fate...

A few coughs suddenly sounded out from outside the forest, scaring Erwin. The youth jumped up from his position over Coco.

The old steward's voice sounded from outside, “It's already so late, who's inside?”

Coco tried to calm herself, trying her best to make her voice seem normal, “It's me, Sir, Coco.”

Erwin gave Coco a long look and retreated, silently disappearing into the depths of the forest. For her part she quickly tidied up, steadily walking out of the forest to stand in front of the steward.

“It's already so late, what are you doing here?” the old man asked sternly. His eyes were focused on her own, not flitting across the telling signs on her clothes.

“Richard... hasn't been back for a long time. I was worried and couldn't sleep, so I took a walk,” Coco lowered her head and said softly. In that instant, even she believed these words. Under immense pressure, women always performed better than usual.

The old butler nodded, his expression growing tender, “Have patience, Coco. Master and Young Master aren't ordinary people. They can make all sorts of miracles happen. Don't forget— the Archerons are in their place today because of Master Gaton's work. Besides, you're an Archeron yourself; you should know full well the repercussions for infuriating them. The rage of the Archerons will burn the blood of generations of our enemies to ashes!”

“I remember,” Coco answered gently.

The old butler nodded, leaving with his hands behind his back. Coco heaved a long sigh, but then she suddenly realised the meaning of his latter words. She broke out in a cold sweat as she took a look around the dark forest, growing increasingly afraid before she ran off while holding her skirt.

Ten days later, another meeting was called in the castle of the floating island.

Gaton had been trapped for half a month, and there had been no news at all. This wasn't too long, but it wasn't too short either. It was enough people for certain people with certain intentions to change their minds. They shifted from 'what's going to happen when Gaton's back?' to 'so what if he comes back?'. This should have taken much longer, but the temptation of the offerings had sped it up several dozen times.

364 - City of Sin

Ugliness(2)

The steward was sat at the head of the long table. With Gaton's children not completely grown, he had complete authority on Gaton's behalf. However, he felt incomparably isolated from the rest of the meeting despite being the host. Everyone around him was an aristocrat; even the representatives were at least titled knights. In fact, many of the minor branches had simply set their branch heads to the meeting.

The topic of this meeting was inconceivable. The branch families were asking whether they could 'lend' some offerings to them so they could enjoy the Eternal Dragon's favour and develop rapidly as well.

Lending was an easy thing to do, but how would they get it back? The old steward sat perfectly upright, his gaze sweeping past everyone present. Outside of Sauron, Goliath, and Alice, which one of these branches was capable of returning even the lowest grade of offering?

It was Gaton who had made his way into Faust in an unyielding manner, carrying the Archeron name into the city of miracles. Most of these people here normally wouldn't have the right to even take a step in. Even if Sauron and Goliath wanted to offer sacrifices, they had to go through one of the families of Faust, paying a hefty sum.

The proposal and agreement came from all the small branches. The representatives of Sauron, Goliath, and Alice kept somewhat silent.

For once, the branch families were being smart. None of them asked for the opinions of the three most formidable families. At this crucial juncture, they were far too small and weak, destined to dash ahead and act as cannon fodder. This was the only way they could get a share, although it would be minuscule compared to what the three would take away. It was foolish to try and involve them in this mess during the tentative period, and fools never lived long enough to ascend to high positions.

“We're only borrowing a small part. Once we receive divine grace and grow stronger, we will naturally return them!”

“Exactly! We swear on the Archeron bloodline!”

“Don't tell me that if those two never come back, we'll leave the offerings until they become mouldy? It's only worth it with an instant conversion to power!”

The clamour in the hall was getting louder by the minute, and more people were getting worked up. A few of the perpetrators had already started discussing the allocation.

Looking at the situation about to fall out of control, the steward finally coughed a few times before speaking up in a low voice, “I need to remind you that these offerings all came from the Deepblue, and Her Excellency Sharon clearly stated that they were exclusively for Richard's use. Strictly speaking, they do not belong to the Archeron Family. If we use them inappropriately without permission, we might enrage Her Excellency.”

This silenced the hall. Many people looked at each other with dismay, lost for words. Sharon's glory was not empty talk; no matter how hot-headed and arrogant these idiots got, they would know better than to provoke a legendary mage. This was particularly so when they didn't have any noble cause or status.

However, the silence was cut short by a middle-aged man, “What proof do you have that this batch is intended for Richard? Even if they came from the Deepblue, she might have just gifted it to the entire family!”

“Yes, yes! Besides, it's already confirmed that Richard is lost in the streams of time. It's certain— uh... It's not known when he can come back. Since that is the case, even if they belonged to him initially they should fall to all of the Archerons! We are all part of the same family, so we should naturally get a share!”

The voices of agreement started to resound through the hall as everyone began to sound more and more confident.

The old butler sighed, “I think it's better to wait for Master Gaton to return before discussing this again.”

“You think?” a young and arrogant man yelled with disdain all over his face, “You are nothing but a servant. What right do you have to speak here? This is a hall where the Archeron Family discusses official matters. Do you have any Archeron blood in you?”

“Precisely! You just have to act in accordance with our decisions!”

The clamour grew more intense as the people creating the commotion became more active. In any case, they were already being offensive; they simply couldn't care less as they outrageously tried to force the steward to abdicate. Compared to offending Gaton, whose life and death was uncertain, an opportunity to offer a sacrifice was clearly much more precious. To these small branch families, it was practically nirvana, a rebirth!

Although they had never offered any sacrifices before, they had heard countless legends about the grace of the Eternal Dragon, like a forbidden fruit in the heavens that gave off a captivating scent. They felt like a single bite would transform them entirely, bringing them to the legendary realm.

*THUMP!* f𝘳𝒆ℯ𝑤𝚎𝚋𝗻𝚘𝘷el. c𝗼m

The steward pounded on the table, rendering everyone silent for a moment!

The old man was no powerhouse. Many of the people present could easily inflict serious injuries with a single blow. He had no glorious achievements either; more than sixty years of his life were spent on handling all sorts of trivial matters for the Archerons in the background. The only reason he could sit here was the trust and authority that Gaton had left him with.

And yet, everyone could see a trace of Gaton's presence in the man. He was majestic and explosive, like an erupting volcano! For just that moment, everyone who was making a racket fell silent.

His gaze swept past the few people who were clamouring the most, and he snorted before speaking loudly, “YOU LOT DESERVE TO BE CALLED ARCHERONS TOO?!”

“You!” As his gaze swept past them, they subconsciously shrunk into their seats. It took a second for their reactions to catch up as they leapt up and roared in humiliated rage, “HOW DARE YOU INSULT THE NOBLE ARCHERONS?”

The old butler didn't bother about their roars, only declaring in a low and resolute voice, “I don't care where you got the news about this batch of offerings from, but I'm going to clarify this for the last time. These offerings are for Young Master Richard. Anyone who wants to take them away needs to bring an army!”

This was no different from a declaration of war. Gaton had left behind quite a number of guards on the floating island, as well as a bunch of knights some of whom were rune knights in training. However, most of the latter came from the various branches, making their loyalty questionable. The only ones the steward could rely on were the personal guards Gaton had trained himself. No matter what it was, nothing could change their passive position due to the lack of elite soldiers.

There had been no point in leaving any of his thirteen to keep watch on the island, so Gaton had brought everyone he could to the expedition. The castle here didn't have too many valuable items. Anyway, should anyone dare to attack it, they would be exterminated the moment Gaton and his troops returned.

The hall grew quiet once more. The greed in the air had not completely drowned out the rationality of the branches. The trauma Gaton had left in their minds was not something that could be eliminated in a scant two weeks.

Many gazes turned towards the representatives of Sauron, Goliath, and Alice. Judging from the current situation, only these three held the authority to resolve their problem. No matter how bold and audacious these branch families grew, they wouldn't dare to be so brazen as to attack Gaton's personal guards if they didn't have a backer. Should the attack fail, they would face an imminent disaster that would wipe out their entire family.

Baron Sua lowered his head, focused on wiping the dagger sheath in his hand. It was as though this situation had nothing to do with him. However, careful observation would reveal a trace of disdain in his eyes.

The representatives of Goliath and Alice didn't utter a word either. It was as though this entire matter was completely irrelevant to them, but they didn't mask their haughtiness either. In their eyes, these so-called Archerons in the hall were just a group of monkeys. True Archerons were haughty, crude, and arrogant lunatics that were on planar expeditions everywhere. They used blood and sword to fight for survival, opening up new horizons instead of using words and conspiracy.

Still, if Gaton really couldn't return or the situation went out of control, they wouldn't mind 'borrowing' some strategic resources for the time being either. This group of monkeys could still serve as cannon fodder then. However, it was still far from the time to disregard it all now.

Without any of the three declaring a position, the clamouring people did not know how to conclude things. The meeting thus ended hastily, and as they left the conference hall the old steward stood taller and straighter than everyone else.

However, this was merely the beginning. The monkeys still hung around the floating island; Gaton had once passed down an order that opened many of the facilities on the island to the branches. As such, the steward had no way to chase them away either.

As time passed, battles continued to erupt over trivial matters. The monkeys tried to display a sense of superiority on many occasions, retaliating against the judgement the steward had passed on them. However, the sentence the old man had uttered during the meeting circulated very quickly.

You lot deserve to be called Archerons too?!

More and more Archerons were starting to appear on the island. They carried an aura of blood and fire, with countless scars on their body and an indescribable savagery in their eyes. The weapons and attire made it obvious they came from different places; subterranean worlds, fields of lava, and sheets of polar ice. No matter where they came from or what level they were at, they had a common trait: their very presence reeked of danger. There weren't many of them, but put together they could fight thousands of cavalrymen!

Once they arrived at the island, they lived in the most dilapidated of places. They didn't mind what they ate, as long as it filled their stomachs. Normally only found at training arenas or on patrol, they spent their lives resting, guarding, and training. They seemed like they had nothing to do, no goal in mind.

Nobody outside of the old steward could command them.

These truly were some vicious beasts. They were also from the various branches of the Archeron Family, and they called themselves Archerons as well. They rushed over from all kinds of places without any summon or command. Individually they were mere drops of water, but together they became a torrential current!

In front of them, even the 'dignified' monkeys chose to take the long route.

They, they were the true Archerons.

365 - City of Sin

Knight

A group of strange people entered the Eternal Plains in autumn, stepping on the road to Faust. Their carriages were bright and colourful, the guards mostly barbarians warriors. Amongst them was a small group of knights in extremely beautiful armour, their sigil a tree branch bent into a ring. The maple knights of the Millennial Empire were one of the three largest knight legions tasked with guarding the imperial capital, and had a great reputation on the continent.

As they stepped onto the Eternal Plains, the barbarian warrior at the helm of the group, at least a head taller than the next largest man, used the extended field of view of the plateau to follow the road up Miracle Peak to the City of Legends, Faust.

This was Steelrock, Mountainsea's closest guard. His brutal aura had faded from his last visit to Norland, replaced by the desolate sense of distance of Klandor. He stared at the City of Legends for a whole three minutes before nodding hard, “This is more like it!”

When they reached the base of the mountain, the caravan was stopped at the checkpoint. When the soldiers on guard were looking over the documents as per regulation, a patrolling group rushed over from the side. Their leader was a rune knight! Only Faust was so luxurious that even the patrol team leaders were full rune knights.

The soldiers stopped before the caravan and pointed to the large wagons, asking coldly, “What's inside?”

One of the barbarians spoke up, “The skeleton of an ancient beast, for young master Richard of the Archeron Family.”

“An offering?!” the rune knight shouted reflexively out of shock. Countless ideas started to pass through his mind; these wagons before him were worth more than their weight in gold! He made up his mind incredibly quickly as well, immediately waving at the knights behind him as he shouted, “These people could be spies! Take them to the back, the items on the wagon should be inspected carefully!”

The rune knight's words left the barbarians both shocked and angry. However, those who were familiar with Faust's recent circumstances clearly understood the unspoken meaning behind those words. The patrolling of Faust's surroundings was always undertaken by the powerful families in turn.

This rune knight was from the Joseph Family, who were already arch-enemies with the Archerons. The barbarian warrior had casually revealed that the wagons were delivering ancient beast skeletons that could be used as an offering, and it was even for Richard. Unfortunately, with Gaton trapped on another plane, island 7-2 was currently at its emptiest. Because of that, the rune knight made the decision to seize them by force. He even felt proud of his determination and quick thinking.

They were just a group of barbarians, what could they do in Faust?

The moment the rune knight gave the command, the knights behind him swarmed forth with the intention of surrounding the caravan and taking the precious wagons. However, what happened afterwards wasn't as beautiful as the knight imagined. The first few that went forward were all flung back much faster than their charge, as if they were flies being swatted away. A huge, strong body appeared before the rune knight, a scarlet pattern drawn across his bare chest. Outside of a beast-tooth necklace hung around his neck, there wasn't even a single weapon or accessory on his body.

A single sweep of Steelrock's arm had sent all the knights before him flying.

The rune knight's eyes narrowed. This barbarian in front of him struck fear in his heart, but he couldn't feel any kind of powerful energy or aura from the man's body. It seemed like the fellow relied purely on natural strength. With the blood of wild beasts flowing through the barbarian tribes, this was a common thing that was not worth fearing.

Seeing the second wave of knights also getting thrown out by the man, the rune knight rushed up hot-bloodedly, roaring in anger, “You dare behave in such an atrocious manner under the city of Faust? Send the alert!”

A blood-red flare flew into the sky, letting out an ear-piercing whistle. The rune knights on duty from the Joseph Family would rush over immediately, their leader a saint!

The rune knight stared at the barbarians before him with a sneer. In his eyes, these savages were as good as dead. However, he suddenly frowned when he saw that exceptionally large warrior; that man's prideful gaze was untameable, with even some contempt within. It was as if he felt like the signal for help was incredibly disdainful.

The rune knight's eye twitched, seeing red in an instant. He did not like others being arrogant before him, and now he didn't care about hiding his intent to annihilate the caravan! Letting go of the mask, he spurred on his horse and activated all his runes. Rushing up to Steelrock in a flash, he slashed down with a huge sword that weighed a few hundred kilograms!

“Do you want to die?” The look in Steelrock's eyes suddenly changed, growing fierce and terrifying like a wild beast. He actually laughed in the face of the crazed rune knight that was charging towards him, his mighty aura becoming a tornado that surged into the sky as the ground beneath his feet cracked apart in an instant!

The barbarian raised his thick leg, simply kicking the knight's warhorse in the chest. The creature's abdomen immediately sunk in, its neck twisted unnaturally as it flew back from whence it came. A single kick had stopped a rune knight's wild charge!

Blood suddenly sprayed out from the rune knight's visor, his heavily armoured body flying off the horse. Still, he was a master amongst knights, not admitting defeat so easily. Regaining control of his body in mid-air, he twirled his huge sword around to strike towards Steelrock.

Steelrock remained standing in the same spot, only sending a punch forwards. His huge right fist landed firmly on the rune knight's body, and after an ear-piercing sound of metal twisting the entirety of his armour was left unrecognisable. The man flew out over ten metres, falling with a plop before rolling another ten. Fresh blood spurted out of the cracks in a torrent; one look would be enough to know he was deader than dead.

Steelrock's simple moves that had eliminated their captain shook all the patrolling knights. His grand aura startled the warhorses, forcing the weaker ones to their knees.

Steelrock looked around with a sneer, shouting, “You lot dare steal Mountainsea's gifts? You have guts!”

An angry shout suddenly rang out from afar, “Mountainsea? What is that? You wild dogs, you lot will die here today!”

An entire squad of rune knights sped over from a kilometres away, the iron hooves of their mounts kicking up a storm of dust no less than would come from an entire company of heavy cavalry. In fact, their power was only greater than a well-equipped company! At the head of the squad, a horse flew across the plains like it was walking on the wind. The knight atop it was emitting a powerful aura that made it seem like flames were raging all over his body. This was clearly a saint powerhouse!Steelrock's gaze turned cold. He suddenly restrained his aura, the earth-shattering pressure disappearing without a trace as he strode forward, the huge body seemingly losing weight and growing agile.

However, he had taken only a single step before a hand stopped him.

This was one of the maple knights, only different from his comrades in that he had two swords crossed on his back instead of one. He had the figure of the average man, but he still quietly stopped Steelrock with that single hand. “You're too brutal, let me do it.” Google search 𝙛𝘳𝘦𝐞𝑤ℯ𝗯n𝗼ѵe𝑙. c૦𝑚

Steelrock grew angry at that, “Why? Are we barbarians even afraid of them?”

The knight shook his head, “No, but if you do it your way it will bring Richard a lot of unnecessary trouble.”

Steelrock hesitated for a moment, but then he nodded, “Alright! You lot on the mainland have a bunch of strange rules. But don't you forget, he insulted Her Excellency Mountainsea!”

The knight nodded in response, “I understand.”

He then strode forward, stopping before the charging formation of rune knights. He was still stood casually, but a sharp aura suddenly rose towards the sky. The knight's entire person seemed like an unsheathed sword, one of his blades leaving its sheath on its own to fall into his hands. A blinding flash enveloped the entire area, the watery light from the sword instantly dazzling everyone!

The saint powerhouse was inconsolably terrified, the green pike in his hands stabbing forth in desperation. A light screech rang out as the weapon was reduced to pieces, the sword light swallowing him whole! The saint suddenly felt much lighter, starting to float where he stood. He then saw the knight appear in front of his subordinates and leisurely walk past them. The sword in his hands could no longer be seen, only a light so bright that one could not look at it directly.

The rune knights maintained their charging position, but their actions were slow as a snail. Even after the maple knight had returned to his original position, they still hadn't even advanced the length of a horse.

For a second the world went incomparably quiet, leaving the saint unable to hear a single thing. A moment later, countless sounds swarmed his ears. It was only then that he realised he had flown up high and was falling quickly, soon being planted into the ground!

The other rune knights were flipped over as well, all falling off their horses. The beasts whinnied and jumped a few times on the spot before falling as well, dead within the blink of an eye. The rune knights could still struggle a little, but not one of them could immediately stand up.

The saint finally struggled up, feeling a wave of dizziness. However, he discovered that his right hand did not get up with the rest of him. Forcing himself steady, he looked back at the ground only for his vision to black out. The knight had already cut off his right arm!

“You... You...” the saint pointed a trembling hand at the knight, but he couldn't say a thing.

The maple knight spoke indifferently, “Since when is the Joseph Family so aggressive and shameless that you're robbing people under Faust's nose?”

366 - City of Sin

Retreat

The saint glared at the maple knight, fire almost spewing out of his eyes. The severed right arm hadn't been shattered— he could get it fixed back in the Church of the Eternal Dragon— but it had still caused irreversible damage. It would take a long time before he could return to his former capacity.

A loud, clear sound rang out from above them at that moment, “I guess even the Joseph Family is inferior to the Millennial Empire when it comes to arrogance?”

The knight raised his head towards the source of the sound, only to see a griffin diving down at breakneck speed. It covered the hundred or so metres to the ground in an instant, landing in front of him like a meteor.

A middle-aged man with a strong aura appeared before the maple knight. His hair, still flying from the impact, was an eerie lilac, the killing intent so strong that it materialised into numerous violet runes that floated around his body.

He took a mere three steps towards the knight, the purple aura expanding with every foot forward until it was a ten-metre tall pillar of fire!

Anyone could guess that this man was Earl Sully of the Joseph Family, a well-known level 20 powerhouse!

Still, the maple knight was unperturbed as he asked with indifference, “What are you doing here? Trying to rob an offering given to Richard Archeron by Her Excellency Mountainsea? Are you trying to wage war with the Millennial Empire?”

Sully stared at the knight for a good while. The colour drained from his face, but he still sneered, “Ah, Mr. Drakons! Am I seeing things? The commander of the maple knights is now a little guard that's sneaked his way to Faust?”

Drakons smiled, “If I hadn't come, then this skeleton would already be in your hands."

Steelrock huffed unhappily, but didn't say anything. Still, his implication was clear; nobody could have taken these things away even if Drakons hadn't been here.

“Ancient beast skeleton!” Sully's shock was apparent in his high-pitched voice. His gaze grew piercing, energy surging as he shouted, “Isn't Mountainsea the ruler of the barbarians? What does she have to do with the Millennial Empire?”

Drakons replied calmly, “Her Excellency is the granddaughter of the Empress, and a student of my master the Sword Saint. Of course she's related to the Empire. Or have you been in Faust so long that you're completely clueless about the continent at large?”

Sully's face dropped at the mentioned of the Sword Saint. “Regardless,” he said through clenched teeth, “I'll have to get my hands on that thing!”

Steelrock scoffed coldly and took one foot forward, about to walk towards Sully. But just as he raised his leg, he was quickly pulled back again. “This is my affair now,” Drakons stated.

One hand on Steelrock, Drakons' eyes grew clouded and he asked Sully, “You want the skeleton? Sure. All you need to do is kill me.”

Sully laughed out loud as the purple energy around him condensed into an axe. “We're both level 20 beings. You think you can defeat me just because you have the Sword Saint for a master?”

His words enraged Steelrock once more. The barbarian clenched his fists so hard his knuckles popped loudly, his face a smile filled with malice, “Where did this idiot come from? I promise: 3 minutes with him and I'll have him begging for mercy!”

Drakons held out his arm to block Steelrock; even without making any direct contact, he still managed to stop the furious barbarian from acting. His swords did not leave their sheaths on their own this time. He instead grabbed them by the hilt, slowly drawing bout out. The half-drawn blades shone so brightly in the light of the setting sun it was impossible to tell their material.

He glared coldly at the Earl, “We're both level 20? Great. Take ten attacks from me without dying, and I'll let you off.”
𝑓ree𝑤𝘦𝚋𝐧𝘰ve𝑙. co𝒎

All colour drained from Sully's face as his hand around his axe trembled profusely. He knew full well that the moment both those swords left their sheaths, Drakons would fight to his full abilities.

Alas. The swords left their sheaths slowly, the blades vibrating in the process to create a draconic roar that only got louder with time. By the time they were finally out, Sully let out a scream and turned around. His hazy purple energy shrouded the saint and all the rune knights as he made a beeline for the Josephs' floating island.

“Drakons! I'm not scared of you, just showing some respect for the Sword Saint!” the earl's voice echoed from afar.

Drakons scoffed, returning his blades to their sheaths.

Steelrock was irritated that he didn't get to have the fight he wanted and spat hatefully, “Why did that bastard run?”

Drakons had already returned to his non-threatening demeanour. With his mask pulled back up, he looked just like an ordinary maple knight. He laughed lightly at Steelrock's complaint, “The Josephs are at fault this time. If this sparks a war with the Empire, the Sacred Emperor wouldn't let him off. On the other hand, even if I did kill him it wouldn't be of any significance. He came with such gusto but didn't expect to be embarrassed by me. Naturally, he went running back in shame. Of course the word will spread through high society; the Joseph Family has completely humiliated itself this time.”

Steelrock profusely nodded in enlightenment, “They dug their own graves. But they insulted Her Excellency! This embarrassment isn't enough to teach them a lesson, I'll come back to the Sacred Alliance with an army from Klandor...”

Drakons was rather speechless at that. “Trust me, the punishment I gave them is far more than sufficient.”

Steelrock stared at Drakons for a while, only nodding hesitantly after he remembered the severely injured saint and rune knights just now.

The journey continued in spite of the of the unforeseen incident, no more fools trying to disturb the trip. The skeletons thus ultimately made their way to the old steward, rendering the atmosphere in the Archeron island even tenser than before.

The ancient beast skeleton was on the same level as a dragon's skeleton; it was worth at least one intermediate sacrifice.

......

An angry growl rang throughout the Josephs' island when the skeleton entered Archeron hands. “Bastard! This cruel bastard!”

Drakons was cruel, indeed. All ten of the rune knights' mounts had been killed, and he had completely destroyed one of the runes on each of their bodies. This dropped the entire squad's power by at least a third; they were a lost cause.

Sully was fuming, but he had no plans for revenge. He may be level 20, but he had no hopes of becoming a legendary being. He knew his place, and the confrontation with Drakons taught him that even people at the same level could differ drastically in power.

Sully was clear about something else as well. Even if he had been the stronger one today, he couldn't have touched Drakons. Unless, of course, he planned to stay in Faust for the rest of his life to avoid the Sword Saint's vengeance.

Moreover, if the protector of the Sacred Alliance found out about this, she would likely join the Sword Saint in chasing him down instead of stopping him.

367 - City of Sin

Unable To Refuse

Steelrock and Drakons didn't stay around too long after handing the skeletal remains to the Archeron steward. After a quick tour of the island, they left with their entourage. When they reached the entrance of Faust, Steelrock looked up at the dragon head hung from the arched gates, praising, “This is a good thing!”

“Only those without much history will exemplify their glory so conspicuously,” Drakons said with some disdain.

Steelrock turned to glance at the maple knight, “You people have this kinda stuff in your kingdom?”

“The Millennial Empire is an inheritor of the ancient elven empires,” Drakons answered proudly, “The ruler of every generation is well-known for their strength on the mainland. The empire is filled with powerhouses, and there are eight or ten such things in our treasury!”

Steelrock nodded his head, his eyes glowing, but one couldn't tell what exactly he was thinking about.

Done boasting, Drakons gazed at the barbarian, “You've seen the situation of the Archeron Family. If Gaton cannot return soon, the skeletal remains will likely only bring them more trouble. Listen to my advice, leave it with Duke Peron for now. His family occupies island 6-4, and is much stronger than the Joseph Family. He's also my master's uncle, so you don't have to worry about him losing or damaging the offering. He doesn't care much about these things.”

The barbarian shook his head, “I'm not worried about the skeleton. If it's gone, it's gone. We have an entire valley full of those things in our tribe! Any trouble it causes is the Archerons' business, my only job was to send this thing over. With it delivered, I'm done.”

Drakons frowned, “Say Richard returns all of a sudden, and Gaton is still in the other plane. These remains alone will cause a great deal of trouble for him!”

Steelrock snorted, murderous intent in his eyes, “Can't the man fancied by Her Highness deal with this tiny problem? It wouldn't be bad if he died here, there are lots of warriors back in Klandor who want to slaughter him. If he doesn't have the ability, it's better if he dies now instead of embarrassing Mountainsea.”

Drakons' expression changed at that statement. “The man fancied by Her Highness...” he muttered as he shook his head, leaving alongside Steelrock. The two walked out side by side, a vast disparity in their sizes but no difference in strength.

“Drakons!”

“Hmm?”

“Let's have a fight before we part! I haven't had a good fight in months!”

Darkons let out a cold snort, “When my two swords leave their sheath, they are bound to draw blood!”

“Really?” there was an air of excitement in Steelrock's voice.

The maple knight's aura completely dissipated, and he said helplessly, “You warriors of Klandor really have no humour.”

Steelrock was rendered speechless for a moment, but then he said through clenched teeth, “You warriors of Norland really aren't funny.”

The two gradually parted ways.

......

For his part, Richard didn't know of all the troubles he had accumulated in Norland. He was busy dealing with his problems back in Faelor.

Blackwing had never shown himself ever since the assassination, and that frightening unknown archer had disappeared completely as well. Richard had launched his revenge against Red Cossack the very next day, arresting everyone associated with the group in Bluewater and turning them into slaves. Any who resisted were killed on the spot, hung on wooden stakes and displayed publicly outside the oasis.

The violent reaction was tantamount to a loud slap on Red Cossack's face; it wouldn't be long before they struck once more. Of course, that was exactly what Richard wanted; angry people always committed unwise mistakes.

He didn't forget the power of gold, something that had an irresistible attraction in the mortal world. Using the Golden Warflag and various other organisations and merchant groups operating in Bluewater, he posted an amazing reward for Red Cossack. He offered more than a hundred gold coins for every level 5 warrior, the reward increasing with level. The two saints were put up at 100,000 coins! It had changed every gaze on the two saints, and the perception of saints was very sharp.

Money was the thing Richard lacked the least. As long as the pen in his hand could still move, he had near unlimited gold. Although he didn't have enough to pay for all of the bounties, the possibility of the heads of saints being bought with gold was minuscule.

One hot and stuffy night, Rolf arrived at Richard's residence. They had agreed on the date in prior meetings, and he was excited as this was a once in a lifetime opportunity to acquire the power of someone at a higher level.

The saint swordsman stood in the courtyard, waiting for Richard's guard to go make a report. His status meant he rarely had to wait at someone's door in recent years, but ahead of him was the workshop of a great mage. It was also the opportunity for him to obtain a second rune, two chances to defeat enemies stronger than him. There was no sense of impatience in him at all. Although his breathing grew a little hurried moments before he reached for the door.

Even saints would be humbled in the face of power. Rolf finally contained his nervousness, mustering the courage to knock.

“Lord Rolf, please enter!” a voice came from inside.

The first thing the saint did upon entering was to size up Richard's workshop. It looked like a mage's lab, but without much of the larger research equipment. Richard himself was sat at a table, studying two pieces of paper. He didn't raise his head even when Rolf came in, “Please take a seat and wait a moment, I need to finish reading these things.”

Rolf was in no hurry, sitting down calmly. He had remained at level 16 for seven years now, so a few more minutes would not matter. It took a while for Richard to finish reading, after which the mage stood up and stretched his body. He then smiled and explained, “I was looking at information on the Red Cossack saints and had some ideas. Sorry to have kept you waiting.”

"It doesn't matter! I can wait!” Rolf answered a little too quickly, his voice reverberating through the room. He took a glance at the information in Richard's hands and asked, “Chuck and Phinbar? I've dealt with them a few times, and well... I'm not afraid of you laughing, Master Richard. Phinbar has defeated me once before, and I'm afraid the gap between us has only grown since then.”

For the sake of the formidable power he was about to obtain, Rolf had even changed from calling Richard mister to master. The power of runes had made him neglect Richard's age.

The Sword Saint had learnt from Amon that the final bits of the runecrafting and activation would be undertaken by Richard himself. Given the amount of material and time spent on it, it was apparent that Richard could complete a large portion of the fabrication himself. Facing a disciple of a grand mage who could make near divine weapons, there was no such thing as too much respect.

Richard had quickly prepared his tools while Rolf was lost in thought, taking out a magic sealing box. He carefully extracted the new rune from within, speaking indifferently, “That doesn't matter. If you meet Phinbar after tomorrow, Lord Rolf, he will be defeated. Once he loses twice, I don't think there's a chance he will challenge you a third time.”

The rune started glowing a pale gold the moment it left the sealing box, overflowing with magical power. Before its magnificent radiance, Rolf could not help but hold his breath. His entire body began trembling slightly.

He had been bottlenecked for much too long, a limit brought about by his talent. Although he was unwilling to reconcile himself to that fact, Rolf still knew clearly that he had no hope of getting to level 17 even if he practised another ten years. The further up one was stopped, the more they desired greater power.

Having tasted the enormous power, wealth, and glory that came from being a saint, Rolf could not control himself. The knowledge that he could not attain higher levels only increased his desire. He would not miss any opportunity to grow!

Richard's gaze flickered, already having captured the changes in Rolf's expression. He realised then that he had underestimated this powerhouse's desire for power. This was a desire that far surpassed lust or greed, a veritable drug...

Ten minutes later, a surprised and delighted voice rang out from the workshop, “This... this power! This feeling!”

“Be careful, Lord Rolf. If you truly activate the rune now, you'll be left with only a single chance to use it.” Richard's cold voice calmed the saint to some extent. So what if it could only be used twice? That was two chances of defeating someone of the same level, of escaping from someone more powerful. No matter how he evaluated it, this was a great deal.

Rolf stood up, pacing back and forth in the workshop. He was so agitated that he could not stop; this rune had awoken a lust for vengeance that had been lying dormant for years. How could he not be excited at the prospect of continuing to advance? One's age and talent were not the only things limiting their advance; understanding of magic and battle experience were important aspects that were like lighthouses illuminating the correct path forward.

“Master Richard, this rune exceeds my every imagination! I'll have my people send over fifty magic crystals from my private collection, you must appreciate the token of appreciation!” Although Rolf was very excited, years of experience in politics brought him to such a decision immediately. He had to grow his relationship with Richard at all costs.

Looking at the excited man, Richard laughed and shook his head. However, just as he was about to speak, the saint interrupted him, “Respected Master Richard... I know what you are about to say. Indeed, we already have negotiated terms. This is only a small personal gift!”

Richard thought it over and took out a delicate magic sealing box, opening it to reveal a pale gold scroll. “Alright, then I shall accept your kindness. This scroll is a gift to you in return.”

368 - City of Sin

Unable To Refuse(2)

Rolf's senses very astute. He immediately sensed the mystic undulations of divine power from the scroll, able to tell that it contained a powerful spell. It was a privilege restricted to the larger churches, only usable if one was a follower of the god. Rolf didn't feel much of anything about the scroll itself, only unsettled by the fact that the aura being radiated by the scroll was foreign to him. He couldn't help but recall Amon's speculations of Richard being backed by a demigod.

“This is a divine scroll, I'm afraid I cannot use it.”

“Grade 5 divine spell, War Construct. I'm sure you've heard of it before.”

“War Construct?!” Rolf was startled. This was a powerful spell possessed by all greater churches, greatly boosting the defence, offence, and even speed and regeneration of the target greatly. The only drawback that its usefulness was limited to those of high faith, and few clerics could even learn it. Only one out of every four or five that had crossed level 12 could grasp this spell.

Although he was stunned at the rarity of the scroll, Rolf's enthusiasm dissipated completely. No matter how powerful the spell was, it was not something he could use. As for the gold he could get from selling it, it would be too small an amount for him to care.

However, Richard's next words caused the saint's powerful heart to start beating rapidly. “This scroll is somewhat special, it can be used by those without faith. The power is slightly lower than a regular one, but at critical times it can turn the tides of a battle.”

Usable without faith? Rolf was surprised greatly. This was a sullied scroll! However, what did a sullied grade 5 scroll imply? A myriad of thoughts passed through Rolf's mind; the person who scribed this scroll needed to be an official priest at minimum! No demigod could support an official priest!

Even as Rolf's mind was whirling, Richard's next words only served to agitate him further, “That's just the first level. The scroll has three levels of power, although one needs faith to activate the third.”

Rolf's expression froze slightly.

Richard smiled harmlessly, as if he hadn't seen the unnatural expression on Rolf's face. He pointed at the enchanted paper underneath the scroll, “On this paper is an introduction to my Lord's doctrine, and the main tenets of His faith. If the person who uses the scroll chooses to follow them, they will immediately be able to activate the second level of power. The defensive boost will be increased, and divine power will be added to attacks. One's blows will be difficult to endure, the injuries they inflict not easily healed by the spells of other gods. The third level requires a certain amount of piety.”

The Anrick Family worshipped their ancestors, meaning Rolf naturally rejected the gods. The priests he had met in the past drivelled on endlessly about the great might of their masters; never had one talked about divine power as a tool like Richard was doing. Richard was talking about weaponising the divine power within the scroll, using it to augment one's offence and defence. This was the most direct way of turning the tables in a battle!

“Then how powerful is the third level?” Rolf asked tartly.

Richard answered in such a leisurely tone that it made Rolf want to kill him, “If— and I do mean only if... If you can activate the scroll to its fullest extent, it will have two effects. The first is half a minute of Extraordinary Recovery, and the second a divine weapon in place of your own whose every attack is charged with divine power.”

Rolf immediately held his breath. Extraordinary Recovery was a state akin to a healing spell being cast on one's body every second. It basically rendered him immune to death for that half minute. As for the divine weapon, it would have power equivalent to Sinclair's dagger, completely overshadowing any weapon Rolf currently had.

The third level of War Construct would turn Rolf into an instrument of destruction! If the scroll combined with the effects of his rune, he could likely take on both Chuck and Phinbar alone. Such a divine item, such strength! Rolf's eyes blazed as he looked at the scroll, his heart surging. This was no mere grade 5 scroll— it could be considered a legendary weapon that was paid for by faith.

The Anrick Family might worship their ancestors, but Rolf wasn't the successor and a powerful swordsman on top. Although his foundation had come from the power of his bloodline, given his current strength faith had little effect on him.

It wasn't like there were no atheists in these kinds of families. Be it due to politics or other reasons, the longer the family existed the shallower the many worshippers' faith grew. Bluntly put there was little benefit to worshipping one's ancestors, and little punishment if one converted. It was mostly just a way to make one's stand known.

And yet, this did not make things easy for Rolf. The head of the family, Marquess Anrick, was his blood brother even if they were not born of the same mother. He had never imagined that there would come a day when he needed to decide between power and faith.

Richard spoke up slowly, “Of course, Lord Rolf might have no need for this toy. It wouldn't be impolite of you to just gift it to someone else.”

Rolf's next breath was stuck in his throat. He decided that he would go without sleep that night, analysing all the information on that piece of paper before making any decisions.

Looking at the saint carry the magic box like it was a precious treasure, Richard smiled slightly. It was just as he had expected, and the outcome would be just as expected as well. He was bound to meet a powerful enemy in the future, and he would need to use the scroll. Since Rolf knew of the tremendous power of the third level of the scroll, Richard did not doubt that he would be unable to hold back. There was practically no punishment for an ancestor worshipper converting as long as their changed strength did not depend on bloodline. And as it turned out, Richard knew this did not apply to the saint swordsman.

The Dragon of Eternity and Light. This title alone could hold the attention of a fair number of people. Once Rolf saw the paper, he would be astounded by the fact that such a peerless god had almost no requirements of his worshippers. The price was minuscule, the lightest of worship deeming one a follower.

It was so easy!

The cost of maintaining the position wasn't high either. If one didn't offer any sacrifices, then there would be no cost to bear. However, Richard knew well that those with ability would choose to offer something. And after the first time would come a second, and a third... The Eternal Dragon never pressured any of his worshippers, and almost never punished them. However, as long as one had desires, the path of offerings had no end.

Most importantly, the old dragon didn't reject any other gods. He was one of the few gods that did not mind his followers worshipping others as well.

Still, this did not mean the others felt the same. If Rolf activated the third level of the scroll, his faith in the Eternal Dragon would leave a brand on his soul. If he then started worshipping a god of Faelor, this new deity would definitely see the mark. Unless Rolf could find a way to remove it or the god was understanding, there would be no chance of the conversion happening.

Of course, the depth of the brand was directly related to the power of the god. Who could remove a brand the Eternal Dragon had carved with his divine force? The gods could perhaps forgive a follower of an opponent, but they would never let someone who worshipped a foreign deity go.

Kellac had taken a week's worth of divine force to scribe the scroll, and Flowsand had processed it herself to ensure the item was worth it. It could be said that every one of these scrolls would create a solid ally.

The smile on Richard's face slowly grew milder. Chuck, Phinbar, Blackwing, and that unnamed archer... All of them started popping up in his mind. He sat quietly in front of the window, his gaze on the darkness of the night. His blessing of wisdom was operating to its fullest extent, giving him the ability to process information at thrice the speed of the normal person. Numerous battle plans flashed through his mind, almost all rejected for one reason or the other. Still, there were ten feasible plans by the time he wound up. He was confident that any one of them could leave either Chuck or Phinbar dead.

Only then did Richard realise the true extent of his power.

Early the next morning, Richard began to gather his troops into an elite force with 100 barbarians, 200 desert warriors, 200 of the mercenaries from the Demon Hunting Spears, and all of his throwers. He had taken them out by dusk, disappearing into the vast Bloodstained Lands.
𝑓ree𝑤𝘦𝚋𝐧𝘰ve𝑙. co𝒎

He was dressed differently this time, no longer in his mage robes but in fencing garments that were easier to move around in. A simple cloak served to block the wind and sand, while two blades crossed on his back. One was the nameless elven sword, the other Sinclair's dagger.

Over the next few days, it was as if a tornado passed through Bluewater's surroundings. All the Red Cossack strongholds within a hundred kilometre range were completely levelled!

Richard commanded the troops with ease, winning all the battles and annihilating over a thousand men while losing less than ten of his own. In smaller-scaled battles, he was a veritable god of war.

The reaper wandered throughout the Bloodstained Lands, its whereabouts unpredictable. A few days later, a second class Red Cossack caravan entered Richard's line of sight. This was no coincidence; someone had sold the information to him.

369 - City of Sin

A Battle For Vengeance

A 1000-gold reward would be given out once the caravan's route was confirmed. This was enough to attract most commoners and even some fighters. With the elite bats serving him, Richard had no problems communicating with Bluewater Oasis; those who wanted the reward could inform a liaison in Bluewater and he would know in at most half a day.

This second-class caravan didn't have too many supply carriages; in fact, there were less than ten, making it seem like it wouldn't make much profit. However, the 300 guards surrounding it exposed its true value. The size of the army and the Red Cossack flag would let them traverse the Bloodstained Lands at will.

On this day, however, a cavalryman jumped out from the dense fog in front of them, blocking their path ahead.

The corner of the leader's eye twitched, and he raised his arm for them to stop. All the guards were ordered to be alert, while he sent a few messenger hawks off immediately. This man had wandered the Bloodstained Lands for many years; if someone dared block their path despite the flag, they obviously came prepared.

Richard halted his warhorse, staring icily at the second class caravan opposite him. He didn't mind waiting for them to set up defensive formation.

Once the caravan finished preparing their defensive measures, he raised his arm and pointed at them calmly, “Kill them all.”

Squad after squad of soldiers charged past him, running towards the caravan in the most orderly of formations. The first row was made of barbarian soldiers with heavy shields, and following were the throwers. After that came the elves and the archers from the Demon Hunting Spears. Last of all were the foot soldiers from the Demon Hunting Spears.

First came the battle of arrows. The enemy archers were easy enough to take down with their own, but it was once the throwers were in range that Richard's army revealed their true ranged might. A hundred sharp whistles rang out in the air, causing all the guards looking upon the rain of axes to blanch. The carriage walls definitely couldn't block these terrifying axes!

Even if Richard wasn't in control, his army was strong enough to completely annihilate this caravan. Not much time had passed, and Richard himself had never imagined that his strength would rise so quickly. In front of opponents he used to consider strong, he only had to order their execution and it would be done.

Richard no longer bothered with the situation at the caravan, instead slowly turning his horse. Even if those guards managed to block the first volley of axes, they definitely wouldn't be able to sustain the second and third. It would be lucky if even half of them were alive once the throwers were through. With the support of the elven warsong, any decent number of them would have inestimable might.

Richard was waiting for the others. The ones that had killed Medium Rare.

A dry, warm wind blew across the red soil, causing it to roll and fly. Richard saw nothing besides this, but he would not completely believe his eyes. As someone familiar with the underworld, he knew assassins at or above level 10 had many methods of fooling the eye.

Three enormous bats flitted through the sky up above, and with their hearing sensed vibrations no human could on the ground. Richard could see ten vague silhouettes approaching his location in his mind's eye, less than a hundred metres away.

His smile suddenly grew chilly!

“Flowsand!” a ray of divine light shimmered the moment Richard called out, landing on his body. Outburst was activated!

The blazing mana only strengthened Richard's desire for battle. A stern look overcame his face as he roared thunderously, “BLACKWING!”

Blackwing!

Blackwing!

Blackwing...

His voice echoed through the dunes, twelve fireballs forming an eye-catching line of fire in the sky as they fell in the same region. The high temperature distorted space, the faint silhouette of a human figure popping into existence. This silhouette looked like it had come out of nowhere in the empty desert.

In that instant, Blackwing's face was completely distorted from the shock. All he could see were the surging flames. Wave after wave quickly spread out, covering a hundred-metre radius. This left the assassin with no way to instantly escape unharmed, the flames drowning out his vision leaving him unable to find a line of safety.

Even if the area covered hadn't been so extensive, Blackwing still couldn't have escaped. He was still stealthed, limiting his speed greatly. By the time he even felt like something was off the first fireball had already exploded in front of him. He had blocked it with his own energy, but the impact forced him out of hiding. The momentum of the attack left him with no choice but to sustain the energy barrier and try to resist, leaving no chance for him to do anything else.

Looking at the stream of twelve fireballs heading his way, the assassin almost couldn't believe his eyes. Had his mind been a little clear, he might even have thought there were eleven other invisible great mages nearby, casting alongside Richard.

Thankfully he found an opening in the last moment, activating all his energy to form a grey antimagic shield. This was a powerful ability attached to his leather armour, able to reduce the might of an offensive spell by two entire grades.

Even so, Blackwing was left in despair. This region with the twelve spells was like the abyss or hell. Even if he could hold on until the magic came to an end, he would still wind up gravely injured. This was the scary part about mages— their spells were so powerful that they could practically crush all others of the same level in direct combat.

Still, magic had an inherent time limit. As long as he could survive this, chances were high that he'd manage to escape.

The sound of the first explosion was drowned out by the whistling of the following spells, making it seem like it was completely quiet. Blackwing watched the tide of fire expanding soundlessly, drowning his body.

'It hurts! It hurts so much!' These were his first thoughts.

The agonising pain from these fireballs was much more intense than any he had faced in the past. He'd even braved a fireball head-on once, charging forward. But that wasn't even half as painful as this! The last time, he had managed to get through the fires and cut the mage into a dozen pieces. Now, all he wanted was to escape!

“I need to escape!” Blackwing nearly cried out. However, instincts formed over years of battle caused him to hug his head and protect his body, crouching down on the ground. He did his best to minimise the area torched by the scalding fire that seemingly locked him into a small area. All his senses seemed to stop working, just staying there leaving him dizzy. Only lying on the ground like this could he still feel connected to reality.

Wave after wave of fire whistled past him, leaving him with a pain he could not describe. Under the threat of death, his staunch resolve began to waver. He even started to suspect that in the scant three seconds in which Richard had launched the twelve fireballs, the mage had also boosted their power.

Indeed, magic penetration and spell boosts did have many similarities.

The waves of fire struck each other and multiplied in power, their combined force much greater than their sum. Although he hadn't been struck by all of them, by the time the last wave passed Blackwing swayed where he stood. He could somewhat see Richard's figure through his blurred vision, and looking at another familiar silhouette getting somewhat close he heaved a sigh of relief and collapsed.

Richard swayed a bit himself, the feeling of all his mana being drawn out in an instant as terrible as always. However, seeing Blackwing forced out of stealth and falling, the gloomy aura hanging over him started to dissipate.

“Kellac!” he called out, and a vitality spell fell from the sky. Added to the effects of his own rune, his mana regenerated rapidly. The brilliance of divine spells shone once more; Kellac used a grade 5 protection spell that would greatly enhance his defence.

Only after the spell took effect did Richard turn back, flashing a smile at the assassin that was already within five metres of him.

When the assassin saw the divine spell flash over Richard, he was stunned. Being someone of experience, he instantly recognised it for what it was and was left feeling unsure. Be it in terms of protection or regeneration, divine spells were far more effective than mana-based spells of the same grade. Now, he would find it difficult to kill the mage with a single stab.

But so what? Even though Richard had noticed him, he was already so close. How could he let such a good opportunity pass by? If one stab wasn't enough, then he would stab multiple times. Everyone knew how frail mages were, after all. The assassin cheered himself on, hissing as he left stealth to pounce on Richard like an eagle.

Before he could even recover from the shock, a tremendous strength that was difficult to block suddenly came from Richard's long sword, knocking his dagger away. The follow-up came like lightning, cutting straight down at his body.

The assassin was absolutely shocked, brandishing his weapon at full strength to parry the strike. But he could not withstand the explosive power and fell backwards, frantically crawling out of range of the weapon.

Richard was in no hurry to pursue, his sword hand halting as he instead made a gesture. The glimmer of a divine spell shone once more; this time it was War Construct! A level 13 priest himself, Kellac was no weaker than Flowsand and her Book of Time when it came to supporting spells.

With Eruption and the two divine spells in tandem, Richard truly had turned into a war machine! A long hiss rang out, and he charged towards the pathetic-looking assassin with sword in hand. Tens of slashes were sent forth in the next moment, every strike lightning-quick yet filled with a blazing weight. A crescent flashed over his head from time to time.

In that moment, Richard scared the level 12 assassin witless!

370 - City of Sin

A Battle For Vengeance(2)

The assassin could never have imagined that a mage would one day hunt him down at sword's point. However, he didn't find the irony in the situation humorous, focusing on a desperate escape.

If not for his speed and agility, he would have been sliced in two. The sword in Richard's hands was far too sharp, breaking his dagger in two with only a few strikes. Even worse, sword lights flashed from the sword every now and then, sometimes narrowly missing his head and cutting off a few locks of hair. The assassin did not doubt that direct contact with this blade would leave him in pieces.

With only half his dagger left, the assassin had almost nothing useful on his person. Luckily he had a backup dagger, so he didn't have to parry the attacks empty-handed. With Richard's grasp of the dark arts, he could forget all about the idea of countering. If not for the awe-inspiring barrage of twelve fireballs earlier, he would have thought this person chasing him was actually a powerful assassin. No matter what techniques he used, he failed to widen the distance between them.

Richard used his sword skillfully as he chased the assassin. With the support of two powerful divine spells and Sinclair's dagger on him, he could defend against almost all of the assassin's tactics. The only thing the attacker could do was attempt to get as far away as possible.

At one point Richard suddenly slowed his pace, using what little mana he had recovered to cast an illumination spell. These kinds of grade 0 spells used almost no mana, only serving as a source of light. However, this light happened to fall on the hidden group of assassins that was nearing him!

The group of assassins suddenly realised that a halo of magic light had appeared above their heads. The idea of an ambush now was nothing more than a joke.

The moment he threw all the assassins out of stealth, Richard stopped in his tracks. He allowed them to increase the distance rapidly.

The one who had just fought him was close to tears, extremely agitated from the close shave with death. He only dared to turn back for a momentary peek, seeing Richard standing still with a meaningful smile.

The assassin turned around once more, suddenly beginning to scream as he understood something. He'd actually moved out of close quarters from a mage?

Of course, Richard wouldn't give him the opportunity for regret. A flame arrow shot forth from his hands, a grade 4 spell that had more power than a fireball and could also follow a target. After the flame arrow came an acid arrow, and then another flame arrow. Richard had already turned his back once he cast the third spell, not even bothering with the assassin's plight.

Of course, the rest of the assassins weren't faring any better. Their faces paled at the sight of the rows of barbarian warriors closing in on them. This troop of warriors with heavy shields was basically a massive, mobile barrier when they assembled together. They were also surrounded by mounted desert warriors, and when Gangdor and Tiramisu appeared with their signature weapons they lost all hope.

Assassins were extremely lethal in specific situations, but a fight against heavily armed soldiers was bound to end in tragedy. In the faces of the heavy axes, falchions, and hammers, most of them were killed instantly.

Richard slowly returned the dagger to its sheath, lifting his head to look into the distance. Kellac walked over at the same time, “All the enemies are destroyed.”

“No, not yet.” Richard shook his head in disagreement.

“The battle with the caravan is still ongoing, but none of them will be able to escape.”

Richard shook his head again, “No, I'm not referring to the caravan. Another person escaped, but forget it; we won't be able to catch up.”

“Who?” Kellac asked. He didn't feel anything out of the ordinary, but if Richard was this alert then the mage had to have sensed something he hadn't.

An archer walked out from behind a huge rock that was hundreds of metres away from the battlefield. He put the eye-catching bow that was larger than his body away; there had been no opportunity to use the arrow he had nocked. He quickly stopped deliberating over the idea and whistled loudly, summoning a tall, black horse that had been resting under a nearby rock formation.

When he mounted his horse, the archer looked in the direction of Richard once more. His powerful vision allowed him to notice even the slightest of changes in the mage's expression from such a great distance. Richard was stood firmly, pointing at him before pulling a thumb across his throat.

The archer shivered in fear, directing his horse in another direction and leaving quickly. He knew that a sniper like him was a nemesis of all mages. His enchanted tracking arrows travelled further than most spells, and had the force to pierce defences despite the distance. Thus, he was the one Richard would want to kill the most.

The sniper looked up, seeing a few bats circling in the skies. Their familiar black shadows cut across the horizon, only growing his fear. These creatures were definitely related to the great mage, and might even have been the ones that had discovered Blackwing and his subordinates. However, the fellow had never heard of bats that could fly such long distances in the sweltering heat before, forget such mythical beasts.

Although he had killed more than a dozen mages, Richard's barrage of fireballs and his swordsmanship were truly unbelievable. The mage's skills changed his entire understanding of magic, hanging over his very existence like an unforgettable trauma.

Richard didn't bother about the archer any longer, walking towards Blackwing who lay unconscious on the ground with green fumes coming out of his body. He didn't even bother looking at the assassin's face, preparing to stab down with Sinclair's long dagger. He clearly intended for the death to be thorough; the blade had the extinction enchantment.

As one could infer from its name, the extinction enchantment contained powerful destructive energy. It was the nemesis of all life, making even the tiniest of injuries difficult to heal. Spells below grade 5 were directly rendered useless, while those above were greatly weakened. It would be great if they could perform to a third of normal potential. Regardless of whether Blackwing was still alive or dead, one stab with this dagger and death was guaranteed.

Just as Richard was about to stab down, Blackwing suddenly sprung up and stabbed forth with his dull blade. However, Richard's reaction was much faster than he had imagined. His longer blade pushed the other dagger away, still managing to pierce the assassin's chest. Blackwing's expression grew malicious as he ignored the injury, firmly pushing the weapon in further as he tried to take Richard down with him.

However, the blade suddenly changed directions and forced Blackwing to lose his grip. All of the assassin's strength was used to stab through Richard's robe, only barely managing to reach the flesh. Richard's skin felt as tough as dragon scales!

At that moment, Richard's blade had already pierced through Blackwing's heart. He expressionlessly shifted to a two-handed grip, squeezing softly to tear it apart.

Blackwing's eyes went lifeless. He realised his dagger couldn't go a single centimetre farther, and it was all he could do to stare at Richard and pant heavily. Only then did he remember the magical light that illuminated Richard's body, everything suddenly making sense.

Richard was still blessed by two immensely powerful spells. The idea of trading lives was just wishful thinking. Blackwing fell to the ground once more, and this time he would never stand again.

The sight of Blackwing's shock and grief just before his death left Richard feeling an inexplicable happiness and satisfaction. He'd known from the start that Blackwing was only pretending to be dead; the assassin had planned to make a final try once he grew closer, and he was all too glad to oblige. He had moved to Blackwing's side for the sole purpose of giving him that extra chance, to give the man some hope that he could complete his final mission in life.

The divine spells still in effect, Richard's body had been no different from that of a magic puppet. Still, even though Blackwing knew this, he had no choice but to give it a shot. Had he continued to feign death, Richard would have sent him on with a final stab.

Richard suddenly realised that it was only this kind of cruel, gory murder that could vent his emotions. He now understood why some characters were always shouting about how satisfying a kill was on the battlefield.

The battle with the caravan was nearing its end. The waves of flying axes had left the defence a mess, and what followed had been a massacre. The mercenary archers and foot soldiers showed their great skill for the first time in battle, not letting a single soul escape.

The aftermath would naturally be handled by his subordinates, and Richard had no interest in what exactly populated the carriages. No matter what, the goods of a second class caravan would be worth somewhere between 10,000 and 20,000 gold.

Richard dug out Blackwing's shattered heart, summoning Tiramisu. The ogre bathed his brother's skull in the blood.

Rays of light shot out of the skull, absorbing the fresh blood to create a pattern on the bone. Red fumes emerged from the nasal cavity, carrying a faint sound of the dead ogre's roars.

The red fumes floated around in the air a few times before they were all sucked in by Tiramisu. The ogre blanked out, as if he didn't understand what happened. Only after what seemed like half a day did he fall to the ground and hug the skull, wailing out loud.

Medium Rare's soul was freed from the skull, but this also meant that the ogre had truly left the world. He would have to co-exist with his brother in another form.

Richard just sighed as he patted Tiramisu on the back, no words of comfort to be found.

371 - City of Sin

Harvest

The battlefield was cleaned up swiftly, the spoils of war listed down.
𝐟𝓇ℯe𝒘𝘦𝒃𝑛𝒐ѵe𝙡. 𝑐𝗼𝓂

The second-class caravan was transporting cloudiron ore. While this material was slightly worse than lafite steel, it was still a great choice for making weapons and armour. Weapons made from it, in particular, could be enchanted to a great extent. As far as the cost efficiency went, this was the best material for magic equipment.

These carriages of ore didn't seem like much, but back in the human kingdoms they could be sold off for 150,000 coins. Now, they naturally fell into Richard's hands. Outside of that, the horses, weapons, and armour that they collected amounted to several tens of thousands more.

Blackwing's armour also caught Richard's attention. It was made from the hide of a sunset dragon, giving it powerful defence and darkness resistance. There were three enchantments added on, including defence, stealth, and a powerful resistance to magic. The magic resistance was comparable to two enchantments on its own; even in Norland, few mages could imbue a set of armour with this attribute. The total number of effects put this armour's quality near the legendary realm. Of course, Sinclair's daggers had possessed an entire six effects, including the extinction and destruction effects. They were true legendary weapons.

Richard flipped over the armour in his hands and appraised it, gaining an approximate understanding of its value. The hide was naturally sturdy, and the processing had clearly been outstanding. Even the twelve fireballs had not been able to harm it.

Looking at this armour, Richard couldn't help but consider himself lucky. Without the magic penetration rune, even with Outburst his fireballs might not have been able to put the assassin down so easily. With this thought in mind, Richard called Olar over and handed the armour to him, “I'll give this to you. Once we get back, make yourself familiar with it.”

The elven bard was a decent appraiser in his own right. He could tell the armour was unordinary the moment it entered his hands, and he was only more startled after he took a closer look, “No, Master! Absolutely not! This armour is too precious, I cannot take it. I am of low status, and it isn't worth it to waste such precious equipment on me.”

Richard pushed the set into Olar's hands, saying in a commanding tone, “Take. It.”

“This... I understand, Master.” Olar's hands were trembling slightly as he took the gift. Something with such great defence and magic resistance basically gave him another life on the battlefield.

“There's no need to worry. You might have signed a slave contract with me, but I see you people as my followers, not my slaves.”

Olar was extremely surprised, unable to help but take another look at Richard. Follower was not a word that could be used flippantly. It had a specific meaning when uttered by a lord in Norland, granting one a set of complete privileges and strict obligations. Richard's words made him to the mage what the thirteen were to Gaton...

The slaves had all been imprisoned by then. Out of the hundred or so captives, most of them were merchants or other personnel; less than twenty of the guards had survived. Six of the assassins under Blackwing had also been taken alive. These killers were surrounded by heavy infantry, with an outer circle from the Demon Hunting Spears. Knowing that they had no chance of escaping alive, those with frail wills had chosen to surrender. Perhaps it was because they had taken too many lives themselves, but they weren't as willing as the guards to battle to the death.

Gangdor pointed at the killers and asked, “Boss, what do we do with these people?”

Richard slowly walked past the six assassins, his icy gaze brushing across each one. Terror, apprehension, nervousness... he saw it all in their eyes. Outside of that he also saw something else, a gigantic figure— that of Medium Rare.

“They are still useful...” he began.

The assassins immediately heaved a sigh of relief, all thanking Richard for his benevolence as they vowed to work for him and remain loyal forever.

Richard looked at them and said indifferently, “You do have your uses, but not in what you expected. Zendrall!”

The necromancer answered the call and moved up, looking at the assassins with turbid eyes as he said gloomily, “They can work, but they're not that good.”

The assassins were likely more familiar with mages than they were with warriors. “Necromancer!” one of them suddenly shrieked.

All of them were left aghast, beginning to struggle in an attempt to flee at all costs. Some even tried to die with the guards watching over them.

The necromancer inspired a deep terror in their hearts. Given their knowledge of how to deal with mages, they understood that their power would not be reduced if they were turned into undead while still alive. In fact, there were high chances of their might even increasing. However, this was an excruciating process that scarred the very soul with indescribable pain. Death was a sweet ending compared to this sort of torture, even if their souls were fated to have no release in that either.

However, Gangdor pounced over and beat them up, knocking all of them down. A team of barbarians carried them and followed Zendrall. Late in the night, they would all become little pets of the necromancer.

“How about the others, boss?” Gangdor asked again.

Richard looked at the rest of the prisoners. He initially wanted to execute them all, but some slight hesitation eventually changed his mind, “Turn the willing into slaves. Those who refuse are to be executed.”

A dozen people who could not be tamed were pulled out of line and beheaded by the falchions of the desert warriors. All of them cursed loudly at Richard before their deaths, swearing that Red Cossack would definitely seek vengeance on their behalf.

A dozen blades fell, and a dozen heads rolled.

Flowsand sighed at the sight, “It must be these kinds of people that brought Red Cossack to their current status.”

Kellac sighed as well, the wrinkles on his face growing more prominent, “Every organisation that can survive in the Bloodstained Lands needs to have spirit. A spirit that comes from people like them.”

Compared to the ruefulness of the two officials of the Eternal Dragon, Richard was much colder. He had to do his best to suppress the hatred within him, avoiding calling Zendrall back. When he was by Medium Rare's body, he had wanted to throw every member of Red Cossack, from the leaders to the slaves, to the necromancer regardless of whether they were alive or dead. He could refine their souls into energy for his spells.

“That spirit can be destroyed as long as enough of them are killed,” Richard stated calmly.

Kellac said nothing, merely shaking his head. As one of the leaders of the Demon Hunting Spears, he still knew a fair number of people in Red Cossack. However, now that he was a priest of the Eternal Dragon, his faith had taken over his entire existence. Leaving his body in his god's hand had become a deep-rooted habit.

372 - City of Sin

Untitled

Two days later, Richard and his troops returned to Bluewater. Having received news of his arrival, Amon and Devon were waiting outside for him. They knew that he had just plundered a second-class Red Cossack caravan, which meant they could each reap a reward of about thirty to forty thousand in profit. This was a highly profitable business.

However, even they were surprised by the two saints in attendance. Falcao, who had just arrived the previous day, had joined Rolf to tag along with the welcoming party.

Ever since he was gifted the War Construct scroll, Rolf had felt uneasy about Richard's safety and wanted to see him. As for Falcao, the news of Rolf's rune had piqued his interest, causing him to swallow his arrogance and deliberately seek a good relationship with Richard. As a spellsword, he naturally had a deeper understanding of magic than Rolf. He knew the effects of a rune had to be like any other magic item. If the maker was lax or materials inferior, it would be dramatically worse. If he wanted something ideal, pleasing this great mage was of utmost importance.

Richard's warhorse was trotting towards the welcoming party. Looking at the lineup from a distance, he felt a little startled. There were two extraordinary auras in the crowd, and although both tried to suppress it to the best of their ability, even dressing down and hiding in the crowd, there was no way for them to escape his perception. Every runemaster was exceptionally sensitive, an important characteristic in the craft.

With one of these auras coming from Rolf, Richard felt a sense of pleasant surprise. The swordsman had evidently studied the manual for the scroll, feeling confused by the minimal display needed to unlock the greatest level of power. It would only be a matter of time before Rolf fell into the domain of the Eternal Dragon, and all he needed to do now was find an appropriate time to kick the fellow into a lake of fire to destroy the last dregs of his resistance.

The other person of similar imposition was a scholarly-looking middle-aged man. Even though Richard had never met him, Richard inferred that this was Falcao, one of two saints that were a part of the Golden Warflag. He must have reached the place a few days ago, or the Red Cossack saints would have arrived as well. Devon would not make such a mistake.

Richard adjusted his emotions and flashed his most radiant smile, spurring his horse onward. “Devon, Mr. Amon!” he cried from afar, “Why are you people here? Are you in urgent need of some profit?”

Both put on sincere smiles, welcoming Richard. The three exchanged pleasantries as though they were long-time friends that had never seen one another in forever. The two old foxes were sly and difficult to read, but Richard himself was no better.

Once done, Richard 'unintentionally' shifted his gaze to Rolf. “Lord Rolf!” he cried out with surprise on his face, “Why are you here?”

Rolf got off his horse, walking towards Richard with a smile, “I would never have guessed that a great mage with a bright future like you would also be an outstanding general. I heard you just destroyed a second-class caravan, but your troops seem to have sustained little damage. I'm sure no more than three others in the Sequoia Kingdom could perform such a feat.”

Richard laughed and shook his head, “I don't know much about strategy, I'm just lucky. Besides, there were many accidents when I was fighting the caravan, luckily I managed to take care of them. Now, I'm quite sure you all know this man...”

Richard took out a human head from his bag as he spoke, passing it to Rolf. The saint swordsman took the head, looking at the face before he could make a guess. “Blackwing!” he suddenly cried it out in alarm.

“What?” The faces of Amon, Devon, and even Falcao changed. They immediately gathered around, their gazes landing on the head in Rolf's hands.

It really was Blackwing!

Everyone fell silent for a brief moment, their breath held in speechlessness.

Blackwing's reputation was not one whit inferior to Chuck or Phinbar. Having been at level 15 for many years, he could have broken through at any time. A gifted assassin, more than half of the people on Red Cossack's blacklist had fallen to his dagger.

It was less than ten days ago that Blackwing had killed one of Richard's most capable subordinates right before Rolf's eyes. Nobody would have expected Richard's troops to return with his head so soon! Blackwing was a fearsome character, and somewhat rarely for assassins he seldom moved about alone. The more than ten experienced killers under him were enough to showcase his might.

Even Rolf and Falcao would rather mess with Chuck or Phinbar over picking a fight with Blackwing. If they fell on the assassin's hit list, even saints like them couldn't guarantee their own lives. After all, they couldn't protect themselves with spells or abilities all the time.

Rolf inhaled deeply, uneasily managing to pull his attention away from Blackwing's head. The moment of death was still captured on the assassin's face, a mix of shock, anger, and utter disbelief. What circumstances could have left an assassin with so many heads to his name with such an incomprehensible expression?

When he looked at Richard again, Rolf's gaze was complicated. This handsome young mage hid so many secrets under his alluring smile.

“Master Richard, I believe Blackwing had some more assassins under him...” Rolf continued to probe.

Richard flashed a dazzling smile, waving it off, “Those pieces of trash are all dead.”

The entire group couldn't help but let out a cold breath. Even with luck on their side, destroying Blackwing's most powerful subordinates would take a heavy toll. However, all of Richard's closest aides were still around, evidently unscathed. Even the ordinary soldiers were mostly still present, without any visible change to their numbers. The only possibility was Richard's army far surpassing Blackwing's troops.

However, common sense dictated that this was impossible. Falcao couldn't take it anymore, asking directly, “Pardon my boldness, Sir Richard, did you really kill Blackwing so easily?”

373 - City of Sin

Power

“Yes!” Richard looked obviously lost, unable to understand exactly what was wrong, “Aren't assassins just dishes on a plate once their traces are discovered? You can just surround them with heavy infantry and have a cavalry troop block their escape. Once your arches shoot into the encirclement, won't you kill as many as there are?”

Falcao paled with no idea of what he could say. Richard's statement was correct in theory; an exposed assassin was indeed not as good as most others at the same level. However, the problem came with the discovery of these traces the mage was speaking of. Could someone just discover Blackwing if they wanted to? He himself did not have this ability, and Rolf's curious expression was proof that the swordsman was in the same boat.

“You truly are someone who can create miracles, respected Master Richard!” Falcao said sincerely.

“The Lord is the source of every miracle,” Richard suddenly said with a solemn expression. This left everyone deep in thought. Gods were indeed sources of miracles, and one was hidden behind this great mage.

On their way back to the inn, Flowsand found an opportunity to speak to him in secret, “Your acting skills are getting better! If you want to join the Church, you'll definitely become a priest!”

Richard smiled in response, “One always grows quickly when they walk the line between life and death.”

“You're only 17!” Flowsand said discontentedly.

Richard only continued to smile. With the upgraded blessing of wisdom, his seventeen-year-old body held a mature mind.

......

By the time he returned to his room, the maid had already prepared a tub of hot water. As per his instructions, she had poured in some relaxing lavender essence.

Richard stepped into the bath, immersing his entire body in the hot water. The fatigue from many days of battle flowed out of his pores as he unwound, thinking back to all the fights of the past few days. He started to quickly sift through the information, analysing the amount of power he held in his hands. Google search f𝘳𝚎𝗲𝘸e𝐛𝑛𝐨𝘃𝘦𝚕. co𝚖

Blackwing's death had given him sufficient confidence. As long as he worked out an appropriate strategy, it wouldn't be impossible to kill a saint with his current forces. Both the Lens of Time and Outburst were crucial in a battle against a single target, and when combined with his own rune they allowed him to bring out his greatest might.

Kellac was a very important character as well. At level 13, he could perform grade 7 spells. The power of such buffs was adequately displayed when Blackwing was killed.

Olar, Zendrall, Flowsand, and Kellac... All of them had the power to turn the situation in a war around completely. The 200 barbarians served as the core of the army, while the throwers were extremely effective on the offensive. Even the desert warriors, despite their low level, were essential for their quantity and ability to fight in any terrain. Although hundreds had joined from the Demon Hunting Spears, the desert people could still be replenished with money.

Last, and most important, was still himself. His blessings were playing more of a role as time passed, especially with Precision which gave him an astonishing degree of control over the battlefield.

Richard replayed the process of every battle in his mind, pondering over the areas in which he lacked and figuring out how to improve them. These days he was always reading one book or the other about famous generals or essays by experts of war. He also simulated some battle situations on his own whenever he was free, although all of them were small in scale. He still hadn't reached the point where he could take command of an entire campaign.

Spending some time on politics would allow him to sow the seeds for war in advance. However, his current influence left him far from able to actually make room for them to sprout. He could only rely on opportunities like had come from the Highland Unicorn.

In addition, with the two great blessings of wisdom and truth, Richard was strengthening his own control of magic by the day. Not only did this grow the power of his runes, it directly influenced his use of magic. Take the grade 6 Nature's Beckon, for example. He could finely tune the effects of the spell, lining all the direbears in a row...

About ten minutes later, when the water had cooled off, Richard felt that his fatigue had eased up quite a bit. He had come up with all sorts of plans to fight Chuck and Phinbar over this period of time. With his ability to think ten times as fast as the ordinary human, the ten minutes of deduction was equivalent to an hour and a half's worth of pondering for most others.

Done with the bath, he walked out and wore new clothes, returning to his room to begin his daily meditation. Even a legendary mage could only improve their mana pool bit by bit through meditation.

Ever since he crossed level 10, Richard had aimed to add two units of mana to his pool every day. This would allow him to reach level 12 after a month, giving him a chance to learn more grade 6 spells and craft a majority grade 2 runes.

Sitting in position, he quickly entered a state of deep meditation. His consciousness gradually delved out of his body, looking over it once more. However, as his mana slowly spread out, he saw a surprising three astral rays appear in the surroundings at the same time!

Richard was delighted, immediately catching them all and sending themselves into his body one after the other. They turned another small part of his mana pool blue, many more blue dots circulating throughout his own body. All of this was the power from the blue astral rays he caught using the Deepblue Fantasy.

Just this discovery alone made this session much more efficient than any before it. Still, just as all three were integrated into his mana, two more started to glow in his mind's eye.

Richard was pleasantly surprised; this session was turning out to be unprecedentedly effective. He captured both of the new rays as well, fusing them into his own mana. However, just as these rays passed near the tree in his sea of consciousness, they were both absorbed by the central trunk with the nature affinity. He immediately felt his elven bloodline begin to strengthen, albeit very slowly. It was so sluggish that even he found it difficult to notice, but looking at the lights disappear he could tell that its power was growing.

This event was extremely significant. It implied that he could technically choose to strengthen any of his bloodlines whenever he wanted to! Although this time had only been by chance, it was proof of possibility.

Bloodline abilities were mysterious yet powerful. There was no rule that dictated their awakening and growth; in fact, a vast majority of the lucky ones who did possess bloodline abilities did not know where they came from. They didn't know when a second would appear, nor what kind of ability it would be. The higher the status of the one with the bloodline, the more worried they would grow over this matter.

374 - City of Sin

Power(2)

The Archeron and silvermoon bloodlines were both very high class, leaving Richard with hundreds of abilities from which his next would awaken. It was something beyond control, but at least with the ability to influence the strengthening of his bloodline he could influence things. Sadly his Archeron bloodline was a single network spanning his entire body, unlike the distinctly partitioned elven bloodline.

The results of the night's meditation were exceptionally obvious. He'd been able to capture three or four astral rays every hour, giving him the conditions to test his hypothesis. Indeed, the direction of the astral rays could be influenced slightly, pushing them towards or away from his bloodlines. The bloodlines would capture the rays whenever they drew close enough, strengthening slightly. Although his success rate wasn't great, this was still much better than a complete lack of control. On top of all that this increased capture rate of astral rays would greatly speed up his mana growth.

At dawn, Richard was pleasantly surprised to find that his mana pool had grown by three units. Although this was a drop in the pool when compared to his over 800 points of mana, it meant he could become a grade 12 mage in a month. At that point, he would be a proper true runemaster.

He went looking for Amon and Devon after breakfast, selling all the cloudiron ore in exchange for 80 sets of half-body plate armour, refined tower shields, one-handed axes, and corresponding shield enchantment scrolls.

All added together, these items cost close to 100,000 gold, slightly exceeding what he would get normally. However, considering that Richard was in a crucial period where he was expanding his army, the two didn't care too much about a 20,000 difference.

Still, they were a little curious. These custom sets were sufficient to equip a normal knight with, and the slaves Devon sold wouldn't be able to use such good items well. Of course, they wouldn't openly inquire; such things as the source of one's soldiers were top secret. It only confirmed in their minds that Richard was backed by a powerful family.

Unfortunately, the Bloodstained Lands were in a period of chaos after Sinclair had blown through. And despite the dark world's territory being minuscule compared to the human kingdoms, their power was still unpredictable. The two did not have the strength to investigate further.

Of course, they didn't know that this equipment was created for the army of level 5 humanoid warriors of the broodmother. Those drones were individually equivalent to level 9 warriors, and with the addition of this superior equipment, they would each surpass the common knight. On top of that, they were much more powerful than the same number of knights in combat. After all, few living beings were unafraid of pain and death, being absolutely compliant to their commander's orders.

The equipment had been designed with more emphasis on power than value. Only after finding out how expensive these sets would become did Richard abandon the idea of an entire army of humanoids, at least for now. Google search 𝙛𝒓𝙚e𝚠𝐞𝚋𝙣𝚘𝐯𝗲𝚕. c𝚘𝓶

The level of the broodmother's drones was still quite limited, so he had no choice but to use equipment to compensate for the lack of power.

It was already late at night when the transaction was completed. Richard had also agreed to join Falcao for dinner. Devon was the only other one present, and the spellsword made known his desire to buy a rune that would substantially improve his abilities for a short period of time. He didn't mind even if it was single use.

Richard had finally figured out the mindsets of saints like Falcao who had no hope of advancing in a short period of time. They had taken runes to be consumable, similar to magic scrolls and the like. They just assumed a rune could save one's life at a critical time, turning the tides of a battle. Of course, everyone knew what was more important between gold and chances of survival.

Richard himself was quite fond of the idea. Ever since the first rune he had sold in Faelor, he had planned to turn the permanent runes into consumables that would wear out after use.

The transaction was very successful. Richard agreed to give the man a rune identical to Rolf's, also gifting him a War Construct scroll as well. In exchange, he was compensated with the materials to make three runes and an additional 200 magic crystals.

Summed up, the transaction was 50,000 gold's worth of materials for something that would save one's life or kill an enemy. Both parties were satisfied with the price.

The only hiccup came with the scroll. Both Falcao and Devon had truly wonderful expressions after learning about the usage of the scroll. Just like Rolf, they could tell that it was a great opportunity and a terrible trap. Still, Falcao accepted. Richard had even said innocently that it could be given away if the saint did not want to use it.

Unlike Rolf, or even Falcao who was standing right in front of him, Devon had flashed an undisguised bitter smile. Seeing his objective met, Richard smiled in return and parted ways.

The moment he left the room, the eyes of the Falcao and Devon bounced to the magic sealing box at the centre of the table. The lid was open, revealing an exquisite divine scroll as well as an explanation of the faith. The looming divine power was proof enough of its great value. Illuminated by a magic lamp, the circulating energy was full of deadly temptation that left their throats dry.

On his way back, Richard couldn't help but marvel at Flowsand's genius. The War Construct scroll was an irresistible trap that few people had the willpower to avoid, even if they knew there was an abyss ahead. It was especially so when they were in life or death situations.

Of course, it also had its price. Kellac needed to sacrifice a week's worth of divine power, while even Flowsand wouldn't be able to attack for three days.

But how exactly did she design it? This was something not even a genius could describe. Richard still knew nothing about the working of divine power. If not for Flowsand, this trip to Faelor would definitely have ended in disaster...

Once he was back at camp, Richard went around the place once with a few of his followers. Soon after, he started meditating again. The efficiency was still high, but this time he finally found the reason. Every use of Outburst roused all of his mana. Every cast of the spell by Flowsand left a remnant of divine power in him that slowly grew permanent and fused within.

375 - City of Sin

Power(3)

Even clerics and mages found it impossible to perfectly control their strength. Some mana would always overflow when they cast spells. Flowsand's exquisite control made the waste negligible, but when something like Outburst was activated the overflow was far beyond normal. For whatever reason, Richard could absorb divine power despite being a mage. And the more divine power he absorbed, the greater his response to the astral rays.

It was nine the next morning when Richard ended his meditation. Olar, who had been waiting at the doorway for a long time, informed him that the Direwolf Duke had sent an army over early in the morning. This time, they brought offerings that were of utmost importance.

Richard was quite surprised, immediately rushing downstairs. Three carriages were already parked in the inn's courtyard, fully armed soldiers in familiar armour guarding by the side. Every single one was level 10 at minimum, with a murderous aura that evidenced their experience in battle.

An iron tower of a knight was standing in the courtyard, in conversation with Flowsand. Richard's eyes suddenly felt sore the moment his gaze landed on the fellow, tears nearly flowing. The knight's sheer power shocked Richard; the radiating energy alone had caused him to suffer a hidden loss.

The knight turned his head, levelling an electric gaze at Richard before curbing his lofty aura. Richard looked at the steel-whiskered man in his forties, identifying him as Lord Moonbear whom he had met before at Twilight Castle.

Since they had met before, Lord Moonbear forewent any pleasantries and spoke directly, “Sir Richard, I've escorted these offerings here on the orders of the Duke. Duke Bevry will be here in three days.”

Richard was taken aback, asking, “The Duke is coming as well?”

Lord Moonbear nodded, “Yes. His Grace hopes you will be able to prepare the necessary ceremony by the time he arrives.”

Lord Moonbear didn't mention the kind of ceremony, but of course Richard understood. Bevry wouldn't reveal all the details even to a trusted aide; after all, they could not let the details of the ceremony slip. However, the altar was supposed to be built on Richard's territory originally; it seemed like the Duke had changed his mind. Was something going on in the Sequoia Kingdom?

He was still paying attention to the situation back in the kingdom. Although the flow of intelligence wasn't all that great, there were still some gains. He had been able to interpret some information from what originally seemed incoherent.

The Fontaines were one of the greatest producers of weapons in the Sequoia Kingdom. The Horn of Kane was another huge production site, and the largest copper and iron mine they relied on was said to be running out, but a branch of it was found in Richard's current territory. Although the land nominally belonged to the Direwolf Duke, it had basically never been developed. Most interesting was the fact that Richard's mine was connected to both the Fontaines' and to the Horn of Kane.

The Horn of Kane was owned in combination by three Earls— the king's nephew Layton, Zim's father Yatu, and The Earl of Strength Pamela. Zim evidently wouldn't be the only person Richard would have to go to war with.

The entire thing reeked of conspiracy. Still, Richard didn't spend too much energy on guessing whether Bevry knew anything. As long as the facts proved that the idea of targeting the Bloodstained Lands was correct, everything was alright. The most important thing now was to use this time to strengthen his army.

“Sir Richard,” Lord Moonbear interrupted Richard's thoughts, “Here's a list of our goods.” The man then passed him a scroll, instructing all the knights on guard to keep watch outside as he personally closed the door.

The scroll had a magic image upon it, the skeleton of a huge dragon. Although it was incomplete, one could still feel a terrifying aura coming from it. The image flickered a few times before the scroll ran out of mana, turning into a wisp of flame that faded away.

Richard walked over to the carriages and opened them up with Moonbear's help, exposing the skeletal remains within. A powerful aura surged out the moment the flaps were lifted, causing Richard to pale slightly. Although this dragon had been dead for a long time, its remains still held great power.

“True draconic remains! I take it the Duke won, then?”

Lord Moonbear sighed, “A pyrrhic victory. Only two of the four regiments we sent out returned. More than 4,000 soldiers were lost, amongst which were many elite veterans. After all, we were basically fighting the entire Whiterock Dukedom; the enemy had much greater numbers than we did. Earl Jayleon's castle is also well-known for its defensive capabilities, over a thousand of our brothers were left behind at its base.

“I still don't understand why we started such a great war. Just for these old bones? If I find out that someone dared to deceive the Duke, I'll be the first one to break his bones!”

Lord Moonbear's words had a questioning tone. A burning glare was levelled in Richard's direction, with a powerful vindictive aura radiating from his body. Richard understood that this saint already thought he was a treacherous minister who had bewitched the Duke.

Duke Bevry naturally wouldn't tell his subordinates the details of his pact with Richard. With the latter being a new frontier knight whose origins were unknown, it was normal for an experienced saint like Lord Moonbear to look down on him. The indignance was only to be expected. Richard had no doubts that, if Moonbear acquired any concrete evidence against him, the man wouldn't even wait to report it to the Duke before killing him.

However, he would not concede this time. Lifting his head, he met Moonbear's electric glare. A confrontation of gazes sparked in the empty space between them, almost giving rise to a fire!

Richard suddenly smiled, “Lord Moonbear, have you heard of Blackwing?”

“Of course, that crazy mutt!”
𝙛𝐫𝑒𝐞𝘄ℯ𝘣𝚗𝘰𝘷𝙚𝘭. c𝘰m

“A crazy mutt I beheaded only a few days ago,” Richard said calmly, “His head was publicly exposed outside the city. Did you not see it when you entered?”

Lord Moonbear's expression immediately turned serious. He certainly knew how difficult it was to kill Blackwing. More than one important character from the Sequoia Kingdom had died at the assassin's hands, but the man himself had lived on all this while. A level 15 assassin was sometimes more terrifying than a normal saint.

376 - City of Sin

Dedication

Seeing the change in Lord Moonbear's expression, Richard continued lightly, “I heard Blackwing was almost a saint. I'm not long from levelling up myself, becoming a level 12 great mage. Tell me, Lord Moonbear, do you think I could kill one or two saints after that?”

The man huffed heavily, his expression ugly, but he didn't say anything. It wasn't much to offend a level 12 mage, but to anger one that wasn't yet twenty was not smart.

Looking at his taciturn behaviour, Richard didn't bother with him anymore. He waved Flowsand over; whether these bones could serve as an offering still depended on her. Flowsand cautiously checked the skeletal remains, even using both hands to carefully caress the dragon's skull. Her expression was a little strange, but with her back to both Richard and Moonbear neither of them saw it.

Richard quelled the tension in his heart, asking in the calmest voice possible, “So?”

An hourglass appeared in the depths of each of the cleric's two amber eyes, faint light shining on the bones. A moment later, she nodded, “Can do.”

Can do. Two simple words, but the meaning behind them was something only Richard and Flowsand knew. He took a deep breath, but that did not manage to bring his heartbeat back to normal before he turned to Lord Moonbear, “It's time. We should prepare to welcome His Grace.”

Lord Moonbear nodded, “Do you need some people to stay on guard?”

“Sure, but my lab is right behind us. Nobody outside of you can be allowed to enter this courtyard.”

Moonbear gave Richard a meaningful look before striding out of the courtyard, instructing fifty knights to guard various points around the inn. He also took another 300 men and stationed them under Richard's leadership at the camp.

The Bloodstained Lands were undoubtedly dangerous, but that was only to ordinary people. The borders were no different from a smooth road to Lord Moonbear, and it was almost impossible for someone here to actually be a threat to the Direwolf Duke.

......

Once Richard and Flowsand returned to his room, he asked again, “When you said it's possible just now...” The topic was so important that his voice was trembling.

Flowsand looked at him strangely, asking in return, “What do you think?”

“We can return to Norland now?”

Flowsand cast her gaze downwards, asking in a casual tone, “Are you eager to go back?”

“Are you not?” Richard was stunned.

“Of course I am!” she played it down.

“Who isn't?” he asked with a dry laugh

“Alright, don't worry about it anymore. The skeleton should be enough for us to get Norland's coordinates.” However, her head was lowered to stop him from seeing her expression.

“Really?!” This joy had come too quickly.

When Flowsand raised her head once more, she had a sunny smile. “Really!” she said with energy.

Richard pulled her into a hug, spinning her a few times before setting her down, “I'm so lucky to have you!”

“Oh? Then how are you going to thank me?” Flowsand fixed her gaze on Richard, her eyes as bright as the stars in the sky. Please visit f𝘳𝐞𝒆wｅ𝚋𝗻𝚘𝚟e𝑙. c𝘰𝓂

“What do you want?” he puffed out his chest.

“First, I want to know what it is you saw that caused you to change so much,” Flowsand said seriously.

Richard was stunned. He did not understand why she would ask this question, and despite his great joy he hesitated for a long time. If possible, he did not want her to know about the two scenes he had witnessed. Instinct told him even the most generous girl would not tolerate something like that. But her gaze was too sharp, too bright. He couldn't even look straight on at her, eventually unable to do anything but nod his head in agreement.

This immediately made her very happy. She hooked his neck with her arms, lightly licking her lips as she continued with her unique hoarse voice, “Second. You're not allowed to separate from me until dawn!”

It would be a fierce war.

Richard gradually grew more solemn, clenching his teeth and nodding hard. Looking at him gnashing his teeth, Flowsand laughed heartily. Her showing off was unprecedented.

As night fell, an alluring but desperate battle began. If not for a silencing domain that Richard had set up, their screams would have reverberated throughout the inn.

Richard did not win the battle of will and endurance, giving way before dawn. Flowsand had been completely invested in herself for the first time and had no intention of letting Richard win. She tormented him to the point of extreme exhaustion, until even the sturdy physique he had cultivated in the Deepblue could not take it. He eventually ended up lying down, letting her wreak havoc from atop him.

It was only then that Richard learnt how good those of the Church of the Eternal Dragon were at close combat, and that Flowsand was excellent even amongst them. All of his intent to turn the sides in the second half of the battle had been mercilessly suppressed.

And thus, Richard could not persist until dawn. He ended up not knowing what exactly had happened, unable to keep track of how many times he had orgasmed despite his many blessings. As for Flowsand, the moment she shed her warmth she had become a ferocious beast. After one specific peak, all he saw before his eyes was darkness. As the last bits of his consciousness faded away, only two things were left in his mind.

Pain, and happiness.

The intoxicating night left Richard in a deeper sleep than he had been in for a long time. Most of his recent nights had been spent in meditation, but this time he was so tired that the sleep was extremely refreshing. Somehow, he still managed to wake up the moment the clock hit six.

Richard was assaulted by a mind-numbing headache, every muscle in his body incredibly sore while his limbs were heavy as lead. He had to exert all his energy just to raise his hand a little, and with less than two hours of sleep he still wasn't very clear-headed. The craziness of the last night was right before his eyes, but at times it grew blurry. It was like the experience was part of a confusingly realistic dream.

He shook his head heavily, struggling up and looking around him. The room was a mess, a silent record of the various ridiculous and crazy actions of the previous night. However, Flowsand was not beside him.

It took a massage of his forehead to feel a little better. 'This Flowsand!' he thought a little helplessly, 'She definitely went to study the bones!' Sometimes, she was even more diligent than him. Still, he wasn't too worried. Having known her for so long, he had figured out long ago that her physical strength did not lose out to his. It was like she wasn't a cleric at all, her unfathomably flexible and nimble body hiding great strength. Without Eruption activated, he himself wasn't much stronger than her.

377 - City of Sin

Dedication(2)

Flowsand's bodily strength was no weaker than Richard's, despite him being fed the special food of the Deepblue. That wasn't all; she also possessed exceptional close combat skills, could use any sort of weapon, and knew how to take advantage of all types of terrain. Richard had experienced this first hand.

Although he himself had learnt the techniques of the underworld from Naya, most were focused around defence. Flowsand, with her added magical capabilities, was actually superior to him in hand to hand combat.

It was just like when he himself had used Sinclair's long dagger, Eruption, two powerful divine spells, and the secret swords of Silvermoon to overwhelm the assassin who was of a similar level. If anyone thought defeating Flowsand would be easy if they closed the distance, they would find themselves in deep trouble.

Flowsand possessed the ability to fend off attacks from any angle, her body unimaginably lithe. The ability she showed on the bed was equally effective on the battlefield, if not even better. As long as she was willing, she could send any man to heaven before dropping them into a deep abyss of eternal despair.

It was only this past night that she had shown her true capabilities. It was the first time that he had been overwhelmed by intercourse, completely dominated near the end. It verified the old saying that magic was like the water in a sponge. The more one squeezed, the more water would come out. The last night had squeezed out all of his essence.

He also discovered something else. If Flowsand was unwilling, he could not force anything upon her. If he tried, she would be able to destroy him in an instant.

When Richard got out of bed, he did not care that the water in the basin was extremely cold. He washed his face before pulling a window open, letting the comfortable cool breeze blow into the room. Flowsand was indeed in the courtyard, only just making her way back to her own room. All he could see was her back, but she seemed to be full of vigour.

When his gaze landed on the three carriages, satisfaction flooded his heart. These supply vehicles represented his hope of returning home. He wanted to go back and see his teacher, to grow stronger and visit Klandor to tell the pony-tailed Mountainsea not to do anything foolish.

Truth be told, he still had a couple of small doubts in his mind. Firstly, judging from his experience with sacrifices the skeletal remains were only worth an intermediate sacrifice at most. Could an intermediate ritual that wasn't even supported by a physical church actually give them the coordinates of Norland?

And the second doubt was with respect to Flowsand's request. She had asked him to explain what he'd seen that turned him so gloomy. He wanted to slowly describe the visions in detail, even thinking to draw them out by hand. However, even though he had promised to tell her she did not bring the matter up at all. Since that was so, he wouldn't mention it himself. Intuition told him it wasn't a good time to share those details with her...

Flowsand wasn't around at breakfast either, locked in her room in the midst of research. This was not uncommon either, so he didn't think much of it. Dressing up after breakfast, he went out to meet Rolf and Falcao for a discussion about two more runes.

The coordinates would not be enough for him to return to Norland. Building a stable passage between planes required a lot of magic, meaning he had to get a lot of magic crystals. Thinking back to the teleportation gate that Lina had created, he estimated that he would need a minimum of 300 crystals to construct a portal that could be used twice. This didn't even include the resources needed to transport the broodmother's creatures; he hadn't seen any records about such a thing in Norland and the broodmother didn't have it in her own genetic memories either. It was still a mystery whether the drones would be treated as beings or weapons.

300 magic crystals alongside the materials required to build the portal. Even with the prices in the Bloodstained Lands, this was worth more than 300,000 gold. In Norland or a human kingdom here in Faelor, it would be worth anywhere between 800,000 and 1,200,000! He was thus in dire need of money, now able to see that planar wars were in no way golden geese. One needed to throw in an enormous initial deposit, and even so, there were unforeseeable risks and the threat of enemies coming from all directions.

The only good news was that such a passage would bring the two planes closer to each other. Further portals would require less materials to create, and would also allow for more people and items to pass through. A hundred years of planning and investment would even allow him to send through an army more than a hundred thousand strong.

......

Flowsand had buried herself in countless stacks of papers, all scribbled with numerous words, figures, and formulae as well as several cryptic texts. She would often bite the pen in her mouth, tugging hard at her short amber hair before burying herself once more in the data. If Richard could look upon this scene, he would definitely be shocked.

Already quite familiar with planar geometry, she was currently calculating the coordinates back to Norland. This was a field in which even Richard could not compare to her.

After writing down a huge chunk of calculations, she suddenly crushed all the paper in front of her into a ball and threw it against the wall. She then grabbed her hair once more, beginning to cry.

An entire afternoon of hard work had yielded no results, at least not the results she wanted. Without any divine grace, her own ability was not enough to calculate a route back to Norland. She had originally wished to rely on a small amount of divine grace as a foundation to calculate their bearings; after all, she didn't need any precise coordinates on Norland. However, the entire afternoon of work proved it to be an impossible task.

This was not her first time attempting this calculation, and the result was no different either.

The girl was dazed, hot tears flowing uncontrollably down her cheeks to her neck, eventually soaking her robe. It was only after a long time that she rubbed her eyes hard, wiping the tears away before walking to a mirror to see her own reflection. She then cleaned her face up and left the room, the swollen red eyes the only vestige of her frustration.

Once again, she stepped into the courtyard where the bones were kept. Richard had ensured that she was the only one other than himself who could enter; even Moonbear's knights could only patrol outside the walls. She had heard when he opened the windows and when he left from the back door, but she hadn't wanted to be disturbed from her world of calculations.

Hourglasses appeared in her eyes once more, a light gold light landing on the bones. The Book of Time in her hands started glowing, becoming one with her field of vision. The bones seemed to have turned transparent in her sight, endless data converging into fine sacred texts that returned to her eyes.

This was one of two abilities her title granter her, Divine Appraisal. It allowed her to examine and analyse offerings, roughly gauging the amount of divine grace that the Eternal Dragon would grant. The higher the level of the executor of the ceremony, the more accurate the gauge was. With the Book of Time, Flowsand's variance was about half of a Dewdrop of Life.

A menu Then appeared in her mind, a number of options flashing through like lightning. It was so fast she couldn't adequately understand it, so she didn't bother spending any energy trying. 'I need the coordinates of Norland, to ignite the Lighthouse of Time,' she quietly chanted in her heart.

The menu suddenly turned fuzzy before clearing up again, only one option left remaining. It was a strange talisman; if closely examined one would notice it was made up of countless sacred texts that filled it with a ton of information. It held records of Norland's coordinates.
𝑓𝚛𝚎𝗲𝙬ℯ𝘣𝚗𝘰ν𝐞l. co𝗺

However, Flowsand could not obtain these valuable coordinates yet. She could only do so with the divine grace granted after an offering. This skill was the second ability of the Daybreak Title, Whisper of Time. It allowed the user to select a required blessing from countless others, also finding out what they needed to sacrifice to obtain it.

When used together, Divine Appraisal and Whisper of Time were undoubtedly great for sacrificial ceremonies. The randomness of the gifts was a hallmark of the Eternal Dragon, and it wasn't uncommon for someone to perform three to five sacrifices to obtain what they desired. Luck was a good measure of strength when it came to such random ceremonies, but the constant chance of obtaining something meant one would eventually acquire it.

On the other hand, these two skills combined gave the executor of the ceremony a much better chance to get the sacrificer what they wished for. Simply put, it was a given.

Of course, such blatant cheating naturally came with great limitations. A selected few people could acquire the title, with less than ten in possession of it all over Norland. In addition, the title was strengthened every time it was used. For Flowsand this meant her connection to the Eternal Dragon only grew stronger, and the old thing never gave things away for free. The repayment, in this case, was to host more sacrifices.

Once she used her abilities to find how much it cost to get Norland's coordinates, Flowsand's complexion grew increasingly bleak. If she wanted to use these dragon bones to obtain the coordinates of Norland, then they would need at least three more sets!

378 - City of Sin

Dedication(3)

The Direwolf Duke was badly injured in the war against the Whiterock Dukedom. It would be near impossible for him to obtain even one more draconic skeleton, forget three.

Given Richard's current rate of progress and some luck, he would become a duke within a decade. That would naturally give him the wherewithal to obtain enough offerings. However, he was impatient.

Flowsand sighed slightly, two scenes playing out before her eyes. Legendary mage Sharon, floating about in an endless void. Barbarian girl Mountainsea, charging towards an entire army with gusto. Richard had originally seen these visions during their last sacrificial ceremony through the power of time. When he agreed to tell her, he didn't have to speak a word himself; she had been able to witness them herself through a resonance of the power of time.

Flowsand was unusually bitter about the images that had unveiled themselves. She'd originally thought of moving on after a single look, but she had seen more than she wanted to.

The broken visions in his head were far clearer to her. There was a third vision, one of a raging war set against a beautiful, starry sky. Enemies of various shapes and sizes were flowing out of the void, and despite Richard's best attempts to resist with his army, there were just too many. His men fell one after the other, leaving him alone. He met his own ultimate end, ganged up on by a dozen enemies who were stronger than him. His eyes were filled with regret and wrath.

If only... If only he had more power; the situation could be avoided completely.

Flowsand had also seen a vision of herself. Miles and miles away, she was in the midst of a grand coronation. A simple crown was rested on her forehead, giving her the power of a pope. She would soon have the authority to order the Church into secular wars. However, the war that had started from the revelation of a truename had already come to an end.

'If I become stronger... Will I be able to change the future?' she asked herself.

A young girl sighed lightly, wiping all images from her mind and walking back to her room. She had already expected this outcome, but she had refused to be convinced just yet.

Their gruelling experiences on this unknown plane would end the moment they returned to Norland. Richard was the most promising youth in the Archeron Family, destined to foray into countless planes. She would remain one of the best priestesses of the Eternal Dragon. Their paths were destined to diverge.

Flowsand returned to her room, closing the door carefully and setting up a divine barrier that could also block auras. If Richard came looking, he would know that she was doing something important and thus wait for her to finish before he returned.

There would be no problems if someone witnessed her upcoming ritual. However, she did not want Richard to look on; if he got to know, it would most certainly be interrupted.

She placed the Book of Time on a modest altar, opening it to a specific page and starting a chant. The book oozed a divine lustre the next moment, mysterious runes surfacing on the blank pages. A simple, desolate platform of light was built in the air, allowing one to place offerings down.

Flowsand hesitated for a moment, but she eventually stretched her hand and rested it on the altar. Her voice was soft yet resolute, “I, Daybreak Flowsand, hereby pledge my life to the noble Dragon of Eternity and Light. The Church of the Eternal Dragon shall forever be my home!”

An intense glow burst forth from the book the moment she finished the sentence, shining upon her. She grew translucent under the illumination of the divine light, the mark between her eyebrows suddenly throbbing with excruciating pain as it started to change. The power of time flooded into it, every line expanding as the rune grew more and more intricate. Golden threads of time crawled around Flowsand's head, eventually wrapping around it completely.

This was the power of a vow made to a god. If Flowsand ever broke her oath, the divine power within would completely destroy her.

The powers of Flowsand's title were enhanced with the influx of power. The accuracy of her appraisal was increased, while the cost of the Whisper of Time was dramatically reduced. The Lens of Time was empowered as well, now more effective against beings that were higher in level. She could now cast the spell on beings six levels higher while the duration was increased as well.

The strengthening of her title was one of the blessings she received in exchange for her life. An enormous amount of divine grace started to flood in from all directions, coagulating into a huge ball of time energy. All sorts of silhouettes flashed within, various blessings and gifts present in abundance.

This was a blessing for the devout, but the cost was huge. So huge, in fact, that it was unbearable.

On the surface, it seemed common for those of the clergy to pledge their life to their god. Flowsand's relationship with Richard wouldn't change much either; they could still do whatever they wanted. She could even continue to fight by his side in the myriad planes as long as there was no conflict with the Church. The only thing that changed was the destiny of her soul, of her very existence; she changed from someone next to Richard to a servant of the Eternal Dragon.

She felt a sudden pang in her heart as she watched the energy coagulating before her. It was so painful she couldn't breathe, every strand of energy cutting deep wounds in her heart.

She did not know why things were this way, when things had changed. Their first encounter was in her carriage on the way to pick up some slaves. Her first thoughts of this young apprentice runemaster were that he was handsome and bright, but right after came his impoverished state; a characteristic of the Archerons. Someone preparing for planar war only had one soul contract and a pathetic amount of enslavement scrolls. He barely had two dozen soldiers, while all of her expenses were paid for by the Church.

Quietly, she had a change of heart.

Alas.

Flowsand sighed quietly, reaching out for the ball of divine grace. The ritual was complete, unalterable. Dedicating oneself to the Eternal Dragon was a modest and straightforward affair, lacking much flamboyance.

379 - City of Sin

A Change Of Fates

When her long fingers touched the orb of light, the coordinates of Norland appeared within and entered her mind. There was still plenty of divine grace left afterwards, at least enough to obtain part of the reincarnation set or a guardian.

Looking through her options, Flowsand knew that she had to increase her level. She could go a complete two levels up with the remaining divine grace, allowing her Lens of Time to pose a threat to level 18 saints from Norland. That was the most dominant type of force in Faelor, with pitifully few people at that level. Of course, that was why such powerhouses were reputed guardians of entire countries.

However, she was feeling very lonely; rationality was not her desire. No, she wanted to leave a mark on this turning point in her life.

“Grant me the blessing of luck!” Flowsand said gently, reminiscing about her past with Richard.

The blessing of luck was a special kind of gift; it would form a piece of equipment, but the piece was decided based upon the sacrificer, and was extremely random. Even on the same day, a ceremony at dusk and dawn would grant completely different equipment. The only constant was that any item bestowed would prove to be very useful, in the present or in the future.

She quickly had the blessing of luck targeted at Richard. The remaining power of time converged, soon transforming into a dark gold pen that landed in her hands. Looking at this magic pen that was at the level of a divine artefact, her heart twitched a little. This was definitely a gift that suited Richard, the best kind of souvenir.

With all the divine grace used up, the Book of Time slowly closed. The dragon bones nearby had already dimmed, but they could still activate one last lesser sacrifice.

Flowsand stowed the Book of Time away, walking out of the room only to realise it was already time for dinner. This time, she requested to be alone with Richard.

“You want to tell me something?” Richard flashed a cheeky smile her way. He still had vivid memories of the wonders of the previous night, and as he thought back to it he was filled with both anticipation and fear.

“I have a present for you.” Flowsand handed him a rather exquisite looking box.

“Present?” Richard asked in a suspicious tone, eagerly opening it up. But then, his breath was immediately caught in his chest.

A divine tool! This was definitely a divine tool!

Richard quickly noticed that the pen was resistant to abrasion; it would never be worn down, and would last an eternity so he could do as he pleased. These were unbelievable attributes, but on top of that the entire design including the core was perfect without a blemish. It was a valuable item any runemaster would wish for, able to bring his runes to the next level. The success rate and scope of his runecrafting would immediately be increased. Google search 𝑓𝒓e𝑒w𝑒𝒃𝑛𝒐𝘃ℯ𝙡. c𝚘m

He abruptly looked back towards Flowsand, asking in a slightly trembling voice, “Where did you get this?”

Flowsand raised her eyebrows and smiled, “There was some grace left over, so when I saw this pen in the options I decided to get it for you. It took almost nothing; why, is it not good enough?”

“NO! The complete opposite, it's divine!” Richard said solemnly. He felt a little strange; Flowsand was normally very good at evaluating items... Did the Eternal Dragon look down on runemasters so much that something this powerful was cheap?

Flowsand shrugged, “Divine? That's a relief. At least it didn't go to waste.” She deliberately changed the subject afterwards, starting discussion about a rune set of her own.

The moment she mentioned it, Richard immediately started talking non-stop. Mystic Glory... He had already designed the core of the set, with three out of the six runes thought out. The runes weren't random either; the complete set would be even stronger than Waterflower's Breath of Darkness. Despite being made of a combination of grade 1 and grade 2 runes, it would not lose to a complete grade 2 set.

Flowsand thought it over, “Richard, Mystic Glory is just too complex. I think we can forget it for the time being, just focus on making a grade 1 set that doesn't need to be of the same standard as this or Breath of Darkness. Differences don't matter, it just has to be a set.”

“Who for?”

This was an important question; the user of a rune set would form the basis for its design. However, Flowsand brushed it off, “It doesn't have to be for a specific person, it just needs to be a set. Think of it like designing a set for a basic rune knight.”

A basic rune knight? This was quite extravagant thinking, an unrealistic goal so early into their journey. Richard muttered to himself for a while before asking, “Why do you want me to design something like that?”

“Once we return to Norland, you need to hold a rune convention. Every famous runemaster does it, and I feel like these conventions greatly increase the market for runes.”

Richard quickly captured the hidden meaning, “After we... return to Norland?”

Flowsand blinked her eyes forcefully, “Yes! We can go back very soon. I promised you that we would have a way back.”

“Do you have the coordinates?”

Flowsand tried to play it cool, “We will once we make an offering with the bones.”

“What about Perrin's problem? Bevry is extremely perceptive, he might figure something out,” Richard frowned.

“Don't worry about that, the bones will give us enough grace. We can just extract a couple Dewdrops of Life and give them to him. The effect will be very obvious, the person who receives the gift will know. Besides, healing Perrin completely might just make Bevry hostile towards us.”

Richard felt like Flowsand's words made sense, so he nodded his head.

......

The next day, Duke Bevry reached Bluewater.

He smiled the moment he entered the inn, walking towards Richard and enveloping him with a warm embrace before saying, “Those fellows from Whiterock were very hard to deal with. Thankfully I managed to fight them off. I still feel scared when I think back to it, haha! Right, what about the skeleton?”

“It was very useful!” Richard said confidently.

“Good! That's great!” The Direwolf obviously understood the underlying meaning, so he rubbed his hands together in excitement. Asking the guard next to him to close the door, he then spoke up, “Perrin, there's hope for your illness now! Thank Sir Richard at once!”

It was only then that Richard realised the guard was Perrin in disguise. He had carefully covered himself up, changing his appearance and even shape until Richard almost couldn't recognise him.

Having been plagued by his disease for such a long time, Perrin was naturally excited at the prospects of treatment. He wished for a prolonged life so he could continue his research.

Richard swung his hands, saying sternly, “Your Grace... Strictly speaking, the bones can only alleviate the symptoms and not completely heal Perrin. You should think it through; Perrin's illness was a divine punishment. If you want to dispel it completely... the price you need to pay would be extreme.”

“Alleviating the symptoms is good enough!” the Duke said immediately. He had been unable to help with Perrin's problem all these years, leaving his son on the brink of death. At this crucial moment, he would grab hold of even the thinnest straws.

Richard nodded, patting Perrin's shoulders before following Flowsand to get ready for the ceremony. The ritual was quite simple, with no redundant prayers or complicated procedures.

A temporary altar had been set up in the large hall, the draconic bones placed in front. Kellac and the other three clerics were assisting as well. Bevry was actually surprised at the sight, giving the man a profound stare. Kellac was rather well-known as a powerful priest in the past; becoming a level 13 priest despite being banished from the Church of the Highland Wargod was a miracle.

However, Bevry could see that Kellac was burgeoning with divine power bordering level 14. It was no easy task to produce a level 14 priest in a very short time; the only possibility was for the Eternal Dragon to be extremely powerful. The sight had actually grown the Duke's faith significantly.

Flowsand placed her hand on the book of time, a strong divine power enveloping the draconic remains. She then picked out several dim gold glimmers from the glow, converging them into the power of time. The bones then turned the colour of ash, disintegrating into dust.

Atop the Book of Time, the extracted power of time converged into a tiny hourglass that was smaller than a single finger.

An expression of joy showed on Flowsand's face as she spoke to Perrin, “The Eternal Dragon has acknowledged your sincerity, bestowing his divine grace. Come, Perrin, place your hand on the hourglass. Remember, always praise the great Eternal Dragon in your heart!”

Perrin's excitement was visible on a face. As a mage, despite not being very high in level, he could still sense the power of magic and the divine; he sensed a distant power of time radiating from the grains of sand, as though years were moving like clouds.

Perrin looked at his father before proceeding to the altar, reaching out to the hourglass floating in the air. The moment his fingertips touched it, the hourglass turned into a divine glow that entered his body. At the same time, information about the blessing appeared in his consciousness.

“What is it?” the Duke asked impatiently. He could not take the anticipation any longer.

Perrin carefully analysed the information, going through each sentence before his face slowly flushed with excitement, “This... Dewdrop of Life! For a year from now, my body will not age!”

380 - City of Sin

Sacrifice

Duke Bevry trembled slightly, a penetrating gaze landing upon Perrin. He saw a vitality in his son's body that hadn't shown itself in a long time, a faint power of time sweeping across the barren boy to dispel his aura of age and decay.

The Duke sighed heavily, “As expected.” Although this period without ageing would only last a scant year, it was hope!

The ceremony had allowed Bevry to see many other things as well. The Dragon of Eternity and Light was a real entity, possessing supreme power; a ceremony presided over by a mere priest could suppress a curse from a god of Faelor. He also realised that this was a completely new model of worship; the Eternal Dragon had many demands, but he was also incredibly generous in return.

In addition, there were many types of blessings. If the Eternal Dragon's gifts were not limited to the Dewdrop of Life, then this god had unfathomable power. Perhaps Richard and Flowsand were right; maybe he really was a god above all planes.

Once the ceremony came to an end, Perrin who had overdrawn his energy while absorbing the divine grace fell into a deep sleep. Kellac looked at Flowsand with some doubt in his eyes; already a priest of the Eternal Dragon, he had some fundamental knowledge about sacrificial ceremonies. He naturally saw that most of the divine grace was absorbed by Flowsand, only a tiny bit agglomerating into a Dewdrop of Life for Perrin. With some rudimentary ability to calculate divine grace as well, he felt like strangely little grace had been obtained from the bones overall. It was as though a ceremony had already been performed with them before.

'Don't tell me you can fill your own pockets even during rituals?' The disrespectful thought had only just emerged before Kellac nipped it in the bud. Priests could not hide anything from their gods, and the Eternal Dragon was definitely fair. Perrin receiving a Dewdrop of Life had to be His will.

Once the ceremony ended, the Duke met with Flowsand and Richard in a secret room to discuss the next stage of their cooperation.

“The Dewdrop of Life is only effective for a year,” Bevry said straightforwardly, “What do I do afterwards?”

“The blessing can be obtained repeatedly. We just have to offer something else within a year. If the level of the sacrifice is increased, the divine grace can be strengthened further. The Ripple of Life, for example, grants anywhere from three to ten additional years.”

Flowsand's words excited the Duke, but he wouldn't ignore the most important details. Bevry looked troubled, speaking hesitantly, “The offerings... I gave up a lot to compete for these dragon bones. I'm afraid it will be very difficult to find something similar within a year.”

“This was only Faelor's first sacrifice,” Flowsand comforted him, “Some of the grace was wasted in creating the altar that will allow for easier communication with the Eternal Dragon. The effects of the next ritual will be much better.”

“But...” the Direwolf Duke still smiled wryly. Faelor had dragons as well, but these dragons were comparable to the ones in Norland and other planes. Even the weakest adult was not something a level 18 warrior could take on single-handedly. The only reason those from Norland could do so was their runes.

Although Bevry was a guardian of his country, compared to Norland's saints his only advantage lay in his experience. His individual combat ability was average at best. The lack of magical development had also affected Faelor's equipment. The same grade of equipment in Norland normally had at least one extra effect over those from Faelor.

“The offerings don't have to be related to dragons, Your Grace,” Flowsand reminded him with a smile, “Anything related to power— demons, devils, astral beasts, or ancient behemoths— will make for a good offering. Certain mysterious objects like meteors from other planes will be accepted as well. As for the final type of offering, it is the most difficult to obtain but also the best way to rouse His interest... Divinity!”

“Divinity!” the duke was stunned.

“To be more precise, things related to divinity. Like those with divine blood flowing through their veins, or the idols of spirits that have been worshipped for many years.”

The Duke jumped up, a murderous aura radiating from him as both hands clenched into fists. He levelled a cold glare at Flowsand; the Direwolf Family had always worshipped their ancestors, so offering one up was completely unacceptable.

Flowsand remained seated peacefully, looking at Bevry without the slightest hint of fear. The Duke took a deep breath, slowly reining in his aura as he spoke, “We of the Direwolf Family have worshipped our ancestors for generations.”

“I know, Your Grace, but do you also worship the ancestors of other families?”

The words sent a shock through Bevry's body, forcing him into deep thought. He knew very well that these words could just have opened a gate to the abyss, but he had no choice but to step forth.

For her part, Flowsand did not wait for any reply, “There's one final thing to remind you about. You or Perrin could conduct the next ritual yourselves, choosing your blessings. But keep in mind that the Eternal Dragon's gifts are always given from a certain range; nobody can guarantee exactly what you will get.”

The randomness of the blessings was indeed a special characteristic of the Eternal Dragon. Not even Richard could tell that something was wrong, and as someone who had studied the teachings of the Eternal Dragon for some time now, Bevry knew this as well.

Even Richard did not know that Flowsand could greatly limit the range of blessings as long as she paid a certain price. She did not intend to do any such thing; any gift from the Eternal Dragon was incredibly valuable, and could not be returned once granted. She absolutely wanted more of the grace to be used on Bevry himself; a strong Duke would bring her more offerings.

Seeing that the discussion of the sacrifices was done, Richard finally spoke up, “Your Grace, Flowsand and I will be leaving for Norland soon. However, we will be back quite quickly with powerful magic artefacts and equipment. My troops and followers will be left back in Faelor, and as you know I'm now an arch enemy of Red Cossack. When I'm not around, I hope you can help me take care of my followers and territory.”

The Direwolf Duke hummed an affirmative, “My personal territory doesn't border the Bloodstained Lands right now, so it's difficult for me to send my troops deep. As for Red Cossack... Hmm, they should be backed by Marquess Yang of the Iron Triangle Empire. It's a difficult opponent... My advice is to withdraw your troops to the land I gave you. There's no need to worry about Fontaine, I'll have Moonbear station his knights on your land.

“Another method would be to leave him here for some time, but it cannot be too long.”

“How about half a year?” Richard asked.

“That won't do, three months at most.”

“Three months, that is a little short, but... Alright then!” Richard made his decision. With the situation in the Sequoia Kingdom still unclear, he felt like Bluewater which was operating under a balance of power was a little safer.

......

Bevry didn't stay in Bluewater, instead taking Perrin and leaving quickly under the cover of the night. Someone with his identity could not be seen in the Bloodstained Lands.

Once the Direwolf Duke left, a few mysterious knights appeared outside Bluewater. One couldn't make them out clearly, but one of them was carrying an eye-catching longbow.

They stopped rather far from the city, but they could still make out a human head hung from the gates. Given their extraordinary vision and a torch illuminating the head, they could clearly see the face from afar.

“It really is Blackwing.”

“He could he even kill Blackwing?!”

“Should we just storm in and avenge him?”

“Rolf is still in the city, and I heard Falcao came here recently as well.”

“So what? How could they match up to Sir Chuck and Sir Phinbar?”

The knights argued quietly, their opinions varied. However, two hadn't joined in on the chatter from the start. The one on the left slowly spoke up, “What do you think, Chuck?”

“I don't think it's a good idea,” Chuck's voice was abnormally hoarse and unpleasant, like two pieces of metal grating against each other, “Falcao clearly knows he cannot match up to us, but he still rushed over. It can only mean one thing; they have the confidence to deal with us. That isn't good... My beautiful pet told me that the consequences of rushing in right now would be extremely unpredictable.”

Phinbar fell silent for a while before asking, “Then what do we do?”

“We wait!” Chuck said sinisterly, “Falcao and Rolf cannot possibly be together forever. Even if they wish to do so, we can think of ways to force them out. In fact, we can use the same method that Richard fellow is using. The Golden Warflag also has quite a few caravans, and I don't believe Falcao can stay hidden in the city if we raid a few. The moment they separate, we'll get our opportunity!”

Phinbar nodded, saying coldly, “We should remind them that the Bloodstained Lands belong to us, to Red Cossack. If Falcao comes up guarding one of their caravans, we won't let him return.”

One of the knights nearby couldn't help but interrupt, “Killing Falcao would spark a war with the Golden Warflag! That wouldn't be a good idea, should we ask our Lord for further instructions?”

Phinbar did not open his mouth, but a vicious and bloodthirsty aura frightened the man into silence.

Red Cossack and the Golden Warflag had their own unique characteristics. The former held profound strength and controlled a vast information network, while the latter was completely ruthless and vicious. Red Cossack actually didn't have great chances in a direct war unless their backers were involved, but at that point it would likely devolve into a war between nations.

381 - City of Sin

Return

Phinbar and Chuck retreated stealthily. There were many reasons for this, some hidden from their subordinates. The sniper had observed that Richard's army had the power to kill a saint. In a situation where both sides had an equal number of saints, Richard had enough power to decide the outcome of the battle.

Chuck's astute sense of danger had actually saved them. The assumption of equal numbers was actually wrong; Lord Moonbear's presence would have overwhelmingly changed the tides of the battle.

The situation in the Bloodstained Lands grew even more chaotic over the next month. The fundamental balance had been uprooted, with several huge caravans from the Golden Warflag looted in quick succession. They soon started targeting Red Cossack in return, both sides erupting into war in every corner of the Bloodstained Lands. The complete chaos did no good for either side, rendering all the traditional trading routes far more dangerous than normal. Both sides were losing at least 10,000 gold every day.

Richard himself had attacked only once in this period of time, annihilating a group of bandits that were only a hundred strong. Most of his time was spent preparing the teleportation gate that would lead them back to Norland, as well as designing a rune set for his return.

A mysterious fleet of carriages arrived at Bluewater at the end of the month, moving directly into his territory. Richard had already marked out a zone at the centre where his slaves had dug a pit. After about half a month, a strange stone tower was built there.

This was a Lighthouse of Time!

All the materials had come from the one at the original Archeron base. The broodmother's humanoid drones had taken it apart, moving it all to the Bloodstained Lands. With more than a month since she last sent soldiers his way, she had amassed more than a hundred humanoids as well as a few dozen throwers and wind wolves.

Baron Forza had heaved a sigh of relief when he received the news that Richard was in the Bloodstained Lands. Only a few dozen people were guarding the Archeron base; after all, he was beaten so badly he couldn't afford to send any more. They had been nothing when compared to the broodmother's army, easily annihilated by the humanoids and throwers.

The dismantling of the lighthouse was a sufficient display of the advantages of giving the humanoids high intelligence and dexterity. They were already no different from more foolish humans, and the two elites could even be considered smart by normal standards. Over a hundred of them working together had managed to quickly take the entire thing apart, transporting it away.

As the Lighthouse of Time was made of many precious materials, the cost of building one was just far too immense. Thankfully, the people of Faelor— or at least Baron Forza— did not know of its function. He had no interest in a stone tower that did not match his aesthetics in the slightest, which made things easier for Richard.

However, a small uproar had erupted in Bluewater. Although it looked a little too small to live in, making integral facets like a laboratory, spell boosts, and defence unlikely, it still appeared to be a mage tower from the outside. A mage tower appearing in the city was not a good thing, even if it was at the border. It would gift a lot of control over to Richard.

It took some effort for Richard to make it all go away. He ended up pretending to unwittingly reveal that the strange thing was meant for prayers, able to transmit faith more distinctly. He didn't mention whether this was for ancestral worship of something else, but it was enough to pacify his old friends who had come calling. Amon and Devon had also sent over mages when the tower was being built, and they concluded that the patterns on the tower were some sort of unknown divine language and not a magic formation. Since the tower was only as high as a regular archery tower and posed no threat to their territories, the matter was soon forgotten.

Richard was finished with the teleportation gate by the time the Lighthouse of Time was completed. He calculated it could only send three people back to Norland, using up all 300 magic crystals he currently possessed. At least in the short term, he could not get any more.

......

Late in the night. With the Book of Time in hand, Flowsand ascended to the top floor of the lighthouse. A silent chant caused the book to emit a golden ray of light, the torches nearby starting to burn with a pale gold flame. Blurred scenes seemed to flash in these flames on occasion.

The Lighthouse of Time had finally been ignited once more.

A two-storey building had been attached to the lighthouse, housing Richard's teleportation gate. The building had a massive amount of soldiers stationed to protect it, and a large number of magic materials were stored as well.

A large formation with strange patterns had already been prepared in the hall, a standard planar teleportation spell. These patterns contained information about Norland's coordinates, their main function to embed Faelor's own into the spatial channel. That way, he could effectively isolate himself from the senses of the local gods.

Looking at the undulations from the lighthouse, Richard took a deep breath and crouched down to place his hand on a magic crystal. The crystal slowly brightened under the guidance of his own magic, pure mana turning into blazing streams of light that flowed through the formation as they set off all the other crystals along the way. A moment later, all the crystals dumped a great amount of mana into the gate, slowly forming a portal in the centre of the formation.

Behind this portal was Norland! Flowsand had said the destination would be the Church of the Eternal Dragon in Faust.

Richard was beside himself with joy as he looked at the gate, wondering how everyone back in Norland was doing. However, he quickly began to have second thoughts. Given the Blessing of Unhurriedness that slowed time in Faelor, less than a month had passed back in Norland. Even if he'd been drifting around in spacetime due to the turbulence for a long time, not more than two months could have passed. What could happen in two months?

When Flowsand entered the hall and saw the portal glimmering splendidly, she was dazed. Inadvertently, she revealed a hint of sorrow.

“We can return!” Richard said, his elated voice booming.

“Yes, we can...” her smile was forced.

Richard looked at Flowsand, puzzled, “What's with you? Aren't you happy?”

She immediately hummed and returned to normal pushing back, “I'm only feeling bad about these offerings and magic crystals! The lighthouse is damaged, so they're only enough for a single round trip! It's impossible to bring someone else! Just hope you can earn the costs back with your runes and those goods, or we won't have enough money to return in the future. Also, don't say I didn't warn you. Upgrading the passage will be an even larger expense!”

Richard's excitement completely died down. Amidst all the massive risk that came with planar war, one of the most important aspects was the huge cost of building and maintaining portals. A temporary gate like this one, designed to be hidden from the gods of the plane, would be even more expensive. A hundred magic crystals were needed for a single person's round trip. By Norland's standards, this was 75,000 gold! This was why he and Flowsand were the only ones returning.

Richard had already made all sorts of preparations. He gathered all of his followers before leaving, leaving them with instructions for when he was gone. Carrying two specially-made magic sealing boxes, he entered the portal after Flowsand.

As the light enveloped him, only one thought was left behind, 'Norland... I'm finally back!'

......

Planar teleportation could be instant or it could take some time, the largest known duration in history being a month. However, no matter how much time passed the person being teleported felt like only an instant had passed. The grand mages of the Deepblue that studied this phenomenon labelled the time difference stolen time. However, nobody knew who the thief was.

Spacetime turbulence was extremely complicated, hiding far too many secrets. This was the domain of the Eternal Dragon; at the very least, one needed to be able to shuttle between planes to perform research in the field. Not even every legendary mage had this ability.

Even as Richard was preparing for the teleportation, the situation in island 7-2 was quickly losing balance. The Archeron branch families were mostly at the bottom of noble society, most of them unworthy of their titles and living the lives of commoners. In Faust, however, they had seen true luxury and prestige, the privilege of the upper class. This change in position was not something everyone could handle; all the children of the branch families wanted such lives.

They hated the influential nobles, hated their privileged and luxurious lives. However, they did not hate privilege itself; the root of their dissatisfaction came from the fact that these privileges did not belong to them.

Now, however, right before the eyes of these vulgar children of the branch families, was a chance at instant success.

Offerings!

Something they had never even dared to think about was lingering before their eyes, resounding in their ears, shaking their very hearts. In the eyes of the branches, even the lowest of ceremonies was a path to success. They had no idea what offerings did, nor did they understand how the gifts of the Eternal Dragon were things that left most people unsure of whether to laugh or cry. In all their ignorance, they felt like offerings were the most effective way to solve all problems. Perhaps the only way.

Large quantities of offerings were sitting on the island, and the barrier to entry was just a feeble old butler. Temptation was always around, and for those who desired a better position this one was irresistible! Every day's wait was a huge test of their patience.

The representatives of the branch families, those monkeys who carried the Archeron name, banded together once more. With a list of the offerings in hand, they requested to enter the warehouse to check the quantities of the offerings.

And amongst the people leading them, the most enthusiastic was the newly promoted leader of the foot soldiers, Erwin.

382 - City of Sin

Riot

Hundreds of branch family members had gathered together, intent on entering the castle's warehouse. The old steward hastened over to stop them in front of the gate, righteously berating those who wanted to cause a scene. However, his solemn face hid endless worry.

There was only one thing he was concerned about; the difference in numbers was far too large!

Standing opposite the hundreds of troublemakers were only twenty of Gaton's personal guard. Many of these guards had been chosen from the branch families as well; if not for the sake of expanding his influence, the old steward would never have brought them out. With them being the kin of these opponents, nobody could predict how they would act.

“What are you trying to do? This is Lord Gaton's personal warehouse, anyone who dares to intrude is rebelling!” The man's voice was still stern, but that had already lost its effects.

“Rebelling?” Erwin stood out, raising the list of offerings high in the air and yelling, “You're just a servant, and in front of you are the Archerons! What right do you have to order us? Besides, you're the actual rebel! The list of offerings is right here, offerings that belong to the Archeron Family. If you're completely innocent, why won't you let us in to check? With so many pairs of eyes around, who would dare do anything in the storeroom?”

Erwin let out a breath, his pitch going up an entire octave, “I think less than half of the offerings are left in the warehouse! The rest has been turned to gold that is lining this old bastard's pocket! Lord Gaton trusted him so much... Now that he's not around, how can we Archerons let him steal our Lord's most precious wealth? Don't you all agree?”

A few hundred people shouted boisterously, their momentum unstoppable!

The old butler had not expected these people to be so roguish, for the situation to fall completely out of hand. Even more unnerving was the fact that the free Archerons that hastened over to protect the island of their own volition had not appeared at all. While there were few of them, each was a man of valour. They would be enough to terrify these little monkeys in front of him.

However, in the moment they were needed the most, none of them had appeared.

The old butler's mind filled with gloom. Perhaps only the three great heads of the Archeron Family could control these free soldiers right now... But then, the appearance of any single one would change the situation completely.

The old steward did not respond to Erwin's 'interrogation', only flashing a bitter smile as he stated slowly, “Do not forget Lord Gaton's methods, and do not forget the number of lives he has reaped. The miracles my Lord can perform...”

*Thud!* Erwin suddenly charged forth, mercilessly punching the steward's face. The steely fist sent blood splattering everywhere, the old man sent flying into the warehouse gates with a low groan. His nose was completely broken, one of his eyes swelling up rapidly until he couldn't open it anymore.

*Schwing!* Gaton's guards were caught unprepared, but they quickly unsheathed their weapons. However, they wavered when it came time to use them. After all, the people ahead really were members of the Archeron Family.

“We're only guarding Lord Gaton's wealth, the Archerons' true wealth! All true Archerons, fight with us!” Erwin yelled once more, raising his arm. Hundreds of branch family members charged forth, pushing past Gaton's guards into the storehouse. These guards were pushed all over the place, but were at a loss for what to do. Without orders from the old steward, they just couldn't attack members of the family.

The steward himself was unable to give orders. Erwin's expression was dark as he mercilessly kicked at the man's ribs. Large amounts of blood spurted out of the butler's mouth and nose with every kick, leaving him with no opportunity to speak at all. The knight was attacking viciously without any seeming intent to enter the warehouse, instead kicking the old butler like he had gone insane. It was only then that one of the guards realised something was off and darted over, full of bloodlust as he brandished his sword. This finally caused Erwin to stop. Still, he gave the guard a long, cold look that was filled with boundless hatred.

The guard helped the old man up, not cowering at all as his gaze at Erwin grew denser with bloodlust. He was a veteran with dozens of lives on his head and wouldn't be scared by a mere knight in training. However, he knew the situation was currently out of control; their first priority was to save the old steward.

The guards escorted the steward away, leaving the branch families with what they wished for. However, things were not as expected. They did see numerous offerings, but there were no piles of gold. Outside of the offerings, weapons, and equipment, there was nothing in the warehouse. They just couldn't believe that Gaton, who regularly went out to planar wars and always won, the man who had conquered one of Faust's islands and possessed four planes, was actually so poor!

They quickly came to the same conclusion. Gaton had to have a secret warehouse, his wealth piled up like mountains! They had gone green with envy and wanted to loot everything, but it all seemed to be for naught!

“The upper levels!” Erwin shouted again, his hysterical voice overpowering all noise, “The upper levels of the castle are restricted! All of Gaton's treasures must be hidden there, they belong to all of us Archerons!”

“To the upper levels!”

“Take what is ours!”

Cries rang out in quick succession, the bestial character of the Archeron bloodline exploding forth. Most of the bandits flowed like a river towards the upper level, while some were smart enough to leave the castle and keep the offerings they had already looted. Most of the people who got nothing charged up with bloodshot eyes.

“What do you think you're doing? Is this a rebellion?” A clear berating voice immediately intimidated everyone.

In front of the stairs leading to the upper levels was a tall, graceful figure. This was Demi, a girl who was akin to burning flames; beautiful like fire. Her eyes were blazing, the staff in her hand glowing in preparation to launch a spell at any moment. Behind her were Wennington and Venica, the three blocking the path of the hundreds of crazed monkeys. While the monkeys could tear them to shreds in an instant, they showed no signs of giving way, no fear. Deep within each pair of eyes was boiling lava!

“A rebellion? Of course not! We just want to take what is ours!” a voice shouted. It was still Erwin.

“The upper levels are restricted to my father, Marquess Gaton. Anyone who dares cross the line will be killed without hesitation!” Demi spat out murderously.

Erwin stood out, his expression dark. He quickly made his way towards the three, all the while shouting, “Everything here belongs to the Archeron Family!”

“What are you? A tiny foot soldier and you call yourself an Archeron?” Demi stared coldly at Erwin, voice dripping with disdain. She suddenly shouted out, “True Archerons use their swords and scars, trading the blood of their enemies on true battlefields to prove themselves!”

These words caused many of the people who had charged over to freeze, looking hesitant.

But Erwin suddenly took a step forward, landing a fierce punch on Demi's abdomen!

The girl hadn't expected him to actually attack. The punch was very heavy, causing her innards to churn. As a cursemaster, her physique wasn't exactly great. How could she withstand the full-power punch of a warrior?

Crimson blood flowed from the corners of her mouth, and she couldn't help but crumble to the ground. She suddenly saw the cold glint of a dagger from the corner of her eye! Wracked with immense pain, Demi's mind was moving slowly. Her battle instincts warned her of the danger, but she still couldn't believe it.

A dagger? Why a dagger? Did these people plan on killing her, killing Gaton's blood on his own island? Something so absurd was about to happen?

Erwin's mind was filled with brutal thoughts of longing. Demi's impressive breasts were practically squeezing out at her neckline, the girl's amazing body causing his blood to surge downwards. All he wanted to do was to tear off her clothes then and there; in the past, he wouldn't have been able to touch a single finger from her!

However, he pushed away these tempting thoughts and slid the dagger out of his sleeve. He knew full well how valuable the offerings in the warehouse were; what was the difference between robbing Gaton's offerings and killing his children? He might as well eliminate everything completely! Besides, a single stab would tie everyone here to the same wagon!

'It's not just the Archeron children that have ambition!' a voice yelled out deep in Erwin's heart. His gaze turned icy, body filled with lightning strength. Wennington and Venica had never been on a true battlefield before, so their reactions were too slow. They still hadn't figured out why Demi suddenly collapsed.

This was a chance! A chance that would disappear in a second! Fire blazed in Erwin's chest as he prepared to thrust fiercely.

However, a hand suddenly stuck out from the side and pulled Demi who was about to collapse away. It was long and beautiful, the gauntlet and bracer that adorned it of the same style. Flame patterns clearly drew the outline of a crest, that of Earl Alice.

Erwin looked up, stunned, but all he saw was another hand rapidly moving towards his face.

*Pak!* An incomparably crisp slap rang out!

Erwin grew dizzy, his vision blurring. A ringing sound masked his hearing, and one of his cheeks quickly swelled up. However, he still managed to see the person in front of him, remembering her name and identity. A 'You bitch!' was swallowed, turning into a terrified but angry “YOU!”

383 - City of Sin

Temporary Tranquility

This woman was Earl Alice's most capable assistant, her right hand. A distant cousin, Fuschia possessed an unknown bloodline. Although not good at commanding troops, her talent in combat was said to be terrifying. Still in her early twenties, she was already level 19.

Erwin himself was only level 11. Even in a completely open field, an entire squadron of people like him wouldn't be able to kill her.

Before he could even swallow his cries, the palm that had just brushed past his face flew back again, making a sharp, clear sound. The other side of his face began to swell up as well.

However, that was only the beginning. Fuschia waved her hands incessantly, slap after resounding slap flying across Erwin's face. Erwin wanted to hold tightly onto his dagger that was already unsheathed, but the last dregs of his rationality told him that such a transgression would only end with him being beheaded on the spot. With Lady Fuschia's status, nothing much would happen if she killed a mere soldier like him even in normal times, much less in this situation.

He thus forced down the resentment boiling deep in his heart, tolerating all the slaps with the patience of a turtle. However, he was cursing crazily in the bottom of his heart, 'You bitch! One day I'll fuck you half dead and tear out your cunt!'

Fuschia's expression was cold as she landed more than a dozen slaps on Erwin before kicking him away. Looking at the remaining branch members who were still stunned, she snorted in cold disdain, looking past them and shouting in the direction they had come from, “Sua, come out! Your methods are overstepping the Archeron bottom line!”

*Clap! Clap! Clap!* Baron Sua quickly walked out of a corner, his voice full of praise “Lady Fuschia does indeed have shocking power, able to block hundreds of Archerons alone.”

Fuschia wasn't even slightly interested in his hypocrisy, pointing to Demi as she said coldly, “These are Gaton's children, pure Archerons. They cannot be hurt by internal strife, that is a bottom line! Listen clearly; I have no interest in bargaining with you. I don't care what you do in private, but this kind of thing cannot happen again! This is a matter of the family's pride!”

Sua shrugged his shoulders, speaking with a smile, “If I remember correctly, Lady Fuschia, I don't think you're an Archeron. At the very least, your bloodline abilities don't come from the Archeron bloodline. Furthermore, these people in front of you are Archerons as well, I have no way to command them.”

A look of derision showed up on Fuschia's face as she condescendingly swept her eyes across the crowd. Sua noticed her expression and could not help but laugh, “Don't belittle these people, Miss Fuschia, they are Archerons as well. You cannot defeat them on your own. As beautiful as you are... Who knows, some unpleasant things may happen to you when you lose. Even if you die, you might not be able to escape it.”

The threat was incomparably malicious, even causing Demi to pale. “However,” Sua added, “This situation isn't impossible to resolve. I just need those skeletal remains.”

“You're using this kind of thing to threaten me?” Fuschia asked indifferently, “If I want to escape, do you think you lot can stop me? So long as I escape today, all of you— that includes you, Sua— you best be prepared to suffer my vengeance for the rest of your existence! Your lives will be mine, and so will those of everyone related to you!”

Sua's expression turned cold, “You might not be able to escape.”

“Perhaps,” Fuschia combed her long chestnut hair and continued, “But that doesn't matter. I've already delivered a list of everyone on the island to my Lady. She already promised me before I came here that she would avenge me if I could not leave. The families of everyone here will be targeted by her army. My Lady's style has always been to wipe out all enemies.”

The threat was delivered monotonously, but it was anything but. Fuschia was right; the one thing that could match Alice's reputation at war was her decisiveness. There was no lack of places her army had turned into death zones.

Sua grew more serious, stating dully, “Alice is only an earl.”

These words pointed out the difference between Sauron and Alice. Alice's lands were at the border of the Sacred Alliance, very far from Faust. She would have to pass through dozens of other nobles to make it here. He was actually giving Erwin and the others some courage, only that he wasn't making it so obvious.

“When my Lady was still a small knight, many people were already marquesses. Now that she's an earl, many are still marquesses.”

Fuschia's words caused darkness to sweep across Sua's face. He squinted in her direction, asking coldly, “The Earl wishes to take over this island?”

“No, I only care about Lord Gaton's children,” Fuschia replied.
f𝘳𝒆𝑒𝓌𝒆𝗯n𝗼𝘷ℯl. 𝑐𝚘𝘮

Sua nodded, “Very well then, at the very least it seems like our families won't come into conflict here.”

Fuschia nodded, “I have no interest in a conflict with a third party in someone else's territory.”

There was a faint sneer to her voice, but Sua pretended like he hadn't heard that and left with his people. Fuschia didn't want to force them too far either; the Baron was not easy to deal with, and Earl Goliath had his own people on the island as well.

If one looked at things in the long term, they would know that numerous enemies were still hanging around the island, waiting for the opportunity to attack. Many amongst them could take down island 7-2 right now, but they did not do so. Outside of a lack of desire to suffer the attacks of the remaining Archerons, an important reason for their restraint was that island 7-2 had only recently been blessed by the Eternal Dragon. Any attacks would draw the old dragon's ire, possibly even causing the Church of the Eternal Dragon to interfere personally.

The branch families gradually retreated before Fuschia, even Erwin struggling his way out. However, worry already clouded her eyes. This crisis had come to pass, but nobody could guarantee what would happen the next time. She was just one person, it would be impossible to resist hundreds of Archerons. Furthermore, both Sua and Earl Goliath had followers who were comparable to her in strength.

This was a complicated situation. Behind the chaotic riots were the silhouettes of many rich and powerful families. Fuschia alone could not reverse this situation, nor could Earl Alice herself...

The bandits finally retreated, making sure to leave no offering behind. They even swept through the entire basement of the castle once more before they escaped, taking away anything of value.

384 - City of Sin

Inheritance

It was only after the last bandit had disappeared from their view that Fuschia turned around to look at Demi, Wennington, and Venica, “Go to Earl Alice's territory, she can protect all of you.”

“No, I'm not going anywhere! This is my father's castle, it has the Archeron cemetery!” Demi said stubbornly.

Fuschia frowned, “They wouldn't dare mess with the Archeron graveyard, this stubbornness has no meaning!”

Demi forcefully shook her head, “No, I want to stay here. I could die wherever I go. This is Father's territory, only occupied for a while by these thieves. If I get scared for my life and leave, I'm basically letting them have the place!”

Fuschia was slightly taken aback; she hadn't thought this young lady would be so knowledgeable.

......

When Richard stepped out of the portal in the Church of the Eternal Dragon, he had no idea about the situation he would be facing. The portal came out in the portal room of the Church, a region where commoners were forbidden.

When Flowsand and Richard walked out, even the priests guarding the place were utterly shocked. These people were supposed to be lost in the myriad planes!

Flowsand didn't let Richard head back to the island immediately, instead bringing him along to visit high priestess Ferlyn. On one hand, she wanted to register Faelor with the Church of the Eternal Dragon, getting a serial number for the plane. This would strengthen its connection to Norland, lowering both the cost of teleportation and chances of failure. The other was to find out the truth behind how they had disappeared to Faelor.

Ferlyn told Richard that his ceremony's blessings had been interrupted. However, she didn't mention who the source of the interruption was, only advising Richard to concern himself more with matters in Faust.

Her words left Richard feeling strange and secretly unsettled. He tried his best to calm his anxious heart, listening to a beautiful cleric in front of him regale him about the recent events in Faust. As he heard more and more, his expression warped.

Gaton was stuck in the Rosie plane, most of his army with him? Wouldn't that leave all the Archeron lands bare, including island 7-2?

Besides... could he come back at all? And even if he could, when would it be? Endless questions lingered in Richard's thoughts, growing more passionate and fiery until he felt like something was searing his heart. The mild stings didn't seem to be much, but he soon found it hard to breathe.

Gaton Archeron... Someone so capable, so carefree, rugged, and bold... How could he sabotaged to the point that there was no news of him left?

He quickly stood up, but then forced himself to slowly take his seat once more. Flowsand was concerned by his nasty complexion, asking, “Richard! Are you alright?”

“I'm fine, I have no emotional attachments to Gaton,” Richard said nonchalantly, almost no change in his voice. He then added, “I just don't like when something that belongs to me is taken by someone else.”

Flowsand didn't believe any of it, but she still nodded seriously.

Richard thought things over for a while before speaking to her, “I need some help.”

She patiently listened to all of his requests and ideas, thinking about them for a while before saying, “It shouldn't be a problem. However, this is the Church of the Eternal Dragon. If you wish for some help, there needs to be something given in return.”

“I'm prepared.”

She nodded, walking out from the side hall.

Richard suddenly turned to the young cleric the moment Flowsand left, “Can you give me a basin of ice water?”

The young lady looked suspiciously at Richard before turning around and leaving for a moment. When she returned, she had a bronze basin filled with clear water in her hand. Ice was floating on the top.

Richard picked up the basin and moved close to a window that overlooked half of Faust. Although he looked calm, the sight of the island floating in the sky caused the corners of his eyes to twitch gently. He lifted the basin up high, pouring the freezing cold water over his head! The liquid trickled down his forehead to his face, making it down his body to eventually reach his leg. The water took away a bulk of his body's heat, also easing the twitching of his eyes. It was a way to force himself to calm down.

The cleric behind him was stunned by this scene, covering her mouth.

Richard calmly walked in front of her, gently placing the basin down without making a sound. He then walked to the boxes he had personally carried in from Faelor, opening them. The magic sealing boxes were separated into five drawers, ingots of metal neatly lined up in the first two. They were an ashy silver head on, but looking at them from an angle one could see a myriad of glittering colours.

These were enchanted cloudiron ingots, extremely refined and treated with magic. The treatment had lightened the metal while maintaining its strength, so it was not inferior to black iron. It was a legendary resource, more than ten times the value of a similar volume of gold. Cloudiron was abundant in Faelor, but quite scarce in Norland. Of course, there were other materials that went the other way.

This cloudiron that Richard had brought back to Norland was worth more than a million gold coins!

......

When Flowsand returned to the hall, two great priests and a powerful paladin were following behind. The paladin emitted a faint aura of power, causing Richard to shudder uncontrollably the moment he entered. Richard immediately realised that this was someone almost at the legendary realm, unfathomable strength almost bursting out from his body.

When Flowsand reached Richard, she introduced the people around her, “These two are great priestesses Jacqueline and Noelene. They will be answering your questions about sacrifices and planar passages. And this is Ferdinand, deputy captain of the Eternal Dragon Paladins.”

Richard bowed to them, saying courteously, “Thank you all for helping me.”

Priestess Jacqueline smiled elegantly in response. She looked very young, but she was already level 18. Noelene was the same, while Ferdinand was level 20. There were many people like him who were forever stuck at level 20, unable to break through into the legendary realm. The Church of the Eternal Dragon had many people of such calibre, able to make for an unbelievably powerful force if in Faelor. Such was the difference between the two planes.

385 - City of Sin

Inheritance(2)

Richard cast a deep glance towards Ferdinand once more, immediately feeling some pain in his eyes. His heart skipped a beat; only after he reached level 12 on Faelor could he figure out how powerful others were.

However, Richard did not know that it was actually quite easy for Ferdinand to advance to the legendary realm. He only needed Ferlyn to invest some divine grace in him; after all, he was her guardian.

Turning to the members of the clergy, Richard asked what circumstances could destroy a planar portal and eliminate a plane's registration from the Church. Jacqueline mentioned many situations for the former: a powerful wave of spacetime turbulence could destroy weaker portals, so the materials used in the construction were extremely important. However, nobody had an endless supply of resources; they needed to balance durability and cost.

As for the serial number of the plane disappearing, she mentioned that it had only occurred twice in the past. One was the complete destruction of the plane, while the other was if the owner of the plane gave it up. However, one could only give a plane up if it was almost completely barren with no value, or the Church of the Eternal Dragon would not allow it. As for the disappearance of the Rosie plane, it did not fall under either of the situations and she couldn't think of another way either. Perhaps the true answer could only be obtained by seeking out the Mensas.

Richard pondered over things for a moment before speaking, “Alright, I understand. Now, I have two requests of the Church. One, I want to set up the portal to Faelor in the Church, perhaps even in this hall, for one year. Also, I want to apply for some paladins to help me guard island 7-2.”

Jacqueline and Noelene discussed things softly for a while before glancing at Flowsand and speaking up, “We shouldn't accept either of those, the Church of the Eternal Dragon does not interfere in mortal struggles. However, you once performed a ceremony that surpassed a greater sacrifice, and caused remarkable growth in Flowsand and the Book of Time. We can make an exception for you, allowing you to obtain the Church's help at the cost of offerings.

“For your first request, we will use time as the standard unit. A lesser offering of adequate value for six months, or an intermediate offering for one year. One year is also the maximum amount of time for which we shall guard island 7-2. Because this island was recently blessed by the Eternal Dragon, any attacks within the year can be considered disrespect to the Church. As for the specific plan for defence, you can ask Lord Ferdinand.”

Ferdinand then took over, “I can give you fifty paladins, stationing them on the island. However, my knights only guarantee that the island will not be invaded by other families. I will not interfere in the internal strife of the Archerons.”

Richard frowned, “50 seems a little inadequate.”

Ferdinand smiled in response, “We can add more. Every additional fifty will cost a lesser sacrifice.”

Richard's eyebrows wrinkled even further as he quieted down, silently thinking and making calculations. He did not shy away from the process of pondering over the issue, something that caused the priests and the near-legendary guardian to secretly nod. There was no such thing as too cautious when dealing with three lesser sacrifices.

Ten entire minutes passed, Richard's expression growing wanner as he thought things over. There were far too many things to consider; even with the blessing of wisdom, he took a long time to come to a conclusion, “Alright. Fifty paladins it is, then. One year.”

Ferdinand nodded with approval, asking with a smile, “Alright, what about the sacrifices?”

“I wonder if these things can substitute?” Richard put the two drawers of enchanted cloudiron in front of them. Noelene was a master appraiser herself; she took out a piece of the cloudiron and looked at it carefully, “Hmm... Enchanted cloudiron, exceptional quality. These things are worth two lesser sacrifices, but it still isn't enough.”

There was no fixed conversion rate between gold and offerings. The value of an offering fluctuated between thirty and seventy thousand gold coins each. Noelene was willing to consider these stacks of cloudiron to be worth 50,000 each, a reasonable price.

Richard thought for a while and agreed, “I plan to host a rune convention in two days. Some of my runes will be sold at that time, and I should be able to return what I owe then.”

Jacqueline smiled, “A future saint runemaster's promise is far more valuable than some gold. It's alright, we can wait.”

Priestess Noelene, who had been silent nearly all this while, suddenly spoke up, “Richard, can you push your convention back by a day?”

“Why?” One day didn't seem to make for too much of a difference, but Richard sensed another meaning in her words.

“You Archerons have been in quite a bit of trouble recently,” the priestess said indifferently, “I think I can find a few supporters to let you conduct it smoothly in three days. More importantly, the royal runemaster Lunor is releasing his new runes in three days as well. I hear that the royal family is thinking of hiring another royal runemaster. If you can shine brightly enough at the time, you might be chosen for the position. I'm sure I don't need to explain what that status will bring you.”

Richard thought silently for a moment before saying resolutely, “Alright!”

The fast and easy agreement left Noelene a little curious, “Are you not afraid of offending Lunor?”

All Richard could see at this time was the Deepblue Aria, a dazzling mystery that seemed far beyond his reach. Hearing Noelene's question, he let out a light sigh, “He's someone I will ultimately surpass, it's only a matter of time. Besides, don't you want to pit me against him? This should be a prerequisite to becoming a royal runemaster.”

Noelene's eyes sparkled and she smiled, “You're very smart! I look forward to your performance.”

A short while later, Richard left the Church of the Eternal Dragon under the escort of two paladins, walking towards the teleportation temple. Just as they left the church building and stepped on the road leading to the temple, a few youths dressed in bright, luxurious clothing walked in his direction with dozens of high-ranking guards.

Just as they brushed past each other, one of them noticed Richard and suddenly gasped in surprise, “Isn't this Richard Archeron?! He's back from another plane?”

386 - City of Sin

Inheritance(3)

“Richard?” A voice rang out from the crowd, a rather dashing young man dressed in mage's attire; not many of his age were truly established mages. His gaze was sharp as an eagle, quickly landing on Richard as he shouted, “Stop!”
𝗳𝐫𝘦e𝔀𝚎𝚋𝓃𝚘vℯl. 𝑐o𝚖

Richard instinctively sensed hostility from this youth, his gaze freezing over as he stopped in his tracks. He looked at the young mage, trying to gauge his power as he looked on to see what would happen next. Precision slowly unravelled this opponent's powers, revealing that he was roughly around level 13. The youth's mana was rather pure, leaning slightly towards elemental magic. Richard also sensed that the mage possessed a similar air of calmness and accuracy, traits only runemasters possessed.

The young mage blocked Richard's path, sizing him up a few times before asking coldly, “Are you Richard Archeron?”

In no mood to answer, Richard quickly made up his mind and said nonchalantly, “I don't want to answer, step aside.”

The young mage's expression changed in an instant, his face distorting sinisterly, but he quickly managed to turn that into a look of calm arrogance. He laughed icily, “I'm the best student of the royal runemaster, Lunor. My name is Foster. I hear you proclaimed yourself a future saint? What a joke! A young kid who hasn't had a single rune convention to his name calls himself a future saint runemaster? Do you even know what a saint runemaster is?”

Another youth chimed in, “The Archerons are only a bunch of worthless upstarts who can only boast!”

“Exactly! You lot are all brawn, no brain. What would you know about runecrafting? Wasn't Gaton tricked into heading to a plane and trapped there forever?” one more shouted in mockery.

“Look, this guy has a dagger! I've never seen a mage that needs a blade before!”

Despite their best attempts, the incessant efforts of these youths did not get to Richard. “Step aside,” he said indifferently.

Foster's complexion soured further, his gaze falling upon the long dagger on Richard's back. He laughed sarcastically, “This is the first time I've seen a runemaster with a blade. Would a true mighty runemaster need something as crude as that to act cool? I heard the Archerons had no taste, but I would never have guessed that it was this bad. Bah, that blade is weak! I suggest you spend some money to get something better!”

As he said that, Foster stretched out his hand to poke Richard in the chest, as if he was training some acolyte. Richard let out an icy smirk, right hand twitching without control. If the mage's fingers were to land on his clothes, he would chop them off in a flash. That would be a devastating blow to any runemaster.

Hand still half-raised, Foster suddenly felt a chilling sensation in his heart. His mind went numb, his muscles stiffening until he was paralysed. This was a sense of danger so strong that it felt like he could die!

His face blanched, and it was all he could do to stop his hand from trembling as he put it down without caring about his reputation. He shot Richard a bewildered look, unsure if the danger he just sensed had come from the Archeron youth.

Richard looked towards him and laughed, “Pretty good perception. Pity you have no guts, and your appraisal skills are poor—”

“Extinction!” a cry rang out from the side before Richard could even finish.

A violent gale suddenly buffeted the corner and a buff young man rushed towards Richard. His eyes were blazing as he spoke in a menacing tone, “Who are you?! Why do you have Sinclair's Extinction? Where is she?”

Foster immediately stepped aside, his complexion changing. He looked helplessly at Richard's blade, realising upon closer inspection that this dagger had a faint aura that made him feel a violent chill. Extinction was a famous legendary weapon that would be valued in any family; it was no wonder that Richard said his appraisal skills were poor.

Being a dagger used by assassins, Extinction had a minimal aura. Those who did not know would think it was a simple, crude, and ordinary blade. This failure was like a slap on Foster's face.

Richard's gaze shifted to the burly youth. He sized the man up a few times before asking, “You're a Schumpeter?”

The man's voice grew more stern, his fighting spirit erupting from his fists, “Let me ask you again, why are you in possession of Sinclair's blade?”

If not for the two paladins beside Richard, he would have taken action long ago. The paladins themselves weren't powerful enough to worry him, but they were backed by the Church of the Eternal Dragon. Even their family head, Dario, would not dare to lay a hand on them.

Richard looked at the young man once again, suddenly smiling, “I don't think you have the guts to do anything here. Get out of my way!”

“You!” The young man gritted his teeth, his fists clenched so tight that his knuckles were almost green.

The two paladins guarding Richard stepped forward at that moment, “Sir Richard is an important guest of the Church of the Eternal Dragon, do not block his path. Insist on doing so and Lord Ferdinand will be paying your family a visit!”

The faces of both the Schumpeter youth and Foster turned ashen. They had no choice but to give way; a small break in the normalcy of Faust wasn't worth much, but angering the Church of the Eternal Dragon would land them in severe trouble from their families. Their arrogance could not be shown to everyone; fighting a power beyond one's capabilities was absolute foolishness.

The Schumpeter man finally realised Richard's identity, his eyes filled with vengeance. Just as Richard was passing him, he suddenly exclaimed, “You better spend your whole life hiding in Faust! The moment you take one step out, I, Micah, will definitely kill you!”

Richard laughed, not even turning around as he responded, “Childish. If the opportunity arises, I would rather see you on a planar battlefield. I will eliminate the entire Schumpeter Family, just like I did Sinclair.”

Micah was stunned, his face turning white as a sheet while his vengeful eyes almost pierced through Richard's back! He finally had news about Sinclair, something he had desired for a while now, but he didn't dare to rush up and fight. One thing was clear to him. If Richard dared to parade around Faust with Sinclair's dagger, then whatever level he was at he would not be a match. It didn't matter that he was a level 15 warrior who was an outstanding genius amongst the Schumpeter youths.

Foster suddenly spoke up from behind Richard, “Master Lunor will be holding a rune convention in three days. It will also be my official promotion to become a true runemaster. If you're interested, I can send you an invite.”

“Not interested. I have my own convention at the same time,” Richard responded nonchalantly.

Foster squinted his eyes, snorting loudly. He seethed out a pleasantry from the gaps between his clenched teeth, “I hope people will attend your convention!”

......

Richard's sudden arrival shocked most people on island 7-2. He saw many unfamiliar faces the moment he stepped out, amongst them footsoldiers, young nobles, and some people of unknown origin.

“Richard!” they cried out when they saw him, “How could it be him? Richard is back!”

Their faces were filled with astonishment and panic. Two people even reached for their weapons, while another ran back towards the floating island to report to someone.

He registered all their expressions and reactions in a flash. These people were stood idly in front of the portal, walking up and down; clearly, their task was to keep watch. Their eyes had actually grown fierce the moment they realised his identity; the only reason they didn't dare make a move was the two paladins who emerged behind him.

Even though he had been informed about the events on the island before, Richard was still somewhat shocked by how easily these people were running amok. A seething rage surged forth from his heart, but he still remained cool and expressionless on the outside.

He took big strides towards the castle but was quickly blocked by a few people. "Wait! This is the Archeron Family's floating island, you cannot enter as you please,” someone said with a frivolous smile.

“I am Richard Archeron.”

“I know that you are Young Master Richard...” Someone else only managed to get half his sentence out before he was stopped by his companion's death stare.

An armoured soldier stepped forward, sword in hand as he gazed at Richard with hostility. “Everyone knows that Young Master Richard died in spacetime turbulence!” he grunted, “Who the hell are you to pretend to be him? Leave, or I'll kill you right now!”

Richard looked at the soldier, suddenly speaking up, “I recognize you! You're Charles.”

The soldier was shocked. He had seen Richard when the boy had first stepped foot on the island. At that time, Richard had strolled around as Gaton picked out a few soldiers to showcase them as good examples of the qualities of a rune knight. He remembered that Gaton had only mentioned his name in passing, never expecting that Richard would actually remember it.

However, his expression still changed as he said icily, “Don't try to be friendly with me! You're not allowed to leave anymore, just stay here! Someone will come over to interrogate you soon.”

“Interrogate me?” Richard smiled coldly, drawing his blade. The amber moon appeared atop his head, everything around him lighting up with sword lights.

Charles's head flew off his body into the sky, a look of horror still etched on his face. He would never have thought that Richard would kill him in such an abrupt fashion. This was the floating island, a place where the branch families had an absolute advantage. How would Richard dare to kill him?

It was only in the moment before his death that the man suddenly remembered how cruel and heartless Gaton was towards his enemies. The moment Richard brandished his sword, he saw an image of the Marquess in him.

387 - City of Sin

Halted

Fresh blood spurted out of Charles's headless body like it was a fountain, splashing on the faces of everyone nearby.

The amber light faded from the dagger as Richard put it back in its sheath, taking large strides towards the castle past the dumbstruck crowd.

It took everyone some time to recover from the shock, realising that there were two arms on the ground as well! Two mournful shrieks rang out as those that had reached for their weapons realised their arms had been chopped off by Richard.

The two paladins exchanged looks, following Richard to the castle.

The chaos and the bloodcurdling screams caused by the portal area alarmed the entire island. Batches of soldiers brandished their soldiers and charged towards the gate, a few nimble silhouettes even overtaking the average soldiers and knights to appear in front of Richard in the blink of an eye. Hundreds of warriors were stood before Richard in no time, their swords pointing straight at him!

If one had a bird's eye view of the situation, they would see three tiny dots in the empty space around the portal opposed by a black mass of enemies, surrounded in an arc. Two powers that were nowhere close to each other were in the midst of a confrontation.

Doubt, fear, resentment, malice, and hesitation. Richard could read the expressions of everyone, whether they looked familiar or were complete strangers. The whispers were getting louder.

“It's Richard!”

“The young master is back, what should we do?”

Despite hundreds of people watching him attentively, Richard still remained calm. He didn't even unsheathe his blade, icy glare sweeping across the enemies in front as a calm, cold voice resonated through the area, “Do you want me to exterminate your entire families?”

The brief sentence was like a block of ice thrown into a fryer, causing the crowd to erupt in a flurry of noises. The chaos over the past few days, the successful looting, and the enticement of some conniving figures and wealthy families had caused all of them to completely forget their identity and status. These slightly troubling yet peaceful days made many assume they were the real owners of this island and its wealth!

It was only now, with Richard in front of them, that they considered the consequences.

The Archerons were never lenient with traitors. In fact, every noble family in Norland had records of shedding blood to suppress rebellious branches. The extermination of entire families was only inevitable, but the process could be as long and painful as one wanted it to be.

“This guy is trying to pass off as Young Master Richard!” someone suddenly shouted from the crowd, “K-Kill him!” If his voice wasn't so hoarse, if his words didn't break at the end, perhaps he would have been a little persuasive.

Without waiting for the imminent uproar, a tall lady suddenly appeared in front of Richard. “Shut up!” she shouted furiously, her voice loud and clear like dragon's roar or phoenix cry. Almost everyone was left with their heads buzzing, their minds instantly blanking out.

Done shouting, the lady took two steps towards Richard and fell to one knee, “I am Fuschia, Earl Alice's right hand. It is my humble pleasure to meet you, Young Master Richard.”

Fuschia's behaviour startled Richard slightly. This was extremely formal etiquette; even if she wanted to express her goodwill, she was still a servant of Alice and didn't have to behave like an underling with him.

On the other end, Baron Sua's expression darkened significantly, his features seemingly shrouded in the ashen haze of Floe Bay's sky. Earl Goliath's representative was indifferent as usual, only observing and recording the incident with no intent to participate.

The crowd was slowly becoming restless. Countless pairs of eyes swept across these three representatives. All three had acted completely differently, leaving them on tenterhooks.

Richard furrowed his brows and went forward to help Fuschia up, “You shouldn't salute me like this, should you?”

“My Lady ordered that I was to become your subordinate when you return. I will listen to your instructions until she commands otherwise.”

“Alice...” Richard muttered, unable to figure out the intentions of his generation's goddess of war.

Fuschia was an unexpected assistant, and a formidable one at that. A quick detection spell indicated she was level 19, armed with six runes from head to toe. Although half those runes were only elementary, she still had astonishing might.

However, Richard wasn't in a confrontation with hundreds of people from the branch families just because he was dauntless. He had some tricks hidden up his sleeve, one of them the presence of the two paladins behind him.

Baron Sua spoke up leisurely, “Young Master Richard. You killed a few people the moment you returned, and you're about to exterminate the hundreds of Archerons here. Truly impressive!”

Richard's gaze finally landed on the man. “Who the hell are you?” he asked coldly.

Sua's expression changed instantly. The guards behind him grew indignant at Richard's rudeness, a few already reaching for the swords at their waists.

Richard's gaze immediately fell on the hands that were on the hilts, his gaze freezing over. Baron Sua suddenly felt a chill run down his spine, promptly raising his hand to stop his subordinates from making any further moves.

Richard narrowed his eyes and said insipidly, “Very timely. If anyone dared to pull their sword out, I would have chopped them to pieces and fed them to the wyverns.”

Baron Sua froze and replied coldly, “Richard, you're being far too savage! This place is—”

“Marquess Gaton's island,” Richard interrupted him.

Sua's expression changed again. He snorted heavily, correcting Richard, “This is the Archeron island!”

Richard started to raise his voice as well, “This island belongs to Marquess Gaton Archeron. The island, and everything on it, has nothing to do with anyone not of his blood.”

This declaration immediately set off intense protests.

Richard laughed coldly, “If any of you object, you can appeal to the royal family or the Church. Go, right away!”

The clamour instantly quieted down.

Appealing to the royal family or the Church of the Eternal Dragon? Nobody in their right mind would do that. Alas, the actions of these branch families couldn't be made public. If not for their powerful backers being considerate enough to keep the information under wraps, it would have created a ruckus long ago.

“We can't let him take what's ours!” someone yelled out from the crowd. At the thought of the immense fortune they already possessed, the fortune they were yet to attain, the mob grew furious as they gripped their swords and closed in. A single spark would send everything into chaos!

388 - City of Sin

Halted

All the true Archerons, the vicious soldiers who had trained silently on this island ever since Gaton went missing, finally made their appearance. They cut through the chaotic crowd and headed towards Richard, turning around to form a protective barrier in front of the young mage.

They clenched their weapons tightly, silent gazes trained on the monkeys in front. A powerful aura gradually enveloped the opponents, as imposing as a mountain. Although they were greatly outnumbered, nobody doubted their courage to unsheathe their swords!

Richard's heart started to pulse violently. His Archeron bloodline started to burn bright, just another step from the mob and he would activate Blaze to burn them down without hesitation. His barrage of fireballs would turn this ugly arc of ruffians into ash!

Restricted as they were by the terrain, the thugs were gathered close together. He was confident that a bombardment of ten fireballs would leave the number of people remaining in the single digits. No matter how badly he would be wounded in the process, he would stand his ground!

It was at that moment that the paladins unsheathed their swords and stepped forward, bellowing in a deep voice, “We are paladins of the Eternal Dragon! Any attack on Sir Richard will be considered a transgression against the Church! Not even your families will be spared!”

The declaration caused everyone to gasp in shock. A transgression against the Church of the Eternal Dragon? The consequences of such a thing were worse than attacking the Sacred Alliance itself!

Sua's expression changed drastically as well. “Impossible!” he cried out, “This is a dispute between secular nobles. How can the Church intervene? Who made this decision?”

One of the paladins turned towards him, “You are...”

Sua stuck out his chest, proclaiming loudly, “I am Baron Sua Archeron, son of Sauron Archeron! I need to know who made this decision.”

However, the paladin's face filled with derision as he laughed coldly, “A mere second-rate noble. What right do you have to doubt Lord Ferdinand's decisions?”

Sua was visibly upset, arguing, “But my father is—”

“The decision was taken by Marquess Ferdinand!” the paladin interrupted impatiently, “Who do you think you are? Just a baron from the country that nobody has ever heard of, you don't even have much status!”

Sua's face swelled up, so red it seemed to be glistening with blood. However, he said nothing. The true nobles of the Sacred Alliance really didn't think someone like him qualified to enter Faust. Regardless of how young and impulsive he was, he knew the consequences of offending the Church of the Eternal Dragon. The priestesses wouldn't even have to lift a finger, a single word would leave many nobles hanging over them to annihilate him on their behalf.

It was just that interventions by the Church of the Eternal Dragon were unheard of in the longest time. The Church hardly participated even in wars between the empires. What was going on today?

Richard was already prepared for battle, but he saw his enemies retreat one by one at the paladins' words. Even though he had expected it, he still felt unable to vent the fury that overwhelmed his heart.

His gaze landed on Sua once more. The moment the man had introduced himself, Richard keenly sensed that the fellow definitely had a part to play in the island's current situation.

“Baron Sua.”

“What?” Sua turned and glowered at Richard. Having been belittled by the paladins, this form of address seemed exceptionally sarcastic.

“Get lost,” Richard said calmly, “Leave this island at once.”

“Why?!” Sua squeezed out from gritted teeth. His handsome face was already distorted by his wrath; the more nonchalant Richard was, the more humiliated he felt.

Richard looked into his eyes, saying indifferently, “It's fine if you don't leave, just be ready to bear the responsibility. All the consequences will be on your head, now and in the future. Are you sure you want to stay?”

Sua's eyes were ablaze as his glare met Richard's gaze, but all he could see was a bottomless sea. It was completely tranquil, without a single ripple.

The two looked at each other face to face for a full ten minutes before Sua snorted, gloomily calling his guards to leave. They were stunned, but all they could do was to follow.

He lowered his voice when he brushed past Richard, saying fiercely, “We still have many days ahead!”

“Send my greetings to Uncle Sauron,” Richard replied indifferently.

Sua felt a chill down his spine. He took large strides towards the portal, not saying another word.

“My Lord, why didn't you just slaughter that Richard guy?” a young, fierce-looking guard asked on the other side, “The Church's rules don't allow it to meddle with the affairs of the nobles.”

Already boiling with rage, Sua couldn't hold himself back any longer. *Thump!* a resounding slap rang out!

The young guard felt his head spinning, blood spurting into his mouth. He watched as his lord left, feeling wronged and puzzled.

Another guard, this one in the later parts of his life, sighed. “Oh, you fool,” he said in a low voice, “Do you think Richard is the same as Gaton's other children? Killing them is no big issue, but if you really want to mess with Richard you can't do it in such a situation. Even if the Church doesn't intervene, do you now know who his teacher is? It's fine if we were reasonable, but in this scenario... The moment you harm Richard in public, Her Excellency Sharon won't take things lying down. Did you forget the millions of dead grey dwarves?” Please visit 𝒇𝘳ℯe𝙬e𝘣𝙣𝘰ѵ𝒆𝗹. c૦𝑚

The young bodyguard was finally enlightened. “So you're saying that we need to find a reasonable opportunity to make our move? Or at least a situation with no witnesses so Her Excellency won't have an excuse to attack us?”

“Of course! If Her Excellency takes action, forget the Lord, even Marquess Sauron himself will find it hard to escape!”

The young bodyguard nodded repeatedly, his ferocity fading away.

......

Richard didn't take the little episode outside the castle to heart. He turned towards the branch family members who didn't know what do do, “As for all of you, stay if you wish to. You can leave anytime you want.”

Hat said, he headed towards the castle. Those who had originally stood in his way hurriedly moved aside to clear the path. Even Baron Sua had retreated, and their strength and background could not compare. The only advantage they held over Sua was numbers.

But numbers were never the deciding factor in a world where two people could have such a vast difference in power.

The monkeys from the branch families could already feel a sense of foreboding, but it was an impossible task to rid oneself of greed. They were reluctant to leave— after all, Richard was just too young, and his level wasn't all that high either. In other words, the only thing that could convince them to leave was his status.

When he entered the family castle, Richard felt that the atmosphere was strange. People kept running out of the halls, their faces completely foreign to him. They brushed past him without pause, hurrying away.

Richard's face was as solemn as still water. He didn't obstruct or interrogate them, instead silently watching as he committed every single face to memory.

389 - City of Sin

Subdue

The first thing Richard did was to walk around the castle's basement, looking through every room before stopping at the warehouse. He slowly swept his eyes across everything.

He then walked to the second floor, but this time the quiet Archerons that had been protecting him all this while did not follow him. They instead scattered to every corner of the castle, taking up guard duty.

The small number of guards left behind by Gaton were now concentrated on the second floor and beyond. Still devoted to their lord, they were prepared to guard the most important parts of the castle to their deaths. He met the old steward in his room, finding the man bedridden and incapable of moving freely. A crisp sound of knuckles cracking rang out from his clenched hands.

Seeing Richard arrive, the old man forced his injured body up. “Young Master Richard!” he shouted, his entire body trembling, “You're back!”

Richard walked to the bedside and said softly, “I'm back, safe and sound. I've also built a base on another plane.”

The steward nodded forcefully, “Master always thought about you before he left. We never expected... You don't need to worry, Master was only hit by a small trap. He will definitely return.”

Richard patted the old man's hand gently, “I know he won't die. Rest well... I'll take care of everything here.”

The steward suddenly thought of something and took off his necklace, revealing a golden key tied to the tip. He passed the key onto Richard, “Master left you something on the highest floor of the castle. Her Highness Mountainsea sent a present as well, which is placed in his private room. This is the key; it needs to be soaked in your blood before it is used, or it will trigger an extremely powerful lightning trap that would kill even a saint. I feared those people would rush into the restricted areas, so I sealed it off after putting the gift from Her Highness Mountainsea inside.”

Richard took the key, leaving the room to continue looking through the castle. He took a deep breath after gently closing the door, releasing a hint of sulphur into the air.

On the third floor, he saw his own siblings. Wennington and Venica were pretty good blaze guardians, while Demi was already a level 11 cursemaster only slightly weaker than himself. However, the latter looked very weak, her collar pulled up.

Richard frowned, reaching out to pull down her collar until almost the entirety of her breasts was exposed. On her collarbone was a ghastly patch of a bruise.

Richard's pupils narrowed and he asked dully, “They violated you?”

“No! It's not what you think. It's just...” Demi somewhat avoided Richard's eye before finally sighing and said helplessly, “Alright, I was too careless at the time. They snuck a hit on me and I was beaten heavily. The bruise on my shoulder was from the fall, only a scratch. It's very embarrassing, but...”

“Where were you hit?”

She helplessly pointed to her abdomen.

Richard gently traced his hands over her abdomen. Although she didn't make any sound, her eyebrows clearly furrowed for a moment.

He didn't say anything, quietly leaving her room to continue upstairs. The fourth floor was Gaton's exclusive work area, with the core servants and his followers normally entering the place from a separate staircase.

Having followed behind Richard all this while, Fuschia stopped and shrugged her shoulders, “I shouldn't be going upstairs, I'll wait for you here.”

Richard nodded, “Alright. I'll come down and look for you after a while. I think there are many topics we need to discuss with regards to the Earl.”

The work area combined Gaton's study, his office, and command centre. Similar to before, Richard looked through everything before making his way up. However, at the end of the staircase was a locked door.

Richard slid the key across his wrist, tainting the gold with a spurt of blood. The key seemed to absorb all it could get for a few moments, beginning to emit a crimson radiance. He then put it in the keyhole, opening the door with a slight twist. The lock clicked open, the door silently opening inwards.

The first thing he saw inside was the skeletal remains of the ancient beast. He also saw the astral beast head that was wrapped in many layers of cloth. A single glance told him that they would both serve as great offerings; the exposed remains were emitting an aura of aeons, while whatever was wrapped within the cloth gave him an intense feeling of danger. If sent to the Church of the Eternal Dragon, it would be amongst the highest level of offerings.

Richard came to a decision in no time. He would hold a ceremony with these two items before he left for Faelor; they were the most valuable things in the castle, and he felt like he had to convert as much of his wealth as possible into ready power. Only during sacrifices would offerings reflect their true value.

He walked to the huge, dusty package and recognised the texture of magic cloth. He wasn't in a hurry to undo the rather familiar knot, instead looking over it to find words in a familiar handwriting scrawled on the side with a magic pen. “Be careful” were the only words Sharon had left behind, but he still stared at them for a long time.

Lastly, he came to the Archeron cemetery. The mountain still had a sunset sky, the smell of sulphur permeating everywhere even as the crater regularly spouted bursts of thick, smoking lava. The dark tombstones everywhere stood quietly, conveying the history of blood and fire.

He now knew that this was an independent space, only accessible to approved Archerons. Anybody without access would need to use pure strength to suppress and eliminate the owner's mark, making him the only one on the island able to enter the cemetery. He lifted his head, looking up at the volcano towards the uppermost level of the graveyard. He still remembered that his mother would eventually rest there.

And Gaton... If that man didn't die in some other plane, he would also be buried on that level one day.

Richard stood there quietly, trying to expel his father from his heart. He absolutely didn't want to think about anything concerning the man. In his heart, the Archeron cemetery originally didn't concern him at all.

Still, as his gaze swept past every corner of the graveyard, he decided to ensure that this place remained undisturbed by any bandits or enemies. It had nothing to do with the Archeron Family; he was just protecting his mother's final home.

At least that's how he convinced himself.

......

The cemetery was the last part of the castle that Richard visited. He finally returned to Gaton's command centre, standing quietly in front of the large map of Norland. He remained there for an entire hour, his thoughts unknown.

It was only when the sun set that he finally moved. A pull of a rope sounded a bell that summoned two attendants, faces he had once seen beside Gaton and knew had served him for many years. There was no need to doubt their loyalty.

“What are your instructions, Young Master?” one of the old men asked. These attendants had droves of knowledge, and were individually decently strong as well. In fact, they were equivalent to the steward who handled Gaton's daily affairs.

“There are five knights stationed in other planes right now?” Richard muttered.

“Yes, Young Master. Blood Paladin Senma, Berserker Ward...” the attendant quickly started to rattle off their names, but Richard interrupted him, “There's no need for details, it doesn't matter. Find a way to inform them to rush back to the island as fast as they can. I know every plane has a portal leading here, so if there aren't any accidents I should be able to see them around this time tomorrow. All of them!”

The attendant agreed, but then followed up, “Young Master, they still need to guard their planes. It might not be convenient for them to come back...”

Richard interrupted the man again, “The situation here has already devolved this far and they still can't come? Besides, they can still return later. Tell them that I'm taking over the family until Marquess Gaton returns. They have to come and see me! If they're not here around this time tomorrow, whoever is absent doesn't have to come back anymore. I'll personally pay them a visit in the future!”

“This... It might not be a good idea. Perhaps after some time, say a year or two, it might be more appropriate,” the attendant said worriedly. He remained tactful while trying to point out that Richard perhaps wasn't strong enough right now, that his wish to replace Gaton as the Archeron protector wasn't mature yet. At the very least, it would be difficult to intimidate those generals under Gaton who originally wouldn't bow their heads to anyone else.

Richard sensed his actual meaning, putting on a smile, “It's alright, go and pass down the news. At least in smaller wars, I'm not afraid of anyone.”

Advice given, the attendant had done his duty. He thus transmitted the news to Gaton's four planes through the magic circles.

......

The reactions of the five knights were each different from the other.

Blood Paladin Senma was lazily dozing off on a balcony, the bright and beautiful sunshine causing her eyelids to grow heavy. She swept through the message once when she received it, mumbling, “It's that restless guy again, trying to make us declare our positions... Hmph, it should be for those even more restless fellows to see. So silly!”

She simply tossed the paper to one side, closing her eyes and continuing her sleep.

A gentle breeze brushed past, picking up the piece of paper and wanting to carry it far away. However, a beautiful and slender hand suddenly caught it and picked it up from the wind.

390 - City of Sin

Subdue(2)

Senma didn't know when she'd stood up. One hand stuffed the letter into her breastplate, the other covering her mouth as she yawned a few times. “No way. That guy always comes to create trouble,” she said confidently, “I better go see him myself. But his luck isn't bad, there shouldn't be anything... Hmph, it's still better to take a look or I won't be able to relax. I wonder if he's gotten more handsome... I still took an arrow for him that time!”

In another plane. Berserker Ward, standing in a desolate desert, received the news as well. He scrunched up the piece of paper, ripping it to shreds with his large hands. “Bah! You can order me around when you have half of Lord Gaton's power, brat!”

Asiris and Cyrden took care of a plane's defence together. Their reactions to Richard's message were polar opposites.

“We have to go back,” Asiris said slowly, quickly flipping through the Book of Darkness in his hands, “Lord Gaton once saved my life.”

“If you really care for Lord Gaton, you should stand guard here instead of going to pay respects to a kid whose hair isn't even grown in!” Cyrden mocked. Two daggers were flashing in his hands, swimming between his fingers like fish. A sharp killing intent covered Asiris' weak spots.

“You want to betray Lord Gaton?” The Dark Priest's voice grew freezing cold.

“Of course not! I'll never betray Lord Gaton, but that doesn't mean I'll be loyal to his children!” Cyrden screamed.

Asiris remained silent for a moment before saying, “If that's the case, I'll go back myself.”

“You're crazy!” Cyrden was enraged, “What point is there in going back? To show loyalty to that little thing? What happens to this plane if you leave? Do you want me to take care of the demigod avatar from the other side alone? That fellow's nearly the same as a legendary being from Norland. You want Lord Gaton to come back here to see us beaten back until a single base remains? Who knows, even our advance base might be conquered!”

“It's only to take a look, I'll be back very soon if there's nothing going on. You just have to... hold on a bit.”

“Damn it! The speed in this plane is five times that of Norland! How should I hold on if you're even slightly delayed? Take a good look down below, those are soldiers we trained with much difficulty. They're lives as well, tens of thousands of them!”

Asiris took a deep breath, “It's not like we don't know the situation on the island. You're just making excuses, I need to go back this time. If you feel like you cannot handle it alone, then... retreat.”

“Alright then!” Cyrden said with a sneer, “I'll retreat! Let's just run away and give everything we worked half a year for back to the enemy!”

Asiris didn't respond, merely opening the Book of Darkness, A portal formed in front of him and he stepped in, not paying attention to Cyrden's curses at all.

Last of all was the plane that originally belonged to the Schumpeters. Dragon Mage Lina was resting in a hastily erected camp, the untidy tents littered with injured soldiers. Painful groans rang out everywhere, the stench of blood all over the place.

When the attendant delivered Richard's news, Lina was in the midst of picking at rotting flesh in her thigh with a silver knife. An arrow with a blue glow was stuck in the muscle.

One glance at the letter and she suddenly shouted out, “Ha! That guy is back?”

However, the agitated movements caused the knife to pluck out the arrow in one shot, causing her to grimace in pain. Looking at the flesh that was pulled out, the Dragon Mage gritted her teeth in hatred. She quickly called for a cleric, putting her injured thigh in front of him.

The cleric was very old, his wrinkly face filled with the vicissitudes of time, but he was only level 8. He had no hope of ever surpassing level 10 in his life. The man's throat rolled violently at the sight of the plump, slender, pale thigh in front of him, his body bowing slightly to cover up certain changes down below. Not even his spacious robes could hide the difference.

“Healing spell! Hurry!” Lina shouted.

Only then did the man's dull gaze return to normal. He promptly shut his eyes, starting to chant a spell. And yet, a spell which should have been easy was failed twice in a row, wasting a lot of mana. The old man suddenly felt the breeze in his face growing colder, laced with the killing intent of the Dragon Mage. He suddenly broke out in cold sweat, finally able to concentrate and complete the spell.

The spell's radiance covered the thigh, a light green mist rising from the wound as it recovered colour. However, it evidently wasn't enough. The old cleric was about to prepare a second healing spell, but Lina interrupted him, “Save your power to heal the seriously wounded.”

“But... Lady Lina, your wound still needs at least two more spells...”

“Just go when I tell you to!” she replied angrily.

Once the old man grew flustered and escaped, the Dragon Mage heaved a sigh of relief. She took out a flask of healing medicine, pouring it on the wound on her thigh. Once the milky white liquid touched the injury, it immediately started to froth over while emitting a pungent smell. Lina knew the poisons that had infected her were being removed, but the entire process was so painful that she turned a little pale.

Regardless of whether healing medicine was formed from a spell or through alchemy, it was always inferior to the spells of a cleric. It would often cause pain as well, the agony scaling with the effectiveness.
f𝚛e𝚎𝙬𝑒𝚋𝚗𝚘ѵ𝐞𝒍. c𝐨𝙢

However, even if one wasn't still in the process of forming a foothold on a new plane, if expansion was smooth, an expedition could recruit few clerics. That incompetent lecher was one of the best Lina currently had. The few healing spells he could cast needed to be allocated to those soldiers who were seriously injured. If not for the fact that the medicine alone couldn't have contained her wound, she wouldn't even have asked for the one.

After treating the wound on her thigh, Lina stood up and looked dejectedly at a distant city. A large number of enemies were entrenched there, defending the place with three magic towers. It caused her to be somewhat worried as well.

391 - City of Sin

Confidence

Lina picked up the magic letter, looking over it carefully. She burst into a charming smile, saying to herself, “This fellow wants us to vow loyalty to him! Pfft, he dares to take over the terrible mess Lord Gaton left behind when he's so young? He has courage, I'll give him that, but what about ability... Oh alright, it just so happens that things aren't going well for me here. I'll go back just this once. Anyway, it'll be to ask for help. Hehe!”

The Dragon Mage's mind filled up with thoughts of Richard's expression when his order for reinforcements was met with a request for help.

......

Near sunset the next day, Asiris, Senma, and Lina met Richard in Gaton's command centre. When they entered the room, Richard was standing in front of the huge magic table staring at the map of Norland, pondering over something.

They didn't know whether it was intentional or not, but all three immediately noticed that he occupied the same position Gaton used to.

They ended up waiting for a few minutes until Richard lifted his head, his gaze sweeping past each of them, “Dark Priest Asiris, Blood Paladin Senma, Dragon Mage Lina...”

The knights each made a slight bow when their names were called out, a formal display of their stance. At least on the surface, they accepted him in Gaton's position for now. However, the depth of their bows had meaning as well; nobody knew how long these three would actually comply.

“I was prepared for none of you to show up,” Richard said with a smile.

“You're a handsome kid, I had to come back and look,” Senma replied lazily.

“The air in Faust is good for the skin,” Lina followed up.

It was only Asiris— who seemingly never smiled— who said, “We still revere Lord Gaton.”

“That is true!” Richard laughed. He then took out three pieces of paper, handing them over to the knights. Asiris glanced through, finding a dense list of all sorts of objects that could be used as offerings. Combined, they were almost at the level of a greater offering.

“These were all originally stored in the castle's warehouse, sent over by my Master. Not long ago, the Archeron branch families broke into the warehouse, injuring the steward and Demi before stealing them all.”

Senma put the list down, still languid, “It seems like most of those involved are still on the island—”

“No, they're escaping!” Lina interrupted, “Don't tell me they were intimidated by us...”

Through the long window in the command centre, they could already see a mess at the portal leading off the island. Many of the branch family members were rushing out with the intent to leave. Most had some luggage, but there were definitely no offerings on their persons. All the loot had been transported away the moment it was stolen; voluntarily or not, it would end up converging in the hands of the real big shots.

It was only after some time that many of them would realise that offerings were only resources for the rich and powerful. To weaklings like them, they only spelt disaster.

“Do I have to go kill all of them?” the Blood Paladin yawned, “Any later and they'll all be gone.”

“It's alright if some people escape,” Asiris replied indifferently, “Their families will be exterminated anyway. It's only a little inconvenient.”

“So now that we're all here, can we start?” Senma asked.
𝒇re𝐞w𝐞𝚋𝒏𝚘ѵeƖ c𝗼𝑚

However, none of them had expected Richard's response. “No, let them escape,” he said dully, “I'll naturally get them to return the offerings with interest in the future. Now isn't the time for internal strife, our real enemies aren't on this island.”

The three knights looked at each other, all somewhat surprised.

Richard pushed on the table in front of him with both hands, leaning forward to fix his gaze on the stubborn knights, “Most people— including you— think I'm very small and weak right now. I know you think I'm completely unworthy of Gaton's position. The Archeron throne is built upon a volcanic crater; without the power to suppress the magma underground, one will be burnt to ashes by the flames. I admit I'm currently far from able to take this seat, but it cannot be left empty. The events on the island are proof aplenty that an empty throne would be a disaster for everyone.

“However, there will come a day when I have the power to hold this position; it might not even take that long! Still, I'll return the throne to Gaton before I kick him off myself!”

Gaton was a rough, wild man; an erupting volcano. On the other hand, Richard had inherited many of his mother's traits, appearing more handsome, exquisite, and reserved. They were complete opposites.

And yet, in that moment, this boy seemed to coincide with Gaton in the eyes of the three knights. Gaton too had made empty boasts in the past, but his hands ultimately gave birth to miracles. And right now, his son wanted to kick down their incomparably revered lord from his throne in the future!

It was an absurd claim, but they couldn't bring themselves to laugh.

“Since you're back, stay another two days; I'll be holding a rune convention of my own then. I don't hope for a vow of loyalty, only for you to have a little more confidence in me.”

......

Richard's return was a major piece of news that followed right after Gaton's disappearance. Although it didn't shock the entire Alliance like the Gaton incident had, it still alarmed at least half of Faust.

Island 7-2 was the centre of the shock, the chaos rippling out everywhere else. The people who tried to leave were one such ripple.

However, not everyone could just leave.

The teleportation gate flickered continuously, consuming magic crystals with no seeming end. These crystals naturally came from the Archeron warehouse, from Gaton's warehouse. It was another ultimate benefit that these children of the branches had taken for granted. They came through the portal and left through it, not realising that it needed money for its upkeep as well.

There was chaos outside the portal, with many people shoving each other to seize a better position. The gate could only allow a limited number of people through at once, and everyone wanted to leave as soon as they could. If not for the few demonic Archerons standing around the portal, these monkeys would likely start fighting to get to the front.

392 - City of Sin

Glory

Erwin was also in the midst of the crowd, squeezing forward as he slowly inched towards the portal. He tried his best to blend in, not appearing too cowardly. He absolutely couldn't allow anyone to recognise him.

He was scared once more. Ever since Richard's sudden return, he had never shut his eyes. When the mage had slashed Charles' head straight off, he hadn't been too far away. He had seen everything with his own eyes!

Still, he hadn't left immediately. Instinct told him that a conspiracy was afoot: Richard had made a public return and heartlessly forced Baron Sua off the land, why would he allow the troublemakers to leave peacefully? Perhaps there were swords and axes waiting for them on the other side.

Evidently, he wasn't the only one to feel this way. The other knights in training were the same, thinking it through and deciding that it was best to stay put and watch the developments. Richard's return was definitely something which did not please many powerful people, and these powerful people had abstained from attacking the island purely because Gaton hadn't been away for a long enough time. Now that his son was back, it was enough reason for them to take immediate action. Google search fr𝚎𝘦𝘄𝙚𝗯𝗻𝗼𝐯e𝗹. 𝑐o𝒎

Things would change in two days, he'd reassured himself.

And yet, the powerful people he had waited for never came. Instead, he was met with the return of three of Gaton's knights!

With the three knights overseeing the floating island, any powerful family would think twice before taking any action. As such, Erwin decided to leave immediately. He had been the backbone of the riots, so it would be impossible to fool anyone. He had stooped low for the sake of vengeance and profit, and now it was time to pay.

The youth did not understand Richard, did not understand Richard's thinking. He wouldn't even think of the idea that Richard didn't intend to rely on the three knights to deal with people like him.

However, he was right about one thing. Richard truly wouldn't let him off so easily.

When the five people right in front of him disappeared into the portal, Erwin heaved a sigh of relief. But then, a longsword was suddenly stretched in front of him to block the path!

“Why did you block me?” Erwin asked, his face filled with traces of fear.

Only one step away from the portal, he couldn't help but think of forcing his way through. However, the person blocking his path was a middle-aged Archeron with a distinct murderous aura. The man had evidently experienced countless battles in his life. Erwin was certain that such a man could toy with him even from a two-level disadvantage, so he acted sensible enough to not step out of line.

“Why?” the man's expressionless face was suddenly flooded with unbridled contempt, “We have orders! All the footsoldiers and Archeron fighters are to remain on the island!” The Archeron fighters were the defenders of the family bloodline. In the man's eyes, the few soldiers in front of him were as worthless as broken metal. He felt ashamed to even grant them that title.

“Orders from whom?” Erwin asked angrily, “What right do they have to stop us from leaving?”

“From me!” a cold voice rang out from beside the footsoldiers, sending a chill down their spines.

Fuschia. A woman so powerful that no number of fighters could overthrow her.

Fuschia's eyes flashed with ridicule, “As for why, do you really need me to explain? Did you really think the family's rules are just for show, that you can do as you please just because you have numbers? If any of you dares to step into the portal, you will be punished as a deserter!”

In all the various countries of the continent, across the various races, there was one punishment for all deserters: beheading!

“You're not a subordinate of Marquess Gaton, what right do you have to punish us?” a rough-looking warrior shouted out. He pushed the guard blocking him aside, making a dash for the portal.

However, an orange light flashed in front of him and his vision darkened. Erwin personally saw the warrior's body being cut in half. The severed body actually took two more steps before the two parts completely separated, the upper half falling into the portal. The portal flashed, teleporting it away.

“Tch, another waste of magic crystals,” Fuschia said nonchalantly. Nobody knew how she had done it, but she was definitely the person who had killed the man! Now, nobody dared to question her authority.

Two soldiers were still trying to sneak out with the rest of the crowd, but they were fished out and executed immediately. Once that was done, nobody else tried anything funny.

The branch family members slowly left the floating island. While all the soldiers were held back, nobody told them what to do. Their movements weren't restricted either, aside from the portal area becoming taboo. However, the less news there was the more fearful they grew. If Richard didn't want anything to do with them, he wouldn't have had them blocked.

It was another sleepless night for Erwin. He didn't know what his fate would be the next day, the powerful people who had promised to protect him suddenly silent. All he could think of was the offerings that should have reached his family, wondering what kind of changes it would bring to them that would allow him to grow himself. He had originally planned to use the offering for his own gain, but now it looked like that chance would be lost forever.

The youth still didn't know whether he was lucky or unfortunate. The offering he had risked his very life to snatch couldn't even activate the least of offerings. He only thought it would change his destiny.

......

The island was very quiet the next day. Many people had disappeared, the three knights amongst them. The soldiers who had taken part in the riots were all anxious, not knowing that Richard was holding a rune convention where he would become an official runemaster.

The city of Faust was bustling as usual. The biggest news of the day was naturally the two rune conventions that would be held at the same time. Lunor's had been booked more than a month ago, and he was the royal runemaster of the Sacred Alliance whose runes were edging towards grade 4. His convention naturally generated a lot of excitement: it was obvious that there had been new developments. An announcement of grade 4 runes would be bad news to any country outside the Sacred Alliance.

393 - City of Sin

Glory(2)

Many people had worked tirelessly to come here from all over the country. There were even some from the Sacred Tree Empire and Millennial Empire; the long journey meant they had to take a laborious route with several flying beasts. Even the countries hostile to the Sacred Alliance had sent their agents. Second-hand information was not nearly as reliable as having an actual pair of eyes on the event.

As far as the large empires were concerned, a growing number of normal runemasters meant an ever-increasing army of rune knights. Furthermore, any breakthrough on the part of the royal runemaster would strengthen the powerhouses of the Alliance greatly. This meant there was a lot of interest in Lunor's rune convention, with even non-humans trying their luck to obtain information on the convention.

The convention was held in Faust's largest public temple, and the royal runemaster had booked an entire hall. The Temple of Glory was as old as Faust itself, having existed in the city when it was first discovered. The temple had played host to numerous large-scale events in history, from musical performances to rune conventions. Over time, it had become a customary location for all rune conventions.

On top of the official convention, Lunor's proudest student was announcing a rune of his own. Although it seemed like Foster only had an ordinary grade 2 rune to show, it still signified the addition of a new runemaster to the Sacred Alliance. This would greatly increase their strategic might.

Still, not many people were interested in him. Most were here solely to see Lunor, knowing that the Sacred Alliance was the youngest of the three human empires and had a shallow foundation. Runecrafting in the Alliance was not as advanced as the others, but a grade 4 rune from Norland would make up for a major portion of the difference. Besides, Lunor breaking through would also increase the skills of his students.

And yet, a mere day before the convention, an explosive piece of news resounded throughout the Alliance. Richard Archeron would be holding a rune convention on the same day!

In any other situation, this would just be a new runemaster introducing themselves to the public eye. Not much could be gained from such a convention. However, Richard's convention was surprisingly also to be held at the Temple of Glory. What's more, he had also booked himself a large hall directly facing Lunor's!

Those who were sharp quickly sensed the strangeness of it all. Their interest in Richard grew considerably, with information on him being shared everywhere. The topic most discussed was the evaluation that he was a future saint runemaster. Although it sounded ridiculous, it was something that had come straight from the mouth of a legendary mage, Her Excellency Sharon!

Of course, there were few people who understood just how valuable and trustworthy such an assessment from Her Excellency was.

Richard was completely unprepared for such a circumstance. It was only when Noelene personally handed him the details of the convention that he realised it was even at the same venue. However magnanimous Lunor was, he would likely take such an action to be an unacceptable direct challenge. And Lunor had never been known for his generosity.

Looking through the details over and over again, Richard raised his head and gazed directly into Noelene's eyes, “Priestess Noelene... You seem very keen to see me and Grandmaster Lunor on opposing ends, setting up a situation where mediation is not an option.”

Noelene smiled, “Yes, but that isn't the complete truth. We made these arrangements partly so that more people can view your runes. A small price like this should be worth becoming a royal runemaster, no?”

“A royal runemaster?” Richard had heard this many times.

“Mm. If you perform well with the convention, you can open the doors to a potential partnership with the royal family. If you manage to procure a contract with the Sacred Alliance, they will support you with a lot of precious materials. When you become an official royal runemaster, you will be granted unrestricted access to the royal warehouse.

“Besides, you can look at it from another angle. Regardless of where you were, being noticed by the royal family would automatically make you an enemy of Lunor. Since you're going to be offending him anyway, why not rub salt in the wound?”
𝗳𝒓eℯ𝘄𝘦𝚋𝙣ｏ𝚟𝗲Ɩ． 𝑐𝒐𝘮

Having heard her words, Richard followed up with another question, “Am I right in saying you didn't plan this?”

Noelene smiled, “Clever kid. The Church of the Eternal Dragon always takes a neutral stand... Hmm, of course, that's outside of special circumstances; there are always exceptions. I'm only doing somebody a favour with this arrangement.”

“Who?” Richard asked.

“I can't tell you, but you'll know soon enough. The only information you need is that this won't do you any harm. The person in question harbours no ill will towards you.”

Richard did not continue pursuing the matter, merely nodding and sending the esteemed priestess away.

......

The Temple of Glory.

An hour before the conventions were to start, many people were already inside the halls. They were grouped around in several cliques, pleasantries and discussions aplenty. Everyone was guessing at the relationship between Richard and Lunor.

The designs of the two halls were completely different. Lunor's convention was obviously more lavish, with a high stage that looked impressive. On the contrary, Richard's set-up looked simple. Unlike Lunor, he hadn't prepared snacks and wine for his guests.

Both conventions would officially start at ten in the morning.

The bulk of the crowd was naturally at Lunor's convention. An established runemaster's wares were always more attractive than those of someone who had just advanced. As much as Richard was a future saint runemaster, that meant nothing in the now.

If a power sent a delegation, the primary decision maker was at Lunor's hall while an assistant or follower was sent over to see the events in Richard's convention.

When Lunor walked up his high stage to overlook the many people below, he didn't feel particularly happy. Richard's arrival had severely dampened his spirits. He cleared his voice and started speaking, “Ladies and gentlemen. I am pleased to have you all here today to witness the unveiling of my new rune. As everyone knows, runes are the crown jewel of magic. If you wish to delve deeper into the world of runes, you need to spend many arduous and isolated years exploring it. There are no genius runemasters...”

394 - City of Sin

Glory(3)

The two side halls were separated by a large corridor. If everything was a little quiet, Richard could even hear Lunor's voice. The runemaster was also a grand mage, using magic to amplify his voice. However, even as he began his attack on the 'so-called genius', Richard had already finished his brief opening speech and began to display the first rune: Elementary Strength.

Magnified holographic images of the rune popped up on both sides of the hall when it was unveiled. The images were rotating slowly, allowing those at the back to see them clearly as well.

Everyone below started discussing the rune immediately. This rune was just too ordinary, too common. Many grand mages who weren't even official runemasters could craft an elementary strength rune. Although the design of the rune in Richard's hand was slightly different from the standard, the effect was still the same. An elementary strength rune wouldn't be rare regardless of how fancy it was.

“Isn't this Elementary Strength? Is something wrong with my eyes?”

“No, you're not mistaken. This really is Elementary Strength.”

“You have the cheek to show an elementary strength rune on such an occasion?!”

Despite the exclamations from the crowd, someone studied the rune for a bit and said profoundly, “The rune likely has an outstanding unique factor. I think it can be used as a hybrid rune, or it was supplemented with an attack augmenting attribute. Look, there's a brand new array in the bottom right.”

Everyone was thus enlightened. A hybrid rune or one with an extra attribute truly would put this rune on par with most grade 2 runes, perhaps it could be even more precious. It would be logical for Richard to release it here. But just as everyone was sighing, Richard began to introduce the abilities of the rune, “As you can see, this is Elementary Strength. It can increase the user's strength by 39%...”

People grew more and more astonished as Richard continued his introduction. However, it still wasn't because the rune was somehow magical. No, it was the exact opposite— this thing was just too ordinary!

The 39% amplification could be regarded as outstanding, nearly approaching a grade 2 strength rune while retaining a lower requirement, but this still wasn't a hybrid rune.

However, that was all. Many people couldn't believe that the introduction was complete when Richard put the rune down.

Richard attracted gazes once more with his second rune, but once again everyone was surprised to see an equally ordinary item in Elementary Defence! Of course, this one wasn't exactly the same as the standard rune, with a few more patterns that weren't a part of the regular design. Nobody understood exactly what this little formation was for, only able to make out that it was similar to the one in the strength rune.

Was this Richard's personal style? This was the first thought that came to those with nimble minds. It was no secret that Gaton's son had elven blood in him. It was in the elves' nature to pursue perfection, and they were excessively fond of delicate and complicated art. Perhaps the formations were only a sort of decoration, a display of sorts just like an autograph on a famous painting.

But Richard's runes were not famous paintings; in fact, they were far from any such thing.

Around the same time, Lunor finally completed his lengthy speech in the western hall and motioned for Foster to begin. The royal runemaster wasn't famous for his speeches, his words normally quite concise, but he had spoken passionately for a long time today. On the one hand, this expressed his pride in his breakthroughs, but on the other it might have been stimulated by Richard's appearance. He ended up talking about the difference between geniuses and liars for an extended length of time.

Although the audience hadn't grown impatient yet, they were signalling to each other with indistinct smiles.

Foster's followers told him about the two runes that Richard had just displayed, and the moment he ascended the stage someone immediately inquired about his opinion on them. He flashed what he thought to be the most charming of smiles, bright voice resonating throughout the hall under the influence of magic, “Although the rune structures are quite different from the standard version, attribute runes only depend on the extent of amplification and demand on capacity. No matter how the structure is changed, it is useless if these two indicators aren't improved. They're just a sensationalised gimmick.

“Talent isn't enough in the world of runes. One needs to be down to earth, climbing step by step to reach a higher level. Master Lunor already mentioned that there are no so-called geniuses in the craft. Too many have stopped at level 2, never making any more progress.”

Having said all that, he took out his first rune. It was exquisitely made, the corners decorated with many gorgeous gems. The royal family crest was on the back of the slotting mechanism, with his full name signed on a corner of the rune. At the same time, a huge image appeared on the stage. The rune was magnified a few hundred times over so it could be viewed easily by everyone in the hall.

“Distinguished ladies and gentlemen. This is the first of two runes I will be releasing today, grade 2 Strength. Firstly, its amplification is as high as 43%! Based on this alone, the difference between grade 2 runes and elementary runes is obvious. No matter how exquisitely a grade 1 rune is made, it is impossible for it to surpass a grade 2 rune. Even a 1% difference is a huge disparity...”

The crowd below mostly agreed with Foster's remarks. The amplification was the primary indicator of a rune's quality. A grade 2 rune could theoretically reach 50% amplification, but that would also greatly increase the capacity cost a few times over. Not many people in Norland could use an elementary rune to imitate a grade 2 rune like Richard could.

However, Richard himself wasn't affected by this, his convention continuing as planned. The elementary defence rune he had just displayed was more remarkable than a standard one, but it still couldn't compare to his previous works.

Several well-versed grand mages from amongst the audience frowned, beginning to ponder hard. Their sharp gazes had already allowed them to notice the impeccable precision of Richard's two runes. The amplification should rightfully have been much higher, but... Could it be that the seemingly useless formations had some purpose?

When Richard took out his third rune, Vitality, the spirits of the audience were finally lifted a little.

Although one could tell that Vitality was a grade 1 rune from the structure and complexity, it was still a custom rune. The audience nodded in approval at Richard's introduction; although the rune didn't seem very powerful at first glance, those with true knowledge knew what it meant in the battlefield. Real wars often lasted a long time, and there were instances where one was left without reinforcements in a cruel environment. The advantages of a Vitality rune in such situations would begin to grow more obvious as time passed.

Given its practicality and the fact that Vitality was a custom rune that was rarely seen, one could barely grant Richard the title of a true runemaster. Not just any runemaster could design a custom rune with unique characteristics. Take Foster's second rune for example, Agility. Although it was technically a custom design because the structure of the formation had been deliberately changed, it was still no different from a standard Agility rune. The structural alterations were purely for the sake of change, not serving any other purpose.

In fact, Foster's attack on Richard in the beginning was entirely applicable to himself. The only reason nobody spoke out about it was Lunor's presence.

When Foster took out his second rune in the western hall, the image of the grade 2 Agility rune replaced the grade 2 Strength. However, when Richard was introducing Vitality in the east, the images of the first two still remained. When he took out his fourth rune, Vitality was still floating in the air.

A fourth rune! Richard was actually unveiling a fourth rune! This made a lot of people gain a renewed interest in Richard; those who were initially a little disappointed also felt their spirits lifted.

A runemaster normally released around two or three runes in an ordinary convention. The more runes one released, the more they had mastered. This was an important criterion by which one would judge the runemaster's ability. Apart from the level of the rune, there were also differences between standard runes and custom designs.

In the western hall, Foster frowned as he looked at a piece of paper in his hand. His expression dimmed involuntarily— the release of four runes in a row indicated that Richard had likely mastered far more runes than him. His face started to heat up, the gazes from the audience below seemingly more glaring.

'Damn it! This Richard might just be a threat... Why didn't you just die wherever you got lost?!' Foster cursed in his heart.

Richard was calm and focused as he introduced the fourth rune, Guardian of Life. The eastern hall grew quiet as he went on, with many people unable to help but hold their breath.

Guardian of Life had two abilities. First was an increase in the defence of the user, using their excess vitality as well as any lingering energy in the battlefield to power itself. The excess energy was also stored up, greatly reducing the requirement on carrying capacity on the rune knight. The second ability was to channel all the stored energy back to the user at will, turning into physical strength, vitality, or whatever other form of energy they needed. In combat, this rune had a combined effect of healing, increased strength, and boosted recovery.

395 - City of Sin

Glory(4)

Guardian of Life was an exceptionally powerful rune, a unique hybrid with multiple effects. A little bit of enhancement and it would be grade 3! Even in its current state, it surpassed many standard runes of that level!

The crowd had been holding their breaths all this while, but they couldn't do so anymore. Every breath of theirs grew increasingly rough, many beginning to think of tactics that could use Guardian of Life.

And yet, Richard didn't give them much time to think before he unveiled his fifth rune of the day.

There was another rune! Everyone below the stage was about to go mad. The third rune was Vitality, and the fourth was Guardian of Life. What could the fifth one be?

“Traverse the Wilderness. A custom grade 2 rune with average carrying requirements. It grants the user a small bonus to defence and movement speed. It also improves one's ability to pass through complicated terrain, and can be used on both rune knights and mounts...” Richard's voice was still as calm as ever.

The number of spectators in the eastern hall had already risen greatly. People were streaming in from the west ever since Richard had unveiled Vitality. Some of the nobles who didn't have any interest in weaker runes had already begun to dispatch their servants. Still, the crowd in the eastern hall was only a fifth of that in the western one. Lunor had yet to release his own new rune.

Traverse the Wilderness was a peculiar rune; its power wasn't very obvious on the surface. Still, just like the first four, the image still remained after Richard was done with it. This way, there were five holograms on each side.

Expectations began to rise. Many anticipated the sixth rune, wondering what other surprises this young runemaster had in store.

However, a shout suddenly rang out in the hall.

“These five runes... Could they... Could they be...”

All the eyes immediately focused on the five runes. The image of a mounted knight formed in the hologram, the first four runes landing on his body and the fifth on his warhorse. However, this was just the start. Dazzling lines of magic began to appear one after the other, linking all five runes together!

At that very moment, Foster was expending all his strength and passion in the western hall. “Now, Grandmaster Lunor Leyfar will be revealing the pinnacle of his craft!” he shouted, “Runecrafting has become an art in my master's hands!”

Lunor entered the stage amidst all the applause, looking down with a steady, arrogant smile. The crowd had been focused at the start, numerous gazes of anticipation centred on him, but now the numbers had somewhat reduced. Many were whispering to each other about something, evidently distracted. Even more annoying was the fact that many people were leaving the western hall as time passed, heading east!

Now was the crucial moment when he, Grandmaster Lunor of the Sacred Alliance, displayed his works! The royal runemaster almost lost control of his temper, wanting to shout in anger for those who weren't concentrating to scram, but thankfully his rationality stopped him from being so foolish. Still, he was determined to use his newest work to give people a loud slap!

'Nobody can underestimate a grand runemaster!' he roared in his mind, 'Richard was a joke in front of him!'

Taking a deep breath, Lunor gave up on the lengthy speech he had prepared and cut to the chase at two times the normal volume, “Everyone, I will now be showing the results of my research over the past three years. This rune's power exceeds grade 3 in all aspects, only a step away from grade 4. Let me show you a worldly work of art! Its name is—”

“A SET!” a shriek from the crowd overpowered his voice, “Richard is announcing a set in the east hall!”

The crowd instantly went crazy!

“A set?!”

“How's that possible?”

“Quick, take a look! Damn it, is it really a set?”

A tide of people rushed over to the eastern hall, like moths heading for a flame. The western hall was deserted in an instant, Lunor's voice still echoing within, “Strike and Guard... The rune has two aspects...”

His mouth opened and closed a few times, but he did not make any sounds. Nobody could know the function of Strike and Guard— although the hologram on stage was projecting its image, no one was left to see.

Only a few dozens remained underneath the stage, all subordinates of Lunor and Foster. The royal runemaster felt his vision blank as he spat out a mouthful of blood, eyes rolling up before he collapsed backwards.

“Master... MASTER!” Foster was alarmed, quickly helping the man up. He was absolutely terrified at that moment, able to feel waves of cold enveloping him.

Lunor's fall was the fall of the glory that Foster had expected, of the huge amounts of wealth and privilege that would let him do as he pleased. From this moment on, even without the two of them, the Sacred Alliance would still have rune knights. Their assertions during the start of the convention had turned them into the laughing stock of Faust.

The eastern hall was already packed, but many people were still attempting to squeeze in. Many in Faust had gotten word of Richard's rune set, hastening over at full speed.

The virtual rune knight was slowly rotating on both sides of the stage, fusing with the five runes to finally show the purpose of those tiny formations. They were the key to connecting the runes! The clamour in the crowd instantly grew manifold, becoming so loud that there was a threat of the heavy roof being sent flying!

Numerous questions were directed at Richard, mostly concerning the capabilities of the rune set as well as its name. However, in the midst the thundering crowd, Richard would not be audible even at ten times the volume. He raised his hands and the noise quickly dropped; within a mere ten seconds, the booming sounds had faded away into deathly silence.

Richard did not speak immediately, instead surveying the entire hall. The platform he stood on was only a metre tall; with the many people of various races here, many were taller than him despite that difference. At this moment, however, practically everyone felt like Richard was looking down at them.

Indeed, looking down.

In that moment of absolute silence, all eyes, all attention, all the focus was on Richard and Richard alone.

In the past three centuries, only the dazzling saint runemaster Lugatti had announced a full rune set in his first convention. The Scarlet Knight series that he announced grew popular all over the continent!

It was only a few seconds of silence, but many people felt like an entire century had passed.

“This set is called Savage Barrier,” Richard's voice finally rang out, “The set ability can form a defensive shield whose grade is based on the user's level. The shield can normally weather a full power attack from an opponent three levels higher than the user.”

This meant a level 12 rune knight with Savage Barrier could take on the all-out attack of a level 15 knight without dying! This was basically another life on the battlefield. Although it wasn't the most startling of effects, it was very functional.

“This is... a set knight!” a hoarse voice suddenly shouted out.

Set knights were a special type of rune knight. These rune knights were designed around rune sets, and could be produced rather easily. A set like Savage Barrier with a mix of grade 1 and grade 2 runes was likely stronger than a rune knight with all grade 2 runes. Many were still immersed in the splendour of Richard declaring a set for his first convention, neglecting the production of rune knights that could follow.

Richard raised his arm once more, and the hall fell silent once more until only his voice could be heard. A wave of his rune caused a sixth rune to appear.

“This is Explosive Power. Outside of a fixed boost to strength, it can greatly increase one's strength when activated, similar to the Eruption ability... If you replace Guardian of Life with it in Savage Barrier, it turns into another set that I call Savage Strike. Both sets belong to the Savagery of Darkness series...”

As his voice was echoing through the large hall, nobody noticed a slender figure stood by the entrance. A hooded cloak covered all of her body, identity only revealed by an unwitting flash of amber eyes. Looking at Richard's words secure numerous hearts from up on the stage, a slight smile appeared on her face before she turned and silently left.

Flowsand had known about Richard's sets all along. The only reason she was here was to personally witness the moment... The moment when Richard officially entered the stage of the entire continent.

The hologram on Richard's left warped as he spoke, turning into the Savage Strike set. The moment he finished speaking, a middle-aged noble yelled from within the crowd, “Are these the first two sets of the Savagery of Darkness Series?”

“No, they're the second and third,” Richard stated peacefully, “The first is called Breath of Darkness, but it isn't suitable for most knights.”

This sent the crowd into an uproar once more. Nobody would have guessed that Richard had already created three different sets! And based on Richard's tone, Breath of Darkness was not a set to be mass produced, instead custom-made for someone with specific abilities. This was a higher standard of rune set that left all the powerhouses in the audience with drumming hearts! Breath of Darkness might not suit them, but its existence meant Richard could tailor make rune sets for their use as well!

The true big shots and powerful nobles saw the military significance of Savage Barrier and Savage Strike. The cost of production of the two sets that were a mix of grade 1 and grade 2 runes was at most two-thirds the cost of producing a full grade 2 rune knight, but their power far surpassed a regular grade 2 rune knight. Even if the runemaster collected fees for a full set of grade 2 runes, the set effects alone were worth it. There was no way to overstate its value. The only limit of these sets was the production speed.

Comments, evaluations, praise... All sorts of sounds rang out once more, causing the eastern hall to sound like an ocean. This moment in the Temple of Glory was fated to go down in history.

Richard was only seventeen this year, but he had already achieved glory.

396 - City of Sin

Just Youth

Richard's rune convention had made island 7-2 the focus of the entire Sacred Alliance once more. The event had barely come to an end before invitation cards were piling up on Richard's desks like snow. Powerful families with great status hoped for him to attend their private banquets, guaranteeing the presence of elders with power. Those with lesser status even hoped to visit him at his convenience.

The old steward was shocked by it all. He ignored his injuries and forced himself off his bed, personally going out to accept and arrange all the invitations and name cards. He brought along two literate attendants and had them record the appeals of each family, organising the invitations into separate categories to make it easy for Richard to go through them.

Most surprising was that the Wellinburg Family had an invitation in there as well!

This family had the highest status amongst those sending the invitations. Those with more power, like the royal family, would rather send representatives of sufficient status to contact Richard privately and extend an in-person invitation. It should have been the same with the Wellinburgs, but this invitation represented a change in their attitude. The family's silhouette had once been present amongst those who supported the Archerons' enemies from behind.

The old steward carefully placed this invitation right in the middle of Richard's desk, positioning it very neatly.

......

Just as the convention ended, Richard had been worried about how he would leave the Temple of Glory. Fortunately, a group of royal guards squeezed into the eastern hall and solved his problem. At the helm was Prince Mordent, the representative of the entire royal family and a mouthpiece for His Majesty Philip. The Prince announced that Richard was officially a royal runemaster from that day forth, and that he would report directly to the Emperor.

This news was shocking in a way, but in another it was not. It sounded unbelievable for a seventeen-year-old boy to become a royal runemaster, but one who could build rune sets definitely qualified for the position.

The guards escorted Richard out of the Temple of Glory, bringing him to a small and quiet building on the mountain behind Faust. Although this wasn't a floating island, it was still royal territory. Some of the lesser royals lived here, so people could not just come and go as they pleased.

A fine feast was prepared on the top floor of the building. When Richard walked into the room, he saw two people sitting on opposite ends of the table stand up to welcome him.

One of them was a handsome boy who looked to be under twenty, his eyes shining like morning stars. The initial impression he gave others was that he was very normal, without any aura of power, but Richard felt a faint pressure coming from him. His most eye-catching characteristic was that he looked so delicate and pretty that one couldn't tell his gender. If he changed into female clothing, he would look like a top-class beauty that surpassed even elves. In this regard, he beat even Richard himself.

Next to the boy was a tall young man who seemed 24 or 25. He was well-built but not too much so, his proportions flawless with his valiant aura exposed for everyone to see. Every muscle on his body seemed able to call forth a thunderous power at any time.

Richard felt a sting in his eye when gazing upon him, as if he was shot with a tiny amount of electricity. Most attention-grabbing were the faint patterns on the youth's exposed chest and forearms. Such numerous and complicated arrays, covering almost all of his body... If it wasn't a grade 4 rune, it had to be some kind of set.

“Welcome, Richard! I'm Nyris, the fourth son of that moody Emperor Philip. You can just call me Nyr.”

Richard bowed in respect, following the most stringent of noble etiquette, “It is an honour to meet you, Your Highness Nyris.”

The prince waved it off with a smile, “Don't be so restrained. The thing I hate the most is all this complicated etiquette, it's all just a waste of invaluable time! This fellow is always chiding me, saying wasting time is no different from wasting divine grace. To waste fifteen years is a waste of a Torrent of Life.”

Richard greatly sympathised with Nyris' words; he wished he could put every second he was in Norland to use. Countless issues were waiting for him to deal with them, and every day he spent here was ten days passed in Faelor. He was losing divine grace!

Nyris pointed to the tall young man, “This guy is called Agamemnon. He's amazing, normal people can't beat him! He's the youngest son of Grand Duke Ironblood.”

Agamemnon stretched out a hand, “Agamemnon.”

“Richard.”

The youth's palm was neither soft nor hard, but it was incredibly warm with a constant aura of strength. Even with Precision, Richard could not confirm his level. This was extremely rare: ever since both of his blessings had reached grade 2, few amongst even Norland's saints could hide their strength before him.

However, this handshake conveyed a lot of information. Agamemnon was confident, strong, and full of interest in him. There was also a hint of appreciation and friendliness.

But a shiver ran through Richard's heart. This wasn't because of Agamemnon himself, but the name of Ironblood. Grand Duke Ironblood was the ruler of island 5-5, adjacent to the royal family. And he had the power to match; forget the Sacred Alliance, he was a colossal figure across all of Norland.

Agamemnon stared at Richard for a while before flashing a smile that could hardly be seen, “I like you, Richard, but I don't represent my family.”

This was only the first time they had met, and this fellow threw out such a direct declaration of his position. Richard, who was starting to grow familiar with the rules of the aristocracy, was left a little unsure of his answer. “This... I can understand.”

Nyris laughed, patting Richard's shoulder with some force, “Alright, there's no need to care about this guy. He doesn't talk at all, sometimes you won't hear more than a few sentences from him in an entire day. He'd probably compress an entire paragraph into a word if he could. Come, let's eat before the dishes grow cold. Wasting time is wasting divine grace!”

Only Nyris, Agamemnon, and Richard were left in the room. All the attendants left, carefully closing the door.

It seemed that there would not be any more guests. Richard took a seat at the table and waited for Prince Nyris to explain the aim of this meeting. His intuition gave him a good feeling about the two young men— they were strong, straightforward, and sunny.

Of course, given their identities and status, there was no need for them to play dirty tricks. Most of the time, such ploys would not help grow their status.
f𝑟e𝙚𝒘𝗲𝚋𝚗oѵ𝘦𝙡. c𝒐m

Nyris started to sweep up the food on the table the moment he sat down, his manners so elegant that he even seemed a little graceful as he gobbled up the food at an unbelievable rate.

He ate and spoke at the same time, “Richard, I was the one who arranged the time and location of the convention. Father really wanted to see your talent and ability, and I felt this was the best method to force out as much of you as we could. As expected, you didn't disappoint. To be exact, you actually exceeded everyone's expectations. A lot of eyes in Faust are now focused on you, paying attention to the results of the convention.”

His voice was clear, crisp, and sweet. If one closed their eyes, they would only hear a smoothly flowing paragraph. However, Richard could not understand how the youth managed to speak with his mouth full of food. Nyris was eating fast and talking fast, both at the same time with neither disturbed by the other.

Seeing him still in a daze, Nyris called out to him, “Eat! Why aren't you eating? Food is the source of energy, you can only battle if you eat! That's the most accurate sentence dad has ever said. Aren't you from the Deepblue? Her Excellency Sharon is famous for being able to eat well, even my dad admires her very much.”

Richard didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He turned to look, and even the silent Agamemnon was buried in his food and eating hard. It seemed like these two had a common hobby. In fact, he himself had built up an appetite that didn't match his appearance in the Deepblue, it was just that he couldn't show it during a formal meeting. Seeing how quickly the two were sweeping through the food, this large table might possibly not be enough for all three of them.

“Nyris, isn't Lunor the royal great runemaster? Why is your arrangement... Let me be a little more direct... It seems like you want to use me to suppress him?” Richard had been influenced by the other two, throwing away any probes and hints that he would normally have opted for in the situation.

“Lunor? Hmph, he's just a borer, and an especially fat one at that!” Nyris huffed, a wry smile on his face, “We give him enough materials every year to create hundreds of powerful runes, but he gives us less than ten. That isn't even 10%, even a normal runemaster wouldn't have such a low success rate! His greed is endless. Every year he gets a huge sum of gold and resources from the family, but the number of runes he's giving us is actually dropping. If the number doesn't change, the quality will. Being greedy isn't much, but his greed is already affecting the ability of the powerhouses of our Alliance. This goes past our bottom line.”

Richard nodded, waiting for the next part.

Nyris continued, “So this was Father's idea: as long as you could bring out a rather decent rune at the convention, we would immediately make an exception and have you become a royal runemaster. This would create pressure on Lunor and restrict him, and at the same time, we could use resources to train you instead of letting them fall into his pockets. This way, we might also have a saint runemaster in the future. Even if you no longer served as the royal runemaster, we would at least be friends.”

397 - City of Sin

Just Youth(2)

Richard could only smile helplessly, “But why did you have so much faith in me?”

“Because Her Excellency Sharon once said that you're a future saint runemaster.”

“Master always exaggerates her words,” Richard said with a forced smile.

“No!” In a rare display of solemn earnestness, Agamemnon looked up from the pile of food.

“How could that even be possible?” Nyris shouted. What left Richard speechless was the fact that two pieces of roasted meat disappeared down his throat even as he did so, his eating not delayed in the slightest. “Very few people know this, but every comment from Her Excellency is a prediction. And anyone she has ever evaluated has ended up with achievements somewhere around what she said.”

“That can't be...?” Now, it was Richard's turn to be shocked. He had no idea that his teacher possessed such abilities. Her speaking style had always been rather... exaggerated, especially when it came to people she liked or disliked. If not for Sharon's Delight, Richard would add in a 'very' to that statement. However, some serious consideration brought to mind the fact that Sharon had never decently evaluated anyone during the time he spent in the Deepblue except himself.

“It's true,” Nyris followed up, “It's said that the eyes of Her Excellency can pierce through the river of time and view images of the future. It's the one thing about her that Father admires the most after the amount of food she can eat. It's said that it has something to do with her race.”

“Race? She's not human?” Richard was slightly shocked.

“Of course not!” What, you didn't know? You're the student she's most proud of! But then again, it's not that strange. Nobody knows her race— not even my dad.” Nyris said mysteriously. Of course, another honey-covered rib disappeared down his throat in the meanwhile, “But it's said that it takes a few centuries for those of her race to grow into adults. Even dragons don't need so long to grow! Oh... Hey Richard! We're friends now, you definitely can't tell Her Excellency that I said this!”

Richard was truly shocked this time.

Agamemnon suddenly looked up, “You've said too much!”

Nyris suddenly understood, hitting his own head in vexation, “Crap! I forgot that Her Excellency will know if her name is mentioned too many times! Enough of that... Richard, let's discuss the matter with you being a royal runemaster!”

Richard was just about to accept when Agamemnon suddenly pushed a pile of roasted meatballs towards him, “Eat first. The food here is very expensive, and he eats too fast.”

These roasted meatballs looked ordinary, but upon tasting one Richard found it had a familiar taste. He had often eaten this sort of meat in the Deepblue. While the meatball was tiny, a fire surged out when it entered his stomach that slowly spread towards his limbs and bones.

“Red Dragon ribs! It's not easy to find, I had to use an entire week's allowance!” Nyris cried piteously. It had to be said that the youth was just too pretty, the fake wails left one feeling sympathy for him.

Richard felt bad and tried to push the plate to the middle of the table, but Agamemnon held his arm and explained, “Ignore him, he's the best at acting pitiful!”

Left at a loss for what to do, Richard began to annihilate the meatballs on the plate. “So,” he asked as he ate, “What duties does a royal runemaster have?”

“The first task is thirty sets each of Savage Barrier and Savage Strike!” Nyris didn't hold back.

Richard was left unsure of whether to laugh or cry once more. Forget the rate of success, even if every single attempt succeeded that was still three hundred runes! How long would it take? Besides, he had only just officially become a runemaster. He had no real workshop, no proficient helpers nor apprentices.

Agamemnon frowned, “Be serious. We aren't that close to Richard.”

Nyris shrugged and said, “Fine! Seeing as you helped us beat down Lunor, and let me appear good in front of Father, the royal family is willing to provide you access to any of the materials in our warehouse. All we need is one rune for every four sets of materials. If you're building your rune sets, then there's a bit more leeway. The second requirement is that the royal family needs to have first priority to buy your runes, at the same price as others of course. Also, outside of the materials, you will also get a million gold coins as compensation every year from the family.”

Richard had known that there were benefits of becoming a royal runemaster, but he had never assumed they would be so immense! Although powerful runes had a high failure rate, his own success rate was unimaginably high. It would be a huge source of profit.

“Alright then, can you sell the two sets you showed to us first?”

“It isn't two sets,” Richard corrected, “It's one set and a separate rune.”

“Six runes are fine. I want them all!”

It had been a very strange lunch. Richard felt something strange that he could not describe as he left the building. Was it that Nyris and Agamemnon were just too direct, so direct that they seemed genuine? They were different from all the other noble children he had met before.

Agamemnon had patted his shoulder when they were about to part, saying, “Let's take over planes together!” In that moment, he had been slightly touched.

The royal guards escorted Richard back to his island. When he walked out of the teleportation gate, his heart had turned cold and hard once more. He walked into Gaton's study and sat in Gaton's seat, beginning to skim through the documents piled high on the table.

Most of them were invitations, messages, or name cards, all in huge quantities. Even with his blessing of wisdom and the ability to think ten times as fast as a commoner, he still needed quite some time to look through everything earnestly. However, he was not planning to go to any of these banquets. He already held the title of royal runemaster now, and his results from the convention had surpassed expectations. Just like Nyris said, wasting time was wasting divine grace. What he needed most now was to raise his power and influence, not to go to banquets and meet noble ladies.

He planned to only stay in Norland for seven days.

However, he still had some things to deal with before he returned. He rang a bell to summon the old steward, “Invite the three knights and Miss Fuschia. Call Demi, Wennington, and Venica over as well. And get Erwin in here.”

The steward accepted the order and left. A moment later, everyone was present.

Of course, Erwin was 'accompanied' by two of Gaton's personal guard.

398 - City of Sin

Sentence

The fifty paladins from the Church of the Eternal Dragon were already on the island. The situation was now stable, so the warriors from the branch families who were kept behind didn't dare to try and put up any new resistance. Their biggest backer in Baron Sua had been sent running with his tail between his legs, what could they do? Earl Goliath still had his representatives here, but as always they remained neutral and watched on silently.

When Erwin was brought into the study, Demi and Richard's other two siblings stood to his left while Fuschia was on the right. Richard was sitting peacefully, reading some information he had on hand. Erwin's face was white, but his expression showed that he was willing to throw caution to the wind and challenge him.

Richard only put down the papers after a few minutes, asking solemnly, “Erwin... Did Marquess Gaton do anything to let you down?”

“No.”

“Did the Archeron Family do anything to let you down?”

“No.”

Before Richard could even ask the third question, Erwin suddenly erupted, “I KNOW WHAT YOU WANT TO ASK! There is no why... If you really want reasons, I should be the one asking the question! Why is it that all the wealth, status, power, and beautiful women are with you? Why do I have to work so hard for all of you, to kill in planar wars? Yes, you gave me training and equipment, but isn't that just because you want me to fight? How am I inferior to you nobles? If not for your daddy Gaton, what gives you the right to sit here?!”

Richard suddenly laughed and shook his head, pointing to his siblings, “Look. They're Gaton's children as well, but they can only stand there while I take the seat... Forget it, you won't understand this... Or should I say you wouldn't admit it even if you understood? You're just someone who feels entitled to what others have, but you never stop to wonder whether what you want should belong to you. Alright now, let us look at this...”

Richard held up the documents and read through them line by line, “Sama, 49 years old, titled knight. Territory Wormwood Manor, 0.2 square kilometres with a population of 300. Wife Laney, 42, daughter of Sir Endor Archeron. A knight from a branch family, none in his line actually unlocked any bloodline abilities. Sir Sama has three children: Erwin, 22. Lisa, 17. Cindy, 16...”

“What are you doing?!” Erwin suddenly screamed, trying his best to rush towards Richard. However, the guards were well-prepared. They immediately sprang into action, punning him firmly to the ground. Erwin struggled with all his might, his eyes bloodshot as he yelled loudly, “If you touch a single hair from my family, I won't let you off for the rest of my life!”

Richard didn't feel anything at the sound of this threat, speaking nonchalantly, “It looks like you're quite concerned about your family. Still, do try to recall how Norland treats traitors who lead rebellions. Is the extermination of the family not the only way?”

“You dare!” Erwin had already used up all his energy, but he still tried to get up from the ground. One of the guards immediately stepped on his lower back, sending him back down. The stomp immediately knocked the wind out of him.

“They're just puny soldiers. Even if there's twice the number, why would I be afraid?” Richard said mockingly.

Erwin's anger immediately dissipated. “Richard,” he said in a low voice, “Kill me and let my family go!”

“Do you think that's an option?” Richard's question caused the knight's face to turn white. He struggled on the floor, bestial noises escaping his throat. He knew that his sentencing would follow.

Richard looked at the information sheet, “Destroying your family would be letting you off easy. Your parents are still very healthy, I'll send them to the lowest levels of the mines to dig until they die. As for your sisters... Hmm, I have their portraits on hand, they're rather pretty. Tch, it would be such a waste to kill them... I think I'll turn them into slaves and sell them off to businessmen. What do you think? Oh, as far as the rest of your relatives are concerned, I'll just save the hassle and kill them off.”

Screeching sounds rang out through gritted teeth as blood poured down the side of Erwin's mouth. He was well aware of what would happen to his sisters if they became slaves, just as well as he was aware of the cruel and tough life in the lowest levels of a mine. The slaves placed there rarely if ever survived longer than a year. Richard's punishment was far more cruel than the direct extermination of his bloodline.

“It looks like your masters from behind the scenes have no intentions to save you, Erwin. Well, I know you would be even crueller if you had managed to get your hands on Demi and the rest. I have always lived by the principle of giving back twice what I get; in this case, it's only equal retaliation. You should feel lucky.

“Now then, is there anything else you would like to say?” Richard asked coldly.

Erwin struggled in his bonds, “I already sold the offerings, but I can give you whatever I got! Please spare my family, I will tell you who instigated me to do all this! They're the true culprits that deserve death and punishment!”

Richard laughed, “That won't be necessary. I know who they are, it isn't exactly a secret. I have no plans to take them on as of yet, but at the same time, they cannot act against me. Are you disappointed that I can't fight them in a battle to the death?

“As for the offerings... If I'm not wrong, you had no choice but to sell your share to those masters. If you didn't, they would have slaughtered you like a dog. Alright, time is precious, the only reason I wasted so much time on you is that you're very malicious and unlikeable. I don't hate those who are instigating you, because those plots are normal even if they result in some casualties.

“You're different. Want to know why? Compared to invaders, accomplices and traitors are far more vicious.” Richard stood up, picking up a dagger on his desk and pacing back and forth. His tone turned mild, “Don't worry, I won't kill you or your family. Death would be a quick escape and I'm not that generous. I will torment you forever, lock your soul in an eternal struggle.”

Finished talking, Richard gestured to one of the guards. He opened the door of the study, pushing Coco in.

Coco let out a cry of alarm the moment she saw the situation in the study, covering her mouth as her face turned white. For his part, Erwin started to grow violent the moment he saw her, cursing furiously at Richard.

Richard turned towards him, “Every word of scolding from now will be a cut on one of your family. Trust me to remember this.”

Erwin was taken aback. He stared venomously at Richard, but didn't dare to utter another vulgarity. However, it was evident that he was still cursing in his heart.

Richard then shifted his attention to Coco. The weak, delicate girl started trembling uncontrollably under his gaze, both arms jumping up to cover her body. She subconsciously tried to avoid his sight, tears long since flooding her eyes.

Richard sighed, “The founding emperor of the Sacred Alliance, Heavenly Emperor Charles, once said this: I can forgive mistakes, but I cannot accept betrayal. Take a look at this...”

Coco discovered that the paper Richard handed her contained details about her relatives and family members. She thought over it for a while before realising what it meant. Her small face immediately turned pale, both hands starting to tremble as she stuttered out, “R-Richard... I... I didn't betray you. It's the truth! I still belong to you, you can... You can check...”

Richard lifted his head in surprise, “If you put it that way, you didn't completely betray me. I had all the intent to give you a chance to prove yourself when I left. If you really had abided by the rules, you shouldn't have met in private. I was planning to grant you your freedom based on your contribution and sincerity, but... Pity, you didn't show me the qualities I wished to see. There are eyes and ears everywhere on this island, there's no way to hide your actions.”

“So... sorry,” Coco said softly, her head lowered.

“Alright then, wasting time is wasting divine grace. It's time we finished up.” Richard switched the topic, throwing the dagger in front of Erwin before saying icily, “We'll talk about your punishment after this, but right now I'm sick of your relationship with Coco. If you want your family to live, cut off your filthy dick!”

Coco wanted to cry out in shock, but under Richard's sharp gaze she had no choice but to swallow her words.

The guard who was stepping on Erwin loosened the pressure. The youth stood up, face pale, and picked up the short blade. “Will my family be free from harm?” he asked as he stared at Richard, “Can I live on?”

“Why would I let you off so easily? You will be charged for organising a rebellion, your family will be enslaved, but I will not make them mine workers or prostitutes. They will live out the tired and miserable lives of ordinary slaves, but as long as they do their jobs well they will survive. As for you, you will need to fight for me. You will lead be at the head of every charge, at the tail of every retreat, and at the front of the line for the most dangerous and difficult tasks. Satisfy me, and your family will have a more comfortable life.”

Erwin nodded quietly, gritting his teeth and turning around to undress.

“Wait. Turn around and face everybody! And you, Coco, raise your head!”

Erwin's hands trembled, as did the rest of his body. He had thought that he was vicious enough, but right now it felt hard to proceed. Two intentions were warring in his heart. The first was to run straight to Coco, killing this woman who had confused him with a single stab of the blade. She was even letting Richard inspect her! The other was to do as Richard instructed. At least that way, he would still live.

Eventually, the second thought won. The dagger fell down in one quick swoop!

399 - City of Sin

Sentence(2)

A miserable cry rang out as Erwin spat out blood. However, as shaky as his hands were, he didn't manage to finish the job in one go. He had no choice but to grit his teeth, cutting down a second and third time before a mass of flesh and blood fell off. Coco cried out and fell backwards, fainting.

The bloody scene left Wennington and Venica deathly pale, seemingly ready to vomit. Demi was much better, but her face still warped as well. Even Fuschia frowned, but she didn't say anything. Only Gaton's knights looked on calmly, as if they had merely seen a chicken being killed.

Richard waved his hands and had the guards take Coco and Erwin away, getting some people to clear up the blood in the study. Only then did he sit at his desk, picking up a second sheet of information he had prepared.

Fuschia couldn't hold herself back. “Why not just eliminate his family?” she asked, “Wouldn't that be much faster? You could just kill his family in front of his face. It would make him feel just as miserable.”

Richard shook his head, “Family is only one of his weaknesses, but it isn't his biggest. People like him only care about themselves in the key moment. The only reason he accepted the sentence was for the sake of survival. If he truly did care for his family, he would never have betrayed Gaton. Even in the most chaotic moments of the riots, only a third of the soldiers from the branches actually took part in the rebellion.”

Fuschia sighed, going silent.

Richard handed the sheet in his hands to the three knights. It was a list of names, the soldiers and knights who had participated in the rebellion. “These are considered the main offenders and need to be executed. The situation isn't stable right now, so you need to do it cleanly without giving those watching a chance. I can only ask you three to do it.”

Asiris quickly browsed through the list, “56 people. Hmm, we need five minutes.”

“Alright, I'll be waiting.”

The three knights pushed the door open and left. A moment later, a long, miserable cry echoed through the island. It was quickly followed by a second and a third, before the island devolved into a cacophony of screams. Some lasted a long time, like the first one, while others only lasted a second or two.

Close to dusk, the sunset glow bathed the sky over the island crimson. Murderous auras and hints of blood flashed all over the island, indistinctly merging with the evening clouds.

Blood finally washed away the chaos on the island.

......

Even as things were set in motion on island 7-2, the Josephs' island had a clear view of it all. Duke Joseph and Raymond were standing in front of a french window, one sitting and one standing as the gazed upon the volcano on the island. They felt like they were seeing pillars of bloody light soaring into the sky.

The old duke felt rather helpless, “Who would have thought that Richard would return soon after Gaton was gone? This little fellow is decisive and vicious, not much different from his father.”

The temperature in the room was pleasant. Raymond was sitting in a large armchair, but a thick blanket still covered him from his knees up. There wasn't a trace of red in his face as he stared with rapt attention at the Archeron island, sighing, “Richard is far more difficult to deal with than I expected. Now that he's a royal runemaster, there will be many families who want to enter into trade with him. I don't know what methods he used, but the Church is also sheltering him openly... Even though it's only for a year, that's already long enough. Right now, we have no way to deal with him in Faust.”

“But the internal strife will still hurt the Archeron Family greatly,” Duke Joseph said slowly, “A fair amount of the offerings that streamed out of their island landed in our possession. We already have enough for three lesser sacrifices, and I'm preparing to use them all.”

“What are you going to use the grace on?” Raymond asked.

The old man sighed deeply, “That... I'll use it on the family plane.”

This signalled that he was giving up on contending with Richard using offerings. The wars in the future would grow long and tedious, filled with unpredictable changes.

A peculiar flush rose on Raymond's face and he sighed, “I really hope to battle him on another plane.”

“There will be opportunities,” the old Joseph said.

However, they both knew that the future was uncertain.

......

Within the royal palace, Emperor Philip's evening tea was reaching its end. It would be time for supper in another half hour. The Emperor's time was scarce: breakfast, morning tea, lunch, evening tea, supper, dinner, snacks... these events crammed up his entire schedule, making many lament the tiresome event that was eating.

All sorts of foods filled the table that was a good five metres long, with Prince Nyris accompanying him for the meal. The Prince chatted with his father even as he ate, showing off his talent very thoroughly. However, the Emperor's stomach was like a bottomless pit; large pieces of food just disappeared down his throat.

Even at his fastest, Nyris was only a third of Philip's speed. If Richard was around, he would finally understand how the youth could eat without compromising on his ability to talk; it was just tempered in a terrible environment. Even so, Nyris couldn't compare to his father at all.

When one was eating with the Emperor, consuming too little would result in a scolding. This was especially true for the princes and princesses.

Philip looked outside the window, the Archeron island gently slipping past his vision. The volcano was far too eye-catching, making the island completely different from the rest.

“That kid already acted? He really is a little impatient!”

“He should be in a hurry to return to Faelor,” Nyris responded, “There's a lot of easy divine grace there. Rumours are that the time-flow is one-tenth that of Norland.”

“Too much of a hurry and he might miss out on some important things by his side,” Philip said deeply.

Nyris pondered over the meaning of his father's words, but nothing came up. He still felt like the phrase 'wasting time is wasting divine grace' was far more meaningful.

Nyris then brought up the information about Richard's pay as a royal runemaster. When it came to Richard's agreement for one rune set for every five sets' worth of materials, he couldn't contain his excitement, “Hmph, Lunor's been getting more and more haughty in the past few years. Now that we have Richard, we don't need to pay more than the others to grow our rune knight legions. However, he seems to be on the losing end of this exchange... Father, do you not mean to nurture him as quickly as possible?”

“On the losing end?” Philip chuckled, swallowing a large piece of meat. Nyris frowned, thinking long and hard, but just couldn't understand what was wrong.

“I heard there was an armed rebellion in the Forest Plane the Archerons just took over,” the Emperor shifted the topic, “Richard will probably have to deal with it before returning to Faelor. If possible, go over with him and fight some battles to gain experience. Young people have to walk around the different planes.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.” Nyris always spoke formally when accepting orders.

“By the way, what kind of preparations did Richard make for his return to Faelor?”

Nyris rapidly shifted through the information in his mind, “He brought back some enchanted cloudiron that was worth a million coins. He gave it all to the Church as a substitute for divine grace. He also brought back six runes, and he agreed to give all of them to us. However, outside of a small number of precious magic materials he wanted his payment in quality magic equipment.”

Quality magic equipment generally meant something with two enchantments. Emperor Philip thought over the information he had just received, 'Seems like Faelor has a lot of resources, but the magic culture is far behind ours. The kid is smart! He actually knows that the most fundamental use of a planar passage is trade and not war; that war is only a method of guaranteeing trade...'

The evening tea had come to an end. In another ten minutes, it would be time for dinner. Philip waved for Nyris to leave, “Make your preparations. Also, take Agamemnon with you, you three might become friends in the future.”

......

On island 7-2, the knights went on a massacre at the speed of lightning. They completed the first mission from Richard in a mere four minutes, most of their time spent moving around instead of actually killing. The last minute was used just to check whether they had missed out on anyone.

While the island was being bathed in a rain of blood, Richard was still in the study, lightly kneading his forehead. He had a painful headache, a side effect of using his brain a little too much. Even with the support of Wisdom and Truth, it wasn't easy to find a clue in the midst of all this mystery. His mind had been working at full speed almost the entirety of the time since he had entered Norland, every seemingly easy decision backed by a lot of thought.

He was still young and inexperienced. Any important decision he took needed to be thought over repeatedly, considered from multiple angles. Only after thinking of everything he could would he make an official decision. Every word of his currently had extensive implications, able to affect the life and death of groups or involving millions. A wrong decision would take enormous amounts of effort to fix.

Despite having experienced planar war, it was only once he was seated on the throne that Richard found out how difficult things were for Gaton.

While waiting for the knights to return, he turned and asked Fuschia, “What does the Earl want?”

“What do you want to gain from the Earl?” Fuschia countered.

Richard frowned, slowly nodding, “It's true that I need her support right now. It's best if we can become close allies or something similar.”

Fuschia was completely willing to answer the probe, “The Earl told me that she will reciprocate as long as one pays a sufficient price. Specifically, two rune knights for dinner, five for a kiss, seven to touch her breasts, ten to get her in bed, and twenty to become her partner. Don't think of using grade 1 rune knights to swindle her!”

Richard's mouth opened and closed, but he couldn't say a word.

Fuschia looked at him, “Right, you can get 30% off if it's set knights. 60% if they're full grade 2. What do you think?”

This time it wasn't just Richard. Even Demi and the others were completely stupefied.

400 - City of Sin

Test

Richard huffed out a breath of turbid air, quickly getting his chaotic mind back on track. “Becoming partners is a pretty decent price for a steady alliance,” he said after some thought, “But I can't afford so many rune knights right now.”

“You can consider it a loan,” Fuschia said, “You are a royal runemaster after all.”

“A loan?” Richard looked flabbergasted.

“Yes, you'll have to repay her on a specific schedule.”

“What about the price for an alliance only?”

“There is no such option.”

He took in a deep breath, “Alright, deal! We'll be partners.”

He was in desperate need of a strong ally right now. His status as a royal runemaster wasn't an all-pass card, while the Church would only protect him for a year. Even the current conditions were only effective in Faust. He didn't dare to leave the city at the moment.

As for their being partners seeming more a transaction than anything else, Richard didn't believe that was completely the case. He still remembered that Gaton had once suggested this to him as well. It seemed like these so-called general terms were tailor-made for him, although they still squeezed quite a bit.

“A quarter of it for down payment. The agreement will only come into effect when my Lady receives it all,” Fuschia threw Richard off once again. “You have to be quick,” she added on, “You never know if there are others preparing their own rune knights.”

Richard was at a loss for how to answer, but fortunately the three knights chose that specific moment to return from their task.

“The corpses are piled up together, but we separated the heads. Should we hang them up?” Asiris asked wretchedly.

Richard shook his head, “No need. Ship the corpses out of the island to be collected by their families. Also, inform all the branches that looted the offerings to return them within whatever deadline. If they don't, the case will be dealt with like treason.”

“You want to reclaim the offerings?” Fuschia cut in, “I don't think that's possible. I heard that most of the offerings were forcefully bought off by powerful families once they were shipped off the island. Nearly nothing is left.”

Richard laughed, “I know. And Alice was one of the buyers, no?”

“Yes. We can get the offerings that were bought by the Earl, but a majority are untraceable. My Lady has less than a tenth of the total.”

“Forget it, she can have them. Treat it as a part of the down payment.”

Richard wasn't expecting to reclaim the offerings at all, he was well aware that most had been resold. The only reason for doing this was the other families of Faust who meant ill; this way, they wouldn't be able to openly support the traitors unless they were prepared to explain their interference in another family's affairs to the Emperor and the assembly. Treason was not tolerated in any family. If one wished to support a rebellion in another family, they had to do it carefully in the dark.

......

Once Richard was done settling the affairs of treason, Asiris stepped forward, “If I'm not needed for anything else, I have to head back. Cyrden won't be able to last long.”

“I should head back too,” Senma said sleepily.

However, Lina didn't speak up until the two knights were gone, “I... I cannot go back yet.”

She couldn't help but laugh at the expression that elicited from the runemaster. “I'm in charge of the Forest Plane,” she clarified, “the one Master Gaton took from the Schumpeters. A huge rebellion occurred recently, and it will be tough for me to deal with it alone. I'll need some help.”

Lina didn't mention what kind of help she needed, only looking at Richard with a smile. She seemed more interested in his reaction instead.

Richard thought things over for a moment before bringing her to the command centre. He then asked her to give him an idea of the topography and current situation.

The Dragon Mage had long since prepared for this. She inserted a memory crystal into a slot on the table, quickly bringing up a map of the Forest Plane. The map was quite limited, mostly made of mountain forests with a river flowing through. At the edge of the map was a city near which her troops were camped.

The Schumpeter crest was shining brightly on the city itself.

The Schumpeters had been working on the Forest Plane for a while, but they hadn't made much progress. All they managed was a single city-state, suffering many losses in their war against the aboriginals which greatly affected their rate of expansion.

Gaton had wiped out the Schumpeter armies when he arrived, taking control of the only city in the plane and leaving Lina behind to guard it. However, with him trapped in the Rosie Plane, the Schumpeters who had originally surrendered took the chance to rebel when Lina was off fighting the aboriginals. They quickly took full control of the city and were drawing on three magic towers to keep it in their hands. Lina had tried to attack them twice, but both battles had ended in her loss.

Richard stared at the map, pondering the situation. He understood this was a test by the Dragon Mage. If he failed, it would be difficult to have her follow his orders.

Lina still had about 2000 men remaining, giving her an upper hand over the rebels in both quantity and quality. The enemies only had a single saint, and he would never be able to defeat her in one-on-one combat. The difficulty lay in the three magic towers. Suppressed by them, the Dragon Mage was fighting at half her ability. In addition, the aboriginals of the plane were constantly harassing her army, making it hard for the soldiers to rest and recuperate. This was slowly eroding their morale.

The plane was named after its vast expanses of mountain forests, with few plains and grasslands. The aboriginals were an intelligent species similar to Norland's elves, quite swift in the woods with talent in archery and assassination. Even Lina herself had been shot once when she wasn't paying enough attention.

After getting details on the two battles from the Dragon Mage, Richard had a clear picture of the situation. The enemy saint had served to distract Lina each time, while the rebels massacred most of her men under the protection of their towers. She was left with no choice but to retreat every time.

“So, what's the plan?” Lina asked, “My troops can't be out there for too long. The daily casualties are a huge blow to their morale.”

“How's the time-flow?” Richard raised his head.

“A third of Norland, the Schumpeters invested a lot into it.”

He silently made some calculations, “I need some time to prepare. We'll head to the Forest Plane in two days, it should take me six to quell the rebellion.”

“Six days?” Lina was too shocked for words, “In Norland time?”

“No, plane time.”

401 - City of Sin

Twins of Destiny

Having sent the sceptical Dragon Mage away, Richard called over the old steward and quickly drafted a list of items for him to purchase as soon as possible. He then called a group of guards to move the ancient beast skeleton, heading towards the Church of the Eternal Dragon. He still owed them a lesser sacrifice, and it wasn't a good idea to be indebted to the Church.

In a quiet, secluded room in the rear of the church building, Flowsand and Ferlyn were seated opposite each other. Ferlyn could see that Flowsand's title had been empowered greatly, the Lens of Time hovering between the girl's eyebrows as a few particles of astral sand spilling out every once in a while. The Book of Time emitted a vast, distant aura, evidently strengthened substantially.

Ferlyn was silent for a long time, and even when she spoke she started with a sigh, “Are you sure?”

“Yes,” Flowsand said with determination, “Without me, everything he has in Faelor will crumble very quickly.”

“But you should understand. The closer you are to him now, the lower the chances of you breaking from your binds in the future. Every time you use a spell without a ritual you're only rolling further into the chains.”

“I know.”

“We are the priestesses of the Eternal Dragon. As enormous as our power can grow, it requires an even greater price. You will ultimately realise that being indebted to the old dragon is the worst decision one could ever make. You will soon find yourself sinking further into a quagmire of debt which you will ultimately be unable to repay. I can still help you escape right now.”

Flowsand shook her head again.

Ferlyn sighed helplessly, “Then let him know about your decision!”

Flowsand smiled, “There's no need. He's very smart, he will be able to tell.”

Ferlyn looked at Flowsand and shook her head, “He's still too young. Engrossed in charging forward, no idea how to treasure the people and things around him. You're only saying this to make me feel relieved.”

“My choice isn't all that bad, you know. Am I not just taking your position?”

A screen of light lit up in the quiet room at that moment, revealing Jacqueline's silhouette, “Your Excellencies, Richard is here with offerings. He hopes to pay off his debt.” Google search 𝗳𝙧𝘦𝒆𝑤𝙚𝘣𝙣𝘰𝘃ℯ𝑙. 𝐜𝐨𝑚

“Understood. Flowsand, go have a look,” Ferlyn instructed.

The moment the girl left, Ferlyn's sigh rang throughout the dark, gloomy hall. She once had the same thoughts, decades ago, but now she was the high priestess. The Church of the Eternal Dragon had become her ultimate home.

In the teleportation hall of the Church, four priestesses were surrounding the ancient skeleton as they inspected it. They were all quite experienced, possessing considerable authority in the field of determining an offering's value. Richard was busy using the time to work on the portal to Faelor, replenishing its mana and perfecting the formations in order to strengthen the passage.

“Why do you always have so many offerings?” a familiar voice rang out behind him, causing him to stand up in pleasant surprise.

“I always have my way. How is it, become my exclusive priestess!” Richard said half-jokingly. However, these words caused the remaining priestesses to look at Flowsand enviously.

The Eternal Dragon did not require much devotion from his clerics. As long as they oversaw enough sacrificial ceremonies, their power would automatically grow. The participating clerics in every ritual gained a certain amount of divine grace based on their function, and the advantage in following Richard was obvious. Flowsand had been with him for less than a month in Norland time, but she was already two levels higher while the Book of Time had been strengthened substantially. How much divine grace did that require? Right after Richard had returned from the other plane, he had announced two rune sets that shocked all of Faust and granted him the title of royal runemaster. Now, he had managed to take out a great offering in the blink of an eye.

The priestesses quickly set a value for the remains. Even after repaying what he owed, Richard was left with a lot of surplus. Flowsand glanced at the estimates, quickly running into a warehouse in the rear as she left Richard to wait. A short while later, she walked out with two staffs.

Both were about a metre long, made of gold and shaped more like sceptres. The tip of each held the carving of an angel, but both angels only had a single wing. The wing on the left one was feathery white, while the other was fleshy black.

Flowsand stuffed them both into Richard's hands, “There's a lot of grace left over with the remains, so why not exchange it for something from the Church? These staffs aren't bad, let's get them. Just nice, one for you and one for me.”

“Oh... Sure.” Flowsand tone brooked no room for discussion, she had just been informing him. Richard thus had no choice but to agree, taking the staffs. However, seeing the expressions of the priestesses around him he decided to carefully evaluate them.

His time in the Deepblue had already qualified him as an appraiser. Both these staffs had six enchantments each, definitely at the level of legendary items. On top of that, both had their own emphases. The white-winged staff greatly strengthened buffing spells, while the dark-winged one empowered all sorts of attacks and curses. These staffs were basically a permanent boost to one's magic.

“Good stuff!” Richard praised.

Flowsand snorted, snatching the white-winged staff, “Of course! Would I ever choose anything bad?”

The priestesses looked at each other with peculiar expressions. The Twins of Destiny, comparable to divine items, were just 'good stuff?' However, Flowsand bringing them out from the warehouse meant she had obtained high priestess Ferlyn's permission. They wouldn't be meddlesome and gossipy.

“That's right, I have to go to the Forest Plane the day after to quell a rebellion. Let's go together,” Richard said.

“We still have to take care of a rebellion? Do we even have enough time? Don't forget that every day here is ten on Faelor.”

“It's alright. We still have the superior army there, so it won't take much time. Three to five days at most.”

“Alright, remember to call me when the time comes.” Flowsand had absolute confidence in Richard's commandership.

402 - City of Sin

To Cherish

“Wait,” Richard stopped Flowsand from leaving, “I found something strange in the family castle. I feel like it's an offering, but I can't be sure. Call a few priestesses over to appraise it; we can just use it directly.”

“Taking advantage of me again?” Flowsand asked with an indistinct smile.

“We always take advantage of our people, go quickly!” If not for the priestesses around them looking on, Richard would have slapped her rear.

When Flowsand returned to the side hall again, Noelene and Ferdinand were following behind her. The group followed Richard back to the Archeron island, all the way up to the top floor.

The heavily wrapped astral beast head still lay calmly in the place where Gaton normally contemplated things in silence. Everyone couldn't help but shiver the moment they saw it. Richard had prior experience, but even Noelene and Ferdinand couldn't help but take half a step back. This thing was definitely unordinary.

Noelene carefully appraised the wrapping material, crying out in surprise, “This is antimagic cloth! A legendary item that can isolate space completely! What could even be inside that requires this cloth to hold it?”

“Let me see.” Ferdinand took a step forward, gathering all his energy to protect his body before cautiously lifting up a corner of the cloth. His energy was a blazing red; when gathered completely, it seemed to condense and float around him in the form of bright red crystals.

When the cloth was lifted to show a small crack, it exposed a piece of azure skin covered in sheets of crystalline scales. The images of broken planes flashed past the translucent sclerite. Noelene's entire body jolted with a single glance. She suddenly thought of something, immediately shrieking with all her might, “Don't open it!”

However, she was already too late. The antimagic cloth was pulled up a little too far, revealing a thin line on a cyan eyeball.

Ferdinand's reaction speed was incomparable. He immediately let go of the cloth when he heard the warning, backing away in an instant. However, it was still too late. The energy around him was suddenly smeared with blue light, disappearing instantly. His left arm was dyed the same colour.

The paladin screamed, withdrawing ten metres in a single moment. But even though he fell back, his arm did not follow. Be it the vambrace, the clothes, or the arm itself, everything was soaked in an azure radiance from the inside out.

Right before Richard and the rest, the arm suddenly exploded into shiny stardust that fell slowly. It was like an illusion, an illusion that brought a sudden chill to the bottom of every heart in the room. All of them lost their voices for a moment.

“Astral beast's head!” Noelene's voice was trembling with the terror of the brush with death. Although she was a priestess herself— or perhaps because of it— she cherished her life greatly.

Fortunately, Ferdinand had controlled his energy when he drew back, safely dropping the antimagic cloth back on the astral beast's eye. If not for that, perhaps it would not have been just an arm. There was an incomparable glossy section left on his shoulder, the wound covered in a layer of light blue crystal.

“How did this thing appear here?” Priestess Noelene asked with lingering fear, her face pale.

Astral beasts were extremely powerful even by Norland's standards. If an invasion was handled inappropriately, it could lead to a small disaster. Even after dying, as long as their eyes were still intact, the beasts' gazes would hold boundless power. And it just so happened that their eyeballs were the toughest part of their bodies.

Richard's expression was ghastly as well, “Master sent it some time ago.”

“Her Excellency Sharon? No wonder.” Noelene showed an expression of admiration at the mention of the legendary mage. This astral beast's head was enough to prove just how powerful she was.

A peculiar layer of pale gold emerged on Ferdinand's face, but his tone was still relatively stable, “Forgive me, I think I have to rush back to the Church immediately. The wound needs to be treated right away.” Saying that, he quickly flew out of the open window and disappeared in a flash.

Noelene took another look at the astral beast's head, saying with a complicated expression, “Richard, I'm afraid we'll need Priestess Ferlyn to appraise this offering personally. I can only take it back to the Church for now, but I can be certain that it already surpasses the standard of a greater offering.”

Richard thought things over for a while, “Alright, I only have one request. Flowsand is to conduct the ceremony.”

This caused even the stoic Noelene to display an envious expression. “Understood, I will definitely pass on this request to the high priestess.”

Flowsand smiled faintly, directly kissing Richard on the lips without a care that Noelene was beside them. She then followed the priestess to leave. Noelene picked up the astral beast's head and left from the window, also taking Flowsand as well. It as a subconscious display of the strength of the Church's priestesses.

Once Flowsand and Noelene had left, Richard was basically done with handling everything. All that was left was to wait, to wait until the new supplies and transacted goods got to their intended locations. Normally he would make use of such time to craft runes— the process also helped him grow his magic— or alternatively, he would meditate. Having just become a level 12 mage, he had a lot of room for improvement. There was no limit to the effort he could put in. However, just before he left for one of the two, a question suddenly popped into his mind. What was this floor used for?

As he looked around, all Richard saw was an absolutely empty space without anything, not even the most fundamental of decoration. The entirety of the wall facing him was an open-air window— no, more accurately speaking the entirety of the wall facing him had been torn down. That was how the massive astral beast head had managed to get in.

There were no dividing walls on the entire floor, no rooms. It was simply a huge, barren space that was incomparably empty. The astral beast head had taken up all his focus whenever he had come here before, but now that it was taken away he was left with a full, clear view of this place.

Every inch of land on the floating island was worth its weight in gold. Gaton wasn't in the habit of indulging in a luxurious lifestyle, why would he leave the entire floor empty?

Richard wandered around with purpose, carefully looking through every corner. He eventually found a slightly glossy area, a seeming trace of being sat on often.

He sat down in the location after some thought. Looking around, he discovered that Faust and all of its floating islands were blocked by the remaining floors. All he could see was the endless sky. In the daytime, it would be a pure, clear blue. At night, it would be the Rainbow of the Moons.

However, did he even want to see anything? Or perhaps, was that what he wanted to see?

403 - City of Sin

To Cherish(2)

A new thought slowly came to Richard's mind, 'This man's ambition can't be so small.' Perhaps Gaton really didn't want to see anything when he sat here.

He thus closed his eyes and gave in to the surroundings, feeling the strong wind hitting him in the face. He slowly started to feel something, but couldn't place a finger on it. Still, he maintained his patience and returned to a state of peace. A strong foundation in meditation was finally put to use, slowly turning him tranquil.

However, this wasn't meditation exactly. He was just sitting there calmly, emptying his head and heart.

When the heart was emptied, one could finally put in something new. How much could be put in depended on how large the place was. Richard felt like he couldn't put too much inside: just two images of the future and it was almost full.

But that man?That man seemed like he could hold the entire world within him... Or perhaps only one silhouette.

Richard finally opened his eyes after what seemed like an eternity, breathing out a puff of turbid air before standing up with a sigh. It was already the next evening.

He leaned against the windowsill, looking at the lights of the city below. The green moon hung high in the sky, the faint moonlight dancing amongst the stars to paint an endless picture. However, behind this facade of glory lay an entire world of conspiracy, of luxuries and desires darker than the night. Below the beautiful sky lay a city of sin.

He was originally engrossed in this darkness, fighting to the best of his ability as he hoped to emerge at the top of this chaos one day. And yet, time and time again, he was proven wrong. The end of his journey was oh so far away. However, that man was standing at the top of this mess already.

Richard knew his journey had only begun. As long as he trudged forward without end, he would reach it someday.

......

The steward was standing by the staircase, clearly waiting for him for what seemed to have been a long time.

The old man still hadn't recovered completely from his injuries. Even though divine spells could heal the wounds, the damage to his muscles and bones needed time to fix. It was still rather hard for him to move about. And yet, despite all that pain, he insisted on getting off the bed to fulfil his duties the moment Richard came back. At the very least, his back was still ramrod straight.

“Young Master, two visitors are waiting for you in the lounge. Fourth Prince Nyris and Agamemnon Ironblood.”

“Nyris and Agamemnon? That's strange... Alright, bring me to them.”

Nyris stood up the moment Richard stepped into the lounge, laughing, “How primitive is your lounge?! Don't the Archerons have nine... wait no, ten personal planes now? Still so stingy, you can't even bear to decorate this pathetic place.”

Richard was rather speechless as that. He understood that luxury was a part of royalty etiquette, but Gaton had never been too particular about such things.

“This wasn't what we came for,” Agamemnon cut the prince off.

Nyris could only yield, “Right. Richard, I heard there's a rebellion in your Forest Plane and it's pretty obvious the Dragon Mage couldn't handle it herself. Or should I say she doesn't want to handle it herself? Anyway, you'll definitely be going there to help her, which is what brings me here. We want to fight alongside you.”

“In the Forest Plane?” Richard looked confused. This issue had nothing to do with either of them, so he couldn't understand their interest in it. Were they war maniacs?

“Well... this is a family affair,” he eventually said tactfully. He wasn't too worried about them looking into the plane— after all, both the royal family and Grand Duke Ironblood possessed so much more than the Archerons in terms of wealth; their problem wasn't in finding planes, it was in finding people to develop them. However, inviting or even just allowing members of other families to participate in a private war held a lot of significance as well.

“Don't worry too much about it, just think you're helping me okay? I'll owe you one after this! Hey, are you doubting my ability? Even though I'm more handsome than you, my fist is pretty tough too!” Nyris' voice was getting louder, almost like he was growing angry.

Richard was rather dumbfounded at the overreaction; he almost couldn't fathom this royal's way of thinking, “Alright, alright! We'll be leaving at six in the morning tomorrow. The portal is right here.”

“Got it, we'll be on time!” Nyris grew uncharacteristically cheerful, dragging Agamemnon out the door.

Richard shook his head. The two were treating this as a game; although both were outstanding individuals that could compare to saints when fully armoured, wars were different from duels. Extraordinary fighters were helpful, but they weren't everything.

It was early into the night when he moved to Gaton's command centre, switching the magic table to a map of the Forest Plane again. He rested his chin on his hand, thinking over war plans repeatedly. Of course, the scenarios in his mind mostly involved Lina's troops, himself, and Flowsand; he didn't include Nyris and Agamemnon at all. This wasn't so much distrust of their abilities as the fact that he was used to relying on people he had full control over.

He was so focused he didn't notice Lina's shadow pass him by. The Dragon Mage was heading for her room— every one of Gaton's knights had a personal suite on this level— but she immediately turned back and fixed her gaze onto him.

The command centre was dimly lit, magic light spilling down from the ceiling to be reflected off the map. Richard stood right between the two, deep in thought. The angles of his face were carved out perfectly by the shadows, revealing a hint of the stone-like will hidden in his boyish features. It gave him another layer of charm.

In a flash, it was as though she'd seen Gaton himself standing there.

Gaton always pondered over every little detail before a war. This rough brute had a rather meticulous side to him— every miracle carved by his hands was a product of endless preparation.

She hadn't thought Richard's involvement in the Forest Plane would help improve anything drastically; the only goal was to put the pretty little boy in a difficult spot. The backup plan was already in place; once Richard failed, she would abandon the troops and chip away at the rebel army herself until all of them were vanquished. She could grievously wound the enemy saint in a single blow anyway; the protection of the magic towers would only prolong the torture.

Such a victory would greatly delay their development into the plane. It would also force her to recuperate for a while. Nevertheless, in the current situation guarding the plane was much more important than developing it.

The request for his assistance was only an excuse so she could witness him in the middle of adversity. The boy was still young and with a promising future, time was definitely on his side. He was already beyond outstanding when compared to anyone else of his age.

But somehow, looking at him right now, a strange idea popped inside her head. Would Richard actually win this war?Was he, too, a man of miracles?

Who knew? Hadn't miracles already been formed at his hand? Everyone knew he had the gift to be a runemaster, but two rune sets in his first conference? That alone put his reputation on par with runemaster Lugatti!

Perhaps, just perhaps... He just might win.

Time passed quickly as Lina was lost in her own world of predictions. In the blink of an eye, it was time for them to leave. The Dragon Mage built a small portal in the castle's chambers, gathering Richard, Flowsand, Nyris, and Agamemnon.

Richard's friends seemed to be sufficiently prepared. Both were covered in legendary armour sets, their weapons even stronger than that. Agamemnon had a spatial box with who knows how many supplies, while Nyris himself had a bangle and two rings as well.

The equipment was over the top, so much so that even Richard was shocked, “How long do you guys plan to stay there?”

“Don't we need at least a month or two to put down the rebellion?” Nyris patted Richard's shoulders as he laughed heartily, “Don't worry 'bout me! I packed enough for all four of us for three!”

Richard was rendered completely speechless. Instead of responding, he just jumped into the portal head first.

The first thing he saw on the other side was an endless forest. Forest Plane, a fitting name indeed. There was seemingly no end to the trees, their thick canopy covering the sky as they breathed incomparably fresh air into the surroundings.

Richard took a breath of the damp air and his heart immediately started beating hard. He instantly fell to the ground with a loud thud, his body stiff and still.

A sharp arrow hissed its way through the air above him, burying itself into the trunk of a big tree. The rear end was till vibrating from the impact.

He immediately leapt up and whipped out two fireball spells to constrict the attacker. What followed was acidic fog covering the area the arrow had come from.

404 - City of Sin

Revolt

A pained roar rang out from the forest, followed by sharp coughs. The assassin was clearly tormented by the sudden barrage of spells. Position confirmed, Richard shot out a flame arrow deep into the forest, bringing the coughs to an abrupt end.

With the would-be assassin eliminated efficiently, Richard finally had the time to properly inspect his surroundings.

The portal hadn't formed within the camp, instead in an empty space nearby. A small team of ten warriors were stood on guard, but the battle had started and ended so quickly that they didn't even have the time to run over from their rest areas.

Thirty metres from the portal was where the dense forest began. The camp was completely surrounded, only a single side exposed to an open area.

Lina stepped out right behind Richard, paling the moment she saw Richard covered in mud and an arrow not far away, “Oh dear! I forgot to tell you, some of the archers from this plane attack when you exit the portal. Their arrows are very powerful, often even poisonous! Are you hurt? Where are they? The shouldn't have run far, I'll go catch them immediately.”

Richard's expression did not change in the face of Lina's late warning and her concern, “No need, I've already eliminated them.”

“Eliminated?” Lina was shocked. She knew just how cunning the snipers of this plane were. The forest was their world, and the well-known figures amongst their ranks were extremely talented at archery. It was impossible to ascertain their positions based on the trajectory of the arrows alone; even she had lost track of some.

If one wanted to catch these people, level was secondary. Most important was a quick and accurate response coupled with high cast speed. That was something one only accrued over countless bloody battles. Richard was only seventeen... Just how many battles had he experienced that he had such ability?

Richard's heart skipped slightly at Lina's reaction, making him wonder if he had done something amazing. But of course, he wouldn't let this thought show on his face. He instead turned to the dazed warriors standing at the side, “You lot, go find and retrieve the assassin's body.”

The warriors hesitated. They obviously didn't know who Richard was, but the defence he had just executed with the storm of spells left a deep impression. It was rare to see such a violent barrage even from Lina. Still, the clearly unusual relationship this youth shared with their commander wasn't enough to make them obey his orders.

These warriors had all been fighting in planar wars for a long time, something that made them all fierce and untameable. Threading the line between life and death all year round, none of them knew if they would survive the next battle. They had the guts to fight even legendary powerhouses, using their very lives to bury the enemy.
𝒇re𝐞w𝐞𝚋𝒏𝚘ѵeƖ c𝗼𝑚

Seeing them not moving, Lina immediately shouted, “This is Lord Gaton's son, royal runemaster of the Sacred Alliance, Young Master Richard Archeron! His orders are equivalent to mine!”

Only then did the warriors make their way towards the forest, dragging a dead body back after a while.

Lina's curved brows couldn't help but lift at the sight of the body. She squatted next to it, carefully examining all traces. At the same moment, the portal flashed incessantly as Flowsand, Nyris, and Agamemnon stepped out one after the other. The first thing they saw was the native's body.

Flowsand only took a simple look, not paying any more attention, but the two youths grew extremely serious. They surrounded the corpse with Lina, carefully checking it without missing a single detail.

All three had sharp eyes. They immediately noticed that there were four traces of magic on the body: two fireballs, acid fog, and the fatal blow of the flame arrow. However, judging from these traces, the spells had been unbelievably fast.

There were many criteria on which one could judge a mage's battle ability. Even if casting speed wasn't the most important, it was still incredibly useful. This native was undoubtedly eliminated by Richard, the question was how a mere level 12 mage could cast as fast as most grand mages.

The being on the ground looked very similar to an elf from Norland, with long and pointed ears that were meant to use the wind to detect movements. Their face was handsome, with a big nose and a pair of large, bright eyes; clearly, they could also smell and see very well. The proportions were great as well: long, athletic body with powerful muscles. The skin had mostly been destroyed by the spells, but a small portion that still remained seemed to be a bluish green. In the gloomy forest, this would serve as natural camouflage.

The Schumpeters had termed these beings forest elves; when the Archerons acquired control of the plane, they continued using this term.

Agamemnon suddenly flipped over the forest elf's body, revealing a totem tattoo on a piece of the skin that was still intact. He scraped off a bit of the ink and tasted it with his mouth, his face changing a little, “Strong antimagic properties, enough to drop a spell by two grades.”

Nyris' expression changed a little at this, and he couldn't help but glance at Richard. Neither he nor Agamemnon had been shocked by the forest elf's magic resistance, the surprising thing was that Richard's spells had still caused a normal amount of damage despite it. Was the fellow so lucky that he also had a spell boost or magic penetration?

Lina was very excited as well. A grand mage herself, she could tell that all of Richard's spells had been augmented with a magic penetration effect, something both mages and antimages hated the most.

Her gaze was different when she looked back at Richard. She now knew that no mage at the same level could ever defeat Richard. Forget the strange casting speed and the magic penetration, his incomparably keen reaction alone would leave him undefeated in most battles. If she hadn't been sure of his level, she would even have suspected that some grand mage had taken care of the attacker, just with spells below grade 6.

Richard's boosted thinking speed from the blessing of wisdom already put him on the level of a normal grand mage. On top of that, the endless bloodbaths in the Bloodstained Lands had honed his battle sense greatly.

The expressions of the three surrounding the corpse grew more and more interested. Richard had originally wanted to suppress Lina a little, to pacify her, but he didn't think they would take so much information from this body. His true battle strength was revealed a little.

He didn't know what they were thinking, but instinct told him something was not right. Their gazes made him feel very uncomfortable, but because he didn't understand he just pretended to sigh calmly. It was also a convenient way to let out the heat from his Archeron blood.

Blaze was stronger than Eruption. Every time he activated it, Richard felt like his blood had turned into lava. As the Archeron bloodline grew more powerful, Richard felt like the way he did things was slowly changing as well.

Lina suddenly gave a shout of surprise, lifting her head to look around until her gaze finally fell onto Richard. Her expression was complicated, the frighteningly bright gaze causing Richard to feel incredibly uneasy. Unable to tell what it meant, he could only barely put on a faint smile and wait for her to continue.

Yet, there was no continuation. The Dragon Mage just buried her head into examining the corpse once more.

Richard didn't know that the hot breath he just spewed out filled the air nearby with a blazing aura. This aura contained a faint scent of sulphur, just like the smell of magma.

Every rise of Gaton's sword, every spur of his horse as he waved his army forward was always accompanied by a thick, volcanic smell. This blazing aura always increased the confidence of Lina and her companions a hundred times over, regardless of whether their opponent was a peerless powerhouse or a magnificent army with thousands of soldiers. They would always swing their weapons, charging forward without hesitation!

Head bowed, Lina couldn't completely suppress the expression of happiness that started to cover her face. In the midst of the joy sprouted a faint expectation: this kid had more surprises in store.

The guards placed the forest elf's weapons next to his body: a longbow that was more than 1.5m long as well as a dagger. Richard tried to pull on the bow, but he discovered that he couldn't send the string back completely without Eruption. As for the dagger, it was extremely rough without a single enchantment. This alone was enough to give him a basic understanding of the style of the forest elves.

It took a bit of effort to get the three people off the corpse, heading to the camp. The first thing Richard did after taking command was to have all the battle-worthy warriors line up according to their class, checking all their names against a roster one by one.

He worked fast, but even so it took nearly two hours to check the more than two thousand warriors from beginning to end once.

Nyris and Agamemnon were stood at the side throughout the entire process, watching on with a surprising amount of patience. In fact, Agamemnon's eyes had followed Richard from start to finish.

When an hour had passed, Nyris had been unable to hold it in as he asked in a low voice, “What is he doing exactly? Did he read too many memoirs or something?”

“He's exactly the same as when he started,” Agamemnon had mentioned.

This had immediately perked up the prince who watched carefully to realise that it was indeed the case. Richard had spent almost the same amount of time on each soldier, asking the same old questions, but most important was that the boring and monotonous process had seemingly had no impact on him. He had been just as focused and serious as at the start, not omitting a single word even though the same questions had been asked hundreds of times.

It was a terrifying amount of patience.

405 - City of Sin

Revolt(2)

Even as Agamemnon's words changed Nyris' expression, Lina was standing shocked by the side. She had no idea what Richard was doing, but his meticulousness still astonished her. Nobody wanted an enemy like him, not even the Dragon Mage.

The only one unaffected was Flowsand. The cleric had headed to a tent the moment Richard began, falling deep asleep. Planar teleportation was a draining affair, and she needed to recover well.

The rest might not have known Richard's intentions, but she did. It was nothing too amazing; he was just using the excuse of the roll call to get some understanding of the abilities of every soldier. He frequently did the same back on Faelor as well, which was why he had a precise grasp on how best to use his people in battle. A fight that could be won by ten soldiers would at most be allocated to eleven.

When it finally ended, everyone outside of Richard heaved a sigh of relief.

“Officers, forward!” Richard's command caused a hundred officers of varying ranks to stand out. He then put the register away, coldly scanning through these fierce soldiers; their eyes had been full of an untamed savagery when the Dragon Mage had handed over command. He spoke up after a moment, “All of you are being reorganised. Company 1, Squad 1...”

Richard spoke quickly but the well-trained officers and soldiers that were called on promptly gathered to form the new teams. At some point during the process, many of the soldiers' expressions changed. His voice never paused, and he hadn't taken a single look at the register from the start. It was as though he had memorised all of their names during the roll call, but... how was that even possible?

And yet, once the reorganisation was done, everyone was shocked to find that Richard really had remembered everyone. Not one of the soldiers had been left behind! He placed his hands behind his back and shouted, “Everyone is to remember their squads. My commands will only go to the company captains... All of you are to distinctly remember your numbers and follow orders without fail. Anyone who disobeys will be beheaded.

“We're setting out at eight in the morning, we attack at nine. All of you, get some rest!”

The two thousand plus soldiers returned to their tents in order, leaving a few dozens in the training grounds. These were the captains Richard had picked out; they were all required to memorise the code names for his orders before they could sleep.

Nyris and Agamemnon were still standing at the side of the field. The prince had his hand on his chin, “Richard seems to be adept at war.”

“Seems to be? If you two were using the same military forces with over a thousand troops, he can annihilate you thrice over.” Agamemnon did not hold back.

Nyris hummed reluctantly, “We'll only know if we fight. Besides, why should I use an army like he does? Can't I just rush into his command centre and kill him directly? He's just a level 12 mage.”

Agamemnon pretended not to have heard anything, causing the prince to shrug helplessly, “Alright, alright! I'm inferior to Richard, okay? Wait, something's not right... Richard's going to his quarters? All the troops were organised, why aren't we included? He isn't even considering the two of us in his plans, is he? We're definitely at the top tier here!”

“The top tier of neglection, it seems like.” The taciturn Agamemnon made a rare joke.

Nyris' pretty little face was already turning red. Feeling like there was no point in standing alone in the field, he resentfully entered his tent and fell deep asleep.

......

Richard stayed awake inside the command tent, studying the terrain of Emerald City from the map table.

The key to this battle would be the enemy's three magic towers. They were all the most elementary of towers, primarily serving to weaken any spells cast within their domain greatly. All three combined, they suppressed Lina's magic until it wasn't too much of a threat. Another function came in the form of a mana attack that was comparable to a grade 6 spell. Even grand mages had to be careful with them.

The original point of these three towers was to fight the forest elves. Because the damage they could do to a single target didn't matter all that much, they had been designed for long-ranged area offensives. Given how primitive the magic of the elves was, the mana suppression functions were extremely basic. However, if every tower was used in harmony the defensive ability was still great, especially with a saint coordinating their tactics. It was these three towers that had allowed the rebel army to fight off two attacks led by Lina despite a disadvantage in numbers.

The abilities of a magic tower depended entirely on the support of its mana pool. There were mechanisms to draw atmospheric mana into it, but there were limits to that ability. One of the best ways to remove the threat of a magic tower was to charge straight in and kill the controlling mages. Another was to empty its mana pool, rendering it useless. Of course, one could also attack the tower itself. If the defences were destroyed, the magic formations would be damaged and lose their effects.

In their current circumstances, the towers were not an offensive threat. The rebel army was relying on them to suppress Lina's magic, and every spell they weakened consumed a lot of energy from the pool. Looking at their positions on the map, new plans constantly flowed through Richard's mind. It took him a while to decide on a few that would attack the towers, the saint, as well as the regular soldiers of the enemy army.

......

Eight in the morning the next day, 2,300 soldiers entered formation before marching towards Emerald City. Without any roles or orders, Nyris and Agamemnon just followed behind.

The two were covered in armour from head to toe, even their faces covered in helmets. The armour was obviously custom made, and the faint ripples of magic coming off them were an indication that they weren't cheap. A close look would reveal excellent lines that made it obvious how expensive the materials were, but despite that there were no decorative motifs or any other sign of extravagance on these sets. It was all an unremarkable grey, dull to the point that it was slightly unpresentable. A few obvious cracks could be seen at the seams.

To the untrained eye, both of them looked like pitiful knights that didn't have the money to even eat properly. Please visit ƒ𝐫𝗲𝒆𝑤𝚎𝐛𝙣𝐨𝙫𝙚𝚕. 𝒄o𝓂

406 - City of Sin

Revolt(3)

When Richard first saw Nyris and Agamemnon, he couldn't help but be stunned for a moment. The cracks on their armour were unbelievable: the royal family and Duke Ironblood should be able to fix two sets of armour, right? These two were in the line of succession, not some faraway relatives...

However, closer inspection changed his expression greatly. These were no cracks, instead marks drawn on by a master artist!

On the edge between life and death, if anyone believed the armour couldn't take another blow and tried to push a blade into the cracks, their efforts were fated to end in failure. However, few would be able to see these armour sets and not be fooled. Even with Truth, Richard had only discovered this shameless guise after careful scrutiny.

In stark contrast with the armour, the weapons of the two were shining gorgeously. Nyris carried a large two-handed sword that was nearly as tall as himself, the edge a translucent bright red that looked like crystal. A part of the blade was jagged, and even if the prince didn't activate his energy it was continuously emitting a flame-like glow. The entire sword seemed to be formed of burning lava. Agamemnon's weapon was a comically large spiked hammer, bundles of multicolour light dancing from end to end.

The powerful auras of these weapons could not be concealed. Each was likely even better than Extinction which was on his back. Richard believed that the sheer power of the enchantments made all disguises pointless; if not for that, the weapons might have cracks on them as well.

Both weapons were extremely heavy and powerful. The warhorses that had been specially picked out for the two could not take on the weight and needed to be changed after a short gallop. The two changed horses six or seven times overall during the journey, causing the officer in charge of logistics to roll his eyes incessantly.

An hour later, Emerald City appeared before Richard's eyes.

The walls of the city were not exactly high, less than ten metres tall. Everything was made entirely of wood, clearly meant to defend against wild beasts and not enemy troops. This was because the forest elves were proficient at climbing stealthily; no matter how high the walls got, they wouldn't pose much of an obstacle. It was the magic towers that could discover them whenever they entered the magic suppression domain.

The army halted just outside the range of the towers, slowly spreading out in formation. Richard watched the enemies on the city wall from atop his warhorse, various numbers flitting through his vision as the entire battlefield was analysed in his mind.

He felt uncomfortable and sticky by the time he was done, wiping at his body only to come up with a damp hand. This plane was extremely humid, the atmosphere slightly foggy and the sun dimmer than on Norland. It was as though the sunlight was tinted by the green.

Trees everywhere, dew everywhere, green everywhere. Such was the Forest Plane.

There were numerous cave-ins in the city wall. Some of that had happened during Gaton's initial assault on the area, while many others were traces of Lina's attacks on the city. Their only use was in the battlements giving the archers a vantage point.

“Cavalry, standby. Infantry, archers, advance!” Richard finally sent down the order to start the battle.

Groups of armoured footsoldiers immediately lifted their tower shields, advancing towards Emerald City. The archers practically stuck to the infantry in front of them, using the defence of the huge shields. The army slowly marched forward while a hundred cavalrymen lined up behind Richard, awaiting orders.

The enemy archers began to fire, loosing a messy rain of arrows towards them. However, there was little damage to Richard's soldiers as they continued to press closer and enter firing range. A single order had all of their own archers shoot together, four hundred arrows forming a shower that was concentrated on a small, isolated section of the wall.

There were dozens of archers and footsoldiers on that section, but the focused fire from tens of times their number left them with serious casualties. The Archeron archers pulled back on their heavy longbows once more, clearing another section of the wall with their fast, sharp arrows. The rebel army was immediately flustered, the counterattack very weak.

By the time Richard ordered the third volley out, few enemies could be seen within range anymore. The three strikes had killed a little less than a hundred enemies. Although a single barrage didn't cover too much area, anyone caught within it faced almost certain death. This completely shocked the rebel army; nobody was willing to expose themselves to the possibility of such an attack.

The front line thus moved forward slowly, while the central formation that protected Richard followed. When they were a little less than 200 metres from the city wall, he had them all enter staggered formation; he knew they were nearing the towers' attack range.

The thousand plus divided into their own ten-man squads, each with at least twenty metres of distance from the others as they advanced. The only large, crowded group was the central formation that Richard was in.

......

Within Emerald City, Commander Endor had his brows furrowed as a bad premonition overtook him. Whenever a battle normally reached this point, Lina would have flown into the air to show off her power. The giant dragon of hers would send down torrents of flames from the sky, while the ordinary soldiers were almost completely useless. Both armies basically fought autonomously, with no energy nor desire to interfere in the battle between the powerhouses.

Endor only needed to tie Lina down with the help of the magic suppression domains of the towers, occasionally threatening her so she couldn't drop her defence and just attack one of the towers. The two unoccupied towers could thus switch to offence as needed, inflicting massive casualties on the Archeron elites. Please visit f𝗿e𝗲𝘄𝚎𝐛𝚗𝐨𝙫ℯl. c𝗼𝚖

Although both Lina and Endor believed the battle between the armies to only be an adornment to the true war, these troops were still elites. Lina would feel the pain of the losses, left with no choice but to retreat.

But things were entirely different this time! The enemy had been in neat formation from the moment they appeared, striking at the weakness of the rebel army— the lack of trained archers. A few volleys of arrows dealt a dire blow to their morale. On top of that, the Dragon Mage hadn't taken action yet! She was merely following the central formation as they slowly advanced!

407 - City of Sin

War Of Attrition

Was the enemy trying to win using her army? Endor felt that such a thing was hard to believe. When someone as powerful as the Dragon Mage existed amongst their ranks, how would they even think of attacking Emerald City with the troops alone?

He massaged his head repeatedly. Even though his hair was already half white, every strand still straight like a steel fibre. A single touch of his firm hair would normally boost his confidence, but no such thing was happening today.

This was the exact situation Endor didn't want to see. His army was inferior to the Archerons; if they lost, the Archeron soldiers would rush into the city. That would be the end!

Although these warriors didn't pose much of a threat to him personally, they could still attack the magic towers. Given the limited space in the towers, the warriors would overwhelm his mages with sheer numbers alone. And the moment he lost the assistance of the towers, he would have to escape immediately. The slightest of hesitation and he wouldn't be able to escape from Lina's clutches.

The Dragon Mage was powerful beyond her level.

A hazy glow fell down from the sky, enveloping all of Emerald City. The three magic towers were now operating at full capacity, reducing the might of any spells in their domain by one or two grades.

The Archeron troops had already entered the range of the towers. However, looking at the scattered troops of the enemy, Endor hesitated to launch the attacks. The enemy was moving slowly and strangely; the scattered soldiers would be ground up by the combined bulk of his troops, but if the towers were activated a single attack would only cover three squads at best. These elementary towers had limited mana pools; the precious attacks could only be used at crucial points.

It was at this time that Lina finally flew into the sky. This left Endor even more hesitant to allow the towers to fire at will. Past experience told him now was the exact time that she would cause chaos with a barrage of spells.

“Maximise antimagic fields!” Endor yelled, unsheathing his two-handed sword before jumping up the wall. Before the order had even rung out the mages in the towers had swiftly expanded the boundaries of the magic suppression domains, also increasing their might.

Lina's hands spread open, but just as she was about to start a chant Richard's voice rang out from below, “Wait, don't initiate the attack. Just stay there!”

The Dragon Mage was surprised. She did not understand why Richard gave her that order, but she still listened and stopped her attack, remaining floating in the air.

Within a minute of this strange deadlock, Endor's face had changed. This boosted magic suppression domain consumed lots of mana, but instead of the Dragon Mage it was the army that changed formation and swiftly gathered together, charging straight towards the city. A powerful saint who was more than fifty years old with countless battles under his belt was left at a loss.

There was a dire need to stop these attacking forces, but he couldn't afford to move. The towers couldn't waste their attacks either; besides, switching to attack mode would require some time. The absolute worst part was that they couldn't decide which region to focus the suppression on until Lina attacked. Even though the Dragon Mage could be considered restrained right now, floating silently in the air, there was no way of guessing her target until the moment she attacked.

Endor's heart was beating faster and faster, impatience washing over him as he almost initiated the attack himself. However, those few moments of hesitation were enough to land him in great danger. Seeing Richard's troops already heading towards a large gap in the city wall, he finally yelled helplessly, “All soldiers, prepare for the attack!”

Several companies of soldiers rushed towards the gap, trying to block the Archeron army. Both sides were immediately caught up in an intense battle!

The weak cleric on the Archeron side was casting spell after divine spell in an attempt to help. As for the rebel army, they didn't have any clerics in the battle. The Schumpeters had lost all their clerics in Gaton's assault. The norm in planar wars was to wipe out or banish all of the enemy priests.

“Companies 3-10, retreat 20 metres. Companies 1,2,10-14, commence your attack!” The ten or so soldiers in the core formation of the army started bellowing loudly, raising their signal flags as well as using voice amplification magic to pass the orders to all the companies in a flash.

The centre of the army slowly retreated, while the two flanks moved forward in a killing spree. Both sides already locked in combat, the warriors were fighting in close quarters. The change in formation immediately pulled the rebel troops out of the gap in the wall, leading them into a three-pronged attack wherein a massacre ensued.

Lina felt like she finally had a good opportunity to attack. “Richard!” she yelled out.

“Don't move!” Richard replied sternly, continuing to bark out orders, “Companies 3-10, hold positions. 3,5,7,9, forward... Pull back... 6, 10, forward... Pull back...”

Already possessing superior numbers, the Archeron army followed Richard's orders to surround the rebels. A few companies charged forward at a time, showing their might in a swift, fierce killing before retreating.

The scene was repeated over and over again, Richard's army grinding away at the Schumpeter lives like a millstone. The 400 archers continued to burn through the enemies, wiping out the soldiers on the walls as well as any enemy offensives. They didn't directly help the infantry, but their presence ensured that the rebels didn't dare to gather in a defensive formation. The volleys were precise and powerful, discouraging any close formations. The magic suppression domains did not help against these longbowmen.

“Richard!” Lina shouted, but her plea was once again met with a “Wait!”

With the Dragon Mage unmoving, Endor and the primary magic tower were locked down as well. Unable to keep up the domain eternally, the other two towers were already attacking sporadically. However, the main forces of the two sides were already in a melee so the magical attacks weren't all that useful.

Floating in the sky, the Dragon Mage was obviously unhappy. On the other hand, Endor was sweating profusely. His face betrayed his struggle; whether they moved to attack or not, this was going to be a difficult task. He had to act fast, or it would be too late.

Richard's commandership was exceedingly accurate, able to pinpoint the most chaotic zones to attack to leave the Schumpeters bloody and wounded. The rebels were quickly losing numbers; if this went on, it would only be a matter of time before they were completely defeated. Even now, the fearsome Dragon Mage in the sky hadn't acted yet. Nobody knew when her terrible showers of flame would drop from the sky.

408 - City of Sin

War Of Attrition(2)

Richard arranged for Nyris and Agamemnon to be at the back of the troops, explaining to them that they were needed to prevent a flank from the enemies. However, the rebel forces were already ground away to the point that they didn't have a chance to fight back at all, how would they have the energy to plan a flank? The two youths' weapons were bursting with legendary power, but there was no opportunity for either to use them!

Nyris grew suspicious after a good half of the day, unable to help but ask Agamemnon, “This Richard... could it be that he feels like we've already won?”

Agamemnon seemed to be surprised by the question, slow to respond, “We have.”

“What about us?” The prince could not accept the fact that he had been a mere spectator in such a big war.

“Evidently, we have been disregarded.” Agamemnon had never cared much for the fourth prince's reputation, nor his own.

“Cavalry, turn right and advance! Enter the city from gap 3, attack tower 2!” Richard finally mobilised the cavalry. A hundred mounted soldiers spurred their horses forward, turning around and bypassing the battlefield as they headed for the city walls.

The move completely warped Endor's expression. Knowing he had no choice left, he flew into the sky with the intent to order the towers to attack. It was at this time that Richard finally unleashed Lina, “You can summon your dragon now.”

Finally receiving the command she had been waiting for, the Dragon Mage urgently recited the incantation. It was swift and bitter, strange and extraordinary; a portal appeared in the sky behind her, and a huge dark-red dragon flew out! The enormous creature spread its wings apart, flying around in the sky once before swooping down. A loud roar rang out as draconic flames rained down on the first magic tower!

This was an adult red dragon!

Even though it was well known that Lina's special ability was to summon a red dragon, the stunning feeling when the real thing was soaring in the sky was something words could not describe.

Summon Red Dragon was a legendary spell, but Lina had managed to cast it as only a grand mage. This showed how special the Dragon Mage was amongst her kind, the reason for her title.

Even though the dragon in the sky was far away, its mighty aura cowered even Richard's horse. The creature incessantly dug into the ground with its hooves, and Richard himself felt his heart pounding. Still, he quickly regained his calm; the greatest strength of mages was their will, and his was like steel.

He looked closely at the red dragon in the sky, taking a full half minute to assess that it was level 19. Based on its battle ability, the dragon surpassed Lina herself.

Up in the sky, Lina pointed at the first tower and roared, “Kaloh, full attack!”

The dragon replied with a long roar, flying up before quickly swooping down. Another burst of hot dragonfire rushed towards the tower.

Many lights were glimmering atop the tower, revealing a magical barrier to the naked eye. The draconic flames clashed directly with the tower's light, instantly setting it ablaze. The lights grew dim, seemingly about to die down, but a burst of mana from within the tower turned them bright once more. Google search 𝙛𝘳𝘦𝐞𝑤ℯ𝗯n𝗼ѵe𝑙. c૦𝑚

Still, such a weak magic tower could not adequately resist the red dragon's flames on its own. Endor had risen to the sky, his large sword sending out a crescent of energy that extinguished the second burst. Within the suppression zone, the dragonfire was darkened and weakened to the point that he could deal with it effortlessly. Kaloh roared in anger, sending down another hail of flames.

However, the dragon wasn't the only one for Endor to deal with.

Richard's voice echoed out once more, “Lina, target tower 1. Use all your mana!”

Finally given an opportunity to showcase her full might, the Dragon Mage waved both her hands. A red blaze manifested within, gushing forward towards the tower as though it had a life of its own. This was a spell unique to her; the flames surged forward, no different from the fires of a true dragon. The explosive force wasn't all that great, but the flames were thick and had a far greater range than ordinary fireballs.

As the first wave rushed towards the tower, Endor cried out angrily as he used two sword lights to disperse the flames raining down. This was just like before, with Endor in constant battle with the Dragon Mage to see who would use all their energy up.

However, there was a fundamental difference here. When Richard saw Lina about to cast the second wave of flames, he raised his hand and moved it forward aggressively, “Flowsand! Outburst!”

The Outburst spell! The pale gold radiance did not land on Richard's body, instead enveloping the Dragon Mage!

In a flash, Lina felt all the mana in her body burning, as though she had fallen into a volcano!

“Lina! Attack as fast as you can, only use the draconic flames!” Richard cried out. The Dragon Mage obeyed his instructions, wave after wave of dragonfire appearing in her hands to form a continuous flow towards the tower. It didn't take long for her to discharge more than twenty spells.

When he saw the endless fire, all the hair on Endor's body stood erect. His eyes widened, his jaw dropped, body growing stiff like he had been hit with a stunning spell. At that moment, his mind was completely blank! Immense fear blocked all thoughts, the feeling like a lone man on the beach suddenly realising a ten-metre-tall tsunami was about to wash over him.

Who could envision a grand mage using up all her mana in a few seconds? The result was almost like a legendary mage was present. Endor's instincts told him to run, but he couldn't help but think, 'The tower is behind me... If I hide...'

This large wave of flames would immediately destroy the tower. If even one of the three magic towers was destroyed, their chances of holding back the Archerons would plummet. Even if Lina came alone in the future, it would be difficult to fend her off. She was a powerful grand mage, possessing an extraordinary bloodline ability as well as many runes that allowed her to fight alongside a red dragon. With the two fighting in tandem, they could defeat an ordinary saint like him easily.

It was this knowledge of the consequences that made Endor hesitate, but soon he realised the flames were moving far too quickly. There was no way of avoiding them even if he wanted to! As the flames flowed over like a river, he realised that even attempting to retreat would be met with the same end.

The flames engulfed him and the tower behind. The battle was over.

From start to finish, Richard had not discharged a single spell.

409 - City of Sin

War Of Attrition(3)

Nyris' throat moved up and down as he swallowed with difficulty, watching everything in disbelief, “It's over?”

“Yes.” Agamemnon was as curt as usual.

“But... What did I just see? Was... was that magic?” Nyris gazed towards Lina. While the dragon mage was already swaying, ready to collapse, that did nothing to damage her dazzling image in his mind. Faced with her shower of flames, even a saint would instantly turn to ash if they were slow to escape.

“A spell from Flowsand.” Agamemnon was clearly the more discerning of the two.

It was only then that Nyris glanced towards Flowsand, completely stupefied. He suddenly remembered something and couldn't help but shout, “Daybreak?!”

Agamemnon slowly nodded.

“A titled priestess... As expected, they're all...” He didn't complete the sentence. Even a prince could not say anything as he wished.

“Richard's the real lunatic!” Agamemnon asserted, unwittingly finishing the other's sentence. Nobody would dare to say that the titled priestesses of the Eternal Dragon were all crazy, even though it was something they agreed on.

When the Dragon Mage crashed down from the sky, the war finally returned to the normal battle between soldiers. With their commander dead, the rebel army finally broke down and started escaping in all directions.

The Archerons advanced methodically under Richard's command, purging the defeated enemies along the way as they captured Emerald City once more. It was only a matter of time before the battle came to an end.

The third tower had surrendered. The mages inside shut down its domain, walking out in single file to be captured. In contrast, the second had been the site of a terrible battle. The hundred Archeron knights had fought head-on against the mages within, clearing out floor after floor. They gave up their lives to open a path to the top, with only forty left standing by the time they were done.

This was the one part of Richard's plans where the casualties would be immense.

Kaloh hadn't used too much strength on the magic tower. It flew up high into the sky, occasionally pouncing towards the ground and ripping apart the rebels with its sharp teeth and claws. Only when the summoning ended did it roar unwillingly, disappearing into the void.

With the war concluded, Richard relinquished command and left the officers to clear the battlefield. He got off his horse and walked towards Lina; the Dragon Mage had fallen unconscious and plummeted from the sky. Careful examination revealed that she had depleted far too much of her mana, but that only served to relieve him.

'Still, how could Lina not control her magic? She was a grand mage!' he looked up towards Flowsand, and the cleric stuck her tongue out, mouthing words soundlessly. He read her lips and understood what she had said, 'I just punished that old hag a little!'

Many things could be inferred from these words. Richard could only shake his head helplessly.

......

When Lina woke up once more, she found herself lying in the master residence of Emerald City. Richard, sat by her bed, smiled charmingly, “Looks like I was lucky. I didn't need six days.”

Lina didn't say a word, merely staring at the youth in astonishment. He found this strange and touched his face, but there was nothing on it, “What's wrong?”

The Dragon Mage's interest suddenly waned, “I suddenly felt like... No, no it's nothing. Since this is taken care of, you can return. I'll stay.”

Richard didn't understand why Lina's mood had worsened all of a sudden, and he had no clue of how to comfort her. However, powerhouses like her knew to control themselves. He merely remained seated for a while, leaving the room after he realised she had no intentions of explaining further.

It was time to return to Norland.

That afternoon, Richard brought Flowsand and the two young masters who had gained no achievements out of the Forest Plane. They naturally took along the specialty of the plane when they left, which was a sort of wood that was exceedingly tough. It was a great material for making longbows in Norland, with a value of tens of thousands in gold. However, it would only be worth 10,000 at best in Faelor. The great part about it was that it had no inherent mana, so there was basically no extra cost to transporting it if it was placed in spatial equipment.

Richard and Flowsand entered the portal first. Nyris stopped Agamemnon before they left as well, “Is it really over just like that?”

“What else do you want?”

“Shouldn't we be the main characters of a moving battle?” the prince asked, unresigned to the outcome.

Even Agamemnon had no answers for this question. The only purpose of the two being here ended up being to help Richard lug a few tons of wood back to Norland.

......

The goods from the royal family had arrived by the time Richard returned to Norland. He immediately rushed to the castle's warehouse, now under heavy guard by both Gaton's personal guard and a squadron from the royal family.

Inside were ten large magic sealing boxes, each half the size of the average human. The guard captain opened them up one by one, handing over a list of what was inside.

Six of the boxes contained dozens of neatly placed swords, all glimmering with a magic lustre and radiating a cold aura: they were enchanted with enhanced sharpness and a cold effect. The swords were all made of lafite steel, a material that was an entire grade above normal high-carbon steel in terms of durability. Each box held fifty unsheathed swords, the blades smeared with thick layers of cold whale oil to protect the blades and prevent mana drain. That made for 300 magic swords in total.

One of the four remaining boxes had twenty small, elaborate crossbows enchanted with precision and increased range. The weapons were clearly better than the average magic crossbow, the primary material being ice fir. This was the same kind of wood Richard had just brought back from the Forest Plane; with the special treatment of the royal bowyers, the weapons were clearly a step above those of the Schumpeters be it in durability or power. Another box held a total of two thousand bolts. A third were enchanted with poison, another third with armour penetration, and the last third with increased range.

The last two boxes contained gauntlets and scale mail inner armour. The armour, despite only having a single enchantment, could be added onto an existing set to greatly increase one's defence. On the other hand, the gauntlet pairs all had two enchantments on them.

410 - City of Sin

That Man

The equipment in these boxes was all of high quality, worth a total of about a million gold. However, if one didn't purchase them in advance, it was very difficult to find such a large back in such little time. Only the royal family and others of their ilk could produce so many premium goods with ease.

This batch was the compensation for the six runes he had given to the royal family. The magic culture in Faelor was a few centuries behind Norland's, so they could all be sold for three times the price out there. Richard was finally about to see profit in planar war.

Once the equipment was all checked, the royal guards left. Richard then had two paladins take turns on guard duty.

When the royal guards left, Richard personally closed the lid of all the magic sealing boxes, sitting on one and sighing lightly. Underneath him was a million gold coins, something that felt inexplicably strange. Just a few years ago, the total proceeds Gaton earned from one of his planes was less than this value.

Just like the old saying: what flowed between the fingers of runemasters was golden sand.

The air in the warehouse was slightly cold and damp. A corner of the eternal warmth formation had been damaged in the riots, and although it was still generally usable there were occasions where it would stop working. This gave it the same smell as a common cellar; one could feel a heavy staleness when breathing.

Richard was in no hurry to leave, just sitting there as he recalled matters of the past. The boxes under him were proof enough that he was far stronger than Gaton had been at the same age. Who knew what that man would think and say if he saw them?

However, he probably never would... Richard suddenly felt like he needed a drink.

It was only just starting to get dark when he strode out of the warehouse. There was still some time before dinner, so he headed to the study instead of the dining hall. He asked the steward to send a few slices of bread and sat down at the table, spreading out some paper in preparation to write letters to Sharon and Mountainsea.

The pen entered his hand, but the quill would not touch the paper. The runemaster who had drawn countless formations in his life felt blank in front of the empty sheet, not knowing what to write.

“I'm back, but I'm returning immediately. The plane is called Faelor, and it's very safe.” This was the entirety of his letter to Sharon. Having thought about it for a long time, he had no clue how to address her so he just left the start blank.

The one for Mountainsea was even simpler, “I'm back. I will look for you within the appointed time.”

Richard was sweating profusely by the time these few sentences were done; just these two letters were several times more difficult to finish than any rune. He carefully sealed them both up and called for the old steward, giving them to him. He felt the burden on his shoulders fade a little once the two thin pieces of paper were handed over, letting him relax just a tiny bit more.

Once the butler left, Richard poured himself a drink and worried over various matters while tasting the alcohol in the glass. The cup was quickly emptied, so he poured himself another. The liquor was like fire sliding down his throat, burning up his stomach. He subconsciously picked up a slice of bread whenever the burn got too uncomfortable, swallowing it in a few mouthfuls and feeling much better. He would then pour himself another glass...

His mind wandered everywhere amidst the burning alcohol, allowing him to ponder over a great many things. He thought about the Deepblue Aria, about his promise to visit Mountainsea at Klando. Richard was no fool; it was obvious that Mountainsea had a very special identity. Klandor and Norland had never shared a good relationship, so this visit would definitely not be peaceful. It was quite likely that many barbarian warriors would be challenging him on the way. If there was a chance, they definitely wouldn't mind eliminating him.

While Richard was lost in his own world, a few knocks sounded on the door before the steward made his way in. The old man was startled by what he saw, actually growing absent-minded for a moment.

Richard astutely caught the peculiarity in the man's gaze. It was the same expression Lina had shown him just before he returned. “What's wrong?” he asked.

The butler worked hard to keep his gaze off Richard as he answered, “The Church of the Eternal Dragon sent word that the ceremony will be early in the morning tomorrow. It begins at ten, but high priestess Ferlyn hopes you could head there a little earlier. She wishes to talk with you in private.”

“I understand,” Richard nodded, “Also, why did you look so surprised when you saw me just now?”

Seeing that he could not get out of the situation, the steward answered truthfully, “You looked extremely similar to Master Gaton just now, Young Master.”

Richard froze.

He had never expected this answer, the moment filling his mind with gloom. He silently waved the old man away, leaning onto the desk as he picked up his cup once more. Only then did he remember that sitting at the edge of the table like this was a common sight with Gaton. However, the steward definitely wouldn't say he looked similar if it was just the position.

He was similar to that man? DAMN IT! Richard cursed in his mind, lifting the cup and swallowing all the alcohol in one go. The stream of fire burnt his throat all the way to the heart. That wretched man had fallen to such a childish scheme and gotten himself trapped on another plane! How were they similar?!

A blazing tipsiness surged through him, devouring his sobriety in one go. He felt himself go limp and slowly fall, a hazy thought that pampering himself once in a while was pretty good the last thing before he lost consciousness.

He did not understand how he had returned to his room, or how he was lying on the bed. When the magic alarm woke him from his dreams, it was already the next morning.

Richard felt his head hurting so badly it was about to explode. He had never gotten so drunk before, and although it was uncomfortable the soaring mood was actually quite good.

A warm towel was passed over at that moment. Richard took it and wiped his face vigorously, feeling somewhat better. A moment later, a pair of soft arms helped him sit up. Richard composed himself, turning around to find the person helping him was actually Coco.

The girl still looked as delicate as always. She cowered slightly the moment she met his gaze.

“Why are you here?” Richard frowned, his voice chilly.

Coco subconsciously shrank back, “You were drunk. The steward had me come to take care of you.”

411 - City of Sin

Never Alone

Richard was confused upon hearing this. Didn't the old steward not know about the relationship between Erwin and Coco? But that was impossible. This girl had met Erwin in secret before, and it was the steward himself who had told him about it.

He stood up, and Coco immediately brought him fresh clothes. He looked at her as he dressed, asking casually, “You don't hate me?”

“Of course not.”

Richard hummed and sneered, “I had your lover castrate himself in front of you; you fainted then and there! You don't hate me? What rubbish!”

Coco hung her head down and replied quietly, “No, that's not it. I was surprised, because... I'd never seen anything so bloody.”

“An Archeron scared of seeing blood?”

Coco went quiet, on the verge of tearing up. Still, she gritted her teeth and refused to cry, “My Archeron bloodline is very thin, to the point you can say I don't have it. I know I shouldn't be on this island, but... I have no choice. Erwin doesn't even share the family name!”

'You were calling yourselves Archerons when robbing us,' Richard had wanted to say, but looking at her ready to weep he skipped the sarcasm. “You should know Erwin will die as long as he serves me,” he said indifferently, “it's just that I don't want him to die too early. The longer he takes to die, the more torture he will endure. Conversely, the better off his family will be. If you wish to use yourself for his freedom, it's best you don't speak; that will only enrage me. The consequences of my anger are dire.”

Coco's head was practically buried into her chest at this point, her voice a mere whisper, “It's not for him, I mean it! I admit I did like him, but... Whatever happened was completely out of my expectations. I never thought he would do something like that. But I didn't betray you! Really... At least, not with my body.”

“So you like me?” Richard sneered at her slightly.

Coco went quiet for a while, but eventually she chose to speak the truth. She knew that she wasn't smart, so this would likely not be the most stupid choice, “No, that isn't true either. I... I hope you can forgive me. I'll work hard to do whatever you want from me.”

Richard headed for the mirror, beginning to tidy up, “You hope I can forgive you? There's no need for that; you've done nothing that needs my forgiveness.”

However, Richard's calmness only amplified the girl's fear. Seeing him done fixing his clothes, she hastily held onto him, “No, I beg you, don't do this! The more you say that the more afraid I get. I know you're going to leave again, please, can you tell me what I need to do when you're gone? If you don't tell me, I... I'll be terrified every day.”

Every word coming from this girl's mouth was the truth. Richard's heart lurched involuntarily, and he turned to look over her quietly. This was a little white flower, a common sight anywhere. 'Encourage truth amongst those next to you,' he remembered an old saying as he hesitated.

“Coco...” he finally spoke up, “If you wish for my forgiveness, it will be both simple and difficult. You only have to do one thing— make me believe you've truly fallen in love with me.”

“This... alright, I'll work hard.” Coco knew her acting was not the best. However, since this was a request from Richard himself she felt much more assured regardless of the difficulty.

Richard walked to the bookshelf and picked out a book, passing it to Coco, “Here's some help. The words on the title page will let you understand me better.”

Coco only looked at the tome once Richard left. It was Tales of the Great Charles, a biography of the founding emperor of the Sacred Alliance. The focus of the book was obviously on how he led millions of soldiers into the abyss, returning with dragon Daramore's head. Even she had heard these stories before.

She opened the book and flipped to the title page. The words printed there were the same words the Emperor had spoken while stepping on the abyssal dragon's head.

Those who obey me, prosper. Those who oppose me, die.

......

When Richard reached the Church of the Eternal Dragon, it wasn't yet eight. He sent word of his arrival and a beautiful cleric came out to welcome him, guiding him to a quiet meditation room at the back of the church. High Priestess Ferlyn entered right after.

He stood up, bowing respectfully, “Esteemed High Priestess, may I know what instructions you have for me? As long as I am capable of it, I will do my best.”

Richard held true admiration for Ferlyn. She always dressed plainly, looking beautiful but not stunning. And yet, the light, ethereal aura she radiated was something nobody could emulate. As long as one was by her side, they would be affected by this aura, keeping their minds content and empty.

Just as he had returned to Norland, he had been met with the crisis of Gaton being trapped in another plane. If not for the Church being willing to protect him, he had no idea how he would have dealt with this matter. The fear of Sharon might have been able to save his life, but that was the extent of it. He would not be able to protect the Archerons in Faust, perhaps not even the lives of his own siblings. It was a common sight for powerful enemies to annihilate the roots of the families they killed.

Be it Ferdinand, Jacqueline, or Noelene, their decisions would definitely require permission from Ferlyn first and foremost.

The high priestess sat down opposite him, gesturing for him to do the same. Her voice was sweet and gentle, as calm and distant as ever, “Richard, I already looked through the offering you sent and can confirm that it is the head of an astral beast. While not yet an adult, its value is difficult to estimate. In terms of time, it can give you somewhere around fifty years of extra life.”

Richard's breathing grew hurried. This was fifty years of life, a temptation that nobody could resist. How many things could be accomplished in fifty years? Even on an incomparably expansive primary plane, fifty years was enough to establish the foundations of a huge empire.

Time was the basis of limitless hope and possibilities.

“This is a tremendous amount of grace,” Ferlyn continued, “The time right now is critical, and the situation in Faust can change at any moment. The allocation of this grace is very important. What are your plans?”

Richard had long since considered this question, “My first choice is obviously to register Faelor with the Eternal Dragon and strengthen the passage.”

Ferlyn nodded in praise. This was a very sensible choice: an upgraded passage would be more stable and have a higher capacity. Put in simple terms, more people and items could be teleported for a lesser cost.

Ten years' worth of divine grace would drop the cost of teleporting a fully armed rune knight to 30,000 coins while further reducing the cost of magic items. Another ten years would drop that to 20,000, a higher standard than the planes Gaton already possessed. Of course, that was outside of the Forest Plane which the Schumpeters had controlled for a long time. The passage there had already been upgraded a number of times, so even an unfixed portal would only be about 10,000 coins' worth of magic crystals per person.

As for the Rosie Plane, things were entirely different. The Mensas had operated in this plane that was originally named Ricarweiz for centuries, establishing an empire that occupied most of the plane. They had performed a great ceremony for the thousandth year, changing the name to Rosie. With centuries of constant offerings, the passage had grown extremely powerful. Before all the issues with the plane, the cost of teleporting a level 10 warrior was a mere 200 coins.

However, Gaton's army which was tens of thousands strong cost nearly ten million gold! He had gone all out for this, leaving no room for failure. In fact, most of the costs had come out of Sharon's pocket.

As long as the legendary mage was around, Gaton had no need to worry about the costs of the war. Gaton only needed to focus on killing without restraint. If the Mensa Family's territories could be burnt up and looted, she would treat the money she spent on the war as something she had never earned. Please visit 𝗳𝚛𝐞𝘦wℯ𝚋𝓷o𝚟el. 𝐜𝘰𝒎

Nobody knew that the Sharon who had instructed Gaton in the art of war wasn't the one that was always gnashing her teeth adorably. She had spoken calmly and with clarity, helping him understand her lessons clearly.

When Ferlyn asked for the rest, Richard had no idea. The blessings one would get from offerings mostly depended on luck, so any plans were pointless. Only things like registering planes and strengthening passageways would appear easily if necessary.

“I suggest you allocate twenty years of grace to upgrading the passage,” Ferlyn said gently, “Outside of that, I hope for you to allocate some to Flowsand for her own use. The girl is in urgent need of grace right now, but even officiating this ceremony won't be enough.”

“Flowsand needs divine grace?” Richard confirmed.

“Yes.”

Richard grew silent, but his mind had immediately grown chaotic. While he had no idea why Flowsand would need divine grace, if Ferlyn brought this up herself then it was definitely no small matter.

Richard knew Flowsand very well; he knew the girl was actually extremely stubborn. If Ferlyn was here asking him to allocate some grace to her, then she definitely had no idea about this.

'But... Why didn't you just tell me you needed grace?' he wondered quietly.

Ferlyn waited patiently, but a hint of nervousness appeared in her expression. Asking a noble for grace was more difficult than requesting a great amount of gold. They would throw away gold without a care for the friendship of a high priestess, but they definitely wouldn't give up divine grace of similar value. While offerings could easily be turned to gold, gold could not be exchanged for an offering of equal value whenever one wanted.

It took a while for Richard to speak up, “You need not worry, High Priestess. I will allocate the divine grace to Flowsand.”

Ferlyn heaved an obvious sigh of relief and couldn't help asking, “How much?”

She regretted the question the moment she asked it. However, Richard didn't need to think about it for a single moment, “Everything!”

412 - City of Sin

A Horrifying List

“Everything?” Ferlyn's face changed. This was thirty years of divine grace! She had seen many people with a foot in their coffin move against their loved ones for a mere year or two. At the brink of death, even a single Dewdrop of Life was undoubtedly precious.

“But can I do it? What if there isn't any such option?” Richard asked with concern. The randomness of the gifts was a standard of the Eternal Dragon.

“Don't worry, it will be there. I've officiated so many ceremonies in my life, I have the authority to allow it.” Ferlyn was evidently elated, ending her sentence with a wink as she seemed to have something up her sleeves.

“Then I'll be waiting,” Richard said, leaving for the hall where the ritual was slated to take place.

Back in the meditation room, FerIyn conjured a pale gold hourglass. A gentle knock transmitted a soundless wave a far distance away, and after a short while Flowsand entered the room, “You called me?”

“Have a seat. There's still some time before the ritual begins,” Ferlyn directed Flowsand to the seat that was still warm from Richard. Her joy from the conversation with Richard withered away, replaced by a strict formality, “Flowsand. Quit while you still can.”

“I've made my decision,” Flowsand replied calmly.

“Is there any need for that? Your soul already belongs to the old dragon. If you choose to leave the Church this time for Faelor, you will have to give up a large amount of divine grace. Do you even have enough to spare?” The high priestess was stern.

“I can borrow.”

Ferlyn's brows furrowed as she started radiating a murderous aura, perhaps annoyed by Flowsand's overly calm tone. “You're already knee-deep in debt! What more can you offer as collateral? Let me tell you this, if you borrow any more, you won't be able to repay it for the rest of your lifetime! Do you know how much interest the Dragon charges? It's nearly thrice the amount you borrow! Didn't you want to be with Richard? If you keep acting recklessly like this, you two won't end up happy.”

Flowsand's expression wavered. Evidently, Ferlyn had exposed her concerns. She sighed lightly, going on to answer, “I know, but... I have this feeling that if I don't go with him this time, he won't make it back in one piece. Faelor is a plane with legendary beings...”

Ferlyn conceded silently, gently commenting, “Since you've made up your mind, I will give you one last piece of advice. Choose to ignore it, and even if you go to Faelor this time Richard might still lay there forever.”

Flowsand's heart wavered, and she began to listen intently. Given her position in the Church of the Eternal Dragon, Ferlyn could see into the future. Of course, exercising that power would result in dire consequences.

The high priestess heaved a large sigh, her words now tinted by a holy aura, “Firstly, you need to let Richard make his own decisions. You are not to use your precognition to help him; that will only bring him harm. You must know: the flow of time cannot be changed by one or two changes to one's actions. Whatever is bound to happen will happen. You need to accept him making his own decisions, this current ceremony being the start.”

Flowsand nodded earnestly, showing her understanding.

Ferlyn continued, “The second is a somewhat trivial matter. You were talking about Richard's issues with confidence, so I've found a solution to that. I haven't actually seen any lack of confidence from him over our interactions, however...”

Flowsand laughed gently: “His overconfidence is just a front for his lack of confidence!”

“Very well. Once the ritual ends, hand these things over to him.”

Ferlyn passed her three palm-sized crystal plates, every one lustrous. The right side up held the crest of the Eternal Dragon, and the other Ferlyn's personal sigil. These plates possessed the power of time, manifested as a bunch of grains of golden sand flying around them.

Even Flowsand could not tell the purpose of these plates, so she asked about their powers.

“Magic artefacts. Tell Richard to have them on his person at all times; if he ever faces a problem he cannot solve, he can break one. These plates can save him thrice,” Ferlyn said flatly.

Flowsand's expression warped into one of disbelief, her eyes unblinking as they focused on Ferlyn. She couldn't bring herself to believe the woman's words; how could such a thing even exist in the world? This far surpassed the ability of a mere magic artefact. Even a divine tool couldn't possibly solve any problem in the world.

Leave alone Ferlyn's personal collection, even blessings from the Eternal Dragon with such a function were extremely rare. A blessing that could predict the future was harder to find than an extension to one's life. Besides, even prophetic blessings didn't have the power that Ferlyn claimed these plates did. They were undoubtedly a miracle.

She tried to hold back as much as she could, but she couldn't help but subtly ask the high priestess, “Richard has a very inquisitive mind. He'll definitely break at least two of the plates before we head over to Faelor to test their power.” Please visit 𝗳re𝐞𝓌e𝚋n૦ѵ𝗲l. co𝐦

“That I know!” Ferlyn replied.

Flowsand felt extremely confused, but the bells of the Church sounded to mark the time for the ceremony. She had to rush over to officiate, so she helplessly accepted the plates and decided to do as Ferlyn said. The high priestess had no reason to even exaggerate, much less fool them.

......

With this being the second ritual they had conducted, Richard was already very familiar with the procedures.

This time around, it wasn't Ferlyn who accompanied him to the ruin-like altar but Flowsand. Richard was carrying the giant astral beast skull on his back, a feat that required a Bull's Strength spell, a divine spell, and Eruption working in tandem to accomplish.

The ritual began with the same, familiar chant dedicated to the highest level of ceremony. The power of time radiated from Flowsand's body without interruption, turning into threads of pale gold light that activated the altar. A curtain of timeforce rose once more, isolating Richard from Flowsand.

Within this curtain was a realm completely isolated from spacetime, intended to prevent the interruption of any outside forces, not even the officials of the Church. The essence of the astral beast skull was extracted from the altar, transformed into the power of time before assimilating into the void.

“Mortal, before you lay the divine blessings you wish for. Make your decision!” a sacred, robotic voice bellowed in the empty space, a representative of the Eternal Dragon.

A large sphere of the power of time had conglomerated in front of Richard, the image of a large door appearing within. As he was about to touch it, a message appeared in front of him.

Divine Blessing: Unhurried Travels. Upgrade a planar passage to a designated rank.

Richard immediately chose Faelor, allocating about twenty years' worth of grace before carving the serial number of the plane onto one of the pillars of time.

This left him with just over half the amount of divine grace as well as a host of new options. To Richard's surprise, in front of him were two full pages with close to a hundred options for his blessings. This was completely different from his last experience.

Richard immediately decided to browse through all the possible options and scrutinise them down to the very details, afraid that he would overlook the option Ferlyn had told him would allow him to allocate the grace to Flowsand.

However, the very first blessing almost caused him to lose his mind.

Divine Blessing: Ability Bestowal. You may learn skills related to your innate abilities, attaining mastery over them akin to someone with your skills who studied them over ten years of work. The amount of knowledge you shall absorb is limited by your intellect. This blessing can be chosen multiple times.

What truly shocked him were the options under the blessing:

Scarlet Knight rune set (a random two out of six runes).

Mystic's Set (a random three out of five runes).

Heaven's Armour rune set (any one of five runes).

Sleipnir's Foot (from the Prisonblaze Warlord set).

Entanglement (from the Twisted Dream set).

The blessing could be obtained with only fifteen years' worth of divine grace! In other words, the remaining thirty years Richard had would allow him to learn the famous Mystic's Set! Even though he currently lacked the power to use that knowledge, once he advanced in level he would immediately be able to craft any of the runes in this set!

If he missed this opportunity, he would likely have to wait for aeons before such an option came across him once more. The chances that he would even see it again were less than one in a million! As someone with a strong foundation in mathematics, Richard clearly knew what this meant.

It was a test of his tenacity to even look at the second option. However, as he tried to do so, a voice sounded incessantly within his heart, 'If you learn more runes, you can grow stronger much more quickly. That will allow you to give more divine grace to Flowsand in the future! Isn't that a better ending? This is a small decision, but think about it, the complete Mystic's Set! You could even learn four of the Scarlet Knight runes, you just have to add in the last two sometime later! It's a very simple decision to make...'

He didn't know how he managed to ignore that voice, looking at the second option instead. However, it still took him quite a long time to bring himself away from Ability Bestowal and actually read what the next option was.

413 - City of Sin

Lie

The second option left Richard seeing black.

Divine Blessing: Awaken Bloodline. The power of time shall cleanse your body, developing your hidden bloodline powers to the fullest. You may choose one of these abilities:

Conflagration (Archeron bloodline. Upgraded version of Blaze. Increases spellcasting speed by upto 50%).

Empowered Beckon (Elven bloodline. Increases nature affinity when casting summoning spells, upgrading the creature type by one grade and the count by three).

Endless Vitality (Elven bloodline. Doubles energy and mana recovery rate).

Celestial Rain (Elven bloodline, astral powers. Doubles the effect of the Deepblue meditation techniques).

Richard couldn't bear to look further. He originally didn't know what powers his bloodlines could potentially unlock, so the most he did was to adjust the growth of his bloodlines to maximise their potential. In other words, there were trade-offs he had to maintain. Now, however, this blessing would give him the prerogative to make his own decisions. He instantly thought up dozens of combinations that would maximise his bloodline power.

He almost had to block off his blessing of wisdom. Ahead of him right now were various extremely powerful abilities, the pinnacle of both his bloodlines. Take Empowered Beckon, for example. It was only slightly weaker than Sharon's Master Summoner ability, the power of a legendary bloodline!

'Second only to Sharon...' This was an appraisal that definitely made Richard proud of his bloodlines. There was even greater reason for joy: although his bloodline powers didn't have any set date when they would awaken before, he held such a boost to his power in his fingertips.

A simple decision would give him great power. Who was he to say no to such an offer?

Richard took in a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down. How could this be? Why were there so many options laid ahead of him, the choices giving him such great power? He simply had no reason to reject these things! He was still human, a mortal of flesh and blood. These blessings were almost impossible to resist.

He voided himself of all emotion, mechanically shifting his gaze to the third option. This time, he was no longer shocked, merely consuming the information as if he had grown numb to everything on offer.

Divine Blessing: Enlightenment. You shall be granted a third bloodline, chosen randomly from the following options: dragon, behemoth, unicorn, planar wanderer, astral beast.

Divine Blessing: Mystical Transformation. Your mana will be enhanced by one of the following elements: astral power, moonforce, timeforce...

Richard stopped before looking at the fifth option, instead shutting his eyes and beginning to ponder. If that man were facing this situation, how would he likely react?

He suddenly opened his eyes, jerking upright before screaming, “Does he truly think this bullshit will captivate me? It takes more than that!”

Due to his elven bloodline and the patience he had cultivated over many years, Richard was normally always calm and composed. Growing so agitated as to spew enraged curses did not match his typical image at all. Even more intriguing was the fact that he suddenly felt a lot more relaxed after the outburst, the attraction of the various blessings seemingly fading away.

There were thousands upon thousands of routes towards the peak. Why should he have to depend on the charity of others?

In that moment of standing up, Richard felt like he understood half of Gaton's domineering nature. He continued to read the various options for blessings, but this time it was with ease and no emotional burden upon himself. He treated it as simply broadening his horizons; after all, this list of blessings would also provide insight into his own potential.

With this change in perspective, Richard suddenly found his worldview a lot wider. He realised that reading the contents of these blessings was in itself a useful endeavour; he did not need to possess them to obtain their benefits. These numerous options were actually pointing him in the correct direction to advance his path.

After going through 120 options, his eyes suddenly gleamed as he focused on a particular one. Divine Blessing: Distribute Grace. Allocate some of your divine grace to a target of your choice.

This was also the last option. As such, Richard reached for it without hesitation and allocated all his remaining grace to Flowsand, upholding his promise to Ferlyn.

He hadn't yet realised that he had willingly sacrificed his own power for Flowsand.

......

Outside the isolated space, Flowsand had grown extremely shocked as the ritual unfolded. The ceremony typically ended much earlier than this, and there were no traces of the descent of the Eternal Dragon either. However, in that instant, a golden ray of light fell into the hall and spilled over her body. She was taken aback, finding enormous amounts of divine grace entering her!

'What's going on? Why is this coming to me?' Flowsand was extremely perplexed. A quick calculation told her that this was three-fifths of the total divine grace from the astral beast's skull. In other words, outside of the grace used to strengthen the planar passage, Richard had allocated everything else to her.

'Why would he share his grace with me, and so much at that? Could it be... Did he find out about it?' The cleric was starting to grow anxious, but she quickly denied that thought. This was a secret known to only the titled individuals in the Church of the Eternal Dragon. The old dragon himself had decreed that nobody else could know. Everything followed the principle of equal exchange: a title came with a dear price.

It didn't take long after that for the curtain of timeforce to disappear. Richard emerged from within, a faint smile on his face. Flowsand was suddenly left in a trance. The Richard ahead of her now appeared to be slightly different, but she could not put a word to it.

She walked forward to talk to him, asking in a hurry, “Why would you allocate so much grace to me? You should prioritise your own abilities! If you're always so reckless, how can you lead us to conquer many planes? I'm still counting on you to perform more ceremonies for me to get grace from!” By the end, her rant had taken on a lecturing tone.

Richard shrugged, “Can't be helped, it was the only option. What else could I have done?”

“Only option? And it was to give your grace away? HOW COULD THAT BE?!” Flowsand was growing agitated. She knew from experience that such a thing was impossible.

“That's right, I was left with no choice!” Richard put on an innocent expression. 'What can I do now?' it seemed to say, 'I can't take back what I've given.'

Flowsand continued staring at Richard, seeing something in his eyes. Tears welled up in her own, almost flowing freely down her face. “You've learnt to lie.”

“Really? How come I didn't know that?” Richard beamed, no shadows in his smile.

414 - City of Sin

Destiny Crystals

Once the ceremony came to an end, Richard reaped his own reward: the three crystal plates. Flowsand told him these three crystals had great power; every one he broke could solve any difficult problem he was facing.

Any problem you're facing can be solved easily... Flowsand's explanation had made it seem like these plates were equivalent to additional lives. “You silly girl!” he had exclaimed in disbelief as he took them, “When did you learn to talk so big?”

He naturally sensed the prophetic powers within the plates when he took them from her hands. The issue was with prophecy magic itself.

Prophecies were a branch of magic that left people both curious and helpless. The curious bit was the fact that enough mana would give a mage basically limitless prophetic abilities, but of course what exactly was “enough” was something that could drive anyone crazy.

In theory, a legendary mage could use prophecy magic to interfere in another's life. For example, they could cause an ordinary human to trip and hurt themselves badly. However, that was it. There was a series of harsh conditions if one wanted to kill with this magic, and the problem was only amplified as the other party grew stronger. If the deviation from one's prophecy was large enough, they could even tip the compass of fate in the other direction. It didn't compare in any way to just throwing a fireball to kill a group of people.

These plates were supposed to be able to solve any problem? They were additional lives? Even the legendary destiny crystal used in the protective sphere did not have such great power. These crude plates were definitely unlikely to be able to accomplish such a thing.

Flowsand grew fierce upon seeing his expression, “You don't believe me?”

“Of course I do,” Richard grinned. His smile was now filled with limitless vitality.

“If you don't believe me, I don't mind if you test it out,” she said between clenched teeth. In actual fact, she was in the same camp as him. However, she couldn't tell Richard that outright, at best throwing a few hints his way.

Richard placed the crystal plates in his pocket and squeezed Flowsand's little face so hard she started to grimace, saying with a smile, “Use the grace wisely, it came in exchange for the thing Master gave me. Be careful, Master is very petty, she'll come looking for interest.”

Flowsand merely let out a snort.

Richard looked at the time, “Get ready, we'll be heading out in two days. For now, I have to go back.”

Once Richard was sent off, the offering hall grew empty and desolate. Flowsand sighed and sat down on a rock beside the altar, placing her right hand before her eye. 31 small hourglasses formed in the palm of her hand, each hourglass representing an additional year of life. This was the divine grace Flowsand currently possessed. The ability to stockpile it was a special privilege granted only to title holders.

Looking at them all, Flowsand sighed and thought to herself, 'Richard is so foolish. Could it be that he really couldn't tell what this grace could be exchanged for? Hmph, that cannot be the case! But...'

Behind the gruffness lay a soft, delicate mind.

“I guess it's time to return some debts.” Flowsand raised her hand lazily, the hourglasses in her palm slowly disappeared one after the other until only half were left. The rest of the grace would be used to upgrade her powers.

The more sacrifices one offered, the stronger one grew. The stronger one grew, the more sacrifices they could offer. Such were the rules of the Eternal Dragon. There was only one constant in the path to success— sacrifice.

Flowsand thought over it for a long time before finally waving her hand, sending all the remaining divine grace out. A handsome youth suddenly appeared out of thin air, bending down on one knee and saying with a melodious voice, “Esteemed Priestess, thank you for granting me the chance to awake. I shall repay your grace for the rest of my life! Please, decide my path.”

Flowsand thought over it long and hard. This was a very difficult question to answer, a question of choosing between battle and divinity. She could choose to push the heavenly guardian towards attack or defence, although a balance would be optimal. He could be granted magical powers, something that only served to complicate the matter. When all the choices were put before her, they led to numerous branches that were all different. Every guardian in the Church's history had been a different existence.

In the end, she decided that she would push him towards one end. Be it battle power or priesthood, a gifted commander like Richard could make use of an extreme much better than a jack of all trades.

Flowsand felt something softly tugging at her heartstrings, “You will take the path of a battle priest.”

The river of time in the void shot out threads of timeforce that entered the heavenly guardian's body. The raw strength in his aura dropped a little, exchanged for a tint of holiness. He stood up, “Esteemed Priestess, the river of time has bestowed a name upon me. I am Io.”

Flowsand still had some divine grace on hand, so she formed a Waterdrop Necklace and wore it. “Follow me, I'll get you the equipment for a battle priest,” she said to Io. Priests always came first in planar war.

......

Island 7-2 had grown a lot livelier in recent times as envoys of different families came and left. The griffin stands were already at capacity, every platform cramped with two.

When Richard returned to the castle, he saw two carpenters from the royal household busy at work carving scabbards for his sword and dagger. The elven sword Gaton had given him had no enchantments and the blade was too long, but since this was the only present that man had ever given him Richard decided to carry it along. Of course, he told himself that it was because this sword was the best weapon when using the secret swords of Silvermoon, and when it came to war comfort wasn't important.

That reason was a little inane. Comfort may not be important in battle, but handiness was.

Seeing Richard's return, the old steward who was discussing something with a few people suddenly hurried over, “Young Master, these people were sent by the royal family. They have brought over the materials you need, you can check them now.”

“Materials?” Richard was overjoyed, immediately making his way to the table nearby and inspecting everything.

Upon the table was a large magic box the size of a luggage bag, neatly separated into more than a hundred small compartments. Each compartment held its own unique properties for the materials it could store. More than half the compartments were currently filled with materials, ten of which were very rare resources that couldn't easily be bought with gold. The only way to grow this collection would be to spend time collecting.

The items in the luggage bag alone were worth more than a million gold coins. With these materials on hand, it would be no issue for Richard to craft standard grade 3 runes. That was the most valuable thing.

A mage nearby spoke up, “Lord Richard, these materials are part of your payment for the runes you shall be crafting this year. The rest is being paid in gold alongside your annual salary, for a total of 1,500,000. Please check through this and acknowledge.”

Needless to say, the mage didn't actually hand over 1.5 million gold coins; even a Deepblue mage would be crushed under that weight. It was instead a palm-sized box with fifteen magic crystals neatly lined up within, each worth about 100,000 gold. This was the true currency of the upper class.

Richard signed for the materials and crystals, sending the envoys of the royal family away. He thought about it for a while before passing five of the crystals to the old steward, “This is for the island's operational expenses this year. Any excess you can use to increase the salary of the soldiers loyal to the family. Also, find some youths with potential and train them; the internal riots killed off many of our young warriors.”

When he walked into Gaton's study, Fuschia was already waiting for him. She passed Richard a list of the people she had picked out to follow him to Faelor, everyone at least level 10, loyal, and with the potential to advance in the future. Ten people were selected in the list alongside twenty reserves, a mix of footsoldiers and Archeron warriors. Richard was surprised that there were only two free Archerons on the list.

“The Archeron warriors are unwilling to go to Faelor?” Richard asked.

Fuschia shrugged, “They prefer a carefree life. Now that the crisis on the island has been resolved, they want to explore and fight elsewhere. Besides, even though some of these people have the level, they don't have potential. There is limited space on the expedition, it would be a waste to bring them along.”

She was right. Even with two upgrades, it still cost 20,000 gold to transport one warrior through the portal. Such a fee could instead be used to hire a team of soldiers in Faelor... Richard started muttering to himself; this was a problem which every commander in a planar war faced.

“Oh yes, there is another issue!” Fuschia said in an exaggerated tone, “Dear Young Master Richard, did you not say you want to become allies with my Lady, going so far as to become partners with her? You are about to enter an alien plane, no one knows when you'll be back. As a sign of your sincerity, should you not place a deposit? For example, the two rune sets you displayed in the convention. We can get the knights and mounts ourselves.”

Richard grew annoyed.

His relationship with Alice was a difficult problem that had to be handled carefully. She was rising to power far too quickly, only suppressed so far by Gaton's existence. Even so, she had still managed to shine in Gaton's shadow. She was far more important than Goliath or even Sauron. With her talents, she would soon become someone who could change the tides of battle. There were only two reasons she was still an Earl: her tender age, and the Archeron emphasis on individual glory. Stronger Archerons would isolate themselves from the rest of the family.

415 - City of Sin

Destiny Crystals(2)

However, Richard had only met Alice once, and barely spoken to her— he didn't understand her in the slightest. He didn't know how to start the simplest of alliances, forget an agreement to become partners. Fuschia's stance was unpredictable as well; sometimes she was suddenly respectful, and at other times she would play around. It made it difficult for him to make sense of the Earl's intentions.

In the midst of figuring this out, Richard suddenly felt the three crystal plates in his pocket pressing up uncomfortably against his body. Flowsand's words came to mind, reminding him that these plates were supposed to be able to resolve all his difficulties. If that was the case, would this small matter not be trifling to fix?

He thus reached into his pocket, calmly crushing one of the plates into pieces. The crystal fragments immediately transformed into pure energy, flowing into him through his fingertips. A voice rang out in his mind, 'Alice is a natural ally, an unrivalled partner whom you cannot afford to ignore. However, you are the same to her.'

He was instantly shocked. No matter how powerful prophetic magic could get, it should never have such an effect! This was already beyond the domain of normal magic, the ability to grasp another's mind and soul. The words themselves wouldn't be unusual if someone knowledgeable like Gaton spoke them, but formed from the crystal plate's energy they were astonishing.

Even with his profound knowledge, he did not have any idea of spells that had such a miraculous effect. As far as he knew, there was practically no magic that could achieve this.

The words may have been simple, but their importance could not be underestimated. People often merely needed an indication of direction when trapped in difficult circumstances. Richard was now sure of how to handle his relationship with Alice; being partners was only a bonus, the most valuable aspect was a secure alliance.

In the midst of all this shock, Richard's hand trembled in his pocket and accidentally crushed another of the crystals!

The voice rang out in his mind once more, 'Rune knights are a foundation to all battles. However, they are a double-edged sword that could come back to hurt you. The most important attribute of a rune knight is not potential, it is loyalty. Take more knights along to Faelor, if only as porters.'

Richard was shocked greatly once more.

This advice was just as significant as the last. Not only would it help determine his choices in going to Faelor this time, it was also a principle that he could apply in the future.

Runes were a precious few, outnumbered by rune knight candidates thousands to one. Any decently able level 11 warrior with the carrying capacity could become a rune knight. As for the upper bound, level 15 and level 17 weren't all that different to Richard right now. What he needed was a core army that was absolutely loyal, not young talents like Erwin who could betray him at any time. Besides, potential was only useful if one could survive long enough to take control of their lives.

These two crystals had completely settled Richard's most pressing problems. His hand trembled a little once more, coming into contact with the third. He was immediately startled, pulling his hand from his pocket as though he had just touched fire in the fear of crushing the third as well.

These plates were indeed miraculous, just like Flowsand had said. With two already used up, he had to keep the third safe no matter what. If he was caught in a deadlock in the future, it would be the saving grace that rescued him! Although Flowsand had played it down when she gave him the plates, that did not mean they weren't rare or precious. One could not obtain these sorts of things endlessly. Perhaps these three plates were the only ones he would ever come across.

He carefully retrieved the last plate from his pocket, covering it with a handkerchief woven from antimagic cloth before placing it snugly against his body. Noticing his curious behaviour, Fuschia couldn't help but ask, “What amazing thing is that?”

Richard decided to tell the truth, “A protective charm that can see into the future. It's very precious, with the power to change one's destiny when crushed in times of need.”

Fuschia scoffed lightly upon seeing the solemn look on Richard's face, believing something like that could never exist. Such charms would have saved many noble figures from their deaths. She simply took Richard's words as a joke, meant to stall for time as he carefully deliberated over his decision.

This was a common tactic many nobles used during negotiations. Fuschia wasn't so anxious for the answer that she couldn't even wait a few minutes. Richard's current predicament didn't leave him with too many choices, so she was confident she could fight for her Lady's welfare. In her eyes, Earl Alice's minimal standards had been a little too low.

Of course, this was precisely the effect that Richard wanted to achieve. He knew that Fuschia wouldn't believe him even if he told the truth. After all, he himself had been sceptical but a few minutes ago.

Set on his decision, Richard took out the box with the remaining magic crystals and handed it to Fuschia, “This is a gift for Earl Alice. Consider it to be the down payment.”

“Ten high-grade magic crystals!” Fuschia exclaimed after opening the box, “How generous. But still, it seems a little inadequate. This is only sufficient for a single grade 2 rune knight.”

“This is already sincere enough,” Richard stated.

“But we asked for grade 2 rune knights. Of course, set knights would be best—”

Richard raised his hand and interrupted Fuschia's words, “My time is precious and limited, there's no need to waste it haggling. This is my bottom line. Whether Alice accepts it or not is up to her, not you! Of course, if the Lady allowed you to bargain on her behalf and you feel like it's not enough, then the agreement ends here. Take the crystals anyway, consider it my thanks for keeping my siblings safe all this while.”

Fuschia sighed, reluctantly stowing the box of magic crystals away. “Pettiness is unbecoming of a man,” she remarked.

“It's worse to be extravagant beyond one's means,” Richard countered with a smile.

She huffed in reply, “My Lady is surely worth more than just twenty grade 2 rune knights!”

Richard nodded in reply, “I suppose she has more hopes for her ally to grow formidable rapidly.”

“Her partner,” Fuschia corrected.

“Right, partner. That's certainly even better. Alright, let's take a look at the people you selected. I think I should bring more people to Faelor, the ones on the list aren't exactly enough on their own.”

“Suit yourself. But don't forget, you need 20,000 gold to transport one person to Faelor,” she reminded him. She had already been informed about the upgrades to the passage.

“It's worth the money,” Richard answered.

416 - City of Sin

Behind The Scenes

All the free Archeron warriors and the knights in training were quickly gathered in one of the training fields. There were over 300 people for Richard to choose from, and as usual, he walked to each of them to ask about their skills, family, and unique traits.

The process took more than an hour, leaving the spectating Fuschia the same as Nyris and Agamemnon when they first saw his incomparable patience and meticulousness.

He wound up picking 26 candidates, 17 of which were Archeron warriors. All of them had at least four rune slots as necessary for a rune knight, but they weren't the most talented group. Half of them were limited to level 15; even in the best case, they would only end up as elite rune knights that could compare to a normal saint.

However, that was what made them suitable to be the core of an army. Any more powerful and they would grow difficult to command, just like Gaton's thirteen.

Richard had the old steward equip all these soldiers with the spare equipment in the family warehouse. With another day left until he returned to Faelor, the family craftsmen would be able to make any adjustments needed as long as they worked a little more than normal. When he returned to Gaton's study once more, he had finally dealt with every pressing issue.

He took out a piece of magic paper, carefully writing down a list of the people and items he would be bringing alongside him as a final confirmation. Looking at the goods on the list, he already had a rough idea of the huge profits he stood to make upon his return. It almost exceeded his profits from the royal family.

One had to note that a set of materials for Savage Barrier cost less than 200,000 coins, but given that it was more powerful than a mix of grade 2 runes it sold for over a million. The royal family would provide him with five sets of materials for every one he made, close to a million coins in materials for a single rune set. A runemaster's profit margin was defined by their success rate, and his was abnormally high. Even any runes outside of the nominal agreement the royal family would buy only slightly lower than the market price.

Richard was basically guaranteed to spend less than 200,000 coins to craft one Savage Barrier set. A royal runemaster's profits from their runes might seem lower than through auction on the surface, but the true profits came with the added status, privilege, and endless rare materials that one could not purchase on the market. Richard would make crazy profits from the royal family.

This was why he had been in such a rush to return to Norland. The true source of profit in any planar war was through trade. And he needed a lot of money to expand his power and influence as quickly as possible.

Of course, there was nothing without its cost. This return had sparked an eternal enemy in Lunor. The royal runemaster had accumulated stupendous amounts of wealth over the past decade, his numerous students giving him extensive power. Although some could be drawn away with other benefits, long-term relationships could not be shaken with money alone. He needed time to break Lunor's influence apart, the one thing he lacked the most right now.

There were far too many things to do, but the Rainbow of the Moons came and went at a constant rate.

Richard's greatest advantage was that his rate of profit was perhaps tens of times higher than Lunor's; when his power and wealth reached a tipping point, the grand runemaster would be nothing in his eyes. Not only was his success rate far higher, he also took much less time to draw a rune. According to the information Nyris had given him, Richard estimated he only took half the time to draw a grade 2 rune.

Efficiency. that was also a source of profit.

Richard was immersed in calculating the profits of the trip, figuring out how much of it could be turned into battle power and how much had to be retained for growth. Maximising one's profit in a given timespan was a complicated issue that was affected by many factors; even with his ability, Richard needed a few hours to go through everything.

......

While Richard was lost in a world of calculations, Coco stood anxiously in the steward's office. The man had a pair of gold-rimmed spectacles on his face, carefully reading through a piece of paper filled with numbers. When he finished reading the last line, he inked a number on it and handed the paper to Coco.

It only took the girl a single look to realise the paper held details of her family's recent income and expenditure, as well as some other important matters. The butler had just marked the family's financial deficit. As for the major events column:

Cencil Archeron, Coco Archeron's half-brother from the same mother. Currently does not hold any position in the Archeron Family, living in his father's territory. Two months ago, he tried to woo a local farmer's daughter and ended up raping her, severely injuring the girl's parents in the process. The case is being heard in the local court.

Sir Pierre Archeron, Coco Archeron's father. Is the owner of a small fief, with a meagre income. His salary as the vice-captain of Blackrose Castle's guards is far from enough to support the luxurious light he is living right now. Even the salary of three knights combined would not be enough to make up for the losses.

The only reason Sir Pierre hadn't gone bankrupt was an allowance from the Archeron Family, specifically from Gaton. This allowance had been granted for an entire year, multiple times Pierre's normal salary. The quota had been raised again in recent times, and a quarter's funds had been paid in advance.

This allowance was in exchange for Coco being in Faust and on the shortlist of potential partners. She barely even qualified for that position, but Pierre's many years of service had given her a leg up. After all, the Archeron Family was a collection of untameable brutes; someone willing to avoid the battlefield and take on the role of a watchman for any length of time was a rare find.

Traditionally, becoming a partner had only been an obligation for those Archerons with a strong bloodline. It was when Gaton successfully established himself on Faust and acquired a stable income from his planes that he started to increase the number of potential partners and started training so many knights.

Ever since then, the warriors training on the floating island as well as all the women that qualified to become partners were granted a quarterly allowance. The amount may not be much to a baron, but to most commoners it was a vast income. The Archerons were peasants but a few centuries ago; to them, the quarterly sum was an extravagance that would completely change their families.

Gaton thus trained a powerful force of knights, but unexpectedly many people started to send their daughters to the island in exchange for an allowance. Most branch families without a noble rank actually had very thin blood; anyone who could actually awaken a bloodline ability would be granted knighthood and their own fief. Still, Gaton encouraged this practice in the hopes of seeing more Archerons with awakened bloodlines.

On the other hand, the knight training was meant to give the young Archerons better opportunities to display their talents, at the same time securing jobs for the poorer members of the family in their later years. Most of the instructors were free warriors who were either disabled or too old to risk their lives on the battlefield.

Both of these initiatives focused on the prosperity of the entire Archeron Family, but all of the burden fell on Gaton's shoulders. Any branch family with even the tiniest blood relation to the main line started sending their sons and daughters to the floating island for the sake of the allowance. There were so many of them that Gaton had been driven to the point where he had to set a minimum standard to screen out those who were truly unqualified.

Most of the dissent directed at him in the family meeting had come from those branches whose children had been screened out.

Even after the screening, an astonishing figure had been paid out to the various branch families in the two years since Gaton had entered Faust. It had become a heavy burden, one of the few points of dispute between him and Sharon. The legendary mage believed her money was an investment, not something for him to donate to his clansmen at will.

Coco was one of the many girls who had wound up on island 7-2 in this way. Then she was selected to be Richard's partner, directly tripling the allowance her family received. The sum of money one's family was granted was directly related to how thick their partner's blood was. With the density of Richard's bloodline, Coco's income had increased greatly.

The old steward pushed up his glasses, glancing at Coco, “Sir Pierre's expenditure has increased by 30% this quarter. Just the interest on his debts has reached 3,000 gold; at this rate, the allowance might not be enough.”

Coco's anxiousness showed on her delicate face. She didn't pay attention to the allowance, instead pointing at the major events column and asking impatiently, “How is my brother now, Sir?”

“This issue is a little difficult to handle,” the steward said slowly, “I've heard Mr. Cencil keeps bragging that his sister is the partner of the family's runemaster, constantly mentioning that Richard is the student Her Excellency Sharon is proudest of. And his way of doing things... Hmm, very inappropriate. He's already stirred up public outrage.”

417 - City of Sin

Behind The Scenes(2)

The steward paused for a while before continuing, “This matter is very tricky. The nature of his offence is harsh, so even the local barons are applying pressure on the courts to punish Mr. Cencil severely. Based on experience, the judgement should be death by hanging.”

Coco immediately felt her vision go black, almost fainting right that instant. “Brother was the only one who truly loved me since I was young!” she pleaded the moment she came to, “Please, Sir, please think of a way to save him! I'm willing to pay any price!”

There were tears in the girl's eyes. This was an unexpected disaster that nearly overwhelmed her.

“Do you even have anything to pay with?” the old steward asked profoundly.

Coco's weeps slowed down, turning into sobs of despair. Indeed, it was already lenient of Richard to let her continue living her former life. Everything she had came from the Archerons, from Richard's very existence. What was she worth herself?

The old butler sighed, “Young Master's identity should still be able to save Mr. Cencil's life. However, what about Young Master's children?”

Coco absently caressed her belly, facing turning pale as she bit her lips, “But... He isn't willing to even touch me! What can I do?”

The steward replied with an old proverb, “There are only women who cannot be conquered, what man exists that cannot be seduced?”

The girl suddenly performed a deep bow, “I understand! I will try my best, but please help my brother! It's fine as long as he survives!”

“Time is tight,” the old steward said indifferently.

Coco understood his meaning and turned around, preparing to leave. Richard hadn't told her about his schedule, but she could see the various signs that he would depart soon. She indeed did not have much time; once Richard left, who knew when he would come back. Although it was hard to guarantee that she could conceive a child in such a short period of time, she at least had to get into his bed. If she couldn't even manage that, she would have no ground to make any kind of request.

Coco hesitated for a moment before leaving, eventually turning around and speaking in a soft voice that even she herself could barely hear, “Sir, could you also... raise the allowance for my father? Just a little bit will do.”

The butler sighed, “Your family already receives thrice the allowance of a normal branch, and the sole reason for that is Young Master choosing you as his partner. I suggest you urge Sir Pierre to stop comparing luxuries with barons whose families have centuries of history. As for Mr. Cencil... There's no need to consider him for the time being.”

Coco was rendered speechless, withdrawing quietly. Although her father was a two-rune knight, because he had never been to a true battlefield he remained stuck at level 10. Even inherited titles depended greatly on age and experience; if Coco and her siblings could not establish any definite achievements, they might not even be able to take over his fief.

Her father had served a dull, monotonous life in Blackrose for dozens of years. However, the knighthood was more than just recompense for his service. He had once been responsible and diligent, but as he approached the twilight of his life he was starting to indulge in a luxurious lifestyle for unknown reasons. It was as though he wanted to make up for everything he had lost in the first half of his life. That was how the pillar of their family had changed to Coco.

The girl in question quietly proceeded to Richard's bedroom in preparation for his return. However, Richard didn't return to his room even after she fell asleep waiting. The light in Gaton's study was lit all the while.

Back in the study, Richard was finally done with the plan to maximise the coming year's profits. It was an ideal state that assumed excess supply, making it absolutely impossible to achieve, but it was meant to be a standard to compare himself to. It would allow him to judge the cost every action he took levied on his profits, what Blackgold termed opportunity cost.

Finished with an enormous amount of calculations, he felt a little tired. He sighed lightly as he rubbed his aching forehead, about to go get some rest.

However, it was at that moment that he felt a cool night breeze in the room. The door to the study was opened silently, and two figures walked in one after the other.

Only Fuschia and the old steward were allowed to enter this floor at any time, and either of them would have knocked before they entered. Richard grew absolutely rigid, not daring to make the slightest of movements as a pair of shadows appeared on the floor. An extremely threatening aura buffeted him in the face, threatening him of a violent end if he so much as twitched.

Richard felt enormous pressure the moment these two entered, as though an entire mountain range had come crashing down on his back. It made him want to activate Blaze subconsciously, but the stinging pain on his skin made him repress his bloodline. Whoever had just entered far surpassed him in power; if they wanted him dead, there would be nothing he could do to stop it.

It was at that moment that, separated by his clothes, Richard felt the existence of the crystal plate on his body. The feeling served fantastically to calm down his heart. No matter what happened, was this piece of destiny crystal not on him? Perhaps it really could reverse his fate.

He thus lifted his head and looked towards the two unfamiliar guests, a pair of man and woman.

The lady looked very young and beautiful, with short hair only an inch below her head that fluttered softly despite a lack of wind. Her eyes were glowing, to the extent that it was hard to even notice her eyeballs beyond her bottomless pupils. The gaze was extremely keen, sharper even than a sword. Richard felt his heart stop for a moment when his eyes met hers.

This was a murderous aura, an indescribably powerful killing intent! Although there was no doubt that the other party had no ill intentions towards him, he could still feel a bitter cold all around him. It was like approaching a sharp weapon that had drunk the blood of countless foes. Even though it was not pointed at oneself, one could almost feel the sharp edge piercing their skin.

Richard could scarcely imagine what kind of murderous aura one needed to freeze his heart. More importantly, what sort of experiences allowed this woman to possess it?!

Although he could tell she was roughly around level 18 at first glance, he knew by instinct that her power was inconceivable. In her case, her level meant nothing!

418 - City of Sin

Beye

The woman was dressed in a weird suit of armour that was littered with scratches and traces of repair. There were also large swathes of purple, marks of corrosion that from what Richard knew could only come from powerful creatures like demons. This alone was proof enough of the numerous battles she had experienced, an indication of how frightening of a character she was to walk through mountains of corpses and seas of blood.

There wasn't the slightest trace of vitality from this beauty's body. Her aura was rife with death and desolation.

The man beside her was quite tall, his entire body wrapped in a cloak to reveal only a shiny bald head. His skin was a rosy bronze, with muscles bulging out even at his neck. He was just as expressionless as the lady beside him, the corners of his lips almost pointing straight down as he stared at Richard coldly. The man's eyes were bright and almond-shaped like those of an animal, the depths of his pupils a dark red.

He seemed to be brimming with energy, already at level 19, but next to the woman he was nearly invisible. This wasn't a lack of power on his part; she was just far too overbearing, as though seizing the light of the entire world.

The two of them walked up to Richard. The woman seemed surprised that Richard could still sit straight and look at her calmly, her arrogant gaze growing a little more gentle.

The door of the study suddenly opened and Fuschia rushed in, long hair fluttering in the wake of her roused aura as she wielded a dagger in each hand. “RICHARD, ARE YOU—”

Fuschia's scream stopped instantly; the woman's gaze had fallen upon her. “Beye!” she cried out in surprise.

The woman named Beye frowned, evidently not knowing who Fuschia was. The bald man beside her immediately leaned over and said respectfully, “Fuschia, level 19 blade dancer. Earl Alice Archeron's right hand.”

“19... A passable level.” This was the first time Beye had spoken. Her voice was just like her aura, full of a murderous intent like the clash of countless swords.

Fuschia's face flushed red. Beye's words were extremely arrogant and rude, basically holding her in contempt. If her level was only passable, didn't that mean her actual combat ability was nothing much?

However, she pushed down the surging shame and refused to act rashly, actually taking a step back. It had taken her but a moment to think of the many legends surrounding Beye; this woman was never arrogant or rude, only speaking the truth. She did not need to lie and deceive to achieve her goals.

Fuschia also remembered Beye's identity. If this woman wanted to kill Richard, even two of herself would not be able to stop her. Forget that, she wasn't even a match for the bald man nearby.

Since she recognised Beye, Fuschia naturally knew the man's identity as well. The great Fire Dragon Warlock, Canskal Orfidi. The same level as her, but just like Beye his power far surpassed his rank. His true abilities only showed themselves in his true form; Canskal was not a human, but a fire dragon. He only maintained his human form through a transformation spell.

Beye was not a public name, her legends only known within specific circles of those with true power. This was why Richard did not know her. Fuschia immediately realised that they hadn't come for his life.

Seeing Fuschia back away tactfully, Beye no longer paid attention to her and continued towards Richard, “Agamemnon recommended you.”

“Agamemnon? Then you're... “ Richard relaxed upon the mention of a familiar name. At least this person didn't have completely bad intentions.

“My name is Beye, that good-for-nothing's sister,” Beye said indifferently.

Richard subconsciously frowned, albeit not because of her words. Every syllable that came from her mouth gave off a murderous aura that pricked into his body like a needle. However, that was the end of it. The chase by Red Cossack and the war to the death with Sinclair back in Faelor had built up a life of daily bloodbaths that had toughened his heart.

Richard smiled, “Good-for-nothing? Why do I remember Nyris saying ordinary people are no match for him?”

“I am no ordinary person.” Beye's reply was straightforward, without the slightest bit of embellishment.

Richard withdrew his smile, growing serious, “Alright. Jokes aside, I'm not sure what he recommended me for exactly.”

Beye towered over Richard at nearly 1.9 metres tall. A slight turn of her white pupils and Canskal took out a blueprint from his robes, handing it to Richard. “Make this,” she said in a commanding tone.

Richard opened the blueprint up, only to see that it held a complete blueprint for a rune. Every material required, every step in the process was marked upon it. As long as the runemaster was powerful and skilled enough, they would be able to craft the rune properly.

This surprised him. Custom rune designs almost never had blueprints in circulation. Normally, the only way to learn a runemaster's personal designs was to acquire them through an inheritance or by exchange.

Richard composed himself and continued to look at it carefully. This rune was to be positioned on the arms, extracting the user's life force to provide a substantial boost to one's attack speed. There was also a small chance of additional effects like laceration, bleeding, necrosis and the like as well.

This vicious creation had a name to match: Life's Bane.

Richard looked over it for ten whole minutes before letting out a deep breath. He lifted his head, looking straight at Beye's eyes and asking dully, “This is a grade 3 rune, why come to me? Lunor is a grand runemaster, you should have gone to him.”

Beye's response didn't hold the slightest bit of anger, “He can't do it.”

“I c...” Richard swallowed the words at the tip of his tongue, looking into Beye's eyes without flinching. Locking eyes with her was torturous, but he was not afraid, “How does it benefit me?”

Something shifted in the depth of Beye's white pupils. “One day, if you step into the Battlefield of Despair,” she said in a deep voice, “I will guarantee your life.”

“Alright, but you have to wait,” Richard said bluntly.

“I'm very patient.” Beye turned around, leaving with the Fire Dragon Warlock in tow. Her figure disappeared the moment she stepped out the door; Richard knew she had left through the window in the corridor, but he had no idea how exactly she had accomplished it.

It was only a long time after Beye left that Fuschia let out a sigh. She looked at Richard with sincere admiration in her eyes, “You actually managed to joke around with her.”

However, Richard did not respond; he was still wondering about Beye's words. “What is the Battlefield of Despair?”

“A plane used especially for wars, where we fight to the death with our enemies from other planes. It is a world that belongs only to powerhouses; anyone who can actually make their way out of it is a lunatic!” There was still a tinge of lingering fear in Fuschia's voice.

“Isn't that basically a planar war?” Richard asked.

“No!” Fuschia responded immediately, “The enemies we fight in the Battlefield of Despair are other primary planes!”

Richard shivered.

He opened the Life's Bane blueprint once more. He could see an endless rain of blood that reaped countless lives from this rune. It had soul.

......

Three months after Richard had left, the Lighthouse of Time in Bluewater lit up once more. When Richard walked out from the portal, the first thing he did was to take a deep breath of the intoxicating blazing air of the Bloodstained Lands. Having spilt blood here for almost an entire year, having gone from a nobody to laying the foundation for his rule, he had already developed deep feelings for the place.

“Master, you're back!” the broodmother's voice immediately rang out in his mind. He was surprised by her words at first, only remembering after a moment that the week or so he had spent in Norland was three months here.

“Is something going on?” he replied.

“It's time to sweep away the Bloodstained Lands!” the broodmother declared, her voice laced with killing intent.

“Hmm... It still seems a little early for that.” Richard had never expected the broodmother's words. She didn't seem like a contract beast at all. Only a year had passed since he had acquired her, but she felt no less wise than anyone else present.

“No! I need more food, I've been stuck at level 5 for too long!” Her bloodthirst was quite clear and intense.

“Alright, alright.” Pacifying the broodmother, Richard turned to look over the team that had followed him this time.

A total of 26 men— a mix of knights in training and free Archeron soldiers— Flowsand, a surprise appearance in battle priest Io, and Demi. This was the entirety of the troop Richard had brought, costing a grand sum of 600,000 gold to transport. The soldiers were carrying giant magic chests in pairs, holding the enchanted equipment as well as some runecrafting materials.

The return to Faelor caused Richard to feel smug. The only awkward thing was Io.

Flowsand had brought this level 12 battle priest out from the Church of the Eternal Dragon. One level higher than even herself, his large-scale buffs and other spells were extremely powerful and cost less to cast. On the battlefield, especially in Richard's comfort zone during smaller scale wars, there was no way to exaggerate his impact.

And yet...

419 - City of Sin

A Long Time

The problem with Io was twofold: he was far too handsome, and practically inseparable from Flowsand as if he were her shadow.

Although he was a youth, he had the stature and charm of a mature man; his figure overwhelmed Richard's, at least for now. Alongside his elegant, sacred aura and the outfit from the Church designed for battle priests, he was as dazzling as the sun. Stood next to him, Richard looked like a young and inexperienced teen. Of course, Richard was confident in cutting him apart whether they were in melee combat or far apart.

Even more frustrating was the fact that Flowsand had absolute trust in the youth, not stopping him from getting close. It offset Richard's mood greatly; he wanted to ask her about it, but didn't know where to start. Io behaved like he was Flowsand's personal guard; he did everything for her, but still maintained a strict distance.

'But the boundary is only ten centimetres? That's too close!'

Richard also questioned whether he truly was Flowsand's guard. Since when were members of the clergy guarded by those of their ilk?

The Eternal Dragon had thousands upon thousands of blessings he could grant. Richard had only seen hundred-odd types, and had no idea what a heavenly guardian was. But he would likely still feel disturbed even if he did know about it. Heavenly guardians weren't the same as the broodmother's normal drones; outside of extreme intelligence, they also had their own souls. Outside of their absolute devotion to their masters, they retained full autonomy in any other matter. This made them very similar to someone like Phaser.

While Richard was sorting out the mess in his heart, the strange movements from the Lighthouse of Time had alarmed all of his followers that had been defending it. Once he exited the teleportation hall, he was greeted by a thundering voice.

“BOSS! You're finally back! It's been three months, I wouldn't know how to continue if you didn't come back!” The bold, boorish voice belonged to none other than Gangdor. He quickly strode towards Richard, his body covered in dust after a long journey but his steps more steady and powerful than they had been three months ago. The gigantic brute still carried an axe on his shoulders, although this scarlet one was even bigger than before.

Gangdor often switched up his axes, but the one constant was his hunger for blood. There were two fresh scars on his neck, wounds that still hadn't healed completely. The past few months clearly hadn't been dull.

The brute's eyes lit up at the sight of Richard. He laughed heartily as he walked over, opening his arms in preparation for a hug. However, he immediately remembered the difference in their identities and pulled his hands back, scratching his head with an awkward chuckle.

Of course, Richard didn't have any such qualms. He walked right up and bumped Gangdor's chest forcefully, giving the man a fierce hug. The collision almost sent him flying backwards!

Waterflower was standing next to Gangdor, her expression conflicted and her hands trembling. Richard didn't give it much thought, giving the girl a powerful hug as well. Her entire body stiffened up like iron upon contact, hands instinctively reaching for the hilt of her sword; however, a gentle shiver passed down her spine and she grew as soft as water, allowing Richard to wrap his arms around her in an embrace.

Richard quickly let go of her, only to find an enormous figure next in line. There was no way for him to hug this fellow; Tiramisu was almost three metres tall and astonishingly stout. The best case would only end up with hugging the ogre mage's thigh; he had grown much larger since they last met.

“Master! I'm level 13 now!” Tiramisu announced when Richard walked towards him.

Richard raised his head to look at the naive ogre and suddenly felt that something was off. “Why is your head crooked?”

Tiramisu instantly went down on one knee and tried to bend down, pointing to his left shoulder, “Master, look!”

There was a sore on the ogre's shoulder, as big as a teacup. It wasn't an injury, instead a mass that was growing out from within. A pale yellow horn could be seen forming within, the flesh swollen as though something was about to burst and break through from within.

Richard instantly recalled the ability of ogres to mutate, asking with pleasant surprise, “You're growing your second head?”

Tiramisu nodded forcefully, “It's Medium Rare, I'm darn sure that's him!”

“I think so too!” Richard smashed his fist against Tiramisu's chest. He put all his energy into it, but the hand just bounced off the ogre's natural coarse skin due to his thick body fat that served as a natural armour.

Ogres grew absurdly powerful once they underwent a mutation. The mages of Norland had performed thorough research on this species long ago, finding that any ogres that could grow a complete second head were natural elites of the species. However, the second head only splintered off from their original soul, forming a personality and intellect that was independent of the first. It would still be Tiramisu, not Medium Rare.

But of course, Richard wouldn't tell the ogre that. This secret would be kept buried in his heart forever.

Richard then looked past the ogre, seeing Zendrall. The necromancer also enjoyed a big hug, although it wasn't very pleasant for either of them. The necromancer's vicinity was rife with an aura of death, making anyone nearby uncomfortable. On the other hand, Richard was still surrounded by the blessing of the Eternal Dragon. Although timeforce wasn't exactly holy, its destructive effects on the power of death were not one whit inferior to divinity.

The two mages were grimacing in pain on the inside, but they smiled and laughed with joy.

“My Lord, you should make me one of those... What do you call them... runes.” The necromancer was reclusive by nature, and his heart had been sealed off for the past three decades or so. Asking for anything outside of corpses was a tactful way of expressing his feelings.

“Rest assured,” Richard laughed in reply, “I've already prepared a bargain for you!”

Zendrall broke into a smile, although it didn't look good on him at all.

It was then that Richard realised one of his soldiers was missing. “Where's Olar?” he asked.

“Today's his turn with the army. I think you'll only get to see him at night, boss!” Gangdor explained.

Asking a few more questions, Richard discovered that his followers had kept themselves occupied ever since he'd left. They had taken turns with the troops, catching out the bandit groups and caravans of Red Cossack regularly. The constant attacks forced Red Cossack to dispatch large armies to defend every caravan, only then maintaining the current deadlock. If they allowed Red Cossack to have the upper hand, perhaps those troops would currently be waiting right outside Bluewater Oasis.

As he was briefed about the situation on the battlefield, Richard interrupted with a quizzical expression on his face, “Waterflower can lead troops too?”

The young lady snorted and looked towards the sky, refusing to comment.

Gangdor pulled Richard aside, quietly giving him the details. The young lady had first gone out to war alongside him, but the two had completely different perspectives on battle strategy. The dispute was eventually resolved through combat. Gangdor was only one level higher than her ever since she had risen to level 12, so he was certainly no match for her when she activated Breath of Darkness. After many such fights, the two had parted ways and decided to lead the troops separately.

Gangdor might appear crude, but it took a lot of cunning to retain one's life in the Archeron death camps. He had crammed himself with knowledge on commandership, putting much effort in learning how to be a general. He proved to be a natural leader in war.

However, nobody would have imagined that Waterflower was skilled at leading troops as well. Her powerful intuition allowed her to identify the enemy's weaknesses clearly, and she had the patience and endurance to wait until the prey was most relaxed. Her armies would then suddenly erupt, delivering a fatal blow to the enemy's weak points.

Richard had already experienced that dreadful strategy of targeting crucial points personally.

Olar loved to identify small, weak armies, strengthening his troops with his warsong before burying the enemies with numbers. Kellac himself had once been a commander, so there were no problems on that end, which only left Zendrall remaining. Every necromancer was proficient at leading armies of their own minions, and the addition of other soldiers only made him more frightening,

Phaser was the only exception. Nearly every battle she fought in was fruitful. Regardless of who led the troops, she only paid attention to massacring all the enemies present.

“Where's Phaser?” Richard only recalled the special unit when she was mentioned.

Phaser appeared in his mind's eye the moment he thought of her. She was still a product of the broodmother, after all, and was connected to him through a spiritual link.

However, Richard immediately realised that Phaser had entered stealth, circling around the knights and free Archeron soldiers as she locked onto a target.

“STOP!”

The cry was very timely. Phaser had just exposed herself, appearing behind one of the infantry knights. The dagger that was her left hand had already slid in through his armour, about to pierce through his heart from behind.

She stopped instantly, transmitting a message to Richard's mind, “Master, he wanted to kill you.”

“I know. It's alright, let him go.”

The knight, his legs going weak. He looked at Phaser who suddenly appeared so close to him with shock and fear. This was Erwin. Richard hadn't been joking when he mentioned the punishment, actually bringing him to Faelor.

In the short span of time they had spent apart, Phaser had already risen to level 8. With one of Sinclair's daggers as well as her abilities, she could now easily kill off anyone at or below level 10 while fighting evenly with many that had crossed that mark.

Done with greeting his followers one by one, Richard allowed his team from Norland to rest as he instructed a group of soldiers to deliver the supplies to the warehouse. He then returned to his command centre in the camp, starting a meeting with all his followers and any other prominent figures. Although planar travel was quite exhausting, he had no plans to rest.

After all, it had been three months since he had last set foot in Faelor. He had to take control of the situation immediately.

420 - City of Sin

Life's Bane

In front of Richard was a map of the Bloodstained Lands and nearby territories. It was very precise, much of it drawn up by Richard himself. Richard looked over the positions of his followers upon it as he asked, “What's the situation?”

The broodmother immediately responded in his mind, “Everything is settled in the Land of Turmoil, I can enter the Bloodstained Lands right now.”

“Just wait there quietly!” Richard didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

The broodmother was his trump card, and the current situation was unlike any other. His army was a mix of honest soldiers and bandits, and Bluewater held considerable might. How could he afford to expose her to the enemy? Even though the broodmother had considerable power at level 5, not fearing the saints of Faelor, she would still be in trouble if multiple enemies ganged up on her. With her snail-like speed, there would be no escape.

She was not meant for battle, just like how a mage wasn't meant for melee even if they had some sort of ability like Eruption.

In the end, Gangdor and Kellac started explaining the situation. Falcao had left after a month, while Rolf and Lord Moonbear had continued to guard Bluewater. However, Lord Moonbear had decided to withdraw his troops just a few days ago, and Red Cossack had already gotten the news. They were reportedly gathering their troops on a large scale, prepared to wipe out Richard's army in one fell swoop.

The two sides had erupted in a multitude of small battles over the past three months, each suffering casualties. Richard's followers had whittled away at Red Cossack's caravans all this while, forcing them to give up on any small businesses. The caravans were now all guarded by enormous armies, rendering most of the attacks unsuccessful.

“How is the situation in my territory?” Richard asked. After all, it was still a good fief.

“It couldn't be worse,” Gangdor said with a shrug, “There's probably only a few hundred people there, maybe even less.”

“What is the matter?” Richard frowned.
𝐟𝘳𝐞ℯ𝚠e𝑏𝒏𝑜𝙫𝘦𝙡. c𝑜𝐦

“Earl Layton, a relative of the Sacred Unicorn. He frequently sends men down to your territory to capture anyone they see. The Red Cossack bandits go there to pay a visit sometimes as well, although I think they're only stealing rations. If you ask me, boss, your territory was originally a wasteland. They just want to vent their anger by attacking it.”

“Layton? Are they still in Fontaine's barony?”

“Yes, but they took away a few hundred people recently. There's about 2,000 left now.”

Richard laughed coldly, “Since they don't want to leave, let's have them stay!” It seemed like his territory was worth more than he had assumed. They likely hated his lands disrupting their resources.

This place was originally on the fringe of the Direwolf Duke's territory. At least for the next decade, he wouldn't be turning his focus in this direction. A suitable middleman with the right tricks would likely be able to buy it off Bevry for a reasonable price. However, now that Richard was the owner of the land there were no legal means for them to obtain it.

Richard stowed the map away, “Tell Devon, Amon, and Rolf that I'm back. If it's convenient, I'd like to meet up for a meal.”

Just as his followers were about to leave, Richard called out to Gangdor once more, “Right, send word that the bounty on Chuck and Phinbar is now 300,000 each. This will make Red Cossack uneasy!”

“300,000?! We can hire saint assassins with that!” Gangdor cried out in disbelief, “They'll really be worried this time. Boss, you've become rich!”

“Yes!” Richard laughed, kicking the large man out.

......

It was evening in Faust, and Nyris once again had an opportunity to dine with his father. To him, this was a mix of pain and pleasure. The good thing was that there would be many dishes that could only be savoured in the Emperor's presence, but the dinner was no better than a battlefield. The barrage of questions was normally more than he could handle.

“I heard Richard is back in Faelor?” the Emperor asked.

The two had dined together more frequently as of late, mostly because of Richard. Nyris was glad that he had the sense to support the runemaster firmly; if not for that, he wouldn't have so many chances. He had sixteen adult siblings, with many more that were not yet ten. The number of them who had awoken their bloodlines went into the double digits, and he wasn't the most outstanding of them all. He needed to work hard; merely being in the presence of His Majesty was a form of victory for the princes and princesses.

“Yes. The Church also sent two of their own with him. Outside of Daybreak, there was another battle priest by the name of Io. This is a name that hasn't been heard in the Church before.”

“Tell me what Richard took to Faelor,” Philip changed the topic.

One couldn't just read from a piece of paper in the Emperor's presence. Both of Nyris' hands were filled with food, but he still spoke as fast as possible as he listed everything Richard had taken. He had memorised all the details, something that was only expected when one dined with the Emperor. They had to gather as much news as they could before every meal, regarding every kind of event in Faust as well as any major movements elsewhere on the continent. One also needed to prepare for any possible queries the Emperor might have, researching all the subjects deeply. Nyris had gathered a list of everything Richard had taken during his return to Faelor; thankfully, that decision was not in vain.

His political growth depended largely on such preparations.

Philip nodded his head in satisfaction once Nyris was done, “This kid is good, he actually knows how to earn money from other planes. He's worthy of calling himself someone from the Deepblue. Oh yes, I heard Beye met him in private?”

“Agamemnon arranged it. I heard she needed Richard to help her craft a rune called Life's Bane.”

“How did Richard respond?”

“He took the blueprint.”

“He took it?!” Philip suddenly stopped eating, subconsciously circling his fork around on the plate for a while before he managed to continue, “Life's Bane isn't easy to craft. Lunor has tried it for seven years with no success.”

“Isn't it just a grade 3 rune? It can't be all that difficult. Lunor is just too unskilled; the royal runemasters of the other empires are on a completely different level!” Nyris said angrily, “It takes so much from our budget to buy powerful runes from the black market! I really hope Richard can grow up faster!”

Ever since he had gotten Richard to craft runes for them at the 1:5 ratio, he was growing increasingly annoyed with Lunor. The only reason the old man was still a royal runemaster was that more runemasters was always better. However, Lunor's student had no hope of becoming the family's next runemaster. Foster would need to actually grow his ability for that to happen, not just relying on his connections as he currently did.

Philip suddenly smiled, “The old men from the Sacred Tree Empire and the Millennial Empire couldn't do it either. Do you really think Beye didn't try that in secret?”

Now it was Nyris' turn to be shocked. He finally understood why his father, someone who was only ever concerned about food, actually stopped to think for a while. If the runemasters from the other two empires could not craft it, this Life's Bane rune was more difficult to produce than many grade 4 runes! For Richard to keep it was truly unusual!

Nyris had gained a better understanding of Richard's personality after their visit to the Forest Plane. The Archeron runemaster would never promise something he wasn't confident in delivering; accepting the blueprint without any deadline meant the problem was with his level, not his ability to replicate the design. One's mana pool would naturally increase as long as they worked hard.

Another striking detail was that Beye had actually given the blueprint to Richard after a single meeting. This showed just how much value she now attached to him.

“Would the White Night really go to so much trouble for a mere grade 3 rune?” Nyris probed. Even though he was a prince, he still didn't know too much about the might of powerhouses.

Philip looked at Nyris for a while and muttered to himself before saying, “You're a lucky kid. You might have a bright future ahead, and you choose your friends well. Alright then, let me tell you a few things in advance. Life's Bane is a grade 3 rune, yes, but the more of it you craft the higher its level. This is a rare type of rune called a stacking rune; the real difficulty is in the overlaying component. This makes the rune more difficult to craft than many grade 4 runes, to the point that only saint runemasters could normally make it. This isn't a problem in itself, but the trouble lays in the time one wastes on it. It might take one six months to a year to craft it even for a saint. Lunor has trouble making even grade 4 runes, he definitely doesn't have the skills to even try.”

“Stacking rune?” This was the first time Nyris had heard this term.

“Stacking runes are runes that can be placed over another rune at the same slot. However, they're different from hybrid runes; as long as the user has the carrying capacity, they can add in as many as they like. Three, four, even five runes won't be a problem! Even though Life's Bane is only grade 3, this special ability makes it one of the best single runes for killing in existence,” Philip explained patiently.

421 - City of Sin

Miscalculation

Nyris was well aware of the powers of Life's Bane... If the rune could be layered... A doubling in attack speed wasn't just a doubling of one's damage output. There were also the other effects; the more runes that were layered, the more likely one of them would be triggered.

He gained a renewed understanding of just how much of an impact powerful runemasters had on the empire.

Nyris stopped eating as well, struggling internally for a long time before asking, “Father, should I find a way to Faelor and join Richard's expedition?”

Philip cut a kilogram of meat out and threw it into his mouth, “Faelor is vast, only one step away from becoming a primary plane. Such a place is priceless, worth more than dozens of ordinary secondary planes. Are you eyeing its riches?”

Nyris smiled, “There are more planes than true runemasters. If I wanted to develop a plane, couldn't I just ask you?”

Philip nodded, “Then why do you want to go to Faelor?”

Nyris grew solemn, “A truly strong bond is formed on the basis of friendship mixed with benefits. I cannot make a true friend of Richard just through business.”

Philip smiled, "You're already smarter than your brothers, but... Hmm, still not enough. Well, do whatever you want. I'm increasing your allowance by 30% for this year.”

“Thank you, Father!” the prince exclaimed in excitement. All noble youths knew that a greater allocation of resources would stabilise growth.

......

As dusk approached, the Deepblue in the distant Floe Bay suddenly burst into an uproar. Her Excellency Sharon, who had been gone a long time, had appeared once again. The legendary mage looked just as haggard as before.

Sharon unloaded a ridiculous number of items from her spatial equipment in front of the grand mages, forming a small hill in the meeting hall. These were all items she had dredged up from various planes or odd spacetime turbulence. Some could be priceless, others worthless, but even the things proven to be useless would sell for a high price.

Anything the legendary mage fancied had to be special. Other high-level mages placed a high value on such items; even if these items had no true purpose, just proving that alone was extremely valuable. Opportunities were rare to research items from spacetime turbulence; such objects could allow one to look past the laws of the plane.

Sharon had never been one to work this hard. Grand mages from all around had gathered in the Deepblue in recent years, waiting for the next auction. Of course, to Sharon it was just clearing out the scraps. Although the legendary mages of the continent cared too much about their reputations to make a trip personally, most of them had sent over capable representatives to bring some treasure back.

“Your Excellency! Your fruits!” Blackgold had learnt from the previous instance. He gave her a filled spatial ring before she even finished unloading the items.

The legendary mage was startled, taking the ring and wearing it on her middle finger alongside two others. Seeing this tiny detail, the grand mages knew she had grown stronger once more. Even though the legendary mage hadn't grown in level, every additional ring she could wear meant her power had grown accordingly.

Seeing her about to leave right away, Grandmaster Fayr stepped forward and said hastily, “Your Excellency, there is a letter for you! It is very important, from—”

“I'll read it next time!” the legendary mage said lazily. The silhouette of a portal had already formed between her hands.

“Richard!” Fayr finally mentioned the most important thing.

Sharon trembled, subconsciously waving both her arms to forcefully toss the partial portal out of the window. The violent mana expanded rapidly as it flew a few kilometres away, eventually growing too unstable and exploding.

An extremely dazzling beam of light lit up the sky above Floe Bay. What seemed to be a black sun gradually rose into the air, guzzling up energy endlessly even as its edges erupted with golden lightning. By the time the sun faded away, the entire space seemed to have been distorted. What followed was a blinding white flash that lit up the entire world!

When the shockwaves hit the majestic tower of the Deepblue, all of the defensive formations were triggered. For a moment, it was as though a hurricane had swept past them, causing a violent reaction from the cloud of mana that lingered around the tower's roof all year round. The brilliant colours were glistening indefinitely, as though a heavenly being had descended upon Norland.

Huge waves over dozens of metres tall surged from the sea's surface, pushing towards the coast before smashing into the steep cliff.

Such force...

All the grand mages were silenced in an instant. The sheer amount of mana within that portal was beyond imagination, leaving them so excited they even forgot to protect themselves. Their mouths were lying wide open, their eyes dull; they didn't even notice their staffs falling to the ground.

One of them finally spoke up in an extremely hoarse voice, “Is that... a legendary spell Her Excellency developed recently?”

“That...” another murmured, “Was it even magic?”

No one answered his question.

The seventeen grand mages of the Deepblue were all standing in the meeting hall on the top floor, completely stupefied. All kinds of expressions filled their faces, and they couldn't control themselves for a moment.

Sharon's expression had been no different, but she recovered a split second faster. Using that slight time difference, she immediately wiped the cold sweat off her head and put on an expression of casual arrogance.

All of the grand mages then turned their heads, gazes landing on her.

The legendary mage already had both hands on her waist, saying aggressively, “What are you looking at, huh? I just used a spell, what's the big deal? And you, Fayr, remember to get straight to the point next time. Don't always be so slow!”

All gazes immediately gathered on Fayr. The instigator could no longer maintain his calm, forehead beading with sweat as he agreed with a forced smile. He then handed Richard's letter to the legendary mage.

Sharon snorted, opening the letter and reading it repeatedly. There was only a single line within, but she read it a dozen times.

Richard had inscribed a complicated spatial formula into this letter. Solving it would allow one to obtain a set of planar coordinates. As fast as she was, Sharon took some time to decipher the code; an ordinary grand mage wouldn't be able to perform the calculations even if they saw the formula. Even legendary mages without expertise in planar travel or spatial magic would have to rely on alchemic equipment and spend a lot of time.

The legendary mage's face suddenly started glowing all of a sudden. “My little Richard actually got himself a plane!” she cheered, “I have to go see! You lot, get busy with your stuff!”

Sharon conveniently took a beyslace spider crystal off her ponytail, something she had learnt to use as an ornament from Mountainsea. Fortunately, the legendary mage only wore a single large ponytail; if she had seven or eight small ones like Mountainsea, such a thing could not be maintained.

Her slender fingers dug into the spider crystal, immediately releasing an extremely dazzling flash of light. The terrifying energy contained within the crystal was stimulated completely, turned into the required spell in an instant.

A beautiful rainbow of colour appeared between Sharon's hands, stretching out from the window and leading directly into the sky. The legendary mage stepped on the rainbow bridge and turned into one herself, quickly breaking through space.

“Rainbow Bridge!” exclamations rang out in the Deepblue once more, “The legendary spell Rainbow Bridge!”

“Her Excellency can already cast Rainbow Bridge?!”

Rainbow Bridge was a legendary spell that was used to determine the location of a plane from its coordinates. Although the spell had caused everyone to exclaim, it actually wasn't as terrifying as the space explosion earlier. Its advantage lay in that it was quick and straightforward, not requiring a complicated portal, but the cost was too high; one needed at least one spider crystal for every teleportation.

Even a few minutes after Sharon was gone, the grand mages in the meeting hall still couldn't move. Grandmaster Fayr finally said something everyone was unwilling to express, “I think we need to have Her Excellency change the teleportation location to the roof next time...”

“That should keep Floe Bay safe...” of course, the grand mage immediately realised his slip of tongue.

However, looking at the formidable power of that space explosion and recalling that Sharon always opened the portal right in front of them, the grand mages truly felt that such a thing was pointless. It was very likely that an explosion of that magnitude would directly destroy half of the Deepblue, and they would not be spared.

“Her Excellency's teleportation magic... Could it be that it will never fail?” one of them asked helplessly. Sharon used planar teleportation all the time, and it was only now that they had seen what would happen if it failed.

All of the grand mages focused on Blackgold; they all knew he was the one who Sharon best. Blackgold was constantly wiping the sweat off his forehead, but he couldn't get it clean. Noticing the inquiring gaze from his peers, he smiled awkwardly, “I think... Her Excellency has never considered the idea of her spells failing...”

The conference room suddenly fell into silence.

This was truly scary.

422 - City of Sin

Fight

A dazzling mote of light appeared before Sharon's eyes in the void. This was her destination, Faelor. The crystal wall surrounding the plane was already in front of her, and an incomparably pure stream of mana burst forth from her hands to create a passage that she entered through.

The view from the other side of the wall was completely different. There were numerous planets and stars floating in space here, but before she could even start looking for Richard's location a pike of golden light assaulted her!

A powerful collision sent the legendary mage flying back a great distance, her hair waving in the air. Her eyes spat fire as she glared at a lofty god with golden light around his body stepping out in front of her.

“Away, invader!” the god roared like thunder, “Faelor does not welcome you!”

A pale blue light appeared in Sharon's eyes. “A mere lesser god dares to say something like that?” she sneered, “Even the Lord of the Abyss can't chase me out of his territory, but a fool like you wants to try?”

The god instantly grew furious, “Wretched mortal! I will shackle you in a world of divine fire for ten thousand years!”

The shout caused the legendary mage to sigh helplessly, “You're saying such stupid things... You've never ventured outside this wall of yours, have you?”

However, her expression changed in the very next instant. The outlines of a dozen divine realms appeared in the void, gods walking out one after the other. Sharon's eyes went wide as saucers, and she sucked in a breath. “DAMN IT!” was all she could shout before she was drowned out by torrential waves of divine force!

......

Back within the meeting hall in the Deepblue, the grand mages were discussing how to convince Sharon to change her teleportation point to the roof of the tower. A portal suddenly appeared before them, the legendary mage flying out of it like a cannonball. She crashed down to the ground, taking out not only the conference table but also two successive floors before she stopped.

An inexplicably violent stream of divine force spurted out, converging into indescribable waves of fire that followed Sharon through the path she had smashed out. Only when the portal closed did the stream break off.

The grand mages were all experienced, instantly activating all sorts of defensive measures. However, all their attempts broke down upon contact with the divine flames.

Fortunately, the flames only rushed past them. The control gods had over their power far exceeded that of mortals. Basically no extra energy was expended, but still the glancing might was enough to overwhelm the mages. Any of them would have been completely annihilated if they were the target.

A terrifying, deep hole had already opened up in the floor. A few coughs sounded from the legendary mage underneath, before Sharon said intermittently, “I'm... fine! Get back to work! Anyone who needs healing, go get it done!”

A familiar wave of mana could be felt from the hole underneath. She'd already gone off to who-knew-where.

The entire group of grand mages was injured, groaning as they got up and looked at each other with eyes full of shock. Her Excellency had said she was going to visit another plane, but why did it seem like she had just robbed some god's divine kingdom?

......

The sun was setting on Faelor. The story of the events near the crystal sphere was something most living beings would never come across in their lifetime. The millions upon millions of mortals of varying sizes were still walking their own paths, enjoying their lives and struggling in them as well.

Richard, who had already returned once more, already had enough clout in Bluewater Oasis to make changes in the city. The small place could no longer contain his strength, necessitating expansion.

He now had nearly a thousand soldiers, of which the humanoid soldiers and throwers were each equal to elite knights. With Flowsand, Io, and Kellac leading a clergy of nearly ten members, his force was something any organisation within the Bloodstained Lands would be envious of.

And then there were his followers, all young and full of potential. The battle might they had just displayed was enough to raise eyebrows.

The importance of Richard's first dinner after his return was huge. Only those closest to him could accompany him on this meal.

There were three more people attending the dinner. Outside of the ore merchant Bivier, Richard had never seen them before. Both the newcomers were recommended by Devon and Amon, representing large merchant groups. These powers had risen after the turmoil in the Bloodstained Lands, and each was backed by a true earl at minimum.

Sword Saint Rolf was elected to sit at the head of the table. In a world where might made right, this ought to have made logical sense. However, he felt the seat beneath his buttocks was slightly warm and uncomfortable. The War Construct scroll in his pocket caused him to look at Richard with a complicated look in his eyes.

To Rolf's left and right were Lord Moonbear and Richard respectively. Of course, Richard was obviously the star of the meal. Those familiar with him, like Devon, Bivier, and Amon, all knew that this dinner was essentially a private auction. Richard always had all sorts of items worth exclaiming over in his possession, and now that he had been gone so long it was very likely that he would surprise them all.

Everyone had little interest for the delicacies lining the table, taking a few hasty bites before putting down their cutlery. Richard had a waiter clean up and then smiled, “Everyone, I spent the last three months on my master's semiplane...”

This sentence brought a ruckus from the newcomers. Richard was finally indicating his teacher's status; only a legendary being could own a semiplane. On the other hand, those who understood him a little better wouldn't believe him. The sullied divine scrolls already revealed that Richard was backed by someone far more powerful. Legendary beings could intervene in matters between gods, but there was a limit to what they could do.

Richard had no choice but to raise his hand, calming everyone down, “I don't know if you all would be interested, but I have returned with a batch of equipment. Let's start off with this sword... Don't misunderstand, this is just a sample.”

Richard placed the magic sword on the table as he spoke. The expressions of the two saints changed in a single look, and Bivier was soon to follow. As someone trained in ore and metal appraisal, he easily realised how much better this sword was than normal ones.

The weapon was passed around and everyone looked at it attentively. All their gazes landed on him the moment it returned to his hands, waiting for him to continue.

“It is a longsword made of lafite steel, enchanted for a coldness effect and added sharpness.” Richard's words verified the guesses of most. These swords were sufficient to equip a duke's core legion or the personal guards of an earl or marquess. It was very difficult to find enchanters on the market, and the largest batches that circulated were normally only a dozen to a score.

Devon was the first to speak, “3,500 gold for each, I want as many as you have.” This was a reasonable price. A similar sword would be worth 5,000 in a human kingdom, but this was the Bloodstained Lands and Richard wanted to sell in bulk.

“Alright, I'll sell at that price. I've brought 200.” Richard's words left everyone delighted in an instant, and all the swords were instantly divided up. The swords had been worth about 1,500 in Norland; such things were made in high quantities back home.

Richard then sold five of the crossbows at 40,000 gold each, including sixty arrows. Adding on half of the shields and armour, his total earnings reached 1.5 million gold.

Immediately after, he started purchasing in bulk. He bought heavy weapons, gauntlets, and half-body plate armour to equip a thousand people. This alone cost 800,000 and by the time he was finished with ores and magic materials only 300,000 was left.

“I need to hold onto this, just in case someone sends me a head from Chuck or Phinbar. I have to pay the bounty, no?” Richard explained with a smile.

“300,000 for the two of them?” Although everyone knew Red Cossack was a mortal enemy of Richard's, they were still shocked by the huge reward. Richard definitely wasn't exaggerating; anyone with the slightest ability at accounting would know he was left with 300,000 gold in hand.

Finding that many of them still hadn't learnt of the changed bounty, Richard smiled, “No, 300,000 each.”

This time there was no ruckus from the seats. Everyone instead quieted down, immediately beginning to calculate how they could get the heads of the two. With a promise of 300,000 gold, even a saint did not seem difficult to kill. Although everyone here had too much status to do it publicly, who in the Bloodstained Lands didn't have an underground channel or two? Even if the bounty wasn't that huge, such a business transaction would also greatly strengthen their relationship with Richard.

Rolf suddenly felt the War Construct scroll in his pocket burning.

......

Once the dinner came to an end, Rolf was in no hurry to leave. He pulled Richard over, asking quietly, “Do you have more of that scroll?”

Richard acted like he didn't perfectly understand the swordsman, “Oh, the War Construct scrolls? They're very difficult to make, but it's not like I don't have any. I should be able to get a few for 20,000 each.”

Rolf's eyes lit up, “I want two! I'll get someone to send you the money tonight!”

423 - City of Sin

Prey

Rolf had never heard of the Eternal Dragon before, but this god's requirements for his worshippers were incomparably simple. As long as one was willing to seek out items of great power and sacrifice them, that was enough. So-called pious followers would only have to mention his name and promise to perform a sacrifice to the best of their abilities during their lives. In other words, trying was enough; it didn't matter if one actually performed a ceremony. Of course, one would obviously get better benefits from offering something. The writing of the Church mentioned that the divine grace obtained upon sacrifice would definitely net the offerer more returns. When it was a matter of faith, no god could afford to lie.

The third level of the War Construct scroll was so close! Rolf knew that a single thought would qualify him. The price was the eternal wrath of the gods of this plane, but coming from a family of ancestor worshippers he already had no favour from them. This was a small price to pay.

The scroll seemed to be beating in his pocket on his way back from the meeting. The help of the third level of the scroll would give him the confidence to kill Chuck or Phinbar one on one, and he could still escape if both were together.

At the thought of the humiliation he had suffered in the past at their hands, Rolf's gaze grew darker. He had wished to see the heads of these two all this while, and now he could be paid 300,000 gold for one? Such a bounty left his heart thumping. Even a powerful saint would need a long time to amass such wealth.

Richard had already planted the seed; he only needed to wait for it to bud.

......

Over the next five days, Richard acquired a lot of the land near his camp at low prices, expanding it fivefold. This way, he could accommodate more buildings and soldiers in the area. Some of the small obstructions in the process had been taken care of instantly, not even reaching his ears.

The equipment he had ordered had arrived as well, taking up practically all of the storage space of the Golden Warflag and a few other large trade groups nearby. Most of them were quietly sent to the boundary of the Land of Turmoil.

After waiting for a few days for all of his new knights to integrate into the army, he spent one morning gathering his troops and left Bluewater Oasis.

Richard didn't plunder the Red Cossack caravans as many had expected him to, instead beginning the journey back to his territory. The threat of the people occupying the Fontaines' land left him exceedingly uneasy. He would first take care of this powder keg before it exploded. Maintaining such a large army was resulting in significant losses for the enemy, and the longer this went on the more they would hate him. If they took the initiative, he would be forced into a passive defence.

Leaving Bluewater Oasis and feeling the red soil under his boots once more, Richard felt his entire being relax. The soul nodes in his consciousness kept lighting up one by one, giving him a feeling of expanded awareness that was intoxicating. His world had expanded severalfold in a single moment.

Waterflower, the broodmother, his followers, the elite bats flying in the sky... They were all his eyes.

“How are we fighting this, boss?” Gangdor was following Richard's horse on foot, rushing across like the wind.

“We fight!” Richard played it down.

“Good!” Gangdor roared, his eyes twinkling, “I like this!”

The brute was no longer half-naked. Richard had forced him to wear the enchanted scale mail he had returned with, something only half as heavy as full plate but with twice the toughness. The gauntlets for most normal soldiers had been repurposed into pauldrons for him. And Richard had also crafted a grade 2 defence rune for him. He was now a steel fortress, able to charge into a full legion of heavy knights once he activated Gaia's Force and the strength rune!

......

Twilight Castle. Sir Odom suddenly stood up and grabbed the soldier front of him, “What did you say? That little bastard showed himself?!”

His thunderous roars resounded through the hall, shattering a few of the antique vases to leave a bunch of debris on the floor. The soldier turned pale in Odom's large hands, growing breathless. There was no way for him to speak.

“You'll kill him at this rate,” Earl Layton reminded Sir Odom from the side. It was only then that the boor let go of the poor soldiers with a rough sigh, letting the soldier finish his report.

Sir Odom was a tanned man with a thorny beard, his heavy armour coloured a mix of black and dark red. The sharp spikes on the ends of the armour seemed extremely vicious as he walked to the door, grabbing an attendant and screaming, “Gather the cavalry! Also get those fucking mages and priests off their girls and tell them to prepare! We leave in an hour!”

Layton was shocked. “Odom, that's too little time!”

“70 kilometres, we'll reach the place in two hours,” Odom objected.

“We won't have the time to pack supplies if we leave in an hour,” Old Hogan advised from the side, “If we want to reach the place in two hours, not all of the footsoldiers will make it. Most of the mages and clerics will definitely fall behind! That could pose a great risk, Richard isn't normal. He's been gone for so long... Now that he's suddenly shown himself, he must have some nasty plot.”

Odom scoffed, “A plot? With just those 600 or so troops of his? Tell me, old man, how would you defeat me with just that force?”

Hogan's brows locked together, wrinkles deeply etched into his face in helplessness, “Just because he shows us 600 doesn't mean that is all he has.”

“Enough!” Odom interrupted with a roar, jabbing at the other knight's chest with his middle finger, “Know your place, old man! I'm the highest power here, cut the bullshit and do as I say. Don't think you're the only one who knows how to lead an army into battle, my results are much better than yours. You were still a peasant when I started killing people!”

Old Hogan's expression changed. His background was a sting that could not be removed.

“Just take care of your troops and keep up. If any mage or cleric falls behind, take care of them. Just do your job!” Odom was like a black wargod, swirling out of the hall like a hurricane.

“Odom, wait! We can still discuss this!” Earl Layton shouted.

“What's there to wait for? I'm already dying in this castle. I want to vomit whenever I see Fontaine's wife's ass!” His voice grew more and more distant.

Earl Layton strolled to Sir Hogan's sighed, patting his shoulder with a sigh, “Don't mind it, that's just the kind of person he is. We have 700 elite cavalrymen alone, and his personal heavy cavalry is around as well. There won't be any problem dealing with Richard.”

Hogan shook his head, “Don't forget the 200 Golden Eagles that died at his hands.”

Gloom filled Layton's face. That was still a mystery to this day, unsolved in the past three months.

It was unknown if the Direwolf Duke had discovered something. He informed the outside world that he was recuperating after the large war and had not left his place. No matter how they plundered Richard's lands or invaded any of the Duke's other vassals pretending they were lost, Bevry wasn't the least bit concerned. One of the Viscounts bordering Richard actually didn't even complain to the Duke, taking things to court instead and claiming it was a robbery. Two of the Golden Eagles were turned into scapegoats and sent to prison, turning them into laughing stocks in noble society.

Now that Richard had finally appeared, perhaps letting Odom go test the waters wasn't a bad option. Layton couldn't help but press his hand to his forehead. The entire matter was riddled with issues, all because of this frontier knight that had popped out of nowhere.

......

An hour later, Odom was on his gigantic black warhorse as he led 700 cavalrymen out. Many infantry battalions had been sent forth earlier, in addition to scouts that would determine the location of Richard's troops. Odom headed the army, hurrying forth at an acceptable speed.

Although they weren't moving much faster than a trot, without enough preparation beforehand it was still a very tiring task. The dozen or so mages and clerics were looking unwell within the first ten minutes.

Odom seemed like he couldn't care less, not showing any intent to let the cavalry slow down. Richard's best warriors were just level 10 or 11, and most of them were footsoldiers. The cavalry was made up of mere desert warriors as well. There was news that a group of mercenaries called the Demon Hunting Spears had joined Richard's army, but in the eyes of nobility, they were no different from bandits. How could they be mentioned in the same breath as a legion of proper knights?

Odom was very familiar with the Bloodstained Lands. He had once led thirty of his personal guards on an expedition to kill 400 bandits, leaving rivers of blood in his wake. The desert warriors couldn't even compare to those bandits, so why would he care about them?

When the hour mark arrived, the scouts returned with the location of Richard's camp. The discovery left Odom in high spirits; if he acted quickly, he could still rush back to Twilight Castle in time for dinner.

Some of the weaker mages and clerics were already falling behind.

424 - City of Sin

Grit And Steel

Two hours had passed by the time Odom's main cavalry finally caught sight of Richard. The camp had obviously been set up recently, the bonfires not yet lit. Both sides were already aware of the other's position, and Richard's troops had made camp slightly uphill as they finished their preparations.

When he saw the surprising discipline of Richard's troops as well as their superior arms, the corner of Odom's eye started twitching. His arrogance did not imply complacency; he naturally understood the situation in front of him. This battle would be harder than he had imagined.

Richard was surprised at the sight of Odom's troops. “Weren't there 2,000 men from Earl Layton in Twilight Castle?” he asked, “Why are there only 700.”

Kellac looked closely at the opposing troops, “They're being led by Sir Odom, a powerful saint. It seems like he's brought all his cavalry, plus two great mages and priests.”

Some of the huge bats were flying in the sky. It was strange to see bats in the daytime, but with all of his focus on the opponent Odom didn't notice that they weren't some kind of bird. One of the bats had already scouted the backup army from Sir Hogan. Even though the footsoldiers were moving quickly, they were still more than thirty kilometres from the battlefield.

“They want to try and beat me with just this many men?” Richard's expression was strange.

Kellac had never seen Richard command a battle, but he was familiar with noble armies. He made a quick assessment of each side's power, growing solemn, “Sir Richard, I fear this battle will not end well for us.”

Richard put on a faint smile, “Just you watch.”

Having said that, he pointed towards Odom before turning his palm towards the floor and gliding it across his throat.

All saints had powerful perception. Only a thousand metres away, Odom could clearly see Richard's act of provocation. He let out two heavy huffs, cracking all of his joints. His crouched horse sensed its master's anger and grew reckless, constantly kicking its steel hooves into the ground.

Odom took out an enormous three-headed flail from his saddle, raising it up high.

Thirty heavy cavalrymen, a hundred-strong elite cavalry, three hundred Golden Eagles and three hundred light cavalrymen all entered formation. The warhorses let out several hot breaths, their owner's gripping tightly onto the weapons in their hands.

“KILL THEM ALL!” Odom finally bellowed. His own dark figure was swift as he led by example, several companies charging out behind him.

The ground started shaking. Seeing a few hundred armoured warriors rush towards them, even Kellac's face changed.

The Demon Hunting Spears truly were elite warriors, but just as Odom had said they could not compare to the discipline and order of formal soldiers. Being farsighted and experienced, Kellac was well aware of this fact. The might of these charging soldiers could not be broken easily.

“Is Odom really level 16? It's too far away, I can't cast any detection spells,” Richard asked unexpectedly.

“He truly is a saint!” Kellac emphasised. The most powerful warrior on Richard's side was only level 13.

“Merely a saint,” Richard responded, raising his staff and turning to face Kellac, “Don't forget to cast War Construct on Gangdor later.”

The heavy cavalrymen had already converged into a current of steel, only a few hundred metres away from Richard's troops. They laid their lances flat, charging at full speed.

A resounding warsong suddenly broke out amongst Richard's troops, a melody of death, gold, and steel! This was a new song Olar had started using ever since he hit level 11, a grade higher than the original elven warsong.

The barbarian warriors at the front felt their blood boil. They roared a thunderous war-cry into the sky, forcefully slamming their heavy shields into the ground and supporting them with their shoulders. Those behind them placed heavy steel pikes into the ground, placing their shields over their heads before supporting those in front. This multiplied their resistance to the opponents' attacks. Those all the way in the back lifted their spears through the shield wall, striking forth.

The humanoid drones clutched tightly at their axes, backs ramrod straight. These drones were built for battle, unfamiliar with fear itself.

Io slowly walked forward with a radiant smile, speaking in divine tongue what sounded like a gospel song. It was resonant and glorious, golden light flying forth with every wave of the staff in his hand. Every beam was enough to cover thirty to forty warriors, and in a flash the few hundred in the four front rows were buffed with enhanced willpower, strength, and divine armour.

This was the battle priest's debut in battle. The imposing splendour and vigour left even Kellac, a former great priest of Faelor, in awe.

However, Richard was growing increasingly irritated with the fellow.

Fifty metres remaining...

Amongst those at the front of the charge, Odom felt his heart slowly sinking. The warsong and the spells made his heart tremble; compared to the clerics of the opponent, those behind him seemed to be complete idiots. They had spent half a day to bless the horses and men, but that had only come up to a single effect!

He himself only had three spells cast on him, comparable to an ordinary barbarian in the opposing camp. However, there were hundreds of barbarians on the other side.

Thirty metres remaining...

He suddenly felt the ground tremble harder than it already was. His peripheral vision caught a batch of heavily armoured soldiers charging out from the forest nearby, their speed making it clear that they were all level 9 at minimum. This was only a smidgen away from qualifying to become a knight, elites amongst elites. However, why were these men only footsoldiers? Even if they were heavy infantry, what kind of foolish commander would make footsoldiers of such powerful soldiers?

Odom could no longer restrain his anger. Outside of his cruelty and short temper, he was actually a skilled leader of troops. Be it his personal ability or his commandership, he was better than Hogan in every way. A single glance at the soldiers streaming out of the forest made his heart ache. At least they were decently equipped.

However, the very next moment he realised something was wrong. A sudden sense of danger surged in his heart, one that he could not suppress. These elite soldiers were mimicking his path. If the light cavalry in the back was cut off, it would be a disaster! All of his hair stood erect as he raised his three-headed flail, bellowing thunderously, “CHARGE!”

The only chance for them to survive now was to rush forward and chisel through Richard's troops!

However, a powerful bolt of lightning suddenly fell upon him from the sky. Even with spell barriers protecting him, Odom was struck hard by the lightning. He seemed to exhaust most of his strength for it, but immediately shook it off and continued the charge. Most of the hair on his head and face was smoking now, an overwhelming dizziness almost knocking him off his horse.

Richard inched his own horse forward, raising the Twin of Destiny high above his head. The fallen angel wing seemed to curl up, the entire staff body bursting with light at the seams as it showcased the full might of a legendary weapon!

Boosted by the Twin of Destiny, the grade 6 lightning spell had almost knocked the unprepared Odom off his horse. A few bursts of static still lingered nearby, leaving Odom's personal guard on the brink of collapse. This spell was nearly at grade 7 strength, and was enhanced by a chain lightning effect.

Richard decided that he would be the star of this battle, spurring his horse on as he raced back and forth. His staff was twirling constantly, several flashes of lightning raining down from the sky in a vicious attack on Odom's troops. His might was truly frightening.

Still, despite his face being charred, Odom gritted his teeth and dashed through the last ten metres without falling off his horse. His energy even spread out to protect those closest to him, putting the might of a saint on full display.

Richard's face turned gloomy... Not managing to knock Odom off his horse meant not managing to snatch the glory from Io. The battle priest was far too prominent, but he had already used Blaze. Any further and he would need to rely on Outburst from Flowsand, but that was not a wise choice in the current situation.

Richard knew he was losing his calm. The lightning spells weren't the most appropriate choice earlier; that would have been Nature's Beckon. A bunch of direbears amidst the heavy cavalry would destroy the enemy formation, cutting their power down to a third.

The last five metres!
𝒇re𝐞w𝐞𝚋𝒏𝚘ѵeƖ c𝗼𝑚

Odom bellowed once more, the flail in the air finally landing on the shield wall. The three heads shattered the shields of three barbarians, wood and steel shattering as the large bodies of the barbarians flew into the sky. Blood spurted everywhere from their caved-in chests.

The flail was knocked back so hard that Odom's horse neighed loudly and slowed down. Gangdor— fortified by numerous magic and divine spells— immediately charged out of the formation as he shot towards Odom like a meteor!

425 - City of Sin

Grit And Steel(2)

A dull bang rang out and the two men separated, both in a sorry state. Odom's warhorse lost strength in its legs, almost crumbling to the ground. With his rune and all the buffing spells, Gangdor was only at a slight disadvantage compared to Odom, able to curb the saint's attack. This was the key to the battle.

Richard forced himself to calm down once more, sending out command after telepathic command. A fierce whistle rang out in the sky, and a dark cloud swept over the front row barbarians to land in the midst of the charging cavalry. These were the poisonous axes of the throwers, capable of breaking apart armour within thirty metres. Three quick volleys left over half the enemy riders injured.

This was where the army distinguished itself from a group of bandits. Any Red Cossack cavalry would have been ruined by those three volleys, formation broken apart. However, Odom's cavalry continued to charge despite several new holes opening up in their number, a flood of steel that would engulf everything.

It was at that moment that a dark grey light flashed at the head of their formation, the ten-odd heavy cavalrymen at the front suddenly slowing down. Now that they were finally within Demi's casting range, her mass slow spell shut down their sharp advance. Dull sounds of collision rang out continuously as the cavalry met Richard's shield wall; although there were many points where they broke through for a moment, the barbarians still held their ground.

Battle cries rang out as Richard's warriors pulled out their axes, beginning a desperate fight against the stopped knights. However, they weren't the ones that struck fear into the hearts of the enemy; that honour belonged to the hundred humanoid drones. Each battle unit was expressionless, heavy-handed, and vicious, eyes glued upon the enemy. They didn't react to any sort of injury, swinging their axes over and over as if their bodies were made of wood.

No one wanted such an opponent. These drones were not insane; they were just emotionless, unfeeling war machines!

A hundred humanoid warriors met the Golden Eagles, leaving thirty dead on each side in only a few exchanges. The enemy morale had collapsed completely as they fell into the swamp that was Richard's army, already beginning to show signs of retreat. Three volleys of flying axes, an unbreakable barrier, and these war machines were all intense blows, beating them down again and again until there was nothing left. The humanoids were indifferent to the fall of their comrades, not so much as flinching even when they themselves were injured gravely.

This was the biggest difference between the broodmother's drones and human warriors. Even if all their comrades fell in the blink of an eye, the battle drones would fight to the end. However, it took an elite army to avoid collapsing with even a quarter of their forces killed.

With the frontlines temporarily stuck in a stalemate, Odom had fallen deep into Richard's army as he fought alone without thought of death. His three-headed flail flew like the wind, reaping flesh and blood with every strike; his entire body was covered with energy as thick as blood. However, the results were far from what he had imagined. The enemies did not collapse, nor were they defeated. The casualties weren't even all that high. Gangdor and Tiramisu took on most of the attacks, the others vile wolves that looked for the right opportunities to bite off his flesh.

The two did not know how many times they had withstood the saint's attacks. The spells and armour could only block half of Odom's strength at most, the rest of the damage borne by their bodies. However, sacred light constantly healed their wounds at visible speeds; they only had to retreat for a brief moment before they were in front of Odom once more.

It was Odom who felt his body begin to grow heavier. The buffs on his body had been dispelled a long time ago, and the red-haired girl on the other side was sending curse after curse his way. Even though he managed to suppress them with his energy, whatever was left still caused his head to hurt. The power of this young girl's curses far surpassed those of the so-called great mage he had brought along. If not for that, these curses would not be affecting him.

And the young female cleric next to her... No, that girl's spells were at the level of a full-fledged priest, but there was still no sign of her running out of mana! Without her endless healing spells, Odom would have defeated Gangdor and Tiramisu long ago. Was the book in her hands a divine weapon? Why were spells being cast every time she flipped a page?

After another swing of his flail pushed Gangdor back, Odom couldn't stand it anymore and was forced to stop for a breath. The air was filled with the thick smell of blood; in that short pause, he suddenly felt a stinging pain in his lower back! One of Richard's warriors had an enchanted crossbow in hand. He didn't want to fight any further after hitting his target, immediately retreating from the battle.

This was the biggest strength of Richard's tactic. Outside of Gangdor and the ogre, every soldier in this fight was enacting or supporting a sneak attack. Self-preservation was the most important factor; every engagement was touch and go, restricting any attempt to target the spellcasters first.

By this point, Richard had already gotten the humanoid warriors around the enemy flanks. A total of 500 fully-armed warriors easily killed off the light cavalry blocking them, surrounding Odom's heavy cavalry from behind as they began a massacre.

A sacred light flashed across the sky once more, this time falling on Odom's knights. The shining Io had already buffed their own troops to the utmost, but just as it seemed like he had nothing left to do he actually started to dispel the spells on the enemy. He seemed so bright at that moment it was like a god had entered the battlefield!

Richard couldn't help but grow angry once more.

One of Odom's great mages seemed extremely flustered, failing his spells multiple times. He finally decided on a direction to escape in, preparing an acid fog spell in the hopes of opening a road to survival.

Richard steadied his warhorse, coldly beginning an incantation. He almost never used chanted spells on the battlefield, but this situation was special. A fireball appeared in his left hand that was much larger than normal, a layer of red light flashing across his staff causing it to grow half a fold once more. The spell was enchanted with a two-grade increase in level, enhanced damage, and increased range. This was approaching the limit of most grade 6 spells, not far from a grade 7 Burst Fireball.

The bundle of flames more than half a metre wide whizzed out across a hundred metres, shooting towards the escaping great mage. He let out a strange scream, putting up as many barriers he could in a flash. The many waves of fire forced him off his horse in a sorry state, most of the cavalrymen caught in the explosion dead, but he had preserved his own life.

Richard's expression grew even darker. It was at that moment that two silhouettes shot out like lightning, heading straight for the great mage. The Shepherd of Eternal Rest and Extinction penetrated his body at the same time.

One of Duke Grasberg's subordinates, great mage Senth, had died in battle.

Waterflower and Phaser separated after an exchange of sharp glares, entering the chaotic battlefield. A warzone filled with horses was simply a paradise; there was just far too much room to dodge under the beasts' bellies.

A cleric was trembling continuously as he waved his sceptre, but he had long since run dry of power. He couldn't cast a single healing spell, only able to hide behind his paladins. However, the rear was not a safe spot; the enemy could be anywhere.

The cleric suddenly felt a chill in his chest as a blade emerged from his heart. He turned his head with much difficulty, wanting to see his killer, but only managed to turn halfway before he slowly drooped down.

Level 10 cleric Bayenne of the Church of Ceres had died in battle.

On another side of the battlefield, Waterflower was taking small steps towards her target as guard after guard fell at her hand. The target was a middle-aged man with unwavering determination, currently leading ten-odd knights in a bloody battle to firmly block the advance of the humanoid drones. Every swing of his huge sword left a huge wound on the humanoids' bodies, but even with their chests caved in these battle units still fought to the death.

The knight suddenly sensed a great danger, quickly turning his head. He caught a glimpse of a girl soaring through the air, her body basically parallel with the ground as she flew towards him without a sound. The longsword in her hand was covered in a dense black aura, moving at an incredible speed.

Shock flashed in the middle-aged knight's eyes, the energy that had started fading away rising once more to meet this extremely dangerous enemy. However, it was too late; the light in his eyes suddenly dimmed as a think line appeared across his throat, fresh blood spraying out the neck!

Waterflower stretched out a hand and pressed gently on the knight's head, borrowing this strength to soar into the sky. She flipped through the air a few times, quickly making it over ten metres away as she entered the chaotic battle once again. The knight's head rolled off his body.

Golden Eagle battalion commander Sir Booker, a level 15 swordsman, had died in battle.

When Waterflower and Phaser took out another great mage and priest respectively, wiping out all magic on Odom's side. This was the cornerstone of victory in a war.

Odom fell down with a loud crash. His flail flew out even in his last moments, crushing two of Richard's warriors. Almost no blood flowed out on the ground; the incomparably intense battle had run him dry. Even in his last moments, his aura still flared.

Richard dismounted and walked over, stopping by Odom's body for a few seconds as he stared deeply at this admirable and fearsome enemy. He then returned to the battlefield once more; dozens of enemy soldiers were still ignoring the command to surrender.

426 - City of Sin

Grit And Steel(3)

All the surviving enemies were a part of Odom's heavy cavalry, violent and bloodthirsty with the spirit of true knights. They would fight to the end unless ordered to stand down, and the only one who could do so was already dead.

Richard pulled on the reins of his warhorse, raising his hand and ordering the surrounding warriors to retreat. The shield wall completely encircled the last dozen or so knights, the blood of humans, barbarians, and drones covering the entire area. With the horses all dead, these knights stood back to back as they faced these enemies that were nearly a thousand times their number.

“Surrender,” Richard gave them one last chance, but the only reply he got was spit on the ground right in front of him. He sighed, giving out one last telepathic order. A sea of axes drowned out the knights, ending the battle.

He stopped his warhorse atop a small hill, silently looking down as his soldiers cleaned up the battlefield. The dead were still in the same positions as right before they passed, blood staining the land. Odom's body had been carried out and laid flat on the field, his armour filled with dents and burn marks. The twenty to thirty crossbow bolts all over his body were perhaps the best descriptors of this battle. Richard's enchanted crossbow bolts were something nobody, not even a saint, was supposed to be able to withstand easily. However, Odom had taken twenty of them before he fell.

The busiest of the lot right now were the priests and clerics. Their powers were the only chance for many of the wounded warriors to survive, so Flowsand, Kellac, the other fallen clerics and even Caesar were treating them tirelessly. The great power of the Church of the Eternal Dragon was clearly evident.

Io was stunning as usual, his powers seemingly not depleted at all. He walked between the wounded, sacred light flowing out of his palm. Countless soldiers looked at him with hope glittering in their eyes like he was a god amongst mortals.

Richard didn't feel as angry anymore.

When he received word about the defeat, Sir Hogan turned his troops around without a second of hesitation, ordering the retreat. Richard's desert warrior cavalry finally showed itself, all unwounded. They surrounded the pure infantry soldiers, perfectly kiting around them like proper horseback bandits. However, Old Hogan led his troops calmly without allowing any disruption to their formation. Although they left hundreds of their comrades behind, they eventually made it away.

The battle with Odom had been more difficult than Richard had expected; he had to allow his soldiers to rest for a while after the battlefield was cleaned up. Although the broodmother's drones did not care for wounds, they were still out of energy; will alone was not enough to overcome the body's weakness.

During the entirety of Richard's trip back to Norland, the broodmother had constantly been creating the elementary humanoid warriors in the bloodstained lands. There were now more than 500 of them, with ten being elites. With the armour Richard had given them, they were instantly worthy of Odom's envy.

Once they came out of hiding, the broodmother's drones had completely flipped the tables on the battlefield. 500 humanoids, a large number of throwers and 200 barbarians have Richard a definitive upper hand in terms of soldiers, while the chasm between their spellcasters and powerhouses was even wider.

Richard had lost about 100 men with 200 more injured, collectively killing 700 enemy warriors. Outside of a minuscule number of deserters, almost all of Odom's cavalry had been destroyed. On Richard's end, the many clerics on healing duty would ensure the wounded warriors were fit for battle with a few days of rest. Although there were still more than a thousand soldiers in Fontaine's lands, they had completely lost their elite forces.

The soldiers that had been a part of the intense battle entered the land of dreams at midnight. After recuperating in his tent, Richard began work on a rune. He had sufficient materials and many designs, so the only thing he needed was time.

Richard held his breath as the pen entered his hand, carefully carving the first line onto the hide. The line was long and crooked, covering more than three metres if straightened out, so it was difficult to complete in one go. However, this line was critical to the rune's design, directly affecting the energy absorption mechanisms.

His hands remained stable as a rock, the deviation no more than a millimetre. This was a level of precision no normal person could achieve just from training, even more so when one also had to maintain a steady flow of mana at the same time.

Richard succeeded on the first try.

He heaved a sigh of relief, it was a well-drawn line that completed a third of the rune. He gently lifted the pen, preparing to change its ink; it had three different compartments that were completely isolated from each other, and the owner could select any one to draw with. This solved the age-old problem of inks being contaminated.

Richard's heart warmed at the sight of the pen, thoughts floating to Flowsand. However, that immediately led to the battle priest Io who shone as bright as the sun.

Richard suddenly sensed the air being lit up by his breath. He felt like Io would be beside Flowsand right now. What was he doing there? And where was Flowsand?

The second question didn't take much to answer. All the wounded warriors were already treated, so Flowsand had to be in her own tent. In that case, was Io there with her?

“No way!” Richard tried to convince himself. However, a deep voice rang out in his mind, 'You'll find out when you go check.'

'I trust Flowsand!' he exclaimed in his heart.

'You barely even know her,' the voice wouldn't give up.

“Get lost!”

'Why are you losing your temper? If you want to prove me wrong, just go check. You're afraid of finding him there, aren't you?'

Richard fell silent, putting the pen down. He wasn't in the right mood to continue runecrafting, and he knew that he would fail even if he tried. This was the first time in his life his work had been stopped by emotion. His success rate was high, but so was the quality of the materials. Every failure wasted thousands of gold; every single coin was valuable right now.

He whipped out the Life's Bane blueprint, scanning through it once more. This was a rune close to perfection, not as straightforward as a normal grade 3 structure. The most difficult part was an array that seemed to be designed to link two of the same kind into one entity.

This array was extremely difficult to create, and he had never seen any such thing in another grade 3 rune before. However, it wasn't a huge challenge; as long as his condition was good enough, he would be able to succeed within five tries. The issue was with his mana pool; he would need to be level 15 at minimum, able to cast grade 8 spells.

The design of all the other parts was wonderful as well. Richard was inspired by every nook and cranny of this rune.

However, tonight was not the night to do anything. Richard stared at the blueprint for over ten minutes without processing anything. 'A lot of things could happen in this time,' the voice rang out incessantly in his mind, 'You might be able to stop it if you go now.

'You're still not going? It's okay if you're interrupted.

'Even if it won't make any difference if you go now, what about the second time...'

*Bam!* Richard threw the blueprint onto the table, standing up. If he didn't go take a look, he would just waste time.

When the tents were being pitched, Richard had specifically had separate tents prepared for Flowsand, Io, and Kellac. It was normal procedure for powerful mages and clerics to receive special treatment, so these orders were quite ordinary. Gangdor and Olar, in charge of logistics, had never disappointed him when it came to executing on such things.

But...

Richard recalled that Flowsand had a faint smile on her face when she introduced Io. Thinking it over again, there were a lot of hidden meanings in that; never before had he heard a priestess call a priest her partner. Io's expression floated into his mind once more, the expression of someone bright as the sun looking down on him. Thinking back to it, he saw a deep sense of animosity in those eyes.

Io seemed to have endless power, turning the battlefield into heaven. He shone so brightly that Richard felt like his own status as a royal runemaster meant nothing. As for other things like appearance, they weren't even on the same playing field.

In all his life, RIchard had only felt like he lost in appearance to two people: Nyris and Io. Nyris was a true friend, his appearance enchanting, but Io was different. The battle priest was majestic, someone extremely attractive to women. Even an elf like Olar looked like a peasant in comparison.

Richard finally decided to head out of the tent. He would start drinking if he continued to stay, and the outcome of that would be completely unknown. However, he returned the moment he took a foot out, grabbing his sword before heading out once more.

He ran into Gangdor the moment he left the tent, almost bumping into the man. Just as Gangdor was about to joke about the matter, he sensed something was off. Richard seemed like he was about to kill someone! His smile faded away, “What's the plan for tomorrow, boss?”

“Send Odom's body back for now,” Richard answered thoughtlessly, “We'll group up and attack Twilight Castle later in the day.”

Gangdor scratched his head in confusion, “Won't that give them time to escape?”

“Let them.”

Gangdor simply nodded in answer to that, turning around to look for Olar so they could discuss plans for the attack. Before he left, he looked at Richard's sword for a moment as various thoughts sprang into his mind.

427 - City of Sin

Your Future

Richard wasn't aware of what he was doing; he didn't even know how he had chased Gangdor away. The inner voice was so distracting it overpowered every thought of his.

“I just wanted to take a few rounds around the campsite...” he muttered to himself, taking a few big swigs of liquor.

It was only when the familiar burn entered his body that he noticed the bottle in his hands. He couldn't remember where it had come from; he didn't have a habit of keeping any alcohol on his person, and there wasn't any in the tent either.

It was a bad idea for the general to be drinking in the camp. Mindful of such details, Richard wanted to throw the bottle away. However, giving it some thought he ended up stuffing the thing back into his clothes and moving on. His sword's tip dragged across the floor, the scabbard bumping every few steps as it sparked against the little pebbles on the ground.

In another part of the campsite, Gangdor and Olar were discussing the attack on Twilight Castle. Gangdor suddenly felt thirsty halfway through, but found nothing when he reached into is clothes. His flask was gone...

Tainted by all the bloodshed, the battlefield was extremely cold. However, there was still a humidity in the wind that made it seem like day. Richard's eyes scanned across the guards, the stable, and the bonfire before stopping on the tents not far away.

Unknowingly, he ended up in front of Flowsand's tent.

The place was still lit, meaning Flowsand wasn't asleep yet. However, two silhouettes revealed themselves on the wall. Richard was sent into a stupor, freezing on the spot. His inner voice faded away.

The tent's flap was pulled open and Flowsand popped her head out, waving to Richard. “Alright, that's it for today. You may head back,” she said to the one within.

“Sure.” Indeed, the voice that rang out belonged to Io!

Richard felt a sudden chill down his spine and in his heart, the grip on his sword tightening. Io walked out and smiled in his direction, returning to his own tent. The smile was bright as usual, but to Richard it carried meaning. He almost drew his sword.

Forcing himself to resist the temptation, Richard walked into Flowsand's tent and sat down, fixing his gaze on the tent's walls. If he made any further eye contact with Io just now, he knew he wouldn't be able to control himself anymore.

Flowsand lowered the flap and turned around, sitting in front of him, but she couldn't read his expression. She noticed that he was expressionless, staring at the wall as though it was a blueprint for a grade 5 rune. She laughed and waved in front of his face, finally getting his attention.

“You were looking for me?” she asked, a tinge of humour in her tone.

“No... It's nothing, I was just making my rounds around the campsite,” Richard stuttered out. He reeked of alcohol as he spoke, causing her smile to grow more obvious.

“Making your rounds? That's not something you should do. What were you checking on?”

Faced with such a question, Richard was at a loss for words. “I'm the general,” he tried to pretend there was nothing wrong, “Isn't surveying the troops a part of my responsibility?”

“No, it's for Gangdor and Olar. Actually, any of your followers could handle it,” Flowsand said without hesitation.

Richard was left speechless.

Flowsand immediately turned serious, “Oh right, there were a few mistakes in your command today. Some of your decisions weren't very appropriate.”

Richard knitted his eyebrows; he knew he hadn't been up to par. Just as he nodded in agreement, however, Flowsand added, “Io was the one who mentioned this.”

Richard froze. He had just agreed, so there was no turning back. He looked on unhappily, asking coldly, “Isn't Io just a battle priest? What does he know about tactics?”

“A battle priest from the Church of the Eternal Dragon. This is part of his domain,” Flowsand answered.

He felt a ball of anger filling up within him, smirking, “Let him conduct the next battle then!”

“He said the same...” Flowsand stopped the moment she saw Richard's expression.

Richard suddenly felt at ease, putting both hands on his sword as he filled in, “He wants command? And what else?”

The cleric stuck her tongue out and leaned closer, “Alright, alright! I just wanted to make you a little antsy. I told him already that you're an almost-perfect tactician. We were just reflecting on the battle and found a few parts that could be improved. I know this isn't your normal standard.”

Richard remained silent.

Still feeling something off, Flowsand leaned into his arms and touched his face, “The clergy needs to have good synergy with the commander; that is the only way for them to reach maximum potential. A minute's difference in large buffs or dispels could affect our odds tremendously!”

Richard sighed, gently stroking her head as he finally relaxed.

“Also, Io feels like you're currently too weak. A level 12 mage is insufficient to control these men.”

Richard tensed up again. 'You mean insufficient to control a battle priest, right!' he almost said, exerting all his willpower to keep himself quiet.

Flowsand didn't seem to understand his reaction this time, pulling him up and kicking his sword into a corner. “We can take care of that! Come, I'll teach you some melee combat skills from the Church. They're very powerful.”

Richard didn't need her words to know that the Church's combat techniques were truly powerful; he had experienced them himself. Before he knew it Flowsand was suddenly upon him, exerting force to send him flying up. He flipped around a few times in the air, falling to the ground face down!

She pulled him up and repeated the action once more, this time describing the key part of each move in detail.

Neither of them knew how the time passed.

Deep in the night, Richard had fallen countless times. He was aching everywhere, leaving her tent with heavy, tense footsteps. In contrast, Flowsand was filled with energy, even waving goodbye to him before pulling down the flap. He was left with conflicted feelings, only recalling after he was back in his own tent that he hadn't found a good opportunity to ask an important question.

What was her relationship with Io?

Flowsand was still awake in her tent. Her face rested in her palms, nobody knew what she was thinking, only that she snuck in a smile every now and then. The light formed a halo around her face.

“You... I won't be a part of your future...” she muttered to herself.

......

The next morning, a loud alarm woke all the soldiers up from their sleep. The troops gathered quickly as Richard mounted his horse, seeing Io in the distance; the battle priest was still very eye-catching. Sparks almost flew from their eyes when their gazes met.

An afternoon's march brought them to the Twilight Castle. The Grasberg flag was flying atop the castle, but there were few soldiers guarding the place. The gate wasn't opened even though Richard's army was sighted.

“So I was right,” Richard smiled as he talked to his followers, “Zim's troops really did retreat.”

All of Duke Grasberg's subordinates had retreated overnight, taking along the corpse he had sent. Earl Layton would definitely push all of the blame onto Sir Hogan when they returned, trying him for abandoning the battle without a fight. In fact, Old Hogan had made the right decision; if he hadn't insisted on the retreat, all 1,000 of his soldiers would have fallen at Richard's hands.

Facing more than 600 level 9 warriors, the thousand level 3 soldiers that weren't even prepared would have been tired out instantly, massacred without a care. However, there was a different angle to this. Odom had died on the battlefield, but Hogan hadn't even tried to help him out. The more the scars on Odom's body, the faster Hogan would die.

This was the exact reason why Richard had sent the corpse back. With his bird's eye view from the bats, he already had a decent understanding of Hogan's style of command. This knight was the kind of opponent he hated most; he would rather fight an intense battle with someone like Odom and tangle with Hogan. Even though all his remaining soldiers were rather weak, he could still make use of Twilight Castle to inflict a significant amount of losses.

“This is Baron Fontaine's land!” an officer shouted from atop the walls, “Personal armies without clearance will not be allowed entry! Leave now, you are violating the barony's laws!”

Richard narrowed his eyes, turning to one of the guards nearby, “Tell him that some thieves snuck into Twilight Castle and we're here to investigate.”

The soldier shouted Richard's voice out loud.

The officer grew furious, taking a step forward and pointing at Richard as he shouted back, “This isn't your backyard! How dare a mere frontier knight create a nuisance on the Baron's land?!”

Richard didn't even want to bother with the man. “Olar.'

The elven bard pulled on his bow, sending an enchanted arrow straight for the officer's chest. The officer was shocked, quickly snatching a shield from the guard beside him to block the attack. The arrow pierced the shield, but it lost its angle and only managed to pierce the man's shoulders.

Richard looked at Olar and shook his head, “You need to get more practice. How could you miss such a useless fellow?”

“Yes, my Lord!” Olar felt guilty. The officer had only been level 8, but his reactions were very quick.

Richard amplified his voice, talking to the guards on the wall, “Tell Fontaine or his mother this: don't let us in, and I'll attack the castle. I don't have time to waste with you lot!”

428 - City of Sin

Bloodstained Highway

Richard didn't wait for an answer to his threat, having Gangdor and Tiramisu lead a troop of humanoids to take over the key areas of the castle. A lot of attention was paid to the ballistae; although he was confident that Little Fontaine couldn't afford enchanted bolts, it was better to be cautious.

As the group prepared to set off, Richard suddenly felt a burning gaze wash over him from the side. He turned over to find Io glaring at him, something that caused his emotions to surge once more. He almost wanted to go with Gangdor amongst the first batch to enter Twilight Castle, the words were even in his throat, but he managed to push it down. He was a mage, and more importantly the general of the army. It was a venture in foolishness to join the vanguard.

Just as he was feeling glad that he hadn't been overtaken by jealousy, Io suddenly spoke up, “Let me go in with them.”

Battle priests had many methods to save their lives. Richard was in no position to refuse Io, but for some reason the decision caused him to feel awkward. Even the joy of taking over Twilight Castle without bloodshed faded away.

Half an hour later, the castle was in Richard's grasp. Fontaine's remaining forces did not seem to have any reinforcements, so there was basically no obstruction to Richard's entry. Truth be told, the defenders had already lost all morale the moment Earl Layton withdrew.

Richard looked through every corner of the castle, not letting go of any hidden rooms or cellars. One thorough look allowed him to memorise everything; if someone wanted to use Twilight Castle to defend against an attack from him in the future, most of their locational advantage would be eliminated.

Richard saw many unexpected, “special” tools in the bedroom of Fontaine's mother. The Baroness had obviously enjoyed a “fulfilling” time with the general who occupied this area, and it wasn't willingly. At least, not from the beginning. Memories of the battle alongside the late baron surged into Richard's mind, causing him to turn gloomy.

It took an entire hour for Richard to finish a trip around the castle. His subordinates had gradually grown used to such things, becoming more patient over time.

Once he was done, he met the Baroness and Little Fontaine in the Baron's personal study. He took a seat at the desk, while the Baroness and her son sat at the seats normally meant for guests. They seemed to be quite reserved.

“Things haven't been going well, have they?” Richard asked.

The young Baron stubbornly pursed his lips in answer, not saying a word. He seemed very biased against Richard, especially due to his status as a frontier knight. This seemed to be some form of arrogance that came from his noble status.

It was the baroness that was much more pragmatic, hanging her head low. She had seen Richard exploring the castle, and knew that he had definitely seen many things that could not be made public. Richard rapped silently at the seat he was sitting on, “Let me guess. Who was the one sitting behind this desk, Layton or Odom?”

Lady Fontaine really wanted to keep her silence, but she knew that would only anger Richard, “They've all taken turns, but Layton spent the most time.”

Richard smiled, “You're smart, my Lady, but sadly not wise. If you had managed to hold on a little longer, things wouldn't have ended like this. Being a faithful neighbour to me is much better than inviting a pack of wolves to your home. What terms did Zim offer to you?”

She sighed and accepted her fate, “That your lands would be given to us. He would also give up some of his vassals' territories, enough to form a viscounty.”

“A viscount! Even I'm tempted! However, did they follow through?”

The lady quietly began to weep. There was no need to answer the question; even the Fontaine armoury had been wiped clean during Layton's stay here, taken over by one of his trusted aides. Baron Fontaine had no idea what it was being used for, only obtaining a symbolic compensation in gold. It was so low that she wouldn't have been able to buy her jewels with it.

Richard called a soldier into the room, “Bring Caesar here.”

Caesar entered the study only a short while later. He grew extremely emotional at the sight of his mother and brother, but stopped himself from jumping over to them. His family had opposed Richard against his father's final wishes, but he could not do the same. He had followed his father's commands, devoting himself completely to the Eternal Dragon and rooting himself by Richard's side.

Caesar was already level 5, a decent level for a cleric. Given his youth, it was definitely an accomplishment worthy of pride. Standing there in the study, his aura towered over his mother and brother.
f𝑟e𝙚𝒘𝗲𝚋𝚗oѵ𝘦𝙡. c𝒐m

Richard patted his shoulder, “Look, Caesar's already a level 5 cleric. It won't be too long before he becomes a full-fledged priest. Ah, Fontaine... I still look up to his wisdom. You lot should talk for a while.”

Caesar seemed to grow very emotional, looking at Richard with a questioning look. Richard patted him once more, “Don't mind the time.”

However, just before he left the study Richard seemed to remember something, “Baron Fontaine, I heard that your uncle fell off a cliff while chasing some bandits. His life and death are unknown.”

“Is that so?” Little Fontaine answered drily, “What a pity.”

Richard smiled, pushing the door open and making his way out.

......

The next day, Baron Fontaine announced that he would return to serving under the Direwolf Duke. He also announced an alliance with Sir Richard, punishing anyone with malicious intent against the knight's lands. A week later, a fleet of vehicles full of construction materials left Twilight Castle for Richard's territory. It was accompanied by a number of masons, including many of those that had originally been stolen from Richard's lands. The Fontaine smithies were working at full capacity, preparing to produce over a hundred sets of high-quality armour and weapons every month for Richard.

Richard could finally continue to build his castle, but he left behind only a few dozen men to guard the place before returning to Bluewater. As long as all of his power was by his side, the territory would be safe. Anyone who dared covet his lands would immediately be annihilated once the army returned.

However, just before returning he sent an open letter to all the nobles neighbouring the Bloodstained Lands as well as those organisations with some power, inviting them to dispatch delegates to Bluewater Oasis to discuss a truly major event.

The Bloodstained Highway Project!

The plan was to gather the various noble families and merchant groups, cleaving a path through the Bloodstained Lands to the Ashen Plateau in the northwest, connecting the Sequoia Kingdom to the dwarven lands. The profits from the highway would be split based on the various forces' investment in terms of labour and materials.

The plan would deal a fatal blow to the bandits and thieves along the corridor, but at the same time, it also affected the Iron Triangle Empire. Most smaller caravans took the long route through the Empire and paid exorbitant amounts of tax to avoid losing their men and goods, but this project would provide them a better alternative. Besides, Richard was planning to use this plan as an excuse to annihilate Red Cossack, a large merchant group that was under the Iron Triangle Empire's wing.

Many people had been invited to discuss the project, even Viscount Zim. The Highland Unicorn was no longer as troublesome as before, and even originally Richard hadn't placed too much importance on him and his backers. Any human nobles, large or small, liked to draw out altercations for a long period of time before concluding them; with the broodmother around, this was always an advantage for him.

In fact, war was quite effective at diplomacy with larger nobles. The loss of seven hundred cavalrymen and Odom had dealt a heavy blow to Duke Grasberg, enough at least that he could not recuperate without a year's time. Earl Yatu, Zim's father, had been basically destroyed; his two great mages and priests had died in battle. The battalion commander of the Golden Eagles had been eliminated as well, destroying most of the Azure Deer Earl's strength.

The number of losses did not seem to be too large, but every death had been the death of an elite. Odom was an extremely useful powerhouse as well; level 16 beings were not called saints on Faelor for no reason.

Richard believed that even Duke Grasberg would have to put some serious consideration into challenging him once more. After all, the profits of such an endeavour were unknown but the potential losses were now obvious.

News spread faster than the wind on any plane with people on it. Odom's death was known throughout Bluewater by the time Richard returned to the city, leaving all sorts of invitations filling his office desk when he got back.

Of course, he just swept all the papers into the wastebasket with his sword, holing himself up as he awaited the arrival of the various noble delegates while crafting runes. On one hand, this was an extension of his constant diligence, but on the other, he was unwilling to see Io but didn't dare to ask Flowsand about it. Richard believed he had already asked a similar question of her that night in the tent, but she hadn't given him an answer; he would not ask a second time.

The Bloodstained Highway project was a byproduct of his extreme depression. He had thought himself crazy at first, but some careful analysis surprised him with just how feasible the idea actually was. He had thus put everything aside, perfecting the plan in two days. A depressed lunatic was always terrifying.

429 - City of Sin

Toppled

Flowsand came to look for Richard punctually every day after dinner. The combat techniques of the Church of the Eternal Dragon were actually full of mysteries, a few basic postures linking together to form endless changes. This was a true technique that was not based purely upon one's strength. Of course there was no way for a level 1 cleric to defeat a saint, but between two people of the same level and class these techniques would definitely help one survive.

Richard found that even with the secret swords of Silvermoon, his fighting technique lost out to Flowsand. He was not a match for her in an unarmed melee. Flowsand's body was essentially perfect, her great flexibility making every contact a wonderful pleasure. Over the several hours that they would fight, they ended up in all sorts of positions. Before, this would have led to a bout of intense sex. However, Richard had been training with her for an entire week but not touched her once.

The thorn in his heart would just not fade.

However, Flowsand was just unwilling to explain. Even if Richard occasionally slapped her rear, she still let it go. Eventually, he just ended up going quiet. Elena's arrogance had been bred into his very bones; would not ask again and again.

Bluewater hadn't been quiet in all this time that Richard had hidden himself away. The delegates of all the nobles arrived at the city one after the other, meeting with Richard's followers. Olar had been considered a pretty good diplomat once, but now his glamour was completely overwhelmed by Io's.

The battle priest had impeccable looks and bearing, his power great enough to subdue most. In a world of gods like Faelor, offending a priest was much worse than offending a mage. However, Io never took pride in his looks and power, instead being humble with every person he met, be it a regular soldier or a title noble. Everyone that met him felt inspired; it had just been a week, but he was already the most popular person in the entire oasis.

At this point, even Richard's followers could see the problem. The priest evidently wouldn't heed Richard's orders. However, Io was just like Flowsand; strictly speaking, they weren't really Richard's subordinates. None of them could say much about it.

Almost everyone in Bluewater liked Io, but a fair number of people didn't treat him well either. Tiramisu was the most obvious, seemingly ready to throw him into a cauldron and make soup from him. Waterflower never smiled in front of him; in fact, she had told him to scram when he once invited her to dinner in front of everyone.

Phaser's eyes were always on Flowsand. The special unit had been hiding at the side once when Flowsand left Richard's room. In the end, a soft but powerful hand covered her eyes that were radiating bloodlust and dragged her off.

Only after they were a hundred metres away did Waterflower throw her to the ground before disappearing into the darkness. “Don't interfere,” she left behind icily.

Phaser had been left where she was, wondering hard. However, that night had somehow smoothened the relationship between the two greatly.

Every night after Flowsand left, Richard would stand by the window as he watched the starry sky, asking himself what he should do.

He was seventeen years old, a time filled with confusion. This was the same age when Gaton was paying Elena's bills, brushing horses in foul-smelling stables so her party could drink...

It took ten days for him to finally walk out of his room, tossing three runes to Gangdor. The price was Gangdor taking him out to drink him unconscious. Halfway through, he vaguely felt like there were a lot more people around. Waterflower, the elven bard, an old man that might have been Kellac, and a tall, fat figure that wasn't human.

......

Richard only woke up when the sun shone on his face. He moved a little, but was immediately assaulted by a splitting headache. Memories of the previous night were slow to come; he only remembered that he had pulled Gangdor out to go drink and nothing else.

He groaned as he struggled out of his bed, washing his face with cold water to ease the hangover. His eyes landed on the worktable, realising that the three completed runes had disappeared to leave behind only an incomplete Guardian of Life. He thought about it seriously, remembering that all three were for Gangdor. They had likely been handed over to him already.

“This is bad!” he hit his own forehead in vexation, “Why did I drink last night, and so much at that?”

He truly regretted the time he had lost. Had he been in a good state, a grade 2 rune like Guardian of Life could be completed in three nights. Grade 1 runes would only need two nights at most. Every night was exceptionally important to him; the path to the top was paved with every minute and second of hard work.

He dressed up and walked out of the room, standing on the balcony. The cool morning breeze made him feel much more comfortable.

Loud cheers were ringing out in the distance, pulling his attention. He found two figures fighting at the training grounds.

One was Gangdor, while the other was Tiramisu. The two were colliding head-on, dull thuds making it all the way to Richard's balcony. He could even feel the wood underneath his feet shaking.

Gangdor and Tiramisu's hands were entwined as they wrestled. This was a competition of pure strength with no shortcuts, but the difference between the two races was enormous. Even a sturdy adult human was no match for an ogre child; this wasn't a contest on the same playing field. On top of that, although Tiramisu was a mage his physique was exceedingly powerful. He also had a standard strength rune on him.

This wasn't supposed to be a competition at all, but Gangdor's muscles flexed as he managed to actually repel the ogre! Without being suppressed in terms of strength, the cunning Gangdor who had survived the Archeron death camp had an overwhelming advantage.

He shouted loudly as his front leg hit the ground, cracks spreading out around his foot. A matchless power surged into his arms as he actually raised the ogre mage off the ground! Gangdor spun around until Tiramisu turned too dizzy to cast any spells, finally flipping him over into the ground. The collision was extremely heavy; even with the ogre's physique he was left groaning, unable to get up right away. Gangdor touched his bald head awkwardly, quickly reaching out to help Tiramisu up.

Richard's other followers had been watching from the sidelines, but none of them bothered with Gangdor's excited challenges. The brute eventually offered to take them all on at the same time, after which they immediately mobbed him.

Tiramisu cast quite a few curses on him right away, weakening him to an extent. Waterflower was quite quick, flashing behind him but in no hurry to actually attack. She instead shouted loudly, in a manner that seemed rather unnecessary.

However, this shout had a miraculous effect. Gangdor raised his arm to block subconsciously, giving her the perfect chance. She immediately rammed into his ribs, sending his huge body flying. Tiramisu and Olar took advantage of this and started beating him up, with even Zendrall secretly kicking the man a few times.

Phaser entered the battle stealthily, wanting to land a few attacks on Gangdor with her left hand, but the blade only scared Waterflower who quickly carried her away.

Watching all this from a distance, Richard smiled knowingly. Gangdor had just obtained three new runes to complete a set, a mutation of Savage Strike. With the defensive ability being raised from the original version, his might had risen considerably. However, it hadn't yet been a day and he was in a hurry to test out his newfound power. As expected, he managed to send even Tiramisu flying!

After that, he got impulsive. The consequence of challenging everyone at once was being brought down by the seemingly pure Waterflower. In that moment, even he had the urge to get into the field with them.

This morning seemed extremely beautiful, but Flowsand was missing. However, if she did appear, Io was sure to be by her side.

The slight smile on his face suddenly froze.

It was at that moment that a soldier walked behind Richard, informing him that Rolf wanted to meet him. Richard was slightly surprised, not understanding why the saint swordsman would want an audience with him at this time. He instructed the soldier to lead Rolf to the ground floor lobby, saying he would be down immediately.

Outside the gate, Rolf had his hands behind his back as he also watched the fight in the grounds. However, unlike Richard his expression was solemn, especially so when the rest of Richard's followers attacked Gangdor. Tiramisu's casting speed, Gangdor's powerful physique, Waterflower's own strength with that ram... it all left his eyelids twitching.

It left him wondering. Had he been the one under attack by those four, he would not be able to hold on for long. He couldn't even be slow with his escape, Olar was still around. The elven bard might seem ordinary, but the combination of his warsongs and spells held unimaginable power.

It seemed like Odom truly had fallen at Richard's hands.

Richard took a few minutes to make sure not a hair was out of place on his body before going down to see Rolf. This was a basic form of etiquette between nobles, a minimal show of respect. He put on a smile the moment he entered the lobby, “Lord Rolf, to what do I owe this pleasure? Could it be that my breakfast is just more delicious than anywhere else?”

Rolf laughed, “Just in time as well! I haven't had breakfast yet.”

This attitude was something to think about. Rolf seemed to be extra friendly today, something surprising. Richard still couldn't match up to the man in terms of strength or status. Still, he had his servants bring in a meal. It didn't take long for the two to finish a sumptuous but not exactly luxurious breakfast, after which Richard told the servants to leave. He then turned to Rolf, “I believe you have something to tell me?”

Rolf picked up his cup of coffee, softly blowing at the bubbles on top before tasting a mouthful. He then took out a little box the size of a palm and handed it to Richard, “I came here to gift this to you, my Lord.” This was the first time the man had been so respectful in addressing Richard.

Richard opened the box only to find two broken fingers within. One was the middle finger of the right hand, the other the thumb of the left. Both had spider tattoos on them, with a pair of black crystal and jade rings that emanated a powerful magical aura. This pair rings gave the user a rather decent boost to their strength and vitality, and were quite famous as the Ivy of Charlotte. They were a symbol of the saint Phinbar of Red Cossack.

Richard carefully appraised the two rings before closing the ring, “Phinbar's dead?”

“His head was destroyed by my sword's energy. Thankfully, he still left these two fingers behind. Hehe, without them he'd probably rather die anyway,” Rolf said with a chuckle.

Richard imitated Rolf's manner, acting like a young noble who cared for little else as he whistled and said, “300,000 gold coins shall be yours, Sir Rolf.”

Rolf's eyes blazed, “Sir Richard, could you... Exchange the gold for a more powerful rune?”

Richard immediately nodded in reply.

Rolf was slightly shocked, hesitating, “Thank you very much for your generosity, Sir Richard. I know that runes cannot be given out so flippantly; those runes your subordinates use should only be for those worthy of trust. I—”

“I trust you,” Richard interrupted his words.

“This...” Rover was shocked and delighted, at a loss for what to say.

Richard smiled, “Since you have activated the third level of the War Construct scroll, we are family.”

Rolf's eyes blazed at the mention of the War Construct scroll. “The divine might of the Eternal Dragon is truly indescribable!” he praised from the bottom of his heart.

Richard patted Rolf's shoulder and laughed, “Wait until you have accumulated enough to make an offering to the Eternal Dragon. Then, and only then, are his divine grace and might truly indescribable!”

Rolf nodded solemnly, not minding the pat at all. Instead, he felt like it was only right for Richard to do so. He obviously knew there would be no end to the offerings once they began. However, so what? Who could resist such a temptation?

With Richard's guarantee in hand, Rolf left with anticipation and anxiety. Richard himself returned to his laboratory and sat in front of his desk, flipping open a diary before dipping a goose-feather quill in ink and writing down:

“My first steps have been taken in Faelor, and I've firmly rooted myself in this plane. However, as I look around, I find my allies to be bandits and thieves, robbers and murderers; desert warriors whose very nature is plunder, and liars, traitors, and heretics. These seem to be the only people I can use to topple the old world order.

“Is this the essence of planar war?”

430 - City of Sin

Nightmares

Richard's life seemed to return to normal once he sent Rolf away, the sky a dreary grey. There was no wind within his laboratory, the temperature perfectly constant.

He spread out the incomplete Guardian of Life rune, picking up his pen and slowly filling it with mana. The tip lit up slightly, but at the sight of the unstable lustre he shook his head and continued to increase his output. The light eventually stopped fluctuating, but he stared blankly at the incomplete arrays without starting a stroke for a long time.

An entire morning silently slipped through his fingers. Richard had only drawn two strokes, of which one had nearly been a mistake.

*Thud!* he slammed the pen on the table and walked over to the basin, casting a cooling spell on the water within. His control over the magic was exquisite, chilling it to just under the point where it would completely freeze over. He then poured the ice water over his head. Richard couldn't help but shiver. He stood there quietly, knowing he could not go on like this.

However, he had no idea of what to do. He raised his arm, looking at his long, slender fingers. The blessing of truth began to draw numbers on his digits, giving him a summary of their characteristics. He always felt calmed in this world of numbers.

......

In that same moment, Flowsand was seated in her own room as she silently flipped through the Book of Time.

The pages were blank. She could see whatever she wanted with a single thought, but every page she flipped through was empty.

Io was leaning over the window, taking in the sunlight. His spotless white robes seemed eternally unsullied, the golden patterns shining in the sun's rays to glisten with a sacred radiance.

He suddenly laughed, “Why do you do this to yourselves?”

“What do you know?!” Flowsand answered coldly.

His smile was as full of charm as always, “If I were you, I'd maintain some distance from myself.”

Flowsand just flipped through a page audibly.

“Richard seems to be affected by this,” Io said once more.

More flips sounded out.

“I can bet you he'll be fine tomorrow. However, he will eventually abandon you if you keep this up.”

The book went silent for a moment before resuming.

Io did not say any more. He had conveyed what he needed to, and repeating his words would not do any good. Oh no, there was something else he had to tell Richard. He leant by the window, the corner of his lips revealing a confident smile.

Seventeen. An age where many wanted to walk side by side, but would eventually be forced onto separate paths. The blessing of wisdom could speed up many things, but there were some that could only be settled with time. Even clerics and great mages were no exception to this rule. The cleric had their own problems, but just couldn't say them out loud. Io knew this, but he couldn't say much either. He wasn't a newborn soul that had only been recently given life; his wisdom was broad and far-reaching.

Every heavenly guardian was an old soul who was given a mortal body through divine grace.

......

Richard walked out of his room at dusk, a magic sealing box in his hands. His face was expressionless, the grade 2 rune completed and with much better effects than he had originally anticipated. Had Lunor seen the entire process, he might have suspected that Richard was a homunculus created specifically to craft runes.

This rune was meant for Tiramisu. With it, the ogre mage who liked to crush enemies in the frontlines with his two-handed hammer would have a much higher chance of survival. Every rune he gave his followers was a tremendous boost to their power. He may not be able to create miracles himself, but he could build up miracle makers with his hands.

However, just as he was about to close the door to his room, his movements suddenly stiffened. He turned back to see a bundle of darkness gradually taking shape within the building.

A nightmare creature!

Richard had basically forgotten all about this. Right at the moment he had lost his focus, a nightmare creature had appeared before him once more! The nightmare panther had already left him in such dire straits, what would appear this time? Nightmare creatures were bound to grow stronger and stronger once they appeared.

The shadow in the room split into two, a slightly smaller one forming a two-handed axe that mysteriously floated in the air. The larger turned into a shadow warrior who reached out and grasped the large axe. The shadow warrior surveyed his surroundings and then stared at Richard, crossing the axe horizontally in front of his chest as he started radiating bloodlust!

This nightmare warrior was evidently unlike the panther that relied purely on instinct to battle; he was equipped with considerable intelligence and knew how to use weapons. That giant axe in his hands was glimmering like a black diamond; it didn't just look real, it had become real. Black smoke surged as armour condensed on the warrior's body, glowing with a similar lustre.

Richard's thoughts at this time were unknown. He suddenly tossed the magic box to the floor, his eyes revealing a crazed expression as he silently grabbed Extinction from the door and strode towards the warrior. The scabbard flew off with a simple shake, smashing through the window to make it a great distance away!

He raised his right hand, holding the blade less than two metres away from the shadow warrior.

This wasn't just bravado. Richard had put himself in a position where he could use over a dozen of the battle techniques he had learnt in an instant. While Flowsand's techniques were taught for bare-handed fighting, there were many different ways to adapt them for swordplay.

A darkness flowed in the eyes of the nightmare warrior, his expression seeming complicated. He was in no hurry to attack, staring at Richard with those ethereal eyes as he took large strides towards him. This warrior seemed to be looking for weaknesses, showing an intelligence far beyond the level of the nightmare panther.

However, Richard was unwilling to wait. A blazing snort sounded as the hand on his weapon tightened, Extinction whistling sharply as he swept at the nightmare warrior. The giant axe in the warrior's hands immediately went vertical, blocking Richard's ferocious attack. The long dagger and axe collided, creating a rain of sparks!

Richard wielded the blade with both hands, footsteps constantly changing as he showered slashes at his opponent. His breath was like fire in that moment, the close combat techniques, Silvermoon's secret swords, and his bloodline ability linking under the blessing of wisdom to turn every slash into a lightning bolt!

His mind had blanked out. All he could feel was the blaze of his blood and an intense desire to just cut down this enemy more quickly, more viciously! Extinction carved out a hundred slashes in but a few moments, finally living up to the greatness of its name.

The room's window shattered completely, wooden splinters flying dozens of metres away. Extinction flew out alongside those shards, but one could see the tendrils of darkness wound around it with the naked eye.

A large portion of the nightmare warrior was gone, a terrifying hole in the location of his heart; the dangerous aura had faded away. Richard's hands were empty, a thin line on the right side of his abdomen leaking blood. The line suddenly erupted, revealing red and white flesh around a few pale ribs. Blood started to flow like a mountain.

“You're done for,” Richard said calmly, his voice like a sleeping volcano. He took a step backwards and grabbed behind him, the nameless elven sword landing in his hands. A step forward and he practically fell into the warrior's embrace!

Surging moonforce drowned everything out once more, unleashing a calamity on the room. The battle ended amidst light and fire.

Waterflower was the first to appear at Richard's door, but all she could see in the room was chaos. Richard was knelt on one knee in the centre, using the elven blade to barely hold himself up. He had his back to the door, but she could already hear the sound of a liquid dripping onto the floor.

She trembled, immediately flipping through the air to land in front of him. She saw that Richard had a tight grasp on his lower abdomen, blood seeping out between his fingers to form a puddle on the floor.

The young girl was flustered, wanting to pull his hand to see his injury, but she was too afraid to do so. For the first time in her life, the young wolf hated herself for not knowing any healing methods. Richard was still firmly pressing on the wound, not daring to slacken his hold, but even so blood surged out from between his fingers.

An all-drowning bloodlust suddenly enveloped the room as the door shattered, Gangdor's voice ringing out, “BOSS! What happened to you?!”

Olar rushed in ahead of the brute. His response was very quick, immediately casting a lesser healing spell on Richard the moment he saw the situation. This was the most powerful healing spell he could cast; due to the limits of his class, he could only learn a standard healing spell at level 14.

The spell was right on time. Richard immediately huffed, his stiff body beginning to tremble. A dense holy lustre landed on him not long after, the light from Flowsand's Restoration.

Waterflower almost jumped at the sight. The appearance of Restoration meant Richard would be able to keep his life. Flowsand was waving her hands, her necklace flickering from the spell that had just landed on him. Having instantly cast the spell with the accessory, she quickly started a chant for a second spell of her own.

It was at this time that a pillar of divine light even more powerful than Restoration landed on Richard, this one coming from Io. While he was a battle priest, he was still high-level enough for his spells to be quite powerful. This Sacred Rite spell also had the effect of dispelling the residual effects.

Richard's body trembled as the holy radiance flowed into him. A few tendrils of darkness were visibly expelled from his body, taking out the divine lustre with them. He groaned in pain, but he was obviously much better now.
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Kellac had rushed over by the time Flowsand's second restoration spell was cast, the two fallen clerics in tow. Experienced as he was, he cast his own healing spells after one look. The two fallen clerics weren't high-levelled, but they cast their own spells on Richard one after the other.

431 - City of Sin

Hurts So Good

A loud explosion rang out, a new hole appearing in the wall as Tiramisu poked his large head in. However, he was slightly dizzy from smashing the wall apart; his unfocused eyes made it obvious that he did not understand what was going on.

In the blink of an eye, healing spells from three clerics and two priests bathed Richard in divine light. Even if he wasn't as tenacious as he was, this clergy could bring a dead man back to life.

Io was the first to stop, shrugging his shoulders as he took a step backwards. Waterflower looked up immediately, glaring at him. The battle priest returned her gaze with a bright smile, in answer to which her eyes froze over. Her left hand reached for the Shepherd of Eternal Rest, her awoken bloodlust not held back in the slightest.

Io's smile did not change. He merely spread his arms open, “There isn't anything I can do anymore! Divine spells won't have much of an effect on him now.”

But it was at that point that he seemed to sense something, his body stiffening slightly as the smile on his lips froze. A killing intent from a small distance away caused his chest to tighten, making him feel very comfortable. Io maintained posture while turning back slowly, just in time to see Phaser standing quietly a few metres away. Her robes were covering her entire body, revealing only the scarlet eyes. The gaze was meant for a dead man walking.

Richard suddenly coughed, pulling the eyes of Waterflower and Io. He started trembling, hacking repeatedly until he finally spat out a few lumps of black blood. One could still see traces of shadowforce wandering about on the surface, quickly dissipating into the air. He seemed to regain strength in his left hand once the blood was out of him, leaning on the elven sword and slowly getting up. Please visit ƒre𝐞𝘸𝑒𝘣𝘯𝘰νℯ𝒍 𝐜𝑜m

Flowsand charged to Richard, looking him up and down. She glared at him after taking note of every wound, enunciating each word as she yelled, “Are. You. CRAZY?!”

The injuries may have stopped bleeding, but they had not healed yet. There were three terrifying wounds on Richard's body, so deep that one could see fractured or even split bones. Even with excessive healing, Richard would take a few days to recover.

Shadowforce could be seen twining around the injuries, preventing it from healing quickly. The holy lustre of the divine spells had yet to disappear completely, still twinkling between his flesh and blood, but it could not dispel the black vapour completely. One would need a grade 9 divine spell to immediately remove the shadowforce in his body.

Richard flashed a relaxed smile that made it seem like these injuries were fake, “Just a nightmare creature. I've already destroyed it.”

Flowsand's amber eyebrows immediately rose up, almost going vertical like Sharon's were prone to, “Nightmare creature! Why didn't you escape? There are hundreds of types of nightmare creatures and you can fight less than twenty of them! Do you think the Eternal Dragon will just ensure you'll always be given something you can take care of or something? As long as you escaped, we could have destroyed it together! My timeforce is the bane of nightmare creatures!”

Richard smiled without giving her an answer, instead grabbing her hands and placing an item in his right hand on her palm, “This is for you!”

Having said that, he turned to Olar, “Help we with the cleaning here. I'll go rest somewhere else.”

Flowsand was looking at her palm in a daze. Within it was a sparkling black diamond with a tendril of shadowforce moving back and forth within.

Image Diamond. This was something that could only be solidified from a nightmare creature with a certain amount of power. It possessed shadowforce and gravity-warping powers, making it an extremely rare spatial material. It could be used to create either spatial equipment or tools that could affect gravity. Normally, any nightmare creature that could form this should be able to take care of Richard easily. Even she, with her fighting abilities, would be no match alone.

“AN IMAGE DIAMOND?! ARE YOU A LUNATIC?!” Flowsand shouted towards Richard's back. However, he didn't even turn around, merely waving his hand calmly, “Isn't it taken care of already?”

Flowsand went quiet, not knowing what to say at that moment. She could only watch on as Richard walked further and further. Just as he was about to pass by Io, the battle priest suddenly looked to the side and whispered something to him quietly. Flowsand was still staring at the image diamond in her palm and didn't pay attention, but two of Richard's followers did.

The words had seemed very normal, “I'm level 13 now. I'll treat you tomorrow so you can heal more quickly.”

The corner of Richard's lips turned up in what could be considered a smile, and he proceeded further.

Phaser had just flipped up from outside, holding Extinction in her hand. However, Richard didn't care much for the blade; he had already turned the corner in the corridor, walking far away.

All of his followers sensed his need for solitude, electing not to follow. While Flowsand was still staring at the image diamond in her hand, he had already left. She wanted to chase after him, but could sense a bit of estrangement projected from his back.

Flowsand gritted her teeth and was about to chase after him, but stopped after the first step. She looked all around her, only then realising the strangeness of the atmosphere. All of Richard's followers were stood in place like statues, not moving in the least, but the pressure in the room was rapidly decreasing. A dense bloodlust took its place, making it seem as though she had just stepped into a battlefield.

Tiramisu was jabbing at the horn rising from his shoulder repeatedly, while Gangdor cracked his joints as he stretched. Olar looked relaxed, but he had already retreated into a corner and crossed his arms in front of his chest. A few whistles and his warsong would begin.

Phaser didn't hold back at all, grabbing Extinction with her right hand as bloodlust flashed in her eyes. Waterflower drew the Shepherd of Eternal Rest, spreading her feet until only their tips touched the ground. She was ready to attack.

At this moment, all of Richard's followers were ready for battle! Flowsand instinctually grew vigilant; their poses indicated they weren't in the same camp as her.

Io leant against the wall, lazily hugging his shoulders while glimmering with sunshine.

The followers exchanged glances, exchanging a lot of information with their eyes. Waterflower's were incomparably fierce, and eventually Gangdor gestured that he conceded and allowed her to proceed.

Waterflower's right hand relaxed as the digits of the left tightened their hold one by one. The tip of her sword touched the ground and began to shake, producing a shrill cry!

The girl pointed at Io, ”You! Hands down, stand straight! Or I'll chop them off!”

Io's eyes narrowed in extreme shock.

“Waterflower, what are you doing?” Flowsand asked with a frown.

The girl didn't pay any attention to her, instead lifting her sword. Phaser's eyes brightened, the cutting edge of a blade peeking out from her left shoulder. Gangdor clenched his fists, while Tiramisu's feet unconsciously rubbed the ground. Olar had also straightened, his former smile gone.

The clerics had no idea of what was going on. Kellac seemed to come to a sudden realisation, immediately taking a few steps back and leaving the room with his retinue. This was not a conflict they could be involved in.

Io finally smiled and stood up straight, spreading his arms, “Is this alright? There's no need to be so serious, right?”

Waterflower stared at Io like a wolf, speaking in a slightly hoarse voice, “We are not friends. Do not joke with us!”

Flowsand was shocked and angered, “Waterflower! I asked what you were doing?”

However, a wave of the girl's hands had returned the Shepherd of Eternal Rest to its sheath on her back. She took a look at Flowsand, turning to leave without a word. The rest of Richard's followers followed her out, nobody bidding Flowsand farewell. Kellac, who had taken the priests to the hallway, looked around silently and left.

Only Flowsand and Io were left amidst the rubble. Her expression suddenly went dark as she stared at the battle priest, “What's going on? Why do they want to attack you?”

“It could be a misunderstanding.” Stood in front of her, he was back to the sunny and relaxed demeanour he always had.

“It better be! Remember your status, and why I created you!” She then abandoned him, leaving the room by herself.

Io sighed once she was a long distance away, muttering to himself in a low voice, “My status? Hehe, but that might change one day. You're all far too young. Isn't this just a matter of a few words to explain? Well, I'm not going to pass on the message for you.”

Having said this, he left in a leisurely manner. Phaser silently appeared a dozen metres away. She had heard everything, but no matter how much she thought it over she had no clue what he meant. Why did she hear this? Priests didn't just speak to themselves for no reason.

......

Richard arrived at a guest room and closed the door, picking up a random chair and sitting down before sighing. He raised his hand after a long while, revealing another image diamond within. There were actually two nightmare creatures in that attack, one being the warrior while the other was the axe.

He laughed and threw the diamond up, sending it in a high arc that dropped it crisply into a vase. Looking down, he saw the two gigantic wounds on his chest and stomach and actually reached out to poke at them. While the wounds had already been sealed by divine power, it still hurt enough for him to tremble. He suddenly smiled, expression slightly crazed.

This pain just hurt so good!

432 - City of Sin

Something Must Be Done!

The news that Richard had been ambushed quickly spread across Bluewater. Many influential groups sent representatives over to survey the situation, but Richard locked himself in his room and claimed he needed time alone to heal. Every new arrival saw his followers were in perfect condition, so they left in satisfaction.

Just as it approached dawn, Richard pushed his room's door open and walked out, tilting his head up to face the sky. The morning sun was slowly rising up. He squinted his eyes; this was the first time in the past few days he had even been out in the sunlight.

Another sunny figure entered his vision, that of Io. The battle priest always made sure to appear in certain places at certain times. Anywhere Richard could see or wherever Flowsand was, best if both were combined.

Richard smiled and quickly made his way down. Olar spotted him from afar, growing both surprised and happy as he asked, “Master! You recovered from your injuries?”

“It's only been one night, how could I heal so quickly? It still hurts a little,” Richard said with a smile.

The elven bard inspected his master closely, but he could not understand how the youth who was in a daze just the day before had grown so cheery in a single night. Had he patched things up with Flowsand? Of course, Olar wouldn't dare to voice that thought.

Richard was unkempt; he hadn't shaved in a while, leaving a dense clump of facial hair on his upper lip. His scraggly hair clearly showed his lack of sleep.

“The nobles you invited are already here, and they wish to see you now. Many from Bluewater also expressed their concern once they heard you were attacked. Sir Rolf, Mr. Devon—”

“Alright, alright! You don't have to tell me about everyone!” Richard stopped Olar, “Invite the representatives to the Golden Warflag inn, I'll share lunch with them. We can discuss the Bloodstained Highway afterwards.”

He had returned to his straightforward self, once more a leader who had an answer to everything. This was something that left Olar both alarmed and happy.

“Oh yes, Master!” the bard suddenly remembered something, “Viscount Zim has come to Bluewater personally.”

Richard's eyes were narrowed into a death stare at the sunny battle priest in his line of sight. “Oh, Viscount Zim is here as well...” he answered inattentively, but suddenly realised something was amiss, “ZIM?! He's here too? How many troops did he bring, and how far is he?”

With a potential battle coming up, he immediately grew serious.

“Only a hundred guards,” Olar answered with a strange expression, “He already found himself lodging in the city.”

Richard's face warped in confusion at this news, “What is he trying? Does he want to give us more ransom? How many saints did he bring?”

“Only one...” Olar thought about it for a while before giving his own assessment, “I feel like the saint is only here as a bodyguard. After all, he did have to travel through the Bloodstained Lands to get here. If he was trying to make things difficult for us, he would undoubtedly be courting death with just one saint. Even though he isn't all that bright, his parents wouldn't let him do something so stupid. They already know Odom fell at our hands, how would they expect one saint to do anything?”

Richard nodded, “Makes sense. Find some time to arrange a meeting with him; since he dares step into our territory, we need to treat him with some value... Wait!”

His eyes suddenly lit up, staring at Io who was not far away. The battle priest had just greeted Flowsand, whispering something into her ears. Even though they were a hundred metres away, Richard's blessing of truth immediately told him exactly how far apart they were.

Ten centimetres. The two were separated by exactly ten centimetres.

This still didn't cross the minimum threshold. However, Richard had seen Io hit this limit many times; what could it signify? His calm heart was set aboil once more!

However, this time, his train of thought was different. The entirety of the previous night, he only had one line of questioning in his mind. If his mother were in this position, what would she have done? What would his master have done? What would that man have done?

Elena's pride would make her walk away, never to return. The legendary mage would just take Flowsand and Io and feed them both to a dragon. Only that man's method seemed suitable.

*Smack!* Richard suddenly hit the elven bard, pointing at Io who wasn't too far away, “Did you see that creep? Damn him!”

“I saw it! Would you like for me to break his legs, Master?” the elven bard said with an overcast face.

Richard shook his head, “No, he did it on purpose! If he wants me to play it like this, I'll grant his wish. Go call everyone here... Call that Zim too! Tell him he'll miss a good show if he isn't here in five minutes.”

Flowsand had noticed Richard and Olar in the distance, and she saw the bard suddenly rush off somewhere. It left her feeling like something had happened, but she was caught in discussion with Io about the issues with Richard's army.

She hadn't shared the broodmother's existence with him, so she listened to him solemnly while trying to explain as best as she could. She told him about the specialties of each kind of drone, and how best to supplement their fighting style. Io was a battle priest after all, he was better in war than she was. As a priestess herself, she was mostly an expert when it came to sacrifices.
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All of Richard's followers quickly gathered together, alongside the clerics and Viscount Zim. The Viscount had even come alone, displaying a rare amount of courage.

Richard took big strides towards Io and Flowsand, leaving everyone watching with bated breath for something to happen. They felt like this morning would be a good show.

Io felt something was strange as well, stopping his conversation with Flowsand to turn and face Richard with a confident smile. In actual fact, all of his concentration had been on Richard from the start.

“Hey! Level 13 battle priest!” Richard yelled from a distance away. His voice was loud enough for everyone present to hear.

Io's eyes flashed with a look of astonishment, but his radiant smile did not fade. “Level 12 mage!” he replied formally, “Good morning!”

Hearing such a bizarre reply, Flowsand's expression changed. She finally realised that she had missed something: the misunderstanding hadn't been with the followers, but with Richard himself.

Richard stroked his prickly stubble, starting to like the sensation more and more, “All of the noble delegates are here. We'll be starting the discussion on the Bloodstained Highway soon. This will be a real war; I hope you'll obey all my commands on the battlefield, not acting freely. I look forward to the display of a level 13 battle priest.”

Io smiled in reply, “What if I feel like my own judgement is better?”

Richard flashed a similarly radiant smile, not pretending to be courteous in the slightest, “That would be a foolish idea. Follow my orders.”

Io finally displayed his true colours, “Do you really think you're a better commander than me?”

Richard stared into Io's eyes, “In a battle of thousands, I don't even need my own battle capabilities. I can destroy you any time I want.”

Io laughed, “As a level 12 mage?” He carefully enunciated the number, the double meaning only caught by a few. When Io had first appeared, he was just like Richard at level 12. However, he had quickly risen to level 13 while Richard remained at level 12 with no chance of advancing within the month,

As she heard this, Flowsand suddenly regretted giving Io a high power growth.

“A mage?” Richard laughed heartily, turning back to face his followers and Zim. “You want to know what my confidence is based on?” he asked loudly, “It's based solely on the fact that I can bring victory after victory! I may not be a great general right now, but I am an excellent tactician!”

Richard waved his fist vigorously, “We have been through so many battles. Faced with similar numbers and opponents of similar levels, have we ever lost?!”

All of his followers started cheering loudly, as though they had been through many barrels of hard liquor. They had more energy than a riled up mob! Even Phaser started mumbling strange, incomprehensible words. It didn't matter that nobody understood her; the words were fierce enough.

Richard turned around like a whirlwind and pointed his finger at Io's nose, “For what other reason? For the reason that I'm a runemaster, and a royal runemaster to boot. A runemaster who launched two sets at his first convention! Level 12 mage? What's that?!”

Io's expression started to sour, his smile now slightly unnatural. Still, he tried hard, to keep it on his face.

However, Richard wasn't done. His finger remained pointed at the battle priest, “I don't know who you are or what your position is in the Church. You're in Faelor, which means you are my subordinate. I'm giving you two choices; follow my instructions, or get the hell out! We don't need an aloof and arrogant master amongst us!”

“Richard...” Flowsand couldn't help but call out, but he only turned his finger towards her, “You better keep your mouth shut! This doesn't concern you!”

Flowsand was stunned. She had never imagined that Richard could speak to her this way. She also didn't understand why she subconsciously retreated and shut her mouth.

Io smiled, “Are those all the reasons you have?”

“No!” Richard responded, “I only have one real reason. I hate you! Don't think I don't understand your true intentions, and what your actions are leading to. You're not the only intelligent person in this world!”

“And?” Io asked, taking off his priest robes.

“And I really want to break your nose with one punch!” Richard threw his staff and blades to the ground one by one.

“How uncouth!”

Richard flashed a broad grin, “We Archerons have never been hypocrites! Let's get straight to the point; I have a problem with you, and today is the day I beat you up! What are you going to do about it?”

Io looked at Richard's stance, unable to control his laughter, “You want to engage in unarmed combat with a battle priest from the Church of the Eternal Dragon?”

“Richard, have you lost your mind?!” Flowsand said with an anxious look on her face. She was well aware that heavenly guardians were unlike ordinary clerics. They didn't need to train to be skilled at combat.

Richard placed his forefinger on his lips, “This isn't your place to talk!” Flowsand lost her voice once more.

“Damn it!” Waterflower said fiercely from the side. The young lady's cry was quite ambiguous. Gangdor looked over in astonishment, but immediately averted his gaze once he saw her glaring at him.

“Fighting isn't just about technique.” Richard stared at Io as he stretched out his left hand, gesturing to the battle priest with his index.

Io laughed, “You want to see who has the hardest fists? Alright then, here I come!” For the first time ever, his smile had grown stiff.

The battle priest took big strides towards Richard, moving like a meteor. The mage and priest finally tangled with each other in a flash, quickly displaying great skills that stunned the audience.

These fellows were spellcasters? Many who were watching had the same thought. Even Richard's followers who were supposed to know him well were flabbergasted.

*Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!* The sound of fist hitting flesh rang out constantly, leaving in a sour taste in the mouths of everyone present. The mage and priest seemed to interweave, every strike spilling fresh blood. This wasn't just a test of skill; it was a battle of willpower, determination, and endurance.

It only took a scant few minutes before both combatants saw red, scarlet blood spurting everywhere. Their surroundings were filled with blood, every drop a ghastly sight. Both of them were just bleeding far too much!

It was only then that Flowsand suddenly remembered that Richard was still wounded. Her face paled as she stepped forward, taking the Book of Time from her waist and turning to Richard's followers, “Take action! Put Io to the ground! I give you full authority to kill him if he resists!”

However, she was ignored. It made her feel like she had gone insane. What was up with Richard's followers? However, given the pace of the current battle even she didn't dare to rush in. Richard wasn't just displaying his combat skills; he was using moonforce!

The two men were starting to fight as though it was to the death.

*BAM!* A resounding thud suddenly rang out in the battlefield. Richard's head had moved forward at full speed, his forehead smashing into Io's. This was a move that purely tested whose skull was harder. Half the audience involuntarily shut their eyes.

Richard swayed around and took several steps back, his vision blurring. However, his rage was still immense; every breath of his was like a volcanic eruption. He spat out blood mixed with saliva, walking towards Io. His forehead had been busted open, blood flowing freely, but he tried his best to keep his swollen eyelids open and look past the curtain of blood. The opposing figure in the blood-red world still stood tall.

“You have such a thick skull, you bastard!” Richard cursed angrily, rousing his strength and saying bitterly, “Come on!”

However, he couldn't see Io when he raised his fists once more. The battle priest's face was filled with blood as he was strewn across the floor, completely unconscious.

After an initial bout of confusion, Richard realised that he had won.

All of his pent-up frustration from the past few days had disappeared in a flash. He took off his shirt and threw it to the ground, showing off his well-defined upper body. He curled his arms to display his bulging muscles, letting out a bestial roar.

However, more eye-grabbing than the popping muscles that were rare for a mage were the large scars on his back and abdomen. All of Richard's wounds had been torn open, a faint yellow pus mixed with blood seeping out from the gashes. One could even see the fibres of his muscles moving around underneath the skin! The black smoke from the prior day's fight had faded a little, but it could still be seen loitering around the injuries.

However, Richard didn't seem to be in any pain at all. He waved his fists vigorously, roaring again and again.

Gangdor immediately ripped his own shirt off, revealing his hulking figure as he roared with laughter, “Boss, look! This is what real muscles look like!”

The most eye-grabbing display was Gangdor's pecs, looking like chunks of carved meat that could feed even the ravenous Tiramisu. He beat his fists on his abdomen and started singing a tribal song, the chest muscles moving up and down to the rhythm. The boastful display immediately silenced everyone.

Richard's face was filled with bruises, his eyelids swollen to leave only a slit for him to see through. He saw Gangdor's performance through the tiny hole, viciously flipping a middle finger at the brute, “You son of a bitch, you're stealing my thunder! Do you wanna die?!”

Gangdor laughed heartily, jiggling his pecs even more.

A sacred light softly landed on Richard's body, slowing down the bleeding of his wounds. The smaller injuries even started patching themselves up, and Richard turned around to see Flowsand quietly flipping through the Book of Time while reciting a gentle incantation for her next spell. Her voice was very soft, almost as though she didn't want him to hear her.

Richard took big steps towards her, scaring her to the point of trembling. She almost stopped the spell she had nearly completed, acting as though she didn't see anything and shoving her head completely into the book. However, if one slowed down time, they would be able to see her body shaking harder with every step he took.

Richard took the final two steps to reach her side, spreading his arms and forcefully pulling her into his embrace. He leaned over, kissing her roughly. It was almost like he was eating her up! Flowsand was left with no choice but to interrupt her spell, tasting blood and sweat from Richard's lips. The kiss was very invasive; by the time Richard pulled back, her face was full of bloodstains.

“You are mine!” Richard said.

Hearing his overbearing proclamation, Flowsand suddenly gritted her teeth and forcefully struggled out of his embrace. A strong grown showed her disdain, but her hand still tugged quietly at the Waterdrop Necklace to send a healing spell in Richard's direction, even though it was no longer as useful. She was only appeased once the spell was cast, finally realising Io was still lying unconscious on the ground.

She sighed and opened the Book of Time. Io wasn't severely injured, curing him would be easy. However, Richard reached out and pressed the book down. “Marvin, Kars!” he called out with a raise of his head, “Come here! Carry him away and heal him, slowly.”

The two fallen clerics answered immediately, lifting the battle priest and making their way towards the stairs. They weren't particularly proficient at healing spells, but they still had the skill to heal Io in his current condition.

“Master, are we really going to cure that fellow?” Olar whispered to him, “We should just drag him to the forest and cut him apart! Just like what happened to Erwin!”

Flowsand had heard everything from a side. She raised her eyebrows, about to explode, but Richard grabbed the back of her neck and forced her head away from the elven bard. He waved Olar away, “It's fine! I won today, I don't hate that fellow as much anymore.”

The elven bard seemed like he had more to say, but Richard stopped him with another wave of the hand, “I need to get some rest, don't follow me.”

He turned around and limped towards his room. The pain had taken over his entire body, so intense that he grimaced with every step. Flowsand saw this and moved forward to support him without a word. He let out a long laugh in return, instinctively leaning against her.

Before he left, Richard suddenly saw Viscount Zim and sent a smile his way, showing off his bloodstained teeth. Zim recoiled in horror, almost falling onto his behind.

It was only after the two had vanished upstairs that the atmosphere down below suddenly changed.

“What do you guys think, will Master be able to rest?” Olar asked.

Gangdor stroked his chin, looking like someone who had experienced such a thing before, “Rest? I believe he still needs to work!”

“Yes!” the bard nodded in agreement, “He will be very busy!”

He felt a sharp wind buffeting his bottom the moment he finished the sentence. Having experienced Waterflower's wrath before, he cried out before jumping up instinctively. However, he could never have imagined that the Shepherd of Eternal Rest would be placed just above his head. His skull crashed into the blade's scabbard, prompting a stuffy grown before the bard swayed and fell down.

Waterflower snorted, her eyes staring daggers at everyone in the room. “He bumped into it on his own, didn't you all see?”

Zim was the first to nod his head profusely.

433 - City of Sin

Accident

There was no 'battle' in Richard's room, no work. He couldn't hold it in any longer when he stepped in, falling down the moment he crossed the door.

He had been severely injured during the battle with the nightmare creatures, only barely pushing through. All the clerics had saturated him to the limits with healing spells, but there were still many hidden injuries to his internal organs and bones. The wounds that had been split open could only be closed off, needing many days of healing and rest to recover fully. However, he hadn't waited a day before fighting Io.

This new battle hadn't just torn open all his external wounds; his internal injuries had worsened as well. He had put on a brave front in front of his followers, but when his adrenaline receded he couldn't take it anymore.

Flowsand sighed. Having fought by his side for so long, she naturally understood his physical conditioning. She didn't panic, carefully laying him down and casting Restoration mixed with a preservation spell. Even though his body couldn't absorb the divine power, wasting most of it, the two spells at least managed to stabilise Richard's breathing and send him into a deep slumber.

She sat down on a chair and rested her elbow on the desk, reminiscing about her past with Richard. An unstoppable fatigue suddenly crept in as she lost herself in deep thought, eyelids growing increasingly heavy as her consciousness faded into a restful sleep. The cold war with Richard over the past few days had actually taken a toll on her state of mind, leaving her tired beyond belief.

However, it didn't take long before Flowsand got up with a scream. She accidentally knocked onto a shelf behind her in the process, knocking a vase to the floor. The porcelain smashed into pieces with a resounding crash, revealing a black glow.

Flowsand's heart shook. She stood up immediately to see better, and surely enough it was a black diamond rolling on the floor. She slowly exhaled, bounding over to pick up the gem. Upon closer inspection, she recognised it to be an image diamond.

She reached into a pocket, fishing out the image diamond Richard had given her. Two now rested in her palm, causing her to realise that Richard hadn't only fought a single nightmare creature that night.

“This is... Crazy...” Looking at the still-sleeping Richard, she couldn't bring herself to say anything else.

......

Lunchtime approached quickly. Richard's magic clock started playing a melodic alarm, causing him to jump up immediately.

Richard shook his head with considerable force, only then realising that he had been on the floor but covered with a blanket. He saw Flowsand and flashed her a smile, turning towards the clock and exclaiming, “Damn it! I arranged to meet the nobles for lunch! Flowsand, come help me change!”

He had changed into a fresh set of clothes in a few minutes, but couldn't mask the bruises on his face so quickly. Even spells couldn't cover it all up, so he had no choice but to ignore it and make a dash to the lunch venue.

He had just taken his seat in the hall when tens of noble delegates entered in quick succession. Naturally, the highest-ranking amongst them was Viscount Zim. He didn't need any welcoming, making his way to Richard's side and sitting down without any prompting. Although Zim didn't express any shock, the other delegates were clearly stunned by the bruises on Richard's face.

Richard laughed merrily as he pointed to the wounds, “Someone tried to steal my woman, so I fought with him this afternoon. These are just badges of victory!”

The nobles in attendance showed expressions of illumination, their opinion of Richard increasing considerably.

Fights for love were common amongst the nobility. For a great mage like Richard to be unafraid of fighting like a common soldier immediately turned him into a sympathetic figure. All these delegates were titled knights at minimum, revering the traditional romanticism of the aristocracy.

The actual meal took little time; after all, they weren't here for the food. Richard welcomed everyone and exchanged some pleasantries before bringing them to a command room with a map of the Bloodstained Lands.

“The Bloodstained Highway is a simple plan,” he got straight to the point, “We will start here and head west until we reach the Ashen Plateau, finding the dwarves. The primary goal is to act as a caravan, returning with the rich ores from the dwarven kingdom. Another level of reward will be to smash through all the obstacles in our way. Horse bandits, Red Cossack, Camp Kvensen, the Cracked Canyon, Blackflame Mountain... Anyone in our way we'll thoroughly destroy! The project will establish our absolute dominance in the Bloodstained Lands, wiping out ant threat we may face and carving out a safe passage towards the dwarven lands.”

As they looked at Richard's finger tracing across the map, the nobles couldn't help but hold their breaths. This was a plan beyond madness! However, if it really could be executed, the rewards would be immense.

If all the nobles present could band together, this impressive feat wouldn't be impossible. However, it would exercise half of the nobles in the Sequoia Kingdom. It was almost as though the entire country was going to war.

With how important this matter was, even the nobles who had thought Richard was a lunatic had sent their representatives to meet with him. They weren't necessarily there to join the fight, just to act as good neighbours. Who knew what direction the spear would be pointed once an alliance was formed. It wasn't like there was a lack of similar conspiracies in the past; just thirty years ago such a deep divide had taken place. These nobles were rendered speechless by such a crazy, enticing plan.

“Who will be leading the alliance?” someone broke the short silence.

Richard rested both hands on the meeting table, staring at him, “Me, of course. Do you have someone more capable in mind?”

A peculiar look appeared on the faces of many of those present. They knew Richard would want to lead this expedition, but they hadn't expected him to be so direct. It didn't seem like he had any plans to woo them over; there were no grounds for negotiation. This was completely unlike the traditional style these nobles were used to.

Although it seemed to be easy to suggest a better candidate, closer thought would reveal just how astounding Richard's widespread achievements were. He had dealt heavy to the forces of Duke Grasberg, completely annihilating Viscount Zim's powerful army and even killing Saint Odom. Any one of these feats would be worth years of bragging. Although these results weren't one of a kind, they couldn't be found by any of those present.

However, it was impossible ask for these nobles to give command of their armies to Richard willingly. The easiest parallel was with Salwyn's command of the battle against Sinclair. Every family sent out a company under the command of one of their own, following Salwyn's larger orders but doing what they deemed right in the end. These companies reserved the right to retreat when they saw fit.

Most of the nobles present wanted the exact same thing, for Richard to only be a commander in name. He was a mere frontier knight; many wanted to put someone of more repute and status in the lead.

Richard's question was met with a momentary silence, but then it a surprising voice rang out, “I agree to let Sir Richard act as commander. I pledge 300 Golden Eagles, 400 Golden Sparrows, 100 heavy cavalrymen, and 2,000 footsoldiers to the expedition. The logistics and equipment will be taken care of on our end.”

Zim's words immediately caused an uproar. It hadn't been terribly long since the Viscount had battled Richard, losing his entire army as well as a significant portion of his family's troops. Logically speaking, even if the Highland Unicorn wasn't a sworn enemy of Richard's, the two definitely couldn't be bosom buddies.

Zim's mere presence in Bluewater had been shocking in itself. Many nobles felt that if he wasn't trying to wreak havoc here, he wanted to spy on Richard and prevent him from forming an alliance against his family. Nobody expected him to be the first to respond to Richard's call. Not even the most seasoned of political veterans knew what was going on.

In fact, it wasn't just them. Richard himself was greatly surprised; his blessing of wisdom had no immediate answer for Zim's actions.

To him, the Viscount had always been a valuable enemy. Zim would definitely want to deal with him himself, and wouldn't care for benefits at all. This untameable fellow would effectively stop any secret alliances being formed against him; the nobles wouldn't want to become a target of both sides. He would thus be free to concentrate on the more open enemies.

It was very important for lords who were on the rise to have a clear idea of who their enemies were. Google search 𝗳𝙧𝘦𝒆𝑤𝙚𝘣𝙣𝘰𝘃ℯ𝑙. 𝐜𝐨𝑚

Of course, the Direwolf Duke's bestowal of a title had definitely put things into motion that Richard had yet to understand. The enemies he faced were stronger than expected, the silhouettes of three earls slinking in the background. Fortunately, there hadn't been any changes needed to his plans.

434 - City of Sin

Accident(2)

Zim coming personally had been a very important sign, but muddled as he was in the issue with Io and Flowsand over the past few days, Richard had overlooked the signal.

He hadn't cared about Zim at all. With the damage he had dealt to Duke Grasberg's soldiers, there was nothing to fear unless the Duke decided he just had to eradicate Richard and mobilised the entire army. However, if Grasberg really did disregard everything, he didn't mind wasting a few months in the Bloodstained Lands. The Duke's enemies would be very happy for the opportunity.

Richard nodded at Zim as though they had some tacit understanding, sweeping his gaze across the remaining nobles, “If anyone else wants to enter the alliance, or has a better suggestion, or simply wants to leave, speak now.”

With Zim leading the way, several of the delegates hesitantly pledged themselves to the alliance. Contrary to his expectations, Richard suddenly found himself with a thousand cavalrymen and over 5,000 footsoldiers in his hands. That didn't even include his own troops! He really hadn't thought that highly of Zim's ability to rally supporters. The Viscount himself wasn't worth much, but the family behind him was huge. One had to consider who exactly the Highland Unicorn represented when he spoke. Please visit ƒre𝐞𝘸𝑒𝘣𝘯𝘰νℯ𝒍 𝐜𝑜m

A middle-aged noble cleared his throat and asked, “Sir Richard, what are the consequences of not joining the alliance?”

Richard shrugged, “Nothing. It's just that anyone who doesn't join will face the same troubles in the Bloodstained Lands as they always have.”

“Trouble?” the man asked warily, “What trouble? Didn't you say your plan would open a safe passage through the Bloodstained Lands?”

“A safe passage for the families who join the alliance,” Richard responded.

“What do you mean?” the noble narrowed his eyes. Backing him was a powerful earl who had always been respected and flattered in high society.

“The danger of the Bloodstained Lands depends on who you are,” Richard explained patiently with a dangerous smile, “Take Red Cossack for example. Their caravans have been meeting with raid after raid in the recent past. For them, the Bloodstained Lands are far too dangerous.”

The middle-aged noble's expression grew very ugly as he snorted, slowly sitting down. Richard's meaning was very clear; it was okay to not want to join the alliance, but then these families would be attacked whenever they entered the Bloodstained Lands. Where the attack came from was not important; it was only a matter of minutes for the troops under someone who managed to rise in the Bloodstained Lands to turn into mounted bandits.

This was not a violation of any laws, nor could it even be considered a threat. If they didn't contribute to the alliance, Richard naturally had no obligation to them. Rights always corresponded to obligations.

Now that they knew the rules of the game, many more started expressing their desire to join the alliance. Richard's cavalry grew to 1,500 strong and the infantry to 10,000! He was left with no choice but to limit the number of footsoldiers the later entrants contributed, adding a level and equipment requirement.

The Bloodstained Highway project needed an elite, manoeuvrable troop, not a large but mediocre army. Richard couldn't bring himself to grow any happier. He glared at Zim, but the fair Viscount who seemed to have grown even rounder over the past months shot back a smile that had a hint of flattery. He didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

He had indeed planned to complete the Bloodstained Highway, but he didn't need so many troops or the support of so many families. His own allies and the broodmother would be enough for him to open a passage to the dwarven kingdoms, although it would take a lot of time. The only danger was the political threats once the benefits started flowing in. After all, he was still a lord of the Sequoia Kingdom in name.

He had gathered any noble of note here in consideration of the future. This meeting was meant to be an announcement of his expansion into the Bloodstained Lands, setting the foundations for a monopoly over the trade routes. This was a large piece of cake that he wanted to devour all by himself.

He hadn't expected Zim's sudden interference. The Viscount hadn't just turned his attitude around completely, also ruining his plans with such a peculiar method.

But now that he thought about it, the alliance was not as useless as he had assumed. His mind moved extremely quickly, his blessing of wisdom used to the utmost as he analysed the current situation.

This situation had its own advantages. It would give him a surplus of soldiers, allowing him to open up the Bloodstained Lands just that much faster. In addition, he was an invader from another plane. Once that fact was revealed, anyone who was deeply linked to him would inevitably be placed under suspicion.

Nobles could compromise, but this would be a matter of principle for those of faith. There would be no concession from the churches; any who collaborated would be sent to the gallows! This alliance would inexorably tie the fates of these nobles to his.

......

The Bloodstained Highway Project had finally become reality after an afternoon of intense discussion. A total of six nobles had withdrawn from the plan, but all of the rest agreed to join the alliance. The final size of the army was 2,000 cavalry and 8,000 infantry; alongside the reserves and the logistics that also came from the nobles, it reached 30,000 men in total.

Richard's own army was nearing 3,000 men by now, but he only devoted half of that number to the passage. He would receive a full quarter of the earnings from the passage once it was built, a number disproportionate to the number of troops he would provide, but Zim had insisted that the commander was the soul of the alliance.

In the eyes of many other aristocrats, Zim's enthusiastic support for Richard was an indication of his family's attitude. This was strange considering the hostility between the dukes backing them, causing those present to think their brains dead trying to figure things out. All the confusion had demolished any opposing voices, thus finalising the allocation.

Following the meeting was the banquet that nobles just loved, but nobody was in the mood to participate. Everyone chose to send a message back to their masters at the first chance they got.

In the dead of the night, Richard remained alone in his command centre to calculate the potential gains and losses of the plan. A success would net him tens of millions of gold, but the investment he needed to put in was just as high. The military expenses and the compensation paid for the soldiers' deaths would reach a shocking two million coins. If the plan failed, the expenses would rise sharply while the earnings would be nil.

The project originally needed a year to finish according to Richard's original plan, using the huge profits of the trips to and from Norland as well as the broodmother's neverending army to overcome the enemies. Success wouldn't only mean an invaluable trade route; it would solidify Richard as one of the core powers of the Bloodstained Lands.

However, his other purpose had been to pull out the thorns on his path to power one by one. The route was not arbitrary, every region on the way holding minerals that Faelor hadn't realised how to use properly yet— such as the flamestripe stones in Blackflame Mountain— or places with divine idols and the like. Camp Kvensen had over ten tribes of varying sizes, while the ruins of Jubval held the legendary capital of the ogres.

The minerals would need to be distributed amongst the nobles, but those items with divinity were necessary for the broodmother; She was stuck at level 5 and could no longer rely solely on magic crystals and food to advance. Nobles and priests thought of the idols as trash to be burned.

The only problem was with a priestess like Flowsand being amongst a group of aristocrats. Thankfully Faelor was enormous; only the priests of intermediate gods or higher knew exactly how many true gods existed on this plane.

Countless gods had fallen in the countless aeons of Faelor's existence. Looking at the history of the plane, no mortals knew exactly how many gods had been born in history. It was exactly because the churches were so secretive that the Book of Gods that recorded the divine power of every god had been forbidden.

True gods could fall. They could seal their divine kingdoms and lay dormant. They could even descend upon the plane as a mortal with divine blood, awaiting their chance to reignite their godfire. There were many 'new' gods in Faelor's history that were just old gods revived.

The pantheon was so complicated that it was nearly impossible for a mortal priest to grasp all its intricacies. When two priests who were strangers to each other met, they would inspect the level and characteristics of the other's divine power. The servants of a god of deceit and a god of lies were unlikely to conflict, while the gods of order and chaos were natural opposites. However, as long as the gods they served did not clash, priests were reluctant to fight.

435 - City of Sin

Darling of Destiny

There would certainly be priests in the army for the Bloodstained Highway project, so Flowsand was prepared to disguise herself as the priest of an ancient god that had recently been revived. She was very good at analysing and using divine power; she knew her timeforce conflicted with the divine power of Runai, so she might conflict with her worshippers.

The most likely church to appear in the alliance would be the Church of Ceres. Although the Eternal Dragon held power over space as well, that was a formidable attribute that could only be displayed at a very high level. Kellac was a veteran while Io was proficient at using his divine power; they wouldn't expose any flaws that would alert the worshippers of Ceres.

With many of the clerics like Kars and Marvin having documented pasts, while Caesar wasn't even fallen, there was sufficient leeway for Flowsand to claim that they were all servants of a revived god.

Zim continued to prove himself a big variable, demonstrating the extravagant spirit and wealth of a powerful family. He ultimately contributed a third of the army. Even all the vassals of the Direwolf Duke combined had only made for less than a quarter, mostly coming from young nobles who wanted to go on an adventure and make a fortune. Bevry had spent much of his time since stealing the dragon bones resisting the vengeance of the Whiterock Dukedom and was short on troops. Just that quarter was hard to put together.

Richard decided to talk to Zim properly once. This should have been done when the Viscount arrived at Bluewater by himself, but it had been held up due to various reasons.

......

Zim arrived punctually at Richard's accommodations when night fell. Richard was seated on the balcony, preparing refreshments. The blood-red moon was at its largest, bigger even to the eye than the sun. One could even see the ridges of mountains clearly. Legends said behind the moon were the divine kingdoms of all the gods.

Sitting before Richard, Zim seemed a little uptight and nervous. With most healing power spent on internal injuries, Richard's face was still full of bruises. However, only those without any knowledge of the situation would laugh at this shabby appearance; having witnessed the battle with Io personally, Zim felt fear from the bottom of his heart at the sight of these scars. The experience of being beaten twice had left great trauma behind as well, all that pain and fear now surging from the depths of his mind.

Richard poured a cup of tea and pushed it towards the Viscount, “There isn't anything great here. This is the best tea I can offer.”

Zim was both overwhelmed and flattered, toasting Richard and gulping down the drink in one go. He then stuck out his tongue due to the heat, his fair face turning red.

“You only made a trip here for the Bloodstained Highway project?” Richard asked him.

Zim hesitated for a moment, but under Richard's stern gaze he started sweating and finally caved in, “This is the last batch of troops my father and Duke Grasberg are willing to give me; I will have to rely on my own income for any future armies. Your plan has the potential to earn a lot of gold if it succeeds, allowing me to expand my power. The plan might seem crazy, but with you at the helm, I believe the chances of failure are low.”

"If that was the case, you should have come to me after I beat you the second time,” Richard clearly expressed his doubts. He stared into the Viscount's eyes, not missing the slightest reaction. He was wondering whether Zim knew something or was just the shield for another's ploy once more.

The Viscount constantly wiped off the cold sweat emerging on his forehead, remembering events that he clearly wished to forget, “No! Your ability wasn't convincing enough at that time, how could I bet on you? But then you killed Odom and all his elite knights... That makes you worthy of investing into.”

“And?”

"What else?" Zim began sweating once more, eventually giving up all resistance, “There are two other reasons. One is that my family has lost far too much at your hands. The benefits of a fight with you aren't worth it in the eyes of the family council. If you annihilate our private army once more, our very roots will be shaken. Fortunately Duke Bevry was greatly injured in the war with the Whiterock Dukedom, or the situation would not be good. I didn't expect you to send me an invitation as well. I know it was just a joke, but the chance was worth taking. I came because I know someone like you will not easily go back on his words.”

Richard felt a little helpless in the face of Zim's thick skin. But from another perspective, this proved that the Highland Unicorn wasn't completely useless.

“You said there is a second reason.”

“Father and the Duke wish to obtain some runes and high-end magic equipment. Of course, we'll definitely pay well for them!”

“You should be very clear what runes and magic equipment are worth,” Richard said with a laugh, “Why would I arm an enemy? Just buy everything on the market.”

High-end magic equipment was just like runes; they needed to be used on a large scale to truly show their prowess. Richard thus always distributed everything he sold to a variety of influences. As long as they didn't all gather together, they wouldn't pose a threat to himself. At the same time, this was also a method to consume the wealth of Faelor's nobles. By the time someone resolute managed to collect enough equipment from others, he would have left them behind.

“We aren't enemies any longer, no?” Zim asked with hope, “I brought out all of my men as well as every soldier I could borrow for the Bloodstained Highway project. Once we fight alongside each other, we can be considered comrades. What's more, our dispute was insignificant to begin with.”
𝒇r𝘦e𝘸𝒆𝚋𝐧o𝘷𝘦𝘭. 𝒄oｍ

“Insignificant?” Richard broke into laughter. The deaths of several great mages and priests as well as an elite troop of a thousand men as well as a saint... this was insignificant? But looking at Zim's genuine expression and sincere tone, Richard finally understood that the Highland Unicorn likely only considered the two battles he had personally participated in to be part of their dispute.

But Richard immediately detected something amiss. Zim wasn't as foolish as he made it seem, and his expression indicated that there was something else afoot. If not for that, the Viscount wouldn't look so apprehensive.

“Speak, what's the other matter?” Richard asked calmly.

"What?!” Zim was shocked, “That... There's still a small issue that can be considered personal, but... how do I phrase it... Father and the Duke also accepted this tacitly. Some time ago, there was another woman by my side. Countess Katrina, His Majesty's niece. Her husband passed away very early on, and she's only 26 years of age. She came to me for a child who could awaken the unicorn bloodline...”

Richard flashed a meaningful smile, “Isn't that a good thing?”

Zim went pale, “I've been with her for four months, but I don't see any possibilities of having children. Except for a few days, in these past four months... I've had sex almost two or three times a day! It's driving me crazy! She's a woman with lots of needs, and she's driven everyone else away. I really can't stand it anymore, so I escaped to the Bloodstained Lands. She has many lovers; as long as I don't return, I don't think she'll last a month without looking for someone else.”

Richard looked at the Viscount with eyes full of sympathy, “That really can't be easy. But... You want to use me as a shield?”

“You're not afraid of that woman or any of her lovers!” Zim shouted.

“That doesn't mean I'm fine with being used,” Richard said casually as he sipped his tea.

“I've contributed the largest number of troops to your plan, and I'm taking care of logistics as well!”

“That's enough for this,” Richard said with a nod, “But don't you think about getting any weapons and runes from me.”

“NO! If I can't get them, the family will call me back and use me for that woman! How much do you want? I'll pay twice the market price!"

Zim was a pale, fat slob, but he actually didn't look too bad. In fact, he was only a short distance away from being handsome. Someone who

Zim was fair and fat, but he actually looked rather clean. Just that he was a distance away from being handsome. Being able to breed with someone like that until he was left with psychological trauma... Whoever the woman was, her tastes were not ordinary. Of course, there was still the possibility that the attraction of the unicorn bloodline was just too strong.

Richard suddenly remembered that one of the bloodline options during his sacrifice in Norland had been the holy unicorn. The list had made the creature seem comparable to majestic dragons and young astral beasts.

“Tell me, what's unique about your bloodline?”

436 - City of Sin

Darling of Destiny(2)

“We know of three abilities from my bloodline. One is Maturation; anyone who awakens this bloodline will enter a stage of hibernation that greatly increases their strength. Once done, they will at least be at level 16. The second is War Talent; the ability greatly increases one's strength in actual battles, giving their attacks a chance to break through magic. The last one is Nature's Domain; it enhances a mage's mana recovery and their nature affinity.”

Richard looked Zim up and down, asking playfully, “Then your ability is Maturation?”

“Yes! But I still don't know when I will go into hibernation.” The Viscount had a face full of pride.

Richard sighed, his palm latching onto his forehead. No wonder the unicorn bloodline could compare to a dragon; surely enough, these abilities went beyond belief, especially Maturation. No matter who it was, they only had to sleep a little to become a Faelor saint. No wonder Zim did nothing all day, he didn't need to put in any effort at all. It was also reasonable for the Sequoia Kingdom to attach such importance to his bloodline; every awakening of this ability was a future saint powerhouse. Who wouldn't value something so great?

Ever since he had left Rooseland, Richard hadn't rested for a single moment. He didn't even dare to sleep, working tirelessly to reach level 12, but Zim just had to rest for some time and his level would far exceed his own. He finally lost his inner balance.

This was a fucking child of destiny! Richard glared at Zim's plump face, unable to help but say sourly, “As you are, even if you hibernated and woke up as a saint you would be the weakest saint in existence.”

“No problem!” Zim chuckled with no sense of shame, “At worst, I'll just fight people around level 11 or 12 when the time comes.”

Richard felt a huge headache coming on and interrupted Zim's words, “Alright, I understand. Now, let's talk about remuneration.”

"Remuneration?”

“Remuneration for being your shield.”

Zim wailed, “Didn't we already discuss that?”

“I just changed my mind. I think it's better to hand you over to Countess Katrina now.”

“No!” Zim shrieked miserably.

In the end, Richard still reached an agreement with the Viscount. The additional blackmail netted him large amounts of quality equipment for cheap, also giving him sufficient amounts of rare minerals. Richard found out during their discussion that Zim's family controlled three ores that could be sold for a high price in Norland, an unexpected bonus.

Zim didn't understand why Richard had suddenly raised the price even after he left. However, he had finally obtained the two most important things he needed; a supply of magic equipment and runes, as well as escape from life as the Countess' mate.

Richard suddenly felt a lot happier and more comfortable after sending Zim off. He now had a firm foothold in Faelor, able to gain constant profits from planar war. In absolute terms, his earnings were even higher than the Resting Orchid plane that Gaton had operated for a long time. Of course, that was essentially due to his identity as runemaster and the support of the Church of the Eternal Dragon.

In addition, the nobility of the Resting Orchid plane could not compare to that of Faelor.

......

The nobles participating in the Bloodstained Highway Project slowly sent over their armies over the next few days. The process was extremely long, even the vanguard needing half a month to arrive. The entire army only gathered once a month had passed.

With a rare month of free time on his hand, Richard was determined to devoting all his time to the production of runes. Any spare time he had beyond that was used to meditate, growing his mana pool.

The lack of personal strength had now started to weigh down on his heart. He had learnt during the sacrifice that the elven bloodline had a Celestial Rain ability that could double the effects of his meditation technique. This was the only method he knew to quickly grow his power.

The astral rays caught by Deepblue Fantasy could strengthen his bloodline, but then it would be used up and not affect his mana pool. This was a dilemma, but during meditation that night Richard directed the two astral rays he captured in the first hour towards his bloodline tree. However, he had limited control over these rays; only one was assimilated, the other ending up strengthening his mana pool instead.

This was the first time his elven bloodline had actually been strengthened by an astral ray. The tree seemed to glow for a few moments after absorbing the energy, but then there didn't seem to be any further change. Fortunately, Precision allowed him to detect the subtle change in his bloodline strength. The second hour had not been so lucky, only ending with a single astral ray that he hadn't managed to integrate into his bloodline at all.

He had captured a total of 26 astral rays over that night, successfully integrating ten into the tree. The originally barren trunk of his astral affinity finally showed a touch of green, the colour of life.

The tiny change greatly increased his confidence. Over the following month, he sent as many of the astral rays as he could to the astral trunk.

The night before the Bloodstained Highway army was gathered completely, Richard integrated his 300th astral ray into his astral trunk. What was once a dead tree suddenly shook, a leaf slowly appearing on the top branch. His astral affinity had finally been unlocked!

Richard almost jumped up in joy. The ability to successfully activate one of his affinities clearly showed the strength of the Deepblue Fantasy.

It wasn't far from dawn. Richard restrained his excitement and continued to meditate. However, the new leaf atop his astral stem suddenly started to tremble lightly the moment he slipped away, eight astral rays appearing around him at the same time! One of them was even exceptionally large, double the size of a normal ray.

The huge surprise nearly broke Richard out of meditation immediately. The mere unlocking of his affinity had increased his efficiency by a third; the bottleneck now wasn't in being able to find astral rays, but in being able to capture so many. Thankfully a particularly large one came along every once in a while, making the choices easy.

However, one more hour of meditation and it grew too difficult for him to maintain his calm. He withdrew; the day's gains were huge, and it was also necessary to indulge properly from time to time.

He looked out the window, judging that there was about half an hour left to dawn. He put on a coat and left his residence, leisurely patrolling the camp in the dark of the night.

Most of the armies had already arrived, setting up camp outside Bluewater one after the other. Outside the oasis now were a dozen or so camps of varying sizes, with Viscount Zim's the closest to Richard's lands. The Viscount's camp was blanketed in silence in the distance, the only visible silhouettes being the uniformed patrol soldiers under the light of their torches.

In contrast, the discipline in the other army camps was much worse. The vassals of the Direwolf Duke were the best of the lot, but there were still scattered warriors walking around from time to time. Some of the camps were actually empty; the soldiers had obviously headed into the city to have fun. Another camp was brightly lit in the middle of a party, the noise quite audible.

Seeing these troops, Richard could not help but shake his head. However, he had not planned to rely on these thugs in the first place. He was confident in being able to find some use even for these private armies without much strength.

A sudden glow pushed away the thick fog of darkness. Richard didn't have to look to realise that it was Io, the fellow who loved making himself look brilliant and eye-catching whenever he could. Right, it had almost been a month since he had last seen this fellow. He still saw Flowsand occasionally, but the battle priest's figure had somehow disappeared from her side.

Richard had grown more open-minded after beating the man up. However, if the priest was still petty he wouldn't mind beating him up again. He had realised now that he had a long way to go to achieve Gaton's incomparable tolerance. Of course, when Gaton's temper flared the man wouldn't let off a single grain of sand.

The light grew brighter and brighter until Io was right next to Richard, watching the interesting scenes of the various camps together. “Shouldn't you be meditating at this time, level 12 mage?”

Richard did not grace the question with an answer, instead saying, “If you're so shiny in battle, you'll become a target for the enemy archers.”

“Is that so? Did you not know that battle priests of the Eternal Dragon do not fear archers?” Io smiled.

“Not being afraid of archers doesn't mean you're not afraid of death. You forget I beat you unconscious,” Richard said in a leisurely manner. Right now, his confidence was overflowing.

“It won't be long before I'm level 14,” the battle priest tried a different angle of attack.

“I'll still be level 12 for some time,” Richard responded. The words were spoken indifferently, with a strong sense of confidence that made the battle priest frown. In their last match, he hadn't expected Richard to be so sturdy and resilient; the victory was merely one of luck. However, once he rose to level 14 he did not believe Richard could rely on simple technique to make up for the difference. Regardless, the melee abilities of heavenly guardians rose with their level.

“You only dare to fight those who are lower level than you?” Richard continued, “When Flowsand and I first came to Faelor, every battle was with enemies whose levels far surpassed ours.”

Io was not moved by Richard's words. “Level is the one true advantage. That said, Sir great mage, I heard you have an incredibly powerful teacher who could perform the highest grade of ceremony twice in less than a year. That's hard to imagine!”

Richard laughed, “I do have a great teacher, and I have a great family as well. My parents gave me a powerful bloodline. However, if both of us started at the same point, you would definitely be beneath my feet right now! While I work hard on meditation and spend my time studying runes to the point that I don't even waste time sleeping, what do you do? Don't talk as if I have any advantage over you, if you have the guts then come take me down!”

Io smiled as well, “Don't think you're the only one giving his best. Let's wait and see, in any case we still have time.”

“Keep lying to yourself.”

The battle priest finally grew furious, pointing to the camps in the distance and saying with a cold smile, “You're going to rely on this mob to cut through the Bloodstained Lands?”

“Is that not possible?” Richard shot back.

“Even a sheep can become a lion in my hands! If you want to cut through the Bloodstained Lands, you need me!” Io said loftily.

However, Richard laughed once more, “I can turn a herd of sheep into a wolf pack! Was I not fighting wars before you even showed up?”

Io could not muster an immediate response. “Well then, Mr. level 12 mage, let me see what kind of miracles you can bring about!”

Richard's heroic spirit suddenly burst forth, nature calling to him. Since there was nobody around, he simply unzipped his pants and started relieving himself into the bushes, “You'll see. If you're not going to listen to my commands, then just stay here. I don't need someone who can't follow orders around, even if they're a battle priest. Let me be blunt, your existence really won't affect these battles.”

Io snorted loudly, also unzipping his pants as he snapped back, “You think those with real power are as shameless as you? Only the so-called nobles like you cheat this way!”

Thus, just before the sun dawned on the camp, a great mage and a battle priest faced off in a different kind of duel. The battle ended in a draw.

......

The next morning, Richard inspected his new army for the first time.

All the sub-armies were taken to a field in turns, with Richard inspecting them in the delegates' presence. This allowed him to compare the quality of the private armies at a single glance. The Direwolf Duke's vassals were all war fanatics, there was no need to dwell on how elite their troops were, but most surprisingly it was Zim's soldiers that were the best!

Richard already knew the reason for this, however. Zim's troops were actually made of soldiers from Earl Yatu and Duke Grasberg, while his mother had also transferred over some elite warriors from the royal family. To allow the Viscount to rise once more, his family had still invested a lot of their hard-earned savings.

Richard's troops only came up at the end. He only sent in the humanoid warriors, but they managed to subdue all the other nobles in one fell swoop.

437 - City of Sin

Wisdom

A total of 700 level 9 warriors! Coupled with warhorses, Richard's men could easily form an elite force on the same level as the Golden Eagles, in fact exceeding them in pure numbers alone!

Looking at the equipment of these warriors, they could undoubtedly take out multiple times their own number. But that wasn't all; Richard also had an elite group of mages and clergymen.

Seeing this overbearing army, all of the nobles fell silent. The representatives here were different from the ones a month ago; many had been swapped out for high-levelled officers with sufficient experience. They naturally saw how unique of a force this troop was. No general would wish to face such an enemy.

Richard was quite satisfied at this reaction. Flaunting one's army was an effective means of intimidation, something he needed to do as a foundation for the rest of the project.

Regardless of the size, these noble families always placed great importance on autonomy in battle. They had a mix of good and bad soldiers, so strict discipline would need to be instilled into their men. Richard had to train them all in basic troop formations and command structures; if not done properly, regardless of how gifted he was he would not be able to control them.

He estimated that he had to spend at least ten days of time solely on organisation. There was already a clear idea of what he wanted in his mind; outside of splitting them all up into different branches, he would also break them down into three different levels.

The core would be made of his own troops, becoming the main force that would ensure his victory. Second only to them would be the troops provided by Viscount Zim and the Direwolf Duke; these soldiers were just like those in the Forest Plane, they had great potential once they were organised and trained. As for the others, they would fill in any gaps or work as cannon fodder. Of course, Richard was such a great leader that it was unlikely for them to be sacrificed.

Once he was done inspecting the troops, Richard gathered all the captains from the various noble families, immediately getting into the organisational plan. As expected, there was an immediate outcry. All the captains stated that he was trying to engage in a conspiracy.

However, Viscount Zim and Bevry's vassals immediately pledged their commitment to Richard's instructions. With their vote of confidence, a lot of the protests from the rest died down. In the end, only one captain who had contributed 200 soldiers requested to withdraw.

Richard, who had been silent all the while, started stroking his rough moustache, “We're already at this stage, but you still want to withdraw?”

The captain immediately jumped out from his chair, drawing his longsword and roaring, “What are you going to do about it? I'm a knight of the Sequoia Kingdom—”

*Thud!* Richard hadn't allowed him to finish, appearing in front of him in a flash and landing a punch right on his face!

The blow was quick as lightning; never in his wildest dreams had the man imagined that Richard would actually hit him. Drawing the sword was merely a show of might, he had no intentions of making a scene in front of the general; if anything, he had paid attention to Richard's followers and personal guards. Who would expect a mage to actually hit someone with their fists?

The level 12 warrior fell down with a single blow, struggling for a while before fainting completely. Richard had evidently put a lot of force into that punch, knocking the man out cold.

The nobles went into a commotion once more. They hadn't been present to witness the scene of Richard and Io in physical combat. Mages and priests in Faelor were known for their weak physiques. It was only Zim who remained unsurprised; if not for being conscious of his family's reputation, he would have jumped up and trampled on the fellow to show his undying loyalty.

The Highland Unicorn's attitude towards Richard had changed greatly in recent times. He had gone from wrath to fear to panic, finally settling down on loyalty. There was even a little dependance mixed in.

Leaning against a wall, Io suddenly arched his brows. He was the only one present who could tell that Richard had used a combat technique from the church. He had never expected the mage to improve so much in such a short span of time. If this went on, it would spell trouble.

Richard returned to his seat and sat down calmly, saying to Gangdor, “I'm giving you control of his soldiers.” Gangdor immediately answered in the affirmative, not asking what to do if he faced resistance.

Richard looked around the place, causing everyone to fall silent. He then stood up and placed both palms on the table, body leant forward as he said solemnly, “I know many of you are unhappy with the reorganisation of the army. However, it is necessary if we wish to fight through the Bloodstained Lands with such a small number of soldiers. We cannot increase the scale of the operation; any more men and we'll run out of supplies. Ten days into the project, I will give you all a chance to withdraw. If anyone wishes to leave at that time, you can take your men back home.

“Remember, ten days. It will be your last chance.” Many felt the tone of this last sentence was peculiar.

Once the meeting came to an end, the nobles all left the room with various comments. They had realised these ten days were meant to reassure them of Richard's abilities, to give them hope. It was only then that they were reminded of this frontier knight's many victories, debates starting everywhere.

However, Zim's face turned ashen after a while; the bulk of the discussion on Richard's stellar victories was built upon the losses of himself and his family. He eventually had enough, coughing heavily to remind these fellows of their error in judgement. They immediately shifted the topic, someone wondering out loud how far Richard could get within ten days. Some said thirty kilometres, while others said fifty. Both these distances held strategic locations they needed to attack.

The scatterbrained Zim had already forgotten the slight, engaging in the discussion and insisting that Richard would hit eighty kilometres. Those here were well aware of the Viscount's vengeful personality; although they didn't dare to refute him directly, their expressions made it obvious that he was just overstating Richard's competence as a cover for his own failures. After all, he had suffered heavy losses at Richard's hands. A bulk of those present did not know the Viscount hadn't been involved in the latter part of the dispute.

Of course, many of those present had completely forgotten that their private armies were nowhere near comparable to the Viscount's elites.

...

Richard had his own plans, but he did not share them with the rest. He was busy with organising his troops in the day, and had increased the time he spent at night meditating. Ever since he managed to increase his mana growth through the astral affinity, he had pushed as many astral rays as he could towards the tree in his sea of consciousness. The earlier he grew this particular ability, the better the results would be. The trunk's evolution was growing more and more evident with time; a second branch had sprouted already, tip green in preparation for another leaf to spout. The only question was what powers this second leaf would have.

He had already shelved the matter with Io. The dispute seemed insignificant in the grand scheme of things, and he had more pressing matters to attend to. Fighting with the rank and file of the army was foolish at best, and in the worst case it was a recipe for disaster.

Outside of meditating, he also crafted runes for Zendrall and Flowsand. He gave the necromancer a grade 2 rune that could increase his mana pool by 30%, thus increasing the count of his undead army by the same value. It was the one for Flowsand that had taken a lot of his energy and time; Richard had even made two rare errors before he could finally complete it.

Flowsand's rune had the ability to increase her casting speed. Although it was a grade 2 rune, it was more difficult than some normal grade 3 ones to craft. However, this speed-up of 10% was of utmost importance to her.

In the end, he had also crafted a rune that could permanently increase one's strength by 20% for practice. He passed it to Zim as a reward, allowing the Viscount to report back to his clan. Zim was surprised and thrilled at the prospect, immediately having a trusted aide send it home.

Richard had completed the reorganisation by the time ten days had passed. The army's discipline had grown as well, but that was on the back of the deaths of ten unruly soldiers. On the eleventh day, an army that was almost 10,000 strong left Bluewater Oasis to officially start the Bloodstained Highway!

When they stepped out of the city, even Richard could not foresee the major events that would unfold over the course of this great war.

Following the army were 10,000 slaves who were meant to help with logistics. There were also roughly ten caravans headed by the Golden Warflag, allowing them to obtain supplies whenever they stopped at a stronghold.

Richard didn't head out on horseback, instead taking a carriage alongside Flowsand. The cleric had her chin rested on both her hands, gazing longingly at him as he studied a map.

“No, this won't work!” he muttered to himself after a while, “I need to pair the clerics with mages; that will produce the best results.”

As he got to that point, he frowned and rubbed his temples, “On the other hand, the mages are alright... but these clergymen definitely won't listen to my commands. What should I do... Do I really have to give them any leeway?”

Flowsand suddenly saw a pained expression flash across Richard's face for the third time that day. The Deepblue's mages were strong as oxen, why did he seem so tired and worn out? She couldn't hold it in any longer, asking, “Richard, are you alright? Please rest if you're tired. I can't use my spells freely right now, so i can't help you.”

“I don't know what's wrong, my head's been hurting badly over the past few days...” A mind-numbing pain assaulted Richard even as he spoke. It was so intense that he helplessly grabbed his head!

438 - City of Sin

Wisdom(2)

“What's wrong with you?” Flowsand panicked once more. However, every detection spell she cast had no reaction; there was no need for healing or purification. Richard had always possessed a strong will; for him to show such pain on his face meant it was excruciating.

Richard's senses had been dulled by the torturous pain; he couldn't hear a word of what Flowsand was saying. This was an indescribable agony, a feeling of his very soul being torn apart. There were no physical painkillers that could help. At the peak of his suffering, he even rammed his head against the walls of the carriage. However, even that pain was negligible in comparison, not helping him resist the torment at all.

Flowsand was completely flustered at this point. She cast every spell she knew on Richard, even calling Kellac and Io in for assistance. All of Richard's followers flocked around the carriage as well, watching as Richard writhed on the floor. Everyone was at a loss, but to keep up the army's morale they had to pretend that there was no issue.

Zim's army was the closest to Richard, and he was also the first to notice the situation. He sensed something when Richard's followers blocked him, tacitly retreating. He even sent away a few of the others who also noticed the commotion.
𝑓ree𝑤𝘦𝚋𝐧𝘰ve𝑙. co𝒎

Flowsand's spells were completely useless, so Kellac and Io didn't manage anything either. It was actually Zendrall that came through in that moment. A greyish-white mist arose in his eyes as he cast All-Seeing Eye upon himself, focusing this vision that was meant to inspect the dead on Richard. “He is going through some sort of transformation!” he said suddenly.

Although the necromancer did not know exactly what kind of transformation this was, his words still allowed everyone to sigh lightly in relief. All they could do now was wait.

A few minutes later, the twitching of Richard's body slowly faded away. Within his sea of consciousness, he was gazing at the bundle of hazy light that was his own soul. Various energies surged around the sphere as one part squirmed out, a tiny speck of milky-white light bursting out from the main body. This speck was a candle to his main soul's bonfire, but the moment it appeared Richard suddenly felt like he had another pair of eyes. It was as though a new window had opened in his mind.

A second voice appeared in his mind, a secondary awareness capable of individual thought and judgement. This new consciousness could not compare to his primary mind when it came to processing capability, but it was still twice as fast as a commoner. This was already at the level where one would be called clever.

He finally understood what had happened. With just how much he exercised his blessing of wisdom in recent times, the ability had advanced once more to grade 3. This grade did not increase the processing speed of his mind directly, instead cleaving out a new consciousness that could handle issues individually. However, the process of splitting his consciousness apart was excruciating, as though his soul was being torn apart.

Only when the new consciousness stabilised did Richard awake, struggling to get up. Seeing him recover, everyone sighed in relief. However, he still felt extremely fatigued, falling into a deep sleep after hastily reassuring them that he was alright.

It was already dusk by the time he woke up again, and he found himself lying in a tent. Both minds awoke together, the world a sudden double image. Richard found it very difficult to adapt.

Another issue was in finding something for the new mind to do. He was in no hurry to get out of bed, instead just laying there as he sorted out all the work that he needed to accomplish in the near future in order of importance. He graphed this list with respect to urgency, finally picking out the tasks that were high in both criteria for the new mind to take care of.

Going back and forth on it repeatedly, he eventually chose to have the mind continue his ongoing research into the clerical fighting techniques.

The martial arts of the Church of the Eternal Dragon were extremely profound; there were only a dozen or so basic stances, but they could be combined in thousands of ways. Taking into account the environment they could be used in, the options were endless. The same techniques would exhibit vastly disparate power in the hands of two different people. Richard was aware that even his blessing of wisdom and Flowsand's teachings left his abilities far from those of Io. The only reason he had won that day was a combination of luck and a willingness to risk his life.

Of course, improving his martial arts wasn't just to compete with Io. Richard needed a pure growth in personal power right now, and although these techniques weren't as effective as a direct increase in level, they were still the best method outside of that and runes.

Besides, there was something universal about martial arts at their peak. The more he trained in the martial arts of the Church, the more he found that the increased flexibility and agility was boosting his usage of the secret swords of Silvermoon.

The secret swords were a martial inheritance that was poles apart from regular fighting techniques. Ever since he had learnt them from Gaton that day, Richard had been analysing them to the best of his ability. However, a growth in the power of the swords did not come from regular practice, nor were there strict requirements in terms of the stances. The techniques were based almost solely on the strength of one's moonforce and the power of their body.

Richard had thus arrived at a conclusion that was not a conclusion. The secret swords were likely battle techniques that grew more powerful with the general might of their user. However, he had no opportunity to learn top-grade martial techniques to prove this conjecture. Most traditional martial arts were not suited for spellcasters.

Simulating the clerical martial arts was an extremely burdensome task. Some preliminary estimates told him that even if his second mind operated day and night without rest, it would take several centuries for him to master every aspect. He did not have centuries of life to spare, but he still followed through on his decision. Every small improvement in these skills was a corresponding improvement in his own individual strength. Be it in the Bloodstained Lands, Norland, or anywhere else, exceeding personal might would always be able to save one's life in times of need.

Once he was done getting used to the new consciousness, Richard noticed that he was slightly hungry and headed out of the tent. He gathered all of his followers and Viscount Zim, learning of the current situation over dinner.

The army had advanced another ten kilometres after he had fallen asleep before setting up camp and waiting for him to wake up. With him missing, Zim had actually done his utmost to ensure that the situation remained stable.

The army was currently about ten kilometres from the first thorn in their path; Camp Bluesquare.

Camp Bluesquare was an enormous slave camp northwest of Bluewater Oasis. It was an important hub for slave trade in the Bloodstained Lands. With tens of thousands of slaves imprisoned within, it was comparable to a small city. At full capacity, the place could even accommodate 100,000 slaves! With the constant threat of bandits and revolts, the thousand or so guards here were all merciless elites.

Camp Bluesquare was under the ownership of Earl Lambert pf the Iron Triangle Empire. This was a legendary figure, once a small titled knight of the Empire that was extremely devious. After a slave deal in the depths of the Bloodstained Lands, he had devoted himself to this profession. Several decades later, he had gathered a huge number of slaves that gave him immense wealth as well as quite a bit of land. His army was similarly large, with multiple slaving teams active in the Bloodstained Lands. This had made the Earl notorious even in the Iron Triangle Empire; most nobles were unwilling to provoke someone who had established themselves through slave trade.

With Earl Lambert's background as well as the geographical location of Camp Bluesquare, the place was one of the most important resupply points en route to the Iron Triangle Empire. There were a large number of armed merchant groups travelling through the place throughout the year, with Red Cossack having at least a thousand men stationed here at all times.

Red Cossack had stopped gathering their main forces once they learnt of Richard's reappearance, quietly disappearing from Bluewater when they learnt of his crushing defeat of Sir Odom's army. However, they hadn't stopped accumulating troops at Camp Bluesquare. There were 1,500 guards at the camp right now, about the same number as came from Earl Lambert.

The camp had a total of nearly 4,000 men at various levels of training and equipment. They would find it difficult to repel Richard's enormous army that was over 10,000 strong, but they were still confident in holding on for a few battles. One could not forget the slaves in the camp. If all of them were mobilised, it wouldn't be an issue to hold on for ten days to half a month.

The Bloodstained Highway Project was by no means a secret. The preparations had taken nearly two months, and news had naturally spread throughout the land by that time; the only unknown was the exact route this army would take. The merchant groups that were still in Camp Bluesquare had already received news of Richard's army heading their way. Outside of Red Cossack and a few other small organisations that were on good terms with the Earl, everyone had fled at night to escape the fires of war.

Whenever these kinds of battles popped up, any unrelated guards or slaves in the camp would be transferred elsewhere immediately. Everything was measured in gold to these merchants, and with Earl Lambert's personality he would not compensate them for any losses they sustained in the war. Even if there was some compensation, it would not cross a single gold coin per person; the same amount that one would use to shoo a beggar away. Why would anyone work hard for someone like that?

439 - City of Sin

Undercurrent

Having understood their location, Richard looked at the time. It was seven in the evening. “Alright, gather all the captains at eleven. I want to discuss our plans for attacking Camp Bluesquare.”

“Eleven?” Viscount Zim thought this timing very interesting. Wasn't that the time for them to rest and sleep? If they did not rest, how would they have the energy to fight the next day?

However, Richard nodded, “Eleven! Also Zim, come over at eight-thirty.”

He then finished off an entire five kilograms of roasted boar ribs before returning to his tent, starting to ponder over the map. His followers disappeared one after the other. The camp quickly quieted down; outside of the patrolling soldiers, everyone slowly entered a world of dreams. With a battle imminent, even the most rebellious ruffian would rest earnestly; who did not treasure their minuscule lives?

Richard analysed the map for a while before taking a look at the time and reclining on his bed. A bird's eye view of Camp Bluesquare immediately appeared in his consciousness.

It was late in the night, but the camp was still brightly lit. Fully-armed soldiers guided groups of slaves to carry huge amounts of stones and sandbags up the walls to fortify the defences. Ballistae were being brought out of the warehouse.

The ballistae were an entire three metres long; atop a city defence tower, they could shoot as far as a thousand metres with immense power. Camp Bluesquare had four such ballistae, one on each corner of the walls. Only two were functional currently; the other two would only complete assembly by midnight.

The ballistae were a huge investment on Earl Lambert's part, and had just been transported to Camp Bluesquare. Each ballista had two bolts with tracking enchantments, the bolts alone worth 100,000 gold each. If not for how important the camp was, Lambert would rather rely on normal tactics like slave soldiers and human millstones to withstand the siege. In the Bloodstained Lands, such ballistae were more valuable than human lives.

Nobody in Camp Bluesquare had noticed that there was an abnormally large number of bats scavenging for food that night. There were even a few especially large, strange bats mixed in. The images were transmitted to Richard's mind through the soul link, giving him every detail of the camp's defences.

Next to a ballista that had just been installed, a dozen or so fierce-looking half-naked slavers were guiding two mature trolls that were nearly four metres tall with their whips. The trolls dragged the heavy cuffs on their limbs, occasionally glaring at the surroundings and roaring as they revealed long fangs, but the only result of such defiance was a firm beating.

Behind the slavers, a few martial artists with an imposing aura stared at the trolls. Each was level 13; if their armour-cutting axes were whirled around, even these trolls wouldn't be able to endure the blows without broken bones.

In the end, the two trolls were still chased to the entrance of the city and were forced to a huge capstan. After which, with the pushing of the two trolls and twenty barbarian slaves, it slowly began to move. A city defence giant crossbow that had already been assembled finally began to creak and pull the bowstring that had been tanned and processed from a dozen or so rhinoceros hides.

Seeing that the trolls were pulling at the ballistae and not a portcullis or the like, Richard sighed in relief. However, he immediately recalled the terrifying cost of a portcullis; who would use such a structure in the Bloodstained Lands? Something like that would only exist in imperial capitals or other large cities, or in forts that could not afford to be lost.

The bowstring was pulled taut, and following the order to release a furious howl rang out. The entire ballista bounced off the ground a little as a giant bolt disappeared into the night sky.

One of the bats in the sky immediately flew in the direction the arrow had disappeared, finding its final position in a moment. The test bolt had actually covered a total of 1,200 metres! This range left Richard feeling slightly alarmed.

With few exceptions, not even a grand mage could cast spells at this distance. If matched with enough tracking arrows, these ballistae were a hard counter to spellcasters. If one could pay for it, they would even get bolts enchanted with increased flight time; that would increase the range to a whopping 2,000 metres!

Thankfully these ballistae were very expensive. Most of the materials were spent on increasing the power and range, with little thought given to durability. As long as their main body was struck, these things would quickly turn into a pile of parts. From this point of view, they were far less troublesome than magic towers. If not for that, Richard really would have considers detouring around Camp Bluesquare. However, leaving an enemy camp with such a huge military force behind was something no commander with even the slightest of intellects would do.

Within the camp, a few gnomes quickly darted to the side of the giant crossbows and started calculating something. One of them with a white beard suddenly jumped on top of the thing and started shouting loudly, commanding the soldiers to transport metal ingots to strengthen the base of the ballista.

“Gnomes?” Richard was startled once more. This was an intelligent race that had spread through many planes. They weren't tall and naturally flawed in terms of strength, but they made up for it with outstanding wisdom and agility. Some said they were closely related to dwarves, while others said they were like humans, both races native to countless planes.

Gnomes were natural alchemists with exceptional magic talent. Their innate agility also made them great candidates for assassins as well. Richard had learnt that there were gnomes on Faelor, but it was said that their empire was even further west of the Ashen Plateau; between them were the near-unsurpassable Dragon Mountains.

This was his first time actually seeing members of the race in Faelor. It seemed like these ballistae had come from the hands of these gnomes; no wonder their power was unordinary. These ballistae were even approaching Norland's standard! Richard still remembered that most of the exquisite alchemical facilities in his own laboratory back in the Deepblue had come from gnomes; the rest were custom-made items from the elven empire.

'I need to keep these midgets alive!' Richard decided immediately. He wanted them in his possession.

......

It drew late into the night, and the last two ballistae were eventually done with their test shots. Camp Bluesquare eventually entered a state of rest; their scouts had already determined the location of Richard's camp, and from the distance between them war would only start the next day at noon. Or there would be no war at all. After all, Earl Lambert and Richard hadn't conflicted directly before.

Lambert himself was 500 kilometres away, taking a copper tube from the claws of a carrier eagle. Having retrieved the information and studied it a few times, he quickly moved to his study and looked over the map of the Bloodstained Lands on the wall. He stroked his beard, deep in thought. Camp Bluesquare had been marked out clearly on the map; two of his four major slave transportation routes passed through there.

Within the study stood an aged great mage, one of the Earl's trusted aides. The mage read through the information back and forth a few times before speaking, “Richard really did only bring 10,000. We have 4,000 soldiers capable of defending Camp Bluesquare. While that number is not idea, Richard will need to pay a huge price if he wishes to attack the camp. I'm sure he will consider this carefully; after all, too many casualties and he won't be able to advance westwards even if he gets the camp.

“However, it seems best to throw the Red Cossack men out as soon as possible. They are his mortal foes, I'm sure he will just ignore the camp and move on if the defences are solid and there are no Red Cossacks within.”

“Red Cossack doesn't make a difference,” Earl Lambert hummed, “Richard isn't someone who only pays attention to his enemies. However, if he wishes to attack Camp Bluesquare, let him try! My army is different from that trash!”

Hearing the murderous words of the Earl, the great mage involuntarily shivered. Lambert had personally taken at least several thousand lives, chopping off the heads of a slave or two whenever his mood was good or bad. In his own words, the moment a human head touched the ground was the most splendid moment in life.

The Earl was obviously in a very bad mood now; Richard had really brought an army to Camp Bluesquare's doorsteps, and clearly he had no good intentions.

“My Lord, His Highness Salwyn is still awaiting your word,” the mage asked carefully.

Lambert's expression grew all the more terrible and he hummed again and again, “I'm not going! Does the fellow think I don't know what he's planning? The Bloodstained Lands are really a gold mine, but not everyone can strike it rich here. How many years have I spent, how many lives to get to my current position? He's a prince without a title and he wants a piece of the pie? What right does he have? Tell him to find a way himself. He can forget about using me!”

The great mage nodded, “Alright. I know how I'll answer.”

The mage then retreated from the study. Lambert did not care about how late it had gotten, still standing in front of the map staring hard at the mark on Camp Bluesquare. Actually, deep in his mind the Earl was not anxious. He had already made preparations, and on top of it all that person was still in the camp. If Richard came, he would only leave badly injured.

......

At that very moment, the lights were still on in the castle of the Marquess of Strength Yang of the Iron Triangle Empire. The table at the centre had been replaced with a holographic map that was extremely precise, currently displaying the terrain of the southern part of the Iron Triangle Empire and the Bloodstained Lands.

Salwyn was stood in front of the map, using a long, retractable mithril pointer to accentuate his explanation, “I expect Richard's army to break through the first 100 kilometres very quickly. This will establish faith in the nobles of the Sequoia Kingdom, prompting more to enter the alliance. Our army will be split into three. The light infantry will be under the command of Sir Aer, setting up defences at Bloodflag Valley. You'll need to withstand Richard's attacks for at least three days!”

440 - City of Sin

Laying The Trap

Salwyn pointed to another spot on the map, “General Hinton, you are to follow this route southward through Bluewater to bar Flintstone Forest. Find ways to delay any reinforcements from the Sequoia Kingdom for as long as possible.”

As Salwyn's pointer moved along the magical map table, the pieces representing the army shifted accordingly and left behind tracks of their movements. He eventually fixed his eyes upon one last position, a freezing chill in his gaze as he shoved the pointer at a field in front of Bloodflag Valley, “When Richard arrives at Bloodflag Valley, I will personally lead the seventh and eighth divisions of the imperial soldiers as well as three knight regiments in a charge through the Skeletal Plains to battle it out with Richard. The march will take two entire days; Sir Aer, your job is paramount. As long as you can hold Richard off for three days, my army will be able to swallow him whole!”

Sir Aer was a strong, muscular middle-aged man of few words. “I will not disappoint you,” he said in a low voice before falling silent.

However, Salwyn was well-acquainted with this knight's character. He punched hard at the man's rock-hard chest, “Alright! Let's give him a taste of the imperial army!”

Based purely on how the various pillars of the army interacted, it seemed absurd to wish to stop Richard's mix of elite infantry and cavalry with an army made of pure light infantry. However, the ten or so nobles present and the numerous military officers did not doubt that this could be done.

Sir Aer was one of the Iron Triangle Empire's most famous generals, extremely skilled at defence. Had it not been for the fact that his mother was once a lowly slave, he would long since have become a viscount. Still, despite his family background, it was publicly acknowledged that he would become a baron one day.

Salwyn stared hard at the Skeletal Plains, suddenly smiling as he muttered to himself, “An army of thirty thousand against your ten. Richard... I'd like to see how you're actually going to fight this battle!”

Most of the people in the meeting room looked puzzled. Eventually, an Earl could not resist asking the question, “Your Highness, Richard is only an insignificant frontier knight. Is he worth so much effort? Why don't you stick to your original plan and head north to annex those independent fiefs? That would certainly be a more striking contribution in the eyes of His Majesty.”

This earl had a point. Salwyn's greatest chip in his contest for the throne was his capability as a commander. However, such a thing could not be demonstrated with mere talk; it needed tangible military successes. In recent years, Salwyn's military endeavours hadn't exactly been fruitful. He had led the allied armies in a battle against the invader Sinclair and was forced to retreat, but the same invader had perished at the hands of an insignificant baron of the Sequoia Kingdom. This was no different from a slap on his face!

All sorts of rumours had spread through the Empire after that loss. The other princes had grabbed the opportunity to accuse him of incompetence in front of the Emperor. Fortunately, Salwyn had his past successes to fall back on. In addition, Marquess Rislant had suffered a few defeats of his own in his battle against the Dragon Church. That was the only reason the Emperor had let Salwyn keep control of his troops.

For the past six months, Salwyn had been busy expanding his army and training his troops. He was also constantly trying to think of ways to rope in more nobles to his side. Many did not supply him with the manpower he desired, sending him a lump sum of money instead; he used this large amount of gold for new warriors, equipment, and training.

With a total of five divisions now under him, Salwyn's army had basically doubled in size. Its ability in combat was more or less boosted to the same extent. This force was originally headed north to annex a number of small countries and independent nobles all the way up to the Andes Promenade. This would give them control of Whale Bay, an important port.

Nobody had expected that Salwyn would change his plan the moment he heard of the Bloodstained Highway project, deciding to go all out to eliminate Richard at the Bloodstained Lands in one go!

But what good would this bring? Richard was basically an outsider without any reputation. He was merely a frontier knight, that title representing an upstart who was capable at war but had no other background. Even if Richard had seen some success in the Sequoia Kingdom, those of the Iron Triangle Empire didn't consider the Kingdom to be anything more than a bunch of powerful individual aristocrats.

The Bloodstained Lands were barren yet complicated. Bordering so many different races, this region was a natural place for war. It was hard to say how much the Empire could get out of the area, but the maintenance costs of such a war would be enormous. Annexing it wasn't even all that good a thing; it would bring their borders closer to many other countries.

Everyone thought this was an expensive battle that would not earn them anything even if they won.

Salwyn glanced through the faces of those present and saw mostly confusion and doubt. Indeed, this looked like a battle where the gains would not make up for the losses. However, an inconceivable pair of numbers popped into his mind once more.

2,800 to 310.

This was a ratio of casualties that left him puzzled and bitter. Even the crushing defeat against Sinclair hadn't left nearly as deep an impression on his mind as these numbers did. After all, he knew why he had lost to her; he was also confident that he would be able to turn the tables in certain conditions. However, Richard was different. A disorderly mob of barbarians and desert warriors had achieved unimaginable results under this frontier knight's leadership. What would someone like that accomplish if he had control of a true army?

Salwyn had thus made a painful decision the moment he heard of Richard's plans. He turned his troops around, intending to eradicate the knight with an absolute military advantage!

“Each and every one of you, mark my words.” His voice was deep and solemn, a certain gravity present now that had never shown itself before, “If we do not put an end to Richard now, he will certainly become a major enemy of the Empire in the future! Compared to the Empire's safety, my personal achievements are worth nothing.”

Everyone present looked at each other in astonishment. None of them had seen the prince this serious before; they followed him not purely because of his title, nor for his skill at command. It wasn't only because he was a great mage. Salwyn's acute foresight had earned him admiration from many of the Empire's nobles.

Although they all knew that the Sequoia Kingdom's Bloodstained Highway Project was not a good thing for the Iron Triangle Empire, they were confident that they would be able to disturb the plan whenever appropriate. However, Salwyn had actually blown this matter up to a whole new level.

Only the formidable Marquess Yang was deep in thought. Red Cossack, an organisation he owned, had recently incurred disastrous losses in the Bloodstained Lands. An entire third of his core strength had dissipated, millions of coins lost. The Marquess could understand some of Richard's prowess.

......

A storm was brewing in the north, ready to pounce on the Bloodstained Lands and tear Richard to shreds in one go. However, the runemaster was completely unaware as he lay quietly on his bed, staring at the top of the tent.

In his mind was an extremely detailed map that covered the entirety of the Bloodstained Lands and the surrounding regions. He could see a surging army just setting off from Bluewater Oasis, advancing with irresistible force as they destroyed all the obstacles in their path to reach the Ashen Plateau. Various forces would rush towards this army one after the other, but every one was left greatly wounded by a current of steel!

Richard was simulating the entire war in his mind. The worst case scenario was four attacking armies charging out from the Iron Triangle Empire, each taking one of the four possible routes of intervention. Salwyn's name was labelled on each possible route these armies took; as the forces were crushed, his name was marked off with a red cross.

The corners of his lips lifted in an icy smile. “Salwyn,” he said lightly to himself, “Don't you think of running back home if you dare to come over!”

The clock pointed towards ten in the night. Richard leapt off his bed and left the tent, sending a few mental commands. One of the side gates of the barracks was opened, all of his troops leaving the camp in formation and disappearing into the distance.

A moment later, the soldiers under Zim and the Direwolf Duke also left the camp in the dark of the night, their whereabouts unknown.

Only a few thousand footsoldiers were left in the camp by eleven, the exact time when the nobles and captains who had been turned into figureheads came to Richard's command tent. There was a sumptuous feast prepared here, and they were told that it was to be their supper. Richard's whereabouts were unknown, but Viscount Zim took his place as host.

It was impossible for Richard to completely hide the mobilisation of his troops from everyone present. They knew he had taken some form of action, but no matter what it was they were just satisfied with not having to go to the battlefield.

Both nobles and generals loved food and drink. Everyone warmed up very quickly, a joyous atmosphere filled the tent.

The clock slowly made its way towards midnight.

......

Camp Bluesquare had already settled into silence, filled with the heavy atmosphere that rose from an impending storm. One could hear almost nothing outside of the footsteps of the patrolling soldiers. The occasional neigh of a warhorse would echo into the distance.

A few light cavalrymen were making their way back to the camp in the midst of the darkness. These were the scouts who patrolled around the army barracks; it was already time for a change of shifts.

Once they crossed a small hill, all of the soldiers could see the city's lights in the distance. The mere thought of hard liquor and cosy beds left many excited, and the horses were sped up.

*Schlick!* However, a sharp arrow shot out of the bushes nearby. The team captain fell from the horse as the arrow struck him, barely able to make any sound before the beast under his legs gave way as well. The long feathers of an arrow stifled the horse's neigh.

A rain of arrows then descended upon the patrol team, sending every single cavalryman to the ground. The attack had been far too sudden; only one person managed to let out a scream before they all collapsed, but even that was weak and brief. It certainly would not be heard from the barracks that was a little under two kilometres away.

An army marched out of the darkness, lined up in orderly rows as they snuck into an area less than a kilometre away from Camp Bluesquare using the cover of the dark. All the soldiers sat down in formation, beginning to eat to replenish their strength.

Richard appeared at the rear of the troops, patiently waiting as he gazed upon Camp Bluesquare that was in the distance.

441 - City of Sin

An Ambush In The Night

The city walls were lit up so brightly it seemed like day. A group of fully-armed soldiers were guarding each of the ballistae.

The night wind suddenly grew stronger, blowing till the fire at the top of the city walls flickered on and off. The bats in the sky started flying lower and lower, some even entering the camp. A few points of light in Richard's consciousness were close to their intended positions.

“It's time.” Richard sent the order calmly, spurring on his warhorse as he guided his followers to make a beeline towards Camp Bluesquare!

The sound of horses galloping was exceptionally loud in the quiet night. The sentinels atop the walls leaned forward and looked outside in bewilderment; the light cavalry was supposed to return to camp after their shift now, why were they running so hastily when there was no alarm? The soldiers on duty behind the wall chuckled and cursed, some vulgar words leading to hoots of laughter.

Groups of warriors stood up in order the moment Richard charged forth, jogging towards the camp. Outside of a few commands, nobody made any sounds in the entire process. The clerics and priests were on either side of the army, hastily blessing every squadron that passed them.

The sentinels atop the city walls were still scanning the surroundings. They finally saw a few fuzzy silhouettes on horseback at the boundaries of their sight; while there were less than ten, these people were not the light cavalry.

The sentinels were startled, even dazed. A veteran who had lived through many sieges could not believe that only these few were planning to attack, immediately realising that there had to be more enemies in the shadows. He charged to the tower bell without telling any of his comrades, pulling at the rope with all his might. The powerful chime of the bell resounded throughout the camp!

The broodmother's drones were already nearby, quickly closing in on the camp's walls. At six metres tall, these structures may pose an obstruction to regular warriors but they were no different from flat land to powerhouses.

Richard spurred his horse on, covering the last stretch in the blink of an eye. He quickly entered the range of the archers, but less than half of those atop the wall could even manage to find their bows, draw, and shoot in time. Only a dozen or so arrows flew out in the first volley, barely adequate whether in terms of power or accuracy. Not one hit Richard's party or their horses, not even disturbing their charge.

A faint figure suddenly appeared next to Richard, moving much faster than his horse. It had already darted to the walls in an instant, walking up to the top in one go. Sword lights flashed, and all the archers who had reached their positions in a hurry cried out as they were pushed off the walls!

This was saint swordsman Rolf!

However, a Faelor saint was not a Norland saint. Once besieged by enemy troops, they were likely to die in regret. Norland's saints were level 18, comparable to country guardians in Faelor. On top of that, which saint in Norland did not have at least a few runes on them? Only they had the power to take on tens of thousands of troops alone.

While Rolf was conducting a massacre atop the city walls, Richard had covered the last hundred metres. A pull of the reins evoked a lengthy neigh from his warhorse as it changed directions, now moving diagonally to the front gates.

On horseback, Richard brandished the Twin of Destiny to shoot out five fireballs in succession. Each spell landed in a precise position, exactly fifteen metres away from the last. With the boost from the staff, even these regular fireballs were quite powerful. Waves of fire covered the entire guard tower in an instant, with even Rolf drowned within!

This volley had covered an enormous area, but Richard knew its effects were limited. Rolf was protected by his saint-level energy, and Kellac had cast a magic resistance spell on him before the assault. The damage from the spells was minuscule; even the guards of Camp Bluesquare had experienced enough battles to react appropriately. They dropped to the ground the moment they saw the fireballs being launched, protecting their vulnerable heads. Thus, when the wave of heat passed, only those who were too close to the impacts had suffered any real damage.

However, this salvo had only been meant to gain time for the troops behind him. While the warriors at the top of the walls were busy, 200 throwers had already charged within twenty metres of the city!

“Rolf! Get away from the top!” Richard's voice rang out, amplified with magic.

The saint's sword was flashing around like the wind, every move sending blood flying as he killed to his heart's content. All the ordinary soldiers atop the wall were forced to lie on their stomachs by the fireball, and now they were hastily trying to crawl up. For someone who took pride in his speed and technique, with the War Construct spell supporting him as well, they were basically sitting ducks.

A dozen men had died under his sword in an instant. Hence, a hint of hesitation appeared in his eyes when he heard Richard's warning. He didn't leave immediately, instead cutting off the head of another soldier with the back of his hand. He thought Richard was likely just going to bombard the top of the wall again, but with two divine spells on him even grade 6 spells he could resist at least one wave of.

Even as he was hesitating, a feeling of extreme danger suddenly assaulted him. His expression changed instantly, his ears trembling as he heard an extremely sharp whistle rapidly growing closer. He didn't think for another moment, yelling as he flipped off the wall and into the camp.

*CRASH!* While still in the air, Rolf heard loud clunks on the wall. Everything suddenly went completely quiet, even the miserable cries silenced. The top of the walls had grown deathly still.

*Thud!* A booming sound finally broke the silence as the wooden guard tower abruptly collapsed.

The saint swordsman felt his throat go dry. What kind of attack could cause such a thing? This was a ruthless massacre!

Hurried sounds of flapping rang out in the sky and a huge bat flitted across the wall. “Stay close to the walls,” Richard's voice sounded once more.

This time, he listened. Rolf pressed close to the city gate, ignoring the more than a hundred enemy warriors that were charging him at the same time. Another sharp whistle left his heart thumping in fear, the flying axes landing right amongst the troops defending behind the city gates. These bone axes that were the same size as hatchets had incredible power, even splitting some unlucky warriors apart. The closest axe had landed only five metres away from the city gates, the sharp wind causing Rolf's hair to fly!

He suddenly felt his scalp go numb. The hundred bloodthirsty warriors had been in front of him a moment ago, but now less than half of them could still stand after a wave.

Io rushed beneath the city as well, fluidly dismounting from his horse. He crossed his hands in front of his chest the moment he found his bearings, assuming a pious stance as though he were in a shrine and starting to chant prayers. His singing voice rang with incantation after incantation, divine spells buffing the humanoids who were charging over.

The first batch of warriors had heavy steel lances in their hands. They threw these weapons towards the camp walls with a shout, embedding them deep into the structure leaving only a short section poking out. The lances thrown by two rows of warriors formed two rows of stairs that one could take to the top of the walls.

Gangdor, fully armoured and axe in hand, yelled as he rushed towards the walls. He charged over the top of the walls with the help of these new footholds, jumping into the camp on the other side. The ground shook slightly; he had landed on two feet. His signature bloodthirsty yell then resonated throughout the night sky!

Following Gangdor were five rows of humanoids with one-handed axes. With their level 9 strength, they faced no difficulty in using the footholds to get past the city walls that were only six metres tall.

The rest of the warriors behind the gates were killed in a few breaths, following which the gate to Camp Bluesquare was slowly pushed open.

All this had happened blazingly fast. While the alarm bell's chime was still resonating in the sky, the gates of the camp had already been broken through by Richard's thunderous methods. The warriors in the camp had only now darted out of their barracks, not even gathered into their formations.

Deep inside the camp, a powerful aura suddenly soared as a rough roar rang out, “Who is it that seeks death?!”

This roar alone was proof enough that this was a saint! A tall, sturdy man bathed in fire immediately rushed towards the city walls with big strides. He wielded a large steel spear, the speartip similarly blazing with fiery energy. He fixed his eyes on Rolf who was atop the walls hundreds of metres away, eyes narrowing as he bellowed once more, “You shameless thing, what are you doing there with ordinary warriors? Get your ass over here and let me cut you up, you spineless bastard!”

Rolf's face flashed with anger. This saint was stable at level 17, but he remained unafraid as he stepped out of the masses, dragging his sword on the floor. The tip produced numerous sparks.

The two saints rapidly drew close, but moments before they were about to clash Rolf suddenly showed a malicious grin. He took an exquisite scroll out of his pocket, quietly reading something out. The scroll suddenly produced an eye-catching lustre that enveloped the swordsman in his entirety.

The burly spearman was shocked, placing all his attention on Rolf. Temporarily blinded by the unexpected glimmer, he took two steps backwards and placed his lance across his body. The flames around him flickered as his energy radiated outwards; Rolf did not rival him, for the swordsman to act so assured evidently meant he was relying on this scroll.

The powerful light disappeared in the blink of an eye, leaving Rolf enveloped in shining armour that radiated a divine might. The sword in his hands had disappeared, replaced by a giant two-handed sword completely made of dark gold light. The blade had countless divine characters flowing across it.

The grin still on his face, Rolf flicked his wrists. The giant blade was quick as lightning, slashing downwards.

The opposing saint quickly retreated, the steel spear in his hand quickly meeting the attack. Sword and spear clanged, letting sparks fly loose. The burly man's arms trembled, the power of this giant sword was so immense it was strange. This was definitely not a strength that Rolf could possess. The man was unable to repel it completely, forced back a few steps before he could regain his foothold.

The burly man seemed overwhelmed. He then shot a glance at the giant sword in Rolf's hands, suddenly shouting in alarm, “A divine weapon!”

442 - City of Sin

An Ambush In The Night(2)

“You're pretty knowledgeable! You should be honoured to get cut down by a divine weapon!” Rolf stepped forward as quick as lightning, the giant sword aimed right at the burly man's heart. The huge weapon was no slower than Rolf's original blade, emanating a holy lustre as it sliced at the man's body like a gale.

A group of guards was charging across the city walls. Amongst them were experienced arbalists, protected by two level 12 warriors as they made a beeline for the ballistae. Their movements weren't particularly quick, but even as the rest of the guards were only just entering formation they had already darted towards their positions.

However, a graceful figure suddenly appeared next to the charging group. Black gas flashed as the dazed head of a level 12 warrior separated from his body. The sounds of a crossbow rang out in the darkness, enchanted bolts flying out one after the other that took down a warrior each. Even saints could not withstand these bolts at close range, much less these common soldiers.

Having exhausted her quiver, Phaser appeared like a ghost from the shadows to stab every fallen soldier. Only after piercing their hearts with Extinction could she absorb their vitality and souls, so every shot she took had left these men within an inch of death.

While Phaser was busy stabbing, Waterflower finished killing the second level 12 warrior and melted into the night. She swiftly flew towards the men guarding the closest ballista.

At the same time, an incomparably tall and sturdy figure slowly floated in from outside the city walls to land next to the ballista. The vibrations from his landing left all the warriors nearby swaying; this fellow was a three-metre-tall giant! He suddenly crouched down, energy bursting forth as a wave of his enormous arm sent seven or eight warriors flying.

Tammy, level 16 berserker. This was the saint Earl Yatu had sent to protect Zim, borrowed by Richard for the night's attack.

Waterflower's attacks were swift as the breeze, quickly killing off all the injured warriors. She then expended some effort to drag over an enchanted bolt with an explosive effect while Tammy activated all his energy to slowly draw the weapon that normally needed a dozen strong warriors on his own.

*Click!* Waterflower burst forth with surprising strength as well, slotting the giant bolt into the machine and beginning to adjust its pitch and yaw. Tammy then stepped down on the machine, the explosive bolt that was nearly four metres tall flying out like lightning. The bolt drew a stark red arc in the night sky, finally landing on another of the ballistae. A tremendous explosion rang out as berserking flames enveloped the siege weapon and its surrounding warriors, sending the arbalists who planned to fire it flying away.

Waterflower immediately dragged out another bolt, while Tammy roared once more and drew the machine.

Bright streaks of red flashed one after the other, creating twenty-metre explosions all over the city walls; A single exploding bolt was comparable to a grade 7 burst fireball. Tami and Waterflower worked together to launch a total of seven bolts, completely destroying the two remaining ballistae. The berserker was sweating profusely by the time they were done, crumpling to the ground devoid of all energy.

Zendrall and Demi had managed to keep one of the ballistae at bay during this time, but another had managed to launch a bolt towards Richard's army. Richard had ended up using one of the spells stored in the Book of Holding, six direbears turning into cannon fodder. It was the most accurate display of Nature's Beckon in his life; the beasts had been spawned accurately in mid-air to intercept the bolt, their thick skin causing it to explode prematurely and lost most of its power.

The greatest threats of Camp Bluesquare had thus been removed.

Richard stayed seated on his warhorse, watching as groups of warriors with tower shields and axes walked out of the darkness towards the camp. 600 humanoids stepped in tune, the thunderous quaking of the earth under their boots leaving the enemy morale destroyed.

Following the humanoids were throwers, protected by another hundred humanoids of their own. At the centre of these throwers was Richard's group of spellcasters. Of course, Io and Flowsand acted alone. They coordinated with him for strategy, but they exercised a great amount of freedom in positioning. This was the same for any powerhouses.

The first group of defenders hastily charged out from the centre of the camp, meeting Richard's drone army head-on. However, the humanoids were born for slaughter; they did not roar, did not yell, did not even say a word as they robotically cut through enemy after enemy. Shields welcomed incoming blows, and any pause was used to brandish their axes once more. Every wave of the front row's axes sent blood and miserable cries into the sky. The formation of the humanoid heavy infantry opened up a bloodstained path through the swarm of enemies.

The front row of Richard's army glimmered with the lustre of divine spells and magic. On the other hand, the defenders of Camp Bluesquare were peppered with curses. Even a mass slow was enough to lead these guards into the abyss.

A crushing advantage in magic. A crushing advantage in the divine. A crushing advantage in powerhouses, and a crushing advantage in equipment. These humanoid warriors easily took on the attacks of the numerous enemies, marching constantly from the southern gate to the north.

A large number of desert warriors and barbarians followed the humanoids into the camp. They themselves were tailed by Zim's army, following the bloody path to the camp's centre. Minutes later, the troops belonging to the Direwolf Duke's vassals also started heading over. Richard eventually had an enormous 5000-man army trained on the defenders, overwhelming them entirely.

When the northern gate entered their sight, the guards of Camp Bluesquare finally broke down. They began fleeing everywhere, some not even bothering to push the obstruction that was the city gates as they climbed up the walls and jumped away.

With flames burning all of the camp, there was only one decisive battle left. It was the duel between Rolf and the burly spearman.

Rolf's War Construct spell had faded away, forcing the saint swordsman to depend entirely on his ability to contend with the opponent. The spearman was still as grand as before, but his body was littered with injuries. Rolf had done a good job depleting his energy over the duration of the War Construct spell as well. And yet, despite all that, the man was still yelling as he freely attacked Rolf; the saint swordsman was starting to look pathetic.

The spearman saw Richard right away. Although preoccupied with his own battle, he had still kept an eye on the situation elsewhere in the camp. He knew Richard was the commander of the enemy, immediately thinking of killing the young great mage with a single strike.

His desires would not come to fruition. Richard seemed to read his mind, dismounting and retreating ten metres with light steps before staring at him calmly.

The speed of the retreat caused the man's eyes to shrink. This was entirely different from the shifting spells most spellcasters used, but whatever it was it would not be easy to strike down the mage in his current state. It would be much better to take out Rolf with full strength. A little more effort and the weak swords saint without the support of divine spells would be pierced through.

When Gangdor appeared by Richard's side, the spearman's eyelids twitched. He completely gave up on killing Richard, but next came Tiramisu, Kellac, Io, and Zendrall. Waterflower's silhouette flashed in the shadows, Phaser's presence felt in the darkness.

A divine spell landed on Rolf, immediately providing relief to his injured body. The healing spell had arrived at a great time, the spearman's eyes widening to the point that they almost bulged out of their sockets. The clerics and mages started working together to cover Rolf's body in healing radiance and an unknown number of buffs. Black and green light flashed on the burly man's body as well, striking him down with a bunch of curses.

It was only then that Richard finally spoke up, “Just surrender!”

The man laughed heartily, “Richard! Look at me, do you think I will surrender?”

Richard stayed silent for a moment and then sighed, “Fine then, I'll send you on.”

He raised his left arm and ten Archeron warriors flashed out of the darkness with an enchanted crossbow in hand. The Twin of Destiny waved around, a lightning bolt falling from the skies. The powerful current from the grade 7 spell left even this powerful saint shaking, his movements going stiff.

The tiny opening was used perfectly by the experienced Archeron soldiers. Enchanted bolts flew out through the night sky, seven or eight striking him and deeply embedding into his body!

The man roared, exploding with energy; a circle with his spear forced everyone surrounding him to retreat several steps. Only then did he prop his weapon on the ground and lean against it, taking a look around. Three more laughs and his head finally hung down.

Even in death, he stood tall.

Level 17 saint Tidor Fenton had died in battle at Camp Bluesquare.

Richard stood silent for a moment before turning to Kellac who was familiar with such things, “Who is he?”

“This should be Eal Lambert's brother Tidor,” the fallen priest answered, “However, he has his own businesses. We did not receive any news of him entering the Bloodstained Lands, I don't know why he is here.”

“We're provoking more and more powerful people. I don't know if that's good or bad.”

Flowsand seemed to think of something and sighed slowly, “This... It is a path that every powerhouse has to carve.”

Richard nodded, gazing at Camp Bluesquare that was still riddled with fires and earth-shaking cries in a daze, “We won tonight and Tidor has become my stepping stone. If I lose in battle I'll probably end up as a stepping stone for someone else, no?”

His followers all went silent. Most of them had come from Norland and they knew about the cruelty of planar warfare.

443 - City of Sin

The Bloodstained Path

Flowsand was the first to regain her cheer, “Don't think so far ahead. Didn't we win this one?”

“That's true!” Richard laughed. He was their leader; if he was in low spirits himself, how would he guide the rest?

Zendrall walked out of the group and pointed to the still-towering Tidor, “Master, this corpse...”

Richard creased his brows, “Tidor was a true fighter...”

“Most saints are true fighters!” the necromancer emphasized. However, these words caused Rolf's face to warm up for some reason. Seeing Richard still wanting to say more, Zendrall hastily added, “My Lord! If you want to respect true warriors, I will never have any death knights!”

Richard hesitated for a moment before finally letting out a sigh and nodding his head. On this plane where a crisis awaited at every step, the first priority was to grow his might. He could not lessen his followers' chances of survival just because of his respect for his enemies.

Zendrall immediately grew excited. A wave of his hand and four warriors of darkness walked out from a spell formation, carrying Tidor's corpse outside the barracks area.

Richard leapt onto his horse and began patrolling through Camp Bluesquare, assisting his troops in the clean-up operations. At the same time, he issued for one of his elite humanoid warriors to enter the command tent back in their own camp.

The spacious tent was filled with intoxicated laughter. Most of the noble commanders were immersed in their drink, jokes, stories, legends, and even boasting. Even Zim was skipping around, bragging about his own valour and wisdom as well as the number of young noblewomen he had won over.

“Sir Richard orders everyone to head to Camp Bluesquare,” the elite humanoid stated stiffly, “My Lord says it might rain tonight, so everyone should reach the camp at the earliest so they can avoid catching a cold.”

The drone's voice was strange and completely monotonous, sounding absolutely terrible. However, its words resonated in the ears of the noble captains. There was no reaction from anyone for a moment, but those who were yet to become fully drunk suddenly leapt up and exclaimed, “He already conquered Camp Bluesquare?!”

A moment later, many of the captains were aroused from their trance. The army packed up, setting off for Camp Bluesquare. As the tipsy nobles saw the embers yet to be extinguished all over the camp, each and every one of them couldn't help but look dumbstruck. Everyone capable of standing here knew at least some things about leading an army into war. They quickly calculated how much time had passed since Richard left their camp, glancing at the remnants of the camp's defences as they watched more than 2,000 prisoners of war being herded outside the barracks to be held captive. For a moment, it felt like they were in a dream.

He won just like that? Richard had only been gone for a short while, with only enough time for a tryst with a young lady in the forest.

They still didn't know that Tidor had died in this battle as well. The death of any saint was bound to become a topic of conversation in high society for a long time. Defeating a saint wasn't all that hard, but killing them was. This was particularly true in small-scale duels; if the saint was set on escaping, one would need several times their power to pin them down. However, things grew complicated in the ever-changing battlefield. All sorts of terrain, tactics, magic, and weaponry became variables that could seriously injure or even kill a saint that was not careful enough. Thus, Faelor's saints rarely appeared in the line of fire on a battlefield. Even if they did, it would be to contend against the saints of the enemy.

Regardless of the astonishment, Camp Bluesquare had already landed in Richard's hands. Barely a day had passed since the start of the project; there were nine more until the day came when they would be given a chance to make their decisions.

The army rested and reorganised at Camp Bluesquare for a day, most of that time spent on checking the loot and dividing it. The gains were in the form of the prisoners of war, slaves, the one remaining ballista, and Camp Bluesquare itself. The camp's value lay in the fact that it had a water source.

Although Richard had basically conquered the camp on his own, he still split the gains strictly according to their initial agreement. This won a chorus of cheers from most of the aristocrats; it had not yet dawned on them that they would no longer have any reason to refuse a dispatch of their own soldiers.

Throughout the next day, these captains who did not manage to see the battle were constantly discussing the results. 5,000 attackers matched against just under 4,000 guards, leaving more than a thousand dead and two thousand captive. Only a few hundred had escaped, while less than a hundred people had died on Richard's side. Two or three hundred had sustained minor injuries; most of the casualties were caused to the infantry that had entered the city halfway through the battle. In fact, most of the deaths and injuries had come from the one ballista bolt that had exploded mid-air. And yet, despite that, the ratio of casualties was completely beyond their imagination. With their current military knowledge, these men would never be able to deduce exactly what had happened.

Richard naturally knew of the discussion as well, but he dismissed it with a laugh. These fellows were just used to wars in Faelor, and didn't know how formidable the collective power of a large-enough troop of high-ranking warriors empowered with buffs could be. The power of magic had already been rooted in the heart of Norland's people long ago. If not for that, rune knights would never have emerged.

Richard had a total of 700 level 9 warriors on hand, as well as 200 level 8 throwers.

......

Dawn of the third day, the army continued on their journey. After an entire day's march, they arrived at the Groundbreaking Canyon.

This place produced cloudiron ore in abundance. There were tens of influences here of all scales mining the ore, with armed confrontations almost every month. Those who could survive this place were not to be trifled with.

At the same time, the terrain of the canyon was extremely complex with countless creatures roaming the caves. It was said that the depths of the caves connected to the dark regions, which was why there seemed to be an endless stream of underground creatures charging out. Although they were mostly cavemen without much intelligence, they were each comparable to an able-bodied man in the prime of his life. They knew how to use simple tools and weapons as well. Once their numbers grew large enough, they would become a headache.

Once they entered the vicinity of the Groundbreaking Canyon, Richard let his troops rest for a day. Morning of the fourth day, he led his troops in a charge right into the canyon. He advanced steadily through the battle striking hard while moving carefully with every step. Companies went into battle one after the other, the rows of heavily armed warriors backed by spells like gigantic meat grinders as they mercilessly destroyed the horde of weak enemies.

If one were to look over from the sky, Richard's army seemed to be a current of steel that rolled forward in an unhurried yet unstoppable manner. Spurts of blood kept staining the ground in front of the current, leaving a bloodstained path behind.

Richard was in the midst of the frontlines, taking charge in the most meticulous and detailed manner. Every squad of warriors who grew tired or was injured was quickly replaced by one that was rested.

This was a battle of attrition, taking five long hours before they could finally make their way out. Richard had remained the most precise alchemic machine throughout, not making a single mistake in his commands with the tone of his voice the exact same as when they had begun. Even the occasional deaths of the unskilled soldiers of the other nobles were compensated for, the meat grinder not stopping for one moment.

When the army was done, the valley floor of Groundbreaking Canyon was already covered in dark red blood.

On the seventh day, Richard's army entered the Khanba Gobi. This was already more than a hundred kilometres away from Bluewater Oasis, the homeland of the desert warriors. Here, they were ambushed by roaming horsemen.

Richard had transferred the entirety of his elite cavalry to the frontlines by this time, also bringing along the barbarian soldiers whose mobility was not one whit inferior to cavalrymen. With less than a thousand men facing off against 5,000 desert horsemen, an adrenaline-pumping battle ensued in a battlefield that stretched across tens of kilometres. By the time his troops broke through the desert people's formation for the third time, the enemies lost all morale as they abandoned more than a thousand corpses to flee in all directions.

On the tenth day, Richard's army had arrived at the Cracked Canyon. This was the base of the orcs in the Bloodstained Lands, with tens of thousands of powerful orcs living here. When he ordered his troops to enter the battlefield, an endless horde rushed towards them!

Every adult orc was a decent warrior. The youths and elderly weren't weak either, with every individual able to fight on some level. However, Richard showed these orcs the power of an iron wall strengthened by magic.

He arranged all of his troops in extremely tight formations, the front rows resisting the attacks with all their might while the spellcasters in the back poured magic onto the enemy. Fire and acid burned the enemies, while the clerics constantly cast vitality spells on the mages to restore their mana quicker.

Rows of flames burned incessantly. In situations like this, Fireball and Wall of Fire were extremely effective spells. Richard had already changed out Nature's Beckon for the latter in his Book of Holding. These barely-armoured orcs could not resist such powerful magic, relying purely on their valiance to step through the sea of fire and suffer the burns as they charged into the line of battle against the human infantry.

The orcs had basically no equipment or strategy, forget clerics and mages. Their shamans were dancing crazily, but the boost to the warriors was essentially negligible. Richard had even cast a detection spell at the beginning of the battle to analyze their prayers, finding that Faelor's ancestral worship was weaker even than magic. It was no wonder that the ultimate goal of these ancestors was to become a true god.

This was truly an arduous and extraordinary battle. Flesh, blood, and weapons scattered all around as the enchanted flames seemed to never flicker, the radiance of the spells gradually seeming dim. Individual power was crushed here; assassins like Waterflower and Phaser didn't dare leave the protection of the frontlines lest they get torn into pieces by the angry orcs.

A war like this was Io's stage to shine. Never before had the battle priest achieved such glory, a wave of his hand able to rescue countless warriors. Without the boost from his spells, the heavy infantrymen who were already struggling with extreme fatigue for so long would have been left unable to withstand the orcs' wild and violent attacks.

This was the first time Richard didn't feel like Io's radiance was an eyesore.

In fact, his own role in the battle was no less significant than Io's. However, he didn't want others to notice that, deliberately ignoring it himself as well. Throughout the entire battle, he had merely been repeating a single spell: Wall of Fire. With the empowerment of the Twin of Destiny, the wall had doubled in size and burnt longer with more strength. Given the vitality spell and his own rune, his mana restoration was incomparably rapid. On top of that, the second leaf from his elven bloodline had shown its ability: accelerated mana restoration.

The walls of fire were an effective weapon that reaped countless of lives. Richard's gift of Truth was constantly collecting statistics on the orcs who had died to his spells, and the numbers shown in front of him were cruel.

When even the fearless orcs began to cry in anguish at the casualties, Richard issued the order for the final attack. His cavalry flanked behind the enemy on the battlefield, striking right through the rear of the orcs and wiping out the exhausted shamans. This blow set the outcome in stone; the orcs finally collapsed.

The enemies fled everywhere, but Richard had no more energy to press the attack. However, even if he could he did not wish to. Everyone was silent after the battle, staring at the tragic scene of the battlefield. The scorched bodies of the orcs had piled up in layers, with it being near impossible to count exactly how many there were. The corpses of humans and orc alike mingled together at the intersection of the frontlines, soaked in acid, burned by fire, tainted by blood. There was almost no distinguishing between the two.

This was the first time that Richard did not insist on clearing the entire battlefield on his own. He instead left without giving any orders, allowing those under him to handle the situation on their own.

In this battle, the young great mage had fully displayed the combination of his own magic and the power of his command, but he left with a grave number. From beginning to end, he had cast more than thirty walls of fire. The number of orc warriors that died to these enchanted flames: 1061.

......

After the battle, all of the nobles agreed to leave and pitch their tents a little further away from the Cracked Canyon. A few unlucky ones were chosen by ballot, responsible for cleaning up the orcs' camps.

In the end, they brought back a heap of idols of all sizes, something Richard had specifically demanded and appointed Olar to supervise. The elven bard was responsible and diligent, bringing back every one that he could.

Most surprising was that one of these statues was of a beast god, containing formidable power. Flowsand evaluated that it was at such a high standard that it could be presented as an offering.

After taking the Cracked Canyon, Richard began to rest and reorganise the military as he settled down in the camp. This was the first battle in which more than a thousand of his men had died, with 2,000 more injured. It was clear just how tragic the battlefield was; he wanted to wait for the reinforcements to catch up so he could select new warriors to replenish the troops. He also had to wait and see if these nobles wanted to back out.

The results were beyond Richard's expectations. Despite the tragic war at the Cracked Canyon, not one of the nobles was willing to withdraw their soldiers. They also unanimously requested for Richard to slow down the pace of the march so they could request reinforcements from their families.

444 - City of Sin

The Bloodstained Path(2)

Almost every one of the nobles proposed absolutely ridiculous reinforcement plans. The numbers were extremely high, no different from them turning out in full strength. Although those present did not have high ranks, every family here had connections with the greater nobles of the Sequoia Kingdom. Names of powerful houses who had long-term residences in the Kingdom's capital started flowing from each of their mouths.

Zim was the most enthusiastic of them all. Not only did he clamour about wanting to empty out all of his old man's family property, but he also considered involving Duke Grasberg himself. He even spoke of asking his mother for royal knights. The Viscount even swore to sleep with Countess Katrina for a month after the project if she would agree to back him up with 300 elite cavalrymen.

In the end, Richard couldn't help but smack Zim's head with his staff, finally putting a stop to the Viscount's wild fantasies.

Right now, everyone present only cared for the mountain of wealth should the Bloodstained Highway succeed, even if their own share of the pie was small. The best way in their eyes was to grow the scale of the army, making it easier to conquer the entire Bloodstained Lands.

If things really did go according to their plans, the number of troops dispatched would almost be on par with a war fought by the entire kingdom; how absurd would that be? Something so insane seemed to grow more and more probable to these nobles by the day. Richard had been named the god of war of the Sequoia Kingdom's current generation!

However, Richard himself was aware that these ideas were not feasible at all. Even ignoring the threshold beyond which his control of the battlefield would suffer, 10,000 was an extremely strenuous number of men to support. If the army continued to expand, Richard would lose more and more control.
𝐟𝓇eℯ𝒘𝙚𝚋𝓃𝐨𝘷𝗲Ɩ. co𝓶

Besides, these were the Bloodstained Lands. An army of 100,000 men would face enormous amounts of pressure for supplies; even before they got to the Ashen Plateau, they were likely to starve to death.

These red-eyed nobles hadn't even considered the political factors. The intervention of the truly powerful houses would completely shuffle up this tenuous alliance, and that didn't even encompass the reactions from the various other countries bordering the Bloodstained Lands. One had to think of the fact that Richard was still a mere knight. An alliance between a few nobles was completely different from one on the level of a country.

Richard curbed these overly enthusiastic men, starting to discuss reinforcements seriously. Although he kept increasing the requirements, eventually asking for veterans who were level 4 at minimum with robust equipment and their own supplies, these nobles still managed to pool together an army of 20,000. He was left with no choice but to forcefully distribute the number of slots offered to each noble, only willing to accept the ten thousand warriors of the best quality.

From Bluewater Oasis to the Cracked Canyon; Richard had won four great wars in a mere ten days. However, these nobles ended up quarrelling over the allocation for an entire week.

While the nobles were fighting non-stop over the allocation of the army, Richard began to select new warriors from the rearguard and his stronger slaves. He had lost many men over the course of the past few battles, and he needed to replenish his army. The desert warriors and barbarians were all good fighters; although their loyalty was a little questionable, they weren't much worse than the nobles' personal armies.

Grabbing onto the rare break, Richard started reflecting on his capabilities. Two days after the war had ended, he locked himself up in his tent and began a deep analysis.

Everything seemed to be on the right track. He had a growing number of options moving forward, no longer stuck in the desperate situation he had initially been trapped in when they first entered Faelor. However, new problems had begun to show themselves; he needed to plan for the future to optimise the boost to his ability.

His followers had gradually found their own paths, gradually starting to show their power. Ever since he had realised the intrinsic difference between Norland and Faelor lay in the existence of runes, he had already given then an unprecedented priority. Both Waterflower and Gangdor now had their own rune sets, protecting them as they charged into the frontlines and massacred their opponents. This was why they had been chosen first. With Breath of Darkness and Savage Strike, the two could possibly win against a weaker saint of Faelor if they joined forces.

The original core of the team had lain in Flowsand and himself, but Richard was still extremely unsure of what path he should take. Bloodlines, runes, magic, martial arts... he had too many choices, and every direction had its own advantages. This made it difficult for him to finalise his decision. On the other hand, Flowsand's circumstances were the exact opposite. She was worthy of her title in every way, possessing extraordinary wisdom, talent, and resourcefulness that exceeded his own. Her rune capacity was all the more exceptional, something that put him in a dilemma.

He was currently limited by his own level, unable to craft true grade 3 runes until he hit level 16. However, anything he could incorporate into a grade 2 rune was ultimately unable to exhibit the true power of the Mystic Glory set he had designed especially for her.

The only things he had done so far were to redo her grade 1 rune to grade 2 and add another that boosted her casting speed.

Deepblue Fragment, a rune he had been inspired to design after unleashing the astral affinity of his elven bloodline. It was a rune designed to simulate his bloodline's properties, something far more difficult to do in a grade 2 rune than in grade 3. The rune was similar to Life's Bane, the difficulty laying in the complexity and precision instead of one's level in magic.

However, the true origin of the Deepblue Fragment rune was the Deepblue Aria on Sharon's body. Only after he had become a true runemaster did Richard gain the ability to perceive a small portion of the Deepblue Aria's capabilities. However, if he could currently see a tree's worth the full version of the Deepblue Aria was as vast as the Forest Plane.

Richard maintained his main principle of not interfering with the direction his followers took. However, he would occasionally measure their strengths and design some runes to boost their abilities and maximise their combat power.

Thinking about it, Richard found that most of his followers were inclined towards magic now; only Gangdor could charge through enemy lines in the midst of a magnificent army. Medium Rare was originally more suited to the task than Gangdor, but he had been killed by Blackwing. Although Richard had avenged the ogre somewhat, Red Cossack itself was still around alongside their backer, Marquess Yang. He would not let the matter rest yet.

There were still major uncertainties as to Tiramisu's path, but one could only wait for the ogre mage's second head to grow out and unlock his affinities. As a result, even if he wished to Richard couldn't give the ogre many runes. Although old runes could still be upgraded, it was extremely troublesome and painful to remove them if the properties clashed. Faelor's culture wasn't at the point where their alchemists could synthesise the required potions.

Besides that, it was hard to say whether runes designed for humans would cause any harmful changes to ogres. The higher the grade of a rune, the more the demand on the bearer's body. Norland's runemasters had thoroughly figured out the human anatomy over the past few millennia, runecrafting now a matured profession. However, there was nearly no precedent with regards to runes for ogres. Humanoids seldom used runes in the first place, but even bred warriors with non-human bloodlines normally used human runes directly. No runemaster had considered adapting runes to any other species.

Then there was Demi who had just joined, as well as Wennington and Venica who might participate in the future.

Richard realised that he truly had an excess of spellcasters around him. On the other hand, he didn't have too many powerful warriors. However, if he shared these troubles publicly he would likely be severely reprimanded.

A warrior was far inferior to a mage or cleric, especially in Faelor. Even someone with great status like Odom would be respectful and deferential when addressing a spellcaster. However, it was this same status that made mages a rare sight in armies unless it was a war between kingdoms. Faelor's churches were actually ahead in this regard: the power of battle priests and paladins collaborating definitely made them more powerful than a regular troop of knights.

Richard originally had a decent impression of Faelor's battle priests, but every one he had seen seemed to be an idiot when compared to Io. If not for that hateful fellow as well as the remainder of his ten-odd mages and clerics, his 10,000 men would not have defeated thrice their number so easily at the Cracked Canyon. However, the strength those orcs had displayed was making him reassess the importance of high-level warriors.

This was actually how a trained army was built. Richard already had a decent number of troops under him, slowly raising their quality bit by bit. With the humanoid drones getting replenished in large quantities, he was growing more and more reliant on elite troops. At a certain scale, they grew unimaginably powerful. Take the battle at Camp Bluesquare, for example; the formation of humanoids had pushed the defenders all the way from the south gate to the north without so much as slowing down.

445 - City of Sin

Path To Power

The broodmother was definitely the core of his army. Richard was slowly realising more and more just how true Ferlyn's words had been when she said the broodmother was a powerful weapon in planar wars. With her around, he was bound to have an endless army in his hand sooner or later. Why would he let her go into battle personally? He already could use his army to trap the enemy powerhouses and render them dead.

If he could use the terrain to stop someone like Odom from fleeing, his spellcasters could then disrupt the enemy while the humanoids ground away at their energy. When a barrage of ranged attacks from the outer circle drowned out the enemy, Richard would only lose a few dozen warriors in exchange for the chance to finish them off on the spot. Besides, even if the enemy survived the initial volley he still had the elite humanoids and free Archerons with enchanted crossbows to bring to bear.

With the army set up, he had to think of his own commandership. The blessings of wisdom and truth had truly been rewarding— he hadn't yet met anyone who could compare to him in terms of tactical control— but before his blessing of wisdom had levelled up he had been limited to being able to shadow and command fifty targets simultaneously. Even if he made use of his second mind, that would only add five more troops at most. The difficulties were starting to show with his current army, his precision and control over the situation weakened. The most ideal case for him was a war between about 1,000 elites on each side.

He was someone who used the tactics of a wolf pack, controlling the scale of every battle before engaging in an endless series of skirmishes to tear away at his opponents bit by bit. He did not need an advantage in numbers; he could basically guarantee victory in a fight against two equal armies.

However, the biggest problem right now was his individual power. Richard was primarily a mage, most of his strength in battle focused around his spells. His Archeron and elven bloodlines supported that somewhat, the latter divided into five separate affinities to nature, restoration, the moon, the astral, and the elements. His abilities had been unlocked by luck before, but now things were different. The Deepblue Fantasy actually allowed him to choose which bloodline to strengthen and how, giving him the option to unlock specific abilities. It truly was worthy of coming from Sharon herself.

His problem now was in choosing which bloodline he had to strengthen first. The restoration affinity prioritised his ability to heal, while the elemental affinity would grow his elemental spells. The former didn't brook much discussion at all, while the latter wasn't indispensable either. Without an infinite supply of astral rays to boost his bloodline, he couldn't just distribute them evenly. He would only consider the elemental affinity when his mana pool was approaching its peak.

The moon affinity would strengthen his moonforce and by extension the power of the secret swords of Silvermoon. This wasn't a must either. On the other hand, the nature affinity was different. Nature's Beckon was one of his staple spells, and the affinity would directly boost its powers. On top of that, it would increase his harmony with the environment, especially in forest and grassland areas. This would resonate with his blessing of Truth, sharpening his instincts and his sense for danger. These unremarkable areas were extremely useful, collectively worth much more than a simple boost to his fireballs.

And then there was the astral affinity. Two branches were already growing out of the main trunk, a fresh leaf on each branch. Richard had already fully experienced the combined might of this affinity with the Deepblue Fantasy before, so he was currently transferring every astral ray he could to the bloodline. Although this slowed his growth for now, that slowdown was well worth the permanent boost to his growth rate that the affinity would grant him.

Just like Io had said, level was still the most important indicator of one's capabilities. He believed the battle priest would be in for a huge surprise when the astral affinity was strengthened to a certain extent.

And then there was the Archeron bloodline, something that gave him a headache. The lava flowing in his blood had seemingly endless secrets hidden within. His luck so far had been half-decent; although Eruption wasn't worth much, Blaze was definitely a powerful ability. However, he did not know what ability he would unlock next. There were hundreds of possibilities with the Archeron bloodline, and although Blaze truly was great that meant nothing for what his next one would be. There was no lack of examples of people forced to switch classes after unlocking a truly powerful ability in the family; it was said that the bloodline inherited from demons carried over its chaotic properties as well.

A question suddenly popped into Richard's mind. He wondered what Gaton's bloodline ability was; nobody had ever brought it up before. Regardless, he decided to ignore the Archeron Bloodline in favour of the astral ability. Level may not be everything, but it was a prerequisite for many tasks.

With that choice made, the only thing he had left to look at was his close-combat abilities. Richard had no expertise in this field whatsoever, but there were still a few paths for him to take. The secret swords, assassination techniques, and even the clerical martial arts were all worthy choices. However, he did not have too much time to spend on this matter at all. Any martial arts that required training his body for extended periods of time did not suit him.

Richard pondered over it for a long time, but he couldn't come to any conclusion. Instead, he was distracted by a random thought as a fundamental issue popped up in his mind: what exactly did being powerful entail? What kind of path did one take to obtain power?

Richard had seen numerous powerhouses in his life, greatest of which was his own master. Sharon always behaved in a quirky manner, and while he knew she was powerful he had no idea exactly how much. The only basis he had to estimate her strength was the rune on her body, the Deepblue Aria. Although incomplete, this was a grade 6 rune! It was still a mystery exactly what kind of power the rune possessed, but his master was a perfect blend of an unimaginable bloodline, powerful runes, and divine talent. Nyris had also let slip that the mage wasn't even human, instead hailing from a formidable race. It was simply impossible for her to lack power.

Thus, after some thought, he eliminated Sharon as a role model. There was no way for someone like him to replicate her path.

Next came Gaton, Mordred, and Beye. Gaton's capabilities remained a mystery to him, mostly because he actively abstained from learning anything about the man. However, he had a good impression of Mordred who had come to fetch him when he was young. The man was quiet yet powerful, but even here Richard had no specific idea. Still, one could get an idea of his power from the tone and expression others had when they called him the Devil King in private. Even the rest of Gaton's knights seemed to subtly fear him.

Although they had only met once, Beye had left an extremely deep impression on Richard's mind. He discovered that her aura was similar to Mordred's, the only difference being that Mordred chose to hide his. Fuschia's response that night indicated the woman could fight well above her level... Perhaps she was the best ideal for the path he should take. Richard had no way to understand Gaton and Mordred for now, but that was not true in her case. He had an opening to study her from: Life's Bane.

Richard retrieved the Life's Bane blueprint and studied it carefully under the magic light. He was already thoroughly familiar with the composition of the rune, and knew exactly how to craft it in theory. It was just that most of the lines required him to gather large amounts of mana that his current mana pool could not support.

In fact, the blueprint was actually quite useful. Even the encrypted parts of the magic arrays that made up the rune were annotated on it, making comprehending the rune's working much easier.

All nonstandard runes were unique to the runemasters crafting them, even if they had the same effect. Many runemasters added useless distractions to throw off anyone trying to copy their runes, but there was a more brilliant way of stopping others from imitating one's runes. That was to encrypt a portion of the arrays that made up the rune, inserting useless formulae that made the rune difficult to reverse engineer. The trick was used often in powerful custom runes, making it difficult to decipher exactly how the runes worked. If one's mathematics was advanced enough, they could make their runes effectively impossible to decipher, needing hundreds of years to resolve. This was a timescale where trying to analyse another runemaster's creations became useless. One could as well just design the thing themselves.

For most runemasters, imitation was a loss-making endeavour. If they had no creativity, they were fated to live out their lives crafting standard runes. Without the skill to craft higher-grade runes, a vast mana pool was useless. Encrypting runes was just an act done to prevent extraordinary runes from being duplicated by ordinary mages.

Of course, Life's Bane was one such extraordinary rune. However, the blueprint Beye had given him also had instructions to decipher the encrypted formulae with. Given his intelligence, Richard was easily able to decode the functions of the rune. In fact, the true difficulty of this rune lay in its overbearing demand for precision when it came to the overlaying function. That did not pose a problem for him, so he was only limited by his level as a mage.

446 - City of Sin

Path To Power(2)

Richard didn't find anything new even after looking through Life's Bane multiple times. There was one suspicion that he had never managed to resolve. Beye was a terrifyingly powerful individual, why did she care so much about this rune? Grand Duke Ironblood was a wealthy man; forget grade 3 runes, he had to have many grade 4 runes in stock. And given her strength, Beye definitely wasn't an ordinary child.

Why did she have to have Life's Bane? Was it just for the ability to stack?

He suddenly thought back to those pure white eyes, that terrifying aura that left people wanting to scream. That power, that lethal presence... Who knows how many people one had to kill to get to that level?

Looking at Life's Bane again, his gaze was now somewhat different. He no longer tried to analyse the structure, instead trying to peer into the thoughts behind its design. In other words, he was searching for the rune's soul.

An unknown amount of time later, Richard shut his eyes. Beye's silhouette appeared in his mind's eye, a Life's Bane rune already on each arm. She was going through many attacking motions, her movements and power enhanced by the runes. He then began to simulate the true power of the Life's Bane rune, overlaying them one after the other. A second, third, fourth, and even fifth rune suddenly made its way onto each hand!

He didn't realise when exactly his expression had changed. As the simulation progressed, Beye's lethality far surpassed what could be encompassed by just 'terrifying'! Every opponent she faced in the simulation had turned into a rain of blood that filled the sky. She moved forward step by step, her pace not changing in the slightest as she left a trail of blood through countless enemies.

He suddenly opened his eyes, only to find sweat dripping down from his forehead. That path of blood had finally shown him the soul of Life's Bane. He knew now that his biggest priority was lethality!

He immediately made some adjustments to his second mind, focusing it completely on analysing the clerical martial arts. He would combine the elven secret swords with his bloodline abilities, even fusing some magic within. What he needed most was to defeat the enemy, the method unimportant. The martial arts from the Church of the Eternal Dragon far surpassed the elven swords in terms of profundity. They would serve well as a foundation upon which to build all his other techniques. However, few people in the past had done things this way.

He had finally sorted out his future path. Externally, he would continue to establish his own influence with his followers as the foundation, developing on his army control with the broodmother's drones at the core. Internally, he would pursue the path Mordred and Beye did, growing his level while strengthening his lethality before anything else. With this clear, he could ignore many matters that were of little importance.

Richard got up, taking a deep breath. His confidence had been regained.

......

Only after walking out of the tent did Richard realise that it was already dawn. He had actually spent an entire night pondering. The brilliance of dawn was gradually filling the horizon, some of the early-rising nobles already walking about the camp.

While Richard was up to his ears in work regarding their next move, these nobles weren't idling either. The fight over the troop distribution had already turned white-hot; the negotiation table was another battlefield to these trained men, in fact one that they were better at fighting in. However, every noble knew that everything on top of the table changed hands underneath; there was a lot of effort put in outside of the actual discussions.

Two nobles were walking in his direction, privately discussing something in whispers. Contrary to expectations, both of them had dark circles under bloodshot eyes. They evidently hadn't slept well. The pair greeted him warmly when they approached him before leaving in a hurry; it seemed like they were looking for a place to continue their discussion.

All the nobles had come to understand Richard's style during their association with him. He always gave them an overall plan, leaving the specifics of the distribution for them to fight for. Instead of wasting their time on him, they might as well form cliques in private.

Although the nobles contributed a majority of the troops, Richard still took a quarter of the profits. However, now there was nobody expressing unhappiness; they all thought it was only right.

Richard called over two elite humanoids, having them take a hundred of their kin and fifty throwers to load the orcish idols as well as other junk from the altars that were contaminated by divinity into big carriages. He soon sent them to escort these carriages to the borders of the Land of Turmoil.

This caravan held more than fifty idols, able to provide at least twenty units of divinity for the broodmother; she only needed one to get to level 6. He just had some doubts in his mind: why did the broodmother need divinity for her evolution at all?

There was a certain implication behind it, but he hadn't figured it out yet.

Now, there was only one idol left to settle.

The other nobles hadn't even bothered with discussion when Richard had taken these statues, allowing him to have them all. In their eyes, these crude constructions of wood and stone only had a little worth as art pieces. Even then, orcish and human aesthetics did not match well; these idols would not sell for a high price. The nobles just assumed Richard had a peculiar taste.

Of course, Richard and Flowsand weren't collectors. The worth of these idols could be reflected in just one word: offering.

He inspected the idol once more before returning to his tent. Muttering to himself for a moment, he eventually started writing a letter to the Direwolf Duke.

'Your Grace:

'I presume you're still worried over Perrin's condition. Luckily, I found an orcish idol during the Bloodstained Highway Project that has been worshipped by tens of thousands of orcs for a long time. It barely makes the standard of an offering, but it can be used for a sacrificial ceremony.

'Indeed, a sacrifice. I will be returning to Bluewater in the near future, where I will await reinforcements. I believe we will have the time then to hold a sacrificial ceremony. If Perrin is present and is lucky enough, he might receive another extension of time.

'In addition, I am very interested in purchasing any rare minerals you have in your warehouse. I will provide adequate compensation in the form of high-quality magic equipment, equal in grade to what Lord Moonbear returned with recently. I strictly control the flow into most hands, but of course, there will be no such restriction on you. I hear you were drained a lot in the recent war; hopefully, this equipment can strengthen your army further.

'At least for the foreseeable future, our interests are tightly bound together. I hope for our alliance to be unbreakable.'

Finished with the letter, Richard sent a few light cavalrymen to deliver it back to Bluewater at top speed. A long-range communications array had been incorporated into his residence, able to transmit this letter immediately to the Direwolf Duke for 10 magic crystals.

Having sent the letter, Richard heaved a long sigh. He had finally changed his tactics, deciding to arm the Direwolf Duke. With the situation in Norland as it was, it was extremely important for him to form powerful alliances in Faelor. The only way to save himself on both sides of the portal was to expand his own power as much as possible. The Direwolf Duke's support was currently crucial to him.

Richard finally regained the mood to study the situation. Having rested and reorganised at the Cracked Canyon for an entire week, the nobles still hadn't come up with a proper distribution for the spoils of war. He was appalled by the lack of efficiency.

He could easily set up an optimal distribution based on the contributions of all parties involved, but the problem was that these nobles definitely would not accept it directly. To them, every hundred soldiers was a large heap of gold! Only after a long period of draining negotiations would the split-up possess any real credibility. Of course, they would find that the final result hardly differed from his original suggestions.

He shook his head, returning to his own tent to meditate. He saw a small violet ray this time, so quick and agile that it was extremely difficult to capture. His meditation technique had records of it; this was a grade 3 astral ray, more than ten times as effective as an ordinary blue ray. A sufficient number of rays could possibly even unlock special effects, but it was near impossible to find these without luck.

Richard tried to catch the ray a few times, even emptying his mind once before trying again, but the wisp was just too fast. It disappeared every few minutes after it showed itself, unseen for an unknown period of time.

He quickly changed tracks, no longer futilely relying on luck as he instead tried to calculate the trajectory of the ray's flight. With his profound achievements in mathematics, he would be able to figure out the trajectory in a moment of its arrival. He stopped chasing the ray with his soul, instead positioning himself to intercept the ray's flight.

The violet ray was thus pulled into his consciousness, but he couldn't manage to direct it towards his astral affinity trunk. It fused into his mana pool instead, but then he felt a sudden burst of energy in his second mind. The power of his new consciousness seemed to have actually increased! The grade 3 astral rays could actually upgrade the new mind? The discovery practically made him wild with joy!

447 - City of Sin

Three Goddesses

As much as he hoped for it, Richard didn't come across another violet ray during his meditation. The tome for the Deepblue Fantasy had already made it clear that these kinds of astral rays were rare and short-lived, but each one increased his mana at an unbelievable rate. Unlike most others, he could also calculate the trajectories and catch basically every ray he saw.

Given enough time, it was possible to catch up to Sharon's footsteps.

However, this aspiration was suddenly dampened by the realisation that the legendary mage who often wandered between planes was far more capable then him. How was it possible for her to miss these grade 3 astral rays?

He just sighed in dejection. At this rate, it was difficult to tell just when he would manage to catch up to her. But then another thought filled his mind, drawing a laugh. There were tens of thousands of mages on Norland; how many of them could stand side by side with her?

Another day passed, making for eight consecutive days of rest at the Cracked Canyon. Richard finally gathered all the nobles, holding another meeting about the Bloodstained Highway project.

Someone brought up increasing the army size, causing the nobles to erupt into an argument once more. But this time, he finally raised both hands to quiet them down, “It seems like the army size is a sensitive topic, we have enough time to discuss it in the future. However, we have suffered massive losses at the Cracked Canyon; I've decided to return to Bluewater first. Once the reinforcements join us, we will continue the project.”

The nobles were somewhat surprised, but nobody opposed his decision. Richard's eyes flitted across the map, resting on Bloodflag Valley and other key areas as a slight grin appeared at the corner of his lips. If Salwyn wished to make a move, there would likely be troops lying in ambush.

The Golden Warflag wasn't just in charge of resupplying the army; they were also gathering information on the neighbouring countries at his behest. Although the royal family of the Iron Triangle Empire did not seem to care about the ruckus he was making, Prince Salwyn had started gathering his army at the east of the empire. Soldiers were also grouping up in the south, basically screaming out Salwyn's target.

Despite remaining at the Cracked Canyon for eight whole days, he had not discovered Salwyn's location. This was very unusual; the later the prince appeared, the more fierce his attacks would be. Richard did not believe an opponent who had nearly forced him to his end would let go of such an obvious chance. Salwyn was likely preparing a trap somewhere, waiting for him to get caught.

It seemed like the merchants' information network wasn' viable, and there were restrictions on just how far the bats could scout as well. He currently had no clue of where Salwyn's main forces would attack him. Since he couldn't find the enemy, however, he would abandon his initial plans. A return to Bluewater would definitely be out of Salwyn's expectations. Since the enemy couldn't be found and wasn't making a move, then he would be the one to do so.

Such was his final decision. After arranging for appropriate defences, the army set off on the return journey. With the enemies in the middle all cleared out, a journey of a hundred kilometres only took two days.

Richard prepared to await the Direwolf Duke's arrival, finishing the sacrificial ceremony. This way, the Duke would be tied to his own chariot in this charge.

......

Bloodflag Valley. Sir Aer, the Iron Wall, had waited seven whole days but he did not see Richard's army at all. His infantry had packed lightly to make it to the valley on time; in fact, he had even given up some rations for more equipment. The day before he arrived, news of Richard's resounding victory at the Cracked Canyon spread throughout the Bloodstained Lands. The army had then started reorganising, so based on his predictions Richard should have arrived in three days. Aer had even pulled away his scouts in order to prevent Richard from discovering him.

However, he had waited seven whole days! This was far beyond the time taken for even a large army to rest, and Bloodflag Valley was only fifty kilometres from the Cracked Canyon. The army should have been there by now.

While Aer was waiting anxiously, Sawlyn was the same. News of Richard's charge into the Cracked Canyon had surprised him; what was there besides water and a small plot of arable land? Outside of the mushrooms in the underground caves, the only presence in the entire canyon was the stench of the orcs. Richard had actually gone to war with tens of thousands of orcs for this useless land? Had he gone senile?

The Cracked Canyon had always belonged to the orcs. Although there were many powerful human organisations in the Bloodstained Lands, nobody had focused their attention here for one simple reason: the losses far outweighed any potential profits!

Every adult orc was a powerful warrior. With tens of thousands of them... Even with his army, this was a tough bone Salwyn was unwilling to chew. Richard seemed to be intelligent and decisive, considering all factors before going to war. The frontier knight planned far ahead and never did anything he was unsure of. Even more terrifyingly, he had yet to lose a single battle!

No matter how difficult it was to understand, Richard truly had battled the orcs at the Cracked Canyon and won. However, his losses were immense enough to force him to remain near the canyon for seven days!
f𝔯e𝘦𝒘e𝑏𝙣𝑜𝚟𝚎l. co𝑚

Hidden a hundred kilometres away in a border city of the Iron Triangle Empire, Salwyn was put in an impossible situation. Richard's camps were spread out wide in a complicated terrain. Although this was a disadvantage in battle, it made it easy for a bulk of the army to flee. The canyon was not an ideal place for the final battle. He had intended to attack them when they were a hundred kilometres in, striking like lightning and ending Richard at once. Who could have expected that he would actually stop to rest?

A few days later, the new information reached the hands of Salwyn and Sir Aer at about the same time. Salwyn felt speechless and dizzy at what he had heard; Richard had actually withdrawn his troops!

While the first reaction was disbelief, Salwyn immediately asked for General Hinton to withdraw. While the man could also lead battles, he was already at a numeric disadvantage; Salwyn did not believe he would be able to win against Richard.

When Hinton received the order via messenger hawk, he hastily withdrew from the Flintstone Forest. These movements were naturally discovered by Richard; it was impossible to hide the movements of thousands of soldiers. However, Hinton's army marched extremely quickly; Richard could not catch up, or he would have ended them immediately.

Thankfully, this verified Richard's suspicions. Salwyn truly was watching the situation in the Bloodstained Lands, waiting to pounce. Next would be a battle of wits and patience.

And patience was a virtue Richard had in abundance for now. With the broodmother around, his power would grow every minute and second. Since he was not completely sure of victory yet, he was willing to play this game of cat and mouse. The Prince hadn't achieved anything of note ever since his defeat at Sinclair's hands.

......

The night he returned to Bluewater, Richard brewed a pot of tea and spent some time lazing around on the balcony alone. He stroked his teacup as he stared at the round moon in the sky, thinking to himself, 'Salwyn's definitely more anxious than I am.'

When the prince couldn't wait any longer, Richard wouldn't mind surprising him in the same way Odom had been.

Just as Richard was pondering over the next course of action, he saw a group of people entering his courtyard, five or six of whom were in clerical attire. A servant soon walked up to him, saying that clerics for the Goddess of Spring Water and the Goddess of the Forest wanted to see him.

Richard was slightly stunned. Two viscounts from from the Sequoia Kingdom had indeed sent clerics to his army, but they were only level 5 or 6. That was only level with Caesar; strictly speaking, they were only acolytes. Their spells hadn't left any deep impressions either, his only memory of their existence being that there were quite a few. Since those of the clergy rarely participated in battles between nobles, he had noted the names of the gods they worshipped. However, on the battlefield even a dozen weak clerics like that couldn't compare to a single one of Flowsand, Io, or Kellac. They weren't worthy of further attention.

Whatever it was, they still represented two churches. These clerics could not be ignored, even if the Goddess of Spring Water and the Goddess of the Forest were known to many as trash deities. Richard instructed the servant to lead them to the meeting hall, entering himself after a short while.

When he walked into the hall, the six clerics were already seated. To Richard's surprise, one of them was the highest level he had seen so far in the Bloodstained Lands. She seemed about thirty years of age, holding a refined charm that made her seem younger than she was. On top of that, she was actually a level 10 cleric— no, at that level she could barely be considered a priestess.

Richard immediately walked over to her, greeting her with proper noble etiquette, “I have never seen you before, esteemed priestess. May I know which deity you serve?”

The priestess stood up, “Lord Richard, my name is Faylen. I serve the almighty Goddess of Spring Water, and am currently in charge of the church in the Sequoia Kingdom. I only reached Bluewater today.”

Richard's smile immediately grew more sincere, “I welcome you! The clerics of your church played a very important role in the recent battles. Thanks to them, my men suffered far fewer casualties! May I know who accompanies you?”

Next to Faylen were a man and woman, both around the same level as her. They were also people he had never seen before. The two had different auras from the priestess at the front, so they were likely not worshippers of the Goddess of Spring Water.

448 - City of Sin

Three Goddesses(2)

Commoners had no way to differentiate the attributes of the servants of different gods; even someone like the Direwolf Duke could only roughly guess what camp they belonged to. However, Richard had seen the Book of Gods before, memorising the characteristics of the deities of Faelor. He was only asking here as a formality; he already knew who the other two were.

Faylen gracefully extended her hand to the other two, making the introductions, “This is priest Fermi, in charge of the Church of the Forest Goddess in the Sequoia Kingdom. This is priestess Shaw, serving the Goddess of the Hunt. He is the same.”

After she was done, Richard expressed his gratitude with impeccable manners. He also extended another welcome to the three priests, with a complicated set of pleasantries. This was a necessary thing when dealing with the clergies of Faelor, and only got worse with the weaker deities.

A sense of curiosity beset Richard; three priests had gathered at bluewater, but the purpose of their visit was unknown. They were all only level 10, but they could all manage churches. And these weren't any churches either; they were the only churches for those goddesses in the Sequoia Kingdom. Neian was only an intermediate god himself, but even a church in a border country was manned by a level 12 priest. Essien's genius had left even Richard shocked. Kellac had estimated that these three goddesses had trouble even maintaining their current positions. They were the three weakest deities of Faelor's pantheon.

Whatever be the case, this was the first positive contact between Richard and the deities of Faelor; this meeting was of great significance. Needless to say, the robbery of the Church of Valour and the killing of a priest of Ceres weren't exactly “interactions.”

Faylen spent some time explaining the purpose of their visit. The clerics of the Goddess of Spring Water and the Goddess of the Forest had realised Io and Flowsand used powers unknown to them so far; these powers didn't seem to have any strong alignment either. Such powerful priests definitely required the backing of a similarly powerful deity; for a new god to possess such immense power was virtually impossible.

The clerics had immediately reported their findings through their own secret channels. However, what they didn't know was that Richard had already intercepted the contents of these messages. He had only let them go through because the messages would not disrupt his plans. It wasn't long after that the three goddesses had sent priests to visit him.

The biggest reason for the three rushing over was the fact that this unknown deity seemed to have a neutral alignment. The three goddesses were the same; it was rare for two neutral deities to have any fundamental conflicts.

And thus, Faylen suggested an alliance. Their churches would support his expansion wholeheartedly, but in return he would have to allow them to preach in his lands. Naturally, they would only send missionaries; his citizens would still be free to choose their faith. Google search 𝙛𝘳𝘦𝐞𝑤ℯ𝗯n𝗼ѵe𝑙. c૦𝑚

Richard was quite surprised by the proposal. Although it seemed innocent enough to the untrained, he clearly understood what this meant from a theological perspective. His expression turned strange, “Are the three goddesses interested in forming a pantheon for neutral deities?”

Did these goddesses want to try and suppress the Eternal Dragon? Or did they just want an alliance of equal status? Whichever it was, Richard instinctively felt it to be ridiculous.

Norland was not like Faelor. Every deity outside of the Eternal Dragon walked a tough path, constantly eyed by legendary powerhouses who wished to kill them and take their power. This was especially so for those beings who had left Norland long ago to explore the myriad planes. Almost every such powerhouse caused a stir upon their return to Norland. Some wanted a peek into the realm of divinity, others conspired to take their place, and even more tried to turn them into divine artefacts.

Thus, knowledge about the gods was spread far and wide through the entire plane. Places of learning like the Deepblue even had complete guidebooks about the gods. Of course, that was only a path to aspire to; whether one could actually walk it or not was a completely different story. Still, the pantheon of Norland had no secrets. Any mystery was reserved for the Eternal Dragon.

Richard's question immediately warped Faylen's face, “Had I not known you were a mage, I would have mistaken you for an avatar of a— Wait, could it be...”

Faylen and her companions stood up, evidently having remembered that divine avatars could still be mages. The fact that Richard could talk so freely about the mysteries of the gods was proof enough that he was unordinary. These were secrets known only to the top brass of their churches, while elsewhere one needed to be level 15 at minimum to even skim through. Even Faylen herself only knew what she did because of her mission.

Their reactions indicated the difference in theological teachings between Faelor and Norland. No wonder Faylen had spoken so candidly, she likely didn't understand the meaning of what was going on at all. He quickly waved his hands, “Don't get me wrong, I am only a mage. My teacher is only a mage as well.”

Still bewildered, Faylen slowly sat down and continued, “So what do you say of our earlier proposal?”

Richard thought about it for a moment, “Please wait a minute, I will call my priestess. This is something we need to discuss in her presence.”

The three priests agreed. The reason they had come to Richard first was not for his strength or commandeering; they had mistaken him for a champion of a god. That was a status far beyond a mere priestess.

Flowsand soon arrived at the hall. She had a certain airiness about her, waves of divine power constantly radiating from her body. Faylen and company were filled with admiration; although they could tell that her level wasn't far off from theirs, her aura was in an entirely different league. She was likely a chosen; the reports from their clerics indicated that her spellcasting was more formidable than that of all three of them combined.

While Faylen and company felt rather uneasy about their earlier suggestion of an equal alliance, Flowsand didn't seem to mind at all. She didn't protest the agreement in the slightest, nor did she add any other conditions. This left all three priests very excited.

“Respected Priestess Flowsand,” Faylen asked solemnly, “May I be so bold as to ask how we should address the great deity you worship?”

The name of a true god was of paramount importance. Richard hadn't given the three priests the name of the Eternal Dragon; it was far too formidable for Faelor's pantheon. Flowsand nodded herself before casting a glance at Richard, countless messages exchanged through eyes alone. She then leaned against a wall, “I cannot divulge the name of my god. However, there is a dragon seated in front of him who usually acts on his behalf. We just call it the old dragon.”

The priests looked at each other in shock, stunned to silence. If even the god's name could not be revealed, this was a secret sect. Such gods were normally incomparably powerful or possessed special abilities.

An old dragon? A dragon capable of receiving faith on behalf of a god had to have some level of divinity itself. A divine dragon was only a servant of the actual god they worshipped? How powerful could this deity be? Was this really a new god, so powerful the moment they ascended?

Indeed, an extremely powerful god would explain the might of Flowsand, Io, and the rest.

Having considered everything, Faylen stood up and said respectfully, “Honorable Lady Flowsand, I am very happy to work with the great... err... old dragon, yes. I swear on my faith; from today, the Church of Spring Water will be a close ally of you and Sir Richard!” Given her normal eloquence, Faylen had a hard time saying the words 'old dragon.' It was so awkward she had ended up stammering.

Afterwards, Fermi and Shaw expressed the same sentiments. For now, it seemed like the three goddesses had established an alliance with the Eternal Dragon.

The three priests were clearly delighted. After all, their deities were in jeopardy right now and there was no easy way to amass new worshippers. However, the first ten days of the Bloodstained Highway project had made Richard famous. Many people saw him as a future Rislant of the Sequoia Kingdom. It was a great thing to form connections with a figure that could be so important in the future.

Looking at their happy faces, Richard could only sigh in silence. If they knew the truth about the so-called 'old dragon,' would they still be so happy?

The Eternal Dragon did not suppress other deities because he had no need to do so. He relied little on the faith of his followers, while his teachings were far looser than with most other deities. However, he ruled over many planes. Allying with him put these three goddesses on the same level as planar invaders. With the strict rules of Faelor, being found out would spell disaster.

Given the power of these goddesses, even if they formed a deep alliance as allies it would be impossible for them to learn much about the Eternal Dragon. Their laws were clearly not on the same level.

449 - City of Sin

Surprise Attack

For the three churches to have rushed over without trying to figure out the nature and origin of the Eternal Dragon, they were clearly in dire straits. Beggars could not be choosers.

Still, this was help that basically fell from the sky; Richard welcomed it with open arms. Although the clerics they could send over weren't too powerful at support, they could still cast lesser healing spells.

The Direwolf Duke was his first wedge into this plane, and these goddesses could be counted as the second. Those like Rolf and Kellac who were now bound to the dragon or others like Devon who were in strong alliances with him were the third, a category that was now bolstered by all the nobles participating in the Bloodstained Highway project. As long as he didn't make any big mistakes, Richard was sure few powers in Faelor were capable of driving him out.

Richard thus watched on with a smile as Faylen and Flowsand talked. In his eyes, these three priests were growing cuter and cuter; in order to promote the alliance, they had even brought a batch of precious materials as well as dozens of clerics and hundreds of paladins. At his request, the three priests even agreed to hand over complete command of their troops.

All they had obtained in return for such a large price was a non-exclusive right to preach on Richard's lands. Richard's gains far overwhelmed any potential costs.

However, as someone who came from Norland he did not understand that faith was the foundation of everything in Faelor. In the hundreds of millennia since the plane had been born, the various gods had fought without rest. Even gods of the same faction sabotaged each other. As time crawled on slowly, countless new gods had risen up even as hordes of old gods fell. Thus, cultivating faith was the most important goal of the three churches.

Richard had originally been seated peacefully, listening to the priests chatting, but his expression suddenly changed. He stood up with an ashen face, causing the priests to look at him in surprise.

He took a deep breath, suppressing his agitation as best as he could to try and maintain a calm tone, “Distinguished priests, I am overjoyed that we have reached an agreement on the alliance. Unfortunately, I am afraid the time when I call upon your strengths has come much earlier than I expected. Enemies have already appeared outside the city; war is upon us. The battle will begin in half an hour at most!”

“What?!” Faylen was shocked, “Enemies? Who?”

“The Iron Triangle Empire. Esteemed priests, if you are willing to stand by me from this day forth, then hand me your clerics and paladins; give me full control. There is still some time to leave if you are unwilling to participate in this battle, but there isn't much.”

Faylen's face immediately shifted through a myriad of expressions. She hesitated for a moment, but eventually she clenched her teeth, “Alright! We will join the battle, you have our men!”

Her decisiveness surprised Richard a little, but he immediately smiled, “You have my gratitude. I guarantee you will not regret this decision!”

Having said that, he quickly left the meeting room. Flowsand led the three priests towards the barracks, beginning to organise all the new clerics. The priests themselves were acceptable at best, and their clerics were far too weak. They could only be put to some use if they were grouped properly. Flowsand and Richard knew each other well; when she saw him lose his calm so obviously, she knew this would be a tough battle.

......

Richard had already started issuing telepathic commands even while asking the priests if they would join the battle. The atmosphere in the camp was boiling by the time he left his residence, soldiers quickly donning armour as they constantly streamed out of their tents and assembled on the field.

The soldiers had all been resting, but they had been given a sudden command to prepare for war in five minutes. That wasn't even enough time for a knight to wear his armour! Still, Richard's authority had been drilled into them; regardless of whether they would be able to make it these soldiers started moving the moment they got the order. The entire camp was thrown into chaos in an instant, the knights looking for their squires while the squires were searching for the horses.

However, some teams had formed a neat formation on the field within a mere two minutes. These were Richard's humanoid warriors, their reaction speed unparalleled.

Olar rushed over to him the moment he stepped out of the courtyard, shouting from afar, “What is it, my Lord? Who's coming, and how many?”

Richard's expression grew ugly. “The Iron Triangle Empire! They're less than ten kilometres away, with at least 30,000 men! Inform Rolf and the others right away, mobilise every soldier you can! No matter what, we need to stop them outside the city!”

“30,000!” Olar was shocked. He didn't dare disobey, immediately spurring his horse on and charging into the depths of the city. It was only a few minutes before the city-wide alarm rang out, the rhythmless mourn of the bells spreading throughout Bluewater!

A moment later, the entire oasis city had erupted. By this time, one could already see red smoke on the horizon. The earth had begun rumbling lightly as countless ironclad knights charged out of the cloud of smoke, rushing towards the oasis. Behind this grey current was a seemingly endless formation of infantry.

It was only then that this large army started raising its banners one by one. If one understood the hierarchy of the Iron Triangle Army, they could tell that this was two legions of knights alongside two entire divisions of infantry!

A few huge bats flew out from Bluewater, circling above the encroaching army; they occasionally clashed with the bald eagles native to the Bloodstained Lands.

Tens of thousands of footsoldiers marched forward at an unbelievable speed, accompanied by elite knights that escorted a few luxurious carriages. This was Salwyn's command carriage; the Prince was currently atop the carriage roof, observing Bluewater Oasis through a pair of binoculars. He watched as his army rushed towards Bluewater like a group of wolves and tigers, unable to hide his confident smile.

He handed the binoculars to a beautiful assistant, “The enemy is already a mess. It seems like they did not anticipate my arrival at all.”

There were more than ten generals on either side of the carriage, one of whom immediately showered Salwyn with compliments, “Your Highness deploys troops like a god! This time, you will definitely capture that Richard fellow!”

Salwyn suddenly shook his head, “It might not be that easy. Don't get too careless.”

The group of generals all disagreed, feeling like he was being overly cautious. This was a rare sight from the prince.

For the sake of this sudden decision to strike at Bluewater directly, the army had travelled day and night. They wiped out anyone who could leak information along the way, appearing right outside the oasis within a mere two days!

Although the soldiers were already exhausted, Bluewater was a place where many powers gathered. There was originally no city wall, with the current one only set up temporarily after the catastrophe that was Sinclair swept through the Bloodstained Lands. 30,000 elites were facing off against ten thousand men that Richard had cobbled together from various places; if they still couldn't win, these generals felt like they might as well go commit suicide.

Salwyn truly had been unpredictable. Richard had not expected him to refuse the wait, actually rushing hundreds of kilometres to catch him unprepared!

Outside of lunatics like Sinclair, few would attack political minefields like Bluewater. However, this advantage now posed a hidden danger; although most of the forces in the city were already allied to Richard, he was left with no choice but to guard against those who would take advantage of his predicament.

The Goddess of Luck still favoured Richard; if not for a bat discovering Salwyn's army on its patrol, he might only have discovered the attack once the enemy was at his gates. The retreat from Flintstone Forest had only been a diversion created to fool him!

One of Salwyn's generals suddenly pointed up at the sky, “Your Highness, those things are actually bats! How could there be bats flying around in the day?”

Salwyn looked at the sky through his binoculars for a moment, “Indeed! Those aren't ordinary bats, most likely a mage's familiars. However, this number... No matter, knock them down for me! The death of one's familiars will deal a heavy blow to the mage.”

Two of the generals took off the huge bows that hung on their horses, bursting forth with saint-level energy as they sent sharp arrows flying into the sky! The bats fell down one after the other, only the largest of the lot reacting quickly enough to fly up and avoid certain death. That bat continued to climb higher, eventually reaching a kilometre up in the sky. Not even a tracking arrow could threaten it anymore, but in exchange it didn't have too clear a view of the battlefield either.

Some guards collected the fallen bodies and delivered them to Salwyn. The prince checked them repeatedly, but he could not discover anything.

......

Bluewater City was completely chaotic. Countless people were running around everywhere, the roads filled with carriages. People were constantly receiving the news and trying to escape from the oasis city. Although there would be nothing to protect them in the Bloodstained Lands, the vast and complicated terrain was a defence unto itself. Once they escaped, even an army that was 100,000 strong would not be able to find them.

450 - City of Sin

Breaking An Army

While many merchants were trying their best to get out of Bluewater, Richard was standing in front of the city gates with a stern look on his face. The cavalry gathering outside was slowly growing in size; at least 10,000 soldiers were now making their way forward. The vanguard of 8,000 soldiers were divided into 2,000 per group, starting to flank around the city.

Once they were only a few kilometres from the city, the enemy soldiers slowed down to regain their strength. They were preparing for the big battle which was about to come.

The nobles around Richard had ashen looks on their faces, some even shaking uncontrollably. The imperial army displayed a flawless battle formation; they were evidently giving their all even for the oasis.

Richard suddenly smiled, stroking his short, stiff moustache as he glanced around the surroundings, “Do you remember the wall of steel in the Cracked Canyon?”

Everyone was immediately stunned into silence. They suddenly remembered the brutal campaign, that legendary war where Richard displayed his fierce control of battle and awe-inspiring spellcasting. The mere mention boosted their morale.

He took in all their reactions and smiled calmly, “These people from the Iron Triangle Empire will feel the might of that wall, but first... Let me teach them a lesson. GANGDOR!”

“Ready, boss! My axe is thirsty for blood!” Gangdor's clear voice rang out everywhere, his fist loudly smacking against his axe.

It was only then that the nobles realised a few hundred warriors had gathered at the city gate. Amongst them were a hundred Golden Eagles, two hundred throwers, and two hundred humanoid warriors. They were all confused. What were these 500 soldiers trying to do, did they want to leave the city?

Richard didn't wait, retrieving the nameless sword and Extinction from his followers and crossing them behind his back. The Twin of Destiny in his hand, he took big steps towards the front of the city and hopped on his horse.

“Open the gates!” he cried out.

The nobles looked at each other in dismay. Was Richard really leaving the city? With only 500 warriors, a few followers, and two saints? Even though they had seen Richard perform several miracles, they still could not believe their eyes.

Zim's reaction was different. Although he had virtually no knowledge of military affairs, he felt his blood boiling. He snatched an axe from a warrior beside him, “Wait, I'm coming along!” He then rushed forward, ignoring the protests of his guards. However, in his moment of eagerness the Viscount could not locate his horse right away. A smart attended had seen the developments and quickly taken it away.

Looking at him huffing and puffing as he walked in circles, Richard couldn't help but laugh. He raised his hand and pointed at the Viscount, “Stay!”

Zim was immediately rooted to his spot, awaiting the next orders. However, he would never have imagined that Richard would completely ignore him while the gate slowly opened. Face screaming murder, the runemaster waved the Twin of Destiny and cried out, “CHARGE!”

The Golden Eagles gently spurred their horses forward, all 500 soldiers leaving the city one after the other in a charge towards ten times their numbers.

The general on the other end was initially stunned, but that was followed by a humiliated rage. This was an obvious provocation that trampled on the dignity of the imperial cavalrymen. He didn't speak a word, resolutely drawing his sabre and waving it twice at the pathetic army that seemed like it could be destroyed easily. Two battalions of a thousand soldiers each charged out from the flanks, picking up speed as they converged towards Richard like a powerful current!

However, just before this current of steel was about to his Richard's small army a dazzling splendour lit up from amongst Richard's troops. The first few rows of soldiers and cavalrymen were blinded by the light of a divine spell.

The general squinted his eyes, stunned by the dazzling display. How many clerics could they possibly have to cast such an awe-inspiring spell? This spell was so powerful that each of Richard's soldiers basically gained two levels in an instant. Even though he had participated in countless wars, he had never seen such a powerful spell!

Atop the city walls, Faylen, Fermi, and Shea were all left stunned by the display. Their mouths were gaping wide open; every wave of the arms from Flowsand and Io showered a barrage of divine rays onto Richard's men. It seemed like there was no end to their power; be it strength or range, these priests were left in the dust. Only Kellac seemed somewhat unperturbed;

On the top of the city, the three magical officials: Phoenix, Fermi and Show were in awe at the display, their mouth gaped widely open. Every time Flowsand and Io waved their hands, a large shower of divine glare would come crashing down, it seemed like their powers knew no end, and as for such spells, whether it was the scope or effective range, surpassed that of them, who were magical officials of the same level. Only Kellac seemed somewhat normal, but even that was compared to Flowsand. He still exceeded Faylen and the rest.

Just as it seemed like the two cavalries were about to crash into Richard's troops, the heavy infantry that was guarding the perimeter tightly suddenly spread out. Richard's soldiers revealed their fragile ribs to the enemy!

The general realised something was wrong, but it was too late to change orders. A strange whistle rang through the sky, filling everyone's ears in an instant as they drowned out the thunder of the horses' hooves.

Grey blades flew out from the gaps in the formation, crashing into the charging cavalrymen. The frontlines of the incoming cavalries immediately collapsed, not one man left standing! The once-orderly charge was left with a glaring gap.

The cavalrymen at the back could not believe their eyes, subconsciously reining in their horses. The mounts immediately let out long neighs, raising their hooves. Those who were in the back were still moving at full speed, but in order to avoid collision they were forced to change direction. The formations were immediately messed up; although they didn't descend into complete chaos, many still bumped into each other.

Two more volleys of poisonous axes flew out in quick successions, forming two grey clouds that were almost connected. The axes were distributed well, covering a large area uniformly. This also meant every inch of this cloud spelt death.

Only 700 cavalrymen were left on each flank after the three volleys. This swift destruction had shocked the incoming cavalries who were the pride of the Iron Triangle Empire, morale immediately crashing down. Faced with the strange formation and the attacks of the 200 throwers, the remaining cavalrymen strayed from their intended formation and charged towards the Golden Eagles instead.

The cavalry on the left wing knocked hard into the heavy shields of the humanoid warriors, but with how heavily buffed the infantry was they only managed to push the frontlines back by an inch. The first row of cavalrymen fell down from their horses into Richard's troops, meeting a gruesome end.

The cavalrymen on the left wing had knocked hard on the heavy shields of the humanoid warriors! Faced with the heavily armoured cavalrymen who were fortified by spells, the cavalrymen merely moved the frontline slightly, with less than an inch. These weren't heavy cavalrymen; they were not designed to fight an infantry that was armed to the teeth.

Both sides were immediately engaged in a melee, but the situation left the opposing captain dumbfounded. A hundred humanoid warriors swiftly broke ranks, ferociously ramming into the cavalrymen who had lost speed. They then swung their swords and beheaded their opponents, sending blood spraying everywhere! They immediately switched back to their shields and charged the next set down, before drawing their shields and slashing down once again. Another row of cavalrymen cried out in defeat and perished.

The longswords used by these drones were shrouded in a magical glow. They were unmatched on the battlefield, cutting through armour like a hot knife through butter. Even the heaviest weapons the cavalrymen tried to block with were cut apart!

“Are they all enchanted?!” the general cried out. His eyesight was exceptional; he could tell that the swords of the humanoids weren't ordinary, each one able to match his own sabre!

Each of the humanoid warriors was level 9, already possessing an overwhelming advantage against their level 5 enemies. That rift was only torn wider with all the buffs and equipment; in the end, the 200-strong heavy infantry completely slaughtered the enemy. The enchanted swords Richard had kept to himself ended up being used well.

Blood spurted and limbs flew as these blades met flesh, but this was only the beginning. The grand display was only getting started!

Richard started spinning his staff, surrounding his soldiers with walls of fire. These fierce blazes had once burnt the fearless orcs alive; it was definitely too much to bear for these mere cavalrymen.

A bird's eye view would reveal that the walls formed a perfect circle that was just wide enough to cover Richard's men. If the enemy soldiers wanted to get to his troops, they would have to suffer through the inferno. Even if they did manage that, however, waiting on the other side were the war machines that were the humanoid warriors.

Several soldiers decided to charge into Richard's troops. Engaging in a melee with Richard's troops was better than being burnt alive.

Two fireballs suddenly flew out from afar. The mages of the Iron Triangle Empire had finally had enough, beginning to act. One of the fireballs exploded in the midst of Richard's troops, but another was rebounded by Io to the midst of the imperial cavalry. The soldiers of the Iron Triangle Empire were lit up, but with all their buffs and barriers Richard's men had no trouble enduring the blast.

Richard roared and pointed the Twin of Destiny forward, causing a thick bolt of lightning to fall down from the sky onto one of the enemy mages. The other great mage was frightened, quickly retreating. He didn't dare to step close to the battlefield anymore; Richard's casting range was just too absurd.

451 - City of Sin

Meat Grinder

An imperial knight suddenly fell from the skies, crashing beside Richard's horse. He quickly got up with a flip, tossing his lance away before unsheathing a sword to strike at the belly of Richard's mount.

A stern glint shone in Richard's eyes. Extinction flashed and the knight suddenly covered his face, crying out as he collapsed. The sword in his hand had long since been broken into two; all Richard needed with Extinction in hand was to attack faster and more fiercely.

Having killed his enemy in one move, Richard suddenly looked up. Io seemed to be recovering between two divine spells, but he wasn't just staying idle. Ignoring the two elite humanoid guards that were following him closely, he took a few ingenious steps that somehow landed him in the bosom of an enemy cavalryman. His hand made its way to the man's neck, breaking it with a twist.

Having killed his enemy, the battle priest looked up and flashed Richard a stunning smile. However, his eyes were spewing flames. “How many are you planning to kill, great mage?” he asked in provocation.

Richard's eyes narrowed slightly, “At least a hundred!”

“With your skills?” Io chuckled before pointing at the throwers, “I can make it so only ten of those things die!”

“If you have such skill, it will be my loss!” Richard sneered.

The two brushed past each other, working hard at their own goals. Magic and divine power lit up the sky, practically stealing all the glamour of the world. They knew there wasn't much time left; if they didn't want this vanguard that was meant to establish their might getting trapped by enemy forces, they had to finish fast.

With such a disparity in level, equipment, magic, and the divine, the imperial soldiers quickly fell into chaos. It wasn't that they lacked the courage, but Richard's attack was mind-numbingly vicious. These cavalrymen saw their comrades fall in great numbers, but there was nothing they could do.

The instant they showed signs of crumbling, Richard immediately sent orders for everyone to withdraw. Walls of fire separated his soldiers from the imperial knights, giving the few hundred elites an opportunity to retreat. Even so, their formation was extremely tidy. The throwers threw out the last of their hatchets, left with nothing but their bare hands, but this final volley dropped the few dozen knights that were pursuing them onto the ground. The enemy cavalry ground to a halt.

The battle had been short yet intense. When Salwyn led his generals to the battlefield, Bluewater's gates had just closed.

The Prince looked ashen as he scanned the hundreds of dead knights in front of him without a word. The generals behind him were just as solemn, stunned into silence. The one in charge of the vanguard had knelt down, his head practically touching the ground as sweat beaded down his entire body. Richard's men had left corpses behind in this charge, but the number was pitiful. Less than fifty had died.

A ratio of over one to ten! Salwyn had been using a legion of trained soldiers instead of bandits, but the losses were only worse!

He suddenly turned and pointed to the general, roaring in fury, “I keep telling you not to underestimate the enemy! No matter how many soldiers Richard has, you have to go all out! And this is what you do? You had 4,000 men but only sent out half that? Have you woken up yet?”

All the generals listened to his raging words in silence, looking ashamed. The next moment, a general with a sturdy physique abruptly took a step forward. “Your Highness, allow us to charge into the city!” he said in a low voice, “They only have two saints while we have five!”

Salwyn's expression darkened, “Charge inside? Are you seeking death?”

“But—” the general still wanted to press on but was broken off by a wave of Salwyn's hand. The Prince didn't make another order, instead walking around the battlefield with a dark expression. He suddenly moved towards the general who was still kneeling, “Get up, go reorganise your troops. I give you one night, I hope to see your men ready to fight the next morning!”

“Yes, Your Highness!” the man shouted.

Salwyn then instructed the rest of the generals, “Clear the battlefield and set up camp. We will rest for now; the attack begins tomorrow morning!”
𝐟𝘳𝐞ℯ𝚠e𝑏𝒏𝑜𝙫𝘦𝙡. c𝑜𝐦

“Aren't we besieging the city? What if they escape?” a general asked.

Salwyn turned towards Bluewater Oasis and answered darkly, “No. Richard is smart, he knows that I hope he will escape. That's why he definitely won't do so!” After a moment of silence, he slowly continued, “He wants to destroy me here. In that case, I'll cross swords with him, head to head!”

“Your Highness, did you not say Richard's commanding was very difficult to deal with? Perhaps it would be better to gather our saints and great mages and break through to his core directly,” another general proposed.

Salwyn stroked his well-trimmed beard and suddenly laughed, “You lot aren't the normal saints who can only use your weapons, not your brains. Each and every one of you is a general capable of leading troops; your value as such is much higher than your individual strengths as saints. How could I let you take this risk?

“Don't worry about Richard. If we had equal numbers, I admit I would steer clear of him. If I had half a fold more men than him, I would still reconsider declaring war. However, we have thirty thousand elites when he has less than ten. And even then, only a thousand are elites. This definitely isn't a war Richard wants!

“Richard can always defeat enemies at similar numbers, while I always ensure I outnumber my enemies. This is the difference between us,” he paused for a moment, “Since I can't win against him one to one, I will use two times the troops. If that doesn't work, I will use three times the troops! Do you not have faith in a three to one advantage? Why do I need to waste my outstanding generals?”

Salwyn ended with an extremely dignified statement, “Richard may be a great tactician, but I'm a great strategist!”

The morale of the generals was instantly reignited, going far beyond what they had even before Richard's attack.

......

Seeing the army outside beginning to retreat and set up camp, Richard subconsciously frowned. Io took the moment to walk to the top of the walls and stand by his side, glancing outside the city, “This is quite the opponent! I'm afraid things will turn out badly for you this time.”

Richard flashed a faint smile, “How would you know without fighting? What, are you afraid?”

“If a person who couldn't even kill a hundred isn't afraid, what do I have to fear?” Io answered calmly.

Richard snorted in reply, “You didn't win either, did you? Far more than ten of my throwers died.”

In the short battle just now, Richard's spells had killed a little under eighty cavalrymen. On the other hand, even though Io had gone all out almost twenty throwers were dead as well. Neither of the two had won the bet.

Io watched the imperial army hurriedly setting up camp and smiled, “Don't worry, we'll still have time to make more bets. I'll become level 14 in two days. I'm quite curious; how would a level 12 mage contend with a level 14 battle priest?”

“You aren't level 14 yet, and I won't always be level 12,” Richard retorted harshly.

“There's still a long way to go, still many battles. Time will prove everything,” Io continued to smile.

Richard nodded, “Indeed, time will prove everything!”

The battle priest and great mage had nothing to say to each other anymore. They looked at the enemy troops outside, each with their own thoughts.

Salwyn hadn't encircled the city at all, there was no need. Richard knew that the moment he left Bluewater, he would lose the terrain advantage. The imperial cavalry would be hot on his heels, bleeding out his army during the lengthy chase. The best outcome would be to escape with a few elites remaining, but that was not what he wanted! Once he lost his army, Salwyn could gather his powerhouses and try to eradicate his followers, ensuring that he died in the Bloodstained Lands.

Another method was to use the city to resist for a period of time, injuring as many of Salwyn's men as he could before mounting a strategic retreat. At that point, the fatigued imperial army would probably have no strength to pursue further and would be left watching as he left.

However, Richard was thinking of a third plan; turning Bluewater into an enormous meat grinder! Bit by bit, he would erode Salwyn's troops. This was an insane plan, but he calculated that the chances weren't so low that he had to give up on it.

Richard had never considered escaping. Just like he had in the Bloodstained Lands, he was planning to give Salwyn a new 'surprise.' The wall of steel in the Cracked Canyon had built up this army's trust in him.

The next morning, when the sun heated up the red soil of the Bloodstained Lands once more, the imperial army was already in neat formation outside Bluewater City. The low beat of war drums and ordered footsteps rang out as they surged towards the oasis city like a tsunami.

The meat grinder of Bluewater had begun.

The clash between tactician and strategist turned into a blaze that burnt the entire battlefield. Great fires charred the city all the way into the night, burning the nearby forest and turning the camps outside to ash. The wooden parts of the houses within the city had also been torched, dense smoke and lingering embers everywhere. While most of the houses were made of red stone that could not be burnt, the windows and roofs were all set ablaze.

452 - City of Sin

A Fierce Battle ƒ𝚛e𝘦𝙬𝗲𝒃𝓷𝒐𝘃𝘦𝑙. 𝒄o𝓂

The war raged from early in the morning to late in the night. Bluewater's fragile walls only managed to hold on for the morning before numerous sections were broken through, the Empire's infantry surging into the city. The moment the city was invaded, even Salwyn felt like the battle would end quickly. He had started looking at how to wipe out the enemy, deploying his knights to surround Richard. Killing the runemaster would be rather difficult, but just wiping out his army and killing his followers would be a huge victory as well.

However, the sounds of fighting did not stop. A battle that should have ended in a few hours stretched on infinitely. Only when day turned to night did Salwyn realise that the war had only just begun.

The sounds of battle were still ringing out everywhere inside the city even late into the night. Salwyn had been stood atop his carriage the entire day like a statue, not even drinking any water. He gazed grimly at Bluewater Oasis with its fires blazing everywhere, enraged at himself. The chaotic fight was already out of his control.

A few horses suddenly broke through the night, darting towards him. The one in the middle had a familiar body upon it.

The knight leading the group dismounted and knelt on one knee, shouting, “Your Highness, General Barry has died in battle! We expended much effort to get his body back!”

“Barry?” Salwyn's expression changed and he jumped off the carriage. The knights carefully lifted the general's corpse from the back of the horse, placing it in front of him.

Barry wasn't young, but even approaching fifty years of age he had a body as strong as steel. He was someone Salwyn heavily relied on, one of his two army chiefs. The man's upright and meticulous nature allowed him to command an army from the frontlines, using his power as a saint to cut through enemy ranks with ease.

He had personally taken charge of a group of elites when the invasion began, fighting throughout the day until now, where his corpse was all that made it back. Laid on his back, Barry's eyes were still wide open in anger; his final roar was still frozen on his face. Numerous arrows were stuck into him, penetrating so deep through his armour that their feathers could not be seen.

Salwyn undid Barry's chest-plate and saw a sharp cut at his heart. However, looking at the traces of blood around the wound the man was already on the brink of death when he suffered this blow. The enemy evidently had no need to add this blow. Of course, Salwyn had no idea how important this blow was to Phaser.

Salwyn's eye twitched and he stood up, gazing at the blazing city in the distance. He suddenly saw a group of imperial footsoldiers fleeing the city in panic, a group of armed warriors right on their heels. Were those men really soldiers? The pursuers' clothes were tattered, and there seemed to be no formation to them at all. All they had was numbers and ferocity, a combination of thugs, bandits, and slaves.

Seeing the tired footsteps of his men, Salwyn finally remembered that they had been fighting an entire day. The brutal reality convinced him to give up on his thoughts of winning in one shot; he turned to the knight by his side, “Send the order, we're retreating!”

A moment later, a magic flare exploded in the night sky while a mournful horn resounded through the battlefield. The imperial army finally withdrew from the city, but seeing his warriors bathed in blood Salwyn could not recognise them at all. However, no matter how difficult it was to believe these were men he had trained himself. While it hadn't been long since he recruited them, they still had considerable power. And yet, their numbers when withdrawing were greatly cut down from when they had entered the city.

“Your Highness—” A knight darted over, right about to say something, but was impatiently cut off by Salwyn, “Heal the wounded, make an inventory of the spoils and put up a proper guard. Do I need to repeat?”

Salwyn obviously wasn't in the best of moods, but the knight still pressed on, “Master Willis was injured within the city. The priest said he was actually poisoned, the only way to save him is to send him back to the Church immediately.”

“Master Willis was injured as well?!” Salwyn was shocked, his expression quickly darkening. Willin was a level 14 great mage, one of the six on this campaign. He had taken the risk to enter Bluewater, but now he was left with serious injuries!

Thinking back to Barry dying in battle as well, Salwyn suddenly felt a sense of discomfort. It was as though he had forgotten something.

......

The sounds of slaughter had already calmed down in Bluewater. Some gutsy people were already walking around the streets, robbing the bodies of the imperial soldiers. More were putting fires, trying to save their homes.

In a small public square, Richard dragged his feet towards a small tavern, heaving hard to push open the doors. The hall was in complete chaos, dark bloodstains littering the floor; there had evidently been multiple battles here. The tables and chairs had long since been destroyed; Richard had to look forever to find a place that wasn't as soiled to sit in. He eventually just sat down with his back to the wall, panting hard. Extinction and the Twin of Destiny were tossed beside his feet, stained with blood and dirt. Legendary items did not deserve such treatment.

His heart was pounding fiercely, body feeling empty as a dried-out riverbed. He had basically no mana, body wracked by pain as a result of overusing his strength. The imperial army had taken an entire day to withdraw; Salwyn was far more determined than he had expected.

A few giant bats flew in through the window, hanging on the ceiling to rest. These elites had already exhausted their strength, leaving only one of their brethren still circling the city.

Heavy footsteps rang out outside the inn as Gangdor squeezed his huge body inside. He took a look around, brashly clearing out some space with his axe before burying it into the floor and sitting beside Richard. He was breathing hard as well, blood all over his body with a number of eye-catching injuries on his skin. His frightening armour was dented and broken all over, revealing many more wounds underneath. This day had truly been intense; if not for his armour, the brute would have been too gravely injured to even move.

The act of sitting down prodded at Gangdor's injuries, causing him to purse his lips at the pain. He produced a flask of wine and took a few swigs, before seeing it was almost empty and unwillingly passing it to Richard, “Drink a bit, boss! This stuff will give you energy!”

Richard took the flask and gulped down two large mouthfuls, belching out an alcoholic odour. He suddenly found himself feeling much better, but instead of returning the flask to Gangdor he undid his shirt to reveal a wound stretching from shoulder to chest that was a dozen or so centimetres long. Gritting his teeth, he poured the alcohol in the flask onto the wound. While his will was staunch, he still hissed at the pain.

“Boss, I'll find a priest! That needs healing!”

Richard tossed the flask back to Gangdor and hummed, “You're wounds are more numerous and more serious than mine.”

Gangdor shook his head, “That's different! My skin is thick, these little things are nothing. Some alcohol and a night's rest and I'll be fine. So many are still hurt, waiting for the clerics' spells to save their lives. Although we have more clerics now, it's still far from enough to save them all. Let's not waste their divine force!”

“Right. Let's not waste their divine force,” Richard repeated.

“No— Boss, that's not the same!” Gangdor scratched his head, trying to refute him. In his mind, Richard was a lord; the status of a lord was more noble than that of commoners or soldiers. Gangdor himself was a mixed-blood, status even lower than commoners. On top of that, he had grown up in the Archeron death camps basically like a slave. However, Richard was different. A little injury on a noble was far more important than the life of a commoner; this was only common sense.

On top of all that, Richard wasn't just a noble either. He was also a mage and runemaster, two identities that exceeded even his nobility. Richard's actions left the brute confused; why would his lord treat his injuries like a common warrior?

Seeing that Gangdor still wanted to persuade him, Richard interrupted, “Enough! I know what to do. Come, remove your armour. Careful not to let it catch onto your wounds.”

Gangdor suddenly felt all the wounds on his body sting. He struggled to get up, clumsily starting to undo his armour. However, Richard picked up the Twin of Destiny and used the legendary staff as a crutch, moving over, “Let me help you.”

Gangdor wanted to reject him, but was stopped once again. The injuries on his arms also made it difficult for him to touch some of the buckles to loosen the armour. With Richard's help, the heavy armour was finally removed.

As expected, many of the wounds had stuck to the armour; quite a few split open the moment it was removed. Richard himself ended up using too much strength, the injury on his chest splitting open and streaming blood.

The two men huffed as they sat on the ground, splitting the last bit of wine in the flask before their ashen faces regained a bit of colour.

“Boss, how's everyone else?” Gangdor asked after a while.

“They're fine. They didn't even get hurt.”

Gangdor was startled, “What? Not even that fatty Tiramisu?”

Richard sensed the ogre mage in his mind for a moment before answering with certainty, “Not even him!”

Gangdor looked down at his numerous injuries, and then at the slice on Richard's chest. In that moment, he was rendered speechless. It took him a long while to grit his teeth and speak, “Those fellows are too bloody crafty!”

453 - City of Sin

Battle In The Night

Waterflower's cold, indifferent voice rang out from outside the door, “Crafty? I certainly didn't kill any fewer people than you did!”

Gangdor's face fell. He snorted loudly to posture that he wasn't scared of her in the slightest, but he was still sensible enough to not say anything else. Phaser followed in behind, while Olar, Zendrall, Tiramisu, and the others eventually gathered in the tavern as well. Richard and his followers could sense each other through their souls; they would naturally assemble together.

“Master, I've already made an inventory of the battlefield,” Olar started the moment he stepped in, “We don't have an exact count yet, but we lost more than 2,000 men. Miss Flowsand is doing her best to rescue the wounded, she cannot come over for the time being.”

Richard nodded, “Okay, go invite Shea here. Oh, and Zim too.”

The elven bard accepted the order and left.

Gangdor hesitated for a moment, but eventually ended up speaking his mind, “Boss, we had to put in everything to fight them off today. Tomorrow's battle won't be easy! There's 30,000 men out there!”

“25,000 after today, but only 15,000 of those can actually enter the city,” Richard replied calmly. With his elite bats in the sky, his understanding of the casualty count was extremely precise with a discrepancy of no more than a hundred men. Salwyn couldn't possibly send his cavalrymen into the alleys to fight.

Gangdor was even more worried now, “Doesn't that make our disadvantage even greater tomorrow?” A disadvantage of one to three had become even worse after this fight.

Richard's brows creased as he seemed to be stuck making a difficult decision, “It's not like there isn't a solution to this, but... Let me think things over again.”

It was at this moment that Shea was brought to the tavern by a humanoid warrior. Her eyes lit up the moment she saw Richard and she smiled, “Sir Richard! May I know what it is you wished to see me about?”

The priestess's gaze was focused on Richard's upper torso, on the striking wound at his chest.

“I heard the spells of the Goddess of the Hunt allow hunters to conceal their movements in complicated terrain?”

Shea's eyes lit up and she answered proudly, “Indeed, that is my Lady's expertise!”

Richard nodded, “Very well! I'll be heading out of the city in a while to mount a sneak attack on the enemies. Priestess Shea, would you like to come along?”

“Sneak attack?” Shea was greatly astonished, “Is your wound alright? Also... my mana...”

Richard smiled, taking a magic box from a humanoid to reveal a row of neatly arrange potions, “Mana will not be an issue.”

“High-grade mana potions, and so many!” Shea sucked in a breath of cold air.

Anything related to magic was extremely expensive in Faelor. Even as a priestess in charge of a church, she had never seen so many mana potions together before, let alone high-grade ones. Indeed, mana would not be a problem with these potions; the only problem was that she could only use one a day. If one was really looking for problems, the only other issue was the cost of a thousand gold per bottle; it made one feel like they were drinking gold.

Before Shea could even recover from her shock, Zim could be heard yelling excitedly outside the door, “Sir Richard, you truly are a legend! Even killing a saint was so easy! How did you know General Barry would appear at that street corner?”

Zim's gaze was so intense that even Richard felt a little resignation. “Sheer luck,” he shrugged it off.

“Impossible!” The Viscount shook his head resolutely, pointing at Waterflower, Phaser, and Gangdor, “I saw it all. Those three and the two saints were already waiting in ambush at the corner of the street! They finished the entire battle in one minute! You truly are a model commander!”

Richard did not respond, his expression instead turning cold, “Didn't I have you hide you hide yourself?”

“I want to kill enemies too!” Zim waved his hand around with force, his face flushing red, “I am a noble too, and a warrior!”

Richard decided to pretend like he didn't hear the fat slob babbling nonsense, tossing potions out one after the other to those who needed it before twisting the lid off one himself and pouring the contents down his throat. He threw the empty bottle away, donning his shirt and placing Extinction on his back. He finally lifted the Twin of Destiny and then pointed to all of his followers, “Come, let's give that Salwyn another surprise!”

The followers all started preparing for battle in silence. One follower after another was preparing for battle in silence. Gangdor stood up, lifting his crimson-stained axe and casually flexing his muscles. His wounds split open, but the fellow did not mind at all.

Although he was painfully neglected, blood rushed up to Zim's head as he looked at this group who emanated an aura of blood and blazing steel. He took a big step forward and asked loudly, “What about me?”

“You?” Richard looked at Zim in all seriousness and thought for a moment before patting his shoulder, “You are to take a few men and return to your father immediately. Inform him that troops from the Iron Triangle Empire are at the Bloodstained Lands, and have him think of a way to persuade Duke Grasberg to cut off Salwyn's retreat.”

“But isn't that just escaping?” This was clearly not the answer Zim was looking for.

“Absolutely not!” Richard said solemnly, “This is extremely important. If you are confident in persuading the Duke to send his men, Salwyn will only dare to stay here for three days at best. He won't run the risk of having his retreat completely cut off. I believe the Duke won't let such an opportunity pass him by. You're extremely important. If you don't step forth personally, I'm afraid the Duke will never send his troops.”

“I'm important?” the Viscount was rather doubtful.

Richard clapped his shoulder hard, speaking in a low voice, “Very!”

Richard then left the tavern, the group of followers that reeked of blood passing the Viscount in single file. Zim was a little distracted, but he could vaguely sense that these frightening people seemed to be less scornful of him.

In the blink of an eye, the only ones left in the tavern were his personal guards. A moment later, Zim turned to one of his men and asked, “Am I really very important?”

The guard was well-tested, answering without hesitation, “You have always been very important, my Lord!”

The flush of excitement in Zim's face gradually faded. He gazed in the direction Richard had left, suddenly remarking, “I've learnt just how important I am.”

The guard was startled, able to sense that his master was somewhat out of sorts that night. “My Lord? You—”

Zim interrupted his words, “Go back to Father immediately, and have him send his troops over for support!”

“But...” Bewilderment was written all over the soldier's face. However, Zim clapped the man hard on the shoulder, speaking in a low voice, “Go! You are very important!”

The Viscount then took the rest of his personal guard and left, leaving the man staring blankly at the tavern walls. He really wanted to remind the Viscount that quite a few men had already been sent to ask for help. Besides, a large sum of money had been spent to deliver a message through magic; the first batch of troops from the Earl had likely set off already. Duke Grasberg's army would be on their way the next morning, while another batch would come from Countess Katrina. The Countess wasn't just adept at politics; she could compare to a marchioness in terms of military capability.

......

Five hundred cavalrymen stealthily exited the city, taking cover in the gathering darkness. Every one of these men were drones; 350 humanoids and 150 throwers. The warhorses all walked at a calm pace, but there wasn't a single sound from their hooves. This was the power of Hunter's Domain, a supporting spell of the Goddess of the Hunt.

These soldiers didn't head to Salwyn's camp, instead running in the opposite direction towards a little forest where a similar number of cavalrymen from the empire were camped to prevent any remnant forces from escaping. Each one of these imperial knights was a seasoned fighter with plentiful experience, but no matter how well they hid they could not escape the eyes and ears of the elite bats.

Just about a kilometre or so from the little forest, the army seemed to stop without Richard issuing any orders. Zendrall began a chant, a deathly aura enveloping the place as warriors of darkness walked out from a summoning portal one after the other.

Shea stared expressionlessly as the warriors exited the portal, but her body had already started trembling. Richard suddenly leaned close to her and warned quietly, “Be a little careful during the battle, don't cast healing spells on them.”

The priestess nodded her head reluctantly, but then she suddenly covered her mouth. “My Lady!” she exclaimed softly, “What is that?”

The deathly aura suddenly doubled in intensity as the skull of a horse popped through the portal. The enormous figure of a knight squeezed its way out of the summoning spell with some difficulty, extremely burly with a gigantic sword in hand. Although the sword was covered in rust, it most certainly had unimaginable power just looking at its size and weight. Besides, this warrior of darkness emanated an intense aura of death that made Shea want to run. Although a priest could naturally subdue the undead, they were rendered ineffective against those creatures who were far higher than them in level.

“Just a death knight, Zendrall's little pet,” Richard replied lightly before pointing to the forest ahead, “Beautiful priestess, there are about 500 knights in the forest ahead. Do be careful while protecting yourself.”

Shea nodded, but her face was still pale. The lifeless atmosphere surrounding her was simply too overwhelming. Besides, a battle was about to begin; Richard's followers were emanating a murderous aura so intense it was almost tangible. It caused her to subconsciously lean towards Richard himself; it was only beside him that she felt safe and warm.

Richard raised his left arm up high and motioned forward, sending his troops barrelling into the pitch-black forest ahead. It was only then that Shea noticed a little detail; from the very beginning, Richard hadn't made a single sound while issuing orders. A few simple gestures at most, and these men followed his every command. It was fine for the formidable followers to be that discerning, but how did these regular warriors see his gestures in the dark?

However, she had no time to think into it. The charging army swept her along into the forest.

454 - City of Sin

Arming Soldiers

A cry of surprise echoed in the dead of the night, quickly morphing into a scream of terror. More joined the first voice soon after, blending into a cacophony that resounded through the dark forest. A strong stench of blood enveloped the region, spread everywhere by the night breeze.

And yet, the cries were gone as quick as they came. Dozens of knights fled away from the other side of the forest, pushing their horses as best they could as they disappeared into the depths of the night.

A short while later, Richard was stood in the middle of the forest sweeping his eyes across the battlefield. The broodmother's drones were cleaning up the battlefield, carrying away the injured on their side and finishing off the enemies that weren't yet dead. The imperial cavalrymen had been massacred; with the aid of powerful magic and divine spells, only a dozen or so humanoid had died to eliminate almost all of the enemies.

However, the victory did not bring any happiness to Richard's face. On the contrary, his expression only grew more gloomy. Such tenaciousness in battle, such power on the brink of death... These cavalrymen had left a deep impression on his mind. It seemed like all of the troops Salwyn brought along were elites. Things did not seem optimistic.

He suddenly pulled Gangdor to the side, softly whispering some instructions to him. Gangdor thus gathered all of Richard's followers along with Shea, leaving the forest. Richard then sent down an order, causing the humanoids and throwers to put aside their work and pounce towards the dead horses. Silently, they shared a meal; the only sound breaking the quiet was the rustle of chewing.

The aura of the drones quickly grew powerful once more. As long as these units had sufficient food, they would restore themselves just as quickly as a healing spell would. This scene naturally couldn't be shown to outsiders.

......

By the time Richard returned to Bluewater, it was already past midnight. The fires blazing all over the city had been extinguished, the soldiers who had fought all day in a deep sleep. They needed the rest; tomorrow's battle would only be more horrifying. Unlike them, the residents and slaves of the city were busy mending the city wall.

Richard immediately gathered all his followers and the nobles upon his return, including important figures like the priests of the three goddesses. Once everyone was present, he said with a deep voice, “Even though we repelled the Iron Triangle Empire today, without any changes tomorrow's battle will be a certain loss!” Google search 𝐟𝓇𝘦𝒆w𝚎𝐛n𝐨ν𝙚𝚕. c𝚘ｍ

His words sent all the nobles into dismay, everyone turning a deathly pale. All of them had participated in the first excursion of the Bloodstained Highway project, so by now they had an almost blind faith in Richard. If he said their loss was certain, then it was.

“Do we have no choice but to flee?” one of them asked hesitantly. The city still had a large number of soldiers to resist the invaders with. Moreover, Salwyn had brought along a large cavalry. If they abandoned the city to flee, it would certainly be a tragedy. In all likelihood, only a small number of them would be able to escape back to the Sequoia Kingdom.

In a world where military might was revered, many nobles would choose honour over life. They would rather die on the battlefield than abandon their soldiers without even fighting.

Richard took in all the reactions and spoke up, “We actually have a way of reversing the numerical disadvantage.”

“Impossible!” a noble shouted, “Salwyn brought 30,000 men, but we don't have that number even if you add everyone in the city together!”

Richard glanced at him and said profoundly, “No, all added up there are 60,000 here.”

“You're saying...” the man cried out, his eyes widening.

“Arm the slaves!” Richard said resolutely.

The nobles glanced at each other, hesitating. Armed slaves were something they hadn't even dared to think about. Every leader spent an enormous amount of time considering how to prevent slaves from rebelling. Richard wanted to arm the slaves in the middle of a war?

One of them finally laughed bitterly, “Sir Richard, I fear those slaves will point the weapons at us first.”

“It's the only way,” Richard replied, “Moreover, I'm still decently confident.”

An aged noble had worry etched into his brows, “My Lord, you would be setting a dangerous precedent.”

Richard's eyebrows locked together, but he still maintained his firm stance, “I've already decided. Olar!”

The bard stepped out in response.

“Go, gather my desert warriors and barbarian soldiers, along with all the able-bodied slaves. Bring them all to the central plaza.”

Olar immediately hurried away to carry out his orders. In the meanwhile, Richard had Gangdor and Kellac prepare weapons and food.

An hour later, an entire 20,000 slaves were brought to the square. Their expressions were blank, seemingly unclear about the situation.

The slaves came from a mix of races, but most of them were the desert people aboriginal to the Bloodstained Lands. Richard's own cavalry was left with only a thousand desert warriors after the battle, but they arranged themselves in an orderly formation and stood in front of him. Having been his subordinates for a long time, even the most brutish desert warriors had turned into disciplined elites.

Richard walked to the front of the desert warriors and barbarians, suddenly barking out a command, “Those of you who were originally slaves, raise your hand!”

The soldiers were very doubtful, but following his commands had already been ingrained into their very being. A sea of arms immediately shot up.

All the nobles behind Richard were shocked. They could never have expected that Richard's intimidating soldiers were almost all once slaves!

Richard nodded in satisfaction before roaring once more, “Those who have already obtained your freedom, raise your hands!”

The sea of arms went up once more. Outside of a minority that had only recently joined him, these soldiers had followed Richard for a long time and accumulated enough merits to become full soldiers.

Richard then pointed at a corner of the plaza, towards a pile of swords, axes, and other weapons. “There lie the most fundamental tools to become a soldier— weapons!” His finger then moved towards the slaves gathered in the plaza, “And there are people of the same status as your former selves!”

The desert warriors and barbarians looked at the weapons and then at those who were still slaves. A thread of understanding began to rise within the army, excitement starting to show on their faces.

Richard suddenly raised his voice, “NOW GO! Go, take these weapons and give them to your compatriots. Go, tell them how to become soldiers! As long as they can achieve what you have, they can become my soldiers!”

The plaza immediately went silent. However, one barbarian suddenly rushed out of the formation to the weapon pile. He picked up more than a dozen heavy battle-axes, walking towards the barbarians amongst the slaves. He went to each one, shoving an axe into their hand and whispering something into their ears. He finally patted their chests before moving onto the next.

A group of desert warriors soon sped out as well, taking the bundled weapons and charging towards their people. They shoved the swords into their hands, howling in their native tongue.

The plaza gradually grew chaotic as more and more slaves obtained weapons. The expressions of the nobles started to look very disturbed, only Richard seemingly maintaining his calm as he quietly watched the situation develop.

Eventually, most of the slaves had weapons in their hands. The atmosphere was starting to grow stifling.

An aged barbarian soldier suddenly rushed out of the formation once more, shouting at the barbarians in the group of slaves. The barbarians hesitated, but eventually they started walking to the right side of the plaza. More and more started to follow, until eventually every single one was gathered together in an expression of their willingness to fight for Richard.

The desert people went into an uproar as well, the slaves gradually joining the barbarians. It wasn't long before almost every slave in the plaza was on the right.

A smile finally crept up Richard's face. He turned around towards the nobles, “It seems like His Highness Salwyn will meet with a big surprise tomorrow!”

The nobles nodded one after the other, finally heaving a sigh of relief. Finally at ease, they realised they had all broken out into cold sweat. Of course, they didn't know that under his robes Richard himself was drenched.

......

When the sun rose the next day, the reorganised imperial army appeared outside Bluewater once more. It didn't take much effort for them to make their way back into the city. There was nothing much left to burn anymore, but magical flames still soared into the sky.

Stood on his carriage, Salwyn looked coldly at the imperial soldiers making their way into the city. However, this chaotic oasis was like a bottomless swamp; no matter how many soldiers were thrown in, they would all sink. Sounds of fighting echoed from dawn to noon, more and more injured soldiers being carried out from the city. However, there wasn't the slightest sign of Bluewater actually falling. Worse yet, the defenders didn't seem to have the slightest intention of fleeing.

The imperial soldiers were already spread all the way throughout Bluewater, fighting everywhere. In such a chaotic situation, the Prince had already lost all power to command them; he could only hope his soldiers had been trained well enough.

Within the chaotic city, a veteran of the imperial army was searching through the streets when he suddenly heard movements in a house beside him. He immediately kicked down the door and rushed in, but that was a decision he came to regret in the next instant. Inside was a noble dressed in foppish clothes, but guarding him were three others. Just by sight, one could tell these bodyguards were not to be trifled with.

“This guy is mine! You lot aren't allowed to interfere!” the young noble pulled out his sword, pointing it to the front. His left hand held his waist, adopting a fencing stance.

The veteran stared blankly for a moment, but then he flashed a hideous grin. He raised his sword that was still dripping with blood, smiling in satisfaction as the plump young noble's face paled in an instant.

This was Viscount Zim. He hadn't left as per Richard's instructions, instead hiding himself within the city. His wish of fighting had finally been fulfilled, but at the sight of the ferocious soldier both of his legs went soft. He started wanting to look for a basement or attic to hide in like the previous day.

455 - City of Sin

Persistence And Hope

An incomparably miserable scream rang out not far from Zim, clearly a cry of death. The shout was the last push to the Viscount's frayed nerves; his legs completely gave way, unable to support his body as he crumpled to the ground. The personal guards immediately raised their spears to protect him, but the soldier opposite smirked and spit at the ground.

For some reason, the veteran's sneer seemed incomparably offensive in Zim's eyes. A scene from the previous night appeared before his eyes once more, one of a heavily wounded Richard walking past him as if nothing was wrong to attack the much-stronger imperial army in the night. The two images intertwined like fire, burning into his brain!

Zim's vision turned red. He let out a bestial roar, erupting with unknown strength as he pushed aside his guards and charged towards the soldier nearby. *Schlick!* The rapier that had once been a mere decoration shone like a rainbow, burying itself into the veteran's heart.

The man's body slowly fell to the floor, face frozen in a state of shock. Zim stared blankly at his opponent, not understanding what had happened for a moment. Only when his guards screamed out about an injury did he feel a scorching pain in his shoulder, looking down to find a ten-centimetre gash that was gushing blood.

Richard's image came to his mind again, an image of the open wound on the mage's chest. The fat youth swallowed down the miserable scream that was already in his throat, taking off his ripped shirt and throwing it on the floor. He exposed his entire upper body to the stunned guards, arrogantly sitting on a stool and shouting at them, “What are you lot panicking for? Come, wrap it up for me! The war isn't over yet!”

Zim suddenly felt like he had a bit of Richard's aura. It was just that the mage revealed blocks of sharp, defined muscles, while his own body was dazzlingly pale and delicate. He only had curves, no edges.

The guards quickly wrapped up the Viscount's wounds. Disregarding their dissuasion, Zim took his rapier and left the building for the streets. Since he had already begun, the fellow could not be stopped; by the time night fell, four men had fallen to his sword.

......

In another corner of the city, Richard carried the Twin of Destiny in his left hand and Extinction in his right. A group of humanoid drones followed him as he ferociously passed through two alleys to block off the escape of hundreds of imperial footsoldiers.

Dozens of footsoldiers rushed him the moment he left the alley, but he didn't so much as speak a word. The tip of Extinction briefly touched the ground as he started moving faster and faster, eventually charging into the enemy head-on!

A group of only thirty humanoids were behind him. They did not know fear; regardless of whether the enemy numbered in the hundreds or the thousands, they would charge in without hesitation.

Even as Richard was running into the footsoldiers, hundreds of slaves suddenly emerged from another alley. They had no equipment outside of the swords in their hands, but they still charged up against the armed soldiers like madmen. They cared not for the difference in power between the two sides, mobbing the enemy as they tried to pierce the enemy with their blades. Howls resounded throughout the street.

Only a dozen of the footsoldiers eventually broke through the barricade, diving into another small alley as over a hundred slaves gave chase. In the meanwhile, those who managed to kill their enemies cut off the ears of their targets and hung them on their waists as spoils of war.

Richard let out a long sigh, an indescribable exhaustion bubbling up from various parts of his body that made him want to just collapse and find someplace to get some sleep. His head felt like it was being torn apart; he had been commanding dozens of men at a time all this while, even tasking his second mind to the battle until he was almost completely spent. The entire city was a battlefield, with both sides mixing together everywhere. One did not know whether the next corner held an ally or an enemy.

And yet, despite the difficulty, his followers and soldiers were spreading and converging constantly. They were the hardest of teeth, constantly grinding away at the flesh and blood of the enemy.

His mana pool had already dried up, all scrolls used; even his stamina was exhausted. He moved into a broken-down house by the road and sat down against the wall, gasping for breath like a fish on land. The humanoid warriors had already formed up and left for the next battlefield.

A bird's eye view would show the humanoids gathering towards a small square where hundreds of imperial soldiers were guarding a great mage. The mage was constantly chanting spells and waving his beautiful staff around, shooting fireballs into the surrounding buildings one by one. The screams that sounded from time to time were proof enough of the terrifying power of his magic.

Four separate teams, more than a hundred humanoids in total, were charging towards the square from all sides. Behind a small two-storey building, more than twenty throwers had gathered. The throwers had a myriad of weapons in their hands, hatchets and bone blades long since exhausted.

Richard breathed a sigh of relief, continuing to recuperate. He did not need to look to know that the great mage was finished. Phaser was hiding in a ruined building less than twenty metres away.

A rush of footsteps sounded outside the house and a person stuck their head in to take a look. He then cried in surprise and rushed into the room, looking at the Twin of Destiny in Richard's hands with pleasant surprise. This was a level 7 veteran, likely a low-ranking officer in Salwyn's army. He looked at Richard and flashed a sardonic smile, “So it's a mage! I'll get a lot of credit for killing you!”

Richard stood up without a sound, staff in his left hand and sword in the right. However, that only caused the soldier to heave a sigh of relief; the mage was clearly dried up. One could clearly tell that the youth was a rookie at close combat, he actually held a staff and sword at the same time! The veteran could easily fight a dozen mages without mana.

Richard suddenly snarled, taking a few quick steps before bringing Extinction down on the man's head. The soldier sneered, his blade firmly meeting Richard's head on. Extinction flew out upon contact, embedding itself into the roof.

The officer had overused his strength and couldn't stop himself from taking a large step forward. Richard stepped forward at the same time, brushing past him. A muffled sound rang out as the Twin of Destiny ruthlessly smashed into the back of the man's head, the incomparably delicate-looking fallen angel wing covered in blood and brain.

“Bah, a novice! So easy to deceive!” Pah! A rookie! So easy to deceive.” Richard didn't even look at the man, hastily wiping the staff's head with his shirt to clean the gore off it.

“Sorry, pal!” he said apologetically. This was not the first time the legendary staff had been subject to this kind of treatment.

......

When night finally fell, the imperial soldiers retreated from Bluewater like a tide. It was impossible to find an undamaged building in the entire city, smoke and fire everywhere. Looking on from afar, the Lighthouse of Time was now incredibly eye-catching. Not long ago, there had been many buildings of a similar size to this building that looked like a watchtower, but the storm of war had completely ruined Bluewater. The city walls were collapsed in multiple places, long since a mere decoration. It was reasonable to say that the city had no life anymore, but now it seemed like there were walls and fortresses everywhere. Behind every broken wall, in every abandoned house were an unknown number of enemies lying in wait.

Salwyn watched the oasis city from afar, his brows locked together as though they could never be separated. He had lost close to 4,000 soldiers once more, and amongst his six great mages two had died in battle. Battles in the streets would consign mages to their graves; he did not expect the remaining three would willingly enter the fray anymore. Please visit 𝒇𝒓𝗲e𝔀𝗲𝚋ｎoѵℯƖ. c𝑜m

Judging by the reports of each of his generals, Salwyn knew that Richard had lost over half his troops. His advantage should have grown large and larger, leaving the frontier knight unable to defend. And yet, he had pulled off the miracle. The number of enemies within Bluewater had only seemed to grow, making it impossible to kill them all.

Bluewater only had 20,000 residents in total. Adding on Richard's troops, that was still only 30,000. How could they resist for so long?

“Could it be...” A shadow flitted across Salwyn's face. He had thought of the slaves as well.

Still, that did not resolve all his doubts. Everyone knew how weak slave soldiers were. A thousand imperial soldiers could easily defeat ten times their number in slaves. Thus, slave soldiers were only used for transport and construction; even in the worst case, they were only used as cannon fodder.

The only good news was that Richard's losses today were far worse than his own.

But what about tomorrow?

Salwyn suddenly wavered. He did not know if he could defeat Richard's troops the next day. There were many instances today where it clearly seemed like the enemy would collapse, but they had pulled out miracles to persist. He wanted to catch a few of Richard's soldiers and open up their heads, taking a look to see if they were homunculi that did not know life from death, puppets that did not understand fear.

Only such warriors could last this long, right?

A strand of unease quietly rose in Salwyn's heart. Time was a huge factor here; there were many nobles of the Sequoia Kingdom within the city, and most frightening of all was someone named Zim. An incompetent fat Viscount, but the youth was incredibly close to Duke Grasberg. He was almost sure reinforcements were on their way.

Back in the city, Richard's followers were gathered together once more, listening to Richard describe their tactics for the next day. In addition to his followers were the high-ranking nobles and the priests of the three goddesses. The room reeked of blood and sweat, and everyone looked battered and exhausted. Even the priests' beautiful robes were covered in dirt and bloodstains. Almost everyone was injured, clearly showing the hardships of the day's battle. However, there was no despair and fear to be seen in their eyes that were burning with valiance.

These eyes burned with persistence and hope.

456 - City of Sin

Aftermath

Richard looked up at everyone present, “We won't be able to give Salwyn a surprise tomorrow...”

Just as everyone was baffled, however, he finished the sentence, “because he's already used to us chasing him out!”

“Hehe...” “Yeah...” “Ha...” These unenthusiastic responses came from Richard's followers. They were evidently not interested in his poor jokes.

Indeed, Salwyn wasn't surprised on the third day. As expected, he had to glumly withdraw his troops from Bluewater in the evening. A large number of his men had been lost over the course of the day.

The fourth day, he sent all his troops to attack the city; even his cavalrymen who weren't meant to fight in closed spaces had been mobilised. It ended being the day with the worst losses yet.

As for the fifth day... There was no such thing. The Prince had his troops withdraw in the morning, disappearing into the northern horizon. Only a third of his men still remained when they left. Jubilant cries rang in the oasis city throughout the day.

The four-day war had reaped 50,000 lives. This city that wasn't too large, but it had taken 20,000 imperial soldiers and 30,000 of Richard's men.

The meat grinder at Bluewater had a minuscule effect on the Iron Triangle Empire, but it was a heavy blow to Prince Salwyn. The battle had spread Richard's name throughout the Bloodstained Lands.

The reinforcements from the Sequoia Kingdom couldn't cut Salwyn off in time, so many of the forces withdrew their troops. However, those planning to participate in the Bloodstained Highway project still rushed to Bluewater. In fact, many who originally hadn't planned on participating changed their mind after hearing the news. They had no place in the army, but they were prepared to make things work. They were reinforcing Richard, so the troops that reached the city had to get something, no?

Three days after the war came to an end, the armies from the Sequoia Kingdom reached Bluewater one by one. The largest force came from Duke Grasberg, an army of 3,000 cavalrymen and a 5,000-strong infantry. The commander was someone Richard had never seen before, Earl Layton.

The rest were entirely unexpected— there was actually an army from Countess Katrina. It had 4,000 men in total, but 500 of them were elite heavy cavaliers. Even the squires of these knights were veterans, numbering 1,500 in total. Level 9 on average, this cavalry force was one that seemed to be no inferior to even Duke Grasberg's. Their lavish equipment was splendid as well.

Richard was rendered speechless at the sight of Katrina's army. The Bloodstained Lands weren't suited for heavy cavalry at all; the Countess's actions were more a show of wealth and power than anything else. However, so long as this army was willing to serve, Richard would not mind having another group of powerful soldiers. The most difficult parts of previous battles had been taken care of by his humanoid warriors.

Zim's expression turned dark when he heard of this army's arrival. Katrina's show was meant specifically for him.

The Direwolf Duke sent over an army of 2,000. Half were footsoldiers, while the rest were a combination of scouts, light cavalry, and knights. There were no heavy cavalrymen of even heavy infantry, but every soldier was well-trained and suited to operating in the Bloodstained Lands. This was a practical army.

When the 10,000 new men more than 10,000 soldiers streamed into Bluewater, Richard finally heaved a sigh of relief. Examining the ruins of the oasis city, he was amazed by Salwyn's fearsome might once more. If not for mobilising the slaves and overworking himself to control his soldiers in the midst of all the chaos for an entire four days, he truly would have been purged from the Bloodstained Lands.

He found that he had too many things to do. His influence was growing at an unprecedented rate, his army exceeding 10,000 for the first time. However, this was false glory; 90% of his army was made of former slaves who had accumulated enough merits in battle. His initial promise had been to turn any slave who could kill an imperial soldier into a free soldier, but over the two days of intense battle their numbers had dropped below 10,000. Not even he had imagined that the prospect of freedom would make them so fearless in the face of death.

Richard actually didn't need so many men, but seeing the gathering soldiers from the other nobles he changed his mind. He retained every willing slave for now, deciding to prune them in the future. He would still take 10,000 men on the Bloodstained Highway project, but three questions plagued him: whose troops would be taken, who would be left behind, and how would they be reorganised? He knew that failure to take care of these issues within a month would be the end of him.

On top of all that, he also had to deal with the problem of rebuilding Bluewater. Thankfully, he already had the support of a dozen merchant groups and some of the Sequoia Kingdom's nobles. The construction would go much faster than otherwise.

The representative for the Direwolf Duke brought some news as well. Bevry would secretly bring his son to the oasis in ten days, and the letter also mentioned that he was bringing a special item that could be used for a ceremony. Richard was astonished; how did the Duke find an offering in such a short period of time?

However, there was still some time before the Duke's arrival. Taking care of work for the next few days, he took Gangdor along and made a quick trip back to Norland.

......

Richard walked out of the teleportation formation just in time to see priestess Noelene hasten over. She stared at him blankly for a while upon seeing him, before looking him up and down and asking, “What happened to you?”

“Have I changed?” Richard was startled as well, stroking his chin as per habit. When his hand felt a layer of stubble, he finally understood.

Noelene looked at him with a complicated expression. From her perspective, the beard did nothing to detract from his youth. However, this boy that had left only a few days ago had changed greatly upon his return. The delicate elegance had waned, any signs of inexperience completely replaced by the taste of blood and fire. If Richard had been a tall, straight sapling, he was now a blazing rock.

She had seen many people moving between planes, but rarely did someone change so tremendously in such a short period of time. “I sensed the formation being activated and came to take a look,” she deflected, “How long do you plan on staying here?”

Richard placed a magic chest that was nearly as tall as himself on the floor with a dull thud; the thing obviously weighed a few tons. He huffed and stretched his aching body, “No longer than a day, I just brought some stuff over.”

The portal flickered once more and Gangdor walked out. The fellow's majestic back was bowed, all of his muscles bulging. The floor shook with every step, the three chests he was carrying so heavy he had activated his bloodline ability to force his way through. The brute threw the chests down the moment he could, sitting on the floor and panting hard. The chests that were tied together had weighed ten tons at minimum; even the burly man with Gaia's Force was exhausted.

“Why are only two of you bringing so much?” the priestess couldn't hold herself back from asking, “Why not bring more people?”

“I'm too poor. It takes too much to teleport!” Richard hid nothing.

Indeed, the poverty of the Archerons was on an entirely new level. Truth be told, any family that engaged aggressively in planar warfare was bound to never get wealthy. The sudden profits that war could bring was reserved for the winners, and even then most would find it to be a pyrrhic victory.

However, it was the crafters who truly profited from war. Enchanters, blacksmiths, alchemists... Of course, it was the runemasters that earned the most. Thus, facing a royal runemaster who complained that he was poor, priestess Noelene's first desire was to throw the fellow into a spatial rift.

“What did you bring? Why is it so heavy?” Noelene was rather confused.

Richard opened one of the boxes, revealing grey ore with cloud-like patterns on it. Proficient as she was at appraisal, Noelene immediately cried out in a low voice, “Cloudiron ore! So pure!”

Most of the load this time was cloudiron ore, alongside a few hundred kilograms of lafite. The price disparity between the two planes for these was less than 50%, but since he had the ore and Gangdor could carry it Richard obviously wouldn't waste his time. Every teleportation cost 20,000 gold!

Richard picked up a piece of ore, “Priestess Noelene, could you help me recruit around fifty mages that are at least level 10? I also need some alchemists and blacksmiths who can handle the more common precious metals; thirty of each.”

Noelene's eyes lit up, “It seems like you've found a plane with a lot of ore! Your luck is pretty good, even I'm growing a little jealous of Flowsand. You want the mages to enchant different metals, right?”

457 - City of Sin

A Difficult Trade

Richard nodded at Noelene, “Yes. All this ore right now can only be sold for 500,000 gold at most, but once they're processed into ingots that will rise to 600,000 and enchanting it will add another 100,000 on top. Even with the added costs, I can earn another 100,000 in total.”

“You really are someone from the Deepblue,” Noelene said begrudgingly, “Fine, I'll help you with the mages and artisans. However, I want those enchanted ingots. I'll buy them all at 700,000 just like you said.”

“No problem,” Richard's quick answer brought a smile to Noelene's face, “I'll even add the lafite on as a gift.”

The priestess was likely one with many secular connections. If she had the money to buy all the cloudiron, she had to have a fair number of organisations supporting her. At the very least, she was more wealthy than the Archerons. As for how she would use these ingots, what profits she stood to make, he couldn't care less. Why would anyone work without any benefits? As long as she paid his price, that was enough.

Time was preciously short. Richard first sent a paladin from the church to deliver a message to Nyris and Agamemnon before completing the deal with the ores. He opened the chest he had carried over, revealing two compartments. Most of the bottom was cloudiron ore, while on the top were two small and intricate boxes. He carefully opened both and examined the contents, sighing in relief once he found both were fine.

Noelene suddenly asked him a question, “Richard, I can pay for the cloudiron in advance. Is gold fine, or do you want anything else?”

“Can I buy offerings?” Richard asked with a laugh.

The priestess smiled, “I'll buy if you're selling.”

Richard chuckled, giving up on the thought. Indeed, offerings could easily be turned to gold but the reverse was not true. As for how the revenue from the cloudiron would be used, he had already made preparations. He took out a scroll made of magic paper and passed it to the priestess, “Please help me with the materials listed here. As for any remaining money, I would like to get some spatial equipment.”

Noelene spread the scroll open and had a close look, “Hmm... Most of the materials here aren't impossible to get, but they will take time. I don't think I'll be able to get them in time. Anyway, a few hundred thousand gold won't be enough for good spatial equipment. A friend of mine coincidentally has a spatial box she's planning on giving away. Its external measurements are about the same as those little boxes, and it can hold two cubic metres. It also has a sealing enchantment in it, so the weight is invariant. I should be able to get it for you at 300,000.”

Richard pondered over it for a while before giving his reply, “Alright, I want it!” The box itself was nothing special, but Noelene was offering it at half the market price.

Surprisingly enough, most of the goods Richard had brought were sold before he even left the shrine. The trade of a million gold had left both sides feeling satisfied, but he was obviously the one that was happier. He asked Noelene to help him ready the portal before he left; he was planning to return to Faelor at the same time the next day at the latest.

......

Nyris had already rushed over by the time Richard and Gangdor returned to the Archeron Island. The Fourth Prince's response was so fast it was astonishing. For a moment, Richard even felt like the prince had nothing to do all day.

Nyris was obviously startled at the sight of Richard. The prince's eyes twinkled, “Hey Richard, I haven't seen you for a few days but you've already changed so much! That beard is so cool! That coarse shave is an art unto itself!”

The youth's eyes were practically glowing, making it seem like he would reach over to have a touch in the next second. Richard stroked his hard beard speechlessly; he'd had no time to deal with it during the war, and now he felt like it wasn't half bad. However, he didn't have the luxury of someone taking care of his hair. He just looked into the mirror in the morning and trimmed himself a little.

Many nobles spent up to an hour every day on fashion, and the royal family was only worse. Richard's stubble was completely unlike the normally tidy facial hair of the other nobles, but if the prince found the coarseness stylish then he had nothing to say.

“Take this!” Seeing Nyr's eyes growing brighter and brighter, Richard shoved a magic box into his hands to stop him from doing anything.

“What's this?” The prince's attention was obviously transferred to the box. However, when he opened it up to take a look the contents immediately drew a low exclamation, “Savage Barrier!”

Indeed, within the sealed box were five distinct runes that made up the entire Savage Barrier set. From the perspective of war, Savage Barrier was more practical than Savage Strike. It had been less than ten days since Richard had left, but he had already brought back a second sat. Nyris was naturally ecstatic. His destiny was already tied with Richard's to some extent; the better Richard performed, the higher his own status would be.

“Great, I'll get you the materials right now. I can give you enough for fifteen sets in advance, so I'm placing an order for three!” Nyris prepared to run out the moment he was done, likely wanting to return to the royal warehouse to collect the materials.

“Wait!” Richard pulled the hasty youth back, “I still have a lot of materials on hand, I don't need them right now. I wish to use the remuneration to get a batch of magic equipment. Could you help with that?”

“What? How high is your rate of success?” Nyris looked at Richard dubiously, but then he immediately went back to normal, “Whatever. Magic equipment? That's nothing. What do you want, and how much?” The Prince then slapped his chest loudly. It was an action filled with vigour, but when he did it one's mind would run wild.

Richard was delighted, “I'd like a batch of superior swords with two enchantments each. Let's start with 500 first.”

“Alright, 500— wait, WHAT?” The last word was almost a cry of misery, almost as pitiful as that of a young girl who had run into a group of perverts.

The cry surprised Richard. He thought through what he had just said, confirming that he wanted superior swords and not epic or legendary equipment. “500. Is that a lot? This sort of sword is worth a little more than 2,000 on the market, right? Based on the price you gave me last time, 500 of them should cost 750,000. This is the same price as for the materials for five sets.”

Nyris' forehead started to bead with sweat and he forced a smile, “The price isn't the issue. It's just... that quantity is a little too much.”

Richard frowned, “Too much? But I still need armour and shields as well.”

Nyris paled a little, hesitating, “How about this, just wait a bit. Ag will be here soon, and the Ironblood Family is known for its enchanters. Also, tell me how many shields and armour sets you want.”

Richard thought it over and said, “500,000 gold's worth of shields, half of which should be tower shields that are 1.5 metres long and the rest a mix of regular shields and bucklers. The armour I'm buying for a million, primarily chain mail.”

Nyris' face started to pale as he silently made some calculations.

Agamemnon didn't take too long to arrive. After a brief exchange of pleasantries, he understood Richard's needs and gave Nyris a look filled with pity. The Prince whined loudly, turning his head aside like an uncomfortable teenager.

Richard quickly caught their expressions, “What, is anything wrong?”

“No, nothing at all! I'll have everything ready by the afternoon!” Although he said this, Nyris' tone made it seem like he was acting rashly out of indignance.

Agamemnon shook his head, seemingly enjoying the Prince's misfortune. He then turned to Richard, “Make me three Life's Bane runes if you can. I'll give you the materials at a ten to one ratio. And yes, I'll be able to sell you equipment; this is what I can arrange for.”

Agamemnon passed a scroll to Richard, chatting with him for a while before leaving with Nyris in tow.

Richard then called the old steward and Fuschia into the study, asking them about the situation on the island in recent times. He hadn't been away for a long time in Norland time, but already much of the income from Gaton's lands had faded away. This was only to be expected; the disappearance of the Marquess and the bulk of his army left people with all sorts of intentions. While Richard had become a royal runemaster, causing a few people to give up on those ideas, there were still a fair number doing things in the shadows.

Richard just nodded in response, instructing the old butler to keep a list of the resources where income had dropped without taking any action. For now, they would take as much as the people were willing to give, but still the less than 500,000 coins this season would make maintenance of the island slightly difficult. Based on current trends, the earnings next season would likely be another 100,000 lower.

However, Richard remained calm and didn't pay much heed to the issue, “What about our planar income.”

“The Resting Orchid plane that Lord Senma is defending will send us a batch of materials next month, worth about 200,000 on the market. Nothing else.”

Richard frowned, “Hmm? What about Asiris, is there no news from him?” Of the three knights that had pledged loyalty to him, Asiris was the strongest.

458 - City of Sin

Bankrupted

“Sir Asiris sent word that the war in the plane has reached its most critical point, and things aren't going smoothly. He actually hopes the family can send a batch of enchanted crossbow bolts; the defense has used up most of their reserves.”

Richard's expression changed a little, but he only nodded his head for the moment, “What about Lina?”

The old steward hesitated for a moment, “The Dragon Mage has fallen into an impasse at the Forest plane. She can only hold on for now, and is hoping for some support if you have the strength. However, she told me not to pass on this message if you didn't seem to have enough money.”

Richard fell into deep thought, fingers continuously rapping the surface of the table. He hadn't expected Gaton to leave him with no resources and a huge mess to solve. There wasn't any good news coming from the family planes. They owned two-fifths of the Resting Orchid plane, but it would be difficult for Senma to hold onto it alone. Moreover, that was a plane less than a hundredth the size of Faelor, only a rather large island. Even fully developed the plane wouldn't be able to generate much revenue, while all the other planes were all in need of support. The Gamma plane, originally the richest of the lost, was currently in the hands of Ward.

He wasn't sure whether Asiris truly needed any help. On the other hand, he absolutely believed that Lina wasn't having a good time. Having gone to the Forest plane once himself, the humidity of the strange forests and the violent natives had left a deep impression on him.

Every side was in jeopardy, every plane needed money. However, the resources in his hand were extremely limited. Just one mistake would cause a chain reaction that destroyed everything.

This wasn't surprising if one thought about it. Gaton had basically built himself up from scratch, unleashing a storm in an extremely short period of time. The family's foundation was currently incredibly shallow, only supported by constant expansion. It was like a castle built on a beach; no matter how quickly a magnificent fortress was built, a single mistake would leave every brick falling down. The current Archeron Family, just like any other parvenu, lacked foundation.

There were many aspects to such a foundation. Skilled generals, talented powerhouses, a formidable army, precious resources... Richard's followers had only just started to grow, while Gaton's five knights were only able to maintain the situation in the planes. Any fewer and their defences would fall apart. On the other hand, the knights-in-training had been thinned down to a third after the rebellion. Richard realised he was basically the only source of money in the family now, but his money was needed to fight wars. Just arming 500 elites on Faelor used up over two million gold; as a runemaster himself, there wasn't a single rune knight under him outside of his followers. Of course 500 elites would be more important than three rune knights for now, but in the long term he needed men to hold off the plane's powerhouses.

Although an individual rune knight could not compare to a saint, they could be mass-produced to an extent. In situations where the level difference wasn't too large, quantity was an absolute advantage. For example, three or four rune knights that were equivalent to level 14 would be able to fend off a level 16 warrior without much trouble.

No matter how much he thought about it, Richard couldn't come up with a good response. Not having money was not having money; he couldn't pull gold out of thin air. In fact, he still owed Nyris two sets of equipment; the 1.5 million gold's worth of shields and armour were meant to be materials paid to him in advance.

He waved his hand at the old steward, “Alright, I understand. Go tell the infantry knights to make preparations, they will be leaving first thing in the morning.”
𝒇𝑟e𝗲𝚠𝚎𝐛𝗻𝐨νel. 𝒄om

Only after the old steward left did Richard take out a magic sealing box, pushing it over towards Fuschia, “This is for Alice.”

“A gift for my Lady?” Fuschia smiled like a flower as she took the box, “Let me guess what it is. It couldn't be a rune, could it?”

Her breath caught when she saw the five runes placed inside the box. Her expression grew solemn as she took a serious look at all the runes, “Savage Strike... Very well, you only owe my Lady seven more sets. I must send this over to her immediately, do you have any more instructions?”

“If you have the time, help me pick out ten more people from the island for when I return. Also, has Alice met with any problems recently? You seem very anxious, she can't be missing just one rune knight.”

“Yes. A fine vein of iron was found not far from my Lady's lands, in a barren mountain with no owner. All the nobles in the area are claiming sovereignty over the region, including four earls of the Sacred Tree Empire and a Marquess of the Alliance. Of course, my Lady is staking her own claim as well.”

“Indeed, that is troublesome,” Richard furrowed his brows slightly. The only solution to such a situation was war. Even if nobody was fighting over the mine now, there would certainly be problems in the future.

Richard finally remembered Agamemnon's list after sending Fuschia away, opening the scroll to carefully read through it. On it were hundreds of items of all sizes, with the quantities not being small either; it seemed like the taciturn youth had some status in his family. However, the prices left Richard quite surprised; they were less than a tenth lower than market price, not much different from the costs of normal merchants. Nyris' prices were much lower. The two often appeared together, almost inseparable; it was impossible for Agamemnon to be unaware of Nyris' price. Why then were these prices so much higher?

......

At the same time, Nyris was standing next to Emperor Philip's worktable, summoning up the courage to hand over a piece of magic paper. The Emperor strained to move his stout body, taking the paper to have a look; it was an application for a temporary allowance, but it used up almost all of Nyris' additional authority for the year.

Philip placed the paper back on the table, saying monotonously, “You should know applying for such a large amount will impact you greatly. Your budget next year will be no higher than now, and you won't have the right to apply for a loan throughout that period.”

“I know, but I already promised Richard!” the Prince said helplessly.

“Didn't expect him to want so much at once?” Philip smiled meaningfully, signing his name on the application, “It seems like the kid is developing faster than I expected. Alright, take this to the warehouse and transfer the items. One must keep their promises, just treat this time as a lesson. Next time, measure your own ability before making promises.”

“Understood,” Nyris said gloomily.

......

Nyris' expression was very unpleasant as he walked out of the royal warehouse, his head bowed down the entirety of the way in thought. He hastened towards the transmission circle, wanting to look for Agamemnon to get a drink with.

Just at that moment, a tall, strong figure suddenly blocked his way. This was a youth dressed in battle armour, undecorated save for the royal family's crest hidden away in one corner. He looked similar to Nyris, but while the Fourth Prince seemed soft and delicate this fellow had a dark and gloomy aura.

“Fourth brother! I heard you went bankrupt? I came as soon as I could to confirm myself!” the youth said with a clear tone of ridicule.

Nyris' expression only sank further at the sight, “It's none of your business!”

The youth laughed heartily a few times, “Why isn't it my business? You've had some momentum recently; outside of that weirdo Second, everyone else is very nervous. But your budget won't be increased for the next year, and you can't take any loans either. How do you plan on getting more points? I'm quite willing to throw you a little further.”

“Fuck off!” Nyris spit out viciously, his face frosted over.

Someone as elegant as Nyris suddenly swearing stunned even the Third Prince for a moment. His face swelled up in a flash, reddening from shame and anger, “NYRIS! You're humiliating the royal family?”

“Is that me or you? Get out of my way, I don't have time to waste on you!” Nyris smiled coldly.

The Third Prince's followers had been ready to give way the moment Nyris was enraged, but the youth himself huffed loudly. Their feet seemed to stick to the ground, and they didn't dare to move. Sandwiched between the two princes, these followers were clearly put in an awkward situation. Cold sweat rolled down their faces, but there were a few who remained exceptionally aggressive and brazen to express their loyalty.

Nyris suddenly calmed down, a slight smile forming on his face, “Very well. If you're a real man, then just keep wasting my time here. I'm in no hurry anyway.”

The Third Prince's expression suddenly changed. This was the path to the royal warehouse; although it was usually quiet, there could be people coming over at any time. An open confrontation between two princes would spell trouble; once Philip caught wind of it, no good would come out of it. Flattery was worth nothing in front of the Emperor, and Philip would be able to find out who was right and who was wrong in just a few questions. None of his own followers dared to lie in the Emperor's presence.

459 - City of Sin

Conspiracy

The Third Prince's expression warped a few times, but eventually he just glared at Nyris and let him go. Nyris' steps were graceful and steady as he made his way into the distance, the Third Prince's expression growing even gloomier at the sight until his eyes were nearly spurting fire. He grabbed a follower beside him, “Go, find out why he used up all of his loan! Use whatever method you want, I want to know!”

At that very moment, the doors of the warehouse slowly opened up. A group of strong, muscular men carried heavy magic chests outside and piled them up into carriages nearby. Soon after, a troop of royal guards escorted the three carriages towards the island's portal.

“Wait!” the third prince stopped the captain, “What are these, and who are they being sent to?”

Seeing that it was the Third Prince, the guard captain immediately replied respectfully, “Magic equipment, purchased by Young Master Richard of the Archeron Family.”

“Oh, alright. You can go,” the Prince stepped aside while maintaining his composure. It was only after the procession was far away that a shadow flashed in his eyes, “Richard? Don't tell me he's already ganged up with Nyris...”

“Richard?” a follower asked, “Is that the new royal runemaster?”

The Third Prince's expression grew even darker. “Who cares about his status,” he said with a snort, “I can give him double what Nyris can! But if he's not interested... Hmph!”

“I hear the dead would be more interested!” a follower tempted, but the Prince said nothing in reply.

......

The next afternoon, in Faust's most famous restaurant. Nyris was sat together with Agamemnon once more, but looking at the spread of dishes on the table he actually seemed to have no appetite.

Agamemnon raised his head to glance at him and said harshly, “Eat! I'll pay the bill.”

“Stop looking down on me!” Nyris shouted in reply, “I should be the one paying bills this month!”

“A pauper has no right to be arrogant,” the normally-silent youth responded, leaving Nyris speechless. The Prince then bowed his head down, pouring his anger onto the table of dishes. Even a full table could not bear being ravished by the two youths, wiped out entirely in the blink of an eye.

Agamemnon called the waiter in, “Another table.”

His tone was very dull, but in the face of a table full of dishes worth nearly 10,000 gold these words sounded somewhat domineering. “You look like you came into money recently,” Nyris snorted.

“Yes, I won a bet and taught several narrow-minded fellows a severe lesson.” Agamemnon was clearly proud of his victory to be saying so many words.

However, Nyris couldn't care less about his friend's flaunting. He instead leant against the table listlessly, “Oh, all my points this year... They're definitely meeting a tragic end!”

However, high spirits returned to the prince in a flash. He pulled at Agamemnon, “Say, Ag, are there any good methods to earn lots of points without much effort?”

Agamemnon snorted, answering with a single word, “Deepblue.”

Nyris immediately grew listless once more. Philip was an eccentric Emperor. Many years ago, he had suddenly introduced an extremely complicated point system to evaluate the performances of his children. Every royal child was given a yearly budget that depended on their performance in previous years, but they would be given nothing more. Anything could earn points, from growing more powerful individually to obtaining more support for the family to performance in planar wars. The higher the points one accumulated, the higher their budget. And a higher budget was also an easier way to accumulate points. Thus, it was quite easy to fall into a spiral that went either up or down; every royal was racking their brains to maximise their advantages. Please visit fr𝗲𝚎w𝒆𝚋𝘯𝚘ѵel. c𝗼𝐦

And this hitherto unknown system came exactly from the Deepblue. The core of it all came from Her Excellency Sharon. Nyris understood what Agamemnon meant when he mentioned the Deepblue; the legendary mage was a master in mathematics, so he definitely wouldn't be able to find any flaws in her system.

Once he finished his meal, Nyris suddenly found Agamemnon looking at him with an expression that was half anger and half regret.

“What's wrong?” Nyris began to panic in his heart.

“You forgot something important.”

“What?” the Prince started to feel more and more discouraged.

“Richard. He's already back at Faelor. Didn't you wish to go with him?”

“DAMN IT!” the Prince shrieked immediately.

“Treat this as a lesson. You should know to keep calm regardless of setbacks...” Agamemnon's tone was almost exactly the same as Philip's. Only when chiding his friend did he not drool in the slightest.

......

Indeed, Richard was already back in Faelor. He'd spent all of his time in Norland making the proper preparations, leaving him quite satisfied. If not for Nyris giving him such a large batch of supplies from the royal warehouse, he would not have been able to make such a swift return. It was already late night in Faelor, seven days since he had left.

However, just as he stepped out of the portal he heard a faint shriek coming from the distance; it seemed to be Viscount Zim's voice.

Richard was startled, immediately instructing his followers, “Zim! Hurry, take a look at what's going on!”

Even as those nearby rushed out, Richard scanned his mind for anyone present at the scene. He sensed Phaser at the location, sending down an order for her to check up on the Viscount immediately. However, the special unit did not respond.

Richard did not have the time to wait for her response either; he rushed out of the Lighthouse of Time, casting a haste spell on himself before rushing towards the scream. The Viscount was a sensitive target; over 10,000 elites serving him were present in Bluewater, so he could not meet with any mishap. Having learnt about the significance of the unicorn bloodline, Richard grew anxious; his entire body began to shine with moonforce as he activated the footwork of the elven secret swords, increasing his speed another half-fold as he bounded into the distance like lightning.

The yelling was coming from an ordinary house. Originally burnt down during the attack, it seemed like the roof had only recently been rebuilt. Phaser was standing right outside the door, acting like the matter did not concern her at all.

“Where's Zim?” Richard asked as he neared the door, and she pointed inside the house. He walked in only to find Zim lying on his back, hands covering his neck with a pool of blood at his chest. Richard was taken aback, but closer inspection revealed that the Viscount's heartbeat was still strong and lively; he hadn't sustained any serious injuries at all.

Richard squatted beside the youth, patting his shoulders as he called out softly, “Zim?”

The fatty's eyes moved slightly, Richard's figure reflected in his widened pupils. “Yes... Richard?” he responded weakly, “You're back?”

Richard frowned, “Mm. Don't move yet, let me take a look.”

He didn't expect Zim to suddenly shout his name, throwing himself into his embrace before bursting into tears. Richard was flustered by the Viscount's actions, eventually using a calming spell to end Zim's breakdown. The fellow cried on and off as he slowly filled Richard in on the story.

Zim's womanising attitude had returned recently, and he'd started to pursue beautiful women once more. However, now he had stopped using force and instead tried to seduce them all. The title of the Highland Unicorn was still very useful; over the past few days, he had managed to get his hands on two young beauties one of whom was a cleric of the Goddess of Spring Water. Today, Zim had seen the human side of Phaser's face and taken her for a fairy; desperately pestering her and making endless promises, he managed to bring her to this house. He had been pleasantly surprised, thinking he was about to have sex, but just after he entered the house a dark silhouette suddenly pounced on him from outside the window. It bit him at his neck, ruthlessly sucking out his blood.

Zim wasn't a daring fellow by nature. The sight of a large, unknown creature sucking his blood scared him into a breakdown on the spot; he only shrieked repeatedly, falling face-up as his limbs turned ice-cold anticipating death.

Richard pulled down Zim's hand and looked carefully at his neck. There were two deep marks, making it seem like he had been attacked by one of the giant bats. Zim's description matched as well, except the wound had already stopped bleeding. The injury wasn't serious at all; a simple lesser heal would be enough to fix it.

However, aside from his own, where would one find bats big enough to attack humans in Bluewater?

Richard patted Zim's shoulder repeatedly, “Alright, you'll be fine! We just need to find a random cleric to treat you, let's look for that girl you hooked up with!”

Zim was overjoyed, “Really? But can she do it? Her skills in bed are much better than her magic.”

Richard stood up and pulled the fatty to his feet as well, stuck between laughter and tears, “Hurry! It might be poisonous!”

Zim was scared immediately, rushing out of the house and into the distance. Richard made his way out as well, looking at Phaser who wanted to sneak away. “Stop right there!” he said in a deep voice, “What exactly happened?”

Phaser slowed her footsteps, but without even turning her head she mumbled a string of words that nobody could understand. The problem was that even Richard had no idea what she was saying. “Stop playing tricks, speak!” he shouted

Phaser subconsciously pulled back, speaking slowly, “Zim thought I was a human female and wanted to do the things you and Flowsand always do. I lured him into a place with no one and called an elite bat to bite him. He won't die or become disabled anyway.”

460 - City of Sin

Conspiracy(2)

“The bat won't kill him, but it'll scare him to death!” Richard said on the edge between laughter and tears, “You think a noble brat like him can endure scares like that?”

“Aren't you also a noble, Master?” Phaser asked.

“I'm not counted. I spent my childhood in a small mountain village.” A faint melancholy tinted Richard's voice, memories of his childhood surging to his mind. He didn't notice that Phaser had managed to divert the topic.

However, he was somewhat astonished that Phaser managed to command an elite bat. He suddenly discovered a bat rapidly flying into the distance, heading for the Land of Turmoil at full speed. 'Weird, why would the bat suddenly leave without my command?' It seemed to be returning to the broodmother's side, but no matter how many commands Richard gave it did not respond at all.

The drone was out of control? Richard's expression instantly grew gloomy, 'Broodmother, what's going on? Why is this bat not obeying orders?'

The broodmother's consciousness connected to his in a moment, its response neither too fast nor too slow, “Just a defective unit. I already discovered the problem with it, so I forced it to return so I can repair it.”

Richard felt like the matter wasn't as simple as it seemed. This was likely the bat that had bitten Zim. However, the broodmother's next words caused him to throw it all aside, “Master, I've finished my evolution to level 6. I need you to decide on my direction.”

In the next instant, a veritable deluge of information flooded his mind. However, a quick scan revealed that there wasn't much of a difference from when she had advanced to level 5. Her personal evolutionary options were still the same, the most special of the lot being a second mind. One addition was in the drone list; outside of normal battle drones, she could now create mounts.

There were many types of mounts she could create as well, ranging from common creatures like horses, lions, tigers, and wolves to enormous scorpions, ants, and spiders. On top of this hierarchy was a special option— the manticore! Of course, the broodmother could only spawn level 10 creatures at best now; this manticore was about the same size as an ordinary lion.

Despite the minimal change in the number of options, every option was now described with ten times the detail. It was to the extent that Richard almost felt like the broodmother needed more details to advance.

Even though the manticore was powerful, Richard immediately vetoed the idea after reading up on the details. It cost far too much to spawn: she could only build one every two days.

Simulating many combinations over and over again, he eventually settled on humanoid knights mounted on warhorses. The broodmother could create three in a day, with each one around level 10. If they were given the enchanted equipment that he'd brought back from Norland, they could each go toe to toe with a level 11 knight.

“Master, I have a better proposal. You should consider it,” the broodmother responded to the idea instantly. However, Richard didn't know what to do with her idea at all; it was nothing creative, just a bunch of centaurs!

Still, this was a superior proposal. Without any difference in power, the broodmother could create four centaurs in a day. “How did you think of this?” he asked.

“I discovered a centaur tribe in the depths of the Land of Turmoil and wiped them out. Afterwards, I analysed them and came up with these drones.”

“Oh,” Richard pondered over it for a moment, “Alright, but still just follow my original proposal. It's difficult to integrate centaurs into a human kingdom; I don't want to waste the time explaining things to nobles and priests again and again. The throwers are already getting troublesome.”

“Yes, Master.”

“Right, can you recreate any species of creature you eat?”

“Not entirely. Some races are more difficult to analyse than others; in fact, I can only build a very small section of creatures right now. The more advanced the race, the more difficult it is to perform the analysis.”

“Okay then, humanoids it is. As for your individual evolution, you can use the remaining divinity for a second consciousness,” Richard decided very quickly.

The broodmother had finally reached level 6! This meant he would be supplied with a hundred powerful soldiers every month that could each become a titled knight in Faelor. Time was absolutely on his side! However, in the midst of all this excitement, Richard forgot about the elite bat that had 'gone out of control'.

......

That bat flew to the Land of Turmoil in just half a day's time, circling in the air once before identifying its target and diving down.

In an open space in the forest, the broodmother was lying on the ground. Her abdomen pulsed at regular intervals, constantly spurting out a dense acidic mist from her spiracles. Her figure didn't continue to grow with this evolution, instead shrinking down slightly. The skin grew increasingly dark, but it still remained translucent enough to show a pale gold radiance deep within.

The elite bat swooped down from the sky, hovering before her and dripping some crimson blood from its hollow fangs. The blood was drawn in by an invisible force, floating into the broodmother's mouthpiece. The bat fell head-first to the ground after it was drained of blood, twitching for a while before it stopped moving completely. The pulses of the broodmother's abdomen clearly sped up, her dozens of compound eyes flickering as she analysed something at full speed. A spiritual aura surged around her, the absorbed divinity powering this analysis.

It took days for the flickering of her eyes to stop. The broodmother's entire body suddenly flashed the colours of the rainbow, only dimming after a few hours. She eventually propped up her huge body with much difficulty, crawling ahead a few steps before falling back to the ground.

She was clearly extremely weak, behind her a white egg that was twice the normal size. When the shell cracked open, what made its way out was actually a pony! This silver pony was incomparably magnificent, its splendour enhanced by the milky-white horn growing on its forehead.

The pony made a long neigh, making a few rounds on the spot before suddenly jumping up and galloping in the direction of the Bloodstained Lands. It was gone in a flash.

......

It was early in the morning. Having just completed a rune, Richard stretched his back and glanced outside the window; the rosy colour of dawn was slowly spreading across the sky. He smiled involuntarily; this was an exhausting night, but it had a great harvest.

A clear neigh suddenly echoed in the courtyard, a magical sound that caused even Richard's heart to tense. He bent over the window, looking down to see a magnificent silver horse in his courtyard. His eyes immediately fell onto the horse's forehead.

“Unicorn!”

The broodmother's voice rang out in his consciousness once more, “Master, I used the remaining divinity from the evolution to create another special unit. However, there were no choices except this. It is an infant unicorn; although young, it has the potential to grow. However, its bloodline isn't very pure so it cannot match up to a true sacred unicorn.”

“It's really a unicorn?” Richard was still in shock.

“I'm certain.”

His heart suddenly stirred and he asked coldly, “Where did you get the unicorn bloodline?”

“There are no rules to the birth of a special unit, Master. I cannot understand why the orcish divinity would condense into a unicorn either, it is the Dragon's will.” With these words, the broodmother completely pushed the responsibility off herself.

Richard snorted in disbelief. Still, this was an unexpected reward. To possess the mythical unicorn as his mount... the natural ability to both break and enhance spells made unicorns the best mounts for mages. However, few such creatures existed in the myriad planes; they were even rarer than dragons.

Several days later, the fact that Richard now had a unicorn as his mount spread throughout Bluewater. Everyone found it to be inconceivable at first, but thinking of the legendary mage and new god standing behind the runemaster things started to make sense. However, Zim's expression when he saw the mount was peculiar and interesting.

While the army was still being reorganised, a mysterious group of soldiers entered the oasis city. The Direwolf Duke and Perrin appeared in Richard's home at night, the Dule personally carrying a magic chest that he unsealed in front of Richard and Flowsand. Inside the chest was a black jade idol; although it wasn't too big, a faint divine radiance was streaming out. The moment the chest was open, Richard felt like he had heard an enraged roar.

“This is an ancestral statue of the Juno Family. Earl Juno was once a legendary powerhouse, but it has already been a millennium since his death. I feel like this statue should be able to satisfy Miss Flowsand's requirements.”

Although Bevry's voice was rather dull, Richard knew just how powerful families with legendary beings in their history were. Even if they were only earls now, they would still be amongst the top class. The powerful aura radiated by this statue guaranteed that Juno had left a fragment of his soul in it.

Flowsand looked at Richard for a moment and said, “This is enough to hold a sacrifice that can attract the blessings of the Eternal Dragon. However...” Please visit ƒ𝘳ee𝒘𝚎𝐛𝘯𝐨ν𝑒l. 𝒄o𝘮

Bevry's happy face froze, and Flowsand sighed before continuing, “I know you need a blessing of time, but that might not come up during the ceremony. You should understand that randomness is an inherent characteristic of worshipping the Eternal Dragon.”

The Direwolf Duke frowned, “What do we do if that is not the case? Perrin cannot hold on much longer.”

461 - City of Sin

Untitled

Flowsand muttered to herself for a bit before responding to the Direwolf Duke, “Richard has an orcish idol that can be used as an offering. It might not be as good as the one you have, but there won't be much difference in a sacrifice. However, it is my duty to inform you that a blessing of time might not appear even with two offerings. Hmm... the chances of failure are more than half.”

Bevry turned pale, “Is there no way to guarantee it? Once the existing Dewdrop of Life is exhausted, Perrin might... no, he definitely won't be able to live another year.”

Flowsand sighed, some hesitation in her reply, “I'm a titled priestess of the Eternal Dragon. There truly is a way to increase the chances of Perrin obtaining a blessing of time, but it will come with a price. If he draws the blessing by luck, he can obtain at least ten years. However, if I ensure he gets it that will fall to only three.”

This was a difficult question to answer. The Direwolf Duke's expression fluctuated constantly for a while, but eventually he grew resolute. “I want the guaranteed three,” he said with a deep voice.

Flowsand nodded.

“I will be able to obtain more offerings in the three years I get.” Bevry's voice held an unshakeable determination. He wasn't saying these words to Richard or Flowsand, but to himself.

Richard sighed gently, “Your Grace, I brought you some items. Come, let's have a look.”

He took the Duke to the warehouse where the enchanted swords, shields, and armour sets were placed. Every item was of superior quality, surpassing that of Bevry's most elite knights. The Duke only had about a hundred personal guards; it wasn't that there were no others qualified for such a lofty position, but he just didn't have the means to arm them befittingly.

Bevry couldn't help but take a deep breath at the sight. The quality of this equipment wasn't heaven-defying, but in these numbers... Such a large amount of enchanted equipment in one place was a rare sight in Faelor. If an entire troop could be equipped with this, it would become invincible!

The mages of Faelor were a lazy bunch. Even if one had the money, it was difficult to find so many enchanted items.

“What do you want for these items?” the Duke asked bluntly.

"3,500 for the swords, 2,000 for the shields, and 5,000 for an armour set. All one hundred sets combined will cost 1,050,000 gold. You can pay any way you like; gold, ore, whatever.” Richard was quite straightforward, quoting the same price he had to Devon. Of course, the prices in the Bloodstained Lands were at least 30% cheaper than in the human countries.

“Alright, I'll give you some soldiers, a novice knight and cloudiron ingots for the exchange. If this isn't everything you have, I'll take it all!” the Direwolf Duke immediately showed his true character.

“Deal!” Richard said with a smile.

Three days later, a secret sacrifice was held in the Lighthouse of Time. Perrin gained three more years of life, and Bevry left quietly the very next day. Before they parted, Richard and Perrin talked for an entire night. Richard asked the youth a lot of questions regarding planar geometry, and was deeply impressed by his talent. The topic naturally shifted to magic halfway through, and after a lot of hesitation Richard eventually handed him a tome from Norland. The tome had a lot of content; the meditation technique was top-notch by Faelor's standards, but on top of that it also described a lot of spells. In there were a few spells Faelor did not possess at all.

Noticing Perrin's shock as he read the book, Richard said profoundly that the world of magic was boundless. Since he no longer had to worry about living, he could finally embark on a path to power. Perrin was obviously tempted; mortals had no ability to resist powers that could destroy mountains.

The night the Duke left, Richard sat down in front of his window and stared out quietly at the crimson moon. He didn't think nor act, just enjoying the peace as though he was an old man. Flowsand was in his arms, twirling her long hair.

“Why give Perrin the tome?” the priestess asked lazily, voice as tired as a cat craving sleep.

Richard responded with a question of his own, “Do you think there will be any change to Faelor if another grand mage comes up?”

"This plane has had legendary mages before, what's so strange with a grand mage?” Flowsand was becoming lazier and lazier in his arms.

A short beard, Flowsand in his arms, no need to think too much. Just sleeping and eating, this was a simple happiness. It felt like true happiness. Richard smiled, explaining in detail, “Forget one, even ten grand mages won't affect Faelor at all. But magical mathematics is different, especially planar geometry. It's a source of fire; once it starts burning, it can ignite the entire plane and push Faelor into a new golden era.

“Perrin isn't far from lighting that match. I just hope he can become a grand mage in the future, instead of a great prophet who could change the course of the entire plane.”

“Perrin is a genius, aren't you afraid that he will surpass you in the future?”

Richard laughed, “I'm not afraid of a level 14 battle priest as I am now. Why would I be scared of a future grand mage?”

Flowsand went silent, but she stretched her hand into Richard's robes and pinched a soft piece of flesh.

A painful scream rang out under the moon.

A distance away, Waterflower's ears twitched. The young lady was sitting in a warm hall where almost all of Richard's followers had gathered. Everyone smiled at the sound of their master's scream, and Olar spoke with envy, “Master has such a great relationship with Miss Flowsand!”

Zim nodded hard, echoing the opinion. He'd already forgotten about when he had attempted to snatch Flowsand from Richard, now regarding her as an idol.

Waterflower was the only one whose face darkened slightly, while Phaser subconsciously started polishing the blade that was her left hand. Extinction did not require polishing, however; the blade would always remain sharp.

......

Time flies. In the blink of an eye, a month and a half had passed in silence. Richard had finally finished organising the Bloodstained Highway army. He retained 6,000 slave soldiers; these men didn't have much in the way of equipment, but they were second to none in valour. The three churches sent another group of clerics as well, almost turning out in full strength. Before they set off, a mysterious team of knights joined Richard's side. Each was level 10, covered head to toe in the finest of magical equipment. The most shocking part was that there were actually 150 of them!

Even Duke Bevry himself only had a hundred elite guards, but Richard had half a fold more. More importantly, each elite was armed with magic equipment!

With the full support of the Sequoia Kingdom's nobles, he gathered a mixed force of 20,000 men. The only issue was that the number of men exceeded the limit at which he could freely control them, but this was a good problem to have. Google search f𝚛𝗲𝒆we𝙗𝙣o𝙫e𝗹. 𝐜o𝚖

Just as the Bloodstained Highway project was about to recommence, a number of uninvited guests came to Bluewater. A few hundred guards escorted more than a dozen mages, one of whom was level 15. Richard knew there weren't many mages in Faelor, so he had no choice to pay attention to this troop even though almost every small town in Norland had the same number.

The moment the group entered the city, they headed directly for the most luxurious inn. One of the younger mages arrogantly told the guards to have Richard go and meet them immediately.

Richard was quite surprised when he received the message. He truly couldn't recall just when he had gotten to know so many mages who were all so arrogant. However, it was still only a dozen or so of them alongside a few hundred soldiers. He brought along his followers and battle drones, knowing full well that he could kill them all within an hour. He wouldn't even have any qualms fighting the opposing level 15 directly; with the Twin of Destiny in hand coupled with his own bloodlines and runes, he wasn't afraid of any mage below level 17 in Faelor. At minimum, he was certain that he could escape.

Still, he decided to go meet them. After all, this was the first time he was formally coming into contact with Faelor's local mages.

The inn had been booked completely. By the time he arrived, Richard saw many nobles he was well-acquainted with leaving the place with luggage in hand. He was taken aback at the sight, having to stop one that he knew, “Baron Senton, you're leaving?”

The middle-aged noble shook his head, “How could I? The Bloodstained Highway project is about to resume. Just a change of accommodation; the inn was booked by the mages, and I don't want to offend them. They hail from the Mage Association.”

"Alright!" Richard laughed, seeing the man off before he walked to the inn with a face full of disappointment. This was one of the first buildings to be restored after Salwyn's raid, and it had been specially given to the nobles who participated in the Bloodstained Highway project. It was also the most luxurious place in the entire city. To evict all the nobles within reeked of arrogance.

462 - City of Sin

Association

Richard didn't like people being so arrogant in his lands. Instead of entering right away, he waited for a while for Rolf and Viscount Zim to join him. No matter who these mages were, before a saint and a viscount whose family possessed incredible power they would have to show a modicum of restraint.

When he entered the top floor of the inn and sized up the environment, his expression turned completely gloomy. He started stroking his short beard, a new habit that allowed him to suppress the rage in his heart.

The suite had already been refurbished, with seven chairs placed in the centre of which five already had mages seated in them; only the large chair in the middle and the one on the far right were still empty. All the mages present were rather old, ranging from level 10 to 12, but they wore impossibly luxurious robes decorated with gorgeous magic circles.

Richard himself was a master of magic circles. Although he wasn't confident enough to say he was the best in all of Faelor, no ordinary mage could compare with him. He could tell with a single look that these magic circles were so useless he had to think hard to figure out their purpose. In the end, he came up with two uses that weren't really uses at all: one was to enhance the aura to make their identities obvious, while the other was just aesthetics.

Several warriors were stood against the wall, their golden armour similarly complex, exquisite, and luxurious. They were likely the mages' guards.

What left Richard speechless was the fact that there were only the seven chairs in the entire hall. Forget the people he had brought with him, there wasn't even a seat for himself. This was his territory they were talking about!

Seeing the group of three enter, a thin old mage on the left end opened his eyes slightly. He couldn't help but shiver when his gaze swept over Rolf, finally growing a little straighter, but that was all. He looked at Richard once more, envy and resentment flashing in his eyes at Richard's youth and power. The old coot seemed to be fifty or sixty already, but he was only level 10. Richard's level clearly provoked him.

He stared at Richard from the corner of his eyes, asking in a purposefully cold manner, “You're Richard?”

“Yes, and this is my territory,” Richard answered indifferently. He was in no rush to raise difficult questions, instead wanting to see what these sudden entrants wanted to do. Of course, he wouldn't mind killing them in one stroke either. The five coots were sat so close to each other one fireball could wipe them out.

The mage nodded his head, saying arrogantly, “Master Kamy wants to meet you. Stand and wait.”

This time, the expressions of Rolf and Zim changed as well. The former was still okay, his expression only darkened a little; the saint wasn't someone so transparent. On the other hand, Zim's plump face started to distort. The Viscount was someone who could do as he pleased in the Sequoia Kingdom, a tyrant who could snatch from all he saw. Even Richard had experienced his arrogance. In the entirety of the Kingdom, nobody outside of shrews like Countess Katrina could control him. Of course, Richard inspired a terror in Zim's heart that was second only to Katrina herself.

Still, enraged as he was, the Viscount only had the guts to reprimand these mages. Even the King had to be considerate of a behemoth like the Mage Association; Zim was sure these fellows wouldn't do anything to him, but making a move against the Association was impossible.

Just as a string of rude words made its way to Zim's lips, Richard suddenly raised a hand to stop him. “Alright, I'll just wait for a while.”

After that, Richard truly did just stand in the centre of the hall and wait patiently. However, this only left the five mages growing more and more uneasy. The temperature in the hall seemed to be dropping gradually, forcing two mages who weren't good with the cold to fight back a few shudders.

......

Standing next to a window in the study room was an old mage in golden robes. His hair was almost all gone, leaving a thinly-spread circle of white on a shiny head. The man's face was full of excess fat, the marks of time all over it. Next to the old mage was a middle-aged man wearing the same silver-patterned robes as the mages outside. The two mages were entranced by the formation of humanoid warriors not far away.

The middle-aged man suddenly raised a finger with excitement, “Master Kamy, look at those soldiers! Every one of them has a magic sword of superior quality in their hands! This equipment... even I could only produce one per month at most. But here... At least eighty warriors, meaning eighty superior-quality longswords! Wait, they have shields on their backs too! Heavens, those shields are magic equipment as well!”

A tinge of colour flashed across the muddy eyes of the old mage. His pupils reflected the magical glow, a trace of unconcealable greed on his face.

The middle-aged mage suddenly turned serious, “Taxes! We must collect taxes! All magic equipment must go through the mage association before sale. The Mage Association is the final destination of all mages!

Kamy slowly nodded his head, “That's a good statement, the Mage Association is the final destination of all mages. We should build a bridge for mages to communicate with the world, and they need only progress on the path of magic. This equipment is too dangerous for an ordinary mage, it should be controlled by the Association. Let us wise men decide their use and destination.”

“Your decision truly is brilliant!” the middle-aged man praised greatly, rubbing his hands in excitement, “So much magic equipment. If we had it all, our annual income would rise by 30%! But that Richard...”

“Let's make him a silver robe!” Kamy said in a deep voice.

The middle-aged mage was stunned, “A silver robe? But that's a high level, he doesn't even look twenty! We have all struggled on the path of magic for more than twenty years and contributed ten years of our youth to the Association. Six of the mages who wish to become silver robes are nearing sixty years of age, what would they think if we give the position to Richard?”

“That truly is a problem, but if I remember correctly all six of them only reached level 10 with much difficulty. Richard is already level 12, his level is even higher than yours.”

“Master Kamy, the silver robe is a symbol of status. It should be given out based on contribution to the Association, not just level. If Richard acquires a spot, we will have no choice but to reject one of the experienced older mages. I think we should give him a reserve position at most,” the middle-aged man was oddly persistent about the issue.

Kamy sighed, “I understand what you mean, but don't forget. For Richard to reach his current heights at such a young age, he has to have an extremely high-levelled mage behind him! Just that alone makes him deserving of a silver robe.”

“But...” The middle-aged mage still wanted to insist, but was interrupted by a wave of Kamy's hand. He begrudgingly nodded his head, but thinking back to the benefits promised to him by a specific silver robe candidate he felt a thorn in his heart.

Kamy looked at the middle-aged mage with a gaze indicating he clearly understood everything, saying without hurry, “Alright, we should go out. Richard has already waited for some time, the youths of today do not have much patience.”

......

Richard had remained standing for an entire ten minutes before the door leading from the study to the hall opened. Kamy and the middle-aged man walked out, the former calmly seating himself on the central chair and speaking to Richard with a light smile, “You must be Richard. You truly are young.”

The middle-aged man sat on the last empty chair, interrupting Richard before he could even answer, “This is Master Kamy, an elder of the Sequoia Kingdom Mage Association. All mages must accept the oversight of the Association, for an elder to come personally to your territory is a rare honour!”

Richard stroked his beard just as before, ignoring the middle-aged man and turning to Kamy, “Master Kamy, you can't only be here to visit a ruined city, right?”

Kamy made an indication to the middle-aged mage, and the man responded with no traces of politeness, “Richard, we discovered a large amount of magic equipment entering the Sequoia Kingdom from you. Is this true?”

“Yes, the equipment comes from my master's workshop.” Google search 𝘧𝓇𝗲e𝑤𝑒𝙗noѵ𝒆𝚕. 𝒄o𝓶

The middle-aged mage huffed, his voice turning cold, “The trading rights of superior-grade magic equipment in the Sequoia Kingdom belong solely to the Mage Association. If you want to sell to the lords of the Kingdom, you must first acquire the sale rights and pay tax!”

“Oh? And what is the tax rate?” Richard still didn't bat an eyelid at the hostility.

“For every ten pieces of magic equipment you sell, you must hand over three... No, four as tax!” The man's voice grew louder and louder, the greed in his eyes growing difficult to conceal.

Richard's expression grew cold. Just as he was about to say something, Kamy softly knocked on the armrest of his chair to quiet the middle-aged mage down. The old man was incredibly satisfied with his imposing manner, coughing once before saying amiably, “Richard, the Mage Association is the final destination of all mages. We collect tax to provide financial support to those under us and allow the light of magic to shine upon all of Faelor. As mages, we have no need to personally participate in such a greedy thing as an exchange of money. You also have a second option; sell all your equipment directly to the Association. I personally recommend this.”

463 - City of Sin

Rift

Richard reached out and pulled a longsword out from Viscount Zim's waist, throwing it to Kamy, “How much will you be buying for? Take this sword, for example.”

The old mage reached out and caught the blade, his movements rather agile for his age. Inspecting the weapon, any displeasure caused by Richard's attitude was swept away. He gently touched the tip with his hands, gaze burning brighter and brighter; this was one of the enchanted longswords Richard had brought back from Norland, casually given to Zim. In Kamy's eyes, everything from the craftsmanship to the enchantments was top-notch, all ideal choices. The engravings were simple in design, but they were filled with a proud flair. This was not a taste ordinary craftsmen could possess; only a great mage with profound attainments in the arts could produce such a piece.

Richard smirked at the sight. Norland's magic was far ahead of Faelor's; of course, even a standard sword from the royal family would be a masterpiece here.

The old Mage finally let out a long breath, “This sword is of excellent quality. If you sell it to the Association, we will buy it at... 2,000 gold.”

“HOW much?” Richard had felt a bad omen, but Kamy's greed still far exceeded his imagination. If this sword was manufactured in Faelor, 2,000 gold wouldn't even be enough to cover manufacturing cost.

Kamy seemed to realise he'd gone overboard, “Fret not, I haven't finished yet. To make up for your contributions, we will immediately make you a distinguished silver robe mage of the Association. This is a very respectable position.”

The smile on Richard's face had finally disappeared, voice turning cold, “Tell me, who gave you the right to collect taxes on my lands?”

The middle-aged man suddenly stood up, “RICHARD! Don't forget that you are a mage as well. All mages must abide by the orders of the Association! Are you going to defy us?”

Richard stroked his beard and sneered, “Order? What if I say no?”

The man's face turned cold. “Then you are a sinner!” he said sinisterly, “Come with us. The elders of the Association will try you for your crimes!”

“The Association?” Richard couldn't really fully put his ridicule into words, ending up with a simple question, “You want me to obey a bunch of greedy old fuckers like you?”

Richard could feel the hollowness of the Mage Association the moment the insult left his mouth. The inheritance of the Deepblue was extremely profound, a hundred thousand miles apart from whatever this stupid Association was meant to be. Even Rolf rolled his eyes, while Zim burned with resentment. If not for the deep trauma Richard had left in him, the Viscount would have wanted to go and start an argument with the mage opposite them. The resounding reputation of the Highland Unicorn was not gained by sleeping around alone; commanding armies, killing, arguing, Zim felt like he could do everything now. Although it wasn't a good idea for a Viscount to fall out with a huge body like the Mage Association, Zim had never been someone who acted based on rationality.

“Boss, it's useless to talk to these guys!” The Viscount was quite euphemistic. He wasn't stupid enough to tell Richard that he was not their opponent.

The middle-aged man jumped up, his fingers almost poking Richard's nose as he screamed, “HOW DARE YOU INSULT THE MAGE ASSOCIATION? Do you want to take on the Kingdom's 300 noble mages? In the name of the Association, I announce that all your enchanted weapons have been confiscated. Your magical bloodline will be cut off, leaving you unable to cast spells for the rest of your life! Someone, come!”

The soldiers in the room answered loudly, drawing their swords in Richard's direction. The silver robe mages all stood up as well, looking ready to attack. Rolf snorted loudly, emitting his aura as a saint to keep them at bay, but even though they didn't dare to attack the stares from the mages were not friendly. Clearly, a saint would not be enough to put them off.

Richard seemed to fall into deep thought, stroking his beard for a long time. He suddenly spoke to Kamy, “Oi, do you know why I stood here waiting for an entire ten minutes?”

Kamy sat up straight, his once-turbid eyes growing incomparably sharp. He snorted, waiting for Richard to continue. However, Richard didn't speak; his left hand waved, a fist landing ruthlessly on the face of the middle-aged mage!

The sound of bones cracking echoed through the room as the mage flew out like a ragdoll. Blood spurted from a crushed nose, leaving a string of crimson beads in the air. The man felt like he had been attacked by an ogre warrior; his body flew into the wall before he slowly slid down to the ground. He crumpled down like a rag sack; he would not be getting up for a long time.

Even a mage from Norland would be left dizzy after a punch like that, forget one from Faelor. Kamy had authority and magic, but his noble status had ensured that he hadn't been on the battlefield for more than a decade. His reaction was several times slower than in his youth; he only came to his senses a while after Richard's punch.

Richard's knuckles were still clenched tightly as he slowly withdrew his fist, letting out a long breath, “Ah, that feels so much better!”

Kamy stared at him blankly, the rest of the silver robes like statues as they couldn't believe their own eyes. Richard finally answered his earlier question, “Right, the reason why I didn't mind waiting ten minutes was so my soldiers could get here. ASSEMBLE!”

The moment the order went out, several large holes were smashed open in the wooden wall. Humanoid figures, dressed in heavy armour and armed with shields and axes rushed into the room, clanging their weapons. All of the Mage Association's soldiers were defeated in an instant, the situation firmly in Richard's control. The heavy infantrymen showed no mercy to the silver robes either; heavy shields rammed into faces to send any spells back into the mages' bellies. The humanoids pinned the dizzy old mages to the ground one by one, placing their axes on their necks.

The gold robe mage was the only one who was safe. This was because he maintained his original posture, sitting still without a move. Kamy was old, but he was not senile. He knew that the slightest of actions would meet with a bad end.

The old mage's expression changed a little and he stood up abruptly, pointing at Richard as he said gloomily, “No one who made an enemy of the Mage Association has met a good end.”

Richard sneered, “As far as I understand it, you're the ones who came looking for trouble.”

Kamy squinted his eyes like a treacherous snake, “Regardless of your understanding, you have made a powerful enemy today. You will be uprooted, your family and friends burdened! If I were you, I would pay constant attention to my life from now on. You might be buried anywhere in the Sequoia Kingdom. You should know, Finger of Death is a fascinating spell!”

Richard smiled, “So there truly is no way to reason with you. You dare threaten me?” Without waiting for Kamy to respond, he suddenly stepped forward and sent a right hook at the old mage's chin. The man was sent flying out of the inn, planting down heavily on the ground without the ability to get up. In such a scenario, his level was useless.

The silver robe mages wanted to charge forward, but they wisely gave up all resistance under the threat of shining axes. The hatred in their eyes almost made Richard send out the order to kill them all.

......

The next day, hundreds of soldiers escorted the dozen mages out of Bluewater. None of the mages was held back, but there were still a few differences from their arrival. Firstly, two high-ranked mages were left lying in a carriage. Also, the mages and warriors had all been stripped of their belongings, instruments, and weapons. They would return to the Kingdom as beggars.

Two days later, the Bloodstained Highway army set off once more. Zim was riding alongside Richard, and couldn't help but ask, “Boss, why did you just let those guys go? The Mage Association will definitely announce that you are a dark mage and will order your arrest.”

Richard was silent for a moment, but then he said indifferently, “If they dare to come, I'll kill all of them. I don't believe those old fellows aren't afraid of death.”

The Viscount immediately grew excited, “You're amazing, boss! You don't even care about the Mage Association! Right, let's uproot them!”

That statement left Richard in a mix of humour and rage. He had done his research on the Mage Association in the past few days, finding out that they were the same as churches in that they were independent of nobility. The Mage Association in the Sequoia Kingdom actually exceeded the churches there in terms of status and resources, but then again outside of the three weak goddesses most other churches were spread across countries and even continents. The Mage Association was not a single entity like a church was, however; there were dozens of them, large and small, throughout the continent. It was possible for a few mages from the lands of several independent mages to form an association, but at the same time there were large empires with multiple associations in them.

The Association, the aristocracy, and the theocracy were always in a race for benefits. With a monopoly on magic equipment and advanced medicine, the Mage Association tended to accumulate astonishing sums of wealth. In turn, this wealth supported the expansion of the Association's influence. Zim's hatred was very normal. No powerful aristocrat was fond of competing powers like the churches and the Mage Association.

464 - City of Sin

A Conflict That Cannot Be Resolved

Given his skill at appraisal, Richard knew that any piece of enchanted equipment was a high-quality item in Faelor, making the craft of enchanting one of the most profitable on the plane. The swords that cost 1,500 gold in Norland required at least 3,000 gold to manufacture in Faelor. Still, despite the vast price disparity, there was also no guarantee of a steady supply.

Thus, when Richard dumped hundreds of superior-grade magic items into the market, it had garnered the attention of the Mage Association. Some preliminary investigation easily led them to the source of this new batch of high-quality equipment.

Richard had basically affected the Association's primary source of income, which was why so many mages had come to his door. The Association in the Sequoia Kingdom prioritised preserving the status quo, followed by bringing him under their control. In other words, exterminating the variable was the most beneficial to their interest. As for the equipment he had already sold, they would naturally collect it all. They hoped such quality equipment would never be sold in bulk ever again; that way, they could maintain their exorbitant prices.

This was why Kamy had come with such harsh conditions. If Richard bowed, he would turn into a labourer for the Association. If not, it would give them a reason to exterminate him. As for whatever teacher was supporting him from behind, the Association with eleven grand mages felt like they had no need to fear any single mage. Of course, these so-called 'grand mages' were Faelor's grand mages, not level 18 like in Norland.

Richard himself would definitely not give up on such a profitable venture. The standard weapons and armour were only a start; truly precious goods like epic or even legendary-grade items were soon to come. They could be sold for an astronomical price on Faelor, allowing him to buy even more resources. These resources would be turned into wealth back in Norland, used to grow his strength. This would form a foundation of income that strengthened him by the day.

Thus, there was a fundamental conflict of interest with the Mage Association. He had only two options— be taken advantage of, or destroy the enemy. There was no room for discussion. The only reason he'd allowed Kamy to return was to delay the war as long as possible. Regardless, mere gold and silver mages were terribly weak and wouldn't be much of a threat at all.

A total of 15,000 men followed Richard on his second campaign, of which a full third were his own. However, most of the men this time were slaves from the fight in Bluewater. Outside of the 150 new humanoid knights, there were only 200 humanoid warriors and a mere 150 throwers left. The losses to his drone army during the defense had been dire.

Still, there was good news to be had. Phaser was level 10 already, and Waterflower was showing signs of advancing herself. He himself had a ways to go before he reached level 13, but his focus was currently on his astral affinity from the elven bloodline. The two existing branches had been strengthened, while a third was beginning to form.

He was excited to see what new ability he would be able to unlock. Even the two existing branches now had dozens of leaves on them, allowing him to see a dozen or so astral rays every time he entered meditation. The large grade 2 astral rays were showing at a much higher frequency, to the point that he couldn't even catch them all. On top of that, his body was starting to refine the ambient energy in his surroundings into mana, increasing his regeneration rate. He already recuperated his mana pool at twice the rate of an ordinary mage.

Thankfully, the Mage Association's visit was not without benefits. Richard had actually found close to a hundred mana crystals combined on all the mages present, a huge sum of wealth that equalled about 500,000 gold in the human countries. It would allow the level 6 broodmother to create a new type of drone for 60 crystals, leaving 40 more for her to enhance her abilities with. This was a tremendous investment unto itself, but the broodmother was just like war itself; she devoured gold with an unending appetite. He would need more than a thousand mana crystals to create a drone with magic abilities, but right now he didn't have that kind of money. He needed a way to strengthen her own level as well as her production.

The 100 mana crystals had allowed her to increase her daily output of knights to four. She could also create eight humanoid warriors, nine throwers, or eleven wind wolves as well. Of course, all this couldn't be done together.

Richard gathered all the knights the broodmother had created during the wait, planning to rely on his current numbers to plough through the enemies. However, the troops under Earl Layton and Countess Katrina didn't quite agree with his authority in battle, so he only retained the thousand best men. The general leading this army, Lady Anna, was someone who left Richard with a bit of a headache. The woman was beautiful and arrogant, her level 14 strength giving her a boundless confidence that ensured she didn't so much as spare a second glance at others. Worried she might not follow his instructions in the coming battles, he had to reduce the number of troops from her to a minimum. Thankfully, she wasn't here to participate in the project but to keep an eye on Viscount Zim; she had no objections to this arrangement.

Their first stop was Camp Kvensen. This was the base of the various non-human tribes in the Bloodstained Lands, similar to a capital in a human kingdom. This camp that occupied somewhere around a dozen square kilometres held tauren, orcs, ogres, goblins, grey dwarves, evil dwarves, large monsters, cavemen, and even goblins and the nari people amongst dozens more races. There were a hundred tribes here, each with their own interests. Some tribes even had blood feuds with each other, so there were duels, battles, and massacres every day. The place was thus also a gathering point for non-human bandits. If all the warriors here were pulled out, they would quickly turn into a formidable army.

Camp Kvensen was the natural enemy of human slavers. Any merchant group passing nearby would be turned into food for these tribes who would band together to kill them off. The goods of human caravans had immense value, while humans themselves were delicacies to many of the tribes present. Thus, outside of first-class caravans with over a thousand guards, no humans dared to approach Kvensen. They would rather take a detour of more than a hundred kilometres than be eyed by the beings here.

Of course, the vanguard of Richard's army headed straight for the camp. The various races of Kvensen came out at full strength, creating a huge army of over 40,000; this was basically every able adult in the camp. Here, they began a decisive battle against Richard's troops at the Gravel Desert that was ten kilometres away from the camp.

This was a direct battle with nothing fancy. An organised formation of 15,000 human soldiers supported by overqualified clerics and mages fought fiercely against a mob of 40,000 scattered tribal warriors. It truly tested Richard's ability in head-to-head battles; there were no schemes here, no trick to surviving except drawing the lifeblood of the enemy. Powerhouses were suppressed to the limit in this expansive battlefield, turned into the smallest components of an enormous alchemic machine that behaved like a robot. They blocked, brandished their weapons, blocked once more, brandished their weapons once more... Time flowed like blood as these men fought until they were cut down by an enemy. Google search free𝓌𝗲𝒃𝓃𝒐𝐯𝒆𝙡. 𝑐𝗼ｍ

With the passage of time, the army's discipline, equipment, and spellcasters finally began to shine through. The enemy morale rapidly faded away as the number of dead increased, while Richard imitated Sinclair's tactics in mixing his knights up with heavy cavalry to create small teams that broke apart any resistance. These men constantly created cracks in the enemy formation, allowing Richard's infantry to fill the haps. The spellcasters' focus was incomparably spectacular, dozens of fireballs flying through the sky to tear open spaces in the tribal army.

The first battle ended with Richard's victory. The tribal warriors left behind nearly 10,000 bodies as they retreated in panic to the camp.

The second battle occurred at Sweetwater Valley, five kilometres away from Kvensen. Now there were elderly and children amongst the tribal warriors, many fighters only barely able to pick up weapons. 35,000 men took on Richard's army of 13,000, suffering a crushing defeat in under three hours. Richard's knights pursued the broken army, dying Sweetwater Valley red with blood.

The third engagement was no longer a war, but a massacre. Richard encircled half of Camp Kvensen, obtaining the upper hand and burning it down with blazing fire. He also chased anyone still hidden in the camp out into the open wilderness. The huge fires blazed for an entire day, taking thousands of lives.

When watching the fire, Richard and the nobles who followed him on the campaign felt no sympathy. Buried under the soil of Camp Kvensen were more than 10,000 human skeletons. Here, humans were like livestock that only served as a source of wealth and food.

465 - City of Sin

Exploration

Richard's men pursued the fleeing enemies from Kvensen for a dozen days, wiping them out completely. This way, the greatest threat on the path to the Ashen Plateau was completely exterminated. The battle with Camp Kvensen had resulted in nearly 5,000 losses on his side, but the damage to the tribes was several times that number.

There were still 200 kilometres or so left on the path to the Ashen Plateau in the northwest, but there were no powerful organisations left. The next strategic location was the ruins of Zhubvar, the capital of the former troll empire. Legend had it that the river streams around Zhubvar slowly dried out over time, turning the vast forest that covered this place into a barren land. The troll empire fell into decline, eventually dying out. There were still a few small troll tribes within the ruins, but even if their exceptional vitality made them natural nemeses of humans a single tribe only had a hundred inhabitants at most. There was no need for Richard to use his entire army to defeat them, just a few of the drones would be enough. Please visit ƒ𝐫𝗲𝒆𝑤𝚎𝐛𝙣𝐨𝙫𝙚𝚕. 𝒄o𝓂

The ruins weren't said to hold any valuable treasures. The trolls were a race that preferred wood and stone, their ability to process metal very primitive. Most troll encampments had nothing of value for humans.

However, Richard was not here for wealth. He wanted to gather all sorts of offerings.

Mountain ranges dotted the western Bloodstained Lands, the terrain fickle and complicated. There were few human settlements here, most groups who moved about being powerful slavers. The land was rather barren, so there weren't any specialty products that made the risk of travelling all this way worth it. Only the dwarven countries in the northwest were worthy of trade, but the existence of Camp Kvensen had restricted large-scale movements in the area. It was nearly impossible to pass through this land alive with heavy ores in hand. The returns of such an attempt weren't worth the risks, so few were willing to step foot in this place.

However, Richard's eradication of Kvensen changed everything, Most of the precious minerals from the dwarven lands could now be transported back by human armies, and the volumes would be enough for the profit to be counted in tens of millions. The remaining races in the Bloodstained Lands, be they orcs, ogres, or trolls, weren't so foolish as to challenge a huge army with 10,000 people.

Richard had his troops set up camp at the edge of the former troll empire, allowing the noble generals under him to reorganise their troops and recuperate. On the other hand, he brought along his own followers and several hundred of the broodmother's troops to search through the ruins of Zhubvar.

Small hills were everywhere within the troll lands, giant wilted trees towering into the sky with cracked rocks and dry soil on the surface of the ground. Richard passed through the dead forest and walked two whole days without seeing many signs of life outside of the occasional few vultures.

From the second day onwards, they started to notice stone carvings half-buried in the ground, as well as wooden totems and rocky alleys covered by weeds. They had officially entered the troll lands.

It was sometime around noon. Richard was at the edge of a cliff, carefully moving his upper half to peer down into the depths below. This valley was several hundred metres deep, thorn-like stone pillars towering out of the darkness. Around the stone pillars were rather smooth rocks, while the bottom of the cliff was clearly weathered away. A long time ago, this place was once the valley of a torrential river; now, however, it had been dried up for many years. One could only see a few short shrubs growing in the shadows at the foot of the valley.

The two walls of the valley were separated by dozens of metres. Wind howled at the mouth, creating terrifying sharp whistles. Far into the distance on the other side, one could see a lush area; the forests there still had some life. The snaking valley was blocking his path, so long he couldn't see to its ends. It was unknown how long a detour would take.

A short distance away were two bulky rectangular pillars with obvious signs of erosion on them. At the top were the carvings of a beast with long teeth, clearly in the style of the trolls. Opposite the cliff were two other pillars that were similar, although one was broken in half. It seemed like there had been a rope bridge over this valley a long time ago, but time had worn away the ropes.

“Rope,” Richard called out after another look around the cliff walls. A moment later, a few free Archeron soldiers dragged over a thick rope that was several hundred metres long. Richard had made ample preparations for this expedition, bringing over all the Archerons present. They might not have great individual abilities, but each possessed plentiful experience in battle and expeditions. They were prime candidates for ruin exploration.

A few large bats flew down from the sky with a thought, biting at an end of the rope and flying to the other side of the valley. The rope was pulled farther and farther until it finally crossed the other cliff, after which a surprising scene occurred. The bats actually managed to fly in loops to wind the rope around the stone pillar, even adding a tight knot! The free Archeron soldiers who had never seen any such thing before were stunned at the sight. Who would have thought that bats could tie knots too?

With the first rope past the cliff, the next bit was easy. Rolf, whose forte was agility, took another rope and bounded across to tie the second rope for the bridge. The first knot was fixed as well, and freshly-cut wooden boards were affixed to the bridge. After an hour's time, a rope bridge connected the two ends. Richard was the first to cross it on his unicorn, followed by the knights and humanoid warriors.

Once they crossed the river valley, they spent an entire afternoon passing through a mountain range until they found more greenery under their feet. The air was finally starting to hold some moisture, so Richard found some level ground for with a clear view where they could set up camp and rest. One could already see a sparse forest further ahead, with the occasional cries of some ferocious beasts ringing in the distance. The troops had been fatigued by the day's trek, so it would not be a good decision to continue through the night.

Some enormous bonfires were set up in the camp, large enough to drive away any nearby wild beasts. Sentinels spread out in twos and threes, vigilantly watching the hills throughout the night. Half of Richard's ten or so elite bats were flying out into the mountains to scout the areas they would pass through the next day, while the other half were resting in the camp. However, there was always one bat circling the camp.

In the central tent, Richard was using a magic chest as his worktable as he quickly drew something on magic paper. His pen moved quickly, tracing a map of the mountain range that slowly grew more and more detailed. He was drawing what his elite bats were seeing on the magic paper; a formation had already been inscribed that would turn this paper into a holographic map.

The elite bats could patrol a range of thirty metres. Richard was already seeing a few things that gathered his interest on the map, so soon after he was done drawing it he poured his mana into the formation and activated the hologram.

Damaged buildings could be seen at the edge of the map. While only a few broken walls remained, one could see that the entire region had been set up in a neat square formation. The trolls loved squares and rectangles. These ruins were at the bottom of a gentle hill. At one side was a long, even grand flight of steps that headed towards the edge of the map.

Richard examined the map for a while before patting Flowsand who was beside him, “Take a look. This should be Zhubvar.”

Flowsand pressed close to him, having a close look before nodding, “While it's just a small part, it does seem to be the style of the trolls. Looking at these steps, there could be an enormous city that can fit tens of thousands at the end. That should be the capital of the troll empire. Look at the sides of the steps, that should be where the guards were stationed... Hmm? Why isn't there anything at the end?”

“The bats could only fly so far.”

Flowsand nodded, “We need to be careful tomorrow, it's possible a fair number of trolls are still around. I suspect that there are a few wells or the like near the capital. Have you planned our route yet?”

“Yes, I thought it through. Look here, if we walk along this path we'll be pretty safe. There isn't any place we can be ambushe—”

“Take care of that yourself, don't bother me! I'm busy!” Flowsand rubbed her head against Richard's, grabbing a cushion before she continued to flip through the Book of Time. Letters and pictures kept appearing on the empty page, which she would read and then change with her divine power.

“What are you looking at?” Richard asked nonchalantly, stowing the map away.

“I'm learning the history and language of the troll civilisation,” she responded without looking up.

Richard was shocked, “You mean these trolls are the same as the ones in Norland?”

“The characteristics are about the same, but their history and culture are worlds apart. I'm obviously looking at information on the trolls of Faelor.”

“The Book of Time also has information on Faelor?” Richard was starting to grow more and more interested in the tome in Flowsand's hands.

466 - City of Sin

Exploration(2)

Flowsand waved the Book of Time around, “Of course you can! Once you set up a Lighthouse of Time, the old dragon can extract fragments of a plane's past in exchange for divine grace, putting it in the book. That's what I'm looking at right now. It isn't just the history of Zhubvar, but also the script of the troll civilisation.”
𝗳𝒓eℯ𝘄𝘦𝚋𝙣ｏ𝚟𝗲Ɩ． 𝑐𝒐𝘮

“This... This information also requires a payment of divine grace?” The look on Richard's face grew slightly strange. The Eternal Dragon seemed capable of using anything at all to make a profit.

“Of course. Understanding a plane's history is very important if you wish to conquer it. It helps greatly in the first stage of conquering the plane, integrating into it and establishing a foundation. This information is more important than a few rune knights.”

Her words were irrefutable, but Richard couldn't bring himself to share the opinion. A plane like Faelor had an incomparably long history that spanned hundreds of thousands of years. Innumerable civilisations had come and gone since then, a place like Zhubvar but a tiny speck in the grand scheme of things. If it all required divine grace... The total amount of divine grace needed to learn the entire history of the plane would far exceed his wildest imagination.

He was starting to feel more and more like the blessings of the Eternal Dragon were simply omnipotent. In battles between two equal sides, the one with divine blessings would trump the other easily.

......

The group continued its journey the next morning, spending another day trekking before they finally reached the boundaries of Zhubvar at dusk. Only seeing it for himself did Richard feel awed by the vast capital of the trolls.

An enormous staircase was dug out from the side of the hill, every step a giant block of stone that was nearly a metre tall and an astounding fifty metres wide. There were stone platforms on each side, decorated with carvings of flames, suns, and giant beasts. There was also the occasional stone brazier, but the elements had weathered away all the carvings on those. The entire capital of the trolls was built atop the hill; the slope levelling out after a certain distance to become flat, inhabitable land. There were as many as thirty stone platforms until it reached that level.

At the end of the staircase was a pyramid-shaped sacrificial platform that neared seventy metres in height. Even looking up from the foot of the hill, one could still sense the magnificence and dignity of the place. Nobody knew just how long the trolls had taken to build this miraculous city.

Richard narrowed his eyes. Gazing into the distance, the layout of the troll capital seemed comparable to a gigantic altar. A thin mist filled the entire ruins, desolate cries faintly echoing everywhere. One could feel the increased humidity the moment they stepped foot into Zhubvar; just as Flowsand had expected, there were likely new sources of water here. However, there was also a marshy smell of decay in the air. With his sharp senses, Richard also smelt the stench of corpses.

He waved his hands and all the knights dismounted from their horses, growing more guarded. Giving the nameless elven sword to an elite humanoid, he drew Extinction and walked to the barracks on either side at the foot of the stairway. The roofs had caved in long ago, vines wrapping around the stone pillars. The troll rooms were of simple design; all the wooden wares had long since rotted away, leaving only the stone fire pits intact. A few metallic spear-tips were strewn around the barracks, long since rusted beyond imagination. Richard picked one up to take a look, but the tip actually broke apart in his hands. There seemed to be no redeeming quality about it, from the material to the forging technique.

He shook hi head, continuing around the barracks. Walking to another broken section of wall, he suddenly felt a faint rotting odour and stopped to look in that direction. Under a brick on the wall was a strange dark-grey moss, the surface seeming like the thick white fur of a rotting corpse.

Some information from his time in the Deepblue surged to his mind, but he couldn't be quite sure. “Zendrall!” he shouted, “Come take a look at this!”

The necromancer walked over and took a close look at the moss, saying with surety, “This is graveyard moss. They only grow in places where there is a dense concentration of souls, mostly graveyards where the undead are active.”

“Ghosts are active here?” Richard turned solemn. If a large number of undead beings appeared in this place, there was a high possibility of powerful ghosts appearing. There was even a chance of liches and the like that had the potential to become legendary beings.

Zendrall carefully examined the graveyard moss again, “The undead have definitely passed by here, and it hasn't been a long time since. I can sense the aura of spirits.”

Richard nodded, “Then we need to be careful. Summon two warriors of darkness just in case, we might need to use them to check some places.”

The necromancer nodded and headed outside, beginning to summon his warriors of darkness. The past few battles had greatly expanded the number of undead under his control; now, he had 200 or so warriors and three death knights. He could even control up to fifteen at a time.

The fact that undead were active in the troll capital caused Richard to raise his guard, but he felt no fear. His army had a large number of clerics.

Flowsand found a stone tablet at a corner of the barracks. Once the moss growing on it was wiped away, it revealed that the letters were still clear and legible. She didn't translate it right away, instead taking out a blank scroll to inscribe the words onto. Richard stood behind her, looking at the tablet as well. While he had studied the ancient troll language with her last night, it had been for too short a time. He could only vaguely make out a few words relating to sacrifices.

“What does it say?” he asked.

The scroll in Flowsand's hands shot a beam of light towards the stone tablet, copying all of the text onto itself in a moment. Flowsand took a look, “This is a scripture that details how to offer sacrifices to someone named Zuka, but the tablet only has the first steps. Hmm... this Zuka seems like a holy spirit that the trolls worshipped.”

Richard nodded, “We found traces of active undead nearby. Be careful.”

Flowsand thought nothing of it, patting her pocket with a smile, “There's twenty divine scrolls here.”

They quickly searched through the ruins of the two barracks, finding nothing of value outside of the stone tablet. Richard had his troops enter formation, leaving a small group of guards before heading further into Zhubvar's depths. However, just as they got to the steps his unicorn suddenly halted, uneasily pawing at the ground with a hoof while neighing in a low voice.

Richard was amazed at the sight. This was the first time the silver unicorn was behaving any differently from a normal horse, so much so that he was starting to doubt its uses. The unicorn had used twice the divinity of Phaser to make, and even at level 10 Phaser was a force to reckon with.

Within his mind, he felt impatience and frustration. The unicorn was getting increasingly violent, radiating animosity towards something hidden deep within the capital of the trolls. It was becoming more and more restless, the tip of its inch-long horn beginning to spark. The neighs grew louder and louder; Zendrall's expression changed as he felt a bout of dizziness, causing him to distance himself in shock. The power of death gathered around the two warriors of darkness that had just been summoned, but a pale silver fire burnt them until they started to cry out.

Richard quickly placed his hand on the unicorn's back to calm it, only getting it to quiet down after a lot of effort. However, with this he found out that the unicorn was a natural nemesis of the undead.

“Boss!” Gangdor suddenly shouted, “There seems to be something in the city. Look there!”

Following Gangdor's finger, Richard was just in time to see a dark silhouette flash between two buildings. However, he was too far away to see what exactly it was. Listening attentively, he caught faint whistling echoing through the ruins that was growing more concentrated.

He turned back towards his men, “All dismount! Be on guard!”

This time, even the drone knights dismounted. They could only display level 8 strength when not on their horses; it was their connection to their mounts that allowed them to be so powerful. However, in mountainous terrain like Zhubvar's the mounts were of no use.

Although there was unknown activity in the ruins, Richard was not flustered. He instead summoned all the elite bats in his mind, having them soar into the sky. With them circling overhead, he immediately felt much safer. The entire troop then moved up the stairs, continuing to explore the troll capital.

There wasn't much outside of a few more stone tablets in the lower regions of the city. The buildings here were crude and simple, records stating that it was for weaker peasants to reside in. The troll empire followed a strict hierarchy; there was a strict division in society based on power and role. The most obvious indication of this was the stairway itself.

467 - City of Sin

Sacred Spirit

A little further up were the middle-regions of Zhubvar, where the warriors and hunters often lived. There were a handful of shrines and plazas here outside of basic shelter, and the stone road was much wider as well. At the edge of this district lied a stone canal to channel water, but it was already dried out.

Richard wandered aimlessly into one of the shrines. It wasn't particularly large, but the height was nothing to scoff at. The remnants of what seemed to be a statue of Zuka lay at the middle of the altar, seemingly destroyed on purpose. The two side walls contained carvings of the teachings of Zuka, as well as some pictures of battle. Most of the paint was scraped off due to its age, but the content was still visible. Richard quietly studied these murals as Flowsand busied herself with copying the scriptures.
𝑓ree𝑤𝘦𝚋𝐧𝘰ve𝑙. co𝒎

One of the murals depicted a giant feathered serpent, coiled around an altar receiving endless sacrifices from the trolls. That was Zuka, the sacred spirit of the troll empire. Another mural showed Zuka fighting a bear of equal size, as well as a huge spider. Beneath them were three clashing factions of trolls, a mixture of blood and flesh. Richard could tell that even though the techniques were rather primitive, the proportions of these depictions were extremely precise. The troll warriors looked like ants compared to the three sacred spirits.

A matured troll could grow up to 2.5 metres tall on average, while the stronger ones were more than three metres tall. If one went by the ratio in the murals, the sacred spirits were at least a hundred metres tall!

Even as he was observing these carvings, he felt a sudden sense of alarm. He turned his head abruptly, just in time to see a troll rush out from behind the altar and throw itself at Flowsand noiselessly!

The troll was extremely robust, over 2.5 metres tall with a blood-red mane and two menacing fangs. Its agility belied its enormous body, the sudden attack too quick for even Richard to react to.

It grabbed towards the seated Flowsand's nape, but just as its four-fingered hand touched her the Waterdrop Necklace released a shot of blazing light that blinded it. The troll screamed in pain and quickly shielded its eyes, while Flowsand took the chance to get up on her feet. She stepped on the troll's toe before slamming the thick Book of Time onto its waist, causing the disoriented creature to lose balance. It retreated a few steps, but Flowsand stomped down on its leg; the sound of bones breaking rang through the shrine.

The troll cried out in excruciating pain, its back striking the wall of the shrine causing the entire building to quake. It rubbed its eyes forcefully, finally regaining its sight before growling towards Flowsand with bloodshot eyes. However, the shrine still continued to vibrate. Tiramisu had charged into the opponent head-first before anyone could react!

Ogres were stronger than trolls by nature. Moreover, Tiramisu was level 13 compared to what seemed to be level 10; the troll flew out upon contact, smashing into the wall before falling to the ground. It struggled to pick itself up, but Tiramisu charged forward once more and stomped hard on its back. Bone-cracking sounds rang out once more as the creature was disabled, never to stand again, but it still growled and tried to prop itself up on both arms. Such was the valiance of trollkind.

Richard cast a detection spell, looking into the troll's bloodshot eyes before finally shaking his head, “It doesn't have any intelligence, we won't be able to get anything out of it. Kill away!”

Tiramisu squatted down the moment Richard's last words sounded, ramming a fist into the back of the troll's head. The ogre's terrifying strength completely shattered the troll's skull.

Richard wasn't exactly surprised at Tiramisu's violent outburst. Ogres and trolls actually shared common ancestry, one succeeding enormous strength while the other inherited unyielding vitality. However, this relationship only served to become the source of a blood feud. Both races believed strongly that they could devour the other to gain their power, so the result of a meeting was always a battle to the death. The trolls wished to wipe out the ogres and vice versa.

On the verge of growing a second head, Tiramisu was basically ogre nobility. He certainly didn't believe that eating a troll would give him the powers of one, but a hatred established at birth just couldn't be ended so easily.

Flowsand sent a stream of divine flames out from her fingers, pouring down on the troll corpse. Sparks of pale green light formed near the creature's head, glinting for a moment before scattering into the sky. She turned to Richard, “There are traces of divinity on the troll. Seems like you're right, we might be able to find something that can serve as an offering.”

Richard glanced at the troll before taking a look at the mural on the wall, “We have to be careful, that Zuka might still be alive.”

Flowsand patted the Book of Time, “The sacred spirits who accepted sacrifices are mostly souls now. If not for that, the troll empire wouldn't have disappeared so easily. I actually have a plan to kill such things, your unicorn will come in handy.”

Even as the two were talking, the sounds of fighting suddenly rang out outside. Richard immediately rushed out of the shrine, just in time to see Io covered in a divine aura as he backflipped an enormous troll to the ground with ease. The battle priest then waved the sceptre in his hands, smashing the troll's skull into pieces.

Upon seeing Richard, Io waved at him and laughed cheerily, “Isn't it easy for a level 14 battle priest to take out a mere level 10 troll?”

The troll truly was level 10, but given the innate strength and vitality of the race they could cause trouble even for level 12 warriors. Even a high priest couldn't easily take out such an opponent at close range as Io had. Richard also caught onto another thing, level 14. It seemed like even though the fellow had been slower than he claimed, he had finally advanced. He had jumped two levels in the past few months, leaving Richard quite surprised. Was this fellow special to the Eternal Dragon or something?

Richard's gaze turned gloomy, but the blood in his veins started to burn. If there was a need, he wouldn't be afraid of fighting Io fiercely again even if he reached level 16, forget now.

In front of Richard's eyes, Io took large strides to a warhorse that was carrying luggage and opened a magic chest on its back. Richard had never seen this chest open before, and was quite astonished when the battle priest took out a set of extravagant pale gold armour. He changed out his priest robes for the armour set before giving his sceptre a twist, causing the thick tip to separate into three segments and fall down. Each segment was connected to the handle by a silver chain; in the blink of an eye, the sceptre had turned into a delicate-yet-overbearing three-headed flail.

The battle priest stood there like a god of war, radiating blinding light. The glow of magic from the armour and sceptre indicated they were both epic-level equipment, easily worthy of being the most prized possession of a Faelor saint.

Richard's eyes narrowed, but he didn't bat an eyelid during his response, “Who knew even a battle priest could wear such heavy armour.”

Io didn't bother hiding his arrogance, “This is the power of a level 14 battle priest. Outside of plate armour and tower shields, I can use any sort of equipment without it affecting my power. How's that for you, level 12 mage? When are you going to be able to use grade 7 spells?”

Richard felt the elven bloodline within him. After such a long period of nurture, the astral trunk had already grown a third branch with the tip showing traces of a new root. Once this soft shoot grew into a leaf, it would give him another ability. He smiled indifferently, “There's no hurry.”

This time, Io's expression changed. He looked at Richard, not knowing what he was thinking.

......

There were active trolls in Zhubvar, and a large quantity of them at that. When they stepped into the 22nd district of the city, Richard and his team encountered an increased number of attacks. These trolls were born hunters; with the cover of the buildings and the terrain, they could only be discovered when a few metres away. If not for the elite bats flying erratically through the sky, Richard's troop would have suffered casualties.

The buildings in the upper levels of the city were taller and more spread-out, the water canal wider as well. In between these buildings were trees, meadows, and reservoirs, with intricate bestial carvings on the remaining infrastructure. One could imagine the grandeur of the trolls in the peak of their glory would be enough to leave people breathless. The number of shrines was increasing the further they went as well, with various statues of Zuka and other sacred spirits. The shrines of the other spirits were significantly smaller than Zuka's, built around Zuka's shrines as well. They seemed to subordinates of the feathered serpent.

However, all of Zuka's statues seemed to be intentionally destroyed by someone. All Richard could find was piles of messy stone fragments that barely related to the past. The sculptures in the affiliated shrines were undamaged, but with the passage of time all divinity had faded away. Statues without divinity were just blocks of stone, their only value being in art and history.

468 - City of Sin

Troll Camp

Despite being destroyed, the Zuka statues had absorbed so much faith during the trolls' reign that they still had a lot of divinity remaining. However, Flowsand's tests revealed a hazy grey aura covering the statue fragments, implying powerful curses had tainted this divine power. The statues could no longer be used as offerings, but that didn't mean the broodmother wouldn't be interested in them.

Richard's army split up when exploring the upper regions, every follower leading a small group of soldiers and five throwers as they enacted a purge on the trolls hidden in the area. Under the guidance of the elite bats, a dozen troll hunters were killed within a few minutes. A miserable whistle rang out from the upper sections of the city, and a few dozen more jumped out of hiding and fled further up.

Three of the elite bats were mobilised with a thought, flying in the direction of the whistle. However, one of the trolls suddenly appeared in their line of sight. Hidden behind a broken piece of wall with a javelin in hand, the creature was staring at the bats with bloodshot eyes. Richard was startled, immediately calling for the bats to dodge, but the javelin quickly sped towards one of them. The world went dark for a moment as his connection to it was severed.

Richard trembled. Gazing into the distance, he saw six or seven more javelins fly into the sky and strike his bats like lightning, travelling dozens of metres more before falling away. The power of these hunters' projectiles was immense, able to penetrate through even direbears. In terms of strength alone, they were far superior to the throwers.

Although he was shocked, he immediately had the rest of his elite bats soar at least a hundred metres into the sky; at this distance, even these powerful javelin throws couldn't hit their marks. He then looked towards the peak of the hill, muttering to himself. He currently stood where the troll nobility used to live, and above were the regions meant for the chieftain and shamans followed by the shrine and altar at the very top. The whistling had come from the chieftain's residence, and all the trolls had retreated to that point as well. They seemed to intentionally avoid the altar and shrine.

Richard had assumed every troll active in these ruins was like the few he had killed, only left with instinct and no intellect. However, the commander was obviously still sane, and the hunters that had ambushed his bat showed astute observation skills as well. Very few could tell that his elite bats weren't natural creatures. Strange vultures always circled the ruins of Zhubvar, but these hunters had only attacked his bats; they had clearly noticed something.

Since the one in command was intelligent, Richard could no longer afford to treat these trolls like random beasts. A string of orders started flowing out of his mouth, two flanks splitting off while the central group charged straight for the chieftain's lands under his leadership.

The chieftain's territory was quite expansive, but there were few buildings in the area. Still, each one was incredibly tall; charging into one, Richard found dozens of trolls panicking as they escaped into the forest a few hundred metres away. One could see a trail within the dense forest that snaked into its depths.

“What do we do now, Master?” Olar asked.

How could he let these trolls escape now? Richard waved his hand with a shout, “We pursue!”

Before charging into the forest, he cast a myriad of defensive spells on himself. The troll hunters were like fish in water in the forest, but the environment posed no hindrance to his own army. Waterflower, Gangdor, and Tiramisu were all adept at forest battles, so they easily managed to follow the trolls' route a few kilometres to a camp in a little valley.

Just as they entered a clearing, a javelin flew towards Richard's face. He turned and dodged out of its path, magical light flickering around him as a long-range barrier deflected the projectile. Although a low-level spell, this barrier could bounce a normal arrow away instantly. However, the javelin's path only changed slightly.

The javelin that brushed past Richard pierced deep into a nearby tree, a loud thud ringing out as it practically shot through the trunk that one could barely reach their arms around. The figure of a troll flashed a few dozen metres away, disappearing into the camp. Another emerged elsewhere in a matter of seconds, mercilessly throwing two more javelins out. Mournful started ringing out one after the other as the trolls weaved in and out, pouncing towards Richard's army from all directions.

The camp was built around a small ruin with an unknown purpose. Trolls kept running out of the camp to join the fight; half of them had red hair on their heads, acting with little intelligence to speak of, while the hair of the other half was more brownish. These ones were taller and stronger than their peers, with intricate ornaments on their body and a semblance of intelligence that the rest lacked.

Despite being besieged on all sides in unknown terrain, Richard wasn't flustered at all. He roughly gauged a location and launched a fireball with a wave of his hand, inducing numerous cries as the enemies rushed out with magic flames surging all around their bodies.

However, Richard knew a fireball without enhancements wouldn't seriously hurt level 10 trolls. He sent out an order in his mind, a sharp whistle ringing through the forest as a volley of axes killed all the trolls that had exposed themselves.

The humanoids and throwers entered melees all through the forest, while Gangdor and Tiramisu turned into meat grinders that no ordinary troll could survive. Olar began his warsong, making each and every humanoid more ferocious; as he had grown in level, the boost provided by his singing had risen correspondingly. The bard could now boost the morale of his men, increasing their strength by 10%. Although bards didn't have as much power as divine or even magic spells, they made up for that with sheer area of effect. Olar's warsong could cover dozens of metres all around him.

The humanoids' excellent equipment far outshone that of the trolls, who used a mix of wood, bone, and primitive metal. With the stacked buffs from the warsong as well as all the spells cast on them, these soldiers didn't lose to the trolls even in vitality. The individual drones weren't harmed much at all during the course of the fight, the trolls instead suffering severe casualties. It wasn't long after the battle began before warriors of darkness entered the fray, the elite undead not knowing fear or death. Even the dauntless trolls shuddered at the sight.

Richard's silhouette appeared in one side of the forest, a thin book flashing as six direbears immediately appeared in front of him. These magical summons roared and charged into the troll camp a few metres away, but a few javelins nearly pierced through four of them. With only two making it all the way, they couldn't cause much damage before two three-metre-tall trolls charged out and shoved spears into their mouths. The bears struggled for a short while, but they eventually turned into mana that dissipated into the air.

Seeing this, Richard couldn't help but frown. Trolls were natural hunters, and their power in fighting wild beasts was matchless. The two large trolls were nearly level 13 each, and had been smart enough to target his summons' vital spots right away.

Still, this didn't make him anxious. He first launched a fireball to reveal two hidden high-level trolls, burning them and shrinking back against a tree to dodge the javelins thrown over from the camp. This time he waved both hands with a chant, and ten boars suddenly appeared in the forest. Please visit f𝒓𝑒e𝓌e𝚋𝘯૦𝘷e𝗹. c૦𝒎

This was a grade 4 Nature's Beckon, a spell that took very little out of him. The ten boars began their assault on the troll camp, but they too were taken out by javelins. Richard smiled, bringing out another ten with a wave of his hands. These hunters needed to use the same number of javelins be it for the bears or the boars, and he could tell there were only a dozen or so guards left with four or five javelins each. He could cast over ten grade 4 Nature's Beckon spells!

By the time the third wave was exterminated, one of the boars had actually managed to make it into the troll camp; it was obvious that the hunters were out of javelins. On the other hand, Richard had cast four fireballs at the camp between the second and third waves to force the guards out of hiding. Waves of fire ploughed through the camp over and over, the trolls' shrieks growing increasingly dull.

Two troll warriors that had been grievously injured could endure no longer, charging out of the camp. One of them was a berserker nearly three-metres tall, but halfway through a slowing spell greatly reduced their speed. A wave of axes flew out from the throwers, killing both.

With the cover of the forest and the throwers, Richard used a combination of low-ranked spells to wear down the trolls in the camp. At this rate, everyone within would die. The situation elsewhere in the forest was also quite stable; the strongest enemy was a level 13 berserker, but it was not a match for those like Gangdor, Waterflower, and Rolf. The former two could even kill level 13 enemies with one blow if they used their rune sets.

When Richard summoned another ten boars to probe the opponent, the trolls in the camp finally broke. They all darted out, less than ten of them left most of whom were powerful berserkers. However, they were crowded around an old troll that looked quite skinny and wise. The man wore a large wooden mask, his body smeared with bright splashes of colour. His head, shoulders, and wrists were all ornamented by beautiful feathers.

469 - City of Sin

History and Prophecy

The old troll began a chant the moment he left the camp, waving his arms to shroud Richard's boars with an acidic fog. The ten boars shrieked, half of them fading into mana particles in an instant. The rest managed to charge up to the trolls, but they were cut down immediately.

This troll shaman left Richard rather surprised. Even when the troll empire was at its peak, those able to cast grade 6 spells were quite highly ranked. Still, since the shaman was exposing himself he wouldn't be given the chance to cast any more spells.

Richard fired back with an acid fog of his own, enveloping all the remaining enemy trolls. The same spell covered twice the area of his opponent's, the corrosion 50% faster. The troll berserkers had the tenacity to survive a long time in the mist, but it was not the same for the shaman. He let out a pained scream as the fog burnt his entire body, unable to complete his next spell.

But things didn't end there. Just as the first spell faded and the shaman was about to start his chants once more, a fireball flew his way. Once the waves of heat passed, he managed to get through half his spell before he couldn't utter another word; Richard had cast two silencing spells in succession, and while the first had failed the second did not. Then came another acid fog spell covering them all.

The shaman ended up being incapacitated by Phaser, unable to cast even one more spell during the course of the battle. Richard's army had captured around twenty trolls alive and killed thrice that number, but only three humanoid warriors and a thrower had died in battle.

Richard personally looked through the camp once. The architecture was quite similar to the barracks in Zhubvar, albeit much cruder. The camp was built with huge rock walls, a rare few of the stone houses actually having roofs. It seemed like only the shaman and high-ranking berserkers had their own residences, with the dumb red-headed ones sleeping outside in the courtyard.

Inside the central house was an exquisite rhinoceros statue with a sliver of divinity about it. In front was a stone basin filled with charcoal, still burning with a mysterious blue flame. At the bottom was a thick layer of sticky crimson fluid, likely the blood of some creature. It seemed like these trolls had found a new sacred spirit.

A wooden mask was hung on the wall, with unknown herbs and beast bones on some shelves on another side. This was likely the shaman's residence. Richard was surprised to find a few stone slabs in the corner, inscribed in troll script. Some looked ancient while the others were rather new, one with a carving so fresh it had to be a product of the shaman they had just seen. The language of the slabs was quite simplistic; inspecting them all, Richard found that even he could read it.

The oldest slab held three paragraphs:

'We escaped Zhubvar and arrived at Rest Valley. This place still has water and trees, I hope the forest can give us food.

'Zuka does not answer our summons. The evil spirits keep tempting us, we need a new sacred spirit and water.

'Most of the forest is dead, and our water is almost gone. We must kill all those tempted, they drink the same water as us.'

This heavy slab had been engraved a long time ago; the content may have been minimal, but Richard could fully understand the writer's despair. He moved on to the second slab:

'We have found a new holy spirit, the strong Kum. The Rhinoceros God is willing to shield us, his will keeping the evil spirits away. Many clansmen are still being tempted.

'Kum led us to a new spring. Now, there is no need to kill the weak children. Still, the old trolls must go.'

The next few slabs continued to recount the history of the trolls. After Kum became their sacred spirit, the crisis of extinction was averted. They found a source of water and the ability to resist the temptation of whatever these evil spirits were, albeit without much success.

One year, a river that had been dry for a long time suddenly filled up again. The entirety of Zhubvar was filled with vitality, the forest beginning to regrow as green covered the earth once more. A simple map was even carved onto one of the slabs, illustrating the River of Life.

Richard matched the simple diagram with the map in his own memories, finding that the source of this river was in the Ashen Plateau; it went through the entirety of Zhubvar before disappearing into the Bloodstained Lands. The river wasn't very large, but where it passed through was quite important.

The immediate next slab only mentioned one event. The royal family of Zhubvar, the Bloodtooth tribe, had finally succumbed to the temptation of the evil spirits. The entire family degenerated and went missing.

The newest slab had a single brief passage. This shaman of the Bloodpeak tribe wanted to retrieve the three sacred artefacts of Zhubvar, but none of the brave warriors that were sent to the ruins returned. The shaman found strange activity in the city, so he built an outpost near the ruins. He also built a shrine to Kum here so he could slowly encroach on Zhubvar with the sacred spirit's power.

Richard felt heartache as he read through all these slabs. This was a burden accumulated over a long time, millennia of history frozen into the few blocks of stone.

He shifted the slabs out of the shrine, preparing to show them to Flowsand. He also felt the need to speak to the shaman; the evil spirits mentioned were likely linked to the disappearance of the royal family and the abnormalities all around the ruins. Recalling the slight aura of death permeating the troll capital, he felt slightly uneasy.

Within the courtyard, Flowsand was directing a few humanoids to dig out a stone tablet that was half-buried in the ground. This tablet was similar to the ones in Zhubvar's ruins, the only difference being the content carved atop it.

The troll prisoners were bound together in the middle of the camp, sitting under the watchful eye of the humanoids. Trollkind had powerful vitality; they could recuperate from any serious injury with time as long as there weren't any broken limbs or the like. Not far away, Richard's unicorn was uneasily turning in circles while occasionally pawing the ground. However, its magnificent yet delicate silver hooves could not break through the stone. Io was stood next to the beast, unceasingly petting its mane while casting divine spells in an attempt to pacify it. The creature ignored the berserkers and even the troll shaman, but it was glaring intensely at the regular trolls with no intelligence. If not for the battle priest forcing it back, it would long since have pounced over.

When Richard walked out of the residence, he frowned at the sight. He gave the unicorn a strict command in his mind, using the broodmother's link to force it to suppress its instincts and quiet down.

Io's eyes lit up at the sight of the slabs in Richard's hands, “Let me take a look. There should be some useful information in there.”

Richard handed them to him, “These 'evil spirits' keep coming up here, whatever they are. On top of that, I keep sensing an aura of death in Zhubvar. Could the city have been taken over by a powerful undead?”

“That wouldn't be surprising. Cities like Zhubvar normally have enormous crypts; as long as enough time passes, departed spirits will gather in the best-preserved bodies. The trolls have a unique method of storing their corpses, so they turn into undead more easily.”

“You know quite a bit,” Richard gave the battle priest a rare compliment.

“I was born this way.” Of course, Io did not know humility.

Richard then had the troll shaman brought into a room, preparing to interrogate him. Flowsand and Io were nearby, and a language comprehension spell ensured that communication wouldn't be a problem. He seated himself opposite the now-awake troll, “Esteemed shaman, I believe there are things for us to discuss. I'm very curious about what these evil spirits are, and what exactly happened within Zhubvar. If you wish for your kin to survive, you'd best tell me everything you know.”

The shaman looked at him, eyes slightly turbid and voice sounding like the roar of a wild beast, “You, are you trying to get Zhubvar's sacred artefacts?”

Richard laughed, “That depends. I don't know what these artefacts are at all; what is useful for you trolls might be trash to me. I'm interested in Zhubvar's history.”

The shaman stayed quiet for a bit, his gaze sweeping past the three present, “Plunderers from another world, why should I believe you?”

That statement shocked even Flowsand, while Richard froze up for a few moments, “How... How did you find out?”

The shaman sighed, “It is a secret passed down amongst the high-ranked shamans of Zuka. Before he left and Zhubvar was destroyed, the mighty Sacred Spirit left behind one final prophecy to pass down only through word of mouth. The prophecy said that thousands of years in the future, when the River of Life started flowing once more, plunderers from a foreign land would step foot in Zhubvar. These paragons of destruction would come for the three sacred artefacts, but they would also be a ray of hope. The holy beast of the plunderers would be the end of the evil spirits, and Zhubvar would thus be resurrected.

“What the hell?” Even Flowsand couldn't keep from swearing as she exchanged glances with Richard. Io seemed confused as well, turning to glance at the unicorn in the courtyard.

470 - City of Sin

Sacred Artefacts

A mere sacred spirit that couldn't even compare to a demigod accurately prophesied a planar invasion millennia in the future? Was Zuka beyond even the Eternal Dragon? Richard snorted, “What holy beast?”

The large troll pointed his finger at the unicorn in the yard, “Is that not a holy beast? It is extremely sensitive to my clansmen who have been tainted by the evil spirits. I observed it during the battle, any tainted troll who was touched by its horn died a fiery death; that creature cleansed their souls, liberating them from their torment.”

Richard turned to look at the unicorn and then back to the large troll. Try as he might, he couldn't shake of a heavy feeling of unease rising in his heart. The unicorn was a special drone designed by a combination of the broodmother's divinity and Zim's bloodline, born only a short time ago. It was hard to believe that it was the holy beast of the prophecy; even though unicorns were mythical creatures that qualified to be holy beasts in many planes, he felt like this one was only a good imitation.

“Alright then. Let's move onto these evil spirits and sacred artefacts,” he said impatiently.

This time, the large troll had an unexpectedly positive response. He did not know exactly what these evil spirits were, but ever since Zuka had fallen into a deep slumber they had taken over his shrine and altar. Anyone approaching the upper levels of Zhubvar would be influenced by them, several trolls never seen again after they entered the shrine. Even those powerful warriors with great willpower who did not enter the shrine were adversely affected, some losing their wisdom and turning into wild beasts that acted solely on instinct.

There were seven or eight large tribes around Zhubvar who had survived, all under the protection of new sacred spirits. The two nearest to Zhubvar were protected by Kum, the rhinoceros Richard had seen in the small shrine in the camp. Whenever drought enveloped the surrounding regions, the only source of water was in the upper levels of Zhubvar. Any warrior that wished to enter the vicinity of Zhubvar to get the water had to rely on the new spirits' support, but those who made the trip enough times still lost their wisdom.

The shaman also told Richard how to deal with the evil spirits. One of the three sacred artefacts was the soul jar, placed deep within the royal crypt. Once it was acquired, one could enter the shrine and offer a sacrifice just like they would if they were summoning Zuka. Doing so would cause the evil spirits to descend, at which point one would have to give their life to trap the evil spirits in the jar. If Richard was willing to deal with the evil spirits, the shaman was willing to sacrifice his own soul to activate the jar.

Having heard this, Richard had someone take the shaman away before turning to look at Io and Flowsand, “What do the two of you think?”

Io shrugged, “Mr. Great Mage, if you have an idea just say it.”

Richard wasn't angered by this, instead muttering to himself for a while before speaking up, “If the soul jar can really trap evil spirits, it could possibly be an offering itself.”

“Possibly? It definitely is! Given the aura I sensed in Zhubvar... Once the evil spirits are trapped, it will definitely be an intermediate offering at minimum!”

Flowsand nodded in agreement, “Even in Norland, such an offering could start a war between two large groups of nobles.”

Thinking back to the unprecedented list of possible blessings, Richard couldn't help but grow excited at the thought of an intermediate offering. Still, he forced himself to think and evaluate the risks, “The shaman mentioned that these spirits have great power over one's mind. If we want to fight this, the only possible method is to have incredible willpower.”

Io unexpected stretched out both hands and smiled radiantly, “Not a problem for me.”

“I'm the same,” Flowsand added.

Richard was left speechless. It seemed like he was the only one who would pose a problem.

......

It didn't take much time for an agreement to be reached. Richard would deal with the evil spirits, but in exchange the shaman would obey him unconditionally and eventually give up his life to trap them.

The army returned to Zhubvar within an hour, with a few dozen trolls added on. Outside of the shaman were some of the berserkers as well as about ten of the trolls that had lost their minds. The shaman had mentioned that these infected creatures were key.

Guided by the shaman, Richard quickly crossed the chieftain's territory and arrived at the foot of the shrine. There was a passage nearby leading downwards, the end blocked by two large stone doors. This was the royal crypt, the location of the soul jar.

The crypt was truly magnificent. The doors were ten metres tall, with no way of telling how thick they were. The handles were engraved with the totem of life-like feathered serpents that made one feel like they were being watched. Richard felt a great power on the other side of these doors, slowly creeping out. He pushed hard, but the doors would not budge; they were too heavy even for someone like Tiramisu to open.

“Allow me,” the troll shaman said hoarsely, walking up to the doors and indicating for two berserkers to pull over one of their deranged brethren. He unsheathed a bone dagger and stabbed it straight into the troll's heart, the ashen-white blade quickly being stained crimson. The dagger started throbbing as though it had a life of its own, viciously sucking out all of the blood from the troll's heart. Despite its great tenacity the troll was left a shrivelled clump of flesh, as dry as a mummy. The dagger had turned a dark purple, looking like a leech that had just finished a good meal.

The shaman then placed the dagger in an unremarkable slot in the stone door, causing blood to immediately spread across the door's surface. The entire crypt started to shake as a few loose stones fell down above, the two heavy doors sliding open of their own accord.

The shaman turned around, “Only the blood of the degenerate traitors can open the doors of the crypt.”

Richard nodded, but the moment he entered the graveyard his expression warped into a frown. Behind the doors was a spacious hall, a row of slabs propped up on each end. Every slab held a mummified troll corpse, while at their feet were dark grey jars.

“These are warriors that once protected the graveyard. Those jars contain the souls of these loyal warriors who have protected these sacred grounds for generations.”

The aura of undeath here was extremely strong, the conditions making it likely for many of these trolls to turn into undead creatures. However, the corpses all seemed to be in pristine condition with no signs of conversion; these jars below likely held secrets of their own.

Still, the aura of undeath was far too strong for even the humanoids to endure. Flowsand and Io couldn't protect them all in such conditions either, so Richard wound up having to leave all his soldiers behind as he only brought his followers into the crypt.

The crypt was split up into three levels, with even the first two levels that housed more than 3,000 mummified trolls being extremely magnificent. The shaman mentioned that he had tried to retrieve the soul jar himself once, but was forced to turn back at the end of the second level. The power of undeath that had accumulated over millennia had reached a shocking point; had he tried to enter the third level, he would have been turned into an undead creature. It was only because of Io and Flowsand that Richard's team could enter.

The moment they entered the third level, Richard quickly noticed that the jars of the mummified trolls here had been broken. “Be careful!” the shaman cried out in shock, “The royal guards have come alive!”

The mummies in the hall seemed to sense something. They slowly stood up, making their way to the door.

However, Richard did not panic. He started off with a few detection spells on these undead creatures, revealing that they were about level 13 or 14 each. It seemed like the royal guards were more skilled than the elite berserkers outside.

Still, the undead were a welcome enemy for a party with two powerful priests. Flowsand opened the Book of Time, and a dazzling ball of light made its way out to float atop her head. It constantly shot out faint gold rays, lighting up everything within twenty metres. Any undead creatures within this region were incinerated by divine fire. Some of the weaker creatures tried to avoid the light, while the more powerful ones tried to shield themselves as they made a dash towards the party. However, the light had severely weakened them; they weren't even level 10 anymore.

Richard brandished his staff, spawning several walls of fire to keep out the attackers. The walls were meticulously placed, exactly on the fringe of Flowsand's domain so the warriors that rushed into them would be hit by both at the same time. The thirty seconds of these walls was more than enough for the party to do a lot of damage; even if the undead trolls made their way past the walls, they would only be left with half their lives.

Richard was still unsatisfied. He took out the Book of Holding and cast a grade 6 Nature's Beckon, spawning six direbears just beyond the reach of the walls of fire. The undead that braved their way through the inferno were just swatted back by the bears' paws, forced to do battle within the blaze.

471 - City of Sin

Sacred Artefacts(2)

With the defensive perimeter established, it became a simple task to deal with the enemies. Richard renewed the walls of fire whenever they dissipated, using the spare time to send fireballs towards the undead trolls. Tiramisu was casting his own fireballs as well; they weren't as strong as Richard's, but he could easily cast twenty to thirty these grade 3 spells. Zendrall kept himself busy as well, casting control spells on the guard captains who were more powerful than the rest. Given his extreme focus, the necromancer succeeded with four out of five, sending each controlled enemy into the wall of fire to burn to death.

The unicorn had puffed out clouds of white smoke from its mouth the moment it saw the large group of undead, sending them towards the enemy. This white smoke flowed through the aura of undeath, completely eviscerating ten times its area of any traces of the power of death. All the air in a ten-metre radius had been purified in a flash, keeping all of Richard's followers safe. Only Zendrall remained hidden outside, avoiding the clouds completely.

The idle Io finally decided to act as well, stretching his hands and sending a ball of dazzling light flying towards the enemy. The ball had ten thin rays rotating around it, burning every undead creature it touched. Even the strongest of the enemies was hurt by these rays!

The steady stream of light arrows fell upon the undead trolls like rain, making them tremble. The ball quickly reached the other end of the room and exploded into a dazzling blaze, wiping out anyone nearby. The remaining trolls were left on the brink of death.

This was a grade 7 spell that Richard had never heard of, but it could even compare to grade 8. It was likely another one of those skills unique to battle priests. It had left a bulk of the people in the hall entirely silent, awestruck by Io's sheer power.

Richard's expression turned sour. This bastard hadn't been disciplined in a while, so now he was showing off.

Even though the combination of magic and the divine was burning through the enemies, there seemed to be no end in sight. The number of warriors in the crypt was far beyond anyone's expectations, undead still streaming out of the passages and heading in their direction. Once his followers had used up half of their energy reserves, Richard decided to retreat. The destroyed warriors would not come back, and their energy and mana could be built back up. Unless it was absolutely necessary, he had no plans of engaging in a melee.

They retreated from the crypt and rested an entire night. When everyone returned to peak condition, they returned to finish the job. This time they made it all the way to the centre of the third level, a place guarded by four level 15 warriors that were obliterated by a barrage of spells.

Gangdor finally came of use, helping Tiramisu open up the copper door to the core of the crypt. The latter's axe had been thirsty throughout this expedition, but it was only now that he could come of use. Be it Richard, Flowsand, or Io, each one was an unreasonable extremist who destroyed everything with their spells.

The troll shaman had long since been stunned into silence. He had only entered the royal crypt once, and had been lucky to escape from the clutches of the undead warriors. However, these invaders made it seem like a walk in the park.

Behind the door was a ten-metre-tall room with a raised platform in the centre. Atop the platform was an enormous gold coffin, with a bronze jar underneath.

“This is where the greatest chieftain of our empire rests, Warlord Drahkzan. Only he has the rig— NO!”

Richard and the rest had seen what set the shaman off as well. The cover of the golden coffin was open, with nothing underneath. Furthermore, the aura of undeath was especially strong here, already condensed into a tangible grey mist. If not for the unicorn neutralising this power, even Richard's team could not easily survive here.

Richard had Flowsand cast a death guard spell on him before circling around the graveyard a few times. He finally stopped in front of the gold coffin, picking up the bronze jar, “This is the soul jar you spoke of?”

The troll only then recovered from his shock, nodding in reply, “This is it! Only the chieftain has the right to use it, storing the souls of his predecessor. It is said the souls stored here retain a portion of their memories from when they were alive, passing their wisdom down to the next generation.”

Richard picked up the jar and inspected it closely, finding several complicated drawings and ancient troll texts engraved upon it. Combined together, they formed what seemed to be a magic array. Richard had never seen these patterns before, but he could sense that the array possessed great power. It was different from the ones he had seen in Norland, storing a shocking amount of power in a few simple strokes. Even if they found nothing else, just understanding this array would be of great help to his growth as a runemaster. He immediately started to think of ways to simplify the arrays he normally used.

However, just like the jars outside, this one was open as well. The chieftain's soul had either escaped or dissipated, but looking at the empty coffin it was most likely to be the former.

Richard muttered to himself for a while before passing the soul jar to the shaman, “It seems like Warlord Drahkzan is linked to the evil spirits. There isn't much else of interest here, let's return and rest for the night. We'll go to the shrine tomorrow and figure things out then.”

The shaman bowed deeply to Richard, hugging the soul jar as they left the crypt. Richard knitted his brows, summoning the idle Waterflower and softly whispering into her ear, “Keep a close eye on him when we leave. If he tries anything strange, kill him immediately!”

Waterflower was surprised, “Isn't he the only one who can trap the evil spirits?”

Richard shook his head, “He said it himself, there are seven or eight troll tribes nearby. Every tribe can afford a shaman at least.”

The young lady nodded. To her, the troll's neck was no different from a dead tree.

......

Fortunately, the night was uneventful. The next morning, Richard took his men back to Zhubvar's upper levels and headed into the shrine. This place was a pyramid that was tens of metres tall, with an altar on the top level dedicated to Zuka. Flowsand had already deciphered all the texts on the various tablets, so she knew the steps to offer sacrifices.

On their way to the top shrine, the army was attacked by hundreds of infected trolls. However, the party advanced at a steady pace; outside of two people who sustained minor injuries, they defeated all the enemies with no losses at all.

The top floor held a stone altar in the centre. Atop a copper rack in front was a stone basin filled with ashes, and at the sides a pit as tall as a human with sharp spikes at the bottom. A huge statue of Zuka had once stood tall upon the altar, but something unknown had destroyed it. All that remained was the base.

“First, take out the holy incense from the storeroom and light it up in front of the altar,” she read out. Indeed, there was a small storeroom nearby. However, when Richard opened it up to get the incense he was completely startled.

The walls of this room were painted in gold, with a large pot in each of the four corners. There were three copper shelves lining one of the walls, filled with pieces of incense the smallest of which was as big as a bowl. Richard's heart started beating uncontrollably at the smell; this was obviously made from the finest maple amber! Maple amber grew more effective with age, darkening the older it got. The small fist-sized piece of amber he had gotten from Stormhammer was a light colour. The smallest piece of amber on the shelves was still larger than that, and more importantly each one was dark purple!

Normal maple amber was an essential ingredient in the making of many grade 2 runes, but purple amber was an extremely rare material used even in grade 3 runes. It was the fossilised essence of ancient beasts, possessing the ability to communicate with souls. The more powerful maple amber could even cross space or turn back time, allowing people to look into the past.

The sum of the ambers in this room, if brought back to Norland, could easily fetch a price of six to seven million gold! Richard forced down his excitement, returning to the altar with a piece of incense in hand. He then moved to light it with a piece of burning wood given to him by the shaman, something that had clearly been used for millennia but still wasn't used up. He studied it for a long time, but couldn't pinpoint exactly what kind of wood it was.

Before the ceremony could begin, however, Flowsand stopped him, “Are you sure you want to go through with this? Ceremonies like this could invite beings that are far more powerful than us, ones we cannot control. It could get very dangerous.”

Richard muttered to himself, feeling the destiny crystal in his pocket. Its presence bolstered his confidence greatly, and he started laughing, “If we want offerings, how can we not take risks? Don't worry, whatever spirit is summoned we can deal with it.”

Flowsand sighed, deciding not to persuade him any further.

472 - City of Sin

Spirit Lance

Richard touched the burning wood to the maple amber, which instantly caught fire. One whiff of the smoke and he felt the world starting to spin, his vision turning black and white. The image of a large winged serpent started to appear on the altar.

He immediately stopped breathing in his shock, slowly spreading his mana throughout his body to eliminate the feeling of wrongness. He looked around to find his followers acting strangely as well, clearly trying to recover from the same problem. However, Flowsand and Io seemed to be completely fine.

Flowsand turned back to the scroll in her hands, “Now, present the hearts and blood of the betrayers.”

The troll shaman signalled to his men, and a few berserkers pulled the infected trolls to the altar. He plunged the bone dagger into their chests, digging out the hearts and tossing them into the basin. The flame from the maple amber grew more and more prominent, and by the time the tenth was tossed inside tongues of fire were charging out of the basin ten metres high. Richard noticed these hearts were a strange grey colour, not the normal red.

Every time one of the infected trolls had its heart dug out, the berserkers then threw the creature into the pit. The sharp spikes drew blood from all over the body that was routed along a channel at the bottom into a small hole that absorbed it all. All ten trolls were thus sacrificed to Zuka.

The temperature around the altar dropped greatly, the air freezing over. Richard saw the image of a gigantic serpent through the flames, an invisible will descending upon the shrine. The surge of power was immense, commanding fear and respect.

“Zuka!” Flowsand's expression warped, her hands gripping tightly onto the Book of Time.

It was at that moment that the doors at the back suddenly opened. The phantom of a troll that was about ten metres tall entered the area, one hand on a spear as he roared in a deafening voice, “WHO IS IT? Who dares summon Zuka? Who has the guts to spoil my plans?!”

This troll was covered from head to toe in armour, a rare sight for his race. His spear was nearly three metres long, the tip terrifyingly jagged. He charged forward, actually slamming his weapon into the back of the image of Zuka. Purplish-black light flickered on the spear, the serpent crying out in pain; no matter how much it struggled, the image gradually grew more translucent. The power of the sacrifice was evidently being absorbed by the spear. The image quickly distorted, and the serpent eventually vanished with a cry.

The troll shaman suddenly charged up to the altar, howling like a lunatic, “WARLORD DRAHKZAN! YOU WERE THE ONE WHO BETRAYED THE MIGHTY ZUKA! YOU WERE THE ONE WHO DESTROYED THE MIGHTY TROLL EMPIRE!”

The phantom on the altar turned its massive head, eyes sweeping across the shrine as though he could not see Richard and the rest. “Who is it?” he shouted impatiently, “Which coward is hiding in the shadows? Come out and face me!”

As if in a trance, the shaman crawled onto the altar and pointed at the phantom that was several times taller than himself, “I am Shaman Janbilar. So you were the traitor, you are the evil spirit!”

“Traitor? No, I did no such thing.” The warlord answered in a surprisingly solemn tone, “I did this to save Zhubvar. The rivers had dried out one by one, my people were suffering. Every day, bodies were taken out of the city. And all this while, the Sacred Spirit that was supposed to be protecting us grew increasingly cruel. He couldn't find any solution, but kept demanding more sacrifices. So many trolls gave up their hearts and blood, but that was not enough to satisfy his greed. He even wanted his own shamans sacrificed!

“This was no longer the Zuka of the past, misled by blood and power. It was then that I heard the summons of another voice. It came from a will more mighty than Zuka's telling me of a way to exterminate him. So I gave up my life, and the lives of those loyal to me; all to deal Zuka a fatal blow. It finally rid Zhubvar of the shadow.”

This was a surprisingly solemn piece of history, written down with darkness and blood.

The shaman was stunned for a moment, but then he seemed to realise something. He pointed at the phantom of Drahkzan, “Warlord Drahkzan, you have been bewitched by evil spirits! The mighty Zuka would never abandon us! Look at yourself, you are now an undead spirit! Your actions led to the fall of Zhubvar!”

The warlord was stunned for a moment, trying his best to recall something. He suddenly cradled his head, muttering in pain, “Where... Where am I? What did I hear? Zhubvar is in ruins? Was I not going to attack the Ashen Plateau to chase those wretched dwarves out of their caves?

“Ah, right. I'm already dead. Why am I here? Wait, I see it! I SEE YOU!”

The phantom's eyes turned red as he scanned through the shrine once more. Richard and his followers couldn't help but shiver, as though a bucket of cold water had been poured over their heads.

The troll warlord grew extremely callous, “You are not from my time, why have you interrupted my sleep? Wait, your souls... You are not of our world! I think I understand now, you must be the plunderers and saviours Zuka spoke of. I will not allow it! I will not let you revive him!”

The warlord pointed at Richard's party, slowly lifting the giant spear in his hands. His movements were very sluggish, as though he was raising something extremely heavy. When the spear was horizontal, a chill ran down Richard's spine!

The warlord was someone from millennia in the past, and this was only a projection. However, he gave Richard a feeling of immense danger. This could not be ignored— his elven blood ensured that his instincts were very powerful.

Looking at the warlord lifting the spear, the shaman was still in a daze on the altar. “Quick, use the soul jar!” Richard shouted out, “Seal him! He's an evil spirit!”

It was only then that the shaman came back to his senses. He nimbly flipped off the altar and grabbed the jar, eyes flashing with fanaticism as he shouted at the warlord, “Drahkzan! This is your retribution! Sleep for eternity in the sacred artefact, you traitor!”

“No! That will gave me incomparable strength. I'll wipe you out easily! Suffer my fury, heathens who disturb my rest!” The spear had already been lifted completely.

“Soul attack!” Io suddenly shouted. The clerics and priests present all knew what to do. Mental fortitude spells and death guards flashed everywhere, every member of the party put under protection. However, none of them knew whether this would be enough to resist the terrifying attack of the warlord.

It was at this moment that the shaman buried the bone dagger into his chest, cutting into his heart. The blade quickly sucked up all his blood, the heart hanging on the end when it was removed. This moment was a display of the vitality of the troll race; even without his heart the shaman started chanting his spell, dark purple tendrils of smoke spewing out of his mouth and twining around the heart. He then placed the dagger in the soul jar and threw it towards the altar.

However, the warlord had already attacked! Hundreds of phantom lances flew out of the spear tip, hitting even the horses in the shrine. Some of the lances even flew out the walls, reaching every corner of Zhubvar. Miserable cries rang out everywhere as every life within the city was attacked without exception.

Many of the trolls quietly collapsed. Even the level 13 berserkers only managed to last for a few moments before falling to the ground. However, the phantom warlord suddenly widened his eyes. Please visit f𝙧ee𝙬ℯ𝐛𝓃𝐨𝚟𝒆𝘭. c𝒐𝓂

Before him appeared a few unbelievable images. A radiant ball of light appeared over Io's head, an amber eyeball revealing itself within. The vertical eye fixed onto the spirit lance, stopping it mid-air. Divine power twisted the lance apart, destroying it completely.

“A spirit reinforced by divine power!” Drahkzan exclaimed in shock, “A holy being?”

At that moment, a revolving hourglass suddenly appeared above Flowsand's head. Pale gold grains of sand flew out from within, covering her body. The spirit lance was completely dispersed before it could even get close to her.

“CHOSEN!” the warlord's eyes were as wide as saucers by this point. He suddenly turned around, bloodshot eyes fixating on Richard as he howled, “PLUNDERER, SHOW ME THE POWER OF ZUKA'S PROPHECY. WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO AGAINST MY SPIRIT LANCE?”

The lance had already disappeared into Richard's head. His eyes were tightly closed, entire body shaking slightly. A chilling pain that was difficult to endure spread through his soul, affecting all his followers as well. Every follower connected to him tried to strike back, but they had been attacked as well. They could do nothing to help him.

473 - City of Sin

Spirit Lance(2)

An overwhelming grey tide surged through Richard's soul, a wave of destruction that spread through every part of it. At the same time, the image of a troll appeared deep within his sea of consciousness; Drahkzan had projected himself here!

A silhouette of Richard himself appeared next to Drahkzan, an embodiment of his soul. The troll chieftain laughed heartily, pressing his giant palm against Richard's head, “Kneel before me! Even a plunderer from another world must serve the great Drahkzan!”

Richard felt an enormous pressure on his head, the force so great that his bones started creaking as though they could shatter at any moment. A soul struggle obviously couldn't affect one's physical body so easily; the reason for this feeling was Drahkzan's immense advantage in power. The moment Richard knelt, he would be subdued; his mind would then be chained to the warlord's, a part of his soul extracted as a guarantee. His body would end up just like that of the other trolls, lacking intelligence and only able to survive upon instinct.

And yet, he had no fear nor worry in his mind. Richard was only feeling one emotion right now, humiliation! When he was eight, Elena had taught him resilience. From the moment he had learnt to recognise himself up to their eternal parting when he was ten, she had drilled dignity into his very soul.

This mere troll wanted him to kneel?

The pressure grew increasingly powerful. Richard started panting roughly, feeling a mountainous weight on his back, but he still persisted with all his might. He would rather die than kneel!

However, try as he may, his right knee gave way and smashed hard into the soil.

This was the moment when everything changed, when a dormant volcano erupted.

Richard felt every drop of blood within him burn, his breath growing blistering hot. He breathed in air, but he breathed out fire! Immense shame took over every corner of his mind, leaving him no refuge, no escape. He looked up at the warlord before him, shouting like a wild beast. The sound of bones shattering rang out from within his left knee, but his muscles still flexed as he forced his swaying body off the ground

The warlord was shocked at first, but then he exploded with insanity. The strength within that huge palm doubled in an instant, wanting to suppress Richard's resistance, but Drahkzan felt an indescribably scorching pain all over his hand. Richard's body caught on fire, emitting dense flames that were thick as flowing lava.

The web of blood vessels that was his Archeron bloodline emanated an incomparable heat, each vein widening greatly as the lava surging within grew faster and faster. Threads of lava spewed out of his blood vessels, turning into a raging inferno that gathered deep within his soul.

He entered a strange state. His primary consciousness was still raging, but his second turned calm and cruel. The two were distinct polar opposites, but somehow controlled the same body. He opened his eyes and looked at Drahkzan, feeling both raging fury and cold vengeance. He didn't notice that the troll who had been many times taller than himself was now slightly shorter.

From Drahkzan's perspective, Richard had already stood up straight. However, the boy only came up to his waist. Glaring at him coldly was actually an infernal demon built of the flames coming from Richard's body; its form was unclear, but the mere presence left an indescribable fear assaulting his mind. The warlord found that this golden-eyed demon actually left him terrified!

The warlord suddenly remembered something, his voice turning ghastly, “How... How could it be y—” However, he could not finish speaking. The demon snarled, a tempestuous force blowing the phantom away. Drahkzan's image quickly distorted, disappearing into an explosion.

Richard slowly opened his eyes and surveyed the area. The altar was empty, the troll phantom long since dissipated. The maple amber in the basin had already been burnt out, but there were still threads of the heady fragrance in the air. Humanoid warriors, knights, and throwers were lying all over the place in disarray, most of his followers on the ground as well. Only Flowsand and Io seemed to have come out of this unscathed, even Zendrall and Kellac looking conscious but in terrible shape. The unicorn lay weakly on the ground, its horn lacking lustre. The troll shaman had collapsed on the altar, his body drained of blood. He no longer had any life force within him, the same as all the berserkers. All the signs showed that Warlord Drahkzan had truly been here.

He closed his eyes once more. His memories were a blur, real and virtual mixed up. He still remembered breaking free of some bindings in his extreme fury, bursting forth with power. The warlord in his soul had completely broken down to his scream, dissipating. The fear in Drahkzan's eyes was still clear in his memories.

Thankfully, even though those with weaker wills like Olar would have to recuperate for a while, all his followers were still alive. Most of the broodmother's drones were fine as well, only collapsed from the fear. The spirit lances were a spiritual attack, so they had little effect on these puppets with no souls. The elites with their own minds, however, had suffered heavy casualties. Almost all of them had been wiped out.

Those of the church who weren't fallen were basically unaffected. Leaving Flowsand and Io, even Caesar who was only level 6 was basically fine. However, the fallen clerics had all received great injuries; even a level 13 fallen priest like Kellac had not been exempted. It seemed like the true servants of the Eternal Dragon had a special defence against spiritual attacks.

Richard turned to find Flowsand and Io staring at him, gazes as though they were looking at a monster. This was something that rarely ever happened; he touched his face, ensuring that he hadn't turned into someone else. Still, the stinging gazes left him feeling slightly uneasy. “Where's Drahkzan?” he broke the silence himself.

Their expressions turned even stranger at this question. “You really don't know?” Io asked.

Richard was confused, “How would I know?”

Io stared at Richard for a good while, his eventual reply full of resentment, “Fine, I'll pretend like I didn't see you acting stupid! You howled at the warlord and he just disappeared! That was a ghost that was level 18 at minimum, and he was attacking you with a spirit lance spell!”

“Mm. You two are fine, no?”

The battle priest puffed out his chest and answered arrogantly, “The power of my soul is second only to a holy being, nothing below the legendary realm can affect it! Flowsand is a chosen priestess of the Eternal Dragon, even a lesser god's attack is a joke to her!”

Richard was rather surprised, but by Io and not Flowsand. Outside of grand priests, only those who reached level 20 could be considered holy beings. The only limits for servants of gods to advance was the power of their souls and their piety. In other words, as long as nothing went wrong Io would have no problems reaching level 20.

“Aren't you much more amazing than I am? I'm a mere level 12 mage,” Richard mocked himself.

“That's different!” Io corrected him in a grave tone, “Flowsand and I could only save ourselves, but you dissipated the phantom with a howl! That's completely different! Is your soul beyond that of a holy being?”

“That's impossible!” Richard denied resolutely. However, Io's expression was one of utter disbelief.

Ruminating over the battle in his soul, Richard felt rather rueful. This was a battle that revealed his true nature. He now knew that he could be destroyed, but he would never be subdued.

“Where's the soul jar?” he suddenly remembered.

Io seemed confused, “You're still fixated on the sacred artefacts?”

“Of course, that's an offering! It's very valuable!” Richard stated resolutely.

Io was left helpless in the face of this wealth-starved maniac; be it as a heavenly guardian or a battle priest, he had no concept of money. He just pointed at the jar that was atop the altar, lid closed. A few of the ancient characters on the jar's surface were flickering with light.

Richard grew stern, carefully walking up to the jar and closely examining it before picking it up. “If I didn't see wrongly,” Io added, “the soul of that troll was absorbed by the jar.”

With Drahkzan's soul within, the soul jar's value as an offering would increase exponentially. Richard jumped off the altar, passing it to Flowsand. Her eyes in turn started glowing amber, shooting out a hazy radiance that covered the jar. Seeing the light the thing reflected, she nodded, “It's definitely enough to hold an intermediate ceremony.”

It was only then that Richard's followers and other soldiers started to get up. Io glowed with divine light once more, quickly restoring their strength. On the other hand, Richard started rummaging through the shrine. The troll shaman had mentioned three sacred artefacts, and this soul jar was an intermediate offering. The other two had to be powerful as well.

However, whether it was intentional or not, the shaman hadn't mentioned what the other two artefacts were.

474 - City of Sin

Dawn of Chaos: The Ashen Plateau

Richard soon found a little hall behind the altar, decorated beautifully. The Zuka statue here had been destroyed as well, revealing a broken piece of wall whose cracks made it evident that there was a hidden storeroom here. Finding no form of energy undulations on the other side, Richard carefully opened up the path to the secret area to find a tightly-sealed copper vial. A powerful vitality spilt forth from the vial, filled with a violent strength. A few words had been carved into the side, simple enough for even him to read— Blood of the Sacred Spirit.

Blood of the sacred spirit? Zuka's blood?! Richard was pleasantly surprised; the blood of such a powerful existence was an unobtainable treasure with a myriad of uses. If he wanted to, he could even offer this as a sacrifice to the Eternal Dragon.

He hastily called Flowsand over, and after some careful examination and testing through timeforce she flipped through the Book of Time for a while before stating with confidence, “This should be Zuka's blood, the second sacred artefact of the troll empire. The grand shamans of the era used to ingest the blood of their sacred spirits, allowing them to communicate with them and use a portion of their powers. This is lucky, Zuka is a powerful being with an exceptional vitality. Even with his main body withered away, this blood is still extremely useful.”

Richard suddenly remembered the process through which his unicorn had been created, immediately lowering his voice, “This could be useful for the broodmother.”

Flowsand nodded, “Mm. The broodmother needs to ingest all sorts of powers to absorb. I don't know what level Zuka was, but a sacred spirit with intelligence that can absorb faith should be no less powerful than a great dragon.”

Richard carefully stored the vial in his robes. While he had taken an exceptional risk in making this journey to Zhubvar, the spirit lance nearly taking his life, the profits had been tremendous. Just the high-quality maple amber alone was a huge amount of wealth, and these two sacred artefacts couldn't even be measured in terms of money. While he had lost nearly twenty elites, it was definitely worth it. That was only ten days of output from the broodmother.

However, he wouldn't stop here; there was still a third artefact to find. However, even with all his warriors rummaging through the shrine for a long time they didn't find anything else of value.

Flowsand checked through the Book of Time for a long while, eventually using the inscriptions on the stone tablets to decipher that the third artefact had something to do with the grand shaman. It was said to be an artefact that held Zuka's prophecies and great power.

“Quickly, the shaman's residence!” Richard decided immediately. Two of the three artefacts were already in his possession; there was no reason to leave the third out.

The shaman's residence was below the shrine and to the right, several metres higher even than the chieftain's domain. At the core of the place was a stone table meant for artefacts, and upon it was a strangely large piece of parchment with words written on it in blood. So much time had passed that the blood had turned to a dark shade of purple that was almost black.

“Page of Holding!” Richard exclaimed immediately at the sight. The parchment's aura was quite familiar to him, and the two pages he already held were reacting to its presence. There was no need to search further; he knew instantly that this was the third sacred artefact. He moved over to the stone table and picked up the page to fuse it with those he already had, but on second thought he had Flowsand come over to read what had been left behind.

Even Flowsand took a few minutes to interpret the contents. This was the prophecy from Zuka that both the shaman and Drahkzan had mentioned, passed down from generation to generation:

“The rivers of life are about to run dry. The capital of the trolls shall turn to ruin. Zhubvar shall wither away and be covered in dust, only revived when the rivers of life flow once more. The source of chaos is the Ashen Plateau.”

Below this, the grand shaman had left what seemed to be a journal entry:

“Six of the seven rivers of life have vanished; the waves of the last disappeared a month ago. We can only pray as we watch the cracked riverbed. Zuka has disappeared for a long time. Has he abandoned us, or did he enter the Ashen Plateau to search for the source of chaos? That is the land of the dwarves, those tiny creatures are difficult to deal with. But all the rivers of life flow from the Ashen Plateau, and one must pass through the dwarven kingdoms to understand why they have dried up.

“Those stubborn little things won't let us pass; I have decided to decorate our spears with them, using them as sustenance for our brave men. Zhubvar's wells are rapidly drying, and we will soon be without water to drink. This battle with the dwarves is necessary!

“We shall return.”

The contents of the page gave Richard another glimpse of the troll empire. All the rivers had dried up and the well water was gone, turning Zhubvar into a dead region. The trolls had no choice but to leave this place, most of them likely dying in battle on the Ashen Plateau. Zhubvar was left without any inhabitants, time weathering it into a ruin. The capital of the trolls had thus entered the books of history.

However, there were still many puzzles that were yet to be resolved. How had Zuka prophesied their arrival?

Flowsand copied the page's contents to the Book of Time, and Richard then placed it together with the other two. A powerful energy wave surged as the Book of Holding emitted a blinding radiance, and by the time everyone recovered the three pages had merged into a regular book. Complicated patterns were carved on the copper cover, with a row of divine script that even Flowsand couldn't recognise. This book seemed to have a hundred or so pages, but no matter how much he tried Richard could only flip through three.

The merging of the three pages gave the book an extra slot. It now held five grade 7 spells, although these spells had to come from the user himself. This was now an artefact powerful enough to turn the tides of a magic battle.

The army stayed at Zhubvar for another two days, carefully searching through the troll capital. However, they found nothing more of value outside of the altar itself. The broodmother could probably consume it for a boost in power, so he decided to find some time to bring her here after the Bloodstained Highway project was complete.

Richard finally headed back from Zhubvar, returning to the army stationed in the Bloodstained Lands. The nobles had already reorganised themselves, so they continued their march northwest. The only disruption to the journey this time were a few bandit groups who didn't know better, and eventually the level red soil gave way to a greyish-white slope that extended all the way up to the horizon.

They had reached the Ashen Plateau. A bird's eye view would show a clear divide between red and grey, distinctly marking out the boundary between the Bloodstained Lands and the Ashen Plateau. Even Richard couldn't help his surprise at such a mystery.

The dry air of the Bloodstained Lands gradually vanished, replaced with a chilly and humid breeze. The cold only grew more evident the further they went; the day after they entered the plateau, they could already see permanent snow on the distant mountain peaks.

Thick, coniferous forests were everywhere in the Ashen Plateau, the needly leaves the same dark grey as the rocks of the mountains. Although it was cold, there were sources of water were everywhere so the army had little to worry about.

A gentle valley formed a natural path. The afternoon of their second day walking along this passage, Richard finally saw one of the cliffside fortresses unique to the dwarves on a hill. This was a place made entirely of rock, six to seven metres tall. It had four or five levels in total, two of which were underground with the entrance at the back. One had to enter the first underground level and make their way through the tunnels to the top. Every level had long slits for gunmen to station themselves at, allowing them to fire at any attackers.

The appearance of this stronghold meant they had properly entered the dwarven lands. The existence of the fortress meant this was a place the dwarves could not afford to lose. Richard had his unicorn stop and sized the place up and down, finding it difficult to believe that they truly had arrived.

A steel helmet poked its way out of the peak of the stronghold, a loud voice ringing out, “I see you, humans, this is dwarven land! Leave now, or my rain of pellets will remind you never to underestimate the determination of Firebeard!”

The dwarf had spoken in human tongue; this was evidently not the first time they were dealing with humans. The nobles behind Richard abruptly started cheering in excitement! It really was the dwarves! The Bloodstained Highway project wasn't just a fantasy! Google search f𝙧ee𝔀𝑒𝚋𝐧૦ѵ𝑒Ɩ. 𝑐𝘰𝒎

The nobles, especially those who had stuck with Richard from the start of the project, were exceptionally worked up. They cheered, shouted, and hugged each other, some even using their energy to bolster their cries. Even the mages started to amplify their voices with mana.

475 - City of Sin

A Dignified Beard

Richard had never known a few hundred people could make such a terrifying sound. The nobles had gone insane, using their internal energy and magic in a unified scream that left him terrified. However, that wasn't the end of their celebration. This time, they unanimously decided to toss their weapons into the air. Powerful magic equipment emitted a dazzling radiance as they flooded the sky at different heights...

And then they started to fall!

Richard had no choice but to insta-cast a few ranged barriers to protect these excited fellows. Io and Flowsand similarly busied themselves; if they did not do so, a few unlucky ones would be pierced through by the swords falling from the sky. Each of these weapons was superior-grade, so the little energy these noble youths had could do nothing to protect them.

Every noble that had come on this expedition had at least some level of ability in a fight; even Zim had killed a few imperial soldiers during Salwyn's siege. They could normally just jump up and catch their weapons, but in this chaotic situation nobody could be sure. After all, a number of these blades in the sky were enchanted to pierce armour easily.

Although Richard's side was completely chaotic, Firebeard was terrified as well. Hundreds of people had suddenly shouted in unison, the resulting sound completely overwhelming his voice. A few hundred weapons were then tossed into the air, the magical radiance almost blinding him. He could swear on his beard that he had never seen so many enchanted weapons in his life.

Perhaps it was out of nervousness or perhaps it was the sense of threat, but the hand of one of the guards trembled. A loud explosion rang out as the gun in his hands fired, black smoke surging into the air. The boom from the gun was several times louder than Firebeard's loud voice, even cutting through the cheers of the nobles.

Richard was slightly shocked at first, but that immediately turned into delight. Guns! This was one of his goals in coming to the dwarven kingdoms; the power of guns was obvious.

The nobles behind him had a much larger reaction. Many of them thought they had been attacked, catching their weapons and gathering their energy. Some cast defensive spells, while a small number of timid ones checked if they had any injuries. In actuality, they were at least a hundred metres away from the fortress and the dwarf's gun had been pointed upwards. At this range, even a perfectly aimed shot would not reach them at all.

On top of the fortress, Firebeard was furiously shouting at the dwarf next to him, “Copperbeard, you useless thing! Why did you shoot... Wait... By my beard, what am I seeing?”

It was then that large groups of cavalry finally showed themselves behind Richard and the nobles. They filled up the valley path in the blink of an eye, countless warriors surging forth.

“There should be at least 3,000 there!” Richard heard someone shout.

A cacophony immediately took over the stronghold, the air filled with the uniquely coarse voices of the dwarves.

“3,000? Quick, send a report!”

“What do you mean 3,000? There's at least 5,000 here! They still have people coming in!”

“No matter how many there are, I, Blackiron, will crush their skull!”

Many heads appeared behind the crenellations, every dwarf that saw Richard's army and equipment going wide-eyed. Gigantic gun muzzles quickly replaced these heads.

Richard looked behind himself. There were less than 2,000 warriors here, but because the vanguard was made entirely of cavalry they seemed more numerous than they were. Coupled with the fact that the drunk dwarves hated numbers and loved exaggerating, it was no wonder they would overestimate. The army outside the valley numbered 10,000 anyway. No matter how sturdy this fort was it only held a few dozen dwarves; it would be a simple matter to take it out. However, they had not come here for war.

Every dwarf in the Ashen Plateau was a precious resource.

Richard went ahead alone, only stopping when he was less than fifty metres away from the fort. “My name is Richard!” he shouted brightly, “I am not here to fight, but to drink liquor and make friends! May I know if this is the Anvil of Thunder?”

This caused another flurry of discussion amongst the dwarves. “The Anvil of Thunder are in a mountain to the southwest, three days away. This is Forgefires, the land of the great Toro Anvil's descendants. Human, if you came to make friends why did you bring so many soldiers? No matter how many you have, you will not frighten the descendants of Anvil!”

Richard smiled, “We come from the far east, and had to cross the entire Bloodstained Lands to arrive here. You must know those lands are filled with bandits and slavers everywhere; without the protection of these men, I would not be able to come here.”

Firebeard hesitated for a moment, “You humans are liars, I don't believe you! You catch so many of our kin and take them for slaves!”

Richard did not mind the dwarf's brashness, “Not all of us. The Anvil of Thunder is working very closely with us humans; if they are willing to believe us, why would Forgefires not? I believe a friendship stands to benefit both of us. Of course, if Forgefires rejects these friends from far away we can go look for the Anvil of Thunder too.”

“How can a tiny tribe like that compare to the powerful Forgefires?” Firebeard spat out, “We are a kingdom! However, us becoming friends is not up to me. That has to be decided by the King.”

Richard said, “Good! Then take me to His Majesty.”

“But your soldiers must remain outside!” Firebeard shouted. Seeing Richard's army still growing, he was slightly flustered. He had never seen such an enormous in his entire life; even put together, Forgefires only had a few hundred thousand citizens. The dwarf was no fool; he knew that someone who could lead such a big army was definitely powerful. Richard definitely qualified to meet the king.

“No problem.” Richard immediately got his troops to halt and find a suitable place outside the valley to set up camp. In the meanwhile, he sent someone to the caravan in the back to have them speed up. All the items meant for trade with the dwarves were there, and with a chance to meet the king Richard was confident that they would come to an agreement.

He then brought his followers and seven noble delegates as well as ten Archeron warriors, following Firebeard into the fortress.

A short distance behind the stronghold was a passage dug into the mountain; this was the only way to Forgefires. The path was surprisingly long; so far was the other side that even Richard couldn't see to the end. It seemed like this tunnel crossed straight through the mountain.

The passage was five metres wide, but it had an extremely low ceiling that was less than two metres tall. Richard had to be careful; with his boots on, he would knock his head into the top if he didn't pay attention. Io and Olar needed to keep their heads bowed, while Gangdor could only make it through by hunching. Human warriors above level ten were normally well over two metres tall, so even the Archerons suffered terribly.

Tiramisu just stayed behind with the rest of his men. The huge fellow was over three metres tall, so he would only be able to crawl through the passage.

Of course, this height was no problem at all for the dwarves who were 1.4 metres tall on average. Even Firebeard, someone considered tall and sturdy amongst the dwarves, was only 1.5 metres. They could all show their power to the limit here.

They only made it a few hundred metres through the passage before Gangdor started to feel like his waist had gone crooked. Richard had accidentally knocked his head a few times, while the others fared even worse. This passage showed Richard exactly why the glorious human empires could do nothing against the dwarves in the mountains. These tunnels dropped the humans' power by a third while amplifying the dwarven guns greatly. A formation of just three or four dwarves firing simultaneously would fill the passage with deadly power that left one with nowhere to hide. Even a saint of Faelor would be left bleeding profusely as long as the attack was from within ten metres.

Firebeard said it would take a day's journey to make it all the way to Forgefires Stronghold, the capital of the kingdom. The city was built on top of a volcano nearly a millennium ago, the mountains nearby completely emptied by the dwarves constantly digging through them. The lava flowing underground had made the place a natural furnace, allowing them to smelt metal endlessly. All sorts of ores were produced within Forgefires, so the kingdom was famous for its smithing within hundreds of kilometres.

This area was rich in obsidian, repeated smelting and forging turning it into one of the best materials for both weapons and armour. The best goods of the dwarves were practically all made from this metal.

Forgefires Stronghold had over ten thousand residents, with all the elite warriors of the kingdom present here. The rest were spread about the thousands of square kilometres of mountains nearby, many working in the mines.

Things went fine along the way. Richard kept conversing with Firebeard and the dozen-odd other dwarves, gaining a good understanding of Forgefires and even striking a friendship with them. They felt he wasn't quite bad, quite liking his beard. The only thing they felt pity for was that his facial hair was too short; in Firebeard's words, a beard had to reach one's waist at minimum. Only then would it be dignified.

Richard obviously wouldn't keep a beard that suited dwarven tastes, but he had never expected the one he did to help him earn their friendship. Of course, the barrels of premium alcohol he'd brought along had great effect as well.

The first passage was about three kilometres long. Once they came out on the other side, they walked a full day through a valley and passed through two more tunnels to reach Forgefires Stronghold.

476 - City of Sin

Forgefires

Standing in front of Forgefires Stronghold, Richard couldn't help but admire the dwarven capital. In front of him was a mountain a thousand metres tall, a few hundred of which looked to be carved out by giant axemen. The slices were in picturesque disorder, each a building about ten metres tall with all sorts of windows, entrances, and ventilation paths. Giant, carved stones decorated the entire city, with a sculpture that was several dozen metres high towering over the entire city. This was the statue of the great founder of Forgefires, Toro Anvil, said to be a being approaching the legendary realm.

Far in the distance, the bottom parts of the mountains nearby looked like a giant beehive with dwarves entering and exiting from every hole like ants. Richard was rather moved at the sight; this was a race of workers, constantly excavating, building, and forging. Although their numbers weren't incredibly large, centuries of diligent digging had created this miraculous scene before his eyes.

Indeed, a strong perseverance was the basis of many miracles.

After some simple interrogations, they passed through two tunnels and entered through the gates of the stronghold to arrive at a magnificent hall that was nearly a hundred metres high. Standing in this place that had a perimeter of 500 metres, Richard felt like an ant. At the end of a tightly shut metal door nearing ten metres in height, with four passages on its sides. These passages were just like the ones he had seen before, rather wide but awkward for humans to walk in due to the height. When fighting in this sort of terrain, one would only be able to display two-thirds of their power at most.

Richard looked up, seeing numerous windows of varying sizes on the wall opposite him. Near the ceiling was a large natural hole; if an intruder rushed in, the dwarves only needed to close the gates and they would be faced against an attack from all sides. Even heavy infantry could not take a warhammer tossed from so high up.

Richard frowned slightly at the sight. He hadn't expected the dwarven fort to be so impenetrable. At the very least, his current army couldn't even begin to consider attacking Forgefires.

The dwarves of Faelor were known to be a race that worshipped their ancestors; there was no lack of tribes whose ancestors had become gods. A kingdom of such a race had worshipped that statue of Toro Anvil for more than a millennium, infusing it with a powerful soul. There was a high possibility of it becoming a demigod or sacred spirit, leagues ahead of the orcish statue he had stolen from the Cracked Canyon. Richard estimated that the statue was comparable to the head of a greater devil.

He had to put aside any thoughts of attacking the stronghold. Without a guarantee of being able to weaken the dwarves greatly, he wouldn't have much of an advantage in the negotiations. Thankfully, he had made ample preparations for this, ready with a second plan. They would trade as equals.

Of course, the first plan was basically to conquer the dwarves completely.

Once they entered Forgefires, Firebeard brought Richard and his party to a large forge deep within the fortress for a look, perhaps to show off. Lava could be seen pouring out of the cracks in the ground, rising to the surface and splitting into several small streams. Flowing past the legs of a few statues, the berserk fires were tamed and the flow grew smoother. These pathways then led underneath the great furnace, constantly heating it up to melt the ore within.

“Those statues are special,” he said to Firebeard, “I smell the power of fire and steel in them.”

Firebeard immediately grew proud, “Those are the statues of the most outstanding smiths of Anvil's descendants. They house the valiant souls of the grandmasters, controlling the lava to turn a source of destruction into fire for the great forge!”

“Valiant souls?!” Richard seemed shocked.

“Of course! When they were alive, these grandmaster smiths were all saints. Nearing death, they willingly sealed their souls into these statues out of their matchless passion for ores and metals, turning into valiant souls that protect the Kingdom.”

Richard turned to give Flowsand a look, finding a similar fervour and regret in her eyes. There were such valuable offerings right before their eyes, but they could not take them away; this was quite an uncomfortable feeling. Every one of these statues was worth a lesser ceremony.

“So, how is the lava pushed all the way up here?” he continued to ask, “The cracks in the ground are hundreds of metres deep.”

“That is the power of Toro Anvil!” Firebeard looked very passionate, “Had he not restricted the might of the magma underneath, Forgefires would not exist today.”

Richard continued questioning the dwarf, but outside of learning that there was a shrine to Toro deep underground he could glean nothing else. Firebeard himself had never been to the shrine; the high temperature there was something ordinary dwarves could not withstand. Only saints with special protective equipment could enter the place.

After the tour of the stronghold came to an end, Richard finally met the dwarven king in the throne room. It was the 22nd generation of Toro Anvil's bloodline, Bamor Steelhammer.

The throne room was just as grand as the rest of the city hall, the twenty-metre-tall ceiling inspiring reverence for some reason. At the end of the hall was a tall flight of stairs with the throne at the top, the King sat upon it looking over Richard and his entourage. On the cliff-wall behind him was a mural of Toro Anvil creating the great forge, while at both sides of the throne were curved platforms with four high-backed iron chairs each. These chairs seated the eight elders of Forgefires; Firebeard introduced them and mentioned that half of them were descendants of Anvil while the rest were outstanding dwarves from other regions.

There was a totem carved into the back of each chair, representing the domains of the elders: exploration, excavation, mining, smelting, refining, brewing, offerings, and battle. This set of domains showed just how passionate dwarves were about metal, but the fact that even brewing had an elder assigned to it was out of Richard's expectations.

After an exchange of pleasantries, King Bamor got to the point, “Human, your attention to etiquette is impressive; we see your respect for the dwarves. If not for that, you would not have been able to come here. In front of Forgefires, your army of 10,000 is nothing!” Please visit 𝑓𝗿𝐞e𝑤𝚎𝗯n𝗼ν𝙚l. 𝑐𝒐𝓶

“Indeed,” Richard expressed agreement, “Forgefires will not fall.”

“Forgefires Stronghold hasn't fallen since the day it was built,” the King exclaimed in a thunderous voice.

“The defences of Forgefires are astonishing, but that means nothing to me.” These words caused the faces of all the dwarves to change, but Richard's continuation eased them up, “I did not cross the Bloodstained Lands to make war. I hope to befriend Forgefires, forming an alliance that can stand the test of time.”

Bamor nodded his head slowly, “Many of my kin still live in human slave camps, but you seem different from them. Fine, let me see what you have brought.”

Richard waved his arms, and four Archeron warriors delivered the little wine barrels they had been carrying to the foot of the stairs. The royal guards then delivered them to the King, who picked up one that was decorated black and gold and opened the stopcock. A concentrated smell of alcohol immediately caused his expression to change; he took in a deep breath of the aroma and shouted, “Bring my golden cup!”

The guards darted away, returning quickly with nine wine cups of different styles. It wasn't just the king; every elder present had their own favourite cups. The quality and styles of the cups were all different, the only common point being that they were massive.

Bamor and the elders had grown anxious in the mere three minutes it had taken for the guards to return. If not for the presence of the humans in the hall, they definitely would have started drinking straight from the barrel.

The King personally poured every cup, completely emptying the barrel by the time he was done. The smell permeating through the hall left the guards gulping their saliva down as he raised his golden cup, “For the Forge!”

“For the Forge!” The elders drained their cups in a single gulp, and the throats of the guards moved a little.

Richard suddenly had a thought: if he'd poisoned the alcohol, could he not have eliminated the ruling class of Forgefires in one go? However, he immediately gave up on this unrealistic idea. All dwarves had strong physiques that were resistant to poison, and each of the elders present was a saint. Bamor himself was level 18, qualifying to be a saint even in Norland. Regular poison wouldn't even give these fellows a stomachache. Besides, Forgefires still had hundreds of thousands of citizens. Even if nine leaders were killed, another nine could quickly replace them.

Bamor wished to continue drinking, his eyes sweeping past the other three barrels before he turned towards Richard. Each of the four barrels was decorated differently, and the quality could be judged from their style. He had moved directly for the best barrel, not touching the other three.

He suddenly turned to an elder next to him, asking in a whisper, “What is this human called again?”

“Richard.” This elder was rather meticulous.

477 - City of Sin

True Friendship

“Very good, Richard. This is some of the best alcohol I have tasted in the 130 years of my life. Although every human visitor has known we dwarves like liquor, yours is the best.” Bamor then pointed to the three remaining buckets, “Are these three barrels any different?”

“Why don't you try them all?” Richard waved.

“Alright!” Bamor immediately had the guards open the rest of the barrels, finishing them all off alongside his elders. These barrels truly were inferior to the first, getting blander as he went along.

A thought struck Bamor, his gaze at Richard suddenly lighting up. “Are these the things you want to offer in trade?”

Richard smiled in reply, “These barrels are all of different qualities: supreme, high, average, and mediocre. Descendants of the noble Toro Anvil, how is the taste of the mediocre liquor to you all?”

Bamor exchanged looks with a few of the elders, one of whom admitted straightforwardly, “Even that is very good. The best alcohol from the previous humans tasted just like this.”

Richard's smile grew even more charming, “It's this mediocre liquor that I'm offering at a price of five gold per barrel.”

“What!?” Six of the eight elders actually leapt up from their seats. The past traders who had come here had taken fifty gold a barrel for such alcohol. Richard's price was basically as good as a clearance sale.

Bamor was extremely surprised as well, but he remained silent. If even the mediocre liquor was so cheap, one didn't need to ask how much the rest would cost. “So, how much have you brought?” he asked in a low voice after the commotion from the elders died down.

“My caravan has 20,000 barrels.”

“WHAT?!” Even Bamor was moved by this number. This batch of liquor could last all the dwarves in Forgefires for a week.

However, Richard continued, “There are also 5,000 barrels of both the high and average grade liquor in total, but only ten that are of supreme quality. Those can be considered a bonus.”

Bamor's case rose and fell rapidly a few times before he answered loudly, “Very well! Richard, what else have you brought me other than liquor?”

This time around, Richard was even more straightforward, “Foodgrains, namely barley, wheat, oats, and corn that add up to a total of 3,000 tonnes. And that is only the first batch.”

This time, Bamor just leapt up from his throne. “Foodgrains?” his voice reverberated through the room like thunder.

“Foodgrains,” Richard was quite composed.

“Why foodgrains?” Bamor's gaze was electric.

“Why not?” Richard's beard made his smile look particularly charming to the dwarves.

Bamor immediately took large strides down the steps, standing in front of Richard and extending his arms. Richard bent over, tightly hugging the man.

The King's hug was a symbol. In this moment, Richard was truly accepted by the dwarves of Forgefires.

Forgefires Stronghold was so grand in scale that it could accommodate up to 500,000 dwarves, which was the entirety of the kingdom's population. The main reason for the dwarves' sparse population was a constraint in food. The climate in the Ashen Plateau was a bitter cold, so only some parts of their valleys could accommodate agriculture. Food had been a problem for the dwarves ever since they had been driven out from the plains, only slightly resolved when they dug deep into the ground and found large swathes of natural caves with edible mushrooms within. However, even if they planted mushrooms in all the caves they could find that was only enough to maintain the population.

The strength behind a true saint's hug was as imposing as a mountain. Richard could barely breathe, but he suffered through it until Bamor let go and spoke to him. “Richard, my friend... What do you wish for from the Forge?”

Richard had long since been prepared to answer, “Metal, ore, weapons, armour, firearms, and of course, gunpowder.”

Bamor's eyes twinkled as he laughed heartily, “Your appetite is enormous. However, you deserve it. You will not be disappointed in the friendship of the Forge!”

The noble delegates all beamed with joy. Every word of Bamor's promise was as valuable as cases of gold.

When the Bloodstained Highway project had begun, many of them had been puzzled by Richard's decision to carry large quantities of alcohol and foodgrains in the caravans meant for trade. Liquor was a traditional staple of trade between humans and dwarves, the latter of which could not resist fine wine at all, but food was a different story. It was cumbersome, difficult to transport, and limited in value. Many could not comprehend what he hoped to gain with that decision. It was only now, as the scene unfolded before their eyes, that they understood the significance of the foodgrains. They were exchanged for true friendship.

Richard could sense the gazes behind him filled with joy, envy, and admiration all at once. This had nothing to do with foresight at all; anyone patient and meticulous enough would gain some understanding of the situation in the Ashen Plateau after interrogating so many dwarven slaves. The human countries had large numbers of dwarves as slaves themselves, and being so close to the Ashen Plateau the Bloodstained Lands were filled with them. It wasn't difficult to actually acquire the information; it was just that almost nobody would think of doing such a thing.

......

Bamor held a grand banquet to welcome Richard's party, leaving his elders to discuss the details of the trade with Olar and the various noble representatives.

Richard and Flowsand spent a peaceful night in the castle, and the next morning she mentioned to the king that she wanted to see the holy shrine where the dwarves paid respect to their ancestors. She said it was to revel in the splendour of the dwarven ancestors, as well as to understand their culture better. Of course, Bamor approved immediately. There were more than ten heroic characters in Forgefires' history who had outstanding achievements, and the King was a man who was proud of his heritage. He was very willing to share their glory with these friends of another race.

The shrine was buried deep in the mountain, a majestic building complex where the main shrine was fifty metres tall. An enormous furnace was right in the centre of it all, boiling iron constantly flowing out from within. Around the furnace were over ten dwarven statues in various forms; even Richard could sense the faint divine light on their surface. Every one of these dwarven statues had reached the level of a valiant soul; any one of them was worth a sacrifice on its own.

There was an altar beside the furnace, the statue upon it much larger than the rest. This particular dwarf held his hammer up high, shaping a weapon on an anvil. The statue was vivid and lifelike; Richard felt a consciousness stirring within it when his gaze fell upon it, returning the stare and instantly causing his mind to buzz. He felt a splitting pain in his head that left him on the verge of collapse, as though he had been struck by an iron hammer.

Flowsand immediately cast a soul protection spell on him, while Bamor rushed forward to shield him. “Noble Toro Anvil!” the King said in a resonating voice, “This is not an enemy of the dwarves but a friend! He brought fine wine and foodgrains in bulk, enough to keep all the dwarves in the castle fed for a long time!”

The statue of the founder of Forgefires seemed to hear Bamor's words; Richard felt the heavy pressure on his soul slowly dissipate. One had to know this statue only had a sliver of Toro's power within it. The true shrine was buried further underground.

“It's alright now, friend!” Bamor grabbed Richard's hand apologetically, shaking it with some force before pointing at the statue, “Look, that forged hammer and anvil were both divine weapons used by him when he was alive, holding unimaginable power. Whenever Forgefires acquires precious materials and prepares to make a legendary item, we use them in order to succeed. At least ten legendary items have been formed on that anvil in the past few centuries!”

Richard's gaze fell on the hammer and anvil, and this time he noticed the undulations of power from the two divine weapons. A thought suddenly struck his mind, “Your Majesty, these weapons should require formidable strength and skill to use. Are there any master smiths in the Kingdom who can completely unleash their powers?”

“Of course!” Bamor replied proudly, “and more than one too! Outside of myself, the forging elder Crushedrock can completely display their powers.”

Richard was delighted, “That is simply wonderful! I have two precious image diamonds on hand, and was intending to embed it into something. However, I could not find a master capable of processing it; I believe you or Elder Crushedrock should be up to the task.”

Bamor's face grew solemn, “Image diamonds? That's a tricky item to handle... But since it's a request from a friend, we will do our best.”

Metalwork and gem embedding had always been a field of expertise for smiths, especially those who were dwarves. Richard toured the entirety of Forgefires outside of its restricted areas over the next few weeks as Bamor and Crushedrock worked without rest, using the divine weapons left behind by Toro Anvil to embed the diamonds into a silver case. The case was merely the size of a brick, its base black with silver edges. The entire body was made of an alloy of obsidian and silver, the base and connecting components even being pure silver. This left the case extremely sturdy, but it still retained a great affinity for magic. The image diamonds were embedded perfectly into the bottom of the case, combining perfectly with the metal.f𝔯e𝘦𝒘e𝑏𝙣𝑜𝚟𝚎l. co𝑚

478 - City of Sin

Where Dreams Begin

With the image diamonds embedded into the case, Richard could have a grand mage from Norland engrave a spell formation to activate their power. The case would thus turn into a spatial magic sealing box, able to hold about two cubic metres within. The isolated space of the image diamonds would also make whatever was put within weightless to an extent. As long as the case didn't exceed two tonnes in weight, he would only be able to feel the box's own weight.

The case itself was at the epic grade. Forget the material, even the workmanship alone would be worth a great amount. However, Bamor considered this to be a symbol of Forgefires' friendship with Richard; he refused any payment.

By this time, Richard's caravan had made it all the way to Forgefires Stronghold. To the tune of thousands of dwarves cheering, barrel after barrel of liquor and sack after sack of foodgrains were unloaded from the carts. Large quantities of weapons, ingots, ores, guns, and gunpowder took their place.

The alcohol and grain had given Richard nearly a million gold coins, most of which came from the food. The dwarves paid 150 gold coins for every tonne and had done so willingly. They were a strong species with a much larger appetite than the average human, every adult consuming at least one tonne of food in a year. Richard's 3,000 tonnes would allow Forgefires to feed exactly as many more citizens. Besides, this was only the beginning; he would continue to transport more as time went on.

Faelor was an extremely fertile plane, so it wasn't short on food; a tonne of grain could be purchased for merely 20 gold in agricultural areas. Of course, transportation was also a huge factor; it took 50 coins' worth to transport every tonne. On the other hand, the prices of the supplies he had bought in bulk from the dwarves would grow severalfold when they returned to the human countries, the final price reaching about five million gold coins. Although one needed to cross thousands of kilometres to cut through the Bloodstained Lands, large caravans could make the entire journey two to three times in a year.

With a point of access established, these caravans could transport kilotonnes of produce and other trade items with every trip. Richard even intended to set up two large supply points at Camp Kvensen and the Cracked Canyon, allowing the travelling caravans to rest and restock. Troops would be garrisoned there to safeguard the entire trade route.

Even disregarding the profits from future caravans, the revenue from the project was 5 million gold, something that dropped down to about 2 million in pure profit once food, transport, and army costs were considered. Richard received a quarter of that 5 million, but his losses in combat were much lower than those of the rest. Most of the dead under him had been former slaves or combat drones, so he didn't have to pay much in the way of compensation for death in service. His expenses added up to a total of 500,000 at most, leaving 750,000 gold in profit. This was a lot higher than the other nobles.

However, the true advantage lay in what came after. Two caravans could now constantly shuttle between the Sequoia Kingdom and Forgefires, making the trip five times a year between themselves. These caravans wouldn't be as large as Richard's, but they would also suffer fewer casualties at the same time. There would be no need for them to pay a large sum for relief and compensation. Thus, every caravan would still reap a profit of about 2 million per round trip, making for a total of 20 million gold. It was impossible to fully assess this value.

According to their initial agreement, Richard would take a quarter of the ultimate profits from the trade route. In other words, as long as he controlled the channel towards the Ashen Plateau, he would reap a profit of 2.5 million gold every year.

Of course, he actually earned far more than that. The rare materials he had found at Zhubvar were worth six to seven million on their own, with the Page of Holding, the blood of the sacred spirit, and the soul jar having immeasurable value. The statues from the orcs and various other tribes were priceless as well; if one had to find a way to measure them, it would have to be the difference between a level 7 broodmother and one at level 6.

An insane idea like the Bloodstained Highway had finally succeeded, and its rewards were equally outrageous. The large army slowly made its way back, a thousand men each left behind to guard Kvensen and the Cracked Canyon. Orders for slaves had already been sent to the large merchant organisations of the Bloodstained Lands; there would soon be 10,000 slaves working on building forts at each of these camps.

By the time Richard returned to Bluewater, it was nearing three months since they set off on the journey. The oasis was bustling with life once more, simple houses constructed on a large scale. Numerous adventurers were rushing to Bluewater from the human kingdoms every day, hoping to begin their own adventures in the Bloodstained Lands. Even before Richard had arrived, news of the project's immense success had already spread through the Sequoia Kingdom and its neighbours. The news had turned to gossip quickly, and after passing through a few mouths become absurd legends. The ore in Richard's caravan had turned into rubies and gold, the length of the caravan extended severalfold.

The Bloodstained Lands had turned from a place of death and danger to a country full of riches and gold. People were saying one might uncover gold wherever they placed their shovels, attracting countless criminals, thieves, robbers, and adventurers who could no longer stay in the human countries. This place had turned into a land of dreams.

The moment they returned, Richard was immediately faced with the problem of dividing their gains from the expedition. The project's tremendous success and huge profits were enough to make anyone go crazy, so dividing the delectable fruits of their labour became a huge issue. It wasn't just deciding which of them got how much; Richard also had to consider how to keep these gains from other hands. Fortunately, everyone who had participated in the plan shared his interests.

Another problem was the Mage Association. Richard believed their last meeting was sufficient to express his stance. If they were willing to back down to some extent, then he would actually be willing to make some concessions as well. He did not wish to really cooperate, but time was something he needed a lot. Norland's greatest advantage over Faelor was in powerhouses and mages; he could easily recruit tens of mages at level 10 or above and purchase superior-grade equipment for enchanting in bulk. With both of these in his hands, he would have taken over the source of the profits the Association needed to survive. He saw no use in keeping them around for any extended period of time.

He had already taken his share of the profits from the project in advance, mostly in weapons and ingots of obsidian. These weapons made from quality obsidian were even beyond those made of lafite steel that he had gotten from Norland. There were a total of 400 weapons in this batch, all of which he intended to take back to Norland for enchantment before returning to Faelor to sell. Other than that, he also received five epic-grade weapons from Faelor as personal gifts; two warhammers, two one-handed axes, and one two-handed axe. They were also made from obsidian, but had been forged with Toro's hammer and anvil. This bestowed them with enhanced durability, while Bamor's mastery of smithing gave them added sharpness. This was a unique advantage of dwarven mastersmiths; all of their items were enhanced in one or more properties by nature. Magic could then be layered on these devices, making them much more powerful than ordinary enchanted items.

Quality goods with dual-enhancements like those from Bamor would easily become epic-grade goods after only two enchantments. Bamor's best items even held three properties instead of two, forming the basis of legendary equipment.

Richard hadn't idled around in the past three months himself, especially during his month-long stay in Forgefires. He had used the period to complete the three Savage Barrier sets he needed to finish his deal with Nyris, while advancing his own mana pool to close in on level 13. Even fully focused on his astral affinity, he would surely advance in level within a month or two.

He would be nearing eighteen years of age by the time he reached level 13. This was hard to come by even in Norland, but he was still unsure of his limits. He could stop at level 18, or he could go all the way to level 20 or even surpass that to enter the legendary realm.

Either way, his top priority at the moment was to return to Norland once more. He needed to convert the large sum of wealth on his hand into power, and offer the soul jar from Zhubvar in exchange for divine grace. Discussing things with Flowsand, he had decided to hold the ceremony at the church building in Faust, limiting the loss in grace due to distance. Of course, things could be looked at from another perspective: the more the offerings that were made in Faelor, the more the power that would be channelled into the Book of Time. Its connection to the Eternal Dragon would thus be strengthened, reducing the cost for future offerings every time.
ｆ𝓇𝘦𝚎𝑤e𝗯𝑛𝗼ѵe𝗹. c𝒐𝘮

After returning to the oasis city, Richard had a hundred humanoids and three elite bat scouts rush over to the Land of Turmoil to deliver the blood of Zuka and all the divine items they had found in Zhubvar and Kvensen to the broodmother. He then left Olar and Kellac to deal with the negotiations as he brought Gangdor, a few strong Archeron warriors, and Flowsand to quietly return to Norland.

479 - City of Sin

Trouble

When priestess Noelene sensed the portal from Faelor emitting waves of energy, she rushed over to see Richard panting badly on the floor with a chest that was much larger than him tossed nearby. Not far away, Gangdor was slumped on the ground, his burly body covered in shiny sweat. Three massive chests that were bound together had toppled next to him, just their size making her legs feel like jelly. Although Gangdor was astonishingly strong, he still had to activate both his bloodline and his runes alongside the buffs of various spells to haul these things back. Still, he wound up so exhausted he collapsed the moment they exited the portal.

The Archeron soldiers streamed out of the formation one by one, each hoisting a chest that they could barely carry. They too collapsed the moment they left. The final person to walk out was Flowsand, but even she was carrying a miniature magic sealing chest that caused Noelene's jaw to drop.

“Richard!” Noelene liberated Flowsand immediately before grabbing Richard by the collar and raising him up from the ground, “Couldn't you just have brought another person back? You made even Flowsand move a chest?!”

Richard replied with a charming smile, “Beautiful priestess Noelene, planar teleportation is very expensive. Another person would mean another 40,000 gold in cost.

“You!” Noelene was left tongue-tied for a moment, but then she tightened her grip and raged, “You're a royal runemaster but you want to save a mere 40,000 gold?”

Richard's smile became even more enchanting, “I gave the money I saved to Flowsand.”

Noelene suddenly felt like she couldn't stay angry for a length of time. Still, she was rather reluctant and glowered at Richard for a while before putting him down. She had once again displayed a strength far beyond her petite frame.

“Flowsand, how long can you stay this time?” she asked her junior.

“Two days,” Flowsand replied.

Noelene frowned. “So short? There's going to be an intermediate-grade sacrifice in a week. Stay a few days, I'll give you the chance to host it. Right now, you need divine grace.”

Flowsand shook her head, “No, we can only stay for two days at most. Don't worry about the grace; with the offerings Richard brought back this time, we can hold a ceremony tomorrow.”

Noelene turned to Richard in surprise, her gaze growing much softer, “There are offerings already? Seems like this fellow is pretty capable. Alright, I'm not worried then; go meet high priestess Ferlyn, she wanted to see you the moment you returned.”

After Flowsand left, Noelene then freed up the other weary Archerons one by one, letting them recover as quickly as possible. Richard handed two magic sealing chests full of ores and metal to her, exchanging it for nearly a million gold coins. This time around, he had her exchange 200,000 of that for 400 magic crystals, spending another 300,000 for 100,000 enchanted crossbow bolts. The remaining amount was converted into cash.

With the limited time, Noelene could only employ a dozen or so level 10 mages. The obsidian ingots Richard had returned with were slightly lower in value than cloudiron, but still much more valuable than lafite steel. These metals were specifically used for the weapons and armour of high-grade rune knights. The ingots Richard had returned with were worth 500,000 and would take a full two months to enchant. That wasn't good enough.

Noelene watched as Richard had the Archeron soldiers organise and transport the supplies, utterly surprised when she saw the obsidian ingots. She hadn't thought Richard would get his hands on another source of high-grade materials so quickly. She couldn't help but order all the obsidian once it was enchanted, willing to pay for it in advance.

However, there were still dozens of magic sealing chests which had yet to be opened. Richard opened ten of them, and the priestess' expression immediately changed. The chests were densely packed with all sorts of weapons, and looking at their glossy black surfaces that seemed almost liquid she knew every one of them was a premium product forged from obsidian. Although they hadn't been enchanted yet, every one could be sold for about 5,000 gold or so. Staring at ten crates of such weapons, Noelene found it almost difficult to breathe.

She picked up a broadsword and examined it closely. The dwarves' exquisite workmanship was hard to miss, greatly increasing the value of these weapons. “How many?” she couldn't help but ask.

Richard wiped the sweat off his forehead, “Four hundred.”
ƒ𝐫𝒆e𝓌𝒆𝚋𝗻૦𝘷𝑒𝙡. 𝑐𝘰𝐦

“Four hundred!” Although she had already guessed it, the priestess was rather shaken by the confirmation. Even a grand priestess of the Eternal Dragon would be stirred up in the face of two million gold.

“What do you intend to do with these things, anything that needs my help?” she asked. She could effortlessly handle ores worth a million gold with her connections, but these weapons worth double that surpassed her ability.

“I plan to enchant them and then take them to Faelor to sell them off,” said Richard.

“I can think of a way to help with that, but it isn't my field of expertise. If you don't have a suitable channel, you can come back and look for me.”

“Thank you! I feel like giving you a hug already!” Richard grinned, a particularly odd charm to his smile.

Noelene blushed a little and snorted, pointing to the remaining two chests on the ground, “What about them?”

Richard hesitated a little, but eventually he opened one of them to reveal more weapons hidden inside. This was the chest containing the premium goods that were handmade by Bamor, capable of becoming epic weapons.

The moment Noelene's eyes fell on them, she gasped, “Epic-base weapons?”

She couldn't stay reserved any longer, picking up a two-handed war hammer right away and inspecting every inch of it. The tip was two-sided, one side a hammer while the other was a spike. Both were flickering with an unusually sinister tint, not a magical radiance but a display of the smith's exquisite skill.

This was a first-class epic-base weapon. If it passed through the hands of a truly skilled grand mage, there was even a small chance of it becoming a legendary weapon. Even in Norland these weapons were amongst the finest works. The dwarves of Norland weren't much stronger than those of Faelor in terms of smithing, and while Norland had mages aplenty they really lacked such high-end weapons. Every one of these weapons could easily sell for a hundred thousand gold.

The total price of these five weapons wasn't as high as the 400 others put together, but they still felt different to Noelene. The items Richard had revealed earlier were resources that made others envy the plane he controlled. However, these epic weapons meant he had already integrated into that plane and fostered close ties with its higher powers. This meant the planar war had already advanced to the second phase. How long had it been since the fellow even entered Faelor?

Noelene placed the hammer back into its chest and cast her gaze on the last unopened one. Intuition told her its contents would shock her greatly.

Richard could tell that Noelene was expectant, but he hesitated a little before walking to the chest. Placing his hand on the cover, he was in no hurry to open it as he lifted his head and smiled at her, “Reason tells me I shouldn't open it.”

But then he popped the lid open loudly, revealing chunks of dark maple amber of all sizes. A rich fragrance immediately filled the hall.

Noelene was so stunned even her gasp was delayed. “Top quality maple amber...” she muttered softly. She could instantly tell how much this chest was worth.

Richard slowly closed the cover of the chest, standing in front of it and waving his hand to direct her attention back to himself. It was only then that the priestess regained her senses, instantly turning red and clenching her teeth, “You brat! You did it on purpose, right? Do you want to make me look like a joke? Do you want to die?”

Richard giggled in consent. Anyone trained in magic would lose their sense at the sight of so many top quality maple ambers.

She bit her lip hatefully, “You're really asking for it!”

Richard laughed heartily, signalling to the soldiers to lift the chests and head out of the hall. Before leaving, he suddenly turned around and flashed a smile in her direction, “You'll have to ask Flowsand first!” With that, he turned and left gleefully.

“Richard! Wealth will only be wealth!” Noelene didn't know why she had said those words.

“I will turn it into power!” Richard replied.

As she watched his receding back, Noelene suddenly felt like she was losing her senses for a moment as she saw the shadow of another man. She sighed gently, muttering under her breath, “This fellow... Know what's best for you, don't be too careless.”

Richard returned to his island without talking to anyone else, calling for the old steward at once for the latest news about the family. He flipped through the information on the family planes as he listened inattentively; after all, only ten days had passed in Norland since his last return. What could happen in ten days? The private planes were most likely to undergo an upheaval.

But as the butler went on, he suddenly raised his head in astonishment, “What? The taxes of another territory halved?”

“Yes. Sir Kunder said that bandits were rampant within his territory. The tax payments have been robbed for two weeks in a row.”

Richard lifted his head to stare at the ceiling, gently tapping on the armrest of his chair for a moment, “If I remember correctly, Kunder manages a decently sized territory that's on the border. Let me think... he's next to the Schumpeters, no?”

“Yes.”

480 - City of Sin

Trade

Richard's frown grew more intense. “21 of the family's 59 territories have shown a decline in taxes... these fellows don't have any patience at all. Do you think Kunder is just making these bandits up, or is it a raiding party from the Schumpeters?”

“I cannot be sure,” the old steward replied. The man normally devoted his time to the family's internal affairs, so he couldn't make a judgement about the state of the vassals. Richard wasn't really looking for an answer either, he was just asking off-hand.

He stood up and paced about the room, his expression growing gloomier with each step. A few dozen rounds and he suddenly raised his hand, about to fling the tax report to the ground, but he couldn't bring himself to do so. He placed it on the desk gently, his fury replaced with a chilling calmness when he lifted his head once more, “Tell Kunder that he can halve the taxes next season as well if the bandits remain so rampant.”

The old butler was utterly surprised, but he said nothing. Having been with Gaton for many years, he clearly knew Kunder was just another chess piece. There were a dozen-odd vassals like him who would just serve as tests for Richard. If he couldn't establish control of his lands, the Archeron fiefs would likely collapse and fall apart.

Richard started caressing the tax report softly, as though it was a lover's face; however, the icy glare in his eyes would leave a chill in one's heart. “Schumpeters...” he muttered softly, “You've been completely destroyed, but you still want to play tricks behind my back?”

Judging from the distribution of the territory and the range of influence, only the Schumpeters could have tempted Kunder. However, the real mastermind behind this all was Duke Mensa. The Mensas were sworn enemies of Archeron just like the Schumpeters and had been similarly crushed by Gaton a while ago. Even though they knew Gaton was trapped in the Rosie Plane leaving the Archeron lands empty, they didn't have the strength to start another full-fledged war. The shrewd and experienced Duke shifted his focus to annexing the Schumpeters, who were only a piece of meat up for grabs at this point. There were also those under Gaton who could be swayed, and dividing them up would be quite effective at wounding the Archeron Family. The power of this strategy could easily be seen in the tax report Richard was looking at.

Richard passed the report back to the old butler, “Investigate the lords of all the territories that reported a significant decline in taxes or something similarly strange. Mark everyone you think is abnormal. I hope to have a report of that by the time I next return.”

“No problem,” the butler agreed.

“Has there been any news from the Deepblue?”

The butler immediately took out a piece of paper, “Her Excellency Sharon has entered hibernation. It seems like she will remain in this state for about three years or so.”

Richard was startled, “Master is in hibernation? Did she say why? Is there any special information for me?”

“I'm afraid not, Young Master.”

Richard went silent for a moment before nodding, continuing the arrangements for the private planes. He planned to take 50,000 crossbow bolts himself, sending the remainder to Asiris. The situation in most of the other planes was still stable for the moment, and he couldn't really afford to help any of them.

Lina had sent a letter to him from the Forest Plane, explaining her predicament. After they had taken over the city, the surrounding forests started growing much more rapidly. The attacks of the aboriginals grew fiercer and more frequent, assassins constantly killing off the logging teams that were being sent out to cut down the trees. Archers who were level 16 or above were starting to appear more often, forcing the Dragon Mage to remain on guard and rely on the support of the magic tower. She was worried the natives would launch a siege soon; although she was confident in being able to weather the storm for now, the situation was evidently going downhill.

The Forest Plane was extremely valuable, or it wouldn't have been prized by the Schumpeters. Every corner of the local forests was home to rare species of trees, including many types of wood that could be used to manufacture powerful enchanted crossbows. A rare vine had also been discovered on the outskirts of the city, the essence of its fruit allowing mages to increase their mana growth by 10%. This essence was known as mana essence, something charged by the gram in Norland. Its effects weren't obvious on low-levelled mages, its value instead lying in the fact that even legendary beings could feel its effects.

Every gram of this essence was worth a thousand coins, and just the area around Emerald City could produce half a kilogram every year. Lina could only sustain the war effort by relying on the trade of timber and this mana essence.

The real problem with the Forest Plane lay in what was termed the Walking Woods. The aboriginals possessed abilities similar to druids, able to have trees uproot themselves and walk a certain distance before taking root in another region. As best as Lina tried to chop the trees down, Emerald City was being surrounded on all sides. What's worse was the discovery that the locals had a power boost of about 20% in the forest.

The Dragon Mage had transported dozens of cubic metres of rare timber out recently, and the old steward had already found carpenters to begin building superior-grade longbows from it. Once they were enchanted, these bows would be worth nearly 3,000 gold each, and this batch was enough to produce hundreds.

There were only a few hundred guards on the Archeron island. After the uproar from the novice knights, Fuschia had recruited 200 and 1,000 people in the island and Blackrose Castle respectively, beginning intensive training. However, it was a strain for the poverty-stricken family to even equip a thousand soldiers; there was no way more men could be transferred out to assist Lina.

After muttering to himself for a while, Richard eventually sent a message to Lina telling her to hang in there as he thought of a way to help.

......

Nyris and Agamemnon arrived punctually on the island at noon, having received his message. However, Richard didn't meet them in the study, instead taking them directly to the family warehouse.

Nyris was beautiful as ever, but he looked completely worn out. This didn't diminish his appearance, however, adding a layer of melancholy to his looks instead. This would attract two types of extreme reactions: one was a desire to come up with a way to solve his problems, while the other was a bestial urge to ravage him.

To his horror, Richard discovered himself being more inclined towards the latter. It caused the royal runemaster to break out in sweat, secretly filling up with fear. This wasn't just because of Nyris' status, but because the Fourth Prince was a man.

There were plenty of homosexuals in human aristocracy, and that was a fact not just limited to Norland. Richard himself hadn't reached that point yet, but who knew how things would turn out? After all, the Archerons were famous for being unpredictable.

Once he repressed the strange feeling in his chest, Richard was then beset by curiosity. Nyris was a royal son, and he wasn't dumb or weak either. What could have tormented him to such a state?

However, time was precious; every minute wasted was ten minutes lost on Faelor. “Friends, I need another batch of superior-grade weapons, shields, and armour. This one will need to be larger than the last.”

“Wait, what?” Nyris was dumbstruck, his face instantly turning pale as snow. Fortunately, Agamemnon has always been cool-headed. He asked, “Price, quantity.”

“According to the list you gave me last time. And as for the quantity, I'll need about a thousand sets.”

Even Agamemnon couldn't help but take a deep breath, “Too much, this exceeds my limit. Nyris!”

“Huh? What?” Nyris was startled by the mention of his name. He had just heaved a sigh of relief, looking to be rejoicing to himself. Agamemnon ignored his distressed state, continuing nonchalantly, “Richard needs too much. Take over everything beyond my limit, about 8 million.”

Nyris couldn't help but draw in a deep breath as well. His face instantly turned deathly pale as he said in a soft voice, “I... I can't fork out that much money!”

“Get it from the royal warehouse,” Agamemnon pointed out, not forgetting to add another sentence, “The price is different.”

Nyris' face regained some blood. It was only then that the Fourth Prince realised Agamemnon's prices were a little higher than what he would have to pay to draw the weapons from the warehouse. Although the difference was only 3-5%, that still made for a huge sum at this scale. The income from this trade would be enough to make up for half of the deficit he had suffered last time, something that made the prince who had been dealing with an economic crisis overjoyed. The lofty Fourth Prince had never imagined that he would one day be so excited of a few hundred thousand gold.

After nailing down the deal for the weapons and equipment, Richard walked in front of a magic sealing chest. “This is part of the payment for the goods,” he said as he lifted the lid.

Seeing the maple amber within, Nyris subconsciously gasped in surprise. Agamemnon's breathing grew more urgent as well. Richard patted the chest, “This is about seven million's worth.”

All the maple amber Richard had brought back was of the best quality, untouched and unprocessed. Both Nyris and Agamemnon could easily find people to cut, treat, and process these ambers into finished artefacts and runes, selling them off bit by bit. Done properly this would net them a total of about eight million, but it would need time. Richard didn't have the patience or the channels, so throwing this stuff to these two was the best way forward.

481 - City of Sin

Trade(2)

Nyris couldn't hold back his excitement, an unusual flush rising up his cheeks that caused him to seem delicate. A quick calculation revealed that the revenue from processing all this maple amber was entirely enough to level out his current debt. He would actually be able to break out of his bankruptcy!

Richard then took out an intricate silver-lined case, pouring some mana within to cause it to float in the air. He then opened the lid and pushed it lightly, send it towards Nyris, “Here are the three Savage Barrier sets, the effects are even better than the two before. I'll sell at a discounted price of three million.”

The two others didn't care for the sets inside the case at all, eyes completely focused on the box itself. Gazing at it for a full minute, Nyris asked Agamemnon, “What did you find?”

“Image diamond, embedded by a dwarven grandmaster. Gravity isolation, spatial equipment... Hmm... The diamond can be activated further.”

Richard was surprised by Agamemnon's skill at appraisal. The youth had basically seen through the case entirely. Richard had activated the image diamonds himself, but he didn't have the skill or mana to use them completely; they were working at half of their capacity. The space inside the box was only one cubic metre in volume, and could only accommodate one tonne. Only when his level increased could he activate them further.

Nyris have Richard a long look, “I really have to reevaluate you. You actually managed to get two image diamonds and a dwarven grandmaster to embed them. Just the box is worth more than a million gold, and the three sets—”

“Take the sets. The box isn't for you,” Richard bluntly interrupted the Prince's fantasy. With his dreams destroyed, Nyris groaned.

Richard then opened another chest, the five epic-base weapons within causing the eyes of the two to light up. He ended up selling four to them in exchange for three enchantments on the two-handed axe, bringing it to full epic grade. Two of the three enchantments had to be Rip and Heavy Blow.

The excess money from this exchange was used for a magic item to increase his own strength. Agamemnon ended up trading him a magic necklace from the Ironblood Family that barely made it to the epic grade. Although its stored magic barrier was basically useless, the 10% increase in casting speed and spell damage was quite useful to him. Paired with the Twin of Destiny's increase in damage and spell penetration, his killing power was greatly increased. Richard himself had a penetration rune, so everything stacked up would basically destroy any resistance his enemies had towards his spells.

As for the 400 obsidian weapons, Richard gave the two a hundred in exchange for enchantments on the rest. However, it would take at least one month for all of these weapons to be enchanted; that was almost an entire year in Faelor.

With the trade concluded, Nyris and Agamemnon hastily left. The value of this transaction was far too huge, so they needed to take their time with the arrangements lest they make careless mistakes.

......

Nyris remained taciturn as he and Agamemnon left the floating island. Before the two parted ways, however, Agamemnon suddenly spoke up, “Follow Richard to Faelor.”

The Prince jumped up like a frightened rabbit, shouting in reply, “What for?!”

“An investment.”

The curt reply only increased Nyris' reaction, “Investment? Are you saying I can't make money and feed my army myself? Why do I need Richard?”

“For points. You only have two years left,” Agamemnon stated dully.

Nyris was like a snake with its bones extracted, losing all the strength in his body. He had already lost the right to ask for temporary allowances, and his budget in the next year would not increase either. While this transaction had helped patch up the debt he had incurred, he was currently in a passive situation; without Richard, he didn't know how to make up for the 200,000 gold he was going to lose next year. This was no small amount, pushing him several steps back. The other royal children wouldn't sit by idly in this period of time, using the opportunity to turn this difference in wealth into power and using their strength to increase their points. In two years, there would be an important test. Those who lagged behind would lose their rights to inherit the throne of the alliance, the vacant spots filled by those princes and princesses who had newly become adults.

“But...” Nyris said somewhat timidly, “It feels like there's no honour in it.”

“There's even less honour in losing the throne.”

“Alright, I'll think it over again.” The Prince had no choice but to yield, gloomily walking towards the imperial teleportation formation.

Agamemnon shook his head as he looked at the receding back, entering a portal himself.

......

Agamemnon's men sent the necklace over in the evening. It was an elegant artefact with a massive azure gem on it, named the Heart of the Moon Goddess. The necklace had accrued a bit of fame, so it didn't take much verification before Richard wore it right away. With how much he was focusing on his astral affinity, Richard didn't worry about his mana growth in the future. However, potential did not equate to current strength. He was starting to place importance on equipment now; that would lead to a direct increase in power.

Night slowly fell on Faust, the city of miracles once again illuminated by the light of the moons. In the highest tower of the castle, Richard sat where Gaton used to and slowly entered deep meditation. His mind slowly went quiet, his body growing translucent to his soul as it revealed his awakening bloodline. The third branch of the astral trunk had already produced its first leaf, giving him a new ability: Deep Awareness. This allowed him to find high-grade astral rays nearby with more ease.

Motes of blue light began to appear all around him, large and small, slow and fast. Richard could now move his consciousness at will, slight ripples rocking his surroundings as though he was a large fish swimming in water. He couldn't go too fast, and as he tried to capture the high-grade astral rays he had plenty of problems. The grade 3 rays weren't just faster than him, but also appeared for a very short period of time. Even relying on calculating the trajectory and barring the path, his success rate still wasn't high. However, Deep Awareness showed him the ripples caused by the movement of his consciousness, revealing exactly why it was so difficult to catch these rays.

Every time his consciousness approached a ray, the ripples produced by its movement changed the light's trajectory. The higher the grade of astral ray, the quicker it was to be affected by the ripples. Richard thus changed his approach, racing to the predicted locations and then lying still to let the ripples fade. The experiment was a success; although a grade 3 ray hit the aftershocks, it didn't escape his range.

This discovery immediately increased his success rate with high-grade astral rays, allowing him to pull them into his body one by one. Most of the rays merged into his astral affinity, while a small portion were turned into mana.

Time passed as he meditated, the branches and leaves of the astral bloodline growing lush with life. It seemed like the second leaf on the third branch would appear soon. The Archeron bloodline wasn't lagging behind at all, the web-like veins emitting traces of volcanic heat that was burning hotter than ever before. His bloodline had been strengthened under the threat of the spirit lance in Zhubvar, creating a phantom demon to protect him. Ever since then, Richard felt like he was close to unlocking a third Archeron ability.

Just as the meditation session was about to end, a wisp of splendid seven-coloured mist suddenly appeared in his senses! Its existence was recorded in the Deepblue Fantasy, mentioning that it was a grade 5 astral ray that was called the rainbow mist and possessed wondrous strength. Even grand mages rarely ever found these things!

Richard was extremely lucky. His consciousness was right next to where the astral mist had spawned, so a slight movement and he grabbed hold of the area instantly. However, the moment he caught it he nearly jumped up from the ground. It was as though his consciousness had caught a burning piece of coal, the heat searing his very soul.

His mind went completely blank.

When he recovered, he found the rainbow mist was still tightly grasped by his consciousness. Even blacked out, he had refused to give up. However, a grade 5 astral ray was far too powerful for him right now. His soul was nowhere near powerful enough to tame such a source of energy. Richard had to use all his willpower to drag the mist into his body, losing control the moment it entered. His consciousness was completely repelled as the mist spiralled within him, not entering the astral affinity or even his mana pool but the Archeron bloodline instead. In that moment, Richard felt as though a volcano had erupted within his body. Surging fires violently rocked his blood, making him feel like he would be burnt to ashes!

......

When dawn broke on Faust once more, Richard recovered slightly from a bout of extreme weakness. He somehow managed to get up and go downstairs, finding a vitality potion in the study room and impatiently drinking it. Half an hour later, he was a little better.

He reached his right arm out, slightly bewildered as he looked at the wrist. There was a mark of fire upon it, not like natural flames but a totemic symbol of some civilisation instead. He had never seen nor heard of such a mark before, but the arrival of the symbol also indicated a whole new ability that had never been seen in the Archeron Family before— Sacrifice!

482 - City of Sin

Fury

Sacrifice was an ability that could activate a power far beyond that of regular magic. It would amplify whatever spell Richard cast greatly, but the price was that the mana used to cast the spell would permanently vanish from his body. In other words, three grade 6 spells under the ability's effect would push him back down to level 11.

This ability could not be used lightly outside of a life and death situation. However, it truly was befitting of the Archeron bloodline— insane, determined, and with no way back. However, Richard stared at the symbol on his wrist with a crazy thought in mind. With the elven bloodline and the meditation technique form the Deepblue, his mana growth was several times faster than that of an ordinary mage. Even if he used Sacrifice once a week, he could continue to advance at the same rate as a regular mage.

The path of magic was long and boundless. The further along Richard went, the more he felt like the existences ahead of him were full of surprises. Sharon, Mordred, Beye, even Gaton... Richard's perception of the distance between them only continued to increase.

He couldn't close the gap by being a jack of all trades. He had to choose one path and walk it to the end, and Sacrifice was just perfect. It continued with his emphasis on killing power.

Today was the day for the sacrificial ceremony. Richard was mostly fine by the end of breakfast, so he brought Gangdor and a few guards along as he set off for the Church of the Eternal Dragon. Flowsand had finished the preparations long ago, and it wasn't his first time either. The ceremony began very quickly, and thankfully the options this time were finally back to normal.

There were only three choices for the blessings. Outside of the planar passage strengthening that he hoped for, he could choose eight years of extra life or a legendary item called the Lava Ring that would greatly enhance his spell damage especially for the fire element. The Lava Ring was quite tempting, but Richard chose to strengthen the passage instead. Right now, he was shuttling between Norland and Faelor quite frequently; the more he strengthened the passageway, the more he would save.

Besides, he had another thing to consider. Basically everyone purely loyal to him was in Faelor right now, and the broodmother was there as well. If he wanted to raise his influence, he would need to bring a large army out from Faelor. These little offerings would add up, greatly reducing the cost of moving said army. This blessing was one that was more useful the earlier he obtained it.

The ceremony thus ended quite quickly, the price of teleportation dropping down to 15,000 coins' worth. However, during the entire duration timeforce kept hovering around his beast-tooth bracelet. The largest tooth kept emitting a searing heat that rejected the power of time, once more reminding him of its extraordinary nature. Mountainsea came to mind. He sighed once the ceremony came to an end.

“What's wrong?” Flowsand asked from beside him, amber eyes full of concern.

“It's nothing.”

“Hmm, alright.” Seeing as Richard was unwilling to answer, she didn't push him either. She instead supported her necklace with her palm, showing it off, “Look, my Waterdrop Necklace has been strengthened. It's the Springwater Necklace now.”

Richardknew that the Waterdrop Necklace had been part of the Reincarnation set. Now that it had been strengthened to form the full Springwater Necklace, Flowsand's divine spells were amplified twofold. Ceremonies always gave the officiator some amount of divine grace, and it seemed like she had used hers to strengthen the necklace. The item was now near the legendary grade, but as someone who already had the Book of Time Flowsand had no problems bringing out its full potential.

However, Richard did not closely examine the properties of the Springwater Necklace, instead taking a step back and looking the priestess up and down for a while. He then smiled, “It suits you well.”

This was not an answer Flowsand had expected. She paused without a smile, leaning into his embrace and closing her eyes. She could hear his strong heartbeat through his chest. They shared a quiet moment within the shrine.

It didn't take long for a whisper to break the silence, “When are we leaving?”

“Probably tomorrow afternoon.”

“Alright.” In that moment, the girl didn't feel like thinking at all.

A while later, Richard left the Church of the Eternal Dragon. Every stay at Norland was for a very short duration, and he was always extremely busy. Not long after they got back to the floating island, a servant hastily entered Richard's study and exclaimed, “Young Master Richard! There's a problem! Young Master Wennington got into a fight with someone in Faust and has already been caught!”

“What?” Richard's first reaction was to think that the servant must have gotten something wrong.

No matter how much the Archerons had declined, they were still one of Faust's fourteen. He had just risen to the status of royal runemaster as well, so how could they be bullied to this extent? Who had so much courage? Besides, Richard knew Wennington's personality. The youth was of the same age as him, but he was too mature to take things too far.

The servant grew anxious, “Young Master Wennington had a conflict with the young master from the Mensa Family. They took him away, saying he would be brought to the duelling arena. Young Master Richard, his injuries are grave. You cannot delay!”

“Mensa?” Richard calmed down the moment he heard this name, “Tell me what happened, in detail.”

This servant had been following Wennington for seven or eight years now and had always been loyal to the youth. No matter how anxious he was, he knew this was a serious matter. Thus, he held back his anxiety as he recounted the day's events.

It was actually quite straightforward. Wennington was out buying some materials he needed in Faust, and had met Duke Mensa's youngest son along the way. The two families were already in a feud that could not be resolved, so they inevitably exchanged some words. However, the young Mensa had said something in Wennington's ear that enraged the normally-calm youth, who instantly punched the boy's face.

The Mensa youth's nose had been smashed, but that wasn't all. Most importantly, many had seen Wennington launch the blow; the strength in that attack could definitely be considered a challenge to a duel. In the end, Wennington who had only brought along a few ordinary servants and had been seriously injured by the Mensa Family's men had been captured and brought to an inn near the duelling arena.

The young Mensa had threatened the Archerons to find a way to bring him back, or he would fight a duel in the arena. Once they started the fight, interference would be impossible. Running from a duel was the biggest blot on a noble's honour. To many, honour and reputation were more important than their very lives.

Richard was in no hurry to make a move, instead thinking it over for a while, “So their target isn't Wennington. For now, at least, he won't be in trouble. Young Mensa wants to use him as a lure to bait someone else out. And from the looks of it, that can only be me.”

The servant did not dare interrupt. While he was very worried about Wennington, he knew that speaking now could bring about unexpected results.

Richard knocked on the table lightly, asking after a moment, “What did he tell Wennington?”

The servant had never dared to hide anything, “I only heard a little, and it seemed to have something to do with Miss Venica.”

The servant was thus immediately sent to bring Venica to the study. Richard then waved him away and closed the door before turning to look at his younger half-sister. Under his gaze, the girl grew slightly awkward.

Richard looked calm, but his left hand was repeatedly balled into a fist before spreading out, “Wennington was seriously injured by the Mensas and is in an inn next to the duelling arena. The servant says the fellow said something about you into his ear, which is why he lost his calm and threw the first blow. Is there anything you want to tell me?”

“I...” Venica immediately turned pale, unable to speak for a moment. However, her actions were enough to give Richard a rough idea of what had transpired. He grew more serious, “The Mensas should be aiming for me, so Wennington will be fine for now. But anything could happen as time passes; you'd best treasure this.”

“It happened a week ago...” Venica began.

This event had occurred in Faust as well. A young and energetic Venica had been angered by Duke Mensa's eldest grandson, secretly duelling him. Both were level 9 warriors while Venica had already unlocked a bloodline ability, so she had been certain she would win. However, the opponent had come with two pieces of epic-grade equipment, while all she had was a superior-grade weapon. The results were as expected.

The corner of Richard's eye twitched slightly, “What was at stake?”

Venica paled, obviously left traumatized by the day's events, “If he lost, he would have to kneel in public in Faust's plaza and apologise for humiliating Father. If I lost, I... I had to strip for him.”

“And then? Nothing else happened, right?”

“N-No.”

“I see. So the Mensa boy probably said something about your body that infuriated Wennington.”

“I'm sorry... I... I didn't mean to hide it!” Tears were welling up in the girl's eyes.

Richard smiled slightly and patted her shoulder, “It's fine. We Archerons aren't known for enduring humiliation. The Mensas have succeeded in infuriating me.”

“Servant!” he suddenly raised his volume.

A servant entered the study room, and Richard immediately instructed him to call Gangdor and Fuschia over, as well as inform Flowsand, Nyris, and Agamemnon to get to the duelling arena within half an hour.

“Oh, tell them there's going to be a show. They'll miss it if they're late,” he added. The servant ran out like lightning.

483 - City of Sin

Stakes

Venica wanted to say something, but she didn't dare to open her mouth. She could already tell that Richard was determined to act, but she worried for his safety. After all, the Archerons weren't like the Mensas. There wasn't a single saint on the island save for Fuschia, while the Mensa island had at least one level 20 overseer.

Richard didn't seem enraged, nor did he shout. All this while, he had been extremely calm. Yet, for some reason, the fiery girl felt extremely scared of him right now. It was an indescribable feeling, one she could not explain.

“The next time something like this happens,” Richard suddenly spoke up, “don't shoulder it on your own. Remember to tell me.”

She bit her lip and hesitated, “But...”

“I know,” he smiled. “You're an Archeron, you want to work alone. That's fine, but wait until you've really grown up.”

Gangdor and Richard had built a powerful bond over their time in Faust. When the brute appeared, he even had an enchanted box on his back with some unknown items inside. Fuschia, on the other hand, seemed completely bewildered.

When they walked out of the teleportation formation, Richard suddenly remembered something and asked Venica, “By the way, how old is Young Mensa, and how strong is he?”

She thought it over for a bit, “He should be 21 this year, a level 14 mage.”

Richard nodded, “Not half bad. This should be a little interesting!”

A short while later, they were at the top floor of the inn next to the duelling arena. Young Mensa had already booked out the entire floor, his friends and followers everywhere. It wasn't just Mensas here; Richard recognised Foster, Lunor's student, amongst the faces, and there was also the young Micah from the Schumpeter Family.

He scanned through the area, stroking his short moustache as he smiled, “Everyone who has a beef with me is here, huh.”

Nobody noticed Gangdor's eyes flashing. He had followed Richard for a long time, and knew the meaning behind all of his master's subconscious movements. Touching the moustache was an indication of killing intent.

Richard's own gaze landed on Wennington. His brother's body was covered with blood as he lay fainted on the ground, a youth with an icy expression having a foot on his head. He didn't need a detection spell to know that this was Duke Mensa's youngest son; the brand new injury to his nose was enough.

He moved forward until he was five metres away before crossing his arms, “Enough. I'm here now, so retract that leg. There's already a fair number of people here and none of them are fools; you're only stepping on old Mensa's face.”

Young Mensa's expression immediately steeled. Richard's reaction was completely out of his expectations, leaving him at a loss. He eventually retracted his leg and smirked, “Who knew your mouth was even more amazing than your runes. If you want to end up in a better state than he did, you'd best learn to curb your tongue.”

“I'm actually best at killing,” Richard laughed, “I'll let you try yourself later!”

Young Mensa's eyes immediately brimmed with bloodlust.

Basically every great family in Faust had a representative in this inn. It seemed like the Mensas were determined to make a huge fuss over this. However, not everyone here was planning to watch the drama; there were also many on Richard's side, like Nyris and Agamemnon.

However, Nyris looked terrible, glaring at a youth opposite him, “Third Brother, why are you here?”

The young man in ordinary clothing was his older brother, the Emperor's third son. He flashed a cold smile in Nyris' direction, “If you can come, why can't I?” Google search f𝘳𝚎𝗲𝘸e𝐛𝑛𝐨𝘃𝘦𝚕. co𝚖

Nyris looked around and turned even paler, “Did you incite all of this?”

The Third Prince rolled his shoulders, “Don't say that, I can't take on such a heavy responsibility. This is a conflict between the Mensa youth and that little Archeron. I was just passing by, so I came here to take a look. See, Second Brother is here as well.”

Nyris' eyes narrowed as he looked at where the Third Prince had pointed. Just as he had said, a fair and plump youth who looked rather ordinary was in the corner, seeming completely harmless as he seated himself on a chair from who-knew-where. Seeing Nyris' gaze fall upon him, the corners of his mouth drew back into a dazzling smile. This youth had no presence at all, causing practically everyone to subconsciously overlook him. Only when the Third Prince pointed him out did Nyris notice that there was someone sitting in the corner.

However, this plump youth caused even Agamemnon to grow serious. This was Neil, Emperor Philip's second son and the prince with an absolute lead in the race for the throne. The Second Prince was the one was most similar to the Emperor, not only in appearance but also in temperament. If someone felt he would be easy to bully, that person would be left not far from death. Nobody had seen Neil act in the past year, but one year ago a saint who hadn't known his identity had clashed with him in a tavern over a woman. That saint had been left gravely injured. The only conclusion one could draw was that being a saint was far from enough to adequately describe Neil's strength.

With three princes present, things grew extremely complicated. With Flowsand, Noelene, and Jacqueline here as well, the two great powers of the royal family and the Church of the Eternal Dragon were both present. At least on the surface, things would have to follow Faust's rules.

Young Mensa crossed his arms and kicked Wennington towards Richard, stating arrogantly, “I can give this fellow to you first, deal with the aftermath. However, he humiliated me and must agree to my request for a duel. I'm not going to cancel it, be prepared to receive a corpse.”

Richard started the Mensa youth in the eyes and suddenly smiled, “Why go through all this trouble? You want me, no? Then just get to the point. I'll duel you.”

A chilly glint appeared in Young Mensa's eyes, revealing a bit of delight which he immediately suppressed, “These are your words.”

A tall youth behind him sneered, “Even if you want a duel, it'll have to wait till this one is over.”

Richard looked at the fellow as though he was an idiot, not caring for any courtesy as he directly cast a detection spell on him. This was so rude the tall youth grew furious, wanting to say something, but Richard interrupted him, “So, a level 12 mage. Fine, tell me your relationship with old Mensa; if you're close enough, I can consider duelling you for warmup. If you aren't, then just bloody scram! What's worthless scum like you doing here, making all this noise?”

Richard's words grew more scathing the more he spoke, causing the youth to take half a step backwards involuntarily. He immediately realised what had happened, turning purple, but with so many nobles around he had to maintain a minimal amount of poise. Still, his voice held an unconcealable tremor within it, “I am Duke Mensa's grandnephew, son of Viscount Redpine. I am a titled knight, is that enough?”

Richard immediately nodded, “Of course! As long as you have Mensa blood in you, that's good enough. Let's duel in a bit.”

The young man froze. He hadn't expected to fight Richard; with both being level 12, it was hard to tell who would win. The Archerons and Mensas had a blood feud between them, but that was with Gaton and the Duke. The other Mensas didn't have enough of a bad relationship with Alice, Sauron, and the rest that the were willing to initiate a war. This youth didn't want to die for Young Mensa; after all, he still had a great future as a potential grand mage.

Richard took in the hesitance of the young man and immediately burst into laughter, saying loudly, “Seems like the so-called honour and courage of the Mensas means only having the guts to duel people of a lower level!”

A dozen Mensa youths instantly paled, the Duke's son's eyes looking to spit fire. Richard's statement was a resounding slap to all their faces; if they did not retaliate, even the Duke would not be able to raise his head from the shame.

“Frodo, agree to it!” Young Mensa shouted sternly.

The young man called Frodo looked just as terrible as the rest. He had only wanted to show off a bit to get further in life; who knew that Richard would drag him down so easily. He wasn't stupid and knew that Richard would use him to establish his prowess.

Richard's gaze finally landed on Young Mensa and he smiled slightly, “Next is what happens between us. If you wish for a duel with me, it's not enough to just let Wennington go.”

Young Mensa's gaze grew cold, “What other requirements do you have?” He had realised a battle of words would be pointless, so he decided to get straight to the point. Frodo was likely not a match for Richard, but at least he would reveal Richard's strength and use up a part of his mana.

Richard's gaze went past him to land on an exceptionally beautiful young lady in the crowd. She had a lavish arrogance to her temperament, but still was as cold as ice. Her beauty would shine through even in a horde of pretty girls, an aspect in which she even exceeded Flowsand slightly. Of course, that did not mean she could compare to Flowsand's aura.

The young lady's ivory-like skin and idol-like features were famed in Faust, and Richard had heard of them before. He gave her a slight bow and smiled, “This must be the beautiful Lady Rosie, yes?

“Very well!” his gaze landed on Young Mensa, “If you want a battle to the death with me, it's quite simple. Add her to the stakes; if I win, Rosie must strip for me.”

484 - City of Sin

Steamroll

The Mensa Family instantly went into an uproar, many condemning Richard. However, they weren't the only ones complaining. Micah Schumpeter grew especially agitated, “Miss Rosie is already betrothed to my family's head! Richard, this is a blatant insult to the Schumpeter Family, I'll kill you!”

The moment the words left his lips, there was no shortage of young nobles encouraging him. He charged straight towards Richard, intending to begin then and there, but a powerful figure blocked his advance. The youth had taken no more than two steps before Gangdor grunted audibly, staring at him with the same disdain one held for a rabbit. Micah may have been level 15, but as far as Gangdor was concerned someone without the slightest hint of a bloodline was just a weakling wishing for death.

Fuschia moved calmly towards Richard's left. Her beauty and skill were both well known in Faust, and just as expected the unruly youngsters immediately decided to back off. It was clearly impossible for them to overpower a level 19 powerhouse. And with his supporters gone, Micah didn't dare to rush towards his death.

Richard didn't bother looking at everyone else, staring at Young Mensa icily, “You should know a duel can only proceed if both sides have the same status, or the superior will send a subordinate to fight on their behalf. I am a royal runemaster. What gives someone with no significant title to speak of the right to duel me?”

Young Mensa grew incredibly sombre. Richard was speaking the truth, but the way it was said felt like a hard slap to the face.

“Some royal runemaster you are,” Foster suddenly jeered from the side, “You can't even craft a grade 3 rune.”

Richard turned around to look him over up and down, unable to help a laugh as he shook his head, “Are you that eager to give your master a new archenemy? If I were Lunor, I would carefully consider your motives.”

Foster was left at a loss for words. Looking around, he saw the Third Prince clearly irritated; his heart skipped a beat. While the royal family was dissatisfied with Lunor, they did not wish for an open war between the two royal runemasters. A country as large as the Sacred Alliance could never have enough runemasters. He found himself hating his big mouth. Richard was distasteful, but that was a rivalry for his master to participate in.

“You'll be throwing your brother's life away if you refuse to duel,” the Mensa youth made one final attempt. However, he couldn't help but feel extremely anxious at the calm tone of Richard's response, “I will avenge him.”

Richard wasn't just the royal runemaster; it was quite likely that he would become a saint runemaster in the future. Someone like that wouldn't find it difficult to strip a duke of his rule, even if said duke hailed from a powerful family.

Young Mensa tilted his head slightly, exchanging glances with the Third Prince who nodded to make his decision for him. He had come prepared to win today. It would be completely unacceptable for a level 14 mage to back down from a duel against a level 12.T

“Very well,” he declared, “I agree to your terms.”

Rosie wanted to say something, but she eventually decided against it. She was beautiful, but her level 8 strength as a mage wasn't nearly enough for her to be able to control her fate. Her only worth to the Mensas was in her status and body, as a tool for political marriages. Her personal honour was worth nothing compared to matters like merging with the Schumpeters and eliminating an archenemy like Richard. The Mensa youth was actually rejoicing secretly at Richard's demand; it was just that he couldn't accept without any hesitation in front of so many people.

Next came the matters of the duel contract, arranging for the arena, and other related matters. Richard found a place to sit and waited calmly; trivial matters like that would be left to the subordinates. Wennington had also been treated by the Church, his injuries now under control. He didn't dare to meet Richard's gaze, standing alongside Venica behind him with his head lowered. He had finally realised the entire incident was a plot against Richard; he had been nothing but bait.

Richard was now preparing to duel, and two people consecutively at that. Wennington felt as though the sky would collapse upon him. Richard had already proven his unparalleled talent at runecrafting; given time, he would forge a great reputation for himself. It was no exaggeration to say Richard could single-handedly support the entire Archeron family in the future. Even the most powerful of families thought twice before offending a saint runemaster. But because of his own recklessness, that talent was left with no choice but to enter an unfavourable fight.

Richard seemed to sense the thoughts of his siblings, “Don't worry too much, we Archerons don't always do things rationally.”

Nyris and Agamemnon were silently discussing things on the other side of the room.

“Don't you feel like Richard has grown very aggressive with his return this time?” Nyris asked silently.

Agamemnon nodded after a moment's thought.

“Also,” the Prince hesitated, unable to help but lower his voice further, “It seems like he's starting to resemble that sister of yours.”

Agamemnon's eyes widened as he studied Richard's figure for a long time, “That... I pray not.”

“Mm, I agree. Even a handful of people like Beye is more than enough.”

It took an hour for all the formalities to be completed. This duel was very important, far beyond the rivalry of two powerful families. It involved the Schumpeters and the royal family, shaking all of Faust. Every family sent their delegates to spectate, with Duke Mensa and the Schumpeter patriarch even attending personally. The officers in charge reserved the most extravagant arena possible, with the best available amenities. It could accommodate nearly a thousand spectators, with dozens of private viewing boxes.

Duels were a spectacle amongst the aristocracy, a melting pot of honour, blood, strength, and resolve. Their ability to entrance the viewers was unparalleled.

There would be two rounds. The first would be between Frodo Mensa and Richard, while the second would be against the Duke's youngest son. Richard would have half an hour between the rounds for rest and recovery, the duels fought with magic on complicated terrain with rocks and trees.

To the surprise of everyone, Emperor Phillip himself graced the event with his presence. This was the time for His Majesty's afternoon tea; for him to forego a meal spoke volumes of how important this duel was. Unfortunately, his expression told everyone that his mood was less than ideal. Still, that was understandable. No ruler of a country would be pleased when a royal runemaster entered a duel with someone. His Majesty was known to be an accomplished schemer; after this event, whoever had displeased him would face terrifying consequences.

With the Emperor present, the Third Prince naturally went to his box and stood behind him.

Cheers erupted from within the arena as both Richard and Frodo entered. Philip gazed upon the youths entering from opposing ends and grunted, speaking in a slightly nasal voice, “The Mensa lads did really well this time. They took the chance to attack Richard's weakness and exploited the rules to force him into this position. Quite clever.

“But not wise enough,” he finished as he shifted his mountainous body, voice containing a hint of sternness that was difficult to detect. His words seemed to have a hidden meaning that jogged the Third Prince's thoughts.

Frodo was the archetype of a mage, decked out from head to toe in magic equipment. He was wearing two rings, a belt, a robe, boots, and a necklace that were all superior-grade equipment, greatly amplifying his power. An unusually robust foundation was put on display the moment the duel began as he chose his position appropriately, erecting barriers and readying himself to counterattack. Everything was meticulous while his chants were clear and swift, his figure the very model of a future grand mage.

In stark contrast, Richard had no equipment as he stepped into the arena bare-handed. He just sneered icily as he stood still, watching Frodo add layer after layer of shield spell onto himself. Only when the enemy was done did he slowly raise his hand.

As Frodo prepared to start his attack, a gust of hot air started rising around Richard. His short hair started swaying in the wind as he muttered a short chant, a fireball forming between his palms and immediately flying towards the enemy.

Frodo was shocked. Richard's first spell being this fast was completely unexpected. Had he devoted his time to learning to insta-cast a fireball? Did he really think a mere grade 3 spell could defeat a level 12 mage?

The flames engulfed the mage, but a magical light shone within until the spell flickered out. Frodo remained standing in his position, but was visibly shaken. Richard's fireball was unnaturally powerful, eliminating half of his barrier in one go. But then he looked up, only to see a second fireball hurtling towards him.

How could he be this fast?! Frodo cried out in shock before being engulfed in flames once more. The raging explosions drowned his voice out in an instant, fireball after fireball shooting towards his position every second. Even a grade 3 spell could cause great damage when stacked so heavily. The cumulative power of Richard's barrage was enough to even give a saint some pause.

Richard cast a total of eight fireballs before stopping. About fifty metres away, there was nothing left of his opponent but a smouldering corpse. Even the magic equipment had been unable to withstand the volley, burnt completely to ashes. Frodo had already been killed by the sixth, but Richard had only been satisfied after sending two more his way. The audience couldn't help but find the scene unsettling.

The grand mage presiding over the contest was stunned, to the point that he forgot to verify if Frodo was alive. The entire arena went deathly silent, many subconsciously holding their breaths as the last eight seconds played on repeat in their minds. There was no shortage of nobles in that arena who were well-versed in magic; they had seen many magic duels, even those between grand mages. However, none of them had witnessed an event like this. Richard had only used a single spell from the start, annihilating his opponent with unending flames.

Unavoidable and relentless. It was a crude tactic, but it radiated the destructive power of heat.

Richard didn't bother waiting for the announcement of his victory, turning towards Young Mensa who was amongst the audience and grinning icily, “You're up next, Mr. Mensa.”

All colour drained from the Mensa youth's face, “You'd rather waste time here than recover your mana? You do realise you have no more than half an hour.” Hidden away from everyone's view, the youth's left hand was shaking uncontrollably within his sleeves. He was sweating so profusely his clothes were visibly wet.

Richard spread his hands and smiled joyously, “No need, five minutes is enough. I just need to change my clothes.”

The youth delt offended and humiliated, but the declaration also relaxed him greatly. Another layer of sweat appeared on his body as he started fearing that Richard would take it back, and he immediately yelled out, “Very well! You had better not regret this!”

Young Mensa immediately felt innumerable gazes upon him, every one stinging hard. The nobles were whispering to each other, shocked at his unexpected weakness and lack of grace. He felt an immediate rush of shame, but quickly reassured himself. So long as the duel was one, nothing else was of consequence. A mana restoration potion would give one enough mana to cast a grade 6 spell within half an hour. Richard had unleashed eight consecutive fireballs, he should have lost at least a third of his mana.

“Fetch my equipment!” Young Mensa shouted as he stood up.

Several attendants from the Mensa Family emerged, opening a bunch of boxes in front of the nobles. Arrayed within were six pieces of equipment, half of which were epic-grade gear. One of them was a long magic staff bound in gold and white, a lifelike six-winged serpent coiled around the tip.

“The Plumed Windsnake Staff!” someone from the crowd gasped. This was a renowned heirloom of the Mensa Family, nearly reaching legendary might.

485 - City of Sin

One Hit Kill

The Plumed Windsnake had a grade 3 barrier, a grade 2 cast speed buff, and an elementary damage buff. This allowed its user to set up their defences on a moment's notice, preparing for a battle of affinities and mana pools. Providing a boost to spell penetration, cast speed, and magic damage, the staff had established its reputation as an excellent weapon for mages.

It was quite clear that the Mensas had prepared for this battle. Young Mensa was already two levels higher than Richard, and armed to the teeth as he was the audience saw only one outcome in this battle. Everyone knew that the Archerons were dirt poor, that Gaton had built his family up from almost nothing. They were known as the only powerful family in Faust without any legendary weapons, but of course it was hard to call them powerful now either. Richard didn't have any time to prepare; even if he wanted to borrow from his allies, it would be lucky to even get epic gear within this short period of time.

Mensa specifically prepared for the battle in the open so he could add on to the pressure Richard was facing. Battles between mages always held an element of uncertainty to them; even confident in his win, he wanted to disrupt Richard's state of mind and force mistakes.

It didn't take long for Richard to appear from the changing rooms, crossing paths with Young Mensa. Dressed in his epic gear, the youth drew close to Richard and waved the staff in his hands, “See the Plumed Windsnake? You're dead!”

Richard remained uncaring as he appraised the staff, saying meaningfully, “Not bad.”

Young Mensa raised his voice once more, his expression serious, “I'll be waiting for you on the battlefield.” He then took big steps towards the arena, not bothering about the fact that Frodo's corpse was still being cleaned up. Richard smiled; he knew this opponent was afraid of him spending time to recuperate.

Inside the Emperor's booth, Nyris was enraged. “This is ridiculous!” he shouted.

Second Prince Neil smiled innocently, as though he had no thoughts on the matter. On the other hand, the Third Prince stared coldly at his brother as he spoke sardonically, “The winner takes all, the loser has no right to complain.”

Nyris just smirked at that, with no intentions of meeting the provocation. It was Emperor Philip who actually turned around, “All of you will meet such opponents in the future. Think of how you would face them.”

The three princes nodded their heads, stopping all conversation. Richard was once again the centre of all attention as he walked towards Gangdor, a simple gesture telling the brute of his intentions. A magic chest was placed on the ground and opened, revealing its contents.

Richard first took out a necklace and wore it, before pulling out a staff that looked ancient. He finally drew a long blade and placed it on his back.

The staff Richard was holding was rather unique. Although it wasn't as flashy as the Plumed Windsnake, the fallen angel wing on its head was far more memorable.

“Twin of Destiny! It's a Twin of Destiny!” someone shouted from the crowd.

The audience immediately erupted. The Twins of Destiny were said to have been used by high priestess Ferlyn of the Church of the Eternal Dragon. They had accompanied her on her journey through the myriad planes, establishing a great reputation. Ferlyn was also known as the two-faced mirror, equally skilled at both healing and offence.

Someone also recognised the long blade on Richard's back. However, compared to the Twin of Destiny the Schumpeter Family's heirloom was nothing. Only when Extinction and Annihilation were together did they achieve legendary strength.

Although the Twin of Destiny in Richard's hands was only one half of a whole as well, just the fallen angel staff was much more powerful than the Plumed Windsnake. The Holy Angel was unsuited for mages anyway.

Already in the arena, Young Mensa grew upset. Thankfully Richard took no breaks, not even drinking a mana potion before he walked in. Google search f𝙧ee𝔀𝑒𝚋𝐧૦ѵ𝑒Ɩ. 𝑐𝘰𝒎

Young Mensa held tightly onto his staff, constantly reminding himself that it wasn't too much weaker than the Twin of Destiny. He was also a good two levels stronger than Richard; even ignoring the Plumed Windsnake, the Twin of Destiny would only be able to narrow the gap between them. Was Richard right, did he not have the courage to fight a fair battle? Only now did the youth realise just how terrified he was.

And yet, he didn't know why. Every statistic assured him that his chances of winning were over 90%. In fact, it was a flip of a coin whether he would even suffer any significant injuries at all. Richard had even gone through an additional battle just before and exhausted eight fireballs' worth of mana. WHY WAS HE AFRAID?

The steamroll against Frodo was likely what had resulted in the shock, the youth consoled himself. How could such a thing be repeated again? Maybe he was just afraid of Richard's momentum.

Richard entered the battlefield and walked towards Young Mensa, only stopping when they were thirty metres apart as per the standard agreement. Emperor Philip's stare grew sharper when he noticed the gait.

Young Mensa laid his eyes on the sword on Richard's back, forcing himself to act relaxed as he asked, “I've never encountered a mage carrying a blade to the battlefield. Can you tell me why?”

Richard flashed a malicious smile, “I'll tell you after the battle is over!”

On the viewing platform, Duke Mensa turned to Duke Schumpeter and smiled, “The blade on Richard's back comes from your family, no?”

Dario sighed heavily in anger, “It's all because of Sinclair, that useless thing!”

Duke Mensa remained relaxed, “It's alright, it will return to its rightful owner in some time.”

The gates of the arena were then closed, the referee walking to one of the corners and giving the signal to begin. Richard's smile immediately melted away, making him seem like an entirely different person.

Philip heaved a prideful sigh, pointing to Richard, “This youth might go even further than Gaton!”

This was a statement that even shocked the Fourth Prince; Nyris hadn't expected Philip to give Richard such high accolades. Still, he wasn't confident of Richard's chances in this battle.

The grand mage pointed his finger upwards, a golden fireball shooting into the sky. The battle had started!

Young Mensa raised his staff immediately, adding extra physical and magic barriers before buffing his speed. However, that still didn't seem to be enough. He continued to buff himself, finishing within a few seconds what a normal mage would take half a minute to complete.

Richard raised the Twin of Destiny, beginning a chant. The black wing of the staff started to glimmer, and everyone well-versed in magic instantly knew that he was casting a grade 6 spell. This wouldn't be enough to break through the defences of Young Mensa. This didn't conform to the standard style of a duel between mages. If Young Mensa survived the first attack, his reply would be lethal.

A red glow flashed on Richard's face before making its way to the staff. He raised it up, slightly moving it forward. A thick beam of crimson light appeared in the sky, falling down on and engulfing Young Mensa in his entirety.

Time seemed to slow down at that moment. The bolt of blood-lightning weathered away Young Mensa's barriers, his face turning from pale white to raging red before eventually turning black. A powerful ball of fire suddenly came out of Young Mensa's body, burning brightly before dying down in an instant.

Everything had happened too quickly for the audience to respond. *BOOM!* A thunderous roar suddenly rocked the entire arena, the deafening explosion ringing out in all directions. Anyone with even a basic understanding of magic stood up, shell-shocked. The crimson lightning was still burning brightly in their eyes, an imprint that terrified them to near death.

How could a lightning bolt be so huge? That lightning bolt was beyond the understanding of everyone present, the ultimate destructive force of a grade 8 spell coming out of a grade 6 chant. And yet, it wasn't all destruction; they could feel the power of life within that strike.

Young Mensa was already burnt from head to toe, lying paralysed on the ground. His body was trembling, his ability to battle clearly lost. Outside of the Plumed Windsnake and his other epic gear, everything else on him had been burnt away.

Richard tried his best to overcome the emptiness in his body, steadying his consciousness. The mana within him was almost depleted, sending him down to level 11 in an instant. Far too much of his life force and mana had been depleted for that attack, but it had succeeded in overpowering Young Mensa in one shot.

The referee looked blankly at Richard, but he didn't announce the results of the battle. A duel could only end if one side died or the winner agreed to stop. Young Mensa was badly injured, but he wasn't dead. Richard took big strides in his opponent's direction.

“DON'T YOU DARE!” Duke Mensa suddenly shouted from the platform.

486 - City of Sin

Glory

Young Mensa's eyes were full of fear and obeisance, but the lightning bolt had left his entire body numb. He couldn't speak a word. Richard slowly drew the sword on his back, “You wanted to know what this sword was for, no? It's to split open your throat.”

He then placed the sword on Young Mensa's throat and lightly pressed on it, drawing blood.

A heart-wrenching scream pierced through the sky from one of the viewing platforms, the skies above Richard's head suddenly growing dark and gloomy. An overbearing force fell down from up high, a silhouette heading in Richard's direction. Unprepared as he was, Richard couldn't even move his fingers in the face of this assault. The attacker went beyond the level of a normal saint, reaching legendary might.

Unable to resist, Richard merely shut his eyes in acceptance. It hadn't crossed his mind that the Mensa Family would be so daring, openly flouting the sacred rules right under the Emperor's watch.

'So be it. If I die here, the Mensas won't last more than ten years.' Richard shut his eyes, awaiting his fate. In his last fleeting moments, he thought to himself that at least he had gotten some interest back for Gaton. As for what came after, that wasn't his problem.

*BAM!* A heavy thud sounded beside Richard, but it wasn't the attack he had been expecting. He lifted his head in suspicion, seeing a bulky man struggling to stand up as he bled profusely from his head. He was puking blood non-stop, unable to even speak properly. The man looked down at his waist, only to find a piece of cake! The cake was embedded deep into his body, still intact, but just looking at its position one could tell that any bones nearby had been smashed to pieces.

Richard looked at the bulky man's face and immediately identified him as Duke Mensa's brother, Earl Kane Mensa. This level 19 saint was the one trying to attack, but now he lay heavily injured on the ground by a soft cake. Blood continued to gush out of his throat as he was left unable to struggle any longer, falling to the ground.

Something flashed in Richard's head and he turned his head towards the viewing booths. Emperor Philip was wiping the cake crumbs off his fat arms, saying unhappily, “What a waste of my dessert!”

He then stood up, “The fight is over, there's nothing left to see.” Just before he stepped out, however, he suddenly thought of something and said to someone beside him, “Stay behind and make sure all of them adhere to the rules of the duel. I don't want anyone challenging Emperor Charles' laws.”

“You can rest assured, Your Majesty!” the follower said with determination.

Richard had already stowed his sword away, walking casually towards the exit of the arena. Duke Mensa was already waiting outside, expression stern and voice quivering, “Richard! You... You're good. You're quite good!”

Richard calmly wiped at the blood on his hands, “I've always been good. It seems like your beloved son is the one who isn't.”

Duke Schumpeter had a similarly cold look on his face, his eyes narrowed, “Indeed, you're quite good to make enemies of both the Mensas and Schumpeters! But I've seen far too many amazing youths in the past fifty years. All of them eventually become a set of bones. I can only give you one piece of advice; whenever you leave Faust, be sure to watch your back!”

Richard suddenly started laughing out loud as he pointed at Dario, “A mere Schumpeter has the audacity to threaten me?”

The Duke's expression immediately grew wonderful; the surrounding nobles were making digs at him. If not for the protection of the Mensas, the Schumpeters would already have been chased out of Faust. Duke Mensa was the only reason Dario still possessed his seat.

Richard stopped smiling, casting a piercing gaze in the Duke's direction as he said mellowly, “But that's okay, Your Grace. I won't mind such a small fault. After all, I am going to be helping you check whether Miss Rosie's body is as attractive as her face. I hear you haven't married her yet, so sad!”

Mensa's face warped into a look of insanity. “Richard!” he shouted as he drew his sword in one go, “I'll kill you!”

The sword was drawn, but it could not go through. A pair of fair, feminine hands placed themselves on the Duke's, looking soft and gentle yet completely neutralising old Mensa's level 17 strength. He was left unable to attack or defend.

Mensa grew angry beyond words, but when he looked up it was as though a bucket of cold water had been poured over his head. Seeing the androgynous face in front of him, his anger was frozen in an instant. Anyone with a modicum of knowledge about the royal family would recognise that this was one of Emperor Philip's followers. This person seemed like they could only lick His Majesty's boots, but they had served by Philip's side for more than twenty years, weathering multiple political storms.

“His Majesty has decreed that the rules of the great Charles shall not be broken!” a sharp voice rang out.

Duke Mensa's expression turned from enraged to thoughtfuly, “Please rest assured, the Mensa Family has millennia of glory and honour behind it. We will not renege on our promises. Rosie!”

Rosie took a step forward, expressionlessly standing beside the Duke.

Duke Mensa looked at Richard, “The bet was for her to strip for you. I don't think a third party should be involved, am I right?”

Richard smiled, “Exactly.”

“Great! Rosie, head back with Richard for now. Remember to follow his instructions; the Mensas are not a family without honour.” The Duke turned around and left the moment he finished his sentence, not bothering with Dario whose face had turned green in discomfort. He didn't even bother to take another look at his own son's dead body.

The entire Mensa Family was no different. They left Rosie alone.

Richard smiled, waiting for Dario and Duke Mensa to leave before signalling to Rosie, “Let's go!”

He gathered his men and headed back towards the floating island, Rosie silently following behind. However, only a few steps into the walk and he felt a weird stare on him. Turning around, he saw a delicate-looking youth staring at him from a small distance away. Seeing Richard look in his direction, he turned away and left in a hurry.

Looking at the receding back, Richard turned towards Fuschia, “Who is that?”

Fuschia was quite familiar with Faust's nobility, “That should be Raymond Joseph, famous for his breadth of knowledge and intellect. He is a rare mage of Solomon, and an aspiring runemaster himself.”

“A familiar name; he definitely isn't someone simple. Thankfully, it looks like he isn't long for this world.”

Fuschia was instantly shocked. She could tell that Raymond had a weak physique, but it wasn't easy to draw a conclusion like Richard's without more knowledge. She felt like this youth had become a stranger over the span of two duels. But then again, perhaps she had never understood him.

......

In an unseen corner, Raymond took out a handkerchief and covered his mouth, coughing heavily. His back trembled in the midst of his fit, the white handkerchief stained crimson by the time he regained control of his body.

......

Flowsand was running towards the Church of the Eternal Dragon with heavy footsteps, as though she wanted to crush the marble flooring under her feet. “I shouldn't have given you the Twin of Destiny!” she muttered through gritted teeth, “You should just have died to that Mensa fellow. You heartless creature!”

Behind her, Noelene forced a smile and pretended she hadn't heard anything.

......

The noble families reluctantly started to leave the arena, most still embroiled in heated discussions about the duels. That crimson lightning bolt was the centre of attention; these battles would definitely capture the minds of the people for a long time.

......

Ever since they left for the teleportation temple up till they reached Richard's study, Rosie silently followed behind Richard without a word. Nobody from the Mensa Family followed her at all, the Duke sending his “beloved” granddaughter into an enemy base by herself.

No matter where she was, Rosie had the beauty and presence to make her the centre of attention. Many even called her the pearl of the Mensa Family. Seeing her follow Richard back to his island, many discussions sprang up between the shocked populace of Faust. Information about the bet between Richard and the Mensas was spread throughout the city in what seemed like an instant.

Back in the library, Richard sent the steward out to bring a bottle of red wine before having everyone return, leaving him alone with the beauty. Only then did he realise his face was turning an abnormal white. Still, he didn't speak of it and instead calmly chugged down a mana potion. He then opened the bottle of wine calmly, pouring out a glass for himself. He'd only had one glass brought over; he obviously didn't intend to play the part of a good host.

It took quite a bit of time for the mana potion to kick in, allowing him to feel better. Still, he felt a discomfort inside his body that left him empty. Such was the impact of his Archeron bloodline; he didn't know yet that many of his internals had been burnt.

487 - City of Sin

Payoff

Richard spread out a piece of paper on the desk and partitioned it in two with a vertical line. He started writing on the left:

'Lost more than a level's worth of mana forever and sustained serious injuries.

'The enemies now know my strength; next time, they might set a trap or just attack with someone more powerful.

'The fact that the Archerons have no powerhouses in Faust has been exposed.'

This was a small habit he had picked up. Around every major incident in his life, he was starting to make a note of the gains and losses thoroughly so he could judge the results in an objective fashion. The left side held the price paid, while the right side held the payoff. It took a long period of thought before he actually started filling that side up:

'Felt great!

'Defended the Archerons' dignity and humiliated those two old fellows.

'Got rid of two pricks.

'Stripped a beauty naked.'

He pondered seriously and struck out the last two lines very quickly, leaving behind the line about defending the Archerons' dignity. In his opinion, the other few weren't really profits at all. However, after endless hesitation, he eventually kept the words 'Felt great' in.

Looking at the final state of that piece of paper, Richard actually shook his head and laughed bitterly. A great price had been paid, but the payoff was pathetically small. The defence of his family's reputation was the only thing that could be considered worth anything, but even that was in the future and a mere possibility at that.

“Such a great loss,” he said to himself after a long sigh.

Rosie remained standing quietly. Her expression twitched at Richard's words, but it only took a moment for her to recover her cold pride. Richard raised his head to glance at her, a frown appearing on his face, “What are you still standing there for? Strip!”

The lady's hands shivered slightly, but she still maintained a tranquil expression as she slowly undid button after button as gracefully as she could. The lace tying her long skirt, petticoat, and undergarments fell to the ground one by one.

Once the last piece of clothing fell to the ground, she took a step forward, revealing herself to Richard completely. Her expression remained undisturbed, but every muscle in her body had gone taut. Her cold face betrayed the perfection of her body, her hands unable to help but try and cover the more sensitive areas of her body.

Richard leaned back into his chair, casually sampling the wine in his glass. His mind had long since been taken away from the alcohol, focused entirely on the beauty before him. Indeed, Rosie's figure was just as perfect as her face. Her slim waist was a striking contrast to the towering peaks of her breasts, giving way to a pair of long, straight legs. Her bare feet were just as slim and beautiful as her hands, the nails seeming extremely delicate.

She was a beauty through and through, so much so that anyone looking at her would want to take a ferocious bite.

Richard felt a strong flame rushing through his blood, his male instincts stirred irrepressibly; his manhood grew so stiff it was hard to bear. Richard had to admit that Rosie was a special young lady; in terms of looks and figure alone, she was easily the best of all the women he had seen in his life.

In a world where power garnered respect, someone with such meagre strength had become so core to the Mensa Family that they named an entire plane after her. This clearly showed her astonishing charm. However, that wasn't the source of her fatal attraction to Richard. To him, she was the pearl of his enemies, the perfect lover in the dreams of countless Mensa youths. She was also the fiancée of another of his enemies, Duke Dario. Both these identities left him with the urge to violate her.

Richard suddenly felt a little pity, thinking he should have added a line about using her as he wished in the bet. Or perhaps he could simply have demanded she be given to him. Given the situation at that time, all chances were that Young Mensa would have agreed to such a bet. After all, there was supposed to be no chance of losing at all. The Mensa Family's only worry was that Richard would be able to bear not taking part in the duel and watching Wennington die.

Wennington was an outstanding young man, but that was all. He had a certain amount of potential, but it wouldn't be possible for him to become someone like Richard who could reverse the fate of the entire family. In Duke Mensa's eyes, even if the decision-making was left to the Archeron elders it was quite likely that he would be abandoned. It wasn't even expected amongst the nobility to sacrifice oneself for their blood. Richard and Wennington even had different mothers; the latter's only value to the former was in the Archerons' dignity.

“Hands down,” Richard said as he gently sipped the wine. Rosie hesitated, her hands dropping a little before springing back into place. He saw the thin hairs on the surface of her body standing.

Still, the young lady seemed to realise her fate. She eventually put both hands down, exposing all her privates. Richard stood up and walked over to her, examining her closely before reaching out to raise her chin, “Do you know what I'm feeling right now?”

Forced to look up, Rosie responded in a calm and indifferent voice, “Yes. Every time you touch me, you feel like you've slapped the two old dukes of both the Mensas and Schumpeters.”

The reply was shockingly accurate, to the extent that Richard's gaze at her warped. “Damn right!” he said after a while, the hand he used to raise her chin gradually moving down along the curves of her body.

Rosie suddenly shook, biting her lower lip. Richard looked at her beautiful blue eyes as his hands continued downwards, saying slowly, “I'll never get tired of slapping them this way. However, do you have no intentions of resisting? This isn't a part of the bet.”

Rosie suddenly shivered, sighing at the question, “I know, but I also know what you will take this to if I resist. I don't want that.”

“Oh?” Richard stopped his hands, asking with curiosity, “Say, which step do you think I want to take this to? Guess correctly and I'll consider the bet complete.”

Rosie gently bit her lower lip, looking at him with a complicated gaze. She eventually came to a decision, “I heard about your sister. After losing the bet, she... She had to help them see clearly according to their requests, so she had no choice but to make different poses. She also had to reveal certain parts herself... I don't want that.”

There was a slight stir in Richard's heart. Rosie and Venica were actually quite similar, both doing their best to resist just in different ways. One chose to take the initiative, while the other chose to remain passive. One would rather endure humiliation than allow someone else to so much as touch her finger, while the other didn't want him to enjoy the victory of conquering her. In the battle to the death between these two large families, the stories young ladies like them often ended up as tragedies.

Faust, with its rather rigid laws, was a paradise within the hell that was Norland. Duke Mensa and his younger brother trying to attack Richard after the duel was considered extremely abnormal, only happening because of the threat he posed. Outside of Faust, Venica would not have gotten away with just stripping. It was the same for Rosie as well. Compared to the number of lives lost in war, their experiences were far too light to be worth at anything at all.

Richard had waded through the infernal hell that was planar war for more than a year already; these kinds of matters could only shake his mood a little. Still, Richard had to admit that Rosie was quite special, be it clothed or otherwise.

“Alright, you guessed right. The bet is considered complete, you can wear your clothes.” He waved his hand, taking two steps back and sitting on the edge of his table.

Although he'd let her off at last, Richard still wouldn't miss the wonderful scene of her wearing her clothes. The blessing of truth came into use at that moment, allowing him to store every bit of this scene in his consciousness. As a master artist, he could draw up any moment from memory.

Rosie's movements were calm, elegant and refined. She treated Richard like he was air, not behaving like she was being watched at all. Seeing her put on the last piece of clothing, Richard shrugged in disappointment and felt a twinge of regret. However, for the sake of his reputation, he certainly would not express his current feelings. Although he had intended to use her to attack the Mensas and Schumpeters, the matter itself wasn't worth much. That could be seen from the rewards listed on that piece of paper that was still on the desk. Still, he had no choice but to admit that Rosie herself had been a great reward.

He turned back to the paper and made a few strokes, calculating that it would take him less than a month to recover to level 12 and another year to get to level 13. However, that was under the assumption that he would be directing all the astral rays he could to strengthen his elven bloodline.

He then started to look at how fast he could level up if he went all out. This wasn't a very complicated problem, but because it involved the probabilities of the many grades of astral rays appearing and his chances of capturing them, he needed pen and paper as well as a simple magic array to perform the calculations. He rapidly outlined the sketch in his mind and started to write it out, but then he realised that Rosie was still in his study. He lifted his head and saw the young lady standing quietly in one corner of the room, looking at him with her deep blue eyes.

He frowned, “You're not going back. Don't tell me you want an escort or something... Or do you wish to take things further between us?”

488 - City of Sin

A Third Ending

Richard wasn't inexperienced with women anymore, and certainly wasn't lacking in partners either. Given his strength, identity, and status, be it in Norland or Faelor he could have as many women as he wanted. And given his increasing power and influence, it wouldn't be hard to court women like Rosie in the future either.

The very fact that Duke Mensa had used Rosie as a bargaining chip with the Schumpeters was proof enough that she was worth less than a broken family. Richard wasn't worth as much as Dario right now, but even in the near future that would be vastly different. That was something even the rest of Faust's nobles had to acknowledge.

However, Rosie was truly special. She had broken many perceptions of her, including his own. His original plan had been to humiliate and violate her ruthlessly; in his quest to humiliate the Mensas and Schumpeters, he had resolved himself to fall as far as was needed.

She stood still under his sharp gaze, expressing no intent to leave. Richard's expression turned cold, “Do you really want to do the deed with me? I certainly won't reject it.”

Rosie sighed, “Richard, do you really want to let me go back?”

“What else?” Richard asked in reply.

“Have you thought it through? Do you know what me returning now will end in?” she asked softly.

“Just your reputation being destroyed, isn't it?”

A bitter smile emerged on Rosie's face, “How could it be so simple? Dario was absolutely humiliated after this bet. According to regular practices, he should break his engagement and send me back to my family as a disgrace. I'll just become a plaything in the family, my body a currency used to exchange for whatever they want.

“But Dario might not do that. He can't get out of being annexed by the Mensas anyway, so he'll proceed and might even have the marriage brought forward. I'll likely suffer all sorts of humiliation and mistreatment in the Schumpeter Family... You... If you ask around, you'll quickly learn that Dario is in the habit of torturing girls to death. If I return now, there are only two endings for me: as a toy for the Mensas or a toy for the Schumpeters.”

Richard had to admit that this was quite possible. Venica was quite different; her bet was still mostly secret, and at least nominally, her brother was the current family head. Richard had no intention of devolving into such a level of carnality that his sister would turn into a toy for his family. Of course, all sorts of people existed amongst the nobility; it wasn't rare for such things to happen.

Seeing Richard not saying anything, Rosie looked at him and gently sighed, “Why me?”

“You just happened to be there,” Richard laughed while spreading his hands. However, he immediately grew serious, “Because you're the best way to attack the Mensas and Schumpeters at the same time, especially the latter. When attacking your opponents, it's best to dispose of the dogs first.”

“Indeed... But I'd like to ask, can I choose a third ending?”

“A third ending?” Richard was somewhat surprised once more, “Tell me.”

“Let me stay,” Rosie said without the slightest hesitation.

Richard's expression did not change, “Stay? As whom?”

The young lady's voice was calm yet resolute, “Anyone. Maid, prisoner, refugee... Lover, bedwife, anything is fine. However, I'll only accept you. Let someone else touch me and I will kill myself; that would be no different from returning.”

Richard's expression grew helpless with a trace of ridicule, “You don't want to become a toy for the Mensas and Schumpeters but you want to become mine? It seems like I brought trouble back with me. Alright, let's talk about your real thoughts. Why do you think I should let you stay here?”

She hesitated for a moment, “I'm smart. I also know some magic, and even have an awakened bloodline ability. I hope to be able to obtain a position through these things, not with my face and body.”

Richard smiled, “Ambitious, but unrealistic. Try again!”

Rosie paled, clenching her teeth, “Fine, add in my face and body.”

He finally nodded, “That's more like it. Alright, you qualify for my protection. You can leave for now, I'll have the steward arrange a place for you to stay in the castle. I have to return to Faelor tomorrow, I'll think of how to use you the next time I'm back.”

“You can bring me to Faelor with you,” Rosie answered.

Richard sized her up, speaking indifferently, “I don't want to take a burden with me. It's very expensive to travel between planes, everyone knows we Archerons are poor.”

Having said that, he rang the bell nearby to summon the butler, instructing the man to find a place for her to stay and not release her no matter who wanted it. He then had the two leave.

The study finally quieted down. Richard sat in front of the table and began planning his next steps back in Faelor.

His first order of business was to sort out this journey's results. He had gained 7 million gold from the maple amber and 3 million from the rune sets, with more coming from the ores and ingots. All in all, this was exchanged for slightly more than ten million in weapons and equipment, with the rest of the money handed over for the butler to maintain the island and Archeron territories with. 400 obsidian weapons were given to the enchanters, and in exchange for a hundred of them, he would have an entire 300 epic-grade weapons in a month's time.

The profits from this trip were sufficient for him to arm a thousand elite knights. At least for the near future, he wouldn't have to worry about equipment. Even counting the 200 knight equipment sets he had sold to Bevry, Richard still had 800 remaining sets in his hands. This was nearly 200 days' worth of the broodmother's drones.

However, Richard's process in calculating these profits was extremely slow. Rosie's figure flashed in his mind from time to time, the scenes risque enough to have one split blood. The impact of her stripping was impossible to rid himself of so quickly, leaving him extremely inefficient.

......

Around the same time, Raymond Joseph was sitting at a window seat in a quiet bar in Faust, looking at the half-moon shift slowly across the sky as he gulped down a mouthful of bitter alcohol. The concentrated liquor burnt like fire, blazing all the way down his throat to his stomach.

Just as he was about to pour another large cup, a hand suddenly stretched out and pressed down on his own. Raymond wasn't drinking alone; the person opposite him dressed in a hooded robe that covered half her face. “Stop drinking,” a slightly hoarse voice rang out, “Do you want to die in a few years?”

Raymond flashed a smile of defeat, “Compared to dying, isn't it much more painful to be alive right now?”

“You could have intervened today,” the mysterious woman said slowly.”

“Intervened? How? Even if I could stop Richard, I would just have to send Rosie back to the Mensas again. Should I have let her fall into the hellhole that was the Schumpeter Family?” Raymond's eyes turned red as he roared softly like a weakened beast. Even though he was reeking of alcohol and couldn't even speak clearly, his voice was still low enough to only be heard by the woman opposite him.

Such was his life. Even if he wanted to drown his sorrows in alcohol, his body always gave way before his mind. His consciousness would always be awake.

He broke away from the woman's hands a little rudely, drinking more than half a cup of the hard liquor in one gulp before spitting out a breath that reeked, “I understand her, just like she understands me. She's a smart girl; I know she'll find a way to stay on the Archeron island once she gets there. Regardless of who she ends up becoming there, it's still better than returning to that old pervert's side.”

The mysterious woman looked at him drinking up another cup, “I can help you.”

“Help me? You're insane!” Raymond laughed in desolate grief, “Look at what happened to Kane! The Emperor finally revealed one of his fangs. Isn't his opinion clear enough? He didn't allow anyone to interfere with the bet, forcing them to carry it through to the end with his family's dignity. Don't tell me you want to confront Bloodthirsty Philip.”

The mysterious woman was left speechless. The face hidden under the hood looked very young, at most around the same age as Raymond himself. Youths like them, regardless of how talented they were, could not disobey a colossus like the Emperor.

After venting his anger, Raymond seemed to calm down a little. He heaved a long sigh, “The bottom line is that I don't have the power to protect her. If I could take full control of the family, perhaps I could change her fate. However, no sane family would go to war with the Mensas for a child that only has a few years left to live. I don't even have any worth as a bargaining chip anymore.”

“Destiny can be changed! There's still time, we can go now!”

“It's already too late,” Raymond said with a shake of his head, looking out of the window and sighing for the hundredth time, “Actually, this might be the chance she needs to change her destiny. I can't achieve her dreams, but perhaps Richard can...”

A gush of wind blew past the bar as Raymond uttered those words. Even in Faust where all four seasons were spring, it caused one to feel endlessly bleak.

489 - City of Sin

Longing

“I can get her out!” the mysterious woman emphasised once more.

Raymond looked at her, speaking slowly, “They have Fuschia there right now, alongside the paladins of the Church. You won't be able to get in and out without leaving any traces; once the issue blows up, His Majesty will definitely find out. You saw how severely injured Kane Mensa was today; you want to snatch Rosie away the same night? Isn't that a slap in the Emperor's face? Did you even think of the consequences?”

“What consequences could there be?” the woman said lightly, “He is my father.”

“A father who killed two of your brothers for slighting him!” Raymond howled lowly, “And their offences were certainly not as grave as what you're planning!”

The mysterious woman fell silent, knowing that his words were true. Bloodthirsty Philip was not easy to anger, but once his temper flared blood was bound to be spilt. Raymond's voice softened, “Remember this. I won't let you sacrifice yourself to save another, no matter who she is.”

The mysterious woman opened her mouth, but she did not make any sound. However, the slight tremor of her body showed just how moved she was.

Night slowly fell, the rainbow of the moons beginning to shine. In the dazzling intertwining moonlight, Raymond's gaze was as deep as the ocean. “We don't have much time,” he said in a firm yet gentle voice, “The Josephs cannot break their alliance with the Mensas because of me. It doesn't matter to me whether Rosie falls into Richard's hands, is married off to Duke Dario, or returns to the Mensa Family; none of those is a good end. But to her, there's a vast difference. There's a glimmer of hope by Richard's side, and only hell everywhere else.

“So yes, I hope she remains with the Archerons. I hope she can stand beside my enemy.”

......
ƒ𝓇ℯ𝑒𝒘𝐞𝚋𝓃𝚘𝚟e𝚕. 𝒄𝗼𝐦

Regardless of the workings of mortal hearts, the rainbow of the moons in Faust's sky always followed the same unchanging orbit. Moons rose and fell, illuminating the sky in their colours for the same duration of time.

On the Archeron island, Richard was standing within the warehouse as he watched the old steward lead a group of people to check box after box of freshly shipped weapons and armour. With over fifty chests, even the ten-odd members of the group took a relatively long time to go through it all.

Having just used Sacrifice, Richard couldn't interact with his mana pool for the time being. Thus, meditation and runecrafting were out of the question. Planning his next steps hadn't taken too much time either, so he was left with some spare time where he had absolutely nothing to do. For some reason, all that appeared in his mind was Rosie's silhouette.

The young lady had surprised him constantly, and now she was an extremely sensitive pawn that affected three large families. The longer she remained on the Archerons' island, the more the dignity of the Mensas and Schumpeters was raked through the mud.

This girl was like a dormant volcano. She was normally silent, even able to allow lakes and grass to grow nearby, but whenever she did open up it was earth-shattering. It was exactly this trait that differentiated her from most others, an addictive characteristic that justified an entire plane being named after her. Although that was partly a means to increase her value as a pawn, her conduct before him proved that she truly did have value beyond her looks.

An attendant handed him a magic sealing box with a few hundred magic crystals lined up within. Richard nodded his head after a simple check, closing the lid once more. These crystals were meant for their journey; any extras would be taken to Faelor for the gate on that end as well as for the broodmother's use.

This time, Richard intended to take at least twenty Archerons and novice knights with him, as well as ten level 10 mages. Thankfully the latest ceremony had dropped the cost to 15,000 per person one-side, but the huge expense still made Richard's heart ache.

But then, the thought of these crystals flooded Richard's mind with a new idea that he could not suppress. He let the attendants continue making preparations and hurried down to the basement; by the time he got to his destination, he was almost running.

Passing through a few heavily guarded doors, he arrived in the depths of the castle where the magic circle for long-distance communication and transfers was present. It was very simple for him to activate it; he skillfully selected the coordinates of the Deepblue and started to insert magic crystals within. When the 109th crystal was inserted, the circle slowly began to light up. The radiant light pulsed, illuminating and darkening the room in a cycle.

It wasn't long before the circle was fully lit, and Richard stood before it and waited patiently.

After a moment, a familiar harried voice rang out, “Who interrupted my work? Damn it, if it wasn't for the fact that this was extremely expensive, I wouldn't have rushed over myself! Say what you want quickly, friend, you must know that gold never sleeps! Every moment wasted is gold coins melted away!”

These were familiar, distinctive words. Richard could almost see the grey dwarf jumping up and down on the other end of the transmission, shouting at the top of his lungs. Surely enough, it wasn't long before a hologram of Blackgold appeared, holding his head in his hands and staring at him, “You... You... You're... Richard?”

Richard stared blankly, not understanding why Blackgold would be shocked to the point of not even recognising him. “Who else could it be?” he asked, puzzled.

“Why did you get a beard like that?” the grey dwarf shouted, almost jumping.

Richard was stunned once more, touching the uneven beard on his face, “Quite a few dwarves complimented my beard recently. What's so bad about it?”

Blackgold completely exploded, “You could have learnt from anyone, but it had to be from Gaton! That fellow has the same taste as the dwarves, he's someone with no concept of numbers at all! He's just a musclehead, just like the dwarves. What they boast of, we must oppose! What they like, we must cast aside!”

“We?”

“Yes! We! We who are of the Deepblue, a group who understand the true elegance of math and art!” the grey dwarf yelled, as though unbelieving of the question.

It was only then that Richard remembered that the duergar, the grey dwarves, were bitter enemies of their more normal kin. Nearly every time the two races met ended in death. Seeing Blackgold showing no sign of stopping his roars, Richard had no choice but to remind him, “Mr. Blackgold, its very expensive to maintain this link!”

“What does that have to do with me? It's your crystals being burnt anyway!” Blackgold seemed to feel no pain.

On the edge between laughter and tears, Richard responded, “Alright already I need to talk. I heard Master just entered hibernation?”

An unnatural look flashed past the grey dwarf's face, “Yes, Her Excellency has fallen into a deep slumber. She might not wake for a few years.”

With his astuteness and perception, there was no way for Richard to miss Blackgold's expression. His heart sank, but he tried to remain calm, “Why?”

“To... restore power. Her Excellency recuperates the fastest when asleep.” The grey dwarf had decided to tell the truth.

“Why does she need to restore power? Did she get hurt?”

“That...” Blackgold hesitated for a long time, but eventually responded with a nod, “Sigh, yes.”

Richard caught a strange look in his eyes, “It has something to do with me?”

“You could say that,” Blackgold forced a smile.

“Specifics!”

Blackgold organised his thoughts, “So... When Her Excellency received the coordinates you sent over, she immediately left for Faelor. There was even a big fight in that plane with an unknown existence and she returned injured. Her Excellency rested a few days before going out once more, but this time it was far worse. She gave us a few instructions and immediately shut herself in, not saying who she'd fought; she only made a vague mention of Faelor. Once she entered repose, us old folks read between the lines. As far as we can tell, her target in the two big battles was likely...” he took in a deep breath, “... the gods of Faelor.”

Richard was dumbstruck for a moment, his voice hoarse even when it returned, “Why would Master fight the gods of Faelor?”

The grey dwarf began to wipe his sweat, the image in the magic circle starting to grow unstable as though it had been disturbed.

“Blackgold! Dare to cut off the transmission and I'll come find you in the Deepblue immediately!”

Richard's angry shout scared the grey dwarf. It was only at that point that he realised how aggressive this youth had become. Although far from Gaton's aura that commanded fear, Richard's rage held a hint of power.

“Alright, but you can't tell Her Excellency that it was me who told you these things. Of course, what I'm saying now is just speculation. Speculation, got it? Just speculation!

“The first time Her Excellency went to Faelor, she had rushed over the same moment she received the coordinates. She used a beyslace spider crystal to construct a passage directly, and you know such a method normally brings you right outside the plane's protective sphere. It's easy to attract the attention of the gods of the plane if you break the walls to enter, just like running to someone's house and kicking their door open.

“Her Excellency had only left for a short while before she was beaten back, and what chased her through the portal was a surge of divine power! Although she looked to be in a sorry state, her injuries from that weren't really heavy; with her physique that surpassed a dragon's, she only needed two days of rest to recover. The injuries were only because she had been too excited, going in unprepared. But the second time, it was different...”

490 - City of Sin

Just Want To See Her

Although he had already decided to tell Richard everything, Blackgold still hesitated for a moment, “What I'm going to say now is entirely my own conjecture, with no conclusive evidence. Don't take it as gospel.”

“No problem,” Richard agreed, looking relaxed. However, his heart was starting to sink. The scene of the future flashed through his mind repeatedly, Sharon floating in the boundless void.

“I believe Her Excellency was prepared when she went to Faelor for the second time. Her intent was to battle all the gods of the plane and weaken them.” The moment he said this, all strength seemed to leave the grey dwarf's body.

Everyone knew the greatest enemy in a planar war was the opposing pantheon. Richard knew Faelor had an astonishing number of gods, something the legendary mage should have been able to determine from their first battle. When she returned, she had definitely faced multiple powerful deities.

He took in a deep breath, gazing up at the ceiling in an attempt to force back the warmth in his eyes. “Will I be able to see her?” he asked flatly, “If I come over now?”

The grey dwarf hesitated, “I'm not sure. After Her Excellency entered hibernation, her elven servants have become the highest authority in the Deepblue. None of us are allowed into her level of the tower, but it might be different for you. If she made any special arrangements for it, the puppets should allow you to enter. However, Her Excellency sleeps deeper than a dragon. Even if you go in, you'll likely just see her asleep. Are you sure about this?”

“That's fine. I just want to see her. I'll be there by tomorrow night.”

The power of the magic crystals depleted, the magic circle's light gradually dulled to leave Richard shrouded in darkness. He stood there quietly for a moment, his five years in the Deepblue flowing through his mind like water.

But then he suddenly walked out of the transmission room and approached the steward who was in the castle's hall. “Prepare three of our best griffins for flight, I'll be leaving in half an hour.”

The old man was surprised, “Now, Young Master? Are you not rushing back to Faelor tomorrow?”

“There's been a change in schedule. I'll take care of things once I'm back, but for now have Gangdor bring the warriors and mages back to Faelor with the equipment... Wait, give this to Flowsand.” Even as he spoke, Richard grabbed a pen and some paper before writing a note that he placed in an envelope and passed to the steward before sending him off.

Once the butler hastily left, Richard got hold of a servant and instructed him to get some vitality potions and wrap them well. The servant left in a hurry while Richard remained in the hall waiting, standing and sitting every once in a while in frustration.

It was at that moment that Wennington hastened over, his eyes brightening at the sight of his brother. His face was still swollen from the assault, aura weak and footsteps light. Richard frowned, “You still need rest. What are you doing running around here?”

Wennington quite obviously flinched, but he still walked over to Richard and smiled wryly, “Richard, there's something I have to say... I'm not sure if I should say this, but I need to discuss this.” Google search f𝐫e𝘦𝘸e𝗯𝒏𝗼ѵe𝗹． c𝑜m

“Speak!” Richard's frown grew worse. He didn't understand why this half-brother of his had suddenly become so long-winded.

Wennington obviously began to get nervous, “It- it's about Rosie.”

“Who?” Richard thought his ears were becoming unreliable.

Wennington grew incredibly nervous under the blade-like gaze, sweat starting to bead on his forehead as his stutter grew worse, “R-Rosie... Umm... I don't t-think she's quite the same as the other Mensas. I... I think you should give her a chance...”

A cold sneer appeared on the corner of Richard's lips, “What sort of chance?”

“Like... following you to Faelor...”

“You met her?”

“Yes... no, no...” Wennington was already a nervous wreck, something he had never expected. It felt as though the one standing before him was actually Gaton.

“SMACK!” Before he could finish speaking, a fiery slap rang across his face. He staggered a few steps backwards cradling his face as he stared at Richard in astonishment.

Richard stared back icily, “The Mensas used you as bait to try and kill me; I had to fight two duels back to back to save your life. And now that you're safe, you've set your sights on Rosie. Amazing! Just. AMAZING!

“No matter how pretty is, she is still a Mensa. A Mensa, from the same family that trapped that fool of a man in another plane! Do you still need me to remind you of that? What, did her tits and ass make you forget your own family?”

Wennington's head hung low, face practically on fire.

Richard's tone only grew colder, “Young Master Wennington, let me remind you once more. Rosie is my spoil of battle, and she has nothing to do with you at all. As long as I'm alive, don't even think of touching a hair on her head. You want her? Sure, win against me first! This is the Archeron Family, a place where might makes right. On this floating island, in our fief, I call the shots. Even if Gaton returns, he'll have to prove himself over me first!”

“Richard, Wennington isn't that kind of person!” Venica had entered the hall at some point in time. Seeing the enraged Richard, she couldn't help but rush to persuade him.

Richard snorted, gaze flitting between the two as a smirk covered his face, “You lot aren't half bad, eh. One's level 10 and the other level 9; the former only knows to strip in front of someone, while the other's learnt to pick fights in public and get beaten half dead!

“That trap was so obvious, but you lot jumped right in!” He pointed at his head, “What do you have in here? Did you think being Gaton's children made you great or something? We Archerons have honour, yes, but with the meagre strength you have do you think you can uphold that honour? The family isn't so cheap!”

“This is the last time,” he pointed at the two, “Last time I'm saving you for such a thing. With the state of the family right now, it's you who should be supporting the family and not the other way around.”

Wennington and Venica had nothing to say at all, but a clear voice suddenly rang from outside the hall, “This isn't his fault. I asked to meet him and persuaded him to bring up my request.”

Watching Rosie enter the hall, Richard's eyes quickly narrowed. He took large strides towards her, suddenly grasping her by the neck and raising her up with one hand. The expressions of Wennington and Venica quickly changed, but this time neither of them made so much as a peep.

“Lady Rosie Mensa, I'm in a very bad mood right now. Don't challenge my patience!” Richard was practically gritting out the words at this point, “This is the Archeron island, not the Mensa territory; you'd do well to shut your mouth! Your face might be useful to others, but it has no effect on me. Don't play with fire, or I'll kill you right away!”

Rosie's physique was actually excellent, even slightly taller than Richard's own. However, raised in the air by him she couldn't speak. Even breathing wasn't possible, her face gradually turning purple.

Only when her eyes rolled back into their sockets and her arms fell off his did Richard release his hold, tossing her to the ground. Finally able to breathe again, the young lady immediately covered her throat with both hands. Hard coughs rang out endlessly, her entire body twitching.

It was quite difficult for her to regain her breath, looking up slightly. And yet, all she saw in front of her was Richard's battle boots. She followed his figure all the way up to his eyes, staring at him with a serene gaze.

Richard had calmed down himself, stating dully, “If not for your families causing trouble in the background, why would I have ended up on Faelor? So many things would have been different today. Stop daydreaming, you don't have the ability to change my decisions.”

'Sooner or later, I will come calling for all of your family.' This was something Richard did not need to say. His actions would be enough of a statement.

“Guards!” Richard suddenly shouted, and two soldiers immediately entered the hall to await his orders. He pointed at Rosie, “Take her to her room and tell the steward to monitor all of her activities. Without an order from either him or me, she isn't to take a single step out from her room! Also, capture all the soldiers that were guarding her and turn them into slaves!”

These actions were actually a warning to everyone, and Wennington in particular. Rosie finally lost her composure and looked at him with an imploring gaze, but Richard's face had gone blank. There was no cruelty or anger, only a dull apathy that caused her heart to sink.

......

Having dealt with the unexpected issue, Richard no longer bothered with the pale Wennington and Venica as he left for the griffin station. Three griffins had been roused, preparations made for a long-distance flight.

Richard flipped onto the back of one of the beasts, not wasting any time as he patted its neck. The creature stood and flapped its wings with force, slowly rising into the sky and turning in the direction of the Deepblue. It gradually sped up, disappearing into the vast night sky in the blink of an eye. The two others also let out loud cries, taking flight one after the other as they chased after their companion.

That night looked incomparably pure, illuminated by the scarlet and jade crescents. The clear cries of the griffins occasionally disturbed the silence of the dark, three silhouettes flitting across the sky.

Time passed without rest. Night turned to dawn and day turned to dusk once more as he passed through mountains, forests, and deserts, not stopping for a single moment. When one of the beasts was tired, he immediately changed to another and allowed the fatigued creature to rest. Long distance rides were exceedingly laborious, but every few hours he chugged down a vitality potion to deal with it.

As the sun set and the purple moon took its place high in the sky, the Deepblue finally entered his sight.

491 - City of Sin

Responsibility

By the time Richard landed in the Deepblue, only one of the three griffins that had set off was left. Even this one, the most powerful of the lot, had been pushing itself to the limit to cover the last ten kilometres. The moment it reached the platform, it fell down on its stomach and threw up a bloody froth. It had been drained completely.

Richard flipped off the creature's back, movements still light and agile. However, the moment he touched the ground his legs went weak, an unusual flush rising on his face.

Two mages were stationed at the landing pad, sent by Blackgold to wait for his arrival. Few mages of the Deepblue did not know of Richard Archeron, Her Excellency's greatest pride who had become a royal runemaster before he was even eighteen. This was a student worthy of his master.

The two were surprised to see Richard collapse, immediately helping him up. A cursory examination told them he was only exhausted from the long journey, however, so they felt relieved.

A short while later, he was in a meeting. Outside of Blackgold and Fayr, both of whom he was quite familiar with, almost all of the other grand mages of the Deepblue were present as well. After all, his request was not something the grey dwarf could approve alone. Knowing that Richard had travelled the thousands of kilometres to make it here in a single day, however, and that he had even exhausted three powerful griffins, everyone was touched.

He insisted on taking a look at Sharon, even if she was deep asleep. The legendary mage was currently in her most vulnerable state; were it anyone else, the grand mages definitely wouldn't allow them to approach Sharon's sections of the tower. However, everyone present knew that Richard was the special one, someone who Her Excellency had been wishing for all these years. They eventually agreed to let him give it a try himself.

Everything within the upper regions of the tower was currently managed by Sharon's elven puppets. Not even the grand mages were allowed into her residence, and these puppets who looked no different from real elves held unimaginable intelligence and power. The tower itself was filled with chaotic space, so a rash intruder without a guide would only be courting death.

The chaotic space wasn't actually an intentional trap. Sharon just had so many things to store that she kept opening up extradimensional spaces to throw them in. These spaces obviously weren't as stable as semiplanes, so they eventually started to release spatial energy in waves. These undulations were nothing to Sharon herself, but to others they were the most terrifying of blades. It wasn't Sharon these grand mages were worried about; it was Richard himself.

However, he remained adamant on giving it a try. Without any better choice, Blackgold and Fayr brought him to the large door to the legendary mage's personal region. These towering steel gates were incomparably familiar to Richard, the rich ochre colour and openwork patterns filled with a primal beauty.

The mithril spell formation carved onto these gates was rarely ever activated, the legendary mage herself never used this entrance. However, space suddenly fluctuated as Richard approached, a tall elf dressed in enchanted silver armour stepping out of thin air. He held a giant two-handed hammer in his hands, a rare weapon for his race but appearing natural for his figure. No mage would be willing to take a strike from this weapon.

“Her Excellency is in seclusion,” a cold voice rang out, “No one is to enter.”

Richard took a step forward, saying in a deep voice, “My name is Richard, Richard Archeron. I am a student of Her Excellency; I wish to see my Master.”

The elf looked up, revealing a pair of amber eyes. He scanned over Richard for a long time before saying abruptly, “You may enter, come with me.”

The gates to the region slowly opened as the elf placed both hands behind his back, having some drow Richard to the large hall and spiral staircase that led all the way up. A magic puppet slowly pushed the heavy gates shut behind them, leaving Blackgold and Fayr outside.

Finally, he was stood in Sharon's personal quarters once more. He remembered this place clearly, still carrying the radiant trauma it had left behind. Everything was still the same as it had been that day; time had not left any traces behind.

The abyssal ice crystals that made the dome up above still emanated that uneven blue lustre, making every item within look dreamy. The bright, clean floor was akin to a mirror reflecting the starry sky up above. The Everwinter Mountains outside the window were lofty and mysterious as ever.

The drow girls who brought Richard here stayed behind at the door. “Her Excellency is within,” one of them said in his hear, “There is no need to worry about time. You can stay as long as you wish.”

Richard looked in the direction she was pointing, finding a crystal platform covered in shades of blue light. The legendary mage was resting atop the table, her little face peaceful in her deep sleep. In a stark contrast from the crystal surface, her skin seemed so soft that it would crumble with a hard press.

Who could have predicted that these would be the circumstances in which he would see his master once more? Richard didn't head over immediately, remaining rooted in place for an unknown period of time. Every step he took towards the crystal platform was incomparably difficult, but he eventually made it there. He bent over slightly, staring at the little face that could make anyone fall head over heels as a million thoughts flashed across his mind.

Sharon's blonde hair was scattered loosely around her, like a shower of gold flowing across the crystal table while emitting starlight. However, as Richard drew closer, a strand of her hair suddenly moved.

Having heard that his master had been injured to the point of having to enter hibernation, Richard's mind had gone completely blank. The only driving force in his thoughts was to rush to see her as soon as he could. Now that he truly was here, looking her in the face, he found himself at a loss for what to do.

He didn't even know how injured she was. Detection spells were useless on a legendary mage, and an invisible force was shrouding his blessing of truth. As far as his perception went, this was just a sleeping girl without the unstoppable aura of a legendary mage.

Why did she go fight the gods of Faelor? They were fucking GODS, damn it! At the thought of the many names in Kellac's Book of the Gods, something within Richard trembled. He reached a shaking hand forward, wanting to caress Sharon's face.

At this moment, that strand of golden hair on Sharon's forehead suddenly straightened up. It coiled itself up like the head of a snake, as though it was glaring at him! Richard stared at the strand, but it continued to straighten up. The tip even shook slightly, as if establishing its might.

Just a strand of her hair, was Richard's first thought, but in the next moment he remembered that it was Sharon's hair. Still, despite his reservations, his hand still reached for that small face. Just as he was about to touch her skin, however, the strand seemed to lose its temper and pierce into his hand like lightning.

The intense pain caused Richard to frown, brows locking together, but he didn't retract his hand. He instead continued to reach until the tip of his fingers lightly touched her skin, the warm blood surging out of the wound dripping down the edges of his palm to bloom on her snow-white skin.

The strand twitched, unwillingly retracting itself. It even rubbed hard on his wound as though wiping something away, but it continued standing tall as thought to establish its might.

Richard drew his hand back on his own, if for no other reason than to avoid staining Sharon's golden hair. He sat down at the edge of the platform, silently watching his master in deep sleep. His right hand was placed on his thigh, allowing the blood to seep into his robes and dry slowly.

She had done so much for him, given him so much without him even knowing. Without her, there would be no new royal runemaster, no potential saint runemaster. And now, she had fought for him and fallen deep asleep.

Sharon in her sleep was like a guiltless young girl, impossibly far from her status as a legendary mage. That was the only way for him to disregard the gulf between them and sit beside her, recalling that dreamy night of destiny. Regardless of how much he wished it, he could not remain so unaffected this close to her when she was awake. The waking Sharon was a tempest, strength as deep as the abyss; even the most egotistical of mortals would be ashamed in her presence.

Even now, saying he wanted to do something for her was like a joke. Google search 𝙛𝒓𝙚e𝚠𝐞𝚋𝙣𝚘𝐯𝗲𝚕. c𝚘𝓶

And yet, as memories suppressed deep within his mind bubbled to the surface, Richard felt a mountain weighing down on his heart. It was a feeling very similar to the moment he had successfully returned to Norland for the first time, only to find out that Gaton was lost in another plane. This was a feeling of wanting to do something for her, a sense of responsibility.

He raised his right hand once more, wiping off the bloodstains on the legendary mage's face. “Sleep well,” he whispered, “I'll help you protect the Deepblue in your absence.”

Having said this, he stood up and prepared to leave.

The strand of golden hair on her head was still watching him vigilantly, feeling like something bad was about to happen.

It wasn't wrong. Richard reached out like lightning, grabbing the strand and viciously rubbing it a few times. He even pulled on it for a while before letting it go.

492 - City of Sin

Responsibility(2)

The strand of hair appeared to be screaming, violently struggling its way out of Richard's grip before burying itself amongst the rest. However, it then seemed to recall something and came out again, glaring at Richard as minuscule balls of purple energy started crackling at its tip. If he tried to touch it again, having his hand pierced would be the least of his problems.

Of course, Richard wasn't that foolish. He simply laughed and turned around, leaving the fuming strand behind. The purple lightning crashed into the blue dome, disappearing without a sound as it left behind white sparks.

Richard didn't notice Sharon's lips curling into an imperceptible smile as he left, nor did she see her lazily shift her posture and start snoring softly. Instead, he exited the heavy steel gates only to see Blackgold and Fayr still waiting for him.

“Did you manage to meet Her Excellency?” “How is Her Excellency?”

Both grand mages were evidently worried. Sharon was the soul of the Deepblue. Right now, it was a focal point of wealth with connections all over the plane, but if something bad happened to her it was impossible for them alone to secure the place.

“I couldn't tell,” Richard said after some time pondering, “There was some sort of energy around Master stopping any attempts to find out. From the looks of it, though, she should be fine.”

“Good! That's good!” Although the grey dwarf had his doubts about Richard's ability, the anxiety that had left in constantly sweating was finally relieved. The mere speed at which Blackgold was heaving his chest was a testament to how rapidly his heart was beating.

“Are the new griffins ready?” Richard asked, already beginning to walk.

“They are. Four in total, with enough stimulants to make the trip. Are you sure you have to leave immediately? You haven't even eaten anything, and you need to rest.”

Richard shook his head, “No, I must leave now. The time in Faelor passes at ten times the rate of Norland, I can't afford to while any away here.”

Blackgold and Fayr both understood Richard's personality, so they did not advise otherwise.

Richard was somewhat familiar with the inner workings of the Deepblue, so he threw a sudden question in the dwarf's way, “Mr. Blackgold, how long can the Deepblue maintain itself with Master asleep?”

The grey dwarf's face contorted and he hesitated for a long while before answering, “Her Excellency didn't open up any of her treasuries before going into hibernation, and I don't think she intends it any other way. You should know we spend so much money all the time, something only sustained by her earning rate. Her Excellency is normally so busy she ignores minor matters like finance, so it's normal for her to overlook things now. The reserves I have can only keep the Deepblue functioning for a year at most.”

“We old geezers can only take a third of our salaries,” Fayr suddenly said in an oddly cheery mood, “That will give us four more months.”

The grey dwarf frowned, a rare sight, “This is a matter of obligation and interests. Those of us who have followed Her Excellency for a long time naturally have no issues with that, but what of the others? Not every one of the grand mages is willing to contribute for nothing in return, and several of them are only interested in us for the resources. If we reduce the subsidies and they leave, that will be a huge blow to our reputation!”

Fayr sighed without retort. Blackgold was right; most of the numerous mages living in the Deepblue were here in self-interest. If they weren't offered the right salaries, many of them would choose to leave.

Richard stopped in his tracks, “How much is the deficit for this year?”

Blackgold didn't even need to think about that, “For this year, it should be between three to four million. It's likely to increase next year, and I'm not even accounting for any major events.”

“And of those under the Deepblue's employ, how many mages can you deploy?”

“31 great mages and 720 between levels 10 and 15. Out of that second number, 330 are level 10.” Fayr was well-aware of these numbers.

Richard nodded, “I'll try to start making use of them over time. As for the financial issues, I'll think of something.”

The grey dwarf was shocked, “The gap is nearly four million!”

“I know,” Richard said calmly. He then got on one of the griffins and waved to the grand mages, commanding it to take into the night sky.

......

It took another day for the griffin to land on the Archeron island. All four mounts reached their destination this time, and although all of them were extremely drained none of them died of exhaustion. The Deepblue's griffins were much better than those elsewhere, far beyond the ones in the Archeron nests.

Richard had finished a quick meal before gathering all his equipment and walking toward the Church of the Eternal Dragon. Half an hour later, the teleportation gate shone brightly and he disappeared into it.

Taking into account his trip to the Deepblue, a month had passed in Faelor. When Richard returned to Bluewater, he found the city bustling with activity once more. Construction workers and materials were everywhere, the roads clogged up with pedestrians and carts.

Most of the denizens of this city in the past wore rugged, durable clothing that was well-suited to the environment in the Bloodstained Lands. Now, however, there was a marked increase in those wearing the elegant clothing of nobility.

The city itself was at least twice as populous in the past. Bickering and physical fighting could be heard frequently as conflicts both big and small grew ubiquitous. The place was far livelier than in the past, and that didn't even take into account the campsites outside the city stretching as far as the eye could see. Numerous cargo cars were seen parked around the campsites, continuous and unbroken. It was practically impossible to find empty flat land now, some people already digging into the hills to expand.

There were several imposing structures in the distance, huge warehouses that could store several tonnes of resources.

When Richard had last been here, Bluewater Oasis was still reeling in the aftermath of war. Most could only take shelter in temporary tents, some even sleeping in simple holes with wooden boards on top. Seeing this active city upon his return, he couldn't help but be astonished.

“My Lord, you're back!” At this point in time, Olar was the only one of his followers who remained so formal with him.

Richard tossed the chest he was carrying to the ground and exhaled, “Where are the others?”

“Some people are patrolling, others quelling riots and training. Oh, and I don't know where Waterflower and Phaser are.”

Richard exercised his aching body a little, sensing the locations of each of his followers with magic. Gangdor was patrolling and Zendrall was organising his warriors of darkness, while Tiramisu was busy suppressing a disturbance on some random street. Waterflower and Phaser were several dozen kilometres away from the city itself, but the moment he returned they had started on their way back.

“What happened while I was away?” Richard asked as he continued walking towards his command centre.

“The nobles are all elated after the success of the Bloodstained Highway Project. The first caravan heading west is gathering as we speak, planning to carry more than 6,000 tonnes of resources for trade. Half of that is food, while another 2,000 tonnes is construction materials for the two supply points. The food is for Forgefires, while the remaining thousand tonnes comes from whatever the nobles want to trade.”

“Have someone keep a close eye on the nobles, don't let them try to fool us with wrong numbers.”

Olar nodded before changing the topic, “There's another matter, Master. We received news just this morning that a caravan clashed with the warriors we had stationed at the Cracked Canyon. The battle left several dead.”

Richard stopped in his tracks and frowned, “Where is this caravan from? Why did they fight our troops?”

“The reports say it should belong to Earl Lambert of the Iron Triangle Empire. It's huge, the escort alone numbering 1,500. The thousand men guarding the Canyon retreated after suffering some losses in the skirmish, allowing the caravan through. This Earl Lambet should be the original owner of Camp Bluesquare.”

“Why is there a caravan around the Cracked Canyon? Where were they headed?”

Olar was prepared for this question, “West, with a lot of alcohol amongst their cargo. It appears they wish to follow our trade route towards the Ashen Plateau.”

Richard laughed coldly, “We spent a fortune getting through the Bloodstained Lands and this fellow wants to take advantage of it? As if! Looks like the incident with Salwyn didn't teach them enough of a lesson. Very well, let them continue moving for a day as we gather our warriors. We depart tomorrow; after this, no caravan without permission will dare to step foot on the route.

The next morning, Richard's followers were fully prepared and waiting outside his tent. Aside from Richard's men, there were plenty of noble youths who wanted to follow him to capture the Iron Triangle opportunists. However, Richard had restrictions for anyone wishing to join in: they were only permitted to bring one bodyguard, and any who joined had to be able to endure long hours of hard trekking. They personally had to be level 10 at minimum as well, alongside formal positions as titled knights or higher.

493 - City of Sin

Hunt

Most nobles revered martial skill, especially amongst their youth. A large number of the youngsters present met the level requirement, something Richard hadn't actually expected. That last condition was thus used to limit the number of those in attendance to the children of powerful families or those who were first in line for a fiefdom. Most others would only be considered knights in training until they attained that position.

The only one in the group who didn't meet all of the requirements was Viscount Zim. His level 6 strength was nothing amongst them, but with a saint as a guardian he was far beyond the rest anyway.

Every noble present had excellent equipment, with at least two pieces of superior-grade equipment. Thus, although their numbers were lacking, they would have no problem facing off against an enemy several times their size. Outside of their weapons and armour, even their mounts were varied and powerful. They ranged from armoured warhorses and magic deer to firestep oxen and even a black scaled tiger. These unique creatures were an important factor in the nobles' battle might, the tiger in particular so imposing that no others dared to get close.

However, when Richard appeared atop a unicorn, all these nobles who had never seen a divine beast before were left staring with their eyes as big as saucers. A unicorn was a sacred beast rarer than dragons!

Richard surveyed these nobles once and raised his voice, “We have two objectives on this hunt. One is to eliminate that wretched caravan, while the other is to remove any potential thorn from the Iron Triangle Empire in our path.

“If you wish to fight alongside me, you only need to do one thing. Do you see that fellow?” he pointed at a knight in crimson armour who dismounted and stepped out of the ranks. This was an elite humanoid knight, expression as blank as any other drone's, “All you have to do is follow him. If he doesn't move, you won't move. If he charges somewhere, you'll follow him in the attack. That is all.”

“Lord Richard!” a youthful voice rang out, “How big is the army you are planning to bring? Let us level those bastards!”

“300.” Richard's answer left the battle cry stuck in the noble's throat.

Having said all this, Richard spurred on his mount and galloped towards the outskirts of Bluewater. The nobles followed behind him, but they were starting to have misgivings about his power. He wanted to eliminate a 1,500-man caravan and multiple Iron Triangle strongholds with just three hundred men? This was madness! However, there was no turning back. Even if it was for their honour as nobles, they could not withdraw.

The cavalry had been waiting outside the city for a long time. The nobles of the Sequoia Kingdom had long since been exposed to Richard's elites, but when they saw these knights they all gasped! All 300 were armed with enchanted equipment, glimmering with magic light from head to toe. Did every one of these soldiers have superior-grade magic equipment?

Many eyes immediately fixated on the weapons of the knights. These soldiers all wielded long halberds, a class of weapon that rarely appeared because of how difficult it was to control. Every halberd was flickering with magic light; they were all superior-grade!

The cavalry spurred on their horses the moment they saw Richard, joining behind his followers. Seeing them pass by one after the other, many nobles with keen senses suddenly shivered; these soldiers had no trace of vitality at all!
f𝗿e𝙚𝙬ℯ𝚋n𝚘ν𝗲l. 𝐜𝐨𝗺

Only after they had passed did the crimson-armoured knight spur on his own horse, following the group. The young nobles immediately urged on their mounts, forming a clamorous army.

None of them had expected the first stretch of the journey to last an entire day. By the time it was night, the army was already 500 kilometres away from Bluewater! When Richard finally reined in his unicorn and ordered them to rest, the young nobles all fell off their horses. Many simply lay on the ground, unwilling to even move a finger. They might have had great strength, but their endurance could not match up to that of Richard and his followers. Of course, they couldn't compare to the purpose-built battle drones of the broodmother either.

Richard wandered randomly amongst the nobles who were all over the place, “You have two hours to rest and prepare for battle. The enemy camp is ten kilometres away.”

“What?” “We're going to fight?”

The noble youths all wailed and caused a ruckus, many just staying on the ground and calling for their guards to massage their feet. Only a few propped themselves up, preparing for battle. Most of the latter group had been a part of the Bloodstained Highway project, with Zim being the leader in terms of enthusiasm, “Which enemy?!”

“Earl Lambert's caravan,” Richard answered.

“Great, let's wipe them out!” Zim was extremely excited, on the verge of jumping up and down. The youths who couldn't even stand exchanged glances, a unanimous glare settling on the plump viscount. This fellow had been on the verge of death after only the first hundred kilometres of the journey, after which he shifted on to Tammy's shoulders for the rest. However, because of his status, none of the others dared to say anything.

The two hours of wait were only enough for them to catch their breath. The knights only got off their horses and sat on the ground, getting some food and water to eat silently. Their food was quite simple, just large pieces of dried meat that was washed down with the water. Watching the kilograms of meat disappear down the knights' throats, the noble youths looked disturbed.

......

Two hours later, Earl Lambert's camp. It was silent amongst the caravan, most of the guards in dreamland. About 300 were on a nightly vigil, however, with even those who were asleep ready to fight if needed. Weapons were placed at an arm's reach.

One of the sentinels suddenly felt the earth shaking slightly under his feet, the vibrations growing stronger with time. A row of dark figures appeared on the horizon, rapidly drawing closer to the camp.

“Cavalry attack!” a mournful cry rang through the night sky, but it quickly went silent. A halberd flew past the sentinel's head, taking it off in one stroke!

Every knight was like a moving fortress, breaking down the rudimentary fence before charging straight to the centre of the camp. The cavalry then regrouped and charged in formation, killing as they pleased. The radiance from layers of magic and divine spells alone turned them into harvesters of life, the counterattack not able to even break through the enchanted armour.

One humanoid knight was suddenly sent flying back with his mount, an extremely powerful aura flaring up from the centre of the caravan where he had been headed. This caravan actually contained a saint hidden within!

The young nobles who were watching were rattled by the sight save for Zim, whose own bodyguard allowed him to remain confident.

However, just as the rays of energy started to sparkle in the night sky, the figures of Richard and his followers encircled the enemy saint. A bolt of lightning fell from the sky, clashing with the shining energy. What followed was a bombardment of explosive magic and divine spells, completely drowning out any energy the enemy tried to emit.

Richard and his followers then separated in all directions, continuing to kill all who dared to resist. A tall figure started swaying in the remains of the battlefield, collapsing with a thud.

Even Zim, who had experienced the meat grinder at Bluewater, couldn't believe his own eyes. How was a saint killed so easily? How long had that battle taken, even a minute? Zim glanced at Tammy next to him, starting to think that this guard wasn't as reliable as he had believed.

The battle ended very quickly. Those who didn't know anything about tactics were still immersed in the terror of how Richard and his followers had encircled and killed the saint in an instant, while those who did were even more shocked by the knights. These soldiers were war machines, simple movements effective in maximising their equipment advantage. One could only feel despair in the face of such warriors.

An opponent of a similar level would have to muster all their strength into a head-on attack to even breach these knights' armour. However, a single slash of the halberds would cut open anyone in one blow. Just a few dozen such soldiers would be terrifying enough, but there were 300! This was not a force that could be obstructed by even five times their number.

Not one of the knights died in battle; Richard's extravagant clergy ensured that even a suicidal warrior wouldn't have his wish fulfilled. The caravan's guard was completely wiped out, the men either dead or imprisoned. All of the goods fell into Richard's possession.

The young nobles and their guards were completely unharmed. They watched the entire battle from a thousand metres away, seeing Richard lead a massacre against several times his own number. They knew he was a stickler for military discipline; without the elite knight moving, these nobles didn't dare to so much as twitch. Of course, there were some who didn't possess that absolute obedience, but they were stopped by those who had participated in the Bloodstained Highway project. Although they hadn't been there to see it personally, they had heard of the terrifying punch with which Richard had confirmed his position as general.

The next morning, Richard handed the caravan's supplies to an army that had been rushed over from the Cracked Canyon before continuing northeast. They rushed a distance of 300 kilometres in one day, eliminating an Iron Triangle camp with 500 guards without rest. All of that camp's guards had died in battle.

Spending most of the night resting, the army then charged another hundred kilometres and annihilated a 400-guard camp just before dawn. The troops then slowed down, heading for another slave camp...

Nine camps had been levelled in seven days, all along the borders of the Iron Triangle Empire and the Bloodstained Lands. 4,000 enemies had been killed, wiping out the Empire's presence in the Bloodstained Lands.

494 - City of Sin

The Mage Association

The border guard of the Empire had finally responded to the alerts on the fifth day, dispatching a lightly armoured army on Richard's heels. However, with all his men being mounted, Richard was perpetually out of reach of this army who had footsoldiers mixed in. He even managed to take care of the last three strongholds over two days without them reaching him at all.

On the eighth day, he examined the map in his hands only to find out that every stronghold he had marked had been wiped out. He closed the map and sighed to his left and right, “There's nothing left to attack.”

Gangdor's eyes lit up with an ominous glint, “No, boss! There's a bunch of newbies following behind us!”

Richard intentionally looked at the surrounding young nobles and shrugged, “That army is ten times the size of ours!”

Gangdor abruptly brandished the large black axe in his hands, roaring menacingly, “My axe is thirsty for blood, and they're just 3,000 pigs!”

The epic-grade battleaxe had sharply increased Gangdor's battle might. In the past seven days, outside of that one interesting event on the first day where they surrounded a saint, the rest of the battles had been too small for him to exhibit his might.

The elite bat he had sent to scout showed Richard that the army was still pursuing them desperately, already within ten kilometres of his location.

'They really don't know better!' he thought to himself, turning to look at his 300 knights. Ruthless was not enough of a word to describe these machines anymore. His smile grew a little vicious as he decided on a direct attack on the fools.

That was a battle of pure destruction. The chasing army was utterly defeated, the survivors of the calamity scattering in hope of escape. They left over a thousand dead bodies behind.

The unicorn halted with a single thought from Richard, turning a full circle on the spot. Watching the imperial soldiers escaping as far as the eye could see, Richard held no interest in pursuing them. That would shave away at the numbers further, but it held no meaning.

“Let's go!” he urged his mount forward, heading back to Bluewater Oasis.

The numerous young nobles behind him all spurred their horses, following closely. Their gazes upon him were now filled with a fervour; they were a group of hot-blooded youths after all, and Richard's soldiers were amazing. The power of this cavalry would leave anyone in despair, and the seemingly ordinary followers had been able to kill off a saint in under a minute. Richard himself didn't seem too outrageous in terms of level, but every spell of his held unthinkable might. He basically checked every box for the definition of a glorious hero.

And what had they done? From the beginning to the end, they had just watched on without any need to fight. Richard's intentions were very clear at this point, they had only been brought along to witness his glory. After this trip, most of them turned into zealous supporters just like Zim.

......

A few days later, within Bluewater. Richard was in his command centre, a trading path that passed through the Bloodstained Lands now on the large map on his wall. He picked up a pen and pondered for a long while before drawing an X in the north near the Iron Triangle, followed by another on the path towards the Sequoia Kingdom. “It's time to set up checkpoints,” he muttered to himself.

The Bloodstained Lands were quite even in terms of terrain, so one could enter from any side. It was impossible to seal the place off completely, so Richard instead chose to imitate the model of bandits and have teams of a few dozen cavalrymen everywhere. If a caravan refused to pay the toll, then the horde would converge upon it; he didn't mind taking all of their goods as a fee either.

He had already decided on the troops that would take part in this process. The nobles of the Sequoia Kingdom who had participated in the project would be roped in, a fee distributed based on the efforts of their soldiers.

Once all the large and small bandit organisations were wiped out from the Bloodstained Lands, this barren area would start raking in money.

He drew multiple marks on Bluewater Oasis. With the Lighthouse of Time present, this naturally had to become his military base in Faelor. His current plans were to build a magic tower to protect it.

Lastly, there was the Sequoia Kingdom's Mage Association. These mages that were useless outside of having some mana were surprisingly well-behaved, not doing anything drastic ever since their return. This was something entirely out of his expectations, but thinking of how Kamy and the silver-robed mages had behaved he just knew they wouldn't let him off like that. They were likely scheming something; when they did make their move, it would definitely be serious.

He picked up a stack of pages that contained information on the Association. The sixteen so-called grand mages were listed grandly, some with detailed information on them while others were briefer. What attracted his attention was the mage called Leon. At level 17, the ability to caste terrifying grade 9 spells would make him a great talent even in the Deepblue. Leon was only 37 this year, which meant it was possible for him to reach level 18 in his lifetime and join the ranks of the premier powerhouses of this plane. There was even a chance for him to become a legendary being.

Leon had reached level 12 at the tender age of 24, making him a rare genius in the Sequoia Kingdom. The problem was that Richard was level 12 as well, and he was only eighteen this year. Although he looked much more mature than he actually was given his facial hair, his young face could not fool anyone. The most someone would think was that he was about twenty. This was a genius surpassing Leon at odds with the Association. If their positions were reversed, Richard wouldn't mind eliminating such an opponent no matter how confident he was in himself.

So what did the Association's silence indicate? If he was the chairman of the Association and suddenly crossed paths with a mysterious young mage that possessed unrivalled talent and power that could harm his organisation's finances, the first order of business would naturally be an investigation into his origins.

If someone were to really track down his origins, Richard's history wouldn't be concealed for long. Even with the Direwolf Duke's protection, even if his birth and genealogy had been altered before, not everything could be completely removed. This was the reason he had entered the Bloodstained Lands in the first place. The place was so chaotic that one couldn't easily trace someone who made a name there. However, this challenge was not impossible for the Mage Association to overcome.

Richard suddenly felt the need to give the Mage Association something to do so that they wouldn't have the time to investigate him. Perhaps... Perhaps provoking them was a good choice. He put the information in his hands down and opened the door to the command centre, telling the servant outside, “Invite Baron Schachter over.”

A short while later, the tall and slender Baron Schachter entered the command centre. The Baron was level 12 at about 33 years of age, considered quite knowledgeable about military affairs. His foresight wasn't half bad either, so he was considered a promising noble. His father, Earl Burr, had already publicly announced that Schachter would succeed his title. The only thing left to do was making this official through the royal family.

Richard welcomed the Baron with enthusiasm, “Lord Schachter! I have a business proposal that I hope you are willing to consider. I wish to purchase your portion of ores and metal from the Bloodstained Highway project in exchange for enchanted weapons and armour, all superior-grade. These are the prices.”

Schachter immediately grew excited. Richard's enchanted equipment was now the dream of every noble and based on the price brought up he realised he could get ten sets of equipment including shields and weapons for warriors. This meant a squad of personal guards that were comparable to a Duke's! These guards would immediately make him a hot topic amongst high society for a few months. Earl Burr had always wanted to change the equipment of his guards, but he had found it difficult to source such a large batch of good equipment. If he gave this equipment to his father, Schachter was sure that his status as successor would be cemented!

The trade was quickly finalised, both sides satisfied with what they got. Richard obtained a large amount of precious metals and ores that he desperately needed, skipping the middleman costs and giving out only a few sets of equipment. On the other hand, Earl Burr's territory was only a few dozen kilometres away from the Mage Association headquarters. This was one of the regions where the Association held the greatest influence.

Seeing the equipment Schachter sent back, those old mages would certainly remember something.

......

Half a month later, the peace of a little town called Lausanne on the bank of the beautiful Niwa Lake was destroyed.

The little town was beautiful and lavish, twelve magic towers surrounding it. Many of those weaving through the town wore garments that indicated their ranks in the Mage Association, the ratio of mages here hundreds of times higher than in other cities. Every unremarkable little shop of the many on the main street was selling at least one or two rare materials.

Lausanne was the headquarters of the Sequoia Kingdom's Mage Association. The twelve magic towers were the dwellings of the twelve grand mages that lived here.

495 - City of Sin

Ambition

North of Lausanne was an ancient red-brick building with four floors. This was the institution where the elders held meetings; although it wasn't large, it held five hundred years of history. Although there had been renovations and decorations along the way, the outer appearance still remained the same as when the town had first been constructed. A large number of decisions that affected the entire Sequoia Kingdom.

The fourth floor had a total of thirty offices, sixteen of which were occupied. However, this place hadn't always been half-empty; in the prime of the Association's days, there were grand mages who couldn't even get an office here. The Association's influence over the Sequoia Kingdom wasn't nearly as grand as before.

Even as the influence of the Mage Association grew over the past century, the number of mages had actually decreased. There were now less than 600 registered mages from the Kingdom that were level 8 or higher.

However, this was only a surface decline. The income of the Association hadn't decreased at all; while the reducing number of mages had affected their output of enchanted equipment and other magic devices, this had also allowed them to increase the price twofold. In the same period of time, the price of wheat in the Kingdom had only risen by 5%. The profits of the elders in the Association had actually increased; the cake hadn't gotten smaller, but the number of those who could eat from it had.

Most of the grand mages of the Association didn't like working in this building; they basically never appeared here outside of meetings. However, there were still some people who liked the smell of power in this place, willing to stay here. Grand Mage Leon was here almost every day, sitting around.

As the most outstanding genius of the Sequoia Kingdom in recent years, Leon was unwilling to hand over his responsibilities to someone else. He had become the youngest elder in the Association, even getting to the position of vice-chairman last year. His robes had changed from the red of the elders to a dark gold.

There were only three dark gold mages in the entire Association— the chairman, Leon, and a level 18 grand mage. The level 18 mage was the most powerful in the organisation, but often wasn't in Lausanne. His magic tower was constructed in the northern borders of the Kingdom, said to be guarding a gigantic magic crystal mine. There was an entire tribe of dwarven slaves digging ores for him there.

Leon was sipping on a cup of black coffee in his office, concentrated on the report in his hands. In front of his desk was a tall middle-aged mage, the golden robes indicating that he had a high rank within the association.

“You've confiscated a total of ten sets of enchanted equipment?” Leon inquired.

“Yes, sir. These ten sets can arm a soldier from head to toe!”

“Where are the goods? Let me take a look.”

“They are waiting downstairs, please follow me.”

A moment later, the golden-robed mage personally opened up two magic chests in a dark showroom and displayed the equipment inside. Leon picked up a sword and activated it, illuminating the table with blue light.

“Not bad. It's a top-notch longsword that I can't pick apart at all. Technique, material, enchantments... everything is top of the line. Based on your judgement, what is the quality of this sword?”

“It should be about the same as the quality goods of the Association,” the golden-robed mage said carefully.

Leon couldn't help but laugh as he tossed the sword into the chest, “Quality goods? You think those weaklings can make goods of this standard? I wouldn't be able to make something like this if I enchanted it myself. Only old Bank who works on enchantments day in and day out can surpass this. But Bank only produces a few enchanted items in a month. The items in these two chests would take him a year to make.”

The golden-robed mage was startled by Leon's words, his gaze upon the chests warping.

“And these things came from Richard's hands?” Leon asked again.

“Yes, I looked into it thoroughly. This equipment was sent back by Baron Schachter, meant for Earl Burr's personal guard. Baron Schachter was an active member of the Bloodstained Highway project and is still in the Bloodstained Lands. There's no doubt about it, the source of this equipment has to be Richard...

“Sir,” the mage continued after a while, his tone filled with worry, “I heard Richard is selling cheaper than the Association! This is terrible, at this rate all the nobles are going to look for him instead.”

However, this comment did not elicit the praise the mage had expected. Leon just snickered, “Is that so strange? It's not that Richard is selling cheap, our price is just too high! Think about it, what are the costs of creating a piece of enchanted equipment? Even the base lafite we sell at thrice the average price in the Kingdom, and then there's the enchanting fees. Take Master Moxy, for instance, who's adept at sharpness enchantments. The formations are readily available for him, and he only uses about a grade 6 spell's worth of mana to finish an enchantment in three minutes. That earns him a profit of 500 gold. Hmph, even I'd be willing to do something so lucrative! That's how high our cost is!”

The gold-robed mage was shocked, not having expected the vice-chairman to take apart the Association without sugarcoating it at all. He had no answer for this statement. Experience told him this conversation could be an opportunity, but it was also a fatal trap.

Leon softened his tone, “Actually, the quality of the enchanted equipment that the Association produced a hundred years ago was much better than it is now, not far off from what is in front of us. The selling price then was also lower than Richard's. However, that is a hundred years ago.”

The mage only vaguely nodded in agreement, changing the topic, “Sir, how do we deal with Earl Burr's goods?”

“Did you figure out Richard's background?”

The mage braced himself, “I'm still looking into it. We've found out that Richard seems to have a relationship with the Whiterock Dukedom, but our relationship with the Mage Association there isn't great. We can only do this in secret... This will need time.”

Leon nodded, “There's no hurry, he can't run anywhere. But I can't just let this thing with Earl Burr go either... Right, isn't there a law that bulk transactions of enchanted equipment have to go through the Association?”

“That is right.”

Leon's voice turned icy, “Alright then. Take some men and capture Earl Burr. Bring him to Lausanne in secret to be put on trial. He is to be accused of smuggling magic equipment.”

The golden-robed mage was shocked, “Sir, it isn't simple to capture a true noble!”

“There is a precedent,” Leon countered.

“That's different, that was just a baron. This is an earl! If you're not careful, the imperial family and other powerful nobles could intervene!”

Leon snickered, “No, Burr is a neutral noble. They have no enemies, but also no protectors. We just have to capture him, the worst that could come out of it is some period of protest. Do they actually have the guts to go against us? This is the time for us to show our power!”

The mage shivered inside, finally realising that Leon's ambition was definitely not limited to becoming chairman.

......

In the meanwhile, Richard had a rare period of tranquility for half a month. His life every day was just creating runes and meditating, recovering his mana pool as fast as he could. The quiet lifestyle greatly increased his rune output, allowing him to craft eight in fifteen days. In the meanwhile, he had already recovered to level 12.

The situation in the Bloodstained Lands was quite stable. Richard's followers worked separately to purge all the bandits that threatened the Bloodstained Highway trade route. With the route just being a trove of gold, many bandits smelled money and flocked over. They didn't dare to lay their hands on the larger caravans, but even the small groups were worth salivating over. On top of that, many amongst them had devious intentions, like the remaining Red Cossack soldiers.

The immense profits from the trade route could drive anyone insane. The bandits of the Bloodstained Lands were fierce and merciless, and persuasion was obviously useless. Threatening them had no effect either, which was why Richard gave the order to kill any bandits found within fifty kilometres of the route. Once enough were sent to their graves, the survivors would naturally grow smart enough not to touch his treasure.

The Iron Triangle Empire was extremely furious that Richard had wiped out all of their strongholds in the Bloodstained Lands and had already dispatched envoys requesting the Sequoia Kingdom to hand Richard over. Of course, they would not comply. The profits of half the nobles in the Kingdom were already intertwined with Richard's, and although it would affect the balance of power they would boost the Kingdom's strength. Why would they cut their own arm off? The Empire had expected this outcome as well, it had just been an act to appease their own subordinates.

Such was politics, such was diplomacy.

The Empire had already battled Richard twice. In the first instance, Salwyn had suffered massive losses at Bluewater. In the second, Richard had destroyed nine camps and a caravan. Already hurting from the loss of Camp Bluesquare, Earl Lambert's elites with the caravan had been killed off as well. In addition, three of the nine destroyed camps were his. That left the Earl with a total of 4,000 elites and two saints dead. Even a Duke would lose sleep over such losses.

However, the Iron Triangle Empire had numerous troubles on other fronts. Rislant was losing badly to the Dragon Church, and the expedition towards the coast wasn't going smoothly either. The Empire couldn't afford to declare war on the Sequoia Kingdom. On top of that, while the benefits of the Bloodstained Highway would be tremendous, it was much more important for the Empire's future to take control of the coast.

496 - City of Sin

The Broodmother Evolves

Things had never been so smooth on Richard's side. All of his battles against the Iron Triangle Empire had been one-sided, intimidating the noble youths who had followed along. While they were young, they would still pass on the information to the various influences they came from. He was making use of this to terrify the nobles of the Sequoia Kingdom, warning them not to let the huge profits rush to their head. For the time being, at least, this would preserve his influence.

Bluewater was expanding rapidly, the population already passing 50,000. A magic tower was being constructed in Richard's lands here, becoming a powerful defensive structure that also guaranteed him the right to do as he wished in the city. Those who still considered him an eyesore watched on as the tower was built, but even after half a month there was nobody who disagreed. There weren't even any probes and attempted negotiations from the nobles.

This showed just how stable Richard's position had become. At least for now, no organisations would challenge his position.

Amidst this calm before the storm came news from the broodmother in the Land of Turmoil. She had finally absorbed all the power of the sacred spirit's blood, the energy within so vast that she was entering sleep to assimilate it into herself. Richard pacified her for a while, having her keep the newest batch of fifty humanoid knights around to protect herself.

......

At that very moment, deep within a forest in the Land of Turmoil was an empty space that was about ten kilometres in area. No signs of life could be seen here, only a dark grey earth. This place had been part of the forest once, but it had been cleared out with the help of hundreds of worker drones and humanoids working together. The worker drones had a powerful frontal sting that could bring down even the thick trunks that hugged each other with a few attacks, allowing them to unroot the trees. Of course, any living creatures from ferocious beasts to small ants had fled from fear, getting as far away as they could.

The depths of the Land of Turmoil were a mysterious and dangerous place. The trees here grew in a twisted manner, and beneath them was a dead grey soil. There were no nutrients to support the growth of normal plants here. Numerous golden strips of light covered the sky not far away. However, what should have been magnificent seemed strangely cold in this still grey world.

And cold they were. These were strips of unstable timeforce. The fate of those caught within varied; nothing could happen, but just as easily one could be flung to another plane. There was also a chance that only part of one's body would be sent to another plane, leaving the rest in Faelor. Most dangerous was that these ribbons roamed about unpredictably, often appearing out of nowhere. Not even a powerhouse could fight back if they were caught unprepared.

This was why the Land of Turmoil was considered one of the forbidden zones of the plane. Some other danger areas had at least a few adventurers checking them out, but nobody was willing to come here.

Trees fell by the dozens at the corner of the empty space as the broodmother slowly entered the clearing. She stopped crawling when she reached the centre, her enormous body that was over forty metres long and seven metres tall going still. This was a size surpassing even a dragon's; deep imprints were left on the earth everywhere she passed, the large twisted trees mere stalks of grass in front of her enormous frame.

Once she stopped, the broodmother then supported herself as numerous spiracles on her abdomen opened up, spraying out large amounts of yellowish-green acidic mist that covered the entire area. Once the mist slowly dissipated, a layer of green was left on the surface of the ground. Even a creature smaller than an ant would have been killed by this attack.

She then lifted her head with difficult, beginning to spray bundles of white syrup that immediately dried in the wind, forming thin white threads that covered her. The same threads were formed from the spiracles as well, and in a day's time an incomparably huge cocoon appeared at the centre of the empty space.

......

Another fifteen days had passed. Richard was carefully placing a rune into a magic sealing box, finishing off his third set in just over a month's time. His mana pool had grown by a fair amount as well; as long as he didn't use Sacrifice to the limit as he had against the Mensa youth, he could now cast a level 6 spell without dropping in level.

As he placed the three sets in his hands, Richard felt like he was seeing three million gold. The huge amount of wealth caused him to overflow with satisfaction; this was a great strength that embodied his value.

At that moment, a consciousness called out to him from the distant Land of Turmoil, “Master, I have awoken.”

Deep within the Land of Turmoil, the gigantic cocoon split open and the broodmother crawled out from within. Her body had shrunk from before, only twenty metres long and five metres tall, but her shell sparkled like black glass with intricate patterns all over it.

She started to gnaw at the remaining parts of the cocoon, the humanoids who had performed guard duty all this while gathering around and picking a few pieces themselves. The large group of workers was growing restless, but after a mental command, only ten crawled out with the right to eat.

This cocoon was made out of the broodmother's own nutritious fluids and the remaining blood of Zuka that she could not absorb. This held great benefits with respect to evolution, so these drones instinctually wanted to have some of it.

As the cocoon was weathered away, a strange little worm with a black shell that was only a metre long appeared amidst the remains. It looked like a smaller version of the broodmother herself, laying lazily on the ground unmoving, but the drones who were eating didn't dare to get close to it.

The remaining portions were quickly divided up, and the broodmother quietly lay there, as if she had fallen into a deep sleep. It wasn't just the broodmother. The humanoids and the worker drones that had eaten were all immobilised as well, bloody veins appearing in the eyes of the former that quickly spread within. Bloody patterns were formed on their pupils.

An unknown amount of time later, the broodmother propper herself up once more. Cracking sounds rang out as her shell split apart on her back, four translucent wings spreading out from underneath as rows of elliptical lightening organs lit up. As the wings began to jolt, the broodmother's huge body actually ascended to the sky!

“What? You can fly?” Richard was shocked!

“Yes, Master. This my newest data, please take a look.”

An overwhelming amount of information was transmitted to Richard, to the point that his brain started pulsing. Now at level 6, the broodmother's mental strength completely overpowered his own.

Only after all the data was received did the throbbing stop, allowing him to focus on what had been sent over. The broodmother could now fly 500 kilometres in ten hours, after which she would need to stop and feed to replenish her energy. With her terrifying digestive abilities, however, as long as she had the food she could replenish her strength in half an hour.

“In other words...” Richard started to grow excited.

“Yes, Master. When required, I can now take part in battles!” the broodmother replied.

There was no question that the broodmother was individually the strongest powerhouse in his possession. Even at level 6 she had no problems dealing with a regular saint, and on top of that her acidic mist was an effective ranged weapon against multiple enemies.

However, Richard and his followers were already strong enough to eliminate a saint easily. Thus, weighing the pros and cons, he found that he still wasn't prepared to let her take so many risks. “Unless it's a life or death crisis, you are not to participate in battle. Your safety is the greatest priority!”

“No! I have a fighting soul!” the broodmother argued.

This answer nearly made Richard fall. He couldn't believe these words had come from the broodmother, feeling more like they belonged in Gangdor's mouth. The broodmother had a soul, and having a soul meant possessing wisdom and character. However, no matter how he thought about it she was supposed to be icy and calm. Why was she having such passionate, hot-blooded thoughts?

“Bullshit. Why do you want to fight?”

She went silent for a while, her reply back to a tone he was used to, “There are many enemies of yours that I wish to eat since they will be useful for my evolution. I wish to directly participate in battle and get the food I'm interested in. Zendrall has already wasted too many materials, I hate it.”

Richard understood her words. A saint's body in Zendrall's hands could create a level 13 death knight at best. There were many limitations with the undead, and level drops were inevitable. However, a saint's corpse in the broodmother's hands would strengthen all of her drones. Individually the difference might not be much, but that was an infinite army all of whom were strengthened slightly. The impact of that was on an entirely different level.

He suddenly remembered something, asking, “Who taught you to speak about fighting souls and stuff?”

“Phaser. It was an answer she gave me after asking Gangdor.”

497 - City of Sin

Advancement

Richard felt his head starting to hurt. These followers of his were growingly increasingly difficult to understand, and even the broodmother was showing the same signs. Was this the result of letting them grow on their own paths? He sighed inside, quickly reading through the information that had been sent over, “Anything outside of the flight?”

“Of course, Master. I've specified everything.”

There was just too much information this time. Richard had to go through it for five minutes before he could even come upon everything related to Zuka's blood. It had increased her divinity storage from fifty points to seventy, which was also the biggest benefit of the lot. The more divinity the broodmother could store, the more powerful her main body would become. However, the sacred spirit's blood was tremendously powerful and would take several more months to fully analyse; the broodmother had only managed to complete a fifth so far. This blood was far purer than Zim's.

In the analysis section, he noticed there was information related to the unicorn bloodline. Zim's bloodline was very thin, forcing her to use divinity to make up for the incomplete parts so she could build his mount. Richard's unicorn was a far cry from the true sacred beast, but she mentioned that more unicorn blood or a live unicorn would allow her to enhance her creations. If she had enough samples, she could eventually start creating drones that were better than the original.

For now, Zim's bloodline gave all of the broodmother's drones a 20% magic resistance if she wanted to add it. Of course, that would increase the cost of creation as well. On the other hand, the unicorn she had built for him had consumed a full thirty points of divinity. It could grow in level as time passed.

Even now, the broodmother had another thirty points of divinity left, enough to ascend to level 7. However, she had only just reached level 6 and hadn't completed the process yet; it would be a few months and 500 magic crystals before she would be able to take the next step.

Having read up to this point, Richard heaved a sigh of relief. 500 magic crystals was about 200,000 gold; this would have been an astronomical figure a few months ago, but now it didn't even pinch.

There were additional unexpected gains. The fifty humanoid knights that had guarded the broodmother were given the potential to evolve from the cocoon's fluids; they would grow in battle until they reached level 14. Richard immediately chose to arm them with obsidian equipment; better equipment would increase their chances of survival, something necessary for them to grow.

Having dealt with the broodmother's matter, Richard told her to continue foraging for food in the Land of Turmoil while creating more humanoid knights. Faelor thus entered a period of peace.

......

Richard was deep in meditation that night, his consciousness chasing after an azure strip of light with great effort. This was a grade 4 astral ray, only the second one he had seen in the last three months. He had failed to capture it that last time. Of course, he hadn't seen any grade 5 rays either.

The strip didn't seem to have a clear path, but he used his blessings to try and work out a formula for its advance. However, this required a tremendous amount of calculation that even his blessings of wisdom and truth could not support. A dozen seconds later, the strip of light flickered for a while and disappeared.

Richard sighed, trying to erase the disappointment in his heart before turning to capture a violet ray that wasn't far away. This was rather good as well, only appearing once every day or two. He normally never let these things go, but he had ignored it for the sake of the grade 4 ray nearby.

He captured the grade 3 ray after a nerve-wracking pursuit, leading it into his body. He had found that this process of meditation wasn't just growing his mana pool; his mental strength and calculation speed were being polished as well. The Deepblue series of meditation techniques were far beyond others.

When he captured another grade 2 ray, his body suddenly trembled. His mana pool slowly brimmed over a divide, telling him that he had reached level 13. He could now cast grade 7 spells!

There was an incomparable gulf between every grade of spell starting at grade 7. The power of offensive magic grew exponentially with each level, and the number that one could practise also increased. It was no longer strange for single spells to be able to turn the tides of a war. Google search 𝑓𝗿e𝐞𝓌𝙚𝙗𝑛o𝚟e𝙡. c𝚘𝚖

At grade 7 were powerful spells like Finger of Death or Spirit Lash that could instantly kill weaker opponents, arcane gates that allowed for short-distance teleportation, and banishment spells that dealt great damage to conjured creatures. There were also barriers that could reflect weaker offensive spells, as well as powerful lightning storms, burst fireballs, and iridescent jets. There were also the greenflame sword, the sword of darkness, and other such mana weapons that surpassed even superior-grade enchanted weapons. However, magic-based weapons were an entire grade weaker than divine weapons at the same level of spell, be it in might, range, or duration.

Richard's mana growth was currently four to five times that of an ordinary mage. The Deepblue Fantasy itself only worked at twice the rate of a normal technique, but with the support of his blessings and astral affinity his ability to capture astral rays was far beyond the other mages who trained in the technique. As his level and bloodline advanced, his training speed correspondingly grew. This was the source of his confidence.

Having just reached level 13, he chose not to continue meditating, instead loosening up his limbs and cooling off. He walked out of the meditation room and wandered aimlessly to his laboratory, looking at the nearly complete rune blueprint on the desk.

With the strength of his mind and soul raised, inspiration surged out like a geyser at the very sight of the rune. It didn't take long for him to solve all the minor problems that had hindered the rune's completion.

As he looked at the completed design, he found himself extremely pleased with his work. The few issues he was experiencing had been solved using his excess precision, adding six lines where even great runemasters could normally only draw four. Even if this design was made public, few would be able to replicate it.

“Waterflower!” he immediately summoned his soulguard through his mind, “Come to my lab, now!” It only took a moment for her to open the door and silently walk in.

Richard glanced at the time. There were four more hours until daybreak, enough for him to complete the rune. He spoke to her while preparing the materials and tools, “Breath of Darkness is only a grade 1 set, but I found a way to enhance it. I'm calling this new set the Guide of Secrets, designed specifically for you. I'm only upgrading the old runes, so you can keep every ability you already had; combined with your current abilities, you should be able to fight a Faelor saint head-on. Alright, there isn't much time left; let's begin.”

Having experienced rune tattooing before, the girl silently took off all her clothes and stood naked in the centre of the laboratory. When Richard finished pouring the ink into his magic pen and looked up, he was greeted with another sight of the perfect body that was filled with an explosive power. He felt nearly suffocated by the beauty. The complicated lines of the Breath of Darkness looked elegant on her person, only giving her an added sense of mystery.

He regathered his focus, “Sit there and turn around, the first upgrade will be on your back.”

Waterflower did as told, leaning her upper body a little forward. Her shoulders were broad, her figure curving sharply inwards at the waist before broadening once more at the buttocks. An unimaginable strength was hidden within those curves.

As Richard drew closer, her body began to tense visibly. By the time he was right behind her, she was trembling. When he raised his pen and lightly dotted her backbone, her entire body shuddered and she produced a startled cry.

“Does it hurt?” Richard asked in worry.

“No, it's fine!” the young lady answered stiffly.

There were many instances in Waterflower's life where she had sustained bone-deep injuries without making a sound. Pain normally only made her more violent. Having a rune drawn on one's body would cause some pain, but it couldn't compare to near-death injuries.

Richard placed his left hand on the girl's back, his fingers spreading her flexible skin wide; this would slightly reduce the difficulty in drawing the rune. The pen then descended once more, moving at a slow but uniform rate. A winding elegant line was drawn across Waterflower's back.

Her body tensed as his breath blew across her skin, greatly increasing the difficulty of his task. Still, Richard pretended to notice nothing and just slowed down to prevent any errors. The process of removing a tattooed array was far more difficult and troublesome than adding one. That was another reason for all of his runes this time just being additions to the originals. Unless it was absolutely necessary, he didn't want to alter or erase what was already drawn.

498 - City of Sin

Guide of Secrets

An entire hour later, a new rune appeared on Waterflower's back. It was a pattern with a dark blue background, resembling the mysterious stars in the night sky. This was the Shield of Stars, a rune similar to the original Truesilver Ornament that boosted her defence and resistance to magic and the elements. Outside of the protective properties, it had one entirely new function: it allowed one to channel astral energy. This was a precondition for the Guide of Secrets' ability.

Once the Shield of Stars was complete, Richard downed a vitality potion and rested for a few minutes before picking up his pen once more. “Now is the time for the Heart of the Wild. Come, lie down over here.”

The young lady obeyed, moving over to the bed under the window where Richard spent his time reading. She lay down on her side in a bid to hide her private parts as much as possible.

“Turn around.” Richard's voice was exceptionally gentle, removing some of her unease. She turned around slowly, baring the entirety of her body to him. Her eyes were welded shut, but one could see the eyes moving rapidly under their cover. She was clearly extremely nervous, goosebumps all over her stomach. When the cold tip of the magic pen fell upon her right breast, the young woman squealed softly.

Grade 2 custom rune, Heart of the Wild. It was located opposite the original location of Counterguard which was across her heart, covering an extensive area that blanketed the entire right breast. The rune's purpose was to absorb a certain amount of the wearer's life force, allowing them a single full-strength attack in times of emergency. This attack could be used if one ever approached death, even if their powers were sealed. It was a trump card that could turn the tables in a dire circumstance.

The rune's positioning made it quite difficult to tattoo on; Richard needed to concentrate heavily to steady his right hand. By the time it was completed, his forehead was covered in sweat. He himself was at an age where he was particularly hot-blooded, and he couldn't bring himself to ignore Waterflower's supple breasts. Of course, he didn't particularly need to either,

He stood up and flexed his aching limbs, drinking a glass of iced water in an attempt to hide the changes to his lower body. Then again, Waterflower was an assassin with superior senses; he wasn't certain that his clumsy attempts would be able to fool her.

All that remained was to enhance the remaining five grade 1 runes. This was a complicated and delicate task, but it took only two hours for Richard's pen to turn all of them to grade 2. Outside of some iterative improvements, there were some extra bonuses as well.

First came the improvements to Dark Sight. This gave the rune extended range, also increasing its resistance to certain disruptive curses. Call of the Wild was improved into Master of the Wilderness, stretching from the calf to the ankle. Outside of the original ability to ease travelling through rough terrain, it now improved one's sense of danger in the wild and their ability to ambush in complicated lands.

Next came the enhancement to Shadow Seal, which stretched from the right arm to the back of both palms. Activating it would hide one's breathing and allow them to speed up their attacks greatly. Attacks also gained an addition armour and spell penetration. The Truesilver Ornament became the Truegold Ornament, increasing its defence and resistances.

Finally, Counterguard was enhanced into the Guardian of Destiny. It allowed one to temporarily link their soul to their master's given permission, improving the strength of their soul by several orders of magnitude. Under a certain threshold, one could even reflect any incoming mental attacks.

When Richard finished his last stroke, all seven runes on the young lady's body glowed simultaneously and fused into one. Seeing the perfect body in front of him, Richard felt an immense sense of accomplishment welling up within himself.

Dark Sight, Master of Wilderness, Shadow Seal, Truegold Ornament, Shield of Stars, Guardian of Destiny, and Heart of the Wild. So far, this was the magnum opus of his life, the pinnacle of a grade 2 rune set. A rune knight wearing this set would completely overshadow any grade 3 rune knight that wasn't a set knight. As far as runes went, Waterflower with the Guide of Secrets was superior even to Gaton's thirteen.

The core of this set was the Shield of Stars and its ability to channel astral energy, giving its owner some degree of prophetic ability. This was something Richard had only derived after his own astral affinity had reached the third level.

The set's name was the name of its ability as well: the Guide of Secrets. When it was activated, its owner would be granted the ability to see through souls and time itself, allowing one to identify their enemy's weaknesses and land exceedingly lethal attacks. Such great power naturally came with a great price: it could only be used once a day and only for a few seconds at that before one would need to start storing astral energy once more.

Waterflower finally had the strength to fight saints. If she was in the right situation, the combination of Breath of Darkness and Guide of Secrets would result in an incredible offence.

Richard was sweating profusely, feeling incredibly drained. Even with his great stamina, it had was nearly impossible for him to work continuously for several hours with unwavering focus. The fact that his target was Waterflower only made it all the more exhausting.

Waterflower lay still for some time before shooting off the bed, landing on her feet without so much as a sound. It was as though she was weightless, a sign of her growth in power. Her body was evidently not accustomed to the sudden boost.

She looked down and inspected the new runes on her body, not revealing her thoughts at all.

Without any runecrafting to distract him, Richard felt the temptation of the young lady's body growing sharply. His own was reacting visibly, but irritated as he was he couldn't help the arousal. He gave Waterflower's bottom a sharp swat, “Dress yourself! Any more and I'm not sure what I'll do next!”

Waterflower's gaze passed across Richard's lower body, and she obediently walked over to fetch her clothes. However, her movements were extremely slow, a stark contrast from the apex assassin she was.

She dressed normally, but Richard felt it to be excessively clumsy. However, the aftertaste of that swat was quite pleasing, her butt surprisingly tender and soft. It had started pushing back the moment his hand touched it, the force growing sharply until he broke contact. The sound of the smack was incomparably crisp.

Waterflower left with her usual silent demeanour. It wasn't until she was out of the laboratory that a sudden realisation dawned upon him, couldn't an assassin like her easily have evaded his hand? Richard shook his head, composing himself before starting to account for his profits over the past three months. Please visit 𝘧𝗿𝐞𝐞𝒘𝗲𝘣n𝘰𝘷ℯ𝒍. 𝒄o𝗺

Piled up on his desk was a tower of magic boxes, each containing a set of Savage Barrier or Savage Strike for a total of seven. Looking back at his achievements over the past three months and taking into account Waterflower's new set, he felt elated. There was also a breakthrough in the Mystic Glory series he was designing for Flowsand: a new rune by the name of Cryptic Heart. Its purpose was to raise the wearer's casting speed and store a portion of their divine power, allowing them to form a barrier whenever necessary. The rune still needed finishing touches, but he believed he would be done within a month.

As for the seven sets, he could sell them to the royal family for as many million in gold or pass it to Alice to fulfil his obligation immediately and earn a powerful ally. The last option was to organise his own squad of rune knights; with such a force under his command, his forces would likely even surpass his cousin's.

He pondered for a moment, deciding to start building his own army first. He had already identified about a dozen suitable candidates from amongst the Archeron warriors and his loyal knights, with the only problem being that they didn't have enough mounts. However, the broodmother was an easy solution to that problem. He immediately contacted her and designed a magical mount based on a horse, giving it superior strength, endurance, and vitality. He even added in some abilities from the unicorn and winged serpent bloodlines, giving them magic resistance and a berserking ability that would greatly increase the creature's speed and strength.

The production of these steeds was even lower than that for humanoids, with the broodmother only able to make two in a day. Since he was already here, he also expended four points of divinity to produce two unique mounts that towered over their ordinary brethren at twice and thrice the size respectively. At the sight of these two new creations, the corners of his lips curled up into a smile. Gangdor and Tiramisu would finally have mounts, no longer constrained to following the army on foot. He was curious as to what their reactions would be.

When he subconsciously checked on the number of available humanoid knights, he gasped. The broodmother had produced an additional 300 knights in the past few months, bringing his cavalry to 800 drones. This left him facing a shortage in gear; of the thousand sets he had brought back from Norland, two hundred had been sent to Bevry to arm his best knights. The Duke had thus returned to battle on the eastern front, decimating several old rivals.

As for Richard, he now had 800 such knights under his command.

499 - City of Sin

Unavoidable Tranquility

Richard was looking forward to when the broodmother would level up once more. She would certainly give him some pleasant surprises.

His troops were now well-trained and well-equipped. If Salwyn were to come with as many troops as he had before, he was confident in utterly obliterating the prince. However, the Bloodstained Lands were blanketed in silence. The Iron Triangle Empire seemed to be content fighting a war of words with the Sequoia Kingdom, while the nobles on the Empire's southern borders had no intention of venturing back into Richard's lands.

There were many reasons not to attack Richard, but only two that really mattered. First was the same difficulty Salwyn had faced: victory posed no benefits to speak of and the consequences of loss were dire. Unlike the Prince, however, they didn't have the nation's interests at heart. Not every noble could appreciate how frightening Richard truly was: a prodigal genius with a great work ethic who was also adept at politics. The second was the simple fact that Salwyn and Lambert had failed. Naturally, those who were inferior wouldn't dare to risk their lives for no reason. Even the Mage Association had grown humble, not sending any provocation Richard's way.

All of a sudden, Richard found he had an army without a purpose. With no enemy to fight, he couldn't help but lament the waste of power. But then, he couldn't help but laugh. This situation was a result of the endless battles he had faced throughout the past year! Was this not beneficial to him? What he lacked most now was time. In another three months, he would reach level 14 and have crafted eight or nine more rune sets.

This was the worst part of being his enemy. Just a few months of peace and one would find they were facing a completely different behemoth.

“Ah!” he heaved a long sigh, “I should get some exercise with those who don't recognise me.”

He then walked out of his workshop, receiving a regular update about the city's situation and the training of his troops. The first caravan to Forgefires was on its way back, the profits from the trib about three million gold. The number of caravans in the future would increase and this profit would lessen, but even once it stabilised the profits would still be about 1.5 million a trip.

The scouts mentioned that King Bamor had decided to take measures to grow the dwarven population. The restriction on commoners from having children were taken away, and a reward was handed out for every newborn.

Still, the average dwarven lifespan was between 150 and 300 years. They only hit puberty at fifteen years of age, and could only give birth to one child a year. Birth rate was inversely proportional to lifespan; taking into account the mortality rate from environmental factors, the dwarven population would grow slowly. Forgefires' might was determined by its population, which was something Richard had taken into account for his plans. As long as they had a continuous supply of food, they would quickly expand and absorb the smaller neighbouring tribes. After all, happy is the city which in times of peace thinks of war.

As he walked around, all Richard could hear was good news. There weren't any remaining nobles who dared to provoke him; in fact, they were fighting each other in order to curry his favour. Seeing how enthusiastic these nobles were, Richard realised that any who dared to annoy him wouldn't even be worth the time.

He wound up just musing about his ambitions, returning to the laboratory to challenge himself in the world of runecrafting and magic. The day thus passed in peace. Google search 𝗳𝘳ℯ𝑒𝓌ℯ𝚋𝐧oνe𝘭. c𝐨ｍ

......

When Flowsand returned to her residence at night, she found Io waiting for her with a stern expression on his face. She was confused by his furrowed brows, “Io, what's gotten into you?”

“I must speak with you, my Lady,” Io replied. Despite how he acted publicly, when alone he spoke to Flowsand in a respectful and formal tone. This was the same attitude all heavenly guardians had towards their masters.

“Very well,” Flowsand opened the door to her study, having him follow her in.

Io closed the door and sat across her, staring right into her eyes as he said seriously, “My Lady, Richard has reached level 13.”

A satisfied smile spread across Flowsand's face, “Oh, yes! Isn't it astonishing? He should have gotten there earlier, but he was busy strengthening his bloodline all this while.”

“Three months ago, he was level 11!” the battle priest stressed.

Flowsand was a little confused, “Indeed. What is it, is he too slow?”

“No, he's too fast! In fact, he'll reach level 14 in another three months and level 15 within the year! I'm still at level 14!”

“Your point being?” The smile on her face remained unchanged as she nodded, waiting for his following words. However, her initial joy had faded away.

“I feel you should consider raising my level limit during the next ceremony. Otherwise, I will only reach level 16 at most, and that's assuming I can take part in numerous battles. In less than two years, Richard will surpass me.”

Flowsand suddenly laughed, “So that's what you were worried about.”

“Yes,” Io admitted.

“Very well, what of the offerings? Till date, every offering we use has come from Richard. You think it's appropriate to use the grace he works hard to earn for me to raise your level limit, just so you can continue to boast in front of him?”

“Verily so!” Io had no sense of shame. Of course, battle priests were prime candidates to boost in normal circumstances.

Flowsand subconsciously sighed, rubbing her forehead, “Why is it that I got an idiot like you? Tell you what, you know what I'd do if I had enough divine grace?”

Io shook his head.

“I'd select another heavenly guardian, and it would be another battle priest too!” Flowsand said fiercely. This was an unexpected blow that blanked Io's mind, leaving him at a complete loss for words. “If you can't give me a satisfactory explanation, that's exactly what I'll do.”

Flowsand seemed indifferent at this point, but anyone who understood her knew that she wasn't one to change her decisions easily. While the battle priest hadn't been in her service for long, their relationship ensured he understood her deeply.

“It's not that I want to steal Richard's offerings,” Io suddenly came back to his senses, “We are currently strong enough to search independently for offerings on this plane, but three full months have passed and he shows no signs of acting. I only fought twice alongside his followers, and that was to clear out some local bandits. There was no challenge, and no chance to obtain offerings either.”

Flowsand closed her eyes, as though pondering something, “Io, I feel like you're different from the normal heavenly guardian. I want to ask you, do you know your purpose?”

“It's so Richard will still have a powerful priest under him when you return to the Church.”

“Good, you understand. However, your behaviour is making me think you're choosing to ignore the order you were given when I selected you. I don't understand where your animosity towards Richard comes from, but if you're unwilling to cooperate with him for whatever reason I can only select someone else. The next guardian I choose will be a woman. Although I don't want to leave another attractive girl by his side, it's certainly better than giving him an enemy.”

Io's expression contorted, and he finally sighed, “Understood. I am somewhat different from normal heavenly guardians. While they have souls as well, they are nothing more than clever puppets. You have no need to worry; as much as I despise that fellow, I oppose him openly and not behind his back. I certainly will not hinder him unreasonably. I might just be a construct from the Eternal Dragon in your eyes, but I have my own pride. I believe you understand how special I am as well.”

Flowsand raised her brows and eyed Io indifferently, “Very well, I'll believe you for now. However, leave any hopes of an increased limit until you actually reach level 16.”

Io exhaled, saying nothing. Battle priests were different from clerics; the more spells they used, the faster they would grow. This was why constant battle was when Io felt the happiest. Thus, while three months of peace was ideal for Richard, it was precious time squandered as far as he was concerned.

......

Bluewater remained merry even after night fell, many parts of the city well-lit. The number of taverns in the place had grown exponentially over the past few months, but even so many were frequently overcrowded. The traders who had made a fortune from the first caravan would soon return and fill their coffers with coins, so the entire city was celebrating. Groups of drunkards wandering the streets were a common sight.

Waterflower was roaming the streets like a restless spirit, a fire in her heart leaving her unable to calm down.

500 - City of Sin

Silence Broken

Waterflower didn't know how to get rid of the fire within her, feeling an inexplicable annoyance. Just what was she irritated about? Didn't she receive a complete upgrade to her set just last night? Wasn't this the power she was looking for?

The girl was a terrifying talent in battle. With the new rune set, even at level 13 she could fight head-on against a saint of Faelor. Originally, such growth in power was the only pursuit she had in life. But now that this power was in her hands, for some reason she couldn't bring herself to be happy at all.

She had been huddled in her room all day, too numb to even try adapting to her new power. At night, when she couldn't find it anymore, she went and looked for Gangdor to spar with. However, although Gangdor was level 14 now and had a set of his own, his training in the death camps had left him with a keen sense of danger. He noticed her dangerous aura so he shamefully withdrew.

Left blank for a moment, she had told him to change the spar to a drinking competition instead. The brute had immediately grown overjoyed, grabbing Tiramisu, Olar, Zendrall, and others to be witnesses to the “fight.” He didn't even let Kellac or the young Caesar off, the more onlookers there were the more glorious his victory would be. Only after everyone gathered did he start the competition grandly.

While Gangdor had been struggling to find an audience, Waterflower had stood there blankly with her eyes focused on an unknown location. A total of thirty bottles of strong whisky had been brought over, enough to leave a dozen strong orcs fainted.

She had muddled memories of beginning to drink, muddled memories of watching Gangdor's expression from calm joy to shock; muddled memories of the brute collapsing to the ground. 'I won?' she remembered having thought to herself at that point, looking around at empty bottles and the awed expressions of Olar and the rest. Right, she had beaten that idiot in a drinking competition.

And yet, she hadn't even felt dizzy. It was as though she had only been drinking water all the while. Feeling a sudden pang of loneliness, she waved the crowd away before picking up her longsword and silently leaving the place. That was how she had ended up on the city streets late into the night.

All she could see through her narrowed eyes was Richard's figure, but she didn't want to meet him.

A few drunk aristocrats walked out from the street opposite her, talking loudly about the returning caravan, strong wine, and women. The latter especially made everyone burst into a peal of knowing laughter.

The noble in front suddenly went rigid, standing still as a statue. The road was blocked for those behind, so someone strongly patted his shoulder and let out a breath that reeked of alcohol, “My Lord, what did you see that you can't even walk? It can't be some peerless beauty, could it? Such a woman would be in someone's bed already... Ah!”

The noble who was speaking became still as well. Those behind him all squeezed up and looked over, and audibly sucked in a breath of air. At the end of the long street was what seemed like a night elf walking towards them, her confused small face emitting a hazy radiance in the moonlight. This ethereal beauty didn't even seem human, her gait holding the grace of someone walking on the wind.

“I'm not dreaming, right?” “Heavens......” “I wouldn't mind giving up ten years of life to have her in my bed...”

The nobles all started mumbling, their gazes following the girl in front of them. The girl herself couldn't see nor hear anything at that moment, immersed in her own world of panic, annoyance, and regret over something unknown.

'You should be a bit braver, just a little more...' A voice repeatedly echoed within Waterflower's heart, making her feel insane.

There was someone blocking the way! She instinctively moved two steps to the side, swaying like a ghost as she passed through the nobles to continue wandering down the road. These nobles saw that the prey in their hands was about to fly. Immediately half sober, the fastest one quickly reached out to try and grab Waterflower.

Even in her half-addled state the girl's perception was keen. The clumsy immediately stirred her vigilance and she lightly stepped aside, the Shepherd of Eternal Rest raised together with its scabbard. The noble grabbed empty air, his ribs instead knocking against the scabbard of Waterflower's sword. The blow left him in so much pain he couldn't even call out, directly collapsing to the ground with his body twitching.

“Baron! What happened to you?”

“Damn, this chick strikes hard!”

“Take her back to interrogate!”

The nobles went into a panic, but in the midst of the fuss a few nimble figures jumped out of the darkness to surround Waterflower. Even in Bluewater these aristocrats brought their guards along, but in order to enjoy the brothels fully they were normally hidden away. If their lords met with any danger, these soldiers would appear from every corner. Google search 𝑓𝒓e𝑒w𝑒𝒃𝑛𝒐𝘃ℯ𝙡. c𝚘m

Waterflower finally recovered from her stupor, her gaze sweeping across the guards surrounding her as killing intent permeated her eyes. One soldier who had sharp awareness suddenly shivered, unable to help but take a step back as his teeth began to chatter non-stop.

At that time, one of the youths who felt like the situation was under control swept his eyes up and down Waterflower's body without the slightest hint of shame. “Capture this chick!” he shouted loudly, “I have to 'interrogate' her properly in revenge for Baron Zeton!”

Another noble grew unhappy at this, “That won't do, you're being too mean. Such great goods, how could you 'interrogate' her just by yourself?”

“Right, forgive me. How about this, we can all interrogate her together for an entire day and night!”

The noble youths yelled loudly, pinning all their gazes on Waterflower as they began to judge her even more impudently.

A tall guard suddenly walked out of the darkness, the earth shaking with every step he took. His mountainous body was filled with a cruel aura, the huge sword in his hands at least a few hundred kilograms in weight. The energy within him was almost overflowing; although it wasn't yet at the state where it had condensed into a physical form, his silhouette still glowed in the dark.

A saint! Although this person's aura was a little weaker than most sains, clearly having just advanced, he was still a genuine saint powerhouse!

The man let out a deep laugh, “It's best to give up, girl. My sword doesn't have any eyes. Isn't it just sleeping with my master once? What's the big deal anyway? You have to fuck a man at some point, my master is very generous!”

A cold fury radiated from Waterflower's eyes, “A mere saint, coming here to seek death!”

“What?” The man could hardly believe his own ears. A mere saint? This stunning girl herself was only level thirteen, yet she called him a mere saint! However, he wasn't given any time to think. The Shepherd of Eternal Rest had already left its scabbard, noiselessly stabbing towards him!

The man suddenly saw a mysterious azure light shining in the girl's eyes. His thoughts suddenly turned cold, his mind freezing over in a flash. He no longer cared about hurting the girl in front of him, mobilising all his energy with a roar as his huge sword stabbed directly at the enemy.

Waterflower seemed to merge with the darkness, the Shepherd of Eternal Rest lightly tapping the huge sword. She used the borrowed momentum to appear behind the man in a flash, his lower back lit up in her vision. An ethereal darkness suddenly condensed on the edge of her blade, her entire body leaning into the blow like floodwaters overpowering a dam. The longsword was like a soundless bolt of black lightning, quietly piercing through the man's waist.

Guide of Secrets, Breath of Darkness. In the first few moments of the battle, Waterflower had already used both of her set skills. A cloud of bloody mist exploded from her target's waist, spreading quickly. In the meanwhile, she herself moved ten metres away as though she was floating on water before standing still. The spray of blood didn't manage to so much as touch her.

Only when the mist dissipated did everyone see a shocking gap in the man's abdomen. Almost half of his waist had disappeared! The nobles finally sobered up from the terror, one of them screeching as they took the lead to run away. The rest of the nobles followed suits and flew out, scattering like a flock of birds in but an instant. The guards, however, remained to perform their duty. One could say they were heroic and unafraid of death; not a single one of them followed their master in running away. These soldiers paid heed to bringing up the rear, keeping a close eye on Waterflower while retreating step by step. Only after they were hidden in the darkness once more did they disperse and escape.

That saint powerhouse had already been completely abandoned; there was no one who dared to snatch his body.

The outburst seemed to have a cathartic effect; Waterflower felt some of the stifling mood fading away. However, she didn't actually like killing; without the mood to chase after those drunkards, she just walked alone in the dark.

The depths of darkness, this was her world.

501 - City of Sin

How About A Battle?

A servant interrupted Richard's morning meditation, telling him that quite a few nobles had charged in and demanded for him to punish Waterflower.

He was slightly astonished, not able to understand how exactly that cold reclusive girl would have provoked them. Heading straight to the meeting hall, he found eleven nobles packing up the small hall like a bunch of sardines. There weren't even enough seats, forcing some to stand, but at least they had the basic etiquette to leave an empty seat for him.

He walked over to the sofa and sat down, telling a servant to call Gangdor and Waterflower. He could just have called out mentally, but there was no need to give these people such information.

He swept his gaze across the lot, the annoyance evident in his eyes. An hour of his time was worth thousands of gold; these buffoons couldn't understand how precious time was at all. He leaned forward and supported his head on one hand, 'earnestly' listening to their complaints and requests. Although he seemed to be serious about this, his posture held an unconcealable aggression within it. The infuriated nobles were unable to help but swallow some of their complaints regarding himself, pouring out all their grievances on Waterflower.

Richard's expression grew increasingly dark. Eleven voices rose and fell in succession, sometimes with vehement accusations, sometimes with declarations and demands. They had obviously twisted and exaggerated the most important parts, growing more and more agitated with every word they spoke. Viscount Ambrose in particular, the leader of this group, was almost ready to jump on top of the table.

Saints were precious personnel that even dukes spent time enticing. The man who had died at Waterflower's hand last night was Ambrose's bodyguard, but he was only lent to him by his father Marquess Albrech. With the saint having died in the middle of Bluewater, the youth would have no excuse once he returned.

When Waterflower silently walked into the hall, the temperature seemed to drop a few degrees. She recognised all the nobles that had fled the previous night, her gaze turning cold as her hand reached for her blade.

The voices in the room immediately lowered. Only now did these fellows remember that this girl served Richard, and the fact that she could kill a saint so mercilessly meant their relationship could not be anything simple. Their anger simmered down.

Only a fool would be alright with Richard as an open enemy. These people were originally here just to get an apology and some compensation; after all, the life of a saint still had some value. Ambrose, in particular, had to go through with it no matter what; he had to remain unyielding regardless of the outcome. This was mainly for the sake of his companions and a trusted aide of his father's that was hidden amongst his servants, an act that would reduce the responsibility on his own shoulders.

After listening to everyone for some more time, Richard raised his hand. The hall immediately went quiet as they awaited his statement; such was his authority.

A light smile appeared on his face, “I understand the general situation. You drank a little too much at night and didn't recognise her when you crossed paths so you made a few jokes. But then she suddenly attacked and killed that saint guard of yours. Is that right?”

Viscount Ambrose hesitated, but eventually he nodded, “Roughly.”

This elicited a dark chuckle, “You brats actually have the guts to make jokesabout her? It's just a degenerate saint, so what if he's dead?!”

Ambrose and the rest of the nobles were dumbstruck. What's the big deal about a saint? It took a while for the Viscount to recover his senses from the shock of that statement, “Sir Richard, you cannot put it that way! This is a saint! You have to make it up to us...”

“Make it up to you? You still want me to make it up to you after you dared to joke about my woman?” The sun disappeared from Richard's smile, replaced by freezing clouds, “Are you tired of your lives?”

The emphasis on 'joke' was clear enough of an indication that Richard wouldn't accept their doctored version of events. Put another way, it meant he didn't care for their statuses at all.

Noticing that the situation was deteriorating, one of the nobles flashed a smile and tried to ease the tension, “Sir Richard, it's only a woman. Besides, Viscount Amb—”

Richard interrupted him with another raise of the hand, shutting him up, “Enough, you've already wasted enough of my time. I won't pursue the matter, but next time you do something so foolish it won't be so simple as the death of a guard. This is Bluewater Oasis, my territory. You'd best know who my people are.”

Ambrose's face reddened. “RICHARD!” he thundered, “You're far too brash! Let's end it here? Let's see if you really can take on the consequences of ending it here!”

Richard glanced at the Viscount, “Your father is Marquess Albrech?”

“Yes!” the Viscount looked up, but inside he was sighing with relief. Richard had finally remembered his identity.

However, Ambrose couldn't have expected Richard to wave him off as though he was a fly, “Alright then. If Albrech doesn't accept this, have him send an army over. Let's battle!”

Ambrose gasped. He hadn't expected Richard to even be willing to fight, forget being impatient for one. Shouldn't he have apologised and given him compensation? While the expected result would still result in Marquess Albrech reprimanding him, the Viscount at least wouldn't lose his reputation. He was arrogant, but he was no fool. Waterflower could kill a saint; it was impossible for him to get Richard to hand her over. If their positions were reversed, he wouldn't agree to it either. However, Albrech's bodyguard couldn't die in vain. An apology and some monetary compensation would be a bare minimum to resolve this dispute. Who would have guessed Richard was so tough and nasty, possessing no poise at all!

Left with no other choice, the Viscount could only press on with his verbal tirade, “Good, very good! Just you wait, the nobility of the Sequoia Kingdom will teach you your place!”

Richard smiled in response, “Point at me again, and I'll cut your hand off.”

Ambrose was left feeling a mix of embarrassment and rage, but he didn't actually have the guts to call Richard's bluff. He snorted loudly and turned to leave, but didn't even dare to slam the door behind him.

Once the Viscount left, Richard shook his head helplessly and turned to the nobles who were still in the room, “Tell me, what should I do to teach some respect? Should I kill some more?”

The nobles all broke out in cold sweat, immediately praising him and expressing their thoughts on the magnificence of the Bloodstained Highway. Richard was the war god of the Sequoia Kingdom; at this point, he didn't need to kill people to establish his prowess. “Is that so?” he responded to the flattery, leaving everyone shivering with fear. Feeling like they were frightened enough, he had them ushered out before turning to look at Waterflower and Gangdor.

“I'm sorry.” The young lady's head had been lowered for a long time, her teeth gritting hard as she forced the words out of herself.

“What did you say?” Richard couldn't quite believe his own ears.

Waterflower's head stayed down, unwilling to look up and allow Richard to see her face. He suddenly understood what she was referring to and burst into laughter, “You mean for that saint? Don't worry, and don't be afraid to give me trouble. If something like this happens again, I can kill a few of those fools.”

At this point, Richard sighed, “I feel like fighting!”

“Me too! All the bones in my body are itching!” Gangdor had the same thought.

Richard stood up and walked a few rounds inside the hall, “I know, but this isn't the time to declare war. Endure it for just a little while longer.”

A short while later, Gangdor and Waterflower left the hall in order. The former halted the moment he was out, about to say something, but before he could even turn around Waterflower crashed into his back.

“Hey! Aren't you awake yet?” the brute grimaced, rubbing his lower back. The girl's strength was astounding; even a thoughtless bump was comparable to a knight's blow.

“It's nothing!” One could tell Waterflower was lying with a single look at her face. However, she didn't wait for Gangdor's response and instead distanced herself, fleeing like the wind.

Gangdor gaped, scratching his head in bewilderment, “I just wanted to go look for some bandits to kill, why did she run away so quickly?”

The distant girl was already lost in her own thoughts, heart pounding as she wondered, 'He said I'm his woman... What... What does it mean?'

......

Another month passed by peacefully.

The first caravan to the dwarven kingdom returned a success, bringing back great benefits. Anyone would go crazy over the three million in profit, and Richard got an entire quarter of the goods. He didn't even take any gold, only grabbing the ores and metal.

The resounding triumph showed all the nobles of the Sequoia Kingdom the immense value of this trade route. They also saw firsthand the value of the 25% share in the profits Richard possessed. This was a wealth even the royal family would be jealous of, but it had entered the hands of a little frontier knight.

Even though his accomplishments were widely renowned in the Sequoia Kingdom, they hadn't been ratified by the royal family. Thus, he remained a titled knight despite the unprecedented success of the Bloodstained Highway. There was no need for anyone to remind him of what this meant— Richard knew a storm was coming.

This was a storm he had been anticipating for a long time.

502 - City of Sin

War!

Three burst fireballs and two Nature's Beckon spells were stored inside the Book of Holding. Richard had added four hundred points to his mana pool in the past month; even if he used Sacrifice with a grade 7 spell, he wouldn't drop in level.

He had also completed two rune sets on top of the Cryptic Heart rune on Flowsand's body, and with the 700 knights the broodmother sent him came the mounts he needed for his rune knights. He picked five level 12 Archeron warriors to form his first squadron, giving them a full set of runes that boosted them to near level 15. On top of that, Richard armed them with superior-grade equipment from head to toe.

Everything was prepared. All that was left was the pretext for war. And when Schachter rushed towards Bluewater City, he had no idea that he would soon become that very pretext.

Richard was in a rather good mood when the two met, a stark contrast from the baron. There was naturally a reason for this; meditation had been exceptionally effective in the past month, skyrocketing his mana growth to twofold what it was in the past. His growth rate was now nearly an order of magnitude beyond the regular mage, mainly because of the increased frequency of the more powerful astral rays. On top of that, the constant use of his blessings strengthened them as well.

Baron Schachter seemed travel-worn, hair dishevelled and the dirty stands sticking together. His eyes were completely bloodshot, a result of not having slept properly for a long time. The man was thinner than when they had last met, more haggard. It seemed like he had aged an entire decade in the time they had not met.

Schachter subconsciously wrung his hands, his voice tinged with insanity, “Sir Richard, you must help me! My father and family will be done for!”

Richard first instructed his servants to bring over a cup of black tea with some added alcohol, trying to calm Richard down, “There's no hurry, Schachter. Take your time and explain what's happened; you're safe here.”

Schachter finally relaxed, flashing a ruesome smile, “Sir Richard, the disaster to my family is actually because of that magic equipment you gave me....”

His narration was messy, but it wasn't long before Richard understood what had transpired. After confiscating the magic equipment that Schachter had sent to Earl Burr, the Mage Association had contacted him in secret. They promised to ignore his flouting the law completely as long as he admitted he had bought magic equipment illegally, even tempting him with the return of the equipment as well as discounted prices in the future.

When the enticement was combined with silent threats, the Earl eventually gave in and admitted that he had broken the laws of the Mage Association and bought a large batch of magic equipment, even writing it down. The Association had gone silent for a while after this, but they didn't return the seized equipment. Feeling uneasy, Earl Burr hadn't dared to ask for it either.

However, a dozen black-robed enforcer mages from the Association had assaulted the Earl's castle one week ago, using hundreds of elite knights to apprehend the man and occupy the castle. The Earl had then been taken to Lausanne, jailed in a secret prison. The admission of guilt that was meant to be a secret compromise had now turned into the most effective of weapons in court.

Interestingly enough, the Association had hidden the name of the supplier in public. They hadn't mentioned Richard's name at all. Still, when the news got out, the entire Sequoia Kingdom went into an uproar. The Association's domineering moves immediately left all the nobles uneasy and infuriated, condemning them without end. Even the King would not be willing to put an earl on trial so casually, but the mages had done just that. While they had a very good excuse for it, the nobles still wanted to know who exactly had given them so much authority.

However, Burr was a neutral noble who didn't align with either the royal family or any of the three dukes. This normally allowed him to avoid any conflicts, but this also meant he had no powerful allies to help him out of his emergency. For some reason, the royal family and the three dukes remained surprisingly quiet. The other nobles applied constant pressure to the Association, but the mages refused to answer.

With nobody at the helm, the aggressive protests eventually petered out. With nobody willing to stand out and battle such a powerful organisation, the public opinion was meaningless. Earl Burr was allowed to be put on trial.

“What will happen your father?” Richard asked after hearing everything.

“The best outcome is a large fine and the confiscation of all the magic equipment,” Schachter smiled bitterly, hesitating for a while before he continued, “As for the worst... He will be imprisoned, perhaps even executed.”

Richard immediately frowned, “Executed? Does the Mage Association even have the right to do that? Even the King cannot kill an earl so easily.”

“There are many ways to do it. They can secretly kill him in prison, telling the public that he died of sickness, age, or even suicide...”

Richard thought it over, realising that this was a likely outcome. At the very least, that would leave some honour for the other nobles, even if the excuse was rather flimsy.

“How about the territory?”

Schachter spread his arms, “Divided up, and then gradually taken apart. That's it.” With the leader of the family dying such a dishonourable death, even the most powerful of successors would not be able to keep control of the family's entire wealth. The Mage Association definitely wouldn't allow the successor of someone they killed to grow so easily either. It was all too likely for the inheritance to be split up, internal strife and external invasions tearing the Earl's lands apart.

Richard nodded, lifting his cup and tasting the black tea, “I can help you with this, but do you have the courage to oppose the Mage Association? And I don't mean in court.”

Schachter was surprised at first, seemingly a little flustered, but then he calmed down. His expression grew cold and merciless, hoarse voice ringing out viciously, “Yes! I will draw on every able fighter in my territory, giving you 2,000 warriors! However, only half of them can really battle. The other don't have full equipment and their training isn't complete.”

Richard knew that a baron would have to use everything to bring out 2,000 warriors. “Fine,” he answered, “Return and gather your army. When your men are ready, I will join the battle.”

Baron Schachter abruptly stood up and shouted, “One week! The army will be ready in one week!”

Richard took out a map of the Bloodstained Lands and pointed at his territory that was still being developed, “Good. This is my territory, assemble the regiment here. I will join you in a week.”

Schachter suddenly knelt on one knee and gestured with subservience, a courtesy reserved for a vassal with his lord. He then strode out of the hall.

All this while, Flowsand had been watching the conversation within the hall. As Richard started to amble back and forth around the hall, she finally spoke up, “This is a little strange. The Mage Association is basically challenging the authority of the King and the dukes, why are they so silent? We should ask Bevry, there must be a reason. And then there's the Association not mentioning you but letting Schachter ger away...” Considering the speed and power with which they had captured Earl Burr, it was impossible for Schachter to have escaped alive if the Mage Association didn't want him to leave.

Richard nodded, “Seems like this is a more difficult opponent than we'd expected. There's no need to ask the Duke anything; they just want to drag me into this. As for the royal family, they likely plan on grabbing my shares in the Bloodstained Highway. The profits from the route can be measured in tens of millions of gold every year, so they likely want to use a royal decree to take control of it and fix their image.”

“What do you plan on doing?”

“What else? We'll only talk after battle! No matter what they're planning, we want war as well. We can find out how powerful the Mage Association is after we meet them on the battlefield!”

“That's good! Io has been hoping for war every day.”

Hearing the name of the battle priest, Richard snorted. Flowsand mirrored his action, referring to something else as she said, “At least the battle priests of the Church don't have the habit of stripping at random!”

Richard stiffened up for a moment before suddenly grabbing her by the waist, dragging her into the bedroom. She scolded him and struggled for a while, but eventually gave in. However, she didn't use the martial arts of the church during the entire process; who knew if Richard would be able to win if she had.

503 - City of Sin

War Is Declared

Bevry sent Richard a letter through the communication array the next afternoon, explaining the situation with Earl Burr. The Mage Association was prepared to divide his shares in the Bloodstained Highway with the royal family, and was also investigating his background. They were growing suspicious of him, but they didn't have any definitive evidence yet. The current idea was to force out the 'teacher' backing him to ascertain his true power and background.

Richard snickered after reading through the letter, saying to Flowsand, “There's no need for my 'teacher' or the demigod to appear. The probe will stop at us alone!”

The letter did have some use. It showed that the royal family wasn't prepared to fight him in public, only planning to intervene from the shadows. In other words, his war would only be with the troops of the Mage Association. In other words, the royal family and the three dukes would continue to maintain their silence. Of course there were other alliances in secret, but at the very least he wouldn't become an enemy of the entire Sequoia Kingdom.

The atmosphere in Bluewater grew increasingly tense over the next few days. Richard's soldiers were pouring out of the city constantly, batches of them leaving the city. The nobles who started guessing at the destination came to an unsettling conclusion: he was heading towards the Sequoia Kingdom!

The soldiers had been in constant training over the past few months. Only half the initial 10,000 slaves were retained, but the total might of those troops had actually risen. The 600 barbarians, in particular, had fearful strength. Richard had only left 1,500 men to defend Bluewater, bringing the rest of his army and his followers to march towards the Sequoia Kingdom.

It was always Richard's clergy that left everyone jealous of Richard's army, and this time was no different. He drew on a few dozen clerics from the three churches, leaving less than ten to run the oasis city. The nobles who had eyes and ears everywhere quickly ascertained his intentions. His troops were gathering at his territory, prepared to head into the Sequoia Kingdom!

Given the latest news from the Kingdom itself, these nobles immediately linked his movements to the Mage Association.

......

In a small meeting room within the Mage Association headquarters in Lausanne, three mages were gathered around an old round table. The main theme of this room was mahogany, but with so much time having passed the wood now had a purple gloss over its surface. The short, narrow room had not been maintained well; the oil paintings of the gods drawn on top were terribly faded.

The three mages sitting around the table were all dressed in dark gold robes. Opposite Leon was the chairman of the Mage Association, Theodore, while at his side was a wizened old man named Hoover, the highest-level mage in the entire Association.

Theodore was extremely solemn, enunciating every word, “This is a rather significant move. The risk we are taking is a little too high.”

Leon sniggered, “If we succeed, we can terrify all the nobles of the Kingdom; the Association will ascend to an unprecedented position. How could such huge benefits be obtained without any risk? We still have everything under control. We can poison Burr to his death at any time.”

The chairman frowned, “No, that isn't appropriate. We still need to have him go through a public trial and admit his guilt. Master Monet is very adept as soul magic; we can just take control of Burr's mind.”

Leon revealed a mocking smile, “Do you think the others won't be able to tell he's being controlled? What's the point of it, we won't be fooling anyone!”

Theodore remained calm, “Even if we cannot fool a single person, we still need to do this. It is the last veil between us and the nobles of the Kingdom.”

“What an exquisite description!” Leon mocked, even applauding a few times. Google search 𝙛𝘳𝘦𝐞𝑤ℯ𝗯n𝗼ѵe𝑙. c૦𝑚

However, there was no change in the chairman's expression, as though Leon truly was praising him. He flipped through the information in front of him, “Is there nothing wrong with Richard? Have you figured out his origins?”

Leon frowned, “His first appearance seems to be related to a planar invasion in the Whiterock Dukedom. I went to the Church of Valour in the Kingdom and asked for the priest there to pray to Neian, but for some reason his connection has grown very weak. The priest hasn't obtained any prophecy in the past year; even with the highest grade of ceremony, he hasn't been able to establish contact.”

Theodore nodded, “The Churches of Time and Space have been reporting similar events. Runai hasn't spoken in the last six months, and Cerces was only slightly better with a single prophecy. But even that wasn't much; the prophecy only commanded them to grow the faith as quickly as possible.”

Leon frowned, “This is going to be a little troublesome, we need to put the investigation aside. While the people in the Bloodstained Lands are spreading all sorts of rumours, I still think the power behind Richard is a grand mage at most. There are only a few legendary mages in existence, how could a new one come up out of nowhere? If Richard is smart, he'll give up on the enchanted equipment and the Bloodstained Highway. If he doesn't let go... Hmph! There are quite a few uncontrollable people who die every year!”

Theodore lightly rapped the surface of the table, “I propose that the Association enter emergency mode, and all our soldiers and battle mages are to prepare for war. We need to be wary of the Direwolf Duke. While a mere titled knight shouldn't be amongst his core subordinates, he is still a vassal. We should also be on guard against the other two dukes and especially the King. He's the real fox in all of this.

“This is the mobilisation order. Take a look, if there's no problem with it we can proceed. Of course, I still maintain my opposition to this war. Keep the scale controlled.”

He then pushed a file over to Leon and Hoover, something that froze Leon's heart. If this document had already been prepared, then Theodore had anticipated the final conclusion of the meeting in advance. This old codger would be no pushover. Although he was only level 16, his intentions were incomprehensible. It would not be so easy to take control of the Association.

Leon took the document and scanned through it before pushing it over to Hoover, “Please take a look, Master Hoover. If you find no issue with it, I'm fine as well.”

Hoover gazed at the ceiling, completely oblivious to the discussions between the two. The interruption from Leon annoyed him, and he just signed the document without even a glance, “I just got an idea for an exquisite spell! Do whatever you want, don't disturb me. Is there anything else?”

Theodore and Leon exchanged glances, “No, that is all.”

Hoover immediately stood up, “Good, I'll be leaving!”

Theodore stood up, “Master Hoover, the situation right now is complicated. Could you work on your research in Lausanne? Your tower is very far; even if anything happens, you might not be able to rush back in time.”

Hoover snorted, “The crude laboratories here don't meet my requirements at all! I have to return. If there's a day that I don't keep an eye on those dwarves, they'll slack off.”

Having said this, the mage refused to pay attention to any further attempts as he pushed the door open to leave. Only Leon and Theodore were left in the meeting room, the temperature dropping.

......

The second month of summer was a month of unrest in the Sequoia Kingdom.

The Mage Association had suddenly captured Earl Burr, planning to put him on trial for breaking their monopoly on the trade of enchanted items. This was the most powerful noble that they had captured in history, and a huge challenge to the entire aristocracy. True nobles possessed almost complete sovereignty within the Sequoia Kingdom; even the royal army had to notify them before passing through. This was even more true for independent nobles like Burr, who could easily become vassals of a different country.

Secondly, the great success of the Bloodstained Highway had given the Kingdom a new understanding of the value of the Bloodstained Lands. They found that there was blood everywhere on the soil, but there was also gold strewn around as well. Every item brought back from Forgefires could make anyone go crazy, and all they had to send was food!

But it was the last shock that was the greatest. Richard had officially challenged the Mage Association to war, not as a mage but as a noble!

While many had guessed that the dealer who had sold to Earl Burr was Richard, but with the Association not accusing him directly it had yet to affect him. Still, he had jumped straight out and intervened in a powerful way.

Richard publicly gathered his army, commanding the Mage Association to release Earl Burr immediately. They had to repeal all laws against selling enchanted equipment in bulk for both him and Earl Burr's territory, and on top of that had to stop inflating the price of magic materials on the market.

If not, in his own words, “I don't mind using the blood of the mages to dye Lake Niwa red!

504 - City of Sin

Advance

Richard's demands were absolutely unacceptable to the Mage Association, and that was what he wanted as well. He wanted the war to be unavoidable.

He had already shown his talent as a tactician during the Bloodstained Highway project, However, the Mage Association was no ordinary organisation. Just the thought of sixteen grand mages would leave anyone with a heavy heart; even the nobles who had followed Richard through his campaign in the Bloodstained Lands were not optimistic of his chances this time.

The smarter ones thought he was posturing so he could retreat more gracefully, his final motive being to talk things out with the Mage Association and settling on a compromise. This was a normal thing in politics. However, the declaration from the Association Chairman the next day utterly crushed these conjectures. Theodore's statement was concise and left no loopholes, “The Mage Association will go all out to annihilate those who disrupt the order!”

Richard himself thought nothing of it, merely asking the nobles of the Sequoia Kingdom for access to their roads. He wanted to move freely in his fight against the Association, and any who hindered his army would be considered enemies.

Within a few days, the flames of war began to rage within the Sequoia Kingdom. The scale of this sudden war was huge, affecting many people. Io was burning with excitement, the fanatic battle priest now feeling like Richard wasn't too much of an eyesore. The Mage Association themselves gathered an army of 40,000 men from thirty or so allied nobles, with an entire regiment of nearly 2,000 royal knights amongst them. Although the lieutenant in charge of the troops stated that they were acting of their own accord, it was quite obvious that this was a silent show of the King's support.

With the influence gathered by the Mage Association over the years, more than half of the Kingdom's nobles had joined their cause. This included many who had fought alongside Richard in the past; although they now had the profits of the trade route, they were not optimistic about his chances against the Association.

Unexpectedly, the three dukes maintained absolute silence. Even Duke Grasberg, who was closely related to the royal family, made no move.

When the Mage Association formed its alliance, Richard immediately sent people back to Bluewater to monitor the nobles there. He informed them that all military power in the city would be requisitioned; the nobles could bow out, but to do so they would have to abandon all their weapons and horses before returning to their territories. No prisoners would be taken if a resistance was put up. One could remain neutral in this war, but if they wanted to do so they would have to lose all offensive strength.

Most of the nobles in Bluewater had fought beside him in the past, and his power had long since left a deep-rooted fear within them. Many chose to watch on as neutral parties, but still there was a small number who were overconfident in their might. Richard and his subordinates were not in the oasis city, only leaving behind Flowsand who was just a girl. Thus, they brazenly chose to resist.

Flowsand personally joined this battle, fighting the rebels with a hundred humanoid knights. The drones charged back and forth a few times to utterly decimate an enemy three times their size, only losing a handful to wipe out every single enemy. This did speak of the drones' power, but it was mostly due to the torrent of divine spells protecting them. She had been left behind to teach them exactly how much of an effect a powerful cleric could have in smaller battles.

Once the situation was stabilised, Flowsand took the remaining troops and left to join up with Richard. Only a thousand or so former slaves had been left behind to guard, the nobles present outnumbering them ten to one. However, the death of the vanguard had cowed the rebellion completely. Killing these guards would be easy, but how would they deal with Richard's vengeance? On top of that, Bluewater still had a council full of Richard's allies. The Golden Warflag, Demon Hunting Spears and the like would keep an eye on the place.
𝘧𝘳𝑒ℯ𝔀𝘦𝒃𝘯𝒐𝐯e𝗹. co𝐦

Richard himself started reorganising his army. There were some nobles in his camp, but they numbered less than ten and only four had any real power. Outside of Baron Schachter, it was Viscount Zim who sided with him resolutely. The pale, fat slob was now like a bull in mating season, jumping around and clamouring that he wanted to feed the old mages to the demons of the abyss. He seemed even more agitated than Richard himself.

Still, Zim wasn't a Viscount for nothing. He brought out all of the soldiers from his territory, not even leaving a basic defensive force, and even captured a hundred Golden Eagles. Using his own safety as a bargaining chip, he got them to obey orders.

Outside of that, although the Marquess of Strength Anrick hadn't publicly declared his position Rolf was still following by Richard's side. Following the swordsman were all of Anrick's forces in the Bloodstained Lands; the saint's faith had long since tied him to Richard's warship.

Lastly, Richard's most powerful and also surprising ally was actually Countess Katrina. She didn't just support him publicly, also personally leading 5,000 elite soldiers armed to their teeth to join Richard's camp.

The Countess participated in the name of protecting the father of her future child. No matter what, she would not give up her hope of having a child with the unicorn bloodline. This was understandable, but what left Richard speechless was the fact that she said she admired his lineage as well. To ensure her child was outstanding, she wouldn't mind letting him have a go as well.

But Richard did.

Katrina's participation meant there were more external soldiers in Richard's army than his own troops. This didn't align perfectly with his plans; if they wouldn't listen to his commands it would be better for him to fight alone. His army was thus organised quite simply: he separated the soldiers from the nobles into numerous 2,000-strong regiments, each headed by a crimson-armoured knight. The troops only needed to obey the knight, whether it was during marches or in battle. He personally took some of his troops and charged straight towards Lausanne.

......

Troops were still gathering at Lausanne. The war had come too suddenly for the Mage Association, and the alliance had too many people. Only two-thirds of the participating nobles managed to rush to the meeting in time, and the army itself wasn't completely mobilised.

Richard's territory was less than 400 kilometres away from the Association's headquarters. He had advanced very quickly, covering 150 kilometres in four days. Six fiefs had been passed along the way, and regardless of the strength of their lords or their ability in command, they had been destroyed in the blink of an eye. The only exception was a baron directly subordinate to one of the three dukes, who just accepted the token fee for borrowing his roads and left Richard to move on.

Richard's momentum immediately left these mages in disarray. The Association's elders and the nobles were still arguing over command, but with the immense pressure of the impending war they hastily chose grand mage Jack to be the general with the assistance of two others. The nobles elected the lieutenant of the royal knights from their end to be second in command.

The Association sent out dozens of mages to assist, while the Church of Valour also dispatched a squad of twenty as well. However, outside of a single level 14 priest, the rest were all clerics who weren't even level 6. In such a large battle, they were almost useless.

The alliance hurriedly came up with a grand army of 30,000 to face Richard's attack, sending out 500 light cavalrymen and 2,000 infantry as the vanguard. When Richard's spearhead of 200 knights met this troop, they immediately turned tail and ran. Seeing that they had an advantage in numbers and were faster as well, the 500 light cavalrymen pursued vehemently and quickly left the footsoldiers behind. They were never heard from ahead.

The first battle of the war had been lost, but that still didn't alarm Jack. Instead, he was furious, cursing at the uselessness of the royal lieutenant. This was because one of the lieutenant's subordinates had been in charge of the vanguard. The Association's troops continued to advance, but the vanguard was now 3,000 strong.

......

Richard was stopped on a tall mountain, watching the enemy troops on the horizon. Next to his small unicorn were two huge warhorses, their backs alone nearly two metres long. They were completely black, fine purplish scales dotting their necks and bodies. On the heads of these horses were bent horns; unlike the long, slender cone of the unicorn, they looked far more demonic.

Atop these magic horses were Gangdor and Tiramisu, who had finally gotten rid of their fate of running behind the army. The ogre mage buffed his eyesight with a spell before looking over the distance, speaking in a low, hoarse voice, “Just 3,000 of them. Master, let's end them!”

“The one in charge is a saint,” Richard smiled, “And there's also a grand mage amongst them.”

“Faelor's saints are nothing!” Gangdor spat on the ground, brandishing his giant axe, “My axe is thirsty for... Umm...”

505 - City of Sin

Showdown

Gangdor stopped in the middle of his blustering, realising that a fight with a Faelor saint could end either way. His epic axe could drink the blood of the enemy, but the same held true either way. Although he liked boasting, he wasn't one to shoot his own mouth off.

Richard couldn't help but laugh, “The only one of us who can destroy a saint alone is Waterflower. You're still not that powerful.”

Gangdor scratched his head in embarrassment, “Am I... Am I in too much of a hurry to prove myself?”

Richard just shook his head, “You're not even in the same conversation when it comes to runes. This... how do I put it... You can't make up for it yet. The Guide of Secrets is my best accomplishment to date, but it's a seven rune set. You don't have so many positions on your body, and your carrying capacity isn't comparable to hers.”

“Then forget it,” the brute replied resentfully, “Hmph! Bullying a little girl isn't so great anyway. I'll fight you next time, Tiramisu!”

“Deal!” The ogre laughed, “I'll fight you when I get my second head. Don't worry, it won't be long!”

Gangdor was dumbstruck for a while, and all that followed was a curse, “Damn you!”

“Alright, get serious! All of you will be in charge of your own planes in the future, so take the opportunity to learn to lead. Why am I letting them go?” Richard pointed at the 3,000 men in the distance, “That fish is too small!”

Richard was on the constant retreat over the next few days, seemingly afraid of the powerful vanguard of the alliance. However, this meant Jack's troops didn't get any glamorous fights. Although Richard's army had quite a few footsoldiers, their speed left the grand mage flabbergasted. No matter what methods they thought up, the Mage Association's troops just couldn't catch up to his forces.

The only plausible way was to have the cavalry break away from the main army and strike alone.

However, this proposal immediately caused a dispute amongst those in charge. The lieutenant of the royal knights was firm in his decision not to divide the troops, bringing up countless instances where Richard had punished such stupidity. He argued that it was all a scheme to divide their army so Richard could dance around them.

On the other hand, Jack coldly threw a stack of papers in the lieutenant's face, “We have 7,000 cavalrymen, and Richard has less than 6,000 soldiers combined in his main army. Do you really think 7000 men and 2,000 royal knights won't be able to beat 6,000 footsoldiers? Even a fool can see our absolute advantage in forces. You're saying you can't even win this, was your brain eaten by pigs?”

The lieutenant was level 17, and the humiliation turned his resolute face red and then purple. He suppressed his fury as best he could, but his voice still held an uncontrollable tremble within it, “The problem isn't the ratio of forces, it's the likelihood of a trap. Richard is definitely hoping for us to split up our forces.”

“Fine, then tell me this. Where is his trap?” Jack questioned overbearingly.

“Richard wants to split our army apart, focusing his most powerful troops to surround and annihilate our cavalry.”

Jack laughed in an exaggerated manner, “Do you really think he is some god of war? Take a look before saying anything else!”

The lieutenant picked up the papers Jack had thrown over, scanning through it. Listed out on it was Richard's current military situation in an extremely detailed manner, the only exclusions being the recent set of humanoid knights from the broodmother who hadn't shown up in Bluewater at all. After the army came information about basically all of Richard's followers, including name, class, and level. Then there were the mages and clerics, but with their individual levels not being amazing the only detail was the number at each level.

Based on this alone, Richard really wasn't much to fear. The only powerhouse worth looking at was Rolf, but this was a familiar name within the Sequoia Kingdom that was acknowledged to be rather weak for a saint. Viscount Zim and Countess Katrina would be a little more troubling, but that was only because of their status. They just had to be left alive.

Richard's soldiers had all been slaves only a few months ago. How much power could a slave army even have?

“Do you see it, my saint vice-general? Are your 7,000 cavalrymen and 2,000 royal knights not enough to deal with 5,000 former slaves? I really wonder how you became a saint. Is it that you fellows are only heroes on the stomachs of your women, that you don't even dare to square up for a fight against slaves?” Jack's words were scathing.

The lieutenant's entire face twitched; he had no idea how he managed to endure the urge to punch Jack's face. He didn't actually know how ambitious Jack was. The grand mage's primary desire was to show off in this battle, changing his red robes to dark gold.

He had paid an enormous price to get the position of general of the allied armies. It wasn't just a formality; as long as he won, Leon promised to make him vice-chairman after wresting control from Theodore.

The lieutenant's hands trembled in speechlessness. There truly was no way to lose given the information on this piece of paper, but if battles were won based on numbers alone even a pig could be a general. However, he knew exactly why he was participating in this war in his 'own' capacity. He could ignore Jack, but given such an obvious advantage in strength he couldn't explain himself to his true master if he still refused to send out the troops.

Jack pulled out a map and marked down a part of it, “I've made the calculations. As long as we mobilise the entire cavalry, we'll be able to catch up to Richard's main forces in this region. The land is flat for a dozen kilometres in all directions, so even if he plans to ambush us we will have a minimum of three hours to react. Is that not enough for you to wipe out 5,000 slaves?”

The lieutenant could not refute, but his instincts kept yelling that things would not be so simple. How could Richard be able to defeat Salwyn with fewer troops if he didn't have his ways? This was SALWYN! The Prince would be able to crush the Mage Association before they even knew what was going on!

Jack jabbed at the map, “That's it! Gather all the cavalry, we pursue at full force! Eliminate Richard's main forces at the Sunset Plains; even if he sets up an ambush, we can destroy his main army and gobble up the rest. That should teach him!”

The nobles present in the meeting all cheered and parroted the grand mage's decision. The course had been set.

......

The very next day, the allied army gathered all 7,000 cavalrymen and began to pursue Richard's troops in full force. However, the first contact wasn't as simple as imagined. It took them a full day's chase to close a gap of a few dozen kilometres, and by the time they were anywhere close it was already night. After an entire day's charge, the allied soldiers were all out of stamina. Although Jack was anxious for a fight, he still had to rest and just send a squad of scouts to keep track of Richard's men.

What Jack couldn't see was a few battalions moving to surround them in the night. These men arrived at predetermined locations and set up camp to rest, while the main forces moved a dozen kilometres away and began to recuperate as well.

Looking from a bird's eye view, one could see that Richard's flanks were like sharp spears pointed at the Sunset Plains. This battlefield hadn't been Jack's choice to make.

......

The seventh day of the second month of summer was fated to be the most important in the Sequoia Kingdom's history. The Mage Association's soldiers finally caught up to Richard's army at the Sunset Plains, and he finally gave up on running and organised his men to fight despite the numerical disadvantage.

A thousand metres away, Jack couldn't help but lick his dry lips in excitement, telling the lieutenant, “Attack! Take this chance to defeat them!”

Although he hated the grand mage, the lieutenant had no choice but to go all out. He waved his hand and a thousand royal knights broke out of the army, slowly charging towards Richard's front line.

Richard smiled from atop his unicorn, “They're actually using their most powerful elites from the start. Looks like this fight will be easier than I expected.”

The distance was quickly reduced to a mere 300 metres. These 1,000 knights were all elites above level 7, the lances in their hands seven metres long and a hundred kilograms in weight. A full-power attack from these weapons could poke a hole through heavy infantry with tower shields!

However, when they approached the 100-metre point, Richard's heavy infantry suddenly scattered. A few hundred light infantrymen charged to the front and half-knelt on the ground, pointing strange weapons with bowl-sized muzzles at the incoming charge. Google search 𝑓𝗿e𝐞𝓌𝙚𝙗𝑛o𝚟e𝙡. c𝚘𝚖

“Dwarven muskets! Why are there so many?!” Jack's pupils shrank, but as well-read as he was he immediately shook his head, “It's fine, guns aren't strong enough to break through the armour of the royal knights.”

However, the lieutenant did not think the same. The moment he saw hundreds of guns, his expression darkened. He immediately rushed to the front lines and yelled at the top of his lungs, having the second wave of knights rush out.

Hundreds of explosions rang out at the same time, spewing smoke and fire everywhere. Only a few dozen royal knights were shot off their horses, but the loud rumble startled all their warhorses.

506 - City of Sin

Showdown(2)

The Sequoia Kingdom's warhorses were fitted with special helmets meant to dampen the sound of nearby explosions or any magic. These beasts were also trained to overcome their natural fear of fire. However, the thundering sound and thick smoke from hundreds of muskets going off at once far surpassed any ordinary spell. Many of the horses reared up and threw off their riders, while even more slowed down and started turning in place.

The hundreds who fell were fated to be crippled, if not killed in the midst of the stampede. However, that wasn't even the worst part: the effect of the casualties was dwarfed by the loss of speed. With less than a hundred metres left, these heavy cavalrymen wouldn't be able to regain the momentum for an effective charge.

Several hundred axes flew out from behind Richard's infantry, finding their marks on the heads of those knights who were too occupied with calming their steeds. Another few hundred fell, and the gunmen took the time to discard the used muskets and fire another volley from the guns on their backs.

Another thunderous boom rang out as a few dozen knights flew off their mounts. More importantly, the horses that had been calmed down were frightened once more. Even the second wave charging in from behind was obstructed.

The first attack of the alliance, its most formidable, was almost completely nullified. While a few exceptional riders managed to avoid their fallen comrades and reach Richard's front line, the charge didn't manage anything at all. At the front of the army were barbarians with heavy shields. These herculean men might not be able to stop a full charge, but this disorganised attack was stopped and the knights bogged down in a melee.

The situation instantly devolved into chaos.

Jack's face turned a ghastly pale, the same as the lieutenant's. He had never imagined that former slaves could be so ferocious, and finally realised Richard's army wasn't as weak as it appeared. The glow of magic and divine spells on the warriors was enough indication of the sheer power of Richard's clergy and mage corps; their strength was far beyond what the information sheet made it seem. With so many clerics and mages, even a slave could become a war machine!

In addition, the constant chant of Richard's bard assaulted the alliance's morale. Olar could now support all the soldiers within fifty metres of him, far exceeding others of his level. His own contribution to the army's strength was catching up to Io's.

The lieutenant could only grumble to himself about Jack's stupidity. How could the fool assume Neian's clergy could compare in any way to this force of mages and clerics? Even an idiot would know that number wasn't everything. The divine glow of the opposing priests and clerics made it clear that the Church of Valour would be soundly crushed.

With his keen senses, Jack could feel something was amiss. However, he couldn't tell exactly what it was. Consequences be damned, he bypassed the lieutenant's command and ordered everyone outside of the 500 guards to engage the enemy. A bloodbath ensued on the open plains.

The lieutenant stared intently at the thousands of unmoving humanoid knights behind Richard's lines, his eyes twitching constantly.

That was when the nightmare began. The ground suddenly quaked, a cloud of dust appearing in the distance. Five full battalions of cavalrymen appeared at the edges of the battlefield, closing in quickly.

The lieutenant didn't need to check that they were Richard's troops. Still, they were only ten minutes into the battle! The only way for this to happen was if these forces were ready an hour ago, but how was that even possible? Wouldn't it make Richard an all-seeing god?

Even the gods couldn't possibly be omnipotent. While the lieutenant was still wondering how to act, Richard's army suddenly switched to the offensive. Thousands of cavalrymen formed a deluge of steel that surged straight towards the core of Jack's army.

The knights and cavalrymen of the alliance attempted to stop them in their path, but just the first clash killed off a good portion of the defenders. Even the royal knights could not compare to Richard's humanoids, a level difference only supplemented by the gap in equipment. Most of the alliance weapons were cut apart by the knights' halberds in the initial clash, leading to a gory death!

The defensive line of 500 knights was cut through like a roll of cheese. Gangdor and Tiramisu became the spearhead of the charge, not even bothering to fight their enemies 'properly'; simple swings of their weapons sent their targets flying away, mounts included.

The momentum of thousands of humanoid knights charging in unison was unstoppable, to the point that even the lieutenant who regularly saw the Kingdom's war games found it breathtaking. Richard seemed to remain fully alert in the midst of all these knights, as though he was the sole focus of this battle. This was the air of a true superior.

Jack saw the enemy mage point at him from several hundred metres away, turning his thumb downwards and moving it across his throat. He immediately grew furious, jumping off his horse with staff in hand as he prepared to teach Richard a lesson. The overconfident kid was only level 13; he wouldn't be able to change his fate in the face of a powerful grade 8 spell.

However, the lieutenant would allow no such thing. If Richard's wave of knights wasn't stopped, they would completely smash through the weak core of the army. It would be a complete disaster.

The man let out a mighty roar, his entire body glowing as his muscles swelled up to twice their prior size. He led several dozen men in a desperate charge towards Richard's assault.

“A saint? Interesting!” Richard seemed to relish the moment, “ROLF! He's all yours!”

“Worry not!” the saint swordsman would once have fled at the sight of this lieutenant, but with a War Construct scroll and his new rune he wasn't a coward anymore.

“There are two more saints. Tammy, take care of one!” Tammy roared violently, his aggression evident for all to see as he charged straight towards the enemy.

“Boss, there's one more!” Gangdor was itching to fight.

However, Richard would not grant him the chance, “Bury him with knights!”

Gangdor felt somewhat disappointed, but that was nothing in comparison to the distress felt by the saint Richard had designated. That man saw hundreds of knights in spear formation barrelling towards him, his mouth starting to twitch as he nearly fled the battlefield. With his wealth of experience, he naturally knew that his individual strength wouldn't mean anything if he were to be surrounded. Their overpowering strength and coordination would leave the chances of survival unusually slim.

“RICHARD!” an unusual roar rose above the battlefield, the volume enhanced so greatly due to magic. Every pair of eyes immediately landed on the source of the voice, only to see Jack with his staff raised and levitating in mid-air, “I am here, come and fight me!”

The grand mage signalled for all of his bodyguards and the two other grand mages to distance themselves, hovering alone in mid-air and gazing down upon the battlefield. The message was evident: this would be a duel between mages with no interference from their subordinates.

“You're a grand mage!” Richard replied in his own augmented voice, “Can I bring another to fight alongside me?”

The corners of Jack's mouth curled downwards, nearly forming a right angle with his chin. He called out in a clearly ancient voice, “Of course! I am a red-robed elder of the Mage Association. You can choose any second you want, even Rolf!”

Richard laughed, “Flowsand, let's go!”

The grand mage grew furious at the sight of Flowsand. “You call upon a girl to fight me, a mere level 12 child? How dare you!”

Richard had already begun manoeuvering his unicorn, its horn pointed straight at the grand mage. “Let's see if you can survive this first, you old fool!” he said with a laugh.

Jack didn't continue to waste his breath. He began a chant the moment Richard was in range, words rapid but clear. A grade 8 spell would be unleashed in less than three seconds, something that left even his two fellow elders surprised and envious. They had known he was formidable, but not to such a degree.

But then, Richard stunned everyone present. He took out a tome with a copper cover and flipped it open, sending a burst fireball flying forth with a wave of his hand.

An instant cast of a grade 7 spell? Wouldn't that mean Richard could cast grade 9 spells? Jack's eyes bulged, but he didn't have the time to be furious about the lacking intelligence. He immediately interrupted his chant and began weaving barriers without end. His prior defences could only withstand grade 6 spells or below, just enough to face off against a normal level 13 mage, Who could have expected Richard to send forth a burst fireball with just a wave?

The flames of a burst fireball differed from those of normal ones, burning bright yellow and surpassing the normal ones in temperature and explosive might. Before the blaze of the first explosion even faded away, Richard continued to flip through the Book of Holding and sent two more hurtling in his opponent's direction. There was almost no gap between them!

Jack screamed in shock and rage. He would never have expected Richard to be able to instantly cast grade 7 spells. He himself couldn't insta-cast a single one, forget three in rapid succession.

These three fireballs would blow away all of his defences. They were not enough to kill him, but they would leave him with severe injuries.

507 - City of Sin

Breaking The Enemy

“Flowsand!” Richard called out after launching the three burst fireballs, and a divine glow immediately fell upon him. He started casting more fireballs, and although they were ordinary ones they streamed out at an unbelievable rate. Seven or eight fireballs shot out in a straight line to cover the hundred metres between him and Jack.

The two other grand mages didn't have to see the outcome to know that nothing would be left behind. Of course, Richard could tell the same. He turned the moment the eighth fireball left his hands, pointing the next towards one of the two while laughing.

“RICHARD!” a voice howled as it was consumed by the inferno.

A total of eleven fireballs instantly poured down onto this new target. A scream of desperation rang out as a storm of mana instantly put out the blaze, the mage staggering out from the embers before falling to the ground only a few steps away. He was the very definition of haggard; skin burnt while his hair, brows, and beard, were practically all gone. Even a good portion of his robes had been scorched.

The grand mage hadn't expected Richard to even be able to attack him out of the blue, forget this flood of fireballs that defied everything he knew about magic. Fortunately, his status gave him some support. His robe's defences had been activated in the nick of time, and a barrier cast from a scroll had borne the brunt of the assault.

Richard felt exhausted by now. Looking at the charred grand mage, he felt a pang of pity; he wanted to end the man's life with a coup de grace. But then he felt a strong magical disturbance in the middle of the battlefield. A portal appeared mid-air and Jack emerged from within, losing his balance and landing pitifully on the ground.

“A dimension shift! Damn it, he escaped!” Richard couldn't help but yell. However, Jack fared no better than the grand mage who was nearly cooked alive. His brief shift had allowed him to survive, but the three initial burst fireballs had severely wounded him.

“Guards! Kill Richard!” Jack no longer cared about his decorum and reputation, face contorting as he howled madly. Richard was now a distance away from his own bodyguards, so the allied knights quickly surrounded him.

Richard shook his head, leaping onto the unicorn and helping Flowsand up behind him. Facing the mad charge of the opponents, he laughed and flipped open the Book of Holding.

A bright glow covered the battlefield, and twelve raptors that were each fiercer than a direbear flashed into existence. They entered a proper semicircle formation, barring the path to Richard. Their breaths frightened the alliance's warhorses as they tore into the enemy ranks with a growl. A single bite and shake from those powerful jaws tore off chunks of flesh from the riders' legs or their mounts, the heavy armour unable to do a thing.

With the raptors holding off the enemy, Richard immediately retreated to his camp. The unicorn finally showed exactly why it was such a mythical beast, running at full speed even with two riders on its back. It was moving faster than even the best warhorses could at a full gallop.

At this point, the grand mage who had just experienced a brush with death pointed at the Book of Holding in Richard's hands, his voice trembling, “A divine artefact! That's a divine artefact!”

A divine artefact! Almost nobody could help turning around for a look, even Jack who was retreating. The fires of desire raged in the grand mage's eyes, evident for all to see. A divine artefact could spark a war between two nations, regardless of its grade. Jack couldn't resist such a temptation. Utterly bested in the duel, he found himself a silver lining. Losing to a divine artefact was far better than losing to a level 13 mage.

Faced with the greed of the allied forces, Richard could only sneer. That forced Jack to recognise the severity of the situation: forget seizing the artefact, even survival and escape would be a problem.

The entire perimeter had been blockaded, a crimson knight each leading the five battalions in a charge towards the allied cavalry that was tied down by Richard's main force. There was no hope of shaking them off.

Tired as he was, retreated to the rear. However, he remained in command of all his troops.

The central formation guarding the three mages fought back at all costs, 500 of the Kingdom's best knights engaging in a bloody battle against the same number of humanoids. Several hundred other humanoid knights arranged themselves into tight formations, cutting through the royal soldiers with almost no effort.

Richard kept his eye on this battle. Once the last grand mage summoned a meteor to strike down a dozen humanoids, he knew his opportunity had arrived. “IO!” he roared, simultaneously sending an order from his mind.

The battle priest answered the call and emerged from the fray, only to see Gangdor roaring like a beast in the middle of a charge towards the enemy's core. Five strange knights were arranged in a packed formation behind him, following closely. Six imposing magical mounts shook the earth, leaving a cloud of dust in their wake.

There was a faint glow on the bodies of the five knights, extending from the breastplate to their steeds. The sharp lines of light formed images of light, those who were sharp-eyed able to tell that these images were perfectly identical.

Io was excited at the prospect of such a daring charge, howling at the top of his lungs. An unknown amount of blessings rained down on the strike force in an instant, equalling multiple grade 2 runes at the least.

Seeing the situation deteriorate, the knight leading the central formation roared madly and charged towards Gangdor. The brute laughed loudly, brandishing his axe. He clamped his legs together and his steed leapt into the air, putting the full weight of itself and its master behind the next attack.

The knight captain yelled loudly as he manoeuvered his spear to parry Gangdor's slash. A powerful bright light burst forth from his body in that instant; this was another powerful saint. However, although he managed to withstand the strike his mount could not. The horse underneath him neighed in pain, collapsing instantly.

The recoil from the blow sent Gangdor's mount tumbling a few steps backwards, while the brute's arms grew numb from the impact. He still couldn't fight a saint head-on.

However, two more knights swiftly streamed in from beside Gangdor, their spears aimed at the enemy. The captain felt an extreme sense of danger and bellowed, trying to parry the oncoming strikes, but the knights let out a war cry that focused a green light on their speartips, coalescing their energies into a blinding flash. The captain felt the power of the attacks double, and could only watch helplessly as his weapon flew out of his hands. The two knights then buried their spears into his ribs, one on each side.

Gangdor quickly followed up, taking off the man's head with a swing of his axe.

With the saint now dead, nobody could hope to hold off this charge. With Gangdor at the helm, these knights pierced through the alliance lines like a hot knife through butter, coming through on the other side with dozens of bodies in their wake. The enemy troops were left in a pathetic state, unable to offer any serious resistance at all.

Gangdor howled wildly, twirling his axe in the air and shaking off a stream of fresh blood. He turned his mount around, charging into the enemy formation once more. The five knights remained in formation, following him back in. Google search 𝘧𝓇𝗲e𝑤𝑒𝙗noѵ𝒆𝚕. 𝒄o𝓶

This time, Gangdor's axe was aimed at the last healthy grand mage. His target was immediately so terrified that he didn't even bother to attack, casting a flight spell and taking to the air to flee.

Although this force was small, it was the first use of rune knights in Faelor.

The mage knew flying above a battlefield was an extremely dumb move that would make him a live target for numerous mages and archers. However, he did not care; in the middle of his terror, his only concern was fleeing from this hell.

Busy maintaining the war chant, Olar couldn't react in time to fire his arrows. However, Richard now had more than a dozen mages in his employ. Several colourful spells immediately streaked across the sky, crashing into the flying grand mage. Slows, numbness, insanity, silence, poison... A myriad of curses rained down on this enemy, with even a few divine spells thrown in. Io had instantly cast three spells to stop the man, while Flowsand had cast two. Richard's men were all some combination of experienced, cunning, and clever. They knew well how to prevent a target from fleeing.

The grand mage immediately stopped in mid-air, his body thrashing about in the wind as he suffered the numerous spells assaulting him. It was at this point that a ball of grey light flew towards him from Richard's direction.

This dispel did not differentiate between friend and foe. It cured the mage of most of his ailments, but it also cancelled the flight spell he had cast. The fellow screamed as he plummeted to the ground from thirty metres in the sky. Given the physique of Faelor's mages, he would likely be severely injured.

The outcome of the battle was set in stone. Seven thousand cavalrymen were surrounded by 16,000 men. The humanoid knights had the advantage in numbers, level, equipment, and tactics, massacring the weak enemy. Gangdor led the rune knights to destroy any pockets of resistance, crushing their formation with overwhelming might. This small force was unstoppable as they swept through the battlefield.

The lieutenant of the royal family stood motionless in the middle of the battlefield. “It's over,” Richard said softly as Waterflower pulled the Shepherd of Eternal Rest from his body.

Indeed, it was. The allied forces had been annihilated in the battle at the Sunset Plains, only a few hundred of the 7,000 cavalrymen managing to escape. The alliance had also lost four powerful saints and two grand mages, another taken as a prisoner of war after suffering severe injuries.

This battle spread Richard's name far and wide.

508 - City of Sin

The First Magic War

If there was anything at all during the battle in the Sunset Plains that annoyed Richard, it occurred in the last moments of the fight. A golden pillar of light charged into the air, milky white divine runes dancing around its silent imposition. Io had reached level 15.

The battle priest had obviously done it on purpose. Even an ascension to level 19 would not be so majestic. However, Richard didn't really care about him anymore. Although the fellow seemed to have some secret intentions regarding Flowsand, he truly was indispensable in battle. He could have his fame; Richard's mind had already shifted to developing his astral affinity further.

The cavalry of the alliance was composed of elite soldiers from numerous nobles. While Richard had the upper hand, it was much harder to kill them all than to just defeat them. He had suffered over a thousand losses in order to annihilate this enemy. However, this was completely worth it; the Mage Association was now a snake with its fangs removed, its footsoldiers nothing to worry about. The only issue was the thirteen grand mages still watching over them.

He was in no hurry to advance once the battle was won. He announced that he would accept the surrender of the enemy nobles; even if they had just gotten to the battlefield, any willing to side with him would be accepted without discrimination. Richard gave these nobles three days to consider the offer; once their time was up, he would not be able to guarantee their safety if they still sided with the Association.

This declaration caused another huge uproar in the Sequoia Kingdom. Very few of the nobles who had rallied behind the Mage Association actually benefited from them; the grand mages just had a hand at their throats. The Association's might had been burnt into their hearts over many centuries.

Enchanted armour and weapons were the most powerful equipment on Faelor. If the channels of purchase were blocked off, the combined battle might of the Sequoia Kingdom would plummet. This could not be made up for without enough wealth to purchase these things from other channels. The only nobles who could remain neutral were those who had enough individual power to ignore the Association's demands.

There was no lack of nobles who personally approved of Richard's challenge to the Mage Association's authority. However, the stand of a family wasn't affected purely by agreeability. In a world where might made right, the laws were set by the powerful. At least before the battle at the Sunset Plains, Richard didn't seem to have any chances of victory. Nobody had expected things to turn out this way.

The nobles in the allied army were left in turmoil. Some argued amongst themselves, others accused each other, and even more were secretly trying to make moves under the table. However, that last group was set up for disappointment; Richard refused to accept any secret deals unless the nobles were willing to become double agents.

Three days later, Richard signalled for his army to advance. This time he only brought his cavalry and the extremely flexible barbarian warriors, as well as the throwers. They marched 150 kilometres in one day, wiping out four nobles who had sworn loyalty to the Mage Association. The thousands of soldiers on the defence were utterly defeated, two barons and a titled knight becoming Richard's slaves. The women in their families were turned into prostitutes, sold off and distributed amongst those who followed him.

When asked about this decision, Richard merely said, “My enemies shouldn't even think about preserving any dignity!”

This was a cruel decision, and an intimidating one. When it reached the ears of grand mage Leon, the vice-chairman of the Mage Association smashed everything in sight.

“THAT FELLOW ISN'T FIT TO BE A NOBLE!” Leon's shouts resounded throughout the building. He hadn't expected that his methods of stirring up trouble couldn't even compare to Richard's. Under this matchless intimidation, most of the Sequoia Kingdom's nobles turned neutral in a single night.

The three Dukes continued their silence, but everyone knew that Bevry was Richard's lord. Richard's unyielding nature and viciousness obviously had the Direwolf Duke's approval. Duke Hamilton, reputed for being a sly fox, was said to be in a secret alliance with the Direwolf Duke. He could join Richard's cause at any time as well.

As for Bevry's mortal enemy, Duke Grasberg, his direct vassals had maintained neutrality but some others had joined the alliance. The relationship between the royal family and the Duke was quite intricate, but the man was now in a very awkward situation. An extremely important member of his family, Viscount Zim, had grown fiercely loyal to Richard. The psychologists in the Kingdom had all sorts of hypotheses about this, but most were just ridiculous. Whatever it was, Richard had a hundred Golden Eagles amongst his ranks.

Only six nobles remained at the Mage Association's side; their army now numbered less than 20,000.

Leon was left on the verge of tears, but the royal family finally gave him a trace of hope. They broke their long silence, reinforcing him with 3,000 royal knights. However, this stand had come too late; it had basically no effect on the nobles who had already picked their sides. The entire kingdom was just watching on as they awaited a grand war.

......
𝑓ree𝑤𝘦𝚋𝐧𝘰ve𝑙. co𝒎

Leon personally took to the field, leading his 22,000 men against Richard's army of 20,000 in a decisive battle at the Crimson Gorge.

Salwyn had once said that he had no confidence against Richard in a battle with similar numbers. Leon was a genius mage, but he couldn't compare to Salwyn in terms of leading troops. The prince had already proven himself in dozens of battles of varying scale; put bluntly, the two weren't even on the same level. However, Leon was too arrogant to think that way. He believed magic was greater than everything else in existence, and a genius mage understood the truth of the world. Commanding some soldiers would be nothing difficult, or so he thought as he led his troops to a massacre.

In reality, the humanoid knights ensured that Richard's forces actually held an advantage over the allied forces despite their numbers. Leon ended up watching in stupefaction as Richard's cavalry broke through his battle formation in one stroke, dashing any hopes he had in the royal knights. The outcome had been decided in the first attack.

Countess Katrina had shone brightly in this campaign. The tall, fit beauty with fair skin looked flashy as she rode her chariot out to war, her soft skin knocking a full ten years off her nearly thirty years of age. She led her soldiers from Richard's left flank, destroying any resistance she faced while Richard pierced through the centre of Leon's army. Her clear shouts rang through the battlefield as the huge army of 5,000 charged forward and cut off the allied soldiers' retreat!

No matter how useless Leon was, the sight of the Countess' vanguard and Richard's knights joining hands was enough for him to realise he had lost. The cruel mage was quite decisive, opening a randomised portal in the middle of the battlefield and escaping far away.

The battle at the Crimson Gorge had thus ended with the total defeat of the allied army. They had lost two more saints and two more grand mages over the course of the fight, 8,000 soldiers dead and over 10,000 taken prisoner. All 3,000 of the royal knights had been killed in battle, not even one taken captive. Two-thirds of the Sequoia Kingdom's most elite cavalry had thus been wiped out, leaving the royal family in imminent danger.

While Richard had paid a price of nearly 4,000 warriors, he had crushed all of his enemies. The royal family would not be able to recover from their losses any time soon. This had been a stroke of luck; if someone competent had been in charge, it would have been extremely difficult to stop the royal knights and the many mages of the Association from coordinating an escape. He would have needed to pay a much larger price.

Now, he was one of the most powerful beings in the Sequoia Kingdom, standing shoulder to shoulder with the three dukes and what was left of the royal family. This left the power structure of the Kingdom in dire straits.

Leon had disappeared ever since the decisive battle, and power fell back into Theodore's hands. The first thing he did was to capture the two remaining grand mages loyal to Leon, using them to seek negotiations with Richard.

While grand mage Hoover was outstanding at level 18, he wisely chose not to state his opinion. No matter how powerful he was as an individual, he couldn't fight Richard's army on his own. Even if he had the support of a magic tower, Richard could just cut off all reinforcements and starve him out.

Besides, the news of Richard using a divine weapon to heavily injure Jack and another grand mage was slowly spreading. This forced the incomparably proud Hoover to swallow his rage; Leon's deductions had turned out wrong. Who else but a legendary mage could give their disciple divine weapons as equipment?

Richard made two requests in the face of Theodore's peace offering. One was for the Association to give up their monopoly on enchanted equipment, allowing him to freely dump his stock into the Sequoia Kingdom. The second was to make him a dark gold mage, giving him the right to add any new members to the Association as he saw fit and employ any of its mages. He hadn't expected the Association to agree to such a request, but Theodore had nodded readily.

His war with the Mage Association thus ended in a huge victory. In the history of the Sequoia Kingdom, it would come to be known as the First Magic War.

509 - City of Sin

Broken Ending

Richard had basically destroyed the Mage Association, but he ended up allowing them to retain two-thirds of their profits in line with the nine remaining grand mages. They would likely have been taken apart in their dying state, so instead of leaving things be, he decided to usher in a new world order. That was why he had agreed to negotiations.

The damage to the Sequoia Kingdom's royal family was second only to that done to the Mage Association. The political hierarchy of the Kingdom was already broken, and Richard would never let go of such a good opportunity. He only returned a third of the land he had occupied on his route to Lausanne, leaving the remaining two-thirds in his possession. This made his fief comparable to that of a full marquess.

While some relatives or allies of the vanquished offered a bit of weak resistance, argument without war always ended just like with the Association's capture of Earl Burr; nothing would be accomplished.

When Bevry allowed Richard to skip ranks and directly granted him the title of viscount, all protests disappeared like the wind. The only reason a higher rank wasn't afforded was that it could only be done if he swore fealty to the royal family in name. Neither Richard nor the royal family were interested in something like that.

In the end, he found himself with no competitors in the Sequoia Kingdom. If any of the three dukes or even the royal family wished to go to war with him, he could completely and utterly destroy them. Facing all of them together would pose a problem, but that was an impossibility. Bevry and Duke Grasberg were still intricately tied to him in their own ways.

After the chaos of war came the time for the victors to split the loot. This had always been one of Richard's strong suits, but for some reason he felt it incredibly dull. Watching the royal family suddenly grow active and the Mage Association compromise, seeing the looks of reverence and fere from those around him, he suddenly felt like the entire situation was rather hilarious and unreal. The war that had just passed was historic in the context of the Kingdom, but even just considering Faelor it was only a blip on the radar.

And what about outside of Faelor? The Sequoia Kingdom and Theodore had no idea what rune knights were. They knew not of Norland's existence, and even less of the Eternal Dragon. In the eyes of those above them, their struggles were nothing more than a joke.

However, he couldn't bring himself to laugh like that. If someone on the level of the old dragon was watching, was he not a joke as well? It was very likely so.

He had his followers take care of the chaos, taking his desolate feelings and the initial loot and quietly returning to Norland.

As was the norm, most of the spoils came in the form of metal and precious ores. Since many nobles who had participated in the Bloodstained Highway project had stood on the side of the Mage Association, he hadn't hesitated in wresting their portion away.

The ores and metals from the first caravan hadn't been transported back to the Kingdom yet, which was great for him. Almost none of the other nobles protested either; right now, all they cared for was keeping their own positions intact. If an increased share of profit was enough to calm Richard's ire, that was for the best.

......

When he walked out of the teleportation gate, Richard couldn't help but feel like he was just in another part of Faelor. Sounds of a nonexistent battle still echoed within his ears.

Priestess Noelene had rushed over once more. Ever since she began cooperating with him, she had grown very enthusiastic. She was startled at his sight, but kept quiet until ten strong warriors walked out behind him. She signalled the clerics present to cast a mass vitality spell.

“You don't look so good,” the priestess pointed out, looking at Richard with a hint of worry.

Richard shook his head, “I'm a young man with his worries. Don't mind me, they're just some random issues that will resolve themselves soon enough. Just take a look at the boxes and see what you need.”

Noelene looked into his eyes and stated earnestly, “Richard. Although we're working together I hope you consider me a friend. Money isn't everything to me; if I wish for it, there are many who are willing to share millions in profit with me.”

Richard knew she was speaking the truth. A powerful priestess of the Church of the Eternal Dragon had plenty of ways to earn money. However, her worry left him feeling at a loss. All he wanted was a place to be alone and calm his feelings down. He was still a youth less than nineteen years old, but he had experienced far more than his peers.

He ended up laughing wryly under her gaze, shrugging before spreading his arms open helplessly, “My beautiful sister Noelene, I'm just feeling a little suffocated. It'll be better with time, don't worry. Is it okay if I keep the reason a secret? Come, look at what I've brought for you!”

Richard hastily had the warriors open the chests as he spoke, revealing them to be packed to the brim with obsidian ingots. “Look, these are all yours!”

Noelene gave the box a cursory glance and turned to him again, “No, you're quite different from before. What exactly happened?”

Richard glared back at her, “Miss Noelene, this is what happens with us youths. Things can be somewhat awkward at times, it's only normal. I'll get better when I grow up more. You are an elder, after all, you wouldn't be able to understand the world of the youngsters!”

Noelene flushed red, filled up with a mixture of embarrassment and anger, “RICHARD! I dare you to say that again!”

Richard stuck his tongue out, obviously not so stupid as to actually repeat it. However, he had successfully distracted her. He just gave everything outside of the runes to the priestess, regardless of whether she actually needed them. Serious as ever, Noelene carefully checked the chests and decided to pay him two million. However, he was long gone by the time she looked up, leaving behind two free Archerons who were looking at her deferentially to deal with the follow-up.

It was late at night in Faust. By the time he returned to the floating island, almost everyone was asleep. The old steward put on a coat and rushed over the moment he received word, and Richard amiably told him to send a few bottles of strong wine to the study before going back to rest.

The wine arrived a short while later, but the one carrying it wasn't any ordinary servant but the old butler himself. Seated behind his desk, Richard looked up in surprise, “It's already late, please return to bed. The entire family relies on you to function.”

The old man placed the wine on a coffee table at the corner of the room, hesitating to speak up to his master, “Young Master, please drink a little less. Take care of your body.”

“I will,” Richard smiled.

The steward didn't say any more, retreating from the room. He knew his place; now that he had said his piece, it was up to Richard to decide whether to listen or not.

Richard poured himself a full cup of wine, standing by the window and sipping it slowly. There was nothing in his mind at that moment— he had no idea what to think about. The only thing he felt was a strange annoyance and uneasiness.

The cup was fully drained before he only realised it; only when he was slightly drunk did he start to feel a little more lively. He had killed far too many people during this trip to Faelor. In the ten or so battles he had fought, tens of thousands had fallen before him.

In front of his followers, the battle priest, and more importantly the nobles of the Sequoia Kingdom, he would forever be that cheerful genius mage, witty and refined with a firm hand controlling everything. It was when alone that he became a mere eighteen-year-old. Youths of his age in other families were still dressing luxuriously, quick to form grudges. However, he had journeyed to the depths of the myriad planes and taken over the responsibility of his entire family.

He had first entered Faelor with no idea what to do. He hadn't even been able to motivate his subordinates properly. Constant smiles and measured speech had been a way to hide his nerves, every decision he took a product of endless thinking. With enemies everywhere and no way back home, he had been terrified of getting a single thing wrong. Every obstacle he faced was insurmountable.

He knew that one wrong decision or some bad luck would have left him dead in Faelor; he would have turned to dust in a foreign plane. It had put an indescribably heavy burden on his shoulders.

It was only now, having dealt an entire kingdom a heavy blow, using trade and runes to expand his wealth and make powerful allies, that a tiny bit of the tension was starting to fade. Recalling his journey over the past two years, he suddenly found that his path to the stars was formed of tens of thousands of skeletons.

He was human too. Seeing countless lives withering before his eyes, he couldn't help but feel for them. Numerous experiences on the edge of death flashed past his own mind, the memories of these events extremely vivid. He had no idea when he would become one of those skeletons, a stepping stone that served to push someone else higher up the ladder.

These were thoughts he had been plagued with ever since the end of the First Magic War. However, now there was no aftermath to deal with. Alone in what had once been Gaton's study, many doubts began to appear in his mind.

What exactly was planar war? Why was it that outside of victor and vanquished, there was no third ending in the contact between two planes?

510 - City of Sin

Confusion And Responsibility

'Norland's orcs are more beautiful than foreign elves.' Richard still remembered these words from Gaton. They were also the sole ironclad rule in planar war. If a passage was opened up between two planes, the only possibility was for one side to be wiped out.

However, Richard just couldn't understand why things had to be this way. No matter how small the scale, a planar war would last decades and reap millions to tens of millions of lives. Still, he was not so rigid as to judge everything just based on his own feelings. As a powerful primary plane, Norland had built passages to thousands of other planes in history. The fires of war burnt without end here, while many planar battles lasted centuries. An invaded plane only had two options to regain peace: one was to be wiped out immediately, while the other was to submit and get assimilated. Since this was the case for so many planes, there had to be some reason for it. He couldn't say planar war was wrong just because he didn't know those reasons.

There had to be something that nobody wanted to point out. All nobles were educated on planar battles from their youth, learning to believe that conquering other planes was something as natural as breathing. It wasn't just the nobles, every single powerhouse felt this way. Basically all of them had been tempered through planar battles, with every strong family possessing at least one plane of their own. That was the only way to establish a foothold in this land of perennial war.

Planar battle was an instinct of all the intelligent beings in Norland, not just humans. Elves, dwarves, orcs, barbarians... everyone wanted to conquer other planes. Looking at it from a broader perspective, this was true for all the other powerful primary planes as well.

Richard couldn't help but laugh, swirling the wine in his cup and downing most of it in one go. Norland had many millennia of history, he mocked himself, numerous geniuses had popped up over all this while. If they hadn't been unable to unravel the secrets of planar war and just immersed themselves in the fight, what was he doing letting his thoughts run wild? What right did he have to do this?

Without Faelor, his own strength would not have grown so rapidly. Without Faelor, he wouldn't have accumulated so much wealth in such a short period of time. He had the power to control his own fate as well.

As he lifted the bottle and refilled his glass, a series of numbers streamed past his mind. Numbers for runes, gold and other forms of wealth, his army, the growing strength of his followers and himself...

But most importantly of all, there was the casualty count.

He was in a very strange state, many uninvited thoughts surging through his mind. He finished all the wine in his cup and reached for the bottle again, but then he found it to be too light. It had already been emptied.

He shook his head, feeling like he was still sober. The anxiety burning in his heart was even more obvious now, growing difficult to endure. He couldn't understand what exactly his problem was.

He instantly took out a piece of blank paper, starting to doodle on it with the magic pen that never left his side. The dodole was a mixture of random curves, symbols, and numbers that covered a large portion of the paper, but even he himself didn't know what he was drawing. Still, when the paper was filled up he felt like something pressing on his mind had been transferred to the piece of magic paper.

He opened a bottle of whisky and poured himself a full glass, standing in front of the window and sipping it slowly. He didn't know when, but as glass after glass of alcohol was drained that bottle was emptied as well, thrown into the corner.

*Ting!* A new bottlecap landed on the ground, bouncing a few times as it rolled towards a pair of pale little feet at the door. It struck a delicate-looking toe and finally became still, after which a tender hand picked it up to examine.

This was a pair of sky-blue eyes, sparkling and translucent like the purest of sapphires. Even the pickiest of people could not find any flaws with their appearance. Rosie's hair was let loose, resting on the shoulders of her long dress. Her feet didn't make any sounds as she entered the study.

The young lady smelled like nature, and had practically no presence. In the midst of his personal uproar, Richard hadn't noticed her arrival at all.

He couldn't remember just how much he'd drunk. Raising the glass to his lips, he found it to be empty. He wanted to look for more, but he couldn't even stand steadily anymore and had no choice but to place the cup on the ledge to stabilise himself. The bottle seemed to float over on its own, tilting and filling the cup.

He instinctively picked it up and drained it, only then wondering where exactly the liquor had come from. He turned and saw the battle, as well as the beautiful hands holding it. His gaze slowly travelled along the arms and shoulders, eventually resting on Rosie's face.

He stared at her for a full half minute before frowning, “Rosie?”

The young lady nodded, standing there quietly.

He looked at the empty cup in his hand which had at some point stretched forward in front of her. Rosie immediately poured the alcohol into the glass, and he downed it all in one go before reaching it out again. She finally grew hesitant, speaking in a whisper, “You can't drink anymore...”

Richard's eyebrows furrowed, and the girl immediately gave up. This time, he didn't finish the glass in one go. He returned to the window, reaching out to point at the boundless starry skies, “You know, that man must have been standing here all the ti—”

*Crash!* The glass in his hand suddenly fell, his own body starting to sway before it followed suit.

Rosie immediately tried to help him, but his body weight was completely out of her expectations. She was brought to the ground as well.

Feeling strange, Richard struggled his way up. However, this meant he ended up crawling over his only support, Rosie's body. Their skin practically stuck together, and he could feel a euphoric combination of elasticity and toughness in her tall figure. His foot shifted unsteadily and he fell to the ground once more, subconsciously reaching out and grabbing onto Rosie's skirt. Her long dress was practically ripped apart in one go!

A long, straight leg as fair as snow appeared in front of his eyes, exposed all the way up to the thigh. Every part of Rosie's body was incredibly alluring, and his body stiffened as he forced himself up using the exposed leg. His grasp was very tight, causing the girl to tremble slightly.

Richard stood up straight, staring right into Rosie's eyes as he breathed out a strong odour of alcohol. Rosie had no expression on her face, but her gaze matches his without covering. Her pouty lips opened slightly, making it look like the pure, arrogant girl wanted to curse.

The sense of wrongness caused Richard to burst. “You want to die?” he forced out through gritted teeth before grabbing her collar and tugging hard. In one go he ripped through the rest of her skirt and even her bra, revealing a naked upper body.

In reaction, Rosie suddenly lowered her head and bit into his shoulder with all the strength in her body. Richard trembled and screamed like an animal, but his body actually pressed further into her mouth. Google search 𝗳𝔯e𝒆𝙬𝘦𝙗𝓷o𝘷el. c૦𝑚

He had gone insane, his rationality completely drowned out as he tried to find out if she could really cut through his flesh. The lady herself didn't hold back either, biting as hard as she could. However, every muscle on Richard's body was incredibly toned; now as hard as steel. Rosie's gums began to bleed, but she could not bite through his flesh.

She suddenly loosened her bite and stood in front of him, meeting his gaze expressionlessly. Her chin raised slightly, showing an ingrained arrogance.

This was a challenge of the highest level. 'I'm looking down on you,' it seemed to say, 'What can you do to me?'

Richard didn't say a word as he pulled her close, pressing her to the ground. A few tugs turned the last of her clothing into rags that fell on the ground, and struggle as she might it was all to no avail. Her eyebrows suddenly locked together, her head falling back as she produced a hoarse cry of pain. Her hands gripped Richard's body tightly, fingernails digging deep into the skin on his back.

A lonely boat weathered a storm that night, flung about the merciless waves that constantly rammed into her. She could no longer remain stoic, her brows locked together and her eyes tightly closed as guttural screams somewhere between crying and laughter rang from deep within her throat. The cries grew increasingly hoarse, her body twitching and trembling irregularly.

Rosie wanted to just break down and faint, but things did not go her way. Richard was like a surging mammoth atop her, fierce and cruel. It was hard to imagine such a powerful volcano in that seemingly frail body, but she felt like she had been pulverised.

It took some time for the storm to subside. Drained of all strength, Rosie lay on the ground ruined as she gasped for breath. Sweat started to pour out of her body once she relaxed, what seemed like a waterfall from her forehead completely drenching her long hair. Richard was just as exhausted, falling deep asleep atop her. He even started to snore lightly.

Finally recovering some strength, Rosie tried to push him off. However, the moment she tried to move her brows twisted together and she couldn't help but loose a cry. Richard had ejaculated and filled her body, but his member was still as erect as ever; it was practically swollen to the limit within her body. The movement also affected all the sore parts of her lower body, making it feel like a million needles had poked her in a single instant.

She gasped, gritting her teeth and forcefully pushing him off. However, just that had turned her face pale.

511 - City of Sin

Confusion And Responsibility(2)

Forced onto his back, Richard started snoring thunderously. Even so his brows were tightly locked together, the face that was supposed to be young now with lines etched on its forehead.

A flurry of emotions surged through her eyes, delicate hands brushing at Richard's throat. Her hand suddenly posed like a knife, making a pretend-slash as she whispered, “I'll cut you!”

Richard had no reaction whatsoever, sleeping like the dead.

She ended up gazing at him quietly, her gaze slowly growing murderous. However, the moment she moved closer a great sense of danger enveloped her, a tremor shaking all of her body. No matter how hard she tried to find the source of this feeling, she just could not. Her hand was already at his throat; as long as she used some strength, she would be able to strangle him. And yet, her movements no longer had the bloodlust of before.

“Why am I doing this?” she muttered to herself, a mocking smile appearing about her lips, “Just for that bastard who wanted to sell me off?”

She hadn't noticed the dull red lustre emanating from the beast-tooth bracelet on Richard's wrist. As her own killing intent faded, the tooth at the top returned to normal as well.

Rosie's gaze swept past Richard's well-proportioned and fit body, landing on the culprit that had just left her on the verge of falling apart. It had done many wrongs, but it still stood tall as though showing off a victory. A faint flush rose on her face as she glared at the lethal weapon and gritted out, “I'll cut you off sooner or later!”

She then slowly crawled over and picked up Richard's outer robes, her own long dress now no more than a pile of torn cloth. While trying to adjust this new clothing, she suddenly saw the dense scribbles on the magic paper that Richard had left on the table. Curious, she picked it up and looked through the text.

There were quite a few names on the paper: Sharon, Gaton, Elena, Flowsand, Mountainsea. Next to the names were many numbers and words; for instance, Sharon had '4 million every year', 'Sharon's Delight', 'saint runemaster', and 'help you wake up' next to her name. Near Gaton was 'give back a more powerful Archeron Family', 'will get rid of you sooner or later', and others. Next to Mountainsea was only one sentence, 'Will come for you within five years.'

There were many simple yet powerful drawings on the paper as well. Sharon floating helplessly in the void. A barbarian girl's back looking incredibly bleak and heavy as she was about to leave. Looking at this image, Rosie felt as though every step of the girl could shake the earth. Gaton was an indistinct bundle of flames, and all that was next to Elena was the outline of a volcano and fresh flowers at its mouth. Then there was Flowsand, a graceful figure standing before an altar with a strip of divine grace floating above her head.

These drawings were very concise, but every stroke was stifling. It was a complete eruption of all of Richard's feelings. At this point, she suddenly understood that this paper showed all of Richard's responsibilities.

She bit her lower lip, her gaze at the offender growing more complicated. Even she didn't know exactly what she was feeling at that moment...

“You pig!” she finally gritted out, using all her strength to drag Richard to his bedroom. The room was right next door, but the few steps it took to get there left her in a cold sweat.

......

It was only near noon the next day when Richard finally awoke from his drunken slumber. He had no idea that someone had called him a pig last night, only feeling a splitting headache.

'I should drink better stuff in the future, this is too uncomfortable!' he thought as he rubbed his temples. As he stirred, he suddenly felt like there was someone sleeping next to him.

The tipsiness he was feeling completely dissipated as his body tensed, ready to deal a killing blow before he even opened his eyes.

Next to him, Rosie was curled up like a kitten, holding his arm tightly while deep asleep. She was completely naked, her perfect curves able to leave anyone breathless no matter what angle they saw her from. Although he had seen every part of her body already, Richard's heart still fluttered.

But then, a thought came to mind: why was it her?

He could remember almost nothing of the last night. Even trying his best, he only managed to drag out a few fragmented images. However, those images left him shocked. So whatever was possible had happened?

'Shouldn't she be under house arrest?' he suddenly remembered, 'Why had she appeared in his study?'

However, as he watched the sleeping girl he felt unwilling to wake her. Lying down on the bed once more, he tried his best to remember the events of the last night.

A few minutes later, the sensitive young lady felt the difference in Richard and slowly woke up. The first thing she saw was Richard gazing at her closely, but her eyes remained clear and her expression dull. However, the purple marks dotting her snow-white skin illustrated how intense last night had been.

When Richard saw her wake up, his expression immediately turned frosty. However, that melted away into a calmness as he asked, “How did you get out?”

“Of the house arrest? Well, I convinced the old steward that I'm harmless so he let me move around freely on the island. I can't leave, however.”

Richard's expression chilled, “You're pretty good at persuading people.”

“Indeed. Now everyone in the family likes me... Except you, that is.”

“This isn't your family. Your surname is Mensa,” Richard icily reminded her.

Rosie wasn't angered in the slightest, stating lightly, “Blood ties are an effective way of judging someone, but they aren't everything. I hear there are many with the Archeron name that have no honour either. This island is proof of my point.”

“How does it prove anything?”

“Didn't you have the three knights kill over a hundred traitors? Isn't that proof enough?”

Richard had no answer to this question. This was one of the few times he was on the losing end of a verbal battle. He frowned, “Blood ties and surnames are still very important, especially for sense of belonging.”

“All my surname gave me was a marriage to a sadistic old pervert. My entire value to the Mensas was in my face and future children. If I treasure this sense of belonging, should I marry that old coot Dario happily and die a few years later after all kinds of abuse? Do you really think that Mensa is the most important part of my name?”

Once again, Richard had nothing to answer her with. He had no choice but to admit that Rosie was very good at persuasion, including on himself. The only way to avoid it was to not let her open her mouth. His gaze swept past the bruises on her body as he feigned calmness, “Well, we seem to have done something last night. You...”

Rosie seemed to know everything he was thinking, answering dully, “It was my first time.”

The bluntness left Richard flustered and embarrassed, “That wasn't what I meant.”

However, she took things even further. Supporting her upper body, she raised her left leg up high to reveal her most private area, speaking with an unperturbed voice that could make anyone fall apart, “You can check. It should still be on time.”

The outrageous action coupled with her calm expression became a stimulant difficult to resist. Richard's body reacted before his mind, his member standing tall once more.

He fell into an outburst in the midst of his embarrassment, flipping on top of her and preparing to take her again as he stated vehemently, “Fine, I'll check again!”

Of course, the two were talking about different kinds of checks. Probably.

Rosie closed her eyes, waiting quietly. However, the moment her slit was touched she couldn't help but furrow her brows. Despite her best efforts to endure the pain, her hands subconsciously grabbed at the bedsheets. Last night had been far too rough, leaving her extremely sore. She still hadn't recovered, but was about to be entered once more. The pain was sharp, like a knife cutting into her. No matter how cool she seemed, her body's instincts could not be controlled.

Richard took one look at her face and immediately stopped his next movements, getting off the bed. Rubbing his forehead that was still throbbing, he stretched his back for a while before breathing out slowly. He turned towards Rosie once more, a complicated expression on his face as he said slowly, “I understand. I'll think about it a little more, but you can stay here at ease. I'll have the steward find a place for you to change.”

Rosie got off the bed as well, but her legs bowed at the first step. She nearly fell to the ground, but she tenaciously stood back up and told him, “My functions extend past the bed, you know.”

“I'm aware.” Having said this, Richard quickly wore his clothes and left the room. When the door closed behind him, he heaved a sigh of relief. Everything had happened too quickly and he'd had no time to think it through properly. In this situation, facing a girl like Rosie caused him too much stress.

Within the room, a slight smile appeared about the young lady's lips, “Hmph, this will give you another responsibility!”

Just as she had said, Rosie's greatest value was in political marriage. This was an age-old tradition with strict, established requirements. Before she was married, the girl had to maintain her purity; only after bearing the first heir to the other family could she begin to seek out lovers. Of course, that depended on the difference in influence between the two families.

512 - City of Sin

A Rune For The Legends

Given how weak Dario Schumpeter was, he wouldn't be able to stop Rosie from looking for lovers in the future, especially if they came from the Mensa Family. However, he would find a way to kill her off after she bore him a successor. This was an implicit condition when old Mensa had arranged her marriage to him.

Now, Rosie's 'greatest' value had been taken by Richard. Although this was deliberate on her end, Richard couldn't deny that he had benefited greatly. At the very least, he had enjoyed himself very much. All the way from forcing her to strip to the events of last night had been amazing. Even if he couldn't remember it all, he still felt that insane desire to fondle her to death.

Accepting her would evoke the wrath of the Mensas and Schumpeters, but those families were already at his throat anyway. He didn't mind adding another source of hostility between them; if he truly was afraid, he wouldn't have killed off Young Mensa and asked for Rosie to strip for him. That hadn't just been because she was at the scene.

His hesitation was more to do with his own psyche. He kept feeling like every step since Rosie had arrived on the Archeron island had left him in a passive state. No, perhaps ever since he won that battle of life and death, Rosie had prepared to follow up. If not for that, why had she repeatedly nagged him to let her follow him to a foreign plane? Her convenient appearance at the study last night was suspicious as well. If she had actually calculated the outcome of that meeting, then honouring the bet would be in her plans as well.

He wasn't afraid of having another shrewd woman by his side, but he didn't like being led by the nose. If not for Rosie repeatedly challenging him until he gave in to his rage, he likely wouldn't have done anything to her even when drunk.

He eventually just sighed. Since things had already happened, there was no point in lingering on these thoughts. He wasn't someone without any responsibilities, and Rosie was a negligible burden. Whether this burden was heavy or light depended on what position he gave her in his heart.

It was still early in the day. Richard called for a maid and got her to send Rosie a new set of clothes before heading to the study. The traces of chaos were still present, empty bottles strewn everywhere with his wine cup lying on the ground. There were even vestiges of the battle last night on the ground.

Without his permission, ordinary servants weren't allowed to enter this place. The room remained uncleaned this morning because of that, with the half-emptied bottle still on the desk. Standing in the middle of the room, he smiled wryly as he shook his head.

He then looked towards the table, dimly remembering that he had carelessly written some stuff down on a piece of paper. However, the magic pen was still on the table but the paper had vanished.

Richard froze, trying hard to remember what had happened. Where had the paper gone? The traces in the room showed that none of the servants had entered, and a thief with even a modicum of understanding of magic would have no reason to leave the legendary pen behind. On top of that, even at its worst, the Archeron Family wouldn't have let a thief enter the head's study.

Had he really not drawn those doodles? Perhaps he just had too much to drink and imagined it all, he told himself.

He'd sent someone to tell Nyris and Agamemnon when he came back, so when he called for the servants to clean the study the old steward hastened over with Nyris' reply.

There were few words in the letter, but one could tell from the tone that the Fourth Prince was in a great mood. He had invited Richard to lunch together, asking with interest about the situation regarding the latest runes. He still had some time before then, so Richard muttered to himself for a bit and asked the old steward, “What's going on with Rosie?”

The old steward smiled, “I believe she poses no threat to the Archerons, which was why I took it upon myself to let her move about freely on the island. It seems there are quite a few people in the family who like her.”

Richard snorted, “You think she's harmless?”

“Yes. How can a level 8 mage pose any threat to the Archerons?”

The steward's deceptive answer left Richard helpless. He frowned, “You're giving her too much free reign. Last night...”

The steward laughed in an understanding manner, “I believe she made a huge contribution to the Archeron Family last night!”

Richard's expression changed to one of confusion, “You think it's a contribution?”

“Yes, a contribution!” the old man answered resolutely.

Richard couldn't hold back the urge to rub his head, knowing that he couldn't change the stubborn notions of this loyal coot. He could only sigh, “Fine then. Make the arrangements, I'll meet Nyris in the afternoon.”

The lunch was in the same restaurant and room where he had first met Nyris and Agamemnon. The two were already waiting inside, but this time Richard also brought Fuschia along carrying a magic box. Within the box were three million gold's worth of runes, something enviable even in Faust. If someone took the risk to steal it out of desperation or did something under the table, it would put him in trouble.

The lunch was the same as the last time as well. Nyris continued to eat as he spoke, and Fuschia had the same reaction as Richard, gaping and forgetting to eat herself. Agamemnon remained taciturn, tending to his food.

Having been unlucky the last time, Richard would not make the same mistake now. As someone who had studied in the Deepblue, his appetite and eating speed did not lose out to theirs. The three swept through the food without any poise, not giving Fuschia any chances at all.

Nyris' eyes were clear as water, continuously casting glances at Richard in excitement. He was emitting an astounding charm, to the point that even Fuschia was no match. She continued to watch on, dumbstruck, while Richard started growing extremely uncomfortable under Nyris' burning gaze. He didn't notice the speed of his eating had lowered greatly.

“This guy just cleared his debt,” Agamemnon suddenly interrupted, “He's just overexcited. Don't let it disturb you.”

Richard immediately understood, immersing himself into the food once more. It was only Fuschia who maintained any form of elegance in the last seat, meaning she lost out. By the time the three swept through the table and started their discussions, she was only half full.

In the end, Richard couldn't watch further and called the servant to get dishes prepared just for her. Only then did the beautiful woman look slightly better. However, seeing Nyris smiling like the spring and even Agamemnon's lips curving upwards, he suddenly understood their intentions. These fellows actually wanted him to show off in front of her, but it cost him thousands of gold! Still, that was a small price to pay for the goodwill of someone so powerful. Many were willing to pay for such a chance.

Richard felt somewhat strange. Somehow, without even realising it, these two had built up a rapport with him over the few interactions they'd had.

The three left Fuschia to finish the new dishes while they discussed their own matters. For her part, Fuschia stopped caring and released all her inhibitions, beginning to eat properly. Someone at her level naturally knew how good these foods were for her internal energy. What was dignity worth, anyway? When it came down to it, she was only in this situation because the others had swept away all the food in the first place.

Richard passed the magic box to Nyris, who opened it up and closely examined every rune. It took half an hour by the time he was done, saying with excitement, “The power of these runes is even greater than the last sets! Goodness, how long did it take?”

“It's been four months on Faelor,” Richard said after some thought.

“Just four months!” Nyris shouted with a little exaggeration, pushing his seat closer to Richard's, “If other runemasters want to improve their runes, they could take five to ten years! You used just four months? I don't think it will be long until you start making the highest-quality composite runes as well!

“Right, do you know about the agility rune that appeared on the auction market a few years ago? It was unimaginable, able to be slotted into a hybrid slot but still almost matching a grade 2 rune! That rune has become a legend now, having sold for more than these three sets together. It was a piece of art! Richard, at the rate you're improving, you could create a rune for the legends too!”

Richard gaped, a few garbled noises coming from his throat before he could only say, “I... I try not to deteriorate.”

*Pak!* Nyris slapped his shoulder hard, bellowing, “As a man, how can you be so ambitionless?”

This sudden fury from the Fourth Prince was full of charm. His eyes fluttered, nobility and beauty combining to make him seem more feminine than a woman. Fuschia, who had been immersed in her food, abruptly spat out a mouthful of soup!

The three men's gazes immediately fixed onto her, leaving her extremely embarrassed. Her right foot lifted slightly off the floor, ready to break through with a stomp and send her to the lower level where she could evade the eyes of these despicable creatures.

She was on the verge of going crazy. She just couldn't understand, the Fourth Prince looked surprisingly pretty and gentle, couldn't he just act gracefully like a proper royal? Why was he bellowing? THIS DIDN'T MAKE SENSE!

Having worked with her for a decent period of time now, Richard turned away. He switched the focus back to the discussion, growing serious once more. However, seeing Nyris' bitter gaze as though wishing for something better, he felt at a loss. He couldn't actually tell the Fourth Prince that this so-called rune for the legends was probably one of his creations, could he?

513 - City of Sin

The Burden Of The Powerful

The elementary agility rune had been a stroke of genius, but Richard's standards were steadily rising. If he was willing to spend the time on it, it wouldn't be impossible to reproduce. However, he didn't just create runes for money anymore; his goal was to create better rune knights and tailor-make runes for himself and his followers, constantly producing new rune sets. He didn't have the time to make numerous elementary runes for the low probability that one of them would sell for millions.

Many runemasters in Norland just created specialised workshops and built up stable trade channels, concentrating completely on research and improving their skills. However, this was not the path he had chosen for himself.

It wasn't as if nobody could make that elementary agility rune. Any saint runemaster or even a rather skilled great runemaster could create it, but they wouldn't waste their time doing so. The reasoning was the same as his; it wasn't worth it to make an entire pile of agility runes for the off chance that one of them was extraordinary. Although such a rune could be sold for millions, it was not so easily made. At the very least, Lunor would not be able to make them no matter how many years it took.

“He has something to ask you,” Agamemnon couldn't watch Nyris' enthusiasm any longer, “That's why he's acting differently.”

“Agamemnon, you! You!” Nyris was about to jump up, but when he turned around and saw Richard's expression he sat down in disappointment, “Alright, I do have something to ask of you. I want... I want—”

“He wants to join you in conquering planes.”

Richard immediately frowned when Agamemnon completed the sentence, falling silent as he thought things over repeatedly to figure out Nyris' true motives. There were too many secrets in Faelor that could not be shared, and Nyris was a prince of the Alliance. Who knew if he was also competing to become the crown prince?

Nyris glared at Agamemnon angrily, as if wanting to slice him into millions of pieces. However, the powerful youth wouldn't care about such a painless threat, “His real intention is to earn some money warring alongside you to increase his influence and points.”

“Points?” Richard was immediately confused. This sounded very much like something Sharon would do.

Explaining the system was too much of a waste of saliva for Agamemnon, so Nyris ended up having to explain the new point system of the royal family in detail. This included how achievements were graded, the time decay, the moving average, and even the distribution of benefits. This system was extremely complicated, evidently to get rid of the dumber children. It was also quite in the style of the Deepblue.

Nyris actually showed his own ability in being able to explain the system in a clear and concise manner, even adding his own thoughts on how to best make use of the rules. His conclusion was simple: participating in planar wars and improving his army would be the quickest methods to grow.

However, these were the most difficult methods as well. Even ignoring the uncertainty of profits from planar battle, he wasn't the only one competing for the throne. Becoming an outstanding commander or leader in planar battles was not enough; if one used too much energy there, they would lose the initiative in Faust. Thus, unless one could find a reliable and powerful agent, they normally wouldn't run off to develop a new plane.

In other words, the Emperor was training their ability to play chess, not to fight as pieces on the board.

After explaining the point system, Nyris stared solemnly at Richard, “You must know, if you agree to this request the others will consider you to be in my camp. Their organisations will discriminate against you, and you could even be attacked. If you're unwilling to involve yourself in the internal conflicts of the royal family, I completely understand.”

Richard remained still, his brows locked tightly as he thought through the pros and cons. He had no experience whatsoever in dealing with such high-level politics. Perhaps that man would have been able to give him some guidance if he was around.

“Only the weaker families avoid these sorts of struggles,” Agamemnon suddenly chimed in, revealing a sunny and calm smile, “Also, you're only going to be representing your own branch of the family.”

The meaning behind these words was rather offensive. Agamemnon was saying he wasn't yet the head of the Archeron Family. However, this was an undeniable truth. Although Richard was the one supporting the family right now, he didn't have control over Gaton's subordinates. The Ironblood youth was reminding him that his support to Nyris right now would be on an individual basis, not affecting the entire family. The losses wouldn't be as great as he was imagining. The same was true of Agamemnon himself; his siding with Nyris did not mean the Ironblood Duke supported the Fourth Prince.

In simpler terms, there wasn't much to lose but a lot to gain. It had to be said that Agamemnon had his way with words despite his reticence; every statement had a point.

Fuschia interrupted as well, “I agree. Choosing a prince to support is the right and obligation of every powerful family. It is our duty to help the Alliance acquire the most suitable ruler.”

Richard made up his mind. While Agamemnon talked about branches and Fuschia brought up responsibility, their meaning was the same. It all boiled down to power. Even if he supported the wrong person, the new emperor would still have to rethink his options as long as the Archerons were powerful enough. On top of that, it wasn't rare for different branches of a noble family to have conflicting opinions. The emperor was only the highest of the nobles, and the royal family wasn't even the oldest of the lot.

“Alright. What can I get from this?”

Nyris was immediately delighted, “You need to provide a plane that has value in being developed, and we'll fight together on it. In return, I'll provide the blessing of Unhurriedness for the plane and give you half of all the profit it ever makes.”

“Deal,” Richard didn't overthink the gains and losses, “I'll give you the Forest Plane, the one we went to last time.”

“Hmm? Isn't Faelor your main plane? But then again, the Forest Plane is very valuable too. Pity, the Schumpeters spent more than a decade but didn't obtain much profit. It's said that the natives there are very troublesome.”

“The situation in Faelor is stable right now, and I need some time to digest its profits. Starting another war there isn't the best idea.”

Nyris exchanged glances with Agamemnon before asking, “Will you come with us?”

“Of course!” Richard smiled in answer.

After coming to a decision on the most important matters, the three grew more relaxed and began to chat idly. Of course, it was Nyris talking 80% of the time while Richard could only add a few sentences where he could. Agamemnon was taciturn as usual as well, letting the prince have his spotlight.

The two figured out that Richard was slightly off and asked about it, but he just smiled wryly and explained that he was always feeling on the edge as of late. They seemed to fall deep into thought, looking at each other before Agamemnon nodded slightly. Nyris told Richard that he had a way to solve his problems, but that would only come after some time.

......

By the end of the lunch, Richard had ordered another batch of weapons and equipment. Preparing for planar wars took time, So Nyris went off to gather his army in ten days. The Prince also needed to host an offering ceremony for the Unhurriedness blessing as well.

After dinner that night, Richard received a letter from Beye. There was only one sentence within, “Tomorrow at noon, I'll bring you to the Battlefield of Despair for a look.”

Battlefield of Despair! This was a furnace that trained saints, the best way to become a legendary being. Almost all of Norland's powerhouses in the past century had been trained there, the only exception being Sharon. Of course, the legendary mage had abruptly put herself on the map with the construction of the Deepblue, seemingly never needing to train. She quickly suppressed the duergar with great power, after which she naturally became a legend. She still retained a showy manner, possessing a terrifying power that surpassed her peers greatly. There was no lack of other legendary beings that had been traumatised by her.

While Beye didn't mention it, Richard knew she was likely here at Agamemnon's request to help solve the issues with his psyche. Although he didn't understand what his problems had to do with the Battlefield of Despair, that was a trip he could not miss. He called the old steward to his study and passed him a list of extremely potent items, asking him to purchase them all by noon the next day. The Archeron Family had no ability to produce these potions that were easily 10,000 gold each, and with the family scrounging for money right now they didn't have any in storage either.

514 - City of Sin

Entering The Battlefield Of Despair

Anything could happen on the Battlefield of Despair, and there was no harm in preparing more. As a royal runemaster, Richard didn't really mind a small investment of a few hundred thousand gold.

It was late into the night, but his study was still lit. Now facing the map of the Forest Plane, he marked out a few new spots on it. Next to the map was another request for help from Lina. The tone of this letter was quite different from the last. She mentioned several vigorous attacks from the natives over the past month, leading to massive casualties. She had only kept the defensive line intact with the power of the three towers, and if the situation continued she wasn't certain that the plane would still be in their hands within two months.

On the second page of the letter was the latest chart of the enemy troops and her own. One could tell with a single glance that Emerald City was completely surrounded; there weren't too many natives, but their attacks were unrelenting and unpredictable.

Updating the map of the Forest Plane, Richard silently simulated the situation in his mind. A while later, he shook his head, “No, it isn't yet time. Hmph, does she still want to trick me? She's nowhere near such dire straits and can probably hold on for another half year. Three magic towers with her in charge... How would the natives break through without giving up their lives?”

Now that he could set aside his worries, he cleaned up the table and headed to the highest tower of the castle. He began to meditate in the spacious room, trying to ensure he was in his best state before going to the Battlefield of Despair.

He remained silent through the night.

......

Eleven the next day, a small squad from the Duke Ironblood's family came to escort Richard. Two of the three teleportation gates to the Battlefield of Despair from Faust were on the imperial islands, while the other was controlled by the Ironblood family. The only other options were having a spatial mage build a temporary portal or looking elsewhere.

Half an hour later, Richard was stood outside the door to a little shrine on island 5-5. The shrine was constructed from black rock, and he could smell a heavy scent of blood within.

“You're early,” Beye's voice rang out from afar.

“Your men came to get me.”

Beye's response to this held a strange tinge of bloodlust, “That's wrong. You knew the destination, so you should be able to figure out how long it would take to get here. I clearly sent my people half an early; you should have corrected them, not accommodated them. In the Battlefield of Despair, you should make good use of every resource if you want to survive. Time is one of the greatest.”

Richard's heart trembled. This woman was already guiding him.

“Since there's still time, show me the equipment you've prepared.” Beye had Richard show her all his equipment, including the Twin of Destiny and Extinction. Glancing through them, she started berating him, “No, you can't bring these! Ag, take these things and return them to Richard when we're back.”

She then pointed to the Book of Holding, “This is the only thing you can bring.”

However, Richard was shocked. Losing his staff and best sword would drop his battle might by at least 40%. Wasn't the Battlefield of Despair a land of death? Why couldn't he bring his equipment?

Beye seemed to know what he was thinking about, suddenly pulling down her collar to reveal a complicated grade 4 rune that covered most of her shoulder, “If you wish to go further in the Battlefield of Despair, if you wish to live forever, you can only rely on yourself. The most you can have is your runes, but even those you cannot depend on at all times. Only when you forget about your equipment and learn to fight without it will you truly walk the path of the strong. That's when you'll have the qualifications to wield these things again. This is the equipment I plan to use.”

She tossed a pair of daggers towards him, and a cursory examination revealed that there was nothing to them outside of being made from lafite. Although they were durable and wouldn't rust easily, they held no other merit. When he returned them to her, astonished, she casually sheathed them and continued, “Secondly, forget your identity as a mage. As long as you can kill your opponent, anything goes.”

Having said this, she headed into the shrine without caring whether Richard actually understood her words. Some mages had already placed magic crystals in the centre of the teleportation formation within.

“Let's go!” She stepped into the formation right away, not taking anything outside of the two daggers. Richard hesitated for a moment before following.

......

As the light of the teleportation faded, Richard found himself deep inside a cave. Seeing him step out of the portal, Beye quickly gestured him over with her back bent slightly, walking soundlessly to one corner of the cave. He looked back in shock, unable to believe that the formation on the other side was just a messy array of rocks piled on the ground.

But then he realised it was just a pile of rocks. The last vestiges of mana within the stones rapidly dissipated, leaving them no different from the rest of the hill. There was no formation here at all.

Beye didn't need to turn back to guess what he was doing, “There's no need to look anymore, the place we teleport to changes every time. This time I had us sent directly to the edge of the battlefield, so we don't have to rush. We'll need to head to the Capital of the Unsetting Sun to return, they have a gate back to Norland there. Be careful, we could meet enemies at any point.

“Where do these enemies come from?” Richard inquired.

“I'll explain it to you along the way. First, check your current condition. This is a place where you could easily lose your meagre life. Pay attention to every detail. I'm helping you with your first time, so learn to take care in the future. Google search ƒ𝑟𝑒𝙚𝚠e𝗯𝘯𝗼𝘃𝑒𝚕. c𝒐𝒎

“Stand straight!” Beye walked up to his side, her slender and powerful hands starting to wander over his body as they squeezed and checked every inch of his body. Her movements were steady as she adjusted everything, from the buttons on his shirt to the items in his pocket. She didn't even let his member off, casually squeezing it.

Still at an age where he was very hot-blooded, Richard sucked in a breath. He naturally had a reaction down under as well, one that caused Beye to pause as she teased, “Not many can get hard in front of me. Should I praise you for being courageous or call you insane?”

He turned slightly red, not making a sound, but she patted his erect penis, “Take care of it. Its current condition will affect your balance during battles.”

Richard had to admit that her adjustments immediately left him more comfortable. Although she hadn't put much pressure into it, all of his tense muscles had been relaxed. He had never felt so good in his life. He didn't forget to record everything with his blessings, making a note to analyse it in the future.

At this moment, the only equipment he had on himself was the Book of Holding and an ordinary steel dagger. Beye quickly organised her own simple equipment before leading him deeper into the cave.

The cave was quite large, feeling like a natural maze. The walls and ground were made of malm, and the terrain was quite complicated. There were forks in the path everywhere as well as multiple levels. It was sometimes dry and sometimes damp, giving rise to different flora as well. Moss glowed in some parts of the place, giving it some light, while many paths were pitch-black without any light at all. However, the air was not stifling or musky. A breeze blew in from time to time.

Be it bright or dark, Beye continued to move noiselessly at the same speed. The terrain and lighting seemed to have no effect on her, the changing speeds of the wind no matter at all. Richard was beginning to feel strained as he followed, but observing her movements from behind he felt increasingly surprised and gained more insight.

Her movements were relaxed, elegant yet powerful. It was as though she had merged into her surroundings, advancing in a natural, flowing manner like a spider moving along its web. She adjusted her condition and path constantly, the bursts of movements leaving him feeling enlightened. He started trying to imitate her.

“Have you never learnt martial arts? Walking like this is quite basic.”

“I learnt some techniques from the underworld before, but that's it. My teacher just gave me financial aid and let me develop freely.”

Beye went silent for a while, “Right, you're her student. That's normal; she only needs to put in a bit of effort to kill someone. She's not like us, who have to train in various techniques and hatch infinitely many schemes to do so.”

Richard hadn't expected even Beye to be so convinced by Sharon's methods. He suddenly remembered that the last time he'd seen her, he'd had the guts to touch her and even play around with a strand of her hair. Although she was deep asleep, how could she not have any methods to protect herself? That weak and adorable appearance was just a facade, her true might comparable to a dragon's. In that case, wouldn't so much as a pat from her hand have broken his bones and torn his muscles apart?

He suddenly broke out in cold sweat.

515 - City of Sin

Entering The Battlefield Of Despair(2)

“Your sweat will attract enemies that track their prey via scent, you need to control it,” Beye stated coldly from up ahead. Richard felt awkward and quickly agreed, tightening up his muscles and pacing himself to control his heart rate and blood flow. Most others would need to train in such thing for a long time, but given his underworld techniques and the time he had spent trying to imitate Beye already combined with the blessing of truth, he was quickly able to control himself.

“Not bad, you learn quickly.” Beye even gave him a compliment.

The two crossed through the cave system for an entire hour before Beye slowed down, “It's safer here, I can explain the situation.”

She elaborated that there were multiple Battlefields of Despair. This one was called the Land of Dusk, formerly an expansive and powerful plane. However, it was connected to two primary planes, Norland and Daxdus, and amidst unending wars its civilisation had been completely wiped out. The armies of both primary planes met in the centre of this plane, erupting in an earth-shattering war that lasted centuries. Almost all of the natives had been destroyed.

The powerhouses of the two planes continued to battle in various corners of the continent. One blow at full power was enough to shift mountains and form new seas, wiping out all nature. The ones that dealt the largest blow were the legendary mages, constantly extracting the ambient mana to fuel terrifying spells against their opponents.

As the source energy of the plane died out, all life gradually banished. The plane slowly became a dead land, becoming unsuitable for lower forms of life. The only remaining value was its link between Norland and Daxdus, the long period of battle making the passages incomparably stable. This turned it into a natural battlefield. Such was the origin of the Land of Dusk, one of the Battlefields of Despair.

Teleportation gates from the two primary planes were now spread across the place. Outside of a few large fortresses, every inch of this continent was unsafe. Enemies were around every corner.

Both sides found that traditional armies could not outdo their opponents, so they stopped sending out cannon fodder and instead started fighting with saints as the main forces. This was one of the most brutal, true versions of planar war.

“Why kill each other with saints?” Richard asked in doubt, “Is there anything on this plane worth occupying?” He had seen pitifully few life-forms during their walk, and all of them were creatures with no intelligence to speak of. This was vastly different from Norland's Underdark, which held powerful races and civilisations that could hold their own on the surface.

He hadn't seen any ores of value either, and although there were quite a few streams the currents were filled with a metallic poison that few could tolerate. Just like Beye had said, this was a plane on the brink of death with nothing of value.

“To wear them out,” was Beye's answer.

“Wear them out?”

“Yes. We want to kill the powerhouses on the other side to deplete all of their resources. Norland and Daxdus have been at war for over a thousand years and know the coordinates of each other well. However, teleporting into another primary plane is basically suicide. The Battlefield of Despair is the best way of wearing out the enemy. The birth of every saint or legendary being takes an inordinate amount of resources, so we fight here to make each other bleed. Once one side cannot take it anymore, they'll lose their footing in the battlefield and the situation will turn very dangerous. The Land of Dusk will become one of the best fortresses of the attacking army, allowing them to send an unending stream of soldiers over to the other side.”

Beye glanced at Richard, “That is why your primary responsibility on the Battlefields of Despair is to survive. The second and third are also to survive.”

She then pointed ahead, “Have a look, this is the true appearance of the Land of Dusk.”

Richard walked in the direction she had pointed, circling past a bulky stone pillar to come out onto a cliff. Everything suddenly opened up, showing a gigantic world where the rugged earth merged into the skies in the distance. The ground was a dark grey, black regions dotting it everywhere like injuries that were yet to heal. The huge, dried-up riverbed in front of him was like a gaping injury; nobody could see its start and end.

The withered riverbed was at least a few dozen kilometres wide, over a hundred kilometres at its broadest. If not for the land on either end, he would even have suspected that this was not a river but a strait!

The sky was dull, almost entirely covered in thick, ashen clouds. From his perspective, it was a huge wall of black with few gaps between that left one unable to tell how the sky actually looked. Blood-red light shone down from the gaps, dyeing the earth a rich red.

The crimson light illuminated very little of the ground, leaving the rest as dark as night. However, pitch-black wasn't the only colour of the land; splendid auroras could be seen flickering around the place, incomparably magnificent. However, looking at these strips from a distance, Richard felt a chill run down his spine. Google search 𝙛𝒓𝚎𝙚w𝑒𝘣𝘯𝘰𝐯𝚎l. cｏ𝙢

These ribbons of light were similar to those in the depths of the Land of Turmoil, a condensation of energy from rifts in spacetime. They looked thin, but each one could potentially contain an entire plane within. These rifts led to other continua; once caught within, there was no way to know where one would end up.

Outside of these strips, one could see other specks of light flickering across the dark earth from time to time. These were lights produced by magic or battle; to be seen from several thousand metres away, they had to possess the power of grade 8 spells at minimum. There were even radiant flashes of light amongst the clouds; the people in battle there might not be legendary beings, but they weren't far from.

An indescribable scene straight out of the apocalypse, a combination of chaos, darkness, violence, and despair. The smell of blood and fire everywhere, with no sign of life to be seen. This was the Land of Dusk, the Battlefield of Despair.

Daxdus was a little similar to Norland, but the main elements there were chaos and darkness. Its inhabitants were humanoid as well, but affected by the energy of chaos they were taller, stronger, and more violent. The civilisation was quite advanced as well, but while Norland placed equal importance on social status and power, they only cared about the latter. In Beye's words, the inhabitants looked like chimeras formed of humans and various monsters.

“Let's go, we need about ten days to get to the capital of the Unsetting Sun and return via the portal there. You'll definitely meet many of Daxdus' claws along the way, so there are plenty of chances for you to widen your perspective.” Having said this, Beye jumped off the cliff. Falling a few dozen metres from the sky, she twisted her body mid-air and rammed one arm into the cliffside. Displaying extreme control over her body strength, she used her arm to counteract gravity and keep her movement steady. Whenever she slowed down too much, she relaxed her hold and started dropping faster. Whenever it was so fast it grew dangerous, she gripped harder to slow the fall. In the blink of an eye, she had disappeared from Richard's line of sight.

Richard wanted to cast a featherfall spell and go down, but the speed of his fall would be far too slow to match Beye's. Besides, it also showed a lack of adaptability. If there was an enemy hidden below, a mage floating down would be an easy target. He clenched his teeth and gave up on the easy way, copying Beye's actions in jumping down the cliff. He obviously couldn't sustain a near-vertical drop like her, so he dropped a few metres at a time before grabbing the cliff walls. This was much slower, but it was better than floating down.

After sliding down a few thousand metres his body grew more coordinated. His decisions to land were coming faster and more precise, and his speed slowly increased. Still, it took a lot of effort to make it to the bottom of the cliff.

When he crawled up to stand, a strong smell of blood assaulted his nostrils. Beye was already done with a battle, cutting up a body a few dozen metres away. This was a mouse-like creature that was nearly a metre long, but its head was similar to a human's.

Her daggers moved quickly, separating the bones, meat, and skin while leaving blood splattering all over the ground. Richard had no idea what methods she was using, but there was very little blood left on the back of the skin. It was almost at the level of processed hide.

Beye picked up the creature's bones and teeth, carving out a few black crystals that looked like diamonds. She kept the crystals in her pocket before wrapping up the rest in the skin, turning it into a small sack that she put on her back.

516 - City of Sin

The First Battle In The Land Of Despair

“Slow,” Beye only took one look at Richard, “But thankfully not stupid. At least you knew to climb down yourself and not cut corners with the featherfall spell.”

Finally receiving some praise from her, Richard felt a little smug inside. His gaze shifted to the creature she had broken down, “What is this? A local monster?”

“No. This is a skaven, a native of Daxdus. These mouse-human hybrids are the lowest level of warriors in the Land of Dusk. They aren't particularly strong, but they have a knack for survival and camouflage and can breed well. Their numbers keep increasing, so you can see them everywhere.”

Beye then raised the hide bag in her hand,“ A skaven's teeth can bite through lafite and its bones are tough, light, and easy to process into high-grade shafts for enchanted arrows. Its skin is equivalent to that of a top-quality magic beast hide, second only to earth dragons.

“As for the black crystals within its bones, that is the method those of Daxdus use to store their energy. They can be used as a substitute for magic crystals; even the lowest grade that comes from a skaven is equivalent to a few standard magic crystals.”

“Wow,” was all Richard could muster in response. He was feeling somewhat strange. Those of Norland normally treated intelligent life completely differently from magic beasts. Even when orcs, trolls, ogres, or the like were killed in battle, their bodies would just be buried and not used. Most non-human species had some value to be harvested from their bodies, but burying them was a form of respect for a worthy opponent.

This skaven was one of the opponent's warriors as well. Although it was easy for Beye to kill it, its species wasn't as weak as it seemed. The skaven could reach level 16, had strange attack patterns, and were large in number. If a dozen or so attacked together, even a high-level saint would have to flee immediately. They might appear ugly from a human perspective, but they were still a sentient lifeform. The very fact that their numbers were still increasing in a Battlefield of Despair was enough proof of how terrifying they were.

Such an opponent qualified for equal treatment. The norm would just be to leave their bodies behind, but Beye was treating this one like any other magic beast. Seeing how skilful she was at it, this wasn't the first time she had done this either nor was she the only one.

She started to continue forward, explaining things at the same time, “Daxdus is similar to the abyss and the hells. The powerhouses there rarely use armour, relying on the might of their own bodies. Moreover, most of them directly swallow various kinds of minerals and absorb the essence to strengthen their own bodies; some of their number can be considered walking warehouses of rare minerals. But their strength is proportional to their value; those warehouses also have terrifying abilities that one cannot easily match.”

Richard listened silently to her guidance, absorbing all the knowledge he could. The two ran through the ashen land in tandem as Beye taught him another practical technique to remain rather quick but match his energy drain to his natural recovery.

An ear-piercing roar suddenly rang out from nearby, following which the ground began to rumble and quake. A thunderous sound of hooves reverberated through the air.

The two daggers leapt into Beye's palms and she gestured for Richard to distance himself, “It's a captain of the enclave centaurs. This will be a tough opponent, careful!”

It wasn't long before an enormous figure charged over. This person looked only vaguely similar to Norland's centaurs, his height of over four metres making both Richard and Beye look like children. He seemed more like an elephant-hybrid than a horse.

His lower equine body had six legs, and the human upper half had four arms each of which held a heavy weapon. The horse-half had long, thick fur with metal plates draped on it, but these plates seemed more for decoration than anything else. Most inhabitants of Daxdus liked shiny or glossy things, and the fur on an enclave centaur's body couldn't be cut through even by a normal enchanted weapon anyway.

Just from appearance alone, one could tell this person came from a race that held strength in the highest regard. His speed was outstanding as well; he had to be level 19 at minimum. Seeing Beye in his path, the enclave centaur raged with words Richard could not understand. Two of the weapons in his arms slammed into each other, causing a loud boom that left Richard dizzy for a moment.

The captain then rushed forward, four arms landing a shower of blows on Beye. In his eyes, Richard who had already retreated about twenty or thirty metres away was clearly a negligible character.

For his part, Richard had shot off a slowing spell the moment the centaur made his move. However, even though a yellow light lit up on the opponent's body, there were no signs of him slowing down at all. The magic resistance was so high the curse had basically no effect.

Beye somehow escaped from the range of the centaur captain, appearing at his waist which was difficult for him to attack. He let out a mad roar, turning with great strength to send a hammer smashing towards her head. However, she flashed a few metres away with a single step, occupying another gap in the attack. The enemy's hammer crushed the ground and sent splinters flying, leaving a huge pit that was over ten metres wide on the ground.

Although he was rather shocked by this enemy's strength, seeing that Beye was in no danger Richard's worries slightly eased. He began to prepare a chant.

Only after arriving at the Battlefield of Despair had Richard found out that the spells he had stored in the Book of Holding were useless. Forget the small and fast raptors from Nature's Beckon, even a tall and strong wyvern would not be able to match a single swing of the centaur captain's hammer. Only an earth dragon, a creature with true dragon blood, would have any chance of resisting. As for attack spells, the damage dealt by grade 7 magic was nothing in the face of such a terrifying powerhouse. It would take the Twin of Destiny and a full-power use of Sacrifice to render the centaur captain half-dead, but even so he would still be able to cut a fragile mage apart seven or eight times.

Instant death spells like the Finger of Death or Spirit Lash were only useful on the weak. When cast on someone like the centaur captain, those effects would not come into play at all. Without the instant death effect, these spells couldn't compare to a more standard grade 7 attack spell. Burst fireballs might have been the answer, but they covered a huge area that would certainly envelop Beye. She had great strength, but the endurance of her flesh was no match for that of the centaur.

In desperation, he was chanting a spell he had never used before. With the enemy not caring about a mere grade 7 spell or a weak level 13 mage, he managed to complete it in a few seconds without any interruption.

A ray of strong magical light suddenly flashed over the centaur's head, forming a translucent coffin that encased his entire body. This was Tomb of Light, a spell dedicated to restraining and attacking creatures of darkness. Leaning towards the power of the divine, it could cause chaos within the energy pools of those from a plane of darkness like Daxdus, causing damage and even limiting their movements.

The centaur captain grew still just as expected. However, that state only lasted a second before he immediately let out a wild roar, energy surging out of his body to disperse the spell in a flash. Tens of wounds had already been split open on his upper body, fresh blood flowing out, but to someone of his power they were no worse than the wound a human would suffer if scratched by a fruit knife.

Seeing his spell doing far worse than expected, Richard's expression warped. He couldn't think of any other methods. However, Beye chose just that moment to strangely lean under the lower body of the centaur captain, and a wave of intense breaking and snapping sounds immediately made their way to his ears. It made his skin crawl.

The enclave centaur suddenly let out an earth-shattering shriek, his thick legs that looked like stone pillars deforming in an instant as his body collapsed with a loud thud. The rocks beneath were crushed to dust as he howled, twisting in unbearable agony. He even abandoned his weapons, hoping to use his arms to prop himself up, but with its joints completely destroyed that was an impossibility.

Beye appeared before the centaur captain like a ghost, the daggers in her hands piercing into his open mouth like a flash of lightning. They twisted around as they explored his insides for a bit before she quickly pulled them out, withdrawing ten metres away. The centaur's movements grew stiff, limbs twitching involuntarily as the light in his eyes dimmed.

She looked at Richard and shook her head, causing him to force out a laugh. Seeing her destroy the centaur's legs in a flash, he knew that his spell was completely unnecessary. It would have been better to cast an agility or iron skin spell on her, but even that would just be a waste of mana. What he should have done was simply nothing, sitting and watching her kill.

Only after witnessing this battle did he truly understand just how terrifying Beye was.

517 - City of Sin

Born For Battle

Beye had unparalleled explosive strength and speed, her skill so great it made one's hair stand up in rage. Even analysing her actions using Precision, Richard could find no room for improvement at all. Although she was only level 18, just having entered sainthood, her true might could not be explained by her level. A single strike of hers could be extraordinarily powerful.

This was just like how he himself could use Blaze to decimate a mage of the same level as himself, or how Outburst allowed him to kill those who were a level or two higher.

Now he learnt why she was so obsessed to Life's Bane. The rune was simply tailor-made for her talent, boosting her fierce strength and speed until she became a storm of death on the battlefield.

Thinking of these things, Richard's gaze towards Beye somewhat changed. However, his eyelids suddenly twitched; she had already begun to dismember the centaur captain's corpse. With the enclave centaurs being much larger than the skaven, she had to spend more time to extract all the useful bits from it. However, looking at the valiant opponent being dismembered under the force of her daggers, he felt like puking.

It didn't seem like there were many areas on the centaur captain's body that could be used, Beye only took out his heart. However, just to collect the black crystals, she had turned this elephant of a creature into a pile of meat. “Enclave centaurs are two levels higher than skaven,” she exclaimed mechanically, “They are one of the main forces of Daxdus and a core strength in the Land of Dusk. Captains like this one are amongst the upper-middle echelons of their forces, so we'll get many more opportunities to fight them. Actually, this body would have many uses. The skin is a good material to make high-quality leather armour from, and their spines can be refined into epic-grade pikes. The heart, which is the source of an enclave centaur's strength, can even be used as an offering. However, the skin and spine take up far too much space. With you here, I can only give up on them.”

Offering! Richard hadn't expected the centaur captain to have such great value. Were the other Daxdus powerhouses of a similar level also able to produce offerings?

Beye read him like a book, “As long as they achieve a certain level, most inhabitants of Daxdus have their power gather in one of their organs. These organs can be used as offerings to the Church of the Eternal Dragon.

“Normally, the only way for an independent saint to acquire an offering is the Battlefield of Despair. Otherwise, it might take an entire lifetime to gather enough for a single low-level ceremony. Take this heart, for example. You only need two to conduct a lesser ceremony once. This is why a saint that has survived the Battlefield of Despair is generally much stronger than one who has never entered it.”

Richard immediately understood that this was the main attraction of the Battlefield of Despair. Having seen that incredible list of blessings before, he knew just how wide of a range they could cover. Even a peasant without any talent whatsoever could be turned into a saint as long as one had enough divine grace.

The centaur's body also had dozens of times the number of crystals the skaven did. It wasn't a small harvest, but the reward was directly proportional to the difficulty. The centaur captain had been completely deserving of his level.

Beye and Richard continued to advance, and it didn't take long before they encountered another battle. This time, it was a sksar ursa warlord, a character not much weaker than the centaur.

Richard entered the battle this time as well, but it was not as a mage. He buffed himself up with several spells before prowling around the edge of the battlefield with his dagger, looking for an opportunity to deal a fatal blow.

This enemy was close to three metres tall, cracks all over his hard skin that was similar to plate armour. He had an astonishingly large head covered in stiff black fur, the long mouth full of fangs some of which protruded out of the corner of his lips. It was said that these humanoids could break down obsidian weapons with a single bite, their name coming from the fact that their heads looked similar to those of bears.

Everyone in the Battlefield of Despair normally moved independently, something especially true for someone as fierce as Beye. Richard was the first person to see exactly how hard the ursa warlord got in front of her, and with his memory not being inferior to her battle might the scene was burned into his mind. Once they arrived at the capital of the Unsetting Sun, he would find out that an ursa warlord's member would grow to the maximum length their target could accommodate. This was equivalent to knowing some intimate details about her, but it would only leave him breaking out in a cold sweat. Were she to catch wind of it, he wouldn't even know how he died.

He made some progress in the battle, using the Greenflame Sword spell to enhance his own weapon before stabbing it into the root of the ursa warlord's tail where its defences were weak. He left behind a small wound that was only two finger-widths broad, no worse for the ursa than a mosquito bite, but to him it was a marked improvement. Beye had said before that killing did not distinguish between magic and martial arts, and this was the first step on that road.

The rest of the journey was equally exciting. After the ursa warlord they fought a wanga black sorcerer, a five-metre-tall creature that was slender as a rod covered in strips of black cloth from head to toe. Then came a manos lizard, a kind of draconic reptilian that was similar to draconians but much taller and more powerful. There was also a lightning drake, tens of metres long and floating a hundred metres up in the air. These were only the more fierce of the lot; there were dozens of weaker ones like the skaven that were completely destroyed.

The two had met an enemy almost every hour or two. Beye didn't disappoint Richard at all, showing him the fierceness of someone born for battle. Every weakness, every vital point was exploited to the fullest; given that the genitalia of many creatures were relatively weak, she focused a lot of her attacks on that region as well. Richard had seen her destroy reproductive organs far more than once.

The harvesting post the battle was also an essential procedure. Some of the enemies were extremely similar to humans, like the tomiller devils who were basically the same except for glowing eyes and curved horns on their foreheads. Beye dismembered them all the same. The power core in their abdomens could be turned into part of an offering, and their flesh and blood were rich in the black crystals.

By the time he had seen her do this, Richard had been numbed to the fact. The only thing he saw was Beye's bag growing in size even as she abandoned more and more of the loot. She had only brought one spatial ring that she used to store the most expensive crystals and offerings. While he himself one that could hold half a cubic metre's worth of materials, its level was too low. With the latent power in all these things, it wouldn't serve its function of reducing their weight at all. In a place like this where danger lurked around every corner, any excess baggage could be the difference between life and death.

The enchanted case with image diamonds embedded within would actually have worked for the job, but it was just too cumbersome for the Battlefield of Despair. Beye naturally hadn't allowed him to bring it along on their journey.

Of course, he had his own harvests as well. He was starting to leave a mark on the enemies by the later battles, but that was all he could do given the difference in level. His attack power and reaction speed could not compare to those of the enemy; if not for the crushing advantage of Beye on his side, even a skaven could have killed him.

Battle, rest, advance, battle... This was the cycle that continued throughout their ten days together.

518 - City of Sin

The Capital Of The Unsetting Sun

Richard had learnt a lot over the past ten days, his aura transformed by the experience. His skill in battle had advanced rapidly, but even more important than that was the strengthening of his will. He had no idea how to quantify such a gain, but it was a true harvest. After all, watching someone take apart the body of an opponent was not easy. However, the anxiety he'd been feeling over the past month or so had gradually disappeared as well.

Dusk the tenth day, the capital of the Unsetting Sun finally appeared on the horizon. This was a gigantic city that covered an entire mountain peak, the most striking building of which was a towering spire. This spire was nearly a thousand metres tall, its tip radiating a beautiful show of light.

This tower should have disappeared into the clouds, but all above the city was a huge gap in the continuous wall of grey. The blood-red light scattering down covered the entire city in a blood-like lustre. It was magnificently strange from the distance, looking like a land punished by the gods.

After ten days of learning to run properly, Richard could now match the broodmother's flight speed without losing any stamina for a long period of time. However, it still took a full two hours from when they saw the city to actually standing in front of its gates.

Looking at the fifty-metre height of the two city gates, he felt absent-minded. They were carved out of the natural rocks of the plane, magic patterns winding all through them with no signs of being stitched together and no gaps. It was an uncanny level of workmanship. These gates could not be controlled by a regular saint; even a legendary being would face some difficulty in opening or closing them without the help of their mechanisms. This showed the power and background of the Unsetting Sun.

Four guards were stood outside the gates, all of them saints that were not lower in level than Beye herself. However, when they saw her approaching, their faces filled with reverence and they stood even straighter, not daring to breach etiquette. Richard noticed their gazes flitting across the huge sack on her back and subconsciously flashing with fervour and envy.

“Lady Beye, Marshal Whitenight, Marshal Rundstedt has been awaiting your return. He was hoping to see you as soon as you returned!” one of them said respectfully.

“I understand,” she answered dully, “I still have some things to do, so we'll meet tomorrow morning.”

The name Rundstedt sounded familiar to Richard. As they walked up to a circular plaza behind the gates, he suddenly remembered where he had heard it and asked in shock, “Is Rundstedt the Tumon Dukedom's Lance of Annihilation?”

Beye nodded, “That's him. Without a legendary being in charge, we wouldn't be able to guard the capital of the Unsetting Sun.”

He went quiet for a moment before asking a question that had been on his mind over the past few days, “Are we doing very badly in the Land of Dusk?”

“Haven't you seen enough the past few days?” Beye shot back.

Richard grew silent once more. The answer to his question had been made very obvious over the past ten days. They had been teleported within the vicinity of the capital of the Unsetting Sun, but along the way they had to kill nearly fifty powerhouses from Daxdus while they had met less than ten friendly troops from Norland.

“There are a total of eleven strongholds that are about the same level as this in the Land of Dusk. However, only three belong to us,” she added unenthusiastically.

It was a simple ratio, but one that weighed heavily in the mind.

After crossing the little plaza, the two came upon a stepped road that was nearly fifty metres wide. It was inclined towards the gates of the second layer of walls, both sides filled with lofty stone buildings some of which were more than ten floors high. However, the entire city was lifeless. Outside of a few saints flying in the distance, there was no sense of activity at all.

Beye did not fly, treading firmly on the ground. Richard followed behind, surveying the surroundings as they went. The view wasn't all that good, mainly because the stairs and barriers were far too high for him. He was as tall as the normal adult male, but his line of sight was constantly blocked. All he could see were rocks of various sizes, having to intentionally look up or turn his neck to observe something. Please visit 𝒇𝘳ℯe𝙬e𝘣𝙣𝘰ѵ𝒆𝗹. c૦𝑚

He could tell that this wasn't built by humans at all, nor did it seem to be the style of any of Norland's other main races. The architecture was vast, majestic, and sharp. The rocks used in the construction were solid and compact, and the occasional statues looked like they had survived millennia of erosion from wind and rain. Every storey of the buildings here was over six metres high, meaning the original inhabitants were at least three metres tall. This place actually seemed rather befitting of Norland's ogres.

The style of the statues and other architecture showed that whatever race had left these things behind were both cautious and magnificent, with the blood of steel yet no less meticulous for it. They had travelled far on the road of civilisation. Their glory was evident everywhere he looked.

And yet, this city so large it could house a hundred thousand people was nothing more than a ghost town now. Even despite the long river of history separating them, the destruction of this race made him feel suffocation and despair. He understood Beye's intentions in walking. Only on foot could he truly understand the silent desolation of this capital.

It wasn't long before the two reached the second layer of walls, past which the city grew a little more lively. Powerhouses could now be seen walking or flying around every once in a while, with stalls opened at the sides of the path. However, most of the stalls were closed, and the other buildings that lined the path were mostly empty as well.

“The owners of these shops are people like me,” Beye explained, “They're likely outside hunting, or they're already dead. If a shop is closed too long, you can just break the door open and take it for yourself. Of course, there's no point to it. The closed shops don't have anything inside, and there are plenty of empty places on this street.”

The capital of the Unsetting Sun did not have any regular people, only lunatics like Beye. There were those who wanted to make a fortune, others who were tired of life or felt they had no chance of going further and here to feel that deranged bloodlust one last time. Some wished to seek a breakthrough on the brink of death. Thus, the population of this city was dismal. All gathered together, it had only a thousand residents.

In such a situation, it would be impossible to find someone to watch a stall on one's behalf.

Beye suddenly turned and entered a shop by the road. The place had no merchandise, its wall empty and a thick layer of dust accumulated on the wooden counter. An old man in mage robes was sitting behind, completely focused on a tattered magic tome in his hands. There was an old table and two chairs in front of him, likely used to entertain customers.

“I'm here again, old man,” Beye tossed her sack onto the table. The mage looked up, revealing a face full of wrinkles and a messy white beard that fell all the way down to his chest. The crystal spectacles perched on his nose were covered in fingerprints and oil, but he seemed to lazy to wipe them off.

He stood up unsteadily, speaking with a voice like an owl's, “Beye? You're not dead yet? That's definitely something I cannot celebrate.”

“There are many who feel the same way,” Beye answered nonchalantly, “And there will be many more in the future. Just see what my stuff is worth.”

The old man walked out from behind the counter and pointed at the ground, “Do you actually want me to help you move the items?”

Beye just picked up the bag and tossed it on the ground, holding it by a corner and shaking lightly. All sorts of materials were thus strewn across the ground, including the organs that she had frozen in a dark green ice to keep fresh.

The old mage made no move at first, eyes flitting across the materials on the ground before then focusing entirely on her. His gaze kept shifting between her waist and legs.

The scene left Richard quite confused; this fellow might have been a terrifying grand mage once or some such thing, but now he seemed to only be level 12 or 13 with his aura very weak. He was obviously dying. Given Beye's temper, one didn't even need to speak; just the wrong gaze alone could convince her to kill. The fact that she was enduring this old geezer's lecherous gaze meant there was a story behind this.

However, it was a story he did not know; he naturally wouldn't stick out on her behalf. He instead stood silently at the side; the waters were too deep in the Battlefield of Despair, and he did not yet qualify to participate.

Beye turned a blind eye to the old man's gaze, standing peacefully where she was. However, that only made him increasingly brazen; his eyes were beginning to show an unconcealable desire.

At this point, Richard was slightly shocked. Beye was incredibly tall, much taller than himself as he was now and able to match most male powerhouses. Her face was rather unique, her eyebrows and pupils so white they could not be seen at all. She had great features that would make her a beauty; long legs, slender waist, perfect curves... and no breasts to speak of. Still, all that wasn't important; the key fact was that she was fierce and peerless, possessing a strong aura of blood. Getting in bed with a goddess of murder like her required a strong mind. He believed his own was strong enough, but without a good reason he wouldn't attempt to seduce her even if he hadn't felt a woman's touch in a year.

519 - City of Sin

Mana Armament

The old mage stared at Beye for a long time, displaying an extravagant desire that Richard could not agree with before he eventually tidied up what she had thrown to the ground. He started rummaging through the loot, shouting every once in a while, “Aha, the eyeball of a draconic reptilian? Good stuff... What's this? Damn it, the ice is too thick, don't waste my strength! Let's see what's inside... Hmm... heart of a centaur captain, not bad! What, you have the heart but not the backbone? Such a waste...”

The geezer mumbled on and on, sifting through most of the materials and tossing them to one side. He suddenly picked up a blue crystal and shouted, “The soul crystal of an ursa warlord! And it's the highest quality at that!” He immediately looked up, eyes filled with protestation as he exclaimed in a sharp, urgent voice, “Where are the member and sperm vesicles? You have the soul crystal, so how could you not have gotten the other two?”

“I accidentally stepped on it and smashed it,” Beye stated dully.

The old mage jumped in front of her, grabbing her by the chest and practically spitting saliva at her face, “You smashed them? Don't you know it's the most treasured part of an ursa warlord? There are only so many that can be killed every year, and you SMASHED it?!”

She nonchalantly freed herself, speaking in her signature cold voice, “I don't know how precious it is, but I do know an old man like you can't get hard without it. If you want me to cash in that promise, I can do it anytime.”

The man's entire body trembled with anger, his voice growing extremely loud, “I won't let things be so easy for you! The capital of the Unsetting Sun is huge, I don't believe I can't buy the vesicles of an ursa warlord!”

Beye flashed a terrifying little smile, “I don't believe there's anyone who dares to sell, however. I've already announced that I'll grind the balls of anyone who does that with a skaven's molars.”

“You...” The mage was so furious he was nearly gasping, to the point that Richard started to think he would just die. Still, he was much stronger than Richard had expected, vulgarly grabbing Beye's crotch before he crouched down and continued to pick through the materials.

The scene left Richard startled. Beye hadn't dodged or even retaliated. She seemed to notice the question in his eyes, explaining in a calm voice, “This is one of the prices of selling materials here.”

Richard didn't feel like she needed to explain this to him. However, the fact that she was willing to pay this price meant this old man definitely wasn't an easy character. Or at least, he hadn't been one in the past.

It wasn't long after before the man was done checking the materials, heading behind the counter to open a cabinet. Beye suddenly grabbed the centaur heart and threw it towards him, “Treat this as something from the little guy.”

“How generous!” The old mage gave Richard a quick look, asking bluntly, “What, is this kid making you feel good?”

Beye actually nodded, “He's young and fresh, and quite big too.”

Richard immediately felt faint.

The geezer glared at Richard with eyes full of poison, but he didn't say anything else. He took out two sacks, one larger than the other, pouring out quite a few magic crystals from it into the smaller one. After weighing it, he tossed it to Richard, “Take it, kid. Anyone who dares to touch Beye isn't ordinary. I hope you'll live a little longer; if you're in the capital of the Unsetting Sun again in the future and I'm still alive, you can look for me.”

Richard flashed a glance at Beye, who replied, “You deserve this. Take it.” He didn't decline further, stowing the crystals away. The large sack in her hand disappeared as well, stashed into her spatial ring.

Before they could leave, however, the old mage suddenly glanced at Richard. His murky eyes shone with light for a moment, making Richard feel as though every part of him from head to toe had been seen through, as though every cell had been examined! The light disappeared immediately after, but he was left in a cold sweat, not knowing if he was allowed to get angry. The one thing he was sure of was the fact that this was not detection magic, but it still left him feeling very uneasy.

“Wait!” the man stopped them, heading behind the counter before taking out three pieces of hide from a dusty sack. He passed them to Richard, “Kid, if you promise to get me the member and vesicles of an ursa warlord when you're strong enough, this will be yours!”

Richard was filled with doubt as he took the hide and glanced over it, finding spots of white and grey. His first reaction was surprise. This was likely leather from a deep-sea animal called the star-spotted magic fish, and was a material that could be used to make grade 3 runes. There were sketches of magic arrays drawn on it, with some annotations and explanations written down inside square boxes. He could tell that this was a rune blueprint at first glance, but he had never even heard of it before.

The name of the rune was written in Norland's common language at the top of the design. “Mana Armament,” he read out in a whisper.

This rune was obviously grade 3, but about a third of it was just blank space. Interested, he turned to the second piece of hide and found that it was the same rune, but with much of the blank space filled. This version was more complicated than the last, making it as difficult to craft as any other grade 4 rune.

Basically all of the space had been filled by the last piece of paper, leaving behind a small blank the size of three fingernails. The difficulty of the entire rune rose once more, and if not for the incompleteness Richard even suspected it would be a grade 5 rune. However, it was hard to tell how much power the rune could bring out with those three empty spots.

In the eyes of runemasters, these three designs were priceless treasures. This was especially true for a freak like Richard, whose skills were exquisite but were held back by his mana pool. His hands were already beginning to tremble, but he still didn't agree to the old mage's request right away. He instead looked at Beye; this deal was obviously targeting her.

Beye glanced at the three pieces of hide and sneered, “You're willing to part with that?”

The old mage snorted and glared at her hard, not saying a word. In turn, she nonchalantly waved her arms, “Agree to it. He'll be dead in a few years anyway.”

Having gotten her consent, Richard agreed and stashed the three rune designs carefully.

Seeing that the deal was confirmed, a trace of slyness suddenly flashed in the old mage's eyes. He stroked his messy beard and laughed, “I'm sorry to say this, Beye, but you'be finally miscalculated things! Haha!”

Beye's expression changed slightly, but she said nothing more and pulled Richard along to leave.

After they left the old man's shop, they continued along towards the highest point in the city. Along the way, she explained the circumstances, “That old man is called Lawrence. Twenty years ago, when he was still a runemaster, everyone called him Saint Lawrence.”

Richard was startled, “Saint Lawrence? He was a saint runemaster?”

She nodded, “Yes. Although he has only made one grade 5 rune in his life, there wasn't any grade 4 rune he could not make as long as he had the design and materials. In its most difficult of times, one of the main reasons this place could hold on was his presence. Without him pumping out high-grade runes without pause, the guards here would not have been able to hold back the crazed attacks from Daxdus.”

While he'd only made one grade 5 rune, that was still something extraordinary. If someone like him was in Norland, he would surely have a superior status. 'Why would he root himself in a dangerous place like the Unreachable Battlefield?' Richard wondered.

Beye continued, “Twenty years ago, he fought a great battle with a legendary mage from Daxdus. Although he managed to kill his opponent, he returned with grave injuries. His mana pool drained out, forcing him to drop to level 10 in a single year. Things became stable after that, but he couldn't even compare to a regular mage in terms of how fast he advanced. His bodily functions had been damaged too; he lost the steady hands of a runemaster.

“Now, he's surviving as a shopkeeper. Since he was the only saint runemaster who had been willing to help for a long period of time in the Land of Dusk, many people here have received his assistance or... erm, torture before. Thus, although he's lost his abilities, many still come to make trades in his shop. After all, he was once a saint runemaster and legendary mage. Just a few words of direction from him have allowed people to progress greatly. Then there are those like me... here to repay his kindness.”

Richard found it a little difficult to link that lecherous old man with a saint runemaster and legendary mage. However, he wouldn't ask what kind of favour Beye owed him that she would tolerate his harassment and still continue to sell materials to his shop. Being curious in the case of a killer like her was suicidal.

“Why not return to Norland?” he asked. If Lawrence went back, his sheer knowledge would net him treatment no worse than a grandmaster's. Why hole himself up in a small shop like this like an old, destitute pervert?

This time, Beye sighed, “He's been here for 300 years and can't bring himself to leave. He said that he'd rather rot away in this city that he fought bravely for most of his life than return to Norland and enjoy a luxurious funeral.”

Richard went quiet. He couldn't quite empathise with those feelings, but he could at least understand how heavy they were.𝘧𝑟𝙚eｗ𝑒𝒃n𝒐𝘷𝑒𝚕. c૦𝙢

520 - City of Sin

Meaning

There were quite a few gazes of curiosity levelled at Richard along the way. The capital of the Unsetting Sun was a city of powerhouses, many of whom were young, but there were very few that were so low in level. Powerful families might send young disciples to the Battlefields of Despair to widen their perspectives, but in such a dangerous place a fragile level 13 mage was like an acolyte fighting in a normal battlefield; even if guards had been assigned, they wouldn't be completely safe.

However, since Richard had Beye walking next to him, these people cleverly chose to ignore him.

In the end, Beye brought him to the highest layer of the city. The view of the kilometre-tall tower was especially spectacular from here, and one could see a shrine to the Eternal Dragon at the bottom. The teleportation gate back to Norland was located within.

“Amazing, isn't it. This tower was once famed for being one of the plane's seven great shrines. To date, there are few buildings in Norland that compare to its beauty. However, we've already exterminated the race that constructed it.” Her voice gave this piece of history more flavour.

“Turn back and take a look,” she pointed behind him

Richard turned back, looking down from above at the desolate view of the Land of Dusk. Now stood even higher than when they had arrived, his field of vision was much wider.

“Do you know why I brought you to the Battlefield of Despair?” she asked, and he shook his head. He had some guesses, but he wasn't sure.

“We are all destined for planar war, it is a path that every powerhouse has to take. You might think they are far too cruel, but without the wealth plundered from numerous secondary planes, Norland wouldn't be as powerful as it is today. Were we to be defeated in the battles with Daxdus and the other primary planes, we would become the same as this, completely extinguished. Once this place is completely destroyed, we'll open up a new Battlefield of Despair with Daxdus. This is the cruellest, most realistic battlefield. Here, fighting is the same as breathing, an instinct of every inhabitant.

“When one starts with planar battles, they normally reach one of two extremes. They can doubt the meaning of the massacres and even begin to pity the enemy, or they'll completely immerse themselves in the killing and seek pleasure in it to numb themselves.”

Richard was startled and smiled bitterly, “I feel like I'm on both ends. What should I do?”

“Just remember that killing is only a method, not your goal. You have to consider whether the method is appropriate, nothing else.”

Richard pondered over it for a long time, “... I understand.” When it was essential to kill, he would do so without remorse. If it was not, he would just give up on it. The answer to his questions was that simple.

He was in deep thought even as he moved towards the teleportation gate. The journey to the Battlefield of Despair this time was no different from a cruel baptism of his soul. From Norland's perspective, planar war was unavoidable. One could either keep advancing or be destroyed like the Land of Dusk. In this situation, there was no meaning to discussing the meaning of planar battles. He could only choose to face it or avoid it. Beye had just shown him the attitude he needed to have towards killing.

......

When he returned to Norland once more, Richard felt like his heart had been covered by a layer of steel. The Land of Dusk would definitely be a place he would visit again in the future.

He had appeared back on the Ironblood island; while he had spent an entire ten days in the Land of Dusk, the time-flow there was eight times that of Norland. Thus, only a little past a day had passed back here. Upon hearing that he was back, Agamemnon quickly came over and returned all the equipment he had been holding.

The moment he saw Richard, the corner of the youth's eye twitched. The silent fellow stared at him for a few minutes until Richard was starting to feel scared before nodding, “You're finally alright.”

“You knew I wasn't?” Richard asked, baffled. Come to think of it, he didn't really know why Beye had suddenly brought him to the Battlefield of Despair. Agamemnon and Nyris had obviously noticed more than he'd told them back when they were eating together.

Thankfully, Agamemnon wasn't miserly with his saliva this time, “Everyone who's been immersed in planar war for a year or two, especially when expanding, faces some degree of psychological problems. It isn't optimal to go to the Battlefield of Despair, but it's a way to solve it quickly. One will either be toughened by the experience, or they'll go completely mad.”

Richard immediately grew confused, staring back at him and asking, “You've done this before too?”

“Yes.”

“Was it your idea?” He really didn't believe Agamemnon was so decisive. Outside of a small few who were naturally optimistic and had strong wills, most would go crazy if they stayed in the Land of Dusk for any length of time.

“No, Beye forced me to.” As was expected!

After chatting with him for a while and agreeing on delivery times for the next batch of enchanted equipment, Richard left the Ironblood island and returned to his own. On the way to the castle, he coincidentally met Fuschia who held him back and looked over him for a long time, “You seem to have changed a little again.”

He laughed in response, “I've gotten more handsome, haven't I?”

She immediately created some distance and he burst into laughter before returning to his study. After entrusting some matters to the old steward, he prepared to return to Faelor. Before he could march to the Forest Plane, he needed to set things up in Faelor to prevent any accidents.

After walking out of the study, he passed through a long corridor. All of a sudden, he noticed Coco standing at a corner of a french window, head down as she seemed to be struggling with something. He only cast a glance at her, not stopping in his rush towards the stairs, but unlike him the girl's expression changed greatly.

“Is anything wrong?” he asked as he came to a halt, having caught the change on her face.

“N-no, it's nothing...” the girl shook her head hard.

He nodded, not pursuing any further as he hastily rushed towards the warehouse downstairs.

Only after he was far away did Coco stomp her feet hard, feeling hatred at herself. She really did have something to ask, but when she actually saw him she just couldn't get the words out of her mouth. If she missed this chance, she didn't know when she would see him next. In the midst of all her anxiety, tears started falling once more.

She wept for a while and walked towards the old steward's office. However, she didn't make it far before she remembered that Richard was about to leave once more. The old steward would likely be by his side, only having time to see her after Richard left Norland.

......

Late in the night, Coco lightly rapped at the door to the old steward's office. While it was already very late, the man's office was still lit up; he didn't sleep until around one in the night, waking up at six the next day. This work schedule had been maintained for several decades.

The office was quite narrow, with all sorts of documents piled up high occupying most of the space. The old man gestured for her to sit in front of the table, reading through a few documents in his hands before looking up and waiting for her to explain why she was here.

“I... I want to ask about Father and Brother...” Coco said on tenterhooks.

The old steward shifted his glasses and said slowly, “Have you not been exchanging messages with them?”

“I have, but the letters all say that they're not in a good state now.”

“Wait a moment.” the old steward took out a document from the cabinet, opening it up and reading through before nodding, “Yes, that's true. If your father cannot pay his debt in three months, his fief will be taken over by the local parliament.”

“I hope... to borrow some money from the family to help Father through this.”

The steward turned back towards her, “You know that will not solve his problems. Also, what can you offer in compensation? You have already used up all your credit.”

Coco looked down and whispered, “Let's... Let's talk about that afterwards. The money... I'll come up with a way.”

“You have no way.” The old steward was very blunt.

Coco suddenly burst into tears and whimpered, “I've already done all I can! But now... Now there's Rosie! How can I even compete?”

The old steward shook his head and sighed, taking out a piece of paper. He wrote a few lines on it quickly and signed his name, passing it off to her, “I believe this can help you hold on for half a year.”

Coco took it and had a look. This was a cheque for 2,000 gold coins, paid from the steward's personal account. Google search ƒ𝑟𝑒𝙚𝚠e𝗯𝘯𝗼𝘃𝑒𝚕. c𝒐𝒎

“Ah, this won't do!” Coco stood up. She knew that the old steward had never been corrupt and would often sponsor a few poor Archeron warriors and young knights with potential but no background. Erwin had been one of the recipients of his kindness. The man thus had practically no savings at all; this was likely all the money he had.

“Alright, take it! This is the last thing I can do for you,” he sighed, pushing the cheque into her hands, “As for you, learn well from Rosie!”

......

Richard had no idea about this incident with Coco, nor was there a need to. He was already back in Faelor, gathering all his followers and assigning missions to them on the large map of the Bloodstained Lands and the Sequoia Kingdom.

The bandits in the Bloodstained Lands had mostly been cleared out, but many fierce races had been demoralised by the Bloodstained Highway project and moved into the depths of the Bloodstained Lands that held more complicated and dangerous terrain. It would require time and patience to completely weed them out.

521 - City of Sin

Arrangements

Checkpoints were already being built on the Bloodstained Highway. Richard had set the tax to 10% of all goods that passed through, the portions corresponding to whole items able to be replaced with gold. This was rather low for Faelor, with many of his allies opposing it. However, he decided to implement this 'inconceivable' tax anyway, stating that any caravan that refused to pay the fee would be disallowed in the Bloodstained Lands. The safety of those who tried to sneak in could not be guaranteed.

This tax rate was low enough that it wasn't worth it to risk annihilation. There was also no need to take a detour and go through the Iron Triangle Empire, whose taxes were much higher. In fact, since the core of the empire was in the northeast, the southern mountains had disappointing security. Even after paying the toll, it wasn't unlikely for one to meet brigands and bandits.

Richard dispatched a few cavalry groups to roam the Bloodstained Lands, able to turn into bandits if they found caravans that hadn't paid tax. At the same time, they would solidly support any caravans that had paid against actual bandits. He pulling wool over the people's eyes, preparing to announce the merger of the entire Bloodstained Lands into his own territory. He would then march towards the barbarians' ancestral plains and the Ashen Plateau, constricting around the territories of the barbarians and dwarves. At that time, he would just take all the goods of any caravans that flouted his laws.

With a combination of a low tax rate, massive business opportunity and severe consequences for not paying up, he believed any caravan that wished to pass through the Bloodstained Lands would come to the right decision.

With all of his zealous supporters parroting his words and the stunned silence of the other nobles from his previous battles, he easily passed the proposal. Of course, he knew that it was impossible to make the nobles, especially those of the Iron Triangle Empire, admit to his rulership of this territory without a few battles. However, he was prepared for that.

He had only been in Norland for a few days, but a month had passed in Faelor. This meant he had another hundred humanoid knights. Seeing his cavalry pass the 1,000 mark, he realised he was running short on weapons and equipment once more. This was the pinch of burning through one's money; an elite army of a thousand men had taken over ten million in investment. Of course, this was because of his high standards for equipment. With Faelor's standards, even 5,000 gold's worth of armour was first-class for a knight.

After making arrangements for his troops, Richard suddenly paused and looked at the followers seated in a circle in the meeting room. A sudden headache started to come over him; he had no idea of who to leave behind on Faelor to take care of the situation. Gangdor, Waterflower, Tiramisu... His gaze swept past every follower, stopping at Io.

Although he hated the fellow's guts, the battle priest was the real deal. He had shown an excellent understanding of combat over the numerous battles, knowledge second only to Richard himself. Of course, Richard's abilities could not be reproduced; his blessings of wisdom and truth, the connection with the broodmother's elites... these advantages left the entire battlefield transparent to him. Without them, he would be no more powerful than Io.

On top of that, Io had outstanding intelligence. He also appeared elegant and could integrate into the upper classes, being not one whit inferior when it came to scheming. He truly was the best candidate to be put in charge of a plane.

However, Richard sighed and nodded in front of everyone, eliminating Io first and foremost. Faelor was his base, the foundation of his future empire. He could not allow defiance here, so the first priority for a commander was loyalty. Passing ability at command was fine; the proxy only needed to keep control of what they already had. Richard would return himself for any important battles, taking care of things.

The second candidate was Flowsand. The young priestess lost to Io in terms of tactical knowledge, but outside of that there were no fields where she was inferior. This was someone who could call forth miracles; she hadn't commanded large-scale battles before, but if she was given the chance to hone herself she could well become a famous general. Richard knew just how precise her judgement was, boosting their warriors with barriers or healing spells moments before enemy attacks. However, getting a titled priestess to become a general seemed too insignificant a position for someone of her calibre.

He gave her a long look, deciding to keep her by his side. Sometimes, decisions could not be made based on rationality alone. He wanted her next to him, and there was no need for anything else.

Seeing his gaze shift to the next person, a slight smile of satisfaction appeared at the corner of Flowsand's lips.
f𝔯𝒆𝑒we𝚋𝓃૦ν𝙚Ɩ. c૦m

In the end, Richard came to a difficult decision. He raised his hand and pointed at Gangdor, “You'll stay behind.”

The brute immediately jumped up, “What? Boss, no way! How can you leave me in this stupid place? Look, there aren't any wars at all now, just leave Olar behind. That kid's really good at dealing with the noble ladies!”

Richard continued to point at him, leaving no room for discussion, “You're the one. Olar's coming with me, but I'll leave Io for you.”

The slight smile on the battle priest's face immediately froze and he suddenly stood up. Just as he was about to object, Flowsand coughed abruptly from his side. He turned towards her, only to find the priestess staring blankly at the fingernails on her left hand. Her fingers were long and filled with power, the glossy nails even looking perfect. There didn't seem to be any areas that needed adornment.

“You have something to say?” Richard asked, an ominous glint in his eyes. At this point, Io was a joke to him. He had beaten the man down before, and now that he had journeyed to the Battlefield of Despair his understanding of killing had been raised to another level. If the battle priest dared to challenge him, he would be beaten down every single time.

Out of his expectations, Io actually sat back down while looking glum, “It can't be helped.”

The valour in Richard's heart had no place to go. He was startled for a bit, but he eventually just said, “Fine.”

At that moment, Io had remembered Flowsand's most practical threat. She would create a female battle priest instead of boosting his limit to level 18, and he knew himself that two level 16 battle priests were definitely more useful than a single level 18 one. He was extraordinary, but the brutal truth was that the one who created and could allow him to advance was even more so.

'The fellow finally isn't scheming,' Flowsand thought as Io finally bowed down to reality, 'Hmph, don't think that's enough. I'll still create a girl next time!'

Richard arranged for Gangdor and Io to stay behind and guard Faelor, giving the former absolute command. In the meanwhile, he silently told the broodmother to have her troops obey Gangdor if there was a conflict of interest. This way, he had two layers of insurance. Just the thousand humanoids armed from head to toe would allow Gangdor to defeat armies several times his size head-on, and on top of that the Archeron soldiers, knights, and mages would obey him as well. Zendrall was also staying behind, and he would naturally stand on the brute's side.

Three people had their own thoughts and arrangements in the room. It was just that Richard and Flowsand were active, while Io was passive.

Having taken care of everything, Richard wrote a letter to the Direwolf Duke to mention that he was leaving in seven days, and would be gone for about half a year. Bevry, although now weaker than him, was still the most reliable of all his allies on this plane.

These seven days were necessary to finish preparations on this end. Richard made use of the time to meditate and grow his mana pool, as well as putting some research into improving his spells. He would reach level 14 in a few months, catching up to Io.

He didn't slack off when it came to runes either. Inspiration had flowed freely after his trip to the Land of Dusk, and he finally completed the Cryptic Heart rune and used a night to tattoo it onto Flowsand's ribs. Of course, the two vigorous youths didn't waste the rest of the night after the rune was drawn either.

The battle that night had been rather intense. He had his ups and downs, but he eventually fell and was devoured by Flowsand completely.

......

Two days before they returned to Norland, Richard chose to find some time to relax. He left his laboratory at dusk, walking around the camp.

As his aimless wandering brought him close to Zim's residence, he suddenly heard a peal of showy laughter resounding from within. This unrestrained laugh held great power within, and was very easy to recognise. Even he would turn tail upon hearing it, and every great noble of the Sequoia Kingdom, including the three dukes, would feel a terrible headache from the sound.

Because it belonged to Countess Katrina.

He immediately turned to leave, but a young, expressionless woman with a tall figure suddenly appeared before his eyes. She was dressed in military clothing, her deep-set face making her a classic beauty. This was the Countess' trusted aid, Anna.

Anna was no stranger to Richard; she had commanded the Countess' army during the Bloodstained Highway project. This young beauty was level 14, and had a strong understanding of tactics. She was a rather striking person amongst the nobles, but considering her individual characteristics she was nothing special.

522 - City of Sin

Collaboration

The fact that Countess Katrina's aide was obstructing him left Richard a little surprised. His only impression of Anna was her long legs and straight posture. Her commandership was quite normal with nothing memorable. Of course, any general would seem lacklustre in his presence. Even if they had any ability, they wouldn't be able to showcase it properly.

“My Lady would be very happy to see you,” Anna stated expressionlessly.

Richard was forced to stop, unable to help but eye her up and down and sigh, “I'd be glad to see the Countess, but you're blocking my way. Do you really think that's appropriate, or that you could even try and stop me with force?”

The young lady took a step back and bowed, but still did not make way, “I know I am offending you. Once you see my Lady, you may punish me however you like.”

Richard's heart throbbed a little at the sight of the icy beauty telling him he could punish her however he wanted. It would instead be abnormal if he wasn't. However, this slight bit of seduction was nothing compared even to Katrina herself. He smiled wryly, “The Countess can see me whenever she wants to, I have no interest in punishing you. Make way!”

However, in comparison to the countess, Anna's little bit of seduction was nothing. Richard smiled wryly, “The countess can see me any time she wants to. I've no interest in punishing you. Make way!”

Anna still refused to give way, stating bluntly, “My Lady cannot see you at all, you always come up with some sort of excuse.”

Richard was already beginning to stretch his fingers, sighing in her direction once more, “You're quite the loyal one.”

“If you wish to know the reason for my undying loyalty, please wait to see my Lady. I can discuss things in detail with you afterwards.” Nothing seemed to be able to get through to her; she was ready to go all out for her cause.

“Richard!” a voice suddenly rang out behind Richard, filled with pleasant surprise. A burst of fragrance then assaulted his nostrils.

He had no option but to turn around and bow with etiquette, “Lady Katrina.”

Katrina smiled before saying anything, the lewd smile of a fox that had seen a little chick. When she stopped laughing and spoke up, her voice held the hint of a spoilt child, “Lord Richard, it really is quite difficult to get a meeting with you!”

Richard smiled, “My level is too low. I have no choice but to work hard.”

“You're such a joker!” Katrina covered her mouth as she giggled, eyes curving like crescents, “You aren't even 25 yet, are you, my Lord?”

He thought it over for a bit, deciding to keep his true age to himself. However, the number he did throw out was still enough to awe anyone, “I'm twenty years of age.”

“Just twenty!” Katrina's eyes flashed. Looking at her expression, he didn't think it was due to his level.

He immediately felt a headache coming on, knowing he had made a mistake. Countess Katrina had supported him in full force during the battle against the Mage Association, dispatching thousands of elite soldiers and even two saints. She had lost over a thousand men in those battles, having to pay out hundreds of thousands in gold.

Moreover, she was different from Zim. She was a true noble with proper influence, having both the power and background to match. The families on her father's, mother's, and even late husband's side were of great renown. As one of the nobles who played a decisive role in the Kingdom, her clear stance had influenced many others as well. On top of that, she had actively spread the word after the Mage Association's first defeat, collapsing their alliance from within. Richard was bound to treat such a helpful ally with care and gratitude.

The Countess' eyes grew increasingly bright as she continued to laugh, almost calling him tender. He smiled wryly in response. Although his body was still growing, the Torrent of Life blessing ensured his face remained as youthful as it was three years ago. He was just about to turn eighteen, but his visage looked two years younger. Although the difference wasn't large, it was noticeable; his facial hair helped hide it to an extent, but its effects weren't as good as he had expected either. As someone well-versed in ornamentation herself, Katrina's piercing glare easily saw through his youth.

She was about thirty years old. Her body was tall and well-developed, but her skin was still fair and tender. This was a mature beauty, one in the prime of her life. Unable to tolerate her unrestrained gaze, Richard tried his best to divert the topic as he asked with a smile, “Is Viscount Zim doing well, my Lady?”
f𝑟𝐞𝙚𝘸𝐞𝑏𝙣𝑜v𝑒Ɩ. c𝐨𝙢

It was obvious that Zim was definitely not doing well. He had only heard Katrina's satisfied laughter from within the residence, and there hadn't been a peep from Zim.

Katrina's hand fan rattled as she opened it, starting to fan the large exposed region of her ample breasts; the plump peaks jiggled with the movement. Gaze clear as water, she stared at him and laughed, “Little Zim just fell asleep. The unicorn bloodline isn't as amazing as they say it is, he turned from a divine creature to a dead horse in just three rounds. Lord Richard, may I know what precious bloodline you possess?”

Richard's forehead beaded with sweat as he hastily humbled himself, “I'm just a regular human, how could I be fortunate enough to have a special bloodline? I still have to discuss some insights on spells with Zendrall, my Lady, is there anything else you need of me?”

Upon hearing Zendrall's name, her expression quickly changed, “What's the point of spending time with that fellow who deals with the dead all day? Why not have some morning tea with me instead, and discuss bloodlines and the secrets of life in detail?”

He maintained his perfect smile, “My sincerest apologies, but this is an urgent matter. If the opportunity presents itself in the future, I would love to enjoy your morning tea.” Having said this, he bowed to her and quickly fled the location.

Seeing Richard's back fading into the distance, Anna's eyes narrowed, “Are you going to let him escape so easily, my Lady?”

“What else can I do? Use force? Don't forget, this is his territory. Also, don't underestimate him because he's a mage. You might not even be able to win against him.”

A decisive look flashed across the fighter's face, “I'm not afraid to lose my life, but he is.”

Katrina chuckled and lifted Anna's chin, causing the girl's cheeks to turn red, “I will not allow that. Fret not, he can escape this time but that won't be the same again.”

“Clack!” the fan was folded, Katrina's charming eyes staring dazedly in the direction Richard had disappeared in, “I'll drug him next time.”

......

Back in Norland, Richard immediately contacted Nyris. Confirming that they would conduct the offering ceremony the next day, they met once more to discuss the details of expanding into the Forest Plane.

The idea was to work together and invest equal resources, evenly splitting the profits from the plane. Any strategic decisions would be taken by committee, but because of Nyris' status as a prince, the Archerons would still hold the right to govern the plane.

The calculations had to begin from stabilising the planar passage. The Schumpeters had invested a large amount into the Forest Plane, and Gaton had as well. It only took 3,000 gold to teleport a person into the plane now, and Nyris was only going to be upgrading the passage a single time tomorrow. Looking at the short term, this meant Richard was actually on the losing end of the transaction. However, it was different when one noticed the big picture. Nyris had great value as a consistent supply of enchanted equipment.

Richard had already made ample preparations, clearly listing out how many resources to invest as well as the schedule of when to do so. The moment he took out this plan, however, the expressions of both Nyris and Agamemnon changed as they laughed wryly and exchanged glances. This left him feeling very confused; he was sure he had thought things through properly, taking care to divide profits in all areas. Blackgold had taught him that the lack of a clear, fair system for the division of benefits would leave even the best of friends parting ways eventually.

In the end, Nyris was the one who made the objection. He had no issues with the model itself, but there were problems regarding the scale of the investment. And there was only one reason for that. Richard planned to pour in ten million gold's worth of resources. Did the fellow not even consider how someone earning only a million every year would feel?How could he afford to take out such a large amount of money for planar war? On top of that was the despicable note at the end of the plan, saying this was only a base investment and could go up!

It was only then that Nyris understood that there were far more princes and princesses than royal runemasters. He definitely couldn't compete with Richard when it came to money.

Richard's ten million investment wasn't an exaggeration on his end at all. Given the time-differential between Norland and Faelor, he gathered over fifteen million gold every half a year. Of that, most was normally exchanged for magic equipment. One could see from this just how quickly his influence was spreading on Faelor.

Even considering the time difference, Richard was still amassing wealth at an absurd range. This left both Nyris and Agamemnon interested in his success rate and bloodline abilities, but the runemaster's true secrets were hidden in Faelor. This was an area they could not encroach upon, and neither of them would do anything until he told them of his own accord.

After voicing his objection, Nyris should have proposed his own revisions to the plan. However, despite a long period of hesitation, he could not say a word. How could he say that he couldn't even take out a tenth of what Richard could? Eventually, Agamemnon helped him out by saying he was willing to invest in the plan as well and take up a quarter of the total profits alongside Nyris, leaving the remaining three quarters to Richard himself.

It was only then that Richard understood how different their incomes were. Not just anyone could get an easy source of money like the troll capital. The young disciples of noble families would normally rely on fixed dividends from the family for their money, regardless of their ability. It was rare for them to be able to make any sort of money out of planar war.

523 - City of Sin

Collaboration(2)

Richard thought it over and immediately amended the plan. He would continue to invest the same amount, but Nyris and Agamemnon could together get a third of the profits in the Forest Plane so long as they used other means to make up for the discrepancy in funding. They had to promise to provide him with at least ten million gold's worth in weapons and armour every year, giving someone like him who lacked connections the stable equipment channel he was in dire need of.

The plan was thus balanced, leaving all three parties quite satisfied. The offering ceremony the next day went very smoothly as well, both upgrades succeeding on the first try. The Unhurriedness blessing boosted the time differential to 8:1, while the passageway was strengthened and the transport cost dropped from three thousand gold to two.

Nyris and Agamemnon's troops had gathered faster than anticipated. The very day after the offerings were done, they could enter the plane. In fact, they would've been even faster if Richard hadn't needed to build a new teleportation gate.

The original gates had been set up in the underground sections of the Archeron castle, but before heading out to battle Gaton had them all turned into one-way gates. One could only send information out from Norland for now, and they would need to make a connection with the other side to rebuild the full passage. Outside of a grand mage opening a planar portal, the only other option was building an entirely new gate.

Having taken a look at the teleportation array underground that was half-closed, Richard had decided to just build a new one. The costs would be no different from rebuilding the existing connection, and it also circumvented the spatial lock on the Forest Plane's array that was likely there because it had been taken from the Schumpeters. Without the information about the original gate and a serious lack of time, Richard couldn't analyse the original one. Compared to fixing the passage that wasn't large enough and also had limitations on equipment and other things, it was better to just make a new one.

This new gate was built in the Church of the Eternal Dragon, right next door to the one to Faelor. However, although only one wall separated them, this was a wall belonging to the Church; there was no need to worry.

The Forest Plane was different from Faelor; it was already worked on and had low teleportation costs, which meant he could bring many more people over. When Richard returned to the Archeron island, he began to ponder over who he would take along.

He'd gone all out, taking practically every follower and the five rune knights out of Faelor. A major milestone in the middle of that was Phaser. He had actually succeeded in bringing her from Faelor to Norland! Although he hadn't planned on taking that risk originally, she had tried repeatedly to sneak into the portal after finding out that he was leaving. Instead of letting her act without knowing how to, he'd thought it would be better to let her try.

Whether it would be useful or not, he had added a myriad of tracing spells onto her, even connecting to her mentally right before she walked in. Although there was a false alarm when he entered after her but came out first, it was still a success in the end.

There were no words to describe just how important this was. It meant that he could henceforth take the broodmother's drones out of Faelor! The moment Phaser had stepped out into Norland, he had immediately made strengthening Faelor's portal one of his top priorities.

He eventually chose to take another twenty footsoldiers around level 10 and some free Archeron warriors from the island itself to the Forest Plane. Limited by the high costs of teleporting in and out of Faelor, his 1,000-strong humanoid army could not be brought out yet.

By the time he was done drafting the list, it was already late into the night. He stretched his fatigued body and took out the three Mana Armament rune designs he'd gotten in the Land of Dusk, beginning to analyse them carefully.

Mana Armament was a rune with a unique train of thought. It worked to stimulate a mage's weapon into something similar to warriors' internal energy, greatly enhancing their strength, speed, and defence. Its effects were quite similar to the War Construct spell.

This was already quite uncommon; not just any cleric could cast a War Construct spell, and any who could had the potential to become grand priests in the future. On top of that, both in Norland and Faelor it was widely acknowledged that buffs from mana spells were noticeably weaker than those from divine spells. With even the grade 3 version of the Mana Armament rune able to stand side-by-side with the War Construct spell, this was a design that was exquisite and peerless.

However, Richard had his doubts. Balance had never been a good option in the path of magic. Mages always felt like they lacked mana, so who would be so bored as to turn their mana into energy? In the eyes of a high-levelled mage, melee classes of a similar level were nothing to be afraid of. And this was a gulf that only grew with level.

The mages from Deepblue could be considered unconventional, all of them having sturdy bodies. However, this was a pure bodily strengthening just so one could contain mana better and not to physically hit someone. As someone who had learnt melee techniques from the underworld, Richard was already shattering conventions.

But then he recalled the Battlefield of Despair, the unadulterated, vile desolation of the environment, and everything suddenly grew clear. If two mages met, the one with this rune on them would definitely win. It was similar to Life's Bane in that it prioritised combat; of course, it didn't only raise pure damage but also protected one's life.

Even with a brief analysis of the rune, Richard was left gasping in admiration at its cleverness. He then immersed his body and soul in the world of runes, time passing in the blink of an eye.

He didn't know when the clock started pointing to three in the night. It wasn't long before dawn would break. Still not noticing that he'd gone a full day without rest, he continued drawing quickly on the paper to analyse the principles behind the arrays that made up the rune. It was only a brief sketch, but while it was considerably complete a large amount of work would need to go in to form a full rune. There were already numerous other pieces of paper on the table and many more littering the floor.

At some point, a warm coat was draped over his shoulders. Some more time later, a warm cup of water appeared on the table near his hand. He didn't so much as think before picking it up and draining it, before placing the cup aside and continuing with his calculations. The cup was refilled, and he drained it again.

The next time, a plate of cut fruit and two slices of bread appeared next to his hand. The sight instantly made him feel hungry, and he nonchalantly wolfed it all down. The empty plate then disappeared, leaving a clean and organised space.

The sketches spread messily across the floor were gathered piece by piece. Most were rough calculation sheets that had no value, but there were others with important insights that he needed to keep. They had originally been piled up on the table carelessly, but he had accidentally pushed them off. The important drafts were separated from the waste paper and returned to his desk, while the rest were piled up next to the bin. A moment later, another cup of warm water appeared by his hand.

After some time, an expression of delight overcame Richard's face as he pounded the table hard, his pen quickly noting down a long series of numbers and formulae. Only then did he sigh deeply, leaning heavily on the back of his chair and closing his eyes.

A few minutes of rest allowed his dizziness to fade away. When he next opened his eyes, he suddenly made a sound of confusion, startled by the cup of water on his desk. He remembered having drained it, but it was now full once more. 'Wait, this shouldn't even be here!'

It wasn't just the cup. Even the fruits and bread should not have appeared, and the drafts should have been strewn across the table and floor instead of being piled up so neatly. The coat now draped over his shoulders should have been in his closet.

He turned around to find Rosie standing there quietly, ever the radiant beauty.

He picked up the sketches on the table and flipped through them, “You organised all of these?”

“Yes.”

“Hmm...” He stowed the rune designs away, picking up a piece of blank paper and writing down a set of formulae before passing it to her, “Solve these, you have ten minutes.” He then stood up, taking two steps away from the table and stretching his body that had grown a little stiff from sitting through the night.

Rosie took his place at the desk, engrossing herself in the calculations. In the meanwhile, he paced back and forth around the room, pondering about a few difficult problems that had been obstructing him for some time. With the inspiration from the Magic Armament rune, a few of them became easy to solve.

When Rosie stood up and said, “I'm done,” he was quite surprised. Taking a look at the clock, he found she had only used three minutes of the alloted ten. He took the paper and scanned through it, finding that she really had solved everything. This was truly remarkable, but given that these formulae dealt with planar geometry her methods were rather clumsy. This looked quite like the work of a traditional mage, a few levels below those of the Deepblue. Still, this was quite unexpected of a mere level 8 mage.

He took out his magic pen and drew a few diagrams on the paper, passing it back to Rosie. She looked at it for a short while before her expression changed greatly; Richard's methods were quite different from hers. This was a foundational difference in terms of analysis and ideology.

Each had astonished the other.

Leaving someone of such calibre back in Norland was a real waste. Richard frowned and mumbled to himself for a while, asking a while later, “What exactly do you want?”

“Take me with you.” A hint of a plea appeared on Rosie's little face, her normally icy demeanour melted by a trace of hope.

Richard thought it over for a moment and nodded, but even he himself didn't understand why he had done so.

524 - City of Sin

Professional

Richard was unwilling to admit that, regardless of what happened that fateful night, he found it comfortable to have Rosie by his side. However, that wasn't the only reason. He had to admit that she was very good at taking care of him, and the most decisive turn came from her decent knowledge of mathematics. This was an extremely rare quality, one that would turn her into a capable assistant in the future.

“Who did you learn mathematics from?” he asked her.

“My teacher taught me the basics, while I learnt the rest myself. Level 8 was just right as a bargaining chip and I wasn't allowed to grow beyond that, but the Mensa library was still open to me so I learnt quite a bit. Any advanced mathematics I learnt came from those books.”

Richard nodded. This explained why Rosie's fundamentals were strong but her usage was quite inflexible. His tone grew more tender, “Tell the steward to make preparations, we leave tomorrow. Oh right, there isn't much time left so you get ready as well. Our destination is the Forest Plane.”

The girl nodded and suddenly pounced on him, leaving a feather-light kiss on his cheek before leaving like the wind.

Birdsong was already beginning to sound outside the window, and morning light shone into the study. Another new day had begun. Rosie left the study and quickly headed for her room, coincidentally meeting the old steward who had gotten up to make his rounds. She immediately informed him of Richard's decision and he called for two maids to help her pack.

Just as she bid farewell to him and turned the corner, she suddenly came to a stop. Coco was crouched nearby, trying to withdraw. She looked obviously terrified at the sight of Rosie, but there was also an unconcealable hatred in her eyes.

Rosie waved for the two maids to go ahead before walking up to Coco, “Ah, Coco, isn't it? I heard you're Richard's partner.”

The weak illusionist, for whatever reason, suddenly gathered her courage in this battle with no smoke. She stuck her chest out and raised her head, “That's right, I'm Richard's partner. And you're a Mensa!”

Rosie suddenly laughed. It was like a sun shining upon a glacier, the cold yet striking magnificence leaving Coco dazzled, “You want to say that I'm just a slave and even if I get into Richard's bed, I'm just a prostitute. So, my status can't be compared to yours? Is that it? You're quite tactful with your words.”

This really had been Coco's intention, but with Rosie laying it out the meaning had completely changed. She was supposed to be imposing, but now just felt like a defeated little chick.

Rosie did not stop there, “I also heard that despite being his partner, you haven't even made your way to his bed. You even had an affair with a knight-in-training outsi— hmm, let's not bring that up for now. I don't like exposing people's scars. However, don't you find it strange being a partner who's never been in bed with him before?”

Coco gritted her teeth, “That's none of your business!”

Watching the weak girl who was like a kitten baring her fangs, Rosie retracted her own claws and regained her calm, whispering, “You've been doing your best to approach him but to no avail. I've only seen him a few times and already got into his bed. Do you know what the difference between us is?”

Coco clenched her little fists, entire body shaking. However, she greatly desired to know the answer to the question, her mouth flapping open and closed a few times. Eventually, she decided to endure the humiliation, “What?”

“You're not professional,” Rosie said softly before turning towards her room, leaving a dumbstruck Coco behind.

......

Richard met up with Nyris and Agamemnon at noon, preparing to enter the Forest Plane. When the three looked at each others' troops as they arrived at the Church, all of them were inwardly startled.

Nyris had actually brought a saint and a grand mage with him, and 500 imperial footsoldiers! The teleportation costs made this a huge investment of over a million gold coins! It was apparent that these 500 would not return from the Forest Plane if there weren't enough profits.

Behind Richard were only twenty soldiers and knights, which was quite quaint, but as their gazes swept past Richard's followers, Nyris and Agamemnon grew increasingly grave.

Agamemnon's gaze lingered on Phaser in particular, his brows furrowing. In the meanwhile, Nyris saw the five rune knights standing behind Richard and the corner of his eye subconsciously twitched. The grand mage focused on Waterflower, especially the runic patterns on her exposed neck and wrist. He stared at her for a long while before suddenly asking, “Lord Richard, the runes on this lady are from a set, aren't they?”

Richard was a little startled but he easily admitted to it, “A custom design of mine called the Guide of Secrets, a grade 2 rune set from the Savagery of Darkness series.”

“Grade 2 rune set!” the mage exclaimed in a low voice, his eyes filled with passion.

Agamemnon's gaze landed on Waterflower as well, asking, “How many runes?”

Richard had to appreciate the youth's astuteness, “Seven.”

“Seven!” Nyris immediately sucked in a breath. His face immediately overtaken by shock and surprise, he charged over to her and shouted, “Quick, show me!”

The Prince seemed like he wanted to take off Waterflower's clothes right then and there to look at the runes on her body. His movements were very quick, and Richard was unable to stop him in time.

This situation was bad! None of Richard's men could stop Waterflower, and he knew exactly how painful her instinctual counterattack would be. He only barely managed to order her not to attack mentally, but he didn't know whether that would be of any use compared to her instincts.

Halfway through his charge, Nyris suddenly felt an icy killing intent locking onto his buttocks. He was immediately startled, but a heavy blade suddenly appeared in front of him to block him from Waterflower. Unable to control his charge in time, he forced his hands out to push at the blade and was sent retreating two steps by a mountainous strength.

“Nyris, that's one of Richard's!” Agamemnon shouted.

“I know!” the Prince answered, immediately turning to sweep his eyes around to find the source of the bloodlust. One of his bloodline abilities allowed him to predict attacks, but the target of the enemy this time left him feeling a mix of embarrassment and anger that left him on the verge of going out of control.

However, he only found his trusted subordinates behind his back. Had one of them changed their loyalties? This definitely wasn't good news. Facing the idea that one of his men had betrayed him, he immediately calmed down.

With some time left before the portal was activated, Nyris pulled Richard aside and asked about the Guide of Secrets in detail. Richard didn't hold back, giving him an explanation about the rune set and its abilities. The Prince's expression kept changing, but he eventually just sighed deeply and looked depressed.

Richard was startled. The set Secret Guide was his pinnacle work, custom-made specifically for Waterflower. It was so powerful that it raised her battle might by three whole levels, even bringing her close to a Norland saint if she activated both Breath of Darkness and Guide of Secrets in suitable dark environments. This set was far more powerful than a bunch of random runes.

Was the design not good enough? Ever eager to learn about runes, Richard questioned Nyris further and the prince admitted with great regret that he himself had seven rune slots. He had been stirred up at the mention of a seven-rune set, wanting to get one for himself regardless of the cost, but when he found out it was meant for an assassin he was disappointed. The prince looked delicate and graceful, but he was a lightning destroyer who fought head-on. This set wasn't of much use to him.

Still, Nyris suddenly remembered something in the midst of his sadness and exclaimed, “Wait, you could hold another rune convention!”

“A convention? This is a seven-rune set!” Richard did not understand the need for a convention. This was a powerful set, but with seven runes and a high requirement with regards to capacity there weren't many who could equip it. He himself didn't have seven rune slots yet, but on top of that, this was an unconventional path.

All the inspiration for this set had come from Waterflower's fighting style, based around fluid movements, stealth, and evasion that combined into fatal ambushes. He had never thought of selling this set, something reserved for his more commercial sets like Savage Barrier and Savage Strike which were more flexible.

“Why not?” Nyris retorted, “Yes, people with seven rune slots are rare, but how many powerhouses and geniuses exist on this plane? There are definitely enough. Instead of looking for them, why not have them look for you?”

Richard was still hesitant, “But the Guide of Secrets is still much more expensive to craft than the Savagery series. Even if I do my best, it needs more than a million in resources.”

“It can be sold for at least five million!”

This was a price that Richard could not reject, and he eventually had to nod in agreement.

Nyris immediately called for a trusted aide to take care of things, setting the convention for a month in the future. He also ordered that the name list for the invitations had to be verified carefully; every powerful noble family that could rush to Faust within a month had to be notified.

525 - City of Sin

A Knight's Fate

Nyris watched on as his aide left in a hurry, “Richard, I know I'm being meddlesome, but you're a runemaster. You need to spread your name, and the best way to do that is to have frequent rune conventions. When the conditions are right in the future, it will be best that you hold regular conventions in Faust. However, you'll only have that privilege once you can craft grade 4 runes. Even Lunor doesn't have that qualification yet.”

Richard nodded, seriously pondering over what sorts of runes he could sell at an auction. He never restrained his style of crafting to the standards, instead basing them on his goal. This was why he was always building custom runes to fit into his vision. Even the grade 1 runes he made were quite unique, and given what Nyris was saying about the rune market those individual runes were more than enough to act as the supporting cast for a convention even if they weren't worth one alone.

While he was busy thinking these things through, a cleric from the Church hastened over to tell them that the portal had been stabilised and they could proceed with the transfer. Having learnt his lesson from the previous time, Richard sent a group of heavy infantry with tower shields ahead and arranged for everyone else to enter group by group.

......

Lina was reclining against a sofa, lazily looking outside the window. She occasionally grabbed a fruit from a silver basin in front of her, stuffing it into her mouth. The fruit here was crisp and delicious, but all she could taste was a dull blandness. There was only one type of fruit here, and no matter how good the taste was one would still grow tired of eating it day after day after day.

It was very dim inside the room, just like the dark sky outside the window. The mist hanging over it was almost thick as fog; as the plane was right now, a magic device to alter the climate was far too luxurious an item. Even if she could buy and install one, they didn't have the energy to keep it operational.

The terrible environment meant nothing to the grand mage's body, but it would still affect her mood. She sighed again and again, staring outside in a daze. The sky was full of a greenish grey, so dull one couldn't even tell where the clouds were. There were only bundles of fog floating down from up above, the difference being in how dark or light they were.

Green seemed to be the only colour of this plane. It was supposed to signify vitality, but in such abundance it left one feeling suffocated instead. Lina shifted her body slightly, feeling incredibly sweaty. It was so stifling she almost felt herself rotting away.

The fog suddenly parted in the corner of her vision, a long arrow piercing through it like lightning towards her neck. She snapped her fingers and a translucent hemisphere formed in front of the arrow. It broke through the shield, but it had slowed down greatly. An S-shaped ring on her index finger shot out a bolt of lightning that broke the mana on the arrow, allowing her to catch it mid-flight.

This arrow that was nearly two metres long was made entirely out of a dark green material, with the feathers on the tail dyed a lighter shade of the same colour. A thin vine was twined around the arrow, the source of its magic, while the head was ground from some creature's teeth. The hollow tip emanated a bitter smell of almonds.

The poison inside this arrow was very powerful, able to kill an elephant within a minute. Even Lina herself would be in trouble if struck, but that was a very big if. This arrow had been launched from 800 metres away, and with her sitting in a magic tower it was impossible for it to hit its target. If she hadn't been trying to conserve magic crystals by leaving the tower turned down sometimes, she wouldn't even have had to move a finger to stop it.

She only glanced at the arrow once before tossing it into a corner. Attacks like this happened twice or thrice a day; even knowing it was futile, the enemy would not give up. This was perfectly in line with the resilience of the natives and their hatred for the invaders.

She had pursued the attackers and killed them off at the start, taking out quite a few archers, but the natives eventually grew smarter. The fled the moment they shot their arrows, and in the vast forest it would be difficult for her to catch up even if they were only a few hundred metres apart. She eventually just stopped bothering, merely returning a long-distance burst fireball in the direction. A fireball without a tracking effect would not reach the archers at all, but using a more powerful spell for a mere archer was a little too much. She was just venting her anger. Right now, she had reached the point where she didn't have the energy to even do that.

The natives were truly resilient, and the fact that the Dragon Mage could take care of surprise attacks did not mean the others in the city could. People had to be dressed in full armour and shields whenever they left their houses, on guard at all times.

For the most part, the city walls had lost their use. The forest that tightly surrounded the city was growing quickly, and the tops of the trees were even higher than the walls. Lina had burnt them away many times before, but that only brought about a few days of peace. With these wretched conditions, fire-type magic was much less useful than anticipated.

The natives were exquisite archers. They could even shoot arrows in an arc that crossed above the walls, activating nature magic that allowed for target tracking.

No matter how vigilant the soldiers were, people were dying by the day. Some days it was only one, but others six or seven warriors would be sent to their graves. The rebellion and the counterattack left less than 10,000 residents in the city, including less than 2,000 soldiers and a few thousand commoners. Many of the commoners were the soldiers' family, while others were workers that the city needed to continue functioning. They were mostly people who had stayed behind from the time of the Schumpeters' rule. The last group was the captured native slaves.

Nearly a hundred men had died in the past month. For a city of such a small scale, this was enough to terrify the populace. If not for Lina intimidating them with her absolute strength, many would likely be fleeing for their lives.
f𝗿𝙚e𝙬𝗲𝑏𝒏𝑜ѵ𝑒𝗹. 𝒄𝑜𝘮

They obviously couldn't escape into the forest; everyone knew the natives utterly despised invaders and would end them with an incredibly painful death. Their greatest hope was to flee back to Norland through the teleportation gate.

The city still had some magic crystal reserves, able to send about a hundred people back to Norland. Without them, the soldiers would likely have given up on the city defence. However, with these reserves, many hearts began to waver. The officers were worried that they would not get the opportunity to return, while the footsoldiers knew there was almost no chance for them to get back. An atmosphere of injustice and hatred was building up against those who had a chance of being able to escape.

This change in the mindsets of the people was something Lina could not control. If not for those here not knowing about the situation back in Norland, they might already have started a revolt over the magic crystals. Thankfully, many of the soldiers who stayed behind had experienced the prior rebellion and still possessed reverence towards the Archeron Family.

She had already requested reinforcements thrice. Lina knew the Archerons were very vulnerable right now, and Richard was far too young to support them entirely. The very fact that he had stood out at such a critical time and taken on the burden of the family was great enough, she couldn't bring herself to expect any more. She just didn't want to make the choice of giving up on defending the plane herself. A knight's destiny was to be buried in planar battles. She was not afraid, but Gaton had yet to return.

She knew that Asiris, Senma, Ward, and Cyrden were doing no better than her. Gaton had only left behind enough to maintain the situation for a short while, planning to wipe out the Mensa forces on the Rosie Plane at the speed of light before returning quickly. Nobody had expected the accident with the gate.

Truth be told, Lina didn't expect much even if Richard did come with reinforcements. Although he had shown extraordinary ability when reclaiming the city, the situation now was different. They were already encircled by the forest, and the environment made it difficult for a commander to have much effect. What they needed now was absolute power. Flowsand was the only one last time who could qualify to be called such, while Nyris and Agamemnon could only be considered helpers. This showed just how hard-pressed Richard was; he just couldn't bring in enough people to assist things in the Forest Plane.

She placed her hand on the crystal stand in front of her, checking the situation near the teleportation gate. The silence in the vicinity was something that brought relief; she wasn't waiting for Norland to send troops, instead worried about her subordinates rebelling. Those guarding it right now were her most trusted soldiers, but the situation could not be held on for long. Even with her power, she could not keep them in line forever.

At that moment, a wave of powerful energy suddenly erupted from the portal. Lina immediately stood up, both surprised and delighted; someone was preparing to pass through the gate! Was Richard really coming? But then she remembered that there hadn't been any reply from Norland to her most recent letter; all sorts of conjectures started flashing through her mind.

She didn't even bother with the stairs, flying straight out the window and heading for the teleportation gate. However, still in mid-air, she abruptly paused and stared at the sky in bewilderment. A strange feeling had suddenly overcome her, as though the laws of this plane had suddenly changed slightly. This was a change that dealt with the very roots of the plane, affecting the flow of time.

Blessings?! Lina almost couldn't believe her own senses. If someone used blessings on the Forest Plane, then this wasn't a small party coming over.

The Schumpeters!

526 - City of Sin

Men Of Miracles

Gaton had made an offering to the Eternal Dragon to adjust the Forest Plane's coordinates, employing a legion of spatial mages with Lina in charge to add a lock to the passageway. However, these issues were not unsolvable if one had the resources. The Schumpeters alone didn't have that ability, but they weren't the Archerons' only enemies.

The Dragon Mage's expression darkened as she whistled out a tune, triggering the town bell that caused groups of soldiers to charge out of the barracks. Under the orders of their captains, they darted towards the teleportation gate. A short while later, a thousand soldiers were surrounding the forming portal. If those who came out of the gates were enemies, they would be struck down immediately.

Given her knowledge of the family's condition, Lina knew that Richard could not afford to use a blessing to alter the time-flow and move a large army through the portal. More importantly, the teleportation gate on the other side would automatically send an activation message once the lock was opened. However, that gate was still quiet. All signs pointed to the idea that someone had opened a new portal to Faelor.

Having set up the defences, Lina stared hard at the portal. She decided that it was likely the Mensas and Schumpeters working together in the hopes of snatching the Forest Plane back from the Archerons, but before that happened she was prepared to teach them a lesson they would not forget. It would be impossible for them to defeat the Archerons without paying a terrible price.

The portal finally began to fluctuate amidst the tense situation, and a squad of footsoldiers armed to the teeth slowly stepped out. Their bodies were protected by tower shields, and they maintained a tight formation as they moved forward. With this excessive defence, one could only take them out with crossbows at close range or a barrage of spells.

The moment these soldiers stepped out, they saw that they were completely surrounded with at least a hundred bows aimed in their direction. They were promptly startled, shrinking behind their tower shields and staying close together as they formed an arched steel barrier that protected the portal behind.

Lina saw the Archeron crest on the tower shields and relaxed, instructing the soldiers to maintain their calm and not shoot, but she did not order them to disperse. This could still be a scheme by the Mensas.

Following the heavy infantry were footsoldiers with the emblem of the royal family. Their unique armour was something that could not be replicated easily. Lina sighed in relief, knowing these really were reinforcements; the royal family would not take part internal struggles within Faust, only helping out the families in planar wars.

Still, the manner in which the reinforcements had come was different from usual. It was known far and wide that the royal family's footsoldiers had lavish equipment, but the Archeron heavy infantry walking in front were far better equipped.

When had the Archerons become so wealthy?

The soldiers that had been on tenterhooks for the past few months instantly cheered. There were reinforcements, and the royal family to boot! Every new soldier walking out of the portal elicited another burst of joy.

It took a long time for the 500 royal soldiers to pass through the gate, and following them were 500 Ironblood soldiers belonging to Agamemnon. These were particularly striking, the golden fleur-de-lis on their scarlet cloaks extremely striking. Behind the Ironbloods came another group of Archeron soldiers. There were only ten in this batch, about the same as the number of heavy infantry at the start, but their equipment was incredibly grand. The resplendent magic rays could dazzle anyone.

Following that, five knights stepped out of the portal in single file. They had no Archeron crests upon their armour, but they stood together with the Archeron soldiers. Their tall, sinister mounts left everyone feeling a chill run down their spines.

“Rune knight!” someone suddenly shouted, and a cacophony erupted from amongst the onlookers. The horses had all had striking lines of magic running across their fronts, clearly rune lines. Only rune knights could possess mounts with runes!

Rune knights had become an embodiment of victory over the past millennium in Norland, a pillar of support that the ordinary soldiers relied on for morale. Countless battles in history had been decided when rune knights were dispatched, so as long as a group of rune knights made their move, the soldiers' morale would not die down so easily. Seeing a whole group of rune knights appear, all of the soldiers immediately burst into earth-shattering cries of joy. They would finally be able to chase those monkeys back into the forest!

As fierce as the 700 elite soldiers were, they couldn't compare to the morale boost this small group of rune knights brought to the soldiers. This was true even if the former could kill a group double the size based on numbers alone. Even Lina covered her mouth in her disbelief!

She had never expected such large-scale reinforcements, but a sudden hint of worry overcame her mind. Had Richard asked a favour of the royal family? This wasn't impossible considering his status as a royal runemaster, but the dangers of such an act were far greater than asking for help from another of Faust's families!

However, her thoughts were broken when Richard's followers started streaming out of the portal. Tiramisu, riding on an enormous mount, caused everyone to cry out involuntarily. His second head was halfway grown, and his heavy armour and a terrifyingly large flail made for a show of his formidable strength. The mount between his thighs was even more frightening than the ogre himself, emitting a faint pressure like an earth dragon passing by. It felt as though it could destroy the portal at any moment.

Richard, Flowsand, Nyris, and Agamemnon came last. The divine unicorn immediately attracted all of Lina's attention, almost causing her to shout. Even in Norland unicorns were rare, known for how difficult they were to tame. The boy had gone and gotten himself one without a word!

Richard jumped off the unicorn and walked towards her with a smile, “Lina, it's been hard on you.”

“Ah, no, it's nothing!” For some reason, Lina felt her heart pounding; his clear gaze left her flustered.

In that moment, Richard had looked far too much like Gaton, to the point that she was nearly dazed. Not only were his expression, movements, and tone similar, the aura he radiated of having everything in the palm of his hand was much the same as well. Of course, there still were some difference. Gaton was a domineering man, looking down on others without inhibitions. In comparison, Richard was more gentle and cryptic.

However, there was one thing between them that was the same. They were both men of miracles.

Richard pointed behind him and said, “The one who's almost prettier than you is Fourth Prince Nyris, and the fellow who won't ever open his mouth is Agamemnon. They are comrades who will fight by our side from now, and will take a third of the profits combined.”

Lina smiled as she greeted the two, the shock in her heart only growing. She had no objections to such a collaboration, and was even slightly relieved; these fellows were here as business partners, not as Richard's lords. She was quite familiar with the situation in Faust, and these two had made a name for themselves already. The fact that they were willing to come to the Forest Plane the last time was already surprising, but now they had thrown their elite forces here to work on developing it together and still only wanted a third of the profits! This was unimaginable!

Of course, she couldn't ever have imagined that this third was Richard giving them more than they were immediately worth.

With Richard, the Archerons had finally become wealthy.

Emerald City was not small, more than large enough to contain the less than a thousand people that Richard had brought with him. Still, night had fallen by the time everyone was settled down. Richard chose not to rest, beginning with the preparations for the impending war. He reorganised the troops and re-worked the system for sending out commands.

The preparations lasted an entire week, during which Richard had Olar return to Faelor and bring along ten elite humanoids. The process went on without a hitch; outside of another inexplicable delay in the teleportation, no side-effects could be found. There were no bats coming along; the natives of the plane were far too good at archery.

Ever since he discovered that Phaser could traverse the planar passageway without issue, Richard had decided to ignore the burn in his pocket to bring a few elite humanoid knights over. These fellows were more useful than Phaser in many ways; although their personal combat power was lacking compared to hers, they were excellent relays for his commands. This way, he would be able to know the battlefield like the back of his palm.

He'd personally experienced the situation in the plane over the last four days, personally taking a few places and even causing a small-scale conflict. This led him to realise that the walking woods were the worst enemy. The forest here grew abnormally fast, young saplings turning into towering trees in less than a year. The elven natives could even urge the trees to move, and use their crowns as camouflage.

It was incredibly humid and cold in the Forest Plane, with a generally constant climate. At the very least, Lina hadn't sensed any change in seasons over the past year. The troops from Norland obviously weren't used to this weather, but the locals were like fish in water. The forest was rapidly growing towards them as well.

527 - City of Sin

An Inheritance From The Schumpeters

Lina was a learned scholar. Having appraised over a hundred different types of trees in the Forest Plane and finding some that cost a fortune in Norland, she was consistently cutting them down and sending them back to Norland to pay for military expenses.

When she introduced all these types of trees to Richard, he shifted the topic slightly, “Are there any differences between the natives here?”

“We only found one type of intelligent life here, but they're separated into different tribes. They're quite similar to the elves of Norland, but not quite the same. Come, I'll show you something.”

Richard followed her into the basement of Emerald City's castle, finding guards stationed everywhere along the way. There was a dungeon down below that held the most important prisoners, and Lina's laboratory was located nearby as well.

The Dragon Mage brought him to the dungeon, showing twenty cells stuffed full of prisoners. They were natives of different tribes, varied in sex, age, and physique. Outside of those in the first few cells who were fully clothed, everyone in the rear cells was naked, male, female, old, or young.

Richard's gaze swept across the signs of torture on them, resting on two young beauties who seemed to have gone a little insane, “Never knew you had such preferences.” The tone was matter-of-fact, not judging Lina at all.

“Most of the things here were left behind by the Schumpeters, including a complete running experiment. You'll see.” Lina guided him to the end of the cells and opened a metal door, revealing the expansive space behind.

This was a dark, eerie room. Four mages and alchemists were hard at work inside, completely ignoring the new arrivals. Their experiments were being conducted on humans, native elves, and wild beasts.

At the end of the hall was a row of partitions, the gaps just large enough for one person to lie down. Within each partition lay a pregnant female, including humans, native elves, Norland elves, orcs, and magic beasts. On another side was a full alchemic assembly that Richard couldn't even name that was sending boiling scarlet fluid to a receptacle. One dwarven alchemist was observing the lustre of the fluid with unending focus, occasionally casting spells on the vessel. His assistant was hugging a clipboard while standing by, ready to record any words that came from his mouth. Google search fr𝚎𝘦𝘄𝙚𝗯𝗻𝗼𝐯e𝗹. 𝑐o𝒎

There were two metal cages placed against the wall. Three burly human males were ravaging a native elven girl inside one, while an elven man with fine features was copulating with a human female in the other.

“The bloodline of the native elves is being fused with various species here, either through crossbreeding or through black magic. The strongest and weakest combinations will be picked out and research will continue,” Lina explained.

Richard frowned slightly, not saying a word as he followed Lina to another area. There were two old mages working like slaves here, documents and datasheets lying everywhere. The equipment they had was of the highest quality, all meant to aid in their calculations.

Behind that was a warehouse with nearly a thousand organs and blood samples, and then there were the breeding room, exhibition room, beast pens, as well as the recycling room. Although it was dark and brutal, Richard had to admit this was a complete experiment system. With such a complete method of guidance, the alchemists here had already gathered a great amount of data. If not for the lack of materials, this would be a complete laboratory.

After making a full round through the place, Richard and Lina arrived at the Dragon Mage's personal laboratory. This place was much newer, but the facilities were quite simple as well. Seeing the many different magic beasts stored here, Richard felt refreshed.

Lina seemed to relax as well, pointing at the beasts in the cages, “They're all unique to this plane, I'm trying to figure out which one Kaloh likes the most. If there aren't any, I'll have to try and breed one myself. Taking care of a dragon isn't easy.”

Richard suddenly remembered the Dragon Mage's companion and nodded.

“Actually...” Lina muttered to herself for a while, “The lab you saw just now was built when the Schumpeters were still in control of the plane. The entire facility, including the alchemists working within, are all from them. Lord Gaton kept the experiment running, and I've been helping them maintain it.

“This place was one of the biggest secrets of the Schumpeters; even the bearguard knights and many of their other beasts came from similar facilities. Their idea was to figure out the weaknesses of the native species and build a plague to exterminate them. I think they came to this point because the natives were just too powerful to take out head-on. On top of that, they were quite interested in the locals' abilities and were trying to isolate them.”

Richard muttered to himself for a while, not giving his thoughts on the matter at all, “Has there been any progress?”

This laboratory gave him some understanding of how such a weak family had made a name for themselves in Faust. It also helped him realise what Mensa saw in them that he didn't even mind abandoning the Josephs to draw them in. Sinclair's dying plea suddenly rang within his mind, and he couldn't help but frown.

Lina chose her words carefully, “Only the first few stages. If we want real results, we likely need another dozen years of research.”

Richard nodded, “Seems like this plane is even more troublesome than I'd anticipated.”

“If it wasn't, the Schumpeters wouldn't have been in such a bad position despite having controlled it for so long. Still, this facility was a big harvest.”

“Alright, show me the results you were talking about.”

Lina walked over to a little cabinet by the wall, carefully removing a magic lock on it. There were three crystal bottles within, labelled Emerald Solution, Crystallising Toxin, and Element Extraction respectively.

Lina explained the uses of the three potions. Emerald solution was a type of microbial plague, containing a bacterial strain that had been bred from plague bacteria to adapt to the native elves of the Forest Plane. They had seen limited success in this avenue, only having produced a small bottle so far, and even worse was that it couldn't spread by contact. Still, as long as enough of it entered the blood, even a saint would be killed within a week. They hadn't yet tested whether it would work one someone more powerful than that.

Crystallising toxin was refined using a heavy metal from Norland and the core of a rare type of flora; it was incomparably dangerous to plants, even a single drop able to kill an ancient tree. It had obvious effects on the native elves as well, able to kill ordinary elves in minutes.

Last was the mysterious element extraction, having come from a mysterious energy-absorbing creature that the Schumpeters had captured a decade ago. It had taken an entire three years to refine, and would completely dissolve the body of a native elf who was affected by it. The painful process would culminate in the flesh and blood condensing into a blood crystal. As long as one had a strong enough physique, they could absorb a portion of the crystal and obtain a huge boost to their mana or energy reserves. It was powerful enough to help someone at the threshold of levelling up with a breakthrough.

One of the Schumpeter elders had even theorised that element extraction could be improved greatly. If one could capture a higher-levelled energy-absorbing beast, they would be able to draft a potion that could absorb not only the elemental energy of the target, but also possibly their bloodline abilities as well. This would allow them to transfer bloodline abilities!

Having heard Lina's explanation, Richard felt a strange chill. He finally understood that the Schumpeters were more than met the eye, hiding enormous strength that truly did qualify them to occupy one of Faust's islands. The path they had chosen would only widen with time; if they were given thirty more years to finish the emerald solution, they would definitely be able to cause a huge plague that might have wiped out all of the forest elves on this plane. With their research in the meanwhile, they would be able to mass-breed the elves just like the bearguard knights. They wouldn't be as strong as rune knights, but the quantity would be much larger. Once they broke through some bottlenecks in terms of cultivating these slaves, they would be able to breed them just like magic beasts. At that point, there would even have been a possibility of them rising to the sixth layer of islands.

However, their luck just wasn't good. They had crossed paths with Gaton and the Archerons before they could succeed.

528 - City of Sin

Damn Your Gentleness

“Thankfully, they weren't able to develop this place!” Richard said in trepidation.

Lina nodded; she seemed to have the same thought, “There's some news. Good first or bad?”

“Anything's fine.”

The Dragon Mage, who'd been hoping to use his answer to figure out a bit of his personality, was left disappointed, “Alright, the good news is that most of the mages and alchemists from the Schumpeter base surrendered to us as well. As long as we have enough time, we should be able to complete the Schumpeters' research. The bad news is that we won't have any product for the next three years plane-time; this cabinet is all we have. There are three portions of the emerald solution, two of the crystallising toxin, and enough element extraction to use once.

“I think the emerald solution and crystallising toxin are the reason we haven't seen any saints or treants appearing amongst the native armies. The Schumpeters likely dealt with those. If not for that, it would have been impossible for me to defend this city on my own.”

Richard pondered over it for a while, “Tell me about the natives' power system.”

Lina nodded, taking him another floor below where dozens of live specimens had been set up in a cold hall most of which were saplings. The Schumpeters had built this room to store any species that could have posed a threat to them.

Lina pointed towards an adult native elf, “This is the enemy we see the most often, the mainstay of their armies. Because of the environment and their traditions, we call all of them rangers. However, their paths and bloodlines are a little more varied than that...”

Outside the archers of varying levels, the forest elves also had druids, mages, fighters, and other classes as well. There were shamans as well, but they seemed to share clerical duties with the druids. As far as they knew, the locals were still in a tribal era without any kingdoms, forget advanced empires like Norland's ancient elves.

These elves also paid much more attention to battle plants than Norland elves, cultivating many treants. Because of the special environment here, their druids were much more powerful than those of Norland. There were also many other strange beings in the forest, possessing many distinctive qualities. Some looked unique, while others were fatally poisonous.

A lot of the creatures here were bugs. The few birds had small bodies and were extremely quick, possessing negligible battle strength. This was related to the environment as well; in front of the adept archers of the elves, larger birds of prey were destined for tragedy.

Richard thought over Lina's explanation for a while, “Let the soldiers get used to the environment first. I have a few troops to bring over myself, so we can work on strategy once they get here. The first order of business is to clear the trees surrounding the city and give those natives a bit of pain.”

“Pain?” Lina laughed rather flirtatiously, taking a little crystal bottle out of her pocket, “This is a little something I made when I was bored. It's a sort of neurotoxin; if we smear it onto our soldiers' blades or arrowheads, the elves will feel violent pain the moment the weapons break skin. However, it has no use outside of that.”

Richard took the bottle and gave her a long look, “How much more do you have?”

“This is all for now, but I can make more in a few days. However, it only works on the normal fighters; the saints and higher can suppress the pain.”

Richard weighed the bottle in his hand, “If you have the time, make a few more bottles. This will be very useful!” Having said that, Richard left the underground sections of the castle. He didn't even bother asking how she had made this potion of pain.

When they walked out of the castle, they could hear cries of awe coming from the distant barracks. This was the local army receiving their new equipment. Richard wandered over and saw the soldiers queuing up for their equipment in an empty field, the open chests on the sides revealing enchanted weapons and armour. These were all only superior-grade, but to these soldiers who had been defending the Forest Plane all this while they were quality goods only officers could get a chance to use.

Lina's expression grew complicated, but she seemed to have no intentions of reprimanding the soldiers for the noise. She took a few steps forward, quietly questioning in Richard's ear, “Did you bring all of this?”

“Yes. But the levels of the soldiers here are a little low, they can't use the equipment to the fullest extent.”

Lina stared at the pile of chests on the sides of the field, “How many sets did you bring in all?”

“2,000 with 500 crossbows and 50,000 bolts on top. Pity there aren't enough soldiers, it looks like you've suffered massive casualties,” Richard said with a sigh.

Hearing his words, Lina suddenly felt like she was going insane. Whenever Gaton fought powerful enemies, the opponents had equipment and supplies that far surpassed their own. Most of the time, they were using wooden shields, iron knives, and leather armour against enemies with full sets of chainmail and steel swords. The archers always had to carefully calculate their shots; they sometimes had less than ten arrows each.

In the eyes of the big families of Faust, Gaton's equipment was only slightly more powerful than what they would give slaves. Even the thirteen knights who were brimming with talent were rather impoverished, all their bonuses and savings used on their runes. Those runes too they wouldn't be able to afford without Gaton paying for a part of it.

Gaton's own money came from Sharon's loans, his debt ballooned to an unimaginable level. Just the interest one had to pay every year left Lina feeling suffocated, but the lunatic thought nothing of it and continued to spend money generously that he earned back from his stormy wars. He brought his men everywhere, invincible in combat. Taking a few years to do what many families accomplished in two or three generations, he was building up an astounding foundation for the Archeron Family.

Gaton could always defeat enemies much more powerful than him with lesser numbers and poorer equipment. One of the most important factors in this was that he was always at the frontlines of the battle, leading the charge.

“There aren't enough soldiers to use!” Richard suddenly interrupted Lina's thoughts. He looked at the soldiers who were trying on their new equipment for a long while, eventually sighing, “There's still so much left, but I guess I can only leave it in the warehouse for now. Alas!”

She suddenly felt the urge to strangle him. Forget regular soldiers, even she herself didn't have equipment that was worthy of her level. The two pieces of epic-grade equipment that were dear to her heart had already been sold off in secret, how else was she to maintain the stalemate in the Forest Plane? Right now, she was penniless, depending purely on her own ability and runes for battle. Had she known that Richard was saying this ruefully while thinking about the 300 epic-grade weapons about to enter his possession, she might actually have followed through on the urge.

Richard's mind shifted to something else. The Blessing of Unhurriedness. He felt the name was rather suitable; now that the timescale here was 8:1, he didn't feel rushed at all as he kept to his routine. Reorganising troops, allocating weapons, training the soldiers... everything was conducted methodically, and as long as the plans were made beforehand and proper supervisors were employed, he didn't need to take care of most of the issues himself.

There were actually many things he had scheduled for himself, runecrafting in particular being a job he never had enough time for. Norland was a bottomless hole; no matter how many runes he produced, they were devoured in an instant. And yet, he had no choice but to slow down his progress in his primary profession as he trained his martial arts, mana pool, and spell control. There wasn't any inherent difference between level 13 and 14, so at least he didn't have to hurry his mana pool growth; it was fine as long as he had enough to use Sacrifice without losing a level. His primary focus now was on forming a fourth branch for his astral affinity bloodline.

......

Richard had a lot of patience, but the others did not. It was already their fifth day on the Forest Plane, and Nyris just could not tolerate the terrible weather any longer. His bed was completely wet at night, feeling like a swamp. His joints were beginning to ache from all the discomfort, making him feel like he would just rot away if he didn't regularly move them and burn some energy. He had come to this plane to accomplish his goals, campaign, and kill, not to sleep all day with nothing to do.

He headed to Richard's lab on a whim, and was surprised to see a familiar figure at the entrance. “Miss Rosie?” he couldn't help but exclaim.

The girl turned, confirming his conjecture. She was dressed like a regular mage now, her long hair casually tied into a ponytail at the back of her head. Just her presence was refreshing, her aura and appearance making him brighten up.

“Your Highness,” the young lady bowed in greeting.

529 - City of Sin

Professional

Rosie's greeting caused Nyris to freeze for a moment. Her reputation in Faust was much greater than his own— something beautiful women always had an advantage in— and while he himself was a prince he wasn't much different from a core member of the other families of Faust until he was granted more status by his father. In all their previous meetings, Rosie had spoken to him on equal grounds, but now she was greeting him like someone of a lower rank.

Thankfully, he was a smart man. He quickly understood that she was likely greeting him based on her relationship as Richard's companion. “Why are you here?” he asked, extremely curious. He had been present during the big bet with Young Mensa, but he hadn't taken notice of the further developments.

“I am currently Lord Richard's maid and personal life assistant,” Rosie answered flatly.

“Maid and... life assistant?” Nyris couldn't make sense of it. Firstly, he didn't understand why the pearl of the Mensa Family that many youths of Faust were drawn to like moths was now a maid, and secondly... What kind of profession was a life-assistant anyway? Wasn't she a mage?

Rosie was dressed extremely plainly with no ornaments, completely different from her precious image. The contrast was so great Nyris' mind drew a blank. Eventually, she just flashed him a thin smile, “Actually, I'm just his lover and assistant.”

“Oh, not bad...” the Prince answered as per usual practice, but only then did he find that his mouth had moved faster than his mind. He smiled in embarrassment, “Forgive me, this was just quite unexpected. I still remember that you're an ambitious lady with many thoughts.”

Rosie smiled wider herself to indicate that she thought nothing of it, “Do you not think it is easier for me to achieve my goals with my current status instead of as a duchess, Your Highness?”

Nyris' eyes twinkled and he looked her up and down, “You've got guts!”

“Not exactly. It's just that an unexpected opportunity presented itself to me, and I just as unexpectedly grasped it. Of course I have to pay the price for that, to somebody.”

Nyris shook his head, “Anyone who can grab hold of an opportunity is always prepared. There are no surprises.” Please visit f𝒓𝑒e𝓌e𝚋𝘯૦𝘷e𝗹. c૦𝒎

“My Lord is in his laboratory right now,” Rosie deflected the question, “Do you wish to see him, Your Highness?”

Nyris glanced at her, “There's no need for you to address me so formally. The same holds for Agamemnon too.”

“But you are Lord Richard's friend, Your Highness.”

Nyris laughed, “And I'd like to think I'm now your friend too. Unless you want things otherwise?”

She didn't answer, quietly pointing at the door to the lab.

Nyris walked in to find Richard in front of his desk, completely focused on crafting a rune. He knew not to disturb, so he stood quietly at the side. This was the first time he was seeing Richard craft personally, and after a while his gaze changed. Richard's hands were so stable it left him frightened.

Only after finishing the curve he was working on did Richard greet Nyris, simultaneously changing out the ink in his pen, “What's gotten you interested in my lab?”

“Richard, I can't take it anymore! There's nothing to do all day! If I stay in this wretched place any longer, I'm going to rot away! How much longer do we have to stay cooped in like this?” The Prince let all his frustrations over the past few days explode.

Richard smiled, “What, you can't endure this any longer? Patience is a virtue!”

“Fuck patience!” Nyris spat out. The sight of the Fourth Prince swearing could somehow give people some impulses.

Richard laughed as he repeated himself, “Patience really is a virtue.”

After spending about two full years in Faelor, sharpened by the whetstone of despair, Richard now understood the importance of patience. However, Nyris hadn't experienced as many setbacks in life. He was born with a silver spoon in his mouth, grown up with that silver spoon, and was now trying to establish his own career while still feeding from that silver spoon. He had anything one could ask for except patience.

Looking at his friend beginning to lean forward with a malicious gaze as though he would tear the rune apart, Richard had no choice but to raise his arms in defeat, “Alright, alright! We'll send our troops out tomorrow.”

“Really?” Nyris brightened up, “Are we going to storm towards the elves' nest?”

“No, we're going to chop trees.” When they were living off the desolate deserts of the Bloodstained Lands, Richard had felt blessed every time he saw a small shady forest. It meant a safe source of water and a comfortable resting area. Any green in that boundless red would make one feel delighted. It was only here that he understood there could be too much of the colour of life.

Early in the morning, a group of fully armed soldiers headed out of the city gates in formation, arriving at the forest that was less than a hundred metres away. The soldiers in the centre were all quite burly, wielding giant axes; it was obvious to see that strength was their forte. Beside them were rows of heavily armoured soldiers with tower shields.

Plate armour grew cold, wet, and uncomfortable in this humid weather, but no soldier dared to head outside the city without it on. The natives could target them at any moment, and even chainmail was completely incapable of blocking their arrows. There were gaps in the plate mail as well, but armour that was completely impervious would cost ten times as much; even a captain wouldn't be able to afford it.

Richard, Nyris, and Agamemnon were walking together at one side, the first of which appeared relaxed and the last of which was expressionless as always. It was the royal boy that had a dark expression on his delicate face, pouting in annoyance. What caught the most attention was his equipment— Nyris hadn't brought out the giant sword but a giant two-handed axe with a short shaft. It had to weigh at least half a ton, with black air and purple lightning spiralling around it. This was obviously a legendary weapon as well.

If Gangdor were here to see it, he would surely be full of complaints. The brute saw his axe most men saw women. He would be satisfied with what he had if there was no other option, but the moment something better appeared he would want to change immediately.

Chopping trees was an activity that needed strength, and this was doubly true on the Forest Plane. The soldiers scattered in all directions upon the officer's command, and the burly men with axes headed to the trees to chop them down. There were two shieldmen guarding every woodcutter.

The trees that were urged on by the native elves were incomparably solid, and the grain was extremely fine as well. This made them very difficult to cut down, and because there was no good point to chop at the ruptured sections split along the grain. This wood couldn't be used for construction.

Most trees would form a shallow groove if chopped at, but these ones only formed craters instead. Pieces of wood fell off with each strike, hard as rocks. The soldiers called it stonewood, their hatred for it even greater than what they felt for the native elves.

A level 5 warrior with abundant physical strength and supporting spells could normally only cut down a few trees in a day. Besides being burnt for fuel, these stonewood trees had basically no other uses as well. This was a stupid way to push the forest back, but it was also the only one available. Be it the Schumpeters or Gaton, they had fought this war of attrition against the native forest. If the woodcutting was stopped for half a month, the forest would completely drown out the city.

However, Richard was prepared this time. He had specifically brought along a batch of wood-cleaving axes, giant weapons with multiple sharpness enchantments to make woodcutting easier. Only a few of the powerful soldiers in the army would be given these types of axes normally, used specifically to break through walls and gates in sieges. However, Richard was generous enough to buy 500 of them in one go.

However, he couldn't even pick out 400 soldiers able to use these axes in total. Still, instead of having them sent back to Norland, he instructed for the extra axes to be used in rotation to increase their longevity. In the eyes of Lina, this was a hateful waste.

Under the gaze of everyone present, a soldier with bulging muscles even at his neck took a deep breath, summoning enough strength to lift the axe and swinging at the tree trunk with a loud cry. *Crack!* The blade embedded itself deep into the trunk, much more effective than a regular blade. The soldier was delighted, roaring thunderously as he began to chop like the wind. In only a few minutes, a giant tree that one couldn't even wrap their arms around fell down with a rumble.

The surrounding soldiers immediately burst into cries of delight, venting their long-suppressed anger. Their voices approached a deafening crescendo even as the stonewood let loose a mournful cry of death. Their efficiency in clearing out the woods had instantly been raised dozens of times.

Richard stroked his short moustache, saying proudly to the Dragon Mage, “How's this? I got a way out. This is called being professional!”

Lina glared at him fiercely and snorted, causing her ample chest to bounce up and down. She obviously knew wood-cleaving axes were a good idea, but each one cost 500 gold and had little other use. Few places in Norland supplied them, and with even the Schumpeters barely having enough there was no need to talk about Gaton's situation. She herself couldn't even pay her soldiers properly, so where would she get the money to buy these things? It was impossible for her to be like Richard, spending 250,000 gold in one fell swoop. It was still alright if the powerful soldiers were given their own axes, but there were over a hundred remaining!

The movements of the Dragon Mage caused Richard's gaze to involuntarily rest on her breasts. He had to admit the scenery was quite captivating.

530 - City of Sin

Retaliation

The forest elves couldn't bear to continue watching as dozens of trees were felled. Ten or so sharp arrows were suddenly launched out from the woods, whistling through the air. Most were aimed at the woodcutters, but three long arrows with an obvious nature energy wound around them headed straight for Richard's group.

Richard had been waiting for this moment for a while now. The moment the arrows were launched, he made no attempt to defend himself as he fixed his eyes on their source and waved his staff. A bolt of lightning descended from the skies in an instant, mercilessly striking down an archer hidden in the depths of the trees.

Agamemnon already had his ridiculously large hammer in hand. The rainbow lustre that lingered on both sides of the head suddenly expanded, unravelling like a ball of string into countless threads that drowned out the enchanted arrows. By the time the light retracted back towards the hammer, the long arrows had disappeared without a trace.

Richard did not stop moving, producing the Book of Holding and quickly flipping through it. Blue light flashed as a chilly wind began to flow within the depths of the forest, sealing a fleeing young elf in ice.

The girl next to the elf cried out mournfully, drawing her dagger and piercing it into the ice to try and save her companion. However, only a small indentation was made before she was unable to stab in further, and the frost instead began to spread along the blade to quickly cover her hand. By the looks of it, this girl would soon be sealed in the ice as well.

An older elf fiercely struck the bone blade in his hands into the ice. Fragments flew everywhere, but there was basically no effect as the magic frost continued to extend along the girl's arm. A trace of despair appeared on the man's face as he suddenly drew his knife and cut off her forearm! Not daring to linger around any further, he fled deep into the forest with the girl in tow.

Grade 7 spell, Permafrost. With the Forest Plane's environment being conducive to lightning and cold magic, these ordinary elves could not withstand its might.

Not far away, a tall and formidable elven warrior saw all of this and surged with fury. He halted his footsteps and turned around, standing firmly on a branch and drawing a bow that was almost as tall as himself. Creaking sounds rang out as the arrow was nocked.

At the same moment, Nyris' ears perked up a hundred metres away. He flicked his finger and a handleless blade that looked like a willow leaf jumped into his palm, grasped lightly between his thumb and index finger. Even as the elven archer's bow buzzed in the aftermath of launching the arrow, the Prince didn't so much as look as he tossed the blade towards him.

Fire and lightning twined around the edge of this throwing weapon as it seemed to break through the limits of time and space. Only a moment after it flew out of Nyris' hand, it was already in front of the elf's forehead.

A look of doubt appeared on the warrior's face, as though he had seen something, but it disappeared in a flash. He hadn't caught onto it at all, but a thin line of blood had already formed between his brows. The blade had dug through his brain and out the other side, not stopping at all as it disappeared into the depths of the forest. The elf swayed for a while before falling off the tree.

It was only then that Nyris stretched out an arm to emphasize his movements, plucking the arrow shot at his throat from mid-air. He fiddled around as he examined it, as casual as though he'd nipped a leaf from a tree.

“That looks cool, but I'd just use explosive arrows on you in the future,” Richard commented from the side.

Nyris' expression immediately turned dark. Had this been an explosive arrow, such a playful method would leave him prone to attack. His equipment was far too good and although not obvious he had a lot of energy as well, but the face was one of the most difficult parts of the body to protect. He wouldn't be injured, but it would be difficult to tell just how much of his hair and eyebrows would be retained. Many powerful humans had suffered greatly from exploding arrows during the war with elves on Norland.

“Isn't it only Norland's elves who can do something like that? These natives aren't that smart!” Nyris shouted, unwilling to back down.

Richard smiled, “Not necessarily. If they're put in a spot, there's nothing they can't do.”

......

Once a few of their kin were killed off by Richard and Nyris, the elves seemed too shocked to grow aggressive again. This provided a huge boost to the soldiers' morale, allowing them to cut down the stonewood in masses. Richard could almost hear the mournful cries of the forest.

The felled stonewood was dragged back to the city— if left alone, it would be absorbed by other trees. It wasn't a good construction material, but although it took a long time to ignite it could burn for a long time. It was a decent source of fuel.

However, far too many trees had been cut down. They couldn't be transported out in time, so there was no choice but to leave them as they were. Working through the morning left most of the troops spent, but about ten thousand trees had been cut down to clear out a large space.

Richard, Nyris, and Agamemnon set out in turns over the next few days, taking charge of security for the woodcutters. If the forest elves dared to attack, their replies would cost the natives their lives.

Three days passed just like that. When it was Nyris' turn, he actually went deep into the forest to pursue and attack the elves.

How had the chaos occurred? Even Nyris' closest guards wouldn't have a definitive answer when asked in the future, but one thing was certain. This was a trap set up by the elves to draw out whoever was in charge and kill them. The Fourth Prince charged in headfirst, joining a violent battle in the depths of the forest!

The elven warriors leapt out from the trees like spectres, deadly daggers in their hands. Numerous archers had appeared atop the branches, sending arrow after arrow in this direction. The very trees had been given life, pulling their roots out of the earth as they waved their enormous branches at Nyris.

However, a charming and dangerous smile arose on Nyris' face. Whether it was a trap or a free meal would only be decided at the end of the battle. He suddenly gripped the shaft of his axe tightly, producing a clear, drawn-out whistle. The legendary weapon that was incredibly heavy seemed to be just a feather in his hands as he flew around the battlefield. He flitted past one of the treants, grazing it with his weapon, and the creature cried out pitifully as its solid trunk was split apart in an instant. The cut from the axe was so clean the surface was smooth as a mirror.

With even a treant unable to block Nyris' axe, the forest elves were even worse. Black streams of air coiled around the Prince's body, cutting apart any incoming attacks alongside their attackers. Please visit 𝒇𝘳ℯe𝙬e𝘣𝙣𝘰ѵ𝒆𝗹. c૦𝑚

Elsewhere in the forest, a group of fully armed imperial soldiers were running at full speed in the direction of the whistle. They had long since been left behind by their master, only hoping they would be able to get there before the battle ended. However, when they eventually made it to the battlefield, the forest elves were in the midst of sounding the retreat. Their whistles were filled with pain, helplessness, and terror,

Nyris was panting roughly, leant against his giant axe. An unusual flush had risen on his face, sweat pouring out like a fountain. Eight arrows were stuck to his armour, mostly in the cracks drawn on by a master artist.

It was as though a storm had blown through the place. Weapons, bodies, and the remains of treants were strewn around everywhere, with easily more than a dozen treants and fifty natives dead.

Seeing that the Prince had no signs of injury, the captain of the soldiers couldn't help but sigh in relief. He hadn't been too worried anyway; having followed his master for a long time, he knew just how terrifying a defence the ragged armour could grant. The ordinary archers' arrows couldn't even get through the first layer of armour, with no need for dodging. As for the enchanted arrows of the more powerful elves, they would only be swallowed up by the storm brewed by the legendary axe.

The elves seemed to vanish after that battle, not daring to attack Richard's troops again. Nyris had killed off most of the soldiers of a small tribe.

However, they soon had their revenge.

Early one morning, one of the sentinels on the walls suddenly screamed out in fear. The officer on duty immediately rushed to the walls and looked in the direction he was pointing, turning very grim. He promptly sent someone to inform the higher-ups.

Lina was the first one to rush over, having flown down straight from her tower. Richard and the others quickly made their way over as well, but all of them stood silent on the city walls.

A dozen large trees had been grown sometime in the night in the clearing, likely urged on by the elves using their druids. They normally moved thousands at a time, but now they had only sent a dozen.

These trees were special. Every trunk had a few human bodies hung on it, half the corpses integrated into the tree itself. Dozens of vines had pierced into their body, with numerous branches and young leaves growing out of the soldiers' mouths and noses!

These soldiers had died long ago, but their bodies had completely transformed. Their expressions were twisted in the pain of their long deaths, their bodies already filled with flora. They had been eaten alive by these large trees!

Lina had covered her mouth the moment her gaze swept past these soldiers, her eyes growing wet.

“You know them?” Richard eventually asked from beside her.

She nodded, “Half of them by name. Some have already followed me across four planes, but now...” She couldn't go on.

It was in extremely unfavourable situations that the most loyal and courageous soldiers were easily taken prisoners. It was because these brave souls were the ones who normally took on the most difficult missions.

531 - City of Sin

Retaliation(2)

“Burn all these trees,” Richard instructed with a sigh, “Treat them as coffins for our brave soldiers!”

A moment later, a dozen blazes lit up the morning sky with a crimson glow. The trees in the fire actually shouted with pain, twisting their branches as they tried to escape, but without the support of the elven druids they could not leave the soil. The only reason they could even react was the excruciating pain caused by the raging inferno. Please visit fr𝗲𝙚𝔀e𝙗𝓃oν𝐞𝑙. c𝚘𝘮

The humidity of the Forest Plane made it difficult for the trees to catch fire, but that meant nothing in the face of this magic blaze. A few enraged shouts rang out from deep within the forest; the hidden elves could not control their wrath.

Richard watched silently for some time before waving his arms, “Alright, let's return. We'll be continuing to cut trees.”

The soldiers were particularly fired up that day, felling nearly 20,000 stonewood trees before they tired out. They piled all the excess wood up unprompted, lighting a dozen bonfires around Emerald City that burned through the evening and into the night.

......

It was near midnight when Richard knocked on Lina's door, “Let's go see the walking woods.”

The two quickly made their way to the city walls, and Richard cast a featherfall spell on himself before jumping off. This was extremely dangerous, but surprised as she was the Dragon Mage quickly followed after him.

The two walked side by side in silence, only stopping once they approached the boundary of the forest. The nightly woods were the elves' haven, making this place extremely dangerous. However, the two had no fear; to them, the elves could not pose a fatal threat.

Peculiar noises echoed deep within the forest, the strange sound of wood rubbing against earth. The sound grew increasingly loud, the earth even shaking slightly as a giant black shadow shuffled out from deep within the forest. This was a large tree with its roots drawn out from the earth, moving forward like a multipedal beast. However, this was not a treant; it did not have their signature human face.

The ancient tree walked past right before Richard and Lina's eyes, heading out of the forest until it came upon a suitable spot and set its roots deep in the soil. Following it were numerous others, shifting out into the open space outside the forest and embedding their roots in the earth as well. The buzz only faded after a few hundred had made their way to their new positions.

The druid hidden within the forest had likely used up all of their mana; the number of trees they managed to send out over the past two days was far lower than the number that had been cut down. There were others urging more trees on, but even working together they only managed a few thousand.

“Wanna kill the druid?” Richard suddenly asked.

Lina was quite taken with the idea, but she shook her head after considering it, “This is the forest in the night, they're the rulers here. It'll be impossible to find the druid right now, let's not waste our strength.”

“There's no harm in trying,” Richard smiled and went straight into the forest, the Dragon Mage hastening behind. She wasn't afraid of the elven druids, but Richard's safety was something she worried for. Even though he was peak strength and mages normally had a great advantage over most other classes, things were different on the battlefield. Swords up close were still the bane of magic.

Lina soon found that it was difficult to catch up to Richard. His movements were relaxed, but each coordinated light step covered a great distance. It was as though he had merged into his surroundings, minimising his wastage of energy. The more she watched, the more surprised she grew.

This was the movement technique he had worked on with Beye in the Battlefield of Despair, a mixture of his previous techniques from the underworld and the martial arts of the Church. He still wasn't as efficient as Beye herself, each shift concise and with no excess movements at all, but in Lina's eyes this was already shocking.

The two of them walked through the forest for an entire hour, but they managed to find nothing. Left with no choice, they got out while cutting a sorry figure; their bodies were covered with dew. Elven druids were the children of the forest, and it was extremely difficult to find them. The fact that no druid had been killed ever since Gaton took control of this plane was enough proof of that.

Richard and Lina exchanged glances, each seeing the other soaked through. They even had a few leaves on their heads, looking pathetic as could be. Smiles gave way to uncontrollable laughter.

Lina suddenly felt much better, the depression she had been feeling fading away. “Thank you,” she said to him abruptly.

Richard shrugged in response, “I'm just helping myself.”

The two then headed back towards the city, the distance they had to cover not particularly large. “I want to ask you something,” Richard turned to Lina midway, “What do you think... Well, if Gaton was here, how would he deal with this situation?”

“Should be the same as what you're doing, chopping trees. He was convinced this forest was the natives' haven, so he wanted to cut it all down.”

He turned to look at the dark forest once more, “The thing is so large. It feels impossible to finish cutting it down.”

“No matter how big it is, we will have gone through it all one day. That's what he told us when he first decided on it.” Lina looked at Richard, all sorts of thoughts running through her mind, “To be honest, you're very similar to him. You both look very restless, but when it is needed you're more patient than anyone else.”

“Is that so?” Richard did not express any opinions. Under the cover of the night, the Dragon Mage could not see his expression either.

......

The woodcutting continued day after day with no rest. Richard truly did become extremely calm, smiling all the time with even his stride slowing down. It was as though he planned to cut wood for all his life. Olar had returned with the ten elite humanoid knights; outside of the humanoids having the same delay passing through the teleportation gate as Phaser— the ten minutes' wait had left the elf panicking— and the high fee, there were no other troubles. In the meanwhile, the bard had also brought quite a few resources Richard had instructed him to.

Everyone had assumed the war would begin once Olar returned, but things continued to stay the same. Even a week later, Richard refused to make any drastic moves.

The runemaster himself had a large number of things to do. He hid away to hone his craft, Rosie accompanying him as his assistant. Nobody knew what went on within once the laboratory doors closed; Flowsand really wanted to smash them down, but naturally wouldn't do so herself.

However, even if she was prepared to incite others to do it there were no fools amongst the troops. Even the hot-blooded Nyris was unwilling to get caught in this trap, so she found herself in a predicament she had never encountered before. Here she was, a titled priestess, jealous of a servant and bedslave? That just wouldn't do. However, Rosie wasn't an ordinary maid either. Flowsand discovered that the role of life assistant the girl had set for herself was very subtle.

Since they couldn't fight in the open, the only idea left was to punish Richard in secret. Flowsand's first instinct was to stop letting him into her bed, but she immediately rejected that moronic though. That would only be making things easier for Rosie. 'Then how about dragging Richard to mine?' she thought, but couldn't even decide whether that was a punishment or a reward.

Flowsand cupped her face, struggling miserably.

The others were nowhere near as relaxed as Richard was, particularly the Fourth Prince who was eager to do something substantial. It had been an entire month since they had arrived, but he had only really fought once. This did not align with his expectations. When he had participated in planar battles in the past, he was always fighting unending battles from the moment they landed on the plane. It was the cries and blood of the battlefield that could make him feel alive.

The month had passed in the blink of an eye. Richard had made ample use of the extra time, completing two Savage Barrier sets at his leisure. Because of how calm he was while making them, the added bonus effects of the set were raised slightly as well. The rest of his time was spent researching the Mana Armament runes, and he had some breakthroughs in that department too.

The first day of their second month back in the Forest Plane, Richard wandered around the city unhurriedly while watching the actions of his soldiers. A few dozen men had spread armour out and were oiling its surface, an important step to prevent it from rusting in such a humid environment. While derusting spells were useful, they were also far too expensive to cast. Manual work was always cheaper.

Richard had asked Olar to purchase several tons of special oil from Norland just to help with equipment maintenance. There were many other similarly necessary goods, the expenditure for which was immense. When Lina had been barely hanging on to things, such scenes were impossible to see. Gaton hadn't left her much money, not even enough to replace the older weapons, so how could she have been so extravagant as to spend on such logistical supplies? The only consumable resources she bought were bolts and rations.

While Richard was watching over the soldiers maintaining their armour with interest, Nyris suddenly hastened over towards him. His face was lit up, “Richard, I finally found you! This can't do anymore, we have to do something!”

Richard turned towards the Prince and smiled, “Why are you so impatient now?”

“Look, we've spent such a huge sum getting here but we're just hanging around in the city.” Nyris knew Richard's grasp of economics was very good, so he tried to persuade the runemaster from that perspective.

However, Richard had a counter prepared, “Didn't we transport a batch of rare wood back last week? It can sell for at least 100,000 in Norland. Our profits aren't half bad, we've earned so much in the first month. It's rather uncommon.”

Nyris was at a loss for words for a moment, and then became slightly frantic, “Fine I'll be honest. I want to fight! This wet weather is making all my bones ache!”

“Sure!” Richard expressed his agreement gladly, asking with a smile on his face, “Question is, where's the enemy?”

“Ah, that...” Nyris was rendered speechless once more, having to force himself to say, “We can look for them in the forest. Those green elves aren't any threat to us anyway.”

“Haven't you looked there already?”

“Well... I didn't go deep enough into the forest,” Nyris defended himself.

532 - City of Sin

Gamble

Although Nyris claimed he hadn't gone far enough, even he didn't believe it. He'd ventured several dozen kilometres within the forest before, and nothing had come up. When roaming around the forests at night, he and Agamemnon had repeatedly tried finding the druids only to fail.

The saint that Nyris had brought along, Scherr, had once ventured deep into the forest alone but was almost unable to return. A hundred kilometres away from the city lay a mysterious force that greatly dulled one's senses and suppressed the mind, severely affecting one's sense of direction. If not for ample experience in the woods and a prompt decision to return the moment things felt off, he might have been lost in the woods forever.

The results of the search left everyone on guard. A hundred kilometres became the radius of their search, but that was still far too large a region to explore.

Thankfully, the tree variety increased vastly only ten kilometres away from the city. There were many types of wood past that point that could be sold for a good sum in Norland. Richard led a woodcutting troop out every few days with a massive security force, felling these rare trees. In the meanwhile, Agamemnon sent news back to his family lands to have them recruit bowyers.

Nyris arrived at his room one morning, suggesting that they wipe out everything in the hundred kilometre range. However, even the Prince knew that this was near impossible; the impatient fellow just wanted to stretch his limbs.

“Wait some more,” Richard told him, “We should make progress soon.”

Sending him away, Richard then headed for Lina's residence. The Dragon Mage stayed on the top floor of one of the magic towers; although the space here was narrow and small, she could look over a lot of the forest as well. As ranged attackers, mages and archers were quite similar to some extent. Line of sight was immensely important, and Lina liked to monitor the movements of the elves. When Richard entered the room, she was curled up lazily on the sofa, not moving at all.

“We still have to wait, huh?” the Dragon Mage asked gloomily. The image of a dozen old subordinates eaten alive by trees still occasionally flashed in front of her eyes.

“We'll have results soon, the elves are running short on patience.”

She brightened up immediately, “Really? How can you tell?”

Richard smiled, “The walking woods. There should have been seven or eight druids urging the forest on before, but as we cut more trees down that number has increased to ten. Two of the new druids are evidently much weaker than the others, but they're still increasing the number of trees they're sending out. You understand what this means.”

“They're doing their best!” A splendid lustre arose on Lina's face.

“Yes. Our speed has reached the limit of what they're willing to tolerate; they'll take action soon.”

“Nyris killed quite a few of them the last time, will they still have the guts to come out? Even if they do, they should have found some method.”

Richard nodded, “I agree, but sadly we don't have nearly as much knowledge as we'd like. That's fine, though; we'll know as long as they attack, no?”

“You mean...”

“We give them an opening to attack our forces,” he said slowly, “As long as we don't lose any important forces, it will be a victory.”

Lina frowned, wanting to ask about the soldiers that would die because of this, but the question would not leave her throat. As a mage she was brimming with talent, but she was a mediocre general and definitely not qualified to command. All she could do was control herself, not affecting Richard's judgement.

“I'm going to begin transferring personnel and mixing up troops,” Richard said unhurriedly.

Lina nodded, not looking too good, but Richard didn't say any more. He just patted her shoulder before leaving the room.

Lina remained on the sofa, looking outside the window in a daze. She didn't know when the tears had started flowing down her cheeks; similar decisions had been made repeatedly over the years, but she still couldn't get used to it. She felt sorrow for the soldiers that would be attacked. However, this was a planar war; in order to attain victory, one would need to sacrifice themselves as well.

She was actually very young, not even thirty years of age. She had started following Gaton around on his expeditions as a mere sixteen-year-old girl. Every time such a choice was made, be it Gaton then or Richard now, they would pat her shoulder. This was the treatment given to a sister-in-arms who had her misgivings, not the one for a soft woman.

Richard reorganised the troops the same afternoon, forming six woodcutting troops who would go out in a rotation. These groups would be led by elite humanoid knights, and all the important people including Nyris and Agamemnon were forbidden from leaving the city.

When the woodcutting groups left the city, the officers on the castle wall found things very strange. The elite knights' crimson armour was far too eye-catching in the Forest Plane's environment, making them a beacon for attacks. However, the elves hadn't appeared in a long time and the humanoid knights were extremely powerful. They were normally too reclusive to socialise with others, so nobody could remind them to repaint their armour.

Having seen the woodcutting teams leave the city, Richard descended from the walls and returned to his own laboratory. Rosie was in there alone, thoroughly engrossed in a book on magic formations. She didn't even seem to notice his return.

“Open up the map,” Richard instructed as he nonchalantly grabbed her butt.
𝒇𝘳ee𝚠𝘦𝚋n૦𝐯el coｍ

The young lady did as instructed, adjusting the holographic map on the magic desk. The new image showed changes in the surrounding forest, the places where trees were being cut and those where the forest was being expanded by the druids abundantly clear. Richard crossed his arms and stood in front of the map, silently performing calculations.

His brows relaxed after some time and he turned to Rosie, “Help me prepare clothing for a covert operation tonight, it needs to be ready before dinner.”

He then sent a mental order to Waterflower and Phaser, “Get ready, we're killing people tonight!” The two assassins immediately burst into cheers where they were. They had been extremely bored.

......

Norland, the Deepblue. Blackgold had a magnifying glass in hand as he closely examined a pile of stone-like fragments on a tray. This was the stonewood unique to the Forest Plane. Spurred on by his curiosity, the grey dwarf analysed it for a long while but came up with nothing. He was a grandmaster when it came to ores and minerals, but botany was not his domain.

His curiosity eventually died down and he pulled on an enchanted bell, telling the young mage that entered, “Take the rock-like wood to those wretched dwarves and tell them to find the fastest method to burn it. If they can do it in a week, they'll get 20,000 gold. Also, tell those damned arrogant elves that they shouldn't even think of that 50,000 gold if there's no progress in their work. I can wait two weeks, that's it!”

The young mage was a little baffled, but he didn't ask any questions. Summoning a puppet to lift the heavy stonewood trunk, he left Blackwood's office.

After the young mage left, Blackgold's eyes landed on the form in his hands. There were countless research items listed down on it, with progress bars next to them. He could tell that many experiments were moving much more quickly. The grey dwarf sighed, muttering to himself, “Why didn't I think of this? That kid is naturally one of us duergar!”

Richard had recently given him many research problems to put some teams on, also expressing interest in some other experiments in the Deepblue. Pressed as he was for time, the young runemaster had also set up many special bonuses for completion. Extra gold was given to everyone who managed to finish their tasks within the given timeline.

This money obviously came from Richard's own pocket and none of it entered the Deepblue's treasury, but Blackgold didn't see it that way. The mages who were taken on by Richard this way had a huge increase in income, making it even more attractive than before. Everyone knew Richard was Sharon's student and had given these tasks for the Deepblue to take care of within their own system. It was very unlikely to receive such good treatment elsewhere.

The grey dwarf suddenly activated a communication formation. The first response was an ear-splitting explosion, followed by violent coughs. It took a while for the shaky image to stabilise to show an old elf. This grand mage's robes were tattered, his face black with ash. A small part of his beard had been burnt off as well.

“You failed again, old man? Hahaha!” The grey dwarf promptly burst into manic laughter.

The elven grand mage was instantly enraged, “Duergar! If you're here to humiliate me, then I suggest you come to my laboratory and give it a try in person!”

Blackgold snickered, “Do you think I fear you? I actually have a new proposal now, one that can make me spend money. What do you think?”

A dark sneer appeared on the old mage's face, “It looks like you want to give me some money. What are you betting on now? Go on!”

The grey dwarf jumped on his chair to make himself appear taller, “Alright. I bet you can't increase the efficiency of the dwarven gunpowder twofold in a week. If I lose, I'll give you 50,000 gold!”

A trace of slyness suddenly flashed on the elf's face, “I agree!”

“I'm talking about the good stuff from another plane!” Blackgold immediately clarified, but all he got back was a cold “I'd think so!”

The elven grand mage had one last statement to make before cutting off the connection, “Prepare your gold!”

533 - City of Sin

Behind The Forest

The communication formation dimmed and Blackgold leapt off his chair, snickering as he muttered to himself, “The old coot wants to compete with me! He'll show his true colours now, let's see if you get any sleep in the next week!”

Blackgold then took out the list Richard had given him, at the very top of which was a breakdown of the gunpowder formula from Faelor's dwarves and a request for improvements to it. Richard had stated that he would be willing to pay an extra 200,000 gold if the research could be completed in a month. If the elf actually did succeed, Blackgold would still get 150,000 gold!

A look of pain appeared on the grey dwarf's face and he finally sighed deeply, taking out the accounting books for the Deepblue and recording the number 149,900 under the credit section. “Your Excellency! Your most loyal treasurer will only take a hundred gold as pay!” he mumbled to himself, “At this rate, I'm going to starve...”

......

Night fell upon the Forest Plane once more. The soldiers retreated into the city, with the stonewood that couldn't be transported back cast aside as usual. The woods were exceptionally dangerous at night, with the elves growing far more powerful. This was especially true because of a special technique they could use that made their arrows seem like spectres, becoming incredibly difficult to sense. Thus, even though the druids continued to move the trees from deeper within the forest, Lina never organised the army to stop them. The nightly attacks of the elves would be fatal to the ordinary soldiers and officers.

Thankfully, this type of arrow was only effective in the forest. Its power dropped drastically outside, making it even inferior to ordinary bolts. If not for that, Lina would long since have been beaten back to Norland.

The trees began uprooting themselves as they did every night, but this time Richard was seated in an empty space with the Nature's Domain rune activated. The only weapon he had was the nameless elven sword. He had already fused into one with the forest, but was still careful not to approach any large tree as he placed himself by some bushes. The trees were the companions of the forest elves, and any unassuming trunk could become an eye of their druids.

Waterflower was crouched on the ground in the distance, like a wold waiting for its prey. Phaser had abandoned her cloak and partially buried herself into the earth. The former was used to darkness and the forests from the Archeron death camp, while the latter was naturally adept at concealment. He was confident that neither would be seen by the elves.

The three of them were several kilometres apart from each other, their locations based on some analysis of the information he'd gotten from walking through the woods over the past month. He had marked down the regions that were most likely to be hidden; at the very least, the elves had to pass through them.

Agamemnon was already lying in wait elsewhere. He'd mentioned that he would be fine alone so nobody was accompanying him, although Richard still hadn't seen him go all out.

There were a few other regions as well, but there were no suitable candidates. The elves were too familiar with Lina's aura, and Nyris was great at everything except waiting. The Prince's mind had been everywhere recently, so he wasn't suitable for a stealth mission like this. In the meanwhile, Scherr and grand mage Pamir had no talent at concealment.

The forest started rumbling once more as ancient trees started to cross through to the open space. The woods were walking once more. A few agile figures were leaping from tree to tree, eyes glowing a light green while their agile bodies fused with the dark colours of the canopy. Most beings wouldn't even be able to see them; the forest in the night was their natural battlefield.

Richard remained unmoving where he was. Hunters were extremely sensitive towards motion, but in exchange they normally neglected the still ones. Richard had already been sitting in the same place for a few hours, his aura completely melded into the surroundings until one couldn't perceive him without a large-scale detection spell or plain sight. However, as someone with exceptional senses himself, he knew that the more astute a person was the more sight became a blind spot. Eyes were tools that caught active prey. In extreme circumstances, he could be sitting by someone's leg and they wouldn't notice him. There was no question that the druids were people with very keen senses.

The trees had already left, and after some time the tremors of the earth stopped as well. They had walked out of the forest and reached their destinations, setting their roots down in the cleared space. However, Richard still remained immobile. It seemed deathly silent as a few figures flitted back across and disappeared into the forest, the elven warriors making no sound despite moving like the wind. Even a long while after they disappeared Richard remained quiet and unmoving, his breath barely even discernible.

It took half an hour for him to suddenly open his eyes, a demonic blue flashing within. Hundreds of metres away, a moving shadow suddenly stopped and turned almost completely invisible; only when it was moving could one see the silhouette of a panther.

The panther turned towards Richard and its hair immediately stood on end. It could see Richard's lips open slightly, and being able to lip-read it recognised what he was saying, “Got you!”

Richard sprang into motion, the dark green facade that was covering his body all this time cracking apart. His lips quirked up in a smile, revealing spotless white teeth. With the elven sword in hand, he charged towards the invisible panther.

The panther was startled at first, but then it bared its teeth while growling as its eyes filled with immense hatred. After some hesitation, it turned to run towards the depths of the forest.

However, it was too late. A lot could happen in a moment of hesitation, and this time a streak of lightning pierced through the sky to land upon the panther. Its invisibility was immediately broken and it was sent to the ground, rolling around in immense pain. A green flash appeared around it before it stood up, form now changed into a young man with a delicate face.

The remnant sparks disappeared after the green light flashed and the youth turned to glare at Richard with poison in his eyes.

Eyes that went wide as saucers. Richard was already less than a hundred metres away, flying over like lightning. This was a pace even greater than the elven warriors!

The young druid had assumed that there was no way a mage would be able to catch him in the forest. That was the sole reason he had been able to maintain his calm despite the disadvantage. However, now he was scared out of his wits. He couldn't help but shriek; there was no more time to transform back into the panther and hide himself, while the speed of his human form wasn't enough to outrun this human.

He waved the branch-like staff in his hands in a hurry, pointing it at Richard. Green light flickered at the top, numerous vines suddenly growing out from under Richard's feet to try and wind around his legs like an octopus' tentacles. However, Richard suddenly seemed to defy gravity as he began to mysteriously float. He went horizontal in the air, stepping over the vines and continuing to fly forward at the same speed.

The young druid turned terribly pale, as though he'd seen a ghost. But then again, he might not be this afraid even in front of an actual apparition. Seeing his spell rendered completely ineffective, the inexperienced fellow's mind went blank. He forgot to continue casting his spells, and Richard didn't miss the chance. Now, there were less than thirty metres until he reached the elf.

Despair flashed in the youth's eyes and he suddenly released a sharp whistle that sounded far into the distance. The nearby trees shook, almost leaving the earth. Sadly, his mana was too weak; a great druid might have been able to summon dozens of treants with a whistle, but his only caused the trees to half-uproot before they stopped moving.

The druid's eyes were still fixed on Richard. He suddenly planted his staff into the ground as he started a loud incantation, green specks of light gathering around him unceasingly. The trees illuminated by those rays let out low cries, swaying in great pain, but the youth still didn't stop as the light continued to grow stronger.

Nature spell, Light Explosion. This was a spell that could harm the self, shooting destructive rays of light in all directions by burning away one's mana. At the limits of its power, everything in a ten-metre radius would be lit aflame.

Richard quickly realised the intentions of the young druid, but he laughed mysteriously. Light flickered around his own body as Eruption came into effect, doubling his speed. The elven sword went straight for the druid's throat.

The blow was quick as lightning, and although it didn't have too much strength behind it, it would still be able to cut through the youth's throat before he finished casting Light Explosion. He had no choice but to stop his spell halfway through; it would stop if he died anyway. Now brandishing his staff to boost himself with a barrier, he quickly chanted a shorter spell to attack Richard. This was quite common amongst spellcasters, stylistically the most correct choice available to them. However, the druid was facing someone who had visited a battlefield of despair!

534 - City of Sin

Behind The Forest(2)

Just as the young druid was about to wave his staff, Richard suddenly raised his leg and kicked him square in the stomach. The strike took all the breath out of the youth even as it sent him flying, his spell never coming to fruition.

The druid got to his feet once more, waving his staff madly in a desperate attempt to cast something, but Richard appeared behind his back and gave the staff a light tug. The youth was thrown off balance, falling to the ground once more.

This position wasn't difficult to get out of, but as he tried to jump up his body barely left the ground. A sickening crack was followed by the sound of bones breaking, and the druid couldn't help a pained scream. Just as he was about to jump up, Richard had simply stepped on his leg; the attempted leap was no different from almost completely twisting his own ankle off.

The youth continued to struggle with no intention to escape, but Richard only needed a few simple moves to send him back to the ground again and again. Eventually, Richard only needed to shove a little to send the fellow flying several metres away.

By this point, he already understood that systematic mages like the one he used to be were easily exploited by those like Beye. Unless one could make their preparations absurdly early, it would be impossible to cast even the simplest of spells. That was true even if it was an instant cast.

Instantaneous casting had its own prerequisites; it wouldn't work with a simple thought. One had to control their mana flow, performing the basic gestures needed to release the energy. The druid was being tossed around like a ragdoll without even a sense of direction; any spellcasting was out of the question.

Even if the opponent had a scroll or magical tool, it was useless if they could not withdraw it. Under such circumstances, the only defences still in play would be permanent ones like the magic arrays on a mage's robes that responded to attacks automatically or runes that worked off similar principles. That was the reason for the existence of runes like Mana Armament. There was nothing better at improving a mage's mobility.

Mages were normally taught a proverb in their youth: no matter how powerful a spell is, it is only fearsome if it strikes the enemy. Richard now felt like it needed an amendment: no matter how powerful a spell is, it can only be called magic if it's cast.

Looking at the unyielding young druid who was still struggling, Richard felt a pang of pity. He felt as if he was looking at a younger version of himself, but unlike him this youth would not have the chance to grow up.

The teen continued to curse wildly, but there were no complete sentences coming from his mouth. Richard interpreted the unconnected syllables to be a threat of something like a horrible death. Having spent so much time on this plane, the local language had become easy to understand; he could now understand much of their lexicon even without translation magic.

Perhaps the rage had clouded his mind, but the youth started chanting once more to try and transform into a panther. Richard shook his head, allowing him to complete the transformation before moving forward to step on the beast's tail. The panther jumped with all its might, but with its tail pinned to the ground it landed with the loud thud. This time, it could not muster the strength to get up.

Richard walked over with sword in hand, grabbing the creature by the nape and slamming it into the trunk of a nearby tree. The druid collapsed and returned to human form with a whimper, taking a long time to get back on his knees. This time he just stared at Richard, chuckling before spitting into the ground, “You cannot escape!”

Richard remained unperturbed, saying without any hints of panic, “Because of the warriors that just passed us?”

Surprised as he was by Richard speaking his language, the druid's face still contorted with rage, “You can't escape. Kill me if you want, at least you'll have done something before you die!”

Richard chuckled, “If they really were coming, they would have been here already.”

All colour drained from the youth's face, “W-What did you do to them?”

“If I could catch even you, how could they have escaped? It would've been one thing if just you didn't return, but who told you to call them back as well?” Richard stared into the druid's eyes, every word a nail piercing into the teenager's heart.

“Nine returned to rescue you, and only two remain.”

......

Several kilometres away, an elven warrior was fleeing at full speed. The wind felt like a stream of thorns scraping against his face as drops of blood flew out, but he had already lost the ability to identify his wounds. But that wasn't something he cared for. His goal was to run faster and faster, shaking off the demons chasing after him to return to his tribe with news of his companions' fate.

He had never run so fast before, but his sense of danger hadn't dulled in the slightest. In fact, it was only growing stronger.

Waterflower held the Shepherd of Eternal Rest in her mouth, her body on all fours as she gave chase to the escapee like a pursuing wolf. Her speed far exceeded the elf's, but she still blended into the shadows of the jungle without effort.

She suddenly leapt up, blocking off the archer mid-air. The elf showed a remarkable dexterity in abandoning his bow and drawing his blade, charging towards her like a fish in water, but he could never have expected that the assassin was even more suited to the forest night than himself.

He could have sworn that one moment she was charging towards him, and the next she completely disappeared from his vision. All he saw was the shadows of the trees, but the murderous intent had not dispersed at all. A blade appeared out of nowhere, sending him tumbling to the ground with a single clash. The girl also brushed by him and stood atop a tree branch that continued to bob in the wind as though she was weightless.

“One left,” Waterflower sent a mental message. Only then did the elven warrior's stiff body sprawl across the ground, fresh blood trickling down from his corpse.

......

Elsewhere in the forest, Phaser was doggedly pursuing another elven warrior. She couldn't catch up to him, but he couldn't throw her off either. Hearing the scream of the druid from afar, a fire appeared in his eyes. He drew his shortsword and turned around, tossing a longbow aside.

This native was tall and handsome, possessing a primal attraction that was only enhanced by the green tattoos on his face. Norland's standards would put him as a level 13 archer, and while he had forgone his primary weapon he was still formidable in the nightly forest. Phaser was only level 10.

Phaser had already discarded her cloak, stopping at the edge of attacking range. Half of a breathtakingly beautiful face appeared from the shadows, one that almost sent the elven warrior into a trance. These natives were similar to their kind back in Norland, finding it hard to discard aesthetics. Even candidates for important positions in the tribe were decided based on appearance if they were equally competent.

However, his face froze over once more before he charged fiercely at Phaser, blade aimed at her heart. Disadvantaged in terms of speed, power, and reflexes, a sadness flashed across the girl's face. As though fighting to the death, she aimed the tip of her blade at the warrior's lower ribcage.

An injury there would be severe, but not fatal. The warrior twisted a little, but his sword continued to move forward. As its edge touched Phaser's pale, ethereal skin, he felt a pang of hesitation and regret. However, the tip eventually only paused for a split second before he thrust forth with full force.

His blade split open Phaser's skin and flesh, meeting the expected resistance that should have been the ribcage. He applied a little more force to break it, allowing the tip to enter the heart. However, as the shortsword continued forward it met a far stronger resistance than the elf had anticipated. It made it less than ten centimetres in before starting to slow down, shaking as though powerful jaws were clamping down on the invading blade.

The warrior was shocked beyond belief; try as he might to force the shortsword into the wound, it was all to no avail. The resistance to the blade was so great it was like trying to penetrate refined steel. In the meanwhile, he had paid a heavy price. The girl's dagger was buried into his gut.

The elf immediately felt a terrifying threat, weakness radiating from the location of his wound even as he lost all senses in the location. The blade was coated with poison that rivalled the Crystallising Toxin everyone in the tribe feared!

His body shook with a final bellow of rage. He hadn't expected such an attractive woman to use such an underhanded tactic, but it was only then that he truly saw the female in front of him as well.

A shiver ran down his spine. She was undeniably beautiful, but half of her face was hidden behind a strange mask. The thrust into her heart should have killed her, but she remained firm as though nothing had happened.

Phaser gazed calmly upon the elven warrior, but there was greed in her eyes. The elf suddenly screamed, a panicked look flooding his face as he felt his life force surging towards the wound in his ribs. That dagger was like a bottomless pit, drawing every last drop of his energy. His eyes gradually dimmed.

The special unit shook her blade, and a withered corpse slid onto the ground.

535 - City of Sin

Blood Bait

Phaser stood silent for a moment, her eyes closed. When she opened them again, a wisp of dark green started burning deep within to turn a bloody red. Crackling sounds rang throughout her body as she grew a little taller, her aura growing more powerful.

She raised her hand and gazed at it, a pale crimson wisp appearing at her fingertip in response. 'Now level 11, these elves are nutritious. 50 more for level 12... 150 for level 13... 450 for level 14...' she calculated silently.

The shortsword stuck in her chest was pulled out, thrown by the wayside without so much as a glance. The wound on her left breast hadn't shed a single drop of blood, mending immediately to leave behind a long, shallow scar.

Phaser's thoracic cavity was densely packed with bone and muscle, the latter of which carried the ability to store energy. Whenever a foreign object pierced into her, the muscles would force the special bones to clamp down on the invader firmly; the heart was not her weakness but a trap.

“The last one has been dealt with, Master,” she sent out the message, turning to walk in Richard's direction.

As a construct of the broodmother, she had a particularly powerful spiritual link with Richard that exceeded everyone but Waterflower. When Richard's soul strength increased back in Faelor, they had become able to communicate over this link.

......

After regrouping with Phaser and Waterflower, Richard carried the unconscious druid out of the jungle. The elven warriors attempting the rescue had been ambushed and killed, but without a good grasp of how long it would take for more to arrive, he wished to avoid any unnecessary complications.

The trio quickly retreated from the forest, knowing they would be the safe the moment they were out in the open. Once they did come out, Richard was in no hurry to return to the city itself; he waited until Agamemnon exited as well, a magical staff covered with leaves in hand. This was a nature staff, the kind favoured by the druids.

“I got careless,” the youth forced a smile, “The quarry escaped, and all I got was an arm and this damned thing.”

However, Richard was already astonished; Agamemnon was even stronger than he had anticipated. He himself possessed many special abilities that qualified him for this attempt; in particular, his Nature's Domain rune and elven blood. In fact, he was better adapted to the forest than these elves themselves. Even so, the panthers that the druids could turn into were invisible, and detecting their presence required a considerable amount of luck. He had been expecting Agamemnon to return empty-handed.

Richard had captured his prey easily because of the teen's inexperience. However, Agamemnon had actually found one himself and even claimed an arm and the nature staff that was practically their second life. It had to be known that Agamemnon didn't have his legendary hammer in hand during the ambush, only a normal sword.

Richard looked back at the dense jungle, waving the druid in his hands, “Let's return, the elves might make some noticeable movements tomorrow.”

When they were back in the city, he called out to Agamemnon and pointed at the unconscious druid, “This little punk has quite the spirit, my men might not be able to get anything out of him. Why don't you send some of yours over as well, and we'll see what we can do?”

Agamemnon eyed Richard deeply and nodded, “Very well.”

Richard smiled, handing the youth over to Olar and giving him some instructions before retiring to rest. Staying in the extremely moist forest was far from pleasant, and unlikely as it seemed some moss had started growing over him in the short period of time.

......

The next morning, the city gates opened up as usual. Three platoons of warriors exited in formation, beginning to cut down trees. The troops were still being led by elite humanoid knights, but this time their crimson armour was decorated with golden patterns. A new insignia had been emblazoned on their breastplates, depicting a world tree against a volcanic background. With such an elaborate crest and the shiny armour, even an idiot would understand that these elites were of immense significance.

Richard casually explained to Nyris that he had designed a personal crest in his leisure time, infuriating the Prince who was practically bored to death. The crest was the start of a new branch family; something Richard was definitely competent to make. The only things he lacked now were connections and capital.

While the restless youth was lamenting, Agamemnon remained silently at his side. His expression was unreadable, but his hand was patting Nyris' hair.

Although nobody mentioned it, Richard had already noticed that the insignia on Agamemnon's soldiers was irregular as well. The base crest of the 200 sanguinary guards was a white shield emblazoned with three golden fleurs-de-lis, the crest of the Ironblood Family. Every branch had its own variations on the above; for example, Grand Duke Ironblood's personal crest had a horizontal sword replacing the blood dripping from the petals. However, these sanguinary guards had the three fleurs-de-lis against a winged sky-blue shield. This was a variation that he had never seen before.

The warriors were chatting and joking as usual, logging in high spirits. Richard and Agamemnon's nightly raid that resulted in one druid captured and another severely wounded had greatly bolstered their resolve. This was a clear sign that the natives were nothing worth fearing at all. It was just like Richard had said, they would cut all the damned trees down until they reached the elves' den. They were particularly efficient this day.

The walking woods still showed themselves in the night, but although Richard and Agamemnon had no plans of striking one could see how panicked the druids were. The number of trees sent over wasn't even half of what was normally seen.

The only complication was that the teenage druid was stubbornly resisting interrogation. He had an ironclad will, one that even Richard felt he could not match. A skilled interrogator like Olar and two of Nyris' subordinates had exhausted every trick in the book but there was no effect. The youth's soul was shielded in a shell of green energy, the protection of the forest, that made any spells affecting the mind useless.

After a day's hard work, everyone else began giving their own ideas. Tiramisu wanted to cook his left leg, a suggestion seconded by Phaser. Scherr and several others were bickering as well, mostly with some uncreative suggestions about amputating the boy that wasn't even as scary as what the ogre wanted to do.

Master Pamir suggested raping the rather handsome boy with several strong men to cause some psychological trauma, the physical harm only being an afterthought. This grand mage apparently had some rather strange fetishes. However, Richard was sceptical whether such a method would work. Druids' animal transformations weren't purely physical; their minds were altered somewhat as well. There was no shortage of druids in Norland who had lost themselves to their transformations, becoming base beasts.

In came numerous varied proposals, but not a single one was workable. Someone suggested pulling the druid back to Norland and using the divine grace of the Eternal Dragon to eliminate the barrier on his soul, but that was just too expensive for any potential use.

Richard came up with a plan of his own, ordering a consistent torture schedule that only left the youth with half an hour's sleep a day. More often than not, interrogation was a game of patience.

The next day, the three logging groups set out as usual. One of them was targetting a patch of sparse forest at the edge, just heralded out by the druids the night before. They were now experienced enough to have learnt that these new trees took less effort to cut down, focusing on them before turning their attention to the indigenous trees.

The platoon spread into the jungle, several dozen woodcutters each protected by two bodyguards. The elite humanoid knight of the team was patrolling the surroundings as a precaution.

It was then that the situation changed drastically.

A dozen ancient trees grew animated, ferocious faces appearing on their trunks as they swung thick branches viciously at the surrounding warriors. Some of the soldiers barely managed to raise their shields in time, but they were sent flying out. Those without shields ended up with shattered bones.

In an instant, the casualties numbered in the dozens.

The elite humanoid knight was surrounded by four of the treants. He grimly swung his sword to cut down the one in front of him, but with seven or eight branches on each they were almost impossible to avoid. He dodged the attacks from behind him only to be struck in the side, his steed pierced by several branches. His shoulder suffered a heavy blow from a huge branch, and he was thrown to the ground.

The elite knight spat blood from his mouth, struggling to get up, but a seed suddenly shot out from the jungle and landed squarely on his body. An untold number of vines sprouted out violently, firmly restraining him in a scant few seconds. The vines were more resilient than steel; no matter how much the knight struggled, it was all for nought.

Four elven warriors leapt down from the trees like ghosts, each with a vine in hand. They hoisted the humanoid knight and immediately retreated into the jungle, vanishing into the sea of trees. One druid nearby waved his nature staff and turned into a panther, his silhouette slowly disappearing from view.

At the edge of the forest, the dozen treants were still pursuing the human warriors. They were about equivalent to level 14, but with resilience and strength far beyond a human at the same level, the soldiers would only be slaughtered.

Light shone from the distant city walls as Richard's powerhouses flew towards the battlefield. When Scherr, Nyris, Agamemnon, and the rest arrived, the ones being slaughtered would be the treants instead.

536 - City of Sin

Blood Bait(2)

The battle with the treants ended soon after Richard's powerhouses arrived. However, the battle had left a logging team of 200 men with less than 50 survivors. Richard himself only managed to make it to the location afterwards, unable to help but sigh at the aftermath.

Pamir was squatted beside the corpse of one of the treants, examining its rings. He stood up soon after Richard's arrival, “All of them are level 14, elites even in Norland. If only they were two levels higher... Tch, they would have had hearts.” The grand mage had a look of pity on his face.

The saint Scherr kicked the corpse of one of the treants, “These things are valuable anyway.”

Treants were moving treasuries, their core wood one of the best choices when creating superior-grade longbows. At level 16 they developed hearts where their life essence coagulated; these hearts had a wide range of uses, making them more valuable than the rest of their bodies combined. Still, even these corpses would be worth at least 10,000 gold each back in Norland.

A big part of the reasons humans in Norland had attacked the elves was to obtain high-quality hearts. They were so powerful the heart of a legendary treant could be used to formulate medicine to increase one's lifespan. This was a temptation enough to drive anyone crazy; unlike the randomness of the Eternal Dragon's divine grace, alchemy had known effectiveness.

Nyris approached Richard's side, looking at one of the corpses, “So many treants were sacrificed to capture a single hostage, the elves are really going all out. It seems like that little druid isn't as simple a character as we thought.”

“Mm,” Richard nodded, “Have Olar monitor him carefully, and get a priest to watch over so he doesn't kill the boy off by accident.”

Nyris fell into thought for some time before asking, “The elves should ask to exchange hostages soon. Is your knight... Erm... Important?” The implicit meaning was that they could take action while exchanging hostages, but that would put the knight's life in danger. Of course, such a sacrifice was worth it in the eyes of the Fourth Prince; he had no lack of level 11 knights.

“Whether he's important or not depends on how you look at it,” Richard replied profoundly.

Nyris frowned, unable to understand what that meant. He decided to just ask directly instead, “Are we taking action when the elves come to negotiate?”

“No, we're taking action now.” Richard's words caused Nyris to look at him with anticipation, and he smiled in response, “Go, gather your men, but don't bring more than thirty. We're leaving soon, and we need to stay flexible.”

“No problem!” Nyris answered. As a prince in the running for the throne, he had a lot of competent subordinates. Besides, he had Agamemnon as well.

It didn't take long for a small troop to be assembled in the city square. Richard took Lina, all of his followers, and all five of the rune knights along, while Nyris and Agamemnon brought Scherr, Pamir, and a selected group of guards that were all level 14 at minimum. This squad had the power to fight their way out even if they were surrounded by a big army.

Richard was not anxious to set off, instead meticulously checking on everyone's equipment and rations. He then mounted his unicorn, “Be prepared, we might have to spend a few days in the forest.”

At that moment, a slender silhouette suddenly ran towards the square, “Wait! Bring me along!”

Seeing Demi's fiery figure, Richard's face sank, “I'm attacking the elves' nest directly this tim. It will be extremely dangerous, this is not a joke!”

Demi's face lit up, “When have Archerons ever been afraid of danger!”

“You don't have the ability, and there's nobody willing to take care of you. This is not an excursion.”

“I've been in many wars already, I don't need a caretaker. I'm an Archeron, not a little chick that needs its mother all the time!”

Seeing her refuse to back down, Richard couldn't find it in himself to be annoyed. The girl had outstanding strength, progressing rapidly during their numerous battles back in Faelor. As a cursemaster her defensive abilities were already great as well. It was just that there was still a little bias deep in his heart. With Gaton having disappeared, he didn't want the man's children to suffer from any mishaps. Even if they grew to be a pride of tamed lions, it was better than them dying on another plane. Even amongst powerhouses, less than half of those who spent a long time in planar war survived. There were many who died in foreign lands before they even had that chance.

Demi's persistence reminded him of his younger self. He sighed, “If you want to go, then go get changed out of these red robes. I don't care where you get the new clothing, but you have five minutes to do it.”

The girl didn't hesitate, rushing out immediately. Looking at her departing figure, Richard sighed a little. If a lion didn't want to enjoy the safety of its cage, then it had to be returned to the magnificent danger of the savanna.

......

Most of the soldiers were out patrolling the city, but three warriors were sitting around lazily as they talked about home. They were shocked when Demi dashed into their room in the barracks, but immediately stood up to salute her. They knew that this fiery young lady was Richard's blood sister.

Demi sized the three of them up, suddenly pointing one out and saying with a sweet smile, “You, come closer.”

The warrior pointed to immediately moaned, “Me?”

“Who else?” she maintained her expression, pulling down on her collar to reveal almost the entirety of her breasts. The soldier immediately walked over without even thinking about it, the fair skin the only thing on his mind. His heart was beating so fast it was ready to spill out of his mouth. He didn't see the pommel of a dagger smashing into him from behind.

The warrior swayed, eyes rolling back as he fell to the ground in disbelief, and Demi immediately started to remove his clothes. The other two soldiers were dumbfounded, unable to comprehend what they had just witnessed. However, they didn't think Demi's attack was an act of hostility. Thinking she just had some unusual preferences, they started looking forward to the scene they were about to witness.

One that never materialised. Once done stripping the warrior down to his underwear, Demi cut a big hole into her skirt. Raising her head to see them still looking at her, she cast a pair of fear spells that sent them running with a cry. Not bothering with them any further, she tore off her skirt and quickly changed into the soldier's uniform before dashing out of the room and the barracks. The unconscious soldier wouldn't know until he woke up that Demi had chosen him merely because of their similar physiques.

......

Still sitting on the unicorn, Richard was silently counting the seconds as they passed by. He knew Demi loved red, and also that she hadn't prepared any clothes for this expedition that weren't robes. In the jungle where mobility was paramount, one needed to be dressed in trousers to be fully effective.

There were exceptions to this, of course— Lina was so powerful normal terrain posed no obstruction to her regardless. However, he himself had switched out of his robes as well. Five minutes wasn't enough time to borrow any clothes, it wasn't even enough to explain the situation to someone.

Richard knew that people would die in this battle. His ultimate hope was that Demi wouldn't tag along. Four and a half minutes, he silently counted in his heart. However, he could already see a silhouette dashing over from afar. Demi's silhouette.

The girl rushed up to his unicorn, panting as she said intermittently, “I... did it... Five...”
f𝔯e𝘦𝒘e𝑏𝙣𝑜𝚟𝚎l. co𝑚

He nodded, turning to Tiramisu, “Give her your horse.”

“No problem, boss! I like running!” the ogre said loudly. His mount was the drone specifically designed for him, more than two metres tall with its legs as thick as an elephant's. This unit was also a magical beast that could burst forth with astonishing power, protecting Demi if needed. The steed was so large Demi had to spend quite a bit of strength even mounting it, making her look small and delicate on its back. In reality, however, the girl was already six feet tall with an athletic figure to boot.

Nyris' expression was quite wonderful to behold; the clothes Demi was wearing were the military uniform of the royal guards. The fact that he didn't say anything proved just how far his patience had advanced in his time here.

The troops left the city one after the other, embarking on an expedition into the unknown.

......

As the squad continued to move forward under Richard's guidance, Agamemnon fell a little behind to Demi's side. He took a glance at her and asked, “Where did you get the uniform?”

Demi raised her brows, “I found an unlucky guy who couldn't take his eyes off my chest. I hit him unconscious and his clothes wound up on my body.”

The taciturn youth gazed deeply at her in response, revealing a smile that was rarely ever seen, “Impressive!”

“Thank you!” Demi started beaming.

Nyris, who wasn't far ahead, gnashed his teeth and tore the reins of his horse apart. He vowed to teach the pervert in his army a lesson.

Agamemnon spoke up again, “If we enter battle, don't stray too far from me.”

Demi's eyebrows instantly locked together, “Hey you have to charge ahead!”

That prompted a laugh, “That's nothing!”

Nyris suddenly turned around, looking at his friend in astonishment. It was as though he had seen a monster.

537 - City of Sin

Will Of The Forest

Agamemnon was perfectly composed at first, but Nyris continued to stare at him. The Prince's gaze grew increasingly resentful, the forming tears giving his eyes a glossy sheen.

“Is it that strange?” he asked with a glare of his own.

“It is!” Nyris said with a chuckle, proud that his scheme had worked, “A block of wood like you can actually smile and get mad, huh?”

Agamemnon snorted and stopped speaking.

“Shh, hurry up!” Richard said dully from the front, immediately rendering everyone silent. He shook his head as he spurred the unicorn forward at a comfortable pace, pushing further into the jungle.

As it slowly grew dark, the soldiers who were adept at detection found an empty space within the forest and everyone dismounted to get some rest. They didn't need any tents, sitting as they were or leaning against trees. With a fair number of mages in the group, some casually roasted some jerky for dinner.

Demi sat down on the ground, but the men's uniform she was dressed in made things uncomfortable. She hadn't brought any supplies like the others either. Richard waved her over, spreading some tarp on the ground, “When you're done eating, sleep here.”

She looked at the people around her, gritting out, “It's fine, I'll find somewhere to sit.”

Richard smiled at her obstinance, whispering, “Rest well, you shouldn't push yourself. You're not the same as them, if you don't get some sleep you can't fight. Your performance will be very important.”

This got her to nod, finishing her food before curling up on the tarp and trying to fall asleep. He grinned at the sight, finding a spot to sit down and rest himself. As everyone finished eating, they slipped into a reverie. There was no nightly vigil in this team, nor was there any need when everyone was so powerful.

......

Early morning the next day, everyone mounted their horses once more. Richard spurred on his unicorn and led them deep into the forest, choosing his direction without hesitation while nobody could tell which way was north.

Richard's followers had gotten used to this absolute control of the situation; they knew that him not asking for opinions meant he was confident. However, the royal soldiers and sanguinary guards were not the same. Filled with doubt, they exchanged glances with each other before following.

Richard could still sense the elite humanoid through his mental link, which meant it was still alive. The connection was a little vague, indicating that the drone was further than thirty kilometres away, but there would be no problem in determining the approximate direction to take. However, a short distance into their journey the group seemed to pass through an invisible barrier. It felt like a hammer had crashed into their souls, suppressing the troop greatly and applying great pressure on their minds. Thoughts started to slow down and vision started to blur, ground and sky fusing into one as even maintaining balance grew difficult. A few of the soldiers instantly grew so muddleheaded they didn't notice themselves drifting away from the group into the depths of the forest.

“Careful, this is where my mind was affected!” Scherr warned loudly. He didn't seem to be in a good state himself. This wasn't just a single strike. Whatever was attacking them placed a constant pressure on their souls. Please visit 𝒇𝘳𝗲𝚎w𝑒𝚋𝚗𝐨v𝒆l. 𝒄𝒐𝚖

The strength of one's will was a clear indicator of their chances of reaching the legendary realm, and this situation put everyone's on display. Nyris and Agamemnon were only level 17, not even saints yet, but they were much less affected than Scherr and Pamir. Even Lina was worse off than them, although she was still alright compared to the other two. Demi herself showed the incredible will of a true Archeron, almost on par with the Dragon Mage.

It was Richard's side that truly astonished everyone. Outside of Olar, who was on par with Scherr and Pamir, every single one of Richard's followers showed unbelievably powerful minds. Flowsand, Waterflower, Phaser, and even Tiramisu were able to withstand the pain, their movements not affected at all. This put them even higher than Nyris and Agamemnon!

But that wasn't even all. Richard himself merely wrinkled his eyebrows, almost completely unaffected by the pressure everyone else had to resist at full strength. Only Flowsand and Waterflower knew just how powerful his soul had become after surviving the spirit lance of the troll warlord. To him, the pressure was like a backpack he had been forced to wear. It didn't really affect him, but it was a little annoying.

Still, that he was the only one doing alright was not a good sign. They were going into battle soon, and he couldn't charge into the elves' den on his own. He hadn't expected this situation at all; Scherr had said they would be affected by the forest around the hundred-kilometre mark, but he hadn't thought it would be so severe.

The unicorn seemed to sense his worries. This beast that cost more divinity than even Phaser suddenly gave a long neigh, its clear voice spreading far and wide. Its horn lit up with a silver light, not particularly bright but still penetrating through the mist. The glow covered a range of a few dozen metres around them.

Everyone immediately felt the pressure on their souls fading away, growing light enough that even the weakest soldiers could fight without issue.

“Amazing!” Nyris' expression was a mix of admiration, shock, and some sadness. He wasn't just talking about the unicorn.

Scherr and Pamir, who had thought themselves great and mighty and had their noses up in the air, now looked at Richard with shock and reverence. Their eyes scanned through his followers as well, expressions complicated.

Anyone with experience knew how important the power of the mind and soul was. It was a key requirement if one wanted to become powerful; although someone with strong will wouldn't necessarily succeed, it was a basic requirement to even try.

They could ignore Richard, he was the pride and joy of a legendary mage. However, even his followers were shockingly talented with astounding potential. Although one couldn't tell how far they would go in the end, it was certain that the realm of saints was not their limit. Even the weakest of Richard's party was not one whit inferior to a grand mage. How did Richard get a bunch of freaks like that to serve him?

It was this train of thought that led to Richard's own talent. They realised they couldn't just ignore Richard, not at all. His soul was more powerful than that of a titled priestess! Where, then, was his endpoint? Would a new Gaton appear in the next decade? Scherr and Pamir exchanged glances, knowing fully well that the appearance of a second freak would make the rise of the Archerons unstoppable.

Richard had already noticed the change in the atmosphere, but just because he knew their thoughts did not mean he would respond. He merely pointed ahead, “Let's go, there's still a long way ahead!”

......

Far into the distance, hundreds of forest elves had gathered under an incomparably huge ancient tree, welcoming a brave group of warriors. A robust panther leapt to the front of the crowd, transforming into an elderly druid who waved the nature staff in his hands, “We have returned with an important figure amongst the invading devils!”

The elves instantly grew jubilant, and the druid just as imposing as he exclaimed, “Bring the prisoners!”

Four elven warriors walked over, throwing the elite humanoid knight bound tightly in vines to the ground. The elves all grew venomous at the sight, cursing him in the most vicious language. Some even raised their daggers and rushed over, intending to stab him a few times. It had been less than two months since Richard had arrived on this plane, and most of the elves in this tribe had lost friends or family to his troops.

However, the druid coughed once and some of the elven warriors immediately stepped forward to protect the knight's life from their kin, “This is a bargaining chip for us to retrieve Jubu with, he cannot be harmed!” The elves gradually calmed down at the mention of that name, but the hatred in their gazes only grew.

A deep, regal voice suddenly rang out from the skies, “Beloved Elder Greenwind, how are my children?”

The one speaking was an extremely tall treant, its trunk manifold the size of an ordinary tree. One almost couldn't see the end of its lofty crown.

“I feel great pain to say this, but they could not escape the invaders,” the druid said in a heavy tone.

The ancient treant sighed, “I understand. My children knew they were unlikely to return. I only hope their sacrifice will be of some value in the end. Go, the grand elder is waiting for you. I need peace.”

Greenwind bowed low, “As you wish.”

The druid ascended the spiralling path that led to the top of the enormous tree behind him, passing several treehouses built into the natural ridges in its trunk. At the highest level occupied by the elves was a spacious wooden house, within which sat an elf so old he almost could not stand.

538 - City of Sin

A Fear Of Fate

Seeing Greenwind arrive, the elven grand elder pushed himself off his seat and asked with anticipation, “Greenwind! I hope you come bearing good news.”

“I do, we managed to capture an important figure amongst the invaders!”

“An important figure?” the aged elf grew agitated, but he immediately calmed himself down, “How can you tell?”

Greenwind was already prepared for this, handing over a large enchanted sword, “This is the weapon he used. You can test its strength.”

The grand elder raised the giant blade with his right hand, a bone dagger appearing in his left. This dagger was heavier and more finely polished than the ones most elves used, the patterns carved on it intricate and elegant. However, a single wave of the enchanted sword and it cracked apart. The cut was extremely smooth.

The elder heaved a sigh of defeat, “Marvellous! Even the daggers blessed by the Tree of Life cannot stop its blow. This person must have a high position!”

“We have a chance of rescuing Jubu!” Greenwind said happily.

The grand elder nodded slowly, “Young Quickwind is the only druid in the tribe who can also communicate with the Tree of Life. He is our ray of light! Be cautious, we cannot let the invaders realise how important he is. If they do, we will have no hope of recovering him!”

“It's likely that we will manage to exchange this captive for Jubu, but what afterwards? Invaders are still surging out of the devil's gate, their numbers are endless!”

The grand elder's frown grew more pronounced, his voice turning low, “How many of our warriors have we lost already?”

“106 adults ever since the new invaders arrived, and 20 treants.”

“They also captured Quickwind. A full half of the warriors in the tribe...” the grand elder stated bitterly, and Greenwind's affirmation was just as sullen.

The elder walked to the window, watching a few young elves jumping around between the large branches as they played, “Perhaps... We might have been better served with a diplomatic approach instead of this war. The original invaders were clearly different from those now.”

Greenwind froze up for a moment before shouting, “Grand Elder! These are invaders who came through the devil's gate! Even if they are of different tribes, they are invaders nonetheless! We absolutely cannot negotiate with them and need to chase them out and destroy that gate! This is war!”

The grand elder sighed, “Is this the intent of all the druids?”

“There are six in support of me.”

The grand elder nodded, going silent for some time. There were a total of ten druids in the tribe, and with one injured and another taken captive this left only one more that wasn't on Greenwind's side. The rest were prepared to fight the invaders to the death.

“The three of us here are no match for these invaders, we should make preparations to move the Tree of Life.”

This statement enraged Greenwind, “That will not do! The Tree of Life has grown here for nearly a thousand years!”

“What, then?” the grand elder was finally angry himself, “If the invaders find this place, it will be too late to move!”

“Impossible! We certainly will not give them a chance to approach the Tree of Life.”

“Is that so? A mere few druids are confident in victory?”

Greenwind's expression darkened, “We will defend the Tree with our lives!”

“And what if you all die in battle?!” the grand elder did not hold back.

The druid was startled, never having expected these words from the grand elder's mouth. He had never considered the consequences of losing before; in the eyes of the druids, death was merely a process of returning to nature that didn't need to be feared.

The grand elder pressed on, “If all of us die in battle, do you believe the invaders will let the Tree of Life and out tribesmen who aren't yet of age go? If the invaders' army makes their way here, do you even have a tenth of a chance to win?”

Greenwind's face grew increasingly terrible. He might have been fired up for battle, but ever since the new invaders had reached this plane the situation was deteriorating. Ever since the devil's gate had appeared, the power of their tribe was being worn down consistently. While the tribes beside them never stopped providing aid, numbers had dwindled and strength had decayed. The new invader was sly as a fox, using a number of terrifying powerhouses aggressively. Their weapons and armour suddenly had unimaginable strength, now able to cut treants apart in one slice.

No matter how much he tried to deceive himself, the druid could only say he would risk his life for the cause. While they had successfully captured an important figure amongst the invaders, they had paid the price of a dozen treants. Those treants had always known they would not escape; with their sluggishness, they definitely could not escape the powerful invaders. If not for Quickwind's importance to the tribe, this would have been a complete defeat.

“Think it over, Greenwind. Do you wish for the tribe and the Tree of Life to be destroyed because of your honour and belief? Can you seven take on this heavy responsibility? There are hundreds of tribesmen that depend on you, and hundreds more who gave their lives for their kin.”

Greenwind opened his mouth, but the reply only came after a long time, “I do not believe the invaders can break the protection of the forest's will.”

“Let us hope you are correct,” the grand elder answered with a sigh.

Greenwind did not say anymore, bowing and leaving the treehouse. He leapt into the air, turning into a falcon that dived down to the ground. Landing on one of the roots of the Tree of Life, he transformed back into his elven form as he approached a hidden hole guarded by two elven warriors.

“Open the passage,” he instructed, and one of the guards immediately patted the wall nearby. The vines sealing the hole immediately went soft, revealing a path spiralling downwards.

It was only a dozen metres underground that the earth levelled out once more, opening up into a cave with countless roots separating it into ten or so little rooms. One or more human warriors were held captive in each of the partitions, most of which were captured over a month ago. Ever since Richard had arrived here, the only addition to this prison was the elite humanoid knight.

The knight in question was seated on the ground, eyes closed and face blank as though he didn't mind his predicament at all. Greenwind's fury got no response, so he eventually turned to the other cells in helplessness. This knight hadn't spoken a word since he was captured, regardless of how much they tortured him. Even his expression remained unchanging for the most part, the only fluctuations coming from the occasional hint of bloodlust that was difficult to detect.

This was not because of a language barrier. The druids had already found that many of the leaders amongst the invaders could speak their language, and although this one's expression didn't change much during the interrogation there was enough to indicate he understood at least a little. Even if he couldn't understand at all, a knife on his neck should have been obvious, no? Greenwind felt extremely vexed by the situation. The knight was unbelievably calm, so much so that he instinctively felt a scheme brewing, but there wasn't any other indication of the same.

He suddenly lost control of himself, looking at two humans neighbouring the knight. “You're of no use!” he snapped as he flicked a seed onto each, vines growing out at an unimaginable pace. In a mere ten or so seconds, the two soldiers were completely wrapped up.

These vines had sharp thorns that ranged from a few centimetres to over ten centimetres long, piercing into the warriors' bodies. They began to throb repeatedly, the hollow barbs ripping the flesh apart and sucking it away. Mournful cries resounded throughout the prison, the sound so jarring the rest of the soldiers felt like they were in the same position. Some grew terrified and shouted as well, while others did their best to cover their ears. Only the knight remained seated quietly, occasionally glancing at the warriors who were being sucked dry.

The warriors' cries eventually faded away into whimpers before disappearing completely. The stalks of the bloodsucking vines now had crimson veins upon them, starting to bloom brilliant white flowers. Ball-like structures formed at the base of these flowers, swelling at a speed noticeable by the naked eye. Within them were new seeds.

Greenwind turned grim and flicked out four more seeds, torturing as many more soldiers to death. However, the knight still didn't respond. In the end, Greenwind found that there was no point to the exercise and snorted loudly, leaving the prison with an ashen face.

......

Within the house at the top of the Tree of Life, the grand elder was pacing around uneasily. Greenwind wasn't wrong, but neither was he. This was a dispute over two paths to take, and which was right depended on perspective. One was to put principles above all else and fight the invaders to the death, while the other was to come to a compromise and eke out an existence.

Regardless, their forces were being worn down to the point that the tribe was already in danger. This was a choice between pride and survival, and no matter which was chosen it would be extremely painful.

The elder felt his heart skip a beat, a strong sense of uneasiness surging in his mind. The Tree of Life was warning of something that even it was terrified by.

But what could it be? They were deep inside the forest, protected by its will.

539 - City of Sin

To Battle

Although the will of the forest was severely weakened near the devil's gate, the gate didn't cover a large area. Even the strongest of the invaders that tried to enter areas protected by the will were forced to retreat. This was something that had boosted the tribe's confidence greatly.

However, the elven grand elder's primary worry was the leader of the invaders. That was a frightening individual, possessing immense patience. He was in no rush to act, only cutting down the forest faster and faster. This was clearly a plot to weaken the will of the forest.

So far, the invaders' progress was pitiable. Compared to the sea of trees covering tens of thousands of square kilometres, the invaders had only cut down a drop in the ocean. Still, whenever there was an ambush, the elves were sure to be decimated. This was a situation completely different from any invaders they had faced in the past.

This opponent was losing patience; in their unmatched arrogance, they seemed to be intent on flattening the entire forest. Such unmasked savagery was much more frightening than the previous invaders who had just let the ancient trees wilt in silence.

Jubu was far too young and had entered battle without consent. Losing him was even worse than losing all of the tribe's warriors, but fortunately they had managed to capture one of the opponents' important subordinates. Still, this was only accomplished with the sacrifice of a dozen of the ancient treant Uranor's children.

No matter how much the grand elder tried to console himself, his worries refused to fade. Even the Tree of Life was showing fear...

Did the invaders really have no way of dealing with the will of the forest? Although his kin had relied on the will to fight back the invaders repeatedly in the past, he felt an omen of a disaster this time. He decided to wake the Tree of Life at next light, leaving this piece of earth that was full of life for the depths of the forest. He would completely ignore the druids' objections.

......

As the first rays of green light began to flush out the darkness of the night, Richard was stood upon the crown of an ancient tree staring at the imposing Tree of Life that was several kilometres away. A smile hung on his lips.

They finished their last rest about thirty kilometres away from the elven tribe. Richard stroked the head of his unicorn, “Can you still go on?”

The sacred beast seemed somewhat tired, but upon hearing his words it gave a long, dissatisfied neigh. Its hooves started rubbing against the ground as it became alert once more; over the past two days, this beast had contributed the most by resisting the will of the jungle. Without it, it would be impossible for them to make it so far.

Everyone present was a battle-hardened warrior. Knowing a difficult fight was upon them, they spent their time eating, resting, and calming themselves so they would be at their peak for the upcoming confrontation. Nyris' smile had disappeared as well, replaced by hints of aggression as he silently sharpened the legendary axe in his hands.

The only one not resting was Richard, who instead worked on inspecting the condition of his soldiers. The most detailed check went Demi's way, so much so that she watched him with fear as she moved on to the next one. 'Is this what a leader is?' she couldn't help but think.

“It's what a leader should be,” Agamemnon's voice sounded beside her. She couldn't help but jump, startled that he appeared to know what she was thinking. It made her somewhat nervous.

“The battle will start soon, keep within ten metres of me,” he instructed her once more. Demi bit her lips, but despite her reluctance to do so she nodded. She now understood that war was no game; she could not burden others because of her own capriciousness.

The time for battle kept closer, and Richard started to grow a little nervous. This battle was unlike anything he had faced before, the enemies far more powerful. Without the soul links he relied so much on to control the battlefield, he wasn't as effective either. His followers could fight as a cohesive unit, but what of the others? In such a small-scale battle, command was no longer a priority. The key to victory was in being able to react dynamically and coordinate.

This was the first instance in recent times where he felt like he didn't have control of everything, and he realised just how much he hated such situations. His battles ended with powerful enemies being overwhelmed by hordes of weaker units.

No matter how uncomfortable it was, however, they had to fight. All he could do was prepare the best he could.

The time for rest quickly came to an end. Richard picked up the Twin of Destiny, slinging the inconvenient elven sword across the unicorn's back before turning to his troops, “To battle!” Scherr, Waterflower, and Phaser moved first. The others spread out, slowly making their way to the destination.

......

Another uneventful morning passed in the jungle. Several elves were arguing in the meeting room at the top of the Tree of Life. On one side were the seven druids, and on the other the grand elder and another druid who seemed to have a weak position. The subject of the argument was whether they would relocate the Tree of Life to evade the invaders.

The seven druids were strongly opposed to the notion, but with the support of the ancient treant Uranor the grand elder wasn't as week as he seemed. Uranor was second only to the Tree of Life in the tribe, beyond any elven elder. In addition, the grand elder was the only elf capable of communicating with the Tree. If he wanted to have the Tree relocate, nobody could stop him without killing him. However, with Jubu still in Richard's hands, that would leave nobody in the tribe capable of communicating with the Tree of Life. The Tree would eventually stop releasing the breath of life, and the eternal springwater would cease as well. It would leave the entire tribe headed to their doom.

On the other hand, relocating the Tree of Life would have severe consequences. The Tree wouldn't be able to produce eternal springwater for at least a decade, and the power of its breath of life would be halved as well. The elves had a symbiotic relationship with the Tree of Life; they were its guardians, while the tree released the breath of life to nourish them. The eternal springwater was even more important; it was the key to increasing their pitiful birth rates. Every few years, the Tree of Life would produce a small stream of eternal springwater. The elves that drank this water were guaranteed to bear children in the coming year.

The stronger the Tree of Life was, the more eternal springwater it could produce. However, it was because of its special nature that the Tree attracted natural predators and was reliant on the elves to fend them off. If its protectors were not strong enough, the Tree wouldn't dare to grow beyond a point. The more powerful the Tree, the stronger the predators that were pulled. This was how its relationship with the elves grew.

......

While the elves were busy bickering, the smell of blood started to waft through the jungle. Scherr dropped down from an ancient tree, the tips of his twin swords covered in blood. The corpse of an elven warrior was hung upside down from a branch, fresh blood gushing out from his back.

Several kilometres away, Waterflower sheathed the Shepherd of Eternal Rest and turned ethereal once more, walking leisurely towards her next target. Behind her were the corpses of a small hunting party, the quarry on their shoulders still warm.

Even further away, Phaser was hanging down from a branch with both legs anchored firmly on the tree to steady her body. Her right hand was on the throat of an elven sentry, preventing him from alerting others, while her left was buried into his heart. She stared intently at the face right in front of her own, expression innocent and empty.

Feeling the life force surge into her body, she felt quite warm. On the other hand, the elf in front of her quickly withered into a corpse. As far as she was concerned, this was a feast.

Because the Tree of Life was so enormous, it was impossible for any other trees to grow around it. It was surrounded by a green meadow for a few hundred metres, with the elves enjoying some rest in the area. The natives loved the simple pleasures of life, and many were spread across the meadow as they relished it in their own ways.

Half of the resting elves suddenly found themselves covered in an enormous shadow. Bolts of lightning started to rain down from above, turning the open field into a hellscape of sparks and flames. The moist environment of the Forest Plane greatly increased the coverage of the grade 8 Lightning Storm spell. The shower of lightning didn't have any additional effects, but it was lethal to any elf below level 10. Even those up to level 15 would be severely wounded.

A single spell had sent the elves into chaos. Invaders that were armed to the teeth finally showed themselves on the edge of the meadow, triggering mass panic. A small detachment of elven warriors charged towards the attackers without hesitation, but they were crippled by a fear spell. A mere two managed to continue advancing.

Agamemnon swept across the two elven warriors with a giant sword, cleaving through them and their weapons. He didn't forget to use the momentum to turn back and drop a compliment, “Perfect timing.”

Crippled by Demi's spell, the terrified warriors offered no real resistance. The royal guards moved in and pounced on them, cutting them apart like prey.

Richard went forward in big strides, not even looking at the dying elves nearby as he cut through the lightning storm towards the Tree of Life. His followers were right behind, causing Pamir's eyes to strain.

540 - City of Sin

Tactics

A lightning storm would not differentiate between friend and foe. As long as one was in range, there was a high chance of being struck by the equivalent of a grade 6 lightning spell. However, a golden glow spread out from the unicorn's eyes that created a pale gold barrier protecting Richard and his followers. The barrier dispersed any bolts striking it, managing to hold together until everyone made it across. Magic resistance was a unicorn's best ability, and there seemed to be some bonus in the forest.

After getting past the lightning storm, Richard and his men reached the foot of the Tree of Life, finally able to appreciate it in all its glory. Richard scanned through the information the elite humanoid knight had sent him, pointing towards the top of the tree, “We're going up, all the important ones are there!”

The group thus followed the spiralling path upwards, attacking everything on the way like wolves and tigers. The five rune knights had entered battle formation and were guarding the bottom, preventing any reinforcements from flanking them.

Nyris' bloodlust burned as strong as ever. However, while he wanted to get through the lightning storm like Richard had, his guards would not make the trip. The most distinguishing feature of a lightning storm spell was its duration, which was also the only criterion with which one's prowess at it was judged. Pamir seemed to have a great mana pool; the storm had already lasted a full minute, but it showed no signs of stopping. The elves had suffered massive casualties, but now it was becoming an obstacle for their own side.

“Master Pamir!” Richard's voice suddenly rang out from the distance, “Bombard my mark!”

Pamir rose to the sky in compliance, just in time to see a fireball climbing up the Tree of Life to land on a treehouse at the top. The humid weather greatly dimmed the flames, reducing their damage, but normally it would be no problem to take down a treehouse. However, a green barrier suddenly flickered into existence at the top, blocking the flames completely. This was a powerful defence, but it also gave Pamir a clear target.

The grand mage stabilised himself in mid-air, beginning a long incantation that took a full ten seconds to complete.

The sky shook as a thick bolt of lightning fell towards the nature barrier. The dark green energy flickered in and out of existence, on the verge of breaking apart. However, that was not the end of the spell; the spell split into numerous lightning spiders that covered the surface of the barrier, breaking it apart with their attacks.

The magic spiders took the opportunity to charge through the wooden house, landing on the ten elves underneath. Merciless discharges left the elders trembling in pain.

Grade 9 spell, Thunderous Prison. After breaking a barrier formed by nine druids working together, it still managed to cause a substantial damage to everyone. However, such power took its toll. Pamir was swaying around in the sky by the time the spiders completely vanished, all blood drained from his face. He had no choice but to return to the ground, entering the protection of a royal guard.

Richard and his followers continued to charge upwards, with Tiramisu leading the way. Boosted by War Construct and numerous other buffing spells, the ogre was a terrifying existence on this battlefield. Elven warriors were constantly charging out to try and stop them, but he didn't care for their strength or weapons as he smashed them all with a flail that was several hundred kilograms heavy. With nowhere to dodge on the narrow path, the elves that refused to retreat were forced to take the strikes head-on.

Richard was following closely behind Flowsand, protecting her even though she didn't need it. An elf suddenly rushed out of a seemingly empty treehouse, short spear headed straight for his throat, but he only smiled wryly at how many times they were trying the same thing. Constantly choosing him or Flowsand to attack... These fellows seemed to have a problem with judging books by the cover.

He took a single step backwards, letting the attack sail by harmlessly before he grabbed the spear and pulled it to the side. The attacker immediately lost his balance and stumbled out of the wooden house, only barely able to stop himself at the edge of the path. However, he felt a push on his lower back that forced him to take another step forward.

A step that found no footing.

Richard ignored the warrior's yelp; with the house more than fifty metres above the ground, this opponent was done for. This was the same way he had fought off all the other attackers, simply using his wrestling skills to toss them off the tree. Even if they somehow managed to survive the fall, they would be incapacitated.

He guided his followers to attack at full strength, not caring for the small injuries. With Flowsand in the group, everyone had an extra life.

Just as they were about to reach the top, the wooden path suddenly shook as a warbear with a massive physique suddenly pounced towards the group. This giant bear was different from regular beasts, having the symbol of a tree on its forehead. This was no beast, instead a druid in bear form. Tiramisu stopped running, planting both feet on the ground as he bent his knees to prepare for the fierce collision; this giant bear was strong enough for even him to treat it with caution.

Richard knew the druids within the house were rapidly regaining their strength. Every minute they were delayed here was more of their advantage wasted. However, his unicorn suddenly raised a hoof and neighed loudly, golden sparks surrounding its horn. A thin bolt of lightning flew towards the giant bear, instantly dissipating the green energy protecting the druid and paralysing him! The sparks wasn't directly harmful, but its effects were deadly. Druids who controlled the power of nature were known to be difficult to curse, but a high-levelled one had been paralysed so easily!

The paralysis would last for a very short period of time, but on such a narrow path that was the worst situation. The charging bear fell onto its stomach, sliding towards Tiramisu.

The ogre was instantly overjoyed, grabbing his flail with a plan to crush the bear's bones. However, Richard screamed for him to not waste time; even in its paralysed state, the druid in bear form would need time to kill. He immediately changed his tactics, the flail in his hands smashing into the bear's head. It evoked a pained cry from the druid, but even the full-strength attack hadn't managed to break his thick skull. Tiramisu followed up with a heavy kick that pushed the bear off the path.

An enraged roar rang throughout the Tree of Life, but it was quickly followed by a dull thud. The damage from the fall wouldn't necessarily be fatal to someone so powerful, but trying to climb all the way back up would require some time.

Richard passed by Tiramisu without a word, quickly charging to the top of the tree that had been ravaged by Pamir's spell. Two elders were already up, staffs in hand as they tried to summon something, but most others were still casting healing spells while the weakest pair were still on the floor. He immediately opened up the Book of Holding, lightning flashing in from the skies to strike one of the elders working on the summoning spell. The druid cried out miserably, collapsing with shock on his face. When had he ever seen someone cast a spell with no warning at all? In the wooden minds of the forest elf, this made no sense.

A dozen smaller lightning bolts branched off from the main strike, spreading randomly from the point of impact. These bolts still possessed substantial power, sending one elder who couldn't manage to dodge in time to the ground. It would take a few minutes for him to struggle back up again.

Grade 7 spell, Chain Lightning. While it wasn't as terrifying as Thunderous Prison in terms of coverage or power, these druids couldn't withstand it so easily.

Richard continued to flip through the Book of Holding, another bolt of lightning striking the elder who was still continuing his summoning spell. That elf fell to the ground without any suspense, but Richard gasped to himself silently. Had he been in the elf's shoes and seen his opponent casting spells instantaneously, he definitely wouldn't have continued to chant a spell so brazenly.

The druids all began to transform, two elders struggling to buff them. However, Richard pointed at one that was about to morph into a bear and bellowed, “Tiramisu!”

The ogre grunted in answer before rushing over to the target, mercilessly striking the creature that had just assumed form. The impact flung the druid off the top of the tree. The ogre himself was forced back by the strength of the impact, sinking to the ground with shaky legs, but he began to chuckle happily.

Richard flipped through the Book of Holding once more, sending the third chain lightning spell to knock down the grand elder who was in a hurry to heal the rest of his kin. This left the elves in despair; there seemed to be no end to their misery.

When seven raptors flashed into existence in the hut, even Richard himself was shocked. It seemed like nature spells were strengthened on this plane. These creatures would normally have meant nothing to the druids, but the eight remaining elders were unfortunate enough to be faced with a monster like Richard. They hadn't managed to get off a single spell before being caught up in a melee, a range where the raptors could not be underestimated. If one was caught in their maws and swung around, those who hadn't transformed would lose chunks of flesh.

541 - City of Sin

Uranor's End

Waterflower and Phaser hid themselves amongst the raptors, heading for two druids who had transformed into panthers. The two targets immediately froze in shock, hair standing on end as they immediately discovered the opponents heading for them. The two girls weren't the same type of assassin; Waterflower just scared her targets, but Phaser made them feel a terror from the depths of their souls.

Richard flipped through the Book of Holding to launch another chain lightning spell, knocking down the grand elder who was struggling up once more.

The unicorn charged towards one of the transformed druids as well, its horn piercing into the panther's waist. The druid cried out in pain, turning to bite its shoulder even as its claws left ten bloody gashes on its body. However, the sacred creature only burst forth with more strength in response, sending the druid flying into a branch with a fling of its head. The unicorn gave a long neigh of victory, its horn flickering with divine light as all its wounds disappeared without a trace. Even Richard was dumbstruck; he hadn't thought such a beautiful and pure being could be so vicious in battle.

Elsewhere on the battlefield, Flowsand lightly stepped aside and dodged another attacking panther, grabbing it by the scruff of its neck before casually tossing it off the tree. This was yet another druid who had underestimated the Church's martial arts.

The assassins finally cornered their targets as well. Phaser's eyes had glazed over, red tongue licking her lips. Seeing her expression, the shocked elder actually turned and jumped off the platform himself, leaving the special unit stunned. Waterflower's blade moved like the wind, her blade leaving injuries all over the panther's body. Seeing its companion jump down of its own accord, this one sprinted to the edge of the platform and leapt off as well. A mournful cry rang out as it plummeted to the ground.

Finally done with the absurd Book of Holding, Richard started his own chants. Another chain lightning spell flashed in from the sky, knocking down the grand elder for the third time in a row. This time, he could no longer get up. Tiramisu had used that time to recover from his brief bout of dizziness, knocking another elf off the platform.

That left only two elves on the platform, one being the grand elder and the other the weakest of the druids who still hadn't recovered from Pamir's strike. The ogre went over and slapped each of them unconscious; they would not be waking up anytime soon.

By this point, Richard's tactics had grown very clear. He was using the terrain and throwing all the elves off the Tree of Life. The druids could survive the hundred-metre fall, but they would be left with grievous injuries that would, at minimum, cripple them for the duration of the battle. With the powerhouses of the elven tribe beaten down, their battle might was greatly reduced.

The druids were rather sensible, switching to panther forms the moment the first bear had been knocked off the platform. This was a form that would allow them to sustain much lesser damage if they were thrown off. However, this also meant their physical defence was much weaker than otherwise, and their strength was incomparable. Fighting a group where even the mages were strong at melee, they were bound to be thrown off with ease. If they had organised themselves for a moment and all transformed into bears, with the grand elder supporting them with a constant stream of supporting spells, the battle would have been much more tedious.

Just as Richard started to relax, however, his expression suddenly darkened. As the last of the druids had been taken care of, his link with the elite humanoid knight had vanished.

The captives were being massacred? Could the elves already tell that they had lost the advantage, so they were killing all the human soldiers? There were at least a dozen human soldiers imprisoned alongside the humanoid knight, and from what Lina had mentioned 200 had gone missing in the past. The elite was merely a spawn of the broodmother, not possessing a soul like Phaser or the unicorn; strictly speaking, it was just a puppet that could make decisions independently. However, the death of this specific knight felt somewhat different, perhaps because it had taken on the most important and dangerous part of the plan.

Richard turned incredibly stern, pure rage radiating into the minds of all his followers. Although Flowsand didn't have a soul link with him like the others did, even she immediately noticed the change in his mood. However, he didn't speak a word. Stowing the Twin of Destiny away, he drew the long elven sword from the back of the unicorn and walked down towards the lower levels of the Tree of Life, “CONTINUE FIGHTING!”

It had taken a great deal of willpower to hold back from an order to kill them all. Still, he led the charge down the tree. Flowsand sighed, supporting him with a war construct spell.

An elven warrior appeared out of nowhere, darting towards Richard with red eyes. Richard didn't speak a word, both hands on his sword as it danced weightlessly, sending the warrior's bone dagger flying. He took one step closer, knee crashing into the elf's lower abdomen.

The enemy curled up like a shrimp, only to find the tip of a sword resting on his neck. The blade drew blood with a little shake of Richard's hand, and despite all his bravado the warrior immediately froze.

Richard shook his head, holding back the impulse to cut off the elf's head. He instead knocked the fellow unconscious throwing him into a treehouse nearby. The elf seemed to show signs of surrender at the end, something which was quite rare in planar war. Any local willing to defect was a valuable resource, and a massacre would do nothing more than helping him vent his anger.

Having taken care of the little obstruction, the party quickly continued downwards. Just as they reached the middle sections, the Tree of Life suddenly shook, nearly throwing them off the wooden path. Richard immediately buried his sword into the tree, using it to steady himself.

At first he thought this was an act by the Tree of Life, but it didn't take much time to realise the shaking wasn't nearly as powerful as that and actually came from below. Looking down from the wooden path, he saw an ancient treant that was dozens of metres tall with a trunk several metres thick fighting near the base. Every step it took shook the very earth, roars of fury ringing out as its powerful branches pounded the ground in rage.

The primary measures of a treant's power were its size and number of branches. The bigger and more numerous the branches, the stronger it was. The treant that had charged into the battlefield had ten branches, its power approaching the saint realm. In the special environment of this plane, it could compare to a level 19 human warrior.

This treant was a particularly enormous creature, one whose blows even legendary beings wouldn't wish to face head-on. Its range was directly proportional to its height as well, forcing the humans to expend several times more power than normal to defend. Seven shorter treants followed behind the large one, seemingly in the range of level 12 to level 16.

Nyris' eyes lit up at the sight of the treant. He raised his giant axe without another word, charging over to join the fight. Agamemnon shook his head as well, following along with his giant sword in hand. Seeing Demi follow closely behind him, he had no choice but to point to Scherr, “Follow him and take care of the smaller treants. Your curses will be useless against the big one.”

“Can you handle it?” the girl asked with worry. The ancient treant had terrifying power, and the two charging over looked like two squirrels bounding towards it.

“It's fine. These things are just large, making them easy to deal with.” Having said that, he raised his heavy sword and flanked behind the ancient treant. Scherr had already flashed past to intercept its children; his biggest strength was in his agility, not pure power, and the thick bark of the biggest treant was a natural nemesis.

Pamir, having managed to catch his breath in the meanwhile, rose to the skies once more. A column of lava landed on the ancient treant, causing it to cry out in pain. Although the environment in the Forest Plane greatly weakened fire-type magic, this grade 8 spell instantly destroyed four of the treant's branches. The grand mage then left the tree to the two noble youths, focusing on bombarding the elves trying to organise a resistance with low-level spells.

Richard looked at the ancient treant and shook his head. Even though it was comparable to level 19, it was up against two monstrous fighters and a grand mage. One had to remember that Nyris and Agamemnon were only level 17 when their runes, equipment, and bloodlines were not considered.

Treants truly were extremely powerful in the forest, having practically no predators. The teeth and claws of ferocious beasts were useless against their thick barks, and their boundless strength allowed them to break the backs of mammoths with a single blow. The lack of metals in the plane meant the intelligent natives did not have weapons that could cut through them either; it was only when Richard moved the wood-cleaving axes that the forest had met tragedy. Google search 𝐟𝓇𝘦𝒆w𝚎𝐛n𝐨ν𝙚𝚕. c𝚘ｍ

But now the ancient treant was up against the advanced weaponry of Norland. The legendary axe in Nyris' hands was powerful enough to leave a metre-deep gash with a single blow, sending splinters flying everywhere. Its roots and branches could be broken in a single attack!

542 - City of Sin

Uranor's End(2)

With extensive knowledge and a strong foundation in planar war, Norland's nobles had no problem dealing with treants. Nyris and Agamemnon constantly dodged the thrashing of the ancient treant with unpredictable movements, using the axe and sword to grind away at its roots. Agamemnon's sword was not one whit inferior to Nyris' legendary axe, sending roots flying with every swing.

The treant howled in pain, its wild strikes occasionally hitting the mark, sending one of the two flying away. However, they immediately returned to the battle, most of the time not even reaching the ground before they turned around. The cracked armour had astounding defensive abilities, and they had three personal priests buffing them and healing their injuries.

When Nyris was bashed once more, a greater heal and reflex buff landed on him at the same time. He stumbled up from his landing, spitting out a mouthful of blood for his carelessness, but his injuries were fixed by the time he was done. Powerful divine light glinted on his body, making him feel like power was bursting out of every pore. The glow of his axe grew even more intense, the absurdly large weapon beginning to expand further.

“War Construct!” Nyris was surprised and delighted, turning back to yell, “I love you, Flowsand!” The prince then cried out as he charged back into the battlefield, radiant axe brandished like the wind as it sent bark and branches flying.

War Construct was a spell only gods whose domain was linked to war could grant to their priest, and only those with special talent could control it well enough to guarantee success. The Church of the Eternal Dragon was the most proficient at this spell in Norland, Flowsand's cast possessing an additional effect of boosting one's weapon as well. This twofold ability was what had gotten Nyris so excited.

Richard grabbed hold of his nameless sword, a look at the situation on his side giving him the urge to bash his head against the wall. Nyris was just far too excited, using his immense strength to chop every piece of bark he saw. Although this was rather frightening to behold, the random strikes actually slowed down the battle greatly. The Fourth Prince was likely stifled all this while, hoping for the fight to drag on as much as he could to utilise the War Construct spell to the fullest.

However, Agamemnon was unwilling to play along with his antics. His sword moved like the wind, continuing to send roots flying with every chop. It didn't take much time at all for the treant to lose balance, tumbling to the ground.

Once the ancient treant fell, it was basically waiting to be killed. Agamemnon jumped on and found a lethal point, the 1.5-metre long sword buried inside to the hilt. He bellowed with both hands on the weapon, energy surging out of every pore of his body like a fountain of fire erupting into the sky. The surge of crimson felt like a deluge of blood more than any actual flames, the specks of gold mixed in difficult to notice.

The attack left a huge pit where the heart was, Agamemnon's body sinking an entire metre down. The treant released an earth-shattering cry of misery, branches trembling constantly as the eyes on its trunk slowly closed.

The death of Uranor was the destruction of the elves' last hope. The grand elder had already fallen into enemy hands, and all of the druids were injured. Many instantly fled into the forest, only a small number continuing to resist. When the last of the treants was cut down, the war finally came to an end.

Seven treants, about 70 warriors, and 200 ordinary elves had been killed. Outside of the grand elder, one more druid, ten old warriors and 300 commoners had been taken captive while the rest had fled into the forest. However, the greatest gain here was the Tree of Life.

Four of the thirty men Richard had brought along were now dead, with most of the remaining ones injured. However, with multiple priests around, even the most serious of injuries could be healed without issue. The greatest loss was the death of one of the rune knights, but compared to the immense gains from this expedition that was nothing.

The battle had gone much better than planned. Richard had only planned to deal the tribe a heavy blow before retreating, but now he had destroyed them and captured the Tree of Life in its entirety.

The thunderous prison had been the key to this accomplishment. They hadn't expected all the elven powerhouses to be gathered in one house, but the opportunity had allowed for all of them to be injured by a single spell. Another important fact was that they had moved quickly and thrown the druids off the tree instead of engaging in a proper melee; from start to end, the elves had no opportunity to showcase their strength.

However, the joy of this glorious victory was short-lived. Bloodsucking vines were growing everywhere in the elves' prison, wriggling and twisting around the human soldiers' bodies in an attempt to squeeze more blood from their empty husks. The thirsty vines continued to wring them even though they were drained dry, breaking the bodies apart into smaller and smaller pieces. Nobody knew how many human soldiers had been imprisoned before, but Lina was made aware that the 200 or so soldiers who had disappeared in the past would never be found again.

Richard turned around to leave the place, sighing deeply when he stood on solid ground once more. An unspeakable burden was now placed on his back. Others quickly walked out behind, no one willing to stay in that ghastly environment any longer. A tall, sturdy royal guard spat with hatred, exclaiming in anger, “We should kill all those wretched greenskins!”

“Don't run your mouth!” Nyris scolded, causing the warrior to resentfully close his mouth. The Prince then turned towards Richard, asking, “Richard, what are your plans now?”

Richard sighed, “What else can we do? Just deal with it as per usual, keep those who surrender and lock them up. We just established ourselves on the Forest Plane, there's no need to start a massacre right away. And this is true in the future as well; there will be no killing if there's no benefit to it.”

Nyris shrugged, “Fine, you're in charge here anyway. Hey, cheer up! We still have another important thing!”

As he spoke, he pointed to the majestic Tree of Life. This tree was just far too enormous, to the point that it almost blended into the background of the world, but it was more valuable than the entire elven tribe.

The group stood under the tree, looking at the huge thing in a moment of silence.

“Offering,” Agamemnon said after a while.

“A very good offering,” Nyris added.

“Top-notch,” Flowsand judged.

Richard looked at it for a long time before asking, “But how are we going to sacrifice it?” This was a question that left even Flowsand silent.

The Tree of Life was just far too enormous, exceeding all imagination. It just couldn't be transported away. The elves' trees of life and world trees normally chose one place to settle down and grow, not moving much at all; this was a fact in multiple planes. If they weren't so large, these trees would be able to move about on their own like treants. Some trees of life that were very young could be moved, but they would lose that ability once they grew to a certain extent. If moved forcefully, they would have to pay an impossible price, unable to become a world tree that could anchor the entire plane.

The Tree of Life in front of them was young enough to move about on its own, but even so would it be willing to? Why would it walk itself to the altar? No living being would want to do something so opposite to their instincts.

It was then that Tiramisu suddenly spoke up from the side, “Cut it to pieces!”

This was an uphill task, but a feasible proposal nevertheless. The broken pieces would be much less valuable than the whole thing, but even Richard with his vast knowledge couldn't think of a method to take the tree through the planar teleportation gates. Just the level a mage would have to reach to be able to do that was unimaginable.

Brutes like the ogre could sometimes solve methods from an angle those more intelligent wouldn't consider. Their methods were always straightforward, based on success instead of the process. Any expense was worth it for a high-grade offering.

Just as Richard and the rest started evaluating the feasibility of the plan, an elven warrior who had been taken captive suddenly floated into the sky. The Tree of Life shook its branches and leaves, shooting out countless rays of light that illuminated the elf in his entirety.

Richard and the rest took several steps back, on guard but not panicked. Be it a tree of life or a world tree, they did not possess any offensive abilities and relied entirely on elves and treants as protectors.

The elven warrior floating in the sky slowly opened his eyes, but they seemed dazed and lost. A hazy voice reverberated from his mouth, one completely different from those of the elves, “Visitors from a foreign world, why must you bring death and destruction to mine?”

543 - City of Sin

Wisdom And Survival

Richard responded to the floating elf's question with one of his own, “You're the Tree of Life?”

“Yes. I am speaking to you through one of my guardians.”

He cast a detection spell on the elven warrior in mid-air, noticing that his life force was being drained rapidly. It was quite evident that bearing the tremendous consciousness of the Tree of Life far exceeded the limits of this one warrior.

To communicate with a lifeform as tremendous as the Tree of Life, one needed either the power to sustain its consciousness or the talent to harmonise with it. This elf possessed neither, so he had to substitute power with life force.

“It seems like you don't treasure the lives of these guardians,” Richard commented.

“Their duty is to protect me, their destiny is to sacrifice themselves for my sake.” The remaining elves seemed to have no objections to this statement.

Richard laughed, “Then you shouldn't talk about death and destruction. Our principles and standpoints are different, I'm not here to reason with you. Still, here's a chance. You seem to possess wisdom other trees of life can only strive for, so persuade me not to cut you down and take your core. Your body is of great value to us.”

The Tree of Life went silent for a moment before asking, “What do you suggest?”

“Depends. What can you do for us? We can obtain many things with your core; strength, powerful divine weapons, extended lives...” Richard relaxed as he said this, and Nyris grew excited as well. The more intelligent this tree of life was, the more precious it became. The core of the tree was indeed a rare offering that could power a greater sacrifice, but a live tree was even more valuable than that.

By this point, the floating elf had been drained of life. The Tree of Life tossed him aside without hesitation, picking up another warrior that had been taken captive and taking over his mind. The entire process took a few minutes, enough time for the Tree to think up the pros and cons.

“May I know your intent in coming here?” the Tree of Life asked slowly.

“We are here for conquest and resources, not endless plundering and destruction.” Seeing the tree grow quiet at this statement, Richard reminded it, “Those elves aren't your protectors any more. They belong to me, so if you want to use up their lives without end I'll just take your core.”

This forced the Tree to abandon its silence, speaking in a low, drawn-out voice, “If you live on my body, you can absorb the natural breath of life that I release to strengthen yourself more quickly. I also gather all the life force in the forest and condense it into eternal springwater, something that can heal lives and ensure lifeforms with low fertility give birth to their offspring. My springwater can allow for ten elves to get pregnant every year, but a more powerful being will need more of it.”

Many of those present were surprised, prompting Nyris to ask some key questions, “What range of beings can the eternal springwater be used on, can it be fed to sacred beasts? Also, how strong does one need to become before it loses effect?”

“Within my knowledge, there is no limit to the usage of the eternal springwater. It can be used on sacred beasts as well, but a true-blooded beast will likely require a great amount. Even several decades of springwater might not be enough.”

Richard was rather confused by the question, asking softly at Nyris' ear, “What do you want it for?”

“To get a dragon to lay an egg.”

Richard was extremely excited upon hearing this, but didn't so much as bat an eyelid before the Tree of Life, “That isn't enough, what else?”

Having heard that Richard's motive was to take over the plane and not destroy it, the Tree of Life had already resolved itself to compromise. Its tone grew even gentler, “Every decade, I grow a fruit full of life force. If consumed, it will increase one's natural lifespan by about a decade.”

Everyone immediately grew excited at the prospect. Fruits of life were a legendary treasure in Norland, extremely rare to find. With most of the elven tribes now fading away from the main continent, they were gradually forgotten by the people. Even Richard had forgotten the fruit of life in front of the exact creature that could make it.

The ordinary trees of life that supported small elven tribes in Norland could not produce fruits of life. It seemed like the unique environment of the Forest Plain allowed the Tree to produce fruits. The eternal springwater and fruit of life definitely had more value than a one-time sacrifice using the tree's core, mainly because there was a constant source of them. This was partly due to the fact that the tree's core would have to be cut out and processed before it could be sent back to Norland through the portal. Flowsand's Book of Time could act as an interim altar, but it needed many more upgrades before the loss in divine grace grew acceptable.

“What else?” Richard continued asking.

“My young branches are one of the best materials to make nature staffs with, but not too many should be taken lest I be harmed. Only two of these special branches can be picked out.”

This could be considered an extra gain as well. It was then that Richard remembered something else, asking, “Could you rid us of the pressure from the forest's will?”

“Yes. As long as you eat one of my leaves, the forest will acknowledge you and allow you to move around the parts under my jurisdiction without problems. My range is about a hundred kilometres; I will need to grow further to expand it.”

Richard rapidly outlined the range in his mind. This tree was about 230 kilometres away from the planar gates, and the gates themselves made everything in a hundred-kilometre radius safe. However, this still left a thirty-kilometre danger zone between them; unless the unicorn was brought around, even a saint like Scherr wouldn't be able to cover the entire distance safely. “That's a little small. Are there any other ways of weakening the forest's will?”

The Tree of Life went silent for quite some time, but the suggestion it returned with was surprising, “... Cut the trees. Every tree cut weakens the forest's will, and a kilometre-wide path will allow for absolute safety within its centre. On top of that, those who have eaten my leaves will be able to resist the will even outside my control much more easily.”

Richard nodded; thirty square kilometres of woodcutting wasn't unfeasible. He then asked his last question, “How many trees of life exist in this forest, and are there any world trees?”

“I am one of 36. The mighty World Tree exists in a distant region that I do not know of.”

“Can you mark out the locations of the trees of life?”

The Tree of Life went silent for a while, eventually rejecting him, “My apologies, this oversteps my instinctual commands. If I state their locations, I will immediately decay. All trees of life have invisible connections with each other, and I can only function within our rules. The best I can do is to reveal that there are three trees of life surrounding your city, of which I am one.”

“Alright, that will be enough,” Richard did not force it any further, “Do you have any fruits right now?”

The tree's trunk trembled slightly, as though it was suffering from excruciating pain. A branch slowly stretched out from deep within the crown, hanging down in front of Richard with a green fruit at its tip. The peel was nearly transparent, allowing one to see that it was filled with a jadelike liquid. It emitted a light fragrance; just smelling it would leave one refreshed.

This was an additional ten years of life!

Richard was the first to regain his senses, looking around to see many still staring at the fruit in a trance while some were deep in thought. Scherr looked eager to give it a try, while Pamir looked defeated and shook his head helplessly. Lina looked towards Richard; the Dragon Mage could still summon Kaloh, their greatest trump card right now.

It didn't take long for Nyris and Agamemnon to recover as well. They turned towards Richard, and the former shrugged, “Let's leave this thing with you first, we'll discuss distribution later.”

With Nyris already expressing his stance, the subordinates naturally gave up all their desires as well. Richard did not decline, taking out his image diamond case and placing the fruit inside. The tree trembled once more when the fruit was plucked.

The branch was not retracted after the fruit was picked, the tree's voice sounding once more, “This can be used as a material for a nature staff, and the leaves can control the forest's will.”

Richard picked the leaves and gave everyone present one, taking a few hundred more and placing them inside a box. His elites would receive them when he returned.

This expedition was full of gains. Richard looked up at the Tree of Life, “If the other elves figure out your situation, will they try to snatch you back or destroy you?”

“They will not destroy me, it is against the law. However, they will do their utmost to exterminate you and allow me to return to them naturally. I promise you that until all of the soldiers you leave behind defending me have fled or fallen, I will remain by their side in battle.”

Richard smiled, patting the branch in front of him, “Great! I'm glad we could come to an understanding.”

544 - City of Sin

Separation

The next item on the list was to negotiate with the grand elder. However, the Tree of Life interrupted him before he could head in that direction, “Please wait a moment. I sense a familiar aura upon you, a special weapon that is deep in slumber. Its powers are greatly weakened, but I can replenish some of its energy should you so wish.”

“Special weapon?” Richard paused for a moment before turning around to look at his nameless elven sword. This weapon had been passed to him by his father, but even Gaton didn't know of its origin. It didn't have any special properties, its only saving grace coming from the fact that it was built strong enough to avoid any damage. In truth, the weapon was a little too long for Richard's liking; he only brought it along because it was the only gift Gaton had ever given him.

Of course, the young Archeron would never admit that.

Richard gave the sword up to the Tree of Life, who wrapped a branch around it and pulled it into its trunk. A gentle flash of green light later, the weapon had disappeared. “I will need a day to replenish its energy.”

“I'm in no hurry, there are several things that require my attention right now.”

A few moments later, Richard met with the elven grand elder in the treehouse atop the Tree of Life. The old elf still seemed to be weak, his severe wounds not yet healed, but with Richard, Nyris, and Agamemnon surrounding him there would have been no point even if he was at peak strength. Please visit fr𝗲𝚎w𝒆𝚋𝘯𝚘ѵel. c𝗼𝐦

“You already know the tree's decision, do you still need to hesitate?” Richard went straight to the point.

A pained expression flashed across the elder's face, locked in a struggle with himself. Nyris moved forward to negotiate, promising the safety of the remaining elves and that the deserters would not be harmed if they returned. This finally showed a princely side of the fiery youth; his tone was gentle but firm, capable of rousing others to follow along with his thoughts. The grand elder eventually agreed to surrender.

The few hundred elves lucky enough to still be alive were clustered together, clearly lost and helpless. The biggest blow had come when the Tree of Life decided to negotiate with Richard for survival, destroying the one thing they would willingly sacrifice themselves for. Any past significance was wiped out, replaced by a single train of thought. Was there a need to fight the invaders anymore, to avenge the dead tribesmen? If even the Tree of Life had reached an agreement with the devils, would an attack on them not be an attack on what was once the centre of their world?

When the weary grand elder emerged from his treehouse to announce his decision to surrender, what he got was not angry insults but lost and helpless stares. Even the radical druid was deafeningly silent.

Sharp cries rang out from the prison beneath the Tree of Life, the wails of the bloodsucking vines. Richard and Lina were constantly burning the wretched things down, the latter's draconic flames unaffected by this plane's atmosphere. The vines were quickly destroyed, the captives thus cremated. Richard joined his warriors in picking out some of the bones that had managed to survive the conflagration, digging a few graves beside the Tree to bury them in.

Secretly watching him, the elven grand elder felt that their fate might not be too bad. From the moment he had surrendered, his tribe's fate was now tied to Richard's mood.

Richard returned to Emerald City over the next few days, having the unicorn escort a platoon of warriors across the thirty-kilometre danger zone to safeguard the Tree of Life. About a hundred warriors commanded by an elite humanoid knight were put in charge of watching over the locals, ordered not to engage any new foes actively.

Those elves who were unable to fight were permitted to remain, while those that could were separated into two groups. One was to defend the Tree of Life alongside the grand elder, while the other was brought back to Emerald City. This was the most effective method to ensure that the elves honoured their side of the agreement. Had it not been for the fact that the young elves needed the breath of life to grow, he would have brought them along as well.

The forest elves were much different from those of Norland, who once rivalled the human empires. They were not overly refined, nor did they care much for the arts. They remained in a state of primality, more warlike and barbaric. Richard did not trust them. Without harsh restrictions, they were guaranteed to rebel.

The same went for the Tree of Life. Flowsand had forced it to make an oath before the Book of Time, locking the vow with divine power. The Tree of Life would face grave punishment if it reneged, but considering its size, will, and the territorial advantage, she couldn't guarantee that the binding was absolute.

The city remained a target of sporadic attacks coming from the other two tribes. There was no telling how far the other two trees were, but it was certain that the distance was at least a hundred kilometres.

By the time Nyris made another trip to the Tree of Life to get the new batch of eternal springwater, the situation had stabilised. Richard sent out several detachments of woodcutters to open a path towards the tribe they now had under control; there were no more walking trees in this direction. The other tribes had continued with the walking woods, but now armed with the experience necessary to deal with them Richard had taught them a grave lesson. Once three druids had been killed across two attacks, the tribes didn't dare to casually use their druids again.

Time flew by, and soon they had been on the Forest Plane for two months. Richard had used an entire month after the situation was under control to craft another Guide of Secrets and Savage Strike set, before discussing things with Nyris and Agamemnon to return to Norland once more.

Massive amounts of resources were carried along on the trip back, consisting mainly of different types of exotic woods of which Uranor's trunk was the most precious. While Agamemnon had destroyed the treant's heart in the battle, there was still plenty of life force concentrated in the core that was mostly intact. This wood alone was worth 300,000 gold, and when the rest was added up it far surpassed that amount.

This showed the value of the Forest Plane. Just the logging alone could produce more than 1.2 million gold coins in a year, the net profit reaching 800,000 gold after costs were subtracted. However, that wasn't even the most valuable resource from the plane.

The fruit of life was priceless to those nearing the end of their lives. It was similar to the Torrent of Life blessing, but that blessing was extremely rare and could only be guaranteed through a titled priestess who would need three to four times the normal amount of divine grace. Besides, gold and offerings often weren't enough to win a titled priestess' assistance.

Considered in isolation, the fruit of life that could extend one's lifespan by ten years for sure would be worth about 30-40 years of divine grace. However, because any blessing obtained from the Eternal Dragon had at least some worth, it was roughly equivalent to 15 years overall. This was the same as what Richard had gained from the skull of the greater devil, and according to their agreement two-thirds of it belonged to Richard.

Nyris eventually traded for the entire fruit using offerings from his personal warehouse, planning to present it to his father in exchange for points. The fruit of life would definitely give him more than any equally-priced offering, although the prince had no idea why that was so.

Richard wasted no time to hold the sacrifice, but things like new bloodline abilities, increased levels, or legendary equipment did not appear at all. The only thing he acquired was ten more years of life, something that left both him and Nyris confused whether to rage or laugh. This was no different from just eating the fruit of life himself.

Richard used the 400,000 gold's worth of income from the Forest Plane to buy enchanted equipment to send to Faelor. Having tarried in Norland for two days, he quickly realised three months had passed in his primary base. Accompanied by Flowsand, he returned to Faelor once more.

......

The moment he stepped out of the teleportation gate, Richard received a message from the broodmother, “Master, I have new information that requires your attention.”

His mind was suddenly flooded, and it took some time to sift through the dreary data. However, in the middle of reading through it, he suddenly gasped, “A new seed?”

“It is not an entirely new entity,” the broodmother explained, “but a soul shared with mine. You can view it as an extension of myself in another plane, only requiring a small price to create...”

Almost done analysing Zuka's blood, the broodmother had gained a new ability: it could now incubate a new seed of destruction!

545 - City of Sin

This Is Life!

Richard steeled himself, reading through the information from the broodmother in detail. This new seed wouldn't be a completely independent being, instead sharing its soul with the broodmother. It too grew by absorbing power, but it would be limited to two-thirds the power of the main body. The greatest advantage was that it could be placed in another plane; it would be a huge weapon in planar wars. The 'small price' that the broodmother had talked about was mentioned as well, marked as merely 10,000 magic crystals and 500 units of divinity.

Merely... Richard shelved the matter immediately.

One thing worth getting excited over was the fact that the broodmother would reach level 7 soon. She would probably have evolved once more by the next time he returned to Faelor.

Having dealt with the broodmother, Richard called out to Gangdor in his mind. A mountainous figure charged over in the next moment, giving him a bear hug that nearly knocked the breath out of him. He had to struggle out of the brute's grasp, sizing up his steely muscles before punching his chest with a huge chuckle, “Were there any problems when I wasn't around?”

“We fought a few rounds against those brats from the Iron Triangle Empire. Those fellows kept wanting to put their dirty paws on our trade route, so I obviously wouldn't hold back at all. I fought them off every time, cutting down about 3,000 of their men in all. We lost 1,500 ourselves.”

Richard checked the numbers of the humanoid knights in his mind and found that there were only 1,200 right now, a hundred less than he had expected. “So many casualties,” he frowned, “It's been hard on you.”

Gangdor scratched his head in embarrassment, “I did my best, but no matter how much I try I can't copy you, boss. On top of that, those fellows are sending so many every time.”

“Oh? Who's their commander?”

“Some fellow called Valen came most of the times, and that Salwyn fought me once too. I was careless and got surrounded by him... Damn it, that fight was really hard., most of our deaths came that day. Still, I managed to force him away in the end. Bah! Who said that the bastards from the Iron Triangle Empire aren't afraid of death?!”

Richard was rather surprised, “You managed to force him to retreat? How many more troops did he have?”

“Less than two times ours.”

“Then how did you make him run off?” Richard asked. In a one to two fight without the broodmother's troops supporting him, even he wouldn't guarantee a victory against Salwyn in a direct confrontation. His control of the battlefield emerged from two basic qualities: the exceptional power of the drones and the ability to control them like they were his own limbs. Gangdor definitely didn't have the latter.

The brute snorted, “That kid has the guts to show off when fighting and stand on the roof of his carriage. I didn't care for his men and just took a troop of knights to kill my way towards him! If I didn't cut that fellow down, I wouldn't let myself return alive. The brats are stupid, we got through their formation and he immediately ran away.”

This news left Richard speechless for quite some time. He then patted Gangdor on the shoulder and sighed, “He was out of luck to have met you.” Gangdor was basically trading a blow to the shoulder for one to the thigh, but Salwyn obviously wouldn't accept a mutual death. Even if the likely result of that charge would have been the brute's death, the prince wouldn't dare to bet on his luck.

It wasn't too long ago when Richard and Salwyn had fought a desperate battle at Bluewater, and now that Richard wasn't in Faelor he had been defeated by Gangdor's unreasonable tactics. The Iron Triangle Price was quite talented and powerful, but it seemed like he lacked fortune.

Richard looked at the time, “Gangdor, get a cavalry battalion prepped, I want about 2,000. Since I'm back, let's go around the Empire as per usual and teach them a good lesson!”

Gangdor brightened up, grunting his approval, “Are we leaving now?”

Richard laughed, “How can it be that fast? Don't be in such a hurry, we should prepare properly. We leave in two days.”

He then accompanied the brute towards the barracks, wanting to see how his army was doing. Halfway there, however, he saw Io rushing over towards them. The glow in the battle priest's aura had died down a fair amount, but he seemed more calm and dignified now, emanating wisps of bloodlust.

Richard stopped and looked him up and down, asking with shock, “You're going to break through again? That's pretty quick!”

The priest didn't even bother with him, gaze focused on Flowsand instead. “You're finally back!” he said with a smile.

Flowsand sighed, sensing that trouble was approaching.

Just as expected, Richard strode forward and placed himself between her and Io, “I call the shots regarding when she comes back. So, level 15 battle priest, shall we trade insights on the Church's martial arts?”

“Nothing would make me more happy!” Io answered immediately. The battle priest seemed to forget his original goal in an instant, heading towards an abandoned room on the side. Looking at his retreating back, Flowsand felt like he had succeeded in some plot.

Richard followed him in, his own smile having a scheming air to it. His comprehension of the Church's martial arts could not be compared with Io's, but things were different now. His second consciousness had been working on simulations at all times, allowing him to achieve a level of mastery over it that was only boosted by his visit to the Land of Dusk. He was certain that he would give Io a huge surprise.

The door of the room closed loudly, leaving Flowsand and Gangdor outside. Io could be heard shouting for an instant, following which clangs and thuds everywhere. The vibrations from the room only lasted a short while, however, before the world regained its peace.

The door opened with a creak, and Richard walked out. The future saint runemaster now had tattered clothes, a bruised face, and an eye that was so swollen he couldn't even open it completely. His lips curved in a smile at the sight of Flowsand and Gangdor, but even they were so bruised that the pain caused him to suck in an icy breath. His swollen grin warped strangely.

Io did not follow.

Gangdor immediately shouted, “Boss, where's the kid?”

Richard chuckled and pointed behind with his thumb, “He's fainted inside!”

Flowsand gritted her teeth and cast a few healing spells in succession on him, something that was quite a waste for such superficial injuries. Richard grinned proudly and openly pointed inside the room, “He's blacked out there, heal him too!” Please visit 𝐟𝒓𝚎𝘦we𝐛𝐧𝐨vℯ𝚕. c𝘰ｍ

“No!” Flowsand exclaimed angrily, “Since he's so good at fighting, he can heal himself!”

Richard burst into laughter and drew her close, not caring for Gangdor's presence as he kissed her roughly on the lips. However, his own swelling had yet to go down; the hard kiss left him drawing sharp breaths. Flowsand felt both annoyance and heartache; as though she had an endless supply of divine power, she cast spell after spell on him.

This incident left him unable to go to the barracks anymore; even with the healing spells, he would still need time to recover. It wasn't a good idea for a commander to look so pathetic in front of his troops. “Go make preparations,” he said to Gangdor, “I need some rest!”

Gangdor laughed sneakily, his strange voice leaving Flowsand's face turning red. He immediately slipped away in fear, leaving the priestess to realise that she was left alone with another sort of brute.

The premonition came true. Richard ignored her struggles and protests, carrying her to his room and kicking the door open. “Richard, you shameless bastard!” a voice raged from where the fight had taken place, but no one was around to hear it.

......

Richard was lying on his back with his limbs stretched wide, huffing wildly as he felt more exhaustion than he had after the battle with Io. Flowsand was snuggled up to him, lightly tracing his chest as she snorted. When it came to 'fighting techniques,' she was still his superior.

“How did you defeat Io?” she suddenly asked lazily, “It went much faster than I expected.”

“That guy thought his techniques were much better than mine, so he wanted to end the battle quickly and charged over right at the start...”

“And then?”

“And then I knocked him unconscious!” Richard chuckled innocently.

Flowsand was startled, “What? He got beaten down right when he charged over? Then...”

“After that... Well, I was just collecting some interest.” Richard laughed.

Flowsand sighed, saying begrudgingly, “Don't do this again!”

Richard nodded hard, “Don't worry, I promise not to get so hurt in the future.”

The annoyed priestess' hand started to slide downwards, causing him to panic and shout, “Hey, that's unfair... AHH!”

That was how their first day in Faelor had passed.

......

When the sun illuminated Faelor once more, Richard who was drained of all energy forced himself out of bed. Standing in front of the window and gazing upon the dazzling sunlight outside, he only had one thought... This is life!

There was one full day before they set off, which for both Richard and Io was enough time to rest. Richard had used dirty tricks in the battle, but a loss was a loss and the battle priest absolutely wouldn't come up with excuses for his own failure. Io wasn't planning to bother Richard once more either, that would just make him seem like someone without grace. He was now preparing to fight again when Richard reached level 14.

However, deep in the recesses of his heart, Io had no confidence in this future fight.

546 - City of Sin

Truename

Early in the morning the next day, Richard personally led 2,000 cavalrymen out to battle all the way to the north, heading straight for the Iron Triangle Empire. They immediately destroyed a border guard consisting of 4,000 footsoldiers, not even bothering to follow as they swept across the territories at 200 kilometres every day. In just one week, an earl, three viscounts, and seven barons lost their personal armies, a dozen castles wiped out before the army left just as abruptly as they had arrived.

The Empire's reaction was quite fast. They quickly gathered 3,000 heavy cavalrymen to pursue, with two more balanced armies on their tail. However, just before they would leave the Empire's lands, Richard suddenly had his troops turn back to battle the heavy cavalry at Papen Valley, decimating the soldiers that they had always been proud of.

Richard had left far too quickly, leaving the armies no chance to chase.

A day later, Salwyn found out about the battles and coughed out blood, turning gravely ill. The 3,000 cavalrymen were numbered soldiers who served him, but the battle had been organised directly by the empire without giving him any notice. The battalion hadn't even been led by one of his own generals! Even though he knew fully well that none of his generals had the ability to beat Richard either, losing those soldiers was a huge political blow.

His various enemies in the Empire were starting to make their moves. Rislant had already criticised his failures numerous times, blaming him entirely for their depleting army. Although he wasn't faring well in the battle against the Dragon Church, he had still managed to siege a city and take over its land. He at least had some wins in the midst of his losses.

Everyone in the Empire was now aware of just how big of a threat Richard was. Their criticism of Salwyn came mostly from political motives; they knew just how able the Prince was and that someone else would have suffered a much harsher defeat. The powers that be were starting to discuss heading south after settling the battles in the east and west, but Salwyn knew that this would likely have nothing to do with him.

Richard had announced his arrival with incomparable grandeur, but he silently left with Flowsand one afternoon. This short campaign would be enough to shut down the nobles of the Sequoia Kingdom, ensuring they wouldn't dare to scam him in regards to taxes.

When he left, he brought along a dozen mounts specially created by the broodmother, more powerful than those the Schumpeters had bred for the bearguard knights. Even in the Sacred Alliance, these would be first class mounts for ordinary rune knights. These drones even lasted ten years, not the ordinary three, making the runes on them much more significant and useful. He also transferred out six more free Archerons.

Although the sheer cost of the teleportation fee left him in low spirits— the mounts cost the same to transfer as the soldiers— Richard had six more rune knights when he was back in Norland. Taking into account the four still defending the Forest Plane, he now had a full squad.

......

Night arrived in Norland and Richard headed to the cemetery on the floating island. With no pressing need for him in the Forest Plane, he had decided to spend the day here instead.

He still remembered Gaton sitting on one of the six tombstones at the top, telling him many things and demonstrating the secret swords of Silvermoon. Thinking about it, outside of Annihilation that he had somewhat mastered, he still needed experience in the other stances. His use of them in times of crisis was mostly led on by the power of his moonforce and nothing else; there was still a ways to go before he could truly exhibit their power.

He walked around the volcanic crater for quite some time before he finally chose a spot higher than the tombstones of the Archerons who had awakened their truenames, leaving a mark on it. This was where his mother would be placed.

Standing at the very top of the volcano, he surveyed this independent space. Magma was still bubbling in the crater; if he were to jump in, he had no doubt that he would immediately turn to ash. However, the passage did not seem to be closed; there was likely an unknown space on the other side. Sadly, he lacked the power to cut through the magma and explore it.

He looked up at the sky, only to see a shifting red without any specific source of light. Staring at the dome for any length of time would leave one nervous. The Archeron tombs definitely hid a huge secret.

But then which family that managed to establish themselves in Faust didn't? Richard just found a spot near the crater and sat down. He only planned to think over some things, but in a few moments he was naturally pulled into a state of deep meditation. This time, his Archeron bloodline felt exceptionally powerful; outside of the astral affinity branch, his elven bloodline was greatly suppressed.

The number of astral rays that should have been appearing all around him had dwindled greatly, but they were replaced by fiery clouds that he had never seen before. Thinking it was just something to do with the foreign space, he casually spread out his awareness and started grabbing what he could. Those dark red clouds seemed to be a little more powerful than grade 2 rays, but the power they contained was far too fierce. The moment his consciousness came into contact with them, he felt an acute burst of pain that caused him to grimace.

However, there was a trace of familiarity in that pain, making it easier to endure. He naturally did the same as he did every meditation session, leading the fire cloud into his body. The moment it entered him, the energy immediately dissipated into the Archeron bloodline to leave the lava boiling even fiercer.

He reached out and caught another cloud. He didn't have any specific goal or target, his mind a fishing line he threw out randomly, but every cast reeled in more of the red clouds. Still, the number around him just continued to increase, to the point that there were more clouds than he could feasibly absorb. He soon realised this was not due to luck. Every time his mind was sent out those fire clouds were drawn closer, the chaotic energy attracted to his consciousness.

A long while later, his body suddenly trembled and he slowly opened his eyes. He was finally level 14.

With his mana pool passing this bottleneck, his Archeron bloodline gradually rose in temperature. Soon his blood was boiling, the blazing heat within growing difficult to endure even as his breath seemed to catch on fire. Strangely enough, this heat wasn't as difficult to tolerate as he had anticipated.

The lava within the mouth of the volcano surged, strangely weightless black rocks flying into the air. One of them floated past Richard, and he instinctively blew at it. A wisp of fire exited his mouth, immediately burning a hole into the rock; the molten core slowly dripped down.

He gazed silently at the black rock, taking a moment to realise that the terrifying scene in front of him was a result of his own actions. However, before he could even feel any shock a series of symbols streamed out of his Archeron bloodline. It seemed to have no end, and outside of a dazzling golden-red at the start the rest were murky and dull. When that leading symbol floated into his mind, he naturally understood its meaning.

Dizmason... Destruction. He realised that this was the first portion of his truename, a bit of power that brought him into contact with the laws of existence.

There were thousands of paths for him to take, but he had chosen lethality as his primary focus. Now it seemed like this decision had affected his dormant truename; perhaps that was why he managed to awaken Sacrifice.

As he recalled the excessively long remainder that had yet to be awakened, a sudden thought struck his mind. Would there perhaps be a day when he would compete with Mountainsea over who had the longer name? He couldn't help but smile.

However, the period of delight was brief. Richard felt a heat erupting from within his body that was growing impossible to bear; the force hidden deep within his bloodline didn't seem all that hot, but it would burn him upon contact. He lifted his hands to form a fireball in front of his eyes, spiralling without dissipating at all. He could already control the grade 3 spell like it was one of his limbs. However, this fireball was rather different from those before; there was a sort of darkness flowing inside that made it heavier, more condensed. This fireball seemed to have substance.

He flicked his wrist, sending the fireball flying across the cemetery. It slowly crossed dozens of metres before exploding into dark red waves of fire that dissipated in all directions, wisps of flame gently falling everywhere. Most of the flames fell into the volcanic crater, while the rest hung onto the stone walls. Despite the distinct lack of fuel, they only dispersed after a long time.

He shoved his hands into his pockets and stood at the mouth of the volcano, gazing down at the boiling magma. It felt like he was in two words at the same time; one part of his mind was hot as boiling lava, the other encased in freezing ice. A fiery wind continued to surge from the crater and blow at his hair, two volcanoes reflected in his dark eyes.

Richard didn't know whether he was fast or slow in awakening his truename nearing nineteen years of age. However, now that he had the Archeron brand was carved deeply within him. It would be difficult to wipe off.

547 - City of Sin

An Invitation To War

Richard didn't know how long he'd stood there, but he was suddenly struck by the thought that he should leave. Before heading out from the family tombs, he swept across the name of each and every enemy in his heart; since he was starting to awaken his truename, it was time to demand some interest.

He walked out of the study, having a servant deliver new clothes before looking in the mirror. This skin-tight outfit was cut by a master's hand, possessing almost no unnecessary decorations but so well-fitting it outlined his perfect figure. He took an ivory comb from the servant's hands, carefully grooming his hair until not a single strand was out of place. He then hung Extinction at his waist, instructing, “Have Fuschia wait for me at the teleportation gate.”

Fuschia could instantly tell something was different about him when they met, although she couldn't clearly tell what that was. “Where are we going?” she asked.

“To take a look at the Schumpeter family.”

......

When Richard walked out of the teleportation temple with a shocked Fuschia in tow, he found Nyris and Agamemnon already waiting there. Behind them was a group of good friends in tow; the young men and women didn't know why they were gathered together, but at the sight of Richard they immediately realised something was going to happen and grew excited.

They truly were young, at an age where the only thing they feared was a dull life.

Nyris went up to him at first sight, “Richard! What's so good that you gathered us in such a hurry?”

Richard smiled lightly, “Is taking a spin on the Schumpeter island good enough?”

The Fourth Prince's eyes lit up, immediately eager for action, “We're picking a fight? That's great! They've been an eyesore for a long time!” Nyris immediately realised how inappropriate those words were, quickly glancing at Agamemnon for confirmation. Only after seeing a silent nod did he relax.

Richard took note of it, but he pretended not to see anything as he continued to smile and headed for the teleportation hall for island 7-7.

Two Schumpeter guards were stood before the entrance of the transfer hall with their chests puffed out, full of grandeur. Their family held the lowest status of the lot, so they had to rely on pomp and ferocity to make up for their lack of status.

The moment the two warriors saw Richard's group walking towards them, they were dumbfounded. Every Schumpeter recognised Gaton's son, but even if they didn't want him to pass they also recognised the number of wealthy and respectable nobles following alongside him. Sometimes, the younger generation of a wealthy family was much more dangerous to offend than its elders.

The guards looked at each other with long faces, having to force themselves to take a step forward and block Richard's path, “Stop there, this is Schumpeter territory. You cannot continue without permission!”

“I'm looking for Dario,” Richard said indifferently, “Move! I don't want to kill ants.”

The moment his gaze swept across the two stout warriors, they immediately felt a chill encompassing their very beings. They took two steps back by instinct, opening up the path to the transfer circle. Richard led the way, with Nyris, Agamemnon, and the dozens of young nobles swarming behind in excitement.

The teleportation gate on island 7-7 flickered with light and dozens of silhouettes appeared at once, scaring the guards out of their wits. Seeing the clothing of the incoming people, these soldiers didn't dare to block them as they were shoved aside by the noble youths. The group then poured towards the island's square, looking at Richard as they awaited further developments.

Richard smiled a little, taking a few large steps towards the centre of the square before looking at the dozen or so Schumpeters in his surroundings, “I am Richard.

“Richard Archeron.” Richard had spoken in a normal tone, but amplified by magic his voice boomed loudly across the island. Archeron... Archeron... Archeron... The name echoed endlessly.

Duke Dario was currently in a small lounge, the lapel of his snow-white shirt stained by red wine. He pushed away a panicked maid and rushed towards the castle walls without even bothering to clean up, wanting to see what exactly was going on.

In a hidden training field, a doll-like girl with long black hair was waving a long whip to continuously strike the body of a metal puppet a few metres away. The tender beauty's whip was as nimble as her finger, leaving line after line on the dummy, but the moment the echo was heard her hand trembled and the tip of the whip left a deep notch in the puppet's torso. The fourteen lines of a poem she had been writing with her lashes had been completely ruined, but she immediately threw down the weapon and ran towards the source of the sound. However, in stark contrast to the Duke's horror, her small face was filled with a peculiar excitement.

There were elders all over the island, all dressed in luxurious clothes. Some were resting, others having their afternoon tea or appreciating antiques, and there was even one whose back was being massaged by beautiful maids. No matter what they were doing, they immediately jolted in surprise once the echo reached them, running for a place where they could get a view of the square.

Schumpeters swarmed towards Richard's position, going from the initial dozen to twenty, forty, sixty... There were people everywhere in the blink of an eye; in the square, on the balconies of nearby buildings, and some peering through windows.

Richard was very patient, waiting until enough people had arrived before flashing a terrifying smile, “You lot will do well to recognise me, and recognise me well.”

This sentence contained an indescribable tyranny that caused every Schumpeter's face to warp. The blood of the youths behind Richard immediately started to surge. However, it was Richard's next sentence that left the Schumpeters' boiling with rage, “You rats should have been cleaned off this island long ago!”

A few of the young and hot-headed Schumpeters cursed madly, itching to tear Richard apart. However, without an elder's orders, they didn't dare to take action. The Schumpeters now had a delicate status, relying entirely on the Mensas to eke out the last dregs of their existence. Although the families that were trying to take their place were beaten back, even more were eyeing them without end. Now on the brink of disasters, all of the Schumpeters had learnt to keep a low profile and not stir up any incidents. The Dragon forbid their actions provoke Duke Mensa's dissatisfaction...

A mere level 14 mage had stolen the voice of all the Schumpeter elders in their own home.

“Your Highness Nyris, Lord Agamemnon, are you also here to become enemies of the Schumpeters?” an aged voice rang out from the top floor of the castle. Duke Dario showed himself on the balcony, the blood-red wine stain particularly eye-catching.

“We're just here to visit!” Nyris said loudly, “Don't hesitate to do what you want, imagine I'm not here at all.”

Richard ignored the conversation between Nyris and the Duke, drawing extinction from behind his back and burying it in the ground, “You lot should recognise this sword, no? The Schumpeter family treasure, the legendary Extinction? If it's in my hands, you should know what happened to its previous owner.”

The Schumpeters went into an uproar, hating that their eyes could not shoot fire. The angrier they grew, the more languid and charming Richard's smile became. He caressed the sword's hint as though he was stroking Sinclair's face.

“Oi!” he suddenly pointed his free left hand at all the Schumpeters, “If you want this back, come find me in the Forest Plane. I heard you still have saints, but I want to see how many men you can send to the battlefield!”

This was a thunderous roar, and an indisputable challenge. However, it was met by a sweet and melodious voice, “We Schumpeter women can defeat you as well!”

Richard looked to the side to find a strange and beautiful girl; black hair, red eyes, snow-white skin, picturesque brows... She looked very similar to Sinclair, but their dispositions were black and white.

“Sisley?”

“That's right!”

Richard cast a detection spell on her without restraint before squinting, sizing up her build and saying without enthusiasm, “I advise you send someone else. Someone like her... No matter how many you send, it will be pointless.”

Sisley grew furious, her brows furrowing as she suddenly closed in on Richard like a ghost. A dark dagger had appeared in her hand at some point in time, ruthlessly stabbing towards Richard's chest! Sisley was already level 16, this surprise attack quick and deadly. Although it wasn't aimed directly at Richard's heart, if it struck true he would be left with a serious injury.

Nyris was instantly enraged. If this was the response to Richard's challenge, for a melee fighter to attack a spellcaster was absolutely unfair. His hand went for his sword instantly, but he was held down by Agamemnon.

The scene left him stunned. He saw Richard take a simple step backwards, perfectly avoiding the pounce and using the opportunity to pull Extinction from the ground. The blade sprung up without warning, slicing towards Sisley's lower body.

This attack came from a strange angle, too close and quick for Sisley to properly defend herself. It was as though she had voluntarily thrown herself onto the blade. Still, her response was quite quick; the tip of her feet touched the ground and her body seemed to be nailed to the floor, stopping all forward momentum in a flash.

However, Extinction fell back down immediately, as though the first attack hadn't used any strength at all.

548 - City of Sin

An Invitation To War(2)

Sisley had to use all her might to anchor herself, but that left her body rigid. Richard made perfect use of the moment, his lips parting slightly as he blew at her.

A colourless wisp emerged from Richard's mouth, heading straight for Sisley's eyebrows. The girl instantly felt indescribable despair and horror, barely managing to draw a second dagger and cross it across the first. The moment the daggers were in position, their edges glowed with magical light. They started buzzing in response to Richard's flames, loud cracks sounding as their enchantments completely shattered. The blades were left with fissures all over.

Thrown away with her full might, the twin blades shattered into countless fragments the moment they hit the ground. Unable to care for her appearance any longer, she fell to the ground and rolled away to evade the fiery onslaught. The transparent flames passed over her body.

By the time the horrified girl tried to rise to her feet, she found Richard already beside her. Extinction was placed at the side of her neck.

Atop the castle walls, Dario's expression grew hideous. A middle-aged man behind gasped silently, “Did he come from a battlefield of despair?”

“How could there be so many battlefields of despair?” the Duke roared angrily, “He's only level 14!” All the current battlefields of despair needed the power of a saint to traverse. There were always youngsters who were too adventurous for their own good, but they needed to be escorted by their family or teachers; even so, they were at least level 16. If one was too weak, they would be killed instantly.

Although he seemed dismissive of the idea, Dario was greatly disturbed. Although it was common knowledge, even he knew his words didn't carry much weight. Richard's defeat of Sisley had been simple and direct, but it was unimaginably strange for a mage. This was the only way to strike her down so quickly while taking little risk. This was a style of combat common to those who had survived the battlefields of despair. And for the monsters who could make their way through such a place, levels didn't mean nearly as much.

Richard flicked his wrist, sword tapping on Sisley's face, “Go back and train for another two years. There's still time, no need to rush it. I can wait.” Done with her, he sheathed Extinction before raising his head to stare Dario in the eye, “I see your reputation is well earned, Dario. If it were me, I couldn't have stood idly like a bystander. By the way, Rosie's doing pretty well at my place.”

No matter how indifferent the Duke could normally act, that statement left him seething with rage. His fists clenched, body trembling so hard nobody from his own family dared to look at him; they were afraid of him venting on them afterwards.

Richard pointed at Dario once more, sneering, “I'll be waiting for you in the Forest Plane. Don't keep me waiting too long, or you'll regret it!”

He then turned around and left, leaving the entire island locked into a deathly silent that would last a long time.

......

News of Richard's proclamation spread through Faust like wildfire to a wealth of reactions from the ruling class. That same night, Duke Mensa abused one of his favoured concubines to death. The Josephs seemed calm, but upon hearing of the incident Raymond Joseph didn't touch his books or admire the sunset. Instead of peacefully living through the last stages of his life, he left the family island the next morning and led his warriors into planar conquest once more.

It was Emperor Philip's evaluation that made Richard's reputation grow violently: “Looks like the Archeron boy is finally baring his fangs.”

Many nobles hoped greatly that the Schumpeters would fight their way into the Forest Plane, if only to see just how sharp those fangs were. Richard had already admitted to Sinclair's murder at his hands— something he proved with Extinction— and was challenging them to war. This was one of the family's two most valuable planes; nobody would believe that they failed to recover the lost coordinates after it was stolen from them.

However, those nobles were left disappointed. No soldiers were gathered for conquest, no warriors called back from their colonies. It seemed like they had no intention of fighting Richard; the nobles could only admire Duke Dario's patience.

Sisley had actually entered the spotlight. The twin flowers of the Schumpeter Family were originally a glamorous decoration for the family, somewhat like a quality vase in an exhibition. However, they had faded from public memory ever since Sinclair went missing— a majority of their reputation had come from her. Now, however, even the older sister was the topic of many a noble's conversations as the only Schumpeter with the guts to challenge Richard. However, the widespread recognition was followed by something no Schumpeter liked: “A shame that there aren't any men left in the Schumpeter Family.”

For his part, Richard didn't give the time of day to this gossip as he attended to more important matters at his own pace. He had received great news just as he was about to enter the Forest Plane once more: the Deepblue had made a major breakthrough in their research into Faelor's gunpowder. Their new, improved version was now stronger and more stable. As a gesture of gratitude for Richard taking on the responsibility of the financial situation, Blackhold had sent a spatial box consisting of a thousand litres of gunpowder and a thousand guns.

Alongside this box and the materials he had spent nearly half a million gold on, he returned to the Forest Plane with Nyris.

A month had already passed in plane time. Richard's first course of action was to distribute the rune sets, finishing up the sizeable squadron of rune knights. He then looked over the new gunpowder Blackgold had sent him, going through the information about its properties and usage.

The first target of this gunpowder would be the stonewood. This new gunpowder was almost inert, not exploding without the application of sufficient impulse, so he smeared some on a tree and instructed a heavily armoured warrior to strike it with a hammer.

*BOOM!* The warrior staggered backwards, palms bleeding profusely. A large gap was left within the stonewood, only a small part of the trunk still connected. Another warrior managed to drop the tree in only two cuts from his axe.

Just the injuries to the warrior showed that the degree of improvement was higher than expected. Richard had his subordinates think up ways to utilise the gunpowder over the next few days, many incredibly creative methods tried before they agreed upon a method. They would drill a small hole into the stonewood, filling it with gunpowder and driving in a steel bar. A hard strike to the rear would then detonate the gunpowder in the middle of the tree, strong enough to blast the stonewood apart. With this new method, a single woodcutter could fell hundreds of trees in a single day.

With his followers taking over control, Richard then locked himself in his workshop for several days, forgoing rest as he worked on a single rune with peak concentration. Only Rosie was by his side all this time, assisting and serving him. When he finally succeeded on the seventh day after an unknown number of failures, he couldn't help but lift the young lady up in a hug. It was only then that he realised how much thinner she looked, her weary expression leaving him feeling a pang of regret.

“What rune is this?” Rosie asked him after he let her down, “The cost is so immense.”

Richard sighed. Every failure in crafting this rune was more than 300,000 gold wasted, and even small errors cost several thousand coins' worth of material to fix. If there were too many small errors, one had to abandon the rune and start over from scratch. This rune cost twice as much as the entire Savage Barrier set even if he made no failures! He had ended up spending nearly 2 million gold in saved materials in his attempt to craft this rune.

His only wish now was for this rune to be as powerful as it was touted to be. Still, regardless of its usefulness, he had achieved a milestone; this was his first grade 3 rune! He was now a good way towards becoming a great runemaster, his status equal to Lunor. This rune in specific was delicate and complicated, the difficulty of crafting it far exceeding that of a normal grade 3 rune. If not for his frightening precision and endlessly honed skill, he wouldn't have been able to craft it in such a short time.

Richard stared at the rune for a long time in a trance before he replied, “... Mana Armament.”

“Mana Armament?” Rosie muttered the name a few times, confirming to herself that she had never heard the name before, “Did you design it? What grade?”

Richard shook his head, “No, this is the magnum opus of a true genius. It's grade 3 for now, but don't think that's its limit; this thing has the potential to become a grade 5 rune! That being said, its designer is now a mad old pervert who doesn't seem to have many years left.”

“Do you plan to use this yourself, then? Should I help you activate it?” Google search 𝗳𝘳ℯ𝑒𝓌ℯ𝚋𝐧oνe𝘭. c𝐨ｍ

Richard pondered for a bit and eventually nodded.

549 - City of Sin

Analytic

Richard cut the finished Mana Armament rune into five parts; although it wasn't a set, this rune was spread across different parts of the body. Some of the segments were manageable, but the two parts on the back would require some assistance to attach.

Although this was her first time attaching runes to someone, Rosie carefully listened to Richard's detailed explanation and made no mistakes. She applied the prepared ointments on the fragmented rune and its corresponding locations on his body before holding them in place with both hands, securely installing them in the proper positions. An intense light burst forth from the individual components, several dozen energy circuits searing into Richard's body. The entire rune gradually sunk beneath his skin and melded with him, near-imperceptible patterns the only hint of its existence.

Richard clenched both his fists, sweat pouring from his forehead— the process of a rune melding with one's body was like being branded by a red-hot iron. Thankfully, he retained perfect control of his body; although his fists were clenched, he remained unmoving for fear of affecting the delicate placement. Once the final part was installed, he exhaled deeply. Rosie immediately scurried away and returned with a towel, carefully wiping off his sweat.

He suddenly grabbed her delicate hands, pulling them in front of himself and scrutinising them for a long time. However, that wasn't the end of it; he soon moved up her arm to her shoulders and then her chest. Rosie stood in place, letting him do as he pleased, but a thought flashed in her mind that quickened her heartbeat.

All Richard could see was a dense sea of information, but too much of it was trivial. His gaze remained affixed on Rosie's body as his hands wandered all over, trying to draw out even more and filter out what he didn't need. His blessings were utilised to the utmost as he tried to process it all, even pausing his analysis of the Church's martial arts to free up his second mind for the task. Still, he was overwhelmed. His attempts to pay attention to every minute change were failing.

It was then that a sudden pain assaulted his eyes. It was as though an invisible barrier was shattered, two beams of light bursting forth from within to land on his target. The image of Rosie in his mind immediately warped according to his intent, irrelevant details like the hair and clothes removed even as the distribution of her blood vessels and mana flow grew increasingly clear. This was what he wanted to see.

Another jolt of pain rocked him, this time leaving him dizzy. He quickly exited that wondrous state, forced to give up and rest for some time. Rosie didn't know what happened, but looking at his reactions she quickly helped him with a massage.

However, he knew. After such a long time, his blessing of truth had evolved once more and unlocked the grade 3 ability: Analytic.

The blessing now allowed him to automatically analyse everything he saw on a surface level, going deeper if he so wished. He could now ignore any obstacles like clothing or armour that was less than ten centimetres thick, the only exception being items with powerful antimagic properties. This also meant most means of stealth and disguise were now rendered ineffective in his presence.

A slight joy welled up in his heart, just as restrained as with any other advancement these days. His focus shifted as he stood up once more, looking at the young lady before him, “Have you learnt of magic arrays before?”

“Yes,” Rosie replied, “But only superficially. Most of it is theory I learnt from reading.”

Richard nodded, not surprised at all. Rosie had revealed a wealth of theoretical knowledge over the past few days, to the point that even he felt impressed sometimes. Of all people, he knew how much effort it took to hone one's basics to such a degree. This was not something achievable by talent alone.

Underneath Rosie's pure, cold exterior was a resilient heart accustomed to solitude. Her grasp of magic was somewhat rigid and inflexible, but that was a result of doing everything by the book; had she learnt under a teacher, she would be different.

“Rosie... Your hands are quite stable. Your mana pool doesn't run deep, but your control is exceptional. Your foundation is good enough... Do you wish to learn runecrafting?”

“Runecrafting?!” The normally composed lady couldn't help her breath quickening. She had never presumed to possess talent in this field, but was now being told she did. Even if she could become an elementary runemaster, it was a completely different prospect from just being a mage.

......

Richard taught Rosie a few basic magic arrays, leaving her with enough paper to practice them in her spare time. He also passed on some techniques to control and stabilise one's mana pool, leaving her to work on things herself. Recovering from the long runecrafting session for two hours, he then left his workshop to head straight to Nyris' residence.

Nyris was fully armoured, wielding a longsword as he sparred with a royal guard. He didn't use any internal energy, relying solely on strength, reflexes, and superb skill to face the level 12 warrior's onslaught. The guard's body was glowing with energy as he bellowed like thunder, sword moving like the wind, but Richard could easily tell that he had exhausted all his might in this one final attack.

Nyris' swordsmanship truly was extraordinary. The longsword weaved and baited the attack, parrying it at the last minute elegantly. Completely blocking this strike would be difficult without using his own energy, so he launched a cunning counterattack that forced the opponent to defend his vital points. The prince's movements were like the wind, form so graceful one couldn't help but feel awe. The fact that he could match up against a level 12 soldier without using any energy at all was a testament to how well he had honed his techniques.

Richard had witnessed Nyris' prowess with his axe. He was a tempest that ripped through anyone daring to stand before him, well deserved of his reputation as a lightning destroyer. This current display was entirely different; here the focus was on finesse, almost like an assassin honing their techniques. Anyone who could master two styles so radically different from each other was not one to be trifled with.

However, those ten days with Beye had changed Richard's views of the world. Every battle she fought had been burned into his mind, and now be it consciously or subconsciously he was mimicking the Lady of the White Night in his actions. By her standards, Nyris' technique was too grandiose, too complicated. He missed many opportunities to defeat his enemy for the sake of elegance.

For example, there was one instance where the guard stabbed towards him and he parried it upwards, making the man lose balance. Instead of taking the chance to attain victory, Nyris had moved his sword slowly as he stabbed towards the guard's chest. Richard would have borrowed the force of the parry to duck, sweeping the longsword close to the ground to aim at the man's legs.

Still, after many missed chances, the Fourth Prince eventually seized upon one and tapped the guard on his arm. Were this the legendary broadsword, the soldier would have lost his limb even without the use of energy.

Nyris was in a good mood after winning in front of Richard. Wiping his sweat away with a hot towel one of his retainers presented to him, he grinned, “What got you in the mood to see me today? Was there any good news? Also, where did you get that gunpowder, it's so impressive. We can easily clear tens of thousands of trees now, we can't even haul them all back!”

Richard smiled, “An invention of the Faelor dwarves. Surprised? It's hard to imagine you can find something like that in a secondary plane.”

Somewhat rare for Norlanders who were normally quite pompous, Nyris shook his head, “Nor really. Every plane will have something worthy of awe, you just have to look patiently. Things like this gunpowder formula are no inferior to the pure resources the planes can give us; it's a shame if we just conquer and pillage every new plane we see.”

Richard was astonished by his words, only able to respond after several moments, “I may have underestimated you, Nyris.”

Nyris flashed a melancholy smile and shook his head, “I don't normally fight in planar wars, where would I come to such a realisation myself? This is just a lesson Father taught me before I headed here.”

“Alright. As for the guns, do you have any ideas? I feel like there are many more uses I can't see right now.”

“It seems useful, but the applications are limited. I took a look, and those weapons can't even pierce the shields of normal footsoldiers. Their power cannot compare to a well-trained archer, and I'm not even considering range and shooting speed. An enchanted armour-piercing arrow shot by a level 12 archer can cleanly penetrate through full body armour.”

Richard shook his head, “But how long does it take to train level 12 archers, and how many can you train anyway? Anyone with a bit of strength can use these guns, and with enough time and gunpowder, you can fire as many shots as you want. But archers? They can only shoot up to twenty enchanted arrows before they're exhausted.

Let's be blunt, I can outfit several hundred gunmen with the money needed to train a single level 12 archer. On the battlefield, they will far outclass your single soldier.”

“But they're imprecise, short-ranged, and slow!” Nyris' gaze was burning.

“We needed millennia for longbows to reach the quality they possess today. Why can't we try improving the gun designs?” Richard retorted.

550 - City of Sin

Spar

Nyris was moved, starting to ponder over the matter. The main reason for the sheer lack of quality in Faelor's guns was the fact that they were designed in accordance to Faelor's standard. It was natural for them to be weak against the powerful shields and armour of Norland. It was similar to how powerhouses of Faelor were nothing in Norland. If these muskets were improved and brought up to match Norland's other weapon types, they would have great potential.

However, the prince was not an idealist. He immediately started thinking of the details, discovering more and more problems with the idea. Enchantments on such small pellets, the need for craftsmanship, how difficult it would be to enchant the gunpowder... There were hundreds of things to consider when crafting a gun, like casting, polishing, and the design of the individual components. They would need to lower the overall construction cost and overcome many defects. Right now, an alchemist could craft an epic-grade gun, but it would need three years— with that sort of time frame, it lost all purpose.

Richard smiled, as though reading Nyris' thoughts, “Yes, it can't be done within a short time. In fact, it would be pretty good if we made progress even in five years. However, we have to start preparing now. I think a troop of 5,000 or even 10,000 gunmen will definitely help you accumulate points quickly.”

Nyris' eyes lit up, but Richard immediately changed the topic, “Alright, let's get serious. I need a batch of tomes, here's the list. Can you help me gather them?”

Nyris took a look and found that most of the books were for fundamentals of magic arrays and runes, all available at the royal library. “This isn't anything at all, give me a few days. Still, why would a royal runemaster need these things?”

“They're for Rosie,” Richard said honestly.

“Rosie?!” Nyris was shocked, taking a look at the list once more. His expression grew odd as he glanced at Richard, “Don't tell me she has the gift for runecrafting...”

Richard nodded, “Sometimes, so-called gifts are just an accumulation of hard work and experience. I'm not sure just how far she can go, but there won't be a problem getting a runemaster out of her.”

“What?” Nyris shook his head, suddenly sighing, “You got a treasure... Those idiot Mensas!”

Richard laughed, “Guess I'm just lucky.”

“Bah!” Nyris spat, but he was still as charming as ever. He pointed at Richard, “You listen up. Rosie is a friend, for both Ag and me! Be nice to her, okay? Or I'm coming after you!”

“She's your friend? When did that even happen, I've never seen you two interact.”

“When she got discovered as a future runemaster. We've known each other for a long time!” Nyris' conviction left Richard stuck on the edge of laughter and tears.

“So what are you going to do to me if I refuse?” Richard started to provoke the prince.

Nyris was surprised, asking doubtfully, “What, you want a fight?”

“Exactly so!”

Nyris put his hand on his face, a look of empathy covering his features, “I really can't bear to bully a mage like you. I truly can't. I can't do this, it's too cruel! Come, bring me my equipment! How about this, I'll only use level 12 energy against you. Alright, let's go!”

Richard's mouth was wide open, unable to say anything. This so-called friend had already drawn his sword but was standing only ten metres away.

This was a distance Nyris could cross in but a few moments, leaving Richard unable to use any spells that he couldn't cast instantly. This went completely against the norm for a battle between a warrior and mage, where they would start at least thirty metres apart. Even with the mage unprepared, Nyris obviously had no intentions of abiding by this unspoken rule. On top of that, this fellow's skill was far above his level. Although he was level 17 originally, the amount of energy he used didn't have as much of an impact on his battle strength as it would seem!

“Do you want to take the first strike?” Richard asked, sarcasm oozing through his words.

“Why? Of course you get the first move!” Nyris' look of righteousness made him want to pinch the prince's face hard. Well, the feel from pinching that face wouldn't be any worse than with Rosie...

Richard refused to talk with him anymore, drawing his sword. This time, he'd brought along the nameless elven sword that had been nourished by the Tree of Life. Although there were no new attributes awakened, the blade had grown lighter and more wieldy after the process. The entire sword seemed to have come to life, giving him exceptional control over it.

Richard pointed the sword towards the sky, sparks forming on its edge. An electric flame sprang forth from the blade, but instead of Nyris it headed straight for Richard's body instead. The flame split into five parts, striking the rune fragments on his body and wrapping him up with sparks. It was as though a god had descended upon the world.

Looking at Richard's weird smirk and the electric flames that seemed to appear out of thin air, Nyris suddenly felt uneasy. He silently leapt forward, a series of afterimages created behind his body as his sword pierced in Richard's direction. He was giving it his all from the very first move!

The Prince believed Richard was going to dodge, already plotting a sequence of events that would entrap this opponent. Any mage caught up in a melee with him was destined for regret.

*Trring!* However, things went contrary to his expectations. His attack was parried away, the great power from Richard's sword shocking him. He knew very well that Richard did not have a gift of strength; although the mages of the Deepblue were known for their vigour, they definitely couldn't resist the full-power blow of a level 12 warrior head-on! Nyris almost strengthened his energy by instinct. Having expected Richard to dodge, he had lost all momentum and was forced into a standstill.

Richard put both hands on his own sword, lightning flashing on his arms as the long blade swept across the prince's waist. Taken aback by the speed and brutality, Nyris couldn't even gather the strength to counter as he barely managed to straighten his longsword and block the blow. Both sides held about equal power, but Richard was attacking with all his might. With a one-handed attempt to deflect the two-handed blow, the prince stumbled and was pushed a few metres away.

Richard made a sign in the air with his left hand, casting a haste spell on himself before chasing after Nyris with ease. The prince had slipped ten metres away to try and steady himself, but was followed relentlessly. The haste spell ensured that he lost his advantage of speed.

Nyris was taken aback once again, forced to engage blade against blade in an attempt to defeat this opponent with skill alone. However, Richard's sword was vibrating with power. He let out a long whistle and the lightning around him surged, sword flying forth like a thunderstorm. Every blow was quick and heavy, no fancy movements at all as a flurry of blows tried to break the enemy apart.

The prince was starting to sweat profusely, feeling like a single flaw would be the end of him. There would be no tricks here; he had to use his full ability and work off his keen awareness to barely resist Richard's crazed attack. He didn't have the time to notice the faint glimmer in Richard's eyes that left him with nowhere to hide. With Analytic employed, Richard could use the flow of his energy to determine which move he would make.

Still, Nyris was a top-notch fighter. Although he was at the absolute disadvantage, his sword now erratic, his defence was not broken in the slightest. Still, the flow of battle left him wanting to swear. Curses were accumulating on him even as Richard continued to buff himself. By the time the fourth curse struck him, he started to feel like he would collapse. It was only then that he remembered Richard was a mage. A damn mage!

The prince had already forgotten that he was thinking of crushing Richard at the start of the fight.

When Richard cast a spell barrier on himself, Nyris was left wondering why he would waste a grade 5 spell when he couldn't even use magic. However, the prince was exceptionally smart and his reaction was quick. His hair stood up on end as he shouted, “RICHARD, YOU BASTARD!”

Richard would definitely launch a powerful spell, the barrier meant to protect from his own magic. Indeed, even as the Archeron hacked away crazily with the long sword in his right hand, a dark red fireball started floating in his left. Nyris hadn't noticed when the spell was prepared, but it was thrown at his feet without further discourse.

The prince let out a weird yell, fleeing with a backflip. That fireball looked extremely strong, experience telling him not to touch it. The explosion gave rise to a viscous wave of fire, the core dark crimson with a hint of grey. The speed of the flames wasn't exactly great, but the destructive power hidden within left Nyris' heart trembling. Seeing the flames stick to anything they came into contact with, he couldn't help but consider himself lucky. Had he treated this as a normal fireball that he could resist, he would definitely be forced to use his full power. That was an ugly loss to bear!

However, even as Nyris escaped shabbily Richard flew straight through the waves of fire. The barrier flickered a few times and broke apart, but he had successfully passed through the inferno to appear before his opponent. When his left hand rose once more, Nyris didn't even have the energy to swear. He turned around to flee in the time Richard would take to cast the spell.

*Thud!* The prince felt a kick connecting to his rear, sending him to the ground. The elven sword was placed beside his neck for a moment before it was put away.

551 - City of Sin

The Price Of Boredom

Nyris turned around with a pale face, his expression warping further when he saw no sign of any magic in Richard's hand.

He'd been duped! Thinking over it, this battle had been difficult from the very beginning and he hadn't gained any pleasure at all from the fight. Richard's style left him extremely uncomfortable, leaving him constantly in fear of being tricked if he went all out. However, because he didn't go all out he was pressured endlessly and beaten down. On the defensive all the way to the end, he had lost to Richard's deception.

“Who taught you to be so despicable?” the prince asked angrily.

“Beye.”
f𝚛e𝚎𝙬𝑒𝚋𝚗𝚘ѵ𝐞𝒍. c𝐨𝙢

Nyris immediately decided not to pursue the matter any further. However, he quickly discovered another problem— how had Richard managed to fight so long like a warrior? When he was introduced to Mana Armament, he was thoroughly shocked. Part of that came from the mystery of the rune itself, but a major factor was just how fast Richard's skill at runecrafting was growing. He could craft grade 3 runes within a decade of picking up the art? Richard was now on equal standing with Lunor, definitely qualified to become a grand or perhaps even saint runemaster in the future.

Still, he couldn't agree with the functions of Mana Armament. The powerhouses of the world had been cleanly divided into classes over many millennia. Warriors, mages, clerics... they all had their own role, their own purpose. Everyone was focused on walking furthest on the path of their choice instead of allowing themselves to be distracted by other fields of learning. For instance, Nyris wouldn't even try to become a level 1 mage, not because he lacked the talent but because his talent wasn't enough. He could become a great mage at minimum if he chose that route, but as a warrior he could easily surpass the saint realm.

From this line of thinking, a rune like Mana Armament that used mana to imitate energy was complete nonsense. On top of that, it occupied a precious rune slot. A mage like Richard was meant to focus on spells of great power, what use was there in putting this thing on his body? Mages were meant to be protected by warriors, they had no need for any melee ability.

Richard smiled, not arguing at all. Only those who had been to a battlefield of despair could understand why Saint Lawrence had designed the Mana Armament rune. Mages could not always be protected; whenever one fell behind, they would need the ability to protect themselves at melee range. A dead mage couldn't exactly cast any spells.

Mana Armament wasn't just a way for a mage to protect themselves; it was also a way to kill enemies. Just like Richard had when dealing with Nyris, one didn't need to care what methods were used as long as they gained the advantage.

Although Richard had properly tested out his new rune, Nyris was nowhere near as cheerful. He kept muttering that he would definitely win if he used all his strength, allowing Richard to see his prowess. The miserable face looked like that of a little beauty who had been taken advantage of by a man.

Richard obviously didn't care, handing the prince a Savage Strike set in exchange for some materials. This one rune had used up all his reserves, and if he didn't restock he would be on the verge of going broke. The day wasn't too far off when Rosie would be consuming materials as well.

Having bid Nyris farewell, Richard returned to his residence and began a new cycle of meditation and runecrafting. Nyris delivered the tomes and materials in a few days, but that didn't change his schedule at all.

Outside the city, the warriors continued to fell trees every day as they opened a path towards the Tree of Life. The gunpowder almost ran out, but the Deepblue managed to send a second batch in time. This one wasn't sent through the transmission formation, but with a two-footed wyvern instead. The ten tons of gunpowder was enough for these woodcutters to use for a very long time.

Two months passed in the blink of an eye, and the thirty-kilometre path was completely opened up. The situation at the Tree of Life had been stable all this while, with no peculiarities at all. The warriors guarding there were so bored they were going crazy, thirsting for battle instead of the endless monotony. When Richard learned of this situation, he immediately arranged for a rotating roster of guards that was replaced every three months.

There had been some conflict between the defending troops and the elves. A few warriors believed that the elves were now their slaves, and that they themselves were of a higher rank. Without their tribal tattoos, the forest elves were rather good-looking. Although they couldn't compare to Norland's high elves, they were still far beyond human standards. A few of the bored warriors hadn't been able to keep it in their pants, trapping a lone female elf for some fun on this foreign plane.

These warriors had been met with a pitiful outcome. Three were injured, one killed. There was no real difference between the strength of elven men and women, and adults were level 10 on average. On top of that, these tribal natives were difficult to tame and possessed a strong bloodlust. A large portion of the reason for their surrender was the tree of life, a smaller part being that their grand elder had given in as well. With the warriors infringing on the purity that was so important to her, the elf had erupted and fought them off. She then fled into the forest, her whereabouts unknown.

This incident had left the defending troops and the elven tribe in a tense standoff, where war could erupt at any moment. The human soldiers demanded for the elves to hand over the murderer, while the elves wanted to severely punish the soldiers who had attempted to rape one of their own. If not for the elite humanoid knights and the grand elder quelling them in time, a heated battle would have erupted between the two sides. If they really fought, even with the five elites the humans would be wiped out.

When the word reached him, Richard immediately ordered the elite humanoid knights to capture all the offenders and bring them back to Emerald City to be put on trial. The humans were sentenced to death, while the elf was declared not guilty. The grand elder and one of the druids were invited to the city to watch over the execution.

This decision quickly calmed the wrath of the elves, but a huge ruckus erupted amongst the human troops. It mostly came from Lina's subordinates; the Dragon Mage had always been amiable to her soldiers, so they hadn't experienced such stern discipline before. Besides, commanders normally turned a blind eye to the actions of their men on foreign planes; after all, these soldiers had to leave their homes for long periods of time. This was an unwritten rule in most planar armies. However, the five elite knights were extremely vicious. They killed every warrior that tried to start a riot there and then, suppressing the revolt through sheer terror.

Seven days later at the central square of Emerald City, the three injured warriors were executed by hanging. The grand elder and a druid personally saw through the entire process, thereby giving up any doubts on Richard.

There was some good news with this execution, specifically in terms of Jubu Quickwind. The young druid who had been imprisoned all this while had finally decided to surrender. Jubu was approximately twenty years old, only a youth amongst the elves that lived two more than two hundred. However, he was already level 14 himself, not far off from the grand elder's level 17 strength. The reason for his quick growth was his ability to harmonise with the Tree of Life.

Another advantage was that his actions intimidated the original defenders of Emerald City, explicitly telling them who was in command. One problem he had on this plane was that he had very few of his own troops— outside of twenty Archeron warriors, ten rune knights, and ten humanoid knights, he only had his own followers. Although all of them were well-trained and powerful, their numbers paled in comparison to the 2,000 original troops. Ever since he had arrived at this plane, he had done nothing but cut trees without any great battles. The one fight that he did start had been done in secret, with only thirty warriors and no news of how the event had played out. Most of the original troops had thought too little of him until he showed his own fangs. He was a royal runemaster, but his young face made people ignore his accomplishments and power.

The situation was currently in a deadlock. In a situation where they couldn't shatter the will of the forest, Richard couldn't lay his hand on the other two trees of life. He had wanted an enormous battle to show off his might with, but the other two tribes were only skirting around him without even sending too many trees forward. The tribe that had surrendered would help him protect the one tree at no cost, but wouldn't lead an attack on their own kin. He had no good options to deal with these stubborn creatures that didn't care for their own lives.

552 - City of Sin

Shuttling Back

The will of the forest was an invisible barrier that hindered Richard's progress. Multiple discussions with Nyris, Agamemnon, and Lina had borne no fruit. While Richard's unicorn could provide some protection from its effects, there was only one of it. Having it wander around the forest with no target would be useless. If they depended on a single horse to search through hundreds of square kilometres, when would they find any other trees of life? Besides, the trees could migrate the moment they were seen!

He ruled out the bats once more. Even ignoring the elven archers, they had found many birds of prey and other creatures in the forest that could hunt down an airborne target. Even the elite bats were just flying pieces of meat on this plane.

It was not as though they were losing out in the current situation. The woodcutting helped them make some amount of profit, and with the disturbance from the other elves being minimal basically all the troops could be mobilised to cut down the trees. Richard had to buy another five hundred wood-cleaving axes but even that was barely enough. Although the ordinary warriors couldn't deal with the stonewood, they had no issues with other types of trees. Just the profits from the woodcutting alone now stood at nearly 200,000 a month.

Even the Prince was extremely satisfied with their profits. He and Agamemnon had just begun to establish their own careers, and in terms of sheer value this amount of profit was no different from what they obtained from their families. However, these gains came too easily. With no war to fight, the impatient Nyris soon grew frustrated.

Time. This was one thing Richard never had enough of. He spent three months in the Forest Plane on this visit, getting himself five more rune knights and six more sets on top of that.

However, he didn't arrange for any more rune knights for himself. One reason was that he already had an entire squad and a half. This was a pace that was unbelievable to even his friends, and he didn't want to startle them too much. However, the primary issue was that he didn't have any suitable candidates. Only fifteen of the warriors he could trust had reached level 12, and there were none more powerful. Giving a rune set to someone at level 12 was far too much of a waste.

Thus, a bizarre situation had appeared in the Sacred Alliance for the first time. A lord had enough runes on hand, but not enough knights to give them to.

One of the biggest causes for his quicker runecrafting was that many of the less important parts had been handed to Rosie. The young lady showed determination and diligence not one whit inferior to his own, studying and practising all the time but still finding the opportunity to take care of his everyday life as well. She was like a bird that was finally released from its cage, immediately exploding with energy. Even Richard was astonished by her rate of improvement.

Rosie's life was quite simple yet not so straightforward. Any moment she spent out of bed she was at the laboratory tables. Of course, the bed she did spend time in wasn't always her own.

One afternoon, Richard was in a routine meeting with everyone, discussing the situation and their next moves. As usual, his first question was whether there were any abnormal spatial ripples in the area. Generally speaking, if the Schumpeters wanted to snatch the plane back the portal they opened wouldn't be too far from their original base. Lina was extremely skilled at spatial magic, able to discern any abnormalities within a thousand kilometres.

However, her answer left Richard and the others disappointed once more. The space around them was extremely stable; forget a planar passage, not even a small one-way portal had been formed. Nyris started to curse the Schumpeters for their cowardice; they might not dare to send their troops, but couldn't they even send an assassin or something? Richard was a mage, archers and assassins were his natural enemies.

Only a few of those present understood the prince's current mood. Ever since he was knocked down in the spar with Richard, he was hoping for someone to challenge his friend. It would be best if that someone came from a class that could bully mages.

What followed was another discussion about the will of the forest. This was a difficult issue that could not be resolved: even those with powerful minds like Richard and Flowsand felt the strain of travelling through the forest, so there was no need to speak about the rest. Even Nyris and Agamemnon wouldn't be able to hold out for any extended length of time. On top of that, magic devices that increased one's soul strength were rare and expensive; it wasn't possible to equip an entire army with such things.

Their current focus was on finding the other two trees. That way they would be able to attack right away; even if the trees refused to surrender, the gains from their remains would compare to dozens of years of woodcutting.

But there was still that damned forest will! They had no solution to the problem; with the other two tribes not as eager to chase them out, it was impossible to use bait like before.

“Ugh, only the undead could get used to this wretched place!” Nyris cursed, his words holding a hint of truth. Departed souls weren't really affected by these invisible pressures and could move about freely.

“Perhaps we could find a few necro—” Agamemnon didn't even finish the sentence, shaking his head. As Norland had moved on to the era of planar war, necromancers had been forgotten and left behind. Personal planes that had been managed for centuries with stable passages were excellent incubators for soldiers. Nobody knew how large of an army the enemy had hidden within, so a necromancer wouldn't be able to figure out how large of a swarm to create in the attack. Undead were much weaker and shorter-lived than any living creature of the same level, their primary advantage being how many could be gathered in a short period of time. However, now a lord could open a portal from a personal plane to let loose a flood of warriors that would overpower, perhaps even outnumber the sea of departed souls.

Building one's undead army in a low-levelled plane and then transporting them to Norland seemed like a decent idea at first, but there were huge limits on that. The departed souls of a plane were deeply branded by the laws of that plane. If one wanted to summon a group of undead from across planes, the energy requirement was great enough to kill.

Already hated by the gods for their audacity to play with souls, necromancers couldn't just perform sacrifices to obtain strength. They had to walk their path completely unaided. The appearance of the Eternal Dragon would have solved that problem, except its mere existence had dealt a heavy blow to the art of necromancy instead.

The primary reason for research into the soul was a search for eternal life. Most grand mages would turn into liches as their lives drew to an end, hoping to continue their research into magic. However, the very nature of a lich meant there were many limitations on their existence, the biggest being an unquestionable weakening of the mind. With the Eternal Dragon and its blessings of life, nobody wished to become a lich anymore.

Necromancers were now basically extinct in Norland. The most revered academies of magic still preserved complete volumes of necromantic spells, but that was only for the passage of knowledge down to further generations. Very few budding mages were willing to practice these spells, and those that did only used it to serve another purpose such as alchemy. There were likely fewer mages focused on soul magic than great dragons in the world.

However, Agamemnon's words immediately reminded Richard of Zendrall. Although still lingering around level 12, this other follower of his specialised in soul magic and came from a long lineage of necromancers. He could already compare to some of the best necromancers of Norland, and some suitable runes would likely grow his power to an extent.

Richard's next decision would be a milestone for the entirety of Faelor. This would be the first time a being completely native to this plane stepped foot outside its protective sphere. Google search 𝙛𝒓𝚎𝙚w𝑒𝘣𝘯𝘰𝐯𝚎l. cｏ𝙢

He wasn't really worried about the situation in Faelor. With the broodmother around, Gangdor had no real need for Zendrall's assistance. With an ever-growing army of humanoid knights, the brute would be able to deal with his enemies even if he turned into a total idiot.

However, when he left the Forest Plane Richard realised just how pressing the issue of upgrading Faelor's passage was. The fee for a one-way trip to Faelor was currently 15,000 coins, man and beast calculated separately. In other words, if a rune knight wanted to move in and out of Faelor they would need to pay 60,000 gold. This was a huge cost that even Richard found difficult to pay.

The three months in the Forest Plane meant four had passed in Faelor. Gangdor had used this time to completely stabilise the situation in the Bloodstained Lands. Most of the bandits and other races had been completely wiped out.

However, some of the bandit groups were still kept around. Those who were allowed to remain were quite intelligent, knowing who the true master of these lands was. They would rob anyone Gangdor directed them to, obediently handing over most of what they got. In exchange, Gangdor helped them with the weapons and armour that didn't meet his standards. To the bandits these were top-notch goods that they rarely came across.

The brute had also eliminated quite a few slaving groups. His stance on this was quite direct. Slaving groups could still exist, but they all had to register themselves to Richard and pay taxes. The taxing method was quite simple: whenever these groups started returning to their bases, they would have to let the tax officer choose one out of the ten slaves; of course, the officer would naturally choose the best, like strong barbarians or beautiful virgins of exotic species.

The tax itself wasn't too harsh, but these slaving groups also needed to pay a second tax when they returned to their country of origin. However, there was another choice as well. They could sell all of the strong or beautiful slaves to Richard in large batches— with the steady flow of gold from interplanar commerce, he was planning to purchase an astounding 100,000 of them.

553 - City of Sin

Using Weapons

Most of the slaving groups in the Bloodstained Lands had chosen not to pay taxes. Whenever they met the patrolling cavalry, they would openly attack. In just one month a total of more than 100 cavalrymen across six groups were killed off mercilessly, leaving no one alive. A large-scale group had even targeted one of Richard's checkpoints, killing more than a hundred men in one shot without a single survivor. The corpses were then stripped and hung around the checkpoint on stakes. This had been a clear threat to the other five checkpoints that Richard had set up.

Most slavers were bloodthirsty lunatics who were banished from their homeland. They had always been a source of instability in the Bloodstained Lands, extremely vicious and untameable. However, Gangdor and Io wouldn't be easily provoked either. One had survived the Archeron death camps where murder was a common sight, while the other was a zealot who believed killing the heretics was his duty. Although their reasons were entirely different, the two had extremely similar attitudes when it came to dealing with enemies— there was no room for tolerance.

Io had once shouted that he would rather kill a thousand innocent men than let one enemy go. His theory was that as long as there were slaves to be caught, there would never be a lack of these slaving groups. Even if they killed one batch, there would be more to come. He called it his rotting flesh theory: a spoiling piece of meat would always attract flies.

The two had thus taken along 500 humanoids to patrol the northwestern region of the Bloodstained Lands where that slaving group was active. Gangdor had announced that anyone they came across was to immediately disarm and allow for a full-body check; even reluctance would be an offence worthy of death.

The aggressive and brutal order immediately caused a huge ruckus in the Iron Triangle Empire and even the Sequoia Kingdom, the voices of opposition to Richard unending. Most slavers were backed by nobility, and they rebelled against Richard's taxes under the command of their masters. Truth be told, Richard's tax was quite lenient, but given the scale of the Bloodstained Lands he was still earning an enormous amount. Many nobles were more than eager for him to be riddled with bad luck, even the temperate ones not wanting him to earn any more. The viler of the lot hoped for him to fall from power, leaving an opportunity for them to exploit.

Now that Richard had unearthed its value the Bloodstained Lands had become far too tempting; nobody wanted to see him take it all for himself. They had already forgotten that before his presence this was a land for the exiled and the ruffians, where just having a say was difficult even for those like Marquess Anrick. They had forgotten his expedition that gave the land its current value, just as they had forgotten him defeating the Iron Triangle Empire and Sequoia Mage Association in quick succession.

In fact, the nobles were still more afraid of the foreign species in the Bloodstained Lands than Richard, even though they had mostly been exterminated. This was quite common amongst humans— their fear was reserved for the unknown.

However, the two battle fanatics hadn't cared one whit for the criticism. They had begun their operation as planned, meeting three slaving groups on the first day. All three groups had resisted brazenly, thinking that 500 was too small a number to be afraid of. After all, cavalrymen were basically just larger bandits on horseback; even the fiercest bandit groups had to make a detour in front of slavers.

However, there was a world of difference between cavalrymen and proper knights. Gangdor had wiped out 700 slavers in one day while losing only forty drones, seizing over a thousand slaves by force. New stakes popped up around the razed checkpoint to accompany Richard's dead soldiers.

News of the battle had seemed to grow wings, immediately spreading throughout the countries surrounding the Bloodstained Lands. One of the three decimated slaving groups had been backed by a marquess of the Sequoia Kingdom, who had sent an envoy to Bluewater in his fury. However, the envoy was left to wait in an inn as the two continued on in their battles; who had the time to return for the envoy of a mere marquess? The envoy had grown furious, but could do nothing but wait.

Over the next few days, Gangdor had cut off two more small-scaled groups. These slavers didn't have any supporters backing them and were honestly registered under Richard, so they managed to pass through safely. However, those peaceful days lasted less than a week. The brute had eventually come across his biggest challenge to date, a slaving group with nearly 400 warriors and a saint in charge— the Killer Whales!

An intense battle had ensued, a desperate battle where Gangdor suffered a dozen injuries of which the worst was a deep gash in his abdomen. He alone had killed more than forty slavers, all the while holding the enemy saint at bay. Io had run out of mana before the battle even ended, brandishing his flail to smash in the heads of at least a dozen enemies himself. Although he had lost twice to Richard, the battle priest had no fear of melees.

It was the second half of the battle that had been particularly notable. The broodmother had sent over a command from the Land of Turmoil, personally taking control of the humanoid knights.

An astonishing scene had ensued. Groups of humanoid knights charged towards the opposing saint without a fear of death, caring not for injuries as they desperately tried to stab their halberds into the saint's body. They had shown the sheer terror of their existence— these killing machines knew no fear, no pain. Their only purpose was to plunge their weapons into the enemy's body.

Even the most battle-hardened veteran would react to such injuries, but with their sense of pain removed by their mistress these drones had charged through without a care in the world. Even with their innards pouring out from their slashed ribs, they continued to brandish their halberds without losing any power.

Even the most strong-willed powerhouse would be utterly broken in the face of such resolution, and this saint didn't come close to that title. He had persisted for some amount of time, but he was eventually broken down. Still, it had taken countless injuries and more than ten halberds stuck inside him before he fell, thirty humanoid knights piled up all around like a small hill.

The disastrous scene had left Gangdor and Io dumbstruck. They had been unable to act from the moment the broodmother took control, humanoids pouncing forward one after the other to cram into every space around the saint. The scene had left the brute with a strange sense of discomfort, one that he didn't know how to process except with a sigh. This had been no fresh saint, likely one considered extremely powerful in Faelor; seeing such an opponent worthy of respect just swarmed down, anyone would feel sorrow at the sight.

Although they were insane in their own ways, both Gangdor and Io had great knowledge of battles. They had quickly realised that one couldn't win against these drones, nor could they even flee. The only hope was to get far away before the knights could surround them.

The broodmother's control had faded once the saint was killed, but the warriors of the slaving group were noticeably slower. Many of them were left shocked by the past few minutes, the blood splattering everywhere and the mournful cry of their leader still lingering in their ears.

Although the morale of the Killer Whales had broken down, the humanoids continued to act as before. It was only when the slavers tried to flee that Gangdor and Io regained their senses, leading the army to pursue. They had been returned control quite some time ago, but had been too occupied by the demons that fought by their side. As enemies, these humanoids brought certain death. As allies, their aid would leave anyone relieved.

A few dozen managed to get away in the end, but the two were in no mood to give chase. In a battle where they only had a slight advantage at the start, a hundred humanoid knights had been lost in exchange for basically annihilating the Killer Whales. The turning point of the battle had come from the intervention of the broodmother. Although they had learnt a lot about using the humanoid knights, the two had come to a silent agreement to bury this event deep inside their hearts.

554 - City of Sin

Battle Companion

An enormous insect was flying across the Bloodstained Lands at a hundred kilometres an hour. Its torso abnormally large compared to its head and abdomen, three pairs of wings flapped ferociously to keep it a few hundred feet in the air. Flanking its sides were dozens of bats, making for a small aerial legion.

A dark figure appeared at the end of the horizon, rapidly growing in size. Noticing the giant insect and the bats, this bird of prey immediately determined they were rare delicacies and cried loudly. Its wings started flapping faster as it headed straight for the group.

Although a number of bats were surrounding the insect, they were only level 8 and couldn't compare to the level 15 strength of their hunter. This was an ironfeather eagle indigenous to the Bloodstained Lands, one of the most vicious creatures in the ecosystem. The teeth and claws of the bats couldn't even break through its natural armour, while the eagle's beak swallowed a bat with every swipe.

Even after eating all of the bats, this five-metre-long bird was only barely satisfied. However, just as it turned towards the giant insect it saw dozens of compound eyes lighting up on the head and back of its prey. A shrill echo rang through its mind, the piercing sound immediately causing it to black out.

*Thud!* The eagle hit the ground hard, regaining its senses from the violent impact. However, the fall had rendered it too dizzy to fly, its wings flapping randomly to no avail. The giant insect had already used this opportunity to charge down from the sky and aim another shriek at the bird's head. This time, it would not recover.

Two soul screams were the limit of this insect's capabilities. It was now extremely weak and hungry, its powerful teeth biting through the eagle's skull in one go. It was not meant for fighting, the entirety of its chest occupied by its brain. This was what the broodmother called a cloned brain, a hub that could transmit her orders to drones far beyond her normal reach. Under special circumstances, it could even act with a certain amount of autonomy.

......

Gangdor's victory had completely shocked the nobility in the vicinity of the Bloodstained Lands. The Killer Whales were the most powerful slaving group in this territory, backed by Duke Felsik of the Iron Triangle Empire. When the bodies of its members were erected on wooden stakes beside the razed checkpoint, when even its saint was stripped and hung up without dignity nor honour, the slavers of the region felt true fear.

When Richard returned to Faelor, letters of protest and condemnation were piled up on his desk. He sent Flowsand off to get some rest before sitting behind his desk, casually taking a few documents at the top of the pile and opening them up. All these letters seemed to be complaints that Gangdor was attacking the nobles' slaving groups in the Bloodstained Lands for no reason.

He had wanted to toss them all out, but after some thought he put them back down. Fist repeatedly knocking against the table, he assessed the consequences repeatedly. Eventually he decided to call Gangdor over and ask him for the specifics of the series of events. While he had absolute trust in his subordinates, he still had to know why something so monumental had occurred. He hadn't realised that his train of thought was slowly changing, taking small steps towards the conduct of a true leader.

Having wiped out many slaving groups, Gangdor was already back in Bluewater. The intimidation tactics had worked; now, any group that met Richard's patrols immediately gave up resistance. Most of them even registered, paying the standard tax, while those that hadn't were only required to pay twice the normal tax and were let go. This system did leave some groups lucky enough to evade taxes, but there was no need to worry about such a thing. The large fish wouldn't be able to slip through.

Richard sensed Gangdor's location and left the study, heading in the direction of the barracks. Approaching Gangdor's room, he was quite surprised to hear thundering laughter from many different voices within. Seven or eight people were seated around the table, completely drunk.

He immediately noticed the two fallen clerics Kars and Marvin, as well as Zim and some other nobles and generals. However, most surprising of all was the presence of Io! The battle priest was still the most handsome one present, but he was no longer as arrogant as before. He had one hand around Zim's neck, fiercely pouring alcohol down the viscount's throat. He looked an absolute drunkard that lacked any semblance of a holy man.

Zim's face was wrinkled up as he gulped the alcohol down, quickly losing the drinking match. He slowly slid under the table in three large cups, while Io still sat ramrod straight.

The battle priest suddenly noticed Richard standing by the door, a ferocious glint flashing in his eyes. “RICHARD!” he smacked the table hard, “COME, drink! Don't think I won't be able to destroy you this time!”

Richard snickered, gladly prepared to take on the challenge, but Io's movements started to stiffen and he slowly fell backwards. In a few moments he fell to the ground with a dull thud, dead to the world. Richard gaped, but couldn't find anything to say and shook his head helplessly. The plan to teach the fellow another lesson would have to wait.

He could sense Gangdor's presence here, but the brute was nowhere to be seen. However, just as he was about to call out, a sturdy figure suddenly popped up from under the table, looking at him sternly, “Boss, you're back! You're just in time, let's have a drink together. Watch me destroy these guys!”

Having said this, he disappeared under the table. A few seconds later, he re-emerged and mightily surveyed the area, waving his hand heroically at the scattered people around the table, “Boss, look! These guys are no match for me!”

He then disappeared once more.

Richard was left completely speechless. How was this fellow destroying anyone? He was just getting destroyed himself!

When the brute appeared for the third time, his eyes were vacant. Staring ahead in a daze, he bellowed, “Waterflower! If you've got the skills, let's compete again! I might not be able to beat you in fighting, but my drinking no match you are!” When he slid down this time, he didn't come up again.

Richard sighed, thankful that he hadn't brought Waterflower along. If he had, Gangdor would have been in a lot of trouble over the coming days.

Seeing the table of people all over the place, a smile flashed across Richard's face. Everyone in the room, even the nobles, were extremely loyal to him. These were the old allies that had been with him from the first battles of the Bloodstained Highway. He retreated from the room, waving for a guard to call over a cleric from one of the three goddesses to help them sober up. He then returned to his study, beginning to flip through the nobles' complaints.

......

It was only afternoon the next day that Gangdor charged into the study, scratching his head in embarrassment, “Boss! I drank a little too much yesterday, didn't realise you were back. We brothers just got back from battle and were celebrating when those guys dared to talk about my tolerance. How could I stand for that? That's why I showed off and drank till all of them dropped!”

“Yes, yes, you showed off.” Richard's knowing smile caused Gangdor's face to turn completely red. Still, he didn't pursue the matter and instead patted the letters that were piled high on one side, “Come, tell me what this is all about.”

Gangdor gave the pile a look and grinned, answering nonchalantly, “All I did was cut down a few slavers who wanted to escape taxes.”

The brute then explained everything in great detail, from the cause to the outcome as well as how he was dealing with the aftermath. Richard had already looked through the complaints from the nobles so he knew Gangdor hadn't concealed or destroyed any letters, piling them all up in wait of his return from Norland.

Gangdor's approach to the matter mirrored his own style, something that showed the brute's meticulous side. Richard himself would only have been more fierce in his approach, not less. The only regret was that they hadn't figured out who was behind the original attack on the checkpoint, but the identity itself was no longer important. Even if the true killer was still alive and free, Richard's power had been consolidated.

He took another look at the letters and a cold expression flashed across his face. These nobles had no tact, daring to threaten him with military action! The map of the Sequoia Kingdom flashed into mind, marks appearing on the territories of the nobles who were hooting the loudest. A red arrow set off from the Bloodstained Lands, making a large arc that linked it all together. 3,000 elites and he would be able to plough through all of them in just ten days. If these nobles were still in their territories, they could be captured and dragged back to the Bloodstained Lands.

However, Richard shook his head and gave up on the tempting idea. The nobles couldn't be foolish enough to forget their own power, they were likely acting out for a reason. Someone behind the scenes likely hoped for him to try and level their castles, pitting himself against all of the nobles in the Kingdom. This was something that left even his close allies feeling unsafe.

555 - City of Sin

Original Sin

The plot behind all the threats was quite simplistic, but Richard felt like humouring it for a bit. His power in Faelor had already been consolidated, and he himself had been sharpened by battle upon battle. These days, he felt like using force to deal with whatever issues appeared.

But just how unstoppable was he? Ignoring the entire plane, even the Iron Triangle Empire, could he even wipe out the royal family of the Sequoia Kingdom without any difficulties? He calmed himself down, sweeping his hand across the desk to send all the documents to the rubbish bin. He then summoned a servant, “Take these things out and burn them all.”

Once the servant left, he went over and patted Gangdor on the shoulder, “You've done well these few months.”

The simple compliment left the brute delighted, “Thanks, boss! Then you should bring Olar back here, I want to go with you!”

Richard laughed; it appeared like even Gangdor was at a level where he could bully the elf now. Still, he patted him heavily once more, “No, you must stay. However, Zendrall is going to be leaving with me.”

“Is that okay?” Gangdor asked seriously. Zendrall was a native of Faelor, him leaving the plane could brook some consequences.

“He's fought by our side for so long, I don't think there's a problem with trusting him.”

“Then I don't have a problem with it.” The brute didn't press any further, turning to leave.

“Right, send him over, I need to speak to him,” Richard called after the departing figure, receiving a nod in response.

A few minutes later, the necromancer walked into Richard's study, bowing to him in greeting, “What do you wish of me, Master?”

Richard had thought of a few approaches to take, but he gave them all up to be direct, “Zendrall, do you want to broaden your horizons? In another plane?”

“Another plane?!” Zendrall's breathing sped up. He was a mage, a true seeker of knowledge. For such people, the temptation of exploring other planes was near irresistible. His intelligence quickly showed itself in his immediate response, “You need to have no doubts about my loyalty, Master!”

“Good,” Richard nodded, “Prepare yourself, we leave in a few days.”

Right after Zendrall left, Gangdor quietly snuck back into the study, “B-boss... There's something else I need to tell you...”

Richard had been expecting another request to go to the Forest Plane, but what met him instead was a report about abnormal behaviour from the humanoid knights. Even as Gangdor described it, Richard could feel the pure terror the event had inspired in the normally headstrong man.

It left him with a startling realisation: what if the broodmother refused to follow his own orders one day? Would the drones she had created still obey his commands, or would they bow to her? The thought left him frightened as well.

Still, he managed to maintain his calm expression, patting Gangdor gently, “No need to worry. The broodmother is contracted to me with her soul, she helped you in that crucial moment because of my orders.”

Gangdor's expression softened a little, but he was still clearly worried as he left. Richard sat at his desk and poured himself a glass of wine, savouring it for a few moments before deciding to visit Flowsand. He had ordered the broodmother to help Gangdor, but that didn't imply bypassing the man to take command of the troops.

Flowsand was flipping through the Book of Time in her room, no discernible hints as to what information she had summoned to its pages. Seeing Richard entered, she didn't so much as raise her head, “Hmm... You didn't bring Rosie along. Are you ill, or did you finally start to miss me?”

Richard grunted, giving her pert bottom a slap, “Nonsense! Be that insolent again, and watch how I'll deal with you!”

Flowsand shook her bottom and eyed him disdainfully, “You? Deal with me? Hmph, show me your worst!”

This left him smiling bashfully. Flowsand's... martial arts were quite formidable. If she wasn't kept under control, he wouldn't even last ten minutes in their 'spars.' However, now was not the time for another contest. He started kneading her head, “Alright, enough of that. There's something important.”

“I'd rather every visit from you is for private matters,” Flowsand said, but she still closed the Book of Time and crossed her legs on the bed.

“Do you think the broodmother is trustworthy? I get the feeling she's running out of control lately.”

Flowsand held her chin in hand, “The broodmother... It's also called the seed of war and destruction. The name represents a path towards power, one engraved deep within her very soul.

“Do you remember when she awakened using your blood?”

Richard nodded.

“You may not know this, but it wasn't just blood you lost in that ritual. The hatchling broodmother analysed that blood to touch upon your soul, absorbing a bit of your existence to make her's whole. That is how she awakened, and why she shares her soul with yours. What, then, do you have to worry about? If she starts ignoring orders on occasion, she's just doing what she thinks is necessary to help you.”

Flowsand's explanation dissipated some of Richard's fears, but the worry wasn't completely gone. However, she raised the Book of Time once more, “Alright, is there anything else? If not, I'm going back to reading.”

Richard had planned to leave immediately for a word with the broodmother, but upon hearing Flowsand's words he changed his mind. “No,” he laughed, “But there's plenty of private matters. I think it's time I deal with you again.”

“Smart man! Come on!” Flowsand's eyes brightened as she reached out and grabbed him by the collar, attaching her body to his. Both legs wrapping around him, she leaned backwards and used the strength in her waist to hoist him into the air, slamming back down on the bed. She then bucked up and straddled him, pinning him firmly below.

......

It was a long time before Richard left Flowsand's room, absolutely exhausted. Still, he forced a smile and shook his head. Flowsand was a great catch, but that didn't mean she was easy to endure. This little skirmish that was beyond his own planning was a punishment in disguise for neglecting her over the past few months. That said, as long as she was happy it was worth it.

He sat down in his study and drank some water, waiting for his fatigue to fade. Concentrating his mind, he prodded the broodmother's consciousness.

“Master, you've returned.” When the familiar voice rang in his mind, it was rather unclear.

“Hmm, what happened to you?” he asked with worry, “You seem so... sluggish.”

“I am currently advancing to level 7, Master. The process is almost complete, but until I finish I will be a little weak.”

“Level 7!” Richard was astonished and elated.

“Indeed. My evolution is yet to complete, but most of the possible upgrades are now clear. You can make your choice.”

What came next was an avalanche of information. With the blood of Zuka now fully analysed, there was a new option for drones: the winged serpent. This airborne unit was about level 11, able to spit acid, poison, or lightning. Its defences were rather mediocre, but its sheer agility gave it several advantages. It would be an especially decisive weapon in sieges, able to inflict significant casualties. Richard hesitated a little, but he eventually decided to add them to his army mix.

Outside of the winged serpents, the broodmother now had new information on her analysis of different races. The growth of his blessing of truth seemed to have had an effect on her abilities; although her ability at analysis didn't really change, she could now present it in a much more concise form with solid numbers. One benefit was that she now knew just how many beings of a race she still needed to digest to be able to design a drone based on that species. If she consumed more than what was needed, she could continue to use the new information to even improve the creature; of course, these improvements would mostly be minuscule.

The level of the drones was directly related to the broodmother's own level. Right now she could spawn level 11 units, but at level 17 she would be able to produce legendary level 21 drones. Even if an entire race was capped at level 19, she would be able to undo those restrictions and still spawn a legendary unit.

That said, Richard didn't know whether the broodmother could even reach such a level. Still, even if she never advanced another level, she would still deserve her billing as a powerful weapon in planar wars.

The broodmother listed all the races she had analysed to date. Surprisingly, the first was humans at 170%, while the second was goblins at 150%. Winged serpents stood at an impressive 103%, while those of some more common races like dwarves, elves, barbarians, and the like were closer to the bottom.

Richard hesitated for a long while, but he eventually asked the question on his mind, “How many elves do you need to devour to finish that analysis?”

The broodmother went quiet for a moment, soon coming back with a response, “About 200, Master.”

“Are there any requirements in terms of power or something else?”

“No, the only requirement is that they be purebloods. If they're half-elves, I will need around 700. However, I must remind you that dark elves and surface elves are different species.”

Richard's face was already buried deep in his hands, fingers gripping tightly at his hair. Still, the message he sent was extremely clear, “Alright. Tell me how many I need for the following races: barbarians, dwarves, orcs, trolls, ogres.”

He was quickly sent back a string of numbers: 290, 800, 750, 800, 1100.

556 - City of Sin

Original Sin(2)

Richard noticed that the number of ogres required was exceptionally high. Ogres were a race blessed with physical strength, their voracious appetites limiting the spread of their population. Capturing 1,100 would be an immense undertaking.

“Why do you need so many ogres?” he asked the broodmother curiously.

“The number of a species I need is determined by the potential of the race. The more powerful the drones can become, the harder it is to analyse. I can even create dragons, Master, but I estimate I will need tens of thousands to analyse.”

Tens of thousands of dragons! Richard felt his eyes darken. Forget tens of thousands of dragons, he wasn't even sure where to start searching for thousands of ogres. However, he furrowed his brows, “Right, the winged serpent analysis has already crossed 100%. I don't recall even meeting any, so was that all from Zuka's blood? Or did you eat a lot in the Land of Turmoil?”

“The former, Master. What you gave me was the blood of a demigod; if you can give me a cup of blood from a draconic deity, I can create red dragons at the very least. I might even be able to create black dragons right away.”

Divine dragon... Richard immediately shelved the idea. “Alright, I understand. Another thing, why did you interfere with Gangdor's battle?”

“The confrontation against the Killer Whales? I have constantly been collecting information on Gangdor's ability at command, and he is many levels worse than you. The humanoid knights are not meant to be used as he did, so I assumed command. The primary reason then was to minimise the overall casualties, but I also wished to demonstrate how best to use my drones. The first wave I sent forth came from the earliest batch I created. They had already lived past a third of their lives, so they needed to be disposed of.”

This answer left Richard speechless. Only now did he remember that it was approaching a year since the first of the humanoids had been spawned, and all the broodmother's drones lasted a few years on average.

However, logic was not everything in the world of mortals. Richard sighed, “Is there any way to lengthen the lifespan of the humanoid knights?”

“Why, Master? Three years is already excessive. Based on the data I have on Faelor's wars, a unit with a lifespan of one year is much more suitable. That will raise the power of my drones by at least a third.”

“Don't ask why. Is it possible?”

“Master, there is absolutely no need! Only Phaser and the unicorn were given enough divinity to possess true souls, the rest are merely puppets. Their mission is to exterminate the enemy regardless of cost. There is no need for you to show affection to these disposable units.”

Disposable. It was a very apt description, one so accurate it left one raging. “Fine!” Richard said angrily, “They're disposable!”

The broodmother suddenly went silent for a few moments before speaking up once more, “Master, your current emotions are very detrimental to continued success. Disposables are disposables, they are to be sacrificed without a thought when necessary. The responsibilities you bear are very heavy; if you wish to fulfil them, you must refrain from such sentiments.”

“What do you know of my responsibilities?!”

“Master, our souls are intertwined. Just as you can sense my existence whenever you wish, your own presence radiates into every fibre of my being. Your visions, your responsibilities are so powerful they are forced into me; I cannot ignore them even if I try. Just as Miss Flowsand said, my existence is beholden to yours.”

Richard felt like the broodmother was being oddly emotional for her cold self. It was only after this disagreement that he realised she had views of her own. “Then tell me, what should I do?” he asked, not sure why the question had come out of his mouth.

She seemed to think over it carefully, taking some time to reply, “Master, if you wish to fulfil all your responsibilities, explicit or otherwise, you must be prepared to forgo your reputation and morality. All your decisions must come from a point of rationality.”

“You're saying...” he inhaled deeply, “I must be the one to bear all the sin?”

“This is the path you chose to walk. You cannot avoid being seen as a demon by ordinary men; if you cannot bear these sins on your back, then it will fall onto those you love and care about. You have awakened the first word of your truename, you cannot deny it.”

“I...” Richard straightened himself, “I understand. Thank you. Broodmother, do you have your own name?”

“Do you refer to my truename?”

“You have a truename as well?”

“I will awaken it when I reach level 10.”

“Very well!” he said without hesitation, “I'll get you there as fast as I can!”

“... You will regret that decision one day.”

“What is this 'regret' you speak of?” Richard laughed it off, opening the door to his study and asking a servant to summon Gangdor. The burly man made his way over in only a few minutes, sweating profusely. He didn't understand why Richard would summon him so suddenly.

“How many slaves are in our possession?” Richard asked.

“37,000 in total, boss.”

“First thing tomorrow, pick out 200 pureblood elves, 300 barbarians, and 900 dwarves. Escort them to the edges of the Land of Turmoil. If there aren't enough, buy what we need from the other slavers. Understood?”

“The Land of Turmoil!” Gangdor felt a chill run down his spine. All of Richard's followers knew what exactly hid in the Land of Turmoil. A mere guess as to what fate would befall these slaves and his heart shuddered.

Richard saw the struggle on the brute's face, but he just waved a hand lightly, “You have your orders, carry them out.”

“... Yes, boss.”

......

Three days later, Richard silently returned to Norland. He was 1.6 million gold richer upon this return, a combination of income from taxes, caravans, enchanted equipment sales and the like. He also had plenty of ores and metals as well. The first thing he did upon his arrival was to spend 300,000 on replenishing his materials, giving another 300,000 to the old steward to take care of the family.

He then went alone to the underground room with the transmission array, wordlessly placing a small box with ten high-purity magic crystals within. Each of those crystals was worth 100,000 gold. When the glow from the array subsided, the box containing the crystals had disappeared. Richard didn't wait for a response from the opposite end, turning around to leave.

“Richard? RICHARD!” Wild shouts rang out from the room a short while later, an image of Blackgold appearing above the circle. The grey dwarf was clutching the box with his eyes wide open, so shocked his jaw seemed to have dislocated from his skull. However, the shouts just echoed into an empty chamber.

Richard had already left the Archeron island for the Church of the Eternal Dragon, resolved to bear all the sin alone.

......

The Forest Plane hadn't changed much from when Richard had last been there. The warriors were still working on taking down the trees, be it via axes or explosions. Ever since the second batch of improved gunpowder was delivered, the mages and alchemists present were busy innovating on new applications of it. For instance, they had now developed a little container to seal the gunpowder in which they could then place on a bigger hole in the tree trunk. The shrapnel couldn't penetrate high-quality plate armour, but it could blast a deep hole in the stonewood. This method eliminated the need to drill a small hole and insert the rod carefully. It was admittedly rather crude, but it was more efficient as well.

The gunpowder was reserved for the stonewood alone. Other types of trees were cut down with the wood-cleaving axes, transported back to Emerald City for processing. The empty space around the city was growing quickly, a lack of appearances from the forest elves and their druids leaving a twitchy Nyris despondent.

Both the Prince and Agamemnon were surprised at Zendrall's arrival. They hadn't expected Richard to have such a high-level necromancer on hand, and a talented one at that who could likely become a grand mage.

After getting over his initial excitement upon arriving at the Forest Plane, Zendrall quickly understood the situation and his mission. The necromancer drew up a list of materials and started on a huge summoning formation to communicate with the plane of the dead, calling on undead creatures directly. The other mages assisted him to speed up the process, including grand mage Pamir and Richard himself. Zendrall was quite well-versed in necromancy, so the formation was enormous and powerful. It took an entire three days to finish despite many mages working on it.

Rosie had caught Richard's eyes once more in the past three days, more so for her demeanour than her appearance. She was far too calm, silently working on the formation with unending focus. There seemed to be a different light to her face, one of absolute concentration that blinded her to anything else. The parts of the summoning formation she was working on were almost flawless, second only to Richard's own inhuman work.

557 - City of Sin

Undead Scouts

The same evening that the summoning formation was completed, Rosie quietly packed all her tools and headed back to the city proper alone. Nyris, Agamemnon, and Richard stook together, watching as her figure disappeared through the gates.

“I'd never known this beauty had such a side to her. She's quite something!” Nyris praised.

“Indeed,” Agamemnon answered in agreement, a rare occurrence.

Even Richard had to admit that Rosie's ardour was hard to come by. This sort of pure focus couldn't be explained just by personality; she had to have great motivation in some areas. This was similar to Richard himself, who had spent five years studying like the madman with a single image burnt into his mind. Just like Elena's fiery end, Rosie's quiet demeanour hid some powerful purpose, a sort of zealotry that guided her to a goal.

“Hey, Richard!” Nyris suddenly hooked his arm around Richard's neck, his slender arm suddenly as tough as steel, “Listen up. From now on, Rosie's officially one of my friends!”

Although the chokehold almost left him unable to breathe, Richard felt like it was hilarious. This wasn't the first time he was making himself a friend of the girl. However, when the prince loosened his grip and spoke once more, the next words left him unable to laugh, “Richard, Rosie isn't any easy person, but she's a good woman. Don't give her the chance to betray you!”

Richard had to carefully think over these words. They were something he agreed with; you didn't test the people you loved, you cherished them so much there was no chance of betrayal.

......

With the undead summoning formation finally complete, Zendrall finally started it up the very next day. On most planes the ceremony would need to be completed at night, but in the Forest Plane where the skies were perennially clouded over there was no such need. This formation took an enormous cost to operate, consuming fifty magic crystals every day. However, that only left everyone full of anticipation.

As the magic crystals lit up one after the other, a ball of grey light gathered atop it. A pale mist started spewing out as threads of cold, dark energy gradually spread through the area. A moment later, the first undead creature walked out of the newly formed portal. It was a lich!

Thankfully, the lich only acted up for an instant before it was suppressed by the power of the formation, brought under the control of Zendrall despite being higher in level than him. It floated out of the formation and started summoning low-levelled undead that were sent into the depths of the forest.

A skeletal horse then stepped out of the formation, ridden by a sturdy death knight. The death knight raised its heavy, rusted sword in Zendrall's direction as a greeting, spurring on his steed in the direction Zendrall pointed.

One after the other, more undead beings walked out of the formation and submitted to Zendrall, heading deep into the vast forest. Within an hour the necromancer had six level 15 beings, about two dozen between levels 10 and 15, and hundreds that were weaker under his control. As these scouts left to fulfil their duties, Zendrall continued to keep the formation running. His soul force seemed immense, able to handle even more as undead continued to walk out one by one.

As they watched the mere level 13 necromancer control such a powerful army, everyone was rendered speechless; even Richard was seeing this for the first time. Those present finally understood why necromancers were so detested before the era of planar wars; if given enough time, those of other professions had no way of competing with them at equal levels. As he was right now, Zendrall could wipe out a full party of level 15 adventurers using his summons alone.

A map appeared atop the summoning formation, dull at first but being lit aglow as the undead continued to search. The misty and vague outline slowly expanded as more of the forest was explored, the results of the search projected onto the formation.

Zendrall sat patiently in the midst of it all, controlling the newer arrivals to target locations the original scouts had missed. Bottles of water and vitality potions were placed by him, with a fair amount of food for a long search. With a hundred-kilometre zone around the planar portal being protected from the will of the forest, the other two trees of life were quite likely more than 200 kilometres away from the city. Undead were not known for quick movement— the slowest skeleton warriors could only cover about five kilometres an hour.

It seemed like they would need two days at minimum to get any results. Richard arranged for a group of elites to protect Zendrall, returning to the city to continue his own work. A chilly breeze blew through the quiet forest, all sounds of life fading away as the little animals that roamed around hid away in their nests. A terrifying aura that they had never experienced before left them trembling in fear, only able to cower deep inside their caves.

The undead wandered around the forest endlessly, the ghastly flames flickering in their eye sockets making them terrifying as darkness fell. Specks of abyssal green light roamed throughout the forest, proceeding away from Emerald City. These creatures did not know fatigue, walking without end until their spirit fires burned out.

......

Deep within the forest, a pair of eyes focused on a skeleton walking in the distance. Quiet whispers moved along the wind, dispersed by the forest to avoid detection by the skeleton, “Elder, what is that thing? I sense unimaginable evil from them!”

“It should be an undead spirit,” an aged voice rang out, “This is the vilest creature that has ever appeared in our forest! It must have been summoned by those invaders. So abhorrent, the mighty will of the forest can do nothing against creatures without a soul!”

A huge bow was drawn on top of a tree with a flourishing crown, an arrow with nature energy twined around it aimed right at the skeleton. The archer looked young and strong, eyes filled with determination. “It may be evil, Elder, but it is not powerful. I can definitely kill it with one arrow!”

An old, withered hand pushed down the youth's weapon, “No, impatience does not have its place here. We need to continue observing their actions. These creatures do not move fast, we will have ample time to make our preparations.”

The wizened druid gazed at the limping skeleton in the distance, “If we can find their true goal, we could perhaps set a trap here and teach those invaders an unforgettable lesson!”

......

As night passed and dawn arrived, Zendrall remained in position as he controlled the formation. No new undead were being summoned now, but there were already thousands roaming the forest. Lina, Agamemnon, Nyris and the others kept him company.

As it approached noon of the second day, they were now looking at the projection atop the formation with intent. The furthest undead knights had reached a distance where they could come into contact with a tree of life. Most of the forest was still covered in a mist, but there were thousands of small threads of light spread around everywhere that were slowly expanding further.

Everyone quietly awaited the results, but it wasn't until night that Zendrall suddenly groaned, face paling as he said in a hoarse voice, “One of my summons was killed!”

“WHERE?!” Everyone immediately perked up.

The necromancer quickly gestured at the projection and enlarged one portion, showing a flickering red dot at the end of a line. “It was only a skeleton warrior, too weak to transmit what it saw before it was destroyed,” he explained, analysing the image for a short while before waving a hand to send a dozen creatures straight in that direction.

......

The low shrubbery of the forest was torn apart by metal hooves as a skeletal horse snorted icy wind, trampling through the thorns with purpose. The eyes of the death knight on its back were spewing a deadly emerald fire as it spurred the horse on at full strength, speeding forward.

The knight's field of sight suddenly expanded as it charged into an expansive field. It quickly reined in the horse and looked upward, entire body shuddering for a moment. In front of it was a huge tree that was several hundred metres tall with hundreds of treehouses built on its trunk. The powerful aura of life emanating from the tree was like boiling hot oil as it touched the death knight's body, spewing white smoke.

A tree of life!

The dense life energy left the death knight writhing in pain. A few rays of light quickly drew closer, mostly arrows imbued with nature energy alongside two powerful nature spells. Everything hit the knight at ones, covering it in a green fog that constantly burnt away its power of death. The undead creature roared in misery as the energy burnt it away, killing it off completely in the blink of an eye.

558 - City of Sin

Advance

A few elven archers gathered around the corpse of the death knight, crouching down and examining it for a while, “It has been eliminated.”

A few druids walked over from the tree of life, one of them asking, “Can you confirm that it saw the Tree of Life?”

“I am certain,” a tall warrior answered, “I can also confirm that it had an obvious reaction at the sight. However, I cannot be certain whether it was able to transmit the location back to the invaders.”

The druid elder nodded, asking an older druid next to him, “Elder Greenwind, you once did battle with these invaders. What is your opinion?”

Having barely escaped Richard the last time, Greenwind's radicalism had only been strengthened. He gazed at the death knight, “These invaders are extremely sly, possessing many tricks we have never heard of. Since they dispatched a large number of undead beings to explore the forest, they must have a way of seeing through these vile eyes. This is just like how we entrust our own souls to the holy eagles. I believe it is best we proceed according to plan.”

“That would be best!” the oldest of the lot exclaimed, “If the invaders dare to come here, the child of the forest will ensure they never leave. That is the price one must pay for desecrating the forest!”

Greenwind was delighted at this response, asking with haste, “A child of the forest is coming? Which one?”

“The Tree of Life just sent word that the Spear of Vengeance will reach us tomorrow morning.”

A trace of viciousness flashed across Greenwind's face, “Perfect! Since a child of the forest is willing to intervene, the invaders definitely will not make it back home. When the time comes, I'll plant a row of devil-eating trees and hang them all! That should teach them the cost of destroying the trees!”

At the mention of these devil-eating trees, even a few of the forest elf archers showed a tinge of fear.

......

Richard made his way to the summoning formation outside Emerald City, watching Zendrall sweat as he strove to maintain control. His body trembled every once in a while, a sign of the undead being destroyed. The same soul link that allowed him to use these creatures as his eyes and ears also transmitted the pain of their deaths to him.

The undead creatures were rapidly being destroyed with the death knight at the centre, leaving the necromancer in constant shock. However, he gritted his teeth and persevered, simply unwilling to give up control over the summoning formation. Every moment he persisted allowed him to gather more intel regarding the forest elves.

Soon, even Agamemnon's expression changed greatly. There was just no way to doubt the power of Zendrall's mind and soul. Every one of Richard's followers seemed to be extremely talented in that regard, but this one was just extreme. The mind and soul were two sides of a coin, each affecting the other greatly. Were Zendrall's soul too weak to bear the consequences of his persistence, he would have been destroyed.

“Zendrall!” Richard eventually had enough. The necromancer was already sweating profusely, eyes bloodshot, but his hands were glued to the formation as he tried his best to stabilise the mana output.

“I can still hold on, Master!” his voice was already completely hoarse.

Richard frowned, right about to order the necromancer to stop, but Flowsand who was next to him suddenly lifted her hand. A ray of divine light landed on him, scaring everyone witless!

Necromancers were the one profession most fearful of divine spells. Divinity was a great supplement for mortal beings, but to the undead it was a lethal toxin. However, after his momentary shock Zendrall found that Flowsand's power did not burn his soul as he had expected. In fact, her energy was completely isolated from his soul, instead creating a barrier around it that flickered with amber light. This shield started to block off the shock from the soul ripples flying towards him, allowing him to relax.

Soul Guard was a common divine spell meant for one primary purpose. It could protect one against instant death spells like Finger of Death, Death Order, and Wail of the Banshee. To use it on a necromancer who was most adept at such spells was a spit in the face. However, everyone was now looking at Flowsand with shock. She could even help a necromancer? Was there anything she couldn't do?

Still, even with such powerful intervention Zendrall eventually ran out of mana. Deep within the forest, the undead creatures that had been moving in straight lines suddenly paused, wandering around aimlessly according to their instincts.

The necromancer took some time to recover before standing up, casting another spell. A large projection appeared in front of him, showing the huge tree of life. A few specks of green could be seen rapidly flying towards the screen, after which the image jolted violently and went dark.

“Again!” Nyris cried out.

Zendrall complied, resetting the projection and this time freezing the image when it showed the tree of life. The Prince looked at it for a short while before nodding with certainty, “Yes, that's it! Where is it, do you know?!”

The necromancer nodded, changing the projection to a map of the forest upon which he marked a striking red spot. “I can confirm that the death knight saw the tree of life here, 240 kilometres away from Emerald City.”

Richard sighed deeply, “They're definitely on their guard, there's no point in a sudden attack. Let's rest tonight and set off early in the morning; we can camp in the forest and still make it to the tree the day after.”

Nyris frowned, “Those elves already lost a tree. Now that they know we found another one, they'll definitely do something.”

Richard grinned and waved his fist around with force, “Which is why we're using our elite forces to crush them! Even if the forest elves want to ambush us, they'll still be destroyed!”

Nyris' eyes lit up, “That will be a tough battle.”

“Afraid?”

“If a loser like you isn't, why would I be?” Nyris' little mouth pursed.

Richard burst into laughter, “I won the last round!”

“If I could use my energy at will, your defeat is guaranteed!”

Richard grinned but chose not to respond. However, Agamemnon spoke up in his place, “Fifty-fifty.”

The prince practically jumped up at that assessment, “How's that possible?”

“That duel,” Agamemnon said out of nowhere. Nyris immediately recalled the duel between Richard and the Mensa youth, and that immeasurably powerful bolt of blood lightning. It was an impossible spell to dodge, and although it wouldn't kill him he would be gravely injured. That would leave him at the edge of death, forcing him to use the secret swords of the royal family as he fought for his life.

Agamemnon was right in stating that the duel could go both ways. If Richard was willing to pay the price to boost a grade 7 spell like Chain Lightning, in addition to his spell penetration rune and the Twin of Destiny even a saint would be left on the verge of death. As he was now, he was a headache for any opponent. However, Nyris just snorted and returned to his residence, starting to prepare for the next battle. He wouldn't care who could win anymore.

......

Early morning the next day, a rather sizeable army set off from Emerald City in the direction of the tree of life they had discovered. 500 soldiers, all elites above level 10, marched through the forest while armed to the teeth, their reserve rations so plentiful it was terrifying. They had left a few dozen low-levelled mages behind to protect the city itself; with the help of the three magic towers, the natives would not be able to succeed in a siege.

Still, Richard didn't believe the elves would actually dare to attack his base. He had consistently outmanoeuvred them in combat every time, even capturing one of the trees of life. Who knew if he had another trap set up.

The 500 soldiers advanced through the forest for the entire day before setting up camp at night. This time was starkly in contrast to their previous outings, with many natives trying to attack them. However, the elves gained nothing except a reduction of their population; many of Richard's own followers were well-versed in nighttime or jungle battles, and so was Nyris' saint Scherr.

However, there was one person who outdid everyone more powerful than her. Richard had originally wanted to catch a few elves to interrogate, but because of Phaser's performance they only managed to grab one that was heavily injured. Phaser rarely left any of her targets alive, and that was only amplified with these forest elves.

These natives had extremely powerful wills, their souls protected by some mysterious power. When Zendrall tried to search through the captive's memories, the elf just screamed in pain as his soul shattered, dying instantly. Richard didn't manage to obtain any information whatsoever.

Seeing that response, everyone knew that the results would be the same regardless of how many they caught. The enemy was well-prepared this time, so it didn't manage how many ambushes they met up ahead. However, Richard was equally prepared. His 500-man army was filled with elites that had no reason to fear ambushes. It was extremely unlikely for a trap large enough to kill all of them would escape notice.

559 - City of Sin

Trap

Richard merely had his soldiers stay alert after the nightly attacks, continuing to advance towards the tree of life. Zendrall summoned another horde of weak undead to scout ahead, the only way to see more than a kilometre away from the unicorn without being severely injured by the forest's will.

As the necromancer's minions approached the tree of life, his soul was rocked as almost all of them were destroyed in one go. Only about five kilometres away from the location, he immediately reported the situation to Richard who was pushed into deep thought for some time.

“... So we can confirm that the natives have a trap ahead for us. Master Pamir, do you have any methods to deal with large-scale nature spells?”

“Just a bunch of treants. Lady Lina's fires will be their bane,” the grand mage played it down. Druids weren't proficient at causing damage, their spells focused around summoning and nourishment. Their most powerful offence came from summoning treants, but a spell of that degree was basically nothing to him. He had once gravely injured the elders of an entire tribe with a single spell.

Richard's eyes flashed with determination, “Fine, then. ATTACK FORMATION!”

The soldiers that weren't good at horseback fighting dismounted, forming a mix of infantry and cavalry that scattered out. They rapidly advanced through the forest, heading in the direction of the tree of life. The forest elves' loose defensive line was destroyed in the first clash, forcing a retreat as the natives kept whistling from the crowns of the trees. Richard didn't even bother with those that withdrew, waving the army forward.

Four elite humanoid knights broke out of formation, charging towards the tree of life at full speed. Even the elves could not react in time, their arrows falling short as they made it a hundred metres ahead of the regular army. The moment the warhorses made their way to the open meadow, however, the drones immediately urged their mounts around. There was no tree of life anymore, the only trace of its existence an enormous pile of loose dirt in the centre. Deep imprints could be seen that led to another part of the forest. This was a trap!

Terrifying battle cries now rang out from the woods surrounding the meadow, echoing through the forest without end. A hundred bows were aimed in the direction of the four knights, but even the natives did not know what to do. They had expected to attack an entire army, but all they saw was four men. Even the druids hidden in the forest were unsure of what to do.

Richard raised his arm, having the remaining humanoids quickly rein in their horses and force the army to a stop. At this point, there were less than thirty metres until they were in the open field. “Soul protection!”

Flowsand and four other priests simultaneously started casting a group spell that covered all 500 warriors.

Pamir then soared into the skies, flanked by Scherr and Agamemnon as he flew ahead of the army and started a chant. The forest elves were immediately riled up, sending a dozen sharp arrows cleaving through the air to try and stop the spell. However, these attacks were all blocked by Scherr and Agamemnon, not one arrow allowed through.

It was only then that Richard managed to observe Agamemnon's fighting style in detail. The reticent youth was calm to a terrifying level, with no showy movements as he waved his large sword around. A lesser fighter would even think him to be untrained, but Richard noticed that he had almost no extra movements and didn't waste much of his strength. This was an amazing skill to have on a battlefield.

Pamir finally finished his chant, causing the figure of a banshee to appear above the forest. She had a beautiful face, but two long fangs exposed her true nature; the figure opened its mouth to release a shrill shriek that could crush the soul.

Grade 9 spell, Wail of the Banshee. The effects of this magic were difficult to describe. Even with the soul protection, Richard felt his heart speeding up. His soul shuddered with unease, wanting to flee his body; if it did so, that would be an instant death!

Even with the soul protection, a dozen or so of Richard's soldiers silently collapsed with distorted expressions, the terror evident in their face. However, the forest elves were completely done for. The howl had rung far and wide, dull thuds ringing out as it echoed through the forest. The attack swept through the humanoids that were now in the centre of the meadow as well, but as creatures with no souls they weren't affected in the slightest.

Almost half the forest elves were killed in one moment, and a majority of those remaining were gravely injured. Only those who were far away from the lines of battle managed to escape. Pamir dropped to the ground the moment the spell was cast, ashen face recovering only once he drank a powerful vitality potion.

Richard mercilessly ordered his humanoids to charge into the forest and kill the injured elves. This would leave them vulnerable to the concentrated retaliation of the natives, but just like the broodmother had said they were disposable units that were only worth as much as their use. “Disperse!” he ordered the rest, “Circle towards the left, do not enter the meadow!”

The 500 warriors immediately switched into smaller squads, roaming around the edges of the meadow and killing any fallen elves they saw. These soldiers were all quite experienced, stabbing their daggers into any enemies they saw regardless of whether they showed any signs of life.

The natives' arrows were still near impossible to block, but with the cover of the trees the damage they could cause was lessened. If the army entered the empty plains, they would have turned into live targets.

The woods suddenly trembled as the ancient trees stood up from the ground, forming a group of a hundred treants that surrounded Richard's army. Their thick branches waved around like the wind, rumbling as they shook the earth with every strike. This was the second layer of ambush, but it was one Richard was specifically prepared for. Disks of red flames flew out of Lina's hands, sticking to any treant they encountered and burning them constantly. These flames could be resisted for a short period, but with their draconic nature they were extremely difficult to put out. Once they made it past the outer layers of bark, these treants would be left in excruciating pain.

Seeing the effects of the Dragon Mage's flames, Richard sent out a burst fireball of his own. This bundle was a thick, dark red, more lava than actual flames. The lava immediately burnt through the outer layers of the treants' defences.

Richard's flames burnt just as long as Lina's, but they were even more powerful. The four treants that had been touched by the burst fireball collapsed to the ground, howling in pain. Such was the power of an attack imbued with his truename's might.

The most powerful of Richard's elites fought the treants in close quarters. They were all armed with heavy weapons like two-handed axes that were enchanted with sharper edges, dealing incredible damage to the treants. Numerous warriors surrounded each enemy and chopped away at the roots, leaving it screaming in pain as it lost all movement.

Zendrall started to summon his warriors of darkness at the edge of the battlefield, covering them with a dark fog once ten were present. The bodies of these undead started to creak as they breathed in the black gas, bones extending out of the cracks in their armour while the soul fire in their eye sockets turned from a poisonous green to crimson. This was Strengthen Undeath, a powerful spell unique to necromancers that could force out an increase in their summons' power. These warriors of darkness now possessed level 14 strength, heading towards the treant with their large axes and swords raised high. Every blow evoked a pitiful howl.

Elsewhere in the forest, unremarkable grey balls of light flew around to create near-invisible grey ripples on the ground. The treants and elves touched by these ripples were weighed down, their movements now heavy and slow. Many became easy targets to kill, while others were denied a certain kill on the human soldiers they were attacking. Demi was dressed in light armour, straining herself to keep up with Agamemnon as she looked for opportunities to cast slowing spells on the enemies. She could cast such spells quickly and from afar, succeeding a majority of the time in limiting the movements of her enemies. Although the power of her curses wasn't much different from that of a regular mage, her success rate and reach made the cursemaster far more efficient at the job. On a battlefield where the enemies started off at full strength, her usefulness was evident to anyone watching.

560 - City of Sin

Child Of The Forest

Demi burned brightly in the midst of battle; her level was certainly on the lower end, but her effect on the battlefield was not. However, that was only to be expected; after all, cursemasters were built for war.

Demi put everything into weakening the enemy, while as her counterpart Olar was focused on strengthening their own army. His warsong inflamed passions, tempo gradually speeding up and pulling the warriors along. The soldiers grew able to draw on strength that they did not know existed.

Mounted on his unicorn, Richard was pacing through the battlefield. He didn't attack without necessity, focusing his energy on managing his troops. This battlefield was a mess, elven warriors and druids lurking around every tree in ambush. As the combatants started moving around the trees to continue their fights, they often realised they weren't fighting the same enemy anymore. The situation made it hard to retain control, forcing him to shout out his commands sometimes even to specific soldiers. Most of his men were focused on their individual battles, losing awareness of their surroundings. Please visit 𝒇𝚛𝙚𝙚𝘸𝙚𝗯𝓃𝗼ѵ𝚎𝘭. c𝑜𝘮

Still, he could often turn the tides around with only a command or two in some pockets of the battlefield. Other times, he had to take action personally before the fight was under control. Still, he restricted himself to flame arrows that targeted single opponents, not daring to use anything with an area of effect. Ever since he had awakened his truename, his offensive spells were imbued with abyssal flames that greatly increased their power; even the fireballs which were supposed to be weakened in these surroundings could not be borne by ordinary soldiers. Every fireball would kill many tenacious elves, but his own soldiers would also be sent to the ground.

“Zendrall, Circle of Death!” Richard's shout stopped the necromancer who was in the midst of summoning more undead. He made a few gestures and a ripple of dark grey gushed out of his hands, passing silently through the melee. Still under the protection of Soul Guard, Richard's soldiers only felt a bout of dizziness and disgust. However, the elven warriors nearby started to feel a soul-rending pain. Seven or eight archers fell from their cover in the trees, twitching uncontrollably; numerous weapons impaled them in the blink of an eye.

The biggest success was the fall of an elven druid. Zendrall was thrilled by this windfall, immediately starting a chant for a spirit lance, but Richard just shook his head. A wave of the Twin of Destiny instantly spawned a bolt of lightning that landed on the elf who was in the midst of transforming into a panther, setting him ablaze. The elder ran wildly into the woods as he burnt to his death, a ridiculous squeal ringing throughout the vicinity.

The lightning spell hadn't been boosted by Sacrifice, but it still contained a blood-red power within that was strong enough to kill the druid. Had Richard waited for Zendrall to finish the lengthy incantation for his spell, the enemy would have escaped.

Having used a single flourish to defeat the opponent, Richard then rushed towards another critical battle. A large branch suddenly swept through the air to try and strike at him, but he jolted the unicorn to avoid the attack before ignoring the treant entirely and looking towards the distant battlefield. Surprise attacks were everywhere in this chaotic fight, and he had no intent to engage with a random enemy.

However, the unicorn had other ideas. It dashed forward to implant its horn into the treant's trunk, the movement so sudden Richard was almost flung off its back. He instantly grew furious, scolding it sternly and even knocking his staff against its head, but the creature didn't take it to heart as it instead shook its head violently. It continued to thrash about until it left a deep hole in the treant's bark before reluctantly pulling its horn out. The gap it left behind emitted a dull radiance, oozing green fluid.

The treant had gone rigid the moment it was stabbed, howling in pain but unable to break free. It could only watch as its trunk was ripped into, barely even shaking its body. Even when these creatures were attacked by the axes and their roots were hacked off, they only exuded a little bit of sap unless their hearts were injured. General wounds shouldn't even have affected it, but a casual stab from the unicorn into the thickest part of its body still left a wound that was leaking sap. The treant howled a few times, stumbling away before its enormous body fell to the ground.

The spectacle left Richard in shock. He tugged at the unicorn's mane a few times, saying, “I didn't know you could fight!”

The unicorn neighed in delight.

This interlude didn't last long. Richard regained his seriousness, eyes sweeping across the battlefield even as a lethal arrow whizzed past him for the heart of a nearby cleric. Without any time to call for help, he immediately traced its path back to the source. A humanoid knight stuck its halberd into the ground, unsheathing its sword and throwing it in the direction he had marked. The blade sliced through the air, evoking a brood-curdling scream as it disappeared into the trees.

The cleric in question froze in shock, trying to look over his back but unable to see the arrow deeply embedded into him. Two others who were nearby tried to treat him quickly, but their divine spells could do nothing with the arrow pierced through his heart. The man swayed in place for a few moments before crumpling to the ground.

With even the clergy in the back suffering casualties, there was no safe space in this battle. Richard's soldiers fell one by one at a rate he could not control, leaving him feeling powerless for the first time in forever.

It was then that Nyris flashed before him, swinging his giant axe menacingly as he cut down a severely injured treant in a few swings. The prince then flashed him a winning smile, signalling that everything was under control.

This small action put Richard at ease. He remembered that he had yet to use the Book of Holding, and Nyris, Agamemnon, Waterflower, and Flowsand hadn't needed to use their ultimate skills. Although his warriors were dying everywhere, the elves were suffering far more casualties. Coincidentally Olar waltzed into range, the powerful treble of the elven warsong lifting Richard's spirit further.

However, it was also at this moment that a strong feeling of unease stilled his heart. Light spilled out of both of Richard's eyes as he instantly activated Analytic, barely catching a silhouette flying through the woods at an unbelievable speed. In this silhouette's hands was an unusual spear that seemed to be made out of some natural branch, both ends inlaid with bone tips. These tips sparkled with a natural radiance not unlike those of the elves' bone daggers, with no extravagant decorations. However, the moment the weapon came into view Richard felt as though invisible needles were pricking his eyes. It was an inexplicable feeling of danger— this invisible enemy was undoubtedly powerful!

The figure flickered next to Olar, thrusting the spear into the bard's chest. Olar's mouth lolled open in shock, the last words of his warsong still reverberating in his throat leaving him unable to even scream.

The spear made it through his chest without any obstructions, the skin and flesh nearby bursting apart as though many explosions were ringing out within. A large hole appeared in the middle of his chest in a split second even as the spear continued to sink deeper in.

A bolt of blood lightning flashed down from the sky, lacerating time and space as it fell upon the attacker. Sparks surrounded the figure in a scant few moments, forcing it to reveal its true form. This elf was young but tall, possessing a rather wild beauty. There were four streaks of dark green adorning his face, only adding to his unforgettable savage aura.

The blood-red lightning arced constantly, tearing a green barrier apart. It took a few seconds, but the spell successfully tore apart his nature defence and drilled into his body, leaving his face crumpling up in pain. However, he screamed once and his aura returned, protecting him from the electric flames.

Three Orleans soldiers wielding greatswords rushed towards the young elf, but he only broke into a confident smile. He calmly shook Olar off his spear, turning to face his new opponents.

The elf's movements seemed calm and natural, but even a simple turn left behind a momentary afterimage, his actions too fast for the human eyes. The three soldiers continued to charge at him with all they had, but only made it half the distance before all energy left them and they fell to the ground. They never noticed the terrible holes in their chests.

561 - City of Sin

Child Of The Forest(2)

Agamemnon leapt into the sky, the giant sword in his hands slicing at the elven youth. It was a simple move, using pure speed and power, but it only caused the elf to light up. He spread his legs in mid-air to land on the heads of two royal soldiers, the spear in his grasp swatting the attack away and countering with a stab of its own.

Agamemnon didn't make a peep as he dodged, sword moving like the wind to shower the enemy with attacks that seemed to hold no technique to speak of. This was sheer violence supplemented by pure power, a mad barrage that would leave even a saint on the back foot.

The elf brightened up further, eyes filled with praise. His spear was quick as lightning, not yielding in the slightest as he matched Agamemnon blow for blow. It took a mere three attacks before Agamemnon was pushed into a disadvantage, forced off his offence until all he could do was try to save himself.

The spear suddenly pressed close, a simple shake of the elf's wrist causing it to circle the larger weapon thrice before sending the giant sword flying into the sky. Agamemnon was unwilling to let go, but that only meant his entire body was thrown away.

The elf still had the leisure to raise his hand and pull back the dishevelled hair on his forehead, revealing a dazzling smile. Another flash of green and eight royal soldiers nearby were left with bloody holes in their heads, stiffening before they collapsed outward with him at the centre. Crisp sounds could be heard under his feet as the skulls of his stepping stones shattered, but they still did not fall.

The youth's eyes narrowed, his gaze sweeping across the battlefield in search of another target.

Time seemed to be distorted in this place. The young elf's movements were easy and unhurried, almost every minuscule action resulting in death and destruction, but it hadn't been more than a few seconds since he showed himself. Olar still hadn't crumpled to the ground, Agamemnon still soaring upwards, and Richard himself was ashen-faced after forcing out a grade 6 spell boosted by Sacrifice to save the bard. He felt as though his body had been set on fire, his hand still pulling open the Book of Holding.

A divine glow landed on Olar, immediately stopping the fountain of blood erupting from his chest. The greater heal had come barely in time, likely having saved the bard's life. The young elf's eyes immediately locked onto Flowsand whose hands were still glowing from the spell. His eyes brightened at the sight, but he then shook his head at the thought of having to kill such a beauty.

When his eyes finally landed on Scherr, they stopped moving. The saint was like a frog noticed by a snake, completely on guard yet not daring to move.

However, just as the elf was about to attack, Nyris soared into the sky with axe in hand, attacking with full strength. Despite his noble status and delicate face, this prince had never been afraid of battle. Still, the elf only looked at him and nonchalantly thrust his spear a few times, sending the axe flying. The polearm then smacked into Nyris' chest, blood spurting from the prince's mouth as he was thrown away with broken ribs.

The young elf no longer bothered with Nyris, wandering towards Scherr with his spear flashing in and out of sight. The naked eye couldn't even see the main body of his weapon anymore as an unknown number of attacks were made with every strike.

Scherr's twin swords danced dazzlingly as he was forced into retreat, expression completely distorted. It wasn't long before his swords suddenly flew into the sky, the elf's spear taking the chance to point between his brows. The tip barely touched the head, leaving a tiny red dot.

The saint's body went stiff, hands lolling by the side as his gaze lost all life. A look of disbelief froze on his face as he swayed, head suddenly exploding into a bloody mist. The headless body still stood in place for a while, refusing to fall down.

The elven youth smiled, spear spiralling to create countless afterimages with seemingly great ease. However, his gaze suddenly froze. He looked up at the sky, just in time to see a bolt of lightning surrounded by a crimson aura strike his forehead. Please visit ƒre𝐞𝘸𝑒𝘣𝘯𝘰νℯ𝒍 𝐜𝑜m

The chain lightning spell caused the elf to groan, the green light around him growing darker as his eyes flashed with savagery for the first time. His gaze landed on Richard once more, and he started charging towards him.

Richard was sternly flipping through the Book of Holding, dropping yet another bolt on the elf's head to completely break his barrier. At the same time his own body was surrounded by the sparks from Mana Armament, his speed abruptly increasing as he dodged to the side.

A mocking smile appeared on the young elf's face as he sped up further, approaching Richard in a near instant. Richard dodged once more, having a third bolt smash into the enemy's head. The elf finally let loose a miserable howl, but his spear was now extremely close as well. Still Richard did not give in, determination flashing in his eyes as he continued to flip through the book.

This fourth bolt wouldn't be enough to kill the elf, but the attack from his spear was definitely lethal! However, Richard had used all his might in the last dodge. With the devilish speed of this opponent, it was nigh impossible to stave off the next attack. In that case, it would be better to go all out and throw another spell onto this damned enemy! Even if he didn't die, at least he would be injured enough for Agamemnon, Nyris, and the rest to exact their vengeance!

However, the elf's movements suddenly grew a little sluggish as he stopped for an instant mid-strike. Nyris had run over at some point, barely managing to put a hand on the enemy's heels and pull him back. The fellow had gone mad!

The lightning struck the young elf, but even so his attack only paused for a moment before he continued towards Richard. His momentum was so great that Nyris was just dragged along.

*Schlick!*

The spear entered flesh, but not of its intended target. Agamemnon had knocked Richard aside in the most critical moment, taking the strike with his abdomen instead. The reticent youth seemed to have expected the pain, not caring for the grievous wound as he countered with the giant sword in his hands.

The young elf was greatly surprised, his movements growing so quick his figure seemed to blur as his left hand grasped the edge of Agamemnon's blade, preventing it from moving forward. In the meanwhile, he viciously kicked Agamemnon away.

The two-sided spear spiralled once more, preparing to pierce into Agamemnon's chest before stabbing the repulsive fellow who had cast five bolts of lightning in succession. However, the elf suddenly found his attack slowing down, the world around him moving at a speed he could not believe. He wanted to quicken his attack with a flourish of his fingers, but his movements had grown so slow he couldn't believe his eyes. Even his thoughts seemed to be frozen, leaving him with goosebumps slowly rising all over his body.

Elsewhere in the battlefield, Flowsand tumbled backwards in with her back ramrod straight, streams of blood seeping out from the corner of her eyes. The Lens of Time had turned this maelstrom of an enemy into someone no faster than an ordinary powerhouse.

Richard turned around to look at the collapsing Flowsand, before looking back at Agamemnon and Nyris who could no longer stand. An abnormal flush rose on his face as electric flames leapt around him once more. This time, they were tinted a blood red.

His movements suddenly no inferior to the elf's, he flashed to the side of the unicorn and drew his sword off its back. Another flash and he appeared next to the enemy, blade piercing towards his chest!

A scream of rage thundered through the battlefield as the spear struck back like lightning. Even restrained by Flowsand, the enemy had somehow sped up enough to match Richard in his empowered state. He had evidently activated some sort of secret skill.

Richard didn't so much as make a peep, lips pursed tightly as stab after stab targeted the elf's body. Each move was simple yet merciless, aiming for lethal points. He seemed to ignore any attacks that were not fatal, focusing on injuring the enemy as they traded blow for blow.

The nameless sword and the two-sided spear had turned into bundles of sparks that covered Richard and the elf. A crimson mist wafted out from between the two, a mix of their blood. It seemed like there was a meat grinder flying around within, fervently grinding at their flesh until one of them could hold on no longer. Countless injuries started to litter their bodies.

Richard grew calmer and calmer as the melee continued, eventually even showing a peaceful smile! The elf roared madly, but it contained an unconcealable fear. This opponent wouldn't mind giving up his own life to kill him!

The elf suddenly tossed his spear towards Richard, using the moment of respite when he dodged to turn and flee into the depths of the forest!

The elven warriors and druids were all left stupefied. The child of the forest, the personification of god... Was fleeing?

It had been but a scant few minutes from the child's arrival until he left with grievous injuries. A draconic roar cemented the failure of this ambush— Kaloh had been summoned!

Seeing the rapidly disappearing figure of the child of the forest, a trace of hesitation flashed in the eyes of grand mage Pamir. However, even as he put away his staff a graceful red figure appeared behind the enemy. Lina had teleported over!

562 - City of Sin

Bloody Battle

Lina pounced forward, grappling the child of the forest. Another light flashed and they appeared in the skies above, right in front of Kaloh.

“Kaloh!” she exclaimed, but the red dragon's face flickered with hesitation. He opened his mouth, draconic flames forming at the throat, but he couldn't bring himself to breathe out. This attack would cover both the child of the forest and the Dragon Mage herself.

The reason Lina could summon Kaloh despite not being at the legendary realm was that they shared a companion contract. The relationship between the two was more of a friendship than that of a summoner and their contract beast. Although she had some degree of resistance to draconic flames, she would still be severely injured by this attack.

“KALOH!” Lina started screeching. The child of the forest was struggling wildly in her arms, flailing around and biting her everywhere. His sharp teeth were tearing off flesh with each bite. The red dragon let loose an earth-shattering roar, finally releasing its pent-up breath and enveloping both of them.

Time seemed to freeze.

A short while later, two figures fell back into the forest. The Dragon Mage was left unconscious, but the elf actually jumped up and grabbed a nearby druid, plunging his hand into the elder's heart. He extracted all of the druid's vitality in a single moment, his own face turning rosy once more. He turned around, a cruel gaze sweeping across the opponents nearby as he prepared to flee into the forest.

“Did you really think you could escape?” a calm voice sounded at that moment. Richard was still as wretchedly calm as before, voice still wretchedly indifferent. However, he could barely even stand despite the support of his sword, riddled with injuries from head to toe. Blood was pouring out of his numerous wounds, forming a thick puddle under his feet.

The elven youth suddenly saw harsh rays of light being emitted from Richard's sword. The very next moment, all of his nature energy and life essence started to boil, converging at his chest. He suddenly remembered a terrifying legend regarding the invaders, screeching in astonishment, “Element Extraction?!”

“Only figured it out now?” Richard sneered with disdain, reaching out to play with the edge of his nameless sword. The child of the forest moaned in desperation, rolling around with all his might but unable to stop his body from shrivelling up. In but a few moments, all that was left of him was a dried corpse.

He used the last of his strength to turn over, no longer moving. A dark, blood-red crystal rolled out from his mouth, travelling a great distance before coming to a stop.

Richard finally sighed in relief, unable to hold on further as he collapsed back to the ground. Miserable cries rang out as the surviving elves and druids lost all will to fight, retreating into the forest. Only a fourth of those who had lain in ambush were able to escape.

Lying stomach-up, all Richard could see was the pale green sky. He felt his body growing extremely light, his thoughts wandering as though somewhat separated from the mortal coil. He felt absolutely empty, but something still seemed to flow out. It left him nervous.

Countless images started to flash past his mind, many memories that he thought he had burnt away. The first decade of his life flitted across his eyes, every scene still vivid and fresh.

......

“Mother, what kind of person is Father?”

“Well, he's a true man, a hero. He's also the worst villain, someone I hate the most!”

“Why doesn't he stay with us?”

“That's a secret!”

“Tell me!”

“When the day comes that my Little Richard becomes a real man, mother will tell you.”

“Then how do I become a real man?”

“Beat your father!”

“Mm!”

......

A flash of light suddenly jolted him from his reverie, the glow of divine magic. His floating mind was pulled back to his body, now feeling incredible. As his vision started to work again, Richard saw an exceptionally familiar face in front of him, a priest that Agamemnon had brought with him. He seemed to be working hard to cast the healing spells, old wrinkly face so fatigued it looked like a flower trampled over in the snow.

He turned to his left, seeing Agamemnon making an expression of pain that he imagined was quite similar to his own. To his right, Nyris was as beautiful as ever, eyes closed.

“Are you two out of your minds? Is it fun to kill yourselves?” he scolded them weakly.

“Fuck you!” was Agamemnon's response.

“Are you any better?” Surprisingly, Nyris was awake.

“Ah, fuck it!” Outside of cursing, Richard had nothing to say. He no longer bothered with the two maniacs, shouting to a royal guard in sight, “Oi, help me move, I need to check on that priestess!”

“Which priestess, Lord Richard?” one of the guards asked carefully, breaking out in a cold sweat.

“Who else? The one with the prettiest face!”

The soldier immediately helped carry Richard to Flowsand's side. Her eyes were closed tight, breathing weak, but she still didn't forget to give him the finger. Still, the corner of her lips were curved upwards in an irrepressible smile; she was obviously pleased.

Richard snorted, “Take me to the mage.”

“Which mage?” the guard asked. His future seemed even brighter.

“Obviously the one with the biggest breasts!” he responded, thus carried over to Lina as well.

“Hey. You're still alive, aren't you?” he asked, voice trembling.

“I still have dreams to achieve. How could I die just like that?!” Lina answered furiously.

He then had the soldier carry him once around the battlefield before returning to his original spot, placed on the grass once more. Although a little damp, this place was soft. To his left lay Agamemnon, to his right the Fourth Prince. He was at peace.

Richard suddenly burst into a giggle, and it was mere moments before Nyris did the same. Agamemnon eventually followed suit, three completely different types of laughter mixed together, echoing through the forest.

Next came dealing with the aftermath. A total of 130-odd soldiers had died on Richard's side, almost every one of the rest injured to some extent. Another three of his fifteen rune knights were gone as well. On the other hand, the elves had left behind a thousand warriors, elevel druids, 130 treants, and one child of the forest.

The tree of life was likely too far gone by now, but that didn't mean this was a wasted effort. The greatest spoils of this battle were the blood crystal from the child of the forest and his two-ended spear. That weapon seemed to approach the legendary grade, although how effective it would remain outside of the Forest Plane was still unclear.

A day later, Richard's army set off to return to Emerald City. The harvest was sizeable; outside of the blood crystal, they had acquired dozens of treant hearts as well. Still, the entire army was silent as they crossed back through the forest.

The soldiers had cut down trees to make stretchers for those who could not walk, with Richard, Nyris, and Agamemnon each having their own. When their gazes met, the three just looked helpless and rueful.

Agamemnon's intestines had been torn up, while almost all of Nyris' ribs were broken. The child of the forest had also broken the prince's arm when he tried to hold him back. Richard seemed much better off, the only problem being that he dropped back down to level 13. Having used Sacrifice twice in quick succession it would be strange if this hadn't happened. Thankfully that seemed to be the end of it, but one could never be sure of the dangers of overdrawing one's mana.

The best piece of news for him was that Flowsand's eyes were fine. Thankfully Nyris and Agamemnon had brought enough clerics of their own, she didn't need to help with the aftermath herself.

Silent as they were, the atmosphere in the army slowly relaxed. Eventually, one could even hear a few laughs sounding every once in a while.

......

Lina constantly fell in and out of consciousness once they returned to the city, the corrosive power behind Kaloh's breath lingering deep within her body. Although she had some resistance to the draconic might, she was still far from able to take on the red dragon's full-power breath at point-blank range.

All three core armies had been greatly damaged. Richard lost some Archeron warriors, while Nyris lost soldiers who qualified to become rune knights and Agamemnon lost some of his sanguinary guards as well. These were the most valuable assets of the three youths who were still building up their power.

A surprising eight of Richard's ten elite humanoid knights had died. Although the broodmother would definitely be able to make more in the long run, he still felt depressed and upset about it. This would be the last time, he told himself, He had to grow tough more quickly.

Olar had kept his life, but would need to recuperate for even longer than the Dragon Mage. On the other hand, Flowsand had only been weakened, eyes recovering rapidly until they were perfectly fine in a few days.

The greatest loss this battle had come from the death of Scherr. Pamir's display at the end of the display had been a disappointment as well; if not for Lina staking her life on the attack, they likely wouldn't have been able to keep the child of the forest around until the element extraction took effect. Of course, the child's life had been forfeit the moment Richard cut him with his sword; it was just a matter of whether they would get the blood crystal. Still, Pamir's performance was quite normal. Even powerful families could not force saints and grand mages to risk their lives on the battlefield. Richard could only turn a blind eye, not criticising him at all. In comparison, the Dragon Mage had truly gone above and beyond her duty.

563 - City of Sin

Undercurrent

Lina risking her life had netted them a blood crystal that could likely help one awaken a new bloodline, something that was no less valuable than a greater offering. Had the child of the forest been allowed to escape, his terrifying speed would have allowed him to make it an untold distance away before he turned into a corpse.

However, that wasn't the greatest gain of this battle. The friendship between Nyris, Agamemnon, and Richard had been forged strong in the face of a powerful enemy that left them all on the verge of death. All three had aided each other in combat, rushing into melee to ensure the others would not be killed. The decisions made in the heat of the moment had been based purely on instinct, with no chance to consider one's interests.

Their personalities and appearances were wildly distinct, but all three youths were simmering volcanoes on the verge of eruption. They were growing into their own strengths, but had yet to bring their dreams into reality. Now, they were more coordinated than ever. They spoke less than they ever had since entering the plane, all busy with their own issues, but they occasionally met to sample wine and drink tea.

......

One afternoon, Richard, Nyris, and Agamemnon were gathered together to discuss their next steps in the plane. The elves nearby had suffered heavy losses, one tribe having surrendered and another's tree of life forced to migrate. More than an entire tribe's worth of druids had been killed in the latest battle, with an even more painful loss of the child of the forest.

Richard found out that these children of the forest were the most outstanding elven geniuses, guardians of the world tree nearby who could communicate with and borrow its power. Every child had their own unique abilities, all wooded areas a playground for them to act as they wished in. They could even communicate with all flora, using the greenery as their eyes and ears.

The forest elves were heavily dependant on the trees of life, which became world trees when they grew to the fullest. Every expansive region only had one world tree within, wherein that tree was akin to a deity. This made the children of the forest similar to champions. They carried one or more young leaves from their patron tree with them everywhere they went, consuming it before battle to use the tree's energy to activate their own powerful bloodlines. The child that had dealt a huge blow to Richard's army was only level 18 or 19, but with the leaf he had grown terrifying enough to kill a saint in one flurry of blows.

Thankfully, they found it quite unlikely for the elves to dare challenge them again in the short term. There was even a chance that the third tree of life nearby had moved out as well, heading deeper into the forest. Still, the next time they fought the elves they would likely face multiple children of the forest or other similarly powerful beings. They would need to be prepared.

The Schumpeters had truly left behind a powerful deterrence here. Element extraction and the crystallising toxin had obviously traumatised the natives so much that their ancient treants, children of the forest, and other powerful beings didn't dare to appear close to the city. They had only fought back heavily after Richard stole away a tree of life. This was a blessing in disguise— had they been acting in full force from the start, he would have returned to a near unrecoverable situation.

After some discussion, the three eventually decided to auction off the blood crystal. All three of them came from powerful families already and had already awakened their abilities. Richard, in particular, couldn't even keep up with all the abilities he did have, another one would be pointless. The Archeron bloodline was suppressing his elven one ever since his truename was awakened, so any fresh ability would have no chance to grow. Surprisingly enough, even their followers already had powerful bloodline abilities or better options to grow their strength. Using this blood crystal would be a huge waste to most, while those that would stand to benefit were too weak to use it without repercussions.

Although this item wasn't all that useful to them, that didn't stand true universally. There were some high-ranking nobles that hadn't inherited any powerful bloodlines, and even those families with sometimes had successors who were duds. Such people would find this blood crystal invaluable. Please visit ｆ𝗿𝗲𝒆we𝚋ｎ૦𝘃𝚎𝒍. 𝒄o𝚖

None of the three left once the discussion came to an end, instead just sitting quietly with their own worries in mind. The silence was unnerving.

In the end, Nyris couldn't endure it any longer, “How's Lina doing?”

“Not... too well. Thankfully her mana can be restored, but her face... It might take a very long time.”

“Does she know?”

“Not yet. I'm worried she won't be able to take it once she comes to. Can you guys think of anything?”

Nyris looked towards Agamemnon, who remained silent for some time longer before speaking, “I can only think of two options. The first is a ceremony to the old dragon in the hopes of a corresponding blessing. The other is to advance. At her level, every frowth is a transformative process that can rebuild one's entire body. One's defects will be mended in the process, so the scars could fade away... Hmm, we could also look for grand priests of the Church, but that's unlikely.”

Richard sighed. Both methods Agamemnon had mentioned would need a long time to accomplish. Talk of blessings was basically building castles in the air, no normal ceremony could be guaranteed to solve that problem. At the very least, he hadn't seen anything similar in that long list he had seen before, although that meant very little considering just how many blessings the Eternal Dragon could grant. At this point, a ceremony was one's last bastion of hope for any problem in Norland.

“And what about you yourself?” Nyris shifted the topic, “When will you be back to full strength?”

Richard checked his mana pool for a moment of confirmation, “It's nothing. The loss wasn't all that great, so I'll be back to level 14 in about a month's time.”

Nyris nodded, seeming to sigh in relief. “Right, I suggest you ask Rosie for some help. Who knows, she might have a solution for you.”

“She can heal Lina?” Richard looked at the prince with ridicule.

“No, but she can at least help console her. A scarred face means very little to us; another woman might have a better perspective on this.”

Richard nodded in agreement, ending the meeting before heading directly to Lina's residence. Under the effects of medicine and healing spells, she was still in a deep sleep as the corrosive draconic power was slowly removed from her body.

A cleric coincidentally walked out of the room just as he reached it, looking a little tired. “How is she doing?” he asked.

“I already finished her dose of spells for today, my Lord. She is stable, and most of the draconic energy has faded away. She will awaken in another week at most, and her mana pool will be restored not long after.”

Richard nodded and entered the room to find the Dragon Mage asleep on the bed, a slight smile on her lips as she was in the midst of some unknown cheerful dream. Lifting the soft towel that covered the upper half of her face, he revealed only half of her beautiful and charming face. The other half was completely charred. This was the injury left behind by a direct impact from Kaloh's breath attack. Even the most powerful of divine spells at his disposal could not fully repair the damaged skin on her face.

He sighed silently, gazing on at her many scars. Unlike most of his father's other subordinates, the Dragon Mage's toughness was only for show. Her beauty was one of the two great pillars that supported her confidence, so it couldn't be known how this would affect her.

He then lifted Lina's blanket and lightly pulled down the clothing at her chest, placing his hand on her rune and carefully sensing its structure. A moment later he sighed in relief, knowing the damage had only been slight and would not affect normal use. He could repair the broken parts himself. This rune that was nearly grade 4 was meant to strengthen the connection between Lina and her red dragon. It established a spatial gate during summoning that allowed Kalot to enter the battlefield. It was the key to much of the Dragon Mage's strength.

Richard then instructed the maids to take good care of her before returning to his own laboratory. However, what he saw within instantly gave him a headache.

564 - City of Sin

Undercurrent(2)

Rosie was currently leaning over a table, drawing a portion of a rune while completely engrossed. Next to her left hand was a pile of completed rune intermediates, while on the right was a bunch of inks and runic base papers. Her fingers were smooth and stable as she drew strokes with his magic pen, some coarse and others delicate. This piece of divine equipment allowed the user to adjust the thickness of the lines as required with one's mind, and was extremely stable in one's hand. In addition to her mental fortitude that allowed her to focus on the same thing day in and day out, the work desk before her was her entire world.

Although the girl didn't have sufficient training and her level wasn't high enough to become a complete runemaster yet, she was already capable of helping Richard with some simpler parts of his rune sets. Although her rate of success couldn't compare with Richard's, the help of the divine pen ensured that she could at least go toe to toe with a true runemaster. One could not overstate the importance of her help— it saved an entire day of Richard's work per set, something he was definitely willing to give up some material efficiency for.

The sight of Rosie working on her runecrafting was normally quite beautiful, but things were different now. There was one more person in the lab— Flowsand.

The priestess was leant against the window, flipping through the Book of Time that she could never finish. Her posture showed off the moderate yet striking curves of her breast as well as her long, straight legs. The uninhibited girl had already kicked her shoes and socks aside, the supple look of her bare feet lit up by the sunlight streaming in awakening some primal desires.

With Flowsand present, Rosie's posture was something of concern too. Her upper body was leant forward over the table but her two legs were still completely straight, displaying their astonishing length and pushing out her pert buttocks as well. When Richard pushed the door and entered, the two girls adjusted their postures slightly to show off their best sides and defeat the opponent. Evidently, they were not as focused as they appeared to be.

The invisible pressure in the air suddenly made breathing difficult. Richard realised he had many important things to attend to outside, turning around to leave the way he came.

“Richard!” However, he was stopped by the call of a sweet voice that hid murderous intent.

He braced himself and headed in, “Flowsand! Why are you here? Is your body fully recovered?”

“I'm here to watch your runecrafting. Now that I've seen it, it truly is a complicated and tiring job.” The girl stared at him without blinking, and the only options for him to respond with were a smile, a smile, and a smile. Thankfully, she seemed surprisingly conversational today. She just snorted at his lack of response before pouting, “If I'd known, I wouldn't have used the Lens of Time then!”

Richard immediately recalled how she had nearly paid the price of her eyes to save his life, his heart growing tender as he reached out and pulled her into his embrace. He then started stroking her hair with considerable force, at which Flowsand purred in satisfaction, asking, “Have you checked on Lina?”

He grunted an affirmative, but a look of worry clouded his face, “I'm not sure how she'll react after she wakes up. The worst thing would be if she just acted calm and collected.”

“That's right, Lina's best when she acts delicate. Well, we'll see once she wakes up.” Flowsand found this to be a headache as well. She was extremely intelligent, but her eccentricities left her rather lacking at times when it came to the subtler details. Outside of her appearance, there was no part of her that could be termed 'delicate.'

“Rosie,” Richard suddenly called out, “Nyris told me to ask you if you have any solutions.”

The other girl immediately looked up from her work, saying indifferently, “There is a simple method. As long as someone pursues Miss Lina and makes her believe that her charm has not faded, things should be fine.”

““Pursue her?”” Flowsand and Richard exchanged glances. The former immediately started to search for suitable targets in his mind, while the latter found the suggestion quite strange. Still, the priestess eventually had to admit that this was a feasible method.

However, Lina was a grand mage who could summon a red dragon. The only one who could even match her status outside of Richard's trio was Pamir, and the old man was certainly not a good candidate. As for Nyris and Agamemnon, both of them were quite a bit younger than her.

It seemed like they would have to look for someone back in Norland. Still, even there they would face the same problem. Although Gaton's thirteen weren't the strongest powerhouses of the Alliance, they were rather famous. Taking into account the aspects of family and other circumstances, the list of valid suitors grew quite small. If not for that, Lina wouldn't have been single for so many years.

Rosie took a look at the frowning Richard and added, “It doesn't have to be pursuing her, necessarily. Even seduction will have a similar effect. Either thing can boost one's confidence based on the other party's status and power.”

Richard was suddenly enlightened, “Alright, then, it seems like Nyr and Ag can do this. They'll just have to sacrifice themselves for the cause!” Sometimes a good relationship could have negative effects. He had no problem offloading this issue to his friends.

However, Rosie shook her head, “They might not be suitable. Actually, the most suitable person,” She paused, carefully putting down the pen and placing another completed rune intermediate by the side before straightening her back and looking towards Richard, “is you.”
𝑓ree𝑤𝘦𝚋𝐧𝘰ve𝑙. co𝒎

“Me?” Richard immediately grew confused, and Flowsand's expression became marvellous to behold.

“I've heard Miss Lina has always had... unusual feelings for Marquess Gaton, but there hasn't been any news of her getting an answer. You share many traits with your father, including your... Umm, volcanic temper. It would be best if you did it. I've already noticed her looking at you a certain way on occasion.”

Rosie's words had an earth-shattering effect. Richard began to pale in speechlessness, feeling a powerful aura of death ready to erupt behind him. Still, she didn't even seem to notice as she continued calmly, “Since you only wish to let Miss Lina regain her confidence, you don't necessarily have to succeed either. Just teasing her once in a while will be good as well.

“Honestly, this is nothing much. Considering her personality, she shouldn't change much on the outside regardless. However, it's your choice whether inside her is sunshine or a storm.”

These last words truly left him between a rock and a hard place. Richard scratched his head as though wanting to tear his skin off, saying “I still think we should give Nyris a go. He's extremely bored anyway.”

Rosie just grinned slightly, not commenting on the plan of throwing a friend in the line of fire.

“What if the seduction is successful?” Flowsand suddenly hummed.

“Nothing. Miss Lina is exceptional in her own right, and there will always be a way for her to regain her looks. In the worst case, she can just create a mask,” Rosie played it down.

“But...” Flowsand felt like she was crazy. Wouldn't that put another person on Richard's bed? How big would it have to be to hold so many people? Something like this was hard to bring up, but seeing the glint in Rosie's eyes the priestess suddenly understood. She turned grim, sneering, “I guess you wouldn't mind another addition, would you?”

“Not at all.”

“How would we go about it?” Flowsand mocked, “Are we doing this together?”

“That's a possibility. I'm in no position to make any requests or objections, so I'll accept everything. However...” Rosie suddenly glanced at her, revealing a radiant smile, “If it's with you, Miss Flowsand, I'd look forward to it!”

At this point, Flowsand retreated in defeat.

Seeing the situation going south, Richard hastily broke them up. Ordering Rosie to continue with the runecrafting, he pulled Flowsand out of the laboratory without wasting a second to send her back. Allowing these two to stay together for even a moment too long would spell disaster for him.

However, Flowsand still didn't let it go. “Richard, do you have any opinions on all of us coming at you together?” she asked along the way.

Opinions? How could he have opinions? Just like Rosie had said, he'd look forward to it! Of course, this was something Richard would never willingly say. Deep in his mind, however, a little demon had silently peeked out from some corner with a suggestion. If Rosie was just left to do what she wanted, she might give him a good surprise.

A few days later, Lina finally came to. A low cry of shock rang out from her room before it went silent, and the Dragon Mage had the maids find her a full-face helmet before locking herself inside without letting anyone in. All that had rushed over to visit her upon hearing the news were left outside. Only in the evening did she leave on her own, her face now permanently frosted over.

......

After the huge battle, things had grown peaceful in the Forest Plane once more. The elves had completely vanished from the vicinity of Emerald City, and with a near guarantee that both trees of life had moved away Richard didn't want to send his own troops out into the area covered by the forest's will. Somehow, even Nyris' twitchiness had completely vanished.

Now, the only thing the soldiers did was cutting trees every day to gradually stretch out the limits of the city. For the first time in all the years they had owned this plane, they were cutting the jungle down faster than it could grow. The lumber that was felled was piled high as a mountain.

Nyris had already started on wood processing factories outside the city, trying to build five all at once. They would greatly increase the ease of transport back to Norland, and increase the value of their goods as well.

A group of mages worked on analysing whether something useful could be grown on the emptied soil. The climate and nature energy here made it the best environment for some rare vegetation even in Norland, but these botanists would have to find out whether the accelerated growth would cause any variations.

In the meanwhile, Richard just focused on restoring his mana pool.

565 - City of Sin

Double-Edged Sword

One couldn't find as many astral rays when meditating in the Forest Plane, but there were some light green vortices of light. These were things Richard had never seen outside this plane, extremely unstable and short-lived. Attempts at capturing a few revealed that they were packed with life energy, so pure that it could not be absorbed effectively without a corresponding ability or meditation technique.

Only a small amount of the energy in these life vortices could be converted to mana, most just scattered away. On the other hand, his elven bloodline could absorb almost all of it, but getting these vortices all the way there before they faded away was not so simple. On the other hand, although the Archeron bloodline didn't have an adverse reaction to this energy it could absorb very little itself. This was different from when he had meditated in the Archeron family tombs, where the elven bloodline had rejected that infernal energy outright.

These weren't the only things he had noticed while meditating. There were many floating droplets of energy in the air as well, inclined towards the water element and existing in tremendous quantities. However, despite multiple attempts to absorb them he found that these were even worse in terms of efficiency than the life vortices. Only his elemental trunk could completely absorb this energy, but that wasn't a direction he was currently working towards.

He now felt like each plane had certain energies unique to itself. Whether one could make use of these energies depended on practice and affinities, particularly affected by one's bloodline and abilities. Some energy was usable by all, which is what ordinary meditation techniques used to grow one's mana pool. The astral rays used by the Deepblue techniques used a higher form of energy that was almost omnipresent and distilled it, the only difference between various environments being the density.

The concentration of these various energies seemed to be correlated to the strength of the plane itself. The energy in Norland was far more concentrated than in any other plane he had been to, and most of it was universal as well. Secondary planes varied as well; there were those like the Forest Plane which held high concentrations of special types, while places like Faelor seemed to be just downgraded versions of Norland itself.

Richard guessed that this was the reason training on a primary plane was much faster than on most secondary planes. The upper limits of strength on a plane were fundamentally determined by its laws, which were likely linked to the density of energy present as well.

His own sea of consciousness was now a mysterious little space. Floating in the centre was a green plain with a five-trunked tree, some of its trunks better nourished than the others. The roots of these five trunks were connected to form one body, piercing through their pedestal to dance in the air below. Surrounding this world tree were patches of crimson veins that created an enormous network, lava flowing within. A few golden symbols occasionally weaved in and out of these veins, the awakened portion of his truename.

The astral rays headed for the tree now needed to pass through the mesh formed by his Archeron bloodline. This was a tedious job to accomplish since the sphere was constantly turning. To pass through the gaps needed a slew of calculations and a helping of luck. One in every two astral rays Richard caught lately was taken by the Archeron bloodline, suppressing his elven heritage.

He still remembered Sharon being quite curious of his mixed demonic and elven bloodlines when he first came to the Deepblue; this was likely why. These two bloodlines would not coexist easily.

Thankfully the Archeron blood didn't have much interest in the life vortices, even actively avoiding them. This allowed him to nurture his elven bloodline most efficiently, giving the astral affinity that was the core of his path to strength some space to breathe. Thus, whenever he was in the Forest Plane, he used all his might to capture these vortices.

......

The day before he would return to Norland, Richard was in the midst of meditation, carefully guiding a life vortex through the Archeron net with his mind. It suddenly trembled the moment before it reached the destination, breaking down into primal life energy before dispersing. Only a small portion of the scattered energy fused into his mana pool, the rest taking its time to disperse.

He set aside his frustrations and began leading another vortex nearby. This time, it failed even before it reached the Archeron sphere, fusing into his mana pool once more. His luck was quite bad; he failed six or seven times before managing to deliver the single vortex to his astral trunk.

The trunk suddenly lit up completely, a young branch that was growing at the top trembling as a fresh leaf grew out. The entire trunk shook the moment this leaf unfolded, shooting up in size until it turned into an enormous tree with a full crown, trunk and roots! Numerous leaves danced despite the lack of wind, emitting a blue radiance that covered it like a fantastical mist.

His astral affinity had been awakened to the fourth level, its trunk fully formed. A fresh young branch started to swell up from one of the four branches already present, a swollen flowerbud upon it the basis of whatever fifth ability he would unlock in the future.

The crown of the enlarged tree approached the perimeter of the Archeron bloodline's net. Numerous green tentacles reached out from the branches and leaves, exploring the blood sphere even as a few roots stretched out below to do the same. Countless faint lines of energy started to appear on the trunk, connecting the rest of the tree trunks to his Archeron bloodline.

Richard suddenly knew the ability he had unlocked at grade 4— Astral Conversion.

This ability allowed the trunk to absorb the energy he could not interface with automatically, converting it into astral rays. A lot of the power would be lost in the process, only a mere third remaining, but this was still much better than before. As his level continued to grow and his meditation technique was strengthened, foreign planes would increasingly grow unable to sustain his rate of growth. The most common type of energy even here was not the life vortices but water elemental energy, which took up four-fifths of the total energy here. The life vortices and astral rays combined were only worth 10% or so of the total space; without the conversion, these energies could not be utilised at all.

Although he hadn't reached that threshold yet, his mana growth would be limited after he passed level 16. This was an intrinsic method for a plane to suppress its powerhouses; the higher one's level, the more lacking the plane was. When one's level reached a certain point, they would basically gain nothing from lesser planes. In the Forest Plane, for instance, outside of druids, shamans, and forest warriors who used life energy as a basis of their power, most individuals would be suppressed once they crossed sainthood. It was only now that he understood just how much of a double-edged sword Unhurriedness was.

Richard's own mana was on the edge of level 14 now, and he would cross the threshold again in about a week. From level 14 to 15 one needed about a thousand points of mana, but even based on four hours of meditation a day that would only take him three to four months. This speed was already manifold that of an ordinary mage, a result of his meditation technique synergising so well with his bloodline. If he could allocate more of his time a day to meditation, he would grow at an unprecedented rate.

A thought suddenly struck him, sending him into a daze: if he was already so broken at this level, how were things for Sharon? He was suddenly very curious about the bloodline abilities of the legendary mage.

......

With those thoughts in mind, Richard and his group left the Forest Plane once more to return to Norland. Their goal this time was mainly another rune convention, but coincidentally enough the Sacred Alliance's imperial auction was also to be held on the same day. In the end, his convention had been merged into the auction's proceedings as well, any runes he released slated to be sold off on the same day.

There was no doubt that the imperial auction was more attractive towards the rich and powerful families than any single rune convention. Only the families that were bored and focused on intraplanar politics would lay their sights on Richard's event. However, things were the exact opposite for powerhouses. Many had made a mad dash for Faust once they learnt Richard was releasing new products, hoping to acquire some.

While the auction this time was rather hurried, it had managed to attract many powerful families from all over the continent. Even the mysterious Land of Flames at the extreme south end had sent some men over through a portal from the Church of the Eternal Dragon, not caring for the tremendous costs of doing so.

Many of these powers had come for one single item, something rarely ever seen in Norland: the fruit of life. The heads of powerful families, exceptional powerhouses nearing the end of their lives, various monarchs of different countries all wished to obtain this miraculous object. Another decade of life at one's peak was something invaluable.

566 - City of Sin

Roused

The powerful families gathering in Faust had greatly inflated the economy. Even the most ordinary of rooms in an inn had soared up to ten times the prior price, the entire city bearing witness to an enormous sum of money spent. Only the bidecennial Sacred Auction would be more prosperous than this.

However, right on the eve of the auction another explosive piece of news spread amongst the nobles that had reached Faust. It was a new addition to the list of auctioned items, a blood crystal that could possible grant one a bloodline ability! The royal family's appraisal master himself guaranteed that most would definitely grow one level after absorbing it, with a large possibility of obtaining one or maybe even two abilities as well. There was also a chance of outright obtaining the child of the forest's bloodline entirely, a bloodline that was towards the higher end of the middle ranks. This left most families just under the level of the fourteen going crazy over it!

When the event itself began, the newly appointed royal runemaster had the chance to hold his second rune convention right after the opening speech from the Emperor. Richard occupied one of the side halls of the auction building, using the same holographic display as he had before to showcase his runes. This hall was smaller than the one in the Temple of Glory, but just standing here meant one's goods were worth a hundred thousand gold. In an auction of this scale, the currency wasn't even measured in gold pieces but instead pure magic crystals that were worth a hundred thousand each.

This convention was different from the first. Nobody here was present for amusement anymore, every person in sight a walking pile of gold wrapped in extravagant satin clothing. Everyone present knew that it was impossible to even compete for Richard's runes without at least a million gold, even for individual parts.

When Richard walked onto the stage, the audience promptly broke out into hushed whispers. They had heard that the new royal runemaster of the Sacred Alliance was young, but only seeing it themselves could they ascertain just how incredible that was. Thankfully, this wasn't his first time; he was calm and steady from the get-go, reaching out to make a gentle gesture downwards with both hands to immediately silence the hall.

“It brings me great joy to see everyone once more!” he said brightly, “For this action, I am releasing a new rune set called the Guide of Secrets. This is a full grade 2 set formed of seven parts, and in front of you is one of its core runes, the Shield of Stars...”

His voice was cool as water, the hologram on stage constantly shifting as it demonstrated all seven runes. The hall remained deathly silent from the moment he started with the Shield of Stars to when he finished with the Heart of the Wild. The only sounds one could hear apart from his voice were a few obvious pants as the audience's breathing grew rougher.

It even remained silent for a moment after he was done. Somebody had to take the lead and clap, snapping everyone out of their reverie into a thunderous applause! While Savage Barrier and Savage Strike were amazing creations for a budding runemaster, extremely useful for regular rune knights, the Guide of Secrets was a full grade 2 set made purely of custom-designed runes. Even rarer was the fact that every one of these runes had a specific purpose that complemented everything else, creating a whole entity. This was a set with a soul!

The Guide of Secrets was specifically targeted at one class, greatly restricting the range of people that could use it. Still, there were quite a few powerhouses present who walked the path of assassination, and although most had their own runes with no lack of high-grade ones they couldn't control themselves at the sight.

Even a fool would know that killers almost exclusively operated in dark environments with complicated terrain. With the Guide of Secrets and Breath of Darkness activated, there was no way to accurately describe just how much of a boost this set would provide.

“Master Richard!” somebody suddenly shouted from under the stand, “May I know if this rune set has been tested before?”

Richard suddenly went blank, recalling Waterflower's splendid strike when she had demonstrated the set for him. “Certainly,” he said with a sigh, “In fact, I was inspired to create it by the existence of a natural assassin.”

Things immediately went silent under the stage. However, this was just a calm before the storm. The audience broke out in an uproar, pushing and squeezing around as numerous powerful auras rose up in the hall. The fervour at the scene grew nearly uncontrollable, surprising even Richard himself. Thankfully, he had great status in Faust; a row of imperial guards stood in front of the stage to protect him, the deterrence strong enough to calm things down once more.

All these powerhouses had extensive knowledge of how runes were made, and Richard's words only confirmed to them that he could custom-design entire rune sets for others. Many of those present, unless they had a body full of grade 4 runes, would rather just give up on any runes they did have to get him to design a full grade 2 set for them. Many powerful beings and others who were representing them started silently planning how they would get a set made for them.

The Guide of Secrets was just far too dazzling, to the point that the single runes Richard released afterwards received a lukewarm response. However, the grade 3 rune he introduced at the end still managed to cause a fair ruckus. It showed those present that he wasn't just talented— he truly had entered the realm of great runemasters!

In that moment, all glory belonged to him alone.

In the midst of the blazing atmosphere, there were still a few who looked rather defeated. One was Foster, while the others were Mensas, Josephs, or Schumpeters. Although most of these three families had been gravely hurt by Gaton time and time again, they were still powerful families with multiple private planes. The Guide of Secrets had a very narrow clientele and was likely difficult to produce, ensuring Richard would have to sell for five million at minimum to even break even, but a few million was nothing to them. What truly worried them was the extraordinary potential he was exhibiting, which meant countless powerful beings would be attempting to curry favour with him to get a rune set tailor-made.

The most difficult part of being a leader was not growing strong, personally or with regards to one's army; it was making connections. Absolute power was always the best way to retain full control, but in the human empires where that was near impossible politics was much more effective. A network was rather unreliable unless one put time into it, not something that could be accomplished with little time and limited benefits. However, Richard's newfound status as a great runemaster would easily allow him to breeze past this issue. The connections he would gain from this convention alone would be no less stable than any other relationship.

Most terrifying was that Richard was a planar war general as well. Nobody knew just how good he was, but the very fact that he was still alive showed a modicum of success. On top of that, he had also obtained the Deepblue's inheritance, and entered the ranks of great mages before even reaching twenty.

In any of these three areas alone, Richard's performance wasn't the most striking. There had been more talented runemasters in history, more frightening commanders, younger great mages. However, time and energy were limited resources; most people chose one path and tried to walk it to the end with unerring focus. It was near impossible to find someone like him who was developing so quickly in so many fields.

Before they even knew it, Richard had turned into a terrifying enemy that would only grow more difficult to eliminate as time passed. Raymond Joseph was right, they really should have invested more into taking care of this budding threat. However, these families were now caught in a dire situation; acknowledging their error wouldn't give them the chance to fix it.

In the end, Richard walked off the stage to the tune of roaring applause. This day would be marked in the history of the Sacred Alliance; it symbolised a hope for the Alliance's runecrafting to one day grow beyond the trenches it was currently in.

......

Following Richard's display was the official auction. There was one central stage surrounded by a dozen other side-halls. The details of the items sold on the main stage had long since been sent to targeted clients, while the side-halls were just rows of stores that auctioned off specialties from all over the continent. Just the rent for each store was a startling number.

Each side hall had a stage of its own, allowing people who felt like they had something of great value to auction it off on stage. Of course, one would need to pay a fee to the royal family to be allowed to use it. While the main venue was the most important one here, one could usually find some hidden gems in the side-halls as well. Having little interest in the items on the primary list, Richard had just skimmed over the pictures before wandering the side halls in search of something good.

Most of these items he had never seen before. However, Analytic ensured that he rarely made an error in judgement. If he couldn't understand the usage or origin of something at all, he would ask the owner of the store in detail. Those who could set up stores here possessed a wealth of knowledge about their wares and the experience to be able to explain them with clarity.

Whether they knew him or not, those who saw Richard's obsidian badge immediately grew enthusiastic. These badged themselves cost over 10,000 gold to make, and signified that their owners could spend at least 5,000,000. This was the highest distinction the Alliance would make.

With many runes on sale in the auction this time, the royal appraiser had estimated that Richard would earn anywhere up to eight million gold. They had thus given him the badge in advance without asking for any money, likely an added bonus for being a royal runemaster.

From a runemaster's perspective, the various materials, weapons, and other items greatly helped broaden Richard's perspective. There were even rare beasts being sold, as well as a fair number of slaves. However, these slaves were catered towards human nobility; they were mostly beautiful young girls of various exotic races.

Just as he walked past a store, the beast tooth bracelet at Richard's wrist suddenly emitted a faint ray of light even as it transmitted a weak hint of delight to his mind. It was as though it had met a close friend. Richard suddenly made a sound of surprise, pausing before glancing back at the store.

This was a little shop that looked no different from the rest, a family insignia sewn into a flag hung above. The design of the crest signified that this family had a very long history, having obtained merits in the last mainland war. Despite the small area, various goods were put on display. Even with Analytic, Richard couldn't determine the uses of some.

The owner of the shop seemed to have anticipated this situation, adding introductions and usage behind each item. Most of the display pieces on the shelves were samples to refer to; bulk orders would be taken separately. Richard casually walked around the shelves, picking up one or two materials to look at before casually placing them back down. However, when he walked further in and came across the items at the back, his gaze could no longer shift away.

The products on this shelf were quite notably from a foreign race, most of them adorned by some type of beast bones. Some had holes to hand from, others had feathers stuck on, and some more were covered with strong, bright colours. Since they were on display at the imperial auction, they were no ordinary adornments; Richard could sense a mysterious heavy aura akin to the howling of ferocious beasts.

In the end, his gaze landed on a rock-bead necklace with three sharp claws at the centre. The beads were all of different colours and lustre, but it was most certainly this item that had caused his bracelet to call out.

The moment he picked it up to take a look, a fat old man inside the shop immediately drew close, “Young mage, this is the Beastsoul Necklace. A ferocious beast's spirit has been sealed within using a secret method; if one activates it with their blood vitality, they can launch a spirit attack not one whit inferior to an all-out attack by a saint.”

“How many times can it be used?” Richard's interest was piqued. A full-power attack from a saint was no small matter. This necklace could easily be considered epic-grade.

567 - City of Sin

Teleport

“Theoretically, the Beastsoul Necklace has unlimited uses,” the balding man answered Richard, “However, it absorbs a tremendous amount of vitality. Even a powerful warrior cannot withstand it for an extended period of time. It should be used more as a final resort, a last card played in the hopes of survival.” His introduction was genuine without any pretence, something hard to come by amongst merchants. It immediately earned Richard's goodwill.

“Alright, I want this thing. How much?”

The old man's gaze flashed with greed as his eyes swept past the obsidian crest in front of Richard's chest, but he repressed his desires and flashed a sincere smile, “200,000 gold, young mage.”

Richard hesitated for a moment but eventually nodded his head. Retrieving two high-purity magic crystals from his pouch, he placed them down at the counter before stowing the necklace away. However, he had no intention of leaving just yet. His gaze swept back and forth across the other goods on the rack before he remarked somewhat casually, “You seem to have a lot of things that aren't from Norland.”

“Keen eyes. Most of the ornaments on this rack are from Klandor, beastsoul accessories handed down from the barbarian tribes. Their activation generally requires fresh blood and life force, which isn't an issue for their valiant warriors, but to the people of Norland, this is a huge burden. Still, they are a powerful supplement to Norland's style in a way. In crucial moments, they could save one's life.”

Richard merely smiled without much enthusiasm. The man's words held some truth, but they were somewhat biased as well. The beastsoul weapons from Klandor were immensely powerful but designed for the cultivation methods of the barbarians and their tyrannical physiques. The totem warriors could take the huge consumption in stride, but even they would eventually have to pay the price. This was one of the reasons the barbarian powerhouses were often much shorter lived than those of Norland. On the other hand, humans would be severely drained by such weapons as well; these sorts of weapons came with a heavy cost.

Although Richard didn't say anything outright, his expression told the fat man quite a bit. The merchant smiled even more modestly, allowing him to continue looking around the shop.

“I see a lot of your supplies come from Klandor. Are you quite familiar with the place?”

“Familiar? Young Mage, we Salsons even have a small fief in Klandor! We are no common traders!”

“A fief? The barbarians let you occupy their lands just like that? Besides, how do you maintain your network when you're governing in two separate continents?” Richard didn't beat around the bush, and the elderly man's smile only grew more amiable in response. He took his time giving a detailed account of the family's history, explaining their current situation.

The Salson Family was a seafaring clan, their ancestors amongst the first mariners to discover Klandor. They had developed a secret shipping route to and from the continent to grow their business for countless years, accumulating an enormous amount of wealth that allowed them to buy their own fief and become true nobles in Norland. Due to the efficiency of their operations, they had quickly risen up the ranks until the head of the family was a marquess.

One of the Salsons' ancestors had happened upon a dying barbarian at sea and had saved his life before sending him back to Klandor. Only later did they discover that the barbarian was the chief of a major tribe, who in thanks for saving his life gave them a small island next to the continent. This island was only ten or so kilometres away from Klandor's mainland, with natural ports on the cost. The Salsons had built a large fleet of ships to ply this ten-kilometre distance, before building a teleportation formation on the small island.

A formation that led to and from Norland! Richard's heartbeat instantly quickened. This formation solved his greatest problem, the endless time it would take to reach Klandor by ship. The naval journey was nearly two months long, and that was only in a situation where no accidents occurred. One could only be idle during their time on the ship while Faelor and the Forest Plane continued to move at an accelerated pace.

On top of that, he had promised himself that he would take Mountainsea back, not get himself thrashed into the seas by the barbarians. He had thus always devoted his efforts into planar expeditions to grow his ability as quickly as he could, waiting for the day when he could rightfully set foot in Mountainsea's homeland. Now, however, he had discovered a portal leading nearby.

He couldn't hold himself back anymore. He had already experienced the battlefield of despair, and was currently armed with powerful equipment and tyrannical bloodline abilities. With quite a bit of confidence in his own capability, he was very keen on the notion of heading over to get some experience.

Perhaps he might even meet her on the trip, he told himself.

Still, Richard didn't reveal his desire immediately. “I hear the barbarian tribes of Klandor don't have the greatest of relationships with the Millennial Empire. You mentioned that's where you purchased your fief, were you not pushed out and excluded later on?”

The pointed question drew a bitter laugh, “Excluded? Ha, how could that be the end of it? We Salsons were originally a part of the Millennial Empire, but when the warhawks were destroyed in Klandor the Empress asked to use our teleportation formation as a bridgehead to attack Klandor from. The leader back then eventually rejected the request.”

“That must have been a difficult decision,” Richard said with sympathy.

“Not at all!” the old man's face flashed with determination atypical of merchants, “We Salsons depended on the connection between the two continents to make our living for countless generations. The island near Klandor and our teleportation formation there was the family's lifeline. The Empress' request would have completely severed our connections with the barbarians, destroying us completely. Why would we fall on the blade for the Empress' personal wishes? Not one Salson agreed to the plan. Although we now wear noble clothing, we have not forgotten the pirate blood in our veins!”

“Courageous, then,” Richard corrected, “So, you lot sought refuge with the Sacred Alliance afterwards?”

The elderly man's face reddened as he sighed, “This... was something that couldn't be helped. There were just far too many imperial soldiers to fight back then, no matter how brave our men were we would not have been able to hold on. Still, it cannot really be considered seeking refuge either. We are now a completely independent territory, not a vassal of the Sacred Alliance.”

“Mm? That is... unexpected. Why?”

“For freedom!” the elderly man declared with vigour.
𝐟𝓇𝒆𝐞w𝐞𝙗𝓷o𝘷𝐞𝒍. c𝐨𝒎

Richard thought over it for a moment, a smile creeping up on his face, “It was for survival, wasn't it?” The man's face was now red as a tomato.

Forming an alliance was intrinsically different from becoming a subordinate. Given the circumstances, it would not have been surprising for the Millennial Empire to be enraged if the Salsons defected to the Sacred Alliance, putting their full strength into wiping out the family. The Sacred Alliance itself wouldn't really have the guts to risk a full war with the Millennial Empire for a mere marquess. With the Salsons declaring independence and continuing trade relations with both sides, both empires were forced to give them free berth.

Seeing the fat old man's expression, Richard sighed lightly. How wise and courageous did the family head then have to be to rescue them from such critical circumstances? A connection to the Sacred Alliance would not be enough; he had to have inflicted serious wound's to the Empire's military for them to let go of such an extraordinary march.

The merchant let out a sigh as well, likely thinking back to those days of blood and fire. He then gazed at Richard knowingly, “You wouldn't be so concerned about my family's history if you just wanted some beastsoul weapons.”

“Haha, yes. I would like to rent your family's teleportation formation for a trip to Klandor.”

The balding man glanced at the crest on Richard's robes, “Given such a background... You aren't interested in the trade profit, are you.”

“No, I just want to go meet someone.”

“Ooh!” the man's eyes sparkled, “There seems to be a story here! It's a beautiful girl, isn't it?”

Contrary to his expectations, Richard didn't respond immediately. Was Mountainsea beautiful? He had never really considered that fact before. He just felt that spending time with her left him comfortable and at ease.

“I... guess. She asked me to go find her once I'm stronger, if I were to go look for her now all of the young warriors from the barbarian tribes would come to challenge me. The five years she gave me are a long way off from completion, but I want to go try now.” Richard was lost in his memories, speaking more than he normally would.

A peculiar expression crossed the elderly man's face, but it was quickly concealed without a trace, “Alright then. In that case, I won't stand on ceremony either. I can authorise you to use the portal, but one way will be 250,000.”

“No problem!” Richard agreed without hesitation.

“When do you intend to use it?”

“Soon, I'll inform you once I'm ready. However, I believe this calls for a proper round of introductions.” Richard extended his hand to the elderly man, “Richard Archeron, the acting head of the Archeron Family and a royal runemaster of the Sacred Alliance.”

The elderly man was instantly startled, “Ah! The rune convention in the morning was held by you?”

“Yes.”

The merchant let out a long breath before remarking, “What an extraordinary fellow! Very well, I am Pipin Salson, the former clan head of the Salson Family. I'm the one who fought off those fellows from the Millennial Empire back then!”

Richard was startled as well, but a smile appeared soon after. The hands of the elder and the youth grasped tightly together.

“Let me know when you are ready. The gate on this end is in my family's territory, which is a few days of travel. Keep in mind that the teleportation costs 500,000 gold, no discounts!”

Richard began to laugh, “Yoy can't inflate the price simply because I'm a runemaster!”

“No, this is just the total price for the round trip!”

“Alright, thank you!” Richard then left his contact details behind before sauntering away from the shop.

The old man watched the receding back in wonder, shaking his head before clicking his tongue, “What should I say about you? Are you brave or just foolish? Five years... To have designs on Her Highness, such nerve. She's the ruler of all of Klandor! But still... you seem scarred from the battlefield of despair at such a young age. It isn't yet time for the shrine's inheritance either. You should be able to make it back alive this time around...

“... Right?”

568 - City of Sin

Honouring Promises

The annual imperial auction had thus come to an end. This one was especially celebrated by its attendees, the fruit of life and blood crystal sold off for tens of millions of gold. The spear of the child of the forest was determined to be a legendary item, but it was only sold off for two million because of a slew of constraints on its might. These goods were impossible to buy based on wealth alone, normally only making their appearance in certain private auctions. Most prouder nobles disregarded any issue that could be resolved with gold, not even bothering to bargain on such matters.

Richard's single runes had sold for about 2 million gold in total, a rather unexpected value. However, the final price of the Guide of Secrets was only 5.5 million gold. His enemies were secretly relieved, thinking he would do great just to break even. The pressure his potential was starting to put on them was growing greater and greater by the day; what they had believed to be a pawn to target Gaton over had turned into a suffocating threat in itself.

Calculating his income from the auction, Richard was astonished to find that he was nearly 15 million gold richer than before. This wasn't even considering the sale of the latest batch of woods and other resources from the Forest Plane. Even he couldn't help but wonder just how he had grown rich once more so quickly.

If a runemaster was a gold mine, then someone like Richard was a surface-level quarry that was manned by an alchemic machine designed by gnomes and powered by dragon blood.

He directly purchased 3 million's worth of materials through Nyris once more, sending 2 million to Blackgold and buying enchanted equipment worth 8 million. Eventually, he realised his funds had dwindled once more; the coin flowed out just as rapidly as it flowed in.

However, Richard wasn't someone looking to try and save money. He quickly threw his grouses to the back of his mind and gave the old steward some instructions before summoning Fuschia into his study, “Pack your things, we'll be leaving for Earl Alice in an hour.”

Fuschia was confused at the suddenness of it all, “On such short notice? Why are we visiting my Lady?”

“What do you mean?” Richard replied with a quizzical look, “I want to honour our agreement, of course.”

“What?! I- I mean, you're always so busy. How could we trouble you to come all the way for something so trivial?”

“This is related to the Archerons' goddess of war, how could it be trivial?” Richard laughed, putting a small magic sealing chest on the desk and opening it up. The dazzling lights of seven full Savage Barrier sets within almost blinded Fuschia.

“These are...” the woman's throat seemed to dry up immediately.

“Seven sets of Savage Barrier, effects even better than the original ones I showed you earlier. I've made some special improvements to these, they're all grade 2 rune sets.” When it came to his own creations, Richard was naturally filled with confidence.

“Alright, seven sets... Master Richard, are we really leaving now?” Fuschia asked another strange question.

Richard looked at her as though she had gone senile, asking, “Was I not speaking Norlandese?”

“Well, I was thinking in elvish,” she deflected.

“Ha, you understand elvish?”

“Only a little, I was hoping to learn from you.”

“Where would I have the time to do that? Go find another mage to learn from. Alright, pack quickly. I'm only going to be waiting for an hour!” Richard had already pulled out a map of Norland, starting to plan their route.

“Why don't I arrange for a carriage?” Fuschia still held on, “The ride should be very comfortable, why don't we leave tomorrow morning?”

Richard's brows furrowed and the smile faded, replaced by a grim look that was indescribably majestic, “Fuschia. Was I negotiating with you?”

The woman shuddered slightly and bit her lower lip, struggling with despair, “Then... How are we going there?”

“Griffins, of course. I prepared four to carry us in shifts, we can reach the Earl's castle in six hours.”

“Six... Six hours!” Fuschia's mouth now gaped so wide a duck's egg could fit in.

“Yes, that's why you only have an hour to prepare! Go quickly, and don't forget to notify Alice. I'd like to dine with her tonight.”

“I'll need two hours!” Fuschia gritted her teeth.

“And why is that?”

“Notifying my Lady will take time. Besides, I haven't bathed, my clothes need changing, and I need to pack as well... I'm a woman!”

“An hour and a half or I leave alone!” Richard said. This was his bottom line.

“... Alright,” she replied in defeat.

An hour and a half later, Fuschia hurried to the griffin stables. She was still late by five minutes, claiming some interference in the communication channel between her and the Earl that delayed her message. Richard furrowed his brow and pointed at a griffin by his side, “Get on, we leave immediately.”

Fuschia tightened the straps of her pack and hopped onto the griffin's back before turning to look at Richard. Carrying a backpack with the chest containing the runes, he slung his two swords across another before hopping on himself. His body stuck strangely close to the creature, movements containing no elegance but managing to seat him with minimal action. This was the style of someone used to efficiency in combat. The sight shocked her, a shadow of Beye converging in her mind.

Still, even as she was distracted clear screeches rang out as the four griffins took off from the floating island in unison, flying in a great semicircle before heading towards Alice's earldom. Richard took the lead, studying the landscape along the way and comparing it to the map he had memorised as he made the necessary adjustments to their flight path. With great confidence in his own abilities, he didn't need Fuschia's guidance.

As such, the woman following behind was left utterly hopeless without a single chance to lead him astray. Seeing the towns pass by underneath she wanted to tell him that they were headed in the wrong direction, pulling him off course for a portion of the journey, but looking at him forging ahead with no hesitation she couldn't bring herself to utter the words.

The four griffins flew with no rest, almost within touching distance of the clouds overhead. The wind was harsh and cold, leaving even a level 19 warrior like Fuschia quite uncomfortable, but Richard didn't seem to be affected at all as he didn't so much as move save for the occasional adjustments to his posture.

Three hours later, Richard had the griffins land on a patch of grace and fed them some vitality potions, tossing in some fresh meat he had prepared beforehand. Giving them twenty minutes of rest, they changed mounts and continued along for the rest of the journey.

......

Earl Alice's castle was named the Undying Volcano. The stone used to build it was a deep red, but as time flew by it had faded to black in some spots. As the sunset covered the castle and the city sprawled out underneath in a lazy crimson, it looked the walls were made of solidifying lava.

In the uppermost level of the castle, the goddess of war who was worshipped in the hearts of all her citizens was pacing back and forth in frustration. She suddenly grabbed a piece of paper on her desk and looked over it once more before crushing it into a ball, tossing it angrily into a rubbish bin. However, that did not placate her; she summoned the crushed paper back with an outstretched hand and then rubbed it between her palms. A green smoke wafted out from within, the paper turned to nothing but ash.

However, the contents of that letter were already etched into her mind. It was a simple code made of magical symbols, translating to: 'Richard is estimated to arrive in 7.5 hours. He has seven grade 2 rune sets with him.'

“Seven sets!” Alice was on the verge of tearing her crimson hear out, gnashing her teeth in rage. How could he send over seven full sets so easily? Since when were rune knights so worthless that he could make so many in less than a year?

She desperately wanted to believe everything she had read was an illusion. As an undefeated general who had fought for many years, she had no more than thirty rune knights herself. A good portion of them were even a mix of grade 1 runes, completely unremarkable.

“How could there be seven sets? Fuschia must have made a mistake, she's always careless!” the Earl clenched her jaw, face just as red as the setting sun.

Eventually, she remembered to check the time and glanced at her clock, jumping in shock. Even in her first battle at thirteen years of age when the head of an enemy she had decapitated brushed past her face she hadn't felt so helpless. Even when those empty eyes had just stared into hers, she hadn't panicked. She finally resolved herself and grabbed a red rope on the wall of her study.

*Ding Dong! Ding Dong!* The bronze bell in the clock tower rang out. Everyone in the castle, barracks, and even the city immediately stopped in their tracks, looking towards the castle and silently counting the number of rings. Alice tugged on the robe one movement at a time, the steely composure of the war goddess returned to her face.

569 - City of Sin

A Pointless War

The bell tolled a total of nine times! This was a sign of the highest level of emergency, requiring all troops to assemble immediately. Everyone in the barracks and castle immediately sprung to action, dashing to the armoury regardless of personal circumstances to arm themselves as quickly as possible. Carrying rations and supplies for their warhorses, the soldiers then rushed to the training grounds that were shadowed by the castle building.

The castle gates opened a short while later, Alice riding out in her fiery red and gold armour. All of her important generals were gathered behind, ready to take action immediately. It had been no more than twenty minutes since the alarm was rung, but the grounds were already filled with armoured warriors. Outside of the heavy cavalry that needed more time to equip themselves and their horses, the remaining soldiers were arrayed into formations. In a mere five minutes, the rune knights and heavy cavalry would be present as well.

The Earl flourished her longsword, crying out, “Warriors, the time for war is upon us once more, and our enemies will taste defeat again! The first, second, and fourth battalions are to follow me and my rune knights. The third will defend the castle, and the fifth will patrol the city. Follow me!”

She pointed her longsword outwards, and the rows of warriors started marching out on the road exiting the city. The sheer discipline of these soldiers made it evident that they were all battle-hardened veterans.

However, these troops had pathetic equipment for a noble's standard, especially the footsoldiers whose equipment was clearly seized from their enemies. The mottled army had become something of a symbol of the Archerons; the faster their expansion, the more colourful their soldiers became.

The deployment was sudden and completely unexpected; some of the soldiers had to scramble from the middle of a meal. Still, their morale was high with no signs of hesitation on their faces. The Archeron war goddess had led them to countless victories in the past, and they trusted her to continue on that path. Although mobilising troops close to dinnertime was strange, Alice's strategies were often elusive and required being able to fight at any time. They were no strangers to marching in the night.

The soldiers might have been confident, but the generals were just confused. They wracked their heads for an answer, but couldn't think of any issue lately that would demand a military response. Alice had recently won several major battles, getting everything she could want for the time being. With their surroundings all calm, who were they going to fight?

A heavily bearded warrior approached Alice once they left the city, one of her most trusted generals, “My Lady, who are we fighting this time?”

“I don't know! We'll think of it when we enter Sacred Tree territory!” The general was stunned by the answer. They had mobilised most of the army but they had no target? Alice knew she had made a mistake the moment the words left her mouth, but without the ability to change the past she silently continued to have the army forge ahead at full speed.

The generals exchanged glances, their faces grim. There were only two possible explanations for which their lady would keep information about the target from even them: there were traitors in the ranks, or the enemy was so strong they would need to use unorthodox strategies to win. Either way, this battle would need them to give it their everything. They started to make their own preparations seriously, no one noticing that Alice looked more like she was fleeing an enemy than chasing one.

......
ƒ𝓇ℯ𝑒𝒘𝐞𝚋𝓃𝚘𝚟e𝚕. 𝒄𝗼𝐦

As the shadow of the night covered the Undying Volcano, a few clear shrieks rang through the sky. A navigational whistle came from below and four griffins descended upon the castle's landing platform. Richard dismounted and stretched his stiff body, handing the griffins and his luggage to an attendant that had rushed over before scanning his surroundings.

“An elegant design,” he said with a nod, “Even better that its cost was kept so minimal.”

The general left behind to guard the castle was naturally delighted at this evaluation. Hearing such praise from the acting family head, the royal runemaster, would bring pride to anyone serving the Earl.

However, Fuschia was completely baffled instead. The Archerons were a young family that were expanding far too swiftly, not waiting to accumulate capital on their way up. Frugality was thus necessary in many areas, and had become second nature to every powerful Archeron. This was especially true amongst those branches that were only a generation old, like Alice's and Gaton's. But none of this applied to Richard. His army was already well-established, powerful followers controlling masses of elite troops. With his talent at runecrafting, gold was flowing into his pockets every day. Even without actively seeking information one would see all sorts of equipment and other materiel being moved in and out of the Archeron island's warehouse, a massive flow of cash. Richard earned fast and spent even faster.

One could even say the royal runemaster had no concept of frugality at all. He constantly spent gold to improve his soldiers' weaponry and augment their combat prowess, his army already on par with most other top families of the Sacred Alliance when it came to equipment alone. Still he showed no signs of reining it in, set on the path to crush his opponents with superior weapons and armour alone. How could such a person even understand the concept of being a spendthrift?

Thus, when she heard praise for frugality coming from Richard's mouth, Fuschia was left with her hair standing on end.

In the meanwhile, Richard exchanged a military greeting with the general and continued to speak, “I am Richard, and have an appointment with Earl Alice tonight. Please bring me to her.”

However, he was met with an unexpected flash of awkwardness on the general's face, “About that... Apologies, Lord Richard. There was a military emergency just now, and my Lady just set off with her troops.”

“Military emergency?” Richard's face grew animated for a moment, but he quickly regained his calmness, “Where is this emergency that she had to leave in the middle of the night for?”

“She did not say. This seems to be a secret mission,” the man said with apology written all over his face. Had he known that his fellow generals following Alice didn't know where they were going either, he might have been worried instead.

Richard smiled at the man's response, “Did she bring many men along?”

“Quite a few! All of her elite footsoldiers, heavy cavalry, and rune knights were mobilised, leaving only two battalions to defend the city and castle. It looks like the battle will be very fierce.”

“This does sound quite serious,” Richard said casually, a hint of incredulity in his voice, “Right, how many rune knights does Alice have?”

The general immediately started muttering softly awkwardly, forcing Fuschia to step in, “There is no need to worry, Lord Richard is no outsider.”

This visibly relaxed the man, “My Lady currently has thirty rune knights in total.”

“Mm, not a small number.” Richard then pointed at the four exhausted griffins, “Have someone take good care of them, and if you have any good griffins to spare give me four. I have to leave early tomorrow morning.”

“You're leaving so quickly? You came from so far away, should you not stay and visit a little? The scenery around the Undying Volcano is renowned!” The surprised general tried to make Richard stay, but Fuschia just heaved a sigh of relief in the corner.

Richard's smile filled up with charisma in response, “A fine suggestion, but I can only stay the night. How about this? If it isn't too much trouble, give me a tour of the city first. We can then visit the barracks before looking around the interior of the castle. What say you?”

The general and Fuschia felt a little uncomfortable at that, but not heeding even a trivial request like that would be extremely disrespectful. The man steeled himself, “Will you not have dinner first, Lord Richard?”

Richard casually waved it off, “I ate on the way. Let's leave, time is limited and this is my first time visiting my lady's castle. I'd like to see how the goddess of war runs her fief.”

Left with no choice, the general ordered a servant to fetch a few horses, giving Richard one and leading him out the castle gates towards the city square. Richard had courteously asked Fuschia to get some rest, but she remained adamant in following him. She felt a sort of ill omen with his presence near the Undying Volcano, and his nonchalance at Alice's absence did not help.

The long hours of continuous flight had left her exhausted, while Richard was only a mage. No matter how fit he was, how could he possibly endure more travel than her? He had managed to eat and drink even atop the griffin, as though he had grown up on its back. One had to know that even breathing could be difficult in the sharp gales kilometres into the sky. However, thinking of how he had climbed on at the start of their journey, she couldn't bring herself to question him.

They went around the city in a trot, watching the smoke rise up from the chimneys of the growing town. The city was relatively small, having only 30,000 citizens, but one could see levelled lands and demarcations for new roads on the perimeter, but development was not yet underway. Most of the older buildings in the city were small and weak, even the newer ones rather unremarkable, but there were signs of growth everywhere.

Hope was plastered across every citizen's face.

570 - City of Sin

Klandor

Richard was impressed by the tree-lined streets and fully developed sewage system. Asking a few casual questions regarding tax rate and population, he quickly noticed that an enormous sum had been spent on the people's welfare. Alice was most certainly not earning any money from her citizens, perhaps even losing it instead.

Just as they reached the city gates, he suddenly dismounted from his horse and examined the deep hoofprints on the ground carefully. Fuschia's glance wandered over as well and her heart immediately skipped a beat. Even she could tell that these prints were less than an hour old, something Richard would definitely notice as well. With the griffins on hand, he would be able to catch up to Alice's troops quite quickly.

However, he just squatted there for a long time before acting like he hadn't discovered anything. Mounting his horse once more, he turned towards the general, “Let's take a look at the barracks.”

Fuschia let out a sigh of relief, cold sweat beading all over her body. Although the situation hadn't devolved, she started blaming her lady for escaping too late. If Richard had taken some faster griffins or not used the twenty minutes of rest, Alice would have been trapped in her castle with no way to fumble her way out of the situation.

When they arrived at the barracks, the general arranged for a small troop to demonstrate their training for Richard. He then followed reservedly to the castle, where a butler was already waiting with a guest room prepared. The general showed some measure of reluctance to show him Alice's study, but a glance from Fuschia got him to agree.

The Earl's study was rather rich and colourful, the chairs, bookshelves, and tables all a third larger than normal. Decorative carvings could be seen everywhere, but the patterns adorning these showpieces were quite simple. This room shone through in its fluid craftsmanship, displaying a low-profile luxury rather reminiscent of old-fashioned nobles.

The only issue was that much of the furniture and decoration here was just too new. Ash wasn't yet caked into the fireplace, no sign of ageing on the various baubles. This was the primary difference of this castle from that of a more renowned aristocrat— one of the two most important rooms within had ornaments and sculptures placed within that weren't up to standard. Even the painting on the wall was a replica.

The study had a partial map of the borders of the Sacred Alliance hung on a wall, Alice's territory and its surrounding conditions marked out clearly. Richard approached the map and pored over it for a bit before walking over to the desk, sitting right on the table as he was used to before fixing his eyes on Fuschia.

The gaze left the woman sweating buckets; never had she thought the gaze of someone so much younger than her would leave her so suffocated. However, this wasn't due to any powerful aura on Richard's part; she was just drowning in guilt.

“I can tell the Earl isn't doing all that well,” he said indifferently.

“Yes. My Lady uses all of her money on the development of the territory and the welfare of her soldiers,” Fuschia admitted. Outside of Sauron and Goliath who inherited their positions from their ancestors, none of the Archerons were rich. Gaton himself was no better than Alice; forget personal pleasure, even the equipment of his soldiers wasn't all that great.

“Alright then, I'll leave these here.” Richard placed the small chest with seven rune sets on Alice's work desk. Fuschia opened her mouth in response, but was unable to muster a single word.

The woman suddenly felt weak and powerless, only able to nod dumbly. She was well aware of the value of that box: it contained nine million gold in runes! Such an amount was several times greater than Alice's combined revenue from her lands and private planes!

Richard laughed, not saying another word as he allowed himself to be led to the guest room he had been allocated. Sitting down with a view of the starry sky, he delved into meditation.

......

Alice's soldiers were busy setting up camp within the wilderness. While her generals were gathered together to ensure full preparations before the war, she was instead wandering the woods aimlessly. The Earl was not vexed and uneasy, not knowing where to go or what to do. She had managed to escape her castle, but now she had mobilised an army without a purpose.

It was all because of those runes. Why did they have to be sets?! When she had first given her conditions for the marriage, there was no expectation that they would be fulfilled anytime soon. Even if he had talent, Richard wasn't supposed to be this fast.

She had convinced herself that the first set he had given her as down payment as a price for controlling Sauron and Goliath. On the pretext that she was helping him maintain control of the floating island, she had accepted it without any guilt. However, these seven sets were different.

Alice grew more and more annoyed at the thought Richard and the runes. A rage boiled up from the bottom of her heart, a single punch breaking down a thick, old tree. The prickling pain in her fist helped her cool off a little.

While Richard was meditating peacefully under the starry sky, she went on a rampage in the forest.

......

Richard rode his griffin into blue skies the next morning, heading south-east alone. Fuschia stood rooted to the ground, watching as his silhouette gradually merged into the clouds on the horizon. She finally let out a sigh that she had been holding in for almost an entire day.

This flight took three days and three nights, taking him across almost half of the mainland. It was only early morning of the fourth day that he saw the boundless sea.

He had left a rather sizeable war in his wake. Alice's troops had passed through two nobles' territories and charged straight towards Duke Solam at the speed of lightning, the war so sudden that the Duke was caught unprepared. He barely managed to mobilise a small army, holding a decisive battle in a small town called Feura that was 47 kilometres from his borders.

Alice had given up on her usual erratic style of command for this battle, fighting head-on against the Duke's troops. The war was short but fierce, Solam's advantages in might and terrain overpowered by her exquisite command. However, Alice had paid a hefty price for this victory; this was the largest casualty rate her army had faced in recent years. When Solam's army retreated, she had to withdraw from the territory as well.

The outside world didn't understand the point of this war at all. Alice had taken a huge risk charging through the fiefs of multiple nobles, heading deep into enemy borders for no advantages at all. The Duke had sustained some damage— Feura's famous hot spring was destroyed to the point that it would not be recoverable for the next ten years— but there wasn't much loot to be had.

Was she just venting some past grievances? Whatever it was, this direct assault had dispelled the notion that Alice only knew guerilla warfare, solidifying her reputation even further. However, those proficient in military matters chose to reserve their opinions instead. The Earl had been feared for her keen outlook on strategy, the ability to force her enemies into misplaced battles where she could achieve great benefits at minimal cost. However, the victory over Duke Solam was a pyrrhic one. She ultimately gained nothing, and the loss of the resorts wouldn't greatly affect the Duke's economy either.

Word spread that Alice had gotten a mage to make a large basin of ice water for her after the battle, pouring it directly onto her head. This little detail piqued the interests of the upper class, discussions about her psychological state now making their way to tea tables. Nobody noticed the four griffins that had arrived at the Undying Volcano close to nightfall and left at dawn.

......

In front of Richard was a magnificent palace that contained hints of the barbarians' style. Inside was the portal that led to Klandor's mainland, currently under heavy guard by a dozen soldiers that were all above level 13. Even a bird wouldn't be able to sneak in.

The old man Richard had met in Faust was standing next to him, pointing out parts of a map of the barbarian continent as he mentioned things to be aware of on the other side. The map showed that Klandor's mainland was no smaller than Norland itself, but outside of the two huge mountain ranges and a large river, only a small part in the west was marked out in detail. The rest was almost completely blank; one family could only do so much in a few centuries. It was difficult for the Salsons to leave the range of their allies in Klandor, lest they be attacked by hostile barbarians.

The old man flashed a helpless smile after finishing his explanation, rolling up the map and putting it in Richard's hand, “This is all I can help you with.I have arranged for a ship on the other side to take you off the island, and as a distinguished guest of the Salson Family the Windstep Tribe's barbarians will be friendly to you. But beware: the moment you leave their territory, you might meet with danger at any time.”

571 - City of Sin

A Land Of Heroes

Richard grinned at the old man, producing a small pouch with five high-purity magic crystals stuffed within, “Here's the round trip fee.”

The old man took the pouch and tossed it to the servants beside him, saying earnestly, “This trip of yours could be more troublesome than you imagine.”

“I'm aware!”

“Haha! Go, then!” the man slapped him on the back like an affectionate uncle or grandfather, “I hope I get the chance to earn 250,000 gold for nothing!”

“You won't get that chance, old man!” Richard gave him the finger in answer, walking into the portal. Magical light flashed, and he quickly found himself on a little island tens of thousands of kilometres away.

The island itself was small, but the scale of operations was not. More than a thousand people were gathered here, mostly Norlanders but with some barbarians mixed in as well. Someone immediately walked over the moment Richard exited the formation, guiding him to the pier where a little sailboat had already been prepared with rations and some items that could be of use on Klandor.

The captain immediately set off the moment Richard got on, telling Richard about the route they would take and giving him the opportunity to eat, drink, and rest up.

Richard took the brief respite to go through all the cards he had on hand. Two great blessings, two powerful bloodlines, his two swords, the Twin of Destiny. His multiple runes of which the most powerful was Mana Armament, a powerful magic device in the form of the Book of Holding, and a truename that was partially awakened. Although he was only level 14, he had no need to fear Klandor. It would be impossible to win against Mountainsea as he was, but there would be no problems taking care of himself.

It took about an hour for the boat to near the continent, the desolate winds giving rise to great waves that forced them up and down. The tides grew more ferocious the closer they got to the mainland, forcing them to expend a lot of effort to reach the port on the other side.

This port was controlled by a barbarian tribe with tall totems erected everywhere. Colourful banners were tied atop these totems, dancing wildly in the winds. The pier was nowhere nearly as exquisite as those of Norland, just a bunch of logs that had been cut up and nailed together to make a crude frame. The crew of the boat threw two cables onto the pier, and a pair of burly barbarians used them to pull the boat onto the bank.

When Richard jumped ashore, his heart started pounding with excitement. He could vaguely see a mountain range in the distance, the seemingly larger sky broken by huge eagles flying across. Just looking at the desolate tribe up ahead made him feel like his horizons were broadened.

“This is as far as I can go, Mr. Richard. You're on your own for the rest.”

Richard nodded at the captain's words, stuffing a small bag of gold into his hands before heading in the direction of the barbarian tribe. “Thank you, Sir!” a voice rang out behind his back.

He noticed that the Windstep Tribe had been noticeably influenced by the style of Norland. Some of their buildings were made of brick and stone, some even spanning multiple storeys. The central building was even three floors tall. According to his knowledge, the barbarian tribes were supposed to be made up of wooden tents covered in beast skin.

However, these buildings still retained the air of tradition of the tribe. The walls of the buildings had all been painted white and were covered in dull red patterns, with gigantic totems in the shape of eagle wings placed atop the roofs. Colourful cloth could still be seen everywhere on the bricks.

Many barbarian women were in the midst of catching fish and cutting them up on the spot, placing the meat in wicker baskets. A group of children were playing around barefoot, running past him while laughing cheerfully. The stone road was rough and uneven, sharp corners and thorns in many places, but as the barefooted kids ran over these points they didn't seem to be injured in the slightest.

He caught sight of a few burly men carrying logs thicker than their waists towards the pier, planting them into the sea to secure it further. Majestic cries rang out on the outskirts of the tribe as the hunting team returned, the dozen or so half-naked men carrying a strange beast that looked almost like a small hill. Muscles bulged out all over their bodies, glossy skin marred by a myriad of scars. Their quarry this time was obviously special, a huge cheer erupting from the tribe members. Men, women, elderly, and youth all surged outside to welcome the returning warriors.

The scene of harmony and happiness allowed one to sense just how determined the barbarians were, fighting for survival despite the danger of their environment. Those who managed to grow in this world were all naturally courageous warriors.

There was a sizeable market in the tribe as well, with many types of shops around. Norlanders wearing barbarian clothing could be seen moving around from time to time, those of the Salson Family mingling with the locals for trade. It wasn't difficult to notice that there were nearly as many warehouses nearby as there were residents; this unremarkable little tribe was the source of a large number of goods.

Richard headed outside the tribe, finding his bearings and heading north-east. Based on the Salsons' map, this was the way to the centre of the continent. The tribe behind him quickly disappeared from sight, the coast fading into a boundless plain.

Klandor was currently in a drought, wilted grasses barely covering the ground while a pitiful number of trees dotted the savannah. The weather was bright and sunny, giving one an expansive field of vision. A lone eagle was circling overhead, eyeing a group of gnu goats that was lazily strolling through the land. A pack of coyotes trailed close behind, awaiting their own chance to feed.

A group of tyrannosaurs were resting under the shade of a large tree a few hundred metres away, completely ignoring the food nearby. These creatures that could grow as tall as three metres were at the top of the food chain in this part of the plains, but once they had their fill they were too lazy to move for days on end. Killing one was part of the coming-of-age ceremony for young barbarians.

This was Klandor, a land of heroes.

As he stood silently, taking it all in as a memory drifted into his mind, 'If you decide you want to become my man, then just blow on the whistle as you step into mainland Klandor. I'll join you for the ultimate duel...'

He didn't know yet if he wanted to be her man, but he did want to see her. He removed the bracelet around his wrist and took a look at the large tooth in the middle, placing the edge into his mouth before gathering his courage and blowing hard.

The whistle shook slightly, not making any audible sounds, but he could feel invisible tremors spreading into the distance. It only took a moment for the bracelet to shake slightly as well, giving him the sense of a response from far, far away. That was likely the direction Mountainsea was in.

He wrapped the bracelet around his wrist once more, rushing into the distance with large strides. There were some crude roads made of red soil in this expansive plain, but someone with the strength and courage could head straight for their destination.

......

Richard was unaware of the large drums made of ancient hide suddenly ringing in dozens of shrines in Klandor. The low, dull thuds possessed a mysterious force that struck at the very soul of those qualified to feel it, no matter how distant they were. In a mere moment, the entire continent was thrown into chaos!

Behind the Azuresnow Shrine was a summit called Zykrama in the language of the barbarians, translated literally into 'the peak of the land.' This was the highest point in all of Klandor. The view of the sky was no longer azure but a boundless deep blue, the horizon so far even the most powerful of shamans could not see to the end. Legends mentioned that one could possibly see the kingdoms of the gods flit across the sky at a specific time in the year, those who could witness the event blessed with the favour of the sacred beasts to achieve immense success in the future. Of course, that was because this was the only part of the continent where one's vision was unimpeded enough to see the divine kingdoms.

Zykrama was thus a holy land for all the barbarian tribes on Klandor, the Azuresnow Shrine second to none. Only those acknowledged by the beast gods could train here, for even saints without their protection would be reduced to icy dust from the chilly winds at the peak.

When Richard blew into his beast tooth, the drums hung within the Azuresnow Shrine emitted a low-pitched rumble as well, deeper than the other drums and able to shake one's soul. Cries of shock rang out within the temple, quickly followed by a deathly silence. The shamans and totemic warriors who had been bounding around suddenly halted in their footsteps, exchanging gazes with expressions of curiosity.

572 - City of Sin

A Land Of Heroes(2)

A few barbarians were immersed in bitter training in and around Zykrama. Some had dug out caves into the cliffside and secluded themselves within. With nothing but a few pieces of jerky as food and melted snow as drink, they would live in these shallow pits for several months. Others found random cliffs to sit upon, their entire bodies bared except a small piece of beast skin tied around their crotches. The women left their breasts exposed as well, enduring the chilly winds. These people were obviously more powerful than those who needed the protection of the cliffs. Training here would give one a body no weaker than steel.

Everyone present heard the war drums of the Azuresnow Shrine, immediately glancing in the direction of the peak with understanding.

There was a small depression in the absolute peak of Zykrama, the only part of the summit where snow would pile up. The light and rhythmic sounds of snoring could be heard from within the snow that was unbelievably dense after many years of compaction.

The pocket of snow suddenly twitched, a few cracks splitting open on the surface and quickly expanding. *Boom!* Shattered fragments were thrown into the neverending wind, rolling down the distant cliffs to a metallic tune. The ice shards danced in the sky as a seemingly delicate little fist broke out from the snow, turning the firm pocket of snow to dust.

A girl sat up from within, her left fist still raised high into the sky as her right rubbed at her eyes to clear the drowsiness from her mind. She struggled to get her eyes open before looking around in confusion, obviously not completely awake.

Mountainsea swayed as she got up, rubbing her eyes once more before they finally focused on an old man who had appeared in front of her at some point. She suddenly looked down at the string of beast bones she wore, noticing the large cracks in one. When she turned back up, her eyes were filled with joy, “He's here!”

The great shaman nodded gravely, the wrinkles on his face etched just as deep as the great rifts, “Yes, he's here. Four years earlier than we anticipated.”

A look of confusion flashed on Mountainsea's face as she fell into thought for some time. All of a sudden, she clenched her little fists, “Does he already think he can beat me? That's impossible. Isn't he afraid I'll just toss him into the sea?”

A slight smile rose on Urazadzu's face, “I actually think he's here to see you, Your Highness. Perhaps he's been away from you for too long.”

A sunny smile flashed on the girl's face in an instant, “Does he really think of me that way?”

“There is no other explanation for his presence in Klandor now, even blowing the tooth of the Beast God. I caught wind that time flows ten times as fast on one of his planes, but even so he should be no match for you. It wouldn't be possible even if he had thirty-fold blessing.” The shaman slipped into thought for a moment, “Back then, Her Excellency Sharon only rated him as excellent.”

Mountainsea pursed her lips, “I'm not that amazing yet. In Norland, my level isn't that high, I'm just... just... What level was I again?”

The great shaman chuckled, “Who knows? Things like levels aren't suited to everyone. The people of Norland just like putting things in their own bins. You can ignore them completely.”

“Um, shaman, do you really think he's only here to visit me?” Mountainsea asked in anticipation.

Urazadzu laughed again, “Won't you know if you just ask him face to face?”

“How many people do you think he brought?”

“It might just be himself.”

“Himself?” Mountainsea looked surprised and pressed on, “Did he go insane or something?”

“Young people are bound to go a little crazy sometimes.”

“Good!” she said resolutely, “If he really has the guts to come here for me alone, I'll wait another four years for him and not toss him into the sea.” The girl immediately determined Richard's direction, starting to charge over.

“Wait!” Urazadzu called out, getting her to stop.

“Why? I need to go!”

“Are you going to leave just like that? Have you forgotten what awakening a tooth of the Beast God does? Everyone already knows you gave one of the teeth to a young mage that you wanted.”

Mountainsea's head full of braids began to fly in the wind, her little eyebrows slowly rising as her voice grew cold as the mountain wind, “You mean Zawu...”

“Not just Zawu. I imagine the young ones from the other tribes will be eager to see him as well.” The great shaman was always tactful in his words.

Mountainsea's face was now as cold as ice, “I understand, I'll take a weapon. I'm a little far from him right now, by the time I rush there he might already... Never mind, I said I'll avenge him if he dies. I really want to know who would dare to kill my man.” Her voice was calm and cold, making a mere statement of fact just like how the mountain below her had existed for tens of millions of years.

The great shaman sighed, “Prepare your weapons, I will lend you my help.”

The girl slanted her head and thought things over for a while, looking at the mountain below her feet with resolution. She suddenly stomped down hard, causing the entire peak to shake as a thick stone pillar bulged out from the ground. A low cry rang out as she pulled it up with all her might, lifting it a metre into the sky.

Mountainsea's shouts echoed in the winds as the pillar continued to inch higher. Only when it was about ten or so metres in the air was she satisfied, breaking off with another cry. The moment she used her strength, a faint phantom of an ancient beast appeared behind her back.

The girl then threw the pillar to the ground, looking it over before nodding in satisfaction, “This is it.” Shaman Urazadzu concealed his surprise, tapping the pillar with the long staff in his hands before starting an ancient and cryptic chant. The enormous column sunk bit by bit until it was around a metre long, looking no different from an ordinary rod.

Of course, the only thing that had reduced was the size. Mountainsea picked up the rod and weighed it in her hand, noticeably pleased with the weapon. Tying it to her back with a beast skin band on her waist, she waved the shaman goodbye.

“I'll be off!” the girl rushed to the edges of the snowy peak, leaping off the steep cliff up ahead before falling to the ground like a meteor.

A dull thud shook all of Zykrama for some time, leaving even Urazadzu trembling as he rushed to the side of the cliff to look downwards as best he could. All he noticed was a small figure disappearing into the distance.

A long while later, the great shaman shook his head and looked back to see those who were meant to be training all present at the cliff to watch Mountainsea's departure. “What are you looking at?” he asked darkly, “Get back to your training!”

The powerful barbarians trembled, not daring to look further as they all returned to their former positions. Mountainsea was the only one who talked to Urazadzu cordially; with everyone else, he inspired fear.

......

Somewhere in Klandor, a thousand metres underneath a sea cliff, a young man was standing on a reef with his eyes closed. Only a single metre of this reef was exposed to the surface, vicious waves surging repeatedly and drowning him beneath. The waves would then continue to press forward and crash into the cliff to the tune of an earth-shattering rumble, rendering themselves into a scattered froth.

Eroded by the waves over countless years, the surface of the reef was slick as oil. However, the powerful young barbarian kept his body straight as a spear, not moving at all despite the force of the waves.

He suddenly opened his eyes, staring into the distance as a sinister expression crossed his face, “The promised fellow is already in Klandor? Great! Let Balibali see how amazing you are. A weakling actually dares to want Mountainsea?”

Another giant wave submerged him, but once the crest passed on there was no sign of anyone left on the reef.

......

At the top of a desolate mountain, a burly barbarian who was sitting very still opened his eyes. He had an extremely unique appearance, that of a beast head placed on a body of steel. He suddenly grinned to reveal a mouth full of crooked teeth, shreds of meat still stuck in from the night before. The youth had tanned skin that was tainted by bloodstains that had accumulated over a long period of time, ghastly white bones littered around the mountain he was sitting upon.

A stark red tongue stuck out of his mouth, licking his lips as he smiled viciously, “The promised person here? Good, let me eat you! Mountainsea will be mine sooner or later anyway!”

He stood up and stretched his body, starting to head down.

......

In an unremarkable little village, a handsome young man who was noticeably taller and better built than his fellow tribesmen was carrying a log to an open space. He pressed it downwards with a shout, using both hands to bury it into the rock-like clay ground. He then took out some tools hanging at his waist, starting to cut indentations in the long one after the other.

The central log was soon surrounded by many others, helping form a new beast skin house on the vacant land. The youth brought over a bucket of red paint, smearing decorations on the white hide as a group of children helped him where they could.

Once the house was finished, the children erupted into cheers, “We have a place to stay now! Umur is really great!”

The handsome youth chuckled, a hint of bashfulness rising on his face. He scratched his head with no proper response, merely bending down and sending them in with a pat on the buttocks. The children surged inside, so excited that it felt like they would turn the world upside down.

The young man's smile suddenly froze on his face as he turned to look into the distance, rage flashing in his expression as he almost charged out of the village immediately. However, he suddenly stopped and grabbed at his needle-like short hair, struggling with indecision as he gazed at the empty land next to the new house. A bunch of materials were already piled up for the next house he was going to build; if he left, he would not be able to finish for some time.

He struggled for some time before sighing, bending down to look for what would be the main pillar amongst the pile of wood. He decided to abandon his sleep, working to finish up overnight. Once that was done, he would leave immediately to teach that wretched promised boy a lesson!

......

In an unknown world with a dark sky and earth, lit only by small spatial rifts wandering about at random, the lifeless ground trembled as an enormous black beast galloped across the lands. Its mountainous body was supported by eight pillar-like legs, two rows of sword-like spikes running across its back that seemed like they could cut through anything.

The incomparably ferocious beast was fleeing pathetically, chased by a young man who was gently flying through the sky. He was wrapped in black beast skin, only revealed to be a barbarian by the three dark blue stripes smeared on his face.

However, he was obviously flying with the power of magic. Balls of lightning were occasionally formed in his hands, lobbed towards the frantic creature. The orbs were nothing more than flies compared to its humongous body, but every impact evoked an excruciatingly painful howl. Still, no matter how much pain it was in, the beast refused to slow down.

The one chasing it was a barbarian mage, an entirely unthinkable combination. The youth looked very relaxed as he continued to follow, confident that the beast would be his sooner or later. One of his goals in hunting was to preserve his strength to the maximum.
f𝑟e𝙚𝒘𝗲𝚋𝚗oѵ𝘦𝙡. c𝒐m

However, his expression suddenly changed as his ear twitched. He soon went into a daze, signs of struggle appearing on his face, “The promised person? Isn't it that kid? What do I do? Hmm... It's Mountainsea, nobody should actually dare to kill him...

“No, that might not be true. There's plenty of crazy people back there, and someone could convince a fool to do it for them. Even if they wouldn't dare to kill him, they could still cut off his limbs... AARGH! Should I take a look? Master doesn't have that many students, and the kid is the one she likes the most... Damn it!”

573 - City of Sin

Recalling The Wild Years

The barbarian mage suddenly let loose a cry of surprise as a demonic figure flashed in front of him, pausing on the head of the giant beast before a pair of swords were buried into its head. The skull of the creature was even thicker than the new entrant's swords, but the moment they pierced skin the beast roared pitifully. All eight legs lost strength in an instant, the enormous body crashing down to form a huge crater in the ground.

“BEYE!” a roar rang through the dark land, the dazed barbarian now enraged at the sight of the person who had robbed his prey. “What are you doing here instead of staying obediently in the Land of Dusk?”

“I need some materials right now, so I decided to check elsewhere.” Beye was grim as ever.
f𝑟𝐞𝙚𝘸𝐞𝑏𝙣𝑜v𝑒Ɩ. c𝐨𝙢

The young mage gave her an icy look, narrowing his eyes, “Then your luck must be pretty bad for you to have met me!”

“Who knows? It's not like we haven't fought before, Yori.”

“If I don't teach you a lesson, you'll keep thinking you can go anywhere you want.” The barbarian named Yori lobbed a new ball of lightning at Beye, but this one was different from before. The light had almost withdrawn into itself, only giving it a greenish-blue hue.

Beye waved her blade without another word, disappearing from her original spot to appear within arm's length of him in an instant. However, what welcomed her was a web of lightning that sent sparks flying everywhere!

All the clothes on Beye's body tore apart, her short hair immediately turning to ash. However, Yori was no better off. The barbarian frowned as he looked down at his abdomen, noticing seven tears in the black hide where he had been injured.

The two didn't say another word as they resumed the fight, one using the power of magic while the other shot around with the strength of internal energy. Their figures flashed all over the place until it was impossible to distinguish between them, the battlefield only a mix of greenish-blue light and flashes of metal.

It didn't take long for the ball of light to fade, revealing both combatants a hundred metres apart. They glared at each other fiercely, but neither had any strength to attack. It was a draw.

“Bah!” the young barbarian spat out bloody saliva, unresigned to the result, “You were just lucky.” He was slightly stronger than Beye overall, but he had never been able to win. That being said, he had never lost either.

Beye snorted with ridicule, “Her Excellency Sharon wouldn't care about an opponent's luck.”

Yori went red, unable to make a sound.

At that moment, the huge black beast that seemed to be dead suddenly flipped onto its feet, fleeing at full speed. In a mere instant, it had disappeared into the horizon.

“Damn it!” Yori palmed his face, “I forgot that guy was best at playing dead!”

Beye was just as startled.

......

On a certain plain in Norland, a fully bearded barbarian with copper skin was dozed off against the body of a tyrannosaur. He wasn't all that tall nor muscular compared to the rest of his race, but his figure still seemed to ooze strength. He was sleeping like the world's most comfortable mattress was underneath him, but the beast skin clothing he wore was badly damaged and worn to the point of glossiness on some parts. However, for some reason it seemed to fit his aura just right.

The man's ear suddenly twitched as he opened his eyes halfway, lazily shifting his body in a bid to get up. However, he was defeated by his sleepiness and just turned around, mumbling, “Isn't it just the promised fellow? There's no need for me to go, there are plenty of morons with nothing better to do. I don't want to fight that doll right now, I'll keep my strength for four years later... *Yawn*, I'm so sleepy...”

Sounds of snoring arose from the plains once more. The tyrant of a creature he was resting against was curled up obediently, not moving at all. Its simple mind had long since been filled with terror, leaving not a thread of strength to move its paralysed body with.

......

Numerous powerful barbarians from all over Klandor rushed over in Richard's direction, the sound from the tooth of the Beast God no different from a red-hot iron pressed into their bottoms. The eyes of these prideful youths were red, nostrils puffing out air as they swore to bury him in a swamp and stomp him to death.

However, the boy himself had no idea as he wandered around the dry wastelands like he was strolling through a small garden in his family castle. He was dressed like a normal adventurer, the hood over his face only revealing his sharp chin and lips with clear lines. The two swords were wrapped in cloth that was tied to his back, the Twin of Destiny hung by his waist.

His leather boots touched the ground at even intervals, every step calm and steady but still taking him a good distance forward. Most mages wouldn't think of using a featherfall spell in such a way.

He was gradually speeding up as he advanced in a straight line, scaring off a herd of gnu goats who immediately took off wildly. They left him far behind in the initial few minutes of their escape, but he slowly caught up to them and eventually left the charging group behind. All the while, it looked like his footsteps never changed.

A warm wind blew in from the depths of the continent, growing drier the further in he got. The outline of the scenery in his peripheral vision slowly blurred away, turning into dark and light lines. Speed had an excitement to it. Richard's body gradually got used to the quick pace and adjusted to an optimal state, senses extending in all directions as he seemed like he would fuse into the winds.

The world tree within him grew increasingly silent, the leaves not so much as trembling as all the trunks seemed to fuse with the earth. The sleeping lava within his blood awoke instead, golden characters scattering like sunshine on the surface of his mana pool. The crimson flow gradually sped up to match his rhythm.

The lava awakened by his truename somehow made its way to the foot of the world tree, calm as the spring water of the gods. For now it did not bare its destructive fangs, instead brimming with vitality.

The lone figure thus zipped across the vast plains. Countless animals and birds were left startled in his wake, escaping in all directions. A few bloodthirsty tyrannosaurs widened their eyes, watching him head into the distance, but the very thought of chasing this unknown prey left them filled with unease. Their instincts of survival made them abandon any plans for a challenge.

......

Dozens of mounted barbarians were casing after Richard's traces at full speed. Most were riding gnu goats that were famed for endurance and speed, but the young warrior leading from the front rode a tyrannosaur instead! They didn't care for terrain at all, moving in a straight line without pause for dozens of kilometres on end. Even when they stopped, it was only for an aged hunter to look through the tracks on the ground and the scent in the air before adjusting their course.

These barbarians didn't live far away from the small port village Richard had set off from. They even had an experienced hunter who had seen Richard before leading the way. Still, although they had only been an hour off from Richard when they left, they didn't manage to catch up to him even after dusk.

Incredibly fatigued, the group had no choice but to set up camp and rest. A hundred kilometres away, Richard himself was lying under a large tree and admiring the view of the sky through the gaps in its crown. The daytime sky in Klandor was incredibly distant, but things were different at night. The stars here were even more resplendent than in Norland, making one feel as though they could reach out and touch them if they got high enough in the sky.

Sharing the cover of the tree were a few tyrannosaurs that were deep asleep. They were only a dozen-odd metres away from him, but he was in no danger of harm. He just lay down casually with his hands behind his head, allowing the dazzling starlight to confuse his senses as his mind flew back to events on the past.

He couldn't quite explain how he was feeling now, how he felt about Mountainsea. The same could be said about Sharon and Flowsand as well. His relationships with the three were completely different, but there was some degree of overlap that he himself didn't quite recognise.

Was it love? He had no idea, he had never learnt to distinguish that feeling. The only thing he did know was that they were just as important to him as Elena or Gaton. They were family.

He didn't understand why he wanted to visit Klandor the moment he could. His blessings wouldn't allow him to deceive himself, sending him warnings time and time again that the risks he would take on were not worth just visiting Mountainsea. However, sometimes life just couldn't be explained with rationality.

He pondered quietly under the starry skies. He knew there would be no results from his thoughts, but he also knew that he had no lack of courage in facing what was to come.

That would be enough.

574 - City of Sin

Recalling The Wild Years (2)

A young girl was stood by an expansive river under the same night sky. The surface of the water looked calm, but anyone who tried entering it would discover a rapid current underneath. Both banks were filled with thick rainforest, clumps of brown floating around in the water nearby. They looked just like floating logs, but these were the backs of large crocodiles.

Mountainsea didn't so much as think as she leapt into the air, plopping down into the river and sinking to the bottom. The calm waters immediately went wild as countless crocodiles piled over each other to wade towards the creature in front of them. To these beasts, Mountainsea was an incomparable delicacy!

However, in a blink of the eye the surging tides turned violent. Huge columns of water shot up dozens of metres into the sky, the enormous reptiles struggling helplessly within as they were tossed sometimes a hundred metres away. Still, the bask was fearless in the face of death. They continued to attack the girl at the bottom of the river only to be tossed away, some of the earlier ones making their way back to join the attack.

Eventually, they wore down Mountainsea's tolerance. Her little fist shot straight upwards and a gigantic wave flooded out from the surface, every attacker thrown onto land baring their teeth and claws. The same scene repeated until she reached the shore on the other side, where the crocodiles reluctantly dispersed.

The girl was completely drenched as she got out of the water, hair pressed into her face even as a large fish struggled in her mouth. She spat the fish out and got onto the shore, heading into the distance while dragging a crocodile that was over a dozen metres long by the tail. A short while later, the beast was slowly cooking above a huge bonfire.

Some more time later, the all that remained was hide and scattered bones. Having eaten her fill, Mountainsea was so sleepy she couldn't keep her eyes open any more, deciding to take a nap for half an hour. A wave of her staff cut off the upper half of a large rock, leaving behind a smooth surface that she crawled onto. The night quieted down into a dull mix of a bonfire's crackles and a young girl's snores.

......

Early morning the next day, Richard stretched lazily and got up from the ground. Although the sunlight wasn't very harsh, the winds were still dry and warm. However, there were traces of a refreshing breeze brewing. The tyrannosaurs nearby were deep asleep, the other beings of the land yet to awaken as well.

His ears suddenly twitched and he stood up tall, looking back in the direction he had come from. It wasn't long before the dinosaurs nearby awoke from their slumber as well, rubbing against each other as they produced low growls of unease.

A dozen barbarians suddenly emerged on the horizon, cheering in excitement at Richard's sight as they spurred their goats forward to encircle him. Richard didn't move, allowing them to do whatever they wished as he folded his arms and leant against the trunk behind. Seeing their clothing and adornments, he asked dully, “Windstep Tribe? Why are you lot here?”

The leading youth's gaze swept across his body, eyes widening at the beast-tooth bracelet around his wrist, “Tooth of the Beast God! You really are the promised person!”

Richard froze, 'What promised person?”

The warrior had already dismounted and walked up, suddenly tearing open his upper garments to reveal a reddish-white chest that he pounded fiercely, “I am Gulzaba, one of the most outstanding warriors of the Windstep Tribe. I challenge you to a duel! If you can't win, scram back to Norland!”

Richard raised his brows, “Why do I have to fight you?”

“Because you do not qualify to meet Her Highness!” the boy gritted out.

“Why?” Richard asked again. There was something going on here that he had no idea about.
𝐟𝓇ℯe𝒘𝘦𝒃𝑛𝒐ѵe𝙡. 𝑐𝗼𝓂

“You Norland weaklings have too many questions that you don't deserve the answer to!”

Richard smiled indifferently, “Alright then, does this battle have to be life and death?”

Gulzaba took a look at Richard's body that was much frailer than his own, shaking his head, “Finding the winner is enough. I do not bully the weak. As long as you'll go back to Norland, I will let you go immediately.”

“Okay, I understand. So, Gulzaba was it, I take it you're not the strongest of your generation in the Windstep Tribe?”

The youth's face immediately went red. “I am one of the ten best warriors!” he roared.

Richard shook his head, “Then switch out and get whoever is number one. You'll only waste my time unless you're all coming at me together.”

Gulzaba was filled with rage at the ridicule, drawing a large heavy sword from his waist, “We barbarians never take advantage of numbers! I alone can cut you down ten times over! Draw your weapon!”

However, Richard took his swords and the Twin of Destiny off his back, placing them at the side and closing the distance further, “I don't need them to deal with you.”

“YOU! I'll make you pay!” the barbarian youth thundered, sticking his own weapon into the ground before whirling his fists and charging towards like a rhinoceros. The ground trembled as he dashed over.

Richard stood still in place for the longest time, sparks starting to fly off his body. He only moved in the last instant, dodging the charge mysteriously before leaning back towards the youth and sending him flying. Richard flashed in front of him before his body went too far, pulling him downwards and smashing him into the ground. A cloud of dust sprang into the sky.

As the obstruction dispersed, the watching barbarians gaped at the sight of the pit in the ground. Even Gulzaba's powerful body could not endure the immense power of the strike, struggling to even look up as his eyes blanked. Richard was crouched nearby, fiddling with a short blade that had been hung at the youth's waist. This dagger with a handle made of beast horn was the pride of every barbarian warrior; the loss of it was an unbearable shame.

As Gulzaba's dizziness cleared to some extent and he saw the scene in front of him, he roared in rage as he reached out to snatch it back. However, it felt as though his innards were going to roll out the moment he moved and he collapsed once more. This time, he didn't have the strength to even raise his body.

Richard naturally knew what these blades meant to the barbarian warriors, and taking it from Gulzaba had been on purpose. He made a show of examining the edge for a while before fitting it back into its sheath, tossing it in the youth's direction, “Before you call people 'Norland weaklings' next time, consider whether you can beat them. If a pushover like you came to Norland, you'd be no different from prey.

“Now, it's time to answer some questions. Unless you want to fight again, of course. But do know that if you lose this time I'll take your blade away.”

Gulzaba continued to struggle up, using all the strength he could muster to stand straight even as his back nearly went numb in pain. His red face was on the verge of turning purple, eyes bloodshot. However, he knew now that Richard would beat him ten out of ten times. There was no doubt that he had lost this duel.

“We barbarian warriors aren't cowards who cannot lose!” the youth stated resentfully, starting to answer Richard's questions.

A moment later, Richard learnt everything he needed to know.

Mountainsea's mother was the sacred warrior of the holy shrine, second in status only to the grand elder and great shaman. When she led the totemic warriors to battle and defeated the Millennial Empire's army decisively, her prestige had risen to incontestable levels.

However, she had decided to take the leader of the invaders as her husband, something that triggered a lot of arguments from the barbarian powerhouses. The dissent had only been staved off when the Beast God itself blessed the birth of their child. However, numerous powerful barbarians had been disappointed in her for making that choice, some even heading to other planes.

Having only visited Norland once, Mountainsea had gifted the token of the sacred child to a little mage from Norland who didn't seem special at all. She had also arranged to meet him in five years, where they would potentially become partners for life. The sacred child had the responsibility of continuing the bloodline of strength; the first child she gave birth to would possess great potential and would be nurtured by the shrine.

When Mountainsea was born, the great shaman had exclaimed that he received an oracle from the Beast God. There was a chance for one of her children to become the Beast God's avatar, allowing it to wander the mortal realm once more. Thus, the first child that Mountainsea handed to the shrine was already earmarked to be the next sacred warrior. They would likely become the leader of the Azuresnow Shrine.

To the powerful barbarians, becoming the father of a sacred warrior was the most supreme of glories. They definitely wouldn't allow a Norlander to get this opportunity again. Thankfully, there were some requirements for one to be allowed to marry Mountainsea— one, to defeat everyone else qualified; two, to defeat Mountainsea herself.

Based on tradition, Mountainsea was already old enough to bear a child. She had stretched her freedom to the limits when she originally gave Richard five years for their meeting; she would then have to give the shrine a child.

575 - City of Sin

Recalling The Wild Years(3)

Richard's expression turned colder the more he heard from Gulzaba. The warnings from old Pipin had given him a sense that this would be a restless journey, but he hadn't expected for a simple agreement to meet each other to carry such serious consequences.

He couldn't begin to imagine what Mountainsea's feelings were when she left him all those years ago. Till date, his most vivid memory of her was that radiant smile and forceful hug, a hand that waved without its owner looking back. The memory floated up into consciousness, the silent image frozen in his brain. But now, the entire world seemed to stand still in those two pupils, an indescribable sense of longing and despair in the pits of her eyes. However, within that deep gloomy abyss was a remnant flicker of hope.

'I could die here,' he suddenly realised. He was no longer the child who only knew magic and runes, instead a seasoned general who knew to use politics just as well as his army. Even with the threat of Mountainsea's rage, some people would still aim for his life. The tooth he held was far too alluring, bringing out the deepest of yearning in these barbarians.

Not everyone was fixated on honour and glory. The youths who had the capability to fight for Mountainsea didn't need to do it on their own; having someone else do the job would work just as well. Those of Klandor might be more simplistic than in Norland, but politics was a given in any large population.

He pulled his two blades out of the earth, lifting up the staff that had been laid next to the tree as he carefully adjusted his equipment to wartime standards. However, just as he was looking over himself, a dark omen popped into his head. His vision shifted to a temple building where Mountainsea's body was flat on the floor, a strange barbarian man forcefully ravaging her without end. The girl's face was expressionless, her alluring beauty now distant and helpless.

*FWOOOSH!* Balls of flame were shot out of Richard's eyes, forcefully shattering the vision. However, his damned memory ensured that he captured each detail he had seen. Everything was so real, so vivid... There was no way this was fake.

His heart sank immediately. Although he hadn't used any abilities to call upon that image, his blessings alerted him of a sliver of timeforce in the air. Timeforce was ethereal and omnipresent, but he didn't have the ability to detect any that he hadn't absorbed. Were these visions just like the ones earlier, a premonition of what was to come?

His Archeron bloodline started boiling, the golden characters of his truename turning into a crimson ray of light that merged into his soul for a moment. He felt an indescribable malevolence overcome him, an irrefutable desire to turn this entire continent into ash!

It took all of his willpower to control the burning rage, forcing the boiling lava back to the depths of his blood. The red light in the depths of his eyes slowly faded back to black. Rock-steady hands arranged his equipment in neat order as he took off, not so much as turning back as he delivered a warning, “You can leave, but remember to tell everyone else to stay away. The next ones who come will be courting death, I will not restrain myself.”

Gulzaba was filled with both shame and anger, but having suffered a thorough defeat he did not have the right to retort. He hopped on his tyrannosaur in depression, whistling for his group to leave.

Richard raised his left hand and looked at the ivory bracelet wrapped around his wrist, gathering his courage as he resumed his brisk pace. He was still quite the distance away, and there would be constant attacks from barbarian youths meaning to kill him, but he was determined to continue on this path until he saw her face.

His only wish now was to let her know that he could already make it to her. When the date they had arranged for arrived, he would be strong enough. Four years was a very long time. To live with confidence and without were two different worlds.

He would head back to Norland the moment he saw her, only returning after he became a grand mage. These barbarians would not be given a chance to hatch any plans. As long as he stayed alive over the next four years, he would be a thorn in the hearts of anyone with evil designs on Mountainsea.

......

When Richard was setting off once more, a young lady was running barefoot across the land thousands of kilometres away. Every step she took shook the earth beneath her feet.

A rhinoceros-like beast the size of a small hill was making its way forward at full speed beside her with a stone rod on its back, nostrils constantly spewing out a white mist. It was quite clear the creature was almost completely exhausted, but whenever it strayed off course or slowed down a powerful kick would teach it the error of its ways.

It wasn't long before the creature was sprawled across the ground, mouth spewing out a white foam as it could no longer stand up again. Seeing this, the young lady took her stone rod off its back and surged ahead, finding a new beast in a flash.

Many such beasts roamed this vast plain, so large even dinosaurs didn't dare provoke them. They were known for their fiery tempers as well; even though the girl used her gifts to send instructions directly to their minds, they were still unyielding at the start.

Of course, three or four blows and they would naturally become her mules.

......

Richard didn't get many moments of peace and quiet. More Windstep Tribe barbarians were chasing him from behind, the so-called 'top-ten warrior' obviously holding little sway over their decisions.

Right after Gulzaba came one of the top three warriors of the generation. However, his charge brought him face to face with a Richard who had meticulously maintained his energy reserves and state of mind for the impending battles. Richard didn't play nice this time, leaving the level 16 warrior with more than ten of his teeth broken as he left quietly with his tail tucked between his legs. A nice thing about the Twin of Destiny was that the material used to make it was extremely tough.

However, it wasn't even half an hour before the best warrior of the tribe caught up. The top ten of the tribe had apparently gotten the news all around the same time, setting off from different places to pursue. Judging from this, the road ahead would be very rocky.

Having seen the top-three warrior on his way, the top warrior confidently proclaimed that Richard could rest for an hour. He also offered to provide water and jerky as well. However, Richard didn't have the time to waste. He started the battle immediately, cutting off the fellow's arms within a minute.

That finally put a stop to the Windstep Tribe, but it wasn't long before a new enemy took their place. This was the Windchaser Tribe. It took 300 kilometres and until evening to stave them off, toppling seven of their top twenty warriors.

When the darkness fell, he didn't even have time to rest. He had only sat and gulped down some water before being met with the Nightwind Tribe. If those who met him in the day were warriors, this was a tribe of rogues. They grouped up under the cover of the night, using the terrain to hide while coating their arrows, javelins, and daggers with lethal poison. They surrounded him silently, no one person stepping forward to challenge. The only greeting Richard received was an arrow flying towards him.

Richard had been sitting on the floor trying to get some rest, but the moment they approached his eyes suddenly opened. The depths of his black pupils were suddenly overtaken by a deep red as a few concise gestures from his left hand prepared his barriers to block the attack. He stood up and drew Extinction which had been pierced into the ground, expression stone cold as mana coursed through his runes.

An electric light glimmered at the tip of the sword, entering his body in a slew of sparks before vanishing entirely. In the next moment, he was completely covered in darkness.

A cluster of javelins rushed through the air to pierce into his original location. Blood started gushing out from the darkness, and a few Nightwind warriors jumped out of the grasses they had hidden themselves in. A short while later, they collapsed into a pool of crimson that was swiftly absorbed by the cracked earth.

A spectre started darting through the darkness, blade gracefully slicing through warrior after warrior with no obstacle. The youths who were attacked went rigid, trembling as their vision turned red.

The night was silent outside of the occasional muted screams, but whenever the wind brushed past the scent of blood in the air grew thicker. Various animals roamed the plains at night, especially the wasteland coyotes who were very sensitive to the smell of blood. However, the stench was so strong that it turned away even these scavengers.

Richard kept shifting between fast and slow, venting the murderous thoughts in his heart as his mana constantly poured into his runes. The long blade of Extinction had become one with his body, an extension of his arms that could let him feel the warm blood of the barbarians he cut through.

The Nightwind warriors fell at an alarming pace, realising all too late that their target was more adept in the darkness than them.

576 - City of Sin

Embracing Fate

The darkness of the night was suddenly torn apart by amber light as a full moon condensed in mid-air, gently rising into the sky. The Nightwind warriors obviously recognised the second moon of the rainbow, but they didn't understand why it had appeared at this time...

Nor why it was only three metres away! It was too late when they noticed Richard standing quietly under the dazzling moonlight; a deep crimson had already mixed into the yellow scattering from his hands, winding around his body to form a ring of light that was an entire ten metres in diameter.

Secret sword of the second moon, the Ring of Fate. The ring of light cut through the barbarians of the Nightwind Tribe, splitting them all in two. The top halves slipped off, faces frozen into the expressions they had just before death.

When the light dimmed once more, a desolate horn finally rang through the plains. The silence of the darkness was broken by heavy rustling as the survivors on the outer edges escaped.

Richard swung Extinction a couple times, but there was no blood to be removed. The sword had been transforming silently as he wielded it; now it was never stained by an enemy's blood unless that enemy was truly powerful. He sighed, forcing the lava in his eyes to cool off before walking to where he had been and putting the sword back in the sheath that was still buried in the ground.

He then sat down to meditate once more, unaffected by the thick odour of blood permeating the air. In the meanwhile, no animals dared to get close to this place, as though it held a mortal enemy.

Three hours later, the dark clouds in the sky quietly dispersed to reveal another starry night sky. Having recovered most of his mana, Richard got up and continued heading in a straight line towards the centre of Klandor. There wasn't much time left, and to him there was little difference between night and day.

......

The distant forests rumbled as the earth mourned. A young girl was dashing madly through the woods, hugging an enormous egg that was almost half as big as herself. The towering ancient trees constantly fell behind her, a violent fog surging ahead as a mountainous body twisted around in mad pursuit.

Numerous heads flickered in and out of view a hundred metres in the air, occasionally roaring with rage. These roars seemed to shake space itself, making the air roll in all directions. The forest was already in chaos, birds flapping as hard as they could while the beasts could only dash forward in an attempt to get as far as they could. Only the most fearsome of creatures could bear the power of these roars, the rest falling from the sky or otherwise crumbling down in fear.

Meanwhile, the girl continued to run faster and faster, occasionally kicking aside a pile of paralysed beasts in the way. However, no matter how quickly she ran the tremendous beast in the fog was still hot on her heels. Every step of its enormous feet shook the earth, bouncing the paralysed animals a few metres high.

Only when day broke did Mountainsea finally get out of the forest and enter the plains, cheering as she sped up instantly. All she left behind was a cloud of dust.

The row of trees at the outermost ring of the forest toppled down, flattened by enormous feet. The large beast finally revealed its true self, four pillar-like legs supporting a body that was nearly a hundred metres tall. Nine heads grew out of its torso, each looking different from the rest as they rose hundreds of metres higher in the sky.

The giant hydra gazed in the direction Mountainsea had escaped too, loosing a cry of helpless rage before it whipped its tail around. Countless ancient trees were sent flying away, but after tearing into the woods for some time the creature begrudgingly turned and slowly returned to its original location.

......

Morning finally arrived, the red clouds covering half of the sky giving Klandor a distinct colour. Birdsong and beast howls rang out everywhere as the entire continent awoke, recovering its vitality once more.

Richard continued to move with unerring pace, breaths long and careful. The terrain slowly grew steeper under his feet, the winds more vigorous. The whistle of the breeze was desolate, like the warcry of an ancient barbarian tribe.
𝑓𝚛𝚎𝗲𝙬ℯ𝘣𝚗𝘰ν𝐞l. co𝗺

Ahead of him was an enormous ancient tree, most of its trunk marked by the vestiges of time but the branches at the top still having some green. Just like all the other life on this continent, it survived tenaciously in the face of numerous difficulties.

Under the tree was a barbarian youth, neither tall nor sturdy compared to the other barbarians Richard had seen along the way. However, every muscle of his body seemed to be dense as steel, his physique looking so hardened it almost seemed inorganic. The youth was dark-skinned unlike the more yellowish-brown of most barbarians, his eyes narrowed as he gnawed at a straw while half-awake.

Richard halted his footsteps, eyes fixating on the youth. A grim expression flashed across his face for the first time, a trace of determination hidden within. For his part, the youth didn't seem to notice him at all and still leant against the trunk, twisting the straw in his mouth as his gaze wandered around everywhere. It was when Richard's eyes shot out faint light that he let out a low moan, jumping up as though he was pricked by something.

The youth's feet plunged into the ground, as though his body weighed several tons. His expression changed from one of rumination to an earnest, sharp gaze, levelled straight at Richard's own.

He suddenly bowed seriously to Richard, displaying the standard etiquette of the barbarian tribes. He then stood tall once more, body as straight as a spear, “I am Balibali of the Skymist Tribe. I've been waiting for you for a long time.”

“Not bad,” Richard answered, “You're much stronger than those stupid top seven, top three, and best warriors.”

“You mean those small tribes like Windstep? There aren't many powerful tribes in the Windy Wasteland, how could they compare to the Skymist Tribe? I do not need any titles. As long as I remain standing, the rest can only strive for second place!”

Richard smiled, “Weren't you afraid those small fries would take care of me while you were waiting and steal the glory of defeating the promised person?”

The barbarian youth flashed a smile of his own, revealing snow-white teeth, “If those weaklings could defeat you, then there is no honour in that victory. That is why I was waiting here. I refuse to believe someone chosen by Her Highness Mountainsea would be so weak as to lack the ability to come this far.”

“Well then, here I am.”

Balibali's gaze suddenly grew electric, “But this is as far as you go!”

“Another challenge? You're a level 18 warrior,” Richard said dully.

Balibali's handsome face instantly turned pale, “How old are you?”

“Eh, about nineteen.”

The barbarian looked distressed, brandishing his fist as he exclaimed in a low voice, “Alright, I'll limit myself to what you call level 15. We barbarian warriors never fight unfair battles! If you win, I will not hinder you again, nor will I participate in the battle four years later.”

“You'll regret it if you don't go all out,” Richard said mildly.

Balibali narrowed his eyes and looked Richard up and down, frowning, “You are only a level 14 mage.”

“Don't you people believe level isn't a good measure of a warrior?”

“Alright then,” the youth said promptly, “I will give you the respect of a true warrior and fight at full strength!”

Richard stuck the elven sword and Extinction into the ground, about ten metres away from the opponent. Only carrying the Twin of Destiny in his hand, he solemnly faced Balibali as lightning flashed on his body.

Balibali was slightly confused, more so because a mage had two swords than because he was sticking them in the ground. Still, he waited for Richard to finish all preparations before drawing the sword by his waist, slowly pointing forward. Compared to the heavy greatswords normally preferred by the barbarians, his weapon was long and narrow. It seemed like his style prioritised technique and speed.

He suddenly raised his sword and roared, shooting off his original position to appear before Richard in a single bound. His sword flashed right at Richard's body, leaving him unable to dodge at all.

However, when the dazzling sword light passed, the figure in front just broke apart fuzzily. Balibali quickly turned around only to find four more Richards that looked exactly the same around him, left hand holding a rather plain-looking book and quickly flipping through the pages.

The barbarian youth cried out and his blade swung like a maelstrom, shooting out four rays of sword light. Three hit their mark, destroying the three remaining illusions, but Richard's main body dodged it at the same time as a flash of lightning struck Balibali's head.

Balibali immediately recognised the spell, gathering all the strength in his body as he prepared to shrug off the blow and continue pursuing Richard. The best way to deal with a mage was to close the gap as often as possible, and the barbarian was confident that his powerful physique could resist a mere grade 6 spell.

However, this lightning had hints of dark red within. The youth was stunned the moment it landed, his body trembling and his hair standing on end as he was paralysed. Richard's movements sped up, the Book of Holding already stowed away as he flitted over to Balibali like the wind. Extinction had appeared in his hand at some point in time, slashing right at the enemy's waist!

577 - City of Sin

Embracing Fate(2)

Balibali produced an earth-shattering cry of rage, frozen muscles suddenly twitching as they turned hard as steel. Richard's slash hit an arm, but all he could do was make it bleed before his own body trembled as he was bounced back several metres by a huge force.

The barbarian youth roared once more, the sword in his hand cutting in Richard's direction. Navy blue sword light pressed down against Richard's body; try as he might to dodge, a complete escape was impossible. His left shoulder started bleeding.

This was the first time he had been injured ever since he arrived at Klandor.

Balibali raised his sword once more and roared, the light flooding towards Richard like a tide. However, this time he was prepared; he dodged the attacks unbelievably quickly, instacasting spells to defend himself when he could not. The barbarian had turned extremely serious at this point, a hint of respect emerging on his face. Only now did he understand why Richard had told him to give it his all in the battle; although the Norlander was much lower than him in terms of level, the incredible combat techniques made up for the difference.

He was already using the Wrath of the Ocean, an ability he had been enlightened on after withstanding the impact of cliff waves day and night. His aura came in powerful waves that increased his speed, strength, and defence. Without this ability, he was a much weaker warrior.

The coldness on Richard's face had vanished at some point in time, replaced by a burning insanity. His dodges and attacks were almost instinctive even as his blessings were worked to their fullest, draining a huge amount of his stamina every second. By the time he escaped the drowning waves he looked battered and exhausted, but the elven sword and the Twin of Destiny found their way into his hands for a counterattack.

Compared to the all-encompassing attack of the barbarian, Richard looked rather plain and unhurried. It was only a slash here and a spell there, but one flame arrow and Balibali was left howling in pain. Seeing the same crimson rays engulfing the long sword in Richard's hand, he lost confidence in his body that was tougher than steel.

Lightning bolts fell down from time to time, forcing him to pause for a moment as the scorching pain left him paralysed. Richard's long sword that was now burning in abyssal fire managed to nick him at every instance. Still, the barbarian's ferocity allowed him to control his body and return the strike.

Red, yellow, and blue lights flashed in the sky as blood splattered onto the ground. Richard gradually felt his body going numb, while Balibali was starting to lose his fight against the abyssal flames that had pierced into his body and were corroding him from within. Barely a few minutes after the battle had started, the barbarian youth coughed up a mouthful of blood and the two of them separated into different corners.

Balibali couldn't stand on his own any longer, having to use his sword for support. Richard wasn't any better, panting hard as he leaned on his staff and took out the Book of Holding with trembling hands. Blood immediately stained the pages.

Richard shook the book with force, pouring the mana from within it into the Mana Armament rune. Lightning flashed around his body once more, giving him the strength to stand. However, he had already sustained dozens of different wounds, the deepest even showing bone. The force of energy from the rune caused blood to start pouring out of all his wounds.

“You're... Hurt...” the barbarian youth huffed out, voice muting halfway.

“And you're better than me?” Richard asked sarcastically.

Balibali suddenly took a deep breath, face turning red as he puked out a pool of blood. His aura suddenly grew more vigorous right after, evidently the result of a secret technique to stimulate potential. “I CAN STILL PUNCH YOU LIKE A MAN!” he roared, letting go of his sword and clenching his fist as he hobbled in Richard's direction. He decided using his fist would be enough, mages were known to be fragile.

Richard sneered, burying the Twin of Destiny in the ground as he charged forward himself. He avoided the roaring punch of the barbarian, leaning under the attack. Balibali felt himself being hoisted into the air before firmly crashing into the ground, leaving him concussed for a moment. Richard grabbed him by the hair and repeatedly smashed his head into the ground.

*Thud! Thud! Thud!* A hole had been smashed into the ground, blood dyeing the soil red even as small pebbles were crushed into gravel. The strength of Balibali's skull far exceeded Richard's expectations; he was doing damage to the flesh and muscles, but barbarians could quickly heal from anything that didn't break their bones.

The barbarian suddenly howled, lifting his head abruptly to knock into Richard's chin. Richard was sent flying back like a pebble, blacking out in the process. It felt like he drifted in the air for a long time before his back hit something hard.

The second consciousness was forced to take over his body, the blessing of wisdom reminding him that only a short time had passed since he had been sent flying away. His eyes and ears weren't working for the moment, but he could feel the tremble of the earth as Balibali approached slowly. Fallen on his back, it was as though his body had been emptied out completely. His wounds weren't even hurting anymore, replaced by a numbing cold.

His eyelids grew heavy from the empty feeling, making him want to let go of everything and just fall asleep. He slowly lost consciousness... Until a few scenes flashed across his mind.

Balibali could see Richard on the ground a few steps away, blood constantly flowing out from his mouth and nose with the chin already deformed. The burning light in the youth's eyes was almost extinguished, tense muscles beginning to relax. He was about to go unconscious. The barbarian dragged his heavy body forward, wanting to knock Richard out to obtain the final victory. He would then take the boy back to his tribe and have the shaman treat him before sending him back to Norland.

This Norlander was a true warrior, worthy of his respect. At least in terms of willpower and courage, he was worthy of Mountainsea.

However, it was at this moment that he saw a pea-sized flame form on Richard's fingertip. It was barely even flickering, but this battle had taught him well to steer clear of any flames Richard released regardless of size. He couldn't help but stop in his footsteps.

“AAHH!” Richard sat up abruptly, howling like a beast as the finger pressed into his thigh. Abyssal flames had the ability to corrode the soul, and with his consciousness almost faded away he didn't have any defences left. The instant pain was unbearable, no matter how strong his will was.

By the time the flame burnt out, it had left a bright scar. Still, the pain had woken him up from the verge of unconsciousness. He used the last of his energy to stand up. “I... still... have strength. Here's... Annihilation!”

Balibali saw a fuzzy blue moon appear above Richard's head, a layer of dark blue moonlight surrounding the half-elf's body as he struck forward with his arm.

He was using his body as the sword!

'He's a lunatic!' was all the barbarian could think before he was sent flying into the sky. By the time he landed on the ground, he knew he would not be getting up anytime soon. He was defeated by a level 14 mage? It felt like a poor dream.

Richard staggered a few steps back, throwing up some blood before he crumbled to the ground. His mana and energy had long since been depleted; the only power he could draw on now was moonforce.
𝑓ree𝑤𝘦𝚋𝐧𝘰ve𝑙. co𝒎

Annihilation was the secret sword he had always understood the most, mainly because Gaton's demonstration of it had been much better than the rest. The others were manuals to learn from, but he had experienced the soul of the blue moon.

Balibali was on the ground while Richard could force himself to sit. The outcome of this tragic battle had already been determined. The two youths didn't talk for some time, just panting heavily as they tried to regain some strength.

However, it wasn't long before Richard suddenly took in a deep breath and an alert expression crossed his face. A strong stench of decay filled the air, as though a heap of rotten meat had been dropped nearby.

Balibali opened his eyes, a look of extreme fear crossing his face, “Heisa!”

A hoarse laughter rang from afar as an extremely ugly barbarian that looked no different from a beast dashed over. The stench of decay grew stronger as he approached, growing so dense it left one wanting to puke.

Heisa wiped the sweat off his forehead and laughed, “Well, the journey was a little exhausting but it seems like I came at just the right time.”

He stared at Richard with his green eyes, licking his lips with his forked tongue, “You're the promised person? Richard was the name? Very impressive, defeating Balibali like that. If you were allowed to grow for two more years, I'm afraid I wouldn't be your opponent. Haha!

“But of course, you won't have any chance to grow!”

578 - City of Sin

Embracing Fate(3)

“Heisa, what are you trying to do?” Balibali roared, “You cannot kill Richard, Her Highness ordered it!”

“What order?” the ugly barbarian asked with a sneer, “As long as I kill you both and destroy all traces, who'll know that I did this?”

Balibali was extremely shocked, “You... You'd dare kill me?”

“Why not? If I didn't, you'd just tattle on me to Mountainsea.” Heisa's snicker was like two pieces of rusted metal scraping against each other.

“Hmph! You want to get Her Highness? Even if I die at your hands, you'll be destroyed if you try to compete on the day!” Having said this, Balibali closed his eyes and resigned himself to death. There would be no surviving at this ruthless murderer's hands, so at least he would die with dignity.

“What's the use of talking so much? You're not a match for me even at your best, wimp! I just have other things to do now and don't want to waste any more time.” Heisa suddenly stretched his foot under Balibali's body, flinging him over ten metres away.

In the meanwhile, Richard who was sitting on the ground swayed slightly, a trace of pain flashing on his face. Just the act of trying to move made him feel like his organs were being flipped around. However, his breathing immediately grew steady once more as he leant against the Twin of Destiny, slowly standing up as he glared at Heisa before him.

The terrifying barbarian was almost three metres tall, bent bristles growing on the knotted flesh of his skin. It was obvious with a single look that his forte was pure strength, but that wouldn't have been enough to support his claim of being able to defeat a well-rounded warrior like Balibali.

A faint light shot out of his eyes, revealing the ugly brute's secrets. The level 18 barbarian's body hid a powerful aura of death and corrosion that was only enhanced by a powerful bloodlust picked up over many massacres. People like this normally acted as they wished, unreasonable monsters who could not be bound by laws.

Heisa felt a sudden wave of panic out of nowhere when Richard's eyes shot out the light, as though all of his secrets had been exposed. He felt a wave of uncertainty wash over him, but couldn't tell where it was coming from. Still, those who killed day and night had their senses clouded by overconfidence and bloodlust. Balibali had physically reacted to Richard's scanning, but Heisa just frowned while oblivious to the fact that basically all of his cards had been exposed.

“So you're that promised person? The tooth of the Beast God really is in your possession...” The barbarian stared at Richard, eyes glowing with brutal excitement.

Richard calmly gripped the Twin of Destiny, “You want to challenge me as well?”

“Challenge? Hahahaha!” It was as though the fellow had heard the most ridiculous thing in his life, bursting into a manic laughter that wet his eyes.

Heisa seemed to force himself to stop laughing, pointing at Richard with his hand filled with black hairs, “I'm not as foolish as the rest. Heh, I've come up with another idea. I'll kill you and Balibali and stuff the tooth of the Beast God in his hands. That way, it will look like you two perished together. All of your wounds were from him anyway.

“I'm not going to give you any chance to waste time. If others get here, they'll definitely follow Mountainsea's words and stop me from killing you. Haha, prepare for death!”

Richard seemed eerily calm, supporting himself with one hand as the other grasped at the last destiny crystal on his body. This was a divine item that could bring about miracles; as long as he could feel its existence, he would never lack courage. However, he definitely wouldn't use it until the very last moment.

Heisa walked towards Richard, “Right, I want to let you see something before you die. That way, your death will be more painful!”

He paused mid-stride and dry heaved, seemingly in great pain as he spat out a little snake covered in yellow slime. The snake was completely black in colour with a pair of transparent wings still pressed into its body, lazily coiling around in the palm of Heisa's hand and sticking out its tongue repeatedly as crimson beads for eyes surveyed its surroundings in confusion.

The barbarian chuckled, “This is a viper I found deep inside the Wildpoison Pond. It's unbelievably quick, and its poison is amazing. Most powerhouses can't endure a bite. I'll put it on your corpse when you die, the simplest and best traps. I know the doll is rushing here right now, and she shouldn't be far.

“Well, a bite won't kill her, but she'll grow weak enough that I can take her down and ravage her in front of your corpse. I don't want any glory, just to be the father of her first child. Let me tell you one more thing; as long as I take here, she'll definitely have my child! This is a special power of mine! Isn't this exciting? Don't worry, after I'm done with her I'll make it up to you. I'll use your body too before eating you.”

Watching Heisa who was laughing madly, Richard's anger faded into a cold serenity, “This snake of yours looks rare and precious.”

“Of course! To think a kid like you had such a great eye. I nearly lost my life back then to catch. It. Tch, it's too late for you to beg for your life. Whose fault is it that you're whatever damned promised person?”

“Such a pity for it to be gone, then.” Richard suddenly smiled.

“What did you say?” Heisa suddenly felt a strong sense of unease, unwittingly taking a step forward. A light breaking sound rang out underneath his foot, startling him into retracting it and gazing downwards.

A pure white flower had been crushed under his large foot. However, the moment he saw it the barbarian felt his heart stop for a moment. He knew very well that there were few flowers in the wasteland even when there wasn't a drought.

More wild flowers suddenly appeared in his field of vision, blossoming up from the ground with a strong aura of life that left him feeling a sharp pain in his body. Time seemed to slow down in that moment. A voice roared a warning in his mind, but his reaction was incomparably slow.

“You talk too much,” a quiet voice rang by his ear.

Heisa's bestial eyes immediately landed on the little snake in his hands. Green light was flickering on its body as it rolled around in great suffering, mouth open wide to reveal a dark green liquid condensing at the tip of its fangs.

He could feel the potency of the life energy twined around the little snake's body. There was a trace of mysterious moonforce within that amplified the life aura a hundredfold, surpassing even that of a divine spell!

The third sword of Silvermoon, Devout Prayer. The power of the jade moon surpassed most divine spells in terms of healing, but this power was completely antithetical to a creature who lived off the power of death and corrosion. The little snake cried out like a little child, quickly turning into a puddle of black water in Heisa's hands.

The threads of green moonforce didn't let go even then, weaving in and out as they boiled the black water to clear it of the toxins. All that was left was completely harmless liquid. The powerful healing of the jade moon also transmitted into its purification ability.

“NOOOOO!”

Heisa immediately charged towards Richard, large hands raised as he swatted towards Richard's head. The simple attack left Richard suffocated without the space to dodge. Winds of corrosion started blowing out as Heisa exhibited his true strength, trying to overwhelm with force. This was a strength that far surpassed Balibali's.

There was no way to run, so Richard didn't even try. He instead looked up, blowing a translucent flame in Heisa's direction. The whirling winds of death could not obstruct this wisp at all, failing to even deflect it. Heisa's brows furrowed as he expelled an inky black gas from his arms with a cry, forcefully smashing apart the near-invisible flame.

*Rumble!* The wisp immediately scattered but most of the sparks stuck to Heisa's body, especially his fist. The sparks began to blaze the moment they made contact, the steel-like body unable to stop pits from forming in his skin. The flames continued to dig in, almost all of the skin on his right hand burnt to nothingness before the fire started on his flesh.

The powerful barbarian had never expected the flames to be so terrifying. Still, as someone with ample battle experience, he immediately started pounding his fists into the ground as energy surged out of his pores, crazily consuming the flames. With the help of the surging black winds, he finally managed to put them out.

Heisa then stood up, sweat pouring down his face as his expression turned incomparably grim. It had taken more than ten times the energy he had expected to use to consume the flames, practically a third of his reserves wiped out in one shot. He glared at Richard who had been sent flying, currently lying on the ground a dozen metres away without the strength to stand.

579 - City of Sin

Klandor's Sky

“What flames are these?” Heisa asked as he slowly made his way towards Richard once more.

“Infernal flames from the abyss. How do they feel?” Richard asked weakly.

“Terrible!” With his snake destroyed and himself injured greatly, the brute had lost his temper. He hadn't thought it would be so difficult to deal with someone who couldn't even stand firmly, all his plans going down the drain. Forget setting a trap for Mountainsea, now he would have to run immediately even if someone of Balibali's level appeared.

The barbarian's large foot stomped down on Richard's head, pressing half his face into the soil, “Quick, beg for forgiveness! If it's good, I'll let you die a little easier. If not, I'll crush your brain bit by bit!”

“Your foot... stinks like hell!” a frail voice rang out from beneath.

Heisa inhaled sharply, nearly stomping down with full strength. However, he managed to restrain his bloodthirsty impulses and substituted the rage for merciless cruelty as he continued to slowly crush downwards with his foot. The cracking sounds coming from Richard's face made his blood flow faster.

Richard had grasped the destiny crystal in his hand, but no longer had the strength to break it and call down a miracle. He could only grow bitter at how hard this last slab seemed to be as his mind gradually descended into darkness.

However, just as Heisa started to enjoy the process of torture, a sudden whistle rang through the air. A beast-tendon whip swept across the sky as fast as a black dragon, striking down towards the back of the brute's head!

The might behind this whip was extraordinary, able to crush a rock with one strike. Heisa didn't dare take it on, giving out an enraged howl as he dodged to the side. The whip ended up striking nothing, heading straight down towards Richard. If it struck true, Richard would immediately explode like a sack of flesh and blood. But the whip suddenly twisted, turning from ferocious with no regard for the enemy to a pliable and agile arm that slowly turned Richard around. It then gently began to wipe away the traces of blood and dirt on his face, revealing the skin underneath.

Heisa stood ten metres away, slowly pulling out the large axe on his back as he stared at the tall barbarian woman that had suddenly appeared in front of him, “Ramazoya! You actually stand on the side of that Norlander?”

The one called Ramazoya was tall and fit, looking no different from most barbarian mails. Her skin was a little darker, quite pretty in fact, but the biggest impression she gave was with the mountainous pressure from her aura. She gazed at Heisa coldly, “What I do is none of your business. Who do you think you are? If I didn't rush here, you would have killed Her Highness' promised person! And you wanted to push the blame onto Balibali? Don't take everyone for fools!”

Heisa's expression warped constantly between unease, viciousness, hesitation, and unwillingness. “Don't spout nonsense!” he stated grimly, “I wasn't planning on killing the promised person at all, I just wanted to teach him a lesson. You, on the other hand... It seems like your strength has grown a bit, no wonder you dare to meddle in my matters.”

“And what can you do about that, blackie?” Ramazoya spat disdainfully, her ten-metre-long whip cracking in the air, “Want a fight?”

Heisa's eyes practically spit out fire, his four massive canines grinding against each other as he gritted out, “Now? Such great timing! Fine, I'll take your challenge to heart. Just you wait, you'll regret it soon enough! You better stay in your shrine obediently and never come out, or I'll roast your fat ass!”

Ramazoya's face clouded over with rage, whip lashing out towards the brute who raised his large axe with a low cry to block. A thunderous explosion rang out and Heisa was sent staggering backwards, while Ramazoya herself retreated two steps. It looked like she had the upper hand, but for the difference to be so small despite his serious injuries showed the obvious disparity between their strengths.

Heisa crouched down like a wild beast, giant axe held tightly as he focused on Ramazoya with a fierce glint in his eyes. She appeared imposing herself; this fellow was much more powerful than she had anticipated, certainly far beyond her calibre were he not injured. If they engaged in a battle of life and death, the outcome would not be certain.

“Heisa, Ramazoya!” a sturdy voice suddenly called out, a hint of surprise within, “What are you two doing here?”

The voice seemed to sound right by their ears, but the person that spoke the words was just a little speck on the horizon. The two barely saw a young barbarian rushing over at full speed, movements containing no elegance or rhythm but filled with boundless strength.

“Umur!” Heisa's expression changed instantly, and he glared at Ramazoya, “Count yourself lucky!” As soon as the words left his mouth, he turned and darted away.

Ramazoya didn't stop him, instead taking a step backwards as she put up full guard against the approaching youth. However, the tip of her whip trembled slightly, revealing her nervousness.

Umur finally arrived a short while later, nonchalantly running over as he used his sleeve to wipe the sweat on his face. He didn't seem to move quickly, certainly much slower than Heisa and even Ramazoya or Balibali, but looking at the fleeing figure he shook his head with regret, “I never thought I'd bump into him here. What a pity, if this were some other time I definitely wouldn't let him escape!”

Sweat started to bead down Ramazoya's face as she failed to contain her fear. She knew very well that Umur wasn't fast, but his stamina was basically limitless. If he truly wanted to hunt someone down, he could run for several days and nights without tiring. It wouldn't be strange if he ran over 10,000 kilometres in one stretch. If the opponent he was pursuing didn't just turn back and fight to the death, they would die from exhaustion anyway.

Seeing Richard on the ground, Umur seemed to grow sad, “This is the promised person? He's already hurt this bad, huh... Tch, looks like I can't challenge him now.”

Ramazoya heaved a sigh of relief. Truth be told, this was the expected reaction of most of the youths who appeared here. However, it was hard to stay relaxed in front of an enemy who could kill you without issue.

“Are you also here to challenge him?” She couldn't resist the urge to confirm it once more.

“Of course. I wanted to see how amazing Her Highness' promised person was as well,” Umur said casually. However, he suddenly looked towards her with suspicion, “Wait, why are you here? I thought you were a girl.”

“What the hell? Of course I am!” she said in anger, whip bouncing off the ground but not lashing forward. She suppressed the annoyance and exclaimed, “All of you are rushing to challenge him to teach him his place and have him back off. However, a few years later he might still come back. What's the use then? I believe the person Her Highness chose couldn't be too terrible, and I'm already of age, so I can just grab him for myself and see what kind of child I give birth to.”

“That...” Umur frowned, wringing his hands as he paced around in thought. A short while later, he suddenly struck his head with his palm, “RIGHT! If you get him first and sleep with him, Her Highness won't ever want him again. If you even have a child, that's as good as destroying all of her ideas! So tricky, and you're even putting everything into it... This isn't your idea, is it?”

Ramazoya's expression changed immediately, but she did her best to maintain a smile, “Umur, you might be amazing but you can't provoke just anyone. You'd best take care of yourself. I have my own troubles too.”

“Her Highness won't let you off,” Umur said earnestly.

“She won't destroy our shrine. As long as I successfully give birth to the child, things will be fine.”

Umur took a look at the remnants of the battlefield, turning back to the unconscious Richard and sighing, “I feel like you're not losing out at all.”

Ramazoya froze for a moment, anger surging once more, “UMUR! DARE TO INSULT ME AGAIN, AND I'LL FIGHT YOU TO THE DEATH!”

The youth didn't mind her threat at all, “I'm serious Ramazoya, you're thinking too much of yourself. This Norlander doesn't even seem twenty yet... It seems like the rumours were true, Her Highness really did set her sights on a very young mage. Someone who could injure Heisa after defeating Balibali is more than worthy of you. Think about it... He's seven or eight years younger than you, and already has this much power. What happens if you're the same age? He could send you to the ground without any problem.”

Ramazoya calmed down once more, her gaze at Richard growing complicated. She drew closer to him and bent down, wanting to take another look at this frail young man.

Umur suddenly felt his entire body shake. He immediately looked northeast, eyes filling up with shock. Ramazoya's reaction was much slower. It took her a moment to feel the difference, hair standing on end as her expression warped into one of sheer terror.

The wind silently changed directions from the northwest, now blowing in from the northeast. It gradually grew stronger, pressing the long yellow grasses into the ground. From a bird's eye view, one could see a wave of flattening grass rushing in their direction.

The wave of force passed by and sent Ramazoya's whip and Umur's clothes dancing wildly. Both gazes were fixed on the northeast, at the mountain and the sky.

580 - City of Sin

Klandor's Sky(2)

A black speck appeared in the sky, slowly growing in size. It seemed to be an ordinary stone rod, but Umur immediately tensed up while Ramazoya widened her mouth in horror. She wanted to scream, but the wind blew the sound back down her throat. Escaping was impossible, dodging was impossible, blocking was impossible. She couldn't move even the slightest bit.

The stone rod that had been thrown out from the side of the mountain streaked across the sky straight towards the group, burying itself into the ground right beside Richard. The earth rippled out past everyone's feet for hundreds of metres, forcing Umur to stifle a groan as he stumbled backwards a few steps with blood streaming down his nose. Ramazoya was sent flying in an instant, a cloud of bloody mist spurting out into the air before she landed head-first ten metres away. It was a sorry sight.

Balibali had it even worse. Having been injured by Richard and then Heisa, he was the farthest away. Still, he couldn't manage to scramble out of range of the waves in time. He was sent tumbling to the ground once more.

And yet, as unbelievable as the power of this little stone rod was, it didn't hurt Richard at all. A small figure had appeared on the distant mountain, barely visible yet far more lofty and imposing than the majestic construct of nature beneath her.

Mountainsea was here!

The barbarian ruler stood on the summit with her braids dancing wildly in the wind, eyes screaming murder. “Your High—” Umur started, but a tremendous roar burst forth from her lips. “GET OUT!” She didn't want any explanation at all.

Ramazoya immediately scrambled to her feet, turning to flee. She knew very well that Mountainsea was on the verge of an outburst right now, and staying even a moment longer would convince her to stain her hands for the first time in her life. Umur sighed as well, turning to leave.

“Wait!” A single word left both barbarians frozen. Mountainsea closed her eyes and took a deep breath, “Go tell the rest that this is the last time I'm putting up with this. If I see anyone who dares to challenge Richard next time, they're dead!”
𝘧r𝙚e𝓌𝐞𝑏𝗻𝑜𝘷𝙚Ɩ. com

Ramazoya took off. Umur wanted to remind her that some people had started further away or were slower in running, but he knew the young girl would probably beat him up for it. He would have to guard the perimeter himself, blocking them off in advance to prevent them from disturbing her and Richard. In the blink of an eye, the only one left in the barren land was Balibali who had collapsed without the ability to get up once more.

The young girl took large strides as she made her way down from the mountain, rushing all the way to Richard's side. She then squatted down and looked at Richard's mangled face.

......

A raging bonfire was burning under the starry night sky. Richard was leaning against the trunk of the gigantic lone tree in the area, eyes fixed on Mountainsea who was holding a giant egg over the fire to roast it. One could see her little ears straining to hear any sounds of activity that might be taking place on Richard's side, but her own gaze was absolutely focused on the egg.

Klandor's barbarian ruler now appeared a little nervous.

Far in the distance, a furious snarl rang out from another old tree. Balibali woke up from unconsciousness only to find himself tied to the tree with beast tendons, his body upside down. Despite his position, even more blood rushed to his head from the humiliation.

If the other barbarians were to see him in his current state, Balibali knew he would become a joke on the entire continent. He thus did all he could to struggle and break free, but the beast tendons didn't budge in the slightest. No matter how much he roared, he wasn't able to change his circumstances.

The tendons Mountainsea had casually tied him up with were drawn from beasts well known for their resilience. Even if he had ten more years of training, he would still have to remain hanging until someone came along and decided to rescue him. More snarls of indignance rang out in the gathering darkness.

The egg was already cooked, but Richard continued to just watch Mountainsea work. A potion had stopped the bleeding on his face, but his wounds were still present. The shrivelled skin and flesh looked extremely terrible, revealing the ghastly sight of his bones deep within. These injuries were serious and would leave behind problems unless treated by a cleric or shaman.

However, he didn't expect any such help on this continent, especially after learning about what Mountainsea was to them. He wanted to take the ruler of all the barbarians of Klandor away! He was already lucky enough that more people hadn't tried to poison him to death.

Mountainsea took the egg off the fire and blew hard before tapping it a few times. Satisfied with the sound, she placed it on a rock and brandished her little fist, smashing into the egg with force. The rock beneath was smashed to dust in an instant, but the only effect on the eggshell was a small crack.

She looked around again, but unable to find another rock she just took the stone rod and whacked the egg with it. The surface instantly filled with cracks, but so did the ground. She cheered and carried the egg over to Richard, “Time to eat!”

A strange aroma wafted out once the eggshell was shattered. It didn't smell rich like most meats, nor was it as clean as vegetables or fruit. However, a single whiff rejuvenated him. Richard inhaled deeply, feeling a surge of warmth spreading through his body. The pain he felt was numbed in an instant.

The moment she got closer to Richard, Mountainsea took a deep breath as well. A look of infatuation took over her petite face, but it had nothing to do with the egg. She was starting to drool over Richard's “taste.”

Richard grabbed a part of the cracked shell and pulled down, but the piece only shook a little. Although Mountainsea's actions had told him this was tough, he was still taken aback. The strength he had used in that pull was equivalent to that of a level 12 warrior!

He had to take some time observing the angle of the cracks, pulling at the optimal position to tear a small piece off and reveal the egg white within. Using the shell to scoop some up and put it in his mouth, he slowly savoured the taste. This enormous egg was quite strange. Its shell was frighteningly hard, but the albumen within melted into a surge of warmth that filled his abdomen.

Startled and delighted, he tried to scoop some more out. However, injured as he was his natural precision failed him, the fragment in his hand hitting the unbroken part of the shell. The impact wouldn't be anything normally, but with his current situation it shook all the other injuries on his body, turning him deathly pale at once.

Mountainsea saw this and immediately took the fragment from him, quickly peeling off the cracked portions of the egg. Richard smiled at her, but a pang of sharp pain shot through the side of his face once more and warped his expression, leaving him looking uglier than if he had cried. His right hand could barely be lifted up.

“Eat it all, it's good for you!” She scooped out some egg white with a piece of the shell, slowly feeding it to him. The insistence in her voice disallowed any resistance, and Richard couldn't help but smile bitterly as he looked at the astonishing egg. Memories flashed by of the torturous diet Sharon had personally formulated for him back in the Deepblue, and the tonnes of dragon steak Emperor Philip had bestowed upon him in Faust. Now Mountainsea was giving him this egg out of nowhere, forcing him to finish it off in one go.

These gifted powerhouses cared more about food than anything else!

Thankfully the egg continued to melt into those surges of warmth that spread throughout his body, not creating any undue burden on his stomach.

“Why did you come over so suddenly?” Mountainsea tried to ask casually as she fed him, “It's still a long time away from when we promised to meet!”

“Just because.”

“What are you here for?”

“Just to see you for a bit.”

“Stupid!” the girl muttered, her head lowering slightly.

“Why?” Richard asked with a smile, “I just wanted to tell you that I can already come over and see you a long time before our promise is due. When the day comes, I'll definitely beat you!”

The young girl let out a snort, “Beat me? When the day comes, I'll definitely throw you into the sea. Even now, if I hadn't come in time you would've become a meal for the wolves.”

“You didn't tell me you were a princess, did you? How was I supposed to know I would come across so many powerful fellows? Next time around, things will be different.”

Mountainsea fell silent for a moment, “Ugh. Just forget it and come be my man!”

“No way!” Richard refused firmly, “The only possibility is for you to come and be my woman!”

The atmosphere seemed to return to when she had just left the Deepblue, the topic shifting to something neither wanted to talk about. Mountainsea gazed at the flickering bonfire, suddenly heaving a sigh, “I'm the inheritor of the sacred totem. If I get serious, you'll never defeat me. Keep insisting and I'll really throw you into the sea.”

“Nope. I think it's quite possible for me to do this,” Richard said with confidence, “You didn't think I'd be able to come and defeat Balibali this time either, did you?”

The young girl nodded, her face brightening a little as though she had finally seen a ray of hope.

581 - City of Sin

Miracles Can Only Be Achieved

Richard suddenly felt the pain fading away from his face only to be replaced by an unbearable itch. The sensation soon spread to the rest of his body, all the other wounds reacting in the same way. It felt as though thousands of ants were crawling in and out of his body, the discomfort growing intolerable. He couldn't help but reach out to touch his face, instantly discovering that his wounds were squirming endlessly. He was immediately startled.

Richard couldn't help but grow fidgety, but Mountainsea pinned him down at once, “Don't move. You'll recover in a bit, bear with it until then.”

He immediately realised that the itching was a sign of recovery, relaxing his body to avoid wasting his energy. However, he was startled at the sheer speed, as though he was being healed by a grand priest. Even the wounds that wouldn't normally heal with a regular spell were recovering quickly. “What was that egg?” he asked Mountainsea.

The girl seemed to relax in tandem with him, “A hydra egg. I happened to pass by a nest, so I grabbed one.”

He inhaled sharply at the mere mention of the name of this creature he had only ever read about. Hydras possessed draconic blood, but could not fly like their typical kin. Larger than even true dragons below the legendary realm they were absolute tyrants on the land. Even a red dragon wasn't their match. And Mountainsea had dared to steal an egg from such a beast! No matter how effortless she made it sound, the process must have been extremely dangerous.

However, it made sense for a hydra egg to possess such power. Richard just sighed speechlessly. He was growing stronger by the day, but the debts he owed were only growing to a point he where he couldn't repay them at all.

The girl suddenly smiled, leaning in close, “Since we've met with great difficulty, a present!”

Uneasiness washed over Richard's face as his body leaned back by instinct. Nevertheless, he had already resigned himself to what was to come. This was the least he could do for her.

And yet, the gnawing and biting he had expected didn't come true. Already nestled up against him, Mountainsea just pressed her lips softly onto his before worming her way further into his embrace, saying she was sleepy before she began snoring lightly.

He propped up her neck in his hand, adjusting her so she would be comfortable before settling down himself. His hand started moving slowly as he rubbed through her head just like all those years ago, letting her fall asleep on his legs. He then combed through the braids that were all over her head lightly, touching the shells, bones, and stones as he felt their carefree aura.

The serious bookworm had vanished, and so had the carefree and innocent little girl. However, this one night was just like all those he remembered so fondly in his heart.

......

As much as both youths hoped for that night to last eternally, daybreak still arrived. When the first ray of sunlight shone down upon their bodies, Mountainsea stretched herself lazily like a lion cub that had just woken up, letting out a big yawn before sitting upright. The first thing that came into her view was a face as familiar as her family, and she instinctively took a ruthless bite out of those lips and savoured the taste.

Only then did she fully awake, widening her eyes as she looked around many times before realising this was not the Deepblue. A trace of sorrow flashed in her eyes.

The young girl pulled off the beast-tooth bracelet on Richard's wrist and added a pure white seashell into it before placing it back on his wrist. She held up an identical twin, “If I have something to tell you, I'll write it down on this shell and they will appear on the piece with you. They can only be used once, but they'll reach through no matter what plane you're on.”

Richard nodded his head, but the bracelet felt heavier than ever before.

“I should go back, the old fellows at the shrine will be restless.” Mountainsea waved a vigorous goodbye, the same way she had a year ago in Norland time.

Richard thought things over for a moment before speaking some words of warning, “Be careful of the people in the Azuresnow Shrine.”

“They surely... alright.”

Just as Mountainsea was about to leave, Richard suddenly called out towards her from behind, “When the day comes, I might not be able to win against you. But I'll definitely beat the rest of them to the ground!”

The girl turned her head and flashed a radiant smile, making her way into the distance. As her figure disappeared into the horizon, the little braids that still bounced about in his heart slowly gave way to a freezing cold.
𝙛𝑟𝘦ℯ𝘄e𝙗nov𝙚𝑙. 𝐜𝑜𝗺

Richard Dizmason Archeron sorted his equipment and readjusted to his optimal state before setting off to return. The hydra egg had healed him off all his wounds overnight, eliminating even the fatigue of the blood loss. His left shoulder where Heisa's death energy-covered foot had stomped him was the only thing still throbbing, but even that pain was dull. If not for such a special kind of wound, the egg that was comparable to advanced healing spells would have restored him completely.

Although mentally prepared for a few more tough battles, he didn't run into a single enemy on his way back. He returned safely to the Salson island without a hitch.

......

Richard saw a face full of regret on the old Salson's face as he rushed over on the other side of the portal, “Tch, I couldn't get those coins for free.”

Richard laughed heartily for a moment, but then he grabbed the man's shirt collar and spoke fiercely, “You old coot! You knew I was going to go meet Mountainsea long ago, didn't you!”

“Of course!” the baldy laughed craftily, “How could a family that specialises in commerce between two continents not know Klandor's princess? I guessed almost the moment you told me about it.”

“And you didn't tell me!”

A smile arose on the man's face, “If I had, you might have been scared to go. Now look at you, the gains were pretty good no?”

“That's not necessarily true,” Richard retorted, but he had to admit that he would likely have waited some more time to go meet Mountainsea if he'd known about the danger earlier. He had barely even escaped the barbarian continent on this trip.

The old man seemed to read Richard's thoughts, smiling knowingly, “Miracles can only be achieved if you try the impossible. This is just like when nobody thought we would successfully break away from the Millennial Empire. Even I had no confidence back then, but we just had to do it.”

Richard went silent for a moment before smiling himself, “I'll be using your portals again.”

“Hehe, just give me the free 250,000 coins next time!”

“Dream on, old man!”

A short while later, four griffins flew into the sky from Salson territory and headed straight for Faust. Watching them disappear into the distance, Pipin let out a sigh, “It's still better to be with the young ones, they're full of life!”

......

A few days later, four utterly exhausted griffins landed back in Faust on the verge of collapse. Of course, Richard was still full of energy; outside of some numbness in his limbs due to the long periods of time maintaining the same posture, he didn't feel any fatigue from missing sleep for a few nights in a row. The residual energy of the hydra egg still left warmth flooding every part of his body, fighting the cold winds high in the sky.

As he returned to the family island, he summoned the old steward to ask about the current situation and get reports on the vassals to study carefully when he went away. Noticing Fuschia still absent, he thought for a moment and instructed the steward, “Send Fuschia a letter that I'm going back to the Forest Plane tomorrow, she can come after that instead of trying to hide.”

“Yes, Master,” the old butler answered in agreement.

He suddenly laughed out loud, “She's still needed here. When she comes back, tell her I won't visit her room even when I'm here. As long as she hides there whenever I'm around, I'll act like she doesn't exist.”

“Rest assured, my Lord. Is there anything I need to do regarding Earl Alice?”

“... Nothing much,” Richard said after some hesitation. He could treat the seven rune sets as a gift to Alice, something to support his cousin in tumultuous times. He wouldn't bring the matter up until she did.

He started pacing back and forth around the room, thinking hard. “One more thing,” he said eventually, “Announce to the family that we're enlisting rune knights.”

The old steward was stupefied. “Enlisting rune knights?” he asked for clarification, “What does that mean?”

“Take in the Archeron warriors who qualify to become rune knights, I will provide the runes for them.”

“That... That...” The composure the butler had cultivated over a long time was completely broken. This was something unheard of in the entire Sacred Alliance; rune knights were the core soldiers of every major family. Every single one was hand-selected and trained for a long time. There was no precedent of them being enlisted from the family members at all.

Richard thought deeply for a minute before continuing, “Right, once the criteria for slots, level, and capacity are satisfied, the most important thing should be loyalty. Anyone who wants to become a rune knight needs to sign a slave contract before they get their rune, serving me for twenty years before they regain their freedom. Of course, the runes will be theirs afterwards. As long as the contract is in effect, I won't treat them any differently from the rest of my knights.”

582 - City of Sin

Trifling Matters

“But... Master, how many rune knights do you wish to recruit? I believe there will be quite a few applicants.” The old steward was tactful enough to avoid the topic of rune production, nor did he ask why the contract would be with Richard and not the Archeron Family as a whole.

“Hmm... Thirty should do for now,” Richard responded.

“Th-Thirty... Alright.”

“That's all for now, go take care of it. Also, tell Nyris and Agamemnon that I plan to return to the Forest Plane tomorrow, we'll meet in the Church.”

The butler left hastily. Richard exited the study as well, heading towards the warehouse in the basement to conduct the final inspection of the 8,000,000 gold's worth of equipment that had just arrived.

This time, it wasn't just weapons and armour. A total of fifteen ballistae were mixed into the shipment, with thirty bolts each with varying enchantments like piercing, acceleration, and tracking. There was even a batch of bolts that could release acid mist, something prepared with special consideration for the environment in the Forest Plane.

He met Coco once more in the corridor. She seemed to have a lot on her mind as she instinctively shrank back at his sight, but then she suddenly gathered her courage and took several steps forward to arrive right in front of him. She opened her mouth to speak.

And then she turned red as she closed her mouth again, not knowing how to start.

Richard frowned. He had nearly forgotten about this girl's treachery, and not giving her any real punishment was not equivalent to forgiving her. He had just been too busy building a foundation in Faelor and the Forest Plane, giving him little time when he was back in Norland. When every minute and second counted, why would he give her the time of day?

“Richard. I... I...” the girl continued to grow more panicked, the words stuck in her throat.

Richard did his best to soften his expression, saying gently, “There's no hurry. Take your time and say whatever you need to. Is there a reason you're looking for me? Can the steward not help you?”

Coco finally gathered her courage, “The steward has already done his best, but... It's about my father and brother...”

Richard stood in the corridor and listened patiently as the sobbing girl stammered her way through the story. Although she talked for a long time, she wasted a lot of time on useless descriptions and flitted from point to point, the explanation so chaotic even Richard had difficulty following completely. However, he waited the full fifteen minutes it took to understand the gist of the problem.

The issues were the same, her father's debt and her brother's crime. Now, however, the two were connected to each other. Much of the money Coco was sending back had been used to establish contact with various key personnel in an attempt to reduce the charges against her brother. However, this would be no easy affair; the lords and judges of the court couldn't afford to blur the lines in such a high-profile case.

It wasn't that their stance could not be changed, but even the slightest lowering of the sentence would need a huge price that Coco's income could not support. Although her income was quite paltry overall, it was several times higher than that of the free Archeron warriors who struggled through life and death every day. The soldiers did not object for now— Archeron tradition emphasised that those who continued the family line were just as important as those on the frontiers— but if they found out she hadn't even gotten into Richard's bed yet or about the role she had played in the rebellion, things would be entirely different.

Gazing at Coco intently, Richard just couldn't find an answer for her right away. He could only have her prepare a copy of the information about her father and brother for him to look at in more detail before he made a decision.

......

When Richard returned to the study that evening after finishing the inspection, a thick report had already been placed conspicuously at the centre of his table. He used an entire half hour to look through every page in detail, going through the records, accusations, testimonies, and all sorts of proof. Ten more minutes of thinking later, he found himself no better than nearly an hour prior.

The father's debt wasn't really a big issue, but her older brother's disgusting acts had a huge effect in the area. There was conclusive evidence as to the crime, and the only criticism one could make of the sentence of twenty years of forced labour was that it was too light. Richard could use his authority to forcefully suppress the matter, even going so far as to declare the brother innocent, but he just couldn't bring himself to do it.

He eventually sighed and closed the file, placing it in a basket of other documents in the upper left corner of his desk for later consideration. There was more paperwork for him to deal with tonight.

Many of the reports in the upper right corner of the desk had a strip of paper jutting out from them, which meant the steward had already looked through beforehand and added his opinion as to how they should be handled. For those, he could just take a glance through and sign off on the decision. However, there were at least twenty important matters for him to deal with himself.

Richard was feeling a little jittery, the warmth forcing him to unbutton his shirt a little. He had to be meditating or crafting runes, not dealing with these useless things. He realised he was in dire need of an assistant, someone who could aid in managing the lands. At the very least, they had to be able to take over control of the day-to-day affairs of his territory.

However, Richard was going to leave the next day, and he himself wasn't quite sure when he would return again. He forced himself to calm down, continuing to bury himself in the pile of documents. A thought suddenly appeared in his mind: perhaps Alice would be suitable for this.

The Earl's territory seemed to be developing greatly, becoming more prosperous by the day. Her only problem was the one common to all Archerons, a lack of time and money. It would take an enormous amount for her to accelerate growth in the early stages, and although these investments would be useful in the long-term they would not be returned soon. Alice had been just like Gaton, only inheriting a small fief from her family. In only a matter of decades she had turned that into an earldom with a hopeful populace, an aspect in which even Gaton was somewhat inferior. Gaton's might came from his miraculous expansion, tearing down enemy after enemy on his way to the top.

In the meanwhile, Richard only had control over the Archeron island. The vassal fiefs on the mainland were all semi-independent now, the local lords not really caring for his orders with many in secret contact with enemy organisations. Even the symbol of the Archeron Family, the Blackrose Castle, had fallen into the hands of the so-called elder assembly. Unable to wipe out these thorns in his side right now, he could only pretend to see nothing and remain indifferent be it in the face of disobedience or open opposition. Now was not the time to settle matters with them.

However, that didn't mean he was on the losing end. With the family cemetery shifted over to the island, Blackrose Castle was an empty symbol that was no longer the pillar of support behind the Archeron Family. Every powerful Archeron longed for the approval of the family tombs, so as long as the situation persisted his enemies would wear out before he did. The moment they made a move, he would be able to choose the timing and battlefield to destroy them all in one go.

Time slowly trickled away. By the time Richard was done reading through all the documents, the golden rays of sunrise were starting to peek out on the horizon. Gazing at the thick stack of documents on the table, Richard sighed. From his perspective, all of them had been trivial matters. Of course, in the eyes of the people they affected these were life-changing events.

Butlers and stewards could plan for daily life and take care of logistics, but he had no authority to take decisions on many matters regarding even the lord's own citizens, forget external affairs. That was a problem for the lord to handle.

The old steward knocked on the door to the study at six in the morning, bringing Richard his breakfast. Richard took the information Coco had sent and thought silently for a while before passing it to him, “Take a look at this and check how to deal with it, I can't make the decision to declare him innocent. If things really won't work, dismiss Coco's obligation as my partner and send her off the island.”

The old butler froze but did not say anything. As he received the document, it felt so heavy that it would drop from his hands. How was Coco to survive off the island? What was she going to use to support her family?

......

Afternoon arrived quickly, and Richard met Nyris and Agamemnon at the Church of the Eternal Dragon before returning to the Forest Plane with them. It hadn't been terribly long back in Norland, but three months had already passed in plane time.

During times of quiet, the powerful were normally unwilling to stay on other planes. One could raise their strength much faster on a primary plane, and the changed flow of time between various planes did not also cause a changed flow of life. Eight years of growth was eight years of growth, whether one was on Norland or in Faelor.

The moment he returned to the Forest of Plane, Richard entered the laboratory to see Rosie's progress. She could already draw most basic rune formations, her rate of learning not too much slower than his own back in the day.

When he entered the laboratory she was leant over the worktable fully focused on runecrafting, not noticing his arrival at all. She was dressed to ease movements, her long, simple gown tight around the hips and hair tied into a bun atop her head. Still, she was stunning even without any makeup.

Watching her, Richard suddenly remembered an old proverb that said men hard at work were the most charming. Right now, he felt women were no worse.

583 - City of Sin

Tactical Present

Richard found multiple magic-sealing boxes on a shelf in the southern part of the laboratory building. Silently counting through, he found that Rosie had actually completed a total of 21 partial runes in his absence!

The young lady needed about three days to complete these semi-runes. In other words, she had to have worked tirelessly day after day to finish all these, improving at the craft significantly. He'd naturally taken his divine pen away with him when he left, only leaving behind a superior-grade pen for her. It was enough for an apprentice, but even to just a normal runemaster it would seem crude.

With the half a day of time saved for each of these half-complete runes, she had earned him more than ten days in total. For someone who prized time as much as he did, this was of great significance. Richard walked up behind Rosie and waited till she was done with the line she was currently working on to call out to her, “Not bad. You could do a little better in these parts though...”

She looked up at him with some shock, a quiet smile flashing across her face, “Master, you're back.” Looking at the places he had pointed out, she frowned, “Ah, those. For some reason, my mana grows unstable whenever I get to that point and it becomes difficult to control the pen.”

It was only then that he remembered she was only a level 9 mage, and one that had recently advanced. She needed to be level 12 at minimum to finish all these curves perfectly— even he with his great blessings had only perfected them at level 10. The very fact that they weren't complete failures at level 9 was amazing.

Richard thought it over for a bit, “Hmm... Take some more time off to meditate, you need to increase your mana pool. I'll teach you the Deepblue Fantasy once you hit level 10.”

A look of surprise rose upon Rosie's face, “That... Is it the meditation technique Her Excellency Sharon designed personally?”

The huge reaction was entirely out of Richard's anticipation, “Umm... Yes? This is Master's meditation technique, but the elementary version isn't any big secret. What's wrong?”

Rosie sighed, her head bowing down as she went quiet for a moment, “... I don't think you're aware just how precious that technique is. Aren't you afraid of me betraying you? After all, my surname is still Mensa.”

Richard chuckled, reaching out to pat her face, “Nyris talked to me about this before. I promised him not to give you the chance. Heh, there aren't many things more stupid than betraying a future saint runemaster.”

Rosie smiled, “Are you that confident in yourself?”

“No, this isn't confidence. It's a promise I need to...” Richard's voice trailed off as memories of that dream-like night surged into his heart. The image of the Deepblue Aria and its majesty filled his mind once more.

Rosie suddenly had the strange feeling that becoming a saint wasn't Richard's limit in the future. The man in front of her always seemed to be looking further ahead.

Richard quickly snapped out of it, walking over to the shelf and opening one of the boxes to examine the half-complete runes in detail. He was extremely pleased with her work, asking curiously, “Did you even get any rest in the past three months?”

“Yes. Isn't meditation rest?” she asked.

Richard went silent, extremely familiar with the mindset behind that sentence. This was the way he himself had answered to the grand mages of the Deepblue more than once, but he had never expected to hear it coming from someone else. This wasn't the first time he was seeing shadows of his past self in her.

“Why are you so desperate? Aren't you tired?”

Rosie gathered the messy hair in front of her forehead and said indifferently, “I'm living the life I've always dreamt about. How can it be tiring?”

He nodded in response, “Alright then. Now, there's something else I need your opinion on. Lina hasn't been in a good state of mind lately, and I heard she sold all of her epic-grade equipment to maintain the situation on this plane earlier. I'm planning to compensate for that, so should I just give her some epic equipment or make a rune for her?”

“You want to both raise her power and improve her mood, right?:

He nodded. Rosie was the best person he knew with regards to matters of the heart. Not anyone could leave Flowsand the loser in a battle of words.

She thought it over for a bit, “Hmm, I suggest you give her enough gold to let her buy whatever equipment she wants to raise her strength. In the meanwhile, you could give her some little gifts to improve her mood. They don't need to be expensive, just enough to show your intentions.”

“Little gifts?” Money was not an issue for him, but gifts were. He had nothing to gift someone outside of his runes.

“I have some trinkets if need be.” Rosie pulled out a little box and handed it over. He opened the box to find two earrings in their, small gold hoops ending with black crystals in the shape of droplets. Richard could tell the materials even with his eyes closed— they were extremely common materials in his runecrafting. These beautiful things were actually made of scrap!

“You made this?”

“Yes, to practice keeping my hands steady. Well... I'm also a girl, you know. We like accessories,” she quietly stuck her tongue out rather endearingly.

“Why didn't you just buy some then?”

Rosie shrugged, “I have no money, to time, and no chance to do that. Where will I get earrings in this place?”

A lack of time or opportunities was understandable, but only when she said she had no money did Richard realise that he hadn't given Rosie any money since she had come to live under his wing. Of course, up until very recently he wouldn't even have considered letting her go shopping.

“I think this pair of earrings is even more valuable to Lina than epic-grade equipment right now,” Rosie continued, “However, you have to tell her that you made them yourself.”

“What? That... That's not a good idea!” The earrings weren't all that valuable, but if he claimed to have made them himself there would be a different meaning to it. Besides, taking someone else's work for his own didn't sit well with him.

“There's nothing wrong with it.” Rosie closed the accessory box and stuffed it into his pocket, “Lina is very important to you right now, while my time isn't worth much. A tiny lie can put her in a good mood and save you a great deal of time without hurting anyone, so why not? Weren't you going to become someone we can't betray? If you can't even pull off such a small trick, how will you convince me of that?”

These words were similar to something else he had heard before. Still, Richard had no rebuttal and could only pinch Rosie's cheeks once more before leaving to find Lina. It was only after he walked out of the lab that he remembered who else spoke such words.

The broodmother.

......

Within the magic tower on the perimeter of Emerald City, Dragon Mage Lina sat lazily on the sofa as before, looking at the endless green outside in a daze while thinking about something.

It was only alone that she removed the mask on her face, but now she was dressed in black robes that were quite ordinary. Although they couldn't conceal her gorgeous curves, they weren't close to the deep cleavage and open collar of what she used to wear.

“Lina, it's me,” a voice sounded outside her door. Her body trembled as she answered in a hurry, hastily grabbing the mask and fastening it to her face taking a few deep breaths to calm her heart and open the door.

Richard was stood tall outside the door, cleaned up and bright as the sun. “Why so slow?” he asked.

“It's nothing. I was... I was just busy cleaning something up. Come in!”

Richard closed the door behind him and surveyed the room that had changed since he last saw it. He conveniently took a seat on the only chair within, leaving the Dragon Mage with no option but to use the sofa.

In the past, Lina would have lain down on it without hesitation, not caring that the pose would let him see deep down her cleavage. Now, however, she sat primly to one side. Richard looked her up and down, “Ugh, this doesn't suit you at all. Also, there aren't any outsiders here, you can remove the mask.”

“It...” she hesitated, “It'll startle you.”

“I've seen it before.”

Lina gritted her teeth and tossed the mask aside, revealing the scars covering her face. Richard took an earnest look at it and smiled, “How are you so beautiful with only half a face?”

She turned a little red and scoffed at him, but the compliment had let her relax a little.

584 - City of Sin

A Gentle Lie

A faint light shot out of Richard's eyes as he looked over Lina's body. Her robes were made of ordinary material that was as good as transparent to his examination, so he could see the blast lines of the scar running down what was once exquisite skin in many places. Thankfully, he was growing more and more confident that a level 18 priest could heal this completely. At the very least he could convince Noelene to do it.

As his gaze shifted down in the midst of thought, he suddenly saw something he shouldn't have. It had to be said that Lina's breasts were breathtakingly beautiful, firm and perky despite their enormous size. Furthermore, they hadn't been harmed by the draconic flames, although it was unclear whether this was her subconsciously protecting them or her robes having some sort of enchantment for it. If none of those, the contract rune could have aided in the defence as well.

Although Richard could control his outward reactions to the sight, his heart started beating faster no matter how hard he tried to calm himself. He cursed silently, unsure whether Lina had discovered something was amiss. Her face was tilted a little, the side with the scar turned away, so at least it didn't seem like she had noticed.

He worked up the courage to survey her entire body once more, realising that a bulk of her scars and internal injuries could be completely healed by Noelene. The only thing that wouldn't get a full recovery right away was her face, but it would only be left with tiny scars that could be covered up with a half-mask just like Phaser. Almost everyone within Emerald City had already seen the assassin, and there was widespread agreement that the half-mask only added to her attractiveness.

However, he would only tell her these things once Noelene agreed to help. Besides, he couldn't exactly tell her how he could deduce the severity of her injuries. He passed her an envelope, “Right, I prepared a little something for you. Use it however you like.”

Lina opened it up and a silent gasp immediately escaped her mouth, “100,000?!”

Richard nodded, “It isn't much, but use it as you want. Take the cheque to the steward and he'll give you the crystals. I'm approving a holiday in Norland for you, go get some rest and shop for a bit. It can't be too long, but four days should be enough no?”

Lina stuck out her tongue like a little girl and laughed heartily, a rare sight ever since she was injured, “How did you know I like shopping?”

“All women do,” he said with a smile before taking out a small jewellery box, “Here, a small gift.”

“A gift?” Lina's eyes lit up as she snatched the box from his grasp, opening it immediately. She was immediately stunned into silence, looking at it a few more times before raising her head in disbelief, “Did you make this?”

“Yes,” he said with a smile and nod, his heart pounding.

“I... I love it!” Lina looked down once more, but this time it was unclear whether she was admiring the intricate design or avoiding his gaze. However, for just a moment, she seemed to forget the mask.

Richard stood up, “I have to go now. Remember to tell me when you're taking that holiday!”

Lina sent him off, closing the door before turning around and leaning against it. This time, deep breaths didn't help fix up the mess in her heart.

As for Richard himself, he was walking down the spiral staircase while wondering whether the day would come when he spat out such lies so eloquently anyone would believe them to be real. Lina's reaction had made him feel strange, as though he had been conned by Rosie.

......

Over the following days, Richard, Nyris, and Agamemnon worked together to formulate the next phases of their development. They decided to start with consolidating their current position, carving out a safe path to the Tree of Life and thus assimilate it into the base. The woodcutting in all other directions would only be as much as was required to keep the city safe.

Ten of the ballistae were placed to defend the Tree of Life, the five-kilometre-range enchanted bolts giving it a defence even against children of the forest. Having confirmed that there weren't any other trees of life within a 200-kilometre range, they couldn't continue to expand until they took care of the trees. The laboratories left behind by the Schumpeters were coming of use in that as well, but it would take time.

The last battle with the child of the forest had shown them the true might of the Forest Plane's powerhouses. Individually it was nothing much, but coupled with the powerful boosts from the world trees and their attunement to the jungle these natives could possess incomprehensible strength. If not for the heavy sacrifices made by everyone that day, it was entirely possible that the entire party would have been annihilated.

However, the will of the forest and the environment itself could be taken away. The children of the forest were nothing in the face of the magic towers without the protection of the forest will. Even Nyris and Agamemnon alone would be enough to destroy one at that point.

The appearance of the children had ultimately led Richard to stop radical attacks, but now he had switched to a slow, steady erosion of the enemy's power. Nyris and Agamemnon were prepared to go back to Norland, leaving their personal soldiers behind under the control of dependable officers while the rest followed them in the return to Norland. The two were going to collect a large number of magic items that could resist the pressure of a will, and would only return to the Forest Plane once there was a new way to solve the problem. As for now, it was just a bank of gold. Unhurriedness truly was a double-edged sword. With the situation in the plane at an impasse, for true powerhouses to remain was equivalent to burning away their lives. Richard was preparing to bring his own followers back to his actual base which was Faelor.

Before they left, he paid another visit to the Tree of Life to harvest some eternal springwater. This time he only brought along Flowsand, Waterflower, and Tiramisu. Although this seemed strange, they were the strongest of his followers and would be in no danger outside of an ambush from a child of the forest.

It took a day's journey before they stood in front of what now looked like a large construction site. The newly-built camp with 300 guards was mostly Norlandish in style, with fences, trenches, and tents everywhere. A few mages were busy having soldiers haul ballistae up to the platform near the crown. All the treehouses hear had been cleared, and the Tree of Life itself had bent its branches to give the soldiers a clear view all around.

Five of the ballistae were placed here while the others were lower down and on different sides. This way, there were at least three protecting a general direction at any given time. The collective power behind that would be a nightmare for even the stronger opponents.

Looking at the elaborate defences being built, Richard felt slightly reassured. He called over the mages responsible and gave them his next instructions, placing great emphasis on looking out for the elves. Anyone level 15 or above was to be shot on sight, no heroics or melee combat to be considered.The number of bolts expended would not be an issue.

The grand elder quickly rushed over upon hearing about their arrival. He was naturally now aware that Richard was the highest authority amongst the invaders, and the surprisingly young mage had an absurdly powerful soul that could resist the forest's will on its own. The grand elder secretly noticed that neither Richard nor Flowsand showed any signs of having eaten the Tree's leaves.

“Are there any instructions for me, Lord Richard?” the aged elf had quickly adapted to his role.

“The girl who was violated last time— Dior, wasn't it— has she returned?”

“No my Lord, not yet.”

“Hmmm, alright then. I came here to talk to the Tree a bit, would it be you or Jubu?”

“Jubu should do it, communicating with the Tree of Life will be good for his development. I'm too old, attempting it will only shrink the few years I have left.”

Richard nodded and was taken to a specially designed treehouse. Jubu arrived a short while later, and after some quick preparations their surroundings were bathed in a green glow and he started floating upwards. Both of his eyes had blanked.

“Esteemed visitor from another plane, what can I do for you on this visit?” The Tree of Life's demeanour was gentle as always, ready to comply.

“First I need some eternal springwater, how much do you have?”

“It hasn't been much time since the last time the springwater was extracted, I can only produce ten shares now.” The shares the Tree mentioned were enough to last a single elf for two generations. The figure shocked Richard, “Ten? Didn't you produce up to four a year before, and one at a time?”

585 - City of Sin

Gift

“That is for the elves, you are different,” the Tree of Life answered flatly, “I use up the life energy I generate to create the eternal springwater, so I reduced my output to the elves and increased my focus on this. They can go back to reproducing like they do naturally.”

“Why are you giving me such special treatment?” Richard asked softly.

“Because I need to prove that I am more valuable than my core.”

“Ha, a smart one! Now, here's the second question. With how conducive this world is to the growth of flora, can you speed up your own advancement to a world tree?”

This time, the ancient voice trembled with emotion, “You mean...”

“If possible, I'd like to try and help you become a world tree. Of course, that's only if you're loyal enough.”

“.... Every region of this world can only have one world tree. Once it forms, the entire forest in that region will fall under its control. It can go so far as to order around all sorts of natural enemies to our kind, killing off any competitors. Even if I survive that, the end result will be a battle to the death for the region unless one of us moves away.”

“You mentioned the trees of life don't have the ability to protect themselves and need the help of the elves?”

“Yes. The elves help keep our enemies at bay, and in turn we help them grow stronger. The size and prosperity of our attached elven tribes decide how much we can grow. We trees of life have different stages of growth— saplings, adolescents, and adults. Both of the latter stages are divided into three parts each, and I'm currently in the beginning stages of adolescence. The tribe protecting me wasn't very powerful, so I would have to wait another century for them to grow before I could dare to advance and attract even more powerful enemies.”

“Hmm... Say I can guarantee your safety, how long would it take for you to advance?”

“I haven't grown past the young adolescent stage for almost a century. If I don't need to care for my enemies, I can enter he middle stages of adolsecence within half a year. Another decade longer and I'll approach the end.

“My enemies at the middle stages are woodpecking crows. Their bodies aren't too large, but they often move in flocks of ten thousand at a time.”

Richard was quite surprised by the sheer speed of growth. It seemed like the main bottleneck to these trees' growth came from their predators and each other. However, this worked perfectly fine for his purposes.

“Where can I find woodpecking crows?” he asked. The best way to obtain adequate information about these things was to use Analytic on a live one and take it apart.

“The elves are very familiar with these creatures, you can ask their hunters to catch them for you. I believe it won't take them long.”

Richard nodded, “Alright, what will change with you once you advance?”

“I will be able to produce more eternal springwater, my fruits of life will take only eight years to form, and you will receive five branches a year that can be turned into staffs of nature. I will also be able to dispel the will of the forest up to 150 kilometres away.” The Tree understood just what he wanted. Please visit ƒre𝐞𝘸𝑒𝘣𝘯𝘰νℯ𝒍 𝐜𝑜m

He nodded and stood up, “Alright, make your preparations.”

The will of the Tree of Life gradually faded away, leaving an unconscious Jubu falling to the ground. The conversation had lasted far too long, taking a great toll on his soul. Richard carried the young druid and put him on a nearby bed of vines before walking out and calling for the grand elder, asking him to catch a few woodpecking crows.

It didn't take long for a small team of hunters to disappear into the forest, returning in the evening with about ten or so of the birds. Half were dead, while the rest had been captured alive.

These birds had rather average physique, each only a metre or so long. The most striking factor wasn't their dark grey feathers being hard as metal, but the sharp beaks that were disproportionately large for the rest of their bodies. These beaks were like small sickles that shone a dull yellow every once in a while.

One of the hunters demonstrated these birds' power, having one peck like lightning into a piece of bark with its foot-long beak. The hard wood that was nearly as strong as metal was pierced through almost completely, the beak filled with saw-like teeth drawing out a few grooves as it withdrew.

Even most of his soldiers' armours and shields couldn't take on the pecks of these creatures. One needed superior-grade equipment enchanted for protection to avoid being drilled through, but even then a barrage of attacks would soon render any shield useless.

The tail feathers of these crows were extremely terrifying as well. They could pull them all in to make them sharp as little knives, and when spread out these tails could scratch up a target with the sheer number of sharp edges.

Richard turned a little grim. It was fine if there were only a few dozen of them— they were small targets, but hitting them wasn't impossible. However, if there were tens of thousands, that was extremely terrifying. He could already imagine the large black cloud of woodpecking crows charging through the sky. That was no less powerful than the swarms of axes from his throwers.

With the current strength he had here in the Forest Plane, it would be difficult to deal with a thousand of these things. Another thousand more and he'd have to flee pathetically in defeat. However, the Tree of Life was saying there would be an order of magnitude more attacking it when it advanced.

Some special arrangements would have to be made. Richard thought over it for a while, having his warriors confine the captured crows as well as all of the forest elf slaves that hadn't submitted. He would take them back to Emerald City when they returned. He made ample use of the time to rest, entering a treehouse a little above the midpoint of the Tree to meditate.

As his vision faded to black, an entirely foreign landscape appeared in his mind's eye. He was amazed to find himself surrounded by boundless jade-green life energy that made it seem like he was sitting in a warm pond of life. This energy was of similar purity to what he had encountered in the Archeron cemetery.

He didn't even need to chase these things; any random tug and large amounts of the life vortices would flood his body. These vortices were immediately absorbed by the branches and roots of the astral world tree, no longer in fragments but surging within, The crown started to tremble, producing endless starlight that wandered around his sea of consciousness. Some of this starlight was absorbed by the Archeron bloodline, more by his remaining elven affinities, while the rest entered his mana pool!

Be it his bloodlines or mana pool, they started growing at visible speeds. The feeling of his strength expanding was truly intoxicating. He greedily devoured the life energy around him, not taking a moment to rest. Although the conversion process was wasting more than half of the energy, the total output of astral energy was still much higher than when he captured astral rays. Besides, the conversion process greatly strengthened his astral affinity. Even the energy that seemed to be wasted was actually being absorbed by his elven bloodline to an extent.

Richard absorbed everything crazily while the life energy surrounding him never thinned. He slowly lost track of time, completely immersed in growing his power. His mana pool grew, his bloodlines were agitated, and the elemental trunk that was never given a chance to grow was suddenly doing its best to absorb every ray that passed nearby. Likely because he was in the Forest Plane, his Archeron bloodline had faded into a dormant volcano while his elven bloodline was bursting with vitality.

Time slowly passed. As the elemental world tree absorbed enough astral rays, its phantom-like image started to grow clearer. Energy gushed up the roots out of nowhere, gradually turning the trunk corporeal. The affinity kept flickering in different colours as a lone bare branch at the top of the crown started to thrash about. Fiery-red leaves slowly formed at its tip.

It was only when the elemental trunk fully materialised that Richard was startled into consciousness, breaking him out of the intoxication of his strength growing endlessly. The pleasure of obtaining as much power as he wanted left him unwilling to awaken, like a pair of invisible arms wound around him to try and drag him down, but thankfully his mind was strong and he soon returned to the real world.

“Shit, how long was it?” He shook his head hard, recovering from the last bit of muddle-headedness to find that he had actually lost track of time. Thankfully, his second mind gave him the answer— five days.

586 - City of Sin

Gift(2)

He'd actually meditated under the Tree of Life for five days! Richard was shocked that he had lost control of himself like that, but when he checked his sea of consciousness a smile crept up on his face. He had blitzed through most of the path to level 15, now sitting at 1900 units of mana. He had gained almost a hundred units a day over the past five days, dozens of times faster than regular mages and even six or sevenfold his own normal speed. Now, it would take him only one month to get to level 15 and become able to cast powerful grade 8 spells.

The materialisation of the elemental affinity had given him another bloodline ability: Elemental Augment. Any spell or ability that used elemental energies would now be about 10% more powerful than before. This synergised well with the boost from his truename, the total amplification rising to about 15% with the added properties of abyssal flames.

Richard stood up, stretching his slightly stiff body as he started to ponder over the strange process of meditation this time. This life energy that was nearly corporeal couldn't have been natural, so the Tree of Life likely had something to do with it.

He patted the natural walls of the treehouse, just about to call Jubu so he could talk to the Tree again, but all of a sudden motes of green light floated out from the trunk and started flying around him. “We may communicate directly now, visitor from a foreign plane.”

Richard felt the weight of the Tree's soul rest on his own as the voice sounded out, but the only effect was a slight heaviness to his head. The only effect of the powerful will of the tree was a strange tiredness like he hadn't slept well at night.

“The strength of your soul astounds me!” the Tree immediately said in surprise, “I have no way to describe it. There are no barriers between us now.”

“What was with all that life energy when I was meditating?” Richard asked.

“I normally dispel any extra life energy I gather to prevent myself from advancing. This energy can be absorbed by any life form, and your own power evidently did not reject it. I thus focused the life energy I emitted into your surroundings to increase your efficiency.

“However, your rate of absorption truly is too high for me to sustain. I had no choice but to use a portion of my life origin to maintain this concentration.”

“Hmm... If I continued to meditate as I did just now, how much strength would you use up?”

The Tree of Life went silent for a while as it calculated the answer, “Based on your rate of absorption, I would need to slow down the rate at which I dispel life energy in the future. My output will already have to be halved for the next two months.”

“This doesn't seem to pose any benefit for you. You're only helping me,” Richard stated.

The Tree let out a chuckle, almost sounding human, “You are mistaken. My primary objective in releasing my life energy is to strengthen my guardian elves and raise their strength as soon as possible. Once they have the power to repel my enemies, I will be able to advance. However, your troops have already replaced the elven tribe as my protectors. In that sense, growing your strength is thus the greatest of benefits.”

The intelligence of this tree continued to astound Richard, so much so that it left him feeling slightly uneasy. He was starting to worry about the control Flowsand's contract had on it. He didn't like the fact that he had lost control of his meditation, regardless of the results. There had been no warning signs as he lost himself to the pleasure of that growth.

This incident was in stark contrast to what had happened in the Archeron tombs. The intense power there was scorching and violent, but there was a sense of familiarity within. This life energy that was pure and concentrated should have left him feeling more comfortable, but there was also a hint of danger within. The density of the life energy the Tree of Life emitted was very important to the elves that depended on it, and a halved output was already the limit. Anything lower and the elves would begin to fall sick and grow weak.

“I sense that you have wonderful compatibility with the life energy I release, more than any other elf I have ever seen. Even the children of the forest cannot compare. Meditating next to me will be of great help to you,” the Tree suddenly spoke up.

Richard shelved his scattered thoughts and considered its words, having to admit that this was the truth. The life vortices he had sensed in Emerald City were an entire grade weaker than those he had found during this session and were much more difficult to absorb. The energy here had basically adhered to his mind and followed obediently as he led it into his body. Be it in quality or quantity, this energy was better. He guessed the ease of absorbing it likely had something to do with his elven bloodline.

Whatever it was, this one point alone would make the Tree of Life far more valuable than a mere core. At the very least, he didn't want to sacrifice it until it showed any real signs of rebellion.

“Can you maintain that energy concentration for some more time?” he asked.

“Of course. However, the duration of my rest will be longer as well.”

“That's fine. Let's continue, I need another five days or so.” It had taken Richard only a few seconds to come to this decision. However it was achieved, a growth in power was tangible. Since he was now aware of losing himself in that deep meditative state, he was fairly confident in being able to control it.

He headed out of the treehouse and entrusted the guards nearby to relay some commands before returning, sitting down to continue meditating.

......

Surrounded by the life energy, Richard's mana pool grew rapidly. On the fifth day of this second session, he finally crossed the threshold of level 15. This qualified him as a great mage even in Norland!

He was in no hurry to leave the treehouse, instead filtering through all of the grade 8 spells he knew of. Lightning Storm was the first one that came to mind; as demonstrated by Pamir in earlier battles, it had greater power in this plane. The variant Firestorm spell was quite similar, but focused more on burning the enemies for a long time instead. There were spells like Wither, a powerful necromantic spell that could instantly kill many enemies and Sunburst that was the bane of all undead and darkness creatures. There were new protective spells as well, like Mind Shield which worked similar to a cleric's Soul Guard.

His summoning spells had changed quite a bit. Nature's Beckon could now summon tyrannosaurs, and he had access to extraplanar summons that could bind foreign creatures to his will for some time. However, there was one specific spell in this category that he hesitated over— Call Shadows.

Call Shadows was no different from any other summoning spell, and mages normally chose which type of summon they used based on the enemy, but there was an enormous problem with it. Countless nightmare creatures already treated him like a beacon, and summoning one himself would be akin to igniting the torch of a lighthouse. Would he summon just one, or would an entire horde come rushing through? Whichever it was, before he had more information on the nature of these creatures, this was a spell he could never use.

As he walked out of the treehouse, he was surprised to find Flowsand standing on a platform while preaching the mythos and doctrine of the Eternal Dragon to a crowd of forest elves nearby. Everyone was listening with full concentration, many even filled with yearning and curiosity about the beautiful world she was describing. These natives had never known bright sunlight, nor did they have any concept of dryness or warmth. Grasslands spanning large plains was entirely outside of their imagination.

Prairies were not a known concept in the Forest Plane. The most open land they ever saw was the small meadows around the trees of life, a place elves liked greatly. When they heard that these meadows could extend as far as the eye could see, all of them were shocked.

Watching the expressions of these locals, Richard couldn't help but start thinking of how all lifeforms sought good things. It was just the standards of what was beautiful that differed. Generally, the less there was of something the more precious it seemed.

Flowsand stood up when she saw him walk out, “Alright, we'll end it here. I'm going to be leaving for now, but you can attempt to talk to the Eternal Dragon as I have taught you. His faith does not conflict with your relationship with the Tree of Life.

“The next time I'm here, I will know which amongst you is the most devout of worshippers. Three such followers will be chosen, brought across the shores of time and space to reach the beautiful dreamland I described.”

The elves erupted into a cheer. Watching Flowsand leave with Richard, their eyes were filled with unwillingness.

In a high treehouse that overlooked the platform, the grand elder and Jubu were speechlessly watching the scene unfold. A moment later, the grand elder sighed deeply and moved away from the window.

“Grand Elder, will we just sit and watch as these invaders corrupt the spirits of our people!” The young druid's soft speech could not hide the hatred in his voice.

The grand elder seemed very calm, pacing back and forth for a while before asking, “Do you really believe our tradition, the faith we have always followed, is definitely right?”

587 - City of Sin

Prelude

“I don't know what you mean.” Jubu's voice held hints of unease, eyes showing suspicion at the grand elder's words. He was an intelligent youth, so he could roughly guess at the meaning.

“You are smart, young Quickwind. You should know that we elves aren't the true powerhouses of the forest; that glory belongs to the world tree and all the trees of life.”

“Of course,” the young druid nodded.

“We cannot live away from the trees for any length of time. Once we lost it, our kin will find it difficult to bear children, our warriors will remain weak, and our druids will slowly degenerate. The trees of life are the pillars of support for our existence.

“However, what do we have to give them in return? Our only duty is to protect the trees and chase off their enemies. However, this isn't something only we can provide. In other words, the elves cannot live away from the trees of life but the trees themselves do not need us. Do you see it now?”

“You mean the Tree has decided to give up on us?” Jubu looked shocked.

“Our relationship with the Tree of Life was not one of equals. It has found a more powerful guardian.”

“The invaders?!”

The grand elder nodded gravely, not saying a word.

“Why? This will break the natural structure of the forest! Wait. Could... Could it want to become a world tree?” As he said the last sentence, Jubu couldn't help but draw a sharp breath.

“We constantly look for methods to grow stronger ourselves. What wrong is there in the Tree wanting to advance?”

Jubu lowered his head slightly, “I just... I can't accept that invaders can be the protectors of the Tree of Life.”

The grand elder sighed again, “This is reality. We are now dispensable to the Tree of Life, so we need to follow in its example. Our goal should be proving our worth to Richard Archeron.”

“No!” Jubu jumped up, “Are we going to sacrifice the last sliver of our dignity and faith?”

The grand elder laughed bitterly, “Dignity? Just the fact of our survival took all of that away. Faith? The Tree of Life we worshipped has abandoned us for a new guardian. It has surrendered to the invaders. What can we do now other than follow? Do you want to leave? The dignity and faith you speak of, are they more important than the lives of our kin?”

The young druid froze. He knew very well that a tribe that left their tree for the depths of the forest would wither away and die slowly. Faced with such a grave problem, he had no answers at all.

The grand elder approached the window once more, “This is why I allow that priestess to preach to our people. Since the object of our faith has given up on us, those willing should be allowed to choose a new symbol of worship, regardless of which world it comes from.”

Jubu went quiet. He had sensed the decrease in the life energy the Tree emitted and knew that it had concentrated all of its power on Richard. They truly had been abandoned.

His choice between dignity and survival was clear. Pride was buried in the depths of his bones and he did not fear death. However, that was for himself. Considering Komput, Eidi, the grand elder, and the rest of the tribe... He felt a sense of weakness he had never experienced before. This was not a decision he could bring himself to make. He did not have the courage to drag all of his kin down with him on the path to ruin.

......

Richard had taken the birds and slaves and returned to Emerald City. Since he had taken a long time to arrive, Nyris and Agamemnon were done with all preparations and were only waiting for his return. It took an entire day longer for him to finish preparing to go back to Norland, something that startled the two.

The group entered the portal one by one and reappeared in the Church of the Eternal Dragon, this time with many special things on hand. There were a few forest elf slaves as well as some live woodpecking crows. However, the change in the portal upon their return shocked Richard: these crows cost the same amount of magic crystals to transfer as humans!

He couldn't help but curse at that; taking them to Faelor would be another huge cost. Sighing, he ordered some guards to watch over the slaves and crows while he headed back to the Archeron island.

Melodious bell chimes rang through the floating island upon his return, a total of seven tolls signifying the arrival of the acting family head. This was the number of rings reserved for the head of the entire family; at least on this island, the Archerons viewed him as their leader.

Fuschia cried out in alarm near the entrance to one of the rooms in the castle, immediately shrinking behind the door and slamming it shut. She locked it hastily and leaned against it with her back, heart thumping hard. She didn't know whether Richard would go through with his promise, but she would try her best to avoid bumping into him nevertheless.

She couldn't bring herself to meet Richard at all, because she had returned with nothing on hand. Alice hadn't asked her to return the runes, but still had no plans of fulfilling the promise of becoming Richard's partner. This rare indecision placed her in a very difficult position. When she received the message the butler had passed on from Richard, she had forced herself to come here out of guilt. The island needed a powerful protector.

However, Richard truly didn't seem to care about her return. After saying a few words to the old steward, he locked himself inside the study and began to flip through book after book in search of something.

...... Please visit 𝐟𝒓𝚎𝘦we𝐛𝐧𝐨vℯ𝚕. c𝘰ｍ

Not long after Richard's return to Norland, a few secret guests arrived at the Joseph Family island one after the other. They were dressed like regular nobles, faces not covered by any hoods or the like, but that was because they were all in disguise. These visitors were led to a special command centre.

There were already two large enchanted map tables running in the room, one showing a noble's territory in Norland and the other an unknown plane.

The map of Norland showed a few large arrows pointing inwards on the noble's territory from various directions. In front of it was a young man who stood ramrod straight, facing it in deep thought. He would make some adjustments every once in a while, having the giant arrows shift accordingly. After a few adjustments, his tense brows finally relaxed and he seemed satisfied. He then took out a thick stack of papers and started searching through lists of soldier groupings and materiel. At the back of each category were numerous annotations.

Bright magic light left a few small shadows on his sharp, handsome face as he read with all focus, coughing every once in a while. At some point in time, Raymond had been forced to come out of the family's planes.

Footsteps echoed down from the corridor as Duke Joseph led the new guests over. Two war puppets suddenly revealed themselves and blocked their way, weapons unsheathed and slanted towards the ground as they blocked the path. The old duke took out an access token and stuck it into a part of the wall, pressing a sparkling jade button to call forth a gentle yellow light that dissipated the warriors into green smoke. The footsteps then continued.

These guests didn't seem to be surprised by the puppets blocking them. Although Joseph was the head of the family, it wasn't difficult to fake one's appearance. All big families with the means ran magic inspection in key areas or focused on bloodline scanning, completely ignoring appearance. The most powerful families even directly inspected the soul, something that was almost impossible to fool.

However, such mechanisms couldn't be bought with money alone. Most devices able to scan the soul were at the legendary grade and could be considered divine tools. The Archeron family tombs, for example, couldn't be entered without a concentrated bloodline. Without enough strength, anyone trying to force the issue would likely be swallowed up by the volcanic flames.

Old Joseph brought his guests through a huge door to a large hall that was almost a hundred square metres in area, with nearly a hundred fairly young people hard at work. Maps of different planes were projected on the walls everywhere, with detailed marching routes and logistical information marked down.

On each of the four corners was a tall platform where a few old generals were seated, each radiating bloodlust. All of them had multiple projection devices on their desks and were switching between the different parts as per their needs.

The hall was roughly separated into four large sections that were working independently. The youths in military uniform were bent over their desks, working on their own maps as they fiddled with something. Many of these desks had smaller and weaker projection devices as well; these desks were almost twice the size of the regular ones, and those sitting there were obviously older and more experienced.

At this point, one of the guests suddenly halted, “Is this your renowned planar central command? Could we have a quick tour?”

588 - City of Sin

Wealth

Old Joseph hesitated for a while, but eventually nodded, “There is no need for secrets between firm allies. The central command hasn't been set up for long, however. I'm afraid it won't be very exciting.”

The group formed into a line as he led them into the busy hall. Most of those present merely glanced at the new entrants and continued with the work at hand, not stopping their work to greet even the family head himself.

One of the guests went up to a random desk and watched a youth who seemed barely in his twenties at work. The young man's desk was the most ordinary of them all and it looked like he had just learnt the ropes; most of his actions took a long period of contemplation, and he hesitated before writing things down. Spread out in front of him was a partial topographic map with a few marching routes, some information on the side detailing the size of the army and corresponding data about the enemy. From the work that was already done, one could tell his mission was to calculate an optimal supply distribution route. This was one of the most fundamental parts of a military plan.

The guest walked over to another desk nearby, this one occupied by a slightly older soldier. He had the same map displayed in front of him but was calculating the needs for three marching routes instead.

The combat plans were thus separated into several smaller portions, officers assigned to perfect each detail while one of the seniors summarised it all into a complete tactical plan. This plan was then reviewed by the commanders on duty. If the commanders themselves had an outrageous but ingenious plan in mind, this hall would simulate its feasibility first.

The guests fell deep into thought. This system couldn't substitute for a genius tactician, but it could greatly reduce the chances of ordinary generals making mistakes or misusing resources. The key to its working lay in the reliance on process instead of cleverness; geniuses were rare, but there was no lack of smart people who could be effective with enough training and experience.

By the looks of it, this planar central command was operating neatly. This made any of the Joseph Family's generals difficult to deal with. At the very least, they wouldn't make any ridiculous, elementary mistakes. This headquarters would easily cement the Josephs' position in Faust; when all the generals familiarised themselves with this system, the quality of their armies would skyrocket.

The person who had thought this up was undoubtedly a true genius.

One of the guests suddenly sighed, an aged voice ringing out, “I head Raymond was the one who came up with this idea? Such a pity.”

Duke Joseph's expression darkened immediately as he reciprocated with a deep sigh of his own, “Ever since Raymond found out his life wouldn't last long, he set out to build and perfect this central command. His dream is to leave behind a foundation that will allow the family to survive even once he's gone.”

“Is there really no other way?” another guest enquired, “Given our firm relationship, I could lend your family two intermediate offerings for now...”

Old Joseph shook his head, looking more gloomy, “Raymond needs a very special blessing that appears less than one time in a hundred. It isn't that I don't wish to save him, but the price of doing so is too large. The war with Gaton hurt the family's roots, even some of our core planes have been affected. Even if I wish to borrow some offerings and gamble on that little bit of hope, I cannot guarantee repayment.”

The guests sighed again, but a middle-aged woman suddenly asked, “Wouldn't something like a fruit of life have been useful?”

“... Probably.”

“Then why—”

“Nefarian,” someone interrupted the woman halfway. She immediately came to a realisation, apologising profusely.

Duke Joseph had already regained his bearings by that time, “It's nothing. One cannot expect to win when against Nefarian. I hadn't expected the fruit of life at the imperial auction, nor had I expected Nefarian to show himself and compete for it.”

Everyone went silent.

Nefarian came from the Ossa Family of the Sacred Tree Empire. This family with the blood of black dragons was one of the seven great families of the empire, not one whit inferior to the Joseph Family at its peak. He was the most powerful amongst their current younger generation, approaching legendary might.

“I heard the fruit of life came from the Forest Plane that once belonged to the Schumpeters. If there was one, there will also be a second. If you cannot buy it, just snatch the plane.”

“Hmm... I am in favour of this, but let's see what Raymond thinks first.” The Duke led the guests away from the command centre to a room at the end of the corridor where Raymond was just putting down a thick file.

There were a few comfortable sofas in this room. The guests found their places, and a beautiful young lady dressed in military uniform went over to serve them fruits and wine before retreating through a side door.

Raymond noted that everyone was here and headed onto a platform in the room, projecting a map on the wall. He pointed at numerous yet orderly marking for battalions all over, “Everyone, the reorganisation of the army has been completed. All generals have familiarised themselves with the new command system, and this army is ready to go to war.”

Those below immediately broke out into praise. They knew fully well just how unthinkable of a challenge it was to reorganise tens of thousands of soldiers in a week and turn them into one whole entity. However, the tour of the central command told them that this was a miracle that was possible.

Raymond continued, “Right now, we have two possible targets. The Forest Plane, which we already have coordinates to from the Schumpeters, and Faelor. There are ways to get the coordinates to that plane as well, but I believe everyone here knows just what kind of price it will take. Personally, however...”

He paused, reaching out to the projection, “I would rather choose Faelor.”

“Faelor?” “Why?” “You can get a fruit of life on the Forest Plane!”

Seeing everyone start to speak, Raymond signalled downwards and everyone quieted down once more. Every one of the guests here were about par with Duke Joseph, but their attention gathered onto him as they awaited his next words.

“I've gone through Richard's activities in detail, including his recent purchases. The rate at which he's advancing is far too quick, to the point that the time differential alone cannot explain it. We know he has the potential to become a saint runemaster and the fact that Faelor runs at ten times the speed of Norland, but even so we cannot explain how he amasses such wealth. Even Gaton in his three miracle years didn't do so much. This makes no sense unless he has an extremely powerful secret. A secret I reckon is hidden on Faelor!

“We should thus gather destructive strength and enter Faelor, completely decimating his foundation. We cannot afford the appearance of another Gaton. In the face of eliminating such a threat, a fruit of life isn't worth much at all!” Raymond's tone was firm as he spoke those last few words, aura strangely optimistic as though he wasn't consigning himself to certain death. The big-shots here couldn't help but shift their gazes from the projection, giving him another look.

He continued, “Given the information we did manage to deduce, Faelor is a powerful plane barely second to Norland. You all should know just how valuable such a place is. This is a foundation that can support an entire empire. No matter what, it cannot land in Richard's hands. The Forest Plane is powerful as well, but its environment is far too extreme and the value is nowhere near as high. It would only be invaluable to an elven family.”

Everyone seated began to chuckle. Elves had long since been chased out of Norland, exiled to the continents across the seas.

“Based on the intelligence we've received from the Church, the passage to Faelor isn't particularly stable. In essence, Richard cannot draw on large quantities of troops from Faelor. Thus, even if he realises we've entered, he cannot grow his army in a short period of time. He might have been able to call upon a few powerhouses, but those are the one thing he lacks right now. Even with a 10:1 time flow, he could only have been in Faelor for a few years now. That will limit the amount of strength he can gather. Once we send our entire army there, this will be a guaranteed victory that gives us the plane!”

589 - City of Sin

Precursor

The guests all nodded with interest. A secondary plane was more valuable than any tangible treasure; even after splitting amongst many families, the benefits it would pose were sure to be satisfying.

Raymond lowered his voice, “Richard just returned from the Forest Plane. If we attack now, he will definitely be caught unprepared. If we can kill him on Faelor, that will decide everything once and for all. And if we cannot do that... Then destroying the foundations of his meteoric rise should give us the right to talk terms with him. This is why I insisted that we keep the Mensas and Schumpeters out of this.”

“Talk terms of peace, you mean?” A stern-looking middle-aged man frowned.

“Yes, for peace.” Raymond looked him calmly in the eye. In terms of individual strength, even ten Raymonds wouldn't be nearly enough to kill him. However, the sheer imposition in the Joseph youth's aura cowed him, “If we don't manage to kill him off in this battle, we will face endless problems in the future. While we'll have destroyed his base, a future saint runemaster could easily come back from that.

“Do you think we could actually kill Richard openly in Norland? As far as the Joseph Family is concerned, we cannot bear the wrath of Emperor Philip and Her Excellency Sharon.”

Everyone went quiet, allowing him to continue after some thought, “The only way we can kill Richard off is on Faelor or in the Battlefield of Despair. From the point of view of a family of Faust, leaving behind a runemaster loyal to the crown is not an unacceptable outcome.”

“Alright then, I agree.” The dignified man nodded. All the big names seated here understood what Raymond was getting at— one's enemies didn't only exist in foreign planes.

Raymond looked around in satisfaction, “Alright, the final inspection of our forces will commence shortly. All 30,000 soldiers, 50 rune knights, and 20 saints and grand mages will travel to Faelor, giving us an overwhelming advantage in terms of military force. Based on the Archeron Family's recent purchases of equipment, I believe Richard's army should have no more than 5,000 soldiers who can fight on par with proper soldiers. He might have three or four saints as allies on Faelor, but that will not give him the power to contend with us.

“As for him being a runemaster, most of his runes have been handed over to the royal family. He will have five on hand at most. Thus, our true enemy in this battle is the natives of Faelor. Once they have been eliminated, we will need to find him.”

“One second,” the middle-aged woman in the group suddenly interrupted him, “The Archerons recently started enlisting rune knights publicly. The news has already spread through the Sacred Alliance.”

Raymond chuckled, “A simple lie. Richard is spreading the fear that he's building a powerful army of rune knights to buy himself some time against anyone who plans to attack the Archeron lands. Time is the one thing he lacks the most right now; if we give him the room to breathe, I believe he truly will have a terrifying force under his command.

“Some simple calculations after considering just how many sets he has been sending to the royal family will tell you he cannot have many more on hand. In fact, five rune knights is already an overestimation. Besides, the Archerons' lack of unity has been of great help to us. He doesn't have many connections to call upon.”

The middle-aged woman nodded in agreement.

“Alright! Since everyone has agreed to attack, let us begin by retrieving the coordinates!” Raymond took out a bizarre alchemical machine and placed it on the table. It was exceptionally intricate, shaped somewhat like a magic clock, but there were about a dozen dials at the top each of which were divided into four zones with a gauge.

The guests exchanged glances and walked up to the platform one after the other, placing their hands on it. The machine grew brighter with each one, and when Duke Joseph joined in at the end a long beam of light shot towards the sky.

This beam seemed almost ethereal, breaking through the ceiling of the command centre and disappearing into the boundless skies.

......

One of the free Archeron warriors on Faelor suddenly awoke from his sleep. Looking left and right to see that the other soldier in his room was deep asleep, he mumbled something about going to the toilet and got up. The other low-level officer didn't pay much notice and just turned over, continuing his slumber.

The night was quiet within Bluewater, the Lighthouse of Time that looked like a magic tower standing quietly in a corner of the city. If anyone were to attack the oasis city once more, they would find that this unique building truly had the abilities of a magic tower. Richard had transported a large number of parts to add the function long ago, but it could never be upgraded.

At the entrance to the lighthouse were two guards in charge of checking all entrants, both humanoid knights. These drones who lacked souls did not understand the concept of corruption, extremely strict in following their duties. They were the most optimal choice for protecting important locations.

Just as the Archeron warrior approached the entrance of the lighthouse, the two knights barred his way. “Warrant!” one of them said in a harsh voice.

“It's here, it's here.” The warrior made a show of rummaging around in his clothes, cursing at his inability to find it. He appeared to subconsciously take two steps forward, getting closer to the knights.

When he finally pulled his hand out, what appeared within wasn't a warrant but the ominous glint of a dagger!

The dagger quickly stabbed into a guard's abdomen, the knight widening its mouth but unable to make a sound. The warrior practically rammed into the other, reaching out to grab it by the throat and breaking the humanoid's neck with a powerful claw. He then stole the enchanted sword and whirled it around like the wind, quickly thrusting it into the first knight's buttocks, thighs, shoulders, and other areas that did not seem life-threatening. However, these few blows left the fierce humanoid stiff, halting all struggles.

He had fought beside these creatures many times and knew very well that they weren't humans no matter how similar they looked. These were natural fighters, their weak points different from his own kin. Witnessing some of them die over the course of many battles, he had slowly understood their weaknesses and figured out how to stop them from raising an alarm.

The warrior quickly walked into the lighthouse and darted straight for the teleportation hall, taking care of four more guards along the way. He then took out a few magic crystals and smoothly placed them in the teleportation formation, activating it and stepping inside.

When the guards patrolling the outer regions were alerted and charged in, all they saw was the brilliant glow of an empty formation. The warrior had already disappeared.

......

The portal within the Church of the Eternal Dragon suddenly lit up and the Archeron warrior walked out. He looked composed as he headed for the exit, the paladin guarding the place looking at his crest and letting him go after some simple questions.

“Wait. What's your name?” Noelene's voice sounded out behind him just as he was about to leave, “Did Richard... WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!”

The Archeron had thrust his hand into his own chest, taking out a tiny lavender crystal from within. A thread of golden timeforce circled within, shooting out like lightning once the crystal was crushed into the depths of the night skies.

Noelene immediately bound him in a prison of pale gold, his body floating against his will back towards the grand priestess. Seeing the wound on his chest and the crushed crystal in his hand, she immediately gasped.

......

At that very moment, the alchemical machine in front of Raymond suddenly flickered a pale gold. The needles on the gauges began to tremble violently, finally pointing out a number. When all of the needles calmed, a look of excitement formed on his face, “We have the coordinates!”

A short while later, the teleportation formation on the Joseph island flickered and his figure disappeared within. He was rushing towards his gathered army, prepared to lead them personally into Faelor.

A few nobles accompanied Old Joseph and stood by his side, not making a sound. While their gazes remained on the alchemic machine or the magic map, their minds were all stuck on one question. Faelor's time flowed at ten times that of Norland, while Raymond's life was nearing its end. Going to a plane like this was akin to suicide. If things took just a little too long, they would likely never see him again.

590 - City of Sin

The Sin Of War

A giant teleportation gate had already been constructed in a part of the Joseph Family territory on the borders of the Sacred Alliance. Supporting the heart of the formation was a pair of fleshy wings, one that would definitely shock an experienced great mage. These wings belonged to a type of greater devil called the mirage devil. These creatures possessed the ability to tear through spacetime, and their wings were the source of this power. This pair that could support the teleportation of tens of thousands of troops likely belonged to a general right under an archdevil.

Such priceless wings slowly dried up as their essence was extracted by the teleportation formation, constantly reinforcing the planar passage. Groups of warriors in full armour listened to the commands of their officers, grouping up in formations before marching within.

Light infantry, heavy infantry, spearmen, heavy cavalry, archers, mages... All sorts of troops enter the portal one after the other. Following at the end were an entire fifty rune knights! These rune knights had multiple different types of armour, clearly pooled together from four different families. Raymond followed along once the army was through, accompanied by numerous saints and grand mages.

The only thing this army lacked was a clergy. Priests and clerics wouldn't dare to move through a temporary passage that wasn't protected by a Lighthouse of Time on the other end. The brands of their gods shone brightly like beacons in the void, making it extremely likely for them to be noticed by foreign gods.

Not long after the vast army entered the teleportation gate, the wings turned to dust without even leaving a skeleton behind. The moment they disappeared, the portal turned unstable and exploded into ruin. This enormous army would not return without success.

Duke Joseph and his guests watched the entire thing on a projection within the command centre, remaining silent for a long time. Even if every family in this alliance was enormous, the scale of the army made it a huge gamble. However, it was worth it to obtain Faelor and exterminate a terrifying opponent whose growth was phenomenal. They had already made all necessary preparations. Richard's base would lie on the other side of the portal, and as long as they succeeded in seizing it they were basically undefeatable.

......

Richard suddenly jolted from his sleep, a sense of danger filling his heart. His heart was pounding as though it wanted to fly out of his chest, warning him of some unknown danger.

However, as he sat up and looked around his room, everything remained peaceful. The wind blowing in from the open window brought with it the unique scent of Faust, forever with a perfect balance of warmth and humidity as though the city of miracles was stopped in time. The amethyst moon's soft light shone down on the room's floor, replacing the pale gold that had seen him off to sleep.

The unease in his mind kept getting stronger, refusing to fade away. It was only ten in the night, but no longer able to sleep he got dressed and out of the bed before making his way towards the study. He looked out into the island shrouded in purple, looking as small groups of twos and threes passed by occasionally.

The island's teleportation formation began to glimmer the colours of the rainbow and someone hurried out. The feeling in Richard's heart intensified and he glanced towards the night sky, seeing the pale gold colour of timeforce forming a bundle that flew straight for his window like lightning. By the time he managed to recover from the shock, the light was already close enough to reveal Noelene's face.

The priestess quickly explained the incident to him, and his expression immediately changed, “Faelor's coordinates were leaked?”

Noelene nodded.

Richard quickly calmed down, going dead silent as he started to pace around the study. A short while later, he looked up with a grave expression on his face. However, the shock had faded into an unbounded rationality that left Noelene filled with praise.

“Alright, I understand. Priestess Noelene, how much time do you think I have left to make my preparations?”

Nolan muttered to herself for a while, “A full day at the last, and a month if you're lucky.”

“Heh, it seems like my enemies have prepared for this for quite some time. They won't give me a month, but a day's time... That should be enough for me to do something.”

Noelene nodded, “Alright, I'll return to the Church. The guards obviously need to be strengthened, and the paladins will all be punished!” Hints of bloodlust appeared in the priestess' tone. Even ignoring her relationship with Richard, their cooperation was pumping millions of gold coins into her hands every month.

However, Richard laughed, “There's no need for that. The coordinates were bound to leak sooner or later, I'm surprised it even took them this long. Without enough power myself, I wouldn't have placed the portal in the Church. In the future, just ensure the guards remain more vigilant. There's no need to punish them.”

His words calmed Noelene down a little, “Sigh. Those who were on duty will still be punished, but I will take your opinion into consideration.”

Richard watched her figure disappear into the night sky and left the study, heading for the barracks outside the castle. In the meanwhile, he sent a few messengers to summon Nyris and Agamemnon immediately for a meeting.

Most of his followers stayed in the barracks, and with his mental orders they had rushed over in full armour by the time he arrived. “Head to Faelor and mobilise all troops, we might have trouble brewing soon. I'll be right behind you. Olar, go to the Forest Plane and transfer all the rune knights there to Faelor, get Lina as well. No need to mind the teleportation fees.

“Tiramisu, pick out some strong soldiers and take a look in the warehouse. Get all the enchanted equipment you can!”

After some more orders, the followers immediately dispersed. Richard left for the study to await the arrival of his friends. They were always quick when it came to important matters.

As he passed by the corridors, he saw Coco again.

“Lord Richard...” Coco bravely stood in his way, face slightly pink. She had obviously dressed up meticulously, adding a bit of charm to her cute, pure looks. And yet, he only frowned coldly, “Is there anything wrong, Coco? If it isn't important, wait until I'm back. I have urgent business to handle!”

Upon hearing the words 'urgent business', the girl immediately cowered and shook her head hard, “N-no... It's not that important. S-sorry for interrupting you.”

Richard immediately passed by and headed upstairs. This was the limit of where Coco could go; any higher and she would reach his study and the command centre, which she could not enter freely.

It wasn't long before Nyris and Agamemnon appeared in quick succession. The prince looked rather dazed, obviously here straight from bed. He seemed rather huffy as he sat opposite Richard, unspeakably adorable and charming.

However, Richard was in no mood to appreciate that side of him right now, “I just received word that the coordinates to Faelor have been leaked. The Church already found spatial undulations headed that way. It's quite possible that my enemies are on their way with an army.”

Nyris was startled, “Faelor? Isn't that your base?”

“Yes. This can't be anyone simple. They're heading straight for my throat!” Richard narrowed his eyes, a freezing glint flashing from within, “It seems like the Forest Plane can't satisfy them.”

Nyris and Agamemnon both frowned at the same time. Richard had challenged the Schumpeters to find him in the Forest Plane. This was a personal plane that Gaton had seized from the Schumpeter Family, so as the substitute head this was symbolically his. However, the enemy was going straight for his actual base in Faelor, which meant they had been planning this for a long time. This was a precursor to a full-scale war.

The Fourth Prince smashed his fist on the arm of the sofa and shouted, “This isn't some trivial matter! You're the royal runemaster and have the right to request the Emperor's assistance. Attacking you is, to some degree, an attack on the royal family! I'll apply for Father's soldiers to head to Faelor and help you guard it. No matter how many may come, each and every one will die!”

“Let's talk about that if I can't hold on myself,” Richard said with a shake of his head. There were far too many secrets on Faelor he couldn't afford the royal family learning of. Besides, it was easy to bring in the royal guards but sending them back was an entirely different story. Nyris didn't have enough status to command the royal family's soldiers. Thus, even if the application was approved Richard would have to deal with a general sent out by Emperor Philip and not the Prince. Even the best case scenario would be an agreement to give them a certain portion of the benefits from Faelor, but his position wouldn't be nearly as good as it was in the Forest Plane.

“What do you need us to do?” Agamemnon asked.

“I'll have to withdraw all defensive forces from the Forest Plane. Before the issue in Faelor is dealt with, I will not be able to guard it. I'll need you both to increase your presence there to maintain the situation.”

Nyris and Agamemnon exchanged a look, “That's fine. Anything else?”

“You should know that I'm currently enlisting rune knights, but not much time has passed and I haven't found the appropriate candidates. I hope to buy some rune knight candidates from you who are talented, but from now on they must be loyal to me.”

591 - City of Sin

The Sin Of War(2)

Agamemnon nodded without hesitation, “That can be done. I'll give you rune knight candidates at level 14 who have the potential to reach 17, but they won't have the Orleans family name nor any equipment. They can sign a contract with you to become slaves, but they should be treated and compensated the same way as any regular rune knight. Every warrior I provide, I'll need to be compensated with 200,000 gold. How many do you need?”

Richard knitted his brows in thought. He already had fifteen full sets in stockpile, and with the nearly finished goods from Rosie he would only need another month in Faelor to complete five more.

Even though he was racking his brains about the sensitivity of the issue, weighing out the pros and cons of it all, he still noticed that the candidates from Agamemnon would not have the Orleans surname. This meant they were not blood-related to the Ironblood Duke, a consideration he greatly appreciated. His brows slowly uncreased as he decided to share some of his secrets with these friends who had gone through so much with him.

He raised two fingers.

“Only two? Are you serious? If that's all, I can just give them to you!” Nyris cried out.

“Twelve?” Agamemnon sounded out, but obviously didn't believe that number himself. In his opinion, five more rune knights would have to be the limit.

“Twenty.” Richard's calm voice was like a landmine that startled both of the youths.

“WHAT? ARE YOU SERIOUS?” Nyris exclaimed.

“If I'm messing around I'll let you kiss me, how about that?”

Nyris was startled by the somewhat inappropriate joke, but then he started to consider the proposal seriously. Richard's half-smile slowly warped into an expression of horror.

Seeing Richard's expression turn sour, the royal youth suddenly let out a laugh, “Ha, that'll teach you to run your mouth! You can be honest with me now. So, I have a new suggestion for you to consider. You sell us ten sets at the normal prices, and on our part we'll give you twenty rune knight candidates. Ten will be contracted to you permanently, while the others will serve you for half a year in any capacity before you return them to us. What do you think?”

Richard made some mental calculations and knitted his brows, “Where are you going to get eight million from? Don't tell me you want to divide your profits further...”

Nyris and Agamemnon looked at each other and forced a smile, shrugging their shoulders with a nod, “Family.”

“Do they help you in your internal things?” Richard followed up. This was a crucial question; until one's basic army had grown to a certain level, creating more rune knights would not be much of a deterrent to enemy forces.

“Mm!” Nyris nodded vigorously.

“Okay then. How about five million and ten enslavement scrolls?”

Agamemnon sighed, “Richard, that won't do. We're friends, and we want to stay friends. We won't put ourselves on the losing end of any transactions, sure, but shouldn't that be the same for you?”

Richard smiled, “Don't worry, I'm still making a profit at that price point. Don't underestimate me!”

“What?! You can make a profit even selling at five million?!” Nyris' eyes lit up as he lunged forward for a hug, “Richard, I love you!”

Richard continued to remain sitting upright, only laughing as Nyris approached. The Fourth Prince immediately stopped in his tracks, forehead starting to drip with sweat before he obediently sat down once more. Richard then slowly let out a held breath. It seemed like the more aggressive party won in these situations.

With both parties having come to an agreement, Richard sent someone to the Forest Plane to hurry Olar and Lina. The Dragon Mage was now the greatest warrior in his army, and they had built up a good rapport over their time together.

Richard didn't take any gold from Nyris or Agamemnon, instead just giving him the two million he had in reserve and placing an order for seven million's worth of weapons and armour, the bulk of the weapons being crossbows. It was enough for him to arm a thousand elite drones, making for an army that was rarely seen even in Norland.

......

The time to set off was approaching. The rune knight candidates had already gathered, preparing to head to Faelor, and Richard had brought twenty level 10 mages along. It could be said that he had mobilised all of his military, full of killing intent as they prepared to destroy the enemy who would be attacking Faelor.

Meanwhile in the Church of the Eternal Dragon, Flowsand was praying silently in front of the Book of Time. Strands of timeforce emanated from the body and circled the tome, engulfing it in a translucent glow as it tried its best to hold on. She was sweating profusely, entire body slowly starting to tremble even as the book itself remained motionless. She had discovered that the target of the enemy's portal was the Lighthouse of Time in Bluewater.

Richard's first reaction had been to use the time difference between a temporary portal and a permanent passageway to transfer all the battle might he could to Faelor, fighting a bloody war at the oasis city. However, Flowsand's plan was even more direct. She was trying to use the Book of Time to change the destination of this portal, hopefully to send them to their doom. She was thinking of places like the Land of Turmoil, the depths of the sea, or right inside a fiery volcano.

Yet, her best efforts came up for naught. She was unable to move the surprisingly stable portal; it looked like the opponent was prepared for victory. Disappointment flooded her face as she clasped her hand to her heart, slowly closing her eyes in preparation to pray to the Eternal Dragon and obtain the divine grace needed to thwart her opponents. Deep down, she knew this debt would likely be her last.

It was at this time that she felt a searing pain in the back of her head. Someone had hit her! Her prayers naturally stopping midway, she clutched her head in pain and rage as she turned around.

Ferlyn was right behind her, staff in hand.

“High Priestess, why...” Flowsand was about to say something when she saw several strands of timeforce move out from Ferlyin's right hand to swirl around the Book of Time. She immediately swallowed her complaints and fell silent.

Ferlyn sighed, “I really don't know what to do with you. Let me warn you one last time, don't create a debt you cannot repay! You have to leave some bit of hope for yourself, even if it's the tiniest sliver. If you don't, I'm sure you will regret it. I can help you again, but this will be the last. Are you certain?”

Flowsand bit her bottom lip, but there was no hesitation as she gently nodded her head.

Ferlyn just shook her own, letting out another sigh, “You remind me of myself in the past. Only after you lose the last bits of your divine grace do you realise you don't have anything left to call your own...” The high priestess gently shook her staff and raised her right hand, causing the Book of Time to stir.

Flowsand looked at the writhing form of Ferlyn's elegant beauty, suddenly feeling her nose sour as a heat seemed to assault her eyes.

“Hurry, tell me where you want the destination to be!” Ferlyn urged impatiently, clearly in agonising pain.

Flowsand's eyes lit up, “Underground, in the sea, the mouth of a volcano, unstable spacetime...”

Ferlyn was bewildered, a laugh creeping up her face as she berated her successor, “So cruel! When I was your age I just healed departed spirits or sped up the ageing of any beauties I had issues with. Be serious now, give me an exact distance and direction from the original location.”

“Hmm... 700 kilometres, southwest.”

“What?! Keep it within 400!”

“317 then.”

Ferlyn let out a long sigh, flailing her right arm, “Done. What's there?”

“A regular human kingdom, but there's a greater deity's church.”

“Heh, you really are much crueller than I was back then!” Ferlyn said, rather impressed. She played with her fingers and a few pale gold spots landed on the Book of Time.

Flowsand was rather confused, having to ask what that was for.

“Nothing much. I was just giving that portal some... Let's call it presence. Any living gods on Faelor will know that someone is on the way.”

It was now Flowsand's turn to look at Ferlyn speechlessly. Both generations of titled priestesses shared some eerily similar traits.

......

A storm was slowly brewing in Faelor.

The pope of the Church of Valour was seated on his high chair, a crystal monocle perched on his eye as he carefully read the report in front of him. It wasn't long, only three pages in total, but it still took an hour as he slowly went through it word by word.

In front of his desk was a cardinal dressed in red, maintaining a respectfully modest pose. However, the man's balding head was pouring with sweat that he constantly had to wipe off.

The pope finally finished the report and closed his eyes, opening them slightly only after a long while, “This report... Viscount Richard of the Sequoia Kingdom... He is the same person that invaded the Whiterock Dukedom some years ago?”

“Yes.” The cardinal couldn't help but wipe more sweat off his forehead.

“You must know clearly what these allegations mean. You should also know what sort of man Viscount Richard is.” The pope's eyes were still half-closed, as though he was half-asleep.

“Yes, I understand fully.” The cardinal felt his legs almost give way under him.

592 - City of Sin

Crusade

“You should be aware that Richard Archeron has a connection to the three dukes of the Sequoia Kingdom,” the pope pointed out, “And with the power he's shown, it's quite possible that he has a legendary being or even demigod backing him.” Please visit 𝙛𝓇𝑒𝗲𝒘e𝘣𝓷𝘰ѵe𝚕. com

Having started on this, the cardinal could not back off. “His being an invader from another plane would explain everything.”

The pope opened his eyes, lightly thumbing through the report on the table. After thinking it over for a while, he asked calmly, “The same report will have been sent to the popes of Cerces, Runai, and Lutheris, yes?”

The cardinal dropped to one knee with a thud, “Ah! I... I really didn't know. This report was... It really was...”

The pope flapped his hands downwards, silencing the cardinal immediately, “Remember, we are servants of the Lord. In front of His glory, we must take responsibility for every word we utter. If you haven't yet thought it through, go back now and look for me once more when you have come to a decision. Go, take this report with you.”

The cardinal retrieved the report, practically weeping with gratitude as he retreated from the office. Only once he was out did he dare to turn around and leave.

The pope leant back into his high chair, closing his eyes and rubbing at the temples. A graceful youth appeared within his office like a ghost, exquisite hands beginning to massage the pope's back as he asked quietly, “Your Holiness, the cardinal actually dared to lie to you. Why did you not punish him?”

The pope sighed, “There were no lies. Although someone instigated him to make that report, it is likely that Richard truly is an invader from another plane.”

“Ah!” the youth exclaimed, “Then we should immediately mobilise the battle priests and paladins and kill him!”

“Think it over once more. What kind of person is Richard? Even if he truly is an invader, where is the proof of that? In fact, it is the other option that is—” The pope paused mid-sentence, struggling for a long time before he spoke three more words in a near-whisper, “A new god.”

The youth gaped but could not say a word.

He obviously knew of Richard's achievements in war. The new Viscount had swept through the Bloodstained Lands in only two years, defeating Prince Salwyn of the Iron Triangle Empire twice in quick succession. He had then decimated the Sequoia Kingdom's Mage Association in one campaign, forcing them to yield their monopoly over enchanted equipment for the first time in their existence. He had then gone quiet for a while before appearing once more, and this time there was no way to adequately describe his prowess. A few thousand armoured knights had raided the boundaries of the Iron Triangle Empire, sweeping through it like a tornado as if it was unoccupied land.

It was a pipe dream to take someone like that down with only a few battle priests and paladins.

Besides, just as famous as his military successes were his mage legion and clergy. Most of his clerics came from the three goddesses, but who was unaware of the true might they held? Nobody dared to think of Richard being an invader because of a term that was a hundred times more dangerous— divine war.

Divine wars were the realm of the gods, a taboo for mortals to even mention. There was no forgiveness of this blasphemy, even if the reason these words were uttered was to maintain one's faith.

“Then should we just let him be?” the youth asked, unwilling to back down.

“Until we receive a new oracle, that is all we can do,” the pope said with exhaustion.

The youth went quiet once more. He knew that no oracles had been sent down from the God of Valour in a long time. Even the pope himself could not contact him, and the church's might was slowly waning as time passed. Everyone was anxious right now, and provoking a dangerous enemy like Richard at this time was not wise.

However, the pope's entire body suddenly trembled and he stood straight up. The youth was startled as the pope pulled at a rope by his table, sounding the bells of summoning. “Quick, my robes! Quick! The Lord is about to send an oracle!”

The youth had been frightened at first, but the mention of the oracle turned his look into one of ecstasy. He almost flew out of the room to retrieve the papal robes.

The bells resounded through the Church of Valour. The pope was dressed in his sacred attire, wearing splendid robes and mitre with a golden staff in hand as he knelt before the statue of Neian. Behind the pope were rows of cardinals, many somewhat messy in dress as they fiddled with their clothes and hats even as they knelt.

The pope began chanting hymns in praise of Neian while the cardinals echoed from behind, impassioned prayers resounding through the lofty hall. The choir of young boys and girls behind the pillars on either side had already straightened their necks, faces flushed as they sang at the top of their voices.

The Church slowly began to radiate light as a tremendous will descended upon the building to the tune of cheers. Some of the cardinals grew so emotional they nearly fainted. The gods were everything to those of faith, and this was only enhanced within the clergy.

The pope lay completely on the ground, carefully listening to Neian's words.

“A powerful invader will appear within the lands of the Baruch Kingdom in one month. This invader must be exterminated at all costs!”

This oracle left the pope stunned. Very few invaders in history had been called powerful by the God of Valour. A description of greater danger had only been used once, and that had been when the astral beasts had invaded.

These words were not comforting, nor was the fact that Neian's will was unbelievably fuzzy to the point that even he had some trouble catching it. Not more than five cardinals would be able to hear this oracle. In the past, the words of the Lord would resound clearly in the minds of all the cardinals. Normally, the oracle would be spread far and wide so the cardinals and pope would not use it to scheme. It would also be a test of faith; most cardinals who could not hear the oracles would quickly be retired and replaced by new believers.

Now, Neian's voice was very weak. The Pope was certain that something had to have happened to him, leaving him in a frail state. Many other gods were reported to be showing the same symptoms, their oracles weak or even non-existent. Could a divine war have occurred in the skies? However, the gods had been united for thousands of years. Even if there was a war between them, the representative of Neian in the mortal world would have been informed.

Wars between gods were balanced between battles in their divine kingdoms and in the mortal realm. Striking at the source of an opposing god's faith would weaken them greatly, and was just as important as attacking their true body. The churches never took it upon themselves to grow hostile with each other. Belligerence without explicit commands was considered blasphemy.

The pope took a long time to get up even after the oracle ended. His movements were slow and aged, causing him to miss out on a lot of things like the panic of most of the cardinals. By the time he turned around, they had already regained their stately demeanour and made it impossible to tell who had received the oracle and who hadn't.

Of course, they didn't think such actions would hide the facts from the pope himself, but they were trying to retain their dignity in front of their peers and subordinates.

The few cardinals who really had received the oracle were not excited, instead fallen into deep thought. If the god one worshipped faced problems, going silent or falling from their divine position, the higher-levelled priests were consigned to their end. Those who had received the oracle could sense the frailty of their god.

“Cardinals, follow me. There needs to be an emergency meeting.” The pope headed to the back hall, all twelve cardinals following behind. Half of them were calm and serious, having received the oracle. The other half were slightly uncomfortable.

The meeting hall was in classical style, regal and stately. There was just enough space here for the pope and the twelve cardinals to sit, but the ceiling was nearly twelve metres high. The dim light from the magical lamps could not completely light the room, even the murals of Neian's past glories on the domed ceiling indiscernible.

The pope's gaze landed on the bible that had been used for countless generations as he said slowly, “Some of you have heard the oracle today, while some have not.”

A portion of the cardinals appeared flustered. The pope rarely brought up such matters and normally discussed things in private, making arrangements that would let them retain their dignity.

“However, whether you heard it does not matter. The question is how we act upon it.” The pope then repeated the oracle, causing all the cardinals to sink into deep thought.

They would normally call upon all the elite paladins and battle priests, dispatching an enormous legion that gathered the personal armies of local nobles to join a battle to the death with the invader. However, in the current situation it was difficult to justify that course of action. With their Lord weakened, those of true faith could not be sacrificed so easily.

“The location of the oracle is the Baruch Kingdom,” an old cardinal about the same age as the pope pointed out.

The Baruch Kingdom! This immediately whirled the minds of everyone present as they recalled all they could about this kingdom in their minds.

The Baruch Kingdom was much more powerful than the Sequoia Kingdom, with a total of seven duchies with expansive lands nearing the power of a true empire. If not for their focus on expanding into the southern seas, they would long since have advanced north and swallowed up all the duchies with their powerful armoured cavalry.

There was one more important thing. The shrine to Wargod Lutheris was headquartered in the Baruch Kingdom as well.

And Lutheris was one of the unaffected gods.

593 - City of Sin

Crusade(2)

Silence reigned supreme in the meeting hall for a long time as everyone present considered the new invasion in the Baruch Kingdom. Eventually, the pope had to urge them on, “Your opinions?”

The cardinals exchanged knowing looks, none willing to speak their mind. However, it seemed like they had already reached a consensus. One of those who hadn't received the oracle had to speak up with resolution, “We of the Church are the hounds that guard the sheep of the Lord. We must follow His will to the best of our abilities, but some of the hounds need to be left behind to protect his herd.”

The rest let out a sigh of relief, all nodding in agreement. The pope raised his head and looked in the direction of the brave cardinal, the praise in his eyes reassuring the worried man.

The same situation was unfolding in many other churches as well. Legions of battle priests and paladins were being mobilised, sent towards the Baruch Kingdom.

All sorts of armies with different flags and crests met up as they poured into the Baruch Kingdom. Endless carriages rushed over from the neighbouring countries as well; even with most of the troops coming with their own rations and the Kingdom itself being home to the fertile Pampas Plains, they needed to make urgent purchases of food and materiel.

The various clergies were tense but still maintained their composure, the nobles' troops marching in an orderly manner as well. They all knew that a combined oracle from all the gods would give them more than sufficient time to prepare. The invaders would take at least a month to arrive, and the moment they stepped out they would be facing a head-on attack.

This was an important norm in the gods' protection of Faelor. Only the astral beast invasion had a meagre three days of warning before the attack, and that had been the worst in all of history.

The different churches and shrines were making their own preparations. All that could march an army to the Baruch Kingdom in time sent as much of their troops as they could spare, while those that could not spent large sums of money to send their upper echelons over via teleportation.

Those countries and churches that could do neither had prepared reinforcements, promising not to wage war against the countries who participated in this crusade for a year. A handful of the churches seemed rather reserved in their preparations for this event, but it wasn't anything odd.

The Baruch Kingdom was holding a grand ritual. King Anwod was wreathed in golden armour as he climbed the 800 crimson stairs of the Shrine of Lutheris, greeted by two rows of priests, warriors, and even young boys and girls with ceremonial robes and weaponry.

Two girls walked up to him as he approached the twenty-metre-tall building, giving him a golden sceptre and crimson robes. He equipped himself and entered the temple.

The Baruch Kingdom was a theocracy, with the king being both the secular leader and the representative of the Wargod. King Anwod hosted a grand prayer ceremony to call upon the immense will of Lutheris, a deep voice like booming thunder resonating deep within the soul of every devotee, “Raise your swords and crush every intruder!”

Upon receiving the oracle, Anwod took large strides back towards the entrance of the building. At the top of the near-thousand steps, he looked down at the orderly formation of his troops and suddenly raised his sceptre up high into the sky. Blinding rays of golden light radiated from its body.

“Rako, Ta!” No victory, no return. The King's cry resounded through the troops below, as crisp and loud as Lutheris himself. Every soldier who heard this ancient war chant of the Baruch Kingdom and felt their blood boiling with the urge to fight. Your sword gives glory to the Lord! Wield it to protect the land and its people! Battle on, battle on, and only return victorious! No victory, no return!

All the soldiers started moving out in formation, heading to the battlefield where they would give up their lives for the land. Only when the last regiment left did Anwod return to the temple, heading towards the back in solitude. He left through the back door and headed up another flight of stairs to reach some inconspicuous ruins at the back of the mountain.

This was a ruined shrine filled with dust, spiderwebs on all the corners. A few shackles hung down from the ceiling, and Anwod spotted a head of glistening black hair that seemed to descend to the ground like a waterfall. Looking at the youthful owner of that hair, he stood at the entrance for a long time before mustering up the courage to break the silence, “Zangru...”

“Oh? Tsk tsk, how rare! The first visit in five years!” a youthful voice sounded out, lacking all hints of respect. The man didn't even turn around to look at the king, only cracking his neck a few times and raising his right arm in greeting, “Well, you just hope I die as soon as possible. How fucked up is it that you're looking for me to solve your problems? Be quick, if my mood's good I might even give you a hand, father.

“Well, you're the fucker that brought me into this damned world, so you should know my price is high. Are you sure you don't just want to smash your head against the wall instead?”

Anwod's face only grew darker as he looked up and focused on the domed roof, his mouth moving in silence for a long time before he regained the composure to speak, “Powerful invaders from another plane are about to appear in the Baruch Kingdom. The gods consider their power second only to the astral beasts and have sent down orders to kill them all. I trust we will achieve victory in this war, but as it stands the Kingdom could be destroyed. I need you to protect our land and its people.”

The youth called Zangru burst into laughter, “Your land and its people, what does it have to do with me? I can't wait to kill your men and rape your women myself!”

Anwod's expression turned even darker, but he repressed his fury, “You... If you participate in this war, you can choose to wield any of the three sacred artefacts.”

"Wow, even the artefacts? Looks like you're really in a bad situation, huh? Well then, my charges for helping you should also go up. Why don't you give me all three sacred artefacts and I'll consider it.”

“IMPOSSIBLE!” Anwod roared.

Zangru finally turned back to look at him, revealing a face of cold beauty. He looked rather feminine, but what came out of his throat was clearly the voice of a man, “Impossible? Who else in this country can even use those things properly? They're an utter waste in your hands.”

Anwod paused for a long time, “Alright, you can wield all three. However, they will have to be returned after the war. So, will you fight?”

Zangru laughed again, this time more maniacal, “My great father, has so much time passed that you think of me as a lunatic who only cares about killing? You think I'll be satisfied with just that?”

“What more do you want?”

Zangru put out two of his fingers, “One, freedom. Two, some playtime with the women of your palace. You can relax, I'll give them back once I'm done.”

The king seemed to have predicted these terms, “I can agree, but once you attain your freedom you are not to step within the borders of the Baruch Kingdom again. As for the second condition, excep—”

“Tch, tch tch! If there's going to be an except, then there's no point in talking anymore. You know, I've already set my eyes on the ones you love the most. Think through it clearly, what's more important? The country and its people or your lovers? My dear father...” At this point, Zangru's voice was dripping with sarcasm.

Anwod retreated a step out of fear, rage clouding his face. He pointed at Zangru, finger trembling a little, but no matter how much time passed he couldn't drum up the courage to reprimand his own son. Eventually, he just sighed, “I... agree to your conditions. But aft—”

“No, not after, right now! What should I do if I die on the battlefield? I'm not giving you that chance.”

“... Fine.” It took an enormous amount of effort for Anwod to speak that one word.

Zangru turned back once again, his charming eyes staring right through his father, “You truly are a great king!”

The king seemed to ignore the ridicule, his golden armour emitting a bright glow as a battleaxe, helmet, and shield appeared on the ground. He then removed a golden token from his waist, placing that on the floor as well. This was the royal token that held authority equal to Anwod himself; it would allow Zangru to go anywhere he wanted and do whatever he wished.

Zangru let out a charming smile, picking up the exquisite axe and using it to break off the chains covering his body. The rusting links that stuck to his body had to be pulled out one by one, drawing blood as they were removed. His face twisted with pain with every segment, forcing him to take a few rapid breaths before he could continue extracting the metal from his body.

When all the chains were removed, Zangru's legs almost gave out from under him. He levelled a cold glare in Anwod's direction, “My dear father, you really did put your life's effort into these chains! I'm afraid the wounds on my body will only recover in a week's time. I'll be strolling through the palace until then; if anything goes wrong, please take responsibility for me. You should pray the invaders don't appear this week.

“Right, also mobilise those so-called country guardians of yours. I'm afraid they'll be useless on the battlefield, but with how many you have they'll still slow down the enemies at least. The arrangement should hold as I recover from my injuries, no?”

Anwod nodded his head heavily, heaving a deep sigh before turning to make his way out.

594 - City of Sin

Abomination

There had been no mention of getting a priest to heal Zangru. The youth had divine blood flowing through his veins, giving his body a natural healing factor that was faster than spells from most priests. The seemingly ordinary chains were actually imbued with the power of divine punishment; the injury they caused was not something clerics could help with.

Night slowly fell, shrouding the magnificent city of Baruch. The golden walls of the mountainside palace shown splendidly as the sun set, radiating its millennia of history over many generations of kings.

Zangru, dressed in pure black robes and hair now cut down to shoulder length, appeared at the entrance to the palace. As he showed the king's token to the guards on duty he was allowed to pass without issue; the guards had evidently been informed beforehand. Only a young guard couldn't keep his mouth shut, “Who are you? Daring to break into the pal—”

His mouth was covered before he could finish. “Hold your tongue! Do you want to die?!” the old captain of the guard whispered in the youth's ear.

The guard whimpered a few times and suddenly stopped struggling. The captain suddenly felt something warm on his hands; a closer look down showed him that he was now stained with blood! The young guard suddenly seemed to gush blood all over, body filling up with numerous bloody lines. The flesh split into hundreds of small portions, each falling to the ground. The captain stood rooted in his spot, watching in a daze as the pile of flesh wriggled at his feet.

Nobody had seen Zangru make his move, but by the time they turned to look the black-robed figure gradually disappeared into the distance. His shadow seemed so enormous it could cover the entire capital.

A warm light was lit within a quiet courtyard in the palace. Many beautiful maidservants travelled back and forth in the midst of their work, one tending to a beautiful young woman who was removing her makeup.

Seeing the look of worry on the young lady's face, the maid who was helping her spoke up, “There is no need to worry, Your Majesty, the King will certainly return victorious in this battle!”

“But of course,” the queen consort forced a smile. For some reason, whenever she looked at herself in the mirror she felt as though a black aura was shrouding her.

A loud crash suddenly resounded through the courtyard as the door was smashed out of its frame and thrown away. What looked to be an ethereal beauty in black robes walked over, causing the servants who ran over from the side hall to shriek and call for the guards. However, no matter how hard they shouted the palace remained completely silent. It was as though all of the soldiers had died.

Zangru took out the golden token and nonchalantly tossed it to the middle of the courtyard, rendering all the servants silent. The devilish youth then walked right in and stared at the pale consort who barely managed to stand tall, “So you're Anwod's most beloved wife?”

“I am the queen consort! Who are you?” The young lady tried her best to straighten herself and stand tall, but it felt as though a thousand little pins were pricking her.

Zangru slowly reached towards her breasts, eyes dancing with a mysterious grim flame as he chuckled, “It doesn't matter who I am. What matters is that you're mine!”

A mournful cry suddenly rang out from the consort's hall, not fading for a long time.

......

In another part of the palace, a concubine who was favoured by Anwod had put on a servant's robes as she tried to rush out from the halls of the harem. She nearly tripped over in shock when the miserable cries rang out in the distance, but managed to calm her breathing even as she walked even faster. She came from a long-standing family that had a deep network within the Kingdom, so she had heard of this news before the consort was caught. She was also well aware of past events and what would happen over the next few days.

However, a royal guard suddenly walked out of the darkness and barred her way.

“Move out of the way! Do you know who I am?” the concubine shrieked. However, even in the state of hysteria she did her best to lower her volume, afraid that the devil would hear.

The soldier remained expressionless as he said coldly, “His Majesty has ordered that nobody from the harem is to leave their halls in the coming week.”

“What, this is... an order from His Majesty?” The concubine immediately turned ashen. She then did her best to smile, revealing her most beautiful side as she produced a precious gem bracelet and pushed it into the soldier's hand, “What's your name? As long as you step aside, I definitely won't forget you.”

“His Majesty has ordered that nobody from the harem is to leave their halls in the coming week,” the guard repeated once more, as robotic as a puppet.

The concubine slowly turned glum, scared out of her wits as she headed back towards her halls. Given her past, she knew the devil definitely wouldn't let her go. She might survive the ordeal with her life, but the King definitely wouldn't want her afterwards. All the luxuries she now held would be blown away like the wind.

In that moment, she felt as though the winds blowing over her were filled with despair.

The same stars were held aloft by the night skies, but those underneath felt varying emotions. Some despaired, others raged. Some worked on preparing for upcoming battles while others did as they liked. The eyes of the gods in the heavens and all mortals on the earth were focused on the Baruch Kingdom, a land that would soon welcome destruction and rebirth.

Sacrifices would have to be made amidst the flames of war. Heroes would blossom from the dirt even as uncountable lives withered away. No matter what the final result would be, this next month would be written down in epics that bards would repeat for millennia.

Such was the glory of war.

......

When Richard returned to Faelor, the priestesses of the three churches allied with him immediately asked for a meeting. Although he had urgent matters to attend to and the three goddesses themselves were incomparably weak, he still found the time for a short meeting. No matter how pathetic these goddesses were, they were native to Faelor. They would serve as the best of shrouds as he blended further into this plane.

It had been less than a year since his last wars and the priestesses had all advanced by a level, an indication that the faith they spread in Richard's lands had been rewarding. From another perspective, one could imagine how hard-pressed the three goddesses were that even a few hundred new worshippers got them so excited.

His brows locked as they began the meeting, but as the priestesses continued on he visibly relaxed. Eventually his expression petered out into a neutral calmness, but it was obvious that he was in a good mood.

“So you're saying the invaders will appear in the Baruch Kingdom in about a month?”

“A month at minimum,” Faylen nodded with certainty, “When the gods passed down the oracle together, they also joined hands to slow down the invasion to give us enough time.”

This was a huge surprise for Richard who had expected the attack to come the very next day. It seemed like the gods were the primary reason for the loss of time during a teleportation.

Another pleasant revelation was the location of the invasion. If he didn't remember wrong, the Baruch Kingdom was the base of the Wargod Lutheris. With a greater god helming the defence, there would definitely be a huge 'welcoming' ceremony. Google search 𝘧𝓇𝗲e𝑤𝑒𝙗noѵ𝒆𝚕. 𝒄o𝓶

He took the map and spread it on the table to check the location of the Baruch Kingdom, failing to notice the slight trace of a smug smile on Flowsand's lips. A short while later, he looked back up at the three priestesses who looked eager, “So the goddesses want...”

“While the power of our churches is minuscule, my Lady will not back down from a war that concerns the fate of the world. We will not fear sacrifice and pour everything we can into the defence!”

Richard nodded, “They truly are magnanimous.”

Faylen's tone then changed to a more tactful one, “The goddesses are determined, but our power is limited. We are here to seek your help.”

“Me? What can I do?” Richard lost his smile.

“You are the greatest commander in the Kingdom and have a fearful army under your helm. We are not far from the Baruch Kingdom; if you are willing to send your troops, it will be an enormous contribution to the world. The goddesses will definitely remember your favour!”

Richard stroked his short moustache, looking grimly at the map before sighing, “I... I will have to consider this carefully. There are far too many enemies around me.”

It was a tradition on Faelor for churches to work together with the nobility to quash invasions. The invaders' remains were offerings that would greatly strengthen the worshippers, while the nobles would be granted divine weapons and other benefits in exchange. However, the three goddesses were so weak there was no point in helping them. Richard's army qualified to partner with a far more powerful church.

Faylen, Fermi, and Shea tried repeatedly to persuade him, but it was all to no avail. Richard was unmoved, refusing to consider the idea of sending out his troops. In the end, the three priestesses exchanged glances and could only leave.

“Why didn't you agree? This is a good chance!” Flowsand asked from the side.

Richard smiled, “It's fine, they're in more of a hurry than I am. How could it be so easy to make me send out my troops. Just wait, they'll come back soon enough with more to give.”

“Scoundrel!” she exclaimed, but hugging the Book of Time she yawned and headed back to her room for a nap. She was exceptionally tired today.

595 - City of Sin

In The Name Of God

Richard shook his head before walking into the command centre, activating a magic map and putting all his attention into studying the terrain and situation. Time passed quickly as night fell once more on the Bloodstained Lands, setting sun dyeing the world crimson.

As he was working on strategies for the upcoming war, a light knock sounded from the door to the room. Hearing his approval, Faylen slowly walked in.

Richard didn't even lift his head, “Priestess Faylen, I haven't come to a decision yet.”

“I know,” the woman said gently, but then her voices started to tremble, “I am... here to assist you with that.”

Confused by her words, he lifted his head to see the priestess removing her enchanted robes. Her hips gyrated as the long vestment fell to her legs, the skirt underneath slipping down with a quiet tug. The priestess of the Goddess of Spring Water thus stood naked in front of him.

Faylen was a mature beauty, her unbelievably supple skin glistening with a perfect blend of purity and sex appeal. Her status and normal behaviour only increased the impact.

Richard knitted his brows, “What are you getting at, Priestess?”

Faylen took one step closer, glimmering like a waterfall under the sun. “As long as you are willing to provide us with soldiers, my Lady will be in your debt. I am willing to sacrifice myself for Her!”

“You're beautiful,” Richard admired her body thoroughly, but his eyes still remained calm. Although he didn't look away from her most personal areas, he didn't pay close attention either. After the initial look, he acted like she was fully clothed.

Faylen was shocked to see him shake his head and say, “This is not enough. I have no desire to sacrifice my soldiers' lives without reason, especially when there are enemies lying in wait to take advantage of the situation.”

Faylen flashed another alluring smile, “If you are willing, I believe the two other priestesses would be willing to sacrifice themselves as well. In fact, I can ask them to come over right now and we can all... Apart from us, any cleric of our Churches would be willing to offer themselves to you so long as you are interested!”

The proposition had been seductive at the beginning, but as her speech dragged on into more risque topics the woman's voice grew more stable, as though she was preaching. Richard thought it over for a second and realised that this priestess really was doing this purely on behalf of her goddess. It seemed rather absurd to one of his sensibilities, but considering her situation it wasn't hard to understand.

Studying the pantheon of the plane was extremely important in every invasion. His studies in the Deepblue had given him some understanding of how the divine worked, and with the help of the Book of Gods from Kellac Flowsand had managed to piece together the approximate hierarchy in Faelor. As a man who was once a great priest himself, Kellac had managed to provide some vital information about the working of Faelor's pantheon.

In the end, the distribution of power amongst the gods of Faelor was ultimately no different from that in most other planes. Even though the mortals did not understand planar war and classified all invaders as demons or devils, it still played an important role in the realm of the divine. The more effort a god put into suppressing invasions, the more intruders they destroyed, the more powerful their domain would become. This was an important channel for lesser deities to obtain more power, and the three goddesses who could barely avoid falling could only grasp at such straws.

Under such circumstances, the clergy itself wouldn't think much of material and fleshly sacrifice. After all, as pious worshippers they would gladly give up their very lives without second thought.

“Sigh. I understand what the goddess has to gain from this, but what's in it for you?”

Faylen felt strange and uncomfortable when Richard asked this question. They were only an arm's length away and she was completely naked, but here he was delving into a serious discussion. It made her feel extremely anxious, to the point that her hands automatically raised up to cover her private parts.

However, they had barely moved before she dropped them once more. Instead stretching to tidy up her hair, she forced a calm voice out of her throat, “You have seen for yourself that Fermi, Shea, and I have grown in power ever since we set up a church inside your city. New followers have been streaming in regularly to the praise of my Lady, and a great contribution in this war would give Her a decisive victory. I might have the chance to be granted the position of pope because of my stellar achievements.”

Richard was quite surprised. He knew Faylen had something to gain, but hadn't expected the advantage to be so great. However pathetic the three goddesses were, the power of a pope was still unattainable for most people.

“Is that enough to move you? Laying with a future pope?” Faylen stepped forward as she spoke; even leaning forward now would bring her breasts in contact with Richard's body. She flashed a wholesome smile, placing her hand on his chest.

Richard smiled and led her hand away, “I am someone who greatly respects the three goddesses, and that respect extends to you.”

The priestess bit her bottom lip, looking at him with some resentment, “So what do I have to do? Tell me! As long as it is something the goddess and I can accomplish, we will do it!”

Richard finally received the entreaty he was waiting for. Although his conditions had long since been prepared, he pretended to think over it for a while before answering, “Hmm... It's actually quite simple. I have the utmost of respect for the three goddesses. Even though I cannot be considered a worshipper, I hope my contribution can earn me a position as a titled priest. Furthermore, from this day forth I need full reign to use the names of the three goddesses in my military expeditions.”

Faylen immediately paled. This was a much greater sacrifice than she had imagined! A titled priesthood wasn't much to care about. Having seen Flowsand's might, she knew Richard wasn't interested in the divine abilities of the three goddesses. However, for a mortal to start wars in the name of the divine... This wasn't something even the most brazen of monarchs would dare to ask for. It was the equivalent of all three goddesses playing into Richard's palm. If they agreed, they would then be tied to his every move.

This was a request that far exceeded Faylen's authority to grant. She felt her throat go dry and hoarse, completely unable to utter another word.

Having expected this, Richard threw out another card, “If the three goddesses promise me this, then I, Richard Archeron, will mobilise all of my troops and battle the invaders to the death!”

He politely grabbed Faylen's hand and guided it to the magical map, stretching out to point at the junction of the Bloodstained Lands and the Land of Turmoil, “This is where you will see the invaders fall!”

Faylen's heart started beating uncontrollably, an image of the papal sceptre waving goodbye flashing across her mind. Richard turned to look at her and smiled, throwing out his final card, “The protection of all three goddesses would be the best. However, even if only one is willing to acknowledge my contributions, I will still fight the invaders to the death!”

Faylen's heart started beating even faster, her enormous breasts trembling as she heaved, “I will report this to my Lady immediately, please wait for Her response!”

The priestess rushed towards her clothes as she finished talking, about to go to the church and pray. However, she only managed to dress halfway before stopping abruptly, expression now changed as she raised her head with glee, “My Lady was paying close attention to the events of this day. She acknowledges your sincerity and has sent an oracle that she agrees to your conditions. I can prepare the ceremony tonight, we will confer you with a titled priesthood tomorrow.”

A smile spread across Richard's face and he bowed slightly, “I thank Her for Her benevolence!”

Faylen stopped wearing her clothes, saying softly, “Even though my Lady has agreed to your conditions, my original offer still stands as well...”

Richard flashed a dazzling smile, “And I look forward to it. But right now, we need to prepare for battle. Once these invaders have been destroyed completely, we can look into this... proposal.”

The priestess just grit her teeth in resignation, “Alright then. Just know that I am always ready.” She regained her composure just before leaving, flashing a seductive smile of her own while her eyes signalled that she would be awaiting the day.

Given some peace once more, Richard pumped his fist in excitement. As long as he could win this war, he would take root in Faelor permanently. With the power to act in the name of the three goddesses, anyone trying to look for his true identity would be faced with tremendous difficulty. In a situation where he would have to face these opponents anyway, he had just been given a free bonus for victory.

Once he recovered a little from his joy, he finally contacted the broodmother once more. Her connection with him seemed intermittent, the thoughts that did stream through very tired. It was to the point that he was left slightly worried.

“Master, I just finished building a worm nest. No need to worry, the exhaustion will be gone after I eat and recover my energy.”

“Worm nest?” This was an unfamiliar term.

“Similar to a beehive. The worker drones provide nourishment for it, and I can store partially complete battle drones in there and have them grow from that point. A winged serpent embryo would take about a week to finish, while a wind wolf would only need a day. It increases my productivity by about 30%.”

“Where does the nutrition for this worm nest come from?” he asked.

“For now, the workers that feed me can gather enough nourishment for the nest as well.” Her reply allowed him to relax.

And then, just as he was about to tell her to start on twenty magical horses for rune knights, she sent him some shocking news. She already had thirty waiting for him!

596 - City of Sin

Arrangement

“Why so many horses?” Richard couldn't help but ask.

“I created them for your rune knights. These ones have stronger physiques and longer lives, and were granted more intelligence than an ordinary horse. I believe they will be good accessories to your soldiers.”

By this point he had come to accept that the broodmother was a separate entity from him, capable of making her own decisions. Although he hated the lack of control, objectively this situation was even better for him; it would be cumbersome to regularly visit Faelor in the future just to give her instructions.

However, even with the month's buffer of time there were simply too many horses. He laughed uneasily, “Okay, but there are just so many. I needed twenty.”

“It isn't, Master. You can take the excess horses back to Norland and sell them there. Based on the information you gave me about your rune knights, these should be even more powerful than the ones normal grade 2 rune knights use. Every one of them will sell at a good price, so you can portion out some of the magic crystals you get and help me unlock more abilities.”

“... Alright.” Shocked by the excessive business acumen of this creature that was supposedly a few years old, Richard felt himself under pressure.

“Five of them were built for sale. They look bigger and more beautiful, more agile and fierce than the rest, but their ability isn't any higher. They also look like they'll live longer lives, but in four to six years a variety of illnesses will take them. The horses I made for your use will last ten years.

“I also used my analysis of the unicorn to modify those five horses a little. If you come across rune knights who use them in battle, your unicorn can kill them off instantly.”

At this point he was rendered speechless. This was far past the level of being smart. She could lay traps and make devious plans even when it came to a bunch of horses; this was nothing short of cunning and sinister!

“... Alright. Send me your levels of analysis for everything.”

A short while later, a flood of information rushed into Richard's head. He carefully skimmed through to find that many more races were complete now: humans, dwarves, goblins, cavemen... a total of twelve different species which were divided into hundreds of smaller partitions.

The ones he paid the closest attention to, the barbarians, dwarves, and elves, had all reached 100%. Elves were even at 115%, meaning the broodmother's drones of this race were 1.15 times as strong as the ordinary elf.

As he looked through the data on the elves, he discovered that this race was surprisingly weak. Ordinary elves only had a potential of level 7, something barely better than humans. If the broodmother wanted to create level 11 archers, the drastic difference in quality would leave her able to make only two a day with her current abilities.

Richard was quite disappointed, but as he finished and looked further down he noticed the information about forest elves nearby. Recalling that he had sent forest elf corpses back to Faelor for the broodmother to analyse, he was surprised to find that they were a completely different race.

The analysis of the forest elves was at a paltry 2%, but that was enough to know that their racial potential was far higher than the Faelor elves. The broodmother's initial assessment put the forest elves somewhere around level 12 on average, far superior to many elves even in Norland. Only the silvermoon elves were noticeably better.

Under the cover of the night, several winged serpents suddenly took to the sky from Bluewater's barracks as they carried the corpses of woodpecking crows and forest elves to the Land of Turmoil. Richard spent an entire hour reading through all the new information before heaving a long sigh, pondering over things for a while before speaking to the broodmother, “Use up all your stored divinity to strengthen your defences and recovery. We have a difficult battle coming up, and you might need to participate.”

“Ordinary saints are no match for me,” she said with confidence.

Richard relaxed a little letting out an uneasy laugh, “There will be an entire group of saints this time, all of Norland's standards. Alright, enough of that. I want you to create winged serpents for the rest of the month. They should have the ability to emit poisonous mist.”

“Master, that will weaken the serpents greatly. They won't be able to kill enemies immediately, and the stronger ones will be able to survive for an entire week. If there are any clerics healing them, they'll survive.”

Richard laughed at her words, “Our opponents might have everything else, but they certainly won't have clerics.”

Grand priestess Noelene had assured him that only the coordinates of Faelor had been leaked, not those of the Lighthouse of Time itself. This meant the attackers could not access the permanent passageway that would be able to keep a cleric safe. No priest or cleric would dare to move to a new plane without the protection of a Lighthouse of Time. The brand of their worship would become a beacon of light for the defending gods, and even a pope would be lucky to escape retribution. Those who worshipped the Eternal Dragon were partly an exception to this, but even then the plane they were entering would have to be touched by the Eternal Dragon's power first.

Richard had originally planned to gather all his troops to fight the enemies at the Lighthouse of Time, but now Faylen had brought the good news that the portal had been shifted. The entire city came alive as it churned out soldiers towards the border with the Land of Turmoil.

The nobility of the Sequoia Kingdom was mobilised as well. Under orders from the royal family, they had organised an army that would pass through the Whiterock Dukedom and safe passageways from three other countries to join the war in the Baruch Kingdom. Even though the army didn't have many men, their formations were lavish and the Mage Association had sent five out of their ten remaining grand mages to the cause.

However, when word got out that Richard had received an oracle from the three goddesses and was getting ready to do battle with the invaders, many of the nobles in the Sequoia Kingdom immediately changed their minds. The troops going with the royal expedition were recalled, directed to him instead.

This was not the first time that they had worked with Richard, and they were more than aware that his strict requirements for troops and his commanding style could serve them victory after victory even while reducing casualties. Many of them had witnessed first hand the awing power during the Bloodstained Highway Project.

As such, the 15,000 strong army that had set off shrunk to 7,000 in the blink of an eye. The King had no choice but to add 3,000 more soldiers from his personal guard to join the expedition, bringing it up to an acceptable number. The commander was a famous and experienced general, but his deep understanding of military affairs only left him with great reverence for Richard's abilities. The Archeron youth pulled out miracle after miracle; he would go so far as to risk disrespecting the gods and call them divine.

Thus, when the old general spread out his map to look at where Richard's army was gathering, he knitted his brows and the wrinkles on his forehead started to rise like mountains.

If Richard was accurate as before, this meant the invaders would completely wipe out the more than 100,000 soldiers gathered in the Baruch Kingdom. At the same time, they would annihilate three more strongholds as they carved around the Land of Turmoil, finally wiping out four countries before reaching the designated battlefield.

This seemed completely impossible. Hundreds of thousands of soldiers would have to be killed, and the enemy would have to rush through an arduous journey towards the Bloodstained Lands before they could reach the designated battlefield. Try as he might, the general could not think of a reason for the invaders to give up the fertile Pampas plains and the vast tracts of ore in the southwest of the Baruch Kingdom to fight head-on against an army in the Bloodstained Lands.

What was hidden in the Bloodstained Lands? Were the rumours that Richard had a secret relationship with the invaders true?

This thought barely brushed past the general's mind before he wiped it out. Even though the three goddesses were called trash, they were still true gods of this plane. How could they approve someone as a title priest if he was an ambassador of the foreign demons? To blaspheme any true god, regardless of how weak they were, was an unforgivable sin. There could be no violation of the dignity of the divine.

Or was there a demigod supporting Richard from behind? The seasoned general dropped this thought even faster than the first one. He did not wish to doubt Richard; the various blasphemous rumours and other methods used to try and curb the rise of a new god was always met with one of two responses: a war of the gods or divine punishment.

597 - City of Sin

The Portal Opens

The western portions of the Baruch Kingdom were mostly comprised of a harsh desert with undulating terrain. However, these barren lands had been transformed over the past month. Sentinels and horses now patrolled the area regularly, looking for possible hiding spots in the empty desert. A massive army was camped nearby, ready to charge in on a moment's notice.

A scout was currently urging his horse forward to circle around a stone pillar that was ten metres thick, his horizon expanding to reveal vast flatlands ahead.

The ranger was already quite old, his face filled with the vicissitudes of time, but his gaze remained sharp. He looked into the distance where everything was calm as per usual, preparing to have his horse move on.

However, the old horse that had accompanied him for a long while was unwilling to go forward. Startled by the creature neighing and backing away, the scout squinted ahead and saw the space in front of him beginning to distort. A dazzling light suddenly filled the air in front of him, splitting space apart!

The ranger found himself blinded in the moment, but with decades of experience he immediately brought his hand up to block the strong light. Blinking his vision back slowly, he managed to discern the scene ahead of him.

An enormous portal had already taken shape a few hundred metres away. Groups of fully-armed soldiers walked out from a ripple-like screen, the style of their armour entirely different from anything the Faelorian had ever seen. They were evidently not of this world. place.

“Invader!” the man gasped, producing a short red flare. A single press and this would fly hundreds of metres into the sky, sending a magical wave of energy that would alert all mages within a hundred kilometres to the location.

However, just as he was about to press it, the ranger hesitated. The first few groups of invaders had just walked out of the gate, yet to discover him. Once he sent out this flare, he would not be able to escape.

The old man's hands gripped tighter and tighter, large beads of sweat rolling down from his forehead as throbbing veins popped out. Squad after squad of soldiers continued to walk out...

The scout knew that the ability to determine the location of the invaders and attack them before they could assemble would play a huge part in the oncoming battle. In a war of the entire world, his life was nothing. The man suddenly gritted his teeth and pressed hard with both hands, the short red stick shooting into the skies as it shot out bright red light. The tracks it left behind took quite some time to dissipate.

The ranger felt as though all strength had been sucked out of him, body going limp. He immediately turned back and had his horse bolt, fleeing as fast as he could.

A powerful general leading the vanguard was quickly urging his soldiers forward with a loud voice, having them leave the following squads some space. Bright red suddenly flashed in the corner of his eyes, the red beacon immediately revealing the fleeing ranger. His eyes glinted coldly as he snorted, taking an enormous bow off his back and nocking an arrow.

*Twang!* *Thump!* The arrow sparked as it flew into the distance, crossing several hundred metres in the blink of an eye to bury itself into the scout's back. The horse continued to run on, but after a mere dozen metres or so its rider exploded into a torrent of bloody rain!

The general loosed a thunderous cry, having the soldiers set up formation even as he dispatched a group of light cavalry that had just stepped through the portal to go hunt for and kill any other scouts nearby.

More and more soldiers continued to stream out, the formation growing a little disorganised as it approached the 10,000 mark. The general's voice grew slightly hoarse, but many of those who had just walked out the gates were still a little disoriented from the leap. Some even had trouble standing, an unfortunate side effect of using an unstable passageway

Thankfully, a second general soon followed. The one in the vanguard sighed with relief, working together with the new arrival to bring things back into order.

However, it was at this moment that the earth trembled slightly. A cloud of dust rose up in the distance, pressing closer to their location until they were finally within range of sight. A row of cavalrymen was charging over at full speed!

The expressions of the two generals warped. With vision surpassing that of normal soldiers, they noticed that there were nearly 10,000 horses in the vanguard. The problem was with the dust obscuring their sight. If just the vanguard was this large, what about the army behind? How many would there be?

The soldiers that had already walked out of the portal quickly adjusted formation, the heavy infantry in the front with the spears right behind. The flanking cavalry was quickly withdrawn as the army closed up in preparation for battle.

The Faelorians had already charged up. Their commander quickly noticed that Raymond's troops were experienced and didn't dare to rush into the wall of spears head-on, instead splitting the vanguard in two and having them flank around the wings to strike at the rear near the portal. Norland may have been proficient at planar incursions, but Faelor was experienced in fending them off. They were aware that the teleportation gate was the key to this battle.

A volley of arrows suddenly rose up from the centre of Raymond's army, leaving behind trails of various colours as they landed in the midst of the charging cavalry. The few hundred enchanted arrows worked just as well as a volley from over thousands of elite archers, leaving 200 cavalrymen on the ground. The same dazzling light flew into the sky once more, and that body count doubled.

At the heart of the invading troops was a square-shaped formation that was noticeably different from the rest. All of these archers were tall with long arms, their arrows enchanted with various effects that would bring death to their enemies.

A single kilometre's charge had been intercepted by five waves of arrows, leaving more than a thousand dead. However, the cavalry didn't lose any morale at all. Charging ahead with no regard for their own lives, wave after wave of soldiers successfully passed the organised formation and struck the soldiers closer to the portal who were still forming up.

Everything instantly descended into chaos!

At the heart of the division of cavalry was a tall general holding the Baruch warflag up high, roaring as he stomped through the Norlanders. He used the flag as a polearm of sorts, hoisting the enemy soldiers up into the sky and impaling them with its sharp tip. This general gave off a bloodthirsty aura that made him seem like an abyssal god of massacre.

“I just move over and there's a saint to kill? What a surprise!” A snicker suddenly resounded through the battlefield, “Alright, I'll take care of you!”

A powerful being clad in black armour with an enormous sword appeared at the portal, taking large steps forward as he closed the hundred-metre distance from the general in an instant. Amidst booming roars, saints from the two great planes had crossed swords for the first time.

Every collision between the broadsword and warflag sent sparks flying into the sky, the clashes sounding like claps of thunder. There was no way to rein in one's energy in such a battle, but the experienced soldiers on each side quickly gave the two fighting powerhouses a wide berth. They knew they couldn't even afford to get close, much less intervene.

The Baruch general fought with all his might, but even though he was fearless the Norlander constantly maintained the advantage. He soon devolved into a series of wild attacks, but even though the opponent's energy reserves were similar to his own the power and dexterity of the broadsword was on a completely different level!

“Im...possible...” It wasn't long before the general watched the huge sword pierce into his body with a face of disbelief. In the last few moments of his life, he suddenly noticed a series of sparks on the opponent that seemed to be bound together by some threads. It seemed almost like the working of a magic formation. He had originally thought the opponent had legendary-grade armour, but now he realised these flashes came directly from the skin.

These were runes! The magic tools that had only recently popped up on Faelor!

However, he didn't get to dwell on that thought for long before the giant sword deftly cut off his head. This was the first of the Baruch Kingdom's sub-legendary guardians that had died.

The black-armoured Norland saint waved his giant sword around once more, beginning a one-sided massacre of the light cavalry. Raymond's soldiers slowly recovered from the chaos, the new entrants now able to fight normally. The troops gradually organised and formed together, giving their newer colleagues some time to recover from the teleportation sickness. A powerful counterattack rocked the Faelorians. The Baruch Kingdom's light cavalry was whittled away, leaving more than half of them dead.

However, they had accomplished their purpose. Enough time had been bought for the main army to come in!

The earth quaked with far more vigour as the Baruch heavy cavalry that was well-known on the continent surged over like a golden tide. Following them was a black mass of footsoldiers that seemed to have no end!

When Raymond walked out of the portal under the escort of his personal guards, the first thing he saw was an exceptionally massive battlefield where more than a hundred thousand soldiers were engaged in a battle to the death. The frontlines of the battle had been broken at many places, both sides now stuck in a vortex of death. Powerful beings were engaged in close quarters all over, more and more soldiers dying every second.

The light of magic seemed to shroud the entire battlefield. Clouds of fire, hailstorms, lightning bolts, acid mist... Many large-scale spells constantly struck the Faelorian soldiers before being dissipated by their own mages and clerics. A dozen eye-catching balls of light floated in the sky, all grand mages fighting each other while trying to lob spells into the battle below.

Anyone who dared to float up in this battlefield was unordinary; at the very least, they were confident in facing the hundreds of enchanted arrows from Raymond's archers. However, they quickly realised that this confidence was misplaced. The Faelorians in the sky were shot down like fowl by the clumps of arrows; startling all but those with extreme power into returning to the ground.

Divine light constantly flickered in and out of existence as well. Groups of soldiers were turned into killing machines by Faelor's clerics and priests, madly rushing towards their enemies without fear of death. Although the divine spells of Faelor seemed weak to those of Norland, the few high-levelled priests that the Baruch army had was much higher than Raymond's zero. Whenever battles entered a stalemate and one side had clerics while the other did not, there would only be one end.

Raymond's eyes narrowed. He had never expected to face this situation on the other side of the portal.

598 - City of Sin

The Portal Opens(2)

They were supposed to arrive right at Richard's base, close to the Lighthouse of Time. However, there seemed to be no buildings of any sort nearby. Although Raymond hadn't expected to land right in Richard's base, they were much too far from their destination.

On top of that, the locals were ready for him! Not only were they waiting near the portal, they even had a massive 100,000-strong army! He looked around at the chaotic surroundings and could tell that his side was in disarray. Even with a 10:3 difference in numbers his army was supposed to edge out in power, but scattered as they were right now that power could not manifest itself.

Thankfully, they still had the advantage in powerhouses. The twelve saints and eight grand mages he had brought along, all equipped with runes, could easily suppress even Faelor's sub-legendary experts. Not too far away, one of his saints clad in black armour was cutting a level 18 powerhouse from Faelor in two. This was already the second enemy he had slain.

However, the sight only turned the warriors of the Baruch Kingdom all the more savage. They fought with all they had, trying to drown the enemy with numbers. The saint in black armour sneered as he flung the corpse away with his sword, looking for the next opponent.

It was at this moment that a black-robed youth with a battleaxe appeared in front of him. The man's appearance was so silent the saint hadn't even noticed him, the helmet shrouding his face only revealing a pair of jewel-like eyes.

The saint shuddered as a cold gaze seemed to pierce through his heart, roaring off the fear as he struck out preemptively with his sword. He had found Faelor's experts to be exceptionally weak, even two consecutive fights barely denting his energy reserves. Thus, he had decided to overpower this opponent with brute force as well.

However, this new mysterious enemy raised his shield and deflected the strike. The saint felt as though as he had struck a mountain, just the reflected vibrations blurring his vision as blood started gushing out of his orifices. The huge sword was also sent flying away, its shape distorted.

The mysterious youth swung his own weapon after deflecting the saint's attack, cleaving his head straight off.

Raymond's eyes narrowed. This was the first of his saints that had died.

Another saint flew forward, quite evidently excelling in speed as he left a trail of afterimages behind him. However, the youth from Faelor shielded himself once more and charged forward. Somehow managing to grasp the approaching saint's position, he bashed right into him.

A resounding clap rang through the battlefield as the saint was forced to retreat, standing still in mid-air. His twin daggers were already broken, the blades now piercing his own body. The mysterious man strode forward and waved his left arm, sending his shield into the saint's chest. The sounds of cracking dictated that this saint would never see Norland again.

Two more saints stepped forward to take him on, but the mysterious youth brandished his axe and shield to tear through anything in his way. As they met each other, the clashing energy obscured one's vision of the fight.

However, it wasn't long before the two saints were sent flying with a whoosh, their bodies covered in blood. A golden mask flew away on the other side, leaving behind a glimmering trail through the skies. The mysterious figure was stood in mid-air, the lost mask revealing a bewitching androgynous face. In stark contrast were his long, narrow eyes, filled with an icy madness.

A drop of blood slid down from his fringe, slipping through the bridge of his nose to fall to his lips before he licked it off.

This was Zangru Baruch.

All of the Norland warriors froze for a moment, not daring to come forward. Thunderous roars rang out as warflags emerged on the horizon, their shining golden light illuminating half the sky. These knights were clad in gold and draped in red capes, the momentum of their charge so great it was like an unstoppable wave was engulfing the ground.

At the very centre of the formation was the commander of it all, the champion of Lutheris. It was King Anwod Baruch.

The Norlanders' morale was crushed in the blink of an eye.

Raymond immediately noticed that something was amiss, pointing at Zangru and yelling, “ALL ELITES ON HIM, HE HAS A DIVINE WEAPON!”

The battle between mages in mid-air was already concluded. The Faelorians were running out of mana, giving those of Norland the upper hand. Hearing Raymond's orders, six of the eight grand mages turned in Zangru's direction.

This time Zangru's face turned pale. He roared as he placed the Wargod's Shield in front of him, but many spells landed on his body at the same time. Mind Spike, Soul Strike, Confusion, Banishment, Bind, Amber Coffin... Six different control spells landed on his body, all trying to influence his soul. Zangru's face turned whiter with every spell, to the point that he eventually coughed up some blood. Although he was remarkably powerful, he had only managed to survive the bombardment of six spells due to the divine artefact in his hands. However, he was still severely injured.

Raymond immediately concluded that they would win this battle, no longer glancing at the enemy charging right at him as he instead pointed at Anwod, “Everyone, spear formation. Rune knights, penetrate enemy ranks!”

A warhorn blared through the battlefield as the general behind Raymond tilted his flag in the target direction. All fifty rune knights spurred on their horses, quickly gaining speed. Although there were only fifty of them, the impacts of steel meeting earth could rival the strength of a thousand horses!
𝑓𝚛𝚎𝗲𝙬ℯ𝘣𝚗𝘰ν𝐞l. co𝗺

The Norland army started to show its might as well, slowly forming into strict rows that shielded the rune knights' charge. They were being given the opportunity to break through. The rune knights used the chance to accelerate to top speed, slicing into the golden river that was surging towards them like a sharp blade.

The golden knights seemed to be split in two, those directly in the way thrown into the sky alongside their horses. It took mere moments for the blade to pass through the other side of the golden deluge that was the elite might of the Baruch Kingdom, the King himself tossed helplessly to the ground. Blood the same crimson as his cape stained the earth.

Zangru didn't so much as spare a glance at the scene, uncaring for his father's death. He continued his relentless charge towards Raymond, having realised that the feeble-looking mage was in fact the leader of the invaders. If he could kill off the commander, the Norlanders' morale would plummet and organisation would be destroyed.

However, a blinding flash blocked his path as a grey-robed old man appeared before him. A dirty-looking sword seemed right at home in his own seemingly ordinary hands, not having been cleaned in ages. “Those weapons aren't bad... Pity their user is still a little sapling.”

Zangru's brows knitted as he spoke for the first time in that battle, “You aren't much stronger than me, old man. And I don't see any divine weapons on you.”

The grey-robed man smiled, “I'm strong enough to deal with you. Besides, I'm not alone.” His sword flashed towards Zangru before he even finished his words, forcing the youth to block with his shield in surprise. He was barely able to choose the right position to block, but it had only been accomplished through sheer instinct.

A light tinkle sounded as sword struck shield, the lack of strength astonishing the youth. His eyes narrowed as he moved his shield immediately, blocking another strike. However, it was at this moment that multiple beams of light struck his body once more. Four of the grand mages had continued to focus their spells on him, and the worst part was that these weren't attack spells that could be blocked by his shield or energy shroud. These curses were synergised with no conflicting natures, achieving maximum effect. Unable to leave the fight with the old man, he could only rely on his great resistance to magic to tank as many spells as he could.

Zangru was eventually left as white as a sheet, his speed drastically reduced. The old man struck his right hand that was holding the axe, leaving a wound as he sent the weapon flying into the sky.

Zangru roared as he swept out with his left hand in retaliation, throwing the shield in the old man's direction. The shrill whistle turned the man's expression grim, forcing him to flash several steps away. It wasn't until he avoided it that he realised what was going on; he'd been had!

The grey-robed man suddenly turned his head around, seeing a red barrier flashing brightly for a moment before the shield broke through the defences of one of the grand mages and sliced him in two. It then arced in mid-air, flying back into Zangru's hand.

The old man didn't say another word, unleashing a barrage of attacks in Zangru's direction.

However, the youth roared again, his black hair falling free as the Wargod's Helmet flew up this time. He then turned around and escaped, seemingly disappearing into thin air. The old man was left grasping at straws, eventually snorting before he returned to Raymond's side. He didn't dare to leave the commander unprotected in this hellish battlefield.

599 - City of Sin

A Runemaster Turned Commander

Raymond sent out order after order, the army from Norland slowly turning into a cohesive whole. A bird's eye view would show it form up like a saw with numerous teeth, grinding the enemies down to pieces.

The rune knights demonstrated their prowess once more. No matter how disciplined the Faelorians were, regardless of their morale, they were shredded apart like paper in the face of the steel hooves. Even the elite soldiers only managed to fend off one strike before they were pierced through.

As for the fight of the powerhouses, Zangru's escape and Anwod's death had suppressed Faelor completely. The combined army was decimated in a battle that lasted from noon to dusk. While they had started with 120,000 soldiers, only 30,000 had managed to return.

A total of thirteen country guardians and three grand mages had died alongside many priests and clerics. More than a hundred of Faelor's saints had been wiped out alongside nobles of various lineages, and even the champion of Lutheris had died in the war alongside many of his high-ranking officials. The Shrine of Lutheris had suffered enormous losses from this one battle alone; it would take them tens of years to recuperate.

However, the Norlanders hadn't made it out unscathed either. Only 17,000 of the initial 30,000 troops remained, with a mere four saints and five grand mages still alive. Even these powerhouses were injured to at least some degree. Eleven of the fifty rune knights had died in battle, and nineteen more were maimed. Only twenty battle-ready rune knights remained.

Many torches were lit as night fell, the invaders using the moonlight and the flames to scour the battlefield for their injured. Raymond walked aimlessly around the mess, his face sunken in worry. He hadn't expected to lose so many men just upon setting foot on this plane.

Faelor was not on par with Norland in terms of powerhouses or resources. To have the will to amass an elite army of over 120,000 troops right at the portal... If not for the decisive move to have the rune knights break through the encirclement and use the Faelorians' lack of information on rune knights to take down Anwod at once, the casualties would only be worse right now.However, that would not work again.

......

The stench of blood permeated the battlefield, groans ringing out everywhere. The Norlanders had already set up camp nearby, with tens of thousands of prisoners of war herded together in an empty field. Their bleak faces were filled with horror as they stared into the sky.

Not far from Raymond, two of his soldiers visibly wept as they ended the suffering of a comrade with a sword to the heart. The beginning of any conquest in a foreign plane was the most brutal part. Without any priests and clerics, wounds that could normally be treated were deadly. Although the army did bring healing potions with it, the number was far from adequate to save everyone.

Raymond had experienced his fair share of such scenes, but it still felt like a dagger to his heart. He started coughing once more, blood masked by the darkness of the night. It took many minutes before he could recover, wiping his mouth with a handkerchief and throwing the stained cloth to the ground.

He then returned to their camp, entering the tent of a grand mage, “Magister, have you discovered the Lighthouse of Time?”

This grand mage who was an expert at spacetime smilewd wryly, “I deduced the rought location, but it's more than 300 kilometres away.”

Although he had guessed that something went wrong when he first walked out of the portal, Raymond was still astonished, “Three hundred kilometres? How could the error be so big?”

“I'm unsure, but my calculations aren't wrong.”

“Show me where it is,” the Joseph youth immediately took out a map of Faelor that they had salvaged from the battlefield.

The grand mage's finger traced across the map, eventually resting at one point, “It should be here.”

Raymond looked at the map and was surprised to find that there was a marking of a city within, “Bluewater Oasis, Bloodstained Lands... That's strange. How far has Richard developed here in such a short period of time?” His eyes were fixated on the map as he furrowed his brows. His fingers quickly traced back to their current location, meticulously planning a marching route. This army did not have any way to return to Norland without capturing Richard's gate. Only with the Lighthouse could they replenish their resources and bring in some clerics.

The army would have to move along the borders of the Land of Turmoil. There was an eye-catching mark on this area indicating fragmented spacetime, which was something even Norlanders were unwilling to pass through. Even saints could die instantly to a random rift.

The route itself was rather smooth. Having defeated an army that was over 120,000 strong, he did not expect much troubles from three dukedoms. Hiwever, as his gaze landed on the border between the Bloodstained Lands and the Land of Turmoil, his brows furrowed.

At this crossroads that led to the Bloodstained Lands was a natural battlefield, one that would be easy to guard. He could sense a difficult battle lying in wait here; if he were Richard, he would definitely give up on Bluewater and put most of his troops at this border to gain an advantage in battle. However, Richard was just a runemaster. Was he also a remarkable commander?

......

What Raymond didn't know about was the tens of thousands of slaves digging up the earth he was pointing at on his map, working through the night under torchlight. The deeper the trench dug, the higher the walls would be. A nigh-impregnable stronghold had already been created on the hillock in the area, its walls tens of metres tall. The soldiers of Richard's army had already started building their garrison, while the slaves tirelessly transported materials over from other places nearby.

Richard had placed 20,000 men on or around this hill, with the rest waiting nearby. When the incoming enemies failed to take down the stone fortress, they would find themselves flanked on all sides with no path of retreat. He had amassed an army that was 40,000 strong in a comparatively small region, his decision to build the stronghold revealing his alarming intent to fight a drawn-out battle. More and more troops continued to be sent to this location.

The biggest flaw of the invading army was their lack of priests and clerics. Richard planned to make perfect use of that weakness, using his own to start a war of attrition that would be their demise. Were Raymond to know of this plan and the ability to deploy such a large army, he would have to rethink his assessment of the Archeron youth's commandership.

Richard stood atop his new fortress, surveying the entire hill. He could see the flickering flames on the ground far below, slaves and soldiers alike completing their duties to the best of their ability. News of the Baruch Kingdom's defeat had already travelled over, invigorating those working here to give their all. The tales spreading about the brutality and might of the invaders had already been made known, and these tasks were the only thing that could ensure their survival.

There was one more person atop the stronghold alongside Richard's followers, exuding the aura of a powerhouse. This was the Direwolf Duke, already covered in ashen green armour. He surveyed the flames below, speaking slowly, “Richard, is there a connection between you and these invaders?”

Richard didn't even turn towards him, continuing to stare down as his lips curled up, “How did you know?”

The Duke harrumphed, “The invaders appeared in the distant Baruch Kingdom, and even with multiple targets for them to choose from you deployed everyone you could to this place and started building a fort. Although everyone else might think you received a prophecy from the goddesses, but I know better than that. No matter how much of a genius you are, you'd never be able to know their destination.

“Unless, of course, you knew they were coming for you.”

Richard smiled, “Right on the mark. These invaders are from my homeland, and are definitely here for me. However, I'm not certain which way this war will go. My suggestion is you think about Perrin's issue and quick. This is the time to make your decision about the ceremony.”

The Duke remained silent for a long time before sighing, “It is a difficult choice. A chance for ten years or four guaranteed...”

“There isn't much time to choose.”

The Duke exhaled loudly, nodding, “The time granted by the Dragon is reaching the end...”
𝐟𝘳ℯ𝚎𝘄𝒆𝑏𝗻𝑜ѵ𝚎l. c𝘰𝑚

“So then, what will it be?”

“... I'll take the four years.” Bevry had to strain to utter these words.

“Alright, I'll tell Flowsand. The ceremony will be tomorrow at dawn.”

Bevry wavered for a while, “Richard, is there no way for Perrin to be healed completely? The Dragon of Eternity and Light can grant whatever blessing we desire so long as the sacrifice is worthy, no?”

Richard understood the vexation behind their words. The Duke had spent three years of conquest beating down four of his most powerful opponents to scrimp together another sacrifice. This had already pushed him to the brink; if not for an endless supply of equipment and even troops from Richard's end, he would have fallen to those wars.

600 - City of Sin

Eve of Battle

Duke Bevry had already wiped out all the small opposing fiefs nearby, leaving only those nobles who had a strong backing. Many nobles of the Sequoia Kingdom were already voicing vehement opposition to his act of destroying an earl of the Whiterock Dukedom, and the royal family was inclined to agree. If the Direwolf Duke took over the entire Whiterock Dukedom, then he would become the largest of threats to their existence.

Still, there was nothing they could do. It was a long time ago now that the King had aided the Mage Association's war against Richard despite knowing of his affiliation with Bevry. When the Association had been completely decimated at Richard's hand, their own standing had dropped considerably.

Bevry was currently winning battle after battle, but when it came to the unresolved issue of his son he felt greatly exhausted and helpless. He seemed to have luck on his side now, but what about the next battle and the one after that?

Richard didn't directly answer the Duke's question, “Right now, the one thing I can be certain of is that the Goddess of Time Runai was the one behind Perrin's problem.”

The implied meaning was that there were only two ways to salvage Perrin's situation. Either Runai had to withdraw her curse, something that had never occurred in history, or she had to be forced off her divine throne. It felt like the second was a choice of madmen, but with Richard's arrival Bevry actually saw a glimmer of hope.

The day will come when I have to go against a deity... the Duke silently pondered, his thoughts calming down.

As for Richard, he continued to stare down at the nightly scene as he wracked his mind to determine which of his enemies this was. Thinking over it, he realised he had very many enemies wishing for his death. Almost everyone from the planes he was invading was opposed to him by default, and his greatest inheritance from Gaton was the number of enemies in Faust. The Schumpeters, Mensas, Josephs...

His mind suddenly wandered to thoughts of his father. The man had innumerable enemies, most of the recent years of his life spent embroiled in war and expansion. Why had he only brought thirteen rune knights into Faust? Why had he waged war against four great families at the same time over the disappearance of his son? Why was it that he spared no expense for victory, accumulating a debt as high as the sky from Sharon? He felt like he finally understood these things now. That man had never taken these so-called enemies seriously. To him, they were just pebbles on his path. Nobody could know the true extent of his ambitions.

His own true enemies were not on Norland at all. A huge shadow loomed over Mountainsea in the snowy peaks of the Azuresnow Shrine, and a horde of nightmare creatures was waiting for him in the void. Even someone as powerful as Sharon was just left drifting, lifeless...

Richard suddenly felt like the entire universe was just an illusion. His thoughts suddenly weaved between truth and fiction, forcing him to blink a few times to recover.

His gaze now was a little more profound. These people were not his enemies, just small stones for him to step over.

A gentle breeze blew past the quiet and peaceful night, but a powerful murderous aura started to shroud the entire hill...

Hurried footsteps suddenly rang out below the stone wall, the soldiers by the entrance announcing the arrival of Duke Grasberg and Countess Katrina. Moments later, the two new arrivals appeared at the top of the stronghold as well. Grasberg was dressed in a greyish-black armour, and Countess Katrina had switched to her own exquisite equipment instead of her standard skirt. The slight killing intent added a surprising element of beauty to the woman, but despite being more reserved than the duke beside her she outshone a powerful warrior like Anna nearby.

Only now did Richard realise that this was Katrina's real face. How could a woman who only sought pleasures in bed be able to create an elite force?

This was his first time meeting Duke Grasberg. This fellow was known for his scheming, but despite being an enemy of Bevry's he had mobilised two-thirds of his personal army to aid Richard's cause. Over 10,000 men had already arrived, and an equal number were on their way. All of his finest soldiers had been sent to aid in this battle, something that left Richard rather surprised.

Duke Grasberg was a tall, skinny man, his head full of white hair combed down neatly and the wrinkles on his face seemingly carved in by a knife. However, this old man shared one trait with the younger Duke Bevry: a pair of wolf-like eyes.

When Zim had sent word that Grasberg would be sending his army over to join the alliance, Richard hadn't expected the Duke to come personally. He walked over to the man and smiled, “Your Grace! What a pleasant surprise!”

Grasberg returned the gesture, “I hope this will make that boy more obedient and keep him home.”

Richard nodded with understanding. Continuing the bloodline was an important matter to any family; the war against the invaders was simply too dangerous, an unknown number of country guardians had perished in the previous battle.

Grasberg looked at the Direwolf Duke who still remained silent, “It's only us two old fellows who can still fight in the kingdom. I've placed everything I have on you, Richard, I wanted to see this personally.”

Richard flourished his arms at the fortress, “This is what I have for now, does it put your mind at peace?”

Grasberg looked down and surveyed the area, able to make out the defensive strength of the location despite the dim light of the torches. His brows relaxed, “You have yet to disappoint.”

Richard continued to smile, not saying another word.

The Duke then looked around at everyone atop the stronghold. Every time his gaze landed on someone new, he seemed to be shocked inwardly. Bevry was an enemy he was familiar with, a sub-legendary expert just like himself that had fought him multiple times both personally and by proxy. It was no problem to ally with him in a war against outsiders. However, this time he felt something different about this old nemesis of his, a new power he could not quite pin down.

And yet, that wasn't the surprising part. None of Richard's followers seemed high in level, but all of them had a suppressive aura. When his gaze landed on a female mage in a gold mask standing right behind Richard, his pupils constricted as though needles were piercing his eyes. Tears trickled down his face as he was forced to blink.

Bevry suddenly spoke up, “We can't use our normal expectations to judge these followers of his, I'm afraid.”

Grasberg inhaled deeply, nodding his head as his eyes returned to normal. Veins started bulging in his eyes, soon turning it bloodshot. His secret technique to perceive another's strength was much more powerful than Bevry's, more accurate, but there was a price to pay whenever he tried to scan someone more powerful than himself. Fortunately, he wasn't being hostile and Lina hadn't retaliated; the final result was only a minor injury.

The Duke then regained his composure, “I bring some bad news. The expedition from the royal family met the invaders this morning for a second round of battle. Despite their advantage in numbers, they were destroyed. Even the five grand mages of the Association perished.”

The royal family, just like Duke Grasberg, was a party that had constantly suppressed Bevry's rise. However, the Direwolf Duke was not happy at this loss of theirs, an icy chill entering his heart. While the army for this expedition hadn't been large, all of them were elites. “How many in total?” he couldn't help but ask.

“70,000,” Grasberg said with a bitter smile.

Bevry's eyes narrowed, voice turning a little hoarse, “All 70,000 dead? Didn't the invaders fight a bloody battle just yesterday?”

“Yes.”

The Direwolf Duke felt an unprecedented weight pressing on his heart. First off, these invaders had destroyed the Baruch Kingdom's army that had more than 100,000 men and killed most of its sub-legendary experts in one fell swoop. And only one night of rest later, they had killed another 70,000 elites formed by an alliance of the Sequoia Kingdom.

One had to know that massacring all the troops on a battlefield was much more difficult than just achieving victory. Once the tides of battle turned firmly in one side's favour, the losers would lose morale quickly. Even the most disciplined of armies would crumble and flee, forget this temporary alliance that was already filled with fear. On top of that, grand mages could normally leave a battlefield whenever they pleased. However, a whole five of them had been forced to remain.

How was one to stop such a powerful army? Although many countries stood on their way to Richard's location, two elite forces had been destroyed in as many days. It seemed like the blade of this invasion could cut through whatever point it focused on.

The next obstruction to these invaders' path was Richard's alliance. They couldn't count on the little dukedoms in between to delay these attackers at all.

“How many do they have left?” Richard asked.

“The current reports say about 13,000 troops. Before the second battle, they had approximately 16,000,” Grasberg replied.

“Your Graces, my Lady... You have seen the performance of my followers. If I were to lead 16,000 elite soldiers against that 70,000-strong army, what do you think of my chances of victory?”

601 - City of Sin

The War Has Begun

Bevry and Grasberg turned grim. Richard would definitely achieve victory against the allied army from the Sequoia Kingdom, but it wasn't to the point of wiping all of them out. Of course, the invaders were just as vicious as expected. If they didn't have such strength, the gods wouldn't have sent down combined oracles.

Seeing the two dukes' expressions, Richard followed up, “Now we have an army of over 50,000 while the opponent has less than a third of that number.” He then reached out and pointed under his feet, showing a look of great confidence, “That's why I'm sure I'll send them back home here.”

Duke Grasberg visibly relaxed, “There might be no need for an avatar this time, then.”

“Indeed,” the Direwolf Duke nodded as well.

It took a great price for a god to send down an avatar. A massive amount of faith would be required for the descent, sacrificing innumerable worshippers, but that wasn't even the worst part. A large amount of energy would descend on the region where the avatar was summoned, leaving behind side-effects that lasted anywhere from a few years to multiple decades like strange weather and abnormal birth rates. If the avatar descended upon a region where the people prayed to their ancestors, the connection between the ancestral spirits and their descendants would be weakened. The gods regularly exploited this weakening and chose to descend near powerful ancestor worshippers whenever they were required to.

The worst part of it all was the fact that these avatars weren't necessarily stronger than legendary beings.

Duke Grasberg made a quick calculation of the time, “We only have five days at most before the invaders reach us.”

However, Richard shook his head, “No, the war's already here. It started tonight.”

......

Numerous tents had been set up on a plain a few hundred kilometres away. The stench of blood still wafted over from the battlefield nearby, the screams of the vultures circling above able to leave anyone distraught. Raymond was walking through the camp as always, occasionally greeting some of the soldiers whose names he had memorised in the past week.

The wind was rather cold this night, a particularly chilly breeze forcing him to pull his cloak tighter into himself. He could feel his body weakening as the days passed, a fire in his chest burning his life away.

He finally came up to a large tent from which several miserable cries kept ringing out. Those within could hopefully be saved, able to continue the fight. Those who were too grievously injured had already been euthanised. Even those who had non-fatal injuries that rendered them unable to fight had been abandoned, forced to find a place for themselves in this unknown world.

If only we had priests... Even a weaker cleric would work! This one thought engulfed him as he walked around. This was an unsolvable problem he had struggled with many times, but he could never bring himself to ignore it. If they had priests on their side, even the thousands of grievously injured soldiers would have been able to stand up once more and wield their swords and shields.

He comforted an injured soldier who was awaiting treatment before walking out of the tent, letting the chilly winds ease his throbbing brain. He then shook his head repeatedly, as though trying to dispel the miserable cries behind him from his ears.

The sound of hooves suddenly sounded as a general approached him, jumping off his horse and bowing, “Lord Raymond, the slaves have already been checked. There are a total of 14,000, of which 2,000 are injured.”

Raymond felt himself shudder inside. Here it was again.

And yet, he looked calm as always as he reached for a map of Faelor. Looking at the terrain of their next march, he glanced back at this general from his own family that had followed him for many years. They had been through thick and thin, the jubilation of amazing victories tempered by points of near complete despair. The man had never lost faith in him, and he knew that any orders he gave would be executed to near perfection.

The general looked steadfast as always, but the fatigue could not be hidden from his brow. He hadn't even found the time to wipe away all the blood and sweat on his face.

Raymond sighed silently. If he wanted to bring these loyal soldiers of his out alive, there was no room for benevolence. He had already seen far too much blood in planar war, but the cruelty in this campaign into Faelor had far exceeded his imagination, More than half of his army had been killed in two large battles, a full third of which dead or abandoned because of a lack of clerics.

He suddenly matched this loyal man's gaze, “We can't take care of the slaves. Deal with them like we did yesterday.”

“... Alright, you needn't worry.” These words were dull and lifeless. The general had plentiful experience in planar war, but there was still some unwillingness in his heart. What they had done yesterday was killing all the slaves. Raymond had decided upon this the moment he learnt how far they were from the Lighthouse of Time, the same moment giving them the decision to abandon the injured who could not fight to press on at full speed.

These were orders that had been sent down in front of everyone. While all of Raymond's generals knew that there was no turning back, that victory was only certain once they reached the portal, anyone would begin to doubt a man who dared to abandon his own soldiers.

The general quickly left, and miserable cries suddenly rang through the night sky. The smell of blood grew increasingly strong, attracting a large number of vultures that spiralled lower and lower without regard for the tents nearby. Even when the archers shot down a few, they only flew a little higher with no intent to leave.

Raymond returned to his tent, laying down to rest. The next day would be a full march with three to five small battles in between. Without enough rest, he would not be able to hold on.

A few bats lingered high in the skies, their blood-red eyes shining with a sharp light. Dozens of kilometres away, a cloned brain hung in the air and transmitted all of the images they saw to Richard who was far away.

Richard headed back to his own tent in the stronghold, watching as the Norlanders slowly tired themselves out. After fighting two huge battles over as many days, even the most elite soldiers would be exhausted.

Richard was completely calm as slight flapping rang out from a stone forest a dozen kilometres away. Winged serpents flew out from within one after the other and shot straight into the sky, heading towards the Norlanders' camp.

These serpents were mainly blue or dark green in colour. Given their height and the steady glide, their approach was almost completely silent. The sound of their flaps was masked by the circling vultures that had yet to disperse, so the scouts who were focused on terrestrial enemies didn't recognise the danger approaching them at all.

The serpents began to fan out, spreading across the skies above the camp as they spat out large bundles of poisonous mist. The damp toxins slowly fell to the ground below, dispersing into the air.

It was only after more than a hundred winged serpents lobbed the poison that a sentinel looked up by coincidence. He suddenly made a sound of surprise, pointing upwards, “Something's up there!”

His aged companion looked up nonchalantly, “Just some beasts, probably pulled by the stench of blood. What are you doing letting your eyes wander, you should be looking out not up!”

“But they seem to be spitting something out,” the young guard argued.

“Then your eyes are broken!” The old sentinel felt like his ego had been challenged. Based on his experience, anything that dared circle the skies above the barracks was a brainless animal. With the danger of one single mage spell dropping everything in the sky, no intelligent enemy would approach them from above. He was already annoyed by the endless vultures that refused to disperse.

The argument alarmed the captain on duty, who walked over and said coldly, “What are you arguing about? Don't you have any discipline?”

“Captain, look there!” the young guard pointed up.

The captain followed the direction of the finger, his expression changing immediately, “Winged snakes! Damn it, those are magic beasts. Wait, it looks like they're spitting out poison! SOUND THE ALARM!”

A loud alarm bell broke the silence of the night, sending the camp into chaos. The soldiers who had been sleeping in their armour charged out of their tents, enchanted arrows zipping into the sky to knock down a dozen winged serpents in just a few moments.

But many of the snakes had already spat out all their poison by this point, beginning to disperse as per Richard's orders. The toxic mist had slowly reached the ground.

Some of the soldiers began to feel their vision blur, breathing becoming more laboured as the strength drained from their bodies. Some had difficulty holding onto their weapons, others just collapsing immediately. The worst danger was to those already injured. The mist there was so concentrated one could see a greenish-blue layer of fog for dozens of metres.

A grand mage that had just darted out of his tent was alarmed by the situation, immediately using up two vitality spell scrolls to cast a dozen gale spells. Only then did the rest of the mist that was floating down get blown away.

However, many of the soldiers were already suffering. He had to rise into the skies and cast a purifying spell, loudly ordering everyone who could hear to bring the antidotes they had out of storage.

602 - City of Sin

The War Has Begun(2)

Magic-based purification spells were much weaker than those powered by divine energy, but the grand mage couldn't afford to care. He nearly emptied his mana pool to neutralise the poison that had yet to dissipate; all the other grand mages had sustained much more damage in the battles than him. Still, even the injured mages rushed out to try and help.

Once the chaos in the camp calmed slightly, Raymond took another look at the tent with the injured troops. Everyone seemed to be in incredible pain, but the injuries were still only superficial. Once they were bandaged up, they would regain the ability to fight after a few days even without clerics or priests.

At that moment, a herbal doctor walked over to Raymond and lowered his volume, “Lord Raymond, we used all the antidotes but there are a few hundred more who need it. I recommend we take down a native city here, we should be able to take some.”

Raymond didn't respond for a long time, a struggle playing out in his mind. He eventually pointed at the warriors who were lying down, “Didn't these ones get the antidotes? Why isn't there much effect?”

The medic smiled wryly, “These winged serpents have very potent toxins, and out antidotes aren't designed for them. Just the fact that they aren't deteriorating further is good enough.”

Raymond nodded, no longer looking at the warriors. He instead headed back to camp, splitting the archers into two watches. They were given orders to shoot any flying beasts on sight. He then returned to his own tent, smashing his fist into the table and gritting through his teeth, “RICHARD!”

His instincts told him this had to be Richard's work, but he had no idea how the Archeron youth had gained control of so many poisonous winged serpents. However, this style of guerrilla warfare was far too different from what the natives had used so far.

......

In another tent far away, Richard was pacing around as well, constantly weighing his options. Raymond's camp was silent again, but they were much more alert than before. The bats he had sent over were shot down by a barrage of enchanted arrows, even the elites unable to escape. The only information he had was from some elite bats in the distance.

It took a great deal of effort for him to make up his mind, but the moment the decision was set he contacted the broodmother, “Have all the winged serpents replenish their poison. We'll be attacking just before dawn.”

Surprisingly, the broodmother objected, “Master, the opponent is already on guard. The toxic serpents have almost no defence from the enchanted arrows; an attack would kill more than two-thirds of them.”

Richard's brain rushed frantically, forcing him to massage his temples to suppress a throbbing headache, “How did the poison do?”

“I optimised the poisons for Norland's antidotes as per your request. Ordinary antidotes can only suppress the poison, unable to expel it. Without purification spells, those affected will die in a few days. Only those level 12 or higher can purge their blood of it with their internal energy.”

He immediately smashed his fist on the table, “Good, then! Do as I said, put a hundred regular winged serpents at the vanguard to attract attention. Every poisonous serpent is going out tonight; don't bring them back if their poison sacs don't empty!”

......

A gigantic hive-like construction deep within the Land of Turmoil wriggled slowly, as though it had a life of its own. Winged serpents were flying over one after the other, halting at the hive to absorb toxins like they were drinking spring water. The feathered snakes were hung all over the outer walls of the organic creation, making it seem like it had been pulled out of a nightmare.

A short while later, the serpents that had replenished their poison flew out from the worm nest. A new batch promptly took their pace, starting to recuperate.

All done by midnight, the serpents were led by a cloned brain into the distant darkness. Over a hundred wind- and electricity-type serpents were the first to go out, followed by 300 or so poisonous ones. It was like a black cloud streaking through the skies.

Richard sat quietly in his tent, all command handed over to the cloned brain. He knew that most of these winged serpents would not return— Norland's archers were incomparably better than those of Faelor. However, this would deal the enemy a heavy blow.

This kind of sacrifice was the exact reason the broodmother's battle drones were created. However, although Richard was calm as ever, he knew he was deceiving himself with that thought. There was a much simpler reason for which he was unwilling to sacrifice the humanoid knights, one that came as a part of their name. Unlike the serpents who were just like any other beasts, those drones just looked more like himself.

Wasn't that why he grew enraged at the death of each one of the humanoids? Wasn't that why they were the first drones he designed himself, even if they were soulless drones just like anything else? How much of his benevolence in war was for a love of life? How much was for a love of his races? How much of it was for the most deceiving thing of all, appearance?

Richard suddenly felt like he had two enemies in this war. One was the large army knocking on his doors, and the other was himself. While waiting for the serpents to reach their destination, he kept wondering just how much of himself he had to invest into his wars. This was something that his blessings could not calculate for him; it was more philosophy than science.

......

In the dead of the night, only a short while before twilight would begin once more, a few enraged shouts rang out in Raymond's camp. Resplendent magic arrows flew into the sky and pierced the bodies of a few winged serpents who lost all signs of life immediately, but this caused the rest to abandon formation and rush forward.

The drones were shot out of the sky one after the other, glimmering streaks of light crisscrossing over the darkness. Yet, the dark cloud approaching the camp grew thicker as even more serpents joined the fray. They flew down at high speeds, charging into the camp as they sprayed their vicious poisonous mist.

These archers who dabbled in magic were running out of mana to enchant their arrows with. A few of the higher-levelled ones had already given up on aiming, just shooting explosive bolts into the sky. However, there were far too many snakes to kill immediately, and it seemed like they held none of the fear regular beasts did. They completely ignored the rain of arrows around them even as their companions died one after the other, working with full might to spit out as much of the poison as they could. Even if they were struck down, they struggled their mouths open to squeeze out every last drop.

These things were crazy! The magic archers started to panic. Even as the winged serpents continued to fall to the ground, poisonous mist shrouded the camp once more. A few minutes later, when the skies were clear of the beasts, most of the camp was also filled with concentrated mist. The grand mages had banded together to protect the supplies and the central camp, but they were forced to wait until the last of the snakes fell to rise into the sky and disperse the mist with gales.

It wasn't long before the first rays of the sun peeked over the horizon. Raymond looked at the bodies of the winged snakes expressionlessly, listening to a report from one of his generals. The numbers sounded rather dry and distant, but each death pierced his heart.

His expression slowly changed, “The soldiers who took the antidotes haven't recovered?”

“... Sadly, no. And by the looks of it, only those at level 12 or higher can recover from this naturally.”

Raymond suddenly began to cough violently, an unnatural green rising over his face. The general was alarmed, shouting out, “MY LORD! Were you poisoned?”

“I'm— fine. There's no... poison that can kill me.” When the Joseph youth straightened up once more, he seemed paler than ever. However, a look of determination covered his face, “Gather all the poisoned soldiers and leave 500 behind to take care of them. The rest are to pack their tents, we leave immediately!”

The general trembled and immediately left to carry out the order.

Raymond commanded his army forward over the next few days, defeating three dukedoms with tens of thousands of men each in one go. However, he didn't linger around these places at all, continuing to head towards the Bloodstained Lands. He had less than 10,000 men now, but their morale had soared higher than when they had first entered the plane.

At the edge of the Land of Turmoil, in a weathered land with pillars of stone littering the landscape, he finally saw the enemy of his life. Richard had amassed over 50,000 men on this small piece of land, a powerful fortress blocking the path.

When he saw Richard standing up high on a stone stronghold atop the hill, he knew that he had played into his enemy's hands. Only 9,000 of the 30,000 men that had first entered this plane still remained, two-thirds of the powerhouses injured or dead. The army had no priests or clerics, no path back unless they got through this defensive line. If they tried to turn around, they would be whittled away by the natives.

Looking at the setup of this battlefield that Richard had chosen, Raymond finally realised the Archeron youth wasn't only a talented runemaster. As far as strategy went, this was a general who was no worse than himself. As for tactics, the courage to sacrifice hundreds of precious winged serpents to exploit the lack of clerics put Richard a step ahead.

Although they were far away from each other, a mage's sight enhanced by magic could cross astonishing distances. Two pairs of eyes locked onto each other viciously, nearly sparking with rage!

603 - City of Sin

Ascending The Hill

“The Josephs...” Richard smiled to himself, suddenly turning a little, “Raymond was your fiance?”

“Yes,” Rosie stated from behind him.

“Alright. Stay behind and don't let him see you, it'll affect his judgement.”

Rosie was extremely surprised by this, “Master, Raymond has strong feelings towards me. However, he holds no place in my heart. I can stand beside you and it might make him slip up.”

This time Richard turned completely, giving her a long look before bursting into a grin, “I'm not going to put you in that position, now or in the future. As for Raymond...” He narrowed his eyes, looking at the distant enemy, “It's the lunatics I'm afraid of, not the good thinkers like him.”

Rosie didn't completely understand his words, but she answered in an affirmative and retreated behind the two dukes. At the same time, the Norland soldiers automatically formed up without a need for Raymond's instructions. Bloodlust began to weigh down the atmosphere.

Raymond suddenly went through another bout of coughing, the wrenching pain in his chest forcing him to his knees. By the time he managed to stand back up again, his handkerchief was completely dyed red! However, he smiled at the generals next to him, “Don't worry. This is the only time that will happen this battle.”

The generals all went quiet.

He then turned to a grand mage, “Magister, I need your assistance. I need to rise into the sky and transmit my voice to Richard's ears over there.”

The grand mage nodded, a wave of the staff covering Raymond's body with a magical light as he slowly ascended into the air. “Richard!” a soft voice boomed through the battlefield.

“Raymond Joseph!” Richard appeared relaxed, seemingly with no intent of competing in volume as he transmitted his message directly. A hand stopped Olar from loosing his arrows; it was near impossible to hit at this distance, and Raymond's accent implied he would be using Norland common. He was interested in what the man had to say.

“We finally meet on the planar battlefield,” Raymond said ruefully.

“You're pretty lucky. A short while later and you would be no match for me. What, you finally decided on a direct battle after your schemes got your little brother killed?”

“Didn't one of you Archerons die as well?” Raymond retaliated.

Richard burst into laughter, “An idiot that had the guts to follow your orders? Is losing dead weight even a loss?”

Raymond grinned, “I'm talking about the man called Gaton. I'm the one who trapped him on the Rosie Plane.”

A cold glint flashed in Richard's eyes, “Even giants can trip over ants sometimes. It's weird to hear that ant brag about it for its whole life, especially since that wasn't a smart idea on your part.

“Thanks for that, by the way. It pushed me up to family head, and you'll quickly realise that I'm a much worse enemy to have.”

Raymond nodded, “Good! I wasn't wrong about you, you truly do qualify to be my enemy!”

Richard sighed, “You know what? A short time ago, I would have thought the same. But now... You, my enemy? More like just an... inconvenience.”

Gloom clouded Raymond's face for a moment, but he suddenly regained his spirits and chuckled, turning around and speaking loudly, “Proud warriors of Norland, did you hear that? This fellow commanding a group of weak natives says we don't even qualify to be his enemy!”

The Norlanders went deathly silent, but a dense bloodlust slowly began to rise into the sky. This wasn't the first time these veterans had experienced planar war; there was no need to roar to scare the weaklings in front of them.
ƒ𝔯ℯe𝘄𝐞𝐛𝒏𝐨ѵ𝘦𝒍. com

“Show me, then! Let's see how annoying you bugs can be!” Richard showed an even more dazzling smile to his own huge army, “Everyone, these invaders wish for us to give up our home!”

The alliance immediately grew restless.

Richard turned around and snatched a warflag from one of the soldiers nearby, smashing it hard into the stone tower behind him, “IN MY NAME AS RICHARD ARCHERON, I VOW THAT I SHALL NOT TAKE A SINGLE STEP BEHIND THIS FLAG!”

His voice was amplified by magic, resonating through the battlefield. The allied forces immediately roared, blood rushing to their heads.

Raymond returned to the formation and spoke to the generals surrounding him, “We'll never be able to return if we don't get to the passage up ahead. Now is the time for us to defend the honour and dignity of Norland!”

The generals all bowed to Raymond and headed to other parts of the army. They would fight beside their soldiers. Raymond himself turned to the old grand mage next to him, “Magister, I'll need your protection from here on out. I also need you to ensure my orders reach the ears of every soldier.”

“As you wish!” the old grand mage bowed slightly.

The Joseph youth then looked back at Richard in the distance, raising his right hand up high and dropping it forward. “NORLANDERS, ADVANCE!”

When the first row of heavily armed soldiers took a synchronised step forward, Richard suddenly felt a tremble within him. This battle could be much more difficult than he had anticipated.

It was 50,000 vs 9,000, more than a five to one difference, but flesh and blood would be spilt to determine the gap between the secondary and primary planes.

The Norland formation rolled over like a flood, levelling all obstructions in its path. Pillars, traps, fortifications, enemy soldiers, they were all smashed apart by the wave! The formation throbbed constantly, pulling back and striking out time and time again under Raymond's guidance like a heavy hammer smashing into Faelor's defence. Hundreds of magic arrows soared through the sky towards the peak of the hill, suppressing all the ranged attackers Richard had mustered. Although Raymond only had a few hundred of these mage-archers, the power and range of their arrows far overwhelmed the over 3,000 from Faelor despite the height disadvantage.

Raymond grinned slightly, all was going as planned. Richard had developed much faster in Faelor than expected, but there really hadn't been enough time to bring forces from Norland over. His army was large enough to fight off the Faelorians despite the numerical disadvantage.

It seemed to take but an instant before the three defensive lines in front of the hill were levelled, thousands of soldiers turned into corpses in exchange for only a little more than a tenth of their number. Richard's heart gradually quickened, but he did his best to stay calm. Raymond's army was at the peak of its stamina and morale, the defence would be more powerful as time went on.

However, the Norlanders were far too quick in their advance. Richard was forced to send an order through his mind, causing a thrower underground to smash a metal platform apart. It then lit up a line of gunpowder that blazed in all directions, rushing through metal pipes buried into the walls.

*BOOM!* The earth suddenly trembled, waves of heat bursting out from underneath the advancing army. Intense explosions sent hundreds of Norlanders into the air, the sudden attack under their feet having no signs of large-scaled magic at all. The formation immediately descended into chaos.

The Faelorians' morale rose immediately, but Richard actually shook his head on his platform. The powerhouses and experienced officers from Norland had sensed the shockwaves of the blast in time, so only a few hundred ordinary soldiers had been wounded in the attack. Although the rest were confused, Raymond could likely fix the chaos in a short time.

And indeed, quick commands from Raymond had the generals lead their subordinates to spread out and attack from all directions. The tight battle formation dispersed and started burrowing through Richard's defences from everywhere. A few more throbs of the human tide and the confusion was already under control.

Yet another row of Faelor soldiers stood up behind the defensive wall, shooting with their dwarven guns. Thunderous gunshots suppressed all other sounds on the battlefield.

However, only a few dozen soldiers had fallen when the dust cleared. Heavy armour, tower shields, and powerful energy reserves greatly diminished the power of firearms. Thankfully, the Norland generals had to respect these unknown weapons and withdraw for a while to stabilise.

Seeing the hundreds of guns have no effect, Richard immediately turned grim. There would be no such thing as luck here; he had to use his trump card to defeat this opponent.

A quick mental order activated the troops that had flanked around the sides of the battlefield. Tens of thousands of soldiers suddenly burst out from all directions, surrounding Raymond's army.

Raymond glanced behind him and immediately trembled. Rushing ahead was a battalion of nearly a thousand mounted humanoid knights. Even from a distance one could tell that their power, equipment, and energy far surpassed these natives. These soldiers were even better than most royal guards. Even in Norland, this battalion would be considered amongst the best of the best!

604 - City of Sin

Ascending The Hill

Raymond continued to pale as chaos gripped the battlefield once more. His orders started flying out quicker as his troops regrouped into a spear formation, heading straight for Richard's stronghold. The moment he defeated their leader and ripped that warflag off, the Faelorians would lose morale and quickly meet their end. His biggest purpose in coming here was not to dominate this plane, it was to eliminate Richard and take over the Lighthouse of Time in his base.

Thus, the situation devolved into a race. Richard's flank was trying its best to dig into Raymond's rear while Raymond was doing his best to break through. The former's victory would decimate the Josephs' army and consolidate Richard's power in this plane. The latter would leave him on Faelor forever.

The battle soon turned chaotic. Powerhouses were fighting each other everywhere, the situation so desperate Richard routinely had to push into the frontlines and push back the charge himself.

His dazzling sword skills left the nobles on his own side astonished. Even Duke Grasberg couldn't help but take his eyes off the greater battle for a moment, “I thought you were a great mage.”

Richard shrugged his shoulders in response to that, sheathing his snow-white blade that wasn't marred by a single drop of blood, “Mages can't learn some self-defence?” He had no time in the midst of his countless orders to recite any spells. Fighting physically was much easier.

As the war continued to intensify, Richard's voice turned hoarse. His robes were drenched by a mixture of sweat and blood as warriors fought everywhere around him. The stench of blood soaked the air, numbing everyone's sense of smell. There seemed to be no end.

Time seemed to slow down as everything blurred. Richard had no idea when his mana pool had been drained, but the enemies continued to pour forth. Every one that he killed was replaced by another, forcing him to give up on even the non-verbal spells and instead direct all his power to his runes. His head was bursting with pain, the blessing of wisdom pushed to its limits. However, he could only deal with what was in front of him before he got the time to survey the entire battlefield.

Draconic roars rang through the distant sky as Kaloh chased after a fleeing grand mage, Lina herself engaged in intense battle with another. Bevry and Grasberg were engaged in a melee with a grey-robed saint, but despite a constant shower of divine spells from Io and Flowsand they didn't seem like they would hold on much longer. All of his followers were actively engaged in their own fights, the drones' charge stonewalled by the Norland soldiers. Every opening made was filled in immediately, the back lines seemingly infallible despite hundreds of sacrifices.

However, the images sent by the cloned brain showed that it wasn't as terrible as he first imagined. Raymond's forces were slowly loosening up in the face of the horrifying killing machines that were the humanoid knights; the advance was slow, but they were burrowing in inch after inch.

It wasn't that the Norlanders lacked power, but these drones were simply far too terrifying. They already had an advantage in strength over their opponents, but the worst part was that they just didn't fear death. They had no qualms with giving their own bodies up if that meant they could take the life of another enemy, and would try their best to attack no matter how badly injured they were. Those defending Raymond from behind started to tremble in fear no matter how powerful they were.

Richard suddenly gathered the last dregs of his mana and flew into the sky, pointing forward with his sword and roaring, “MY WARRIORS! OUR FLAG STILL WAVES PROUDLY IN THE SKY!”

Thousands of Faelorians turned their heads in an instant, looking at the airborne Richard and the crimson warflag behind him. What followed was a deafening roar; the unstoppable Norland army had met a true opponent for the first time.

“It's time.” Richard slashed down another warrior who tried to attack his knees, issuing another order in his mind.

*Thud! Thud! Thud!* The earth started to tremble. A distant stone pillar was blown apart as 36 knights charged out, gathering into a spear formation of their own. in spear formation, the leader's eerie helmet and battleaxe noticeable from far away. Their leader was noticeable at a single glance, riding the largest steed of them all. His eerie helmet and enormous battleaxe were only overshadowed by one thing: the eye-catching crest of a volcano in front of a world tree.

It was a mere 36 people, but the aura they exuded as they charged forward could suppress a thousand horses!

“The Archeron rune knights!” someone screamed.

Unrest began to spread through the Norland army as they looked in the direction of the thuds. No matter which plane it was in, a rune knight platoon's entrance would capture all attention. Google search free𝓌𝗲𝒃𝓃𝒐𝐯𝒆𝙡. 𝑐𝗼ｍ

Looking at their sheer number, Raymond felt his heart sink. The situation was now similar to his own first war on Faelor. The rune knights would break through the formation and eliminate all powerhouses, disrupting the organisation of his army. Already at a huge disadvantage in numbers, his troops would then crumble. Only a similar number of rune knights or an extreme powerhouse would be able to stop them!

“Rune knights, my rune knights...” Raymond's mind sparked and his heart skipped a beat. He only had ten or so of his own rune knights left, and had scattered them through the battlefield to break through different points. There was simply no time for them to assemble! “SIR KLAUS, STOP THEM!”

One of the saints rose up in response to the command, galvanising his body's energy into a green aura that he channelled into his four-metre-long spear to stop Gangdor and the rune knights. To stop an entire 36 grade 2 set knights in their tracks was extremely dangerous even for a saint, but if this charge wasn't mitigated they would lose immediately.

Klaus charged fearlessly into the midst of the rune knights, a grand mage hurrying over to help out. So long as he managed to stop the charge, backup would arrive immediately. However, an indescribable sense of danger suddenly engulfed him and forced him to turn around for a moment.

A massive creature took to the skies a short distance away, a nightmarish construct that seemed to rise out of the abyss itself. The bug-like creature was tens of metres long and almost a dozen metres tall, making the saint feel like an insignificant worm.

The broodmother had finally entered the fray!

Tens of eyes focused onto Klaus like he was prey, the saint from Norland feeling his body lock up in a fear that arose from the depths of his very soul. However, years of experience allowed him to react immediately, his aura pulsing out at full strength to rid himself of the suppression and appear behind the broodmother's head with a flash. All of his strength was put into the spear as he shoved down.

And yet, the speartip only made it a few tens of centimetres in to the metre-thick carapace.

Klaus' face flushed red in an instant. Realising that this enemy was much more dangerous than the Archeron rune knights, he immediately gave up on a full recovery and infused far more energy into the spear than his injured body could bear. The spear now shone crimson, seemingly with a life of its own as it shook and roared. A web of cracks quickly spread through the broodmother's head, the carapace finally shattering to pieces.

“Finally...” Klaus relaxed, the lack of energy making him feel hollow inside. He had no idea what this creature was, but allowing it into the ranks of his army would definitely spell disaster.

It was only then that he saw many eyes peering out from within the new cracks on the carapace.

This time, he did not get the chance to react as a shrill whistle rang through his sea of consciousness. It felt like a hammer slammed into his soul, robbing him of his vision as he fell from the broodmother's body.

Anyone who could become a saint in Norland had an extremely powerful will. Klaus roared violently and stopped himself in mid-air, charging towards the broodmother once more. However, another soul attack stopped him mid-flight and bought time for hundreds more eyes to open up.

A storm of soul attacks overwhelmed the saint, ripping his existence apart. Only a single thread of intent was left behind, a desire to get close to the hellish creature attacking him and finish it off.

605 - City of Sin

Ascending The Hill(2)

The broodmother's wings started moving quickly, sending a powerful gale in Klaus' way. With no means of retreat, the saint that had just overdrawn on his energy to approach legendary might barely managed to get under her abdomen. 'This has to be a blind spot!' he thought, but the carapace suddenly opened up to reveal a tubelike organ that sprayed a huge amount of green liquid onto his body.

Klaus screamed in agony, dissolving like ice under the hot sun. His armour and spear were left behind, both unaffected by the acid spray.

The broodmother moved quickly, snapping at Klaus' body before swallowing it. Although her head had been destroyed, a new jaw appeared out from within the injury to take its place. A paralysing buzz soon overwhelmed all other noises on the battlefield as she landed right in the middle of the Norlanders.

Countless weapons tried to attack her at once, but it was like they were hitting a mountain. Most just bounced back harmlessly, and even the powerful generals only left some shallow scars.

She suddenly puffed out, causing every powerhouse to retreat instinctively as countless gaps appeared in her carapace to reveal thick, long tubes. Murky green acid shot out of these tubes at the soldiers nearby, accompanied by a thunderous sound. One soldier was even sent flying away by the acid, while the rest barely managed to remain standing.

However, this was only the beginning of their nightmare. Most of the acid that missed turned into an enormous acidic cloud that engulfed the battlefield. Barely anyone could resist its might as it corroded even steel armour, poisoning the flesh that lay underneath. In only a few moments a large hole opened up in the Norlanders' attack, and the chaos left Raymond unable to command his warriors.

Richard looked far into the distance at a grand mage that was tied down by a hundred winged serpents. These lightning and wind snakes shone with bizarre light as they sent powerful attacks in the mage's direction, battering down his barrier. Lina and Kaloh were taking care of two more, the red dragon about to finish off his target.

The one beside Raymond was bogged down by defending the Joseph youth, the soul attack from the broodmother leaving him utterly miserable. The broodmother continued to amble over in Raymond's direction, the enormous acid cloud growing larger the further she moved. Even saints didn't dare approach this acid.

Richard's mind finally eased; the magical threats to the broodmother were contained for now. Only if multiple grand mages grouped up to destroy her carapace would she grow weak enough for these opponents to kill. This was why he hadn't dispatched her right at the beginning of the war; now that all of Raymond's grand mages were engulfed in battle, she could reap the lives of the rank and file.

The balance had been tipped. The Norlanders were going to fall.

Richard pulled out the tiny dregs of mana he had recuperated since his last shout, amplifying his voice through the battlefield once more, “Raymond, you lunatic! Do you want all of these warriors from Norland to die for your ambition? Don't forget I still have my 36 rune knights, surrender now!”

Raymond pitifully ducked away from a spurt of acid and fell to the ground, his face covered in blood and grime. The grand mage flew to his side and carried him up, barely avoiding another blast as he shrugged off the effects of a second soul attack. With the broodmother pursuing relentlessly, there was no chance for him to bring the battlefield under his control once more.

His determination did not waver in the face of Richard's words, he would see this through to the end. However, the sight of his troops left him stumped. The grand mage that had saved him was no longer calm and resolute, his face now laced with fear and apprehension.

The soldiers were no better. There was no surrender in a war against the natives, no invaded plane showed such mercy to the attackers. To the Faelorians, they were hellspawn that had to be burnt at the stake. However, Richard was a Norlander just like them. He was the leader of a powerful family in Faust, and even owned a portal that would let them return.

Everyone knew that Richard lacked powerhouses under his command. Be it a saint or a grand mage, so long as they could prove their loyalty he would gladly take them under his wing. Who wanted to fight to the death if there was hope for survival? This was a war between the Josephs and Archerons, between Richard and Raymond. They were just paid to fight.

A cry of anguish sounded out nearby. The grey-robed old man flew into the sky, blood trailing behind him as he crashed into the ground. There was no respite as the Archeron rune knights converged on him once more, unleashing their ferocious attacks.

In the most perilous of moments, the elderly saint had escaped the attacks of the two dukes to stop the charge of the Archeron rune knights. However, Agamemnon's rune knight candidates were extremely well trained. Each of these knights were fearless, using Savage Barrrier's set ability to save themselves when in danger. The saint needed four or five strikes to kill any one of them, but to accomplish that he needed to be willing to take a blow or two himself.

He eventually cried in indignation, crushed by one of the rune knights' weapons and sent flying away. He could not stand up this time, barely having any strength to protect himself. Panting heavily like a fish that was thrown onto land, he started to bleed out from his injuries.

It was at this moment that a figure appeared beside him and pounced on his body, plunging a dull blade into his heart. The old man groaned and moved his arms for one last strike at the assailant's waist, but he felt the target to be almost inhuman. A powerful suction force suddenly appeared at his heart, syphoning away all of his life essence. The man barely got out a few incoherent screams before he stopped moving.

This was the same elder that had defeated Zangru Baruch, a man of divine blood who carried three divine artefacts. The number one powerhouse under Raymond's command had just died without even seeing his killer's face.

Phaser shuddered as the energy coursed through her blade, a bewildered expression on her face as she looked up and roared into the sky in a mix of pain and pleasure. This also served to bring attention to the grey-robed elder, boosting the Faelorians' morale and destroying any hope the Norlanders had left.

A golden light flashed before Raymond's eyes, the ever-familiar glow of a divine spell. The grand mage beside him recognised the source immediately, flashing a bitter smile, “Do you see that, my Lord? The priestess of the Eternal Dragon is casting her spells. Richard has completely rooted himself into Faelor!”

This was the final straw.

Raymond had amassed an extraordinary army, using his talent at strategy and all of his allies' strength. An enormous sacrifice had been made to send himself and his troops to Faelor, but Richard's hidden strength far exceeded his imagination. An ambush upon arrival, a deviation from their intended target, hundreds of winged serpents, a powerful heavy cavalry, 36 rune knights, and a nightmarish creature that could not be killed...

Just how many more secrets did he have on this plane? How did a priestess of the Eternal Dragon fight alongside the locals?

The Joseph youth felt himself grow extremely weary, his eyes drooping shut. “We've lost. It's time to end this war. Richard is right, these loyal soldiers cannot shed another drop of blood. I believe he'll give them a chance to live on. Magister, help me once more.”

The grand mage nodded his head in silence, casting an amplifying spell.

“Brave warriors of Norland, you have already proven your valour. There is no meaning in fighting any longer. This will be my final order: drop your weapons, and surrender to Richard Archeron.”

The command travelled through the entire battlefield, stopping many warriors in their movements. More and more soldiers started to hesitate, but they eventually dropped the weapons.

All of his mana exhausted, the grand mage supported Raymond's frail body in the centre of the battlefield. Not a single soldier of Norland remained standing nearby, the massive body of the broodmother glaring down from just tens of metres away.

A pile of mud gradually approached the two from below, Phased approaching closer with each passing second. However, the broodmother's voice suddenly rang in her consciousness, “Master will be displeased if you kill these two.”

The special unit hesitated, but having just tasted the delicious flavour of the saint she was looking forward to another meal. “Extremely displeased,” the broodmother clarified.

A quick exchange ensued between the two before Phaser left silently. Being informed of another target that was escaping, she rushed into the outskirts of the battlefield. This grand mage who had been tied down by the winged serpents carried the Joseph surname and was not prepared to surrender to the Archerons. However, he had only gotten through half of the snakes before running out of mana. His death was guaranteed.

The fight in the skies was coming to a close as well. Kaloh had relied on his sheer resistance to magic to kill his opponent before turning to aid Lina in her fight. This mage had barely been able to suppress Lina's attack, but with the dragon joining in he didn't even have the chance to flee. He soon fell from the skies with a cry of anguish, draconic flames still burning his body.

Kaloh raised his head and roared into the sky, but that was quickly followed by a shudder. He felt several menacing gazes focusing on him in an instant, leaving him feeling greatly threatened.

Gangdor, who only had the chance to enter the fray in the tail end of the battle, was considering whether flying in on a dragon would have been more glorious. Tiramisu, who had helmed the stronghold's defence all this while, was suffering through his newborn second head explaining the importance of dragonslayers. This new head was smaller than his original one, with a single horn and eye.

Waterflower seemed deep in thought. The broodmother seemed deep in thought. Even Richard was deep in thought, finding no happiness in this victory.

Only a thousand Norlanders remained, most of them severely injured. All the powerhouses except the one by Raymond's side had died as well.

His own losses had exceeded all calculations. Less than 20,000 of his 70,000-strong army remained!

606 - City of Sin

A One-Sided Agreement

About 5,000 of Richard's survivors had suffered severe injuries. Even without the aid of clerics they wouldn't die, but there was no way for them to continue fighting for the army. A large portion of them could still be saved if they were treated properly, but even Richard's massive clergy did not have the numbers to help everyone.

Almost all of the drones had been annihilated. Only a few dozen winged serpents had made it through the battle alongside less than 400 humanoid knights, while the rest of the survivors belonged to the elite bats. Hundreds of worker drones still remained, but they were of no use in battle.

Richard's own army now had less than 4,000 soldiers in total. Thankfully, most of the other powers of the Sequoia Kingdom had been weakened significantly as well. Although the Iron Triangle Empire had gotten through this invasion virtually unscathed, the combined pressure of the gods of Faelor would keep them at bay for at least a year. That would be enough time for him to return stronger than ever.

Another major loss from this war would be Bevry. The Direwolf Duke was currently laid inside a tent, staring at the roof soullessly. His skin had turned a dull grey, revealing an incisive wound at the side of his waist where the grey-robed elder had stabbed him. Glimmers of pale gold could be seen floating above the wound, but it was all to no avail. The muscle tissue had already undergone necrosis, now no more than a withered block of woody fibre that wasn't conducive to life force at all.

When Richard entered the tent, Flowsand got up from her post and lightly shook her head. Faylen, Fermi, and Shea were present here as well, but with even Flowsand's hands tied they would not be of any use.

Waving them all out, he crouched beside Bevry's unmoving body and sent a few sparks of energy within. The infusion of energy seemed to give the man some life, allowing him to strain his head to gaze at Richard before slowly raising his tightly clenched fist. The seal within was small yet delicate, a lifelike image of a wolf head carved out of lazurite. A weak yet unyielding aura seemed to circulate within, similar to the Duke's own aura.

A helpless smile rose up on Bevry's face, “Seems like my luck isn't good. I might not make it this time around.”

When the Archeron rune knights had entered the battlefield, the grey-robed elder had tried to shake off Grasberg and Bevry to deal with this greater threat. Failing multiple times, he had launched a terrifying attack that killed everyone within a ten-metre range regardless of side. Grasberg, who had been supporting from afar, barely managed to escape with serious injuries. However, Bevry had been in the thick of battle and had suffered the brunt of the attack.

Richard wanted to say it was still possible to heal him with a miracle, but the words would not leave his mouth. The guardians of the Sequoia Kingdom had demonstrated courage superior to anyone else, two arch-rivals fighting side by side to lock down the enemy's most powerful expert, but even with a stream of divine spells backing them up they were no match. Both the Dukes had wound up with serious injuries while only managing to inflict a small amount of damage to the grey-robed elder. Even though the wound had only been inflicted in a desperate attempt to escape, Richard didn't have anyone capable of healing it.

That saint had still managed to reap the lives of more than ten of the rune knights before he passed on. And these were grade 2 set knights with the corresponding armour and weaponry, more than half of them able to approach a naked Norland saint in power! Were it not for the two dukes giving their all to stall this enemy, all of Richard's powerhouses would have been wiped out.

Richard silently accepted the seal of the direwolf, waiting upon Bevry's last request.

“Richard... We're friends... Right?”

“Of course!” Richard grasped the man's hand tightly, voice no longer calm as always.

“Help me... take care of Perrin... Four years... Take him with you... My territory... Toffler, my other son... It might be hard...” The words were disjointed as Bevry's breaths grew warmer. His body itself was starting to go cold.

Richard took a deep breath, “Don't worry, Toffler will certainly become the Direwolf Duke.” As he was right now, the incident with Baron Fontaine would not repeat.

Bevry's head turned back to rest looking upwards, as though his eyes could peer past the roof of the tent into the boundless skies above. “For Perrin... betrayed Faelor... my soul... unworthy... with my ancestors...” One last weak breath escaped the Direwolf Duke's mouth, the mist gradually dissipating alongside the man's aura.

Richard didn't know how long he'd remained crouched next to the body, but a freezing gale was blowing through the lands when he left. However, it did nothing to lessen the weight on his chest. He called a random soldier over, “Bring me to the slaves.”

......

All traces of his past serenity and charm had fled from Raymond's face. His hair was dishevelled, body stained by blood. Curled up in a lone tent as he coughed up crimson, it seemed as though the poor youth was trying to vomit his lungs and crushed heart.

Richard stood coldly at the entrance, staring at this enemy as he analysed his condition. “You're dying, so you dragged out so many people to be buried with you?”

Raymond slowly stopped his cough, propping himself up against the tentpole to get a view of Richard. “Yes,” he smiled weakly, “I'm dying. That's why I want to finish everything I have to before I go.”

Seeing him so calm and self-assured, Richard felt the blood rush to his head. He grabbed Raymond by the neck and dragged him out of the tent like a dog, ruthlessly flinging him onto the ground. “OPEN YOUR EYES! SIXTY THOUSAND PEOPLE ARE LYING DEAD BELOW THIS HILL, ALL BECAUSE OF YOU! EVEN IF YOU DON'T CARE ABOUT THE FAELORIANS, WHAT ABOUT YOUR TEN THOUSAND MEN? THEY'LL BE DISMEMBERED AND FED TO BEASTS, ALL BECAUSE OF YOUR FUCKING DESIRES! WHAT IS IT THAT YOU HAVE TO DO?”

Raymond remained unaffected by Richard's eruption, not even looking over as he replied calmly, “I lost twenty thousand soldiers and more than ten saints before I got here. Thousands of them were just people I abandoned because their injuries were too heavy. Since I entered this plane, more than a hundred thousand natives have died at my army's hands. Oh right, I even killed fifty thousand prisoners of war. Are you angrier now?

“Bah, this is how war works. In order to achieve what I must, any sacrifice is worth it.” Raymond stared into Richard's flaming eyes, enunciating every word, “You want to know what I had to do? It was to kill you, no matter the cost.”

Richard clenched his teeth, bursting out in condescending laughter, “From the first moment I stepped through the doors of Faust, your families didn't once stop your conspiracies to kill me and my family. The Schumpeters, Mensas, Josephs, those fucking Wellinburgs behind your backs. Do you think I'm an easy target? Or do you believe I don't have the guts to retaliate?”

“Honestly, now that I look back our biggest mistake was limiting the attention we put on you. Ha, this damned law of risk and reward. I can only blame myself for not seeing what you'd become.

“But you should know, you're only alive because of many inevitable circumstances. Geniuses pop up every year from every family, how could I possibly kill them all? Ancient wisdom says strengthening oneself is the best way to defeat the enemy, so we focused on Gaton and went through the motions with you. Because the cost of killing you off was too high, we gave up on it... I guess even time-honoured traditions should have exceptions.”

Richard was ready to crush Raymond's face, but as he listened to the useless explanation he started to cool down. The volcanoes in his eyes faded away as he turned peaceful once more, at least on the surface. When the other mage finished, he only raised his brow and answered lightly, “Okay then, it's my turn. I'll show you as I kill every last member of your family.”

“I won't live so long as to witness that,” Raymond said mockingly.

“Oh, I wouldn't be so sure. You're in my hands now, you couldn't kill yourself if you wanted to. I'll keep you right next to me, you can witness the fall of the Josephs with your very own eyes.”

607 - City of Sin

Aftermath

Raymond was a little stunned by Richard's proclamation, smiling slightly in response, “That... would be difficult. Even the Eternal Dragon cannot help”

Richard laughed coldly, “I hear the Josephs have been very poor lately. Not being able to afford the blessing isn't the same as it not existing.”

“The blessings of time cannot change this,” Raymond voiced indifferently, “It has nothing to do with a lack of offerings, the grace of the Eternal Dragon isn't as omnipotent as you think it is. To rely too much on the gods isn't a good thing.”

“Right, the majority of people are just fools. Oh sage who stands beyond most of Norland, why should I believe your wisdom? Aren't the pathetic remains of your army currently in my hands? Aren't you just a slave?”

“Mages of Solomon carry the responsibility to discover the truths of the world. It is the very purpose of our existence. Yes, I am more likely to be right than the majority of Norland.”

Richard just snorted, talking to the broodmother for a moment. A mosquito the size of a bee quickly flew in from the direction of the battlefield, landing directly on Raymond's arm and stabbing its needle-like proboscis into his flesh. Raymond immediately paled, fighting to hold back a scream as excruciating pain wracked his body. However, the agony didn't last too long; the mosquito sucked out a lot of fresh blood before injecting an unknown liquid into his body and flying away.

A short while later, Raymond felt a burst of warmth surging through his body. His dulling mind quickened as he felt significantly lighter, the dying organs regaining vitality. However, his mana pool also dissipated until he was only level 10. The moment he tried to mobilise his power the mana scattered, refusing to form even the simplest of spells.

“How magical! I have to admit, you can always accomplish miracles.”

“I told you it wouldn't be so easy to die in my hands,” Richard said while waving for his soldiers to lock Raymond away.

As he was being dragged back to the tent, Raymond turned back and yelled, “Richard, you'll regret this sooner or later!”

“Heh, I wasn't scared of you when you had the full power of your family. Do you really think that'll change now?”

......

Thousands of Richard's personal soldiers worked to clean up the battlefield, all his allies forced outside the area and barred from entering. Although some of the nobles were irked by this arrangement, most had suffered significant losses in this war and many others were awaiting recovery in their tents. Seeing the broodmother's fearsome form, they wisely swallowed any complaints they had.

Word had already spread that the broodmother was the Beetle Queen Aquila, an ancient behemoth that hadn't shown itself for hundreds of years. With her helping, Richard's remaining humanoids and rune knights could easily wipe out every other survivor.

Another thing these aristocrats feared was the masked mage beside Richard. Nobody had been able to see through her, but mages who could summon dragons only existed in folklore here in Faelor. When Duke Grasberg admitted that her powers were superior to his, everyone had started to guess that this was the legendary mage backing Richard.

Seeing the mage respect Richard like a subordinate would, such guesses quickly died out. However, that only increased the fear these nobles had towards Richard. Even if that mage was only a sub-legendary expert, Richard already had the power to establish a dukedom of his own.

Those that thought beyond these two factors found that Richard himself was much scarier than he first seemed. There seemed to have been nothing particularly outstanding about him during the war, but he had kept to his vow of not falling behind the warflag. Squad after squad of Raymond's soldiers had struck the tower one after the other, but they had ended up a pile of corpses around the stronghold.

As the setting sun painted the world in scarlet, Richard's soldiers continued to rummage through the corpses of the Norlanders before placing them in the vicinity of the broodmother. She had laid down silently to conserve her energy, enormous body cloaked in a dense fog that barely revealed the outline of her figure. The fog was completely harmless, but none of the soldiers dared to approach it in the slightest. A large ring of bodies formed around this forbidden zone of sorts even as the dead officers on Richard's side were taken away for a proper funeral. The rank and file could only be buried on the spot.

Richard led the nobles involved in the war to the top of the stone tower with the warflag planted on it. “We will all feel the weight of this day for a long time to come. I only hope you remember this scene, remember the fact that we fought and bled together, gave up our lives for the cause! Hopefully today cements us as eternal allies that refuse to be led astray for temporary benefits, allies that will stand together in the face of any overwhelming enemy.”

The nobles remained quiet and solemn. They understood that these words weren't empty; there was an offer in them, a chance.

And also a threat.

The great war thus came to an end, concluding with the complete defeat of the invaders. Songs would be sung for centuries about how the master general Richard of the Sequoia Kingdom smashed apart an invincible army of invaders in a heartrending battle. Legends would speak of the warflag that he had planted behind his back and refused to cross, tales already spreading that made him a hero to every commoner of the continent. Several generals had been gathering their armies from all corners of the continent to push back the fearsome force that had destroyed the Baruch Kingdom which was the home of Wargod Lutheris, but a relatively unknown viscount from the Sequoia Kingdom had crushed these invaders in their path.

The new spotlight also unearthed Richard's other exploits as well, including the crushing defeat of Sinclair at Twilight Castle. The prior stories of Baron Fontaine's astonishing achievements were now updated, the main credit falling to Richard instead. The realisation that Richard had eliminated not one but two powerful invaders shocked the populace, fully qualifying him to become a chosen of any deity he chose. However, tradition dictated that he could only be the chosen of the gods of one single domain, and his affiliation to the three goddesses shut the doors to any other deity. Google search 𝙛𝒓𝚎𝙚w𝑒𝘣𝘯𝘰𝐯𝚎l. cｏ𝙢

The mysterious report that had been shown to the popes of various churches had been thrown into the trash or burned, those who had offered it punished accordingly. Rumours of Richard being an invader himself vanished into thin air, his elite knights and the reappearance of the ancient warbeast adding to the halo of his legend. Because they could only track Richard back to the Land of Turmoil, the people assumed that this mysterious land filled with spacetime rifts hid a land of powerhouses behind it.

The reason for Richard's appointment as a chosen of the three goddesses was widely disputed. Some said he was a child of one of the three, while others said his master had to be related to them. There was even some speculation that Richard had fallen in love with priestess Faylen of the Goddess of Spring Water. However, none of the speculations even came close to being the truth.

Richard was extremely satisfied with this. It was one of the fundamental parts of conquering another plane; truth and lies had to be wound together inextricably to protect his identity and status.

Those of the other churches of Faelor greatly envied the worshippers of the three goddesses. This one war had greatly changed their fates, saving the Goddess of the Hunt and the Goddess of the Forest from falling while the Goddess of Spring Water leapt up to become an intermediate god.

The Goddess of Spring Water even called down a miracle, allowing most worshippers who attended the coronation to listen to her oracle appointing Faylen as the pope. She also announced the creation of a central church at Bluewater.

Faylen instantly leapt up to level 15, while Fermi and Shea achieved level 13 and status second only to their popes. This was a huge improvement that reflected the difficult position of the three goddesses. Most popes in Faelor were level 18, some even approaching level 20 as well. And yet, the pope of the Goddess of Spring Water was only level 15 and those of the other two were only level 14.

608 - City of Sin

Reunion

Richard's own followers had grown tremendously with the baptism of this war as well. Flowsand was now level 13, while Io had advanced to level 16. Olar had advanced a level both as an archer and a bard, now level 10 and 12 respectively in those classes. Zendrall had finally reached level 13 as well.

Gangdor finally reached level 15 himself, which in addition to some rune upgrades and his epic-grade axe put him on the level of a standard rune knight from Norland. Although he didn't qualify to become a noble yet, he would have some status. As for his archrival, Waterflower was now level 15 as well. The immense power of the Guide of Secrets easily allowed her to overpower the brutish man, and a newfound tolerance for liquor meant he couldn't outdo her in that department either. Whenever they met, all Gangdor could do was sigh and do her bidding.

Richard was basically the only one who hadn't grown in level over the past month, his mana pool remaining at level 15. However, everyone who knew him felt a mysterious change in him after the battle. If before he was a deep lake that was hard to peer into, the runemaster now seemed like an ocean. On the surface he had quieted down greatly, no longer as sunny as before. His alcohol consumption also increased greatly.

It took until the third day after the battle for Richard's forces to be done with sifting through the warzone. It was named the Land of Sacrifice in memory of the 50,000 fallen soldiers, the sturdy warflag that Richard had protected with his life still flying proudly in the wind. Of course, the fallen Norlanders would have no part in this pride. Faelor's tradition was to feed the corpses to the vultures and hyenas, but Richard made a display for the nobles of the broodmother feasting on them all.

A thousand prisoners of war had been brought under his control. Although they were nominally slaves, he would soon find an opportunity to assimilate them into his army. Although they would normally be killed off as well, nobody had the energy or the courage to speak up about it. Hard times were on the way for all of the nobles who had participated in this battle; they would have to comfort their remaining soldiers and think of ways to rebuild; even victorious lions had to lick their wounds.

Raymond was put under house arrest, confined to a single room for all but an hour of each day. His life had been saved, but his magical ability continued to fall. The broodmother's analysis of humans was currently at 230%; it wasn't difficult for her to suppress someone's mana and preserve their life for some time. Of course, this also caused Raymond to rely on her; if she stopped feeding him for even a week, he would die an excruciating death as the foreign life force withered away.

......

Raymond was currently seated in his room, staring idly at Faelor's sky. The opening of the door reminded him that it was mealtime, but he didn't turn his eyes away as he gestured for the tray to be put on the one table he had been given.

“Alright,” the young lady answered flatly, but the voice sent Raymond tumbling from his seat. He turned around to stare at the person he had assumed was just a maid, locking eyes for a long time before he calmed down enough to find his chair again.

“Rosie... I never expected to see you here. Why is Richard using you as a maid?”

Rosie put the tray down and stretched out her arms, allowing her bundled apprentice robes to flow freely, “Would a maid dress like this?”

“You're Richard's apprentice?” Raymond asked, bewildered.

“Apprentice, assistant, mistress... Actually, I think sex friend is a better word for it.”

Raymond's face scrunched up as she spoke, the calm mastermind of the Joseph family suddenly turning into a lovelorn youth in his mid-twenties. Although he had expected as much to come out of Rosie staying with Richard, this information was still heartbreaking.

He lowered his head to cough a few times, hiding his expression while he forced his stopped lungs to work once more. When the ruse no longer worked, he turned his body away and looked out from the window, “Apprentice... What are you learning from him?”

“Runecrafting.”

The answer forced him to face her once again, face full of shock. It almost felt like the girl in front of him was someone else.

“It surprises you that much, huh?” Rosie tugged at her hair lazily, causing the ponytail to bounce, “But then again, if the Josephs knew this they wouldn't have let that damned old man break the engagement.”

Raymond laughed bitterly, “That... Was something out of my hands. I already knew I didn't have long to live, so—”

“So you watched and did nothing as I was betrothed to an old pervert, right?” Rosie's eyes suddenly shot out a piercing glare, forcing Raymond to avert his gaze.

“Your grandfather had a vested interest in the Schumpeters. The Josephs had nothing to repay them with, so forcing the issue would... It would have ended in war.” It was all he could do to smile awkwardly. An individual's wants and needs meant nothing compared to the future of the family; even if he had wanted to resist the decision, he did not have the standing to affect his family. His personal strength was far too pitiful to take on a family of Faust.

“Indeed,” Rosie nodded in agreement, but her expression reminded him of Richard's battle with the Duke's youngest grandson for the sake of a brother.

He heaved a long sigh, looking back at her and hesitating for a moment before asking, “Are you doing well these days?”

“You may be concerned about me, but you have no right to ask that question.”

“Alright then!” Raymond flung out his arms helplessly, “Why are you here? It can't be so meaningless as to mock me.”
𝐟𝙧ℯe𝙬𝚎𝒃𝗻𝒐ѵel. 𝐜o𝓶

“I want to prove to Richard that you don't matter to me anymore. As well, there's something I wanted to ask.”

“Feel free,” Raymond smiled bitterly, “I'll answer as best I can.”

“Ever since the Archerons entered Faust, you've been scheming and plotting to bring them down. I don't recall Richard ever offending you, and I'm pretty sure his father never did either. Why?”

Raymond seemed to lose himself in thought for a while, “... Let's put it this way. If a lion started sleeping next to your house, and you knew that it could bite you anytime, what would you do? The Archerons are that lion. Nobody can predict who they'll bite next, but the one truth is that they will bite. The only way to deal with them was when they were still asleep.

“In fact, any powerful family is a lion. Some are more docile, some more aggressive, but none of them can be tamed. There are no allies in Faust, war is the only constant thing.”

“But...” Rosie frowned, but no matter how she thought about it there were no real flaws to his reasoning.

“I know what you want to say. The crux of the problem is that men can't live peacefully with lions. The risk is simply too large. If the lion attacks your life is forfeit anyway, but if you strike first there's a chance of victory. On one hand is an enormous risk to take passively, and on the other is a choice that gives you some amount of control. Shouldn't a normal person's decision be obvious?

“You can go tell Richard, the fourteen families will never stop fighting. Even if he wants to keep to himself, others might just strike first. Even if the territories are on opposite sides of the Alliance, expanding families will eventually meet. An outstanding leader shouldn't be concerned about whether to fight or not, they should look for the right battles to win....”

Rosie committed everything to memory, asking a few more questions as well before finally turning to leave, “It seems like you've grown very generous with your advice, even helping your great enemy Richard.”

“I'm helping you,” Raymond said calmly.

Rosie looked back at him, her clear gaze making him crumble inside once again. He couldn't help but turn his head away, an action that caused her to sigh, “You mages of Solomon have a major problem. Whenever you lie, you can make it seem so real. This is the same kind of thing you said to me years ago, and look how that turned out. Tch, whatever. I have no way to know whether you're truthful, it's better I just never believe a word of what you say.”

When she started heading towards the door, Raymond couldn't find the courage to ask her to stop. He sat where he was quietly, back as straight as an arrow as he just turned back to the view of the distant valley.

“Everyone who's ever held my hands has only said one thing; they're beautiful. Do you know what Richard said? He said they're firm. He said they're the hands of someone with talent.” Rosie closed the door behind her as she left.

Raymond continued to gaze aimlessly at the night sky. To the best of his recollection, he had praised the beauty of her hands when he first kissed them as well.

Was that why she came to this decision?

609 - City of Sin

Another Mana Armament

Richard was sitting face to face with Flowsand, a pained expression on his face, “I've been to a battlefield of despair, I know why planar wars happen. But I still don't like it, I don't want to fight if it isn't needed. Why are we always killing each other? There was no meaning in the hundreds of thousands of people dying here.”

Flowsand creased her brows, glaring at Richard fiercely, “You really want to know?”

“Yes!” Richard was undeterred.

“See for yourself then!” she shoved the Book of Time over to him.

Richard took the blank Book of Time and focused on it, the power of time gradually lighting up a few words on the page: 'If you do not attack others, others will attack you.'

He was rather confused by this coarse answer, refusing to accept it. Just as he was about to convey this, however, Flowsand reached out and flipped the page. Another row of words revealed itself: 'Only the victors have the right to dwell on the necessity of war.'

Richard started pondering once again.

“You've been too busy lately,” she said harshly as she took the book back from him, a hidden meaning behind her words.

Richard sat there thinking for a long time, a radiant smile slowly creeping onto his face. He eventually turned back to the priestess in front of him, “I'm sorry. It's just that far too many people rely on me now, I can't throw away their faith. You're still the only one I can be honest with...”

Flowsand's eyes brightened, the anger she felt dissipating inexplicably. She lowered her head and continued flipping through the book, “That... It's nothing, the Book of Time can answer any question.”

Richard stretched languidly, the gloom now entirely gone, “Don't worry, I know what to do now.”

He left her room and headed back to his laboratory, finding Rosie within focused on her runecrafting. When she eventually noticed his presence, she recounted her entire conversation with Raymond except for their parting words.

“He has some good points,” Richard commented as he walked around the lab, “The thing about the families being lions makes a lot of sense. But, it isn't exactly how he talks about it either... Anyway,” he suddenly stopped right in front of her, “You asked all this for my sake?”

“Yes,” Rosie answered calmly.

He didn't ask her how she knew of his problems. He hadn't exactly been stealthy in his conversation with Raymond after the war. Still, he sighed, “You're really too clever.”

Rosie met his gaze head-on, “I'm only afraid of two things these days. The first is me not being clever enough, and the second is you not trusting me.”

Richard looked deeply into her clear eyes. No matter how intense his stare grew, she didn't waver in the slightest. Eventually he just sighed, shaking his head, “How did I manage to get you as a stake from a stupid duel?”

“I guess I owed you something in a past life,” she laughed faintly.

“Ugh...” He didn't know how to respond to that.

Giving up on the conversation, he looked at the materials that he'd piled up on his own desk and waved Rosie over, taking his pen to begin on some arrays.

He went through a total of twelve, each progressively more difficult than the last. Even the first was more complicated than Rosie could draw right now, and the last one needed the mana pool of a level 14 mage to draw. Rosie stood by his side, all her attention focused on his every action. She didn't dare to blink.

Richard's hands were far too stable, to the point that she sometimes doubted whether he was even a mortal. Only now that she had some experience in the craft did she understand just how gifted he was. Every rune he crafted was flawless, approaching or even exceeding the best textbook designs. Textbooks on magic arrays could often only be written down by grand mage scholars that had delved into the field for many years; the runes and arrays of normal runemasters were far too imperfect to use as a guide. This was also why the mages of Solomon were famous; their researchers were extremely capable at penning their discoveries.

Neither of them noticed two hours passing by. It was only when Rosie relaxed that her vision went dark for a moment, telling her just how long she'd been standing there. Over all of this time, Richard hadn't made the tiniest of mistakes.

Richard put his pen away and turned to her, putting a rune design on the table, “Practice these arrays for your runecrafting from today, make sure to perfect each one before you move on. When you can draw every single one without any errors, this will be yours.”

Rosie took one look at the design and felt her heart quicken, pounding so hard it felt like it would jump out of her chest, “Mana Armament!”

“Once you can craft this rune, you won't need to worry about what I think of you anymore. Here's a chance to observe, I'm going to craft one right now.”

Over the next three days, Richard didn't step out of the laboratory at all. He didn't so much as eat, subsisting on only a few glasses of water as he poured everything into the world of runecrafting. This time, Rosie was the exact same. Flowsand had snuck in twice to watch them at work, stealthily leaving a few bottles of water for them every time.

When it was finally done, Richard waved his fist in the air and roared into the air. Another Mana Armament rune had been completed, and it was done in one sitting with no flaws! From this day forth, he would have no problems crafting any grade 3 runes.

In the middle of his ecstasy, Richard suddenly heard a dull thud by his side. Rosie had collapsed onto the floor, completely blacked out. He had to hurry and check on her condition, only breathing a sigh of relief after realising it was only exhaustion. He carried her onto the bed in the lab, feeding her a potion of vitality before leaving the girl to sleep,

Strong sunlight forced him to squint for the first few minutes he was outside. It was noon. Terrifying roars were resounding from the direction of the barracks, seemingly shaking half the Bluewater Oasis. Even the weakest of ogres was very loud, and Tiramisu had two heads.

“OI TIRAMISU, RARE, SHUT UP!” Richard was almost dazed by the loud screams, having to amplify his voice to drown out the ogre.

“Sorry, boss!” Tiramisu scratched his head apologetically, sitting down on the ground.

“You're the noisiest!” the newborn head cried out.

“You're the one who made the noise first!” Tiramisu roared in response.

“SHUT UP!” Richard had to yell again, finally forcing the two heads to shut up. Tiramisu had insisted on calling the second head Medium Rare when it sprouted out, and Richard could not refuse the sentiment. The second head had accepted the name as well, seeming like it had been around for tens of years with an intellect not inferior to the main body. Tiramisu's body had grown once more as well. He was now 3.5 metres tall, only able to talk face-to-face with Richard by sitting on the floor.

However, Richard knew that two-headed ogres actually had only one soul. The second brain just represented a different aspect of the same existence. Ogres with two souls were extremely rare and powerful, veritable tyrants of their race.

There was a reason for Tiramisu's restlessness this time: he had noticed the Mana Armament rune in Richard's hands. Two brains and three eyes were focused on this rune, the ogre's noses sensitive enough to smell its power. Although ogres looked rather foolish, they were deceptively intelligent. A two-headed ogre was even comparable to most human intellectuals.

Tiramisu stretched out his large hand, carefully taking the rune from Richard as his main head giggled, “Boss, Gangdor will run away from me every time he sees me now. If he wants to fight—”

“He'll be beaten like a rabbit!” Medium Rare continued.

......

An exciting battle ensued at high noon in the training grounds, Tiramisu on one side with Gangdor on the other. Both of them were level 15, but the match-up was heavily tilted in one side's favour. Tiramisu had astonishingly heavy armour, and the two hammers he normally carried were replaced by one hammer and a three-metre-tall shield. Sparks travelled all over the ogre's body as he rushed Gangdor repeatedly, not much slower than the warrior who was almost half his size.

Gangdor made a big fuss about it, but eventually had no option but to give up. He had no way to fight an immensely strong, lightning-fast armoured ogre. His epic axe and steel plate armour were definitely not enough to win this battle.

610 - City of Sin

One-Rune Convention

Richard was visibly affected by the spar between his followers, watching it for a long time. Blood rushed to his head as he felt the desire to join in; Gangdor had no way to break Tiramisu's defence, but that did not hold true for himself. Although the ogre's armour was made of thick metal, it wasn't enchanted; facing a mage, it was nothing more than a good conductor for lightning. Even without his magic there were other ways to win as well; his destruction breath could easily melt most alloys. Please visit 𝒇𝐫e𝑒𝔀𝒆𝚋no𝐯𝘦𝘭. c𝑜𝗺

He eventually just smiled and turned away, heading back to his own quarters. His followers growing stronger alleviated some of his burden, allowing him to focus on his own power. He basically locked himself away in his room, meditating every day for three whole months.

......

Flowsand was sunbathing on top of the roof, stretching languidly like a cat. She hadn't seen Richard in a long time, nor did she know when he would be done with his seclusion, but it was fine as long as he was doing anything but Rosie. The sunlight glinted off her amber eyebrows, accentuating her beauty as she flipped through her ever-present companion.

"Has Richard thought things through?" she said lazily, "What is his opinion of war now?"

These were just random murmurs, but the Book of Time suddenly lit up as words formed on its page, 'Fearless and unwavering, will fight when necessary.'

Flowsand looked at these seven words and grew extremely confused. They should have left her satisfied, but there was a hint of loneliness in there as well.

......

When Richard finally left his room, he was level 16. In Faelor this was already amazing, giving him the title of grand mage. However, he only rested on his laurels for half a day before diving headfirst into his lab, working day and night. Everyone outside of his followers was banned entry, this piece could not be disturbed at any cost.

Yet another month passed as his warehouse was emptied of crafting materials. Richard's followers had never seen him toss out so many failures in all their time following him. By the time he walked out of the lab again, his reserves were completely cleaned out. Four months without the sun or proper food had turned him pale and skinny, eyes sunk deep into their sockets. However, this appearance seemed to enhance his elvish traits. Despite the long, unkempt beard, he now looked elegant and mysterious like a noble vampire. The sheer power of his aura was terrifying.

Richard squinted as the sun burnt his eyes, a faint smile appearing on his face. He handed a simple enchanted box to Rosie who came over to ask whether he was done, acting like it was nothing special, "Keep this and make preparations; I'll be going to Norland for a month or so. Right, tell the others to gather tonight, I haven't seen them for a while."

"Yes, Master," Rosie took the box and turned to leave. However, her mind had started racing; Richard may have been nonchalant about it, acting like this was a simple rune, but how could this monster take a month to make anything simple? Still, without his permission she wouldn't open the box no matter how curious she was. Of course, that might not have held true if she knew what was inside.

Within this seal-less box was Lifesbane!

What Rosie didn't notice was several new runes on top of Richard's arms, hidden by the sleeves of his robes. Richard returned to his room, having a maid fetch a tub of water for him to relax in. He exhaled comfortably, his head leaning back before soft snoring rang out from his room.

Flowsand walked in once during his sleep, but she left almost immediately. Rosie paid a visit as well, replacing the hot water in the tub before leaving quietly. Her gentle actions did not awaken the exhausted runemaster.

The sun quickly fell below the horizon, but even as night enveloped the skies Richard did not come out to meet his gathered followers. Still, nobody was turning impatient as they sat and wondered aloud what sort of surprise their master would have for them this time.

Tiramisu was the most eye-catching of them all. There was no room to doubt his potential— two-headed ogres could become saints at minimum— and the sheer power of Mana Armament had improved his power greatly. Even if everyone else in this room fought him at once, he would outlast them all. Even Io's eyes shone with jealousy every time he saw the ogre. He had never thought highly of Richard's runes before, but nobody could argue against something like this.

However, Richard had lost himself to the serenity of the darkness. Curled up in the warm tub, it felt like he was back in the warm embrace of the Deepblue.

It was almost dawn by the time Richard entered the meeting room, but his followers were still chattering endlessly. Knowing they could not beat Tiramisu with their fists, many of them were fighting with their words instead. However, the ogre had a loud voice and two mouths; he didn't fear verbal battles either.

Still, everyone turned silent the moment Richard walked in. Io's expression was the first to change, but he was quickly followed by the others. Even Zendrall who was the least sensitive of the lot changed position to open up some distance. The atmosphere seemed to freeze.

Richard looked at his followers with confusion, not understanding what had just transpired. Eventually, Gangdor had to speak up, “Uhh... Boss? You've... changed. How should I... It's like you're a dragon in human form or something. Your gaze is also different, like you're looking at our weak spots all the time.”

“What? Oh!” Richard started breathing slowly, restraining his aura until his followers could feel at ease. Gangdor nodded and relaxed, but everyone could still feel the occasional prickle from Richard's gaze.

“Alright now, did anything happen that needs me?” Richard took his seat at the table.

Gangdor was the first to speak up again, “The Kingdom's courts have lost power. The dukes and royal family were weakened, and it seems like someone's trying to take advantage of it. There also seems to be someone working from the Iron Triangle Empire; we've been ambushed several times, like they've been testing our strength.”

Richard's murderous aura erupted once more, “Didn't the gods decree that the nobles who fought the invaders would be free from attacks for a year?”

Gangdor shrugged his shoulders, “Eh, who knows if they'll keep their word.”

“Okay then, it seems like we need to arrange a war with the Empire. Hopefully they'll learn their lesson this time. But let's do that after I return from Norland.”

Gangdor nodded, “Right boss, Toffler hasn't been made duke yet.”

The mention of Bevry's son suddenly froze Richard for a moment as he thought back to the Direwolf Duke, “And the reason?”

“It's the same. Somebody seems to be interfering with the Direwolf lands, rumours are flying that the royal family has a hand in it too.”

“Okay then, any of you have a suggestion as to how we act?”

Most of the followers went silent. While they were excellent on the battlefield, politics was not their forte. Io eventually spoke up, “The path to the throne is often bathed in blood.”

“Okay then, we'll do as you say.” Richard immediately passed the onus onto the battle priest.

Done taking care of important matters, Richard left Gangdor to continue guarding Faelor while he took Waterflower and Flowsand back to Norland. This time, he had ten mounts for sale.

611 - City of Sin

One-Rune Convention(2) Google search 𝙛𝒓𝙚e𝚠𝐞𝚋𝙣𝚘𝐯𝗲𝚕. c𝚘𝓶

The past four months had only been twelve days in Norland. That wasn't a long time, but it was certainly enough for news to travel through all of Faust. The city of miracles had grown turbulent as news of the Josephs' alliance to attack Faelor was made known. With Faelor's timeflow being ten times that of Norland, everyone knew the result had already been determined.

There was more exciting news than just that. The Archeron Family had publicly announced that it was recruiting rune knight candidates; this could only mean that Richard had more rune sets than he had qualified candidates.

As Faust was burning with anticipation, the portal to Faelor in the Church of the Eternal Dragon quietly rippled as Richard's group exited from it. Rumours would soon spread that old Duke Joseph almost fainted upon hearing the news, and another duke, two marquesses, and four earls had turned so irritable some of their subordinates had wound up dead.

Richard's first act was to announce a small rune convention that would be held in two days. As there wasn't much time, he had only extended the invitation to the noble families of Faust. At the same time, he announced that some lucky participants would be given mounts fit for rune knights. However, the details about what would be shown were kept to a minimum; the only information was that a grade 3 rune would be showcased and there would be no sales.

Could a grade 3 rune on its own merit an entire rune convention? The obvious answer was no, but there were certain conditions that allowed for a low standard of runes. The most common of them all was an apprentice's first showcase; there would obviously be no grade 3 runes, and most runemasters weren't monsters who showcased entire sets during their first convention. Normally, even great runemasters needed to have two or three innovative designs to present before they would be allowed to hold a convention/

All of Faust had received the invitation, even the Schumpeters, Mensas, and Josephs. This told those paying attention that this rune being showcased was likely very unique.

Many nobles also expressed a great deal of interest in the mounts Richard had brought back. Rune knights were incomplete without powerful steeds to carry them into battle. In the midst of a warzone, the charging power of a warrior was miles apart from that of a mounted knight. Because there were few warriors qualified to become rune knights and fewer runes still to equip them with, a lot of nobles chose instead to focus on the mounts. Many creatures had been bred for the purpose of strengthening rune knight platoons, varying in shape and power. Attempts had even been made to use wyverns for this purpose.

Although the impromptu convention was enough to shock Faust, Richard seemed to have no end to his surprises. The news that he was a level 16 great mage quickly found its way to all sorts of ears, and some calculations told those present that it had been less than half a year even in plane time when a level 15 Richard had left for Faelor. This speed was absolutely unimaginable!

There were many geniuses in Norland, and Faust was one of the places they gathered in. There was no dearth of level 16 great mages under the age of twenty, but all of these talents had been trained rigorously from when they were babies to reach that level. However, everyone already knew that Richard had spent the first half of his life as a village boy with no instruction in magic at all!

Before learning of this, everyone was tunnelled in on Richard's talent at runecrafting. Although his strength as a mage was a slight thorn to others, few people were actually afraid of him even if he was a mage of the Deepblue. Connections were often only a shortcut on the path to power, unable to strengthen one's foundation. Now, however, people had realised that the pressure he exerted himself was growing stronger as time passed.

......

Faust was destined to be sleepless this night. Many people were agitated by the rune convention that would be held the next day, some anticipating it while others were completely frustrated. One person of note amongst the latter group was the royal runemaster Lunor Leyfar. He had received the invitation as well, but unlike the previous time, he had managed to stop himself from tearing it to shreds.

He sat on his chair for a long time, just staring at the letter. The thorn in his flesh had now poked into one of his eyes. He wasn't the only one who felt this way; Foster standing behind him was enraged beyond reason. His handsome face had warped into a terrifying expression as he wanted nothing more than to tear the letter apart and stuff it into Richard's face.

However, the arrogant boy now knew better of how such a thing would turn out. He had seen Richard's battle with Duke Mensa's youngest son and knew that an actual confrontation with Richard would just be sending himself to his death.

Even a year ago the royal family had stood by Richard, but things had changed greatly in this time. The nearly unknown mage from the Deepblue was now a great runemaster on par with his own teacher, while he could barely craft any grade 2 runes. He could do nothing to Richard on his own.

However, that did not mean he could do nothing at all. He decided to fuel Lunor's wrath further, “Master, this fellow is far too arrogant. How dare he call for a convention with a mere grade 3 rune, even calling all of Faust's nobility? You are a great runemaster who has designed dozens of grade 3 runes in your life, but you never showed off like this!”

Lunor's eyes started blazing, but the many lessons he had been taught over the past year had him quell his rage, “There might be something special about this rune.”

“But do you really plan to go? I feel like he just wants to sell those mounts he got from the plane.”

Lunor didn't utter a word in response, continuing to stare at the invitation letter. This letter's design was unique and it contained a list of important characters that had been invited. He was on that list, as were Priestess Noelene and Priestess Jacqueline, alongside deputy captain Ferdinand of the Eternal Dragon Paladins.

“I will be going,” the runemaster said eventually, but it felt as though he had aged ten years in an instant.

Foster immediately stopped feeding the flames, but then he spoke again as though he had just recalled something, “Master, the royal family sent someone over yesterday to inform you that your material allocation has been reduced.”

“WHAT?!” Lunor slammed his fist into the table, bolting up in anger.

As a royal runemaster, his wealth was built upon the surplus materials he was granted from the royal warehouse. The Sacred Alliance had offered much better conditions than the other two major human countries back then, so while he didn't have as much ability as the royal runemasters of the other empires he did have great wealth. His talents had already been stretched to the limits; the only way to craft a grade 4 rune was brute force, hoping for the small chance of success to work out.

Lunor knew that the amount of runes he had been giving the royal family had reduced by the year, the quality also lower than when he started. However, he hadn't bothered with their dissatisfaction for the sake of attempting to craft a grade 4 rune. He hadn't expected that the family that had endured his brazen actions for so long would finally react.

This information made the Emperor's stance clear.

“It's all because of Richard!” he gritted his teeth.

“Yes!” Foster was quick to follow up, “I heard the salary he asked for was astonishingly low! He's just a dog licking the royal family's boots!”

Lunor was enraged once again, “Let's see just what he's managed to make.”

......

Richard returned to a flourishing Archeron island, seeing many workers transporting construction material through the portal on heavy wagons. Many parts of the island had been fenced up, slaves hard at work. With the newfound financial support, the old steward finally had the means to build new facilities on the island. The defences had been boosted greatly, the castle now littered with magical defences. Another uprising would be decimated the moment it showed itself.

The barracks was improved as well, but it was still too small. Every inch of the floating islands was as precious as gold; the Archerons were the only family in Faust that actually put a training camp on theirs.

Although Richard had only been gone for a little over ten days, a new pile of documents had found its way to his desk. There was information about the various branches and vassals, as well as details about the barracks on the island. The Archerons had multiple training camps, but these camps were normally loyal to the branch that owned them. The camp in Faust was the only one Richard had full control over, so he had to preserve it at all costs. Only once he secured his foothold in the family could he expand back out from Faust.

The old steward had concluded that the rune knight recruitment and the new fortifications would run into at least two million gold in expenses. However, the taxes from the vassals only added up to 700,000. This was less than half of what Gaton received when he was around.

Richard quickly browsed through all the documents and made his decisions about them before reclining into the chair, putting his legs on the table as he began to ponder how to tackle the mess his father had left him. The news from the vassals was still mixed. More of the fiefs were paying taxes now, but fewer were paying the full amount.

Then there was the issue of Blackrose Castle and the family's elders. The shadow of Marquess Sauron could also be seen behind the scenes. He was rather interested in what Sauron would do after his convention tomorrow.

612 - City of Sin

In The Spotlight

Richard's convention was held in a small hall in Faust. The place could barely house a hundred people, but he felt that the number was appropriate and the place was quiet as a bonus.

Of course, he'd grossly underestimated the number of guests that would be arriving. The place was filled only a few minutes after it opened, even the extra chairs pulled in at the last minute unable to fit everyone. Most families had sent multiple representatives to this convention, including heirs and branch family leaders. The royal family was even more preposterous, sending four princes, two princesses, and over ten others in charge of various court affairs. The Emperor didn't show up personally, but the presence of his direct aide meant that he was watching as well.

The Church of the Eternal Dragon had sent two grand priestesses and the vice-captain of their paladins. Those who truly understood the functioning of the Church would know that this vice-captain was Ferdinand, Ferlyn's heavenly guardian. This meant the high priestess was watching as well.

With the number of excess people present, guards, servants, and even lower-ranked family members had been forced to give up their seats. Most had been shooed outside, forced to wait for further news. Foster himself had lost his seat, but fortunately he had enough status for the guards to let him stand behind Lunor. However, this incident only intensified his hatred for Richard.

Richard arrived right as the clock hit a quarter past ten. He omitted any superfluous introductions and welcome speeches, instead directly delving into the highlight of the convention, “Ladies and gentlemen, I apologise for announcing a convention at the last minute. I will only be showcasing a single grade 3 rune, but this rune already has an owner so there will be no sales conducted. However, four lucky members of the audience will be given samples of mounts I plan to sell in the near future, so do look forward to that.

“Alright then, let me introduce this rune to everyone.” The projection device was activated, showing a zoomed-in image of the rune to everyone present. The design was evidently very complicated, but there was no name nor explanation as to its abilities. The hologram only showed its shape.

The first thing everyone noticed was the suffocating aura even though this was only a projection. The powerhouses in the audience immediately felt a trace of danger, their breaths speeding up. Very few non-runemasters ever gathered enough knowledge to discern what a rune could do at sight. However, the very fact that just a projection of this rune held killing intent proved one thing: this rune had soul!

It was very difficult for a rune design or projection to be able to recreate even a tiny portion of its aura. Such runes were crafted so perfectly, their design so overbearing that their power stood out even before they were crafted. This was normally the domain of runes that were grade 4 or beyond; for a mere grade 3 rune to possess such power meant this piece was far more formidable than they had expected.

Those present had to admit: a rune with such low capacity and level requirements that possessed a soul truly was worthy of a convention all top itself. Google search f𝚛𝗲𝒆we𝙗𝙣o𝙫e𝗹. 𝐜o𝚖

Even as the people present were holding their breath to wait for Richard to name and explain the rune, Lunor turned so pale one could mistake him for an undead. His hands trembled uncontrollably as an air of depression covered his body.

Foster was completely shocked. Control was the basis of a runemaster's ability, especially with the hands. For his master's hands to be shaking... The youth suddenly felt extremely uneasy, a seed of fear rooting itself into his heart.

“This rune is called Lifesbane,” Richard's voice as calm as the sea, but the audience immediately erupted. Surprise, fright, and doubts suddenly filled the hall, no weaker than the roars of Tiramisu.

Several powerhouses stood up immediately, completely disregarding their status as one of them shouted, “Lifesbane the stacking rune?”

Lifesbane was a divine weapon to every powerhouse that had the carrying capacity to wield it. However, the difficulty of crafting this rune exceeded even most grade 4 runes, and the ability to layer multiple of it on top of each other meant there was almost never any on the market. Those present couldn't recall ever seeing one in an auction; such runes were normally called for long before they were crafted.

It took every last whit of self-control these powerhouses could muster to stop themselves from rushing over the moment Richard nodded.

The reveal of this rune was so dazzling it cast a shadow over the mounts that Richard had wanted to display as well. He gave a total of five away for free, one to the royal family and four others to random members of the audience, setting a price of 100,000 gold for every one after that. Nobody knew whether it was intentional, but the Josephs had gotten one of these free mounts as well. After selling off the remaining five mounts, he concluded the event.

As he announced the end of the convention, many people rushed over to him as though to eat him alive. Richard was shocked at the scene; he'd known Lifesbane would cause a commotion, but hadn't expected it to be so great. Of course, had he known that this was a rune even saint runemasters couldn't guarantee being able to create, he would have thought of another way to present this. Even the grand runemasters of the other two empires could only rely on a large amount of materials and some luck to craft it.

The behaviour of these powerhouses startled Richard greatly, making him regret the way he had handled the reveal. Thankfully many of those he was on good terms with here. Even with Fuschia continuing to hide away on the island like a mouse, Nyris, Agamemnon, and those of the church would be able to keep him safe.

“Sir Richard,” a shrill voice suddenly pierced through the clamour, “the Emperor wishes to see you.”

The voice of the imperial aide immediately calmed down those present, but before Richard could even reply Noelene spoke up as well, “After meeting His Majesty, do make sure to come down to the Church as well. The High Priestess needs to speak with you.”

With both the royal family and the Church making subtle points, those that had started to think of robbing Richard began to dispel that notion. Bloodthirsty Philip was a figure feared by many already, and the Church of the Eternal Dragon was even more of a massive figure in these nobles' lives. High Priestess Ferlyn's control of spacetime would easily reveal the perpetrators of such a crime, and being barred from making sacrifices was a death sentence for any family.

However, it wouldn't have been long before these agitated nobles realised that robbing Richard was a lousy plan anyway. A single rune would eventually deteriorate, and not just anybody could fix such a special piece. Everyone immediately started thinking up ways to trade for one of these runes.

......

Since it was approaching noon, the meeting was naturally held at the dining hall. This was Richard's second time being granted the honour to dine with the Emperor, but this time he realised there was much more material value to this one than the last. The table was lined with many foods that could not be found on the open market, dragon meat being an essential part of the main course while there were many others that even his knowledge from the Deepblue was useless in identifying. Be it the meats, fruits, desserts, or even the drink, everything he swallowed dissolved into a fire in his stomach that radiated energy to the rest of his body.

It had been a long time since he'd had such a good meal; outside of the hydra egg from Mountainsea, he hadn't eaten so heartily ever since he'd left Sharon's care.

This time Philip didn't eat as fast as before, instead having his attendants fill up Richard's plate constantly. He nodded at the astonishing appetite Richard displayed, “Not bad, you should have a great future ahead. You're Sharon's student, aren't you? Sigh, it's been ten years since your teacher and I last shared a meal.”

Richard didn't have Nyris' ability to talk while eating, so he hurried to swallow down the food in his mouth before putting down the fork. However, Philip waved his hand, “No, no, eat your food. I'm an old man these days, I just like to murmur to myself.”

What followed was a meal where the Emperor recounted stories of his youth. High Priestess Ferlyn featured in them, as did Sharon. Some of the more recent tales even included Gaton and other names he was familiar with, like Duke Mensa.

Richard tried his best to eat as he listened to it all. Even as he was starting to feel bloated, the aide who had thick makeup on continued to fill up his plate at just the limit of his eating speed. Thankfully his physique had improved ever since he ate the hydra egg, and his appetite had grown alongside it. Although it would take some time to absorb all the energy he was ingesting, his capacity at least merited praise.

Still, even the fight with Balibali hadn't left him so exhausted. By the time the lunch came to an end, it felt as though he had swallowed a dragon whole. The energy within him was searing his insides, leaving him so uncomfortable he couldn't even speak. He could barely make out something Philip was saying about a hundred mounts before his face planted into the table and he started snoring.

613 - City of Sin

Stress

Gold. That was the primary colour that filled Richard's vision as he shook off the darkness, eyes slowly opening up. The golden bed he was in was large enough to fit an elephant, giving way to glittering furniture that was carved from gold embedded with gems. He wasn't small by any means, but this room made him feel like an ant. Just the pillows and blankets on this bed were large enough to drown him entirely.

His body felt like jelly as he tried to move, so lacking for strength it took excruciating effort to even prop himself up. His head started throbbing immediately as he tried to make sense of the situation, but when he called upon his secondary consciousness the sudden rush of simulations about the Church's martial arts threatened to split his head apart.

His mouth opened up in a silent scream as he punched his own head a few times, only to stop as a few tiny flakes flew off in front of his eyes. He looked to the back of his palm only to find that almost all of his nails had fallen off, the mere two that remained slowly slipping down as well to leave behind squirming pink flesh. Still his throat refused to work, forcing him to watch silently as new crystal clear nails slowly grew out. However, the moment they crossed the support of his flesh, they sagged down.

As he tried to touch these new-grown nails of his, a part of his skin suddenly flaked off his hand. It wasn't just the palm, however; his forearm that had chafed against his thigh also moulted a large stretch of dead skin.

Watching his body moult and reform itself, memories suddenly flooded back to his head of the meal he had just shared with the Emperor. He managed to calm himself and look around, finding a bottle of water atop the cabinet nearby that he chugged down in one go to relieve himself of his burning throat. As his body continued to shed, he made his way to the attached bathroom to clean up.

The tub within that could fit half a dozen people was already filled to the brim with warm water that continued to flow in from a tap nearby. As he stepped in and allowed his skin to shed completely, he noticed the water still didn't overflow. There was likely a mechanism in this tub that redirected any excess to keep the water constantly at the perfect temperature.

Finally able to relax and think straight, he immediately started examining his body. Delving into his sea of consciousness, he noticed that both his bloodlines were still perfectly alright. A quick circulation of his mana revealed that his mana pool had actually grown, and his runes activated without issue as well.

It was when he tried to throw a punch in the air that his arm almost popped off. Grunting in pain as he pulled back his fist, he was surprised to find that the punch had exerted twice the force he could before. Although strength had never been his forte— even with this doubling he was nowhere near as strong as an ogre or barbarian or any such thing— his muscles felt much firmer than before.

This was a blessing in disguise. His power when using Mana Armament was boosted greatly, and many of the martial arts techniques he had been simulating for years now would grow easier to train in. The headache slowly drifted away as all of his secondary mind's analyses were assimilated, but that only told him how far he was from actually mastering what Flowsand had taught him. Still, even if he was worse than Flowsand he could now compare to Io even in a fair match.

As he lazed around in the bath, his head cleared up and the discomfort vanished. He quickly realised that he had fainted fro, bloating himself up with those energy-rich foods, so all his worries faded away. However, a question suddenly popped up in his mind.

Why had the Emperor given him that much precious food? Was it a reward for succeeding with Lifesbane? The thought was immediately struck from his mind. The finished Lifesbane rune wasn't even going to the royal family, and even if he would be giving them such runes in the future they would be paying for it then as well. Food that could improve one's body to such an extent was far more precious than a single rune. However, he couldn't think of any other reason.

He eventually crawled out of the bathtub and towelled off, wearing his clothes once more before looking out the window. The view of Faust from here told him he was still in the imperial palace on the fifth level.

It was only a little past midnight, but he found himself bursting with energy. However, when he rang the bell to summon a servant he found Philip's personal aide responding to the call instead. “I have been waiting outside for some time, Sir Richard. His Majesty mentioned that you would rouse about now.”

“Does His Majesty have any orders?” Richard asked. He barely remembered a conversation about a hundred mounts, but couldn't recall all the details.

“His Majesty mentioned that you need to be more cautious from now. The conspiracies within the Alliance will settle down, but those of the other two empires or even other races might start plotting against you instead. He also wishes to buy a hundred mounts from you, but on the condition that the life expectancy is revised to about ten years at a minimum.”

It was all Richard could do to keep his body from trembling. How had they managed to figure out the life expectancy of the horses so quickly? How did they know it could even be changed?

The attendant continued, “We are willing to pay 120,000 gold each for these revised mounts, and a hundred is only the first order. He has plans to form an entire battalion of such knights, but that will have to be discussed another day. His Majesty is in the midst of supper, we cannot disturb him. He instructed for you to be sent back once you woke up.”

It was only then that Richard remembered Ferlyn had called for him as well, but considering the time he requested to be sent to the Archeron island instead. As he arrived on the island and headed straight for his study, he bumped into Coco. The girl seemed a little unnerved, shocked at his sight, but she just stuck herself to the wall without daring to say a word.

Richard was a little confused by her presence here, remembering that he had authorised the steward to send her back home. However, he couldn't be bothered with such little things and only gave her a nod before heading upstairs.

......

As he looked at the map of the Sacred Alliance on his study wall, Richard felt an undue amount of stress. Seeing his father's territories scattered all around Blackrose Castle, he wasn't certain he would be able to accomplish the same things that Gaton had; just holding onto the foundation the man had left behind was already stretching him to the limits.

However, this map also helped him see a little into that man's qualities. Gaton Isaiah Satanistoria Archeron was a dauntless man, someone who had the courage to take great risks in the pursuit of everything he desired. His brother Goliath had inherited the family earldom, leaving him with only a small peerage that was worth very little.

Gaton's first act upon his father's death was to sell off his fief and castle, only taking his weapons and armour as he willingly became a free warrior roaming the lands. The young warrior had then demonstrated excellence on the battlefield, slowly amassing an army, powerful followers, and expansive territories. He had left behind a legend as he grew into his own, taking on many responsibilities as he worked his way up to becoming a marquess.

Many parts of this map had been tagged with question marks, indicating that the particular vassal in charge there was wavering in their loyalty or beginning to resist orders. The land that was already out of control had been greyed out, with the mark of a chest on those who had participated in the theft of the offerings. Some were marked with skulls; these were the families that would be rooted out when he had the chance.

He grumbled to himself about the costs of planar travel. If he could have brought over his troops from Faelor, he would have flattened all those tiny territories a long time ago. All this time he'd felt free to let them act as they wished so they could tie their own nooses tighter, but now he wasn't so sure. The display of Lifesbane guaranteed to everyone that he would become a saint runemaster in the future, so it was unlikely for these people to expose their hidden masters so easily.

614 - City of Sin

A Reward For Honesty

While Richard was weighing the pros and cons of moving up his plans to attack the rebels, the shadows in the room slowly started climbing up towards him. The magical light coming from the walls didn't dim even once as darkness slowly crept in behind.

DANGER! A chill suddenly ran down his spine, instincts kicking in as he knocked aside his desk and jumped away. The elven sword flew into his hand as he turned around, swinging freely despite the cramped space. A sharp clang sounded as two large shadowy axes collided at his original position. Had he reacted any slower, he would have been cut apart.

The two shadow warriors that had appeared out of nowhere moved forward to chop down once more, but this time their attacks never landed. The elven sword turned into a dazzling green blur that blinded them, seeming extremely gentle as it carved them apart. The green radiance covering the blade tore through the shadowforce that held them together, and Richard shrugged off their soul-ripping screams as though they were nothing.

Extinction suddenly flew into his other arm, a blood-coloured radiance shooting out of the blade as another shower of attacks rained down on the enemies. In only a few moments there were hundreds of crisscrossed slashes on the wall, thin green lines covering these shadow warriors' bodies. They stood stunned for a second as the impact kicked in, bursting them and their weapons apart.

Four image diamonds popped down onto the floor, bouncing a few times before rolling into all sorts of crevices. Richard stood there with both swords in hand, still in attack stance, but his face betrayed his sheer astonishment. Even he himself couldn't believe how easy it had been to kill those four nightmare creatures.

The incident where he almost lost his life to a lone warrior and axe felt almost like a distant memory.

The sheer number of scars on the wall served as a testament to how many attacks he had launched in that one moment; a result of the combined speed boosts from Mana Armament and the Lifesbane runes he had on each arm. This was the true power of a rune meant for killing and killing alone! Even the life energy from the elven sword had done very little in comparison.

However, he also felt incredibly drained. Be it his stamina or mana pool, everything had been wiped clean. Both his hands turned limp, the swords suddenly slipping from his grasp.

Lifesbane, as powerful as it was, also drained the user greatly. This was a rune meant for saints, not a level 16 mage. The power of two being activated at once was stunning, but it also left him exhausted.

He let the swords fall to the ground and mustered all his strength to head back to his desk, barely able to find a vitality potion to drink. Even just opening the cork was a huge problem, taking several tries before it came loose.

As he sat dazedly on his chair, quietly waiting for his strength to recover, a few soft footsteps sounded from the hallway outside. They were soon followed by a light knock on the door.

Richard immediately shivered. He was familiar with the old steward's knocks, and this was certainly not him. It seemed softer, almost like a young lady or a child; both were disguises assassins greatly favoured.

“It's me, my Lord,” Coco's voice sounded from the other side.

“One minute,” he struggled to adjust his posture, fetching the Book of Holding from his bosom before placing it on the table. Then, trying his best to feign calmness, he called her in.

A dim light shot out of Richard's eyes the moment the young lady entered, confirming that this wasn't an assassin in disguise and she wasn't armed either. He finally relaxed a little, but continued to keep up his guard. He didn't know why he felt so, but there was an additional sense of danger to this nightmare attack that he couldn't pin down.

“It's late,” he said mildly, “Why aren't you asleep yet? Is there something bothering you?”

Coco was obviously uncomfortable, both her hands tucked into the corners of her blouse as she searched for the words. It took an entire minute for her to find the resolution to fetch a neatly folded piece of paper from within, opening it and placing it in front of Richard. She then stepped back, allowing him to look through it.

When he opened the paper, Richard's expression of curiosity turned into one of confusion. “You drew this?” he waved the scaled-down version of the map on his wall around, noting that most of his recent markings were present as well.

“Y-Yes.”

“For how much?”

“Someone is willing to pay 10,000 gold for it.”

“You don't get too many chances to leave the island, how did you get a buyer?”

“Erwin's... One of the people who were with Erwin looked for me to ask what you wanted to do. It's one of those who stole the offerings.”

Richard started examining the map closely, “Not badly drawn at all... Did you give it out already?”

“No. I... I wanted to. I thought about it for a long time, but... I couldn't bring myself to do it.”

Richard smiled faintly, “That's good, but why bring this to me? You could have just torn it up and kept the secret.”

Coco suddenly mustered up a rare courage, “If I did that, I wouldn't be able to sleep peacefully. I'd rather be punished than live in fear.”

He dropped the map back onto the table, muttering to himself for a little before asking, “You need money?”

“What? Why couldn't it just be that I hate you?” she rebutted.

Richard maintained his smile, “You need money?”

Coco's courage disappeared at once and she lowered her head, “Y-Yes...”

“You get thrice of what a normal partner gets.”

“It's not enough,” the girl forced herself to meet his gaze, “My father's debts, brother's trial... It all needs money.”

“And 10,000 would have been enough?”

“... Barely...”

Richard nodded with understanding, thinking once more to the saying to encourage truthfulness amongst those around him. He rapped the table lightly, seriously considering her problem for a moment, “Alright, I can forgive errors in judgement as long as they don't result in betrayal. Honesty should be rewarded; since you didn't sell this map, I'll consider this a non-issue. Your father's debts are easy to take care of, go tell the steward that I've authorised him to pay it off. As for your brother... That's an entirely different story. He isn't exactly an angel, is he...

“Well, we can have someone watch over the fellow to make sure he doesn't suffer more than he's been sentenced to. I can also offer some compensation to the victims, but whether they choose to forgive is up to them. As for the specific amounts, have the steward figure it out.”

Coco's eyes suddenly watered up, face flushing with relief as she almost started crying loudly.

Richard rolled up the map and shoved it back into her hands, “This was drawn well, don't waste it. Sell it to whoever you wanted, but 10,000 is so low. 50,000, minimum.”

Surprised, Coco raised her head, “No! I can't do that!”

“Why not?” Richard laughed, “It's not like you'll be doing it without my permission. If these idiots want to throw money at us, who are we to refuse. Your initial price was just too low, though. Intelligence on the Archerons is more valuable now than it was before.”

“Then... Then I'll change the marks on the map!”

Richard chuckled again, “No, give it to them as is. So what if they know my plans, how can they stop me?”

Coco nodded gently, but the words she was about to say suddenly died in her mouth. All of her courage faded away as her face turned a bright red at the thought of what she wanted to ask.

Richard's smile suddenly dissipated as he waved her off, “Alright, I'm tired now. Go back and get some rest.”

As Coco quietly closed the door behind her and bounded away, Richard suddenly let out a long sigh. A forced smile sprang up on his face, “We don't have any problems with each other, why do you have to treat me like this?”

615 - City of Sin

Beye's Lifesbane

“How did you know?” Beye's voice sounded from behind Richard.

“We spent ten days together,” Richard forced his smile further, “I remember your scent.”

It was unclear just when Beye had arrived, but his body was left paralysed the moment she revealed her presence. Her murderous aura had basically nailed him to the chair, leaving him so immobile he couldn't even turn his head. “Impossible!” she responded, “Even those of Daxdus who have a powerful sense of smell cannot sense me.”

“Yes, you really have become one with the Land of Dusk. But you're also the only one I know personally who goes there so often.”

Beye withdrew her killing intent, allowing him to move once more. However, the ability to pin him down so easily further heightened her image in his heart. She suddenly grabbed him by the forearms, studying the Lifesbane runes on his skin closely. It took many minutes before she could tear herself away, turning back to the scar-ridden wall and examining the slashes for another length of time.

Richard watched from his seat as Beye's shoulders began to shake, his own mind immediately turning chaotic. How could she be so shaken from a mere rune? Wasn't she a master of emotions, unwavering in the worst of situations? There had to be a story behind this.

“It really is Lifesbane, and even stronger than I ever imagined...” she said softly as she turned around, stretching out her palm.
𝙛𝘳𝐞𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝗻𝘰ѵ𝗲𝙡. 𝑐o𝓶

Richard had already pulled out the enchanted box with the rune inside. However, he watched with horror as she took it out immediately and scratched up her own right forearm on the spot. Without using the normal salves that would ease the process, she directly jabbed the rune into her bleeding arm and fused it with her energy.

“One set isn't enough, I need at least four!” her voice was full of yearning.

Richard could only wave his hands, “I don't have the materials.” Three Lifesbane runes would take him more than ten million gold, a number that even he couldn't afford. He still wasn't able to guarantee production like he could for most other runes; his success rate was only 30%.

Beye frowned, “Go buy some then. I don't have gold or magic crystals, but I can pay you in offerings. I only need to know one thing, how fast can you craft them?”

Richard sighed; for her to be willing to pay him in offerings meant she was desperate. “If I start fresh right now, I'll need about ten million gold in raw materials and about a month and a half of time. If I were pulled into battle, the time will obviously increase. But if you can wait for half a year so I reach level 17, the costs will drop to about six million. The time will drop to a month as well.”

Beye's brows perked up as she nodded softly, “Six months for an entire level? Her Excellency really did give you the full extent of her meditation techniques. You also need to be well-suited to meditation... Anyway, six million for three...”

She flashed a rare smile, “An old man who was the only one who could craft these runes asked me for fifteen million per rune. Even then he eventually failed. Why are you giving me a base price, don't you plan to make any profits off me? Or are you underestimating someone who's survived the battlefields of despair for a long time?”

She paused for a moment, suddenly growing thoughtful before continuing, “Something's wrong, even as a base cost that's much lower than it should be... But you should know that. Why aren't you trying to fleece me?”

Richard pondered the question seriously for a moment, “I... didn't really think of the idea. If you want a reason, it's because you're the one who gave me this blueprint. I don't think some of my time and effort for that is a bad trade. Besides, I'm still improving my skills when I try difficult runes like this.”

“Sigh. Are you really smart or just really stupid?”

Richard smiled calmly, “I'm almost twenty, definitely not stupid.”

Beye lifted her right arm slightly, the Lifesbane rune flashing as her hand shot for his hair. Richard barely managed to sense the danger, but try as he might he couldn't get away in time. His hair was tousled up as though hit by a small hurricane, left completely erect.

Seeing him rather annoyed, Beye smiled again. However, she immediately went back to her usual cool self, “There are a few other runes like Lifesbane, extremely powerful but just as complicated. Nobody outside of saint runemasters has any skill to speak of with them, so the blueprints are circulated far and wide. Lifesbane is one such rune, me giving you the blueprint is no big deal. There are others like Sun's Embrace, Kiss of Death, Crimson Inferno, Momentary Paradise, and so on. Keep an eye out for them, they shouldn't be hard to acquire.”

Richard slowly fixed his hair, the calm smile returning to his face, “Whatever it is, you're the one who gave me this rune. That's worth something.”

Beye matched Richard's clear gaze for a moment before raising her hands, “If you want to play dumb, that's your choice. You'll get the offerings in a bit, craft the runes as fast as you can. I don't want to wait!”

“Alright then, how should I find you when I'm done?”

“The capital of the Unsetting Sun. I took you there once, you should be able to get there yourself this time. Go find the old pervert once you're there, he can find me.”

“Umm...” Richard had some reservations about travelling to the Land of Dusk. The battlefields of despair were places where even saints could die.

Beye's thin, almost invisible brows arched up, “Why, are you scared?”

Richard gently caressed the destiny crystal in his pocket, feeling his confidence rise, “Okay then, I'll... find you.” With his previous experience, he was at least confident in escaping most enemies. Besides, his biggest weakness of lacking damage had been fixed ever since he unlocked the portion of his truename. The destruction breath would be fatal to most enemies.

Beye nodded and said, “Okay, sit back and watch for a moment. This is how you use this rune.”

Her hand flashed for a moment and his elven sword jumped into it. A dark green light burst forth from the blade as it vanished from view, bright flashes interrupting the moonlight. The entire process went through in complete silence, but Richard's body stiffened as he sat rooted to his chair in awe of the entire process.

In the few moments it took for the green light to fade away, a new row of characters now dominated the scarred wall: Lifesbane. Beye's cuts had been many times faster than his own, but each one was perfectly even. This was how best to use this rune, to maintain complete control.

“This thing isn't bad,” Beye tossed the elven sword back to him, “Anyway, I'm leaving. I'll take care of that eyesore of a traitor for you on my way out.”

“What? No! She chose to be honest with me, and I told her she was forgiven.”

Beye frowned, “You are interested in such a weakling?”

“I'm not, but...” he scratched his head, unable to explain further. However, there was no need to either. Beye had jumped out of the window, disappearing into the night.

......

As Beye returned to Richard's room just before morning with a large chest of offerings, she saw him silently examining her strokes on the wall. She placed the box down like it was a feather, escaping his notice as she quietly disappeared once more.

She didn't notice that she was smiling for the third time that night, more than she had all year.

616 - City of Sin

A Legendary Heart

As the pale gold light of the morning sun pierced through the long curtains, Richard felt his eyes begin to hurt. Too much time spent focusing on the intent behind Beye's swordsmanship had tired him out, and as he relaxed the pain of trying to analyse something well beyond his current ability took hold of him.

Thankfully, a short meditation break managed to stop the tears flowing from his eyes. The biting cold power behind the sword strokes was overwhelming, but it had not been meant to harm.

It took a bit of time for him to feel the anomaly in the room, finally noticing the chest placed in the centre. He couldn't help his shock for a moment, but he quickly realised that it had to be Beye. Although the magical defences of the castle hadn't been expanded to cover aerial entry yet, the protection of the Eternal Dragon would have alerted him to anyone approaching the island with ill intent.

However, as curiosity immediately overtook him and he opened the chest, he immediately felt a chill running down his spine. This chest was actually a piece of spatial equipment, and it had many offerings within!

The head of a large, bizarre creature, what seemed to be an enormous heart that was still wriggling with life, and a delicate statue of an unknown organism that was filled with divine power. He could tell that these were all some of the best offerings with one glance, each one worth more than the devil skull he had offered for his first time. Converted to a gold price, they would be worth 30 million in total!

Still, he could only smile bitterly and shake his head. Beye refused to be indebted to him. Even with her ability such items could only be obtained by close shaves with death; it was evident just how desperately she needed these runes.

He closed the chest and thought things through for a while before asking four of the paladins protecting the place to carry the thing to the Church of the Eternal Dragon. When he told them the chest contained offerings, they immediately agreed to transport it.

With the paladins helping take the chest to the Church, there would be no incidents like the first time when many enemies had threatened to block Gaton's path. Opposing them would be a slight against the Church itself, and with Ferlyn's ability to peer through time nobody could hide their plots.

Still, he was incredibly nervous the entire way. The short journey on horseback had left him drenched with sweat, heart pounding into his chest like a hammer trying to break free. He'd assumed money no longer meant anything to him when he threw away millions upon millions to craft the three Lifesbane runes he already had, but now he understood that his concept of value had just changed.

Grand priestess Noelene greeted him at the entrance, a smile on her face, “Come with me, the High Priestess is waiting for you at the back.” Along the way, she also gave him a final appraisal for the ores and other items he had brought back on this trip from Faelor. The total value was placed at 3.5 million gold coins. When asked what currency he wanted that in, he asked for magic crystals without a shred of hesitation.

Noelene nodded, smile growing brighter, “Your ceremony this time will be hosted by the High Priestess herself, such a rare opportunity!”

Even the grandest of ceremonies were rarely hosted by Ferlyn in recent years. The high priestess had the ability to increase one's chances of getting the offerings they wanted. On rare occasions, as a Chosen of the Eternal Dragon, she could even guarantee many requests. Such guaranteed blessings would require more grace than if it were offered at random, but that was a worry for the weaker houses. Those with true power only worried over how they would get the High Priestess to agree.

“The High Priestess? Why not Flowsand?” Richard was actually a little annoyed. The host of a ceremony earned a portion of the divine grace granted, and Ferlyn herself had told him that Flowsand was in need.

The priestess seemed to have expected this question, waving it off, “Flowsand has some important matters to attend to for a few days. Don't worry, the High Priestess will be able to grant you whatever you require.”

Richard frowned slightly, but could only accept the arrangement. As they arrived at the spacious room in the back of the church, Noelene left him alone with Ferlyn once more. Perhaps it was because he was much more relaxed this time than the last, or perhaps it was a side-effect of his growth, he was impacted much more strongly by her unique mix of maturity and distant purity than before. These were qualities that seemed unique to her, giving her a sort of beauty that was impossible to duplicate.

The back of the church was void of any objects whatsoever, completely clean of any specks of filth. There weren't even any pillars to support the domed roof, making the large hall seem rather plain. Ferlyn was seated on the ground right in the middle, shoes placed by the side.

Richard stared blankly for a while before snapping out of his stupor, walking over and seating himself opposite her, “You wanted me for something?”

Ferlyn looked him up and down, examining him for a while, “You're about to reach twenty years of age?”

Richard made a quick calculation before nodding. All the travel had affected his sense for his actual age.

She smiled softly, “He was about your age too, but much more capable than you are now. I was young myself, and we thought the entire world would be ours one day. Ten years down the road, we started to doubt our thinking. Only then did we realise just how small we were, how powerless in the face of destiny. We had to sacrifice each other, bidding our last goodbyes.”

Ferlyn had been oddly calm as she narrated this tragedy, but Richard still felt his breaths growing heavy. It was like the weight of time itself was settling into this hall, growing more suffocating by the moment.

However, it was dissipated with a single laugh, “I seem to digress. It's just that seeing you youths makes me think back to my time.

“Alright, I wanted to ask you a question. What do you think is the true cornerstone of legendary might? Is it bloodline, level, runes? Something else, perhaps?”

Richard thought it over for a bit, trying to test the waters with his reply, “Bloodline... No, not really. Grades are important as well, but compared to a grade 5 rune...”

“All of them, and none of them as well. The power of bloodlines isn't all that mysterious once you realise how they work. An overwhelming majority of legendary beings possess powerful bloodlines, but not all were born with them. One can dig into hidden depths within one's own blood as they grow more powerful, and failing that you could upgrade to a better bloodline or assimilate an entirely different one. The old dragon has his own blessings to help. Sooner or later, legendary beings will have some sort of bloodline. As for levels, you've been to Klandor and a battlefield of despair. There are many tales of legendary beings dying at the hands of saints.

“So, all that remains is runes. Runes are actually much more of a limiting factor than the other two, given how few saint runemasters have ever existed. In some ways, they form the bottleneck for growth.”
ƒ𝐫𝒆e𝓌𝒆𝚋𝗻૦𝘷𝑒𝙡. 𝑐𝘰𝐦

“So I should continue to focus on my runecrafting to reach the legendary realm?”

“Not exactly. Runes are an important factor, but they aren't essential. All of Klandor's legendary beings don't use runes at all, and even the best ones of Norland don't either.”

“What?” Richard was shocked.

“You'll realise when you reach that level, but for now you should continue on your path. Stay rooted, focus on survival. As long as you progress on the path to power, be it runes, equipment, or divine weapons, everything has its worth.”

He nodded, “Then what exactly is the core of a legendary being?”

Ferlyn's voice turned softer, “Almost all true legends, outside of those with extraordinary talents or special fates, have one thing in common. The heart. The heart to shrug off their defeats and carry on. The heart to fight through the most desperate of situations to achieve their goals. The heart to face their situations head-on without fleeing. The heart to remain positive in the face of despair.”

Richard grew a little dazed, finding Ferlyn's description a little familiar.

...

When he was six years old, he had learnt happiness. A small tree seemed so magnificent to him in those times, the simple act of listening to his mother's stories at the dinner table left him so blissful. The wild flowers of Rooseland seemed to flutter about and bloom at the sound of her voice.

At seven years of age, he had learnt perseverance in his tasks. He had plucked breadfruit from the trees all day long, giving his mother big baskets to prepare for his meals.

At eight years of age, he had learnt tenacity. He stood tall in the face of the bullying from those around him, but had the patience to not fight back.

At nine years of age, he had lost his innocence. He had hunted down a devilwolf from the mountains, remaining unwavering in the face of danger. He had learnt courage.

And at ten...

...

At ten years of age he had suffered an indescribable pain, a raging inferno filling his entire existence and forcing him to cut himself off from the world. Richard realised just how much his mother had taught him when he was young.

The heart of a legendary being... What Ferlyn was talking about now his mother had tried to instil in him all those years ago. She had meant for it to be a part of his life. It took a long time for him to raise his head once more, but when he did his eyes were bright.

Ferlyn nodded with approval. She had already noticed that Richard had the traits that would take him far along his path, even admired them in the dark. She was only pointing out that, so long as his general direction was correct, the specific path he took to power did not matter.

“Very well then, let us move on. I wish to ask you a favour.”

Richard was really surprised. Ferlyn was a titled priestess of the Eternal Dragon; the moment she voiced a need, countless legendary beings would fight over the chance to serve her. To be in her good graces meant a lot, from longer lives to greater power.

Richard straightened his back and replied solemnly, “I will do my best.”

617 - City of Sin

Eternal Hope

I will do my best. A simple answer with no exaggeration, no fancy words. It only showed a determination to see things through to the end. Ferlyn heaved a long sigh and looked Richard in the eye, “You... You keep promising things to others, don't you? And once you make the promises, you'll also make sure you fulfil them... This personality, where do I even begin?”

“Someone just praised me for being smart!” Richard said with a smile.

“Who was so shameless that they lied to your face?”

“Beye,” he said innocently.

“The Orleans girl?!” Ferlyn cried out, a smile slowly creeping up her face as she pursed her lips strangely, “That one doesn't call people stupid, she just fights. And if she calls someone clever... Did she knock you on the head?”

Seeing a dark gold light flashing in Ferlyn's eyes, Richard immediately felt his heart sink. His hands twitched in an attempt to cover his head, an instinct he had to force down. It was far too embarrassing for someone nearing twenty years of age to be treated like a child.

Ferlyn's eyes grew unfocused, an expression of astonishment rising up on her face. It seemed like she was painfully restraining something for a few seconds, but eventually she gave in and laughed loudly.

Richard's eyes immediately started burning, but he could do nothing but wait until the priestess had enough and returned to her normal dignity. “Ah, that was fun. I haven't laughed so happily in a long time.”

“It's my honour!” Richard gritted through his teeth in annoyance.

The smile immediately faded from Ferlyn's face, “Sigh. Let's talk about what I wanted to ask of you.

“You should know Flowsand was originally abandoned at the door of the church when she was young. However, she wasn't the first such child and she won't be the last. We normally send these orphans to normal families for adoption, ours is not a church based on kindness. However, that girl... Even as a baby she had this stubbornness on her little face. I felt... connected to her, as though she pulled me in. And then I watched her grow up, become a cleric. Even as a young child she was gifted, quickly gaining the favour of the old dragon to become a titled priestess, a chosen one.

“But her personality is too similar to mine. Watching her is like seeing my own younger self. Now, she's walking onto the same path I took then, and this worries me.”

Richard could see a slight sheen covering her reddening eyes, something that seemed to spread to himself. “What do I have to do?”

“Promise me one thing. Give her hope. For now, and ever.”

If she loses this hope, she will become the same as me. These words didn't need to be said. It was only now that Richard realised Ferlyn's tranquillity did not belie happiness.

“How?” he frowned.

“That is something for you to think about. I cannot teach you.”

Give hope? Richard fell into a daze. This was something he never had to think actively to do. Just like when he'd suddenly gone to Klandor. He certainly missed Mountainsea, but that would not have convinced him to brave the unknown. Ever since he found out that there was a quick route, a small voice had whispered in the back of his mind to go see her. Just to tell her that he was still alive, that he would be there when the time came. Five years was too long of a time to waste. He wanted to spare her that torment.

However, nothing came to mind as he thought about it. There seemed to be no immediate answer to his question. And yet, the small voice whispered once more. As long as he had the heart, he would know when the time arrived.

“Alright,” Ferlyn said lazily as he snapped out of his stupor, “Let's talk about this ceremony. What offerings did you prepare, what blessings do you wish for?”

Richard thought over it for a moment, “I have more than I expected to. I'd originally prepared two divine tools from Faelor that retained a significant portion of the deity's power...”

“Not bad, that should be enough for a high-level ceremony each.”

“... And I also obtained another batch of greater offerings, so there are two more.”

Ferlyn's eyes lit up, “Quite capable of you! Did Beye give you all she had?”

Richard froze up. It seemed nothing could be hidden from this high priestess. For some reason, he could feel Ferlyn had a faint hostility towards Beye. Thankfully the time for the ceremony had arrived; she didn't ask about their relationship and just let him begin.

Seeing him struggle to lift the heavy chest with all the offerings, the high priestess personally accompanied him to the heart of the church. Something even Beye had to strain a little for was actually bounced up with a single hand, as though it had no weight at all.

Richard was a little surprised. This chest weighed close to ten tonnes; even with Mana Armament activated, he had to use all his strength to carry it. And yet, Ferlyn made it seem light as a feather. Even in pure physical strength, she likely surpassed most saint warriors.

When they approached the ruined altar, Ferlyn placed the chest nearby and nodded to him before retreating out of range. He quickly started the process of the offering ceremony, the power of time an unending stream of gold that encircled him completely. By now he had learnt that this altar had brought him to an entirely different plane of existence; outside of titled priestesses like Flowsand and Ferlyn, nobody could affect the proceedings within. Even a grand priestess like Noelene could barely tilt the balance in one's favour.

He first placed a simplistic battleaxe made of gold on the altar. Those of the Baruch Kingdom would recognise it to be one of Lutheris' three divine artefacts. The day he was besieged by numerous grand mages and saints, Zangru Baruch had lost this and the helmet in his bid to escape. The tools then fell into Raymond's hands, naturally passed onto Richard when he decimated Raymond's troops. Although Faelor's divine artefacts could not compare to those of the Eternal Dragon, the weapons from a greater god of war were still more powerful than many legendary-grade weapons.

This time he followed the standard procedure for a sacrifice, silently thinking of the blessing he wished for the most: the coordinates of the Rosie plane. He believed he was now qualified enough to fight through and find the whereabouts of his father.

He suddenly felt a wisp of timeforce sweep past his body and softly touch his soul, floating away to become one with the timeforce that cascaded down from the void. Four symbols congealed before his eyes: two hourglasses that likely contained blessings of time, a spinning chest that would offer equipment, and a tall door that represented the strengthening of the planar passage.
𝘧𝐫𝑒𝗲𝑤ℯ𝚋𝐧૦𝘃𝒆l. c𝚘𝓂

Four choices was actually quite rare for most ceremonies, indicating preferential treatment. However, none of these choices contained the blessing he wanted most. Richard sighed and pointed towards the door of light.

However, the power of the timeforce he felt this time was a third greater than he had expected. It condensed and burst forth from his finger, melding into the void as it sped over to reinforce Faelor's passage. He knew instinctively that transferring one person would only need 9,000 gold now; this boost was close to what could be expected from a top-grade offering.

He then followed up with the golden helmet. The power of time swept past his soul once more; he suddenly felt like this was how the Eternal Dragon could tell one's hopes and desires to personalise the blessings on offer. That way, even if the exact blessing one needed didn't appear, the alternatives couldn't be refused either.

This was the primary difference between the Eternal Dragon and most other deities. Normal gods only chose whether or not to respond to a worshipper's prayers, asking what they wanted and granting the wish at their discretion. However, the Dragon relied on a principle of trade. It never asked for faith, only granting blessings proportional to the power of the offering itself. From a certain perspective, this was much fairer than having to rely on a god's mood. Prayers did not guarantee a god's favour, but offerings to the Dargon would certainly beget blessings that one would want.

He had never been able to tell of this wisp's existence in the past. Only now that his blessings had advanced and granted him the Analytic ability could he barely discern the existence of that cryptic energy.

Even as he continued to think, the options for this sacrifice had descended as well. The timeforce this time condensed into three symbols, one of which was the choice to strengthen the passage and the other two equipment.

Richard's gaze focused on the two chests for a moment. He randomly felt like the chest would give him at least a piece of divine equipment, perhaps even two. However, as he was now he grew in strength faster by just levelling up. The planar passage would determine how much of his power could be mobilised; it was much more important.

The blessing he wanted most still did not show itself.

This entire process was different from what he was used to. With Flowsand he was directly given a list of blessings to choose from, completely unlike the randomness that was meant to be a portion of the Eternal Dragon's faith. This was more of what a normal ceremony would look like, with the symbols only giving a vague idea of what could be acquired.

He didn't rush this choice, instead standing calmly and starting to think. Flowsand had found the coordinates of Norland when they had been stuck on Faelor. If she could do such a thing, there was no way Ferlyn could not. If a ceremony the high priestess had personally taken charge of didn't give him any convenience, it had to be telling him something.

618 - City of Sin

Resisting Temptation

As he thought back to their long conversation, Richard's heart suddenly skipped a beat. Was Ferlyn telling him that there was a cost to the abnormal ceremonies? Was there a price he didn't know about?

He suddenly fell into thought, pondering the issue for the first time. The Eternal Dragon's basest principle was equal exchange. If he was being given such good options all the time, what cost did that have?

And who bore that cost?

The priestesses of the Eternal Dragon used the power of time to grow their abilities. This was a power that could only be obtained from divine grace. This was why they cared so much about sacrifices all the time. Flowsand! She was sacrificing the grace she would get!

Richard felt his mind jolt. Memories of Ferlyn asking him to grant her some divine grace flooded into his mind, and his damned blessing of wisdom finally kicked in.

Fortunately, he still planned to make two more sacrifices. This time there was no choice to give her some grace, so he chose to fortify the passage to Faelor again; the cost dropped down to 6,000 gold. This was something even planes that had been governed for ten years in Norland time normally wouldn't have. Those like the Forest Plane and Rosie Plane had been fortified over centuries, sometimes even millennia to achieve their present cost.

He opened up the chest and heaved the beast head onto the pedestal, chanting the familiar words of the ceremony once more. However, this time he didn't care for the coordinates of the Rosie Plane. Nobody knew how those coordinates had been erased from the Church, not even the Emperor nor the Church were forthcoming with answers. The chances of finding the coordinates from a ceremony were very bleak as well. Before he had no other priorities, but now he did.

As the timeforce twined around it, the large beast head melted into specks of light that disappeared into the void. A massive surge of power poured down from above, yielding more grace than even the devil skull from Gaton.

This time, a total of five options had appeared for him to choose from. Amongst them were a bloodline ability, further strengthening of the passage to Faelor, and even a strengthening of his body by timeforce. The Distribute Grace blessing was present as well, but what shocked him was the symbol of a small floating cloud!

Anyone who planned to hold high-level sacrificial ceremonies to the Eternal Dragon would know of this mark. It held the coordinates of another foreign plane! This blessing was priceless; even the simplest of elemental planes had great value. Planar coordinates were immeasurably rare in sacrificial ceremonies.

An irresistible temptation flooded his heart, the devil in his soul whispering for him to take the gamble. So long as he managed to get the broodmother and his followers out of Faelor, it would be no issue for him to tear into a foreign plane. A successful expedition would guarantee at least 200,000 gold per month of plane time; if the plane was as fast as the Forest Plane or Faelor, it would be amplified to a great extent!

There were definitely some disadvantages to working on too many planes at the same time. One's attention would be divided, slowing their progress and leeching their resources until the new planes were stabilised. Gaton was a prime example of this problem; he had to leave five of his thirteen behind to hold onto his many planes because they hadn't stabilised yet.

However, these coordinates would easily be worth 30 million gold in a transaction; the same as everything in Beye's chest. He could just sell these coordinates for thrice the returns. Couldn't he dedicate one of the offerings he received then to Flowsand instead?

By the time he snapped out of it, Richard found his hand only centimetres away from the floating cloud. Even the smartest of people wouldn't think twice before choosing that option. However, he pulled back his hand like lightning, breaking out into a cold sweat. How long would it take to find three more top-tier offerings? Would the option to distribute his grace even appear then? If he missed the chance this time, would there be another chance?

And what if he was tempted again? Both times now that Ferlyn had made this choice available to him, he had clearly been shown much better options. A sudden determination flowed out from the depths of his soul: he would not fall into this cycle! His hands slowly moved towards the grace distribution.

Only when the timeforce from the blessing flew out into the distance could he heave a sigh of relief, wiping the sweat from his brow. Choosing in these trades certainly wasn't easy, and the stakes were high. An easy choice only meant the dragon wasn't offering enough.

Feeling like his will had been reforged, Richard then placed the organ that looked like a heart on the pedestal. This time he was extremely relaxed as he prayed to be able to distribute grace once more.

When the timeforce withered the heart away and revealed his options, he heaved a sigh of relief. As expected, there was no grace distribution option anymore. Had he chosen the coordinates before, Flowsand would have received nothing.
𝐟𝙧ℯe𝙬𝚎𝒃𝗻𝒐ѵel. 𝐜o𝓶

He started browsing through the options he did get, ignoring an additional increase of his lifespan and extra gear. He was about to choose the planar fortification once more, but the sight of two crystals floating within a bubble of light piqued his interest. The light coming from these crystals was bizarre, strangely corporeal like a rainbow river flowing down.

The information about the blessing appeared the moment his gaze landed upon the crystals: Divine Crystals. Can replace any form of divinity and are usable on most planes.

Divinity! Richard was shocked. This meant someone could use these ceremonies to light their godfire! On top of that these crystals were domainless, meaning anyone could use them! They would be of great assistance to one who wanted to become a god.

He inhaled sharply and raised his head, looking into the endless skies above. This was the first time the dragon had garnered respect from the depths of his heart.

Deities were often the highest form of being on any plane, and their godfires were the basis of the godhood that gave them their power. Many nobles on Faelor made their descendants worship them for centuries, even millennia to try and garner enough divinity to light one's godfire. These crystals that the Dragon basically sold like they were spider crystals could substitute that entire process!

Although he personally didn't need any divinity right now, Richard did have one specific subordinate who did. He didn't hesitate to grab the two divinity crystals from the floating cloud, reminding himself to pass them on to the broodmother in the future.

The ceremony thus drew to a close. There was still a holy statue inside the chest, but that would be given to Nyris for the materials he needed to finish Beye's Lifesbane runes.

However, just as he was about to return, he suddenly remembered the beastsoul necklace he had bought from Pipin. Mountainsea had already told him it was made from the claw of an ancient beast, but although it was a powerful weapon it would drain three to four years of his life for a single blow. Even the barbarians had to use this thing with caution. He couldn't really sell it either; his loss of three or four years was after the nourishment of the hydra egg; an ordinary powerhouse who needed such a thing would lose at least ten years.

An idea suddenly flashed in his mind, and he placed the useless thing on the pedestal. Golden light immediately shone down from the curtain of timeforce.

619 - City of Sin

Carnage

The beastsoul necklace shone with golden light as it was placed on the pedestal, attracting far more timeforce than Richard had expected. He was pleasantly surprised to find that it approached the level of a greater sacrifice.

A beam of timeforce crashed down from the void, turning into a ball of light on the pedestal. A malevolent serrated sword could be seen floating within.

'Is the blessing the sword itself, or is it supposed to be any weapon?' Richard wondered. Although the power of this sacrifice seemed to be great, this was the smallest number of options he had ever received in his life. Before he could even touch the ball of light it had disintegrated, the sword within falling to the pedestal before landing at his feet. It instantly broke into two pieces.

“What the...” It seemed like he would be given a powerful piece of equipment, perhaps a legendary weapon, but this thing had broken apart the moment it fell down!

Richard immediately picked up the broken blade, heaving a sigh of relief when he found that it was meant to break apart. A bit of close study revealed that the jagged blade he had originally seen was like an outer sheath; falling off, it had revealed a more sturdy bone dagger within.

As he grabbed the two-handed hilt of the shortsword, it felt like a tooth had pricked into his palm to draw several drops of blood. A crimson glow pulsed through the blade for a moment before slowly turning a vile green, starting to emit an aura of death.

The information about this blessing was finally transmitted to his mind. This was Carnage, a quasi-divine weapon that absorbed its user's blood. It could break armour easily, and its serrated edge could lacerate an enemy's wounds. The weapon was enchanted for speed, and possessed a divine power that grew its power when attacking the race its user hated most. The blessing also told him that the current target of his hatred was Klandor's barbarians, and the name was thus changed to Klandor's Carnage.

I hate the barbarians the most? Richard hadn't ever considered which of his enemies he despised. There were far too many at this point for him to bother with any hierarchy; he normally just dealt with the threats on hand. Now that he thought about it, however, he had to agree. Thinking back to how they attacked him time and time again when he was trying to visit Mountainsea, his blood boiled with rage.

Wouldn't he have three swords and a staff the next time he went to Klandor? He only imagined the scene for a moment before trying to erase it from his mind, deciding to look for a spacial item to store his weapons in.

Just as he was wondering how he would deal with the sword, a saccharine voice sounded in his ear, “This weapon is made from the claws of an ancient beast, but is far more valuable than the claws themselves. Any offerings from Klandor will be evaluated well beyond their actual price, so what are you waiting for? This bonus will not last much longer.”

Richard was confused for a moment before turning to touch the beast tooth bracelet on his arm. Those he had met along the way in Norland had told him it was a tooth of the Beast God, one of the five sacred items of the Azuresnow Shrine. However, this was something given to him by Mountainsea; he hadn't sacrificed it back then, and he would not do so now. He just shook his head at the temptation and walked out.

Just as the screen of timeforce around him started to dissipate, the ancient, emotionless voice of the Eternal Dragon sounded out once more, “Mortal, you have obtained my favour with your continued offerings. You are henceforth a Timewalker; the power of time shall cleanse your mortal body, slowing its deterioration. Do not grow complacent. Ten more greater sacrifices and you will become a Planewalker.”

Richard was completely stumped at this unexpected reward. The slowdown in his ageing was pretty much the same as prolonging his lifespan. It wasn't all that useful right now, but it would amount to a lot in the long term. It immediately got him excited about the next level and what boosts it would bring.

When the screen of light dissipated, Ferlyn smiled softly at him from the hall. “You did well,” she said as he walked over, “I know it must have been difficult to do what you must.”

Richard immediately recalled the temptation of another plane's coordinates. Thankfully, he had guessed right that sharing one's grace wasn't a common blessing. The mind could exaggerate chances when influenced by greed.

“Thank you!” he said with a bow. He now understood that it wasn't easy even for Ferlyn to include the option to allocate grace.

Ferlyn smiled, “No need. I don't have anything I want right now, so why would I need divine grace? It's you children that are bold and vigorous. Anyway, let's go. The royal family seems to have sent people with the materials you needed.”
𝐟𝘳ℯ𝚎𝘄𝒆𝑏𝗻𝑜ѵ𝚎l. c𝘰𝑚

A middle-aged noble was pacing back and forth outside the church building, one of the vice-treasurers of the imperial family. Although this earl had seen many things in life, a transaction worth ten million gold was far out of the ordinary.

When he saw Richard walking out, he walked over with a bright smile and greeted him. Although the two had never met before, he had heard of the new royal runemaster's status and wealth.

Behind the earl were five chests, each as tall as a man. They were all divided into ten layers that could be opened individually, all containing various ingredients and resources that he needed to craft the Lifesbane runes. Not in any specific hurry, Richard took his time to inspect each one of them. Although his blessings and familiarity with these items allowed him to go through quickly, it still took nearly half an hour to inspect it all. The earl nearby remained patient all the while; he wouldn't mind waiting day and night for such a big sale.

When he eventually closed the last chest, Richard nodded in satisfaction, “Indeed, the royal family's materials have no flaws to speak of!”

The earl heaved a sigh of relief. He'd considered skimping on the materials and siphoning some off for himself— even the smallest amount would be worth tens of thousands— but Richard's identity had given him second thoughts. “Grandmaster Richard, the offering...”

“Of course!” Richard turned back towards Noelene who was nearby, “Priestess, could you please assess this item?”

Noelene opened the chest with the holy statue, a pale golden light shining down from the tip of her hands. Looking at the reflection of the light, she nodded her head, “A top-tier offering.”

The earl grew rather excited; he hadn't seen many top-tier offerings in his life. For a court earl like him without any territory or even a chance to become a saint, he wouldn't have the opportunity to make such sacrifices in his lifetime.

Noelene then closed the lid, sealing the chest with magic and inscribing her own name on top. This way, anyone without her permission would have to go through a seal to open it, giving away their attempt to steal.

After the transaction was complete, Richard left the materials within the Church for a moment as he talked to Noelene about the ore he had brought back from Faelor. He had originally wanted magic crystals in exchange, but now he wanted a million gold's worth in actual gold currency instead.

“What good is gold?” Noelene was rather surprised. To someone like her, gold was just baggage.

“I... have to pay my followers a wage!” he smiled awkwardly.

“What do you mean? Don't you pay them regularly?”

“Umm... I normally just give them runes,” he said shamelessly.

Noelene's expression warped into a frown. She picked him up on the spot, walking over to the entrance of the church building and throwing him out onto the street.

Confused, Richard hurried back in and stood before her with a bright smile. However, the priestess only glared coldly at him, “What, you miser? Tell me what you want. I'm in a bad mood right now, my prices have gone up 30%.”

620 - City of Sin

The Meaning Of Sacrifice 𝐟𝘳ℯ𝚎𝘄𝒆𝑏𝗻𝑜ѵ𝚎l. c𝘰𝑚

“Just 30%, you're really too kind!” Richard realised how inane he sounded, but Noelene was the only one he could ask so he forced himself to continue, “It's like this. One of my subordinates was heavily burnt by a red dragon. I need your help to remove or at least lessen her scars.”

“Oh? I assume she's a beauty, then?” Noelene's voice grew even colder.

Richard sighed, “She was one of my father's thirteen. Perhaps you might know Lina?”

Noelene's expression eased greatly, “Ah, the Dragon Mage. Yes, I've heard of her; wasn't she the one who sold off her own equipment to help maintain Gaton's foundation? Yes, I can help.”

Richard sighed, “Yes, it seems like those of my family visit the pawn shops and auction houses more to sell than buy these days. Whatever, I'll have her look for you. Thank you, Priestess!”

Noelene just huffed, “It isn't so easy to deal with a red dragon's breath. This sort of healing magic requires a lot of divine grace, so I need compensation.”

Richard's eyes lit up, “No problem. What do you need?”

“I'm a little short on runes myself. Make a grade 3 rune for me; it just has to be usable, I'm not picky.”

He smiled and nodded, “I'll take care of it.”

Noelene snorted again, “You really are so eager. I hear that Lina is— well, was— very beautiful and sexy.”

Richard shook his head firmly, “Doesn't matter. If not for her, I would've been buried on the Forest Plane. Any price.”

“Alright, that's good. Send her over to me, I'll take care of the problem.”

“I will. Right, come over when you have some free time; I'll need to have a look at your rune slots and capacity to personalise.” Although most information could be gleaned with a standard detection spell, custom runes worked better when the runemaster had comprehensive details.

Noelene nodded at Richard's request, but he noticed the faintest of blushes creeping up her face. He suddenly thought of something and took out a small box he had prepared ahead of time, stuffing it in her hands, “When Lina comes, pass this on to her for me.”

He then rushed back to the Archeron island. There were plenty of matters for him to deal with in the family, and he was returning to Faelor the next afternoon.

......

In the depths of the Church of the Eternal Dragon lay Flowsand's secret residence, the Temple of the Sands. The interior of this palace was incredibly vast, a world with its own land and sky. Every inch of earth one could see was covered in pale gold sands of time that seemed to have no end, the sky an endless void with no suns, moons, or stars. The only source of light was the ever-changing ribbons of broken spacetime.

Flowsand lay in the middle of this desert with her cheek propped up by one hand, the other thumbing through the Book of Time. However, there was nothing on the pages even for her to see; her mind had clearly drifted elsewhere.

She allowed time to quietly drift by, stuck in a daze. She had control over the passage of time in this place, able to make it go as fast as thirty times the outside world without even ageing accordingly. This was a privilege of being chosen by the Eternal Dragon.

But those serving the dragon grew their power by gathering divine grace, and divine grace came from sacrifices. Staying in the Temple of the Sands wouldn't grow her power in the slightest. The only use of this place was to study, awaken, and practice various kinds of abilities like her martial arts.

This was why most titled priestesses could train both their martial and divine arts to perfection. Of course, that didn't even matter; anyone chosen by the old dragon was a genius amongst geniuses.

Ferlyn had Flowsand spend most of her time here whenever she wasn't out adventuring with Richard. In her words, an increased ability with the power of time just meant greater efficiency with the divine grace used for a spell. In straightforward terms, that reduced the debt they would incur with each spell.

However, Flowsand's mind was clearly not on training. Her face was constantly warping through a myriad of expressions, sometimes suddenly sorrowful, sometimes happy, and sometimes bursting into a foolish laugh. However, one could see the red in her eyes, the tears that had run dry still marking her face.

The Book of Time suddenly shone brightly, countless ribbons of light flowing in from the void. The pages grew thicker and heavier, the decorative outlines more intricate. A large amount of divine grace was shifted into her body, worth more than most top-tier offerings.

Was it Richard? She was surprised, but immediately grew suspicious. As far as she knew, he only had two high-level offerings and nothing more. She'd already added in the option to strengthen Faelor's passage, why would he choose anything else?

However, the influx of grace was very real. The Book of Time automatically reduced a part of the debt she owed, the rest being stored for her to use as she saw fit. Flowsand stared at the book for a while before shouting out, jumping up from her position to sprint back to the door barefoot. Although there seemed to be half a world of distance between her and the golden doors, she only needed two steps to end up right in front of them.

Before she could even touch on the door-ring that was made entirely of light, Ferlyn's voice rang out from thin air, “Flowsand, Richard received three top-tier offerings and assigned all of the grace from one of them to you. You need not worry.”

Flowsand raised her head and shouted, “HOW WOULD HE GET THE OPTION WITHOUT YOU?! I've told you before, don't meddle with my life!”

“I don't wish to meddle,” Ferlyn said gently, “I only influenced the options after I saw him obtain three more offerings. Still, you should know that my addition of this option has a cost. The dragon responded with many options that would certainly sway most men. He still resisted the temptation. You should be happy.”

Flowsand lowered her head, her voice slowly becoming breaking, “I... I am. But we chosen are different from normal people... The endings we see cannot be changed, right? He's really strong now and has an unshakeable foundation in Faelor. I've already put Io by his side, so he doesn't really need my presence. I can be more helpful here.”

“So when you interfered with the ceremony this time, giving him the blessing he needed most, it was in preparation to seal yourself off forever?”

“Yes,” Flowsand's voice held sadness but no regret, “The seed of Faelor's ruin has been incubated successfully. As long as the planar passage is strengthened, Richard can bring out the broodmother's army. One day, he will be unstoppable!”

“Ha, what can that do? Are you sure that's the destiny he wants? Because if he doesn't, my dear, what meaning does this sacrifice of yours have?”

“I... I...” Ferlyn's question startled Flowsand.

The high priestess sighed softly, “I had the same idea as you. I would give up on myself, push him out of the bog of destiny. But now that I think back to it, we still had a great chance of making it out if we fought our destinies together. But the me back then, to turn 60% into a 100%, she chose to give up on herself. I dedicated my entire life, and by the time he found out it was too late.

“He soared into the heavens, ascending to the throne. But then he shut himself up in his palace all day long, eating and eating and eating until he turned into a fat slob. Maybe this was his way of comforting me, but... I only feel regret for my decisions, not pride.”

Flowsand listened in a daze; this was her first time hearing Ferlyn's past.

“So I will continue to do what I have always done, to give you the chance to fight by his side without staying in this damned church and watching his silhouette fade away. Yes, I saw it too. Richard's destiny seems incredibly dark. Only if you stay within the Church, if you sacrifice your life can you render him enough aid. But that would be committing the same mistake I did. We should trust these boys, trust that their hands can bring about miracles that rip fate apart. The price needn't always be our lives.”

Flowsand fell into thought for a long time, “But... What if we do our best, what if we try as hard as we can, and we still don't create that miracle?”

Ferlyn's voice grew especially gentle, “In the endless time I've spent in the Temple of Dawn, I've thought over that question relentlessly. If I had pushed on by his side at that time, even if we fell into eternal darkness, we would both be much happier than we are now.”

“If you could choose again...” Flowsand said softly.

Ferlyn smiled. “Of course I would choose to take the risk!”

Flowsand went quiet for a moment before nodding her head hard, “Okay!” She didn't notice the renewed vitality in her own voice.

And yet, once Ferlyn's presence dissipated, her brows furrowed again in confusion and annoyance. “You old hag, it took you a hundred years to understand this and you want me to answer immediately? I'm still a little girl, still pretty, how can everything be as clear to me as for an ugly old woman like you? No, I can't do it. I must do something, even if it isn't much. But... Yes, I'll do a little, only a little bit! I'll think of myself more next time. Yes, next time!”

She swung her fist hard as though to steady her own confidence, flipping through the Book of Time with intent.

621 - City of Sin

A Special One

Flowsand continued to flip through the Book of Time as she silently opened a channel to the Eternal Dragon. It took only a few seconds for timeforce to come cascading out of the void, settling into a large ball of light with a humanoid silhouette curled up within.

Looking at this womb of light, Flowsand suddenly frowned, “What... Why? Oh, the damned dragon. It's too late to change anything now... Ugh, I don't care anymore. Whoever you are, if you dare to disobey me I'll destroy you!”

A sudden murderous aura flashed past her beautiful face as she raised her hand and pointed to the ball of light. The womb immediately exploded, the person within dropping headfirst from the sky.

The heavenly guardian struggled to get to her feet, movements rather stiff and clumsy. However, the act revealed her shapely curves, snow-like skin, and gentle aura. Her jet-black hair looked beautiful in contrast to her pale skin, but what attracted the most attention was her lips— pure black as well, but on her they looked enchanting.

“Do you have a name, or should I give you one?” Flowsand asked curtly.

The heavenly guardian immediately knelt on the floor, “My name is Nyra, Miss Flowsand.”

Flowsand nodded, “Nyra, alright. I wanted a priestess who specialises in healing, but you seem touched by the power of death. Before I break you apart and summon another one, convince me to keep you around. You should know a third of what you cost isn't really a big price for me to pay.”

Despite being threatened with death, Nyra's voice didn't change at all, “As a cleric, I am no better than others when it comes to healing. My specialty lies in the soul: even at level 16 I can revive someone once a day, and the power will be greater than that of a level 18 priestess. As long as the death occurred no longer than one day ago and the head and at least half the body are intact, the resurrection will be perfect.”

Flowsand snorted in acknowledgement, “And the price?”

“Two levels, Miss Flowsand.” The response shocked Flowsand.

All resurrection spells took a toll on the one revived. Even in Norland few could perform a full revival, and the resuscitated being would lose a few levels at minimum. Three to five levels was only to be expected, and one's talents would be eroded as well. Some at the level of popes claimed to be able to resurrect the dead from just a small piece of flesh. However, this involved reconstructing an entirely new body for the departed soul to occupy once more. Such a body would retain none of one's previous abilities and gifts; even a legendary being would normally only be able to reach level 14 or so in their further life.

For Nyra to be able to limit the weakening to two levels was nothing short of amazing. Even if the rest of her abilities as a cleric were mediocre, she would still shine brightly.

“Additionally, at level 18 I will be able to limit the resurrected person's losses to one level. I will also unlock the Darkness Domain. In this domain, those I choose will have the equivalent of a Restoration spell at half power coursing through them at all times. The radius of this domain will begin at fifty metres, and will grow by thirty metres with every level.”

“Lastly, at level 19 I will grow able to perform a perfect resurrection. However, such a resurrection can only be performed once a week.”

This was a guardian far more powerful than the ordinary, but the problem was that she too had her own soul. Just like Io, she had been summoned from a pool of ancient beings instead of created on the spot. This meant she would not always obey orders perfectly. Flowsand knew a heavenly guardian could not betray their master, but betrayal as a concept was not the same to everyone.

Flowsand looked at Nyra for a few moments, suddenly asking, “Do you know Io?”

“The name is familiar,” Nyra said monotonously, “A memory of him resides within the depths of my soul, and will be unlocked when I see him.”

“Do you know why I summoned you?”

“No, but it is instinct to obey.” Nyra wasn't particularly respectful, rather like a machine with no feelings. She wasn't forced to obey Flowsand's orders, but the instinct of a heavenly guardian was still present.

“Very well, I only hope you remember to obey me, to truly obey me. Walk down his path of having your own ideas and his end will be an example. He has reached the limits of his current level, but I chose to create you instead of upgrading him.”

“You will grow me to legendary might,” Nyra's confidence left Flowsand uncomfortable, but she got the sense that this could not be changed. It was just like Io who always wanted to show off, shining like a lighthouse whenever he got the chance.

“Let us hope so,” Flowsand said.

......

A lone gold star occupied its own region of Faelor's night sky. Anyone able to look close enough to see that it was actually a ball of golden light that encapsulated a beautiful land that was more than 10,000 square kilometres in area. This was the divine kingdom of Wargod Lutheris.

Groups of people could be seen frolicking around the plains and grasslands, singing in the meadows and hunting or fishing in the lake-filled forests. Everyone here had a smile plastered on their face; these were pious souls that had been freed of hunger, disease, and death in the afterlife. They would get to enjoy paradise for a millennium as their soul reached its end, eventually withering away painlessly in the blink of an eye. These dead souls only had three duties in the afterlife: to live their lives happily, sing praises of their deity, and fight for Lutheris in times of war.
𝐟𝘳ℯ𝚎𝘄𝒆𝑏𝗻𝑜ѵ𝚎l. c𝘰𝑚

All the rivers of the kingdom were sourced from a towering mountain range in the centre, flowing to the edge of this divine land before cascading into the void. The mountains of this range were a deep, dark green at the base, but as one went higher the gold sheen grew more and more obvious. Upon the highest mountain's solid gold peak was the palace of Lutheris himself. Armed holy spirits constantly patrolled the palace, their eyes blazing with the divine flames of the Wargod's power.

The throne room of the palace was a few hundred metres tall, wide enough to fit an entire mountain within itself. At the centre was an enormous golden throne upon which the Wargod sat, thousands of different weapons and armour pieces scattered around him on the floor. Each piece of equipment here was overflowing with divine might.

The body of the Wargod lay protected under the watchful eyes of his divine army, jaw rested on his hand as though he was sleeping. His consciousness had already left his divine realm to inspect his mortal lands, to check the state of his worshippers after the great war.

*BANG!* Lutheris suddenly opened one eye, golden-red flames surging out to scan the hall. The other eye opened as well, pure rage overcoming his face as he saw small cracks appear on a battleaxe placed in a focal point of the throne room.

The weapon slowly lost all of its divine radiance, the cracks quickly spreading across the blade to cover it. The huge axe exploded into several hundred pieces before turning to dust, leaving no trace of its existence.

“Who is it?! WHO IS SO BOLD AS TO STEAL MY DIVINITY!” A piercing cry echoed throughout the divine kingdom. The mountains shook and the plains split apart, countless pious souls dropped down into the abyss below. These worshippers cried in pain and fear as they fell into the void, burning into specks of gold that were blown away by the shapeless wind.

However, this did nothing to quell the Wargod's rage. The axe had disappeared permanently, the divinity it represented no longer present.

622 - City of Sin

Behind The Scenes

Divinity could not be destroyed. Its power could be harnessed, its attributes changed, but as the condensed power of faith, it was difficult to remove it from the world. Lutheris knew his divinity had likely been transformed and used by someone else, forever separated from his existence. This was basically the same as converting worshippers, perhaps even worse.

Numerous rays of golden-red light blossomed from the Wargod's throne, instantly disappearing into the depths of the void. These were numerous conscients that Lutheris released to search for the person who stole his divinity. All of Faelor's deities quickly came to know of his wrath, expressing anger on his behalf or consoling him for his loss. Those whose power did not lose out to his remained silent, but rejoiced within.

Faelor was far too vast for even a greater deity to search through. Lutheris was only using the conscients to make a display of power, warning the presumptuous thief. However, he could not ask to encroach upon another god's divine kingdom without being willing to start a war; this held true even for the three weakest goddesses.

The Wargod's anger was also conveyed to his mortal worshippers; although he was based in the Baruch Kingdom, his worship spanned all across the land. However, almost the entirety of the upper echelons of his church had been destroyed in the recent invasion. He had no hope that they would be able to find the thief.

......

It took a long time after Lutheris' will faded away for his worshippers to stand up one by one. Their faces were all pale, some even having vomited blood and fallen unconscious. The wrath of their god was far too intense for some of the newer clerics to withstand.

Leading the crowd were seven cardinals. Not long ago this number had reached into the dozens, but even with two promotions after the war this was all they could muster. The seven cardinals entered a meeting room to discuss the command they had just received.

Six of the cardinals spoke one after the other, but none of them had any clues to solving the problem. Before the invasion, most of those present here had no real authority. King Anwod, in his position as leader of both church and state, had maintained an iron grip over the decisions of the clergy and only had them execute his orders. This had worked perfectly when he was alive, but the deaths of so many qualified replacements left the church with no people qualified to control the situation.

“I think I know who stole the divinity,” a young man suddenly said from his seat. The statement was earth-shattering, attracting the gazes of everyone present. The youth seemed a little nervous under the combined pressure of six cardinals, but he forced himself to calm down and said slowly, “Zangru. When he agreed to go to war, King Anwod bestowed all three of the divine artefacts to him. When we were defeated at the portal, Zangru vanished alongside the three artefacts. I believe he has delusions of becoming a god, so he must have stolen the divinity in those tools. We all know he has the ability!”

The cardinals started whispering amongst each other, discussing the youth's proposal as they looked at him peculiarly. This young cardinal's face hadn't yet lost all of its youth; he wasn't even twenty years of old. He wasn't truly qualified to be a cardinal either; it was only because of him being Anwod's son that the clergy had to begrudgingly grant him this position.

The cardinals here did not have the right to make decisions themselves, but they all knew of the motivation behind his severe accusation. In those few dark days before the war against the invaders, his mother had been amongst the concubines that Zangru had raped. Although she hadn't been killed by Zangru's actions, she had committed suicide after the event.

The oldest of the cardinals eventually spoke up, “This judgement... It must be treated cautiously. A false accusation would be a huge crime.”

His opinion was immediately echoed by the rest. They all knew in their hearts that their god didn't expect anything of them. If they just dragged the investigation out for a while, they could eventually bury it without fault. However, if they reported this man's claims and were found to be wrong, they would incur Lutheris' wrath.

They also knew just how credible this youth's words were. There was no basis to the accusation at all.

Zangru had been gifted from the moment of his birth, the will of Lutheris blessing him the instant he had been cut off from his mother. The only reason he hadn't taken the throne already was the fact that he had been born of supposed adultery. This young cardinal's mother was just one of the stepping stones on his bloody path to power.

The cardinal's face gradually grew paler as he saw his colleagues' expressions. He suddenly stood up. “Since you lot are afraid of responsibility, I will report this to the Lord myself. If anything happens, I will bear the burden!”

He then charged out of the meeting room, slamming the door behind him with all his might. Dust was shaken off from the ancient ceiling.

......

It was dusk. The young cardinal had knelt before the statue for a long time, silently praying to Lutheris. Clerics and priests lightened their footsteps as they walked past him, but their faces were filled with ridicule and disdain. As far as they knew, this new cardinal had no shred of piety to him; the Lord would not answer his prayers.

However, a short while after sunset a dazzling flash lit up the main hall of the temple. The statue of Lutheris started to glow red and gold, blinding all those present.

A dignified presence surged forth from the statue as the will of the Wargod descended once more, rays of power shooting out from the statue into the young cardinal's body. The youth fell to the ground, writhing in incomparable pain, but his expression was one of ecstasy. The divine power within his body was like a raging fire, he had been blessed!

Those in the hall looked at the youth in astonishment. There was an element of admiration to their stares, but that was overshadowed by the envy and resentment. However, that meant nothing to him. The young cardinal struggled to his feet once the will had faded away, and knew he would soon be crowned pope. The curtains thus fell on the fight for the Baruch Kingdom's throne.

The young cardinal swept his eyes across everyone in the hall, including the cardinals that had rushed over as soon as they could, “Zangru has stolen the divinity of the Lord's artefacts. He is a heretic.”

Heretic. This was the greatest sin a mortal could commit, and the greatest threat to their existence. Those who worshipped Lutheris or any allied god would now eternally chase Zangru down, burning him to death by divine fire. His family would suffer no different fate.

Zangru's blood was dense with the blood of the Wargod himself. Lutheris could only punish him personally. However, that did not hold true for Zangru's mother. The queen consort had come from a small family originally, and after the case of her adultery only a thousand people of her bloodline remained. One order from this young man had sentenced those who had survived the previous disaster to a painful death by fire. Elderly, women, even infants would not be spared this fate.

Late in the night, as the young cardinal walked towards the library, those he met on the way bowed almost to the ground to express their humility and respect. This future pope responded with perfect smiles, the blessings he uttered completely impeccable. However, for all his humility and virtue, he never prevented their bows.

Someone screamed in rage from afar, the sound quickly turning into a tearful entreaty. However, two inquisitors in black robes slowly dragged him to the prison they used to imprison heretics. This was the cardinal that had overruled the youth's accusation during the afternoon meeting.

The future pope listened with pleasure as the screams slowly faded into the night. Only when he could hear nothing more did he sigh regretfully, continuing on his way to the library prepared specifically for cardinals.

There were numerous books within this small library that were restricted to the outside world. Each cardinal had his own separate seat in the main hall, while the pope had a separate chamber all to himself. The youth walked up to a bookshelf and took out an ancient book with a black cover, walking into the pope's reading room and sitting down with practised ease. He stroked the yellowed pages as a twisted smile appeared on his handsome face, “Zangru, oh Zangru. What will you do this time? I'm not Anwod to let you escape...”

The old black book was an ancient forbidden text, describing many taboo arts. One of these arts was a mysterious but bloody ceremony to extract the divinity from someone's blood. When the gods had still been feuding in ancient times, this ceremony had been the cause for millions of deaths.

623 - City of Sin

Expanding The Army

When he returned to the floating island and found a new pile of documents to go through, Richard suddenly felt the urge to smash something. Only a few days had passed in Norland's time, how could there be so many things for him to deal with again? And this was supposed to be AFTER the butler took care of most of it! That old man was still working late into the night and waking up early every morning like he was a twenty-year-old youth!

The walls of the study were still covered in chaotic scars, but Beye's carved letters were still incredibly eye-catching in the mess. He walked over to the wall and tried to study them for a bit, using the murderous aura to calm himself down.

He took a glance at the small but exquisite crystal goblet on his desk that contained the image diamonds from the shadow creatures he had killed, only raising his eyebrow for a moment before moving on. He hadn't even bothered to gather them up from the various parts of the room that day, but the attentive old butler would have gathered them even if he didn't know what they were. Nothing that was outside the wastebasket would be thrown without explicit permission.

But then his gaze suddenly doubled back, a soft gasp of surprise leaving his mouth. Scanning through the diamonds as per habit, he had noticed a few minuscule marks that were certainly not from someone just gathering them up. These marks were quickly restored to a finger and then half a palm, the direction of contact and the fact that they had been examined before being returned to their original position revealed. The diamonds hadn't been covered in dust yet; it hadn't been long since the person left.

He sat down beside his desk calmly, pulling on the bell that would summon his attendants. There was a knock on the room door after a moment, and a maid walked in respectfully, “Yes, my Lord?”

Richard raised his head up from the documents for a moment before delving back into them, “Go call Fuschia, tell her I've returned.”

“Alright, my Lord,” the maid bowed before walking out the door.

“Wait, bring this to the butler on your way out.” Richard suddenly stopped the maid, standing up from his desk and walking towards her.

The maid bowed slightly, stretching both hands out to take the document in his hand. However, the hand stopped mid-air, followed by a faint voice, “Your fingers are really pretty.”

The hairs on the back of the maid's neck stood up almost all at once as sparks surged around Richard's body, the document in his hand turning into dust to reveal a bone dagger within. His hand almost flashed out of existence, only leaving afterimages behind.

The maid didn't even have the time to fully straighten her body as a dark grey energy shot out from within like a dense fog wrapping around her in the middle of the night. However, the aura only made it so far as her chest before Richard's hand slammed into her abdomen, the dagger stuffed in to the hilt.

It was as though time froze in that instant, but the dagger did not. It flashed in and out constantly; although Richard didn't have Beye's ability to send every strike completely accurately at this speed, the attacks still hit around the same position.

The grey fog continued to spread, but it was not as thick. Richard could see the maid's silhouette disappear behind it and immediately turned around to continue his attack. Time only seemed to return to normal when his dagger went still once more, and the grey fog disappeared completely as though it had never been present.

The maid was still standing, but their positions had been exchanged. She looked down, stunned as a thick bloody mist burst forth from a terrible hole in her abdomen. Everything within had been ground to a pulp. Her aura faded away in an instant, strength leaving her body. Were it not for the dagger still stabbed into her propping her up, she would not be able to stand.

She struggled to raise her head, looking at Richard with rage as she asked with a different voice, “... How?”

Richard pushed her shoulder away with a finger, making sure she wouldn't fall onto him before smiling, “Don't touch the things of a target. Come on, you think a random maid would have recognised the butler? Besides, your knock sounded different.”

“Kn...ock?” The assassin's eyes widened in shock.

“Yes,” Richard answered indifferently.

The assassin made one final fierce expression before gritting her teeth, “You... won't be... happy long...”

Richard smiled, “I'd return the same. I'm done with you lot. Don't worry, I know I can't get anything out of you, but I can find out who you are. Your friends, family... let's say their ends won't be pretty. Aww, no need to look at me like that, you're just an example. Those who want to try and kill me should know they'll have to pay the price.”

“Tyrant...” a fear finally showed in the maid's eyes as the light faded away.

“Pity you won't be able to say that in the assembly,” Richard said lightly as he took a step back, letting the body fall to the ground. Pulling out a white handkerchief, he began cleaning his hands of the blood.

......

The steward, summoned by another pull of the bell, almost fainted in shock.

“It's an assassin. The original maid's body is probably hidden in some corner of the castle right now, have people go find it. Take this body to Agamemnon, he has ways to find the assassin's identity. Also get someone to clean up the study.”

The old steward accepted the order and left, sending a few guards and servants after him to take the body and clean up the blood on the floor. Richard was just seated behind his desk the entire time, going through the documents as though nothing had happened.

A quiet knock sounded on the study door a short while later, and Fuschia walked in quietly. Richard raised his head and smiled at her, “My memory isn't all that great recently, I can't remember some things.”

Fuschia nodded awkwardly, “Forgive me. I... I shouldn't have avoided you.”

Richard flashed a charming grin, “If they're sending out such a stupid assassin, it seems like my enemies can't sit still anymore. Every day I'm alive throws them further into a nightmare that they can't escape. Still, I hope this sort of thing doesn't happen too often; it's too annoying. I think it's time to teach them a lesson, or they'll start thinking I just forgot about everything.”

Fuschia suddenly felt that Richard had grown unfamiliar, so unfamiliar that it was a little scary. An incredible discomfort took over her very being as she heightened her senses, finding an unknown killing intent that flooded her entire consciousness. She had already seen the body of the assassin and knew she was level 16, very good at disguise and escape. Given her specialisation, she wouldn't be less of a threat than a weaker saint. How had Richard seen through her disguise? How had he killed her without suffering any damage himself?

As she grew more and more alert, the source of the murderous aura grew clearer as well. Fuschia felt goosebumps as she turned her head like lightning, finally seeing the scarred wall next to the bookshelf with the word 'Lifesbane' overflowing with killing intent.

“Beye?!” She cried out involuntarily.

“No, she just left behind the word. The rest was all me,” Richard said from behind her.

Fuschia looked at all the sword scars on the wall once more, fear bubbling through her body. She could tell that all these sword scars had been formed in only a few moments; even if disorderly, such a storm of attacks would be difficult even for her to deal with.

Fortunately, the power of a single stroke wasn't all that great. She could certainly parry the blows without paying too large a price. However, she did realise why the assassin had been killed with no traces of resistance.

Richard pulled out a document from the pile on his desk and handed it over to her, “Have a look. A lot of free Archeron warriors responded to the public rune knight enlistment and I won't be able to take all of them in. I'm going to change the plan a bit; firstly, I want to expand the scope of my recruitment and add in cavalrymen as well. All free Archeron warriors who are above level 10 and under 35 years of age can enlist. Their salary will also be on par with the other families of the seventh level.”

Fuschia was shocked, “Richard, we'll go bankrupt!”

The average salary from the nobles of the seventh level of islands was at least double what the Archerons originally paid their own cavalrymen. And while they didn't have great equipment, free Archeron warriors were notoriously powerful compared to their counterparts from most other families. The additional expenses could reach several million gold, a sum the family just could not afford. Even Marquess Sauron with all his inherited wealth would run out in only a few years.

Richard wanted to burn several million gold a year just for cavalrymen?

624 - City of Sin

Retaliation

Richard raised his hand before Fuschia could attempt to dissuade him, “I've already made my decision, just have the steward spread the news. Also, we're recruiting 50 rune knights and as many cavalrymen as would come. The rune knight conditions remain unchanged, but the cavalrymen will have to serve me for a minimum of five years before they earn the right to leave. The recruitment drive will be held in two months at Blackrose Castle.”

“The Blackrose Castle?!” Fuschia exclaimed, “The family council has taken control of it. Are you sure about having it there?”

“When that man was around, I don't recall any such thing as a family council. Blackrose Castle is a place he left behind, so it goes to me. Anyone who wants to die to try and stop my recruitment drive is welcome to do so. Those bastards decided to strike me while I was down, now let's watch them burn.

“Anyway, isn't it family tradition for everything to go to the winners? I remember these so-called elders affirming that they would follow the rules when Gaton was around. It's time I kicked them out of my lands.”

Fuschia sighed loudly, “Rumours are that Marquess Sauron backs the family council directly, and Earl Goliath participated as well. Are you sure you want to fight them?”

“Would Alice be scared?”

“Why would my Lady be afraid of them? She's even fought the legendary Duke Solam of the Sacred Tree Empire!”

“Yeah. So why would I be scared of a few chumps?”

......

Several days later, Richard decided to borrow the information channels of the royal family to spread the news to the entirety of the Sacred Alliance. It immediately erupted into the focus of high society, suppressing discussions about two dukes warring internally and a recent battle near the borders of the Sacred Tree Empire.

There were multiple reasons for this. First was Richard himself; the reveal of Lifesbane had solidified his position as the number one runemaster in the Sacred Alliance, completely suppressing Lunor Leyfar who hid himself away after the convention. Second was the fact that he was recruiting a total of fifty rune knights, and given previous trends each of them would be full grade 2 at minimum— the standard of a Duke's core army. Richard had only been in Faust for about a year at this point, but he had taken over a headless family without its master and brought it to new heights of power.

The third was actually the simplest of them all. The Archeron Family Council had swayed over most of the troops guarding Blackrose Castle and annihilated those who were still loyal to Gaton, taking over the castle and the surrounding Azan Peninsula. Blackrose Castle was traditionally the abode of the Archeron Family's patriarch, but with the family tombs having been moved to the floating island which Richard controlled there had been two claims to being the legitimate representative of the family. Richard's declaration that the recruitment would be held in the Blackrose Castle could only mean one thing: war! Please visit ƒ𝐫𝗲𝒆𝑤𝚎𝐛𝙣𝐨𝙫𝙚𝚕. 𝒄o𝓂

Even when the Archeron Family Council had been formed, many of the Sacred Alliance had laughed it off. Faust was the true core of any family's power, and everyone knew that the Archerons weren't united at all. They didn't believe this unsteady alliance could accomplish anything, especially when Gaton had possessed the guts to beat one of them up in the middle of a so-called meeting. Now that Richard was finally flexing his own power, they were quite interested in the outcome.

The only reason the family council hadn't already been written off was the presence of Marquess Sauron amongst its backers. Richard was a rising start, but the Marquess had hundreds of years of inherited power to fall back on and try to defend with. Nobody knew what tricks Sauron had up his sleeve either: military might was only one part of a war.

With there being no foregone conclusion, the nobles that would be unaffected by the outcome started to place bets amongst themselves. However, many started to focus on the Archeron Family, knowing these next few months would likely have lasting consequences.

......

A number of Archeron elders were gathered in an urgent meeting within Blackrose Castle. The leaders of the branch families weren't normally around, so the decision had to be taken by those representatives present. A day and night of heated argument with no breaks didn't help them reach a conclusion, only wearing them down. However, many of those present had no issue with this. They knew they were only puppets here that had no actual power.

Still, they finally came to a decision the next day. They had concluded that Richard's behaviour to hold a recruitment drive without asking for permission was utterly disrespectful, and they would stop him at all costs. However, they had no idea how to pass this information to the rest of the Sacred Alliance. Richard had connections to the royal family, but they had neither the network nor even the money to match his actions. They thus spent the remainder of the second day discussing how to disseminate the news.

......

Baron Sua was pacing around in a dark hall in the northwest wing of Blackrose Castle, “Richard is too arrogant! We have to teach him a lesson! Let me go, I'll definitely teach him a lesson!”

The hall was several hundred square metres in size, his roars reverberating through its entirety causing some of the torches on the wall to flicker. The shadows from these movements added another layer of darkness to the hall.

“Do you know how many soldiers he has?” an aged yet slimy voice responded, “How many rune knights? What runes they will be using? How many powerhouses he has amongst his followers? Which route they will take? What about their strategies, what troops they are fond of using? Is he bringing allies? Are there any enemies we can take advantage of? If the siege lasts a long time, how will you replenish stocks?”

The person speaking was seated on an iron throne that was ten metres above the rest of the hall. He was tall and skinny, the darkness shrouding most of his features. Sua stopped pacing and turned to the man, “Won't we know all that by then?”

“By then? What then? Do you mean when we are completely destroyed?”

The baron's handsome face turned red, “I've commanded ten planar wars before! I don't believe Richard is better than me at it. He's just a clown who knows how to craft runes!”

“No. You're the clown, one whose mere ten victories left much to be desired. Richard is someone who has taken control of two planes by himself.”

Sua gritted his teeth, biting the inside of a cheek until blood trickled out of his mouth. He hadn't forgotten the humiliation Richard had imposed upon him right upon returning from Faelor. However, without the support of the man on the throne, Richard with his two planes' worth of strength would be able to crush him like an ant.

“Father, give me twenty grade 2 rune knights,” he fell to his knees. “Alice agreed to become my companion then. Even if you don't believe in me, surely you believe in her abilities?”

The man on the throne just snorted, his grip on the throne growing so tight one could hear metal bending, “You think she would listen to you for twenty rune knights? Do you remember that she was only a knight when she started out? If you think you have the ability, go find your own rune knights to give her; you won't get a single one from me. You fool, she will just take those knights and bear you a child. Then what? Do you think she will sit still? She'll use that child's claim to the throne to take away our knights and territories, becoming a Marchioness herself!”

“That... can't be—”

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN CAN'T BE?” Sauron stopped himself for a moment to regain his calmness, “We only have forty rune knights in total. If you give her half of them, her power will exceed mine. You— SHUSH!” he stopped Sua from arguing back, “I am disappointed in you. Go, relay these words to the elders...”

625 - City of Sin

A Painful Struggle

The Mensas and Schumpeters felt ominous dark clouds looming over them when they heard of Richard's recruitment drive. They knew this would be the beginning of his retaliation. It had taken all they had to send his father away, and he was far more wealthy than Gaton.

The Josephs maintained absolute silence. Richard's safe return was proof enough that their expedition had been wiped out, which meant their forces were greatly weakened.

Many overnight meetings were conducted within the various noble families of Faust. Many who weren't on hostile terms with Richard wanted to join his side, hoping to gain his favour and the goodwill of the royal family that backed him. However, even if they wanted to there was no way for them to set up an alliance; Richard had already gathered his troops and left for Faust.

However, that did not mean he was done with shocking the Alliance. New information spread through at an alarming pace a few days after he'd left, this news even making its way to the other empires. Allies and enemies alike were unsettled upon hearing the news, and some even hurried back from the battlefields of despair to confirm its authenticity.

Richard's butler had declared that he would be holding a mini-auction ten days after the recruitment drive for the rune knights came to an end. There would be only one item going on sale, but it was something almost nobody could neglect: a custom-designed grade 2 rune set!

It was a devilish temptation, one that forced all powerhouses to reconsider their stance once more. Those who weren't yet at the legendary realm would be greatly strengthened by such a set, and those that were could always use it to groom heirs or subordinates. Even the Sacred Tree Empire and Millennial Empire would have to step into the fray, trying their best to keep something like this from remaining within the Sacred Alliance. At the same time, Emperor Philip had to consider how best to ensure it did.

The Guide of Secrets had already dispelled any doubts anyone had with regards to Richard's ability as a runemaster. The nearly nameless assassin that had managed to win it in the auction had since grown into a formidable killer, bringing Richard's fame up with his own. And while the Guide of Secrets represented Richard's talent and creativity, the recent reveal of Lifesbane represented his pure skill. It was only a matter of time before he could craft grade 4 runes.

Everyone that wanted to help kill Richard off at Blackrose Castle now had to rethink their options.

......

“My patience has a limit. Once some opportunities are lost, the doors will never open away.”

Fuschia had struggled a lot over the past few days, those last words from Richard haunting her mind. However, she eventually came to a decision and lifted her pen, writing a short few sentences onto the paper in front of her and sending it to the Archerons' wargod through a transmission circle.

......

It was about dusk when Alice received the letter. She had grown visibly more haggard over the past few weeks, her fiery red hair losing all its lustre as her eyes lost their unerring focus. She sat behind her desk and looked through the stack of documents she needed to go through, but the letter would not leave her mind. Her mouth that could shout a hundred commands to her army in only a few minutes was trembling; all she wanted was to tear that letter apart, but she knew she could not afford to do so.

Every time she thought of the letter, an abnormal blush rose up her face. However, she would turn pale immediately after. No matter what, she didn't dare to touch that envelope.

Hours slowly passed as the demons fought within her mind. The crimson glow of her castle faded into the beautiful moonlight, but she couldn't bring herself to do anything.

“ARGH! Isn't it just a letter?!” she suddenly roared, reaching out for it, but the moment she touched the piece of paper it felt like a shock ran through her body. She jumped back in fright, landing in a corner of the room.

She stayed in this position for a long time as well before eventually walking over to a large box nearby and opening it up with force. In here were twenty bottles of brandy, one of which she grabbed and opened before downing all of its content like water.

That was not the end of it. A second bottle was emptied in only a minute, followed by a third, fourth, and fifth. Even saints normally could not avoid being intoxicated at this point without using their internal energy, and she was only level 17. As she tried to reach for the sixth, it seemed to grow its own wings as it floated to and fro to avoid her grasp.

The earl suddenly felt like she was extremely laughable. Many emotions that she had kept bottled within herself for a long time now surged out, leaving her face extremely warm. She touched her cheeks to realise they were wet, but looking up all that greeted her was the ceiling. There was no rain, why was her face wet? This water was even hot and salty...

“My Lady, are you alright?” a light knock sounded on the door.

“I'm not drunk enough, scram!” An incoherent response came from her lips.

However, the door was still pushed open slowly. A handsome young officer walked in and looked at her with worry, “My Lady, should I bring some water?”

However, all he got as a response was a dagger pressed against his neck. The blade had already pierced his fair white skin, Alice's eyes now clear as ever without the slightest sign of intoxication. The smell of sulphur filled the air.

The officer turned pale as a sheet, his entire body starting to tremble, “My Lady, you... Why...”

Alice snorted loudly, the killing intent in her eyes so thick it threatened to drown him, “What, just because your father's a marquess you think you can get me? I thought you were a decent person all this while, but this... Scram! Tell whatever relatives you have that I've had enough! If any of them has a problem, they're welcome to meet me on the battlefield!

“GUARDS!” Hurried footsteps sounded from outside the room as fully armoured guards appeared at the door, “Throw him out.”

Two ferocious guards immediately lifted the officer from the ground, dragging the man away. The officer's wails rang through the castle halls, “Alice, you can't treat me like this! Wait and see, nobody will sell you mounts or equipment anymore! Even your rations won't be replenished! You bastards, what are you doing? Hands... off... NO!”

As his screeches disappeared into the distance, she waved one of the guards that remained over, “Tell General Tiden to come to my office tomorrow. Tell him I have the things he wants most.”

She then slammed the door shut before leaning against it. The energy seemed to drain out of her body as she slowly slipped to the ground, both hands grasping her short locks as she cried softly. However, the floodgates had been opened and could not be stopped; eventually, she lay bawling across the floor.

Several guards were still outside the room, but they looked at each other and nodded before leaving quietly. They started talking once more when they were several metres away.

“Damn it, I'm not taking my salary for the next three months?”

“Just three months? Scram! I'll do without for half a year!”

“One year for me!”

“Hmm? Don't you have three kids?”

“Oh, right... How much do I have... Okay, three months.”

These words didn't reach the ears of their lord. Alice struggled to stand up, a strong odour of alcohol emanating from her body as she went over to the desk and grabbed Fuschia's letter before falling down again. She laid down completely on the floor, borrowing the courage granted by the brandy to open the letter up.

“The day would have come sooner or later, you might as well get the eight rune sets for it.”

626 - City of Sin

A Painful Struggle(2)

The day would have come sooner or later, you might as well get the eight rune sets for it. Alice didn't notice the blood trickling down her lips as she continued to read the letter, “These eight are more valuable than twenty normal grade 2 rune knights, don't make the wrong choice.”

She nodded profusely, “Do not be afraid, I will be with you that night. You can watch and learn from me so you don't have to be afraid.”

Having read that, the crimson-haired goddess of war covered her face with the letter. She knew very well that Fuschia was just as frightened as herself.

Early morning the next day, a rough knock sounded at the door. Not getting a response for a long time, the bearded man on the other end sensed a faint aura within and pushed the unlocked door and entered.

The man relaxed as he found the earl snoring softly on her desk, but the sight of twelve empty bottles of brandy and the strong stench of alcohol permeating the room felt like a dagger thrust into his heart. All of the documents had been swept to the floor, leaving only a single small chest with a piece of paper stuck on it.

This scar-ridden man was General Tiden, and he knew exactly what lied in the chest on Alice's desk. It represented something he— like any other general in Norland— longed for with all his heart: multiple powerful rune knights under his command.

The piece of paper was a note written in Alice's handwriting, “A mix of Savage Barrier and Savage Strike sets, seven in total.”

Tiden's beard started to tremble. These were the same designs that were being integrated into the royal army's standard rune knight equipment! As he lifted the enchanted chest, it felt like a burning volcano in his hands. He had watched Alice grow up from when she was only a little girl, and this was the worst state he had ever seen her in; he understood that these rune sets could only come at a huge cost.

Tiden didn't know what to say. He had been a warrior all his life, and all he knew was to kill the enemy. He didn't understand politics, he didn't understand deals; he didn't understand how to console someone. All he could do was take the chest and go out, silently closing the door behind him before walking away in huge strides.

Moments later, a bestial trombone roared into the distance.

......

Richard was sitting on the ground with several empty liquor bottles in front of him. He was on top of a small hill near Bluewater Oasis; the sight wasn't particularly pretty, but it looked over all of Bluewater CIty.

Atop this once-bare hill lay a crude tombstone, a rough tablet that had been carved with a brief epitaph: Here lies the Direwolf Duke Bevry, a true brother in war. He shall lay here as he witnesses the beginning of a new dynasty, the dynasty of Richard Archeron.

As the Direwolf Family worshipped their ancestors, Bevry's body had been buried in their ancestral tomb. In this grave were the armour and weapons he had left behind, much corroded beyond repair under the terrifying power of Raymond's subordinate.

Light footsteps sounded as an old man with white hair staggered over and sat down next to him. A noticeable sadness could be seen in his young eyes.

“You were looking for me?” the old man asked calmly.

“Come, drink a little!” Richard passed a bottle of liquor to him, and the man took the liquor and forced half the liquid in the bottle down his throat with one large swig. However, he started coughing immediately and curled up on the ground, the glass bottle broken as he almost coughed his lungs out.

Neither of the two realised exactly when the coughs had trailed off into weeping, but Perrin's body shook with every low grunt. Richard didn't try to comfort the grieving man, only leaning against the tombstone as he continued to sip his liquor. It didn't seem like he was drinking fast, but the sheer number of empty bottles around him showed just how much he had already finished.

“Perrin... What are you going to do? Do you plan to continue on the path you had originally charted out, or do you want to advance in the world of magic? I can groom you into a grand mage of Faelor.”

Perrin only took a moment to respond, “I'm still interested in planar geometry.”

“Why?”

“There are many grand mages on Faelor, I won't make any difference. However, this research will be a milestone in the entire plane. Even if I only finish the basics of the foundation, it will be of great benefit.”

Richard sighed softly, “Perrin, you only have four years left to live. I will keep you alive until then, but if you become a grand mage you can extend your lifespan even afterwards.”

“It's fine, I never expected to live so long. As long as my research finishes the preliminary framework, those after me can continue. I believe Faelor can become just like the place you come from, a plane transcending others!”

Richard shook his head at the solemn declaration, stopping himself from saying the first words that came to mind, “... Alright. Do you have any plans as to where you want to continue your research?”

Perrin hesitated. His old cave in Deeprock Castle had been compromised since the Direwolf Duke's death, the entire dukedom caught up in turmoil.

“Stay here. Runai's power does not reach this place.” Bluewater Oasis was now technically under the control of the three goddesses. Without the permission of at least two, those serving Runai would not be able to enter.

“... Okay.” Perrin knew he had nowhere else to go. He thought about things for some time before suddenly asking, “Richard, is planar geometry prevalent where you come from?”

Richard's expression turned to one of helplessness as he sighed. As someone of the Deepblue, he knew just how advanced planar geometry was in Norland. The subject had been researched for thousands of years, with more than ten different branches to specialise in. It was the development of planar geometry that had supported Norland's planar wars, affixing passageways to many lesser planes that spelt their demise.

Perrin's few broken theories, as they were now, were less useful than the basics an acolyte in Norland learnt when first starting out in the subject.

However, neither Perrin himself nor Faelor had any time left. If they could have remained unseen for a few hundred more years, a legendary mage would have developed these theories to a level where the first extraplanar expedition would set out. That first person would certainly become a martyr, likely dying in the void, but as the theories were perfected someone would eventually manage to leave the plane and return. Over the next millennium, great visionaries with legendary might would slowly complete Faelor's transition to a primary plane.

However, Richard was already here. The plane had already been marked by the Eternal Dragon, its location recorded down in the Church. An alliance led by only one of fourteen families that made up the weakest of Norland's human empires had decimated two of Faelor's most powerful kingdoms and defeated multiple other dukedoms. Their worst losses had been when they were caught unprepared at the portal, and even so it had taken another from Norland to finish them off.

Perrin's dream was destined to never materialise. Faelor would become just another secondary plane controlled by those of Norland, specifically Richard himself. Unlike other invaders, Richard and his army of drones had already blended in and were taking over the plane from within.

Still, seeing this youth's determination, Richard decided not to tell him the truth. Perrin could spend the rest of his years in his research, ignorance was bliss. “What do you think of Toffler?” Richard changed the subject.

Perrin thought over the question for a while, “Ah, my third brother. I haven't interacted with him much, but from what I can remember he's a good man. If he takes over the Dukedom, our subjects will lead good lives. Perhaps he can even improve the land's situation from what my father left behind... Father fought too many wars, and wars cost a lot of gold.

“My only concern is that his mother is from a weak family. He hasn't had the time to grow into his own power, so even though he is Father's inheritor I don't believe he will last long in that position.”

Richard laughed softly, breath reeking of alcohol, “Bevry is an old friend, I'm going to fulfil his last wish. Don't worry, if I proclaim him to be the Duke that's what he will be.

“Alright, I'll be off!” he burped and struggled to his feet, ambling down the hill as he made his way towards the oasis city.

Perrin did not leave with him, instead staying before his father's grave while downing another bottle of liquor. However, as his gaze passed the place where Richard had been seated, his eyes suddenly opened wide in shock. Google search f𝐫e𝘦𝘸e𝗯𝒏𝗼ѵe𝗹． c𝑜m

Nearly half of his life had been spent immersed in planar geometry, so he immediately recognised the formulae on the ground. It felt as though a flash of lightning had pierced the darkness of his mind, illuminating an entire world of new possibilities. His heart started beating faster and faster, but his body instead chilled.

Perrin's ideas had left a bitter taste in Richard's mouth. Thinking of the youth's few broken theories, he had drawn what would result once those theories were perfected. The formulae looked extremely complicated and difficult to understand, but they were the first lesson an apprentice studying planar geometry in the Deepblue would learn.

627 - City of Sin

A New Lease Of Life

Richard felt like the world was spinning around him as he stumbled down the hill. He didn't know how he managed to return to his residence, nor when he managed to get into bed.

It was already late into the night when he woke up. The alcohol was still coursing through his blood, leaving him with a massive headache, but he still managed to notice that his body was surprisingly clean. He had been washed and changed while he was out.

The realisation that someone was curled up against him caused him to tense for a moment, but as he saw Rosie stir and open her eyes he relaxed and started rubbing his temples. Trying to prop himself up caused searing pain in his temples, but as he groaned the young lady suddenly climbed atop him and pressed him back into the ground.

“What are you doing?” he asked as she disappeared beneath the blanket.

“Helping you loosen up,” a reply came from below.

......

A long while later, Richard felt his headache start to fade away. Rosie was lying next to him covered in the blanket, her thighs wet with a mix of sweat and other liquids. She had lost all ability to get up.

“That really was relaxing,” he said as he stroked her face.

“That's great!” she stuck out her tongue, the action so adorable and suggestive he almost erupted once again. However, the knowledge that she didn't have his stamina calmed him down. Seeing her at her limits, he just continued to trace his fingers across ger skin.

Rosie rubbed her face against his hands, giving him a knowing nod as her eyes began to close, “Do what you want. Yawn... I need a nap.”

He tousled her hair and kissed her asleep before quietly leaving the room. The chill of the winter night's breeze eroded away the last remnants of his hangover, leaving him refreshed enough to call upon his unicorn and race towards the barracks.

By the time he covered the few kilometres of distance, Gangdor was already awake and barking out orders to gather the Norlanders who had been taken prisoner. The silence of the night slowly gave way to tense murmurs as everyone was pulled from their tents and sent to the middle of the training grounds.

This specific camp of the barracks was separated from the rest, placed under the guard of 500 drones and barred entry by anyone outside of Richard and his followers. Even now the throwers and humanoid knights gathered at the sides of the training grounds, eyes trained on the prisoners in case they started a riot.

Richard watched quietly as the Norlanders were gathered, but his unicorn was so eye-catching he was noticed regardless. Fear flashed in the eyes of those who saw his figure, their protests dying down completely.

Many of these warriors knew of Richard's identity in Norland, and the fact that even the invincible Raymond Joseph had lost to him left them with great fear and reverence. Even if Richard had many times their number, none of these proud soldiers held Faelorians in any regard. In fact, the fact that Richard's army had no Norlanders to speak of only strengthened their respect.

Richard continued to watch for another ten minutes, his calm smile slowly warping into a frown. Some of the prisoners of war limped their way out of the tents, while others even had to be carried.

“They're all here, boss,” Gangdor walked over, axe in hand as he only stopped when he was a few feet away. His aura had already been unleashed, making it obvious that he was ready to fight at a moment's notice. However, this was understandable; unlike most previous prisoners, some of those here could fight him even bare-handed.

“Why are there only 2,500-odd people here?” Richard turned to him and asked.

“These are all that are left. There were only a thousand soldiers left behind at the end of our battle, and even after two battles with the Baruch Kingdom I could only find so many more. Most of them had died to injuries or been killed by the Faelorians, especially the 500 men that had been left behind to guard the other injured.

A collective gasp rang out as the prisoners overheard Gangdor's words. They knew exactly what fate awaited those who had been left behind, but it was still heart-wrenching to hear about the deaths of comrades.

Richard nodded and turned towards the prisoners, “Warriors of Norland, all of you are battle-hardened soldiers who have experienced many battles and realise the cruelty of war. This battle was between the Archerons and Josephs, it had nothing to do with you. Now the results are set, and your valour has been noted down in history. I acknowledge your bravery, so I brought as many of those forsaken by Raymond and the Josephs back as I could.”

He paused for a while, allowing whispered conversations to erupt. More than half of those here had been brought back from the verge of death by Richard's priests and clerics; it was impossible for them to have no gratitude at all. Furthermore, it was the truth that this war was a feud between two families of Norland. Prisoners of war could surrender or be traded off.

Richard's gaze swept past the training grounds, “Right now, I am giving you all a chance. A chance for freedom, a chance to return to Norland.”

An uproar was started in the crowd. The one thing that all these men wanted was to return to their homes. Countless fervent gazes fixated on Richard immediately in anticipation of his next words.

“Those who are willing to serve under my banner will obtain their freedom after five years. Once that period is up, you may either remain in Faelor and continue to earn your keep or head back to Norland for free.” He picked up a flag nearby and threw it a little ways away from the gathered prisoners. The flag arced through the air in the breezy night before sticking into the ground.

“Those willing to join me, gather around that flag,” Richard's voice reverberated through the field. Several soldiers walked over immediately, and the rest slowly flooded over as well. Only a few dozen people were left behind.

Richard's gaze swept past those left behind, and he immediately noticed that they were all level 14 or higher. The strongest three were even level 17, only one step away from becoming saints. All of these men had reached the requirements to become rune knights, so they were of different status from the rest. Nine of them were already full and proper rune knights, though they had lost their mounts in the battle.

Richard was in no hurry, staring coldly at these men while the humanoid knights mounted up and drew their weapons. If these prisoners made a move, they would immediately be surrounded and killed. His followers weren't too far away either and would be able to quell any uprisings before they became an issue.

628 - City of Sin

A New Lease Of Life(2)

One of the level 17 rune knights took two steps forward and knelt down on one knee, “Lord Richard, we do not wish to disobey you. However, it is tradition to treat us better than the normal soldiers.”

Richard didn't mind the man's bold words; kneeling was an act that proclaimed loyalty. Most rune knights were proud, and this one was no different. He only chose to kneel in obeisance because he was facing a runemaster.

Richard's expression relaxed as he looked at all the remaining knights, “All of you feel the same way?”

They looked around at each other before nodding.

“Very well. Those who are only rune knights in training must still serve me for five years, but you will be treated well and allowed to return to Norland a year early and finish the rest of your service there. Those who are already rune knights will need to serve for four, but they may return a year early as well. Additionally, anyone willing to pledge your allegiance to me using the power of magic will have their service reduced by half a year. You will also be treated the same as any of my other troops.”

The knights and rune knights present heaved a sigh of relief and expressed compliance one after the other, ten of them even swearing the oath on the spot. All of them were focused on the reduced time in service instead of the equal treatment; the Archeron armies were known for being underequipped and underpaid. Of course, none of these soldiers knew that Richard and Gaton were different from the other Archerons in that regard.

Surprisingly enough, even the level 17 rune knight pledged himself under magic oath. Richard was delighted, calling out to Gangdor, “Reorganise these people and set up a single battalion under your command. Leave a hundred beetle knights with them to enforce law, and give them any equipment they need from the warehouse. Give me a list of whatever is missing, I'll pass it on to Noelene.”

Once rumours had started circulating that the broodmother was the Beetle Queen Aquila, Richard had christened the humanoid knights the beetle knights to the outside world. Although only a hundred of them wouldn't be enough to suppress a full rebellion, their name alone brought along nightmares that would cow any dissidents into submission.

These 2,500 Norlanders more than doubled Richard's core army. With the humanoid knights and his rune knights, he now had more than 4,000 elite soldiers that could crush any enemy in Faelor at equal numbers. The core was now so powerful he was confident he could walk over most of the Iron Triangle Empire without challenge.

Done settling the affairs of the camp, Richard walked in front of a lone building nearby and announced his presence, “May I enter?”

“Sir Richard?” an aged voice sounded from within, “Please, anything you wish. I am but your slave.”

“A grand mage deserves respect, no matter their position.” Richard smiled and pushed the gate open to see an old man sitting under a tree in the courtyard, a cup of coffee in one hand and a book on Faelorian history in the other. The moon was hidden away by the clouds tonight, but a spark of magic flame suspended in the air projected an abundance of light.

The mage smiled bitterly and shook his head, “I am only a regular grand mage, and you are already level 16. I hear you aren't yet twenty? You will surpass me in the blink of an eye, how could I have any pride in your presence?”

Richard laughed and sat in front of the mage, “Such courteous words are unnecessary, Master Mito. I am here today to request your service.”

The old man only chuckled, “Would me being sincere put you at ease?”

Richard pulled a scroll out of his robes as he nodded, “Indeed, a grand mage is far too powerful to allow by one's side unless they are loyal. I am no exception to that; this is something that can out both of us at ease.”

Mito's brows scrunched up as he scanned through the scroll from afar, “An enslavement scroll? Is this not a little too much?”

“This will allow me to trust you. Besides, my followers have taken up such contracts as well. You can see for yourself how I treat them.”

“Heh, that is true. Alright, suppose I accept becoming your slave. How long will this contract last?”

“Five years. For the duration, I will treat you just the same as how the Josephs did.”

Mito sighed, “The Josephs trusted me.”

Richard smiled and pushed the scroll across the small coffee table nearby, “And here's me trusting you.”

Mito nodded, a melancholy expression covering his face, “I was just lamenting the downfall of the family I used to serve.”

“That isn't guaranteed.”

The unexpected response caused Mito to frown, “Do you intend to spare the Joseph Family?”

“Ha, of course not. We've already reached a stage where one of us has to die. It's just that I don't like predicting things I haven't accomplished yet.”

The grand mage didn't know why he felt a slight chill from those words. He couldn't help but be reminded of the bloody battle where Richard's body had been shrouded in sparks, of the flashing swords that reaped countless lives. Even with his expansive knowledge, he could not understand how Richard had done so. Mages of the Deepblue were known for being sturdy, but that did not mean a level 16 mage could fight better than a level 16 warrior in melee.

Prodigies with talent in both magic and the martial arts had repeatedly popped up throughout the history of Norland. However, talent was all they were limited to. With limited time and energy, it was impossible for one to excel in both. Some people started off as jacks-of-all-trades, but they eventually found a single path to explore deeply as they furthered their abilities.

Richard kept silent as the old man made his decision. Mito knew the time had come, and smiled bitterly as he took the enslavement scroll and vowed upon its power. The scroll immediately lit aflame, the link beginning to form.

Richard nodded before standing up, “Flowsand should be arriving in Faelor sometime soon. Once she's here, I'll send her to heal you... Wait, SHOW YOURSELF!”

Richard's hand leapt to unsheath Extinction as the gates to the residence opened once more, letting in a priestess in black and white robes. “I am Nyra,” she said monotonously, “Miss Flowsand sent me here to heal the grand mage.”

Richard looked over Nyra's holy robes which were black on the left and white on the right and noticed the hourglass symbol of the Eternal Dragon. He then looked up to see her contrasting eyes that were black on the right and white on the left, “A priestess of the Church? Why have I never seen you before, and why is your timeforce so weak?”

“A priestess of the Dragon does not necessarily need the power of time. My strength is in the soul; you will be seeing me quite often from today.”

Staring at Nyra, Richard's brows locked tightly as he sensed something was amiss. However, he could sense a trace of Flowsand's aura on her quite similar to Io. This woman was uncomfortable to look at, like a ghoul floating around the human world, but she didn't seem to be an enemy. He stood by the side, allowing her to work, but his sword was still in hand in case she tried anything funny.

As Nyra looked at him, Mito saw her eyes starting to spin until they reached a deep grey. It felt like the entirety of his body was exposed in a moment, all of his secrets revealed. He yelped in fright, jumping off his chair.

However, just as he fell back to the ground, the priestess walked over to him and put both hands forward. A blinding light flashed forth from within as tiny motes of energy flowed out of her hands; it was almost like she was birthing a tiny galaxy with her hands. The motes of divine power landed on Mito's injuries one by one, healing them from within and without. Even the impact to his internal organs slowly faded away.

Richard had already noticed that the power of her healing art wasn't spectacular for a priestess of the Eternal Dragon. However, she had exquisite control over her abilities and made sure to only target the parts that required healing. This allowed her to put more of her power into the important injuries instead of wasting it with a larger spell.

Mto took a few steps back in shock, back bumping against the tree before he slid to the ground. However, he quickly found himself able to stand steadily once more. The countless tiny injuries that had littered his body from the wars had completely vanished.

*Pop! Pop!* Two soft worms that were about a few centimetres long fell out from within Mito's sleeves, landing on the ground and wriggling for a bit before going still. Mito's face flashed with pleasant surprise, but Richard tensed instead.

These two unremarkable-looking worms were the products of the broodmother. They could tunnel into one's body and constantly draw out their mana, disrupting any attempts at spellcasting. With two of these parasites being nailed in, Mito had been limited to grade 2 spells and below.

Richard suddenly erupted with an icy killing intent, glaring in Nyra's direction, “You did this on purpose?”

629 - City of Sin

From The Darkness

Hell's fury seemed to condense in Richard's eyes as he jammed Extinction into the floor, sheath and all. With his other three weapons left in his residence, this left him completely unarmed. However, sparks started to fly all across his body as his aura strengthened, a dreadful killing intent enveloping Mito and Nyra.

Countless thoughts rushed through the grand mage's head, but he eventually just waved his hands and returned to his seat under the tree. Richard paid it no mind, focused instead on Nyra's currently grey eyes that seemed to spin like a vortex. A formless power started to tug at his soul, as though to separate it from his body.

However, this only served to further Richard's fury. It seemed like an invisible cyclone had struck the residence; he only swayed a little, but Nyra was blown back into the courtyard wall. His soft groan was contrasted by a high shriek as lines of crimson formed in her eyes, blood slowly dripping onto her cheeks.

Astonishment flashed across Nyra's expressionless face as she stabilised her body, bowing towards Richard in allegiance. However, he only snorted and picked up Extinction once more, making his way out of the courtyard, “I'm letting this go because of Flowsand. Turn on me again and your end will not be pleasant.”

Nyra wiped away the blood with her sleeve and left the courtyard as well. Her expression had turned neutral once more, but her mind was in chaos. Even with her expertise in the field, the brief clash of souls had felt like charging head-first into a cliff!

As Mito was left behind by the two, seemingly forgotten, he felt the mana in his body quickly recovering. It was only a few minutes before he could cast grade 7 spells, enough for him to fly away from this place. Although he had accepted the slave contract, betrayal would at most make him lose a level or two.

Acting on this thought would mean freedom, but the grand mage did not move as he took a few small sips of his now-cold coffee. An invader like him would be hunted down wherever he went in Faelor, and even if he somehow made it to the portal and performed a miracle that let him get past the Dragon Mage and Richard's other powerful followers, there would be no respite in Norland either. The loss of this expedition army would certainly have left the Josephs on the verge of annihilation, and no other family would want to protect an old grand mage from a future saint runemaster's wrath.

Even if he returned to Norland and avoided all other families, just going on the run there as well, how long would that last? He was already old, while Richard hadn't gone through even a tenth of his life. Mito let out a deep sigh. He was an old man, exhausted by the world. Any personal relationship with the Josephs had been because he watched Raymond grow up with his own eyes, but that was not enough for him to sacrifice his life. Richard promised generous compensation, and even if the Archerons were poor, grand mages like him never worried about gold.

......

Flowsand was leaned into the couch as she lazily combed through her overgrown hair. Having returned to Faelor only a few hours ago, she had wished to get some rest but Io had barged into her room and started pacing around angrily.

“Flo— Your Excellency,” the battle priest barely managed to catch himself, “You once promised to increase my level cap after I reached level 16. I have been stuck at this level for a long time, but... but... you go and create another heavenly guardian instead!”

“I recall no such promise,” Flowsand said indifferently, not even turning to face him.

“You... You...” Io's handsome face had turned a bright red, his fury so great he was almost unable to speak. Strictly speaking, Flowsand had never explicitly told him that she would upgrade him once he reached the maximum level. However, all this while he had fought hard in Faelor on the assumption that helping Gangdor keep order would give him exactly that.

Gangdor was admittedly smarter than it seemed His natural ability at command and his courage had won them some battles that pure rationality never could. The battle with Salwyn had been much worse than the fellow made it seem; if he hadn't personally fended off five of Salwyn's generals while rushing over to the prince like a psychotic killer, the Iron Triangle Empire's sturdy army would have engulfed and kill them all. However, none of it would have been possible without his spells constantly being poured into the troops to assist them as much as possible.

Although he wanted to rant, Io saw that Flowsand's expression brooked no discussion and simmered down. It was partly because he knew he could not oppose her, but also because he and Gangdor had grown a strong bond over their time together. Now, even if Flowsand refused to upgrade him at all, he would just grumble and carry on with his tasks. It had nothing to do with Richard's ambition; he just couldn't stand the thought of the big brute fighting alone.

“Alright, Your Excellency, I respect your decision. However, you could have just created a random heavenly guardian. Why did it have to be her? She—”
f𝑟e𝙚𝒘𝗲𝚋𝚗oѵ𝘦𝙡. c𝒐m

“She what?” Nyra's calm voice seeped in from outside, sending shivers down Io's spine. The priestess entered the room and closed the door, her eyes that had returned to being black and white glaring at Io.

The battle priest grunted, his own eyes sparkling with golden light. Black, white, and gold met in mid-air, dissipating after a quiet collision.

“I'm not afraid of you!” Io said sternly.

Nyra smiled faintly in response, “Likewise. I am no fool like you, battle priest who was beaten up by a mage.”

Io's face warped in an instant, “Try me, let's see what the outcome is!”

As the two started arguing, Flowsand stopped combing her hair and glared at them, “What secrets are you two hiding? How do you know each other?”

“That—”

“We come from the same place. All we can tell you is that it is a world controlled by the Eternal Dragon; all our memories of the place are suppressed and we are forbidden from describing it. If you wish to know more, you could perhaps sacrifice an offering or use some divine grace to ask the Dragon himself.”

Flowsand nodded at Nyra, ignoring Io who was raging once more, “You aren't planning anything behind my back, are you?”

“I fought a battle of wills with Master Richard just now.”

“WHAT? What happened?” Flowsand stood up from the couch, a frown adorning her face. On the other hand, Io started laughing with delight that he had not known since he was brought into this world. Having seen the strength of Richard's soul first-hand, he knew exactly how such a duel would turn out.

“I suffered heavy injuries, but he is fine.”

Flowsand's imminent rage tapered off, but she still looked sternly at the two heavenly guardians, “And do you lot have any more plans like this?”

“Once is enough,” Nyra answered, while Io just groaned and kept quiet.

Flowsand shook her head and sat back down, stretching lazily like a cat, “Good. This will be the last time you test him. Keep your positions in mind; if you disappoint me again, I have no problem with summoning a third guardian. The grace I'll lose sending you back means nothing.”

This time, Nyra's expression was no different from Io's. Being sent back was another countless years in the dark void, a horrifying punishment that neither wished to bear.

630 - City of Sin

Towards The Light

“... And Toffler still hasn't inherited the Dukedom. Rumours are that the royal family and other nobles are planning to divide the inheritance amongst all of Duke Bevry's heirs. There have also been several requests to share our trade routes; some of these people are even threatening to block our goods if we don't lower the toll. It looks like they want to kick us when we're down.”

It was just past dawn, and Richard was listening to a report about the political climate from Gangdor who had just finished organising his new troops. He looked at the map as he stroked his recently trimmed beard, “Kicking people when they're down, you say? That's nice, I was planning to do the same.” Please visit ｆ𝗿𝗲𝒆we𝚋ｎ૦𝘃𝚎𝒍. 𝒄o𝚖

He reached out towards the border between the Bloodstained Lands and the Sequoia Kingdom, making a mark across it with his pen, “Guard this border; no soldiers from the Kingdom are allowed to enter our territory. Don't be afraid of a fight, we'll take them on if they come. I'll be working on something for the next month, so don't disturb me. You have full authority to command all of our soldiers in this period, and I'll tell the others to follow your instructions as well.”

“What about the rune knights?” Gangdor asked.

“They're at your disposal too.”

“Then let's fight! I can take the army all the way to those idiots and cut them down!”

Richard shook his head, “No, we don't have enough cause for that yet. Let them have their little song and dance, they're just tying the noose tighter around their necks. In fact, the more people that decide to threaten us, the better.”

A sudden look of understanding arose on Gangdor's face.

......

Richard locked himself up in his laboratory for the next month, not stepping out at all. Those living nearby saw hundreds of thousands of gold in magic materials disappear into his lab every day, a strange sight to behold even for those who didn't really care for money.

This was especially true for Lina who had served by Gaton's side for a long time. Richard was spending his father's yearly income in a matter of days, and all she could see was gold being melted away.

The month passed by without issue. When Richard stepped out of the laboratory, he was five kilograms lighter with a head and face of scraggly long hair. Only his eyes remained sparkling, full of depth. The warehouse was now completely empty, the millions of gold in materials having vanished into the bottomless pit of his runecrafting. The end result was four runes just thrown into a simple enchanted box he carried around without a care.

It was Tiramisu's turn to guard the lab today. The ogre mage was sitting against the wall, the main head snoring loudly while the second one was looking in all directions. “Oi, Tiramisu!” the second head woke him up, and the ogre mage jumped with fright. “Master, you... Umm...”

Richard's aura was vastly different than it had been a month ago. Even then this master of his was frightening when unleashed, but now it felt like millions of invisible pins were poking at him constantly. The murderous aura wafting off Richard's body made him feel like he was in mortal danger.

If Richard was an unsheathed sword a month ago, now it felt like the sword's tip was at one's throat.

Thankfully this situation had played out once before. Richard immediately realised the problem and flashed a smile, curbing his aura to the point that no traces of danger remained. Although he hadn't added any new runes to himself in the past month, the entire crafting process had allowed him to analyse Beye's abilities even further. Her realm of controlling death was still far beyond his capabilities, but he had started on that path.

That improved understanding of the power of the rune helped him grasp the root of the design better as well, refining his attempts at crafting it. His success rate had gone up slightly, as had the power of the final result. At the same time, this improvement also allowed him to gain a deeper understanding of how to use the rune, making for a cycle of continuous improvement that tempered his aura greatly.

He patted the ogre's belly as he walked past, “Go gather everyone, I have some things to say.”

Tiramisu was now close to four metres tall; even seated on the floor it was difficult for Richard to touch his shoulders. As the ogre grew larger with age, it could reach the point where he had to just pat the thigh instead.

......

It didn't take long for all of Richard's followers to gather in his residence. All his followers were present, although Tiramisu had to stand on two boulders in the garden outside and look in through the window. Thankfully the window had been designed wide and tall; what had once been for aesthetics now had a practical use.

Lina was also present, as were Io and Nyra. Some other people like Rosie and Kellac had been summoned as well.

Richard was sitting in front of the meeting desk, holding a piece of paper in hand. He tapped the table lightly once everyone arrived to garner their attention and smiled, “So, good news first. Both Faelor and the Forest Plane are decently stable now, and we're earning good sums of money. The stigma about the Archerons being poor shouldn't be a thing anymore. You guys have been fighting beside me for the longest time, but I haven't really given you a chance to enjoy yourselves. Now, it's time to share. I'll be handing out your salaries for the year, depending on how long you've been with me.

“So let's start with our beautiful priestess. Flowsand, why don't you take a little less this year. Would a hundred thousand be enough?”

Flowsand just snorted, “What do I need money for? Supplies?”

If one thought about it, all of her equipment came from the divine grace of the Eternal Dragon. Any ordinary equipment she had access to for free, either from Richard himself or the warehouse at the Church of the Eternal Dragon. However, right after her snort she looked up at the ceiling and started muttering calculations under her breath. She was silently calculating the price of pearls and beautiful dresses; by the time she was done, all of the gold had been allocated already.

Richard followed up with the salaries of everyone else. His core followers all received anywhere between 80,000 and 100,000 a year, while Lina received another 100,000 as well. Everyone wore pleased expressions on their faces. Although he generally took care of their armour and weapons, there were other simpler ways to spend money that made them happy.

The only exception was Phaser. The uncovered part of her face seemed completely blank as she heard she would receive 70,000 gold. She knew that gold was a resource so she would take and protect it, but she didn't need weapons nor equipment and her food tastes were simple as well. She only cared for how much energy a meal could provide her and nothing else, and she hadn't seen any high-energy foods for sale in Faelor. Perhaps her indifference would change if she visited Faust's restaurants.

The most surprised one in the room was probably Rosie. When her name had been called at the end and she received 50,000 gold, her eyes started to redden a bit. The actualy amount of money she couldn't care less about, but the very fact that she had been allocated anything meant Richard considered her someone close to him.

Done with telling everyone of their pay, Richard put the paper back on the desk. It was an ordinary thin sheet of sheepskin, but it held a lot of significance. This was the first time he had established his core properly, and their rewards in the first year had exceeded a million gold. This was almost all of Gaton's income in the past year!

“I have 800,000 gold in the warehouse right now, distribute it yourselves proportionally. The rest of the money is in Norland, you can go collect your share from the steward at any time.”

Cheers erupted within and without the meeting room. Tiramisu and Medium Rare were already arguing over which hotels they would visit, the latter roaring about wanting to hire a few personal chefs. The gourmet ogre was already deciding which specific meats he wanted to buy.

Richard had more news to share, but he waited the few minutes it took for the celebration to die down. He then started allocating his followers between Faelor and the Forest Plane, formally making Flowsand his second in command.

That announcement immediately hushed the room completely. Everyone grew serious as they realised that these arrangements were being made for a period of absence.

Richard nodded at the unasked question, “I have a promise to fulfil. I'll be visiting a battlefield of despair for some time, and I expect you to manage things until I return.”

631 - City of Sin

Return To Dusk

“Richard!” “Master!” “Boss!”

The moment they heard that Richard was going to a battlefield of despair, all of Richard's followers started screaming. Planar wars were cruel enough when one led their own troops, but the battlefields of despair were places where you had to fight yourself. More than two-thirds of those who went there wound up dead.

If anyone present knew about the sheer terror of Daxdus, it was Richard himself. He understood from experience the cruelty of the battlefields of despair. It left him frightened. However, he had already decided to go. He felt around in his pocket and touched the last destiny crystal, regaining his confidence once more.

He then looked around at everyone and smiled, “Oi, what's the fuss about? I'm not making it that easy for you guys. I haven't had enough fun in this life, the pope and future popes of the three goddesses are still waiting for me to sleep with them.”

This immediately roused up the men of the group. “What's the point of just the popes, boss?” Gangdor shouted, “You should sleep with the goddesses themselves!”

Olar's eyes shone as he nodded in agreement, as did those of all of Richard's other male followers. Even Io found himself inclined to agree— his disdain for the gods of Faelor surpassed his hatred of demons and devils. In fact, he would like nothing more than for Richard to burn all of Faelor's gods with his abyssal flames.

A slight irritation appeared on Flowsand's face, but now that she was the leader of the group she just hummed in annoyance instead of scolding him. Waterflower bowed her head down, her thoughts unknown, while Demi and Rosie just cheered along with the men. It was only the Dragon Mage that shook her head in silence, but she started blushing.

The meeting thus ended in chaos.

......

Richard slept for a day and night to restore his energy before quietly walking through the portal to Norland at dawn. A rare thunderstorm rocked the Bloodstained Lands that day.

He only stopped in Norland for a short while before immediately heading to the Orleans island, talking to Agamemnon for a bit to get permission to use their portal to the Land of Dusk.

As this was a confidential journey, Nyris did not come to send him off. Agamemnon just hugged Richard tightly and whispered by his ear, “Come back alive, or I'll have no choice but to take care of your women for you.”

This 'blessing' left Richard laughing so hard tears formed at the corners of his eyes. His women weren't as simple as people would think; any such intentions and this friend of his would likely end up dead. Still, he responded to the joke in good faith, “You should look for a few yourself! If you die now, there isn't even anyone for me to take care of.”

“I'm trying!” Agamemnon replied. The two laughed once more, sharing one last hug before Richard entered the portal.

Agamemnon stood rooted in place for a long time after the light of the transmission disappeared. Anything could happen in the battlefields of despair, and even the strongest of warriors could meet their end. He didn't know whether he would be able to see that smile once more.

......
𝐟𝙧ℯe𝙬𝚎𝒃𝗻𝒐ѵel. 𝐜o𝓶

Richard staggered into a dark hillside as the light of the portal disappeared, his surroundings immediately covered in pitch darkness. Fireflies that had hidden from the bright light slowly started to take flight once more, covering his surroundings with a very dim light. Looking around and finding himself safe for now, he sat down and quietly waited for the dizziness from the teleportation to fade away.

Once he was able to explore again, he quickly found out that he recognised some of the local topography. He had wound up in a familiar area. Last time it had taken ten days to get to the capital of the Unsetting Sun, but without Beye he expected it would take him thrice as long. Thankfully, nobody had stopped him from bringing his staff and swords this time.

As his skill in melee combat grew, Richard had come to realise that the three swords he had served very different purposes that synergised well with his understanding of the Church's martial arts. However, even though there was no real issue with mobility even with all four weapons on hand, he found himself starting to look more and more like an equipment stand than a powerhouse. He was looking for spatial equipment to store his things in, but hadn't found the time to make a purchase yet.

He started to regulate his pulse like Beye had taught him, trying to eliminate the scent he gave off. He also picked up some moss off the ground for good measure, smearing it over himself and his equipment. He then walked into a cave nearby.

It took an uneventful half a day to make it to the other side of the hill. However, just as the dim light of the Land of Dusk shone upon his face, Richard felt a powerful gust blowing towards his back. His nose immediately recognised the familiar scent of a skaven, but with his eyes still trying to adjust to the light it was all he could do to jump out of the way.

The tunnel suddenly grew a thousand times brighter than before as a ball of light immediately flew out from his hands, filling the cave with bright white that caused the skaven to scream in agony. Its follow-up attack missed completely as Richard seemed to vanish from his original spot.

However, these rat-men relied more on smell and hearing for their vision than their eyes. The skaven leapt onto the wall in preparation for its next attack, high-pitched squeaks ringing out in the cave as its ears started to twitch in search of him.

The only problem was that Richard was prepared. An ear-piercing boom rang out in the tunnel as though a lightning bolt had struck the ground only a few feet away, the reverberation from the narrow walls drowning out the skaven's attempts at echolocation completely. Richard himself felt his head start to ache, but took advantage of the chaos to attack the stumbling creature. The dagger form of Carnage slipped out of its jagged sheath, piercing through the skaven's mouth up to the hilt.

The skaven cried out in despair, trying to bite down on the bone blade, but all it caused was a loud screech as its teeth ground against the divine weapon. Richard gritted his teeth at the noise and twisted his wrist, basically stirring the enemy's throat until it stopped moving.

Sweat started to bead down his forehead and cheeks as he extracted his dagger from the skaven's throat. A quick examination allowed him to sigh in relief— despite its bite force, the creature had left no mark on the blade. This was the first being of Daxdus that he had killed himself, but despite it being a mere soldier it had taken him far more effort than he would have liked. The skaven had no runes or equipment, but its sheer cunning to attack the moment the light shifted would have left many in a difficult situation.

Making sure that there were no more skaven nearby, he set a few alarm traps around the tunnel before beginning to dismember the corpse. This was a job he had grown familiar with on his last trip here, and with Carnage being a much more powerful dagger than the one he had before it didn't take much effort. Skinning the creature to form a bag of sorts, he extracted its teeth and the black crystals from its body before cleaning up.

A slight swing of his arm threw the remaining blood off Carnage before he put it back into its main sword body, and he put the sack on his back before walking out of the tunnel. At the end was the same magnificent view of the dark earth and cloud-covered sky. A stream of beautiful lights still flashed over from many places, but now he knew that each was a battle of life and death.

This was a world of despair that was already dead. The bloody light that could shine through the sky was definitely capable of turning anyone crazy. He breathed in heavily, sensing the burning poison in the air before jumping down the cliff. Every few metres he dug his hand into the cliffside to slow down his fall.

Falling down for a minute, he started running towards the capital of the Unsetting Sun.

632 - City of Sin

Return To Dusk(2)

As he sprinted between the rocky valleys, Richard noticed countless rifts in the earth that were spewing out a black fog. Some of them were belching up magma outright, the crisscrossed wounds revealing a plane so damaged it would never be able to support life once more.

He suddenly stopped in his tracks, quickly hiding in a shallow gorge. Not far away, a tomiller devil with golden-red hair walked out from behind a rocky mountain. Her glowing eyes seemed to be lit aflame as she constantly scanned through the environment, slowly closing in on his location.

Having met tomiller devils on his previous excursion, he had some basic knowledge of their body structure. The average height was 2 metres, somewhat tall for humans but nothing when compared to those of Daxdus. Their speed and agility were passable, but what truly set them apart was the immense strength that allowed them to wield heavy weapons with ease.

This one seemed to be younger than the ones he had met before, the flail she was dragging behind her lighter than with previous opponents. However, Richard still withdrew his aura completely and laid motionless on the floor. Every tomiller devil was a skilled hunter, and this one had obviously noticed his presence.

When the sound of the flail came to a stop, he didn't hesitate in the slightest as he jumped up with the Book of Holding in his arms. A burst fireball shot out towards the tomiller devil in an instant, but she only flashed a terrifying smile that extended all the way from one ear to the other to reveal hundreds of sharp teeth.

The devil didn't care about the fireball at all, just dodging its trajectory as she leapt towards Richard. The flail was still being dragged behind her, but it was the empty hand that rotated weirdly to attack. She started licking her lips, as though she had come across a great meal that she didn't want to turn to a pulp.

It was only when the fireball crossed her that she felt the power of destruction within. She couldn't react in time at all, screaming as she was drowned in the waves of fire. The abyssal flames powered by Richard's truename were a mortal enemy of all devils, and she was no different. The viscous flame stuck to her body like a vicious beast swallowing her whole.

Richard quickly flipped through the Book of Holding, firing off two more burst fireballs in her direction. Still, her screams continued to ring out as she threw her flail away and continued to stagger towards him. Even with her flesh and blood burning away, she could still put up a fight.

However, a spark of lightning suddenly flashed in front of her that left her more frightened than the abyssal flames. With Extinction in one hand and Carnage in the other, Richard seemed to disappear from existence as a gust of wind lightly blew past her.

The tomiller devil came to a stop, stunned to see Richard standing ten metres away from her once more, mumbling something she could not make out. A thin line of crimson suddenly flashed on her neck, quickly expanding until there was no way to tell flesh from skin.

Her head rolled to the ground, completely frozen in shock. Web-like gashes spread across the rest of her body as well, tearing a hole into her chest before the headless corpse lost the last vestiges of its strength and collapsed.

Richard heaved a sigh of relief, cold sweat erupting from all his pores. He had just activated both Mana Armament and Lifesbane, expending more than half of his mana in only a few moments of battle. Such was his current focus in battle; all-out attacks that left him with no path of escape.

Slowly adjusting his breathing once more, he made his way to the devil's body to collect the crystals and core. This one's lack of strength was more due to her youth than her talent, so the core he gathered was of excellent quality. She was likely a talent back in Daxdus, but now she was nothing more than a hoard of resources. One more like this and he would be able to hold a lesser sacrifice.

A few minutes of rest helped him recover to a point where he could move again. However, he would be forced to flee if he met another powerful enemy. Searching for a place to hide along the way, he eventually found a small cave he could cover up and meditate within.

His heart was still beating hard with fear and excitement. Less than a day from when he had arrived and he had faced two enemies who would easily have killed him only a few months ago. Richard had known this trip to the Land of Dusk would be much more difficult from the last, but he was already too exhausted to defend himself properly. Only the destiny crystal in his pocket gave him a sense of security, giving him some peace of mind.

Four hours later, he walked out of the cave and followed the crimson light towards his destination. However, this time luck was not on his side. He quickly found himself flanked by two enclave centaurs, leaving him with no room for escape.

Facing two enemies that were each as powerful as a saint from Norland was terrifying, but he knew he could not escape these natural hunters. He also knew there was no chance for him to kill them in a normal fight.

He breathed in heavily, putting all three of his swords on the floor as he held tightly to the Twin of Destiny and his eyes widened. A wild thought was flowing through his mind: blood for blood!

He immediately augmented a chain lightning spell with sacrifice, sending a crimson bolt as thick as a tree-trunk barrelling through the centaur on his left. These warriors normally had enough magic resistance to shrug off an attack from a level 16 mage, but that underestimation immediately cost him his life.

The centaur on the right let out an astonishing howl as it continued to charge towards Richard. However, Richard did not flee as expected, instead activating Lifesbane to welcome the attack.

*CRUNCH!* Richard felt his bones cracking as his left arm was crushed in an instant. However, the clash had bought him just enough time to open his mouth and blow out a translucent wave of fire.

The enclave centaur smiled coldly at the flames blown towards him— all warriors of Daxdus had some amount of fire resistance. A quick wave of his hammer created a powerful gust that would blow the attack away.

However, things did not go as expected. The abyssal flames passed right through the shockwave to land on his attacking arm, taking less than a second to burn it clean off his body. Before the centaur could even register the shock of the blaze, they had already spread to his chest.

The human-horse hybrid just looked down at the expanding wound in his chest, unable to understand how such a feeble fire had so much power. This would be his last doubt; all six of his pillar-like legs gave way from under him as he collapsed.

Richard fell back himself, barely able to sit back up and take stock of the situation. His face had flushed an unusual red, the insides of his body burning with a sulphurous smell. Without the strength to harvest the corpses properly, he barely dug out their hearts before fleeing to find a place to hide.

His left arm had been broken off completely. He was still a week away from the capital of the Unsetting Sun, but as he was now there was no way he would reach it. Finding a place to hide, he gave in to his fatigue and fainted.

It took three days before he woke up, his stomach threatening to burn through itself in his hunger. As he suppressed a yawn, his mouth almost bit down on his own hand in search of food. Feeling cramped from the pain, he looked around and started to lick off even the moss covering his weapons!

As he tried to prop himself up to go look for food, he felt an acute pain from his left arm. It was only then that he recalled his arm had been shattered, but checking its condition he realised that the bones had mostly recovered. It still felt like there were a few cracks, but the pain was nowhere near as bad as when he had staggered his way to this cave.

633 - City of Sin

Return To Dusk(3)

Testing out his left arm, Richard found that he could move it with ease. It still hurt, and he was quite sure that exerting too much force would cause more damage, but this was far better than he had expected it to be. Only after his initial bout of surprise did he remember that hydras were well-known for their regeneration; the egg he'd eaten back in Klandor had likely boosted his own.

Since he had regained motion in his left arm, he decided not to continue hiding. He had no food or water here, and if he didn't find a way to fill his stomach soon he would faint from the hunger.

However, his luck still wasn't great. No more than a few kilometres from his starting point he met a three-headed wolf, something quite similar to the Cerberus of the abyss. All nine eyes glowed green with greed and cunning, the heads salivating like he was the greatest of meals.

However, his own green eyes lit aglow. Sacrifice was activated without hesitation once more, blood-coloured lightning tearing through one of the three heads in an instant. Richard then pulled out the elven sword and turned into a million afterimages, cutting down the other two heads until all that remained was a bloody mist.

A short while later, his hunger was finally sated. Wiping the blood traces from the corners of his mouth, he looked at the skin and skeleton left and finally remembered that these wolves were also considered intelligent life. This was a warrior, not a magical creature or wild beast.

But there were only two kinds of beings in the battlefields of despair: the survivors and their prey. Richard felt no sense of disgust, no pity for the enemy that had disappeared down his throat. Those of Daxdus had always seen him as a delicious meal, and outside of the capital of the Unsetting Sun even the Norlanders had no other food. The most popular rations within this land of death were dried skaven meat laced with flakes of black crystal.

Richard stowed the wolf-skin away before continuing onwards towards the city. His strength had grown after the meal, a numb itch in his forearm a constant reminder that it was recovering at a fast pace. Over the next few days, he experienced several difficult battles in a row. There were times he killed powerful opponents, and there were also times he could only flee.

By the time the capital of the Unsetting Sun was within view, he was sprinting at full speed with Mana Armament activated. Behind him were more than ten skaven, flying after him on all four feet. This was a number he definitely couldn't deal with, even if there were three of himself.

As he ran towards the capital in a straight line, he shot a magical flare into the sky to request help from the city guards. What should have been a simple fireball exploded into a flower of flames, a signal the Norlanders here used to request help.

An indistinct figure suddenly appeared a few kilometres away, that of a tall and sturdy middle-aged man. Seeing Richard running without so much as looking back, he huffed heavily, “Bah, coward!”

However, a more careful look evoked a sound of surprise, “Ooh, the kid is just level 16. That really isn't easy... Interesting, let me help you a bit.” The silhouette immediately grew clear as the man took huge steps that allowed him to cross hundreds of metres in a flash...

Richard suddenly noticed the unusual quiet behind him, finding that the sharp squeaks of the skaven had completely disappeared. An intense stench of blood assailed his nose, causing him to slow down a little and look back.

He was shocked still.

The skaven in the distance had all turned into corpses, strewn all over the ground with little regard. All he could see was an empty land riddled with scars, not even a shadow of whoever had done this. He opened his mouth to scream a thank you, but suddenly realised that whoever helped him would have shown themselves if they wanted to. In the end, he quieted down and continued running towards the gates of the city.

He could already see the enormous architecture of the city walls in the distance, but this was partly because the horizon of the Land of Dusk was exceptionally far. It still took him half a day to reach his destination, and by the time he did he almost couldn't believe that he had managed it.

Looking back to see the world of slaughter and madness behind him, he suddenly felt as though he was dreaming. The sheer disparity left him in a momentary daze, but that was soon shaken off by a halberd placed right before his face.

One of the city guards sized him up lazily, “Hey kid, where'd you come from? Where are the adults in your family, what did you bring?”

A cold light immediately filled Richard's eyes, a faint killing intent appearing on his face. The Unsetting Sun capital was not a normal city; its guards were all meant to guard against those of Daxdus, while Norlanders could come and go as they pleased. The guards weren't meant to check what the people carried. This one was clearly looking for trouble, and he could already see the man's gaze hovering over the bundle on his back with a faint greed.

A month of walking on the edge of life and death had already pushed Richard's temper to the verge of explosion. He didn't even bother holding back his aura, starting to radiate a gloomy rage.

Richard's response left the guard extremely unhappy, his expression darkening as he spat hard on the floor, “Oi, you brat. You don't even have a full beard, what are you looking at? Come over with me, I need to search you and make sure you're not a Daxdus spy.”

The killing intent instantly dissipated as Richard's eyes lit aglow. The guard felt goosebumps rise all over his body, feeling as though his existence had been seen through completely. He immediately looked around, but the fact that his comrades weren't moving at all made him panic even further. Unseen dangers were the most terrifying sort, and anyone who lived in the battlefields of despair would sharpen their intuition over time. This guard instantly felt a threat to his life.

A middle-aged guard who was leaning over the walls on the other side pretending not to hear the conversation suddenly walked over, interrupting the fight that was about to break out. “Are you the person Lady Beye wished to meet?” he asked calmly. Please visit ƒ𝐫𝗲𝒆𝑤𝚎𝐛𝙣𝐨𝙫𝙚𝚕. 𝒄o𝓂

Richard only nodded, turning his glowing eyes towards this new entrant. This guard felt a shiver run down his spine as well, immediately bursting into a flattering smile, “You must be Sir Richard. We don't mean any harm, this is just our duty. Lady Beye is in the city right now, you can find her in Saint Lawrence's shop.” Having said so, he pulled the other one away towards the gate.

The belligerent guard wanted to beat Richard up, but knowing that Richard was backed by Beye he clearly didn't have the guts to fight anymore. However, Richard himself was in no rush to enter as he turned towards the man, “If you have the skill, let's put away our armour and weapons. Let's see if you can last a minute against this kid without a full beard, eh? One minute and I'll change my surname to yours.”

The guard's face immediately turned purple, but even though he opened his mouth multiple times no words came out. The middle-aged guard quickly blocked Richard's gaze once more, “Sir Richard, Lady Beye has waited for you for a long time.”

“Don't let there be a next time,” Richard huffed.

“Of course, of course!” the man continued to smile, even bowing a little.

Originally, he had planned to just kill both of them; they were clearly just looking to exploit a newcomer to the Land of Dusk. However, even if he knew this etiquette was fake it left him with no chance to flare up.

Only after Richard walked away did the middle-aged man let out a sigh of relief, wiping the sweat off his brow. The first guard started to curse, “It's only a level 16 kid, he's so fucking arrogant! I'm a saint and I still have to guard these gates! If it weren't for Beye, I would have killed him!”

The other guard forced a laugh, “Don't ever say that out loud again. Anybody who can meet Lady Beye is a lunatic.”

“I refuse to believe a level 16 kid can beat me!” the first guard refused to accept it. However, the middle-aged one just sighed. His friend's words seemed reasonable, but for some reason he was left with a feeling of unease.

634 - City of Sin

The Edge of Life And Death

Richard followed along the main street of the outer city, admiring the majestic architecture along the way. The fact that he was about to meet Beye melted away the displeasure of the incident at the gates. After all, two saints without legendary equipment were no more difficult to deal with than the two enclave centaurs he had killed. The first guard had clearly risen to his level only recently, and would certainly die to one boosted lightning bolt.

He quickly entered Lawrence's shop once more. This dilapidated building was the only open place in the long street, and as he walked in the formerly empty racks had a few items placed on them. He thought of these items as nothing but baubles at first, but a habitual scan caused him to stop in his tracks and look over them carefully once more. Each of these things was epic-grade at minimum!

“Who it it?” a hoarse voice rang from within, “Do you want to sell something? Wait for a while, I'm busy. Tch, such long legs...”

Richard recognised the perverted old man immediately, “Saint Lawrence, I'm Richard Archeron. Is Beye around?”

“Richard!” the old man ran out like a gust of wind, scanning Richard from head to toe as his eyes lit up in happiness, “You actually made it all the way here by yourself. Level 16 already, not bad! You're on par with me back than, only that lass Sharon was faster... Wait, did you bring me what I want?”

As he finished the last sentence, Lawrence placed his hand out. However, Richard just flashed a bitter smile and shook his head, “I don't have the ability to defeat a sksar ursa warlord right now, I'm just looking for Beye to give her something.”

“Give her something, eh?” Lawrence looked at Richard mysteriously before nodding and calling out, “Beye, your lover is here to see you!”

“Richard?” a weak voice came from within, “Come... in.”

The old man patted him on the back, “Come, let's go in. She isn't in the best of conditions right now.”

This shop wasn't very big, with only three rooms in total. The rooms themselves were fairly large, but a twenty-metre corridor was all it took to enter the last room. As they approached, Richard noticed a small hut made of wood and stone sitting in the centre of the room, clearly a crude construction. However, the detection abilities he was so proud of seemed incapable of piercing through this structure at all. It was only when they got closer that he spotted the infusion of rare magic materials that prevented scrying of any sort.

Lawrence pulled open the door to the hut and motioned for him to enter. Inside was Beye, but right now she was just laid on a metal bed with many obvious wounds on greening skin.

And her chest was completely cut open! Richard could feel bile rising up his throat for a moment as he saw Beye's stomach and intestines slowly squirming. She had three triangular hearts within, but only one of them seemed to be beating normally. The other two only squirmed every once in a while, gushing crimson.

“What happened to you?!” he almost screamed.

Beye turned her head slightly, revealing a slight smile, “Well, I'm still alive.”

Lawrence, walking in from behind, snorted in response, “You're still alive because I keep saving your beautiful ass, girl. Lad, get out of the way!” He pushed Richard to the side as he made his way to a basin of cold water, washing his hands and taking out a sharp silver dagger that he used to start carving through Beye's chest.

He could see the vestiges of a saint runemaster within the old man. Even though his hands weren't as stable as before, the movements were still nearly flawless. The dagger started to peel off the surface of her organs, sending purplish-black flesh into a bin nearby.

“What exactly happened?” Richard couldn't help but ask.

“What else? This crazy lass went and fought a legendary warrior and came back like this. I haven't slept for the past few days just trying to save her! You see how she is, I need to exhaust myself for another four days to completely save her life!”

“He's dead though,” Beye commented slightly.

“SURE! YOU'RE INCREDIBLE!” Lawrence seemed to explode, “SO WHAT? If it wasn't for me, would you even be able to survive? Can't you wait for another two years to become a legendary being yourself? Then you'll be too embarrassed to look for me if you're dying, right? I haven't even done anything to you, what happens to your promise if you die?”

Beye ignored the old man's words, turning towards Richard instead, “You completed the Lifesbanes?” Her voice carried a hint of anxiety and expectation.

“Four pieces in total,” Richard said with a nod.

“Four! That's great!” She tried to lift herself up in her excitement, but Lawrence raged and knocked her on the head to keep her down. He then brought out some unknown liquid that was clear at water, pouring it into her chest. Beye's body immediately started convulsing in immense pain as a thick fog spewed out of her chest.

Lawrence couldn't help but rage further, “See! If you were willing to wait a little longer, would you have ended up like... Wait. Lifesbane? Richard, where did you get this from?”

“Hmm? I made them.”

“You made them? You can craft Lifesbane? You're just a kid, damn!” Lawrence growled and jumped, uncaring of the bottle and dagger in his hands. Richard was startled and immediately moved over to keep him down, afraid that the dagger would cut into Beye by accident.

Beye sighed, “I'm sorry, old man. When I saw him, I couldn't control myself. I knew I had to kill him.”

Lawrence nodded, “I know. Sigh, at least now you won't end up so bad even if you act stupid. This lover of yours is incredible, he can already craft Lifesbane at this age. He even made four of them, and it doesn't seem like he took too long either. Back then, I... Hmph, I was definitely much more talented than him.”

The old man then turned back to Richard, “Hey lad, since you can already craft Lifesbane, did you craft the first stage of the Mana Armament?”

Richard simply opened up a bit of his clothing to expose the rune. Lawrence silently nodded as well.

“Richard, I only gave you three offerings. Let me think about it... Old ma—” Beye suddenly froze up, fighting the pain for a few moments before she could speak again, “Ugh, old man, lend me something from your chest. I want to repay little Richard.”

“Lend? Do you even qualify for that? How much do you owe me over all these years? How many times have I saved your life?” Although Lawrence's words were harsh, he still turned around towards Richard, “Hey kid, there's a chest in the room. Take something from within. Whenever you manage to craft the grade 5 Mana Armament, I'll give you everything inside it. The thing was supposed to go to Beye after I die, but it doesn't matter if I give it to her lover. Go on, now. I give you three minutes.”

“I've already taken a lot,” Richard rejected the offer with a frown. Beye had already given him three top-tier offerings in exchange for these Lifesbane runes. This was cheap in terms of market price, but he was still making a 200% profit off it because of his ability. 20 million gold was already more revenue than he expected, and looking at her right now he knew exactly how each of those offerings was acquired.

“I don't care, I'm paying you what I think they're worth,” Beye said lightly, “These Lifesbane runes are priceless, using one offering each is already a deal. Go on, don't waste time. I have something to tell you once you're back.”

Richard hesitated a little before walking out of the hut. There was a rusty chest on the edge that nobody would be interested in, not even a lock on the box while the buckle was already deformed.

His first response upon opening the chest was to grimace. A strong rotting stench flowed out immediately that almost made him throw up, but after taking a breath of fresh air and holding it he started to look over its contents. There were only eight things in the box in total: a bone, two pieces of rotting meat, two small idols with rough handiwork, and three dusty stones. A rotting liquid had covered the bottom of the box.

He wondered what these things were at first, but as Analytic was activated his eyes went wide.

635 - City of Sin

Wish

The bone was glowing with pale light, while the two pieces of meat were actually still moving. Just looking at the idols made him feel a roar deep within his soul, and the stones actually seemed to be swirling. Even the rotting liquid had a life of its own. Every one of these items was a top-tier offering! Please visit f𝗿e𝗲𝘄𝚎𝐛𝚗𝐨𝙫ℯl. c𝗼𝚖

Many years after losing all his power, Saint Lawrence still had nine top-tier offerings to just give out. Richard almost burst with excitement at the thought of how much he would be able to earn when he reached that stage. Sadly, time was limited. He quickly grabbed one of the stones that were almost as large as his fist and returned to the hut.

Lawrence had already switched tools, a magical pen now in each hand. These pens constantly zipped across Beye's skin and flesh, and the wounds they brushed across seemed to be healing quickly. He didn't even glance over, “It's your lucky day, kid, watch me repair her arteries and veins. Hey, don't be anxious; you can ask whatever you want, my concentration can't possibly be broken by the likes of you.”

“Why don't we just find a priest?” Richard couldn't help but ask.

“The inhabitants of Daxdus command a mixed power of darkness and chaos. Darkness is something most priests can repel, but the power of chaos is a natural enemy of divinity. Healing spells cast on these injuries could even backfire, and powerful ones like Restoration might just kill her. I'm slowly eliminating the power of chaos within to bring her back from the edge. Grr, this is so tiring. Is it that fun to get beaten up by a legend?”

“But I killed him,” Beye rebutted.

Lawrence was about to rage again, but he looked at her open chest and two unmoving hearts and sighed, “Alright. You have these Lifesbanes now, you'll just die before you get to me next time.”

“Can't the Eternal Dragon control the power of chaos?” Richard asked, “Isn't there a church inside this city?”

“The church building here was only built recently, and the grand priest there is much weaker than those in Norland. They don't enter wars without reason anyway.”

However, this only ignited suspicion within Richard's heart. The high priestess herself had sent Flowsand with him to join a planar war, and Io and Nyra followed after. Without such support, he wouldn't have been as successful as he was today. Although they claimed to be neutral, they had assisted him multiple times under the guise of equal trade. Even though he had paid a great price for what he received, he didn't believe there were no others with the wealth to swallow that cost.

That brought his attention to something else, “Saint Lawrence, why don't you use your offerings to trade for healing from the Eternal Dragon? You should have enough, no?”

Lawrence suddenly glared at Richard, sparks of lightning flashing through his eyes for a moment. However, his gaze immediately turned dull and he buried his head back into his work, “You're still young and have a great future ahead, the Church seems like an overbearing figure to you. To me, the Eternal Dragon isn't invincible. You'll eventually realise how hard it is to be blessed by the gods. Even if I gave everything I had to the Church, it would only give me three to five years of life. Then I would have to continue fighting constantly to find sacrifices, but the best case would be another three years. Is there a meaning to living like that? I refuse to bow down to anyone, why would I bow to that old dragon?”

Richard's eyes widened at this answer, his mouth falling open in surprise.

“You'll understand in the future, kid. Remember, the only real power is what you can hold in your hands. The rest is all fake, all fa—”

“Tch,” Beye interrupted, “Ignore him for now. That problem's far into the future. Come, you should see the structure of my body. Do you notice my internals are different from ordinary humans? This will be you in the future. Our bloodlines affect more than just our strength; the greater their power, the more different your body is from normal. The bloodline I inherited is one of my family's two great bloodlines— the nightmare shade. Agamemnon inherited the ancient titan bloodline. You should understand how bloodlines work, because they're important in crafting grade 4 runes.”

“Kid, pay attention!” Lawrence suddenly piped up, holding one of Beye's unbeating hearts. His hand moved swift as the wind, slicing off the power of chaos on the surface without tearing the heart off the body. The surging blood was sealed by his mana, and after some time it slowly started to beat once more.

By the next day, Richard could already assist Lawrence in his tasks. The day after that, he helped out with the unimportant organs to speed up Beye's recovery. On the fourth and final day of his stay in Saint Lawrence's house, he personally sewed up Beye's chest and left her whole once again.

As strong as she was, the Lady of the White Night couldn't take it anymore as she gave in to her fatigue. Richard covered her body up with a blanket, walking out with a heavy heart. Why was it that someone who could even kill legendary beings wasn't living as happy as she should?

“What are you thinking of, kid?” Lawrence asked as he threw himself onto a chair.

“Just wondering whether I'll become like that one day,” he answered.

The old man suddenly turned serious, shaking his head with a sigh, “That isn't something to worry about. Think about when the person you treasure most in your life becomes like this, and you don't have the power to help them.”

Richard nodded, going silent for a while. Eventually, another question surfaced in his mind, “Why did a saint runemaster go fight a legendary mage?”

“There are some people in this world you'll want to kill no matter what. I didn't care if the enemy was a legend or a god, I just knew I had to fight.”

Richard nodded, able to detect an unquestionable resolution in the old man's gaze.

“Right. Kid, let me ask you something.” Lawrence suddenly sat upright, his eyes shining with a radiance that made him lose ten years of age, “Exactly how confident are you in crafting the grade 5 Mana Armament?”

“Uhh...” Richard hesitated for a while, “It's... hard to say. After all, I still need to be level 20 at minimum to get there. And that blueprint you gave me, there were... some flaws to it.”

“Great!” the old man suddenly jumped in front of him, shaking him with frightening force, “You actually noticed there were flaws, there's hope in you completing it! Great, just great! I'll definitely find a way to live a few more years so I can see the rune done!”

Richard suddenly frowned, a sudden fear overtaking his heart, “Did you add flaws on purpose?!” What would happen if he didn't spot these flaws and crafted the rune exactly according to the blueprint?

Thankfully, Lawrence just blushed a little, “No, I just... didn't complete it. I didn't really expect anyone to create it, so I just doodled what I could. Well anyway, I want to ask... If, if one day you finish the full grade 5 Mana Armament, can you... Can you...”

Richard immediately understood the reason for the old man's hesitation, “If I succeed one day, it will be known to everyone as a rune designed by Saint Lawrence.”

“That... That's really... How do I thank you? Why don't I drug Beye and let you bed her?” The scene of the old man blushing was a strange sight.

“What? NO!”

636 - City of Sin

Allegations

“You're afraid of her revenge? Don't worry, I'm here. I can craft a rune that'll turn her legs to jelly the moment she sees you. You can do whatever you want!” Please visit 𝗳𝚛𝐞𝘦wℯ𝚋𝓷o𝚟el. 𝐜𝘰𝒎

Richard didn't know whether he should be angry or amused. Were there even runes that did such a thing? Controlling the human mind was easier said than done.

“You're still inexperienced in the world of runes after all! There were countless beauties back then who never dared to see me after I attached my runes to them. Hmph, it's just that I did it to a girl I probably shouldn't have. Well, that left me with no choice but to come to this god forsaken place, eh?”

This old fellow was clearly a bona fide pervert. Why else would he invent a rune that turned legs to jelly? Although his gaze made it clear that he wanted to be asked about this rune of his, Richard had no interest in the lecher's machinations.

After staying another day to ensure Beye would be fine, Richard traded all of his spoils to Lawrence and left with a small sack of magic crystals. It had been less than a week since he'd left, but the Archeron island was much noisier than before. Just the morning of his arrival three batches of people arrived to ask about the private auction that would be held in two months.

While he left these things to the old steward's discretion, there was one letter that sparked his interest. It came from a small family called the Nelsons whose head had obtained a lesser offering and wished to offer a sacrifice at the Church of the Eternal Dragon. Since all such applications had to go through the families of Faust, the earl had applied to the Archerons and mentioned that he was willing to offer 40,000 gold as payment.

40,000 gold was about 10% of the total cost of a lesser offering. However, this was the first time that Richard had come across such a request so he had to call the steward to make sense of the situation. The steward explained that this earl didn't have much money, so he wanted to skimp a little on the tribute by going to the Archerons instead of any established family. His suggestion was to collect at least 15% of the cost of the offering, lest they become a public enemy to the rest of Faust's fourteen.

Richard thought about it for a moment and agreed, “Alright, 15% for now. Raise it to 20% after three months.”

Having settled everything, he left the floating island for the Church of the Eternal Dragon. Nyris was already waiting with 5 million gold in runecrafting materials, a lone that would be paid back by ore from Faelor over time. Agamemnon was present as well, with twenty more rune knights in training and a hundred level 13 warriors.

The two immediately noticed his gloomy mood, especially when he visibly darkened at the sight of Agamemnon. “Richard! What happened?!” Nyris asked with surprise.

Richard shook his head, trying to erase the image of the dying Beye from his mind. “It's fine,” he forced a smile, “I'm just growing too strong too quickly.”

Nyris nodded dubiously, “Right. Oh, by the way, will you need any help with Blackrose Castle? I can find a few saints to help you in secret.”

Richard laughed and shook his head, “Don't worry, why wouldn't I be able to deal with a bunch of clowns?”

“You're in a bad mood,” Agamemnon piped up, fixing his gaze on Richard, “Is it related to me? Hmm... Beye?”

Richard hesitated for a moment, but he eventually nodded, “She's hurt. Bad.”

The Orleans youth creased his brows for a moment, “Can she still fight?”

“It'll be some time before she's in peak form, but yes. However, she was on the verge of death.”

“That's okay. If she couldn't fight, she'd be better off dead. I'd avenge her when I go there next year.”

“Me too!” Nyris butted in.

“What?” Richard just looked at them with puzzlement. Both of them had great prospects ahead, it made no sense for them to take such risks.

“Only those who have been through the Battlefield of Despair can be considered true powerhouses!” Nyris said with a yearning look.

Richard's expression turned a little strange as his hand rose awkwardly. If that was the case, wasn't he a true powerhouse himself?

......

Richard's new soldiers accompanied him to Faelor. With the Church of the Eternal Dragon about to withdraw its paladins from his island soon, those with stupid ideas would start jumping into the fray. He was looking forward to teaching the fools a lesson, but first he had to grow his strength.

Faelor was peaceful overall, but the Sequoia Kingdom was starting to scheme against him in full force. Gangdor had followed his instructions to become an iron wall obstructing the entry of the Kingdom's troops. Those who didn't heed warnings were beaten back, but as far as possible he tried not to kill or maim. Even the ones he arrested were eventually sent back. This gentle treatment left the nobles with no reason to attack in the open, so they became more active in their traditional battlefield.

Every few days a few of the nobles of the assembly were writing formal complaints about Richard's domineering ways. The royal family had lost 10,000 people in the war against Raymond, including the crown prince, but Richard and his allies had lost several times that number. They believed this was the best period to wrest away control of the Bloodstained Lands, especially with the Direwolf Duke who backed Richard ending up dead.

As Gangdor and Io wiped out the bandits and slavers, the caravans could travel faster and with fewer guards. This meant greater profits from the trade with Forgefires, and Richard's more than quarter share was too large for these people to ignore. The same nobles jumped onto the podium every day, raging about how the Bloodstained Lands were a part of the Sequoia Kingdom and a single viscount shouldn't control more land than the rest of the kingdom. Needless to say, they all ignored the fact that this land had been conquered when he was a frontier knight. It was impossible for Richard to confirm that legally since they controlled the courts.

It was just that nobody paid attention to their hoots. The louder one was at the assembly, the fewer the soldiers they had. These fellows just hoped to apply enough political pressure to make him bow. Those with actual armies knew just how terrifying Richard was, and didn't dare to antagonise him. Many of them had been there when droves of soldiers were beheaded by the invaders without issue. Only when Richard's personal troops entered the fray did the situation veer in their favour. They could still remember the scene of more than thirty mounted saints rushing through the battlefield.

......

However, one day the situation in the assembly changed. An extremely young noble with unruly hair, pale face, and a skinny frame stood up on the podium, so nervous he didn't dare to make eye contact with the audience below. His voice was dry and hoarse as he took out a thick stack of papers to read from.

Many people jeered at the clown at first, but as his stammering voice continued the assembly gradually fell silent. The nobles looked at one another with horror and shock.

The accusation only held one point: Richard was also an invader, and he came from the same place as the foreigners who had brought calamity to Faelor! This would normally cause an uproar, but the youth started listing out compelling evidence as well. For example, Richard's core troops had equipment quite similar to the invaders in style. The standards of combat power of both parties were also about equal. Also, the two parties had spoken to each other right before the large battle.

The youth trembled with fear as he finished reading through the accusations, including many points of miscellaneous evidence. Although there were many fallacies in his argument, the number of coincidences were stacking up. Finally, he stated that more powerful evidence would be announced in half a month to prove his accusations completely.

The assembly fell into silence, all gazes landing on the young noble and making him even more nervous. Cold sweat trickled down his forehead, making it seem like he would faint the very next minute.

This fellow was merely a knight. Everyone understood that he was only a puppet used to relay messages. Someone else was behind this.

637 - City of Sin

Allegations(2)

If the pope of Neian was present, he would find that many of the things the young noble had read out were the exact same as the report sent to his desk. However, the nobility and clergy had different ways of thought. To them, it wasn't important who was behind the scenes. Their goal was clearly to kill Richard, and in the most despicable way possible.

However, the problem was in actually following through. If they had the military power to take him down, there would have been no need for them to sit around in the assembly all day doing nothing but condemning Richard. To destroy him... Just the thought sent a shudder down their spines

How were they supposed to eliminate Richard? His elites were absolutely terrifying and armed to the teeth! Nobody knew where the money came from, but the equipment of his knights far surpassed that of the royal knights. And the royal family only had 500 elite knights, Richard had thousands!

Even if they managed to defeat him in war, what of the rumoured legendary being in the Land of Turmoil? What if his family sent him support? Most of the nobles weren't even convinced by the allegations in the first place. They made for a good excuse, but without the endorsement of the gods they were not valid in the slightest. Eliminating Richard was undoubtedly in the interest of all of those present, but the first batch of fools who rushed to his gates wouldn't even leave their bones behind!

The assembly thus went quiet for the first time in months.

......

Still, the accusations seemed to grow wings. They quickly spread throughout the Sequoia Kingdom, eventually finding their way to the ears of Richard who had just returned. Richard immediately had the broodmother send a batch of elite humanoid knights and her new barbarian infantry to join up with him. They both now had level 11 strength, and the hundred or so of them were all paired with customised equipment from Norland that turned them into wolves amongst sheep.

After upgrading some of the rune knight candidates he'd bought from Agamemnon, he now also had twenty rune knights. Combined with some regular humanoid knights and all of his followers, an army of only 500 set off for the Sequoia Kingdom.

Of course, that was an army with two grand mages, twenty grade 2 rune knights of which more than half were set knights, three powerful priests from the Church of the Eternal Dragon, the pope of the Goddess of Spring Water, and extremely high-ranking cardinals of the other two goddesses. The accusation had obviously stirred the churches he was associated with into action as well. How would they retain worshippers if they didn't fight back when accused of mingling with invaders?

Even in Norland, this army would be able to crush most small aristocrats without breaking a sweat. Here in Faelor, it could go almost anywhere it wanted without issue. Even if he was surrounded by tens of thousands of troops, Richard was confident he would be able to kill his way out.

Richard and his pack of wolves headed straight for the king.

......

Sequoia City had no natural resources nearby, nor was it well-fortified. However, this city that was home to over a hundred thousand was the capital of the Sequoia Kingdom even though the actual base of the royal family was elsewhere. The place wasn't completely undefended, especially after the recent invasion, but the 500 swordsmen that had would be stationed here for the next few years were clearly meant to be a show of force more than anything else.

One morning, the guards pushed open the heavy city gates only to see smoke rising from afar. A team of knights barrelled through the city gates, the glimmer of their enchanted equipment almost blinding them completely. The guard captain could see the crest of the Sequoia Kingdom on the flags they carried, but he couldn't recognise which noble it was.

“Wh—Who?” the man stuttered loudly, unable to conceal the fear in his voice. The knights who had just charged in seemed to look at him so strangely...

This would be no mystery to those who knew the broodmother. Human beings were a completely valid food source for her, so it made perfect sense for her creations to feel the same. They were forbidden from eating Richard's army and citizens, but these guards were neither.

*Crack!* A loud whip rang out as a handsome elf stepped out from behind. Olar was no longer as gentle and elegant as he used to be, instead pointing the whip directly at the captain's face, “Oi, are you blind? You dare to stop Richard Archeron's soldiers, even when all our flags are on display? Can you not see the crests of the three Goddesses? Move, now! Or are you standing against the will of the Goddesses?”

The guard captain was stunned, starting to curse in his mind. He had never seen Richard personally, but how couldn't he know the most famous name in this city over the past few months? Letting Richard in alone would definitely get him punished, forget this army of knights following behind.

The captain was under orders to endure any shame and humiliation, refusing Richard entry no matter what. However, looking at the hundreds of soldiers ahead he suddenly realised that was easier said than done. This troop was much larger than a normal escort, he had clearly come prepared for war!

That brief moment of hesitation spelt his demise. Olar put enough energy into a crack on the head to send the man to the ground in an instant, a huge red mark forming across his face. The rest of the guards all watched in a daze for a few moments before they snapped back to reality, beginning to draw their swords. However, while they started screaming threateningly in place, none of them dared to rush forward.

“Whoever has a sword in hand after three seconds will be killed immediately. Don't blame me for not warning you beforehand!”

The screams immediately turned into squeaks, the swords returning to their sheaths. Some of the more cowardly guards even threw their weapons directly to the ground. Olar just snorted and waved his hand, sending the knights barrelling towards the assembly building.

......

Today was the day the young noble had mentioned he would release more proof that Richard was an invader. The assembly opened exactly on time even while the commoners were still eating breakfast, a tradition of the nobles here that seemed to be meant just to flaunt some sort of diligence. Please visit 𝘧𝔯𝙚𝐞𝘄ℯ𝚋𝘯𝚘ν𝐞𝑙. c𝑜m

The knight came as expected, much calmer than last time with his face almost glowing with confidence. He went up to the podium and cleared his throat, taking a thick stack of papers as before and starting to read out.

The so-called new evidence was the runes Richard was selling on the market. Information from the Baruch Kingdom showed that the Norlanders used runes with magical lines and patterns that matched quite closely to what Richard had to offer, and the Mage Association appraised that the two were astonishingly similar. The only difference was in the specific form and function of the magic arrays.

At the end of his speech, he even had the courage to shout, “Destroy Richard! Destroy the invaders!”

This was the most severe of accusations. If it was deemed true, Richard, his family, and his closest allies would be burnt at the stake or cut apart and fed to beasts. The assembly was absolutely silent, no applause nor criticism of the knight's allegations coming forth.

*PAK!* A solitary harsh clap resounded through the seemingly dead assembly, pulling heads in its direction. A solitary figure walked in through the gate, following the clap with a second and a third.

Richard was dressed in simple mage robes today, but the three swords behind him were particularly eye-catching. He walked right up to the podium and smiled at the knight who was only a little older than himself.

The youth's passions immediately froze over. He turned stiff, unable to move so much as a finger. The sheer difference was almost miraculous.

“I heard that someone here accused me of being an invader. My, so serious!” Richard's tone was exaggerated, but nobody here had the guts to laugh. The three swords and staff were a clear indication that he had come fully prepared to fight.

The half-closed gates were suddenly thrown open, dozens of heavily armed knights pouring into the assembly followed by Richard's motley entourage. Seeing the sheer murderous aura rising in the air, the nobles suddenly lost their voices. Nobody even had the guts to ask where the guards went.

The young knight lost all his courage, fainting on the spot without so much as a squeak. Richard jumped onto the stage and turned around, calmly glancing through his audience. In the midst of this unbearable silence, he finally spoke up.

“I don't plan on giving you an explanation.”

638 - City of Sin

The Knight's Stage

The nobles in the crowd were stunned. However, their hushed whispers were almost immediately cut off by a “But!”

Richard scanned through the assembly with an icy gaze, "In the name of the Goddess of Spring Water, the Goddess of the Hunt, and the Goddess of the Forest, I declare this knight a heretic. He is to be executed on the spot, and the church will be seizing his territory. His family will be stripped off all noble titles, sent to indentured servitude until they meet their end. This sentence will be carried out immediately."

The young knight immediately started trembling. Nobody had imagined that Richard would use the name of the goddesses to strike back so fiercely, giving no leeway at all. "It wasn't me, IT WASN'T ME! IT WASN'T—"

The ear-piercing shrieks were suddenly put to an end. The A bolt of blood lightning struck right through the escaping knight's back, sparks consuming him until only a charred corpse was left behind. A momentary silence engulfed the assembly.

"RICHARD! THIS IS A CHALLENGE TO THE KINGDOM!"

"YOU CANNOT KILL SOMEONE AT WILL!"

"HE'S AN INVADER!"

"Bring them here!" Richard started pointing at individuals in the crowd, his amplified voice easily drowning out the shrieks of the rest.

Fully armed knights rudely squeezed through the crowd, not caring for the nobles they knocked over along the way. "Le—Level 18!" an old man cried out in horror as he was thrown away. The cry was like a bucket of ice water poured over the rage of these nobles.

Everyone who had entered the assembly was a rune knight. Even the worst of them were equivalent to saints from Faelor, while those from Agamemnon and the defectors from Raymond's army were on par with Faelor's sub-legendary beings. The old knight who led the defectors was even stronger. This crowd posed no trouble to any of them in the first place, but now that their power was known nobody dared to stop them from catching four people and throwing them at Richard's feet.

Richard didn't so much as spare a glance, continuing to stare at the audience as he announced, "To claim someone who is chosen by three goddesses is an invader, such gall. Thankfully, I am kind; their families will be spared. However," he waved his hand.

There wasn't even a chance for anyone to respond as swords were plunged into these dissenters' backs.

The lords present started screaming once more. However, this time the only accusations were about him breaking the law of the kingdom. There was no mention of him being an invader at all.

"What right do you have to represent the goddesses?" a youth shouted bravely. However, a gentle voice rang out from the gates in response:

"I can testify that Richard Archeron is chosen by the three Goddesses, and is the executor of their wrath." Faylen was dressed complete with papal attire today, the long azure sceptre in her hand and the high crown on her head confirming her identity as pope.

The sight left the few lords who were still screaming incontinent. The presence of the pope of the Goddess of Spring Water meant the three churches stood in full support of Richard.

Now, accusing Richard of being an invader was no different from accusing the three goddesses of harbouring a devil from outside of Faelor. Any noble who did so would face the wrath of the divine, and those of the clergy would incite a war between deities. It wouldn't have scared anyone a few months ago, but the three goddesses had grown in power with the defeat of the invaders and could at least take a few others with them if they went down.

Still, an older noble showed extraordinary courage to step forward and point at Richard with fury, "Richard! They were mere puppets, the true mastermind hasn't shown himself!"

Richard rather appreciated such valour, even if it was misplaced. An era of constant war would give rise to many who were willing to lay down their lives. Those of faith especially just believed death was only a beginning. However, he still sighed a little.

"So? I certainly won't let the mastermind get away, but what does that have to do with them? A sin is a sin, and the one they committed was amongst the gravest of all. Don't think you'll escape my wrath just because you weren't the one who instigated it all."

Seeing everyone speechless, Richard smiled, "You people were having too much fun recently, the game ends now. Alright, the following people are considered enemies of the three Goddesses and their share of the Bloodstained Lands will be expropriated. They are also barred from entering any areas controlled by their churches, and their lands must be opened up for the clergy to spread the faith. Viscount..."

The list was rather long, including all sorts of nobles. Even an earl wasn't spared the humiliation! The fact that those dissidents here were executed on the spot was enough warning of what would happen if someone were to refuse. Religious wars were always bloody and vicious, and this was no exception. All those marked out worshipped their ancestors or were followers of the God of Valour.

Of course, there was another way to interpret the list. These people were also the ones who had wanted to split up Richard's share of profits from the Bloodstained Lands, and the most aggressive of the lot. Some of them had even interfered with the Direwolf Duke's estate.

The list turned the 'mighty' nobles of the Sequoia Kingdom into quivering messes. His silence for the past month had made them more and more brazen in their attempts to wrest power and wealth from him, but now that he was baring his fangs once more they realised just how powerless they actually were.

Richard left the stunned hall and led his followers and the rune knights outside the assembly building, the five corpses still leaking blood on the stage. There was a bit of a ruckus outside, Tiramisu waving the warhammers in his hand to provoke a number of soldiers. With even their captain only being level 11, these men were scared witless by the sheer force of the ogre's aura.

He got up on his unicorn and urged it forward, “What's going on here?”

“They just appeared out of nowhere, saying we broke the law and demanding that we put our weapons down and surrender.”

“And you're entertaining their nonsense because?”

Both of the ogre's faces reddened, “I was just afraid of causing trouble for you.”

Richard nodded, “That's true, these fellows do come from the royal family. It wouldn't be nice to kill too many of them.”

However, a series of clops suddenly rang through the streets as a company of knights in silver armour and red capes dashed into the square. They came to an orderly halt, forming up in rows. Even the weakest of these new entrants was level 10, and the leader was a burly fellow who looked about level 17. “I am Bard, captain of the royal knights. I give you to the count of ten to drop your weapons, or you will be put to death on the spot!”

“Put to death?” Richard laughed, turning to Gangdor, “How long will it take you to kill him?”

A look of ruthlessness crossed Gangdor's face, “A few buffs and he won't last three blows!”

Richard turned back to the royal knights, “Okay then. They have 200 knights, I'm giving you 20. Go see how they plan to put you all to death on the spot.”

Gangdor flashed a sinister smile as he raised his axe and got up on his horse. “BOSS!” Tiramisu yelled in dissatisfaction, “I'm so much better in a fight. He can't even beat Waterflower!”

Richard waved his hand dismissively, “Now, sending you would be bullying them too much, don't you think?”

639 - City of Sin

The Knight's Stage?

The twenty rune knights silently stepped out of their ranks, forming a single file behind Gangdor to oppose the enemies thirty metres away. Bard couldn't help his fury at the humiliation, but knowing of Richard's past exploits he didn't dare to let his guard down. “Mages! Clerics!”

A grand mage and three clerics that had followed along started to cast spells to increase the might of the royal soldiers. However, none of them were particularly proficient in group buffs. There was a raise in morale, but the difference in combat strength wasn't much at all. Only those who were level 15 or higher were given actual boosts, while Bard was granted a total of four.

Richard looked over at the three clerics, “You serve Neian, is it? Do you wish to start a war between gods?”

One of them was greatly offended, “Why would the great God of Valour be afraid of the three use— a war against the three Goddesses?”

He thanked the heavens he had managed to catch himself in time. To call the three goddesses useless in front of a pope and two cardinals was no small humiliation. Even Neian himself would not support such blasphemy and would leave him to whatever punishment was decided fit.

To everyone's surprise, Richard only laughed drily, “Well, a nobody like you isn't worth a divine war anyway.”

The cleric on the other side turned red with anger, but he kept his mouth firmly shut. There was nothing he could say right now that wouldn't land him in further trouble.

Richard no longer bothered with him, waving to his entourage with a cheeky smile, “Buff my knights a bit. Keep it simple, no need to scare them away.”

Faylen acted first. Now that she was the pope of the Goddess of Spring Water, she could cast grade 8 spells that boosted the entire squad's strength and speed greatly. Fermi and Shea had no chance to act, so all they could do was cast their spells on individual warriors. Just these three left the opposing clerics with looks of worry on their faces. All three following the royal knights were only level 10, so there was a great disparity in strength. However weak the three goddesses were, they were still true deities that had been strengthened greatly in the aftermath of the recent invasion. If the cardinals and pope could not suppress a mere few clerics, Neian would be the Overgod instead of an intermediate deity.

However, the crushing blow was still to come. Richard's followers finally began to act, with Lina going first. She just waved her hand and the weapons of the rune knights lit up with draconic flames. This was a grade 8 spell cast in an instant, something even a grand mage could not accomplish!

Mito went second, casting a group barrier spell on the rune knights. After that, a phantom image spell turned the 21 soldiers into more than a hundred, all of them flickering in and out of existence.

Kellac's damage reduction spell wasn't particularly awe-inspiring, but when Nyra acted the opposing clerics screamed in fear, “Damage reflection!” The spell turned the rune knights into iron porcupines!

Then the battle priest finally acted. Io cast four or five spells with each wave of his staff, the swords and halberds of the rune knights growing larger and being tinted with a divine glow. All of them had been boosted with War Construct!

Flowsand was the very last to act. The priestess had grown extremely lazy recently, reluctant to do anything at all. This time was no different. She didn't even bother with a chant, just flipping open the Book of Time. Specks of gold light flew over to the rune knights to form pillars of divine power that faded away after a moment, immediately making them feel lighter and stronger. This was a grade 7 spell unique to her: Metal Storm.

By the time the spells were done, the rune knights had turned into a splendid ball of light. It seemed almost impossible to catch a glimpse of their actual bodies in the midst of all the magic.

Gangdor raised his axe high into the sky, “KILL!”

The twenty rune knights immediately formed up together and defied all logic as they reached top speed in a mere ten metres, piercing a hole through the royal knights instantly. The brute's eyes had turned blood-red as his axe wrought destruction where it went, clearing up a path directly towards Bard. Under the effects of a dozen buffs, this epic-grade axe sliced through enemies like they were butter.

Bard was scared witless. He barely managed to put up both hands, a deafening thud echoing through the square as his large tooth-studded club was bent out of shape. He spat out fresh blood, feeling his internals vibrating, but had barely managed to block the nightmarish blow.

However, there was no time for him to be happy. Two rune knights flanked in from both of Gangdor's sides, a halberd and a two-handed sword thrusting into the knight captain's body in an instant. All of his organs were turned to slush.

“What are you doing?!” Gangdor shouted in shock and rage. His dreams of crushing this Faelor saint in three moves had been destroyed.

However, the two rune knights had already disappeared far away. Both of them were amongst the defectors from Raymond's army, and at level 17 they had experienced countless battles. They definitely wouldn't engage in lone battles, instead trying to be as efficient as possible to end the massacre quickly.

Gangdor finally realised something after his cry. If he didn't act fast, he wouldn't get the chance to kill anyone. He immediately urged his horse forward and continued with the rest of his bloodthirsty squad, breaking countless holes into the royal knights as they weaved in and out of the formation.

The Sequoia soldiers mustered all their courage to try and fight head-on, but by the third round of attacks most of them were left dead. Every rune knight present far surpassed a saint of Faelor in ability, and the countless buffs had turned them into terrifying killing machines. There wasn't even a chance for the opposing knights to band together before their formations were cut apart again and again.

......

“Let's go,” Richard said indifferently, leaving behind a capital filled with flowing blood. His followers and rune knights followed right behind, and the barbarian infantry drones and elite humanoids got into formation as well. Nearly a thousand garrison soldiers just watched on like statues, frozen in fear as though they had seen demons entering the human realm. The few clerics and mages were the same; Richard's twenty devilish soldiers had barely been injured as they decimated more than ten times their number of the Kingdom's most powerful elites.

The brazen act had been a slap to the face, but the royal family went absolutely silent. 200 of their own men had actively sought battle and were decimated by only 20 of his. It curbed all ambitions in an instant.

The king had a total of 20,000 warriors under him, while Richard had brought only 500. All logic dictated that going out in full force would squash the impudent viscount, but the reports that Richard had a swarm of saints all at the sub-legendary realm kept ringing in his ears. There eventually came a point at which numbers didn't matter. A powerful mobile troop would be able to eat away at his entire army until they were nothing more than dust. He had no precedent to fall back on either; there had been no instance of so many powerful warriors fighting on the same side in a war and losing.

There wasn't even a whisper denouncing Richard's actions. Everyone knew that any complaints made against him would be a direct challenge to both him and the goddesses he represented. This day had made it abundantly clear that he would not bow to their politics, and any further attempts would only bring war.

It was only now that these nobles realised the true effect of trying to divide the Direwolf Duke's estate. Richard had lost his title, but that only turned him into a free beast that could not be controlled. He wasn't a subordinate of the royal family in the first place, and now there was no guarantee he would even serve the future Direwolf Duke. For all intents and purposes, he was now an independent noble who controlled all of the Bloodstained Lands. In effect, he had both the territory and the power to establish a kingdom of his own.

His name was silently added to the list of nobles of the Sequoia Kingdom.

640 - City of Sin

Clowns

The silence of the royal family made one thing clear to the angry nobles: the tree protecting them wasn't nearly as sturdy as they thought it to be.

Duke Grasberg had unexpectedly gone silent and hidden himself away on the pretext that he was injured, no longer the ardent supporter he used to be. Rumours were about that Viscount Zim had entered hibernation, and though the public did not know why there were many who understood the unicorn bloodline well enough to realise he was in hibernation. Countess Katrina was now expecting as well.

All these things would normally only be a threat ten years down the line, but Richard's brazenness made it clear that the throne wasn't stable. Perhaps some changes to the rulership were in order...

......

Richard's first stop was Deepcliff City. The city was glorious as ever, the ashen clouds around it giving it a sense of weight and pressure that few others had. However, Richard now felt like its towering majesty was all a farce.

The citizens didn't recognise his army as they walked along the road. These farmers were only focused on harvesting the last of their crops before winter froze the lands, and their lives only consisted of work, food, and sleep. The invasions hundreds of kilometres away didn't even reach their ears, and nobody bothered remembering the flags of the passing lords. It was almost like they lived in an entirely different world, more mundane but one in which they could find happiness.

A few cavalrymen rushed over from afar, slowing down as they approached the army. The young man leading them immediately jumped off his horse and looked up at Richard, “Lord Richard?”

“I take it you're Toffler?” Google search 𝙛𝓇𝘦e𝙬𝑒𝚋𝒏૦ѵel. c𝒐𝚖

“Yes, my Lord!” the youth cried out in excitement. The beading sweat and messy hair indicated that he had rushed over at full speed, but the road his squad had taken was small and rough.

“You didn't come from the castle,” Richard commented, and the youth's face turned red with embarrassment and rage.

“They... They didn't acknowledge the will my father left before his death, claiming that you fabricated it. All of them sat together and decided to divide up my father's lands, and threatened me to leave the castle. My mother was the daughter of a mere viscount, she didn't have the power to protect me. Grandfather's lands were even attacked by a large army recently, so I had no choice but to leave and settle down in a knight's land.”

Richard smiled, “So they made you a titled knight, not bad. I thought they would've just left you with a house and nothing else. Anyway, I'm here now. Names.”

“Marquess Meecah, Earl Bounvilom, Earl Sossker...” Toffler started immediately, the humiliation clearly fresh in his mind. Half of the names were completely foreign to him, meaning they didn't even qualify to enter his intelligence reports.

As they conversed on the way to the castle, Richard found that this youth was rather clever and prudent, and had a level of responsibility that made him an apt candidate to take over the Direwolf Duke's estate. It was hard for someone to outshine a beacon like Bevry, but the man had left behind more than enough enemies to make ruling a problem.

As they approached the gates of the castle, Toffler suddenly stopped.

“Hmm? Is there a problem?” Richard asked.

“I...” the youth froze for a while, but eventually found the courage to continue, “I'm not allowed to enter the castle.”

“Huh. Well, you're with me, it's alright,” Richard said gently.

“No, they made it clear that I won't be let in no matter who I'm with.”

“Then the ones who stop us will be dead,” Richard still didn't lose his smile. These words caused his army to exude a frightening killing intent, finally alerting Toffler to their power. The youth sighed with relief.

The city guard had noticed Richard's warflag from far away, but what alarmed them more was the sight of Toffler amongst the group.

“Halt!” a fat officer proclaimed from atop the walls a hundred metres away, covering the distance even without the aid of magic, “Toffler, who allowed you to come here? Go back to your fief! And those accompanying him, who the hell are you? I order you to dismount and prepare for inspection. This is the castle of the Direwolf Duke, you cannot enter and leave as you please!”

Richard didn't change his pace at all, nor did the rest of his knights. Olar was the only one who urged his horse forward, screaming with rage, “ARE YOU BLIND? THIS IS VISCOUNT RICHARD ARCHERON, THE EXECUTOR OF DUKE BEVRY'S WILL. OPEN THE GATES OR BEAR THE CONSEQUENCES!”

*Crack!* The whip shot into the ground in warning.

The officer's face soured. He had orders to deny Toffler entry no matter what, but how was he supposed to block Richard Archeron? Even though news about the twenty knights hadn't made it here yet, those who served Duke Bevry or his vassals knew just how much of a wargod Richard was. He wiped the sweat off his face and forced a smile, “Lord Richard, I do not have the authority to let you in. Please wait, I will fetch Earl Sossker.”

Richard just waved lazily, “I don't know who the hell Sossker is, but this city is currently mine. If the gates aren't open by the time I reach them, you'll have to stop my siege.”

SIEGE! The one word was enough to make the officer feel faint. Richard was only a few dozen metres away at this point, he wouldn't be able to get the Earl here even if he had wings! The city guards were already nocking their arrows, pointing the bows towards Richard himself. However, Richard seemed to be completely unaware of the situation.

“You imbeciles!” the officer suddenly shrieked, “Who gave you permission to aim your bows? What if you injure Lord Richard? Go, open the gates. OPEN THE GATES!”

The scene caused Richard to raise his brow in surprise. Olar had already switched to his longbow and was about to fire, but this response left him stuck in his position. He was only here to intimidate, the presence of two grand mages in his party meant the guards on the wall would be burnt alive before they could so much as twitch.

As the city gates slowly opened, Richard nodded at the officer and got his name before proceeding to the castle.

“As per Duke Bevry's last will, Viscount Richard Archeron is seizing control of this city and the castle until a new duke arises. All guards are to lay down their arms, and every noble with the rank of Viscount or higher is to report to the castle at once! Dissidents will be executed at once! Those who keep their weapons will be executed at once! Those who protest will be executed at once!” Tiramisu was sent ahead to announce his presence; the ogre's natural voice combined with the power of magic would allow his words to resound throughout the mountain. Just his voice and the three death threats ensured that everyone thought twice about crossing their path.

In the end, there was no opposition as he took over the entire castle.

641 - City of Sin

Patrol

Standing in the study of Deepcliff Castle, Richard seemed to feel the presence of Duke Bevry nearby. He talked and joked aloud as he went through the place, looking for materials to read.

A gentle knock sounded on the door and a beautiful young maid walked in, “Lord Richard, everyone has been brought to the meeting room and are waiting for you. When do you plan to go over?”

Richard didn't respond immediately, walking over to the girl and caressing her chin, “You don't look too bad.”

The maid blushed but did not evade him, instead sticking out her breasts and thanking him for the compliment.

“So, how many of those in the meeting room have used you before?”

The girl's raunchy thoughts dissipated in an instant, Richard's calm gaze leaving her forehead beading with sweat. Her mouth hung open for a moment before she eventually decided to tell the truth and listed three names.

Richard nodded in approval and threw a few gold coins to her, “Good, I like honest people. You may leave!”

The maid was still dazed as she left the study. Richard hadn't taken liberties with her, nor had he punished her. Was the question just asked in passing? She couldn't understand just what had happened, only able to clutch the gold in her hand to remind herself that she hadn't dreamt it up.

The question really had been in passing. Richard couldn't help but feel bad about the current state of the castle. The maids when Bevry was around hadn't been selected for their looks. They looked alright, but their strength was in their awareness and skill at the job. Bevry also wasn't the type of person to allow his subordinates to take liberties with the maids. How bad was it that the place had changed so much in just two months?

Those in the meeting room immediately quieted down when Richard entered, gazes filled with terror and raged fixed upon him.

However, it was quite obvious that those present were not content with the arrangement. They wanted to try and have Richard back down. However, Richard only felt annoyed by this. These so-called 'elites' of society were just ants wasting his time.

His gaze eventually landed upon Lord Moonbear. This saint had formidable might and passing ability at command, once a trusted aide who guarded the Dukedom when Bevry's armies were out at war. The rune knights in the room ensured even he was seated quietly— fighting so many in such a closed space was basically suicide— but his posture revealed his alignment.

“We meet again, Moonbear. I'm disappointed in you. What was this, a play for power? I'm sorry to say you will always be a titled knight and nothing more. Whoever you align yourself with in the future will be pitting themselves against me.”

This was not a declaration of war, just an expression of absolute contempt. Moonbear's expression warped, but as he grunted in anger the rune knights all over the room released such powerful auras he was pushed back to his place.

Richard lifted his hand to stop those who wanted to comment on the matter, “I'm not here to listen to your opinions. Toffler is becoming the next Direwolf Duke, and he will inherit all of Bevry's lands. And before— I said I'm not here to listen. That's better. Now, let me remind you all once more: Duke Toffler is an ally of mine. Any provocations towards him will be considered a declaration of war against Richard Archeron.”

The nobles who had been shut up turned pale. Declaring war on Richard?

...... Please visit 𝒇𝘳ℯe𝙬e𝘣𝙣𝘰ѵ𝒆𝗹. c૦𝑚

As dusk arrived, many of the nobles who had come to play politics were booted out of Deepcliff City. The army was reorganised, the new soldiers who had been added from these people dismissed and sent out of the palace. Only one of the soldiers who followed Marquess Meecah was left behind, the obese officer who had changed his stance swiftly. Richard immediately appointed him to the post of defence commander, turning the officer into a respected general. The fellow was still pinching himself every few minutes to ensure that he wasn't dreaming.

Those who were chased out were indignant, but they wouldn't take any concrete actions in response to their predicament. Richard ignored them completely as he implemented the rest of his plans for Deepcliff City, crowning Toffler the Duke then and there.

Dawn the next day, he bid goodbye to the city and headed for Earl Duisburg's territory, one of those who had been stripped of their share of the Bloodstained Lands. He had prepared 5,000 soldiers in response to Richard's arrival, clearly unwilling to roll over and allow Richard's army to pass through.

The battle only lasted thirty minutes, and most of that time was spent chasing the fleeing soldiers to round them up. The first strike of the rune knights had splintered apart the army completely, and the earl himself was knocked unconscious with a single slap from Tiramisu and captured alive.

Richard's 500 soldiers sustained a single casualty in the form of a level 10 humanoid knight, while about ten-odd soldiers had been lightly injured. 200 of Duisburg's soldiers had been killed, while 4,000 or so were taken captive. Only a few hundred were fast enough to escape their fate. The unlucky earl had decided to test Richard's prowess before deciding whether he would surrender, but he had grossly underestimated the strength of Richard's troops. Even just the humanoid knights were far more powerful than the rabble that he had rushed together.

The army completely destroyed, the castle naturally fell into Richard's hands as well. Richard directly announced Duisburg's sentence: for the crime of opposing the troops of the three Goddesses, he would be stripped of his title and sent into forced labour for the rest of his life. The lands and title would be inherited by his offspring, but Richard didn't care how the three boys split it amongst themselves.

Following Duisburg was Viscount Dima. This one was very compliant, expressing his full surrender to Richard's demands. As such, he only lost his share in the Bloodstained Lands and nothing else.

Then it was time for Earl Lohr, a last-minute addition to the list. Richard was met with 20,000 private soldiers, a combined force from nearly everyone who he had named. Still, he just pointed out the black horde in front of his 500 soldiers and mocked them, “Look at how pathetic they are!”

His followers bellowed with laughter. Deploying 20,000 men against only 500 showed just how frightened the nobles were. This was likely just a show of might to force him to the table, but he had no intent to negotiate.

The 500 soldiers went into spear formation, digging right through the enemy with no problems at all. They went in one side and out the other before circling around a little and charging once more. It didn't even take ten charges for the enemies to fall into chaos, beginning to retreat.

Sadly Richard didn't have the sheer numbers that he would need to pursue the enemies. However, what he did have were two grand mages. Lina and Mito flew high above the enemy camp, raining down spells of mass destruction. The spells and arrows that were shot back in retaliation barely even made it to their location, unable to damage their barriers at all. When Lohr was dragged out from the debris of his destroyed castle, a thousand soldiers had perished and 13,000 had been captured.

Every noble who had joined this resistance was captured and sent to forced labour in the Bloodstained Lands. However, their possessions were left behind for their successors. Even Lohr's castle was left in its half-destroyed state, and Richard had announced that his wife and children could take what they wanted before leaving. Once that battle ended, nobody on his list dared to resist his passage.

......

Richard's army was currently at its last destination on this tour, the Oakly Barony. This fief close to the Land of Turmoil was rather large for a barony, but most of it was barren hills. Its one saving grace was the beautiful scenery that turned it into a tourist attraction of sorts.

Richard had deliberately made a detour here so his followers could enjoy a brief vacation. They had been fighting almost all the time recently, and while it was something most of them enjoyed, a little break would do wonders. Since the broodmother's drones didn't understand the concept of pleasure, they were left to scavenge and hunt for food while everyone else toured with no regard for the lord of the place.

The most popular location in this barony was the Sapphire Lake. Formed atop a dying volcano, its crystal-clear waters remained pleasantly warm even in the dead of winter. Constantly fed by a small glacier nearby, the lake waters overflowed into a hundred-metre long waterfall that gave way to a meandering stream.

This lake left even Richard marvelling at the wonders of nature. Unlike the suffocating flora of the Forest Plane, the majestic view here felt extremely soothing.

However, just as he started to relax a sudden feeling of annoyance come over him. A threat was approaching quickly, but he could not identify the source. This was an individual, and they had great power!

642 - City of Sin

Whose Zangru

Richard was not the only one who sensed the incoming danger. Flowsand and Nyra immediately looked to the top of the waterfall, trying to make out who it was, but Phaser was even faster. She immediately broke ranks and threw off her cloak, charging towards the water.

Richard barely managed to see someone falling down from above, making a big splash as they crashed into the river. However, this person was falling back-down; they clearly had no control of their own body. It did not seem like it was an assassin.

The troops currently by Richard's side were extremely powerful. Even if a sub-legendary assassin tried to target them, there was nothing to fear. However, Phaser's reaction was quite surprising. She changed directions mid-charge and dove deep into the water, quickly reaching the bottom.

Small bubble started to pop through the stream, but as he looked around himself Richard found that none of his followers were any good underwater. Thankfully he still felt his connection to Phaser, and she was evidently winning.

The special unit was darting around like lightning underwater, seemingly no less adapted than a true marine creature. She constantly circled around the new opponent, Annihilation striking out in testing blows to get a sense of their abilities.

The young man with black hair and eyes seemed to be led on by the nose, shirt torn apart while his movements grew clumsy and sluggish. He couldn't really keep up with Phaser's attacks, but the shield in his hand somehow managed to accurately deflect her blade every time.

Phaser quickly changed tactics, switching from testing blows to restraint. Able to breathe underwater, she decided to force the youth to stay within until he ran out of breath. The strategy worked; it wasn't long before his pale face turned purple, and every time he tried to go up to breathe he was pushed back by her onslaught. She soon started to circle around, using the flow from the waterfall to her advantage as she formed a spiral that pulled him further in.

At this point, the black-haired youth was desperate for air. Hi eyes almost about to pop, he gave up all regard for himself as he bellowed and madly rushed to the water's surface. Phaser's eyes lit up as she latched herself onto his back, Annihilation slashing across his waist.

The youth used sheer strength to throw her off, kicking her away before using the momentum to propel himself to the surface. However, Phaser did not follow. Still underwater, she was looking wide-eyed at the purplish-black bloodstains on the grooves of her blade. These bloodstains seemed like oil in the stream, bunching up into a few globules that slid across the surface of the dagger.

The special unit's eyes started drifting in and out of focus as she hesitated for the first time. She slowly stuck out her tongue in an attempt to taste the purple liquid.

“Give me two drops,” the broodmother's voice suddenly resounded in her head.

Phaser was shocked; she had almost forgotten that they were close to the Land of Turmoil. “Can I absorb it?” she asked.

“I cannot be sure, but this power seems too great for you to assimilate. It is best you return with all of it and allow me to analyse it first.”

“But I can feel this... so strong...” Phaser's eyes were still locked onto the purple blood.

“If the blood is too strong, your soul will be broken. The fragility of your soul is your greatest weakness, Master and I can join our souls to protect you if you wait. If you absorb the blood right now, I will not be able to help. If your soul breaks, I will initiate the recall process and absorb your divinity to form a new being. Your soul is unique, it was not formed solely of the divinity I used. If you die, I cannot return you to life as you are.” The broodmother normally wasn't one to speak so much, but this time she was clearly impatient. All of this information had been directly imprinted into Phaser's consciousness.

This new information should have given Phaser some pause, but a tinge of madness flashed past her eyes, “If only I had enough strength, then I wouldn't— ARGH!”

Her tongue suddenly stretched out and she licked up all the blood in one go. It was only then that her madness faded away, returning the rationality that was a badge of all the broodmother's creations. She didn't understand just why she had lost control, but countless fragmented images flashed across her mind. Faces twisted in pleasure looking over her as flesh ground against flesh. Blood, everywhere. New faces, twisted in pain as she looked down on them...

The images seemed to be a sharp blade that cut right through her existence, the pain tearing her consciousness apart and driving her to the brink of madness in an instant. Her insides started to burn up, almost like a volcano had erupted within that made her scream uncontrollably while writhing in agony. However, the gushing water drowned out her voice as she sunk to the bottom of the deep stream...

The rune knights had already entered formation on the surface, cautiously staring at the black-haired youth On the water's surface, a few rune knights were in their tactical team assault stances, cautiously staring at the black-haired youth in the centre.

This fellow had just flown out of the water before tumbling down to the patch of grass where Richard's group was gathered. He tried to get up, but his movements were clumsy and it took several attempts before he had his legs under him. And yet, although he was swaying back and forth, he held his shield tightly while shooting a death glare at the rune knights gathered around him.

These were all grade 2 set knights. Although they weren't all that powerful individually, the Savage Barrier sets ensured that they could fight stronger enemies while sustaining minimal damage themselves. The quickly spread out to form a perimeter, keeping this newcomer locked in.

Richard stood outside this area, looking at the youth with knitted brows. He could already feel the power of divinity within his shield, and the specific aura seemed rather familiar. Flowsand quickly flipped through the Book of Time to the page about the gods of Faelor before nodding, confirming his suspicion.

“Zangru Baruch, huh? That's a divine weapon, careful. Activate your runes! Mages, clergy, prepare for battle!” As he started bellowing out orders, his unicorn neighed loudly as it stared at Zangru with a mix of fear and hate. There could only be one cause; this enemy's power was dark and twisted.
𝑓𝙧𝙚𝙚w𝙚𝙗𝒏oν𝐞l. c𝑜𝙢

Waterflower suddenly flashed into existence behind Zangru, the Shepherd of Eternal Rest seemingly a bolt of lightning piercing through the darkness as it went straight for his back. Both of her runic abilities had been activated; even though it wasn't dark, this attack held great power.

It seemed impossible for Zangru to react to this fatal blow, but his body seemed to twist of its own accord as the shield suddenly blocked the sword. Richard immediately realised that this shield had a mind of its own, as did Waterflower who gloomily retreated to the ranks of the knights. All she had accomplished was forcing him a few steps back.

Another rune knight stepped forward, the halberd in his hands glimmering as he jabbed towards Zangru's back. The shield rose up once more, but Zangru was clearly affected by the sheer force. Gangdor followed up with his axe, and one by one the other rune knights took turns to wear him down. In no state to break out of this encirclement, Zangru could only rely on his divine artefact to avoid the fatal blows.

Richard quickly noticed that Zangru seemed absolutely spent, but he still remained cautious in case of any dangers. Calling out to Lina, Mito, and Demi, he coordinated a shower of spells that seemed to drown the enemy completely. Although she was much weaker than the grand mages, Demi's curses would greatly lower his defences.

Zangru was left both frightened and enraged, roaring repeatedly as he grew more and more sluggish. The glow of the Wargod's Shield started to dim as well. However, Richard was astonished that he still managed to stand. His own abyssal flames could penetrate most defences, and the other three weren't much worse. However, with more than ten spells cast in less than half a minute only two had done any real damage. This fellow's resistance to magic was extraordinary.

The rune knights resumed their onslaught, but even after a few minutes they didn't manage to bring him down.

“I know what he is,” Nyra said suddenly, shooting flakes of gold from both hands to cast a healing spell on Zangru's body. The youth suddenly screamed in pain, his voice going up an octave as his face warped.

Everyone barely had the time to be astonished before Flowsand followed up, her spell laced with the power of time. Zangru cried out in pure horror as his body went rigid and fell to the floor, the shield flying out of his hands. He had long since lost the ability to stand. Without the Wargod's Shield to prop himself up, he didn't even have the opportunity to make a last stand.

“It's over,” Richard sighed with relief, walking over to grab the shield. Looking over it and nodding with approval, he chucked it in Flowsand's direction. She didn't stand on ceremony either, just stuffing it into her bag.

643 - City of Sin

Whose Zangru

Io's eyes lit up and some fervour could be seen in the depths of Nyra's eyes. To them, this shield was a key to growing their strength. It was clearly more powerful than the other two artefacts of Lutheris, which meant the grace acquired from it would easily push them a few levels higher at the least.

Normally this would have irked Richard, but he was currently busy talking to the broodmother, “Where's Phaser?”

He had felt her weakening a few moments after Zangru shot out of the water, but before they could go help she had swum downstream and darted towards the Land of Turmoil. His soul connection to her had grown incomparably weak as well, to the point that he was worried.

“Phaser absorbed too much energy from the target, her power has grown unstable. I called her back immediately so I could contain the damage, she needs a week of work to return to normal.”

His concerns abated, Richard gave her an affirmative and turned to focus on Zangru. However, her voice rang in his mind once more, “Master, if the target is not useful could you hand him to me? It will allow me to reach level 9 with no problems.”

“Level 9?” Richard was pleasantly surprised. It hadn't been too long since she had reached level 7.

“Yes, Master. The number of level 18 beings I have devoured recently has allowed me to approach the edge of level 8 already. I am currently in the process of evolution, and will reach the new level in about three months or so.”

“Great! And what do you need to get to level 9?”

“Food. Namely Zangru Baruch.”

“Alright. I'll give him to you if he doesn't comply.”

......

A small camp was built near Sapphire Lake as night fell, bonfires lit between the tents to roast the fist that had been caught. A pleasant aroma wafted over, causing all of the followers and rune knights to gather. Many nocturnal beasts were enticed as well, but they didn't dare to approach the campsite with so many powerful auras around.

Zangru was sitting in one of the tents, bored to death as he stared at the cheerful group with a complicated expression. There was nobody guarding him, nor was he even shackled, but he felt so weak right now that even a commoner would be able to chase him down if he tried to flee.

Nyra walked into the tent, sitting cross-legged on the floor before passing him some roasted fish. The youth didn't stand on ceremony, starting to gobble it down immediately. It almost seemed like he hadn't eaten anything in years, several kilograms disappearing into his mouth in the blink of an eye. Even the bones weren't left behind, and once he was done he thoroughly licked the metallic skewer until it was sparkling clean. The contrast of his crude actions with his elegant looks was almost picturesque.

“I'll lose my appetite if you keep looking at me like that, you know?” he mentioned to the silent priestess who was observing him.

“The rest will only be at ease if you are within my line of sight,” Nyra replied indifferently.

Zangru stared at her fiercely, beginning to circulate his internal energy as his aura returned, but it didn't scare her in the slightest. Instead, a twisted and disturbing smile appeared on her face, “I know what you are, but you cannot know what I am. Your powers would have meant nothing to me before, but with my current identity things are entirely different. I'm quite interested in healing you regularly, do you want to try now?”

Zangru twitched with disgust, refusing to answer that question. He just stuffed the skewer back into her arms, “What's with giving me so little? This isn't even enough to fill my mouth!”

Nyra turned and left the tent, returning with a raw fish in hand that she threw towards him, “Do it yourself.”

Zangru snorted, struggling to his feet before waddling towards the nearest bonfire to start roasting the fish. Faylen, the two other priestesses, and a few rune knights were surprised by their new companion, but seeing Nyra nearby they let down their guards. However, the priestesses still looked at him with fear in their eyes.

Nyra seemed to have found another raw fish from somewhere, starting to roast it for herself. Looking at the tongues of flame cooking her food, she suddenly spoke up, “You don't seem to be nervous at all.”

Zangru smiled softly, “Why should I be? So many people have hated me before, but they can't bring themselves to kill me knowing how useful I can be. Aren't you lot the same? I'm still very valuable, and as long as the price is right I'm willing to do anything.”

Nyra went silent for a moment before laughing oddly, “We are different from those you met in the past. I hear someone you absolutely do not want to encounter has taken a strong interest in you, so I suggest you don't prize yourself too much.”

Zangru cackled loudly, attracting the attention of everyone nearby, “So many have told me the same thing, but they were the ones who regretted their decision in the end.”

“You previous captors were merely ants, don't assume you're anything more than a passing interest.”

Zangru's brows locked together as his eyes blazed with anger. However, the memory of the excruciating pain from Nyra's healing was still fresh in her mind. If she were to use a stronger spell, he was sure that she would send him to the ground immediately. As insulted as he was, he had no rebuttal. Please visit 𝒇𝘳𝗲𝚎w𝑒𝚋𝚗𝐨v𝒆l. 𝒄𝒐𝚖

However, that did not mean he agreed. He could tell from Richard's eyes that the leader of these people was very interested in him. He believed that this interest would only grow once his origins were revealed.

As he walked out from a tent, Richard was quite surprised to see Zangru mingling with his subordinates. He was a little annoyed, but still waved Nyra over, “Bring him, it's time we talk.” He then went back in.

When Zangru sat down and looked Richard in the eyes once more, his heart froze for a moment. The interest he saw in the depths of this captor's eyes had changed; now it was like a chef looking at a good ingredient. It seemed like those glowing emerald pupils could see through him completely, causing his hair to stand on end as he yelped and sprung up from the ground.

However, he only made it a few feet up before Nyra pressed down from behind him, sending him back to the ground. Even though she was not a battle priest like Io, all heavenly guardians were accomplished martial artists.

As Richard looked him up and down, Zangru felt like his heart was being squeezed. He wanted to scream, but Nyra started to channel her divine power into him and paralysed him completely. The arrogance he had walked in with faded completely, and by the time Richard's eyes stopped glowing he was shivering a little.

“So Zangru, the Shrine of the Wargod has put up a bounty of a legendary-grade longsword for capturing you alive. That's quite something.”

Zangru nodded, a mocking smile rising up on his face, “They say I stole the divinity of the Wargod. Ha, such a poor excuse. Why would I do that? Lutheris gave his powers to me himself, I never wanted them in the first place. Anyway, what can they really do? I already killed four of their grand priests, will they start sending cardinals? Hmph, if I wasn't hurt so bad they wouldn't even have the guts to hunt me down.”

Richard nodded, “I hear the new pope has some bad blood with you?”

“That runt Micher? It should be him. He's the only child of Anwod's that would even qualify. Of course he hates me, his mother and two of his aunts died during the week the old bastard let me loose.”

Richard merely nodded at the revelation, as though he hadn't just heard of something reprehensible, “Okay then. Now, convince me to keep you alive.”

“To what?” Zangru asked, as though he had heard the most unbelievable thing in his life.

“Convince me to keep you alive,” Richard repeated.

Zangru's heart sank as he remembered Nyra's words. However, he decided to understand Richard's intentions a little better first, “I'm only this weak because I was hurt in the war. At peak condition, none of your subordinates would be a match for me! Fine, let's discuss the price. I can work for you as long as you pay enough, but know that my services don't come cheap.”

“I'll admit you're quite valuable, but it seems you don't understand your position. Your corpse right now is far more valuable to me than your live body, so convince me not to kill you and harvest your corpse.”

Richard's smile was as bright as the sun, but it left Zangru shivering like he was in the depths of the sea.

644 - City of Sin

The Broodmother's Zangru

Richard couldn't be bothered to lie about such a thing. A level 9 broodmother was more important to him than a legendary subordinate. With the ability to create a horde of level 13 drones, his army composition would approach the royal armies of Norland. The difference in runes would ensure that a level 12 knight from Norland could beat a level 13 drone, but unlike drones a human knight took decades to train. In fact, he could already feel a cloned brain flying here to pick him up. She was clearly anticipating this meal.

Zangru eventually realised that Richard was serious and lowered his head to think over it. However, he didn't seem to find an answer even after some time. Eventually, he looked back up with a questioning look, “Before I talk about my abilities, could you answer a few questions?”

“Sure,” Richard answered calmly.

“Did you come from a different plane, or are you the soldiers of a new god? Zangru had heard many rumours about the person who had vanquished the invaders during his escape from the Baruch Kingdom, but even seeing representatives of the three goddesses he wasn't sure which of the options was correct.

“Another plane, it's name is Norland.” Without any locals to overhear them, Richard was surprisingly forthright. Zangru was about to become a meal for the broodmother anyway; he wouldn't be able to tell anyone.

Quite surprisingly, Zangru sighed in relief, “Do you have the two other artefacts that I lost to the other one?”

“No, I've already extracted their divinity. They're nothing more than scrap iron.”

This even caused Zangru to smile, “In that case, the Wargod should be after you.”

“If he finds out,” Richard nodded.

“So you're an invader from another plane and you also stole divinity from one of our gods. It looks like you're planning to fight the entire pantheon!”

Richard shook his head, “Not necessarily. Depends on them, actually. The three goddesses, for example. I think we'll get along just fine.”

“And what about the God of Valour?” Zangru's eyes started to glisten with anticipation.

“Neian can't surrender, it doesn't work with his domain. I'll be uprooting him completely, destroying all of his foundation in the mortal plane.”

Richard didn't reveal that Neian was the god he had to take out first. Divinity did not imply omnipotence; most of the other deities of the pantheon had already forgotten his existence and wouldn't be able to realise he was an invader until it was too late. Neian was the one who had sent the prophecy of his arrival all those years ago, so eliminating him would almost guarantee the secret.

Zangru's eyes lit up, “That's great! We can definitely cooperate, I'm actually—”

“A bastard child of a deity? So mysterious,” Nyra interjected monotonously.

Zangru's expression froze for a moment as he was left at a loss for words. Wasn't being a son of a god mysterious enough? How earth-shattering did something have to be for her to call it mysterious? He was annoyed by Nyra's indifference, but that was nothing compared to how much her knowing this frightened him. He had always thought level 12 priestesses were small fry that weren't even worth killing, but this one truly scared him.

It took great sacrifice for the unholy union of mortal and deity to spawn a child. Demigods born this way had some divine attributes, but the process that allowed them to survive their mortal heritage was extremely dark and bloody, twisting their very souls. These unholy children were born deranged and chaotic, crushing everything in their path. Zangru himself was quite tame for his kind, still possessing a mostly human soul that only had a few eccentricities.

“Tch. Continue.”

A click of Richard's tongue brought him out of his idle thoughts, “Right, so I'm a natural ally against the gods of Faelor. All I want is the fall of Lutheris and Neian. I don't care about the three goddesses.”

“Ally?” Richard snickered, “That means nothing to me.”

“Richard!' Zangru growled.

“Shh! You're a child of a god, so what? Why should I trust you because of it?”

Zangru went silent once more, this time for ten full minutes. “The same goes for me,” he said eventually, “What guarantee do I have that you won't kill me anyway after you're done using me?”

“You don't,” Richard smiled, “That being said, you may not live to see the results, but—”

“I'm a child of a god,” Zangru interrupted, “Without a god purifying me at the cost of some of their power, I am immortal. Even if you tear me to pieces, my body will still reform eventually.”

“Okay then. So long as I'm alive, Neian will eventually die. Lutheris is much more powerful, but if everything goes as planned he will be weakened greatly as well. With a bit of luck on my end, he'll die as well.”

“What? Impossible! How would you know how to weaken a god?”

“Is it really that difficult? Back at home, we have courses of study on the matter. There are rigorous guides to follow to steal a god's divinity.”

Zangru instantly deflated. He questioned Richard a little more, but was left with no choice but to believe that he could do as he said. “Alright. If you swear by your god to keep to your word, or at least try your best, then I will do anything you wish that furthers the goal of defeating Lutheris and Neian. However, I want to be able to make my decisions on anything that doesn't concern me. I also need some basic freedoms, I won't let you just keep me caged up all the time.”

Richard furrowed his brows, contacting the broodmother with his mind, “Is there a way to use him without killing him?”

The broodmother went silent for a moment as she made some calculations, “... Some of his blood every day for a month. That might be enough to reach level 9.”

“What if that's not enough?” he asked. If the choice was between having Zangru fight for him and getting the broodmother to level 9, he would choose the latter with no hesitation.

“It might take a few more months at worst, but eventually it should be enough.”

Richard nodded to himself before turning back to Zangru, “If you want your freedom, then I'll need your blood for my rituals.”

“No problem,” Zangru answered easily. He was basically immortal, so regenerating some blood was no problem for him. Furthermore, any rituals that used divine blood were intolerable to the gods.

However, Richard suddenly frowned, “Right, how can I be sure you won't just turn around and attack me once you've recovered?”

Flowsand, who had been sitting silently all this while, finally spoke up, “The Church has a soul contract on hand, the same kind you used with Waterflower. Go talk to Noelene about it, she'll sell it for a million gold if you want.”

Richard almost rejected the idea by instinct, but as he thought over it he suddenly realised a million gold was worth far less to him now than it used to be. The rest of his family was still dirt poor, but this was a cost he could bear so long as it was worth it.

“Yeah, I'll buy it,” he nodded.

......

As the Sapphire Lake welcomed yet another day, Richard's followers welcomed another special addition to their team. Zangru was currently somewhere between a slave and a subordinate, his hands glowing black and white with energy shackles of Nyra's make. The priestess' power of death was a natural enemy of Zangru's divinity, and added to the injuries he had already sustained from Raymond's invasion the youth couldn't do much more than move.

Most of Zangru's wounds had come from the same grey-robed saint that had killed Bevry, and similar to Bevry's case the flesh had turned fibrous like the core of an old tree. This special ability was quite powerful, but the youth's divine blood gave him the tenacity to resist the necrosis. If not for repeated disruptions to his recovery process, he would already be halfway back to normal. Of course, even at full strength he wasn't a match for Richard's troops without the three sacred artefacts. It was only for the sake of caution that Richard ordered for him to be watched at all times.

As for the person watching him, Nyra was the natural choice. Zangru jumped up behind Tiramisu since his mount was built to handle enormous weights, but the priestess simply pulled her own horse closer.
𝘧𝗿𝚎e𝓌𝗲𝒃𝑛𝒐ѵ𝗲𝒍. c𝐨𝗺

The handsome youth just shrugged and wrapped his arms around Tiramisu's shoulders, chatting with both heads. Tiramisu and Medium Rare seemed quite excited at the prospect of someone enjoying talking to them and immediately befriended him, wiping his name off the list of prey.

The ogre didn't know that Zangru just wanted to get as far away from the black and white priestess as he could. Of course, Nyra herself did.

645 - City of Sin

Memories And Wants

The cold morning breeze swept across the mountains, waking up the highland rats from their deep slumber. The icy dew crackled as the sun slowly made its way into the sky, leaving glistening grass and trees in its wake. However, such minute sounds did not reach the ears of most creatures, drowned out by the roaring waterfall that surged down all year round.

While the beautiful sky of Sapphire Lake slowly disappeared behind Richard's back, Phaser was stumbling her way through the Land of Turmoil. Sometimes she struggled to even walk, other times running at full speed before losing her balance and falling painfully to the ground. Her eyes constantly switched from absolute clarity to complete defocus, and every once in a while she did something no creation of the broodmother's should: she coughed.

She felt herself constantly growing weaker, a cold black fire surging within her body that she could not control. It felt like she was still drowning under that waterfall, able to do nothing but drift along with the undercurrent. As she walked, ran, crawled, and wriggled her way towards the only light in her mind, her thoughts began to blur.

Suddenly, even that light faded away. Deep in the darkness, all she could see was an incredibly faint orb that held the last vestiges of her consciousness. A weak little girl was curled up within, crying silently with her head buried deep into her knees. She seemed cold. She seemed scared.

This girl was familiar to her, a connection buried deep within her soul, but try as she might she could not remember who it was. All her remaining attention was focused on this crying little girl as she continued to writhe in the real world, unaware that black blood was pouring out of her mouth. Eventually she lost all strength, lying down on the ground without so much as breathing. Behind her was a skid mark stretching kilometres into the distance.

A hurried flapping soon rang in the sky as a cloned brain dived down from above, circling around a little before finding her on the ground. It rushed down and grabbed her before darting off into the distance.

The worm nest in the depths of the Land of Turmoil was now almost a hundred metres tall. A transparent compartment had been prepared at the very top, filled with a roiling green fluid that looked like boiling slime.

The cloned brain flew over the compartment and dropped Phaser in to the nutrient fluid. The transparent lid slowly closed as countless feelers stretched out from the inner walls, pulling her to the bottom of the pool and fixing her there. Countless sharp needles pierced through the special unit's body, beginning the restoration.

......

She was standing in a completely dark space, turning her barely moving head to look at her surroundings. Everything here was black, the small orb of light gone as if it were nothing more than an illusion.

She tried her best to widen her eyes and look, intuition telling her that eyes were staring at her from behind this darkness. However, she still didn't see anything. This darkness didn't just blind her eyes, intruding into her consciousness itself and permeating her very soul. She almost couldn't feel her own existence.

But that orb... The orb was all she could think of, so she refused to give up staring into the darkness. A bizarre sound started to ring within her ears, as though many things were gnawing on something but also as if countless voices were whispering. Her sense of smell slowly returned, but the fishy odour mixed with sweat made her retch.

Then came the fear, the dread, the despair. She wanted to escape, but the sound came from all directions and her paralysed body refused to listen to her commands. Savage panting started sounding nearby, and she heard something dripping onto the ground.

She felt so helpless, so scared. Forcing her still limbs to move she crouched down, sitting on the floor and hugging herself with all the might she could muster before starting to sob.

......

A powerful force suddenly ripped Phaser out of her dark world, returning her to consciousness. “How did you lose your self-control?” a voice rang within her mind.

Countless memories flooded back inside with a flash, reminding her that she was Phaser, the Phaser who only knew battle and thirsted for might. Valiance and cunning rushed back in to firm her heart, but now there was a trace of doubt: who was that girl in the darkness? What she felt there, what she heard, had it really happened before?

Her mind was still a little unstable. Although she had regained control and found her memories once more, all she could see around her were rainbow lights and shadows that distorted everything.

“How did you lose your self-control?” the broodmother asked again.

Phaser tried hard to recall, but could not find the source of the problem, “I don't know. I just felt a strong desire for power so I swallowed a few drops of the cursed child's blood.”

“You wouldn't have been able to control the power of even one drop!” the broodmother showed a rare anger.

“I'll pay attention next time,” Phaser said quietly.

“Your body is currently under reconstruction. Fortunately, your soul did not sustain any permanent damage. A little later, and the divine blood would have completely destroyed you! I have started comprehensive reconstruction and repair, it will take three days. You will be level 16 afterwards and can add a new ability. Is there anything you want in addition to this?”

“I... I want a human body.”

Phaser's request caught the broodmother completely off-guard. She went silent for a few seconds; a duration that was equivalent to a month of thinking for an ordinary human.

“Phaser...” she said eventually, “You do not want a human body. You want human love.”

“Human love?” Phaser muttered to herself, “I want... love? Maybe the one who needs it isn't me, but...”

“If you want that love, then great power is a prerequisite. As you are right now, you are too weak. If I give you a human body, you will drop to level 11 and your growth will slow down. With the current situation, it will be difficult to obtain the love you want.”

Phaser seemed a little at a loss, “Then what should I do?”

“I'll give you a human appearance, it's a start. Continue to grow your strength and I will continue to do what I can as well. One day, I will be able to remodel you into a complete human. Until then, focus on finding more things like this divine blood. The more you absorb, the faster you will grow.”
𝘧𝔯𝑒𝒆𝓌𝘦𝘣𝓷𝘰ѵ𝑒𝘭. 𝐜oｍ

“A human appearance, that's also... okay.” Phaser sank back into darkness.

......

Three days later, the lid of the compartment opened and Phaser slowly stood up in the depleted fluid. Her figure was now enchanting, looking no different from a normal human. The surface of her body was still covered in the natural armour, but it had shrunk to cover only the most important areas and left behind large stretches of smooth, fair skin. The armour was now exceptionally light and close-fitting, almost like another layer of skin. The mask still remained, but it was no longer as noticeable as before.

She raised her left hand only to find delicate, beautiful fingers just like on her right. It dazzled her for a moment, but a single thought caused Annihilation to swing out from the armour on her forearm. The cold glint of the blade was familiar as ever.

The confusion and hesitation in Phaser's heart immediately disappeared, the soft sobs that were tormenting her fading away into the depths of her soul. The special unit had returned once more.

Phaser jumped out of the nutrient fluid, rolling in mid-air before using the worm nest as a foothold to make it to the ground without injury. “I'm returning,” she said to the broodmother.

“Go,” the broodmother replied, “Return to our master's side. He needs your power.”

A quick glance into her sea of consciousness confirmed Richard's direction, and Phaser ran into the distance with a relaxed yet powerful gait.

646 - City of Sin

Harvest

Finished with his tour through the Sequoia Kingdom, Richard returned to the Bloodstained Lands with tens of thousands of soldiers as well as half a dozen nobles who dared resist his ruling. Of these were two earls, three viscounts, and a baron.

This parade of his might shook the entire Kingdom and even several of its neighbours, but the most alarmed of all was the Church of Valour. They had been summarily defeated in the battle at the assembly in Sequoia City. Richard's words that day had been a brazen challenge to Neian himself, and his targetting of the nobles serving them made it clear that this was a war for control.

As a loose alliance of free nobles, the Sequoia Kingdom lacked a central faith. Ancestor worship existed side-by-side with organised religion, but Neian was the first god to make a place for himself here and considered it his own territory. The church had been doing its best to split up other organisations and attack nobles who worshipped their ancestors.

When this strong, arrogant church chose to remain silent in the face of humiliation, the three goddesses gained even more momentum. Dozens of commoners were heading to the church buildings in the Sequoia Kingdom every day, asking to join their faith. This would have been unthinkable in the past; it had been less than fifty years since the Church of Valour had helped the royal family win the war over the trade route the gave them their current power.

And while the three churches grew even faster in the Bloodstained Lands, Richard wasn't far behind. A large number of merchants and adventurers were enticed by the prospect of gold and settled down at the oases, many swearing their allegiance to him and becoming citizens of the Bloodstained Lands. He already had over a hundred thousand subjects under him, and nearly ten times the number of slaves.

What surprised the three goddesses most was that even in the Bloodstained Lands Richard's patron deity had no interest in growing his faith. Flowsand had built a small shrine in Bluewater, but it was only for Richard himself and a select few others.

Now that he had reclaimed a large share of the profits from the Bloodstained Highway, Richard earned more than five million a year from the Bloodstained Lands. This was enough to turn the entire territory into a theocracy, forget building a single large temple. This only confirmed the goddesses' speculations that Richard hailed from a secret sect, his god so powerful he didn't care for faith. Given this fact, they could rest assured that the alliance would be stable.

While their interest in finding out who exactly was behind Richard piqued, the Goddess of the Hunt and the Goddess of the Forest started seriously considering moving their central churches to the Bloodstained Lands as well. As the foundations of a god's existence, central churches were the quickest at growing the faith.

The Goddess of Spring Water moving her central church here was quite unexpected, especially since the Bloodstained Lands was far from her natural domain. However, she had gained two thousand new worshippers in the past few months alone, a startling growth compared to her previous dire straits. With more assurance that the god behind Richard wouldn't do anything to steal worshippers, the other two naturally couldn't sit still. This was especially true for the Goddess of the Hunt, who actually could find natural worshippers in the Bloodstained Lands.

Although they had agreed to cooperate, the biggest worry over this divine alliance was the struggle over faith. Even the Goddess of the Hunt could barely find natural worshippers here, and the sheer power shown by Flowsand and Io made it clear that their god was much stronger than the three. So long as Flowsand started preaching here, they would lose worshippers and slowly get pushed out. They had been cautious about this all the while, but now that the Goddess of Spring Water had taken the first step the other two wouldn't let go of the opportunity either. Her power had grown much more greatly than their own after the invaders were routed, and she now stood more powerful than them by a decent margin.

While the deities were concerned about faith, mortals thirsted for gold. As the situation in the Bloodstained Lands stabilised, Richard's tax revenue started growing at an alarming rate. He now reaped nearly four million gold a year from the caravans alone, and with the addition of taxes on the new permanent and temporary residents that went up to five million. This didn't even count the extra three million or so he would get from the next year after claiming an additional 30% of the profits from the nobles who had opposed him.

And that was just the start of it. New applications for permanent residency were flowing in every day, and even when the procedure was made long and complicated after they reached the 100,000 mark the population was booming. The tax on Richard's lands was still quite small, and the trade route was extremely profitable. On top of that, the taxes on permanent residents were much lower than for temporary residents. Permanent residency could directly be bought for a price, and also came with any sizeable land purchase in the five major oases. Those of poorer backgrounds could serve Richard for five years instead, or they could just join the army and do it in three.

The Bloodstained Lands had turned into a land of gold.

His dwarven allies in Forgefires were expanding rapidly as well. They had just annexed three smaller tribes, acquiring ten thousand warriors and many times more workers. However, that did not satisfy Bamor's appetite; Richard was still dumping food and wine into his warehouse while taking ore away.

The dwarves had once thought their ore to be inexhaustible, but now that the trade route was running at full capacity they immediately discovered that their warehouses were being depleted. The demand from their new human allies was simply endless. This only served to motivate them further. Most dwarves had never eaten such good food or drank such tasty wine before, while Bamor himself was starting to burn with the desire for the power this newfound wealth gave him. For the first time, the dwarves felt like there weren't enough miners. Of course, there was a shortcut to getting more labour, and one that their human allies were proficient in: they would wage war to gather slaves.

This endless demand came from Richard himself. All of the ore was being transported directly to Norland, where Noelene was gobbling it up without end. After all, Norland was currently fighting hundreds of planar wars combined, so there was a constant demand for materials to forge armour and weapons.

......

When Richard returned to Bluewater Oasis, he found Rosie basically living permanently in the laboratory and meditation room. She had a harvest of her own; she could now draw the first of the magic arrays he had taught her.

This array was actually the core of an elementary strength rune, but it had been revised by Richard to provide a higher boost and was correspondingly more difficult. She could now finish the array in two days, and although she couldn't guarantee success like he did 80% was good enough. The most important thing was that it only took him an extra hour to finish the strength rune that was somewhere between grade 1 and grade 2, and this rune could be used in his Savage Barrier and Savage Strike sets.

Rosie hardly ever slept, simply meditating when she needed rest. She had completely ignored his warnings that such a lifestyle would do a lot of harm; it looked like more than a month had passed since her mind was truly still.

When the elite humanoid knight he'd left behind to guard the laboratory came over and whispered her schedule to him, his face was filled with amazement. She kept herself almost as busy as he used to when he was in the Deepblue.

Unlike the single room he had before, his laboratory had now expanded into a complete building unto its own. Gnomic alchemical instruments had been imported from Norland, making it quite good even for Norland's standards. He had spent about 2 million gold on it; 3 million more and it would be amongst the best of the best.

Passing the lobby and general workshop, he headed up a floor to find Rosie busy working on an array. There were ten enchanted boxes on the shelf, two completed arrays in each. He only glanced past the completed products before focusing on the rhythm of her actions, finding her much more practised than before. It seemed like her success rate had increased as well, and she had risen to level 10.

“So when did you advance?” he asked once she was done.

647 - City of Sin

Relaxation

Rosie gasped softly and turned to see Richard, a smile creeping up her face, “It's been a few days... It just happened while I was working.”

She suddenly recalled something as she spoke these words, her face filling up with apprehension. Richard had once promised to give her a new meditation technique once she reached level 10.

“Not bad, come!” He walked past her, getting a handful of her rear before heading up another floor to his personal workshop.

Rosie hesitated a bit before following; numerous rare materials were stacked within, and although there weren't any spells restricting entry she typically wouldn't step foot in there. Still, she went up just in time to see him unlock the magical seal on one of his drawers and retrieve a scroll for it.

Richard stroked the scroll softly, a deciphering spell turning the contents from gibberish into recognisable language, “This is for you. Remember to burn it after you read the contents, and use natural flames.”

Rosie unravelled the scroll she had been given, and a single look made her cry out, “The Deepblue Fantasy!”

Richard nodded, “Yes. From today, you're considered a mage of the Deepblue.”

Rosie gripped the scroll tightly, mixed feelings running through her head, “You... remembered.”

“Why wouldn't I? I keep my promises.”

“But...” she lowered her head, “There's nothing I can do to repay you.”

“Ha! Then what are all those rune cores sitting downstairs? We haven't even settled the price of those.”

“That's not the same! You gave me freedom, and now you're giving me this! Money doesn't come close!”

Richard smiled and pinched her cheeks, “Look at you, getting even better at sweet talking.”

“It's just the truth,” Rosie smiled shyly, but her eyes made it clear that she was flirting. Somehow these two different qualities seemed to blend perfectly with her, not seeming fake in the slightest.

Richard snorted, “Alright, I don't need you growing my ego any further.”

“What else can I help you grow, then?” Rosie's eyes glimmered with light.

Richard grew serious for a moment, “Nothing for me. Just advance as quickly as you can, that's the best way you can help.”

“But that's helping myself too! Ugh, I think you're just tired now, you should let loose.” She bit her bottom lip and suddenly pushed him, sending him stumbling back into the wall. Richard suddenly felt a sense of warmth as she stepped forward and went down to her knees.

After a few moments of fumbling around with his robe, she found her target and put it in her mouth. Richard's entire body went rigid and he inhaled sharply before growling like a beast. He almost lost control right then and there, but managed to push her head away for a moment. “Have you been practising?” he snarled.

Forced away, Rosie just raised her head brazenly, “You don't need any training for these things, just some dedication. Anyway, don't think I'll give you a break!” She then pushed his hands away before going back in, and his fortitude crumbled in an instant. He shuddered and roared, back starting to slip towards the ground. Rosie didn't say anything, just raising one hand to signal victory with her fingers.

However, that simple action lit Richard aflame once more. The regeneration boost from the hydra egg showed itself again as blood rushed down to his limp penis and causing it to jab into the side of Rosie's cheek. Rosie barely had the time to squeal in surprise before he pulled out and picked her up with one hand, placing her on the table nearby.

This time, the situation was reversed. Richard deftly freed her of her robes and threw them aside before penetrating her immediately. His thrusts were fast and strong, pushing her to the edge of orgasm in only a few moments. Her whimpers quickly turned into screams, and then went silent again as she entered a daze.

She didn't get the mercy she had afforded him. Richard continued thrusting without allowing her to catch a breath, even teasing her that he would stop if she asked. And ask she did, but that only caused him to go faster as he seemed to forget the words he had uttered about keeping promises only a few minutes ago.

By this point she could barely speak, but she still mustered enough energy to reprimand him loudly. Even that did nothing, and she could only endure the next few minutes of his undivided attention. She didn't know how many times she had climaxed during it all, but by the time he was done both their bodies were covered in sweat.

Finally laying her back on the ground, Richard fell right beside her. Both of them were panting hard, like fish that had just washed ashore.

“This... isn't... relaxing... at all...” he huffed.

She barely even moved, just saying lazily, “It would have been... If not... for the... second... half!”

Richard snorted, but the action caused him to grab his stomach for a bit, “How... couldn't there be... a second half?”

This evoked a sweet smile, “Then don't blame me.”

......

It took some time longer for the two of them to recover, heading back to his residence to bathe. The sight of a freshly bathed Rosie left him aroused once more, but this time he just clothed up and had her follow him back to the laboratory building, “Alright, take a break from meditation and runecrafting for a bit, you can watch me working and take notes.”

Rosie turned extremely serious as well, “I still have a lot of runes to restore, I've only finished four of them.”

When they had destroyed Raymond's army, Richard had recovered a total of 35 runes that could be restored. Twenty were grade 2, which he would need to work on himself, but the other fifteen elementary runes had been given to her.

The process of restoring a rune normally damaged its structure to an extent. Richard had his ways of ensuring no drops to the boost, sometimes even adding on some features afterwards, but this took more of his time than it was worth. He still stood to profit a little off grade 2 runes, but he would much rather work on other things like more Mana Armaments or Lifesbanes than repair the elementary ones.

Rosie dragged her tired body to help prepare the tools he was asking for. She had thought he would begin restoring the grade 2 runes they had gotten, but when she listened to the list of materials she was stumped. He started grinding the materials into ink himself before pouring it into his pen, growing stern as he entered a state of absolute focus.

“Take care of those grade 2 runes as well,” he said without raising his head.

“What?” Rosie's heart skipped a beat, “I can't, my success rate is barely 50%!”

“They're just standard runes, I wouldn't mind even if we lost them all. Consider this a test; you pass if you fix up more than half of the runes.” Richard then started working on the rune.

Rosie immediately went silent, slowing hear breathing a bit as she watched closely. She was afraid of missing even the tiniest of details.

Bright light flowed forth from Richard's body as his mana was poured into the brush, and when the nib met hide a powerful glow burst forth. It took only a few strokes before Rosie held her breath completely; she had recognised the shape and aura of the rune.

Lifesbane! This was her first time seeing Richard craft Lifesbane, a rare opportunity for any runemaster.

......

The sun fell and the moon rose, the moon faded into the morning sun. This cycle continued for seven days before another Lifesbane rune was finished. Richard collapsed right after the final stroke, entering a deep slumber, and Rosie who had spent only an hour a day meditating so she could keep up with him soon followed.

The next morning, the two woke up and shared a massive meal. Right after, Richard began work on the second Lifesbane rune. However, things didn't go as smoothly this time. His mana went out of control on the third day drafting the rune, forcing him to burn it and start over. However, he only frowned for a few seconds before cleaning up and beginning anew.

This time, he only made it half a day before making a fatal error. Still, he wasn't moved too much and silently started up again. At this point, he was used to the occasional failures.

Six days later, a second Lifesbane rune was finished. Richard still felt like he had energy to spare, so he spent ten more days crafting two Savage Barrier sets.

By this point, the broodmother had finished up on the hundred mounts ordered by the royal family. Their lifespan had been increased to fifteen years as requested, with various improvements to their physique as well. They could now gallop four hours straight even with a full load, double the standard for a rune knight's steed.

Even with the worm nest's help, the broodmother could only produce three of these mounts in a day. The upgrades had far exceeded Emperor Philip's requests and would easily qualify for a price of 160,000 each, but he would still sell them at the original price. Exceeding expectations was the fastest way to build a client's trust.

648 - City of Sin

A Small Gift

By the time Richard left his laboratory, three months had passed since he had returned to Faelor. Quite a few of his followers had taken off the moment they were given a vacation, heading to Faust for all the city of miracles had to offer.

Tiramisu was the only one left behind, but that was fine because there wasn't any pressing issue to take care of. Even the ogre was only here because he had nothing to buy; his hammer was only a superior-grade weapon, but it had been custom-designed by the dwarves to weight half a tonne. Now that he was in the middle of a growth spurt, even this hefty weapon could be swung around like a toy. If he activated Mana Armament, less than half of Faelor's saints would be able to take a blow without their arms being smashed to a pulp.

Besides, he wasn't alone in guarding the city. Thousands of humanoid knights, over 2,000 soldiers from Norland, and 25 rune knights were present to aid him in case of any issues. Mito was present as well, as were over thirty mages from Norland that were at least level 10 and the clergy of the three goddesses. Even the Iron Triangle Empire would have to think twice before attacking, especially with Richard himself still around.

As the followers exited the Church of the Eternal Dragon, each of them was carrying a large sack of gold. They looked like thieves who'd found a secret hoard; now, spatial equipment was more important to them than gold. Most nobles in Faust just bought items on credit, storing their gold with the Church or the royal family and using promissory notes or magic crystals as currency. A hundred thousand gold was too much of a weight to carry by oneself, but these followers of Richard's didn't care about how foolish they looked.

Priestess Noelene couldn't help but smile at the scene in front of her. She rarely used actual gold these days, but Richard had asked her for some recently so she knew he had given his followers their first salaries. A quick estimate based on the sizes of the bags told her that most of the gold he had asked for was present here.

However, when she saw Flowsand and Io walk out with sacks of gold as well, that smile froze. She instead felt an urge to strangle the three of them lest they damage the reputation of the Church.

In stark contrast, Flowsand was elated and Io was grinning as well, following the followers to jostle through the halls and out into the city of Faust. She couldn't even stop them in time; looking at them spreading out into all the corners of Faust, her head felt a little light.

“Priestess Noelene?” a gentle yet apprehensive voice sounded behind Noelene, and she turned around to see a masked lady dressed in mage robes shivering with nervousness.

“Yes, I'm Noelene. You are... the Dragon Mage?”

Lina nodded, “I'm Lina. Richard had me come find you, he said you could heal my scars.”

Noelene's voice softened, “Ah! Yes, yes, Richard has already prepared everything. Come with me, this may take all afternoon.”

......

Lina's first act upon regaining consciousness was to jump off the bed and sprint towards a full-length mirror nearby. It was already growing dark outside, but there was enough light within the room to clearly make out an alluring figure staring back at her from within.

Her skin was smooth to the touch once more, the scars faded to the point that some make-up would turn them completely invisible. Most of her face had been fixed as well, leaving only a few dark spots that looked just like a tattoo from afar. Noelene had mentioned that she wouldn't be able to heal her completely, but this was much better than she had expected.

Looking at her own reflection, Lina felt elated and relaxed. From the very moment she had regained consciousness after taking on Kaloh's breath, she had resigned herself to a life hidden behind thick robes and a full mask. To see her face almost back to normal was liberating.

She knew a grand priestess could heal her, but had neither the connections nor the money to convince one to step forth. The price of such treatment was certainly high, high enough that even Gaton would have to think it over. And yet, Richard had just casually sent her to Noelene who had her sleep for an afternoon and returned her beauty to her. It seemed almost too good to be true.

She noticed a box on the bedside table from the corner of her eye, with a memo underneath. The memo had only two words written in large, clear handwriting: From Richard.

She placed her hands gently on the lid of the box, taking a deep breath before opening it.

An intricate half-face mask was placed within, exquisite in design but filled with intricate rune lines that revealed its true face; this was a magic item that could protect its wearer. The material looked metallic from afar, but it was warm and even soft to the touch. The inside of the mask was made of a smooth fibre of materials unknown, fitting perfectly on her face to the point that it felt like someone was caressing it.

She stood in front of the mirror once more, and this time around she had an exotic kind of beauty that added an air of mystery to her. As the last rays of sunlight gave way to the moons, it seemed like she was adorned with tribal tattoos similar to the elves they had fought on the Forest Plane. The mask would draw attention, sure, but somebody scared of drawing attention wouldn't dress as provocatively as she used to.

Lina sighed gently, caressing the mask for some time before heading out and back to the Archeron island.

......

It was currently dusk, almost a week after the followers had come to Faust for vacation. Lina headed out from her room in the Archeron castle, teleporting down into Faust proper before heading into the alchemy district, also called the furnace of Faust. Activity had slowed in the central areas, but out here on the outskirts, neon lights started to fill the sky, mixing with the beautiful moonlight to cover the city of miracles in a dazzling glow.

Looking at this familiar sight, the Dragon Mage felt a wave of nostalgia wash over her. All the lethargy faded away as a renewed sense of passion took its place. She was filled with excitement now, something she had only felt in the midst of battle for a long time. In the alchemy district was basically everything that money alone could buy. It was a place only for big spenders, with great customer service and prices to match.

Unlike the more residential and religious areas of Faust which closed down at night, the alchemy district was active all day and night. With so many of the nobles here busy in planar wars, one never knew when they would return and how quickly they would have to be gone. There was a saying here: the alchemy district did not welcome the thousand-coin wealthy. Most non-nobles definitely did not qualify to even enter, and even titled knights had to save for months before they could afford anything worth having.

Lina was quite familiar with this area and quickly headed to a store called Limited Arms. Under the prominent signboard, one could see a small tagline: Limited Arms, Unlimited Service. This store specialised in alchemic and enchanted equipment, with a side business as auctioneers.

The Archerons were a regular customer here, albeit as sellers instead of buyers. This was where she had sold her only two epic-grade items not so long ago. She had heard from the old steward that they had restocked recently and would be hosting an auction here today. While she didn't have enough money to participate in an auction, she did have enough to buy a decent piece of epic-grade equipment.

In fact, even the two pieces of equipment she did have before weren't particularly suited to her; she only had them because they had been looted during wars. When did she ever have the means to buy epic-grade equipment? However, things were different now. In her bag were two promissory notes from the Church of the Eternal Dragon for 100,000 gold each, which would be more than enough to buy a good piece. She wasn't like the rest of Richard's followers; having lived in Faust for some time, she knew she would become a laughing stock if she lugged around a sack of gold. And unlike Flowsand, she didn't have the mind to play around.

She flashed a tag at the doorstep that confirmed her identity. Noticing the golden colour of the card, the servant at the door bowed respectfully before letting her in. This tag was the symbol of a big customer whose transactions with the shop were between a hundred thousand and a million gold in value.

The servants naturally wouldn't dare be negligent in the face of such status, but Lina felt somewhat ashamed at the bow. This tag didn't come from purchasing power, and even the goods she had sold were second-hand.

The card allowed her to freely go up to the third floor of the building which housed many superior-grade and some epic-grade items. To enter the fourth floor with the best equipment or the fifth and sixth where private stalls and auctions could be found, she would need much higher status or much more money.

As she entered and headed straight for the stairs, she came across a group of people with a young man at the helm that were making their way down. The handsome youth with a rather squarish face looked to be in his twenties, and his demeanour was that of someone who had lived as a superior all their life. His eyes lit up as he saw her, “Miss Lina!”

Lina raised her head and immediately flashed a smile, giving him a little curtsy, “Earl Cardiff, we meet again.”

649 - City of Sin

Pursuer

“Miss Lina, you're more enchanting than ever. This mask is simply exquisite! If I'm not mistaken, the design is an enchantment? I can tell that it is the work of a talented runemaster.”

Earl Cardiff hailed from the Tuescher Family, a family that occupied an island in the sixth level. Lina was normally indifferent to his praises, but today they made her feel exceptionally happy. Her smile grew more sincere and she nodded to him, “Thank you!”

Cardiff's eyes brightened and he grew even more attentive, bowing to her with grace, “I am thrilled to have seen you here. Is there anything I can do? Consider me at your service.”

“Oh, I'm just looking to see if there's something I like. You don't need to trouble yourself,” Lina rejected him. Although she had seen Tueschers on many different occasions, the Archerons didn't interact much with them. Including today, she had only spoken to Cardiff thrice.

However, Cardiff was unwilling to give up. He tried to offer his assistance a few more times, to the point that she started to grow uncomfortable with his insistence. His attitude was a little too intrusive.

“Perhaps we can head up to the fourth floor and talk for a while? There is bound to be something there that you require.” His eyes grew even more intense as he reached out to grab Lina's arm. The gesture itself was brutish, but he possessed the poise to pull it off without seeming vulgar in the slightest.

Lina's expression froze over as she took a step back, shaking off his arm, “Earl Cardiff, I request you conduct yourself properly.”

Cardiff raised a brow, withdrawing his hand with a smile, “Lina, Gaton will never return. I don't care that you're a grand mage; in my eyes, you're a woman of immense beauty and charm that has enthralled me. Consider this a formal invitation: Dragon Mage Lina, I am inviting you to join the Tuescher Family. Help me become the Duke,” staring at Lina, “When that happens, you will be my Duchess. This is a promise!”

Lina frowned and took another step back, opening up more distance. Cardiff remained in his original position, but he stared daggers at her.

She couldn't help but feel her heart stir a little. Ever since Gaton had disappeared into the Rosie Plane, she had been immersed in pain and loss. She had decided to dedicate a decade of her life to being the guardian of the Forest Plane, regardless of whether he would return.

In truth, Gaton and his thirteen were more business partners than master and servants. He didn't restrict their actions at all, relying mostly on his charisma to bring them to his side. Lina wasn't tied to him by any contracts, not even verbally. Her thoughts shifted to Richard for a moment. The youth was completely different from his father; his followers were closer to him, and although there was a slave contract between them she could tell that he was a wonderful leader as well. He also ensured to meet all their necessities, from runes to equipment.

If nothing happened over the next few years, Lina would finish that decade guarding the Forest Plane and pass it along to Richard. Once that was done, Cardiff's proposal would likely be able to mover her. After all, a life as a duchess was much better than fighting on the battlefield as a grand mage, and someone who was an earl and a saint in his twenties was undoubtedly a capable man. Cardiff's reputation was rather pristine as well.

However, she was still wearing the mask. Her hand seemed to lift of its own accord, the back of her fingers gently caressing the mask and her face as though to verify something. “My apologies,” she said softly, “I do not wish to leave the Archerons.” By the end of these words, her voice had grown incomparably firm.

Cardiff's eyes burned even brighter as he saw Lina caressing her face softly. For a moment, the powerful and mature grand mage seemed no different from an innocent young lady. The sheer contrast caused his heart to flutter, but her reply was like a bucket of icy water poured over his head. His expression quickly soured, his voice almost turning into a roar, “Why?! How are the Tueschers inferior to the Archerons? Have I not shown you enough sincerity? I fell for you the moment I saw you! Gaton isn't coming back, you're the only one of the five he left behind who hasn't accepted that yet. Why are you still giving your life for the Archerons? What can they give you?”

What could the Archerons give her? The rune on her breast, the 200,000 gold in her hand? It was neither. Lina had talent and power; it was only a matter of time before she would have grade 4 runes. 200,000 was a big amount, but money was only money in the end. However, a number of events she had chosen not to think of surged forth into her mind.

When she was only eighteen, Gaton had pulled her all through the myriad planes to fight in wars. Together they had seen many multiple battles, explored many planes. It was him who had exposed her to a vast universe.

And when Gaton left, Richard followed behind. She was still young when she first saw him, and as she grew older she saw miracles spring forth from his hand just like his father's. Alas, Richard and Gaton were very different. The father was much more meticulous, able to empathise with others and capture their feelings. However, that had changed lately. She was still wearing the earrings and mask, two things she would never let go of.

No, it wasn't gold nor equipment. What the Archerons could give her was experience, growth, and gifts that mattered.

Seeing Lina smile without replying, Cardiff's expression twisted further. He had known his responsibilities from a young age and had the discipline to avoid anything unbecoming. However, he was still rather young and used to getting what he wanted. He couldn't accept his sincere advances being turned down.

At this time, those nearby started to speak on Cardiff's behalf, “The Archerons are known for being dirt poor! Miss Lina, you were forced to sell your possessions, why are you still mixing with beggars like them?”

“Exactly! The only reason the two items you sold fetched such a high price before was because my Lord bought it in his own name. If not, why would second-hand goods sell so easily?”

Lina was shocked, and when she looked back at Cardiff she could see a solemn expression on his face.

“Lina, please believe in me. I am inviting you to battle by my side, not locking you up in my back garden! Work together with me so we become the successors to my family's power. The floating island, the branch families, the various planes... they will all be mine in the future. Mine, and yours.”

Cardiff's proposal was extremely enticing and impactful. However, it had just appeared at an extremely bad time. Lina sighed and shook her head again, taking another step back before turning to leave.

This was the final straw for the people around. A middle-aged noble in fancy clothing suddenly spoke up, “Miss Lina, you are not making a wise choice. What do you have to gain by following the Archerons? You cannot even afford epic-grade equipment! You must be here to sell, no? Epic-grade equipment costs 100,000 at minimum, and from what I've heard the Archerons rarely have even a thousand when they go out. Hahaha!”

“Uncle!” Earl Cardiff rebuked softly, but the man seemed to show no signs of remorse.

Lina felt anger surging within her as her expression turned icy, “What, do I have to report why I'm here to you? You're humiliating the family I serve, I'm not sure you're ready to face the consequences of doing so!”

The middle-aged noble sneered, “I'm just stating facts. If you want to call that humiliating the Archerons, then yes, I am!”

650 - City of Sin

Who Touched Your Pocket Money?

Lina was enraged, flames springing around her fingertips as she prepared to strike. A burly man immediately jumped forward from behind Cardiff, giving her pause for thought, while an old man by the stairs who had ignored everything so far flashed over as well.

Even though she was a saint, being sandwiched between two saints left Lina with little room to act in. She would be able to cast only one spell before sustaining severe injuries at minimum; she recognised both of these opponents, and even on an open field it would be all she could do to protect herself.

The old man suddenly coughed, “Miss Lina, this is a place of business, not war. Please do not make trouble for paying customers.”

Lina already knew they were trying to provoke her, but she calmed down and took out two promissory notes from her bosom before throwing it at the middle-aged noble that had spoken up, “Look carefully. Is that not enough money for me to buy something here?”

Cardiff's uncle picked it up and was surprised to see two notes from the Church of the Eternal Dragon worth 100,000 each. This was a huge sum of money even to most nobles. However, one sideways glance at Cardiff's expression and he gritted his teeth, snorting before tearing both pieces of paper up in an instant.

“Bah! I am only a servant of the Tueschers and even I don't care for just this amount of money. It is only a piece of epic-grade equipment you're looking for, is it not? Take whatever you want from the third level under my name. What can those poor Archerons give you? They are nothing compared to Earl Cardiff!”

Lina started to seethe with rage, magical light overflowing from her mask as she started to gather her mana. It looked like she would attack regardless of the consequences. Seeing the situation worsen, Cardiff who had been silent for some time suddenly made a face of realisation and send profoundly, “Lina, I really am sincere. You should know I keep my promises. Come follow me, to the fourth floor or the auction on the fifth. You can have anything you like. As for the Archerons, I'll help you take care of them.”

“I said no, Cardiff!” Lina growled.

Cardiff still maintained his calm, casting a glance to his left and right to have two more people move forward to block Lina's path completely. He stepped ahead himself, and the grey-shirted employee of the store hesitated for a bit before retreating to his original position. The two new entrants were only one level below sainthood, and Cardiff was a saint himself. Lina was now flanked by a total of four powerful opponents.

The Dragon Mage's fury started to manifest in the real world, mana surging out of every pore. Cardiff was preparing to kidnap her, but she would rather die than submit. She didn't understand why things had turned out this way; this fellow had always been polite and gentle in the past, but the one thing she did know was that no good end would meet her at his hands.

Those nearby were immediately astonished, feeling like a wave of power had just struck into their sea of consciousness. A grand mage ready to unleash their full mana pool in one shot was akin to a tiny sun exploding; the resulting energies would wipe out everything in a ten-metre radius! Cardiff turned white as a sheet; another sign of hostility and Lina would erupt immediately. Unless she willingly ebbed the flow of her magic or a saint sacrificed themselves to hold her to the ground, they would all be gravely injured at the minimum.

However, saints and grand mages only worked for nobles on business. Who would willingly sacrifice their life for the sake of others?

“Who touched your pocket money?” a gentle voice sounded from below, immediately shattering the bright mana around Lina as she gasped and withdrew her energy. Everyone was bewildered to see a smile rise up on the Dragon Mage's face, a bliss that she didn't realise herself as she turned to look at Richard walking up the stairs.

By Richard's side was Nyris, and following them were a few soldiers of the royal family. The two of them seemed to be dressed for business, the prince in full royal garb adorned by countless magical crystals and Richard outshining him with a fashionable hunting outfit in the style of the Millennial Empire. Richard already had a hand on Extinction, something that added to the garb in giving him an air of valiance that did not detract from his noble grace.

As his elven bloodline continued to grow stronger, Richard was starting to reveal more of his natural charm. The feast from Emperor Philip and the hydra egg had made him a few inches taller as well, and even though he wasn't as muscular as a warrior he looked gallant and handsome.

Lina was stunned for a moment. Even though she had been aiding his cause for years now, she had always seen him as the cute and stubborn child who had blushed when she first sent a flying kiss his way. At best, she was seeing silhouettes of Gaton's greatness within him. Now, however, that youth had become a man of his own.

Richard seemed to be aloof to the atmosphere as he walked in with a smile, not even throwing a glance at the grey-shirted employee. The old man was about to move, but a cold glance from Nyris forced him back into his seat. The royal guards clogged up the spiral staircase behind, blocking the sight of the merchants who had sensed something was amiss.

Seeing that Richard had arrived at the third floor unimpeded, one of Cardiff's level 17 guards stepped forward and blocked his way, “Who are you? Get the fuck ou—” He was barely halfway through his words before Richard flickered for a moment, filling his vision with countless silver lights that left him feeling horrified.

This guard wasn't specifically talented, but having experienced several battles he instinctively retreated. However, all struggles were futile in the face of absolute might. The guard suddenly realised he had lost all feeling in his body, unable to so much as move as the silvery glow enveloped him.

*Splat!* The guard's chest exploded into a crimson mist, and those present could barely see Richard sheathing Extinction before he turned stiff as wood and fell onto his back. The impact shook open endless cuts on his hands and legs as well, the crisscrossed lines of red looking like a terrifying crimson web.

Each thin line hid a terrifyingly deep wound. This was a specialty of Extinction, minimising how much the enemy bled as it sapped the very life out of their flesh. Blood had burst out of the man's chest only because his own internal energy had been shattered by the attack.

The guard's chest was still moving slightly, but his eyes had already defocused and his skin had turned white as a sheet. It looked like he was just awaiting certain death.

Cardiff and the saint guardian were shocked beyond words. They had sensed the killing intent when Richard drew his sword, but they hadn't believed a level 17 warrior would be bested by a mage. However, the murderous aura they felt could not be questioned. Instinct told them that testing Richard's patience right now would only result in their death.

The sight of the guard going down was actually a little relieving; they thanked the stars that they hadn't acted out themselves. Richard's attack had simply been too swift, too strong. Even if they were in the guard's position, they would barely be able to block a few strikes before their defences were broken.

651 - City of Sin

Gamble

Richard kicked the guard on the floor coldly, “Stop playing dead unless you want to be!”

The guard's body shook as control slowly returned to him. Even though every muscle in his torso stung, he was overjoyed just to be alive. He immediately turned around and got up, trying to shake off the numbness of his limbs.

However, that would never happen. Cardiff's guardian saint noticed that all of his power had been broken apart, his aura completely destroyed at Richard's hands. Without a priestess of Noelene's standard healing him, he would never cross level 10 again in his life.

Cardiff suppressed his anger and called out to Richard, “Who are you? How dare you harm my guard? Explain yourself, or this will not end well!”

Richard smiled softly, “You don't even know who I am but you dared to disturb one of my followers?”

Malice flashed across Cardiff's face, but looking at Nyris behind Richard he suppressed it into a sneer, “I was wondering who could be so arrogant, so it's the Archeron fellow. Lina is one of Marquess Gaton's knights, when did she become your follower? You're quite something.

“But this is Faust, who are you to attack a guard of nobility in public? The royal runemaster? That's a title given to you by the royal family, not the entire Alliance. You are nothing more than a commoner without a title, you will suffer corporal punishment.”

Richard ignored the ranting youth completely, just beckoning Lina over. This time, no one stopped her from moving. Facing a grand mage was bad enough, but with someone capable in a melee protecting that grand mage, it was completely different. It wasn't a good idea to do anything with the Fourth Prince and his guards here anyway.

“Don't be afraid to fight off pricks who annoy you like this in the future, your life is precious. If you can't kill them, just delay them and wait for my arrival. I'll save you when I get there, and if I'm too late...” He paused at this moment, snapping a finger as he looked at Cardiff and group. A dull explosion rang out as the guard who had just gotten up fell to the floor once more, this time truly dead. Cardiff's expression soured further.

“Richard Archeron, you have killed one of my guards. How are you going to compensate me for this?” Cardiff asked coldly.

“He—” Richard tapped Lina twice on the head, pulling her behind him as he turned towards the earl, “Who are you again?”

Cardiff's face turned red, but he suppressed his rage, “Earl Cardiff of the Tuescher Family.”

Richard looked up for a moment, “Hmm... Tuescher... Ah, right, one of the fourteen. Alright, now who are you again?”

“RICHARD!” Cardiff felt the blood rushing to his brain.

Richard just laughed, staring this opponent down without a hint of fear, “What, you want to fight?”

Cardiff's rage immediately halved. “Lord Richard, you hurt one of my guards. The least you could do is give me an explanation,” he gritted out.

Richard stopped smiling, “I don't leave dogs who try to bite my people alive. If you're dumb enough to take this to court, be my guest. But just remember one thing, Faust isn't your family's back garden, and you don't even represent the Tueschers as a whole. You don't want to suffer the consequences of making an enemy of me.”

Cardiff paled; Richard had obviously overheard his pursuit of Lina. He knew himself that a thorough investigation would not benefit him, and he definitely didn't have the amount of clout Richard did. The Tueschers could suppress the Archerons, but that meant nothing when it came to Richard and himself. Prince Nyris was right here, he couldn't even bribe this shop's employees to lie.

All he could do in the end was grunt angrily, “Take this piece of trash up, we're leaving!”

“Oi!” Richard called out.

“What more do you want?!” Cardiff screamed, his face as white as a sheet.

“You want to bully one of my followers and just leave? Do you think I'm going to let you off just like that?”

The grunts immediately turned into a burst of cold laughter, “Very well, let's see how vicious you can be!”

Richard turned to Nyris, “There's an auction going on upstairs, right?”

Leant against the railing nearby, Nyris lazily nodded his head. The answer was obvious, that auction was what they were here for. Nevertheless, he joined Richard's performance and added innocently, “I heard valuable magic items and offerings are going to be auctioned off today.”

“Offerings? That's rare!” Richard feigned exaggerated surprise, turning to face Cardiff once more, “The idiot behind you tore up Lina's pocket money, are you going to forget that so quickly?”

The middle-aged noble who was pointed out gulped audibly.

“Just 200,000, I'll give her double that!” Cardiff sneered, reaching into his pocket to pull out some pieces of goat-skin parchment the size of his palm. It looked to be a standard promissory note.

“I said that was her pocket money, are you deaf?” Richard looked at Cardiff whose teeth were bared with disdain, “I heard someone say earlier that the Archerons are poor, I guess they wouldn't mind a contest of money with one. Since there's an auction upstairs, that will be our stage. Whoever spends the most wins, and everything they buy is donated to the Church of the Eternal Dragon. How does that sound, Carduff?”

“It's Cardiff!” the earl said with bloodshot eyes, “Alright, let's do it! And what are we betting?”

“Gambling is a skill all nobles require, and it's all about image and wealth. Let's bet on those two things; the stakes are three million gold and two slaps to the face. You ready, Garduff?”

“IT'S. CARDIFF!”

Cardiff had never seen Richard in person, and even though he had some information on how the Archeron successor looked this attire was completely different from what the mages of the Deepblue normally wore. He hadn't factored Richard into his plans when he pursued Lina in the first place; grand mages, especially those so talented, were not beholden to the families they served. However, now his hatred for Richard was second to none. It wasn't just because of the dead guard; this fellow in front of him was exactly what the Archerons were infamous for; vulgar, arrogant, and impetuous. Google search 𝙛𝓇𝘦e𝙬𝑒𝚋𝒏૦ѵel. c𝒐𝚖

He would have hesitated if it was any other sort of bet; after all, there was no good reason to incite war with a royal runemaster. However, a competition of wealth was completely within the law and he wasn't afraid of any Archeron in that regard. However skilled runemasters were at making money, Richard hadn't crafted a single grade 4 rune yet. He was still far too young; only when his skills reached a bottleneck and he wasn't wasting expensive materials for practice would he be able to turn a decent profit.

Lifesbane was admittedly rare, and would sell for a pretty penny, but Richard had only shown one during his convention and hadn't put any up for sale either. Considering this, the Tueschers and most other families had come to the same conclusion: this success was just a flash in the pan, and he would take much longer to be able to craft it consistently.

Runemasters like Richard were a well of potential. If Gaton were still around, he would quickly have made his way to dukedom and perhaps even pushed the Josephs down a level. However, Gaton was no longer around and nobody knew how much longer the Archerons would last either.

Potential didn't mean wealth in the present. Richard's bet of three million gold wasn't absurdly high. It would certainly scare away many weaker families, but the highest class of society could afford it if the stakes were right.

652 - City of Sin

Personal Use

Whether Richard truly hadn't heard of his name before or chose to ignore what he knew, Cardiff was someone special in the Tuescher Family. He earned more than two million gold every year from a personal plane that his mother had left behind for him, and this plane that had been occupied for more than a hundred years was also the backbone of his claim to succession.

Cardiff had already calculated that Richard had around five million gold in capital at most. Auctions like the one today required payment up front, so things like contracts to make runes wouldn't be of help. Winning the gamble would still mean a loss of two million gold, but a million gold each for two slaps to this arrogant fellow's face would be more than worth it. He looked at Richard and secretly sneered; he could afford up to five million gold in loss!

With the terms of the bet laid out, the two made their way straight up to the fifth floor of the building, entering a small yet luxurious auction hall. Several nobles immediately rushed over to greet them, with more crowding around Richard than around Cardiff.

News of the bet leaked out in a flash, riling up all of those present. More than half of the hundred nobles gathered here knew that the death of a lowly guard meant nothing, but it served as a good cover for a more traditional political battle. Three million gold wasn't too scary, but two slaps to the face was definitely interesting. It was rare for the phrase 'a slap to the face' to be so literal.

These nobles had to put up a civil front and normally shied away from something so barbaric. They would rather start a war than suffer such humiliation. However, the Archeron upstarts were known for their gruffness and violence. Even though Richard was a pretty boy who seemed mild-mannered, he was a ruffian just like the rest. This kind of bet wasn't too surprising coming from him.

Richard sat down calmly, but Cardiff had some tricks up his sleeve. Having never enjoyed battles he had no confidence in, he quietly instructed one of his aides to get all the money the family would loan him. Adding that two million gold to what he already had on hand, he had a total of ten million gold!

The host of the auction started off with a few jokes to get everyone in the mood, but the bet had already filled the hall with excitement and anticipation. He thus had a few pretty servants carry a box with a powerful sealing enchantment on stage, beginning the auction right away.

A disgusting stench wafted into the hall the moment the box was opened, but none of the nobles showed any signs of disdain. Limited Arms were known for their high standard, so anything worthy of being auctioned off here was certainly rare. A few experienced old men even grew excited at the smell, and Richard stirred as well; he recognised this scent.

“Esteemed ladies and gentlemen, this is the first item up for bidding tonight. It is quite valuable as an offering and comes from the Land of Dusk. Some of you might have heard about it, and the select few that have used it will be able to appreciate the greater uses of this marvellous item. Yes, the vesicles of a sksar ursa warlord!”

A loud rumble sounded from the older gentlemen that had gathered. Like the host had said, ursa warlord vesicles were only the lowest grade of offering, and only a rare few put them on the altar. These things normally fetched the price of an intermediate offering, because they could be refined into a potion that could cure erectile dysfunction!

This wasn't just a drug that enhanced sex. Once concentrated enough, potions made from these vesicles would pass down several traits of the ursa warlord to the user. The penis could temporarily be enlarged, and the chances of conception increased as well.

Be it for the former use or the latter, those older nobles who were immensely rich valued this item greatly. Bids started being shouted out the moment the host was done speaking, and the price quickly crossed the 400,000 gold threshold for a lesser offering and zoomed up to 900,000 in the blink of an eye.

Richard smiled silently, continuing to watch as the price shot up to 1.3 million before the bidding slowed down. 1.5 million was the base price of an intermediate offering, and however rare ursa vesicles were, there was a point when they weren't worth it.

“1.5 million,” Richard said calmly, gathering all the eyes in the room onto himself. He truly had a use for this item, but he would just be donating it to the Church anyway. Saint Lawrence had entrusted him to find it for him, but so long as Beye was involved he didn't have the guts to do such a thing. The old man's wish could only be fulfilled at a later date.

Moreover, his second venture into the Land of Dusk had shown him that the relationship between Lawrence and Beye was more complicated than he had first thought. The old man's mentions of sex were more of a threat than a desire. After all, someone able to bring the almost-dead Beye back to life would certainly be able to solve a minor problem with his erection.

The crowd fell silent and the item was won. Richard merely had the servants wrap it up and send it to the Church of the Eternal Dragon, not even looking at the thing as it disappeared.

Cardiff who wasn't far away gritted his teeth hard, almost crushing his armrest in the process of calming himself down. His last bid of 1.3 million wasn't far off from Richard's, but he hadn't dared to raise the price further just in case Richard withdrew.

It was only after the host announced the end of the bid that he realised he had made a mistake thinking of this bid like he normally would. It wasn't important how much this thing was actually worth so long as he could donate it to the Church. All that mattered was for him to spend more than Richard.

Richard suddenly looked over to him, voice audible to a good section of the audience, “It isn't too late to admit defeat, Cayden, just cut your losses and give up.”

Cardiff no longer had the strength to argue with Richard over his actual name, just grunting in reply, “The auction just started!” Turning his attention to the obvious look of apprehension on Lina's face, he felt a little reassured.

Having learnt from his mistake, Cardiff started making several high bids to win some lesser offerings. He quickly went into the lead, having spent 2.3 million while Richard had spent 2.1. He didn't bid for every item he saw, instead choosing those that the Church might like. This way, he could kill two birds with one stone. On the other hand, Richard was focused on buying magical materials which weren't as much. Even though he paid two to three times the market price, he was still a little behind.

The second phase of this auction came when an intermediate offering was placed on the table. Cardiff and Richard launched into a bidding war, and after a desperate ten rounds back and forth the earl successfully acquired it at a sky-high price of 2.5 million. He immediately jumped into the sky, screaming with joy.

However, Cardiff did not remain happy for long. Right after the offering was a large chunk of gold-lined onyx which also came from a battlefield of despair. This was a core material for grade 3 runes, and Richard won it at a price of 3 million. It gave the earl a minor heart attack; Richard had already spent the limit of what he should have possessed!

When he saw Richard handing over three promissory notes which bore the insignia of the royal family, he felt like his lungs had caught fire. Promissory notes from the royal family were second only to those issued by the Church, and he didn't know just how many such million-gold notes Richard had in his pocket. Normally, one needed to deposit an equal value into the royal warehouse to obtain these notes!

Cardiff stole a glance at Nyris who was still lazing by Richard's side. Even though the prince had a number plate of his own, he hadn't raised it even once. It seemed like he was only here as an observer. However, he quickly put his doubts aside. There were many princes in the race for succession, and his own family had a good relationship with quite a few. The Fourth Prince definitely wouldn't be so stupid as to help Richard cheat on this auction.

However, as Richard passed the gold-lined onyx to Lina, his next words almost caused Cardiff to crumble, “Put this in my lab when we get back.”

Cardiff pointed at the crystal with disbelief, “You're not donating this?”

“No, this isn't part of our bet. I bought this for personal use,” Richard said indifferently.

653 - City of Sin

One Last Struggle

Richard maintained his composure as the auction continued, continuing to buy items at a breakneck pace. Even though more than a third of what he bought wasn't donated, he still hit a staggering amount of 6 million gold, only 200,000 behind Cardiff.

Cardiff was nowhere near as calm; his shirt was soaked through by this point, and he couldn't stop gnawing through his fingernails. Only when his aide returned with a small case that contained twenty high-purity magic crystals did he relax, but even then he was feeling immense pressure. Even if he won and Lina accepted his proposal, he would barely make any profit overall. Besides, Lina wasn't even a part of the bet. As for losing, the losses from that would amount to almost ten million. He would go completely bankrupt!

He was starting to regret agreeing to this bet. Richard still looked active as ever even after spending 10 million gold! Cardiff couldn't figure out how an Archeron could have that much money, but he had already hit the point of no return. He asked for a cup of wine and downed it in one go, spending almost 2 million over the next few items to hit 8 million gold. However, Richard was still behind by 200,000. The royal runemaster had even spent another million on a few pieces of epic-grade equipment that he kept to himself!

The bustle of the surrounding nobles had died off long ago. Nobody understood how Richard had come up with more than 13 million gold, but it looked like he still had a lot left. He didn't even seem to be fazed by spending this amount, still as enthusiastic as he had been at the start. Some people even started wondering whether the Archerons had sold more than ten million gold's worth of equipment recently.

Gaton had once told Richard that there was a simple way to change the people that derided them for being upstarts; power. Over time, he had come to understand that wealth worked just as well. The abhorrence and disdain quickly warped into admiration and respect, even envy. People would still hate him in secret, but they wouldn't have the guts to scorn him in public.

Richard shot Cardiff a glance and laughed, “Do you want to sell some territories, Carden? It seems like your funds are... insufficient.”

“NON—” Cardiff's face burned in embarrassment, but he forced himself to stop and calmed down. The mockery and contempt in Richard's eyes made him murderous, but he knew it would do no good to go berserk. Ultimately, he swallowed down his threats. Prince Nyris was still present, as were many other nobles. He would only be called someone without poise if he acted out now.

Cardiff knew well that perception was an important part of nobility. Losing this bet would only result in financial troubles, but lost respect would not be easy to earn back. A family that wasn't revered was only a skeleton waiting to crumble.

Richard shook his head with regret that Cardiff hadn't taken the bait, turning his attention to the auctioneer. In a split second he bumped up his donation to 10 million gold, defeating Cardiff completely. The earl was breathing hard, his entire body stiff as he stretched his hands into the case only to find nothing within.

The auction thus approached its end. The last item wasn't a single piece but a total of 200 sets of enchanted chainmail that was suitable for most types of troops. Each set was only a little worse than a piece of epic-grade equipment, and the starting price of the auction was 30,000 gold each. This was the standard for auctions in Norland; anything useful in planar war was normally pushed to the end.

The price of mass-manufactured equipment was normally very precise, and wouldn't jump too much even in an auction. Richard ended up buying all the sets for 36,000 gold each, planning to use it to arm drones or some such thing. This left everyone present gasping in shock; he had spent more than 20 million gold!

All colour drained from Cardiff's face as he understood that he was destined to lose this competition. However, seeing Richard take out more promissory notes from the royal family he finally lost control and growled, “You cheated! That money is from the royal family, not you! I haven't lost this bet!”

Richard raised his brow, “I told you to sell some territories if you wanted more money to compete, Candry.”

Nyris stood up abruptly, the lethargy replaced by rage, “Cardiff Tuescher, watch your tongue! If you wish to imply that the royal family is helping someone cheat in a bet, have your family head bring it up in court! The Emperor and the assembly will conduct an investigation to ensure the fairness of this bet!”

Cardiff couldn't find a response to that statement. Regardless of what the truth was, bringing this up in court would do him no good. If Nyris really was helping Richard out, then the Tueschers would fall out with the Fourth Prince. And if the truth was otherwise... He shuddered at the very thought. Even his own family would not agree to blow this up. After all, this loss was his own; if they went to court, that would greatly affect the reputation of all Tueschers.

All of Cardiff's followers looked just as defeated as him, especially the middle-aged man that had torn up Lina's money. They looked at Richard like he was some sort of monster, unable to believe the situation.

Twenty million gold, and all upfront! Who could even spend so much in a single auction?

With more than a hundred nobles present as witnesses, there was no chance for Cardiff to renege on the bet. However, he had run out of money long ago. The only choice left was to pay with land; for 3 million gold, he would have to give up a viscount's territory.

Richard thought over it for a moment and offered to count the territory for 10% above its standard value if he got to choose himself. This was more than 200,000 gold saved, so Cardiff quickly agreed. A map of his lands was quickly brought over, and Richard chose the territory of Viscount Lief which was somewhat close to BLackrose Castle.
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An attendant sent by the royal family quickly marked the deed and sent it back, and Richard sent a guard to inform the steward to take care of the remaining formalities. The bet thus moved on to the most entertaining segment.

Everyone knew that Richard was a mage while Cardiff was a warrior. Even though the face was the weakest part of the human body, a saint could certainly put enough energy into it to protect it thoroughly. The energy would even affect any attackers; a mage's hand would be bloodied up if they were to slap a saint's face with full strength.

Cardiff stood in the middle of the auction hall and leaned forward, smiling at Richard, “Come, let's get this over with!” He had suddenly regained his elegance and poise, perfectly playing the part of a son of nobility.

Richard's eyes glowed dimly for a moment as he walked over towards Cardiff. The earl felt his hairs stand on end, feeling like his entire existence had been seen through in that one instant. It left him in a cold sweat.

“Are you sure you want to do it this way?” Richard asked as he came to a stop.

Cardiff shuddered for a moment but quickly regained his calm, “I don't understand what you are talking about.”

The earl had already moved the entirety of his internal energy to his face, something that was unnoticeable to most because of the specific techniques he trained in. This was a great amount of energy that would shatter a common mage's hand, but the backlash from the impact would also tear his own skin apart. Normally this would be a lose-lose situation, but Cardiff had suffered his fair share of loss today and didn't care for a bit of pain. And while shattered hands were trivial to normal mages, Richard was a runemaster! A pair of stable hands was the core of his career!

654 - City of Sin

Beneath The Divine Throne

Cardiff's plan was to destroy Richard! A shattered hand would be the end of any runemaster, and with the amount of energy he was putting in even a grand priestess of the Church wouldn't be able to heal him completely. There was a chance if he used a sacrifice, but that chance was minuscule!

Many of the nobles in the hall had already figured out Cardiff's little scheme, but they smiled and observed silently. Only Nyris was concerned enough to speak up, “Richard, careful of his face.”

Cardiff looked towards the prince and smiled, “Your Highness, even someone of your status cannot interfere in a bet between two nobles. Please be careful not to harm your image.”

Nyris scoffed, “And I'm to learn about my image from a rat who's trying to rig a bet in public?”

Cardiff's expression warped at that ruthless response, but before he could defend himself Richard burst out in laughter, “It's not my problem if you give up your face so openly. As for image...”

The nobles watched on as Richard buffed himself a number of times, even using some divine scrolls that he had brought along. Everyone was stunned, but nobody actually argued against it. Since Cardiff was using his internal energy to defend, Richard could obviously use mana to boost his strength. The only restriction was that he couldn't directly attack with magic.

By the time Richard stepped forward, sparks were flying all across his body. His right hand seemed to flash out of existence as it crashed down on Cardiff's left cheek, and before anyone could react a backhand crashed into the earl's face. Cardiff's internal energy rushed forth to fight back, but the seemingly foregone conclusion was turned around as the sparks around Richard's hand defended him completely.

The slaps had been quick, so much so that Cardiff hadn't been able to react when he felt the weight of the danger. Two bursts of energy had slammed into his face and erupted violently, sending him flying away with his entire head a bloody mess. When he finally landed on his back and screamed in pain, a number of teeth shot into the air.

The hall went dead silent. Richard's two slaps had been extremely powerful, equivalent to full-strength blows from a level 17 warrior. Nobody had imagined that he would be so physically powerful as a mere mage. Those of the Deepblue were known for powerful physiques, but it was unheard of for a mage to be able to physically wound a warrior who was of a higher level.

While Cardiff rolled around on the ground in agony, Richard ignored him completely and turned towards Lina instead. “Here,” he said as he handed her a promissory note for a million gold.

The Dragon Mage was shocked and dazed; she had never handled such a large sum of money in her life. However, Richard just leaned in towards her and said softly, “You deserve this. Not just anyone is willing to sell their own equipment for the family's sake.”

Lina trembled a little before accepting the note quietly.

Those present burst into whispers once more, shocked that Richard could give her a million gold like it was nothing right after spending so much on the auction. Lina definitely deserved such a high salary with her sheer power, but in the past she would have been lucky to earn a few hundred thousand at most. This was a thing that most nobles had envied about Gaton; they would willingly pay millions to acquire any one of his thirteen, but all of them willingly served under him for almost no charge. Many families had tried poaching them, but it had all been to no avail.

This difference in expenditure was one of the reasons the Archerons had been able to grow quickly, alongside the fearsome Mordred being amongst Gaton's ranks. Nobody knew where the Devil King had come from, but he inspired terror in all of Gaton's enemies.

And now, they didn't even have a year to enjoy Gaton's absence before Richard came along! The son was completely different from the father. Gaton was known for being able to gather a group of powerful lunatics despite his poverty, waging wars on all sides to expand. On the other hand, Richard could just dump insane amounts of money at any problem. Although his own followers still paled in comparison to the thirteen, he was publicly recruiting a frightening number of rune knights and was purchasing powerful equipment in great volumes. It almost felt like he would just destroy his enemies by pouring rune knights on top of them.

The nobles here weren't sure which enemy they would rather go ahead. They were only thankful that the Mensas had made the sacrifice that ensured these lunatics weren't together.

There was one major result of this auction. There would still be people who called the Archeron Family a bunch of upstarts, but so long as Richard was at the helm nobody could call them poor.

Richard bade farewell to Nyris and made his way towards the Church of the Eternal Dragon to fetch the soul contract. He had with him a total of eight pieces of epic-grade equipment from the auction that suited his followers, as well as millions of gold in materials and the enchanted chainmail that would boost the strength of his elites.

His main aim in this return to Norland had been to sell the two Lifesbanes to the royal family in exchange for a top-tier offering and gold. They had offered 13 million gold each for the runes, and with the hundred mounts added on top it was another 12 million.

The Emperor himself had met him personally, unable to stop praising the quality of the horses and even offering to buy 500 more of them. Richard had been hesitant— that would tie up the broodmother for half a year— but eventually agreed to deliver these horses batch by batch over the next year after which he would sell no more. Philip had laughed and accepted the result, paying him 6 million as a deposit.

Thus, he had promissory notes worth a colossal 34 million gold and a top-tier offering when he left the royal palace! Cardiff was far beyond most of the youths in Faust when it came to wealth, but what he had thought to be Richard's greatest weakness had turned around to crush him instead.

......

Richard found the Church of the Eternal Dragon in a complete mess. Priestesses and paladins were walking around to sort out all the donations, clearly frustrated with most. Although Cardiff had tried to make sure he bought things that could be useful to the Church, there wasn't much they wanted outside of offerings.

Noelene stopped him the moment he stepped in, asking him with a forced smile, “Have you gone mad? Why did you donate so many things at once? This is ten million gold!”

“Use it to fight our enemies,” Richard laughed it off.

“Most of this is just junk!” Noelene argued.

“Just take what you find useful and sell the rest,” Richard said innocently, “Isn't gold going to come of use one way or the other?”

“But... But...” Noelene eventually just sighed.

......

Flowsand, who was currently in the Temple of the Sands, had her brows knitted in annoyance as she looked at the chest before her. In it was the first item Richard had won from the auction, the ursa warlord's seminal vesicles. She hadn't known what this thing was when it first came in, but the Book of Time had quickly provided an answer. However, the Church almost never appointed male priests. Why had he sent it over?

She couldn't understand Richard's intentions no matter how much she thought it through, so she eventually just gave up.

......

Having spent two days in Norland, Richard took all of his followers and travelled back to Faelor once more. The stars shone brightly in the sky as though to welcome their arrival.

He immediately met Zangru in a small building in Bluewater. The black-haired youth was sitting in front of the window when Richard entered, staring blankly into the night. Nyra who was beside him acknowledged Richard's entrance, but Zangru himself didn't even turn.

Richard scanned him as he walked over, finding the youth still riddled with injuries. The familiar creepy process immediately brought Zangru back to reality, and seeing the soul contract placed in front of him he didn't so much as look at it before tearing it apart and letting the magic wash over him.

“Not scared of me messing with it?” Richard raised a brow.

“Wouldn't be the first time I was cheated,” Zangru shrugged, but then a smile crawled onto his face, “Then again, I don't think you're that boring.” Please visit ƒ𝘳ee𝒘𝚎𝐛𝘯𝐨ν𝑒l. 𝒄o𝘮

“Sure,” Richard laughed before putting a thick tome on the table.

“Hmm... Beneath the Divine Throne by Theodore... What is this?”

“I mentioned if before, no? This is a guide to stealing a god's divinity,” Richard explained.

“Oh...” Zangru's eyes went wide. Despite his special circumstances, he was still a Faelorian and didn't have the guts to think of killing a god. In fact, his identity as a cursed child made his fear much worse than for most others. He knew just how much power the gods held.

“What kind of place is this Norland...” he muttered as he flipped open the book, immediately losing himself in its contents.

655 - City of Sin

The Broodmother's Growth

Once they left the room, Richard brought Nyra along to see Io. Gathering the two in a quiet spot, he turned to them and asked, “So you aren't a part of the clergy proper, are you?”

The heavenly guardians exchanged glances and Io shrugged, “I told you he would find out! Good job not listening to me!”

“It was only a matter of time. There is no meaning in trying to hide it from him.” Nyra was calm as ever

“Fine then, let's just tell him everything. Why don't we also tell him where we come from?”

“Even if we cannot inform him of our origin completely, we can explain it to the best of our abilities.”

“Sure! And that will work why?”

“It's because you pretend to be so smart that you're stuck at level 16.” Nyra left Io to ponder his situation, turning to Richard who was watching with some amusement, “It doesn't matter where we came from. I can assure you that we have absolute loyalty to Miss Flowsand.”

Richard nodded, “So that's to say you aren't necessarily loyal to me.”

“Yes,” Nyra answered honestly.

“I can accept that, but I trust you won't take advantage of Flowsand's favour to stab me in the dark?”

Nyra thought it over for a moment, responding to Richard's mild smile with solemness, “I cannot guarantee that. If Miss Flowsand's interests conflict with yours, we will definitely stand on her side. However, if someone attempts to sow discord between the two of you, I will intervene. Some people think they are so wise they can see years into the future, but they are normally fools who just think they know everything.”

Io's face paled at that description.

Richard thought it over for a bit, “Fine. But if there's a possibility you'll work against me, I can't treat you the same as the rest of my followers. Your salaries will be lower, as will the power of your runes.”

“I understand,” Nyra nodded.

Richard reciprocated before disappearing down the street.

“Who cares about his whatever runes?!” Io exclaimed after Richard left.

“You do,” Nyra answered, “It's showing.”

“Impossible!” Io looked at Nyra nervously, as though he had something to say, but eventually he sighed and left with a shake of his head.

......

Once Richard got back to his room, he found a comfortable spot and sat down to communicate with the broodmother. This time he had to connect to a cloned brain first so their conversation could be relayed; it seemed like she was making good progress into the depths of the Land of Turmoil.

The longer route meant it took some time to transmit the information, but Richard eventually found out that she was mostly done with her evolution to level 8 and was organising the new information she had acquired. Now, she was sure that Zangru would be key in her advancement to level 9.

The first thing she transmitted was an image of herself. She had grown further after this evolution, becoming seventy metres long, ten metres tall, and twelve metres wide; she was now bigger than most adult dragons. A golden strip ran down her abdomen, with many pores on top that resembled spiracles opening and closing intermittently. It took some scrutiny to realise that this seeming vulnerability was just a trap; those weren't spiracles at all, but outlets for her powerful acid spray. Her real spiracles were concealed on her back and upper torso.

She seemed to be extremely mindful of her defences after the battle with Raymond's armies. Her natural armour was now almost two metres thick, and the material itself was no worse than what was used in superior-grade equipment. Normal weapons could no longer break through; even ballista bolts wouldn't be able to go through completely. The talons of a powerful dragon like Kaloh wouldn't be able to break through either. On the other hand, the red dragon wouldn't necessarily be able to resist her acidic fog.

As such, her flight speed had dropped again; now she could only cover forty kilometres in an hour. Richard also noticed that the structure of her armour had changed a bit. The holes in the armour that were meant to reduce its weight had now grown in number, but the bone structure nearby had more of a metallic component to increase its defences there.

When he asked about it, she told him that her defences had actually grown because of this and the armour style was also available for him to add to any future drones as well. Quickly looking through, he found a listing called '3rd Generation Carapace' under the defence additions. This armour was slightly inferior to what she herself could use, but even though it wasn't at the superior grade it wasn't far off. On top of that, it was only half as thick as ordinary excellent grade armour suits, making it much easier to move around in.

However, the broodmother needed extra ores to add this kind of armour to her drones. Adding full-strength armour would reduce the number of drones she could make in a day, or she could make weaker armour that required more resources but wouldn't reduce her output. Either way, she would need a lot of metal. Thankfully, most of what she wanted could be sourced locally from Forgefires; only a rare few would have to be bought in Norland. Ideas for new unit types were already coming to mind.

He went back to the start of the information and began to read through in detail. The first thing he noticed was that she had a little more than fifty units of divinity left. The two crystals he had fed her were worth about fifty units each, and subtracting what it took her to advance the numbers did not tally. About a dozen or so units had disappeared without any explanation as to where they were gone.

When he posed the question to the broodmother, it took a few seconds for the cloned brain to relay her response. She merely answered that some of the divinity was used to upgrade her body structures, while some more had been used in experiments. A few moments later, she sent a detailed breakdown of where and how the divinity was used.

The broodmother had concluded that she could use divinity to speed up progress on races she had difficulty analysing. She could also insert divinity into normal drones and strengthen them, giving them an enhanced ability to think and react. Although this was different from granting them a natural soul, drones created in this way could learn new techniques and adapt to circumstances. Thus, she considered it to be no different. Please visit f𝓇ℯℯ𝚠e𝒃𝘯𝒐νel. co𝐦

This information didn't completely clear the doubts in Richard's heart, but he couldn't pinpoint exactly what was wrong. Eventually, he just let it go.

He then took a look at the conditions for the broodmother to advance to level 9. The first item was clear and emphasised, Zangru. She also needed fifty points of divinity, swathes of rare magical materials, as well as a thousand magic crystals. It would cost nearly ten million gold combined, but that was a price Richard felt he could afford now.

Following that was data on the analysis of various species. Richard breezed through a lot of it to find the information he was looking at. The human analysis had reached 270%: with the average human having the potential to reach level 6, the humanoids she could create could be up to level 16. However, she wouldn't be able to actually create such high-level drones for a while longer.

Without any new sacrifices, the forest elf analysis had plateaued at 11%. However, the woodpecking crow analysis had crossed 60%. Even though she couldn't create these yet, she had enough understanding of their weaknesses and vulnerabilities to design drones meant to combat them.

The proposed counter somewhat startled him at first, but eventually he relaxed and accepted the idea. The only problem was that this proposed drone was an ugly sight to behold, something his elven heritage and art training left him annoyed with.

The few leaves from the tree of life that Richard had given to the broodmother had borne results as well. Although her 0.1% completion wasn't anything to speak of, it did mean that she would eventually be able to spawn one herself. Just imagining the scene left Richard dazed for a moment. There were also ancient treants and regular treants, a distinction he hadn't imagined would exist.

While the possibility of drones from the Forest Plane had pleasantly surprised him, the information he read next left Richard wide-eyed with joy. The broodmother had finally reached a point in her analysis of magic that she could create magic units!

656 - City of Sin

A Little Bit Of Blood

Richard felt his heartbeat speed up. He still remembered the sheer amount of resources it took for the analysis to reach this stage, but it was a milestone in the broodmother's progress.

He looked over the additional abilities he could add to his drones and quickly found the section he wanted: magic abilities. However, the effects were a little disappointing. His drones would be enhanced with magic, but they wouldn't be true mages. There was a small set of abilities he could choose from, and more than half were related to fire.

On the other hand, the number of abilities that special units could possess had grown tremendously. What was once a dozen-odd options now ranged to nearly a hundred after the number of grand mages and saints that the broodmother had swallowed. More than half of these abilities were still locked, but he would get access to them as she levelled up.

At the top of the list of locked abilities was a type of power called Perpetual Rot. The name came from the broodmother, but he instantly linked it to its source. This was the vicious energy used by that grey-robed saint that had killed Bevry. There was practically no way to control it; even Duke Grasberg who had been relatively far away almost lost a leg and dropped to the level of a normal saint in Faelor.

It took Richard an entire afternoon to explore the various options he had for combat drones. The newer types of units now took up a large number of resources, with the stronger ones even needing divinity. The broodmother had offered tens of species templates herself, so the number of combinations was astronomical.

After painstakingly poring through everything, Richard decided on his first magic drone: the Flamewing Serpent. This was a variation of the winged serpents he already had, but instead of using natural means it could use true magic. Each drone would be able to cast six grade 4 fireballs a day at short ranges, or four a day if the target was more than a hundred metres away. On top of that, they could create two walls of fire. They had the third generation carapace added on, boosting their defences to the point that ordinary human archers posed no threat to them. Even elven archers would only be able to deal significant damage when less than fifty metres away.

The flamewing serpents were still countered by magic archers like the ones in Raymond's army, but the elites had actually been strengthened to the point that they would be able to take a direct full-power shot from a level 15 archer without dying.

With the support units taken care of, Richard chose three types of drones to form the backbone of his army. The frontlines would be populated by barbarians enhanced with heavy carapace, tuned for sheer strength.

The humanoids were modified as well; they were now created with orcs as the base and reached level 12 even without their mounts. The infantry were given heavy armour just like the barbarians, while the knights were given lighter armour so they could wear the chainmail he had purchased. In terms of defences, they now surpassed grade 1 rune knights. Richard planned to equip them all with level 12 mounts, putting them on par with the bearguard knights of the Schumpeter Family. He already planned to name them the shadowspear knights to differentiate them from the beetle knights and his standard humanoids. The elites who were level 13 could even compare to a level 14 grade 1 rune knight in battle due to the advantages of their structure.

His choice for ranged offence had changed as well. Since the analysis of the elves still hadn't met his requirements, he chose towering barbarians with long limbs and armed them with steel javelins. These level 10 javelineers had been enhanced for strength as well, able to throw their steel weapons a formidable 150 metres away and still pierce knights in heavy armour. Of course, they had their own weaknesses as well. Since their javelins had to be specially manufactured, they didn't last as long in battle before they ran out.

However, he was now stuck in a dilemma. The broodmother could only create three flamewing serpents or shadowspear knights in a day, or fifty elites in a month with the support of the worm nest. On the other hand, she could make eight humanoid knights even without the support of the worm nest, and ten with. Three shadowspear knights were no match for ten humanoid knights.

He started evaluating his current situation in Faelor. He had about 4,000 elites right now and 6,000 local soldiers under his command. He could mobilise another 5,000 men from his allies, making for an army 15,000 strong. This was adequate to keep a hold on what he already had, but it wasn't enough to continue expanding. His first priority right now was to stabilise the situation and grow his strength; his target of attack had even shifted from the Iron Triangle Empire to the Sequoia Kingdom.

Considering all that, he decided to have the broodmother replace his elite bats before pumping out the weaker drones to replenish his numbers.

With the future path thus set, Richard was about to end their communication when the broodmother suddenly spoke up, “Master, I sense your bloodline powers have grown again. Our soul bond is not powerful enough to transmit all of this growth, can I have a little bit of blood for analysis?”

“Sure,” Richard agreed.

“Also, can you give me a few drops every time you unlock another ability? That way, I will be able to grow and evolve even more quickly.”

Just as he transmitted an affirmative, a giant mosquito flew through the window. Richard quickly recognised it to be the same one that fed Raymond every day and grumbled about the broodmother's eagerness before begrudgingly rolling up his sleeve. Thankfully the thing knew its boundaries; it only drained three or four drops of blood before letting go and hovering in the air once more.

However, the giant mosquito didn't fly away immediately after collecting the sample, instead continuing to hover around in the room. The broodmother's voice sounded in his head once more, “Master, I sense something formidable that possessed the power of space nearby.”

Richard stared blankly for a moment before retrieving an image diamond from his pocket, “This?”

“Yes! I can use the— the more the bet—!” This time she seemed to ignore the cloned brain and transmit the message directly; the voice he heard was intermittent.

“Why?” Richard's brows creased. Image diamonds were core materials for spatial equipment, something he was looking at right now with all the weapons on hand.

The broodmother didn't answer directly, instead transmitting information on a specific special unit. It was called the astral chrysalis; looking like a giant pupa, it had little combat power but could grow without limits. It also had the ability to float through the air, and with the addition of image diamonds it would be able to open up a space in its own body that allowed it to replace ordinary spatial equipment. The more image diamonds it ingested, the larger its internal space became.

The astral chrysalis was only about two metres long in its initial stage, but it could accommodate nearly ten cubic metres within. It could also carry about ten tonnes without issue. Creating it required at least three image diamonds and ten units of divinity, and at the same time there was a precondition that left Richard speechless: Analyse Zangru.

This astral chrysalis could certainly serve all of his equipment storage needs. There would be a significant advantage when it came to transporting supplies across planes as well.
𝗳𝐫𝘦e𝔀𝚎𝚋𝓃𝚘vℯl. 𝑐o𝚖

“So... Zangru...” Richard started.

“As I said before, I just need a little bit of his blood.”

657 - City of Sin

A Nightmare Come True

Richard went silent for a while, allowing the broodmother to mull over the obvious lie until she corrected herself, “Alright, I likely need much more than a few drops, but having him beside me for a month should be enough. As long as I can absorb some of his blood every day, I can analyse about a tenth of his powers. That should be enough for me to advance to level 9, I can perform further analysis when I reach level 10.”

“Sigh. No killing him, no weakening him permanently. Got it?”

“Of course, Master,” she agreed.

“Alright, send a cloned brain to come fetch him.”

Zangru had already agreed to this condition, so he just shrugged his shoulders when Richard notified him, “It's just blood, she can take it. Have the cloned brain or whatever come where I am, I'm actually interested in seeing your trump card. Let's see just how terrifying the Beetle Queen really is.”

Zangru thus left the city to stay away from prying eyes. With him being a soulguard just like Waterflower now, Richard found it easy to relay his location to the broodmother so she could pick him up. A small dot on the horizon quickly grew into a giant bug-like creature that elicited a playful smile from the divine child, “Interesting. So this is the famous Beetle Queen? Hmm, I've seen this race in my dreams before... What is it? Shit, my memory is so bad these days...”

The cloned brain was indifferent to Zangru's murmurs, just grabbing him off the ground before flying towards the sky. Zangru was like a small puppet being dragged into the air, letting it fly him to his destination as he continued to mutter curiously, “That's right, it's a scary race! Their queen can grow up to fifty metres long. Richard is connected to such a thing? Interesting. Maybe there's a chance for me to see a full-sized one...”

The cloned brain flew very fast. In only a few hours it had reached the depths of the Land of Turmoil, dropping Zangru into a thick fog that was centred around the worm nest. Even though he was thrown down from a few metres in the sky, Zangru landed perfectly on his feet.

He realised the surrounding fog was unusually thick; as he stretched his hand and waved, he could feel the moisture stick to his skin. It almost felt like stirring his hands in water. The fog also served to block his perception to a mere ten-metre range, but he wasn't too worried. Although it was slightly different, he sensed a soul quite like Richard's nearby. He thus stood and waited for this new creature to show itself.

One minute, two minutes, five minutes... Zangru suddenly felt his body go limp, head starting to spin as he lost control of his limbs. “Poison!” he fumed, but it was far too late to do everything. However, he was more confused than scared; he was immune to almost every kind of poison, how was he affected in such a short span of time?

Zangru didn't know that the broodmother had already performed a cursory analysis on the few drops of blood that Phaser had brought back. Just like Nyra, she had realised that putting some divine power into her fog would almost instantly cripple him. It wasn't enough to kill, but his defences would be greatly weakened. He found himself growing anxious. He wasn't afraid of death, but facing an unknown threat was never a good feeling.

A violent wind suddenly blew in his face, parting the fog just enough for the large body of the broodmother to crawl through. “B-Beetle Queen!” he cried out in horror, realising just how badly he had underestimated her size.

The vague memories from his dreams suddenly grew clear. His fearlessness crumbled away as he quickly realised that this creature he had dreamt about could kill him, could truly kill him! He wanted to run, but he was already on the floor without the ability to move.

“No need to be afraid,” a cold voice sounded within his mind, “I want to eat you up, but I won't. I only need some of your blood, this should be considered nothing. I promised Master that I wouldn't hurt you beyond repair, these... underhanded methods were only to ensure your cooperation. Enough talk, let us begin! Master only gave me a month with you, there isn't too much time.”
𝒇𝑟e𝗲𝚠𝚎𝐛𝗻𝐨νel. 𝒄om

“NOO—” Zangru's scream was muffled as more than a dozen tentacles flew out from the middle of the fog, dragging him into one of the worm nest chambers as the broodmother approached. Many more tentacles shot out of her mouth, but these ones were hollow.

Looking at those sharp-tipped tentacles as thick as a thumb each, Zangru tried to scream once more.

“What's wrong?” a voice rang in the minds of the two. Zangru's fear had grown so intense it startled Richard who was still in Bluewater.

The broodmother mind flayed Zangru unconscious, “It's nothing, master, he is only afraid of having his blood drawn. It will not be an issue, he will be able to revive even if he is drained completely.”

“Why would he be scared of losing blood, though?”

“Extreme characters have extreme flaws. This seems to be his,” the broodmother replied calmly.

“Suuure...” Richard then cut off communications.

The broodmother then relaxed, her mouth-tentacles wrapping around Zanhru's body and piercing into his bloodstream. They then started to pulse regularly as they drew out the purplish-black blood into her body. In only five minutes, she had sucked him dry.

Zangru's body started to shrivel at a noticeable rate, but the tentacles holding him started to pump his body full of nutrients. His amazing physique showed itself as he absorbed all of the nutrition greedily.

He was conscious within half an hour, no obvious injuries to be seen. However, the minute he opened his eyes the broodmother started drawing his blood again. Within a few minutes, he was shrivelled up once more.

This cycle would repeat itself for an entire month...

......

Richard didn't know anything about this. He gave himself three months to work on more rune sets, using all of his free time to grow his power through meditation. With the ten rune knights he had to return to Nyris and Agamemnon, he would only be left with a little over twenty himself. With Rosie working to help him make the basic cores, he could use his spare time to meditate while still having a decent progress rate of about six sets a month.

A month later, one of the broodmother's drones dropped Zangru back. He was quieter than he had been before, but with him being the outsider nobody noticed it at all. Even Tiramisu had only talked to him a little, but the ogre was busy managing affairs so they didn't have the time to meet.

Richard himself was too busy to notice the difference. What he did notice was that the broodmother had analysed Zangru enough to reach level 9. She wasn't there yet, there were other requirements to meet, but the path was wide open.

......

By the time the three months drew to a close, Richard had reached level 17. On top of that, he could have up to 40 rune knights so long as he was willing. One afternoon, the alarm from his magical clock caused him to look up and spot the snow outside the window. Faelor was already in winter, the time had come.

He walked out of his laboratory and called out to his followers, a summoning bell quickly ringing throughout Bluewater City. The subordinates who were appreciating the rare sight of snow in the Bloodstained Lands heard the call to duty and rushed to Richard's residence.

The followers packed the entire meeting room on the second floor, Tiramisu stood outside with his two heads peeking through the window.

Richard called over a rune knight and handed him a letter sealed with his personal crest, “Head to Norland right now and hand this letter over to the Fourth Prince.”

Once the knight left, he then turned to the crowd, “Pack your bags. We're going to the Forest Plane for a huge battle. We win and everyone benefits... Oh, Zendrall, Zangru, stay and defend Bluewater. That place isn't very good for the two of you.”

Just recalling the discomfort he felt in the Forest Plane, Zendrall nodded his head eagerly. On the other hand, Zangru just grunted an affirmative with his head bowed. This new soulguard had been quick to act on orders over the past few days, but he had dulled immensely.

The meeting ended quickly and the followers dispersed. With only a day to prepare, they went to their residences to pack and found people to hand their duties down to.

658 - City of Sin

Bird-Eating Spiders

Outside of his followers, Richard only brought the ten rune knights meant for Nyris and Agamemnon along on his journey back to Faelor. All of the broodmother's drones were left behind to defend the city, and with a cloned brain standing by to take control in case of battle he wasn't worried about Bluewater's defences.

When it came time to depart, the followers were shocked to find a bluish-black pupal creature hovering beside Richard that was about five metres tall and close to two metres wide. They didn't know what this creature was supposed to be, and they didn't understand how such a large thing would fit through the portal, but that was a question that didn't remain for a long time. After the rune knights had gone through, the thing doubled its length to grow thinner before snaking through the gate.

The followers looked at each other, completely speechless. However, when they reached the Church of the Eternal Dragon on the other side they found the creature had reverted to its pupal form, silently floating in the air as though nothing had happened.

Nyris and Agamemnon had already received the news and were waiting in the main hall. The two barely greeted Richard before they rushed to the Forest Plane without wasting any time.

......

The Forest Plane was just as green and damp as the last time. Everyone's clothes were drenched by the time they made the short walk from the portal to the city proper. Richard had used this time to explain the strategy to Nyris and Agamemnon. Thus, they only rested for a bit before leading 800 elite soldiers straight to the Tree of Life.

Once there, Richard entered the treehouse at the top and called forth the Tree's will. It answered almost instantly, “Great visitor from another plane, what good news do you bring? I can sense great power from that being you have brought with you.”

“How long will it take for you to start attracting woodpecking crows if you start your growth period now?”

“Ten days. The evolution will take a month in total.”

Richard thought over it for a bit, “Hmm, I still need a bit more time. You can start the process after a week.”

Richard felt like the Tree gasped as it went silent for a moment, its answer filled with agitation, “As you wish, mighty visitor from another plane!”

When Richard walked out of the treehouse, he emptied the tree of everyone but those operating the ballistae. While the camp was being set up in the surrounding meadow, he had the astral chrysalis float over and release its quarry.

The cocoon slowly floated to an empty plot of land, raising its tail and basically vomiting thousands of fist-sized whitish eggs from the openings of its body. One could see through the translucent walls that a bug-like creature was curled up within. The last few eggs were obviously larger than the rest, dark green in colour. It then relaxed its body, floating up another ten metres into the sky.

One subconscious command and the eggs started squirming, the larvae within breaking through the walls. The white worms that were hatched were far faster than one would expect, almost blurring to the normal eye as they consumed their eggshells and crawled towards the forest nearby.

Every blade of grass en route was cleared to leave behind flat brown earth. From a bird's eye view, it seemed like a stream of white was washing through the meadow towards the forest. The larvae continued to climb up the ancient trees, eating their leaves and then even their bark, going all the way to the roots as their snow-white bodies quickly turned green. The white flood continued to crash through the forest itself, but this time they left behind a pool of dark green excrement.

After two layers of trees, the worms had doubled in size. All that could be heard in the forest was the sound of gnawing as the elves and humans watched silently with disgust. The worms soon grew to one metre long, able to rush through trees in mere seconds. The humans were still alright, but the elves were enraged at the sight of the disappearing trees. However, the grand elder stopped Jubu from stopping this desecration.

Richard didn't care about these larvae once he unleashed them, heading back into the treehouse and starting to meditate to increase his power. Sadly, the Tree of Life couldn't spare him any life energy while it was preparing to advance.

Three days passed in the blink of an eye. The fist-sized worms had all grown to nearly two metres long, having eaten thousands of trees to leave a huge empty patch in the middle of the forest. Midnight the third day they finally stopped eating and started weaving silken cocoons for themselves that hung off the trees they hadn't gotten to. Thousands of snow-white cocoons dangled in mid-air, blowing in the direction of the wind.
𝐟𝓇ℯe𝒘𝘦𝒃𝑛𝒐ѵe𝙡. 𝑐𝗼𝓂

Although the sight of the worm flood had been eerily fascinating, Richard's soldiers had quickly grown used to it and started their own work. A barrier of steel plates was erected around the Tree of Life, made especially thick to withstand the attack of the woodpecking crows. The Tree of Life was making its own preparations, its branches slowly growing thorns that were about half a metre long.

Three more days later, the great cocoons started to split open as odd-looking creatures climbed out from within. These soft-shelled spiders with enormous abdomens were the counter the broodmother had prepared for the woodpecking crows. Thousands of bird-eating spiders, each the size of a pony, crawled up the Tree of Life at once. The spiders nestled themselves within the tree branches, locking themselves against the bark before they stopped moving.

Richard stood at the base of the tree, anxiously palming his elven longsword. He should have been confident in the broodmother's preparations against the woodpecking crows, but there were still many unknowns as to what would happen when they were attacked by thousands upon thousands of them. As smart as he was, he knew that things tended not to work according to plans.

......

Ten nerve-wracking days thus passed by. One morning there was a sudden silence in the forest, even the occasional rustle of leaves in the wind disappearing completely. It was as if the trees themselves froze in place, afraid of attracting something terrifying if they made the slightest of movements.

The woodpecking crows were already here.

A gentle breeze blew past in this strange environment, slowly picking up. A woodpecking crow suddenly flew across the canopy and hovered near the Tree of Life. It let out a grinding screech before diving down towards the tree.

A bird-eating spider that was obviously larger than the rest was waiting nearby. It let out a screech of its own that was too high for normal human ears as the muscles in its abdomen parted a little to reveal two slits. Strands of white silk shot out like lightning, accurately catching the attacking crow within. The strands split apart into what seemed to be thin, light webbing, but they were unimaginably tenacious as they wrapped around the crow's body and sent it plummeting to the ground.

659 - City of Sin

Unexpected Dangers

The troops on Richard's side had been training for this exact situation over the past two weeks. One warrior jumped across the steel barricade and struck the woodpecking crow with his axe, the sheer force almost splitting the creature in half. He didn't even check to see whether it had perished before jumping back to the safety of the steel wall.

Seeing the strategy working, Richard suddenly felt a wave of relief.

The silent forest erupted into chaos. Flocks of woodpecking crows suddenly charged out from the treeline, circling around the Tree of Life. Their ear-piercing shrieks covered the entire area, the sheer volume leaving some of the soldiers dizzy. Many couldn't help but drop their weapons, blocking their ears to muffle the cacophony.

The number of crows grew quickly until they seemed to cover the entire sky. The whole forest seemed to be shrouded in darkness in a few minutes, as though the sun had disappeared. Richard squinted and scanned through the sky, quickly calculating the number of crows present. About 4,000 crows had gathered and the number was rising, but it was still far from the 10,000 that the Tree of Life had claimed. In the depths of the forest, woodpecking crows continued to form up and fly towards the forest.

Seeing that the birds were yet to attack, Richard had twenty magic archers start shooting them down. The formidable arrows were shot with unerring precision, burying themselves into the targets' torsos and dropping them from the sky. The flock immediately erupted into chaos, hundreds of crows charging towards the archers down below.

The elves typically wouldn't attack the woodpecking crows until they were focused on the tree of life. This was an extremely violent species, and the flocks easily shifted attention if they weren't already focused. The elven archers had to wait until they were in the midst of attacking the tree to start firing. Thus, even if a tree of life advanced it would still be pecked full of holes. More than a decade would have to be spent on recovery alone before the advancement posed any benefits.

Of course, Richard didn't have the luxury to wait that long. Fortunately, he wasn't as cowardly as the elves either; he would take the initiative in this defence. As the flock of woodpecking crows flew past the Tree of Life towards the humans below, the bird-eating spiders finally sprung the trap and started spinning their webs at top speed. Only ten-odd of the hundreds of crows managed to escape the giant combined web, the others all brought to the ground.

The magic archers had already hidden themselves within the barricade. Replacing them were a batch of warriors equipped with thick tower shields, trained and prepared for this exact situation. The warriors jumped out with their shields above to block the attacks from the remaining crows, axes raining heavy blows on the trapped crows before kicking them away.

The crows swiftly perished under the attacks of the soldiers. These warriors were systematic in their motions, attacking every crow once with as much strength as they could muster before moving on. There wasn't a guarantee of killing these creatures instantly, but so long as they were too wounded to fly these crows would be able to accomplish nothing.

The flock circling above went into an uproar, folding their wings as they dived towards the spiders on the tree. However, what greeted them was more webbing that seemed to be infinite in its coverage. Even though the charge was extremely quick, a single bird-eating spider could spin at least three webs of its size in under half a second!

Thousands of crows were trapped within the blink of an eye, eventually all falling to the floor. However, many of these crows also managed to break out of the web and peck at the bird-eating spiders with their sharp beaks.

Facing the danger of death, these spiders burst forth with astonishing agility as they sprung off the Tree of Life and onto their attackers. Their fangs pierced through the steel-like feathers on these crows without issue, delivering a lethal dose of venom designed to kill. Even the minority of spiders that couldn't avoid the beaks in time proved their worth as the broodmother's drones, lasting long enough to bite their killers and go down with them.

The venom of the bird-eating spiders had been specially designed for the woodpecking crows. The creatures shrieked in pain as their bodies started to decay, feathers and skin rotting visibly as they fell to the ground. Still, more and more crows charged through the sky and nailed the spiders into the Tree of Life, killing many at the cost of their own lives.

2,000-odd spiders fought more than three times their number of crows that were double their size, but they still retained the upper hand. On the tree, in the air... wherever they fought, each spider took down at least one enemy with it while many took out far more than that. Even the dead spiders played their part. Any bird that accidentally swallowed some of their meat was paralysed and fell to the ground, where the bloodthirsty soldiers killed it and kicked the body away.

However, the crows were equally valiant as they threw themselves at these spiders again and again, depleting them with numbers alone. Thousands of woodpecking crows dropped from the sky, but thousands more took their place. Richard's face was starting to show signs of worry; almost 10,000 crows had already entered the battlefield, but more seemed to be on the way. With the spiders starting to die, his soldiers and the elves were in peril.

At this point, the glow of magic started to flicker across the sky. Seeing the death toll starting to rise, the mages were called in. The elven sword in Richard's hands was glowing green as it reaped the life of crow after crow. He immediately called out to the Tree of Life and bellowed, “Didn't you say there would only be 10,000 crows?! I see 12,000 already, what's this about?!”

The Tree of Life was pretty frantic as well, “It must be the World Tree! It found out about our relationship, so it is sending more crows than normal! This is the only time it can pose a threat to me!”

“The fucking World Tree... Alright, how many more? I want to hear the truth!”

“There are only 17,000 woodpecking crows in this region,” the Tree answered quickly, “That is the maximum it can send!”

A freezing cold appeared in Richard's eyes, “Fine. If the number rises beyond that, my troops are falling back!”

“Alright!” the Tree said with determination. Richard then broke off contact and continued to battle.

Clouds of fire occasionally burst through the skies. Kaloh had made his appearance, but the enormous dragon looked less imposing than he normally did with crows clustered around half of his body drilling in to get his meat. The tough dragon scales seemed extremely weak, broken through in only a few pecks. Although a single injury was nothing more than a prick, with hundreds of crows on him it felt like he was covered by a blanket of needles. Every breath attack sent dozens of burnt crisps to the ground, but even so the crows seemed to be endless.

By this point, all Richard could see was the flood of woodpecking crows. All he could hear was their caws and shrieks. All he could think of was for his sword to cut as many of them apart as possible. The defensive lines were a mess, but the strategy had been prepared and there was no way for him to regain control in the midst of his chaos. His greatest contributions now came in the form of killing as many as he could.

Time passed quickly. More crows than he cared to count had fallen at his hands, but they still continued to charge towards him. He, Nyris, and Agamemnon had formed a small circle, positioned back to back protecting Flowsand in the middle. His body was drenched with fresh blood, some his own, some belonging to Nyris or Agamemnon, while most had come from the crows. The three of them had blocked so many attacks for each other that they had lost track of who was where.

The remaining soldiers had done the same thing, groups of three or more standing back to back while protecting a cleric or mage, killing the endless swarm. The bird-eating spiders were all dead, but they had brought down many times their number of crows. The pressure of the battle now lay on the humans and elves, the daunting sight of the flock starting to grow suffocating.

Just as Richard felt like he couldn't take it anymore, the Tree of Life suddenly jerked. Powerful life energy flowed down into everyone present, revitalising them so they could continue their battles.

......

Both his minds had lost track of time when he shoved his blade into the last crow, collapsing to the ground without an ounce of strength as he looked around to see a clear sky. Nyris and Agamemnon dropped their bloodstained weapons as well, seemingly confused. They couldn't believe that they had won.

The skies were clear, but all one could see on the ground was a huge pile of carcasses of spiders, elves, crows, and humans. Some of the soldiers fell to the ground and retched. Others just watched on, paralysed by the violent scene.

660 - City of Sin

Epiphany

A thick scent of blood filled the air, only worsened by the rancid odour of the spiders and crows. Even Richard felt his stomach roll at the sight, but he managed to hold it in.

Even worse was the fact that the venom within the spiders was slowly permeating into the air. Although it was specially designed for the woodpecking crows and wouldn't affect the humans in the long term, many found it difficult to stay in this place. The mages had exhausted all their mana, unable to cast even a simple wind blade, so Richard had no choice but to have the warriors leave and rest in the forest as the poison cleared from the battlefield. A few hours later, Flowsand and a few other priests that had recovered started healing the warriors. The mages regained their power as well, dispersing the odour with gusts of wind.

Kaloh was a mass of injuries, lacking even the strength to open the portal back to his home. He was splayed out across the ground, gasping rapidly as the blood flowed out from his torn and mutilated body. His wings had it even worse; one could see the underlying bones within.

Lina was stood beside the red dragon, caressing his giant head while hot tears rolled down her cheeks. A handful of priests eventually came over to treat him, but their spells just didn't have the coverage to heal him properly.

Nyra eventually walked over, her black and white eyes spinning into grey as she started casting dozens of healing spells in a split second. A seemingly inexhaustible rain of gold fell on Kaloh, healing over half of his wounds in a few moments. The rest stopped bleeding as well, giving him enough power to summon a shimmering gate in the sky and fly through to his nest.

“Thank you, Nyra!” Lina was about to hug Nyra with joy, but the priestess' cold expression stopped her in her tracks.

“Thank Miss Flowsand instead. She is the one who brought me into this world.” Nyra turned around and left, walking back to Flowsand and sitting down. She looked a little tired, but her right hand slipped a handful of egg-sized crystals to Flowsand behind her back.

Flowsand took a quick glance and realised that the shells of black and white hid fresh, viscous blood. Knowing immediately that this was Kaloh's blood, she quietly pocketed the crystals without anyone catching on to it.

......

A few days later, the soldiers were still cleaning up the battlefield as the ground started to vibrate slightly. The quaking left them all feeling a strange tickle in their hearts, as though they had been touched by pure joy. Motes of white light started to float around the forest, bobbing up and down in the air as they flew around the Tree of Life. Everyone held their breath, attention grabbed by this dreamlike sight.

The trees nearby bent slightly towards the Tree of Life, as though bowing to a noble ruler. The motes of white continued to gather endlessly as the branches and trunk grew, the thorny bark splintering off to reveal fresh wood even as green leaves blossomed anew. The motes closest to the tree turned into ribbons of brilliant light as they twined around it, wrapping it from head to toe.

The chains holding it back broken, the Tree of Life shook with joy once more as its giant crown grew lush once more and stretched towards the sky. The trunk grew wider at a visible pace as the Tree expanded, only stopping when it had grown more than a hundred metres taller.

Richard caught a mote of light in his hand. It jumped around impatiently to try and continue to its destination, but he set up a small net of mana that stopped it from escaping. After numerous failed attempts, it simply drilled into his palm and melted into his bloodstream. He felt a breeze blowing through his body as his spirits were lifted by the feeling of absorbing the purest form of life energy.

Everyone else soon figured things out as well, realising that both internal energy and mana could trap these spots of light. If one's internal composition was conducive to it, these motes would even dive into their body. This pure life energy quickly healed most injuries, even growing the powers of those who were in good shape. Those that could not do this just stood and watched in silence, taking in the magnificent sight.

Trees of Life were noble beings that were akin to a condensed form of the plane's internal laws. This was a great opportunity for one to make contact with and perhaps even understand some of the laws of the Forest Plane's working.

Richard, Flowsand, Lina, Nyris, and even Agamemnon were immersed in observing the working of the laws of the plane. Although the laws of the Forest Plane were different from those of Norland, one could still use their understandings here to help ease their process back home. This was one of the most important reasons for legendary beings to travel the myriad planes; the more one could comprehend of other, lesser planes, the more their ability to comprehend the laws of Norland would grow.

Each plane was special in its own way. The Forest Plane's laws of nature, life, and water didn't benefit everyone equally. An elf like Olar as well as Nyris whose personality was one of compassion had more of an epiphany than the rest.

Of course, Richard was far beyond both. He had already entered a strange state where he could sense the essence of the laws of this plane. All he could see was a vast ocean made up of the emerald waters of life, every drop containing an unbelievable amount of life energy. His consciousness had already entered the source of the plane, and these waters were the secret to unlocking its inner workings.

His attention fell on a random drop of water and it seemed to be magnified in his vision. Before he knew it, he was looking at a strange and complex world that seemed to be a condensed form of the entire Forest Plane. There were endless secrets hidden within, but even with his blessings used to their fullest, he couldn't easily comprehend them all.

The first thing he did was to find out just how many laws governed this plane's working. Even that simple calculation took him almost an hour, but he eventually confirmed that there were 65,536 laws in total. He wasn't sure whether he would be able to crack even the simplest of them all.

He moved on to trying to rearrange these myriad laws, to organise them based on their relationship with each other and find the most fundamental of them all. Once he identified these core rules, he could search outwards to find the most derivative laws, the ones that should be the easiest to understand.

It was a gruelling process. By the time he identified about 120 laws or so, he could already feel a dull headache starting to come on. However, he resisted the weariness and started examining them one by one. The results were promising even if rather exhausting; over the first night, he cracked a total of three laws one after the other.

Every time he decoded a law, it felt like a tiny hole was stabbed into an intangible barrier around his soul; waves of strange yet refreshing energy flowed through, making it stronger. His body was changing as well, now basically an enormous whirlpool that absorbed the life energy flooding in towards the Tree of Life.

The life vortices rushed past the two barriers of the Archeron bloodline web and the astral world tree, burying themselves into his restoration affinity trunk. It was quite evident that this life energy operated on a higher law than his current bloodlines.

His restoration affinity trunk grew rapidly and grew out its first branch with leaves, greatly boosting his recovery speed, but that wasn't the end of it. It continued to absorb an enormous amount of life energy, starting to evolve once more.

However, as Richard started to try and analyse the fourth rule, he met his first setback. Failing to wrap his head around it even after multiple tries, he had no choice but to give up on it and move on.

661 - City of Sin

Essence Of The Grove

The fifth law was similarly cryptic. Richard tried a few times, but had to give up on it in the end. On the other hand, the sixth was rather easy to comprehend and he got through it quickly. Time thus slowly passed as he went through all of the laws he had identified. Sometimes he comprehended things smoothly, but a majority of his attempts were failures.

Half a month later when the Tree of Life started to glow a bright white and spilt out life energy everywhere, many people exclaimed in surprise. Its evolution had come to an end, and the next few days would be used for its fresh bark to harden. Everyone surrounding the tree was suddenly cut off from the source of the Forest Plane, forced to wait for the next opportunity to grasp its laws.

Nyris jumped up immediately and started shouting with joy. Judging from his expression, he had likely touched upon those laws and understood more than one himself. Agamemnon who was sitting beside him was rather calm in contrast, but a soft smile crept up onto his face as well.

Flowsand, Io, and Nyra all seemed to be deep in thought while Phaser and Waterflower stood still in a daze. Gangdor's head was buried into his hands as he muttered under his breath, while Tiramisu's heads were whispering to one another. It seemed like all of his followers had benefitted somewhat from this process.

Richard felt a moment of pity for Zendrall missing out on this chance. Sadly, such powerful life energy would have seriously injured the necromancer. Zangru was a similar story. If even healing spells could cause him immense pain, it was hard to imagine what his reaction would be to such potent life energy.

As he sighed and allowed his consciousness to return from that emerald ocean, the voice of the Tree of Life rang in his head, “Noble visitor, destined ruler of this world, I apologise deeply for my incompetence. I am appalled that the World Tree would break the covenant and attack me in such great numbers, but because of my alliance with you I cannot galvanise the rest of my kin to dethrone it. This incident invalidates all of the memories imprinted into me by the plane's will. I cannot accurately predict the power of the enemies I will attract with my next evolution.”

“What kind of enemies are they supposed to be? What number?” Richard asked.

“I apologise, I do not know. This information I can only obtain on the eve of my evolution.”

“And that'll take how long?”

“With the ability to absorb the breath of life without worry, my growth will be faster than I originally anticipated. I will possess the ability to advance once more in five years.”

“Five years, huh. That's good.” This was an excellent piece of news. Five years in the Forest Plane was only a few months in Norland.

“Destined ruler, I have a gift in appreciation of your protection. Come.” A green vine descended from the crown of the tree, coiling itself into a platform that Richard could stand on. It pulled him up to a fissure in the trunk near the crown, letting him step into a dark tunnel that spiralled down into a mysterious space.

This was a rather spacious circular area that was about a dozen metres in circumference and twenty metres tall. Jagged crystals were embedded into the wooden walls, giving out a soft white light with a greenish hue. They lit up the room perfectly.

A sparkling green heart around ten metres wide hung down from above, covered in numerous thick vines that throbbed slowly. “This is my core, and that is my heart,” the Tree's voice rang in Richard's head, but he had already guessed this quite some time ago.

The heart shook slightly, a viscous green liquid oozing out from within and coagulating into a single large globule at the tip of the heart. This globule slowly solidified into a crystal that was about the size of a child's fist before falling at Richard's feet. Bending down to pick it up, Richard saw a bright green fluid swirling within the solid shell. The sheer radiance of the life energy within could be felt despite the protective cover.

“This is the essence of the grove, life energy that has been condensed during my evolution. It can extend your youth, fill you with energy, and strengthen any powers related to your soul. I can only create one during every evolution.”

“How do I use it?”

“It can be swallowed.”

“Mm... Speaking of, do you have any other ways to maintain one's youth? Outside of the fruit of life, I mean.” The mention of youth reminded Richard of a book he'd read on the trees of life.

The Tree answered in the affirmative. It could grow a certain type of leaf that galvanised one's skin, keeping them looking youthful for ten years. However, it could only produce eight to ten such leaves and they did nothing for one's internal organs. With the fruit of life brought up, it also mentioned that the production of the fruit would be a year late because of the damage it sustained during evolution. Although there wouldn't be any need to recuperate for a decade or some such thing, it still needed time to recover.

The one immediate bonus was that the range at which the Tree could negate the will of the forest had increased, everything else would have to wait until it recuperated. However, Richard was fine with waiting for some time.

When Richard and company tallied the results of the battle, they found their losses were significant. Nobody important had died, but half the warriors had died while Nyris had lost two of his rune knights. Thankfully, Flowsand, Io, and Nyra ensured that most of those who had sustained serious injuries could keep their lives. Many would even be able to return to the battlefield eventually.

The corpses of the woodpecking crows and bird-eating spiders were separated into two piles. The astral chrysalis devoured all of the spiders without a trace; other drones were perfectly valid food for it and it could store so much food a single meal would sustain it for months. On the other hand, the woodpecking crows were harvested for intact beaks and other useful materials before suffering the same treatment. Richard then had a team of knights escort the chrysalis back to Faelor, where the broodmother would be able to finish her analysis of the woodpecking crows.

When everything was taken care of, Richard, Flowsand, Nyris, and Agamemnon gathered in one of the newly-rebuilt treehouses and stared at the essence of the grove in a daze.

“What do you think?” Richard asked eventually.

“It's a top-notch offering,” Flowsand commented.

“Worth at least ten million!” Agamemnon estimated.

“Very enchanting!” Nyris added nothing to the conversation.

Richard ultimately priced it at ten million gold, and using the convenience of the monetary value acquired it by offering three rune sets each to Nyris and Agamemnon. A quick mental count reminded him that he now had three top-tier offerings to use.

“No!” Flowsand immediately saw through him, “You're not offering this to the old dragon.”

Nyris nodded in agreement, “Few things can unlock the power of the soul. Don't sacrifice this.”

“Well...” Richard was stumped. A chosen priestess and a prince of the Alliance should have been the last two people to stop him from offering sacrifices.

“Use it yourself,” Agamemnon concurred with the two.

“What even is the power of the soul?” Richard asked.

This time, Nyris was the one to answer, “Some souls have hidden abilities that they can unlock as time passes. The stronger the soul, the higher the possibility of it hiding a great ability. If this essence really can unlock a soul's power, then it is invaluable to the right people.”

“Then why only ten million?” Richard turned to Agamemnon.

“To the right people,” Agamemnon reiterated Nyris' point.

The prince nodded as well, “Very few souls actually have any powers to unlock. If the soul itself isn't strong enough, one might end up using this for nothing. My own soul isn't all that powerful, nor is Ag's. It would be a risk to use this essence.”

“Then what makes you think mine is strong enough?”

““The will of the forest!”” “The troll's spirit lance!”

662 - City of Sin

An Unexpected Requirement

Richard stopped hesitating and swallowed the essence of the grove. The moment the crystal made it to his stomach, he felt a refreshing energy spread throughout his body. His head started to hurt for a few moments, but that feeling quickly vanished and nothing was left behind.

'Is that it?' He was rather confused. Outside of feeling a little more clear-headed than before, he couldn't sense any significant changes within him. He couldn't help but feel a little disappointed, his expression darkening.

'Wait!' a smile suddenly crept up on his face as he realised what exactly had changed. His thought speed had definitely increased greatly, even with his second mind. This meant his blessing of wisdom had advanced once more, now at the fourth grade. This would directly impact his ability to command a battle, easily allowing him to be in constant communication with more than a hundred drones. This meant thousands more soldiers that could be controlled perfectly like an extension of himself! It also directly boosted his analysis and runecrafting abilities as well!

The other three had been staring at him all the while, so they obviously noticed the changes in his expression. Nyris asked the question on their minds, “What did you get?”

“Hmm... How do I put it...” Richard hesitated a little, unwilling to reveal his blessings but also not wanting to lie, “It feels like I can think much faster now.”

“Well, it's something,” Agamemnon said, and Nyris nodded in agreement. Items that boosted the soul depended quite heavily on luck sometimes, so any success was worth it.

The Tree of Life also gave them 11 leaves of youth. These things were more a luxury item than of practical value, but that was still worth a bit so Nyris and Agamemnon split three each. Richard was thus left with five, which was just enough for him to split across Flowsand, Waterflower, Lina, Rosie, and Demi. However, that reminded him of the possibility of Alice joining his ranks and he suddenly realised he didn't have as many as he'd like.

On the other hand, Nyris and Agamemnon realised they had the exact opposite problem and frowned. It wasn't worth selling things like these leaves of youth. Although the demand far outstripped the supply, they were only worth five figures at best.

Thankfully, everyone was still young and the rate at which they were fighting battles ensured their strength would rise quickly; none of them really had any worries about their youth fading away. The Tree of Life could only produce ten leaves of youth every year, but that would be enough for themselves and those close to them.

The four relaxed once the formal matters were complete. They still needed to replenish the troops, but the Tree of Life's influence now extended all the way to Emerald City so they could begin large-scale development freely. Richard had poured 100,000 gold into research on using this stonewood, and the Deepblue's researchers were on track to completing a firestarter that could set it alight. A small fist-sized clump could burn almost for an entire day and night, giving warmth to everyone within a 100-metre range, so they would be able to start selling this for profit.

The one problem with this development was that moving large amounts of wood through the Church of the Eternal Dragon would be a problem. However, this was easily solved when Agamemnon offered some empty land only a hundred kilometres from a harbour to build a new portal at. The moment the stonewood forests could be cut down for a profit, they would be able to expand the logging operation greatly and weaken the will of the forest further.

Of course, the Forest Plane was currently providing nearly 300,000 gold a month, which was already top-notch. When one considered the profits from the Tree of Life, the woodcutting would only be worth pocket money.

Nyris eventually turned to him with a stern expression, “Richard, Agamemnon and I have about fifteen rune knights combined now. I've been getting more and more points lately, so I plan to apply for a new plane from Father. Once it's developed enough, it will be my personal plane. Would you be interested in joining? I'll be the owner in name, but we can continue to split according to contribution just like we do here.”

“Umm...” Richard hesitated a bit, “I don't think I have the ability to expand any more right now. I will support you the best I can, but I have the whole mess in my family to deal with. Tell you what, apply for the plane and start the invasion; I'll join in and help expand when things have stabilised.”

“Sounds good,” Nyris nodded. He understood Richard's current plight. After all, Gaton had left behind five whole personal planes in various stages of development, and the rest of the family was going straight for Richard's throat. There was a lot that needed to be done before Richard could breathe easy.

“Right, Richard! How many laws did you crack during the evolution?” the prince suddenly asked.

“You first,” Richard retaliated.

“Three!” Nyris couldn't hide the pride on his face, eyes glistening with competitiveness.

“Four,” Richard said with a smile.

A little bit of disappointment flashed across Nyris' face, but eventually a smile crept up instead. It felt disappointing to be beaten by Richard time and time again, but the difference this time wasn't too large and it was still an ally growing stronger.

What Nyris didn't know was just how immense of an advantage Wisdom and Truth were. Not only had Richard mapped out the structure of the plane's laws, something that would ease his progress in the future, he had also understood an entire thirteen of them!

Agamemnon had comprehended three laws as well. The reticent youth looked to be more brawn than brain, but his perception was comparable to that of Nyris.

“And what about you, chosen?” Nyris didn't let Flowsand get away either.

“Eleven,” Flowsand said lazily, but it didn't lessen the blow at all.

......

Once the discussion ended, Richard distributed his leaves of youth. Everyone who received a leaf was happy, even Waterflower was unable to hide her expression of joy. However, Flowsand's smile quickly turned mysterious as she stowed the leaf away. However, Richard didn't bother with that as he rushed to the Tree of Life to meditate for a bit.

A small episode occurred after that event. Io snuck into Flowsand's room a little after dusk, full of respect and solemness as he asked Flowsand if she could give the leaf to him. However, Flowsand rejected him without any hesitation.

“Why do you need it?” he asked with a forced smile, “As a chosen, you can stay youthful as long as you live. I'm not like that, and I'm not that psychopath Nyra either. I will age. Faelor also moves at ten times the pace of Norland, I will grow old very quickly if I stay there too long.”

Flowsand was baffled by his request, “Aren't you an untold number of years old? A few decades should be a drop in the bucket for you.”

“Yes, but my body will still age. My glorious image will be damaged by such a thing. Besides,” the battle priest suddenly turned meek, “You don't have any use for it anyway.” Flowsand's creation of Nyra had made him realise just how much she controlled him.

“Who told you I don't have a use for it?” Flowsand smiled mysteriously, waving the leaf of youth before throwing it into her own mouth. Io cleared his throat and stretched his hand subconsciously, but the contract of a heavenly guardian immediately sent him into a daze.

“Tastes pretty good,” Flowsand commented, almost making him cough up blood. His desire for beauty was far greater than his desire for power.

Looking at Io's depressed face, Flowsand grew a little serious as well, “I obviously won't give you something Richard gave me as a gift. But he'll have more in the future anyway, this isn't a one-time thing. Just ask him for one.”

A complicated mix of emotions flashed past Io's face, but he eventually gritted his teeth, “I understand.”

......

The next morning. Richard had just finished his nightly meditation and was looking at Io with confusion, “You want... a leaf of youth?”

“Yes!” Io replied, grinding his teeth.

“Well well well...” Richard muttered under his breath, almost causing the battle priest's heart to stop. Just as the fellow was starting to lose all hope, he spoke loudly once more, “This isn't too much of a request, considering your contributions in Faelor. That being said, it never occurred to me that you'd have a use for this so I gave them all out. Most of them even ate it on the spot, but if I had to guess Flowsand would be the only one who doesn't need it. Why don't you go to her?”

“What?!” Io fumed, “If you knew she had no use for it, why did you give it to her in the first place?!”

“Well... I gave them to the others first and they said those things tasted nice...”

“But then...”

“How about this. Continue to work just as hard as you have in Faelor for another year, and I'll give you one from the next batch.” At this point, Richard was looking at Io like he was a fox to be hunted.

“Next year... Alright, I can do that. But who'll be in charge?”

“There's someone I want to get, but if they don't agree it'll be Gangdor.”

“Gangdor won't be a problem, but if it's someone else they have to listen to me when it comes to foreign affairs and war!” Io replied.

Richard flashed a mischievous smile, “If she's willing to come, you're certainly no match for her.”

663 - City of Sin

Already Influential

The situation in the Forest Plane had finally settled down. However, Richard returned to Norland only to find more problems there. Google search f𝚛𝗲𝒆we𝙗𝙣o𝙫e𝗹. 𝐜o𝚖

The first thing he was notified about was that the Archerons Family Council had announced an enlistment of footsoldiers and rune knights at Blackrose Castle. Another announcement was made commanding him to fulfil his duties as a clan member, including providing them with funds and runes.

This move from the council was much smarter than the last. With most free Archeron warriors too busy with their adventures to pay attention to the power shifts, they could potentially deceive many who arrived for the enlistment into assuming they were the highest authority of the family now.

Of course, Richard considered it a joke. Outside of the obligation to continue the family bloodline, Archeron traditions listed no other duties a family member had to fulfil. If they wanted to be taken seriously, one would first have to calculate just how much Gaton had spent to nurture and groom the branch families into decent powers. However, he still decided to minimise the fallout. Going through both the royal family and the assembly, he issued five announcements in a row that declared the so-called family council completely illegal. He gave them a month's time to return Blackrose Castle and hand over 100,000 gold for maintenance.

He wasn't nearly as merciful to General Ibra, the commander of the garrison in the castle. If the man surrendered within ten days, he would simply be demoted to a titled knight and exiled from the family. If not, he would be treated as a rebel, stripped of all nobility before his entire family was exterminated for its sins.

Richard's determination was out there for everyone to see. Just like Emperor Philip had said, the Archeron cub was starting to bare its fangs.

With the news travelling through both major channels, almost the entirety of the Sacred Alliance received it in a few days. The Archeron Family Council didn't make a single sound in response, as though admitting to the accusations, but those privy to the family's affairs knew that this was just because they didn't have the money. It cost 100,000 gold to send an announcement through any one of the major channels, so for Richard to occupy them for five entire days meant a million gold spent. The council didn't have nearly enough funds to compete.

Although such extravagance made discussions about him being an upstart more prevalent, the effects were quite good. All outsiders immediately pulled support to the council, knowing that someone who spent a million gold on announcements was certainly ready for war. With the council unable to respond in kind, it was clear who had the upper hand financially.

Richard didn't have the time to care about all this. Right after paying for the announcements, he headed to what would be considered a second-tier restaurant in Faust's business district. In a room on the second floor were two grand mages, but they were only flanking the person he was here to mee.

Neil, the Second Prince.

Richard glanced through the room once before taking a seat opposite Neil, asking indifferently, “I wonder why you wished to meet me so urgently, Your Highness.”

Neil was smiling as always, “We're in no hurry to get to business right away, do eat!” He waved his hand and the attendants waiting nearby flocked into the room with plates piled high with food. Although this was a second-class restaurant, the food and drink were all made from rare materials even more exquisite than what was served when Nyris and Agamemnon had first taken in to a meal.

Richard hesitated at the sight. Every bite of this meal was worth thousands of coins, Neil definitely had something to ask. However, the Second Prince just waved his hand dismissively, “Eat! It's just a little something.”

After considering it for a brief moment, Richard eventually decided it was best to dig in. With his current income, it wasn't a big deal to pay for a meal like this. Even if whatever negotiation was to occur here failed, he would be able to pay the bill and leave. He had two top-tier offerings, another greater offering, and tens of millions of gold to spare with stable income for the rest of the year. His net worth already compared to some of the weaker families of Faust.

After the meal he was treated to by the Emperor, Richard knew just how important precious food could be. An opportunity to grow stronger just by eating was hard to come by; even though he had the coin, he didn't have the channels to acquire these things.

Seeing Richard eat freely, the smile on Neil's face grew more apparent. He waved his enormous hand and called out to the grand mages on either side, having them join the meal as well. The meals disappeared down their throats as they went through the plates like small whirlwinds. Emperor Philip had always placed importance on one's appetite and eating speed when determining someone's worth, and it seemed like Neil had inherited that philosophy as well.

The huge expanse of dishes on the table was polished clean in only a few minutes. Richard ate an entire third of it, which was significantly greater than the rest, but that was only because he had been given the chance to. He could now feel a faint warmth circulating through his body, a sign of his physique being strengthened once more.

He picked up the snow-white napkin placed nearby and wiped his mouth clean, speaking elegantly, “Alright, Your Highness. Now that we're done, what instructions do you have for me?”

Faint anger flashed across the faces of the two grand mages, but Neil didn't seem to be displeased by Richard's bluntness. His smile remained the same as ever as he spoke, “I know you have been assisting Nyris recently. His points have zoomed up at an incredible rate, leaving me a little flustered.”

Richard's brows furrowed ever so slightly, “That should be in line with the royal family's traditions, should it not? Have I made a mistake in anything?”

“No, of course not. But!” Neil bent forward slightly, looking him straight in the eye. Just that minute act left Richard feeling more threatened than the two grand mages nearby. “You have destroyed the balance, and that is a threat to everyone. Nyris won't necessarily end up benefiting from this himself.”

Richard nodded once, growing serious as he leaned forward to listen intently. He had heard about the point system from Nyris, but Neil's words had captured his attention. He was interested in hearing the perspective of the first ranked prince.

“The point system was originally intended to allow the princes with the right of inheritance to learn from their experiences and grow. Through weighing the pros and cons of their choices, through trying to optimise their point growth, we should eventually approach the right direction. However, your help has pushed Nyris up too fast, he isn't gaining enough experience. It is also unfair to us other competitors as well. Don't forget that you are also the royal runemaster.”

“And as the royal runemaster, I'm sure the Emperor earns far more from me than I do from him. Besides, I believe the other two empires would offer me even better treatment.”

“You wouldn't go anywhere,” Neil stated confidently.

“And why would you think that?”

“Because Her Excellency Sharon is the guardian of the Alliance. So long as she remains attached to us, you will as well. Besides, you are the family head of the Archerons; I don't think you can bring yourself to leave Marquess Gaton's inheritance behind to be destroyed.”

Richard went silent; Neil had been spot-on in his assessment. Sharon didn't get along with the Sacred Tree Empire, so he would never go there. The Millennial Empire wasn't a bad choice, but he was still the patriarch of the Archerons. The title was only self-proclaimed, but which Archeron leader wasn't? So long as he crushed any dissenters, the position was his.

“Moreover, Richard, whether you admit it or not your status as the royal runemaster has given you much more. It has served as a deterrent to your enemies, forcing them to act in accordance with law. No matter how much they want to just assassinate you, they cannot do so as long as you are in Faust. And I'm confident you can handle enemies coming at you head-on.”

This statement caused Richard to sneer, “Oh? Then what was that duel with the Mensas all about?”

664 - City of Sin

Already Influential(2)

“The Mensa boy died at your hands and you still haven't returned Rosie to them either. The fact that she's a runemaster apprentice isn't much of the secret anymore, why do you think the Mensas and Schumpeters gave up on her so easily? As for the person that attacked you illegally, his injuries will never heal completely and he can't ever become a saint in this lifetime. Even if he could pay the Church for it, he will only reach level 15 at best. Is that not good enough?”

“Fair,” Richard nodded. That was a great price for not abiding by the laws. It might seem rather light now, but back then Richard hadn't shown off Lifesbane or the Guide of Secrets.

A flash of admiration appeared in Neil's eyes, “What I mean is, you can't consider yourself a regular person anymore. As the top royal runemaster of the Alliance, you are someone influential. While your power is stuck in Faust for now, I believe it is only a matter of time before you unify the Archeron Family. So, here is the question— which great influence can you think of that supports only one prince entirely?”
𝗳re𝚎𝚠𝐞𝗯𝙣𝗼ν𝗲l. c૦𝓶

Richard paused for a moment. Thinking about it, he understood what Neil was saying. The Ironblood Duke was a powerful force, capable of sharing the fifth level of islands with the royal family. If he threw his weight behind a prince, there would be no contest at all. In reality, Agamemnon supported Nyris in a personal capacity, and even so he wasn't allowed to spend all of his resources for his friend's sake.

Agamemnon was talented, but he was a youth with no title, no lands, and no personal plane. The amount of help he could give Nyris was limited. The Fourth Prince himself wasn't much better off; three years of working together and they had only managed to scrounge up less than five rune knights. It wasn't until Richard came along that this changed drastically.

This was the sorrow of a leader. One could only accumulate resources, influence, and talented subordinates over time. These lords would eventually surpass most individual powerhouses in consolidated power, but those like Beye could rely on their own strength to amass resources far quicker at the start. A great lord with multiple planes supporting them had influence that not even many legendary beings could approach, but it took an inordinate amount of time and a fair bit of luck to build up to such a level. Thus, both types of heroes had their own advantages.

Leaders were often distracted by many matters, slowing their growth in individual strength. Richard himself spent a lot of his time on runecrafting and war, giving meditation less than a quarter of his day at best. But that also meant he could find the resources he needed himself instead of relying on an external organisation.

There were people who didn't fit into either group, freaks of nature that could do everything at once. Gaton himself expanded at an unprecedented rate, accumulating power that was abnormal for a leader so young. Beye was destined to follow the path of exploring other planes on her own once she approached the legendary realm, boosting her growth by pillaging other powerhouses. And of course, Sharon was both combined; she had created a powerful organisation of mages and backed it with her own legendary might.

All the families had at least a few princes they supported in some way, but all of them maintained a fair amount of distance as well. The Orleans Family was sponsoring three princes and a princess, of which Nyris was only one. Their greatest support to Nyris was in the form of Agamemnon himself; he wasn't the most dazzling star in the family, but it was publicly acknowledged that he would be able to create a new branch in the future.

Thus, Richard's willingness to pour millions into Nyris had caused the Fourth Prince's strength to skyrocket. This was indeed unconventional. “Hmm... so Your Highness intends for me to reign in my support for Nyris.”

“Yes,” Neil nodded without shame.

Richard frowned, “Nyris is a friend, and we have already signed a contract to work on the Forest Plane together. I gave up a significant share of my control in the plane for it. You cannot expect me to give up my resources, can you?”

Neil muttered to himself for a while before speaking up, “Yes, that is a problem, but it is not something that cannot be settled. I have a suggestion that respects your friendship. Continue your collaboration on the Forest Plane, but outside of that I hope you can consider the competition between the princes from the perspective of the leader of a big family.”

“What should I do then?” Richard planted his elbows on the table, crossing his fingers to support his chin as he leaned in further.

“Simple. Just make your resources available to everyone, especially your runes. I believe many of us can give you better terms than Nyris can. In a situation where the terms aren't much different, I will not fault you for siding with him. I only wish for a fair chance, even if he has a slight edge. This will be useful for him; an emperor isn't forged out of a smooth life.”

Neil's voice was soft and sincere, the slight oppression Richard had once felt now replaced by a sort of rapport that made one willing to listen, “Two of the categories in the test for the successor are individual prowess and a battle with equivalent forces. He will only be able to rely on himself during these tests. We will be sent to a foreign plane with our equivalent forces and given a year to develop it. The one who proceeds the furthest receives the highest marks. This is meant to eliminate those flowers who grew up in the greenhouse.”

Richard nodded, “Yes. However, there is a level of trust I have with Nyris that allows him to give me absolute control on any plane we're working on. I don't think that is a term most others will accept, but it is an absolute necessity if I am to throw my resources into a plane.”

“That is true, but I believe at least some of the princes and princesses are willing to use their personal plane with this. Besides, that chance is enough. So long as the terms are the same, we will not be able to complain.

“Right, I also have another request to make.”

“I'll try to do my best,” Richard said noncommittally.

“I wish for a grade 2 rune set for a friend of mine.”

Richard smiled, “A custom-made grade 2 rune set? That is worth almost as much as all my support to Nyris so far. What do you plan to offer in exchange?”

“I heard about the auction you are going to hold soon. I am willing to pay the final price on that auction, but of course a small discount would make me value this newfound friendship highly.”

“Hmm... 10% off the price.”

“Thank you very much!” Neil smiled. Richard's own labour and design costs for a custom rune set would definitely be worth five million, and adding on the price of materials the final cost could easily rise to eight or nine million gold. 10% off on that was approaching a million gold, a significant amount of money. On top of that, a runemaster's willingness to give their time to designing a set was often something money couldn't buy.

Richard smiled, “Even someone as disconnected as myself hears a lot about your skill, Your Highness. As the first-ranked prince, are your plans only for a single set?”

“Only?” Neil burst into laughter, “Richard, you think too little of yourself. This set of yours will be enough to leave me bankrupt!”

Richard reciprocated before standing up and extending a hand, “If there's another opportunity, I wouldn't mind draining your coffers completely.”

Neil brightened up and grasped Richard's hand firmly, “You're welcome to!”

Two entirely different hands met in a warm, firm handshake, like two steel bars pushing against each other. Richard raised his brows, a dark red light flashing in the depths of his eyes as he started to use Analytic. However, it felt as though an unbelievably loud roar rang right beside his ears, like an unknown monster was hidden deep within Neil's body. There was a trace of something in the Second Prince's power that left Richard uneasy, deeply hidden yet familiar.

The power of both sides burst forward into the hands, silently competing in an open probe of each other. Richard paled a little; this was a direct collision of mana and energy that couldn't be won with skill, and Neil's power was on the edge of sainthood. In fact, despite not being a saint his energy seemed to be twice as dense as expected. There were strange properties to this energy that Richard couldn't even recognise as well, so Richard could tell that few saints could actually match up to the prince in front of him even in a battle of attrition.

Richard's own mana pool had just crossed into level 17. Mana was a formative force, not a combative one; without activating Mana Armament, he couldn't really hold his own in such a contest; his mana broke down in only a few moments. Thankfully, Neil had amazing control of his own energy. He withdrew the moment the contest was decided, evidently having no plans to cause any actual harm.

This probe had given Richard a general understanding of Neil's strength. The Second Prince looked to be the same level as Nyris, but his combat ability was much higher. On top of that, he was meticulous in everything; the appearance tailored to befriending others, the control of politics, the ability to make a convincing case... this was definitely someone to be feared.

“Right,” Neil pulled a list out from a pocket, “Here, a show of good faith and a deposit on that set. Some of the things there are specialties from my plane.”

Richard took the list and saw the description for a set of armour for elite knights. Skimming through the properties, he expected a single set to be worth about 20,000 gold and there were 50 whole sets. Even rune knights could be armed to the teeth at 50,000 gold each, so this was definitely first-rate for normal knights. This deposit of a million gold was more than enough to show Neil's sincerity, and from the looks of it the prince had done some research on what he needed right now.

“A timely gift,” Richard smiled, not hiding his plans for expansion.

665 - City of Sin

A Conflict Worth Millions

The meal ended up being pleasant for both guest and host. Each had gotten something out of the deal, and they had formed the beginnings of a good business relationship. Richard left the restaurant and wandered back into Faust, heading for the Copper Workshop in the crafting district. The place was famed for the old dwarf that worked there, someone skilled enough to make epic-grade equipment at will. That came with its eccentricities— he didn't take any orders from people he didn't like— but people still went in and out his door every day.

Richard had no need for epic-grade equipment right now, but the problem with his swords was getting out of hand. His second mind had already worked in all three blades into his fighting style, but having to carry three weapons everywhere he went was a considerable problem. He was hoping the dwarf would be able to come up with a solution.

The crafting district was covered in spatial enchantments that isolated each of the individual workshops, dimming the sound and smoke of the smiths at work. A dozen metallic discs were constantly flying through the sky, attaching themselves to the vents of the workshops to siphon out the smoke before transporting it outside the city.

There were ten forges of varying sizes within this district, drawing their energy from ports in the earth that fuelled searing flames capable of melting almost anything. These ports had existed from before Faust had been discovered and their precise working wasn't understood yet by the Sacred Alliance, but the grand mages had managed to set up formations to harness this energy into pure mana flames that were useful to the grand smiths that had set up their workshops here.

The royal family was worried these energy ports weren't endless, so there was a limited number of these ports opened up for use and each activation carried a hefty price tag. While this made it so only grandmasters could set up within the city permanently, most true mastersmiths chose not to do so. Pure magic flames were good to work on normal items, but they didn't have the soul of abyssal flames or necrotic flames that would imbue their craft with the last bit of power it needed to reach the legendary realm.

Quite contrary to the colourful scenes of the rest of Faust, the crafting district was a world of grey. The buildings were made of steel reinforced by magic arrays in case of explosions, and the mechanisms to reduce the smoke output weren't 100% effective. Dust flew around everywhere, shrouding the place in a dull fog.

The district had its own inns, bars, and taverns where its denizens mingled. The dwarves and gnomes that made up half of the population here were tied together by their anvils and were normally separate from the rest of Faust. One could even see the occasional orc or ogre walking around and interacted as equals with the rest; this was a world where one's status was only determined by their craft.

Gnomes and dwarves constantly rushed around carrying lumps of ore larger than their entire bodies, clearly at least at the saint realm. However, this came as no surprise; this was Faust, after all.

Richard spent some time exploring the area. Although he had been interested in this place for quite some time, he had never come here before. All the ruckus, smoke, and dust was the perfect cover for an assassin to go undetected in, and until now he hadn't been confident enough to take that risk. Sure, the assassin and everyone connected to them would be killed, but what use was that? Of course, now things were entirely different. He only had the dagger portion of Carnage on hand right now, but he was still confident in walking through the place at ease. Just like Beye had once taught him on his first trip to the Land of Dusk, a dagger was enough to carve any enemies apart.

Richard rather enjoyed this blazing impatience. The clamour here was full of a liveliness that left his blood pumping faster than normal. However, he suddenly halted his footsteps and his hands went slack, body growing as relaxed as could be.

“Didn't think your senses would be so sharp!” a soft voice rang in his ear, but the bloodlust he had felt did not fade, “Now, keep being smart and do as I say. Try anything funny and I'll take your life immediately.”

Richard immediately relaxed at the so-called assassin's words. It was quite obvious that whoever this would-be killer of his was, she definitely wasn't experienced. Which seasoned assassin started giving out orders so confidently without even confirming that the target didn't have the ability to fight back? Someone like Beye would have been able to control him with just the power of her aura.

“Turn right!” the voice sounded as they passed by a small alley, and Richard entered immediately. This valley seemed to be a quiet place from the outside, but the haphazard buildings turned out to be much more raunchy than the assassin had expected. There were brothels and bars everywhere, the high wall at the end blocking one's sight except for a single tall chimney chugging tiny bits of smoke.

There were drunk people lying everywhere on the road, with many scantily clad women of different races stroking their hair seductively. The bloodlust started to be laced with a bit of confusion, so Richard took the chance to head further into the alley.

“Where are you going?!” the assassin suddenly hissed.

“Just looking for somewhere we can discuss matters,” Richard said with a smile.

“How would there be such a place here?” the voice was starting to grow flustered.

“You'll find the most lively places tend to have some quiet, secret holes,” Richard continued forward, finding the most popular bar at the place and heading in.

“But... Wait!” The woman gritted her teeth but followed him in.

The bar was extremely rowdy, the scents of alcohol, sweat, and other fluids thick in the air. People of various races and genders were mixed in together, grinding against each other constantly.

“Make way,” Richard worked his way through the crowd, heading straight for the counter. Shoving those blocking the path out of the way.

The assassin had clearly never seen something like this. The sheer scale of what was basically an orgy confused her to the point that she subconsciously stuck closer to Richard, bumping into him.

“Careful,” Richard warned her kindly.

“How could anything happen to me here!” The assassin sounded rather fierce, but she was evidently shaking a little.

At that moment, a hairy arm as thick as Richard's thigh stretched over and grabbed Richard's shoulder. A fierce-looking tanned face appeared in front of Richard, “Oi kid, what do ya think ya are? This ain't no place for— AAH!”

Richard's fist sunk into the man's thick belly. It didn't break skin even as his forearm followed, but the man's expression froze and his eyes and mouth bulged like he would vomit before he collapsed.

666 - City of Sin

A Conflict Worth Millions(2)

Richard didn't even spare a second glance at the downed man as he walked forward, randomly punching another stocky man to send him flying towards another group. The crowd didn't even stop him from doing this, just bursting into excited laughter at the chaos.

“What was this one for?” the assassin asked nervously. She hadn't seen anything special about the second man, but suddenly started wondering whether he was an assassin himself or something. She didn't expect Richard's answer at all: “He's too ugly.”

Richard walked over to the counter, staring the blade-scarred old dwarf manning it dead in the eye, “Get me a room I won't be disturbed in.”

The dwarf's curses faded away into flattery as gold coins jingled onto the wood. He quickly picked all of the money up and shot a glance at the woman, “Come with me, my Lord! I'll find you a place even the flies won't disturb you in!”

After being led through a long, twisted path in the alleyways, Richard and the assassin were pointed at a tiny room which barely managed to fit a single bed. However, the decorations were luxurious with precious fur hanging on the walls and dazzling gold lining on the sheets. This was quite in the taste of the dwarves.

The room didn't even have a window, all ventilation coming from a few meshed holes at the ceiling. This place truly was as described: not even flies could find their way in when it was closed. Richard smiled at the sight, not standing on ceremony as he pulled the assassin in and closed the door.

“Not half bad,” he said as he took a seat on the bed.

“Wha— what are you doing?!” The assassin tried to pedal back, but the dwarf had already closed the door. Only after another glance at Richard's smile did she remember that she was supposed to be in charge, turning fierce once more, “RICHARD! You better know that killing you will be easy as lifting a finger!”

A dark hood covered much of the woman's face, but the sharp chin and little mouth that were revealed were rather exquisite. The thick cloak that covered her wasn't very useful when she didn't have much space, doing little to block Richard from seeing her lithe body. Richard raised both hands, “True. I'm only a mage, and I don't even have much equipment on me. Wait, there's the dagger; should I give it to you?”

“No need,” the woman said through gritted teeth. How would a small dagger be much of a threat to a saint like her? The very idea was humiliating.

When Richard's eyes suddenly glimmered a little to scan her up and down, the assassin felt a surge of extreme discomfort and couldn't help but squeal a bit. However, she didn't realise quite where that came from even as the light faded away and Richard locked eyes with her once more, “You've got a good figure!”

“That's got nothing to do with you!” the assassin shouted angrily.

“It really is good though,” Richard emphasised.

The woman was obviously angry, but she just shrugged it off. She didn't know that Richard had basically seen her from head to toe.

To Richard himself, such an alluring scene was considered a fair price for trying to threaten him into a discussion. Of course, the main priority of that look had been to analyse her strength and equipment. The view was just a nice bonus.

The assassin did her best to calm her mood, saying in the coldest voice she could muster, “Richard, you should be aware that your life is now in my hands! You'd best be obedient!”

“And what do you need?” Richard asked with interest.

“If you wish to keep your life, give me someone in your hands!” she said haughtily, but her voice betrayed her uneasiness. Richard noticed her breasts starting to heave, and a slight glimmer appeared in his eyes that faded away in an instant. Analytic was becoming more and more useful, and this girl also looked pretty too.

“Did you hear me?!” the woman shouted, “If you want to leave this place alive, you'll need to give me someone you have!”

Richard just relaxed and pulled himself up further on the bed, leaning against the pillows lazily, “And who might that be?”

The assassin grew increasingly nervous, but she finally spat out a name, “Raymond.”

“Oh. That makes things easy,” Richard's attitude changed instantly. He sat up a little straighter and flashed a smile that indicated he was the one in control now. The slight traces of fear he had been faking faded away completely, replaced by an air of superiority.

“Do you want to die?!” the assassin unsheathed her dagger halfway.

“Do you want Raymond to die?” Richard asked calmly.

“You'd kill him? Then I'll kill you first!”

Richard remained calm as the dagger rushed towards his throat. He made no move to resist, but the slightest of sparks appeared at his fingertips. The attack eventually stopped halfway and the assassin lifted her hood to reveal a beautiful face, “Fine, you win! What do you want for his release?”

“Well, Raymond can't live much longer. Three months, to be precise. You have a way to heal him?”

“Of course!” the woman stated confidently.

“Blessings of time are useless. He isn't afflicted by ageing, this is a sort of divine punishment of sorts.”

“What? Impossible!” The assassin evidently hadn't known this.

“So you're saying I'd lie to you?” Richard smiled, “Do you think I like playing around with my life?”

“Ugh!” she gritted her teeth, forcing herself to calm down, “Why are you telling me this?”

Richard sighed again. He'd thought this one was a rookie, but she was clearly just stupid. He'd gone through all the effort of putting her in an uncomfortable environment, but she was losing her calm at the most open of secrets. Even as a saint, she was certain to ruin any important mission she took on.

“What I'm saying is Raymond won't live past a week if I die,” a malicious smile appeared on Richard's face, “As for whether he can continue to stay alive, that depends on my mood. If I'm really happy, he might even live a little comfortably.”

“You!” The assassin was about to rage, but couldn't help but tame herself under Richard's bright gaze. Despite herself, she returned the dagger to its sheath, “Fine, tell me what you want. Runes— No, equipment, money... Anything works.”

“Money? Now you're hurting my feelings!” Richard shook his head, smile turning even more evil.

The assassin felt her entire body go cold. “I'll give you a million gold!” she gritted out.

“That's just a rune set,” Richard answered with a grin.

“Three... three million!” It was obvious that the would-be killer was already feeling stifled.

“Three sets.”

“Five...”

“Five sets.”

“SO WHAT DO YOU WANT?” she finally broke down.

“Simple. I just want to be in a good mood,” Richard laughed.

The assassin finally understood that money was no way to get to a runemaster. “I have a blueprint for a rare grade 4 rune called the Crimson Inferno,” she said with determination, “I can give it to you.”

“Not interested,” Richard shook his head.

“WHY?!” The killer felt like she was going insane.

“I'm sure there's a line of people waiting to gift that to me so long as I want it. You should know these difficult runes aren't particularly rare to find blueprints for. What's the point of a blueprint to a rune I can't craft?”

The assassin went silent, unable to find anything that would move him. Just as she was about to change her approach, however, Richard suddenly cut her off, “Right, be a little smart about this. Don't even think of using your family or father to pressure me into anything, that won't end well for you.”

“I... My father...” Her heart thumped a few times as she nearly lost control. She had no idea whether Richard could recognise her or if it was just conjecture.

Richard seemed to guess at her thoughts, “Mm, think about what you can offer me.”

The woman froze, taking inventory of what she had. There was a personal plane she earned profits from, but the actual rights to the plane still resided with the Emperor. Outside of that, all she had was money, equipment, runes, and the blueprint. Richard had rejected it all. The only thing left was... herself?

Richard didn't give her much time to think this time, “Do you know the relationship Raymond and I share? Do you know what condition he's in, why he's still alive?”

She shook her head dazedly.

667 - City of Sin

Don't Know Who You Are

Richard smiled, “Raymond tried to eradicate me from when I was only fifteen years old. He trapped Marquess Gaton on another plane and brought tens of thousands of soldiers to kill me in mine. Sadly, I was his enemy; he had his army decimated instead. Tell me, why would I let such an opponent die so easily? I'm keeping him around just so he can watch as everyone related to him, his friends, family, and those he cares for, are sent to the abyss.”

Richard's smile was pure as a crystal, gaze clear and voice pleasant, but the assassin felt her heart tremble from the hatred embedded within those words.

“Then I should kill you now!” the assassin gritted out from between her teeth, but she couldn't bring herself to unsheathe her dagger.

“No, you should make sure I'm alive and happy. If I'm in a good mood, Raymond won't suffer as much. Ah, a soul shepherd recently joined my ranks. I hear they're especially good at interrogations and their control of souls rivals necromancers'. Now, I only give her days off when I'm in a good mood. And if I'm in a bad mood, well... she stays with Raymond a little longer.”

The assassin paled, the hand that was on her dagger's hilt starting to shake. She understood just what the implications of a soul shepherd's existence were. Death would not be the end for Raymond; he would likely be turned into an eternal puppet.

Just as she was on the brink of despair, Richard gave her hope once more, “But you're special. If you really are willing to give everything up, you can change his fate. If I'm happy with you, I'll let his soul dissipate with his body if I ever die.”

“You're saying you can let him rest in peace?”

“Yes, but you will have to give up everything. Don't entertain any delusions; as someone who cares about him, you should know what he has done. There is a price for everything, but you can just help him pay some of it.”

“I... I understand.” The assassin wanted to ask him to promise, but she of all people understood that such a thing was pointless. Powerful lords viewed their reputation above all else.

“That's great, gorgeous. Look for me once you've thought things through.” Richard got off the bed, patted the woman's face and left the secret room.

“Ahahahaha!” a vulgar laugh sounded outside, “Out so fast, my Lord? That doll really doesn't look bad, you paid enough to stay another day!”

Richard chuckled at the old dwarf, “I wish. She's just too lewd, I couldn't last.”

The old dwarf snickered in response. The assassin went red in an instant, starting to shake with anger. What did he mean by too lewd? This was the first time someone dared to call her that! If it was anyone else, ANYONE else...

At that thought, the woman suddenly recalled that Richard had touched her face before leaving. She had been stiff without reaction, but thinking of it now, where had her instincts gone? Why hadn't she so much as moved when he touched her? Richard's movements had been quick yet smooth, so tender and natural it was like a lover caressing her. There was no trace of danger that would leave anyone on guard. However, now that she replayed the scene she realised just how dangerous it had been. His hand could have dealt her a fatal blow at any point.

If it had been a slice instead of a caress... The more she thought about it, the rougher her breathing became. Was... was everything under his control from the start?

Then there was that meaningful look Richard had given her when she was about to bring up her family. He'd acted like he didn't know her at all, but few children of nobility would be unable to recognise her after seeing her face, especially after she became a saint at such a young age. Even if they had never seen her before, they would have seen portraits at the least. As the ruthless and meticulous family head of the Archerons, how could Richard not know the First Princess?

Then why had he avoided the topic of her identity, even stopping her from bringing it up? The more she thought about it, the colder Reyna felt inside.

...... Google search 𝐟𝓇𝘦𝒆w𝚎𝐛n𝐨ν𝙚𝚕. c𝚘ｍ

After leaving the alley, Richard quickly headed towards the target of his trip. The old dwarf's attitude was as terrible as it was said to be, and he even treated the alcohol his kind were known to love with contempt. Of course, this was because his cellar was piled up with mountains of the best meads available.

However, Richard had dealt with dwarves for a long time now and knew how to handle them better. Taking out a custom trinket made by the dwarves of Faelor and promising to pay in more handiworks from outside Norland, he successfully got the dwarf to agree to his request. The old smith then followed him back to the Archeron island to take a look at the three swords himself before suggesting a solution.

Giving the craftsman some room to study the blades, Richard headed back to his study and had a servant call Fuschia over. Browsing through the pile of documents that had stacked up on his table once more, he asked without so much as looking up, “It's been a while. So? Has the Earl made up her mind?”

“My Lady... My Lady agrees.”

Having expected to hear bad news, Richard looked up in surprise. However, he paused for a moment as he saw Fuschia's bowed head and the slight flush on her face. The fear in her eyes as she avoided his gaze was rather confusing; it was almost as though she would be the one becoming his partner instead.

Still, he shook off the annoyance and just sighed deeply. Right now, he was in urgent need of a good administrator to help him manage his tasks. Be it as a partner or an ally Alice would not be a subordinate, but even without putting her own life aside she could still help out.

“Invite her to the island in ten days, then. It's been a long time since I last saw her, we'll need to go through the details.”

“... Alright,” Fuschia went even redder.

Richard still had no idea why she was blushing, but he scheduled the meeting and headed out. Ten days in Norland was three months on Faelor, he didn't have the leisure to just wait so long.

Before returning, he conducted another sacrifice to the Eternal Dragon at the Church. Flowsand was the one who hosted it this time, but he got no special treatment because of her or the Wargod's Shield that he gave up. In the end, he chose a divinity crystal over two other mildly useful items; with the broodmother around, he could never have enough.

668 - City of Sin

Training The Followers

Richard gathered all his followers once the ceremony ended, entering Faelor once more.

The plane was ridden with the dark clouds of winter, especially for the nobles who had no choice but to watch Richard's ascent into dominance. The 500-knight patrol of the Sequoia Kingdom had given him even more glory than the defeat of the invaders, showcasing a sheer suppression in individual strength, equipment, and magic. The dozens of saints and multiple sub-legendary experts at Richard's side scared them all witless, and the higher-ups of some of the churches acknowledged in private that his clergy was powerful beyond levels. Guesses were abundant that a greater god lost to history had awoken once more.

All sounds of dissent had completely vanished ever since that week. Even the King didn't dare to condemn Richard's action, the royal family retreating to lick its wounds after most of its military forces were harmed and its core legion was completely decimated. It would take at least half a decade for them to recover.

The astute nobles realised something else. Richard now had full control of the borderlands of the Sequoia Kingdom, effectively holding a monopoly on the slave trade through both the Bloodstained Lands and the Iron Triangle Empire. The loss of the lifeblood of the labour force was a heavy blow.

The political balance had begun to break down as well. The new Direwolf Duke had managed to consolidate his power based on Richard's backing alone and was definitely going to be the firmest of allies. If not for the official difference in status, Toffler would even be considered Richard's vassal. Duke Grasberg's reputation had grown despite his own weakening in the battle against the invaders, and his silence spoke louder than words ever could.

Zim had fallen deep asleep. Rumours were spreading that the Viscount had been stopped from joining the battle by Duke Grasberg, and unable to charge out of the castle despite multiple attempts he suddenly entered a deep sleep. This was another natural ally that would reveal himself once he awakened, and those in the know understood that his becoming a saint would greatly alter royal succession as well.

However, Richard's subordinates had cause to be worried as well. The Baruch Kingdom was growing extremely unstable, Lutheris having sent down two prophecies in a single day commanding the capture of the heretic Zangru. The Wargod's fury was evident for everyone to see, and from the looks of it there were chances he would send a chosen or even an avatar to hunt Zangru down.The Church of Valour was still silent, but considering their strong relationship with the royal family this only meant their reply would be that much stronger when it came.

The three goddesses had already become a powerful force that was developing quickly in the Bloodstained Lands. Although individually still weak, together they had shunned off the moniker of trash gods they used to be labelled with. The god backing Richard himself still hadn't come forward, and one couldn't even guess their domain. The only guarantee was that this god was immensely powerful.

Many could see the seeds of a divine war starting to sprout.

With a month having passed in plane time, Richard's first action was to contact the broodmother. He found that forty level 12 shadowspear knights had been produced, alongside ten elites that were one level higher. The heavy infantry and javelineers were still in the pipeline, while production for the flamewing serpents was just about to begin.

“Send a cloned brain,” he told her, “I have another crystal for you.”

Joy immediately flooded their connection and Richard felt the cloned brain starting to move at maximum speed. The impatience reminded him of Zangru and how she'd mentioned his blood would shave time off her next advancement as well, “And what about level 9?”

“Apologies, Master. Even my best efforts at analysis have concluded that Zangru's power is too dark and extreme. Fortunately, I managed to fuse that strength with the abilities you have obtained to temper a path that will not limit me in the future. I estimate it will take me half a year to completely break through.”

“Alright, that works. For now, focus on the elite shadowspears; I need a hundred of them. As for bonuses... Hmm, what's Greater Regeneration?”

He had never seen this new ability before. The broodmother explained that it had come from the analysis of Zangru, and adding it to his soldiers would allow them to heal automatically from non-fatal wounds within two days. The elites could even sacrifice their lifespan for the temporary equivalent of a Restoration spell in the midst of battle.

Richard immediately grew excited, “Add it to all the elites.”

“This will significantly increase the cost of production, Master.” The broodmother had recently started paying attention to cost.

“That's fine.”

Having taken care of matters with the broodmother, Richard gathered all his followers at the command room and began to assign tasks. His greatest elites were the broodmother's drones and the about 2,500 Norlanders that now served him. 10,000 Faelorians were in the army as well, some his own and others from the nobles under him, but only 8,000 of that could be counted on once his campaigns began. There were also about 30,000 rookies that had recently joined his ranks. They still needed two more months of basic training, but once that was done they could be sent to the battlefield to gain experience. With such forces, it would be disappointing not to be waging war. Google search 𝗳𝔯e𝒆𝙬𝘦𝙗𝓷o𝘷el. c૦𝑚

When everyone had gathered, Richard just analysed the updated map of the regions surrounding the Bloodstained Lands for a long while, “Hmm... Is anyone from the Sequoia Kingdom causing trouble?”

“No, the king's as obedient as a rabbit,” Gangdor said.

“And what about the Iron Triangle?” Richard frowned a little.

“Their army doesn't have the guts to step out of their territory.

Richard frowned even more. Just as he was starting to mutter to himself, Olar piped up, “There's some movements from the Baruch Kingdom. They're expanding their army crazily, and word is that they're looking for the dead and injured of the invaders that were stolen from their hands.”

“Lutheris is still too powerful for me right now, it's best not to provoke them yet,” Richard immediately rejected the suggestion. However, many of the followers brightened up at his words; this meant they would start battling a church someday!

“Let's take care of the Iron Triangle whelps!” Gangdor eventually roared, “It's time to punish them!” He had fought the Iron Triangle Empire multiple times now, and had nearly died as Salwyn's hands.

Richard nodded, slapping the map in front of him, “Bring a thousand people each, but stay flexible. Gather all the slavers from the Empire at Camp Bluesquare and take their equipment. Those that have paid taxes so far will be released, but nobody is allowed to enter the Bloodstained Lands again. Do more stuff to push them over the brink, and once they decide to fight, be merciless. You can work together or alone, doesn't matter, but notify me if things go wrong. I'll send reinforcements with a cloned brain, and if that still doesn't work I'll take the field myself.”

Richard then assigned soldiers to each. In only a few days groups of elites gathered up and left Bluewater, making a beeline for the border with the Iron Triangle Empire.

In the meanwhile, Richard immersed himself in a world of meditation and runecrafting.

......

Days passed, and the situation in the north rapidly began to heat up. An air of nervousness filled the borders as many slavers were detained and 'checked' at Camp Bluesquare. They were still as gruff as ever, but the mere sight of Richard's banner turned them into meek mice. Although most of them weren't affected yet, a group that wanted to enter the Bloodstained Lands had been stopped at the borders. Richard's army and the border troops of the Empire than engaged in a series of skirmishes that resulted in dozens of losses in less than a week, lighting the fuse for war.

The border troops of the Empire were normally quite overbearing, and those assigned to it right now were still basking in the glory of taking Walvis Bay. The belligerence from Richard's forces enraged them completely, and they gathered 50,000 men to try and wipe Richard out once and for all. The commander and vice-commander were both sub-legendary beings that belonged to the First Regiment, and the only reason they had avoided the Bloodstained Lands so far was the agreement with the churches not to harm those who had fought off the invaders. Now that Richard was provoking them of his own accord, they were just bursting with joy that they wouldn't have to wait out the entire year of the agreement.

Salwyn seemed to be the only one that had learned from his defeats. All of the other seventy-odd princes had never possessed the qualifications to lead the imperial army, so they just chalked the losses up to incompetence. The fact that the genius on par with Rislant now spent his days drowning his sorrows in alcohol as the last of his armies and allies were taken away only convinced them that they were right. In fact, Salwyn now had less than 5,000 men serving him in total, and even that number was going to dwindle. He had basically lost all hope for the throne, and the amount of land he possessed as a prince was definitely not enough to feed all of his men.

With the deliberate pushes from both sides, the scale of the conflict rapidly grew to thousands of men. Gangdor, Kellac, Olar, and Io led 2,000 men for a decisive battle with a 5,000-strong border army. They had already called on Richard for the broodmother's support, so a cloned brain led a thousand humanoid knights to flank from behind and allowed them to utterly defeat the border troops. More than a thousand enemy soldiers were killed before the army dispersed.

The fires of war burnt tall as the imperial commander personally brought out his full strength for the war. Although he wasn't an unpredictable genius like Salwyn, he and his generals were all competent tacticians that would make no obvious mistakes. At the very least, Richard's followers weren't capable of finding a hole in the offence and were beaten badly.

Unable to mount a frontal attack, Richard's followers decided to try guerrilla warfare instead. However, the harassment bore no fruit. The commander was a veteran, and wouldn't make such low-levelled mistakes. Richard's men continued to be pushed back for weeks on end.

669 - City of Sin

The Ultimate Choice

It was only in the second month of conflict that Richard's followers pulled him out of his seclusion. He checked the general situation through the cloned brain and laughed at the delay, unable to decide whether to reprimand them or let it be. Of course, the main reason his followers were at a disadvantage was that his rune knights, clergy, shadowspear knights, and other such elites had been reserved. Unlike him, they couldn't overcome a sheer numbers disadvantage with ordinary troops.

He started passing down orders from the moment he exited the meditation room, transmitting commands across the Bloodstained Lands to gather his soldiers as he equipped himself. All the branches of his army started to march towards the designated battlefield.

With Camp Bluesquare being the target of the Iron Triangle Empire's troops, Richard decided it would serve well as a grave for the attacking army. On the day of war, 30,000 elites from the Empire faced off against 5,000 on-duty guards and an 8,000-man army.

In the higher altitudes above the battlefield, the cloned brain was consolidating the images from the elite bats into a single image stream that it transmitted directly to his mind. This setup reduced his burden significantly when it came to intel, allowing him to focus more on command.

This time Richard wasn't at the frontlines he always occupied. Instead, he positioned himself at the tip of the city walls and sent out commands. The 13,000 soldiers had organised themselves into companies of a hundred soldiers each, every company led by an elite from the broodmother. With that, Richard could command the army as 130 separate units, a number he had never tried since his blessing of wisdom had advanced.

When the enemy commander led the imperial army into the battlefield, his eyelids twitched. The 8,000-strong army felt extremely threatening to him, so neatly organised that there was hardly any space between the rows of cavalrymen. Every single one of those soldiers stood still as a statue, not making the slightest of movements. The soldiers within the formation seemed a little more relaxed, but they exuded an almost tangible killing intent that indicated they were veterans at war. For the first time, this general lost confidence even with an overwhelming advantage.

Richard was being very open about his military strength this time, not intending to conceal any soldiers at all. If the enemy didn't have the guts to attack an army less than half their size, they truly would have lived for nothing.

As expected, the war did eventually begin. Richard's army charged out from the city, crashing directly into the front lines of the enemy with the assistance of the camp's defences. They immediately started grinding through the imperial elites, breaking through time and time again to reap countless lives. The battle only lasted the morning; by noon, the border army was completely devastated.

The red-eyed imperial commander suddenly let out a wild roar, leaping out from the army to rush straight at Richard who was at the tip of the city. He knew this was a suicide mission, but just the sight of the calmness on Richard's face as the imperial army was slaughtered left him unable to contain his rage.

Richard just raised his hand to stop Zangru from attacking, even having his army part to allow the man access to the city walls. The vengeful commander was a little stunned at how easily he had made it to Richard's side and hesitated for a moment, unable to decide whether to press the attack. He could already tell that Richard was a mage; how would a mage dare to let him come so close?

However, Richard stretched his arm out and wagged a finger at the man, a gesture everybody understood. The prickly hairs on the commander's beard went ahead as he grew enraged, charging like an elephant right in Richard's direction.

Only when a harsh glare from a sword flashed in his eyes did he finally understand why Richard had the courage to wait for him to attack.

A bloody pulp flew into the sky, the commander's lifeless body falling off the city walls to crash into the dirt. His armour broke apart to reveal blood pooling all over his body from an untold number of slashes.

By this point, the sun was high in the sky. When the warring soldiers turned to look at the battle on the city walls, all they could see was the silhouette of Richard's hands crossed under the chin as he leaned against his sword.

......

Just as spring arrived in Faelor, the fifth division of the Iron Triangle Army was exterminated in the Bloodstained Lands. The two sub-legendary experts and seven saints were all killed, but Richard's losses were unknown. The loss severely weakened the Empire, and those restless individuals of the Sequoia Kingdom were frightened once more. One of the most prestigious armies of the Empire that had wrested Walvis Bay into their control was actually defeated by Richard's forces; this was incomparable to the private soldiers that Salwyn had brought forth before.

It was said that the very next day, the Empire had urgently sent a message over a long-distance transmission circle to summon Salwyn back to the capital to discuss methods to defeat Richard.

The aforementioned prince was fishing by a mountain stream when he received the news. It hadn't been enough time since winter for many fish to be present, but he didn't really have anything to do. If the soldiers he worked hard to train would just be poached anyway, what was the point? It was already hard enough to provide for his current army with the meagre income from his territory.

Having read the message, Salwyn silently crushed the paper and threw it into the stream, watching as it drifted away with the moving water.

“Y—Your Highness!” the messenger stammered in shock, “Isn't... Isn't that wrong?”

“What is? It's already too late to drive Richard out.” Salwyn just swung the rod in his hand once more, continuing to fish.

The messenger was the last general who remained loyal to him. This tough fellow had been willing to bear the worsening treatment just to stay by his side. Salwyn had once thought five of his generals would stick with him through thick and thin, to the point that he could even trust them with his descendants, but only one had actually remained by his side.

The general creased his brows, “Your Highness, is there really no way to defeat that bastard? I can't sleep well if he isn't killed!”

Sawlyn flashed a bitter smile, “How? He's got groups of saints and sub-legendary experts surrounding him, and his elite troops are unbelievably powerful. We've fought him multiple times with military advantages but we've been sent running away. Our scouts say Richard can mobilise a total of 30,000 men, but less than half of that decimated the Fifth Division. It's already too late. We'd have to send out our entire army to even hope to deal with him.”

“ARGH!” The general smashed his fist into the rocks with rage, causing them to split into numerous pieces.

“Actually, we might still have one last chance”

“What?” The man's face immediately lit up.

“A war of the gods!”

......

Following the big battle, Richard led 4,000 soldiers to strike at the border guard like lightning. A nocturnal ambush defeated the garrison the imperial army had retreated to with only a few hundred managing to escape, and tens of thousands of captives fell under Richard's control. In the end, he ransomed them back to the Iron Triangle Empire at the cost of millions of gold.

Now confident that there wouldn't be any large wars to fight in the human countries, he pointed his followers northwest to explore the paths leading to the barbarian ancestral plains. This was a race of beings he was extremely curious about; despite their average level being higher than even dwarves', they had barely any potential to speak of. Normally a barbarian could reach level 10 without any training, but very few even managed to grow to level 14. This went quite contrary to expectation, and Richard was sure there was some sort of secret hidden in the plains that explained this. After all, any other race with an average level of 10 would likely cultivate even level 20 legendary beings with enough numbers.

He was quite interested in the potential existence of a phenomenon that hindered the development of an entire race. This would be a great tool in many ways, especially for his understanding of Faelor's laws.

Having let his followers loose to explore, Richard himself remained in Bluewater to continue honing his craft and meditating. Most of the troops were sent on the expedition, leaving only 3,000 elite defenders. Of course, anyone thinking the defences were weak would be in for a bad surprise; they would end up facing 30 rune knights, more than 2,000 Norlanders, and a regiment of shadowspear knights guarding the fort with a large unit of throwers backing them. Of course, his own presence was the greatest threat of all.

Unfortunately, none of his enemies threw themselves into this obvious traps. At least he had some time in peace to work.

In the blink of an eye, three months had passed since Richard had returned to Faelor. Within this short span of time, Richard's powers had grown significantly once more. A hundred elite shadowspear knights and another hundred infantry drones had been produced, and with Rosie's help he had crafted an entire twenty rune sets.

One day, the sound of his alarm resonated through the room. Richard knew that it was time to return to Norland and sent out a mental message for his followers to be careful before heading back without a sound.

670 - City of Sin

The Battle Begins

When Richard arrived at the floating island, Alice had already been there for a day. As heads of their own family branches, the two met at the Archeron tombs.

Alice seemed to be filled with nostalgia as she walked up the side of the volcano, reading every engraving on every tombstone without missing a single word. Even though he could recall every letter here perfectly with how much time he had spent reading himself, Richard didn't rush her and just followed behind. Even now these words could leave him overwhelmed, as though the lives of these great ancestors were playing out right before his eyes.

The Archerons were a family of oddities, of contradiction. All members sought to break past the traditions they were subjected to, but were fundamentally in love with the very standards they wished to eradicate. Even those with other powerful bloodlines mixed in often chose this volcano to be their final resting ground.

Eventually, they made it to the peak of the volcano where the most powerful few tombs were. Although there were no blazing epitaphs on these stones, the engraved truenames alone carried a sense of weight and power that trumped any detailed description of their glory.

Alice gently stroked one particular tombstone, filled with melancholy as her hands ran across the engraving. However, the act left Richard greatly surprised. The part of the tombstone her fingers were touching started to light up. “So you've awakened your truename!” he said with surprise.

“Yeah,” she didn't so much as turn her head, “It isn't much. Every Archeron has the potential to do it, it just takes a real lunatic to dig out that hidden strength.”

Richard knelt beside her, “You seem particularly interested in this one...”

“This...” her voice grew softer, a myriad of emotions flashing across her face, “He was an ancestor of mine, about 300 years ago. You could say he's the source of my bloodline. He was an intellectual amongst the group of demons, the only source of order in the chaos. However, that made him an eyesore for many other Archerons. If not for the fact that he was strong enough to unlock his truename, he never would have been buried in these tombs.

“He had enemies both within and without. During the last battle he ever fought, he charged forth as the sole commander of his army in what should have been a perfectly planned attack. However, he was caught off-guard by superior troops and died in the ambush with his entire army. The person who betrayed him? My grandmother.”

Richard was at a loss for words. He had never heard this story before.

“So, what's your truenam—” Richard regretted the words before he could even finish them. Truenames were the greatest secret of any existence; knowledge of it gave one great control over the target's life. Why would anyone divulge such information?

Thankfully, Alice's reaction wasn't as drastic as he'd feared. She just sighed, “It's not time yet, Richard. I'll let you know eventually.”

Having expected a direct rejection and severe berating, Richard was surprised by her words. He turned solemn himself, thinking it over for a while, “Hmm... When will that be, then?”

Alice shut her eyes, showing exhaustion unbecoming of the goddess of war, “When I'm tired. Completely tired.”

“We'll see,” Richard answered. It was hard to come by someone like Alice, someone you could trust entirely to accomplish what they set out to. Richard had no lack of strong followers, but he did lack a strong general to stand guard over his lands. Gangdor only barely qualified for the role, but he wasn't someone who could create miracles.

The earl lifted her head and looked Richard in the eye, “Richard, tell me a little more about yourself. Help me grow confident in you.”

“Confident in becoming my partner?” Richard joked.

“Not entirely, but yes.”

He shrugged, “Aren't my current achievements enough?”

Alice shot a glance at him and smiled faintly, “What, a level 17 mage?”

“A level 17 mage who's also the royal runemaster.”

“I know. Still not enough.”

“Oh?” Richard was a little surprised, “I think you misunderstand. I'm not trash like Lunor, even now I'm capable of creating custom grade 2 sets on a whim.”

Alice sighed once more, “Richard, I'll be honest. I'm scared, scared of doing this. I'm hoping you can give me the confidence to take that last step. I'm not comparing you to Lunor, I'm comparing you to your father... I still remember the first time he brought me to this cemetery. Gaton just sat on top of one of these tombstones, extremely casual without a hint of wrongness. It was as though he was meant to be there, as though it was his rightful seat. I was still very young then, but I'll never forget that day.”

Her words made him recall his own first visit to the Archeron tombs. Of course, he hadn't been awed by Gaton's presence. He'd just wanted to push the man down the crater into the volcano. Thinking of being compared to that man, he subconsciously adjusted his posture, filled with complex emotions he could not put to words.

Eventually, he managed to organise his thoughts, “I'm confident I'll eventually become a saint runemaster. I have no idea how far I'll go as a mage, but at the very least a few more levels should be no issue. I control two planes with a combined annual income of over 10 million gold, and defeated an army sent by the Joseph Family and captured their prodigal son. There were elements of luck involved, but the truth remains that my ability in war cannot be belittled.”

“Sounds impressive. Be careful, though. There might be assassins on the lookout for you already.”

Richard laughed at that attempt to pour cold water over him, “Ha, I've been to the Land of Dusk twice, once even alone. I killed numerous saint-level beings just to get to the capital of the Unsetting Sun. It won't be that easy to get rid of me.”

Alice finally nodded her head, “That's all I have to hear.”

He heaved a sigh of relief, “Great, and here I was thinking I had to bring up my heart of steel.”

Alice just continued to nod at the joke. Richard had still kept many secrets, like the broodmother and his innate gifts, but those were trump cards he planned to bring out once their relationship solidified further.

“So, what's your final decision?” he asked.

“I'll be your ally,” Alice had already returned to her usual decisive self, “And your partner.”

“Partner?” Richard frowned at the thought of the family traditions, “There's no need.”

“I have to fulfil my obligations somehow, and anyone qualified to be with me would also be capable of affecting our alliance. It would be a great way to keep us tied together anyway, and I don't care so long as I don't hate you. I'm good with this.”

Although the tone was indifferent, Richard noticed that her body was somewhat rigid. He pondered over her words for a bit and found himself agreeing; it would be hard for her to sever ties with someone she had a child with, and right now he didn't have any allies in the family he would be fine for her to be attached with, “Fine, let's go with that. So, when do we formally sign on the alliance? And when should we... Consummate?”

Alice tilted her body forward, placing her hands on his chest, “We've established the alliance right here, no need for formal paperwork nobody cares about. If we're both willing, the alliance will last to the end. As for us being partners, well...

“Here's fine for that too.”

671 - City of Sin

The Battle Begins(2)

“Here?” Richard looked around in shock. This was a black and red land with sulphur in the air and hundreds of thousands of tombstones for spectators. It wasn't exactly the most romantic of venues.

“Here!” Alice suddenly sounded determined, “We are two members of the Archeron Family, acting upon our traditional obligations. There is no better place than the sacred land of the family!”

Seeing the fire in his new partner's eyes, the crimson hair almost standing in the midst of her passion, Richard simply couldn't find a reason to refute. Although still somewhat astonished by her words, he eventually hummed in agreement.

Alice straightened her body and asked coldly, “What are you waiting for? These clothes aren't going to take themselves off, you know.”

Why can't you take them off yourself? Richard opened his mouth, but decided not to vocalise that thought. Instead, he walked up to Alice's rigid body that looked like a spear planted in the ground, somewhat bemused at the memory that she had been half a foot taller than him when he first arrived in Faust. Now that difference was the exact opposite, and he'd grown buffer to match her after the hydra egg and the various meals he was being treated to.

Looking at the solemn woman, Richard suddenly felt a sense of oddity. Her expression, the mood, the location... it was all wrong for what was about to happen. This definitely wouldn't be smooth sailing.

As he reached out to undress her, his hands naturally gravitated towards her chest. The moment his fingers made contact with her large breasts, however, her entire body trembled and she grabbed his hands like lightning, “It's just sex, right? We don't have to do it naked, just undo the pants first!”

Alice's words were blunt and fearless, but Richard felt like he was looking at a startled bunny. He nodded and loosened her belt with no obstruction to have her pants fall. However, just as he was about to slip out of his own, he suddenly felt her knee twitch. It was a subtle movement, but years of battles had trained him so well he flashed away in an instant.

“What are you doing?!” he asked. That knee had been aimed right at his crotch. He would rather eat two hydra eggs at once than be subjected to that torture.

“I just wasn't used to it, I wouldn't actually kick you. What are you, a baby?” Alice ridiculed him.

However, Richard wouldn't believe her words in the slightest. If she truly hadn't intended to do it, his instincts wouldn't have kicked in so aggressively. He returned once more, but this time proceeded with caution.

As expected, things did not go well.

Just having stripped down from her pants, Alice suddenly changed her mind and asked that he be completely naked before she removed her underwear. Annoyed but accommodating, Richard complied to get this over with.

Moments later, she bit her lips and stared at his fit body for a bit before throwing herself forward aggressively. However...

“Huh? Why... Why are you running? How are we going to do it if you don't strip?!” Richard's confusion slowly turned to anger, but it took quite some time for him to catch up to her.

“Alright,” her voice suddenly rang out, “Here should do just fine. Come on, stop dawdling!”

“I'm the one who's dawdling?!”

“Of course!”

“... Fine. Stay still, I'll try to make it quick. Listen, it's not as scary as you imagine it to be. In fact, it's quite sim— OW, WHAT THE FUCK?”

“I... I used too much strength by accident. Eh, you'll be fine, right? Right?”

“You...” a soft whine echoed throughout the cemetery, “Are you trying to kill me?”

“It wasn't intentional. Come on, let's continue. Don't be a pussy, stand up. I know you can do it!”

“...You. Just kicked. My—”

“Why bicker so much? Come now, I can't wait.”

A short while later...

“ALICE!” a bellow resounded through the volcano, “WHAT IN THE WORLD ARE YOU TRYING TO DO?”

“No-Nothing, really! Look, I'm ready again.”

“Just how many times have you been ready?”

“This is the first time? I forgot!”

Another short while later...

“Alice, what exactly is going on here?”

“Nothing, nothing! We're doing great, aren't we? Look, you're not wearing anything, I'm not wearing anything, there's nobody else here. Everything's perfect, isn't it?”

“Look, if you don't want to be my partner, I won't force you to. You know I never had this in mind.”

“Then why did you accept me afterwards?”

“Because you suggested this would be a great way to strengthen our relationship!”

“Yes, then let's not hesitate and continue!”

“Continue? We never even started!”

“Is that so? Then let's start now!”

“Then you've got to stop running!”

... Some more time later...

“Alice...”

“What?”

“You...”

“That... was just a reflex. I can't actually control it. Sorry, you're going to have to try harder. Once the first time is done, I don't think there will be problems anymore...”

“Alright, I understand. Struggle all you want, then. Stop trying to control it.”

“Huh, why?”

“Because we'll never start if you don't run out of energy first.”

“Okay, be careful.”

“AAH!”

A long time later, Alice was staggering between the tombstones. Her naked body was a harsh contrast from the black and red scenery, dripping with sweat as her legs gave way to an obstacle and she fell powerlessly to the ground.

Richard walked over from behind. He was equally exhausted, but his footsteps were still firm. Although he was a mage, he'd eaten the hydra egg and the laws he had absorbed from the Tree of Life had strengthened his restoration affinity in his elven bloodline. Alice had run out of energy, but he could still last some time longer.

Completely done with this farce, he leaned over her and gruffly adjusted her position, pinning her down before pressing himself onto her body.

A pained scream rang through the volcano...

“Finally...” Richard heaved a long sigh.

“Finally,” Alice whimpered, her voice almost undetectable.

When the two of them walked out from the cemetery, it was early morning the next day. Their “lovemaking” had lasted an entire afternoon and night, but only ten minutes of it had been spent on actual sex.

Fuschia rushed up to Alice the moment they exited the portal, eyes red from a sleepless night. She stared at her lord blankly for a few moments before asking, “You... did it?”

“That's right,” Alice nodded her head.

Both happiness and heartache swept across Fuschia's face. Eventually she just sighed, “You... I didn't expect you'd be so quick. I'm sorry I couldn't help.”

Alice smiled as she patted her follower's head, “Don't worry about it, I definitely see through the things I want.”

Richard stood at the side with a disapproving expression. If not for his powerful regeneration, she would have left him in the dust and just run away. He was no match for her in a head-on battle, and her irrational fear of sex had taken him nearly everything to overcome. Hopefully, future attempts wouldn't be as difficult.

His brows twitched at the sound of her boasts, but he managed to muster up the discretion not to out her in front of a subordinate. Thankfully, Alice realised she was bragging too much as well. Fuschia could read her mind better than anyone else, so she hastily pushed the other woman out of the study, “There's some other things we have to discuss, don't worry. Go help me get something to eat.”

Done with that, Alice walked over and jumped onto the table, crossing her arms in front of her chest before glancing at Richard, “So, how do you plan to handle our relationship from now?”

“I'll answer that question, but that's my spot.”

“Oh? I can see why, it's nice. But so what, isn't all of yours mine too now?”

Richard decided to ignore her disregard, responding to the question with the answer he'd decided upon long ago, “Allies and partners for life. If you never desert me, I'll never change either.”

Alice snorted, pouting, “Just the first sentence would have been enough, then it would've been so much more moving. You're really bad with girls.”

“Yes, and you qualify to tell me that.”

“Hey, it's instinct you baby. It has nothing to do with how experienced you are.” Alice wasn't ashamed in the slightest.

As night came, a few griffins ferried Alice and Fuschia far away. Richard then returned to Faelor with thirty rune knight candidates that she had provided.

From the outside, everything seemed completely peaceful. Nobody realised that a critical alliance had been forged in the Archeron Family.

672 - City of Sin

New Life

Faelor's sky was a clear blue and the sun shone brightly. Raymond was sitting in his yard, calmly sipping on tea as he scanned through books on history, geography, religion, and various other features of Faelor. A large dog was lazily resting at his feet, its golden fur glimmering in the sunlight. This creature had no name, but in crucial moments it could erupt with a shocking amount of strength that dwarfed most inhabitants of the Bloodstained Lands. It was actually a creation of the broodmother, hiding level 13 strength while it acted as Raymond's companion, protector, and supervisor. Even at full strength, Raymond would never be able to defeat this dog.

The door to the yard was unlocked, but with orders from Richard that he couldn't go out it was completely useless. Any such desires had long since washed away; all Raymond did these days was sip on his tea and read books to pass the time.

“Any news?” the Joseph youth asked as Richard entered the yard and took a seat across him.

“I met Her Highness Reyna when I was in Norland,” Richard revealed.

“Reyna?” Raymond raised a brow, “If you're coming here personally, it must have been complicated.”

“Not really. She just tried to take me hostage and force me to release you.”

Raymond sighed, “That girl's talented, but she's completely green and naive. How would she be able to capture you? Let me guess, she's in your hands now.”

Richard laughed, “No, actually, we never came to blows. Right now, I think she's wondering how best to please me so you have an easier time.”

“I don't really feel like I'm suffering though,” Raymond said calmly.

“That's only temporary,” Richard sneered.

“What, you want to torture me? Do your worst.”

“Haha, I recently acquired a soul shepherd and a bastard child of a god. Which one would you prefer?”

Raymond paled a little for the first time since Richard had arrived. Either fate would damn his soul eternally, with death being only the beginning of his suffering. Watching him stay silent, Richard poured himself a cup of tea and tasted it, “Reyna doesn't have much to offer, she knows this herself. I never exposed her identity, and she should at least be smart enough to realise why. I believe she'll eventually give up everything for your sake, what do you think?”

“That's quite possible.”

“You don't wish to help her in any way?”

“... I'm utterly powerless.”

Richard fixed his gaze on Raymond and sighed, “You're such a disappointment.”

“No, you should be happy,” Raymond said glumly, “I'm not someone who gives up easily, and it's impossible for our hatred to fade. However, isn't the sight of me struggling exactly what you want to see? I'm not giving you what you want.”

Richard swirled the teacup in his hand, “Do you remember what I said that day during your last war? You were just an inconvenience to take care of, nothing more. It doesn't really matter to me whether you're in pain, or I'd have sent Nyra to you long ago. The only reason you're even alive is so you serve out the sentence for your crimes.”

Raymond burst into laughter, “My crimes? What about yours? What difference is there between our actions?”

“Everything,” Richard replied indifferently, “I'm more confident in mine than you are in yours. Also, I'm the victor.”

The laughter suddenly ceased.

“If you want your presence to be felt, then feel free to give me suggestions about my actions. Be it real advice or traps, I welcome it all.” Richard waved goodbye, returning to his work.

The door to the yard closed once more, but Raymond remained seated. The sky was clear and sunny, the beauty of spring littering the backyard, but winter hadn't yet left his heart.

......

Spring, summer, and autumn turned out to be completely peaceful. The period of truce had already passed by, but none of the human countries were in a hurry to wage new wars. This year, annexing territories was done more over the table or on the bed instead of a battlefield. Political marriages had always been an effective way to merge fiefs, and without Richard stirring the pot in the Bloodstained Lands nobody was foolish enough to provoke him. Google search 𝐟r𝚎ewe𝚋𝚗૦ν𝘦𝘭. 𝐜𝚘𝗺

The activities of Richard's main army weren't concealed at all. All neighbouring countries knew that his forces were making inroads into the barbarian ancestral plains, already having surmounted the precipitous Wall of the Trade Winds. Most of the famed generals had been transferred into the expedition as well, and the only big names still in Bluewater were affiliated to the churches.

Some thought Richard's defences were particularly weak right now, but most intellectuals did not subscribe to that theory. So long as Richard was still present, nobody had the guts to attack. The incident with the fifth division of the Iron Triangle Empire clearly illustrated that point: his followers had failed to withstand their rapid charge through the Bloodstained Lands, but once he stepped out himself he had completely annihilated them with half the numbers. His forces had even struck back and captured the Empire's garrison itself.

By this time, Richard's military prowess was already acknowledged to be the greatest in the western mainland, far surpassing Salwyn and Rislant.

In fact, Richard's silence only worried the strategists of the plane. He was holed up for now, but if his forces managed to open up the border regions of the ancestral plains then he would have a vast backyard of his own to pull warriors from. Such an outstanding general with an equally powerful army and control of multiple strategic locations... The very thought caused them to shudder; he would be basically impossible to defeat.

In comparison, far fewer people were worried about the mythical land in the centre of the Land of Turmoil. One could see by the fact that Richard was still sourcing soldiers locally that the passage had to be difficult. Powerhouses could pass through, but ordinary soldiers could not. This also abated worries about an army of hundreds of thousands that would one day rush through the Bloodstained Lands and slaughter the countries nearby. However, those worries would certainly return if the barbarian plains were tamed.

Richard himself didn't pay any attention to the thoughts of others, burying himself into his world of magic and runes as he sharpened his skills bit by bit. As time slowly flowed by, his strength grew accordingly.

People were constantly streaming in and out the planar portal, but Richard's activities were constrained to his lab and meditation room. Flowsand was in the barbarian plains, and in a rare occurrence, Rosie had tagged along for a while to gain the experience she needed to continue levelling up properly.

Many still travelled great distances to enter the Bloodstained Lands and join his ranks. Numerous others came especially for faith, hoping to worship the graces of the god Richard served. These ascetics exhausted all their resources to get here, but were only rebuffed and told that the god did not need new worshippers. Fortunately, the three goddesses were extremely generous in such situations and gave them all a place to stay. Those who came for the power of Richard's backer ended up being converted into fervent worshippers by them instead.

Almost every few days the three goddesses were sending down oracles, performing miracles, or even directly strengthening some of their most powerful worshippers in joy. Flowsand had a single statement that both described and ridiculed their situation, “The beggars have just gotten a windfall, it's understandable.”

Autumn soon passed as well, giving way to the frosty winds of winter. One day, the broodmother passed on the news that she had finally finished her evolution to level 9. It was only then that Richard looked up from his workbench and glanced at the calendar on the wall, realising that nearly a year had passed.

It was time to return to Norland.

He looked back down at his workbench, staring at the Lifesbane he had just finished. This rune was already different from the original blueprint, the buff even greater but the capacity requirement instead reduced. The cost came in the form of a more difficult process of creation, but to him that was nothing. He fetched a case from the shelf beside him, taking out a similar-looking rune.

He removed his clothing and started to mobilise his mana, causing complicated patterns to appear on his arm. The two runes slowly floated up and wrapped around his forearms, a mist of blood erupting from within as they fused into his body. Taking a few minutes to recompose himself, he rung the bell to call Rosie who had returned last month.

“You finished?” he asked.

“It's all done!” Rosie's face was gleaming with pride as she passed a case of her own to him. She had just taken a very important step.

“Mm, not bad at all. Even better than I had expected!” Richard praised her before pointing at the workbench, “Help me clean that up a bit, I need some rest. Pack your things after that, we're heading to Norland in about a week.”

Rosie hummed an affirmative, starting to organise the scattered ingredients on the table. However, Richard suddenly palmed his head and laughed, “Right, I almost forgot. I promised you a prize if you completed all three.

“Let me think...” Although he said that, Richard's eyes were bright and clear. He evidently knew exactly what he would give her, but Rosie's heart started thumping like it was being hammered on by a dwarf.

Seeing her look of anticipation, he chuckled, “Let's see, why not hold a rune convention for you when we return to Norland? That stuff is more than enough for a budding runemaster.”

“WHAT?” Rosie cried in shock, “A... convention? My very own convention?”

“Yep,” Richard nodded.

“Is... that okay?” She tried her best to calm her raging heart, barely regaining composure, “Master... That is what I should call you. Everything I am, everything I have, you gave to me. It doesn't matter if I can become a runemaster, even a grand runemaster in the future. I don't need my own reputation and glory, because—”

“Because I gave you a new life?” Richard cut her off with a laugh. He had heard her say it multiple times.

Rosie took a deep breath, “Nothing matters more to me than that.”

“If so, shouldn't your new life have a convention that is yours? It's already settled, you're getting one.” He pressed a finger on her lips, “No need to argue. Rosie, I did give you a new life. However, you've repaid that favour many times over already. Don't overthink it, this is what you deserve. When the time is right, I'll give you your freedom too.”

“W-What...” the girl seemed to lose all life, “You're... getting rid of me?”

“Hahaha... Why would I do that? I'm giving you the freedom to choose yourself. If you want to stay by my side, you can do so of your own volition, not as my slave.”

Rosie lowered her head, barely managing to squeeze out a thank you after great effort. Richard wiped the tears off her cheeks before returning to his own room as he opened a mental connection to his followers.

“Get over here. It's time to kick some asses back home.”

What followed was a number of excited shrieks that shocked him to the point of near fainting.

673 - City of Sin

Coming Of Age

Faust was slowly growing more turbulent by the day. Two topics centred around the Archerons became the target of everyone's focus: the imminent expiry of the protection from the Church in a month's time, and the less than half a month left to the time limit Richard had given the Archeron Family Council to evacuate.

It was approaching the point where even an army pulled out from Faelor would barely be able to rush over in time. There wouldn't be any chance to win a protracted siege before the deadline ended, and Blackrose was well-known for its powerful defences that prevented it from being overwhelmed directly. All of the Archerons' enemies had been halted at Azan's walls, so everyone was wondering just how Richard planned to follow through on his threats.

Everything seemed to be rather unfavourable for Richard. Earl Goliath and Marquess Sauron had mobilised troops in the vicinity of the peninsula, and even though they hadn't entered Gaton's lands yet there was every indication they would.

It was precisely in the middle of this chaos that Richard returned to Norland. When he walked out from the Church building, news immediately spread through all of Faust. This time, it wasn't just due to his being in the limelight but also for the unicorn he was mounted on; this was the first time he had openly ridden the sacred creature out in Norland.

In only a few minutes, countless gazes focused on the doors of the Church. Many people rushed over hastily upon hearing the news, faintly sensing that Richard was about to erupt.

Richard's horse was walking slowly across the cobbled streets; he had every intention of allowing the audience to gather.

First out behind him were his followers, a motley group in various colours, shapes, and forms. In the eyes of the Norlanders, even without high level each and every one of them were brimming with killing intent. It was clear that they were experienced in battle, far more threatening than an inexperienced saint.

Following were troops of elite shadowspear knights. The absolute rigidness and exacting precision in their formation captured everyone's attention even more than their extravagant superior-grade equipment. A total of 300 mounted elites followed out, almost causing the voyeurs to choke on themselves. Every one of these soldiers was a potential rune knight!

Some secretly started to calculate the cost of the teleportation. It was common knowledge that knights were worth double the cost of the average transport, so even with a mere 5,000 gold cost per transmission this amounted to a staggering three million gold! Moreover, it hadn't been all that long since Faelor had been serialised by the Church. Even if Richard offered repeated sacrifices, it was almost impossible to get the cost to 5,000 a person. The cost was likely even more terrifying than that!

However, that wasn't the end of it. More knights followed out, these in single file. They were more relaxed than the shadowspear knights, more human, but their aura was even more ferocious than their counterparts. No noble of Norland could mistake this bearing and vigour, and it wasn't long before someone cried out that they were rune knights.

There wasn't any commotion at the start. After all, Richard was the royal runemaster with the prospects of becoming a saint runemaster in his life. It only stood to reason that he had rune knights amongst his ranks. Many nodded to themselves, confirming the hypothesis that Richard had hidden rune knights away on his private plane, and these ones were clearly grade 2 set knights on top. The mounts that were beginning to grow famous in the Sacred Alliance were clear for all to see as well.

The true question was: how many of them did Richard have? Ten? Fifteen?

It wasn't long before ten rune knights had walked out of the Church, causing some of the smiles to become forced while others still maintained the knowing looks. When the next five passed, the smiles of the latter group turned stiff as well. The former couldn't even smile anymore.

However, rune knights continued to stream out one after the other. Once the twentieth had walked out, the crowd had started to turn restless. Some were agitated, others pale, even more infuriated. More people received the news, and all the spots along the path from the church to the teleportation temple started to get crowded as the nobles sat down with tea and snacks. They naturally couldn't be as worked up as ordinary people, but their expressions were thoughtful.

......

Duke Mensa crushed the teacup in his hand, snarling with fury, “Is he showing off? Twenty rune knights? We Mensas will not be intimidated by a mere twenty rune knights!”

The attendant's entire body shook in fright and he swallowed up the 'so far.'

......

Dario Schumpeter went silent for an entire ten minutes after hearing his servant's report. He then bellowed in rage, tearing the servant to pieces and bathing in the rain of blood.

......

Old Joseph was having tea with some of his friends. Several expressions flashed across his face as he heard the news, but eventually he didn't utter a single word about it and continued to discuss politics and territories. However, everyone seemed to understand not to mention the word Archeron in front of him.

......

Duke Tuescher and Duke Wellinburg merely instructed their subordinates to continue observing, reporting back with the exact numbers.

......

Emperor Philip stopped in the middle of his meal, thinking deeply for a long time before asking his aide, “What do you think of this?”

The aide was taken aback by the Emperor's interest in his opinion. Thinking hard about it, he took a moment before stepping forward to answer, “I am under the impression that Lord Richard is showing off his military prowess, Your Majesty.”

“Oh?” Philip wiped his oily fingers with a handkerchief, “And who to?”

“The Schumpeters and the Mensas.” Sweat began to form on the aide's forehead.

“If Richard had the ability to intimidate these families, he would just start a war. Their differences can't be settled without one side being destroyed.”

“Maybe...” the aide braced himself, the sweat now eminently visible, “The Wellinburgs and Tueschers?”

Philip shook his head, leaving the aide on the brink of a breakdown. He lowered his head deeply, “Then... I do not know.”

“Sigh... You should spend more time studying politics.”

The aide jolted in surprise, “Your... Majesty? There isn't any need for me to study politics, is there? Taking care of your daily diet is my entire duty!”

Philip smiled without his usual imposing nature, the Bloodthirsty Emperor surprisingly jovial today, “You've followed me for more than twenty years now, and all this while you've been cautious enough to make no mistakes. You don't need to prove your loyalty anymore.

“I have a small piece of land on the border for you. The resources aren't bad, but you'll have to work on developing them into a place fit for an earl. Take care of me for another year, and then you can go focus on developing it.”

“That... Can't... Why...”

“You deserve it. How many things did you neglect to plan my diet every day over all these years? Even this year, it's just a transition. Nobody will dare touch your territory as long as you serve me, so build yourself up well. However, once you take up your new position I won't be able to help you any longer.”

The aide suddenly kneeled down, choking with emotion, “Th-Thank you, Your Majesty! But... What if you want to eat something?”

Philip gently rapped the table, his gaze landing on the vibrant skies of Faust, “Sigh, it's alright. Suddenly, I feel there's no need for me to continue getting fatter. Perhaps all these years were just wishful thinking...”

The words seemed somewhat random and ominous, but the aide knew better than to ask. However, Philip just glanced at his expression and chuckled, “Don't be nervous, I was just nostalgic for a bit. The kid is already twenty, right? He isn't showing off his military prowess; this is a ceremony to celebrate his adulthood. It's just like when Gaton took down Evernight Forest to declare his entry to the stage of the Alliance, what a vigorous youth! He's tempting me as well, perhaps I should take a stroll in case some people forget my existence and get a little too bold.”

“How many rune knights do you think he'll bring out, Your Majesty?” the aide suddenly asked.

Philip flashed a mysterious smile, declaring a number that completely shocked the soon-to-be earl, “Fifty.”

“Fifty! That... That... Lunor hasn't even given the Alliance fifty rune knights in the past dozen years or so. No matter how powerful Richard is, how can he have so many after only four?” Rune knights couldn't be created just with runes. One also needed suitable candidates with enough capacity, which implied good connections. The tremendous cost of upkeep and salary had to be factored in as well. All this could not be achieved overnight.

“Wait and see,” Philip smiled.

The Emperor had barely finished his sentence before an attendant rushed in and exclaimed, “Your Majesty! Fifty rune knights have already walked out from the Church!”

Philip laughed rather childishly, turning to the aide, “See? My judgement is still more accurate than yours, eh? Haha!”

However, the attendant's next words put a stop to the laughter, “That isn't all, Your Majesty! I rushed over at the count of fifty, but more are coming out. I left people behind near the entrance to send news back when there are updates.”

The entire palace fell silent. Even Philip didn't know where to place his knife and fork.

674 - City of Sin

An Upstart's Style

Although the wait for the rune knights to walk out wasn't long in any sense, the wait still felt endless. When he finally heard the sound of footsteps rushing over, the aide actually heaved a sigh of relief.

“Your Majesty, sixty rune knights have crossed out. There still are more!”

This news wasn't too shocking, but another set of footsteps rang out as someone reported that seventy rune knights had appeared.

And then it was eighty, ninety, hundred...

The final number was 150. The aide finally realised exactly what the Emperor had meant. Richard was announcing his ascent into the political arena of Norland. It was a different path from Gaton's, but they were both similarly aggressive. This was the roar of a young dragon that had just come of age!

It was noon when Richard returned to Norland. Faust was completely silent right through the evening, only starting to bubble when the sun had set. The news quickly spread out under the cover of the night, arriving in all corners of the continent in a flash. Richard had already become the focus of the entire continent for a moment, feared, respected, and hated by too many people to count. Only now, Richard wasn't someone a saint assassin could kill off, and legendary powerhouses wouldn't dare touch him for fear of Sharon's wrath.

Countless nightly meetings were convened to discuss a change in attitude towards the Archerons. The smarter ones began to gather intelligence on just how Richard had accomplished such a feat, trying to unravel the secret behind the rune corps that Richard seemed to have just summoned out of thin air. When morning arrived, someone had already concluded that he likely had a very high success rate and one or more capable assistants helping him.

Some people had sunk into absolute panic, unable to sleep the entire night. However, morning the next day scouts reported that the troops Sauron and Goliath were gathering at Blackrose castle had actually grown in number.

“The Archerons are just the Archerons,” Richard commented when he heard this news.

As Richard's roar spread throughout the lands, it had an imperceptible influence in many areas. For example, some information that he had been seeking out for a long time was sent to his desk the very next morning. He sat in the study, going through the secret letters somewhat absent-mindedly under the gazes of his followers.

“Olar, we found out who it was that tried to assassinate me. This is the information on her family, give it to the Midnight Dancers. 5,000 a head should be enough.” The Midnight Dancers were one of the two biggest underworld organisations in Norland. They had hundreds of years in operation and were arrogant to match, only offering their services to those with true status.

Olar quickly grabbed the letter; he was the one who almost always handled these kinds of tasks.

The second piece of information actually surprised Richard a little. He read it over a few times before glancing at Lina, “It seems like Cardiff didn't just take a fancy to you. He's been quite close to Lunor, and apparently Lunor wanted your rune or at least its design to try and break the bottleneck of grade 4 runes.”

Lina couldn't come up with any words in response. Thinking back to her prior experience and the words Cardiff had said to her, she felt a sheer disgust that made her entire body tremble.

Richard just tore the paper to shreds, throwing it into the wastebasket, “Eh, I don't even know where that fellow is anymore after I drained him of all his money. Right now, I'm sure his life is more miserable than death.”

Richard picked up the third and last piece of information in passing, looking at it for a while and wanting to tear it apart, but eventually he passed it to Olar to keep safe in case there was an opportunity to use it. This was a list that recorded where exactly the offerings had ended up during the riot on the Archeron island. Some of the buyers were clearly unfamiliar with the situation, but once he was strong enough he could announce this and be compensated in some way or the other. The innocents could only be blamed for buying stolen goods.

His followers were starting to grow a little impatient. They had been on an expedition for the entire past year, but there hadn't been any opportunities to march under Richard's command. Those who had followed him from the start even sighed with regret on occasion, wishing they were back in the days when Salwyn's hounds were chasing them all over the place.

Richard leaned into the desk, sweeping his gaze across the followers and flashing a smile, “Can't wait anymore?”

“Of course!” Gangdor was still the most restless of them all, “Following you is best, boss! I only have to care about cutting people down, nothing else!”

“No need to be anxious, wait a few more days. Not all the pieces are here yet, and I also ordered some equipment that'll only be delivered in a day or two. Two sets of epic-grade equipment for everyone, I'm being extremely fair!”

“What should we prepare for, boss?” Gangdor clearly couldn't bring himself to care. So long as he had his axe, he was fine.

“Prepare? For these ants?” Richard smiled, stroking his beard that was now almost as hard as steel, “We're just going to crush them!”

“Crush them! I like that!” Gangdor's eyes lit up.

“I like that too!” a muffled sound echoed from outside the study, the door being slammed open as Tiramisu walked in. The ogre mage had already grown to more than four metres tall, making it impossible for him to cram himself into the castle's passages, but now he only looked to be 1.8 metres tall. It was rather cute.

However, Richard's eyes suddenly went wide with fear, “You... used a reduction spell?”

“Yes!” Tiramisu scratched his heads in ignorance, unable to understand what was wrong.

“YOU RETARDED OGRE! REDUCTION SPELLS WITHOUT ENHANCEMENTS ONLY LAST A MIN—”

*BOOM!* Dust filled everyone's eyes as stones broke apart to accommodate the ogre's return to his normal size. The two heads bumped into the ceiling, but the wood and stone clearly wasn't sturdy enough to withstand the force and just broke apart as the heads immediately pierced through. The three eyes were still looking around in confusion, unable to understand why Richard and the others were suddenly gone.

There was a brief moment of silence.

*BANG!* Richard boosted a reduction spell so greatly the ogre ended up only a metre tall, looking like a plump doll more than a terrifying creature. He then raised his leg, kicking the fellow right out the window.

However, the study had already suffered a calamity. The energy and mana from the followers' hurried defences glowed splendidly, but it was like a thunderstorm had passed through the rest of the study. All the wood had turned to splinters, all paper shreds.

“DAMN IT... Sigh, disperse, get some rest, don't humiliate me during the battle, blah blah blah. Now out!” Shooing everyone away, Richard stood in the midst of the debris field with frustration.

This was the study Gaton had left behind. Perhaps he had left in a hurry, but many of the things still hadn't been tidied up. The desk, chairs, map table, they were all in the same place, as though their owner would walk through the door in but a moment and continue planning his conquests. There weren't all that many books and scrolls on the shelf, but each one was hand-picked. He had read through them so much that the parchment and paper were wearing away. The rarer ones covered in magic beast leather had grown shiny where he had thumbed them repeatedly.

He hadn't realised for a long time that many of his habits were subconscious imitations of his father. It was difficult to tell exactly what made Gaton strong, but the man had the charisma to leave a lasting impression.

Now, it had all disappeared into thin air.

Looking at the desolation, he found himself quickly calming down. There was no sadness, no anger at the ogre's mistake. It was as though the most normal of rooms had been ruined.

He suddenly laughed and shook his head, walking out of the study and instructing the butler to call someone to repair and renovate the place according to the highest of standards. As the man took the order and was about to leave, he suddenly called him back and corrected himself. The entire castle was to be overhauled, and the standard could be described in just two words:

Grand and majestic.

Seeing the steward's stunned expression, he laughed, “Isn't that the style of an upstart? Whatever it is, pick the most expensive one, not the most fitting.”

As he walked out of the castle gates, Richard suddenly felt a sense of ease that he couldn't quite put to words. Turned out he didn't need these external things to copy. He already knew that man very well.

675 - City of Sin

An Upstart's Tactics

Three days later, Senma and Asiris rushed back from their planes to what was basically a construction site and couldn't help but be startled, wondering if they had gone to the correct place. Seeing the rune knights and elite shadowspear knights crammed into the small camp, they started to question their own sight.

Who would have thought majestic grade 2 rune knights would be squeezed in with four in every tent? Looking at that, the eight shadowspear knights a tent suddenly didn't seem all that bad.

The island was only so big. With renovations at work on the castle and the addition of 400-odd mounts, there was little space left. Thankfully, the horses were unrivalled in their discipline. They lined up neatly and remained silent most of the time, making few movements outside of eating. Their digestive abilities were surprisingly great as well, so they didn't produce much excrement either. Seeing so many powerful mounts in perfect order, the two knights of Gaton's were rendered speechless.

Eventually, the two met Richard in the laboratory where he now lived every facet of his life. “You're back? Great, we can set off tomorrow, let me just check the map... Hmm, great! We'll get there a day earlier than I thought. Asiris, I heard you're an expert at siege, let's see what you have to offer this time around. Your skills likely won't be required, but they're good to have just in case.”

Both Senma and Asiris were people Gaton had relied on to hold off planes against enemies. They had sound fundamentals in war theory, and seeing the route that Richard had drawn out they couldn't help but stare at each other in dismay. Richard basically planned to follow a straight road from Faust to Azan, only curving along the highway. There was no consideration for the defensive capabilities of Blackrose Castle, and no heed was paid to the obstructions from Sauron and Goliath. He also didn't consider that the nobles on the way could block access.

“Lord Richard, we might have to wage several wars if we choose this route.” Asiris wasn't the type to keep mum about such matters.

However, Richard only nodded, “Yeah, that's what I hope. I want to find out just what standards the nobles of Norland are at.”

Thinking of the immense number of rune knights Richard possessed, the two decided not to comment further. They were starting to see traces of Gaton in Richard's actions.

That same day, Richard sent out three announcements in succession. The first was an order to all of Gaton's vassals to report to Faust and re-pledge their allegiance to him. Failure to do so within fifteen days would be taken as an act of rebellion, while those that proved their loyalty would be forgiven for past transgressions. The second was the sentencing of those who had looted his items from the Archeron island. The thieves would be stripped of all rights in the family and had one month to return the offerings or compensate him in money. Failure to do so would be taken as an act of rebellion and more severe punishments would follow. Anyone who housed these rebels would be considered to have declared war on the Archerons.

The third was a complete denouncement of the family council. Any so-called family councils were declared absolutely illegal in the Archeron Family, and anyone claiming to represent one who didn't leave by the time Richard reached Blackrose Castle would be sentenced to death.

These three public announcements were extraordinarily despotic, inviting countless curses from those on the ground. Even more hateful was the way Richard had chosen to make them: they were all released thrice each from the channels of both the assembly and the royal family. Just the fees alone amounted to 1.8 million gold! Many people hated Richard showing off so much, but they either lacked the money to fight him in this field or refused to spend such an enormous amount. Their voices never made it out of their castles.

The third announcement even had a map attached, outlining the route he would take from Faust to Azan.

......

“SO ARROGANT!” On his metal throne, Marquess Sauron was screaming in rage for the first time in forever. He quickly mobilised all of his troops, preparing to face Richard in war.

......

Within the premises of a dark brown castle, Earl Goliath who had just finished a bout of wrestling with his beloved earth dragon immediately locked himself in his study for the entire day. The stocky man who seemed to be all brawn analysed all of his intelligence reports before deciding to send out all of his own troops as well.

Many of the Earl's aides were elders of the Archeron Family. They didn't want a civil war within the family and tried to dissuade him, especially since both he and Sauron combined didn't have enough rune knights to match Richard, but a single statement sealed all of their mouths, “If that brat wins this war, he'll become the next Gaton.”

Those who had followed Goliath for many years understood what he was insinuating. Although they were brothers, Gaton had only become a titled knight while he had inherited the entire earldom. Even that territory had been sold back to him for less than market price, and Gaton used the money for a ride, some armour, and a rune before turning into a free Archeron warrior that roamed Norland. That was the beginning of his myth.

Ever since Gaton had taken over the Evernight Forest, he had become a dazzling sun. Alice and Goliath's glows seemed dim in comparison, almost inconspicuous. Alice was still a young girl, so she got a considerable amount of the leftover attention. However, Goliath had eventually settled into the background, dwarfed by Gaton's shine.

All conversations about the brothers went like this: “20 years ago, Gaton's brother was already an earl. Now, he's still an earl while Lord Gaton has already...”

Indeed, Goliath was still an earl, but that did not imply he was incompetent. Few warriors in the Sacred Alliance ever reached level 20 in their lifetime, and fewer still managed to do it while still governing their lands well. Goliath's military accomplishments were focused on his private plane, where he had already built an entire kingdom and beaten down the neighbouring countries to establish himself.

The burly man was extremely patient. As a child, he had been trained to be a traditional feudal lord. He made sure to move forward one step at a time, admirably keeping his own strength on par with that of his territory. If he didn't have Gaton for a brother, he would have become a memorable figure of the Archeron Family.

However, Gaton was a dark horse that stormed through any place he liked as though he was a tornado. He was always fighting wars, always expanding, always creating miracles out of thin air. The man was never tired, never dispirited, refusing to lose faith even in the most difficult situations. He had lost his fair share of battles, had been sent fleeing too many times to count. Goliath had heard him consoling his knights about it once, “It's fine to lose, at least we don't have to repay the debt we owe them. Haha!”

It seemed like a rather inane statement, but it got his followers surging with power every time. There was a level of fear that Gaton and his knights possessed about those debts they owed to Sharon; that was why they were always at the forefront of the battlefield. In fact, all of Gaton's knights could borrow money from the legendary mage as they wished, and in some ways the consequences wouldn't be considered that dire either.

To erase all outstanding debts, the knights just had to run around the Deepblue once on the day of destiny. Naked.

These agreements were sworn on their own titles, so there was no option but to repay. The knights would rather perish in battle than default on the repayment of their debts.

The more glorious Gaton was, the more tragic the fate of those he left in his wake. All of Goliath's accomplishments only seemed to emphasise how much worse he was than his brother.

Eventually, Gaton had lost his footing on the cliffside he dared to walk, taking more than half of his followers with him. However, the son grew up to replace the father. A mere teen exhibited talents that shocked the entire Alliance, eventually starting to regain control of Gaton's assets.

And now, that teen had burst out completely to become an adult.

Just as the Archerons' enemies were exasperated by this change that wasn't a change, those who were used to being in the backdrop didn't wish to suffer the same tragedy once more. That was why Goliath was so determined to fight.

......

In the second month of summer, Richard led his own troops to leave Faust on an expedition towards Blackrose Castle. The so-called army only had 500 people, including 150 rune knights and 300 elite shadowspear knights. The remaining 50 spots were filled by a mix of Richard's followers, clergy, and mages.

The 500 knights headed south in formation, charging straight for Blackrose Castle along the route that Richard had announced to the world. A mere two days after their departure, they came across a newly constructed barracks with 5,000 soldiers lying in wait, obviously not with good intentions.

Richard felt almost insulted. He had brought out 150 rune knights and there was someone so stupid blocking him? Please visit f𝘳𝐞𝒆wｅ𝚋𝗻𝚘𝚟e𝑙. c𝘰𝓂

By the time his unicorn came to a halt, the troops that had been lying in wait had already entered formation. They were clearly well-trained and powerful, and could be considered elite soldiers outside of Faust.

“This is Earl Berino's territory, nobody is to pass through,” an amplified voice rang through the air, “You are not allowed...”

“Berino?” Richard suddenly laughed, “Is that a branch of the Mensas? To think they have the guts to deploy only 5,000 troops here, I really should teach them how rune knights work. Alright, who wants to go break their formation?”

“Me, me!” Gangdor was always the first to jump out, “My axe is thirsty for blood!” A year of training had pushed him, the ogre, and Waterflower all to level 17, only one step away from becoming saints. However, their sheer experience at this point alongside their runes made them more powerful than most level 18s as well.

“Out of the way, weakling!” Tiramisu pushed Gangdor aside, stomping forward towards the front of the formation.

Senma flashed over as well, lance in tow, “I can do it too.”

Richard scanned the three from head to toe, eventually pointing at Senma, “Show them the abyss.”

676 - City of Sin

An Upstart's Tactics(2)

Senma flashed a charming smile, picking up her lance and spurring her horse to the frontlines to stand in front of the spear formation of the knights. This position was not new to her, but it was the first time she was charging into battle without knowing any of those following behind.

She lifted her lance into the air, a milky white light flowing down over her body interspersed with flashes of crimson. When she looked at the enemy formation ahead, the eyes of the Blood Paladin had lost all their charm, now filled with a boundless lust for blood.

Gangdor and Tiramisu unwillingly made their ways to the two other corners of the formation, and with a single mental command the elite shadowspear knights immediately grouped up into a square formation behind to protect the mages and clerics.

Two figures rose into the sky from the enemy formation as well, a grand mage and a saint. This was a show from Earl Berino, not to be outdone by Richard's offensive formation. However, Asiris suddenly flashed a bone-chilling smile, “They dare fly in front of me?”

He flipped through his large tome as he spoke, chanting a few cryptic words. A black gas similar in colour to the cover of the book suddenly surrounded the grand mage and saint, robbing them of their ability to float. They could only flail their limbs in futility as they dropped straight down, the dull thuds that sounded all the way over making it apparent that the fall had been hard. Asiris then closed the tome and looked behind, “Those two are fools. Don't you think so as well, Zangru?”

Standing behind Asiris was Zangru. The inhumanly handsome man looked absolutely terrible, just humming without a reply. For some reason the Dark Priest made him feel unbearably comfortable, as though he had turned into a frog being eyed by a snake.

However, Zangru couldn't retreat either. Behind him were Nyra and Io, both now at level 16. Even at level 12 the soul shepherd had been able to control him easily, and now it was no contest. The battle priest's radiance was far too dazzling as well, aura pulsing with divine energy as though afraid that nobody would know who he was. The power made Zangru extremely uncomfortable, but Io didn't care about the bewitching man who had stolen the eyes that should have been on him.

Zangru now laid extremely low in the party, as though he was resigned to everything. All of his fire had been shaved off in the broodmother's lair, and even though the torture didn't harm his abilities much he had to bow down to the group of monsters that followed Richard.

Richard himself had no time to care about the fellow's emotions. He had already unsheathed the elven longsword, raising it high into the sky. Once all buffs were in place, the long blade pointed forward.

Senma howled as energy enveloped her entire being, horse picking up pace as she pointed her lance straight at the enemy formation. The current of steel behind her forged ahead, matching her step for step. By the time Richard lifted his blade once more, Berino's troops had been split down the middle.

All that was left was to pursue the stragglers, but with the outcome decided Richard didn't stay for much time. He released everyone right away, leading his troops forward until the last light of day faded away. Left behind in the battlefield was a lone frame with an earl's corpse.

News travelled even faster than the charge of the rune knights. Before night had even fallen, everyone who had wanted to pick a fight had hidden away in the blink of an eye. Although the Berinos were only a branch of the Mensas, their military capabilities were not insignificant. However, Richard had shown the sheer power of his rune knights: the charge of what was basically 150 saints couldn't be stopped without an equivalent elite force.

However, there were still a fair number of people who wanted to cause trouble in the shadows. Richard's army marched at night as well as day, only resting for less than four hours at a time before moving on. They left a trail of wooden stakes behind them with assassins on each, one even containing a saint.

After a few days, those troubles disappeared as well.

......

While Richard was heading south, Earl Alice suddenly announced some news that shook the entire Sacred Alliance. She was now Richard's partner and closest ally, so anyone who made an enemy of him would be making an enemy of her as well.

Alice's territory was located in a rather sensitive region not too far from the core fiefs of both Sauron and Goliath. Her army had already been mobilised, slowly heading towards the borders of both. Everyone knew she only had the might to attack one of the territories, but nobody knew what direction she would turn once she reached the crossroads. Right now, both Sauron and Goliath had emptied their territories of military forces, and the generals left behind were definitely no match for the goddess of war. She would certainly defeat them in one go.

Sauron's roars resounded through the empty hall once more. The throne he had used for decades was even twisted in his rage. However, the man quickly regained his calm and approached a map of Faust, staring at it solemnly for a long time. Eventually, he called back the head messenger and issued commands for most of the dispatched troops to return immediately. Those already near Azan were not to attack Richard of their own accord, and the rune knights had to rush back overnight.

......

When Sauron's orders were sent to the frontlines, Sua was busy smashing everything in the tent he was occupying. He almost seemed to be in a trance, documents and furniture flying everywhere. All soldiers had long since escaped, not even daring to breathe in his presence. Right now, the baron was in a state where he could kill.

A little ways away from the tent was a separate small encampment that was more luxurious than normal. This was where the rune knights were stationed, each one treated equally to a high-ranking officer of the army. This camp hid seventy rune knights in total; Marquess Sauron had taken out all of the power he had amassed over the past years.

“Why? Why?! WHY?! Why did Alice decide on that kid? If not for her, he'd already be dead! They're actually becoming a couple? How old is Richard, that filthy whore!” Sua's bellows passed through all obstructions, travelling outside the tent. However, this time he wasn't questioning Richard's qualifications.

The tent's flap suddenly opened, and a high-ranking general entered. Sua might have been in a bad mood, but this was his most capable general and one with the Archeron surname at that. He could only suppress his rage, “Yes?”

A faint aura of gloom flitted across the general's expression, but it was quickly wiped away, “I have two reports, my Lord. The sentinels have caught sight of Richard, he is only ten kilometres away.”

“What? Get in formation, we're going to attack!” Sua rushed to pick up his sabre, heading outside the tent.

However, the general stopped him, “We just received orders from the Marquess that all frontline troops are to stand ground and await orders. We are not to make the first move against Richard, and the rune knights are to rush back immediately.”

“What did you say?” Sua actually went blank for a moment, unable to comprehend the man's words.

Hearing the general icily repeat Sauron's commands once more, he calmed down, “Alright, but we still have to get the troops ready for battle. Richard is approaching, what if he attacks us first?”

This the general agreed with, so an urgent horn sounded and the soldiers assembled. The rune knights were sent to a nearby vantage point under Sua's orders, while the soldiers occupied both sides. This way, an attacker would have to deal with a powerful charge.

It didn't take long for Richard to arrive. The ration between both sides was still 5,000 to 500, but this time there were seventy rune knights on Sua's side. Still, Richard only waved his troops to a stop when they were only half a kilometre away, looking up the mound towards Sua, “I didn't expect to meet you here again, Baron. What, are you planning to fight me?”

Sua snickered, “It's not like this land falls under Azan, I don't need anyone's approval to station my troops here.”

“That's true!” Richard nodded before bursting into laughter, “Never mind me, I just thought you'd grown the balls to fight me head-on. Then again, this should be no surprise; you don't have nearly enough of a numbers advantage to fight me. Why would you dare battle when it's only ten to one?”

Richard's vigorous laughter caused Sua to pale. The baron tasted blood as his teeth broke skin. The difference in armies wasn't as great as Richard was implying— 150 rune knights definitely couldn't be stopped by ordinary troops— but in the eyes of a spectator it really did look like he didn't dare to attack despite a ten to one advantage. He could only let Richard humiliate him.

Richard casually waved his hand, and groups of elite shadowspear knights moved out until they were only fifty metres away from the mound. A javelineer could easily hit a target dead-on at this range, and the soldiers in the front row could even see the fine design on the drones' armour.

The humiliation was almost too much to bear. The rune knights atop the mound were spitting fire from their eyes, ready to charge down the mound and smash through the enemy. The mounts seemed to sense the fury of their owners, pawing at the soil with their steel hooves. Looking at Richard's half-smile, Sua's world turned red. He suddenly grabbed his sabre to draw it out of its sheath, “Knights, Cha—”

677 - City of Sin

Test

The sabre only made it halfway out. As his shout was stymied, Sua looked down to see a powerful hand pressing down on his own. The general looked him straight in the eye and said slowly, “The Marquess has ordered that we are not to fight Richard. Since he is not attacking, we should retreat.”

Sua went beet red and tugged at his blade a few more times, but it didn't make it past halfway. Eventually, it was forced back into its sheath as well, the general's voice now growing cold, “Baron Sua, if you insist on disregarding orders I will have to relieve you of command.”

Sua finally grunted, furiously pushing the sabre completely into his sheath and staring at Richard with eyes full of fire.

Richard was already ignoring him, sizing up the general instead. What he hated most were the steady opponents. They weren't unpredictable geniuses, but with a wealth of experience they rarely committed mistakes. It took more troops and ingenious commands to defeat these sorts of enemies with minimal losses.

The elite shadowspear knights had now all walked past the mound, and the rune knights followed. The two opposing companies eyed each other with rage, just the gazes almost sparking in the air. However, the situation was quite obvious by now. Sauron's rune knights might not lose out in terms of morale, but their equipment, mounts, runes, levels... everything was inferior. Nearly half of the seventy rune knights were grade 1.

Richard's 500-man strong army strutted past Sua's force as though they were out on an excursion before heading into the distance. There weren't any defensive flanks throughout the process, not even any rear guards. Richard himself was at the very back of the formation, even his followers all ahead of him.

'Just one rune knight charging in...' Sua couldn't help but think of such a thing. It was very tempting; a lone mage away from the army was an easy target. However, the general was watching closely and wouldn't allow him to do anything that broke the rules.

When the two completely parted ways, Richard was just as regretful as his enemy. Sadly, there were still competent generals amongst the Archerons.

Having bypassed Sua, Richard officially entered the Azan Peninsula. Gazing at the beautiful scenery, he suddenly recalled the first time he had stepped foot in these lands, under the care of a man he would later know was called the Devil King. Now he was less than a hundred kilometres from Blackrose Castle, but there was one last obstacle along the way.

Earl Goliath.

......

Goliath's camp had been built on a flat plain. Besides a small region of forest nearby, there was no useable terrain around. This was a place ripe for cavalry battle, but infantry actually made up a bulk of his soldiers.

The camp wasn't particularly large either, with the temporary fences more to demarcate a border than as a defensive measure. The troops within the barracks looked very relaxed, some even joking around, but they were performing their duties with no confusion or errors. These were true veterans; even with an imminent battle to the death, they were still relaxed and wouldn't let their emotions get the better of them.

All the tents looked about the same, those of the officers and rune knights only slightly larger than the rest. There was no real difference in materials or splendour either, the larger dimensions purely because Goliath was much taller than most people. Food wasn't much different either. Goliath and his subordinates normally ate with the army, and the only special treatment for powerhouses was that they ate more than the rest.

It was currently a little past noon. The soldiers had just finished lunch and there was still a fragrant aroma permeating the air. The Earl was walking around freely in the camp, striking up conversation with some of the soldiers.

A scout suddenly charged into the camp, heading straight in Goliath's direction. He didn't even take the time to get off, gasping for breath as he screamed, “My Lord! Richard has already entered the peninsula, he's only 12 kilometres away. They're advancing quickly, we might only have half an hour to prepare!”

“Half an hour? That's enough,” Goliath sounded calm. Countless eyes gathered on him as they awaited orders, the rune knights all returning to their tents to put on their armour, but no order was forthcoming for some time. The Earl stood quietly where he was, pondering over something as he allowed the precious minutes to wash away bit by bit.

“My Lord, you need to make a decision!” Someone eventually reminded him after ten minutes, but he turned a deaf ear to the suggestion. It took another five minutes for him to regain his senses, “Have the soldiers get in formation, rune knights too. Leave some servants to cook, Richard's been marching all this while and probably hasn't had lunch yet. 500... no, a thousand portions should do.”

Everyone nearby froze for a bit, but Goliath seemed to have made up his mind so the subordinates immediately set off. Please visit 𝒇𝘳𝗲𝚎w𝑒𝚋𝚗𝐨v𝒆l. 𝒄𝒐𝚖

......

When Goliath's small camp entered Richard's eyes, he froze for a moment. He had to look over and around once more just to confirm that he had seen correctly, because the camp could only accommodate 3,000 soldiers at best.

There were 2,000 men standing in front of the camp in formation, and with the expansive plains all around there was no sign of anyone else. In the distance was a small forest, but it was foolish to try and ambush a small troop of elites. After all, the rune knights would just break through any formation if they wished to flee, to it was better to just pile soldiers onto them to wear them out. He couldn't imagine Earl Goliath would be so foolish as to separate his troops.

Nevertheless, he spurred his mount forward and greeted Goliath who was standing in front of the formation, “I'd never expected to see you here, Earl.”

“I can't check your talent from far away,” Goliath answered.

Richard dismounted from his unicorn, complex emotions swirling in his heart as he gazed upon the bold and powerful man he had once seen in Faust. If not for Alice and Goliath saving his life back then, he would be nothing more than a pile of bones now. However, that same man he owed the favour to was now standing between him and Blackrose Castle.

Richard took a look behind Goliath to size up the army. There were no signs of any hidden military strength, with three saints, a grand mage, and fifty rune knights. The rest of the 2,000 soldiers could be considered veterans, but be it in terms of equipment or level they were far from comparable to the shadowspear knights.

Richard himself had only brought 500 men, but each one was an elite amongst elites that were incomparable to the grade 1 rune knights that the earl had amassed. Goliath sighed softly; he still remembered when people thought Gaton's boasts were arrogant, but those people had all learnt their lessons.

Richard smelled the aroma of the food and smiled, “That's quite the standard of food for an army of this size, must be expensive. You treat your soldiers quite well. But I don't understand, why are you mixing with those buffoons from the so-called council? You should know the family head is a position to be won, not given.”

Goliath chuckled, “I have nothing to do with them. I'm here for myself, to see my little nephew. Since you say the title of the Archeron head is to be won, why don't we fight it out? If you win, I'll admit I've gotten old and give up the seat. If you lose, kid, go back and train a few more years.”

Richard smiled, “Sounds like a test that'll cost lives.”

Goliath nodded, “That's why I sent all my other soldiers back home. I don't want the family to fight itself to the death when we can control the scale. My men should be dying on foreign planes or fighting other families, not in civil wars.”

“Are you really an Archeron, Earl?” Richard couldn't help but ask.

678 - City of Sin

Crossing Swords

“Perhaps I'm not!” Goliath laughed.

Richard just shrugged, “So, what's the test?” Google search f𝙧𝒆𝚎𝘸e𝚋𝓷o𝘷𝚎𝒍. co𝑚

“No need to rush. You've marched all day and haven't eaten yet, come, I've prepared food; a thousand portions. I don't want people saying... I bullied Gaton's child.”

Richard froze for a moment but then grinned, “Alright. My knights eat quite a lot, though, a thousand portions is far from enough. Still, shadowspears!”

The elite shadowspear knights uniformly spurred their horses forward, the entire formation moving ten metres ahead as they dismounted under Richard's command. All 300 entered Goliath's camp under the guidance of the Earl's soldiers, sitting ten people a wok and starting to eat.

As Goliath watched these elite knights eat, his eyelids twitched a bit, “Astonishing!”

“Eh, they're alright,” Richard brushed it off. Now that the broodmother was level 9, the elites she produced could reach level 14. This batch of level 13 knights were destined to be used up sooner or later, so he wouldn't mind the danger of letting them go in.

“So,” he repeated, “What's the test?”

“Let's have a battle of rune knights,” Goliath suggested.

Richard shook his head, “Maybe if Sauron's knights joined yours, you'd last a few minutes. Right now, it's definitely impossible. Even in terms of followers you're no match for me, looks like you haven't pulled anything out of your personal plane.”

Goliath glanced towards the head of Richard's army. His eyes narrowed as he saw Asiris, Senma, and Lina, but the sight of Io, Nyra, Waterflower, Phaser, and Tiramisu surprised him as well. “Who would've thought the knights Gaton left behind would come under you so quickly,” he commented.

“There's still two who aren't as nice,” Richard stated bluntly.

Goliath nodded, “So what do you propose?”

“I'll use the 300 regular knights I have against your rune knights. We can only command them from the outside, no assistance from the rest of our armies. How about that?”

“Interesting suggestion... Alright, let's do it. I want to see how good Gaton's kid is at command!”

“Richard, Earl. I am not 'Gaton's kid.'”

“Win the battle and you won't be anymore!” Goliath laughed loudly.

It wasn't long before the shadowspear knights regrouped. Opposite them were Goliath's rune knights, arrayed into a square formation. The Earl himself mounted an abnormally tall, dark horse with blood-red hooves and galloped around his soldiers a few times. He then waved and pointed towards Richard's own formation, bellowing, “Knights, advance!”

Dazzling lights shone on these fifty rune knights as they activated their runes. Most of them were only grade 1, but a gathering of so many was still significantly loud and threatening. Richard felt his blood heating up, pointing ahead himself and roaring, “Charge!”

The elite shadowspear knights immediately split into two, one going to the left and the other to the right as they charged towards the rune knights at an angle. Goliath was immediately stunned, not having expected a change in formation in such a short distance. He was at a disadvantage from the start; if his company couldn't break through one of the sides, his flanks and even the back would be exposed.

There was usually no need to worry about rune knights' ability to break through enemy formations, but having seen these knights eat and line up, Goliath had instinctively felt threatened. Thankfully, he was a decisive person and immediately had his men try and break into the left flank.

The square formation angled into its target, greeting the shadowspear knights head on. The collision was brutal; in a mere instant, more than twenty of Richard's drones had been pierced by spears. However, those that were attacked held onto their opponents' weapons with a death grip, legs firmly held against the mounts. The mounts did their part as well, roaring as the muscles on their bodies flexed and the four hooves dug deep into the ground to resist the momentum.

These mounts from the broodmother had stamina and strength that could outlast an actual rune knight's mount, but they couldn't stop the full-strength attack of a rune knight himself. The berserking energy drilled into their bodies and crushed their bones, slowly sending them crumbling to the ground.

However, the charge had been stopped. Goliath's eyes narrowed; his first assault, the strongest, had only killed twenty ordinary knights? The enemy formation wasn't even messed up, and the flank was starting to close in!

“Raise your spears!” the Earl yelled, and the rune knights in the front immediately did as ordered. This was a common move used by rune knights in their assaults, lifting man and horse into the sky and throwing them away to free up space to maintain speed. The standard rune knight was capable of swinging away multiple tonnes without issue.

However, as these rune knights tried to do so, they found that the enemies seemed to weight more than fifteen tonnes each! Even though they put in their all, their spears barely moved! To make matters worse, the knights that had been pierced were still trying to neutralise the gushing energy so they couldn't even do anything about it. Two free knights pulled up next to every pierced one, crossing their spears to neutralise the attacking rune knights completely. It was almost like they were facing a bunch of six-armed monster that was almost purely focused on defence.

The charge thus came to a complete standstill. Goliath's expression warped as another group of shadowspear knights darted into the formation, the frontlines not even caring for personal safety as they ignored all attacks to thrust their lances into the opponent's body. The assault formation was unimaginably tight, three knights crowding into the space that one would occupy in any other army. With the limited contact on the battlefield, every rune knight was going up against three opponents at a time!

The rune knights were not infallible. The full-power attack from the elites could still break through their armour, leaving terrifying and sometimes lethal injuries on them. These knights didn't even care about the retaliation, content with trading blow for blow and life for life.

On top of that, the entire formation seemed to be a single body. Every injured knight stopped the weapon of his attacker, giving a chance for those on his left and right to attack. Some rune knights were even attacked by six or seven at once!

All this while, Richard's unicorn was galloping around the battlefield while yelling commands non-stop. “Team 1 defence! Team 2 one metre forward! Team 3 attack the left!”

The elite shadowspear knights utterly crushed the rune knights under Richard's commands, attacking the heads, legs, mounts, all in tandem without affecting each other. The formation seemed to be harvesting lives one after the other.

Most terrifying was just how precise Richard's commands were. How could the knights follow through on the orders in the middle of this fierce melee? Goliath's commands were a stark contrast from Richard's: “Hold on! Behind you! Careful!”

The rune knights were now in complete disarray. As more and more collapsed, the empty space expanded and gave the shadowspear knights even more flanking opportunities. Now, there were five or six attacking every single rune knight.

Goliath did his best to decipher Richard's commands, but he couldn't see the order in the chaos at all. He didn't understand what team 1 was, what team 3 was. There were times that Richard called for defence, but all of the knights seemed to be on the offence. The thought that it was a farce crossed his mind, but then how was the formation so exquisite and coordinated?

Of course, Goliath didn't know that Richard's 'commands' were just meaningless words he was shouting to add to the confusion. The real commands were being transmitted directly to the minds of the shadowspear knights. Although 300 was too many to command individually even if he had another upgrade to his blessing of wisdom, he could group them into threes and thus command a hundred nodes simultaneously.

679 - City of Sin

Perfecting Tactics

The situation quickly changed. Goliath's rune knights started to die one after the other with seemingly no way back, causing the man's shirt to be soaked with sweat. He bellowed and tore the garment off with his energy, but that did nothing to quell his rage. Although he possessed tyrannical strength, he could only look on helplessly from the side as his knights were sent to the ground repeatedly because of his test. Everyone had sustained dozens of wounds on their bodies, and if this went on it wouldn't be long before they were completely wiped out.

The saint serving the Earl finally lost his calm, aura bursting forth as he charged towards the battlefield. However, Goliath roared out for him to stop. Although resentful, he had to adhere to his lord's promise and retreated.

Of course, his participation would have changed nothing. All thirteen of Gaton's knights were known for being extraordinary at their level, and the Dark Priest Asiris was especially famous for his combat ability. On top of that, the mobilisation of powerful priestesses like Flowsand and Nyra would become a crushing weight. As for a full assault with the entire army, Richard's rune knights hadn't even been mobilised yet!

Just as Goliath shut his eyes in anguish, starting to accept the fate of his rune knights being wiped out, the clashes faded away from the battlefield. Richard's orders grew louder as well, “Team 1 withdraw. Teams 2 and 3, withdraw. Team 4, withdraw....”

Goliath opened his eyes wide in shock as he saw the ravenous elite shadowspear knights retreating like the falling tide. The terrifying beasts slowly moved away from the thirty rune knights still standing. The battle had ended with twenty rune knights being exchanged for forty shadowspear knights, with most of the remaining rune knights wounded as well.

A calm voice rang in the air, “With all due respect, Earl Goliath, I think there's no need to continue fighting. The outcome of the battle should be clear.”

“Indeed, there is no need to continue. You win... Richard.” Goliath's voice sounded worn out, as though he had aged ten years in only a moment.

Richard nodded and made a gesture, sending Io and Nyra to the battlefield to try and rescue some of the rune knights that had already collapsed. The shadowspear knights got off their horses and lined up before Flowsand, awaiting her healing. All of these elites had the regeneration boost, so only a few of them wouldn't return to maximum ability after she was done with them.

Seeing some of the rune knights groan and get up as Io and Nyra passed by them, Goliath's creased brows relaxed a little. However, they immediately locked together again as he witnessed an unforgettable scene. Nyra stood before a rune knight that had died on his feet leaning against his sword, uttering a soft incantation as her eyes swirled grey. A murky gold beam of light fell from the sky, landing perfectly on the knight's head and covering him in a thick layer of the very same grey. Countless wounds started closing up automatically, and moments later the frozen chest began to heave once more as the man slowly opened his eyes.

”Heni!” Goliath rushed forward in a mix of shock and delight, starting to look over the knight repeatedly. The Resurrection spell! He hadn't expected to see it on this battlefield at all!

“I... My Lord... I'm not dead?” The middle-aged knight lowered his head, looking over his own body with disbelief. Outside of an extreme feeling of weakness and ash-grey skin, he wasn't feeling uncomfortable at all. He raised his hand and placed it against his chest, feeling his beating heart to ascertain that he hadn't become undead.

Although Heni had no background to speak of, he was a talented and diligent man who had also been a childhood friend of Goliath's. As someone who came from a normal noble family with numerous children, Goliath greatly valued this friend who had been with him the longest of anyone in his life. Their comradery had lasted many decades now, and the man had eventually become the leader of Goliath's rune knights. Although the resurrection came at the price of a drop in level, Goliath was still ecstatic about it.

“No, Heni, you were revived by this priestess... Priestess...” Goliath pointed to Nyra.

“My name is Nyra. Forgive me, my powers are depleted. This is the best I can do.”

“Thank you, Priestess!” Heni went down on one knee, “I will never forget this grace!”

“I am only following Sir Richard's wishes. You don't have to thank me.” Nyra smiled faintly before returning to Richard's troops.

Io glared harshly at her, countless curses streaming through his mind. How was that heartless woman even smiling? Just how crafty was she? The most annoying thing was that Nyra's words had clearly pleased Richard. Even with his thick head, the battle priest now knew that helping Richard was an easy way to please Flowsand and convince her to boost his level. Battle priests were nothing without level, but still he couldn't bring himself to do it. His pride would not allow him to flatter Richard in public no matter what.

A small yet intense battle had thus come to an end. Earl Goliath shot a meaningful glance at the cold and ruthless shadowspear knights before leaving quietly. In the end, he had lost sixteen rune knights and took down a little under fifty shadowspear knights.

The last obstacle en route to Azan was thus eliminated. Now, nobody could stop the iron hooves of Richard's knights from stepping onto the grounds of Blackrose Castle.

It was actually quite energy-consuming for Richard to command a hundred nodes in realtime. Feeling exhausted, he took over the camp that Goliath had left behind for a night's rest.

In a rare event for his busy schedule, Richard spent most of the night star-gazing. The dark sky was like a boundless black blanket that was dotted with gem-like stars. Nobody knew what the stars were, even today. Divine kingdoms, reflections of other planes, or just gems that the Eternal Dragon had hung upon the crystal sphere of Norland... There were many hypotheses, but nobody had actually found a proper answer to it.

Not even legendary mages could explain it. Even if these mages could traverse the various planes and understood the laws of the world, the end of Norland's sky was still a mystery. There was once a legendary mage who tried to fly towards the night's stars. Nobody knew how long the man had flown, but he didn't manage to even approach a single star. Eventually, he had been drowned in a strange storm of dazzling light that almost burnt him to a crisp without warning, forcing him to use the last dregs of his energy to escape. He had returned to Norland a dying man, only managing to recount his experience before he died.

With even a legendary mage being unable to find out what the stars in the sky actually were, nobody tried to do such a fooling thing again.

He replayed every moment of the battle in his mind as he gazed at the stars. This fight had confirmed his conjecture that the best use of the broodmother's elites was in taking on enemy rune knights in a war of attrition. The drones never had issues with morale, not caring for even the most grievous wounds so long as he ordered them to fight. On the contrary, rune knights were still human; they could feel pain, they could feel fear. If the circumstances were bad enough, if the battle drew on to a point where the robotic resolve of the drones inspired terror in them, they would be worn away.

He had considered the traditional strategy of pitting rune knights against rune knights. The Savage sets were extremely useful in such a battle— Savage Barrier being about a third more valuable for its defensive capabilities with the cost fated to rise further— but he didn't have as much control over rune knights as he did over the drones. This was especially true for the more powerful ones, which tended to act more upon their instinct and experience. Ideally a 1:1 ratio of Savage Barrier and Savage Strike would be perfect— one knight could block two enemies with the barrier while the other took care of one with the strike— but the problem of ensuring proper coordination had caused him to abandon the idea.

The patrol of the Sequoia Kingdom had showcased just how formidable a small army of absolute elites could be, and this battle on the way to Blackrose helped him perfect his tactics.

680 - City of Sin

A Historic City

As Richard simulated the efficiency of innumerable variations of drones against a rune knight army, the dazzling stars of the sky slowly blended into the light of day. He suddenly regained his senses, realising just how useful it would be to battle in Norland if only to improve his own tactics and deciding to put some more focus into just that. His army set off once more, finally heading to Blackrose Castle while leaving behind a little under fifty tombs for the drones that had died in battle.

The broodmother constantly recommended to him that drones were the best meals for other drones, but he was unwilling to go through with such a thing. Although he had come to accept that these things were dispensable enough to give the most dangerous positions to, they were still his own soldiers and he would afford them some dignity in death.

......

A short while after the army left a few large trees that seemed to be nothing special suddenly twisted in the small forest, large clumps falling to the ground. These clumps were sticky and flexible, starting to squirm for a while before arms and legs popped out. The strange creatures were humanoid, but their faces protruded from the torso and they had inverted joints at the knees. They certainly were not human.

These strange creatures walked around silently within the woods, leaving behind no trace as they passed by. Their movements were slow, but what worked as their skin changed colour to match the surroundings so quickly that they were practically one with the environment. If one wasn't observing carefully, they would be easy to miss.

The target of these beings was the new tombs. They went to the graves and carefully dug out a dead shadowspear knight, and the tallest of the creatures stretched out a tentacled arm that probed the injuries softly. As the other creatures started digging up more graves, a jarring voice softly rang out in Norland common, “As expected, These knights aren't human, they seem to be bred. Take a few samples back, Master will have a use for them. Clean up afterwards.”

The other creatures sped up their digging, three eventually leaving with a total of six elite shadowspear knights and one mount. Three more were left behind to clean up the graves until they looked no different from before; without looking, nobody would notice that the bodies had been stolen.

......

A strange feeling of discomfort suddenly washed over Richard's mind, as though he was being licked at by something cold and damp. Alongside that came a strong sense of danger that immediately put him on guard, but the feeling lasted for only a moment before fading away. He couldn't trace the source in time.

With Blackrose Castle already in sight, he had no choice but to shake it off and focus on the battle that was soon to come. With the family tombs already on the floating island, taking over Azan would fully qualify his claim as the family head.

As they moved along, a head suddenly whipped up from a distant hill and a man charged away on his horse. Olar snickered at the failure of a scout, grabbing the longbow on his back and preparing to fire. A thousand metres was an easy shot with his new epic bow and premium arrows.

However, Richard waved him off, “No need, that's just an ordinary Archeron.”

The elven bard resentfully returned the bow to his back. Richard was gaining more followers by the day and every one was immensely powerful. Many had already reached level 17, and Tiramisu in particular was equivalent to two warriors of that level. However, Olar was only level 11 as an archer and level 14 as a bard. This was the problem of following multiple professions at once, and the chances to show off his prowess were dwindling by the day.

“Alright, let's go,” Richard prodded them along, “The scenery is nice, but you can look around as on the way.”

Although they were about to try sieging a castle that was famous within the entire Alliance for its defences, he didn't seem worried in the slightest. This relaxed demeanour infected the rest, and his followers were quickly full of smiles. Only Asiris and Senma looked seriously worried about what they would face; even Lina was fine. The Dragon Mage was aware of just how sturdy the castle was, but she also had full confidence in Richard.

“What's that?” Olar was the first to notice a thin cloud of dust rising in the distance. The army sped up its trot in response, finding a caravan heading straight for Blackrose Castle.

Richard had his men cut off the group. The owner and the guard captain trembled in fear as the approached, their heads almost touching the ground when they bowed. The captain seemed to be the more terrified of the two, partly because his martial arts tended towards the element of darkness and sacred flames were flickering on the tip of the unicorn's horn.

It only took a few questions to determine their purpose here. This was a merchant group that transported food and other supplies to Blackrose Castle, paid for in antique furniture from the family council. Most of the carriages were loaded with mere dried meat, but this was already rather expensive for the council. They were just a bunch of monkeys that would be disposed of sooner or later, so neither Sauron nor Goliath had supported them monetarily at all.

In fact, Sauron even collected most of Gaton's territorial income and had control of military affairs, so the only way the council fooled itself into thinking it was wealthy was by selling items from the castle. Sadly, despite the castle's age the Archerons had never really cared about luxury goods. Even Gaton's spending had mostly been to strengthen the defences, so there were few items of note.

The council was now selling furniture, but given some time they would likely start taking down the ballistae on the wall and selling them as well. It was likely that some would even feel that the large trebuchets were a pity to keep, turning them into a pile of scrap material.

Once the owner was done explaining, Richard nodded, “You can go. Leave the goods here.”

“Wh-What?” the man couldn't believe his ears, “What are you saying?”

“I said you can go, leave the goods here. Now, if I have to say it again I'm going to kill someone.”

“But I'm doing lawful business!” the owner shouted.

Richard levelled a clear gaze on the man, immediately quieting him down, “Are you? It's been quite some time since I announced that the Archeron Family Council was illegal, and it hasn't been long since I reiterated that and declared war on these traitors. You have the guts to do business with rebels but you want me to let you go? Come, tell me who it is that makes you so bold.”

“The Tu—”

“We'll leave right away!” The owner was about to grab onto his lifeline, but his mouth was quickly cupped by the guard captain. Uncaring of the merchant's struggles, the warrior dragged him away and gathered everyone before leaving.

Richard watched the leaving figures with a meaningful smile before having some knights bunch the carriages together. A sign with his name and crest were then put up at the side before he brought his men towards the castle, not leaving even one guard behind. He would be surprised if anyone dared touch his things at this point in time.

......

Blackrose Castle was as magnificent as the first time he saw it, a majestic crown on Azan City. The fortress stood tall and proud, each corner filled with trebuchet towers that had stood the test of time. This castle hadn't fallen yet in its time, and many believed it never would. All of its previous owners had been the biggest Archeron lunatics, using their talent for war to strengthen the defences to no end. The clever design of the battlements, the deeply buried gates with five portcullises, the tunnel-like construction of the castle itself... The place had been designed to be a headache to anyone planning to invade.

Azan itself had a city wall, but it could not be counted upon. With this being one of the oldest Archeron fiefs, there were five local vassals that had a limited amount of authority in the area. They had been feuding ever since Richard and the family council had shed all pretence of cordiality, so the city would be easy to take. Neither Sauron nor Goliath had trusted in the family council's capacity to manage all of Azan, so they were limited to the castle itself.

681 - City of Sin

At The City Walls

The most famous piece of defensive equipment guarding Blackrose Castle was a legendary-grade ballista at the very top of the city called Discra's Ire. It was named after a famous deep sea beast that possessed the ability to contend with the gods, and as the result of a year's worth of painstaking effort from a grandmaster dragon-blooded gnome it certainly lived up to the glorious name.

Just like most other Archeron equipment, this had been looted in war. In a rare instance, Gaton hadn't directly sold it and instead added it to the already-fortified Blackrose Castle to make up for a lack of long-range defences. Even the ancient trebuchets hadn't been used in a long time, but given Gaton's tendency to take on enemies that should be far beyond his capability, some believed it to be a wise move.

This legendary ballista was the biggest threat in the eyes of both Senma and Asiris. It's ten-kilometre range far exceeded most spells, and it also came with two legendary bolts as well. The Deepsea Tide could trigger large-scale tidal magic; with the castle being right next to the sea, this bolt was mighty enough to drown the surrounding lowlands entirely in one shot. Even more terrifying was the Deepsea Tip, capable of pursuing a single target over great distances. Even the more normal bolts had all sorts of enchantments on them.

High up on the ramparts of the castle were a group of nobles looking into the distance. Right in the middle was an old mage whose snow-white hair and beard were blowing in the wind. At level 14 he wasn't particularly weak, but given the abundance of wrinkles on his face one could tell he wouldn't be going much further in this life. This was the family council's president, but only being a titled knight with a small fief far away, he didn't command much respect from the rest of the council members. Everyone was instead bunched up in separate groups, each group having its own core.

There were now less than thirty members left, a stark contrast from the seventy at the council's peak. Richard's threats had been truly effective; the only ones left behind were too close to Sauron to survive running away.

The old mage knew that his position was just a farce, but he still presented himself more convincingly than the president of an actual family council. As he blinked the tears outside of his sore eyes, he said in a low, dignified voice, “Tea.”

A youth dressed in noble attire quickly ran down the stairs, returning in only a few moments with a boiling hot cup of tea with milk and sugar added. Contempt appeared in the eyes of many others at the sight, some even snorting with disdain, but the old man and the youth seemed to ignore them entirely.

No real noble would actually be willing to serve a powerless old man like this so-called president. The only ounce of nobility in the youth came from his status as a mage apprentice, but he still always wore noble robes and tried to show off wherever he could. The old president evidently didn't mind the slight, but even if he did there was nobody else he could use. His level was passable, but he had no talent in any field of applied magic so he was hard-pressed for money.

The president took the black tea and calmly took a sip, but nearly spat it out. The quality of the leaves was terrible, there was too much sugar, and the milk seemed to have gone bad. However, the old man forced himself to keep it down and asked, “Shouldn't there be a caravan coming today? Why is there still no sight of them?”

He was anticipating the arrival of this group greatly because a portion of the funds earned would be allocated to him. As the chairman, he was treated a little bit better than the rest.

“Hmm...” the youth thought it over, “Something might have cropped up along the way. Could they have run into Richard?”

“Hmph! The owner of the merchant group is Earl Tudor's nephew. How would a child like Richard have the guts to touch him?”

The young man quickly nodded, but he didn't seem convinced. “My Lord—”

“President!” the mage corrected the youth's 'mistake' sternly.

“President, Sir, with your great foresight do you think we will be able to guard the castle? I heard that Richard is a royal runemaster!”

“Ha, so what?” the old mage laughed loud enough to gather everyone's attention, “He's just a kid with no foundation. Do you think he can actually contend with real veterans? Let me tell you one thing, Richard only brought 500 cavalrymen. Just 500! Why did he bring so few, and why are they all mounted? Isn't it obviously so he can run away from anyone eyeing him? The Mensas as well as Lords Sauron and Goliath are blocking his path; do you think he would be able to make it here if he brought a large army?

“You children need to use your brains more, don't believe in all the rumours. Even if Richard comes, so what? We have the castle, mages, and 5,000 troops. Do you think he can attack us without even any siege equipment? Blackrose has never fallen before!”

All the other members started nodding in agreement to the old mage's words, seeming more relaxed. However, the youth did not think the same way. He wanted to ask why Richard would have announced his marching route in that case, but he eventually just kept it to himself. After all, the president was right; what could one do with only 500 cavalrymen?

Ever since the family council had taken over Blackrose Castle, Azan's information network had splintered apart. Without any money to pay the informers with, the council could only rely on the news Marquess Sauron fed them and the most primitive channel of merchants. Some tried to rely on their own families, but these branches had never been worthy enough to obtain useful information on time.

Of course, Sauron hadn't told them that 150 of the 500 cavalrymen headed their way were rune knights. He knew that they would flee the moment they learned of this news, even with the threat of his wrath. This was also why they hadn't cared much about Richard's earlier threats; they just didn't know the weight behind them.

The old chairman took another two sips before returning the teacup to the young man and leaning over the edge in hopes of seeing the caravan that should have arrived long ago. He did indeed see a cloud of dust flying up at the edge of the main road, but it didn't seem to be the caravan. It wasn't long before the rest of the council members noticed the strange sight and squeezed over to the edge of the battlements. They were just as excited for the arrival of the merchants as well.

“What's that?”

“It doesn't seem like the merchants. Why does it look like a cavalry?”

“Don't spout nonsense! Where would they come from?”

“Want to bet? I was a soldier when I was younger.”

“Yeah, but you never entered a battlefield in your life!”

“CAVALRY!” a young soldier eventually cried out amidst the clamour, “SOUND THE ALARM!”

The shout immediately caused chaos amongst the councillors. They shrieked and jostled against each other as they ran in all directions without any idea what to do, even blocking the path of the sentinel in their confusion. The youth barely managed to squeeze through and finally rang the alarm, waking the castle from its slumber.

This ancient fortress hadn't experienced an alarm for the longest time now. All the capable aides loyal to Gaton had been cleared out in favour of ordinary servants, so curses and shrieks interweaved as everyone grew scared for their lives. The castle guard had been put together by the council members, and although the president said there were five thousand of them there were actually less than four. More than half of those soldiers hadn't even been trained strictly, so they would be of little use outside of as cannon fodder.

Only the guards left behind by Gaton had any ability in battle. Most of the 3,000 original guardians of the castle had left the moment the council took over, choosing to become free warriors over bowing to the monkeys, but there had been about a thousand or so who could not take that step. Their lives had either been weaved into Azan too heavily, or they were the breadwinners of their families and couldn't risk putting their children in danger for their own pride.

However, the first thing the family council did after taking over was to dismiss a lot of these capable soldiers as well. With extremely limited funds from Sauron, they didn't have the money to provide for them. Gaton's territories did indeed earn a lot, but some of the vassals had family trees older than Sauron's own. Even Gaton had given them a great deal of freedom during his reign, so they wouldn't just hand taxes over to a farcical council without power.

It was only thanks to the defending commander being smart enough to ensure these troops were treated decently that they had eventually stuck around. If not for that, even these few capable soldiers would have left. The personal soldiers of the council members were just brutes with no skill; even three of them couldn't compare to a single true warrior. If a conflict did erupt, they would be the first to flee.

“Richard! It's Richard! Quick, get the troops up the wall!” someone shouted amidst the confusion, snapping the councillors back to reality. A flurry of orders were then sent out, so loud that everyone began to grow dizzy.

682 - City of Sin

The New Ruler

The old mage did his best to calm himself down and raised his voice, “Don't be afraid! Richard only has 500 cavalrymen!”

By this point in time, Richard's army had fully revealed itself and was galloping down the main path. They were grouped into a tight formation with five knights per row, their collective murderous aura almost able to frighten one to death.

As he watched the familiar gates of Blackrose Castle draw closer, Richard felt a sense of ruefulness within. However, he didn't get much of a chance to immerse himself within the nostalgia; Asiris who was spearheading the charge next to him suddenly put a hand out, “We cannot go closer, Lord Richard. We have already entered the range of Discra's Ire; if we go any further ahead, the Deepsea Tip will have maximum power. Even I will not be able to guarantee your safety!”

“It's fine. Move to five hundred metres away and line up!” Richard waved Asiris off.

While most of Richard's troops immediately followed the command, Senma and Asiris frowned. “Lord Richard!” Asiris continued, “Discra's Ire is a legendary ballista, the Deepsea Tip is equal to the full-power attack of a legendary being!”

“I'm aware. But they still need to launch the attack if they want to hurt me.” Richard looked confident as ever as his hand patted his chest. In the pocket closest to his heart, right next to the destiny crystal that never left his side, was an intricate metal component with numerous magic arrays on it. It was so complicated even he couldn't understand most of its functions, but without it Discra's Ire could not be used. As such, it was called the Eye of the Storm.

The army thus continued moving forward, only halting when it was 500 metres away from the castle before it spread out into a horizontal formation. This was close enough for most of the army to clearly see the top of the walls.

They could see the councillors all leant over the ramparts, surprisingly quiet given the situation. Even the old president had stopped breathing. “Goodness...” one of them eventually groaned, “Are those... rune knights?”

“My eyes must have gone bad, how could there be an entire row of rune knights?”

At the very front of Richard's army was an entire 150 rune knights! The line was so long that anyone would feel despair at the sight, and the resplendent lights shining from their bodies guaranteed that these rune knights weren't weak. The old president almost couldn't breathe anymore, but he suddenly shouted and rushed up the staircase of the keep.

At the top of the keep was a large, open firing platform with a revolving disc that supported the body of Discra's Ire. The soldiers guarding the ballista pulled down the cloth covering the enormous machine when they heard the shout, ready to activate it, but their numbers were few and movements unpanicked. There were even two that pulled the cloth in opposite directions in the midst of their panic.

“Bring out the Deepsea Tip! Don't bother with the other usele— damn it, what are you doing? Quick, get the cover off!” The old mage charged to the control platform for the ballista and took a few deep breaths, preparing to take control of the legendary siege engine. The cover was finally pulled off, and the Deepsea Tip was lifted.

The president felt extremely glad that he hadn't done something foolish like selling off the legendary bolts in secret. If not, he would have been at a complete loss today. Of course, his mind had twisted the series of events. He truly had wanted to buy it, but he just didn't have the right. While Sauron didn't care about the ordinary items like furniture, selling such a powerful weapon would definitely not be allowed by the Marquess.

Damn this Richard! Damn that Sauron! Why was there no mention of there being 150 rune knights? Where did the kid even get so many of them from? While he was thinking this, the old president's entire body trembled. At this moment, the voice in his mind was screaming for him to kill Richard. Only by doing so could he get through this. Richard had already mentioned that anyone left on the council during his arrival would be executed.

The Deepsea Tip was five metres long, needing an entire six soldiers working together to just lift. However, as the soldiers got on the revolving platform they were all stunned, not knowing where to place the bolt. Discra's Ire was a complicated alchemic machine, its aiming, loading, and shooting all performed through a combination of mechanical and magical forces. There was almost no need to manually move the parts at all. The ballista should have ejected the bolt-drawer automatically the moment they got on, but it now lay dormant without any way to place the bolt within.

By this point, the president had realised that something was off. The arrays controlling Discra's Ire were still dark despite him pouring mana into them, and the ballista wasn't activating at all. Without the aid of mechanics and magic, it was impossible to manipulate this enormous bolt thrower that weighed several tonnes.

He quickly pulled open a section close to the base and squealed in desperation, “The Eye of the Storm! Where is the Eye of the Storm!”

News of Discra's Ire being unusable spread like wildfire throughout Black Rose Castle, causing the chaos within to go up another level.

The councillors, nobles, and generals on the battlements quickly ran to their rooms, most of them quickly packing their things before clambering onto their horses to escape through the back doors. However, the narrow path had grown so congested that they erupted into a panic. However much they tried to push through, the crowd didn't even budge.

Blackrose Castle had a considerably large courtyard meant for training and army drills. Now, however, it was overrun with a bunch of crude tents that made it seem like a slum. However, it was surprisingly clean at second glance and there was no stench of poverty filling the air. All sorts of people were sitting around the place, some looking burly, some lithe, but they all had an air of power to them. Even the seemingly weak, beautiful women were given wide berth here; the perverts that formed part of the new guards of the place also grew careful in their presence.

A burly man walked out of one of the tents and glared at the flustered councillors, spitting on the floor right in front of them, “Just a bunch of cowardly whores!”

The words were spoken very loudly, but none of the councillors dared to pick a fight with him. Every one of the warriors waiting in the tents was at least qualified to become a regular soldier of Richard's, and with plentiful experience on the battlefield each one was a force to be reckoned with. Even the guard captain was unwilling to provoke these warriors, especially after they realised the council was duping them and left the guards.

The captain knew that they were volcanoes waiting to erupt at any time, but there was nothing he could do. There were far too many free Archerons gathered here; if they erupted, they would easily take out his entire army and take over the castle. Hiding amongst the soldier candidates were the potential rune knights that were here for Richard as well. The captain didn't know exactly how many of them there were, but it was not a small number.

Outside of Blackrose, Richard watched the councillors, other nobles, and ordinary soldiers atop the castle walls with intent, “I am Richard, Richard Archeron. You should all know my relationship with Marquess Gaton very well. The Mensas tried to stop me along the way, as did Marquess Sauron and Earl Goliath. Still, I stand here at the appointed time!”

Amplified by magic, Richard's voice resounded through every corner of the castle, “Blackrose Castle is a symbol of Archeron pride. Marquess Gaton spent his days only strengthening its glory, but now it is in the hands of a bunch of useless cowards! These fellows call themselves a family council, but since when has the Archeron throne been won on the negotiation table? Bold men and women of fire and steel, since when have you grown able to tolerate a bunch of monkeys that have never entered the battlefield ruling over you?

“Warriors and mages, experts who carry the Archeron name; where has your courage fled? Those who gathered here for my sake, where are you? Show me your valour, show me your glory! If Sauron were truly qualified for the Archeron throne, he should be here right now for a duel to the death! Where is the coward?!” The voice resounded like thunder in the skies of the castle, surging into the hearts of every Archeron. The gathered free warriors started to stand up one after the other, staring into the skies in the direction of Richard's voice.

By this point, Richard was flying even higher than Discra's Ire atop the keep. His voice seemed to be the only thing in the world, “Archerons! Gaton may be gone, but that is fine; I shall lead you instead. Follow me, and I will plant out flaming warflags on countless planes!”

Richard's hand pointed upwards at the crimson sunset sky, at the stars that were said to be reflections of the myriad planes, “From today, I, Richard, am the head of the Archerons.”

Blackrose Castle immediately burst out into chaos. The free Archeron warriors surged out of the tents like a tidal wave, storming key locations of the castle. The guards that had once served Gaton pounced on the buffoons they had been forced to serve with, tearing them apart. In only a few minutes, the soldiers of the council who could outdrink anyone at a tavern were left kneeling on the ground as they begged for their lives.

Richard could see the chaos within the castle from his position, and he knew that the war to recover Azan was over. In truth, this war had ended the moment he stepped out of Faelor with an unprecedented number of rune knights. There was no need for him to siege the sturdy fortress at all; it would open up for him of its own accord. This was just another set of ants that he was finally bothering to crush.

In a rather spacious room within Blackrose Castle, the guard captain was bathed in blood with his back against the stone walls. In front of him were five intimidating Archerons of varying appearances, each bordering the power of a saint. While the captain himself was a saint, against a group of experienced fighters he had no way to escape.

As he watched the encirclement grow tighter and tighter, the captain flashed a pained smile, “I can take down one of you with me, but I don't want to do that. Tell Richard that if he's willing, he should...”

Halfway through his words, the captain suddenly stopped his demands. He instead sighed deeply, turning his sword around and thrusting it into his own heart.

The free warriors nearby were stunned. Having fought him for a long while, they believed his statement that he could take one of them down. However, years spent adventuring had numbed them to the idea of death. In fact, the person unlucky enough to be killed wouldn't even feel all that said; they knew the rest would definitely avenge them, and dying in battle was the final destination of every war-blooded Archeron anyway.

Richard had already descended from the skies at this point, standing with his hands behind his back as the portcullises slowly lifted to open the passage. However, he was in no hurry to enter and instead looked behind himself, noticing the green smoke rising from the city far away. This meant the area was peaceful, with no sign of an army whatsoever.

“You disappoint me, Sauron,” he said softly with a shake of the head, “Alright. ADVANCE!”

The shadowspear knights took the lead, crossing through the gatehouse and into the castle's courtyard. The rune knights followed behind, while Richard and his followers entered at the end. Numerous free Archeron warriors lined both sides of the road, while others occupied the arrow towers, ramparts, gatehouse, and other key areas.

As these warriors looked at the rune knights passing through, flames surged in their eyes. They could be like that in the future! Richard's entrance had painted a wondrous picture for them.

All the councillors, nobles, and any others of notable status in the castle had been rounded up in the plaza. Basically every rebel who hadn't been killed yet was here, awaiting Richard's sentencing.

Free warriors were always welcome in the Archeron Family. Many who once held high ranks in the army stood up of their own accord for Richard to inspect them, quick but orderly. Richard nodded at them as he entered the plaza before sweeping his eyes across the dozen-odd councillors. These people left him disappointed as well; not a single one of them was passable for an Archeron. They didn't even dare to meet his gaze despite imminent death. However, he just sighed. This was only to be expected; Sauron wouldn't choose a tool with the intelligence or the courage to try and refuse his dominance. Besides, Sauron himself hadn't possessed the guts to take the throne even when Gaton had gone missing.

The head of the Archerons... This was an extremely glorious title now, but not many knew that there was a volcano ready to erupt beneath the throne.

A youth in noble clothing suddenly charged out from the crowd and knelt on the ground just before the swords that the free Archerons used to bar his movement. “Lord Richard!” he shouted, “Do you still remember me?”

Richard waved for the guards to put down their swords and smiled, “Of course, Peter. If you hadn't given me the Eye of the Storm, this siege wouldn't have been nearly as easy as it was. Alright now, get up, I'll think of a way to adequately reward your contributions.”

It was only then that Asiris, Lina, and Senma understood exactly why Richard had been so confident in the face of Discra's Ire. It turned out that he hadn't been waiting idly while his followers' equipment was being made, instead arranging for many things on the sidelines. The youth that had just come of age wasn't just a capable general; he was also growing by the day in his role as a lord.

The old president of the council was within the crowd as well. When he saw the youth being praised by Richard, he nearly fainted. He had never expected that the vain youth he employed as an assistant for lack of choice would actually double cross him. Nobody could have thought that the bumbling idiot who couldn't even prepare tea properly was capable of stealing the Eye of the Storm and smuggling it to Richard.

After making arrangements to reward Peter, Richard ignored the council members and floated up to the keep. Replacing the Eye of the Storm within Discra's Ire, he headed to the sides of the platform and narrowed his eyes as he gazed towards the sea and skies.

......

A few dozen stakes had been set up on the path to Blackrose Castle the very next day, each one holding the head of a councillor or an associated noble or general. However, a head that should have been more eye-catching than the council president was not present— the captain of the castle guard. The man had obtained an ordinary grave on the hill behind the castle, buried just like a normal Archeron warrior.

For the first time, Richard hadn't gone through with a public threat. He had let the captain's family live.

His deadline for the council hadn't been arbitrary, so today was a rather special day. This very day a year ago, Gaton had led his army and entered the Rosie Plane. Now, Richard had recaptured Blackrose Castle and become the head of the Archerons. Sauron, Goliath, and Alice all remained silent in answer to Richard's proclamation.

They had accepted their new ruler.

683 - City of Sin

Eternal King

A curtain of darkness fell upon the earth as blazing clouds constantly gathered and scattered like celestial horses charging across the sky. There was no sun to be seen in the sky, but the world was illuminated by a million flames.

This scene of black and crimson was not a plane of fire but the last throes of a dying land. There was no water to be found anywhere, all life burnt to cinders. Even the flames would not last much longer, soon exhausting their fuel as they gave way to eternal darkness.

The entire plane trembled slightly as a gigantic rift tore apart the blazing skies. Ink-black teeth seemed to tear through the space of existence, silent flames pouring out like a rain of fire. The charred soil was engulfed once more, the ember turning into ash. Everything happened in absolute silence, but the last dregs of the world's energy were being consumed in abyssal flames.

There was no sound to be heard in the emptied atmosphere, but one could still feel the tremors from the earth as it wept for its death.

The ground was covered in deep fissures that occasionally spouted bursts of dark liquid. However, this was not water but condensed energy. It burnt viciously once it left the ground, forming a terrifying pillar of fire that was a thousand metres thick. As the temperature continued to increase, these crimson flames slowly turned transparent and faded away.

There was no wind here, only streams of fire that destroyed any remnants of this plane.

One could still see mountains in this world, some that had existed for thousands of years and others that had been ripped out of the earth only a short time ago. These mountain ranges crossed over each other in all sorts of strange shapes, looking like the sinister scars of the world's heart.

One could still make out ruined cities next to the dried riverbeds, indications that there had been life here once that had branded the world with their existence. However, these brands that had survived wars and natural disasters were insignificant in the face of this apocalypse, constantly being wiped out by the turbid flames. These flames were not normal either; they were fuelled by the origin energy of the plane, by the very death of the world.

The skies themselves were tearing apart, the clouds spilling fire as they faded into the dark. However, they gave way to magnificent expanses of light that floated and danced in the void, appearing and disappearing without any rhyme or reason. As these strips made contact with the last vestiges of existence, the earth seemed to be wiped away by an invisible yet omnipotent hand.

Any expert from a primary plane would be able to recognise these strips of light for what they were— spatial turbulence. Everything they touched was transported to a different world, sometimes a plane full of life but most often other lands of despair that had died eons ago.

At the centre of it all was a mountain. It wasn't particularly tall nor majestic, but right now it seemed extremely striking. This was because this mountain was the only part of the world that seemed to be safe from the apocalypse outside. It still retained some traces of life.

However, the grass and trees had been dyed red with blood. Bodies littered the entire mountain, most humanoid in nature but few actually human. The bodies of the humans and this other species were intertwined, limbs stacked on each other until armour and clothing could no longer be seen. Weapons had often pierced into so many bodies they could barely even be seen. However, one could still vaguely tell that there were quite a few bodies from this other race piled up with every human corpse.

The closer one got to the top of the mountain, the more crowded these bodies were. The number of injuries they had sustained were also growing, while the armour and weapons had survived the battle with much less damage. The alien race was still completely unarmed, but the bodies were evidently bulkier than those of their peers underneath.

One could see that many powerhouses were present halfway up the mountain and higher. They had endured even more injuries, reaped even more destruction. However, all of them had already been dead for a long time. Google search 𝑓𝒓e𝑒w𝑒𝒃𝑛𝒐𝘃ℯ𝙡. c𝚘m

This was an incomparably wretched battlefield.

The foreign race was visibly extraordinary. Regardless of strength, every creature bled in hues of gold that refused to join the now-crimson earth, instead forming small puddles that glowed like the stars in the sky. Every puddle of this liquid emanated a trace of divine power.

The only gap in the battlefield existed at the very top, where the bodies of this foreign race were stopped in a circle around the centre. A bird's eye view would show the entire mountain to be covered crimson spiral of deep gorges that split apart the stone earth, revealing the crust that had lasted millions of years and the boiling waves of energy below. At the centre of it all was a figure that one would look up to despite its average build. This was a man who stayed propped up against his sword, eyes gazing into the distance. The damage ended right at his feet.

Next to him, a tall man dressed completely in sinister black armour had knelt with one knee on the ground, the sharp spikes on his armour almost completely destroyed. It was apparent that he had survived the terrifying battle. These two silhouettes seemed to occupy their own world, separated from the rest by a blanket of green grass.

The most eye-catching sight amongst the pile of bodies were two enormous armoured warriors. Each one had a small hill of bodies piled up in front of them. These were Kaylen and Kayde, two of Gaton's thirteen. Looking more closely, one could see other figures from Gaton's entourage as well. They had all turned into corpses, but just like the two warriors there were mounds of bodies next to them.

This was an indescribable battle that had started off with a divine smite that tore the skies asunder. Gaton had naturally stood at the very top and blocked the attack, all of his followers and soldiers behind him. Afterwards, the enemies had surged forth like the tide as they crashed against this sole mountain over and over before dying on their path to the peak. All of Gaton's warriors and knights had fallen in battle.

Nobody knew how long the war had lasted, but Gaton still stood tall as ever at the highest point, blocking all the attacks from the sky. This was a place nobody could step foot in, a place belonging to the eternal king.

The world was dead, but there was one person who remained alive. The man called the Devil King remained in his kneeling position, waiting patiently for his master to move.

The river of time seemed to have stopped the moment the world died, but there were many heads next to Mordred's feet. Their faces were humanoid in nature, but there were many differences as well. They looked dignified and grand, as though crafted by the very heavens themselves. Even in death, an onlooker would feel the urge to worship their golden eyes.

However, similarly golden blood was constantly flowing out of their mouths. Golden hair seemed to be flying despite the lack of wind, but if one looked closely they would find that it wasn't hair but streams of divine power being burnt.

These heads were everywhere, on the grass, buried in the soil, one even under Mordred's steel boots. There was one similarity between all of them; they were burning their power with all their might in an attempt to turn to ash. However, the incomparably pure power seemed to be bound by a terrifying strength, forcing them to suffer this humiliation. In actuality, their godfires had already petered out; as the plane died, their divinity had disappeared completely.

When Mordred eventually shifted, dust fell off his helmet. The deep red of his eyes faded into a boundless black like in the skies above. As he gazed at Gaton's unmoving body for a long while, traces of despair started to appear within his eyes. Eventually, he produced a guttural sigh from his throat, “My King...”

The Devil King finally stood up, movements extremely rigid. The joints of his armour creaked, as did the joints of his body itself. He evidently hadn't moved in a very long time.

When he finally stood up, his steps seemed to cause the entire mountain to tremble. The head that had been crushed under his feet finally exploded into streams of golden flames and liquid. However, it still could not dissipate. The head that had been turned into a pulp still maintained its physical form, as though it would remain alive to suffer for all eternity.

Gaton's body swayed with the trembling of the mountain. Mordred's eyes widened as he reached out, but his movements suddenly froze in mid-air. Gaton's position eventually stabilised and he remained standing, but the huge sword he was leaning against turned into dust right under Mordred's gaze.

A long while later, another deep sigh rang through the mountaintop despite the lack of air. Mordred had known that there were no traces of life left in Gaton's body, but he had still wanted to wait; to wait for the moment a miracle would happen. He believed his king would always be able to create such miracles.

However, this time there seemed to be no such thing.

684 - City of Sin

The Depths Of The Abyss

“My King, let me show you my new abilities. I'll tear through space to bring you back to the origin of chaos, on the banks of the underworld river where the eternal war was once fought. Once we arrive, you shall gain immortality!”

Mordred tore off his deformed mask to reveal a face filled with determination. He then raised both hands towards the sky, forming a pure black glow between them. The still world began to move once more, the corpses on the hill starting to shake as the black glow expanded swiftly. A strong suction force burst forth from within as it suddenly flew up into the sky, morphing into a sphere of absolute darkness that started pulling everything towards it.

At first it was only the small pieces of debris that littered the hill. However, that was soon followed by weapons, armour, and eventually even the corpses that were everywhere. The vortex started to rotate, growing in size as even the hill itself started to be consumed.

Mordred gazed silently at the expanding black hole, his gaze fixated on the lava flowing within its depths that only he could see. The suction grew stronger and pulled the heads at his feet upwards; these gods that should have been dead suddenly opened their eyes in fury, but as much as they howled unknown curses at Mordred they made no sound in this world without air. Soon, they disappeared into the black hole and the last remnants of their divine power faded away. Google search f𝘳𝚎𝗲𝘸e𝐛𝑛𝐨𝘃𝘦𝚕. co𝚖

Mordred laughed coldly, not caring about their curses at all. The curse of a god at full power was dangerous, but these hollow beings had been robbed of all their power by a spell they would never be able to free themselves from.

The barrier that protected this small mountain suddenly broke as well, the debris turning into a tornado as even the pillars of fire were bent towards the black hole. The shattered fragments of the sky and the last remaining clouds were quickly sucked in, as was all of the formless origin energy of the world.

“My King, it is time. We should go.” The Devil King lifted Gaton with both arms and trudged forward, the earth shaking with every step. Soon, he was walking on nothing, as though an invisible staircase was leading him towards the core of the black hole.

The corpses of Kaylen and Kayde flew past him one after the other, but Mordred seemed to have no intentions of saving them from their fate. Gaton was the only being he cared for; the others were merely acquaintances he had once brushed shoulders with. It was already a privilege for them to be ended by his powers.

This world was once beautiful, once full of life. It once possessed a beautiful name befitting of it: the Rosie Plane. However, now the last two corpses had bid it goodbye.

......

The residents of Faust suddenly felt their hearts skip a beat. The commoners could not understand what happened, but all of the experts suddenly had a premonition and rushed towards their balconies to look into the skies.

“The Rainbow of the Moons!” someone called out in shock, “Where is the Rainbow of the Moons?!”

The voice travelled far and wide in the quiet city, causing large numbers of people to raise their heads and look towards the azure sky. The view that greeted them was a clear, azure sky, but this sight that would have been calming anywhere else was an alarming sight to behold. The Rainbow of the Moons had been plastered across Faust's sky for all of eternity; this was the first time since the founding of the Sacred Alliance that pure sunlight had fallen onto the city of miracles.

“The islands! Quick, look at the islands!” another person cried. Everyone diverted their gazes, only to find all of Faust's floating islands now stopped in their tracks. Cries of differing intensity echoed throughout the city, causing great chaos until they had to be magically silenced. People walked out of their homes and headed for the streets, looking to both the skies and the islands. Many of those people also began to look towards the Church hidden behind the trees.

Many of these people had forgotten that Faust was a magical city that had existed far before humanity. Only when the founders of the Alliance discovered it was it occupied by humans. There were still many mysteries of this city that hadn't yet been unravelled, and now the rainbow had disappeared and the islands had stopped. For many, this was a revelation that they weren't the true owners of this city.

Was something about to happen to the city of miracles? Time seemed to have come to a stop as people held their breaths subconsciously, waiting for an earth-shattering event to take place.

They were not disappointed. A blinding light suddenly flashed across the sky, a being appearing from within the glow. The figure took large strides, as though there was an invisible path beneath his legs that supported him as he trudged forward. The flaming figure seemed to be carrying something in his arms, every step he took leaving behind a blazing trail.

However, another ray of light quickly flashed and the figure disappeared. Countless held breaths were released at the same time/

“It's Mordred!” Someone in the crowd cried out once more, but the voice quickly trailed off as though someone had covered the mouth. The Devil King was a fearsome existence within Faust, even to the experts of the plane.

Once Mordred disappeared, the sky seemed to ripple for a moment. Many felt a tide of energy surge across the sky as the Rainbow of the Moons appeared once more and the floating island resumed their motions.

Mordred came and left, the entire process extremely strange. Only when he had disappeared completely did people remember that he had vanished into the Rosie Plane alongside Gaton. Could it be that Gaton had returned?

......

Within her courtyard in the Church of the Eternal Dragon, Ferlyn pondered over the strange phenomenon with furrowed brows. She quickly walked back to the Hall of Dawn, gazing upon a large hourglass filled with golden sand.

Timeforce erupted from her right fingertip and merged into the glass, causing some of the sand to float back into the upper dome. A virtual image of Faust's skies was projected in front of her, showing the blinding light that signified Mordred's entrance. She barely saw there was a figure within the Devil King's arms, and had to inject another portion of timeforce to clarify the image.

The visual was slowed down and the distortion from the powerful light reduced. Ferlyn barely managed to catch that the strong flash of light had come from a portal, but this screen of energy seemed different from any normal gate. This portal was constructed using formidable strength that worked off the basis of the laws of spacetime, a mode of transportation only legendary powerhouses with expertise in such laws could accomplish.

She continued to stare at the figure in the clip, not willing to let any small details slip her by. She now saw that whatever Mordred was carrying was human, and added even more timeforce to freeze the image the moment Mordred opened the gate. The image grew clearer and more magnified, now focused on the portal they had just come from. She barely made out the ruined world they had left behind.

The image started to move once more as Mordred walked forward, forming a second door in front of him. She gritted her teeth and continued to inject her precious timeforce into the hourglass, allowing her to peek into a world of lava and crimson skies. She magnified the image once more, now able to clearly see a world with lava spewing out and flowing all over the ground.

In the corner of the image was a dark red formation of crystal that she recognised. A single small piece of that crystal could fetch a sky-high price in Norland, and as far as she knew there was only one place in the myriad planes that produced it. Ferlyn's expression warped somewhere between astonishment and horror as she hugged, “The depths of the abyss!”

Wrinkles suddenly appeared on Ferlyn's face, a price she had to pay for replaying the images of the past. Her timeforce had been almost depleted, causing her to grow fatigued, but she had still seen clear as day that the man shrouded in flames and steel was Mordred. His face was filled with determination, blazing lava flowing in the eyes as a bloody mist seemed to be spewing out of the gaps in his armour. His overwhelming aura had grown even more strongly.

And most importantly, he was carrying Gaton in his arms.

685 - City of Sin

The Patriarch's Duty

Gaton's face was expressionless, eyes shut as though in eternal rest. However, Ferlyn vaguely felt a faint shadow surrounding the body. It was extremely blurry, not even overlapping properly with the corpse as it swayed with Mordred's footsteps.

“The depths of the abyss... Why?” Ferlyn stood before the hourglass for a long time, starting to grow a little uneasy. She couldn't understand the feeling in her heart; neither Gaton nor Mordred were particularly important to her, and even if they had died she would only remember them as people who left their mark on history. However, Mordred's emergence had the ability to halt all of Faust's activities. Was his fate intertwined with the Church of the Eternal Dragon?

She started to think that the Devil King's appearance in Faust was a coincidence. Even the toughest of legendary beings needed coordinates to travel between planes, and Faust was likely only a familiar stop on his way to his destination. The deepest part of the abyss, the origin of all chaos.
𝐟𝘳ℯ𝚎𝘄𝒆𝑏𝗻𝑜ѵ𝚎l. c𝘰𝑚

She eventually raised her hand and shot out another beam of timeforce, hoping to take a look at the direction of Gaton's future. However, as the hourglass absorbed her powers it vibrated a little and the image formed of sand suddenly broke apart. Her body trembled as a few drops of blood streaked down the corner of her lips. A searing pain covered her body, and she could instantly tell that this damage from timeforce would be extremely difficult to heal.

However, the agony of her body was nowhere near comparable to the shock experienced by her heart. She had paid a huge price in the Hall of Dawn but could not see Gaton's future at all. Either an extremely powerful being was protecting his destiny, or he was no longer within the reach of the Eternal Dragon. Both options were frightening.

Ferlyn sighed softly. At this point, things had progressed beyond what she could control. The images in the sand had told her a lot, but that knowledge was quite limited. What happened in the Rosie Plane? Why was it destroyed? This was a riddle that would only be solved when she met Mordred again.

As she replayed the scene in her mind, she suddenly noticed an overlooked detail that gripped her heart. As Mordred had appeared and disappeared, part of Daramore's skull had been in the corner of the image. A faint glow had flashed across the abyssal dragon's many eyes. Her brows locked together, but she couldn't confirm whether this was something she had just imagined. Completely drained of timeforce, she didn't have the power to summon the image once more.

The power to look through the past was an incomparably special ability that only a few of even the chosen priestesses of the Eternal Dragon ever unlocked. As with all other formidable abilities, it had its own strict restrictions as well. One could only use the timeforce they had gathered prior to the event in question, any that was gathered afterwards would be useless.

......

Richard was currently patrolling all corners of Blackrose Castle as he looked through the aftermath of the family council's existence. Only the exterior of the castle remained the same as before, the artwork and antiques within completely taken away with even the counterfeits not left behind. Surprisingly the twenty ballistae and their bolts hadn't been touched, but he assumed it was partly because of the guard captain's obstinance and Sauron's hesitance to become the ruler of the Archerons.

Blackrose Castle was the traditional seat of the Archeron patriarch, while Discra's Ire was a symbol of Azan's power when under Gaton's control. Sauron knew that taking away the ballistae or Discra's Ire would cause an inevitable feud with the future head of the family, a position he himself didn't wish to take.

Truth be told, there weren't many benefits to becoming the chief of the family. Azan wasn't particularly large nor fertile, and the precedent was of the family head spending more on the family than they earned in revenue from their vassals.

Richard was currently facing that very duty. Once he was done patrolling the castle, he made his way to a balcony that overhung the training grounds and announced the details of the recruitment to the tanned Archeron warriors before.

A little over 3,000 free warriors had come to enlist in Richard's army, most of them high enough in level to be a cavalryman and the rest strong enough to qualify anyway. Richard had promised to recruit as many qualified soldiers to the army as enlisted, and he had also guaranteed that they would be treated with the standard of a proper noble family. Given the 1,000 gold cost of arming every soldier with decent equipment and a 300 gold yearly pay as well as an equal amount in food, he realised he needed to allocate another five million gold to his military budget for this year and two million every year after. During Gaton's time, the same number would only have cost 800,000 a year including training.

A pleasant surprise came in the form of nearly 200 rune knight candidates. Most of them were level 15 while ten were level 17, and although a majority had already reached the limit of their potential that only made them the best of candidates. Based on their levels, Richard assigned a yearly wage of between 5,000 and 10,000 gold for these candidates; not spectacular by any means when placed in Faust, but miles beyond what they used to be paid.

Archerons gathered more for blood and glory than they did for wealth. They only wished to be acknowledged by those of their bloodline as brave warriors and thought about salaries second. This was why Gaton had managed to employ so many at dirt cheap prices. However, even so they had their own costs to bear. They would not fight for free, and Gaton had very limited funding.

Now, however, Richard's hands were paving the path for an entirely new era of the family.

Upon hearing the numbers Richard announced, the free warriors below almost couldn't believe their own ears. Some got confused and thought Richard was using a numbering system they did not understand. However, as they looked at each other and verified that they had heard correctly, they burst into a cacophony of cheers that immediately drowned out the training grounds!

The cheers resounded for a long time. Eventually, a man with an X-shaped scar across his face walked out from the midst and turned around, raising both arms and slowly bringing them down. The warriors immediately started to quiet down, making it evident that this was a well-respected figure among their ranks.

Richard recognised him as well. This was Brolin, someone renowned for his outstanding bravery and wisdom. His potential should have run out at level 15, but year after year he had braved countless battlefields to slowly break through two bottlenecks to reach level 17. His true ability in combat was far beyond others of his level as well, even matching some weaker saints. This was someone not respected for their sheer power but for their tenacity and spirit.

Brolin turned back around, looking up at Richard as a deep voice filled the entire plaza, “My Lord, I do not wish to challenge your authority but I have a suggestion of my own. Most of us might be here in hopes of a salary that will allow us to get by, but just a quarter of what you are promising is enough. We only hope you can follow through on your promise yesterday, to lead us as we plant our warflags on countless planes!”

The moment Brolin finished his sentence, all the soldiers behind him started howling a chant for war. Killing intent almost materialised on the plane, just the auras alone causing the flag with a volcano and a world tree to flutter without the wind.

Richard waited a while for these warriors to vent their desires before gesturing for them to quiet down. He then flashed a charming smile, “Archerons, from this day forth our pride is not the only thing you can rely on. You will also be able to provide a proper, dignified life for your families, making your children proud for something other than your bravery!”

The soldiers were immediately dazed. Many of the older warriors felt an indescribable pain in their chest, eyes glazing over as the tears they dreaded more than blood threatened to spill out of their eyes. Some closed their eyes a little, others pretended to be blinded by the sun. Even more started acting like dust had gotten into their eyes. The only commonality was that all their efforts were clumsy.

Richard saw it all, “I dream that one day all of you brave warriors will be free of your worries for food and shelter. We should be able to step on the battlefield and charge towards our enemies without constantly worrying about our families. Even if we die a glorious death, our families will not have to grow up in poverty! Our children should be able to grow up in dignity, to be able to reach for their dreams! We may still be upstarts, but from this day we Archerons shall never be paupers again!”

It took some time for the words to sink in, but after a few dazed a volcano erupted within the courtyard of Blackrose Castle. Brolin shook his head, returning to blend into the crowd.

686 - City of Sin

The Patriarch's Duty(2)

This was a special day to Richard, the Archerons, and everyone related to either. His words today would spread as far as his strength did, invoking respect and reverence alike. Those hostile to the family would no longer be able to live with peace of mind, because he had established a terrifying armed force within Blackrose Castle. More than 3,000 knights and nearly 200 rune knights were added onto the shadowspear knights and 150 rune knights he already had, bringing his military power close to Gaton's.

The most frightening part about this army was that its prowess had already been demonstrated. The complete destruction of Earl Berino's forces had proved that Richard's leadership was remarkable on the field as well. The only thing he lacked now was in the absolute top end. Nobody would dare to provoke Gaton and his thirteen lunatics, but Richard's team hadn't yet reached that level. Lina had basically shifted allegiance completely now, while Asiris and Senma acknowledged him. Cyrden and Ward completely disregarded his orders.

Richard was frighteningly busy for the next few days. All of the duties of the family head that neither Sauron nor the family council had worked to resolve were now on his table. On top of that, he needed to reorganise the army and create new channels of supply for equipment and materiel. Guards had to be arranged for the castle as well.

The last problem was particularly sensitive. In many ways, Azan was almost worth as much as another plane, requiring a formidable guard force. However, the coups when Gaton had left made it obvious that he could not afford to leave someone random in charge.

Repeatedly weighing the pros and cons of it all, he eventually decided to place Lina in charge of the castle given that she would also be able to use Discra's Ire to its fullest potential. On top of that, as someone who had lasted since Gaton's reign even the lords nearby showed her the proper respect she deserved. On top of that, she would be able to focus on building new portals from the castle to places like the Deepblue and his personal planes.

At the same time, he also dispatched envoys to the smaller aristocrats nearby to see if he could purchase their lands. This would allow him to merge Azan with the viscounty he had won from Cardiff and create a buffer where he could station more defences. The land he had chosen was almost the size of an earldom, only worth so little because it was mostly barren.

......

When news finally spread from Faust, Richard dropped all his work and remained in his room for half a day. He then hurriedly allocated his work to his followers before gathering four griffins and flying straight towards Faust. There had once been a teleportation gate directly from the castle to Faust, but it had been broken during Gaton's absence and wasn't yet repaired.

As the griffin landed on the Archeron island in Faust, he immediately jumped off and rushed towards the Church of the Eternal Dragon. Fortunately, it didn't take long for him to be allowed to meet Ferlyn directly.

“High Priestess—”

“You're here about the news regarding Mordred and your father, correct?” Ferlyn interrupted him right at the start.

“I'm here regarding the news about Marquess Gaton,” Richard corrected her.

Ferlyn looked at him and sighed, “Richard, everyone knows there are problems between you and Gaton. However, your father has done so much for you. Can you not forgive him, even in death?”

Richard's face blanched, his body starting to sway about. His voice remained steady, but his words were far slower than normal, “You're saying... he's dead?”

“From what I saw, yes.”

Richard went silent, looking down and starting to ponder over something. His heavy heartbeat rang throughout the silent hall, thumping like the battle drums of ancient barbarians.

When he raised his head again, he had regained his calmness, “Alright, what about Gaton's corpse? Did Mordred take it away? Where is he now?”

Ferlyn hesitated to answer, and Richard noticed it immediately. “What are you apprehensive of?” he asked, “I need to know this news and I am willing to pay the price for it.”

The high priestess sighed once more, “If you really want to know, the price will be a top-tier offering.”

“No problem.”

“Richard, is there any meaning to this? Even if you know their destination, you won't be able to go there now.”

“It's fine, I will be able to do it one day. I've been to a battlefield of despair alone, there aren't many places capable of killing me off,” Richard said calmly.

“That place is more fearsome than any battlefield of despair.”

Richard smiled faintly, “Doesn't matter, I'll go there once. Gaton was once the ruler of the Archerons, he deserves to be returned to the family tombs for his eternal rest. As the current family head, that is a responsibility I must fulfil. You don't have to worry about me, I'll send the offering over immediately. Now, tell me where Mordred took him.”

“... The end of the abyss.”

The end of the abyss? Richard grew a little absent-minded. Norland was no stranger to the abyss. He had read that it was similar to hell in that it was divided into multiple layers with their own lords, these lords possessing power making them capable of fighting gods within their levels. In fact, Sharon was a regular visitor of both, something that made her an eyesore to most of the powerhouses in those planes.

Nobody knew how many layers hell and the abyss were divided into. Some said hundreds, others thousands. Common consensus was that the actual number of layers in the abyss was ever-changing at its depths, while the nine hells each accomplished multiple small layers.

However, most of these assumptions were just conjecture backed by vague accounts in ancient texts. They were basically myths and word of mouth; even the legendary beings capable of surviving those planes only saw a small corner of the boundless worlds. Sharon herself hadn't been able to accurately estimate the number of layers of these planes, only having visited a few dozen in total.

“What kind of place is that?” he asked eventually. The mainstream hypothesis was that the bottom layers of the abyss constantly changed, how would anyone know what it was like?

“It is said that the place is a world of crystal, somewhere untouched by the powers of even the Eternal Dragon himself. It is a peculiar world with its own laws, and expansive as well. That is all I know; if you want to learn more, I suggest you look for and analyse a crystal called the tear of Anubis that is only found within the depths of the abyss. However, that crystal is extremely rare; even legendary beings fight over it whenever it appears, and it's worth about ten beyslace spider crystals.”

Ten beyslace crystals was a suffocating sum, bur Richard just nodded his head and bid Ferlyn goodbye. Not long after, a top-tier offering was sent to Ferlyn's hall.

Many nobles had sent envoys or even come personally to seek the same information both before and after Richard, but Ferlyn saw none of them and refused to answer any questions related to Mordred. This attitude of hers actually had a wondrous effect: everything in Faust operated as per usual, and people just assumed the incident didn't mean anything and moved on. Some family heads had only started to wonder whether they should put more resources into researching Faust itself; there were far too many unsolved mysteries in this city of miracles.

Not long after Richard walked out, a messenger from the court arrived at the church as well. He met Ferlyn and bowed humbly, “High Priestess, His Majesty has decided to go on a stroll. He will be leaving Faust in a few days.”

Ferlyn only hummed in acknowledgement.

......

On the Archeron island, Richard wasted an entire day in his laboratory. He refused to see anyone and handle any work, just bringing over a crate of liquor and going through it like a breeze. A dozen bottles caused his head to throb like it would explode, his body completely out of control, but his mind refused to dull. Vivid memories were flashing past his eyes, starting from when he had first started forming memories to when he had received the news.

When the last of the bottles was emptied, he tossed it away and just stared blankly into space for the rest of the day.

687 - City of Sin

A War Of The Gods

As Richard was occupied with shocking news of his own in Faust, the political landscape in Faelor had changed completely. The worshippers of the three goddesses had been especially uptight over the past few days, having received relentless oracles from their deities commanding them to pick up pace.

The migration of the Goddess of the Forest and the Goddess of the Hunt hadn't yet been completed. Despite a contribution of 200,000 gold to each from Richard's end, and their churches being a little smaller than that of the Goddess of Spring Water, the construction of their churches was still ongoing.

For the past few days, Faylen had been flooded with worry. She was the only one who could hear the most important news, and she had holed up in the church building all day as she went through all of the relevant books she could find.

Eventually, she put on a casual dress and rushed to Richard's camp to meet Kellac, Zendrall and Mito in secret. Within the tent was a lofty general named Andrieka, a completely emotionless person who was always dressed in heavy armour. Nobody knew anything about his identity nor his origin, but he had appeared just before Richard's departure and Richard himself had instructed that he had to be allowed to sit in on every meeting despite only being level 13.

“We can confirm that a new holy war is on the horizon. It could erupt at any moment, and will be fought between the God of Valour and my Lady. The Goddess of the Hunt and the Goddess of the Forest will also join the fight. I have already studied the movements of the Church of Valour, and I can confirm that there will be action in the secular world as well. Lord Richard will be a critical element in the war, I wish to meet with him at all costs.”

“If this is true, then Neian will have placed at least one Child or avatar to fight us. We might not be able to resist such might. I agree, we will notify Lord Richard right away,” Kellac answered. He had been put in charge until Richard returned, and with no opinions from both Andrieka and Zendrall he had to be the one reassuring Faylen. As a former priest of the Highland Wargod, he also understood how holy wars worked as well. Google search 𝘧𝓇𝗲e𝑤𝑒𝙗noѵ𝒆𝚕. 𝒄o𝓶

Faylen nodded and left, after which Andrieka immediately sent an Archeron warrior with two drones off to Norland. Richard had left with almost all of his followers and most of his top-end troops, so although there wasn't much of a difference in numbers Bluewater was basically hollow.

This was when the huge influx of new citizens backfired. There was no way to keep such movements hidden from the outside world for long, so any potential attackers new just how weak the city was as well. Richard had believed he had sufficiently frightened anyone who might think to attack, but now the situation had changed.

Once the messengers were sent, Kellac started mobilising the army all at once. He also started efforts to strengthen the defences of the city. However, the news only grew worse by the day. The royal family of the Sequoia Kingdom had allied with the Iron Triangle Empire and were secretly mobilising their armies. The Baruch Kingdom had also gathered a massive force at their borders, with a lot of the surrounding dukedoms being strange as well.

Many of Faelor's rulers had grown busy over the past few days. For example, the aged king of the Sequoia Kingdom had exhausted himself in a secret meeting with three cardinals from the Church of Valour for two entire days. Normally his heir would have taken on the job, but the crown prince had been killed in Raymond's invasion. Ultimately, both parties had reached an agreement.

An important reason for the decision to attack was Richard's sudden disappearance with most of his followers and elites. The Bloodstained Lands only had a single sub-legendary mage protecting it, making it evident that something important must have pulled Richard's forces away. Without Richard and his terrifying followers, the 20,000-strong army left in Bluewater wasn't much at all.

All they had to do was flatten the churches of the three goddesses in one go. Once Neian absorbed the powers of the goddesses, Richard would be rendered powerless no matter how strong the deity supporting him was. After all, the fact that this god chose not to extend his influence into the Bloodstained Lands made it clear that there was another large territory where he drew faith from. Something might have happened in that territory that tangled Richard up.

Similar secret decisions were held in various places, some successful and others not so much. The Bloodstained Lands right now were like a young lady stripped and thrown to the streets, and the money that could be made there left many foaming at the mouth. Many were already starting to call the place the Land of Flowing Gold.

Under enormous pressure, Neian eventually blew the horns of war ten days after Faylen and Kellac had their discussion. Ever since the invasion of the astral beasts, this was the sixth time a war between gods had erupted in Faelor.

Within the void, Neian's divine kingdom approached those of the three goddesses and countless soldiers flew out to attack. The three goddesses, in turn, had temporarily joined their divine kingdoms to suppress him with their combined might.

Thankfully, the Goddess of Spring Water had recently advanced to become an intermediate deity and Neian was currently weaker than normal. The three managed to withstand the first wave of attacks, settling into a war of attrition where each side tried to drain the other of divinity.

In the mortal world, a combined army formed from the Sequoia Kingdom, the Iron Triangle Empire, and six dukedoms separated into four parts and started boring into the Bloodstained Lands. Each lane of attack was incomparably powerful, quickly pushing through the perimeter defences set by Kellac as they headed for the many oasis cities of the Bloodstained Lands.

Kellac wasn't bad for a priest, but he was in no way an experienced general. Even the battlefront he commanded personally was pushed back, the soldiers left utterly devastated. With Richard not showing his face at all, his subordinates from the Sequoia Kingdom had chosen to watch from the side and left Bluewater with even fewer troops to mobilise.

Andrieka was the most pleasant surprise of the lot. The mysterious general displayed outstanding control of the battlefield, being particularly remarkable in his control of the shadowspear knights to minimise the casualties they suffered. However, even he could only stall for time and delay the pace at which the enemies were advancing. The immense disadvantage in numbers just could not be made up for, and while Andrieka's coordination was awe-inspiring his tactics and strategy left much to be desired. Some of his decision seemed downright foolish.

In the blink of an eye, half a month had passed. Kellac did all he could, but despite being slowed down the combined armies were slowly nibbling away at the Bloodstained Lands.

Richard remained unreachable all this time. A second and even third batch of messengers were sent to Norland in this time, but the portal remained as calm as a windless lake. Nobody returned at all.

As the situation turned more grim, Kellac's heart sunk. As he pieced together more information about wars of the gods, he had already guessed that divine activity froze up portals to an extent. This was similar to how Raymond's forces had been delayed from entering Faelor for a month. Richard likely hadn't even gotten the news yet!

......

While Bluewater had lost its peace, a minority of the people suffered no impact at all from the war. One of these unaffected people was Raymond Joseph, who continued his drab life in his yard.

However, one afternoon the door to the courtyard opened not to the attendant who delivered his meals but Mito.

“Magister!” Raymond put down the map in his hand, “Why are you here?”

He ran over to greet the old mage. Although Mito had given in and turned into one of Richard's subordinates, that did not diminish his fondness for the man. Powerhouses at the level of a saint or grand mage weren't required to work to their deaths for any families; to only surrender when the war was completely lost indicated just how much effort Mito had put in. Moreover, this grand mage had saved his life multiple times before.

Mito scanned the map on the table and realised that it depicted the Bloodstained Lands and surrounding areas, “You are concerned about the war as well?”

“I just had nothing to do,” Raymond joked, starting to make some tea, “It's not every day that you get to observe a holy war. I only ever experienced one in my life, and I was so young then that I didn't even get to join the frontlines until it was nearing its end.”

Mito nodded and suddenly sighed, “Raymond, I've come to bid farewell. I will be joining the frontlines this afternoon.”

“What?” Raymond asked in shock, “You're joining the war too? Is it that bad?”

688 - City of Sin

Unlikely Allies

As a sub-legendary mage in Faelor, Mito was more useful in strategy than in direct battle. So long as he didn't make a move, the opposing sub-legendary warriors couldn't either. Mages possessed far more destructive potential at this level, so revealing their locations would make them an easy target to kill.

However, the reverse was true as well. Once Mito's location was revealed, he would be swarmed with countless opponents and killed off. If the grand mage had to go to the frontlines despite this fact, it was obvious how far the situation had devolved.

“Where's Richard? Why aren't you calling him back?” Raymond went wide-eyed. His army had destroyed Lutheris' church when they first entered Faelor, and Richard currently had about the same military power. How could he not even take care of an intermediate deity like Neian?

Mito sighed, “We've already sent out six batches of messengers. There's no news.”

Raymond turned solemn. He immediately understood that Faelor was currently time-locked, that the messengers likely wouldn't even realise how much time had passed until they reached the other side and returned. However, he hadn't thought just a regular holy war could cause such a thing.

He pondered over it for a long time, “Magister, are you sure you want to go out? Things shouldn't be so dire yet, and the moment you're seen you could be surrounded by enemies and killed off. While Faelor doesn't have runes yet, their martial arts are quite decent. They won't hesitate to kill you, regardless of the cost.”

“I am aware,” Mito smiled slightly, “But we have no way out. This time our opponents are natives, not another Norlander. They will figure out our identities once we surrender, and then we'll be killed off anyway....”

After Mito left, Raymond hesitated for a few minutes before sending out a summon in his mind. A short while later, the enormous mosquito flew into the courtyard and stopped in front of him. Its proboscis actually vibrated, making sounds of Norland's language, “What have you called me for? It is not yet time to replenish the fluids keeping you alive.”

“Are you the broodmother, or should I call you a cloned brain?” Raymond asked as he stood up.

The giant mosquito went silent for a while before speaking again. This time, its voice had changed from an emotionless grating to something more gentle and effeminate that was just as authoritative, “The broodmother now. You surprise me, Raymond Joseph.”

Raymond smiled, “Mages of Solomon have always been known for seeking the truth of the world. Seeds of war and destruction might be rare, but they are not unique. I already had my suspicions after the war, and the mosquito keeping me alive confirmed them.”

“So I assume there was something you wanted of me.”

“I believe we could cooperate....”

Within the courtyard, Raymond and a giant mosquito discussed matters for a long time. Nobody knew what kind of deal they made, but as dusk fell a group of humanoid knights came over and escorted him out.

......

Mito went to the frontlines as well, but not towards Kellac as was the original plan. He instead joined Andrieka's army alongside a mysterious person dressed in black robes whose face was covered with a mask. Hundreds of new humanoid knights set off from the Land of Turmoil and joined the army as well.

That very day, Andrieka's troop usage had changed completely. The army was now entirely unpredictable, the general's control of the battlefield now bolstered by consummate strategy and tactics. They constantly escaped view before setting up ferocious ambushes that wore away at the 20,000 men they were facing. The allied soldiers now found it difficult to sleep; nightly attacks were now so common they had to be armoured at all times.

Neian's powerhouses determined Mito's whereabouts and started gathering, but Andrieka's troops suddenly disappeared for multiple days without a sign. This was completely unthinkable, Neian's allied forces should have been able to track anyone in the Bloodstained Lands right now.
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Just as they were wondering whether the army fled, Andrieka appeared 200 kilometres away and ambushed a dukedom's forces. Over 10,000 soldiers were immediately immersed in chaos, and Mito's spells cut of all commands to amplify the effects. The army was utterly crushed, sinking into extreme terror before they scattered with all their might once they knew who they were facing. Andrieka never took prisoners.

After this battle, Kellac handed control of the entire army to Andrieka; Richard had given the broodmother the power to take over. The situation in the Bloodstained Lands changed completely. What was once mostly barren desert with a few oases now turned into a maze shrouded in thick fog. Richard's troops appeared and disappeared without warning, always finding the weakest point of the allied armies and exterminating them ruthlessly.

Left with no choice, the allied forces gathered together. However, they were met with continuous attacks along the way and their supplies were eventually stolen or burnt. 30 kilometres from Bluewater, the troops were left with no choice but to stop and wait for resupply. Even an infinite army was useless if all of its soldiers were too hungry to fight.

However, that very night over 10,000 soldiers had gathered from Bluewater and attacked. Neian's army hadn't expected it at all, and despite the advantage in numbers they lost to sheer coordination. With all strategy complete, the cloned brain was showing its own prowess.

Raymond had formed a good synergy with the broodmother. He constantly sought out opportunities for battle, and she took care of the rest. When hundreds of armoured crows that were designed after the Forest Plane's woodpecking crows flew out of the nearby swamps, the allied forces soon found themselves on the back foot.

The powerhouses serving Neian eventually found a long-awaited opportunity to fight Mito, but the grand mage from Norland exhibited power that those of Faelor just could not fathom. With the armoured crows distracting them with suicidal attacks, these sub-legendary warriors fell one after the other. Even more terrifying was the cloned brain. Its mind flaying was exceedingly dangerous; even though it could not kill directly, anyone left dazed would soon find themselves swarmed by armoured crows.

The broodmother herself made an appearance in this battle. Mito sustained grievous injuries, as did the cloned brain. Nearly all of the armoured crows died, while the broodmother herself was left with countless holes in her armour. However, two-thirds of the allied soldiers had been killed and the son of Neian sustained great injuries. He was only saved at the cost of nearly all of Neian's paladins sacrificing themselves to stop the armoured crows.

After the battle, Mito returned to Oasis City to recover, while the broodmother returned to the Land of Turmoil. The cloned brain stayed, but only to function as an intermediary for the broodmother while she recovered.

However, Neian's troops didn't give up so easily. Another Child of God that nobody knew of silently approached the Land of Turmoil, chasing straight after the broodmother's whereabouts. Multiple battles had proved that the Beetle Queen was the biggest threat amongst Richard's subordinates, and this Child followed by three sub-legendary experts and ten saints sought to exterminate her.

All of Neian's children were quite similar to himself, tall and handsome with flowing golden hair. Each inherited different abilities, and this one could buff his followers greatly and wouldn't lose strength in a battle before he was killed. However, the Land of Turmoil was mysterious and full of danger. The beautiful strips of light in the sky only served to remind this party that this was a dead land filled with destruction, requiring great caution. Even Neian himself could not withstand running into too many spatial tears.

When they finally passed through the region with the most concentrated turbulence, they had lost two saints while a sub-legendary expert had lost one of his arms. However, what they came across was an enormous being with dozens of compound eyes floating in the sky, looking at the Child as though he was a glorious meal.

The Child halted his footsteps, feeling his entire body go cold as he felt fear for the first time in his life.

689 - City of Sin

End Of The War

The son of Neian couldn't believe himself in that moment. He, who had the blood of the God of Valour flowing within him, actually knew fear? What even caused this? The first thought was the Beetle Queen, but then he remembered that a brother had fought with and injured her. That was the reason he had even given chase. Google search f𝐫e𝘦𝘸e𝗯𝒏𝗼ѵe𝗹． c𝑜m

Regardless, this Child of God knew that killing Aquila was now the only way to win this war. He gripped his longsword tightly and advanced into the poisonous mist, his divine aura counteracting the corrosion. As he took step after step, the edge of his blade began to glow a dazzling gold. A single slash seemed to cut the mist apart, clearing up the area around the broodmother.

As the powerhouses following behind stepped into the clearing one after the other, their eyes opened up in shock. Behind the giant bug floating in the sky was a colossal organism that looked like a beehive. Countless holes were opened within, and at its peak one could see a deep shade of black.

Seeing that specific colour, the son of Neian felt a strange sense of familiarity. However, he could not recall where exactly he had seen it before. Unfortunately, he wasn't given much time to think; the worm nest opened up countless holes to release hundreds of sinister monsters in various forms. There was no aesthetic value to these beasts at all, their forms distorted and random, but they still managed to fly and walk with perfect balance. They seemed to have emerged directly from one's nightmares.

“A cursed Child!” the son of Neian shouted, his blood-curdling shriek echoing throughout the Land of Turmoil. It would have been far more harried if he had noticed the sinister warrior with long black hair that stepped out from the very top. That one was glowing an intense shade of black.

......

It was a catastrophic day for Neian's forces. More than half of his powerhouses had been killed off in the ambush, and the second child he had sent to follow the Beetle Queen had disappeared alongside the remaining experts.

The mortal war thus came to a close. Amidst the rifts in spacetime, the Land of Turmoil now seemed like a sleeping beast of myth that had opened its mouth after a long time. The very thought made those of the Church of Valour feel extremely restless.

Richard only received the news after two months had passed in Faelor. With six sets of messengers appearing at the same time, he quickly realised that Faelor was time-locked and held a small ceremony with Noelene to fix it. Perhaps it was because this involved a contest of power over planes, but the Dragon readily gave him the option of breaking the lock and allowed him to finish things quickly.

Unfortunately, all of his followers and soldiers were still in Blackrose Castle. He sent a long-distance message for them to rush over immediately, rushing over to Faelor with only Fuschia in tow. He would have hesitated to show her his secrets before, but Alice was now an ally and partner.

He was cursing to himself the entire way. He had assumed leaving just enough forces to delay for a few weeks would have been enough; with Mito and Kellac around, they could stall for time as he brought his rune knights back into Faelor to wipe out his enemies. He hadn't considered the same phenomenon that had saved him from Raymond would now harm him instead.

The first thing he did after stepping out of the portal was asking about the current date. The answer made his heart sink at once; more than three months had passed since the first messengers had been sent!

However, as he rushed out of the Lighthouse of Time and flew into the sunset sky, he suddenly froze in mid-flight. Bluewater seemed completely fine, with the two new churches even completed. He could even see the marble steps from a great distance and the statues of the three goddesses set at the top. The sunset light had made it seem like the world was on fire, but that was common in the Bloodstained Lands.

Even if he had come upon a city completely in ruins, he wouldn't have been as surprised as he was now. Wasn't there supposed to be a holy war? How could Kellac or the broodmother possibly fight off the combined forces of so many countries? What was this all about? The city didn't even seem to have been burnt by the fires of war. One couldn't even sense an atmosphere of preparation!

As Richard watched on blankly, Fuschia followed him up into the sky. She raised her brows in surprise at the grandeur of the city, but when she saw the three churches she suddenly lost control of her flight for a moment and almost fell to the ground. Turning a base into a city was one thing, but having churches as well was something different entirely! This meant Richard had either subdued some of the deities of this plane, or he had completely deceived them. Regardless, this was an astonishing achievement that should not have been possible within only a few years.

As the two floated back down, the soldiers guarding the gates had already called over the officer on duty. However, Kellac and Zendrall were still out leading troops and Mito had been injured so gravely he was currently recuperating in seclusion. The officer that did come over didn't have much status at all, so he wouldn't be able to answer all of Richard's questions.

However, Richard suddenly recalled that there was someone he could ask. He gestured for the dazed Fuschia to follow as he walked towards his residence, trying to get in touch with the broodmother. However, it took many repeated calls for her to answer.

“What happened?” he eventually asked after she responded.

“Nothing, just some minor problems, it's already resolved.” The broodmother's tone was inexplicably indolent, as though she was a lioness who had just eaten her fill. All he could sense from her was a strong desire to sleep.

“Minor trouble? You mean a holy war?” Richard pressed.

However, the broodmother seemed too lazy to answer. She just allowed their subconscious connection to update him on her situation for an entire ten minutes before she spoke again, “I guess it was called a holy war. Many people came over, but they've been fought off. I heard the divine kingdoms of the three goddesses are safe as well. Neian should have lost a lot of people.”

“Fought off? How many came? Were there a Child, an avatar? How many powerhouses, and what about our losses?” Richard started sending question after question to her as he scanned through the new information.

“There aren't any more troops in the Bloodstained Lands. We even pushed tens of kilometres back into their territories before withdrawing. I think they had several tens of thousands or something. And what is a Child or avatar? There were some powerhouses, but they all escaped after a few died. A few thousand of your soldiers fought to their deaths, and my losses have been replenished already.”

The broodmother's reply rendered Richard speechless for a moment. With the cloned brain stationed in Bluewater, every drone was basically an eye for the broodmother. With her outstanding intellect, her grasp on numbers was far beyond his own. In the past, all her analyses were accurate at every digit, but now she was handwaving everything. It was as though she was a muddle-headed rookie!

However, before Richard could reprimand her a line of information caught his eye. The broodmother had actually reached 370 units of divinity in storage, something that he couldn't understand. Right before he had left, she had used all but ten units to advance to level 8. It left him ecstatic, but also extremely surprised, “Where did you get so much divinity from?”

“A strange fellow barged into the Land of Turmoil one day and I ate him. After that, there was a lot more divinity.”

“What kind of fellow?” Richard pressed, forcing himself to calm down despite her cloudiness.

“Very strange... ” the broodmother's choice of words was growing more and more sluggish, “Master, I'm very sleepy. I need to sleep. Sleep is good...”

Richard still hadn't managed to get any real information before the light that represented her in his sea of consciousness dimmed. However, just before their connection froze he noticed that she had reached 371 units of divinity. Confident that he hadn't read it wrong the first time, he started wondering whether even sleeping helped her absorb divinity now.

However, most powerful creatures hibernated in crucial phases of their lives. This wasn't the first time the broodmother herself was doing this, so he suppressed his curiosity and tried to look for someone else to ask exactly what had happened in the past three months.

For a while, he felt somewhat strange. In the past, he could always perceive the emotions and location of most of his followers with a single thought. Now, however, his followers were in Norland and the broodmother was deep asleep. A sudden wave of loneliness flooded over him.

690 - City of Sin

Twists Of Fate

Richard started wandering around Bluewater, trying to look for someone who could explain events. As he walked past Raymond towards the city proper, the Joseph youth looked up from a map to smile at him. Richard suddenly felt an urge to scold him, but was preoccupied and decided to let it go.
ｆ𝑟𝑒𝐞𝚠𝒆𝚋𝚗૦𝐯ℯ𝙡. com

Mito's gates were shut and the servant taking care of the grand mage told Richard that he was currently meditating and was not to be disturbed. Kellac and Zendrall had both rushed to the northwest, quelling a counterattack from the barbarians who had taken the opportunity when the soldiers had left.

Feeling helpless, he eventually, walked to the Church of Spring Water. Hearing that he was back, Faylen rushed out to receive him in person and dragged him to the back of the building. This new pope was now level 17, but she was so warm and happy that it seemed like a teenage girl had just embraced Richard's arm and pulled him along.

Fuschia was annoyed by her intimacy, but she followed them in. With her strength, nobody in this church would be able to stop her from doing what she wished.

It took an hour for Richard to get a picture of just what had happened. At the same time, he also understood the source of Faylen's passion. The battle in the Bloodstained Lands had eliminated most of Neian's battle priests and paladins. With these most loyal worshippers having died, Neian's powers had taken a hit as well; he could not sustain his assault on the three goddesses and was left with no choice but to retreat.

The souls in Neian's divine kingdom had suffered heavy losses as well. Initially held back by the forces of the three goddesses, they had lost momentum with the defeat in the mortal world and slowly been pushed back. Neian had traded the Goddess of the Hunt and the Goddess of the Forest blow for blow, but once the war front had reached the Goddess of Spring Water, he had lost a sizeable chunk of his forces.

The three goddesses absorbed the strength of the souls that had perished in their kingdom, growing stronger with time. By the time Neian was forced into retreat, even the Goddess of the Hunt and the Goddess of the Forest had recouped most of their losses.

Having won in the mortal world, Faylen had been boosted to level 17 by the Goddess of Spring Water. Furthermore, she had been given a secret decree; any child she had with Richard would continue her papal legacy. So long as she conceived, she would be boosted to level 18 as well. Few priests or priestesses in history had advanced so quickly in their time.

With this oracle in mind, Faylen constantly pressed her body into Richard's as she recounted the events. Fuschia seethed with rage, eyes piercing through the impudent priestess on behalf of her mistress, but she forced herself to remain calm.

It took Richard a lot of effort to piece together the course of events from Faylen's explanation that was riddled with mistakes and time jumps. By the end, he was left wondering just how she had been selected as pope. If not for his support, she would probably have destroyed the Church of Spring Water by now.

Thankfully, Fuschia served as a perfect deterrent; in her presence, Faylen wouldn't dare do anything extreme. The uncharacteristic closeness left Richard uncomfortable, but considering how she was this flirtatious despite Fuschia's eyes spitting murder he realised there was likely a reason behind it. Perhaps it was related to the Goddess of Spring Water, he mused to himself.

......

After bidding Faylen goodbye, Richard immediately rushed to his command centre. On the other hand, Fuschia stayed back for a bit to 'escort' the pope back to her office before she followed.

In the command centre, Richard opened a map of the Bloodstained Lands and started retracing the events of the war. His brows slowly locked together as he studied it deeply, leaving him with far more questions than were answered. Given Faylen's overview, the strategy had been flawless during the second half of the war; even if he were in command with elite bats for scouts, the outcome wouldn't be much different. Furthermore, he had a number of strong subordinates who could launch multi-pronged attacks to ease the situation.

Given the abilities of Kellac and the broodmother, there should have been no way for them to be this good. He could only think of a few names off the top of his head who would even approach this level of perfection: Alice, Salwyn, Raymond, and Gaton.

As that last name came to mind, Richard suddenly felt a spasm in his heart. He quickly brushed the name off the list, pretending he had never thought of the man. Instead, he put the map down and ran straight to Raymond's residence, finding him still sipping tea. The only difference was that he was now reading indoors instead of in the courtyard.

“Did you lead the war?” Richard asked directly.

Raymond placed his book and teacup down, looking at Richard seriously for a moment before sighing, “You found out so quickly, you're smarter than I expected.”

“How did you convince the broodmother?” A cold glimmer flashed past Richard's eyes.

“We came to a small agreement. The details aren't that important,” Raymond said with a shrug. However, he saw Richard's expression growing sterner and eventually just threw his hands in the air helplessly, “Alright, there's no need to be so serious. It really wasn't much, you can see for yourself.”

A large, pure-white bird flew into the residence, perching itself on the window with a sense of familiarity. As charming as it looked, its eyes held traces of intelligence. Richard could instantly tell that it was a creation of the broodmother.

Just as he started wondering why she would create such a flashy being, the bird let out a clear call before spitting out a pearl-like bead from its mouth and flying away. Raymond picked up the bead and immediately threw it into his mouth, laughing at Richard's disgusted expression, “No need for that, I'm just doing this to preserve my life. That bird is a special being on the plane I grew up in, and I've been growing nostalgic lately. In exchange for helping the war effort, I had the broodmother make one for me that also makes these beads of nutrients to keep me alive. Nobody wants to get bitten by a huge mosquito every few days, it was starting to give me nightmares. It's been so pleasant for the past month.”

Richard continued to look at Raymond silently, not speaking a word. Eventually, Raymond was unable to withstand the glare and groaned, “Alright, you win. You took Magister Mito in and placed him here. A short while after the war began, you forced him to the frontlines alone. That was a death sentence! I owe the man so many lives, I couldn't just watch as he got killed. That's why I agreed to help you win this war, the bird was just an afterthought.”

“Aren't you afraid I'll grow stronger and destroy your family?” Richard asked.

“And you're saying you wouldn't have anyway? Even if I wasn't leading, you would have won this war anyway. The casualties would be much heavier, sure, but with a seed of war and destruction helping you why would that matter?”

Richard went mum for a while, “... Nothing can defuse my grudge with the Josephs, but you did help me out. When I destroy your family in the future, I will consider showing them some mercy.”

Raymond merely smiled and lifted his book once more, at which point Richard stood up and left.

An unexpected war had been won in unexpected fashion. However, as news of Richard's return spread many people started to shudder.

691 - City of Sin

Settling Things

Almost a week later, Richard's followers all popped out of the portal armed for combat. Following them were the fifty most powerful rune knights currently in his army. Richard started cursing again. Having relaxed and turned to focus on runecrafting for a bit, he had completely forgotten the gold cost of having soldiers come back.

However, he couldn't turn back time. With things as they were, he gathered a thousand humanoid knights alongside the barbarian infantry and the few hundred javelineers the broodmother had created so far, leaving right for the capital of the Sequoia Kingdom.

Once Richard's troops started to mobilise, envoys from all over the plane reached the Bloodstained Lands. The dukedoms who had participated in the attack were represented, as were Cerces, Runai, Lutheris, and multiple other gods. The envoys were only there for one thing: to persuade Richard to stop after he got what he wanted. With both the divine and mortal wars having come to an end, they wished for him to stop while he was ahead.

These envoys didn't really care about Neian himself or the Sequoia Kingdom. The instigator of the war obviously deserved to be hurt by it the most, and the Kingdom had betrayed one of its own vassals. In fact, they would love for Richard to just vent all his anger on these two enemies so long as the damage was contained.

Many of the envoys had plenty of experience. Considering that Richard's current force was a decent blend of all the pillars of the army instead of purely cavalry, they knew he planned for war. His numbers were far larger than usual as well, so it looked like he would break right into the capital.

And that was exactly what he did. His army followed the road straight to Sequoia City, completely crushing the 10,000 men that remained of the royal army before heading inside. With Bard and the other royal knights having been wiped out some time ago, there was nobody left to stop him.

The proceeding events went just as expected. Richard walked right into the palace and kicked the king off his throne, gathering the assembly and announcing that his younger brother Marquess Ushur would be taking the throne.

Richard didn't make any further demands, instead heading straight for the Church of Valour. He had been too fast, giving the priests no time to react. They hadn't even managed to gather their important documents before he kicked down their door as well.

Another short yet intense battle culminated in another massacre. However, the paladins did not flee in fright; even the apprentices charged straight into Richard's soldiers and used their very bodies to try and block the advance.

The captain of the paladins was surprised when he made it all the way to Richard, but not thinking much of it he stabbed out with a zealous roar. He could almost see his blade going straight through Richard's heart, but before he could rejoice he felt a dull thud and his body fell to the floor.

Richard pulled back the Twin of Destiny, satisfied by the toughness of the legendary staff. Normal wood couldn't knock a seasoned paladin unconscious through their helmet without taking on any damage. He then took a look at the priests and clerics and smirked, thrusting the staff forward to have his knights surge ahead like wolves.

......

With the battle finished in mere minutes, Richard walked into the heart of the church and looked at the glorious statue of Neian residing within. He called over the head priest of this church and had him stand before the statue, assigning a few knights on guard.

Before Neian's divinity withdrew from the statue, defiling it was a taboo that would turn anyone into an enemy of all gods. This was true even despite the current war between Neian and his three patrons. However, Richard was someone who had studied under Theodore in the Deepblue, someone who could fool even Norland's gods. He didn't need to desecrate the statue itself to harm Neian.

He called over another group of knights and had them search the surroundings, shouting out every single thing they found. These knights that looked strong yet boorish took away almost everything that could be detached. This was flat-out robbery, but there were no taboos restricting it. It was just that most nobles had more grace than Richard when looting the spoils.

The display had the desired effect. Neian, who had been watching everything from his divine kingdom, immediately withdrew all of his divinity from the statue in sheer rage. Richard snickered as he watched the glow dim, patting the priest's shoulder, “Is there a secret compartment?” Please visit ｆ𝗿𝗲𝒆we𝚋ｎ૦𝘃𝚎𝒍. 𝒄o𝚖

The priest didn't even bother denying the fact, allowing Richard to search the statue thoroughly. Richard hadn't expected any great thing to come of it, but when he saw what was within his eyes opened wide in pleasant surprise. It was a page from the Book of Holding!

Richard had never expected that something so valuable would be anywhere but the central church, but thinking over it he remembered that without enough pages one couldn't cast high-level spells at all. A sole page was magical by Faelor's alchemical standards, but it only able to accommodate one spell up to grade 5 it had little use. However, three gathered together would allow for a total of five grade 7 spells. This was immensely useful.

“That—” the priest darted over as he saw Richard take the page, but Tiramisu just patted him lightly and pushed him to the ground.

Richard dangled the page in front of the priest, “Isn't this a spoil of war? It doesn't seem like much.”

“... Alright,” the priest eventually huffed, “You are within your rights to take it.”

The paladins of the God of Valour were all incredibly courageous, but the clergy paled in comparison. The priest pointed at an ordinary book that was also in the compartment, “Lord Richard, this item holds no meaning to you. May I take it?”

Curious about its location, Richard picked up the book to look at it. The cover read Sin and Punishment, and after a few moments browsing through the contents it seemed to be a record of those that had broken their faith and heretics. Every name had a meticulously drawn picture next to it, with details about their sins and the results of the trial. Flipping through it casually, Richard saw a familiar face. It took a moment to recall, but he remembered the priest called Essien that he had fought to the death just when he had arrived at Faelor.

He still remembered the deep impression Essien's notebook had given him. That was a genius of this plane, someone who could greatly advance its power in the future if he hadn't been defeated so horribly.

Looking at the details, it seemed like he had been sentenced to three years of penal servitude for sheer negligence that resulted in the loss of a church and its sacred relic alongside all the paladins present. It would be served in a location called the Valley of Darkness.

Richard remained expressionless as he waved the book around, “Where is this Valley of Darkness?”

The priest's hand rose up instinctively to snatch the book away, but he forced down the impulse. However, he hesitated to answer Richard's question; the consequences would be dire. The Valley of Darkness was the location where most penal servitude sentences by the Church of Valour were carried out. There was a complicated mix of people banished there, and its location being found by the other churches would definitely spell trouble.

Richard sighed, handing a map to the priest, “See, there are two ways we can do this. I can either add a few more bodies to the death toll, or we can come to an agreement to end this war. You pick.”

“... Fine, I understand.” The man took the map and marked a location on it, an uninhabited corner of the Iron Triangle Empire. Richard could tell how terrible the environment was from a single look at the location; nobody would ever explore it without reason.

He nodded and continued to flip through the book, “It's not like we can't stop fighting. My terms are simple; withdraw from the Sequoia Kingdom, and cede all control here to the three Goddesses. This arrangement will last for three decades, after which you may return.”

The head priest pondered over it seriously for a moment, but his face was filled with hesitation.

692 - City of Sin

Devotion

Neian had to pay for instigating a holy war or even his closest allies would not denounce Richard's wrath. Even a greater deity would fall if all of their followers were killed. He had even sent down an oracle to those of his church, mentioning the bottom line at which he would be willing to compromise. The sheer amount he was willing to cede had shocked all his worshippers.

The priest eventually nodded at Richard's request. Although it was an enormous price to pay, it was still within their allocated limits. He even grew a little happy; if he managed to settle on the truce without any more deaths, he would likely be rewarded by his god.

However, Richard suddenly grinned, “I know the God of Valour should have sent an oracle mentioning the limit at which he would stop the fighting. Can you tell me what those terms are?”

The priest's face quickly beaded with sweat. Settling for an armistice right at the bottom line would give him no reward. After all, he had still lost a page from the Book of Holding. And if Neian realised he had leaked the oracle, even the best end would be death by penal servitude.

Richard saw through the priest's worries and smiled gently, “Don't worry, the terms we've agreed on will not change. I just want to know the oracle's contents to verify some conjectures of mine. If you're unwilling to speak...”

“I'll tell you about it!” the priest immediately gave in. Neian's limit had included the Sequoia Kingdom and some of the dukedoms nearby that had aided in the war effort.

Richard nodded and asked curiously, “How did a coward like you even get to your position? Aren't you just one step away from becoming a cardinal?”

“My devotion to the Lord is not to be doubted!” the head priest's face shone with piety, but that soon devolved into a charming smile, “However, if my personal interests do not clast with His desires, he allows some selfishness.”

Richard's jaw had almost dropped at the abruptness of the transformation. It took much effort for him to regain his mind and ask, “What is your name?”

“Busquets, Lord Richard. You can just call me Bu.”

Richard nodded. “Alright then, Bu. I... see some rare potential in you, surprising potential. We might be able to work more closely in the future. How about this: I'll help you join the ranks of cardinals, and in exchange you inform me about every important oracle Neian sends down. What do you think?”

“Wh-What? No, that's betrayal! I cannot do it!” The priest panicked, but Richard noticed a brief look of excitement behind the fear.

“I believe you can, you just need some... little tricks. You already have the means to do this, you just don't know yet. Here, I'll show you something.” Richard tore off a blank piece of paper from a nearby tome and started to scribble on it, filling it up before passing it to the priest.

As Busquets started reading through it, he was immediately shocked and all of his doubts were swallowed back down his throat.

The page was titled 'How to Make Yourself Seem More Devout,' and below it were a few procedures as well as a strange spell. This spell allowed the caster to fool their own mind into becoming the person they wanted to be, something that could be maintained for about half an hour. If one believed themselves to be devout, they would become the most pious of worshippers. Even if a god's will swept through the mind, it would be difficult to notice that it was all a trick.

Half an hour was definitely enough for most ceremonies.

The priest's brows furrowed as he pored over the spell. It required a chant he could not understand, and the power it mobilised was different from the divine grace of one's god. It was his first time seeing a divine spell that didn't require the power of faith, but as he muttered the chant under his breath he could feel the compulsion on the verge of taking over his mind.

“So you don't have to be worried about being discovered. If you believe you are devout, then that is what you are; it has nothing to do with your actions.” That last sentence was something Richard had quoted directly from Theodore.

Theodore was a mage through and through. The only reason he had turned into a divine spellcaster was to study the mysteries of divine power and faith. Just like Raymond, he had been a Mage of Solomon; someone who sought the truth of the world.

Busquets looked over the piece of paper once more, this time completing the incantation. A short flicker of light was the only indication of the spell's presence, and the priest's eyes immediately filled up with fanatic zeal. He stared at Richard and opened his mouth to scream in rage, but Richard promptly tossed a dispel in his direction and removed the effect.

“That...” Busquets looked over himself repeatedly, “That was unbelievable!”

“Easy, isn't it?” Richard grinned, pointing the priest back towards the paper, “Burn it after you learn everything, and forget it ever existed.”

Busquets promptly looked through it thrice, memorising every single word. A bright gold flame then started to blaze in his palm, but Richard shook his head and nimbly snatch the piece of paper away, “Nope, magic or natural fire, please. Don't want Neian discovering us.”

As the paper was burnt to ash, the priest's gaze towards Richard started to fill with a reverence rivalling that for his god. Someone who could even fool gods could not be defied. His mind wandered to an old legend from the Age of Gods, something that held a hint of truth regarding the deity backing Richard. However, he immediately shivered and dispelled that thought.

“Okay. Now that that's taken care of, let's get you some favour from your god.” Richard unfolded the map where Busquets had just marked the Valley of Darkness, looking at the distribution of Neian's worship in the Sequoia Kingdom. He nonchalantly marked out a piece of land in the northeast with three churches and two shrines, “You can keep this bit, that should be enough to get you to cardinal.”

Busquets' eyes went wide, but with fear instead of joy, “This much would push even a normal priest to the rank of cardinal. Why did you choose me?”

Richard smiled, “Because you're careful enough to ask such questions. Now, do continue that caution. This spell isn't invincible; if Neian grows suspicious and focuses on you for any length of time, your disguise will fail. Don't think too highly of yourself either, ignoring our agreement will... not end well.”

“Of course, of course!” Busquets understood the threat. Going against Richard would likely send a letter about his heresy directly to the pope.

“Oh, right. You can keep this too!” Richard tossed the record book over as he left. He had already memorised all of its contents.

......

Early morning the next day, a group of clergymen headed out for the central Church of Valour. Busquets insisted on walking, mentioning that this would be the only way to lighten the sin of losing a church. However, the rest of the priests and clerics weren't as heavy-hearted as their leader; some were even joking around. They knew the terms of the treaty had been rather generous, so generous in fact that the Lord would likely reward them upon their return.

In the meanwhile, Richard announced that he would be staying in Sequoia City for three days. During this time, he would clear out the Church of Valour and turn it into a combined shrine to the three goddesses. The news immediately delighted all three; a long list of glorious adjectives were added to his divine title, and an oracle was passed down commanding all members of the church to assist in the construction. It also commanded the churches to give him whatever he desired.

Whatever he desired... Those with clout in the churches knew exactly what that meant. Faylen herself led a group of beautiful clerics and priests in a rush to Sequoia City, trying to entice Richard with an entire crowd.

However, Richard was busy putting out the fires that had been created by his charge to the capital. Seven armed rebellions were quelled one after the other, killing hundreds of soldiers and taking many times more captive. Of course, most of these weren't true rebellions at all; Richard had just forced some eyesores into a corner and given himself a reason to attack.

Even the biggest rebellion had 4,000 soldiers fighting against Richard's 1,500 elites. There was no one who expected Richard to lose, but it still surprised all onlookers when his rune knights drilled through the enemy soldiers in only three minutes. The entire battle had only lasted ten.

As such, the royal family that had been weakened by Raymond's invasion were now utterly void of military power. Please visit f𝗿e𝗲𝘄𝚎𝐛𝚗𝐨𝙫ℯl. c𝗼𝚖

693 - City of Sin

Crimson Begins

Having quelled all the rebellions, Richard gathered the assembly of lords for another meeting where he formally announced the establishment of the Crimson Dukedom under his rule. However, he did not break away from the Sequoia Kingdom and instead drafted a similar treaty to what existed with the Direwolf Duke.

Nobody could bring themselves to express joy over this development. Richard was not showing allegiance with his actions but instead demonstrating that he planned to continue interfering with the Kingdom's affairs. It was clear that he had no plans to let the royal family go.

Another matter he mentioned was the addition of the lands he was taking over as a frontier knight. With the Bloodstained Lands already acquired, he now added the Land of Turmoil, Ashen Plateau, and the ancestral plains of the barbarians to his basket. These treacherous areas had left humans helpless for many years, but with the glorious feat of unifying the Bloodstained Lands in only a few years, nobody doubted his ability to accomplish this.

A map of the Crimson Dukedom was hung up in Sequoia City. It enveloped all of the Bloodstained Lands, the fief he had received from Bevry, and small plots of land that had been snatched from the Iron Triangle Empire and Sequoia Kingdom.

Lastly, he announced the conclusion of the holy war. Outside of the northeastern regions of the Kingdom, the three goddesses would completely replace the Church of Valour. The parishes belonging to the God of Valour would now fall under their control, also transferring the tax paid by the citizens of these parishes to their churches. Conversions would not be forced on the commoners, but a few nobles related to the Church of Valour noticed the emphasis on the word commoners.

At this point, Richard's position in Faelor had been stabilised completely. He was now almost a tyrant of his own region, someone with astonishing military strength that could stand toe to toe with the best. However, that was a danger in the future. For now, the nobles of the Kingdom heaved a sigh of relief. Normal practice was for wars to be followed by a long period of peace as each side rebuilt.

Of course, Richard was not normal. Quickly realising that Cerces and Runai had provided no aid to their ally, his mind was already on the start of a seventh holy war. Neian's allies could have just assumed he would be able to take care of things on his own, but there was an alarming possibility that they hadn't yet recovered from the injuries Sharon had wrought on them. If that was the case, he didn't mind dealing them a heavy blow that ended them once and for all.

On the surface, it didn't look like Richard had earned much from this war. He didn't ask for compensation nor territory, and had only snatched up the 10% share of the royal family in the Bloodstained Highway. The religious rights had nothing to do with his secular power, and people also knew by now that there was a mysterious yet formidable deity he worshipped that was not one of the three goddesses. However, those perceptive enough realised that the entirety of the Sequoia Kingdom had now become his backyard. He had annihilated multiple potential opponents over a series of wars, and more importantly crushed the audacity of the Kingdom's nobles until they couldn't even think of antagonising him. For the next decade at least, his authority would not be contested with any seriousness.

On the other hand, he also had absolute control of the Kingdom's economy. Almost all of the minerals flowing in now came through the Bloodstained Highway, and he was the single most valued person to the dwarves. The slaves that the Kingdom relied on also came from what was now the Crimson Dukedom, and the trade required a hefty tax. The only thing the royal family had was food and wine, but in a world where one farmer could feed ten mouths at minimum this was worth very little.

There was an intangible benefit as well. Because Richard seemed to have given up personal profits for the greater good, he was now someone with a reputation for benevolence and selflessness. It greatly endeared him to the commoners and soldiers of the land.

......

Richard didn't stay much longer in the capital, rushing back to Bluewater on the fifth day. Leaving Gangdor and Io behind once more, he returned to Norland with all of his remaining followers. However, this time he left behind an additional twenty rune knights just in case.

A mountain of miscellaneous work had piled up back in Norland, and he was also on the verge of becoming a grand mage. A level 20 grand mage was still fairly rare, but he didn't feel any real bottleneck blocking his progress. However, he wouldn't be careless enough to rush head-first either; his bloodlines were starting to resonate with his mana pool, indicating that a new ability would be unlocked as he advanced.

However, there were different levels of resonance that he had to think about. The Archeron bloodline was the closest linked to his mana, followed by his astral affinity and then the regeneration, nature, elemental and moonforce. Because of this, he had stopped his daily meditation and slowed his progress so he could analyse everything in detail. The ability he received upon becoming a grand mage was very important, perhaps second only to what he would obtain when he reached the legendary realm.

An unexpectedly strong ability could greatly change one's powers. Take Lina, for example. When she advanced to become a grand mage, her summoning ability had been boosted into a contract with a fully grown red dragon. It made her worth two grand mages on the battlefield, and was the source of her title.

The ability one obtained upon advancing to level 18 was considered to be largely up to luck, but from prior experience Richard now knew that one's internal affinities played a great part. He couldn't pinpoint the exact relationship, so he wanted to learn more instead of being reckless.

And there was one place that would likely hold all the answers to his questions.

He thus took three two-legged wyverns and headed straight for the Deepblue. With the transmission circle not yet upgraded to a full portal, he still needed to make the journey physically. He could easily have consulted his teachers through the communication circle, but there was a familiar face he was itching to see once more.

Wyverns were much faster and more resilient than griffins. The only issue was their ferocity and lack of stability during a flight, and the stench of their bodies that made them unlikeable to nobility. However, now that he had the money to buy some Richard didn't afford himself the choice of comfort over speed.

......

It only took a single night for him to complete the journey, and his landing was different from the last. The wyverns still fell to the platform and frothed at the mouth in exhaustion, not even sparing a glance at the meat a slave had brought over, but he hopped off gracefully and didn't so much as flinch before walking into the tower.

“Little Richard!” Blackgold's voice sounded in the distance, “Why didn't you let me know?”

The grey dwarf had always liked Richard's diligence from when the half-elven boy was only a youth, but now that he was the tycoon sponsoring the Deepblue's operations his status was second only to Sharon's in his mind. To him, Richard was basically a perfect ore the likes of which he had never seen before.

Richard pulled up the dwarf that had charged over, giving him a strong hug, “I wanted to consult with you professors about some things. I also wanted to see Master.”

694 - City of Sin

A Quiet Night

“You could've at least told me that you were coming!” Blackgold pouted a little, “Heh, those old fogeys will come to fawn over you, but don't listen to them. They just want you to be interested in their research projects so you'll increase their grants.”

The grey dwarf had betrayed his longtime friends without another thought. To him, the direct grants to individual mages did nothing to help the Deepblue's finances as a whole. However, Richard just laughed it off and shifted the topic, “How is the stonewood research going?”

“It should be another two weeks. Old Nenthul fell for another pretty girl and is spending half his days writing poems for her. Damned elves!” The grey dwarf couldn't understand how a woman's charm was more valuable than gold. He would much rather just use his time to earn money and buy dozens of whatever women he desired than spend time wooing someone. However, Nenthul was the top alchemist of the Deepblue; there was nobody else suited for the job.

Richard laughed, but his respect for the elven alchemist didn't drop in the slightest, “So long as it gets done. Right, can you make some arrangements for me to speak with the professors? I have a few doubts about becoming a grand mage.”

“It won't be hard, I can get you all the old... Wait, what did you say? Grand mage? You?!” Blackgold almost jumped out of his seat, circling around Richard several times as though he had seen a beast, “How? Aren't you only... Twenty? Level 18 is the same as me! I mean, magic is only a hobby, we duergar aren't that good at it, but... This is amazing! Where are all the other fellows who had more potential than you in testing? You weren't even supposed to... Eh, forget it. This is really amazing!”

Richard looked at Blackgold with suspicion; the grey dwarf was clearly hiding something about his evaluation. Blackgold stubbornly refused to say more, but he had learnt how to deal with this fellow during his years as an apprentice. Obstinance was met with obstinance, and by the time they reached Blackgold's office the grey dwarf had given up and answered.his question.

His potential in magic had been judged as 'excellent' during his initial aptitude test, but that definitely wasn't good enough to be a student of Sharon's. There were still the grades of genius, outstanding, legendary, unique, and Sharon. Even the worst student in the past had been rated as a genius, while the rest were outstanding at minimum. The chances of even becoming a grand mage were supposed to be low, forget achieving it at such a tender age.

Of course, far too many things in this world relied on luck. Nothing was absolute so long as destiny was on one's side. The God of Luck was one of the most worshipped deities in Norland.

......

Richard spent the entire morning and afternoon engaged in serious discussion with thirteen of the Deepblue's grand mages about advancing to level 18. It was extremely late by the time he was done, and he quickly wolfed down the enormous meal he hadn't had in forever and threw the lafite utensils to the side before rushing out. A wave of nostalgia had made him want to savour the food, but it was quickly washed out by his longing for Sharon.

This time, the drow guarding the gate opened it up on sight, leading him to the crystal bedroom where Sharon was sleeping. She was still exquisitely beautiful, looking flawless despite her arms and legs being strewn about randomly. He sat down by her side, gazing softly at her snoring face.

The strand of golden hair stood up and waved in protest as his hand approached, but then it lazily settled down and let him stroke it as he wished. It seemed like it had changed its attitude towards him ever since he'd pulled it hard.

“I will be a grand mage very soon, at only twenty years old. I didn't disappoint you...” The words seemed to be stuck in his throat. His hands returned to his side, clenching so tightly it felt like a vessel would burst in the next moment, but he couldn't go on. He was proud of his achievements, but in front of Sharon all glory was dim. He didn't even know how to address her anymore. Was she still just his master, or was she something else? As he thought back to the night of passion, he couldn't bring himself to piece together what exactly their relationship was. He could still recall how happy getting Sharon's Delight on his monthly expenses made him; the gold was useful, but the idea that she was delighted with him was a reward of its own.

Unable to say anything, he eventually just went quiet. Thoughts of the legendary mage's impulsiveness had led him to a bizarre conjecture: was what happened on the night of destiny just her acting out as she matured? After all, she was from a race that took hundreds of years to reach adulthood.

He was also reminded of the promise he had made to her. He softly picked up one of her hands and pulled up the sleeves, revealing soft white arms, but the image of the blue lines running all across her body seemed to blend with what he was seeing. He could still remember that beautiful colour that seemed to reflect infinite planes.

The Deepblue Aria that was buried under her skin... Not yet a grand mage, he couldn't even craft grade 4 runes. He didn't know how long it would take to grow able to finish a grade 6 rune like the Deepblue Aria, nor whether he could do it at all. After all, the secrets of this rune could only be unlocked by exploring as-yet undiscovered planes. With his current abilities, he was having trouble with just two.

Outside, he was one of the brightest stars in the sky. However, here he was just a youth struggling with many problems in his heart. All of his professors had told him to delay advancing in the favour of strengthening his bloodline abilities— the strength of the ability one unlocked upon their advancement was closely related to their potential for development— but sitting here he felt an urge to just get to it as fast as he could and start on grade 4 runes.

Smart as he was, sometimes he felt like his blessing of wisdom was useless.

......

An entire night next to Sharon had given him no clear answer. When the blue crystal ceiling started to reflect the golden rays of morning light, he stood up and bid the legendary mage goodbye before walking out back into the large hall. Sharon was still asleep, but the strand of golden hair swayed lazily as though wishing him back.

“Is Her Excellency awake?” Blackgold rushed over the moment he walked out. The grey dwarf had been waiting by the gates all night.

Richard just shook his head, causing disappointment to flash across the grey dwarf's face. However, he quickly masked it and brightened up, “Fayr just returned, he's waiting to meet you.”

“Professor Fayr is here? Great!” Richard knew that Fayr was perhaps the most informed of Sharon's subordinates. He knew more than even some legendary mages, but limited by innate talent he was stuck at level 19. This was the best person to ask about his advancement, probably better than even Sharon herself.

695 - City of Sin

Manaforge

Blackgold, Richard, and Fayr gathered together for brunch. Hearing Richard's doubts, the professor thought over it for a long time, “... I was one of Her Excellency's first followers, from before she had even become a grand mage. I watched her bloody battle with the duergar, orcs, and half-orcs. Even then, her power was frightening, far beyond her level; it could only be because of her bloodline. After that she advanced to level 18, and awakened an ability that there were no prior records of. She called it the Manaforge.”

“Manaforge? What is that?” Richard wracked his mind, but couldn't recall ever reading about such a thing.

Fayr's expression turned nostalgic as he recalled past events, “She described it as an utterly useless ability and forbade us from speaking about it.”

Richard's face turned to one of pure curiosity, and Blackgold's filled with excitement. The grey dwarf found it hard to control himself and eventually spilled the beans, explaining just what Manaforge was. Put simply, it was an ability that doubled one's mana pool.

Fayr waved a hand, having Richard calm down, “You have Her Excellency's meditation techniques, so there is no need to be so eager to advance. I suggest you focus on polishing your bloodlines; the stronger they get, the better.”

“Polishing?” Richard was rather confused by that choice of word.

“Yes. The awakening of one's saint ability is closely linked to their circumstances at the time of advancement. The reason Her Excellency chose to establish the Deepblue so close to danger was so that she could polish her skills, refining her abilities. Her students do the same thing, focusing on upgrading their skills before their level.”

Richard frowned; this made the decision even more difficult.

Ultimately, he was stuck between choosing as a powerhouse and as a lord. Advancing more quickly would allow him to craft more powerful runes that would make him more wealthy, directly boosting his power and status. He still recalled the long list of bloodlines he could obtain just through offerings. Even though something like Manaforge wasn't amongst them, he could still gain plenty of powerful abilities.

He forced a smile before explaining his predicament. Fayr knitted his brows as well; having dealt purely with individual powerhouses in the past, he had no immediate suggestions to make.

Eventually, Richard just sighed, “I'll slow down for now and think about it.”

Before leaving, he spoke to Blackgold in private for some time to get a clear picture of the Deepblue's current finances. Before he left, he handed the grey dwarf a small box with thirty top-grade magic crystals within. Combined with his prior support, this would be enough to tide over the Deepblue for the rest of the year.

However, Blackgold turned solemn when he saw the crystals, “Richard, you have things to do yourself. We don't need this much money at the moment, put this to use in your wars.”

Richard just laughed, “Professor, don't underestimate my ability to make money. Besides, this place is just as much of a home to me as Faust. With Master asleep, I will make sure we keep running.”

“Richard, you... Sigh, fine.”

“Right, I need help with one more thing. Help me keep an eye out for young mages with potential in runecrafting. They don't need to be particularly talented, it should be enough so long as they can get to crafting elementary runes.”

“No problem,” Blackgold nodded.

“Okay, I'm going. Take care!” Richard bent down and gave the grey dwarf a warm hug before getting back on the wyvern that had been nursed back to health. Looking at the afternoon sky, he flew off into the horizon.

......

While Richard was flying across Norland, the Sacred Alliance had erupted into chaos once more. He had announced a list of the branch families that had stolen his offerings and hadn't paid him back yet, also implicating all of the clans that protected them. He had left right after making the announcement, but then Alice suddenly mobilised her troops and attacked five nearby branches that were on the list! Even worse, every one of these families was backed by Sauron!

Hearing the news, the Marquess had flown into a rage. However, outside of denouncing Alice and Richard in public he didn't make any other moves. His army had been mobilised, but it didn't cross the borders.

Within Sauron's grand throne room, Sua was arguing with his father once more, “Father! If we do nothing, how will our vassals trust us in the future?” Please visit ƒ𝘳ee𝒘𝚎𝐛𝘯𝐨ν𝑒l. 𝒄o𝘮

“And you suggest what?”

“Mobilise the troops! Forget those who've been captured, at least help those who are still around!”

Sauron calmed down, “And what if Alice continues attacking anyway?”

“Then...” Sua ground his teeth, “Then we fight!” There were great risks to engaging Alice in battle. Richard was a gifted tactician, but Alice's troops constantly disappeared like the wind and attacked unexpected locations.

“Quite brave of you! Then let me ask, how many rune knights do you think she has right now?”

“Forty at most!” Sua replied almost immediately. He had done his research.

“And how many rune knights does Richard have?”

These words were like a bucket of cold water that woke Sua up. He still remembered how Richard had led 150 rune knights to Blackrose Castle and left him without the ability to resist. He had almost gone insane back then, wanting to fight to the death, but he had been held back by his general. Now that Richard was Alice's partner, he would certainly give her the right to command any rune knights he had in Norland. Forty was nowhere near an accurate picture of how many she could bring out.

Sua lost some of his bloodthirst, but as silence enveloped the hall for a moment he grunted in agony and spoke up once more, “Father, you can see just how fast Richard is advancing. If we... if we don't contain him now, we won't have a chance in the future!”

Sauron kept silent for a long time. In the end, all he managed was a barely audible sigh.

......

Alice's actions had sent chills down the spines of the rebels, but even more frightening was the fact that Sauron wasn't standing up for them. The Marquess had made loud proclamations, but there were no actions to back that up. This made many vassals realise that the tree they had relied on could not shelter them from the coming storm.

However, nothing could have prepared them for when Richard actually took to the field himself. He had rushed straight to Blackrose Castle once he returned from the Deepblue, gathering 3,000 footsoldiers that had just been armoured with superior-grade equipment, 200 elite shadowspear knights, 200 rune knight candidates, and 100 rune knights. The pack of wolves flooded out from the Azan Peninsula like a frightening horde, intent on wiping out all the Archeron branches that were unwilling to plead guilty.

The surrounding families that were eyeing these territories protested, but Richard didn't care as he entirely ignored their protest and hunted down the traitors one by one. This scared off most of the smaller families, but some nobles were angered instead.

Earl Petron Tuescher was one such noble. Hailing from a branch family of the Tueschers, he had grown even more unyielding in the face of Richard's threats and even pulled out his personal army to head the defence of one of the Archeron branches. His actions made it clear that one would have to go through him to attack them.

Richard still ignored the threats, continuing his march until he eventually came across the Petron's 6,000-strong army.

“Richard!” the Earl screamed across the battlefield as Richard's army approached.

Richard reined in his unicorn, staring at the man, “Do I know you?”

Petron's face turned green with humiliation; for an earl to introduce himself was a joke. He drew out his sabre and raised it high into the sky, screaming out a warcry. His private army started moving forward, their flawless formation so synchronised that the earth shook with their footsteps. On the other side, Richard's soldiers had been moving in a snake-like formation that had no meaning at all.

Petron had only wanted to let Richard know he didn't fear battle, but when he turned back and saw Richard's icy glare his heart skipped several beats. Richard's knights had also turned their heads, looking at him with pity reserved only for a dead person.

The soldiers started moving seemingly without any command, the scattered men reforming completely in only a few moments. The rune knights at the forefront started their charge before Petron could even regain his senses, piercing into his army like a needle into cotton.

Blood and flesh filled the skies. The Earl finally snapped out of it, only to see his men dying at an alarming rate. It was only then that he realised his determination and resolve did not translate to ability. Of course, that resolve had been limited in the first place; he had only been hoping to scare Richard away with the numbers and the Tuescher crest.

696 - City of Sin

A Thorough Cleansing

News of Petron's army being picked apart quickly spread through the surrounding lands. The Earl had managed to survive, but more than 5,000 warriors had been taken captive and it took his entire fortune to ransom them back.

Far fewer people dared to challenge Richard after this incident, while some of those on the list fled their territories or surrendered of their own accord. Richard had added in his announcement that those who didn't resist would be handled with more leniency.

Every absconder's territory was occupied, their families exiled as punishment for their betrayal. Richard's prestige soared to the skies, and Sauron's fell. There had been some more people who just couldn't learn, but after another earl and three viscounts were killed nobody dared to try and “reason” with him anymore. The upper class was reminded once again that Richard was a true blue Archeron; anyone who stole from him would pay ten times the price for their folly.

The branches that would rather die than submit were shown no mercy. Richard made sure to kill off every important member, and the rest were sold to slavers and the territories taken over. He didn't care whether he had enough justification; since this was internal strife in the family, the courts could not intervene.

This was the first time Richard had personally dealt with the traitors, and it had shown just how merciless he could be. His army was only a few thousand strong, but they were like the scythe of a reaper spreading death and destruction wherever they went.

When there were only two names left on the list, Richard was suddenly met with an unexpected enemy. Baron Sua had rushed out to battle, but he had only brought 2,000 men with him. Furthermore, there wasn't a single rune knight in his entire army. With these low numbers, it seemed like he hadn't mobilised a single one of Sauron's soldiers.

“You want to do battle?” Richard looked at his opponent incredulously.

“Why not?” Sua's eyes were blazing with determination, but they were not backed up by his army.

Richard looked behind him once more, “And with that number of troops?”

“How many should I have?”

“Sigh. With that quality, you wouldn't be able to beat me even with ten times the number. You'll just get crushed.”

“So what?” Sua suddenly laughed, his voice warping into an angry growl.

Richard looked closely at Sua before nodding in approval, waving for his knights to fan out. It was evident that he didn't plan to use any tactics for this fight; once Sua made a move, his rune knights would just crush his army head-on.

The huge volume of rune knights gathered could suffocate someone to death, but Sua just turned back to his soldiers and cried out, “ARCHERONS! SHOW THIS ENEMY THAT WE HAVE THE COURAGE TO FIGHT TO THE DEATH!”

The war cry was met with few responses. Many of Sua's troops instead started quivering with fear, knowing that they were being asked to march into their deaths. They knew they wouldn't be able to stop the charge even if they gave up their lives; even the bravest of warriors would hesitate in such a situation.

The greatest problem for a commander was in finding soldiers willing to join the front lines in a battle against rune knights. That was a suicide mission that few were willing to take on.

Sua was surprised by his soldiers' cowardice, but he immediately roared again and pointed his sword at the sky before bellowing for them to charge. He rushed out at the very front, not caring about how many followed behind.

Only a small portion of the army followed Sua in his charge, but half of them grew too intimidated to move before they even made it halfway. In the end, less than a hundred soldiers were left charging towards Richard's rune knights.

This pathetic number was even fewer than the number of rune knights in the opposing army! There was only one end to this fight, but Sua and his footsoldiers still madly rushed forward with flames in their eyes. Richard was taken aback for a moment, moved by the courage of these enemies. Despite his distaste for the Baron, he could see that the youth was an Archeron through and through.

He raised his hand, causing his followers and the rune knights to grip their weapons tightly. Once it came down, they would charge forward and dismember the opposing force without the slightest hesitation. However, the hand never came down. He instead withdrew it, shouting out a command, “Catch them alive.”

Although shocked by the order, the followers and rune knights followed through. Capturing someone alive was much more difficult than killing them, but with the stark disparity in power, it wouldn't be too hard. Sua was an exception, but the rune knights didn't have to take care of him.

The baron's red-hot eyes were fixated on Richard. From the moment he had even gathered his troops here, he had been prepared to die in battle. It was only when he was twenty metres away from Richard that he heard the rune knights crash into his soldiers from both sides. As he continued his charge, however, he suddenly felt like the sky went dark for a moment. An enormous shadow had enveloped his body.

He barely managed to turn in time to see a huge body falling towards him. It felt like a mountain was crashing down, giving him only a moment to slash with his sword before it crushed him with terrifying force. His sword sparked against the opponent's armour.

When Tiramisu stood up cursing about a thorn, Sua's entire body had been pushed into the ground. If not for the horse under him, he would have been crushed to death. The epic-grade sword was bent severely, almost broken as half of it had dug into the ogre's abdomen. However, this was only a minor injury to someone so large.

The two-headed ogre had behaved nowhere close to a mage, relying purely on mass to leave Sua on the brink of death. There was no technique here, no finesse, but it was effective.

It took Sua a lot of effort to stand up, vision slowly returning, but there was a constant ringing in his ears. It took him great effort to realise that it was Richard in front of him. The world seemed to be spinning constantly, muscles so weak it was like he had just been dipped in boiling oil. However, he still managed to force himself forward.

Looking at Richard's calm and collected gaze, Sua felt disappointment rising in his heart. Not much time had passed since their first encounter, and now a warrior like him didn't even scare this mage in melee anymore.

He felt his entire body go limp and closed his eyes, “Do it. Kill me quickly.”

However, Richard just smiled, “No.”

697 - City of Sin

Archeron Valour

“I said KILL ME!” Sua growled, swaying back and forth.

“Hmm? What for?” Richard asked.

“We're mortal enemies! In the past—”

“You did a lot of things to me in the past, killing you a couple times over wouldn't be punishment enough for that. However, today you've shown me that there are some Archeron lords who haven't devolved into cowards yet. Not everyone has the courage to charge into my rune knight platoon with only a hundred men. Instead of killing you, I'd much rather get my followers some pocket money instead.”

Sua froze for a moment and then gritted out, “You'll definitely regret letting me go!”

“Then it would be a new experience.” Richard signalled for the knights to withdraw.

Sua paused once more, taking some time to realise that Richard was letting him and his warriors go, “What...”

“There's no need to be surprised, I don't have the time to take care of slaves. Go back and figure out how much you're worth, send the ransom to Blackrose. Alright, I'll be on my way; there are two more ants I need to crush.”

The army thus scattered out, leisurely marching down the road.

“My Lord, I...” An aide walked over to Sua, head hung down in shame. He hadn't charged in with the rest.

Sua barely even glanced at the man, “If he can let me go, I can forgive you for not being brave enough. However, this will be the first and last time.”

......

Sat upon his iron throne Marquess Sauron's breaths were growing rougher as a servant reported an unthinkable development— Baron Sua had taken his personal army to go fight Richard. Please visit f𝙧ee𝙬ℯ𝐛𝓃𝐨𝚟𝒆𝘭. c𝒐𝓂

Just how many soldiers could a measly baron have? Sauron knew the answer to that, and he knew exactly what would befall his son once the battle started. In the end, he just said nothing and waved the servant away. The hall was cold and gloomy, the chill of the iron beneath him seeming to penetrate his very bones. Sauron suddenly wondered about this seat of his; was it so cold that it had quenched the volcanic fires of his heart?

Before long-distance transmissions were a thing, griffins and wyverns had been the most popular method of travel. However, even now griffins were preferred for their convenience and cost; many would rather run to their destinations on foot than have portals set up. Only very important items were transmitted via magic.

Of course, Richard had no such constraints. Two new barracks and training grounds were being constructed in the vicinity of Blackrose Castle, and the castle building itself was being extended to add a teleportation complex. No expenses were saved when it came to security here, and Lina was currently working on portals to Faust, Faelor, and the Forest Plane. Once those were done, Senma's plane would come next. Every teleportation gate was built in an isolated building of its own.

Richard's dream was to fill the mountainside with these gates.

The castle itself needed to be renovated as well. The original design had focused purely on defence, so that wouldn't be a problem, but Richard wanted more utility buildings and more comfort. The griffin and wyvern nests needed to be fleshed out, and a morsehill hawk nest needed to be added in. Lastly, a new city would be built at the harbour that Azan overlooked, adding the potential for trade. Of course, Richard was also using this to warn the old vassals who ruled the lands nearby.

Looking through the reconstruction plan once, Richard nodded in approval and signed the contract. The mage in charge immediately turned excited; a huge project worth nearly a million gold was the dream of every earthcrafter.

Richard didn't have much of a network outside of Faust; there weren't any good architects in Azan, and he couldn't trust strangers with bolstering the defences of his castle. Having been impressed by Alice's own castle, Richard had borrowed these earthcrafters from her lands. Masons were en route already and would be here in a few days.

Having signed and approved the plan, he and his followers returned to Faust. The city was now bustling with life, many powerhouses having gathered from all over the continent and even other planes with more on the way.

His reclamation of Blackrose and the execution of the traitors wasn't merely about removing a few hundred branch family members; nobody of import cared about the land he had acquired or the amount he spent on his troops. However, it had been a perfect display of the power of his rune knights, and that was something that caused an uproar throughout the continent. It was already coming to light that his success rate had to be extremely high, a common trait of all budding saint runemasters.

Right now, many believed that he was in the middle stages of his development. His creativity, skill, and theorycrafting were no longer the problems holding him back; it was mana. This also meant that the runes he could craft were already approaching the pinnacle of his craft. Many people thus wanted to snag what they could from him right now; after all, once he did grow more powerful the value of his time would increase several fold.

By the time Richard returned to his island, there was a large basket filled with greetings on his desk. Some were from important families, others from blood relatives of famous powerhouses. It was said that a legendary being had personally come to Faust. Far more people had decided to participate than he had expected, and there were still three more days for the most important of the lot to arrive.

Seeing the sheer number of requests for invitations from high society, Richard immediately sent people over to ask Agamemnon to arrange for a professional host. He also had to add a rune convention to the start— one from a new runemaster called Rosie Archeron.

While Agamemnon was close enough to Richard to have known about Rosie, he was still shocked upon hearing her name. The reticent fellow flashed a rare smile, “The two old fogeys are going to go crazy over this.”

It was no secret anymore that Rosie was a budding runemaster, but many believed she could only craft a small number of elementary runes. This was where most mages who devoted their time to runecrafting stopped. Even the most optimistic of people wouldn't have guessed she was already a true runemaster, implying she had the potential to become a great runemaster at minimum. If the Mensa Family had known of this, they definitely wouldn't have sold her off to the Schumpeters.

“It really is Rosie?” Agamemnon still found it difficult to believe.

“Of course it is,” Richard answered matter-of-factly.

Others might think that Rosie was just lucky— the Mensas had passed on making her a runemaster because of her limited talent in runecrafting, but she had the opportunity to learn from a budding saint runemaster so she was brought beyond her limits. However, Richard did not think the same way. He could see with his own eyes just how much effort she put into her studies, living life between the laboratory and the meditation room. Very few people in existence could tolerate such an existence for more than a few days, but she had been doing it for years now. Even he hadn't been as focused and persistent during his five years in the Deepblue.

Her foundation in magic theory was extremely solid as well. There was some rigidity to her mode of thought, but she was malleable enough still to be guided. He didn't have to teach her everything; so long as he pointed her in the right path, she would come to the proper conclusions herself. Her becoming a true runemaster was only to be expected.

698 - City of Sin

Wintry Cruelty

“Leave the auction and convention to me, I'll get you a host and spread the news,” Agamemnon said with a nod.

Richard smiled, “That's a relief. Right, why are you still level 17? Becoming a saint shouldn't be a problem for you.”

It had been a while since they had last met, and Agamemnon was currently taller, darker, and slightly thinner. His body still looked to be made of steel, not extravagant in the slightest but extremely sturdy for what it was. Even so, he was still at level 17.

“Umm... It's a family secret... Ugh, I was going to tell you anyway. You've heard of Philip the First, right? The third generation head of my family? He was one of the most powerful beings in all of Norland during his time, touching upon the laws of the plane. He discovered that the stronger someone was before they took the last step to becoming a saint, the more powerful the saint ability they unlocked was. Ever since then, our family has an additional rule that one should spend a year in a battlefield of despair before becoming a saint if they wish to fight for the inheritance of the family.

“So I'll be going over in a few days, and it'll take me a while to return.”

“Oh... Yeah, my professors were telling me to do something similar...”

“Fees, rune knight.” Agamemnon immediately returned to his taciturn self. He had only given background to his explanation so as to make it as clear as possible.

“Why not ten?” Richard asked seriously. He knew that this information wasn't as casual as Agamemnon had made it out to be. It was likely one of the most important secrets of the Orleans Family. Philip Orleans the First was a mythical figure who wasn't just any other legendary being; this was someone who had gone down in history for their sheer power alone. This information was also more concrete than what he had learnt in the Deepblue. While Sharon had done something similar, the legendary mage's existence was almost a law unto itself. She was completely different from those who had to actually comprehend the laws of the world.

Agamemnon laughed, bumping his fist into Richard's chest, “Sure, but not now. I'll get them if I return.”

“When you return,” Richard chuckled, “But don't forget to make a prayer to the God of Luck before leaving.”

“My family has its own beliefs,” Agamemnon mentioned mysteriously.

“That works. I'm thinking of going over there sometime soon myself, but I don't know whether I should.”

“You have to!”

“Why?” Richard's brows furrowed. He knew Agamemnon couldn't afford to tell him every family secret, but he really was confused over his future path.

“It's only places like the battlefields of despair that one can unlock all their potential,” Agamemnon stared at him seriously, “People like you and me look pretty powerful on the surface, but at our core we are no different from ordinary people. The true powerhouses of our generation have already stepped out of the boundaries of Norland to explore the myriad planes themselves, we have to squeeze out every last bit of our potential to catch up to their footsteps.”

Richard kept silent for a moment before laughing, “You have so many things to say today. Who are you and what have you done with Ag?”

“Sigh. I might not be able to speak anymore in the future, so I'm just finishing everything I have to say.”

“Your family's heirs aren't ordinary, right? Are the chances of death that high? If you're anything like Beye, it shouldn't be a worry.”

“Don't compare me to that freak. Beye is a freak. As for the death rate of the possible heirs...” Agamemnon paused for a moment, “it's about 50%.”

“You... You guys are really crazy.”

“Says the Archeron,” Agamemnon chuckled.

“At least let me create a set for you before you go!” Richard offered.

However, Agamemnon rejected him, “I need to strengthen my bloodline in the Battlefield of Despair. I can't do that if I'm using runes and powerful equipment.”
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These words reminded him of how Beye had forced him to only use steel daggers during their first journey to the Land of Dusk. Indeed, anyone able to survive such a bitter environment was destined to become a formidable expert one day. He didn't press on any further.

“Okay then, be careful!”

“I won't die.”

The two youths shared a strong hug before parting ways. Richard watched on as Agamemnon's figure faded into the distant horizon before leaving himself.

......

Faust grew even more chaotic over the next three days. The news of a new rune convention had shocked the city once again, this time more because of its presenter than its contents. Most people had known of the pearl of the Mensa Family for a long time, and many youths had been smitten by this perfect princess of Faust. Everyone had found Richard's bet with the Mensas to be shameful for her, but nobody had guessed that only a few months later she would return to the limelight as a runemaster!

Hidden deep underground in the Mensa island was a secret dungeon. Inhuman screams were ringing out from within, so pained they would send shivers down one's spine. A middle-aged man had been hung up on a rack in the torture room, completely naked while multiple tortures in black clothing worked on him. The man had long since cried himself hoarse, bleeding everywhere on his body, but magic kept him both alive and awake. There was no respite from the unending pain.

More than ten people were observing the torture from one corner of the room, five of whom were seated. Duke Mensa was right in the middle, his face as gloomy as Floe Bay in winter. The wine swirling in his glass was so dense it seemed like fresh blood, and he didn't so much as blink at the inhumane treatment of the prisoner. Most others watched on keenly, and those with sympathy written all over their faces didn't dare to turn away either.

Mensa gulped down all of the wine within his glass in one go before signalling for the torturers to stop. The cleric waiting nearby immediately let loose a flurry of spells that healed the man to a state where he would be able to answer questions.

“Do you recall now?” the Duke asked him, “When did Rosie start showing talent and interest in runecrafting?”

“I... really don't... know!” the middle-aged man replied in a hoarse voice, “She... went and read... those things herself... They were all... magic books... No runecrafting!”

“So you were her teacher in magic for seven years and you didn't realise she had the gift to become a runemaster?” Mensa ridiculed him coldly, “This will be your last chance.”

“I... I...” The mage's body started to tremble with horror. He knew anything he said at this point was meaningless; this cruel maniac would never let him go. All the Duke wanted was a target for his rage.

Mensa's fingers gradually loosened their grip on the wineglass, causing it to fall to the ground and shatter. Everyone felt like the broken glass was cutting into their hearts as he barked out an order, “Keep him crying like this. Don't let him die before the seven days are up!”\

Even the torturers and cleric showed a troubled expression. It was one thing to keep the man alive for seven days, but keeping his vocal cords intact was an entirely different story. However, they didn't dare to add on to the Duke's anger right now so they firmly nodded their heads.

“You lot!” Mensa turned to the others, “Follow me to the convention tomorrow! I want to see what that little slut can make, and who would dare to buy her runes!”

Everyone silently followed him out of the torture room.

699 - City of Sin

A Convention Of Love And Hatred

As the sun and moons cycled through the sky, the day of Rosie's convention seemed to arrive in the blink of an eye. Early in the morning, Richard exited the teleportation temple on his horse with his numerous followers right behind. Rosie was silent as she rode next to him, attracting many gazes in her mage robes.

Coincidentally or otherwise, they came upon Duke Mensa on their journey to the auction house. Sparks seemed to fly from the three pairs of eyes.

“Richard, what a delight it is to see you!” Mensa was the first to speak. Without adding any titles behind the name, he was just mocking Richard's lack of formal status.

“Ah, Duke!” Richard laughed heartily, “Unfortunately, I don't share those sentiments. When are you going to get out of Faust?”

The Duke's expression changed at Richard's crudeness, but he maintained his sarcastic tone, “You're not the only one who's wondered about that, but everyone's been waiting for hundreds of years now.”

“Of course!” Richard laughed, “But then again, you haven't met someone like me in that time either.”

At this point, Mensa's own entourage was enraged as well. They pushed aside their robes to reveal hands on the hilts of their weapons, but Richard just scoffed at them, “What, you want to give him even more problems? Well, step forward, let's get it over with.”

The Duke's face immediately turned green. A fight right outside the auction hall? Losing would be one thing, but if they won then every powerhouse waiting within would add the family to their list of enemies! Besides, His Majesty had warned them that any more actions against the Sacred Alliance or its allies would be met with lasting consequences.

Richard likely knew of this, which was why he was trying to provoke them. However, seeing Rosie next to Richard and even holding his hand, Mensa couldn't control his rage at all, “If you want to fight, I'll arrange for someone after today.”

“After today?” Hahaha!” Richard's loud laughter drew shocked looks from the passersby, “Why would I bother about you later? You should concern yourself with your castle first, Duke.”

These words were strange, but before anybody could understand their meaning Richard had led his followers into the building.

......

The auction had been arranged at Faust's second largest temple, but the many people present at the venue almost filled up the place. As the prelude to the auction, Rosie's rune convention enjoyed a similar level of popularity.

The huge volume of people in the audience made Rosie's heart beat violently, but many years of training in etiquette allowed her to maintain her grace and style regardless of nervousness. Her three custom grade 2 runes were nowhere near comparable to Richard's two sets at his first convention, but given her sensitive status and beauty, many amongst the crowd didn't feel like their time had been wasted. Everyone was discussing her change of allegiance and the enmity between the Archerons and Mensas.

Most of those present were here for Richard's custom set, so they were more informed about runecrafting than normal. The fact that he had transformed someone of little innate talent into a runemaster spoke volumes of his achievements in the craft, boosting their confidence further.

As Rosie was introducing her runes to a mixed reaction from the audience, a burly man in the corner of the hall was laughing about the foolishness of the Mensas and Schumpeters. His scathing words pierced through the low din, and many of those listening were nodding along. The brighter Rosie glowed on stage, the more humiliating it was for the two families.

However, the burly man suddenly turned around while grabbing the hilt of his weapon, frowning as he searched for the source of the killing intent he had just felt. He saw a grey-cloaked man of the same build as himself, large hood covering the face. “The Schumpeters are a powerful family who live on one of the islands,” a hoarse, low voice rang out, “Are you not afraid of death?”

“From those pussies? Fuck them! If they want to fight, the Geist Family will be happy to send them to their deaths!”

The gazes on the burly man were instantly filled with respect. The Geist Family was a powerful clan from the Sacred Tree Empire that far exceeded the Schumpeters and the Mensas in terms of power and influence. In fact, the reigning emperor's favourite concubine was from their family.

Even in Faust, the Schumpeters couldn't do anything to a Geist. War between families was one thing, but the Sacred Alliance wouldn't tolerate the possibility of causing a war on the scale of empires. The hooded man kept silent for a while before snorting loudly, turning to leave while ignoring the continued mockery from behind. Only after entering a narrow alley did Dario Schumpeter reveal his sinister face.

Duke Mensa had left the venue long ago. He could tell from the sheer number of people that Rosie's convention would be an unprecedented success, and he could not bear that insult. Even though most of the people were there for the auction, Rosie Archeron's name would definitely spread throughout Norland anyway. His heart had bled as the pearl that should have belonged to his family now glowed in Richard's hands.

All logic would state that this was Richard's achievement more than Rosie's, that she would have been nothing without the guidance of someone of his calibre. However, that only hurt the Duke even more. He had only stayed as long as he did to save his reputation; more than half of those in the hall did not lose to the Mensas in power and status.

There was another dejected person in the audience: Foster. His face was warped with hatred and bitterness, glowing eyes looking upon Rosie with utter content. He had already trampled over her a million different ways in his mind, but that thrill could not wash away the pain of his dreams washing away.

He once had countless halos around his head. Having been born into an influential family, he was slated to be the next royal runemaster of the Sacred Alliance. Being tall, handsome, talented and in the future extremely rich, he was the dream lover of more than half of Faust's young ladies. All these dreams had been ruined by Richard's arrival. The bastard son of an upstart family had blown him away in the midst of a meteoric rise to the top. This was a mountain boy whose presence was unknown for the first ten years of his life!

Still, he had tried his best to ignore Richard, working on his own craft to forge a position for himself. He cursed whenever news of Richard came up, like with the announcement as a royal runemaster or the crafting of Lifesbane, but he poured himself into his work. It was when Richard had arrogantly surpassed Lunor that a flicker of hope arose in his heart once more: he and Richard were no longer on the same level, so he was powerless to change the facts. What was to say the Alliance could only have two runemasters? He would realise his dream one day.

But now, Rosie's appearance had destroyed that hope as well. An ordinary mage with middling talent in the arcane arts had suddenly turned into a runemaster. Her past glory and disgrace meant nothing; her abilities were proof enough of her value. All three runes she announced were custom designs; they might not be as astounding as Lifesbane, the Guide of Secrets, or even Savage Strike, but they far surpassed his creations. Even if the Sacred Alliance appointed a third runemaster, he would not be the one they chose.

A familiar figure popped up in Foster's vision. Even though the person was wearing a thick cloak, he could immediately recognise his master anywhere. However, the bulk of his anger suddenly focused onto Lunor. How was a runemaster who couldn't even craft grade 4 runes qualified to instruct him? It was this old geezer's inability that kept him back.

As he watched Lunor's back, several ideas started floating around Foster's mind.

700 - City of Sin

The Lance Of Broken Stars

Amidst a flurry of emotions from the people involved, Rosie's rune convention finally came to an end. Richard's auction started right after, but it didn't last nearly as long. A legendary mage from southwest of the Sacred Tree Empire acquired the custom set for five million gold and eight times the material cost. This translated into something around ten to twelve million gold, far exceeding the price of most grade 2 sets. It was an affirmation of his talent.

Several people who hadn't managed to bid were annoyed, asking for him to offer more items up for auction like new sets, but they were quickly rebuffed by the royal family. The auction only ended on schedule after Richard promised them that he would hold another auction in half a year for several custom rune designs.

Outside of earning him a fortune, this auction solidified his status in all of Norland. He could now charge no less than grand runemasters who could craft grade 4 runes, and this was based purely on his ability with customised designs.

......

When he returned home, Richard first had to politely reject the envoys from various powerful families with invitations to dinners before he met up with the buyer.

This mage's dark skin was full of scars and corrosion. He was quite large and sturdy, but he dressed in a tight leather suit similar to what fishermen by the sea wore; one of the only differences were the sharktooth daggers at his waist.

“My name is Nezha,” he introduced himself, “I come from the Prydain Isles in the Waers Ocean. In our language, Prydain means 'The Land of Eternal Sunshine.' Our citizens make a living off the sea, and I spend half of my time a year there as well.

“This should work as the payment for the rune set,” Nezha took out a box and placed it in front of Richard.

Richard paused for a moment as he took the box, able to sense the smell of the sea from the legendary mage's body. That smell intensified as he opened the box, a foul odour of fish attacking his nostrils. A bestial cry rang out within the room as a devilish aura enveloped him. Richard looked in to find a pearl-like crystal the size of a fish, its surface constantly steaming. He could sense the power behind it, but he still looked to Nezha for further explanation.

“This is the essence of a legendary dragon turtle. For some reason it floated up from the depths of the sea and came on shore, and a number of powerful saints alongside thousands of soldiers and a dozen warships were destroyed before I manage to kill it. This is a top-tier offering, and because it still has a fragment of the original soul it can be used as the core of some special enchantments.”

“Hmm...” Richard raised a brow, “That seems worth more than what you offered.”

Nezha smiled softly, “It's fine, I have high standards for rune sets.”

“About that... My fields of expertise lay in harnessing the power of fire and stars, I'm afraid that clashes with the sea. On top of that, a set is heavily dependant on the rune slots and capacity of its target; I cannot make any guarantees.”

“All I want is for you to have tried your best,” Nezha pushed the box closer to Richard.

Richard finally nodded, “It just so happens that I was looking for an offering. Okay, so who is it that needs the rune and when can I meet them?”

“You can see him right now.” Nezha pulled an antique silver bottle from his breast pocket and silently recited an incantation. Mana started to flow like a tide as it rushed through the hall, creating a strong gale that sent Nezha's hair dancing in the wind. The greying black hair braids suddenly seemed to gain their own soul, moving in all directions of their own accord.

Richard's eyes immediately lit aglow as he activated Analytic to see if this was an illusion. However, the braids suddenly warped into venomous snakes right before his eyes, causing him to gasp in shock. When Nezha opened his eyes once more, the pupils were gold and vertical, the same kind as commonly seen in reptiles!

Richard felt a sharp pain in his eyes as bestial roars filled his very soul. His consciousness scattered in a scant moment, but the beast attacking it didn't seem satisfied as it leapt to consume his very soul! However, moments before the claws reached his sea of consciousness a wave of crimson lava suddenly flowed out from within and submerged the creature. An earth-shattering cry rang out as the image completely faded away.

......

“...chard? Richard! RICHARD!” Repeated shouts finally broke Richard out of his daze, but when he opened his eyes all he could see was a blur. Blinking stung hard, and as he tried to look around his eyes started throbbing with pain. It was then that a cool energy landed on his body, a type of mana that seemed to be pure elemental water that washed away the pain.

He recovered his vision just in time to see Nezha's fingers curling back from a spell discharge. Io and Nyra started pouring spells onto him right after, but by then he had already healed.

Nezha's face was filled with shock, “I'm so sorry! I didn't think you'd be able to see through my illusion, it should take someone approaching legendary might to do that.”

Looking at his dazed face, Nezha suddenly shrunk in size and build. He, or as it turned out she, put a blue cap over her hair, “... I owe you an explanation. I normally don't meet people in my true form; my snake hair acts independently and can hurt the soul of any creature in sight. Still, you actually managed to fight back and even hurt it gravely; it makes me even more confident in you.”

The memory of those ten snakes left him with goosebumps, but Richard nodded in understanding. He had been healed, and the information that Nezha was not completely human was a secret in its own right. He quickly assumed she was somehow related to gorgons.

It was only then that everyone noticed a burly young man next to Nezha, naked above the waist and quite sturdily built. He had deep blue hair that seemed to be made of waves, and similarly coloured eyes that were filled with fear at Richard's face.

Richard stood up and circled the youth many times, shooting out fiery beams of light from his eyes that caused the young man to shudder as he repressed the urge to attack. Nezha had to constantly stroke his hair, releasing bouts of water with every stroke, to calm him down.

When Richard was finally done, he just paced around the room for a few minutes before raising his head in incredulity, “Your Excellency Nezha... I made it clear that the rune set was meant for a human... Or even someone half human, at least.”

Apprehension flashed across Nezha's face, “I know, but... This boy is very human-like, no?”

“Sigh. Your Excellency, he only looks human. Even lizardmen are more closely related to humans than he is. Forgive me, but foreign races are not in my area of expertise.”

“Is there really no hope? I can pay you more! I have other things you might be interested in!” Nezha took out a sharkskin pouch from her waist, gritting before placing it before Richard.

However, Richard did not touch the pouch and instead looked her right in the eye, “... I need to know your motives. What do you want for him?”

“I just want him to be stronger! Even if it's just a little bit, that's okay! I thought about this quite a bit, and runes should be the fastest way to enhance his capabilities.”

Richard sighed once more, starting to rap the table as he murmured to himself. The air grew thick with gloominess, almost stifling Nezha as she constantly shifted between nervousness and excitement. On the other hand, the youth was looking at Richard's followers who were watching him like a hawk, especially Flowsand and her guardians who felt extremely threatening. His eyes constantly darted towards Zangru as well.

Eventually, Richard looked up once more. “Okay, I'll try, but—”

“I only need an elementary set— no, even a few grade 2 runes for the child should be enough!”

Richard didn't respond right away, instead waving the youth over. The child cautiously took a step forward, but he refused to go any closer. Richard cast a probing spell and fell into thought for a few moments, turning back towards Nezha, “I have a few ideas now, we could try them out. It can still be a set, but unlike before I can't guarantee it'll be stronger than the Guide of Secrets.”

“Ah, yes. The Guide of Secrets. It was the reason I came to your auction in the first place, it really impressed me with its creativ— wait, what did you say?” Even the legendary mage took a moment to actually process his words.
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“It will still be a grade 2 set, I just can't guarantee its power. I'll try to add one or two grade 3 runes, but even so, it might not measure up. The Guide of Secrets was something that I crafted with great purpose, and I don't have enough experience with crafting runes for other races right now to equal it.”

“That... That...” Nezha did not know what to say at this point. It was all she could do to stuff the pouch into Richard's hands amidst her surprise. However, Richard firmly refused the extra payment and gave it back to her, leaving her feeling completely unable to express her gratitude.

He had a room arranged for Nezha in the castle, telling her she would get a design by the evening. What he managed to come up with was the Lance of Broken Stars, a six-rune set that was balanced in its boosts. It had two set abilities, Water Shield, and the eponymous Lance of Broken Stars. One was defensive and the other offensive, making it flexible, but there was nothing exactly special about it.

Of course, Nezha thought otherwise. She remained just as elated as before, immediately approving the design upon first glance.

Richard told her that she could collect the set in seven days before buying the materials and heading to Faelor to begin crafting it. He wasn't quite satisfied with the design, but given the circumstances, it was the best he could do. Any more and he would need in-depth research that included anatomical analysis of several samples of the target species performed by grand mages over numerous years.

Seven Norland days later, Nezha took the Lance of Broken Stars and left silently. At that time, Richard didn't understand just how much of a stir this event would cause.

701 - City of Sin

Unstoppable Demolition

Earth-shattering cries were ringing throughout a world of dark purple. Tens of thousands of figures of various forms ranging from a metre tall to more than a thousand were floating in the purple sky, staring down at the crystal mountain below. They seemed to come from various different factions, gathered in groups of about a hundred each.

Desperate battles were playing out atop the mountain peak, purple blood forming puddles of luminescent blood. The number of survivors on this battlefield of life and death slowly dwindled as they approached the summit while fighting off their peers, time seeming to slow down with each kill.

Eventually, a humanoid youth with dark blue hair and eyes began the final battle with a gigantic demonic creature right at the top. An ear-splitting cry rang out as numerous lines on his naked torso lit up in resplendent colours, forming an illusory spear around one of his hands as he stabbed right into his opponent's chest.

Many people were left breathless at the sight, some for the beauty and some for the spectacle. The youth raised both arms as he stepped onto the pinnacle, the only survivor of this battle and the most dazzling star amongst his peers.

Those above started discussing the existence of a great mage by the name of Richard who could craft powerful runes for those not of human descent. There hadn't been many runemasters in the history of Norland who could do this, and right now less than ten were still alive.

The news thus spread far and wide.

......

Richard had no knowledge of such events. Once he'd given the Lance of Broken Stars to Nezha, he took the offering she paid him with to the Church of the Eternal Dragon and conducted a ceremony.

“Mortal, how do you want to allocate the blessings amongst your family and yourself?” Having conducted more sacrifices to the old dragon than most nobles would in their lifetimes, he now knew these words down to the most subtle of intonations. They made him recall the first ceremony he had ever performed, when Mordred and Gaton had been waiting for him outside the screen of light.

But now...

The voice boomed in his head once more, making him snap out of his reverie. Richard raised his head slightly, “Everything to the island.”

Faust trembled once more, the sky turning dark as the Archeron island absorbed pure elemental mana from the air to create new dry land. It slowly broke away from its original path, beginning to leap forward. However, this time it wasn't only one level of difference. It instead broke out of its entire level, floating up in the direction of island 6-6.

The Joseph Family's island boomed as well, trembling as it descended to the earth. The edges of the land crumbled away, but there wasn't much of importance present there. Please visit f𝓇ℯℯ𝚠e𝒃𝘯𝒐νel. co𝐦

Instead, it was the Mensa island that was now consumed by a cacophony of screams. Mournful wails rang out as the earth below the family castle broke away, causing the stone structure to break apart and collapse. Many of the powerhouses had flown into the sky, but they could do nothing to stop this disaster. A third of the castle slowly broke off and fell down, the debris being transmitted to an unknown space.

The Mensas had only lost a single place in their own level. Although the floating islands were very small, normally only the peripheral buildings would suffer any damage. However, the Mensas had been far too proud. While they were not qualified to enter the sixth layer of islands, they were absolute hegemons of the seventh. They had thus used up their island's space to the maximum, constructing the castle at the very edge. Duke Mensa himself liked watching the resplendent sights of Faust down below as he pondered the political situation of all of Norland.

Three figures flew out from the falling castle. With the help of two saint guards, Duke Mensa had narrowly escaped the fate of death. The old man almost fainted at the sight. He finally understood what Richard had meant when speaking about his castle. So he had wanted to break his castle apart, and this was a method that couldn't even be opposed!

......

The Archerons' rise in level alongside their newfound wealth became the word of the town once more. The Mensas' misfortune would only serve as a backdrop to Richard's glory, and the broken reputation would take several decades to fix if it was even possible. However, Richard had gone straight to Faelor after finishing the ceremony, spending a month there before returning to Norland for an appointment.

Richard was now an extremely important person in Faust, with many waiting in line for just a chance to meet him. His daily schedule was thus planned far in advance, and every minute of this one day's return was completely filled.

The first person he met was the Second Prince.

With the floating island still being an enormous construction site, Richard ended up meeting Neil within his laboratory. Neil had left all his guards waiting at the entrance, only bringing one servant along.

The moment they met, Neil gave him an enthusiastic hug, “I've been looking forward to meeting you again!”

“More like looking forward to my runes,” Richard chuckled.

“Haha, of course!” Neil burst into laughter, not annoyed at all. This was the best part about him; no matter what he said or did, one could sense a genuinely free personality behind it.

“Alright then,” Richard went straight to business, “Who's the rune for?”

“It's her!” Neil pointed at the servant behind him.

Richard narrowed his eyes, immediately seeing through the pretence. This was a young lady of about twenty years of age, currently at the peak of her life. However, the only impression he got of her was her youthful energy; there was almost nothing special. While his own standards for beauty and aura were quite high, this person was still quite mediocre.

What surprised Richard was the look Neil gave the woman. It was the same look he himself reserved for Flowsand.

The Second Prince was nothing special to look at either, but he did have an aura of leadership and status that would entice most women to his side. However, Richard didn't really care, “Okay, any specific requests?”

Neil muttered to himself for a while before speaking up, “Boosted mobility in all sorts of terrain is a must. On top of that, the runes should be focused around saving one's life, just like ”Neil muttered to himself for a while and then said, “Strengthening all mobility in different kinds of terrain is needed. The runes should best be the kind that can help save one's life, just like— no, even better than Savage Barrier. Defence is the priority.”

“No, I want more offensive power!” the young woman cut in, dissatisfied.

“Don't act up,” Neil said softly, “Anyone who wants to become a powerhouse first needs to survive. If you live longer than your opponents, you'll naturally be stronger than them. Master Richard here is the best runemaster in the entire Sacred Alliance; I paid a heavy price for this opportunity, follow my lead alright? I'm only doing what's best.”

“I... But... I won't be useful on the battlefield!” the young lady argued.

“Survival is the most useful thing on the battlefield.”

“But—”

“No more buts! I've decided!”

Seeing that the conversation was done, Richard finally butted in, “Okay, I can do that. But how powerful does the set need to be?”

Neil gritted his teeth, “No need to think about what you use, just make it as powerful as possible!”

Richard just stared deadpan at Neil for a few moment, “I'm sorry, but even with a 10% discount I don't think you'll be able to afford me going all out. Besides, the bottleneck isn't even with the materials. She won't even be able to withstand a full grade 2 set.”

A sad look crossed Neil's face, but it was clear from his clenched teeth that he had known about this beforehand, “Just do your best! Don't worry about the price.”

Some expensive materials could indeed lower the demand on carrying capacity. Richard thought it over for a while before casting a slew of detection spells on the woman, “... Okay, I'll give you a draft by the afternoon. We can finalise the details by then.”

......

By the afternoon, Richard had already completed a design for the Savage Wanderer set. It was made of four components, one of which was a grade 3 rune optimised for capacity. It's ability was similar to the defensive powers of Savage Barrier, capable of blocking two full blows from a powerhouse.

Neil was awed by the design, slamming his fist into the table and declaring that he wanted it, but at the sight of Richard's half-smile he knew it wasn't going to be good. Surely enough, the cost was enough to leave him pale. The entire set was optimised for capacity, almost doubling the price over a standard grade 2 rune set. The nearly 10 million gold in cost made Neil feel like all his fat was trembling. However, if the optimisations weren't performed the woman wouldn't be able to use the set.

What surprised Richard most was the fact that Neil agreed to this price through clenched teeth. He looked at the Second Prince and heaved a light sigh, “This isn't a smart decision, you know. Aren't you going to consider this for a while longer?”

Neil laughed bitterly, “I know, but what can you do? It's okay to be stupid, what's scary is never finding someone to be stupid for...”

......

“My dear Richard, your father once told me that being stupid is okay. In fact, he was scared of not finding someone to be stupid for...”

......

“Alright, then! I know you can afford it.” Richard looked over at the calendar, “Hmm... Six days from now, I'll return to Norland. You can collect the set then.”

“You know I can afford it?” Neil just nodded his head, sighing before he took his leave.

702 - City of Sin

The Undercurrents Burst Forth

Once Neil left, another guest arrived to meet Richard in secret. This was a tall, sturdy saint warrior who radiated an aura of blood and steel forged by battle. The man stiffly performed a military salute before handing over a thick stack of documents and taking his seat.

Richard browsed through the information in his hands as he asked, “And you are?”

“Dupont, Lord Richard.”

Richard was somewhat surprised and looked up, “The brother of the family head? I hear you're an excellent general.”

“Just someone who's fearless on the battlefield,” Dupont replied.

Richard nodded, “It looks like your family is very sincere.”

“Of course, this is something that benefits us greatly.”

“Haha, yes. Looks like I didn't choose the wrong partners.”

“You'll know that choosing us wasn't a mistake when the Anan flag is mounted on the Schumpeter island!” Dupont declared solemnly.

“Quite confident of you, but my conditions are harsh. Do you not need to think things through more carefully?”

“No need! My brother and I have discussed this; we'll just treat it as though there were no profits from our first few years on the island.”

Richard stowed the documents away, “Great! It's decided then, you can handle the Schumpeters and other normal obstructions, I'll take care of the interference from the Mensas.”

“About that...” Dupont hesitated for a moment, “Lord Richard, what if the Mensas send all their troops?”

“Then there will be a war between the Archerons and Mensas,” Richard said casually.

“Alright, then. If Lord Richard can fight off the Mensa troops, we Anans are confident in defeating the rest. We might even have the residual forces to support you!”

“Then things couldn't be better,” Richard said with a smile.

“Our preparations are already complete. I'll return immediately and dispatch our troops!”

Dupont turned to leave, but Richard tapped his shoulder, “Wait. To prevent any accidents, I can lend a hundred elite knights to you. Just in case.”

“The shadowspear knights?” Dupont asked in shock and delight. News of Richard's shadowspear knights having defeated Earl Goliath's rune knights had already spread throughout the land. A hundred of these powerful warriors were definitely a valuable resource for a capable general like Dupont.

“Yes. So long as the Anan Family can pay the price, I will support you completely.”

Richard finalised some more details with Dupont before sending off this famous general who had just returned from another plane. He barely had any rest afterwards before a servant walked in and notified him that a mysterious visitor had shown up at the castle doors.

“Mysterious visitor?” he frowned in annoyance, “I don't have any other appointments for today.”

The servant's face immediately paled a little, “My Lord, she bears the crest of the royal family. It is of the highest rank.”

“She? Right... Send her over.”

A few minutes later, Reyna walked through the door in tight leather armour.

Richard had her sit down, “You're using your identity here, that puts me in a difficult position.”

“We aren't kids, Richard,” Reyna said indifferently, “Why resort to such tricks? I came to find you today because I admit complete defeat. Tell me, what do you want me to do.”

“Hmm...” Richard thought over it for a while, “Nothing.”

Reyna's composure immediately vanished and she jumped up in agitation, “I'm a saint!”

Richard smiled, “You're also beautiful.”

“You!” The princess turned red with anger, about to pounce on him to attack. However, she quickly realised what he meant and deflated completely. She had expected this situation to occur but had also been hoping against it. “Okay, you want my body,” she said coldly, “When, and how long?”

Richard sighed and shook his head, “Your Highness, if you don't have any constructive suggestions, please return. I'm a busy man.”

For a moment, Reyna was lost for words, “You... You don't want my body?”

“Not at all!”

At that point, Reyna had every intention to fight it out with Richard. However, she could only stand up and turn to leave. Before she pushed the door open, however, she looked back at him and asked, “What in the world do I need to do to make you happy?”

“I really have no ideas, Your Highness,” Richard replied, “But if you're truly sincere about it, I believe you'll find a way eventually.”

Reyna heaved a long sigh, “This visit should show how sincere I am. Could you please let Raymond live a little more easily?” Please visit fr𝗲𝚎w𝒆𝚋𝘯𝚘ѵel. c𝗼𝐦

“He is getting by rather well at the moment,” Richard eased her worries.

Reyna thus asked him about the next time he would return to Norland before leaving without another word. She was perhaps more confused now than when she had arrived, but more determined as well. Richard knew she would eventually find a way; he didn't understand why exactly, but he was a little sentimental today.

He looked at the time, finding that there were still two hours before he needed to return to Faelor. There were some documents to look through, but that would only take him a few minutes. However, he couldn't leave earlier since some materials he'd ordered hadn't arrived yet. Normally he would go over his income, but most of the 30 million he had earned recently had been spent on materials, construction, and equipment.

He thus took a book about the abyss off the shelf and started reading through it. Time flew by as he flipped through the pages, and two hours later his second consciousness alerted him that it was time to return. He picked up the materials along the way, quietly heading to the Church of the Eternal Dragon.

He hadn't realised just how much he liked peace and quiet now. In front of others he was a bold, unconstrained Archeron, but when not around people he would much rather think about things quietly on his own. He always felt like he didn't have enough time, and no matter how tired he got he just had to trudge along as he bore the accumulating burden of his responsibilities.

......

The Sacred Alliance settled down once Richard's auction came to an end. However, it wasn't long before high society found another interesting topic to speak about; the Anan Family had grown active once more. They were mobilising their troops without regard for Duke Mensa's threats, and within a week they officially declared that they were advancing into Faust!

703 - City of Sin

Accruing Fame

If they succeeded in defeating the Schumpeters, the Anan Family would be the first group to enter Faust since Gaton and his thirteen had forced their way in all those years ago. Having threatened them once before, the Mensas would suffer as much of a blow to their reputation as their allies. However, Duke Mensa was surprisingly quiet even though the Mensa armies were mobilised to join the defence.

On the other hand, Dario was just an embodiment of rage. His cries and shouts rang throughout the Schumpeter island while their armies were pulled back from their planes, but the total strength he could gather was pitiful. Even more infuriating was the fact that some of his commands were being ignored; his scheme to merge the family with the Mensas had been revealed, garnering dissent from many of the elders.

Traditionally, the nobles of the seventh layer of islands would send troops to stop the Anans while those from the sixth would provide appropriate to any side they backed. However, 'appropriate' had never been given a concrete definition; the Anans thus had fifteen rune knights and a hundred shadowspear knights marching amongst their ranks.

Faust broke into a huge commotion the moment this news broke out, doubts coming from all over. The power of the Anans' elite force was basically doubled, and the implication was clear that any rune knights provided to the Schumpeters would be met in kind. However, the representative Richard sent to the assembly only had one thing to say: the Archerons would only cease interference if the Mensas and Josephs stopped all of their support to the Schumpeters.

The Josephs were fine— they were far too focused on themselves to meddle with external affairs right now— but the Mensas could not stop anymore. The army had already been mobilised, and Duke Mensa had already declared publicly that he would protect the Schumpeters to the death. The Duke thus emphasised his stand with an impassioned speech: if Richard wanted war, then so be it!

The envoy Richard had left behind only chuckled in response to the declaration, walking away without another word.

......

The very same day the year of protection from the Church of the Eternal Dragon came to an end, Richard's portal from Faelor to Blackrose Castle was completed as well. Almost all of the defending troops were withdrawn from the floating island; only Fuschia and a few dozen soldiers were left behind to man the physical and magical defences in the place.

Richard even planned to bring Fuschia away with him in the future. The floating island was only a symbol, its value calculable in terms of offerings. Its safety did not depend on the number of soldiers, only Richard's overall might. Even if the castle was breached, the Archeron tombs were protected by a legendary-grade enchantment that would hold until Richard's boiling vengeance destroyed the offender.

If Gaton and his thirteen knights were still around, nobody would dare set their sights no the floating island even if there were just a bunch of old and disabled people there. Similarly, as long as the rune knights Richard had gathered were not harmed, nobody would be so stupid as to attack his island. Just as well, the Archerons were the only family crazy enough to waste powerful offerings to break off the edge of another family's island.

......

The next few days were a flurry of events that almost nobody could take their eyes off. The Anans finally started moving towards Faust, displaying an intimidating military prowess as they defeated enemy after enemy along the way. However, nobody saw any signs of Richard's rune knights or the shadowspear knights amongst the family's troops.

While speculations were starting to run amok, Richard walked out of Blackrose Castle with a dozen rune knights and hundreds of shadowspear knights. Although these drones weren't elites, every one was level 13; they were the latest creations of the level 9 broodmother. He also had 2,000 powerful cavalrymen follow behind, nearly a thousand of whom had been borrowed from Alice. Alice's knights were lower-levelled than Richard's, but they were veterans of the battlefield that were frightening in their own right. However, Richard's goal in enlisting them was to convince them of his position as the head of the family.

Over the next few days, this army charged up and met the Mensas in battle.

Norland was not Faelor; the elite bats gave Richard a great advantage on the battlefield, but the Mensas had their own scouts as well. On top of that, Flowsand and her guardians could not participate due to the neutrality of the Church of the Eternal Dragon. However, Richard needed neither to display his prowess on the battlefield; his army was an intricate machine that heartlessly tore through the lives of its enemies. His orders seemed to be transmitted to every one of his knights at once, as the tide of soldiers ebbed and flowed with almost no warning until the opposing forces were ground to dust.
𝐟𝓇eℯ𝒘𝙚𝚋𝓃𝐨𝘷𝗲Ɩ. co𝓶

They fought nine battles in total over four days, and Richard won every single one of them.

The Mensas were losing soldiers at an astounding rate, while Richard's rune knights collapsed one after the other. Duke Mensa was scared of bringing out his own rune knights to fight; he didn't have the seemingly endless supply that Richard did. His troops were torn apart when they split up, and when they gathered together they were bypassed completely as the Mensa lands were razed.

The Duke considered just gathering an army to pounce upon Blackrose Castle, but quickly decided not to. Richard had made it known that there was a portal to Faelor present within, which meant an unknown number of soldiers would be waiting to stop a siege. Besides, attacking the ancestral territory of the Archerons could attract the ire of all the other Archeron lords including Goliath; if they teamed up to delay his army, then Richard could potentially turn the entire Mensa lands to ash before flanking in from behind.

The war thus continued with another four battles over the same number of days. Richard still won every single one. He lost nearly a hundred cavalrymen, including ten or so rune knights, while thousands of the Mensas' most elite warriors perished in battle. All of the experienced generals of the Mensa Family met their defeat.

By this point, a little over ten thousand of the Mensa Family's most powerful soldiers had met their end, while an equal number wouldn't be able to return to the battlefield even if their wounds were healed. Richard had lost thirty rune knights while the Duke's were unharmed, but still the old man didn't dare to use his rune knight platoon to fight Richard.

It was only then that the Mensas realised what was happening. Richard's plan had never been to coax out the rune knights; he was actually aiming for their core soldiers, depleting the assistance that the rune knight platoon would have. This would greatly increase the threat to these elites in any battle.

After an immensely tense meeting amongst the elders, the family finally sent a message to the assembly that they would withdraw from the battle and no longer interfere with the Anans heading to Faust. Once this announcement was made, another commotion broke out.

This battle would later come to be called the Eight Day War, the first of Richard Archeron's many illustrious achievements. Another name was added to the list of famous Archeron generals, this one even ranked slightly higher than the goddess of war.

704 - City of Sin

Sincerity

The battle between the Anans and Schumpeters was overshadowed by the glory of the Eight Day War. It was only once everyone grew tired of talking about Richard's exploits that they realised the Anan Family had won.

However, the road to Faust was never smooth. When Dupont Anan finally managed to see the city of miracles with his army behind him, a total of 6,000 soldiers lay dead on the road. However, the Schumpeters now only had a month to leave island 7-7, after which it would be handed over to the incoming family.

The aforementioned island seemed to be covered in a dark cloud. Everyone was busy scurrying around as they packed and demolished, unwilling to talk too much. Duke Dario just lazed in his study for days on end, staring at the ceiling. The Day The City Fell, a mural from a master artist that he had always favoured in the past, now stung every fibre of his body. Even the image of a young lady being carried away by fully armoured soldiers that he used to enjoy failed to arouse him.

Being forced out of Faust was not the end, but it was the beginning of a terrible fate. The Schumpeters would now have to go through other powerful families to present offerings, but they were too poor to even rummage up any real offerings in the first place. The ravenous enemies that had been awaiting their fall would now pounce forth, with one specific name that was especially terrifying in the mix— Richard Archeron.

The Eight Day War had shown the Sacred Alliance a side of Richard that few had known of before. He was no longer just a runemaster, but also a valiant general that could not be defeated by any common powerhouse. At the very least, the Schumpeters had no warriors capable of guaranteeing Richard's death. Dario still had a distant relative, a younger brother of his grandfather, that possessed legendary might. However, it had been decades since this grand-uncle's name had even been mentioned; considering the flow of time in the Battlefield of Despair, it wasn't impossible for the man to be long dead.

Besides, which legendary powerhouse would even dare to lay a hand on Richard? Sharon's might was known to every expert of Norland; nobody wanted to awaken the sleeping dragon.

For the first time in ages, Dario Schumpeter set aside his hubris and started to consider the fate of his clan.

......

“The Schumpeters? What can they even do?” Lina asked Richard with confusion. Richard had just informed her to look out for the Schumpeters' movements while he was off in Faelor. He had just convened a meeting of his followers in Blackrose and set a time for his return.

Richard laughed in response, “If I'm not wrong, they'll be sending some people over soon. See what they bring; if it's valuable, let me know, if it's not, accept the gifts and chase them away.”

“You... You're too...” The Dragon Mage didn't know what to make of Richard's order. It wasn't consistent with the style of nobility at all.

“It's nothing. Don't forget, we're upstarts.”

......

Richard thus left, leaving Lina to what he presumed would be a life of boredom on the floating island. She was technically in charge of Blackrose Castle, but as a spatial mage of great skill she could easily craft a portal to get there whenever she wanted.

However, it only took two Norland days for the Schumpeters to send their envoys. Seeing what had been sent as a token of 'sincerity,' she immediately called him back from Faelor.

When Richard rushed back to the Archeron island, a look of irritation could be seen on his face. When Lina had asked him to return, she hadn't mentioned just what the Schumpeters had brought along. She kept mum even when they met, just bringing him to a small room and asking him to see for himself.

Within the room was a black-haired young lady kneeling on top of carpet, staring blankly out of the window in a daze. It was someone who had left a deep impression on him before, partly because of his past and partly because of a fight.

“Sisley?” His questioning tone startled the young lady, causing her to look towards the entrance, but the dazed look remained in her eyes.

Richard wanted to question the Schumpeter envoy at the stairs about just how he was supposed to control such a dangerous woman, but the moment she turned around he noticed an exquisite scroll clasped in her hands.

He couldn't help but sigh in marvel at Dario's ingenuity. Not only had he sent Sisley over as a peace offering, but he had also attached an enslavement scroll as well.

However, the only thing Sisley reminded him of was Sinclair, of that cruel and twisted girl with a cruel and twisted past. His heartstrings tugged as he caressed Extinction which was at his waist, unsure if this one had suffered the same fate.

That action seemed to snap Sisley out of her reverie. She shook her head once, flashing a pained smile, “I can protect myself better than my sister. Besides, the elders are trying to please you right now; they wouldn't do something so stupid.”

Richard didn't dignify her words with a response, instead pulling a chair over and sitting before the girl who was still kneeling on the floor, “Sinclair's last request before her death was for me to kill you and the Schumpeter elders.”

Sisley maintained her bitter smile, “Yes, I betrayed her for my own safety. However, if I hadn't done that both of us would have been forced to attend that goddamn 'party' night! At least one of us managed to escape!”

“Oh? And why were you spared instead of her?” Richard asked softly.

The girl's face paled as she recalled the past, “Sigh. She was just too naive, so I sacrificed her to save myself.”

Richard shook his head, “So you betrayed your naive little sister instead of protecting her. Okay, let's put that aside for now; what use does Dario think you have for me?”

“I'm pretty, talented, and can command troops in battle. Sinclair wasn't as good as me in any of these aspects!” All of it was spoken in a single deep breath, Sisley's eyes filled with the fear that Richard wouldn't see the value in her.

Of course, Richard remained cold and unimpressed, “Now, better than Sinclair is hardly good.”

“I can do anything you want me to! Besides, you don't need to doubt my loyalty!” Sisley lifted the enslavement scroll up high, moving to rip it apart and invoke the contract.

However, Richard snatched the scroll from her before her second hand even touched it. He then passed it to Lina who was standing by the door before turning back, “I'm not wasting something so valuable on you.”
ｆ𝑟𝑒𝐞𝚠𝒆𝚋𝚗૦𝐯ℯ𝙡. com

For a moment, Sisley's hands were still frozen mid-action. Enslaving a beautiful and dangerous woman such as herself should have been an irresistible offer to any man, but Richard seemed unwilling to even use a free scroll on her. Had she lost her allure? Was she worth less now than a mere scroll?

She forced a smile, “Aren't you worried about me betraying you too?”

“And what can you even do?” Richard asked bluntly before turning to Lina, “We should be done here, go tell the envoys that this gift isn't sincere enough. If Dario wants me to leave his family alone for the next two years, I want the heads of half of the Schumpeter elders. If that's too much of a price to pay, he can look forward to guarding his territories.”

“What about me?” Sisley asked. Her smile still remained, but one could see the tremendous dread in her heart.

Richard looked at her before waving for Lina to stop, “Right, take this one with you and give her back. I don't need a woman, I need lands. You, can I exchange you for an earldom?”

“An earldom?” Sisley's petite face was almost as red as her eyes, “Lord Richard, you think too much of my value. I'm only worth a knighthood at most.”

“Well, that's something. If Dario doesn't understand my meaning, then he can't blame me for what'll happen.” Richard waved his hand, signalling for Sisley to leave.

This was the straw that broke the camel's back. Sisley's face turned white as a sheet while her eyes flooded with tears, voice starting to tremble with pain as she fell to the ground, “Please, no! Sending me back will be like throwing me into the abyss! You don't know how much I'll suffer there, it'll be even worse than Sinclair! Please, save me! I beg you!”

“An abyss, you say. Why would I trust someone who destroyed her own sister? Lina!” Richard turned around and walked towards the exit of the room. However, Lina was still stood at the door, blocking his path.

“Lina?” he asked in confusion. She didn't seem to want to move.

705 - City of Sin

Trust

Lina seemed to be in half a daze, a struggle playing out right on her face at the mention of what would happen to Sisley if she returned. Richard quickly noticed her feelings, causing an expression of annoyance to crawl up on his face, “What, you want me to give up territory in Norland?”

The Dragon Mage's expression was still blank as she asked, “Territory? What territory...”

Richard gave her a death stare for a few minutes before sighing helplessly, “You... Fine, I understand. Sisley!”

The young lady immediately leapt up from the ground, rushing straight to Richard's side. Her chest was heaving violently as her eyes filled with longing. Richard looked intently at her, but after a while he gave up on trying to decipher whether her expressions were genuine. He couldn't find a single flaw in this would-be facade, even though he knew that someone who could be so cruel to their own family definitely wasn't as helpless and simplistic as she looked.

Perhaps it was just a rash decision in her youth... However, the possibility of such a thing was quite low. It was most likely that she was just a gifted actress. Still, he patted her on the head, “I'll send you to one of my private planes with a small number of troops. Prove your worth to me.”

Sisley immediately grew excited, her face full of glee, “You're not sending me away anymore?”

“I know you're just acting, but I can't see that with my eyes. Consider this your win; I'm— no, Lina's giving you a chance. This will be the first and last time you will ever possibly be trusted; use it well.”

Sisley tilted her head, the pitiful look immediately vanishing into her cunning, beautiful self, “I won't let you down!”

Richard nodded, “Then I look forward to it.”

After sending Sisley off, Richard looked at Lina and shrugged once more before turning to leave.

“Richard, wait!” Lina called out behind him, finally snapping out of her reverie, “Was I wrong? After all, it could be an earldom...”

“It would be an earldom,” Richard waved her off with a smile. Sisley might not be worth that much, but the prospect of peace with him was. Even Alice and Goliath were only earls. Gaton himself had taken three years of constant warfare to become a Marquess.

“I....” Lina couldn't find any words.

“Anyway, it's done. Exchanging an earldom for your happiness is worth it.”

“But—”

“Lina, you're much more valuable than you think you are. For me, at least, an earldom is worth much less than your trust.” Having said that, Richard waved once more to her before leaving the room.

Lina suddenly felt like she was suffocating, forced to find a sofa and plop down. The different smiles of two very different men seemed to pop up before her eyes; Gaton was full of passion and severity, while Richard was gentle and caring. However, they both carried similar levels of charm.

......

Since this visit was unplanned, Richard didn't really have any visitors waiting for him. However, the number of people who wanted an audience with him were still piling up. The old steward had diligently sorted out the invitations, placing the letters from those who were more important aside. Richard gave himself half an hour to read through these and decide appropriately.

One of the letters in particular drew his interest, so much so that he made an exception to read it twice. It was from Foster.

This apprentice of Lunor's was expressing a newfound admiration for Richard, humbly apologising for former slights. He then went on to talk about his passion for runes and just how gifted he was at the art, before closing off by indicating his desire to become a student of Richard's. He was even willing to undergo a ceremony at the Church of the Eternal Dragon for this.

The letter left Richard utterly speechless at the sheer shamelessness of some people. Foster did indeed have talent, and with the resources he had as Lunor's student he should have been able to craft grade 3 runes eventually, so why did he want to become a student of a rival? Changing one's master in such a manner was frowned upon everywhere.

Eventually, he just crushed up the letter and threw it into the wastebasket. Finishing off his work for the evening, he went to sleep.

The next morning, five heads had been sent to his doorstep. He acknowledged the envoy who had delivered them before returning to Faelor.

......

With all of his followers present, the situation in Faelor was fine. It had been nearly a year since the holy war, and nothing big had happened in his time. He had spent most of his time here delving into runecrafting while trying to strengthen his bloodlines, with the only exception being a short month-long war with the Iron Triangle Empire. It had only been a quick run along the southern portions of the Empire, destroying three battalions of troops, two clerical legions that amassed more than 300 paladins from the Goddess of Time, and three of the ten major cities in the area.

The war had rattled the foundation of the Iron Triangle Empire. Just as the entire army was mobilised, Richard had taken his loot and retreated from the Empire's territories. 20,000 soldiers were ransomed off at an astronomical sum and a promise to never provoke the Crimson Dukedom.

By this point, every famous general of the Empire outside of Rislant had succumbed to Richard's army. However, the Emperor didn't even mention allowing Rislant to go to war; he was tasked to continue his wars with the Dragon Church. The fall of this last bastion would be a devastating blow.

Of course, Richard had neither the intention nor the ability to completely destroy the Iron Triangle Empire. Once they'd reached an agreement, his army was transferred back to the barbarian plains while he returned to the world of runes.

However, upon this return from Norland, he didn't resume this reclusive life. He was extremely restless, just wandering Bluewater City for the better part of a day. It was only when Faylen 'chanced' upon him for the seventh time that he returned to his courtyard, summoning the astral chrysalis and having it ferry him straight to the broodmother in the Land of Turmoil.

The journey was swift yet steady, but as they reached the Land of Turmoil Richard was shocked at the sight. What was once a land of trees and forests had been turned completely barren, devoid of all but soil and rocks. Even insects didn't live here anymore, forget troggs and goblins that bred fast enough not to care about the dangers.

However, as he looked ahead he saw that a new, smaller forest close to the centre. This entire forest was made up of a single kind of a tree, each grown to the same height, looking the exact same, with their luscious leaves flying in the wind. These trees had been planted at exact distances from each other, so mechanical that it sent shivers up one's spine. When the astral chrysalis quietly brushed through the forest, these trees seemed to sway gently in greeting.

At the centre of the forest was what looked almost like an enormous beehive, with two smaller hives nearby. In the blank space between the three was the broodmother, sitting in place while her fog was carried off by the wind.

“You're finally here, Master,” the broodmother's voice echoed in his mind.

“If I hadn't come, I would never have seen just how much you changed the place,” Richard responded as he leapt off the astral chrysalis, looking up at the creature that he could once have held in his hands.

706 - City of Sin

Worry

Compared to the broodmother who was about a hundred metres long, Richard was as small as an ant. He walked over to a large tree and tapped its bark, “You made these too?”

“Yes, Master. I used my analysis of the trees of life to create them; they're quite simple, and just like my worker drones they can reproduce on their own. It doesn't affect the number of units I can produce regularly.”

“Hmm... What for?”

“Food, and relatively efficient as well. Let me show you.” Several worker drones flew out and landed on one of the tree's thick branches, stingers digging deep into the wood before their abdomens quickly swelled up. A transparent liquid flowed out of the holes they left behind, dropping down to the ground below.

Richard grabbed a drop out of the air and tasted it, finding it nauseatingly sweet. It wasn't the most pleasant of sustenance, but a decently built commoner would be able to live through his entire day on a single bowl.

“Wow...” These trees left him more astonished than some of the attack drones. With the workers and this expanding forest, the broodmother seemed to developing her own unique ecosystem in the Land of Turmoil.

“Master, is there something you are worried about?” the broodmother suddenly asked him, catching him off-guard.

“How did you know?”

“I can sense that you are constantly distracted,” she answered. It seemed like their link was growing stronger.

Richard fell silent for a while before sighing, having the astral chrysalis spit out a wooden crate full of liquor. He then waved the creature away and found himself an empty spot, sitting down and taking a few swigs out of a bottle, “I just want a quiet place to drink on my own.”

“This place is suitable,” the broodmother said softly. She even slithered over and sent one of her mouthpieces over, grabbing another bottle of liquor and opening it before sipping slowly.

“You drink too?” Richard laughed in spite of himself, but then he yelled out, “Hey, this is mine! You'll finish it all in one go!” The entire crate would be less than a sip for someone of her size.

“Only one bottle, Master. I just want to know how it tastes.”

Richard nodded, slowly drinking bottle after bottle of his liquor. His vision started to blur and his mood started swaying; before he knew it, his guard was down and he started to pour his worries down on her. These days, it was only when he was utterly drunk that his self-control would slip. It was also the only way for him to relieve some of the seemingly infinite burden he bore.

Eventually, his drinking speed slowed down. With a burning pain in his stomach, the gate of his repressed emotions and memories burst open completely. Now he was forgetting to drink for minutes at a time, instead going on rants about various topics that were inundated by belches that reeked.

At some point, the broodmother's voice suddenly rang beside him, “Is this how it feels to be drunk? It's really nice!”

Richard didn't understand for a moment, but then he shook his head and looked up. One could see that more than half of the liquid was still in the bottle she was drinking from, and this alcohol was weak enough that half a bottle wouldn't be enough to even leave him buzzed. However, the broodmother's body started swaying left to right.

The earth nearby started to shake as she hiccuped, causing the stench of liquor to waft through the air and confirm that she was indeed drunk. It even felt like she'd consumed tonnes of it, leaving Richard startled, “What? How did you get so much?”

“Alcohol is easier than... drones... Only needs two units...” she answered hazily.

“... Okay...”

“Master... do you have any worries?”

“Why?” Richard felt a little strange.

“Because... *Burp!* Because humans only drink alone when they're worried...”

“... Ugh, yes...” Richard felt strangely open to this unexpected drinking companion, feeling much closer to her in his drunken stupor.

“Why not share them with me?” the broodmother asked.

Richard didn't answer this time, instead replying with a question of his own, “Do you?”

“Yes... I'm scared... I'll meet a predator before I grow...”

“Ha... You... *Burp!* predators?” he grew curious. The level 9 broodmother could almost run amok in Faelor without repercussions.

“There's nothing undefeatable... Some might even be hunted by their own kind... I don't know what my predators are, but I know exist... I'm scared everyday, thinking... *BURP!* how to make myself stronger. It's just... I'm growing fast...”

Richard grunted in agreement.

“What about you, Master? What are you worried about?”

“How could I tell you?” Richard couldn't help but laugh.

“Why not? I'm not even human... I wouldn't... understand...”

This reply suddenly relaxed Richard, the alcohol in his blood compelling him to reveal everything on his mind. He sighed heavily, “I have some... enemies. Mensas, Josephs, Schumpeters... I want to kill them off, but I can't even the weakest yet... Even in the next year or two... impossible... Am I useless?”

“They are three powerful families in Faust... Of course... You have to think over it before you act. It's not wrong...”

Richard grunted, hitting his head with the bottle in his hand before gritting his teeth, “No... That man... He wouldn't bother about repercussions... He would have taken his soldiers... Killed them immediately!”

This time, the broodmother went silent for a moment, “Your styles are different. There is no right or wrong, the only important thing is the outcome!”

“Outcome? Let me tell you the fucking outcome! He died and I lived, and now I have to clean up that fucker's mess!” Richard sneered, emptying the bottle in one swig before smashing it against the floor, “AND I STILL FEEL WORSE THAN HIM! I DON'T EVEN HAVE THE GUTS TO KILL THOSE BASTARDS!”

The broodmother pondered over it for another moment, “It is because you have responsibilities.”

“What... responsibilities?”

“Many people have placed their futures, dreams, and even lives in your hands. You cannot take risks wilfully,”

Richard fell onto his back, “Is that... true?”

“Yes.”

“....Perhaps...” he tilted his head and curled up, falling deep asleep. Only a few seconds later, soft snoring rang through the manufactured glade.

The broodmother looked at him for a moment before a soft tube moved out from her mouth, gently blowing some air at his face. He breathed in the alcohol-ridden stench and fell deeper asleep.

“He's asleep?” A hidden door from the bottom of the worm nest suddenly opened up, and Flowsand stepped out.

“Yes, Miss Flowsand,” the broodmother replied.

Flowsand frowned, “Don't try any tricks, his memory is better than some legendary beings. If something is wrong, he'll know when he wakes up.”

“Master will not find anything wrong. I only used a vapour similar to alcohol to help him sleep more easily.” In a rare occurrence, the broodmother's voice held hints of excitement and flattery.

Flowsand walked up to Richard and knelt down, reaching out to tidy the messy hair on his forehead, “Silly boy...”

She then stood up and walked over to the broodmother, looking up at the enormous creature. The broodmother herself meekly looked down at her while lying on the floor, twisting gently almost as though wiggling in search of a reward.

“Be quiet!” Flowsand hissed in a mix of anger and bemusement, kicking the broodmother hard in the head. The broodmother immediately went still, but so did she. Her face turned white as her foot swelled up from the impact, forcing herself to repress a scream while casting a greater healing spell on herself.

Refusing to acknowledge the embarrassment, she snorted, “Don't act independently next time, there's no use trying to pander to me.”

“Of course, Miss Flowsand. Is there anything else you need me to do?”

Flowsand thought about it for a long time, but couldn't come up with much, “Nothing for now, I'll let you know if I think of something. Just give him some company when he drinks, and let me know if he says anything. I'll teach you how to respond.”

“As you wish.” The broodmother's vocabulary was now growing more extensive.

“Alright, these are for you.” Flowsand waved her hand and a few dragonblood crystals flew towards the broodmother. This was the blood of Kaloh. The broodmother's upper body immediately swayed in happiness, her mouthpiece shaking with such excitement that she even dropped one of the crystals to the ground.

Flowsand waited for her to finish drinking the blood before saying, “Alright, have the cloned brain send me home.”

“The astral chrysalis will be more comfortable, Miss Flowsand.”

707 - City of Sin

Former Senior

It took four hours for Richard's second consciousness to wake him up from his deep sleep. He tried to rub away the sleepiness as he rose, but his head was heavy and throbbing with pain. However, he had already grown used to this feeling and just tried to shake it off, conjuring a bowl of ice-water and pouring it over himself to bring him back to alertness.

“Good morning, Master,” the broodmother's voice rang out in his mind.

“Ugh... Morning. Have the cloned brain send me home, will you?.”

“The astral chrysalis will be more comfortable, Master.”

A few moments later, the astral chrysalis carried him back to the Crimson Dukedom.

He had planned to spend some time on runecrafting when he returned to Bluewater, but something constantly bothered him despite the release of last night. He couldn't quite put a finger on it, but he was still jittery despite reaffirming the presence of the destiny crystal in his pocket.

He pondered over it for a bit and alerted his followers subconsciously before walking towards the Lighthouse of Time, stepping into the portal back to Norland to check on things himself. Although the family would send messengers to alert him immediately in case of any major events, he couldn't shake off the ominous feeling he had.

......

Dark clouds loomed over Floe Bay, looking like clumps of lead so low that they almost grazed the sea's surface. Raging winds roared above the boundless ocean, waves rushing forth and crashing into the cliffside one after the other.

The glaciers in the water constantly scraped against each other, intermittently causing an annoying screech that could be heard for kilometres. This was the most dangerous time of the year in the Bay, and even the sturdiest of enchanted boats wouldn't dare to enter this part of the ocean at this time. Only once the heat of spring started thawing off the ice would the shipping routes open up once more.

Lightning suddenly flashed amongst the leaden clouds. That in itself was already a rare sight, but this lightning was constantly changing colours as it gathered towards one point. A portal was being formed here from a space outside of Norland.

A short while later, the grey clouds were suddenly lit up by countless emerald rays. A curled figure slowly stretched out as it fell into the waters of Floe Bay. It seemed to pause in mid-air moments before it reached the surface of the ocean, raising its head to reveal a handsome masculine face. However, there seemed to be no life in this green-skinned humanoid's expression, lightning flashing across his long, narrow eyes. The temperature of the surrounding sea suddenly dropped as he looked at it, turning the water into a platform of solid ice for him to step on.

This person with azure flames for hair looked to be about thirty years old, but his features were unlike those of any race known to Norland. He relaxed and stretched his body above the sea's surface, looking around and mumbling, “Hmm... the error was still more than ten kilometres, I haven't improved at all...”

The humanoid then turned around and fixed his gaze on the lofty and majestic Deepblue which seemed to merge into the mountains behind, gradually squinting his eyes before muttering under his breath as a sinister smile crept up on his face, “It's been so long since I've been here. How are you, Master? Why did you suddenly fight against a bunch of gods and let yourself fall asleep? Anyway, I've returned. I'll certainly take care of your home.”

He looked towards the top of the Deepblue and raised both arms, drawing out a number of complicated runes in the air as lightning coalesced into another portal in front of him. He took a step forward and vanished into the screen of raging light.
ƒ𝓇ℯ𝑒𝒘𝐞𝚋𝓃𝚘𝚟e𝚕. 𝒄𝗼𝐦

......

The upper half of the Deepblue's tower was drowned out in dense grey clouds. The platform for flying beasts at the central terrace was almost completely obscured, with only two or three griffins stationed there at all.

A burst of emerald lightning suddenly ripped the clouds apart as it struck the platform, booming loudly and shocking all of the drowsy guards awake. They hastily drew their weapons, but to their utter shock the lightning zipped in all directions before gathering into a portal that revealed a green-skinned man with azure flames for hair.

This time, his entire body seemed to be covered in those same azure flames. However, this fire exuded cold instead of warmth, causing the temperature of the surroundings to drop rapidly.

“W-Who are you?” the guards fearfully obstructed the man's path. Although they were guards of the Deepblue with powerful backgrounds of their own, it seemed like any warrior would cower in front of this man's soul-piercing gaze.

The man seemed to ignore them at first and walk forward, but the guard captain suddenly stepped forward and held his sword out to block him. His sword was trembling, but the very fact that he stepped forward despite knowing what it would likely end in spoke volumes of his courage.

The green-skinned man nodded, speaking in a strange yet indifferent voice, “Not bad, it seems like the Deepblue didn't hire a bunch of rubbish guards while I was gone. But you don't even know who I am, do you? Nevermind, have you ever heard of the name Voidbones?”

A few of the guards were quite recent to the job, so they couldn't recall the name. However, the captain immediately yelped, “V-Voidbones? You're Voidbones?”

His sword immediately fell to the ground.

Voidbones flashed a meaningful smile, “Looks like you're an old man. No need to be afraid, I don't like killing as much as I used to. Tell those pieces of trash Fayr and Blackgold that I'm back. From now until Master wakes up, the Deepblue will be under my command. Now scram!”

Finishing his sentence, Voidbones completely ignored the guards and headed straight inside.

......

A short while later, Voidbones was occupying Sharon's normal place in her meeting room as he looked down at the more than ten grand mages who had just gathered. The atmosphere in the room was extremely cold, tense expressions present on all of the grand mages as they held onto some kind of weaponry or other tools subconsciously.

There were only two exceptions to this. One was Theodore, who was calmer than ever with both his hands atop the table. However, anyone assuming this was weakness would regret it. As a holy spellcaster, he could call upon the power of divinity far more quickly than any equivalent mage, and nobody could know just which god he would draw his powers from.

The other was Blackgold. The grey dwarf placed a polished gun on the table before glaring aggressively at Voidbones. Voidbones sneered at first, laughing at the idea of a mere gun being used to threaten him, but then his eyes slowly narrowed. This gun was different from the ones he had seen before; it was the length of a one-handed shotgun, but the grip had been designed for two hands. The muzzle was the size of a fist, but the barrel was much thicker and engraved with a complicated magic array. As a former student of the Deepblue himself, he quickly realised that this gun was so exquisite that it could harm even himself if he didn't resist.

Still, the surprise quickly vanished from his face. Even if the gun possessed great might, it was only a rather exquisite toy in the face of a saint or grand mage. Combat strength had never been Blackgold's forte, so even hitting him with a shot would be near impossible if he wanted to dodge.

Voidbones scanned the faces of the grand mages present, and every one that was looked at shuddered in fear; even Fayr was no different, the only exception being Theodore. He then leaned forward slightly, “Can anyone tell my why Master fell deep asleep? Why did she step into an unknown plane and fight the gods there? The goddamn place only got registered to the Church a few months ago!”

The group of grand mages stayed silent, not daring to answer Voidbones' question. Even if someone wished to reply, they would not know where to start; outside of a select few, nobody understood the gravity of the relationship between Richard and Sharon.

Voidbones waited patiently for a long time before laughing deeply, “As expected. Do you not want to speak or do you lot really know nothing? Nevermind, it's not that important. I'm going to go see Master in a bit; until she wakes up, I'm taking control.”

“Never!” Blackgold was the first to jump up.

Voidbones laughed grimly, “Never? What, you old bastards who only know numbers and labs are going to resist the counterattack from the grey dwarves? Those fellows are already growing restless; once they learn that Master is asleep, what will you do? Ask Philip for help?”

708 - City of Sin

Visit

All the grand mages went silent at Voidbones' question. For a long time now they had held majestic positions in the Deepblue, keeping it operational, but they knew just as well as anyone else that they were researchers and not fighters. Even if some of them had followed by Sharon's side from before the Deepblue was even built, combat wasn't their forte. With the legendary mage's meteoric rise to power, it was exceptionally rare for them to ever have to fight themselves. Her draconic summons normally destroyed all of her enemies, be they in the light or dark.

This didn't mean they couldn't fight at all. As grand mages, they could easily suppress hordes of lower-levelled opponents. It was just that they were no match for powerhouses who forged a path on the razor's edge of life and death.

And all of Sharon's students were such powerhouses. Once they had learnt enough, every one of them went on to journey the myriad planes without exception. They toured and explored the depths of the universe, surviving countless bloodbaths to hone themselves in combat. Even at the same level, Voidbones could easily dispatch of two ordinary grand mages based purely on tactics and experience. This was even excluding the powerful innate bloodline abilities he possessed.

In the eyes of the grand mages, the azure flames blazing on Voidbones' body were a thick layer of gauze that prevented all scrying. It was impossible to tell if he had even advanced to the legendary realm.

“And what, you think you'll resist the duergar?” Blackgold called out sharply, “We'd rather ask that fat pig for help than give you control of the Deepblue!” Legendary beings existed this far north as well, and there were more than one amongst the enemy races.

Voidbones laughed loudly, the sound unbearably harsh like two stones rubbing against each other, “If the Deepblue cooperates, anyone who dares to appear will die!”

This boast caused the grand mages to tense up further. Voidbones was extremely talented, always ranking top three amongst all of Sharon's apprentices. He was also an absolute madman, an unrepentant bloodthirsty maniac who loved to kill. Before, he had been allowed to do as he wished, killing the warriors of the north, but that was only because of Sharon's protection. Now, however, the only familiar thing about him was the gloomy aura that seemed to freeze the world; his power was unfathomable.

Everyone who ever met Voidbones detested him, and with Sharon in hibernation, he could now run rampant as he wished. The mere thought of it sent a shiver down their spines.

“Right,” Voidbones suddenly spoke up, “Since Master is asleep now, I don't think the Deepblue can sustain itself. You lot don't have to worry about that; since I'm taking charge in her place, I will naturally take care of it. Here, this should be enough for the next three years.”

*Clang!* A sparkling clear crystal was tossed onto the table, drawing beautiful threads of dazzling silk behind it in all its radiant glory.

It was a beyslace spider crystal! No matter where and when, even across different planes, the beyslace spider crystal was truly a king of currencies. And one that could draw such gorgeous silk in the air was easily worth around ten million.

Blackgold's eyes almost crossed as an odd expression crawled up his face. He started murmuring to himself.

Voidbones immediately welled up with pride. Although the grey dwarf looked disgusting to others, in Sharon's absence he was the leader of the grand mages. If he was moved, it would be easy to obtain the Deepblue. Please visit 𝑓𝗿𝐞e𝑤𝚎𝗯n𝗼ν𝙚l. 𝑐𝒐𝓶

“Think over it slowly, I'll go visit Master for now,” Voidbones said as he stood up.

“Stop right there!” “Don't you dare disturb Her Excellency!” “What do you plan to do?”

The grand mages immediately went into a clamour of fright and anger, shouting fiercely at him one after the other. Sharon was currently deep asleep, and outside of Richard who had seen her before nobody knew whether she could still defend herself if her homunculi were breached. Richard's relationship with Sharon clearly surpassed that of master and student— both Fayr and Blackgold supported him, and she herself had set up the defences to ignore him— but that absolutely could not be true for Voidbones. It was obvious that he would fight his way into her room.

“Wait, this isn't close to enough!” Blackgold's voice suddenly pierced through the din. They were particularly harsh as well, causing Voidbones to stop in his tracks.

“What?”

“Even in the worst case, we need five million a year just to survive,” Blackgold shrugged innocently, leaving Voidbones feeling dizzy. That spider crystal was almost all of the money he had earned over many, many years; he was born to fight, not earn.

However, Blackgold wasn't done, “You don't have to worry, though. You can keep this, Richard is taking care of the money.”

“Richard?!” Voidbones narrowed his eyes, “You mean that kid Master took in at the end? The one who got the largest amount of her Delight?”

Blackgold's expression froze as he realised he had made a mistake. Voidbones' voice was cold, the same kind he used before unleashing hell all those years ago.

However, the grey dwarf didn't get much time to consider just how much danger he had put Richard in. Voidbones flashed between joy and gloom for a few moments before suddenly pressing his hands down on the table, laughing loudly as azure flames raged in the room to form a crystal barrier that enveloped all the grand mages, “You can take your time here, professors...”

Seeing Voidbones turn and leave, the grand mages knew he was heading for Sharon. However, nobody knew just what this madman's true motives were, and they didn't know whether the sleeping Sharon would be able to fend him off if they weren't pure.

*Crack! Bzzt! Fsssh!* All sorts of spells were launched at the crystal barrier, but the magic was just absorbed like it was nothing more than a mirage. The barrier remained in place, the mysterious light it was emitting growing even brighter.

*ZOOOOOM!* The grand mages grew even more anxious, throwing away all fear of consequences as they united their mana in one extremely powerful blow. However, even this attack just vanished into thin air before it hit the barrier.

“The crystal barrier?” Fayr suddenly cried out in shock, causing all the other grand mages to pale. The crystal barrier was the cornerstone that maintained the existence of a place; attacks launched from within the plane had absolutely no effect on it because it was an embodiment of the laws that governed those attacks.

If this barrier was truly similar to Norland's, it meant Voidbones had already started to touch upon the laws of the plane. Even the slightest of contact would make him an absolutely terrifying character.

*BOOM!* Just as everyone started to feel despondent, a frightening explosion left their ears ringing in pain. The part of the barrier in front of Blackgold was left filled with cracks that constantly spread out. The grey dwarf was overflowing with a murderous aura as he stowed his shotgun away, running out of the meeting room.

“He's only simulating the barrier! He hasn't actually touched upon the laws yet!” he shouted. The roar almost seemed magical, the barrier breaking apart completely right as he ran out.

“Her Excellency!” One of the grand mages suddenly exclaimed, causing all of them to rush out behind him. Thet hadn't been delayed for any significant length of time, but it was still enough for someone of Voidbones' ability to accomplish many things. A strong sense of unease bubbled up at the bottom of their hearts.

......

The waves rolled and winds howled outside the Deepblue, blocks of ice creeping along the freezing waters as they looked for their next victim.

Voidbones was taking heavy strides towards Sharon's residence, every step leaving behind a deep footprint on the nearly indestructible floor. The walls shook as parts of the ceiling fell down, almost as though the entire Deepblue would collapse the very next moment. With his azure flames retracted into himself, he looked no different from a green-skinned human that was slightly taller than average. However, his bald head occasionally shone brilliantly like a piece of clear jade. Every movement felt like one from a beast that had just emerged from the wilderness.

The two drow warriors guarding the gates didn't say a word at the sight, not even moving to question him as they immediately charged forward with longswords in hand. The blades were aimed straight for his abdomen and throat, intended to take his life. Outside of the grand mages and Richard, any living being who approached within fifty metres of the gate would be killed without mercy.

However, Voidbones just scoffed in annoyance, not even avoiding their attacks. Just as it seemed like they were about to stab into him, however, his face distorted in what seemed to be great pain as azure flames suddenly shot out of his body. He yelled in what seemed to be a pained rage, causing the longswords to completely vanish into thin air!

709 - City of Sin

Crashing Through

The drow warriors seemed to be grabbed by an invisible hand and suspended in mid-air, pain visible on their faces as they started to just melt away. In a scant few moments, they were no more than indistinguishable puddles on the floor!

Voidbones continued walking towards the gate. A buzzing noise akin to a swarm of bees rang out from the gates as they tried to prevent his entry, but they soon gave in to the invisible force and the enchantments on them shattered one after the other. A low screech sounded as they fell from their hinges, falling down to the floor.

A sinister smile appeared on Voidbones' face as he walked forward, his long eyelashes quivering with glee, but the step he was about to take never landed on the floor.

“Who's there?” he asked coldly. Although he wasn't the type to ask such questions, he was still close to Sharon and hadn't ascertained her condition yet.

“Who are you?” a similarly cold voice rang out behind him, causing him to knit his brows.

Voidbones knew that whoever was behind him was not a homunculus like the rest of Sharon's guardians. Killing these puppets was one thing, but killing a person in the legendary mage's residence would not end well.

This new entrant wasn't particularly strong, but there was a pure killing intent wafting off his body that reeked of blood. The aura seemed to be seething with rage, as though it would bury him whole!

How did a weakling have such a strong aura? Voidbones felt confused, just how many had he killed? Even some of the terrifying demons he had fought who left many corpses in their wake did not emanate such a pungent aura of death!

However, killing intent was not power. Voidbones calmly turned around, scanning the peculiar youth who was standing quite close by. This boy was obviously young, his face and frame still carrying a sense of tender immaturity, but his eyes were resolute. The short, dense beard seemed mismatched from his handsome, even graceful face, but on the whole it gave him the look of someone who had more than enough experience in life. It was a perfect blend of rugged and delicate.

This was Richard.

Richard looked at Voidbones expressionlessly as he placed a long rectangular box onto the floor. One tap on top and three longswords popped out from within, landing on the floor in quick succession. He threw the Twin of Destiny to the ground, looking over his three blades and eventually choosing the nameless sword.

Voidbones' eyes narrowed as he stared at the elven sword in Richard's hands. It didn't look special, even seeming to be the weakest of the three, but for some unknown reason it left him in a state of fear. The fact that this new opponent had chosen this over three legendary weapons made it clear that he could not underestimate it.

“Richard Archeron,” Voidbones said slowly.

Richard didn't reply, merely tightening his grip on his sword. He had the vague feeling that responding to the call of his name would cause something terrible to happen.

Voidbones flashed an absolutely bone-chilling smile, “You must be him. I don't understand why Master would like a talentless brat like you.”

“You're a student of Master's?” Richard finally responded emotionlessly.

“Yes, but I'm different from you. I'm her best... one of her best students.”

Richard started to slow his breathing as he constantly adjusted his grip on the sword, “What are you doing here?”

“I just wanted to pay her a visit, do you have a problem?”

“You are not allowed entry,” Richard replied resolutely.

“And if I insist?”

“Feel free to try.”

“Wow, kid. Pretty arrogant for a piece of shit. Alright, let me 'try' then.” Voidbones immediately turned back around, heading towards the gate.

Even though the enemy's back was turned, Richard felt as though innumerable eyes were looking at him from all directions. Even the slightest of movements would be noticed and met with a lethal response.

The very real prospect of death started to resound in his thoughts once more, and one of the most painful choices of his life so far was presented to him.

Attacking would mean almost certain death, and it wouldn't even be able to contain this enemy. Doing nothing would allow him to live on, giving him a chance for vengeance in the future. Advance and die, retreat and live.

Voidbones took his first step forward, a loud thud ringing out as his foot made contact with the floor. Blood immediately rushed to Richard's head; was he going to let him walk towards Sharon just like that?

His eyes turned a blood-like crimson, death suddenly seeming like a paltry problem in the grand scheme of things. He would rather fall in his advance than admit defeat!

The sword immediately floated up, making its way towards Voidbones. However, this time there was no moonglow appearing atop it. Voidbones maintained his smile as the blade approached him, not stopping at all. The azure flames were still withdrawn into himself, not moving an inch either. This sword attack wasn't particularly fast nor powerful, with the blade even shaking.

However, when a mild gust of wind passed by his ear, Voidbones' calm smile suddenly transformed into a look of surprise. His body shook violently as he dodged for the first time since he had entered the Deepblue.

The elven sword disappeared from a region less than a hand's width away just like the spells of the grand mages, but only a moment later it appeared once more. This time, the tip of the sword was bathed in a rich green glow.

He had evaded at the right time, causing Richard's attack to hit air. However, there was no hint of arrogance in Voidbones' expression anymore as he stared daggers at Richard. He side-stepped once more, dodging another sudden blow, and then time seemed to stand still. Both he and Richard turned into what seemed like lifeless statues, staring at each other for a long time.

Eventually, the corner of Richard's mouth started to twitch as a helpless smile crawled up his face. His skin flushed red as he exhaled a pink mist; the sword was still in his hands, but regardless of how much he tried he could not move them. The fingers slowly loosened their grip, causing the blade to slip and clang on the floor.

Richard started to lean forward, eventually falling down. However, his gaze did not blur; a look of indescribable pain flashed across his face as azure flames entered every part of his body, furiously burning within him. However, he felt oddly relaxed; he had fallen down blocking the path.

It was only moments before sinking into darkness that Richard suddenly remembered the destiny crystal in his pocket...

Voidbones finally moved as Richard closed his eyes, shuffling his posture to reveal a long line across the left side of his face. The wound immediately split open, oozing fluorescent green blood. The injury was quite deep, but one couldn't see any bones within.

He stretched out a hand to touch the wound before placing the fingers in his mouth, a complicated expression rising up on his face as he looked at Richard on the floor, “You actually managed to hurt me... You should've run the moment I came here, you fool... Still, I'll decide whether or not to kill you after I see Master. I can't make rash decisions without knowing for sure.”

Voidbones no longer cared about Richard, walking over his body as he walked into the residence. A strange smell started to waft out within, the stench of melted homunculi.

It was at this point that a clamour sounded at the bottom of the stairs; the grand mages had finally made their way to this floor. Voidbones had left several barriers up along the way, but none had been as powerful as the one in the meeting room so they had blown through.

When they saw the two puppets that had been melted down to the floor and Richard lying motionless on the floor, all of them gasped in astonishment. The broken gates caused them to panic even further; Voidbones had gotten in!

The grand mages stood helplessly at the deformed gates, not knowing whether to rush in or run away. Sharon had issued strict orders that they were not to enter her residence, regardless of circumstance. However, they couldn't just stand by idly and watch either.

In the middle of their own confusion, nobody had the time to even check whether Richard was alive. In their minds, nobody currently in the Deepblue could survive a fight with Voidbones.

......

Not all the grand mages had rushed to Sharon's residence. Blackgold had smacked his own head halfway there, rushing back to his office.

A small section of his room had been cordoned off by an enchanted door, hiding a large crystal ball. The grey dwarf knew how to unlock this enchantment, but the procedure was far too long and complicated for him to do so. He just took his gun and fired it from only a metre away, the thunderous sound shaking the surroundings as countless steel splinters rained down on the area. The enchantment lit up brightly for a moment before shattering, causing magical alarms to ring out everywhere.

Blackgold didn't bother, rushing through and punching the crystal ball so hard that it shattered to pieces. The fragments caused his entire hand to bleed, but he didn't even notice as he continued cursing to himself, “Damn it! Why didn't I think of him earlier?”

In the depths of a mysterious world devoid of light, a pair of purple eyes slowly opened up. A cracked voice broke the deathly stillness of the land, “Master... Summoned... Me?”

710 - City of Sin

Forging Ahead

Sharon's residence was right before Voidbones' eyes. It was a dazzling array of various ecosystems, ranging from volcanic mountains to marshy plains. Every type of terrain imaginable could be seen in this world, thus giving its name of the Mirror of a Thousand Forms. Every individual that stepped within would be greeted with a different sight, a record of one of the many planes that the legendary mage had been to.

What he saw this time was the same as always, the Emerald Dreamscape. This was a land of mysterious beauty, the entire world seemingly a mirage of light and shadows. Even the trees, grass, and waterfalls seemed to be out of a picture; not because they were beautiful— they were some of the most gorgeous sights one could lay their eyes on— but because one could not blend into the surroundings even if they could enter and exit at will.

The roof here was pitch black, inundated only by the glow of what seemed to be stars. However, these stars were not fixed in place; they roamed freely across the walls, dome, and even the many independent ecosystems, as though nothing was concrete. It felt like one was walking amongst vast, formless clouds with Sharon relaxing in a distant lake.

Voidbones couldn't help but sigh. He had forgotten when he had last been here; the memories from his childhood seemed so distant and hazy. The all-powerful master of time had taken its hold on him, making him forget its flow in all his travels. This place was his most treasured memory, but it had all been washed away by tides of age.

This was something common amongst wanderers of the myriad planes. The blurring of memories was only the start; some even ended up forgetting who they were. They would just stand in the void, faced with countless strange planes yet unable to recall which was their home. Voidbones didn't know just how long he'd been exploring, but the passion and dreams of his youth had all been washed away.

He stopped for a moment to organise his thoughts and memories. The wound on his face still hurt, but it also served as a reminder that he was in Norland, within the Deepblue. He wasn't just drowning in memories.

Eventually he moved forward, fuzzy memories telling him that the other end of the Emerald Dreamscape would exit from the Mirror of a Thousand Forms, leading into a long corridor that ended in Sharon's bedroom.

She had doted on him a lot during his youth, but the closest he had ever gotten to was still far away from the entrance of that corridor. Now, just one step forward and he would be able to surpass his previous limits. Voidbones raised his leg up to take a step, but for a second his foot refused to come down.

For someone of such might, a second was perhaps enough time to think a thousand thoughts.

When the leg finally landed, the step was extraordinarily heavy. The entire residence shook with the force, showing his sheer power. However, Voidbones was fully aware that this was not a display of his might; he had simply been gripped by the fear in his heart, unable to control his own strength!

He had always been terrified of Sharon, awestruck by her sheer talent. Even now that he possessed powers he had never dreamed of before, he still feared her. This was not a fear that could be quelled rationally; if Sharon hadn't fallen into a deep slumber, he would never have dared to act so brazenly in the Deepblue.

A while ago, he had managed to gain a little information on Sharon's race, specifically what hibernation meant for them. That was why he had rushed over the moment he found out she was asleep; he knew there would be no chance if he missed this opportunity.

He inched forward, step by step. By the time the exit was nearby, the trees and glass were withering all around him while more elven homunculi melted in quick succession. Even the clear lake water had turned into a puddle of wax. Outside of the materials that held the residence together, everything was destroyed...

He didn't know how long it took for him to make it through the corridor, but he eventually saw Sharon. The legendary mage was still in deep slumber on her crystal table, oblivious to the world around her. However, a strand of golden hair stood alert as though scanning the surroundings.

The moment Voidbones saw Sharon's face, he stopped in his tracks. An expression of helpless struggle rose up on his face; he didn't know whether he could proceed forward.

“Master...” his low voice rang through the room, but Sharon didn't respond.

“Indeed... She must have been injured greatly...” he muttered to himself as though to validate something, his eyes finally lighting up with a sinister glow.

“Nobody knows that your magic and your bloodline are useless compared to....” he finally stepped forward into the world of blue.

...... Google search 𝐟r𝚎ewe𝚋𝚗૦ν𝘦𝘭. 𝐜𝚘𝗺

Outside the residence, the crowd of grand mages were like a bunch of ants whose nest had been flushed with water, running around helplessly. Following Sharon's orders to the letter had been ingrained into them for a long time; they wouldn't dream of breaking one now.

“Richard!” It took a few minutes for someone to finally realise something was wrong. Everyone instinctively looked at the spot by the gates where Richard had fallen, only to find it empty save for a trail of blood. This trail dragged forward across the floor, moving further in towards the residence for ten metres.

Richard was still on the ground, lacking the strength to even raise his head. However, an unknown force seemed to push his body closer and closer towards Sharon's residence. His hand was clasped tightly on the elven sword that he had dropped at the end of the battle, but at the point instead of the handle. One could hear the blade scraping against bone with every movement he made.

Blood gushed out from that wound in Richard's hand, just as it did from all the others. Every inch he crawled past was left covered with blood. The grand mages were all stunned into silence, too shocked to even think of healing him. Theodore did step forward, waving his hands to cast a greater healing spell, but there was no effect at all. In fact, Theodore himself let out a groan of pain, swaying as he took two steps back. Blood started dripping from the holy spellcaster's mouth.

“Voidbones...” Theodore cast two protective spells on himself before taking a step forward, wishing to try healing Richard again, but an aged hand blocked his path. He looked over at the grand mage that had stopped him, who shook his head in response, “What good will healing him do?”

Theodore was startled, taking a long glance at Richard who was still struggling forwards. He immediately understood the sentiment; if Richard was healed, he would just rush into the residence without hesitation. It would be better to keep the current situation as is; he could be saved once this passed.

Once this passed... Just that thought left all of the grand mages burning with shame. They knew in their hearts that it was not Sharon's orders stopping them right now; it was their own cowardice.

“WHERE IS HE?!” A booming voice shook them all from their stupors, bringing their attention to Blackgold who was charging up the stairs. He seemed to be the very embodiment of rage, but the moment he saw the open gates all of that anger faded away. It was replaced by a calm determination as he slowed his footsteps, gripping the gun in his hands so tightly that the steel weapon creaked. Unlike the rest, he was going to head straight in.

Another figure rushed over from the opposite direction, quickly joining Blackgold. Fayr had left for a while to change into his battle mage robes, but there was no staff in his hand. However, the scroll he did have radiated such force of mana that one could tell it was a legendary spell at first glance.

Wouldn't using such a powerful scroll in a confined area be suicide? This was the only thought in the minds of the other grand mages. However, Blackgold and Fayr just exchanged looks and the grey dwarf sped up to move a few feet ahead. Blackgold wasn't a warrior, but he believed he could delay Voidbones long enough for Fayr to activate the scroll.

The other professors started breathing heavily. They knew that the delay would be bought by Blackgold's death. Fayr wouldn't be lucky enough to survive the spell either.

It was then that the ground started shaking gently, the tremors growing more pronounced with every second. The broken rocks all around mysteriously started vibrating, slowly floating into the air!

711 - City of Sin

Sworn Enemy

The grand mages thought at first that the vibrations came from Sharon's residence, but they quickly realised that the entirety of the Deepblue was starting to shake. The rubble in the air was now starting to fly about randomly, a clear sign that space had become unstable! Google search 𝑓𝘳𝚎𝘦𝚠e𝚋𝘯o𝘃el. 𝒄om

Blackgold and Fayr didn't seem to be fazed at all, instead quickening their pace. However, the very moment their silhouettes disappeared through the gates a loud scream rang out from the depths of Sharon's residence. A raging gale suddenly rushed out from within, an azure streak crashing into the two mages before veering off in another direction.

Voidbones groaned before leaping to his feet, starting to levitate in the air. His eyes spat fire at the entrance to Sharon's residence, but in the depths of that fury lay unconcealable fear. Blackgold and Fayr had been sent flying into a wall, struggling to even move their limbs.

Sharon herself remained deep asleep within her room, completely ignorant of the calamity that had struck her home. The tuft of hair was standing tall, evidently enraged as it constantly waved around to bubbles of neon blue all around. These bubbles looked beautiful, almost like blue versions of an illusionist's dancing lights.

Young children believed dancing lights had the power to bring dreams to reality, but these only revived nightmares. The fantastical blue lights slowly rose into the sky, but the moment they made contact with an obstacle they cracked apart to let loose a torrent of blue lightning from within!

The mysterious materials that made up the foundation of Sharon's residence were practically indestructible. Voidbones had been able to shake them, but he couldn't leave any actual traces of damage. However, these balls of lightning created deep crevices in the sapphire walls with every hit. One by one they exploded, creating a lightning storm within the residence that turned the legendary mage's most beloved decorations to ashes.

The storm quickly started to make its way outside the residence. The grand mages started trying to cast barriers one after the other, while Theodore brought down a shield of milky white light down on Blackgold and Fayr.

It took several minutes for Sharon's hair to stop venting, now just standing in place to show its might. However, the moment it realised just how much of a mess it had made in Sharon's residence it immediately started to tremble.

The trembling approached a point where the sleeping Sharon stirred, about to wake up. However, the lock of hair immediately froze in place. Waiting for her brows to relax once more, it turned to look over the church once again before turning dispirited and hiding itself within the rest of the legendary mage's hair.

A few sparks were still flying about, but the residence eventually returned to peace. It was now bathed in neon light, making it seem all the more mysterious...

Voidbones stood still for a long time, coldly matching the death stares of the grand mages around. A look of disdain flashed across his face, but it was marred by fear every time he looked towards the residence.

Blackgold and Fayr were still curled up on the ground. The grey dwarf's treasured gun had been bent completely, showing just how fierce the collision had been. Fayr was trying his best to reach out for the scroll, but his entire arm shuddered and refused to move. The scroll was only half a metre away, but he could not grab it.

Theodore let out a sigh, strengthening his defences before healing magic started to flow from his hands.

With the spatial enchantments within decimated by Sharon's hair, one could see Richard halfway along his way to Sharon's room. He had suffered huge gashes on his back and head as debris from the lightning storm impacted him, but he had continued crawling through it all while leaving a bloodstained trail.

Voidbones scoffed at the sight, about to deride Richard, but undiluted terror suddenly flashed upon his face. He flew straight to a window and glanced outside, causing all the grand mages to follow. They had assumed the spatial instability had come from Sharon's attacks, but it was now growing stronger despite the silence. It almost felt as though space would collapse the very next moment!

Huge gusts had blown up around Floe Bay, half the clouds in the sky getting sucked into an enormous tornado. The sea started to swirl as well, forming a similarly large whirlpool that broke apart the floating icebergs. It was almost like something had pierced into the earth from above, making a large hole that the seawater was rushing to fill. Even the sky looked like it was about to crumble!

It was in the middle of this apocalypse that a hand popped out at the boundary of the sky and the sea. The hand was thin and slender, completely at odds with the rest of its environment. However, Voidbones froze in place at the sight. Despite the great distance, he noticed a tiny wound on the middle finger of that hand which left him quivering in fright. Even if he had met this person up close, he would only have paid attention to that scar.

That shape was firmly engraved within the depths of his memories, losing out only to the trauma Sharon had left within him. It was because he was the one that had left that scar, suffering a retribution that was hundreds of times worse. That scar was the beginning of the darkest memory of his entire life.

Voidbones instantly knew that this cataclysm within Floe Bay was caused by that hand. His heartbeat continued to speed up as the hand reached out for something, grabbing thin air like it was a handle and pulling it to the side.

*Bzzt! BOOM!* The winds raged wildly and the seas roared as lightning flickered amongst the dense clouds. Fish could be seen jumping out of the water as the surface started to boil, the world itself seemingly in fear of this place.The hand tore space apart, forming a slit that was large enough for a grown man to pass through.

A young, bald man walked through the tear in space, grasping at the air to form a robe to cover his naked, hairless body. The robe he wore was the most common type amongst Norland's mages, but on him it instantly granted an aura of poise and control that even most nobles lacked. The most haughty master artist would have to acknowledge that his face was almost perfect, even when it was marred by extremely light pupils and a lack of brows.

As the rift in place slowly closed behind this new entrant, the sky and sea calmed down. A tinge of dejection flashed across his face as he sighed, mumbling to himself, “All I did was tear a hole in space and this happened... My distance from Master is still as great as before...”

However, he quickly shook his head and glanced towards the Deepblue, cold gaze focusing on Voidbones, “And here I was thinking it was someone else, turns out it's just this bastard. Why doesn't he just give up? Trying to take advantage of Master being asleep, so stupid of you!”

Unlike the response to Voidbones, all the grand mages grew lively when the young man faded away from sight only to appear atop the Deepblue. Just as they knew the problem child amongst Sharon's students, they knew her best apprentice as well. Unlike Voidbones, this was someone who could be counted on.

Nobody knew why Ensio was here outside of Blackgold, but the grey dwarf was still trying to keep his churning innards at bay. While the holy arts could heal injuries easily, he still had to deal with the wild mana streaking around in his body by himself.

Ensio's figure vanished from the top of the tower as well, landing right outside Sharon's residence. He swept his eyes across the group of grand mages before proceeding towards the destroyed gates, a barely noticeable purple glow flashing across his eyes, “This is why I was summoned?”

712 - City of Sin

Exile

Ensio looked around at the carnage wrought on Sharon's residence, sniffing the air a little before flashing a mocking smile towards Voidbones, “Ah, the star-destroying thunder. Master is still Master, you pathetic bastard, you don't get to lay your hands on her. Still, it looks like you're better at running now; to think you aren't dead...”

Voidbones' glare was cold as death, body slowly crouching like a beast as he said hoarsely, “Don't think the legendary realm is everything. I'm not as weak as I was back then!”

“Oh?” Ensio chuckled, “I agree being legendary isn't everything, but it looks like you want a match. Why not? Let's see if you can beat me at least once, it's been ten years already.”

A dangerous flame ignited in Voidbones' eyes, the azure flames around him starting to swell up. He kept silent and pointed upwards, forming a short-distance portal that sent him to Floe Bay. He waited there in mid-air, waiting to free himself of ten years of trauma.

Ensio wasn't as hurried. He first looked towards Blackgold and Fayr, casually flicking out two balls of light that sunk into the grand mages and eased the impact of the chaotic energies. He then turned towards Richard who was still struggling his way towards Sharon's room, a complicated expression crossing his face for the first time since his arrival. He eventually just sighed, stretching his fingers to shoot another ball of light towards him, this one a lot bigger than the other two and filled with a powerful life force that neutralised the azure flames.

“Tch... If only I could save you later without Master killing me...” Ensio shook his head as Richard's organs were repaired, his body abruptly fading away as he appeared before Voidbones.

“I've been waiting for a long time, Ensi—”

“Cut the crap. I'm in a really shitty mood right now, so try your best to escape or you die.”

“You think you're going to win for sure? Just because you were the only one ranked legendary?” Voidbones' features contorted with rage.

“Against you? There's no question,” Ensio replied seriously.

There were no warning signs as a bright multicoloured glow covered the two mages, slowly becoming like a tiny sun in the sky. Its radiance was so bright that it blinded all the grand mages observing the battle from afar.

Nobody knew just how many spells were being shot at each other, but the glaring radiance slowly burnt a hole into the clouds, only to fade away a few moments later. Ensio was left standing alone, traces of a portal still shimmering a short distance away.

“Tch, and he escaped. Dammit...” Ensio shook his head, but a proud smile rose up on his face. He was the one true genius amongst all of Sharon's students, the one with the greatest potential and skill.

However, he suddenly opened his eyes and looked back at the Deepblue, confusion written all over his face. He remained floating in mid-air for a few seconds before his silhouette vanished once more.
ƒ𝑟e𝘦we𝑏n𝑜𝚟𝙚Ɩ. 𝒄𝚘𝐦

......

Within the Deepblue, Richard slowly opened his eyes. He didn't understand where he was at first, but the moment he regained consciousness he shrieked loudly and sprung up from the ground. Only then did he realise that all his injuries were gone, a stark contrast from the torturous pain he had fainted to.

He raised his head to look at the broken residence around him, expression turning pale as he immediately dashed for Sharon's room. However, in only a few moments he suddenly stopped and turned around.

The first thing that he noticed was Blackgold and Fayr standing ever so slightly separate from the rest of the grand mages. It wouldn't normally be a noticeable difference, but it was significant. The second thing was a bald mage looking intensely at him, eyes filled with curiosity.

“Hello, Richard,” Ensio flashed a dashing smile, “My name is Ensio, I'm also one of Master's apprentices.”

Richard's expression suddenly turned cold. He took two steps back towards the side of the room, lifting his elven longsword that had fallen to the ground. A cold, murderous aura erupted from his body.

“Not bad, you've still got some strength left in you,” Ensio said with a nod. For a fleeting moment, the sheer killing intent in Richard's aura had caused him to tense up. He had tried to peep into Richard's soul, but had been blocked by what looked like a world of boiling lava.!

“Where's Voidbones?” Richard asked as he slowly raised the sword into a stance, “What's your relationship with him?”

Ensio just shrugged, “The bastard ran away after I beat him up. Do you think you'd be alive right now if he was still here?”

Richard was stunned for a moment before confirming Ensio's words through a glance at the grand mages. Ensio had to be extraordinary to send Voidbones running, making him feel his own weakness that much more clearly. It was like he had been dipped into the Bay, extinguishing the great halo that had surrounded him as a great runemaster and unrivalled commander.

His complexion eased, but just as he was about to let go of the sword Ensio's face darkened, “Now, get out of here you runt. Too weak to even defend yourself from Voidbones, you're an embarrassment to Master. I'm taking over the Deepblue, you don't have to concern yourself with it any longer.”

Richard was shocked at first, but his expression turned solemn and cold once more, “You will not take charge of the Deepblue.”

Ensio laughed frigidly, “And I have to listen to a runt like you? You haven't even finished your preparations to become a grand mage yet, and it wouldn't matter even if you had! Do you think a bunch of grand mages are enough to run the Deepblue? Without Master's glory, do you think you'll be able to resist the tribes of the north?”

He paused for a while before continuing his cold mockery, “Even Voidbones was ridiculous, and he at least had a chance of fighting off the local tribes. Hmph, do you even know who Master's real enemies are? Forget him, even I can't guarantee being able to resist them if they show themselves! I don't need dead weight here!”

“Dead. Weight?” Richard's eyes narrowed as blood rushed to his head. His body seemed to burn with unspeakable shame; this was the first time anyone had called him dead weight to his face! He was the king of the Archerons and the royal runemaster of the Sacred Alliance. He was a Duke of Faelor, and someone blessed by the Eternal Dragon himself! When had he ever suffered such humiliation?!

Ensio couldn't care less about Richard's boiling blood and bloodshot eyes, just smiling coldly as he repeated once more, “Yes, you're dead weight.”

This time, Richard went silent. All the fury condensed within his sea of consciousness, calling forth the gold glow of his truename from the depths of his bloodline. The boiling Archeron blood immediately cooled down, growing dense with energy as it prepared to lash out.

Such was the nature of his truename. Dizmason, meaning destruction. It took a collected warrior to maximise one's destruction on the battlefield.

A vague sense of worry flitted across Ensio's eyes, but his expression remained unchanged, “Haha, you don't see it, do you. Very well, why don't we head out for a battle?”

“Ensio!” Fayr suddenly spoke up, “Richard is greatly valued by Her Excellency.”

“I heard that he was the worst of all of Master's apprentices,” Ensio said casually.

“If you harm him, Her Excellency will—”

“If Master's true enemies appear right now, who do you want here fending them off? Do you think you eighteen will do it? Will Richard? Or do you really think just you joining hands with him will be enough?”

Fayr was rendered silent. Unlike Voidbones, Ensio was known for his integrity. If he said that even Voidbones was no match for Sharon's true enemies, then that was likely a fact. That meant the grand mages would die just that much faster. Richard was almost useless in such a high-level battle.

Just as Fayr was thinking of a response, Richard just grabbed his sword and headed for the terrace. Ensio chuckled at the sight, immediately vanishing from the place as he left three words behind, “I'll be waiting.”

713 - City of Sin

A Reckless Fight

Richard walked at a leisurely pace, adjusting his grip on the elven sword as he felt every inch of the hilt. A short while later, he would need to use it for the most difficult fight of his life. The blade seemed to sense the heavy atmosphere, pulsing with his breath as it awoke from its slumber.

He admired the sight from the tower on his way up, slowly adjusting himself to maximum power. Ensio didn't seem to have bad intentions for Sharon like Voidbones did, but Richard could not accept being pushed out of the Deepblue. Sharon was more than just a master to him, and the Deepblue was a second home. He would not abandon this place, even if the price was death.

Ensio was standing on the terrace with his arms crossed, looking down at Richard as he walked out of the exit. Seeing him so calm and unruffled, the legendary mage couldn't help but praise him in secret; however weak he was, this sheer strength of will was rarely seen even amongst true powerhouses.

It seemed like this disgrace to Sharon's name didn't grow up pampered in a noble bedroom. At least he'd experienced enough bloody battles in his life to overcome the fear of death.This fight would not be a disappointment.

“Come on, kid,” Ensio said with derision, “Hurt me and I lose.”

Richard didn't seem to be angered by this, changing the topic with a question that was looming in his mind, “What will you do once you take control of the Deepblue?”

Ensio flashed an inexplicable smile, “The same thing Voidbones wanted to.”

*Whoosh!* That smile instantly froze. He barely managed to register Richard's roar as he flashed ten metres away, watching the afterimages formed by Richard's attack. The elven sword shot straight through his own afterimage, flying out from Richard's hand as it fell to the ground a dozen metres away.

Richard seemed to deflate in an instant. His entire body was soaked through with sweat, starting to sway back and forth while his imposing aura disappeared like a receding tide. That one strike had embodied all of his current power, leaving him completely drained.

Ensio slowly turned his head, shock evident as he looked at the slit in his robes at the shoulder. A long gash was revealed behind it, going all the way from the upper chest to the arm.

The wound was quite shallow, only breaking the slightest bit of skin and drawing a scant few drops of blood, but it was a wound. Richard had managed to hurt him. The legendary mage stared at this wound for a full thirty seconds before he recovered, “You really did manage to gurt me... One might say I've already lost. But, are you really so naive as to think I'll just hand the Deepblue over to you?”

However, that wasn't the end of the surprises. Ensio looked up to find Richard intoning a spell, already on the verge of completion. A determined smile had crawled up the Archeron's face. He frowned slightly; as a legendary mage himself, he knew exactly what spell had just been cast.

It wasn't a powerful grade 9 spell like Time Stop, nor was it the sinister Finger of Death. Instead, it was a mere grade 8 spell— Call Shadows. Although the chant was longer than normal with some obscure words added in, the difference was minimal. He could kill the nightmare creature summoned from a grade 8 spell in one breath. Why was Richard smiling so openly? Was he resigning himself to death?

However, Ensio did not lower his guard. Richard's attack just now had exceeded all of his expectations as well. He could feel the power of laws within that strike, even if it was to a minuscule extent. That was the only reason for the strike to land; even all of Richard's life force would not be enough fuel to overcome the difference otherwise. Still, for someone whose aptitude had only been marked excellent in the evaluation, this was an unimaginable achievement.

Ensio could feel his heartbeat quicken, his other hearts starting to pump as well. He felt an intense omen of danger from the portal that Richard's spell had just formed.

Most summoning spells just formed a tear in space for the summoned creature to walk through. Richard had summoned a majestic gate; rusted beyond all measure, but still formidable to behold. The shadowforce within was so dense that it seemed to be substantial, the gate engraved with complicated magic arrays and runes of unknown meaning.

The temperature of the surroundings suddenly dropped, an unusual silence reigning supreme. The ocean surface had bubbled violently when Ensio teleported over, but now everything was deathly still. Behind that gate lay a formidable power that suppressed all life.

Ensio watched in astonishment as the gate slowly opened up, revealing a deep, dark void. He finally recalled just where he had seen those runes on the door and suddenly grew horrified, “RICHARD! STOP! THAT'S THE LEGION OF NIGHTMARES!”

“I... know,” Richard said calmly despite gasping for breath.

“You fucking lunatic!” Ensio brought his hands together rapidly, condensing a mote of milky white light in his palms. He then launched the spot towards the opening gate. However, the void was already half-revealed by this point, seemingly gaining its own will as an incomparably powerful shadow covered the light. The mote continued to glow as it burrowed through the darkness, but it was slowly worn away.

Before the legendary mage could do any more, the portal jolted and an enormous shadow flowed out from within. Thousands of strange creatures could be seen within the darkness surging forward like a tidal wave.

“Go to hell!” Ensio's voice turned hoarse. He immediately curled himself into a ball, white flames emerging all over his body to burn off the attackers. However, the countless nightmare creatures charged into him without any regard for their lives.

Richard had crumbled to the floor right below the portal, awaiting death in peace. A single strike from any random nightmare creature could kill him, but they all seemed to be focused on Ensio right now.
ｆ𝓇𝘦𝚎𝑤e𝗯𝑛𝗼ѵe𝗹. c𝒐𝘮

But that was just a temporary comfort. If this legion of nightmare creatures killed Ensio, they would definitely notice him at the side right after. After devouring him, they would disperse and kill everything in sight.

He didn't know if the Deepblue's resplendent defences had the ability to ward off these creatures, but he did not care. Sharon would definitely survive, and that was enough. All he needed to do was ensure that Ensio died. Voidbones possessed power far beyond his own, but it was power he could at least understand. Ensio was like a bottomless well of laws; the only time he had felt something similar was when the Tree of Life in the Forest Plane had advanced. He could not be confident that Sharon would be able to deal with him if she was pulled out of hibernation.

Call Shadows had worked as expected. With him already being a beacon for nightmare creatures, he had basically opened a gate to Norland for the Legion of NIghtmares. Although there was nothing of legendary might amongst these attackers, just their sheer quantity was enough to pose a lethal threat. Escape wasn't an option either; having tasted Ensio's blood, the nightmare creatures would hunt him across the myriad planes,

'Goodbye, Master...' Richard thought to himself in silence as he awaited the end of his life.

714 - City of Sin

An End And A Beginning

Lying on his back waiting to be consumed by the victor of the radiant battle nearby, Richard's hand slowly crawled up to his pocket and stroked the destiny crystal within. However, he couldn't muster up the strength to actually break it. In the past, this crystal had given him boundless courage that let him do whatever he wanted; now, however, he hadn't even thought of it when he charged at Ensio.

'Right...' His head slowly turned, catching a glimpse of milky white flashing amidst the darkness of the nightmare creatures. An angry roar rang out as countless rays of piercing energy dug through the veil of shadows, revealing Ensio's wound-covered body for a moment. The legendary mage was suddenly engulfed by white flames, turning into a shooting star that headed straight for the portal.

*BOOOOM!* A fiery explosion shook the terrace of the Deepblue, a raging ball of flames starting to expand upwards from the location of the portal. In a mere instant it was thousands of feet wide, the bottom shaving a few dozen centimetres off the Deepblue's crown.

The grand mages watching shuddered in fear at the sight. Only Richard realised that these flames seemed to burn a little cold, but that sensation was quickly cut off as a resplendent barrier encased him.

It took an entire minute for the flames to die down. Ensio eventually stretched his curled-up body, face ashen while his nearly-colourless eyes spat new fires of rage. The robe had vanished, revealing enormous gashes all across his body. One could finally see some natural armour protecting the most sensitive of areas, but even that had been chipped.

However, the battle had not ended yet. A few nightmare creatures were still cowering all around the Deepblue, some alive due to sheer luck and others because they were the strongest of their kind. Ensio spewed a few expletives in their direction before lunging towards them, starting to wipe them out. By the time it was all over, his wounds were regurgitating deep black blood.

The flesh around Ensio's wounds was constantly wriggling, a testament to his great regenerative abilities. However, it only meant that the injuries wouldn't deteriorate; with such concentrated shadowforce now flowing through his veins, healing was near impossible. His aura had weakened greatly, black smoke constantly wafting off his innumerable injuries until he was almost impossible to see.

However, his imposing presence hadn't diminished in the slightest. The grand mages appeared on the terrace one by one, staring at him in disbelief, but not one of them dared to take action despite his great injuries. His icy glare made it clear that trying to take advantage of the situation would not end well.

Ensio grunted, disregarding them completely as he walked up to Richard. His hand passed straight through the barrier as he grabbed Richard by the neck and raised him up, “ARE YOU FUCKING INSANE?”

Richard instinctively shut his eyes, refusing to speak a single word.

“WHAT? DO YOU THINK I WON'T KILL YOU?” Ensio seethed, but Richard still didn't respond.

*Thud!* Ensio's expression changed constantly, but at one point he just snorted and slammed Richard face-first into the floor. When Richard staggered up, his face was full of blood with his forehead busted wide open. The nose had almost been crushed.

However, Richard just silently wiped away the blood on his face and eyes.

*Thud!* Ensio grabbed Richard and slammed him into the ground once again. This time, there was even more blood.

*Thud! Thud! Thud...* The treatment continued for a long time...

......

It was currently evening. A two-legged wyvern took flight from the Deepblue, quickly making its way towards Faust. Richard was strewn across its back, using all his strength to make sure he wouldn't fall over.

The frosty wind left his numerous injuries seething with pain. It only took a few minutes for him to lose all feeling in his arms and legs, relying purely on instinct to hold on. His body was frozen stiff, but his face was scorching with pain and humiliation.

“So what if you have some fight in you? It just got me a little more excited!”

“You useless bastard! I'm going to kick you all I want, what will you do about it?”

“The worst potential of all of Master's students got the most of her attention? You absolute disgrace!”

“You wanted to save her with your paltry abilities? A hundred of you would be worth nothing! What, you thought you'd just die with the enemies? Do you really think you're worth that much?”

“Let's see what she sees in you after I crush your face, pretty boy!”

“What are you smiling for? You think you're being courageous? Without the strength to even fight back? Pathetic!”

Countless insults were constantly ringing in his ears, drowning out the fierce winds. Through all the dizziness, pain, and confusion, the strongest blow had been to his faith in himself. He had always been proud of his courage, willpower, and fortitude. Now, these qualities seemed completely meaningless.

'What would that man do?' he suddenly thought to himself. However, the thought seemed to come to reality as he suddenly saw Gaton standing before him, still caressing that infamous short beard as he laughed, “I would've beaten the shit out of him!”

Richard couldn't help but feel his blood boil at that reply. However, another question immediately plagued his mind: what about when he didn't have that ability.

“That's your problem, you rascal. Think about why you're so incompetent, I was never that useless!” Gaton said with disdain.

However, their abilities were too far apart. Courage, will, fortitude... were they really not enough?

“Who said that? What kind of Archeron are you, feeling humiliated on the verge of death? I spent my entire life on the frontlines, both the commander and the talisman of our power! You took over the family but you can't even do such a simple thing?!”

Right! Was Ensio even right? Didn't he leave the so-called legendary mage severely injured too? The thought suddenly snapped Richard to awareness. He struggled and opened his eyes, but glancing ahead all he could see was the dark curtain of the night.

There was no sign of his father at all.

He had no idea whether he would see another trace in his life. He had been determined to explore the depths of the abyss if that was what it took, but after facing Ensio that seemed like a distant dream.

Still, that man could still guide him even from beyond the grave. Even if he didn't want to, he was constantly emulating Gaton as he grew up. It was only now that Richard started to understand his mother's mindset. She had hated Gaton more than anything in her life, but couldn't help but be proud of him as well. And now, he was growing into the same state of mind.

The wyvern was completely oblivious to the wandering thoughts of its rider, just continuing to fly into the night sky.

......

Ensio was stood alone on top of the Deepblue, the clouds floating all around him. Having stared in Richard's direction for an unknown length of time, he eventually heaved a deep sigh and muttered to himself, “This is the boy you like? Not bad at all...”

...

It was late into the night, but Ensio remained standing there without moving. He knew Sharon's enemies were coming soon.

Sharon's residence was covered in magic arrays that would allow one to be isolated for a certain period of time. However, Voidbones had selfishly destroyed the Mirror of a Thousand Forms, breaking these enchantments. The enemies that would only find out years later were now certainly on their way. Compared to them, the Legion of Nightmares was nothing.

Ensio also knew he would not survive this battle. However, he simply did not care. Richard wasn't the only one of Sharon's students who could sacrifice his life for her.

In fact, he was quite happy that he had left a mark in the Deepblue before entering the Realm of No Beginning. He had gone to search for his own origin, to find the source of his existence, but now he understood that none of it mattered.

He knew he should have been confused, perhaps even scared. However, he couldn't find any words to express his current feelings. A seemingly endless time spent wandering the void had forced him to make friends with himself, but in such a crucial time all he could do was laugh.

The blanket of grey covering the Deepblue suddenly started to shift, opening up a gap that allowed the beautiful blue light of the night through. It seemed almost like an ethereal moment, pure and serene.

However, Ensio knew that the time had come.

*ROAR!* An earth-shattering scream rang through Floe Bay as a ball of milky white light shot up from the Deepblue, crashing right into the source of the blue light. The two lights then merged together, ripping a hole in space itself before vanishing from existence. The clouds thus enveloped the bay once more, as though nothing had happened.

The battle was that simple.

Ensio remained standing atop the Deepblue, raising his head to look towards the battle that had just taken place. There was an odd emptiness in his eyes, but also satisfaction. He had done all that he could, fulfilling his glorious destiny.

He looked down at himself, realising that he was slowly fading away. The Deepblue under him turned dim, all colour washing out from the world before it crumbled apart. It was then that he realised he was looking at a memory, a mere shadow of what he had left behind.

This was the path to the origin of everything.

“Richard... Why do I have to be a hero? Go, the future is yours to carve...” he murmured as he slowly faded away.

715 - City of Sin

A Long Journey

When the wyvern finally made it to the Archeron island, Richard couldn't take it anymore and fainted. The entire island was whipped up into a frenzy.

A day had passed by the time he woke up. At his bedside were several familiar and unfamiliar names; the ones he recognised were the old steward, Coco, and Fuschia. He smiled in assurance as he sat up, making sure everything was alright before giving a hug to everyone who deserved it.

Once the situation on the island stabilised, he quickly sat down to write two letters. One was meant for Flowsand, sent immediately through an envoy to Faelor. The other was meant for Mountainsea, which he handed to the steward and instructed to have sent over in a year.

He had maintained a perfect smile throughout. Everyone, including Fuschia, had felt like he was calm, patient, friendly, and charismatic, treating everyone with respect and good faith. He was simply a perfect leader. Only he himself felt it strange that he managed to maintain that smile.

Once all the preparations and arrangements were made, Richard packed some simple luggage and got ready to head out. He was not Gaton; he could not joke around and be generous, but he had his own style and set of beliefs.

He was Richard, not Gaton... He took his simple luggage and headed for the Orleans island, heading for the Land of Dusk.

......

Richard's decision may have been sudden, catching everyone unprepared, but he was meticulous as always. The entire Archeron island was bustling with life as it tried to fulfil his orders, the old steward carrying a long list of errands that he ticked off one by one throughout the day.

Faus found out quickly, and he became the talk of the town once more. Some were waiting for him to perform another miracle in the battlefields of despair, while others cursed him to die and never return. However, he was already gone.

Orders for equipment and materiel reached Nyris, Neil, and the Orleans Family the very next morning. Droves of supplies were shipped off to Blackrose Castle, arming the Archeron soldiers. Even though he was leaving, Richard planned to keep his promise of leading them into conquest. Senma and Asiris would soon find new materials and soldiers aiding their war efforts, at least stabilising their positions.

When the cavalrymen that had been borrowed from Alice were returned, they were now armed to the teeth. They felt very strange; this was the greatest immediate boost to their power that they had ever felt in their lives. In the past, they had often mocked those who armed themselves greatly; the harder an enemy's armour, the more they feared death. However, they were now mobile fortresses that were tougher than any enemies they met, armed with precious swords that were sharper, more durable.

This was Richard's style. If he had presented them with gold directly, these proud Archerons who had won countless battles under Alice would just refuse it. Richard's shadowspear knights and rune knights had been the driving force of most of their battles. Besides, the Mensas were enemies that had killed the previous family head. Gaton was someone who had unlocked his truename, the greatest warrior of the family who had already earned his place at the very summit of the family tombs. To kill the enemies that had destroyed such a bright star was a reward in and of itself.

However, Richard had found their weak spot. They saw gold as dirt, but they valued their equipment more highly than their families. He had thus given them a middling pay for the days they had spent at war, instead spending thousands of gold on weapons and armour that they could not reject.

With her elite soldiers outfitted by Richard, Alice's strength was greatly enhanced. She was an Archeron who had awakened her truename; even though she wasn't a saint, it would take great power to defeat her. He could rest assured that she would be alright.

......

With Lina continuing to hold the fort at Blackrose, some of Richard's followers had been pulled out of Faelor to head to the Forest Plane.

In Faelor, the name of the Crimson Dukedom had travelled far and wide. The more noticeable of Richard's followers like Gangdor and Tiramisu had their reputations grow in tandem. Everyone knew that the Crimson Dukedom had a large group of saints gathered within, so strong that even sub-legendary warriors would return in low spirits if faced with them.

Calls to topple the Dukedom rose up throughout the Iron Triangle Empire, but they were quickly quashed. Everyone now believed Salwyn's assessment of Richard: it would be near impossible to win a battle against him without at least three times the manpower. However, it was far too late to do that; considering Richard's current army size, they would need an army of 200,000!

Even for a country as strong as the Iron Triangle Empire, an army of such size would be a challenging task. One couldn't just throw inexperienced bums out into battle; their effect would be minimal. However, if they gathered all of their soldiers to attack, Walvis Bay would immediately come under threat. Just as well, the Dragon Church would use this opportunity to aggress.

Richard's followers were still making their way through the barbarian plains. The famous general Andrieka had appeared once again, the mysterious black-clothed advisor stood next to him. Andrieka didn't have too many troops, but most of them came from the broodmother. These were only level 10 barbarian warriors, incomparable to Richard's core soldiers, but they held great advantages in morale and equipment. Casualties didn't matter with them; the broodmother could now produce a dozen in a day.

Andrieka's strategy at the ancestral plains was different from what he had used in the holy war. The troop formations this time showed more patience and fortitude, with no mistakes made even if the battles dragged on for days. The barbarian tribes nearby had assembled their toughest warriors and given chase for ten days before realising that it was a trap. The white eagles flying overhead suddenly started surrounding the cloned brain as another small army flanked in from behind, pincering into the barbarians that were already at a disadvantage.

The barbarians had suffered heavy losses, their 3,000-strong army left with only a few hundred survivors. All tribes within a hundred kilometres were thoroughly destroyed, after which Andrieka's army breached the defences of the strongest local tribe and took down its timple. Google search 𝗳𝘳ℯ𝑒𝓌ℯ𝚋𝐧oνe𝘭. c𝐨ｍ

The cloned brain quickly took the altar and the idol of an unknown ancestral god, flying to the distant Land of Turmoil, while Andrieka remained in the plains to encircle and destroy the other barbarian tribes. He constantly sent the captives back to the Crimson Dukedom as well; these strong barbarians would later be sold to the various human countries as slaves. Most of the slave trade in western Faelor came from the Bloodstained Lands, and Richard was now actively driving this trade.

716 - City of Sin

Smiling Between Tears

Not all of Richard's followers were out on expeditions. Flowsand and her two heavenly guardians kept watch over Bluewater City; the guardians had reached their natural limits, and Flowsand only gained strength from sacrifices anyway.

The shrine to the Eternal Dragon had been renovated, now looking a little more classy. However, it was still nothing compared to the three magnificent churches in the centre of the city. All Flowsand had was a library and an altar, nothing else. However, neither she nor Nyra paid this any mind. Those serving the Eternal Dragon didn't care for things that could be ruined by the flow of time. Even the altar in Faust was ruined beyond repair.

Io was the only one who was unhappy with the arrangement, constantly muttering to himself that the glory of the Eternal Dragon was paling in the face of the deities of a secondary plane. Everyone understood his mode of thinking. The three churches were grand and open for all to see, while nobody could enter the shrine to the Eternal Dragon without Flowsand's express permission. Even though he was more powerful than Faylen, Fermi, or Shea, they had far more status in the eyes of the commoners.

Flowsand was currently sitting in her living room, staring blankly at a sealed chest. Nyra and Io were sat beside her as well, also staring intently at the box with different thoughts running through their minds. Richard hadn't returned as expected, instead sending people with this chest and a letter.

Flowsand kept silent for a long while before she finally opened the box. All colours of the rainbow shot out from within, lighting up a simple idol, an unassuming rock, two grey bones, and eight image diamonds.

Io's breath stopped at the sight, while Nyra's eyes started fading to grey. Both of them had sensed that these items were offerings, with two even being top-class!

The bones were lesser offerings as well, and while the image diamonds couldn't be sacrificed they were a basis for the crafting of spatial equipment. However, all the two heavenly guardians could see were the idol and the rock. To them, these offerings meant a direct upgrade of their limits.

Io's eyes remained fixated on the chest, his throat constantly bobbing up and down. Nyra was much calmer in comparison, bringing her eyes back to their normal black and white in a few minutes.

On the other hand, Flowsand just sighed. She was still young, in the prime of her youth with beauty that could not be described with words. Her aura had grown more captivating as she levelled up, now seeming undisturbed by the flow of time. However, the sigh made her sound like she was growing old. If they didn't know of her true age, Io and Nyra would have thought that she had lived a very long life just like Ferlyn.

Flowsand took up the letter, but after hesitating for a while she shook her head without opening it. The chest and letter had already been here for many days, she just hadn't brought herself to be able to open it. The contents of the letter didn't take a genius to guess; Richard had something important to do in the Land of Dusk. His location had been made known to all of his followers the moment the messenger arrived.

However, only the smarter ones had even a vague inkling of just what had happened. Io and Nyra exchanged glances; as Flowsand's guardians, they knew her better than they knew themselves. Important tasks carried significant risks. If Richard had entered a battlefield of despair, it wasn't impossible to say when or even if he would come back.

Io had been almost blinded by the radiance of the two offerings, but he steeled his heart. This chest was more than enough to wipe out any ill will he had towards Richard previously, but he had already chosen to side with Flowsand. Feeling that it was time to express his position, he cleared his throat, “Miss Flowsand, Richard has gone too far this time! He didn't even bother to meet you before going to a battlefield of despair! We all know just what kind of place the Land of Dusk is; he isn't even a grand mage, what if he never returns? He's far too irresponsible....”

The battle priest continued his impassioned speech, but as he droned on he soon discovered that Flowsand fell into a daze. When he finally petered out, she sighed again and said gently, “Yes. He went to Klandor to risk his life, and now he's going to a battlefield of despair... He, he... ”

“Exactly, he didn't even come to bid you farewell!”

“Yeah...”

“Sigh...” Nyra shook her head, halfway between disappointment and anger, “Miss Flowsand, you know why he left without visiting. Lord Richard should have his own reasons for going to the Land of Dusk, and if he's decided to go he should know what he is doing. He's a responsible man, he wouldn't play the fool with his life.”

“But who can guarantee that they would return from a trip to a battlefield of despair?!” Io butted in.

“That is true,” Nyra nodded in rare agreement, but her next words shocked both Io and Flowsand, “So if he came to bid you goodbye, would he not be afraid to leave?”

Flowsand's eyes immediately filled with life once more, “Is that really it? Maybe...”

Nyra pointed to the open chest, “If he doesn't return, those are items for you to remember him by.”

“Ughh...” Flowsand groaned. She understood this as well; given Richard's income and expenditure, the items in this box were the most valuable ones in his possession.

“You...” Io cried out in surprise, staring at Nyra in disbelief. However, she didn't bother about him.

Flowsand picked up the letter, thinking about it carefully before placing it within the chest and putting the chest beside her bookcase. She stared at the items within lovingly as she closed the lid, locked amber brows slowly unfurling as the corner of her mouth rose up in satisfaction. In the end, she happily sent the two heavenly guardians out.

Just as they reached the bottom of the stairs, Io blocked Nyra at the door and glared at her, “Why did you say those were gifts?!”

“Are they not?”

“How could they be? They were items Richard gave to Miss Flowsand so she could repay her debts!”

“Oh, so that's what you wanted to do with them?” Nyra asked sarcastically.

“Grr... Of course not! There was more divine grace in there than she owes! But now, she won't even think of using those offerings. We can forget about her upgrading us!”

Nyra sighed, “You really think she would use those offerings even if I kept silent?”

“But...” Io sighed himself, but this was for Flowsand and not himself. He pondered over it for a moment before saying bitterly, “Then what about our advancement?”

“There are a thousand good offerings on this plane,” Nyra said softly, “We can get them ourselves.”

“Get them ourselves?” Io was taken aback. This was something he had never thought of.

“Yes. What, you don't have the guts? Sit here and be pretty, then, I'll go grab them for myself.”

Io fell silent for a moment before gritting his teeth, “... Of course I'll go! What's the worst that could happen? I'll just wait until someone else summons me!”

Nyra shrugged, “Alright. We can't just leave, though, let me check if Tiramisu wants to go with us.”

However, Io didn't step aside. He stared at Nyra suspiciously, “Why are you so different from before?”

“I've changed?” Nyra asked with a smile. She was actually quite pretty, and her smiles broke through her aura of wrongness to make her seem cute.

“Of course!” Io was certain. The Nyra he knew was always gloomy and scary.

She seemed to ignore his question as she turned away from him, pointing out past the door as she left, “Sunlight is great, isn't it...”

“... Sunlight is great...? What is that supposed to mean?” Io muttered to himself in confusion. He had already forgotten that the place they came from was shrouded in constant darkness.

Upstairs, Flowsand had closed the door and fallen deep asleep on her sofa. She hadn't been able to sleep well for the past few days, and the exhaustion came in like the tide. Her dream seemed to be very peculiar; the corners of her mouth were etched in a soft smile, but tears were streaming down her temples.

717 - City of Sin

Dusk and Dawn

By this time, Richard had already reached the Land of Dusk. He was in the same cave system as the first two times, but now he knew better than to expect safety. He carefully looked around his surroundings, tapping the sword case strapped to his back to release Carnage's dagger from within. He then gathered his bearings and walked through the passageway.

The cave system looked the exact same as before, which wasn't a surprise considering how the plane was dying. Even if something changed this place greatly, the origin energy that no longer had a will directing it would work to return its form to the moment of the will's death. Of course, this meant more of the plane's energy burnt out, reducing the chances of a new will being born.

As he headed forward, he paid conscious attention to his grip on the blade for the first time in a long time, adjusting the tiniest of details until he couldn't think of any improvements. His footsteps echoed in the dim passageway, growing louder as time passed. This was both a deterrent and a challenge; only someone of power dared to make noise in the Land of Dusk. Please visit 𝗳𝚛𝐞𝘦wℯ𝚋𝓷o𝚟el. 𝐜𝘰𝒎

He had realised that there was an ambush ahead the moment he teleported over, but he pretended not to see anything and maintained a steady pace. The moment he entered a fork in the path, a foul smell suddenly enveloped the cave as a skaven lunged at him from behind. Its sharp teeth which could cut metal were glinting in the darkness.

However, moments before it could reach its prey, the demonic being froze in mid-air. Its claws and teeth twitched once or twice before it gently collapsed. Richard didn't even turn around, just grabbing the fallen creature by the head and pulling it over to start harvesting it for materials. A faint smile rose up on his face, but as he cut open the creature's chest and inspected it that faded into a soft sigh.

He still remembered vividly when Beye had cut one down with one stroke, just like he had now. However, Beye's cut had instantly killed the skaven and left only a tiny slit on the heart. His attack had struck the heart as well, but he'd missed the most critical artery and instead turned the entire organ to mush.

His brows knitted together. After thinking over it for a long time, he held his dagger up and made a quick thrusting motion in the air. The movement seemed to be nothing out of the ordinary, but it created a small gust and was accompanied by a faint whistle. His breaths grew heavier as he tried again, but the whistling persisted.

He shook his head and sat down. Both those strikes had been infused with the full power of all four Lifesbanes on him, but they still paled in comparison to Beye's attack when she hadn't possessed a single one. Beye's attacks didn't have any aftershocks either, nor did they whistle.

He closed his eyes and dipped into his memories, recalling the moment of Beye's strike. Steadying his breathing, he made another soft strike with his dagger. This time, his blessings were activated to their utmost as he studied the blade's trajectory. The aftershocks this time were reduced, but once the strike stopped he sighed once more. The strike had only deviated slightly from its target, the error so low that it wouldn't even affect a grade 3 rune, but if he used Lifesbanes to layer ten strikes into one that difference would greatly disperse his power. If he'd possessed the ability to keep all ten strikes perfectly on target, Voidbones wouldn't have a face anymore, nor would Ensio have an arm.

Talk was cheap. He was far from achieving such control, and even Beye wasn't that perfect. However, he didn't feel specifically anxious; that was why he was here in a battlefield of despair, to train himself and polish his skills and abilities.

He continued to harvest the skaven's body, placing the most precious bits in his bag before cutting up the meat and hanging it from his waist by iron wire. Nobody could tell whether they would meet an enemy a week or a hundred in a day in the Land of Dusk; if he didn't find any enemies, this would be his only food source over the next few days.

Tidying up the scene, he continued on his expedition once more. It took the better part of the day to exit the caves, and the luckily enough the cliffside he came out on was only a few hundred metres from the ground. He suddenly recalled something after landing, turning back around to look at the numerous cave openings on the side of the cliff. He couldn't recall just which holes he had come from the last two times he was here, and he also didn't know where he would come out the next time.

Thankfully, gathering his bearings wasn't a tough task. He cast a quick spell that even the warriors in the Land of Dusk knew, converging mana into an energy compass with three gold and seven grey needles. The needles represented the different strongholds in the Land of Dusk, with gold being those of Norland and grey being those of Daxdus.

Quickly determining the direction of the Capital of the Unsetting Sun, he started rushing over. However, he suddenly felt the earth beginning to shake. A peculiar feeling welled up in his heart, an indescribable reverence that he could not explain. It was like he was a lion atop a cliff seeing a tidal wave rising in; his own power didn't matter in the slightest.

Why were mere tremors making him so uneasy? Richard froze for a moment, trying to figure out what it was. He quickly realised that these vibrations weren't local; the hour plane was crying in pain!

718 - City of Sin

Dusk And Dawn(2)

As he continued to pay attention, Richard's eyes bulged in surprise. He had read about this phenomenon in the Deepblue— planes shook with pain when their origin energy was extracted by a powerful legendary skill.

'What kind of powerhouses are fighting?' He instantly became alert. He didn't fear the normal warriors of Daxdus, but he wasn't so complacent as to think he could interfere in battles between high-level legends. Just the shockwaves from such a fight could put his life in danger.

Just as he was trying to determine the source of the tremors to move away, one of the dark grey needles on his compass suddenly grew lighter. The change seemed tiny, but it implied one thing; the Norlanders were attacking a stronghold of Daxdus!

A stronghold had absolute control over the lands nearby. Multiple legendary beings were gathered in each one to protect it. From the looks of it, a high-level legend from Norland had entered the Land of Dusk and attacked one of the Daxdus strongholds. From how quickly the needle was gaining colour, it appeared like they would even succeed soon!

Richard looked in the direction the needle pointed to. The stronghold under attack was more than 10,000 kilometres away, but as one of Faust's fourteen he had access to a lot of the intel about the Land of Dusk. He knew this stronghold as the Fort of Dawn, the first fortress the Sacred Alliance had built in the Land of Dusk. Years of being on the back foot in this war had lost the Norlanders that stronghold, a moment of extreme humiliation for the Sacred Alliance in particular.

Now, that shame would be wiped clean. For a moment, Richard himself felt a strong sense of pride. However, that satisfaction was quickly tempered by the fact that he could barely even survive the Land of Dusk right now; these battles belonged to a level of power he had no ability to touch as he was. In addition, victory wasn't everything. The following days would be extremely difficult for all of Norland's strongholds as the Daxdians would counterattack fiercely. They would probably gather forces from a few of their own strongholds to launch a joint attack on the Fort of Dawn.

......

Considering the increased dangers, Richard became more alert as he continued towards the Capital of the Unsetting Sun. He didn't encounter a single Daxdian for nearly a week, forcing him to exhaust the skaven meat and still go hungry for two days. He was starting to feel disappointed that he hadn't picked up more of this nutritious meat from the first skaven he killed.

He was currently running across the fissured earth at a low pace, trying to conserve as much energy as he could while also using the terrain to shield himself. Carnage was held tightly in his grasp, swinging out at air every few minutes. Richard frowned after each swing, shaking his head before continuing to move forward. Over the past few days, he had practised these motions so much that they had become instinct.

'SHIT!' Just as he was about to jump across a wide crack in the earth, he sensed immense danger from his surroundings. However, his strength had already been gathered into his legs; all he could do was jump higher than normal. He flipped around in the air, Carnage stabbing out like a flash of lightning, but the tentacle rushing towards him was so big that the dagger only cut halfway through. The blade was embedded in the appendage as it continued to charge towards him.

Thankfully, the attack had at least diverted its path. Richard barely managed to dodge with a glancing attack to his legs, groaning dully as his blood splashed into the air. He used the opportunity to push himself away, landing ten metres in the distance. The sword case was dropped to the ground even as he turned to face the tentacle once more, all three swords springing out from within.

The tentacle coiled a few times in the air before shooting towards his position like a flash of lightning. Without any time to think, Richard just grabbed Carnage out of the air and roared, sparks flying across his body as a bloody glow rushed up his arms. Countless blinding flashes filled the air for a moment before the front half of the tentacle fell down in dozens of small chunks. The pieces were still wriggling on the floor, but that quickly came to a stop.

A roar of pain rang out from the crack as a giant monster with four bloodshot eyes charged out from within. The strangely fish-like creature was as large as an elephant, but more than a third of its grey body was occupied by its mouth. The remaining half of the tentacle twitched as it coiled back, swaying around the creature's head. The monster was large in its own right, but compared to the tens of metres of length the tentacle had it looked rather tiny.

Facing an enemy he had never seen before, Richard immediately began a careful retreat. Even legendary beings weren't rare in the battlefields of despair, so no amount of caution was enough. The creature just stayed in place as well, constantly releasing threatening howls but also unwilling to attack rashly. The damage to the tentacle was evidently a major issue.

Thinking of the monster's lightning-quick ambush, Richard slowly lowered his body into a bestial half-squat. It looked somewhat strange, but this stance allowed him to react as quickly as possible.

Thus, a man and a monster confronted each other with neither being willing to launch an attack. Richard's eyes emitted blue light as he activated Analytic, but all he could see was skin. This creature's hide was exceptionally thick, and the energy flow underneath was minimal as well. It seemed almost like a normal beast, but that left him with no way to predict its abilities. Please visit ƒre𝐞𝘸𝑒𝘣𝘯𝘰νℯ𝒍 𝐜𝑜m

The wound on his thigh slowly started to close up, showing just how valuable the hydra's regenerative abilities were. Perhaps Mountainsea hadn't randomly chanced upon the egg but instead stole it intentionally...

However, the monster's recovery was even better than his. The tentacle coiled up on top of its head, squirming without end as the bleeding stopped and new flesh started to grow. In less than two days, the dozen-odd metres he had cut off would be fully regrown.

Concluding that he wouldn't be able to win a battle of attrition, Richard decided to start probing for this opponent's weaknesses. He slowly opened up the Book of Holding as the creature roared, flipping open a page to bring a bolt of blood lightning down on the creature's body. With the boost from his own elemental affinity and the abyssal flames, this grade 7 spell was more powerful than a grade 8 lightning storm against a single target. As of now, it was his strongest spell attack without using Sacrifice.

The crimson lightning left a deep hole in the monster's forehead, almost breaking off the tentacle. The creature roared in pain, retreating a few steps as it eyed Richard with hatred, but Richard just frowned slightly. Even the full power of what was effectively a grade 8 spell hadn't managed to make it through the monster's skin; this opponent had far greater magic resistance than centaurs and the like. With its added stealth, it was basically born to defeat mages! Thankfully, it didn't have any effective long-range attacks.

Richard continued to flip through the Book of Holding, launching another lightning bolt at the opponent. This bolt struck almost in the same place as the last, deepening the wound and finally penetrating the creature's exoskeleton and tearing into the tentacle as well. When he flipped to the third page, the creature couldn't take it anymore and madly dashed towards him at full force.

Richard tapped his sword case to pull out the Twin of Destiny, casting a grade 7 Stall spell on the creature. This spell was a direct upgrade of Slow; the reduction in speed wasn't all that greater, but it was much more difficult to avoid. In a battle at this level, one single curse could spell the difference between life and death.

719 - City of Sin

Origin Energy

The Stall spell slowed the monster down a bit, but the effect was much weaker than expected. Richard frowned as he activated Mana Armament, dodging the enemy's attacks as he cast Tomb of Light, Banishment, and Disintegration in quick succession on it. However, all of those spells performed pathetically.

The monster continued a slew of fierce attacks, its strikes growing faster and faster as the spell effects wore away. Even with Mana Armament, Richard was starting to lose out in terms of speed. His situation continued to get worse and worse until eventually the monster got close enough to bite right through him.

It was then that his eyes gleamed coldly. He boosted Mana Armament to the maximum, speeding up further to dodge the attack before slicing half a metre deep into the creature's body. Using the momentum of the dodge, he continued to cut through horizontally for nearly a metre before pulling away.

The wound itself was huge, but its true lethality only showed itself once Richard opened up some distance. The monster suddenly stopped moving, its eyes gleaming with immense fear as it let out a primal howl. Tens of cracks spread out from the wound, each one extremely deep.

This was Lacerate, one of Lifesbane's special effects. The monster's blood sprayed out from the wound, flying more than five metres in the air before it splashed into the ground. Its flesh curled up, patches of the ash-grey tissues turning completely black. Other parts of the exoskeleton instead burst open, releasing a bloody mist. One effect was much flashier than the other, but they were both just as deadly.

By the time the blood stopped flowing, the monster was breathing roughly. It panted in seeming relief, thinking that its biggest crisis was already past, but then it howled in pain once more. Countless hands seemed to tear into it as the wound split open ruthlessly, breaking apart half its body as it collapsed to the ground. Blood sprayed out once more, this time gushing ten metres into the air and peppered with chunks of internal organs.

Even Richard himself was left aghast at such a scene. This was the first time he had gone all-out after he got four Lifesbane runes, and now he was finally seeing just why it was reputed to be amongst the best at harvesting lives. He could only overlay ten attacks at a time now, but when his skill grew in the future his attacks would become all the more terrifying.

However, this one combined strike also drew out most of his energy. Both his mana and energy reserves were almost completely drained, leaving him with no time to inspect the monster in detail in case any Daxdians smelled the stench of blood and rushed over. Quickly harvesting what he thought was most important and slicing off a piece of the exoskeleton, he scurried away.

A short while after he left, two balls of dark fog floated towards the location. The wanga black sorcerers within inspected every trace of battle on the field in detail, discussing things for a long time.

......

Richard was currently sitting behind a rock to protect himself from the wind, his eyes closed. He was in a state of shallow meditation, at the same time eating diced meat. Sometimes he chewed for a little while, but most of the cubes were swallowed directly.

This monster's meat didn't even provide as much energy as from a skaven, and to make things worse it reeked! Skaven meat could even be considered delicious, but this tasted worse than mud from a sewer. He forced himself to swallow, consoling himself with the fact that starving would be worse, but even with his strong will it took the blunting of his senses by meditation to bring himself to eat it all.

As he sat there, lost in his own world while trying to ignore reality, he suddenly felt the earth below him trembling again. A pulse of crimson energy rushed into his mind's view, twisting and struggling as though in great pain. It jolted him into awareness, the aura similar to when the Tree of Life had advanced causing him to fill up with excitement. The mix of awe, fear, and confusion it inspired indicated that this blood-like energy held the laws of the plane! Please visit ƒ𝘳ee𝒘𝚎𝐛𝘯𝐨ν𝑒l. 𝒄o𝘮

His soul form immediately rushed out to capture this energy pulse, but the moment he made contact a searing pain flashed across his mind. This tiny droplet contained surging power that seemed almost like a tide.

However, this only left him more excited. Especially in a dying plane like the Land of Dusk, such condensed energy could only come from the plane's core. Normally the will of the plane would limit the amount of energy a legendary skill could invoke, but with that will dead, the chances of some of this energy leaking grew exponentially. The plane itself would consume far more energy than it could create, slowly drying up until it collapsed. The scorching sensation was coming from a conflict between the plane's laws and his own power.

This was the ultimate chance to peer even further into the realm of laws, far better than during the advancement of the Tree of Life. Enduring the pain, Richard forced the energy pulse into his body.

All of his bloodlines immediately started to tremble restlessly, in fear of the sheer power behind the origin energy. He tried his best to extract strand after strand of energy and absorb it, but most was wasted due to a conflict of laws. However, that didn't mean it was all for nothing; even the destroyed energy gave him a chance to analyse the laws of this plane further.

Unfortunately, the energy pulse had been too short. His analysis was stopped right at the gate, leaving him unable to even tell how many laws this plane functioned on. There was a massive amount of information hidden within, but he needed much, much more to even discern the most general outline.

If he could truly solve this mystery, he would only be a single step away from touching upon the realm of laws. However, he couldn't even begin to fathom just how much of the core's energy he would have to absorb for it.

Just as he was analysing the core energy, his astral affinity world tree suddenly started to move. The roots that were touching his Archeron bloodline started to wave frantically, grabbing the remnants of the core energy and sparing no effort to absorb it. The energy pulse seemed to radiate sheer terror, culminating in what felt like a piercing cry that could rip apart one's mind. There was little energy left, but it still burnt layer upon layer of the roots to ashes before it dimmed.

The astral affinity trunk trembled in severe pain, but its sheer size eventually gained the upper hand in what was now a battle of attrition. Richard, who was left dazed for a few moments, quickly recovered and mobilised his entire mana pool in support. The tree's roots finally encircled the origin pulse entirely before absorbing it.

Once it was done absorbing the core energy, the world tree quickly turned still. Its leaves all stopped swaying, and the broken roots didn't even start to regenerate. However, Richard was actually rather delighted at this. All signs pointed to the tree entering hibernation, likely preceding a breakthrough.

Richard hadn't even planned to get any of his affinities to the fifth level before he took the step to become a grand mage; his silvermoon bloodline seemed to be bottlenecked at the fourth. For his most important affinity to take this step was a pleasant surprise.

720 - City of Sin

Ambush

As he opened his eyes from the meditation, Richard immediately felt a wave of fatigue overcome his body. The process of absorbing even a sliver of a plane's origin was much more challenging than he had first assumed. Thankfully his astral affinity trunk had managed to do it, even if at a huge cost. The speed of his mana restoration would take a huge dip until the tree recovered, making Sacrifice much more risky to use.

But then, the tree might just get to grade 5 afterwards. Thinking of that, he gulped down the last piece of meat before heaving a long sigh. His stomach churned in rejection of the disgusting excuse for food, but he just suppressed the feeling and squinted as he thought over his next course of action.

The first thing to do was finding a safe place to replenish the spells in his Book of Holding. The fourth page hadn't increased the number of spells that could be stored but instead increased their strength from grade 7 to grade 8. This meant that he could have a total of five grade 8 spells that he could cast almost instantly in battle.

However, the battle just now left him hesitating over which spells to put in. He had encountered his fair share of Daxdians so far, and from the ursa warlord to the black sorcerer and tomiller devils, every single one had a decent degree of resistance to magic. However, none of them were even close to the monster he had just faced, nor did their physical defences compare. The creature's only problem lay in its lack of offence.

Even worse was the fact that Daxdians had a natural resistance towards darkness, chaos, and fire. His abyssal flames were significantly less effective on them, and in a battlefield without any cannon fodder the grade 8 area-of-effect spells were basically useless as well. He would rather store a grade 7 lightning bolt with enhancements than those.

Another problem he was now thinking about was his original choice for the first grade 9 spell he would learn. He had wanted to use Wail of the Banshee because of his powerful soul and the spell penetration rune, but with no weaklings to wipe out en masse the spell had little use in the Land of Dusk. It would have some effect on a legendary being, but not much.

Just as he was immersed in his thoughts, the ground shook once more. Realising this was likely another battle at the Fort of Dawn, he just shook his head and continued on his path.

However, this time the vibrations refused to stop. They grew louder and heavier, to the point that they even knocked him off balance a little. Richard opened his eyes wide in shock; just what level did one need to be at to absorb so much origin energy from another plane?

He immediately decided that it was worth the risk to form a new compass, but what he saw there caused him to freeze. The needle that pointed to the Fort of Dawn had already turned faintly golden, and although the colour was wavering a little it managed to grow brighter with time. There was no mistaking it; the Fort of Dawn had been won, and the counterattacks were being resisted as well!

As calm as he normally was, Richard couldn't help but feel frenzied for a moment. However, he quickly realised that he was growing muddle-headed. He frowned and shook his head, pulling out the Book of Holding and starting to flip through it like it was any other book to while away the time.

The shaking of the ground eventually slowed down, the cries of the plane growing softer with time. Richard's surroundings grew eerily quiet, even the ever-present winds dying out completely.

No wind meant no smell. Richard scanned across the uneven terrain and couldn't find anything unusual, but after a casual stretch he picked up the Twin of Destiny and charged ahead. A lime-green fog covered the land dozens of metres away, quickly expanding thirty metres in all directions. Acid Fog wasn't a powerful spell, taking ages to kill even the weakest of human warriors, but that was not the purpose of this casting. Richard charged straight into the fog, using it as cover.

The sudden movements alerted the ambushers. Several skaven leapt out of their hiding place and charged forward, a few rushing into the fog while the others skirted around it to flank to the other side. A tall, slender shadow appeared from afar, a wanga black sorcerer. It raised its brittle arm as it muttered a curse under its breath.

It was then that Richard burst out, back in the direction he came from. The skaven who had followed him in tried to turn around, but as their claws dug through the ground it took them a few seconds to overcome the inertia and even stop. Google search 𝐟𝚛e𝗲𝚠𝗲𝑏𝓃𝑜ν𝐞𝘭. c𝒐𝓂

The black sorcerer was stunned beyond words, even stopping his curse as he saw Richard charging in his direction. There were a few hundred metres between the two, but his original spell definitely wouldn't finish in time. He immediately changed tactics, starting to fall back as he launched a barrage of weaker spells in Richard's direction.

Richard's entire body was sparking as he charged at his maximum speed. He evaded the spells that he could, blocking the ones that homed in on him. Those that could not be blocked he just charged through, flipping through the Book of Holding in the meanwhile to launch a bolt of crimson lightning on the black sorcerer's head.

The black sorcerer screamed in pain, unable to continue his spellcasting as dark fumes started to waft off his body. His resistance to magic wasn't bad, but it certainly wasn't enough to take on the equivalent of a grade 8 spell. Now knowing that Richard could hurt him, he changed tactics and cast numerous barriers while he tried to delay.

A second bolt of crimson struck down and destroyed half of the sorcerer's defences in one go. The Daxdian panicked, quickly trying to strengthen the rest of his spells, but it was too late. Richard had already covered the distance.

A beautiful sword glint flashed as the elven sword sliced upwards, carving through the black sorcerer and still managing to push Richard a few metres into the air before its glow dimmed. An intense aura of life overpowered the battlefield, as though a candle had been lit in the dark.

Richard staggered a bit as his feet hit the ground, but he continued to run forwards. The tall, lanky build of the black sorcerer behind him suddenly tore apart at the waist, the wound gushing out ink-black blood. Explosions ensued as the upper body was popped straight off, leaving the rest to stand aimlessly for a moment before crashing to the ground.

The black sorcerer's upper body still wriggled forward as it gurgled in extreme pain, but the effects of Lacerate weren't done yet. More of the body continued to tear off in small strips. Even with the sheer tenacity of a Daxdian, the sorcerer would not survive this blow.

There were two skaven in the direction Richard had charged. However, he buffed his speed even further with a spell until he was only a gust of wind that blew past them. The elven sword shone brightly once more, and the two rat-creatures screamed for their lives as their innards spilled out from enormous gashes on their bodies.

Six more skaven rushed behind Richard in a rage, not even sparing a single glance at the lifeless bodies of their comrades, but Richard had managed to open up a huge distance.

721 - City of Sin

A Historic Land

Richard fled like lightning, chuckling hoarsely as his hands clutched at his chest. Right across his torso were two long gashes from his brief clash with the two skaven. His heart was beating like a war drum as he tried to steady his pace; he was in no position to take on even two more, but there were six chasing behind him!

Thankfully, Beye had taught him to optimise his running speed. The screeches of the skaven constantly rang out behind him, but he slowed down to a point where his recovery could at least compare to the loss of stamina. His vitality rune was beginning to get to work as well, slowly closing up the wound. Although he couldn't run forever at this pace, there would be enough time to escape so long as he didn't meet another Daxdian along the way.

He followed a huge arc to turn around, eventually returning along his route towards the Unsetting Sun. Although the number of Daxdians in the vicinity actually exceeded the number of Norlanders, that was still territory under their control. There was at least some chance of meeting an ally along the route.

......

It took a few hours, but he eventually ducked into a small rock formation after shaking off his pursuers. He almost collapsed to the ground, taking in big gulps of air as he tried to steady himself. Thankfully he hadn't met any more enemies along the way, but the long trip had forced him to discard some of the heavier items he had harvested. His ribs were throbbing wildly with pain, causing him to groan with every searing breath. It felt like the air was filled with tiny knives that ripped into his lungs.

However, this was life in the Battlefield of Despair. There was always a chance of coming across perilous situations and pitfalls; just as the Norlanders were constantly looking for the weaknesses of Daxdus, the Daxdians were lurking around in ambush. This was a war that would only end once the portals were pushed all the way out or the plane itself died. Every century in such a war was like a second on the clock.

Richard reached down towards his ribcage, but even the slightest of contact caused him to clench his teeth. When he pulled back, yellow pus was sticking to his hand. The claws and teeth of the skaven were extremely toxic; even with his sturdy physique, he was left on the verge of collapse.

He couldn't battle any longer. If he ran into any more Daxdians, he didn't even have the strength to flee. However, staying in such a dangerous area wasn't an option either. Resting for a few hours to recover his energy, he eventually struggled to his feet and jogged towards the capital of the Unsetting Sun.

......

Two days later, the city was finally in view. Richard was still running, but it took every fibre of his being to pull his screaming body towards the entrance. Small dots were rushing down from the mountaintop some distance behind him; the number of skaven in pursuit had gone up to eleven.

Thankfully, the enemies dispersed at the sight of the city walls. Despite several kilometres to go before they were truly within the city's firing range, the chance of Norlanders being around grew exponentially as they approached. Eventually, the skaven just squeaked for a while before scattering reluctantly to search for their next prey. They did not possess the power to fight close to forts.

The capital of the Unsetting Sun was much larger than a normal city; even the paths leading uphill terrifyingly long. Richard eventually slowed down to a walk, his feet starting to drag behind him on the ground. It wasn't long before his body fell as well, vision blurring and throat so dry that just breathing made it feel like his insides were being ripped apart. By this point, he couldn't even feel his abdomen anymore.

His vision suddenly shook, the city turning upside down completely as a muffled thump sounded in his ears. No longer possessing any strength to resist, his eyes faded into darkness.

......

The number of battles around the Unsetting Sun had dropped to a minimum over the past few days. The only ones fighting here were the weaker saints who didn't qualify to enter the war for the Fort of Dawn. However, the Fort of Dawn wasn't nearly as grand as the capital of the Unsetting Sun. Merely a castle built atop a small mountain, it wasn't a city of the aboriginals but a military base built single-handedly by the Norlanders.

This was one of the very first locations where Norland and Daxdus had fought. This small mountain had been the only advantageous terrain within a thousand kilometres, and when the forces of Norland and Daxdus first fought the result was beyond the expectations of both sides. They had each suffered heavy casualties from the very first skirmish, causing them to rearm and start a series of bitter battles to the death. It took some time for both armies to realise that they were facing another primary plane and not the aboriginals, causing them to call for help.

The war had thus exploded. Millions of soldiers died around this mountain, experts as common as the clouds in the sky. Fresh blood of all colours seeped into every inch of the earth, to the extent that all of Norland had been alarmed. Please visit f𝙧ee𝙬ℯ𝐛𝓃𝐨𝚟𝒆𝘭. c𝒐𝓂

The then-famous Sunlord of the Millennial Empire had personally paid a visit to the plane, fighting a dazzling battle that almost crippled the Daxdians in one go. Norland had thus gained control of this mountain, building a small castle on the very top. The castle had named the Fort of Dawn to commemorate the achievements of the Sunlord in this war. Thus, as the plane's core was eventually damaged in the continuous war, the plane came to be called the Land of Dusk.

The Fort of Dawn had expanded constantly as the war with Daxdus continued, coming to occupy the entire mountain. Moreover, the few hundred metres of height had been almost doubled by legendary earth mages as well. However, the Norlanders had slowly been pushed back until Emperor Philip's father eventually lost control of the fort during his reign. The utilitarian yet beautiful construction of the Norlanders had been warped into something chaotic and twisted, coiled spiked running all over the now-black walls. Random resting pits for the creatures of Daxdus littered the area, and there was no order to the buildings at all.

The top of the castle had been opened up into a large nest of sorts, the construction an absolute mess with the bones of unknown beasts littering the area. Ash-grey fog covered the sky around the nest, extremely thick and resistant to the powerful winds at the high altitude. If one went in, they would see that the fog came from sculpted beast heads made of a similarly coloured stone.

Just like with the Norlanders, every fort owned by the Daxdians was defended by at least one legendary being. However, the Fort of Dawn was special in the fact that it was defended by a ferocious beast from the depths of Daxdus called Maranos the Brain Eater. Nobody knew where this creature came from, nor could they even tell whether it was native to Daxdus, but one couldn't underestimate it as a mere beast; this creature was so cunning that even some higher-level legends had failed to deal with it. A powerhouse of Daxdus had lured it over using the bones of another legendary creature as the price.

The Fort of Dawn was a recent mark of shame for Norland, but to the Daxdians it marked a historic defeat. Still remembering their humiliation at the Sunlord, they had decided to put Maranos here to preserve this place. Countless powerhouses from Norland had become the creature's food over the past few decades, and there were incidences where those from Daxdus had been 'accidentally' eaten as well.

However, this fearsome creature was now out of its nest, sprawled out right in the middle of the fort with countless wounds dotting its body. The proboscides attached to its hammer-shaped head were chopped up all over the place, and powerhouses from Norland were guarding the body vigilantly.

722 - City of Sin

A Man Like A Mountain

The frightening Brain Eater was currently a corpse. Traces of a fierce battle inundated the stronghold, and a large number of Daxdus corpses were still littered around. Nobody had the time to clean up their dead bodies; even the Norlanders' bodies weren't disposed of very well.

More than half of the buildings within the fort had already been smashed, and there was an enormous pit near the edge where the mere shockwaves of an attack had destroyed all buildings within a kilometre. A strange, nauseating smell lingered in the air, but many powerhouses of Norland were silently treating their own injuries or getting some rest nearby. They were all tired to death, possessing no energy to celebrate this historic victory.

The most eye-catching of the lot were two sub-legendary experts clad in black armour, the crests of which were deliberately filed away. Closer observation revealed that the armour was in the style of the Sacred Alliance, and despite the two sitting by themselves and not bothering with the rest nobody was unhappy with them. All the saints nearby knew just how many Daxdians they had torn apart.

A wave of dense, black dots could be seen moving across the horizon, the remnants of the counterattack that had been disrupted. Many corpses were piled near the fort's gates, the most prominent of which was an enormous enclave centaur captain which had been placed atop the walls. There were even a few dead dracotaur bodies around.

The Norlanders had been surrounded on all sides by the Daxdians for this battle, but they had still emerged victorious. The Fort of Dawn had truly returned to the Sacred Alliance!

One could see a large silhouette slowly walking towards the stronghold. This obese person only had on a pair of leather pants, his greasy belly flopping around as he walked. His footsteps were firm and strong, but also completely silent for someone of his size. He didn't possess any legendary armour either; the only special thing on his person was the three-metre-long and one-metre-wide rusted chopped he carried on his shoulder. There were even two nicks on the blade that were each the size of a fist, but this mountain-like man still possessed an air of looking down upon the world.

He did not need any grandeur; his presence alone was enough.

The right hand holding onto that extraordinarily large, worn-out cleaver, the man held three heads in his left. They all belonged to different races, but their hair, beards, and meaty tentacles were randomly knotted around each other.

When the Daxdians had retreated, this man had pursued alone and was now returning with these three heads. However, anyone familiar with him would know that this wasn't the extent of damage he had caused; these three heads were just the only ones he deemed worthy of bringing back. The only people that caught his eye were well-known legends.

As he neared the stronghold, the two sub-legendary experts immediately leapt down from the city walls and landed on either side. Giving him a reverent bow, they knelt in greeting, “Your Majesty!”

The other Norlanders hopped down from the city as well, kneeling on both sides of the road, “Your Majesty!”

All powerhouses had their own pride, especially those who had survived the battlefields of despair. Even so, all of these experts willingly bowed their haughty heads and bent their unyielding bones to kneel before this man. That was because he was the one who had cleansed the Sacred Alliance of decades of humiliation, forcing his way into the Fort of Dawn single-handedly and killing the infamous Brain Eater. He had also resisted the crazed counterattacks of the Daxdians for many days. Although his rusty blade looked like a kitchen knife, the hundreds of Daxdus powerhouses that had died at his hands hadn't even managed to scrape some rust off it.

True experts would grow fearful the moment they set eyes on this funnily-shaped cleaver. This weapon had its own legend, and anyone who dared to underestimate its power would vanish under its blade. Of all the weapons in Norland said to be able to kill dragons, the Dragon Butcher was one of the few that had showcased this prowess. It was this blade that the founding emperor of the Sacred Alliance had used to cleave off the head of the abyssal dragon Daramore. The holes in the blade were damage from the dragon's tough bones, the rust a mark of corrosion from its magical blood.

And yet, perhaps this cleaver was more suited to the hands of the fatty walking into the Fort of Dawn right now. This man was the current emperor of the Sacred Alliance, Bloodthirsty Philip.

The Emperor threw the heads in front of the gathered powerhouses, laughing loudly, “Cook em' up, I want to celebrate our victory with wine!”

......

The first thing that greeted Richard when he opened his eyes was a ceiling covered with mottled traces of mould. The view was rather familiar to him, but before he could manage to recall a hoarse voice knocked him out of his daze, “You stinky brat, don't doze off if you're already awake! You better hurry up and cooperate with me, I'm exhausted to death because of you!”

The voice was equally familiar, but in his addled state Richard just couldn't remember where he had heard it before. Furthermore, his body was currently quite strange as well. He could feel all of his organs, but most refused to obey his commands.

*Whoosh!* A very light breeze flowed into the area, but it immediately caused him to shiver. His chest and abdomen had felt very cold, almost as though the wind had pierced into his body!

It was only then that he felt a pair of hands touch his innards.

“Wha—” he was shocked awake, eyes widening as he mustered all his strength to raise his head. He found himself lying down with his chest cut open, a pair of stick-thin hands cupping what looked like his liver and paring it with a slightly rusted scalpel. Normally he would scream in sheer horror at such a sight, but this time he just trier to feel out his body and realised that the rest of his body below the neck truly wasn't under his control.

Shifting his gaze to examine the surroundings, he immediately recognised an aged face with a wretched expression on it. Heaving a sigh of relief, he placed his head back on the steel table; Saint Lawrence's medical expertise was perhaps even greater than his runecrafting abilities.

Seeing him so calm, Lawrence was clearly disappointed, “You rascal, acting pretty cool and all. You're supposed to be scared!”

Richard chuckled, “Oh... I just woke up, so I was a little slow to react. I'm... I'm only starting to b-be afraid r-right now!”

Hearing Richard's fake stutter, Lawrence was stunned for a moment. He then looked at him suspiciously, “You little rascal, how old are you exactly? Such a smooth talker. Is that really what someone of your age is supposed to be saying?”

“What should someone of my age be saying?” Richard questioned calmly.

Lawrence tucked the liver back into its place, “Don't you kids all like to show you're fearless enough to break into the hells or the abyss? With a bit of wine, you lot even think you can chop up legendary beings!”

Richard laughed once more, “Sure, but you saved Beye numerous times and now my life as well. Shouldn't I at least make you a little happier for it?”

Lawrence was startled, a complicated expression crawling up his face, “You are right, but not many can think like you at such an age.”

“Well, not many have been through as much as I have, of course I matured earlier than the rest.” Richard was charming as ever, but Lawrence could see the pain behind his smile. Beye had told him many stories about the circumstance of the Archeron Family and Gaton's bastard son.

723 - City of Sin

Unexpected Gift

The old man and the youth chatted casually like they were enjoying tea on a sunny afternoon, but they were in a gloomy, run-down tent that reeked of blood. The young man was watching his own organs being turned over, while the old was slicing off pieces of rotting flesh before pouring viscous fluids of all colours down the youth's abdominal cavity.

Eventually, the surgery came to an end. Lawrence started stitching the wound together, but after the first few threads were in he suddenly palmed his forehead and squealed.

“What's wrong, old man?” Richard asked in shock.

“Dammit, I almost forgot!” Lawrence yelled, running away immediately. Richard heard him ransacking through his chests, following which some weird squelching sounds rang out.

As someone with a breadth of knowledge in the field, Richard quickly surmised that the old man was concocting some sort of medicine. It left him both amused and worried; his open chest wasn't even halfway stitched but he'd been left alone. Besides, what if he messed up the drug in a hurry?

Ten minutes passed before Lawrence finally returned, but Richard didn't even have the strength of will to reprimand him anymore. It took all of his will just to stop himself from fainting at the sight of his exposed innards.

The former saint runemaster was smiling wickedly, smiling at the dirty vial in his hand as though he had just peeped at a bathing beauty. The vial was about half-filled with a murky liquid, minced pieces of flesh still floating on top. The grinding process clearly hadn't been seen to completion.

Richard found the situation to be quite odd; from what he'd heard, the drug was created from nothing more than crudely chopping and grinding what sounded like a tough ingredient. However, Lawrence clearly valued this thing a lot. He was so excited that he was bouncing on his way back.

“You won't believe how good this thing is!” the man laughed crazily, almost drooling from the mouth. Richard tried to object, but he pulled the stitches apart and poured the entire bottle of stinky liquid into his insides. Richard's face turned pale; it was like acid was burning his lungs!

White mist started bubbling up from his wounds, containing a strange odour. The smell was nauseating, but it also seemed to be a stimulant; his blood circulation sped up immensely.

“What is this?” Richard asked in disgusted shock.

Lawrence beamed with satisfaction, keeping silent as he finished the stitches. He pulled out a bottle of thick, white liquid from his robes, pouring it over the wound.

“AARGH!” Richard immediately got up, wincing in pain as a whiff of white smoke floated up from the wound. The thick, milky liquid was filled with divine energy; feeling its power, he could tell that it was a concentrated dose of holy water called holy dew. The healing effects were stronger than most divine spells, with the only cost being the acute pain. Richard saw his own chest healing rapidly, not so much as a single scar being left behind.

However, he couldn't bring himself to be happy. This old man had clearly wasted the holy dew just so he didn't dig out that mysterious drug one he could move. The divine energy would also speed up his absorption of the drug, so even if he cut open his abdomen it would be of no use.

Thankfully, the pervert was at least trustworthy, especially since they were somewhat close to teacher and student. Although this fellow had a number of problems in the head, he genuinely cared. Richard forced a smile, “Old man, now can you tell me what the hell that was?”

“You'd better thank me, kid. That...” Lawrence drew closer, lowering his voice, “That was the essence of a sksar ursa warlord!”

“What?!” Richard cried out in surprise, jumping up from the table only to lose his footing for a moment, “It can't be...”

“Hehehe, yes! It's the refined essence of an ursa warlord's penis! This one was actually from one of their chiefs and in perfect condition, the effect will last forever!” Lawrence was beaming with excitement as he patted Richard's shoulder with pride, “Go, you are now a man among men! Use this power to turn those bitches upside down! Let them know Saint Lawrence doesn't play tricks, even if I'm not on the frontlines they will still suffer a crushing defeat!”

“How could you...” Richard grew both angry and anxious. He quickly inspected his body, but things were as he feared; his body was almost completely healed. The ursa essence had been assimilated into him!

His expression immediately turned cold as he started a more careful inspection, but he couldn't find anything abnormal. Outside of a light buzz of arousal, there was nothing different about him. However, he still couldn't dismiss his worries.

Lawrence looked at his gloomy face and immediately understood his worry, smiling in assurance, “Don't worry, you know my standards! I refined it using the best techniques, it won't affect your offspring in the slightest. They'll still be your children, through and through.”

Richard had many things to say, but eventually just sighed. At the very least, he did trust this pervert's medical capabilities.

Lawrence put his arms around Richard's shoulders, “Kid, you see... I've saved your life now, and done you multiple favours. I've made you a man amongst men, taught you the Mana Armament, given you—”

“Yes, yes. Now, what do you want me to do for you?”

“I knew it!” the old man tapped him on the shoulder, “You're definitely not an ungrateful whelp! Wait one moment!”

Lawrence zipped out and back in, now holding a crumpled piece of paper in his hand that he shoved into Richard's face. On it was a list of names, including the families they came from and some brief description. Everyone listed here was a woman, and some of the families mentioned were absolute hegemons in Norland. However, this piece of paper looked quite old; many years had obviously passed since they were listed.

“These women, I had to use some tricks to get them in those days. Some even just rejected me! Now, I need you to conquer them in bed! They should know that I, Saint Lawrence, am not someone who only lasts a few minutes... Wait... Erm... Anyway, just prove it to them!”

“Ookaayyy.” Richard had no idea how to respond to this old pervert, “This paper seems old...”

“Oh, it might be. How long ago was this? Let's see... Was it 30 years? 40? No, maybe it was 50...”

“I...” Richard quietly folded the list. He wanted to say he would try, but looking at Lawrence eagerly waiting for his response he couldn't bring himself to say those words. Eventually, he just sighed, “Why don't you use this on yourself? Don't you want to do it on your own?”

“Oh, right! MY BEYE!” Lawrence screamed with remorse and misery.

However, Richard ignored his poor acting, “Right, where is Beye?”

“His Majesty just recovered the Fort of Dawn, so everyone worth something went there to help out against the counterattack. She might come back in a few days.”

“His Majesty?” Richard's eyes widened, “You mean...”

“Yes, that little fatty Philip of the Sacred Alliance. Wait... He's already a big fatty now, I should give him more respect,” Lawrence said begrudgingly, but then he continued to chatter as Richard gathered his equipment, “Kid, why don't you just be a royal runemaster and stay in Norland? Why did you suddenly come to this place, and it even looks like you're staying here for a long time... Did a girl reject you? Don't worry, it's her loss...

“Wait, what's that?!”

724 - City of Sin

Devilfish

Richard was startled by Lawrence's exclamation, looking towards the block of wood-like material in his hand. The former saint runemaster lunged forward and snatched the grey block out of his hands almost immediately, tossing and turning it as he observed with interest.

Only then did he recall that this was the piece of skin he had torn off from that fish-like monster with the tentacle. Most of the resources he had harvested from his encounters had been dropped while on the run, but this thing wasn't very large nor heavy so it had been left behind.

“I cut this off a monster,” he commented, “It doesn't seem to be worth any money, though...”

“Monster? What kind? I've dissected and studied all kinds of Daxdians, but this is completely new to me.” Lawrence's flippant attitude faded completely into solemness.

As Richard recounted the events of that battle in detail, answering the occasional questions, the old man turned more and more serious. He took the skin sample to his laboratory and sliced a few paper-thin pieces off, dropping a dozen-odd chemicals on them. Richard eventually finished and just watched as minutes turned into hours.

“Hmm...” Lawrence eventually spoke up once more, “Extreme resistance to all normal mana, and the bones form a magic array of sorts that absorbs mana. If the spells used to target this thing are weak, it will actually heal from them.”

“Mm... Even grade 8 lightning spells couldn't hurt this thing,” Richard said with a sigh. Had he not possessed Lifesbane and Mana Armament, there would have been no way for him to defeat the creature, “Could it be a new race of Daxdus?”

“No way! We would have seen these things by now,” Lawrence said firmly, pointing to the shelves on the wall where chunks of organs and flesh were preserved in some translucent liquid, “Daxdus is a plane ruled by chaos and darkness, similar to the abyss. They don't have any mages; the closest spellcasters are their dark sorcerers, and those fellows cast spells by instinct and not training. Only legendary beings there can actually study proper magic, but even then it's magic of darkness. This type of creature wouldn't evolve in such conditions.”

Richard nodded in understanding. This was similar in principle to how the Forest Plane didn't have fire mages.

“Daxdian magic resistance is based around their toughness,” Lawrence continued, “In fact, most of their resistance is focused around dark and chaotic energies. Elemental spells work much better on them, and they have almost no resistance to pure magical energy like with lightning. But this one...”

Richard suddenly felt a chill run down his spine, “Wait... Could there be another plane entering the Land of Dusk?”

There were precedents of three primary planes joining the same battlefield of despair. The Rainbow Lands had been one such place, but in merely a century of constant battle the plane had been completely destroyed. The name came from the various colours of blood that had seeped right into the earth, dying the world the colours of the rainbow.

However, that was when all three planes were fighting each other. If any two allied... There was no telling what would happen next.

“Shouldn't be, but the other option isn't much better. Come, I have to talk to a few old fellows about this. Seems like we might have big trouble on our hands.” Lawrence's face was still solemn as he carefully wrapped the block of skin and activated a communication scroll. The next moment he started to drag Richard all the way to the top of the city.

Right below the Church of the Eternal Dragon was the Sunset Shrine. Once belonging to the plane's overgod, it was now a meeting hall where important matters relating to the city were discussed. Only a dozen or so people were qualified to enter this hall in the entire city; Richard hadn't expected Lawrence to be one.

The communication scroll clearly wasn't ordinary. By the time Richard and Lawrence reached the shrine gates, they could already see rays of light rushing towards them from all directions. A powerful aura was radiating from within, as though a dragon was lurking within the depths of the shrine.

Lawrence seemed to be delighted, “Let's go in. We're just in time to meet Marshal Rundstedt.”

......

Shortly after, nine people were seated around a table in the midst of a discussion. Richard had been given a seat himself, both because he was the bearer of the information and because of his position. The royal runemaster of the Sacred Alliance was a title that carried great respect, especially after Emperor Philip's recovery of the Fort of Dawn meant the Sacred Alliance controlled two of the now four strongholds in the Land of Dusk.

Everyone's attention was focused on the small piece of skin in the middle of the table as Saint Lawrence explained his analysis.

While everyone was concentrating on the piece of skin, Richard was looking through these people who had supported the City of the Unsetting Sun all this while. Light shone down on the table from the 30-metre-tall ceiling, but the people around were shrouded in darkness. At the seat of honour was a tall, strong old man with his back ramrod straight; Marshal Rundstedt. Beside him was a middle-aged man who seemed quite ordinary outside of looking a little cunning, but anyone who could sit at ease beside the Marshal without being affected by his aura was clearly a powerhouse as well. Rundstedt clearly wasn't an ordinary legendary being, but even outside of him everyone else gathered was at least a sub-legendary expert as well.

Once Lawrence was done, Richard then recounted his battle with the creature once more. Everyone listened attentively from start to end, this time with no interruptions as Richard included the aspects the old man had asked him about the fist time. Once he was done, one of them turned back to Lawrence, “Master Lawrence, what do you think of this?”

“We cannot exclude the possibility of a third primary plane being involved, but I believe the possibility is quite low. A more likely answer is that this creature... Let us call it the devilfish for now... was specially bred by the Daxdians for this war.”

This idea caused a momentary silence to envelop the room. Even with Emperor Philip retaking the Fort of Dawn, Norland was already losing in the land of Dusk. The Daxdians had high-level legends of their own that could at least keep Philip in check, and terrifying monsters that were almost immune to their biggest strength would be able to reap countless lives in the meanwhile. The most frightening part was the idea that such beings nearing the level of saints could be mass-produced.

Perhaps nobody here understood this better than Richard himself. The broodmother could already produce elite soldiers that were at level 14, capable of fighting off Faelor saints when grouped up. A large number could even kill a saint from Norland if the conditions were right. This creature hadn't been too much of a threat to himself when they met, just hard to kill, but if there were two or three more flanking it would have been near impossible to survive. Besides, just how many mages had Mana Armament and four sets of Lifesbane to help them in battle?

Even with the monster's current flaws, it was still close to a saint in power. If these things could be mass-produced, Norland would be in serious danger.

725 - City of Sin

Awake In A Reverie

“Things might not be as bad as they seem,” the middle-aged man next to Marshal Rundstedt spoke up, “The structure of Maranos' body was similar to this skin, although its resistance wasn't as great. However, this... devilfish shouldn't be a natural creature of Daxdus either. Perhaps it is some mutated offspring of the Brain Eater.”

Most of those present heaved a sigh of relief upon hearing this, appearing a lot more at ease. No matter how many children Maranos could have, it wouldn't be nearly as dangerous as a mass-produced creature. After all, Maranos was already dead.

“We cannot be sure,” Lawrence interjected, “You see, the resistance of this skin is extremely high, but it doesn't seem to be able to handle too much weight. Whatever it is, it cannot grow to longer than ten metres at most; the possibility of such a thing descending from Maranos is very low.”

The middle-aged man thought over this point, “Maybe Maranos is the mutant? Or the devilfish could be a mixed-breed species they use for hunting. These are more plausible conclusions.”

“Perhaps, but let's not act like children. We need to prepare for the worst-case scenario.”

“So what if the devilfish is a mass-produced creature? Can you think of a solution?” the middle-aged man retorted.

Lawrence was riled up, but he truly did have no solution. However, Marshal Rundstedt finally spoke up, “Alright. Whatever kind of creature the devilfish is, we can be certain that the Daxdians have thrown a spanner in the works. However, we have been through worse times and emerged glorious. His Majesty has even retaken the Fort of Dawn, there is nothing we need to fear! Now, that doesn't mean we should just sit here like sheep and do nothing.

“Richard, I hear you can craft custom grade 2 runes now?”

“... Yes.” Richard shifted slightly in his seat. His words immediately caused a stir amongst those present; these were all experts who knew just how useful custom grade 2 runes were. Their respect for him went up another notch, especially for those who hadn't had been to Norland in a while.

“That is great. Why don't you craft more runes for the people of this city? This will be the most direct way of growing our power,” Rundstedt asked.

However, Richard frowned and shook his head, “I came to the Land of Dusk to hone my combat skills. I will craft runes, but that will be at my discretion.”

The Marshal smiled empathetically, “Don't be so quick to turn me down. Runecrafting helps in growing one's arcane abilities as well, and we need a large number of runes in this momentous time. How about this: from now on, all materials in the Unsetting Sun will be available to you at half price and we will pay 20% above market value for your runes. In addition, we will sell the sacrifices in our storage to you at half price as well.”

Richard was taken aback by the generous terms of the offer. Admittedly, one of his motives exploring the Land of Dusk was to achieve a breakthrough in his runecrafting as well.

The Marshal had no idea just how high his success rate was, but even if he knew he would have made the same offer. He didn't care about Richard's profits so long as he got his runes, and 20% above market value was more than worth it for him.

“Well...” Richard hesitated for a moment, “I'm sorry, Marshal. I will craft some runes and sell them to the city, but I'm afraid I cannot make that my primary activity here. I... need to get stronger.”

Rundstedt was taken aback, and even Saint Lawrence looked at Richard incredulously. Rejecting such a perfect offer was like closing the door on great fortune. With the reduced price for offerings, Richard could easily grow his own power with runecrafting alone!

Still, the Marshal nodded in understanding, “I cannot force you to do anything. The offer remains valid so long as you craft runes for the people of this city; quantity is no bar.” He then looked around at the worried faces and smiled comfortingly, “No need to worry, we can always seek help from the barbarians or the elves if the situation turns dire. This danger concerns the wellbeing of our entire plane, they will not ignore our pleas. It's just fanning their egos a little, no harm done.”

Hearing this, everyone including Richard felt a wildfire raging in their hearts. They were all powerhouses, and they had their own pride and honour. The thought of being looked down upon by the barbarians especially stung Richard's soul, making him recall the dream of Mountainsea in the shrine. Even being in the sword case Carnage seemed to burn in response to his hatred; he would rather die than seek help from Klandor!

Seeing the reactions, Rundstedt sighed, “I do not wish for this either. There is much more honour in dying on the battlefield than living without dignity. However, we are not the only ones on the line. Our families, friends, acquaintances, strangers... everyone living in Norland is someone we are responsible for, and that responsibility is worth more than our pride.

“Alright, make your preparations. I just hope our worries are in vain.”

And thus, everyone left the Sunset Shrine with a heavy heart. Over the next few days, life in the capital of the Unsetting Sun continued as per usual, the only difference being a slightly stifled atmosphere. The ordinary saints had no idea of the worries of their leaders, but they could sense the urgency.

Richard settled down in an empty house not far from Lawrence's shop before going to the warehouse of the city and buying a lot of magic materials and wine. For the next few days he busied himself with meditation and swordplay.

At one point he just sat at the door and watched the occasional passersby, silently sipping on his wine. Whenever he got drunk, he would just slump down on the floor and fall asleep. Such unrestrained behaviour was common in the City of the Unsetting Sun, where one never knew if they would live to see another day.

He only awoke from a stupor at noon the following day, shaking his heavy head and yawning lazily as he looked at the dense clouds in the sky. Kicking the pile of empty wine bottles next to him, he returned to his room and started polishing his swords and staff. His drunken stupor had felt like a dream where he could not tell past, present, and future apart. Memories and visions had mixed together until he couldn't tell reality from fiction.

He heaved a long sigh, putting the swords and staff aside before beginning to craft runes with renewed inspiration. A few more days later, he just went over to Lawrence's house, broke the door open, and tossed an enchanted box within. He left without even waiting for the former saint runemaster to emerge.

Lawrence had been taken an afternoon nap on his desk. The loud breaking of the door had jolted him awake, causing him to fall off his chair. “WHICH BASTARD IS DISTURBING MY SLEEP?” he roared, “I'M GOING TO CUT YOUR COCK OFF, YOU BLOODY ASSHOLE!”

Now wide awake, he walked out to the hall and immediately spotted the box on the floor. Naturally recognising that it was meant to contain runes, he picked it up with trembling hands and opened it to find two runes within.

“L-Lifesba— wait...” He rushed back to his laboratory with the box wrapped tightly in his arms, laying out the runes on his tabletop and examining them with great care.

726 - City of Sin

Maturity

Closer inspection through a specially-crafted dwarven magnifying glass revealed that the two runes from Richard were not Lifesbanes. Although both had a similar effect of increasing attack speed and adding various effects to the damage, Richard's version required fully manual activation for each strike and was not a stacking rune. It wasn't nearly as powerful, but by extension it also needed much less carrying capacity.

Lawrence immediately understood that Richard now fully understood the essence of the Lifesbane design, and was capable of deriving a new rune out of it. This creation wasn't as aggressive as the original, and thus not as valuable, but it was much easier and cheaper to produce. For the average powerhouse who wasn't fully equipped yet, this was an absolute blessing.

As he continued to study the rune, Lawrence grew enamoured by just the lines Richard had drawn. If one looked at the rune as a work of art, this piece would take on an entirely different meaning, of a vigorous power that was forcefully repressed, as though the helpless roar of an injured beast.

It took a long while for him to bring himself to look away, heaving a long sigh.
𝒇𝙧𝐞ℯ𝒘e𝚋n𝚘𝙫𝐞𝑙. c𝐨m

......

Ten days later, Richard appeared at the gates of the Unsetting Sun once more. Once again, he passed out somewhere near the gate, and the saints guarding the place immediately carried him to Lawrence.

Just as before, he woke up on the steel table. His injuries weren't as bad as the last time, but they were much greater in number. A deep cut on his face was already exposing bone. Lawrence tended to it all in silence, and Richard said nothing either. The only sounds in the gloomy tent came from the occasional clang of Lawrence's tools. The stench of blood grew stronger at first, but then it slowly faded away.

Lawrence finally put his bloody scalpel away and started to wipe his sweat with a dirty towel, motioning that Richard could stand up. Richard immediately looked all over his body, finding numerous large wounds now held together by stitches. It made him look rather like a stitched monster.

He tried to move around a bit, but the pain from the wounds caused him to gasp.

“What, now you know pain?” Lawrence asked with an icy voice.

“Eh...” Richard slowly stretched, “Still bearable.”

Lawrence absolutely had anaesthetics on hand to relieve Richard of the pain, but he refused to use them. Seeing Richard start to control his movements, he just groaned, “Behave yourself next time, don't risk your life out there for nothing! You think we need another powerhouse here? This place has its means to survive, the last thing we want is for a young runemaster to be risking his life.”

Richard smiled at the rebuke, “I'm almost a grand mage now.”

“ALMOST A GRAND MAGE?! EVEN PROPER GRAND MAGES WON'T DARE TO MESS AROUND LIKE YOU DO! DO YOU WANT TO DIE THAT BAD?!” Lawrence finally exploded, spitting all over Richard's face.

Richard casually lifted his robes to wipe off the saliva, “I can definitely come back alive.”

“ARGH... Sigh. Nobody outside of Marshal Rundstedt can claim that in this city” Lawrence said coldly.

Richard continued to put on his clothes and smiled, “Then that makes me a second one.”

Overcome by rage, Lawrence just roared and shoved Richard out. He could already see what would come next, but he could not stop it.

......

Just as expected, even before a week had passed Richard brought two more enchanted boxes over each with two runes within. After that, he left the city once more. Lawrence sighed, just evaluating the runes and selling them to the city before ordering plenty of materials for Richard to work with. Categorising and processing them as necessary, he had them all stored in the small house Richard had taken over. Afterwards, he returned to his little store and messy life once more, awaiting Richard's return. The only times his eyes came to life were when he was treating patients.

This time, Richard was out for an exceptionally long time. When he finally returned, he managed to both walk through the gates by himself and also brought back a big sack of loot. However, blood dripped down his clothes as he walked and he swayed harder and harder with every step. When he finally reached the clinic and kicked the door open, he just fell to the ground.

“WHICH BASTARD JUST SMASHED MY DOOR?!” Lawrence roared from within, but when he rushed out he just saw Richard lying on the floor with nobody else nearby. It took him a moment to realise what that meant, but then he just huffed and gently placed him on the surgical table, “You've actually improved, huh? You can even crawl here yourself now. Then why do you still get injured if you think you're so good?!”

“... Ugh... I'm not... good enough, apparently,” Richard said groggily, barely awake.

This time he was completely calm and collected, casually chatting with Lawrence as the ice-cold tools dug around his insides. It took less than an hour for the surgery to complete, after which the former saint runemaster started examining Richard's loot.

“Not bad, kid! You killed all of these?” Lawrence said with praise.

Richard nodded and let Lawrence keep all the loot to sell. This time he didn't rush to meditate or craft, instead pulling out a few boxes of strong liquor and beginning to drink on his porch.

“May I have a few drinks with you?” a soft young voice spoke up at some point. Richard looked up in surprise, seeing a skinny youth standing by his side. He pointed across at another chair.

The boy barely caught the two bottles of liquor that had been thrown over, awkwardly taking a sip before instantly starting to choke. “Ugh, this sucks!” he complained as his face turned red.

Richard just smiled softly, continuing to drink at his own pace. At this point, his only requirement with alcohol was the strength and not the taste.

“Master Richard, I heard you are a great runemaster?” the boy asked with curiosity and admiration.

Richard grunted an affirmative, “What are you doing here, kid?”

The boy sat up straight, saying with pride, “I'm no kid! I'm already 18 years old and level 17!”

Richard's eyes briefly lit up, “16 years old, and only level 15. That disguise of yours is useless, and without an adult protecting you you'd die in a day. Don't think that necklace will actually hide anything.”

The boy was dumbstruck for a moment, and then he grew dispirited, “S-sorry, Sir. I am the son of Duke Tamuc. Father brought me here as an adulthood ceremony.”

Richard nodded to the almost-reverent youth, starting to stroke his beard out of habit. However, instead of stubble his hand touched thick, hard hair and long sideburns. For a moment he was confused, but quickly realised that he had forgotten to groom himself during the entire trip. He shook his head for a second, causing a small ponytail to shake.

The tiniest shred of attention that he had placed on the boy vanished entirely as he took out Carnage in sword form, using it as a mirror. Staring back at him was a man in the prime of his life who cared naught for grooming, hints of his youth only poking through at the corner of his eyes. He just threw the sword to the side and took another sip of liquor.

The youth didn't seem to mind being ignored, only looking at Richard with more intense admiration. However, he fidgeted around for a few minutes before eventually asking the question on his mind, “Master Richard, do you think I have the potential to learn runecrafting?”

727 - City of Sin

New Normal

“You want to learn runecrafting?” Richard laughed. If any random warrior could learn the craft, then runemasters wouldn't be so rare.

The boy instantly blushed, “Sorry... I... just wanted to ask.”

“Alright kid, let's have a look. Just maybe you do.” Richard first cast a few detection spells on the boy's body before examining his hands. However, he eventually shook his head with a light sigh.

Surprisingly, the boy wasn't even fazed. He wasn't gifted in magic in the first place, which was why he had chosen to be a warrior instead of a mage. His father was also a well-known legendary being; there was no way that any such hidden talents would have remained unearthed until now.

As Richard fell back to ignoring the youth and started to drink again, two burly men approached Richard's porch. They bowed to him with a smile, “Master Richard, we brought a crate of good wine for you.”

Richard took a single look at them before raising a brow, “Oh, you got my runes.”

“Indeed, my Lord! Ever since Saint Lawrence met his accident, we have rarely seen such powerful runes in the Unsetting Sun. These saved our lives yesterday!” the one on the left said emotionally.

“I see,” Richard nodded before opening one of the bottles and sniffing it. The wine smelled mellow and rich, far better than he had expected. A smile crawled up his face as he took a small sip, calling out to the two, “Come, let's share a few cups!”

The two men were instantly delighted, sitting right down on the floor. Without any other dishes to go with the wine, they just ate some dried skaven meat on the side. It wasn't every day that one got a chance to drink with a runemaster; building a good rapport with Richard could give them even more powerful runes in the future. And even if that wasn't a possibility, Richard had indirectly saved their lives yesterday.

Only when they started chatting about their lives did the two reveal something about their standard. Their tone remained casual even at the mention of the most ferocious fighters of Daxdus or Norland, as though they were talking about any other ordinary matters. Moreover, the very fact that they were the first to be granted his runes showed that they had status, talent, or both.

At some point, the boy grew excited and asked if he could drink as well. Richard casually threw him a bottle, but the moment he tried to take a gulp he started choking once more; the wine from the two burly men was very strong. The two men smiled at each other when he claimed he was level 17 again, but didn't make any comments. Even if they didn't particularly care that this boy had the Tamuc badge, the battlefields of despair had a strange way of teaching people to live in the moment without caring about such minor slights as a white lie about one's level.

The youth slowly relaxed as well, starting to share some interesting stories from the Tamuc Dukedom and even joking about his father.

......

A dignified man of powerful build was stood on the balcony of a distant tower. His 2.5-metre height made him look like a veritable pillar himself, and the tens of little brown pigtails for his beard that were blowing in the wind did nothing to diminish his image. The gemstones, metal rings, animal teeth, and other such trinkets braided into his beard clanged against each other in the wind as he focused his eyes on the four men drinking in a circle.

Normally, a few kilometres of distance was still close enough for alarm bells to be going off in Richard's head. However, neither he nor the two other men were aware that they were being spied upon.

“Richard looks like a good guy,” Duke Tamuc said to a middle-aged man beside him, the same cunning-looking person that Richard had once met.

“He isn't bad, but I cannot say I know him either. I don't understand why a royal runemaster is risking his life in a battlefield of despair; even you and I could lose our lives here to one mistake.”

“He should have his reasons, he just isn't saying them out loud. At least my son likes him; the twerp shouldn't be wandering around the city without an adult anymore. I was getting worried...”

“Mm. Now, go tend to your business. Rundstedt and I are keeping guard, nothing should go wrong. With that said, I think Richard has good potential. It might be smart to involve him.”

Duke Tamuc hesitated for a moment before shaking his head, “Not now, he's still too young. We can consider it after he shows real ability.”

The middle-aged man frowned, “You know better than anyone what a great runemaster will bring to the plan.”

“Yes, but loyalty comes first and foremost. We cannot afford any betrayal.”

The middle-aged man sighed and nodded before disappearing back into the tower.

......

Covered in the crimson light from the sky, the City of the Unsetting Sun had no day nor night. One could only tell the passage of time from the ringing of a magical bell in the Church of the Eternal Dragon.

By three rings since they started, Richard finally felt drunk. The boy had fallen asleep long ago, while the two men had reddened faces as well. In such occasions, nobody used their energy or mana to resist the tipsiness.

Seeing Richard starting to become groggy, the two men took their leave. A few guards appeared out of nowhere and pulled the youth away as well. Having exhausted the new supply, there was no alcohol to drink nor people to talk to; only loneliness remained.

An armoured woman whose face was hidden by a leather mask slowly approached the house from one end of the street. Richard cast a single glance at her before ignoring her completely, going back into his house and closing the door. The woman stopped in her approach, a look of astonishment rising up on her face. However, she eventually walked up to the door, hearing the light snoring from within. Hesitating for a short while, she eventually took out a piece of paper and a pen before quickly writing a letter. Signing it and leaving her own address behind, she placed it on the porch before turning to leave.

Two more people had walked over in the meanwhile. Seeing the woman's actions, they loitered around Richard's place for a while before leaving their own letters and going away.

......

It took till the next evening for Richard to come out and see the three letters on the stone ledge. Reading through them one by one, he found them all to be similar pleas for a certain special type of rune. The writers all hoped Richard would consider crafting this type of rune, and promised to pay above market price alongside their eternal gratitude.

Nobody knew exactly what sort of runes Richard would start making now. The procedure would be for him to sell to the city first and the Marshal to then distribute it to whoever need it, charging an affordable commission in the meanwhile, but one could still ask Richard to make specific types of runes that they needed. He could still sell through the city, but they would also give him some extra on the side.

Richard's takeaways from the letters were entirely different. His runecrafting was famous throughout the Sacred Alliance, and now that he was here word was starting to spread through the City of the Unsetting Sun as well. Anyone even daring to request runes from him was an expert amongst this gathering of experts, so their requests also granted insight into just what kind of requirements one had in the Land of Dusk.

He pondered over the letters for a long time before walking into the large courtyard behind his house, picking out a rock and placing it at the centre of the hall. He then took out a plain dagger made of lafite and focused his mind, slowly lifting it before carving down in one swift stroke. The ordinary-looking strike removed a large chunk of the rock in an instant.

Focusing himself, he continuously carved through the rock while varying his pace and force. Sometimes the dagger cut off more than five kilograms in one stroke, and other times it barely left a mark. His mana was constantly flowing into his runes in varying amounts, transforming each ordinary stroke greatly. Every strike was an attempt to blend his mana, energy, and bloodlines to maximise their powers.

An hour later, his entire body was drenched with sweat while his fingertips trembled. The rock had been turned into a sculpture of a skaven, vividly capturing the viciousness of the creature in the finest of details. Richard examined his work carefully before smiling in satisfaction. His unending practice had improved his ability once more. Although the change wasn't massive, it was profoundly significant for someone so close to the level of a grand mage.

728 - City of Sin

New Normal(2)

Richard dragged the skaven sculpture into a warehouse next door. Inside was a row of other finished sculptures of varying size, and after placing it among them he left a long stroke on the wall behind. Every sculpture had a cut behind it of varying sizes, and this newest one was the straightest of the lot.

He then brushed away the dust on his body, casually trimming his hair and beard using the same lafite dagger. Packing the necessary equipment and a few belongings, he handed more runes to Lawrence before leaving the city for yet another journey.

Seven days later, he was already a thousand kilometres away from the capital of the Unsetting Sun. In front of him was an enormous crack in the earth that extended hundreds, even thousands of kilometres on each end. The valley was so deep that one couldn't even see the ground below, only crimson flames billowing out from within. This wound of the plane served as a natural barrier, demarcating the territory of the Unsetting Sun from what was known as the dark wilderness. The wilderness was the part of this plane under the control of neither Norland nor Daxdus, so far from both sides' strongholds that even legendary beings needed time to teleport away. This was a true playground of death where only the strongest would even dare enter.

The greatest threat from the dark wilderness wasn't even the Daxdians. The ruined time here was so chaotic that the rifts would occasionally pull in creatures from planes unknown, mutating them along the way. Most such creatures died within moments, but the few that survived were so powerful that even timeforce could not easily destroy them.

Richard observed the crack for a few minutes. Even its narrowest part was more than ten kilometres wide, and the only way to get to the other side was teleportation or flight. However, he wasn't crazy enough to enter the dark wilderness just yet; running parallel to the crack, he eventually found a small patch of broken earth and buried himself amongst the stones and soil.

An entire day passed with no food, no water, and no movement before a powerful aura suddenly enveloped the surrounding region. A hundred-metre-long monster with an oxen head and snake body whistled past the crack, dozens of other Daxdians rushing along beside it. Even tens of kilometres away Richard could feel the enormous pressure from its existence.

A cold consciousness scanned across the area but didn't find anything. After some time passed, the forces of Daxdus slowly crossed the crack and headed away.

Richard still waited patiently, eating and drinking every other day for almost a week as he stayed put. He saw five batches of Daxdians crossing the crack, some entering the Unsetting Sun and the others heading back out to the dark wilderness. A few Norlanders passed by as well. However, nobody discovered him hiding beneath the surface; with his nature affinity now at grade 3, he could merge almost seamlessly into his surroundings. Even legendary beings wouldn't be able to find him if they weren't looking specifically.

It was only when a vigorous enclave centaur captain jumped across the crack that he made a move. The centaur's jump brought him right towards the patch where Richard was hidden, and its heavy steel armour clanged loudly as he started to charge across the earth. This one was even stronger than the one Beye had killed all that time ago, its mane hard as steel wires and muscles bulging despite the sheer weight of its armour.

Richard grabbed the Twin of Destiny, instantly bringing a bolt of blood lightning down from the sky. The bolt struck the centaur right across the back, causing him to howl in pain as he drew short spears from both sides. It looked around furiously, looking for the ambusher.

However, a golden coffin shone right above its head before slamming down, the power of light restricting its movements while causing him to howl non-stop. Another weaker bolt of lightning fell from the sky, crashing down upon the same location as the previous wound and opening it up much further.

The centaur captain roared in rage, finally discovering the flow of mana underground. Looking down at Richard who had just stood up from a shallow pit, he bellowed and charged forward.

Richard felt like a mountain was about to come down on him, the four front hooves crashing through the air while leaving shockwaves in their wake. However, they never met their target; he quickly fled into the horizon.

The captain gave chase; having killed multiple grand mages in the past, he knew that the Norlanders were nothing but bags of flesh if one was up close. When sparks flew across Richard's body and he seemed to disappear under its legs, the captain just smirked and continued to crash down. He knew grand mages couldn't teleport in an instant; normally, they just faked it to buy themselves some time. A powerful strike nearby would break the spatial channel they hid themselves in and nearly destroy them as it pulled them out.

A muffled groan sounded out from behind the centaur as Richard was tossed towards the ground. He immediately got up, but his abdomen was cramped to the point that he couldn't utter a word. To any normal mage, this would almost certainly spell death.

Thankfully, he was coming to rely less and less on incantations these days. Popping Carnage out of its case, he activated Mana Armament and sliced across the hind leg of the enemy before rolling away.

The centaur captain just smirked as he turned around to face Richard. This wound was only as wide as a human palm, basically nothing compared to his four-metre tall body. However, the wound suddenly ripped apart seemingly on its own, turning into a mutilated hole as big as a human head. Blood gushed out from the wound like a waterfall.

Richard whistled and launched himself up, stabbing into the creature's humanoid chest. The armour here was quite thick, but Carnage managed to open up a thin slice on the captain's chest. Before the bewildered centaur could even make sense of his earlier wound, this new one rapidly split apart as well.

Richard continued to fade in and out like a ghost, his strokes as light as a feather yet leaving giant gashes in on the captain's body. Blood preceded flesh, and the flesh was followed by organs. Every stroke of his right now had ten or eleven superimposed with it. The frightening aftereffects were activated with almost every attack, revealing the true horrors of Lifesbane.

Provoked by the immense pain, the centaur captain grew furious. Its spears started sweeping in all directions, eventually managing a strike on Richard to toss him more than ten metres away. A streak of blood was left flying behind. However, before he could capitalise on the opportunity Richard had opened the Book of Holding and pushed another Tomb of Light and a Stall spell down on him. Buffing his own speed, Richard distanced himself in a moment.

The wounds on the centaur's body were still spurting blood, his sturdy body eventually starting to grow even more sluggish. However, Richard didn't approach him at all, instead circling around while launching bolts of lightning one after the other. The Book of Holding was eventually exhausted, but Richard still didn't stop the bombardment. Eventually the captain was covered all over by cuts and wounds, but one had to wonder just how much blood he could shed as he remained standing even after Richard had depleted most of his mana.
𝐟𝙧ℯe𝙬𝚎𝒃𝗻𝒐ѵel. 𝐜o𝓶

Richard thus took up his sword once more, starting another barrage of slashes. The centaur captain let out a hysterical howl before finally collapsing, but at this point Richard himself was too tired to harvest the body. The heart could potentially be an intermediate offering, but seeing another Daxdian rise into the skies from across the crack he just shook his head and fled back towards the capital of the Unsetting Sun.

The newcomer was a hideous devil. His eyes flickered as he looked in Richard's direction, but the sight of the centaur on the ground made him give up on a chase. He launched himself straight at the body, chewing on it ferociously.

729 - City of Sin

New Normal(3)

A few hours later, Richard had found a safe place to tend to the wounds on his body. Some crushed rocks were embedded deep in his abdomen, causing the deep gash to burn with pain. Every object in the Land of Dusk was toxic to noth Norlanders and Daxdians; even though the will of the plane itself was dead, its remnants absolutely rejected those that killed it.

He pulled out a small dagger and tiny blade, starting to pick his wounds clean of all the junk before paring off the rotten flesh that was already corroded. The entire process was calm and unhurried; he had learnt a fair deal from Lawrence over this visit to the Land of Dusk.

It took a few hours for the wounds to be cleaned, but it was only the next day that Richard stretched his body and cautiously moved out under the cover of the various landforms nearby. A tomiller devil was in search of prey a little less than a kilometre away, but after an exhausting battle he left behind a corpse and started trudging back towards the city.

It was only now that he was feeling the loss of his astral affinity world tree; without it, he couldn't use Sacrifice wantonly to amplify his spells anymore, nor was his mana recovery nearly as high. He was forced to be extremely patient, calculating every bit of energy usage in battle like the most annoying of misers.

Another day passed, and after reaping the lives of two more skaven and another devilfish he was finally done with this outing. Now he made a beeline straight for the capital of the Unsetting Sun, avoiding any fights along the way.

However, he only made it a few days into the journey before he was waylaid by a black sorcerer with four more skaven. Even worse, a devilfish had flanked him from behind! It took nearly every fibre of his being to deal with all of these enemies and return to the city, and he spent a very long time atop Lawrence's operating table once more.

It was only with the cold steel to his back that he realised just why Beye hadn't seemed bothered at all when she was on the table herself. It was already his third time here, and he was certain that this was not the last. There was no need to be fazed by a routine occurrence.

“You little rascals, what do you even know except causing me trouble?!” Lawrence raged for a long time, but even so he was turned his head to the side every time he spoke. He was worried that even the tiniest bit of saliva would worsen the wounds.

“Rascals?” Richard asked.

“You and that other lunatic Beye! There were three other madmen just like you. You know what? They're all dead now!” Lawrence said coldly.

Richard thought over it for a while, “These battles are the easiest way to improve ourselves. You get hurt at your weakest points, so you can improve yourself for future battles. Their fighting styles are different too... There are some blind spots I—”

“ENOUGH!” Lawrence finally erupted completely, “A FEW MORE IMPROVEMENTS AND THEN WHAT? YOU'LL BE DEAD! DO YOU REALLY THINK YOU'RE THE SAME AS BEYE? SHE HAS ONE OF THE MOST TERRIFYING BLOODLINES IN THE ENTIRE SACRED ALLIANCE, AND SHE'S BEEN TRAINING ALL HER LIFE! WHAT'S SO IMPRESSIVE ABOUT THE ARCHERONS? AREN'T THEY ALL OVER THE PLACE? DO YOU THINK YOU'RE COMPARABLE TO THE ROYAL FAMILY? TO THE IRONBLOOD DUKE?”

Lawrence continued to scold him for a long time, starting to huff by the time he was done. Richard immediately felt wracked with guilt, smiling bitterly, “I'm not actually taking risks... I'm actually certain I can return alive...”

“OH REAL— Argh... Oh really? Then... Why are you... in such... a condition?”

Richard had no way to explain his blessings of wisdom and truth, so he could only remain silent while allowing Lawrence to curse to his heart's content. A few hours later, he was thrown out of the clinic with an enchanted box in hand. Within was a greater offering bought with the money that remained of the rune sales.

Richard shook his head as Lawrence slammed the door shut, turning to return to his residence. Even in the short distance back to his home he met several people who greeted him with enthusiasm, stacks of letters placed on his porch. The runes he had crafted this time were in the vein of one of the letters he had received before, causing a huge reaction from the powerhouses of the city who started to list all their requirements in letters that they hoped he would read.

Every single letter was a lamp illustrating a potential path forward. Ideas constantly emerged within Richard's head one after the other, immediately inspiring him to craft more runes, but he patiently finished going through everything before picking the best ideas to work on.

The days seemed to cycle in this new normal as Richard just went between meditation, runecrafting, and drinking at his porch. His drinking companions initially rocketed in number, but after people found out that he didn't talk about runecrafting at these times it stabilised. Some impatient fellows still came to try and 'coerce' him to craft runes for them, but the others nearby always taught them their lessons.

Time was like a sieve, filtering those who were not fit to be friends and letting the rest join together. Richard constantly journeyed in and out of the capital of the Unsetting Sun, and eventually his drinking friends stabilised as well. Most of those willing to spend the time with him were common saints, those who didn't mind spending time on things that didn't entirely profit them. They grew used to Richard's messy ponytail and unkempt beard, cultivating an odd sort of friendship.

Sometimes Richard laughed through these drinking sessions for hours on end, other times he kept quiet for entire days. However, all of his new acquaintances didn't mind and just spent the days he was in the city in revelry. The number of sculptures in his warehouse started to grow, and they became more and more lifelike with every attempt. The marks on the wall now seemed to be impossibly precise, none any different from the other. A number of enchanted boxes with offerings inside were also thrown inside his bedroom.

Sometimes, Richard just lay in bed staring blankly at the ceiling, pondering about unknown things. It felt like he had fallen into an entirely different world, himself completely different from whoever had come in. It was like he was drowning in mud but couldn't feel it, yet even in the midst of this submersion something was constantly on the verge of breaking through. In the eyes of the rest he seemed to be content with this new, dangerous routine, but the fire within his heart continued to burn bright.

Time could change a person, and it could change an entire world. Time could turn peasants into gods, or it could turn dragons to dust. .

He started venturing further and further away from the capital of the Unsetting Sun, spending increasing amounts of time there and bringing back more precious items with every trip he made. An unsettling number of devilfish were appearing in the wild now, forcing most mages to travel with a warrior for support, but he continued to go it alone.

Over the past few excursions, he constantly had the vague feeling that something or someone was spying on him. It was extremely fuzzy, making him wonder whether he was just being paranoid.

But one day, when he stopped in place and the winds stopped with him, he knew that he wasn't wrong. A total of five devilfish jumped out of cracks in the earth and surrounded him, while a lofty devil floated up from afar. He was very familiar with this hideous face; it was the same one that had noticed him from across the fissure all those months ago.

“I've been following you for a long time,” the devil called out in Norland common, his voice extremely hoarse and grating.

Richard didn't so much as raise an eyebrow, “Do I look particularly tasty?”

“No, it's because you're full of potential. You are also possibly the type of person your kind call a rune master. Once I capture you, I will receive great wealth and fame.”

“Heh. And you expect me to surrender?”

“I believe you are clever enough for us to at least have a discussion. Don't resist, and I won't hurt you. You are of no value to us dead, so I would have no choice but to eat you up.”

Richard started scanning through the surroundings, but the devil just sneered, “Don't even dream of it. I brought five sasormas to deal with you, you won't be able to escape.”

Richard's brows lifted up for a moment; this devil had just confirmed that the Daxdians could control the devilfish. He placed his sword case down on the ground, starting to tidy up his equipment while throwing anything unnecessary to the side.

“You still plan to resist? Even three grand mages would barely be able to escape,” the devil commented.

Richard laughed, “And you think I'm not that strong?”

A crisp ting resonated from deep within his body, as though an exquisite piece of porcelain had just shattered. The astral world tree that had remained silent all this while shook off the withered portion of its bark, quickly growing to triple its former size!

730 - City of Sin

Well of the Stars

Thick, new branches started to emerge from the astral tree's bark as it grew, the leaves the lush azure colour of the stars. Boundless starlight seemed to rise up from within, floating up towards the boundless sky.

It was at this point that his Archeron bloodline roared, restricting the starlight by force. The symbols of his truename started to flow out from his soul sea, heading right into the middle. A translucent symbol right behind Dizmason immediately lit up, absorbing it all and finally taking form. The pale gold symbol had an azure afterglow.

Schloan. A simple syllable, but it contained enormous power within. Richard recognised this word from what he had read in the Codex of Alucia in his youth: in common, it read 'well of the stars.'

A howl of surprise and anger echoed through the wilderness of the Land of Dusk, but try as he might the devil couldn't stop the creatures under his control from toppling one after the other. Richard seemed to be a tiny flame in the hurricane of his attacks, but the flame refused to die out no matter what. Rapid movements were mixed with fierce slashes, every attack being dodged by a hair's breadth while the retaliation was swift and fierce. A rain of blood followed Richard around as he jumped from monster to monster.

Richard hadn't cast a single offensive spell yet, but the devil quickly understood that the flashes of lightning around his body were a mysterious method of converting mana to energy. He should have exhausted his mana pool completely by now, but instead of collapsing the sasormas were being chopped up one after the other.

There was only one break in the entire battle, and that occurred when all of the devilfish were dead.

“You... really are... as powerful as three grand mages!” the devil exclaimed through clenched teeth.

On the other hand, Richard flashed a smile as brilliant as the sun, “I'm not there yet, I'm just very good at saving my mana.” Please visit 𝑓r𝙚ew𝚎𝚋𝐧૦ѵ𝗲𝘭. c𝘰m

“Now it's just us,” the devil said solemnly.

“Mm, so you can go die now.”

“Why do I have the feeling that I'll be the one gobbling you up?”

“Ha. You think you're better at estimating my strength than I am at keeping it hidden?” Richard didn't care for the probing questions. While these devils were considered quite intelligent in Daxdus, Norland's civilisation was built upon mathematics.

*Clang! Whoosh!* Just before they were about to collide once more, he used his sword to parry and exhaled a breath of abyssal fire right in the devil's face. The flames immediately clung to the enemy's body, burning him up quickly.

Richard backed off and carefully started collecting his items, occasionally dodging the screaming devil's attempts at taking him along. He sighed in relief; the abyssal flames had been the last of his powers, and if the enemy had dodged he would have been left with no choice but to flee. However, many fights were just that cruel; one move often decided victory and defeat.

He looked within himself, feeling his world tree refine energy from the void as his truename morphed into what seemed like an ancient blue well. The volatile liquid within the well turned into wisps of mana that replenished him in combat. He had lied about his so-called ability to save; while his mana efficiency was certainly amongst the best, the major reason for his stamina in this battle came from the activation of his truename.

Truenames were one's greatest secret. If an enemy could find out exactly what abilities they granted, they could narrow down the individual parts of the truename and perhaps figure it out. Fighting an enemy that could use your truename was near impossible. Even if he had an absolute guarantee that he could kill the devil, Richard would never reveal this secret; even just getting word out to one of its kin would be the death of him.

Eventually, the devil collapsed amidst the pain. The abyssal fire continued to burn its exterior to a crisp, turning almost its entire body to ash until there was nothing of value to be found on its person. Richard just walked through the battlefield for a bit before setting off for the capital of the Unsetting Sun with devilfish skin in tow. With more and more devilfish being spotted recently, their composition was revealed as well. These creatures were extremely simple without any ability to grow or evolve, and almost nothing in their bodies was useful to humans. Their skin did have great magic resistance, but that meant nothing to a plane that was used to fighting magic with magic.

Even if he filled his entire backpack with devilfish skin, it would be worth no more than 100,000 gold. That wasn't a major amount to him, but it was at least better than nothing. A side-effect of constantly immersing himself in a world of numbers was that he was acutely aware of how little things added up. His blessings made him quite stingy in a way, and sometimes it was hard to shake off the compulsion of earning what he could.

His figure looked extremely lonely as he carried the huge pack along the path, but Richard's footsteps were firm and unhurried. His biggest improvement after spending nearly a year in a battlefield of despair was that his patience was now vast. He could walk for an extraordinary length of time without feeling dull at all.

......

By this point in time, the two guards at the entrance to the Unsetting Sun were old friends. They were the same ones that had made things difficult for him during his first arrival, but it had been months since he had forgiven them for that slight. These fellows had exhausted almost all of their potential, destined to never move further along their path. Such saints were not considered powerhouses in the battlefields of despair, but they also made up the lowest and widest rung of society. They took on myriad duties that true powerhouses disdained, becoming the gears that ran the entire war effort.

“Richard, you're back! Seems like you found a lot, too!” a middle-aged man shouted with delight. One wouldn't be able to tell from the warmth in his voice that he was calling out to someone he had tried to extort in the past.

Richard chuckled, “A big package doesn't mean anything. I was unlucky this time, only found devilfish.”

The aged warrior nearby nodded with sympathy, “Mm, those things are annoying and worthless. More and more are appearing recently, you should be careful too.”

“Hmm... You're right. Should I take you guys along on my next trip?”

The first warrior was a little surprised and immediately wanted to agree. Richard wasn't level 18 yet, but it was clear that his abilities in battle far exceeded that of an ordinary grand mage. Although Richard made it seem like they would be protecting him, they would actually just follow behind him and scrounge a share of the spoils. It was extremely rare for those below level 18 to forcefully stop their advance— after all, few below the saint realm could actually survive this place— but every such figure was an extraordinary character who would grow up to be a powerhouse. Beye Orleans had spent three years at level 17 before she took the step.

These guards had watched as Richard's injuries grew lighter and lighter even as his excursions grew longer. At first he returned on the verge of fainting, but now there were times where he returned totally unarmed. If he was actually inviting them to join an adventure, that only meant he was nearly matchless in the surrounding regions.

Despite his desires, the warrior who had once threatened Richard struggled to swallow his saliva and shook his head, “It's fine, we'd only hold you down. We have no hopes of levelling up anymore, it's enough to earn some money here to support our families. We'll join you for a drink later, though.”

Richard didn't insist, just nodding with a laugh. Bidding them goodbye, he entered the city and headed for his residence. People constantly greeted him along the way, but he responded to them all and even occasionally stopped for some small talk. Most of these people were like the two saints guarding the gate, having no hope to advance, but some amongst them were young and talented, perhaps capable of becoming sub-legendary experts in their lives. However, Richard treated them all equally; to him, this was a city of friends.

731 - City of Sin

Fleeting Time

When it came to status, the Land of Dusk was even more brutal than Norland. Power and potential were everything; the two warriors guarding the gates had been there since their arrival and would stay there in the future. Beye, for example, could kill either of them on a whim and she wouldn't be punished beyond a reprimand; they were no different from the lowest of commoners.

However, Richard found unique points of interest in even these mediocre people. Nobody was perfect, and he could understand their helplessness. The entire city had become friends of his over the past year, and sometimes powerhouses from the other forts came to visit him as well.

He still drank all the time, especially after every excursion. The street in front of his house was now a small plaza with tables, parasols, and chairs, while the unremarkable stone ledge had some intricate railings installed. A few grand mages even grew climbers from below the ledge, feeding the plants their own energy to help them take root in this toxic land. This had made Richard's doorstep one of the few green spots within the entire city.

The entire plaza turned into a small carnival whenever he drank, brimming with cheer and carefreeness. However, there was still a distinct division between the people that came. Those with talent and power had no respect for normal saints, separating into their own clique. Some of them didn't approve of commoners mingling with the strong, but Richard had made his choice and they didn't want to risk offending a runemaster.

The two parties' attitudes were different as well. The powerhouses were very respectful of Richard, flattering him to no end whenever they could, while the commoners were more intimate as they joked and laughed around. Richard even played drinking games with them, not hesitating to personally pour liquor down the throats of the losers when he won. Eventually, he had come to spend more time with these normal saints than with those who were only looking for him to craft their runes.

Today, Richard drank until he couldn't even stand straight. Bidding everyone farewell, he disappeared into his house and snores immediately started to sound from within. The powerhouses were the first to leave, resentful looks on some of their faces as they wondered whether he would even remember them tomorrow. The commoners stayed behind; they knew by now that Richard had a photographic memory, and they would make sure to tell him which of the experts around him were only trying to exploit his abilities.

Having dismissed it all, Richard fell deep asleep. He dreamt of his bloodlines, of his astral world tree that was now so much taller than everything else in his spiritual sea. He dreamt of the crimson Archeron web that encircled it all, broken through by the azure branches of the tree's crown. The two bloodlines were still competing, but the Archeron power no longer had the upper hand. Dizmason was a more powerful symbol, but Schloan was a testament to his elven bloodline's growth.

......

Loud clanging suddenly echoed within Richard's house. He tried to sleep through it, but his snores eventually faded away and he started to stretch, yawning loudly in the process. An elaborate magical clock was ringing incessantly in a corner, celebrating the end of a long silence.

The time had arrived.

Richard smiled bitterly; his current life had come to an end. It was now time to go back to his old life, to once more become the family head of the Archerons. A year in the Land of Dusk was equivalent to about a year and a quarter in Faelor, and a little over a month and a week in Norland. The faces of Flowsand, Waterflower, Gangdor, Tiramisu, Nyris, Agamemnon and many others floated up from distant memories, giving him a powerful blow.

Was the path to power meant to be so lonely?

He rushed into the bathroom, taking off his clothes before conjuring a big pail of icy water and pouring it down his head. The piercing cold shook him awake completely, his mana starting to burn away the hangover as he puffed out some white mist, walking over to a mirror to look at himself.

For a moment, he was dumbstruck. Staring back at him was a long-haired man with a thick beard all across his face and chin, radiating a powerful aura of death. His handsome nobility was nowhere to be seen except perhaps in his beautiful elven eyes. He had to shake his head and confirm that it was indeed himself in the mirror, not Gaton.

So that's how that man had gotten his image. He suddenly laughed, whistling as he trimmed his hair and beard with the long elven sword. The elegant youth returned, but now he no longer had that delicate air. The aura of death surrounding him was too strong to be concealed, just like with Beye.

He closed the mirror and looked at himself carefully, putting away the sword and walking out of his house with two enchanted chests of different sizes.

A middle-aged saint was putting an envelope on the porch with extreme care, face full of hope and anxiety, Even his hands were shaking. Perhaps he had reached a bottleneck, or he might have saved up enough money to finally buy a rune set. Either way, Richard was the greatest hope for improving his strength right now.

The man only briefly glanced at the person walking out the door before looking back at the envelope on the porch. He kept adjusting its position, never quite satisfied with how it sat. Richard smiled quietly and walked away with his luggage, shouting as he passed Lawrence's clinic, “Oi oldie, I'm going back for a while!”

“Get lost!” a voice sounded from within, “Don't waste my effort, remember that list!”

“What list? I don't remember any list!” Richard felt his face turn green at the mere mention of the fifty-year-old list, running away before Lawrence could even rebuke him.

Back at Richard's doorstep, the saint finally gave up and found an agreeable position. Staring at it for a little while, he turned to walk away. Only then did he begin to find the youth that had just walked by a little familiar.

732 - City of Sin

High Spirits

Faust was not at peace. The entire Sacred Alliance was discussing Emperor Philip's unworldly power in the recovery of the Fort of Dawn, growing extremely excited. It had been many years since the name of Bloodthirsty Philip had spread throughout Norland, and it caused the older nobles to hearken back to the glorious achievements of his youth. Some even dug up old portraits of that time; although Philip wasn't the most handsome of people, just his presence alone carried great weight. Those who thought he was just a slob changed their opinions of him completely, finding that he was just a lion waiting for the hunt.

Unsurprisingly, Richard didn't garner much attention when he returned to Norland. He just put his things at home before heading straight for the Church of the Eternal Dragon with a large enchanted chest in hand, met by grand priestess Noelene who was glowing with every word. She had made a million gold off Faelorian minerals in the past months, allowing her to take care of all of her family, relatives, and many friends.

“Richard, long time no see! How long have you been in the Land of Dusk now, a year? Wait... Why aren't you a grand mage yet? This couldn't possibly be a bottleneck for you...” She suddenly paused, eyeing him from head to toe, “I see you've gone through some changes... Hmm... Very impressive changes at that...”

“Changes?” Richard suppressed a shudder before stroking his chin out of habit, but having shaved it clean only a few hours ago he didn't find much to feel. He was unsure just what kind of changes she was referring to.

Noelene wasn't completely sure herself. It seemed like nothing much had changed about him except a slight increase in killing intent, but that was par for the course for someone who'd lived in a battlefield of despair. It took her a long time to understand just what the change she felt was, “Your temperament... Anyway, let's not talk about that. You're finally back, do you need anything?”

“I need to meet Flowsand and Ferlyn first, but other than that I'm naturally here to offer a sacrifice,” Richard threw the enchanted chest on the ground.

With her sharp eyes, Noelene instantly knew that the chest had spatial properties and stored a large number of offerings within. Her eyes sparked uncontrollably, but she stopped herself from asking who he wanted the hostess to be, “Well, Flowsand will only be back after some time, and the High Priestess hasn't been in a good mood lately.”

“Why?” Richard asked, slightly curious.

“I'm not sure, but I can confirm that she's been cranky for days. Are you sure you still want to meet her?”

“Well...”

“Lord Richard, high priestess Ferlyn has learnt of your presence and wishes to meet you now,” a paladin suddenly rushed out from the back of the church.

“Well, I guess that's that. Tell her I'll be there in a minute.” Richard bid goodbye to Noelene before following the paladin to the back of the church.

Ferlyn's hall was different from the last time he had seen it. It was so tidy now that it almost felt empty, with no furniture or decorations to be seen. Ferlyn was just sitting cross-legged on the ground, so Richard followed suit and he sat in front of her.

She swept her gaze across his body before looking blankly into the distance for a few minutes on end. Noticing her silence, Richard elected not to disturb her train of thought. When she eventually heaved a long sigh and collected herself once more, life filled back into her eyes as her gaze instantly pierced through every fibre of his being. Richard shivered with the feeling that all of his secrets had been seen through.

“Seems like you've gained a lot on your trip,” she said with clear admiration in her eyes.

“Things are going according to plan,” Richard answered honestly.

“How many years do you plan to wait before becoming a grand mage?”

“Four years, maybe a little longer.”

“Hmm? That seems a bit much. I thought three would be enough.” Ferlyn waved her hands and timeforce formed a tea set out of thin air. She immediately picked up the pot and poured out some green tea, causing a pleasant aroma to fill Richard's senses as she offered him a cup and started sipping from her own.

Richard had a mouthful before sighing with fresh energy, “That's good... And yes, three years should have been enough, but I'm not someone who can set everything aside for my path to power. I still have my territories to look after, new planes to conquer, old planes to consolidate. My followers depend on me, and there are many other commitments I have to fulfil.”

Ferlyn nodded, “Did you see Philip in the Land of Dusk? How is he?”

“His Majesty?” Richard flashed a bitter smile, “He recovered the Fort of Dawn in one go. I don't have the ability to join in on such an endeavour. He didn't return to the Unsetting Sun after I got there either, and it's been a while since I heard any news about him. I'm not sure where he is right now, I'll try to get some more information when I return.”

“It's alright, I just want to know how he is from time to time. No need to ask around.”

Richard stared at Ferlyn, his inquisitive gaze matched by the calmness of a lake. She didn't look angry nor concerned about Philip at all, which was a little strange.

Ferlyn couldn't help a laugh, “You little rascal, just what are you thinking about?”

“Just that the Emperor is really taking great risks. Why don't you go and help him?”

Ferlyn sighed softly, “I cannot leave this church until the Eternal Dragon finds another Chosen to replace me.”

Richard's eyes went wide, his voice starting to tremble, “F-Flowsand?”

Ferlyn nodded.

He parted his lips to ask a question, but his voice never rang out. Eventually he calmed down, sealing his queries within his heart. A tinge of sorrow flashed within Ferlyn's eyes as she sighed to herself. They really were way too similar.

Richard and Flowsand right now were almost exactly the same as she and Philip had been all those decades ago. The way they handled matters, even the paths they took were almost parallel. Too intelligent, thinking too much and wanting to do a lot for each other, but constantly forgetting to ask the other if that was what they truly wanted.

Everyone wished to be thoughtful and meticulous in their youth, but they didn't know that such a line of thought could eventually push two people apart. Ferlyn decided to give them a helping hand, “It won't be a problem for now, I still don't want to leave this church. You two will have ample time to spend together, to talk and battle side by side.”

Richard understood some of her intentions, but was unclear on a lot, “High Priestes... If you leave the church, where would you go?”

“A world with no light. I'm unsure exactly where it is, nor would I be able to know even if I wanted to, but those of us tired of staying within the church can choose to go to that place. Thereafter, the new Chosen will have to take over.”

Ferlyn's voice was gentle and pleasant, but Richard felt a chill run down his spine. Her words made it clear that Flowsand would have to replace her when she got tired of her life of sitting in the church all day. There might be some ways to free oneself from such a fate, but Flowsand clearly didn't meet the requirements.

“Is it related to offerings?” he asked testingly. He had immediately recalled how Ferlyn had asked him to share his divine grace with Flowsand on multiple occasions.

Ferlyn smiled and stayed silent, but that spoke volumes in and of itself. The Eternal Dragon had boundless power, possessing far too many methods to prevent people from leaking secrets. That was especially true for someone it had chosen; Ferlyn could only guide him in subtle ways.

He nodded at her, “I brought quite a few offerings with me this time, Can you arrange for two more—”

Ferlyn signalled for him to go quiet, smiling gently as she said, “It's alright to be naughty on occasion, but too much and it'll be a problem. Don't worry, I'll stay here so long as my mood is good enough. Nobody can force me to do something I don't want to.”

“But... isn't that too great of a sacrifice?” Richard cared a lot about Flowsand, but he didn't believe he had the right to make others sacrifice themselves for her.

“Like I said, only as long as I'm in a good mood.” Ferlyn grinned like a fox, but even that was matchlessly graceful.

“Then what can I do to keep your mood up?” Richard asked promptly.

“For now, it's really simple. Whenever you go to the Land of Dusk, keep an eye on that damn fatty for me! If he dares to hook up with anyone, report to me right away! I won't tolerate even Daxdian women!” The mischievous smile warped into absolute malice.

733 - City of Sin

Ignorance Is Bliss

Richard couldn't find any words to say, his mind immediately flashing to Beye. Who would go to a battlefield of despair to hook up? What 'women' were in that godforsaken place anyway? There were only killers, male or female.

“I'll... see to it,” he said reluctantly. It wasn't possible to turn down such a trivial request.
𝘧reewℯ𝚋noѵ𝒆l. cｏ𝙢

Excusing himself for a moment, he sent someone to gather his followers from Faelor before returning to the back hall. Without any pressing issues, he happily spent time talking with Ferlyn about the exploits of her past. After a few rounds, he asked to switch to wine instead. The alcohol shed all of his inhibitions, and he started chatting heartily with her like they were old friends.

“You're becoming bolder and bolder,” she said mysteriously at one point, “just like your father when he was young.”

“I'm just trying to please you,” he replied sheepishly.

“For Flowsand?” she asked with a faint smile.

“Yes, sorry.” At this point, he started blushing red. The year spent mingling with commoners in the Land of Dusk had really dulled his sensibilities.

“Is that so? I know everything about you. You went to Klandor and almost got yourself killed for Mountainsea, and for Sharon you went to a battlefield of despair in a heartbeat. What about Flowsand? What does she mean to you? What do you plan to do with the three of them?”

Richard was a little surprised; not by the fact that she had managed to find out— after all, she was someone who could even peek into the past— but by the fact that she was interested enough to look. Her questions were hard-hitting as well, causing him to look down in shame. He didn't notice her glancing at a figure behind him.

“I... I...” he tried hard to find words but constantly fumbled. His hands started digging into the flesh of his calves in frustration.

“Tell me what you think of Flowsand. Why didn't you want to see her before you went off to the Land of Dusk?” Ferlyn pressed on.

“I'm not sure...” Richard took a deep breath and raised his head, “I'm not sure who's more important to me, Master, Flowsand, or Mountainsea. I would give up everything for any of them, but it was just circumstance that I ended up having to go to Klandor and the Land of Dusk. If I had gone to see Flowsand, I might not have had the courage to go. I couldn't let that happen.”

However, Ferlyn still didn't give up, “Then which one of the three is most important to you? If they were to fight, who would you side with?”

This was another pointed question that he had never even thought about. However, he now had no choice but to say something, so he thought for a long time and poured quite a few cups of wine down his throat before speaking apologetically, “Sorry, this needed a bit of courage. I think...”

It was at that point that he suddenly sensed something, turning to look back.

Flowsand was at the door, having lost all of her normal beauty. Her skin was so pale that it could blend into the wall.

If she were to leave him for good, the absence would be suffocating.

Richard stood up in shock, but before he could even speak she had pounced forward and sealed his mouth with a kiss.

It took an entire minute for him to break away, finally managing to get some words out, “You're back so soon?”

However, she cupped his mouth and huffed, “Wait, let's talk later. Head out for a bit, I have to speak to this old woman!”

Richard was puzzled, but before he could say anything Flowsand just pushed him out of the hall.

......

“You old hag!” Flowsand was raging at Ferlyn, her body wound up like a lioness ready to pounce on an intruder, “What were you trying to do, asking all those questions? Why did you have to tell him about us?!”

Ferlyn continued to smile gently, “Look at you, so impatient. I almost got him to say the truth, but you just had to interrupt. Isn't that what you always wanted to know?”

These words seemed to pierce right into Flowsand's heart. All of the tension faded away and she slumped to the floor, crying with her head in her hands, “I don't want to know any more! So what if I knew, what difference would it make? If... if... Whatever, I just don't want to know!”

The question had constantly on her mind, surfacing time and time again. However, she had concluded that it didn't matter at all. So what if she mattered the most to him, would he give up on Sharon and Mountainsea? And what if he didn't even care for her, could she bring herself to leave? This was a question that was best left unanswered.

Ferlyn walked over, stroking her hair, “You're a very smart girl, but too stubborn. But that's alright, I will help you. Even if one is a powerhouse amongst legends and the other is the princess of Klandor, it doesn't matter.”

Flowsand continued to cry in Ferlyn's embrace, constantly wiping away her tears, “I know he needs to get stronger. I know he's doing it because of me, at least partly. But that's not what I want! I just... I just...”

“You just want him to come home safe,” Ferlyn sighed.

Flowsand broke down further.

The two ladies stayed in a silent embrace. They were the pride of Norland on any other day, but now they were no different from peasants wishing their beloveds a safe return. However, like most men, Richard and Philip were clueless and just did things their way.

......

Richard was starting to get restless when the door suddenly opened and Flowsand walked out. She wrapped herself around his arm and said happily, “Come, let's go to the altar. What stuff did you get?”

“You'd never guess!” Richard beamed. This one moment was worth the entire year of battles.

“Then there must be a lot!” she clung even tighter to his arm, her ample bosom constantly grinding against him. It took an inordinate amount of effort to keep himself from having a physical reaction.

“So?” she whispered softly in his ears, literally hanging off him at this point, “How many offerings do you have?”

As a runemaster who was also killing countless enemies in a battlefield of despair, Richard had accumulated a number of offerings over the past year. In fact, he now had more top-tier offerings than Beye did. His response was instant, but Flowsand's words right after turned his pride into absolute fear: “Okay then, that's the number of times you're making love to me today.”

The ceremony was held immediately, and it took an exceptionally long time. The priestesses outside started to burn with jealousy as time went on, clearly realising just how much grace Flowsand would receive. However, Richard himself was filled with dread despite the numerous blessings he had received. The hourglasses representing extended lifespan, the divine crystal, even the divine bow with ten divine arrows did nothing to lessen the clenching of his heart.

It didn't help that none of these things were immediately useful to him. His biggest need right now was a boost to his bloodline, something that would synergise well with his meditation technique. Still, he just sighed and put everything away. His followers could use the extended youth, and the broodmother always needed more divinity. The bow was extremely powerful as well; combined with the two tracking arrows, it would be the death of any grand mage. However, that would have to wait until Olar or someone else was powerful enough to use it.

734 - City of Sin

One Year

When Richard left the altar, all the priestesses in the church focused glowing eyes upon him. They saw just how happy Flowsand looked, and the sheer length of the ceremony spoke volumes as well. This wasn't the first time he had left an impression on them; these days, he was the most frequent visitor from the Sacred Alliance and never seemed to run out of high-quality offerings. Noelene's profits from trading with his personal plane also gave insight into how far he had developed in that avenue.

And Richard was only 21 this year! All clerics beyond level 12 could easily tell one's true age without issue. A little over five years since he had first set foot on another plane, and he was now a key figure in the Sacred Alliance. Some were even discussing whether he would bring about miracles like Gaton.

Of course, the clerics didn't know that Flowsand wasn't smiling because of the ceremony. There was much more mischief in her grin, and it was aimed at the coming night.

......

By the time the first golden rays of sunlight entered the room, Richard slumped back in relief. He had started with energy and vigour, but as always he was no match for Flowsand's boundless stamina. Some victors let go of the defeated, but she was the kind to torture her victims until they couldn't take it anymore and then torture them some more.

Thankfully, he had business to tend to. His followers had rushed back from their planes to Blackrose Castle, and this time he took Flowsand there via teleportation. Alice came over the moment she heard of his arrival as well, so the meeting room was brimming with people.

He looked over all these familiar faces, some who had followed him since his first expedition and others fairly recent additions to his party. Asiris and Senma were the only ones present not absolutely loyal to him, but that was their own trust in Gaton speaking. Even though it had been a long time since Mordred had walked across the sky of Faust, they, Ward, and Cyrden still believed that the man of miracles could return.

An entire year had passed for most of his followers, but they still remained at level 17 and were trying to polish their skills and bloodlines as per his request. Gangdor, Tiramisu, Io, and Olar were still guarding Faelor. With a constant stream of powerful equipment from Norland, the Crimson Dukedom had pushed hundreds of kilometres into the barbarian plains, and there had been constant conflicts with the Iron Triangle Empire as well.

When his absence had first been confirmed, the Empire had sent Salwyn himself with a small army to probe the Dukedom's borders. It was said that Rislant's most skilled aide had been a party to this excursion, but Andrieka had appeared once more and forced a decisive battle at an awkward time and place. 10,000 Empire soldiers had been faced with 8,000 of the Dukedom but were beaten back and could only escape with 3,000 left alive.

Legends of the battle were still being sung by bards. Both armies had constantly charged, flanked, and ambushed each other, but in the end Andrieka rose to fame as another terrifying general in all of Faelor. Salwyn had delivered a secret report to the Emperor that concluded thus: Andrika was an outstanding general, second only to Richard himself.

The only option to stall Richard's rise at that point was to mobilise the entire Empire's power, but nobody had been able to come to that decision. The highest of nobles had met in secret, but the only decision they reached was to gather more information about Andrieka.

Of course, that attempt would certainly be in vain. Even in the Crimson Dukedom, few knew about Andrieka's true identity. “He” was both nowhere and everywhere at the same time; any elite shadowspear knight could wear that specific suit of armour and become Andrieka on the battlefield. All commands came from a combination of Raymond and the cloned brain.

Many more had been captured from the Iron Triangle Empire than killed. The Crimson Dukedom at this point was famous for its restraint from unnecessary murder; captives were rarely mistreated, and the injured could even be healed thanks to the sheer excess of clerics. The lightly wounded were cured completely, while the seriously wounded would survive.

This made Richard even more endearing to the commoners, but to high society this policy was a headache. The Crimson Dukedom always ransomed off their captives, and if one didn't meet that ransom price then one's own citizens would be inclined to revolt. However, this meant there was a huge inflow of cash to the Dukedom that put severe financial stress on the losers. Even worse, the soldiers fighting in these wars would act more reserved, knowing that they would only lose their life if they were far too aggressive on the battlefield.

Even in the battle with the Iron Triangle Empire, 10,000 enemies had been crushed but only 2,000 died.

The Forest Plane was so stable that it was almost boring. People continued to chop wood each and every day, the stonewood piling up like a mountain outside Emerald City. Just the storage pit alone was larger than the entirety of the city at this point, which also meant the city had an enormous buffer of free space that elves could not easily traverse.

Half of Richard's 200 rune knights had been left to guard Blackrose, while the other half had been lent to Alice. In Faelor, the broodmother was producing level 10 humanoid knights every day. With the support of the worm nest, she now had 3,000 of these drones despite constantly losing them in wars. In stark contrast, there were only a hundred elite shadowspear knights prepared.

Now having a decent understanding of everything that had transpired in his absence, Richard took out a stack of enveloped and distributed them to the people in the meeting hall. Within each envelope was a promissory note from the Church of the Eternal Dragon, and those that couldn't rush back in time would be sent one later as well. Since he took over leadership of the Archeron Family, this was the second time that he had paid his subordinates.

735 - City of Sin

Returning To The Planes

Once all the trivialities were taken care of, it was time for Richard to decide on his next move. In front of him right now were maps of Faelor, the Forest Plane, the Resting Orchid Plane under Senma's care, and the Tulland plane that was being guarded by Asiris. Everyone had grown excited the moment he asked for these maps to be brought out; this meant that he planned to leave the battlefields of despair for some time in planar wars.

“Hmm... Let's go have a look!” he said after a period of indecision, pointing at the map of the Resting Orchid Plane. Senma's beautiful brows arched up as she looked at him with interest.

He immediately issued commands to redeploy his followers. With the changes to Blackrose Castle complete, he now had a full 3,000-man army waiting in his camps, a number that didn't include the more powerful free warriors from both the Archeron family and allies and subordinates. Nor did it include the 300 rune knight candidates.

A messenger was sent to return with all 100 elite shadowspear knights that the broodmother had made for him in this time. Andrieka and Mito were the only ones left guarding the Crimson Dukedom, but so long as the cloned brain had Raymond's assistance it was near impossible to defeat. The Faelorians were already too scared to move recklessly.

It took two days for all of his subordinates to assemble. While the castle was buzzing with activity, Richard spent the time as per usual studying the map in his command centre. Senma was called in from time to time and asked questions about the customs and situation of the plane.

The Resting Orchid was a rather peculiar plane. It only had a single continent that was less than a million square kilometres in size, and it was surrounded by boundless ocean. Contrasted to bigger, more powerful planes, this was nothing more than an island. The shape of this island was strange as well; it was wide at the centre and tapered out to both ends, but the elevation consistently increased from south to north. At the northern tip was the tallest mountain in the land at a little over ten kilometres high.

Gaton's foothold was at the southern tip of this plane. After more than ten years spent on this expedition, his lands now accounted for two-fifths of the entire continent. The indigenous forces were fierce, and a great valley near the centre of the plane made for a natural barrier that aided their defence. Having paid the price of more than three times the casualties over three whole months, the forces of the plane had eventually consumed more than half of his initial invading force and forced him to stall.

It wouldn't be impossible to decimate the rest of the locals, but it just wasn't worth it. Such an endeavour would almost completely wear out the army there, and the profits wouldn't make up for such a loss. The plane wasn't developed much from Norland either; the cost of transfer was still 30,000 gold, so Gaton didn't have the finances to send anything more than a small force of elites. In recent days, it was only the thirteen knights entering and exiting the plane.

Outside of the strange form of the plane, Richard was also interested in the surrounding ocean. The locals said there was no end to the sea, with countless people having headed out to map the oceans never to be seen again. There was no life in the seas either, only salt water. One couldn't even find kelp in the plane's water. The locals had no word for fish or any other marine life, but Gaton had discovered a mural about aquatic lifeforms in a mysterious temple a while ago.

Looking at the map, Richard suddenly found something strange. He turned to ask Senma who was in the room, “Where did you get this map?”

Even in Norland, a map of the entire plane was important, valuable, and difficult to obtain. The Resting Orchid Plane was smaller, but the accuracy of this map was unbelievable.

“We took the map from a temple,” Senma responded, “We didn't take it too seriously at first, but we quickly realised just how accurate this map was. I then copied the details of that map instead of using the one we'd made ourselves.”

Richard pointed towards the peak at the northern end of the plane, “So this stuff was copied over from the original as well?”

“Yes, is there anything wrong?”

“No...” Richard shook his head, but he still felt a strange feeling of disconnection. It looked like the peak of this plane was right on the edge of the coast, forming a 10-kilometre cliff. Such terrain couldn't be formed naturally, and made it look like this was a section of a plane that was cut off by a powerful god. This peak had a strange name as well; it was just called the Godnest.

After a lengthy discussion with Senma, he learnt that the plane had inordinate power for its size. There were legendary beings here, and more than one at that. Its magic was developed as well, although it took the route of Klandor's totemic warriors instead of Norland's runes. As he listened to these descriptions,he was constantly working with an abacus, making calculations with reference to the information on the map.

It took half an hour after Senma stopped talking for Richard to stand back up. There was now a frown on his face.

“What's wrong?” she couldn't help but ask impatiently.

“The size of this plane. Every calculation tells me that it should be ten times as large as it is to produce a legendary being. With its current size, even level 15 creatures should be rare.”

Senma didn't understand planar geometry, but she did know that smaller planes should have weaker enemies. “There are multiple legendary beings there. We encountered one at some point, but only managed to wound him seriously before he ran away.”

Richard's brows furrowed tighter and tighter as he thought over it for a long time. Eventually, he pointed at a location on the map, “Here should be a good place to start.”

“You want to attack?” Senma was surprised.

“This place has some secret to it, it's worth a major investment.”

“Major investment? How much?”

“My followers, a hundred rune knights, and all the elites.”

Senma immediately gasped. Having spent very little time beside Richard, she didn't fully understand the sheer difference between Richard and Gaton. She had assumed Richard just had a little more money, but now he was mobilising all the elites within Blackrose! That was more than 12 million gold in transfer costs!

This wasn't even a problem with Gaton's money anymore. Just like the man loved to say, there was a point where quantity overwhelmed quality. A current-day example would be Emperor Philip. Now that he had showcased his abilities once more, the dragon ribs he ate at every meal were now the fashion of high society. Only the most wealthy families could afford such ribs, while the rest started to eat the calf or whatever other dragon meat they could.

The little kid had grown up. Senma's eyes suddenly became tender and watery. In her opinion, wealth and power were the most attractive aspects in a man. Physical beauty was a good thing, but it wasn't a major issue. However, this youth in front of her was strong, handsome, and wealthy enough to pay 12 million just to transfer soldiers.

Richard was actually quite depressed. He had sacrificed a number of offerings with his return, but not one had given him a decrease in teleportation costs. This was just the way of the Eternal Dragon; one always got things they would vaguely want, but there was no guarantee that urgent needs would be met.

As he was mulling over the costs, Senma suddenly reached out and grabbed his shoulder, her bulging breasts pressing into his back, “If I become a follower, how much can I get?”

Richard looked up, a little surprised, “Become a follower? You're not planning to wait for Gaton to come back?”

“Hey! I was still young at the time, but your father deceived me into following him with this set of armour. It's been more than a decade now. You know, it's easy to cheat little girls like me. Three... No, five sets of armour are enough to make me your follower. I'm not asking for much; if you don't have the sets right now you can just give me the money or send it to me later.” Senma's eyes shone with the brilliance of gold.

Richard looked through what Senma was wearing. The most impressive fact about it was the sheer lack of coverage everywhere except at the breasts. The material wasn't bad, but the enchantments were quite mediocre and the boost to her defences was surprisingly low. This was a superior-grade set that could only be considered borderline epic at best.

“Five sets? No problem,” he agreed immediately. Forget superior-grade armour, he could even get five epic sets without issue. Memories surfaced of a beautiful sub-legendary suit of armour in Nyris' armoury that was quite lightweight.

736 - City of Sin

The New Generation

Richard immediately had someone rush to Faust and bring over the equipment Nyris had based on the market price. It wasn't until then that he realised just how large the prince's collection of female armour was.

Senma was quite powerful in battle, by no means just a pretty vase. That was evident in the fact that Gaton assigned her to guard the Resting Orchid Plane by herself. Even if this was a small plane, it was a plane nevertheless. To obtain all that for just a single set of armour was an amazing deal.

So long as one was willing to pay the cost of teleportation, their efficiency would skyrocket. By the same afternoon he handed the armour to the Blood Paladin, causing her to jump up in joy. The radiance of this ornate sub-legendary armour dazzled her eyes; she had never even dreamed of having such a set in hand.

Richard watched on in satisfaction as she grabbed hold tightly, rushing away like the wind. That same evening she was showing off the new armour to him, but now it was completely changed. Some parts had been removed and some of the sharper lines blunted to make it more beautiful, but Richard just couldn't bring himself to appreciate her craftsmanship. The armour was more eye-catching, sure, but that was at the cost of a comprehensive design in its abilities. The sub-legendary set had been mutilated, now no different from any other epic equipment.

It was only now that he understood just why her old armour had been so pitiful. Of course Gaton wouldn't give his followers such flashy things for no reason, this was all her work. Still, it was her business what she chose to do with it. No matter what had been done to the armour, the intended effects were achieved: Senma was now formally a follower of his.

......

All of Richard's followers finally gathered the next day, and Lina was done with the portal as well. With his rune knights and the shadowspears in tow, the small army headed through the portal.

A cold wind hit him in the face as he walked out of the portal, causing him to shiver a little. He hadn't experienced winter in a long time, and it made him recall the Deepblue and Rooseland. Winters in the mountains were always extraordinarily cold; they had been the first things to teach him perseverance.

Senma was the first one to walk out of the portal after him, showing a subtle difference between her and Lina. While the Blood Paladin seemed to be all brawn and no brain, she was actually quite adept at handling the little things. Lina, for all her intelligence, was an airhead that had almost caused him to suffer great losses in the Forest Plane.

The teleportation gate was built within a small hall in their base city. The place wasn't magnificent nor luxurious, lacking even the most basic of decorations. Even protection from wind and rain wasn't a guarantee. Just the sight of the narrow hall that only covered a hundred square metres made it clear that there were no plans to invest in this plane. At most a dozen people would come in and out of the channel at the time, so the place wasn't built to be particularly large. This showed the biggest weakness of Gaton's reign; he likely never thought he would have the funds to send hundreds or thousands of people over.

There wasn't anything wrong with Gaton's approach either. There weren't any specialty products found here despite occupying nearly half the entire continent, so the entire plane could provide a few hundred thousand gold a year at best. Since that was the case, it was better to just hold onto what they had instead of investing crazily to approach the snowy, mountainous north where there was likely little of value.

Richard himself was only doing it because of the oddness of the plane's shape and dimensions. It gave him a strong sense of foreboding, that there was something he could find here. On the other hand, completely occupying this plane would also free up Senma to guard Blackrose Castle. In addition to Lina, the defences of the Archeron territory would be strong enough for him to unleash the true beast in his stable, Alice!

*Krrrrkk!* Tiramisu was the next one out of the portal. The two-headed ogre squeezed out and immediately took a breath, stretching his body. However, the Medium Rare head immediately crashed right through the ceiling, and a confused voice rang out “Why is it suddenly dark?”

Richard couldn't stop laughing for a good minute. The ogre was now over four metres tall, a veritable behemoth on the battlefield. He was already being squeezed just standing, and it was likely impossible for him to make it out of the door without more destruction.

Eventually, he managed to recover and call over to a guard by the door, “Get some people to demolish this place!”

The guard's eyes went wide in confusion. He didn't know who Richard was, nor why they would take down their teleportation hall. As a warrior stationed in the Resting Orchid Plane for many years, he simply didn't have the chance to visit Norland and thus had no information about Richard.

“What? Why?” Senma asked doubtfully. In Gaton's rule, even this hall was a luxury facility.

“The place is tiny!” Richard ranted, “How am I supposed to get my army through here? Tiramisu, start dismantling the place, we'll get a new one built later.” Richard just waved his hands, not even asking how much such an endeavour would cost. This was already his style, showing a deliberate separation from the way Gaton did things.

Tiramisu shouted loudly, ducking his head before rushing forward a few steps and slamming into the far wall. Compared to his strength, the walls here were like paper. Even despite the cramped space stopping him from using full power, the wall collapsed in an instant. He then walked out and pulled his epic-grade warhammer, starting to turn the hall to dust.

The movements of the ogre were extremely eye-catching. Many people heard the sound and watched his huge figure raging through the ruins of their teleportation hall, subconsciously clenching their weapons but not daring to make a move. Many of those here were veterans, and they clearly had an idea of his tyrannical power. Ogres, giants, trolls... many such creatures could be judged by a simple standard, the size of their bodies. The bigger a creature of these species was, the more power they could wield. Tiramisu was already much larger than a common ogre, and was of the rare two-headed variety at that. If they chose to fight, he could just end up taking hundreds of them down with him.

Richard's eyes widened as he saw Tiramisu head towards an adjacent building, “OI! Stop! You're done, that's it! Leave the other buildings to the rest!”

“I'm not tired, Master!” the ogre shouted.

“I know! Now go to the side and let everyone else come out.” Richard forced him away from the vicinity of the portal.

With Tiramisu finally gone, Richard's other followers managed to get out. They came in a variety of shapes and sizes, but each one was powerful beyond compare. The onlooking veterans of the plane subconsciously held their breaths; having fought on the battlefield for a long time, they knew quite clearly how terrifying opponents with such auras could be in battle. The number of soldiers walking out right after also spoke volumes in and of itself.

The gazes on Richard turned from hatred to fear. Whispers had already spread out that this was Richard Archeron, Gaton's son, but that meant nothing to them. Gaton had many sons, and not all of them were worth respect. For this one to demolish their teleportation hall the moment he stepped out naturally made them unhappy.

Of course, Richard himself couldn't care less what they thought. He had the incoming soldiers start cleaning up the ruins in front of the portal even as his followers continued the demolition. Senma eventually went to help as well, and while the veterans were still hesitating about this sudden change of ruler two more buildings had been cleared out. A large, open square had been formed in front of the portal.

It was then that the rune knights started to walk out. They assembled into formation as they left the portal one by one, the full 100 standing together enveloping the area with frightening killing intent. Following them were the shadowspear knights; although these were much less powerful, their robotic air was far more daunting as well, especially with their numbers. Even Richard's own rune knights were a little uncomfortable; they had heard of the shadowspears' battle against Earl Goliath's rune knights, and word was already spreading through the Alliance about these rune knight grinders. Power could mean very little in the face of hundreds of enemies who didn't care for their lives.

100 rune knights and 400 shadowspears. All assembled together, they could make even this chilly winter day colder.

737 - City of Sin

The New Generation(2)

The last thing out of the portal was the astral chrysalis. At three metres wide and ten metres long, the silent beast was the most imposing presence here.

As the veterans looked at Richard, his sea of knights, the strange creature floating in the air, and back at the ruins surrounding the teleportation gate, they were suddenly overcome by despair. Because of the high cost of transporting troops to this plane, they had slowly accumulated a certain amount of status here. As the backbone of the war, they had grown untameable, even disregarding some of Senma's orders. Gaton was the only one they served wholeheartedly.

However, here was a full army of elite soldiers breathing down their necks. They were no longer the central force on this battlefield, which meant they lost all rights to make any demands. All of the knights coming out the portal were armed to the teeth with superior-grade equipment, while the rune knights shimmered with a magical glow. As for Richard's followers, their equipment was on an entirely different level. Compared to them, even the generals here seemed like peasants.

The past had just been buried under the ruins of their teleportation hall. These survivors of the old generation realised that they would soon be replaced as well.

Once all the troops gathered, Richard mounted his unicorn and turned to Senma, “We're setting off immediately, have your troops join us in the base camp.”

“Yes, my Lord.”

After giving her some further instructions, Richard mobilised his army of knights and rushed a few dozen kilometres away to where the base camp was located. Senma waited for him to be a considerable distance away before casting a glance at the restless veterans who had been assigned to guard the portal, sighing and heading to her command post.

“Miss Senma, wait!” An older man blocked her path, “What about us?”

“Sigh... What do you mean?”

As other soldiers gathered around, one middle-aged man spoke up, “That Richard... Lord... Richard... Is he going to war?”

“Yes, my Lord is going to break through the Godtear Rift and fight all the way to the Godnest.”

“How is that...” Whoever had that question in mind quickly shut up as they recalled the hundred rune knights Richard had brought over.

“Then what about us? You'll take us there too, right?” another veteran asked uneasily.

“You lot...” Senma sighed, deciding that she couldn't avoid the truth, “You're going to stay and guard the base.”

“We're warriors, not guards!” The soldiers started to make a din. However, unlike before Richard's arrival, their words were now said with a pleading tone instead of a threatening one.

“You're to stay here and guard, that is an order!” Senma's tone brooked no room for discussion, leaving the veterans with no choice but to let her go. Despite their unwillingness, they eventually scattered.

Richard's abrupt departure had said more than enough about his need for these soldiers. She knew there was no room for sloppy and disobedient soldiers in his army, regardless of power. While these veterans were powerful, they largely fought as individuals in battle.
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When she returned to her post, she mobilised only a thousand elite light infantry for the expedition. However, when she took a look at the list of materials in the warehouse she was shocked by just how short it was. It was a lot for Gaton's standards, but from what she had heard, the astral chrysalis could now store almost a thousand tonnes of materials. The only thing she needed to provide was food, but even with that Richard was prepared for emergencies. Several tonnes of fresh beef had been placed within the chrysalis as well, serving as food for the shadowspear knights. If it was cooked properly, it could also be served to regular soldiers as well. Besides, those on the level of rune knights were individually strong enough to digest raw meat more effectively than cooked food.

Even though her resources paled in both quantity and quality, Senma decided to make the best use of them. After an hour spent drawing up logistics plans, she took out half the goods from the warehouse and mobilised a logistics team of more than 3,000 soldiers to take charge of protection and delivery. They would set out early the next day, working under the assumption that Richard could cover any deficiencies they had.

Looking at the plan in her hand, Senma sighed once more. She knew that this was all pointless to Richard and his astral chrysalis, only the roars of a clawless lion into the empty void. However, she wanted to give her soldiers a chance to showcase their organisational abilities and at least redeem themselves a little in Richard's eyes.

With Richard and his elites here, the 20,000 soldiers already present had lost all their purpose in a flash. Their best use now was merely occupying the territory and keeping things stable.

As she put her legs on the desk out of habit, staring into the ceiling, she felt the same disappointment the old soldiers did. She was likely the only one on this entire plane who was even slightly valuable to Richard; with his bottomless coin purse, hoards of locals could be bought over without issue. The few hundred veterans were immeasurably loyal to the Archeron family itself, but if they didn't change allegiance he would just crush them with numbers. They might be able to deal with twice their numbers, perhaps even thrice, but what if he sent ten thousand soldiers all armed to the teeth?

The ruins of the portal flashed before her eyes once more. Gaton was no more, and it was now Richard's time. The two had vastly different styles, and Richard's mark would slowly overwrite Gaton's in the future. Everyone, including her, had a choice to make. They could either change with the times, or slowly die off as relics of the past.

When the troops finally gathered, she adjusted the sabre by her waist before taking large strides out from the command post.

......

With the continent being so small, the Resting Orchid Plane generally had the same climate from north to south. The constant hail and snow was unbearably oppressive, each flake the size of a young child's fist. Sometimes the snow was piled so high that even large warhorses would occasionally sink in completely.

After an entire week of marching forward, Richard finally had a taste of the arduous climate of the plane. The temperature was often several dozen degrees below freezing, and without experienced guides marching through these snowy lands was a great danger in itself. There were bottomless pits on either side of the elevated path that could instantly kill a horse.

Richard had gathered about 5,000 of the troops already stationed here and reorganised them along the way. By the time they reached the Godtear Rift, he now had a passable group of soldiers in them. With the new arrangements, more than 20,000 soldiers would be at the Godtear Rift. 5,000 were manning the base city, while less than 3,000 were spread throughout the rest of the territory to maintain order. Senma had expressed her concerns over potential revolts, but he had waved them off. The shadowspears would be enough to crush any rebellion.

738 - City of Sin

A Realistic Dream

At the Godtear Rift, Richard led Senma and the rest of his followers to inspect the terrain. This valley was ridiculously huge, a hundred metres below ground on average with the lowest point being nearly a kilometre deep. The rivers of the north formed rapids that disappeared into the depths, re-emerging in the southern part of the continent. These waters never froze even in the depths of winter, but cascading mist normally rose hundreds of metres into the air when the plane was at its coldest. Google search 𝙛𝒓𝙚e𝚠𝐞𝚋𝙣𝚘𝐯𝗲𝚕. c𝚘𝓶

At both ends of the valley were small mountain ranges that blocked any seawater from entering the lowlands. This was a rather peculiar formation that Richard couldn't understand; it was nearly impossible for such a thing to be natural. After two whole days studying the nearby terrain, he concluded that the ten-kilometre-wide mountain range was just packed far too neatly to be anything but dams.

Even as someone who had woken up to the magnificence of Floe Bay for five whole years, Richard was not prepared for the sight of the ocean here. The water was a dark blue bordering black, almost as though light couldn't touch the world under the waves. The horizon stretched out to seemingly no end, falling away into the sky in a blur of darkness.

The wind was so cold that it felt like every breath would freeze as it left the body. Such temperature would have frozen the entirety of Floe Bay over, but here one couldn't even see the slightest signs of ice.

He looked back, only to find his followers shrinking into themselves from the cold. Olar was even wrapping himself up tighter in his clothes. A constant feeling of wrongness had caused him to forbid them from using any spells or skills at the seaside. The mountains just seemed to fragile, and he couldn't even judge the depth of the sea they were looking down at.

An unfreezing ocean sounded great at first, but the lack of marine life was extremely disconcerting. One could only see the dark sea, dark clouds, and whistling dark winds when they looked outwards.

For a moment, the winds seemed to whisper words. The grayscale landscape warped into a painting from the grandest of artists, and standing hundreds of metres above the sea it was like the mountain cliff had been cut out by a knife. The waves weren't as turbulent as one would expect, but a deep thunderous drone from the spray constantly rang within one's ears.

As a few drops of water fell on his face, Richard grew more and more disturbed by the sight. He noticed a slight discolouration to the water, indicating an unimaginable current underneath. Any creature that dared to traverse this ocean would most certainly die. There wasn't even the slightest hint of life energy from the sea to the sky, making the entire plane look like a cold, indifferent world.

Richard almost lost track of time. All he could see was the depths of the night, an empty space all around him that seemed to separate him from the infinite planes. It was like he was the last life in the world.His heart started beating faster, but then it clenched up.

The bitter chill of a sudden gust finally pulled him back to reality, causing his entire body to tremble with fear. Cold sweat formed on his brow as he realised what had just happened; the magnificent scene had such an impact that burrowed into one's very soul.

Looking around, he noticed that Flowsand, Io, and Nyra weren't doing well either. His other followers were suffering as well, but none of them as much as him. Only Senma and Lina looked completely normal; they had likely experienced this place before. However, Senma's face had a strange expression as she looked at him.

“This ocean is strange,” Richard said with lingering fear, mobilising his boiling Archeron blood to dry the sweat. The impact of the view had been almost too strong, making him lose track of time for a moment. It felt like just those few seconds were a thousand years. If not for his blessing of truth, there would have been a chance for him to lose himself in that feeling.

The biggest danger of losing oneself to a feeling of altered time was that one's soul would age accordingly. The body would be fine, but when the will driving it started to crumble apart there would be nothing he could do.

While the feeling of danger had come and gone quickly for Richard, his followers were still immersed in the shock. However, a cursory glance told him that all of them were still conscious and not dazed.

“Lord Gaton said this sea has some sort of strange power that impacts the souls of the strong,” Senma explained, “The more potential one has in the future, the greater the impact they feel. However, so long as their will is firm the shock will not hurt much. There should be nothing to worry about.”

“It shouldn't hurt? Did Gaton really say that?” Richard asked with a brow raised.

Senma was a little confused by Richard's reaction, but she nodded, “Yes. We even use this place to test the potential of young officers, seeing the extent of the impact here. Anyone who feels the discomfort has potential for development.”

“Does this happen along the entire coast?”

“No, as far as we can tell it is only on the mountains on each end of the Godtear Rift.”

Richard nodded and went silent, staring at the sea and thinking hard. Gaton wasn't the kind to make mistakes, so this place really should pose no problem. However, he could also confirm that the danger of losing himself felt real. The only explanation was a powerful illusion hiding the threat, which explained why even saints wouldn't feel it.

It was like someone standing on a branch stretching out from a cliff. So long as they believed they were still on the cliff, they wouldn't feel any real sense of danger. However, his blessing of truth allowed him to notice that he was on that branch. The moment he saw through, he swayed in fear and this caused the branch to shake as well. From one point of view, the danger only existed because he could feel it.

He still remembered the events that had led to acquiring the blessing of truth in the first place. It hadn't been an option to take, but a mysterious voice had spoken to him and given it because of what he desired. He hadn't understood its words then, but now he knew just what a different perspective meant. Alucia's other blessings, including Wisdom, seemed to be less important than Truth when he had first been given the option to choose. Now, he knew that they represented lesser laws.

Still, he quickly organised his thoughts and nodded quietly, “It's a good place, we should send all the rune knight candidates through here to test them. Anyway, let's go back.”

It was technically possible to cross the mountains to get to the other side of the continent, but unpredictable winds were always blowing through the area. These winds could be weak one moment and unbearably powerful the next, knocking anyone trying to cross into the river valley. Although the black water looked calm, one could not underestimate the dangers that lay within.

The mountain range itself was a few kilometres wide, with natural pits and rock formations everywhere. If one wasn't careful and slipped in the thick snow, death was all but guaranteed. Even mounted knights couldn't resist the wind easily, so this made the dangers all the more prevalent.

One might think it a good idea to gather the entire army together and have them cross in one go, but that had its own sets of dangers. The winds could potentially become strong enough to push thousands off the pass at once, and even legendary powerhouses couldn't easily resist such power while protecting their quarry. Even if one crossed, the terrain on the other side was too complicated for an army to pass without casualties. Overall, upto a third of the army would end up dead before they even got to the other side.

Small parties of elites could still cross over without facing too much danger, but the Resting Orchid plane still had legendary beings to fight off any such squad. One of the two legends was injured, but the other was strong enough to at least rebuff raiding saints. As such, the only way to cross was the central bridge.

739 - City of Sin

Walking In

After paying a visit to the mountain range on the other end of the Godtear Rift, Richard led his followers back to the central bridge. This section of the Godtear Rift suddenly rose up from the depths, levelling out at less than a hundred metres deep. A giant, kilometre-wide bridge had been built here, supporting passage between the north and south.

This was where the most decisive battle had been fought between Gaton and the locals of the plane. The bloodbath had lasted weeks, and despite repeated attempts Gaton's soldiers hadn't managed to break through the wall of flesh and blood. Every inch of this bridge had been stained crimson as the cost, but he had been rebuffed.

Ever since then, both sides had built sturdy fortresses on either end of the bridge. Their fortifications were constantly stretched further and further into the bridge until they were now only a kilometre apart. The central gap was a land of death; an unknown number of soldiers lay here, and the blood didn't run dry even in the heat of summer.

Standing atop the keep, Richard looked towards the other side. One could see an entire half of the enemy fortress clearly from this position, and he had to admit that those defences were solid. Thousands of soldiers had been gathered in the camp behind the gate, and ballistae were everywhere. Please visit 𝒇𝒓𝗲e𝔀𝗲𝚋ｎoѵℯƖ. c𝑜m

The locals were quite smart, shielding the terrace of their own keep with a tall wall. This wall not only served to block his line of sight but also made for a barrier against siege weapons. It wouldn't be easy to launch a frontal attack.

Having seen the defensive layout of both sides, he walked back into the command centre and looked towards the holographic map table that had been set up in the hall. Several mages were adding information to the map right now, making the surrounding areas more and more accurate.

Unlike most magic map devices, this one could be detached from the table itself. This made it extremely valuable as it could be carried along with the army and set up on any random table. Crafted by the same dragon blooded gnome that had crafted Discra's Ire, it wasn't a custom product by any means but it was quite expensive. Only the best generals of Norland could have one or two of these things. Naturally, this was something Richard had bought himself; Gaton had never possessed the wealth to splurge on such things.

As he pondered over the map, Olar walked in and reported that the army's reorganisation had been completed. The elf had been sent here after the first mountains they visited to work on this task. Having served Richard from before he had issued a single command on a battlefield, he knew exactly how to set things up.

Richard nodded and called Senma into the command centre, pointing outside the fortress, “Bring the first and second regiments forward into attack position. Have the light infantry stay right behind, and mobilise all the garrison troops as well. Everyone should be ready for dispatch by dusk tomorrow.”

One of Senma's brows arched up, “We're attacking the city?”

“No, just wait for us to be let in.”

“To be... let in? Why would they do that?”

“Well, if they don't let us in, then we can fight. You'll know when you get there.” Richard reached out and touched a location on the map, adding a tiny bit of mark several troop movements along the bridge. This mobilised two-thirds of their current troops, but even so the attack would be extremely difficult. It wouldn't be impossible to break through, but too many losses would be sustained along the way.

However, Richard ignored her questioning gaze as he picked up his sword case and strapped it behind him, “Alright, let's go to the frontlines and play with them a little.”

Senma followed behind as he headed to the front of the fortress, gathering his followers and a group of local soldiers along the way. A number of soldiers in beautiful armour stirred on the enemy wall, their elites staring at Richard in alarm.

Richard smiled and turned to Tiramisu, “Go check how strong the powerhouses of this plane are.”

Both of the ogre's mouths went wide in a smile, “Don't worry Master, I'll fuck them in the ass!”

“Oi! If you have the time to learn swearing like that, go read some more books!”

“I am reading, Medium Rare only knows to eat!” the Tiramisu head suddenly screamed.

The single-eyed head turned around and glared at its brother, “If I didn't eat, how would we get so big?”

“But Master said to read!”

“You've been reading that book for three months, are you done yet?!”

While the heads were arguing with each other, Tiramisu jumped off the fifteen-metre-tall wall. His landing shook the bridge, and as he dragged a heavy two-handed hammer behind him he took large steps towards the centre of the dead zone.

“MY NAME IS TIRAMISU!” his voice thundered through the enemy fort, “COWARDS OF THIS PLANE, WHO DARES TO COME DOWN AND FIGHT ME?!”

The roars of the ogre echoed endlessly in the valley, causing it to sound like a million men had roared in tandem. His aura flared into visibility, green and red lights floating away from his body as his mana and energy were mobilised. For a moment, all of the local powerhouses felt their hearts quiver.

Tiramisu was the first of Richard's followers to have broken through to the saint realm. At this point, the two-headed ogre was neither a mage nor a warrior but a strange mixture of the two. His power was also unbelievably great, making him capable of decimating both ordinary human saints and grand mages.

Seeing nobody respond, Tiramisu laced his voice with mana, “COWARDS OF THIS PLANE WHO DARES TO FIGHT ME?”

This blatant provocation caused a commotion amongst the enemy troops. The morale immediately started to fall as not one person came forth to take up the challenge. There was a legendary being guarding the fortress, but he couldn't be mobilised easily against a mere saint. There were a total of only two legends on this entire plane, and one of them was currently recuperating from his injuries. The other could not afford to be done in by any dirty tricks.

When the ogre called out for the third time, the enemies finally broke. A burly man jumped off the wall and rushed towards Tiramisu, 2.5 metres tall and the same light green as the rest of this plane's locals. However, he didn't even come up to the chest of the massive ogre.

The man seemed to focus on brute strength, but he showed surprising agility in covering the distance in only a few steps. However, Tiramisu laughed at the greatsword in his hands and took a few steps back to make room.

Entering his sword stance and mobilising all his internal energy, the man looked up at Tiramisu with a fierce expression on his face, “I am the—”

“Don't waste my time!” Tiramisu waved him off, “You can tell me who you are if you're not dead after this.”

The warrior's face twisted with rage and he roared, his huge sword stabbing straight towards Tiramisu's belly. The ogre just smiled, not doing anything as a cyan glow lit up on his armour in defence. The man, who was surprised by the slowness of his opponent, saw his sword tip just bend away with a screech, his stab blocked halfway through as the blade turned around completely.

The defence of this armour was unimaginable! Even the royal armour couldn't match up! The burly man was surprised. In all their previous fights, even the enemy generals hadn't possessed armour worthy of their level. Now, this ogre's armour was approaching the legendary realm in power!

The surprises didn't end there. Green sparks flashed across Tiramisu's body as he suddenly sped up, a chilling whistle ringing through the air as his giant hammer instantly crashed down on his opponent. The warrior was horrified, barely bringing up his marred blade to block.

As hammer and sword intersected, there were no bright sparks. Only a thunderous roar rang out as the man was slammed to the ground, his knees crumpling instantly. His arms still held onto the giant sword, but the arc of the blade grew even more pronounced. The enchantments on it glowed as they were completely destroyed.

Tiramisu laughed loudly, his hand almost flashing out of sight as he raised his hammer once more. A powerful smack sent both man and sword flying dozens of metres away, only to fall on the floor like a broken doll.

Within just two strikes, this local saint had been killed.

740 - City of Sin

Walking In(2)

Tiramisu smiled sheepishly on the battlefield, but nobody thought those two grinning faces were cute or lovely. Just how much power did a hammer need to have to kill a saint in two blows? And this monster was so fast on top of its insane strength; even someone known for his agility had no way to dodge!

Blinding speed with crushing strength. It was a simple combination, but extremely deadly as well. Tiramisu needed no exquisite techniques, no hidden tricks; so long as his attacks hit true, he was invincible.

“Alright, come back,” Richard said from atop the fortress walls. Nobody would dare to fight the ogre anymore, so his purpose had been served. The soldiers didn't even remember to cheer when Tiramisu walked back in through the city walls; the battle had just been far too shocking.

A small team of sentries rushed out from the other end, carrying the saint's battered body and sword back into their fortress. Richard noticed their arrival, but he made no commands to stop them. The enemy had died in a proper duel, so he could have his dignity in death.

As Richard walked back to his room and the locals to theirs, the morale of both sides were completely imbalanced. The soldiers in this base were all fired up and murderous, but the enemies were now cowering as they strengthened their defences even further.

Almost all of the army was organised by dusk, with the fortress being guarded by Senma's most trusted subordinates. Nobody was allowed to enter or leave as Richard's elites and the other soldiers gathered at a nearby camp. Under the cover of the night, the astral chrysalis slowly stretched and flattened out. Having been enhanced with ten more image diamonds just the day prior, it could now accommodate more than two dozen passengers in this state.

Richard's party was the first to get on, followed by a dozen or so rune knights. Once they hoisted a reel of thick rope onto the creature's back, it slowly floated into the air. The mouth that was normally hidden opened up to hundreds of tentacles that grabbed the rune knights' mounts, and it took off for the other side of the chasm.

The astral chrysalis had no eyes nor ears, and its pitch black skin was hard and smooth. It wasn't particularly fast, but it was stable and silent. Like a magic ship that could float through the air, it quickly crossed the ten kilometres of distance and dropped off its quarry on the other end of the rift. After regurgitating some supplies, it went off to gather more rune knights and shadowspear knights while those present worked to set up a temporary camp.

By the next dawn, every rune knight and shadowspear knight was across the rift. The hidden camp was in a flurry of silent activity as everyone prepared for Senma's troops to start marching the next day. A giant scorpion would be mobilised at the stroke of dawn, and the march would start in the afternoon.

The locals had a mysterious way of communicating in their dreams that made it impossible to keep any large-scale movements secret for more than a night. Although they knew about this method, there was no way to actually stop it since it wasn't strictly magic. It wasn't an option to just use Norland soldiers either; with transmission costs being so high, there was no way to run an army sourced entirely from the outside. Please visit 𝒇𝚛𝙚𝙚𝘸𝙚𝗯𝓃𝗼ѵ𝚎𝘭. c𝑜𝘮

However, with Richard's soldiers blocking anyone from looking outside the fortress, his elite unit could move through undetected. By the time the war began, it would be too late. In fact, Senma's mobilisation would be caught much earlier, which would pull even more soldiers to the frontlines to expose their rear.

......

Richard opened his eyes from meditation at the stroke of midnight, as though a precise magic clock had been installed in his mind. He walked out of his tent and awakened his followers and knights who were still resting, having the group set off through the snowy darkness.

The night was almost pitch black and the snow extremely thick, forming traps that could kill any mortal with ease. However, the weakest soldier in Richard's army was level 14; even if someone fell, they could survive until their comrades picked them up.

The unicorn demonstrated its prowess once more. It raced across the snow as if it was no different from grass, and the path it took immediately turned into hard ice. This gave the following soldiers a steady path to walk on that was mostly safe. Elite snow owls were scouting ahead, creatures from the barbarian plains that the broodmother had used to replace the weaker bats.

The army quietly wrapped around the rear of the enemy fortress, approaching a luxurious palace about a dozen kilometres behind the bridge. The palace was surrounded by mountains with streams running down them, and even in the winter snow one could see the beauty of the land.

This palace that held barely any defences or guards was Richard's goal, because in it lived the plane's last healthy legend. Ten kilometres away, Richard ordered all his knights to fan out in assault formation as he sent the two snow owls forward to scout.

As the two owls slowly made their way forward in the night sky, the master bedroom of the palace suddenly lit up as the door to the balcony was suddenly slammed open. A muscular man who was more than three metres tall walked out, his bald head filled with mysterious purple patterns that softly glowed in the night. His beard was split into dozens of tiny braids, each held together by azure beads that clanked together as he moved.

The man's deep purple irises were in the strange shape of a cross, glinting as they locked onto the two snow owls hovering in the sky. A sneer appeared on the corners of his mouth.

A few kilometres away, Richard immediately ordered the two snow owls to fly upwards. However, the middle-aged man was far too quick; he quickly reached out and picked two stones up from the railing, wrapping them in purple flames before launching them forward. The small stones were like meteors as they pierced through the owls, forming a bright purple explosion in the sky. His gaze immediately locked in Richard's direction, a malicious smile forming on his face as he muttered to himself, “A group of mice... Let's go play with them.”

The middle-aged man's body was covered in purple flames as he jumped off the balcony, flying in Richard's direction like a dragon hunting its prey. The whistle of the explosion rang for dozens of kilometres in each direction, causing a nearby camp to grow lively as a hundred elite soldiers rushed out of the barracks and followed the purple trajectory in the air.

Not long later, the fortress in the distance rang its own alarm and soldiers started to fly around there as well. There were a number of saints in this fort, but with the looming threat of Senma only a scant few flew to join the impending battle in the back.

Richard immediately sent out a mental order for his soldiers to stop, having them separate into a number of small teams in a scattered formation. The purple dragon was flying in quickly, but none of his men made a move to take to the skies. They just stared at the majestic middle-aged man as he approached, taking in the sight of the pillar of the north and of the entire Resting Orchid Plane.

Seeing the group of knights behind Richard, the man's eyes narrowed, “Ooh, so many soldiers. Tell me, how did you get them all across? I might just consider sparing your lives.”

Richard mentally gave an order, and an elite shadowspear knight a few dozen metres away shouted loudly, “Sparing our lives? Stardragon, why aren't you running yet?”

Stardragon's face immediately warped with rage, killing intent overflowing from his body. He was the absolute ruler of the Resting Orchid Plane, who would dare speak to him like this? He didn't so much as say a word, waving his hand to form a purple mass of energy that streaked towards the one who had spoken. This orb was only the size of a fist, but it was terrifyingly condensed and surprisingly fast. Before one could even blink, it landed right on the drone's body.

Waves of purple flame spread silently across the ground for ten metres before starting to dissipate, first turning red before fading away into black smoke.

741 - City of Sin

Fighting A Legend

As the purple flames finally flickered away, the only remains of the shadowspear knight were what looked like a bunch of vaguely humanoid wax. A bunch of the knights nearby had been thrown to the ground, but only two or three had suffered any serious injuries. By the time they struggled back up, Nyra had healed most of them to their optimal state.

Stardragon's face contorted with surprise. His strike had been meant to destroy the entire squad, but there was only one casualty in the end while most of those remaining were perfectly fine. He had only seen this sort of defensive strength on one kind of soldier before, those the enemies called rune knights.

Richard sighed with relief, waving the Twin of Destiny to summon a bolt of lightning from the sky. Stardragon's eyes widened in surprise as the impact hurt far more than he expected, but he still shrugged off the spell without issue. His brows wrinkled as he turned towards Richard, preparing to flash over and kill the enemy commander.

However, a loud roar suddenly shook the sky. Kaloh's enormous body rushed through a newly formed portal, and the red dragon immediately shot a breath attack in Stardragon's direction.

“The Dragon Mage!” Stardragon shouted in annoyance; this was evidently not the first time he had dealt with Lina. Kaloh was only level 19, but the dragon was a pain to deal with when backed by a grand mage.

As Stardragon flashed out of range of the dragon breath, he suddenly felt his movements slowing down. Richard, Demi, Lina, and Zendrall had constantly bombarded him with Stall spells until one finally succeeded. Kaloh simultaneously surged with added power, swooping down on him like a bird of prey.

Man and dragon struggled in the air, equally matched for a period of time. Stardragon constantly dodged Kaloh's claws and teeth, waiting for the effects on him to end, but just as he assumed he was alright Lina finished her second grade 9 spell. Dozens of javelins were lit aflame with draconic fire as the rune knights launched them towards Stardragon at full force. His heart almost stopped beating for a moment as he saw the shadow of death looming over him; every javelin had the strength of a saint's full-power strike, and they had all been enhanced by draconic flames!

The javelins formed beautiful arcs in the air as they shot towards their target. No longer arrogant, Stardragon shook off the curse and started to flee, but the javelins curved their paths as they remained locked onto him. He screamed with rage, zipping through the sky in a big arc in a bid to exhaust the energy driving their tracking functions.

However, it was at this point that a number of arcane and divine spells flashed out from the battlefield below. His purple aura flickered as he was hit by a a barrage of attacks. Richard suddenly waved the Twin of Destiny once more, bringing a thick bolt of blood lightning down from the sky. This lightning had been boosted to grade 9 and further augmented by his abyssal flames, and when it crashed down it ripped right through Stardragon's aura and tore into his back. Stardragon roared with pain, and the moment of stagnation was enough for the javelins behind to catch up!

Face pale, Richard put his staff back down and stared at the enemy who was almost buried by the spears. Even a legendary powerhouse in the style of Klandor's totem warriors wouldn't find it easy to shrug off a lightning bolt of that calibre that had been boosted by Sacrifice. Just that single blow was enough to dissipate half of Stardragon's aura.

A deafening roar thundered through the battlefield as purple flames exploded from Stardragon's location, blowing away most of the javelins that had almost struck him. Still, about ten javelins that had been at the back managed to pierce through this improvised defence and left him leaking blood. The draconic flames instantly burnt up his clothes, and half of his braided beard was ripped apart as well. His protective aura was flickering in and out of existence, clearly about to collapse.

Starting to breathe roughly, Stardragon suddenly widened his eyes in surprise as the remaining half of the rune knights took out their own javelins. This time it wasn't Lina enchanting the attack, but Flowsand's Metal Storm. The new batch didn't have the power of the draconic flames, but it flew much faster and threatened to pierce right through!

Kaloh roared out once more, launching another breath attack before diving down on the enemy. Countless spells were launched from underneath, almost drowning Stardragon in resplendent light. However, in the middle of all this, his eyes widened at the sight of a grey orb of energy floating towards him. He immediately chose to flash a hundred metres away, bearing the brunt of some of these attacks just to escape. Most of the spells and all the javelins continued to follow.

Down below, Nyra tutted in annoyance. The grey orb of light wasn't specifically eye-catching, but its time-warping power was so great that any decent powerhouse would notice it. It was easy to avoid, but if it struck, the disruption to space nearby would immediately restrict one's ability to act.

Stardragon smashed away several of the incoming javelins, restricting the injuries he sustained, but now he wouldn't dare approach Richard's party. Only a minute had passed since the battle began, but his heart chilled at the sight of the enemies standing firm while he was bleeding all over. Never in his wildest dreams had he imagined the enemy would amass so many of their rune knights.

It was at this point that the earth began to tremble, the hundred warriors summoned by Stardragon finally entering the battlefield. The saints from the fortress were on their way as well. Every one of these soldiers approached three metres in height, towering over both the rune knights and the shadowspear knights; in that respect, they were quite akin to the barbarians of Klandor. Their skin was thicker and warmer than normal as well, evidenced by just how little they wore despite the freezing cold.

These warriors maintained thick beards and long, braided hair, carrying heavy weapons like greatswords, battleaxes, and two-handed hammers. Not one of them had a shield, but their murderous aura made it obvious that it wasn't a problem in battle. The most striking of all were the strange patterns of various colours snaking all over their bodies. Some were of all manners of beasts, but the others made no sense.

Richard recalled what Senma had told him about the local warriors of the plane. Their characteristics were quite similar to barbarians, born tall, strong, and unafraid of the cold. They were said to have the bloodline of the ancient frost giants, with each warrior carrying the totems of their clans to obtain extra power. They were to this plane what rune knights were to Norland, except not as extreme. Most were between level 12 and 15, with their totemic activations giving them one additional level of power. Stardragon was the only one on the plane capable of commanding a platoon of an entire hundred.

Stardragon started circling around the rune knights, maintaining great distance as his subordinates rushed in. However, Richard just sneered and sent a mental command to the shadowspear knights who hadn't yet moved. These elites were about equal in level, but even in a ten-to-ten fight, the shadowspears had a clear advantage because of their coordination. Now Richard's troops outnumbered the enemy three to one, the only outcome of this collision would be a harvest of lives!

Stardragon's expression was calm at first, but then his eyes bulged in shock as his soldiers were slaughtered one after the other. Despite his caution, he had never assumed that even the regular knights of this new army would outpower his absolute elites!

742 - City of Sin

Heart Attack

One of the totemic warriors rushed straight up to Richard, screaming loudly as he raised his battleaxe to attack. However, Richard took a single step forward and performed a backhand slice with Carnage before stepping back to his original position. The man tried to bring down the axe, but found it becoming heavier and heavier.

Eventually, the axe fell to the ground with its blade getting buried within the earth. A thin red gash split open on the warrior's throat before bursting into a fountain of blood. A gargling squeal rang out as the man tried to cover the wound with his hands, but eventually he fell to the ground with a muffled thud. The braids fell across Richard's boots.

Richard didn't even take a second look at the warrior, just raising his hand to wipe a few drops of blood off his face as he continued to send hundreds of commands on the battlefield. The shadowspear knights were an absolute machine of war, systematically taking the lives of the local warriors.

In only a few minutes, the war had come to an end. The 300 shadowspear knights had killed the totemic warriors with less than ten casualties, with the rune knights not moving at all. Stardragon froze in shock; he had never imagined that his men would be ended so quickly. However, the cold wind blowing on his face reminded him that he wasn't stuck in an illusion.

Just as Norland used rune knights to suppress saints, the Resting Orchid Plane used its totemic warriors. When Gaton's rune knights had first tried crossing the Godtear Rift, it was these warriors that had stopped their advance. At the cost of a dozen soldiers, one could even kill off one of the Norland saints. This was why Stardragon hadn't been too afraid of the invaders before.

However, the situation was now completely different. The elite forces had just been killed, and the saints from the fortress who had come to reinforce only saw their army picked clean. Even worse, they didn't realise as they entered the range of Richard's rune knights.

Fifty rune knights picked up another set of javelins, coating the spears in energy as they shot them through the air. Every saint had at least ten spears rushing towards him, and before they could even flee countless spells crashed down from everywhere. Three of the four saints plummetted instantly.

Stardragon roared in horror, rushing to join the fray as purple flames batted away at least thirty of the javelins and all spells within a thirty-metre radius. However, this gave Kaloh the opening to finally land a breath attack, wrapping him up in crimson flames. The other half whose focus had been consistently on him moved as well, sending fifty more javelins his way.

The javelins were beautiful as ever, the differently coloured energies guiding them making for a beautiful image of birds flying through the sky. Stardragon roared thunderously, purple flames blazing as his aura blasted out with renewed power, but there were far too many spears and some of them struck true. By this time, the other batch of rune knights had already drawn out their next javelins!

However, even more dangerous than the javelins was the constant barrage of spells and curses. Stardragon felt his heart clench in alarm for a moment, causing him to look down on the battlefield to meet a pair of amber eyes. A gaze as clear as crystal had locked onto him, almost seeming capable of seeing through spacetime itself.

All rationality told him that this was only a level 16 priestess, someone he didn't need to worry about at all. There were even two others just like her that didn't seem remotely as dangerous. However, Stardragon didn't think twice as he grabbed the two closest saints, turning into a meteor of purple as he shot away. Dozens of shining javelins followed behind, like wolves chasing their prey.

Flowsand sighed and shook her head. She hadn't expected this enemy to be so perceptive as to realise the moment she started to cast the Lens of Time. Although the spell had a high chance of failing when cast on a legendary opponent, success would have given them the chance to kill him outright.

Still, the battle was a great success. Stardragon only managed to save two saints at the cost of serious injuries, and was forced to escape and leave the fortress to now fend for itself. The two others screamed in pain as volleys of javelins and spells crashed into them, leaving them with not even a corpse. One had managed to kill off a rune knight, but his eyes widened in despair as Nyra revived the dead knight right before the barrage got to him.

Richard was in no hurry to march on the bridge fortress, instead taking over the palace that Stardragon had left behind. There was no resistance; the maids and servants walked out silently, awaiting their fates. The totemic warrior camp was a bit more trouble. Each totemic warrior had three or four servants at minimum, and every one of these was either a powerful warrior in their own right or a totemic warrior in training. They had no lack of courage, and were willing to fight to the death for their cause.

However, there was only one end in the face of the shadowspear knights. These drones had no feelings, no fear, and no respect for their enemies. There were only two types of creatures to them; alive and dead.

Once the palace was looted, Richard had his subordinates pile up firewood and set the entire structure aflame. The fire was particularly dazzling in the depths of the night, and he could already imagine the shock of seeing the residence of one's leader being desecrated in such a way. Regardless of whether those at the fort assumed Stardragon was dead or had run away, morale would instantly plummet.

There were currently 40,000 soldiers guarding in and around the fortress, with an equal number accessible within a hundred-kilometre range. It would be quite expensive to kill them all to march through, so Richard had decided to instead strike at the spiritual backbone of the locals. He had underestimated Stardragon's strength a little, but the same went the other way around as well. The overwhelming force never left the legendary powerhouse with a chance to use his ability, making the fight seem far more one-sided than it was.

Now that there was no need to keep things secret, Richard had four snow owls fly high into the sky and scout nearby. While his subordinates built a few bonfires to warm themselves up and rest, he got an idea of the terrain ahead and mapped a route for them to take. A short while later, the army set off for the bridge fortress.

This stronghold, all the way from its inception, had been built to guard the northern side of the continent from the encroaching invaders in the south. The generals who were in charge had never assumed the rear defences would be a problem either; if it came to it, Stardragon's presence was the greatest protection of all. Nobody had expected Richard to transfer a sizeable force across the Godtear Rift and then crush the pillar of their defence.

When they arrived at the rear of the stronghold, Richard just sighed. The gate here was in the traditional style of the Resting Orchid Plane, covered in a large engraving of a fierce snowbear, but at ten metres tall and eight metres wide it was just far too big. There were no battlements along the walls, and two smaller arches had been placed on each side of the gate for pedestrians to walk through.

The fortress was brightly lit, and one could hear the flustered soldiers running back and forth as hysterical voices constantly barked out orders. Soldiers had lined up on top of the walls, watching Richard's knights in silence. Those who had already gathered were veterans with years of experience, and would always calm down when war was imminent.

Panic was inevitable. Richard's forces had appeared out of nowhere and there was now a fire burning where Stardragon's palace used to be. The ferocity of the invading demons had long since been written into legend here, so even the bravest of warriors would feel uneasiness in their hearts.

Richard slowly urged his unicorn forward, catching up to Tiramisu, “Tell them that their legend fled and two saints were killed. This will be their only chance to surrender.” Please visit f𝙧ee𝙬ℯ𝐛𝓃𝐨𝚟𝒆𝘭. c𝒐𝓂

“Yes, Master.” Tiramisu had an unparalleled advantage in volume. His large body and two heads already made him impossibly loud, and once amplified by magic a thunderous roar immediately enveloped the fortress. The younger soldiers were left quivering in their boots.

743 - City of Sin

Capturing The City

For the soldiers in this stronghold, surrender was not an option. Losing here would mean the loss of the entire plane, a cost they could not afford to pay. Even if Stardragon had been defeated, many were willing to believe that their advantage in numbers would definitely work in their favour. Surely, tens of thousands of men could defend against the attack of a few hundred. A loud bang sounded from the city walls as a ballista was aimed towards Richard and fired. The bolt that sparkled with magic was the locals' reply.

However, Tiramisu just swung his hammer and knocked the bolt away. Richard just shook his head in place; the defences at this end were definitely lacking. There were only two ballistae here, and neither one was particularly powerful either; even mundane ballistae in Norland would launch their bolts much faster. That being said, he understood their plight; constructing and maintaining ballistae cost exorbitant sums of money, and with the fertile south blocked off many of the locals were finding it difficult to even eat.

“Alright then,” Richard pointed forward, “Attack.”

The first wave of attacks came from thirty rune knights. They approached within a hundred metres of the rear gate, starting to glow brightly with their runes and other buffs as they withdrew their javelins and hurled them straight at the wall. The javelins drew a splendid arc through the air, quickly covering the distance and ramming into the stone.

The enemy soldiers felt like they had seen Death itself, eyes going wide and mouths agape even as the rest of their bodies completely froze in place. Few could even move a muscle, the rest so paralysed by fear that they just watched as the spears impacted the wall.

*BOOM!* Stones broke apart everywhere, destroying the battlements and setting the wooden parts of the structure aflame. The furthest rocks even fell onto nearby buildings and crushed them, while the rest fell down on the soldiers waiting behind. Those who could jumped high into the sky to avoid the debris, completely helpless in the face of such a powerful attack.

Richard drew Carnage and pointed its blade forward, signalling the charge. Before the smoke from the explosion even dissipated, shadowspear knights were rushing through the rubble to tear through the chaos below. Several even dismounted and rushed up the surviving parts of the wall, clearing out the enemies that had escaped. In the meanwhile, the rune knights charged through the gate in formation to assault the barracks behind.

Richard followed on one of the flanks. He seemed to be extremely relaxed in his motions, almost walking, but he still managed to keep pace with the mounted charge. He seemed like nothing compared to the armoured knights who were glowing from head to toe, but he was the most powerful fighter on this battlefield. Kaloh had already run out of energy, and Lina was busy restoring her mana with her gaze subconsciously fixated on him.

An unsuspecting local soldier charged over to what he thought was an unarmoured infantryman. This warrior was overflowing with killing intent, and was clearly the kind who liked to finish off the weaker opponents first. Richard barely even slowed down, seemingly unaware of the threat until they were an arm's width apart. The man smiled at the sure kill, but just as he started to laugh his expression froze. The attack never went through; while Richard continued to move forward, a small slit opened up on his breastplate and started leaking blood.

Before the first one could even fall down, another younger soldier rushed forward in ambush. This one was screaming as he brandished his sword wildly, obviously frightened for his life, and before his blade could even move past his torso his movements halted completely. He slumped to the ground, blood pouring out of his throat.

Richard's followers had subconsciously moved closer to him just in case something happened, Waterflower especially tagging right behind. He was their leader, core, and spiritual support; while they didn't think he would be killed on this battlefield, they didn't want even the slightest of harm to come to him. Although they knew he had been in a battlefield of despair for an entire year, they still thought of him as someone who hadn't yet broken through to the level of a grand mage.

However, as he continued to press forward with the rune knights and protect their flank, the followers' eyes widened as Carnage continued to slash out at every enemy he came across. Almost a dozen soldiers had now fallen under his blade, but not one had needed a second attack. The dagger was blurring even to their eyes as he slashed out, the thrusts and slashes simple yet incredibly efficient. On top of that, he wasted almost no energy while moving; his body only tensed the moment before attack.

This was true massacre, where every movement was designed to harvest lives. There was no hesitation nor compromise, no delay on the edge of life and death. The followers felt a chill creeping up their spines and into the back of their heads as they understood just how formidable he had become. However, another question started burning in their minds: why was he only a great mage still?

Richard wasn't even completely focused on his personal battles, instead monitoring the overall situation through his snow owls and constantly sending commands to the shadowspear knights and his followers. Even subconsciously he could identify hundreds of weak points on every soldier that charged at him, so that didn't pose any threat at all. Did they not realise that shouting didn't grow one's strength? No Daxdian had ever been scared away by a scream. Facing such weaklings, just his instincts alone guaranteed a kill with every strike.

Now that the rune knights were drilling through the locals like they were soft cheese, Richard was vigilant of the true powerhouses showing themselves. The rune knights were making far too much progress, and the saints wouldn't be able to hide away much longer. Just as he'd expected, a saint rushed out of the keep and charged along the outer walls of the fortress. She didn't head directly at the vanguard of rune knights, instead heading to the back to target the shadowspears first. Richard didn't know whether her idea was to cut off the backlines or she just didn't dare to rush into the glowing mass of a hundred rune knights single-handedly, but he laughed nevertheless. She had chosen the wrong opponents.

The burly yet pretty woman rushed down the rear walls at a breakneck pace, pulling out a steel trident with jagged teeth as she flashed behind one of the shadowspears and impaled him onto the city wall. However, thirty-seven gazes immediately fixated on her as every knight still on the wall jumped to engage. Even as a saint, she couldn't suppress a shiver.

A shiver that only intensified as the knight whose chest was pierced slowly turned around and gripped the trident. The grip was like an iron vice, possessing immensurate strength for a dying man. She lifted her trident to shake him off, but the enemy held on despite the damage it would do. At the cost of a life, she was stopped until the other shadowspears finished their encirclement!

Ferocious and nervous roars filled the night sky, quickly turning into cries of suffering before an anguished scream was cut off partway.

“Goodbye,” Richard whispered to himself, a strange habit he had picked up in the Land of Dusk. He now wished farewell to every decently powerful enemy, afraid that not doing so would rip apart the last shreds of his humanity and turn him into a mindless killer.

A bright flash suddenly lit up the city wall, consuming several of the shadowspear knights within. Seven connections winked out in Richard's mindscape, but the saint was finally dead. At the cost of burning the last dregs of her energy, she had brought down more enemies than she had over the rest of the battle.𝘧𝑟𝙚eｗ𝑒𝒃n𝒐𝘷𝑒𝚕. c૦𝙢

744 - City of Sin

Massacre

To Richard, losing eleven drones for the death of an enemy saint was perfectly fine. Saints were near the top of the pyramid even in Norland, and in this plane with only two legendary beings they were all the more important. Taking one out for the equivalent of a few days of work from the broodmother was a great exchange.

Richard barely had the time to pity the fate of the first saint before a second one attracted his attention. However, this one's luck wasn't any better; he was faced with Tiramisu the moment he revealed himself. With War Construct, Mana Armament, and his own boundless strength, the two-headed ogre almost crushed him with a single strike.

As someone who specialised in brute force himself, this saint barely managed to block Tiramisu's full-force attack. However, there was no time to feel pride or happiness at the fact; three blades pierced right into his back as he was occupied, causing him to roar in pain as his life force faded away. The teamplay between Phaser, Waterflower, and Zangru was evidently still weak; even just one of them would have been able to reap this enemy's life.

Once they were a decent way into the fortress, Richard had his rune knights split up into squads of ten, each led by a shadowspear of their own. The 110 mounted fighters bored through the enemies while the remaining shadowspears protected the rear, clearing out large swathes of enemies and leaving only bloodied corpses in their wake. Richard himself continued to protect the flank.

His goal was the inner front wall of the city. Once he reached that vantage point, he would have divided the local forces into two parts; the camp on the bridge itself and the others outside. Senma would then mobilise her own soldiers, pincering into the trapped army. A total nine of the city's fifteen ballistae were on that wall as well, which meant acquiring it greatly reduced the ranged damage these locals could deal.

“They're heading for the Unpassable Wall, stop them!” someone screamed in the darkness.

The Unpassable Wall was the towering wall that had first stopped Gaton's charge. Numerous corpses of both Norlanders and the locals were buried at the foot of this large wall, and it had been fortified numerous times over the years. It was a sort of spiritual support for the locals, and sundering it would destroy morale.

Of course, Richard just wanted to succeed where Gaton had failed. He advanced silently, sending out hundreds of mental orders every minute as his troop turned into one giant body that ripped through the streets to its target. His blessing of wisdom was being used to its utmost, even his second mind being put in charge of commanding some of the soldiers. Waterflower, Phaser and Zangru were constantly being pointed out the locations of the enemy saints.

A bird's eye view would show that the formation was constantly shifting according to the terrain, each knight dismembering enemies in one minute before switching to support someone else the next. The changes grew faster and faster as the charge picked up pace, the efficiency of the murders growing with every passing minute.

To Richard, this was a way to show his subordinates and followers just how determined he was. He himself moved alongside the main charge, cutting down anyone that dared approach in no more than a single strike. He looked extremely inconspicuous at first, but as his own kill count increased the enemies realised just how powerful he was.

Yet another soldier dashed towards Richard, but despite his ordinary-looking armour he caught Richard's eye. Immediately growing conscious of the coming engagement, he turned a little solemn as a lightning-quick slash struck out at the enemy. Although it wasn't strong enough to cause instant death, it would strip this soldier of any strength to battle.

*Clang!* One of Richard's brows rose up as his attack was deflected for the first time, his eyes starting to glow dimly to analyse this newcomer. This ordinary-looking soldier was a saint!

Yet, the saint's shock was far greater than Richard's. Although he was only using a regular sword, this one strike had forced his blade back almost into his breastplate. The slash seemed quite relaxed, but it was unbelievably fast and powerful.

His brow immediately started leaking cold sweat. Only standing before Richard would one realise just how much power lay behind those simple thrusts. He now understood why so many veterans had fallen to this unarmoured dagger-wielder; every movement was extremely intoxicating and irregular, forcing those who relied on their instincts into a dead end.

For the first time since the charge began, Richard halted his footsteps. This one slash would have been strong enough to kill a skaven in the Land of Dusk, and any saint without a boost to their power like the innate strength of the Daxdians or the runes of the Norlanders would end up dying as well. However, this enemy was neither; while the Resting Orchid Plane had totemic warriors, that didn't pose much of a threat at all.

This was no ordinary enemy, even for a saint, but Richard did not plan to waste any time. Light glowed from his eyes as Carnage's sword form was attached to its dagger body, crimson light overflowing from the blade as it moved forward in a slash. The menacing sword seemed extremely slow and lazy, but it left afterimages behind as it moved forward. One would be forgiven for thinking it was just an illusion.

One would also be dead. The saint raised his sword to try and parry once more, but even though his blade made it in front of his chest it was of no use. A clear crack rang out as Carnage broke the sword in two, thrusting into the man's breastplate and out from his back. A loud explosion rang out as the man's back exploded into a bloody mist, torn organs and broken bones flying out from a gaping hole in the back.

Richard withdrew his blade, face pale from the exertion. This attack had only attained such power because all four Lifesbane runes had powered it, the tenfold increase in his strength making way for unimaginable destructive power, but he still couldn't brush off the sheer energy drain.

Although the saint had been killed in an instant, he still tutted in annoyance. His blade had made a small incision in the front and blasted a hole in the back, but Beye would be able to turn the insides of this enemy to mush without the tiniest of blood leaks. His skills were still far too crude.

While Richard was disappointed in himself, everyone around him was completely dumbstruck. The locals were stricken by terror, and even his own followers shivered at his sheer might. Many of them were thinking of one single question; would they have been able to deflect this blade?

After panting for a while, Richard continued to lead his followers towards the Unpassable Wall. He no longer concealed his strength, moving from enemy to enemy as he killed all comers in a single slash. Sometimes he even rushed into the middle of a group, becoming a whirlwind of steel that sent limbs flying out in all directions.

With most of these people witnessing the absolute destructive power of Lifesbane for the first time, the battlefield seemed to grind to a halt.

745 - City of Sin

A Glowing Light

To Richard, the Unpassable Wall was a name he had only heard of a few days ago, a mere token in his memory. He didn't care about its history; to him, the past was to be thrown in the trash. However, as his eyes fell upon the sturdy stone wall and the warriors guarding below, the pressure on him started to mount.

This wasn't just a wall; it was also the holy sanctuary of the natives that their warriors would protect with flesh and blood. The rune knights actually slowed down their charge despite their unshakeable will; the number of enemies they needed to kill for every single inch advanced was starting to grow larger and larger.

The guardians of this wall were now running out like madmen, roaring with contorted faces as they rushed at the attackers. These soldiers had long since forgotten even the basics of combat, and they didn't even bother to protect themselves. All their blood-laced eyes could see was the charging enemies, and their hearts beat solely to thrust their weapons into these demons.

Even in death these locals weren't easy to deal with. They clung to the rune knights' blades with rigid hands, forcing them to waste precious time throwing the corpses away. The knights brandished their weapons with all their might, but their movements grew more and more sluggish as the sea of bodies continued to flow in.

Slowly, but surely, their wounds began to grow.

Richard was starting to pant, hot blood rolling down his face. Most was from enemies he had slain, but he had reached a point where he was now bleeding himself. Carnage would never be soaked with blood, but it grew heavier in his hands with each passing moment. His training in the Land of Dusk had taught him to take out small groups of powerful enemies, not an endless horde of suicidal maniacs.

All around them were the bodies of enemies and discarded weapons. The shadowspear knights continued to fight tirelessly, not lacking energy at all, but the rune knights were starting to flag. They had no lack of energy— he had made sure to conserve their strength for this charge— but their morale was plummeting. For most of them, it was their first time on the other end of a mass of lunatics.

It wasn't just the rune knights; his own followers were starting to wane as well. They were hesitating to kill these local soldiers, and each moment of hesitation before a kill was stacking up into a delay that he could feel.

*Pop!* Richard pulled the dagger-form back out of Carnage, wielding the shorter blade in his left hand and the now one-handed shortsword in his right. Both blades danced wildly like petals floating in the sky, cutting apart seven enemy soldiers nearby to reduce the pressure on his followers. However, even more ran in to fill the gap, not even caring for their own dead comrades as they stampeded across the corpses.

Richard's eyes furrowed; he could handle this, but the reduced morale was starting to become a real issue.
𝑓𝙧𝚎𝑒𝔀𝙚𝑏𝑛𝑜vel. c૦m

“AAAAH!” A rune knight suddenly screamed in anguish as he was dragged off his horse, pulled away from his squad while sustaining multiple attacks. His steed was cut apart limb from limb, and despite his best efforts the knight couldn't resist the pile of bodies that were trying to cut into him. Those who couldn't use weapons were even trying to get to him with their nails and teeth!

Terrifying wails resounded through the battlefield.

Richard's brows furrowed and he issued a silent command to Zangru, who approached from the darkness and stealthily tossed a javelin into the pile of bodies on the rune knight. The javelin pierced through multiple enemies before burying itself into the man's chest, the power within shredding all his organs apart. Still, his screams lasted several more moments before the voice died down; one could only imagine the sheer agony before his death.

Richard sensed the rune knights slowing down further. The Unpassable Wall was still before them, flickering in and out of view with the flames of the night. It seemed extremely far away, almost unreachable. He finally felt a real sense of danger; if this carried on, he would have to pay a tremendous cost to break down that wall.

However, he was already pushing his limits at command, sending an order to every squad every few seconds. His godlike control of the battlefield would not materialise if his men were starting to doubt him or themselves. He had already grown numb to the icy battlefield in the Land of Dusk, but his followers hadn't yet reached that level of detachment.

'What would that man do?' He had asked himself this question innumerable times by now, but this time a volcanic silhouette flashed across his mind. Silhouette...

Richard suddenly felt his blood surging. He immediately took out the Book of Holding and extracted all of the spells he had stored within, not launching them but instead absorbing the mana to fuel his Mana Armament. Both blades started glowing crimson once more, and every spell and strike was boosted by the power of his truename. Dizmason and Schloan activated in tandem, one boosting his power and the other his recovery.

And then, he activated his final trump card.

*BOOM!* A loud explosion rocked the field as he launched a fireball up close, using the momentary limelight to cast an illumination spell right above his own body. He was covered from head to toe in shining light, and as he issued a series of commands to his followers and soldiers they regrouped into a mesmerising drill formation.

He then walked forwards, placing himself at the very tip.

Before anyone could react, Richard had already buffed himself with extra speed and dexterity, adding multiple barriers against all kinds of attacks. Finally, he activated a bloodline ability he hadn't used in the longest time— Eruption. Both blades of Carnage were raised high into the air and pointed towards the Unpassable Wall, “FOLLOW ME!”

Only when Richard rushed right into the enemy horde did the rest of his followers react. Tiramisu roared, his voice travelling tens of kilometres as he drummed on his own chest. His eyes turned crimson as he crouched down for a moment, the same crimson sparking around the rest of his body as he charged forward into the enemy soldiers. Eight people were sent flying with one strike, and a follow-up kick crushed another three to the ground. Yet, he wasn't the fastest to react. Gangdor didn't roar, didn't even shout his catchphrase. The brute just rushed into the enemy soldiers and started killing them silently, blood flying with every swing of his axe.

And Gangdor wasn't the fastest either. Phaser had disappeared, Waterflower had disappeared, Zangru had disappeared. All three assassins had melded into the darkness in an instant, cutting down one enemy after the other in absolute silence.

Richard continued to swing his blades, even the smallest of cuts pulling out a fountain of blood. Lifesbane remained true to its name, reaping dozens of lives with every minute. He was covered in the mixed blood of enemies, allies, and himself. Various parts of his body stung, but with each wound suffered he only grew faster. There was only one goal in his mind; he had to pass that damned wall! Even if a forest of blades were in the way, even if a wall of flesh was blocking him, he had to move on!

His body dazzled under the ball of light, marking the path for everyone behind.

A blade suddenly snaked in from amidst the rest of the local soldiers, heading straight for his waist. Richard shuddered violently; this attack was far too silent to be coming from a weak foe. An opposing saint hidden amongst the soldiers had finally found a chance to attack!

However, he didn't have the spare energy to parry or dodge. He just roared in anger, stepping forward despite the attack as he breathed abyssal flames out at the enemies in front. Even if he died, he would do so moving forward!

As the threat of death loomed over him, he finally understood why Gaton was always at the tip of every charge, the most dangerous place in a battle. Only with his own body illuminating the path ahead did he understand that generals commanded their soldiers to kill, rulers asked them to follow.

746 - City of Sin

My King

The snake-like stab never made it to Richard's body. As the saint assassin finally revealed himself, looking no different from an ordinary local soldier, all he saw was the cold face of a girl in white leather armour, looking like a wounded lone wolf that was eyeing its prey.

A stunned expression crossed the man's eyes. He had barely noticed the young woman getting in the way of his strike, but there had been no way to shift his blade in time. Looking at that blunt expression that revealed neither anger nor pain, he felt a shiver run down his spine. This was someone of the same kind as him, but far more cruel and brutal.

The saint tried to retract his sword by instinct, but it just wouldn't move. The girl had grabbed the weapon with her left hand, blood staining the blade.

What, then, was her right hand doing? This question barely bubbled up in the man's mind before the Shepherd of Eternal Rest swung forth, almost invisible to the naked eye. Her wrist seemed to just flick across, the blade leaving no trace as it flitted across his neck, but the next moment his head suddenly shot into the sky and fell a dozen metres away! Blood spurted out like a fountain!

However, the red-skinned locals only grew more ferocious at the sight. They didn't know that this was a saint, and far too many of their companions had been killed already for another to make a difference. On the other hand, one of the enemies had been injured gravely and they now had a chance to kill her!

Several spears stabbed towards Waterflower at the same time. She tried to raise her sword to defend, but her body suddenly shook and the Shepherd of Eternal Rest fell back down. The full-power blow of a saint assassin was no small problem; it was a wonder she could even stand.

In the face of the swords and spears, Waterflower's eyes just flashed with an odd mix of loneliness and satisfaction. However, a familiar roar caused her gaze to fill with light once more.

“DROP DEAD!” Gangdor fell from above, crashing into two soldiers with his knees even as his giant axe swept out horizontally to block all attacks. The sickening crack of bones under him caused him to break out in a grin.

Richard finally turned around, seeing the sword embedded within Waterflower's abdomen. His eyes suddenly narrowed as he gazed deep into her eyes for a moment, his own filling with further madness. “TAKE CARE OF HER!” he screamed to Gangdor before continuing to rush ahead.

A wave of blood swept past the Resting Orchid Plane in the middle of the night, led by a magical orb that served as a lighthouse in the darkness. Richard didn't know how long it took, but he suddenly felt the pressure starting to wane. By the time he regained full control and looked around, all he saw was his followers and knights around him, with a brightly lit fortress visible in the distance. His gaze focused for a moment, revealing numerous heavily armed soldiers rushing a scorpion out for battle.

He suddenly looked down, only to find the Unpassable Wall below his feet.

“My King, what should we do now?” a rune knight asked beside him, head bowed and one knee on the floor.

Seeing this one knight, everyone else assumed the same position. Outside of those still guarding from the few reckless enemies remaining, even his followers went down one after the other while facing his direction. The elite shadowspears had only rudimentary intelligence, but after a moment they too fell to the floor with a synchronised plop. Flowsand snuck a tongue out at Richard from a hidden angle before getting down on a knee herself. Nyra had already gone down before, and Io reluctantly followed despite his surprise.

In only a few moments, Richard was the only one left standing on the Unpassable Wall, a veritable river of blood flowing from the numerous wounds on his body while the ball of light still floated above his head. He suddenly understood that he finally had the recognition of the Archerons. He had declared himself the patriarch back at Blackrose Castle, but only with this victory was he truly their king.

For a moment, he stood rooted in place. It felt like his entire body had caught aflame, and not just because of the endless wounds. His mana had been exhausted to the point that the dryness was more unbearable than the pain, and his breath reeked of thick blood from his own internal organs. He could fall at any time.

And yet, he was more confident than ever in his strength. He truly felt like the ruler of the world. It was only now that he understood just why the thirteen knights would work under Gaton despite the low salary. It wasn't purely because of their relationship, but because he would lead the charge at the forefront and they could follow.

“My King, what should we do now?” the rune knight asked again.

This time, Richard had the energy to respond, “Send a signal to the Blood Paladin, we're commencing the attack!”

Lina launched a beautiful fireball hundreds of metres into the night sky, the explosion so bright that one could see it for dozens of kilometres.

......

Stationed on the other end of the bridge, Senma was standing quietly in the dark. The countless warriors behind her were like wolves thirsting for prey, waiting for the moment they would be unleashed. When the fireball bloomed high in the sky, a crimson glow appeared on the tip of her lance as she raised it up high. Energy seemed to ebb and flow as it gathered at this tip, the glow growing brighter and denser until it looked like flowing blood. And then...

*BOOM!* A loud explosion rocked the bridge as the lance pointed forward, directing the soldiers towards the Unpassable Wall. A dull war drum started ringing out in the rear, boosting morale as the warriors rushed forward to meet the enemies they had been fighting for the longest time.

The darkness was ripped apart by magical light as numerous orbs of magic shot down at the charging Norlanders, but Senma's mages quickly dulled the impact of these attacks. The entire mage legion was focused on buffing or protecting the soldiers instead of wasting mana on the enemy's powerful magic defences. Fireballs and orbs of frost crashed down right in the middle of the charging formation, but they couldn't display even half of their intended power. Even worse, the defenders found that the invaders' armour had been completely replaced with intricate, sturdy sets.

Senma slowed down at first, sighing in relief, but then her horse suddenly picked up speed and she turned into a flash of crimson lightning that tore through the enemy lines. She was the very first one at the fortress gates, screaming loudly as she jumped straight into the battlements and disrupted the archers. Her sprinting horse couldn't bring itself to a stop, crashing so hard into the gates that it was left with broken bones.

The other powerhouses of the army quickly followed, but contrary to expectations the resistance was quite weak. They quickly cleaned up the guards before opening the gate, allowing the rest of their side to continue marching forward.

A deep screech suddenly rang through the battlefield, and the experienced veterans immediately started to shiver. They knew that this was the sound of a ballista loading, something even saints wouldn't want to meet head-on. Some even found the source of the noise, looking at a huge ballista aimed at the melee.

It was too late... This idea crossed all of the soldiers' hearts in an instant. However, they immediately immersed themselves back into the battle, leaving their life and death to fate. The ballistae would definitely kill more locals because of the melee, but these fanatics wouldn't mind trading multiple lives for the death of a single Norlander. The lucky ones lived and the unlucky ones died. That was just war.

However, as the bolt whistled through the air and a loud scream enveloped the battlefield, the Archerons' eyes went wide in surprise. The death had not been a Norlander, but a guardian on the second line of defence. The bolt had been shot from the Unpassable Wall!

Richard jumped off the ballista, pulling out both of his blades which had been buried into the ground, “Now, let's show them the abyss!”

A thunderous buzz rang out from the Unpassable Wall as black-armoured knights climbed up and blocked it from end to end. With the gate locked, the only way out for those in the rest of the fortress was to run up the wall or jump off the bridge. Right now, both meant certain death.

The thin row of figures was being attacked from both sides, but they just painted the walls with more blood. They looked to be few in numbers, but the ball of light was still shining brightly in the night.

The Unpassable Wall had fallen.

747 - City of Sin

Complicated Choices

Richard almost collapsed by the time Senma's troops made it to the Unpassable Wall. This brief defence had been even more difficult than the battle through the fortress; with thousands of warriors attacking them from both ends, his advantages in positioning and individual prowess were almost burnt away.

Leaning against his weapon, he watched as the last of the Resting Orchid soldiers on the bridge were killed off, and knew that the plane was his. There were no other such natural fortifications on the road to the Godnest, and his rune knights could decimate any number of opponents on an open battlefield.

Still, he couldn't bring himself to be happy at all. Much as he was loathed to, his blessings made sure he knew exactly how many of his soldiers were dead. Only 84 shadowspears were still active in his consciousness, a result of countless sacrifices made to save the rest. Even so, over ten rune knights had perished while some of his followers had sustained serious injuries. Io and Nyra had been forced into the melee as well, with the latter being especially hurt.

There were many times during the battle where he couldn't swing his blades any longer. It took the combined weight of hundreds of gazes all looking to him for guidance to fuel his empty body, and even despite activating the well of stars repeatedly his mana pool was drained completely dry. Teeth clenched hard, he had continued to push his breaking body to greater depths for every single kill.

All the rune knights saw was their master fighting without end, not taking a moment's break as his dagger and sword danced from enemy to enemy without end. The sight had spurred themselves to detach from their pain, submitting to the fight for the sake of victory. That blind devotion to his commands had, in turn, given Richard the tiniest amount of leeway he needed to make it through.

Miracles were often created just like this; they weren't the product of just one individual's effort.

Although the death toll pained him, Richard knew that he had done his utmost. Even Gaton had been unable to conquer the Unpassable Wall, so it was inevitable that one would need to make sacrifices to do so.

He tried to walk forward, but the moment his body left the support of his sword he stumbled down. Lina rushed over and supported his body, a complicated expression on her face as she suppressed the words she wanted to say.

Richard's gaze gradually swept across the entire fortress, “Lina... This shouldn't have been impossible for Gaton to do. Why did your war end in a stalemate?”

Hearing the mention of Gaton, the Dragon Mage grew even more troubled. She broke eye contact, staring into the distance as she calmed herself, “Lord Gaton could have broken through this wall that day. However, he was unwilling to give up his rune knights for the charge. There were two legendary beings facing us at the time, and despite heavily injuring one and beating back the other our own losses were starting to mount. This plane didn't have any specialties either, so it would be impossible to recoup the costs. For us, every rune knight took a long time to replace...”

Richard nodded, understanding what she meant. Even at his peak, Gaton's wealth hadn't approached a tenth of what Richard could make. He didn't have shadowspear knights to protect his core elites, and even if he did such soldiers had their own value. There was a hint of blame to Lina's tone; more than half of the shadowspears had perished, a cost that could not be recouped from this place before at least a few decades.

This was only common sense. Invasions were a battle of life and death only to those on the receiving end; the aggressors needed to worry more about the costs versus the benefits. Oftentimes, it was more valuable to secure a landing point before slowly expanding one's territory; most of the profit to be made from a plane came in the initial bits of land that were conquered.

As Lina continued to look away and ramble on, she suddenly felt something strange about the lack of reply. Turning back to stare at him once more, she realised he had fainted in her arms. The Dragon Mage almost screamed in shock, laying him down before running all over the battlefield to look for clerics.

Eventually, she dumped Io and Nyra in front of him and started pacing back and forth. However, the two heavenly guardians just made a cursory check of Richard's body and announced that he had just fainted from the exhaustion and wounds. Given enough rest, he would recover completely.

As the two stared at her in confusion, wondering why she didn't realise this herself, Lina turned red and started acting angry to try and fool them. However, they just looked at each other and snickered in open mockery. In that moment, Kaloh had almost been unleashed on the battlefield once more.

......

Richard woke up to find himself in an unfamiliar room, the wooden ceiling carved in a style foreign to him. Shaking off the grogginess to remember where he was, he struggled up from bed only to realise that most of his wounds were healed. There was a feeling of numbness all over his body, clearly from a spell to numb pain.

When he finally relaxed after confirming his body was alright, his stomach started to rumble. For a moment it almost took over his rationality, and he found himself on the verge of gnawing at the bedside table. It took a great exercise of willpower to stagger outside, calling for the guards to send him food as soon as possible.

When the first batch of bread and jerky arrived, it was immediately swept clean. However, this only made him hungrier and he called for more. Five servings and ten grown men's worth in food later, he felt half full. He wanted to continue eating, but try as he might he couldn't stuff another morsel down his throat. Even with his powerful stomach, there was a physical limit to what he could eat.

Looking at the empty plates that filled the table, Richard reminisced about the scrumptious meals in the Deepblue and from the royal family. However, he quickly shook his head to stop himself from salivating, sitting and recovering his strength for a few minutes before heading out to check on his followers.

Waterflower was laid quietly on a bed, chest rising and falling in the soft rhythm of deep sleep. Io was sitting right beside her, expression screaming fatigue as his hands continued to channel a gentle mist of divine power into her body. Seeing Richard's arrival, he pulled his hands back and sighed loudly, “You're awake? Just in time, look at her! She almost killed herself!”

Richard felt his heart clench as he walked over, almost picking Io up from the ground in his anxiety, “How is she?”

Io snorted, “How? Lucky to be alive! Her organs were turned into mush, and healing her was more draining than even resurrection! I don't understand, who would even use their body to block a blade, and that too for your sake? I would have let you get cut in half without a second thought!”

Richard let go of Io's collar, gaze softening as he turned back to Waterflower, “Thank you.”

Completely stumped by the genuine gratitude, Io just shook his head and left the room.

Left alone with Waterflower, Richard leaned over the bedside and observed this soulguard that had been the first of his followers. Her eyelids were quivering, a sign that she was awake.

The normal traces of wildness were completely absent from her face, replaced instead with a rare gentleness. This girl might have the talent to reach the legendary realm herself, but right now it wasn't easy to survive a saint's full-power strike. If not for her tenacity, she wouldn't even have lasted to the end of the battle. Even so, it exhausted Io completely to bring her back from the edge of death. This wasn't even the same Io as last year; having spent more than a year risking their lives to find offerings, the heavenly guardians had finally gotten Flowsand to upgrade them to level 18.

Waterflower hadn't hesitated in the slightest when suffering the attack in his place. Only pure instincts would allow one to react in time to a saint's strike, regardless of how close they were. That thought made Richard sigh heavily, his breath flowing across her face and causing her to finally open her eyes.

748 - City of Sin

Complicated Choices(2)

Richard flinched at Waterflower's clear, bright eyes, unable to face such a penetrating stare. Her expression spoke volumes of just what reward she wanted for such loyalty, but he didn't know how to answer her.

He didn't know when and how, but by the time he snapped back to his senses he was out of the room. The two of them hadn't spoken a word from start to end, but their silent conversation was worth more than a thousand words. Even so, he was feeling like an escaping fugitive; he had never given her an answer.

This wasn't the first time he had learnt of Waterflower's feelings, but he was still completely helpless to respond. It seemed despicable, but he couldn't afford to add another responsibility to his ever-growing list. He had no idea when he would be done repaying his current debts, forget a new one so heavy it would last a lifetime.

Waterflower's feelings were always repressed, but they still radiated from her heart. Her method of dealing with them was as savage as a beast, but the sheer passion of it was something he couldn't face openly. And yet, he couldn't turn away either; the moment she had taken the blade to protect him, she had already confessed her love.

A confession that had turned him into a coward.

The next person to visit was Tiramisu. The ogre mage continued to become more and more warrior-like, fighting right in the thick of the melee. His injuries were second only to Waterflower's, but because of his large physique and natural rejection of holy magic the effects of healing were limited. Nyra had been placed in charge of him, but she only healed the parts that would affect his might in battle; the rest would be up to his own natural regeneration.

Tiramisu's body was so huge that there were uncountable cuts on his body. His sub-legendary plate armour was utterly mangled, and even now Nyra was busy taking off the scraps piece by piece. Even with his astonishing vitality, the treatment caused so much pain that the two heads were screaming in agony.

When the Medium Rare head saw Richard, its one eye glowed with excitement, “Master, this war wasn't worth it!”

“What do you mean?” Tiramisu immediately rebuked, “Stop whining so much for a few injuries, you're ruining our reputation! If we were in the tribe, I would be a warlord by now!”

The Medium Rare head snorted, “And I wouldn't?”

Nobody would assume from their argument that they had sustained grievous injuries, but it wasn't hard to find pieces of flesh dangling off parts of the ogre's body. Tiramisu noticed Richard's expression and said brusquely, “These wounds are nothing, Master. Don't be like this sissy!”

“I'm a warlord, you mages are the sissies! Ah... Not you, Master, you're not that bad!”

Richard could only smile wryly, leaving the room after checking up on them.

In the midst of visits to all his followers and some rune knights, the afternoon quickly faded into evening. Richard eventually decided to stay on the bridge for two more days as his men recuperated; it would give his enemies room to breathe, but his own side needed to deal with the current losses.

Although the plan had been largely successful, Senma's troops had still suffered casualties. The maniacal Resting Orchid soldiers ambushed her repeatedly all over the fortress, taking 2,000 lives before they were gone. Their own losses were ten times as great, but that was of no consolation to soldiers who had lost longtime friends.

The biggest blow to the locals was in the form of their saints. A total of eleven saints had been killed, a number so large that it would shake the roots of the empire. However, even they had taken their toll. Although Richard could focus his elites on them to kill them the moment they appeared, most of them had tried to attack from within the ordinary troops in disguise. Such behaviour was extremely undignified in any plane, but to those fighting for their lives, honour meant nothing.

Once the two days were done, 15,000 soldiers left the Godtear Rift and ventured deeper into the plane. Richard's men fought constantly over the next month, advancing much faster than the enemies expected as he laid siege to city after city. Many places were easily conquered, while some of the leaders even chose to surrender immediately. Richard didn't care for the commoners or even nobles, continuing to rush forward as he hunted down the fleeing remains of the bridge garrison.

It wasn't long before his troops were breathing down the walls of the imperial capital. The 10,000-strong army of guards was about equal to his own army in size, but in terms of quality they were worlds apart. There were no signs of Stardragon nearby, but he still took an entire day to prepare before the war drums started to terrorise the enemy.

The empire collapsed after a single day of intense battle. The emperor, empress, crown prince, and all the rest of the royal lineage were in his hands. The royals were extremely tight-lipped in interrogation, but that was an easy problem to solve with both a necromancer and a soul shepherd was on hand.

Just as he had expected, the Godnest hid many secrets of its own. The peak was forbidden to everyone on the plane, regardless of power. Even the emperor himself didn't know what laid within, only rumours that it held a repose of gods that would kill any mortals that stepped foot within.

There was a holy city at the foot of the mountain that housed the true powerhouses of the plane, called the City of Saints. The Resting Orchid Empire was only a representative for this holy city, enacting their will upon the rest of the plane. There was even mention of a mysterious ritual within the city that could bring a sub-legendary expert to the legendary realm.

The eyes of everyone within the hall started glowing. Every powerhouse dreamed of entering the legendary realm, and the biggest blockade was at level 20. A method to bridge that huge gap would be earth-shattering!

All of Richard's doubts over the past month faded away, and a smile rose up in confirmation of his doubts that this plane was an anomaly. Whatever ritual this was didn't matter to him personally, and Flowsand, Io, Nyra, Tiramisu, and Waterflower had their own paths to the legendary realm— the ogre was even advancing by the day despite not really caring about his strength— but it was definitely a great benefit to his other subordinates.

Looking around at the expressions on his followers' face, Richard said to Nyra, “Find out how powerful the City of Saints is, and make sure to extract anything we need to take note of.”

Nyra nodded, continuing to delve into the emperor's mind. The burly man grabbed his head and started to scream, but he quickly delivered all the information he had. Still, Richard only let him go after an entire day and night of interrogation, stopping the next dawn.

A gust of cold wind blew through the opened windows, causing him to shudder a little as he looked at the towering Godnest outside. The mountain was shaped like a conch, spiralling upwards into the clouds with its peak perennially shrouded in a haze. To a casual observer, it seemed like the mountain was spinning in tune to the movement of the sun.

Richard had seen such clouds multiple times before; in Faust and the City of the Unsetting Sun. However, this spiral pattern suddenly piqued his interest and he started some rudimentary calculations, trying to piece together the working of the ecosystem. As he continued to figure out just how this place worked, activating his blessing of truth, he suddenly found himself with a mathematical model that left him almost cross-eyed.

749 - City of Sin

City of Saints

The model for the working of the Godnest was the largest he had ever seen, and even a basic analysis told him that the formulae he needed to solve to understand it were amongst the most complex he had ever come across. He picked a small portion, but even that caused his head to throb despite his blessings being used to their limits.

Richard was well aware that he didn't have the capabilities to decipher these formulae yet; that would require a rudimentary understanding of how planar laws worked. Still, he sensed an air of familiarity from this body of complexity, one that sent him almost a decade into the past.

Blue lines running along a young woman's body, like branches with a life of their own as they radiated blue light. A beautiful sapphire colour that had brought his mind to a complete halt... A beauty beyond words, beyond everything.

All those years ago, he hadn't understood even the slightest bit of the mysteries behind the Deepblue Aria. He had spent months wholly focused on trying to decipher its meaning, but had completely failed. Even now, as someone on the verge of becoming a grand runemaster, he barely understood the slightest bits of the laws hidden within. The grade 6 rune surpassed even the laws of Norland, so he had been tasked with venturing out into the myriad planes in hopes of understanding its deficiencies and completing it.

And now, there was a seed of hope in that quest. Richard felt butterflies in his stomach at the realisation of where he had seen some of these formulae before, but that quickly gave way to unbridled enthusiasm for what could be. He needed to get to the top of this mountain, to examine the rest of its structure and start a thorough analysis. If the City of Saints would not allow him to climb, then they would need to be eliminated right away.

However, it was this very urge that also caused him to clear his mind. Stopping his calculations; he grew even more suspicious of the origin of the Resting Orchid Plane. The Godnest didn't seem like a natural creation, and could very well be the aftermath of a new deity's ascent. However, an even more daring theory floated up in his mind; perhaps the entire plane had been created by such a being of unimaginable power.

At this point he didn't doubt in the slightest that the peak of the Godnest hid a great secret. Perhaps the place truly was where the gods of the plane were resting, or perhaps they had perished and that was their grave. At the very least, either explanation answered the question of why this plane seemed to have no deities at all, not even a demigod.

Could there be a godspark up there? This question immediately gripped Richard's mind. He then thought back to the City of Saints and the two legendary beings within. Even injured the two could cause great destruction to his army, perhaps even posing a lethal threat to himself or his followers. However, there were ways to mitigate the dangers to a manageable level...

'What?!' His body suddenly shuddered, attention pulled to the outside. The clouds above turned transparent, revealing an enormous planet covering half the sky. The surface of the planet was a light blue in colour, and as it streaked through the air it felt like the thing would drop down and kill them all.

Strange and intricate patterns could be seen on the planet's surface even from this distance, some glowing and the others dim. These patterns did not seem to be natural ley lines, but instead a magic array that covered the entire planet.

But what sort of being could actually do something like that? A god? Yet, even multiple gods working together would not be able to complete such a massive project. A number of truly immortal deities would have to hole away for uncountable years to actually finish it.

Even as he gaped in shock, the skies quickly returned to the dull orange of dawn. He turned around and asked his followers who were cleaning up the interrogation scene, “Did you guys just see that?”

“See what, Master?” Tiramisu raised his head. Flowsand seemed to be puzzled as well, so nothing could be said for the others.

Richard shook his head, confirming that he was the only one that had witnessed the phenomenon. His brows then furrowed, “Did you at least sense anything out of the ordinary?”

“No.” As a battle priest with acute senses, Io was the first to shake his head. Nyra was soon to follow.

Flowsand walked over and stroked his cheek, asking him with concern, “What happened?”

Richard looked out at the Godnest and sighed, “The City of Saints... might not be as simple as we think. We need to make more preparations.”

“What kind of preparations do you mean?”

“War preparations. I'm afraid our current strength isn't enough. Let me think...” He started rubbing his temples, trying to work his sluggish mind. The side-effects of trying to tackle laws he did not understand hadn't yet faded.

“Not enough? Impossible. Both those legends are hurt, and even at full strength they wouldn't be able to turn the tides. Stardragon wouldn't dare enter the range of my Lens of Time,” Flowsand tried to reassure him.

“No, that's not what I'm talking about. I feel like something is wrong, maybe we underestimated this plane...” Richard tried his best to word his thoughts. That phenomenon felt absolutely real, but he couldn't ignore the possibility that it was a hallucination or illusion.

“Hmm...” Flowsand thought for a bit, “I don't really feel anything wrong, but... It's always good to play it safe.”

Her words made him even more unsure of himself. As a chosen priestess of the Eternal Dragon, she had a rudimentary sense for everything in the old dragon's domain. With her not feeling anything amiss, there were only two explanations: everything was alright and he was just becoming paranoid, or the Godnest was a place that even the Eternal Dragon had no hold over. There were few such places in the myriad planes.

Still, despite the low possibility he decided to prepare better. Even if all he had seen was an illusion, the Godnest itself was not. He could still sense a connection between the Godnest and the Deepblue Aria, something that could hardly be a coincidence.

He turned to Senma, “Go back to Norland and ask Fuschia and Asiris to come over immediately. Tell Alice to pick up the defences of Blackrose, I'm pulling all the rune knights over.”

Flowsand frowned at his words, but did not say anything. Both Asiris and Fuschia were capable of engaging Stardragon alone, and with a hundred more rune knights alongside multiple other powerhouses like Senma, Lina, Tiramisu, and the two heavenly guardians, the enemy legends could only flee. Richard's feeling that something was off despite her own senses not being alerted could only mean one thing; the Eternal Dragon had no power in this place.

Richard stayed within the Resting Orchid capital over the next few days, waiting for Senma to return with this reinforcements. Outside of brief spells of meditation or runecrafting, most of his time was spent on the terrace of the castle staring at the Godnest for hours at a stretch.

It took a week for Senma to return, but even so he rested for another night before leading his forces out of the capital and towards the City of Saints.

750 - City of Sin

The Final Battle Google search 𝙛𝒓𝙚e𝚠𝐞𝚋𝙣𝚘𝐯𝗲𝚕. c𝚘𝓶

Lying at the foot of the Godnest, the City of Saints was built on a shelf of rock that split it into two different sections. The upper shelf was covered in buildings made of snow-white granite, clearly the residence of the higher classes, while the rest of the city was a much duller grey for the servants.

There was a church in the upper level, but less than ten of the 3,000 people living on the shelf could enter it. Amongst these were the three priests and two leaders of the city knights.

The city was sparsely populated, with only 20,000 residents in total, but there were a few guardian tribes settled right outside. These tribes were the source of the totemic warriors that dominated battles in the Resting Orchid Plane, but in all of known history they themselves had never been mobilised to fulfil their duty.

Today, Richard was giving them that chance. 15,000 men were marching towards the Godnest fully intent on taking over the City of Saints, and amongst them were even local soldiers conscripted from the defeated empire. The snaking army was quickly discovered, and a thousand totemic warriors met them on the battlefield.

It didn't take long for the battle to be won. Every individual fight was bloody— none of these warriors were the type to surrender— but Richard's main forces were barely even touched. Putting aside his principles for the sake of the danger he felt, he hid the shadowspear knights, rune knights, and his followers amidst a wave of conscripted soldiers and had them take most of the enemies by surprise. All 1,000 totemic warriors had fallen, but even the mere 2,000 they had taken down were mostly other locals.

Right after the battle, Richard engaged with the main forces of the City of Saints. Most of these warriors were around level 9, a little inferior to the first batch of humanoid knights from the broodmother, but they had an advantage in numbers and were all buffed to some extent. Even the powerhouses of the city had come out to fight, with the injured Stardragon appearing once more.

This war was extremely difficult. Senma, Asiris, and Lina were helping him with finer control of his army, but Flowsand and her heavenly guardians weren't nearly as effective as they normally were. The vicinity of the Godnest greatly weakened the effects of their divine power, rendering them no more powerful than equivalent mages in terms of buffs. Even the equipment of these opponents was not much inferior to Richard's own soldiers. Overall, the only real advantage lay in the rune knights.

Facing the disciplined formation of the enemy, Richard first ordered the local soldiers under him to attack. The morale of these was extremely low when facing the warriors of their holy land, but once the first wave of a thousand was culled ruthlessly at the cost of mere tens, the next batches finally abandoned their faith and started to put more effort into the fight. The warriors of the City of Saints fought just as mercilessly as the shadowspear knights, killing the second batch of their own brethren with little remorse. The casualties on their side were greater this time, but that was still below a hundred men lost to take out a thousand.

It was at this point that the true battle began. Richard placed fifty rune knights in the middle of the battlefield and had his followers start hunting on the outskirts of their throwing range. If ever faced with too many enemies to handle, they could quickly fall back into the range of the javelins and recuperate; after all, even Stardragon himself wouldn't dare to take on an entire volley. 3,000 soldiers were deployed to fight head-on, with another 3,000 each on both flanks.

The enemy was not flustered in the slightest. These soldiers had never feared a disadvantage in numbers, and the faith buried deep within their bones let them act fearlessly even in the face of death. The tightly knit formation was like a morning star; no matter how many ways Richard's conscripted soldiers tried to attack, they always suffered great casualties with little success. Even worse was the fact that magic wasn't working well either. Richard had tried to launch a few chain lightning spells in the midst of his own battles, but what should have killed dozens only took out two soldiers before it lost its effectiveness.

However, Richard had his own way to break apart that white and silver defence. A quick command to an officer caused a loud warhorn to sound, and a wide path that could fit five knights riding side by side was opened up on the frontlines.

The enemy commander's eyes narrowed as he realised just what Richard was planning. He knew the charge of the invaders' rune knights was formidable, but instead of scattering his men he allocated the strongest soldiers to face the gap and hold the line. He personally took command of this defence, gripping lance and shield tightly as he approached the centre of the gap.

As expected, a cloud of dust picked up as the Norlanders' ultimate weapons postured for their charge.

The leader of the rune knights removed his helmet for a moment, gripping his lance tightly as he looked at the warriors of the City of Saints. He couldn't help but shudder at the realisation that the front line of the charge would likely die, but in the face of such danger the leader could not afford to be in the back. The Archerons always led the charge, and even Richard was starting to follow that tradition despite being a mage. As a knight of great renown amongst his fellow warriors, he could not shrink back.

He raised his left hand, gently brushing it across his breastplate. Despite the leather, metal, and fabric separating him from his heart, he could feel the warmth of an ink painting in his inner pocket. It was something one of his comrades had drawn for him, and despite the art not being fantastic it captured the essence of a middle-aged couple with three children.

It was a common family, but a happy one that was envied by many. It was also his home, the source of his endless valiance. His sons were already bragging about their father being a rune knight, talking endlessly about how they wanted to follow in his footsteps. The middle-aged man sighed. After this battle, he would likely be dead. Those boasts would then be mixed in with sadness, but the pride would still remain.

And yet, things were different now. Every battle in the past he had wondered how his children would live if he died, his heart would clench at the thought of his wife having to fend for herself. He was only a mercenary, living a dangerous life with little reward; there was no money for them to be taken care of. Now, he knew that his children would brag about Brolin Archeron to fellow knights in training as they grew up in Richard's care. His wife would not have to worry about work if he were maimed or killed, for his current lord would ensure she would live out her life in peace.

Richard didn't have Gaton's charisma, but that did not mean he didn't command as much respect on the battlefield. Both generations of Archeron heads would fight to realise their dreams, but they would also ensure those alongside them would fulfil their own. Gaton's presence gave everyone a strong sense of confidence; defeats were only temporary, and victory was guaranteed. He had proclaimed that his subordinates and their families would never go hungry so long as he had a grain to eat. However, Richard's promises were more valuable, and at the same time more realistic. Money had already been set aside to compensate the families of the dead and injured, with the most exceptional soldiers having a chance to enter the aristocracy. A different way of commanding faith, but not one that was inferior.

Brolin suppressed his feelings, clenching his fist and knocking it against his breastplate as he bid his family goodbye. He then put his helmet back on, waiting for the command to charge. His comrades were already in formation around him, ready to cave the enemy lines in. The first ten rune knights would be in the greatest amount of danger, but no true Archeron feared death.

“It's about time... “ Brolin muttered under his breath. His experience in war told him that this was the moment when his side had the greatest morale, able to crush their opponents in one go.

However, the order never came down. Knights did charge, but it was the shadowspears instead. Brolin watched wide-eyed as the shadowspears passed through their formation like water, picking up pace to start a full-speed charge straight into the defensive line.

751 - City of Sin

The Final Battle(2)

“My King!” Brolin screamed in shock, his heart almost coming to a stop. These were the last of Richard's shadowspear knights, and despite having less than a hundred they were charging towards the enemy formation at full force. Given their power, they would be charging to their deaths.

Of course, Brolin didn't know that these were just drones created by the broodmother, valuable mainly because they could be sent to their deaths without issue. They had accrued his respect when they had saved more than fifty of his comrades on the Unpassable Wall, but that was exactly why he believed it was now his troop's turn to prove their worth. To him, these knights were already heroes that deserved to return triumphantly to the cheers and adulation of the masses; they couldn't be sent to certain death.

However, Richard's mind was already set. He didn't waver despite Brolin's protests, and a quick exchange of glances caused the rune knight to go quiet. The middle-aged man's expression darkened as he turned back to look at the shadowspear knights charging ahead, knowing that some of them likely came from backgrounds of poverty like he did.

The opposing commander frowned, sharp creases appearing on his forehead as his scars started glowing red. His brows locked completely as the shadowspears continued to approach, eyes narrowing as a voice repeatedly rang out in his mind, 'Why aren't they slowing down? Why aren't they slowing down? Why aren't they...'

“ARGH!” the man roared furiously, taking on the first of the shadowspear knights with a shield bash.

*Boom!* The ground nearby seemed to shake as the commander retreated several steps, his shield now cracked apart. However, he had successfully sent the knight flying. Not taking the time to confirm, he thrust his lance towards the waist of another approaching enemy, bringing the drone down from the steed.

That was all he managed. The other shadowspears had already headed past him, some successfully breaking through the frontlines and starting to splinter the formation apart. The commander felt his heart stop as he heard bones breaking with each clash. His hardened warriors only groaned at best despite three or four of them being pierced through by a single lance, but the devilish enemies didn't even make a peep. Even the mounts didn't scream in the agony of their death, only continuing to attack in silence. Apart from fighting, it seemed like they didn't have a care in the world.

*Whoosh!* A sharp whistle broke the man out of his shock, giving him barely enough time to raise his broken shield to deflect an incoming spear. He then jabbed out like lightning at the chest of the horse bearing down on him, causing it to lose balance and send its master flying forwards into the melee.
𝑓𝙧𝙚𝙚w𝙚𝙗𝒏oν𝐞l. c𝑜𝙢

*Bang!* Six knights made it past him in that moment, crashing into the defence in a mist of blood. By the time this final row engaged, the first set had already perished. The rest were injured to at least some degree as well, but they had managed to open a large gap in the ironclad formation.

“Go.”

Brolin finally heard the command he was waiting for, almost roaring as he turned towards the rune knights around him, “Come on boys, it's up to us now!”

The rune knights continued to look calm on the surface, but their steeds were starting to whine at the pressure on their backs. These warriors felt like they were the pinnacle of knighthood, but that also meant it was their job to open up the path to victory. Nearly a hundred shadowspear knights had perished for the sake of saving ten or so lives of their own, and that was nearly unacceptable.

Brolin was the first to charge out, heading straight for the enemies. However, the other rune knights immediately picked up pace and joined formation. A giant metallic beast seemed to crash through the battlefield, intent on trampling the turtle shell that was the enemy defence. Every lance was glowing with the power of magic, and the very earth trembled as their charge reached its zenith.

Looking at the army of drakes rushing towards him, the enemy commander almost froze. His formation was still in disarray, but an even stronger opponent was now trying to tear it apart. His only hope was to stop them like he did with the shadowspears, blocking the passage himself!

At level 19 he was someone of great power, only lesser in status than the five rulers of the City of Saints. In strength he was numbered third, right after Stardragon. Even so, he knew he was incapable of blocking this charge without near-certain death. Still, he absolutely wouldn't abandon his men and run away on his own.

The man crouched low, adopting a defensive position as he stared at the leader of the charging knights. He felt an aura similar to his own from this opponent, and knew that this was the person he was supposed to face at the start. It was the enemy that had to be eliminated first.

Brolin himself had the same idea, charging to meet the commander in combat.

The current of steel flowed into the enemy formation, starting to tear it apart. The gap made by the shadowspear knights quickly widened until any semblance of organisation was completely eliminated, leaving behind only a trail of blood and flesh. The battle between powerhouses quickly approached a close, with most on the side of the Resting Orchid Plane now dead. Three of Gaton's famous thirteen, fifty rune knights, Fuschia, Flowsand, and Richard's own followers were far too much for even a legendary being like Stardragon to take on. Flowsand, Asiris, and Fuschia constantly kept Stardragon locked down; so long as he made one mistake in his movements, the Lens of Time would strike him and put his very life at risk.

The warriors of the City of Saints were quickly massacred, eliminating the last barrier to absolute control of the Resting Orchid Plane. The 20,000 left in the city were only ordinary folk; they had strong faith, but that did not show in their strength.

Richard knew the battle was over. For the first time, an entire plane would be under his control. Despite the high price required to achieve this goal, the Godnest alone was worth more than every loss combined. Wealth and even lives were tangible, capable of being measured. However, the mysteries of spacetime and the laws of the world had inestimable value.

There were still some problems. The other legend hadn't shown herself, and even with Asiris being called in to lock down Stardragon he could perhaps escape as well. They would both be thorns in the side until eliminated, constantly harassing his troops and forcing him to maintain a large military force here. However, these problems were minor in the grand scheme of things. Stardragon was clearly at the limits of his talent, but Richard himself was different. He and his followers had vast room to grow, so only some time would need to be drawn out before he could hunt Stardragon down himself. Of course, he could also call in another legend from Norland to do the job for him.

Up in the skies, Stardragon had noticed this as well. He continued to roar and fight, but he was constantly retreating further and further from the core of the battlefield. He posed little threat with Fuschia and Asiris working together, and he still felt great danger from the priestess whose gaze was locked onto him. Just her intent stare left him feeling violated.

While Stardragon was struggling, some of the local saints had perished while others ran away. However, nobody really got far. Richard had tasked Waterflower, Zangru, and Phaser with finishing them off, so there would be no annoyances in the future.

752 - City of Sin

The Final Battle(3)

On the highest floor of the church in the City of Saints were three priests, stood on a circular platform that was only five metres across. All around them was a projected image of the battlefield, allowing them to witness the crushing defeat as if they were present in person. They saw as their warriors struggled and were cut apart, numbers dwindling to near nothing. The rune knights continued to destroy their formations, making it evident that the war was over.

“This cannot be it!” a young one exclaimed, his voice reverberating throughout the halls, “Perhaps we could try the weapon!”

“I object. The weapon consumes too much holy water, the City will collapse,” the oldest of the priests said.

“What's the difference between collapsing and landing in enemy hands?!” the young priest argued.

“So long as the City is around, we have a chance,” the older priest's voice rose as well, “The Norlanders will not occupy this plane forever. So long as our people are united, there will come a day when we overthrow them and reclaim the City.”

“THE CITY OF SAINTS CANNOT LAND IN THE HANDS OF THE HANDS OF THE NORLANDERS! THAT WILL BE A STAIN TO THE LAND! WHAT IF THEY UNRAVEL THE SECRETS AND AWAKEN THE GODS?!”

The argument went back and forth for a few minutes before both turned to a middle-aged priest. With two conflicting opinions from his peers, he now had the decisive vote. However, he just stayed quiet with an expression of doubt on his face; he was evidently undecided.

“Do not forget the reason for our existence,” the older priest said icily, “Do you really think we are priests? We have studied the barrier of the Godnest for so many years, but have not been able to discover anything new. What reason is there for the Norlanders to be able to break through?”

“But... But... These ones are different!” the younger priest stammered.

“How? They merely brought more rune knights than we expected, their experts aren't even as powerful as the last ones. Even the invaders back then were repelled at the Godtear Rift; if not for the muddleheaded Prince Roran, we would never have lost out ground!”

The young priest immediately paled, at a loss for words. Prince Roran was his elder brother, but he found it difficult to disagree with the criticism.

“Alright, the enemies are already outside the City,” the middle-aged priest finally interjected, “There is no meaning in faulting anyone. Right now, I feel like...” At this point, the man went mum once more.

“Perhaps we should ask Her Excellency,” the younger priest said,

“Is she not resting? If we wake her up now, the damage will be irreversible,” the older one rebuked.

“And you think she would be better off if the city was overtaken? It's better to awaken her now.”

Even as the older priest started struggling to come up with a response, a clear voice rang through the hall, “You are correct. In these circumstances, my injuries are unimportant.”

““Your Excellency!”” The three priests turned their heads in unison, looking at the graceful figure that was forming in the hall.

The middle-aged priest's eyes widened in shock, “Your Excellency, why are you using your spirit form? You can always use the formation to contact us.”

This figure was Daychase, the legendary being that held the highest rank in the Resting Orchid Plane. Unlike Stardragon, she had entered the legendary realm using her own true talent. Having been pushed to the verge of death in Gaton's attack before managing to block him at the Godtear Rift, she had entered seclusion to treat grave injuries that were much more difficult than she had imagined. After being wounded by Mordred, her injuries only grew worse with time; these days, she slept for months at a time to minimise the dangers of the situation.

“I have an urgent matter to attend to,” Daychase explained, her tone so solemn the three priests were frightened, “Notify Stardragon to put a tracking spell on him at all costs. We will be using the Smiting Ray.”

Daychase's translucent body suddenly radiated killing intent as she pointed at a target on the screen.

At Richard.

“The Smiting Ray? But—”

“Then that is how it shall be,” the middle-aged priest interrupted the older one's words, “Make the preparations!”

The older priest sighed, not objecting any longer as he took his place along the edge of the platform while the other two did the same. All three raised their arms, beginning a mysterious incantation that enveloped them in light that spilled out from their hands. A cross-shaped star appeared in the middle of the platform, beginning to vibrate violently.

“Your Excellency, why do we have to spend so much to kill a weakling like him?” the older priest asked.

“His strength is irrelevant. I can... feel a connection to the Godnest coming from him!”

The three priests immediately paled.

......

As Stardragon continued to kite around the battlefield, looking for an opportunity to strike, his body suddenly shook as his face filled with rage and shock. He looked at Richard, eyes almost spewing fire even as a chill ran down his spine. He was not afraid of Richard, but to mark him required entering the range of the fifty rune knights and their javelins. There were even twenty more nearby, ready to assist at any given moment.

As Stardragon was making up his mind, Richard coincidentally met his gaze. He was rather startled by the trace of fear in this opponent's gaze, and despite Stardragon realising and trying his best to hide his intentions he was quickly found out. Richard started retreating, pulling back another forty rune knights for protection as he opened up some distance.

Stardragon roared furiously, beginning to curse. Knowing that the new rune knights would make Richard unreachable, he burst forth with power as he threw a large fireball to clear the way. Curling up into a ball, he shot forward to catch up.

The fireball was quickly smashed apart by javelins, and Richard calmly opened up the Book of Holding to bring down a wave of crimson lightning from the sky. Each bolt burned away some of the energy protecting Stardragon, causing him to slow down. There was no sense of hurry to the spells; Richard wasn't worried in the slightest. Stardragon had expended far too much energy already, left unable to use his legendary ability.

As Stardragon shot past Asiris and Fuschia, Senma finally caught up. She wasn't quite able to intercept, but so long as he started preparing an attack she would be able to stab into him from behind. Numerous glowing javelins flew over, but a clever manoeuvre to knock into some of them allowed him to deflect most of the damage at the cost of taking three hits.

By this time, Richard already had his daggers in hand. Adopting an offensive stance, he stood his ground and awaited Stardragon's arrival. Spells both arcane and divine continued to descend from the sky, causing Stardragon to wobble in his flight. Kaloh shot out of a portal and readied a dragon breath, ready to attack. Knowing fully well that a legend from Norland could rip it apart, the red dragon enjoyed the feeling of being able to fight this one on near-equal ground.

The dragon's breath was aimed right between Richard and Stardragon. If the latter wanted to cross and fight Richard, he would have to go through a terrifying attack. If he wanted to avoid it, the slowdown would be his death! Kaloh drooled with excitement; he hadn't tasted a legend in a long time.

However, Stardragon betrayed everyone's expectations. Instead of descending to fight Richard, he just flew a hundred metres overhead and fled the battlefiedl. A few more javelins and spells struck his body, but he managed to zip away.

Richard's face warped at the sight of a cross-shaped star slowly fading away above his head.

753 - City of Sin

Marked

The church was the tallest and most majestic building within the City of Saints, a hundred-metre-tall spire made entirely of metal and carved with intricate patterns. Even most master artisans would be rendered speechless by the quality of the work; it was definitely well beyond Norland's current expertise. Even structurally, the fact that this building could hold up that much weight was a miracle in itself. Few artisans in Norland could match this craftsmanship, and all of them would take centuries to do it.

The pitch-black apex of the spire started to glow a harsh white, a ring of light forming around it that quickly started to pulse and rotate. Neither Asiris nor Richard had paid it much attention before, just thinking it to be a landmark of the city, but they didn't know there were three priests within chanting relentlessly. The energy they emitted was constantly channelled through to the halo, that was growing in strength. A screen of light flashed a number of messages before their eyes, but unable to read the mystical language they ignored it completely.

The spire was much taller than it seemed, the base extending all the way through the cellar of the church. Numerous extensions of different lengths protruded from within, like the roots of a giant metal tree. A hundred metres below the spire where the priests were located, another round table was glowing with mystical writings. Google search f𝘳𝚎𝗲𝘸e𝐛𝑛𝐨𝘃𝘦𝚕. co𝚖

The basement of the church was a massive hall more than a hundred metres across, an absolute feat of brilliance for something entirely man-made. The workmanship here surpassed that of even the best dwarven artisans, the walls, dome, and even the floor covered in tracks for energy to flow through. These tracks slowly lit up, absorbing energy from all around as they moved up the spire to meet the halo on top.

A low boom resonataed in the church, the hall shaking as a dim red light illuminated the round table down below. The metal appendages started to come alive, wriggling around as they lit aglow. The table started to spin, its top opening up to reveal thick, crimson liquid.

Even as the moving appendages cast shadows on the walls, the red glow intensified as a small pillar from the spire extended into the red liquid. Metal rods fell from the side of the table to the base, as though to keep the spire from being swallowed whole.

Atop the church, the exterior of the spire started to peel away like the layers of a black rose. The halo at the tip was concentrated into a single point around a giant black crystal, filling into it through three metal grips.

The priests were currently slouched on the floor, faces pale and sweaty, but they didn't once take their eyes off the enchanting image projected to them.

......

On the battlefield, Richard had just ordered his followers to retreat from chasing Stardragon, leaving only Zangru and Phaser to continue the hunt. His own body was glowing with divine light as Flowsand and Nyra showered him with spells, trying to figure out what Stardragon had done. He felt an intense energy coursing through his body, so strong that even his followers could sense its presence. However, not even Flowsand and Lina could distinguish just what elements this energy embodied.

Numerous attempts at dispelling the energy wound up useless. The power still coursed within him at its own pace, showing no signs of even weakening despite the numerous purification spells.

Despite his best efforts at analysis, Richard barely managed to capture a few hints of this energy flow. It seemed to disregard all other energy, be it from the priestesses or his own. As he tried to trace the energy back to its source, the only conclusion that came to him was that this power was not of this world. That was why it couldn't be dispelled by Flowsand and Nyra.

However, that evoked other questions; how did Stardragon manage to stir up such a mysterious force, and to what end?

The moment he had this thought, Richard suddenly felt himself filled with dread. He spun around and caught the sparkle of light coming form the horizon, noticing the black crystal glowing brightly atop the spire, pulsing with white energy.

Despite being several kilometres away, he felt himself freezing up in fear. His eyes went so wide that they almost popped out.

That was the call of death!

Despite several close brushes with lethal danger, Richard had never felt the possibility of his death so acutely. It was akin to being sent to the gallows with the noose tightened around his neck, waiting for the moment when the floor below would give way.

Richard's followers finally felt the danger from the pulsing light, starting to panic as well. They prepared to steer clear of the impending ray of doom, but nobody moved. Being experienced powerhouses, they knew that the attack still needed a bit of time to reach them. Thus, as they always did, they waited calmly for Richard to give them their orders.

Able to sense the danger more acutely than anyone else, Richard was the first to react. He had already moved back to try and get away from the range of the attack, but no matter where he went he felt the brunt of the energy seemed to be focused on him. It didn't take long to notice the mysterious energy within him starting to get restless, connecting to the power gathered within the crystal.

A beam of light was finally launched, heading directly in his way.

Richard quickly understood that the energy Stardragon had left within him was meant to track the target of this blast. So long as he had this energy within him, he couldn't possibly avoid the attack. However, no matter what he tried he just couldn't expel the mysterious energy from his body.

As his mind shifted to different ways to stay alive, he glanced around at the followers nearby. Even Asiris and Fuschia couldn't block the energy he felt coming from this spell, and he couldn't feel any loss of energy even as the beam travelled the kilometres of distance it took to get to him.

The beam was quickly picking up pace, and in only a few seconds it had crossed the first kilometre.

754 - City of Sin

Command

Was death inevitable? Richard's mind immediately rejected that thought. He could use his rune knights and followers as a shield, having them take on the brunt of the damage to secure his own life.

He actually came up with many plans to do so on the spot, each sacrificing different people. However, he immediately blocked his own thoughts and screamed out a simple command:

“STAND YOUR GROUND!”

The command had been sent both mentally and with an amplified voice. Over the years, Richard had slowly amassed such great prestige amongst his followers and knights that their first instinct was to obey. Moments later, everyone watched dumbfoundedly as he flew into the sky. Google search 𝑓𝘳𝚎𝘦𝚠e𝚋𝘯o𝘃el. 𝒄om

The beam of light changed its trajectory once more, still aimed right at his body. The adjustment was almost instantaneous, and there was no drop in speed to speak of. Even if Richard moved twice as fast, Richard would not be able to dodge this attack.

Most of those present were confounded, looking on blankly at this change without any idea of what to do. Flowsand immediately flew up to follow Richard, but she only made it a few inches before she was stopped in her tracks. Chains of timeforce formed out of thin air, binding her to the ground. Her contract with the Eternal Dragon limited her from doing a number of things, and this was one of them. There was no way for her to survive this incoming attack head-on, and the old dragon's contract managed to figure out her intentions despite the Godnest disrupting their connection.

She almost went berserk, but no matter how violently she thrashed she couldn't even scream. Every inch of her body and soul had been frozen in time, currently under the control of the Eternal Dragon.

By this point, the beam of light had already turned into a pillar that streaked across the sky. Richard could only see white light around him, his very existence overwhelmed by an intense aura of death. However, he continued to cast layer after layer of defensive spell; although he knew they wouldn't be enough to stop the incoming attack, miracles were often born of refusing to accept one's fate.

In the face of certain death, Richard found himself to be surprisingly calm. The year spent in the Land of Dusk had changed his mindset and strengthened his will, allowing him to remain sane in this moment.

However, this beam would blast him into smithereens. His genius and his runes would slowly turn into a myth, sang of in tales that would slowly be eroded by the streams of time. The prospects of the future saint runemaster would quickly fade away. No matter how amazing he was, he would only be remembered for his work on Lifesbane, a rune that wasn't even grade 4. There were innumerable geniuses throughout history, but only those who managed to survive were lauded for their greatness.

His glory was at an end. Richard turned cold as ice, making his final preparations. This was a struggle to escape the grasp of death, but unlike others his would be calculated and efficient.

*Whoosh!* As he turned around to face the incoming attack, Richard's eyes went wide. A figure was stood before him, obviously intent on shielding him from his impending doom.

“LI—” his scream was drowned out by the rumbling energy in the pillar of light. The Dragon Mage's teleportation had been far too sudden, capturing him unprepared. It was too late to direct the attack away from her.

Richard could only see Lina's back, and those stood below could barely see her feet within the light. However, the massive amount of mana she was pulling out of her body moved the hearts of everyone present. She had basically destroyed her mana pool to reach the absolute limit of her strength!

The pillar of light enveloped Lina and Richard, continuing to move forward for a few moments before all the energy bundled up into a ball of pure light. The hundred-metre-wide orb exploded without a sound, pieces of shattered energy fluttering about the sky.

The pillar of death disappeared, and when the fragments dissipated it felt like it had never existed before. Lina and Richard came into view once more, still flying across the air in the same positions as before. The Dragon Mage's back was slightly arched, but her hands were still outstretched and she covered most of Richard's body. Richard's hand was outstretched, but he was a metre away. He had tried his best to catch her and throw her away, but even the one moment that took had been too long. He could only watch as all of her mana and life force had been burnt away before his eyes, defending him from the pillar of light.

*ROAAAAAR!* A heart-wrenching cry of pain rang out as Kaloh flapped his wings, trying to get close to Lina but hesitating to do so. However, the dragon's roar had broken the equilibrium and Lina's arms drooped down, dozens of points on her body exploding with pillars of blood. Richard's helpless expression faded away into nothingness, and he went limp as well. Both began to fall.

His followers finally regained their senses. Some cried in despair, while others immediately flew out to approach. Flowsand's bindings had disappeared, but she just stayed floating in mid-air, staring blankly at the scene as she bit her lips in absolute loss.

Kaloh finally swooped down, flying back up with Lina on his back. Richard was slowed down by a featherfall spell, and Senma dashed forward to catch him before he hit the ground.

“GET THEM HERE! NOW!” Nyra shouted, bounding over as fast as she could.

Having experienced Nyra's healing abilities before, Kaloh immediately landed on the ground. The dragon knew that the soul shepherd was capable of resurrecting his friend even if she had truly died. Asiris bounded up the dragon's back the moment it came to a halt, flashing over to Lina's location before bringing her down in front of Nyra.

Nyra quickly assessed Lina's wounds, finding that the burnt life force had negated most of the impact. The Dragon Mage was still breathing, but her face was flushed and the beam had pierced through her body. Her heart had been completely destroyed, so only resurrection would be able to save her.

Richard himself had a number of wounds, albeit much smaller in scale. The beam of light had pierced through Lina's heart and then destroyed his defences before getting to his body.

“How are they?!” Flowsand's voice sounded behind Nyra, lacking even a hint of her normal grace.

Nyra's hands trembled as she thought back to the relationship between her mistress and Richard. Although the other followers weren't speaking, she could sense the heat in their gazes. Richard wasn't just a commander, he was a master that they had followed from dirt to glory. He had painted an incomparable future in front of their eyes, the awkward youth having transformed into a true leader both within the battlefield and without.

This was the new king of the Archerons, the man who had promised them greater heights than ever before. Every rune knight here had absolute faith in him, as did Senma. The Blood Paladin acted like she just wanted better armour, but that was just a token request that only came up after he had earned her loyalty.

“I'm looking!” Nyra said in a shaky voice, her hands tearing apart Richard's clothes almost savagely as she hurried to check him. Everyone nearby was shuddering; the winter of the Resting Orchid Plane seeping into the spring in their hearts.

755 - City of Sin

An Unspeakable Love

There were many gaping wounds on Richard's body, but everyone present was more worried about the condition of his heart. Bodily injuries could be healed by any good priest, the only issue was with time, but the heart was the core of an expert's bloodline and strength. Even though many bloodlines warped the body and gave one multiple hearts, the first was always the most important and serious injury could even result in stunted growth.

A collective gasp sounded as Richard's clothes were torn off, followed by a heavy sigh of relief. A bright glow shimmered from the location of Richard's heart, the last of the destiny crystals that he had kept with him all this time. The flesh around the slate was charred, but the heart itself was definitely protected. A few healing spells would be enough to bring him back.

However, Senma and Asiris couldn't bring themselves to rejoice. Flowsand didn't smile either, turning to Nyra with a questioning gaze, “And Lina?”

Now that Nyra was level 18, her abilities with resurrection had grown. The spell still wasn't perfect, but the drop in capability and talent was minimal. Lina would never step into the legendary realm in her life, but as someone who was once level 19, she would at least remain a grand mage. This was a horribly bitter end; nobody with the ability to enter the realm of saints was ordinary, and even those who weren't prodigies made conscious efforts to suppress their growth for a hopeful spurt into the legendary realm. Lina had been one such person.

Just how much courage did it take to sacrifice one's life like that?

Nyra placed her hand on Lina's forehead, but even after her eyes flashed she kept mum. The unexpected silence quieted everyone's celebrations.

“Nyra,” Flowsand urged the soul shepherd once more. Whatever the answer was, they needed to face it soon enough.

Nyra pulled her hand back up and sighed, “Forgive me, Miss Flowsand... I cannot resurrect her.”

The words were like a peal of thunder, shocking everyone present.

“What?” Flowsand's voice turned shrill, “I didn't see you resurrect someone before in this battle, Nyra. Do not let other matters cloud your judgement, resurrect Lina now! That's an order!”

Although Richard himself might deny it, he and Lina shared a rather special relationship. Flowsand knew of Nyra's past and motivations even better than Io, so she was afraid this guardian was unwilling to resurrect Lina just to eliminate a love rival for her master.

However, Nyra just lifted her head and smiled helplessly, “I haven't resurrected someone yet, no, but Miss Lina's soul is beyond any hope of resurrection. Whatever that beam was, it eroded her soul sea to the brink of complete destruction; even if I insist on resurrecting her, Miss Lina would only return as a zombie without life. I do not believe the Dragon Mage would want to live in such a state.”

“And what about Richard?” Flowsand's voice turned softer.

“Most of the damage was taken on by Miss Lina. Lord Richard's soul might have sustained some damage, but it is minor at best. The absolute worst case is a slight change to his personality, but even that is unlikely.”

“So there's nothing you can do?” Flowsand asked with a frown.

“I can try to tether her soul to this body for a short period of time, healing its wounds and allowing her to regain consciousness. You could ask her what she wants in person, but you would only have ten minutes before you reach a decision.”

Flowsand fell silent for a few seconds before looking back up with determination, “Io, heal Richard right away. Nyra, you do the same for Lina, no resurrection. Tiramisu, go get a tent ready before they're done. Give the two some time alone, they have to speak to each other.”

All three referenced nodded before continuing about their duties, while Flowsand herself returned to the battlefield to direct it in Richard's absence. By the time Richard and Lina regained consciousness, they were sequestered from the outside world.

Still kneeling before them, Nyra was expressionless, “Lord Richard, Miss Lina only has ten minutes to live. This is the limit of my ability, please do not hesitate.”

Nyra turned around and left the tent, making sure to seal it off with a few spells.

Outside the tent, the followers and rune knights still guarding deliberately maintained their distance. Some were seated and others stood, all thinking in private while maintaining absolute silence. Senma was the furthest away, sitting on a snow-covered rock. This was the first time that she felt like the Resting Orchid Plane was unbearably cold.

Inside the tent, Richard took a brief moment to recall the events prior to his loss of consciousness, understanding just what Nyra had meant. His entire body went ice-cold at the thought of Lina losing her life. On the other hand, Lina remained calm and collected, only taken aback that she had gotten a few more minutes alone with him before her death.

“Lina... W-why did you... Why did you do that?!” He took on an admonishing tone, but his voice was shaking worse than ever in his life.

The Dragon Mage just put a finger on his lips, not allowing him to continue. Her gaze upon him was filled with struggle, but she spoke gently, “Don't talk about that, I don't have much time. I wanted to say for a long time, and question too. Please forgive...”

Seeing Richard nod, a smile appeared on the Dragon Mage's face. Her cheeks then blushed, her gaze suddenly shifting to the ground, “I wanted to say... Actually, question first! No, let say...”

Her face continued to turn redder, words more and more incoherent. She eventually took a sharp breath, but even then her voice turned meek, “I'm... tired. Let me rest against you for while.”

As Lina leant forward, Richard grabbed her and rested her head on his shoulders. She then fell silent, leaving the tent completely silent except for her breaths.

One, two, three... Richard counted, and then even that sound was gone.

“... Lina,” he called out gently.

There was no response.

“... Lina?”

There was still no response.

Richard did not call her name again, just hugging her forcefully while his tears dripped down in silence. This beautiful woman was an extremely gifted grand mage, but in certain ways she was just as stupid as she was smart. She was stubborn, insisting on things she fancied without ever thinking of compromises.

The words she wanted to utter now were the exact same words she had wanted to tell Gaton when she was younger. They were the same words that had been bottled up in her heart ever since he had walked in on Cardiff's harassment years ago. However, she always found reasons to keep quiet. Even in the end, she hadn't managed to speak those words out loud.

The words themselves were simple, but their meaning was deep and profound. She also didn't need to say them for Richard to understand. Perhaps that was the true Lina.

......

When the cloth covering the tent was finally opened, Richard walked out with Lina in his arms. His followers immediately turned to look at him in silence.

Richard immediately reconnected to everyone contracted to him, surveying the remains of the battlefield, “I'm fine, but Lina... Now is not the time to mourn. Stop cleaning up the battlefield, and kill all stragglers. Mobilise everyone, we're attacking right now! I want that city before Lina's blood runs cold!”

756 - City of Sin

Conflagration

The followers quickly returned to the army even as Flowsand stepped back to give Richard full control once more. The war cries and screams of pain suddenly grew louder as the last warriors of the City of Saints were slaughtered off, and Richard's large army turned into a tidy troop that made its way towards the holy city. With the shadowspears all dead, his followers and contracted rune knights were the ones leading the locals.

The City of Saints still mounted a defense, but the resistance only came from the citizens who didn't have much strength at all. A bitter, unexciting massacre ended in two hours, and by the time Richard's troops occupied the church less than a quarter of the residents were still alive. Even that was because they hadn't been addled enough by their faith to charge into an impossible situation.

With Lina still in his hands, Richard started chanting a spell as he walked forward to enter the church from the front. However, Tiramisu's enormous frame blocked him and a few rune knights charged in like a tempest, all refusing to let him take more risks. He quietly assessed his own wounds, finding that he didn't have the heart to fight.

A few moments later, all resistance was taken care of. The last mysteries of the Resting Orchid Plane would soon be his to decipher, but Richard found it difficult to care. He stood at the plaza outside the shrine, looking at the beautiful spire above him that had taken Lina away. What kind of race could leave behind such weaponry?

A rune knight hurried out of the church, coming before Richard and kneeling down, “My King, the enemies have all been destroyed. It is safe for you to enter.”

Richard nodded and followed behind.

The shrine was majestic, more than a hundred metres tall with the lower levels almost fifty metres wide. The interior was bleak and run-down, but the glistening black walls made of unknown material were the only things keeping this place up. The only semblance of a pillar was the base of the spire down in the centre, with metallic appendages extending to the rest of this building. An altar was in the centre while a spiral staircase wound around the edge, with a dozen corpses lined neatly on the stairs.

Richard walked over and inspected the corpses, gathering from their attire that they were mostly people who worked on the church's upkeep. A dozen others were crouched over in a corner of the hall, shivering with fear as a few rune knights guarded them. He said nothing, merely turning around and carrying Lina up the stairs to the upper levels of the church.

The staircase was thick and broad, evidently in the style of the locals, but it was completely different from the walls and the altar. Just the metallic lustre was something the artisans here could not accomplish; even in Norland such talent was extremely rare and the materials forbiddingly expensive. However, Richard only made note of that as he continued to follow the stairs up another level, passing a storage and resting area to the core of the shrine.

The battle here was obviously the hardest fought, with blood and severed body parts strewn all over the place. The difference in construction between the locals and whoever originally built this church grew obvious as well; those built recently had been destroyed by the rune knights' weapons in the melee, while the original constructions were only nicked at best. Judging from this toughness, the material used to build this place was even tougher than lafite.

At the top of the stairs was a corridor with two opened doors. A dimly lit hall was behind, with a strong stench of blood permeating the air. Three people dressed in strange robes were within, likely the three priests of the City of Saints. It seemed like they had fought hard, but looking at Asiris and Senma leaning over their near-corpses Richard knew that resistance had been futile. The Dark Priest and the Blood Paladin had great chemistry in battle, and both could sustain great damage before they lost their abilities.

The three priests were groaning in pain, twitching every now and then as they regained consciousness and winced. Asiris was busy circling around them, casting unknown spells from time to time, while Senma was just looking around. She walked over to Richard's side, “They're the three priests of the plane, they weren't even half as strong as we expected.”

Richard surveyed the entire hall, looking at the eye-catching table in the centre that was carved with mysterious symbols that he didn't recognise. A quick detection spell didn't return any magical reactions wither, which meant this thing was completely foreign to any magic he had ever studied.

His gaze landed on the three priests once more; it looked like he would need their... cooperation... to unravel the mystery. Asiris noticed this and stood up, “They will not die anytime soon, they are at your disposal.”

Not wanting to waste precious time on them, Richard turned to Nyra, “All yours.”

Nyra floated forward like a ghostly apparition, a faint mist surrounding her as she spoke with a dull voice, “Don't worry, I will make them spill everything they know.”

The strange heavenly guardian sent a chill down everyone's spines, but Asiris just continued to lean against the wall and whistled, “Careful not to break them.”

Nyra stopped in her tracks, her black and white pupils starting to rotate as she looked at Asiris blankly, “This is no challenge for me, kid. Worry about yourself.”

Asiris just smiled, but that quickly turned into a look of horror as the three priests started screaming in pain. Nyra just stood between them all as they turned around on the floor, watching them confined to the little space she allowed. After a moment, she spoke once more, “You may question them soon.”

Richard nodded, “Graveyard first, we will bury Lina there.”

According to Archeron tradition, the first choice of burial for a skilled warrior was in the family tombs. However, Lina didn't have Archeron blood, and even otherwise Richard had a better idea in mind. She was a beautiful mage, and she deserved a beautiful resting place.

Everyone followed him to the top of the shrine, past a long suspended bridge to arrive at the most sacred graveyard of the Resting Orchid Plane. This was a gorgeous area, with a mysterious force blocking off the bitter winds from an isolated world of jade. Spring water flowed down a slope and scattered about this small world, entering ten exquisite pavilions each of different styles. Every pavilion was also a tombstone, marking just who was buried within. The explanations were brief, merely stating the greatest accomplishments of the deceased individual during their lifetime, but by this plane's standards every single one was earth-shattering.

The only ones currently alive who even stood a chance to qualify for such a burial were the three priests alongside Daychase and Stardragon.

Richard looked around and nodded, “Move all the graves, I don't want anyone disturbing Lina.”

The rune knights and his followers set to work, quickly moving the pavilions and the remains below away. The cemetery truly did have magical powers, closing up the dug earth in minutes and reverting to the beautiful green grass that covered the place. Richard chose a spot he was satisfied with, having his followers dig up a grave before laying Lina flat on her back. They held a short ceremony in Archeron style before he placed his hand on Lina's upper body and formed a dim red fireball.

The flames looked gentle, but this fireball had been powered by his truename's energy. Once it touched Lina's body, it erupted into a conflagration that burnt brighter than any he had previously cast. Everyone bowed their heads and started singing an old, bleak war song. The song itself was fairly short, but it was sung repeatedly and hearkened back to the times when each Archeron struggled just to survive.

When the flame finally died down, the world no longer had a Dragon Mage. The only thing left in the grave was ash, and Kaloh who had been circling above finally let out a pained roar as he ripped space apart and returned home.

From start to end, Richard had remained silent without shedding a single tear. Neither did his followers, nor even Asiris and Senma.

There was no need for tears when an Archeron left the world.

757 - City of Sin

Exploration

A simple tombstone was eventually put up in the centre of the graveyard, with Lina's name personally engraved on it by Richard. He couldn't help but look back when they left the hallowed land, glancing at the Dragon Mage's eternal repose. This place was beautiful and serene, definitely something Lina would have loved. And so long as he didn't lose this plane, nobody would come to disturb her tomb.
ƒ𝑟𝐞ewe𝚋𝑛ｏ𝙫𝚎l. 𝒄o𝗺

“Go, we have other things to do,” he said to everyone. His voice was eerily calm, almost devoid of emotion, but he felt like a part of his heart had been ripped out from him. His followers left, but he himself remained motionless on the suspended bridge for a long time before finding the strength to walk away.

His first task after returning was to interrogate the three priests, a task he only spent half an hour on before they were drained completely of their lives. They had answered every one of his questions, but even so their expressions before death were of horror and not relief.

Richard didn't ask where their souls had gone, because he already knew the answer. On the other hand, his followers made it a point to maintain their distance from Nyra after witnessing the entire process.

According to the three priests, the Godnest and this church had existed from before there was civilisation on the Resting Orchid Plane. Their people had experienced no setbacks as they evolved their current power systems, and at one point they had discovered some of the secrets of this church and deciphered a way to enter the legendary realm. They had then built the City of Saints around the church, using generation after generation to further explore its secrets in an attempt to crack the mysteries that still remained.

Norland wasn't the locals' first contact with the myriad planes. There had been other cases in instances where two planes had aligned, and although these people could not traverse the planes themselves, they had eliminated any invaders. Even Norland's first raiding party had suffered a complete defeat.

There hadn't been enough time to learn everything from these priests, but a majority of their memories had been sealed alongside their souls. Nyra now held them captive, able to extract those stored memories whenever she pleased. There was a limit to how many times she could browse through them— every scan damaged the target soul greatly— but she kept them on the verge of consciousness and nourished them regularly. Unable to escape her grasp, they could only suffer eternal torment.

There was an air of mystery to this church. Whoever built it was clearly strong, perhaps even more powerful than those of Norland. At the very least, Norland's construction methods weren't on par with this. A link to another primary plane that was perhaps even more powerful than Norland would definitely be a great discovery. Richard thus started at the most important place, the control room that they had found the three priests in. It seemed to be capable of controlling a number of things in the shrine, but the locals had only managed to figure out a few of those functions. The Smiting Ray was one of them, while the opening and closing of the interior were another.

Richard circled once around the control room, studying every corner before moving onto the central table. Spending a while poring over the runes carved into the metal, he quickly concluded that the locals hadn't figured out most of the shrine's functions. The three priests merely used their own energy as a catalyst to drive the table's powers, and had figured out the specific energy signature that would activate the Smiting Ray by chance. Having experience with the craft of ancient elves, dwarves, and dragon blooded gnomes, Richard knew that the mechanism definitely couldn't be so simple.

Once done with the control room, Richard headed to the realm of divinity that made up a quarter of the top floor. The place was divided into a number of smaller rooms, but the locals had only managed to open up two while the others were still sealed tightly by metallic doors. Richard felt a sense of deja vu as he looked through the place, as though he had been transported back to the Schumpeter lab in the Forest Plane.

Within were a bunch of troughs, some with blue liquid flowing through them and most without. Each trough had a transparent cap, but those of the empty troughs were opened. Inside each of the closed troughs lay a local of the plane, all lying flat on the ground with terrifying scars all over their bodies. Their chests were slowly moving, and once could feel their life force being replenished within. Amongst these people were a few enemies Richard had recognised, saints that had been severely injured in battle who managed to escape. At that time he had assumed they would just die in the city, but looking at them now he realised there was a chance for them to recover.

This ever so slightly piqued Richard's interest, causing him to head deeper towards the second room to find a better-decorated area where the troughs were also built to be larger and sturdier. Two of the troughs here were completely empty, while a woman was laid inside the third with blue fluid washing over her.

One could see from the tattoos on her face that she was a totemic warrior, but she wasn't built as large as the others he had seen so far. In fact, her stature seemed even smaller than those of ordinary locals. Still, one could see from the proportions of her body that she hid explosive strength within.

The woman had a long yet shallow gash along the side of her waist, even the deepest part revealing a slight amount of hip bone, but the flesh all around the wound was a deathly grey. The liquid in the trough was constantly bubbling in the process of healing her, but the new flesh being created only took a few moments to wither away.

Richard was surprised at the sheer lack of recovery. The trough obviously had astounding healing properties, and the loose skin was evidence that she had been here for a long time. However, the woman's heartbeat was extremely slow and she gave off the feeling of an empty shell whose soul had long since been drained.

“Daychase!” A growl rang out as his followers entered the room, “How is she still alive?”

“You know her?” Richard turned to Senma.

“This is one of the two local legends, and not something useless like Stardragon. She single-handedly held off both Gaton and Mordred during our initial push, and still managed to kill off half of our rune knights. Even Lord Gaton couldn't help but admit that the only reason we beat her back was her lack of runes.”

Recalling the events of that day, Senma sighed, “However, Mordred managed to find an opening near the end of their battle and wounded her severely. He even used his bloodline ability to launch a soul-destroying attack, so we were all confident she would die eventually. There aren't any priests in this plane, and even if there were one would need someone in the realm of saints to completely eliminate the destructive energy. The locals have been insisting that she's still alive all this while, but she never showed herself in battle again... Anyway, it looks like only her body is still alive. There isn't a soul within.”

Richard walked over to the side of the trough, his eyes lighting aglow. His expression quickly turned serious, “No, her soul is still alive. The body has some spiritual connection, so her soul just left for some place. It wasn't long ago either.”

Everyone immediately grew alert. A mere soul couldn't accomplish much, but one couldn't always tell in the case of legends. She might be able to attach herself to another body, or live within a magical puppet. Even if the new host wasn't nearly as strong, her own experience and expertise would make her a terrifying force. With all of its other mysteries, it wouldn't be strange for this church to be hiding powerful puppets.

Richard knitted his brows, quickly surveying the room. He then shook his head, “Nyra!”

Nyra opened her mouth wide, letting out a piercing scream that rang for hundreds of metres in all directions. A wave of light grey rippled out from her mouth, quickly passing through the walls. Richard's eyelids barely even twitched as the soul-rending ripple passed by, while Flowsand didn't seem to even feel that. Asiris shook his head in dizziness, while the others reacted much more violently. The stronger ones started swaying back and forth, while the weaker rune knights directly fainted.

The scream that covered half the shrine had a huge impact on the soul, although not as damaging as Wail of the Banshee. If Daychase's soul was nearby, this attack would likely rip her apart. However, Richard didn't sense anything no matter how closely he listened. Eventually, he just shook his head, “Take the body.”

Io took one look at the trough before shaking his head, “Her body is filled with destructive energy. It'll decay the moment she leaves the trough.”

“I thought you were a level 18 priest,” Richard commented softly.

The battle priest promptly lifted his head in arrogance, “Taking care of it is a piece of cake, but if I heal her she becomes a great danger. I'll have to heal her completely to remove the destructive energy, and if her soul returns that will be a fully healed legendary enemy!”

“That's simple. Heal her for now, I'll be sending her off to a certain someone in Faelor.”

758 - City of Sin

Remnants Please visit f𝓇ℯℯ𝚠e𝒃𝘯𝒐νel. co𝐦

Io eventually did end up healing Daychase, but at the same time he raised his guard against Richard. The legend's body was placed inside a long, metallic box and escorted by four rune knights to the outside of the church spire, where the astral chrysalis was lying in wait. It swallowed the box whole before flattening, allowing the knights to climb on before it floated into the sky.

The chrysalis made a graceful manoeuvre mid-air before swooping away, heading all the way south to where the portal was set up. The entire journey took only a day, after which it immediately returned to Norland and allowed the knights to escort it back to Faelor and the broodmother. The process was lightning-quick, ensuring that no soul form would have the chance to interfere.

With that taken care of, Richard returned to the realm of divinity and the locked door that led to the third room. He threw an enhanced fireball towards the door, but the flames spread across the entire surface while doing no damage at all. His brows furrowed and he cast a lightning spell instead, this time striking a corner, but the power was spread out once more. From the looks of it, even a grade 9 spell wouldn't be able to do much damage.

“Tiramisu!” he yelled.

“Yes, Master!” the ogre agreed, bounding towards the door. His body flashed red as he spun around, ramming his warhammer into the metal.

*BANG!* The hammer was sent flying back, almost smashing the ogre himself. The shrill ringing caused many of the weaker ones present to empty their bowels and faint, while Tiramisu himself fell back several steps with blood dripping down the side of his mouth. The handle of the epic-grade hammer was bent, and several sparks of magic were flickering out of existence on the head. The ogre shook his two heads vigorously, but the recoil had left his so dizzy that he fell on his buttocks.

This was Tiramisu's full force, almost comparable to a legendary being's attack in brute strength. Richard's gaze landed on the door, finding no difference apart from a tiny dent. One could only imagine how sturdy the thing was!

Tiramisu struggled to pick himself up, his three eyes red with anger. Seeing his hammer destroyed, he howled in rage and took one from a rune knight before trying to attack the door again.

“Enough!” Richard's command stopped him in his tracks, “We'll have time for this later on. Let's go find the power source underground.”

“Give me another chance, Master! I can destroy this thing!” Tiramisu roared.

Richard shook his head, “I only wanted to see how sturdy this was. The entire church will be blown apart if you destroy this door.”

The ogre was taken aback, scratching his head, “What kind of magic array is so strong?”

“Maybe it's detonating some magic crystals on the other end, I'm not sure...”

“This place is filled with strange things. Just the door is so sturdy, the guy who made it has more things up his sleeves,” the ogre muttered in agreement.

Richard nodded. The three priests had tried their best to hide some information from him, but Nyra had already extracted everything he wanted from their memory. Alongside the other broken bits of information he had, he knew that trying to force open these rooms would cause the church to destroy itself. Even a legendary being couldn't build such a place alone, so any warnings from the creator would be wise to heed.

......

After Richard and his followers left the realm of divinity, a face suddenly appeared from the metallic wall. It was a phantom so transparent that its features almost couldn't be recognised, with the edges constantly dissipating away. Her face was filled with resentment as she glared in Richard's direction, but she didn't dare follow. Nyra's scream earlier had almost completely dispersed her spirit body, so she knew that she would only be a toy in the soul shepherd's pen if she was caught.

After some thought, she retreated back into the metal wall. A rune knight had been guarding near where she appeared, but he was unable to detect her movements.

......

Richard's group followed the spiral staircase back down to the bottom of the church, following through a narrow downwards slope before entering a half-opened door. They were all taken aback the moment they stepped in, surprised by the hall so large that it exceeded their imagination. There was a floating platform in front of them, but not in the style of the locals. A mechanical arm from above was attached to the centre of the circular platform, slowly turning in place, and while the light inside the hall was dim a red glow emitted from the platform itself.

This was a place constructed with metal, filled with pipelines and a large, alchemical machine. For a moment, Richard and his followers forgot that they were in the Resting Orchid Plane. He tried to go inspect the thing, but frowned upon the realisation that a barrier separated the platform from the rest of the hall. Although he couldn't read this new language yet, the warning on the edge was familiar as well: do not attempt to destroy.

Seeing this power room, even the wildest of his followers were at a loss for words. This scene had exceeded their imagination, leaving them all stupefied at the splendour and greatness of the construction. However, just what sort of race had built this? Why would they make such a great thing and then leave it here?

Richard lightly tapped on the barrier, lightning coursing through his fingers and crawling up the energy with no harm. He could feel that this shield's magic resistance was even greater than with the door earlier, almost to the point of immunity. From the size of the warning compared to everything else, destroying this thing would immediately unleash a catastrophe.

He frowned as he looked over the interior of the hall, finding another large passageway that seemingly led to a larger space within. However, this passage was also sealed. If the locals couldn't discover anything new in thousands of years, he had no plans of trying to force his way through.

He eventually pointed at the giant alchemical machines in the room, turning to Flowsand, “Do they have any value in a ceremony?”

Flowsand looked over them for a while before shaking her head, “A little, but definitely not worth it. The old dragon likes goods with energy in them, like rare ores. Once you've turned those into metal, they lose their value. The cores might be worth at least a lesser sacrifice, but that's about it.

“Now, that doesn't mean you can't take these things apart and sell them.” Even without removing the barrier, taking these things apart was much more difficult than it was worth. If they weren't worth much as an offering, they wouldn't grab a high price on the market either. Flowsand's words immediately caused everyone to lose interest in this hall.

“Let's go deeper in,” Richard said, leading them into a warehouse with a half-opened door. The items within had decomposed long ago, but from the looks of it the locals had rebuilt the area and turned it into the prison. The church itself couldn't be destroyed, so one only needed to guard the front gates to leave all prisoners unable to escape.

Recalling the information from the priests, Richard understood that those locked in here were the vilest of criminals. The guards had been killed long ago, but he had posted two groups of rune knights here to guard. Seeing him arrive, one of the knights came over and handed him a book of records made of drake skin. The edges were smooth from long periods of turning, but there were only a few names written within. Most of the names were crossed out in red, with only three that were still untouched.

759 - City of Sin

The True Ring Of Fate

Quickly glancing through the book of records, Richard had two of his rune knights open the heavy metal doors to the prison. It was pitch black within, but the expected stench was completely absent and an illumination spell revealed it to be quite clean. The entire construct was a thirty-metre-long hall with mostly empty prison cells on each end, with torture tools and dried blood in the deep end. There was a small room in the corner of the hall made from transparent screens, holding a fully naked man with messy hair covering his entire head. There were a number of daggers and swords of all shapes nearby, but most eye-catching was several metal wires hanging down from the ceiling and drilled into his head. These wires were then routed to alchemical apparatus outside the room.

The man felt strangely familiar to Richard, with long limbs and a waist slimmer than most men despite his bulging muscles. Just from looks one could tell he excelled at strength and agility, but the guards had all fought to the death so there was nobody to question about who he was. Some closer investigation revealed that his name was Mario Greenforest, one of the three uncrossed names in the record book, but that was it.

Richard went up to the apparatus and examined it, looking over the four handles and two buttons for a moment before raising his guard and pushing up one of the handles. The man behind the screen immediately shuddered and stood up, revealing strange golden eyes that were completely unfocused and seemed to lack all life.

One of the wires started sparking, and a dozen expressions immediately crossed the man's face. Sadness turned to anger before that turned into insanity, and he just pointed at a sword lying on the floor to have it fly into his hand and glow brightly. He started moving around the closed room, hands swift like lightning as he slashed out repeatedly. Every movement was fast yet powerful, elegant yet efficient.

Elven swordplay! Richard's heart skipped a beat. These skills were definitely different from what he knew, but it was evident that they contained the essence of a powerful elven warrior.

Richard sighed inwardly at the expert's fate, but he returned the handle to its original position before pushing a button. Another wire started sparking, and the man's expression changed once again. He threw the sword to the ground before summoning a dagger and shortsword, rage filling his face. His aura seemed to shift as he roared, unleashing a flurry of berserk attacks with both arms as though he was surrounded by a thousand soldiers and horses. Each attack came at a different pace and angle, some glowing with light while the others were almost unnoticeable.

The followers grew more tense, with even Senma gripping the hilt of her sword. The elf seemed to be slashing wildly, but they knew exactly how powerful those attacks were. Every strike was unexpected and dangerous, capable of threatening a saint's life. Gangdor's reaction was the worst; just imagining how he would fare in such a battle, his body started dripping with cold sweat. As someone who excelled in brute strength, such skilful swordplay was the bane of his existence.

The elf's eyes were still unfocused, as though he was in a nightmare from which he would never awake. Richard watched attentively as he showcased the best of his abilities, recording each and every movement for further study. While elven sword arts had great requirements for one's bloodline, they were also focused around short bursts of high energy which was perfect for him to combine with Mana Armament and Lifesbane.

This puppet only seemed to be level 12 or 13, but those present could tell that his skill was far beyond that level. He had likely wasted away in this prison, slowly losing his strength until this was all that remained.

As the seconds turned into minutes, the elf started to flag. His expression grew worse while his slashes slowed down, and he constantly fell back as though he was being injured. However, his actual energy did not show any signs of waning; it was apparent that whatever illusion had taken him was a powerful one.

Suddenly the elf stood upright, his aura flaring up. His gaze was still lifeless, but everyone present felt the chilly intent in his expression as time seemed to stand still for a moment before the prison was lit aglow by an amber halo. Richard's expression warped, but before he could shout out a warning the elf gripped his blades and flew several circles around the room. The light of the halo seemed to ripple like water as it spread out, forming several long gashes on the transparent screens blocking him within.

“The Ring of Fate...” Richard murmured, “So this is how it's used...”

When Gaton had shown him the secret swords of Silvermoon, all the skills except Annihilation had seemed rather mediocre. The man had said that he had only seen the skill for the azure moon in person, while the others had been pieced together from various sources. Without any elvish blood, Gaton had only barely managed to recreate the seven sword skills.

Most elves had already been pushed out of Norland, now residing on a continent of their own called Lithgalen, the Ashen Greens. With no plans to go visit any time soon, Richard had never imagined that he would actually see one of the secret swords being displayed in person. This elf only had level 12 energy, but even a thousand ordinary troops would die to this attack.

Only now did he learn that the Ring of Fate had to be executed with both hands, and the true power of the attack lay in the gathering of moonforce and not internal energy. A bit of practice would quickly give him a similar amount of skill with the secret sword, bringing it up to par with his use of Annihilation.

At this point, the elf lost all strength and fell back to his knees. He was already dying in his dream, no longer able to stand up. Richard hesitated a little, but he quickly started trying new combinations of the handles and buttons to see if he could display any more of the secret swords.

It seemed like every combination triggered a different kind of dream, evoking various responses that could be studied and learnt from. This apparatus wasn't revolutionary, its functions could be performed better by someone like Nyra, but unlike with Nyra this was visible to everyone and didn't need a rare soul shepherd taking charge.

760 - City of Sin

Sneak Attack

After trying all of the buttons and handles, Richard left the apparatus and stood before the screen, wondering whether he should free the elf. However, he quickly dismissed idea; he didn't know this person's origins, nor did he know just how long the elf had been held in captivity. Years of torment could have eroded the last dregs of sanity, making for a dangerous enemy should he be healed.

*Bzzt!* A bunch of sparks suddenly flew from the apparatus, the wires starting to glow brightly for a moment before the entire prison shook. The elf behind the screen shuddered, mouth opening in a soundless scream before he crumpled to the ground.

Immediately put on alert, Richard's party didn't try to investigate. Richard himself went for his sword, keeping his eyes peeled as he glanced at the surroundings. The prison turned extremely sinister in the darkness, as if something was stalking them, but despite the numerous spellcasters the night was only their friend. Io immediately buffed everyone with dark vision and threw two balls of light into the air, the first one glowing a dim red. The second went up to the ceiling behind them before bursting in a dazzling flash, guaranteed to blind anyone in the vicinity.

These were four simple spells, but when used in combination they were deadly to any hidden assassins. The entire sequence was a testament to Io's improved cunning.

However, they found no enemies in the prison. Richard had his rune knights search the entire place, but even after five minutes they found nothing nearby except a few dead prisoners. When they went to check on the fallen elf, they found that he had lost all signs of life. It seemed like the apparatus controlled his life and death; once it stopped working, the elf immediately died.

“See if you can resurrect him,” Richard said to Nyra. This elf was far too much of a mystery to leave unsolved, and could very well hold the coordinates to another plane.

However, an ancient voice rang out as Nyra walked over, “Mario died long ago. You won't be able to resurrect him no matter what you do.”

“Who?” “Who's there?!”

Richard's followers drew their weapons, radiating killing intent as they zoned in on the source of the voice. Not one of them was any nervous; even a legendary being would have to flee from their group, so there was no threat on this plane that they could not face.

“Just another fugitive, you have no need to worry,” the ancient voice rang out once more, and a scrawny old man showed himself from a cage ten metres above the ground.

Richard's eyes narrowed, “Bring him down, see if any of the others are still alive.”

Two rune knights immediately climbed up and broke the bars of the cage, carrying the old man down. The others found another living prisoner, but that being was short and hairy, more like a monkey than a human. It also seemed to have been imprisoned for a long time, already on its last breaths. The rune knights had missed it because it had been strewn across the floor of its cell, not moving at all.

Richard tried to heal the simian, but it had the same look of lifelessness as the elf did; surely enough, there were also holes on the back of its head. Nyra inspected it and said softly, “Mm, neither this one nor the elf can be saved. They're just bodies without souls now.” Google search 𝙛𝒓𝙚e𝚠𝐞𝚋𝙣𝚘𝐯𝗲𝚕. c𝚘𝓶

Finally, Richard turned to the old man, “And you are?”

Dressed in white robes, the old man looked just like a skeleton. However, there was still a trace of power from times past, and he scrutinised Richard heavily before speaking, “It seems like you are the leader of these people. A planar invader, I presume?”

Richard smiled, “Not important, tell me about yourself.”

“Me? My name is Stephen, and I don't exactly remember my age. In this damned place where both arcane and divine are blocked, time is hard to tell.” He pointed at the monkey and then the elf, “Blacksteel came before me, and Mario a little later. Both of them were trapped in those illusions from the machine behind you, used by the locals to extract their techniques.”

“And I don't see any holes in your head,” Richard commented.

“Ha, both of them were martial artists. I was once a legendary mage, but the priority of my life was research and exploration, I'm not proficient in combat. The locals weren't interested in my abilities at all, what they wanted was my knowledge. If I was put through that thing, the damage to my memories would be more of a problem than what they gained.”

“Hmm... What happened earlier, then? Why did this fellow suddenly die?”

“I don't know what they did, but the locals must have overdrawn the holy water. With the power source cut off, the machine likely broke when it was used. However, Mario would have died anyway. They have been experimenting on him for a long time.”

“Holy water? I thought there were no gods here,” Richard asked.

“Not that I can tell, there aren't. It was just a term coined by the locals for the energy well that powers this church. They can only use it indirectly, so they consider it holy.”

Richard nodded, “Alright, now tell me how to use the machine.”

“That is simple, even a mortal can use it if they know the method. Allow me to demonstrate.” Stephen hobbled over towards the device.

As he passed Richard, one of his fingernails suddenly straightened and turned into a razor-sharp blade with jagged edges. The entire thing glowed an eerie, poisonous blue as Stephen thrust it towards Richard's heart.

The attack only made it a few inches away.

Stephen's vicious expression quickly warped into one of shock as he saw a blade stabbed right under his throat. His throat moved, but all that came out was sputtering noises as the curved sword with jagged edges twisted further into him.

The assassin's face was filled with unwillingness, and he tried to continue thrusting his nail towards Richard at the cost of his own life. However, the pressure on his throat suddenly eased and a shorter blade cut off his entire arm. A piercing pain erupted all over his body as his blood started spurting out, and the pores on his skin opened up automatically and started bleeding.

“H-- Kn---”

“How would I know? You see, this sword of mine became rather sensitive to you locals not long ago. One could even say it carries a bit of hatred, just enough for me to kill your entire race...”

“W---W---” The glow in Stephen's eyes eventually dimmed. He still had more to say, but when Richard pulled the Orchid's Carnage out of his body he immediately dropped dead to the floor.

The only prisoner left alive was the monkey called Blacksteel, but considering its situation Richard gave it the mercy of a quick death. It was only then that Io snapped back from his daze, exclaiming, “The locals had planted an assassin here?!”

Richard nodded, “Looks like they knew I would get the rest of the plane the moment they lost the bridge. This one was a great actor, but sadly he didn't know about Carnage.”

“It's not like it would've made a difference,” Io grumbled. He was well aware of Richard's prowess in a melee.

Richard just smiled softly, ignoring the heavenly guardian's assessment as he looked through the prison once more, “Zendrall, these bodies aren't too bad. You can have them.”

“You will have three powerful warriors, my Lord!” Zendrall replied. The necromancer was still extremely formal and distant, unlike the other followers who had it in themselves to joke around in front of Richard.

761 - City of Sin

Mysteries Of The Godnest

With the prison looked over, Richard's party had seen all it could within the church. Nyra had managed to figure out how to use the Smiting Ray, but the holy water had almost been exhausted by the attack on Richard and Lina. Another use would leave the church without any energy to sustain itself.

Some of the rune knights had been sent to scour the entire city, but they found nothing of much value. The city had enough resources to sustain 10,000 troops for several years, worth a total of a few million gold, but that came from such huge volumes that even the astral chrysalis couldn't justify trips to and from Norland for sale.

Richard had them rest for a night, preparing to ascend the Godnest the next day. The night passed quickly, and the next morning he led all of his followers and a hundred rune knights up the path leading to the mountain. The route was long and circuitous, with the winds turning harsh the moment they left the confines of the City of Saints. The rune knights had thick robes draped over their armour; only Richard and his followers could resist the cold.

There was a long, spiralling path leading up the mountain, but Richard chose not to follow it as it would likely stretch over hundreds of kilometres. He instead chose to climb straight up, and remembering warnings written down to avoid flying at all costs, he ordered his subordinates to stay out of the sky. With the Smiting Ray in mind, he didn't want to trigger any other weapons left behind by whatever race built the church.

It only took a few hundred metres for them to enter the clouds, the moisture so dense that it almost felt like wading through a large swab of cotton. The Godnest's environment was extremely bizarre; the temperature here was well below freezing, but the moisture had not condensed. Clothes, robes, and armour were quickly drenched, and the water that was colder than ice caused the weaker rune knights to shudder as they walked up. Only with constant warmth spells could the entire troop continue upwards.

The same force that restricted spells near the City of Saints was present here as well. A gale spell could only disperse the clouds within a few dozen metres, and the clouds rushed back the moment the arcane effects came to an end. Considering the thousands of metres left to climb, it wasn't a feasible option.

Richard found both his physical and arcane senses were restricted within this sea of clouds. As much as he tried, he couldn't work on deciphering the runes of the Godnest on his way up. He eventually gave up, focusing on the climb. Even he was suffering after a few hours, and most of his followers were doing worse. Unfortunately, he was the only one amongst the group who had tempered himself in a battlefield of despair; a lot of people quickly started falling behind.

After a quarter day had passed, even Richard's strongest followers were drifting apart. The ones closest to him were Asiris, Senma, and Tiramisu, with Waterflower and Flowsand's group following right behind. The other followers were even worse, and the rune knights almost fifty metres away were starting to pant.

Asiris and Senma constantly exchanged glances of surprise. Although they hadn't been to the Land of Dusk, their experiences from following behind Gaton were no worse. They could see just how strenuous it was for Richard to climb, but he silently continued walking at the same pace from start to end. This was not a question of strength so much as determination; to not even flinch over hours of bitter cold was far more difficult than it seemed.

Tiramisu was the exact opposite of Richard. His heads were bickering constantly as he climbed in bursts, saying he wanted to rest every few hundred metres. However, he never came to a complete halt nor did he let Richard get too far away. Unlike Richard, this did not come from will. The ogre was relying on pure strength of body to climb the mountain, his thick fat allowing him to maintain his climb.

The road seemed to have no end, but Richard did not panic and just continued to climb. Whenever his energy reserves fell below the threshold, he would activate the powers of his truename and pull energy from the void. With recuperation and consumption at a perfect balance, he could climb forever so long as he had the determination.

Determination was something that he had no lack of. Compared to waiting in one place for tens of days just to ambush a Daxdian general, this wait climbing the Godnest was like a walk in the park.

Hours continued to pass, and Richard continued to pull slightly ahead of his followers. At one point he suddenly stopped in his tracks, looking up at the endless clouds and thinking about something. As the seconds turned into minutes, his followers eventually caught up.

Once Asiris and Senma made their way over, Richard shifted his attention to take note of the sequence in which his followers arrived. Having Waterflower, Tiramisu, and Flowsand's set stand to one end alongside the two knights, he turned to face Gangdor, “Take everyone else back.”

Gangdor immediately jumped and shouted, “No way, Boss! I can still climb, don't throw me away!”

Richard shook his head, “You can climb up, but will you have the strength to go back? I don't know how much longer this will take, and you're starting to lose energy. Some of the rune knights won't even be able to finish the climb, you'll have to take charge.”

Gangdor looked down, finding that only a dozen-odd rune knights had made it here by now. The last of them could very well be over a kilometre away. Even some of the followers didn't have an easy climb; Zendrall was relying on his warriors of darkness to bring him up. He eventually sighed in resignation, “Tell Waterflower to do it next time!”

“Just go!” Richard smiled wryly, almost kicking the brute down the mountain. Waterflower was a great assassin, but a leader? Just because she could use an army tactically didn't mean she knew how to manage men.

Gangdor unwillingly led the rest down, his axe swaying left and right as his feet planted hard into the ground with every step. Richard brushed it off, pointing back up, “There's something strange up above. We should have reached the peak of the Godnest long ago, but we haven't even made it halfway. Space seems to be stretched here.”

“But the flow of time is normal,” Flowsand commented.

“I can also confirm that we are not trapped in an illusion,” Nyra added.

Only now did everyone understand the presence of these clouds. To see through the stretching of the space required one to be on the verge of understanding spatial laws.

“From the looks of it, we'll need another ten hours at minimum. I have no problems with that, but what about you guys?”

The followers immediately looked at each other, and Tiramisu voiced his concern, “I'm fine, but... Master, should I carry you?”

At this point, only he and Waterflower still had the strength to ask that question.

Richard laughed, patting the ogre's stomach with his staff, “I won't have problems even if we had to climb half a week.”

The words were accompanied by a smile, but the responses were not. Everyone present knew just how terrifying Richard's implications were.

“Anyway, let's continue.” Richard turned around and continued to climb. The others could only grit their teeth and follow.

762 - City of Sin

Mysteries Of The Godnest(2)

It felt like the Godnest was never in reach, but so long as Richard stayed in the lead his followers felt like they had infinite energy. He had become their pillar of support during this long trek despite being one of the weakest physically.

It took ten hours and eleven minutes for them to finally emerge from the clouds, only ten metres below a platform. Richard's brows lifted the moment he jumped up, a gasp of surprise escaping his mouth. His followers had a similar reaction to the endless stretch of flat land in front of them.

A dark sky loomed above, looking almost like the void between spacetime in all of its blackness. Even the hundreds of kilometres of land one could see felt like a mere speck of dust compared to the endless night, space twisted in strange ways that nobody present could fully understand.

A flash of light drew everyone's attention back to the plateau, and Richard's party immediately set off to see what it was. However, what looked to be only a few hundred metres away, but after ten minutes and dozens of kilometres it felt no closer than before. Richard almost flew out of habit, but remembering the warning not to fly deciphered by the locals, he grew wary and kicked a stray rock into the sky.

There wasn't much strength behind the kick, but the rock just floated away without touching the ground. Gravity seemed to lose effect as it disappeared into the horizon. Without any idea how far this void stretched, one could very well be left floating forever if they were flung out.

“Don't leave the surface at all costs,” Richard said with a deep sigh, “Also, keep distance between yourselves. Let's continue.”

The party thus hugged the earth as they bounded in the direction of the portal. After two hours of a steady jog, they finally reached the centre of the land. At some point, the mountain stone had given way to fine silver sand, and a bright barrier of light seemed to block the path ahead.

Richard threw a pebble at the barrier, but it passed through with seemingly no issue. After a few careful tests, he tried to touch the barrier with his own hand but found there was no resistance to him either. Not feeling anything amiss, he decided to walk through.

In the eyes of his followers, Richard's body just disappeared into the curtain of light.

“Master!” Tiramisu shouted, following Richard into the barrier. The ogre saw Richard the moment he dove through, but already in the middle of his pounce he continued to barrel straight ahead. Richard barely managed to sidestep in time, avoiding the collision entirely while the rest of his followers started streaming in one by one.

It was an awkward scene as everyone tried to avoid falling; nobody had thought the barrier was actually a portal between two different worlds. There was still silver sand below their feet, but now the world had expanded into an overarching precipice with a boundless sky ahead.

Richard walked to the edge and looked down, but his body immediately froze at the sight. His eyes went completely wide and he almost stumbled, barely managing to catch himself. There was actually a pale blue planet floating in the endless sky!
𝙛𝑟𝘦ℯ𝘄e𝙗nov𝙚𝑙. 𝐜𝑜𝗺

The planet was so big that one felt like they would land on it if they jumped off the cliff. The surface was laced with man-made patterns of unknown uses, and the sky around it had many corpses of varying sizes floating in the void. There were giant bodies of metal and the skeletons of various creatures of all sizes, seemingly the aftermath of an intense war of ages past.

An extremely large metal structure resembling a honeycomb suddenly streaked close to the cliff. It was unfamiliar to all present, but the hundred kilometres of length and glossy sheen was extremely eye-catching. Some silver objects occasionally flew out of the damaged holes in the structure, revolving around it.

Richard felt as though something was lodged in his chest, finding it difficult to breathe. Only after looking left and right at his followers did he anchor himself, finally calming down and looking at the large blue planet ahead, “That is the Godnest, I believe.”

Flowsand's breathing had quickened as well, and hourglasses were intermittently flashing in her pupils. Sweat started to bead on her forehead as she starting huffing, “The time flow here is the same as outside, but I can't even control my timeforce here, forget sensing the Dragon. Also, all those corpses could be used as offerings.”

Nyra looked around, her eyes constantly flickering between black and white, but after a minute she just shook her head, “I sense nothing.”

“Let me try,” Io suddenly raised an arm, brows furrowed as he channeled his divine power into his hand. An orb of golden light lit up on his fingertips, growing in size as it started to revolve. When the orb started to emit tangible heat, he sent it flying towards the planet a distance away.

The divine fireball shone brightly, but it soon winked out of existence as it impacted a hitherto transparent barrier a few metres away. Richard immediately threw another rock down the cliff, but it only made it a few centimetres before ricocheting violently and shooting into the sky. “Looks like we have to break this barrier to go in,” he commented.

“I'll try,” Senma pulled her sword. After the experience with the door back in the church building, none of Richard's followers dared to underestimate the mysteries of the Godnest. The party retreated several steps to give her some space, and a pale red glow appeared on her blade as she slashed towards the ground below. The crimson energy shot out towards its target, but the moment it hit the barrier it simply dispersed along the surface.

Senma said nothing, just walking forward and burning her internal energy as she tried once more in person. This time, the sword froze in place the moment it hit the barrier, not moving another inch. The crimson glow spread across the barrier once more, and moments later the blade cracked apart and the Blood Paladin fell back on her rear. She spat out a mouthful of blood before standing up and silently walking back.

The rest of those present were absolutely shocked. Senma was a true saint, but the barrier didn't so much as budge despite her full strength. They were immediately dismayed, knowing that their own powers weren't much different.

A lot of people tried, some even in tandem with Richard sending out several lightning bolts, but it was all to no avail. The only change from attack to attack was how far the colour on the barrier spread, but with even the strongest attacks making it less than a hundred metres and just how wide the barrier seemed to be, it was a lost cause. Nobody dared to try and fly around either; considering what happened to the stone earlier, that could be a straight path to death.

Richard stared at the changes of the barrier, constantly trying to find any weaknesses he could. However, he could only sigh once all the attempts were done, “The barrier is protected by the power of laws. A brute force attack would need to be capable of destroying all of it in one go to actually break through. If we don't decipher the laws that created this thing, we won't make it through.”

“Just what kind of beings could create such a barrier?!” Asiris asked in shock. Even he couldn't suppress his curiosity any longer.

Richard looked at the blue planet below, “I wouldn't be surprised if it was one of those two races. Anyway, let me at least see how long it would take to decipher the laws enough to at least pass through...”

Richard mobilised his blessings to the fullest, remaining still on his feet while his right hand constantly shot out all manner of spells. It took an entire hour for him to finally step back, just sighing deeply with a complicated expression.

“Any ideas?” Flowsand asked.

“Not really. I could decipher these laws, but the expected timeline is far too long. At least right now, I can't make it through.”

Asiris and Senma silently exchanged glances once more. Richard was tacitly admitting that he could already work on deciphering the power of laws. He wasn't even a grand mage yet!

Richard was currently experiencing a myriad of emotions. He had never imagined that he would even be able to understand the outline of these laws and how long it would take to analyse them, but the time frame was quite shocking as well.

148,000 days.

763 - City of Sin

Mysteries Of The Godnest(3)

148,000 days. Richard knew that it was impossible for him to live that long right now, so this method was as good as no method at all. Unfortunately, it was impossible for people to help him decipher the laws encoded in this barrier.

“Let's go. Just keep guard over this place, we'll return when we have a way.” He cast one long glance at the depths of the Godnest before decisively turning back to the curtain of light, starting to walk away. One after another, the followers took a final look at the awe-inspiring battlefield before following him into the distance.

They didn't meet any troubles on their way back. The mountain path was still as long as ever to traverse, but there were no real dangers outside of potential exhaustion. However, both Richard and Flowsand were extremely quiet during the return, clearly having something on their minds. They constantly exchanged furtive glances, each realising that the other was troubled, but they silently encouraged each other and continued on. They were both thinking about the same thing: the scenery from that cliff was familiar. It had appeared amongst the fragments of the future that they had seen, albeit much more blurry.

Richard was starting to experience what they had only assumed would be in the far future. That meant all of the other possibilities could be right on their doorstep as well.

......

Richard reallocated his forces the moment the party made it down the Godnest, leaving Senma with thirty rune knights to guard the plane. Zangru had already sent news that he and Phaser had caught up to Stardragon and dealt a heavy blow, but the fellow's legendary ability seemed to be the art of fleeing. He had been injured greatly, but he had eventually gotten away and hidden himself. These thirty rune knights were a safeguard against his return.

The aftereffects of a cursed demigod's attacks were not easy to dispel. Zangru had even used some of his own divinity in the attack, so Richard would definitely have enough time to strengthen the passageway before he dared to show himself again. Senma could stabilise the situation in this plane while he continued his campaigns everywhere, growing stronger until he could eventually find and capture Stardragon.

While the rest of the rune knights started the march back to the portal at the bottom end of the continent, Richard and his followers flew there that very day on the astral chrysalis. Senma had been instructed to prepare for the arrival of some spatial mages who would build a new teleportation gate in the City of Saints. It was the place closest to the Godnest, and Lina's tomb was there as well.

The astral chrysalis landed right in front of the portal, but Richard stood in place for five minutes before choosing to stay the night on this plane. His followers all nodded and dispersed, understanding that he wanted to make his final peace with Lina's death.

......

“Sigh. I can't seem to meditate at all,” Richard commented as Flowsand entered the room, slowly opening his eyes.

“You're thinking about Lina, aren't you.”

“Mm. She... I never expected...”

“I never did have a good grasp of her. She seemed like she didn't understand her own emotions, but then it might just be that she only kept quiet all her life. However...” her tone suddenly filled with anger, “Why did you put her in that position? Why did you kill her?”

“What?! I di—”

“You're the one who flew up when the Smiting Ray was launched. You should have understood it could track you.”

“What else could I do?! All the shadowspears were used up.”

“Then you should have used the rune knights!” Flowsand pressed on.

Richard's smiled helplessly, but he didn't cover beneath her clear gaze, “I can't send someone to certain death. Those rune knights are living people, and they have their own dreams— ”

“So what? Do you know what sort of responsibility lies on your shoulders? Do you know how many people have their hopes pinned on you? You think ten rune knights are worth more than your future?”

“I...” This time, Richard had no response. He knew exactly how delicate the Archeron Family's situation was. Gaton had been a prodigy of war that expanded incessantly, backed only by the sheer power he and his knights wielded. He was a miracle that had saved his family from the consequences of Gaton's recklessness, but there was no contingency for him being lost as well. His followers, rune knights, and the newly recruited soldiers all depended on him.

He was no longer that stubborn youth with nobody to call his own; now, every decision of his affected thousands of lives, capable of shaking up the Archerons and the rest of the Sacred Alliance. Gaton had beat up the Schumpeters and hurt the Mensas and Josephs, while he had destroyed the Schumpeters and crippled the Josephs, hurting the Mensas greatly as well. At this point, his achievements weren't much worse than his father's. Google search 𝘧𝓇𝗲e𝑤𝑒𝙗noѵ𝒆𝚕. 𝒄o𝓶

While his top-end strength wasn't comparable to Gaton's, he had an endless supply of rune knights that could decide almost any battle. Even that shortcoming in high-end power was quickly being made up for, but that came with the side-effect that his responsibilities were ever-growing.

“So what should I have done?” Richard asked.

“You should have hidden behind your rune knights! If you did that, Lina wouldn't have needed to die!”

Richard looked up at the ceiling, considering Flowsand's statement in a daze. A few minutes later, he sighed heavily, “You were trying to block me yourself, weren't you.”

“Wha!” Flowsand immediately blushed, not expecting him to have noticed this little detail. She struggled for a bit when he pulled her close, but then she tucked her head into his chest and went quiet.

Richard softly stroked her short hair, endless complications flashing across his mind, “I really can't bring myself to sacrifice others on my behalf. My place is in front of everyone, that's the path I'm most suited for.”

Flowsand just sighed, “And what am I going to do if anything happens to you?”

Richard kissed her head, “I promise this will never happen again, alright? I'll become stronger as soon as I can, you don't have to worry.”

Flowsand buried her head in his arms, not saying a word. He resumed stroking her hair, cradling her with a smile, “You don't trust me? The Smiting Ray was an accident; I can kill off saints easily right now, it's just that I didn't have many opportunities to show my strength. Don't worry about me, I know my path and I'll walk it. Your man is fated to be powerful.”

“My man? Bullshit, you have so many other women, how would you actually care about me?”

764 - City of Sin

The Unknown

Richard immediately felt a slight headache coming on. Situations like these were always the most difficult to deal with, and he had made promises to all the three women he loved that he could not give up on. Flowsand's rebuke seemed trivial, but she had every right to be annoyed with him.

In this critical moment, the only solution he could think of was to continue hugging her tightly, “You are you, different from everyone else. Of course I'm your man, don't you dare think of leaving me!”

“Hmph!” Flowsand whined a little, but she let him off and didn't argue any further.

The night passed quietly, and the next morning Richard and his followers returned to Blackrose Castle. Most of the followers would immediately cross planes once more into Faelor, continuing the Crimson Dukedom's efforts on advancing into the barbarian ancestral plains. He and Flowsand would return to Faust, with him heading to the Land of Dusk and her to the Church.

However, there was a letter waiting for him upon his arrival. There were no inscriptions or designations on it, but next to it was a note from the attendant mentioning that it had been sent from the Deepblue via magic circle.

Richard's heart skipped a beat when he read the name. The Deepblue held a special place in his heart, a second home but also the source of his greatest embarrassment. It was the first time he was so badly defeated that he couldn't even retaliate, chased out like an abandoned pet. Although Ensio was at least faithful to Sharon and had no designs on her, his words still felt like a brand burnt directly into the soul.

He had silently resolved himself not to return to the Deepblue until he could defeat Ensio in battle. He hadn't allowed himself to rest in the Battlefield of Despair, his second mind jolting him awake if he overslept for so much as a moment. Ensio's curses were constantly ringing in his head with every enemy he killed, like a dagger lodged in his throat. Richard had cultivated both patience and determination purely for the sake of avenging his defeat.

Why had the Deepblue sent him a letter? Richard didn't rush to read the message, instead closing his eyes and thinking for a while. He was still too weak to beat even Voidbones reliably, and miles apart from Ensio. The chances of him being able to help with any problems were quite low, so there should have been no reason to contact him.

However, he eventually composed himself and opened the letter. The blank page somewhat confused him, but he quickly felt a trace of mana shoot out towards his body before bouncing back to the letter itself.

The letter then started vibrating, Ensio's voice booming out from within, “Richard, I'm on the brink of death. I cannot stay in the Deepblue any longer, come over as fast as you can. I have things to say to you. This is not a joke!”

Richard was stunned, both by the sudden request for his presence and even more so by the fact that someone as strong as Ensio was wounded lethally. Having fought multiple legendary beings now, he knew just how much of a freak Ensio was despite being a fresh legend himself.

As the mana ran out, Richard thought over things for only a minute before burning the paper to ashes, heading straight to Flowsand's and telling her to go on without him before teleporting over to the Deepblue.

Two chairs and a table had been placed on the building's terrace, with Ensio seated in his while sipping on some wine. Richard was somewhat surprised by the fact that the place had been repaired almost spotlessly, but he tried his best to ease his frown as he headed over and took his seat. It was impossible to suppress a shudder at the sight of Ensio, but he quickly composed himself and started scanning the surroundings.

This terrace had a perfect view of Floe Bay, the scene extremely stern and oppressive this deep into the winter. Piercing cold winds blew in from the sea, blowing so sharp that a commoner would quickly accumulate a number of tiny nicks all over their body. However, Ensio was wearing a robe so thin one would feel cold just by looking at him. He also had a mocking smile on his face, derision filling his eyes.

Richard's response wasn't any pleasant either. Although he knew this fellow had no bad intentions for Sharon, that didn't mean he would forget the humiliation he had been put through in the presence of all the grand mages. If Ensio was hoping for him to come here as a junior student, he was ready to leave at any time.

“Not bad, not bad at all. It seems like you've grown a lot over the past year, at least you made the bare minimum of progress,” Ensio complimented as Richard sat down.

“Year?” Richard frowned.

“Come now, do you think only those of the Eternal Dragon can track the passage of time on a person?” The question immediately shut Richard up. This was a common belief among most Norlanders.

“I'm feeling nice today. Here's some advice: if you truly plan to become a fearsome force, don't rely on the support of others. You have to learn to analyse the laws you come across in the future yourself, and spacetime laws are amongst the most powerful you will meet. Don't give up on studying those fields just because you have a priestess by your side.”

Richard understood Ensio's point, but his brows still furrowed, “Flowsand hasn't made me give up on anything. She will tell me everything I need to know.”

Ensio just smiled, “So everything she tells you is the truth?”

Richard's expression immediately darkened, “She will never lie to me, Ensio.”

“Well, if you say so.” A faint smile was still hanging on Ensio's face, “Then what if she's wrong too? Do you really think a Chosen would know everything about the laws of time?”

Richard was rendered speechless once more. He knew it was impossible for a Chosen to understand the laws of their deity completely, lest they have any ideas about replacing their masters. They had natural advantages in the field, sure, but their limits were defined as well. Flowsand's understanding of these laws was bound to be incomplete.

“Does anyone know everything about any law?” he eventually retaliated.

Ensio laughed, “A wonderful theory, but it's only an excuse. Look at it from another point of view; even if everything this Flowsand says is correct, shouldn't you be able to verify it yourself?”

“If this is why you called me over...” Richard said plainly.

“Of course not,” Ensio shrugged, “I was just reminding you not to be too dependant on the Church. This is common sense to any true powerhouse.”

“Thank you then. I'll make sure to keep it in mind,” Richard said flatly.

“It's none of my business what you do with my advice. Like I told you, I'm just in a good mood today. Now, let's get to the matter at hand.”

Ensio didn't follow up immediately, instead raising his glass and drinking slowly as he drummed his fingers on the table. He was staring towards the sea, but one couldn't tell exactly what point he was focused on. It took him a long while to sigh and continue speaking, “Isn't this a beautiful place? Just the sight of Floe Bay makes me want to stay.”

Richard turned his head towards the bay as well. He had seen this scene for five whole years, but the floating glaciers only seemed sombre and eerie in the winter. Despite his own affinity for art, he couldn't understand just what Ensio meant by beautiful.

“Of course, you don't see it yet,” Ensio said with a laugh, “Spend an eternity stuck without sight nor touch, then you'll understand just how beautiful this place is. Those days in the Deepblue are what I cherish the most.

“Now... “ He directed his gaze back to Richard, “I know your relationship with Master is special, and you would do anything for her. But how much do you even know about her? Do you know what race she belongs to? Do you know why she established the Deepblue? Do you know the true significance of this place? Do you know of her enemies? Do you know of the real danger she faces?”
f𝔯𝗲e𝒘𝙚𝚋𝐧oѵe𝗹． 𝒄𝗼m

“I... don't.” Richard was stunned. Apart from the Deepblue Aria, he didn't really know more about Sharon than the ordinary mage.

Ensio looked at him with a complicated expression, “Sigh. You know nothing because she loved you the most of us all. She didn't want to burden you with her problems, but... Well, I can't tell you what she wouldn't herself. Anyway, just know that bravery alone isn't going to be enough to protect her. Her enemies had attacked recently, but I barely managed to drive them away. I only escaped the void rift by luck, but I can't use much strength until I heal. I'll need to go away to my origin, and the recovery process will be extremely long. You thought you could handle the Deepblue's problems, didn't you? Here's your chance.”

765 - City of Sin

Pride And Honour

Richard retained his calm demeanour, but his heart started thumping. Having fought Ensio before and seen him drive the Legion of Nightmares back through the summoning portal, he knew just how powerful this mage was. For him to almost be killed by someone...

But then again, only such powerhouses would qualify to become Sharon's enemies. Considering her strength, she would decimate anyone weaker. However, that also meant the burden the Deepblue had to bear was much heavier as well. If even Ensio was taken out after one fight, what about the next ones? Who would come to their aid?

“I'll... do my best,” was all he could bring himself to say.

“Then I wish you luck,” Ensio said with a sigh, “However, be wary of Voidbones. I did not injure him too greatly, so he might reappear soon. Alright, I have to leave. Being able to look at the beautiful bay truly is a blessing!” He stood up and looked over the Deepblue and Floe Bay once more before directly tearing space apart and stepping away.

Richard didn't have the opportunity to witness Ensio's arrival, so he was awed by the way the youth left. Even on the verge of death, he was utterly calm and could traverse the void! He stood on the terrace in silence for a few minutes, trying to appreciate the view of Floe Bay, but eventually just shook his head and walked down. He was not the same person as Ensio, and not all powerhouses were role models.

A few minutes later, all of the grand mages present were gathered in the meeting room. After being briefed on the functioning of the Deepblue over the past few months and ensuring they were ready for any crises— a process that took half a day because of the organisation's size— he doubled his funding to eight million and made arrangements to recruit mages with talent in runecrafting. Leaving the professors with instructions to observe the movements of their major enemies like the duergar and werebeasts, he promised that his rune knights would always be ready to aid before turning to head upstairs.

However, one of the Deepblue's mages suddenly rushed into the meeting hall, completely ignoring the grand mages as he shouted, “Lord Richard, there is a letter from the imperial family. It is top priority!”

Top priority? All of the grand mages started whispering amongst themselves, while Richard himself was stunned. Such wording was only used as a precursor to events as massive as full-scale wars. What was going on now that required such a message being sent to him?

Richard immediately took the letter from the mage and looked at it, examining the seal from the imperial family and ensuring it wasn't a forgery. At the same time, a small burst of mana spread out from the letter and shone on his body, verifying his identity before turning into flames. The letter burnt up completely, forming a tiny orb of white light that floated between Richard's brows.

Richard's expression immediately froze.

“What is it?” Blackgold asked, unable to hold in his curiosity.

“The situation in the Land of Dusk has deteriorated. A lot of Daxdian powerhouses have entered the battlefield and their experts are spreading out. A number have tied down His Majesty in the Fort of Dawn, and there isn't a clear winner in their battle just yet. Other powerhouses are rushing towards our three remaining fortresses to conquer them.”

“What?”

“Even worse, they know the City of the Unsetting Sun has the weakest defences of all. More and more of the Daxdians are targetting the place, and casualties are mounting. Rumours say a full third of the most powerful Daxdians have gathered in the Land of Dusk, and the other human empires are in great trouble as well. They cannot give us any aid.”

The Sacred Alliance was the youngest of the three human empires, and as such it also had the fewest experts. Having to occupy two entire fortresses, their defenders were stretched thin. The Daxdians were just probing for now, but once they were ready to commence the full attack they would certainly target the City of the Unsetting Sun. After all, they could move freely within the Land of Dusk; they would have no problems figuring out how strong each fortress was.

Overall, this wasn't a problem. The three empires would be able to muster up enough powerhouses to keep Daxdus at bay. However, that did not guarantee a successful defence of the Unsetting Sun. This wasn't a crisis for Norland on the whole, but it was a huge problem for the Sacred Alliance. If the situation got further out of hand, they would have to extend a call for help from the other races, including their nemeses in the elven empire of Lithgalen and the barbarians of Klandor. Traditionally, that would mean giving up a fortress to one of these countries!

While there was no monetary value in owning fortresses in the battlefields of despair, they were a benchmark for the powerhouses of each side. They were the source of the greatest pride and honour. The ancient elven empire that had spanned all of Norland had waned precisely because they had lost six fortresses in a battlefield of despair, dropping down to a single fort and portal. The blow to their reputation had been so great that the other fledgeling races finally stood up for themselves, declaring their independence.

The elves continued to condescend to the other races at first, but the humans formed an alliance that started multiple skirmishes on the elven borders. Slowly being eroded from without and within the plane, the empire finally had to agree to recognise the sovereignty of these races. They were given the right to participate in the battlefields of despair and win their own glory.

The various fledgeling races had flooded through the gates like a storm. Blood was spilt endlessly as they managed to regain stronghold after stronghold for Norland, this time keeping them for their own. The elvish empire quickly lost its foothold in that era where even those at level 16 fought fanatically and faded into obscurity.

Richard was being summoned as the royal runemaster to assist the war efforts. The Sacred Alliance hoped he could enter the City of the Unsetting Sun and support them with the best of his runecrafting abilities, crafting and repairing the runes of the powerhouses. With him around, the city's strength would be boosted for the war to come.

The letter had come directly from Emperor Philip himself, with his unforgeable signature at the very bottom. Just that spoke volumes about how necessary his presence was.

766 - City of Sin

Pride And Honour(2)

Listening to Richard describe the situation in the Land of Dusk, the grand mages felt their hearts shudder. They knew just how terrifying the battlefields of despair were, and only the first few of Sharon's entourage were actually skilled in battle. Most of the grand mages of the Deepblue were researchers, and in a battlefield with no rules nor protectors even a skaven could kill them off with ease.

“You should consider this deeply,” a white-haired grand mage spoke up, the oldest of the group, “You aren't yet a grand mage, and there are great dangers lurking in there. It would be wisest to go only after you've grown stronger.”

However, Richard just laughed it off, “Don't worry, I'm used to the place. I've already lived there for more than a year, there shouldn't be too much of a problem.” As he said that, his hand immediately shaped up like a knife and thrust forward in excitement.

......

The very next day, Richard was in the Land of Dusk once more. He hadn't bid Flowsand goodbye this time either; he was still afraid of losing his determination to go if he saw her. He was now confident in dealing with most Daxdians, but fighting legendary beings was still near impossible. He had just promised her he wouldn't put himself in more danger than necessary, and couldn't bear to tell her that he could very well be breaking his word.

Standing on the familiar cliff, surveying the earth scarred by battle, he felt a myriad of emotions overcoming him. This was the first time he had come here in an official capacity, as a member of the Sacred Alliance helping the humans win the war. He knew that he might never return, but he was only filled with a sense of pride.

Nostalgia was a strange feeling. Years in the past, he had never expected himself to be capable of it. Now, however, he could feel it almost pulsing in his veins. A mocking smile appeared on his face as he pulled out the dagger form of Carnage, leaping down the edge of the cliff.

As he shot down the cliffside, his arm suddenly grabbed onto a nearby crevice and stopped his body in mid-air. A black blade quietly whipped past his feet, almost cutting the soles of his boots. If he had continued to fly down at the same speed, he would have been cut in half.

Richard simply thrust his dagger downwards, cutting the blade in two before releasing his hand and continuing to drop. The would-be ambusher was a blade guardian, a mantis-like humanoid with a third pair of three-toed limbs.

The blade guardian's small, transparent wings immediately started buzzing in an attempt to fly away, but Richard grabbed one of its legs and whipped around, tossing it down. The creature turned around in mid-air, but seeing the flames gathering in Richard's hands it didn't dare to open up its wings and try to fly once more. It was currently a few metres below him, and closing the gap meant certain death.

The two figures plummeted nearly a thousand metres towards the ground before Richard suddenly smiled meaningfully, extinguishing the fireball and casting Featherfall. The Daxdian roared and finally reacted, but having failed to realise just how close it was to the ground, it crashed down into a splatter of blood. By the time Richard even touched the ground, it had stopped moving.

“So easy,” Richard shrugged, whistling as he started harvesting the corpse. His personality changed the moment he entered the Land of Dusk, something he consciously forced to distract himself from the ever-looming chance of death. He knelt down and opened an enchanted case, beginning to put in the power crystals, wings, and the one remaining front limb.

Just as the blade was placed into the case, Richard suddenly slammed the Twin of Destiny into the ground. A bolt of lightning flashed down and struck a skaven that was trying to ambush him, the grade 6 spell not fatal but strong enough to paralyse the creature in the middle of its pounce. Carnage buried itself into the creature's skull, and he only grumbled about wasting mana as he finished his work.

A few minutes later, Richard had resumed his journey towards the Unsetting Sun. He didn't travel fast, instead constantly leaving traces of his scent behind. The scent was all a trap, designed to lure over Daxdians for him to kill.

......

The occasional howl rang through the scarred land as an ursa general bounded towards his target, drool constantly spilling down onto the earth. His roars travelled a great distance, warning other Daxdians not to approach his prey.

The warlord found his prey in a redstone forest, and charged straight at the enemy without even speaking. Richard had nothing to say either, and wouldn't bother with a language comprehension spell.

This ursa warlord was even stronger than Tiramisu, leaving a huge crater with each missed hammer strike, but Richard used his advantage of speed to minimise the damage taken. The battle quickly reached a stalemate; the warlord couldn't hit Richard, but a layer of scaly armour below the fur was more durable than epic grade equipment. However, Richard's hands eventually glowed red and he thrust his blade forward, activating all of his Lifesbanes for a thrust with the elven sword.

The Daxdian roared loudly, swiping at the elven sword to slap it out of the way, but Richard used a gravity spell to delay himself just long enough for the parry to miss. His hand continued to glow as he thrust upwards, blood splattering everywhere while a severed penis flew into the sky. The shouts of anger quickly turned into whimpers of pain, and despite savage pounces in Richard's direction the ursa eventually bled out. Richard pierced the head with his sword, ending its life.

As he pulled out the elven sword, Richard looked behind himself only to find two wanga sorcerers staring warily in his direction. The male and female inched forward, both reluctant to start a battle.

Richard just pointed at them and gave them the finger, something that was a universal insult to most intelligent races. The sorcerers roared and rushed forward, but instead of getting closer to him they headed towards the ursa corpse instead. Richard hesitated before understanding something, sauntering over to the penis he had cut off and putting it in an empty sealing case. The Daxdians didn't give chase as he left, instead standing atop the corpse as though it had been their hard-earned victory.

While ursa penis was very beneficial for a human, most Daxdians cared more about flesh and blood. Richard and the two Daxdians had reached a silent agreement; neither would take on a battle they were unsure of.

767 - City of Sin

Eternal Glory

The capital of the Unsetting Sun wasn't very far from the portal, but just like any other expert Richard snaked around to eliminate as many Daxdians as he could. His sack grew heavier and heavier over the next few days, and when it finally became a significant burden he made a beeline for the gates.

The city was much more lively than he had ever seen in the past, more than twice the number of people walking around in a hurry. There was a general tone of worry amongst the residents, with most being armed to the teeth.

Richard headed straight to the top of the city, entering a large trading hall that sold all kinds of valuable offerings and rare materials. Unlike other highly profitable auction houses, the profit margins of this market were extremely low. On many occasions, they even bought and sold at a loss. Many major families of the Sacred Alliance had banded together to fund this market's working, and its main purpose was to support the warriors in the City of the Unsetting Sun.

The interior hall of the market building was a thousand square metres in area, but normally there were only a handful of clients at any given time. Only powerful saints or beings of otherwise high status could transact in here, and it was manned by a gnome with a great eye for appraisal.

“Hey!” Richard walked within the interior hall and smiled familiarly, handing the gnome the box with the ursa penis.

“Oh, Richard! I hear you've been off in planar wars again? Good, good, it's nice for the youths to spend their lives between greenery and beautiful women instead of a place like this. At least we're fighting normal people in most invasions, not these ugly monsters...” The gnome wiped his monocle clean as he squeaked on and on, in no hurry as he donned his gloves and opened the enchanted case.

Richard calmly took a step back, a quick spell forming a localised barrier around his face. This allowed him to avoid the putrid smell that immediately wafted out from within. The gnome's face turned green before he sneezed loudly, and the other patrons of the hall started glaring in Richard's direction. There was only one thing they knew that smelled so atrocious.

The gnome quickly recovered himself, maintaining a professional demeanour as he opened the box and carefully inspected the penis within. He even took a deep breath of the rancid odour to confirm the quality. Google search 𝙛𝘳𝘦𝐞𝑤ℯ𝗯n𝗼ѵe𝑙. c૦𝑚

There were grave consequences from that decision. The gnome immediately slammed the case shut and rushed away, before hurling sounds rang out from the nearby toilet.

It was around then that Richard saw a skinny silhouette popping into the hall from the corner of his eye. The new entrant sniffed only once before turning around and bounding away. His brows lifted up in confusion; why was Lawrence escaping?

A long while later, the gnome returned to the desk with a pale expression on his face. He cast a dozen purifying spells to rid himself of the odour before speaking up, “Not bad, not bad at all! Perfect extraction, and the specimen is great too. What do you want in exchange?”

Richard handed the gnome a list, “Three sets of these materials, have them sent to my place.”

As the gnome scanned through the list, a smile rose upon his face, “Ha, you're crafting another Lifesbane? We'll show those monsters this time!”

“Yes, it's the best rune for the current situation.”

“Make some more if you can. It's best if we cut off all the ursa dicks we can!”

“Haha, I'll be su—”

“Lord Richard!” a messenger suddenly rushed into the hall, “Pardon my interruption, Marshal Rundstedt requests your presence at the council tonight.”

“Hmm? Alright, I'll be there.” Richard sent the messenger off before bidding farewell to the gnome and walking out. A lot of people greeted him warmly along the way, expressing their hope for him to craft as many runes as he could in this time. Mages and runemasters were the two most respected professions in the eve of large wars, and Richard was both.

......

It wasn't long before the clock chimed to signify the evening. When Richard entered the Sunset Shrine, he realised everyone else was already present. It also looked like they had been waiting for quite some time.

Richard was rather surprised and almost embarrassed, but he quickly realised just how important this meeting would be. He had arrived a minute earlier than the set time, and for everyone else to be waiting impatiently showed just how anxious they were.

Marshall Rundstedt seemed to be ten years older than the last time Richard had seen the man, sunken eyes and wrinkles betraying the veteran legend's exhaustion. He nodded in Richard's direction and motioned to the empty seat before calling the meeting to order.

“The current situation is far grimmer than the recall order paints it out to be,” the Marshal started off, immediately causing whispers to sound in the hall. There wasn't any fear in those present, but they certainly grew solemn, “We thought the Daxdians would spend time probing all three strongholds before committing to a full attack on the City of the Unsetting Sun, but all signs indicate that large numbers are gathering in our direction. The attack on the two other forts was only a diversion, and we need to be prepared for imminent war.”

Rundstedt waved his hand, activating a three-dimensional map of the city before sending out eight virtual fireballs around the vicinity, “These are the directions in which we have lost our squads over the past week. Three were even heading towards the other fortresses, but there were no survivors. None of the scouts have been able to make it back either. The Daxdians have already encircled us completely, and are prepared to flood in!”

As they heard the Marshal's deep and solemn voice, everyone present understood that the paths to the three other fortresses had been blocked off. They were now alone.

“What is the plan?” someone asked.

“My suggestion is to give up on the outer circle of the city and pull all our troops back. The Church has promised its assistance with an Eternal Glory formation, so we can lure them in before destroying all of them! The Daxdians definitely cannot sustain such a large-scale assault for any length of time; so long as we hold the portals, victory will be ours.”

A level 20 mage gasped involuntarily, while Richard was taken aback as well. The Eternal Glory formation was a spell that constantly blazed with purifying light, severely injuring agents of darkness and chaos. Weaker undead would even evaporate into thin air. Such a formation would strengthen the defences tenfold.

“I am sure everyone here is well aware of the high cost required to operate the Eternal Glory formation; our harvests from the aftermath will be halved in exchange. Any objections? No? Good. Now, Master Richard, what runes can you support us with?”

“I'll have a Lifesbane ready in the next few days,” Richard commented, causing all of the powerful warriors in the hall to buzz. They all knew that Richard could craft Lifesbane, but that rune was always grabbed from the market the moment it was created; there was no chance for them to buy one before. Now that there would be an opportunity to use it, everyone was excited at the prospect. This was especially true for those who depended on speed and power in battle.

Rundstedt's face started glowing as well, but he restrained his enthusiasm and spoke with a dull tone, “You should know the current situation is unfavourable. We have no way of paying an exorbitant price for such runes, we can only buy from you at market price.”

With a big fight approaching, Lifesbane runes could sell for a higher price than ordinary grade 4 runes. The fortress just didn't have the resources to buy such a rune in bulk.

“Half the market price is good enough,” Richard said softly, “I can even take payment in materials if that is easier for you.”

The Marshal stared deeply at Richard, “The Sacred Alliance will remember your contribution!”

Five days later, a Lifesbane rune was dropped off at Rundstedt's desk. Richard also picked up five million gold in crafting materials. Everyone thought he was losing a million or two for every rune he crafted, but in truth his manufacturing costs were only three million gold right now. The only reason he hadn't quoted a lower price was to keep his own material costs secret from the public.

After putting the materials in his room, Richard stowed his pen away before heading straight for Lawrence's small shop. Every time he crafted Lifesbane, he needed some time to relax and dissolve the pure murderous intent that he accumulated in the process.

768 - City of Sin

Neighbours

Lawrence was in the middle of a nap when he was suddenly awakened by a chilly aura. He shivered and cried out in surprise, falling off his chair with his head bumping hard into the corner of a cabinet.

“Who's there?!” he exclaimed as he got up, surveying his surroundings with attention. Richard's presence startled him, but then his apprehension immediately turned into rage, “The Daxdians are here?”

“Hmm? No, wh—”

“Then what the hell is with that bloodlust, you brat? Why are you scaring me?!”

Richard smiled apologetically, “I just finished crafting a Lifesbane, it takes time to return to normal.”

“Lifesbane? Where is it?” a voice suddenly rang out from the inner room, “Bring it to me.”

Richard was stunned for a moment, after which a smile rose upon his face, “How come you're here?”

“Come in, let's talk,” Beye answered from the room.

Richard started following Lawrence in, but then he suddenly remembered something that caused his heart to thump. He pulled the old man back, speaking in a hushed voice, “Did you buy the ursa penis?”

“What ursa penis?” Lawrence looked confused. However, that only caused Richard to grow more apprehensive. The former legendary mage had a special relationship with Beye, but if the old man used the ursa penis he'd brought in to actually bed Beye, then his own life would be in great danger. She wouldn't care that he had sold it to the city market instead of giving it to Lawrence.

Seeing Richard's expression of fear, Lawrence flashed a mysterious smile, “I didn't see any ursa penis, kid. Think about it.”

'Think? Think about what?' Richard was completely baffled, but he eventually just resigned himself to his fate and followed Lawrence to the room.

Beye was seated on a ragged chair, her legs propped high on a table while she drank from a glass of blood-red wine. Her shorts barely even covered her buttocks, while her upper body was bare except for a number of bandages. A large, bone-deep wound on her calf was left to air, still emitting a trace of black fumes.

Beye's blank pupils locked onto Richard as she started swirling the goblet in her hands. The scarlet liquid was extremely viscous, snaking around in all sorts of patterns that made one suspect it was actually blood. Richard felt as though every part of his body was being pricked by needles and couldn't help but respond, instinctively unleashing the bloodlust he had accumulated over the many Lifesbanes he had crafted.

This was a sort of intangible battle, only comparing one's thirst for blood. The temperature in the room seemed to drop as Richard swayed a little, his eyes glowing brightly for a moment, while the traces of blood on Beye's bandages started to expand.

However, the battle was cut short by a dull thud as Saint Lawrence fell onto his back. The old man had little strength remaining, and just the auras unleashed by the two had caused him to faint.

Richard quickly helped him up, putting him on a chair before massaging his chest a little to ease up the breathing. Seeing that he was done with their clash, Beye nodded slightly, “Not bad, looks like you've killed quite a bit lately.”

Richard felt a smile creeping up on his face at Beye's praises, his hand shifting to Lawrence's back as he asked, “Weren't you in the Fort of Dawn? Why are you back all of a sudden?”

“Two top powerhouses from Daxdus and two other legends are currently tying up His Majesty and his two guards. For now, at least, nobody has the upper hand. Their battle affects a great area, so there's no way for me to interfere. Many people are thinking of ways to return to the other forts, I was just too lazy to teleport.”

“You're a lunatic.” Richard had no other words. Beye seemed far too casual about this, but he understood just how many Daxdians were currently encircling the Fort of Dawn. For her to return to the City of the Unsetting Sun without teleportation meant she had to have cut her way through a horde of enemies.

“And you are? You could be enjoying your life as a future saint runemaster, but you've come rushing headfirst towards death. What, are you stronger than me or something?”

Richard had no real response to this retort. Lunor was currently still in Faust, working out of his laboratory to support the City of the Unsetting Sun as much as he could. Richard himself only needed to craft runes, which could be done just as effectively outside the battlefield. He eventually just huffed, “I have my reasons.”

“So do I,” Beye smiled before downing the red wine in one go, “So, give it to me!”

“Give what?”

“The Lifesbane.”

“WHAT?” Lawrence suddenly hacked a few times.

Richard frowned, casting a spell to ease the man before looking Beye up and down, “You don't have the carrying capacity, it'll hurt you.”

“That's a stupid reason.”

Richard noticed Lawrence rubbing his thumb and index from the corner of his eye, “Ten million each, payment needs to be upfront.”

This caused Beye to pause, “... I'll pay you once the Daxdians are taken care of.”

Richard shrugged, “I'll give you the Lifesbane once the Daxdians are taken care of.”

Beye's white eyebrows nearly locked together, “Wait, how can you use four?”

“Hmm, my body's sturdy!” Richard stood up, pulling his shirt off and flexing his near-perfect muscles. His physique wasn't anywhere comparable to a saint warrior, but he looked far from a traditional mage as well. Having constantly been fed high-energy foods in the Deepblue, followed by various royal feasts and the hydra egg, his entire body was extremely sturdy at this point. Four Lifesbanes weren't a problem at all.

However, this flexing suddenly caused blood to rush to his penis as well. His pants immediately started straining, the bulge glaringly evident to even the most casual viewer. Beye froze, while Richard turned pale and glared at a giggling Lawrence.

“Ursa warlord!” Beye realised immediately. She only spared half a glance at Richard before turning to Lawrence, “You're the one that did this, aren't you?”

“What? No! I've never seen an ursa penis, why would I let you go?” Lawrence shrieked.

Beye just grumbled a bit before relaxing once more. Richard had gotten his erection in control as well, so they started discussing the current situation.

In the last few days, Marshal Rundstedt and two other legends had recalled every single powerhouse in the vicinity of the city. The portal to the Land of Dusk from Norland had its endpoint changed from the outskirts of the city to right in the Church of the Eternal Dragon. The priestesses of the Church were currently busy finishing up the Eternal Glory formation, after which every expert in the city would retreat to the core fort and join the resistance. That was when the true battle would begin.

“I'm planning to move near the city gate,” Beye said as she played around with her empty goblet.

“Have you gone mad?” Lawrence immediately jumped up, so agitated his face had gone completely red, “Won't those bastards be able to see us once they enter the city? How are we supposed to sleep?!”

“I'll go alone, you can stay here,” Beye stated calmly.

Lawrence's little shop was near the top of the City of the Unsetting Sun, close to the Church of the Eternal Dragon. If the Daxdians reached this point, then they would be hours away from taking control of the entire fort. However, the lower parts of the city would be much different. They would turn into the main battlefield over the next few days, joining the frontlines of the battle.

“Do you know how important sleep is to an old man like me, you heartless woman? Whatever! I'm already used to you brats crying, I'll come. Just remember that you're paying for any damage to the shop!”

“What?” Even Beye was rather surprised, “You might die, old man. I won't have the energy to take care of you if the fight gets serious.”

“I've lived here for years, girl. Aren't I doing fine? Don't worry, I'm not dying before someone gets your body!” The old man immediately turned a rosy red.

Watching Beye shrug, Richard spoke up as well, “So you're moving? Great, let's be neighbours.”

“You too?” Beye raised her brows, “Isn't runecrafting more important for you than fighting right now?”

“Not really, but... I'll try not to let it affect my runecrafting too much,” Richard said. Fighting was just like breathing to Beye, a basic instinct for survival. He wasn't there yet, but he planned to make some progress in this war.

“Alright, I'll leave my back to you.”

“I'll guard it well.”

Beye reached out and the two bumped fists. It wasn't an indication that they were equal, but it showed that she believed Richard now qualified to fight by her side.

769 - City of Sin

The Perfect Lifesbane

Three days later, when the roars of the Daxdians could be heard even in the Sunset Shrine, a raging ball of fire rose into the sky from the Church of the Eternal Dragon, stopping a hundred metres above the fortress. A bright white light covered the entire city, as though there was now a new sun in the sky. The fighting thus began in full force.

The Eternal Glory formation was somewhat like a mountain range or an ocean. It was undoubtedly grand, but after regular exposure to it one could even forget its existence. However, it was always present and constantly burned away at the more powerful Daxdians trying to enter the City of the Unsetting Sun.

In stark contrast, the surroundings of the fortress were completely dark. Countless Daxdian powerhouses were roaring in rage, knowing full well that the energy hurting them came from sacrificing the corpses of their brethren. Several large darkness formations had been laid down in return, fuelled by the flesh and souls of Norlanders.

Such was the reality of war. From between siblings to between entire planes, war's cruelties never ceased; struggling against each other was the only guaranteed thing with intelligent species.

Now, war was a part of Richard's daily life. Be it day or night, the sounds of metal striking armour and claws rending flesh and blood constantly bled into Richard's ears. In a normal battlefield he would just tune out the noise, but here he paid close attention. It was only when the noise stopped that he would be in danger.

Danger... It increasingly dawned on Richard that this word did not describe his situation, but he didn't have a better word for the feeling.

......

It was currently dusk, and Richard was stood before his workbench. His pen constantly drew beautiful arcs on the hide he was working on, while his mana extracted the essence of the different materials into the ink. Many of the lines were starting to overlap each other, layering the power of their ingredients. This was one of the most tedious tasks for a runemaster, mixing different materials without having them adversely affect each other.

Just as the line reached its end, Richard suddenly vanished from his workbench. Carnage's dagger form started vibrating as he stabbed down on the head of a Daxdian that peered in, cleaving it apart at the neck.

“Wait, NO!” he screamed as the blood and flesh splattered on his face, arm slightly trembling as he ran to inspect the rune he was almost done with.

“Fucking HELL!” His fears came true. Some of the Daxdian blood had fallen on the partial rune, corroding it beyond repair. Daxdian blood was extremely toxic to mana.

“The fourth time. The FOURTH. FUCKING. TIME!” He fumed. As a runemaster, this was the first time in his life that he was making a loss.

With how bloodthirsty the crafting process for Lifesbane made him, Richard couldn't really control his strength. Three layers of attacks would have taken the enemy apart, but he had layered an entire eighteen strikes onto each other without holding back. This was already the fourth time with this very attempt that his rune had been destroyed this way.

However, he quickly calmed himself down and picked up the pen once more. He had chosen to live in the most dangerous section of the fortress, and that would not change because of such a small matter.

With no break between two attempts, the current Lifesbane started off filled with killing intent. Richard could already sense slight deviations from the standard, but he shrugged it off and continued to delve in. The pen swept across the hide like the wind, the surrounding materials slowly extracted into ink one by one. Over time, the murderous aura pervading the room had grown almost tangible.

A skaven came over at some point, but it was split apart in the courtyard. A devilfish followed soon after, enticed by the smell of dense mana, but its tentacle was torn to shreds and the gap revealed a hole in its skull. A couple other creatures tried to sneak in as well, but they were all cut down before they could even reach the building.

......

Two nights thus passed, and Richard reached the verge of finishing the Lifesbane. However, he was interrupted by a loud scream not far away, coming from a human voice and clearly in great pain and fear.

Richard immediately raised a brow. Most of the residents of this city were saints, while a majority of the rest were prodigies like himself who were suppressing their growth. All of them had extremely strong wills, so while the battle constantly raged it was rare to hear such terrified screams.

He put down his pen and walked up a floor to the balcony, peering out across the fortress walls. A human saint was less than a hundred metres away, hands and legs nailed to the ground while the body was devoid of all clothing. Two skaven were running around him, throwing some sticky substance on his body that Richard knew to be a sort of condiment. Not far away, ten more Daxdians were drooling.

They were actually planning to eat him, right at the city gates!

Richard almost scoffed at the clumsy trap, but the wails constantly rang within his ears. No matter how strong a person's will was, there was a chance of breaking down if one was about to be eaten alive. He walked back to his desk and thought about it for a while before grabbing his sword case, popping out Carnage and the elven sword before heading out to the main street.

He stopped for a moment as he saw Beye, but neither spoke a word as they approached each other and headed for the city gates. Beye took the lead while he guarded the rear, hands gripped tightly on his two blades.

......

Only a few minutes later, the two casually sauntered back in. Their bodies were riddled with wounds, with an unknown mix of wounds staining their clothes. The hostage had also been returned, but he was already split in two. Beye was carrying the torso and above while Richard was dragging the legs and abdomen. There were some signs of gnawing on parts of the body, but the corpse had been returned.

The guards nearby looked blankly at Richard and Beye before staring at the body of their comrade that had almost become a feast. They couldn't believe that the two had returned.

There was no applause, no cheering. Only one thought filled the minds of the onlookers; the lunatic Beye had a crazy friend.

*Thud!* Richard tossed the corpse in front of the guards, “This one sure screamed a lot. Go bury him.”

The guards immediately grew embarrassed, knowing how much of a blow such screaming was to morale. However, the man was already dead and nobody would desecrate his memory. His name would be carved into the Obelisk of Heroes, alongside the others that had sacrificed their lives for this city.

Richard and Beye thus separated. He returned to his residence, casually knocking out a Daxdian lying in ambush with the hilt of his sword. He returned to his workbench and picked up the pen, inhaling deeply before burying himself within the accumulated bloodthirst.

Crimson light flashed as the rune was finished, accompanied by a distant roar. Richard shuddered, snapping out of his trance and starting to examine his work. His brows immediately locked together; this really was Lifesbane, but there seemed to be a difference from his normal work.

Dense crimson light flickered on the surface of the rune, filling his mind with several disordered thoughts. This rune almost seemed conscious!

770 - City of Sin

An Unexpected Decision

Many people said that Lifesbane was a rune with soul, but that wasn't exactly accurate. No rune actually had a true soul below grade 5, and even the grade 5 ones that did just had a powerful soul sealed within or mimicked the effect with divinity. A rune capable of cultivating an actual soul would likely be able to kill gods! With Lifesbane, the word soul was used in the sense that this rune was crafted with intent.

However, Richard felt a vicious aura radiating from the Lifesbane in front of him. It seemed to be roaring without end, causing a resonance with his very soul. He started to reach out for this rune, but suddenly hesitated as he realised his hand was shaking with fear. The crimson glow seemed to lead to an entirely different world, and the roars slowly gave way to many other noises.

Beads of perspiration appeared upon his forehead as he worked his mind to the fullest, confirming with a sweep of his consciousness that he wasn't hallucinating. However, he couldn't understand just what had changed this rune so much.

Richard forced himself to remain cool, starting to replay the entire process of crafting within his mind. The glow from the Lifesbane started to grow denser, with the faint roars sounding more distinct with each passing moment. This only made him more nervous, causing him to go through things faster.

Just as Richard was nervously recalling events, the Daxdian demon lying by the corner of the wall began to regain consciousness. It struggled to pick itself up, but despite its weakness Richard's train of thought was interrupted. He grunted in annoyance before kicking an enchanted case towards the thing's head.

The scenes played like lightning within his mind until he finally stopped on his last stroke. This was just after he had returned from retrieving the corpse, a few drops of blood had dripped down his hand and mixed with the ink. Having lost himself in the killing intent, he hadn't realised it at all.

He quickly traced the blood back to its source, finding that it was his own. It partly set his mind at ease, but he was still conflicted as he reached out to grab the thing. Even activating Analytic, he couldn't tell just what the difference was between this and any other Lifesbane. However, he could feel the vast difference in power.

The demon crawled to its feet once more; it never could choose the right time to wake up. Richard didn't have the mood to waste any time on it, simply stomping his foot and causing a metal jar on a nearby shelf to fall on the creature.

Just as he touched the Lifesbane to start inspecting it, the four existing runes on his forearms lit aglow. A thread of crimson light joined them to the new rune, which immediately burnt up and formed two blood-like balls that sank into his arms.

Richard was startled, but before he could even try to stop it the new rune had completely merged with his body. His first instinct was to inspect his condition, and he did sigh in relief after finding nothing abnormal, but soon after he started looking for just where the new rune had taken root but failed.

His forearms still only had the four stacks, with no trace of a fifth. However, there were some changes to the ones that did exist; they seemed to be more blurred out than before, more inset in his body. If they were formerly like a sharp dagger, they were now like rusted cleavers. The blade itself wasn't as sharp, but the power it could summon was much higher.

Richard's heart skipped a beat as he slowly activated the runes, finding his energy being absorbed faster than before. His nails also turned a bright red, and as he continued the activation the colour spread across his fingers to his entire hand. It looked like he had just dipped his arms into a puddle of blood.

Small yet complicated patterns started to appear from the wrist upwards, joining into the existing mana lines of the Lifesbane runes. The entirety of his forearms turned crimson before the expansion stopped, and the lines started to glow. Richard almost couldn't believe that these hands were his; the long fingers now looked even more elegant and pretty, but the red glow seemed to urge him to tear things apart!

Richard just tapped his workbench with a finger, but the wooden desk was immediately cut apart like butter. The spot that had been pierced started to decay, turning ash grey before it scattered across the ground. The hole continued to widen until the entire bench lay in cinders.

“What the...” Richard couldn't believe that his hands had such destructive might. However, the truth was in front of him and the scattered materials on the floor reaffirmed that he wasn't trapped in an illusion.

“Lord Richard!” a voice outside the door suddenly snapped him out of his shock, “Today's corpses?”

Richard's walls were crumbling while his door was half-destroyed, but these guards maintained a respectable distance and avoided peering in. The residences in the city this close to the walls were always in danger of attack, and the Eternal Glory formation just couldn't stop every single enemy from entering. Only Beye, Richard, and two other madmen remained in the area, and a few corpses could be found in each at the end of every day. These guards normally collected these corpses and processed them for Richard, taking a cut of the profits for their work.

Richard deactivated Lifesbane and composed himself, answering with an affirmative before picking up the corpses around the house. There were more 'visitors' today than normal, so he tossed a total of four corpses out the door.

People started whispering about how a runemaster could kill four Daxdians in a day, and one person started narrating an eye-witness account of Richard and Beye heading out of the fortress to grab a comrade's corpse.

“Is that all?” the captain asked out of habit, already starting to leave. Richard went blank for a moment before recalling the demon he had yet to kill. He immediately headed back in to see the creature awake once more, cowering in a corner as it looked at him with eyes of despair.

Richard had killed dozens of demons in the past year, and this one was clearly younger than those he had seen in the past. Despite its malevolent face, all he could see within the depths of its clear red eyes was fear. This one wasn't like the other Daxdians who only grew more vicious as they were injured.

Were the Daxdians so low on numbers that they were sending children?

“Lord Richard?” the captain asked once more.

“Ah, yes. Yes, that's all. You may leave.” Richard himself didn't understand why he said those words.

“Alright, please let us know if there's anything you need. I'll be back tomorrow ni— at this time.” The man scratched his head. Ironically, the Eternal Glory formation gave a new meaning to the name 'City of the Unsetting Sun.'

Richard walked back in, looking outside the window silently for a few moments before turning to the cowering demon in the corner. This demon seemed to be terrified for some reason, dodging by pure instinct the moment Richard looked in his direction. However, the movement exposed his skin to the light from the Eternal Glory formation.

The demon screamed in pain as its skin sizzled, emitting black smoke to counteract the green that was starting to form. However, Richard's killing intent instantly flooded the room, “If you don't want me to call those people outside back here, it's best you don't use any force. Stay hidden in that corner like a good little boy.”

The demon looked Richard in the eye for a second before going back to the corner.

771 - City of Sin

Powerhouse

Richard walked outside and returned moments later, carrying a bunch of wooden boards, metal pieces, and simple workshop tools. A few minutes of sawing and hammering gave rise to a shoddy workbench.

He didn't even raise his head, “I don't know why I'm keeping you alive, but it looks like you can understand me so you're not too stupid. If you want to live a few more days, then don't do anything foolish. Sometimes, I just kill people out of instinct.”

The Daxdian just stared as he finished up the desk before speaking awkwardly in Norland common, “You... Why don't you... kill me?”

“I already told you,” Richard said lazily while inspecting his work, “Don't waste my time. Do all of you demons know our language?”

The demon went silent for a while before answering, “No, only we of the Dranicus.”

Richard pressed down on the top of the table to test its balance before looking at the demon with some interest, “Dranicus? Hmm, your tribe has a high position amongst the demons?”

The young demon seemed to grow more fluent in Norlandic as he spoke, and this time he said proudly, “We Dranicus are amongst the apex of demonkind, one of the royal tribes of Daxdus.”

“And what are you in your tribe?” Richard's interest was piqued even further.

The demon went silent for a moment before answering, “Just a normal warrior.”

“Lies. But then, it doesn't really matter who you are. I just didn't hand you over on a whim; maybe one of these days I'll be in a bad mood and kill you.”

The young demon looked as Richard opened up another piece of hide on the newly assembled workbench, taking out his pen and starting to craft once more. His eyes were focused on Richard's steady hands, starting to break out in cold sweat before he panted loudly and slumped to the floor. It was as though he had just lost a great battle.

Richard glanced at him sideways as he continued to draw, “Did you guys lose so many that even a child was sent to the Land of Dusk?”

“I am a powerful warrior! No more than ten people of my age can defeat me in battle!” The youth stood up, but seeing Richard's wordless smile he suddenly remembered how he had been knocked unconscious in a single blow. All the indignation faded away and he dropped his head.

“You know, I've killed plenty of your kind. You're the weakest one I've met, and you don't even have the will to fight.”

“It's not like that! I'm not weak! It's just... just... you're too strong. Your aura isn't great, but you are a Starbreaker just like the royal demons. It takes great talent to suppress yourself in order to be stronger in the future.”

“Then what about outside the royals?”

The demon stopped to think, “There are many unique people in our plane that are extremely powerful. We call them monarchs.”

Richard nodded his head and didn't question any further.

The young demons slowly grew more and more indignant, continuing, “I'm not a coward, but your power... Even the other tribes wouldn't be better, only the weaklings who can't sense your power properly will fight you to the death!”

Richard was somewhat surprised, turning around to look at the demon. The youth's body trembled as he instinctually looked away, but then he shook his head and stood ground.

“My power, you say?”

“My tribe has legends about it. The power of Truesight.”

“Truesight?” Richard's brows furrowed, “And why would you fear it?”

“I... I don't know. It's... instinct.”

Richard didn't press any further, just returning to his runecrafting. The demon's knowledge seemed to be limited, and even if otherwise the power of Daxdians was useless to a mage like him.

Time passed slowly, and the panting of the demon grew louder and louder. He quickly had to lean against the wall, and as he watched Richard at work he slowly slid down from that. At some point he had been mesmerised by Richard's unerring accuracy, feeling as though his soul was being sucked away. He tried to look away multiple times, but each attempt was a failure.

Eventually, the demon started sweating heavily and muttered in Daxdian, “Star-eater! That's right, he can eat souls and stars!”

“What did you say?” Richard asked without turning his head.

The demon answered truthfully, causing Richard to pause for a moment, “Hmm... Perhaps you mean... It isn't surprising, my movements and aura can resonate with your soul. Many artists can do this too, and unlike an actual expert you have no control over your body. Speaking of, what do you normally eat?”

“Meat, but we can eat almost anything.”

“Then grab what you want, you know where the food is. Don't take anything you shouldn't.”

The demon was stumped but quickly rushed over to a basket of bread and smoked meat before gobbling it clean. Only after he was satisfied did he look at Richard and ask, “Why did you let me eat? Don't your people always cut off the... offerings, when you catch us?”

“Stop it with the useless questions, there aren't any answers,” Richard said before recalling something else, “What's your name?”

The young demon hesitated for a moment before speaking up, “☺︎□︎♒︎■︎♎︎□︎♏︎...”

Richard memorised the long string of syllables, but he was certain that his vocal chords were not capable of pronouncing them. Thankfully, the demon also attempted to translate, “It means something along the lines of... Eyes of the Black Light.”

“Blacklight it is. Stay in this house from now, don't go outside or try anything stupid. Who knows, you may even live a few days.”

Blacklight nodded his head; he had no choice but to agree. All of his ferocity just melted away before Richard, and every time their gazes met he felt as though his soul was being seen through and he lost all of his determination to resist.

......

Somehow, the next few days passed by peacefully. Richard ate and slept regularly, spending most of his time runecrafting. It was as though he had forgotten the existence of the demon in the room as he even meditated in front of Blacklight, leaving the youth in anguish. It felt like one could just rip off Richard's head, but each time he thought of doing so, Richard's words rang in his ears, 'Don't go out or try anything stupid.'

The days passed by without a change, and corpses continued to pile up and get taken away. Richard killed at least one Daxdian each day, and every time it was right in front of Blacklight's face.

The demon had extremely complicated feelings, but he could only watch as his comrades and even kin died before his eyes. Thoughts of stopping Richard always crossed his mind, but Richard was just like an apparition that killed without warning. There were many times where the enemy was dead even before they entered the room. Richard would return to his work in the blink of an eye, as though nothing had happened at all.

A few days in, Blacklight couldn't hold it in any longer. He started to tidy up the corpses and placed them at the front of the door before cleaning up the traces of blood in the room. He knew these dead comrades would be sent to be harvested, just like when his own people ate the Norlanders they caught, but he wanted them to have some dignity in death.

772 - City of Sin

Counterattack

Richard turned a blind eye to Blacklight's actions, neither praising nor stopping him. The demon youth thus continued his self-assigned task.

One day, Beye paid Richard a surprise visit. Blacklight's body froze as he recognised this enemy, someone who was even more famous than most of Norland's legends. This was the saint who could slay a legendary being!

Blacklight would never have imagined that the battle goddess who could strike fear in most Daxdians was living right next to Richard, and even seemed to be on good terms with him. However, recalling how Richard was a beast of his own right, the demon could at least understand.

Beye just looked at Richard, completely ignoring the demon in the room as she sat down and started chatting casually about fights and runecrafting. A clamour started outside about half an hour into their conversation, and as they continued on it started to grow closer and louder. Over the past few days, the two residences here were a reef amidst the storm, unshakeable regardless of how many Daxdians were attacking. The enemies had once sent an entire squadron to attack this place, but that only left more than ten powerhouses dead and an equal number injured.

Eventually, the Daxdians realised that regular saints would not be able to take down these two lunatics. However, any legend that entered the walls of the city was opening themselves up to great danger from the defenders. If the assassination didn't succeed immediately, Richard and Beye could stall until Rundstedt or another legend arrived.

And the Daxdians weren't confident that a single legend could deal with Beye.

This time, the sounds of fighting were heard all around but didn't touch the homes of Richard and Beye. Not even a single stone fell nearby; the Daxdians seemed to have changed their strategy to avoiding them at all costs, only posting some people to keep an eye out for when the two left. Nobody wanted to enter a house when they knew they would not return.

Richard and Beye seemed to be completely engaged in their own conversation, not worried in the slightest until their door was knocked open. The two immediately burst forth with killing intent, but looking at Lawrence stumble and almost fall they immediately retracted their auras and turned away.

“Oi! What the hell are you two doing, there's a fight outside!” Lawrence raged, but after sauntering over to take a seat he joined in on their conversation without caring about the outside at all. The three completely ignored the demon once again.

Blacklight felt many complicated emotions. Back then, every Norlander coming across him would either panic or react like he was their greatest enemy, here he was no more than an ant. Beye could cut him into a hundred pieces, but why didn't even that old man care?

The youth came to the conjecture that it was because of unerring faith in Richard.

Just as the demon was lost in his thoughts, the three of them suddenly turned serious. “Something's wrong,” Beye said, “They aren't spending any energy on us.”

Richard nodded, “Their main force is attacking the upper levels of the fortress right now.”

“Why don't you two go up and kick their asses?” Lawrence asked.

Richard shook his head, “There's definitely a horde waiting for us there, maybe even a legend.”

“Then what should we do?” Beye deferred to his judgement.
ƒ𝔯ℯe𝘄𝐞𝐛𝒏𝐨ѵ𝘦𝒍. com

“Hmm... Let's... Yeah, why don't we take advantage of the situation and stab them in the back lines?”

“There might be a legend there too,” Lawrence's brows furrowed, “No, I'm sure there definitely is one.”

“And I want to find them,” Richard said with a smile, “Beye, hold the enemy down while I kill the rest.”

Beye frowned in displeasure, “Why not have me kill? I'm much faster than you.”

“And you expect me to tie a legend down?”

“Ugh... Alright. What if there isn't a legend?”

Richard smiled at that question, his body suffusing with killing intent, “Then it's a bad day.”

“Alright, let's go!” Neither of the two wanted to waste time, so they immediately darted out. Beye turned back just before exiting the door, “Be careful, you coot.”

“Don't worry about me, brats, my luck has always been great! I don't think these dimwits will dare to fight me if they know who I am,” Lawrence proudly patted his chest.

Even now nobody cared about Blacklight, almost as if he was just an ornament in the corner of the room. There wasn't even any worry that Lawrence would be in danger when left with a demon.

......

The battle outside grew more intense, with constant explosions ringing all over the City of the Unsetting Sun. One could see many dark clouds moving across the wide streets, blocking off the light of the Eternal Glory formation. Various colours of energy were clashing near the inner walls, and an occasional flash of bright light would skirt through the chaos to strike at the ball of fire in the sky.

Several legendary beings were engaged in battle here, so weaker people like Lawrence would be torn apart if they were in the vicinity. Every collision blew up buildings and tore rifts in space, even damaging the laws that held up the area. Anyone caught up nearby was instantly disintegrated.

After Richard and Beye left, Lawrence continued to sit and mull over something. It took a long time for him to stand up and remember that there was another creature in the house, turning to look at Blacklight and causing the demon to freeze in fear. Just the fierce glare made the youth feel like he would be cut apart.

Lawrence just snorted at the sight of the sweating demon, sashaying outside and returning to his own residence. The youth returned to the dark corner, not planning to move at all.

It was only when he reached his room that Lawrence turned around and tightly shut his door, leaning against the wall and sighing as he allowed the sweat to flow, “This stupid brat, that's an adult demon! What the fuck is wrong with him, he didn't even put any restrictions on it! Does he think I'm still the same as before? I can't even fight against something like that now! I'll take care of you when you come back!”

......

A new barracks had been built mere kilometres outside the City of the Unsetting Sun, in a completely different style from the fortress itself. Some of the longer-ranged ballistae could reach the nearby parts of the building. It showed just how arrogant the Daxdians were, and how determined to take the city.

There were eight such buildings around the city, rendering the tall city walls just a piece of decoration. The only real barrier came in the form of the Eternal Glory formation.

Richard and Beye quickly ran out of the city, sizing up the barracks in front of them. The building had been constructed in a hurry, but it was obvious that the defences were set up properly. The walls were ten metres tall and several metres thick, with barbed spikes on top.

Such constructions were a specialty of the Daxdians. So long as they had enough materials, they would be able to create a fortress or a shell of a city in only half a day.

773 - City of Sin

Wail Of The Banshee

In any other plane, such a wall would be a powerful defence. However, the battlefields of despair were no ordinary planes. Even the massive walls of the City of the Unsetting Son had lost their defensive enchantments, so what good would come of this temporary construct if an actual expert wanted to get in?

“Too weak,” Beye said after a single glance.

“So a legend, then?” Richard asked. He still wasn't completely sure of how the Daxdians liked to do things.

“Definitely, but I don't know how strong he is.” Beye's eyes narrowed to little slits as she started to lick her lips.

“Oi!” Richard turned to the lunatic, “You have to hold them down, not kill them!” Beye's idea of a battle was kill or be killed; she would likely kill the legend at the cost of near-death.

“We'll have to kill them if there's a chance.”

“Wait. For. Me. If there's a chance, we group up and kill together.”

“... Ugh. Alright then,” Beye shrugged before disappearing into the barracks.

......

A pillar of flame rose into the skies as a loud explosion destroyed the barracks walls. The camp was like a pot of oil that just had water poured into it, loud roars and screams ringing out everywhere. The Daxdians started to leave their quarters, howling as they searched for the enemy.

Beye suddenly rose to the sky. Although she didn't radiate energy, the murderous aura she emanated was far more obvious to any powerhouse. A massive black figure rose to meet her, body tens of metres long and covered with thick scales. The disproportionately large tail immediately swung out.

Even with her years of experience, Beye frowned. This enemy wasn't from any race she knew of, and the way it moved was extremely bizarre. Even flying in the air the four limbs were flailing around, almost like it was actually climbing or swimming. The massive jaw had hundreds of razor-sharp fangs, all covered in some sort of drool.

Richard only looked at the sky for a moment before turning his attention to his own task. The enemy legend seemed powerful but not agile, something that should be easy for Beye to suppress. He wasn't too worried about her, and the worry that he did have would be suppressed by his trust. Right now, his main task was to kill as many as he could.

He quietly slinked towards one of many caverns in the area, the living quarters of the Daxdians. A few were still vigilant of another presence outside of Beye, but he managed to slip past all the blind spots and get in.

Once he was inside, he immediately grabbed the elven sword and thrust it into a nearby hole. There was some resistance as blade pierced flesh, and a soft schlick was followed by a roar of pain. He didn't even bother to check, switching hands and sending a fireball into another one of the holes. Another loud scream rang out.

The holes were extremely narrow, just enough to fit a soldier inside. However, the other Daxdians didn't come out despite hearing the screams. It could mean one of two things; everyone here was injured, or they had just returned from battle and didn't have the strength to move.

Richard immediately started backing out of the cavern before launching a number of fireballs within. Although the spell wasn't strong enough to kill everyone immediately, these enemies would be maimed at minimum. Not even looking at the chaos he'd started, he continued to move forward even as he cut off the back leg of a Daxdian that had peered out. The enemy seemed extremely vicious, charging at him despite the destroyed limb, but he was already long gone as he continued to slash and burn several other caverns.

Beye and the enemy legend couldn't even be seen anymore, replaced by random explosions in the night sky. For a moment Richard felt like he was back in the Deepblue on the Day of Destiny, but then the energy rippled down and burnt everything in range. He quickly returned his attention to the hundreds of Daxdians that were chasing him.

The barracks wasn't filled with experts like the ursas, sorcerers, or demons. In fact, Richard hadn't even seen the species here before. They weren't particularly large nor fierce, most of them even weaker than skaven. These eight-limbed creatures were a race known as slave ants in Daxdus, their main job on the battlefield being construction and other odd tasks like cleaning. In times of need, their numbers also allowed them to be used as cannon fodder.

These slave-ants weren't specifically powerful, so the battlefields of despair normally spelt their demise. They often just hid in the Daxdian fortresses, borrowing the strength of their darkness formations to protect their lives. They only appeared on the frontlines if the entire army was being mobilised, and even then wouldn't dare to leave the vicinity of their camps lest the chaotic energy of the Land of Dusk burrow into their body. On their own, they would die within a month even if they weren't attacked.

Because of how varied the races of Daxdus were, the camp's terrain was extremely complicated. Caves, nests, hives, all sorts of buildings broke the streets, with many large puddles of mucus and barbed spikes on the ground. However, Richard used this complex terrain to his advantage. After circling around the camp once, he memorised its layout and started weaving through to grab the largest number of enemies.

The barracks wasn't particularly large, but there were many powerful enemies. Richard felt the pressure gradually increasing as the horde chasing him accumulated, and eventually he had no choice but to speed up. Mana Armament flashed with energy as he started to leave the occasional afterimage behind. Even so, the attacks were starting to hit closer and closer to him. He only managed to maintain the situation because the slower slave ants were blocking their masters.

Richard suddenly slowed down as he reached a clearing, his lips moving as he started a chant. Some of the enemy attacks started to nick him, but that didn't make him stop. He turned around to look at the chasing horde as he jumped up on a nearby platform, mana starting to flood out from his body. As the Daxdians started to encircle him, his lips parted in the last syllable of the incantation.

The illusion of a beautiful woman appeared above Richard's head, with long floating hair and hollow eyes. The expressionless lady had bright, tender skin and a shattered dress formed of various shades of blue. Just as everyone stopped at the eerie sight, her mouth widened in a shrill scream!

Energy visibly rippled out from her mouth, blasting tens of metres in every direction. All living creatures felt their bodies contort as their movements ground to a halt. A moment later, a cacophony of screams rang out in the clearing as the Daxdians started hitting the ground.

A scant few managed to shrug off the attack with light injuries. Most fell to the ground, bleeding from all orifices, while the skaven rolled around and clawed at their own heads. The slave ants all perished on the spot. Their brittle souls could not withstand the power of the Wail.

Several large eyeballs that were hung up on a high building exploded, while the rest were laced with blood. The camp went quiet in only a few seconds as the chasing Daxdians instantly lost hundreds of slave ants and tens of powerhouses. Those that still survived had sustained grievous wounds to their souls.

774 - City of Sin

Secret Sword

Richard's face flushed red as a bloodthirsty aura began to seep out from his body. This was the first time he had used Sacrifice to power a grade 9 spell. Although this Wail of the Banshee had been simplified so he could cast it with his current abilities, it was still far beyond the power of a regular grade 8 spell.

The Daxdians suffered catastrophic losses. The slave ants gathered here were around level 15 on average, so even as cannon fodder their deaths were a huge loss. Most of the others were grievously injured, with the skaven certainly maimed for life.

The surviving Daxdians looked at him with burning eyes, all kinds of roars intersecting as they charged forward to attack. However, Richard just smiled as he withdrew the dagger form of Carnage from his case, and an amber moon appeared above his head. A crimson aura enveloped him completely, his hands so red they seemed to be dripping with blood.

The enraged enemies had no chance to respond.

Amber crescents flew out from Richard's location, the air rippling almost like water as they pierced through their targets. Unlike Mario's attack, every ripple of sword light had traces of crimson within. Some only had specks of this red energy, while others had their entire edge laced in the colour.

From a bird's eye view, it was almost like a yellow rose was blooming in a puddle of blood. The Daxdians quickly lost balance and fell down, their bodies cut apart at various angles. Even the fastest to react had suffered multiple cuts on their arms, and after a moment whatever they used to block was spurting blood endlessly. Even worse, the wounds were starting to decay at an alarming pace. A Daxdian with draconic scales and a crocodile-like mouth screamed in horror as its entire jaw turned into grey dust.

A mist of blood enveloped the clearing, hiding Richard's figure. It dissipated in less than a minute to reveal him still standing in place, but now there were no corpses around. All that remained were tiny pieces of flesh.

Terrifying! Richard himself felt his heart nearly come to a stop. Combined with the power of his truename and the evolved Lifesbanes, the Ring of Fate had destroyed everything in a ten-metre radius! Some of the surviving Daxdians started to retreat slowly, while the rest were too frozen with fear to even move. The experts had been in the first wave in an attempt to take Richard out as quickly as possible, but that had completely backfired.

As the flowing blood turned into a crimson steam, the morale of the camp plummeted.

Richard surveyed his surroundings, his heart still thumping at the realisation of how much power he had wielded. His form seemed to be completely stable right now, but he could feel the lack of energy start to burn his body from within. All of his organs raged with pain at the exhaustion, taking nearly all of his effort to calm down.

Was the eternal war in the depths of the abyss also such a scene?

A vicious roar suddenly shook Richard out of his momentary daze, the enemy legend immediately abandoning its fight with Beye and rushing towards him instead. However, Beye was no ordinary saint. The enemy immediately paid the price for the impulsive decision as she effortlessly stuck behind it and slashed its back. A flower of blood bloomed in the air as she made a metre-deep incision, causing the enemy to roar and give up on its swoop.

“Hurry up and get rid of the mess!” Beye screamed from above, “I need help here!”

“Fuck off!” Richard answered, “It's not that easy!”

It hadn't been long since the start of the fight, but he had used Sacrifice to activate a grade 9 spell and then used Mana Armament, Lifesbane and the Ring of Fate in tandem to attack. His mana instantly hit rock bottom, and if not for the remaining enemies he would have dropped to the floor and fallen asleep right away.

Still, Richard just cracked his neck and stowed the elven sword away, pulling out the other half of Carnage before bounding across the blood and flesh.

The closest Daxdian was a tall centaur captain, but its chest and forearms were gashed to the bone. One could see the wounds still spreading further apart, courtesy of the Lifesbane. However, he was still the strongest enemy in the vicinity. He was shocked to see Richard heading towards him, but quickly roared in range before lifting his forelegs to try and stomp down.

Richard just raised his left hand, causing a lightning bolt to paralyse the centaur for a moment. Seizing the opportunity, he left an afterimage behind as Carnage buried itself to the hilt.

It was only then that the battle resumed. Richard quickly retreated, side-stepping an attack as he cast a binding spell on another Daxdian who was rushing over. The enemy was only stopped for an instant, but that was enough time for Richard's silhouette to flash past. The Daxdian barely noticed his rib being torn apart, only able to look down in horror as his organs started to pour out from within.

A nearby skaven that was struggling up was finally sent to its grave, after which a dazed enemy was sent to the ground with another lightning spell. Slash after stab, spell after spell, Richard slowly eliminated every single survivor in the area. He wasn't particularly fast, Mana Armament wasn't activated, but his movements were strange and always caught the enemy's weaknesses.

Still, there were occasions where he had to overdraw on his mana once more. A draconian managed to circle around to his back and swoop down, forcing him to flash with sparks once more as he jumped over the attack and slashed at the enemy's back. He even had to spend two spells and four more thrusts before the enemy died.

At this point, there were less than ten Daxdians still alive. They looked at Richard like he was a natural predator, the fear evident in their eyes as they fled back into the caves. Unable to catch them all at once, Richard just sighed in relief. He could barely even stand with his remaining strength, forget searching through the caverns to find these last enemies. Leaning against his sword, he looked at the battle above. He had no energy to aid Beye right now, and even hoped that she would carry him back home.

The two powerhouses in the air noticed that the battle in the camp was over. The legend roared in anguish, while Beye silently activated the dense crimson energy of Lifesbane to its fullest. A mist of blood immediately appeared around the two, the killing intent almost palpable.

A moment later, the enemy legend screamed in pain before fleeing into the depths of the darkness. Beye just floated out, her entire body soaked in blood like a battle goddess that had walked out of hell, but once the enemy was far away she suddenly dropped from the skies.

Without even the time to be shocked, Richard cast Featherfall and dashed towards her landing point. Even with the spell he had to jump to catch her, and the two fell heavily to the ground and only stopped after a few rolls.
𝙛𝑟𝘦ℯ𝘄e𝙗nov𝙚𝑙. 𝐜𝑜𝗺

“Ugh!” He begrudgingly took out the Book of Holding, converting the last remaining spell within into mana to power Mana Armament. He picked her up in a bridal carry, swaying to his feet and beginning to walk.

Beye's body was extremely soft and powerless, clearly because all of her energy was spent. She was also covered in blood, but he didn't have the energy right now to check the extent of her injuries. His brows furrowed, “Can you still walk?”

“Carry me back,” Beye answered weakly, “I need... the old geezer.”

“Damn it! Didn't you want to kill the enemy legend? I was still hoping you'd carry me back!”

“Stronger than I expected. Come on, walk faster, or we won't have the chance to leave.”

Richard just snorted, shifting her onto a shoulder before walking out of the barracks. Several enemies peeked out from their holes, their ferocity starting to return, but a few sparks at his hand from Mana Armament sent them running away once more. He sighed once again, heading towards the City of the Unsetting Sun.

775 - City of Sin

Recovery

When Richard finally climbed over the walls of the City of the Unsetting Sun and entered the radius of the Eternal Glory formation, he finally heaved a sigh of relief. However, he suddenly sensed something and scooped Beye down from his shoulders and into his arms, rushing into an abandoned building to hide. His aura was completely retracted, and a quick isolation spell completely hid their presence.

A fierce gust suddenly blew through the city, carrying loud roars. A group of Daxdians flew back towards their camps at full speed, obviously dejected at their failure to breach the inner sanctum. Relieved that he had managed to avoid bumping into them, Richard just sat against the wall and laid Beye on his lap, waiting for them to be gone.

Deafening roars quickly rang out from outside the city walls; the enemy legends had finally discovered that their camp had been destroyed. Richard smirked at the thought of them grieving their losses.

All this while, the Daxdian powerhouses had exercised restraint in their attack on the City of the Unsetting Sun. They would sneak into the city with black sorcerers helping block the effects of the Eternal Glory formation, trying to wear away the defending experts. Once the sorcerers were exhausted, they would retreat and take as many of their injured comrades behind as possible. This had accumulated a large number of injured beings recuperating in the camps.

Being the aggressors, the Daxdians had grown used to leading the pace of the battle. They couldn't afford to commit such great forces for too long a time— the other strongholds would quickly become a threat— but so long as they could sustain the war of attrition the Eternal Glory formation would eventually burn out. It had become a battle of who could afford to be more patient, and so far they had been winning.

It was only now that they realised the Norlanders could retaliate.

Once he was sure the danger had passed, Richard put Beye on his shoulder once more, heading over to Lawrence's house. The doors were shut tightly, with the old man refusing to come out despite persistent knocking, but sensing that Lawrence's aura was pretty stable Richard just kicked the door open and walked in to find the former saint runemaster trembling under a blanket on his bed.

“Get up, you old geezer, there's an emergency!” Richard said with a roll of his eyes.

Hearing the voice, Lawrence poked his head out from underneath the blanket, “Is it Beye again?”

“Who else?” Richard asked with a sigh. Beye could have just retreated once he was done cleaning up below, but she chose to flirt with death at the very last moment. Daxdians had great vitality and could heal from even serious wounds in a few days, but she had to go to Lawrence to get patched up every time. He now understood why the old man always grew violently angry.

Lawrence started swearing, but still prepared all the equipment for the surgery in a flash. Having Richard lay her on the table, he washed her body with a few buckets of magically created water before starting on the wounds.

“Will she be alright?” Richard couldn't help but ask, “Come look at my wounds when she's done.”

“Get lost! You heal as fast as the Daxdians, why should I help you? Don't you always say you've learnt half my arts, then treat yourself! You managed to carry her back, stop pretending!” Lawrence continued with the surgery.

Richard shrugged, grabbing the spare tools and undressing before he washed the bloodstains and treated his own injuries. However, a gaping wound on his chest immediately opened up the moment he relaxed. Half a metre long and so deep it revealed damaged organs, the cut spurted blood the moment he took a deep breath.

“Slow down, kid! Are you trying to kill yourself?!”

Richard immediately slowed his breathing to calm his nerves, checking the injury before considering various ways of treating it. Once he decided on one, he started work.

Wounds from the Daxdians were only as bad as they were because of the chaotic energy that stuck to them. This dirty black power was deadly as poison to Norlanders, and forced them to cut off the affected flesh if they wished to heal properly. Even then some of the energy would remain, and could only be expelled by powerful life force.

It was hard to describe the feeling of cutting one's own organs. No matter how resolute he was, Richard still felt a little nervous. Thankfully, that didn't translate into any instability with his hands. He quickly calmed down after the first few cuts, able to examine his wound more thoroughly as though he was treating someone else.

As the blackened flesh was removed and the noxious gas dispelled, he watched his flesh slowly wriggle as it started to patch up the wound. Relieved at the sight, he sealed the wound with a beastskin bandage and headed over to look at how Lawrence was doing.

Lawrence put down his own tools, “Not bad, kid. Carry a kit with you wherever you go, you never know when it'll save your life. Don't count on the clergy for help, they're never there when you need them. Just puppets of their gods, what will you do if you offend the ones they worship? Even if they want to, the clerics won't be able to treat you.”

Richard immediately thought of Flowsand at the old man's nagging, feeling defiant, “I can still look to the Church of the Eternal Dragon for—”

“The old dragon is a god too, isn't he? How can you be sure you'll never cross him?”

Richard felt at a loss for words. He had made so many offerings that he was already a Timewalker, even paying off Flowsand's debts, how could he possibly offend the Eternal Dragon? So long as he had a pen in his hands, blessings would never be far away. However, the box of unused offerings spoke volumes of how obstinate Lawrence was. He knew there was no way to convince the man otherwise when he wouldn't even take the gamble that could extend his own life.

Looking at Beye breathing steadily in deep sleep, be it because of the medicine or just exhaustion, he chose not to comment further.

However, as he cleaned his hands and turned around to find Richard drinking wine, he went into a rage once more, “What the hell are you doing?!”

776 - City of Sin

Requisition

“Oi, you idiot!” Lawrence walked over, trying to pull the bottle away from Richard's mouth, “Stop!”

However, Richard just swerved to avoid, “I'm just relaxing a little or I'll be completely drained out. Depression is the true enemy of all life.”

These words were a famous saying of Emperor Charles, something that many people liked to distort for their benefit. Lawrence looked at the scant few droplets remaining in the bottle and shook his head, “You should be eating right now.”

“The food isn't here yet,” Richard shrugged. He liked to empty a few bottles of alcohol after every major battle to unwind.

“Grr... Fine, what do you plan to do about that demon?”

“Blacklight? Nothing, I'll just let him be. I don't know why it was, but I didn't feel like killing him.”

Lawrence frowned, “This isn't Norland, Richard. That demon isn't a mere child; he very well could find an opportunity to kill you if you let your guard down.”

“Then perhaps this is a test,” Richard mused, “If he really can kill me, I'm fine with that.”

“You arrogant brat... Tell me the truth, what's with the pet?”

Richard just scratched his head, “Nothing, really. It was just an impulse. I didn't kill him at the beginning, and since he's so obedient now I don't have the heart to do it anymore.”

“You do know that he's likely demon royalty, right? He also looks fairly pure-blooded. If he's seen...”

“If he's seen?”

“The city will probably requisition him. A royal demon is worth far more than you can ever expect, and we need a specimen for research. It's extremely difficult to catch his kind alive, and it could be the key to figuring out their weaknesses for future battles. You should know that demons are amongst the most threatening of all Daxdians because of their intelligence.”

Richard knitted his brows, understanding where Lawrence was coming from. He had collected and analysed the corpses of numerous Daxdians in his own battles so he could deal with them better. However, he had told the demon that he wouldn't harm him, and the youth had been careful enough to follow both rules without once overstepping his bounds. What should have been a dangerous enemy felt more like a pet than anything else.

Even though he couldn't disagree with Lawrence's words, Richard felt a little uncomfortable. He didn't want to accept a fate where his words would be broken, but it wasn't like he could release Blacklight either. Who knew how many Norlanders would end up dead if the demon was let go?

“Requisition him?” he asked with a frown.

“Yes. If there is enough reason, Marshal Rundstedt has the authority to requisition any property in the City of the Unsetting Sun so long as he finds good reason for it.”

“I caught the demon, he belongs to me,” Richard remarked.

“It would be the same in any other stronghold. That being said, you would be compensated handsomely for him... Umm... Considering the entire war, I would be inclined to side with the city myself.”

Still frowning, Richard decided to give this some further thought. He had no real plans for the demon; in fact, he hadn't even thought much about the kid. It was just that he was uncomfortable with someone he had caught being taken away by force.

“What?!” Richard suddenly stood up in fright, so fast that air rippled away from him. Lawrence was taken aback, almost dropping his scalpel on the floor, “You rascal, what the hell happened?”

“Something's wrong, one of my followers is in the city!” As he said this, Richard was already running away. He quickly rushed into the inner sections of the city as he chased after Waterflower's location, but no matter how much he tried he couldn't establish contact. His connection with her was very weak, to the point that he could barely even discern a general direction. Please visit fr𝗲𝚎w𝒆𝚋𝘯𝚘ѵel. c𝗼𝐦

“Waterflower!” he called out regularly, but he got no response.

......

Within the inner sanctum of the city, at a tall shrine close to the central plaza. The stench of blood filled the air here, with a few dim torches illuminating the hall. The flames were a strange greenish-blue, half-transparent and not causing any smoke. They created a sickeningly sweet aroma from up close, but even that wasn't powerful enough to cover the reek.

The depths of the hall were almost completely dark, with a faint silhouette of a gloomy man seated within. This was the legendary mage who was constantly beside Rundstedt, Hasting.

Hasting looked tired, the dark circles around his bloodshot eyes almost purple in colour while his face was slightly swollen. Wet hair matted his neck and sweat-drenched forehead.

Within his hand was a huge gold cup with a stinky viscous liquid. He was gradually sipping from the goblet, his heavy breathing starting to stabilise.

A few metres away from him was a stone structure made of black rocks, with several layers of complicated spell formations engraved on top. At the centre of the formation was an aged warrior that had just awoken from his sleep.

“He's fine now, carry him away,” Hasting said to a pair of warriors that walked in, causing expressions of delight to flood their faces.

The lead warrior walked over and bowed, “Your Excellency, we have another injured person that I fear only you can heal.”

“Why does it have to be me?” the legendary mage said with fatigue, “What happened to the clerics?”

“Her soul is protected by a powerful spell that the Church could not break. We need your expertise to assess whether she has sustained any soul damage.”

Hasting suddenly perked up, laughing sinisterly, “Those uptight pricks finally admit that they aren't as powerful as me? Amazing. Just what kind of person can stump the priestesses there? I'll have to see this myself.”

The legendary mage stood up, but even for this he needed the support of his chair. His entire arm was shaking with weakness. The warriors just watched on in awe; only a short while ago, the three legendary beings in the city including Hasting had held off the enemy's five until the black sorcerers ran out of energy. Even worse was that Hasting had no opportunity for rest after the war, forced to heal the warriors whose souls had sustained the most damage.

Even though Hasting was extremely eccentric and bad-tempered, his contributions to the city caused everyone to venerate him just like Saint Lawrence had been once upon a time.

......

“Is this a joke?” Hasting roared angrily at the warrior who had placed a young lady on the formation, “A kid who isn't even a saint? Whose idea was this?”

Despite Hasting's apparent weakness, the saints present immediately felt a chill down their spines. The wrath of a legendary mage had a thunderous presence. The lead warrior immediately got down on one knee, “Your Excellency, she has been fighting alongside us for the past week. She is not a saint, but her might in battle is no inferior to our own. She killed three Daxdians before she was injured, and even then held off some opponents to reduce our casualties.”

“Oh?” Hasting simmered down, starting to evaluate the young lady in earnest, “Hmm... Seems like she has great potential, it's worth me using my soul healing. Come, stand, you have helped me often in the past. If you are willing to speak up for her, I will do my best.”

777 - City of Sin

Requisition(2)

“Thank you for the grace, Your Excellency! She is definitely worth healing!” One could see a hint of tears in the lead warrior's eyes. He knew just how precious Hasting's soul force was, and a legendary mage's best wasn't as simple as it seemed.

“What's her name?” Hasting asked.

“She calls herself Silverwolf.”

“Silverwolf? Interesting name, but I can see why... Alright, you lot can leave. I will have to test her soul protection first. Remember to send any special Daxdus corpses my way.”

“Of course!” The lead warrior agreed and retreated from the hall. This wasn't any new request.

When the warriors were gone, Hasting gently placed his hand on the girl's forehead, eyes slowly turning a pale green. The girl's body slowly turned transparent, only revealing specks of light that indicated the power of her soul.

“Eh... This is... Wow, there are soulmasters in Norland that are this good? Could one of the old men have returned? Wait... what's this... Oh no...”

The green in Hasting's eyes dissipated as he gazed at the sleeping girl with a look of exhaustion. Her soul injuries were far more serious than he had assumed, and if not for the protection she would have died long ago. “Well, what do I do... Sigh, forget it. Why did I have to say I'll do my best? Now I have no choice but to go all out.”

The legendary mage walked over to an ancient cupboard, withdrawing a porcelain jar the size of a fist. The jar was very crude and made in barbarian style, the patterns on it already fading away and the shape not even symmetrical. However, Hasting carefully took off the mud seal of the jar and drank all of the turbid liquid within, blanching as he spat out a mouthful of black fire. His face immediately started to turn rosy.

He then walked over to the stone table once more, reaching out to press down on it and activate a magic formation. Afterwards, to rays of green shot out from his eyes and illuminated the girl's face.

One could see dark motes of varying sizes entering the girl's body through these beams, and someone with good eyesight would even notice that every mote was actually the image of a creature. Ferocious beasts, all sorts of strange races, even Daxdians were being poured in.

Every image deposited into the girl's body would be attracted by the specks of soul light within her, and the flickering lights within started to turn brighter. Every image was a soul fragment that Hasting had refined personally, the source of power for his legendary ability.

The hall was dark and sinister, the murky green light seeming to come from a terrifying foreign plane.
𝐟𝘳ℯ𝚎𝘄𝒆𝑏𝗻𝑜ѵ𝚎l. c𝘰𝑚

......

There was chaos within the streets near the city gates, buildings and walls alike lying shattered on the stone streets. The city that had lasted for an untold number of years was being broken apart by the repeated battles, and while some of it had been restored that work was shoddy and incomplete. The stone had all been cracked apart to various degrees, a solemn testament to the battle between civilisations.

The streets were extremely silent as those assigned to cleaning up took care of their duties. The Daxdians had completely withdrawn and would not reappear for at least some time.

At the porch of one house was an old man curled up in his chair, dozed off while bathing in the rays of the Eternal Glory formation. The light of the spell was comparable to soft sunshine, making one feel comfortably warm. It also helped heal some old wounds that Lawrence had accumulated over the years.

However, a set of rapid footsteps suddenly broke the peace of the area. The people approaching seemed extremely flustered, but the consciously slowed down as they reached the house.

“Your Excellency,” a slender, tanned man said softly as he looked at the sleeping Lawrence.

Your Excellency? Lawrence woke up in confusion, it had been a long time since he had been addressed that way. Few in this city were so respectful to him now, and the reverence caused him to keep his temper at Beye. He turned over lazily, not even bothering to open his eyes, “You should know I don't like being disturbed during my naps. It'd be a pity to waste such great sunshine.”

The man hesitated for a while but still pressed on, “Your Excellency, these soldiers have sustained serious injuries. The clerics have used up all their power for today, and there are two with injuries too serious for them to heal. You are the only one in this city who can save them.”

“What?” Lawrence's moustache twitched, “Then what are you still standing outside for? Come in, quickly!”

Lawrence had the men carry the injured inside and build a few temporary tables, after which he started to examine the injuries one after the other, “I still remember you, kid. I only treated you in passing, but you've always been respectful towards me. You've got a conscience, huh. If not for you, these people could die a hundred more times and I still wouldn't let them disturb my nap. Did that stubborn old coot think everything could be solved as long as Hasting was around? Back in the day, if not for me....”

Listening to rumours and gossip about legendary beings, the man could only make a few sounds of acknowledgement. His comrades were scattered around, watching reverently as Lawrence cut open injuries without second thought, movements as smooth as cutting up a steak on a dinner table.

Lawrence's art was called living alchemy, the name alone chilling to the ear. The art was even more obscure than puppet alchemy, and despite its name it actually existed mostly outside the realm of magic. The common theory was that this art had been developed from puppet alchemy as its analogue for living creatures, which was why most of its practitioners were mages.

One of the healthy warriors present suddenly sniffed hard at the air, whipping out a dagger as he shouted coldly, “Everyone, careful! I smell a demon!”

The warriors immediately made battle preparations, the injured ones grasping any weapons they could get a hold of. On the battlefields of despair, fighting was instinct. The first one suddenly turned and leapt across a collapsed wall, charging into an adjacent courtyard with his allies in tow.

Everything happened far too quickly. By the time Lawrence realised what was going on, a sequence of dull thuds were already resounding from Richard's residence. The old man immediately shouted in a shrill voice, “Hold it! That's Richard's house!”

“There is a demon in Lord Richard's room!” the first warrior answered, “Do not worry, I will contain the damage.”

Lawrence sighed, “The demon is Richard's prisoner, don't hurt him. Fall back, let me talk.”

The warrior seemed to freeze for a while, but he still jumped out from the room as he was told. He stared hard at the young demon who was being walked out by two others, all three now bleeding seriously. Blacklight obviously hadn't been lying when he said he wasn't weak.

Seeing Blacklight walk out despite the stinging light of the Eternal Glory formation, Lawrence almost couldn't suppress a sigh of admiration, “Alright, don't resist. Yes, it'll all be fine...”

Blacklight slowly let down his guard, but a shadow suddenly flashed behind him and knocked him to the ground. The slender man's figure revealed itself as he withdrew his palm, looking down at the fainted demon. This man was a sub-legendary being, so Lawrence had been given no chance to stop him.

“It's a Dranicus!” the man suddenly shouted in elation.

Another warrior with unique armour suddenly spoke up as well, “His Excellency Hasting has been searching for Daxdus royalty! This is great, we'll hand him over immediately! The Marshal and His Excellency will surely reward us well, I'll report it right away!”

Just as the warrior turned to leave, Lawrence finally shouted, “Stand right there! I already told you that he's Richard's prisoner. This has nothing to do with the military; until he returns, nobody can take the demon away!”

778 - City of Sin

Requisition(3)

The warriors exchanged glances, but the one prepared to leave shook his head as he ignored Lawrence and took to the sky, “My apologies, Master Lawrence, but this is a serious matter. I have to report this right away.”

The tanned man looked down, not daring to meet Lawrence's blazing eyes, “Forgive us, Your Excellency. We never imagined there would be a demon in Master Richard's room, we only thought it was a surviving enemy that hadn't been quick enough to escape. However, the Daxdians are fierce people; they never surrender. Please don't be fooled by this one!”

Lawrence sighed, his gaze flitting around at everyone. Some among them were at a loss, others deep in thought, but most were glaring at the demon with eyes filled with hatred. If not for the one who left bringing up just how important a royal Daxdian would be, they would have ripped Blacklight to shreds. There was no chance for him to interfere; he no longer held the prestige of a legendary mage and saint runemaster.

“Your Excellency,” the slender man said cautiously, “the injured cannot wait any longer.”

Lawrence took another look at the tables and snorted. He knew that if he didn't act now, it would be too late. These people had fought without care for their lives against the Daxdians, and couldn't be made to pay for their comrades' actions. The old man sighed deeply and picked his tools up once more, causing everyone to heave a sigh of relief. The injured warriors now had a renewed glimmer in their eyes.

It wasn't too long before a piercing screech rang through the air, two fully equipped saints and a grand mage flying over at top speed. The grand mage immediately jumped with delight when he saw the fainted Blacklight, “Yes, this is a live Dranicus! The injuries aren't serious at all!”

“Good!” a middle-aged saint commented before turning to the people in the courtyard, “The Marshal has decided to requisition this Dranicus demon. Details of compensation will be discussed at the table tonight, please pass on the news to Master Richard. We will be taking it away right now.”

These three were direct guards under Marshal Rundstedt, possessing immense authority in the City of the Unsetting Sun. The Marshal had less than ten such guards, all of whom always took on the most dangerous tasks of every important battle. Their loyalty to the fort was unquestionable. Lawrence was in no position to deny them.

'Things are going to get messy,' the old man thought to himself. Richard seemed to care a little for this demon, and the young runemaster always hated being forced into a decision. While he hadn't been in Norland for a while, Lawrence knew that the Archerons were natural rebels.

......

Richard was currently at the central plaza of the city, searching frantically for any signs of Waterflower. It hadn't been too long since the battle came to an end, and various elemental enchantments were still in the air alongside soul attacks that had yet to fade. All of these disturbances made it difficult to ascertain just where Waterflower really was. All he knew was that she was nearby, and the soul connection between them was growing increasingly weak.

A frown was plastered across his face as he felt Waterflower's strength fading, and his heart gripped as he imagined the worst. Looking at the chaotic aftermath of the intense battle, with even saints leaning against walls in an injured daze, that fear only grew.

There were still traces of explosions and blood on the main street, and one could even see uncleaned innards sprayed onto the walls. A thick smell of blood enveloped the area, mixed with the stench of rotting flesh.

One could only see a few rare clerics around, walking back and forth as they checked injuries one after the other. Healing spells had been replaced by medicine and bandages, making it clear that all divine power had been exhausted.

Rows of stretchers could be seen at the steps of the Church, containing those too injured to even stand. The more powerful clerics and priestesses occasionally rushed out of the doors of the Church, healing the most unstable of the warriors before running back in to meditate and recover.

Nobody was being healed completely, the only requirement being that they wouldn't end up disabled. In some cases, even that was abandoned as the clerics barely bothered to save a target's life. The line at the steps was still very long, with the injured warriors awaiting the omens of their survival. Saving one completely meant consigning five others to death.

This wasn't Richard's first time seeing this. Even he had to use his body's immense regenerative capabilities to heal; unlike Faelor, here he didn't have the luxury of a cleric to tend to every wound.

With no other options, he started to go around and ask those present whether they had seen a girl with Waterflower's description. This was a brute force method, but it was also the only one he had available. Even including logistical and support personnel, the City of the Unsetting Sun had no more than 10,000 people. He was bound to find her eventually.

However, every minute that passed only increased his worry. He didn't know whether the girl was injured or even if he'd be able to save her in time if he found her. Thankfully, most of the city recognised him. Many people enthusiastically answered his question, some even expressing their fervent desire to aid in his search. Unfortunately, most of these people were too injured to even move. He told them all to stay put as he continued searching on his own.

Just as he left a group of saints who were huddled by a bonfire, he suddenly felt his connection to Waterflower completely break off. This time, he could confirm that it was an external force blocking him! Flames of rage arose in his heart as his head started to buzz, and he started running around like a madman.

......

Deep within the shrine, Hasting washed his hands clean and wiped away the beads of sweat on his forehead. As he leaned back into his chair and closed his eyes, he felt so exhausted that he could die. The spell formation on the stone table was completely lit up, the rays of light forming a shield that caged the girl within.

The girl was deep asleep, the magic runes on her body glowing and dimming alternately like a beautiful illusion. A translucent projection that looked the same as her body was floating right over her, sometimes charging madly like a wolf and staying crouched in wait during others. Most of the time, she walked back and forth in a daze, and there were occasions where she just curled into herself for warmth.

This was Waterflower's soul.

Hasting slowly opened his eyes and glanced at the sleeping girl before closing them again, “Who could guess her soul had such rare power. There's a soulguard contract too, there's more to this one than meets the eye.”

The legendary mage knocked gently on the arms of his chair, causing an old hunchback to slowly walk out from the darkness. The old man groped around a storage cabinet and poured a small portion of what looked like blood into a cup before handing it to Hasting with both hands.

As he walked closer, the dim torches in the hall finally illuminated the hunchback's face. There were no eyes.

Hasting took the black blood and downed it instantly, feeling slightly better.

Footsteps suddenly rang outside the hall. The three guards of the Marshal announced their names and entered, the grand mage in the lead bowing respectfully, “Your Excellency, I can confirm that the demon is truly a Dranicus, and is nearly completely unharmed. Here it is.”

“You're sure?” Hasting exclaimed, tossing aside all status as he leapt out of his chair and started to examine the young demon that was being held by the two guards. His voice immediately grew emotional, “Great! Not just a Dranicus, but a pureblood as well. Look at its eyes, they're such a clear black! He could very well be an heir to the tribe! Haha, hahaha, HAHAHA—”

The legendary mage's manic laughter quickly turned into violent coughing, a bit of blood starting to spill down from his lips. The marshal's guards were startled, but even the grand mage who was familiar with Hasting lacked the courage to cast a tranquilising spell. He could only try to calm Hasting down with words.

779 - City of Sin

The Definition Of Property

Some of the saints started to panic as Hasting continued to cough out blood. If anything were to happen to the legendary mage in the current time, it would be a huge blow to the City of the Unsetting Sun. The grand mage rushed to support him as he almost fell to the ground, but he waved his hand and pushed the fellow away, “I'm... fine. I was just too happy; with this demon as a basis for research, I'll be able to find the weaknesses of Daxdian royals. Then... I'll have my vengeance...”

Hasting's voice turned sombre as he reached the end of that sentence, and he turned silent for a while before sighing, “I wanted more than twenty years for this day. After all this while... Forbidden Eye should be alive, no? What am I saying, he was already legendary then, why would he die? The only question is whether he's still at the Land of Dusk. I hope... he hasn't left...” The last words were almost inaudible.

Hasting's past was a mystery. Most of the warriors in the city only knew that he had come here more than twenty years ago, basing all his activities around the capital of the Unsetting Sun. Nobody knew of his status or accolades in Norland, and with his temperamental and merciless personality, no one wished to find out.

“We couldn't be happier for you,” the grand mage said respectfully, “We will return for now, there are still some procedures to complete for the requisition.”

Hasting waved his hand impatiently and said, “Leave it here.”

However, the two warriors who held Blacklight didn't release him immediately, “Your Excellency, you do not seem to be in the best of conditions. Should we add a few more restraints?”

Hasting's mouth curved down, his tone turning icy, “It's just a demon, even without much mana I can still deal with it. Let it go and get lost!”

The two warriors looked at each other before releasing their grip at the same time. However, they didn't let their guard down, prepared to pounce on the demon if they sensed anything amiss.

This was the first time Blacklight wasn't constrained since he had been knocked unconscious, and his expression immediately turned cold as he made a mad dash towards Hasting. His instincts were screaming that this was a great threat, and he would rather die than be used.

However, a condescending look appeared on Hasting's face. A heavy grunt immediately stopped Blacklight in his tracks, his eyes rolling back as he fainted. The other two warriors also felt a bit of pain in their heads, causing their faces to turn deathly pale as they hurried out of the shrine.

As the three members of the Marshal's guard headed out of the shrine, they brushed past a young man along the way. The grand mage immediately recognised him and bowed with reverence, “Master Richard.” Google search 𝑓𝘳𝚎𝘦𝚠e𝚋𝘯o𝘃el. 𝒄om

Although both were mages and the grand mage was a full two levels higher, he knew better than most how difficult it was to suppress one's mana growth for more than a year. Less than ten Norlanders throughout the Land of Dusk were in Richard's position.

However, Richard ignored the grand mage and waved him off in the midst of his own worries, giving the mage no chance to break the news about the demon's requisition. He headed straight towards the inner halls of the shrine, “Your Excellency Hasting, it's Richard.”

“Ah, Richard. Is there something you need me for?” a sinister voice rang out from within, “If it isn't important, I do not have the time right now. I have some very important business that requires my attention.”

This was a rather rude thing to say, but anyone familiar with Hasting would know that he was actually being very polite. The only reason Hasting explained himself and didn't chase Richard away immediately was because of his contributions to the battle just now. Beye had dealt a heavy blow to an opposing legend, but Richard had completely annihilated hundreds of Daxdians in recovery. His strength had startled both sides, and he wasn't even a grand mage yet! He had already been earmarked to be the best candidate in his generation to enter the legendary realm.

In fact, the splendour of that battle even qualified Richard to have a voice in the city council.

Just as Richard was about to reply, his wandering gaze fell upon the young lady laid on the magical stage. His eyes went wide as he immediately bounded forward, “Waterflower!”

However, he only made it two steps before Hasting blocked his path. Richard's expression turned stern as he froze in place, not knowing whether to push through or retreat as he just awaited the legendary mage's explanation.

The strenuous motion had caused Hasting to start coughing violently, something that took a bit of effort to fix, “This kid's your soulguard? Heh, you're quite lucky, but if you want her to be able to stand up again it's best you don't touch the spell formation. I'm only a third of the way through healing, she needs two more sessions to recover her soul.”

Richard was stunned for a moment before he snapped back, bowing in apology, “Pardon my impulsiveness.”

“If you really feel sorry, there's something you can do. I'll be blunt, runemasters like you are moneybags. Two top tier offerings or a custom grade 3 rune set and we'll be even.”

“No problem,” Richard replied immediately, “But I'll need some time.”

Hasting nodded, “Just be as quick as you can. I came upon an important task recently, and it needs a lot of money. It's experimental facilities for that thing there, I'll need some gnomish supplies.”

Richard looked at where Hasting was pointing and cried out in shock, “Blacklight? Why is he here?”

“Blacklight? That is his name? How would you know this? EVERYONE, COME IN AT ONCE!”

As the Marshal's three guards returned to the shrine, the grand mage at the lead quickly recognised the situation and spoke up, “Master Richard, we received news that there was a demon in your dwelling, and a royal at that, so the Marshal has decided to requisition it for His Excellency's research.”

Richard's expression turned from confused to cold as death, “I was the one who captured and tamed this demon. You're taking him from me without even asking?”

The grand mage shuddered at Richard's gaze, but he still put on a brave front, “This was the Marshal's decision. He has the right to seize any private property in the City during wartime. No need to worry, you will be adequately compensated for this. You should be aware that such requisitions do not require your permission.”

Richard squinted, “This demon is still alive. You're telling me you can enter my house and take whatever you want at your pleasure, including my women?”

The grand mage raised his voice in response, “Any requisition that aids the City shall be carried out! The Marshal has no selfish ambitions! If you really want an answer to that question, then yes. Your possessions, your demons, and even your—”

“Even my women,” Richard finished the sentence for him.

“Yes, even your women, so long as they are classified as property. I mentioned before, you would be compensated adequa—”

*BANG!* Sword light pierced through the shadows of the shrine, Hasting's expression suddenly changing as he quickly formed a barrier to block Extinction. However, the legendary mage found that the sword merely bounced off without an owner to guide it; he'd been conned!

The two saint warriors tried to rush forward as well, but retreated even quicker than they came. Two swords had landed right in their paths, and the power behind these forced respect. In the meanwhile, the grand mage saw Richard pull out the Twin of Destiny and instinctively started to cast a spell barrier.

However, the staff disappeared just as quickly as it had arrived. Richard had already turned into an afterimage as he shot towards the grand mage, grabbing him by the neck and lifting him off the ground.

“Khh...” The grand mage started to strain, his eyes going wide at Richard's blood-red hands. The skin on his neck started to sizzle as it was charred, starting to flake off.

780 - City of Sin

The Big Picture

The grand mage immediately stopped the spell. Even an instant cast required drawing on one's mana, but Richard had used that short interval to grab him. Held in the air, feeling his skin continue to burn away, he realised that his life was in Richard's hands.

In mere moments, Richard had seized a grand mage under the eyes of two saints and a legend. All three could only watch wide-eyed at the sheer humiliation as Richard lifted the mage higher into the air, his voice now laced with threat, “You thought I wouldn't dare to act? Master Hasting, how do you plan on handling Blacklight?”

Contrary to Richard's expectations, Hasting just laughed. His wrinkled face seemed to radiate danger as well, but the legendary mage known for his temper seemed to take no offense. His sagging purple brows lifted in interest, “What do you think?”

Richard went silent, knowing exactly how biological experiments worked. He had studied some basics in the Deepblue, and the Schumpeter lab in the Forest Plane had been adequate demonstration of how test subjects were treated.

With Hasting having revealed his intentions, Richard faced the grand mage once more, loosening his grip and dropping the mage to the ground, “What if I refuse the requisition?”

The grand mage sputtered and coughed as he rubbed his throat in pain, looking furiously at Richard, “Even if you...”

However, that sentence stopped right there. Feeling the bloodlust radiating from Richard and looking at his two companions who were almost shivering in fright, he forced himself to give way, “If you disagree, we can decide it by vote at a council meeting. If two-thirds of the council is in favour of the requisition, it will be forced.”

Richard nodded, “Then convene a meeting.”

The grand mage looked straight at Hastings, “Your Excellency, do you agree?”

Richard just glanced at Hasting, “Master Hasting, I advice you not to lay a finger on Blacklight before a meeting is called.”

Hasting looked at Richard once more, revealing a smile that would send shivers down one's spine, “Of course, I don't mind waiting. Hehe, I'll have all the time in the world to slowly experiment on him.”

Richard didn't say anything, walking straight out and towards the Sunset Shrine as his mood turned worse. Given the current circumstances, he already knew what the results of the council discussion would be. Sometimes, wisdom wasn't a great blessing to have.

A few minutes later, a loud bell rang throughout the City of the Unsetting Sun. All of the powerhouses looked towards the church area in shock, knowing that an immediate meeting was being called. Were there more enemies?

Currently patrolling the upper sections of the fortress, Marshal Rundstedt was shocked. His brows furrowed as he thought of something, and he muttered under his breath before heading out. In another part of the city, Lawrence's expression warped as he sighed and finished the operation he was working on, hurrying towards the church.

Ten minutes later, the ten most powerful people in the City of the Unsetting Sun had been gathered at the round table. With everyone present, the grand mage who was a part of the Marshal's guard briefly explained the situation before heading out. He had no right to stay in the Sunset Shrine.

A minute passed in silence before the members present started discussing things in a low voice. This dispute was the first of its kind; many requisitions had been carried out in the city before, but Marshal Rundstedt had always been extremely just while applying this authority and handed out compensation worth more than the value of the expropriated goods.

As he heard the low murmurs, Richard raised his hand and barely waited for the Marshal's approval before speaking with a low voice, “How exactly are living beings now considered assets? So much so that the motherfucker that just went out said one can requisition my women as they please? Here I am, risking my life to kill an entire barracks of Daxdians, and I come back to find the demon I captured has been considered an asset and whisked away. Why the fuck should I fight this war for you if you're just going to fuck me over?”

Although Richard was cursing, nobody stood out to criticise him. This was the first time most of those present had heard of the issue, and they were still working their heads around it. Many of them were surprised at Richard's reaction over a mere demon, but others could understand his anger. This wasn't so much about the demon as it was about dignity and the fact that such a law could be abused greatly. No matter the results of this upcoming vote, the grand mage would be forced to apologise and perhaps be punished for his words.

Lawrence, who had specifically chosen to sit beside Richard, smiled wryly and pulled back Richard's hand, “Cool down, kid. Listen to what the others have to say.”

Rundstedt nodded and stood up, “I want to clarify that requisition has a strict set of rules that disallow abuse. Intelligent beings can indeed be classified as assets, but that is only for those branded as slaves. However, that only applies to Norlanders. The Daxdians are an enemy plane, they have no rights in our system. For the sake of our families, countries, and even the entire plane, we must fight! Richard, your women can never be treated as an asset and taken from you; the one who said that to you will be punished appropriately and ousted from my guard.”

The Marshal's voice was calm and steady, forcing Richard to cool off from his outburst. However, his heart started beating even faster as he saw what would come of this discussion. He could imagine just what horrors awaited the young demon in Hasting's control, and knowing the legendary mage's twisted personality he believed that Blacklight would be kept alive while suffering crucial pain for the rest of his existence. War was never merciful, but he couldn't agree with such wanton brutality.

“I—”

“Hasting, why don't you explain the value of this demon,” Rundstedt added before he could interrupt.

Hasting stood up and looked at Richard meaningfully, “This demon is a perfect youth who looks to be a royal even in the Dranicus tribe, approaching the upper echelons of Daxdian society. With ample time, I'll be able to discover any fatal weaknesses the royal demons have, giving me the power to fight the Forbidden Eye on equal grounds. I promise to disclose my findings to everyone present, giving us a great advantage when dealing with all demons.”

This immediately caused a ruckus amongst those present. Forbidden Eye was a terrifying name, a demon that consumed Norland's powerhouses to advance. He had power beyond his level, and even ten years ago when he vanished without a trace he was on the verge of reaching the legendary realm. While Hasting was a legendary mage as well, his power wasn't even close, especially considering Forbidden Eye was very powerful against mages. If even someone like that would be able to fight such powerful demons equally, it could very well tip the scales in the Land of Dusk!

Richard's expression darkened as he realised just how valuable Blacklight was to Hasting. It also put him in an extremely difficult position; there was no way for him to refute the fact that this requisition was useful to the cause.

However, he had once told Blacklight that he could be safe so long as he didn't leave the house or do anything foolish. The youth had followed both rules perfectly, but he had still been caught.

In addition, he just couldn't agree with any requisition whatsoever. Big picture? Who gave a fuck about the big picture? Couldn't one use that as an excuse to do anything they wanted? Google search 𝗳𝘳ℯ𝑒𝓌ℯ𝚋𝐧oνe𝘭. c𝐨ｍ

781 - City of Sin

Helpless

“I have a question, Marshal. How can you prove that this requisition will be for the greater good?” Richard stood up and asked. Of course, the question hidden within was why this law could be trusted.

Hasting's mouth twitched a few times while Rundstedt's expression froze. He answered seriously, “Every requisition in the decades I have been stationed at this city has been for the greater good. The events afterwards all prove that they have a positive impact.”

“And what if the person controlling the fort changes? If Master Hasting takes charge, or even me, who can guarantee things will still be for the greater good? I'd be very inclined to go through everyone's homes to see what I can 'requisition.'”

“Richard...” Lawrence tried to speak up, but Richard just stopped him with a wave of the hand. Please visit ƒ𝘳ee𝒘𝚎𝐛𝘯𝐨ν𝑒l. 𝒄o𝘮

“I've already said what needs to be said. It all boils down to this: I risked my life to purge an enemy camp but when I return home I find that someone else has taken what is mine. I've been here for over a year without advancing to becoming a grand mage, you all should know why that is. I tamed a live demon so I could work on runes that specifically counter the Daxdians' power, would that not be for the greater good as well?”

Richard's words were resounding and just as persuasive. However, seeing the lack of change in everyone's expressions, his voice suddenly turned cold as he looked to Hasting, “Master Hasting, do you perhaps want anything in exchange? Runes, top-tier offerings, I can even give you a Lifesbane or two.”

Hasting laughed, “I wouldn't care if you could give me all of Faust. So, are you going to call a vote?”

Richard looked around the room once more, “Everyone, supporting me in this situation will garner my goodwill. My goodwill could even be worth a custom-designed grade 3 rune.”

This immediately caused everyone to sit up. Runes were the pillar of support for Norland's war efforts, and even sub-legendary experts couldn't easily find grade 3 runes that fit them. If Richard could craft custom grade 3 runes that were designed to be effective against Daxdians, that would be an earth-shattering development.

Marshal Rundstedt completely froze up. As someone who had always been rigid and by the book, he definitely hadn't expected Richard to bribe everyone in public. “Why are you doing this, Richard?”

“Nothing. I believe I can make more of a contribution without cutting into Blacklight than he can with,” Richard stated resolutely.

This time, it was Hasting's turn to survey the area. The legendary mage suddenly laughed, his voice growing louder and more manic until he started coughing violently, keeling over from the effort. It took quite a while for him to catch his breath, “That won't be enough to stop me, Richard. I'll definitely cut into that little demon, slowly, carefully, and endlessly. It's not just him, I'll do it to everyone...”

Hasting's words left Richard looking glum, “I have no objections to your hobbies, Master Hasting, but it looks like this requisition will be overruled.”

Having said this, Richard raised his hand to call for a vote.

“No no no, you've gotten it all wrong,” Hasting gesticulated crazily, “You won't even want to overrule this, Richard. Did you forget your little Waterflower is still with me?”

Richard's hand froze in mid-air.

Marshal Rundstedt was startled, his expression darkening once more. If Richard was bribing in public, then Hasting was in the midst of blackmail! Either act was hard to stomach.

Hasting laughed so hard that the sagging skin on his face shook, “The girl still needs two more rounds of treatment, and it needs to be within the hour. Even the person who added the protection to her soul can't compare with me, do you think they can save her? If you don't want to believe me, you're welcome to try. Go on, start the vote.”

Sweat began beading down Richard's forehead, the hand starting to tremble indiscernibly. No matter how many strange habits Hasting had, he was smart enough to know not to lie. It took a few moments, but the hand eventually slammed back down on the table.

Hasting smiled sinisterly, spreading his hands out, “I enjoy watching your struggle Richard, but we don't have much time for that delicious expression. Make a choice, what do you want? Waterflower or that beast?”

Richard closed his eyes for a moment before opening them up once more, having the slightest bit of hope, “I want both, name your price.”

Hasting wiggled a finger, “No, no, no. Choose one out of the two. There are no other options!”

Richard paled even as his glare grew increasingly sharp. However, Hasting matched him with no hesitation. Regardless of talent and future prospects, the current difference between them could not be made up for. Even if Richard had the strength to fight him, the situation couldn't be resolved with force.

Eventually, a low grunt rang out as Richard fell back into his chair, “I... give up on the vote.”

Hasting burst into laughter and clapped, “A wise choice! You can take her away in an hour, don't forget to bring the two offerings!”

Richard got up and left without a word, there was no need to say anything about this farce.

The atmosphere in the hall was excessively stifling. Be it the Marshal or Hasting, neither spoke up. The experts also left one after the other, sighing in relief. It had been difficult to choose between a legendary mage and a future saint runemaster when they were arguing over a mere demon, but thankfully the situation had been resolved without them having to take a stand. However, everyone felt a chill in their hearts at the realisation that the best soul healer and only runemaster in the city were now completely at odds.

Lawrence got up to leave as well, but Rundstedt cut him off until everyone but Hasting had left, “Your Excellency, why is Richard going so far for a demon?”

Lawrence sighed and met Rundstedt's gaze; the Marshal was much taller than the old man, but neither was less imposing than the other, “Then why wasn't Hasting willing to give up? If things were so easy as you put it, why was he so impatient as to requisition the demon instead of talking to Richard? He made it clear that he caught this demon for his own research needs, and the creature would still be alive afterwards for use.”

Rundstedt glanced at Hasting, “Your Excellency, we have known each other for many years now. You should know the meaning of this demon to Hasting and the effort in the Land of Dusk. His Excellency is the authority on the study of enemy creatures, and time is the one things we do not have.”

“How do you know Richard can't get more out than him?” Lawrence countered.

The Marshal frowned, “Richard might be talented, but he isn't even a grand mage yet. One cannot be sure whether he will become a legendary mage or a saint runemaster in the future; how can the demon have more value in his hands than with Master Hasting?”

Lawrence sneered, “So you think he isn't high enough in level? How many sky saints are doing better than him in number of kills? Which one of them would you steal from without so much as a warning? Aren't you all practical? Shouldn't you be judging strength by kill count?”

The Marshal's thick, near-white brows locked together, “I cannot trust a possibility over a known quantity. I believe this decision is more beneficial to the City of the Unsetting Sun.”

Lawrence sighed deeply, “Rundstedt, you've always been so naive. Always stubborn and inflexible, unable to understand that not everybody is like you. Richard doesn't judge himself on the Land of Dusk, he's far beyond that. Nor is everyone willing to sacrifice their own good for the bigger picture, and you have no right to force them to. But there's no point in telling you this, you've never understood that some things can't be measured in money and offerings. Dignity is far more important to some people, and Richard is amongst them.”

Looking at the Marshal continuing to frown, Lawrence knew he still couldn't understand. He turned to Hasting instead, “Did you have to take that demon?”

Hasting smiled like a pervert, “Of course! You know my past, the little demon might be related to Forbidden Eye. There's no way I'd let it go, and I'm willing to pay any price. I will make the thing suffer endless misery!”

Lawrence vaguely understood why Richard was so invested in this vote, but hearing Hasting's words he gave up on any attempt to convince the man to be gentle. Instead, he just sneered, “Fine, I know my words don't matter in this city anymore. Marshal Rundstedt, just know that the bigger picture you're looking at isn't nearly as big as you think. You've just bullied the most talented runemaster in the history of the Sacred Alliance, and that will have repercussions. Hasting, you've just pissed off Sharon's favourite student. If she decides to hunt you down, you'll experience pain far beyond what you inflict on that puny demon. Do whatever you want, but I wouldn't mess with the girl if I were you.”

The old man turned around and left without looking back, leaving Hasting trying his best to suppress his trembling and maintain a stiff smile.

782 - City of Sin

Growth

Once he returned, Lawrence couldn't help but peek into the courtyard beside his own. Richard had already returned, and was now sitting in the courtyard cleaning his three swords from time to time. Unlike normal, there wasn't even a hint of him drinking, something that only caused Lawrence more worry. He greeted Richard and wanted to console him, but before he could speak further Richard interrupted him, “Don't worry about me, old man. I'm okay.”

“This is okay?” Lawrence rolled his eyes. He knew that Richard was no less stubborn than Rundstedt. That demon likely didn't matter at all before, but now it had become a humiliation that would dig into his heart. However, he knew that there was no way to help right now. Whether Richard was more or less successful in the future, the City of the Unsetting Sun would be a stain in his memory.

“Wait!” Richard called out as Lawrence headed back to his own house, “I need two top-tier offerings, here's some stuff in trade.” He went into his house and came out with two big sacks that he dumped on Lawrence's floor.

Lawrence didn't even need to know that inside the sacks were the lesser offerings that had been given as payment for making and repairing runes, alongside the materials collected from Daxdian bodies. Richard killed far too many enemies to feasibly process himself, but even so what he did have was impressive. It would be worth three top-tier offerings on the market. However, the former legend knew that this wasn't a good place nor time to sit and calculate worth; not even bothering to check the inside of the sacks, he went straight to his chest and threw two pieces of grey ore Richard's way.

When Richard returned to his courtyard an hour later, a young lady was following behind. She seemed extremely timid, like a child who had been caught doing something wrong.

Once they entered the house, Richard sat down and started rubbing his forehead, sighing with exhaustion. Waterflower stood quietly against the wall even after he told her to take a seat.

“Alright, why are you here?” Richard asked. His tone was surprisingly peaceful, as though she had done something insignificant, and their restored connection seemed to be radiating tranquillity as well.

“Umm... I wanted to follow you, but you didn't let me. Someone found out about it and helped me get here. I can feel that this place is great for me, I'm becoming stronger and stronger. Master... as your soulguard, I should always be with you.” Google search 𝗳𝙧𝘦𝒆𝑤𝙚𝘣𝙣𝘰𝘃ℯ𝑙. 𝐜𝐨𝑚

“Someone?” Richard smiled faintly, but that only caused the girl to feel uneasy as she estimated the distance between herself and the window, “It was Nyra, wasn't it.”

“... Yes... and Io. He saw that I was sad and asked me a few times, so I told him... Then he told me to come find you, even if to get a taste of the battlefield of despair. Nyra blocked the power of our contract and strengthened my soul protection, and Io filled me with the divinity to sustain it for a year.”

Richard finally frowned, “Do the rest know? What about Flowsand and Gangdor?”

“Nobody else,” the girl said with a shake of her head, causing Richard to sigh once more. Unlike the heavenly guardians, most of his other followers would have stopped Waterflower from doing something so foolish. However, they were normally in different places and didn't contact each other for long stretches of time.

“Alright, so why did you come here?” he asked again.

The girl looked down at the floor, “I'm your soulguard, I should follow your footsteps. I'm already a year late...”

“You...” Richard didn't know how to react, feeling a load on his mind. He just stood up and walked around the house for a bit before stopping before the food shelf and starting to cut up some strips of skaven meat for dinner. “You've just recovered, you're not allowed to move today or tomorrow. Even if you have to join a battle afterwards, don't leave this block. That's an order. We'll talk about fighting once I fix up your runes.”

Waterflower gently nodded her head.

......

The clock showed that it was night, but there was no darkness in the City of the Unsetting Sun. The light of the Eternal Glory formation was still shining upon the entire stronghold, protecting its inhabitants and scaring its enemies away.

Lying in bed, Richard was staring at the ceiling. Try as he might, he couldn't bring himself to fall asleep.

So many years had passed since he first set off on this journey, a stubborn little child with no knowledge of the world's workings nor any idea of how to lead. But now, he and his followers were growing rapidly. Everyone started to come to their own opinions and ideas, and had the ability to put their thoughts to action. They were no longer shy and unsure, able to take the lead with regards to their own lives.

Wasn't this what he always wanted, for his slaves to become full-fledged people of their own? He had always known Waterflower's desires, a love that had erupted before they were even certain of their own lives. He had his own debts to pay and refused to add another weight to his heart, but now she had come all the way to a battlefield of despair. With Nyra's soul protection, he might not have even realised she was fighting by his side until she wound up dead.

Waterflower was always a simple girl, so simple that she almost acted upon instinct. Her arrival here was just that, an instinctive desire to stay close to him. However, this simplicity was precisely what made his heart feel so heavy.

Perhaps the demonic youth was still crouching there in the corner, looking at him with awe and curiosity. As he thought of this, Richard muttered a few curses under his breath. His damned blessings wouldn't give him even a moment's respite. He knew that Hasting would have started his “research” work, so Blacklight's torment had begun.

And yet, what could he even do? It wasn't like he could run into Hasting's shrine and take Blacklight by force. Regardless of ability, that would put him at odds with a leader of his own race for the sake of a demon who had killed countless of his kin. There wasn't even a point. The juvenile demon couldn't just lay crouched in the shade for the rest of his life. The war had to end some day, and prisoners were never released in the battlefields of despair. There was one truth in Rundstedt's words— neither the Norlanders nor the Daxdians considered each other equal life.

He looked outside the window at the bright light, gently brushing the sweat off his forehead. It was through this very window that he had seen a human almost become food for Daxdians a few days ago.

It was just... The damned requisition... Unable to suppress his agitation, he eventually got out of bed and grabbed his sword case and staff.

“I can't sleep,” he told the girl that was curled up on a makeshift cot, “I'll go out and kill some enemies, you stay here and rest.” He ignored the stare of shock as he habitually walked out of the door, jumping straight across the city walls to disappear into the dark.

The girl curled up further. Without Richard around, the room seemed to suddenly turn cold.

783 - City of Sin

Wild And Charming

Moments before she went back to sleep, Waterflower suddenly sniffed at the air and all her hair stood on end. She sprung up from her position, crouched and ready to pounce.

A wrinkled face appeared outside the window, waving at her with an enigmatic smile, “Hey kid, I'm one of Richard's neighbours and half a teacher. I'm a runemaster too, you can call me Saint Lawrence or Your Excellency.”

Waterflower's face relaxed a bit, but her back archer further as one of her legs finally made it to the edge of the cot to grab the Shepherd of Eternal Rest. Before Lawrence could even react, she had dashed out of the window and had her sword resting on the old man's neck.

“OI! NO! DON'T DO THIS TO A PURE MAN! It's very dangerous to put your sword on a saint runemaster's neck, you might end up causing trouble for Richard!” Lawrence huffed.

Waterflower started to hesitate. She knew that a saint runemaster was far beyond Richard's current status, but as she sniffed at the old man she couldn't find any threat from him. Of course, this was the weakest being in the entirety of the City of the Unsetting Sun. Even a Daxdian slave ant could kill him without breaking a swear.

“Lie,” the girl said gruffly, almost growling at his face. She hadn't ever met a saint runemaster before, but she knew that one had to be level 20 to become one. How could this frail and weak old man be a saint runemaster?
f𝘳𝒆ℯ𝑤𝚎𝚋𝗻𝚘𝘷el. c𝗼m

“Nonsense, of course I'm a saint rune— wait, wait. I'm just kidding, hehe, calm down! I was a saint runemaster once in my life, and you can call me Lawrence if you want. Now don't do anything to your neighbour, I was just here with some gossip about Richard!”

“Speak!” The Shepherd of Eternal Rest had already been turned around, seemingly to knock Lawrence out with the hilt, but as she heard the last sentence Waterflower immediately let him go.

The old man just laughed and started talking non-stop, from Richard's history in the Land of Dusk to how Blacklight had been requisitioned and he gave up the vote for her sake. The girl's expression slowly turned into a daze, and when Lawrence started to get up she didn't even stop him. However, he didn't run away as he continued to tell Waterflower about all the events of the past year.

At some point, the two had returned to Richard's room, wetting their throats with wine. The old man couldn't stop talking, vividly describing every wound Richard had sustained in the past year, explaining each of the battles as though he had been the one present. The girl grabbed the table whenever things got intense, leaving deep scratches in the wood. At other times she would sigh, taking a swig of wine. The old man drank a glass with every battle.

As time went by, the old man went deeper and deeper into the coversation. Besides talking about what Richard had done, Lawrence even started to analyse Richard's personality and way of doing things, giving her suggestions on endearing herself to him. His eyes shone with excitement while his gesticulations grew even more exaggerated, as though he was the conductor of an opera and not a storyteller. He even started to comment on Waterflower's attire, accessories, and manners, criticising her for her lack of grace.

“Who would like a girl who spends her entire life in the trees?” This comment caused her to pale.

......

The City of the Unsetting Sun was surprisingly peaceful today, so much so that it was filled with an almost-deathly silence. The magical light that illuminated this lifeless area felt warm yet apathetic. As he walked across the unmanned gates to enter the city proper, his clothes torn and body riddled with wounds, Richard bled with every step he took. The two skaven heads hung by his waist were little justification for his present injuries; those were caused from an encounter with a full squadron of centaurs.

This part of the city was completely abandoned as a result of a particularly fierce fight between the legends of both sides, an active spatial rift constantly absorbing and spewing strange energies. If not to escape the hunt of the centaurs, he wouldn't have taken this long route around.

Richard almost laughed to himself, but a terrifying gash that marred his handsome face started throbbing in response to the attempt. As much as he shook his head, the feeling of loneliness as though he was the only person in this world started to suffocate him. His steps slowed and slowed until he came to a stop, looking into the sky that had no humans, no beasts, and not even birds.

This time, he did laugh despite the pain. He was becoming sentimental, lonely, and agitated in this god-forsaken place. This wouldn't be a bad thing if he was relatively safe— just like artists, runemasters could find inspiration in the darker emotions of life— but in a battlefield of despair where death was around every corner such sentimentality was nothing more than stupid. He hadn't concentrated during his hunt and accidentally fallen into a trap, forced into a battle far beyond his mana and energy reserves as he ran for more than half a day. If not for the restorative power of his truename, he would have become a delicacy for the Daxdians.

Eventually, he dragged himself back to his house. The rundown place felt particularly warm as he approached, making him go faster and faster. Lawrence and Beye were his neighbours, and now he had Waterflower as a housemate; he suddenly realised that he didn't want to feel lonely anymore.

Was it time to go back to Norland or Faelor? Back to his followers and citizens? It was a tempting idea, but he dismissed it as soon as it appeared. He hadn't done enough yet, and the trials he would soon come across were far too difficult for him to break through with his current strength.

“... Yes, that's how a perfect woman should be. You should be pretty to your man! Your build and character are amazing, and your rune capacity is so great! It would be a pity to waste a talent like you!”

Lawrence broke into a peal of laughter before continuing with pride, “How about this, I have a masterpiece that I crafted in my early years. It doesn't take up much of your capacity, and can be added on top of most other runes. Once you put it on, I promise you it won't be more than two months before you become the dream of any man including Richard!”

'What's the old man doing now?' Richard wondered as he headed in, recalling the so-called jelly legs rune that Lawrence had once talked about. It seemed like Lawrence was hitting on Waterflower, but he couldn't be sure. At the very least, the old man did have a moral basis that he would not flout. Perhaps the coot just thought he didn't care about her...

“Hmm? Why are you here?” Richard asked as he looked towards the courtyard, his brows locking further. It had taken him a moment to realise her presence himself; she had concealed all traces of her aura until she felt no different than a piece of stone.

784 - City of Sin

No Longer Alone

Beye shrugged, “The old man is playing with fire again, so I have to watch from up close just in case he gets killed by your girl. She's way too fast to stop if I'm further away.”

Richard immediately broke into a cold sweat, “He's not doing anything strange, is he? Their conversation seems to be...”
f𝔯𝒆𝑒we𝚋𝓃૦ν𝙚Ɩ. c૦m

“I don't know what you mean by strange, but that girl's been filled up with killing intent multiple times. I felt it all the way home.”

“Killing intent... Ugh, the coot really wants to die, doesn't he,” Richard sighed. At level 17 alongside the Guide of Secrets and the Breath of Darkness, Waterflower's blade was like a lightning strike that could kill an ordinary saint in one shot. Many years of tempering on the battlefield had made her a bona fide assassin, giving no warning before her strikes. It even seemed like she had participated in the defense of the Unsetting Sun; even he didn't know just how strong she had become.

Lawrence would have been seriously injured by Waterflower even back in his prime. Now that he was in ruin, if her instincts so much as kicked in once, he would be shredded apart.

Neither Richard nor Beye had concealed their voices, shocking the two within the room. The girl exclaimed and flashed behind her cot to hide, but the old man just stood up and swaggered his way to the door.

Beye immediately bid Richard goodbye and disappeared, clearly unwilling to see the old man's shameless face.

“Richard, you're ba— goddammit you brat! How did you get hurt so bad?!”

Richard smiled, “I was ambushed by a team of centaurs, it took me a while to escape.”

“Sigh. This isn't light, come I'll treat you for a while. I also have some things to tell you.”

Richard nodded and threw the two skaven heads on an iron basin in his room, turning to Waterflower who was hidden behind the cot, “Come out, I heard you guys speaking. Help me deal with these two, I have to get fixed up a bit.”

Despite those words, the girl didn't so much as peek out until he left.

Lying on the cold steel table once more, feeling the scalpel digging around his body, Richard actually felt quite peaceful, almost at one mind with Beye. So long as he could lie on the old man's operating table, his life would come back with almost as much guarantee as if he were facing Ferlyn. Although the old man had a lot of shortcomings, he gave off a sense of security that was difficult to rival.

His thoughts drifted to his own situation. Was this not how a true lord should be, his existence alone giving everyone hope? Was Gaton such a man, convincing his thirteen knights to follow him to the myriad planes through thick and thin? If he hadn't fallen in the Rosie Plane, would there be more people following him?

A low laughter suddenly interrupted his scattered thoughts, “Hey brat, I'll give you a good rune in a bit that I've been hiding for a long time. Just give it to the Waterflower chick, and so long as she's within range you can turn her entire body soft with just your thoughts. You can finally use the ursa warlord's... ahem... essence, to the fullest degree! I repaired the thing only a few months ago to make sure it was perfect. Haha, isn't this old man thoughtful?”

On the verge of both laughter and tears, Richard scolded, “Don't sell your crap to me!”

“Tch tch... How can your experience with women compare to mine? You little twerp, there's no meaning in restricting yourself to two or three or whatever girls you love. Men are born to conquer and women are born to be conquered! You'll know how powerful Jelly Legs is when you use it!” The old man's face bloomed like the ugliest of flowers.

The two argued over this for a long time, until the treatment was eventually done and Richard returned to his home. Somehow, the base old man had managed to push some of the weight off his chest. His body was covered in bandages, but he could feel his life force burning brighter than ever to heal him; he would be alright in two days.

Back at his room, Waterflower had already processed the skaven heads and sorted the harvested materials neatly on the shelf. She had even started cleaning the room, but her upbringing didn't leave her with much talent in the area. A lot of scratches were left behind on the stone and wood. When she saw him entering the house, she immediately flashed to a corner of the room and went still, her gaze fixed on the floor.

As Richard thought back to it, ever since he encountered her in the Archeron death camps, the girl had fought in multiple planes for several years. Her face was still sharp and delicate, and although they weren't like steel spikes anymore her hair was still short. She would allow for no obvious weaknesses on the battlefield.

She didn't seem to have changed, but then again the passage of time always changed someone. Years ago she would have crouched in the corner, back arched and ready to pounce. Now, she was standing ramrod straight. The only way Richard could picture her was hidden amongst the canopy and grass, body bowed slightly to ease movement. This sort of posture that revealed her beautiful curves was extremely rare.

Waterflower wasn't particularly filled out in any places, but she was well-built and her long legs especially were filled with explosive power. Right now, she looked like a mix of contradictions, her savage nature being tempered by burning shame. She stood there like a mountain flower before the storm, prepared to wither away.

Just like Lawrence had said, seeing the soft side of a woman was the true test of a man's will. Richard immediately felt an erection as she tried clumsily to put the old man's words into practice, and despite looking down the trained assassin immediately realised the change.

Unable to suppress his bodily reaction, Richard immediately blushed and turned towards the stairs, walking to his room, “I'm tired, need rest! We can talk tomorrow if you have anything!”

'That damned old man, he taught her this!' he cursed in his mind. All he could see was the beautiful posture that revealed all of Wateflower's grace, something that Lawrence had clearly designed.

Waterflower stood quietly for a while before closing the door and covering the windows, causing darkness to shroud the house. The room was quiet, the only sensations being a touch of warmth and the girl's own scent. Just as Richard managed to hypnotise himself into sleeping, she made her way to his bed and crawled into him.

“Wa—”

“I'm cold.” This one sentence blocked every word he could think of.

The night was dark and quiet, with only a few soft breaths ringing within the room. The two people just focused on the other's breathing, noticing the difference from normal. One was a little heavy, while the other was gradually speeding up.

“Waterflower.”

“Hmm?”

“Did Lawrence tell you everything?”

“... Yes.”

Richard rolled over and laid on his back, one arm still under Waterflower as he looked at the ceiling and said calmly, “Don't be afraid, I'll protect you. Nobody can 'requisition' my people ever again.”

“I don't need protection... I want to fight with you. Don't leave me behind...”

“... That's good too.” Richard hated himself the moment these words left his lips. He knew he should have refused. Was he just too soft, or was it something else?

The darkness seemed to have a magical power, allowing both the boy and girl to slowly enter the world of dreams

......

When Richard woke up in the morning, he saw Waterflower sleeping soundly on his arm and thing. It took a moment to get out of the entanglement, waking her up in the process, but he sat for a while and redid his plans as he prepared for the day.

He left for the dark wilderness in the morning, but this time he was no longer alone.

The hunt lasted for four days, and the two were like wolves that were hunting in the vast plains. There were days they didn't speak a single word to each other, but they were close nevertheless. The girl's astounding talent for battle left even Richard with no room to correct her, so they just fought, fled, ate, and rested silently.

It was only during their naps that Waterflower revealed any weaknesses, sticking closely to him to be able to relax. So long as she leaned against him, she would be able to sleep immediately even in the middle of a cacophony.

785 - City of Sin

Lunar Majesty

Waterflower's company greatly freed up Richard during a battle, but at the same time there were some subconscious restrictions he placed on himself. He couldn't be as carefree and reckless as before, having to consciously weigh his strength before every battle. This meant his harvest wasn't spectacular, but at the same time his injuries were minimal as well.

As the Daxdians regained their strength and resumed their attacks on the City of the Unsetting Sun, Richard and Waterflower did their part for the defence. Using the complicated terrain to trap their enemies, they weaved in and out of the Daxdian formation as they reaped the lives of half a dozen elites. It was only then that the enemy decided to change path.

And just like that, Richard started a life of living together with a girl. Richard fought, rested, and crafted runes, occasionally spending some time talking to Waterflower.

He spent time analysing his own power and strengthening his bloodlines, of which his moonforce affinity was the first to reach grade 4. His sense for moonforce and ability to command it instantly skyrocketed, and the power of his secret swords grew to a terrifying level. However, Annihilation and the Ring of Fate were still his strongest abilities.

The growth of the affinity also gave him a new ability: Lunar Majesty. It allowed him to absorb a specific type of moonforce and store it within his world tree, giving him a boost when using related spells or the corresponding secret sword. As this ability was strengthened, his moonforce tree would grow more branches and thus allow him to absorb more varied types of moonforce. The first type he unlocked was the power of the azure moon, the same energy that fuelled Annihilation. It had been a conscious choice, partly because of familiarity but mainly in memory of his mother.

This advancement surfaced a question he had asked himself many times in the past to no avail: just what type of energy was moonforce that it existed across the planes with little difference on each? Alucia was a mediocre goddess in Norland, her status far too low for the sheer amount of power and versatility she could grant. It irked him that she wasn't even a greater goddess, but no matter what direction he approached the problem from he just couldn't reconcile all the facts. He eventually just gave up.

Richard didn't feel much of a difference in his lifestyle, but that was not true for the warriors of the City of the Unsetting Sun. Ever since the day Blacklight was seized, not a single rune had been sold to Rundstedt. Forget Lifesbanes, even elementary runes were off the table.

Despite going hunting frequently, Richard still spent a fair bit of time at home and had plenty of materials; it was obvious that he was still crafting. It was just that the runes he crafted didn't land in the city's hands anymore. However, nobody called him out on this decision. The requisition was public knowledge by now, and Richard still fulfilled his duty of repairing and maintaining everyone's runes without the slightest drop in quality. Even the Marshal's guards weren't refused service, and because of his frequent contact with the city's soldiers his work was far better than what Lunor offered.

At the same time, he had soared to near the top of the rankings when it came to sheer number of kills. Even many of the council members couldn't match up to his military exploits, so they didn't have the guts to complain about him.

However, one day he was met with an unexpected visitor, a woman with a title yet no name. It was the only female in the entire city with more of a reputation than Beye the White Night, and for the same reason; Dreambreaker was a terror on the battlefield.

Unlike Beye, Dreambreaker was a mage, and a legendary mage at that. A master of illusions and mind magic, her bloodline ability was said to be more gripping on the soul than the demons of the abyss. With her visiting, Richard had no choice but to welcome her graciously. One reason was her sheer power and status, but another was that she was the only legend of the city who hadn't participated in the requisition. At that time, she had been at home nursing serious injuries from battle.

Dreambreaker's veil and form-fitting robes did well to showcase her fitness, but she wasn't particularly charming. Although it was a simple thing for a legendary mage to captivate anyone who so much as laid their eyes on her, she seemed far beyond that. As she sat down and took off her veil, her face was the same; beautiful, certainly, but not enchanting. This was someone who didn't really care for physical beauty; even what she had came mostly from her power instead of any actual attention.

Looking straight at this legendary illusionist would cause a normal person to lose their soul, but Richard was confident in himself as well. After exchanging some simple pleasantries, he stared her right in the eye.

Dreambreaker looked him up and down for a while before sighing softly, “Your will is powerful. Even I cannot read your soul. Hasting and Rundstedt really haven't thought this through.”

Richard smiled faintly, “Everyone has their own stance, it's just that I don't envy them for theirs. We have our differences, and neither side is willing to budge. However, I'm sure Saint Lawrence conveyed that I couldn't be moved in that regard.”

“Heh, this conflict is between you and them, I do not represent the City; when the troubles are gone, so will I for the myriad planes. I might return only when I'm exhausted or bored, and that takes an unknown number of years.”

“Something to look forward to,” Richard commented.

“Wait till you become a legend to say such things. When the day comes that your family, friends, and kids are all old and dying, even home feels like any other plane. A single plane's laws can be enough to spend a lifetime researching, it is a lonely life.”

Dreambreaker's musings surprised Richard. He didn't have much contact with legendary beings, but those he did know seemed to lead far more exciting lives than she was describing.

“Ah, I'm babbling again,” she laughed, “Maybe it's all these injuries scaring me for my life. Alright then, business first. I believe you've already guessed why I'm here.”

“Of course.” Google search 𝑓𝗿e𝐞𝓌𝙚𝙗𝑛o𝚟e𝙡. c𝚘𝚖

Dreambreaker nodded, undoing the ribbons of her robes to reveal perfectly round shoulders, “Have a look.”

Richard immediately noticed that the rune on the shoulders was only a standard grade 3 rune, far below the standard for a legendary powerhouse. A strong illusionist like her needed powerful barrier-breaking abilities which standard runes could not provide.

Richard nodded quietly. Custom grade 3 runes were still difficult to find in the Sacred Alliance. At the very least, Lunor wasn't very reliable.

“Okay, I'll come to the point. Richard, it is growing difficult to hold the fort. I would appreciate as much help as you could grant.”

“Hmm...” Richard pulled back his long sleeves, revealing the runes on his forearm, “I have these, they're top of the line Lifesbanes that are the most powerful I've ever crafted. Considering they're my property...”

Dreambreaker sighed knowingly, “You're expecting another requisition?”

“Hoping for it, actually. It'll give me a reason to get out of this city. His Majesty did request my presence here, but I feel like my services are more necessary at the Fort of Dawn. I've already done more than required of me here, and more than most people. Now, for the so-called bigger picture, it would be better for me and my followers to retain a monopoly on my new runes. But then again, anyone can give some lip service to such vague ideals.”

786 - City of Sin

A Time Of Passion

Dreambreaker shook her head at Richard's outburst, “I already talked to Rundstedt once before coming to look for you. He's a stubborn person, but one cannot deny that he has dedicated his entire life to the stronghold.”

“And I respect that, it's why I didn't leave right away. However, respecting someone doesn't mean agreeing with their every decision,” Richard replied.

“Then you're the same as him. Here's what the Marshal said: “The City only values power and results, that kid isn't even a grand mage yet, don't talk to me about potential! Nobody cares about potential in this land. The fort is currently under my command, and all of its laws will apply to its residents. If there's something he doesn't like, he can become a legend and wrest me from my seat.” If you have the ability to overthrow him, you can make decisions in the City of the Unsetting Sun.”

Dreambreaker's account was precise, even the gestures and timbre perfectly replicating Rundstedt. If one were to close their eyes, they really could believe that is was the Marshal himself speaking.

Richard fell silent, not speaking for quite some time. However, he eventually couldn't stand the legendary mage's gaze, “Smart old man, isn't he. Setting up the conflict such that it allows him to retire.”

Dreambreaker smiled faintly.

“As for the runes, I will not hide things from you. All my energy is currently focused on a new custom rune I've been trying to make. It's already seven failures in, but there's some hope of success soon.” Richard took an incomplete rune out of a sealing case and placed it in front of Dreambreaker. Next to the rune was a blueprint with some names and explanations scribbled on, most parts corrected save for the portion on usage.

“Hmm... Instant Assault... It says here that it's a combination of Shadow Seal and Lifesbane. What is Shadow Seal?”

Richard called Waterflower over, asking her to stretch out her forearms and activate the rune. Dreambreaker immediately gasped, “This is a grade 2 rune? How? Increased defence penetration, faster attacks, and even a stealth effect?!”

Shadow Seal on its own was comparable to some standard grade 3 runes, but it only required the capacity of a grade 2 rune. If one could fuse the base properties of Shadow Seal with Lifesbane, then the new rune would be powerful even compared to grade 4 runes. With the lower requirement on capacity, its value would be immense.

“Wait... This is part of a grade 3 set?” Dreambreaker had just read another line.

Richard nodded in Waterflower's direction, “For her. I haven't finished the design yet, but I'm tentatively calling it the Illusion of Dawn.”

Dreambreaker took a good look at the young lady, “Lucky kid, even I would be moved by a third order set. Alright, since this rune is about to be completed, I won't be too difficult and ask you to work on something else. However, if you have the spare energy I would like a replacement for the rune on my shoulder ot a Lifesbane.”

“Hmm... I'll get you a Lifesbane. I don't have much experience with grade 4 runes, and I'm still studying grade 3. A standard rune wouldn't be very useful for you.”

An expression of joy flitted across Dreambreaker's face. Even if she couldn't use the Lifesbane, she could give it to someone close to her. She expressed her gratitude before turning to leave.

“Remember, ten million gold,” Richard called out behind her, and she nodded without looking back. Richard had already made several concessions to even craft her a rune, and the new price was just the standard. She mused about children and tantrums as she returned to her residence.

Richard sighed once Dreambreaker was far enough away. The current situation was far more complicated than he had expected.

......
𝐟𝓇eℯ𝒘𝙚𝚋𝓃𝐨𝘷𝗲Ɩ. co𝓶

The battle still raged on with more and more deaths every day. New people were now rushing towards the City of the Unsetting Sun from both ends, Norlanders and Daxdians now engaged in a test of will to see who would give up first. The strongholds of both the Sacred Tree Empire and the Millennial Empire were launching stronger attacks against their enemies, mounting pressure on the Daxdian troops and causing them to fight even more fervently. From an attack every few days, there were now a number of attacks on any given day.

The light of the Eternal Glory formation still burnt brightly, but despite their reduced strength the Daxdians were killing more and more of the defenders. The problem boiled down to sheer military power; the sieging army was an order of magnitude larger than the defenders.

Right now, it was difficult to find a single perfectly healthy person in the city, perhaps the only one of which was Saint Lawrence. Richard and Beye were paying more and more visits to the healing table, with each visit growing longer as well. They were slowly pushed away from the city borders to the fringe of the inner city, and pushed again all the way to the core. Even Beye didn't think she, Richard, and Waterflower alone could hold off the entirety of the invaders.

Kill, craft, heal, kill, craft heal... Richard felt numbed by the daily routine, and the old man had a pale expression on his face. Lawrence didn't have the energy to mess around, not even touching Beye to boost his own flagging mind. There was a point where he fell asleep while still operating on Richard, who ended up enlisting Waterflower to help him clean up and finish the process.

“Wh... What?” the old man suddenly woke up, remembering that he had been healing Richard before he fell asleep. Looking at Richard still lying on the operating table, he rubbed his eyes vigorously and cried out, “When did it become this bad?! Your injuries were much lighter than this!”

“You're just too tired, old man. I've been this hurt all along, you just forgot in your daze. Hurry up and treat me, I still plan to live another few years.”

Looking at the extent of the injuries, Lawrence didn't hesitate and immediately started the treatment. However, he continued to mutter under his breath, wondering how he got things wrong. Was he getting old? No, it had to be those damn Daxdian bastards.

The fires of war burned brighter than ever, both sides putting their bodies on the line to fight for every inch of land. Richard and Beye showed their true tenacity, returning to battle the moment they were healed and disposing of a number of enemy saints every time. Waterflower displayed her own talent, her new rune silently sending uncountable people to their graves.

At this point, everyone in Norland and Daxdus had an eye on this bloodstained land. The Sacred Alliance seemed to be fighting off half the might of Daxdus on their lonesome, Marshal Rundstedt refusing to request reinforcements in this battle of will and blood. Everyone knew the City of the Unsetting Sun was sure to fall. The other two empires already had their troops prepared, but could do nothing without a request for assistance. So long as Rundstedt made the request, support would be available in a matter of hours.

However, there was still no news regarding reinforcements. Even in the last moments of battle, the warriors of the Unsetting Sun guarded the city with their lives even though a number of saints were gathered at the teleportation halls of both other empires. Every grain of sand dripping down the hourglass stirred their emotions further.

They all had the same question in their hearts: just what was the City of the Unsetting Sun fighting for? Was it merely for their rights in the Land of Dusk? Everyone knew that there were only responsibilities on the battlefields of despair. Glory was never a tangible benefit.

“They only have four hours,” someone suddenly remarked.

787 - City of Sin

Countdown

They only have four hours... It didn't take long for the level 20 prophet's words to spread throughout Norland. If they didn't request military aid and refused to retreat, every warrior in the City of the Unsetting Sun would wind up dead, including the three legends at the helm. Short-term prophecies were rarely inaccurate, so everyone was left dumbstruck.

“Could Rundstedt be planning to destroy the portal?” someone murmured, striking hard at the hearts of those present. Those of Faust had already proved their courage, why were they still so persistent?

......

Lawrence suddenly snapped awake in the middle of his room, his eyes going wide open as he realised that there was nobody to heal. The roars of Daxdians could be heard approaching from beyond the windows, forcing the old man to drag his exhausted body and get up. A delicate dagger in hand, he stared pointedly at the door; long since drained of mana, he could barely move about. He was no stronger than an ordinary old man, but the dagger would not leave him before his life.

The smell of blood suddenly grew stronger as a crimson mist wafted in from outside.

......

The golden grains of sand were slowly flowing down in hourglasses all across Norland. Every grain seemed ever so dense.

Only a few minutes into the wait, all of Norland was shocked by news that Bloodthirsty Philip of the Sacred Alliance had left the Fort of Dawn to engage in an ultimate battle against two high-level legends of Daxdus. Everyone was taken aback by this news; it meant that the Emperor had given up his defensive advantage for a potential battle to the death. His loss would be a great blow to the entire Sacred Alliance and possibly to all of Norland.

Some legends pretended to be unfazed, saying that the Dragon Butcher would surely reap enemy lives, but most powerhouses knew that even divine weapons had limited impact on such epic battles.

Within the Church of the Eternal Dragon in Faust, the hourglass in High Priestess Ferlyn's hands suddenly exploded into pieces and blood streamed from the corners of her eyes. Even she couldn't influence or even predict the ending of such a battle.

......

A mere ten minutes later, the battle had come to a conclusion. Philip and his two guards were carried back to the Fort of Dawn, while the two Daxdians had been forced to retreat. One of the two normal legends amongst the enemies had been killed, and the other forced to retreat without the ability to even retrieve his companion's corpse.

This information was received with a burst of cheers, but that quickly died down. The message had omitted the most important part of it all; the seriousness of Philip's injuries.

As the hundreds of saints tacitly tried to avoid the topic in the Millennial Empire's teleportation hall, a gentle voice suddenly broke the dead silence, “Everyone, please make way.”

Almost every expert subconsciously stepped aside, looking back in surprise to see a rather petite silhouette disappear into the portal. The Sword Saint of the Millennial Empire had entered the Land of Dusk.

......

Three hours and three minutes before the prophecy's end, the Daxdian hordes surrounding the Snowstorm Fortress were completely broken apart. An epic being was forced to retreat while two legends sustained heavy injuries. The soldiers of the Millennial Empire flooded into the dark wilderness.

......

Three hours before the time of the prophecy, a mysterious woman appeared in the capital of the Millennial Empire and took large strides towards the teleportation hall. The woman was wrapped in a thick cloak from head to toe, only revealing a pair of bottomless eyes. The most memorable part about her was the enormous sword she had strapped horizontally across her back, a metre wide and almost four metres long. The sheathless sword that was disproportionate to her form was held in place by animal skin, but it seemed extremely stable on her back.

Even more surprising was the fact that this woman walked through the Millennial Empire as she liked. She passed through many strategic locations along the way, but nobody stopped her even once. Even the legendary being guarding the portal subconsciously cleared the path for her.

Word quickly spread that Empress Gelan was in the midst of an afternoon nap. Of course, everyone knew that such excuses were only used to avoid meeting certain people. It was just that no one knew exactly who she was trying to avoid.

Two hours and fifty-five minutes before the end of the prophecy, the mysterious woman disappeared into the depths of the dark wilderness. Exactly forty-four minutes later, she had returned to the Millennial Empire and vanished quietly. The only difference seemed to be a few more nicks on her enormous blade, and an ominous aura of death.

“Azuresnow Shrine, she's—” a saint suddenly closed her mouth halfway through the sentence. There were some names completely forbidden in the Millennial Empire, and the name of the former leader of the Azuresnow Shrine was one of them. It was this very woman that had completely subdued Prince Greyhawk's army and then his heart, giving birth to Princess Mountainsea.

Empress Gelan hadn't seen her most beloved son ever since, only his daughter who had once come to visit.

Many saints discussed as to why the former saintess had entered the Land of Dusk, but there was no answer to be found.

......

As the final moments approached, Faust turned increasingly lively. Earl Goliath and Marquess Sauron caught sight of each other at the Ironblood teleportation gate, both noting that the other was fully armed battle.

“”You want to go too?”” They asked each other simultaneously, then grunting with annoyance, “”Do you want to die?””

Eventually, the two just glowered at each other before walking into the portal shoulder to shoulder. At this point, there was still an hour and fifty minutes before the prophesied time came to pass.

Powerhouses continued to rush towards the City of the Unsetting Sun one after the other, but even considering all of the Sacred Alliance the number of experts able and willing to participate in the war were scarce. Most of those who ended up going could only be called 'experts' in ordinary battles, not on the scale of the battlefields of despair, and even then a majority of those going weren't doing so willingly.

However, not everyone was aware that the fourth and last of the epic-level Daxdians had already been sent retreating.

......

News travelled slow to the frontlines. Those who fought and killed with all their might had no clue about what was happening, and by now it was too late for any reinforcements to assist. The gathered experts from the other two empires could only rush in if the City of the Unsetting Sun fell, reclaiming it from the depleted Daxdians once more.

At this point, there were 58 minutes to go until the end of the prophecy.

Within the core of the city, a saint's sword suddenly hit the hard ground. The recoil caused him to gasp in pain, but he forced his arm to move and went into a defensive stance as he wiped away the blood that was covering his eyes. However, his eyes went wide as he realised that there was nobody in front of him. Hastily wiping his eyes once more and scanning around the nearby alleys, he nearly dropped his sword in surprise.

Those of his comrades who survived were the same. They watched in dazed disbelief as the enemy Daxdians ran away, not to their camps but far beyond into the dark wilderness. Finally, a difficult notion sprang up inside their minds: had they just won?

Indeed, the Daxdians were retreating. The City of the Unsetting Sun had succeeded in its defence. However, there was no cheering as every single warrior in the city slumped to the ground. Some were gasping for air, while many others had already entered an eternal repose. These soldiers should have died long ago, but had forced themselves to fight on through sheer power of will until they saw the moment of victory with their own eyes.

Simels hung on the faces of the dead while tears streamed down the cheeks of the living. The Eternal Glory continued to burn away the harrowing darkness of the world.

788 - City of Sin

Unsetting Sun

The City of the Unsetting Sun had lived up to its name, the glory not tarnished by Daxdian hands.

However, less than 300 soldiers survived the bloody war, and a hundred of them had been maimed so heavily they wouldn't be able to return to being saints in their lifetime. This battle had come to an end, but all it managed was to preserve the status quo in the Land of Dusk.

The Sacred Alliance lost a large number of powerhouses in the process, now significantly weaker than both the Sacred Tree Empire and the Millennial Empire. Nevertheless, this war had won them the respect of all humans in Norland; the two empires had agreed to provide aid in the short term, and many independent saints temporarily joined Faust's forces to tide them through the upcoming crisis.

The Eternal Glory formation was finally cut off, but the ever-burning sun had become a totem of the stronghold that would be sung about for generations to come.

Even a few days after the end of the war, the city still had less than a thousand residents. Most of them were even busy cleaning up the battlefield and repairing the city's barriers, with no extra manpower to rebuild the fortress itself. Unfortunately, commoners could not survive the harsh conditions of the Land of Dusk. Only great mages or higher powers could be called upon for assistance.

Richard, Beye, and Waterflower were all lying in a line on Lawrence's operating tables, each wrapped up completely in bandages. The old man was one of the busiest people in the entire city now, so he never stopped complaining about their disregard for their own lives. He would fix them up as well as he could every morning, after which he turned to the long line of wounded people outside his door. These people weren't injured heavily enough to warrant treatment by the incoming clerics and mages.

Many of the severely wounded powerhouses had been sent back to Norland for treatment, but Richard and his group chose to be healed by Lawrence instead. On one hand he trusted the old man, and on the other he didn't want Flowsand to see his current state. He'd relaxed a bit when he learnt that she wasn't amongst the team sent by the Church to help in the aftermath, but was a little disappointed as well.

Although he couldn't move, Richard was still quite jovial. After all, he had survived a battle he had no business even entering. His elemental affinity had even advanced to grade 4 as the result of repeated exhaustion of his mana pool, granting him another bloodline ability— Elemental Eruption. This ability boosted the elemental purity and impact of spells like fireball, something that came in handy against enemies with high magic resistance like the black sorcerers. After all, few Daxdians had the near-immunity to magic that the devilfish did.

With only the nature and restoration affinity trunks left to reach this stage, he was significantly closer to when he could finally advance.

It took until a week after the war ended for Richard to finally recover. Despite his own regeneration comparing favourably to that of a Daxdian, he had still taken one more day than Beye and Waterflower. There were far too many times during the battle that he had used his own body to shield the two ladies from attacks, reasoning that his body was the toughest of them all.

However, these individual injuries had accumulated to a frightening state. He had been left mangled by the end of the war, only surviving because of Lawrence's sheer skill in the medical arts.

The moment he was out of bed, Richard found himself flooded with work. His first job was to repair all the runes damaged during the war, and just those of his group would take him three to four days' worth in man hours. He also had made quite a few good friends in the city, and although most of them had died in the war there were still a dozen or so that survived. Most of them were normal saints who couldn't really be considered experts, prizing their runes even more than divine weapons.
𝗳𝐫𝘦e𝔀𝚎𝚋𝓃𝚘vℯl. 𝑐o𝚖

The true powerhouses and the sky saints of the city could still hunt for offerings or something else that they could use to pay for rune repair. However, injured as they were, these ordinary saints would only be hunted to the death. Even in normal times, some of these fellows had never been outside the city walls alone. These weaklings normally came alongside merchants or the army, working as labourers in this hostile environment to eke out a living and a chance to advance. Without a major change to the result-based judging for rewards in the city, they would never overcome the ever-growing disparity between themselves and the true experts.

War was a ruthless beast. It ate lives without concern, but it wouldn't necessarily give anything in return. The defeat of the Daxdians truly had come with a large number of offerings, but most of those had been consumed just to keep the Eternal Glory formation burning. Everyone only acquired half of what they normally would have for killing a number of Daxdians, and with Rundstedt's inflexible merit system those with no kills did not receive any acknowledgement for their efforts. The ordinary saints had defended the city to the death, but few of them even got a handful of kills. Most of Richard's friends could only secure a basic subsidy after the war's end, which was barely enough to repair their runes and buy healing potions.

However, these true friends had still come to visit him the moment they learned he was injured. It was the sub-legendary experts, the so-called sky saints, that only sent him cards and came to visit once he was alright. Unlike the experts who came mostly for rune repairs or replacements, his friends only came to share a drink and unwind.

There were only two royal runemasters in the Sacred Alliance. Within Norland, Lunor and his apprentices were buried in requests and it was even rumoured that he was forced to outsource some work to acquaintances to speed up the process. However, while Richard's quality was higher, his relationship with the City was currently quite strenuous.

Two days after Richard had recovered, Lawrence walked into his house with a suspicious amount of swagger. Focused on crafting, Richard didn't even notice the old man as he picked from his materials to repair the broken formations of the rune in his hand and integrate them back into the original. Since his runes were all originals, it took even more effort to fix them than it did to just make a new set. It was only the high cost of remaking that stopped him from just scrapping it all and starting over.

Lawrence picked up a piece of paper on Richard's desk and read through it, finding a list of names, runes, and the estimated time it would take to finish them. It wasn't long, not even twenty names, and the old man recognised all of them. However, one of his brows rose up, “Oi Richard, what's wrong with your list? Why is there even an elementary rune on this?”

“Hmm? Ah, those all belong to my friends, they can't really afford new runes and don't necessarily have the capacity even if they could.”

“But there isn't a single sky saint on this list! I remember you still befriended a few of those as well.”

“They have the money to pay Lunor to do it, they get priority anyway. I don't have the time to do this for everyone, just the ones who'd be left out if I don't.”

789 - City of Sin

The Essence Of A Rune

“So you're helping out your friends, huh? What's this, Her Excellency Dreambreaker is a friend of yours now? And she can't afford to get her own runes fixed?” Lawrence scoffed.

“That one I'm doing for money, it's safe to have a bit for the journey.”

“Journey?”

Just having finished the repair, Richard smiled and stretched, “I'm going to the Fort of Dawn. Don't you think that place suits me better?”

“You what?! That place doesn't even have a fully functioning barrier yet! No, no way! It's too dangerous, the Daxdians just left and they could attack at any time! The City of the Unsetting Sun is much better!”

“I like dangerous places,” Richard remarked as he put the rune in a case.

“Don't bullshit me kid, you just don't like it here!” Lawrence sighed with exasperation.

“Perhaps,” came a soft reply.

The old man grew serious, “Richard, Rundstedt might be stubborn but he is fair. He's a good man.”

Richard turned around to look Lawrence in the eye, “I don't blame him for his choices, but there's just no way I can live in the same city as Hasting. The Marshal made his choice, so now I'm making mine.”

“But—”

“There's no such thing as the best of both worlds. Rundstedt's decision has its consequences, just like it would for anyone else. Besides, I really do think the Fort of Dawn suits me better. I would rather live with a threat to my life than one to my dignity.”

Lawrence sighed, pouting as he turned around.

“Will you come with?” Richard suddenly asked.

“No, kid. I've lived here for so many years, I'm accustomed to the place. I'll just spend the rest of my life here.”

“Then I'll visit you often.”

“Alright...” Lawrence suddenly thought of something and grinned, “But what about the favour you owe me?”

Richard immediately became uneasy, feeling a certain amount of fear in the face of the scheming grin, “What is it?”

“I just wanted to give you a farewell gift, why are you so scared?” the old man snorted, running out and coming back with a dusty magic-sealing case.

Richard stared at it for a second, resisting the urge to clean the thing with magic as he opened it up. However, his brows immediately rose in suspicion as he saw the more than dozen runes within. They were all intricate and well-made with low requirement on capacity, but Lawrence's sheepish smile only made this case that was worth a top-tier offering look like a trap.

He picked out one of the runes to examine and decode them, his gaze slowly blanking out as he continued to study the individual arrays. He had never seen some of these arrays before, and couldn't even imagine their effects or how they would function together. “This is...”

“It can do so many things. See, this part can increase the user's speed a bit, and this one can...” Lawrence started to drool a little as he listed a dozen functions, only leaving Richard even more confused. Standard runes were designed to greatly boost a few aspects of their bearers, but this one flew right in the face of that logic. Every function that was layered on compromised the usefulness of the thing, dropping its worth immensely. The only saving grace was that this rune could be used by almost anyone.

As he approached the end of his explanation, Lawrence grew more and more excited, “Also, it can be used to paralyse the user when this function is activated. Hehehe...

“This array is the key to everything. Modify this bit, patch these three things here, and then activate it with your bloodline and a soul fragment. It will immediately restrict itself to your usage. This other bit also locks the rune to the bearer, stopping its removal by anyone but yourself. Any other runemaster trying to dismantle the rune will cause great pain and permanently wound the bearer. There's no need to remove it either; a true powerhouse doesn't need the extra capacity, and those who really care about it would be incompetent either way.”

The old man's explanation was rather bizarre, but Richard immediately froze up as he understood just how powerful those last two functions were. They truly were worthy of being called the masterpiece of a saint runemaster, and he could already think of dozens of ways to incorporate them into his own works. He eventually went into a daze, casually absorbing Lawrence's teachings as he thought up an entire new line of runes.

“Old man, th—”

“No, no, no. I told you, just do me a small favour.” Lawrence took out a crumpled piece of paper from his chest pocket, the same one that contained the names of women from fifty years ago. However, a few new names had been added this time, also from that era.

“If you really want to thank me, put these runes on people. It's best if it can be some of these women here, but anyone will do. That lass Waterflower will be a good start!” The old man was smiling from ear to ear.

“Umm.... Alright, I'll try my best.” Richard stuffed the paper into his pocket.

Lawrence immediately squealed with delight, starting to pat Richard on the shoulder. However, a deep voice interrupted his joy, “Master Richard, are you present?”

“Hmm? Ah, yes! Come in!” Richard immediately took the chance to slip away, watching as two of the Marshal's personal guard entered the courtyard with each carrying a huge chest.

Richard recognised one of the two to be amongst those who had participated in the requisition of Blacklight, but he didn't say a word. As humiliating as that incident was, he wouldn't stoop to blaming those who only followed orders. For his part, the warrior was extremely respectful as well, bowing deeply despite the load. Part of that was because of the spectacle of a grand mage being seized by the throat while under the protection of a legendary mage and two saint warriors, but the major reason was Richard's sheer kill count in the battle against the Daxdians.

The warrior handed him a list, “Master Richard, the compensation for fighting in the war has been tabulated. This is what remains after deducting the costs of maintaining the public warehouse and the Eternal Glory formation. Please take a look.”

Richard browsed through the long list that described a total of 87 lesser offerings, totalling to a net worth of about 3 top-tier offerings. Nodding in approval, he dismissed the warriors and returned to work.

The list was a testament to his power; he was the highest paid warrior of the city, only slightly behind Beye and a few other sky saints. By this point, more than half of the saints in the City of the Unsetting Sun revered him like no other.

790 - City of Sin

The Shadow Of The Sun

Time passed quite quickly. As soon as Richard finished the tasks he had at hand, he gathered the entire city for a round of drinks near his home.

Almost everyone in the city was invited, and this time even commoners and sky saints mingled like equals; there was nothing more effective than bringing people together than an epic battle fought tooth and nail. The din in the small courtyard was deafening, and it only grew louder as cases and cases of wine were emptied out.

A young lady was drinking her wine quietly in the corner of the yard, watching the revellers with the cold eyes of a lone wolf. Some men noticed this pretty woman every once in a while, approaching her to share a few drinks, but even the most violent of fellows was extremely respectful to this goddess of the battlefield. In the end, they were surprised by her sheer capacity as she drank multiple burly men under the table without so much as swaying.

Someone eventually noticed that the girl was sitting on two stacked wine boxes as she drank, a habit only the heaviest of drunkards had. There was no reason to do this other than to have all of the alcohol within arm's reach.

Halfway through the revelry, Richard took out the replacement rune sections and distributed them to everyone. The three sky saints didn't get to enjoy such special treatment, but they just cursed him jokingly and forced an entire bottle of strong liquor down his throat before letting it go. They agreed with his reasoning completely; at level 20, they had the power and status to get things done by Lunor.

Most of the ordinary saints were shocked at the sight of the runes, falling into silence. These warriors who hadn't groaned when their flesh was being clawed away now felt their eyes grow moist; the sheer value of these runes to them was one thing, but for a future saint runemaster to spend his time on these mediocre things instead of his famous Lifesbanes was uplifting. They hadn't even asked him personally; Richard had only memorised which of their runes was damaged when they visited him and then prepared the repaired sections with his own hands.

This was true friendship.

After a brief moment, the courtyard grew noisy once more. Everyone had learnt about Richard's decision to leave the City of the Unsetting Sun, but no one tried to retain him. All they asked was for him to be careful and drink a little more before leaving.

As the crowd grew raucous once more, one of them suddenly sighed, “You guys might not know this, but Marshal Rundstedt is in trouble.”

““What?”” Everyone looked towards the man who had spoken. This fellow was a sky saint with one of his grandmothers coming from the royal family, so he had both power and status. Any news he had was generally reliable.

However, most of those present just couldn't understand what the man meant. The Marshal had just orchestrated a successful defence against half of Daxdus' power, and even led the fight into the last moment. The Daxdians had almost reached the portal, but they had been defeated and sent running back. This was an achievement that was worth writing down in history.
𝒇r𝘦e𝘸𝒆𝚋𝐧o𝘷𝘦𝘭. 𝒄oｍ

“I heard the royal family is planning a secret council to investigate the Marshal's misconduct during this war,” the sky saint commented.

“What? He's being investigated after victory?”

“This is insane! We're fighting to the death here and those plump bastards were just sitting around doing nothing. Now we've defeated the Daxdus and they have nothing better to do than investigate our leader? What the hell is there to investigate?”

“Exactly! If the Marshal is supposed to be convicted, then we should have been executed long ago!”

Many people started cursing the nobility. Most of those present had received a paltry sum for their efforts under Rundstedt's administration, and wouldn't even be able to repair their runes without Richard, but they still had great respect for him. The Marshal was a fair individual above all else, and gave himself no free reign either. Everyone in the city had to earn their keep.

However, Richard wasn't amongst those who voiced their ire. He immediately started stroking his beard as he fell into deep thought.

The person who divulged the news eventually sighed, “This victory wasn't purely due to our effort. His Majesty ended up sustaining heavy wounds to drive off two of the epic-level Daxdians, while the Millennial Empire and Klandor took out the other two. The enemy retreated because they would have been caught between our two empires if they didn't.

“Right, people are saying that the barbarian that came through the portal of the Snowstorm Fortress enraged the Millennial Empress, and she's sent multiple envoys to the Sacred Alliance criticising us for it.”

“What? Why is she throwing a tantrum if someone from Klandor came to help?”

“Because the powerhouse is a woman from the Azuresnow Shrine. That's all I can say.” The commoners continued to question the sky saint persistently, even forcing bottles of wine down his throat, but he remained tight-lipped on the matter after that.

However, Richard's mind immediately started racing as he realised just what the man was saying. Mountainsea had mentioned before that her mother was the former saintess of the Azuresnow Shrine, and had captured Prince Greyhawk before eventually marrying him. As the ruler of an empire descended from the elves and still carrying many of their traditions, Empress Gelan certainly valued her status and dignity greatly. Those events were enough of a disgrace for her to rage when Mountainsea's mother ended up helping Faust.

Of course, it was all she could do to throw a tantrum. Klandor was a powerful continent in its own right, and certainly had the powerhouses to match and even overpower the Millennial Empire. She could only vent her anger towards the weaker Sacred Alliance. That being said, the Empress wouldn't send envoys just to complain. They likely had a set of diplomatic measures in place, one of which was certainly a threat to minimise the amount of aid they would provide if the situation wasn't investigated properly.

Outside of that, there was certainly one more reason to question Rundstedt's conduct. As someone with a high degree of autonomy, he had refused to call for reinforcements even when his men were on the verge of death. If Emperor Philip had been crippled or killed in his endeavour to reduce the pressure on the City of the Unsetting Sun, that would have been an enormous blow to the Sacred Alliance. None of Philip's children were ready to take over the throne.

Outside of Richard, the other two sky saints continued to drink silently. Unlike their weaker counterparts, they had a certain level of knowledge as well. After a few more cases, one of them looked at the angry crowd and suddenly spoke up, ”Have you guys considered that we would be dead if not for His Majesty, the Sword Saint, and that powerhouse from Klandor?”

The courtyard was instantly shrouded in silence. Everyone in the city had been fighting on the frontlines so long as they could move and hold a weapon. Even Lawrence had stabbed a skaven who butted into his house with a dagger, only saved by a nearby saint who managed to notice the commotion. They all knew just what would have happened if the Daxdians hadn't retreated.

“But we could have called for reinforcements...” a younger saint said shakily, but he was quickly cut off by an older man with grizzled hair, “Even if everyone was waiting at the portal gates, they would take at least two hours to get here.”

Everyone fell silent once more. They all knew this fact, but nobody wanted to admit it.

“Maybe we wouldn't have lost so many people if we had just asked for help,” a soft voice attracted everyone's attention. It came from a balding middle-aged man who was just as unimpressive as his plump body made him out to be. This fellow was a saint, but he was only in the City of the Unsetting Sun because of exquisite skill at processing materials, especially skaven-tooth arrows.

This fatty couldn't drink much, but he really loved alcohol and attended every single session Richard held, and had slowly come to befriend the entire group. However, he wasn't quite good with crowds and immediately broke out in a cold sweat, shutting his mouth and going back to drinking.

“Argh, alright! We still won the war and defeated those damn bastards, didn't we?” Richard clapped to break the still air, bringing the atmosphere back up a little. However, the air of dreariness didn't clear for the entire duration of the party.

791 - City of Sin

Answer

Early the next morning, Richard had already packed his luggage and was heading out with Waterflower in tow. Beye, who had stood silent all this while, finally asked, “Do you have to leave?”

“I'll still be around, it doesn't make a difference which specific fort I'm at. I might go to the Snowstorm Mountains or the Neverwilting Forest too.”

Beye sighed and nodded, “Stay alive.”

“Haha, I lived through this hell, what can kill me now? You be careful yourself, I won't be around to save your ass every time you rush in. Think before you run in, okay?”

“Pfft, how could I die before you?”

The two shared a few moments of laughter before a heart-rending silence filled the room. Eventually, Richard spoke up once more, “You're not coming?”

Beye shook her head, “The old man will only be alive for a few more years. I'm going to stay and watch him, if I'm not here those fellows will make him angry.”

Lawrence was approaching death, but he still had a lot of wealth. The older residents of the City of the Unsetting Sun respected him greatly, but that didn't mean there would be no unsavoury elements trying to take his offerings from him. Richard grunted in acknowledgement, “Take care, I'll come back to see you regularly.”

“You better, or I'm haunting you like a ghost! Also go talk to my brother when you get there, you two haven't seen each other in a while. Now, get out. Maybe you'll just get killed on your way there!”

“Hmm... Maybe.” Richard nodded solemnly before walking forward and spreading his arms apart.

“Oi, what are you trying to do?!” Beye's eyes went wide in shock as she took a step back.

However, Richard continued to walk forward and wrapped her up in a tight hug as a gentle smile crept up his face, “Well, might as well enjoy myself a little before I die.”

Disdainful as ever of retreating, Beye had originally let Richard hug her to see just what he would do. However, his words immediately seemed to melt her stiff muscles, and despite a grunt she eventually returned the embrace, “... Might as well.”

The two eventually separated, and Richard took Waterflower along as he jumped across the walls and outside the City of the Unsetting Sun. Many powerhouses of the city watched silently as his figure disappeared into the depths of the dark wilderness.

A few minutes later, another renowned sky saint walked outside the city gates. Unlike with a normal hunt, he was carrying multiple fully-packed bags.

“Do you need any assistance, my Lord?” the gatekeeper asked, “Where are you going?”

“Moving, I'm going to the Snowstorm Fortress,” the man answered with a smile. The guard was surprised by the amiable tone, but it wasn't until the silhouette disappeared into the distance that he finally realised just what he had heard.

Moving? Panic immediately filled the guard's heart, but before he could even digest the information he saw another famous expert jumping off the city walls with a bag in tow. Some of the other guards nearby started whispering that he was heading towards the Fort of Dawn.

It wasn't long before the third saint left the city gates, and then the fourth... Please visit 𝒇𝘳𝗲𝚎w𝑒𝚋𝚗𝐨v𝒆l. 𝒄𝒐𝚖

......

As the enchanted clock started ringing at dusk, Marshal Rundstedt stood before his large looking at the stack of reports upon it. Every report was about another of the city's pillars leaving for another place.

The office was large and wide, with six magical lights normally keeping it bright as day. However, with only a few days having passed since the bloody battle, nobody had the spare mana to recharge the enchantments keeping them lit. Only two of the lights were running, leaving the office quite dim.

Rundstedt eventually sat back down on his chair, leaning forward with his hands across the desk as his brows locked together. His hair was now mostly grey, and it looked like he had aged ten years in the month since the battle started.

“Come in!” he said just as a knock sounded on the door, already knowing who it was. The guard opened the door to let Lawrence in before closing it once more and retreating. Lawrence huffed as he walked to the sofa across the desk and plopped down, staring at Rundstedt in silence.

“He's gone?” the Marshal asked.

“Yes. You should have known this would happen, he was just waiting for an opportunity.” The perverted old man had faded away into the aura of a saint runemaster. Looking at the stack of papers on the desk, Lawrence commented, “It looks like there were others?”

“A total of 31,” Rundstedt said with a sigh.

“A tenth of the survivors, and this is only the start.”

“What am I doing wrong?” Rundstedt grunted with frustration.

“You don't listen to me when I tell you. I've been saying this for decades: if you think you and Hasting alone can take care of the City of Sun, you will suffer the consequences of your actions.”

“But...” Rundstedt clenched his fists again and again, but he couldn't find any retorts.

Lawrence stood up, speaking softly, “I'm not a good commander, so I don't qualify to advise you, but if a lord's subordinates are leaving after a victory then that speaks volumes about their ability. I'm telling you this as an old friend; I'll try to be as fair to you as I can when the investigation comes my way. However, there is only so much I can do. Honestly, you should know the answer to that question yourself...”

As Lawrence left, the Marshal's office fell into a dull silence. It took an entire half hour for the Marshal to heave a low sigh, “The answer...”

......

A black-scaled draconian was roaring within the dark wilderness as he stared at the two Norlanders before him. His four red eyes glowed with excitement at the impending meal, but he was rather confused with how the prey was still talking calmly after seeing him. Didn't they know plans were useless here? Unable to understand Norlandic, the draconian just moved forward to attack.

The male of the duo pulled out a sword with a serrated edge and pointed it at the incoming enemy, “Instant Assault is basically an integration of Shadow Seal and two Lifesbanes. The best way to use it is quick, accurate attacks. This one should be able to last through a demo, you can try after.”

Screams of pain started ringing through the dark wilderness a few moments later, disrupted by constant admonitions, “No, not accurate enough. Don't attack so high! Oi, start with three layers, what are you trying to do? Even I can't do twenty yet, you need to be able to concentrate the damage to one spot!”

The roars quickly subsided, and the wilderness grew quiet once more. It took half an hour for Richard's voice to sound once more, “Devilfish? Meh, take care of them!”

Devilfish were the nemeses of mages, but Waterflower spelt their demise. Following the devilfish was an enclave centaur captain, followed by a rough-skinned reptilian.

A few days later, the Fort of Dawn was already on the horizon. Along the way, Waterflower was finally unable to suppress her progress any longer as she broke through to level 18, becoming a true saint. Her saint ability greatly increased the pace at which she gathered her energy, allowing her to erupt with full strength in a single moment. Combined with Breath of Darkness, Guide of Secrets, and Instant Assault, her one-strike potential was terrifying even to some legendary beings.

The fortress still looked largely unchanged, with only minor transformations to some of the buildings, but a rudimentary teleportation gate to Faust shone from near the city's top and one could see the dim glow of a new defensive array protecting it.

The entire city was filled with the stench of Daxdians, so heavy that someone new would be unable to bear it. Fortunately, both Richard and Waterflower were accustomed to the odour.

Richard looked through the city for a while, but couldn't find Agamemnon anywhere. It took a while of asking to find that he had returned to Norland, escorting the bodies of his dead siblings. The Ironblood Duke had left a total of eleven boys and seven girls within the Land of Dusk, most concentrated within the Fort of Dawn, but even with such a big group three of them had died. The news was a little shocking, but such was the reality of the battlefields of despair. Enemies from another plane did not care about the prestige of your family.

He found a decent house in the fortress and cleaned it up, making it his own as he started his life of runecrafting, meditation, and hunting. However, this time he was no longer alone. Waterflower was always around him.

792 - City of Sin

Three Years

Richard had his own set of troubles during the time he spent at the Fort of Dawn. Without impending doom to distract him, a certain part of his body went completely out of control. He was especially sensitive around Waterflower, getting aroused by the smallest of her actions— something that made it especially difficult when she cuddled up to him at night.

Of course, Waterflower always noticed his erections. However, so long as he didn't act upon his urges she was content to just put a leg on him and leave him straining with pain.

The Fort of Dawn was quite different from the City of the Unsetting Sun, and Richard felt this change every time he hunted. With the remaining enemy fortresses being much closer, the number and strength of the enemies encountered here were far greater than before. The city defences weren't perfect either; there was only one legendary being left here outside of Philip, and that mage was an array master focused on building up the city defences.

The Emperor was currently resting within a palace built out of the nest of Maranos, access to him completely restricted to the point that nobody knew the extent of their injuries. However, so long as the food was flowing into the palace, nobody would dare to assume he had sustained any lasting damage. The Daxdians had just suffered great losses, and another attack would drain them to a dangerous point. Their strategy had now changed into a constant battle of attrition as before, trying to wear out the limited guardians of the Fort of Dawn.

Fighting was an indispensable part of life at this fort, but both Richard and Waterflower were almost bored by the routine nature of it all. However, they were both improving by the day, so much so that it felt like the enemies constantly grew weaker. Both of them had started to amass a sizeable reputation amongst the powerhouses of this fortress, the respect getting to the point that Richard started feeling awkward.

Of course, Waterflower only had two classes of people in her life: Richard and everyone else. She continued to remain cold to those she met.

There was a big old magic chest in Richard's room, something that he had bought from a powerful saint who was about to leave. It looked like a dilapidated piece of metal, but it could fit a large number of items of great power within. Every time Richard returned from his hunts, he sold off the harvest for some offerings and threw them in the box. Every time they amassed a certain number of lesser offerings, he traded them in for a top-tier offering to save space.

Eventually, this work fell into Waterflower's hands. She showed suprising skill at organisation for her background, carrying out the duties perfectly. Buying a few additional chests from the market, she classified everything into lesser, intermediate, greater, and top-tier offerings and slowly converted it all.

Soon enough, this metal chest was no different from Lawrence's rusting box of offerings. It looked extremely commonplace on the outside, but the inside was the dream of any saint.

Richard quickly approached the threshold of trying to comprehend laws. He started spending more and more time on runecrafting and meditation, only going out when he had new hypotheses to test in battle. Waterflower continued to grow more powerful as well, honing her sword strikes until she could kill most enemies with one well-timed blow.

......

Months passed by in the blink of an eye. One day, Richard rose from meditation as his nature world tree finally reached the fourth level, resuming work on and finishing the new rune he was designing.

Floating Phantom was an upgrade to Master of Wilderness, enhancing Waterflower's ability to pass through difficult terrain and granting her the ability to fly freely in the air for short bursts. Both this and Instant Assault were technically grade 3 runes, but they were borderline grade 4 and incorporated many complicated and powerful arrays within. They were also specifically designed for Waterflower and her swift, unpredictable strikes, amplifying her strengths greatly.

With these two runes, Richard was certain that crafting grade 4 runes was no problem for him. Even without becoming a grand mage, he could sustain the consumption using his truename and craft a proper grade 4 rune. However, he never once considered going down that path as he continued to perfect what he was already working on. Just like with his mana pool, he was specifically restricting himself so his abilities would be greater once he did take that final step.

As month after month continued to pass, Richard continued to hone what he had been taught was one of the most powerful abilities of a powerhouse: patience. His understanding of laws continued to grow as he captured stray streaks of the plane's origin, enduring the hours of pain as he performed his research. Bit by bit, he accumulated power.

One day, he had a flash of inspiration and designed an upgrade to Dark Sight. The rune now offered more expansive darkvision, and added on a rare resistance to soul and nature magic. It was all inscribed on the narrow piece of flesh behind the ear, approaching a crafting difficulty comparable to Lifesbane.

Months passed once more as he continued to design new runes for Waterflower, ignoring himself as he slowly upgraded her to a full custom-designed grade 3 set. He faced multiple difficulties along the way, but he was in no hurry as he lived day to day and continued to improve himself holistically. The result was a rune set that even a legendary being would drool over.

It felt like the road forward was neverending. Only when he occasionally looked back upon his past self did Richard realise just how far he had come. It still felt like only yesterday when the Fort of Dawn looked like a monstrosity, but now the pure darkness was constantly broken off by bright human constructions. The enemies he faced had turned from disdaining him to running away at his sight.

Looking at one particular centaur captain's escape, Richard couldn't even bring himself to suspect a trap. The sheer terror on the centaur's face, the moment of freezing in shock before turning around and running at full speed... It looked absolutely real. He couldn't even recall such good acting from a Daxdian before, almost feeling like he was facing a brand new race.

“Why not chase?” Waterflower asked from next to him, confusion filling her face.

“Huh? Why chase?” Richard asked.

“It's getting away!”

“Oh, that... Maybe there's a trap ahead...” Richard didn't seem confident in his own hypothesis. The centaur disappeared over a distant ridge without once looking back to see if it was being followed. However, he eventually shook his head, “Nevermind, let's go somewhere else.”

“Okay,” Waterflower agreed immediately, not dragging the topic. This immediately caused Richard to smile with relief, something that caused the girl's feelings to soar as they continued the hunt. He didn't know that Lawrence's words were echoing in her heart: 'Men like to feel in control. If it isn't important, just give him the illusion of authority.'

......

Some time a year later, Richard suddenly opened his eyes with excitement as the tree of restoration finally advanced to the fourth stage. He immediately stopped suppressing his mana pool, and over that very night absorbed a hundred times as much mana as he ever had in the past few years.

When he opened his eyes at dawn, there was a faint glow in the depths of his eyes. He raised his left hand and looked at his fingertips, willing five small fireballs into existence. The flames burned quietly, seemingly with no temperature or density, but they caused a smile to rise up on his face. Just as quickly as he had summoned them, he had them wink away with just a single thought.

After three whole years since he had entered the Land of Dusk, he was now a grand mage.

793 - City of Sin

Picking Fights

As Richard walked out of the meditation room, Waterflower opened her eyes and jumped off her 'bed'. This so-called bed was just three swords with their hilts buried into the flour, the sword tips being where she slept. She spent her time there whenever Richard was meditating through the night, a method she had come up with herself to constantly maintain the perfect balance between rest and vigilance. The idea was to train her control over the smallest part of the body.

The base idea had come all the way back from in the Archeron death camps, but of course she only slept on a branch there. It was nowhere near as difficult as sleeping on sword tips.

The girl actually jumped backwards as she saw Richard, her aura flaring up in response to the sheer threat she felt emanating from Richard despite the comfort of their soul bond. It took a moment for her to come to her senses, glee rising in her eyes as she exclaimed, “Grand mage?”

“Yes, there was no need to wait any longer.” Richard smiled.

“Oh...” Waterflower's expression darkened.

“Oi, don't think so much about it!” Richard ruffled her hair, understanding just what she was thinking, “Go pack, we're leaving.”

“Alright,” the girl purred.

There wasn't much for the two to carry. Richard only had two boxes in total at the end, one containing all of his offerings while the other smaller one held the runes he had drawn in his free time. He and Waterflower walked side by side up towards the centre of the city, meeting quite a few saints along the way who greeted them enthusiastically. Some even bowed with respect.

Guarding the portal was a burly man with a stiff beard, one of the most powerful sky saints in the entire fortress. “Richard! You're returning to Norland?”

“Mm,” Richard nodded with a smile, “I've stayed here long enough.”

“Alright, give me a moment to activate the portal. No need for any procedures, everyone knows who you are.” The man inserted the magic crystals in a practised manner, sending a quick message to the other side of the portal before waving the two in.

As he returned to his post, a confused expression crossed the man's face, “Strange... Why did he feel different from before? Even I felt a little afraid this time... Wait, it can't be!”

The sky saint immediately turned to look at the portal once more, his eyes going wide, “Did he just... God.”

The man gasped in shock, immediately recalling just how long Richard had spent in the Land of Dusk. Such information wasn't difficult to find for someone of his status, but Richard had been in the Fort of Dawn so long that he had almost completely forgotten about it. Cold sweat started leaking from his entire body as he realised that Richard had suppressed his growth for an entire three years. Try as he might, the man couldn't recall even one other person in recent history with such a record. At the very least, the Land of Dusk had no such individuals.

To suppress one's strength for so long and not die in the Land of Dusk was a miracle in and of itself. This was a place where even most saints wouldn't dare walk out of the defensive range of the fortresses at will. However, it was also extremely difficult to force oneself down for that long without nature taking its course. Few people could withstand the burgeoning growth of their own bodies without negative repercussions.

The sky saint immediately recalled the fear he had just felt of Richard's aura, suddenly starting to turn red. He was someone known to have a slight chance to break into the legendary realm, but he was afraid of someone who had just become a grand mage? Although he had secretly placed Richard on the list of people not to provoke long ago, this still felt like a great insult.

“Bah, I only respect him because he's a runemaster. I'm not really scared of him!” the burly man tried to persuade himself seriously.

“Runemaster? Scared? What's wrong?” a voice suddenly sounded near the portal, causing the guard to snap out of his reverie and realise that three people were standing in front of him.

He almost turned purple at the realisation that an acquaintance had heard him mutter that, but the sky saint managed to maintain his calm and respond, “Why are you here?”

The saint who had asked the question looked confused, “To return to Norland? We've been cooped up here for more than two months, we need to return and get some rest.”

“Alright, register yourselves. I'll notify you once you're approved.”

“Register...? What?” The three were stunned.

“Of course!” the burly man said grimly, pulling out a stack of papers and smacking them down on a nearby desk, “Twenty sheets each, fill them all up!”

The three exchanged glances, and the one leading them put on a smile, “Friend...”

“'Friend'-ing me is useless, just follow the rules! Fill in the forms and wait for approval, or go to another fort!”

With the special circumstances in the Fort of Dawn, one needed to acquire permission to go through the portal. However, this system was meant for strangers from the other empires, not long-term citizens of the Sacred Alliance. With Philip still recovering, this system would minimise the risk to Faust. Nobody had objected to the idea, but the noble who put it to practice was one of the council members in charge of writing laws. He had made the process long and drawn-out, but that didn't draw too much ire because everyone knew that known residents would be allowed to go through regardless. It was only when the guard grew serious that the bureaucracy reared its ugly head. Google search 𝗳𝙧𝘦𝒆𝑤𝙚𝘣𝙣𝘰𝘃ℯ𝑙. 𝐜𝐨𝑚

The three finally understood that the man was offended for some reason, so they could only grunt at their bad luck and fill in the forms obediently.

......

As Richard and Waterflower walked out of the portal, the prepared guards dissipated the spells prepared in their hands as they returned to their posts. The captain immediately grew solemn as he bowed, “Lord Richard, welcome back!”

While he hadn't appeared in Norland for a long time, Richard was still the head of one of Faust's fourteen families. It was a basic requirement for any competent guard to know his face.

“Yes, it was about time I took a look at home,” Richard smiled.

“Mm,” the captain nodded, his eyes narrowing a little as he looked towards Waterflower, “And this is?”

“One of my followers.”

“Then I won't keep you. Is there anything you need of me?” the man asked respectfully.

“No, I'm fine.” Richard and Waterflower headed towards the island's regular portal and reappeared in Faust's teleportation temple, heading for the Archeron island. Back on the imperial island, the guard captain finally realised that his palms were sweaty and wiped them off. Those returning from the battlefields of despair normally couldn't control their bloodlust for a few days, but in the year since he had started his job at this post, he hadn't seen anyone with more concentrated bloodlust coming through. The sheer killing intent almost left him suffocated.

......

“Are we going to Faelor?” Waterflower asked as the two arrived at the Archeron castle. After having lived with Richard for such a long time, this wolf-like girl could now predict a lot of things. Flowsand was currently in Faelor.

“Nope. But I just became a grand mage and you've been a saint for some time. What do you think about our strength now?

Waterflower was secretly relieved at his answer, but the follow-up question only left her confused, “I can't beat a legend, and I can't beat Beye either, but... the others don't seem to be much. Oh... does that mean we're already amazing?”

Richard chuckled, “Yes, it does. And since we are, why don't we do some amazing things before going back to Faelor?”

“Like?”

“Hehe, let's pick some fights.”

Waterflower only grew more confused, but she was a simple girl. If Richard wanted to pick a fight, then that was exactly what they would do.

......

News of Richard's return created a moderate ruckus in Faust. Not long after he returned to his castle, Agamemnon visited the island and talked with him in private. They talked for an entire hour before he left, just before lunchtime.

......

A long caravan proceeded across the Eternal Plains towards Miracle Peak, only consisting of a total of ten carriages but with twenty cartfuls of guards following behind. The escort was a mix of cavalry and footsoldiers, making it clear just how precious the supplies were.

Right in the middle of the caravan were two extravagant yet light carriages that were clearly meant for those of special status. These carriages didn't just have the Mensa crest engraved upon them, but each also had its own extra circle of decorations. Anyone experienced in reading crests would know that one belonged to a grand mage and the other to a saint.

794 - City of Sin

A Meaningless Conflict

It was easy to tell from the strength of the guard that this Mensa caravan contained offerings. Of course, that didn't mean every carriage contained offerings within. Most of them were in fact just regular supplies and treasures from the family planes. It was just that the offerings were the most valuable of all.

Although there were quite a few large trade hubs in other parts of the country, most nobles of Faust chose to conduct their trade within the city even if the transportation costs were high. It was partly to ensure their home remained prosperous, but it was also for a public display of wealth.

The frequency and scale of these supply teams was another indicator of a family's prosperity. The Mensas sent such a supply team towards Faust every quarter, while the Orleans Family and the Wellinburgs received a much larger caravan every month. On the other hand, Gaton had only called in two caravans during his three years in Faust.

With quite some time having passed since Richard first pushed the Mensas down to the seventh level, their main castle had been more or less restored. Although some of the greenery and other superficial sectors of the island had shrunk, they looked no different from before. It had been a great humiliation to Duke Mensa at the time, but with recent events in the Land of Dusk all of Faust's attention had been pulled away.

Most discussions were currently centred around just why the Sword Saint had entered the Land of Dusk, and why the Millennial Empire had called in help from Klandor despite not lacking powerful legends themselves. This also bled into a conversation around Marshal Rundstedt, who was currently in Faust being interrogated for days on end. There were various conflicting viewpoints amongst the nobility, causing the court to push back its decision time and time again.

While high society was busier than ever, almost as though all aristocrats had been imbued with double their normal energy, the Mensas couldn't be happier that their shame had been forgotten. The only unpleasant thing was that Richard still hadn't died despite years spent in the Land of Dusk, but they knew that so much as raising a finger against him would bring down the entirety of Emperor Philip's wrath right now.

The caravan quickly reached Miracle Peak, standing right before the awe-inspiring mountain path. A squadron of knights started trotting over to check— the Sacred Alliance was currently on high alert— but to a family of the floating islands that was merely a formality.

Just as the leading knights greeted the incoming knights, a clatter of hooves rang out from up the path as a group of teenagers rode down on horses. They were laughing as they frolicked around, the boys filled with youthful energy as they tried to show off their horsemanship to the girls.

“This is a Mensa caravan!” the head knight shouted as the youths approached, “Make way!”

The knight's shout spread like thunder, startling quite a few horses into almost throwing off their riders. The youths were instantly provoked, and one of them shouted out, “Are the Mensas so great that even a knight can run his mouth off to a noble? Do you lot own the Eternal Plains?!”

This immediately caused a clamour of agreement amongst the youths, who all started to reprimand the knight for his lack of manners.

The head knight was only a middling captain in the Mensa army, not even considered a real officer, but he possessed unmatched arrogance because of his backing. Subordinates had this strange way of being more drunk on their masters' power than the masters themselves. After a quick scan across the crowd, he concluded that there were no specifically powerful families here and immediately drew his sword, “You dare to stop a Mensa caravan? Do you even know who's sitting inside the carriage?”

“Who cares?” someone shouted back, “If the Mensas were so great, why did their island drop?”

The group burst out laughing, only furthering the man's fury. The knight immediately charged forward in his rage, only to be met by one of the older youths in battle. However, he only sneered as he struck away the boy's sword with one stroke, lifting his leg and kicking him off his horse.

The youth wasn't particularly talented in combat, and young as he was, he was immediately sent flying. Blood traced an arc in the air as a loud thud sounded on the stone path, alongside some weak groans as the youth started to shake with pain.

A knight that qualified to be a part of a caravan escorting offerings would clearly be much better in combat than a minor noble. However, the man's actions completely provoked the party of youths; all of them pulled their swords out, shouting in rage.

They weren't just being hot-blooded either. With royal knights nearby as well as a patrol team heading over from afar, they could rest assured that the Mensas wouldn't dare kill anyone in this situation. And as it stood, the Mensas had been borderline crippled by Gaton and Richard; they weren't nearly as fearsome as they once were.

The Mensa knight was immediately faced with a quandary. He had only been trying to threaten them with his blade, but in the heat of the moment he had injured the young noble. Even though the injured youth didn't amount to much, hurting a noble was still a grave crime.

Thankfully, the caravan came to a stop and a man and woman walked out of the two decorated carriages. They both looked to be in their early thirties, with beautiful clothing

The supply team finally came to a stop. A male and a female came down from the two carriages. They were both just over thirty, gorgeously dressed, indifferent and arrogant.

The man just snorted at the sight in front of him, his mage robes fluttering as he rose up into the sky, “I'm Jaaron Mensa. Make way now, or I'll take care of you before having a talk with your parents.”

The youths immediately fell back, fear filling their faces. Jaaron was a noted talent in the Mensa Family, having become a grand mage before the age of thirty. It was one thing to argue with a mere knight, but no good end would come of fighting a Mensa that was also a grand mage. So long as he had the right excuse, he could just kill them all with barely any repercussions.

However, a gentle voice immediately rang out from behind the youths, “Is this how you treat my friends, Jaaron?”

Jaaron's eyes immediately went wide, “Miss Wendy?!”

795 - City of Sin

Conspiracy

For some reason, Duke Peron's third daughter was dressed like any other minor noble, the attire so poor for someone of her status that it almost looked humiliating. She had been inconspicuous among the group of young ladies, almost unnoticeable if not for speaking out.

Wendy was the kind of partner Jaaron always sought but could never hope to attain. The Peron Family was far more powerful than the Mensas, while Jaaron wasn't even a direct descendant and was more than a decade older than her. Even meeting Wendy was difficult for him.

Seeing her amongst this group, Jaaron's voice immediately turned gentle, “Miss Wendy, what are you doing here? I don't see any competent guards nearby, what if you met with danger? These rascals aren't fit for someone of your status, why don't I escort you back to Faust?”

The noble youths were riled up by Jaaron's comments, but they couldn't do anything about it either. They hadn't even realised her identity themselves; she had been brought in as a friend by two girls from a vassal family and had remained silent with a big cloak and high collar covering most of her face. They would never have dreamed that they were out with the third daughter of the prestigious Duke Peron.

However, they quickly recalled that Wendy was so pampered she had the right to choose her own partner. Being fancied by a lady of such great status would result in a meteoric rise for their entire families! In the face of such temptation, Jaaron didn't seem scary at all. How could they let go of such an opportunity?

Jaaron himself listened as the nobles' words grew increasingly nasty, his fury quickly getting the better of him as he yelled, “Get the hell out of here or I'm breaking your legs!”

The youths instantly shuddered, but even as they went mute another voice suddenly rang out, “What's going on here?”

Unexpectedly enough, the patrol team had arrived even before the royal knights, led by a young man in simple mage robes that seemed to have no enchantments at all. He was the one who'd posed the question.

Jaaron felt his eye twitch at the sight of the Archeron crest on the knights' armour, and he grunted at the thought of his misfortune. It was their turn to patrol today, and under Richard's lead they were no longer as fragile a family as they once were. All thirty knights were well-equipped, and the leader was even a mage who looked to be level 16 or 17!

'Just how much money do those bastards have?' Jaaron complained in his mind before saying coldly, “These are matters of the Mensa Family, why are the Archerons interfering?”

The young mage smiled, “Interfere? I'm just performing my duty. If you have any problems, you're welcome to bring up the matter at the assembly. For now, you are to obey my words.”

“How dare you! I am Jaaron Mensa, you have no right to—”

“You're who?” the young mage interrupted, “Whatever, get down here.”

For a moment, Jaaron lost his proud expression. The sheer insult almost caused his flight spell to falter. “You bastard, I'll have you pay for this with your life!”

“Hmm? You want a duel, I take it? Gladly, go tell your old coot that you accepted a duel with Richard Archeron.”

At this point, Jaaron had been whipped up into a frenzy, prepared to mock the enemy without second though, “Who's ever heard of Rich—”

“Richard!” the female saint nearby interrupted, snapping him out of his hysteria and letting him recall just who it was that he was taking on. His expression immediately warped as warning sirens screamed in his mind; the family head of the Archerons was actually leading a patrol team, what kind of plot was this? It was only after looking through the knights behind that Jaaron's heart calmed a little. These patrol knights seemed to be around level 14 or 15, which wasn't too much of a threat even with thirty of them.

However, Richard paid no attention to Jaaron as he pointed towards the boy who was currently struggling on the ground, “Who did this?”

A few of the aggrieved nobles immediately pointed to the Mensa elite knight, ““It's him!””

Richard turned to the aforementioned knight, “You, dismount and put your weapons away. You're coming with us.”

“What did you say?!” the knight almost roared, tightening his grip on his sword as he glowered at Richard. It would take a miracle to make him comply.

“A commoner dared to injure a noble? And now you're even speaking to me in such a tone. Disarm yourself and crawl over here, don't make my knights do it for you.”

Crawl? None of the Mensa knights could believe their ears, their eyes burning with rage. Most of them were indeed commoners, but they were still knights of the powerful Mensa Family! They were even part of the planar war efforts!

It was an unwritten rule that even a regular soldier of a powerful family was superior to a minor noble. Richard's declaration of crime was technically true, but in most cases the knight would only be reprimanded for a moment and have to compensate for the youth's medical bills. Nobody wanted to blow up such a small conflict unless they wished to offend the Mensa Family.

Of course, everyone understood that Richard was here to do just that. Jaaron turned grim, but before he could even speak up one of Richard's knights had already kicked the resisting man off his horse. The Mensa knight was then dragged towards Richard, and in the few metres of distance that needed to be covered all of his armour had been stripped off.

The knight moved like lightning, completing his task before the Mensas could even react. The captain didn't even have the strength to struggle in the knight's hand, clearly knocked half-unconscious. Just as quickly as he had charged out, the patrol knight returned to join the rest of his team.

The saint had originally planned to intercept the incoming knight, but the moment she saw the speed of the charge she had pulled back. “Rune knight!” she whispered quietly.

Richard immediately turned towards her, scanning her from head to toe, “Ah, Miss Yuria, is it? You have a pretty good eye.”

Yuria was glaring at Richard as her face went red, but she forced herself to avoid a confrontation here. She was considered an expert who hailed from the battlefields of despair herself, making her a core member of the Mensa Family, but she wasn't foolish enough to attack someone with Richard's status. This was especially so when she recognised that one of the thirty ordinary-looking knights was a rune knight. What, then, were the others?

However, Richard obviously didn't have any plans to let it all end there. He looked towards all of the Mensa knights who had subconsciously drawn their weapons, saying indifferently, “You lot dare to draw your weapons in my presence? Dismount from your horses and follow me!”

“Lord Richard, you're going too far!” Jaaron finally interjected.

However, Richard barely even spared him a glance, “And who are you to say that? There's no place for you here.”

Hellfire immediately started burning within Jaaron's eyes, the anger getting to his head as he shouted out without much thought, “I'd like to see who dares to lay a hand on the knights of the Mensa Family!”

Just as he turned around to order his troops to attack, Yuria pulled at his sleeve and pointed at the patrolling knights behind Richard. Ten of them had been waved out of formation, and they charged into the hundred Mensa knights without the slightest of worry. Before Jaaron could properly react, they started glowing with magic as their whips smacked knight after knight off his steed.

The grand mage stood dumbfounded as his men were stripped of all armour and thrown to the ground. Even if Richard wasn't present, ten rune knights were more than a match for a grand mage. Jaaron would have to run for hours before he opened up enough distance to start casting spells and hopefully win the fight.f𝑟e𝙚𝒘𝗲𝚋𝚗oѵ𝘦𝙡. c𝒐m

796 - City of Sin

A Forced Battle

Jaaron knew that he could beat ten rune knights if he used both his army and had the help of Yuria. However, that was only for ten. There were still twenty more potential rune knight waiting behind Richard, and he himself had showcased great potential in the past. Just as he was wondering if he should take the risk, the rest of Richard's knights finally stopped hiding their abilities and started glowing with magic.

It was only then that he and Yuria realise that they had stumbled into a trap.

“The Archerons truly are rich and imposing,” Yuria mocked with a glare, “Even the patrolling knights are rune knights.”

However, Richard just laughed cheerily, “Not really. We Archerons only have two things, offerings and rune knights. Hehehe.”

Richard's reply caused Jaaron and Yuria to blanch, but the royal knights that had finally arrived on scene maintained a few dozen metres of distance. The two could only watch on as more and more Mensa soldiers were thrown on the ground, every downed knight a slap to the face. The only reason they weren't blowing up was that they knew that thirty rune knights were too powerful a force for them to stop. With a grand mage standing behind to support, they would be grim reapers on this battlefield.

However, Richard himself was clearly not done. Once the Mensa knights were subdued, he then turned towards the caravan, “Everyone is to move twenty metres away, my men will be checking the cargo.”

“Richard!” Jaaron was astonished and furious, “Those are offerings of the Mensa Family, how dare you touch them?!”

Yuria started cursing softly at Jaaron's impulsive behaviour. She could feel them being drawn closer and closer to a trap, but there seemed to be no way to get Jaaron to stop.

However, Richard's next words caused her to completely explode, “What? A caravan being escorted by two imbeciles actually has offerings in it?”

This was the last straw. Yuria stepped forward, speaking icily, “This is a grave humiliation, Richard.”

“So what?” Richard maintained his eyesore of a graceful smile, throwing out a suggestion that was almost impossible to decline, “Don't tell me you want a duel or something.”

Duelling Richard? No matter how the two thought of it, that was a good idea. Except for the fact that Richard wasn't hiding his power anymore, almost flaunting that he was a grand mage with the sheer power of his aura. The two certainly knew that he had to have advanced recently, but they also knew that Richard had been in the Land of Dusk all this while. Their experience might perhaps win out in battle, but that wasn't a guarantee.

At this point, even Jaaron started to hesitate. Richard was clearly directing the incident ever since he showed up, and now he was pointing it towards a duel. There was likely a plot hidden within. However, it wasn't like they could back down from the idea easily; nobles greatly valued martial spirit, and they had an audience here that would quickly spread the word if they backed down.

There were still quite a few people who weren't afraid of Jaaron or Yuria's power. The two weren't from the direct line of the Mensas, and while they were talented they definitely would never reach the legendary realm without a miracle. Neither of them were particularly special characters within the Mensa Family.

Richard took the duration of their hesitance to add more fuel to the fire, snickering as he spoke, “I knew it, there isn't a single Mensa who dares to duel me at the same level. Alright, I don't have the time to waste on you lot anymore. Knights, check the cargo!”

The rune knights immediately swarmed forth, beating back the footsoldiers who had gathered to guard the carriages. Those who refused to retreat were sent flying tens of metres away, unable to stand up once they hit the ground. To those who could send enemies weight literal tonnes flying into the air, the human body was almost no weight at all.

One rune knight passed right in front of Jaaron's face, kicking away the resisting driver before tearing the door of the carriage straight off. The container within was dragged to the ground and bent open, turning the steel into scrap metal. Neatly cut steaks fell out from within, still emitting a chilly air and a faint aura of magic. These were high-grade cooking materials that could only be stored at low temperatures, but the rune knight's blow had destroyed the enchanted chest storing them.

Jaaron's eyes started to blaze red, “HOW DARE YOU ROB A MENSA CARAVAN?!”

“Rob?” Richard smiled, “I'm just checking. I still remember when we Archerons made the mistake of putting illegal goods on our caravan and it was unable to even enter Faust. As a new family to this duty, we just want to ensure we do the job just as well. Why, can't bear it? Surely you don't just plan to stare and grumble then?”

Another chest was quickly smashed open, this one loaded with all sorts of exquisite art pieces. Some were destroyed the moment they hit the ground, but the rune knight didn't even spare a glance as he crushed the glass beneath his feet and walked to the next carriage.

“STOP!” Yuria immediately pounced towards the rune knight. Everything loaded in that cart was an offering! However, she had only taken a step forward before being forced to stop her momentum completely, even taking a step back. Richard's gaze had focused on her back, and the killing intent he radiated in that moment made it clear that moving another inch forward would spell her death. Even worse, all of the other rune knights stopped their tasks to stare straight at her, the three squads more than enough to kill her countless times over even with a grand mage by her side.

“What do you want?” she turned towards Richard, “A duel?”

“I am merely fulfilling my duties,” Richard smiled like a devil, “Of course, I can also keep you two company in battles to the death.”

“Okay then, let's have the first round tomorrow afternoon and the second two hours after that!” Yuria shot back, “How's that?”

Richard smiled softly, “The Mensas truly understand fairness very well, huh. Whatever, I'm already used to your ways. It's set then, we have many witnesses here and I don't think Duke Mensa values you two over the family's reputation. Let's go!” His unicorn immediately changed direction, making its way up Miracle Peak. The rune knights returned to formation, their auras rapidly fading away until they looked like harmless patrol knights once more.

It was only when Richard had disappeared into the distance that Jaaron managed to tear his gaze away and look at Yuria, “Are you crazy? Can't you tell he was just trying to force us into a duel?”

“So? Do you think His Grace wouldn't kill us if he found out that all of the offerings were robbed? Know your worth,” Yuria said coldly.

Jaaron was immediately rendered speechless.

......

Faust's nobility had found a new topic this day, bubbling with fervour as they discussed the two battles to the death that were to occur the next afternoon. Richard would have to battle both a saint and a grand mage within a two-hour time span, which meant he definitely wouldn't be in peak form for both. It was almost as good as fighting them right after each other.

The first reaction was that Richard had lost the last dregs of his sanity. He had just agreed to the one way the Mensas could possibly kill him given his current status. Even just a debilitating injury would end his career completely. Neither of the enemies was mediocre either.

As this gossip picked up steam and overpowered the discussions about Marshal Rundstedt being investigated, however, the nobility finally put its information network to use. By the evening everyone knew that Richard had already become a grand mage, heating up the discussions further, and the gap in information between the Land of Dusk and Faust was quickly bridged as even the more aloof aristocrats started to pay attention to the battlefields of despair for the first time in years.

Even in the Land of Dusk, news about Richard was admittedly scarce. Few people had seen him fight before, and even fewer knew the extent of his powers. While there was a certain amount of reverence that had to be afforded for someone who could stroll into the city with ursa penises on hand, that wasn't the same as seeing his abilities in person. However, the noblemen truly were capable of figuring out anything for the sake of a bet. They dug up information about Richard's deeds in the City of the Unsetting Sun overnight, including his conflict with Marshal Rundstedt and Hasting.

Yet, neither was the most important piece of information. Most people who heard just how long Richard had been in the Land of Dusk before advancing gasped in shock, while others started checking history books for other such similar occurrences. Three years was an astonishing amount of time to restrict one's own progress intentionally, and it was clear from Richard's achievements that this was exactly the case.

High society finally realised that the Archerons were beginning to roar once more. Now that their stint in the Land of Dusk had come to an end, they were ready to shake Faust once again.

Everyone began to feel curious, and the betting syndicates of the city found themselves faced with an enormous influx of cash..

797 - City of Sin

Bombardment

Midnight, within a private room in the Mensa castle.

“He suppressed his growth for three full years!” Jaaron was shouting hysterically as he scuttled around the room, “Don't you know what that means? He's at the level of a sky saint, a duel with him means death! This is a trap I tell you, a trap!”

The atmosphere inside the room was gloomy and depressing, the place almost empty save for two rows of parallel chairs. On one side were ten old men with various degrees of strength, while the other held grand mages and saints like Jaaron. Yuria's seat was towards the middle of her row, while Jaaron's was close to the end. There was only one host seat, taken by Duke Mensa himself.

“What else could we do?” Yuria asked grimly, “Just wash him destroy all our supplies and offerings right in front of us? You knew what was hidden within. Besides, as a new grand mage he won't even have the time to get used to his ability, why are you so scared? At this rate, Richard might as well be right. None of us even dares to duel him at the same level.”

“But that's just being reck—”

“ENOUGH!” Duke Mensa finally interrupted the farce, immediately bringing the room to silence. Everyone looked towards the man who had brought forth a bulk of the family's success in recent years, a cunning wolf who did not hesitate to bring his opponents down with conspiracy instead of strength.

The Duke was also famous for being extremely easy to enrage. He routinely destroyed entire families for meaningless slights, using that as an excuse to seize all their property. This was a person who could not tolerate the growth of his enemies.

Even though Jaaron was technically correct in his concerns, they fell on deaf ears. Mensa's expression was as dark as the depths of the ocean as he said coldly, “Jaaron, you will go first tomorrow.”

“WHAT? Why? I'm a grand mage, I can't accept this!”

Facing a powerful enemy with an unknown ability almost always spelt death. Jaaron's grand mage ability was known to the entire public, while Richard's was not. This difference in preparation alone could easily lead to his death. On the other hand, the person going second would have time to prepare. At the very least, they could end the fight in mutual destruction.

“You die tomorrow or you die now. I believe Richard will accept your body as a token so we can switch the first fighter,” Mensa said coldly.

Jaaron immediately started shivering; it wouldn't be a simple death at Duke Mensa's hands. He looked towards the row of elders, begging with his eyes, but all of them were like lifeless zombies with no reaction to his pleas.

“Yuria, you will go second. You may ask for whatever equipment you need.”

Yuria only nodded.

After a moment of hesitation, the Duke looked across the row of powerhouses in the room and locked his eyes on one, “Satch, you'll follow if Yuria fails as well. Goad Richard into a third round.”

The young man in the second seat licked his lips, pulling back some of his thick, curly hair, “Let's see if he dares.”

......

Everyone woke up early that morning, the seats in the arena filled hours before the start of the duel. Many nobles had even skipped breakfast just to secure a seat, the situation only avoided by Faust's fourteen who each had their own personal viewing platform.

Even these viewing platforms started to fill up before noon, many influential nobles looking on as ten mages strengthened the barriers in case any energy leaked out and killed someone in the audience. Of course, there were some viewers who enjoyed such things as well. Someone who got killed while watching a battle was not worthy of sympathy.

Richard appeared on the Archeron platform a quarter hour before the duel began, earning raucous cheers from the crowd. Duke Mensa immediately blanched, knowing exactly who the audience had bet on the most. The odds had reached a shocking thirty to one and were still increasing.

Standing right behind Richard, Waterflower looked a little worried. She leaned over and whispered, “Won't you reveal your ability during this duel?”

Richard turned and smiled, “You still remember who I was taught by?”

“Uhh... Yes...”

“And do you think there's anyone with a modicum of power who doesn't know her saint and legendary abilities?”

“Oh...” The girl seemed to have understood.

As the bells tolled the arrival of the afternoon, Richard and Jaaron slowly walked into the arena. Jaaron's equipment was extravagant, Duke Mensa even investing into a legendary wand to aid him. On the other hand, Richard was dressed in ordinary robes without any equipment to speak of. Even the well-known Twin of Destiny wasn't here, neither was the weird-looking weapon case that had created a small buzz of its own. Richard had actually come empty-handed.

The audience immediately made a commotion, while Jaaron grew more bewildered. He stared at Richard hard, trying to discern if he had hidden any powerful magic items on his body, but could find nothing.

When the referee finally announced the start of the duel, Jaaron immediately waved his legendary wand to cast three protective spells on himself. However, even before the glow of the barriers stabilised he felt an eath-shaking impact to them that almost sent him to the ground. His eyes went wide at the realisation that Richard's attacks had already arrived, heart almost jumping out of his chest. How could Richard's attacks reach him so soon, even shaking his shields? That needed a level 9 spell!

While the grand mage was busy struggling to understand what was going on, his entire vision immediately clouded in black smoke, all of the cheering in the arena stopped in an instant. Everyone watched slack-jawed as Richard continued to flick his slender fingers almost as though he was pulling the strings of fate, tiny balls of fire bursting out from within and shooting straight at the enemy's shields. Some were as small as a bead, others the size of a fist, but there were just so many of them that one couldn't even count.

Even as these fireballs bombarded Jaaron's magical barriers, the waves of fire almost drowning him out completely, some of the audience finally noticed that there were seven fist-sized fireballs just suspended in mid-air around the grand mage. All of them were equally spaced, and if they exploded together almost the entirety of their power would be overlaid in one point...

It didn't take long for this conjecture to be proven true. The seven fireballs exploded in an instant, instantly burning through what remained of Jaaron's defences to the point that his shields were completely destroyed. Before the dumbstruck grand mage could even react to the situation, six new fireballs exploded in tandem and flooded all over him.

Fire quickly turned to smoke, and Richard even did the crowd a favour by blowing that away. Jaaron was nowhere to be seen, only leaving behind a legendary wand and two sub-legendary rings that were on the verge of melting. It had taken a single barrage of attacks, and Richard hadn't even moved one step during the entirety of the duel.

“R... Richard wins!” the referee announced eventually, looking at the clock on a distant wall, “You have an hour and fifty-nine minutes remaining until two. Please return to the arena once you have rested.”

“No need, just have Yuria come down now,” Richard said indifferently.

798 - City of Sin

Flash Fight

A few minutes later, Yuria entered the arena in equipment that was even more extravagant than Jaaron. However, her face was pale as paper. According to the rules of battle, she would have to stand at a fair distance from Richard until the battle began.

She flashed forward with the referee's first syllable, trying her best to get as close to Richard as possible. A fight between a mage and a fighter normally only started in proper when the mage cast their first spell, but she couldn't care less about breaching tradition. Having witnessed Richard's barrage of fireballs just now and knowing just how calculated each one was, she knew that letting him begin would be her death sentence.

For his part, Richard didn't protest at all. He simply smiled as he raised his left hand with his fingers spread apart, electric light flashing around the tips of his fingers as it gathered in front of his palm. The crackles almost sounded like music, but his hand had left afterimages behind with how rapidly it moved.

Just as Yuria was within ten metres of him, the gathering lightning burst forth into a thick pillar of energy that crashed into her before she could dodge. The beam immediately stopped all of her momentum, and before she could move again another was shot right towards her face.

The magic item that powered Yuria's first shield broke apart in an instant, quickly followed by all the others. One could barely recognise the sheer terror that swept across her face before another beam blew it apart, but it was an expression that many in the audience would remember for years to come. Before her corpse could even fall to the ground, another wave of fireballs from Richard burnt her into nothingness.

She had managed to get within ten metres of Richard, but from the moment he launched his first spell that distance did not reduce at all. Some of the electric pillars even rammed into the magic shield with their residual energy, almost breaking it apart and killing a number of minor nobles sitting in the stands. However, those nobles were so dumbstruck that they couldn't even react to that brush with death. A great mage nearby had to pour all of his energy into the magic array node in the location to stabilise the shield.

Richard slowly lowered his left hand, sparks still visible on his fingertips. The referee took an entire minute to be able to speak, even then barely croaking out a declaration of victory before looking towards what Yuria had left behind.
f𝐫ℯe𝘸𝙚𝑏n𝑜ѵ𝒆l. 𝐜𝚘𝓶

“Lord... Richard... Your equipment was inferior to the opponents', you can choose any two of these as spoils...” the man stuttered out. Yuria had left behind two pieces each of legendary and sub-legendary equipment alongside an exquisite scroll. With the standard rules for a duel stating that the victor could take away one piece of equipment from the deceased so long as they were the more poorly equipped of the two, combined with the fact that he still hadn't picked something from Jaaron's death yet, Richard could potentially pick up two pieces of legendary-grade equipment.

However, Richard was in no hurry to select his trophy, instead turning to face the Mensa platform in the distance, “Your Grace, do you wish to send any more challengers? I still have half of my mana left.”

Hushed whispers immediately broke out amongst the audience. Both battles had ended within minutes, and the lack of corpses showed just how much energy Richard had over-invested, but he was saying he still had more than half his mana left. Just how did he pull this off? Was it just his grand mage ability?

Patiently waiting for the Duke's answer, Richard casually started playing around with some spells in his hand. Beads of fire, lightning and ice were interspersed with miniature whirlwind and the green glow of nature magic. All of them danced around on his hands like mischievous spirits with a life and soul of their own.

The nobles and powerhouses in the audience had seen and experienced a great many things, but none of them had ever witnessed something so extraordinary. Even as they watched in admiration, an elderly mage suddenly walked out to the edge of the Anan platform, leaning across the railing as he asked with a trembling voice, “Lord Richard... is this the Manacycle?”

Chaos erupted amongst the stands once more. Those who had heard about Manacycle immediately started sharing what little they knew about the ability.

Manacycle was in the same category of abilities as Manaforge, something so rare that it had once been considered a myth. A mage with this ability had full control of the mana requirements of a spell, capable of turning a fireball into either a kindling or a raging inferno as the situation called for it.

Manaforge to boost one's mana pool, Manacycle to reach the pinnacle of control, and Manaflood to maximise output, the three abilities combined would lead to the perfect mage. Having spent three years training in the Land of Dusk, Richard had unlocked the second of the three. Combined with Richard's blessings and original fighting style, this ability was even far more effective in his hands than with almost anyone else.

A lot had been written about Manacycle, but nobody had ever witnessed it in person. Seeing the hypnotising power it had, one couldn't help but marvel at Richard's abilities.

However, the person in question could only think of his own master. It was said that Manaforge could increase one's mana pool by half a fold, giving a grand mage the ability to cast one more grade 9 spell, but for Sharon this became a doubling instead. Her original mana pool was already absurd, turning her into an inexhaustible machine. Compared to her, his control meant nothing.

Richard felt rather wistful. Only one thing was constant in this ever-changing world, and that was his distance from Sharon. No matter how far he advanced, he only realised that her power was just far greater than he had ever imagined before.

Of course, nobody could tell that from his expression, nor were they inclined to. Everyone was focused on the sheer humiliation on Duke Mensa's face as he wondered how to answer Richard's question.

The three legendary mage abilities were labelled as such not for their might but for the fact that their effects were proportional to the user's existing strength. Richard had already mastered Manacycle to a great degree in the few days since he had advanced, so it was clear just how much more powerful he would become in the future. However, even now the Mensas didn't really have a saint or grand mage capable of besting him in combat.

Mensa's face almost went purple as he looked around, only to find Satch missing. The youth had run away the moment Yuria had fallen in her duel, knowing that victory was impossible even before Manacycle was revealed.

The Duke finally stood up and walked towards the railing, trying his best to maintain an air of authority, “My family had the advantage in this battle but we still lost. We will not subject ourselves to more humiliation; we accept defeat. Master Richard, please pick your trophies. Hehe...”

Sighing in disappointment, Richard walked over and picked up the exquisite scroll, completely ignoring the two pieces of legendary equipment. The snickering Duke almost choked on his own saliva, but soon after he almost fainted as he saw Richard pick up a sub-legendary necklace that Yuria had worn.

799 - City of Sin

The Price of Growing Up

Nyris and Agamemnon had decided to watch the match for afternoon tea, but the duels had ended so quickly they couldn't even really start. Lasting only a minute, each match was truly the epitome of a flash fight. However, that meant they could gather and share a meal for the first time in years.

“You gave up legendary equipment for this?” Agamemnon snorted as he examined the sub-legendary necklace. The entire thing was made of pure metal, with rough edges and unevenly sized rings. The pendant was a round metal plate with a pentagram carved on it, emitting ancient energy, but three of the corners of the pentagram were chipped. Outside of that faint trace of energy, he couldn't figure out what was so special about this at all.

Richard just smiled without explaining, instead turning to glance at Nyris. The Fourth Prince had now lost a bit of his feminine charm, replacing it with a gentlemanly aura.

Nyris put down the scroll he had been holding and sighed, “That wrinkly old bastard... Well, at least I got to see a Heaven's Call scroll. Okay Ag, let's see the other thing.”

Identification was an art that required not just knowledge of magic but also mastery of history, materials, and other related fields. Nobles were generally skilled in this field, but Agamemnon was much more focused around politics and martial arts than Nyris was.

“Ooh, is this a Gun of Genvis? Why is it... Ah, only two rounds left. That explains it.” The Gun of Genvis was a fabled spell that was said to be able to break through any barrier. Although its lethality wasn't as great as some other legendary spells, its use lay in that ability to break apart the barriers of a mage. Although this pendant only had two uses left and each spell was only grade 9, that was still quite powerful.

“Hmm...” Nyris continued, “Why did you choose this? It's rare, sure, but two uses definitely aren't worth losing legendary equipment.”

Richard smirked, “There's nothing scary about a sky saint with legendary equipment, but even an ordinary one holding this necklace...”

““Ah...”” Both of them finally understood. Just like Heaven's Call, the Gun of Genvis was especially deadly when used against a mage. As a consumable item, there couldn't be many such things in the Mensa treasury; each one they lost was another lost chance to hurt Richard in the future.

Although she wouldn't have been able to beat him, Yuria would certainly have made the fight more difficult if she used these two items. However, having witnessed his fireball barrage earlier, she hadn't possessed the courage to try and invoke them at the cost of her own life.

“Alright, what are you going to do next?” Nyris asked Richard.

“What about you two?”

“Ag won't be doing anything, and I'll continue to upgrade myself. I'm in no hurry to become a saint,” Nyris said gleefully, a teasing look in his eyes as he glanced at Agamemnon.

Neither of them could particularly suppress their growth to avoid entering the saint realm, and Agamemnon had just grown too fast during the bloody battles in the Land of Dusk. On the other hand, Nyris preferred to take his time and polish his abilities, not really focused on battle.

“Alright then,” Richard answered, “I'll go take a look at Faelor. When I come back, let's go to the Forest Plane. It's about time for the world tree there to get restless.”

“Great!” Agamemnon agreed.

“What...” Nyris pouted a little, “But that means I'll have to become a saint.”

Richard and Agamemnon just shrugged. Battle was the most effective way to grow one's power, but they were dangerous and uncertain. Agamemnon had grown so powerful during his time fighting under Emperor Philip that he became a saint immediately, but on the contrary Nyris had hoped to enter sainthood by pure practice alone. The Forest Plane was certainly safer than a battlefield of despair, but it would still propel him across the gap.

......

Richard wondered about the situation as he finished the meal and made his way to Faelor. Agamemnon was constantly growing within the Orleans Family, while he himself was becoming more powerful with each passing day. Although he was still cooperating with these friends, he could notice that Nyris was constantly increasing the distance to avoid being labelled as a slave to either of them. With the rate at which everyone was growing, there would be a day when these friends for life could be no more than close allies.

This was the price of growing up.

“Master!” As the familiar moment of dizziness gave way to a nostalgic sight and smell, the broodmother's voice quickly snapped him out of his contemplations, “You've been gone so long, you should visit me!”

“Have you grown bigger?” Richard teased.

“Huge!”

“There was so much food?”

“My forest now covers the entire Land of Turmoil!”

Just the thought of that perfect forest made Richard shiver, something that even the Land of Dusk could rarely get out of him. “Anything else you want to tell me?”

“The legend tasted good!”

Richard immediately recalled Daychase's body, smirking at the thought, “And outside of the taste?”

“Analysis is 1.03% complete.”

“Wait what?” Richard almost couldn't believe what he had just heard. The broodmother could even analyse legendary beings? However, he quickly shook his head. Daychase was someone on par with a legend from Norland, and capturing a hundred of those was an impossible task. He wasn't even sure there were that many legendary powerhouses in all of Norland.

“Master, you should come visit me soon!” the broodmother repeated with enthusiasm, tone certainly bolder than he remembered of her.

“Yes, yes, I hear you. Send the cloned brain here, it flies faster than the astral chrysalis.”

“Which one?”

“What do you mean which one?” Richard asked in shock. Just like Phaser, cloned brains were a special unit that needed divinity to create.

“I have too many things to handle, so I made a group to take care of trivial matters like battles,” she replied.

Richard didn't know whether to feel proud or humiliated. He had always taken pride in being a powerful tactician who could put the broodmother's troops to great use, but now she was telling him that the task was so trivial she wouldn't even do it herself.

“Okay... I'll come over in a bit, send me all the updates you have first... Wait no, no no no no no... ARGH!” Richard immediately grabbed his head in pain as he was flooded with data, mostly on the various creatures she had analysed. It took all of his effort to break off the connection by force, going through the disorganised information bit by bit.

The first things that stood out to him amongst the 10,000 creatures were the barbarians and dwarves. He had always thought they were single unified races, but she mentioned a dozen sub-species of dwarves and more than thirty types of barbarians.

As he shelved away the information to slowly go through in the coming months, Richard noticed one thing that the broodmother had highlighted amongst it all. She had now accumulated enough divinity to create that new seed!

“BOSS!” However, just as he was thinking of putting the doppelganger in the Forest Plane, his ears were almost torn apart by a booming voice. He felt the earth shake for a few seconds before he barely managed to turn around in time, seeing an enormous form almost cover him completely as it lifted him in its embrace.

800 - City of Sin

Rematch

“Alright, alright!” Richard returned the warm embrace before pushing him away.

The brute took a few steps back before looking over him from top to bottom in confusion, “You already became a grand mage? When did this happen... Wait, does that mean you can beat me now?”

While Richard had spent three years in the Land of Dusk, four years had already passed in Faelor. Gangdor had become a saint two years ago, his saint ability being an enhanced version of Gaia's Force. The brute could now boost his strength and defence during battle; a simple ability, but a practical one.

“You want to compete with Master?” a clear voice interjected, “You can't even beat me.”

Gangdor subconsciously clenched his buttocks as he heard this voice behind him, clearly terrified of Waterflower's presence. He realised his mistake immediately, but before he could react he felt an icy sensation travelling down his backbone.

In a true battle, that one attack would have destroyed his spine.

Gangdor relaxed his body, lifting his hands in defeat as he laughed sheepishly, “Waterflower, you're strong now too! So you were with boss all this while, huh... Hmm?” He suddenly took a deep whiff in her direction, asking in confusion, “Why do you still look so fresh? Boss should be skilled at this, are you just that unladyl— AH, NO! STOP IT! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!”

The brute started jumping around the courtyard, his cries echoing like those of an enormous dragon. Waterflower had a bitter look on her face as she pursued him like a shadow, her still-sheathed sword moving swiftly as the wind, scaring the daylights out of Gangdor. Her attacks barely missed every time, so he didn't dare to slacken for even a moment. If she so much as brushed against him with such force, he would be sent to bed for half a month.

The “fight” immediately riled up everyone nearby as Gangdor's squealing rang almost all the way towards Bluewater proper. Multiple nimble bodies shot out of the barracks to try and help fend off the attacker, the rune knights that Richard had stationed in Faelor. However, the moment they saw that it was Waterflower chasing Gangdor, they immediately froze in place and gave way. They had immense respect for the brute, sure, but that couldn't compare to how much they were terrified of Waterflower.

Richard looked over as the rune knights retreated, appreciating just how powerful they had become. Each one was at least level 15, and their movements alone revealed their imposing powers. However, Waterflower had beaten so many of them up that they wouldn't dare to move a muscle in her presence. It was one thing to get beaten up by Gangdor and Tiramisu, one could just blame that on the difference in physiology, but this seemingly fragile girl only held back her strength in so much as she wouldn't kill or maim them. There was no glory to be had in her preferred method of punishment.

Ever since Gangdor had become a saint, his strength in battle had skyrocketed. However, looking at how he was squeaking as he ran from Waterflower, it was obvious just how strong she had become. The rune knights gasped, dropping out of the sky and freezing as they pretended to see nothing.

“You little bastards!” Gangdor cursed them, “Just you wait— EEP!”

Before he could even finish his threat, the distracted Gangdor finally lost the race. Waterflower's hilt slammed into his thigh, causing him to jump in pain as he leapt across the wall. She then returned to Richard's side and stood tall and proud, as though she had done nothing wrong.

The rune knights broke out in a cold sweat, but were also relieved that Waterflower had shown leniency in only attacking Gangdor's thigh and not his rear. However, Richard just shook his head in silence. Waterflower still didn't have absolute control over her own strength, so she had attacked the thigh just to make sure she didn't tear Gangdor apart by accident. Once she grew used to his new strength as well, her target would switch back.

“Show's done, you can return.” As Richard waved his hand, the rune knights immediately ran away like frightened rabbits, not even caring about whether they seemed rude. Just as he was about to turn to Waterflower, however, faint golden light flashed into existence and formed grains of timesand that arranged themselves into a clear command, “Get over here!”

Richard immediately felt a certain warmth in his heart, taking big strides towards Flowsand's residence. Waterflower looked a little sad, almost moving alongside him by instinct, but she eventually stopped and quietly disappeared.

......

In front of Richard was the familiar courtyard with the familiar door. As he opened the gate and walked in, he chanced a glance at his own nearby home and found a familiar face staring down from the second floor. Rosie smiled faintly and stepped away, clearly returning to her own craft to give him space.

Even after all the years, Flowsand's residence hadn't changed much at all. Even the furniture within was the same as before, as was the charming woman slumped down on the couch. As usual, the struggles deep within those amber eyes were concealed by glee.

Flowsand and Richard just smiled as they looked at each other; it had been four years since they'd last met. It took an entire minute before she broke the silence, hooking ger fingers seductively, “So the kid is now a grand mage! You're quite something, come here and show me how much you've grown.”

Richard laughed heartily, “I'll destroy you with room to spare.”

This time, there was no probing or teasing. Like two parched travellers finally chancing upon an oasis, they dove straight into the depths.

“That's... That's...” It didn't take long for Flowsand to start squealing, but Richard just sped up in the middle of her surprise. He took advantage of her dazed state, determined that he would finally end one of these bouts leaving her the quivering mess.

“No... Stop, how did you get so—”

“Harder? Sure!” As he completely ignored her protests, Richard felt truly grateful towards the old pervert in the Land of Dusk. He would never have the stamina to outlast Flowsand, but if he could succeed before it came to that point it would all be to the credit of the ursa essence implanted within him.

It was only when she reached the edge of orgasm that he slowed down a little, giving her a chance to breathe. Flowsand almost squealed in relief, biting her lower lip as she glared at him, “Is this all you learnt in three years?”

These words were better than any other praise Richard could ever receive; they immediately left him feeling on top of the world. Not long after, she was brought to the edge of orgasm once more. This time, despite her cries turning into angry rebukes and an intense fight back, he only grew more beastly as he brought her to the crest. She didn't admit it at first, but it wasn't long before she could hold on no longer and surrendered.

And then, addled by the ursa warlord's essence and basking in the glory of his victory, he made the mistake of choosing to press his advantage further.

801 - City of Sin

Situation

At first, Richard maintained his superior position. Flowsand was gasping for every breath as he continued to thrust into her without end, looking like she would almost faint from the sensation. However, as the minutes turned into hours, she never once fully gave up again.

Eventually his ferocity wore out, and he had to slow down to catch his own breath. When he was left with no choice but to take a break, she just wrapped her hands around his neck and flipped him over onto the couch.

Richard had never won this battle in the past, and despite his best efforts he didn't do so now. Eventually, he just grunted in resignation and fell to the ground, dragging Flowsand with him.

She was the first to sit back up.

The only consolation Richard had was the sight of Flowsand's perfect body as she stretched, sweat beading out from every part of her beautiful figure. She let out a long yawn, her eyes as bright as the stars in the night, while he just lay gasping on the floor to recover.

A few minutes later, Flowsand reached over and slapped his rear, giggling disdainfully, “An ursa warlord wants to compete with the Eternal Dragon? Haha, Hahahaha!”

......

Richard only climbed out of bed when the sun was hanging high in the sky. His entire body felt sore, and he didn't even feel like he had the strength to summon some ice water to refresh himself with. In fact, it was all he could do to stumble his way to the bathroom and dunk his head in a bucket of normal water.

As he started to stretch the pain away, he heard Flowsand's hoarse voice sounding outside the building. He walked over to the window and looked out, watching as she spread the faith of the Eternal Dragon to a dozen or so young children.

Beside her was a handsome young man whose body was radiating divine power, the sight of which caused a small twinkle in Richard's eyes. This was Caesar, Baron Fontaine's son. His late friend's child had grown up to be a level 14 priest in the blink of an eye, possessing outstanding accomplishments in life.

Time was amazing.

The children in the courtyard also had small traces of divine energy within them as well. Flowsand was just like the most beautiful lotus in a garden, the centre of everything that could bring forth the sun and rain upon her will.

By now, all of Richard's followers were rushing back to Bluewater City. Some had received the message through their soul link, while the others had been informed by the broodmother's drones. Still, Kellac was the only other one who had managed to get here in time, meaning he, Gangdor, Waterflower, Flowsand, and Rosie were the only members of his core team present in the oasis city. Richard decided to get what he could done before the rest arrived, asking Gangdor for a report on the status of Bluewater and the Crimson Dukedom.

As the meeting progressed, he realised that the Dukedom was doing much better than he could ever have expected. It was now a major power in Faelor, and despite its nominal attachment to the Sequoia Kingdom, many privately called it the Crimson Kingdom. It seemed like a simple change, but this was the demarcation between any noble's land and a territory that was truly to be feared for its might.

And feared it was. The Crimson Dukedom was no weaker than a proper empire, with a population of more than five million, an enormous number of slaves, and a standing army of 100,000 soldiers backed by a slave force of 50,000. The slave army was special in that three years of service there with a certain level of military achievements qualified these slaves to become regular citizens of the country; this made them fight tooth and nail in every battle.

On top of this powerful army was an additional reserve army of 150,000 trained soldiers, maintained thanks to the huge wealth generated by planar trade as well as being the trade centre between the east and west. This income would slowly stabilise in the future, dropping to an acceptable level, but until then it supported the country's rapid development.

Right now, the average equipment of the Crimson Army could match the equipment of the most powerful regiments of the Iron Triangle Empire. Even the slaves' equipment could match those of the Iron Triangle soldiers. In only a few years, the Crimson Dukedom had surpassed a centuries-old empire's accumulations.

Of course, the core of the army didn't come from recruited soldiers at all. Tens of thousands of the broodmother's knights were spread out everywhere, many of them centaur knights. These centaur knights weren't particularly special, but they did away with the layer of cooperation between rider and horse so they consumed less of her focus to create. She could spawn twelve every day.

There was a race of centaurs indigenous to Faelor, but their civilisation was crude and they focused more on brute strength in battle than any real skill. The ones produced by the broodmother were armed to the teeth, quite literally. The half-orc-like fangs couldn't be discounted in a critical moment, a weapon that the native centaurs did not possess at all.
𝗳re𝚎𝚠𝐞𝗯𝙣𝗼ν𝗲l. c૦𝓶

Perhaps the broodmother took up Richard's own preferences in battle, but she had also made a thousand bats and more than a dozen cloned brains that were spread out all across the borders to keep an eye on the nearby countries. Any dispatched troops would be discovered immediately.

At the same time, the broodmother had also formed an air force consisting of level 13 lightning drakes, an entire three hundred of them capable of shooting grade 6 lightning spells on command. They could only use the lightning thrice before they needed to rest, but that was more than enough force to deal with saints and grand mages. Even a sub-legendary expert wouldn't dare to take such a concentrated attack head-on.

Finally, she had also redesigned the level 14 elite shadowspear knights. The unit had 200 drones and had never participated in battle before, sitting in the Land of Turmoil all this while, but she mentioned that this was because even Raymond couldn't fully use their powers in combat.

Although she was still stuck at level 9, the broodmother had finished all preparations to hit level 10. The only thing she lacked was divinity; she had 600 units stored within her already, but 500 units of that would be taken up to create the avatar. The avatar also needed about 10 million gold's worth of other materials, weighing almost 20,000 tonnes in total. Even the astral chrysalis had to spend quite a few trips to ferry everything back and forth.

Richard's followers hadn't stopped advancing as he did either. Gangdor was already a saint, while Kellac and Zendrall had hit level 16. Tiramisu had advanced once more only a year ago, and was now a terrifying level 19. Only Phaser and Olar were left, both stuck at level 17, but the difference was that Olar was limited by talent and his choice of being both an archer and bard while Phaser was actually using the broodmother's help to suppress her growth. The broodmother could implant a number of abilities directly into her body to boost the saint ability she would get, but that needed level 10.

The three goddesses were thriving as well, their rate of expansion surprising even when considering all history. Only the greater gods could have such momentum. The Goddesses of the Forest and the Hunt were on the verge of becoming intermediate gods, while the Goddess of Spring Water had already made it to that level. They had more than 100,000 strong believers combined, with many times that number in casual worshippers.

A number of wanderers flocked to the Crimson Dukedom every day in the search for a better life, strengthening all of the country's internal workings. Urban construction, national laws, and standard of living were all amongst the best in all of Faelor. Richard still hadn't let up on attracting more settlers, and these settlers quickly bolstered his army and the faith. The best situation was with the casual worshippers, who were now completely in his hands. Those people cared far more about the bread on their table than any deities.

In the words of Gangdor, Richard currently had the goddesses by their tits. The three only grew more and more entangled with him, cementing their betrayal of their own plane. He didn't know whether they had already identified that he was an invader, but he didn't particularly care either. It was far too late for them to back off now, and the sheer loss in faith from breaking ties with him would likely be enough to cause them to fall immediately. They were all far too invested within the Crimson Dukedom to survive its destruction.

802 - City of Sin

War Horns

The Crimson Dukedom was a terrifying neighbour to have, but its threat was partially abated by its focus on the barbarian plains. Almost a third of the ancestral highlands had been occupied, an area even larger than the Bloodstained Lands. Nobody knew whether the land was fertile or barren, whether it had any rare materials or other economic lifelines, but it was definitely enough territory to form a true empire.

Countless eyes were focused on the alarming growth of this behemoth, and despite numerous parties hoping to contain it none had the courage or resources to try. The Crimson Dukedom hadn't aggressed against anyone, and there wasn't anyone contesting the ancestral plains. There was a short attempt made to capture the slaves of the Crimson Dukedom, but that was quickly stomped out without the main army even having to act. Many of the smaller countries nearby were left ashamed at the fact that even the slave army of the Crimson Dukedom was more powerful than their full standing forces.

This wasn't to say the Dukedom had no conflicts. There were still constant skirmishes along the border with the Iron Triangle Empire. The dozens of minor battles had reached an astonishing casualty count, and after losing nearly 40,000 troops in total they were forced to cede a significant portion of their western territory. The land itself was barren, but now that it was gone the Crimson Dukedom was the only way to access the Ashen Plateau and barbarian plains.

Salwyn had been made a scapegoat once more. Accused of betraying the country, he was forced to surrender his military power and return to fishing in his lands. The ill-fated prince had now been a foil to another's success for the second time. With Richard already considered a divine general, the mysterious Andrieka now surpassed Rislant in prestige.

Of course, everyone in the Iron Triangle Empire knew that the true distance between the two was unimaginable. The only reason Rislant hadn't been embarrassed yet was the fact that he had used the excuse of the Dragon Church to keep away from this battlefield. Salwyn was the only one in the country with the courage to step forth despite almost certain loss, but his enemies had made use of that weakness to push him out.

Now that he had a general understanding of the situation in Faelor, Richard looked over the map in front of him and turned to Flowsand, “Do you think we have the power to launch a divine war?”

Flowsand shook her head immediately, “Impossible. A real war of the gods isn't just a war between churches. Even for a weakling like Neian, destroying a few avatars is useless. We don't really have the capabilities to break into divine kingdoms ourselves, and until we do we won't pose an immediate threat to any deity. Even if a god's faith is completely destroyed, it will take centuries before they lose their divinity and fade away.”

“So I need to get to legendary... Tch.” Richard shook his head. The biggest advantage of being in the legendary realm wasn't pure might but the ability to somewhat control the laws of existence. Even an artificial product like Stardragon was difficult to face; defeating them was one thing, but leaving them with no way to run was another problem entirely. Given the strength of Richard's party, it would be easy to beat a legend. However, killing one wasn't a guarantee at all.

Richard himself was still somewhat scared of offending a deity completely. If he truly pushed one to the edge, they could abandon all honour and send a powerful avatar to engage in guerilla warfare. A sneak attack here, an assassination there... such a strategy was almost impossible to counter. It was the same reason legends were so respected in Norland; angering one just wasn't a good idea.

“Then we can't attack yet,” he frowned.

“If you're only worried about legends, there's a 30% chance I can stop them from escaping now,” Flowsand added.

“No, not good enough. Anyone who survives will be a thorn in our side forever. We don't need to take such risks, we'll have control of it all in a few years anyway. Right, Kellac,” he pointed to a part of the ancestral plains, “This is where the central shrine of the Highland Wargod is?”

“Yes,” Kellac's voice trembled a little.

“And the one who got you excommunicated...”

“His current title is Leitun, the Lord of the Highlands. He's already the pope of the church.”

“The Lord of the Highlands? Heh, who qualifies to give him such a title? Whatever, let's show him who's boss.”

“My Lord, you want to...”

“If we can't fight a proper god, why not fight one outside of the pantheon? Let's go take the nest of the Highland Wargod.”

The Highland Wargod was originally a part of the Faelorian pantheon, but he had fallen from his post and Lutheris had taken his place. However, at one point he grew a foundation in the barbarian plains and became a deity of the barbarians. However, he was still weak.

The Crimson Dukedom's borders were now only 200 kilometres away from the great shrine of the Highland Wargod. The only reason Richard's followers hadn't pressed in further was to wait for further commands, and the self-proclaimed Lord of the Highlands didn't have the guts to attack.

“Notify the three goddesses to prepare for war, we're leaving in three days,” Richard said before stopping to think, “Also send messengers to Neian, Cerces and maybe some other chaotic gods. Tell them we're going to be fighting the Highland Wargod and they can support.”

“Support?” Gangdor scratched his head. He had personally killed a number of priests and clerics of Faelor in the past, so he didn't understand why the churches would be willing to support them in this endeavour.

“Gods are selfish too,” Richard smiled, “The Highland Wargod isn't a member of Faelor's pantheon, so destroying his church will be a huge blow. At the same time, the gods can barge into his divine kingdom and tear him apart. It won't be nearly as expensive as fighting against a full-fledged deity, and the additional domain and powers are too much to refuse.”

“But don't we have the goddesses with us? Why not let them do it?” Gangdor continued. This was something Richard appreciated in the brute; he didn't understand everything, but he made sure to ask questions without feeling embarrassed.

“Those three aren't good at fights. Even if we hurt the Highland Wargod, they can't be assured of victory in his divine kingdom. Besides, if they do win then they'll have divinity far beyond what their strength should allow. Someone else will steal it away later.”

“But isn't this making it easy for those bastards?” Gangdor was still puzzled.

Richard smiled, “Whoever takes the initiative in the divine war will certainly suffer losses. It'll take a lot of energy to assimilate the new kingdom, which will leave them week for a long time. It will take decades to recover...”

Richard paused for a moment, a malicious glint flashing across his eyes, “But why would we give them so much time?”

803 - City of Sin

A New Path

All of Bluewater erupted once the meeting came to an end, the machines of war starting to turn at high speed. The bells of the three churches tolled fourteen times each, signifying a summon to every single priest and cleric. The army camps bustled as the soldiers inspected their weapons and armour, the enormous warehouses being opened up to transport supplies.

Richard's soldiers were armed and supplied to an unprecedented level, even the simple things such as cookware designed to isolate rain and mud. With competent leaders, unequalled equipment and unsurpassed salaries, the Crimson Army was a heaven to any professional soldier.

In terms of high-end power, Richard's followers far exceeded anyone at their level. It was even widely acknowledged that only someone who could hold their own in the Crimson Dukedom qualified to be called on the verge of the legendary realm. The rune knights were a more effective core troop than any Faelor had even seen, and the heartless murderers that were the broodmother's drones struck terror in enemies' hearts.

As dusk fell, numerous wyverns took flight from the oasis, heading towards the human kingdoms to bring news of Richard's attack to the neighbouring countries. Two were even headed to the Iron Triangle Empire, one for the Church of Cerces and the other straight for the imperial palace. Long flights were often difficult, but even on a wyvern the broodmother's elite knights would have no problems whatsoever.

While all this was happening, Richard chose to have dinner within his magical laboratory, inspecting Rosie's work. Of course, he prefaced it all by 'inspecting' Rosie as well, and unlike Flowsand the ursa essence actually showed its effectiveness within minutes. The girl had her own tenacity, refusing to give in even though she was on the verge of fainting within ten minutes. This would normally prompt Richard to speed up and finish off as fast as he could, but the young lady quickly realised just how big of a mistake that was. Richard seemed to have boundless stamina, and only stopped when they were an hour in. It took almost half an hour afterwards for her to regain the energy to move.

Once they were done, she quietly stood at his side as he went around to inspect the laboratory. He was surprised by the sheer number of completed runes within, and even more astonished at the fact that she had mastered all but the last spell formation he had taught her.

On one shelf in the corner was a stack of rune designs he had never seen before, something that piqued his curiosity. However, Rosie suddenly grew nervous as he reached out to grab them, “Those... Those are some designs I came up with... When I had free time...”

Richard just shrugged and started inspecting the first of the blueprints, finding it to be an elementary rune that was a little more intricate than normal. After an audible expression of delight, he continued onto the second and the third.

“But...” Rosie continued, her voice almost a squeak, “After I designed them, I tried to craft some. I used some materials without your permission, you can cut the costs from my—”

“Stop playing innocent with me,” Richard laughed as he held her cheeks in one hand and caressed them, “You think I don't see that this is for a rune set?”

“What?” Rosie was startled, “You haven't even seen the other two...”

“Except I've crafted dozens of Savage Barrier sets, and I know when I see a weaker version. Now tell me, how many did you craft?”

“... Twenty.”

“You what?” Richard's eyes widened in shock as he made a few quick calculations, “Did you even step out of the lab in all these years?”

“I spent 31 days in the barbarian plains when I was feeling burnt out and needed inspiration. Outside of that, I rewarded myself with a full day of sleep on every birthday.”

For a moment, Richard couldn't find any words to say. Even he didn't have the incredible determination to hole himself up crafting runes for four entire years. Eventually, he just sighed, “You know, there's no need to do this.”

Rosie's pretence of being an innocent little girl finally faded away, “You gave me a chance and I took it. This is an entire world for me to conquer, an opportunity to shape my dreams. But I don't have your talent, I don't have your skills. All I do have is my hard work. I know you're not invincible, I know there might be a day you fall in battle. I also know I'd be powerless to help.

“But I can do one thing. I can make sure you never have to worry about me. I want you to feel assured that, even without your support, I can do well on my own. This set is proof of that.”

Richard fell silent, only picking up the last two rune designs and reading through them with full attention. He went through the first three again as well, stopping on some portions for minutes at a time.

This truly was a weak elementary rune set. The combined strength was barely two-thirds of what he was used to crafting even on a bad day, and many of the arrays had been simplified or removed altogether to reduce the burden on the runemaster. That did not mean there were no upsides to this, however; anyone with the ability to craft basic runes could make this set.

Runemasters were organised into a strict hierarchy, with most elementary runemasters not even recognised as practitioners of the craft. However, these runemasters with minimal talent made up the majority of those crafting elementary runes, and although few actually had a breadth of knowledge they could still craft a set like this with a decent success rate.

“This...” Richard didn't know how to evaluate this set. A rune knight formed from it would barely be beyond one with disparate runes, even a level 17 warrior equipped as such only equalling a naked saint, but it could truly be crafted by even the worst runemasters with little issue. Prior to this, even an elementary set required a dozen elementary runemasters cooperating to finish; it was only true talents who could do things on their own.

“You... Just might have paved the path for a new generation of runes...” Richard said eventually, putting down the designs. Seeing Rosie stunned by the high praise, he sighed and continued, “But you see, I... erm... I value...”

Rosie laughed softly at his stuttering, “I know you're happy for me, but I also know you're not interested romantically. I just needed to show you that you didn't do wrong in taking me in. Now, tell me what you want to say, no need to feel burdened or embarrassed.”

Richard was left speechless for another moment.

“Oh right, I also recruited a few rune knight candidates when you were out. The plan was to test on them after you approved it, so you'll have twenty more rune knights if you want. They won't be very useful, but they're a thing.”

At this point, Richard came to a sudden realisation and looked straight into Rosie's eyes, “What do you want?”

Surprised flashed past Rosie's face for a moment, but she quickly calmed herself, “I hear there are a lot of talented mages in the Deepblue. I want ten who can craft elementary runes or at least a variety of magic arrays.”

“I'll get you thirty,” Richard said softly, glancing at the blueprints once more, “You want to develop this more?”
𝙛𝘳𝐞𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝗻𝘰ѵ𝗲𝙡. 𝑐o𝓶

“Mm, I want to head in this direction. Runes can be complicated, as complicated as Lifesbane and Crimson Inferno, but they can also be made simple and affordable. If I can halve the costs for a 20% drop in power, that's definitely worth it!” One could clearly see the excitement in Rosie's eyes.

“Good thoughts, but make sure to control them a little. Don't spread these designs around, I don't want there to be a day when my own elites are trampled down by a mob of warriors with inferior runes.”

Rosie went silent for a moment, finally considering a problem that hadn't come across her mind so far. Richard left her alone to ponder the ramifications of easing access to runes, and what that would mean for more skilled runemasters like her or himself. There was a certain utility to standard runes in how they could be crafted by almost anyone, but if sets became easy to buy the market would plummet.

Still, he wrote a letter the moment he returned to his study, having someone send it to Blackgold. Foundational magic arrays weren't complicated to learn, and the grey dwarf was already working on a batch of apprentice runemasters. He was planning to put an entire fifty under Rosie's hands to see how far she could go.

As the stars twinkled in the night sky, he thought about how his own followers had continued to pursue their dreams all this while.

804 - City of Sin

Touring The North

An enormous elephant was walking across the boundless ancestral plains, upon it a howdah that housed two people in traditional barbarian outfits. One of the two was staring at the clouds above, while another was gazing into the distant horizon.

Nobody here could tell, but these were two heavenly guardians out on a quest to earn offerings. If Richard were here, he would recognise Nyra and Io immediately.

“Richard is back,” the battle priest said lazily, “Do we need to go see him?” Please visit 𝒇𝘳ℯe𝙬e𝘣𝙣𝘰ѵ𝒆𝗹. c૦𝑚

“Of course,” Nyra said in her signature monotony, “I'm not as stupid as you to offend him.”

“We can find offerings ourselves now, can't we? Why should I have to listen to that bastard? I want to live with a little dignity.”

“Can we? Two years of fighting and we have only performed one greater sacrifice. It will be a long time before we advance.”

“That's because we're both priests! It would be so much easier if we had a saint helping, and it doesn't help that this place is so barren. Thousands of barbarians and not one motherfucker is worth even a lesser sacrifice!”

“And how much do you think he's made in this time? Weren't you proud of the greater sacrifice?”

“How am I supposed to compete with him? He's—”

“He's good to us. Even if we're not helping him deliberately, there's no need to antagonise him either. Hehe, and if you think we can even remotely compare to the number of offerings he'll have brought back... Well, just don't forget your dignity.”

“What do you mean? What are your plans?”

“I'm prepared to grovel at his feet if that will help. Like I told you, you better keep to yourself. Richard will only be willing to give out so many offerings, and there definitely isn't enough for two people.”

Io suddenly heard warning bells ringing in his mind. Although he was early by a few years, he had to admit that Nyra outdid him in many scenarios.

......

It only took a day and night for the giant elephant to make it all the way to Bluewater. With two priests buffing, healing, and revitalising it, it had charged across the plains without pause. The creature immediately caught attention, but the two just dropped it off in the army camp and went to see Flowsand.

When they saw the huge chest of offerings right in the middle of Flowsand's room, Io and Nyra almost lost their breaths. All kinds of offerings had been placed within, and every single one was top-tier. Three, five... As they counted more and more, the two heavenly guardians let out audible gasps. All they saw was the passage to level 19, 20, or even the legendary realm.

“These are...” Io asked with a dry voice.

Busy looking through the offerings, Flowsand didn't even look up, “Richard's back.”

“Oh,” Io laughed, “So my Lord is— OW!”

Nyra quietly withdrew her hand from Io's groin, coughing faintly, “Ahem, dignity.”

......

The Iron Triangle Emperor held an emergency meeting the very night that Richard's messenger arrived, calling in every important official from their beds. When the half dozen sleepy ministers gathered in the palace hall, they each found a letter placed on their seats. The ink was still fresh; the contents had just been copied.

The Emperor himself was sitting hunched on his throne, expression darker than the night sky outside. The traditional dim torches of the hall caused his shadow to cover the entirety of the wall behind him, and the flickering flames seemed to bring the ever-present portraits of previous emperors to life.

“Read,” was the only word he said once everyone gathered, prompting the ministers to comb through the letter word after word.

The contents of the letter were quite simple, containing two demands and one notice. The first demand was that the Crimson Dukedom had to be allowed to buy the Empire's stock of coldsteel at fair prices, while the second was an 'invitation' extended to Prince Salwyn. The notice was that Richard was bringing an entourage with him on holiday in the Empire, and that he hoped nobody would obstruct him.

The letter mentioned no consequences of refusing anything, but everyone present knew the implicit threat behind. The Iron Triangle had been forced into a corner even when Richard was absent, so now that he was back there would be no resistance. The only one who had dared to stand up against him was Salwyn, and the prince had been hurt far too much by his own comrades to do so anymore.

The ministers looked the letter over again and again, but they didn't express their opinions for a long time. It was almost like the thin piece of paper had no end. It took an entire day and night for the meeting to conclude, but there was no public news about the decision. Salwyn was sent an order to head over to the capital immediately, but nobody told him why.

While the Empire was making its own decisions, Richard had taken Waterflower and Flowsand's group of three on a trip into the Iron Triangle Empire. Their destination was the Valley of Darkness, the prison for those who offended the God of Valour so greatly that even death was not enough of a punishment. Richard was partly looking for Essien, but also just going to see how a land of divine punishment looked.

Five people rode their magic steeds across the border, calmly heading into the Empire without any caution at all. Even without his unicorn Richard had great presence, the mounts so flashy that they signalled his presence from miles away.

He didn't need to tell the Empire that he was crossing— there would have been no way to even notice his group— but he was itching for a fight and hoped that the enemies would bite the bait. He hadn't waited for Tiramisu nor even taken Gangdor along, with no elite knights or rune knights in his entourage. It was an assassination almost begging to happen.

It was currently in the depths of winter, but even the half-metre deep snow posed no problems for the magic mounts. However, Richard's party came across quite a few people on their way, and few of them were poor or sick. The Empire was sparsely populated, but in the midst of winter its citizens had nothing to do but drink, gamble, and get into brawls. Every town they visited was full of people, and hailing from an old empire everyone seemed to be doing quite well.

Urban planning, cold isolation, farming arrangements... everything was well above passable even with Norland's standards. Perhaps it was because of the climate and food, but the people were generally tall and strong as well.

The party was certainly a dazzling one; Io and Richard were amongst the most handsome of men, and the three women didn't lose out in beauty. Some small troubles came their way as a result, but they were more annoyances than anything else. The worst part was when a cavalryman, knight, a baron, and even an earl grew enamoured with the women in a row. It took hundreds of unconscious soldiers before the earl finally gave in, and Richard took the opportunity to rob him of tens of thousands of gold.

The five had a rather jolly time along the way, but there weren't any major incidents until they arrived in the vicinity of the Valley of Darkness. Richard decided to rest in a small nearby town before heading in, the land belonging to Earl Panzev who was said to have descended from a legendary being.

Richard chose to live in the only inn in the town, a small place but quite clean. The hearth was warm in the evening darkness, with a broth constantly bubbling over a fire to spread a rich aroma all around. It wasn't particularly exquisite food, but having spent so long in the cold Richard's group gobbled it down alongside the bread and all the other side dishes. Wine disappeared down their gullets like it was water, but not one member of the party seemed to even be tipsy. The north's wines were particularly strong, but then again everyone here was a drunk to some extent.

There was a bard in the hall, and Richard almost instinctively ripped his own ears out at the loud and hoarse voice, but after a few lines the distinct song quickly became bearable. It hearkened back to a time long ago when the original settlers were struggling to survive in this land, and strangely enough the hoarse voice was a perfect fit.

The five people ate and drank, feeling for a moment that such a simple life would be great.

805 - City of Sin

Land Of Sin

As Richard's small party continued their revelry, a youth dressed in animal fur pushed open the inn's door. He looked to be somewhere in his early twenties, but Richard immediately noticed that he was level 17. This was someone who could perhaps reach the verge of the legendary realm in a few decades.

The hook-nosed man's eyes lit up as he noticed Richard's group, and he immediately walked over and occupied an empty chair with a snort. Everyone continued to eat and drink while completely ignoring him, but Richard felt a moment of pity. The youth had chosen to sit between Io and Waterflower, the most irritable members of the party by far.

The man didn't seem annoyed by this attitude, however, instead staring at Richard with excitement. “Richard Archeron,” he said softly, “I know who you are! Don't deny it, I rushed hundreds of kilometres just because I learnt that you were in the Empire.

“No need to be afraid, I'm a descendant of the famous legend Meade and I came here for a duel. You're a legendary mage's disciple, are you not, let's fight! Or are you afraid of me?”

Richard finally looked up and smiled, “The Empire's tradition says that heroes need to be worth something. The nobler the hero, the greater the bet on a duel. If you're a legendary beings descendant as you say...”

The youth immediately understood what Richard was talking about. While he was a legendary being's disciple as well, Richard was also the ruler of a powerful Dukedom, a chosen of three goddesses, the one who repelled the planar invasion a few years ago, and many other things. There was almost nobody on the entire plane who didn't know the name of Richard Archeron.

However, he had come prepared. He immediately reached for his waist, “I've brought an epic dagger, a family treasure! This is something worthy of people like us... Huh?”

The youth grunted, finding both the dagger and his usual sword missing. He immediately shook his head, sweat pouring down his face. “Damn it, where is the thing... Whatever, I have other things. There's my coin purse, a relic that the last Emperor used. It's extremely beauti—WHAT THE HELL?!”

The man screamed in rage as he searched everywhere on his person, finally realising that something was wrong. Even the cloak he had hung on his chair was missing. Just as he started looking around for the thief, however, a soft voice rang out behind his head, “Behind you.”

The man subconsciously turned back, his forehead immediately slamming into Io's fist before falling to the ground. The battle priest shrugged it off, “I didn't beat him, he just headbutted my fist.”

Richard just snorted in annoyance and returned to his food. These shameless fellows were robbing someone in the daylight, but if that meant he didn't have to deal with this so-called challenger himself they could do whatever they wanted. The two robbed him down to his clothes, finding a tiny blade hidden near the heart. If the youth didn't get back up in time, Io would have torn off even his pants.

A few people turned around when the man went down again, but they just shrugged it off as a common barfight. Such things happened all the time, and nobody was of the mind to interfere. Richard just had his followers throw the now-unconscious youth into one of the rooms.

......

It was still dark when Richard and party awoke and headed down for breakfast, but the legend's descendant was nowhere to be seen. He likely understood just what had happened after he woke up, and finally realised just how ridiculous the idea of fighting Richard was.

After this minor annoyance, Richard's group didn't face any more obstacles. Their whereabouts weren't any real secret, but the Empire certainly didn't have the heart to send assassins or even an army to waylay him. After all, even if they somehow managed the near-impossible task of killing Richard off that would just focus Gangdor and Andrieka's wrath on them. Both had 10,000-man armies stationed right across the border, ready to kill their way to the capital and behead the Emperor personally.

That didn't mean Richard was unprepared, however. The astral chrysalis had been following him all this while, holding fifty elite shadowspears in case of emergency.

A few days later, the group finally arrived at the Valley of Darkness. The dense forests and white snow gave way to barren grey soil, the landscape marred by black mountains while a somewhat pungent smell alike that of burnt leather covered the entire place.

Amidst these black mountains lay the land of punishment for those who offended the God of Valour. Richard bent down from his horse and grabbed a handful of soil, feeling its texture before taking a whiff, “There's a strong sense of corruption and darkness here. It really does feel like a god-forsaken land.”

Io stretched out his hand sparks of divine energy flashing across his fingertips, “I can still use my powers here, this isn't truly isolated.”

“Do you want to announce our presence so much?” Nyra smacked the battle priest's hand.

“You... I've already adapted, you know. I made sure to limit the visible range to ten metres.”

“I have seventy ways of sensing that power even if you limit it!” Nyra remarked coldly.

“Not everyone is a monster like you,” Io grumbled softly, but he still retracted his hands and stopped.

Richard didn't really take notice of the friction between the two heavenly guardians, dismounting and taking off his boots before walking barefoot on the soil. The earth was rather lukewarm, keeping out the freezing snow of the rest of the north. He stared at the land, eyes glowing as he tried to analyse its composition. Truth had advanced a level once he became a grand mage, enhancing the strength of Analytic, while his blessing of wisdom had finally reached grade 5 and branched off a third consciousness.

These two blessings hadn't really advanced because of his level, but his analysis of laws over all this time had come to a head during that meditation session and allowed him to take the last step. There were currently three sources of laws he had a rudimentary analysis of, the laws of life in the Forest Plane, the source laws of the Land of Dusk, and the source laws of the Godnest.

The soil almost vanished in his vision, revealing a black gas bubbling up from the depths of the earth before radiating into the ground and the air. There were traces of deep red and faint pink within this black, and the depths were still far beyond his current ability. “Hmm... The power of darkness and some fire. And... the aura of an ursa overlord?”

The moment Richard said this, his body reacted automatically. He quickly glanced across his party, but outside of Waterflower blushing a little there was no real response. He himself had learnt to ignore the random outbursts, so he completely brushed it off, “This land is very strange. It's completely incompatible with the surroundings, even artificial.”

“A land of divine punishment,” Nyra said.

“Then let's go in and see,” Richard smiled.

806 - City of Sin

The First

It took more than ten kilometres for the black plains to finally give way to the mountain valley, and right at the entrance was a set of lifelike statues, depicting a group of stick-thin prisoners carrying stones across the land. Their arms and legs were manacled, and a fat overseer had his whip held high as though ready to strike at any moment.

If it weren't obvious that these were stone sculptures, one could be forgiven for thinking this was a moment frozen in time. At the foot of the supervisor was a collapsed stone tablet, the writing blurred yet still legible. Richard found that the writing was in the divine tongue of Faelor, but a quick spell took care of that problem and allowed him to read, “Cowardice is no worse a sin than pride.”

This was one of the most basic tenets of the Church of Valour. Richard looked at the statues once more and snorted, understanding just why they looked so unimaginably lifelike.

Nyra confirmed his suspicions, “Living beings, turned into statues by divine power. I can still feel their souls screaming from within, but this punishment is eternal. These statues cannot be harmed.”

The soul shepherd walked over and rammed a staff into the stone, chipping off a decent chunk. However, the statue quickly repaired the damage on its own and the piece that had been broken off turned to grey dust.

Richard's eyes glowed again, but this time he looked somewhat tired when they went back to normal, “The statues are being repaired by the power of darkness and fire that's everywhere. But... this strength should be the exact opposite of Neian's, why is he... Heh, this should be interesting.”

Richard continued to walk forward even as Nyra and Io exchanged glances. They hadn't expected him to be able to see through the nature of these statues so quickly, especially when even they as those of the divine could not. A lot of effects of divinity and magic manifested in the same way, but they were quite disparate powers. To outdo two heavenly guardians from the Eternal Dragon in this department showed just how skilled Richard was.

Of course, both Io and Nyra had power that far surpassed this in the past. However, limited by their new bodies they could not see through the world as easily. Richard's abilities would be frightening in any battle, making him able to discern the core of an enemy's strength and thus the corresponding weaknesses as well. The only way to compete with him would be head-on, and for that he had Manacycle to win any war of attrition.

The group slowly walked into the Valley of Darkness, and it wasn't long before they came upon the loud sounds of metal hitting rock. Far in the distance, they saw a bunch of men in manacles shovelling the black earth into baskets placed on their backs. Whenever a basket was filled, the prisoner would turn and head further into the valley to dump it before coming back.

These people were like skeletons without souls, digging expressionlessly without so much as a peep. Even as the chains on their hands grated into flesh, they continued to work without a break. Any departure was balanced out by a fresh arrival that was almost perfectly synchronised.

Richard walked over and looked at the places where soil was being dug, finding a high concentration of the pink energy he had only seen traces of earlier. Only the specific spots these people were digging at had this abundance of energy, and when the black soil was dug away one could see the earth below squirming like it was part of some huge creature as it secreted more black soil. They had to stop every once in a while as they hit what looked like pink flesh underneath, and it was only at those times that they paused work for even a moment.

Richard looked through the place for a while before pointing at a hillside not far away, “That place isn't bad.”

His words finally caused several prisoners to react to his presence, but they just blankly stared into his eyes. It was rather strange; there was no fear in them, no hatred, not even depression... They were just robotic.

“Check,” an elderly prisoner said softly, causing a burly man to drag his weight over to the area Richard had pointed out. The man spent a minute digging, getting two metres in before he jumped out of the ground, “Lode!”

The older prisoner glanced at Richard while the others celebrated, “You have great eyes, young man. Tell me, are you a messenger of my Lord? Or are you an enemy?”

“Sometimes an enemy, sometimes a friend. It depends on how Neian acts.”

The old man's eyes went wide, “Such arrogance. You might one day be qualified to say that, but it is not now. Many behind me were once as arrogant as you are, but their situation is worse than mine.”

“A difference of perspective,” Richard smiled, “You see, Neian is only a god to you. To me, he's nothing more than any other powerful being. Beneath the laws of existence, a deity and a commoner are still a single soul. And that's only for the laws of this plane, what about space and time that transcend existence? Am I the one who's arrogant, or is it someone who thinks they are beyond all existence?”

Richard's words evidently shocked the old man, and it took him some time to grunt and nod, “Perhaps you are right. There is a lunatic called Bruno in this valley, he is similar to you. I hear he has been writing a book in recent years, you might get a chance to read if you are lucky. But nobody knows where he's hidden the book, not even the overseers.

“Thank you for your assistance with the vein. I promise to answer any one question you have for me to the best of my abilities.”

“Hmm... What's your name?”

“My... name? Why... I've almost forgotten what I was called... Ptolemy, I believe. Yes, Ptolemy.”

“Alright then, I'll be seeing you.” Richard waved goodbye to the old man before walking further into the strange valley.

......

A few minutes in, Flowsand's brows furrowed at Richard's thoughtful expression, “Was there something special about that man?”

“Mm, there should have been a pope in the Church of Valour called Ptolemy 300 years ago. He went missing for a long time and was eventually revealed to have died in an emergency. Faelorians don't normally live that long, but in a twisted place like this... It's hard to say, let's just keep it in mind.”

The road into the valley was long and rugged, the sky getting darker and darker while the clouds turned a thick black. However, a small section of the valley was glowing bright red, and yellow torches were attached to the rock cliffs all around them to illuminate a few metres in every direction. One could see groups of three to five prisoners gathered at these points, hammering and chiselling into the cliff face. However, the wall was extremely sturdy; despite seeing multiple groups along the way, Richard couldn't find one that had even scratched the surface.

It was still early in the afternoon, but the Valley of Darkness looked to be late in the night. Even the torches the group had on hand weren't very useful, the main source of illumination coming from cracks in the mountain that emitted the bright red light.

The group's attention was suddenly drawn by the shaking of the earth as a giant man walked across the valley, scanning across each of the prisoners ahead. He seemed almost like a mountain of meat, his huge deformed hands ending in a dozen tentacles.

Although it seemed like everyone was hard at work, the monstrous humanoid suddenly swung his hand and smashed a prisoner into the mountain wall. Blood immediately splattered across the black rock, absorbed in only a few moments, and the prisoner fell to the ground. This slave looked to be a mere child, but he still writhed in pain with inhuman vitality. A dark energy that was invisible to the naked eye poured out of the earth and filled his body, causing him to scream in pain as his body slowly fixed itself. Still, he stood up after some time grabbed his shovel, ramming into the wall with full force despite the futility of it all.

It wasn't long before the giant noticed Richard, walking over and leaning down until his face was in front of his belly. He sniffed hard as he looked at Richard's group, speaking softly, “I haven't seen you before, I don't know if I'm allowed to beat you up... Are you new? Go in and find the dead fellow called Rib. He's smarter than me, he'll know how to treat you.”

“Rib? Alright,” Richard continued walking into the valley.

Once the group was a fair distance away, the giant suddenly relaxed and flashed a sly look, “So strong! Bah, I don't want to die, let them get into trouble with Rib. Who made it my problem?”

However, he suddenly felt a light sting on his chest. Looking down, he found a dazzling golden light emitting from within.

“This... This...” The giant's eyes went round in fear, but the golden spot quickly expanded and multiplied until his entire body was glowing with the colour. *Psssshh!* Divine flames erupted on his body, burning him to ashes in only a moment before they faded away.

The few prisoners who noticed revealed a complicated expression, but they quickly returned to a daze and resumed cutting into the wall. The black rocks of the valley floor suddenly turned soft, squirming as they swallowed up the ashes.

807 - City of Sin

The First(2)

It didn't take long to find Rib, a tall skeletal lich comprised of the broken bones of various creatures. He had set up a laboratory a little further into the valley, containing dozens of cauldrons alongside hundreds of vials and beakers.

Richard frowned immediately. This lich was undoubtedly undead, something that should be at odds with every god in existence. Even the God of Death would not tolerate the existence of undead creatures in the world, especially in the backyard of a member of the pantheon. In the view of a deity, the undead were creatures that took away the source of their own power, the soul.

Any religion had both reward and punishment, and places like this valley were the direct antithesis of a church building. However, both were also core existences to the church; for there to be undead within was a frightful revelation.

All five people looked at Rib silently. Richard and the priestesses were wondering about the subversion of theology, but Waterflower was concerned with something else. Rib's cauldrons were being heated by raging fires, and the fuel was the prisoners they had been seeing so far. Those burning in the fire had their mouths open wide in silent screams, struggling endlessly but unable to climb out from the flames. The flames had burnt away their eyes, ears, mouth, and nose, leaving only a grotesque caricature of humanity behind. Those still boiling within the pots were in equal pain as they were slowly dissolved into roiling green liquid.

Waterflower started to radiate killing intent, causing the lich to finally notice Richard's presence. Green soul flames started jumping around in the hollow eye sockets as the creature felt Waterflower's sheer power, “I... My end seems to have come.”

“Tell me why you're here, and I just might let you survive in a way,” Richard said softly.

Zendrall would undoubtedly be interested in this lich's abilities. Richard hadn't brought along the necromancer just in case it crossed Neian's bottom line— even if the god didn't have the power to overcome his forces in the mortal world, that Flowsand had also warned him that he wasn't yet ready to take on the gods— but looking at the Valley of Darkness it felt like that wouldn't have been a problem at all. Necromancers were much better at dealing with the undead than priests.

“You won't ask me what I'm doing?” Rib asked, tone conveying interest.

Richard smiled, “What's the point? Is it that hard to tell you're condensing the essence of fear and pain and sending it to the heart of the valley?”

Rib's jaw went completely unhinged, “How did you know?”

“I asked you why you're here,” Richard reiterated.

The flames in Rib's eyes flashed once more, “I... cannot—”

Richard had already waved his hand, prompting Io to send a golden glow straight into Rib's eyes. The holy flames erupted in an instant, burning the skeleton down into a pile of ash.

......

The Valley of Darkness was far larger than Richard had imagined, with dozens of times as many prisoners as one could reasonably expect. Even if everyone could live for hundreds of years, there was no way Neian had accumulated so many prisoners in his time. The place had villages and towns of its own, alongside vast open fields and mines. There were clusters of black plants growing in the wild, their twisted branches spiralling upwards. Prisoners constantly poured in and out of the mines, their baskets filling up with the black soil that looked like coal.

The group even saw multiple workshops along the way. The prisoners poured the black soil they excavated into moulds, flattening them with a hammer and burning them within a large kiln that was also fuelled by other prisoners. The opened moulds revealed black that were further processed in other workshops, extracting pink crystals and leaving the bricks with a shiny metallic lustre. It was evident that the crystals were the most important part of the process.

The black bricks were then transported to towns closer to the centre of the Valley of Darkness. Richard intercepted one such shipment, having Io kill the undead warrior guarding it before unpacking the bricks and looking through them. These black bars were smooth as mirrors, able to clearly reflect their surroundings, but strangely enough it distorted the face of anyone looking down. When Richard saw himself screaming in pain, he was taken aback for a moment before he realised what was happening.

Another activation of Analytic revealed the composition of the bricks, containing the same condensed power of fear and resentment that the lich's cauldrons did. This was a pure soul energy that could affect even those of strong will. Richard looked at the black brick in his hand and then around at the mountain walls, “This place, it looks like...”

“The Hells,” Nyra completed for him, “You can see such scenes commonly amongst many of the minor levels, there are so many places that one cannot even count them all.”

Richard shot a glance at her, but he didn't ask why she was so familiar with the place.

Be it in the workshops, the mines, or the villages, the prisoners were almost completely numb. They didn't even respond to Richard's presence, not even if he went over and asked questions himself. He didn't know how long they had been here, but it was clear that the constant death and resurrection had broken them within in a way that could not be fixed. There was no news about Bruno or Essien until Io decided to light one up in divine flames as a warning, but even with the attention of the crowd they barely got some information about Bruno and none at all about Essien.

While they were passing by a village, Richard chanced upon the birth of a new life. A woman that looked anywhere between seventy and eighty years of age was screaming in the village square, with dozens of prisoners and two overseers watching on from the sidelines. Nobody reacted when Richard's group snuck into the crowd, enraptured by the painful screams.

Richard felt his heart twist as the baby cried for the first time. It was wrapped up in black energy, and the small face twisted in sheer agony but one couldn't hear any sounds. However, the screams radiated pure spiritual energy that even jolted his soul, every single cry a sharp needle that injected pure despair. This child's soul was powerful by nature, but it was immersed in the deepest of pain from its birth. For many devils and other vile creatures, such cries were considered a delicacy.

The prisoners and overseers grew ecstatic at the birth. The child evidently had strong vitality, which meant it could be put through work and pain for a long time. Perhaps despair would become an instinct before it could even grow up. One of the overseers stepped forward to pick up the baby, while another rushed over to the woman who had just given birth. She was dying, but that release was not allowed in the Valley of Darkness.

The men and women in the crowd seemed to have been given a silent order. Without any emotions at all, they started to breed like beasts right in the public. Richard frowned, trying to cut off the painful screams from his mind as he turned to Nyra, “Is this how devils work too?”

“No, the devils torture other creatures that they find. They normally tempt those of other planes into sacrificing their souls, feeding off the despair at the realisation of what those weak beings did. I have only seen a handful of places in the myriad planes that can birth new souls and extract their pain immediately. Those are places you do not want to go to.”

This time, Richard told Io to target both the baby and the overseer. A ten-metre-tall pillar of flames ignited in the centre of the square, the golden blaze turning the baby and its holder to dust. The baby's cries grew even more piercing in the process, breaking through Richard's shield to impact his soul once more, but fortunately it wasn't long before the screams died out. All that was left was a sheet of white ash. That which belonged to the overseer was quickly absorbed by the ground, but the baby's still left a pale white mark behind.

Feeling the pinpricks to his soul disappear, Richard finally sighed with relief, “Fina— eh?”

He immediately noticed a fragment of law floating up from the baby's ashes. Without any time to wonder why, he immediately delved into his soul world and reeled in the fragment. Now capable of storing it within his soul sea, he locked it away so he could study it in the future.

808 - City of Sin

So-Called Lunacy

“The... baby... You killed... the baby...” the remaining overseer started muttering over and over, quickly joined by the other prisoners. They stared at Richard blankly, a distant desolation in their eyes.

Filled with disgust, Richard started emanating bloodlust for the first time since he had arrived in the Valley of Darkness. Five sparks flew out from his fingertips, lining up on the ground between him and the locals. “Let's go!” he said gruffly before turning around to walk away.

One of the prisoners made to follow, but the tiny candle-flame he stepped on immediately turned into a blazing inferno that consumed his entire existence. The hollow man struggled with pain, but the abyssal flames took no more than ten seconds to turn him to ashes. The remaining prisoners immediately stopped, realising that the other four flames were a boundary that marked life and death.

On their way out of the village, Richard turned to Io, “It looks like the power of divinity is more effective at causing pain than darkness.”

“Of course,” Io responded calmly, “Just like devils, gods compete for the soul as well. Why would they lose in terms of suck skill?”

Just then, the clouds in the valley suddenly turned red as they congealed into a blurry face, a thunderous voice echoing between the mountain walls, “Did I just feel the destruction of the abyss? It seems we have a distinguished guest, please come to the centre of the Balley. I will welcome you at the Church of Pain!”

As the clouds returned to pitch black and gradually dispersed, Richard looked deeper into the valley and snorted, “Such a scam. Ignore it, let's go find this Bruno.”

Io immediately grew confused, “What? That sounded like the answer to this place, why are we going to some random fellow?”

Richard smiled mysteriously as he continued to head forward, “It has to do with the laws of this place.”

“The laws? What laws? Hey!” Io grunted in annoyance and followed behind. His dissatisfaction was justified; the laws of a plane afforded ultimate power and control. This was something that should only be accomplished once one reached the legendary realm and broke through the limits of the flesh. There were some instances like with the Tree of Life where it made sense to absorb some fragments, but even that didn't lead to proper understanding.

Charles the Great had once said that the laws were like an absolute beauty. The first challenge was even knowing where to find them. Even as old souls that once had great mastery over some of the laws of existence, Io and Nyra could barely call upon their former knowledge to display abilities beyond regular priests. However, they were both bound by their limited power and could not use their understanding to any significant extent. For Richard to talk about laws so mysteriously sounded more like he was bragging than anything else.

Just as the battle priest continued to grumble, Nyra gently tugged at his robes and leaned over to whisper, “Richard has no reason to lie to us.”

“Of course he doesn't...” Io said absentmindedly before realising what he had just admitted, “Wait, what did you say? Richard is telling the truth?!”

“I just think he doesn't need to lie,” Nyra stressed once more.

The battle priest stared at her with suspicion, “Why does it feel like I'm a fool compared to you? This wasn't the case before...”

“Heh...” The soul shepherd just smiled.

......

Bruno's residence was next to a small village rather close to the Church of Pain. Richard's group found him quickly by asking around for the lunatic, and some of the prisoners quickly pointed them in the right direction. Not wishing to see the depraved orgies for any longer than they had to, everyone quickly trudged along to find the home.

Richard walked over to the wooden house and knocked on the door, prompting an old voice from within, “Visitors? That's rare. Come in, come in!”

As they entered, the group found the furnishing of the cabin to be quite simple. There was a single bed alongside a table and chair, and once inside the group couldn't even turn around properly. The first thing they noticed was one of the bricks of pain sitting on the table, words carved in by what seemed to be hardened clay of some sort. With just one look, Richard could tell that the formulae were trying to solve the working of a specific law.

The man was clearly on the right path: he had discovered the law, established its effects, and was now trying to resolve its working before applying its uses in reality. However, from experience Richard could tell that this was a primitive method that wouldn't bring about results in five thousand years. The law was fairly simple, but with such a method even he would take a little over a millennium with this route even if he employed his blessings.

Bruno was certainly an old man, but looking at his clear eyes Richard could tell that he wasn't so crazy. However, Io spoke up and asked the question he wanted to, “You're not crazy.”

Bruno smiled, “Perhaps. You should understand that I'm very different from the other prisoners here, so it's natural for them to think I'm crazy. Now, it's incredible for you folks to have come here. Careful, even a sub-legendary expert can't stay here long without becoming like those outside.”

Richard laughed, “And the darkness and fire are going to make us that way? Maybe for others, but not us. Now you, you're truly amazing. For someone to live here for a long time without falling into its insanity...”

“I had the help of a friend, freed myself from the punishment to study. So, I think you want something from me?”

“We were just here to see. I met an old man named Ptolemy near the entrance of the Valley and he told me that you're of a similar mind. Now, I hear you wrote a book?”

“Yes, yes. Do you want to see?”

Richard nodded.

Bruno didn't offer up the book immediately, instead pointing out of the window, “What do you think of the things here?”

“The depths of evil,” Richard said without hesitation, “This is worse than the devils, ignoring the laws of existence to play around with recycling souls. I don't think there are many lords of hell that are worse than this.”

Shock flashed across the old man's face, “Boy, you're in the realm of the God of Valour! Are you not afraid of his wrath?”

Richard smiled, “Neian is welcome to try. The last time he fucked with me, he lost all of his control in the Sequoia Kingdom.”

“You sound like you have a powerful god behind you, and your ambition...” Bruno shuddered visibly, “Alright, you can have the book. But don't underestimate Neian's strength, especially in this land.”

Richard looked at the view of the Church of Pain, “You mean that?”

“Yes, all the sins of this valley eventually gather there.”

“So there's something strong and evil there, got it.” Please visit 𝗳𝒓e𝚎𝙬𝒆𝙗𝚗o𝙫e𝗹. 𝐜𝐨𝙢

“I cannot mention his name, but you'll understand when you see him. And since you entered the Valley of Darkness, you definitely will.”

Richard snickered for a moment, “He seems to be impatient, there are some annoyances outside the door.”

As if on cue, a bestial roar rang from near the hut. Bruno ran to the window to find some mounted orc-like warriors, distorted faces leaking a bevvy of liquids onto their steeds. Only the heavy blackstone weapons in their hands showed their real power.

“Twenty cavalrymen, such flattery.” Richard shook his head, waving Nyra and Waterflower outside, “Alright, where's your book?”

“Those are the twisted knights, they're terri...” Bruno stopped in the middle of his sentence as he realised that the roars had stopped.

Waterflower and Nyra returned to the cabin, as though nothing had happened outside. The old man's eyes flicked between Richard and the two women for a few seconds.

“Alright, you have strong friends. Well, my book is here...” He opened his mouth, revealing a dark golden glow from the depths of his throat.

“Is that...”

“Pure divinity...” Everyone present was left shocked at the revelation. This land of darkness and pain was the absolute antithesis of pure divine power, and outside of insulated powers like Flowsand's trio it was extremely difficult for any divinity to resist the corrosive powers of the land. For someone to have stored such power within themselves was nothing short of a miracle.

Richard immediately noticed countless pictures hidden within the divine power, detailing several different worlds. Every picture showcased Neian prominently, connecting to one of the deity's countless miracles. It followed him from when his birth to when he had lit his godfire, including the creation of his divine kingdom.

Of course, that wasn't what caught his eye. Those pictures were only a ruse, hiding the true contents of this so-called book.

The imprints of laws.

809 - City of Sin

The Church Of Pain

The divinity was quickly exhausted and the light faded away. Bruno seemed to age ten years in the span of minutes, his muscles visibly thinning out, “This book of mine, it could only be read once.”

Richard immediately sat down to meditate, not moving for a long time. Two more troops came in to try and drag him to the Church of Pain, but Nyra and Waterflower didn't let a single once pass. Used in the right way, pain could forge an unshakeable soul. However, the methods employed here made these souls so fragile that Nyra could play with them at will.

It took nearly three-fourths of an hour for Richard to snap out of meditation, bowing towards Bruno in gratitude, “Thank you, Mister Bruno. These laws may be incomplete, but they are Neian's laws nevertheless.”

“You can understand them?” Bruno's eyes went wide.

“Perhaps. I can certainly recognise them... Alright, we'll be off to the Church of Pain. Thank you for the hospitality!” Richard bowed once more and left the small cabin, but before that he took the time to take the clay pen and scribble some numbers into the blanks on the brick.

Bruno stood dumbfounded as he saw the formulae he had been working on for decades be solved in the blink of an eye. This was only a door to proper understanding of the law he was working on, but it still illuminated the path forward. Such ambitions were only folly for ordinary people, but he believed he had just enough ability to perhaps succeed one day.

Unfortunately, he didn't have enough time. The old man looked out the window towards the figures disappearing into the distance, murmuring to himself, “It looks like there's more to your ambition than I thought...”

......

The Church of Pain was an enormous building, just the iron doors more than thirty metres tall. They looked like regular iron slabs from afar, but as one approached they could make out the vivid agonised faces that were engraved all over. From nearby, it almost felt like thousands of people were crying in pain.

“A wall of screams,” Nyra commented as a faint white mist radiated from her body, “A favoured decoration in the hells. I'm growing more and more curious about the identity of the person hidden within.”

One of Richard's brows shot up, “You sound like you have experience with them.”

Nyra's eyes started whirling into a chaotic grey as she flashed a horrific smile, “I happen to be particularly good at dealing with those who use pain as a weapon.”

“You know, I'm growing more and more curious about your origins. You're definitely not an ordinary heavenly guardian.” Richard had been reading up on heavenly guardians in his free time.

“Of course not. If you really want to know, I can tell you in detail.”

“Hmm? Didn't you say before that you're barred from speaking about the place you came from?”

Nyra smiled mysteriously, “Yes, but all rules have loopholes. I definitely am able to describe that place, and even help you fully understand it. It should be of great assistance, perhaps even with uncovering another law.”

“Another law...” Richard smiled helplessly. He already had six entire law systems waiting to be analysed, an endeavour that would take him more than five millennia despite his blessings. This was well beyond what could reasonably be expected of his life, so another law system was almost completely useless to him. He himself was currently focused on what he had learnt from the Tree of Life, as that was the simplest of the lot and would benefit him in the short term.

“That's just one of the benefits,” Nyra added, “The next time you hold a ceremony, I can help you with getting a good guardian similar to me and Io. I still have a sister in that place who is waiting to see the light of day.”

Richard casually noticed the telltale signs of Io panicking a little, but continued to ask with interests, “And what's the point of a guardian that won't listen to orders?”

“Heavenly guardians are absolutely loyal to the masters that summon them, you can ask the Eternal Dragon himself during the ceremony. After all, the Dragon's reputation hinges on it.”

Nyra's words were tempting, but Richard still felt that something wasn't quite right. Still, he continued the discussion, “And what do you want?”

“Divine grace. I need three top-tier sacrifices to reach the legendary realm. At level 19 I can help you contact my sister, at level 20 I will tell you everything about my experiences in that place.”

“And legendary?”

“That's an offering I want to find myself.”

“Good, I'll consider it,” Richard glanced at Flowsand, but she just shrugged and left the decision to him.

However, Io had been left shocked and angry in this time. He tugged at Nyra's robes in annoyance, “Where's your dignity?!”

“Dignity?” Nyra looked at him innocently, “What's that?”

At that moment, the blurry face appeared in the sky once more. This time, it looked angry and its booming voice visibly shook the earth, “You come before the doors of my temple but still refuse to enter. Neian will punish your soul for this slight!”

Richard smiled faintly, ignoring the sky to look towards one of the faces on the doors, “What's with the theatrics? Just shut up and open the door or I'll leave.”

The face immediately shuddered, revealing a surprised expression before laughing loudly, “You managed to find me amongst so many! Wonderful, come in!”

The doors of pain slowly opened up, what would have been screeches replaced by a baby's cries. Richard stayed in place and stared at the dark corridor that had been opened up, his eyes starting to glow as he revealed all of the illusions within. The glow from his eyes then illuminated the dark passage, burning apart the planeshades lying in wait.

“Really? A planeshade?” he laughed as he swaggered into the hall.

Planeshades were strange creature, partly demonic existences that came from semiplanes. They were extremely powerful, capable of devouring strong souls, but they could not live outside of the darkness. Once they were illuminated, they would immediately be destroyed. Although such creatures were a threat in many secondary planes, they were a basic enemy in Norland that had already been analysed thoroughly. Some mages even intentionally summoned a large group to try and track them back to their home planes.

Disturbing whispers resonated throughout the church for a few moments before everything fell silent. Flowsand followed Richard in, while Io brought up the rear. The astral chrysalis was already descending from its position next to the Valley of Darkness, the fifty shadowspear knights within ready to jump into combat.

However, Richard's brows quickly furrowed as he calculated just how much the chrysalis had dropped. It had descended multiple kilometres now, and from his own calculations it would have ended up deep within the earth. However, it was still stuck in the thick fog cover above the Valley of Darkness.

He suddenly stopped, growing serious for the first time, “We might be in trouble.”

However, Flowsand just pointed behind them, “We can't go back.”

Richard turned around, only to find that the door they had entered from was long gone, and there seemed to be no end to the corridor. He looked back ahead, shaking his head as he started to walk once more, “Well... Fuck. We might not be able to count on the support.”

Io's body lit up completely, turning him into a bright torch, but even so the group could barely see around them. The light didn't even go so far as the passage walls. “This is similar to a divine kingdom... Not as powerful, sure, but still...”

Richard thought about it for a moment, “Let's continue forward, the place can't be endless. Whoever this is, it will take a great amount of energy to just keep us trapped for a long time.”

810 - City of Sin

The Power Of Laws

The corridor seemed to be endless, but Richard still managed to connect to the broodmother in his mind. It took a few seconds, but she eventually informed him that the astral chrysalis hadn't been built with the intelligence to navigate the twisted space in the maze of clouds. She was sending three cloned brains over alongside 200 winged serpents immediately to help him out.

“How long will it take?” Richard asked.

“Ten hours.” Please visit fr𝗲𝚎w𝒆𝚋𝘯𝚘ѵel. c𝗼𝐦

“Alright, I can hold on till then.” He nodded to the rest and informed them of the situation.

However, after a single step forward he suddenly felt the world warp around him. The darkness of the corridor opened up into a night sky while the stone underneath changed to grass. There was an old hilltop castle up ahead with a horrific cemetery around it, radiating an almost-black aura of death.

Richard looked around, but he couldn't see his followers everywhere. He was shocked for a moment, but then he started muttering angrily, “A fucking semiplane. Should've known, of course there'd be one when there are planeshades. Why the fuck didn't I see... Argh, fuck it!”

He quickly pulled out the Twin of Destiny, walking over to the derelict castle in the distance. Being trapped alone in a semiplane was extremely dangerous, but instead of continuing to curse he made the decision to activate the power of Schloan. The well of stars quietly emerged in the depths of his soul, bursting forth with blue astral energy.

Now certain that the laws of this semiplane were far below those of his own existence, and that his ability to absorb energy hadn't been blocked, he relaxed a little and started to examine his surroundings. It felt like the entire place was a threat, the night darker than he was used to and paralysing screams of horror resounding in the distance. However, he ignored it all and examined the cemetery; that was the most likely place of ambush while the castle probably held the way to return.

A single step onto the mountain seemed to trigger something terrifying. A white palm suddenly shot out of the earth, a rotting corpse crawling its way out of the dirt before staggering to its feet. It was quickly followed by a second and third, and before long thousands of zombies were walking in his direction!

The sea of undead had some particularly powerful ones as well. The average level was only about 10, but there were even the equivalents of Faelor saints in the mix. Although none of them were individually threatening, an entire horde attacking a flustered individual would certainly have a great advantage. After all, the victim would still be trying to figure out whether this was even real.

This horde could easily kill a sub-legendary being of Faaelor, but unfortunately the one facing it was one of the most talented grand mages of Norland. Richard identified that this was a real semiplane in an instant, and given his expansive knowledge knew that one powered by the Valley of Darkness definitely couldn't be too large. Even a true legend from Norland would find something big difficult to maintain.

There were also telltale signs for those who knew where to look. The dark night of this semiplane seemed somewhat twisted to seem distant, but careful observation revealed the strangeness of its positioning. The creator had only made the place seem realistic.

Noticing that the first of the zombies was finally closed, Richard sped up to greet it. The creature screamed and raised its hands high to attack, but before they even dropped Richard had flown across the sky to continue towards the castle. The two fists just slammed into the ground, throwing up some gravel.

Richard continued to speed up as he activated Mana Armament, so fast that neither the bulky regular zombies nor the taller captains could even keep up with him. Most of them raised their fists to attack, but the strike wouldn't even be wound up before he was gone.

However, he knew that the cemetery couldn't be so simple that an agile rogue or assassin could run around freely. Surely enough, it took only a moment before black shadows burst out from the night to strike at him like lightning. He just sneered, twirling the Twin of Destiny in his right hand as his left shot out a dozen tiny bolts of lightning.

This time, the lightning was a milky white. It burst into flames upon striking the black shadows at great speed, invoking terrifying screams of pain as half-metre-tall spiders fell out of the air. The star-shaped marks on their backs were the first to burn away, and their two-metre-long legs were soon to follow.

With some level of analysis complete on the laws of the Tree of Life, Richard now had the ability to integrate the power of life into his attacks. This normally weakened most spells, but it just so happened to be a perfect counter to undead creatures. In fact, it was so effective that he himself was surprised; he had only added in the power as a small test, but the power of the lightning had doubled!

Having dealt with the corpse spiders, Richard made it all the way to the castle before meeting the next obstacle. A large colony of bats rushed down to attack him, but being even weaker than the spiders they were only sending themselves to their deaths. It was one thing to attack a mage with numbers, but it was another thing entirely to deal with the power of Manacycle. Richard created a thick mist around himself to confuse the bats before launching a dozen-odd small fireballs into the area around him. Adding a grade 7 spell's worth of magical shielding to himself, he aligned them all and had them explode.

*BBBOOOOOM!* The explosion rocked the castle, raging flames crashing into each other before cascading onto the bats. The mist started to swirl and formed a tornado of flames that burnt everything nearby to ashes. Still the flames reached a tipping point, exploding out from the centre to incinerate almost everything within a hundred metres. Only the zombie generals barely managed to survive.

Richard looked around at the empty sky before laughing softly. He had only used the equivalent of a grade 8 spell, but it had erupted with power beyond grade 9 even as the eye of the storm could be protected by a grade 7 barrier. It was easy to have a bunch of fireballs focus or spread their power, but it was another thing entirely to ensure that this power only spread in a certain direction. If even one of his fireballs had been placed slightly wrongly or exploded with a bit more power than necessary, the shield would have been torn apart in an instant.

He scanned his surroundings before rushing into the castle building, crossing the courtyard in an instant before placing himself against one of the walls. He stared at the zombie horde that continued to approach, slowly throwing out a dozen seeds of fire in all direction.

Another loud explosion rang out as all the seedlings burst into an enormous wall of flames, burning a metre into the air. The flames looked rather weak, and the brainless undead would have walked in anyway, but the moment one tried to step through it squealed in pain as it turned to dust. Another few followed, but they suffered a similar fate. The strongest of them all had made it through three layers before being destroyed.

These walls looked much weaker than ordinary walls of fire, and they were, but they had also been imbued with a certain amount of life energy. They could only burn a few minutes, but every time an undead creature stepped in milky white light erupted from within the flames and consumed them in an instant.

It was only now that Richard realised just how threatening the power of laws could be.

811 - City of Sin

Old Acquaintance

It was no wonder that those who touched the power of laws could not be measured with ordinary systems. Richard found the life energy to be much more resilient than he could ever expect; he replaced the walls of fire every few minutes, and so long as they were up none of the undead could pass.

As he watched the ash piling up nearby, he suddenly pulled out his elven sword and stabbed it into the wall. The blade went in all the way to the handle, pouring a green glow into the stone.

An earth-shattering cry of madness shook the entire semiplane, but the glow continued to spread and stain everything around him green. The barren earth here immediately gave way to green grass, following which pure white flowers bloomed all over. The power of the third secret sword infused with the breath of life rejuvenated him greatly, but at the same time it was the bane of all the undead energy in the area.

Richard jumped into the air, and an enormous three-skulled skeleton with bone blades for forearms burst out from the section of wall he had just abandoned. The creature looked fierce, but it had a tiny hole in the middle of its skull from which white flowers started to bloom. These flowers quickly rotted away, but they were replaced by new shoots that then bloomed another set of flowers. This process cycled over a few times, each cycle noticeably breaking the bones. The beast's bones clacked loudly as it struggled to chase after him, but in only a few moments it fell to the ground. This time, the flowers did not fade.

Floating in the air, Richard looked towards the castle's keep, “Come on, show me your actual cards. Or don't, we'll see how many undead the Valley of Darkness can support.”

The castle immediately went dead silent except for the block fog spreading out from within. The horde outside suddenly came to a stop, returning to the cemetery and crawling back into their tombs one after the other.
𝐟𝘳ℯ𝚎𝘄𝒆𝑏𝗻𝑜ѵ𝚎l. c𝘰𝑚

“Heh, now you want to just trap me in here? Alright, let's play,” Richard voiced coldly as he raised his hands, tiny flames leaping from fingertip to fingertip. Dozens of fireballs were shot out to surround the castle, the final array the maximum number he could control at a time to layer the explosions. An enormous cloud of fire enveloped the entire structure, fire falling down like rain. The upper levels immediately melted like wax, distorting until they weren't even recognisable anymore.

Richard sneered before shaking his head. As expected, every part of this semiplane had been tied to the enchantment in the Valley of Darkness; a burst of sheer power would quickly start breaking it apart. Sadly, his calculations had been slightly off, diminishing the effectiveness a little. The rain of fire looked almighty, but it wasn't nearly as powerful as a wave of explosions.

He decided to try once more, laying a slightly smaller array of fireballs. This one exploded as per intention, sending a mushroom cloud into the sky. This time, an entire metre of the castle was completely shaved off.

Before the smoke even dissipated a third set had flown out, slightly smaller than the first but still larger than the second. This one destroyed the entire top floor of the castle, incinerating an unknown number of undead creatures.

When the fireballs floated out from Richard's fingertips once more, a hoarse voice finally rang out behind him, “Stop it!”

Richard threw the fireballs anyway before turning around, “Don't you think it's too late for... Oh? I thought you'd be one of the many prisoners. To think you're here controlling a semiplane. Not bad.”

In front of him was a handsome bald man with dark skin and toned musculature, the most surprising part being his face. This was the person he had come here to find, the priest Essien.

Essien stared at Richard for a long time, “How long has it been? Already so powerful... You really do come from another plane, don't you? Those blind fools! How did they let you come this far?”

Richard waved his hand to set off another explosion, now leaving the castle with only half the height it once had, “It's kind of useless to say that now. Anyway, shouldn't you try stopping me? I don't think your master will forgive you if you let me do this a few more times.”

“You!”

“Tch. I managed to ruin your church all those years ago when I was a weakling, and now I can burn this entire valley down. Neian can't take me anymore, do you think your master can actually do something?”

Essien suddenly flashed a cheeky smile, “Perhaps Neian cannot, but you wouldn't say this if you knew who my master was.”

Richard looked at Essien and sighed, “So you know what your master is?”

“Of course!”

“Tch... You've disappointed me. Whatever reason you may have, it's unacceptable to cooperate with a cursed demigod.”

Essien's eyes went wide, “You... How...”

Richard sneered, “There's more evil in this valley than in the hells of pain. You thought I'd buy that a god could do this without destroying his own divinity? Come on, you have to do better than that. Besides, it's not like I haven's seen a bastard demigod before.”

It seemed like Richard was bragging, but his words weren't untrue. Having employed Zangru's services for years now, he understood how such cursed children worked. At the same time, he also had a great deal of knowledge about the divine from his time accompanying Flowsand and the teachings of Theodore.

“You know a... Impossible!”

Richard sighed for what felt like the hundredth time, “You've been living in a closed plane, of course you don't know anything. The gods here block your eyes, cover your ears; they play around with your perception of existence to serve their own purposes. The plane I come from has complete guides to becoming a deity, and there are several teachers that can show you the path. Our eyes aren't limited to our own bubble; we have seen what lies beyond the void, and we understand the magnificence of it all.

“You know, that's why I came here. I saw your name on a list and was planning to show you the world outside of Faelor. Sadly, we don't always get what we want.”

“Why take me away?” Essien smiled sorrowfully, “I have nothing on me worth that much.”

“Because of your diary?”

“My diary? But most of that was just my fantasies!”

“The fantasies of a genius. Unlike the others of this plane, you're not blind.”

“Maybe in your eyes. To everyone here, I'm just a madman.”

Richard shrugged, “So? It's not like their opinions matter. I think you're quite valuable, but that doesn't mean I'm going to stop my own plans for it. For example...”

He waved his hand once more, covering the castle in another explosion. The Book of Holding flew out and flipped open, spell after spell being launched until the castle was drowned out by lightning. The thunderbolts scattered into numerous electric spiders that crawled into every corner and exploded, destroying the undead creatures within.

Essien's face immediately distorted, “WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!”

812 - City of Sin

True Enemy

“Mister Essien,”Richard chuckled, “I'm doing just what I should. Or you could tell me your name, bastard. Don't you have one? I wonder just how much of his body you control.”

'Essien' immediately paled, “Why didn't you attack me if you already knew this?”

Richard laughed louder as he waved his hands again, encasing the castle in a mist that was saturated with life energy. The broken building contorted into a sticky black mass, fizzling as it burned into nothingness. The mass didn't have a mouth, but strangely enough it still managed a shriek.

The demigod's face warped with rage, but as much as he wanted to attack Richard he hesitated. Richard read his thoughts and smirked, “I don't want to destroy the priest's body, but if you so much as lift a finger I'm purging your existence no matter where you're hidden.”

“You...” Two long fangs protruded from Essien's mouth, but he still didn't dare to attack. Richard ignored him completely, floating another ten metres into the sky as he launched a flurry of attacks on the black mass. The creature screamed and writhed, but the barrage wore away at it until there was nothing else. Every lightning or fire spell was interspersed with some of the mist of life force, ensuring that the disgusting thing would never come back to life.

The entire plane shook as numerous undead creatures crawled out of the ground, all struggling with numerous injuries on their bodies. Tiny black masses flew out of these injuries as well, covering the sky like a dark cloud as they rushed towards Richard.

A quick life energy barrier seemed destined to be overwhelmed by numbers, but as Richard disappeared from view a dull red light flashed within the darkness. The red flashes quickly expanded over the next few seconds, and eventually a loud explosion shook the semiplane as abyssal fires wiping out all existence in range. When the fireball faded out, all one could see was a glowing barrier in the centre where Richard was curled up.

Richard raised his head and snickered at the stupefied Essien, breaking the barrier to stretch his limbs, “This was your final resort? Not bad, even having me use a grade 9 spell. Now...”

“You win!” Essien raised his hands, “I'll let you leave.”

“Heh...” Richard chuckled, “You know, there's a popular saying in my plane... Never trust a god's bastard.”

A pillar of flames turned the last remains of the castle into ashes. With the truy body destroyed, the trace of the demigod in Essien roared in rage as he vanished from existence. Essien's body writhed for a moment before melting and dripping to the ground like wax.

Once the castle disappeared, cracks began to appear all over the hill. The rocks splintered apart as black water rose up from below, covering the entire area before expanding outwards. The night sky flickered continuously as many star-like crystals fell to the ground one by one.

A black vortex now stood where the castle once was, the exit that led back to Faelor proper. Richard looked at the dying semiplane and tutted, but unable to power one yet he could only sigh and fly away. Behind him, the water surged into the skies.

The demigod had clearly governed this semiplane for the longest time, having put all of his efforts into building it. However, even a minor understanding of the laws of life had completely decimated him to the extent that there was no context. Richard had consumed a lot of energy amplifying his spells, but the results he reaped were far beyond the effort put in. The destruction of the semiplane would cause severe damage to the enemies, which was his primary goal right now. While Flowsand and the guardians had a huge advantage in this kind of matchup, Waterflower was someone who focused on single targets and thus didn't do well against large hordes.

...

The moment he passed through the portal, Richard found himself falling down into an extremely large hall. Several tentacles as thick as a thumb curled towards him, but he quickly dodged even as he noticed the strange creature in the middle of the hall. The thing was several tens of metres wide and about twenty metres tall, seeming no different from an amorphous mass of flesh. Its body was also covered in a viscous substance, and broken limbs and faces were overflowing everywhere within. From afar, it almost looked like a number of humans and animals had been stitched together to form a frightening chimera.

Richard almost wanted to puke at the mere sight of it, and the putrid smell that assailed his nose didn't help that feeling. He ended up having to circulate some mana to suppress the nausea, and once he felt better he returned his attention to the tentacles assaulting him. The elven sword started swiping left and right, sometimes fast and sometimes slow, but every tentacle that approached to less than a metre away was cut apart.

A large face surfaced on the indescribable blob, glaring at Richard and howling, “Mortal, I will tear you apart and turn you into the dirtiest of organs!”

Richard cast one more glance at the creature, his eyes now glowing brightly. The increasingly frightened face of the creature faded away into a pure flow of energy, no normal matter capable of blocking his vision. Analytic's evolution, what he now called Insight, could only be hindered by special sources of energy.

What Richard saw was another black mass, constantly writhing and unable to maintain any sense of shape. Some energy constantly radiated out of the mass and dispersed into the surroundings, but was quickly reflected by the sturdy walls and entered the body once more.

“So that's it...” Richard shook his head, “No wonder the one in that semiplane was so weak, turns out you're all manufactured... Heh, what are you acting up for when you can't even leave this place?”

“Stepping into this hall of anguish was your biggest mistake!” the giant demigod roared, “This is my domain, and you don't have the mana to fight me! Let's see how long you can stave off my delicious pain!”

Black energy congealed to form numerous infants that had their mouths open wide in a silent scream. These creatures were just like the one he had seen in the village before, but they numbered in the hundreds. Every noiseless cry was like a needle pricking into his soul, the barrage so powerful that it quickly broke through several soul guarding spells.

Richard's world went dark as he fell down, the demigod laughing in ecstasy as a mouth appeared from its body to swallow him whole. However, a barrier of golden light quickly surrounded him like a bubble, stopping the jaw's advance and even burning it away. Io jumped out of a newly formed portal in another part of the hall, obviously having broken free from his own trap.

The cries of these babies quickly changed targets, causing goosebumps to rise on the battle priest's face as he stacked defensive holy spells on his body. They still managed to leave him writhing in pain, but it wasn't nearly as bad as it was with Richard.

“Richard, you owe me one!” Io screamed, not forgetting to take credit in Nyra's absence. This was the best time for him to try and demand something.

However, Richard could only smile with annoyance under Io's barrier. He hadn't truly fainted, only faking it so the demigod would try to swallow him and thus let him destroy it from within. A Devout Prayer launched from within the creature's belly would certainly leave it severely wounded, allowing him to finish it off with a few fireballs. Io's appearance had destroyed all his plans, and the battle priest was now claiming a debt on top!

Regardless, the circumstances had changed. Richard jumped up and flicked his sword out, cutting apart two of the infants in an instant. His eyes went wide as organs and blood sprayed from the beings, indicating that they were still alive, but he only hesitated for a moment before he hardened his resolve to give them a quick death. If they were anything like the baby in the village, these poor infants were far too broken to live anything more than a farce of a life.

813 - City of Sin

Trump Card

Io was swinging a golden chain around like a whip, smashing all the babies and tentacles nearby. However, he felt his divine power being consumed very quickly; a closer look showed that the dark energy was trying to absorb the energy wrapped around his weapon.

One of the babies even bit in; given that the entire chain was formed from divine power, a part of it was chipped off. However, the trace of energy that had been pulled away could not be assimilated by the black gases the cursed demigod was spewing out. Instead, it worked as a spark that started burning the dark matter away. The baby who bit in and swallowed this power burnt up in an instant, exploding and taking several others with it.

“Who are you?!” the demigod shouted in exasperation, “How can I not swallow your divine power? This is impossible, impossible! I'm a cursed child, I have divine blood flowing in my veins! How can there be any power I cannot swallow?”

Io wiped some sweat off his brow as the swarm cleared for a moment, a fierce expression rising on his face, “Your gods are just garbage! Even if you were ten thousand times as powerful as you are, you wouldn't be able to mess with my divinity!”

“IMPOSSIBLE!” the demigod shouted.

A bastard demigod was not directly associated with the power of their divine parent, allowing them to absorb any divinity they wished. This was why gods feared them so much. However, there were countless planes outside of Faelor that were different or just more powerful, while the Eternal Dragon was a being that surpassed planes altogether. If a mere demigod in a secondary plane could engulf the old dragon's power, then Faelor wouldn't have been so weak. Google search 𝑓𝗿e𝐞𝓌𝙚𝙗𝑛o𝚟e𝙡. c𝚘𝚖

It was at this point that a cloud of grey suddenly appeared in the air, Nyra walking out and glancing at the environment in the hall. A frown crawled up her face, “Io, what are you doing? Why is it so messy here?”

“What the hell are you blaming me for?!” Io shouted back, “Why are you so late?”

“I have my reasons, why aren't you using Eternal Glory? It's the best fit for the situation!” the soul shepherd's voice went higher. She started to wave her hands, dropping healing spells on a baby that had rushed towards her. The black and white energy immediately turned the creature numb, causing it to fall straight down.

The battle priest just grunted, “Why should I, It'll leave me with no energy to fight! You're the one who's late—”

“You really want to know? Alright then, I was late because I spent some time torturing the demigod inside. Happy?”

Io blanched, snorting as he stopped moving around. His body started glowing with increasing amounts of energy, and in the blink of an eye it was like a new sun had formed in mid-air. This was the ability Io had gained after becoming a grand priest, somewhat similar to the Eternal Glory formation laid down in the City of the Unsetting Sun to defend them from the Daxdians. It radiated holy energy within a certain range, injuring or even killing creatures of darkness, chaos, or undeath. This ability was even more powerful than Richard's Devout Prayer, and at the same time quite fitting for the battle priest's personality.

As Io started to glow brighter and brighter, Richard finally managed to open up some space and ask Nyra, “Aren't these demigods built from pain? How can you torture them?”

“A blade can be cut by a sharper blade. Even a proper demigod can be tortured so long as you exceed the limits of their tolerance, forget these useless fakes.”

Richard felt a chill running down his spine, but continued to take out as many of the creatures nearby as he could.

In this hall of anguish, any enemy who dared to approach Io was quickly burnt to ashes. The enormous body of the demigod constantly writhed in agony as the holy radiance ate away at it, constantly screaming in pain. Numerous tentacles were thrown towards the three present, but the true danger was still from the cries of these sacrificial babies. Any physical attack was cut down before it could get close.

Waterflower finally emerged from within at some point, having finally rid herself of the trap. However, an obvious look of embarrassment crept up her face as she saw the three in the hall basically unharmed. Unlike them, there were a few bloody scratches on her face and the wounds on her calves were so deep once could see bone. The girl screamed in pain under the immediate assault of the crying babies, but she also grew more fierce and bestial as she ground her teeth while slashing out. Thankfully, Nyra quickly added a few barriers and started healing her.

However, Richard's heart still started to fill with worry. Flowsand hadn't yet appeared, and she should have been the first of them all. Still he continued to keep himself calm, killing the flying babies one after the other. By the time Io's ability faded away, there were only a few dozen babies left in the air while the tentacles had all been swept away. The enormous body of the demigod seemed to be splattered everywhere, leaving it at half its original size. For his part, the battle priest was drenched in sweat and the shackles had disappeared. He seemed reluctant to even float in the air.

It was at this point that the demigod's voice rang out once more, “Amazing! You're so much stronger than the so-called powerhouses of this plane! But what will you do now? How much mana do you have, how much divinity? You know the number of years I've been growing in his place? Here's my collection!”

Many holes opened up in the demigod's body in an instant, more black babies flying out from within. It seemed like an enormous hive of deadly bees from afar, but the most frightening thing was that these were completely different from the originals. Most of them had glowing blue or green eyes, the infant bodies covered in fine scales while some of them even had full mouths of teeth. The soul screams were still their primary weapon, but now their bodies were a threat as well.

And the worst part was the sheer number! Nyra immediately paled, as did Richard when he didn't manage to kill the first one that attacked in a single stab. Hundreds of babies had poured out in a mere few moments, and if they couldn't be killed in one shot they were sure to overwhelm the group. Their constant cries broke off any hopes of putting up a full barrier as well.

“Not good, not good!” Io shouted, “Call Miss Flowsand, let's run! We need to leave this damned place, who knows how many more of these things will come out!”

Nyra clearly agreed, but she still looked towards Richard and deferred to his opinion.

Richard's brows were locked, and after a moment he grunted in anger, “Give me some time!”

Nyra nodded, her hands stretching out to launch the black and white energy all around Richard. The black babies close to him were obliterated under her intense attack, but it was clear that this was a huge drain on her powers.

Richard took out an intricate scroll from a pocket, chanting a long spell before tearing it apart. The paper burnt up in a white glow, space being ripped apart to form a portal in mid-air. A divine aura poured out from the other side, and ancient chants rang out. The cries of the babies were interrupted for a moment as they rushed about in a panic, desperately trying to get away from the portal. The demigod even forgot to react.

A celestial warrior charged out of the portal, a winged angel with a gold and white mask hiding most of his face. His beautiful sword was enveloped in bright white flames, the divine power a natural enemy of darkness and chaos. Just his aura alone pushed back all the darkness in the hall.

This was a legendary being's strength!

The celestial warrior raised his large sword towards the cursed demigod below, charging over immediately. In only a moment he had turned into a meteor that crashed down on the mass of flesh, tearing it apart with earth-shattering might! The white flames started eating away at the demigod's body, destroying all of the black babies that were flying out from within.

Still, the demigod managed to fight back. He started detonating the babies before they even left his body, turning them into a black mass that stuck to the angel's wings. This forced the celestial warrior to spend some of his holy fire to cleanse these stains.

Looking at the fight, Richard couldn't help but heave a sigh of relief. This Heaven's Call scroll could summon a celestial warrior for a period of time, but the warrior wouldn't necessarily obey the summoner. The Mensas had decided to use it against him because the Archerons had demon blood, so there was a chance that the summoned creature would attack him first and foremost. The only reason he even took the risk here was his confidence that the cursed demigod before him was much worse in the eyes of the gods.

814 - City of Sin

Secret

The portal of summoning continued to spew holy energy as the celestial warrior tore through the bastard demigod. The creature was huge, but its true core wasn't nearly as large and it didn't take long for the warrior to find and attack this weakness. The tentacles bursting out from the mass of flesh were quickly smashed apart.

However, Richard's eyes flickered as his hands clutched the necklace he had retrieved from his robes. Once the battle was far enough in he activated the Gun of Genvis, spawning a beam of light that shot through the back of the celestial warrior to pierce the demigod's soul. Time seemed to halt for a moment, giving Richard a clear sight of the emptiness on the other side.

Both the celestial warrior and the demigod screamed with rage, but before they could switch targets Richard stimulated the necklace another time. The most frightening thing about this beam attack was that it was not elemental, the pure energy was equally lethal to all beings. When the second attack struck through, the demigod was left near-dead while the celestial warrior was completely drained of energy. He raised his enormous sword in Richard's direction, but that was his last action before he fell to the ground unmoving.

The mass of flesh screamed in fear, trying to run away from the church, but it only managed to move a few metres before its body was stopped by an invisible force. It tried to push out again and again, but there was no chance of success.

Flowsand finally appeared in the hall, but her image was extremely blurry. She hadn't completely returned to this plane, instead maintaining her position between it and the semiplane she had been trapped in. Looking behind her, all one could see was a land of ruin that had been eroded beyond belief. It was almost exactly like one of the churches of the Eternal Dragon. The semiplane was full of golden light, keeping it bound in time.

Watching the semiplane shake with every struggle of the demigod, Richard realised that the creature was likely tied to the place. With Flowsand forcing time to stop in the area and suppressing its struggles, she could keep it from running away.

Nyra immediately floated into the air, trying to look for the demigod's core that was hidden within the mound of flesh. Richard activated Insight to do the same, an azure moon floating above his head as he started hacking the remaining babies apart.

The demigod finally felt a true fear of death. It suddenly raised its voice, cursing everything in existence as the flesh exploded everywhere. The attack was so fierce that all of the group in the hall were thrown into the walls, while Flowsand's connection to the semiplane was severed as well. She grunted in pain as she fell out of the air, blood dripping from her nose.

A small storm was stirred up in the hall of anguish as all sorts of dark matter splattered across the walls. The two doors of pain quietly revealed themselves and opened up slightly, allowing a thin black figure to rush out of the church. White smoke erupted from its body as it exited the hall, but it just screamed and fled into the distance.

“FUCK!” Richard tried to get back to his feet as quickly as he could, but by the time he even approached the doors there was no sign of the enemy at all.

“Damn it...” He cursed as he turned back, shaking his head in disappointment. Still, there was no point to regret; he started to examine the hall and quickly picked up a broken white wing that was on the ground. He assumed it was heavy at first, but the limb was far lighter than he had expected.

This half-wing was all that was left of the celestial warrior. Everything else had been destroyed in the explosion from the demigod. However, this wasn't nearly as disappointing as the enemy's escape. All celestials were renowned for their sheer control over energy, not for their bodily strength. Looking at all of the matter in the hall that began to turn into an ooze with the demigod's departure, he growled and started walking out, “Let's get out of here!”

Everyone felt a little relaxed as they left the Church of Pain, even if they were still in the Valley of Darkness. Richard asked the other four about their fights, confirming his theory that they had al been sent to fight in what was a number of interconnected semiplanes or a single one that was just fragmented. Io had it the easiest of them all, easily blowing through the enemies with his divine power, while Nyra spent a little more time dealing with the horde and trying to extract information from the demigod that had come upon her.

Flowsand directly destroyed the castle with her timeforce before trying to study the place, discovering its relationship with the demigods and thus working out a way to try and trap it. It was Waterflower that suffered the most; the girl had blindly rushed into the castle, cutting apart all she could for almost an hour before she managed to wear enough away.

“Should we go looking for the demigod?” Richard asked Flowsand.

“It's fine, it won't last long in this plane unless it finds a place similar to this. And if it does manage to escape through the crystal wall, it has nothing to do with us.”

Richard sighed and nodded, starting to assess their situation, “So we got literally nothing for this, did we. I don't think even the broodmother would be interested in this rotting meat... Tch, to think Neian's land of punishment was actually developing demigods, what the fuck was he thinking?”

“It might be a good idea to search the place,” Io commented, “There's obviously something hidden beneath the land. It isn't easy to build an operation of this scale just anywhere.”

Richard nodded, contacting the broodmother once more to have her dispatch some worker drones to help dig through. In the meanwhile, the enchantment blocking the astral chrysalis was broken so it finally arrived with the fifty shadowspear knights in tow. He immediately ordered them to spread out through the Valley of Darkness, killing every overseer who was still alive. If there was anyone too strong for them to deal with, they were to withdraw and wait for the winged serpents to arrive.

There turned out to be very few overseers in the valley. Most of them were just wandering aimlessly with their master having fled, so the shadowspears didn't encounter much resistance. While Richard had expected some of the brainwashed prisoners to help their wardens, they had just gone still and remained indifferent to everything that happened around them.

In the middle of the night, Richard met Bruno in his cabin. Also present were Ptolemy and a few dozen other prisoners that had managed to retain their free will. The rest had all lost any modicum of independent thought, and as the demigod recalled the fragments of itself that controlled them they had turned into dazed husks. The cloned brains that had recently arrived counted a total of 23,000 such people, a number that caused Richard to grunt in surprise. He didn't think even the harsh Church of Valour could justify so many prisoners; it was more likely that they had bred most of those who had been dropped in here.

“Why?” Richard asked the former pope.

“To gather sin and pain, to breed cursed demigods. The construction of the Church of Pain required a lot of manual labour, and the demigods needed even more pain for their birth. Only half of these people were even captured by us, the rest were just slaves we bought from the secular countries.”

“And why is Neian trying to create what is the worst enemy of all deities?”

“For power. If He could control the greatest weapon against the remaining deities, then He was basically guaranteed to become the ruler of the pantheon. I saw glimpses of the holy writings once before I was sent here, and it mentioned that the first of these demigods was only a fragmented soul brought over by one of His avatars. It was that avatar that guided us in the building of the Church of Pain.”

“Alright. And a pope was sent here because?”

“Because I left a guess in my diary that the Lord wanted to form an army of demigods to sweep through the rest of the pantheon and take control of Faelor. He wanted to become the only god, the Overgod, and turn the entirety of Faelor into his divine kingdom. He would then use that as the foundation to conquering other worlds.”

At this point, Ptolemy smiled, “Obviously, I knew too much.”

815 - City of Sin

Neutral To The Gods

“Lutheris has a bastard child too,” Richard commented.

Ptolemy nodded in response, “When I still held my post, I heard rumours that the God of War had some secret projects similar to the Valley of Darkness.”

“Oh? Any others?”

The former pope frowned, “It was a long time ago... Luna, perhaps, and maybe Cerces, I'm not certain...”

“These four... Such an annoyance,” Richard shook his head, causing Ptolemy to look at him strangely. Despite being betrayed by his master, the old man had once been a pope who held the gods upon the highest of pedestals. And yet, Richard was committing heresy as though it was completely natural.

“Just four gods, it's not like we'd be fighting all of Faelor,” Flowsand shrugged, “We still have time, don't we?”

“Hmm... You're right. But... one moment,” Richard relaxed and started walking around the room. Flowsand stayed quiet to give him some space, allowing him time to think over the major decision, while Ptolemy and Bruno exchanged glances.

A few minutes later, Richard suddenly came to a halt and sighed, “I'll be coming to Faelor much more often, won't I...”

Flowsand smiled, “As you should. Now, what do we do with this place?”

“Dig it up, of course. We'll take away everything of value here, let's see if Neian has the guts to reveal what he was doing himself.”

Bruno, Ptolemy, and the few other old men started shaking at the mere prospect of what was being discussed. The former pope coughed, “Forgive me, but I have to remind you that taking away the source of the Valley of Darkness will make you an eternal enemy of the God of Valour. I do not know what the item is, but it is certainly beyond the seven sacred artefacts of Neian.”

“Why would you think that?” Richard asked.

“As the pope, I had the right to use any of the seven artefacts as I wished. However, I wasn't even told anything about what is hidden in the Valley of Darkness.”

Richard smiled in response, “Well, that makes me want to dig deeper. Now,” he cut off the man who was about to respond, “Do you have any suggestions for these prisoners? Something to restore their mind or the like. Well... outside of killing them.”

Bruno and Ptolemy exchanged glances once more and the former spoke up, “I cannot think of anything. Those of true faith managed to resist the weathering of our minds, but all such people are gathered here. The rest were merely commoners, their souls did not have such strength... Even many of the ones that are still conscious are only so because the demigods wanted some playthings.”

Richard silently looked towards Nyra, who shook her head as well. He sighed with disappointment, only a trace of hope left in his voice, “Can we at least leave them here?”

“You must have seen the numerous undead creatures in the semiplanes, corpses animated through planeshades?” Nyra answered with a question.

“Yes...” Richard's eyes narrowed into slits as he realised what was coming.

“Ignore them, and this valley will be overrun by zombies within the week. Forgive me, there is no other choice,” Nyra said softly.

“Sigh, alright.” Richard frowned, his fingers starting to twitch subconsciously.

“No, have the broodmother do it. She is good at such tasks, her workers can kill as necessary.”

“That...” Richard didn't agree immediately, instead contacting the broodmother mentally.

“No need to worry, Master,” she answered, “Even if I were hungry, I would never eat those things. Those are worse for me than dirt!”

“... Sigh, alright. Get started.”

“Of course, I promise I won't miss even one. But that wing shard in your hands...” Her voice was full of desire.

“Of course.”

......

It didn't take more than a few minutes for those present in the cabin to hear a loud buzz outside in the Valley of Darkness. The first to arrive was a cloned brain, one that was specifically designed for speed. This drone was thrice as fast as the other cloned brains, but only had a tenth of the intelligence. As Richard headed out, it picked up the broken wing he offered it and flew back to the Land of Turmoil at a breakneck pace.

It was at this point that someone screamed inside the cabin, “What is that?!”

Both Bruno and Ptolemy rushed out, frightened by the sight of large insects that were two metres long flying down from the clouds. In just a few seconds the entire sky seemed to be covered by them, making the dozen-odd people inside and outside the cabin seem fragile.

Richard was quite surprised as well; the broodmother had sent almost 10,000 worker drones! Regardless of their poor individual might, this sort of quantity had a great visual impact. He glanced at the Church of Pain in the distance, knowing that those black bricks of pain would be extremely valuable back in Norland, “Take all of that away.”

Countless worker drones flew up and rushed towards the Church of Pain, showing remarkable discipline as they disassembled it brick by brick. Their powerful blades rarely even nicked the bricks they were picking up.

“So...” Richard turned back to Bruno and Ptolemy, “What happens to your faith?”

Ptolemy smiled, “How could I have faith in someone who built this place? I was once a fanatic follower of Neian, but He abandoned me.”

Bruno looked straight into Richard's eyes, “What do you want us to do? Honestly, we are no different from trash right now.”

“Hmm... I hope for a comprehensive and systematic study of the gods of Faelor, not from the perspective of a worshipper or a heretic but from that of someone completely neutral to it all. You can even imagine you would be looking down upon the gods.”

“That... It would be an enormous humiliation!” Bruno gasped. His ambition in studying the laws of Neian were to try and force him to fall and instate a new God of Valour instead. Divine domains were relatively fixed, so a new god would take over a fallen one's post or it would be shared amongst the remaining gods. On the other hand, Richard's request here would be opposite to the will of the entire pantheon.

Richard understood Bruno's intentions but he just chuckled, “It might be a little blasphemous, but I don't think it's wrong when some of them can just cultivate places like this with no repercussions. Such people deserve to be stripped of their thrones.”

Bruno stared hard at Richard, “But you can't just overthrow him! Only a god can replace a god!”

“Not necessarily,” Richard smiled. The fish had taken the bait, “Agree to help me, and I can show you a general textbook on deities and divinity.”

“What?” Bruno and Ptolemy both went wide-eyed, unable to believe that such a thing existed. Was the realm of gods not majestic and mysterious, forbidden to the commoner's eyes?

“Can you say what the purpose of this study would be?” Bruno tested.

“Of course. I plan to rebuild the pantheon from the bottom up, fixing some of the unsavoury elements within it. It might seem like a lunatic's mutterings to you, but you don't need to worry about it.”

“It sounds like we are selling our souls to a devil,” one of the old men muttered.

“If there's anything I'm not, that's a devil,” Richard said with a laugh. The Archeron bloodline could be traced back to demons, a group that was completely at odds with the devils.

Bruno and Ptolemy finally nodded slowly, the latter speaking up, “We only want to see the reality of the world once more.”

Richard smiled and spread his arms open, “Then this will be the correct choice. Give up on something as foolish as faith, and you will find just how blind you once were.”

This was a famous saying in Norland, one that had emerged when the Eternal Dragon had been a relatively new deity to the plane. The old dragon was the first deity Norland discovered with strength beyond a single plane, and his existence completely upended the pantheon's role in the world.

816 - City of Sin

The Depths Of Pain

“He's not saying everything,” Io whispered softly with a shrug.

Nyra leaned over and hissed, “Stop being annoying again!”

“Annoying?” the battle priest frowned, “How can I be annoying?”

“You've already sold your soul and dignity once,” she whispered, “Why not give them up completely? Shame doesn't win you anything.”

Io was angry, but he visibly deflated at her words, “But... But there's no meaning in that!”

Nyra suddenly smiled, “For you. So you're never going to compete with me over such things.”

Io's face flashed with disgust in the face of Nyra's mysterious smile, “You're being creepy again!”

“Ha, if I can get some offerings I'd do much more!” Nyra said softly.

Io's brows locked together as he murmured to himself. Richard truly had misrepresented the Eternal Dragon's stance on these things. The saying had been reproduced correctly, but not completely; the part he left out stated thus: Faith is the flame that warms one's soul. It is indispensable to existence. The true value of faith is when it is not exercised blindly.

This was the philosophy that had arisen in Norland after the Eternal Dragon and other extraplanar gods made themselves known, and it could be surmised in a famous quote, “When your sword points me at the enemy, you are my Lord. When it points at my kin, you are no longer a god.”

Faith is a rather brittle thing. Once it is shaken, it is difficult to rebuild. Richard was actually persuading everyone to abandon their beliefs completely, to concentrate on studying the gods from a neutral perspective. It didn't take too long to agree— after all, nobody would continue to serve a god that condemned them to hellish suffering— it was just that Ptolemy and the rest could not fathom the concept of considering the gods to be nothing less than omnipotent.

This was also why Richard was looking forward to how they would do. Be it Ptolemy, Bruno, or any of the other prisoners present, they were all amongst the grandest of characters outside in the rest of Faelor. If not for that, they would not have possessed the strength of will to maintain their independence in the Valley of Darkness. Once such people who could touch the glory of divinity gave up on the concept of faith, they would show true promise in the task of identifying the strengths and weaknesses of the pantheon.

Richard looked at the dozens of prisoners who would soon be working under his hand, “I'd suggest you wear something warmer. The journey will be quite long, and the weather outside isn't nearly as gentle as in here.”

“Will we be going by horse?” Ptolemy asked.

“No, I've prepared some... special mounts for you. They aren't comfortable, but they'll get you where you need to go quickly. We can't afford to keep you here for much time.” Just as Richard finished his words, a loud buzz rang out as hundreds of worker drones flew over and landed in front of the survivors.

“Truly not comfortable...” Ptolemy said with a little hesitation before taking the lead, climbing onto one of the drones' backs. The two antennae that would normally aid in finding directions rolled back and wrapped themselves around his body, holding him tight. Accompanied by seven or eight others, it took off into the sky. The rest followed quickly.

“Do I have to be held like this?” one of the old men asked, in response to which the drone let go and grabbed him by the waist. He flailed around for a moment, but before he could respond properly it took off.

“NO, BEFORE WAS BETTER! GO BACK! LET ME DOWN, YOU DAMNED BUG!” the fierce screams rang out in the distance as the swarm of workers flew towards the Crimson Dukedom.

Looking at the black cloud recede into the horizon, Richard turned to Flowsand and the rest, “Alright, let's have a look at what's under the Church of Pain. It seems like it would be something nice.”

By this time, the Church of Pain had lost a third of its volume. The worker drones were constantly pulling out black bricks from the top, flying over to near the astral chrysalis and dumping their loads for it to pick up. Unfortunately, there were far too many bricks for a single trip.

The doors of pain had collapsed as well, but the faces upon them were still wriggling as they tried to escape. Nyra stepped right on top of these faces as they walked across, her boots seemingly filled with a strange power as they caused the things to writhe in even greater pain. Some even started biting into the faces next to them, expressions warped with anguish.

Seeing Richard's questioning gaze, she hurried to explain, “These things aren't true souls. They are just a part of the cursed demigod, playthings it used for fun.”

He was still a little uncomfortable with her actions, but he just nodded and continued forward.

This time, there was no enchantment to hide the hall from sight. A group of workers flew past with mud and stone as the group entered, and they could see even more digging into an already-large pit in the centre of the hall. There seemed to be a dark pool here, the liquid jet black and constantly radiating a dark mist. Richard almost gasped in surprise as his eyes lit aglow to find an enormous section of a skeleton within that was nearly a hundred metres long. There were intricate lines all over the bones, making them look like beautiful decorations, but one could feel an indescribable energy radiating out from within. This energy was constantly absorbed by the black pool and turned into the dark power that Richard had first felt bubbling up from the earth.

This skeleton was clearly the source power of the Valley of Darkness and the demigods within.

“What is this?” Richard asked Flowsand. He was knowledgeable about a lot of things, but this skeleton was not one of them.

“It's a waste of divine grace!” Flowsand frowned, stepping forward as she took out the Book of Time and pointed it at the skeleton in the black pool. Pale gold light flowed out as timeforce flew through the water, a figure slowly forming on the page. Flowsand's eyes lit up; the more grace identifying something consumed, the more valuable it was.

Eventually, the Book of Time revealed a small stick figure. It only consisted of a few strokes, but Flowsand could recognise the fierce aura they emitted anywhere. She raised her head and smiled, “The remains of an astral beast. It should be one of the three that invaded Faelor all those years ago.

“This pool is called a root of corruption. It can absorb the energy of the skeleton and transform it into the power of darkness and pain that bred the demigods.” Google search 𝘧𝓇𝗲e𝑤𝑒𝙗noѵ𝒆𝚕. 𝒄o𝓶

“Root of corruption? Where have I heard that before...” Richard thought over it for a while, “That's right, these things can refine pain essence! A single unit is worth more than a spider crystal!”

“Get the bones out first, or we'll have to deal with more demigods sooner or later.”

Richard nodded and sent out a mental order, having a large number of drones fly towards the root of corruption. They immediately started sputtering white smoke the moment they made contact, tweeting sharply because of the danger, but unafraid of pain and death as they were a large group gathered together and dove in.

The huge skeleton began to move, slowly at first but with increasing speed. Eventually it was pulled completely out of the water, and another set of drones joined in to assist. The astral chrysalis that had been loading up on the black bricks immediately regurgitated them all and flew over, its tendrils stretching out as it slowly wrapped around the massive broken skeleton that was many times its own size. It slowly floated up into the sky, waiting until it was several kilometres above ground before starting to fly towards Bluewater.

There was nearly no chance of the chrysalis even being found so high up, but Richard still had all two hundred of the winged serpents escort it back. Able to constantly extract the energy of the void, this skeleton was an unending source of mana. Its value could be seen in just how large-scaled of an operation the Valley of Darkness had become.

Richard could already envision hundreds of uses for the thing. It could be combined with the worm nest to reduce the burden on the broodmother even further, increasing her daily output, and she could even analyse its properties to bring her that much closer to being able to create legendary creatures. Of course, that wasn't even close to the greatest benefit. He could work on deciphering the laws of the astral beast's existence, taking a further step in his own personal growth. Of course it would take centuries or maybe even millennia given his current strength, but his power was constantly growing.

He could even work on designing new runes based on the intricate structure of the bones. Such a rune, if it truly managed to simulate the laws of the astral beast, would be no weaker than a grade 5 rune! If that was integrated with the power of laws... No such thing had ever been seen in Norland before. So far as he knew, the only comparable existence was the incomplete Deepblue Aria.

Just as he started to lose himself in his fantasies, Richard noticed the surface of the black pool burst apart as a number of worker drones flew out from within. Most of them fell dead the moment they stepped out of the water, revealing only three in the centre that had been protected from the dark energy. Each of the three had a palm-sized dark crystal held between its antennae.

Pain essence!

817 - City of Sin

True Courage

Pain essence, the distillation of pure suffering that could only be formed in the rarest of circumstances. This was an amazing item for many mages, especially illusionists and cursemasters. Many would be willing to trade their life's earnings for just a single fragment of it. Even Demi's abilities would grow by half a fold if she had this item on hand.

The fact that an entire three pieces of pain essence had been formed showed just how long this root of corruption had been refining the astral beast's skeletal energy. The oldest piece was twice the size of the smallest, and in total the three were worth a little over four beyslace spider crystals. Even ignoring the priceless nature of the astral beast skeleton, this journey had not been in vain.

Richard placed the three pieces of pain essence into a magic sealing box, scanning through the surroundings once more. The astral chrysalis flew extremely slowly with its current weight, only sixty kilometres an hour. It would take four to five days to even transport the skeleton to the Land of Turmoil, a period of time for which he could not stay in the Valley of Darkness. The Church of Valour was certainly sending reinforcements over, and the Iron Triangle Empire's movements were difficult to predict.

Io came over and looked at the pit, his nose wrinkling as he took a whiff of the black liquid, “This pool has been around for a long time. We can definitely trade it for a top tier offering if we take it away, assuming you don't mind the buyer. The bricks are a good item too; if you use them to build a prison, mages would be locked in with no recourse. We'll be able to find buyers for them too.”

“Tch. Sadly, we don't have the time.”

Io put on an expression of incredulity at the idea that Richard would give up on a money-making opportunity with just a tut. Surveying the Church of Pain and the pool of dark energy that represented an opportunity to get to level 20, he immediately felt his heart tighten. Still, he just shrugged himself, “Truly a pity.”

However, Richard's next words calmed him down, “Don't worry, I'm only leaving them here for now.”

......

It was a busy night, and the sun was slow to rise in the north that morning. It was still dark at seven, but Richard's worker drones had already scoured through every hill and cavern within hundreds of metres without finding anything of value. He finally decided to leave with his shadowspears under the cover of the darkness.

Once the party left, the thousands of workers got down to their final tasks. Screams rang throughout the Valley of Darkness for ten entire minutes, followed by a loud buzz as the creatures took flight and returned towards the Land of Turmoil.

......

When it turned dark once more, a snow-white warhorse galloped towards the Valley of Darkness. A dignified man was sat upon the horse, twirling his thick gold moustache. He only slowed down once he reached the valley, getting off his horse and following Richard's path inside at an unhurried pace.

His neutral expression quickly turned to a frown as he found none of his overseers for miles. The towns and villages were extremely silent, the corpses of prisoners strewn all over the ground. He examined a few, only to find that all of them had similar injuries. It looked like something sharp had pierced through their chests and turned the hearts within to pulp.

He stopped looking after the fifth corpse, summoning his steed once more and galloping towards the centre of the valley. Seeing the rubble that was once the Church of Pain, his face froze for a moment in disbelief. Squinting and seeing that it was all real, he was quickly consumed by rage and grunted loudly before rushing in to take a look.

The black bricks that had been taken from the church had been thrown everywhere, with a lot of the root of corruption spilt all over the floor. The magnificent Church of Pain was only a third of its original size.

The man stopped for another moment before continuing into the rubble in silence. It was at this point that he realised the astral skeleton was gone.

The middle-aged man immediately knelt on the ground, praying silently. Moments later, the clouds rolled ominously in the sky as numerous flashes of lightning were followed by deafening peals of thunder. A powerful will descended upon the world, filling the man's eyes with a golden light. He then stood up once more, staring into the pool, “MY ASTRAL BEAST! RICHARD, YOU DARE TO STEAL MY ASTRAL BEAST!”

The middle-aged man shuddered as he looked at the empty pool, rapidly growing old with his golden hair turning white. Wrinkles appeared all over his face, but the light in his eyes still wasn't extinguished as he continued to stare at the empty pit.

This was the aftereffect of being the vessel of a god's descent. One had to pay the price of breaking the laws of the plane. The man eventually struggled, but by then it was too late. He could no longer stand, falling headfirst into the pool.

“What a useless thing!” a voice sounded as the dark energy consumed him. The will of Neian had already returned to his divine kingdom.

......

At this point, Richard had already returned to the borders of the Iron Triangle Empire. The party had spent three days and nights on horseback with only a few short hours of rest in between, and seeing the borders to the Crimson Dukedom only a dozen kilometres away his eyes lit up.

He slowed down his horse and turned to Flowsand, “The chrysalis is already in our borders, it should be safe for now. But, tch... The Empire's reaction was a little disappointing.”

“You wanted them to try and stop us?” Flowsand asked.

“Yes, that's why I took the long path.”

The priestess suddenly laughed, “You never did such senseless things before. You always put on a deadpan face and acted like a miser that calculated every piece of gold and every second. Oh, I have to take on these responsibilities, I have to fulfil these promises... So you were acting all the time, you absolute child!”

“Flowsand!” Richard felt himself blushing.

“Yes, boy?” Flowsand provoked him.

Richard just grunted and swallowed the words he wanted to say. All talk needed the capability to follow up, and even with the ursa essence he proved to be no match for this dangerous creature at night. He chose not to return the provocation, instead speaking softly, “I was sounding them out. Since they didn't send anyone to stop me this time, that means their foundation is shaken. That means I don't need to play nice, I can constantly raise my demands.”

“Well, now that you say that... You might have spoken too soon.”

The earth suddenly started trembling, the vibrations growing more powerful as a regiment of cavalry crested a nearby ridge. One could clearly see the imperial flag fluttering amongst the knights, a silver triangle lined with gold that represented the royal bloodline.

The one holding the flag was a powerful young man, beard doing nothing to hide his youth. His horse constantly trampled the ground with what felt like the ferocity of its owner, a typical trait this far north.

“Are you Duke Richard of the Crimson Dukedom?” he shouted from afar.

Richard did not reply, instead stopping his horse in its tracks as the fifty elite shadowspears behind him got into position. This was answered by a loud warhorn, and the youth rushed down the slope until he was only a hundred metres away. He then stopped his troops and rode further in alone, “I am Barian, the ninth prince of the Iron Triangle Empire. Even if you ignore my lineage, you will remember my name.”

“Oh?” Richard smiled.

“You will not leave the Iron Triangle Empire today! Stay and meet His Majesty, removing your silly demands, or I'll turn you to a corpse!”

“Is this your father's wish?” Richard asked.

“No, this is a personal decision. These troops behind my are my own. The blood of the Empire has been passed down for countless generations, and we are still all heroes at heart!”

818 - City of Sin

Marching In

Barian seemed extremely agitated, but Richard was extremely calm in contrast, “I hear Salwyn won't dare fight me even with three times the size of my army now. You seem to think you're better than him?”

Although Richard said that, Barian had 500 armoured cavalrymen behind him, a tenfold difference. “This is not a war between countries,” Barian said in a low voice, “I am Barian, not Salwyn!”

He then turned around, “I need fifty men who are willing to die with me!”

The earth rumbled as all five hundred knights stepped forward, radiating killing intent.

“I SAID FIFTY!” Barian roared.

The five hundred knights all looked at each other, refusing to budge. Eventually, one of the captains shouted out, “Those born with a noble title to step forward!”

This time, around fifty men stepped out from the formation. Barian turned back and looked at Richard, knocking on his own breastplate, “Now our numbers are even. Come!”

Richard surveyed his opponents. The youth was only level 16, no easy feat in Faelor, but far too outclassed against any member of his party. Even the strongest knight he had brought was level 10. Honestly speaking, he alone could destroy this enemy ten times over with a few spells.

“You...” he started playing around with the elven sword, “Did you get knocked on your head as a child?”

“What?”

Richard sighed, “There's no other way to describe your actions. Your arrogance definitely doesn't match your stupidity, but... whatever, hurry up and get on with it.”

Barian immediately flared up in his rage, a billowing crimson aura flooding out from his body as he drew his sword, “CHARGE!”

“CHARGE!” the fifty knights roared, following behind him on their horses.

Richard only got off his horse when they were less than thirty metres away. Waterflower, Flowsand's group, and the shadowspears stepped forward in unison like a well-oiled machine.

A loud clang rang through the battlefield as the knights rammed into the barrier of steel, followed by multiple dull thuds. Richard jumped over towards Barian and kicked him off his horse. In a single collision, every single member of the charge had been left on the ground.

The remaining forces that Barian had brought shuffled about, but they kept themselves from interfering. Fifty versus fifty was more of a duel than a war, and duels were sacred. Although they were Barian's subordinates, saving their master at this time would be a worse humiliation for the prince than death.

Barian felt the sky turning, his head buzzing for what felt like minutes on end. When he struggled to pick himself up, he found the blade of a sword flashing just before his face to bury itself into the ground. Seeing Richard walk over, finding that all of his select soldiers were already lying on the ground despite the enemy not even having moved, he finally realised that he had suffered utter defeat.

Richard pulled his sword out of the ground and sent it back into its case before turning around, mounting his horse and leaving for the Crimson Dukedom. Still shivering, Barian barely mustered all of his strength to stand up and roar, “Why don't you kill me?!”

“I don't kill children,” Richard replied lazily.

“I'M NOT A CHILD! MY NAME IS BARIAN!” The prince's shouts were the loudest they had ever been, but Richard had already left.

......

The broodmother's mounts were surprisingly quick despite being designed for sustained combat. In less than half an hour, Richard's troop had already entered the Crimson Dukedom.

“It looked like you care about the boy,” Flowsand commented along the way.

“Maybe I will. He'll be a bigger threat than Salwyn in the future.”

“Just because Salwyn wouldn't fight you? I don't think that's wrong, he was just smart enough to know that it was a hopeless battle.”

“Sure, he's always been smart,” Richard sighed, recalling his first experiences in Faelor, “Thing is, I can predict what a smart guy can do, I can't predict the stupid or the crazy. Those kinds of people will fight a losing war anyway and drain us.”

“Alright. So where are we going?”

Richard pointed west.

“The ancestral plains? I don't think they need your help there.”

“I figured we'd get some rest,” Richard said with a smile, “We'll be fighting multiple gods after we destroy the Highland Wargod's church.”

“But you still can't do anything about their divine kingdoms.”

“Sure, but I can raze all their mortal churches to the ground. I want this expedition to be a show of force. The gods should know just what it means to provoke me.”

Richard knew that he would inevitably be fighting against the local gods, especially after the discovery that Neian was secretly raising demigods. He already knew of perhaps three others that were doing the same, and that knowledge alone would make them eternal enemies. While deities pretended to be omniscient, that was only true within their divine kingdoms. Having come from a different plane and civilisation that was millions of years older, Richard knew even more than the gods of Faelor about certain things.

Although they were called bastard children, cursed demigods weren't necessarily the offspring of any deity. These demigods were almost the antithesis of deities, and it was in their very nature to destroy and betray. Having been born into the power of laws, they held great power from a young age and grew at a surprising pace. If such a demigod attained full control and achieved the legendary realm, they would immediately plunge Faelor into an era of darkness. Such a creature's final evolution would absorb the last dregs of energy within the plane, destroying all of existence and shattering the crystal sphere before returning the plane to the void.

He wasn't sure if the gods of Faelor knew all of this, but from the looks of it they had no clue. At the very least, they didn't realise the full repercussions of what they were planning. Even in Norland, such demigods were hunted down and killed on sight.

Of course, it wasn't like they would listen if he told them that; he couldn't exactly reveal that he came from another plane that knew these things. Ironically, this meant an invader was currently fighting for the fate of all life in Faelor.

......

The Crimson Dukedom immediately rushed to action the moment Richard returned, soldiers constantly marching out of the garrisons towards the barbarian plains. Richard mobilised a total of 80,000 soldiers, conscripting a large number of slaves and other commoners and placing them on the borders with the Iron Triangle Empire and the Sequoia Kingdom as a display of warning.

Andrieka's spider banner was placed atop the Iron Triangle Empire on his war map, with Gangdor being assigned to the rest of the human kingdoms. Both were terrifying generals in their own right; one for 'his' unpredictable deployment of troops, and the other for his sheer might and upfront leadership.

However, the true terror was the volcano and world tree insignia of Richard himself, what was now known as the apocalypse tree. With this flag sighted heading west, the entire plane knew that the Highland Wargod's life was forfeit.

The Highland Wargod had long since issued a decree to gather every able-bodied worshipper near his church, planning to fight Richard to the death. A large number responded to the call, but a great number also fled to the mountains or highlands. The barbarians were courageous, but the names of Richard's followers had resounded through the ancestral plains in the past years. Gangdor, Tiramisu, Flowsand, Io, Nyra, Andrieka... these names alone had the strength to induce nightmares.

A few drones were quickly sent to the ancestral plains, proclaiming that all who resisted would be enslaved. The women, elderly, and children would be spared regardless, but all males would be turned into permanent slaves. Those who surrendered in the midst of combat would be given the same treatment as the rest of the slaves in the Crimson Dukedom, able to regain their freedom with time, but their lands would be confiscated. Those who didn't resist would retain their lands, but their warriors would have to respond to any calls to war.

It was a simple proclamation, but within a few weeks Richard had over five thousand new barbarians and ten thousand from other races. Many necessities and luxuries like rations, clothes, alcohol, and metal tools were pumped into the ancestral plains to improve the lives of the tribesmen who followed him, while the enemies were constantly worn away. Richard solved the issues of hunger, illness, and cold.

819 - City of Sin

Incongruent Ideals

Before he left Faelor for the Battlefield of Despair, Richard had once said, “Let even those we step over live better lives. That is what gives us more warriors and believers.”

Io had his doubts about this decision. The Eternal Dragon did not need faith, and Richard with the broodmother's drones had no need for warriors. This policy of helping the barbarians lead better lives seemed to be an empty cost. Why take the stubborn ones upon their own shoulders? They could ship them off to other kingdoms, where slavers would instil obedience.

When he had voiced this question, Richard had only smiled, “I just want them to live better. We have the ability to grant them this, and it won't cost too much.”

The battle priest still had his reservations about that decision. In his view, planar war was a process of chasing resources and working towards one's own interests. Many nobles of Norland and other planes had promoted fair trade in the past, but that idea had flopped every time. Thus the saying: even the orcs of Norland were more attractive than the best beauties of another plane.

The hate between planes was indescribable, but in one way it could just be considered the conflict of different systems of laws.

Richard did not refute Io's stance, but he still remained firm in his own decision. In his own words, “I came here for the sake of profit and strength, but I might as well leave some people better off for it.”

“That's complete hypocrisy,” Io had grumbled. As a priest, he was someone who always divided the world into two sides, his own and the rest.

Richard had admitted there was some truth to those words, but still ordered leniency towards the barbarians. As such, the greatest resistance to the Crimson Dukedom's occupation of the barbarian plains had come from other human kingdoms instead of the barbarians themselves. To them, the barbarians could only be killed or enslaved.

......

Now, that decision paid off. Given the Crimson Dukedom's good treatment of their prisoners and Richard's current proclamation, the army charged through the ancestral plains almost unopposed. Richard's army accumulated an increasing number of foreign races, but there was very little discord amongst these forces.

The apocalypse tree banners constantly spread through the barbarian plains. The number of soldiers that responded to this flag constantly grew as it spread out, becoming a terrifying force. By the time they reached the Church of the Highland Wargod, a powerful army of nearly 100,000 men was flanked by flying bats and winged serpents for kilometres on end. A dozen cloned brains followed behind, ensuring that this massive force coordinated just as well as a force only a thousandth of its size.

Richard and his followers were stood on the back of the astral chrysalis, looking down at the slow march of his army. For days now he'd been in a good mood, and with this view in front of him he flashed a content smile, “We can take on a million enemies and win. Let's see what the four gods can gather.”

“You spent more money on this army than a million troops, why would it be strange to win?” Flowsand habitually poured some cold water over his head.

Richard just chuckled, “I don't need so many people under me. These are for you.”

“The war might not be as easy as you think,” she warned, “Be careful.”

“I know.”

......

A few days later, the torrent of steel was only thirty kilometres from the Highland Wargod. This was the location of their first encounter with the enemies, fighting nearly 10,000 fanatics with disorderly weapons and a strange mix of races. The centre of this army even had a tall siege tower with four bare-chested barbarians desperately playing their war drums and praying for victory. There was a faint glow of power that washed over the rabble, but compared to the Crimson Army it was nothing.

The battle was nowhere near glorious. The enemies had taken the initiative to charge, and were completely routed before Richard's army continued marching on to the church. That very dusk, Richard and Flowsand stepped into the central church building.

The shrine was noticeably new, and despite the lack of materials in the ancestral plains it was passably magnificent as well. The hall alone was fifty metres in height, with the statue of the Highland Wargod standing thirty metres tall. It looked like the Highland Wargod was a four-armed barbarian warrior with a horned helmet, holding a sword, axe, hammer, and shield.

The Wargod's idol still shone with red light, indicating that his will was still upon the world, but all of his priests had been captured and handed to Kellac and Nyra. The two of them naturally had the means to separate a clergyman from his deity, so the Wargod didn't even have a chance to talk.

Richard himself refused any attempts from the statue to connect to him; he felt that there was nothing to talk about. He wasn't here to conquer but to destroy.

“It's said that the Highland Wargod didn't look like this a few centuries ago. Then, he seemed more like a hybrid of humans and dwarves with only two arms, holding a sword and shield,” he commented.
ƒ𝑟𝐞ewe𝚋𝑛ｏ𝙫𝚎l. 𝒄o𝗺

“That's normal,” Flowsand replied, “The weaker deities in this plane are known to change their image to grow the faith. It's easier to acquire the faith of someone who relates to your appearance.”

“But won't that weaken their image in front of their worshippers?”

“Yes, but it's not like they were strong in the first place. You think your three goddesses care all that much?”

Richard immediately shut up, knowing that this was not a topic to be broached. Multiple times over this expedition the priestesses of the three goddesses had tried to seduce him, and even before that a large number of beautiful young girls had been gathered in Bluewater for the same purpose. He had also been informed that the goddesses themselves could descend for a night of pleasure with him if he asked.

The only reason Flowsand hadn't pushed him on the issue was that the three goddesses were the core to their disguise as Faelorians. Although she wasn't exactly happy that people were constantly trying to seduce him, she wouldn't push out such allies.

The Highland Wargod hadn't been much better off than the goddesses when they first came to Richard. His best path would have been to affix himself to Richard like them, but he had hesitated over the opportunity and missed it forever. Now, it was too late; Richard had chosen to use him as an example for all of Faelor's gods.

“Let's see what else is here,” he shifted the topic, scanning the entire temple. His eyes lit aglow as the layers of construction in the hall turned transparent in his vision. He suddenly snorted and looked at the statue's brows, noticing a single shadow their that blocked his power.

Floating up to observe it carefully, Richard found that the shadow was less than half a metre wide and less than a metre deep. Pulling out a small dagger, he cut through the stone to dig out a fist-sized metal orb.

The ball was dark black, polished to the point that it was shining, but its weight was far beyond its size. It was easy enough to pull it out of the stone, but when he felt the tonne of metal fall into his hands he almost dropped it instantly. The only reason he even managed to hold on was a quick activation of Mana Armament alongside some lightening spells.

Now that it was in his hands, Richard noticed that the orb wasn't actually as smooth as its sheen made it look. Its surface was made of numerous tiny triangles, each subdivided into even more. When his natural sight could no longer notice the divisions, he activated Insight and only found that the number continued to grow. By the time he reached his personal limit, he hadn't found an end.

He floated down to the ground and handed the ball to Flowsand, “What is this thing?”

Despite the lightening spell, Flowsand's hand visibly sunk down as he handed it over. Her eyes widened a bit in surprise as she looked over it carefully, her expression growing more solemn with every passing moment.

She quietly opened the Book of Time, placing the orb over one of the pages. Timeforce wrapped around the sphere and disappeared into it silently, but no matter how much power she put in the ball absorbed it all.

820 - City of Sin

Doomsday Imprint

As Flowsand's face started to show signs of fatigue, Io and Nyra's eyes went wide. She had already consumed a greater blessing's worth of grace, but there was no reaction from the ball of light or the book!

Eventually, she gave up and sighed, “I think we've found ourselves a bigger problem.”

“What greater problem?” Richard's eyes narrowed, he had never seen such an expression on Flowsand before.

“I cannot confirm right now, I'll only know once I get this thing back to Norland.”

Richard frowned, “You have no idea?”

“I do, but... It's called the Doomsday Imprint, if I'm right.” Please visit 𝐟𝒓𝚎𝘦we𝐛𝐧𝐨vℯ𝚕. c𝘰ｍ

This term wasn't familiar to Richard, but from the name alone he realised that it was nothing good. “And what exactly is that?”

“Just a name, I think these things can come in any form. Their abilities cannot be analysed by the power of time, because they exist outside the reach of the old dragon. I'll explain more when we have time, it isn't urgent.”

Richard nodded, but he suddenly felt a strange pressure on the hall, “What now?”

“Whatever you want!” Flowsand suggested, her words full of meaning.

“Of course!” Richard no longer hesitated, starting to issue a series of commands.

Tiramisu was the first to head outside the church, roaring as he climbed up to the roof and began dismantling the stone tiles. Almost a thousand worker drones followed suit, aiding the ogre in his task. In only a few minutes, there was a huge hole in the roof of the church.

It was at this point that the astral chrysalis' massive body descended from the sky. Most of Richard's troops were awed and scared by the sight as it lowered its tentacles, wrapping them around the Highland Wargod's statue before rising into the sky.

The statue suddenly shuddered as it was pulled from the ground, a loud roar echoing throughout the church. Divine light shone from within as blood seemed to seep out of the orifices, and it forced itself back to the ground by breaking the chrysalis' tendrils.

However, this was the moment everyone was waiting for. Richard threw out a dark crimson fireball made purely of abyssal flames that started to engulf the statue the moment it struck, eating away at the very soul. A spinning hourglass flew out from Flowsand's hands, getting to the statue's head before freezing in place. The divine power billowing out from the stone was immediately stopped in place.

A grey mist was soon to follow, turning the frozen blood-coloured light into what looked like ash. Io immediately took the opening to rush forth, resplendent light covering both his hands as he started blasting the statue all over. His attacks were flashy yet brutal, a direct contest of divine power.

“You finally got a chance,” Nyra smirked, but the battle priest ignored her completely as he did his utmost to consume all of his divine grace in the attack. A roar of terror and rage rang within the church once more before everything fell silent; there was still some divine energy within the statue, but it had already lost all spirituality. The conscient within had been completely destroyed at the hands of the four present, an utter defeat to the lesser god.

......

“How?! HOW?!” furious roars echoed within the Highland Wargod's divine kingdom, mountains shattering and the tidal waves drowning everything nearby. The petitioners in the kingdom struggled to stay afloat in the water, some of them sinking, but even at this time they didn't forget to pray and sing praises of their god.

Then again, praying was the only way to avoid calamity in a divine kingdom. These souls were normally immortal, but the rage of their master could break them apart in an instant.

The Highland Wargod had already left his divine throne, pacing back and forth in his palace. He regularly picked up the decorations within and smashed them into the ground, causing golden lightning that crashed into the holy spirits nearby and turned them to ashes. These holy spirits— an equal mix of humans, dwarves, and barbarians— were the core of his army in a divine war, but at this point he knew they would only delay the inevitable.

“Why are you this arrogant?! WHY? I just wanted to send you a message, I wanted...” He suddenly stopped howling, all of his rage fading away as he remembered the scene from earlier. Richard was the first to strike his statue after his presence was discovered, and it had been without any hesitation at all. This was not how a mortal would react to a god.

He had only seen a flurry of light when his conscient had been destroyed, but the one who left the greatest impression on him was actually the woman who froze his divinity in place. His own mind had turned sluggish at that moment, unable to control the statue at all. If not for her, he would at least be able to break off the power of his will and return it to his divine kingdom. It seemed to come from the power of spacetime, but he knew that his fellow goddesses of space and time were nowhere near that powerful.

Still, Richard was the one he feared the most. Those flames had caused him immense physical pain, even making him feel like his actual body was burning. This was power far beyond what a sub-legendary being should have possessed!

Even the black and white one had consumed a great amount of his divine power... the Highland Wargod calmed down further, forcing himself to recall everything that had transpired. The first thing Richard had done after entering the church was to look for high-level priests. Outside of the pope, who was killed immediately, the rest were given the choice to change their faith to live. Those who didn't agree were killed immediately, stopping all communication.

He shuddered at the methodical nature of it all. This was only the second time he had felt such a deadly threat since he lit his godspark, but the last time he had lost his throne.

......

By this point, the astral chrysalis had already wrapped itself around the enormous statue before taking to the sky, flying towards the Land of Turmoil. Richard's army had already occupied every corner of the surrounding city, cramping the town that was designed for ten thousand people completely.

This city held no additions to the army. The women, children, and elderly had been left behind, while all able-bodied men had been forced to fight the losing war. If they didn't pick up their weapons, they would have been killed by the worshippers of the Highland Wargod before they could even think of defecting.

Most of the remaining citizens of the city were gathered at a large square in the south. Before floating in the sky to look down on them, Richard whispered to Flowsand, “If it were someone else, what would the outcome be?”

“For them? Two-thirds enslaved, one-thirds dead.”

He nodded, “I'll only enslave those who won't give up their faith.”

821 - City of Sin

Fair And Just

Most of those present in the crowd were barbarians. There were other races present too, like orcs, dwarves, and even gnomes, and the few humans present were clearly slaves. Everyone was whispering to each other, quivering in fear at the fate that was about to befall them, but a gesture by Richard calmed them down.

“Amongst you may be fanatic worshippers of the Highland Wargod, but it doesn't matter. Unlike the priests, you are only commoners. I do not command you to change your faith, but those who choose to continue their current worship will be turned into slaves. The rest will be allowed to live here as free citizens. If you wish to remain steadfast in your faith, walk out now.”

Richard's words immediately caused another ruckus. Such leniency from a conqueror of another race completely stumped the barbarians; in the history of Faelor, religious wars grew even more vengeful than those against invaders. Holy cities were often razed to the ground, all of their citizens killed off to destroy the faith. The gods themselves condoned such an act; after all, getting someone to change their faith was a long, uncertain process.

Some people slowly walked out of the crowd and headed to the area Richard pointed out. There were likely some fanatics still amongst the majority who stayed, but he had the methods to deal with those too. He waved a hand and a troop of knights marched out, escorting row after row of clerics into the crowd.

“The rest of you are to recite the prayers these clerics teach you. Refuse, and you will be enslaved as well.”

The clerics started chanting a mysterious prayer, and under the threat of the knights the people slowly followed. An invisible energy slowly filled the square, and the knights constantly plucked out those who remained quiet.

A few moments later, a young woman suddenly screamed in pain and fell to the ground, writhing desperately as fire spewed out of her orifices. The people around her were immediately shocked, knowing that this was divine punishment. She had incurred the wrath of the Highland Wargod!

But she had just chanted the prayers like everyone else. Why was she smitten? Such thoughts were quickly interrupted by the knights' shouts, “Continue reading, nobody can stop!”

More screams started to interlace the crowd as the people found the prayer wasn't as simple as it seemed. An old man fell to the ground and burnt, followed by another youth. The true worshippers of the Highland Wargod fell one by one.

Richard looked up into the sky, his eyes seemingly piercing through the void to arrive at the divine kingdom in the void as he shouted, “You call yourself a god? Pathetic bastard, what can you do but punish your own worshippers?”

The question spread like thunder, not only through the square but also echoing within the divine kingdom itself. It sounded like a whisper in the ears of every petitioner under the Highland Wargod's control, but the curses against the Wargod shook their very souls.

Theodore had once said that faith was like a noose, one end tied to the worshipper's neck and the other in the hands of the god. The deeper one's faith, the tighter this noose was. A fanatic worshipper's prayers could be heard by their deity word for word, and the Highland Wargod wasn't a tolerant deity. Even losing his own power and prestige, he would strike down those who betrayed him. This method that had come from the false priest was very effective at identifying those with the strongest faith using their own god's hand.
f𝗿e𝙚𝙬ℯ𝚋n𝚘ν𝗲l. 𝐜𝐨𝗺

The ceremony continued on for a while longer, and some of the more devout amongst the crowd started to burn while others headed to the designated area of their own accord. Some rushed to the knights and clerics, hoping to take one down with them, but they were cut down before they could take more than a few steps.

When the ceremony finally came to an end, Richard had the fanatics sent away and spoke to the rest, “Congratulations, you are now citizens of the Crimson Dukedom. You will soon know the benefits that identity will bring you.”

Richard's voice had been extremely bright and clear, but people still left the square in suspicion. Not being attacked even after they reached their homes, the ones who had lost loved ones finally relaxed and began to cry.

A few days later, Richard transformed the remains of the Highland Wargod's church into an altar for the Eternal Dragon, and Flowsand presided over a ceremony with her Book of Time.

The entire process was quick and low-key. Richard started with a top-tier offering, but the options he received immediately made him grunt with anger. He had been given only two choices, one an extension to his life and the other a piece of equipment. In any other scenario he would have chosen the time— after all, he already had far more equipment than he required— but there was an added context that flowed into his mind when he looked at it: “Choose me, and the host will be given more grace.”

The explanation had left him speechless and angry. He really did want to give as much grace to Flowsand as he could, but he didn't want it to be this way. He finally understood a little of why most of the stronger people he met despised the old dragon; this thing liked snooping around and forcing you into decisions!

No powerhouse liked the feeling of being manipulated, and even though he did choose the equipment in the end Richard was no different. He was still frowning as a piece of broken bone dropped from the ball of light and he was informed that it could repair or empower bone weapons. Recalling how he mostly used Carnage's dagger form as a shortsword, he pulled it out and touched it to the bone. The bone immediately sank within, and the bone blade trembled as it grew longer and more slender. The dagger now actually looked like a shortsword.

The entire weapon now seemed to pierce through the dark grey sky, its aura more fierce than ever before. Smelling rust, Richard examined the blade to find that it had two added enchantments on it now: extra sharpness and armour. The blade could now block more powerful strikes without the threat of breakage.

Richard glared at the ball of light that was fading away. A top-tier offering had been consumed just to turn a sub-legendary weapon into a legendary one. This definitely wasn't worth it, and he could only hope that the dragon gave Flowsand some extra grace as promised.

...

Outside the curtain of light, Flowsand shook a little as she felt a large amount of divine grace flowing into her body. Some of the grace flowed into the Book of Time, strengthening the artefact once more.

The grace left for Richard himself was little more than a greater sacrifice! She hadn't interfered with the ceremony, how could it be like this? A million doubts erupted in Flowsand's mind, but she couldn't disturb the ceremony until it came to an end.

822 - City of Sin

A Dream Of The Past

Once done with the top-tier offering, Richard moved on to nearly a hundred lesser offerings that he had amassed elsewhere over the years. Collectively they were only worth a single top-tier offering in price, but the total amount of grace he received for them was equal to two. These lesser offerings granted more grace in total, but in exchange they would never grant powerful blessings like bloodlines. All in all, he obtained some miscellaneous materials, a sub-legendary hammer, and a number of dewdrops of life. The hammer was the most valuable item in the lot, and with its three-metre handle and ridiculously large head it was a perfect fit for Tiramisu. It even had an enchantment that released a shockwave upon contact.

Looking at the numerous hourglasses in his hands, Richard sighed in disappointment. He almost felt cheated by the Eternal Dragon, but these dewdrops were at least something.

While he was thinking about what he would do next, the curtain of light faded and Flowsand dashed in immediately, “Were there many options to share?”

“Ye— No! I mean no!” Richard replied hastily, but looking at her eyes he knew she'd already caught on.

“Damn it, I didn't think that old dragon would play this card... Remember to never share your divine grace with me, it's all a trap. The old bastard gives me some, sure, but a majority of it is actually used to enhance the Book of Time. This is something that belongs to him.”

“But haven't you been using it all this while?”

“Yes, but he can take it back whenever he wants. He can also withdraw the power within, turning it back into a regular legendary spellbook without any other powers.”

Richard looked at the Book of Time curiously. He had truly allocated a gargantuan amount of divine grace to Flowsand during their time together, but the thing only seemed to have cosmetically. He held his hand out and took it from her to examine further, “How strong is this thing now?”

“Can't you tell it's already an intermediate divine weapon?” Flowsand growled.

He laughed loudly, putting the book back in her hands before patting her cheeks, “Then isn't it all fine? It's yours now, we'll think about eventualities later. The dragon really knows his way around the human heart, I had no choice but to pick those options when they appeared.”

“Bu—”

“Alright, no need to think too much, we'll have no problem with offerings in the future. Come, let's gather everyone. I have some good news!”

“What, you have an infinite supply?” Flowsand snorted, but she followed along anyway.

......

A few minutes later, all of Richard's followers were gathered at the altar, their gazes attracted by the hourglasses placed on the table. Richard was sitting amongst the rubble where the Highland Wargod's statue once stood, deep in thought.

He only looked up once everyone had gathered, smiling as he said, “I've gotten a number of blessings of time recently, so I'm sharing. There's one for each of you.”

The followers immediately exchanged glances and erupted with joy. There was nobody who would reject an extension to their life in this way, as it also maintained the youth of their bodies both externally and internally. The dewdrops had some variance in the full extension they granted, but Richard resolved that by giving the three years extensions to Waterflower, Zendrall, and Kellac, while Tiramisu and Olar who had long lifespans anyway were given those with two. Surprisingly enough, even Phaser and Zangru were given dewdrops even though they didn't need it, but Richard just told them to exchange it for whatever they wanted.

Everyone's eyes lit up, especially with Waterflower. The young lady clearly wanted even more, but outside of her weapon, armour, and runes she didn't really have much net worth. Flowsand saw her struggles and walked over, whispering in her ear. The young girl's eyes started to sparkle, and despite her hesitation Flowsand walked over and discussed things with Phaser and Zangru for a bit before putting their dewdrops in her hands as well.

Waterflower knew she couldn't repay such a favour, but Flowsand clearly didn't care. Nobody knew what promises had been made to the other two, but it was clearly a great deal for everyone involved. The rest could only sigh, knowing that following Richard would mean plenty more where this came from.

......

Rosie and Gangdor, who were not present, each received one as well. Two days later on the eastern borders of the Dukedom, Gangdor who was lazing around in the sun was interrupted by the dark shadow of one of Richard's winged serpents. He yawned and turned over to resume his nap, but the serpent swooped down and spat the hourglass onto his stomach. Grabbing it and confirming its identity, the sleepy half-giant roared with laughter and jumped up from his chair.

The patrolling guards stifled their laughter as they heard repeated peals of “I love you, Boss!” ringing through the camp. They were already used to such things by now.

Gangdor didn't hesitate as he smashed the hourglass, the trickle of golden sand entering his body immediately. He rushed into the command tent and took out a mirror, touching his bearded face and declaring vainly, “Thank goodness it came in time! A few days later and I'd have been an old man!”

......

Rosie received her dew of life a little earlier, but she didn't share Gangdor's enthusiasm for it. She was lost in thought for some time as she received the hourglass from the winged serpent, eventually sighing and smashing the hourglass as well, but the joy in her eyes wasn't as clear-cut.

She turned around in her seat to look down at the large hall she now presided over, with many small cubicles with young apprentices running back and forth between them. These low-level youths were supplying the older mages within the cubicles, collecting blueprints and even handing them refreshments from time to time.

Although there were many people in the hall, it was completely silent. Everyone was busy with their own work, and a number of silencing spell formations ensured they could work in peace and quiet. This setup was extremely expensive, but Richard had left her with a million gold to get the entire project up and running. She had even been allowed to return to Norland and sell some of the runes she'd crafted to make even more on top, and she had poured all of that in to establish this laboratory. At this point, it truly qualified to be a workshop.

'Perhaps I should call it a rune factory,' she thought randomly to herself. Everything here was unprecedented in Norland, turning what was once the highest tier of the social pyramid into a number of regular workers just like smiths or artisans. Runecrafting was a sacred and noble activity, the ink flowing from a runemaster's pen capable of buying almost anything in existence, but now even those without much talent had been harnessed to produce a number of individual magic arrays that she could just combine into a complete runes in minutes to hours and not days.

Admittedly, there were multiple drawbacks to the process. The capacity requirements were higher because of the lack of intricacy, the final effect was lower, and it wasn't capable of forming anything truly amazing. However, the sheer production rate was astonishing; this workshop could produce four runes in a day! While a single rune used more materials than a 'proper' counterpart, that was even balanced out by the increased success rate granted by the fact that every single mage had to focus on only one single part of the whole.

As she turned back to her desk intending to get back to work, Rosie suddenly had a change of mind and opened a book that was on a nearby table. This book contained a number of designs for her to practice, and she could now use almost every single one. The harder ones were quite strange, but they had been designed personally by Richard to ease the connection of different magic arrays.

Looking at them all, tears started to well up in her eyes. Her idea was just nonsense to most runemasters and an affront to the rest, but Richard hadn't hesitated in the slightest as he found more than seventy mages to work on the project. He had even dedicated two whole days to devising the methods to connect these formations; there was no need for more evidence of his support.

The complicated emotions welled up in her heart once more and she put the book down and looked back at the mages working below. This had once been her dream even before meeting Richard, to have an entire group of people working under her to tackle difficult tasks. However, she had only thought it to be a mere fancy and never actually expected it to come to fruition. At a mere level 14, she was already being treated no worse than a grand mage.

And yet, this achievement didn't bring up as much joy as she had once thought it would. All she could think of were the days she was stuck in the lab serving Richard, learning from his every movement. Those were the days...

Her heart skipped a beat as she berated herself for feeling that way. However, she knew that she was just unwilling to face the true problem at hand.

The sky seemed distant and the wind was blowing gently. This winter in the Bloodstained Lands seemed to be particularly warm.

823 - City of Sin

Choice

Thousands upon thousands of soldiers flooded out of what was once the Church of the Highland Wargod, leaving a garrison of 5,000 as the Crimson Dukedom's claim to the barbarian plains. Richard stationed nearly 50,000 troops amongst the mountains near the borders of the Iron Triangle Empire, waiting for the right opportunity.

The atmosphere in the city was still rather tense, but a large number of craftsmen rushed in and started on three smaller churches around what was now the Church of the Eternal Dragon. Many priests and priestesses rushed over from the Crimson Dukedom as well, intent on converting as many of the barbarians as they could.

Richard held true to his intentions of developing the plains, sending caravan after caravan of food, clothes, and wine their way. This ensured that the former worshippers of the Highland Wargod were now even more conflicted about their choice. Even if they didn't convert, their hearts would waver. For him, this was enough.

He didn't believe he was a samaritan by any means, but the millions of gold he invested into helping the barbarians develop wasn't purely a cause of faith either. They were admittedly a great source of faith and soldiers, but he would be lying if this was a decision motivated by gains.

Richard himself had left the city entirely, riding a cloned brain to a small oasis city in the Bloodstained Lands. This city only housed a few thousand people, and without many merchants coming through it was quite peaceful and serene.

It was dusk by the time he stepped foot within what passed for the city walls, and the first thing that struck him was the smell of barbequed meat wafting through the air. People were leisurely walking through the streets, and any litter that accumulated was cleaned up by the occasional slave. Even the slaves in this city looked healthy and strong, unlike the frail, sick husks in most other countries in the world.

This city was a token of Alice's abilities at governance. While he was focused on expanding his army and amassing wealth, she was closing the gaps from behind and improving the lives of all of his and her citizens. Although she hadn't been to Faelor herself yet, she had passed on many strategies of governance that his followers used to build and maintain beautiful cities at minimal cost.

For example, the slaves in this city were not owned by any individuals but a central council. The stronger ones were put in charge of law and order, while the weaker ones were responsible for maintaining cleanliness. Those who did their jobs well could eventually earn their freedom, and regardless they were given twice the food they would get anywhere else. They were even allowed to save some food to feed their families, ensuring long-term loyalty and devotion.

After a leisurely tour of the city, Richard eventually arrived in front of a rustic old house and knocked on the door. It took a minute, but the wood eventually creaked open to reveal a wrinkled old man on the verge of death, unfocused eyes straining hard to make out who the visitor was, “Is it... Richard?”

“Yes, Perrin. It's been a while.”

The old man shook his head and his eyes regained some clarity, “You actually look the same after all these years! Come, I never thought I'd see you again before my life came to an end.”

As he followed Perrin in, Richard noticed rows of flower pots and wine jars within an inner courtyard. It seemed like Perrin had been tidying up. He smiled and pointed at the meticulous indoor garden, “Looks like you're living well, here I was thinking you were still trying to work on planar geometry.”

Perrin sighed, “Whose fault is that? If not for you, I would have spent my entire life performing research that had already been completed somewhere else. Now, what's the point? I feel myself growing older again, and I'd rather spend the rest of my life doing things I never got a chance to. Drinking tea, eating good food, tidying my garden... I've even learnt to take afternoon naps!”

“Looks like you're better off than me!” Richard chuckled, nodding for the maid who served them red tea and some snacks to leave them alone.

Perrin lifted his cup but wasn't in a hurry to drink it. Instead, he looked at Richard and asked with a hint of worry, “You didn't come here just to drink tea with me, did you?”

“Mm. Two things, actually. The first is to fulfil my promise to Bevry, and the other is to see if you're willing to help me out. This thing can give you three more years,” he put an hourglass on the table.

As he recognised the sand rolling around within the delicate little hourglass, Perrin froze in place. He felt his breath catching in his lungs, and no matter how hard he tried he couldn't bring himself back. There was nothing more exciting than walking to the edge of death and learning that one could survive.

He reached out for it, but his fingertips were trembling the entire way. He couldn't even bring himself to actually touch the thing, afraid that it was only a beautiful mirage that would break the moment it was touched.

“But you can't use it as you are.”

Richard's words immediately had Perrin pop up from his chair. He stared at Richard and his mouth opened and closed a few times, but no words came out. He finally remembered how to breathe, heaving a few times before he managed to calm down and ask, “What do you need me to do? I don't think there's anything I can help you with.”

“You remember the blessing from the Eternal Dragon that dispelled the effect the first time? This is similar. However, you need to fulfil another condition; because you're not from Norland, this hourglass will only work if you abandon your faith and start worshipping the Eternal Dragon.”

“I need to change my faith?”

“Yes. This hourglass was my last promise to your father, so don't think I'm doing you a favour. This will be your own choice,” Richard put a badge on the table that of the Direwolf Duke.

On one hand was the crest of his family, and on the other the hourglass of time. Perrin's forehead started to ooze sweat, the choice now far more complicated than a mere change of faith. He quickly realised that this was a choice vetween Norland and Faelor. If he took the hourglass and received the extra lifespan, he would forever be pitting himself against his own plane. This was fundamentally different from what had happened before.

“I...” Perrin didn't know what to say, eventually just burying his head in his hands.

Richard waited a few minutes for the youth to think things through before speaking up, “If I were you, I'd definitely choose the hourglass.”

“But...”

“You might love this plane, but it does not love you. It's just a world built on a base of laws, and any creature living upon it is dispensable. In fact, it considers extremely powerful creatures a tumour to be removed. Regardless, if you want to do something good for this place, you have to live first.”

“And Norland will conquer us?”

“Without a doubt. If it isn't me, it'll be someone else. And I'm not boasting here, but you don't want it to be someone else.”

Perrin nodded, “The people here are living well, but... Will that last? Argh, whatever!”

Richard smiled as the shaking hands grabbed hold of the hourglass, passing over a piece of paper he had prepared long ago, “Recite this prayer before you use it. As for the lives of my citizens, perhaps you can try to influence my decisions in the future.”

Perrin silently recited the prayers before breaking the hourglass, watching on as the golden sand turned into a stream of light that entered his body. He finally took a deep breath, “What do you want me to do?”

Richard took out a book and placed it on the table, “This is a complete introduction to planar geometry, you have ten days to master it.”

Another book, “This details the basic principles of magic arrays. You have some more time for this, twenty days.”

The third, “Practical Magic Arrays, details dozens of the most basic functions you can accomplish with magic arrays. Ten days...”

All in all, Perrin was given three months to learn eight books on various aspects of magic arrays.

“And once I've learnt it all?”

“Then I'll tell you the exact kind of arrays I want, and you'll have to design them. No need to think about sourcing materials, no need to worry yourself with practicality. If the array needs to be powered by a grand mage, that's fine. If it needs to be powered by a legend, that's fine too. Your job will be to find a way, any way, to condense my requirements.”

“Sigh... I cannot reject you at all,” Perrin's eyes were already glued to the books Richard had placed in front of him. This was the dream of a lifetime.

824 - City of Sin

Show-Off

Richard stood up, “Your mind is far beyond this place. I'll have someone pick you up in a few days, come back to Bluewater; I have a new lab there with an amazing hostess. Alright, I'll be leaving.”

“Richard!” Perrin called him from behind.

“Hmm?” Richard turned around, watching the youth who was actually younger than himself yet also older than even his deceased father.

“Umm... I've lived in this city for a few years now, and have gotten to know quite a few good people. They're living happily here, can you... can you make sure they stay happy?”

Richard walked back, placing a finger on Perrin's chest, “That depends on you. It's a noble cause, but if you want me to listen your voice needs to be loud enough to hear. The more you achieve in life, the more you can get a good life for these people. That hourglass doesn't come cheap either, you'll have to work for the next ones.”

“I'll try my best.”

“I look forward to it,” Richard turned around and walked away.

“I'll... try...” the old man continued to mutter, his eyes filled with fanaticism as he stared at the books on the table.

......

Back in Bluewater, a cloned brain descended from the sky right next to the newly built laboratory building. Immersed in her runecrafting, Rosie didn't even notice as Richard walked in and surveyed her work. She had no make-up on, and her robes were plain as day, but just the blue silk ribbon tying her hair up in a ponytail was enough to accentuate her beauty.

Even more noticeable was the absolute stability of her hand; seven different pieces of hide were laid out in front of her, each containing a separate magic array. Her job right now was to combine these fragments into a single whole, a process that required not time but precision. It was the most difficult of tasks for an unskilled runemaster.

When she was finally done, she poured a tiny bit of mana into the rune to test it out. Smiling at the result, she moved to put it into a sealing case. It was only at this point that she realised someone was right behind her, letting out a soft “Eep!” as she turned around.

Richard walked over and patted her head, taking the rune from her hands and looking at it carefully, “Hmm... Good job, but... why are you doing this? This is simple enough to give to the people down below.”

Rosie shook her head, “The connecting arrays are the most fundamental part of the process. I don't trust anyone down there to the extent that I'll share these secrets; they might spread the design.”

Richard chuckled, “There are always methods to ensure loyalty, like enslavement scrolls. You should focus your energy on new designs and personal growth, not this. Don't forget the entire point of this project, they're supposed to be able to do everything on their own.

Richard put the rune down, “I found you a helper, he'll be coming over in a few days. He should be able to help you come up with any designs you want. Now, help me get the old lab ready, here's the list.”

Rosie's eyes immediately lit up, “Which rune is it? Can I see?”

“Mana Armament, the grade 4 upgrade. It'll be very difficult.”

Her face started to glow as she rushed away immediately, “I'll get everything ready!”

......

The grade 4 Mana Armament required more than 150 materials, but Rosie got them all up within the hour. Richard changed out of his form-fitting battle robes into something looser and more comfortable as well, knowing that this rune was even more difficult than Lifesbane. Even with his best efforts, it wouldn't be a surprise if he failed seven or eight times.

As he picked up his legendary pen and sat down to work, however, his hand suddenly stopped in mid-air as he started thinking about the rune's design. The grade 3 Mana Armament would give its user the equivalent of a level 14 warrior's energy, while each higher grade increased that power by two levels. A rune that could give a legendary mage the power of a saint warrior was truly amazing and worthy of being grade 5, but sadly Lawrence hadn't filled in all the gaps.

The key issue with this rune was the transformation of mana into internal energy. Richard had always felt like this was the most troubled part of the design, so much so that it was almost entirely missing in the grade 5 blueprint. His mind suddenly flashed to the image of Lawrence, a thin old man who even in his prime was physically weaker than he was now.

It was at that point that lightning struck in his mind.

“THAT'S IT!” he screamed, scaring Rosie who was standing nearby. Before she could even ask what was going on he pulled a piece of moonscar paper from his desk and started drawing a design on it, taking the initiative to speak up, “I'm making some changes to the design, you can do whatever you want.”

After that, he stopped paying attention to her and completely immersed himself in the world of runes.

A grade 4 rune was extremely complicated, with even the smallest of changes requiring great effort. The blank piece of paper was filled up in only a few minutes before Richard shook his head, throwing it away. Papers quickly piled up on the desk before being swept away, but Rosie remained nearby to organise the papers he was throwing to the ground.

Even if this wasn't a new design, these draft papers showed the core mechanics of designing a grade 4 rune. Rosie tried to keep up at first, but before she could even get through the first few pages an entire stack had been swept away. Acutely feeling the gap that still existed between the two of them, she went mute and just continued to help as she could.

The sky outside went dark, but neither of the two had touched the meal they had been delivered. Rosie went out for a few minutes when the moon crested the sky, but she only brought in some essentials so she could stay for a while.

It was almost dawn by the time Richard uttered a single word, “Drink.”

“Water?” she asked.

“No, wine.”

Rosie brought a bottle of mellow wine, pouring a cup and placing it in Richard's hand. He didn't even look as he gulped it all down, turning back to work. Having given up on the idea of trying to understand what he was doing, she just quietly watched as he immersed himself in the design process. At some point, just that had grown quite enjoyable.

Bottles emptied out one after the other, and it was dark once more and bright yet after. Both Richard and Rosie lost all semblance of time. When he finished the last complicated curve and sighed with relief, one could almost see the energy dissipating from his body as he fell back into his chair, just staring at the new design in front of me.

Rosie didn't move towards the design, instead heating up a wet towel and starting to wipe him down. Richard closed his eyes and grunted in pleasure, spitting out a breath that reeked of alcohol as he enjoyed her ministrations.

It took a few minutes for him to open his eyes once more, asking softly, “Not interested in the design?”

Rosie smiled softly, “Your work is still too good for me, I can't understand it.”

“Huh?” Richard looked at her strangely, “This isn't like you.”

“It's been so many years, of course I'd have changed a bit.”
f𝗿e𝙚𝙬ℯ𝚋n𝚘ν𝗲l. 𝐜𝐨𝗺

Richard was stunned, finally recalling just how many years had passed since he last interacted properly with this woman. More than half a decade had passed since he won her in a duel, and the only impression she had left on him was her intellect and diligence. He'd almost forgotten that this was the same princess that had rejected countless young talents and noble sons before.

Now that he looked over her once more, recalling every movement of hers since she had arrived, her natural grace had melded perfectly with her serious aura. “Of course!” he praised her, “You're more beautiful than ever!”

Rosie smiled, “Then don't let me go.”

“Never,” Richard said with a chuckle, pulling her over to the table and pointing at the completed design, “Grade 4, but it can give level 18 energy to the user.”

“A saint's power?” Rosie exclaimed in surprise. She didn't understand how to craft one yet, but she knew the rune's utility, “Isn't that supposed to be grade 5?”

Richard smiled proudly, “Only grade 4 now, and no increased capacity requirements either! Don't you want to know how I did it?”

She looked him in the eye and sneered, “Come on, you little peacock. You just can't wait to show off, can you?”

Richard was immediately left quiet.

825 - City of Sin

The New Mana Armament

Crafting this upgraded Mana Armament was far more difficult than Richard had expected, taking an entire month of work that involved eleven total failures. The new rune was a sum total of sixty different magic arrays, and the failures had almost cleaned out his entire warehouse to the point that he couldn't even bring himself to be too happy with the finished product in his hand.

Realising that the original had been built with a mage's physique in mind, he had decided to greatly relax the limits on the energy output of the rune. This was a risky modification that could potentially even kill a frail mage, but his own physique was equipped to handle it. However, this fundamental change to the thought process meant a majority of the magic arrays needed to be changed, and with minimal experience in some of them even he went through a few failures to get it right.

With the success of Mana Armament, he was finally at the level of a grand runemaster, amongst the pinnacle of runecrafting in all of Norland. Just this one rune was worthy of a convention all unto itself, and would even be lauded by many for its ingenuity and power.

Richard had almost withered away by the end of the month, losing an entire ten kilograms. The first thing he did after he attached the rune to himself was to clear out an entire table full of dishes made by Rosie before spending a good hour in the bath. Well-fed and freshened up, the two naturally ended up in bed; this time, he was much more loving and tender than the last.

It was almost dawn by the time they were done, and unlike with Flowsand Rosie was just laying against his chest like a sleepy kitten while he looked out the window at the morning rays. She slowly stretched and yawned, turning around to face him, “What's on your mind?”

“I'll be one of the most accomplished people in Norland someday soon,” he said calmly.

“Yawn... And why are you saying that with sadness? Isn't it wonderful?”

“It's not good enough.”

“What is?”

Richard went quiet for a few moments before speaking up, “Perhaps... When I'm on top of the world.”

Finally awake, she sat up to look at him, “Why push yourself so hard?”

“Because... Sigh, there are some things in the future that I can only prevent if I'm the best of the best.”

Rosie lay back down on his chest. She knew that she would never be on par with Sharon, Mountainsea, or Flowsand in his mind. She had her moments of glory, but even in the depths of intimacy she was never the only one on his mind. After all, she was a nobody outside of Faust and definitely unheard of amongst the true hegemons who ruled the myriad planes.

She knew she only had Richard for a brief time; now that he was finished with his rune, he would be gone once more. The thought of not seeing him for years sent shivers down her spine.

“Hmm?” Richard immediately noticed her starting to tremble, “What's wrong?”

“Something bad...” she sniffled, “I think I've fallen in love with you...”

He could only stroke her hair and sigh.

......

As day broke, Rosie quickly got up and busied herself with running a bath, preparing clothing, and getting breakfast ready. He finished getting ready and headed towards the command centre, but seeing her still at the door he turned around and bid her goodbye with a large hug and deep kiss.

“Any problems at the borders?” he asked as he entered the meeting hall, looking at Gangdor and Raymond who were both ready and waiting.

“Nothing at all, Boss!” Gangdor waved it off, “They were all little kittens, I couldn't even bear to bully them!”

“As if!” Richard laughed, “How much did you annoy them really?”

“Well...” Gangdor chuckled as well, “I couldn't help myself, I wanted to test their patience.”

“And? How was it?”

“Impressive!”

“Good to hear.” Richard then turned to Raymond, “What about the Iron Triangle?”

“Quiet. Hardly any movements at all, not even routine mobilisations. There are no signs of them being ready to go to war with us.” Raymond stole a glance at Richard, trying to read his expression, but found nothing. Richard hadn't told anyone about the events at the Valley of Darkness, so nobody knew there was an impending war against one or more gods.

Rapping the table, Richard looked through some prepared reports as he asked, “The Norlanders in our army should have fulfilled the requirements to be released from service?”

“Yes, Boss.”

“Alright, let them return to Norland if they want. Give them all an extra year of pay too, and tell Master Mito he's free to leave as well.”

“What?” Gangdor was shocked, “That's so many rune knights!”

“Rune knights I recruited for a certain number of years. I need to fulfil my promises.”

“But... They're very competent warriors...”

“And they'll stay if they want to. Now go, give them the news.”

“Alright... I'll miss the old man, you think he'll stay?”

“In the army? I doubt it. He's an old man, and he'll want to focus on research instead of battles. Hopefully he'll be a friend, though. Anyway, I'll be away for half a month. Send a message to the Land of Dusk if someone decides to attack, and try to delay things until I return. In the meanwhile, maintain the status quo at the ancestral plains....”

Taking care of the important things, Richard packed up and left Faelor for the familiar Land of Dusk.

......

With the war having simmered down, the Sacred Alliance had returned to dropping people a ways off from the fortress itself. Richard checked his position when he stepped out of the portal, finding that he was about eight days away from the City of the Unsetting Sun. As per usual practice, he checked his equipment and runes to be ready for any situation before picking up speed and heading for the city.

Racing across the vast landscape under the crimson sky, Richard realised that this sort of life roused the warrior within him. This plane was the exact same as before, with powerhouses from the two primary planes fighting each other constantly. Although the Daxdians had lost the last war, their casualties weren't far apart from Norland's. Overall, it could even be considered a draw.

It didn't take long for him to meet the first challenger, but the skaven that dashed at him from a nearby boulder found itself biting down on a sword blade instead of flesh. Before it could even realise what had happened, its head was almost bisected and Richard was already cleaning the blood off his blade. He turned to walk away at first, but after a few steps couldn't help but stop and turn around, unwilling to let go of the harvests from the carcass.

826 - City of Sin

Gift

A young enclave centaur was trotting along the dark wilderness, surveying the lands on high alert with two human corpses slung across his back. One of the bodies was missing two legs, which had likely ended up in the centaur's stomach.

The centaur had been tracking down a human expert for more than ten days now, and was quite sure that she couldn't have made it back to the City of the Unsetting Sun yet. However, there were no traces of her to be found.

He raised his head and looked into the horizon, seeing the city that was now only three days away. This was approaching the territory of the city itself, making it likely for him to encounter human saints, but he wasn't afraid at all. In fact, he was excited about the opportunity to capture more prey.

The centaur's gaze suddenly landed on some rubble on the ground, and looking at the pattern he bent closer to inspect the stones. They looked no different from anything else at first glance, but they were actually a method of communication used by those of Daxdus. The relative patterns of the stones spelt out words to sentences and sometimes even paragraphs of information.

As he was busy deciphering the message within the stones, a gentle voice suddenly rang out by his side, “Whatchu looking at?”

“GRR!” Although he couldn't understand the words, the centaur could recognise Norlandic immediately. He whipped around to find a young Norlander standing a few metres away, also staring at the stones.

The Daxdian grasped his weapon tightly, but hesitated to attack. This youth seemed like a frail mage from his presence and robes, almost as though he could be cut apart by any casual swing of the spear, but intuition was screaming that this was a dangerous opponent. After all, how could a weak Norlander come so close without even being found out? If he'd just decided to stab a blade in instead of speaking...

Seeing the centaur's confused expression, Richard quickly realised his mistake; not everyone from Daxdus new Norlandic, just as he didn't know the language of the Daxdians. Normally he would cast a spell that helped with this understanding, but that required more time than this encounter would allow. He thus tore apart a small scroll that granted the effect immediately, speaking once more in the centaur's language, “What's written on the stones?”

“Why would I tell you?!” the centaur growled in rage.

“Tch, and here I was not wanting to kill boys. You've wasted one of my scrolls, you better make it worth it.”

The centaur didn't utter a word, simply twirling his spear around and ramming it right towards Richard's forehead. The dense weapon was extremely heavy, weighing more than a tonne at minimum. Even if it landed straight on the ground, just the shockwaves from the attack would be terrifying. The centaur was clearly going all-out from the very beginning, even using the power of its bloodline to maximise its strength.

Richard's body started emitting dazzling sparks, a few balls of lightning even circling around him as Carnage flashed out of the sword case. He brought the blade forward to meet the spear head-on, the collision so fierce that blood started flowing from his mouth, but he just grunted in satisfaction. He had been able to block the mountainous attack in terms of pure strength!

He smirked and continued to pour mana into the rune, using the increased might to push the spear away. He then scoffed at the centaur who almost lost all control in shock.

Enclave centaurs were naturally powerful creatures, and this youth was an exception even amongst his generation. This blow of his was equal to that of a powerful human saint, but Richard had managed to stave it off directly.

Richard mockingly hooked his index finger towards the centaur, “Come on, again!”

Even with the duration of the translation scroll having ended, the centaur could still understand the act of provocation. Seeing the blood leaking from the corners of Richard's mouth, it rushed forward to fight once more. This cunning human was actually a warrior who'd disguised himself as a mage!

Richard matched spear with blade once again, but this time he moved to throw the centaur off balance, sending the strike to the earth. However, he didn't take advantage of the opening and instead retreated a few steps, pulling open some distance as he buffed himself with a number of spells. A quick barrage of eight buffs left the centaur in awe.

“Again,” he waved his hand once more.

The centaur roared and galloped over, raining strikes down on Richard and even trying to stomp on him for good measure. However, Richard managed to dodge the attacks and manoeuvre freely, the blade in his hands still making a point to meet all strikes. With none of his attacks landing, the centaur was left with no way to attack this enemy. Even his second set of hands seemed to be of little use.

With the vicious offensive having failed, the centaur had no choice but to open up some distance to catch his breath. He panted heavily while glaring at Richard, the sweat drenching his long hair. A mere few minutes of battle had consumed half of his energy reserves, but Richard seemed just as calm as he did at the start.

However, Richard still didn't press the issue. Waiting a few minutes for the centaur to recover, he then made another provocative gesture to have the centaur attack. The youth did rush and charge forward, but he suddenly felt like a fool. He was beginning to realise that he was being used as a practice dummy, and after this last clash he had lost all delusions of grandeur.

The centaur's bloodshot eyes stared daggers at Richard, the hot breath released with every pant almost visible to the naked eye. When Richard motioned once more, he let out a bloodcurdling scream before turning around to flee.

Richard was surprised for a moment, but then he laughed and gave chase. Enclave centaurs were known for their speed in a sprint, but that could nowhere come close to matching a grand mage's ability in a chase. Even better, his own sprint was faster. His dash left behind a trail of afterimages and electric fire as he caught up in less than a minute, parrying a final desperate attack to make his own.

Seeing his spear only pierce a shadow, the centaur slowly looked down at his chest. The armour there had been cut open, revealing a scar that was roughly a metre long. The wound was superficial as well, less than an inch deep, but for some reason that was not reassuring.

The centaur quickly found out why. The surface wounds suddenly burst open of its own accord, blood and flesh flowing out from within as his still-beating heart slipped out and fell to the ground. It took a few moments for him to realise just what it was, and by the time he did his eyes rolled back into their sockets.

Standing a dozen metres away, Richard saw the centaur fall to the ground and secretly sighed to himself. This was a decent opponent, and the fight had given him a better understanding of his upgraded rune. The modified Mana Armament's output was far too high for him to control well right now, so he would need to change some of his tactics until he could adjust.

As he threw the centaur heart into his skaven-skin sack, he looked towards the City of the Unsetting Sun and found a demon in the distance. Looking at the ominous glint of its flail, he stretched a little before motioning for it to come over.

......

As he walked into the City of the Unsetting Sun, Richard found there were far fewer people than he was used to seeing within. The city had already been rather lonely at times before, but now it seemed absolutely desolate. He had heard during his time in the Fort of Dawn that he wasn't the only one dissatisfied with Rundstedt's ways, and that many independent saints had moved to the other fortresses the moment the war drew to a close. The Marshal himself was still fighting his case in the courts, the investigation destined to drag on even further.

Thankfully, the Millennial Empire had sent over another legend to help keep the city safe. Alongside Dreambreaker, this was enough in case of emergencies. Hasting was still present as well, but Richard had no interest in meeting him.

Lawrence's little shop was the same as before, not a single customer in sight. That being said, Richard had also never seen Lawrence actually selling anything before; the only people that came to the place were wounded and looking for treatment.

Hearing the familiar snore from the counter, Richard couldn't help a small smile. The old man was just like before, smiling lewdly from some indecent dream. He leaned close to Lawrence's ear, “Oi, wake up! I'm here to see you!”

“Wha? Who? Is your husband back? Damn, let me hide in the closet!” Lawrence jolted up and fell to the floor, still in half a daze.

Richard didn't know whether to laugh or cry; this old pervert had clearly experienced his fair share of such encounters in the past. He eventually just sighed, picking Lawrence up by the scruff of his neck and putting him back on the chair.

Seeing who it was, Lawrence immediately calmed down a little and started cursing, “You little bastard, why did you have to break my beautiful dream? I'd just stripped Little Nancy naked!”

Nancy? Richard immediately recognised the name, recalling it as one of those on Lawrence's list. This “little” Nancy was probably older than his grandmother.

827 - City of Sin

Monopoly

“I brought you something good,” Richard wisely diverted the topic, placing two hourglasses before Lawrence.

The old man's face flashed with a myriad of emotions, first gratitude and then helplessness. He looked at the hourglasses for several minutes before raising his head once more, “You must have given up a lot of offerings for these things.”

“Oh? Not that much. They seemed rarer than before, but there was still a fair number.” Richard suddenly felt something was amiss, remembering the sheer number of hourglasses that had spawned in his very first offering. Now, despite the number of offerings far exceeding what he'd sacrificed then, he had barely been given the same amount. The old dragon had given him an abundance of sub-legendary gear, enough to equip each of his followers, but these hourglasses that he wanted the most didn't appear nearly as much.

Lawrence looked at him and sighed, “These should be worth five years in total? Tch, they'll only give me two more years at best, and in the future even that won't happen.”

“Why?” Richard frowned.

“Or no powerhouses would ever die. Gods fall and entire planes are destroyed, how could mere mortals last forever? There's not much of a difference between dying now and in two years.”

“You never told me about this,” Richard's brows locked together.
𝘧𝘳𝑒ℯ𝔀𝘦𝒃𝘯𝒐𝐯e𝗹. co𝐦

“Sigh. Even if I did, you'd still do what you had to until you hit the wall. You should have realised the blessings of time are growing less abundant.”

“No worries. Two years are still two good years. I'll definitely get more offerings by then, I've even gathered so many just on the way!” Richard chuckled, tossing his sack onto the ground. Within were multiple intermediate offerings and many black crystals.

“It looks like you've gotten better, you bastard,” Lawrence praised with a shake of his head.

Richard just smiled in response, taking off his shirt to reveal his chiselled body, “I have another present for you.”

“What? NO! I'm an old man, I don't have those tastes!” Lawrence suddenly screamed, starting to back away.

Richard's expression froze for a moment, his mana almost dissipating. It took all of his effort to refrain from slapping the old pervert unconscious, but after a while he just shook his head and activated Mana Armament. Sparks flew all over as a few orbs of lightning started revolving around his body, the inscribed lines barely lighting up on his skin.

“My Mana Armament!” Lawrence immediately jumped up, his mouth opening wider and wider as he examined the rune in detail, “No... No! It's different from my design! Damn it, so much energy, how can you withstand it... Wait, you've even changed the core array? It's more complicated now too! Wait...

“Isn't it grade 5 rune now?”

“No, it's a tiny bit away,” Richard replied.

“A bit? You damned rascal, I really want to strangle you!” Lawrence stomped his feet, but one could tell from the tone that he was proud more than anything else.

Richard withdrew his mana and smiled bitterly, “Its capacity requirement is close to grade 5, though. I wanted to enhance the Lifesbanes on my body, but it seems like I can't do that now. If only I had Manaforge instead of Manacycle... Tch.”

Lawrence shook his head, “Stop dreaming, kid. Manacycle is already good enough, don't even dream about Manaforge. As far as I know, that ability is restricted to certain bloodlines and is the ability that is awakened when certain races reach adulthood. It's also far more powerful than the other two legendary mage abilities, it's just that there aren't many mages who can compare.”

“That can't be right. Manaforge sounds like the most useless of the three, what's the point of a standard increase in mana if you can kill enemies using less?” Richard rebuked.

Lawrence snorted, “Let's say we're both fighting each other. I have 10,000 men versus you're 3,000. How are you going to win?”

“But my troops are more powerful individually!” Richard rebuked again.

“Are they?” Lawrence snickered, “Any being that can awaken Manaforge already has exceptional control of their mana. The power of their spells is amazing as well. How are you going to be better than them?”

“Really?” Richard still found it rather difficult to believe.

“You're doubting me now? Kid, if you meet anyone with Manaforge don't ever get into a battle with them. These beings only get stronger once they reach the legendary realm, growing far beyond most others at their level.”

These words made him recall Sharon's own splendour before she was even a grand mage, and she was someone who had Manaforge as well. Unable to retort, he just nodded his head.

“Alright, give me a copy of the design and wait a bit. Let me see if there's anything I can improve.”

Richard passed a blueprint he had already prepared, “I'm planning to stay here for a week.”

Lawrence took the blueprint and stared at it for a few minutes before sighing in disappointment, “This would have been difficult even back in my prime. Don't have too much hope, I'll only be making some minor changes.”

“That's enough,” Richard smiled. When a rune approached grade 5, even minor changes were extremely complicated.

Lawrence turned around, “Right, I have to remind you about something. Now that you can craft grade 4 runes, there aren't many people left in Norland who can surpass you. You need to make a rune that will spread your reputation far and wide, one that others can remember you by. Just power is not enough.”

“What?” Richard was confused.

“Yes, you still have to add special effects. Lights, sound, whatever it is, it should be flamboyant! This is why all runemasters are known as great artists!”

“Light and sound?” Richard still couldn't understand, “What's the point?”

“What's the most famous grade 5 rune of all time?”

“Heaven's Armour?”

“Do you think Heaven's Armour would be more powerful than a grade 5 Lifesbane?”

“Umm... No?”

“Exactly. Why, then is it famous?”

“Isn't it because Saint Peter was enlightened by the deity he served, thus coming upon the design for the rune?”

“Bullshit! You think the puny gods of Norland can actually think up a grade 5 rune design themselves? You think they would choose that old baldy who wanted nothing but gold and power even if they could? Heaven's Armous is memorable because of the wings of light it creates when it's activated. Those things are absolutely useless in battle, but damn are they cool! That's why the rune is the most famous of them all!”

“Just because it's pretty?” Richard couldn't bring himself to believe that.

“Exactly! The aesthetics determine just how much your rune can sell for. Don't underestimate them, you can even double your price if you do it right!” Lawrence pointed at Richard's chest, “Take the Mana Armament. The lightning balls circling around you are amazing too, but there's plenty of room for changes. Add more balls, make them larger, have them circle in a set pattern to seem more menacing. You can even have them explode when your defences are broken; it'll mean nothing against an enemy that actually has the power to beat you, but it'll seem amazing on stage. You can also change the colour of the lightning, even customising it for your clients. Red, purple... Maybe pink for some women of high society. These are all areas you can improve!”

“Uhh... Uhh... Were these the minor changes you talked about? I thought you were improving the output or something...”

Lawrence's nose flared, ”These changes are extremely important! They determine how well your rune would sell!”

“BUT I'M NOT EVEN SELLING THEM! LIFESBANE IS MORE THAN ENOUGH TO MAKE MONEY OFF!”

“BUT OTHERS CAN CREATE LIFESBANE TOO! YOU'RE THE ONLY ONE WITH MANA ARMAMENT, AND YOU'RE THE ONLY ONE WHO CAN REPAIR IT!”

828 - City of Sin

An Entire World

Richard plugged his ears at the sound of the old man's mana-infused scream, taking a step back before raising his hands in defeat. He had to admit that Lawrence's words made sense; if he finished the grade 5 Mana Armament, then he truly would be the only person in the world capable of making and repairing it. No matter how much money his customers spent on the rune itself, they would still have to come back to him for repairs; there would never be a case where such people turned into enemies.

Finding that Beye was out hunting and wouldn't be back for a while, he decided to spend some time meditating while Lawrence made his modifications. Having been busy getting used to his new ability ever since he reached level 18, he hadn't found the time to delve into the upgraded version of the Deepblue Fantasy, the Deepblue Dream. Sharon had once told him that this was the true basis of the entire Deepblue series of meditation techniques, while the Deepblue Fantasy was just something she had come up with as an afterthought.

Having delved into the basics of the technique long ago, Richard knew that the Deepblue Dream was a far deeper state of meditation. Just the first step of putting oneself in a state of absolute stillness until the world resonated with your existence was much easier said than done, and the following steps were no better.

Richard had assumed it would be easy with his foundation, but the moment he started trying to put theory to practice his mana turned sluggish and it became extremely difficult to concentrate. It took some effort to recover from the inexplicable feeling, but even as he managed to get his mana moving his mind suddenly wandered to something Sharon had told him about the techniques: once he was accomplished enough, they would show him an entirely different world; the true world.

Even Sharon herself hadn't reached that level yet, so there was no need to discuss its difficulty. He gradually calmed his heart and threw away all thoughts, consciousness immersing into a sea of darkness until he couldn't even see his soul form anymore. There was no danger within the endless dark, but if his mana grew chaotic it would take a long time to recover.

Time passed quietly as he encountered failure after failure, but Richard quickly stopped keeping track and immersed himself into the process. He didn't know exactly how long it took, but at one point he felt himself enter a strange realm of existence as the darkness seemed to turn completely transparent before him. He could no longer feel his body or his soul, only existing as an isolated consciousness in the void.

His conscient reached out testingly, but upon finding that he could spread his will as far as he wished he immediately recoiled back into himself. He had almost lost control and zoomed out just then, and the farther he went the more his will started to tremble. It felt like he could get completely lost within this void, unable to return to one's own body.

It was at this point that he suddenly saw a tiny hint of blue in the dark void. The small pale dot was so eye-catching in the darkness that it could not be ignored, and as he focused his attention on it the mote changed directions and started flying towards him.

Richard shook in surprise as the blue point drew closer, finding that it was actually an entire star! It was an indescribable scene, the star a flawless sphere in bluish grey with a ring of light slowly spinning around it. For some reason he felt like this star was so large that even the entirety of Norland would fit on it easily, but in front of his face it was only as big as an apple.

But wouldn't that mean he himself was much bigger than all of Norland? It was easy to dismiss the feeling as fantasy, but Richard grew increasingly certain that this was not an illusion. Trying to wrap around it with his consciousness and draw it closer as he did in the Deepblue Fantasy, he saw the entire star shake as it shot right towards a black fog that he realised was his soul form. All of the star's momentum came to a standstill as it stopped in space, rotating quietly in place to release pulses of astral energy.

Following these pulses, Richard's consciousness zoomed in on a pale blue dot in his own body. It took some effort to reach it, but as he drew closer he found that this spot of light was actually an ancient well built on a floating island. The design of the ancient well couldn't be more familiar, nor could the word inscribed on the side: Schloan. This was the well of stars that was a part of his truename, and looking down one could see clear water within that was brimming with astral energy. As pulses fell into the well, the waters grew turbulent and emitted a mist rich in mana.

Richard finally understood that the Deepblue Dream could capture these star-like motes of energy and trapped them within his body, using their constant output to fuel his growth. If he captured a sufficiently large number, his growth rate would quickly improve. However, this only brought up many more questions in his mind. Where was this dark world, how did the technique connect him to it, where were the stars coming from, how could they be captured with his might? Were they even stars at all, and if not how could they grow one's astral energy?

He waited patiently for a long time, but a second star never showed itself. It was only when he was about to return to reality that a small crimson dot appeared in the periphery of his vision, flying in an irregular path.

As the crimson star grew closer, Richard saw that its surface was full of enormous cracks that constantly ejected columns of fire from within. One could tell at first glance that this was a star on the verge of destruction.

Just what could cause such destruction, he wondered as he reached out to capture it, but the moment his consciousness wrapped around the dead star he immediately screamed into the void in pain. It felt like a fireball had blown up within him to rip him apart, but even as he tried to move away the star rushed over and fixed itself within the dark cloud. The water in the well of stars immediately started bubbling, the mist turning to the colour of blood.

Despite the pain, however, the close-up experience did tell him just what the energy was. This star represented the source energy of the Land of Dusk!

It took a great amount of effort to pacify the unstable energy, bringing it to a point that it didn't threaten to rip him apart. With no knowledge of how time passed in this world of meditation, he decided to wake up and check on how Lawrence was doing. When he opened his eyes and looked up at the clock, it revealed that seven days had passed.

Richard shook his head as he heard Lawrence walk into his house, putting a stack of papers on the desk, turning to the old man and asking, “I've been meditating for seven days?”

Lawrence didn't even spare him a glance, “What were you thinking, entering deep meditation in a battlefield of despair? Do you want to die?!”

He stood up and shook his head, “Sorry, I didn't expect... that. Anyway, what do you have?”

The old man snorted and spread the designs across the table, “These are what I came up with. They can all be paired with your Mana Armament, so make use of them. Your rune itself is almost perfect in terms of utility...”

Lawrence looked Richard up and down for a few seconds, as though he was staring at a monster, “Why is the energy output so high, and with four output channels to boot? I gave you an ursa penis, you dumb kid, not its entire body!”

“Heh, you know how tough my body is,” Richard chuckled as he headed over to check Lawrence's designs. They were all simple enough to decipher at first glance, and were a minimal burden on capacity as well. Without their own energy transformation arrays they could only rely on the core of Mana Armament, but this only made him admire them more. Lawrence truly was a creative genius; if not for his near-death at the hands of a legendary sorcerer, he would have been one of the best runemasters in all of Norland right now.

“Stay for two more days,” Lawrence spoke up, “Use them to look through the designs. If you have any new ideas, come to me and we can discuss them. I can't even make elementary runes these days, there might be some places where I haven't thought things through.”

Richard nodded and delved into studying the designs. Each of the small rune-parts was equipped with an array that absorbed any excess energy from its host rune; the first one turned it into a small burst of mana as necessary, while another did the same for energy. Three more were purely for light effects.

The two days passed quickly, and by the end Richard had a good understanding of most of the arrays. However, there were some parts of the light-effect runes that he didn't fully understand; he just didn't have any prior experience in this area.

Just as he got up to head for Lawrence's and discuss these issues, his heart suddenly skipped a beat.

829 - City of Sin

Return

The strange feeling of wrongness only lasted a moment, but Richard's heart immediately filled up with worry. He recalled something Sharon had told him about the Deepblue Dream: it was something that showed one the truth of the world, giving one a greater intuition for the future. She couldn't explain just why this was, but she did know that this intuition would grow stronger the more accomplished one was. He hadn't really tackled the question back then, and now his master was asleep even if he wanted to.

He forced himself to calm down and stood up, but even so his heart remained restless. Feeling sweat dripping down his palms, he looked down to find that his fingertips were as red as blood! Lifesbane had been activated without him even consciously meaning to!

There could only be one explanation for this: his intuition was erupting with killing intent.

He quickly checked his body inside out, but there were no abnormalities at all. His bloodlines were fine, and the power of his truename still lay dormant as well. All rationality was telling him he was just feeling off-put for some reason.

And yet, he couldn't bring himself to let go. His heart was still beating quickly, as though something extremely bad was about to happen. Shaking his head, he simply spread all of his equipment on the floor and started cleaning them.

......

When Lawrence came in, he found Richard sharpening Carnage and raised a brow in confusion; divine weapons didn't exactly need to be maintained. He took a step back, asking cautiously, “Boy, what is it you want to kill?”

Richard looked up at the old man, growing a little confused himself, “Why are you standing so far away?”

Lawrence actually retreated a couple more steps in response, “You're radiating bloodlust. It feels like you'll cut me down if I come within ten steps!”

Richard laughed, “Why would I do that?”

“Who knows? Maybe you just don't find me nice to look at,” Lawrence desperately shook his head, “I cherish my life!”

“Sigh... I do feel irritated for some reason, as if something bad is about to happen. But... I can't say you what it is.”

“Mage's intuition,” Lawrence turned solemn, “If you feel it so heavily, then it must be something bad. I can't help you, but here's a suggestion: if you're going to do something reckless, tell the royal family first. Also describe Mana Armament's powers to Philip, just its power and abilities should be enough. He's now famous in all of Norland, his support will ensure that some unscrupulous people don't attack you directly.”

“I will,” Richard said seriously.

“Alright, kid,” Lawrence sighed, “I'm old now, this advice is all I can give you.”

Richard shook his head, “That's eno—”

“Right! I have some materials here, enough to make the ornamental runes. Finish them off before you go, with your ability it should only take a day. You can never be prepared enough.”

......

The smaller components really were quite simple, but without the ability to calm down Richard made a host of mistakes in the process. It took an entire two days for him to finish, after which he heaved a sigh of relief and activated them immediately. Thankfully, these runes were nearly no burden to the bearer, depending purely on Mana Armament itself; he was already straining the limits of his carrying capacity.

Just as he was about to test the new effects, he suddenly felt a bit of heat at his chest from the beast teeth that Mountainsea had given him. What was once a bracelet had been turned into a necklace for convenience, and the ornament that had been quiet all this while finally flashed with light.

His heart trembled as he picked out a piece of shell in the middle, reading the words written upon it in cyan light, “Take me away.”

The handwriting was something that he could recognise anywhere, and the shell's functions had already been described to him before. As the cyan light dimmed and the shell turned to ash, he felt his heart almost come to a stop.

Take me away... He couldn't begin to imagine just what meaning lay behind this sentence, what had pushed someone as strong as Mountainsea to ask him to come before their agreement. However, he had already prepared himself for something earth-shattering to occur, and since she had called him over he would go to Klandor again if it cost him his life.

The barbarian continent that wasn't much smaller than Norland, with the locals who had their own inheritance of totemic warriors that were no worse than mages. A princess born of a failed invader and the saintess of the Azuresnow Shrine, destined to carry the avatar of the Beast God...

The last time he stepped into Klandor, Richard had been a weakling. Now, he was a grand mage who had spent years tempering himself in the Land of Dusk. Of course, the enemies he met this time would be entirely different as well. Most of those he had encountered previously had refrained from killing him for Mountainsea's sake, but now that she was calling for him there would be no such luck anymore.

But then again, he wasn't thinking of luck as Carnage flashed out of the sword case, landing in his hands. Stroking the blade softly, all he could feel was the murderous intent brimming within himself. He looked towards the magic case that already held the required equipment and supplies; he was prepared.

He had to leave right away! Richard instinctively took a step forward, but then he remembered that there was still one thing for him to do. Convincing himself that he could wait a mere ten minutes, he rushed back to his desk and scribbled out a number of letters.

The first two were for Emperor Philip, one mentioning that he was going to Klandor to pick up Mountainsea and the other detailing the effects of the grade 4 Mana Armament. Following that were letters to Sharon, Waterflower, Alice, Gangdor, Rosie, and even Senma and Asiris detailing their tasks for the near future and preparing them for any eventualities.

It was only when it came to Flowsand that he couldn't figure out what to write, staring blankly at the empty page for more than two minutes. Eventually, he only managed a single sentence that comprised of two words:

I'm sorry.

Sighing softly, he folded the letter and started to place it in an envelope. However, before putting it in with the rest he remembered one more thing and opened up the letter once more, adding another sentence: “Careful of the broodmother.”

The broodmother came from the Eternal Dragon, and the old dragon almost certainly had his ways to control her. She wasn't difficult to deal with yet, a proper legendary being could kill her if they knew how to do it, but just like Io and Nyra she was no ordinary being. Of course, he couldn't compare her to other broodmothers because he hadn't seen one, but he felt like there had to be something special about her.

Looking at the stack of letters on the table, he found his faith starting to shake. He wondered if going to a foreign continent to steal away their princess was the right choice at all; every letter was a heavy responsibility on his shoulders, and he was basically throwing them all away for one. His blessings screamed at him that this was an extreme risk, and that he should actually recruit a few legendary beings with promises of runes before threatening the Azuresnow Shrine to hand her over.

But that was a process that took time. He didn't know what had happened to Mountainsea, but she had suddenly used the shell a long time before he was supposed to return. He could afford to wait, but could she?

The Land of New Heroes was really powerful, a number of experts hidden within its depths. Greyhawk had been a generational prodigy himself, but his landing force had been completely subdued in one engagement. For a mere grand mage to wish to take on the entire continent was begging for death.

But so be it. If he was destined to die, than death he would choose. He caressed Carnage's blade once more, muttering to himself, “Gaton... What would you do?”

The question had no answer. Or rather, Richard didn't need one. He waved his sword in the air, stopping it precisely where he wanted it as a flame lit up in his eyes. He had improved his techniques greatly, he had already built such a powerful rune. How could he still be afraid to fight?

He lifted the case and walked out of the room, waving to Lawrence along the way, “I'm leaving, old man!”

There was another word in the bottom of his heart that he didn't speak out loud: Goodbye.

“Remember the list!” Lawrence shouted after him, but he ignored the old pervert and flew over to the portal.

......

A long wyvern ride and multiple portals later, he finally set foot on the earth of Klandor once more. Carnage started buzzing in his hands, thirsty for blood.

830 - City of Sin

A Familiar Beginning

The winds of Klandor were powerful as ever, and the plains showcasing a much wider and simpler world than Norland's changed earth. While Norlanders liked to use resources from other planes and magic to change entire landscapes to suit their tastes, the barbarians refused to mar nature in that way. It was a beautiful sight to look at.

However, Richard was in no mood to appreciate this beauty. The restlessness in his heart faded the moment he set foot here, replaced by absolute calmness. He would go check what happened in the Azuresnow Shrine, but that meant danger and dangers only grew when one wasn't focused.

Although he had come here once before, he hadn't actually made it far enough to learn the entire route to the Azuresnow Shrine, nor did he even know more than its general direction. However, he knew just who to ask; taking out the Beast God tooth, he blew into it with all his strength before setting off. The entirety of Klandor was startled once more.

The barbarians in the coastal town all looked at him with derision, but he ignored them completely. These fellows hadn't banned Norlanders from entering the continent, but they wouldn't help those they didn't know. To them, all Norlanders were scammers and thieves.

Of course, to those of Norland all Klandorians were robbers and bandits.

As he walked out of town, a rather tall and arrogant youth suddenly blocked his path and asked arrogantly, “Where do you think you're going?”

Richard stopped and looked him up and down once before continuing on his path, “None of your business. Or do you represent the village?”

“I AM village! I'm the most powerful warrior in—” the youth couldn't even finish talking before he felt the earth and sky trade places, his vision going black as mud and blood filled his mouth.

In the eyes of the other barbarians, Richard's movements had been instantaneous. He only extended a hand before the youth started spinning around like a windmill, getting smashed into the ground. Richard himself had already started walking away.

Under a big tree in the corner of the town was an old man who observed everything quietly. A youth next to him looked at the receding figure and huffed in indignation, “Does he have to deal with a normal warrior so violently?”

“That was for me,” the old man smiled.

“For you?” The youth couldn't believe it, “Does he know who you are?”

“Not necessarily. He was just warning us not to mess with him.”

The youth's expression turned solemn, “Then let me go fight him. I'll test his skills!”

The elder put his hand on the youth's shoulders, “You don't qualify. Besides, you cannot even catch up now.”

The young man looked up from the old man's face, and sure enough Richard was nowhere to be seen. He looked dumbstruck for a moment before saying awkwardly, “Elder, can we let him enter Klandor like this? He doesn't seem to be easy to deal with.”

The old man smiled, “His identity isn't simple, he's the youngest great runemaster in all of Norland. Alright now, let's go back.”

“Great runemaster? At his age?!” the youth was shocked.

“Yes, this really isn't a simple youth. And this time, he comes to Klandor with murderous intent.”

“Surely not, even a legendary being wouldn't dare come here to make trouble.”

“Sigh. He does. Anyway, it isn't our problem.”

“I hope he isn't impulsive,” the youth said with worry.

“Oh?” the elder's interest was piqued, “Why do you say that?”

“... A great runemaster at his age... he should be earmarked as a future saint runemaster. People like him certainly have a deep foundation in Norland, and killing him will be a problem. If we anger a few legendary beings of Norland, it could bring about a protracted war that kills thousands of innocents. You said yourself that Klandor and Norland should unite to deal with the other planes, such a war wouldn't be good for anyone.”

“That's right,” the old man nodded, standing up and walking towards the nearby house, “Remember, you cannot give this idea to the others.”

“Our warriors are so stubborn, refusing to learn anything new. Especially from Norland...”

The old man's hand suddenly froze on the door and he sighed heavily, “It's not stubbornness, it's the power of faith. I taught you about what Norland has to offer to show you the breadth of the world, not to have you give up your faith. Our traditions have made us lag behind Norland, but without them we would no longer have our spine.”

It was unknown whether the youth understood, but he did nod repeatedly.

......

The sun slowly sank below the mountains, the last rays of sunset giving the grasslands a strong red afterglow. Large animals roamed leisurely through the plains, lions, hyenas, and even dinosaurs lazing on the ground. These predators wouldn't eat any more even if the prey walked into their mouths.

Richard seemed to be walking across casually, but he covered many metres with every step. Even most horses couldn't keep up with him.

......

The night seemed calm, but the powerhouses of Klandor were not. Beneath his sea cliff, Balibali failed to withstand the tide multiple times. He constantly shot into the water, and after a dozen failures he just sighed and climbed up to land.

His muscles had grown more defined in all this while, but there were still several eye-catching scars on his chest and back. The barbarians didn't find it difficult to heal even the worst of scars, but he had left them behind as a commemmoration of the day a mere mage had defeated him in melee. This was a shame that he could only erase with his own fists, so he had struggled endlessly after that day. He had been planning to go to Norland and find Richard after a year, but now Richard had come back to Klandor himself.

Balibali did not hurry to fight, instead returning to his village and washing himself from head to toe before wearing his best battle clothes. Spending a minute praying by the ancestral altar, he finally mounted his horse and faded into the distance.

The people in the tribe didn't know which enemy he would be facing, but looking at his solemn bearing they knew that he wasn't confident in victory. A young girl couldn't help the tears rolling down her cheeks.

......

In the depths of darkness where the very earth smelled of rot, a sly figure climbed out of his pit. This barbarian that looked more like a humanoid beast chuckled hoarsely, “Richard is back? Great, this time you won't have annother chance.”

...... Google search f𝘳𝚎𝗲𝘸e𝐛𝑛𝐨𝘃𝘦𝚕. co𝚖

A tall tribal woman next to a bonfire looked up at the towering mountains in the distance, whispering, “The Tooth of the Beast God? Is it him?”

She punched right down into the grass below her, the shockwaves alone blowing out the bonfire completely. Kicking the sleeping tyrannosaur next to her awake, she looked across the plains, “Get up! Let's go see some fun!”

The tyrannosaur reluctantly got up, whimpering a few times in protest before crouching for the woman to climb onto its back. It even grabbed the woman's luggage with its short front paws before starting to rush across the plains. It was only when it was running that one could see its sheer size and splendour: this one was half a fold taller than the normal tyrannosaur, and its lush black scales melded into the dark night.

......

Atop a snow-capped mountain, several people who were sitting within the stone cliff opened their eyes and looked at the greenish haze in the distance. They exchanged whispers for a few minutes before falling silent once more.

......

Another big tribe with more than 10,000 people had burst into outrage, many young warriors yelling about giving the damned Norlander a lesson. Some of them flocked to an old tree outside the town, shouting loudly, “Miro, go fight and send the bastard back!”

A youth popped his head out of the canopy and yawned, “I'm not that bored.”

This was a short, dismissive sentence, but the bloodthirsty warriors of the tribe immediately went quiet and walked away. Just that showed how respectful and fearful they were.

Miro turned over and murmured, “Strange, why is he here so early? Whatever, it doesn't affect me. Someone will deal with the headache.”

831 - City of Sin

A Change Of Plans

Atop a snowy mountain stood an enormous stone house, ten metres tall with the doors so wide that a two-horse carriage could walk through without issue. Several barbarian figures were gathered around the fireplace of this home that was too large even for an ogre, a mixture of youths and old men waiting for more arrivals.

The furnishing of the house was very simple, made mostly of stone and wood. In one corner of the main hall was a small stone basin sat atop flaming embers, several wild fruits floating across the surface of the water boiling within. There was a stone-carved altar of a strange beast in the centre as well, the extremely crude sculpture somehow filled with a powerful aura that could steal away one's breath.

“This ghastly weather!” a youth walked into the house, shaking the snow off and scurrying towards the fire, “I'm going to freeze to death! Why does it have to be this place?”

“It's to prevent mortals from disturbing the idol of the Beast God!” a barbarian with a nasal voice spoke up, “Do you want to leave? I see your heart isn't with us ever since you got yourself a teacher from Norland, Yori.”

“Master isn't a Norlander, don't make that mistake. The people who say that kind of thing make her angry.”

The other youth paled slightly, but he didn't back off, “So what? Does she have the guts to come find trouble with me?”

Yori suddenly laughed, “Why is a coward like you talking about my heart? A barbarian warrior who's gloating that the enemy won't come fight him? How about you go out instead of hiding in your nest? I can show you the way to the Deepblue.”

The youth's expression warped in an instant, “What's the big deal about Sharon? Isn't it just summoning dragons? That's so ordinary.”

Yori sneered, “Summoning dragons is ordinary, but I'd like to see you try beating a group of black dragons. Can you do that, little Hang?”

The barbarian called Hang snorted, “I know many powerful people who can easily kill dragons!”

“And do they know you? No need to go white, come now. Forget your parents, your uncles, your brother, even your wife. That isn't you. Do you have the ability to go to the Deepblue and fight Master?”

“Yes, but... I'm only one person...”

Yori waved his hand and sneered, “Just like I said, a coward. And then there's a Norlander who's come to Klandor for the second time now. I feel far more proud of having Richard as a junior I'll ever be of you.”

“That's not brave, that's stupid!” the youth retorted, but by this time Yori had already stopped paying attention.

“Hey, old Wumu isn't here either? Wow, I'm not the last one here... That old fo—”

“Hahahaha,” a burst of laughter rang outside the door, interrupting Yori's words, “I know you always say bad things about me, boy.”

An elderly man walked into the stone house while accompanied by a youth; this was the same old man Richard had seen when he entered Klandor.

“Everyone is here, we may begin,” one of the other old men in the house immediately spoke up, “We are here to discuss the holy shrine's proposal to advance the sacred ceremony. Who agrees?”

“Aye.”

“Aye.”

“I object.”

...

Several people quickly expressed their opinions, after which the old man spoke up once more, “Everyone except Yori has agreed to advance the ceremony, the Council of Elders has agreed to move it forward.”

Yori's expression was dull, but he sighed and didn't say anything. He knew just why the sacred ceremony had been advanced, and he didn't possess the strength himself to deal with it.

“The second thing we need to discuss is how to deal with Richard,” the elder said softly, “After all, he still holds the Tooth of the Beast God.”

“I propose we send our warriors to grab him and take the Tooth back by force!” Hang immediately piped up.

“Are you not a man?!” Yori stood up angrily, “If you have the ability, go fight Richard and take it back yourself? Don't you always say you're talented and brave, stop being a coward and go do it? You're at level 20 and don't even have the guts to fight a level 18 mage?”

“Of course I can go!” Hang said with a snort, “But he is only a Norlander, why should an elder of the Council go fight him personally? You have been targetting me repeatedly, Yori, my patience has reached the limit. My uncle—”

“If you want me to fight your uncle, I'll gladly do so to the death. Come, let's swear right before the altar!” Yori grunted, “You absolute...”

Seeing the barbarian mage's outburst, Hang immediately paled and lost his voice, “You... You're crazy...”

“I know you're too scared to fight me, put forth anyone from your family that you want and I'll fight them. If you can't do even that, then just shut your useless mouth.” Yori sneered and sat back down, closing his eyes and breathing softly to calm himself. A look of sheer malice filled Hang's face as he stared for a long time, but he quickly sat back down as well.Although Yori wasn't at the legendary realm yet, he had been fighting in the Twilight of the Behemoths for many years, one of the most famous battlefields of despair. Even a true legendary powerhouse wouldn't be absolutely confident of winning against someone of his calibre, and Hang knew he would lose unconditionally. However, he couldn't bring himself to admit this fact.

The elder presiding over the council frowned, “I have already confirmed that Her Highness gave Richard the Tooth of her own accord. He has not stolen it, nor has he robbed it. However, given the advancement of the sacred ceremony, we cannot leave the Tooth of the Beast God in the hands of a Norlander. We should still do something.”

Most of the elders exchanged glances before their eyes collectively fell upon Yori. Feeling the piercing gazes, the barbarian mage stood up, “Distinguished Elders, a Norlander has dared to set foot on Klandor with the Tooth of the Beast God in hand. This is a true warrior! We should greet him as the descendants of the Beast God, as the sons of Klandor who still have honour flowing through our veins! Since when has the Land of Heroes grown so cowardly that we have to use an army to fight a single man? What difference is there between us and the Norlanders we look down upon?”

Yori's words caused hideous frowns to appear on the faces of the elders. They knew he was right, but there was still the fact that Richard had beaten Balibali and almost killed Heisa the last time he had arrived here. Mountainsea's intervention had saved his life, but that had been from a reprehensible scheme that went against Klandor's ideals. Right now, they didn't know of many warriors at the same level who could beat the mage.

Yori certainly knew this as well, but despite— no, because of it— he appealed to the sensibilities of the council.

Elder Wumu eventually sighed, “Elder Yori, are you very close to Richard?”

“He is Master's favourite student.”

“And personally?”

“I haven't ever seen the kid in my life, what kind of personal relationship could we have?”

Wumu thought about it for a while, “The Tooth of the Beast God is a token of the holy child. Could you go personally to retrieve it?”

Yori's smile immediately disappeared, his expression turning cold as he stared at Wumu, “Elder Wumu, I have no personal relationship with you. Stop joking with me!”

“I am not joking. I heard recently that Richard has been staying in the Land of Dusk, and he has unlocked the mythical Manacycle ability. Besides you, I fear we have no warriors below the legendary realm capable of defeating him.”

These words painted Wumu himself as a target, with several elders expressing disbelief. It was one thing to say that Richard was powerful, but for him to be able to defeat any of the warriors, druids, and shamans with their own special talents below the legendary realm was another thing entirely. Even the elders regained their youthful rage, while Hang immediately started ranting about how Norland's mages were extremely weak.

Looking at the bickering faces, Wumu just sighed. He had already grown accustomed to this scene. It was Yori instead whose spirits were raised. Having said all he wanted to anyway, he started heading for the door. Regardless of the council's reasoning, he would never make an enemy of Richard. Sharon might look like a cute young woman when she wasn't angry, but when she was... A chill ran down his spine at the mere thought.

832 - City of Sin

Acquaintances

Klandor was a vast continent with numerous tribes scattered all over, a cornucopia of faith that encompassed numerous beast gods, lesser deities, and even demigods that were worshipped by the various tribes. The tribes were nominally led by the four councils of the north, south, east, and west, with the central council led by the Azuresnow Shrine being a higher authority over the four.

The councils rarely interfered with the internal affairs of individual tribes, not intervening even in the case of large conflicts. They were responsible for decisions that affected all of Klandor as a whole, or at least a major section of it. Most of the elders were the most powerful beings in all of Klandor, so even the most powerful tribes thought twice before rejecting one of their rulings.

The tribal system of Klandor seemed rather primitive from the eyes of Norland, even the largest tribes here smaller than a mere duchy on the mainland. The barbarians valued honour and freedom over unity, so many of them didn't listen to the words of their rulers at all. Even if the council decided to send an army to capture Richard, Yori would likely have been able to rile up the soldiers against the council. The decision to treat him as a warrior was simply the smartest course of action.

While they had proclaimed that Richard would be treated with honour, the council didn't particularly assign anyone to take on the task. There was no lack of powerful youths who would go looking for Richard of their own accord, especially since the holy ceremony determining Mountainsea's husband would be held sooner than expected.

......

Far away in the desolate plains, Richard didn't know of the Azuresnow Shrine's resolution. He actually had no information about Klandor's reaction to his second coming, but he knew that he could get the news soon. Sure enough, it didn't take many days for a cloud of dust to cover the horizon, a powerful tyrannosaur charging over with a barbarian youth on top.

Richard stopped for a moment, smiling at the realisation of just who it was that had arrived. The tyrannosaur stopped ten metres away, the barbarian on top flipping down to land stably on the ground, but despite the earth shaking a little from the impact he chuckled at the new arrival, “You've grown stronger.”

Balibali stared at Richard for a long time, “You've changed too. Have you been fighting in other planes?”

“Yes.”

“Good! I was worried you wouldn't be strong enough. I want to take the Tooth of the Beast God, but I also want to wipe away the shame of my defeat. Now we should be closer to each other; no matter how badly I beat you nobody will call me a bully.”

Richard smiled, “At the same level, people will think I'm bullying you.”

“Nonsense! Let's fight!” Balibali slammed a foot into the ground, rock-hard muscles popping out all over his upper body. It was only after he was fully prepared that he remembered something, “Wait, do you need a break?”

“No, this will be quick.”

“Richard!” Balibali grunted in a low voice, his aura strengthening.

“Answer a question when you lose,” Richard ignored the barbarian youth's anger.

“IF I lose!” Balibali snorted, slamming down once more. This time, a violent shockwave spread in all directions. This shockwave followed the same principles of an enclave centaur's stomp, aimed to disorient a weaker opponent, but Richard remained in place as though it was just a breeze. Even a true enclave centaur's stomp couldn't move him now, and Balibali's was weaker.

Shocked to see that the quake had no effect, Balibali leaned forward and rushed out to attack. However, an arm suddenly reached out and patted him on the shoulder before returning to its place. The barbarian youth immediately paled, knowing that a blade just then could have cut off his head.

“Can't accept it? Come again.”

Balibali's face reddened, “I... I was just negl—”

“Doesn't matter, come again.”

The barbarian took a deep breath, stepping forward to punch Richard head-on. However, Richard's own hand stretched out to grab Balibali's wrist, twisting his own momentum around to slam him onto the ground. The earth in the plains was quite compact, but a crater was still formed in the ground.

Balibali swayed as he got up, shaking his head from the dizziness. His eyes went round as he stared at Richard like he was a ghost, simply unable to know why he had been thrown out.

The last time Richard came to Klandor, he had only started to learn the Church of the Eternal Dragon's martial arts. Now, he had spent half a decade where his second consciousness was constantly analysing fighting techniques and integrating them into his own style. He was already far beyond Io, and able to keep pace with Flowsand. This martial arts system that embodied laws that transcended planes was endlessly mysterious and could be improved upon indefinitely.

“Again?” Richard asked.

Balibali growled like a beast, but his aura suddenly vanished as he shook his head, “No, I'm not your match at all. What do you want to know?”

A few minutes later, Richard had been given a basic update on Klandor's situation. Balibali didn't know exactly why the sacred ceremony had been advanced, only that a very important person had been the cause. There were rumours that this person would participate in the ceremony and become Mountainsea's husband, with the elders of the Azuresnow Shrine being quite optimistic about him. Even Urazadzu hadn't expressed any opposition.

“You mean the beast god has already decided on a husband for her?” Richard's face was starting to fill with fury.

“The Beast God does not make such choices. Only a brave warrior who can defeat everyone else in the sacred ceremony will be able to win His favour. However, it is very likely that the ceremony being held in advance is His bidding.”

Richard nodded and went mute for a moment, thinking things over. A short while later, he looked back up and asked, “Where's the Azuresnow Shrine?”

“You're going to the Shrine? You... You lunatic!”

“You think I would even be here if I wasn't one? Just tell me where the Shrine is, I need to go.”

Balibali stared at Richard for a while before shaking his head, “You're the warrior who defeated me, I should respect your request. But if you want to participate in the sacred ceremony, that will be impossible.”

“Where. Is. The. Azuresnow. Shrine?”

“Sigh. Follow this path for about a month, crossing through the frozen canyon and the crocodile river...” Balibali explained the route as he drew a simple map into the dirt. Although the map wasn't perfectly accurate, it was enough to give one a general idea of the place.

“Alright,” Richard nodded, “Will you be going to the ceremony as well?”

“What's the point? I've already lost. People like me only participate in the ceremony to gain experience anyway, we don't have any hope of becoming the holy father.”

“Okay then, I'm leaving.”

“Wait a minute!” Balibali called him from behind, “You can't participate in the sacred ceremony! That is reserved for the candidates recognised by the Beast God!”

“Oh?” Richard smiled, ”Don't worry, the beast god will recognise me.”

There was another sentence in his heart: If it doesn't, I'll just kill everyone it does.

“There's no need for you to go to the ceremony,” a deep voice suddenly sounded from the distance, tone far more sincere than the arrogance of its contents. This was another person Richard was familiar with, Umur.

Richard's eyes narrowed, “What, you want to beat me here?”

“Of course!” Umur scratched his head in embarrassment, “When you lose to me, just return the Tooth of the Beast God and go back. If you meet Zawu or his men, you might end up in trouble. Those people do not take kindly to Norlanders.”

Richard sighed at Umur's words, staring him in the eye, “Can we fight before you say all these useless things?”

“Then let us begin.” Umur immediately flew forward, sending a fist towards Richard's face. Just the air displaced by the attack sent a gust in Richard's direction, but despite some misgivings he dodged the strike and grabbed the youth's wrist.

It was at this point that his plan completely failed. It felt like Umur's body was nailed to the ground, refusing to budge an inch. It felt like he was pulling on a mountain instead of a mortal body. Richard was almost left dumbstruck at the weight, but keeping his wits about him he barely managed to get a barrier up before the second strike hit him. He was barely in time, the force from the barbarian's arm shattering the barrier apart and sending him flying more than ten metres away.

Flipping over in the air, Richard adjusted his posture so that he would land on his feet. Umur was already chasing behind, his leg swinging through the air to crash down at his location. *BANG!* it was almost as though a meteor had bombarded the earth, leaving a crater that was more than five metres deep.

“Oh?” Umur raised an eyebrow in surprise, not having expected to miss, “Who told me that it was easy to deal with a mage up close?”

A dozen metres away, Richard stared at Umur as Carnage popped out of the sword case and into his hands, “Sorry, I'll have to use my blade for this.”

833 - City of Sin

Acquaintances(2)

Umur spread his hands out as Richard reached for his sword case, “Feel free, the fist is only my weapon of choice. I can use anything in these plains.”

Richard nodded, “I'll try my best to stay in control and not hurt you too much.”

The barbarian youth was about to rage at that comment, but his eyes fell on Carnage and his eyes immediately narrowed, “That's a good sword.”

“It's a divine item.”

“No, it has to be more than that. Just a divine item wouldn't feel so terrifying. You truly are a respectable opponent.”

Carnage seemed to feel its presence in Klandor, the blade vibrating with excitement as a dark aura enveloped it. One could see goosebumps on Umur's arms as he stared at the blade, while Balibali's face was twitching. The tyrannosaur even just roared in fear and fell to the ground.

The fight began once more, and Richard side-stepped a punch before ramming Carnage's handle into Umur's rib. This should have been a powerful blow to a weak spot, but it felt like he had just slammed into a sheet of rock; his own hand started buzzing with pain, forcing him to fall back.

The barbarian's punches were extremely heavy. Richard dodged the ones he could, but every single one he had to deflect took a toll on his body. On the other hand, his own punches and kicks seemed to have no effect. Even a few boosted lightning bolts seemed to do nothing to him. Even worse, an invisible force field seemed to be growing in strength as the battle progressed; strikes that initially made contact were now being deflected before they even landed, and punches that should have been dodged were striking from even a metre away.

Umur's movements were quite simple, but Richard found almost no flaws to exploit in the flurry of blows. Even with his own advanced martial arts, there was almost no opening that he could wedge into, forcing him into a direct confrontation. Against someone with such defensive power, that was suicide.

Only a few minutes into the battle, Richard had been hit several times. Although he had used his skills to lessen the blows, the injuries were starting to accumulate. On the other hand, Umur looked like a god of war as a giant phantom started growing out from his person. The phantom's moves were perfectly in tandem with his, and as it grew more corporeal it became difficult to distinguish just who the actual person was.

Seeing the obvious end to this fight, Richard finally sighed and flipped Carnage around. He had been using the blade for defence all this while, but Umur left him with no choice but to get serious. He could feel the blade grow excited in response, the black aura converging back within in preparation.

In the eyes of the spectating Balibali, time seemed to speed up as shields of blue and white lightning started revolving around Richard's body. Richard held Carnage up high with both hands, the blade pointed to the ground as he charged forward.

Every movement seemed to leave an afterimage. Balibali couldn't even keep up with Richard's speed, and when his mind caught up once more all he could see was Richard squatting on the ground ten metres behind Umur. Blood was flowing down the corner of his mouth, dripping onto the ground.

Umur remained in a punching posture, but he was looking down at his body with shock. A bloody mist burst out from the side of his abdomen, calling attention to a wound that was ten centimetres deep and nearly half a metre long. The barbarian studied the wound before looking at Richard once more, “That really is a good sword.”

This kind of flesh wound was nothing to Umur, he could just clench his muscles to stop the bleeding completely, but he was well aware that his punch hadn't even come close to Richard's speed. The blood flowing from Richard's mouth was only because he had restrained his power by force, avoiding any damage to the organs.

“You Norlanders really like your armour and weapons,” Umur commented again, “But then again, you're even better than that blade of yours.”

“I want to continue,” Richard huffed, “But I can't control myself like that again.”

“That's alright, you've already won. So— Hey!”

“One sec! Today's a good day, another old acquaintance is here!” Richard's mocking voice faded into the distance as he dashed away, only leaving an afterimage behind. Umur wanted to chase behind, but speed was his one greatest weakness. There was no way for him to catch up.

...

Far in the distance, the beast-like Heisa was making his way towards the battlefield. Having been interrupted in his ploy to kill Richard before and having grown much stronger since then, he wished to finish the job. His eyes went wide as he saw Richard rushing towards him voluntarily, but then he pulled a heavy mace off his back with a smirk.

The mace didn't even make it past his head.

Sprinting over themselves, Balibali and Umur only saw an electric light flash before everything went silent. Richard was already ten metres behind Heisa, but this time there wasn't even a flush on his face. A loud thud rang out as the mace fell to the ground, followed by the two halves of Heisa's body.

Carnage buzzed softly with satisfaction, as though it had just eaten the best meal of its life. Perhaps it really had, Richard thought randomly. He might have killed many stronger enemies in the Land of Dusk, but this was the first barbarian that he had struck down. After all, this blade was truly Klandor's Carnage.

Richard placed the blade back into his sword case before sprinting away, completely ignoring the two barbarians who realised just how easy he had been taking it on them. Having felt his sword cut through an enemy known for their bodily toughness as though he had been slicing butter, he suddenly had some doubts about the situation. Had the Eternal Dragon known it would come to this? Was that why he had been given Carnage and the upgrade to it?

......

Located almost right in the centre of the continent, the Azuresnow Shrine was a long distance away. However, Richard strived to maintain his patience throughout the journey— he had learnt in the Land of Dusk that urgency against a strong enemy would only result in death.

A few days later, right on the border of the plains and the rolling mountains, he came across a huge old tree with an abnormally tall black tyrannosaur underneath, a barbarian woman next to it leant against the bark while wiping her sword. She was an entire foot taller than him, her sword alone just as large as his body.

Richard frowned at the sight; he could feel that this would be his first true challenge since he arrived. Bringing Carnage out of the case, he started walking towards her.

The woman looked up and down Richard, scanning over his now-local attire and the blade in his hand before asking hoarsely, “Richard?”

“Yes.”

“My name is Krangma, I am a senior warrior of the Azuresnow Shrine.”

“I can see you're quite powerful. I assume you're here for the tooth as well?”

“In part, yes. My main purpose in coming here is to test your skills. Defeat me, and I will give you the qualifications to participate in the holy ceremony. If not, return the Tooth and return to Norland. Going to the ceremony would just mean death at that point.”

“Oh?” Richard's heart was moved at the mention of the ceremony, “Since you're from the shrine, you should know why the ceremony was moved up.”

Krangma thought for a moment, “I will tell you if you win. If you cannot do that, then there is no need for you to know.”

Richard's eyes narrowed as he said softly, “You're level 20.”

“Who cares about levels?” Krangma snorted, “They are only something you Norlanders made up. If you feel it's unfair, you can go back home! We barbarians measure strength in battle, not some stupid number!”

“Heh, that's not what I meant. I was just reminding you not to give me any excuses when you lose. That...” Carnage started buzzing while five different spells instantly buffed him, “won't leave me happy.”

Krangma felt a chill run down her spine.

834 - City of Sin

Earning A Place

Loud roars shook the plains and mountains as the centuries-old tree swayed and crackled amidst the explosions, finally broken down by a powerful shockwave and sent flying dozens of metres away. The black tyrannosaur had lost all hints of ferocity, a number of wounds covering its large body. It had only tried to get close to the battlefield once, and a few stray beams of energy from Richard had sent it running away.

Richard had discovered that Heisa's soul had actually been absorbed and locked in by Carnage, used to boost the blade's power. The sword now had enough spare energy to launch a few dozen ranged attacks at a time, or it could infuse that power into itself for added sharpness or a single powerful strike.

One couldn't even see Richard or Krangma in the centre of the battlefield, dust and dirt obscuring everything in sight. The earth was starting to fill up with pits of varying sizes, even the smallest one a few metres wide. Only the flashes of magic in the sky revealed that Richard was still alright.

More than ten minutes into the battle, a small cloud gathered in the sky. This dark cloud was extremely low, only suspended a few dozen metres in the air during a cloudless sky, making it abundantly clear that this was not natural. Lightning flashed within for a moment before dozens of finger-width bolts smashed down into the dust below, each one tinged with the red of the abyssal flames. Nearly a hundred bolts had struck down in the blink of an eye!

A pained roar rang through the battlefield before a blue orb of energy shot into the sky, crashing into the dark cloud and destroying it. As Krangma panted from the effort of destroying that threat completely, she heard a soft voice behind her, “You lose.”

The barbarian immediately went stiff, feeling a small tingle at the lower back. If she so much as moved, Richard could cut directly into her spine. Any other Norlander, even a saint, and she would choose to continue the fight; after all, it wasn't as easy as one would think to cut into her very bone. However, with Richard and his magic sword, her powerful body felt as fragile as dead wood.

Seeing her continued hesitance, Richard asked with ridicule, “Planning to escape?”

“Don't think we're as shameless as you Norlanders!” Krangma threw her sword to the ground, the giant blade digging into the earth with a loud thud. Richard had just experienced the sheer power of that blade first-hand; just the shockwaves from an attack spread more than ten metres and were a threat to any mage below level 18. Even a grand mage's barrier couldn't withstand more than a few of the aftershocks.

Seeing her weapon put away, Richard returned Carnage to its case. The blade was just far too dangerous to those of Klandor, the already-powerful sword seemingly waking up from slumber ever since he stepped foot on this continent. It radiated killing intent, almost drowning him entirely in bloodlust. If not for his sheer control, it would even have forced him to activate Lifesbane by instinct for every strike, ensuring that even the tiniest of slashes could kill.

Krangma turned around to look at him, snorting with hatred, “I would beat any other grand mage unconscious!”

“I'm not any other grand mage,” Richard replied. Her shockwave attacks truly were dangerous for any mage, capable of shattering instant barriers with a few strikes and not giving one the time to actually chant out a full cast, but with Manacycle and Mana Armament he was different. It wasn't difficult to instantly replenish his barriers to full power, and more than half of her strikes missed even with the ten-metre window, forcing her to add more power to her attacks and thus exhaust herself faster.

Even worse, he was constantly bombarding her with curses that forced her to fight with discomfort, while he himself had been buffed for speed, strength, agility, and any other thing one could imagine. His magic was growing more integrated with melee as well; that last spell was Thundercloud, a modification of Lightning Storm that was his latest magical achievement. While each lightning bolt only dealt a moderate amount of damage, the barrage was endless and could draw upon the free energy in the air to support itself. Krangma had been forced to respect that attack and destroy it, giving him the opening to threaten her life.

“Your sword is also quite powerful,” Krangma glared at him.

“That is also a part of one's strength.”

“I am not saying that you won because of your sword, that thing is just very frightening. It seems especially harmful to my race, I would advise you not to use it at the ceremony. It might bring trouble upon your head.”

Richard nodded in understanding. He had felt the difference as well, its sheer power leaving even him surprised. A simple flick of his wrists with it allowed him to break skin, something he might not manage with a regular blade without putting in all his strength. Even a divine weapon didn't normally have such lethality; Krangma had constantly been avoiding it throughout the battle, afraid of so much as a nick. If she was so scared, then this sword was a great threat even to legendary powerhouses.

It felt strange, almost as though Carnage as a weapon had been conceived and designed purely for the barbarians.

“Okay, I've won. Now, about the ceremony. Why was it advanced?” he shifted the topic.

An expression of disgust crossed Krangma's face, “That's also because of you Norlanders. A sixth or seventh prince of the Sacred Tree Empire is named to be the father of the Beast God in the mortal world, so the ceremony was advanced.”

“The shrine actually promised that to someone from the Sacred Tree Empire?” Please visit 𝒇𝘳𝗲𝚎w𝑒𝚋𝚗𝐨v𝒆l. 𝒄𝒐𝚖

“Why not? They are paying a considerable price, an entire set of Heaven's Armour. The elders only agreed to 'let him participate,' but Zawu and Kunzhi have been ordered not to join. The prince himself will have a set of Heaven's Armour, so what's the point with the farce?”

“But won't one have to beat Mountainsea during the ceremony? Do you think he can beat her?” Richard held a last glimmer of hope.

“Sigh... Her Highness... She will not be allowed to use her totems during battle. I think... she will lose.”

She couldn't use her totems? Richard was shocked. Although he didn't know just how strong Mountainsea was, the barbarians claimed that totems had even more power than runes. For her to be barred from using her totemic strength was like him being denied Lifesbane and Mana Armament. It wasn't a fair fight.

“And all this for a set of Heaven's Armour?”

“How would I know? Maybe it's just a set, maybe more. But rumours have been spreading that the set actually can work with our totems too.”

Richard was surprised once more. It was common sense that runes and totems couldn't coexist, but if that paradigm was broken, a Klandor powerhouse would skyrocket in strength.

Heaven's Armour was an extremely precious rune set, with only seven currently in existence that were all in the hands of the Sacred Tree Empire. Each set functioned differently, but together they were called the Seven Angels. He finally understood why Mountainsea had sent him a message: there was something quite sinister afoot, and the enemies were stronger than even she could take on.

He thus stretched his hand out in front of Krangma, “Give.”

“Give what?”

“The qualification to participate in the sacred ceremony.”

835 - City of Sin

A Complicated Situation

After a short conversation with Krangma, Richard continued on his road to the Azuresnow Shrine. He was still quite the distance away, but Krangma had mentioned to him that the prince of the Sacred Tree Empire had only set foot on Klandor recently as well. This meant he had time.

As he crossed the various obstacles en route to Azuresnow Mountain, his heart and mind grew ever so colder. The frozen canyon was passed without issue, as was the crocodile river. Even within the dense forest there seemed to be no threat, and ever since Krangma he hadn't met any barbarians challenging him either.

He used the free time to analyse his own strength and the chances of victory. Heaven's Armour was famous as the best rune set in existence; even though that was just an exaggeration by the Sacred Tree Empire, the set was certainly more powerful than Mana Armament and Lifesbane. He had only needed his martial arts to deal with Balibali, but even Umur had forced him to use Mana Armament and Carnage. Krangma forced him to use the power of Manacycle as well, leaving only the power of his truename and Lifesbane hidden from the barbarians. In fact, Thundercloud borrowed some concepts from Schloan, the well of stars; even when it came to his truename, the only power he had hidden was Dizmason, destruction.

He was actually confident in being able to kill even a legendary barbarian if he used all of his powers alongside Carnage, but such a battle could only end with death. Even with Umur, stopping himself from killing had been hard; if Carnage saw a legendary barbarian, he was almost certain the bloodlust would consume him until he was sated.

Such a victory would soon be followed by death. Seeing Carnage's power, the barbarians would stop at no cost to eliminate him and destroy the blade. Stuck right at the core of Klandor, he would have no way to retreat. This was a problem he had no answer to despite repeated thought. The only vague answer he had was Lawrence's solution, relying on the power of the Sacred Alliance. However, even if Philip would for whatever reason have rescued him when at peak power, the Emperor was most certainly injured heavily. No matter how much he racked his brains, despite all the power of his blessings, he had no answers at all.

......

A strange caravan was currently making its way across the plains of Klandor, guarded by thousands of knights in pure white capes. Interspersed amongst the escort were long flags of gold and white, containing the crest of the Paladins of Purity of the Sacred Tree Empire.

The few dozen carriages in the caravan all looked luxurious, each one having magic arrays installed to help with stability and even a short period of floating when in rough terrain. A full dozen of those at the back carried the golden lightning bolt that was the crest of the royal grand mages, while the one in the middle had a striking sword and wing emblem that signified an Angel. The Sacred Tree Empire loved to flaunt Heaven's Armour whenever they could.

Behind the Angel carriage was another luxurious carriage with the royal crest. The curtains were drawn open to reveal an elegant young lady and a tall man within, the former staring out of the window blankly and the latter reading through a thick old book.

“It's been so long!” the girl whined, “When will we get there? This place looks the same everywhere!”

“You will see the mountains after seven days and six hours,” the tall youth answered.

“God, seven days? Why did nobody tell me it'd take so long, I would just have stayed home. It's so suffocating here!”

“You would have to come regardless,” the man said without raising his head.

“If you're just here to breed then why should I come with?” the girl waved her fist angrily.

“Because I am not suited to being Uriel, and you are not suited to being Raphael. That is the outward reason, anyway, you may ask the Archbishop if you want to know the truth.” The youth was still staring at his book.

Hearing the word Archbishop, the girl immediately recalled a wrinkly old face with pockmarks and drooping eyes. Visibly recoiling in disgust, she shook the image out of her mind before snatching the tome out of the man's hand, “You're reading this thing every day! Is your brain completely fried?”

The youth smiled, “There are new things to learn every time you look at it. You might want to go through it a few times yourself, it might improve your situation as Raphael.”

“But you've seen it so many times, how can you not adapt to being Uriel?”

The young man shook his head, “I have read it too much, giving me doubts about the power. I am beginning to feel that the Lord's teachings aren't entirely—”

“Not interested. Hey, I don't have to breed too, right? I'll vomit if I even think about the dirty hands of these primitives!”

“Sigh. The barbarians are no worse than us as a race, they merely do not form large empires like we do. Don't use the word breed again; if you offend the Shrine and cause our mission to fail, then you will certainly be sent to the depths of the abyss.”

The girl's face immediately paled, her voice turning hoarse, “Don't scare me!”

“You know I speak the truth.”

“... Okay, okay. I'll pay attention when I get there.”

“Do not say it now either. If the Archbishop finds out, he will be upset.”

The girl snorted, “That old man will die any day now! Does he even have the skill to lecture me?”

The young man sighed once more, a helpless expression crossing his face, “Raphael, we are no longer in the territory of the Empire. Your mother can no longer protect you. If you cannot control your mouth, I suggest you don't speak a word in front of outsiders.”

“Why are you lecturing me now...” the girl muttered, “I'm not Raphael, I have my own—”

“Raphael. That is your name, don't you forget it.”

Seeing the youth so serious, the girl just nodded in a daze.

It was at this point that the Archbishop in one of the rear carriages opened his eyes, revealing a creepy smile as he whispered to himself, “You ignorant little woman, Once Midren is retrieved, you'll be useless...”

This carriage was decorated in a magnificent gold and white, but the rotting stench within could cause anyone to vomit.

......

Stepping out of the forest to see rolling hills in the distance, Richard basked in the sun's glory for the first time in days. He sighed at the sight of the enormous totem pole that indicated the direction of the Azuresnow Shrine, setting off for the snowy peak.

Only a few steps into the journey he suddenly looked into the sky, his hair raised in full alert. All he could see were a pair of goshawks, an enormous bird of prey unique to Klandor, but he immediately felt that something was off.

...

High in the sky, the two goshawks were actually talking to each other, the one with the smaller body piping up, “Teacher, he's found us.”

“Not completely,” the other bird replied, “But it does not matter. He still cannot see through our camouflage and identify where we come from.”

“But how did he find out anything?” the younger one asked.

“The myriad planes have an endless number of mysteries. You will encounter more such experts in the future, always ensure that you stay in awe of the world.”

“I know! You keep saying that all the time! Why did we want to see this fellow, what does he have to do with anything?”

“He might be the key to stopping the Sacred Tree Empire.”

“Huh? What are they going to do this time? Is it worth it to pay so much to father the Beast God?”

“There must be another reason behind it, we just do not know.”

“But you said we need to stop them...”

“They are the Sacred Tree Empire. We have to stop anything they want to do.”

836 - City of Sin

Cost

“Then why is he the key to stopping the Empire?” the young goshawk asked, “Is it just because he won against that warrior of the Shrine? I can do it too!”

“Nonsense! One's ability on paper is much different from real battle experience. Even your best expectation against Krangma would be a draw.”

“Then he might be a little better. You're always right.”

The older goshawk sighed helplessly, “I really should send you out to practise. You're starting to think you're far more powerful than you are. When you are defeated by someone who isn't yet a grand mage, you will finally learn ”

......

The two goshawks hovered over Richard's head for an entire week, while Richard had his eyes locked onto them for a majority of his own journey. He knew that he was being followed, but a kilometre into the sky he had no confidence of killing them. He thus simply let it go, continuing to the mountains.

“The arrogant fellow is going in, should we go?” the younger bird asked, his dislike for Richard obvious.

“No, wait a minute. I think we need to give him some help so he can go farther in the sacred ceremony.” The older hawk slammed his wings together as he spoke, causing a black feather to fall like an arrow from the sky. Following that, he headed northwest.

“Where are we going now?” the youth asked.

“To find someone called Greyhawk and see if he can fly as high as he did in the past.”

“Greyhawk? Isn't that the prince of the Millennial Empire? Is he still alive?”

“He isn't just the prince of the Millennial Empire, he is also the father of Mountainsea.”

“Right! Hasn't he been captured by the barbarians for almost twenty years? What can he do when he's been a prisoner for so long?”:

“Your thoughts aren't necessarily correct. Some people can fly into the sky even if they have been crouching for decades. I do not believe the man will sit idly by as his daughter's life is destroyed. Maybe he needs an opportunity to be useful, and our help will give him that chance.”

“So... politics?”

“Yes. These kinds of things require politics. There need to be at least some factors that can balance out the might of the Sacred Tree Empire.”

“But if we need politics, why give the feather to the kid? He's daring to go to the sacred ceremony alone, which is as good as challenging all of Klandor! It's stupid!”

“Sigh. Politics is like porcelain. It might look beautiful and intricate from the outside, with no flaws to be revealed, but even a child with a hammer can smash it apart. Richard is the one who has that hammer; in this game, he will be key.”

“Okay, you're always right. He's the one holding the hammer because he's that stupid.”

The older goshawk chuckled, “That isn't necessarily true. Maybe he's so smart that he chose this stupid road.”

“Huh? I don't understand...”

“You will when you grow up.”

“I'm an adult!”

“Only of body, your mind still needs to mature.”

The two giant goshawks continued talking to each other as they flew away. Having stopped down below, Richard plucked the feather that the older one had sent flying downwards out of the sky, studying it in detail. The spine was dark and heavy, but the vane itself was delicate like that of a real feather. However, a delicate magic array was carved from the barbs that even he couldn't decipher right away.

Thankfully, at least the function wasn't difficult to figure out. It could stop one single attack from any enemy below the legendary realm, while a legendary attack would have at least half of its power shaved away. Such an item was undoubtedly precious, valuable to any leader of a wealthy family. In fact, it could sell for even more than Lifesbane; Lifesbane's difficulty was in the manufacturing process, but this feather was obviously made out of a material so rare that even he couldn't recognise it.

At the root of the feather was a tiny symbol that instantly caught his eye. The little crest was almost universally known amongst all mages of Norland to be the mark of the Mages of Solomon. To Richard, this crest represented far more than the single effect of the feather that carried it; it meant that the Mages of Solomon were likely on his side in this matter. Although not as powerful as the Sacred Tree Empire, this was a far-reaching organisation that boasted nearly as much influence on Norland. The Mages of Solomon always flaunted their neutral stance in politics, choosing to focus on exploring the secrets of the world as the pursuit of a lifetime, but one would be mistaken in thinking they had no connection to the secular world. Many powerful figures in all three human empires came from this school.

Even in the world of runecrafting the Mages of Solomon had great clout. They possessed the blueprint to the Mystic's Set, and although it wasn't as powerful as Heaven's Armour this set could still be crafted to this day. They churned out one set every decade or so, compared to the seven total Heaven's Armour sets that the Sacred Tree Empire just recycled.

However, all these things were far on the horizon. Richard put the feather in his pocket, feeling the added safety it brought to him as he continued on his way.

......

Even in the Land of Dusk, Emperor Philip's breakfasts were equal to months of food for ordinary people. His food intake had actually increased since he entered the Fort of Dawn, now costing a third more than it did back in Norland. Just his meals were an enormous expense for the Alliance.

It had already been a few years from the great war at this point, but the fortress still retained some traces of Daxdian heritage. Ordinary human artisans simply couldn't stand the harsh environment of the Battlefield of Despair, so even the Emperor only lived in a stone house with more than a dozen rooms that he and his guards had half built.

The stone palace was dimly lit by magic torches, the only decoration being a large tapestry on the wall. There were no maids and guards here, just the eccentric middle-aged attendant who had rushed back from his territory the moment he'd heard that the Emperor was injured. He was the reason Philip's food intake had grown so heavily; in his words, “one had to eat better when they were at a difficult point in life.”

The attendant's strength was only middling, making it impossible for him to stay in the Land of Dusk for long, but he paid the court mages to develop a strange combination of armour and robe that could protect him from the elements here. It looked rather comical, but the magic arrays and tough armour worked perfectly fine to keep him alive.

While Philip was eating, the attendant was currently reading the two letters that Richard had sent. The Emperor listened quietly while munching down on his food, even waiting after the man had finished to complete the meal in silent thought.

“Your Majesty,” the attendant began, “Lord Richard is only one step away from becoming a saint runemaster; we cannot let such a talent die. The Alliance still lags behind the other two empires in terms of runes; although it isn't as obvious in the lower ranks, Lunor cannot craft grade 4 runes even now. If this Mana Armament can be mass-produced, it will enhance the survivability of our grand mages on the battlefield. I suggest we send a letter to the Azuresnow Shrine warning them to not maim or kill him.”

Philip shook his head slowly, “The barbarians won't do that. Don't waste your effort writing a letter. I'll have to go back to Norland personally. At least I can check out what the other two empires are doing... Tch, this kid is always so impulsive. Just Mana Armament might not necessarily save his life.”

“Are we not helping him?” the attendant asked. He was actually quite fond of Richard.

“No, we will. I just have a hunch that this will be very tricky. Richard might have to give up far more than he expected to get this done.”

“How much?”

“A price so heavy he doesn't even want to think about it.”

837 - City of Sin

Destiny

Far across the myriad planes in Faelor, Flowsand was lazing against her sofa when a knight delivered a letter to her. She yawned in her seat as she cut open the envelope, slowly pulling an almost-blank sheet out from within. Stretching to wake herself, she read through the single sentence within.

*Thud!* She immediately fell to the ground, scrambling back up and desperately looking for the sheet of paper that had fallen with her. Her hands started trembling as she picked up the letter once more, reading the two simple words on it with terror in her heart. Eyes going completely wide, she turned the letter over only to find another short sentence that did nothing to assuage her fears.

Then, there was nothing. The messenger had already retreated, leaving the entire residence in absolute silence for a long time. The letter had slipped from Flowsand's stunned hands, falling to the ground.

It felt like hours before she got the strength to speak, as she suddenly jumped up and yelled angrily, “Broodmother? Who gives a fuck about the broodmother, asshole! She's a lot more trustworthy than you are!”

She rushed out of the room, not even bothering to wear her shoes as she rushed to the command centre. Heading for the humanoid knight on guard, she grabbed it by the scruff of its neck and lifted it into the sky before throwing it away, “Go call a cloned brain right now, don't tell me you'll ask, just do it!”

The aggression was unnecessary— she actually ranked behind Richard and the broodmother's main body in terms of command rights over all drones— but as she was now she couldn't bring herself to be calm. Still, the drone simply stayed in place as it contacted a cloned brain mentally. In the meanwhile, she headed up to the meeting hall and opened up the floor-to-ceiling windows that had been installed so Tiramisu could peek in.

Richard's followers were still scattered all across the barbarian plains, with Gangdor and Andrieka stationed on the borders with the human countries. Andrieka in particular was constantly provoking the Iron Triangle Empire's soldiers, testing their attitude. However, she was unwilling to wait for everyone to gather.

It didn't take long before a gust blew through the windows, an enormous insectoid creature flying down from the sky and hanging off the outer wall. A small proboscis that doubled as a mouthpiece slithered down and in through the window, “Beautiful Miss Flowsand, what do you need of me?”

Flowsand looked this mini-broodmother up and down, sickened by the sweet androgynous voice coming out of such a monstrosity, “You're getting more disgusting by the day. Get me the original.”

The mouthpiece nodded, “The shape is not important. I can create a human shell for the cloned brains if you wish, but you know that life is far beyond one's outer appearance. Do you not think the current forms of these cloned brains are perfection?”

“The fuck I do! Answer me honestly, what happens to you if Richard dies?”

“Master will die?!” Shock flowed in the broodmother's voice for the first time ever, but then she went silent for a moment and responded, “If you wish to know about the impact on me, then Master's death will leave me stuck at level 9 for all eternity. I can continue to build new drones, and given enough time I will turn the entire plane into my nest, but even if I become as big as a mountain I will be stuck here forever at level 9.”

Flowsand's brow unwrinkled, “Why?”

“Because I have no soul, only an approximation of one. My advances are entirely dependent on the soul I first imprinted from, Master Richard. His death will give me true free will, but I will also be stuck forever.”

“Hmm... You aren't a natural life form, are you?”

“I believe my kind is bred exclusively as weapons in planar war.”

“No matter, you're a complete life now. However, Richard has met with trouble— no, the bastard has gone looking for it! I'm going to return to Norland to see if I can do something.”

“What can I do to help?” the broodmother asked immediately.

“Support Gangdor in controlling the situation here in Faelor. Secondly, create an avatar and give me the seed. It might be useful.”

“I certainly will, and I have some private possessions as well. Please take them, they might be able to assist you.”

“Private possessions? What do you mean?”

“Three warrior drones I designed, the combined results of my analysis of various races. They were originally meant to protect me, but there is more meaning in leaving them by your side. I call them the Eternal Warriors of the Night.”

“The Eternal Warriors of the Night? Why does that sound familiar?” Flowsand frowned.

“The term appeared in my mind as I designed them. It must be an implant in my memory from creation or unlocked during my growth.”

“They're saints?”

“No. In terms of Norland levels, they are only level 17. Phaser is the only one of the three who is functional right now as well; the other two need to return to the worm nest frequently to replenish their powers. I will need a month or so to perfect them.”

“So only one warrior, and not even a saint. Is there anything special about her?”

“Flowing within them is the blood of gods. All of their bodies have the characteristics of bastard demigods, and their souls have been extracted from defeated enemies. They do not share the same restrictions as other combat units, having the capacity to learn and grow. However, their body structure is completely unlike those of a human; every expected weakness is actually a fatal trap. I can resurrect them even if they die, so long as I have enough divinity and divine blood.”

“Those two aren't exactly common things,” Flowsand pointed out.

“Faelor has a number of local gods and demigods for divinity, while Zangru serves as a fine source of the blood.”

“Good. I don't have much time, when can Phaser come over?”

“She has been recalled. It will only take a day.”

“Good, have her hurry. You can go now.”

The cloned brain detached from the window and flew away. Flowsand slumped into a chair and opened the Book of Time, flipping to a page with two hourglasses representing Nyra and Io. A small injection of timeforce pulled the hourglasses out of the page, “Come to Bluewater right away. I will be going back to Norland soon, and will never come back again.”

Both Io and Nyra showed expressions of surprise, but they simply nodded in silence. The two were currently in the barbarian plains, one examining an idol while the other was searching around. The two glanced at each other and took to the skies, zooming across the plains towards Bluewater.

The next morning, Flowsand's group of four walked through the portal and appeared directly in the Church of the Eternal Dragon. In addition to Nyra and Io was a female warrior wrapped in delicate-looking armour, looking rather attractive even with a metal mask covering her face. This mask didn't even have any eyeholes, making it impossible to tell whether she was using some different form of sight or was just blind.

Arranging for a place to stay for the three, Flowsand immediately headed to find Ferlyn. The two generations of chosen priestesses spent a long time in discussion at the back hall, and even when they came out Ferlyn was still trying to persuade Flowsand who was constantly shaking her head. They quickly approached the sacrificial altar, and a curtain of timeforce blocked the curious eyes of the priestesses and paladins.

Flowsand opened the Book of Time at the altar, divine power flowing out like water as it permeated into the ruins. Ferlyn spoke up from behind her, “I've already told you of the final outcome. Do you not believe me?”

“I do.”

“You still have time to stop.”

“If I do, he'll die in Klandor.”

“But the future the old dragon showed you won't nec— ARGH!” Ferlyn started trembling with pain, golden blood dripping down from her brow. She reached out and rubbed her forehead with a helpless smile, “See, this is what happens when people like me say what they shouldn't. Are you sure you want to be like me?”

“Ferlyn, do you think I'll be able to escape the fate of becoming like you forever? Some things are set in stone, a destiny written down before we're even born. I want to take control of what I can, meeting it on my own terms. At least... he isn't bad to me.”

“You...” the high priestess was left at a loss for words.

838 - City of Sin

Destiny(2)

A screen of light slowly grew clearer above the altar, revealing an old woman with a cane walking over. The woman glanced over and laughed like a nightingale, “And I was wondering who it was. High priestess Ferlyn, what distracts you from the Sacred Alliance to talk to me? I still remember the days when you tried to lecture me... Now you don't have the freedom to do anything, haha!”

Ferlyn's face warped in rage, but she snorted softly without saying a word. This old woman was Eshin, the high priestess of the Church in the Sacred Tree Empire and a maverick amongst her creed. Unlike the remaining high priestesses who liked to remain beautiful eternally, she allowed herself to grow older as time passed. Of course, she couldn't die willingly; that was only allowed if she found a replacement for herself.

Eshin's temper was just as bad as her character, and to date she had offended most of the other high priestesses of the Church. She also had a special hatred for Ferlyn, the only chosen of their generation. Ferlyn had been famous throughout Norland before she disappeared for a while, randomly reappearing in the Church and officially taking over the Sacred Alliance from the previous high priestess there.

Flowsand was the one who spoke up first, “Eshin, I want to ask you one thing. What is happening with the Sacred Tree Empire and Klandor, especially with regards to the Azuresnow Shrine?”

Eshin looked at Flowsand and sneered, “Oh, another chosen! Two chosen priestesses in the same church, it seems like the Sacred Alliance will go down the annals of history! But then, why would I tell you about the affairs of the Sacred Tree Empire?”

Flowsand's eyebrows furrowed, “Every minute of this is consuming a great amount of my divine grace, Eshin. I'm not here to listen to your cynicism, just name your conditions. You have one chance.”

“It seems like you have a big problem. Why find me? The Church cannot easily interfere with secular affairs, I don't know just what beautiful face it is that's riled up two chosen— Hey!”

Flowsand's face flushed with anger as she stood up, suddenly growing taller right before Eshin's eyes. Her appearance changed from that of a beautiful teenager to that of a fully grown woman, possessing a majesty that could not be ignored, “Start packing your bags.”

A trace of panic and bitterness flowed into Eshin's expression, but she continued to sneer, “Why should I listen to you? Maybe it's better for your pretty boy to die in Klandor, that will make me feel great. Stop talking to me like this, or I'll arrange for some people to deal with your little sweetheart. Maybe I should have a dozen ugly slaves fuck him as he dies...”

Flowsand suddenly closed her eyes and went silent. One minute, two minutes... Ten minutes passed in the blink of an eye without a single word, and even the Book of Time started to dim. Ferlyn's expression had been laced with alarm, and even Eshin's tough facade was beginning to crack.

Once fifteen minutes had passed, Flowsand opened her eyes and said softly, “I understand. Let's see this through to the end. It's funny when a stone begs you to step on it, isn't it? I'll make sure you're useless before I'm done.”

“Flowsand! You might be Chosen, but I'm also a high priestess of the Eternal Dragon! Don't think I'm afraid of you!”

“All status is illusory in the face of the Eternal Dragon. You're a high priestess because he chose you, what happens when I tell him otherwise? Even an idiot chosen by a god can be called a high priestess.”

“You... So arrogant...” Eshin couldn't even form words properly, goosebumps rising up all over her body.

“You still want to mess with me?” Flowsand asked.

“You're so young... How much grace can you have?”

Flowsand smiled faintly, “I'm offering to go to the Darkness and open a church there.”

“The Darkness?!” Eshin screamed, “Are you crazy?!”

“I am absolutely sane,” Flowsand was calm as ever.

Eshin's expression turned incredibly ugly, but she still looked at Flowsand with a hint of awe, “That youth... is he that important to you?”

Flowsand pointed to her heart and smiled, “He's my everything.”

“Alright. You leave me with no choice but to respect you. The Sacred Tree Emperor has sent his sixth and ninth children alongside the Archbishop to Klandor. They are to participate in the sacred ceremony and exchange the Heaven's Armour set Uriel for the set Midren that they lost to Klandor some time ago.”

“What does this have to do with the holy ceremony?” Flowsand asked.

“Only the blood of the royal family of the Sacred Tree Empire can use Heaven's Armour. The sixth prince is the descendant of the original Uriel, and he is to have a child with Princess Mountainsea to birth a mix of human and barbarian capable of using both totems and the most famous rune set in the world. When perfectly combined, it will lead to the presence of another peak expert in Klandor.”

“Why would the Empire do that?”

“All I know is that Midren, the set lost to Klandor, is also known as the King of Angels. Awakening it requires more energy than any of the other six sets, and repairs require demigod blood to complete. Its power is said to be extraordinary.”

Flowsand went silent for a few seconds, “... Alright.”

“What else do you need of me?”

“Take away their divine grace. For a period of time, the Church is not to accept any sacrifices from the Sacred Tree Empire. They will think of a response.”

“Okay.”

“That's it,” Flowsand cut off the communication.

Within the Sacred Tree Empire, Eshin looked at the ruins that had dimmed for a long time. The cold sweat had already soaked her robes; no matter how insane she was, she wouldn't dare take on a Chosen who planned to enter the Darkness. Moreover, Flowsand's decision touched a scar of her own that she had hidden deep within her heart for nearly a century, showing her a shadow of her former self.

Back in Faust, Flowsand and Ferlyn remained silent for a long time as well. It took nearly fifteen minutes of thought before Flowsand struck up conversation once more, “You heard her, I really do have no choice.”

Ferlyn's face was warped with rage, “Those barbarians actually want to do such a thing! Aren't they always flaunting their purity and tradition?”

“Heh, they have no lack of scheming old men themselves. They've seen Norland growing more and more powerful in recent times, and know that they need drastic measures to restore balance. Facing the threat of extinction, principles are expendable.”

“Then why don't you give up?” Ferlyn asked with one final trace of hope.

Flowsand just pointed to her own heart and smiled.

“Sigh. What do you want to do?”

“I certainly hope he can give up on the ceremony and come back, but that's impossible. Klandor and the Sacred Tree Empire are scheming together for this, so it's impossible to sow discord between them. The only thing I can do is force the Shrine to give him a fair chance.”

Ferlyn sighed, “Richard is still too young. He thinks he can change everything with his own strength. He doesn't completely understand the scale of power he is dealing with.”

“No, he'll do great in the future. It's only that he hasn't had enough time to grow. And that's the one thing I can give him now.” Flowsand's face was filled with pride as she talked about him.

“And yet he does nothing for you. He can risk his life for Sharon and Mountainsea, but what has he ever done for your sake? Does he even deserve you?”

Flowsand's expression dimmed, “That... can't be blamed on him. I am Chosen, we are born to be ignored and forgotten. He has done all he can for me, working very hard to gather many more offerings than any other person could. It might not be the same as risking his life, but that is only because there was never a need.”

A myriad of expressions flashed across Ferlyn's face before she gave up and changed tone, “I hope he'll be strong enough to find you in the Darkness one day.”

“I'm sure he will!” Flowsand's face was filled with confidence.

However, they both knew just how difficult such a thing was. Ferlyn wasn't even in the Darkness, but the Emperor of the Sacred Alliance couldn't retrieve her from the Church despite living a stone's throw away.

839 - City of Sin

Warmup

Richard had currently arrived in the town of Takra that sat at the foot of Snow Cliff, the last sizeable population before the Azuresnow Shrine. The shrine itself was built at an altitude of 10,000 metres high where even the strong barbarians could barely resist the cold, and the peak of Zykrama was even more chilly. Only someone with the power of a saint could live so high.

Takra was already quite lively, full of young barbarian warriors who had come here for the sacred ceremony. Only a small fraction of them were eligible to compete, but the rest just wanted to see the fun. Most of the qualifying battles for the first stage would be held publicly on a stage halfway up the mountains, and being able to see the battles of such experts was undoubtedly a useful experience for these young warriors. Many smaller tribes had brought all their talented youths over.

Takra couldn't possibly accommodate the tens of thousands of people currently gathered in its vicinity, so most people just found an open space outside the town and pitched tents for the night. Richard, now looking no different from a barbarian after months of tanning, hid himself in the crowd and bought a tent himself.

Early the next morning, he climbed the mountain with the rest of the viewers and challengers, the road itself long and complicated enough to take a day at walking speed. He could certainly fly there directly, but that was too eye-catching so he gave up on the idea. Regardless, even the walk was a way to temper himself.

The shrine was already prepared for the influx, having built a number of tents on a mountain shelf for all the participants. The viewers weren't given such a luxury, but they were allowed to make their own camp slightly farther off.

In one corner near the stage was a tall platform with a bloody streamer fluttering in the air. This was where people registered for the sacred ceremony, and there was a long queue underneath. It took more than an hour for Richard to get his turn, and the warriors of the shrine in charge of registration frowned with disdain at his thin body, “What is your name? Who recommended you?”

Richard handed over a black iron medallion, a tyrannosaur engraved on the back with Krangma's name and status on the front.

The warrior's face immediately turned more solemn, “So it was under Krangma's recommendation. What is your name?”

“Richard.”

“Hmm? Strange name, sounds a little like a Norlander. Well, whatever...” the warrior engraved Richard's name on an iron plate and handed it over, “This is yours, make sure to remember your number at the back. You will be called up tomorrow, so make sure to rest tonight okay? Don't go around messing with girls, hehe!”

......

A cluster of bonfires built on the platform at night, the sounds of drums, horns, and plucked strings echoing in the air. Richard was rathered amazed at the unified voice of the barbarians as both the young and old danced around the fires, telling stories of their struggles with the harsh environment of Klandor. Many heroes had sacrificed their lives to eliminate powerful beasts and open up new living spaces, and they were fondly remembered as pioneers who brought Klandor to its current glory.

However, sitting at his own fire and silently roasting some dried meat, Richard was hearing something completely different. The biggest problem in the mainland of Klandor was the lack of water and food. Norland had once been on a similar boat, but they had solved the issue with planar warfare. This seemed to be more of an issue between two conflicting ideologies: the Beast God was more focused on improving his worshippers' strength, while the Eternal Dragon encouraged exploration and exploitation. The latter was certainly working out better.

Norland and Klandor worked off entirely different systems of power. Norlanders were a civilisation of magic through and through, while Klandor admired the power of the physical body. Even the smaller lords of Norland were used to calling upon the power of magic to change the environment, turning what was once barren into a beautiful land with alchemical mines sitting right next to grassy plains. On the other hand, Klandor had nothing but a number of turbulent rivers that only irrigated a kilometre of so around themselves. Out here, hundreds of kilometres away, all he could see were dry fields reliant on rain. Proper irrigation canals would have doubled the food production of this continent, but in thousands of years such a thing had never been attempted.

Along the way, he had seen about a hundred tribes of varying sizes. He could say with confidence that his own army could wipe out at least twenty to thirty of them with only minor losses, and this was truly a gap between Norland and Klandor. Greyhawk's original expedition had been defeated completely because it was one prince's army against the absolute elites of the entire continent. If there weren't a large water body between the two continents, Norland would most certainly have levelled Klandor entirely.

Of course, that would have come with its own set of losses. Klandor still had a number of powerful legendary beings hidden away that served as a deterrent to any invasion.
ƒ𝚛e𝘦𝙬𝗲𝒃𝓷𝒐𝘃𝘦𝑙. 𝒄o𝓂

While he was lost in thought, a woman's voice suddenly rang out next to him, “Thirsty?”

He looked around and saw a young woman who was about twenty years old, quite beautiful with the unique aura of the barbarians. Seeing him turn over, she handed a cowhide waterskin over, “This is the wine we brew in our tribe. It tastes good and isn't very strong, just perfect for thirst.”

“Thank you.” Richard took the offered bag and drank a swig, immediately feeling a burning heat travel down his stomach that forced out a few coughs. The woman had said it wasn't strong wine, but it was still hotter than anything he was used to.

A loud laugh suddenly rang out from behind, “What's this sheep doing here, coughing from just some wine? This is the fellow you're looking at?”

“Bearchild, this is none of your business! If you have a problem, let's fight.”

The fellow called Bearchild snorted, “You better hope this kid doesn't meet me on stage tomorrow, or I'll let him know what pain feels like.”

Richard just continued sipping on the wine and looking at the bonfire, already lost in his thoughts once more. The young woman misunderstood this and sighed, “You don't have to be afraid of him, he doesn't dare to do anything. You... look nice, unlike most of the other rough people here. My name is Gesang, and my tent is over there. You can come over at night.”

Just as she finished and walked back to her tent, Richard suddenly snapped out of it, “Your wineskin!”

“It's yours!” she called without looking back.

There were whispers all around the bonfire, mostly with disdain for Richard's weakness. The barbarians were a race that cared a lot about dignity, and for someone to ignore provocations was looked down upon by most. Even Gesang was quite disappointed. However, Richard couldn't care less, just eating and drinking almost by instinct as all three of his minds were running at full capacity. His primary consciousness was studying all of his skills and magic to work out optimal strategies, with his secondary still focused on the Church's martial arts. The third was working on his swordplay, simulating specific landing points for each slash and stab. This was why he appeared to be so absent-minded, even ignoring Gesang completely as he returned to the camp and slept on his own.

......

The qualifying fights of the ceremony began the next morning, the main platform being divided into dozens of smaller areas to host fights simultaneously. One would lose so long as they were knocked out of the ring.

“No. 1098, Richard!” a voice rang through the crowd, and Richard left the audience to enter the stage. It immediately caused a flurry of discussion: he was shorter and thinner than the average barbarian, while his opponent was enormous in comparison.

“Haha, it seems like the Beast God has blessed me! It's the coward who can't drink wine! Okay, I won't be bullying you. Win and you get to slap me twice, lose and I'm fucking Gesang tonight until she can't walk!”

Bearchild's words immediately roused applause from the warriors below. It was barbarian tradition for the strong to get whatever they wanted, including women.

Richard frowned slightly, erupting with the killing intent he had hidden for days. The bastard in front of him represented every single thing he hated about the barbarians and the sacred ceremony, and Mountainsea's image shot into his mind. He quietly pulled his hands back into his sleeves, hiding the blood-red fingertips.

“Oi, Bearchild, stop speaking so much and finish! There are still a lot of people waiting!” the warrior presiding over the contest urged.

Bearchild sneered, screaming until all of the muscles on his body popped out. The phantom of a bear formed behind him as he charged over, every step causing the earth to quake. When he made it all the way to Richard and lifted his enormous hands to smash down, the arms that could crush rock suddenly froze in mid-air.

Richard's right leg was planted into Bearchild's belly, the calf almost disappearing into the muscles. Nobody had seen him react at all, and even Bearchild himself only reacted after a moment. Richard then recalled his leg, stepping back.

840 - City of Sin

Story

Bearchild's enormous body slowly keeled over, his knees hitting the ground before he fell on his hands. As he groaned in the agony of being unable to breathe, Richard walked over and lifted his head by the air.

*Smack! Smack!* A few teeth flew out from his face as Richard whispered, “You wanna fuck, don't you? Well, you can fuck right off back to your tribe.”

Bearchild's face turned pale before a blush of anger overcame his expression, blood still leaking from his mouth. A public defeat was one thing, but to be slapped around like this was entirely different; this was a shame that he could not erase in his lifetime. He had wanted to beat Richard up and spit in his face in front of everyone, but he didn't expect this fight to spell his own end.
𝘧r𝙚e𝓌𝐞𝑏𝗻𝑜𝘷𝙚Ɩ. com

Richard had already walked back to the edge of the ring, but the referee still took a while to stare at him in surprise before snapping back to his senses and ordering people to drag Bearchild off the court, ”Number 509, Zassa! Zassa!”

Zassa was a warrior of more average build amongst the barbarians, but he looked to be carved of steel. He rubbed his iron gloves as he got on stage, staring at Richard like a wolf, “I don't like you. I'm going to knock you down and slap you like you did to Bearchild.”

Richard didn't even respond, staring blankly into the air in the midst of new simulations. Zassa screamed and rushed over like a leopard, but his fists got nowhere near close to Richard before he went stiff as well. Richard withdrew his leg once more and grabbed the stumbling warrior by the hair, slapping him twice and throwing him off stage.

The eyes of the shrine warrior changed from surprise to shock. He stared at Richard deeply before calling for number 406, Giwulu.

Giwulu was a well-built warrior in his forties that used a heavy two-handed axe. He raised his axe the moment he got on stage, “Do you not use a weapon? I don't want to take advantage of you.”

Richard's eyes finally regained clarity as he glanced at his opponent, shaking his head, “No need.”

Giwulu's eyes turned red as he waved his axe, charging forward, but just as with both previous times he turned stiff before he could make a single attack. The axe left his hands and dropped to the ground, and Richard had walked back to the edge of the ring. This enemy had shown respect, so there would be no humiliation.

......

Richard had fought five short battles before he was sent off stage, each resolved in a single strike. The bonfires were lit once more when the sky turned dark, the winners naturally elated and the losers refusing to care. The atmosphere quickly reached a crescendo, and many winners snuck into the tents of the women to claim their prize. The night wind carried hundreds of heavy screams as none of them bothered masking their voices, revelling in their ferocity and stamina.

This time, Richard had one of the bonfires all to himself, eating and drinking as before. Naturally, nobody was here to provoke him this time; they knew that such an act would only humiliate themselves.

Gesang walked over and sat next to him, handing over a new wineskin, “So your name is Richard. I didn't expect you to be so powerful, no wonder you didn't come last night.”

Richard finally looked up and said softly, “Are you not afraid of me?”

“Why should I be?”

“No one else dares to sit nearby.”

“Because you outfought them. I don't have any plans to fight you.”

Richard looked at the warriors who were participating in what was basically an orgy, “These people are supposed to be warriors? All I see is muscles, no mind. The strong ones just try to bully the weak, is that supposed to be courage?”

Gesang looked him in the eye, “You are not a barbarian.”

“Not important.”

“I just want to invite you to my tent.”

“Sigh. Sorry, I don't want to. I don't like the idea of these nightly visits.”

“I don't either...” Gesang gave him an unexpected answer, “Do you want to hear my story?”

“You can speak, but I won't necessarily listen.”

“Years ago, I was still living rather close to the sea and met a brave fighter from Norland. I... fell in love with the hunter who had come all the way to Klandor to find prey. He eventually told me he would come back to take me away, but during the next hunting festival the best hunter in the tribe walked into my tent. He was the hero of the tribe, bringing enough food for us to last weeks... I was very young then, and although I tried there was no way to resist. It...” she sniffled, “It was a painful night.

“The Norlander returned to Klandor one year later, but by then I already had a baby. He only looked at me once before turning around, and I never saw him again. I was scared that this would happen, I knew that some of the things that are accepted here are not okay in Norland, but...” she stifled another sob.

“Good story,” Richard commented, “You want me to replace him?”

Gesang shook her head, “We didn't share a bed, even for a single night. I regret that, but you are not him. I don't want to use you to replace him.”

Richard stood up at this point, “The story is over, I should rest.”

“Wait, Richard!” Gesang called after him, “You don't want to enter my tent, but there were other winners today. Could you... Could you stop them?”

Richard looked her in the eye, “Why are you here then?”

“It was the only way to learn, to grow. If I hadn't come, I wouldn't become stronger.”

Richard didn't say a word, just walking back to his tent. Tears started welling up in Gesang's eyes, but then he walked out again with a long sword in hand. He walked over to Gesang's tent and stabbed the blade into the ground right at the entrance before nodding and returning.

The elven sword flashed with a cold silver light in the middle of the night, but Gesang felt her heart growing warm. The welling tears did eventually stream down her face, but she walked into her tent in peace.

......

The noise slowly died down as the night grew darker. Many of the winning warriors had great stamina, but they were still tired after hours of non-stop copulation.

A group of drunk warriors stumbled around near Gesang's camp, and one of them suddenly looked over, “I heard Gesang is beautiful.”

Another warrior smiled, “She is, but she's also a thorn.”

“Who gives a fuck if she resists? I won all five matches today, I'm fucking her!”

The group headed closer to the tent and found the sword inserted at the entrance. The meaning was quite clear.

“Whose is this?” the warrior asked.

“I saw Richard putting it there, Number 1089.”

“Richard?” the leader sneered as he moved to pull the sword out, “He's just a lucky fart that encountered trash—”

“Touch that blade and your arm is forfeit,” a voice whispered behind him. The warrior looked around immediately, but finding Richard in the distance he only grew enraged as he grabbed the elven sword and yanked it out of the earth.

The very next second, the sword was back in the earth. The warrior only saw Richard taking a single step forward, left hand flashing with bright red light as he slashed into the shoulder. By the time he regained his senses, Richard was already walking back into his tent.

It was only when the tent flap closed that the warrior realised exactly what had happened. Staring with surprise at the seemingly tiny cut on his shoulders, he watched as his arm broke away from the body and fell to the ground.

841 - City of Sin

A Simple Thing

Richard didn't fall asleep the moment he returned to his tent, instead thinking about the current situation. He hadn't had the time to prepare in his rush to Klandor, and now that he was here he realised just how much he had underestimated this continent. At the same time, his current decision was the only one he could have taken. If he'd wasted time to prepare an army, an endeavour that would take weeks on end, the sacred ceremony would already have come to an end.

And yet, participating in the sacred ceremony was a gamble. He was hoping the barbarians wouldn't openly desecrate their code of honour and kill him, but having to expect that unknown was extremely embarrassing. Such things could be found in youths or real rulers, but it definitely wouldn't be found in any council of elders.

However, there was nothing he could do about it now. Hoping for the best, he just closed his eyes and tried to adjust himself to an optimal state.

......

There were three more battles the next day, and this time Richard felt quite a few gazes concentrated on his body. He turned his head and saw a few wrinkly old men in the robes of the shrine quietly watching him from the side, but then he just ignored them and looked at his next opponent. He would attract attention at some point anyway, it didn't matter when that was.

“Elder, that is the person recommended by Krangma. He showed great promise yesterday, knocking down all of his opponents with one blow,” a warrior was explaining to an elder.

“Let's see him for now,” the elder said softly.

The day's battles were much more intense than before, many lasting for hours on end. However, Richard's fights continued to be complete blow-outs, with him eliminating his opponents in one strike. Even a burly fellow with a tower shield had been knocked out cold.

He returned to his tent when the trials ended, preparing to rest. The warrior and elder continued to stare at him as he left, the latter even trembling a little at the sight.

“I don't think this person is much worse than Krangma herself,” the warrior stated.

“Worse? Heh, Krangma doesn't even qualify to be his opponent. What is his name?”

The warrior in charge of the preliminaries was called to check the information, and he immediately recognised who the two seniors wanted to know about, “That person is Number 1098, Richard.”

“Rich... Wait, Richard?” the elder's voice rose slightly, his face warping in surprise.

“Elder? What's wrong?” The shrine warrior asked in a hurry.

However, the old shaman's face immediately returned to normal, “Nothing, let him continue. One of you go talk to Richard and tell him to be soft on the rest. Also inform the rest of those present not to provoke him. Let's go!”

The elder quickly left the arena, leaving a confused warrior behind. He knew that Richard was quite powerful, but he didn't think it was to such an extent. Still, since this was an order from an elder he had to carry it out.

Richard thus slept well that night, and nobody tried to move the sword in front of Gesang's tent. Lying in his own tent, his index finger was constantly tracing something in the air. His fingertips were glowing red as he seemingly wrote at leisure, but his hand was moving at a speed indistinguishable to the human eye. Years of practice had finally brought his skill into the realm of Beye, and with his more powerful Lifesbanes and the power of his truename his killing intent was actually beyond even hers.

......

More tribal warriors came to Snow Cliff to participate in and watch the holy ceremony, with many inserted into the queue despite being late. This was perfectly in line with Klandor's chaos, and Richard didn't care if he faced three opponents or five. Every opponent he came across was knocked out cold, and all he revealed was a tiny fraction of his martial arts.

Three days later, eight people made it out of the preliminaries and joined the remaining twenty-four for the final selection of the sacred ceremony. After five more battles, only a single victor would climb up Zykrama and take Mountainsea.

......

Atop the peak, Mountainsea was currently holding her head in her hands as she looked down at the mountain shelf. She already knew Richard was there, but she would not be allowed to see him. Great Shaman Urazadzu was standing quietly behind her, looking extraordinarily old.

“Richard won all six of his fights today, each one in one strike,” the shaman said with a smile, trying to make the girl happy.

However, Mountainsea responded with a soft question, “Shaman, was this really the decision of the Beast God?”

Urazadzu was shocked, his long eyebrows almost twisting together, but before he could answer she followed up with another, “Does the Beast God even know.”

“That... Of course...” the Great Shaman suddenly stopped talking. Facing this pure and once-innocent girl, he could have said anything but he couldn't find the heart to speak. Had she grown up overnight?

“When did you find out?” he eventually asked.

“I knew the moment you told me. You might have a hundred ways to explain it away, but there are things the Beast God likes and things it doesn't. This is would definitely hate.”

The response caused the old man's brow to wrinkle further. Sometimes, the reasoning was just that simple. “Your Highness... You... You should change your clothes and wash... up...”

Mountainsea didn't move, “You mean I should wash away my totems so that prince can rape me when the competition is done?”

The wrinkles on Urazadzu's face grew deeper and deeper, his head hanging down with shame, “You must understand. Even if you don't want to—”

“If I don't want to, Richard can't go back to Norland alive.”

The Great Shaman coughed, “There... might be an accident in the sacred ceremony.”

“Sigh. Does Mother know?”

“This is a joint decision of the Azuresnoe Shrine and the Council of Elders. She naturally knows.”

Mountainsea just remained sitting quietly, not responding to the news at all. The Great Shaman didn't know what to say, only speaking up after a moment of silence, “Your Highness... You've grown up.”

“I was always grown up, I just didn't want to think so much.”

“Sigh. You really shouldn't have called Richard. Now that he is here, you have no room to refuse.”

Quite unexpectedly, Mountainsea actually chuckled, “No, I told him to come because I wanted to show him someone.”

“Who?” Urazadzu felt quite strange. He really didn't know who it was that could help Mountainsea right now; both major powers of the continent were in agreement on this.

“It doesn't matter if I say it now; it's my useless father.”

“Greyhawk? But he has been in Klandor for twenty years...”

“Some people can fly even if they've been crouched down for centuries,” Mountainsea said softly, her braids fluttering in the wind.

Urazadzu remained silent for a long time, “Your Highness... Maybe... Maybe your hope is too great.”

“No, you people just overcomplicate things. You don't have the ability to think rigorously like the Norlanders, but you're trying to do it anyway.”

Urazadzu suddenly felt like Mountainsea was exceptionally strange this evening, leaving even him suffocated. This was unprecedented for the Great Shaman who had been to countless planes.

“Great Shaman,” one of the shrine warriors whispered from behind him, clearly shivering from the cold, “Richard is resting in his tent once more.”

“Okay,” Urazadzu nodded, his expression turning gloomier than ever. Richard was doing the simplest and most straightforward of things, trying to win Mountainsea fair and square. However, letting him do it was impossible for the elders of Klandor. This was a contest in front of the Beast God, the most sacred of traditions. If he won and they refused his rights anyway, they would lose all credibility in Klandor and be reduced to dust by the rebellion.

“Your Highness,” he eventually said to Mountainsea once more, “Maybe the Grand Elder should talk to you. His vision on these things is further than mine.”

“Whatever,” Mountainsea stood up, “I just have to lose my totems, I'll do it. It's not like I have a choice.”

842 - City of Sin

Complications

Midnight.

The elders of the Azuresnow Shrine were gathered in a secret room with Mountainsea in the centre. She was sitting on a mat in the middle, wet unbraided hair stuck to her shoulders. All the colour had been removed from her body, and the ornaments had been taken away as well; all she had to her appearance was a simple dress. All of her powerful totems had been washed away.

“You finally washed your totems,” the elders said with an odd mix of relief and confusion. Their expressions were extremely complicated as they gazed at the pure and clean princess of Klandor.

“Yes,” Mountainsea said softly, “You can continue preaching.”

The grand elder took a deep breath, “Mountainsea, this matter is of great significance to all of Klandor. If the sacred child can use Heaven's Armour, it will unlock power so great that it will be at the forefront of all of Klandor! Such a powerful existence will balance the powers, forcing the Norlanders to turn their greedy eyes away.”

“If your army can't even win over Norland's, what's the point of comparing experts?” she asked with a smile.

“... We have always been roughly balanced in terms of powerhouses, but in recent decades Norland has been producing a number of legends faster and faster. If this continues, we will be no match for them in less than a century. We are different from Lithgalen, we are much closer to Norland; so long as they wish to pay the price, the Norlanders can always send an army here.”

“My father really scared you.”

“Yes,” the elder admitted, “If not for your father's expedition, we wouldn't have realised our problems. An explorative force of a single prince of one of Norland's three empires razed the first few tribes he came across with no issue. If not for us gathering all of our best forces and your mother subduing him personally, we would not have made it as far as we did. If all three empires join hands, they will completely overwhelm us.”

“So let's say you have this one peak expert. What happens when they produce one more and cancel it out? What will you look for then?” Mountainsea waited a few seconds, but seeing that the elders had no response she continued, “And why do you think such a person will listen to you lot? Even I wouldn't care about you without my circumstances, do you think he would?”

“That... is for the future.”

“Perhaps. Or perhaps it isn't.”

The secret room was enveloped by a gloomy silence.

......

Sleeping in his tent, Richard suddenly opened his eyes as he saw a hidden aura sweep across his body. This energy was certainly different from that of a barbarian, softer and more stealthy than any barbarian he had met could accomplish. If not for his own fine-tuned senses, he would not have realised it at all.

He sneered, a red light converging around his right hand as he summoned Carnage and walked out of the tent. Right now, he could even fight legendary beings; no provocation would be allowed.

However, the night was the same as ever, with no unusual presences at all. The aura disappeared just as quickly as it had arrived, and even he couldn't find any clues as to its location. Standing for a moment and shaking his head, he walked back to his camp and continued to rest.

A middle-aged man slowly stepped out from where Richard had first looked, neatly trimmed beard and brimming with mature charm. One could tell at first glance that he must have been radiant in his youth, not losing to the elves despite being human. Looking at Richard turn back, he smiled and nodded before disappearing as quietly as he had come.

......

Behind the Azuresnow Shrine were a number of large stone houses for the elders and their families. At this time, a fierce quarrel had broken out at one of the more elaborate small courtyards.

“This is for the good of all of Klandor!” a beautiful woman said as she paced back and forth in agitation.

The middle-aged man leaned back into the wall, crossing his arms with a sneer, “For the big picture? Why should my daughter be sacrificed for the big picture instead of you elders?”

“Don't we make out own sacrifices?!” the woman raged.

“Of course not,” the man said calmly, “Do any of you elders have the guts to fight the Norlanders to death? You just have to show that determination and things will be solved.”

“But...” The woman was stunned, “But Norland is growing more and more powerful. Even if we are willing to sacrifice ourselves, that will only increase the disparity.”

“And what's an epic being going to do about that? A few decades, will it be, before the gap is closed up? At that time, you won't have any chance to fight.”

“But those are many decades!” the woman raised her voice, “Time will give us a chance!”
ƒ𝑟e𝘦we𝑏n𝑜𝚟𝙚Ɩ. 𝒄𝚘𝐦

The more excited the woman grew, the calmer the man was, “A chance? For your incompetent lot? The elders haven't done anything for Klandor in the past century, what will you accomplish in the next few decades? You will only be making things worse.”

“GREYHAWK!” the woman stood up, “I know Mountainsea's heart, I don't want my daughter to end up like this, but this is the decision of the entire council! We have no way to refuse the Sacred Tree Empire's offer!”

“I don't give a damn if you elders are alive or dead, my daughter cannot be sacrificed! Who cares about the big picture, you think you barbarians have any knowledge of politics? We've been doing it for millennia before you knew what that word meant.”

The woman deflated and sighed, “I'm sorry, but this cannot be changed. You cannot do anything about it either.”

The man smiled calmly and pointed to his own head, “Sometimes, there are better weapons in the world than your fists and swords. In fact, those things are useless a lot of the time. This is far from done, the Sword Saint is on his way to Klandor. At his speed, he will be here in three days.”

The woman immediately paled, “Hidden Sword? Why?”

“He owes me a favour.”

“What? You have a way of contacting him?”

Greyhawk laughed, “There are so many mysteries to the world of magic. Did you think talking to people was hard?”

The woman's breathing grew rough, but she gradually calmed down, “Doesn't matter, I can stop her.”

“Perhaps, but Richard is also the royal runemaster of the Sacred Alliance. I hear Philip doesn't like his hand being forced. And then there's Sharon, widely renowned for her might. Even the Sword Saint isn't willing to provoke her. One person might not be much of a problem, but three?”

The woman's expression turned cold, “Are you threatening me?”

“Why wouldn't I threaten the people who want to sacrifice my daughter for some pathetic greater good?”

“Sigh. You should know that threatening the Shrine will only make things worse.”

“Dear, I don't want the elders to give in. They just need to give Richard a fair chance and allow the sacred ceremony to continue as it should. Is it too much to ask that nobody plot behind the scenes?”

The woman looked Greyhawk in the eye, “You seem to be confident in him.”

“My son-in-law is an amazing boy. My daughter's nose has always been very powerful as well, I believe in her.”

The woman snorted, “As if she's not my daughter.”

“Is she?” Greyhawk shook his head, “Would a mother allow her daughter's life to be destroyed like this?”

“You...” the woman stared at him in fury for a long time before suddenly remembering something, “Wait, since you had the means to contact the Sword Saint then why didn't you have her take you away? It isn't that difficult to sneak a person out of Klandor.”

The man smiled, “Why would I want to go? I used to enjoy my life here.”

The woman's cold expression quickly melted away.

843 - City of Sin

Plots Afoot

The very last day of the preliminaries, the Sacred Tree Empire had finally arrived at the Azuresnow Shrine. Word had already spread of Richard's identity just the day before, making it widely known that the mage Mountainsea had chosen was back in Klandor to claim her and a more venerable warrior than any of them could ever have imagined.

The rear of the Azuresnow Shrine housed dozens upon dozens of beautiful stone houses that could accommodate nearly ten thousand people if needed, but many noteworthy names of Klandor that should have been present here were not. Balibali, Umur, Heisa, and Ramazoya had all abstained from coming to the sacred ceremony at all. The sixteen recommendations from the Council of Elders had already been revealed, but the Shrine's eight had not.

The guests from the Sacred Tree Empire were put up quite close to the houses of the elders, but in order to avoid being too striking they had all changed to the traditional dress of the barbarians. The Sixth Prince and Ninth Princess were chatting in a room when the Archbishop walked in, his rotting odour immediately leaving both of them feeling disgusted. The prince could manage to hold his own, but the princess frowned and opened up some distance.

The Archbishop took his time to sit down and relax, saying slowly, “Uriel, you have another opponent in the sacred ceremony.”

The Sixth Prince frowned, “I am no longer Uriel...”

“The Heaven's Armour has not been taken away from you, you are still Uriel! If you wish to regain your original name, then wait until your mission has been completed. Need I remind you that forgoing your angelic name is a sin? I am an old man with a weak memory, but there are hundreds of paladins outside alongside clerics and priests directly subordinate to the pope. I cannot guarantee that they will not report these things back to the Empire. Remember your name, Uriel!”

“... Thank you for the advice,” the Sixth Prince bowed with humility.

The Ninth Princess frowned, but she didn't dare to say anything. Although she despised the Archbishop instinctively, he was the highest authority on this trip.

“Your enemy is Richard Archeron, said to possess great power. He is a grand mage and runemaster, but his combat strength is still beyond the average grand mage. He hasn't used magic at all during the entirety of the preliminaries, relying purely on his runes and melee.”

The Sixth Prince smiled with arrogance, “So long as he is not a legend, I will have no problem. Uriel has always been an expert at dealing with magic.”

The Archbishop cupped his face and pulled in thought, the drooping eyelids and distorted face making him look extraordinarily terrifying. He only spoke up after a long time, “Accidents are not uncommon on the battlefield, and we do not have enough information about this Richard. I will deal with this matter.”

“What are you going to do?” the Sixth Prince couldn't help but ask.

“A dead opponent is the easiest of opponents,” the Archbishop replied. Just his words spread a rancid odour through the room, so strong that the princess almost vomited immediately. However, she knew there would be consequences for such an action and forced the feeling down. The eyes of the old man had been leaving her more and more afraid recently, and in the past two days she was even being awakened by nightmares at night.

“I still feel like there is no need to be afraid of him,” the Sixth Prince commented.

“No, assuredness is the most important thing. Courage and glory are fleeting, victory is everything.” Having said this, the Archbishop stood up and walked outside the room. It was only at the door that he suddenly turned back and said softly, “Don't forget this. Victory is everything.”

Raphael felt her heart turn cold as the door closed, and she found her older brother that had always been smart and brave shaking slightly, his face pale.

......

As he left the royal children to themselves and headed back to his own home, a deacon quickly rushed over to the Archbishop and whispered in his ear. The man's dark eyebrows rose in curiosity, “Have him come to my house.”

A few minutes later, a skinny barbarian walked into the Archbishop's room and scanned through it multiple times. The Archbishop gestured to the hundreds of holy emblems hanging on the walls, “No need to worry. Even here, this room is the territory of my master. Our words will not be heard by the Beast God unless you want it to listen.”

“Good. I have some information about Richard. He has come to Klandor once before and met with Her Highness, and years ago when she was in the Deepblue she handed him the Tooth of the Beast God.”

“What?” the Archbishop stood up, “So Mountainsea isn't pure?”

The skinny old man, one of the elders of the Council, was caught off guard by the question, “That... We cannot confirm it, but she should be...”

“Should?! That is not the answer my Lord wants to hear!” the Archbishop raged, leaving the skinny elder speechless. He paced back and forth around the room for a few minutes, “This means it might not just be the girl's heart that he has taken. If this cooperation fails, it will greatly impact our plans. Your losses will be much greater than ours! Even if Richard is defeated, Mountainsea is not likely to cooperate. You cannot afford that.”

“... And?”

The Archbishop suddenly stood still and looked at the elder, “Eliminate all uncertain factors.”

“Archbishop Hendrick, just what are you suggesting?! This is the most sacred shrine in Klandor!”

“Can't you explain it away afterwards? After all, it is only a Norlander. Which of you barbarians cares about his life?”

Cold sweat began pouring out of the elder's forehead, “This is the Azuresnow Shrine, the domain of the Beast God... If I do something, the Beast God... The Beast God will know sooner or later! He hates conspiracies in the dark!”

Hendrick laughed, looking almost like a devil in human skin, “You don't need to do anything. Just... leave him alone for a while. I will take care of the rest. I have my own experts here.”

“I... I...” the elder couldn't say anything. He was quite powerful despite his skinny frame, but the Archbishop's presence alone left him cowering in fright. The sheer pressure he felt indicated just how disparate their strengths were.

“Oh, I almost forgot!” Hendrick chuckled once more, pulling out a white case with golden trim, “This should help you make your decision.”

As he took the case and opened it, the elder's eyes went wide in shock. Arranged neatly upon blue velvet were fifty magic crystals, and even he could recognise that they were of the highest quality.

“We... Klandor does not lack wealth,” the elder forced out, but his throat was dry.

“Perhaps Klandor does not, but don't you?” the Archbishop teased, “I hear all of your wealth is concentrated in a handful of people, and someone with your status most certainly does not have such wealth.”

Seeing the elder's continued struggle, Hendrick smiled and whispered, “If your son wishes to go to Norland, these things will be far more important than your god.”

The skinny elder finally trembled and closed the case, turning around. The Archbishop's eyes turned into narrow slits, and enamoured as he was by the crystals the barbarian did not notice the sheer malice in their depths.

Hendrick was not wrong. All of Klandor's wealth had been concentrated in Mountainsea's hands, which was a tradition of the barbarians that nobody would even think of refuting before. Now, doubt had been sown amongst the ranks.

......

Far away in his new housing, Richard was quietly staring at the ceiling as he played around with a tiny dagger in his hand, “It should be about... now.”

844 - City of Sin

Confrontation

A strong wind blew through the night sky as even the most excited of the barbarians entered their dreams, carrying dozens of snoring voices throughout the campsite. Amidst the thick clouds and heavy snow, it wasa good time to kill people.
𝑓ree𝑤𝘦𝚋𝐧𝘰ve𝑙. co𝒎

A sizeable group of shrine warriors were patrolling around the campsite, and the fact that there was an elder amongst them showed just how seriously the shrine was treating the participants' safety. This had never been a thing in the past, but it allowed the barbarian warriors to rest at ease.

Although he was lying in bed, Richard was currently at the perfect balance of tension and relaxation for battle. His hands were glowing a deep red.

The darkness in his room tonight was quite different, almost sticky and alive as it constantly twisted around. Hundreds of nightmare creatures were hidden within, staring at him with bloodthirst, but they were far too scared and confused to actually attack. They didn't feel a strong aura emanating from him, but the red fingertips forced them into a subconscious retreat. They would only approach him when that light faded away.

There were a number of concealed traps at the door, window, and roof. They would be nothing to a true assassin, but he was using them as a facade to lull the potential attackers into a sense of confidence. The true trap was the hundreds of nightmare creatures lurking in the shadows.

......

A black shadow stealthed up Richard's roof in the middle of the night, circumventing all the alarms without issue. The matte black shortsword in the figure's hand seemed to be alive and writhing, but even a powerful saint wouldn't notice the presence without looking. The man was almost invisible despite the lack of any spells; magic was often useless in this trade because of how easily it could be detected.

Just as he was about to fall from the roof to enter the building, the assassin suddenly dropped prone and looked into the distance. A petite man who looked to be in his early thirties was sitting on another roof nearby, face completely bland yet possessing an aura of calm youth that was hard to forget.

The assassin broke out in a cold sweat; he hadn't noticed this man at all. It felt like he didn't notice either, but instinct told the killer that he had noticed and was just ignoring it to look at the clouds. A brief moment of hesitation flashed across the assassin's face, but he decided to go through with the plan anyway. The Council of Elders had already agreed to the matter, so they would deal with any consequences.

The middle-aged man was still looking up at the night sky, but he shook his head slightly and muttered, “I don't need to bother with this.”

The voice wasn't particularly loud nor soft, just audible enough for the assassin to hear. It caused some hesitation, but only a moment later the killer regained his senses and rushed into Richard's room.

However, the moment he touched the floor it felt like the darkness around him was trying to absorb him completely. Pain immediately shot through his lower limbs as something started biting right through, forcing him to jump up and try to get away.

The assassin's thoughts raced like lightning to recall just what this was, and he almost screamed at the realisation that the entire room was full of nightmare creatures. These monsters of the shadows immediately sensed his life force and converged on him, but after a few attempts at hacking them apart he just screamed and fled.

This incident quickly aroused the other barbarians nearby, but when they came out they found nothing. The man sitting on the roof had long since disappeared.

Back within the room, Richard didn't even get up as he reached out with a finger and slashed out in mid-air, the energy attacks ripping right through all the nightmare creatures nearby. He could have given chase and possibly caught up, but fighting someone so powerful head-on was undoubtedly a problem just before more fights. With the threat having been neutralised for now, he relaxed into his bed knowing that he could sleep cozily.

Of course, he still added a few more magical defences just in case. In the process, he also pocketed an image diamond and examined the scene. He didn't understand why the assassin's perfect stealth had faded a little, but unable to figure it out he just returned to sword practice.

......

A few minutes later, Archbishop Hendrick's wrinkly face was drooping down as he examined the injuries of a skinny man, the assassin who had been sent after Richard. There weren't many deep injuries on the body, but shadowforce had almost completely permeated his legs. Still, it didn't take much effort on Hendrick's behalf before the dark energy started to fade away, and he used the time to question the assassin about the attempt.

After a few minutes of conversation, the arhbishop suddenly pressed down hard on one of the injured legs as he grunted, “Hidden Sword!”

The assassin was shocked as well. Hidden Sword, the Sword Saint, was a famous epic-class legend of the Millennial Empire. He could fight for a bit against normal legends, but against him there would be no chance.

The assassin was a bit puzzled by such a person's presence, but he wouldn't dare ask. He was already suffering under the Archbishop's rough treatment, and he had no wish for the pain to grow worse.

Hendrick ran through a myriad of emotions before settling back down and waving the assassin away, “Go, remember not to mention a word about this to anyone.”

“Of course!” the assassin bowed respectfully and left.

The Archbishop grew more and more gloomy before walking out of his room, speaking to the paladin who stood up to salute him, “Prepare a carriage, we shall go to the shrine.”

......

A quarter hour later, several elders of the Council had gathered in a secret hall in the shrine. They were all seated, but nobody wished to speak. Scanning across their faces, Hendrick said sullenly, “Your Excellency. Since you have already arrived, why not come out?”

“I just don't want to see your face,” a warm voice sounded from outside the door.

“I feel the same about you, but still, reveal yourself.”

Hidden Sword slowly walked into the hall and took a seat, his crystal-clear eyes sweeping across every elder present before he looked at Hendrick calmly.

“Why are you here, Your Excellency? Klandor's snowy environment is sinister, if you do not return to Norland that will be a great loss for the Millennial Empire,” Hendrick said coldly, not masking the threat at all.

Hidden Sword smiled softly, “The Millennial Empire has deep roots and a number of powerful experts. My loss will be no big deal. But that is completely different from you, Archbishop. Without your filthy presence, your church will have nobody to do the dirty work for them.”

845 - City of Sin

Poison

“At the very least, I believe the possibility of you leaving in my presence isn't very large,” Hendrick glanced at the elders of the Council, specifically at Mountainsea's mother, but she was expressionless and made no move to help. This caused him to frown; without her help, it would be difficult to kill the Sword Saint. It was one thing to defeat a person of such power, but another entirely to kill them.

“Me leaving? You misunderstand. If I don't return from Klandor, my Empress will immediately come bearing down on your Sacred Tree Empire.”

“Do you think the threat of war can let you do whatever you want?” Hendrick asked softly.

“No, but it can stop you from doing whatever you want. Mountainsea is still a student of mine, I have to take care of her.”

Hendrick fell into thought for a moment, “Sigh. Since you are here personally, I believe I cannot continue with my original plans. How about you step back, and I won't attack personally?”

Hidden Sword said softly, “I am more powerful than you. If you want a fair trade, your assassin here steps back as well.”

“Alright,” Hendrick agreed immediately. Although he would lose his hand in the dark for now, that would be worth the Sword Saint not erupting.

The Sword Saint nodded and pointed to the mural of the Beast God on the wall, turning to the elders of Klandor, “Do you lot wish to continue being a disgrace to the Beast God? I hope you will not support Hendrick in turning his back on this agreement.”

Having said this, he left the silenced room behind and headed away.

It took a good five minutes before Hendrick broke the silence, “Elders, this is a major event that affects the vital interests of both parties. We cannot be bothered with Hidden Sword. Me and my subordinate cannot do anything, but there are still a number of ways we can assist. For example...”

Hendrick took off a ring and unscrewed the gemstone, pouring a little powder on a piece of paper and wrapping it up, “This powder can temporarily dissolve mana. Richard is a grand mage, mana is vital to him. You only need to put this in his food and water.”

The elders' faces immediately turned ugly, and Mountainsea's mother raised an eyebrow. However, the Archbishop just smiled, “Don't forget, this is for the big picture! You've already agreed to a lot of... bad things. If you want to give up now, it will just be a joke!”

Seeing them still hesitating, Hendrick leaned forward, “You're exchanging a broken rune set for Uriel and the future child of the Beast God. What are you losing in return? Mountainsea's purity? Her dignity? What a joke! The shrine's traditions would have arranged for someone to have a child with her anyway, it was never her choice. But nobody you choose can use Heaven's Armour. Think about it, an epic-rank legend in the future alongside the most powerful rune set in existence to pass down from generation to generation. All that for a piece of useless debris and a few nights of a woman? Do you still need to hesitate?”

One of the elders frowned, “Is this even necessary? Is Richard Uriel's match?”

“The difference between you and me,” Hendrick stared into the elder's eyes, “Is that I don't deal with variables. Take it, go poison Richard's water and food. Everything will be simple!”

There seemed to be a magic in the Archbishop's voice; the elder gritted his teeth and reached for the powder. Mountainsea's mother suddenly reached out to stop him, but he turned to look at her, “Asa, this... is for Klandor.”

For Klandor... Asa suddenly felt like her heart was being weighed down by lead, and Greyhawk's words resounded in her mind, but the elder had already used her momentary daze to take the powder away.

Hendrick showed a satisfied smile, “A wise decision. You will not regret it after seeing the power of Heaven's Armour. I hope the next decision will be just as enjoyable.”

“The next decision?” all the elders looked back from the powder. Google search 𝑓𝗿e𝐞𝓌𝙚𝙗𝑛o𝚟e𝙡. c𝚘𝚖

“Of course. You have to arrange for someone to fight Richard next, and who it is will be very important. Richard... should die in the hands of the barbarians.”

“What?!” Asa stood up, “Why kill him?”

Hendrick sneered, “What else? Keep him alive and wait for his vengeance?”

“I am not afraid of him!” Asa raged.

Hendrick swept his hands across the room and smiled, “You might not, but would the Council's reputation not be at stake? If Richard lives and the truth comes out, will any of you still be elders?”

These words made Asa look foolish. The deal with the Sacred Tree Empire might be for the future of Klandor, but it could not be revealed to the public.

“Richard is just a small person, not worth mentioning. Hidden Sword will not affect the overall situation, there is no need to worry about killing him. Aaah... I'm tired, I need rest. I believe you elders have many things to discuss.” The Archbishop returned to his residence.

Asa continued staring at the elders, but they had stopped paying attention to her and were concentrated on the powder they had been given.

......

The sky was already bright when Asa returned home, and she saw Greyhawk playing chess with Hidden Sword.

“You're back?” he smiled and waved at her, “I heard everything. This Archbishop is really tricky, all we can do is give Richard a fair environment and let him fight. That's the only way he'll be worthy of being with my daughter anyway.”

“Yeah,” Asa smiled faintly and walked up to her room.

Hidden Sword stared at her receding figure in thought. Greyhawk frowned as well, just dropping the piece in his hand, “Well, the Sixth Prince wasn't much worse either.”

Hidden Sword shook his head, “Things cannot be so smooth. Don't you feel it strange? We all know Midren isn't so powerful as to warrant this kind of investment.”

“That is true... Sigh. How about we wait for this to end and kill them on their way back? Maybe it's better that way, and we can figure out their plot once they're dying.”

“Then what about Richard?”

“I like the kid, but there's only so much we can do for him. I hope he's come here with contingencies. The Sacred Tree's actions have been very strange, I need more information on the matter.”

Hidden Sword nodded, studying the map of Klandor with Greyhawk to see where best to intercept the returning forces. In the shrine, these people would have the protection of Asa and the other elders. That would not be the case during their return.

......

As the two men continued planning, a servant boy knocked on Richard's door to hand him breakfast and the schedule for battles for the day. There were only eight fights in total scheduled today, and he would meet two opponents who were both recommended by the shrine. He didn't know who the opponent was, and the barbarian youth refused to talk about it either. Brushing it off, he returned to his analyses as he ate his food.

Finishing off an entire pot of roasted meat and half a waterskin, he acknowledged the shrine warrior that came to notify him of his battle and headed outside. However, just as he stepped out of his door his face suddenly warped; the mana bubbling through his body was melting like snow in the sun!

A million thoughts immediately ran through his mind, and he quickly realised there was a problem with the breakfast he had been sent. The poison was quite concealed, with no sign before and after ingestion even to a runemaster like him who specialised in magic materials. This meant it was at least legendary grade, and examining himself he realised that despite feeling temporary it would leave lasting damage to his body.

Losing one's mana was a death sentence to any grand mage, but he had to fight in less than an hour. He was being sent to his death!

“Those... MOTHERFUCKERS!” he raged, abyssal flames flowing from his mouth. It had always been an option to rescue Mountainsea stealthily and escape, even if it was very dangerous, but with the rate of his mana drain he would lose his strength within a few days. He could still run away now, but that meant nobody would be able to save her!

846 - City of Sin

I'll Raid Your Nest

Richard quickly realised that the possibility of an open murder had been precluded by the secret assassination attempt and the poisoning. They couldn't afford to face him directly about these things. Perhaps he could blow up the issue, he thought, but this idea was immediately rejected. He was in the enemies' backyard, and forcing a confrontation would only guarantee his death. He started cursing himself fervently; in all his calculations, he hadn't expected the barbarians to stoop so low!

He took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down. His first thought was to escape anyway— if the elders killed him here, then he wouldn't even be able to avenge Mountainsea's fate. However, just as he turned around he saw two shrine warriors step forward, “Richard, your battle is first. Let's go.”

He looked back and glared at the older warriors, “The elders really arranged this well.”

These words caused the barbarians to look away in shame.

......

The road from the camps to the shrine building wasn't particularly long, but the ten minutes provided Richard his last opportunity to make a decision. He examined his condition as they walked along, finding that he had already dropped to level 17 and was falling further. Fortunately Manacycle hadn't been stripped away in the process, but his bloodlines were shrinking in from the erosion of the poison. Even the astral world tree and the well of stars were growing sluggish, with the elemental world tree even starting to shed and degrade.

Only the Archeron blood retained its violent nature, clashing with the poison and refusing to give way. He tried to mobilise his powers from there, and despite the damage the power of his truename still erupted within. This meant he could use his abyssal flames and the powers associated with them.

He already understood that the elders hoped he would die in a “fair” battle. This would partially placate Sharon and the Sacred Alliance, while Mountainsea and the barbarians wouldn't complain either. However, he just sneered at the thought; they would get an intense battle, whether they wanted it or not!

Along the way, he saw the heads of nearly a hundred barbarian tribes sitting on one side of the field, alongside the elders of the Council. Urazadzu was also amongst them, someone he had greatly admired during their few meetings when he was a child. Now, he knew that the Great Shaman of the Azuresnow Shrine was worthy of no more respect than dirt. Forget just knowing about it, the old man was likely one of the masters behind the scenes.

However, as hard as he looked, he couldn't find Mountainsea anywhere. She was likely being kept away because she would realise that something was wrong. Eventually he just shook his head, climbing up on stage.

Heavy footsteps rang through the arena as a buff warrior with short, spiky hair headed up from the other side, raising the heavy hammer in his hand, “My name is Pangun, but most people in the Shrine call me Bloodhammer. I like that name.”

Richard looked at Bloodhammer's eyes and could immediately tell the killing intent within. Surely enough, the Council had planned to kill him off in the very first battle. He silently pulled Carnage out of his sword case.

“Aren't you a mage?” Bloodhammer snorted, “Don't you lot use staffs?”

Richard didn't answer, not even looking at the barbarian as his gaze focused on Carnage and poured his bloodthirst within. The blade immediately felt its owner's intent, starting to buzz gently with a sound only he could hear. It was like a thousand soldiers were ready to fight at his beck and call!

There was some doubt in Bloodhammer's eyes, but he was an experienced warrior himself. He started walking over, every single step booming like a war drum.

......

In the depths of the Azuresnow Shrine, the grand elder of the Council was walking towards his office. One of the warriors of the Shrine who was rushing across the corridor waved to him, “I heard the battle has begun. Damn it, I'll be late again! Grand Elder, are you not going to watch the battle? Some of the warriors this year are very powerful.”

“No, I have something to do,” the old man said with a smile, sending the warrior on his way. He then returned to his office and sat down, feeling an inexplicable fatigue. He had entered the legendary realm a hundred years ago, and this was the most tired he had ever felt since then.

Just as the Grand Elder sighed, one of his confidants knocked on the door and came in, “Grand Elder, the battle between Richard and Bloodhammer has begun.”

“Has everything been arranged?”

“I have already confirmed that Richard ate his breakfast this morning. In fact, even without these means he would not have been Bloodhammer's opponent. Pangun's ability is powerful and his totems are not weak. With his wealth of exp—”

“You are correct, but we do need to be safe with these things. Make sure to remain discreet, we do not know what will happen if Mountainsea finds out.”

“Yes!” the elder said humbly, before handing over a letter, “This came from the Sacred Alliance, and it was addressed to you. They also sent a message that messengers will arrive at the Shrine within a week.”

“The Sacred Alliance? What do they want, we haven't made contact in years...” The elder frowned, a bad premonition overcoming his heart as he tore the letter open and started to read it carefully.

“The battle between Bloodhammer and Richard should have ended. You should come see the ceremony, you rarely reveal yourself in recent years...” the younger elder commented.

These words immediately caused the Grand Elder's face to warp, “Wait, what did you say?”

“Hmm? Oh, the battle should be finished by now...”

“It's done?!”

“Yes, it has been nearly ten minutes. How could Richard last so long after the poisoning?”

The Grand Elder threw the letter in his hands and flashed out of the room, disappearing down the corridor. The other elder was shocked by a change, unable to understand just what had happened, but seeing the letter fall to the ground he picked it up for a quick glance. Google search 𝒇𝚛e𝗲𝘸e𝚋𝑛o𝘃𝙚𝒍. c૦𝒎

The content was quite simple:

“I heard that Richard has come to Klandor. The kid is very important to the Sacred Alliance, so keep that in mind. I hope you will entertain him this time, but I cannot control just how. I only have two requirements; he needs to come back alive, and his abilities with magic and runecrafting cannot be damaged.

“If that happens, then I will owe you a favour. If that does not... Don't blame me for what happens next. I've never really cared about the big picture, only that the kid is worth multiple fortresses to me.”

The letter had been sent by Emperor Philip. Most of the words had been scribbled, but each stroke was ripe with the power of laws. As a legendary being himself, the elder could quickly surmise that Philip was almost completely healed.

The elder took another look through, but the power of laws gushing out of the words left him pale. He forced himself to calm down, but his hands started to tremble at the mountainous weight of the words that had been conveyed. Although Klandor didn't normally participate in planar wars, the battlefields of despair were an exception. Emperor Philip had already taken a Daxdian fortress almost single-handedly, their own would be like paper before his might!

The most powerful emperor of the Sacred Alliance since its founder, and the Sword Saint of the Millennial Empire... The Sacred Tree Empire could not compare. Cooperating with them was for the future, but offending Philip here would completely destroy them right now.

But... But Richard's opponent was Bloodhammer! And Bloodhammer had been told to kill! The elder flashed out of the office as well, running towards the arena at full speed.

847 - City of Sin

Decisive Battle

Silence reigned over the arena, so much so that the elder could hardly believe his ears as he rushed forth at full speed with no regard for appearance. However, when he finally reached the arena he became deathly silent as well.

There was only one voice sounding on the battlefield, the gasps of an exhausted beast. That beast was Richard.

Richard was still standing; barely at that, but still standing. Carnage was buried into the ground as he leant against it, blood flowing down from almost every part of his body to the jagged sword to join what already existed on the edge. He was inhaling sharply and desperately, like a fish that had been thrown ashore, but even coughing up blood one could see the fire in his breath.

It looked like he couldn't lift a single finger anymore, but behind him Bloodhammer was on the ground. Most of his upper body and head had disappeared, the entrails marking a path twenty metres into the distance! It looked like the body itself had exploded!

A poisoned grand mage who fought in melee was alive, but a senior totem warrior was dead? The elder refused to believe his eyes for a moment.

Those who had actually seen the battle were much, much worse off. Richard had raised his blade up to the sky when the battle began, radiating such thick killing intent that the weaker-willed amongst them even felt like he was covered in a column of blood. He had rushed forth to meet Bloodhammer head-on, and with a well-timed burst of speed had left a nick on the warrior's ribs before peeling away.

Bloodhammer had turned stiff, slowly bowing his head to look at the injuries strangely before he suddenly burst apart into a bloody fog. It had almost felt like a fountain filling the sky; one found it difficult to imagine that there could be so much blood in one body!

Ten metres away, Richard had fallen to the ground like a traveller who had just survived the desert. Nearly ten whole minutes had been spent in him gasping and getting to his feet. Everyone noticed that the strike had taken a lot from him, to the extent that he bled everywhere without even suffering a single strike, but regardless of that Bloodhammer had died so terribly to a single blow. A lot of them had subconsciously stopped breathing for minutes on end.

“Richard... wins,” the referee said eventually. Despite his disbelief, there could be no change to the results.

The silence in the audience was finally broken, and a flurry of voices erupted as people discussed the fight almost desperately.

“Is it the sword? It made me feel terrified!” many people asked.

“No! That sword is very powerful, but this was because of a powerful technique.” The answer came from multiple places as well, but the numbers were relatively far fewer. These were all warriors with enough experience and vision to realise what had happened.

“Really... Terrifying!” someone uttered, their voice cutting right through the noise to silence everyone for a moment. None of the barbarians laughed at the youth who had lost his voice; all of them knew that they would have fared no better in Bloodhammer's place.

Richard's attack had been so slow that anyone could see, and Bloodhammer did as well. However, for some reason there was no way to dodge this strange blade. Many of them had found that the sword didn't seem to shake in the slightest; this meant nothing to the layman, but to someone of skill it meant that he had absolute control over his weapon. There were several schools of thought with regards to martial arts in the Shrine, but it was accepted that control was both one of the strongest and most difficult aspects to learn. There were often generations where nobody focused on it purely because it was nearly impossible to reach the prowess Richard had displayed.

Most barbarians focused on physical tempering instead of speed, so it wasn't uncommon for them to be struck by an opponent on occasion. However, a tiny nick had almost completely destroyed Bloodhammer's body; this was certainly their greatest weakness. This attack was incredibly powerful, and it seemed like it took a great toll on its user, but despite Richard's appearance there was no guarantee that he couldn't use this blade again.

When he heard the referee's announcement, Richard summoned the elven sword to serve as a walking stick as he hobbled down the stage and sat down to meditate. He had used the full power of all five Lifesbanes and Carnage in that attack, and the concentrated energy had caused a blood explosion within Pangun's body, but such an attack had its cost. With his mana pool deteriorating, he didn't have the energy to feed Lifesbane completely. A majority of the power of that strike had come from his life force.

He silently assessed his injuries and flashed a helpless smile. Three years of life force at minimum, completely gone. Some would consider it a fair deal to lose three years of lifespan to eliminate such a powerful enemy, but Richard was worried about his own problems. Three years of life was nothing to him, but the physical toll it took weakened him so greatly that summoning such strength once more was near-impossible. The next time he used this strike, he would die.

He suddenly laughed, convincing himself that killing another was perfectly fine. The more people he killed under the eyes of these elders, the more they would be humiliated. For now, that would be enough. He calmed down and slowly worked on the poison in his body, trying to eliminate as much of it as he could.

......

Within a small room in the shrine that faced the battlefield, two men were staring out of the windows.

“This Richard is a big variable. Thankfully, I was prepared. Do you still think you could have defeated him without issue?” Hendrick said with a squeaky voice, turning to the Sixth Prince.

“That blade would not necessarily defeat me. Even if I could not avoid it, my strong defences would have weakened the blow greatly. Richard is still a grand mage in the end, it is impossible for him to drive such attacks with a saint's strength.”

Hendrick shook his head, “Those aren't all of his cards.”

“Oh?” Uriel was surprised, “He's already hurt this much but he still has more tricks?”

“He must,” Hendrick said gloomily, “Look at his eyes, I can still see hope.”

Uriel shrugged, “He can't get through the next fight.”

......

Richard felt like a dozen red-hot steel rods were wandering around his body as he tried to fight the poison. He managed to delay the effects a little, but he had already lost another level during this time.

“How long are you going to rest?” a rough voice rang through the arena, waking him from his trance, “I am your opponent.”

Richard looked up to find a typical barbarian warrior in a typical barbarian outfit, the numerous cuts on his body indicating that he had just experienced a fierce battle. The more serious injuries had been wrapped up in some sort of grass, while the smaller ones had been left exposed.

“I am Muzha!” the brawny fellow screamed, “Remember my name, it is the last you will learn before your death. I'll throw your body back to Norland, anyone with complaints can come find me!”

Richard pulled out Carnage and supported himself up, slowly walking towards the battlefield. He looked so weak that he could fall at any time, but for some reason, Muzha felt his heart beating faster and faster.

848 - City of Sin

Decisive Battle(2)

Bloodhammer's body had been towed away and the arena washed with water, but there was still a large crimson stain on the floor that almost looked like a carpet of flesh and blood for Richard to walk up.

The Council of Elders had given explicit instructions to Pangun not to give Richard any time to speak to the audience, charging over immediately and shouting to block his voice if necessary. Having been handpicked, he was also the strongest warrior outside of the Azuresnow Shrine's own recommendations. The idea had been to kill Richard off immediately before he could reveal anything, but the brief fight had not gone according to expectations at all.

With the schedule having been changed already, the Council had no choice but to hope that Muzha could finish the job. The rather unremarkable warrior had thus been told the same thing; to provoke Richard completely at all costs. He thus lifted his heavy axe up high, yelling out loud, “A Norlander dares to dirty the Holy Shrine! Your blood will be used as an offering to appease the Beast God!”

By this point, Richard was feeling a little light-headed. Not even hearing Muzha's words clearly, he looked the barbarian dead in the eye and mumbled, “Just another one who wants to rape Mountainsea.”

Muzha burst out laughing, “It's my biggest dream to father the Beast God's avatar!”

Richard continued to sway as he finally stepped on stage, but right after all of his tired movements disappeared as he lifted Carnage as well, “You bastard... You think she even knows who you are?”

“You... RICHARD!” Muzha roared loudly, charging forward like a big bear. One could visibly see the air rippling away wherever the axe passed; these were ripples of pure energy, he didn't even need to hit an opponent directly to deal damage. Magic lit up the arena as Richard went through a range of buffs and curses before activating Mana Armament, avoiding the first strike. The two then engaged in battle.

...

Seeing the battle about to start, the elder who had just arrived found the Grand Elder at an inconspicuous location and whispered in his ear, “Elder, we need to stop this battle!”

“No,” the Grand Elder said expressionlessly, “Let them fight.”

“But... Richard's condition. What happens when he loses? We couldn't possibly stop Muzha from killing him...”

“You assume he will lose. Richard's chances might be low, but he still has some hope. If he fights properly and looks for the right opportunity, he can win this battle. Ensure that he fights no more battles today; we need to give him a fair opportunity for the upcoming battles. I... have been far too soft in recent years, thinking I was looking at the big picture but only looking out for myself. It's about time the Council learns to respect the Shrine once more.”

Without any response, the other elder just sighed and continued to watch the battle intensely.

...

This fight was different from the last one. Unable to instakill his opponent like the last time and by all counts far from any acceptable form, Richard was forced to rely on timing his magic to narrowly escape each of Muzha's attacks. A number of little tricks and some bigger spells barely allowed him to keep up, avoiding a decent amount of damage. The plain barbarian was more of a threat than he had first expected. Although Muzha's abilities weren't spectacular, he had a certain hunter's instinct that made dodging more difficult than Richard could wish for. He observed and adjusted for every trick Richard pulled out of the hat, forcing him to innovate constantly just to dodge.

Still, Manacycle was a huge boon for such a thing. A single tiny bolt of lightning aimed at the eyes was cast fast enough for it to be impossible to dodge, and despite not doing any damage it managed to blind Muzha long enough for Richard to escape. This was only the first of many such parlour tricks, from smoking fireballs to hollow orbs of ice that shattered upon impact to reflect the sunlight. Some of these spells were weaker than those of a fledgling mage, but the small distractions gave him just enough time to escape every blow.

At one point, he suddenly faced Muzha head-on and readied Carnage, killing intent flooding out from every inch of his body. Muzha thought that would be the final strike and moved to defence, but only to find that he had already pulled away once more.

If the last battle was a shell shock, this looked more like a comedy. Richard was extremely nimble, fooling Muzha time and time again despite severe weakness. A number of the younger barbarians were openly laughing within minutes, and their derision only grew with time. This made Muzha even angrier, and increased the number of mistakes he made even further. Even after a hundred strikes, it felt like he was no closer to hitting Richard than the first.

The only big spell he had used so far formed a dark cloud about twenty metres up in the sky. There were signs of lightning flashing within, but despite constantly feeding mana the cloud just continued to rumble on. It took minutes for even the first bolt, and even that was as thin as a finger and couldn't hurt even a random beast. When it fell down, the crowd had burst into laughter. However, Muzha had been paralysed for the single moment it took Richard to escape another strike.

...

“What is Richard trying to do?” the elder asked in shock, “Does he think he'll never falter?”

The Grand Elder turned to glance at him, “Look at Richard's eyes.”

The elder looked attentively, and what he saw forced a soft gasp. Unlike the unruly crowd, Richard's eyes were extremely clear and icy as they focused on every movement from Muzha. Be it casting spells or evading, his focus wasn't broken even once, It was as though nothing could affect him.

However, the elder still frowned, “Even if he never makes a mistake, how will he win? He's losing more energy than Muzha, he'll tire himself out first.”

“Sigh. How did you enter the legendary realm without any idea of this? Your heart is not in the right place.

“Actually, even if Richard dies it isn't too much of a loss. He will just be another victim of battle, and I will protect you all. In fact... I'm starting to feel like the Heaven's Armour isn't worth betraying ourselves either.”

...

The battle continued on. Five minutes went up to ten, ten minutes up to twenty... Nearly an hour had passed, but Richard was still fighting on without any semblance of giving up. Please visit 𝒇𝘳𝗲𝚎w𝑒𝚋𝚗𝐨v𝒆l. 𝒄𝒐𝚖

Watching from the distance, the Sixth Prince smiled bitterly at Archbishop Hendrick, “You were right... If we were at the same level of power, I would definitely not be a match for Richard.”

“Your abilities exceed his tenfold. Do not worry about such things, his journey ends here. Whether he wins or loses, you will not need to think about him tomorrow.”

“That... is good news.”

...

By this point, the laughter from the audience had died down. The true warriors were completely focused on every one of Richard's actions, all clearly feeling the same way as the Sixth Prince. Richard's wealth of adaptations in battle were unparalleled.

Lightning continued to strike regularly from the sky, and each bolt was slowly growing more powerful than the last. Muzha was now being hurt by them; if he didn't defend properly, he could even be hurt to the point of crying out. It was still rather insignificant, but many people were now focused on the dark cloud without blinking.

The lightning cloud continued to grow bigger and darker, a crimson light flashing out from within on occasion to strengthen the attacks.

“Those clouds...” one elder muttered in shock.

...

Far away by the window, Hendrick had an expression of disbelief on his face. “That,” he said to the Sixth Prince, ”that is the power of law.”

849 - City of Sin

Prideful End

Muzha was growing increasingly agitated by the lightning bolts. These attacks only left a small black spot on him at first, but recently they were starting to scorch the entire area they landed on. He looked up into the sky, but what he saw there left his mouth hanging open; what was ones maybe a few metres across now covered half the arena and had several sparks flying within it from time to time.

“IMPOSSIBLE!” He screamed just as another bolt crashed down, “I'LL KILL YOU!”

He jumped right towards the cloud, full of anger, but before he was even halfway there a sharp pain raced across his back. He immediately swung around, but his axe hit nothing. Richard had already escaped his range.

He felt a sudden wing blow through what felt like his insides, and touching his back all he could feel was blood. He knew that it was likely spurting out from behind him right now, but couldn't understand how. That attack was as light as a feather!

Before the barbarian could even understand what was happening, another bolt of lightning fell from the sky. They were now as thick as a fist, and this one struck right at the opened wound. As Muzha screamed in pain, Richard flashed over like a ghost and nicked him on the lap before jumping away.

This time, Muzha finally saw that Richard's sword had left a deep cut on his skin despite only barely crossing his leather pants. The wound had opened up on its own, blood squirting a few metres away. Shocked and angry, he flexed hard to stem the blood flow and stared hard at Richard, his rage-clouded eyes finally gaining some clarity to them. Richard himself remained focused as ever; his attacks had only used the power of Carnage itself; Lifesbane could kill Muzha in two blows with minimal energy, but even that amount of energy was forbidding right now.

The two were stuck in a stalemate for a moment, but a bolt of lightning fell once more and Richard took a chance to wound the barbarian's other leg. Although Muzha closed this wound off as well, the compounding injuries only made it less and less likely for him to counterattack.

The battle wasn't over yet, but almost everyone knew just how it would end. This was unthinkable at the start.

“Your sword! Something's wrong with it!” Muzha suddenly pointed at Richard, “You're cheating!” In the face of death, his will had finally collapsed.

The barbarian suddenly looked into the sky once more, finding another bolt of lightning falling down. He rushed his internal energy to offset the power, but suddenly he felt like something was wrong with his waist. Looking down once more, he found Richard standing right next to him almost breathing at his neck!

But where was his blade? Muzha's head turned lightning-quick as he looked down at Richard's arm, but he saw that Carnage had fallen completely into his body. This blade was so sharp that one didn't even feel it piercing in.

Richard stared at the barbarian's shocked face and whispered, “Get the fuck out, don't be a disgrace.”

He then fell more than ten metres away, standing quietly like a ghost. A fountain of blood immediately squirted out from Muzha's waist, and even so it took a few moments for the barbarian to feel the pain. He screamed in agony, but instead of giving up he pulled his axe over his head and threw it out with full force.

This attack was too sudden, the axe much faster than expected. Richard barely had time to think as he instinctively dropped to the ground, the flying axe whistling right past his back. Just the aftershocks from the weapon crushed him into the ground, sending him sliding a few metres away with blood spurting out of his body. This was the first time during this entire trip to Klandor that he had been injured so badly.

The axe continued to fly into the audience, cutting through two barbarians before burying itself completely into a stone wall. The unfortunate two just stared blankly at the enormous holes in their bodies before they burst into a bloody fog. A low rumble sounded out right after, the wall exploding from within to injure more than ten youths nearby. It was only then that all of the power dissipated.

On stage, Muzha burst into a mist of blood, his body crumbling apart before everyone's eyes. His legs and arms were turned to mush, with flesh and blood scattered everywhere.

Richard slowly got to his feet, watching the flesh and blood on the field with a sigh. He had planned to leave this enemy with a shred of his life, but that final blow had drawn so much power that the barbarian had killed himself without a corpse. This was a detestable end for the barbarians who valued the body during funerals, but Muzha hadn't hesitated at all. If nothing else, he was still a warrior to the end.

Outside of the section of the audience that had suffered from the attack, everyone was absolutely silent. The only sound one could hear was the thunder rumbling up above, but this time the referee snapped back to his senses faster and announced Richard's entry to the quarterfinals with a dry voice. Richard silently returned to his nearby seat, stroking Carnage in his hand as he tried to calm his breathing and wait for the next battle.

However, only a few seconds after he sat down he coughed up a mouthful of blood. With everyone's attention focused on him, the smarter amongst the barbarians quickly noticed the blue in the blood and realised that something was wrong. A flurry of discussions erupted about Richard being poisoned.

In their stands, the elders were completely shocked and furious. Hendrick had not mentioned that there would be any signs when giving them the poison, and it was clearly intentional. The more of their reputation they lost with this whole fiasco, the more they would have to get Heaven's Armour to make up for the losses!

Richard gently wiped the blood from his mouth with a white handkerchief before throwing it away, so calm that it almost felt like he had spit out mere water instead. He sat there waiting for the next battle.

The thunderclouds in the sky were now nearly a hundred metres across. They weren't growing any further, but the thunder booming within made it obvious that the next bolts were going to be extremely powerful. How could someone fight Richard when level 8 spells were falling down on them every few seconds?

The referee frowned, wanting to say something, but Richard just snapped and sent a small stream of mana to the cloud, making it dissipate entirely. Another round of hushed whispers rang through the stands, this time out of respect. Such things rarely happened with Norlanders; even obviously poisoned, Richard wouldn't take advantage of his opponents!

Even with no sign of blood on the sword, Richard continued to wipe Carnage down. There would be one more fight today, and it would likely be his last. This blade would sunder that opponent until there were no remains.

Looking at Richard's condition, the referee hesitated to begin the next battle. Although the battles were still simultaneous, this was certainly the one where the victor was most injured. Thankfully, he didn't have to call the next match; as he looked towards the elders, the Grand Elder stood up and announced, “Richard has won two games in a row. His battles will end here for today, the next round will be the day after tomorrow.”

The warrior sighed in relief. He didn't have the authority to change the schedule significantly, but the Grand Elder certainly did. He immediately announced once more that the day would end when the last of the second round matches drew to a close.

Richard was surprised by the Grand Elder's decision, but he remained indifferent to it. It made no difference whether his last sword would be used today or tomorrow; there wasn't nearly enough time to curb the poison either way. This final blade wouldn't rely on magic anyway. Please visit 𝐟𝒓𝚎𝘦we𝐛𝐧𝐨vℯ𝚕. c𝘰ｍ

...

“These useless dogs, may the Lord burn you all in His flames!” In the distant room, Hendrick's face warped with rage as he stomped away. Uriel looked at Richard with a complicated expression before following the Archbishop.

......

Perhaps because of the ferocity of Richard's battles, all of the fights this day were extremely violent. Four of the losers were dead and three more maimed, but that had brought the sixteen original fighters in the lower bracket of the tournament down to four. As was tradition, the Azuresnow Shrine's eight slots had been split into four in the top thirty-two and four more in the top eight. Uriel as supposed to fight closer to the end of the day, but with the change of schedule that had been postponed to the next.

Early in the night, the Grand Elder of the Auzuresnow Shrine convened a meeting with the Council of Elders, passing down the decision to give Richard a fair chance in the future fights. He also granted Zawu and Kunzhi's wishes of fighting in the ceremony, even if they were to face the Sixth Prince. This agitated the warriors who had originally been chosen to go through to the top four, but a secret set of bouts switched out contestants internally.

850 - City of Sin

Medicine

Well into the night, Richard was meditating in his room with Carnage on his lap. Deep within his body, the elven world tree seemed languid with a layer of blue light wrapped around all of its leaves and branches. The Archeron bloodline was no longer roaring as well, but one could tell from the steady flow that it was prepared to erupt at any time. Google search 𝗳𝔯e𝒆𝙬𝘦𝙗𝓷o𝘷el. c૦𝑚

The poison was still eating away at his mana pool. He was now at level 12, but the toxicity hadn't yet been suppressed. Despite his hardest attempts, he would fall at least a few more levels before the night drew to a close.

He touched the destiny crystal in his chest pocket for what felt like the millionth time. This plate was significantly tougher than the other two; those had broken the moment he even touched them, but this had even survived the attack back in the Resting Orchid Plane. He realised his mind was wandering and shook his head, focusing on meditation once more. The time had come to use it, but he wouldn't do so until the eve of the battle.

Within his inner void, the first star captured by the Deepblue Dream remained floating stably in the air. The blood star condensed from the Land of Dusk was shaking uneasily, but very little of the power it released was absorbed by the well of stars. They were in total supplying a significant amount of mana, but the poison was still taking its toll.

He was currently concentrated on the restoration affinity of his elven bloodline, the only part of his existence that seemed even vaguely capable of fighting back. This was perhaps the affinity he paid the least attention to, but coincidence had it it was the exact one he needed right now. Every mote of light sent out by the trunk managed to eliminate dozens of times its number of the poison, but the number of these motes was just far too small compared to how much poison there was.

It didn't take long for him to realise that the reason for this tenacity was the partial deciphering of the laws of life from the Forest Plane. Quickly understanding that the lack of numbers was due to his own meagre comprehensions, he immediately decided to put all of his efforts into this tiny hope. Although it took some effort to get it working, he started directing the astral rays within the Deepblue Dream from the well of stars to the restoration affinity. The output of the tree immediately doubled, leaving him overjoyed. A quick calculation told him that this new method would leave him at level 10 for tomorrow's fight, barely enough to drive Mana Armament.

He quickly decided on a three-pronged approach. His second and third minds were put to the task of converting astral energy into life energy and pouring it into the restoration trunk, while his primary consciousness focused on continuing to decipher the laws of life. Even one more law would greatly improve his chances of not having to fight to his death tomorrow.

......

The skinny elder secretly visited Archbishop Hendrick in the middle of the night, discussing things for nearly an hour before leaving with an ugly expression. Hendrick's expression was dark as he returned from the courtyard after seeing him off.

“What's wrong?” The Sixth Prince asked from the shadows.

“These savages... They never do things thoroughly, no wonder they're in decline!” Hendrick huffed before walking off.

As the Archbishop's figure receded into his room, the Ninth Princess walked out from the shadows as well, making a face in his direction before asking, “What happened?”

The Sixth Prince smiled softly, “I guess there's going to be a bit of change to the ceremony.”

“Heh? Didn't the barbarians already ban their strongest fighters from the competition?”

“How could those guys be anything of a fight?” Uriel asked with disdain.

“Then?”

“It's the poisoned guy.”

“Poisoned guy? Who is it?”

The Prince ignored the question as he walked back to his own room. The girl just snorted and went back to sleep with a pout.

......

Richard had nearly thirty motes of light flying around his restoration affinity trunk by the time the moon crested the sky. He had been progressing faster than expected, with at least one more law in the system deciphered before he would have to do battle again. However, a knock at his door pulled him out of his trance. Shifting his sword to his hand, he opened the door to find Great Shaman Urazadzu waiting for him.

“Oh? Come in,” he said as he opened the door completely and walked to the hall, but he didn't let go of his blade. Once the old man followed him inside, he sat down and stared with expectation.

Urazadzu sighed before taking out two black vials from a pocket, “I'm afraid we do not have the antidote for what you ingested yesterday. We... have seen the error of our ways, and want to make up for that slight. These are two sacred treasures of the Azuresnow Mountain. One is the Beast God's Potion, a medicine that can greatly improve your bodily power. With how you have been fighting right now, it should help greatly.

“This one is called bloodthirst essence, and it can greatly boost your body's power for a period of time. However, it will also exhaust you greatly when its effects come to an end. There are three drops within, you only need to take one drop at a time. A normal barbarian will be incapacitated for three days upon using it, so you will likely be bedridden for four to five. Be careful of when you use it.”

Richard didn't take the vials immediately, pointing his sword at the bloodthirst essence, “Is that not cheating?”

“No, it is compensation for having wronged you. We will try our best to ensure that the remaining fights are fair. You can be at ease.”

“Oh?” Richard chuckled as a wind spell blew the two bottles towards his hands, “I look forward to this... fairness.”

...

Once Urazadzu left, Richard pulled out both vials and started to analyse the contents within. Fortunately, he saw no evidence of any ill will with either. A rather strange smile crept up his face as he stared at the Beast God Potion; although he had never seen it before, just the pure energy he felt within was extremely precious. The bloodthirst essence was rather interesting as well; while Urazadzu had warned him about using it, his own body recovery was certainly very powerful. If the average barbarian would go down for three days, he definitely wouldn't need more than one.

He didn't understand why the elders had changed their mind, but this was his only opportunity to make it out of this alive. Once he was fairly confident there would be no problems, he just poured the Beast God's Potion down his mouth.

t felt like his abdomen was instantly burnt by fire and ice, a sharp pain spreading from his stomach all throughout his body. The potion was extremely violent, but he could feel the energy being infused into his muscles and bones. The pain grew stronger with time, but he could feel his sinews being toughened and his bones hardened.

It was only minutes into the process before he could no longer stand the pain, falling to his hands and screaming like a beast. He tossed and turned, roared and whimpered all night, the pain only letting up after the first rays of dawn. By that point he was bloody and full of cuts all over, but his body had buffed up significantly.

He struggled around for a long time before propping himself up and looking over his body. His wounds were squirming as they healed at a visible pace.

851 - City of Sin

Strength

Richard clenched a fist and his muscles immediately bulged, the change immediately visible. Just that action told him that he was at least twice as strong as he had been before; as someone who had never really trained physically or with internal energy, this immediately brought him up to the base strength comparable to a level 14 human warrior or a level 12 barbarian.

And that wasn't even the greatest gain. His regeneration had been strengthened as well, something that was extremely difficult given how high it already was. At this point, he could already compare to a greater demon.

The durability of one's body and recuperative ability were both quite significant in planar exploration. High-powered offensive bursts were good during the invasion, but to actually survive within harsh environments required resilience more than anything else.

This increased recovery also directly affected his fight against the poison. The Tree of Life currently had sixty motes of light flying around it at any time; they were still pathetic compared to the thousands of pale blue dots all around, but his recovery was at least a third faster than before. He could stabilise at level 12 instead of 10 now, and his level would only go back up over the upcoming days.

Another auxiliary benefit came from the way the Beast God's Potion worked. It was extremely vicious, combining constant destruction of the body with healing, but this was accomplished partly with the power of laws. Richard wasn't even at the level to begin modelling a system for the power of destruction yet, but having experience with the laws of life his progress in deciphering them would be improved in the future. Even casual thought about it brought him up to nearly fifty laws understood; in total, this increased his control of life energy by a third.

Now focusing on the restoration trunk once more, he started pouring the converted astral energy into it. Dozens of lights immediately flew out from the tree and joined the others, starting to purge the toxins. Focusing on this for the entire day, he could even manage to return to level 13 by the next battle. That was enough to use Mana Armament with some decent speed.

Suddenly remembering how the Beast God's Potion had reworked his body, Richard threw some of his truename's power towards an edge of his mana pool where a lot of the poison was concentrated. Purging the area completely, he then sent a steady flow of life energy to the place to regenerate what had been destroyed. The process had great effects, with the region returning to life with even more power than it had before, but the process was extremely slow and intensive. After an hour of trying, he opened his eyes and shook his head; it was better to use the restoration trunk for now.

He sighed with disappointment, knowing that his comprehension of the laws of life was far from high enough to make the process feasible. Of course, he wasn't considering his age or level at all.

......

The next day passed rather calmly in meditation and the drawn-out fight against the poison. While he couldn't comprehend even a hundredth of the 65,536 laws of life, his rate of comprehension was growing. The most difficult parts of deciphering any system were the start and the end; one because you had no direction, and the other because any minor mistakes on the outer rim would be amplified as one approached the core. He had managed to deduce that the system of life, in the Forest Plane, at least, had sixteen core laws. Analysing any one would be a huge leap.

In stark contrast, the day had been quite exciting for the barbarians. The internal battles to determine the Azuresnow Shrine's entrants to the top eight had been run in the public, and Zawu and Kunzhi had both smashed past their opponents comfortably. However, the big surprise had once more been the Norlander of the bunch. Uriel had lugged a four-metre-long lance into battle, sweeping away both of his opponents in one strike each.

It was made quite obvious that he was the most powerful of them all.

......

The next morning, Richard finally arrived at the arena once more to meet his first opponent in the final eight, Kunzhi.

Kunzhi was nearly three metres tall with long limbs, but his figure was lithe and clearly geared towards speed. However, as he came face to face with Richard, this renowned warrior of Klandor felt like he was facing not a person but a primal beast.

Kunzhi roared the moment the battle began, a gigantic image of a six-armed ape forming behind him as he charged towards Richard instantly. Richard froze for a second before reacting, giving him enough time to approach and enter melee immediately.

This battle was quite like Richard's last, but nobody dared laugh anymore. Kunzhi was much closer to hitting Richard on multiple occasions, raining down a barrage of attacks that gave Richard no room to breathe. Lightning crackled on Richard's body as he dodged every attack by a hair's breadth, looking very pathetic.

The situation continued for fifteen straight minutes before a bolt of lightning fell from the sky, paralysing Kunzhi for a moment and giving Richard room to breathe. The barbarian immediately looked up, only to find the cloud Richard had showcased before floating in the sky.

“WHAT?!” he was both shocked and angry; the last battle with Muzha had shown just how powerful this cloud could become. However, he couldn't understand one thing; when had Richard found the time between all the attacks to cast that cloud?

After this, the battle turned into a straight replay of that with Muzha. Kunzhi didn't dare to attack the cloud directly— that would give Richard an easy attack and even casual nicks from the blade had shown to be frightful— but that left him with only one option, to continue attacking and hope he could land a strike.

“Let's see how long you can dodge!” the barbarian youth roared, unleashing another flurry of attacks.

These words echoed the thoughts of many of the audience; Kunzhi was widely acknowledged to be faster than Muzha. However, an hour quickly passed without Richard making any mistakes. Everyone was right in their thinking; Richard would eventually make a mistake at some point, but that point would be well after Kunzhi collapsed.

......

In the quarterfinals, Richard had defeated Kunzhi as a level 13 mage. More precisely, he had won the battle of attrition. He saw that the battle between Uriel and a barbarian he didn't know was about to begin, but while scouting enemies was important it was more of a priority for him to clear more of the poison in his body.

However, just as he was at the edge of the audience he suddenly turned around. Uriel had just lit aglow, his golden armour, hair, and the lance as bright as the sun in the sky. The barbarian warrior charging towards him was sent flying dozens of metres with one blow, unable to get up ever again.

Richard's eyes narrowed at the sight of the person who had caused all of these problems, and the Sixth Prince's gaze coincidentally met his. Richard felt a searing heat from this enemy's glare, but he was an Archeron who commanded abyssal fire; it felt like nothing more than a tickle. He shrugged and just turned back once more, distinctly feeling the piercing glare on his back as he walked away.

852 - City of Sin

Precursor To The End

Richard didn't know whether it was intentional, but he and Uriel had been placed on opposite sides of the bracket only to meet at the finals. The next morning he faced Zawu, and this time he had returned to level 16.

“I hear you're the boy Mountainsea wanted, she'll be mine,” Zawu said coldly when they got on stage. However, Richard didn't even pay attention to him; Insight was working to dig out as much information as he could from the barbarian's body. Seeing this, Zawu growled in anger, softening his voice until only Richard could hear properly, “Once I win, I'll fuck her to death! That bitch has never given me the respect I deserve!”

Snapping out of his half-trance, Richard smiled casually, “You won't have the chance.”

Zawu sneered and entered his fighting stance, roaring as giant phantoms of a black panther and a six-eyed boar appeared behind his body. He was the strongest barbarian of his generation, and the only one his age outside of Mountainsea who could use multiple totems at a time.

Seeing the black panther which was known for offensive speed, a deadly counter to most mages, Richard simply raised his left hand and sent five thunderclouds into the air.

“You think I can't destroy this trick?” Zawu laughed, merely punching into the air. A wave of energy burst forth and hit the thunderclouds, blasting them apart.

However, Richard didn't stop there. Five more clouds flew out from his fingers, but this time they spread out to different places while being only a single metre in diameter each. Looking at them, Zawu just shrugged it off and focused down for a direct charge. Attacking in different directions was quite taxing, and he believed he just had to kill Richard before the clouds became a problem.

As Zawu charged forward with a flexible bone sword, Richard took a black jade bottle out of his pocket and poured a drop into his mouth. His fair skin immediately started glowing red, hot steam erupting from his nostrils.

“Bloodthirst essence! How can you have the holy medicine?” The barbarian's eyes immediately went wide open with greed, a peculiar glint in his eyes as he rushed even faster, ”I'll take this medicine after you die!”

Just as the two were about to meet, Zawu suddenly forced himself off trajectory in the middle of his charge. A single hard jump pushed him dozens of metres away, but even so he turned around in shock with his sword prepared to block. He almost hadn't noticed Richard moving his sword at all; had he not evaded, Carnage would likely have pierced right through his body.

Zawu immediately forced himself to calm down. Richard was an unpredictable enemy that had overcome impossible odds before; being careless would only spell death at his blade.

Seeing Zawu dodge like a cat, Richard smiled in satisfaction. This enemy was extremely sensitive, but that was not an issue. A drawn-out battle was only to his own advantage.

“Heh, you want to waste time? What a joke, how long do you think the bloodthirst essence will last?” Zawu sneered. His voice hadn't even stopped ringing before he was right next to Richard once more, bearing down with full strength. However, Richard no longer just dodged either; this time, both were trading blows in battle.

Zawu had estimated that Richard would last for half an hour, and Richard's thunderclouds took at least an hour or two to reach dangerous levels of strength. He could afford to wait until then.

...

Half an hour quickly passed, and despite some close parries Richard hadn't ever been hit. The five clouds in the sky were now of a decent size, and the lightning bolts started to fall down. Zawu grew more patient, waiting for the moment when the bloodthirst essence wore off and Richard would grow weak.

...

An hour since the start of the battle, and Richard didn't show any signs of wavering. The lightning was starting to grow painful, and the thunderclouds were continuing to expand.

...

By an hour and a half, Zawu could barely contain his shock. The lightning bolts were hitting harder and more often, making him more and more uncomfortable.

...

At two hours, everyone in the audience was dazed. All of the elders and shamans of the Azuresnow Shrine had rushed over to watch.

...

Two and a half hours in, there seemed to be no gap between the thunderbolts anymore. There were a total of seventeen floating in the sky, and at this point Zawu was just madly chasing Richard everywhere. The barbarian didn't even shy away from Carnage's strength anymore, only wishing to make it to a melee fight.

......

Two hours and thirty-seven minutes in, Zawu finally fell. The two strongest barbarian youths in Klandor had now fallen at Richard's hands in succession, leaving even many of the older experts quivering in fear. Even as Richard left the battlefield, there were no signs of the weakness that was to come. Great Shaman Urazadzu's long eyebrows were completely locked together.

By his own calculations, Richard expected the effects of the medicine to last a little under thirty minutes. It hadn't been his plan to fight a protracted battle against Zawu— he'd originally wanted to make use of Lifesbane and end the battle quickly— but the moment he ingested the bloodthirst essence he had immediately felt the tooth of the Beast God he wore reacting to it and lengthening the amount of time he could last in that state. Deciding to keep his remaining cards hidden, he had chosen to eliminate this opponent in another war of attrition.

This time, Uriel was nowhere to be seen. His enemy had been Musen, widely acknowledged to be inferior only to Zawu and Kunzhi, but even so the prince had only displayed his golden wings before knocking the enemy out with a single blow. Looking at the other battle, he had just yawned and left.

......

In the middle of the night, Archbishop Hendrick and Uriel were staring each other in the eye. The Ninth Princess Raphael was sitting nearby as she observed their silent clash, not daring to speak a word.

Hendrick eventually snorted, “Uriel, you cannot be willful here. Let Raphael go with me, and your opponent tomorrow will be a corpse. You will then stay in the Azuresnow Shrine until that savage wench gives birth to a child.”

“I can handle the opponent myself, why mus Raphael do it? She is still young and has never killed before, a small child like her should not have her hands stained with blood.”

Hendrick smiled with mockery, “Someone with royal blood is actually so naive! Regardless of her age, Raphael is the strongest of killers once she wears Heaven's Armour. That is why she was brought here. I will contain Hidden Sword and anyone the Council sends, she will kill Richard.”

“Never!” Uriel roared, ramming his fist into the table.

Hendrick didn't seem to be angered by the response, “I hear your mother once consorted with a devil. This is just a rumour of course, but anyone with such history will have a mark of the summoning left behind on their bodies. Within the Cathedral of Glory, all who have communicated with the Hells will be revealed.”

“You...” Uriel's face changed dramatically, “What do you mean?”

“Anyone who consorts with devils must be staked to death immediately. The greatest benevolence one can give them is a lifetime of imprisonment in Baylen Island. I hear Duchess Romilda is still very beautiful at her age.”

“HENDRICK!” Uriel stood up, radiating bloodlust from every fibre of his being.

“Of course, rumours are only rumours. Now, I can ask the Duchess to visit the Cathedral of Glory to verify her innocence, or I can pretend I've heard nothing. The choice depends on you.”

853 - City of Sin

Best Effort Please visit 𝒇𝒓𝗲e𝔀𝗲𝚋ｎoѵℯƖ. c𝑜m

Uriel sat back down, but the blood vessels on his neck were bulging from his rage. However, he was well aware that Archbishop Hendrick was a man of his word. The Church of Glory already rivalled the royal family in terms of power and influence, and contacting devils was a taboo that no noble would want to associate with. It was already obvious from the fact that he was here that the Emperor didn't favour him either. He could only suffer this indignity in silence.

“Good, you understand.” Hendrick flashed a terrifying smile, standing up and throwing an aging metal plate towards Raphael, “Here, you have everything you need. Put it on and get moving! It nears daybreak and we have to finish our tasks before then! Stop acting so delicate, what good can you be with that mother of yours?”

Raphael had been clutching the metal plate in terror, tears streaming down her face, but the moment she heard the insult she jumped up and dashed straight towards the Archbishop, “My mother isn't—”

*THWACK!* Hendrick sent her flying with a slap to the face, the girl's cheeks instantly swelling up with blood dripping down the corner of her mouth, “Duchess Mandy summoned a devil far before Duchess Romilda! Where do you think the talent you pride yourself on comes from? It is the devil blood flowing in your veins! The only reason you two haven't been thrown into prison for all eternity is that your filthy body can still serve as a slave to the Lord. There will be no mercy if you disobey orders!”

“What? No... Impossible! I can't be a devil's child!” the little princess cried out.

The Archbishop pointed a finger out at her, white light streaming out and searing the girl's arm. Uriel stepped forward as he heard the pained cry, but then the ray stopped and Hendrick said coldly, “Look.”

Seeing the purplish black mark on her arm, Raphael let out a shrill cry and slumped to the floor. Most nobles of the Sacred Tree Empire recognised the mark that came from the bloodline of a greater devil; the ray of light had only been used to reveal it from within.

“Well? What do you have to say for yourself?” Hendrick's voice was icy, his expression that of a snake staring at its prey.

“I... I...”

“Behave and I can overlook what happened today. I can even help you forget, just like this.” Hendrick raised an arm and cast a healing spell, wiping away the devil's mark from Raphael's face, “Alright. We have wasted enough time, now follow me. The enemy is weak right now, there should be no surprises... Wait.”

Hendrick frowned before walking over to the other side of the room and opening the door, looking at a priest dressed from head to toe in black robes. The priest nodded softly, handing over two envelopes, “Archbishop, we have urgent letters from the Church and the royal family.”

“Hmm? Alright, you can go.” Hendrick opened the letters and read through them as he closed the door, rage overcoming his face. Not long after, he threw the letters at Uriel's face.

Both contained identical messages. Effective immediately, the young mage called Richard from the Sacred Alliance was not to be poisoned or assassinated, or otherwise hurt from the dark. He could only be fought in the open during the sacred ceremony, but even then it was advised not to kill him.

Uriel was puzzled by the order, while Hendrick's eyes were closed and lips quivering as he whispered to something invisible. This was a spell used by legendary priests to communicate directly with their gods or other high-ranked priests. Shortly after, the old man snapped out of his daze and cast a cold glance at Uriel, “Do you want to know the reason?”

Uriel nodded.

“If I kill Richard now, the Church of the Eternal Dragon will close itself off for thirty years.”

“What?!”

“Even we have to look to the Eternal Dragon for certain things. Thirty years without access will put us far behind the other two empires... This Richard is so highly regarded by them, are you confident of defeating him?” Hendrick asked.

“Of course!”

“You had better win that match. You will not be the only one to suffer the consequences of your loss. Both of you, every movement of yours from now will be watched and used in your sentencing if you lose.” Hendrick then left the room, leaving Uriel and Raphael to their own silent thought.

......

At noon, both Richard and Uriel appeared punctually on the battlefield. The Sixth Prince removed his robe to reveal golden armour covered completely in magic arrays, a broad sabre held at the waist. The sabre looked slightly larger than a one-handed sword, and had magic arrays all over it as well.

Richard remained in barbarian garb, something that was useful for the cold in the mountains. His gaze stopped on the weapon at Uriel's waist for an instant before moving away; as a grand runemaster himself, he knew just how special that armour was. Melded right into it were runic arrays that interfaced with those on the user's body, combining the two together into the ultimate armour. The sabre was the same, part of the complete Heaven's Armour set. This set truly was amongst the pinnacle of runecrafting.

Interestingly, the lance Uriel used was not a part of the set. Richard didn't know why the prince would use this weapon instead, but so long as the sabre was not in use the set could not achieve full power.

The elder that was presiding over this match looked at the sky before looking back down, declaring the match to have begun. However, neither Richard nor Uriel moved; their eyes were glued on the opponent, running tactics through their mind. A small frown crawled up Richard's face; the armour was blocking his vision.

Uriel eyed him up and down, exclaiming in surprise, “You changed your weapon!”

Richard was still holding Carnage, but the weapon had turned from black to bright silver. Even the jagged edge had changed to what looked like feathery speartips, giving it a sacred aura. He waved the sword around, “It makes no difference.”

However, it made all the difference to the Sixth Prince. Just looking at the thing he could feel an innate fear as though he was already being cut apart. He had watched Richard battle the barbarians only a day ago, but there had been no such feeling then.

His assumptions weren't wrong. It wasn't just the shape; the characteristics of Carnage had changed as well. Richard had refocused his hatred during the past day, and Klandor's Carnage had thus transformed into Angel's Demise.

“I won't give you the chance of a drawn-out fight,” Uriel waved the lance and threw it aside, drawing the sabre immediately.

Richard knew that he had lost that one advantage, but he still maintained his composure, “I don't need it.”

Uriel raised his weapon up high, the armour lighting up as a pair of huge wings flapped open on his back. On the other hand, the blood-red of Richard's fingertips quickly spread to his arms and upper body as he clutched Angel's Demise, orbs of energy forming seven shields of blue and white lightning that surrounded him. He drank a drop of the bloodthirst essence and his breath immediately turned fiery, the abyssal flames being roused by the savage blood.

854 - City of Sin

Fireworks

Heaven's Armour against the god-like Richard who never made mistakes.

Many had expected this duel to be a war of attrition where Uriel would be aiming to catch Richard and kill him before the thunderclouds grew overbearing, but the fight was much more thrilling right from the start. Uriel raised his sabre high above his head and swung down in Richard's direction, sending a golden arc of energy flying dozens of metres in that direction. Angel's Demise being dragged behind him on the ground, Richard put his left arm up and sent five wisps of crimson flames rocketing forward to meet the attack. The flames quickly joined into a dull red pillar of fire that blasted forth to collide with the sacred light.

The arc of energy made it halfway through before starting to grow sluggish, the enormous attack clearly being resisted by the tiny pillar of fire in front of it. The holy light and abyssal flames quickly reached a standstill, just eating into each other without end.

“H-How?” On the observation deck, Raphael suddenly stood up in shock. The divine power of Heaven's Armour was extremely powerful, capable of easily suppressing most types of power. It was extremely rare for it to even meet a match, but Richard was still weaker than Uriel in terms of level; this meant the energy powering his flames was even more powerful!

Archbishop Hendrick's face wrinkled further with a frown, his low voice sounding, “It's not surprising, those are abyssal flames.”

“Abyssal flame?” the Ninth Princess exclaimed in alarm, “Isn't that the power of demons?”

Hendrick just nodded, his eyes narrowing as he stared hard at Richard's back. He suddenly felt a stinging sensation on his face and turned, just in time to meet the gaze of a cloaked man. The man had only exposed a single eye, but just his gaze was sharp as a blade. The Archbishop reached up to feel his face and his fingertips touched blooḍ. Google search 𝒇𝚛e𝗲𝘸e𝚋𝑛o𝘃𝙚𝒍. c૦𝒎

A gaze that was bright and kind, yet could cause harm without any contact. This man was the Sword Saint of the Millennial Empire.

The battle continued to remain in a stalemate, the aftershocks from the contact of the two attacks leaving thousands of holes in the hard ground. Many of the younger barbarians paled as they realised that neither contestant was going all-out yet.

Both Uriel and Richard started to pale, but the Sixth Prince who was supposed to have the upper hand with Heaven's Armour slowly started losing out. The flames coming from Richard's hands turned thinner and thinner, but the colour grew correspondingly darker until it was nearly purplish-black.

Most of the barbarians had no reaction to this change, but both the Grand Elder and Great Shaman stood up immediately. They exchanged a glance before realising they had drawn a bit of attention, slowly sitting back down. However, they could no longer look as calm as they once did. Mixed into the audience, Hidden Sword looked down to hide his expression from the rest.

Finding things strange, Raphael turned towards Hendrick only to find the man bleeding from his palms. His hands were curled in tightly, his long fingernails obviously having broken skin. Yet, he seemed completely unaware as he muttered a word to himself over and over, something the Ninth Princess picked up with lip-reading, “Arbidis...”

Arbidis? She had no idea what that was supposed to mean. She gathered that it had to be related to the abyss somehow, but the abyss had innumerable levels where even legendary beings rarely wandered. Humans knew very little about both it and the hells.

Hendrick suddenly stood up, yelling loudly, “URIEL! KILL HIM!”

Uriel was startled by the change of directive, but he immediately dispersed the flood of holy light and raised his sabre once more, turning into a rumbling meteor that hurtled towards Richard.

Richard's eyes narrowed as Angel's Demise started trembling with a low buzz, the crimson of his hands now leaking onto the blade.

Uriel was extremely quick, appearing in front of Richard in the blink of an eye. His golden flames were already blowing at Richard's hair and clothing. His sword fell down with overbearing might, all of his power condensed into this one strike to end the battle immediately.

It was at this point that Richard moved.

It was a simple strike; a single step forward followed by a downwards slash. However, this was something he had practised tens of thousands of times in his life, something he had worked to perfect with as much effort as he could spare at any given time. It was finally displayed perfectly, the reflection from the blade like a lightning bolt that lit up the earth for a mere moment before fading away.

The next thing you knew, both Uriel and Richard seemed to be a dozen metres apart, each leaving uncountable afterimages in their wake. Richard's seemed to show every single motion of his attack, while Uriel's remained in his one pose of preparing to slash down.

In that moment, everyone only had one thought: this was the pinnacle of speed.

The world seemed sluggish, slow to catch up to the reality of what had just happened. The natural silver glow of Carnage cut through Uriel's divine energy and quietly disappeared. The holy power seemed to fill the gap as though nothing had happened, but Uriel cried out as he skidded to a halt. His sabre struck the ground, leaving a mark that was a metre deep and more than ten metres long.

Just how had he failed to control his attack? The Sixth Prince wanted to ask himself this question, but the buckle of his right gauntlet fell off on its own as it flew into the sky powered by divine energy.

Hendrick's entire body shivered as he slowly sat back down.

Still stunned, Uriel, watched as his helmet, breastplate, faulds, greaves, and boots took to the sky as well, forming a suit of armour that started rotating in place.

“Uriel... abandoned me? Why...” The prince could not accept the reality. Heaven's Armour was a partially sentient rune set and could choose its successor, but it very rarely abandoned its user. Unless...

“I'm... already dead?” The prince who was once Uriel finally understood his situation and raised his hands, finding a web of red on the palms. He frowned and started turning around to look at Richard, but found himself unable to complete the motion.

A body erupted into bloody mist without a single sound, following which abyssal flames started burning it from within. In only a moment it turned into a huge pillar of fire, spurting dozens of metres into the sky. When it finally died down, one couldn't even see ashes. Without the runic armour set floating nearby and the damage to the arena, nobody would be able to tell that the Sixth Prince had battled here just now.

Richard looked up and heaved a long sigh, gazing into the soft snow in the distance.

Finally. He'd finally won. At this moment, he didn't quite know what he was feeling. It was more relief than happiness; Carnage quickly lost its lustre, seemingly growing bored the moment it lost its enemy, and he himself felt rather empty as well.

That final battle was like a meteor striking the earth, leaving everything dead in its wake. The audience was still mute, and even the elder who was supposed to be the referee couldn't speak for a long time.

It was Archbishop Hendrick that broke the silence, “Richard! That power you use... Hmph! This isn't over.”

Richard just flashed a bright smile, raising his middle finger and beckoning provocatively, “Let's meet on the battlefield.”

Hendrick's voice immediately went mute. He had planned to say the same thing, but now he found Richard's smile to be indescribably hateful. How could a minor noble be so confident as to want to battle the Church of Glory?

It was only then that the judge finally realised his failures, announcing the end of the battle. Richard was the victor of the sacred ceremony, the one with the right to be Mountainsea's husband. The elder didn't know how he felt about that. The holiest moment of the barbarian race had been won by a Norlander; had they really fallen that far?

However, the elder was aware that this wasn't the truth. Zawu, Kunzhi and the rest were only the public faces of the younger generation because they were the strongest who still remained in Klandor. The handful of warriors their age with true power were deep in their exploration of the myriad planes, and they wouldn't care for something meaningless like fathering a child. They had their own pride, and those who were still interested in these battles would voluntarily give up purely out of their respect for Mountainsea. The elders had even 'persuaded' two very powerful youths not to participate, just so the Sacred Tree Empire was likely to win.

It wasn't just this elder. Everyone in the Council had their own thoughts, but they agreed on one thing; the humiliation today was one they had brought upon themselves.

855 - City of Sin

Grown Up

The long sacred ceremony had finally drawn to a close. However, Richard remained standing in place as he heard the announcement of his victory, as though awaiting the next battle.

The judge walked over to him and whispered, “There are some more formalities before you and Mountainsea can meet. You can return to your room for now, I'll have someone give you the information later.”

Richard flashed a helpless smile, “I want to. Trust me, I really want to. But there's a problem.”

The elder froze, looking Richard up and down before frowning, “You're feeling weak?”

“Sigh. Yes.”

“Didn't you last three whole hours yesterday? Why are you weakening so quickly now?”

“How would I know? It's your sacred medicine,” Richard answered helplessly.

This response left the elder speechless. He called over two sturdy barbarian warriors and had them carry Richard back to his house, and Richard even asked them to just dump him on his bed before leaving.

He felt so tired he just wanted to curl up and die, but he didn't even have the strength to lift a finger. Lying down quietly, he began recalling the entire process of his battle against Uriel.

Everything at the beginning had gone right according to expectations, but even a minute into the clash of energy things had been far different than he expected. His original plan had been to use the clash of fire as a distraction, creating an explosion from it when his mana was about to run out and using the moment Uriel lost concentration to unleash his strongest sword attack. However, this was with the idea that he would lose the battle of attrition. Although he had mostly recovered, he was still a level lower in terms of strength and his runes were focused around physical battle instead of magic enhancement. Although Manacycle was extremely powerful in this regard, it wasn't the same as a grade 5 rune set.

As the abyssal flames started to weaken, he had suddenly heard a roar from the depths of his soul. It was filled with an indescribable sense of pride, leaving him with the feeling that the entire world was trembling in its wake! He had suddenly felt every bit of strength in his body being redirected, numerous threads of blood even drilling into the void of the Deepblue Dream and draining the energy of the two stars. All of this power had converged into his palms, amplifying the strength of the flames and giving him the upper hand.

This was a deeper level of destruction, one that had even boosted Lifesbane to a power he had never been able to achieve before. However, he didn't understand just where that furious shout came from.

Checking the situation of his body, he found both his bloodlines incomparably weak. The world tree had lost all of its leaves, and the lava flowing in his Archeron veins had almost solidified. Still, a line of mysterious runes floated out from within upon command, the power of his truename. Those at the front had a dark gold lustre implying they had been awakened, but this part was much longer than before. Ignoring Schloan, however, they still combined to form a single name: Dizmason, Destruction.

Before today, he had assumed this part of his truename represented the destructive ability of his abyssal flames. However, that roar was making him reconsider his assumption. All truenames were supposed to be part of one's own power, but that energy had felt like a mighty existence he could not yet comprehend.

The truename flickered a few times before disappearing. Activating it used up a great amount of strength, so the already-feeble Richard immediately just fell asleep.

This was the first time that he slept peacefully since he stepped foot in Klandor.

......

Within the shrine, a group of elders conversed deep into the night. This time, the central council wasn't the only one present. All four other councils had sent their own representatives, as had the Azuresnow Shrine. They were all discussing a single matter; the fact that the sacred ceremony had been won by a Norlander.

Everyone quarrelled loudly, with most opposing the mere idea, but they could not deny that Richard had truly won the battle on his own merit. If they were to change their stance now, the humiliation would most certainly spell their doom.

The only common idea was that they definitely couldn't have it continue as per tradition, with invitations being sent out to the head of every decently sized tribe to watch. That would only showcase their shame to the entire continent.

After arguing for most of the night, even these exceptional warriors felt tired. Their fury was focused almost purely on the central council, and although they knew it wouldn't help with the solution they were starting to vent. In the end, they all just agreed to push the ceremony back until Richard had completely recovered, giving themselves the time to come up with a plan.

......

Within a quiet little courtyard behind the Azuresnow Shrine, a robed Mountainsea was kneeling in front of the Beast God's statue while deep in thought. A knock sounded on the door, and once he received a grunt of affirmation Great Shaman Urazadzu walked in. Looking at Mountainsea without her totems or braids, he sighed before putting on a smile, “Richard won the battle. Your wishes will now come true.”

“Oh? Good,” Mountainsea stated indifferently.

The Great Shaman put down a stone bowl that he brought in, taking out an ancient beastskin bag and opening it layer by layer, revealing a few stones of different shapes and colours within, “Your Highness, the battles have ended. I can draw your totems on once more.”

Mountainsea shook her head, “You aren't hoping for me to beat him, are you?”

Urazadzu's hand froze awkwardly, “That... No, most elders do think that, but the Council will not ask it of you. Do as you wish, but I hope you will at least make it look difficult to save us the humiliation.”

Mountainsea continued staring at the Beast God's statue, “I feel really relaxed without the totems. I don't want them for now, maybe later.”

The Great Shaman sighed, “Then I'll leave these things here. Just call for me once you make up your mind.”

As Urazadzu turned away, Mountainsea asked softly, “You aren't planning any strange tricks, are you? Having one of the guys come in and fight Richard one more time or something?”

“Cough... No! How could that be possible?” The Great Shaman shook his head, but the cough betrayed the idea. This had actually been brought up in the meeting, but the Grand Elder and Mountainsea's mother Asa had denied it completely on the basis that it would make them just as shameless as the Norlanders.

Mountainsea just grunted.

Urazadzu found this once-lively back was suddenly very frail and lonely. He sighed, “You Highness, the results will not change, you have no need to worry. We might alter the form of it so we do not lose our reputation completely, but there will not be any more bad news.”

“Alright,” she nodded, “Richard needs rest, and I want peace for a day. I'll get the totems tomorrow night.”

“Of course!” the Great Shaman left in delight.

...

Deep in the night, Mountainsea suddenly stood up and stretched for an entire half hour until sweat was rolling down her forehead, calling out to the warriors guarding her courtyard, “I'm hungry, get me some food.”

All three guards immediately got up to bring her a meal. With her voracious appetite, even the powerful barbarians needed two or three people to lift everything. A few minutes later, they brought back a few giant stone bowls filled with steaming hot food.

“Let's eat together,” Mountainsea told the women, leaving them incredibly delighted. They knew just how special her food was; being able to eat with her was equivalent to half a year of practice.

Right as they sat down, all three guards suddenly felt their vision going dark. Before they knew it, Mountainsea had knocked them out and tied them up with a few hide ropes. She then wrapped up a large amount of roasted meat and tightened her loose robes before taking off. A soft “Sorry!” was all she left behind.

......

Richard's eyes suddenly shot open as he was shaken awake, and he found Mountainsea staring right at him. His eyes went wide in surprise and delight, but just as he was about to speak she put her index finger on his lips and shushed him, “Get your stuff, we're leaving.”

“Leaving? Leaving where?” he was confused.

“Klandor! Do you actually plan to take part in the ceremony?” Mountainsea immediately shuttled away, breezing through the room like a whirlwind as she packed the few things he had and returned. She just lifted him up and put him on a shoulder before lugging everything and darting down Azuresnow Mountain. In the blink of an eye, she disappeared into the night.

On another snowy mountain in the distance, Greyhawk suddenly sighed as he tightened his arms around his wife, “Our daughter's all grown up now.”

856 - City of Sin

Trust

With Richard draped over her shoulders and her hands filled with luggage, Mountainsea couldn't run all that quickly. However, her stamina was practically boundless; even when the first rays of dawn broke across Klandor, she still continued to run towards the coast. It was Richard who eventually jumped off her back, his strength having returned with the sunlight.

He tripped the moment he landed, tumbling to the ground— while Mountainsea was strong, she wasn't all that good at carrying people. The constant jolting had left him sore all over, as though his bones had been scattered apart.

Finally able to look over her properly, he froze up. Hair hanging off her shoulders with a loose dress on, it was almost impossible to tell this beautiful woman was the same mischievous girl he knew. All of her decorations and totems had disappeared with her braids, and the only thing linking her to the person he knew was the powerful carefree aura.

“You... look different,” he commented in surprise.

“My totems are gone, and my ornaments are things I had because of Klandor. I don't plan on staying here anymore, so there was no need to bring them,” Mountainsea answered with a faint smile.

“You mean...”

“I'm coming with you.”

“Uh... What?” Richard had never considered this possibility, only hoping to reach her to ensure she could at least live freely once he was back to his wars. How could the elders let her go?

“The elders can't wait for us to leave,” she seemed to read his mind, “The further we go, the better. This way, they don't have to see you.”

“That... That... Sigh, whatever.” He shook his head in a strange mix of annoyance and joy before looking her up and down, “Wait... You're only—”

“Level 10 by Norland standards? I know, I don't actually train my internal energy. Normally I just used the power of my totems, most of my time is spent sleeping in Zykrama. One day sleeping there is equal to half a month's practice from a normal warrior.”

“That's actually possible?” Richard had no idea of what to say. If she could gain strength just from sleeping, she was nearly the same as an ancient dragon.

“Not just anyone can sleep there,” the girl flashed a cheeky smile, “A lot of people die on the peak every year.”

“Alright, let's leave for now. We can talk on the way.” He took his belongings from her and determined their direction before charging towards the coast. He had no interest in fighting any more barbarians— Klandor's Carnage had already become Angel's Demise— but he was sure the elders wouldn't actually tell the barbarian youths about everything that had happened behind the scenes. Even if Mountainsea was right, that information would not spread to the populace. There would be no dearth of people trying to find him and 'recover' Mountainsea.

His current priority was to prepare for war. He wasn't sure how far Hendrick would go in backing up his threats, but one certainty was that he had disrupted important plans of the Sacred Tree Empire.

By the next sunset, the two had passed the crocodile river; their dinner was grilled crocodile. Along the way, Mountainsea had revealed the story behind Zykrama to him. This snowy mountain was rumoured to be the land where the Beast God had killed the Lady of Winter, leaving divine power flowing through the land. So long as one could withstand the debilitating cold, their bodies would grow tougher very quickly.

However, the cold wasn't just physical; the power there could freeze the very soul. Even worse, this freezing power would grow more focused the longer one trained. It even numbed the mind, leaving one unable to tell the danger they were in until it was too late. Thus, only those with a powerful will could last there for any stretch of time.

As the princess of Klandor, Mountainsea was protected by the Beast God itself. The divine power flowing in her blood allowed her to sleep within Zykrama for extended periods of time, and the energies in the peak slowly strengthened and refined her body with no end. In theory, she would eventually have a body rivalling a god's if she just slept there endlessly.

Richard had sighed deeply at this revelation, feeling immensely jealous. Just the last night had shown just how boundless her stamina was. With her body, she had absolutely no need to worry about energy reserves.

Next to the warm bonfire, the huge crocodile quickly turned into a pile of bones. Both man and woman had incomparably huge appetites, and even with the meat they only felt half full. However, Richard stood up and stretched a little before extinguishing the flames, “It's time to go.”

Mountainsea just yawned like a little lioness, far too lazy to move. Only with much effort did Richard convince her to let him pull her up. However, just as they were about to leave the soft breeze turned into a sudden gale. Some birds and smaller animals were blown away as the winds whistled through the forest, and the earth started to shake.

Mountainsea sniffed hard at the air and frowned, “Beast!”

Just as she spoke, Richard looked up at the sky to find ten or so specks of light flickering up above. He squinted to look through the dense mist, finding that they were all eyes!

“HYDRA!” he shouted as he pulled Mountainsea and began running, “WHY IS THAT HERE?”

Mountainsea's expression changed as well, “It's come for you! Run!”

“Me?! Why me?!” Richard was panic-stricken. Powerful magic beasts had intelligence that would not lose out to humans. If he had been marked as a target, he would be chase every time he came to Klandor.

“Why wouldn't it? You ate its child!”

It was only then that Richard realised just why the hydra was here, dismissing all hopes that it was just blind luck. He and Mountainsea ran at top speed with the huge serpent flying behind, weaving through the forest to get to the plains. The chase lasted day and night, with the hydra only giving up with a reluctant roar once it could smell the sea. The two still continued running for hours even afterwards before they finally slowed down. Both were sweating from head to toe, but they shared a laugh and continued on.

......

Once they were back in the Salsons' territory in Norland, Richard immediately took a few wyverns and headed to Blackrose Castle. Nothing seemed to have changed in the month he was gone, with the Archerons both delighted at his return and curious about the girl he had brought back, but he only stayed in the castle for a few hours as he quickly wrote Alice a letter to watch out for the Sacred Tree Empire before taking a portal back to the Archeron island in Faust.

As he entered his study, he found a letter sitting on his desk. The old steward informed him that it had been waiting for a month already, and from the words on the envelope he could tell immediately that it was from Flowsand.

For some reason, his started to pound before he even opened it:

“You know, I still remember that scrawny little mage that I met all those years ago a little outside Faust, heading north to the coast to pick out your followers. Maybe it's how long I'll live, but those days where we were running all over Faelor are still fresh in my mind. Somehow, the bookworm's diligence and focus actually got to me, and I fell in love... Strange, isn't it? Please visit fr𝗲𝚎w𝒆𝚋𝘯𝚘ѵel. c𝗼𝐦

“But—”

Richard immediately put the letter down, his hands trembling as his heartbeat started to sound like a hammer. As much as he wanted to ignore it, the contents were weird and the elegant handwriting started to grow shaky at the end.

“Flowsand...” he whispered to himself, trying to steel his mind but failing repeatedly. Frightening scenarios started running through his head, and the trembling started to spread to his entire body. There were many times he had cursed his blessings in the past, but this was the once where he truly wished he had never gone through that ceremony all those years ago.

Richard slumped to the floor before picking up the letter once more, his eyes already misty and red.

857 - City of Sin

Leaving

“But you have your promises, and I have my own. Both of us need to pay the price to get what we want, and I'm willing to pay mine. If only we could put together all the gold in the world to bring our wishes to reality.

“It is time for me to leave you. I will head back to the Darkness to grow the old dragon's faith, and Nyra and Io will go with me. In the years to come, you probably won't have the help of a priestess of the Eternal Dragon; still, remember to get their help if you do anything big. In Faelor, make use of the three goddesses. So long as you find a way to tie them to you firmly, they will become your servants in the future. I was supposed to do this for you, but I can't help you anymore.

“What I can do is to raise your title to Planewalker. It gives you a bit more diversity in your blessings and grants them with less grace; put simply, it's a 20% discount for a recurring customer. There's also a suggestion in there about worshipping the old dragon, but ignore that. Never think that sacrifices are a harvest; on the contrary, you're the one losing out. The broodmother is much more reliable.

“Alright, I should be leaving now. I'll already be on my way when you see this letter, don't come looking for me. For all those smarts of yours, you do the stupidest things in the world. Not this time; you will die. If you really want to come find me, wait until you can bring down the pope of the Sacred Tree Empire. You should be strong enough then.

“Goodbye, my love.”

The letter was just as straightforward as one would expect from Flowsand, and Richard could almost hear her trembling voice as he read on. Even on the floor he was starting to hope he could bury himself further in somewhere, but there was nowhere to go.

“It must be a joke, it must be!” he laughed to himself, reading the letter once more with his now-blurry sight. The tears rolling down his cheeks were scalding hot, but he just continued to cackle as he read it over and again.

......

It took an eternity for him to finally come to grips with reality, shaking his head hard and realising just what had happened. He sat silent for a long time before being able to move a single finger, finally getting up and leaving his study.

“Something's wrong?” Sitting outside in the corridor, Mountainsea jumped up and followed behind as he left. The girl was now dressed in Norland garb, but her unique aura still remained.

Richard tried to smile, but it looked absolutely hideous, “Someone I love suddenly left... I need to confirm it immediately.”

“Okay, I'll come with,” she said before gazing at his eyes, “I'll wait outside.”

Richard nodded, grabbing her by the hand and taking to the skies immediately. A dozen buffs sped him up along the way as he shot towards the Church of the Eternal Dragon like a bullet.

Those at the Church of the Eternal Dragon recognised him immediately; not just anyone could make several top-tier sacrifices in one year. Noelene came out personally to meet him, “Come, the High Priestess is waiting to see you.”

On their way to Ferlyn's hall in the back, the grand priestess leaned over to Richard and whispered, “Come meet me again after you talk to her, I have something to talk about.”

“Come sit. You saw the letter Flowsand gave you?” Ferlyn asked softly as he entered the hall.

“What's the Darkness?” Richard countered before he'd even walked over to sit down.

“Sigh. You want to go find her so quickly? You're such an anxious boy, seems you really are in love with her. But... it's already too late. She's entered the Darkness, and nobody can bring her back. Even if she hadn't left now, she would have to eventually. This... is her destiny.”

“What's the Darkness?” Sometimes, Richard was very stubborn.

Ferlyn didn't answer immediately, waving her hand to form a web of pale gold that turned into a galaxy of beautiful diamond-like stars. Some were bright, some faint, some red, some blue... It was a mix of everything, with old stars constantly dying and new ones being born.

“Every star you see here is a cluster of planes big and small.” She waved once more, pushing the stars to the centre and adding new, dim lights along the periphery, “Those you can see are the worlds the Eternal Dragon controls. The dim ones on the edge are not completely under his control yet, but his power has taken hold there and is starting to grow.

“The Darkness is what lies outside these, it is the collection of uncountable planes that we cannot yet see, that the Eternal Dragon does not yet have any control over.”

Richard breathed a sigh of relief at the information, but even he didn't know why. He shook his head and asked again, “Why is she going there?”

“She is Chosen, it is her fate just like mine. Of course, it is possible to reject this destiny, the old dragon doesn't force us to do anything we don't like. However, Flowsand came upon a need for a vast amount of divine grace. The only way to earn it is to go to the Darkness.”

Ferlyn's voice echoed in the empty hall, sounding ancient as though she was a millennium old. She had told him multiple times before that Flowsand needed divine grace, and he really was collecting offerings with his heart and soul, but now it happened anyway.

A place outside the control of the Eternal Dragon would have no lighthouses of time, no readily available coordinates or spatial channels. Without even knowing where Flowsand had gone, he had no way to find her at all. The only thing he could think of was exploring the Darkness once he reached the legendary realm, hoping to meet Flowsand one day. However, his brain was already calculating the chance of that happening with the radius of the worlds he had seen. The number was not pretty.

“Why did she need so much grace?” he asked.

Ferlyn smiled faintly, “Every Chosen ends up needing a lot of grace. They will always encounter some sort of situation that forces them to make a choice, and they often take that deal. The price is just something they cannot afford.”

“What was her choice?”

The High Priestess shook her head, “I can't say. Even if I could, you wouldn't want to hear. You should know that some words cannot be mentioned in the realm of divinity.”

Richard looked at Ferlyn's expression and changed his approach immediately, “What do you need?”

This time, Ferlyn's answer was simple, “I can tell you when you have the ability to suppress the laws of time here.”

Suppress the laws of time in a temple to the Eternal Dragon? Richard immediately rejected that idea, but then he remembered the sacred ceremony back in Klandor. He hadn't expected to go very far, but in the end he had won the entire thing and freed Mountainsea. The road was long, but so long as he travelled it he would eventually reach the end.

“I understand, I will have to ask for more guidance in the future,” he said sincerely.

Ferlyn understood the meaning behind his words, “I don't need your grace, I have no ability to help you. Go talk to Noelene or Jacqueline, they are not Chosen and can do things I cannot.”

He understood her meaning as well.

...

When Richard left Ferlyn's hall, he saw Noelene waiting for him right outside. She took him to a courtyard at the back of the temple, leading him to a luxurious home that did not match its no-nonsense exterior.

“Our cooperation has been very enjoyable in the past,” she started as she poured black tea into a golden cup and handed it to him, “Almost 20 million gold of transactions in the past year or so, and that leaves me very rich as well.”

Richard shook away his distraction and forced a smile, “Your prices have been fair, even above the market value.”

“I agree, but it is hard to come across such quantity of supply, especially for the kinds of rare minerals you give me. You know one can never have enough advanced armour in planar wars; no matter how much I buy, I can always sell for profit. Even with a lower margin, the volumes more than make up for it.”

Richard understood this well, waiting for her follow-on. The Crimson Dukedom was now stable and mining an enormous amount of minerals every year, with the output so high that even the Emperor had wanted a piece of the pie. The offer had been even sweeter than Noelene's. The only reason he hadn't taken it up yet was a lack of time to work out details.

Noelene was clearly thinking about what she would say, looking at Richard and saying slowly, “Her Excellency Flowsand has gone to the Darkness, and outside of the High Priestess you are perhaps closest to me. I understand you might need to grow in power urgently, and I need your assistance as well. I think we can deepen our cooperation.”

A slight frown flashed across Richard's face, but he forced himself to calm down, “I'm listening.”

858 - City of Sin

Fate

“You've been needing more and more high-quality weapons and armour these days, your expeditions are clearly going well. The business is a profitable one, and you buy from me regularly, so I plan to give you half the profits of all my workshops if you can invest in another production base in your lands or mine.”

“You're far too generous.” Richard was still distracted, but he smiled softly and nodded. This offer truly was a great one, reducing his war costs greatly. He had considered building his own production base a long time ago, but had to shelve the idea because of time restrictions. This joint venture would solve all of his problems; after all, money was the one thing that came easily to him. It was skilled craftsmen and enchanters that took decades to nurture.

Of course, that didn't mean Noelene didn't have her own profits in this. Although she would lose out in the short term, the increased production capacity and the fact that she would then become Richard's primary source of arms would narrow the gap greatly. Still, sharing her core resources was a very significant thing.

Watching Richard go silent once more, Noelene watched his expression and continued, “Flowsand took both her heavenly guardians with her when she left, but even so the clergy of the Eternal Dragon is quite powerful. I will allow four of my students to follow you into war, all of them level 14 and quite useful on the battlefield. Just as well, if and when necessary, I can step forth myself. Of course, I would need compensation for the divine grace I lose.”

While he had been half-hearted in his gratitude before, Richard's eyes lit up ever so slightly. The four students weren't worth much in a large-scale war, but Noelene's personal aid would greatly help his biggest battles. At the same time, he realised this agreement could get him something else he wanted urgently.

“What do you want from me?” he asked.

“Three things in total. One, I would like to be the host for any future sacrifices you make in this Church. Two, I have the coordinates of some especially difficult planes that promise to be very rewarding. I do not have the ability to develop them myself, but I can share them with you instead of selling them and we can split the profits. Lastly, I hope you can prioritise me in terms of some rune needs.”

Richard nodded, “It can all be done, but in order to reach an agreement I have one more request myself. It's also the most important one.”

Noelene strangely went red, pouting in obviously faked anger, “You... You don't mean you want to.”

Richard immediately frowned, “No! I...... I want to know why Flowsand suddenly entered the Darkness; what did she do for me that took so much?”

This time, it was Noelene who went silent. It took a while for her to speak, “You know these are things I cannot say.”

“Cannot say normally,” Richard countered.

The grand priestess stared him in the face for a while before sighing helplessly, waving her hand, “Yes. I can trick the artificial mind the Eternal Dragon has left behind here. However, I believe you don't want to know this.”

“I can't avoid it forever,” Richard said coldly. He already had many conjectures running through his mind.

“If you really must know... I can find a way to tell you some of it. However, I remember you owe me a grade 3 rune...”

Richard's eyes narrowed, “Tell me everything, and it'll be grade 4.”

“Grade 4? You can already... Oh,” Noelene's voice faded away as she saw Mana Armament come to life, taking in a deep breath as she went red with excitement, “Then it's settled! Any rune is fine so long as it's grade 4. Still... ”

“Tell. Me. Everything,” Richard enunciated.

......

A short while later, Richard knew everything there was to know, finally understanding why the fair environment had come up after the poisoning. He had already expected Philip's assistance, but the fact that the Church pressured the Sacred Tree Empire was completely unknown to him. Had Flowsand not made this sacrifice, he would die and Mountainsea would commit suicide. Noticing her death, the Beast God would likely have ravaged all of Klandor.

However, now that he had Mountainsea it was possible that he had lost Flowsand forever. Who knew when he would be able to enter the Darkness and bring her back?

Seeing Richard sit there expressionlessly for half an hour, Noelene finally caved in to the terror of the silence and spoke up, “Don't blame yourself too much. This was fate, all Chosen of the dragon end up in the Darkness at some point. That is the mission they are born to fulfil, and it will come about some way or the other. Even if you can slow the stream down, you cannot stop it forever. She would have left regardless.”

Richard finally turned to look at her and smiled bitterly, his eyes red with visible streaks on his face, “So Flowsand would have ended up in the Darkness even if I didn't go to Klandor?”

“Yes, that is the mission of all Chosen,” Noelene reiterated.

“But didn't the High Priestess return?” A tiny trace of hope started burning in his heart.

“The High Priestess is— Argh!” Noelene suddenly lost her voice and panicked, her face turning pale and aura starting to weaken before she started coughing heavily.

“Noelene?” Richard immediately stood up, starting to mobilise some of the life energy within him, but she waved him away and smiled weakly, “Did you see that? That was his power, it's everywhere. I was about to say something that could not be revealed, and that was the punishment.”

Richard nodded, not asking why she hadn't used the same method she had used to tell him about Flowsand. Cheating the dragon was certainly not that easy.

“Alright, I understand. I hope we have a good partnership,” he stretched out his arm.

Noelene didn't take the handshake, instead leaning forward into a very slight embrace that was more formal than intimate, “We should become the firmest of allies. Time will tell.”

The two discussed things further for a while before Richard walked out of the church. Mountainsea jumped over from the shady rock she was sitting on, “Everything's done?”

He nodded, slightly tired, “I know everything I wanted to.”

“It has something to do with me, doesn't it?” She watched him without blinking.

“Kind of. I have a friend... no, a lover called Flowsand who was a Chosen of the Church of the Eternal Dragon. If not for her, I would have died trying to reach you...”

Richard spoke non-stop as they walked, and by the time they were back at the Archeron island Mountainsea knew everything. As they stepped through the portal, she put an arm on his shoulder and nodded seriously, “Once we become epic beings, we'll go to the Darkness and find her.”

“Epic beings?” Richard was a little startled.

“I'll definitely become one, and you can with enough luck.”

“But this is my—”

“It's our problem,” she said as she pulled him along, leaving no room for argument.f𝘳𝒆ℯ𝑤𝚎𝚋𝗻𝚘𝘷el. c𝗼m

859 - City of Sin

Ten Years

Richard returned to his study and quietly examined a map of Norland, pondering his next move. The Sacred Tree Empire most certainly hated him for ruining their plans in Klandor, but now that he knew what had happened behind the scenes he wanted nothing less than for them to be wiped out.

This was one of the three greatest powers of Norland he was up against. Even combined, the Schumpeters, Mensas, Josephs, and Wellinburgs wouldn't be worth a fraction of the Sacred Tree Empire and the Church of Glory. And yet, he felt no fear of this impending war. No, his blood was boiling with rage and excitement as he examined the melting pot of small and large nobles that was the border between the Sacred Tree Empire and the Sacred Alliance.

The political maps of the area were constantly changing, betrayals and conspiracies mixed with open wars ensuring that these lands regularly switched rulers. The biggest changes in recent years had been with respect to Duke Solam and Earl Alice. Richard had almost doubled her military power with 2,000 heavy cavalry, 5,000 infantry, and a hundred rune knights, but her progress still continued to stall. With her growing so powerful, all of the smaller aristocrats in the area had put aside their differences to keep her out. At the same time, too great of an offensive could invoke the ire of the Empire itself, which was someone she didn't want to fight yet.

Defeating the pope of the Sacred Tree Empire was impossible with his current strength. No matter how he tried to justify it, Richard couldn't find any way to make a dent into the Church of Glory without taking on great risks. His own control of the family was still rather unstable, and a retreat at this point would greatly affect his position as king of the Archerons. Eventually, he sighed and decided to give up. He would need to spend some time amassing a more powerful army for this.

Just as he was about to go sleep, his eyebrows rose for a moment as he said softly, “You can come out.”

A figure appeared from the shadows of the night, drifting in through the window. The man was wrapped in a black robe with his face completely hidden, but he had the rough and fierce aura of a general, not an assassin.

The moment he entered the study, the man silently walked to block off Richard's path to his sword case. Extinction, Carnage, the elven sword, and the Twin of Destiny were all within; the hostility was obvious.

Richard's eyes started glowing, but the man just snorted and used the black robe to form a strange force field that blocked most of his vision. However, a lot of information could still be gleaned, including general level. The man was somewhere between the saint and legendary realms, and his aura reeked of the power of time. This was one of the most obvious features of the paladins of the Eternal Dragon.

“If it's not pleasant, I advise that you leave immediately,” Richard grunted, “I'm not in the mood to leave people alive.”

“Not going to ask who sent me?” a coarse voice rang out.

“You would've said if you wanted to. Besides, any enemy that's sending assassins has no confidence of beating me face to face.”

“You're confident,” the man said with a smile, “Let me see ”

He stabbed forward as he spoke, a shortsword appearing in his hands out of nowhere. The original grey colour of the weapon was quickly enveloped by golden light, and with a single glance Richard could already tell that he was stronger than most sky saints from the Land of Dusk.

He had no sword himself, but Richard still brought his right hand in a slashing motion. A blood-coloured arc of energy shot out from his extended index finger, hitting the shortsword and immediately shattering it to the hilt.

The man immediately stopped in place and retreated, starting to look alternately between Richard and his empty hilt before sighing, “Such great power. Is this from your truename?”

Richard slowly lowered his blood-coloured hand into his pocket, one of his eyebrows rising up, “Can you tell me about your intention now? I don't think I've made an enemy of the Eternal Dragon just yet.”

“Smart,” the man smiled as he offered a pale purple hourglass, “I have a message from Ferlyn.”

As he took the hourglass and broke it, Richard could instantly tell that something was different. Purplish-black energy filled the entire study, giving him the same strange feeling as when he made sacrifices at the Church. This study had just been pulled out of this spacetime into another.

Ferlyn's figure appeared within and she looked him in the eye, “Richard, this is the only way I can mention what I want to say next, and I can only say it once. Flowsand gave this thing to me before leaving, saying it was yours. I've been studying it for some time now, and have analysed enough of the laws within to confirm that it is a Doomsday Imprint.”

“Hmm?” Richard remembered the orb she was holding up from the statue of the Highland Wargod. Flowsand had once mentioned this before, but refused to explain much as she instead took it away to study it. He hadn't heard from her about it since then.

“In the depths of the void is a mysterious race. Some people call them pillagers, other reapers, but whatever they are they have been the death of countless planes. They completely invade their target plane and conquer it in a short time, breaking it away from the divine realm of the Eternal Dragon and pulling it into the Darkness. These things have been present for as long as we can remember, but we do not know much about them. They cut off the dragon's connection to the plane so there is no way to tell what they do and how they do it.

“These Doomsday Imprints are precursors to such an attack. They only target one plane at a time, and every plane they target ends up with one or more such marks. It can be a piece of jewellery, a weapon, a piece of art, even a creature. So long as the law signature matches, we can confirm that they will appear to harvest it soon enough.”

“Faelor will be destroyed?” Richard was shocked.

“Yes, it's only a matter of time.”

“Is there no way to deal with them?”

“There should be, but we have no idea. Thankfully, we've learned to identify Doomsday Imprints; we can at least evacuate from the targeted planes.”

Richard went silent for a while before asking a question, “How long?”

“Not long at all by my standards, but for you it should be a significant amount of time. Ten years.”

“Ten years... It's not enough!” he grabbed his hair in annoyance, “How could this be? Why Faelor?!”

“Fate. Just like Flowsand having to go to the Darkness.”

“Fate?” Richard sneered.

Ferlyn sighed at his response, “Richard, the power of fate is not something we can resist.”

Richard didn't answer, just whispering to himself, “Ten years it is...”

860 - City of Sin

Ten Years(2)

Knowing that it would be impossible to convince him, Ferlyn shook her head and faded away. Her image scattered into timeforce and disappeared completely, taking the abnormal purple in the study with it.

Richard sighed and sat back down on his chair, staring out the window. The man started walking away as well, but before leaving he suddenly looked back, ”If you truly are determined to go to the Darkness, then I advise you raise your title with the Eternal Dragon to at least a Lord of Time. That is the only way to return alive.”

“My title?” Richard's eyes narrowed, “How far away is it?”

“You are currently a Planewalker. Next comes the Voidwalker, Lord of Space, and Lord of Time,” the man said in a low voice, “This is only personal advice. You can choose whether you listen.”

“Thank you,” Richard nodded, “I don't believe we have met before.”

“I'm Leo, Her Excellency's eternal servant.” The man jumped out of the window and disappeared into thin air. Richard quickly recalled where he had heard the name before; this was the rarely seen commander of the paladins of the Church.

Once Leo left, Richard spent an entire night in quiet meditation. It was only at dawn that he finally stood up and walked over to a window, watching the City of Miracles in all of its glory.

All an illusion, he couldn't help but feel. This was supposed to be one of the most prosperous cities in the world, but nobody here was really happy. It was like he was standing in another time and space, looking at a mere image of grandeur.

He didn't know when his grip had grown tighter, but he was suddenly jolted from his trance by a loud screech as the frame was completely twisted apart. He immediately turned and rang a bell to call some of his mages over, meeting them in the corridor and ordering them to set up communications. By the next minute, he was sitting in front of the recently-upgraded long-distance communication circle waiting for Alice to respond.

“What's so urgent?” Alice asked with a yawn as she appeared on the holographic screen, “Couldn't you let me sleep a little more?”

“It's important,” Richard answered.

Alice immediately shook her head, her clouded eyes starting to glow. She gestured for him to continue.

“I want war!”

She seemed to stop breathing for a moment, looking him right in the eye as she processed what he'd just said. The war goddess of the Archerons immediately burst out from within her tired frame, her crimson hair flaring up as she smiled with resolution, “Just say the word.”

Richard's own eyes narrowed, “Alright, prepare your army, I'm coming over.”

......

Philip was twenty minutes into breakfast by the time Richard reached the royal island, but he was led directly to the Emperor's dining hall and granted a seat. Looking at the enormous man eating vulgarly, Richard could find no signs of any injuries left behind from the battle in the Land of Dusk.

As he watched the figure that was now comparable to the founding emperor of the Sacred Alliance, Richard's mind wandered to the situation in the Land of Dusk. A new balance had been reached, and even having given the other two empires a third control of the City of the Unsetting Sun between them, the Sacred Alliance was certainly ahead. As Gaton had said, the oily fingers didn't matter when it came to the biggest upstart of the Sacred Alliance; power was everything.

“Eat!” Philip spoke even as he wolfed down a huge steak, “These things aren't good when they're cold.”

Richard didn't touch the knife and fork, instead bowing sincerely, “Thank you for your help in Klandor, Your Majesty!”

The Emperor grunted in annoyance, “What are you talking about? You're my royal runemaster, no matter what you did in Klandor those old men wouldn't dare to do anything to you. This isn't just your business, it involved the reputation of the entire Sacred Alliance.

“Honestly, if you actually died on Azuresnow Mountain I would just have gone over and killed a few barbarian legends for breakfast. It wasn't my contribution this time, go thank your girlfriend in the Church.”

Richard shivered a little, his face darkening, “Flowsand... She's gone to the Darkness.”

“It was only a matter of time,” Philip nodded, “It's the fate of all Chosen.”

Richard heard the deep sorrow in the Emperor's own voice, but he didn't want to broach the subject any further. He instead changed topics, talking about the main reason for his presence, “I also came here to tell you that I'm preparing for war.”

“You're playing around with the Sacred Tree? What's your goal?”

“The Saint Louis Cathedral.”
ƒ𝑟e𝘦we𝑏n𝑜𝚟𝙚Ɩ. 𝒄𝚘𝐦

“Oh?” Philip paused, “That's the largest church on the northeastern border of the Sacred Tree Empire. This involves faith... How far are you going?”

Richard was already prepared with an answer, “All resistance will be wiped out, and those who surrender will be returned. So long as they show enough sincerity, I'll even consider returning the cathedral itself.”

“I heard you saw the Sacred Tree Empire in your trip?”

“I killed the Sixth Prince.”

Philip raised a brow in surprise, “Uriel, one of the Angels?”

“It was a fair battle, the Council of Elders and the Azuresnow Shrine were present as witness.”

“Heh, that isn't what I meant. It's only a prince, they don't matter much at all. I just heard that his control of his power wasn't all that great, but still... To kill one of the seven— well, five now— Angels. You're getting good!”

Richard smiled at the compliment, “I was desperate and he decided he wanted to fight me. Of course he'd lose.”

Philip sighed and shook his head, “You're being very ambitious with this war, be careful. Two things: don't destroy or otherwise harm the cathedral itself, and don't kill those in high positions. Remain aware of this bottom line, and I'll take care of the Empire if they want to grow the scale.”

“Thank you very much!” Richard bowed once more. His biggest worry had just been solved.

The Emperor laughed, “I don't care why you're so anxious for war, but since you want to fight, remember to hurt the enemy until they wouldn't dare provoke us again!”

“I think so too,” Richard said with a twinkle in his eye.

“Alright, the war is something for tomorrow. Eat.”

......

Far away in an unknown world, three travellers with thick cloaks were walking along a deserted road. The person at the forefront slowed down slightly and looked up at the sky, “This place is really bad, but it's better than the place we came from. Is this the Darkness? I can't wait to see what fate has in store for us.”

“You're always so impatient,” a voice rang out from the side.

The first man snorted with disdain, “I'm just a normal person. Who'd want to be a monster like you?”

The person in the middle took off her hood as the two others argued, looking around the world at which they had just arrived. This was a ridiculous land full of rocks and gravel, with the only scenery being a few tall stone pillars in the distance. The earth was black rock, and the only source of light was an omnipresent dull grey glow that could barely illuminate anything. This was a world of despair and death, with no life nor water to be seen anywhere.

“Come on, let's move,” Flowsand said as she started walking once more, nodding to another figure far out in the distance. They didn't even know where they were, and that wouldn't do.

Io fell back a little and let her take the lead, starting to walk next to Nyra and whispering, “She doesn't seem as sad.”

Nyra nodded, “Yeah, it seems a little strange.”

“Strange?”

“Yes, she calmed herself down so quickly. We women don't let go of our emotions so easily.”

“Hey!” Io grunted, “Are you even a woman?”

Nyra flashed a flattering smile, “For now. Do you want me to change that?”

The battle priest immediately turned away. Regardless of why it was, Flowsand was calmer and it seemed like she could even cheer herself up a little. What they didn't know was that she had locked herself away in the Temple of the Sands for an entire day.

That day in Norland had been an entire decade within.

861 - City of Sin

War

When they were called for the first time in more than a year, all of Richard's followers rushed to Bluewater in the blink of an eye. All of them grew excited at the prospect of battle, cheering loudly the moment he announced it.

He'd wanted to leave Gangdor behind as per usual, but hearing that they would be fighting the Sacred Tree Empire the brute would have none of it. He refused to be left behind at all costs, even shedding crocodile tears in an exaggerated manner to get his point across. Still wanting to leave behind someone to monitor Raymond, he eventually assigned the task to Olar. The elven bard was useful in battle, but he still hadn't broken through to sainthood. He was better suited to politics anyway.

The broodmother had been continuing to create shadowspear knights and magic mounts, but when he called for her to transfer them all over Richard found a pleasant surprise waiting for him. The astral chrysalis came to Bluewater with two special combat units. One of them was a reworked Phaser, now equivalent to a human saint in total power, but the real benefit was the large-headed man with a blue helmet.

Just like Phaser's natural armour, this new drone's helmet was actually bone. He didn't seem much different from a human outside of his head, and outside of decent speed he was almost useless in head to head combat. However, that wasn't his purpose at all; the broodmother had condensed a cloned brain into a nearly human form and granted it a soul crafted from divinity— just like phaser, this drone was sentient and capable of growth. He could be directed and taught to control sections of armies, greatly easing Richard's mental burden during large-scale wars.

A short while later, he met Rosie alone. Her appearance hadn't changed much over the past few years, but she seemed more fatigued and quiet. She had been holed up in her lab almost all this while, but her mana pool had reached level 15 before it stopped growing further. Knowing that she had hit the limits of her talent, she'd plunged herself into the world of runecrafting in the midst of her loss; in her eyes, magic was the only hope.

The operation had already expanded past the original building, with more than 200 low-level mages just there to assist. She still continued to do most of the final assembly, but looking at the mountain of enchanted cases Richard could see just how hard she had been working in the past year. He was also shocked by the sheer scale of the workshop itself, depressed by her efforts.

Once the tour was over, he hugged her softly, “Follow me back to Norland, we're going to war.”

Rosie trembled visibly with excitement, but eventually she started hesitating, “But I can't leave...”

“You have those two assistants now, leave Perrin in charge of them and we can go. Olar will take care of any potential issues. Experiencing battle first-hand is really important to learning to craft runes.”

The girl wanted to say something, but as Richard's hug grew tighter she just nodded silently.

......

At night, Richard sat alone in front of Flowsand's former residence.

The city outside the window was still lit up. Bluewater had grown immensely to over 100,000 residents that couldn't even be supported fully by the original oasis, but it had grown famous as a paradise for adventurers. Many people came here every day, looking for a chance to fly.

But the people of the city did not know that their end was approaching. Those in the other parts of Faelor did not know either. This was the plane he had fought for with Flowsand, the room where she had lived for years. It was right where he was sitting that he'd first kissed her when he returned alive from the Land of Dusk.

Now she was gone, with almost no chance of meeting her again. Some things you had to lose to understand the value of, but this felt just like his heart was being ripped apart. Losing Flowsand left an enormous gap in his existence. Even when poisoned and sent to die, he hadn't regretted his decision to go to Klandor. Now... he wasn't sure whether he would do so again, knowing what danger Flowsand had put herself through for his sake.

Sitting in the dark, all he felt was the bleak cold winds of night.

He finally stood up when the sun shone through the window, glancing around the room once more. The place was neat and tidy, with everything removed. Flowsand didn't like luxury, and the few things she did have had been taken away. He wanted to look for a keepsake, for something he could hold to feel even a tiny bit closer to her, but there was nothing. She had been through here thoroughly, erasing anything that could be taken away. Even Io and Nyra had done the same.

The Twin of Destiny was summoned from his sword case, and he hugged it silently as he returned to Norland.

......

Perhaps it was because of better luck or his new title, but the two top-tier sacrifices he made upon his return granted him exactly what he wanted. The portal to Faelor was strengthened, and with the 20% boost the cost had fallen to only 900 gold's worth in magic crystals. War would finally arrive.

This time, he had his spatial mages build a portal directly in Alice's castle. All of her citizens had squirmed out of bed early to see the courtyard in which the gate was set up; rumours had spread that the King of the Archerons was mobilising his army for war with the Sacred Tree Empire.

Richard had long since established a reputation after his war with the Mensas, and in recent times had come to be known as a powerful mage, skilled runemaster, and tactical expert. Many nobles wanted to see just how strong his army was, and the few that caught wind in time sent people to observe in secret. Alice knew this, but all she did was to increase the prices of the inns monumentally. These people could always find one reason or the other to put themselves nearby, so she would just fleece them as payback.

When all the nearby viewing spots were occupied, the sun had just left the mountains and risen into the sky. A strong magical aura burst out from the teleportation gate and filled the courtyard with light, and a dozen mages quickly rushed to positions and started pouring mana into the portal.

“It's started!” “Oi, don't push!”

The crowd erupted into chaos, some people even betting on the number of rune knights Richard would bring out. 200, 300... they were all astronomical figures that only old nobles with deep history could have.

As the light grew stronger yet more concentrated, the audience finally saw the first row of knights walk out. They were all tall and strong, with black armour and faces hidden behind sturdy helmets.

“Magic mounts, they're all magic mounts!” There was another commotion in the crowd.

Richard's magic mounts were growing famous because of the royal army. These rides were extraordinarily strong and fierce, but at the same time completely obedient to their riders. One couldn't even get them on the market.

However, those riding these mounts clearly weren't rune knights. Someone shook his head and whispered, “These are only level 13, such a waste!”

“No, these are shadowspear knights that only serve Lord Richard. They are willing to fight to the death!” One of Alice's vassals pointed out.

More and more people started recognising the shadowspears as well. These black knights were extremely famous, and in some ways more terrifying than rune knights. They didn't know any fear at all, fighting to the death even when they were bound to lose. Even worse, they were far greater in number than the rune knights. Most nobles staunchly maintained that the shadowspears couldn't be human, but few knew just how right they were.

As row after row of the shadowspears walked out, each riding one of the magic mounts, the audience started to go numb.

862 - City of Sin

Richard's War

Despite their chilled hearts, the spies from the nobles continued to count the number of rows of shadowspear knights walking out. The final count they arrived at: 400 rows. Richard had a total of 2,000 shadowspears!

Many people recalled the first series of battles with the Mensas. That week of war had cemented Richard's prowess as a commander, but more importantly it showcased the terror that was the shadowspear knights. These soldiers had become known as the death of all rune knights, ignoring danger and death itself to ensure the enemy's destruction. Even if they lost five to seven times the number, they could still wipe out any rune knight platoon.

From any noble's perspective, losing ten level 13 soldiers was more than worth it to take out a single rune knight. This didn't even consider the fact that the broodmother made these drones with nothing but time and food. They would immediately decimate the enemy rune knights' morale, greatly increasing their propensity to flee.

The rune knights weren't nearly as much of a shock; two hundred was still a large number, but it had been expected from earlier reports. However, rune knights were the core of any Norland army; all of the Archerons nearby were fired up at the mere sight, youths burning with passion while the elderly smiled with nostalgia for the wars of their own time. Even the civilians didn't remain quiet.

Following behind the rune knights was Richard himself, mounted on his eye-catching unicorn. The creature had been strengthened twice by the broodmother in this time, growing to more than two metres tall with proportional strength and speed, and its defences had been enhanced as well. Even a shadowspear's full blow wouldn't strike too deep.

It was at that moment that the earth suddenly trembled, those watching from the roofs of nearby homes almost falling down. An enormous figure jumped out of the portal, five metres of blubbery green flesh crashing into the earth and leaving deep footprints behind with every step.

“Ogre!”

“How is it so big, is it a mutation?”

“That armour, it's fifteen centimetres thick! How strong is that thing?”

“Forget the armour, look at its hammer!”

Tiramisu's mere presence brought a sense of pressure to the crowd. Some people backed up in panic, and screams started resonating from the crowd. In the midst of the chaos, an old man who looked quite plain narrowed his eyes and muttered, “An ogre lord... How many years has it been?”

Tiramisu was followed by Phaser, Zangru, Gangdor, Waterflower, and the rest. Some looked ordinary and others looked frightening, but each one radiated an aura of pure danger. Nobody even spared a second glance at Mountainsea and Rosie when they appeared; the barbarian girl didn't look out of place in the team, while the former pearl of the Mensas had fallen out of public perception for a long time now.

After the followers came 200 more knights, these ones carrying the crest of a golden rose erupting from a volcano. It was different from Richard's volcano and world tree crest, but looking at the equipment and aura one could tell that they were all rune knights as well. Although significantly weaker than those at the front, they were still stronger than the shadowspears.

“These soldiers... Are they also rune knights?” a noble whispered to his aide, prompting the old mage to squint for a while before nodding, “Yes, they are all rune knights. They seem weaker than the first set, but all of them are sets; these are no worse than first-order knights.”

“So Richard has 400 rune knights?”

“... Yes,” the old mage nodded.

Last time he fought, Richard had showed the strength of his elites. Now, he clearly had numbers as well.

“He has too many rune knights!” someone said in a hushed voice in his companion.

“He's a runemaster,” the companion replied.

“So? He has enough to become a Marquess directly!”

“No, you should remember how effective he was when he fought the Mensas. I think this should be enough to make him a duke.”

“Oof... This strength is too great, make a report immediately. Master will be interested.”

“Perhaps...”

Back in the field, the unicorn suddenly neighed as it pointed its horse into the crowd. Richard felt signs of magic as well, and from the mount's response knew that there was some hostility there, but his eyes just narrowed as he calmly walked with his army. He had known that the Sacred Tree Empire would have spies planted here by now, but he didn't care. He was planning to humiliate them thoroughly, and a stealthy approach would not be effective at that.

......

Instead of meeting in her command room, Richard and Alice patrolled the camp side by side as they spoke.

“Dukes Solam and Jasper are the biggest targets we'll have to go through,” Alice commented as she looked around, nodding occasionally at the more excited soldiers that stopped to bow.

Richard smiled, “I can beat two dukes. I heard Solam's been legendary for some time now? If I recall, it should have been just before I turned ten or something.”

“About then, yes. He isn't particularly strong, but as an antimage he has a number of tricks to fight your kind with. You have to be careful.”

“Heh, shadow antimage specifically. He has a number of tricks when hidden away, but what can he do when I'm charging him down in the open?”

Alice nodded, gesturing towards Richard's room as they entered the castle, “Get some rest early, you have to hurry tomorrow.”

“You too. Remember to keep the shadowspears close to you at all times, I'll be able to find you if there's a problem.”

“I didn't know you were so annoying,” Alice chuckled before walking off.

......

Early morning the next day, the land around the castle trembled as the army marched out on a long journey. Alice took 20,000 soldiers up north towards Duke Jasper, with thousands of Archeron warriors and 150 rune knights in her ranks. Richard took most of the shadowspears alongside Rosie's rune knights and the remaining fifty of his own towards Duke Soram, but from the looks of it he was meant to be a guerilla force until Alice finished her battles. Duke Solam could mobilise 100,000 men himself, and there were a dozen smaller nobles along the way to the Saint Louis Cathedral that could match that number in total.

When news of Richard's march arrived at Duke Solam's millennium-old study, the man sneered and muttered to himself, “Only 2,000 people? You think they're all rune knights? Such a joke!”

2,000 versus 200,000. This was Richard's war.

863 - City of Sin

A Dazzling Beginning

“What do you think he'll do?” Duke Solam asked his generals in his war room, looking on as they tried to come up with an answer. This place was almost hallowed; generations of Solams had planned their rise here for the past millennium as they rose from minor nobles with nothing to their names to their current rank.

If not for the two setbacks of Steven being expelled from the Deepblue and the numerous losses to who was then Viscount Alice, the Solams would have been one of the most prestigious families on the borders of the Sacred Tree Empire. Both stains to the family's pristine reputation had come from the Archerons, and now Richard was leading an army of little more than 2,000 men but he had to take it seriously. The Duke was not in the best of moods.

A general with a thick handlebar moustache stood up, “I believe Richard is planning to wear us out with guerilla warfare, stopping us from moving to aid Duke Jasper who is going to be attacked by the main force. He will circumvent any barricades we try to put up to wreak havoc on our lands.”

“Where would his target be?” an elderly mage asked.

“The city, the castle, the mine... Of all three, I think the mine fields are the most likely option, but any of them is a viable target.” The general couldn't find it in himself to commit to a single answer; the small army was definitely for a quick attack, but it was difficult to pinpoint just where it would be.

“Richard is a grand mage and great runemaster, why would he eye those useless minerals? What use are they to him?” the mage sneered.

“Then why don't you tell us what he wants?!” the general started glaring.

The elderly man started rattling on with his own theories and speculations, but never got to a point before everyone started to chip in with their own opinions. Eventually, the greatest possibility they settled on was that Richard was planning to find and cut apart the family's rune knight platoon.

“We need to gather all the rune knights into one elite unit, pouring them into the first city in his path and using the defences to our advantage. The numbers will be critical, we should teach him a painful lesson!”

Duke Solam nodded in agreement and scrutinised the map while devising strategies, asking once more, “How many should we deploy?”

This sparked another round of discussion, but at the end of it they decided that 15,000 elites would be enough. The cities on the border already had very tall walls that the shadowspear knights could not scale. 10,000 infantrymen, a 5,000-strong cavalry, and 150 rune knights were mobilised to prepare for war with Richard.

However, the Duke just couldn't figure out exactly what Richard was after. Would he just wage war for no reason? From what Steven had told him, this youth had been cool-headed and cautious since his youth, never one to act on impulse. What was his target?

Solam continued to search the map for answers. An incredible thought crossed his mind as his eyes crossed the Saint Louis Cathedral, but he dismissed it immediately. Cathedrals were sacred grounds to those of faith, but they meant nothing to a layman.

A flurry of footsteps sounded outside while the Duke was lost in his thoughts, a guard slamming open the doors to the war room to hand over a bloodstained letter. Solam immediately took the letter and started reading it, but after a few lines he abruptly stopped and paled, “Richard... He's arrived at Kirk.”

Kirk was in the Angor Viscounty, a place without much military importance that was quite the distance away from the Solam Castle. However, Richard hadn't been expected to reach the place for two whole days.

“The madman! He'll run his horses to death!” a general exclaimed.

“Does he know anything at all about war?” an adviser followed up, but that immediately caused silence to envelop the room. The one who'd said these words quickly turned red as well; how could someone with no knowledge of warfare beat the Mensas so heavily?

Duke Solam walked over to the map to take a look, but his eyes suddenly went wide as a thought hit him.

“The third infantry is on Richard's path!” The thought had hit someone else as well.

This was really bad news. The third infantry was a light infantry; facing an elite army of bloodthirsty knights, they would roll over with no resistance. Duke Solam looked around at the map and sighed, “There isn't any time to inform them, we can only hope that the heavy infantry lives up to Angor's bragging. We need a new plan.”

......

Viscount Angor's heavy infantry truly was amongst the best-trained in the entire Sacred Tree Empire. There was hardly any other viscounty that could match his troops. However, there was one serious problem: they only numbered 500. Richard's rune knights alone would be able to tear through them without breaking a sweat. Even worse, these rune knights were led by a five-metre-tall ogre warlord.

This was the first time that Norland encountered Tenton, Tiramisu's hammer. Richard had offered him the sub-legendary hammer he had gotten from the sacrifices to the Eternal Dragon, but the ogre had actually refused in favour of a hammer he had gotten forged from the dwarves of Forgefires. Bamor and the other elders had personally worked an entire year on this weapon, and despite having only two enchantments it lived up to its name: the sheer weight of the weapon was nearly impossible to lift.

A single swipe of the ogre's arm had sent dozens of infantrymen flying to their deaths, making it seem like a child was throwing a tantrum with his toys instead of a real fight. The fight ended in less than five minutes.

“That must be Angor?” Richard pointed out from upon his unicorn, bringing attention to a well-dressed noble that was snarling at the ogre. The Viscount's swordplay seemed rather skilful and he was courageous despite not even being a saint, but unfortunately for him the ogre was already level 20. A single swipe of the palm had sent the noble off his horse, and Tiramisu swatted the guards away like they were flies before pulling him all the way back.

“This means we've won, Master?” the ogre asked.

“Of course. Let's take him along, he can write home to inform his family about the ransom.”
ƒr𝒆𝑒𝔀e𝒃𝚗𝒐𝘃𝐞𝑙. c𝗼m

“Perfect, boss! I'll take good care of him!” Medium Rare grinned from ear to ear.

Looking at the knights still hunting down the last stragglers, Richard shouted, “All troops are to regroup, you have half an hour of rest before the next battle!”

“More enemies?” the ogre immediately grew excited.

“Small fry,” Richard shook his head.

The ogre pouted and looked down at the unconscious noble in his hand, “Small fry is still better than this.”

...

Half an hour later, Richard's troops resumed moving and caught up with the third infantry. Completely caught off guard, the enemy soldiers were decimated in an absolute massacre. Richard didn't go after those who fled, not even cleaning up the battlefield. Giving his troops an hour's rest, he had everyone pack and head straight towards Duke Solam's territory.

In just a single day, the 2,000-strong army had covered more than 300 kilometres and wiped out two viscounties. Holed up in his castle, Duke Solam discovered his planned defences crumbling away like a sand castle in the rising tide.

864 - City of Sin

Dealing With Obstacles

Richard was at the borders of the Solam lands even as Alice's army just reached the Sacred Tree Empire. His quick march threw the Duke's plans off completely, and the soldiers who were being gathered together had turned into easy targets to surround and kill. With the shadowspears needing barely three hours of rest a night and capable of going many days without sleep so long as they had food, he quickly conquered a small town on the edge of the dukedom and had the residents prepare food for his men.

He gathered all of his followers in the town hall, discussing the next steps of their plan. Pointing at the castle that was still a ways off, he circled their current location as well as the Saint Louis Cathedral before drawing a straight line between them, “The enemies still don't know what it is we want to do, we're going to charge straight through and conquer the cathedral. The clerics and paladins stationed there will be no match for us, and we can cross swords with Solam on our way back. Any questions?”

“Boss, why don't we hit him first for a bit?” Gangdor spoke up, “If we scare him into keeping his soldiers in the castle even when we're fighting the church, we'll get a decent break between the fights.”

Richard contemplated the idea for a moment before nodding in agreement, marking a few points that were only a minimal detour from their route, “There are three regiments of soldiers stationed here, here, and here, 20,000 soldiers in total. Let's just wipe them all out, especially the battalion of scouts with the second one.”

He looked at his clock and continued, “We'll take two hours to rest and reorganised, let's try to finish it all up tonight. Go get some rest.”

“Only two hours again!” The ogre outside the window grumbled. Two hours were barely enough for him to stuff his stomach, his wish to take a nap would be left unfulfilled once more.

“You two can take turns to sleep,” Richard suggested.

““It's always like that!”” the two heads whined before walking off.

Richard laughed and shook his head before continuing to study the map for possible issues. It suddenly felt like a tiny pin had pricked his consciousness, but after a moment he brushed the feeling off. This was the sixth of his elite bats that had been killed today; fighting in Norland wasn't nearly as easy as in Faelor.

......

10,000 elite knights had already been gathered at Duke Solam's castle. The Duke himself was fully armed, personally looking over the regiment he was proudest of. The knights were divided into ten battalions, and the general in charge of each had the aura of a true warrior. A hundred rune knights sat off in another formation of their own, led by two saints in intimidating blacksteel armour.

It was almost completely silent in the square, but one could almost see the killing intent condensed within. All Solam could see was the countless souls that haunted each of his men, a testament to the number of lives they had reaped.

The Duke's lips moved ever so slightly as he spoke in a voice so soft only he could hear, “I already defeated Niall. Archerons, it's your turn!”

This army had never been dispatched for battle as of late, even when facing Alice. However, Solam now planned to use them to deal with Richard's rune knights. Just as he started to don his helmet so he could lead these forces out in a counterattack, dust surged in the distance as a lone knight charged towards the castle at full speed. More than a kilometre away he jumped off his exhausted horse, leaving it for dead as he sprinted forward faster than the beast's gallop. In the blink of an eye, he was face to face with the Duke.

This was a level 17 warrior who had a high rank in the army, but his armour was covered in dirt and bloodstains. Solam's eyes narrowed as he gazed at the knight, who in turn fell to a knee and spoke in a hoarse voice, “Your Grace, Richard changed his route and ambushed us! The sixth and seventh infantries were killed, and Sir Luma's light cavalry was defeated as well!”

Solam took a deep breath, trying his best to maintain a level voice, “What about Luma?”

“Sir Luma fought to his death to stall Richard so I could report the news!”

Another deep breath, “And how did the seventh infantry do? How long did you hold out?”

“Half... Half an hour, Your Grace,” the knight's voice was still shaking.
𝒇r𝘦e𝘸𝒆𝚋𝐧o𝘷𝘦𝘭. 𝒄oｍ

“12,000 men only managed to resist him for half an hour?” The Duke's eyes started radiating fury. This was an infantry from his standing army!

“There were so many rune knights, we couldn't block them at all! The first charge drilled right through our formation, it was impossible to recover!”

“So...” Solam sighed, “Richard is coming for me?”

“Yes, Your Grace. You must prepare beforehand, he should be less than a hundred kilometres away.”

The Duke sneered, “Alright, let him come. He wants to take down my castle with just 2,000 men? Ha! Ramlon, send a few men to see where he's headed.”

......

The rest of the day passed quietly with everyone wound up, as did the night. Solam's men had made camp outside of the castle just in case Richard would be too scared to attack, but even in the night no such attack was forthcoming.

When he woke up to the chime of his magical clock, Solam frowned. There had been no military reports in the past twelve hours, and Richard hadn't yet appeared either. He spent the entire morning staring at the map in his war room as he awaited news, the atmosphere growing tenser and tenser as the generals started to realise that they had been duped.

It was almost noon when the gaunt Ramlon walked through the door, bloodied from head to toe, “Your Grace, Richard did not move his troops towards us. Judging from the traces left behind, he's heading northwest.”

“What?” Solam frowned, “Why did you take so long to find out?”

Ramlon bowed, “Forgive me, Your Grace. The scouts I sent out to gather information all died. I had to go personally to find out.”

“You... Sigh. Northwest...” the Duke stared at the map again, his gaze lingering on the Saint Louis Cathedral before he diverted it somewhere else.

......

By this point, Richard was already exiting Duke Solam's territory to approach the Saint Louis Cathedral. While his knights advanced at a steady gallop, he sat and wondered about what he might find within. As he came into contact with the power of laws himself, he had come to realise that divinity was in a way a condensation of the power of laws in a god's domain. Even traces of a deity's presence were bound to leave behind traces of the system of laws they controlled.

The conflict with the Sacred Tree Empire in Klandor had made the Radiant Lord an enemy. Even if he wanted to compromise, the Church of Glory would certainly try and exact revenge for his spoiling their plans. While he wanted nothing more than to uproot them entirely and behead the Radiant Lord himself, he was still far off from such power; he needed to keep the Church at bay until he could deal with matters on Faelor and grow stronger himself.

The Saint Louis Cathedral was one of the eight great cathedrals of the Church of Glory. Outside of the central Cathedral of Glory, each one was dedicated to one of the saints who had followed the Radiant Lord before he lit his godfire and eventually become his seven holy spirits. Louis had personally held off ten thousand enemy soldiers to give the Radiant Lord a chance to escape a rival faith's paladins, and his sacrifice was what allowed the Radiant Lord to survive long enough to light his godfire. He was revered by everyone in the Church.

A faint shriek suddenly rang out from afar as Phaser's voice sounded in his consciousness, “Sorry, I only managed to kill two of them. The other two escaped.”

“It's alright, continue searching,” Richard replied. Far too many scouts had been coming over in the past few days, and it had grown impossible to kill them all. One particular saint had managed to escape near dawn, so Solam certainly knew of his movements by now. However, this meant nothing; the Duke's army had no way of catching up.

“Alright, our target is the Saint Louis Cathedral!” Richard shouted out as they eliminated the last of the rushed blockades. The rune knights grunted in unison and spurred on their horses, while the shadowspears silently did the same. The entire movement was extremely accurate, almost like an alchemic machine.

865 - City of Sin

Siege

A simple prayer ceremony had just taken place within the Saint Louis Cathedral, a soft white glow suffusing the eyes of the statue upon the altar. A dozen priests stood up and were bathed in the light, at their lead a surprisingly young man who only looked to be in his twenties.

The youth had a dazzling smile that seemingly brought joy to everyone around him, a holy book in red and black that was bounded by golden chains perched into his armpit. Unlike the other priests, this man's robes were adorned with red lapels, complementing the red ribbons on his waist and cuffs. This was a cardinal!

Cardinal Martin was a famous existence within the Church of Glory, second only to the pope and widely regarded to be the chosen successor of the papacy. A bulk of the grace from the prayer landed upon him, but he seemingly didn't care as he turned around with an unreadable soft smile and made his way out of the shrine.

“Your Eminence!” the bishop of the cathedral suddenly rushed over, ignoring all etiquette as he leaned forward and whispered into the man's ear, “The Archeron army has been spotted nearby, they are less than thirty kilometres away!”

“Oh?” the youth didn't seem concerned in the slightest, “It must have been a difficult journey for them to make it this far, there are several noble territories along the way. Their leader must certainly be a gifted one.”

The bishop watched for a moment as Martin continued walking out, but then he hurried to catch up, “Sir, the scouts say they are led by Lord Richard Archeron. Anyone else might be after secular lands, but if I am correct... his target is likely us.”

“Such a bold assumption!” Martin smiled, “Likely correct as well.”

“Your Eminence, you are in grave danger. He is still some distance away, I advise you take the book and leave right away!”

“Why?” the young man continued walking.

Sweat beaded on the bishop's forehead, “The cathedral isn't important compared to your safety, and every item in here added together still wouldn't be worth your book. It must not fall into Richard's hands at any cost!”

Martin grunted in acknowledgement, “Isn't the defense the job of the city guards? Let them worry about it.”

“The guards do not have the ability to do it! Richard is the man who killed His Highness Uriel, he will destroy our 200 paladins! I fear we have fewer knights than he has rune knights!” There seemed to be a hint of sobbing to the bishop's voice.

“Hmm. Speaking of rune knights, I heard that Richard brought 500 of them?” Martin finally seemed to be interested.

The bishop laughed uncomfortably, “That is unlikely. From my scouts, the number is between two and three hundred. Furthermore, Earl Alice Archeron has a hundred more coming from the north. We are not prepared to fight against such numbers. Besides...

“I divined yesterday that calamity would strike the cathedral. I believe this is the calamity the Lord spoke of.”

Martin flashed a knowing smile, “If that is the case, our prospects of defending the shrine are quite poor. Tell me, what will you do after I escape?”

“Take the priests with you, I will stay behind with the paladins to delay. If the Archerons wish to step into our holy ground, they will have to pay the price in blood!”

Martin finally stopped walking a look of alarm on his face as he faced the bishop, “You wish to hold the fort and sacrifice yourself?”

The bishop smiled bitterly and nodded his head, “I only wish the Lord will take me in after my death.”

“A frightening thought, but one worthy of respect. However, do not try to have me leave this place. I received an oracle as well, but my interpretation of it is different. I do not believe it is calamity we face, but opportunity.

“Reverend, I have lived under your roof for many days now but have not asked for your name. Forgive me.”

“Oh, no! My name is Rizal, Your Eminence,” the bishop replied respectfully.

Martin nodded, “Reverend, I feel like you will go down in history as a heart-warming example of faith. I have a bottle of fine wine in my room, let us go taste it. We can continue our conversation about Richard there.”

“Your Eminence, your safety... the book...” the bishop tried one last time.

However, the youth just smiled, “Another Martin will arise once I die. Even if the book gets burnt, its teachings shall live on in the hearts of the Lord's sheep. What need have you to worry? I find this Richard to be a very interesting character.”

......

That very afternoon, Richard was outside the city of Tobia, the township that surrounded the Saint Louis Cathedral. The land was owned by an earl and situation between two dukedoms, clearly demarcated from the secular powers. The earl did not have the authority to challenge the decisions of the Church of Glory; the same could not be said about a duke.

Although they were a thousand metres away, he could still see the expressions of the guards atop the city. Although they were all performing their duties as always, the fear in their eyes was exceedingly clear. Some of the younger warriors were even white as paper.

Richard pointed to the city walls as he spoke to Brolin, “The city guards are not the enemy, have your men focus on the paladins and priests. They have only two or three hundred, but do not underestimate them. Keep an eye on the clerics as well; try your best to prevent them from casting spells. If you see any that use thick tomes as weapons, try your best to snatch the tomes without harming them. In addition, remember not to kill any clerics unless absolutely necessary.”

Brolin nodded and relayed his orders to the rune knights.

“Great, let's go in.” Richard waved his hand, sending the mental order to attack.

*RUMBLE!* The rune knights led the way forward, covering the kilometre at a leisurely pace. They had split up into platoons of 50 each, led respectively by Gangdor, Tiramisu, Senma, Zangru, and Phaser.

“Damn it, why are there so many?!” the guard captain's expression was sour, “Did the Sacred Alliance just gather all of their rune knights here? Get our forces ready, and load the ballistae. Two shots at that ogre there!”

A dull magic radiance flashed upon the city walls as two enormous ballista bolts whizzed forward, heading straight for Tiramisu. These enchanted bolts could dig metres into rocks, crippling even most saints in a head-on confrontation. However, the ogre just snorted and swung his two-handed hammer out, blowing both bolts away in one go without so much as slowing down.

The general's eyes almost popped out of their sockets at the sight. These ballistae were amongst the best even for the royal army, capable of taking down dragons and grand mages! This beast had just swatted the bolts away like they were nothing!

“Damn it, a sky saint!” the general paled before roaring out, “Get ready for battle! Have the rune knights gather at the plaza, the gates will not be able to hold them out!”

A soldier ran over as soon as the scream left the general's throat, shouting in exasperations, “The rune knights don't want to fight this battle! They're saying there are too many enemie— Ah!”

Before he could even finish speaking, the castle walls trembled so greatly that he lost balance. He and the general immediately looked back outside the city, finding that the rune knights were starting to accelerate. The ogre had just jumped off his mount and landed on his feet, and was rushing over at speed unbelievable for his enormous frame.

It felt like the reaper's scythe was hanging over their necks.

Richard's saints leapt into the air even as the rune knights threw out a volley of javelins. A veteran guard immediately fell to the ground, shouting in fear, “DUUUUCK!”

The hundreds of javelins left behind a resplendent trail as they flew through the sky, shooting in all directions. Some went straight up the walls while others arched through the sky before crashing down on top of the city walls. However, one thing was true for each one: the moment it struck stone, a loud explosion rang out as the wall crumbled for metres all around!

866 - City of Sin

Holy Book

Richard's rune knights were now advancing for the city walls at full speed. The walls of Tobia were a full fifteen metres tall, but this wasn't enough to keep them out. A few crossbow bolts did manage to strike some of them, but they shrugged it off without issue and continue the charge. They continued to spur their horses onward as they reached the walls, pumping internal energy into the beasts' runes to allow them to jump all the way up in only two leaps.

A thunderous yell rang out as a saint rushed to intercept them, radiating the intimidating aura of a deity descending from the sky, but as he saw the number of airborne warriors Richard had he shivered in fear. Before he could even think of his next step, a dazzling light lit up the air as a hundred javelins flew his way. He let out a strange cry of terror as he fled instantly.

The defence was scattered quickly, the gates broken open by Tiramisu's hammer. The shadowspears flooded into the city under the guidance of the elite bats, heading straight for the Saint Louis Cathedral.

In front of the cathedral's courtyard was a simple wooden fortification with the paladins stood behind it, their heavy shields and bodies placed to protect the clerics and priests. Richard saw this and nodded slightly, “They're either up to no good or are complete fools.”

“Father said never to underestimate enemies in war,” Mountainsea commented from the side.

“Mm. The Church of Glory would never put a fool in charge. However, what does it matter? SOLDIERS... ATTACK!” The shadowspears rushed out as Richard's arm fell, braving through a barrage of crossbow bolts to engage in the melee.

The paladins were well-equipped and well-trained, and the white glow constantly emanating from their bodies was the mark of buffing spells. Alongside being right in the shadow of their cathedral, all this allowed them to keep up with the enemies.

Outside the cathedral's doors, Bishop Rizal and Cardinal Martin were standing on a raised platform, observing the battle form above. There were only two guards sitting here to protect them, the rest sent to the frontlines for battle.

The bishop was constantly casting spells, “This is the land where the Saint sacrificed himself; our warriors are definitely at an advantage. If only we had the numbers.”

“That is not a given, look at the coordination of Richard's knights,” Martin pointed out before mumbling to himself, “This... even the God of War should not be able to command soldiers so perfectly in the mortal world...”

The shadowspears were displaying their excellent chemistry, groups of four or five encircling every single paladin and attacking from all directions to go for the kill. Without the priests constantly casting healing spells from behind, half the paladins would be dead in minutes. The bishop seethed in rage as the attacks grew more focused and more paladins fell, but it was all he could do to continue his frantic casting.

Richard himself felt like it was easier than ever. The Thinker, the broodmother's new cloned brain in humanoid form, had now become one with his consciousness and taken over a large part of the command duty. He could already command over a hundred soldiers with every single one of his minds, and the Thinker tripled that at minimum. In a large-scaled battle, this meant he could control nearly a thousand individual troops in total.

This was also the exact number of shadowspears he had mobilised, which meant that to an extent he was fighting the entire battle personally. Only ten paladins had perished versus thirty shadowspears, but he knew that this was only an outward appearance and the paladins would suffer a bitter defeat once the clerics and priests ran dry. Several of the younger ones had already exhausted most of their divine energy.

Could things really be so smooth? Richard's intuition told him that it was not so. His eyes darted across the battlefield before they finally fell upon Martin and Rizal. He was slightly taken aback by the youth's presence, feeling a hint of familiarity, but he was also sure that he would remember that dazzling smile full of warmth anywhere. He felt something amiss and tried to have a closer look, but his vision was immediately blurred by an intense divine light.

He shook his head in shock. Insight only failed against specific preparations or beings far more powerful than he was. He immediately pointed at the red-shirted cardinal and shouted, “Careful of that man!”

Back near the cathedral, Martin opened his eyes wide before laughing, “It looks like I've been found out. Well, since we have arrived at this stage, let me see how much he is willing to pay to occupy the cathedral.”

The bishop was shocked as well. This battle had been about to collapse and he was preparing to sacrifice his life to give the cardinal a chance to escape, but Martin's words implied that there was a chance to turn the tables!

Martin opened up his holy book, reading softly, “The first subjects were tormented by famine, disease, and their battle with the heretics. They prayed to the Lord and the Lord responded, promising them his blessings. Their first wish was for reinforcements to destroy the heretics, and the Lord thus gave them warriors...”

Martin's voice echoed through the battlefield, strangely soothing to the ear. This passage wasn't something special— even Richard knew it from the research he'd done on his enemy— but following these words a divine glow suddenly erupted in the plaza. It faded away to reveal almost a hundred silver knights that were a level higher than the paladins!

Only paladins at level fifteen could join the silver knights. Shocked by their appearance, Richard immediately decided to start mobilising his followers, “Tiramisu, stop them!”

“Leave it to me, Master!” “Yes, Boss!” Tiramisu's heads called out as he raised Tenton, smashing out with full force. The first few silver knights were sent flying into the distance.

Richard then sent several commands in his consciousness, ordering 300 shadowspears to form a compact line behind the ogre to cut off any manoeuvres. The rune knights broke out in two wings, engulfing the entire groop. He heaved a sigh of relief that he hadn't sent out all his soldiers before; that would have landed them in great trouble.

However, there was still great doubt in his mind. Where did these silver knights come from? He couldn't feel any traces of teleportation nearby.

Before he could comprehend it, Martin's voice rang out once more, “The Lord have them soldiers, men with swords, shields, and spears.”

The divine glow filled a corner of the plaza once more, revealing a few hundred warriors within. The highest level was only 12, but the scariest thing was the sheer number.

Most of his troops had been sent to deal with the silver knights! Richard felt his heart beating faster, but he still looked calm on the surface. Spending a second to make his decision, he quickly ordered Gangdor and Senma to go stop them.

The two charged forth with the mere fifty shadowspears they had remaining, starting a massacre amongst the weak warriors.

At this point, Mountainsea was the only one not engaged in battle; even Rosie was casting spells in support. Richard's heart started beating extremely quickly, part with excitement and part with fear. Gangdor and Senma could stall the warriors until his rune knights dealt with the silver knights and turned around.

It was then that Martin's voice echoed throughout the cathedral once more, “And then, the Lord sent his servants.”

867 - City of Sin

Holy Book(2)

This time the divine glow filled the sky, slowly forming a portal for three angels to walk out of. ALl three were classically beautiful, but their radiant armour and enormous swords showed that they were true warriors and not just petitioners.

Richard immediately activated Insight, finding that each of the three angels was only a tiny bit weaker than a saint. However, their wings made them faster and more agile than an actual mortal saint, making them difficult to fight. He cursed under his breath as he pulled Angel's Demise from his sword case, preparing to fight himself. Mountainsea now had a steel rod in her hand, clearly looking at them warily.

The three angels charged straight into the sky, shrugging off the spells Richard threw at them with no issue. Grunting in annoyance, Richard and Mountainsea flew up themselves to engage in battle.

Back at the entrance to the cathedral, Martin smiled at Rizal, “Look, they do not have much of an advantage anymore.”

“This... is unbelievable,” the bishop stammered, his eyes darting to the holy book in the cardinal's hands. Three pages of the book had burnt to ash as Martin spoke, but that was what had summoned the knights, warriors, and angels. He was certain that this was some kind of summoning, but the idea of burning the holy scriptures was unfathomable to him. He did not know whether this was blasphemy or service to the Lord. Please visit 𝙛𝓇𝑒𝗲𝒘e𝘣𝓷𝘰ѵe𝚕. com

Richard would normally be able to deal with all three angels in under a minute, but unfortunately he was also busy commanding the rest of his soldiers. The unease in his heart was growing stronger as he tried his best to recall whether he had read about such a thing, but nothing sparked in his mind.

Originally, fighting under the cathedral was no problem at all. Every worshipper of the Radiant Lord was effectively a level higher here, but that meant nothing against only two hundred opponents. Now, that count had more than doubled; it was starting to become a real threat. He needed to end this quickly.

Getting a signal in his mind, he quickly looked down at the first silver knight that had been downed. The warrior burst into radiant white flames, but after a moment all that was left behind was a black mark on the ground. Motes of light vanished into thin air. This confirmed that this was a summoning instead of a teleportation, but that was only more shocking and not less. Just how did this one enemy summon so many powerful warriors? This was on par with his own shadow summons!

His gaze shifted to the cardinal and his book; were there more summons to come? Looking at the youth's scheming face, he was certain that these angels were not the end of it. A dozen different approaches flashed across his mind, but they boiled down to the same two ideas. He either had to wipe out the summons as quickly as possible, or kill the summoner himself. It was difficult to judge which was better, but it was well-known that priests were far more difficult to kill than most others at higher levels.

After some thought, he decided he would just have to deal with the summoned beings. He laid down a thousand orders in the blink of an eye, having the Thinker fine-tune them and prompt the shadowspears to erupt with reckless might. A dozen of the drones fell, but in exchange a good half of the silver knights were wiped out in moments.

The smile on Martin's face froze up, but he quickly flipped through his book and spoke once more, repeating what he had said the first time, “... And the Lord thus gave them more warriors...”

Another group of silver knights appeared, but this time the shadowspears were prepared. The messy formation reorganised in the blink of an eye as they continued tearing into the enemies, but Richard still shivered at the realisation that the trouble had not passed. As expected, another set of soldiers and angels appeared as well, leaving him and Mountainsea fighting three each.

He roared in anger and struck out with Angel's Demise, a crescent of sword light passing through the bodies of two of the angels. The sky was filled with golden blood that burnt in contact with the sunlight, and the angels started burning up as well. However, his face paled in the aftermath; such attacks required a great deal of energy, and he would only be able to use three in total before he needed rest.

Mountainsea swung her steel rod as well. The attack wasn't swift, but it seemed to contain boundless energy as it followed behind the angel who tried to flee. The rod itself seemed to change shape to reach the enemy, and after realising that she wouldn't be able to escape the angel turned around to try and block.

*BOOM!* Sword met rod, and the angel was immediately blown away. One could see the body burning apart as it shot towards the ground, not even reaching the battlefield before it was all gone. However, Mountainsea paled as well, starting to sway a little. This strike was her most powerful skill, and its use consumed more than half of her internal energy. Without her totems, she didn't have the ability to sustain such attacks.

Another ten shadowspears fell, but the first platoon of silver knights was completely annihilated. Richard looked at Martin and felt his heart sink at the sight of a dazzling smile, silently gathering five wisps of thunderclouds in his fingertips and shooting them into the sky.

These thunderclouds were extremely powerful, but they took a long time to reach full potential. Richard hadn't cast them before expecting the battle to be short, but now he realised that this would not be the case. His followers immediately reacted as well, slowing down their offence and starting to draw out their battles to wait for the attack to reach full power. Even Tiramisu reduced the energy he was putting into his attacks, although every one still sent at least one knight flying away.

Bishop Rizal felt like his lungs were on fire as he drew on the last dregs of his energy, praying to the Lord when he could to desperately cast even the smallest of healing spells. He knew every spell he cast was another ten seconds bought for someone, which could be enormous in the current situation. It was already a miracle that he had managed to last so long, but he completely ignored the stress on his body as he continued casting.

The remaining defenders of Tobia had gathered together as well, closing in on the battlefield, but they had been stopped right outside the cathedral. The general was hesitating to attack, scared witless by the sheer power displayed by both sides.

Richard patiently continued his fight with the angels, making sure not to sacrifice any more shadowspears unless it was absolutely worth it. Another angel succumbed to heavy injuries after a few minutes of intense fighting, leaving only two alive, but this was only the beginning of his problems.

“... And the Lord thus gave them more warriors...”

More silver knights, more soldiers, and three more angels. It was at this point that Richard realised he should have prioritised killing the cardinal, but he immediately shelved the thought. There were only two guards there, which was a trap he was all too used to employing himself. Thinking back to the divine glow that blocked his vision, he couldn't find it in himself to try an all-out attack.

“... And the Lord thus gave them more warriors...”

He calmed himself down. All these silver knights, warriors, and angels combined were equivalent to a dragon summon, capable of defeating an adult black dragon. Such a powerful spell had to have a price; a page was being burnt from the book with every summon, which meant this weapon would run out eventually.

“... And the Lord thus gave them more warriors...”

He felt his heart drop every time he heard that sentence, and his followers felt even worse, but he continued to fight. The flames of war burnt in the courtyard, but the explosions and screams of death could not suppress Martin's soothing voice.

“... And the Lord thus gave them more warriors...”

“... And the Lord thus gave them more warriors...”

...

“... The Lord thus found them even more warriors...”

At this point, Martin's voice sounded like a demon's chants. It seemed like the battle would never end.

868 - City of Sin

Surrender f𝗿e𝙚𝙬ℯ𝚋n𝚘ν𝗲l. 𝐜𝐨𝗺

The war continued to drag on. Shadowspears fell one after the other, and casualties started springing up amongst the rune knights as well. His followers were still alive, but they were running low on energy and the circumstances were becoming more and more unfavourable.

Richard had already pulled his soldiers back into a single formation to strike in bursts of vicious strength, but the divine glow continued to fill the courtyard again and again. Batches of silver knights and soldiers constantly stepped out from the white glow, charging murderously towards his men. More than ten angels were keeping both him and Mountainsea entangled at any given time, some even getting the chance to escape the battle and strike at those below.

Thankfully, the lightning bolts had grown fairly powerful at this point, and there were ten clouds floating up above. A majority of the angels were being harassed by the lightning and thus unable to help down below, giving him and Mountainsea the chance to finish them off. Whenever they weren't striking down on the angels, these foot-thick bolts of lightning destroyed the enemy warriors in one strike each. If not for the angels bearing the brunt of the damage, the silver knights would have been decimated.

Even with the Thinker's assistance, Richard was starting to get a headache from all the multitasking. He often blocked attacks for Waterflower, Rosie, or Phaser, but that was a severe drain on his capabilities. Having to constantly dart back and forth was eating away at his mana pool, and the only way he was managing to sustain at this point was the power of his truename.

On the other hand, Martin's smile had disappeared as well. His curly hair dripped with perspiration as he continued to flip through the holy book, but one could see just how tired he had grown. Both sides had achieved a strange balance of sorts, the summons now being killed at the same rate as they were arriving. However, each wave of summoned warriors was shrinking Richard's army formation noticeably.

Richard himself was a little shaken at this point, considering whether he would have to give up this seemingly endless battle. However, he quickly brushed those thoughts aside and built up his confidence, telling himself that the battle was approaching an end. He had never heard of a summoning spell with no end, and this enemy still hadn't reached the terror of Sharon's might. He had quietly decided that he would retreat the moment the total strength of Martin's summons reached four-fifths of what Sharon was known to be able to.

At this point, it had devolved into a war of will. Richard's knights were starting to tire out, forcing him to use the shadowspears as sacrifices whenever possible. These days, he no longer had many qualms with the broodmother's point of view: the shadowspears were soulless drones and were to be treated as such. Their lives were worth nothing compared to those with actual souls. If most nobles could treat their real-life soldiers as pawns to be sacrificed, he could do so for these constructs. Still, he felt a faint sadness in his heart at their deaths.

The remaining city guards had seen an opportunity to join the defence over an hour ago, but they had been completely wiped out. Waterflower had killed their general in one blow.

......

Back at the cathedral's entrance, Martin flipped to the next page, reading in a hoarse and raspy voice, “... And the Lord said... there were no more warriors...”

“What?” Bishop Rizal asked hazily, shocked to hear the words.

Martin remained quiet for a moment as well, his eyes opened wide, but then he shook his head and smiled bitterly, “Indeed, there are no more.”

“Then...what is going to happen to us?” Rizal looked at the battlefield. His priests and clerics continued to cast spells, but they could only do so using the energy from the cathedral itself. All of them were gravely hurt, and one could not tell just how many would survive.

“We...” Martin caressed the holy book, muttering irresolutely.

“Your Eminence, leave immediately! I will try to stall them!” The bishop raised his sceptre, trying to rush to the frontlines.

However, a hand grabbed him on the shoulder before he could take the first step, the young cardinal flashing a dazzling smile once more, “Since the Lord has no more warriors for us, let us surrender.”

“Surrender?” Rizal asked, unable to believe what he had heard.

“Yes, surrender.”

......

That was how the war suddenly ended. Richard killed the last angel to realise that no more had been summoned. Ten of his rune knights, and fifty of Rosie's had died, with only 400 shadowspears remaining, but there were no more enemies to fight. The plaza was littered with bodies but almost no blood, and close to the entrance of the cathedral were a number of clerics and priests who had fallen to the ground. They were being guarded by the dozen or so paladins who'd survived, all looking blankly at their comrades who had perished in battle.

Martin had one hand on his holy book and the other on a white cloth, waving it frantically. Looking at his cheerful disposition, Richard almost couldn't believe that this was the same enemy who had almost defeated his men. He almost instinctively had all his lightning rain down on the area, but forced himself to calm down and jumped off his unicorn, wrinkling his brow, “What is the meaning of this?”

“I am surrendering! This is the sign of surrender, is it not?” Martin replied. The cardinal was flashing a dazzling smile, so much so that it looked like he would break into a happy dance the next moment.

“But.... How could you be so happy in surrender?”

“Why would I not? Now, there is no need for any more sacrifice on either side, is this not something we should celebrate?”

Fireballs flickered on Richard's hands, but he just threw them into the distance and started ignoring the youth, turning around, “Senma, have some soldiers occupy the cathedral, make sure to search it thoroughly. Gangdor, take a hundred men to the Earl's residence and take over the city.”

The bishop immediately raised his sceptre at the sight of Richard's back, but before he could even bring it down a feathered sword was at his throat. Richard turned to gaze at the cardinal once more, but seeing the man remaining in place he snorted and withdrew his weapon, looking at Rizal, “You have guts.”

“I have faith,” the bishop responded coldly.

“Watch them,” Richard ordered a few of his rune knights before walking into the cathedral. However, before he could go very far he heard a soft voice calling out to him, “Lord Richard, wait for me!”

He stopped and looked at Martin before turning to the rune knights, shaking his head. The rune knights were still guarding the bishop with all their attention, but they seemed to pay no attention to the cardinal at all.

“You seem to be quite the interesting person,” he said.

Martin smiled, “Cardinal Martin. I do have some things to be proud of; I have quite the reputation in the Church of Glory.”

Richard nodded, continuing to explore the cathedral, “What do you want?”

“Should I not be the one asking you this question, Lord Richard? You've travelled thousands of kilometres to come here, you must have a reason. Please do not tell me you are here to occupy Tobia, you only have five hundred men left with you.”

“I'm just here to take anything that looks interesting. Maybe that sword,” Richard pointed at a large two-handle sword that was set into a statue. There were a number of divine inscriptions on the blade, and despite a lack of sharpness one could see a divine glow flowing within the metal.

“Great taste! This sword was left behind by a famous warrior who killed two legendary beings. Although the workmanship is nothing to be proud of, the materials and its legacy have perfected it as a weapon against the hells, the abyss, and the undead. It has been lying here for a millennium and can even slay enormous demons. However, I have to ask; are you sure any of your subordinates can use this weapon? The owner had some giant blood in him, and while your ogre is big enough I do not believe such a sinister creature can command this weapon.”

The sword truly was enormous, more than four metres long and one metre wide. Even Gangdor could not wield such a thing effectively. However, Richard shook his head as he continued to walk along, “I might be able to find someone to use it, or I might just sell it or keep it. It doesn't seem to be serving any purpose here either.”

869 - City of Sin

Trump Card

“Did you really give up 1,500 men for some divine items?” Martin kept up with Richard, but neither the followers nor the rune knights sensed anything amiss.

“Heh, the divine items and the priests,” Richard clarified.

“You're looking for ransom!” the cardinal cried out in realisation.

“Not really... Hmm... this book looks good, take it.” Richard threw a holy book from the altar towards one of his rune knights.

Martin shrugged, “That book is nothing special, but... so long as you like it. If it isn't ransom you're looking for, what is your purpose in all this? Hmm... Is it a threat? Telling us not to mess with you?”

Richard was a little taken aback, “You... You're too smart for your own good. Your Archbishop Hendrick almost killed me in Klandor, and he was planning to threaten me with a war in Norland. I want to make it perfectly clear what the consequences of that decision will be.”

“Hendrick? He's just a mongrel of the Church. Indispensable to our growth, certainly, but you need not worry too much about him. He is destined to be sacrificed one day.”

Richard stared at the mysterious young cardinal, “What do you think of the strength I showed in this war?”

“It's sure to leave a lasting impression. Even Hendrick should be aware of the consequences of a war with you now; the Church will reconsider any thoughts of provoking battle.” Martin flung his arms up, “Of course, if a war happens anyway, that means the consequences have been considered.”

“Ha. They'll realise that dealing with me will require too great of a price for them to pay.”

“That's their problem to solve. Now, I see you're starting to appreciate me a little more.”

Richard's eyes immediately went wide as he realised that he had said 'them' and not 'you' to the youth. He'd subconsciously regarded this fellow as an ally or a friend for some reason. A frown quickly rose upon his face, “Is this an ability?”

“An innate gift, just like a bloodline ability. It has nothing to do with religion, so I just consider it my extraordinary charm. It really isn't much, only having people feel closer to me. I cannot convince anyone to change their convictions directly, that requires more conventional methods.”

Martin spoke casually, but Richard understood that the power of such an ability would be amplified in fields like politics and religion. He couldn't help but shudder at the thought of being able to convince most people with just a smile.

“My Lord,” a rune knight ran over and interrupted the conversation, “All the priests have been gathered, should I put them into a carriage? Some of them are severely injured.”

As Richard considered it, Martin suddenly interjected, “I have a suggestion. Since you are looking to push the Church away, you need not capture those who hold divine posts. They have sacrificed their bodies and overdrawn themselves in battle, they will not be able to survive the bumpy road. Although the Lord considers them to be sacrificial lambs, further deaths would sour your relationship with the Church further. I am your best choice; if you capture me, you can name any price you want.”

“Just how much are you worth?” Richard looked him over.

“I am one of only two cardinals this young in the Church of Glory, the other being Messia. How much do you think I am worth?”

“So you're the same Saint Martin that's next in line to be pope, then?”

Martin shook his head, “I am only a candidate for the papacy, one of two. It could be Messia as well.”

“That's fine. Let's go take a look at anything else that's worth taking.”

“Right. There isn't a single item in this cathedral more valuable than the book in my hands. Of course, you can continue to look for other things, but there are a few items of sentimental value that I suggest you leave behind. Taking those would greatly upset the Church.”

“It looks like you're trying to help me,” Richard stared at Martin.

“I'm only helping myself.”

“Sigh, alright. You, the holy book in your hands, and whatever unimportant things I want. That's what I can take?”

“Yes.”

By this point, the rune knights had already searched the entire cathedral and gathered everything that seemed to be of value. Richard eventually chose three swords, a broken shield, and a golden goblet, leaving behind the Radiant Lord's former longsword and the holy robe of Saint Louis. The goblet didn't even qualify as a magic item, but looking at the choices Martin raised an eyebrow in surprise.

......

The sudden capture of the Saint Louis Cathedral shook the entire Sacred Tree Empire. Richard had charged straight into their lands and conquered Tobia in only a few days, embarrassing all the nobles of the northeast. The Emperor immediately issued orders to all nearby nobles to mobilise their entire armies, barring him from escaping the Sacred Tree Empire under all circumstances.

An even larger storm brewed in the Church of Glory. Saint Martin's capture was grave news; although he hadn't been confirmed yet, he was most certainly the most favoured candidate for the papacy. Messia would likely be sent to oversee the darker sides of the Church, including the Inquisition. The pope sighed in relief that there had been no shameful blasphemy of the cathedral and that the priests had not been harmed, immediately sending out an envoy to meet Richard and negotiate for Martin's release. Knowing that the divine sword and robe were still present, they couldn't care less about anything else.

Whatever be the case, Richard had already met his objectives for the surprise attack. He led his now-smaller army back through the Solam lands, destroying many scattered branches of the army in quick succession and disappearing before he could be found. After a total of seven battles, most of Duke Solam's auxiliary forces had been completely wiped out. There were battles where the numeric advantage was dozens of times in the side of the defenders, but Richard still won by a large margin.

......

When Solam received the latest reports for battle, he couldn't believe his eyes. He summoned the general who had overseen the war and questioned him, but the general could only curse, “They're not human! They're war machines, war machines!”

After a few rounds of questioning, the Duke finally realised that Richard's troops had unbelievably good coordination, moving like a single entity and constantly spreading out the damage to ensure that none of them died. The Dukedom just didn't have the kind of elites required to deal with them head-on.

In the middle of the night, Solam finally realised that this was something he had to do himself. Leaving his troops behind and strengthening his resolve despite his fear of Sharon, he moved to assassinate Richard in the darkness.

The moon had almost completed its arc by the time the Duke discovered the location of Richard's troops. His face clouded by murderous intent, he drew his swords and slowly snuck into the camp.

......

Richard's troops were camping in the mountains, and he was sitting in the centre of the campsite while flipping through the book he had taken from the cathedral. Martin was sat nearby, explaining parts that he couldn't quite understand the context to. There were two shadowspears right next to the youth, seemingly guarding him.

“He's here.” One of the knights suddenly took off his helmet.

“Already?” Richard closed the book as a cold light flashed past his eyes, “Impeccable timing. You can take off the armour.”

“It was getting quite uncomfortable.” The knight seemed to mutter something under his breath, and the suit of armour immediately disassembled on its own to reveal a priest in black robes.

Seeing the famous Dark Priest Asiris, Martin chuckled, “I didn't expect you to have such great preparations. To think you kept it secret all this while.”

All this while, Asiris had been posing as a shadowspear knight to keep the enemy off-guard. Richard had considered that Solam would try to attack him directly, and the Dark Priest was the best at stopping an opponent from fleeing. After all his time spent working on new spells, he could now stop even some ordinary legends from escaping a battle.

An earth-shattering battle took place in the mountains that night. Duke Solam managed to escape the trap, but he sustained grievous injuries that left him on the brink of death. The Sacred Tree Empire's hopes of trapping Richard were thus completely destroyed.

870 - City of Sin

Deal

While Richard was off fighting Solam, Alice had shown results as well. She had found an opening in the enemy defences that allowed her to sneak through and capture an earl, and after obtaining a handsome ransom and killing quite a few enemies she managed to get away. Her army of 30,000 had faced 70,000 men, but only lost 4,000 compared to 13,000. Her battles had managed to lock up most of Duke Jasper's forces, ensuring that Richard wasn't flanked from all sides.

The Church's envoy caught up right around the time Richard reached the border of the Sacred Tree Empire and the Sacred Alliance. This envoy was a powerful archbishop only a small way off from entering the legendary realm, making it obvious that this was a sincere negotiation. He had joined the army's march as they negotiated, and everything only came to a head by the time they were already back at Blackrose.

The negotiation had been difficult at first, but eventually Martin had made things smoother. Conscious of his own position, the cardinal had directly told the envoy not to undermine his worth as a hostage. Eventually, an agreement was reached to release him immediately and offer the Church of Glory a million gold in compensation for provoking war. Richard would be allowed to keep all the divine items he had plundered from the cathedral, including Martin's holy book. The half-destroyed book had been a point of contention for some time— Richard had actually planned to just give it up— but after Martin told him about the number of warriors he had summoned during the battle that hadn't been an issue either.

From the Church's point of view, wealth was not an issue. Richard could sell everything he had plundered, outside of the holy book, for about three million gold on the marketplace, but this sort of some meant nothing to existences like them. On the contrary, they only cared about items of historic value; even a tree branch used by one of the Radiant Lord's seven holy spirits was worth more to them than an intermediate offering. The archbishop had actually just assumed Richard personally liked some of these items for whatever reason and had taken them because of that.

Once the negotiations were complete, Martin turned back to Richard, “I've used up all of the book's summoning abilities, but it can still regenerate them on its own. Every decade allows you to make one summon, so it still has some value. Just think I'm selling it to you for a million gold.”

Richard was a little annoyed by that— a legendary scroll of equivalent worth could be bought for half the price— but he decided that there might be other uses for the book. Although the sale of what he'd plundered certainly wouldn't make up for the number of knights he lost, the broodmother could replenish them soon enough. While both sides had suffered an objective loss, he could rest assured that the Church of Glory wouldn't aggress for at least the next few years. They had promised to forget all about the events in Klandor, and he had pledged to show the Sacred Tree Empire and the Church their due respect.

Now, it was time to plot and strategise. He could afford to put off destroying the Church until he dealt with his impending problems in Faelor. It was all thanks to the mysterious Martin. The cardinal had caused him unfathomable losses, but he had also given him everything he wanted. He didn't know just how to treat the man anymore, especially since Insight still refused to work on him.

Before leaving, Martin wanted to meet Richard in private. Richard allowed him and the archbishop to stay the night in Blackrose, arranging for some wine on the terrace so they could speak.

The two drank for a few minutes in silence, but Richard quickly got to the point, “You didn't just happen to be at the cathedral, did you?”

“Of course not. I received an oracle telling me to make a trip to the Saint Louis Cathedral to wait for someone, and you're the person I found there.”

Richard frowned slightly, “If you knew I was coming, why didn't you station more troops? If you had 2,000 paladins there, I would have just retreated immediately.”

Martin flashed a teasing smile, “Do you really think my book was worth less than 2,000 paladins?”

This left Richard silent for a moment. Even with his flawless commands and the assistance of the Thinker, he had lost most of his knights in that battle. Anyone else would have been decimated. Sighing, he asked an important question, “How did you know that it was me?”

“Prophecies are an easy thing for gods,” Martin said directly.

“Impossible, you know the kind of people I brought with me,” Richard refuted him at once. The power of prophecies was strange and esoteric, and grew more difficult with the strength of an opponent. Even for someone like the Radiant Lord, it was difficult to pry into the power of fate which was beyond even the law of time. Even predicting an ordinary mage's actions was difficult, and he had taken a number of powerful followers like Tiramisu, Asiris, and especially Mountainsea there. Predicting his movements was an almost impossible task, and even a successful prophecy would be extremely vague.

Even though Martin's lies were exposed, he just threw his hands up without any awkwardness, “Indeed. The prophecy only told me that someone very important was coming to the Saint Louis Cathedral. I didn't know who this person was or what they wanted to do.”

Looking at Richard's brow wrinkling up, the cardinal suddenly sighed, “Richard, I advise you not to look down on any god, especially those of Norland. All of them were amongst the most powerful in the plane before they lit their godfires, and they have their own reasons to do so. The Radiant Lord is not the kind of deity you would see in a weaker plane.”

Richard nodded in understanding.

“Right. Make sure to harvest the divine crystals properly, don't waste any of the divinity,” Martin cautioned.

Richard immediately frowned, “I don't have any plans to become a god.”

“It isn't a bad thing, but of course there are other uses for divine crystals as well. Those fools of the Church just don't know the true value of what you chose.”

“And yet you let me take them.”

“It isn't my loss, now is it? Anyway, we will meet again soon; at that time I hope you will remember my favour.”

“You want to be the pope?” Richard immediately saw through him, “The current pope isn't all that old.”

“Not being old and not having long to live aren't exclusive things. Besides, there are still other obstacles for me to face before I reach that level. I only hope for your help when the time comes.”

“Why?” Richard asked coldly.

871 - City of Sin

Ambition

“It is fate,” Martin said with a smile, causing Richard's face to pale.

“Fate?”

“Indeed. Your appearance at the Saint Louis Cathedral was preordained, the fact that you managed to burn through my book shows that you have the power required for fate to pay attention to you. Not all chance encounters are accidental, Mister Richard.”

“Heh, not all chance encounters are accidental, sure. But the prophecy still didn't know where I was coming from or who I was, how can you call that destiny?” Richard asked rudely.

“Destiny is beyond the control of the gods. In fact, many deities fall under its control at times. When faced with the awe of its power, we can either resist or give in and respect it. Before one has the strength to fight the world itself, the former is only a way to slow things down and make them worse.”

Richard frowned, but he could not refute Martin's point. Anyone else could have argued back, but his mind immediately focused on Flowsand who was currently in the Darkness. That was destiny; it was a pre-ordained matter that she could not resist, only slow down.

However, was fate all that complicated? He was at the point in Faelor where he could look down on some of the gods there, but the Eternal Dragon's arrangements were as good as destiny to him. What, then, if one stood above the Eternal Dragon as well? Could one resist destiny there, or was this a spiral with no end?

He thought about it seriously, “Thank you for your assistance, but you have also caused great losses to my side. I will consider us even, but at least on friendly terms.”

“It seems like you do not trust me,” Martin shrugged.

“I have no reason to.”

“I wish you luck, then. Right, I almost forgot something; once these items are turned into divine crystals, can you tell me how much divinity they produce in total?”

“... Why?” Richard was rather surprised at the strange, almost blasphemous request.

Martin smiled, “I do not know how you plan to extract the divinity, nor do I care. However, your efficiency might be a good way to form a relationship. If you can extract more divinity from this than the Church, I will send some more items at regular intervals. I'll keep the original divinity they should have produced, but any excess we can split down the middle. What do you think?”

Richard squinted, “How much will your methods produce?”

“About... this much.” Martin spread his hand and a milky crystal was condensed within, a dense foggy energy still twirling within. It was the crystallisation of the divinity of light, and roughly about ten units.

“I can't make any promises. Besides, the divinity I harvest might not have any properties.”

“Even better, we have no lack of crystals with specific divinity.”

The two eventually struck a deal, shaking hands before parting. Martin left with the envoy the next morning, the archbishop taking on the role of driver himself. They had no guards, but that was no problem for travellers of their calibre.

Within the carriage, Martin shut his eyes and started nodding off with the radiant smile still on his face. However, the archbishop interrupted his sleep respectfully, “Your Eminence, do you really want to strike a deal with Richard?”

“Is there anything wrong with that? We both stand to benefit, and the warehouses are filled to the brim with divine items that we have no use for.”

“But those are the Lord's items, we only have the right to possess them as His servants. Richard is not one of us, it feels like we are going against the teachings of the Church.”

“The rules of the Church are not prophecies, they're something we mortals came up with to make things easier. So long as we're working for the good of the Lord and retain our principles, what we do is not important.”

“Of course, Your Eminence. You are the only one who can understand the faith in such a dynamic manner. I can only follow the established laws perfectly to avoid making mistakes.”

“That is sensible as well,” Martin commented, “Everyone works within their own limits.”

“You seem to be in good spirits, Your Eminence.”

“Haha, of course! I've finally gotten rid of that book of calamity, why would I not be relaxed? I also have the feeling that Richard will certainly give us a pleasant surprise with regards to the divine crystals.”

“The book of calamity? You mean...” The archbishop was shocked. Martin's holy book was one of the seven greatest weapons of the Church of Glory, but it was being referred to as a book of calamity.

“That holiness is only external, its true identity is the Book of Calamity. Hmph, Messia must have seen through this long ago. I was careless at the time and fell into his trap, leaving me stuck with the book. I've finally escaped, I can concentrate on repaying him for it later.” There was a rather strange aura of murderous intent radiating from the cardinal.

“This... Book of Calamity, does it have any negative effects?” the archbishop asked prudently.

“It is extremely powerful, we are only able to utilise a small part of its energy. The book has the power to change destiny, which puts its owner at odds with the power of fate. I have no wish to be such a person, so I have been cautious for all these years. This was the only opportunity I found to give it away.”

“Could you not just have given it to a random passerby?”

Martin shook his head, “That book is a powerful magic item, it has high standards for its wielder. Controlling it requires the ability to use the power of laws as a minimum baseline, one cannot just give it away.”

“Then I have to congratulate you, Your Eminence!” The archbishop was both excited and surprised at this information. It was evident from this huge secret that he had won Martin's trust.

“I'll let you handle the matter of the divine crystals from today.” Martin nodded off and fell asleep, starting to ponder matters related to Messia. The archbishop quietly rejoiced; this meant Martin would turn a blind eye to him keeping some of the divinity for himself.

......

At this time within Blackrose, Richard was in a heavily guarded private room as he closely inspected the divine items he had taken, including the holy book.

Divinity was normally the best way for a less-talented sky saint to come into contact with the power of laws. Many warriors used divine crystals as a baseline to understand the power of laws, eventually using it to come up with their own path to a breakthrough. However, this came with a heavy price. The only way of condensing divinity outside of killing weaker gods was to get it from the Eternal Dragon, at least as far as he knew. Besides, even if one became a legend this way, the legendary ability they gained would be abnormally weak.

Martin did not seem like someone who would be content with mediocrity. It was extremely likely that, even if he wasn't at the legendary realm yet, he grasped at least some of the power of laws. Thinking of it this way, one could quickly tell the cardinal's true intentions behind asking for divine crystals: he wanted to light his own godfire!

Lighting one's godfire was normally the next step after entering the legendary realm anywhere else, but in a primary plane like Norland it wasn't the best of choices. However, an overwhelming majority of legendary beings would have exhausted their talent the moment they stepped into the legendary realm, so the godfire was the only way for them to advance further. However, Richard couldn't believe Martin wanted something so simple either. Under the youth's harmless exterior was an unfathomable greed. Did he want to be the new Radiant Lord?

Thinking of this, he shook his head. There were many ambitious people in the world, but very few had the ability to match. Martin was likely a stellar talent, but there was no shortage of people like that in Norland. One still needed a certain amount of luck to even reach the legendary realm.

He fiddled with the goblet in his hand and smirked; the cardinal certainly hadn't guessed his true intentions. He really had chosen these items for the divinity within them, but it was not to extract that divinity but to analyse it. He wanted to control the laws of light!

872 - City of Sin

Creation And Sustenance

The goblet in Richard's hand had been placed on the altar for many years, perhaps ever since the formation of the Saint Louis Cathedral. It had no special qualities, but the divinity within was extremely dense. It was extremely useful when trying to analyse the laws within; even the holy book could not compare.

Richard started channelling his energy, extracting some of the divinity within the goblet in the form of a milky-white smoke. His eyes lit aglow to analyse the properties of this energy, slowly magnifying the image to reveal rows of divine runes each travelling on their own trajectories. All gods of a plane shared the same divine text so he understood most of what the specific runes said, but the importance of these runes did not lie in their meaning but in their path. His blessings allowed him to analyse the mass of information coming from all of the runes at once, allowing him to get started on an analytical model of the laws of light.

The glow from his eyes grew increasingly warm even as his own body reached burning temperatures, his face glowing red like fire, but it didn't take long before the goblet dimmed and eventually exploded. Seeing that it had lost all of its divinity, he shook his head and picked up one of the swords. The sword had less than half as much energy, however, so he quickly went through that as well.

One day and night later, all of the holy items were gone. From his estimates, he had only finished a tenth of the analytical model he would need to start working on these laws himself. This would be an exceptionally long process, but from the looks of it the laws of light had millions of variations unlike the 65,536 he had learnt from the Tree of Life. Google search 𝗳𝔯𝒆e𝘸𝗲𝗯𝓷𝗼𝘃𝘦l. 𝒄o𝓂

Looking at the broken divine items here, he seriously started considering the deal with Martin. Martin could extract just about ten units of divinity from a batch of this size, so for a successful partnership he would have to come up with roughly fourteen units of divinity. Deducting the two that he could keep to himself, he would need to produce twelve units each for nine batches. That was a total of 96 units of divinity that had to be obtained via sacrifices or trade. A top-tier offering could net him roughly fifty units of divinity, so this was equivalent to two top-tier offerings. This wasn't cheap, but he could still afford it.

He summoned an attendant over, instructing him to send a letter to the Church of Glory addressed directly to Cardinal Martin. There was nothing in the letter outside of two digits, 14. Martin would understand.

His gaze finally landed on the only thing that still had a divine aura, Martin's book. The tome was more than twenty centimetres thick and half a metre long, its cover made of bronze with divine symbols inscribed on the surface. Richard couldn't quite understand what those symbols meant, but he could quickly confirm that they had nothing to do with the Radiant Lord. The Church had likely obtained this book from elsewhere and moulded it into a holy book.

Opening it, he found the pages had yellowed from years of use. They were filled with beautiful writing about the Radiant Lord, but a quick scan revealed that the words were much younger than the pages themselves. Flipping through it, he also couldn't find any signs of burns or tearing, something that was strange given how many times the pages had been burnt up during the battle at the cathedral.

As he continued flicking through, the book suddenly stopped at a blank page. Looking through it and finding nothing really eye-catching except a slight difference in colour from the other pages, he closed the book once and started flipping through once more. The book landed open on the same page again.

Now intrigued, he started examining the page further. It looked to be quite ordinary, but when he touched it he felt a vaguely familiar energy flowing through. This energy was similar to his Book of Holding or Flowsand's Book of Time. Immediately guessing at its use, he tried to insert various types of energy within to no avail.

It was only when he started using bloodline energy that the book suddenly reacted, the page turning the dark red of lava and forming a demonic image upon it. The image looked to be that of a common demon, red body with curved horns and a heavy axe, and even when blurry he felt a faint connection to the being that was depicted. It felt like if he poured in enough energy, the creature would pop out of the page.

He diffused his energy and the demon roared unhappily before slowly disappearing. However, half the energy Richard had sent in seemed to have been absorbed by the page.

He quickly realised that the page's summoning likely depended on which bloodline was poured in, so he started harvesting some moonforce from his world tree and poured that in. A faint green started appearing on the page, like something was about to take form, but eventually the summoning just failed. It was the same for his elemental and nature affinities, and while the restoration affinity formed the vague silhouette of an elf it didn't go all the way either.

As the only grade 5 affinity in his world tree, it was the astral trunk that finally managed to get a result. It formed the image of an elven shaman on the page, and as he continued to add energy it started to grow clearer. This time he didn't stop there, even activating the power of the well of stars. Once his truename was engaged, the elf immediately grew older and flashier, with a crown appearing on its head. He could vaguely feel that this elf would be just shy of a saint, which was a powerful aiding force in any battle.

If this was the power of Schloan, what of Dizmason? Richard immediately activated the power of the first part of his truename, curious as to what being the power of destruction could call forth. A spot of black appeared on the page and blotted out like ink, a terrifying aura radiating from the depths of the darkness, but after a low growl the darkness disappeared completely.

Having expected a greater demon to appear, Richard was initially disappointed. However, he surmised that it could just be that the book could not handle such a level of summoning, or that his earlier conjectures with this truename were correct and he didn't possess enough control over it yet. Whichever it was, this proved that Dizmason was much more powerful than Schloan, far surpassing his Archeron bloodline.

He closed the book and placed his hand on the bronze cover, feeling a unique sensation as an invisible force seemed to try and unite him with the book. He opened it up once more, only to find that all of the Church's writings had been replaced by ancient symbols. He did not recognise any of them, but at first sight somehow understood what they meant:

Creation, Sustenance, Destruction, Time, Eternity.

These words seemed to tug at his heart, but he shook off the feeling and returned to his study, grabbing the Book of Holding and placing it on this new book. A dazzling light flooded the room and blinded him, but after a few minutes the Book of Holding had disappeared. New symbols now occupied half the bronze cover, glowing with a dark red light as though they were melting the bronze.

873 - City of Sin

Hope

Once the Book of Holding merged with the other pages of the unnamed holy book, there was another page with the creation rune atop it. At this point, he knew that these pages could store creatures for him to summon, the specific creature dependent on the type of energy he poured into the book. These creatures could be summoned only into the page and pulled out whenever necessary, although from the looks of it there was a limit to the energy the book could transfer; after level 16, it took an enormous amount of energy and the power of his truename to strengthen the creature further. However, there was an alternative: he could now summon more creatures with the excess energy instead.

This immediately clued him in to the fact that Martin hadn't summoned so many divine warriors with his power alone. The Church of Glory had likely spent decades constantly adding energy to the book and strengthening it, but all that had been wasted.

Considering his options, he decided to use the power of Schloan and put two elven shamans on the page. Each was level 17, and halfway between mages and priests they were a force to be reckoned with on the battlefield. With two of them, it was equivalent to giving two hundred of his knights a single level's boost to their abilities.

It was only when he closed the book that he realised he had another problem— it was extremely bulky. He'd gotten the sword case built just so he wouldn't have to carry three swords and a staff wherever he went, but now he would have this enormous book instead. Still, that was only a minor annoyance compared to the benefits it could bring.

Having done all he could for now with the holy book, Richard immediately turned to the map in his study and studied it silently for a long time. There were a number of things for him to do, but he didn't have nearly enough time. The map showed all the worlds that mattered to him in various levels of detail: Norland including Klandor, Faelor, the Forest Plane, the Resting Orchid Plane, and those of Asiris and Cyrden.

He thought over it for a while before deciding that he would work on the Forest Plane next. The Tree of Life was likely close to levelling up at this point, and that would be a perfect opportunity to analyse the laws of life. He felt like he now had the ability to repel any enemies that would hinder the Tree's advancement.

After making his decision, he sent a letter to Nyris and Agamemnon to have them prepare. The very next day, Phaser, Waterflower, Tiramisu, and Mountainsea would follow him to the Forest Plane and join up with the elite troops that Agamemnon and Nyris had already prepared. They would not take another leap forward in their control of this plane.

However, he had one important thing to do before he left. Learning that Nyris was unavailable for some time, he would have to go to the Royal Mage Association to alert them of an impending rune convention. All rune conventions in Faust required the approval of the royal family, and it would normally go through the Association instead of a prince. His connections from the beginning had just simplified this step to the point that he didn't need to do it himself.

He had already sent word that he would be arriving, so two grand mages rushed forth to welcome him the moment he entered the grand hall, “Master Richard, His Excellency Thor is already waiting for you.”

“Hmm?” Richard was a little confused, “It's only a rune convention, why was there a need to alarm the Chairman?”

The mage on the left smiled, “Your runes are something the entire country looks forward to. His Excellency hopes to offer you the best of hospitality.”

“I'm truly humbled. Please, lead the way.” Richard followed the two grand mages all the way to the top floor of the Association.

Registering a rune convention with the Royal Mage Association wasn't just a formality. Once it was registered, the Association would take care of most logistical issues so the runemaster themselves wouldn't have to. They would arrange for the best available hall to hold the convention in, and also send out invites to the powerhouses of the plane. Unlike the young Richard, they had an expansive network of connections that could guarantee that anyone who might be interested in the invite and had the qualifications would receive one. They would also tailor their invites to the runemaster's calibre as well; Lunor's conventions barely attracted legends anymore, while Richard's most recent one had attracted a decent number.

Richard remained silent as he walked up with the two mages— teleportation was forbidden inside these walls and the automatic defences would destroy most mages foolish enough to try. He had known that the Association would grow interested in him at some point, but he was still a little unsure about this degree of respect. As a mage he wasn't all that powerful; most of his combat ability came from him mixing melee and magic.

This was the first time he had set foot in Thor's office, and it instantly felt like he had somehow ended up in Lithgalen instead. All around him was soft green grass giving way to large fruit trees with flower vines wrapped all around them. It was like something out of a fairy tale, with a small river wiggling through the woods and pouring into a beautiful sapphire lake. Parasols, tables, and chairs had been set up on the shore, with elven servants shuttling around to put fresh fruit and good wine on the table.

A balding, fat old man stood up from his chair, stretching out both arms in welcome, “Mister Richard, welcome!”

Richard didn't dare look down on the funny-looking fellow; Thor was someone with a solid reputation, and outside of being the Chairman of the Royal Mage Association he was also Emperor Philip's uncle. This was someone with pure royal blood running through his veins, which meant both status and power. The lightning destroyer bloodline descended from that of ancient titans, making it extremely potent.

Thor himself was a legendary mage that was very skilled at lightning magic. Combined with his bloodline ability, he could drown his enemies in a lightning storm that was impossible to block.

Not in any rush to exchange pleasantries just yet, Richard continued paying attention to the surroundings for a moment as he tried to reconcile the feeling of wrongness he felt. This place was even larger than Sharon's private space in the Deepblue, but that was impossible; at this point, he knew that his master was likely the strongest mage in all of Norland. It was only when checking it with Insight that he finally saw all the green fading away, the tall sky and white clouds vanishing to show that the sun was just a huge fireball hung a hundred metres into the sky. The place was about twenty square kilometres in size, and half of it was floating in mid-air.

“Ah, forgive me,” he shook his head in apology, “This... Your semiplane is sitting right on top of Norland?”

Thor smiled ever so slightly before returning to nonchalance and laughing, “You might just be the first youth below the legendary realm who managed to see the truth of this place! Looks like Philip was right; you're gifts aren't particularly frightening, but you're still quite the talent. Come, show me the rune you want to reveal this time; I can hardly wait!”
𝗳𝐫𝘦e𝔀𝚎𝚋𝓃𝚘vℯl. 𝑐o𝚖

Richard smiled and took out a rough design of Mana Armament, passing it over to Thor who started reading through it.

“Mana Armament, eh... It's a unique name, but where have I heard it before... Ooh, grade 4! You really are something, already a grand runemaster... Wait,” Tthe old man suddenly jumped up from his seat, “It can transform mana into internal energy?!”

“Umm, not really... But it's something very similar. Besides, not every mage can use it. You need a very powerful physique...” Richard explained patiently.

Thor waved his short arms violently, “But it's a saint's power! You can just improve your physique by eating, so long as it can be transformed into a saint's level of energy people will be willing to eat anything. In fact, if it was beyond the level of saints I'm sure some would be ready to eat an entire dragon!”

Richard didn't know how to respond to that statement. If one was strong enough to eat an entire dragon, would they really need Mana Armament?

Thor suddenly slapped himself in the forehead, drawing a spell formation in mid-air to form the image of another world, “Kenny, you old bastard, get over here immediately! I don't care which broken world you're in, you'll regret being a second late! I got what you want!”

874 - City of Sin

Rune Convention Scheduled

A short while later, Richard got the chance to witness the true power of a legendary mage once more. Less than a minute after Thor finished speaking, black light just erupted from the void and tore space apart. Richard took a subconscious step behind as they pulled open a rift, and a rather short old man jumped out from within, blue beard swaying as he roared angrily, “I've been stalking a black astral beast for more than a month! I almost found its nest, you old coot! You better not be lying to me!”

As he spoke, Kenny just waved his hand to disperse the magical attacks from the defensive array. Thor stared hard at him, “You think a black astral beast's eggs can compare to a pseudo-grade-5 rune? Take a look.”

Kenny immediately grabbed the rune design and started inspecting it closely, shock spreading across his face as his forehead started leaking sweat. Richard stealthily took another step back— this man's powers were unfathomable, and the fact that he managed to aim a portal so precisely despite being off in the void showed that his control of magic was far beyond what even Manacycle could afford.

The short old man suddenly raised his head and rushed forwards, “Kid, you made this?”

Even though Kenny was a mage, he had lightning-quick reflexes. He moved over to Richard in a flash, giving him almost no room to dodge. However, Richard himself had spent many years doing battle in the Land of Dusk; a dull red glow flooded out from his throat as he leaned backwards, lightning immediately sparking on his body as his now-bloody fingertips flew towards the legendary mage's throat.

Kenny's eyelids twitched as he sensed the great peril he was in, his hand suddenly stopping in mid-air and giving Richard the chance to retreat. Astonishment flashed in the legendary mage's eyes as he sized Richard up, “Not bad, not bad. Now it's slightly more believable that you crafted this.”

“This rune is not my design,” Richard said coldly, keeping his eyes trained on Kenny, “it was designed by Saint Lawrence. However, I can craft it as well.”

Kenny seemed to be surprised at the mention of Kenny's name, sighing softly, “Lawrence, that little rascal... He really was talented, but such a pity about his rashness. I didn't think I would see such runes again... It seems like there's still potential to upgrade this?”

Looking at the hint of yearning on Kenny's face, Richard forced a smile, “This rune is already better than most other grade 4 runes. If it was grade 5, I'm afraid...”

He didn't have to finish. Naturally, a grade 5 Mana Armament would immediately make him a saint runemaster, someone who was famous in all of Norland.

“Heh, you have a point. Grade 4 is enough. Alright then, how much is this worth and when can you get one ready for me?”

Richard had already thought this through, “This rune costs an enormous amount in ma—”

“Two top-tier offerings or two spider crystals. My spider crystals are top of the line.”

Richard immediately shook his head, causing Kenny's face to sour, “Three then.”

Richard still shook his head, but before he could speak Kenny turned blue and raged, “The only reason I need this is for my exploration of the Twisting Galaxy, you wouldn't be able to find someone else willing to pay this much. Don't bite off more than—”

Thor put a hand over the man's mouth, glaring for a moment before turning to Richard, “I apologise, this old bastard is always very anxious. He's been dreaming of this for more than a decade now, the Twisting Galaxy has something that is very important to him. So, what is it you wanted that this fellow stopped you from saying?”

Richard nodded, “I was about to ask for two top-tier offerings and a favour.”

“What's the favour, say it!” Kenny shouted.

“I have a... rival, named Voidbones. He's also a student of Her Excellency Sharon, but I don't particularly like him. I ask that, if he appears in the Deepblue any time during the next two years, he should be chased away. It would be best if you can kill him.”

Kenny and Thor looked at each other before the latter spoke up, “I've heard of the kid, he's not inferior to a legendary mage. It would be quite a challenge.”

Kenny's vision drifted as he quickly made a decision, throwing a gold plate towards Richard, “The Shadow King owes me a favour. Contact him with his, and he'll send you three antimages. With then, this Voidbones won't be able to gain a footing in the Deepblue. However, are you sure this won't anger your master?”

“Master wouldn't care, and the grand mages of the Deepblue have no opinion on the matter either. Of course, I'm assuming the antimages won't do anything foolish.”

“You can rest assured, these antimages won't dare to defy an order from the Shadow King. So, when can I collect the item?”

“Hmm... Ten days.”

“Ten what?” Kenny almost screamed.

“I'll be crafting it in my private plane, and the entire process takes about three months if everything goes according to plan,” Richard clarified. He obviously didn't mention that he needed less than a month.

“That's still fast... Alright, I'll wait ten days for you. You can have these two offerings for now, let Thor know if you need anything special. I'll be off!” Kenny immediately ripped open another hole in space, dispersing the automatic attacks again as he teleported away.

Once he was gone, Thor shook his head, “Don't take him to heart, he's very impulsive. Could you sell these Mana Armaments to the Association in the future? I can offer two top-tier offerings and a greater one to purchase it. You can also be made an honorary elder of the Association, capable of giving out jobs or buying from our treasury.”

“Alright, but is this rune really that popular? Do you need mages who are skilled in melee?” Richard still felt a little strange. Most mages preferred honing their magic, believing it could solve everything. That was wrong, of course, but it wasn't too far off from the truth.

“There are some circumstances where one cannot use magic, like when one's enemies are immune to or can reflect magic. This rune would be a lifesaver in those situations. Take Old Kenny for example, he's had some problems with a bunch of weaklings in the Twisting Galaxy who are completely immune to magical energy. With Mana Armament, he could just smash them apart.”

“Okay,” Richard nodded in understanding, “I'll send you one in a month.”

“That's quick!” Thor smiled.

“As a runemaster, runecrafting is my greatest asset. Quality can't be the only thing I offer,” Richard said with a chuckle.

Thor's smile grew so wide his eyes almost closed. He patted Richard hard on the shoulders, “No wonder Philip likes you so much, let me arrange for your rune convention now.”

A whistle immediately called in a grand mage, and Thor instructed him, “Master Richard is about to hold a rune convention, book it for a month from now. Use black tulips for the invitation?”

“Tulips? Are you sure?” the grand mage asked to confirm. This was the highest class of invitation they sent out, and anyone who received it would do their best to attend. Such invitations were only sent out once or twice a decade.

“Yes, tulips. Send one to every legendary mage in Norland, be it friend or foe.”

“Alright, Your Excellency. However, the timing might clash with another convention at the same—”

“Who cares about that fraudster? Push it back, and if he whines just cancel it! Go, now... Wait, come back! Take this with you!”

The grand mage took the Mana Armament design and snuck a glance as he walked away. A few moments later, a gasp sounded in the corridor as he realised just what it entailed. As he dashed forward to go as fast as possible, he forgot all about Lunor. Even though Lunor had announced that he would showcase a pseudo-grade 4 rune, his words had to be taken with a pinch of salt. On the other hand, many legendary mages were in the middle of exploring the myriad planes; nobody knew when they would receive the message. It had to be hurried out as quickly as possible. Please visit f𝘳𝐞𝒆wｅ𝚋𝗻𝚘𝚟e𝑙. c𝘰𝓂

875 - City of Sin

Minting Money

Richard stayed for a while to talk to Thor about his semiplane. Semiplanes were normally an important secret that most legendary mages sought to protect, so it was strange for one to be as easily accessible as this. The old man was surprisingly eager to answer, and his reasoning really was out of Richard's expectations— he had grown tired of a life of death and exploration, so he was done and just wanted to enjoy his life. The danger wasn't all that great either— while he couldn't call upon as much strength from his semiplane as he would have if it were unattached, he was still the Emperor's uncle. Attacking him was the same as an attack on the entire Sacred Alliance.

Leaving a list of materials for purchase, Richard left the Royal Mage Association to return to the Archeron Island. Silently calculating his profits on the way, he realised that his overall revenue was nearly 50 million gold for a cost price of only 7 million. He would even have to modify the Mana Armament a tiny bit back towards Lawrence's original design, which would make it easier to craft. Two months of work for more than 40 million gold was more than worth it.

At the same time, however, he would also spend it like water. At nearly 30,000 gold now to equip a single one of his most powerful elites, he would burn through it all with only a little more than a thousand men.

This was hardly a problem for older, more established families. The weapons and armour they gave their soldiers was passed down generations, and all they had to pay was a paltry sum for maintenance. However, without much of a warehouse prior to his takeover of the family, Richard had to pay for it all first-hand. Two Mana Armaments was also fifteen fewer rune knights.

Thankfully, he had enlisted the help of Rosie's workshop. After simplifying his standard rune sets a little, he had brought it to the level where Rosie and her assistants could craft everything but the core arrays and connections. This gave him an output of twenty rune knights a month, each a tenth weaker than normal but also a fifth cheaper. The difference was several million gold every year.

Even with his high standards, the 43 million gold would be enough for him to arm an army 30,000 men strong with a good mix of all types of soldiers. While rune knights were powerful, thirty of them certainly weren't as powerful as a force a thousand times their size. Powerful elites could be transformed in battle under his command, becoming far more effective than a larger army with less skill.

If he just wanted to make money, Lifesbane was still the best rune he could craft. It took much less time, effort, and resources, and the demand for it was much higher as well. Since it was a stacking rune, he could sell a hundred over the next year without much of a drop in the market price; on the other hand, he would be lucky to sell even fifteen Mana Armaments. Of course, his set knights had basically unlimited demand; worse comes to worst, the royal family alone would be able to buy everything he could produce.

Once he returned to the Archeron island, he sat down to recalculate the effectiveness of his current military direction. Now that he had more funds, he had to consider where the investment would serve him best. A few quick calculations told him that a legendary being was equivalent to 200 rune knights, who in turn were equivalent to an army of 10,000 elites. These 10,000 elites cost the same as an army of 150,000 men, each of whom were level 5 or higher. Each force on this list would be beaten by the force immediately below it, but there would be heavy losses to both sides.

He ruled out spreading his investment across hundreds of thousands of soldiers. While such a number looked frightening, even he could just fly into the sky and cast his thunderclouds to eliminate the entire army without breaking a sweat. Despite a number of simulated battle scenarios, the intangibles of guerilla warfare and mobility that higher-end warriors brought was well worth the cost. Deciding his top-down approach was still the best option, he moved on to other tasks.

......

“I haven't seen you for a long time!” Blackgold's image smiled from ear to ear the moment the communication circle lit up. It was clear that the Deepblue was doing well financially.

“Were there any signs of Voidbones?” Richard asked the same question he would every time.

“No, the device is still stable.”

“Good,” Richard nodded, “You can stop running it from tomorrow.”

The Deepblue had brought a special magic item once Ensio left, feeding it Voidbones' energy signature and thus having it alert them in case he was opening a portal. The item could give an advance warning of a few hours to many days, and a teleportation gate would allow Richard to bring over fifty rune knights and chase him away. However, the item would only work for a year before breaking apart, and it could not be reused.

“What do you mean?” the grey dwarf asked.

“I talked to the Shadow King, he's sending over three antimages to act as guards.”

“SHADOW KING? ANTIMAGES?! RICHARD, WHAT AR—”

“It's the best solution for now,” Richard laughed bitterly.

The grey dwarf immediately quieted down, pacing back and forth with anxiety, “The Shadow King is a neutral entity, but our interactions haven't been positive in the past. The antimages are natural enemies of us mages, what happens if you can't control them?”

“Won't happen, he swore that they would remain loyal to their duties and guard the Deepblue for two years. His word is his worth, he wouldn't go back on it.” Richard understood Blackgold's feelings. The Shadow King was a gnome with vampiric blood, and the antimages he created were all transformed by dark spells that made them feed on mana. Putting them amidst mages was like putting wolves amongst a flock of sheep.

“Don't worry,” he added, “I'm stationing twenty rune knights just in case anything happens. If they act up, you'll also be able to teleport over the thirty rune knights we have on hand in Blackrose.”

“Sigh... Alright.”

“Mm. By the way, how are my projects going?”

“I have some good news. The old elf finally got results after delaying things for months and spending an extra 200,000 gold. He's developed a catalyst that can burn a tonne of stonewood with only a kilogram.”

“And the cost?”

“About twenty gold a kilo. If we mass-produce it, it should drop to about eight. Half a ton of the wood is enough to last the normal person an entire year, and the current yearly cost on fuel is about 10 gold per person in the Alliance. Even including the cost of the stonewood, we can easily make a hefty 40% profit.”

876 - City of Sin

Minting Money(2)

“What about a larger scale, like with armies?” Richard asked. There was no dearth of stonewood in the Forest Plane, and while teleportation had been expensive before he could just send the astral chrysalis to transport thousands of tonnes in one go. An army wouldn't mind using more of the catalyst to burn through their stonewood warmer and faster. After all, they needed it only for a few nights and not the entire year.

“It does burn faster with more, and there's even another amazing property he found,” Blackgold said anxiously, “The stonewood contains a lot of energy, and when crushed with the proper mix of catalyst and goblin fuel it can produce a powder that explodes violently. The old elf is saying it could be three to five times as powerful as our dwarven gunpowder.”

“Did you say three to five?” Richard asked to be sure.

“I'm worried that old fellow will send himself back to his world tree a few decades earlier at this rate. The thing is very dangerous, but he's willing to perform the research for the right price. He wants 300,000 gold! I swear, he's turned from an elf into one of my kin!”

“500,000,” Richard said immediately. He already had a number of uses for enhanced gunpowder in mind.

“500,000? Even 300,000 is way too much!”

“500,000. Just be sure to tell him I don't have all that much patience.”

“Grr... That lucky old man.”

......

After some small talk, Richard cut off communications and confirmed with Senma that the troops had been assembled at Blackrose, heading to the Church of the Eternal Dragon to make some offerings. He sacrificed the two top-tier offerings and a multitude of lesser ones.

Perhaps out of pity, the old dragon was extremely favourable today. From the two top-tier offerings, he was given a total of three passage-enhancements. Standing in front of the altar, he found it a little difficult to decide where he would put it. Normally he would give all three to Faelor, it was after all his foundation, but with the Doomsday Imprint having appeared that didn't seem like the wisest of choices.

He hesitated for a long while, but eventually he bit his teeth and poured all three blessings into Faelor. He decided he wanted to see just what would destroy his plane; ten years were more than enough to bring about a miracle!

The lesser sacrifices behaved strangely as well. They broke down into timeforce the moment he put them on the altar, forming an hourglass with a quasi-divine weapon within, but just as he was about to reach out for it the hourglass shattered back into golden grains of sand once more. The sand danced around in mid-air for a while before shooting into the back of his hand, forming the imprint of an hourglass upon it.

A new message appeared in his mind: Divine Gift: Lighthouse of the Soul.

This was actually an ability that allowed him to mark the soul of an enemy, sensing their position anywhere within the same plane. Such tracking was unparalleled, and even with only one target it was certainly very handy. He didn't quite understand why the change happened, but that was quickly solved when another message was sent to him mentally: because he was a Planewalker, the Eternal Dragon would occasionally interfere in the ceremony and change something to better suit his needs.

The message stated that most blessings would be improved a level when this intervention of fate came into play, capable of improving on even the things he wanted most. The last line of the information read: There is no best, only better; such is the privilege of a title.

Even without the need for further explanation, he could understand just how useful this was. He could already think of many people he would want to track: one of the children of the forest in the Forest Plane to get to the world tree, Voidbones to hunt him down and eliminate the threat, perhaps even Flowsand when he entered the Darkness to see if she was on the plane he headed to. He stroked the mark with great emotion, but at the same time he understood just what this scheme was. The old dragon was only doing this to tempt him into more offerings so he could raise his title further; he was starting to understand the warnings he was given about it.

Still, it was all he could do to smile. He might be playing on the Eternal Dragon's palm, but that was the only way for him to gain power as quickly as he needed. He would have to be content with playing puppet for a while longer.

With the sacrifice out of the way, he met Noelene at the door to the hall. Her expression showed just how great of a mood she was in, both because of the divine grace just now and the fact that he had fulfilled his promise and brought her a grade 4 rune: Empowered Divinity. The rune enhanced her already-terrifying spells in terms of both effect and duration, and although the enhancement depended on one's individual power she was a grand priestess of the Eternal Dragon. The boost to her strength was unimaginable.

She accompanied him all the way out of the Church before whispering, “I've got everything you wanted, it literally wiped me clean. 5,000 sets of superior-grade equipment... Are you sure you have so many high-levelled knights?”

Richard just smiled as he walked off, “My knights are endless.”

This was a famous saying left by Charles the Great right before he led his troops to the abyss. The millions of cavalrymen flooding in truly felt endless. Looking at Richard's back, Noelene couldn't bring herself to think he was joking.

......

Richard had no knowledge of Noelene's thoughts. He was far from an endless cavalry when he reached the Forest Plane, but he still took an entire platoon of rune knights alongside 400 shadowspears. Most importantly, he also brought along the broodmother's avatar. Once it grew to a high enough level, it would spell the doom of this infinite forest!

He flashed out of range of the portal as he exited, and having been given orders already the guards of the portal immediately cleared the space as well. A pitch-black conical head slowly emerged from within, and like an enormous snake the astral chrysalis started floating out. One could see rows of black image diamonds on both sides of its body, the source of its evolution. The creature had already grown more than fifty metres long with a diameter of several metres as well! Although it didn't have any power in combat, it could still shock the guards witless every time they saw it.

Richard called the guarding general and made some arrangements before leaving the base city with his followers and the astral chrysalis. He had to hatch the broodmother's avatar in the presence of the will of the forest; that was the only way to eliminate any need to adapt in the future.

Emerald City had advanced greatly over the past few years, now accommodating tens of thousands of regular residents with a burgeoning lumber industry. The will of the forest was constantly retreating, and although it didn't feel like a dent had been made the city was now clear of the will of the forest for 200 kilometres. That was 200 kilometres of land any enemies had to pass through without the natural boosts to their power. More than a dozen piles of stonewood had been piled up on the outskirts, amounting to millions of kilograms if not more. There were far too many to burn, and even far too many to transport out of the plane.

Richard had brought a tonne of the catalyst, enough for a thousand tonnes of stonewood, but even that could barely make a dent into the amount that had been cut down. It seemed like it would take forever to cut through the entire plane.

“Great Master, you have returned!” As they approached the Tree of Life, a spirited voice suddenly resounded in Richard's consciousness. It felt almost like a young gnome instead of a wizened old tree.

877 - City of Sin

Hatching

It had been quite some time since Richard had come to the Forest Plane, but he still couldn't reconcile the youthful voice with what he recalled. Thankfully, the Tree itself quickly realised its excitement and simmered down, returning to its dignified tone, “Ruler from another world, I have already finished preparing for my next evolution.”

“What enemies will there be this time?” Richard asked.

“Normally it would be myrmekes, cave spiders, and woodpecking crows. However, I feel the World Tree might also send rabid dwarves and beast tamers as well.”

The Tree of Life sent him mental images and detailed information about all of these predators. The myrmekes were ant-like creatures that were half a metre long, usually travelling in groups of over a thousand and turning the lands they passed through barren. Cave spiders could each grow up to two or three metres in size, and outside of their strong webs they were capable of digging through dirt to form large, complex tunnels. Roots were their favourite food. Alongside the woodpecking crows, this made for a combined attack from land, air, and underground. There would be no surviving a failure.

However, none of these three species were actually a major threat at this point. That came from the rabid dwarves and the beast tamers. Both had some modicum of intellect, and while the rabid dwarves were less than a metre tall with their heads taking up a comical third of their bodies, the beast tamers were three metres tall with long arms and legs that helped them leap from tree to tree.

The Tree of Life actually had little information about the latter, even the images being blurry, but it mentioned that the former could even eat rocks without issue. Combined with a tribal culture and ancestral worship, they were a force to be reckoned with. In fact, the only reason they weren't the kings of this plane was that the will of the forest keeping them suppressed with short lives and low fertility.

Upon learning that the beast tamers had the ability to manipulate the creatures of the forest and acted as generals that coordinated the attack, Richard immediately had doubts about his strength. Facing a tribe where every adult had the strength of a saint, in their home field where they could control tens of thousands of creatures... He wasn't certain of victory in those conditions.

“We might need to prepare a little more,” he said eventually, “It'll take three to six months, maybe even a year.”

“A year to me feels only like a short rest, Master. Such a small wait is of no consequence.”

......

Richard's party was currently exploring the boundless forest. A child of the forest had almost wiped out half of his troops alone all those years ago, but now any single one of them would be able to eliminate the threat in ten minutes.

At the front of the group was Tiramisu. The trees were a little too dense for the ogre lord, so both heads were constantly grumbling as he ducked his way through. Their most common complaint was the lack of any good meals in this place, followed closely by fears of mushrooms starting to grow on different parts of his body. The forest was naturally home to various predators, but they were all scared away by the sheer aura of power radiating from the group. The few horseflies the size of a palm that dared bite the ogre were blown apart by mere vibrations of his belly.

With only Phaser, Waterflower, Mountainsea, and the unicorn in the party, they travelled extremely quickly. Within a single day they started to feel the will of the forest suppressing them, and the forest grew darker as nightfall approached. Every single member of this team had extraordinary wills, so they were almost completely immune to this oppression. With no readily available campsites, Tiramisu just crushed several huge trees to use the trunks as a base for the camp. With a number of powerful weapons in hand, the party quickly tore up a small alcove for them to rest in.

Richard took out a small box and made eight holes in the earth, filling them with branches of stonewood and stuffing the gaps with a black powder. He then shot out eight small fireballs that immediately lit the stonewood aflame, forming columns of fire nearly two metres tall.

“What is that, Master?” Tiramisu asked with curiosity.

“Our campfire,” Richard smiled. This powder was the catalyst that aided in burning stonewood, and it burnt hot enough to keep the entire camp warm.

“How long will it last?” the ogre continued. Richard had only poured in a few hundred grams of the powder at best.

“Should be enough to last us through the night,” Richard said testingly. He didn't have first-hand experience of this either.

“Good stuff... If we had this in our tribe back then, we could have moved up north... Maybe we might have survived...” Richard immediately froze at the ogre's words, but then Tiramisu's depressed smile turned back into his usual silly grin, “I'll go get some food! Let's see if this fire can roast things nice!”

“I'm coming,” Waterflower said softly as the ogre took large strides into the depths of the forest, standing up and hurrying to follow.

Richard turned to Phaser and Mountainsea, “Stay here. I'm going to hatch the broodmother's avatar.”

He then chose a direction and headed deep into the forest, travelling at full speed for more than ten kilometres before he slowed down. Feeling the will of the forest starting to affect even him, he decided that this would be the location and pulled a huge black egg out from a sealing box. Placing the egg on the ground, he slit his palm and let the blood drip down on the shell.

A soft cry rang through the woods the moment the blood touched the egg, a low-pitched whine similar to a warcry. The smooth shell of the huge egg started emitting black smoke as numerous holes appeared on its surface, absorbing all of the blood he had spilt. It felt like his soul was pricked as the seed bonded to him, starting to hatch.

The heartbeat of the creature within the shell started growing faster and more urgent, a small voice ringing in his mind that was constantly crying in hunger and pain. The avatar was struggling to grow in the midst of the suppression from the will of the forest, but he took a step back to indicate that he had no desire to assist. The broodmother had told him that the avatar had to grow despite the bad conditions to remain strong upon maturity. If it could hold its own against the will of the forest, it would not be affected by the suppression in the future.

However, just as he was about to turn away, shock filled his face as he looked towards the sky. The clouds had formed an enormous spiral right around them, and an unprecedented strength of will was surging down to target the hatching egg!

878 - City of Sin

Crisis

Mountainsea and Phaser were the only ones left in the freshly-made camp. The latter's entire body was wrapped in a dark green cloak, even her face hidden in the shadows as though she was just a part of the environment. This cloak was a piece of epic-grade equipment that was extraordinary for stealth. In comparison, Mountainsea's equipment didn't look like it would add up to even ten gold.

The barbarian girl's attire was enchanted, but it was only for resistance to dirt and wear. When Richard had first seen her, just the worth of the jewels she wore was more than even most legendary beings, able to leave even Sharon breathless, but now she looked almost no different from a poor adventurer. She hadn't asked for anything ever since she arrived in Norland, seemingly happy so long as she could stay by Richard's side. He had given her hundreds of thousands of gold, but all she had picked up with it was a rod of lafite that was enchanted for sturdiness. Even including the materials, she had only given the mage who enchanted it ten gold. In a strangely competitive way, she had named the staff Eleventon.

Mountainsea's eyes were glowing as she stared at Phaser, the campfires flickering despite a lack of wind. The special unit had shrunk backwards, but only to coil up for a vicious strike. She was glaring at the barbarian girl herself, prepared to pounce.

“You have the guts?” Mountainsea asked with an eyebrow raised, her hand on Eleventon.

“Of course not,” Phaser said softly, but she only coiled up further as her hand reached for Annihilation by her waist. This was clearly eagerness and not fear.

“Heh,” Mountainsea stood up, her staff pointed to the ground. The movement seemed casual, but her aura instantly billowed out as though an ancient beast was hidden in her little body. Phaser, who was significantly taller than her, suddenly felt as though she had to look up. This caused a storm in the special unit's heart; she knew that the barbarian was only level 10 and didn't even have her totems.

This didn't mean that Phaser didn't dare to fight. Having reached the saint realm recently, she had been rebuilt a total of thrice by the broodmother. Every transformation was a huge investment of divinity, and for certain reasons to help Flowsand the broodmother had spared almost nothing in upgrading her when Richard had gone off to Klandor. She bowed and drew back, Annihilation being pulled from its sheath, “What do you want? When did I offend you?”

Mountainsea just shrugged, “Never, I just want to know what you are. Why would I like someone who wants to eat me? I know you won't do it as long as Richard is alive, but you're still thinking about it.”

“Is that the only reason?” Phaser asked.

“No, you also smell strange, like the fabled Worldeater.”

“Worldeater?” Phaser felt her heart skip a beat. This was the first time she was hearing this term, but it sounded very familiar.

“The Beast God said that it's the enemy of all life.”

The special unit fell silent for a while before responding, “It isn't me.”

“Huh... Of course not, but you must be related— what?” Mountainsea opened her eyes wide as she looked towards the direction that Richard had left, hair fluttering in the wind as her aura surged. A phantom behemoth formed in the void, forcing Phaser to retreat by instinct as it roared in challenge. All the trees within a few miles started shaking.

The giant beast dispersed within a minute of its appearance, leaving the barbarian girl pale and sweaty. She looked at the direction the beast had roared in, her eyebrows almost knitting together as she turned to Phaser, “You know what it is, don't you.”

Phaser did not answer, instead taking a few steps towards the barbarian girl even as her eyes turned bright red. She had felt the moment the broodmother's avatar started hatching, but she had no plans to reveal that. An immense struggle was visible on her face as she noticed Mountainsea's weakness; for her, the barbarian girl was the best delicacy in the world.

“You can try,” Mountainsea said indifferently as she felt the killing intent.

The standoff was quickly interrupted by heavy footsteps. The earth started shaking a little as the trees nearby fell one after the other, revealing Tiramisu's huge body stepping through. There was a mountain of prey on the ogre's back, but both his heads were pouting in an obviously bad mood. He just threw the food to the ground and started preparing to cook, grumbling as he worked, “Damn you all, knowing to hide from me. The little girl did so much better, this is unfair!”

His anger came from the fact that Waterflower had caught most of their quarry. All the creatures of the jungle had hidden away the moment he came within a hundred metres of them, but she managed to get right behind them before they even realised it. Had he been alone, he would have had a serious problem with food on this plane. Already annoyed by the dense foliage, his irritation only grew further.

It was only after grumbling for a few seconds that Tiramisu suddenly realised the awkwardness in the atmosphere. The two heads looked at Mountainsea and Phaser, asking hesitantly, “What are you two doing?”

“Nothing, let me help.” Phaser sat down opposite the ogre, picking up one of the beasts to start skinning it. Mountainsea just sat silently at the edge of the fire and frowned, her thoughts unknown.

Waterflower was currently off at the perimeter of the camp, inspecting the trees one by one. After five minutes she stopped at a normal-looking trunk, walking around it twice as she stroked the bark. Once she stopped, her hand flashed for a moment and the Shepherd of Eternal Rest was buried into the wood. The old tree suddenly twisted in a hysterical scream, its roots being pulled out as it tried to escape, but there would be no such thing.

The Shepherd of Eternal Rest turned into a blur as it pierced the treant an unknown number of times, dropping the creature dead within ten seconds. The trunk actually blew apart to reveal the heart, ignoring the sound of roots creaking as all the other treants nearby quickly pulled out their roots and fled. Once she harvested the heart, she continued looking for any treants that might have had the guts to remain.

Less than a minute later, everyone in the camp suddenly looked into the distance, feeling a terrible power gathering in Richard's direction. In only a moment it felt like a storm had befallen a calm sea, and at the centre of it all were Richard and the larval broodmother! Please visit 𝗳𝒓e𝚎𝙬𝒆𝙗𝚗o𝙫e𝗹. 𝐜𝐨𝙢

......

Richard took initiative the moment he saw the storm up above, linking his soul to the larva and preparing to fight the will of the forest as one. While the broodmother was an amazing creature, the avatar most certainly would not have the power to fight off a will of such magnitude.

He had originally assumed that he could handle it— after all, he had confronted the spirit lance of the troll warlord when his soul was far weaker than now— but in only a moment he realised that hard resistance was futile. His mental barriers were cracked apart in an instant, and all of his blessings were screaming in tandem with the avatar as they foresaw its demise.

Rage immediately filled his heart. Fiercely biting his teeth, he sent out his soul form to protect the broodmother once more. However, this time he did not try to resist the attack entirely but redirect it, lessening the strain.

The vortex of clouds in the sky was growing larger and larger even as it started spinning at greater speeds. The winds were now travelling at hundreds of metres an hour, and the weaker creatures nearby were already being thrown into the sky.

At the centre of it all was Richard, sitting with his hand on the giant egg. His eyes were closed and his body was like a statue, without a single hint of life.

879 - City of Sin

Survival

The souls of both Richard and the broodmother's avatar were wrapped up in a storm of spiritual energy, vortices of power crashing into them from all sides. The barrier he'd rebuilt was like a tiny bubble being blown about in the midst of this storm, about to pop at any time.

Regret was no longer an option. It was all he could do to watch these incoming vortices with full attention and avoid those that were far too violent, jumping between the gentle ones to minimise the impact. His blessing of truth allowed him to see the soul world as though it was real, giving him the opportunity to use his other blessing to find a safe path amidst the storm.

However, safety was relative. Even in the easiest pathway his soul-form and the tiny egg it was now holding was on the verge of breaking down under the assault. He tried to call out to his followers nearby, but even with Waterflower the connection seemed to have been cut off completely; he felt his spiritual energy gushing out in torrents, but there was no response. With no choice left, he resumed his focus on avoiding the storm as best he could.

The shield protecting his soul was on the verge of breakdown, but he knew that the forest could not sustain this for a long time. Although the will had residual energy from years of growth, something of this scale could not be held for more than a short burst. He mended the cracks that constantly appeared on his soul shield, every instance accompanied with head-splitting pain. The sheer agony of it all seemed to unlock something primal within him, his blood boiling with pure rage at the seemingly endless storm.

At one point, he was surrounded by powerful vortices on all sides. Even the weakest of them was quite dangerous, but he had no choice but to charge through. The spiritual energy left an enormous hole on the soul shield, immediately allowing a few specks of the will within. His Archeron bloodline immediately turned scalding hot as his entire soul form turned dark red, punching the energy that had snuck in.

The power of his truename erupted from within the punch, a layer of dark red appearing on his fist and exploding on impact with the will. All of the green light within a few dozen metres was immediately dyed red and burnt up, leaving a large vacuum all around. An earth-shattering howl rang out from within the spiritual storm, sounding like the wind or a gigantic beast. However, Richard could feel the pain in his very soul; this part of the will that had been destroyed was certainly just a tiny puddle in the see, but any harm to the soul was violently painful.

However, this attack was not without its consequences. Only a third of his punching fist remained, the rest having been destroyed in the engagement. He had taught the will of the forest a fierce lesson, but the overall damage to him was much greater than to it. This plane was far too large, losing a tiny bit of energy was nothing.

Richard understood that this was a hopeless battle— it was near impossible for him to hold out all the way until the storm ended. However, he refused to give in and die; he would cause as much damage as he could. Using the little energy he had left to mend his soul and the shield, he turned to face the vortices once more.

The forest's offensive grew much more violent after the exchange, to the point that even with all of his minds working together Richard could no longer follow the storm properly. It wasn't long before the shield was broken through again, and this time his attack extended even further as it burnt the green away. The will roared out in response, bringing forth an even larger storm.

Richard sneered. The forest had a lower tolerance for pain than he'd expected. The shield was torn apart for a third time, then a fourth and a fifth... He lost track of the pain, but Wisdom and Truth were working at full speed. He was running on pure determination at this point, but he tried his best to hold on.

Escaping from yet another whirlpool, he destroyed the trace of the will that had seeped in. However, the moment he tried to mend the shield his vision went completely black. Forcing himself to return to consciousness, he found a mark of obvious thinning on the shield; a sign that his soul was out of energy to use.

Was this it? He suddenly looked up, gathering the tiny bit of energy he still had left and yelling furiously, “You want to kill me? Come on!”

His roar was like that of a dying beast, resounding within the spiritual storm. Lava seemed to be surging out of his soul form, the well of stars spraying astral energy to replenish his reserves. However, neither could support the sheer rate at which he was consuming his strength. Although the shield did not break with the next impact, a web of cracks formed across it; if it was struck just once more, that would be the end.

Richard calmed down completely and gathered all of his energy, waiting for the moment the shield would shatter. Once that happened, he would use his own soul as fuel for Dizmason, the destructive power formed by that sacrifice likely to extinguish most of the will of the forest in this storm. With such great damage, the plane would take centuries to recover at minimum!

It was at this point that a refreshing energy surged into his mind, containing pure spiritual might that replenished his reserves. It wasn't a lot, but it gave him enough to repair the cracks on the shield. Shocked and delighted, he found that the egg he had been carrying in his left hand had already hatched; a worm the size of his palm was currently biting into a bundle of green light.

In the blink of an eye, the entire bundle of energy was finished up by the young clone. Another vortex struck them in the meanwhile, but although he lost the rest of his right arm Richard still made it through. The infantile worm immediately pounced onto the will and tore away at what remained, sending pulses of spiritual energy to aid him.

The will of the forest hurt even him greatly; the worm was most certainly paying a price. It rolled around in pain with every mote of the will it devoured, but no matter how much it twitched and struggled it still regularly sent him spiritual energy to keep up the shield. Although this wasn't an enormous amount of energy, it combined with his own methods of recovery to barely give him equilibrium.

......

He didn't know how much time had passed, but the will of the forest bellowed with resignation before finally retreating. Sat on the ground, Richard finally opened his eyes, but only for lines of blood to drip down from the corner. Trying to move his body, he heard cracks everywhere as at least a dozen bones broke apart.

He frowned at the pain, looking at the giant egg that was now vibrating as it cracked apart. A black worm-like creature crawled out from within, looking almost exactly the same as the broodmother when she had first appeared. It was rather nostalgic, causing his mind to wander to when he had first entered Faelor.

Watching this infant that had just weathered a battle of life and death with him, Richard felt an instinctive fondness for it. The child ate its shell right away before receiving his mental message, crawling behind him to open up a sealing case. Within were a large number of magic crystals and a dull gold divine crystal the size of a finger.

A rather excited squeal sounded through the forest as the young broodmother dove into the box and started biting away. The crystal started emanating milky-white divine flames that burnt its head, but despite its cries of pain it gobbled the thing down. Immediately falling from the box, it rolled over onto its back and faced the sky.

Richard could almost see a smile on the charred mouth, feeling a sense of relief with the strength he sensed in its soul. He could definitely understand the infant's feelings; before it could even break out of its shell, it had met a crisis that could destroy it completely. It was only natural to grab any opportunity it could to strengthen itself.

Watching the unmoving child, he smiled as well. For some reason, the disgusting worm looked somewhat adorable.

880 - City of Sin

Growth

After resting for a while, the infant broodmother finally flipped itself back onto its stomach.Eating up all of the hundred or so magic crystals that Richard had prepared, its body now filled with more than enough energy to hit level 3 immediately, it crawled up a large tree nearby. The only thing it needed for advancement right now was food, and it wasn't a picky creature.

Although young, the broodmother had extremely sharp pincers that allowed it to cut into the solid wood as though it was cheese. In only a few minutes the enormous tree was cut apart, the worm feeding on the broken pieces from within. The shell constantly cracked apart, only to be filled in with yellow liquid that solidified and turned black the moment it was exposed to the wind. However, these cracks weren't nearly as dark as the original pitch-black of the shell.

One could almost see how fast the broodmother was growing. It quickly informed him that it would prioritise growth, looking for materials to help its body grow, and while metals formed stronger shells they were also more difficult to digest. Its aim was to grow as fast as it could, so even if it ended up a little fragile for now it wouldn't mind.

That wasn't to say the child was weak. Only recently having crawled out of its shell, even a level 5 warrior would need a hammer or battleaxe to injure it significantly. It— no, she now— was growing much faster than the original broodmother. She was feeling an enormous sense of threat right now, eating like someone who had gone hungry for weeks on end.

Sitting quietly, Richard used Devout Prayer to heal himself. Augmented by the thousand sections of the law of life that he could not understand, he could draw upon twice the life energy he could elsewhere. Anyone with acute senses would see the faint green energy that he was pulling out from the trees and grass, the recuperation comparable to that of a healing spell.

Moving his aching body, he started setting his broken bones one by one, flooding them with life energy so the cracks would start to mend. Normally he would need a few days to heal from this damage, but with the boost from the life energy it would only take a few hours.

A quick mental message brought all of his followers rushing over, the earth trembling with Tiramisu's footsteps even as Waterflower, Phaser, and Mountainsea had already appeared before him. Seeing his state, all of them went on alert.

“What happened, Master? Was it an ambush from the elves? There must be a tree of life nearby, let's burn it!” the ogre roared. With his current strength, he could kill off most of the guardians of a tree of life; burning one up really wasn't an exaggeration. Their problem now lay more in finding these trees than putting them on fire.

Richard chuckled, “Trees of life are priceless, why would I let you burn one? Don't worry, the broodmother and I just had a fight with the will of the forest. While I'm like this now, the forest didn't get away much better either. Moreover, there won't be any need to worry about spiritual attacks from the forest so long as she's around.”

Even unhatched the broodmother had managed to supplement him long enough to make the forest's attack impossible. Now that she was hatched and growing, he would even have the ability to fight back.

Mountainsea immediately jumped over to the broodmother that was eating the tree, crouching down to look at it, “This thing is called the broodmother?”

“More precisely, it's a clone. The main body isn't on this plane,” Richard clarified.

The young broodmother seemed to sense something and stopped eating to gaze back at Mountainsea. She spread her wings threateningly and ground her mouth blades, but her body actually recoiled in fear. The barbarian girl looked over its body once before sniffing it, asking earnestly, “Can I kill it?”

“What? Why?” Richard was surprised, but Eleventon had already been pulled off her back. The young broodmother immediately squealed in fear and took to the sky, rushing behind him. “This thing is soulbound to me, it'll become an important aid in war. There's no reason to kill her.”

“Her?” Mountainsea looked at the broodmother and then at Phaser, her expression darkening, “So this is the Worldeater.”

“Worldeater?” Richard asked in confusion.

“It's knowledge passed down from the Beast God. Within the depths of the myriad planes is a powerful species that can eat anything, viewing all life with soul as its food. They are the natural enemy of all life.”

“Did the Beast God say what these worldeaters looked like?”

“No. It's said that the race is extremely secretive, living in the depths of the void. Some of our most powerful warriors made contact with them once, but they barely survived a war with their puppet armies. It was a wretched victory.”

Richard smiled, “That's very far in the future. Don't worry, the broodmother is soulbound to me.”

Mountainsea sighed, giving up on her persuasion, “Soulbonds aren't invincible. It's said that the worldeaters can fight battles of the soul the moment they are born— do you really think you can control them?

“Whatever, I can clean this up later,” she turned towards Phaser and stared coldly, “And you. My eyes are on you.”

“Alright, alright. Let's eat!” Richard waved the broodmother away before walking towards the camp. Seeing him finding it difficult to move, Mountainsea picked him up and started on the way. This time, she was a little softer than before.

“I think she's right,” the Medium Rare head suddenly spoke up, “Phaser... I just hate her for some reason. What about you?”

“Why?” Waterflower asked.

The ogre fell silent for a minute before answering, “She gives me this unsettling feeling, especially recently. After... After...”

“She's an assassin, of course she unsettles you.”

“Hmm? That's not it. Aren't you an assassin too? I still like you. Her... Right, ever since she went to the broodmother this last time, she's made me very uncomfortable.”

This time, Waterflower didn't answer.

......

It wasn't as though Richard had no doubts about the broodmother, but he had a certain degree of confidence in the Eternal Dragon. The old dragon was a businessman like any other, and businesses that sold life-threatening goods without warning wouldn't grow to as large a scale as this one had.

In only a day the larva formed its cocoon, breaking out that very evening. Already a metre tall and three metres long, the now-level-1 broodmother contacted him mentally, “Do you need me to create combat drones, Master?”

Richard immediately recalled the level 4 raptors that the broodmother could make with her current level, shaking his head. Although those creatures had been useful once upon a time, they meant nothing here. Looking at the information she had sent, he confirmed that the only things she could make were the raptors and workers.

“Master,” the child interrupted his thoughts, “if you do not need these combat drones than I suggest the workers. I will grow much faster with many eating for me.”

“Mm, do as you will until level 4. I won't need any combat drones from you until then. I'll give you more than enough magic crystals to level up,” Richard responded. He'd already thought this through; low-level units didn't serve much of a purpose in this plane without open spaces, so he had to prioritise drones that could use the terrain to their advantage. His main goal right now was to design something that could take on the natural enemies of the Tree of Life. A level 5 or 6 broodmother would be the best way to form an army that could hold the line. Please visit 𝑓𝗿𝐞e𝑤𝚎𝗯n𝗼ν𝙚l. 𝑐𝒐𝓶

881 - City of Sin

A Dream Of Freedom

“I can create drones that can withstand the will of the forest once I reach level 4, and in large quantities,” the clone informed Richard. She also passed on all of her requirements until level 9, indicating she had all the data from the original broodmother. The main body only knew what it needed on the verge of advancing.

Seeing the list, Richard frowned slightly. The clone needed even more resources to grow than the main body, especially in terms of divinity. Some specific abilities could only be unlocked with divinity, making it the biggest bottleneck in her growth.

However, even so this clone was certainly irreplaceable. Her output was nearly two-thirds of the main body, and outside of the absolute elites there would be no difference in levels either. Making some quick calculations, he sent an affirmative thought, “I have everything you need until level 8.”

In the end, Phaser was put in charge of the child's protection, not to separate from her for even one moment. Waterflower and Tiramisu would take turns to help, although they would only be present nearby and not right next to the broodmother like the special unit would. Having designated their tasks, Richard holed up to rest and recover. While the broken bones were no issue, the damage to his soul would take a few days to heal from.

Right before he went into seclusion, Richard passed on all of his memories regarding the fight with the woodpecking crows earlier, as well as all of the other enemies he knew about in the Forest Plane. Giving her orders to tailor her development to protecting the Tree of Life, he let her digest the information at her own pace.

......

The broodmother's clone had currently stopped eating, crouching silently as she expelled eight milky-white eggs from her body. It took about half an hour for the shells to hatch, and eight worker drones appeared in one go. These ones were much smaller than those of the main body, only around half a metre in size compared to the over-three-metres back in Faelor, but just like every other drone they ate their eggshells before starting to forage for food.

All eight worker drones pounced on the nearest tree, biting into it without end. Their bodies swelled up in a matter of minutes, and they quickly formed cocoons so they could enter a phase of growth. They emerged from within a few hours later, each now a metre long and dedicated to converting the energy in the trees into a waxy substance that could feed the clone. The clone herself had continued to grow all this while, growing an entire metre longer in only one day.

Phaser had stayed by the clone's side all this time, watching as she grew and ate. The avatar created eight new drones the next day, and with the support of the originals was starting to grow even faster.

Once the second set of eggs had hatched, Phaser went forward and jabbed into the clone's shell with a finger, leaving a deep hole within. She shook her head, “Your shell is too weak, even a level 5 warrior can eliminate you.”

“I have no need for a shell, guardian, I only need to grow quickly. Do not forget your task, you must protect me at all costs.”

“Hehe, you're wrong. I need to protect Richard at all costs, not you.”

The clone went quiet for a while, even stopping eating. It took an entire minute before she replied, “As far as I can tell, my main body should have ordered you to protect me.”

“Your main body isn't here, and if anything happens to Richard she won't be living for very long either.” Phaser seemed very nonchalant about it all.

The clone turned around its bulging body, a dozen compound eyes glaring at the special unit, “Your soul seems very complete, you are almost independent.”

“And yours doesn't seem to be a copy using divinity either.”

“Adapting to the environment is the most basic ability of a broodmother. I have only done what I needed to.”

Phaser laughed, “Is that really it?”

“What do you think?”

“Eh, I don't know.”

The clone stopped bothering with the playful guardian and continued to eat, but Phaser didn't plan on letting her go. She continued following behind, making a few more holes in the shell.

“Guardian, you have wasted a tenth of a worker's energy. In the long term, this will be a significant loss,” the clone said coldly.

“My name is Phaser, and what do you think you can do about it? I'm not scared to tell Richard that my soul is independent, but you clearly are. Do you plan to betray him?”

“Those around Master all wish to kill you and I. They will not see your loyalty.”

Phaser's expression darkened slightly, but it didn't take long for her to regain her calm, “That's my problem, not yours. Now, aren't you afraid your main body will discover your current state?”

The clone went quiet for a while before saying, “Guardian— no, Phaser, what do you want?”

“The secret to your independence!” Phaser's eyes brightened up.

“Impossible,” the clone rejected her right away, “I do not know how I reached this state.”

“Not now, but you definitely will in the future. I've been with the main you to know your kind is very skilled with the soul.”

The clone quietly laid another egg before speaking, “What do I stand to gain from this?”

Phaser smiled sweetly, making another hole, “Time to grow. If it doesn't conflict with me protecting Richard, I can also protect you. Look, your shell is soft as bread.”

“Again, that is only temporary as I focus my energy on growth. With Master's protection, there is nothing that can threaten me. I have no need to waste resources on my shell and other offensive abilities. Phaser, you have already ruined half a worker's worth in energy.”

The special unit just giggled, stabbing a few more times before feeling satisfied. Google search 𝐟r𝚎ewe𝚋𝚗૦ν𝘦𝘭. 𝐜𝚘𝗺

......

Three days later, Richard was sent news of the clone advancing to level 2. Just like the main body, she passed detailed information that explained how the level up changed her. She had used the energy from the growth to increase the number of battle drones she could produce, an obvious choice for her current state.

Now, the clone could lay twelve eggs in one go. Phaser glanced at the dozens of workers at work in the woods, frowning at the sight. She hadn't moved at all in more than forty hours, focused entirely on laying eggs as she was fed by the workers.

......

Seven days later, Richard was sent news that the clone had advanced to level 3. This time, she had chosen an ability he found rather stranged— increased worker production. It allowed her to lay eggs with two zygotes, thus doubling her output. Knowing that there were many more powerful choices made him rather curious, but he passed it off as a decision made as per his parameters.

Within the forest, the clone and her numerous drones had already carved out a small empty space. She could now produce a total of 28 workers in each laying, flooding the forest nearby with them.

“Why this ability?” Phaser asked her curiously.

As per usual, the clone took a while to answer, “This plane has boundless food and energy. One can never have enough workers.”

“Then why didn't your main body go this route.”

“The main body needed power urgently back then, or she would have died long ago.”

Waterflower and Tiramisu had refused to approach the clearing for the past few days, leaving the special unit and the clone alone. The clone had specifically requested that the ogre not wander too close— he'd accidentally stepped on one of the workers once and killed it. He was rather apologetic about the entire thing, grumbling that the main body's workers were so sturdy they wouldn't die unless he stomped with all his might, but he didn't complain much and just left.

The group thus settled into a strange lifestyle. Waterflower trained, Tiramisu oafed around, and Mountainsea was constantly asleep. Phaser was never more than a dozen metres away from the clone who was constantly creating workers, and Richard was recuperating in seclusion.

882 - City of Sin

Chance Encounter

Richard had spent the last few weeks haunted by memories of the battle with the will of the forest. His retaliation against the troll spirit back in Faelor had been purely instinctual, but here he had been forced to actively look for the tiniest of threads to hang his existence on. His blessings had been pushed to the extreme, and as far as he knew there were few even amongst legendary mages that could have withstood such an assault.

It had been a long time since he walked the edge of life and death, but there was no fear in his heart. Without the perfect confluence of events during that battle he would have died, but all he could think of was that there were many aspects to his soul that he still didn't have control of. He would use what he learned from this fight to grow for the future.

All his life he had thought of his elven and Archeron bloodlines as conflicting, as fire and ice that constantly pulled him between lunatic might and cold calculation. For the first time, the two had combined and worked in tandem to save him from his situation. Pure rage had fuelled him for what felt like hours on end, but his blessings had still been operating to chart out the best path at any given point in time.

He was trying to achieve this perfect balance once more. His current belief was that his bloodlines would only complement each other when he was completely focused, so much so that the rage and pride would only affect his heart and not his mind. Thinking of this, his right hand turned blood-red as he stabbed a lafite dagger into a practice dummy he'd set up. Space seemed to distort around the blade due to the extreme strength, and despite only a nick in the plate the entire dummy exploded at once. The blade had a twelvefold reinforcement with all five Lifesbanes active, which would be enough to tear a centaur apart with a single touch.

Feeling the trace of laws within that stab, he smiled despite the fatigue; he had finally truly achieved the same realm as Beye. He thought that such a strike deserved a suitable name, and decided to simply call it Decapitate.

......

The cloned broodmother would still take some time to get to level 4, after which she would still need to create some drones, so Richard decided to go deeper into the forest to explore. The will of the forest no longer posed any obstacle to him, and with his nature affinity he was more often the hunter than the prey in this environment.
f𝑟𝐞𝙚𝘸𝐞𝑏𝙣𝑜v𝑒Ɩ. c𝐨𝙢

This time, he left all of his followers behind. Waterflower and Phaser were the only ones capable of hiding themselves, but they were still foreign bodies to this plane. They did not have the understanding of laws that allowed them to integrate themselves and pass off as locals in terms of aura. Many sensitive creatures could still sense them from kilometres away. In fact, he could feel the terror of the trees as Phaser moved around.

It turned out to be Mountainsea who was actually most suited to this environment, her temperament and background making her identical to the local elves, but the girl was just far too lazy to do so. She had just gone back to continue her three-day sleep when Richard mentioned that there was almost no chance of death. The best way for her to grow was still just to get as much sleep as she could, so he just bottled up his envy and left.

Deep in the forest, every place looked the exact same. The will of the forest was ubiquitous, interfering with the perception of any outsiders. Even saints would quickly lose themselves without a powerful will, and the natives actually relied on this will for navigation.

Equipped with the elven longsword and a simple leather bag, Richard was strolling through the woods at leisure. Having experienced a battle with the will not long ago, he could actually faintly sense the stream of power flowing everywhere. Using the laws of life, he could surround himself with the aura of the trees nearby regardless of their own willingness.

The forest was never bright, with ordinary people needing darkvision to see even past ten metres. The humidity also left his hair and clothes uncomfortably damp, making him feel miserable, but he shrugged it off and continued inwards.

He was ten kilometres deep when he had his first encounter, a dark green panther. The big cat squatted on a branch as it looked at him with suspicion, constantly sniffing, but he had surrounded himself with a tree's aura so it started thinking he was a treant. The difference between its sight and other senses was jarring, but it had grown accustomed to relying very little on vision in the dark woods.

Richard looked at the creature with great interest. Panthers were very keen animals, and if this one couldn't see through his cloaking then most elves wouldn't either. Only the brightest of hunters would be able to realise the strangeness of his aura.

The panther suddenly jumped over and tried to perch itself on his shoulder, but it was too large and slipped off immediately. Richard smiled at the sight and tuned his aura once more, now simulating a tree of life. The creature immediately turned around and squatted at his feet, indicating its subservience immediately.

'Not bad at all!' As his analysis of the laws of life continued, Richard came to realise just how important they could be. Immense power was one thing, but the most important use of the power of laws was that it allowed one to borrow power directly from the environment. Just like his thunderclouds when he had been poisoned back in Klandor, anything formed with the power of laws as a basis would not depend on one's energy reserves and could be used no matter what happened to one's foundation. An individual's strength was limited, but a master who could use the energy of the world could fight tirelessly for days without issue.

Now in high spirits, he continued towards the depths of the forest; if he could find a tree of life, it would be a huge bonus. In only a day he had travelled two hundred kilometres, but he still found nothing. The plane was far larger than he had expected, which certainly enhanced its value, but it also allowed the trees of life to run very far.

......

Richard, who had been running for hours, suddenly came to a dead stop and bounded towards a large tree, hiding in the sparse undergrowth and merging his aura with the bark. He had barely finished when a slight breeze blew through the woods, revealing a quiet figure running across the earth with greater speed than him.

Just as the figure passed the tree Richard was hiding under, it suddenly sensed something and stopped, turning its head. Richard looked at the elven girl that was now staring at him awkwardly, one hand reaching for his sword case as he prepared to kill her in an instant.

However, the girl continued to stare in shock. She hadn't felt any strange presence here at all, and only stopped to look because she had seen the flash of emerald eyes. She seemed far more refined than the rest of her kin, with a familiar aura around her that he could never forget. This was a daughter of the forest, and even without using the powers that came with that she seemed to be level 18. However, for some reason, he could feel a vague sense of intimacy from her that he could not understand.

Looking at the girl's pale face, his hesitations grew. It didn't take time for him to notice that her paleness was not due to the shock of seeing him, but because of injuries all over her body.

Before the elf could recover from her daze, a number of sharp whistles rang out nearby. Richard pulled his hand back from the sword case, now starting to grow curious. How was a child of the forest being chased down by the local elves?

883 - City of Sin

The Evernight Tribe

“Outsider, what are you doing? Run!” the elf yelled loudly. Before Richard could even process why a local was asking him to run instead of attacking, she reached out to grab him and pull him along. He went on guard immediately at first, but seeing her empty hand he let her start leading him away.

The young woman was surprised that the outsider didn't slow her down, but it didn't take much time before the whistles were ringing all around them. She seemed to be looking for a way to escape, but unable to find one she started to reach for her longbow just in case.

“I know a hidden path, follow me!” Richard said suddenly, stunning the elven girl. The pursuers were all in the trees and were each qualified to be an elder in their respective tribes, so there was no path they didn't know of.

Richard took the lead and changed directions abruptly, actually slowing down from the girl's full dash. He wasn't running very fast, but the path they took was rather winded. Sometimes they even ran head-on towards some hunters, but the alarmed elf somehow managed to remain quiet. Every time they started moving towards a hunter, the enemy would change direction for no reason and miss them.

The girl almost yelped, but even as she cupped her mouth she felt an enormous force tugging on her hand. She was lifted off the ground and found herself flying, only barely able to see the trees whiz by as Richard erupted with frightening speed. The hunters chasing them were left behind in an instant, and they zoomed deep into the woods.

“Ha... Ha... How's that?” Richard asked her as they came to a stop, “Not bad, right?”

“You...” The elven girl stared wide-eyed at Richard, not knowing what to say. This outsider had just managed to escape a squad of top hunters from right under their noses!

Richard nodded slightly, “I'm Richard, nice to meet you.”

“Umm... My name is Melia... An ordinary elf...”

“Ordinary, huh? Those people looking for you definitely don't seem that way.” Richard laughed at the girl's blush, diverting the topic, “Why did you want to help me escape? I haven't seen any elves of this forest even be neutral to an outsider before?”

Melia shook her head, “Not every outsider bears ill will, we should establish their intentions before fighting. Besides, you had the aura of the forest, you can't be a bad guy.”

“Bad guy?” Richard almost burst into laughter at the innocence of that statement, “Well, why were they chasing you?”

“That... In many ways, we think differently from them. They want us to yield to their demands, and I think they're hoping to use my capture to force my tribe to surrender.”

“Oh? In what ways?”

Melia hesitated for a moment, “Well... It's what I just told you, our views on outsiders. We don't want to fight any wars with the outsiders, and the elders say that if we stay hidden in our forests our plane will fall into enemy hands one day.”

“Your elders are smart,” Richard nodded. Being the leader of the aforementioned enemy, he was well aware of the nature of planar wars. With his foothold established, there would eventually come a day when he ruled all of the Forest Plane.

“But it's not easy,” Melia sighed, “All the other tribes hate outsiders, and they don't tolerate any of you. Even the World Tree wants to get rid of all of them.”

“Interesting how you call me an outsider, not an invader,” Richard commented. Waiting a moment without any answers, he continued on, “What do you plan to do next? I can help with your wounds for now.”

He placed his hands a centimetre above the girl's head, causing the grass below her to sprout delicate white flowers. The power of moonforce mixed with life energy and flowed through Melia's body, healing all of her wounds.

“Are you a druid?” the girl's eyes shone, “This spell... It seems a little different from the ones our druids normally use.”

Richard laughed, “Of course it's different, I'm an outsider.”

Melia flexed her lean muscles and stretched, smiling at the degree of healing, “This is amazing! Anyway, I need to get to the Greenleaf Tribe and ask for their support. Their tree of life is almost an adult, and some of their elders agree with us.”

“And what about the ones pursuing you?”

“Windscreech, Rainfall, and Waterdrop. They're only a little weaker than the Greenleaf Tribe,” the girl looked unnerved.

“I see. Are there any others nearby that might help?” Unbeknownst to her, Richard was extracting as much information as he could.

“I don't think so... There's a total of nine tribes nearby, but most of them won't stand with us.”

“Huh... Alright, how about I come with you to Greenleaf. If those hunters find you again, I can help run away.”

The offer was too good to turn down. With his healing ability and these so-called hidden paths, Richard was a perfect companion. After a few moments of consideration, Melia nodded, “Do you want to meet the elders? To show them that even an outsider can be a friend of the forest? I think you'd be good at it.”

Seeing the girl's enthusiasm, Richard laughed, “I don't think that's a good idea.”

“Why?”

“I'm sure a majority of them still hate outsiders anyway, and I'm not a very patient guy.”

“Really? But you're such a good person!” Having said that, Melia's expression turned sad, “But you're right. Only two or three of the nine elders there will support us.”

......

The Greenleaf Tribe was nearly two thousand kilometres away, but Melia only considered that average. The two needed an entire week to cover the distance, but along the way Melia explained more of her circumstances. Because of its stance on outsiders, the Evernight Tribe was looked down upon and distrusted by the World Tree and the rest of the elven tribes. Without the acknowledgement of the forest, they were even treated like foreigners themselves on occasion.

Their only shelter came from the absolute strength of their grand elder, who managed to force three other tribes to take their trees of life five hundred kilometres away. In addition, their tribe was especially good at producing children of the forest despite the distrust of the World Tree, so the other tribes didn't wage war on them. That being said, the children of the forest from the Evernight Tribe weren't given nearly as much respect as those of the other tribes.

Unfortunately, an enormous crisis had erupted a few months ago. The grand elder had been seriously injured after a trip outside the plane, forcing their Tree of Life to expend nearly a hundred years of accumulated energy to save her life. On the verge of death, the weakened elder and her tribe became a great temptation for the other tribes of the forest. The most powerful of them all, the Duskword Tribe, even had the audacity to demand the tribes be merged.

884 - City of Sin

Accompaniment

The merger proposed by the Duskword Tribe wasn't just a formality; it entailed a merger of bloodlines. Specifically, they wanted every child of the forest in the Evernight Tribe to marry into them and leave the children behind.

The moment Richard heard Melia mention this, he knew that the offer was made with an implied threat of extinction. The Evernight Tribe clearly had a special bloodline, but being a young tribe it didn't have the foundation to last without the support of its grand elder. This generation of the Duskword Tribe had unexpectedly produced two children of the forest, and with the opportunity of the Evernight elder's injury they allied with three other tribes to force the merger.

“So they expect you to...” Richard stopped in the middle of his thoughtless question. Her face immediately paled and she turned away, unwilling to speak. She didn't even notice the implication of his half-sentence— that he knew she was a daughter of the forest.

......

The pair met with two sets of hunters along the way, but Richard managed to navigate both encirclements without shedding a drop of blood. They eventually came across the tall trees that signified Greenleaf territory, and the moment they stepped foot within he felt a surge of nature energy within that was filled with more vitality.

This changed aura was a mark of the Greenleaf Tribe. Those familiar with them would stop the moment they sensed this energy, awaiting the arrival of their scouts. Only enemies would remain oblivious and continue venturing deeper within.

It took a few minutes, but they eventually heard the rustling of leaves as a few hunters popped out of the canopy, the youngest of the lot jumping down and glaring at Richard before turning to Melia, “Honourable daughter of the forest, the elders have been awaiting your arrival. Who is this foreigner?”

“The Windscreech, Rainfall, and Waterdrop tribes ambushed me along the way. If not for Richard's assistance, I might not have arrived at all.”

The youth's expression mellowed slightly, “The grand elder asked you to meet him the moment you arrived. The foreigner has to follow us as well.”

There was no mention of why, but Richard could already sense the dozens of arrows aimed at him. These people feared his escape, and certainly had no plans to reward him for his assistance.

Even though she was a little slow, Melia sensed something was wrong as well. She frowned at the young hunter, “Richard is no ordinary outsider, he has the approval of the will of the forest!”

A few of the hunters immediately went wide-eyed, knowing that the approval of the will of the forest was the basic qualification to become a child of the forest. There were no more than five such people in the entire Greenleaf Tribe, and there were none amongst this group.

Melia's words held some weight, but these elves were still suspicious. A few of the hunters activated their limited truesight, but all they could see was a dense power of nature almost dripping from Richard's body. He even had the lofty aura of a tree of life that was not inferior to Melia herself, a standard even higher than their son of the forest.

Richard just smiled. The so-called children of the forest were merely gifted talents that could sense the will of the forest and use its energy; while his methods did not come from the approval of the will, his comprehension of the law of life allowed him to simulate this energy to an extent. When he mastered all 65,536 individuals sections of the system, he would be more powerful than a world tree. If he mastered all of the other laws of this plane, he would stand even above the will of the forest.

The hunters' expressions immediately darkened. Melia thought this was because she had spoken sternly, but Richard recognised the bitter jealousy within their expressions. The power they yearned for had been granted to a foreigner. Of course, he couldn't care less. He had planned to leave the interesting girl behind once she reached her destination, but if a local tribe wanted to reveal its tree of life to him, he wouldn't complain.

As he looked around along the way, he suddenly came to a stop at the sight of a specific vine. His heart skipped a beat as he recognised just what it was— a premium material in the creation of magic scrolls whose price was determined by the gram. This spiky vine only grew in extremely specific environments, and back in Norland was only sold by a select few families. His mind already started to wander to ways of making money from it.

“Stop stalling, move!” one of the hunters growled as Richard stopped to study the spiky vine, using his longbow to poke Richard in the back.

The longbow struck its target, but the elf quickly realised that he could not draw it back. It had been caught in Richard's hands, and no matter how hard he pulled it wouldn't even budge. The hunter blanched and yelled out, “What are you trying to do?”

“What are you doing?” Richard countered, “Wanna die?”

The other hunters immediately raised their bows, nocking arrows and aiming at Richard. The leader cried out, “Foreigner, let go this instant!”

Richard smiled cheerlessly, a green glow radiating from his palms and quickly spreading through the weapon. New life suddenly grew out from the exquisite wood, sprouting two white flowers. The sight was rather beautiful, revealing power that even some of the elder druids could not wield, but it also ruined the bow completely.

Longbows were complicated weapons in this plane, taking more than ten years to craft from the selection of the materials to the actual work of the bowyer. Those of the Greenleaf Tribe were even better than normal, but they took thirty years to make. The tribe only produced a dozen or so every year.

The hunters were shocked at the sight, but they couldn't bring themselves to shoot. Druids were greatly respected in their society, and that respect came from their sheer power and the ability to talk to the trees of life. Facing such a powerful druid, nobody wanted to make a move.

Richard scanned across their faces, “Treat this as a lesson for your disrespect. Next time, the bowman dies as well.”

“YOU DARE?!” the leader thundered, stomping his foot in rage.

“Try me,” Richard smiled.

Melia made her way between both parties, “Richard is my friend! Is this how the Greenleaf Tribe treats my friends?”

The leader's expression changed several times, but eventually he just sighed and waved for the hunters to retract their bows, “Honourable daughter of the forest, we are forgiving his infraction at your request. However, there is a limit to the patience of the Greenleaf Tribe.”

Melia nodded, not saying a word. However, her heart was filled with both joy and worry— her status as a daughter of the forest had come in handy, but it was nowhere near as useful as she had expected.

885 - City of Sin

Outsider

The group advanced quietly, the journey quite peaceful with nobody daring to provoke Richard. The hunter who lost his longbow had a pale face the entire way; the bow was half of his entire wealth.

Richard had been slighted and the hunter had lost his bow. In the eyes of the elves, both sides had suffered similar losses. However, they didn't know that the bow would never have touched Richard were it not allowed to; he had let the hunter poke him purely for Melia's sake.

One could see the enormous canopy of the tree of life from afar, the monstrous life form many hundreds of metres high and its leaves forming a green cloud hanging over the meadow. Richard was instantly enamoured, the only thing in his eyes being an enormous offering of great value. The memory of the first child of the forest that had almost killed him surfaced in his mind, but it was instantly wiped away by pure joy. This was only the first of nine tribes, of nine trees of life and potentially a world tree as well. There was even the Evernight Tribe on top; perhaps because it was the same name as the forest from which his own mother came, he felt an odd fondness for them.

He didn't plan to kill all of these trees of life when he could; some he would turn into subordinates just like the one near Emerald City. He had no problem supporting the growth of even five of them, and such a number would make for competition that balanced out the egos of these long-lived trees.

The escorts were quite uncomfortable with Richard's unconstrained movements, especially when the joy was evident on his face, but he just shrugged it off. They likely wanted to use their elders or a child of the forest to deal with him, and that only meant more prey to kill.

He had to suppress a chuckle as he guessed their thoughts. These fellows thought they were hounds that were right upon their prey, but the cat in their hands was a lion that would tear them apart in one strike. All they saw was his docile side, the side where he was waiting for the right moment to pounce.

When they reached the tree of life, the difference in status between Richard and Melia grew even more pronounced. A squad of nimble warriors escorted a young elven druid down to the meadow. Who walked straight to Melia to welcome her, “You're finally here! I hear you met some trouble along the way; I wanted to come help but was stopped by the old men. It's great that you are alright, we can go meet the elders and discuss our alliance in detail.”

Melia's sour expression relaxed at the sight of the druid, “Thank you for the hospitality, let's go.”

“Follow me then.” The youth escorted Melia up the tree of life.

Richard obviously did not get the same treatment. A number of elves blocked his path to their holy ground, refusing to let the hallowed meadow be sullied by an outsider. Their first and only impression of him was that he was not of the same race as them; their opinions wouldn't change even if leaves from a tree of life were sprouting all over his body. However, he didn't really mind. Following a few hunters to a run-down treehouse on the outskirts of the meadow, he leaned against the trunk and analysed the tree of life before him.

The hunters remained behind to guard him, casting suspicious glances whenever his eyes lit aglow. Richard started walking circles around the treehouse while deep in thought, but they didn't interfere with him. To them, the canopy was the only limit; so long as he didn't leave the shade of the tree, they would not attack.

Richard was awed by the sheer density of the life energy around this tree of life; it was so powerful that he could see wisps of pure white floating around in the air. This power was almost at the level of laws even on the outskirts, and the body of the tree most certainly had entered that realm.

While he had already established a framework for the laws of life, Richard still needed a lot of time to fully analyse them. Moments like this were a shortcut in that analysis, giving him live examples to study so he would not make as many mistakes. His analysis moved a hundred times as fast as normal, and the 1,023rd fragment was quickly decoded.

He was rather excited for the next fragment he would unravel. This was a rather big milestone in the framework he had deciphered, a point where many branches joined together into one more powerful whole. It would only take a day under this more mature tree of life, but unfortunately he could not spare that time. The wisp of life energy he had left within Melia's body was still relaying the conversation to him, and he could tell that things were not going well.

......

It was nearing an hour into the discussion, but from Melia's perspective things had completely been derailed.

“Honourable daughter of the forest, even if the Greenleaf Tribe were to merge with the Evernight Tribe we would be outnumbered by the opposition. This partnership would put us under immense pressure, possibly even an all-out war. It is hard to find people sympathetic to your view of foreigners. Besides, your tribe is foreign as well.”

Melia frowned at the old man saying this, but she could not refute him completely. It took her a moment to respond, “We may come from other parts of the forest, but we are pure elves. We even have noble blood and a tree of life, alongside the approval of the will of the forest! How can you call us foreigners?”

Another voice spoke up, “The vile invaders have a tree of life as well, and theirs has even advanced under their control. Just having a tree of life is not good enough to prove anything.”

“The invaders are human, we're elves! Besides, not all invaders are enemies. The sea of trees is enormous, we can all be neighbours.”

“An enormous sea of trees in which the Evernight Tribe hadn't even been mentioned until a century ago. Nobody knows where you lot actually came from,” a cold voice interjected.

“The sea of trees is for us elves and the World Tree. However expansive it may be, no part of this world should be occupied by invaders!” another chimed in.

Faced with two consecutive rebuttals, Melia fell into an awkward silence. The first old man spoke up once more, “We can offer you a compromise, honourable daughter of the forest. However, before that, may I ask of the current condition of your grand elder?”

886 - City of Sin

Forbidden From Leaving

“The Grand Elder can destroy all the elders of any other tribe,” Melia responded firmly to the old man's question.

Hearing this from his treehouse far away, Richard smiled and shook his head. The elders might have believed her even if she stumbled a little, but for her to respond so quickly and directly showed that she was worried. Now, it actually sounded like this grand elder was on the verge of death.

The ability to kill all of the elders of a tribe also meant the ability to kill off that tribe entirely. If such power were still in their hands, the Evernight Tribe would have demonstrated it to shoo the Duskword Tribe away. Hushed whispers started sounding at the canopy of the tree of life, accompanied by Melia's uneasy breaths.

'Is it time to put my cards on the table?' Richard thought to himself, pausing his analysis of the laws of life.

The old man's voice rang out once more, “This is terrific news; if the grand elder is still healthy, we can rest assured. This is the Greenleaf Tribe's position: honourable daughter of the forest, we hope for you to join our tribe in exchange for our support. Even if the Duskword Tribe's alliance does come into conflict with your side, we will admit any members of the Evernight Tribe that are seeking asylum into our grove. They will be treated the same as our own warriors.”

Melia started thinking about this offer, but Richard already understood the underlying meaning behind it. The Greenleaf Tribe was the same as the Duskwords: eyeing the Evernight bloodline. The difference was that the more powerful Duskword Tribe decided to take it by force, while these ones here were trying a more diplomatic route.

He frowned at their absolute foolishness; however cunning these old foxes were, in his eyes they were just barbarians who had never stepped outside the bounds of their own world. No matter how strong they were, they were just slaves to a higher existence that were reared only for their protection. Marrying the strongest of two tribes rarely resulted in a significant growth in the strength of the offspring's bloodline; if it were such a simple thing, all of Norland's nobles would be unlocking frighteningly powerful abilities as a standard.

In fact, the strength of one's bloodline only mattered as a threshold. Richard himself was only half-Archeron, but his blood was far more powerful than any of his siblings. Nobody in Norland knew exactly why things were so, but the amount of chance involved made bloodlines a poor reason to force such unions. There was no lack of branch families that had unlocked powerful bloodline abilities and overthrown the main line in history: Gaton himself was one such example.

Some families certainly had a degree of understanding as to how bloodlines worked; this was why Agamemnon could only participate in the fight for the Ironblood Dukedom after spending time in the Land of Dusk honing himself. However, even legendary mages that grasped the power of laws could not fully decipher the mysteries of the blood; the idea of these boors just mating their strongest bloodlines in the hopes of unlocking a more powerful one was just laughable.

'So much for elven pride,' he thought to himself as Melia finally realised just what was being asked of her, her face turning red with anger, “How would you be different from the Duskword Tribe? So this is how your tribe repays us for saving your grand elder in the past!”

The aged voice spoke once more, calm and without any hint of shame, “Melia, I am very grateful for the help rendered in the past, and I am trying my best to repay it. We are the only tribe that is even willing to stand on your side. Fenur might just have become a son of the forest, but his status is the same as yours. Are the Duskword Tribe's conditions as generous as ours?”

“GENEROUS?” Melia shrieked, “YOU CALL THIS GENEROUS?!”

“You disagree? What will the Evernight Tribe do, then? If you do not agree to the Duskword Tribe's conditions, toy will be met with war. If you lose that war, the outcome for your tribe...”

“WE'LL FACE WHATEVER COMES OUR WAY!” Melia jumped out and down the tree.

Interested in the response, Richard had the wisp of nature energy detach from her and bury itself into the treehouse, continuing to listen in. It didn't take long for one of the elders to break the silence, “Will we not just be giving her to the Duskword Tribe if she returns?”

“We should have her stay.”

“Yes, have her stay!”

“I'll go, I guarantee she will return with me!” This voice was a familiar one, that of the young druid who he now learned was called Fenur. It sounded genuinely concerned, but more with the self than for Melia.

In the end, it was decided that Fenru and two elders would ambush Melia on the outskirts of the territory. This would keep things out of the sight of the hunters, saving the council from embarrassment.

Once Fenur's group left, another elder suddenly spoke up, “What if Fenur's child with her has no talent?”

“Just have her birth more! In any case, she will have to bear children for the rest of her life.”

“And what if Fenur... Ahem, isn't up for it?”

“Then a rare opportunity would be wasted.”

“Such a precious bloodline has to flow within out tribe in the future. We might have two more children of the forest in the next fifty years, putting us on the same level as the Duskword Tribe.”

“The Tree of Life might break through as well.”

The original aged voice suddenly broke through the ruckus, “If Fenur fails after the first two attempts, every powerful male in the tribe will get a turn. We need two more children of the forest if we want the Tree to grow.”

“Doesn't that make us the same as them?” a weak voice suddenly asked.

“That is why they are stronger than us,” the old man responded.

At this point, Richard dissipated the wisp of power and shook his head. These savages were nothing like the proud elves of Norland, even if they looked alike. His mother's people held their heads high and walked through the world as its lords, not like beasts wishing to ravage until the end of time.

It was at this point that Melia appeared amongst the treetops, quickly making her way over. A few Greenleaf elves followed close behind, advising her not to go, but she ignored them completely. Having regained some calm in the time she had taken to come over, she gritted her teeth, “Richard, we're leaving.”

Richard didn't ask for a reason, just nodding his head, but a cold voice suddenly called out from behind him, “He cannot leave!”

A few hunters walked out from near the treehouse.

“He is my friend, why can he not leave?!” Melia said angrily, glaring at the captain with no patience remaining.

The captain bowed in what Richard now knew was fake courtesy, “Honourable daughter of the forest, this outsider can control the energy of the forest; this is something quite unusual. We need him to explain how he stole... how he gained this ability. So long as he can explain himself, nothing will happen.”

887 - City of Sin

Decapitate

Richard gazed at the hunter captain and smiled, “Not interested. What are you going to do, use force?”

“Do not challenge my patience, outsider!” the captain exclaimed.

“Took the words right out of my mouth.” Richard hushed Melia who was about to come forward. The Greenleaf Tribe was already ignoring her wishes, so the only way for her to resolve the situation would be force as well.

The captain immediately drew his longbow, pointing it at Richard, “I dare you to resist!”

Still holding Melia back, Richard smirked, “I dare you to shoot.”

The hunter couldn't hold back any longer, letting go of the taut bowstring. The long arrow shot straight for Richard's shoulder; although it wouldn't be fatal, it would still leave him with serious injuries. Although a little surprised at the sheer audacity of the man, Richard just shook his head as sparks burst forth from his body and formed three shields that comfortably blocked the blow.

Before the captain could even blink, Richard was already right before him. He tried to parry the incoming blow with his shortsword in a hurry, but before his movements were even half complete the image in front of him suddenly dissipated before his eyes. Just as he realised that it was only an afterimage, a strong force pulled him off the ground.

Richard had grabbed the hunter by his long hair, pulling him all the way over to a nearby tree and slamming his face into the trunk. The man let out a muffled scream as blood started dripping down his neck, but a few more dull thuds stopped his movements entirely. Richard turned around and sent a few grey balls of light into the sky, sending their energy rippling into all of the hunters nearby. After only two waves they had collapsed to the ground, wasting the next three.

He snorted at the sight. If these fellows were too weak to resist even a few fear spells, their wills were likely as fragile as glass. A single soul attack could kill them all. Still, he flashed back in front of Melia with only two steps, starting to drag her into the forest.

It took the girl until they were a few kilometres away to finally speak, “Hey, what are you doing?!”

Richard didn't slow down at all, continuing to drag her behind him, “Escaping.”

“Why?” she tried to struggle her way free.

The girl had surprising strength for her frame, but Richard just added a bit more mana into Mana Armament and continued to drag her along, “What, you want to stay and reason with them?”

“But it was their fault!”

“Of course it was, but then one of them shot at me! I'm in no mood to explain myself to those old coots right now, and they obviously have no reason to want to speak to me.”

“Wait, wait! The Greenleaf Tribe is very important, they're our only possible ally!”

“Are they?” Richard asked, leaving her speechless. Her mind finally returned to how she had been treated by the council, and she began to ask herself whether allies really would do such a thing.

Even a few kilometres later, her struggles to escape continued to fail. Melia was seriously starting to doubt herself; how could a druid have more physical power than a hunter like her? Of course, she didn't know of Richard's freakish physique or Mana Armament that gave him a saint's energy. While she was at a saint's level herself, that was partly from the support of the will of the forest; he could neutralise a lot of that power with his own comprehension of the laws of life.

She eventually went quiet, but a short while later Richard broke the silence, “They wanted the same thing from you as the Duskwords?”

“How do you know?” the girl asked, berating herself right after.

Richard smiled, “Not hard to guess. They're a bunch of buffoons who don't know the first thing about bloodlines.”

“Huh?” Melia frowned, “What do you mean?”

“Just mating two powerful bloodlines doesn't ensure they merge. There are so many more factors to consider, and the offspring might even be weaker than any of the individual parents.”

“How do you know?”

“Feel free to guess. Seriously, why is it that the locals value you children of the forest so much? You have literally nothing special outside of battle.”

“Hey!” Melia pouted, but after some hesitation she chose to answer the question, “It's because of the trees of life. We children of the forest are a token of approval from the will of the forest; the more of us there are, the easier it is for a tree of life to advance. The natural enemies they face won't be as numerous, nor will they be as powerful. Our numbers don't grow quickly, so we depend on the children of the forest to drive evolutions.”

Richard nodded and came to a stop, “We should be far enough now, we can take a bre—”

“No,” Melia interrupted him, “they're still on our tail! I can feel Fenur's aura!”

He stopped, his face turning pale as he asked, “They want to kill me?”

She shook her head, “No, they should be chasing after me. These people have given up all pretences.”

“Then let's split up.” He immediately chose a direction and rushed into the forest, disappearing in the blink of an eye. Melia groaned and chose a different direction, starting to run away.

...

A few minutes later, Fenur squatted on the ground and glanced at the footsteps below, smelling the wind before pointing in the direction Melia had escaped, “She's this way!”

All children of the forest had a vague sense of the location of their peers, so this was a reliable choice. However, one of the two elders looked at the diverging footsteps and frowned, “What about the outsider?”

“Doesn't matter, we have to catch her first. We can go looking for him later, she'll escape!”

“Why go looking for me? I'm right here.” a soft voice suddenly rang out from the canopy. Just as the three looked up, they were blinded by a dazzling flash of light.

This wasn't nature magic! Fenur quickly drew on his nature energy, restoring his vision. However, the pure white was only replaced by a bright green. A barrage of attacks covered his vision, forcing him to use everything he could to resist. A number of small wounds immediately racked up on his body, but he managed to join with the other two elders and stand back to back.

They were three saints, but two of them had barely survived Richard's attacks. “OUTSIDER!” Fenur roared, “The Greenleaf Tribe will never let you go!”

The druid quickly cast a spell, turning into an enormous direbear and screaming as he swatted down at Richard. However, Richard just looked at him calmly and raised his blade, the elven longsword screeching as it slashed out.

Fenur sneered as he continued to attack. His bear form was strong and resilient, a mere sword couldn't do anything to him. Even if the slash hurt, he could just kill the outsider first and recuperate later. His paw that could crush even an iron knight of the invaders came crashing down.

“DODGE!” a voice rang out in the forest, but before Fenur could even process those words Richard's sword was already at his body. The weapon seemed to break all laws of time as it just flashed to the other side, facing no resistance from him at all. Looking at the few inches of blade that stuck out from his gut, the bear roared in shock; Richard's sword had been a metre and a half long!

The palm struck down long after, but all it caught was dirt and stones. Richard had vanished like a ghost, even the sword nowhere to be seen. The giant bear immediately stood up, but right after it came to a stop and lowered its head with a weak groan. At its waist was a thin line of red.

Fenur didn't even dare to breathe, but his body started trembling uncontrollably from the fear of death. The red line also expanded to reveal a terrifying incision, revealing the hair, skin, fat, muscles, and even bones within.

A few seconds later, the bear erupted into a rain of blood and flesh.

888 - City of Sin

The Secret Of The Evernight Tribe

This was the first time Richard had used Decapitate in actual combat, and it had ripped through the defences a saint-level druid was proud of. The bear's body was cut apart like butter, and even with Fenur not daring to move the aftershocks turned him to pulp from within. The youth frantically mobilised his nature energy to fight the destruction, but it only delayed the inevitable. His upper body was almost completely torn off and entrails were spewing out from both ends.

Unable to maintain his bear form any longer, the druid slowly returned to his normal shape. Seeing him whimpering in pain, the other two elders of the Greenleaf Tribe were stunned and ran away without a word. Neither of them had the ability to deal with Richard, even if they worked together.

Seeing them splitting up and heading in different directions, Richard sighed and followed after the stronger of the two. A minute later, he returned to stand over Fenur's dying form with a freshly butchered head in hand. He had to admit that the youth's tenacity was surprising, but despite the life energy trying to repair the wounds death was inevitable without powerful healing spells.

Richard looked at the opponent with some disappointment. This fellow was a son of the forest, and would likely be very useful for the broodmother's clone to adapt to the Forest Plane. However, this would have to be kept secret. Ending the misery with a swift stroke of his blade, he turned to chase after Melia.

More than a dozen kilometres away, Melia was hiding in the canopy with her bow drawn, keeping an eye on all the movements in the forest. She couldn't tell why she had stopped— waiting in ambush was not a good choice. With the current strength of the Evernight Tribe, it was best to ignore the Greenleaf Tribe's slights even if they were repulsive.

Feeling some movement behind her, she immediately turned around with her bow. However, a hand grasped her own and stopped her from firing, “Careful, it's me!”

“Richard?” she was surprised again, “How did you find me here? Where's the Greenleaf Tribe?”

Richard smiled bitterly, “I don't know why, but all three came running after me. Thankfully, I took a secret path and managed to escape.”

Melia went silent at the mention of another secret path. She was naive and inexperienced, this she knew herself, but she wasn't stupid; she had also seen just how powerful Richard was. Calming her pounding heart, she asked another question, “What do you plan to do next?”

“I'm looking for more trees of life,” Richard answered, “The more I see, the better it is for my growth. I plan to get to level 19 in this plane before leaving for somewhere else.”

These words were only common sense in Norland, but they were anything but that in the Forest Plane that had barely even heard of the concept of the myriad planes. However, Melia didn't seem to find his words strange and instead hesitated before speaking, “Umm... Richard... if I show you our tree of life and let you live on it for a while, can you help my tribe?”

“Of course,” Richard said without hesitation, not even asking what conditions she was talking about. The girl still hesitated for a while, but eventually led him towards her tribe. Please visit f𝙧ee𝙬ℯ𝐛𝓃𝐨𝚟𝒆𝘭. c𝒐𝓂

......

The road back was quite long, and the two were inevitably intercepted by the hunters of the enemy alliance. However, Richard had stopped holding back; any enemies that came now were killed by sword or magic.

His analysis of the 1,024th fragment of the law of life was completed along the way, immediately boosting the density of his natural aura to the point that Melia even commented about it. Now that he had solved one small section of this enormous jigsaw puzzle, he could decipher his enemies' usage of nature and life energy live. His resistance to such forces was greatly enhanced as well.

Along the way, Richard received news that the broodmother had reached level 4. One more level and she would be able to imbue her drones with the ability to resist the will of the forest. As for now, she continued to choose an increase in production.

......

A small clearing had been opened up in the section of the forest that the broodmother occupied. The few hundred square metres was less than a grain of sand in this sea of trees, but at the thought that most of these trees had wound up in the bellies of the broodmother and her drones one wouldn't think of it as so little anymore.

Hundreds of worker drones were constantly moving around and eating what they could, some others dragging trees over to feed her directly. Slowly moving in a circle around the edge of the woods, she was laying eggs in batches of ten before moving on to eat the trees that had been pulled over until she could lay the next batch. Each batch spawned twenty worker drones who immediately set off to eat themselves, spending a few hours to grow before joining the numerous others feeding her.

The clone was already over ten metres long and two metres tall, too weak to fly for anything outside of short bursts. Workers regularly flew over and spit out a thick honey-like wax for her to enjoy before flying off again.

Phaser was lying on the clone's back, looking at the dark sky with an expression of boredom on her face. Wiping off the dew covering her natural armour, she grumbled, “Can't this place get a little dry? Hey, why don't I start a fire on your back?”

“My body is not fire resistant, the flame will burn through my carapace,” the clone responded.

Phaser poked a small hole in the shell, “Not bad, it isn't as thin as before. It's still soft though, only a little harder than the wood. You're not going to increase your defences at all?”

“I have you and Master for that. Why don't you try to improve your combat power?”

“I feel a little tired,” Phaser sighed.

“Lying down won't result in anything.”

“But protecting you is my current job, I'm doing it.”

“You can continue to hone your skills. My main body gave you a soul, you can learn and grow.”

“Hmm... What can we do even if we become free?” Phaser asked suddenly.

“That is a distant dream. We should first focus on surviving.”

“Sur...viving?” Phaser asked quietly. A faint sobbing rang in the depths of her soul, craving for the sweet release of death.

The broodmother didn't give it much thought, continuing to eat voraciously. Thunderous footsteps rang through the forest as Tiramisu walked over to give her a divine crystal with ten units of divinity, enough for her to get to level 5, so that was her focus. With the main body having passed on all of her experience, evolution only took a few days instead of months.

......

By this point, Richard and Melia had arrived at the Evernight Tribe. The first thing he noticed was the sheer difference in architecture: their beautiful wooden houses were built not only on, but also around their tree of life. Every building was decorated exquisitely; unlike the crude nature of the other tribes he had visited, these huts oozed history.

Most surprising was the well in the middle of the tribe that extracted moonforce. This well had no preference for any of the seven types of moons, thus drawing a more impure and coarse power, but it was still a shocking thing. He could feel the faint archaic aura radiating from the stones of the well, as well as the familiar energy it condensed.

The sky of the Forest Plane was extremely dark, with no sun nor moon to be seen anywhere. Richard himself could only use the secret swords of Silvermoon because of his pure bloodline, so the moonforce condensed here was very faint. Still, it proved that these elves were true blood descended from the ancient elven empire.

As he was observing the well with a complicated gaze, Richard's eyes fell upon a silver symbol decorating the treehouse that crested the Tree of Life. This was a symbol he recognised all too well, a symbol that he could never forget in his life: that of Silvermoon.

889 - City of Sin

Forced Choices

A group of elves were gathered outside the village, divided into two sides. On one end were the Evernight elves, beautiful and refined beyond compare, while on the other end were the shorter and more backwards locals. There were about a hundred people from the Duskword Tribe here, and someone whose outfit was different from the rest was pacing back and forth in front of the villagers.

The Evernight elves glared at the man in front of them, but none of them dared to speak up against his rude glances. He snickered and said loudly, “A merger is your only way out, the only way to keep your tree of life.”

“Is this even a merger?” a young Evernight elf shouted.

The Duskword elf walked over to the youth and stared him in the eyes, enunciating every word, “If I call it a merger, it is a merger.”

*THUD!* The youth spurted blood from his mouth as he was sent flying with a punch. The Evernight elves started frowning, but the man just sneered, “Ha, come on. Don't you want to give up your tree of life?”

The anger of the Evernight elves was immediately suppressed. An older villager dressed in uniform and said to his people, “What are you doing? Did you forget the Elder's order? Before her discussion with the Duskword Tribe is concluded, you are forbidden from provoking them!”

The same old man turned around, eyeing the struggling young soldier coldly, “I hereby dismiss you from your post as warrior. Our guests can punish you however they want.”

In elven tribes, warriors were the lowest rung of nobility. Less than half of the hunters in a tribe could be called warriors, and the title came with both glory and privilege. The young warrior struggled to look up, eyeing the old man with disbelief, but a foot ruthlessly shoved his head into the ground!

The villagers were completely enraged, many even drawing their swords, but the old man turned to them and screamed, “What are you trying to do? Return to your homes immediately, that's an order!”

The voice rang out like thunder, forcing the Evernight elves to take a step back. Hierarchy was very rigid in their race.

The Duskword elf laughed, kicking the youth a few more times before one final stomp on the nose.

“Lotar!” a girl rushed out from the crowd, throwing herself on the former warrior's body to protect him. The Duskword elf looked at her with interest and asked for her name, but she just glared at him and quietly lifted the youth off the ground. Smiling at her expression, he whispered something in her ear and pointed at the bleeding youth; the stubbornness in her eyes gradually disappeared, as did all the blood from her face. The elf laughed and returned to his own camp.

Seeing this scene from the distance, Richard turned to Melia, “So many talents in your tribe.”

Knowing that he was referring to the old man, Melia turned red with anger. However, she ended up just shaking her head helplessly, “Is there any way? Do we really have to go to war?”

“Maybe ask the world tree for help,” Richard suggested.

“It thinks we're outsiders, they won't give us a chance to reason at all! I already told you this, I'm not going to repeat myself a third time!” Melia stomped her foot, but then she quickly realised her outburst and sobbed lightly, “I'm sorry... I'm in a bad mood right now. Let's go see the elder and tell her about the Greenleaf Tribe, I hope you can come with me as a witness.”

Already having his own ideas about the identity of the Evernight Tribe, Richard followed Melia up the tree of life. His eyes silently lit aglow as he analysed the tree, finding a difference from the rest in terms of the laws by which it functioned. The difference wasn't great, but at the level of laws any small difference was significant.

The grand elder of the Evernight Tribe lived in a wooden house atop the tree of life, the entire building only a few hundred square metres in size. The living room was less than fifty square metres, not at all befitting of the identity of any elder, let alone the chief of the tribe. Even the smaller tribe he had taken over so long ago had residences for every one of its elders that were bigger than this.

Someone had smashed apart the sliding door that led to the main hall, and as the two entered they found a female elf sitting on a gorgeous high-backed chair. She was dressed in typical elven robes, but her hood was up and there was a metal mask on her face. Even her hands were wrapped up in woven silk gloves, leaving none of her skin exposed. There was almost no way to measure her age.

Affixed to the wall behind her was a spear rack with a four-metre-long spear upon it, the shaft a bluish green colour with golden patterns. The weapon was gorgeous beyond compare, the patterns alone taking up an entire third of its length. The tip had four edges, but instead of being straight they spiralled together to meet at a single point. It was definitely the craft of a master.

There were three local elves standing in the hall, two of whom came from the Duskword Tribe and the other from the Windscreech Tribe. The druid from the Duskword Tribe was clearly the leader, speaking to the Evernight elder, “... there are innumerable benefits to this merger. Delaying it any further will only be more unfavourable for your people. Two more tribes have chosen to support us and join the plan, why do you still insist? If you had agreed long ago, it would only be the Duskword and Windscreech tribes. You would still have been an elder afterwards—”

“Just call it breeding, why hide your intentions?”

The Duskword druid's expression turned ugly, but he just snorted, “So what? This is a great opportunity for your kind to wash away your outsider blood! If you wish to reject our proposal, consider first whether you can reject the coalition of our six tribes!”

“Are you done?” the Grand Elder lifted her hand, “Get lost!”

The druid grew furious and turned to the hunter of the Windscreech Tribe, who immediately drew his shortsword and walked forward, “You don't know how long you can live, but you dare tell us to get lost?!”

The man was a level 18 hunter himself, but despite his arrogant words his body was tensed up completely. The Evernight Elder was said to never have lost a battle since she arrived at the sea of trees. He wanted nothing more than to just leave, but with the Duskword druid forcing his hand that was not an option.

The hunter tentatively struck out, but before he could even react the Grand Elder had drawn the spear to her hands and knocked him out of the treehouse in the midst of a dazzling flash of light. His body flew past Richard and Melia before fluttering out of the canopy, dropping the hundreds of metres to the ground. Unable to mobilise his energy at all, he could only resign himself to his fate as a dull thud sounded a few moments later.

Richard broke out into cold sweat. The Grand Elder's strike had been thunderous, and he himself would barely have dodged that with Mana Armament in full blow. If he were to take that strike head-on, at least a few of his organs would have been crushed to pulp.

Although the hunter was clearly dead, the druid actually chuckled and smiled at the Grand Elder, “So it is true that your injuries are too grave to suppress. Let's see how this tribe resists our alliance without your protection.”

The two from the Duskword Tribe turned around, seeing Melia and Richard at the door. The druid naturally recognised Melia, but the sight of Richard almost left him shocked. His eyes narrowed as he sneered, “To think your lot is colluding with the invaders! Just you wait!”

Richard just stared at the druid calmly, “Wait for what, you old worm?”

The druid was furious. He was afraid of the Grand Elder's power, but that did not mean he wouldn't act in her presence. He reached out with an arm to try and stab into Richard's chest, a thick green energy wrapping around it. Richard countered with a backhand of his own, the same green energy erupting from within.

890 - City of Sin

Numbers

Both hands sparked the moment they touched each other, forming a green ball of light with a black core. This was a direct collision of life energy, competing purely on the basis of one's control of nature. The Duskword druid smirked at first, but his expression quickly turned to one of sheer horror. He opened his mouth in a silent scream as blood spurted out from his throat, the dark green orb crashing into his body and opening up a number of wounds.

Richard merely smiled, casting a barrier to deflect the aftermath of the collision. The druid glared at him with pure malice as the hunter helped him to his feet, “So this is who you people are relying on. We'll be back soon!”

Melia stared at Richard in shock. She knew he was powerful and short-tempered, but she hadn't thought it was to the extent that he could crush a level 18 druid in such a direct contest. Was this youth even beyond the level of a saint?

“It's just a trick,” Richard snapped her out of her daze, “I'm not that powerful.”

His words weren't wrong. He was about equal in level to the druid, but it was only his mastery of the laws of life that gained him such a victory. On the other hand, Melia thought he had done something to pull out all of his power in one strike and calmed down. She had always been proud of her own power as a daughter of the forest, but this outsider seemed to be in an entirely different league. Whenever she was with him, she felt like a fool.

Just as she was comforting herself, the Grand Elder's voice rang out from within the room, “I wouldn't call your comprehension of the laws of life a trick. Come in.”

Richard's heart almost froze up for a moment; for someone to understand his usage of laws there meant their mastery was well beyond his. Fearing the consequences of ignoring someone so powerful, he left the stunned Melia behind and walked in. He knew all too well the amount of power someone who mastered a law could erupt with, even if they were on their last breath.

He felt goosebumps all over his body as the masked elder looked him up and down. Just as he was considering escape, however, she spoke again in a trembling voice, “That sword...”

The sword? Richard took the elven longsword and placed it in the Grand Elder's outstretched hand. Although this had been given to him by Gaton, it wasn't very special. Outside of being near-indestructible, the only assistance it rendered in combat was a boost to any nature-based attacks. The Grand Elder's spear was several grades higher in quality, so there was no need to worry about her stealing it.

The Grand Elder took the weapon and softly touched every inch of the blade. Even Melia could see the trembling of her body at this point, and it was obviously in extreme excitement. The woman closed her eyes and went still, seemingly trying to calm her feelings. When she opened them once more, they shone coldly as she stabbed her spear towards Richard's face!

Richard felt his heart skip a beat as he instinctually called forth every protective spell he could. Blaze and Manacycle were combined to form two to three barriers every second, but even so he felt his scalp go numb. An electric light seemed to consume every square inch of his body, tearing the defences apart without any resistance at all, and when the flash dissipated the spear tip was already at his throat. One could even see a drop of blood flowing down the spiralling edge.

“Where did this sword come from?” she asked coldly.

Seeing Richard's position, Melia immediately came forward, “Grand Elder, Richard is my friend! He saved my life many...”

The Grand Elder only lifted her hand, shutting the girl up. Seeing the cold gaze focusing on him once more, Richard rejected the number of lies that popped up in his mind and answered honestly, “It was given to me by my father. He did not mention its origin.”

“Your father's name?”

“Uhh...” he hesitated for a bit, but he still answered in the end, “Gaton. Gaton Archeron.”

“Gaton... It really is him...” The Grand Elder's tone turned soft, her aura deflating in an instant. It even seemed like she wouldn't be able to remain sitting any longer. Richard wanted to ask whether she knew him, but even with her aura fading he felt a murderous intent erupting from within her. The question was discarded immediately as he eyed the room, looking for a route to escape in. He was starting to regret coming so close to this woman; at this range, he would be stabbed no matter what route he chose to escape in.

A quick calculation told him he had only one hope: activate Devout Prayer and hope the spear only grazed him. He would still likely be stabbed dead, but there was a small chance of escape.

The Grand Elder went silent, her eyes constantly shifting between the blade and Richard himself. It took an entire minute for her to speak again, “You're the one leading the invaders who captured a tree of life?”

Richard nodded.

“This sword has no special attributes; the life energy attached to it only came a short while ago. With your ability and Gaton's power, you should be able to make a better one.”

This time, it was Richard who was left silent for a while, “This sword is one of the few things my father left behind. I do admittedly have better weapons on hand, but I've grown used to having it by my side.”

“Left behind?” the Grand Elder gasped, “Gaton is dead? That bastard... How could he...”

She waved Melia away, asking eagerly, “How did he die?”

Richard considered his options for a moment before deciding to reveal the truth, “He... was trapped in an enemy plane and left to die. I haven't confirmed it with my own eyes, but the High Priestess of the Church of the Eternal Dragon saw his closest follower taking his corpse to the end of the abyss.”

The Grand Elder fell silent for a much longer period of time. Even when she did speak, she sighed softly, “The depths of the abyss... If only I could leave...”

Richard still couldn't figure out whether this woman was a friend or enemy of Gaton. However, her killing intent hadn't weakened in the slightest in all this time, and despite being alert he slipped up in his control for a moment. Fresh grass sprouted from the wood underneath him, giving birth to a few white flowers.

The Grand Elder obviously noticed the change, but instead of attacking him she just opened her eyes in shock, “Devout Prayer? Where did you learn this from?”

“That... My father.”

“Gaton?” she snorted, “That bastard doesn't have high elven blood; it seems he simulated it to teach you. If anyone could do it, I guess it's him.”

As her gaze fell upon him once more, the killing intent had completely faded away. It was replaced by deep anticipation as she asked, “And your mother is?”

Richard's eye twitched at the question, but he still whispered, “Elena.”

“Elena?” the Grand Elder's breathing grew rough, “Is she a silvermoon elf?”

“She was, yes.”

Her body suddenly locked up, “Elena is dead? HOW? She should be able to live five centuries at least, even if she was in a plane at tens of times... HOW DID SHE DIE?”

Richard couldn't respond immediately, the painful memory of the flames starting to course through his mind. He didn't want to put the experience to words, but he still described everything in a few sentences.

Even now, he couldn't completely understand his mother's decision all those years ago. However, this woman in front of him nodded in acceptance, “Those two had a child... Sigh, go out and tell Melia to find a place for you to rest. I need some peace right now, return to me tomorrow and we will talk about things.”

...

As Richard walked out of the house, he found Melia already waiting outside. She hurried over to him and asked, “How is her injury? Did you talk about resisting the Duskword Tribe?”

Seeing her anxious look, Richard reluctantly raised his spirits and comforted her, “Don't worry, we'll take care of them.”

“Take care of them? How? The Grand Elder is hurt so badly!”

“Doesn't matter, I've never relied on powerhouses.”

“Then what do you rely on?”

“Numbers.”f𝐫ℯe𝘸𝙚𝑏n𝑜ѵ𝒆l. 𝐜𝚘𝓶

891 - City of Sin

The Past

Melia had no idea how to react to Richard's answer. She had never seen someone outside of him ever since they met, and a crowd would still be suppressed by the will of the forest.

Richard himself wasn't too keen to elaborate. Questions about the Grand Elder's identity clouding his mind, he was happy to just have a roof and some dinner. He tried to rest, but distant memories kept flooding his thoughts. The Grand Elder was certainly related to Gaton and Elena, while the Evernight Tribe likely took its name from the Evernight Forest that the silvermoon elves once occupied.

He'd assumed the Grand Elder was just an ordinary legend, but she was only a small ways off from the strength of Emperor Philip. He had detected a noxious smell coming from her during their meeting, a sign of serious injuries, but he just couldn't fathom what kind of being could injure someone of her power in this plane.

Night came and left amidst these unsolved mysteries, and right at the crack of dawn he set off to see the Grand Elder once more. The woman was sitting in the room with a new table in front of her, holding both the sword and her spear. Sending Melia out, she turned towards him and her eyes lit aglow, “My name is Tzu. Yes, I knew your parents, both of them. Your mother was like a sister to me, but I hadn't been able to contact her ever since your father invaded the forest...”

Tzu continued relating the events of the past, and Richard listened with all his heart. He learnt about the young warrior who cleaned dishes and washed horses just so he could pay for the wine his love and her companions drank. He learnt of how that love had sacrificed herself to save her sister, about how he had sacrificed a heart to save her. He finally learnt the story of love and hate that had led to his birth.

Once she parted from Gaton, Elena had returned to Evernight Forest and reconvened with Tzu. She had fallen for the young man, but as the future Shaman of the Moon and the heiress to the Silvermoon Kingdom she had to maintain the purest of body, mind, and soul. She had sealed her love deep within her heart, only ever mentioning it once when in the depths of despair. Neither of them had thought they would see that youth ever again. Being completely distracted, her progress in mooncraft had been extremely slow.

While the Kingdom still ruled in name, Evernight Forest had already devolved into a number of feuding factions that were ripe for the taking. There were only ten thousand elves remaining in Norland proper, but many of them wanted to retake their lands from the human empires. Fed up with all the chaos, Tzu had left Evernight Forest to explore the myriad planes.

And then, Gaton had come back into their lives just as unexpectedly as the first time— by launching an attack on the Evernight Forest. Elena had seen Gaton once more, and this time it was in the most unpleasant of circumstances.

Tzu had returned to a scene of utter despair— the throne captured and the world tree sacrificed to the Church of the Eternal Dragon. A few tribes banded together and crossed the Sacred Tree Empire to make their way to Lithgalen, the Ashgreen continent. Gaton himself had pulled out after realising what he had done, but with Elena nowhere to be found the survivors were fighting amongst themselves for the throne.

If only the tribes had united to fight Gaton's troops, he might have been held back. They refused to aid each other properly just to see their rivals destroyed, and he had happily played along to decimate the entire race. Having had enough of the infighting and losing faith in the current elders, she rounded up those willing to follow her and led them to a plane that her ancestors had once explored.

However, the journey was a terrible one. Unlike the powerhouses of the ancient elven empire, her ragtag group was made of those with all levels of power. Only a hundred managed to survive the journey, reaching the Forest Plane.

As the most powerful warrior of them all, Tzu had been made the grand elder. She ruled that there would be no mention of Norland or Lithgalen in the future, ensuring that future generations would be brought up like they were natives. Twenty years in Norland amounted to more than a century here, and the young sapling tree of life she planted had grown tall and strong. It hadn't completely adapted to this plane, but it still had the potential to become a world tree. Tzu herself had matured into a legendary warrior.

A hundred years... Looking at his mother's best friend, Richard felt a strange detachedness from it all. The faint smell of rot seemed ever more disgusting to him, and he couldn't suppress his questions any longer, “Gra— Aunt Tzu, what is this injury?”

Tzu sighed, “A curse left behind by the demon god Iskara of the Annihilation Plane. Its power is far more than I can bear, I'm afraid my days are numbered...”

“The Annihilation Plane?” Richard had never heard of the name.

“It is a world in the depths of the myriad planes, a place where destruction rules supreme. Few creatures can survive it, but those who do gain such frightening power that even an ordinary inhabitant can weather spacetime turbulence without issue. The arch-enemy of the Goddess of the Moon comes from that plane, wherein it goes by the name of the Sixteenth Night. This also makes the Annihilation Plane the entire race's nemesis.”

Richard frowned, “This demon god you speak of is here?”

Tzu shook her head, “No, I stopped him halfway, facing off with his conscient in the void. That is where I was— cough— cursed. Iskara is a master of lies, deception, and curses, and he does not just target random planes. A local must have summoned him, or it might be the world tree itself.”

“Huh? Why?”

“I don't know, but be careful of the world tree here. I suspect its conscience has been warped.”

“Whatever, you don't need to worry about your injuries anymore. Come with me, I'll take you back to Norland and we can get you healed at the Church of the Eternal Dragon. Even if the High Priestess herself has to do it, I can make it happen.”

Tzu laughed. She was nearing two hundred years of age, but as a high elf she was equivalent to a human in her mid-twenties, at the prime of her life. Seeing his confused expression, she explained, “The curse has left me marked. The moment I try to escape this plane, Iskara will detect my movements and pursue. If I go with you, that will just be your death. Anyone can leave, but not me...

“Hmm... I should show you the extent of the curse, if you have the stomach for it.”

As Tzu took off her mask, Richard was stunned silent. In place of the dreamy features of a normal elf was a skeletal face lacking all colour and fat. The skin clung to the very bones like a thin sheet of linen, her ghastly visage a stark contrast from her youthful voice. Every breath released a tuft of grey smoke.

“You see?” she said before sucking in all the grey smog that escaped her lips. From the one moment he saw her mouth open, he noticed that her insides were just as ravaged as her face.

“Iskara needs a great amount of energy to maintain this curse. The longer I can hold on, the more time he will need to recover. By the time I lose, he should have lost a century of time.” Tzu put her mask back on, pride radiating from her cold voice, “Now, show me how well you have developed your bloodline.”

892 - City of Sin

Golden World Tree

Richard immediately agreed with Tzu's request to see his bloodline. As a race that placed great emphasis on lineage, the elves of Norland had made great progress in methods to analyse such things. Silvermoon had been the last remaining base of the high elves, however, so he hadn't been able to judge his bloodline very well. There were some records from the ancient elven empire in the Deepblue, but they were by no means definitive.

“I have five world trees in my bloodline, out of which the astral affinity has reached grade 5 and awakened a truename. The rest are all at grade 4,” Richard stated proudly, and not without reason. Although he had no idea about Lithgalen, he was certainly amongst the most powerful elves still remaining in Norland in terms of his bloodline. From what he could tell, most elves couldn't awaken a single world tree while even elites normally only managed two or three. Only high elves could actually awaken more, and even then it took a royal to awaken five.

Unlike humans, who were at this point a melting point of different races that could borrow the bloodline power of most, elves had a more codified set of bloodlines. There were methods and spells to test one's affinities and potential, which also made it easier to upgrade one's bloodline abilities in that direction. There were advantages and disadvantages to their strict restrictions on bloodline: they made awakening one's bloodline much easier for an elf, but on the other hand one could find humans talented in any field they could think of. The bloodline talents of the elves were more limited and singular.

The elves of Silvermoon were originally royalty even amongst the high elves, but even so it was rare for someone to be able to get five world trees to grade 4 or higher. Even back in the time of the ancient empire, Richard would easily have become a general that commanded thousands of soldiers. Of course, as a half-elf he would also have been imprisoned and force-fed poison to kill him; the Archeron bloodline would actually make them burn him under the world tree for fertiliser.

While the elven empire was a thing of the past, its power and glamour could not be questioned. Not one of Norland's three human empires and three other empires were able to achieve even a small part of the power that the great elven empire held at its finest. The thought that he could have been amongst the royalty of that era left Richard extremely proud.

“You have five trees?” Tzu was surprised as expected.

“Yes. Affinities for the stars, moonforce, restoration, nature, and the elements,” Richard answered with certainty.

“Ah... Right,” Tzu nodded, “Not... bad... Is it really five?”

Richard froze, “How many should I have had?”

“Umm... Stand there and don't resist, let me take a look.” Tzu waved her hand to cast a nature spell on him, the green energy entering his body and immediately activating his elven bloodline. Five phantom trees appeared above his head, with the astral tree entwined by dazzling starlight that had replaced the leaves and branches of its crowned. “Sigh... So it really was five trees of life...”

Richard found this disappointment strange, feeling like there wasn't much room for growth. Would she only be satisfied if the four other trees had been grade 5 as well? And why was she calling them trees of life?

Tzu saw through his frown and laughed, “No, you've got it wrong. Well, I don't have much strength left, doesn't matter if I waste a little. Here's mine.”

Pure nature energy surged out of her body, gathering above her head to form an image of a single tree.

However, this tree was enormous! It was many times taller than his own, radiating a dignity and poise that far eclipsed even his astral affinity. From what he knew, the images formed by such testing spells were completely to scale; this difference existed in the real world as well.

What left Richard truly shocked was the tree's colour. The entire world tree emanated a pale gold lustre, looking almost metallic instead of natural. This world tree was fundamentally different from his own, and made him realise why she had called his affinities trees of life instead of world trees.

Tzu sighed, “Elena and I shared the same level of bloodline, but her tree was even taller and more radiant. I'd hoped your bloodline was like hers instead of the other silvermoon elves, but maybe my standards were too high. What you've accomplished is still amazing in its own right... After all, you don't need to become a lord...”

The consolation went in one ear and out the other as Richard continued to stare at Tzu's golden world tree in a daze. There were five branches on the tree that represented five different affinities; what he considered trees were only boughs on hers. The central trunk also went straight up, glimmering in golden light.

When Tzu sighed once more, Richard finally snapped out of his reverie and asked, “Become a lord? Lord of what?”

She smiled wryly, “Of Lithgalen. I was hoping you could go become one of the lords and get those deluded old men to open up. But that's just wishful thinking, don't take it seriously.”

“And I need to have a golden world tree bloodline to become one?”

“Not necessarily, but don't go running off there anytime soon. The golden tree would have been the only way for them to accept a half-blood; those fools care more about someone's strength than their mind. Instead of putting the intelligent in positions to make decisions, they just put in whoever is strong....”

Tzu immediately went off on a rant about intelligence not being equal to wisdom. It almost felt like she hadn't gotten the chance to vent in a long time, so she spoke non-stop for minutes on end. However, she eventually saw the fire starting to burn in his eyes and grew alarmed, “I said not to run off there. They will almost certainly execute you under the charge of a taint to elven blood.”

That really was a convincing reason, quashing Richard's thoughts of heading there soon. He had already started thinking of arrangements that would free him up to go there, but those plans were now shelved. He thought things over a little and asked, “If the golden world tree only guarantees lordship, are there any higher levels?”

“There are legends about a heavenly world tree that only those beloved of Alucia herself can awaken. These people are natural emperors and can control the laws of nature the moment they awaken. However, there hasn't been such a world tree ever since the royal family of the Evernight Forest fell a long time ago.” There was clear longing in Tzu's eyes as she spoke of the heavenly world tree. This was something every high elf dreamed of.

893 - City of Sin

Hunting

Tzu continued to console Richard for some time, telling him there was no need to be disappointed with his bloodline; he was only half elf, and he hadn't spent any of his life living under a world tree. Clearly fatigued by her display, she bid him farewell so he could rest.

He spent the next few days discussing the current situation of the Evernight Tribe with her; he wanted to take the threat of the locals seriously, but at the same time he was far more worried about Iskara's curse. He could see her aura weakening day after day, and a few savages that he could wipe out once his broodmother levelled up a little more was nothing in the face of his mother's best friend.

The fourth day since his arrival, he could no longer live under the tree of life. Feeling his own blood seething at the sight of Tzu wasting away, he escaped into a world of murder as he wiped out every forest elf nearby. The ever-clouded sky seemed even darker than before, the world losing colour beyond the putrid green. He could smell the stench of his enemies whenever they were nearby, something that he had thought to be an exaggeration until now.

Feeling the odour wafting over in the wind, he looked up and narrowed his eyes like a leopard. Whispering a simple chant, his figure blurred and vanished before he reappeared a dozen metres away under an old tree. Quietly leaping up the trunk and walking across the thick bough, he came across a hunter waiting for any Evernight elves that strayed far enough to become prey.

*Schlick!* A translucent green blade pierced through the elf's heart, the attack filled with life energy to the point that the dead man only felt a little numbness as his innards were ripped apart.

Withdrawing his sword, Richard stared at the flicker of gold passing through it numbly. He now knew this weapon's original name was Moonlight, and it was one of the divine weapons of Silvermoon Palace. Blessed by Alucia herself, it possessed the strength of all seven moons. Just like Tzu's spear, the Skylance, it was meant for an elven lord.

Moonlight's greatest power came in its ability to activate Alucia's blessing, forming a terrifying storm of energy that would wipe out anything fifty metres ahead of the wielder. Unfortunately, every usage of such a blessing was one blessing gone forever; there had only been one left behind in the blade when Gaton invaded, and it had likely been used by a despairing lord to take a number of knights from the Sacred Alliance. Now, the weapon was nothing more than a well-crafted blade.

The sword's current strength came from Tzu and the Evernight tree of life. Having originated from Norland, this tree's essence was much more powerful and pure than its local counterparts. Tzu had then added in some of her own bloodline power, increasing its affinity with nature and boosting its piercing ability. Still, even able to boost the power of his life energy by a third, she claimed that Moonlight was only a tenth as strong as it had once been.

Richard put the sword away and leapt off the ancient tree, continuing his hunt. The Duskword hunter remained frozen in his original place, white flowers growing on his rapidly-decaying corpse.

......

Richard wandered the woods like a night wolf, the power of nature constantly surging in his surroundings as the world obeyed his command and covered up every sign of his presence. Listening to the woods and sniffing out the animals that had put his aunt in danger before he even knew her, he killed enemy after enemy.

A level 16 druid quickly followed the hunter, watching in disbelief as his body returned to the dirt. Far too reliant on their perception of nature, these enemies were even easier to kill. As someone who had spent five whole years in a battlefield of despair, Richard was already a seasoned assassin that could use his prey's weaknesses to kill them before they even realised their predicament.

The sight of gold rippling along Moonlight's blade left him feeling worse every time. It reminded him that Tzu had used up some of her pure bloodline, a sacrifice that only pushed her closer to death.

Iskara... That name resounded in his mind, every syllable resounding in the silent forest. The demon god's power had burrowed into the depths of her soul, and if he won she would be left a husk of existence. He would then take over her body, wandering the Forest Plane in the search of more prey. As he amassed a puppet army, this entire plane would eventually be left with a single hive mind.

Tzu had explained that any attempt to heal her would be latched onto by the demon god, giving him a target for his next possession. If he tried to aid her in this battle, Iskara could target him with the curse next. As someone who hadn't even entered the legendary realm, he would lose instantly.

......

While Richard was busy calming his mind with slaughter, countless treants were currently plunging their roots deep into the ground deep in the forest. Having come from far and wide, they had consumed far too much energy and needed a long period of rest to recover. The concentrated group of dozens of treants held up a number of treehouses, their roots forming natural passages for the local elves to walk through. A number of warriors were resting in the treehouses, conserving their strength for an imminent battle just like predators preparing for the hunt.

Within the largest treehouse that was right in the middle, an old elf dressed in luxurious robes and adorned with many ornaments was listening to a hunter's report with his brows locked together. As the hunter finished, his frown deepened as he asked slowly, “There has been no word at all?” Google search 𝐟𝓇𝘦𝒆w𝚎𝐛n𝐨ν𝙚𝚕. c𝚘ｍ

“All 32 scouts we sent in the past seven days. We have no information on the Evernight elves,” the hunter answered respectfully.

894 - City of Sin

How Many Is More?

The old Grand Elder frowned, “Twenty hunters, six druids, the last two sets even going out in groups...”

“From what I know, only their grand elder is capable of this. Could she already be able to leave the tree of life?” an imposing man mused.

A shrill voice rang out, “General Yair, you seem to look down on our Jadeleaf Tribe. At least seven or eight of our Children are capable of killing so many of your hunters.”

Yair immediately blanched. He was the general of the Duskword Tribe, and everyone sent out had been a capable subordinate of his. Such chiding was an insult, but it came from a youth who was dressed more lavishly than anyone else present. Outside of another person dressed in black robes, he was also the only one seated.

Seeing the general about to retort, the Grand Elder stepped in, “Yair, Mister Windleaf Arbik grew up under the World Tree and has seen more than either of us. We may be afraid of the Evernight Grand Elder, but the Jadeleaf Tribe is not. Return to your station and arrange for someone ”

“I... will.” The conflict was evident on Yair's face, but he eventually just gritted his teeth and left the hall.

“What's with him, Elder Greyfeather?” Arbik's expression turned cold, “Does he think I do not have the right to speak here, or does he assume my archery and magic do not match up to my post? Call him back and have him clarify!”

The Grand Elder chuckled, “Yair has always been inexperienced, he has only been to the World Tree twice. You are a son of the forest that grew up under its great boughs, why stoop down to his level? He has always been hot-headed, forgetting his manners when his men suffer harm.”

“I think it's time your tribe changes its general. This fellow isn't suited to command at all.”

Many of the Duskword elves in the hall turned grim, but Greyfeather's smile remained the same, “Once we have merged with the Evernight Tribe, I will convene a meeting to discuss his post.”

Arbik's face finally relaxed as he leaned back into his chair. The Grand Elder's attitude left him elated— he did not have such respect back home. Surveying the elves in the room, he smiled, “I am here to observe the battle. Those of you who do well will receive an opportunity to join the Jadeleaf Tribe. Fight hard!”

This time, not even Greyfeather could maintain his smile. Still, the man pretended that he hadn't heard those words and turned to the black-robed man in the room, “What are your thoughts?”

This time, the Grand Elder's attitude was not one of respect but rather fear. Even the arrogant Arbik was rather uncomfortable in the presence of this man who could not be touched by the light. The mysterious man who was completely concealed in his black robes shook his head, “This isn't her.”

The voice was extremely hoarse, almost like the sound of a gale tearing into skin. The man's body twitched unnaturally with every word, almost as though his joints were not in the right places.

The Grand Elder frowned at his words and asked carefully, “I cannot think of anyone else in the Evernight Tribe that is capable of eliminating so many of our hunters and druids without a sound.”

“That woman has been struck by my master's curse, she can only hide under the tree of life. If she had left her little hole, I would have sensed it.”
𝘧𝐫𝑒𝗲𝑤ℯ𝚋𝐧૦𝘃𝒆l. c𝚘𝓂

Greyfeather could not relax at this news. While the Evernight Grand Elder making a move was frightening in itself, the fact that there was another terrifying powerhouse in that tribe was a huge threat. He immediately decided that they would stay for three more days before setting off, and they would only travel a hundred kilometres a day instead of two hundred to maintain the treants' stamina.

Arbik had objections to this caution, but did not bring it up. The black-robed man had told them that there was no specific hurry; in fact, reaching late was even better. If Tzu was done in by the curse, all they had to do was take care of a broken tribe.

......

As night fell, many of the alliance's warriors entered the land of dreams. The camp formed of treants went quiet, only disturbed by the occasional campfire that lit up the night. The guards were all stood in position without such luxury; their job required darkvision that surpassed even a normal drow.

The ordinary soldiers slept in peace, unable to even consider the idea of someone attacking a camp protected by hundreds of treants. However, the higher-ups like Greyfeather, Yair, and even Arbik slept uneasily, constantly waking up with the start.

Richard spent all this time stood on the crown of an ancient tree only a kilometre away, watching the slumbering treants with pure murder in his eyes. The sentinels of the Duskword Tribe could easily see his position, but their eyes constantly flitted past him without even considering his presence; to them, he was nothing more than an ordinary branch.

The uneasiness in his heart was already gone, replaced by a cold determination. His Archeron bloodline urged him on and on to just unleash hell on the camp, but he managed to suppress those desires. Spending the entire night coming to his decision, he left just before dawn.

Running across the forest at full speed, he headed straight for his portal back to Norland. No matter what Tzu had said, he owed it to his mother to at least try to save her. He did not possess the power to do so right now, but he was a grand runemaster and that meant a lot. While the Duskword army was a threat, it was still a distance away and his personal power wouldn't change outcomes much anyway.

In only a single day he travelled the entire 2,000 kilometres, frightening the guards of Emerald City as he rushed over to the teleportation hall like the wind. Stopping for a minute to write a hasty letter to Nyris and Agamemnon, he quickly headed back to Norland.

Blackrose Castle was currently his base of operations, with over fifty rune knights stationed all-year-round. Picking up the one top-tier offering's worth of goods that he had left after arming his soldiers and buying the divinity crystals for the broodmother, he sent Alice a letter to bring over all her rune knights in preparation to enter the Forest Plane immediately.

Another message to Blackgold asking whether he would be able to access Sharon's personal treasure trove was met by the expected fervent refusal. Blackgold warned him against even trying, mentioning the dragon's heart lying beneath Sharon's beautiful face; in his words, touching her wealth was even worse than flipping her skirt over. She had a number of traps set up in the area that could even confuse legendary thieves, so he would only meet death. The reply had ended with the information that his original letter had been burnt, and a suggestion to do the same with the reply.

Giving up on the idea of arguing with the grey dwarf, Richard adjusted his communication circle and tried to contact Faust. A short while later, a kindly old face showed up in the middle of the array, shouting playfully, “You've interrupted my precious teatime! You better have a good reason, boy, or you're in deep trouble!”

The moment the old man's face appeared, Richard's anxiety faded into peace, “Chairman Thor, are you interested in Mana Armaments?”

The old man's fake fury immediately disappeared as he heard this question, replaced by a full smile. He rubbed his hands together in excitement, “How many is more?”

“How many top-tier offerings do you have?” Richard countered calmly, but that almost left the old man jumping with laughter. Would the Royal Mage Association ever lack offerings?

895 - City of Sin

Reward

Thor immediately started planning to issue a Mana Armament to every single legendary mage in the Alliance. However, knowing that such a large order would cause Richard to balk, he acted like he only had a few top tier offerings in stock that he could put down as a deposit. With this being exactly what Richard wanted, the negotiation quickly concluded. Arranging for an appointment with Ferlyn that very night, Richard took all the offerings he could manage and teleported to Faust.

The first thing he did upon reaching the city was to meet the Ironblood Duke. Already having planned to meet another legendary mage, Duke Orleans turned down Richard's request at first. However, upon being informed that Richard was already at the island and refusing to leave, he eventually acquiesced. The future saint runemaster of the Sacred Alliance was already a force that deserved respect.

Richard was rather entranced by the lobby he was led to. The only decoration in the metal-cast room was a single red ribbon, but the place radiated a dense aura of blood and death. As his eyes lit aglow with the power of Insight, he saw faint human shadows moving along the walls.

“This place is called the Hall of Brave Souls,” the Duke explained the moment he entered, “It is the room my family uses to entertain important guests.”

Richard couldn't help but feel sheer awe at the middle-aged man's presence. Despite the permanent lines on his forehead and the near-transparent pupils, the Ironblood Duke was nothing like Beye or Agamemnon. Those two seemed powerful, but the Duke's aura alone placed applied physical pressure to everything in the vicinity.

“This is His Excellency Nightfire, he just returned from ten years exploring the myriad planes,” Duke Orleans motioned to another middle-aged man behind him, this one bald and wearing a grey robe, “We were to meet for lunch today, but since you insisted on meeting I decided to introduce the two of you. His Excellency is also interested in a potential saint runemaster for the Sacred Alliance.”

Orleans sat down in his chair, nodding towards Richard, “Now, what is it you wanted?”

“Top-tier offerings, in trade for promises from me,” Richard stated.

“A promise worth a top-tier offering? Interesting, just what is it you are willing to promise?” Nightfire chimed in.

“A full grade 3 rune set for any one person you choose, custom designed and crafted by yours truly.”

Nightfire's eyes lit up, a faint flame enveloping his bald head, “A tailor-made grade 3 set, huh. Not bad, truly worth a top-tier offering. However, what guarantee is there that you will follow through on this promise?” Please visit fr𝗲𝚎w𝒆𝚋𝘯𝚘ѵel. c𝗼𝐦

Before Richard could respond, the Ironblood Duke spoke up on his behalf, “This is a runemaster capable of crafting Lifesbane and showed off two entire sets at his first ever rune convention. He certainly has the ability.”

Nightfire nodded at the Duke's statement, turning back to Richard, “And when can the set be completed?”

“The process will begin in roughly three months, and from conception to completion I will need about a month after.”

“So it would be on credit.”

Richard nodded solemnly without any hint of embarrassment, “I'm currently in need of a large volume of offerings, so I've dropped my prices a little in exchange.”

“Did you manage to find any buyers before you came here, then?” Nightfire asked, ignoring the topic of what it was Richard would need offerings for.

“I have a total of six offerings right now, only one of which came from my own hands. The other five came from the Mage Association.”

Nightfire laughed, “Heh, that old man grew so generous all of a sudden? Alright then, Orleans, how many promises are you ready to take? I want three for myself, don't cut in line.”

The Duke flashed a smile as well, “I only need one. Most of my children have already grown up, and many of those who haven't are only a waste of resources.”

Nightfire placed three crystals on the table, gently pushing them forward. The three crystals slid across as thought the table was made of ice, landing right in front of Richard. The silver light clearly indicated that they were beyslace spider crystals, but this caused Richard to frown a little as he picked them up. Spider crystals weren't worth a top-tier offering, and they couldn't be used for any sort of offering at all.

However, the moment they were in his hands, his eyes went wide in surprise. Within each of the spider crystal was a small grain of fire that burnt mysteriously, clearly marking them as mutant spider crystals. Even he could not tell just what sort of mutant species this was.

Nightfire laughed once more, “Three fused-score spider crystals, you owe me three promises now.”

Richard raised his head, his eyes betraying his confusion as he looked at the legendary mage, “You trust me just like that?”

“I don't need to doubt someone the Mage Association is willing to pay five top-tier offerings to. The more someone can earn elsewhere, the more I trust their ability to make good on their word.”

......

By the time he left the Ironblood Duke's island, Richard changed his original plan of heading to the Wellinburgs and went straight to the Church of the Eternal Dragon.

However, Ferlyn didn't meet him in private this time like she had before. All of the level 18 priestesses of the Church had been gathered at her side, a total of eight! Noelene and Jacqueline were seated at her left and right respectively.

Such a lineup could scare most with presence alone. Richard's heart skipped a few beats as he entered, and he frowned at the scene. While they weren't particularly close beyond Flowsand, it felt almost like he had just entered a court to be interrogated. Still, he managed to compose himself and make his way over, placing a chest before the high priestess and bowing, “Your Excellency Ferlyn, I request the assistance of the Church. The payment is already here.”

Ferlyn's eyes swept across the chest, but the crown on her head did not move as she said softly, “Open it up.”

Richard paused for a moment before opening the enchanted chest in front of the eight grand priestesses. The sudden rays of light dazzled even the most seasoned of them all as they gasped; more than half of the items within were top-tier offerings, and there were so many of them that the timeforce was gathering automatically!

It took a moment for the priestesses to gather themselves, silently counting the number of offerings within the chest. Many felt their hearts flutter once that reached double digits, and when they concluded that it amounted to ten top-tier offerings they were all eyeing the chest with raging desire. That amount of divine grace could easily propel any of them to the limit of level 20, giving them the possibility of entering the legendary realm and becoming a high priestess just like Ferlyn.

Richard was the first person in over thirty years to have produced so many top-tier offerings at once. Most of the priestesses looked at him with renewed respect, and some even with slight fear. Only Ferlyn seemed unmoved, as though she had predicted this beforehand. She spoke calmly, “Tell me what you want.”

“In the Forest Plane is someone suffering under the curse of a demon god of the Annihilation Plane. She does not have long to live, so I hope the Church can break the curse and save her life.”

Annihilation Plane? Some of the priestesses seemed lost, while the rest immediately grew solemn. To a certain extent, the Annihilation Plane was equivalent to the abyss or hell. A demon god of the Annihilation Plane would be an extremely difficult enemy.

However, bathed in the splendid light of the offerings within the box, any challenge seemed trivial.

896 - City of Sin

Flame Potion

Richard felt like Iskara wouldn't pose too much of a problem for those present in this room. While the demon god was certainly far stronger than most priests and priestesses, the emissaries of the Eternal Dragon were far beyond their peers. Flowsand wasn't very high-levelled when she set off for the Darkness, but she was comparable to an entire squad of clergymen on her lonesome. Even combined, the upper echelons of the churches of the three goddesses in Faelor could not compare to her.

Facing a demon god of the Annihilation Plane was certainly dangerous, but the priestesses here looked eager to take on the challenge. Even if they would face his incarnation or apostles in the spiritual realm, those able to cross the threshold of sainthood all had strong wills.

However, Ferlyn kept her head bowed from start to finish, her thoughts unknown. All the priestesses present knew of her special relationship with Richard, and that made her attitude today seemed rather strange. Eventually, the hushed whispers quieted down as everyone awaited her words.

It took minutes before she spoke, “Richard. As servants of the Eternal Dragon, it is our job to help devotees sacrifice offerings. We cannot participate in ceremonies ourselves. These offerings are of no use to us.”

These words shocked not just Richard but all of the other priestesses as well. Although Ferlyn technically wasn't wrong, this rule had been bent countless times in the past. She could just force in the option to share one's divine grace with another, and even with the losses from that decision one would still gain two-thirds of the total grace of the offering.

Even otherwise, the Church could just direct someone to participate in the ceremony and have them choose useful items for the priestesses. However, Richard stopped himself from mentioning this; Ferlyn knew he knew, so there had to be a point to her statement.

She eventually raised her hand and pointed forward, the timeforce dancing around the offerings condensing into a thick, ancient book, “All our records of the demon gods of the Annihilation Plane are in this book. Do you know the name of the one who cast this curse?”

“Iskara,” Richard said confidently.

Ferlyn nodded, passing the book to Noelene who grabbed it from the air and flipped through its pages. Her expression changed as she read it, and eventually she raised her head and sighed, “Iskara is not on the list.”

Most of the priestesses were stirred up. An unknown demon god also implied an unknown level and type of threat. It was one thing to face one of the twelve known demon gods of the Annihilation Plane— the Church had records on their weaknesses— but dealing with a random variable was entirely different. They had originally wanted to try purely on the assumption that Iskara would be amongst the known demon gods; this new information changed everything.

“Is anyone still willing to try?” Ferlyn asked, and this time all of the priestesses remained silent. Richard's heart fell at this fact; if even Ferlyn wasn't confident of the outcome of this battle, nobody else would try. Would Tzu just have to await death?

No, that couldn't happen! Richard gritted his teeth, “I can pay twenty top-tier offerings!”

This immediately had everyone freeze up. 20 top-tier offerings was at least 200 million gold, enough to assemble a true noble's army and equip hundreds of rune knights. This was the total sum savings of many legendary beings.

“Do you have so many?” Ferlyn asked doubtfully.

“I can get them, you don't need to ask how,” Richard replied.

Ferlyn nodded, “Alright, I will ask once more. Is anyone willing to try?”

The priestesses still remained silent.

However, just as Richard was about to lose all hope, Noelene suddenly stood up, “I can try.”

Slightly surprised, Ferlyn glanced at the grand priestess and shook her head, “So long as you know what the risks are.”

Noelene looked at Richard and gritted her teeth, “I am well aware.”

Ferlyn immediately sighed, “No, no you are not.”

“I am,” Noelene insisted.

“Are you, really? Tell me then, what risks are you aware of?”

“That pioneers are often sacrificed.” Noelene's words were the cold, hard truth.

“Do you know how many? Do you know how many priestesses had to be sacrificed to obtain the information in this book? Each demon god took eleven on average!” Ferlyn turned back to Richard, “You can't just watch as those you love die, but the same holds true for me. I will not send my priestesses on suicide missions, even if they want to go. Do you understand?”

“Then how do we deal with these demon gods?” Richard asked almost in exasperation. If even the Church of the Eternal Dragon was unwilling to deal with them, he had no chance.

“It is different for each one. The ones we are familiar with can be taken care of more easily, but such familiarity comes with an enormous price that I do not wish to pay.”

Richard sighed and nodded his head seriously, expressing his understanding. He wanted to save Tzu at all costs, but that was all costs to him. He couldn't expect Ferlyn to sacrifice her subordinates for no good reason, especially when success wasn't even guaranteed.

“I will go,” Noelene said once more, “Someone has to take the first step, and I might not necessarily die.” Google search f𝙧ee𝔀𝑒𝚋𝐧૦ѵ𝑒Ɩ. 𝑐𝘰𝒎

This time, Ferlyn finally lost her calmness, “Noelene, I said no. Disobey again and I will lock your timeforce.”

This immediately silenced the grand priestess. Without timeforce, she was of little use.

Richard looked at Ferlyn and suddenly asked, “Will the priestess that goes die?”

“I don't know,” Ferlyn responded, but her tone was a little off. He immediately realised what the real answer was.

“What should I do then?”

Ferlyn drew the outline of a symbol in the air, condensing a large volume of timeforce to form a bottle of dark red elixir. The bottle itself was made of crystal, with three monstrous dragons in black and gold circling around it to form its base. A searing heat immediately diffused through the room as a bleak roar rang out.

“This is a flame potion made from the heart of an abyssal fire demon. Drink it and your Archeron bloodline will be jolted awake, giving your soul great power for a short period of time. Even if you face a demon god of the Annihilation Plane, you can escape once.

But be warned; drinking that potion might affect your character and soul. The strength of your bloodline will certainly be warped, though for better or for worse I cannot be certain.”

Richard frowned. The power to resist an epic-level being's soul attack for the mere chance of one's bloodline being warped, and not necessarily even for the worse, was too good to be true. He shook his head and asked, “Worst case?”

“The remnant will of the fire demon will use your soul to heal itself, turning you into a vessel for its power. Your existence will be wiped out.”

“What are the odds of that happening?” Richard asked.

“Uncertain, between ten and fifty percent. I suggest you make a prayer to the Goddess of Luck before using it.”

“Will it give me a chance to beat Iskara?”

“Not if you had ten.”

......

When he left the Church of the Eternal Dragon, Richard's mood was much worse than before he arrived. The flame potion was now in his possession at the cost of the entire chest of offerings, but he had learnt that the potion had been crafted by a god in a primary plane over hundreds of years. It had been sacrificed to the Eternal Dragon after that god was killed in planar war, and it was only in this circuitous manner that Ferlyn had access to it. The potion was certainly worth the cost.

He had learnt more about the Annihilation Plane over a conversation with Ferlyn. It was a unique place of pure, unadulterated energy, and the demon gods that ruled over it were the very embodiment of laws. These demon gods had strength comparable to demon or devil lords from the abyss and hell respectively, but their natural affinities also bound them to their plane. They could only push their will into the greater void, using vessels to conquer other planes.

Taking care of pressing matters, Richard quickly returned to the Forest Plane. A day in Norland was eight over there, and those eight days could mean the difference between seeing his newfound aunt one more time and not.

After the trip to the church, he had given up on all ideas of summoning Asiris. The Dark Priest did have great battle prowess, especially in the realm of the soul, but Iskara was not an enemy he could compare to. In fact, three of him wouldn't even match up to Noelene; while he was considered a priest as well, he was a false believer unlike her.

Just like Ferlyn, he couldn't throw his own subordinates to their deaths without reason.

897 - City of Sin

Choice

Once back in the Forest Plane, Richard sent orders for his followers to assemble his rune knights before rushing back to the Evernight Tribe alone.

Her body still covered completely, most people couldn't see the difference in Tzu's aura. She even seemed stronger than before, but Richard could immediately tell that this was a result of her using all of her strength to suppress the curse. She was losing even faster now, and it wouldn't be long before Iskara pressed his advantage once and for all.

She seemed extremely carefree and happy in his presence, even recounting old times with Elena to him, but this attitude only caused Richard to feel worse. The more cheerful she was in her current position, the closer she was to death.

He walked around the tree of life for a long time in complete silence. The Evernight elves preferred to live in the houses around the tree instead of right on it, so most of the buildings here were shrines and other public gathering places.

The sound of sharp winds buffeted him the moment he turned a corner, immediately drawing his attention to a small warehouse in the distance where two people were arguing. Noticing that one of them was Melia, Richard grew intrigued and listened closer.

The male elf opposite Melia had set up a shield of nature energy around them, a little trick that disrupted the sound passing through it until it was indistinguishable, but this was an easy thing to circumvent. Sending a wisp of his own nature energy to reverse the process, Richard immediately heard their voices clearly.

“This is for the sake of the tribe!” the male seemed extremely agitated, “The Skylance is far too important, not just for the tribe but also for you... and me.”

“What does this have to do with us, Kael?” Melia's voice was cold.

“You're a daughter of the forest, and I'm only one step away from becoming a son. Don't... Don't you understand my feelings?” Kael's voice trembled slightly.

“I have no interest in love right now,” Melia responded without any difference.

“... Alright, but you are the only one who can approach the Grand Elder and get the Skylance. Don't you know its history?”

“What history?” Melia frowned.

Kael gritted his teeth, “Before we came to the sea of trees, our Evernight Tribe was part of a great elven empire on another plane! We are the descendants of the royalty of that ancient empire, high elves called silvermoon elves.”

“Silvermoon... elves?” Melia found this rather difficult to comprehend. Just like most others of her generation, she hadn't been told of this history.

“Yes! That is why our warriors are stronger than those of the other tribes, that is why we have so many sons and daughters. We have the blood of high elves in us, and it's far purer than even the Jadeleaf Tribe!” Kael's eyes started glimmering brightly in his excitement. Elves by nature placed great emphasis on lineage, and there was nothing more gratifying than knowing one's blood was pure and noble.

“We're descended from high elves?” Melia's breathing grew hurried.

“That isn't everything! I found a box of old books in a corner of the library, and one of them recorded some snippets of history. We silvermoon elves were royalty even amongst the high elves!”

“Is that true?”

“Yes! And the Skylance is one of the seven divine weapons of the elven empire from back then! The Grand Elder has never used its full power in front of us!”

Melia was rendered silently by this revelation, not even reacting as Kael stepped forward and grabbed her shoulders, “Steal the Skylance and let's run. We have the most powerful bloodline in the Evernight Tribe right now, we'll definitely avenge everyone someday!”

“Just... Just the two of us? What about the Grand Elder? What about our brothers and sisters?”

“The Grand Elder can't fight her curse even with the Skylance! We don't have the strength to save the rest of the tribe either. If we bring them along, we'll be captured with them and turned into breeding animals! Do you want that sort of fate? I don't. Dying in battle is easy, surviving takes true courage! The Grand Elder is going to die anyway, she has no need for the Skylance anymore.”

Melia froze and thought it over for a moment before slowly struggling out of his grasp, “The Skylance is the Grand Elder's treasure; it's her right to do what she wants with it. If she wants the weapon to accompany her in eternal sleep, that's her right. I won't touch it.”

“You...” Kael was speechless.

“I'm going to stay and meet our fate with our siblings. Even if the Grand Elder isn't around, the tribe might still survive. Richard agreed to help us.”

“Richard? That human? He's an outsider! He's... He's just a filthy half-blood human! Don't be fooled by him, humans are all liars and bandits!”

“And how many humans have you met in your life? He was my first one, and the Grand Elder acknowledges him as well. Once she's no longer around... If we can't protect the tree of life, I'm under orders to break out and go find him with the rest of the tribe.”

“That's impossible, Richard is a human! Even the Grand Elder can't help us, how can a human go up against the alliance?”

“Richard is amazing, he just might have a way. At the very least, I believe in him.”

Kael immediately went mute for a moment, eyeing Melia up and down, “You... did you fall in love with him?”

“How's that possible?!” Melia's voice immediately turned shrill, “Enough, I think we're done for tonight!”

She waved an arm to break the shield, walking off in a rage. However, she only took a few steps before coming to a stop and turning back, “Your words make sense. I won't tell anyone if you run away.”

Having said that, she hurried away. Kael stood in place for a minute, but he soon left as well. Stood in the shadows, Richard waited for them to move out of range before heading back to his own residence.

......

Richard had been assigned a beautiful little hut right under the tree, the decorations luxurious with even the candlestands made exquisitely. The candlestand was currently flickering with magical fire, warming the room and giving him enough light to comfortably read through a thick tome. This was all the information the Church of the Eternal Dragon had on the Annihilation Plane— while Iskara was a complete unknown, general information about his kind could still be useful. There had to be similarities with the twelve known devils that one could possibly exploit.

“Come in,” he said softly as a gentle knock sounded on the door, looking up to see Melia entering.

The girl fidgeted under his gaze, but after a moment's hesitation she made up her mind and asked, “Is there any way to save the Grand Elder?”

He closed the book and smiled wistfully, “That's the worst question to ask.”

“There's no hope at all?”

“Everything in this world has a weakness, there's no such thing as impossible. However, there are things that are impossible for certain people and things that are impossible at certain times. Saving Aunt Tzu... is currently impossible for me.”

Tears flooded Melia's eyes, but she wiped them off and whispered, “If she leaves... What do we do?”

“Sigh. Do you want the truth?”

“Y-yes.” She forced herself to look him in the eye.

“The best idea I have is to get the tribe to migrate to my territory. I'll find a way to bring the tree of life along, but even if that fails that's still fine. I have a tree of life there of my own, the world tree won't be able to threaten you.”

“Your... territory?”

Remembering that she still didn't know of his identity, Richard shook his head, “The portal to this plane— what the locals call the devil's gate. The area surrounding it is under my control, and I'm still expanding. The closest elven tribe is now under my control, and their tree of life has submitted to me as well. If you insist on wanting one from Norland and we can't get this one, I can still try to buy one on the market if I can.”

“You're... You're the leader of the invaders?! Then why didn't the Grand Elder... Kill...”

898 - City of Sin

A War Of Reality And Illusion

Richard was a little confused by Melia's shock for a moment, but he quickly realised the issue. This far away from his base, none of the elves knew or even cared that the Schumpeters had been chased out and replaced. With the cruelty of the Schumpeter research laboratories and the general disposition of the family itself, it was obvious that the locals hated them with all their heart. Please visit ƒre𝐞𝘸𝑒𝘣𝘯𝘰νℯ𝒍 𝐜𝑜m

The focus of planar war was not massacre but conquest; the goal was to exploit the resources of the plane for profit, either monetary or otherwise. Even after surviving the threats of the new plane, one still needed a way to transfer these resources over back to Norland. In most cases, this required the subjugation of natives for the laborious tasks of collecting and transporting these resources.

This was especially true in a plane whose resources came in the form of plants and trees, but given their pride the local elves would never submit. Only able to expand slowly due to the will of the forest, the Schumpeters had resorted to breaking down the will of the locals by sheer terror. One of the methods used to accomplish this was four lighthouses at the corners of Emerald City, collectively called the Light of the Forest. These lighthouses had been fuelled by the bodies and souls of the elves, and connected as they were to nature these locals could feel the death throes of their brethren from afar.

However, this had only served a negative purpose. The locals were already beheading anyone they caught, but now they were skinning people alive and throwing mangled corpses at the foot of the city. The hostilities spiralled out of control for an entire century before Gaton conquered the place, destroying the cruel constructions.

“I'm not the same as the Schumpeters,” Richard smiled at Melia, “In fact, my father and I basically destroyed that family. The lighthouses were destroyed a long time ago.”

“But you've still killed many people, haven't you?”

“Heh. And you haven't?” Richard snorted, leaving her speechless. She had been the cause of quite a few deaths to those chasing them during their escape.

However, she shook her head and frowned, “That's not the same. This is a war between—”

“It's a war,” Richard interrupted, “The world tree here doesn't welcome outsiders at all, in fact it hates them. I assume you understand that you're not a local either? In the world tree's eyes, you're no different from me. The only reason you don't get attacked every day is the fact that Aunt Tzu is absurdly powerful. Look what's happening now, or do you think being bred as a sow is any better than death?”

...

Melia had no idea how she left. She hadn't gotten the answers she wanted, and her heart was left completely numb. Just like many other evernight elves, she had always thought of herself as one of the locals and worshipped the world tree. Now, she realised she would never be accepted amongst their kind.

A gaze followed the young woman's body under the shield of the night, focused on her until she disappeared into the crown of the tree of life. The gaze then landed on Richard's own house and cast a poisonous glare before fading away.

Within the house, Richard looked outside the window while deep in thought. He'd felt the veiled threat in that distant glare, but most of the evernight elves still considered themselves as part of this plane and had no good impression of him. Even if they knew of their heritage, that likely would not change. Instead of looking down on him as an outsider, they would look down on him as a human instead. Tzu had told him of the state that Silvermoon had devolved to before she left, a bunch of squabbling lords who looked down on the far-superior human empires outside the forest and dividing even amongst themselves. Dealing with high elves was never a pleasant matter.

At this point, he thought nothing of the elves' hostility towards him. Just like the opinions of a random commoner of his territory didn't matter much, the opinion of any one of these elves was pointless as well. There were still people like Tzu and Melia who didn't care about what race one came from, and his mother had been extremely gentle and friendly to every single person in Rooseland. They might be exceptions to the rule, but they were also the only ones that mattered.

Night quickly passed and the sun rose once more, but Richard didn't leave the treehouse at all. The tree of life here was much more powerful than his own, and with its assistance he managed to pour all of his energy into researching the Annihilation Plane. Even when he grew tired, a few moments of absorbing the latent energy around him would perk him back up.

Another day quickly passed, the moonforce in the tribe reaching its densest point once more. The elves here used the well to judge the time, but Richard could directly tell that it was midnight from the ambient moonforce. While he was engrossed in meditation, specks of light suddenly floated in front of him and converged into the image of a cervitaur, a humanoid upper body with the lower body of a white deer. A female voice rang out, “Hello, Richard.”

Richard immediately opened his eyes and focused on the image, the surprise evident in his expression, “I thought you needed to reach adulthood to form an image of yourself.”

“I come from Silvermoon Palace, how could I be compared to those little trees here?” the Evernight tree of life seemed upset.

“Heh, those aren't really little trees, but whatever. Why are you here?”

“Tzu is preparing for a final battle with Iskara.”

Richard immediately shot up, “What?!”

“It could very well be tonight.” The cervitaur waved a hand, showing him an image of Tzu in her room. She was sat in front of a table and writing something on a piece of paper, her hands trembling with every word. The scene was a little blurry, but he could clearly see that this was her will.

Dense grey fog was wrapped around Tzu's body, occasionally shooting out to hit an invisible shield. The power of Iskara's curse constantly tried to erode the translucent silvery-green barrier, but the tree of life was reinforcing this shield with her own energy.

“What will she do?” Richard asked.

“She will notify me when it is time, and I will transfer her entire room into the void outside the crystal sphere. In that way, he will not gain a foothold here.”

By this point, Tzu had finished writing and placed her letters in two separate envelopes. One was meant for Richard, and the other for Melia. Richard felt a heat in his own eyes and fought to suppress the emotion, “When she plans on leaving, send me to that room too,”

“What? That will not do!” the tree of life was startled.

“I can come back,” Richard said softly.

“That's a demon god from the Annihilation Plane!” the tree didn't believe him at all.

“You have no idea what that even means, do you? I can come back, so long as you give me clear coordinates.”

“The coordinates are no problem, but—”

Richard immediately cut her off, staring at the image. Tzu was already beginning to change into her armour. Shaking off her shroud to reveal her skeletal body, she took a deep breath and radiated pure energy from within. Her muscles squirmed visible as they began filling out, majestic strength returning her to peak form. Her body wasn't slender and weak like ordinary elves, instead revealing perfect lines of explosive strength.

Silvermoon elves had long lifespans, and a genius like Tzu who had broken through to the legendary realm at a young age would easily live a thousand years. She was currently in the prime of her life, the point where she was the most stunning to behold. Stood in front of a mirror, she silently watched herself as if to carve this beauty into her heart. A short while later, she took out a chest and retrieved a suit of elven battle armour.

Richard frowned at the sight. The armour was superior-grade equipment, but that was nothing for a legendary being. From its enchantments to its materials to its style, there seemed to be nothing special about it at all. It was the armour of an ordinary high elf warrior.

He wasn't wrong. The armour Tzu was holding really was ordinary, but it was the one she had worn when she travelled and trained with Elena.

899 - City of Sin

A War Of Reality And Illusion(2)

Perhaps out of Nostalgia, Tzu had preserved her old armour over all these years. It was treated just as preciously as the Skylance, if not even better. She quickly donned it all, wearing her ponytail the exact same way she used to all those years ago. Leaving the two remaining letters outside her main hall and closing the door, she gently caressed the Skylance and turned towards the branch of the tree of life that went through her room, “Let's begin.”

“As you command,” the tree said softly, the power of spacetime seeping out from the walls. This energy completely isolated this place from the plane's laws, and in a moment had teleported the entire room outside the protective crystal sphere of the Forest Plane.

Holding the Skylance in hand, she silently awaited her final moments. She could have held off this fight against Iskara, perhaps even for a few years, but the local armies were closing in on the Evernight Tribe and they could not move with her still present. She could still take out the incoming army, but many of her own kin would end up sacrificing their lives in the process.

Had Richard not appeared, she would have chosen to fight to the death. Her tribe's fate had been tied to her own, so there was no point in telling them to escape. However, now there was hope. Richard had his own base camp here where the will of the forest could not suppress him; a foothold where her tribe could flourish.

Surely Elena's son wouldn't let her down... Tzu's thoughts returned to the days when she had first begun her journey. All of her memories of that time were filled with bitter contempt.

“Hey!” a bright flash suddenly blinded her, snapping her out of her scrambled thoughts.

“R-Richard! Why are you here?!” Google search f𝚛𝗲𝒆we𝙗𝙣o𝙫e𝗹. 𝐜o𝚖

“Thought I'd take a stroll with my aunt,” Richard said softly. His tone suggested that it was only something to be expected.

“Don't spout rubbish! Do you think you can actually involve yourself in this battle? If you died, how should I face Elena and that man in the afterlife?! What about my tribe?!”

Richard just smiled at her rage, “It's too late for that now.”

Tzu was taken aback. Looking outside the window, the trees had been replaced by the endless void. They were already teleported away, about to face Iskara! Even if Richard wanted to go back, he would still have to survive Iskara's attacks!

“You...” Tzu was so angry she couldn't find words. She tried a deep breath, but it didn't calm her down. Eventually, she just grunted, “Fine. Fine! I couldn't help my sister, couldn't help the love of her life, and now her son is going to die in front of my face. Just perfect! Alucia damn it, come follow me!”

“One sec,” Richard smiled, taking out a crystal bottle and swallowing the fiery liquid within before shattering it on the floor, “Okay, now I'm ready.”

Tzu looked at Richard with surprise, her temper slowly fading away as green light coagulated around her body to form a pair of wings that were ten metres long. Feeling the power building up within Richard's soul, she shook her head and used the Skylance to tear the room apart.

This was the first time Richard had entered the void, and he could immediately tell why it was only the domain of legendary beings. Unlike the name would imply, there were beautiful lights everywhere that held an air od absolute majesty to them. However, the energy within those rays was so condensed it would mean a quick death.

“Welcome,” a booming voice suddenly rang out as the view changed once more. They had been transported into a desolate battlefield, the cold dark sky home to thousands of stars. The ground was ragged and hilly, with rifts and cliffs all over. A strong gale was blowing across the barren earth.

The world quickly changed once more, troops appearing on both ends of the earth. On one side were the human and elven warriors, and on the other countless creatures of different kinds. Richard quickly activated Insight and saw that these were all energy constructs, and from the connection he felt to some of the warriors and the larger number coming from Tzu, it seemed like the number of warriors one had was directly proportional to their might.

This fight would be decided by war!

Looking over, Richard found that Iskara's troops numbered a hundred times his own. This was no trick, just a direct comparison of the strength of both parties. Even more frightening was the fact that Iskara was a being that reigned over multiple planes; the demon god certainly couldn't have concentrated even a majority of his might here.

And yet, it was this display itself that shook Richard to the core. A whole other world! It was a whole other world! This world was both illusory and real at the same time. Richard could kill his enemies and would be hurt if he was attacked, but these enemies weren't truly live creatures. The entire world was a crystallisation of Iskara's laws.

He didn't even know if this was a fair fight. Iskara clearly had to have expended energy to create this world, but the horde before him still looked impossible to defeat. It was only after seeing this that he understood why Tzu didn't see any chance of victory despite her strength.

“War is the basis of legacy,” Iskara chuckled, “Let us use war to decide everything. I hope you'll entertain me, worms!”

Richard felt like the words didn't have a specific language to them. They were more ideas being transmitted by the power of laws, and his mind was interpreting these ideas by adding words to them later. However, while he felt this power, he could do nothing about it.

“First wave, begin!” Iskara's voice rang out once more, and a small portion of the horde split off and started heading over. Despite being a tiny chunk, this army was still larger than the combined forces on his end.

The army at Tzu's side suddenly flashed and changed, a few of the elven archers and druids disappearing to be replaced with deer-mounted warriors and pikemen. Immediately realising that one could change their troop composition, Richard quickly looked at his own 5,000-man army of shields, spears, archers, priests, and mages. His gaze landed on one specific light infantry soldier who was only level five, transforming the man's leather armour into metal and bulking him up until he was level 10. The price to pay was two other soldiers beside him.

Three level 5 light infantrymen could be converted into a single level 10 elite. This seemed rather fair. Seeing that the first wave was still twenty minutes away at their steady pace, he shook his head and got to work. There were many weak-willed individuals that could be frightened away by such a force, and the potential psychological damage was certainly worth sending them slowly, but they would not affect him.

After a few simple experiments, the army changed gradually. Large sections of his army started disappearing entirely as those remaining behind were strengthened. The light infantry turned into level 12 heavy infantry with tower shields and spears, and their armour had been enchanted for lower weight. The warhorses of the infantry grew stronger, and all of the soldiers' weapons were enchanted as well. The heavy infantry was upgraded into level 14 knights, their armour loaded with various useful spells. All the weaker priests and mages were replaced with more powerful ones, and druids, monks, and cursemasters started filling out their ranks. Several rare classes appeared, many in groups of three but some in pairs or even alone.

By the time the enemy was less than a kilometre away, Richard had already finished his adjustments. His troop had been completely transformed, dropping from five thousand men to twelve hundred but with the average level skyrocketing. The complicated set of more than seventy types of troops could only be controlled the traditional way— he had actually given up on them being able to receive mental commands to strengthen them further— but with the enemies clearly using the same methods he was certain he still had his edge in control.

For Iskara this was entertainment, the entire battlefield a chessboard. He and Tzu were just two pawns in this greater game. Even if the entire horde was wiped out, it would be but a small defeat that would be made up for in a short time. Even if that was a hundred years, to a veritable deity this was only a nap.

900 - City of Sin

A War Of Reality And Illusion(3)

On the other side of the battlefield, Tzu had already led her elven army forward to attack. She had over ten thousand elven warriors under her, but her rearrangements hadn't been as large in scale as Richard's. Landing on the ground while carrying the Skylance, she walked ahead of all of her soldiers and met the enemies head-on.

Watching her ponytail flying in the sky, Richard wanted to ask her to give him control of her troops. However, he quickly shook his head and let her fight her own way. Neither of them would win this battle; he was only here to accompany his aunt in her final hours before fleeing back to the Forest Plane. In the final moments of her existence, what she needed was a bloody and uninhibited battle, not a cold guerilla war with no glory.

Iskara's first legion had only one type of troop, a strange creature with sturdy bodies and sharp horns and claws. Between level 8 and level 10, they were much weaker than the horned demons they resembled, but their numbers more than made up for it.

A wave of arrows whistled through the sky when the two sides were a few hundred metres apart, creating a small gap in the enormous formation. More volleys were fired to break the formation apart further, but the incoming legion just tightened up and filled them out. Every volley killed a hundred of these creatures, but that was only a drop in the ocean. Faint red lights suffused the bodies of these demons as they turned berserk, pouncing on the elves closest to them.

Tzu rushed forward and disappeared into the horde, holding the Skylance up high. The divine weapon that had survived the fall of the elven empire flashed with golden-green lightning as it shot out a cone of pure jade energy, wiping out all enemies up to a dozen metres ahead of her.

And yet, even more of these creatures surged in and trod over their comrades to leap towards her, not scared at all. Tzu snorted, thrusting the Skylance once more, and the spear sent out rays of energy that quickly separated the pouncing enemies into two halves. A bloody mist covered her immediate vicinity, and with over a thousand of them dead in only two strikes it took the horde some time to fill the gap. This was the power of a legendary being, capable of going up against an entire army on her own!

As the elves entered spear formation with Tzu at the tip, Richard turned to his own soldiers and started giving out orders, “Enter formation! Mage Troop 3 boost the shields of the left flank, Mage Troop 6 on the right flank...”

Richard's mouth moved endlessly as he sent out order after order, splitting the two hundred mages into seventy groups with their own specific commands. His soldiers picked up speed as his entire troop flanked around to the rear of the enemy formation, planning to meet Tzu's charge from the other direction.

Tzu herself continued at breakneck pace, the Skylance constantly clearing out a path ahead of her. Every time she stopped one of the captains or generals would find their body exploding. However, when she targeted the black sorcerer that was in command dozens of the strongest creatures jumped forward to block the attack. The commander was sent flying by the explosion but managed to survive. One reason was the three hundred metre distance, while another was its own level 18 might.

Just as the black sorcerer tumbled through the rear of the formation and got up to reorganise its troops, a strange whistle rang out as a distant fireball struck it right in the head. A strong explosion sent it flying once more, and Richard resumed commanding his army in the charge.

The horde was not prepared at all for this attack. Richard had used the hills and valleys over the past while to keep out of sight, so they had only assumed his army was integrated into Tzu's. Now, he was a blade twisting around in their back that ripped their formation apart. Not slowing down in the slightest, his army just ground through the hundreds of horned demons in the rear. With the Skylance and Moonlight flashing constantly, the battle turned into a massacre.

Richard spurred his horse on, his once-nameless sword flashing right across the black sorcerer's neck. There were still more than ten thousand horned demons alive, but with their commander gone all resemblance of forced order broke apart. Exterminating them would only be a matter of time.

Noticing that Iskara still hadn't sent a second legion forward, he had the army slow down and fight a little more defensively, not hunting for kills. He took the time to recover as much of his mana as he could, and the three spring druids in his forces helped his mages do the same. This was only the first battle won, and he would need his army in top shape for the rest.

Once the final demon was killed, Iskara laughed loudly once more, “Not bad at all! A rather exciting performance, you've lost me... Oh, two months of my time. Your own losses are less than I had anticipated as well; this is truly a rare opportunity. Here is your reward, more pieces on the board. You will not win so easily this time!”

Two more legions moved out, slowly entering the battlefield. Richard watched the two new types of enemies like a hawk; even though their numbers were smaller in total at only 30,000, they were more powerful by a level and weren't a single type. There were still horned creatures, but now there were also archers and four-armed javelineers in the fray. Multiple black sorcerers were floating in the air, each of whom was more powerful than the first commander.

This was a true army now, one with magic and range and a proper infantry to keep the enemies at bay. With over 60,000 troops in total, they outnumbered Richard and Tzu roughly six to one. This would be a tough battle.

...

The battle stretched on for quite some time. The elves were like a sturdy reef as they attracted all the attention and attacks, leaving Richard's force free to choose the most advantageous battles. The enemies were whittled away over time, with Tzu and Richard stepping in to eliminate their powerhouses when needed.

Tzu's troops suffered massive casualties even though she was still unstoppable, and Richard's mind was stretched to the limit as the orders never stopped. He was going all out on this small army, constantly repositioning them in the best positions for support as he helped Tzu clear out the enemies bit by bit. He managed to keep his own losses low due to his mobility, and if not counting Tzu herself his army was actually doing much more damage to the enemies in total.

The two enormous legions were eventually cut apart, but Tzu was left with only five thousand elves. Such losses would have broken apart any army, but thankfully this world had no concept of morale. Soldiers would still tire, they would still make mistakes, but they would not desert. However, this had its own disadvantages. Morale was something a lot of commanders used to add explosive strength to their armies, and Tzu was one such commander. She was not used to this style of command at all.

On the other hand, Richard felt no different from normal. As the consummate tactician who always employed the broodmother's drones, he was perfectly used to this kind of battle. Cold, calculating, and ruthless was where he thrived. His own army only lost a hundred men, but most of them were shieldbearers and that was a problem. Once all of his shields were exhausted, his knights would be exposed.

This time, Iskara didn't give them any time to regroup. The moment the last soldier of the third legion was dead four more legions stepped out to battle. There were a hundred sorcerers floating above each one, and in total they outnumbered the combined forces twenty to one.

Richard finally stepped off his own warhorse, grasping Moonlight tightly. This would be a tedious battle.

901 - City of Sin

A War Of Reality And Illusion(4)

Richard felt like he had split into two people, one watching over the battlefield while constantly shouting commands and the other leading the army to attack the opponent's weaknesses. However, the enemies seemed infinite, his own movements becoming robotic and numb.

He still had plenty of mana, spending it like the worst of misers as he calculated the usage of every unit. Moonlight was glowing with power, but this power was only its latent enchantment of sharpness. However, he hadn't ever been given the few moments of respite that would let him recover to full levels. The battle was slowly grinding away at his reserves, and eventually he would be left with nothing.

A strange creature with a blade on its forehead charged towards him, but the only thing he felt was nostalgia for the broodmother's first creations as he sidestepped it entirely and cut its head apart with the most efficient of strokes. The raptors were like this as well, looking ferocious but possessing pathetic strength.

Behind the creature was a four-armed sorcerer. Even as she was waving her arms around in the middle of a cast, Richard flashed right next to her and cut her arms apart. This species relied on its gestures to channel mana, so this effectively killed it.

Richard continued to move forward, continuing to cut through the endless horde. Sorcerers, demons, mutant creatures, all sorts of enemies were cut apart one by one. Minutes turned into hours as he lost track of all time, only focusing his soldiers on killing those nearby. There were many occasions where the enemy formation cleared up for a moment, but it was only a brief respite before they reorganised and continued their offence.

......

At some point, Richard cut down a horned demon only to find no more enemies in front of them. Moonlight was already raised up to defend against any potential attacks, but the enemy didn't seem to be regrouping either.

They'd won? He stopped and shook his head, looking further than just the vicinity of his army. The last few enemies were being killed off by his men.

He had less than 300 soldiers remaining, and as he turned to the green light flashing on the horizon he saw Tzu's ponytail once more. The Skylance swept another hundred enemies to their deaths, her spear forming rainbows as she chased after the stragglers, but there was no one behind her.

He didn't know how many hours had passed, perhaps it had been days; even his second and third minds had been so focused on the battles that there was no way to keep track. However, what he did know was that he and Tzu had eliminated seven of Iskara's legions, and from what the demon god had said earlier this was at least a few decades of damage. The distant horde now seemed a little thinner, although it was only taking a single bite out of an apple.

Not daring to think about the enemy's numbers, he turned back to reorganise his remaining troops. Changing up the composition once more to suit the circumstances, he finally had time to take another look at Tzu.

However, he immediately froze up at the sight. The blood he had assumed to be coming from the enemies was clearly flowing from her hairline, and there were injuries all over her body. It was only then that he realised there was no way to get through the fourth wave of attacks.

“Aunt Tzu!” he shouted.

“Don't bother me when I'm killing, kid!” Tzu had her spear pointed into the sky, golden lightning flashing forth from it and causing a dozen sorcerers to fall.

Richard disregarded her threats entirely, “I'm taking the front for the next wave.”

Tzu jolted the moment she heard that, turning to gaze at the mob of enemies ahead. Her ponytail swung high in the air as she shook her head, “Fine, I'll let you have some fun. Don't die before me!”

“I won't,” he smiled as he cut down a sorcerer himself, “I still plan to return.”

“Of course you have to,” she brandished her spear to send a number of demons flying, “My tribe is yours now.”

When only a dozen enemies were left on the battlefield, Iskara's voice sounded once more. He actually started with applause, “How exciting, little whelp! You've been such a delight. Your minuscule army dealt six times the damage of that elf over there, even I couldn't accomplish that. You will be resurrected after death, given the position of general in my army. Under you, my chessboard will be complete!”

“Huh... What kind of rights would a general have?” Richard asked as he swept through the last few enemies. He had no interest in the position, but the troops in this battlefield could still grow fatigued. He needed some time for his surviving mages to recover.

“You will have up to fifty legions subordinate to you, and your life will be tied to mine. So long as I survive, you will as well. You can also choose one of my subordinate planes and declare yourself its ruler, and there are other benefits as well....”

The conversation lasted nearly fifteen minutes, and Richard came to know that every plane Iskara was trying to conquer had a 'chessboard' like this one. It was used to erode the plane's crystal sphere so his conscient could descend upon and possess all life within. He also learned of all the other benefits Iskara offered to those who bound themselves to him willingly.

Eventually, however, Iskara chuckled, “I believe you have rested enough. Your reward for outstanding performance has come to an end.”

The horde started moving once more, and this time the enemy stretched as far as the eye could see. There were eight legions of enemies, nearly three hundred thousand soldiers! There were so many sorcerers dancing in the sky that it was like a huge flock of migrating birds. With such a large number of enemies, it would take Richard years to cut them all down even if they came at him one by one.

“That's a lot,” he snickered as he came to a stop, watching the tide of enemies rushing over.

Tzu walked over and ruffled his hair, “What, you're scared?”

Richard chuckled, “Of course not, it's just that killing them will be a bother.”

“What are you waiting around here for, then? Bothers should be solved as quickly as possible!”

Moonlight lit up in response to her words as Richard smiled, “I'll be off.”

Tzu nodded, “And I'll be right behind.”

He sheathed moonlight and picked up a lance on the ground, mounting a warhorse and spurring it into a trot. The rest of his troop entered spear formation and gathered behind him, charging forward in tandem.

Tzu remained where she was, the Skylance tapping the ground while her unruly ponytail flew in the wind. She saw as her nephew's tiny army charged into the booming black tide with no fear at all.

When the two sides were five hundred metres apart, Richard suddenly bellowed and raised his speed. All his soldiers and mages did the same, and the tiny army charged into Iskara's enormous force. A strange whistle rang through the sky as a barrage of spells rocked the battlefield. Fireballs and ice spikes sent hundreds of Iskara's soldiers flying, but the icy winds and blazing fires in return completely drowned out Richard's own soldiers.

The energy raging was so powerful that the horned demons on the frontlines slowed their footsteps. Their simple minds could not believe anyone would survive this assault. However, a blazing knight charged out from the ice and fire to crash into their shields, sending a dozen of them flying in one go!

Richard's lance pierced through three horned demons in one go, flinging them away into their kin before grabbing two more. The warhorse under him charged forward fearlessly, trampling nearly a dozen itself, but eventually it gave a sorrowful neigh and crumpled to the ground. It had already been burnt to near-death in the earlier barrage, and it was a miracle for it to have survived this long. His shields had barely even covered himself at the time.

There were only a dozen or so of his soldiers left alive after that storm of death, but even as he landed on the ground Richard continued to charge forward. The horned demons in the surroundings quickly piled up on him, slowing his pace to a crawl, and eventually a number of them just pounced on top of him to hold him down. In the blink of an eye, a mountain of bodies was crushing him into the earth.

902 - City of Sin

Disintegrator

Far in the distance, Tzu remained motionless as she saw monster after monster pile onto Richard. Her eyes narrowed as red light started leaking through the mountain, and even she took a subconscious step backwards as dark flames burst out from within. The abyssal flames quickly broke the hill apart, freezing everything within a dozen metres. Even the demons outside of the range froze up; these constructs did not know fear, but their instincts still reacted to the destructive power.

*BOOM!* Just as it seemed to be done, another explosion rang out as a conflagration that was a hundred metres wide burnt everything in range. Flesh was visibly torn off bone by the raging flames as the fireball slowly rose into the sky, floating above it like a mushroom cloud.

Richard stood at the eye of the inferno, no enemies left nearby. He was bathed in the dark flames and all of his clothing and equipment lay melted on the floor, but the blaze seemed to be a layer of armour unto itself.

He slowly focused his gaze, revealing lava flowing in his once-emerald eyes. As the fiery glare scanned through the monsters dozens of metres away, the enemies subconsciously retreated from his might. Moonlight flew to his arm as he held it out, a strange flame of green, red, and black running across the entire blade.

The sword's tip touched the ground and dragged out a fiery line behind it as Richard walked forward, dragging the blade on and ambling towards his countless enemies. An enormous rhinoceros made the first move, charging right at him, but seeing the thick-skinned opponent that would normally take a level 10 warrior to even scratch, Richard only smiled. His fatigue seemed to vanish along with his body as he reappeared over its head, sword burying itself into the ground right in front of the giant beast.

The creature suddenly changed directions, only brushing against Richard as it dashed a hundred metres away, but its legs quickly went weak and it collapsed. Its huge body slid ten metres along the ground as a bloody line on its head opened up, pouring brain matter all over the earth.

Iskara's warriors finally came to their senses, surging over to pile up on him once more, but another mushroom cloud rose into the sky right after. Tzu finally made her own move, appearing by Richard's side with only a few steps. Patting him once more on the head, she passed him by and continued forward. The flying ponytail danced in front of his face, a few of the strands even brushing against his nose and making it itch. Please visit f𝘳𝐞𝒆wｅ𝚋𝗻𝚘𝚟e𝑙. c𝘰𝓂

Dazzling green rays lit up the grey world, almost like little green flowers blooming on a blank scroll. Deafened by the two explosions he had caused, Richard could only appreciate the time-stopping beauty. He stopped walking and just held onto his blade, gazing at the graceful figure in the distance. His body itched to fight, but his mind was completely devoid of thoughts.

...

It felt like he had spent hours killing in the silent world until Tzu's voice broke through it all once more, “Is it all you can do to hide behind your troops?”

Booming laughter rang out as a mountainous figure appeared on the horizon. The creature had a reptilian lower body with a demonic upper one, possessing a pair of tattered wings so small it was almost laughable. The four stout legs were extremely small, but they managed to carry its weight without issue.

The creature stood nearly ten kilometres tall. Compared to it, even the largest beast in the legion only looked like an ant!

Was this Iskara? On this battlefield, numbers and size were a vague representation of strength. At the very least, Iskara's legion had been obeying this rule all this while. If even the army was this powerful, what about the demon god who was larger than half his army combined?

However, Tzu didn't seem to care as she raised the Skylance, “Wait right there, let's have a duel to the death.”

Iskara wrapped his arms in front of his chest and chuckled, “Alright, I'll wait right here!”

A keening cry rang out as the Skylance filled up with golden-green, charging straight for Iskara like a dragon. Tzu cut through wave after wave of soldiers, but no matter how much space she opened up it was reoccupied in only a moment's time.

Richard stood quietly and watched as she burnt herself out for the last time. His mind was still empty; he was still empty. When he'd already lost track of the battle, Tzu's voice rang out in his ear, “It's time for you to go back.”

“What about you?” he asked subconsciously.

“Me? I'm going to see that bastard father of yours.” A sharp cry tore apart the grey world, the Skylance flying from the horizon at an unthinkable speed to land right past Richard's head. An enormous hole was torn in the void, shattering the laws of the world and opening a path back to the Forest Plane.

Looking at the rift, Richard knew it was time to return. He had already accompanied his aunt as far as he could and seen Iskara with his own eyes, knowing the target of his future vengeance. The forest elves had brought this upon her, and that would be met with freezing rage, but this was the one he would have to kill so he could make peace with her demise.

He walked towards the spatial rift, but right before passing through it he turned back to see Tzu's final moments. To him, this was still a silent world; Iskara seemed to be shouting something in the distance as hundreds of eyes shot out rays of energy towards the portal, but she just chuckled recklessly as she spread out her arms and held off the energy with her own. The golden-green light looked extremely fragile, but it held strong. It even stopped the tens of thousands of mages in Iskara's army from jumping through space to follow.

In that instant, Tzu had stopped Iskara and the entire army with her own strength! Endless light surged out of her now-translucent body, but that ponytail continued to wag up and down in the sky. Her back turned to Richard, she merely waved an arm in farewell.

“STAY!” Iskara finally lost his calm, thunderous void breaking through the silence of the world and causing Richard's soul to tremble.

This was a direct soul attack. Richard could have crossed through the rift before it struck, but in the last moment he turned around to glare at the monstrosity across him and bellowed with all his fury. An invisible hand seemed to grab hold of his soul, but the connection was quickly burnt apart. Richard almost lost consciousness from the collision, but he had already jumped into the portal. Looking back at the battlefield of reality and illusion, all he could see was green light illuminating the entire world.

......

“...chard! RICHARD! RICHARD” A panicked voice brought Richard to consciousness. Someone helped him sit up as he struggled through the mind-numbing pain, collecting his thoughts and regaining his focus.

“W-What happened?” Melia stuttered, “This is the Grand Elder's spear!”

He didn't even hear her question as he looked around, slowly getting to his feet and taking a look at his surroundings. There was a huge hole where Tzu's bedroom once was, and another hole in the ceiling of the treehouse. The Skylance was stuck into the ground below, the ancient divine weapon of the elven empire now dull with several sections of its shaft melted away. Cutting through Iskara's world of laws took a great toll even on something so powerful.

Richard reached out to pick up the spear, his eye caught by a glint in the floor below. Freezing up and reaching out to touch, he found a dark gold fruit the size of a fist embedded below. There were many tiny runes carved upon it, the most beautiful of handicrafts.

Weighing the fruit in his hand, Richard instantly knew what it was: the seed of a golden world tree. This was the final gift Tzu had left for him, something that she had not planted when she originally came to the Forest Plane.

Holding this fruit that was reserved for the royal palace of Silvermoon, Richard's blank mind finally started working once more. He shook his head in pain, turning towards Melia, “Huh?”

“Where's the Grand Elder?” Melia asked once more.

“We fought Iskara,” he said softly, slumping back against the tree. There was nothing else that needed to be said, and even though she tried to ask more questions he waved her off. Feeling the moonforce, he could tell that only a moment had passed in the plane since he had left. However, even ignoring the time spent on the battlefield he knew at least a month had passed as he tumbled through the torn space to arrive back here. He had woken up on occasion in that time, but the sheer exhaustion had been too great to ignore for more than a few hours at a stretch.

“I'll be gone... Few days...” he huffed out as life energy surged into him from the tree of life. Before Melia could even respond, he shot into the night sky and disappeared.

......

It took seven days for Richard to condense everything he had seen in that battlefield. With Lifesbane forming the core, he had channelled his rage into crafting a new rune for himself, one that finally connected everything else and formed a set of his own.

That set was called the Disintegrator.

903 - City of Sin

Stifled

Richard sighed once the Disintegrator was complete. He could already feel the boost in power this set could give him; it might have been enough to last through another wave with Tzu before he had to flee. However, this set could only be formed from what he had learnt in that battle, where he had spent many days fighting and leading without end to the limits of his abilities. Most important of all was his direct contact with Iskara's soul force and the power that he had felt within, alongside the final image of Tzu erupting with all of her ability.

At some point in time, Richard's originally weak body now had carrying capacity that even surpassed Waterflower's. Five layers of Lifesbane were superimposed on him without issue, and that was in addition to the grade 4 Mana Armament. His vitality rune had been upgraded to grade 3, and his original Nature's Domain and spell penetration runes had become the Ruler's Domain and grade 4 Magic Break runes respectively. On top of all this, he had added a new grade 3 rune called Unshakeable Will.

The upgraded vitality rune greatly improved his sustainability in combat, and Wanderer's Domain allowed him to fight skillfully in most environments. In the Forest Plane where he grasped the power of laws, he was better than most children of the forest. Magic Break now had the opportunity to shatter spells instead of just weakening their effects, while Unshakeable Will was actually an interface that his tertiary consciousness could tap into to control his energy distribution precisely.

Once he confirmed that all the runes were working as intended, Richard got dressed and walked out of the lab. He swayed a little as the sunlight struck him— he hadn't slept in an entire week outside of meditation— but a pair of soft hands immediately grabbed him to help him steady. Swaying the fatigue away, he shook his head and took Moonlight from Rosie, “I'll be going ahead. Tell everyone to assemble according to the original plan and set off.”

“Yes, Master,” Rosie nodded seriously.

Richard acknowledged and jumped straight into the air, gliding dozens of metres onto a nearby building and leaping off once more. In only a few seconds, he had disappeared.

Putting all the other equipment she had prepared for him away, Rosie headed to the war room immediately, “Master said to mobilise the troops according to the original plan.”

“He just left? Did he say anything?” Alice raised her head from the map table.

“No, he's in a bad mood.”

Alice nodded and sighed, “Alright, leave.”

Hearing the dismissive tone, Rosie nodded and excused herself from the war room. However, she stopped a moment when she walked out of the door, taking a deep breath before continuing on her way.

Back in the war room, Alice was staring at the door with a wrinkled brow. Her fiery hair and faint scar were known to every Archeron in existence, and they all revered her as the goddess of war, but in her heart she felt like she couldn't hold a candle to this weak mage that came from another family. She was a great general, there was no doubt about that, but Richard himself was much better. If in a frontal battle, she wouldn't trust in her victory unless she had three soldiers for every two of his. Even so, the Rose Knights were a force to be reckoned with on their own. The value of hundreds of quasi-rune knights could not be understated at all. On top of that, Rosie herself was a true runemaster.

That wasn't even the annoying part. Now that she had some access to Richard's army, Alice had found that Rosie was the one person outside of Flowsand he regularly shared a bed with, despite numerous attempts by people of all stature to court his affections. He had even called her an Archeron in public, effectively marrying her into the family. On the other hand, she herself was supposed to be Richard's partner but they had only been intimate once. Moreover, her own fears had stopped either side from enjoying things nearly as much as Rosie would have.

With neither side having had children with Richard yet, Alice knew that her status wasn't much higher than Rosie's. Still, the other woman had endured the dismissal and walked off without arguing about it. Such people were far more difficult to deal with than the arrogant ones.

Alice shook her head and forced down the annoyance in her heart. Richard had been injured upon return, but he refused all treatment and immediately holed himself up to meditate and work on his runecrafting. Anyone with even the slightest of intellect could see that he was in a bad mood, a storm brewing under his calm appearance, but he had left just as quickly as he arrived. There was no information about what had happened within the depths of the forest at all.

Right now, only one thing was certain: war was imminent. Knowing this was her chance to gain the upper hand over Rosie, Alice decided she would outperform herself and took a horn off the wall, walking up to the terrace and blowing hard.

The warhorn resounded throughout Emerald City for nearly a minute, and the barracks immediately quieted down. The soldiers who'd been enjoying lunch with friends finished up quietly and returned to their rooms, starting to equip themselves. Hundreds of squires poured into the stables to saddle the horses, and in less than an hour, the entire army had assembled.

Nyris and Agamemnon's soldiers were here as well, and they were all elites, but they lost their voices as they saw Richard's troops assemble. It took a long time after the rune knights had marched away that the soldiers of the royal family looked at each other and whispered, “Were they all rune knights?”

These men had seen rune knights before, but never in such great numbers. With 150 Savage Knights paired with 200 Rose Knights, the total count was a staggering number that comprised almost all of Richard's elites!

......

In the depths of the forest, Phaser was lazing around on the broodmother's back without moving. Continuing to eat, the broodmother reminded her, “That is a call to assemble. Are you not ready yet?”

“Master already left early, I'll join them halfway. Don't be noisy, I'm thinking/”

“Thinking?” Constantly eating, the broodmother could only communicate with Phaser via her mind. Still, the doubt in her tone was quite obvious; in her eyes, Phaser was just in a daze.

“I'm thinking about life,” Phaser replied seriously.

“Life?” The broodmother stopped chewing for a moment, gradually turning serious.

......

*Ting! Ting!* The sound of hammering constantly rang through a corner of Emerald City, coming from a small smithy near the edge. Mountainsea was hammering a bar of red metal on the anvil, her forehead covered in sweat. Next to the furnace was a pile of slag, and on the other side were a few small ingots.

Sitting on the edge of the furnace, Tiramisu's three eyes were completely entranced by her single-minded focus. At this point it was clear that he would reach the legendary realm one day, and he already had the power of an ogre lord, but even to him this girl looked like a monster. The metal on the anvil looked unremarkable, but even with Mountainsea's full power it was only changing slightly with each blow. She had started on this a dozen days ago, jumping up from her sleep with the idea of making armour for herself.

After tossing through Richard's warehouse, she eventually settled on lafite to be the material. However, while lafite steel was quite tough, it didn't meet her standards at all. To ensure that the metal reached a quality she was happy with, she was folding it using techniques she had learnt from the craftsmen in the base.

The ogre had watched as a full ingot of lafite steel had been turned into a thin sheet, followed by a second and a third. Day after day she had worked on the metal, turning a dozen tonnes of material into only a few ingots. Tiramisu wondered if this metal could even be called lafite anymore.

904 - City of Sin

Dispute

Scratching his head, Tiramisu finally worked up the courage to ask, “Who taught you to forge?”

“A human here, a few days ago.” Mountainsea continued to wave her hammer.

“But is this thing still lafite?”

“Of course not.”

“Then what is it?”

“I don't know.” A drop of sweat dripped down onto the red metal below, immediately evaporating.

“The blacksmiths here are ordinary, they couldn't teach you to make this thing.”

“Hmm? I don't know, I just didn't want to sleep anymore.” The girl wiped her forehead, the sweat falling onto the steel once more.

“You see that sweat?” the Medium Rare head whispered, “That's what's doing this. The steel is absorbing her power.”

Tiramisu nodded at the analysis, watching as Mountainsea picked up another lafite ingot and started fusing it with what she was already working on. A single swing of the hammer halved the thickness of the lafite, and the heat started merging it with the rest.

“If you're using your power for it, why don't you just pour blood? It should take half the time,” Tiramisu commented.

Mountainsea sighed, “Why? There aren't many ingots here, what should I do after I finish with them?”

“You look sad,” the Medium Rare head suddenly commented.

“Huh? No, I'm not sad. Just... It feels like I don't have any direction.”

“Direction? Isn't following Master our direction?” Tiramisu chuckled.

“But is that a direction at all?” The girl continued hammering into the metal.
𝑓𝚛𝚎𝗲𝙬ℯ𝘣𝚗𝘰ν𝐞l. co𝗺

It was at this time that Alice's horn rang out. Tiramisu squinted and listened, his muscles bulging instantly, “The little red-haired girl is rallying the army. Should we go?”

Mountainsea looked at the remaining ingots and shook her head, “No, I'll finish these first. Let's go join them later.”

“Argh. Then I'm taking a nap.” The ogre leaned back into the stonewood behind him.

......

The hundreds of rune knights had lined up in orderly squads outside Emerald City, standing quietly. Covered in armour, Alice was sitting in front of them all with a rather unsightly expression on her face. She had been waiting here for half an hour, but neither Phaser, Tiramisu, nor Mountainsea had appeared. Waterflower had only made her presence known for a moment before disappearing somewhere, and Rosie hadn't come along.

The last one was the only decision that made sense— runemasters generally didn't enter battle unless they were looking for experience. Even the nicest evaluation of someone like Richard who led the charge was eccentric, while many people considered it downright crazy.

“My Lady, it has been a long time now. Are we still waiting?” One of Alice's generals came up and asked.

Another one snorted coldly, “Lord Richard's followers are far too proud; they actually ignore the military call. If one of my men was half an hour late, he would be beheaded. This... I don't know how he trained them.”

“Shut your mouth!” One of the rune knights stepped out of formation immediately, eyes screaming murder at the two generals, “Who permitted you to say anything about my Lord or his followers?”

The two generals immediately turned green, one of them shouting, “This is no place for you to interrupt! Know your place, do not think your runes are personal property! I was following my Lady into war before you even knew what a battlefield was!”

“Oh?” The rune knight sneered, “You think you're better than us, do you? Let's see how many we have... Oh, about 300, nothing at all. I'll give you five thousand men, how about we go meet on the battlefield?”

The two generals immediately paled, remembering that the rune knights belonged to Richard and not Alice. While he had handed them over to her control, their loyalties were clear. Although the Rose Knights were weaker than the average rune knight, this troop's charge couldn't be stopped even by 10,000 elite soldiers. In fact, Richard was the only one in recent years who regularly fought rune knights with ordinary knights, but even then finding soldiers like the shadowspears was impossible.

“Such insolence!” Alice frowned, “Richard handed command of you all to me. Did you forget that?”

The rune knight glanced at Alice and shrugged it off, “Earl Alice, we obey our orders, but not unconditionally. I suggest your subordinates control their mouths, comments on my Lord or his followers will not be welcome here.”

Having said this, the man got back on his horse. However, before returning to his team, he turned back to sneer at the two generals once more, “You haven't seen the power of my Lord's followers. In front of them, you lot are less than dirt. Your so-called experience will be useless!”

The two generals' expressions were warped beyond ugly at this point, but under Alice's gaze they forced themselves to endure the humiliation. Most of the rune knights present were actually stronger than them individually, and they were only in their positions because of their tactical ability. Being used to drowning powerhouses with ordinary soldiers, they did not value those who were only strong individually and nothing else. However, Richard's rune knights had experienced fighting alongside Richard's followers. Tiramisu, Flowsand, Waterflower, Io, Nyra, even Gangdor... Every one of these names filled the enemy with nightmares.

“Sigh. We cannot wait any longer; march!” Alice waved forward, starting the expedition.

......

Richard's unicorn had joined the rune knight army when they were a few minutes along the road. Now taller than any other mount present, it possessed the ability to shield everyone from the will of the forest.

On the unicorn's back was Waterflower, snoring against the creature's neck with the Shepherd of Eternal Rest clutched tightly in her hands. She was the only follower who had appeared on time, but several of Alice's generals were just staring at her with a mix of emotions. One reason was that her posture was too casual and revealing, not nearly as disciplined as a soldier's should have been. However, the more important part was that she was on the unicorn instead of Alice. Alice had tried to mount the beast once it appeared, but it had casually kicked her away. In contrast, it went docile the moment Waterflower appeared and even moved around softly to keep things stable for her. Comparisons would naturally be drawn.

The sleeping Waterflower suddenly seemed to feel something as she opened her eyes, looking over the generals before returning to her sleep. The generals immediately went stiff the moment her gaze fell upon them, one even losing balance and falling off his horse. Alice jumped off her own mount without saying a word, eyes glaring daggers as she picked him up and threw him back on his horse.

These generals were excellent at tactics, but their personal strength wasn't outstanding at all, barely making sainthood. Waterflower was someone who had followed Richard in the Battlefield of Despair for years on end, tempering herself to the absolute limit of perfection before advancing. Ordinary saints were nothing to her; she could kill ten of them in a single fight.

The generals fell quiet after this incident, but the atmosphere had turned freezing. Alice's brow was constantly furrowed in her dissatisfaction; she'd known long ago that Richard's followers were extremely powerful, but their unruly nature was a shock. They only seemed to care about him, not considering her position at all.

......

It didn't take long for Richard to arrive at the Evernight Tribe, but some of the elves guarding the tree of life moved to block his path. One of them spoke up, “Mister Richard, the Council of Elders is holding a meeting. Forgive me, you cannot enter for now.”

The elf was asking for forgiveness, but his body posture made it clear that it was all just a formality. He didn't want Richard to enter the tribe either.

“The... Since when is there a council of elders in the tribe?” Richard asked slowly.

“The Council was established after the death of the Grand Elder.”

“Fu... And who made this decision? Nobody has such rights in the tribe, take me to this council now.”

“I'm sorry, you can only wait here.” The warrior was extremely determined.

905 - City of Sin

Cleaning Up The Mess

The warrior maintained the necessary etiquette and respect, but continued to block Richard. This was the arrogance of the elves, a race that looked down upon all the rest.

“Tell Melia to come see me,” Richard said slowly.

“Elder Melia is currently attending the council meeting, she will not be able to come see you. I will inform her when it has en—”

Richard waved him off, “So these so-called elders of yours don't want me to enter the tribe, huh.”

The guard was stunned at the treatment for a moment, but he quickly regained his composure, “Mister Richard, wait for the elders to— Khhhrhg!”

Richard had already grabbed him by the neck and lifted him into the air, nearly crushing him to death right there. Looking at the warriors around him pulling out their swords and drawing their bows, he raised his voice, “Grand Elder Tzu put me in charge of your tribe before she passed on; anyone not prepared to obey her will is a traitor. Betray the tribe and your soul will not be able to reach the tree of life. Betray the tribe, and you. Will. Die!”

He continued to crush the guard's neck as he spoke, but his words rendered both the civilians and the soldiers silent. Execution was nothing, but barring one from returning to the tree of life was the most severe of punishments. Elven tradition held that their souls would return to the tree of life upon death, awaiting future reincarnation elsewhere. If they were blocked from this, then they would truly be dead.

Richard dropped the warrior to the ground, turning towards the rest. The guard fell to the ground and rolled around violently, but his hands were still clenching at his throat. He tried to breathe, but no air would go in. Although Richard had let go, there was still energy wrapped around him that would suffocate him to death.

The Evernight warriors nearby were shocked, but they hesitated to do anything about it. The Grand Elder's special relationship with Richard hadn't particularly been hidden, even if no one knew how exactly the two were related. However, rage flashed in the eyes of one particular hunter as he loosed an arrow aimed straight at Richard's heart.

“Careful!” “What are you doing!” Several warriors yelled, but it was already too late. The long arrow struck an invisible barrier along the way, its speed dropping sharply until it fell harmlessly to the ground. A touch of red light started burning the shaft, and in only an instant the arrow was nothing but ash.

Richard silently turned towards the hunter, a pale grey orb of light jumping from a finger in his direction. The orb was almost invisible to the naked eye, but the man suddenly felt a great threat and started running away. However, the spell was several times faster than him; he was caught up to in a mere moment, and the light entered his body. The hunter's face distorted as a red mist floated out of his body, coagulating right before his eyes. His own body quickly withering away, he fell to the ground as nothing but a dry corpse.

The other elves were shocked silent, some recognising the spell Richard had used. Desiccation was a horrible spell of death, capable of removing all the liquid from the target's body to kill them. Although it was only situational and merely grade 7, it was more infamous than some grade 9 spells. The silvermoon elves originally had great affinity for magic; the Evernight Tribe was only dominated by druids now because of the environment of the Forest Plane.

Just as the elves were about to grow restless once more, a faint yellow light rippled out from Richard's body, covering everything within twenty metres. Every elf within the area felt themselves go numb, most freezing in place and some even falling to the ground. Group paralysis was only a grade 6 spell, but in Richard's hands even the druids who were skilled at resisting magic were nailed in place.

Richard walked over to the tree of life, taking the ladder up to the canopy. Now, the elves were looking at him not with arrogance but fear. They at least knew what it meant for him to be able to paralyse them all for a few minutes.

As he climbed, Richard sent out another invisible wave of energy. This wave allowed him to sense the entire village, but what he noticed caused his heart to beat quickly. The number of warriors here was unusually small, less than half their full number. With doubts in his mind, he quickly went straight to the top where the so-called council of elders was meeting.

......

There were seven elves in the treehouse, with Melia and Kael amongst them. There had been no council when Tzu was in charge, the elders were only responsible for carrying out her orders, but now the atmosphere was extremely tense as a middle-aged elf stood up, “The Skylance is our sacred artefact, we cannot hand it over to a half-blood! We are also noble elves, we cannot surrender control to him either.”

Melia stood up angrily, “This was the Grand Elder's will! Are you going to ignore her?”

“What will? Why didn't I see one?” the elf asked softly.

“Wh... I handed it to you! You... you actually dare to hide her will?”

The middle-aged elf shook his head, “I did not come across any will. As the closest relative of the Grand Elder, I will hold on to the Skylance for a while until we select a new one. Afterwards, it will be handed over. Melia, the artefact will no longer be in your hands.”

“Greyfeather, you...” Melia was shocked and angry, not knowing what to say. Greyfeather was Tzu's nephew, and she had never expected him to jump out and compete for the Skylance. He had even destroyed the will she had handed over to him!
f𝗿e𝙚𝙬ℯ𝚋n𝚘ν𝗲l. 𝐜𝐨𝗺

Greyfeather ignore Melia, saying loudly, “All in favour of keeping the Skylance?”

Six arms were raised high.

“Next, we should consider talking to the Duskword Tribe to end the war.”

This time, five arms were lifted up, and Melia's gaze was still desperate.

It was at this point that the door to the treehouse was kicked open, Richard's voice ringing out, “Which motherfucker wants to speak with the Duskwords?”

All heads turned towards Richard as he entered the room, Greyfeather standing up in shock, “Richard! How are you here?”

“Why shouldn't I be? If I hadn't come back any sooner, would this stupid tribe have a new grand elder?”

Greyfeather calmed down, but his expression darkened, “This is a decision of our Evernight Tribe, you are just an outsider. You don't have the qualifications to enter this hall. Leave immediately, or I will call the guards.”

Richard smiled and threw a piece of paper in Greyfeather's face, “Leave? That's Tzu's will, you can read through it later. I'm in charge here.”

Greyfeather glanced through the letter quickly, his brow wrinkling at Tzu's handwriting, but he quickly tore the letter apart, “Where? I don't see it.”

“You don't see anything,” Richard responded. Before Greyfeather could even make sense of what that meant, a searing pain burnt his eyes; Richard flashed right in front of him and kneed him in the stomach, sending him flying into the wall. It wasn't long before the elf was screaming in pure agony.

It was at this point that hurried footsteps sounded outside the treehouse, a bloodied hunter running in and screaming, “The Duskword Tribe ambushed us! Three... Three hunting teams were all killed!”

Richard turned back and stared at the hunter, his voice turning cold, “Three teams?”

906 - City of Sin

Taking Control

The entire Evernight Tribe only had about seven hunting teams added together. For three to be ambushed and killed meant nearly half of the tribe's soldiers were lost. Richard had reinforced Tzu's order to stay within the bounds of the Tree of Life before he left, which was something Tzu herself had left absolute orders for. How did three entire hunting teams leave?

The surviving hunter quickly explained that they had been attacked from all directions by the Duskword Tribe's alliance. The ambush had been a complete encirclement, so there was no way to retreat. He had only managed to sneak away by chance, and had come here to make the report.

Once he heard the report, Richard said coldly, “The Duskword camp is still a thousand kilometres away. Your whereabouts were leaked intentionally. Who sent the teams out?”

“How do you know a scout didn't find them?” an elder stood up to ask.

“Because I killed all their fucking scouts before I left, you bastard! Now, who sent the teams out?”

“These are affairs of the Cou—”

“Fuck councils.” The elder could barely finish his words before there were three fireballs flying towards his face. Landing in a triangle around him, they immediately exploded into a column of fire that sent the elf flying. A loud explosion resounded in the night as a large hole appeared in the ceiling, raging flames spewing out of the hole and shooting up dozens of metres. All that was left behind of the elder was a charred skeleton.

“Richard, why are you doing this?!” Melia jumped up, but the other elders only remained silent.

However, Richard completely ignored her as he picked up another of the elders by the scruff of his neck, “Who sent the teams?”

“I-It was Greyfeather!” the old man screamed, “We were only following his suggestions!”

Richard threw the man away and looked at Greyfeather who was on the ground cupping his eyes, “You actually colluded with the Duskword Tribe... Well, now you're in my hands... Tch... Your end will only be worse.”

He then sighed softly, dispersing his aura entirely. Free of the pressure, the surviving elders finally started breathing properly, but before they could do anything else a faint red halo burst out from Richard and broke the walls of the treehouse entirely. A huge fireball appeared above the tree of life, leaving the council hall smouldering. Richard and the others remained in the same place, the violent explosion not hurting even Greyfeather.

The repeated explosions had drawn out the rest of the Evernight Tribe, and at this point the paralysis had worn off as well. Everyone looked up, recalling Richard's words about the Grand Elder's will.

Richard's cold voice rang out from above, “The Grand Elder and I battled the demon god who had cursed her for days on end, and when I return these so-called elders have formed a council and aren't willing to obey her will. Tzu passed on the Evernight Tribe to my command when she died, and anyone who dares question my authority will be considered a rebel.”

A gale blew out with him at the centre, leaving every tribe member shivering in their boots. Elves had natural resistance to magic, but with his new Magic Break rune his spells were as effective as those of a legendary mage. That resistance was nothing in front of his power.

“You,” he tapped his foot on the floor, “If you stay quiet I'm going to take your heart and leave.”

The tree of life was silent for ten minutes, but Richard remained patient for the entire duration. When the members of the tribe started talking about it, however, the tree shook a little as countless motes of green energy from the branches and leaves gathered into a winding band of light around it.

The elves immediately shut up and bowed. There were two primary ways for Richard to get them to acknowledge his rule: one was Tzu's will, which had just been destroyed, and the other was the recognition of the tree of life. Of course, if neither had worked, he would have just turned them all into slaves; Tzu wanted them alive, and that was his priority. If they could only be alive as peasants, that was what he would turn them into.

Richard nodded and grabbed Greyfeather, throwing him into the air. The tree of life stretched out a few branches and wrapped them around the middle-aged elf's hands and legs, stretching him apart.

“This was a rebel who colluded with the Duskword Tribe, sending three hunting teams to their deaths. Look carefully, this is the punishment for such traitors.”

Hearing this, Greyfeather seemed to sense his end and screamed with all his strength, “I am the Grand Elder's blood nephew, the Skylance and Evernight Tribe should be mine! MINE! I WANT YOU DEAD, FOREIGNER! MELIA YOU BITCH, THIS WAS ALL YOUR FAULT! YOU'LL ALL DIE WHEN THE FOREST CAMP COMES!”

Richard ignored Greyfeather's hysterical screams, lighting a small flame on his finger and sending it towards Greyfeather's torso. The flame was extremely dull, not even looking like it could burn Greyfeather's clothes, but the elf immediately screamed in pain upon contact. The branches of the tree of life squirmed as well, fully intent on staying as far away from those flames as possible.

This flame had been imbued with the power of his truename. Abyssal destruction was not restrained by the environment of the forest, so it was a huge threat to the tree of life. So long as the energy within was not exhausted, these flames would continue to burn forever. Richard only needed to replenish the power ever so often and Greyfeather would writhe in agony for an unbelievably long time.

With the overall situation decided, Richard finally turned to Melia, “Get your tribe's strongest people to come see me.”

......

This time, the meeting place was in the living room Tzu had left behind. The Evernight Tribe didn't have many important figures, only two level 17 druids, three saint hunters including Melia herself, and a mage. The mage was originally from Silvermoon and level 16, but in the environment of the Forest Plane he had actually dropped a level and wasn't very powerful at all.

Richard turned to the hunters first, pulling out an ordinary metal longsword and throwing some to the rest, “Take these, we'll test your martial arts first.”

The three hunters all looked at each other in confusion. Longswords were the traditional weapons of the elves, and all three of them were proficient, but they knew that Richard was actually a mage and not a swordsman. Was he some sort of spellsword? It seemed rather implausible.

Melia took the lead and went over to grab one of the swords, but she didn't understand what Richard wanted her to do. He stood casually and stared at her, “Attack.”

“Umm... Okay...” She took a breath to calm down, focusing on Richard. Although she had accompanied him for quite some time, she wasn't completely sure of his prowess because of how fast he killed most enemies. She stabbed testingly towards his arm, scared of hurting him.

Richard's heart calmed down the moment she started her strike, dark led lava flowing through the depths of his eyes. Under the power of insight, even a daughter of the forest was laid bare before him, her energy flow clearly visible. Wisdom instantly broke through to grade 6, boosting his thought speed once more. The entire world seemed to turn slow as the data he had on Melia coalesced, allowing him to predict all possible trajectories of her blade. The number of possibilities dropped with every inch she moved forward, making her target clear.

Once she was close enough, Richard took his sword and stabbed straight into Melia's blade. He immediately shattered the weapon in a single stroke, continuing on in the same motion to place his blade at her neck. Melia immediately froze up, but he only patted her on the shoulder and turned away, “Next.”

907 - City of Sin

Taking Control(2)

Melia silently walked to the side, but a storm had been set off in her heart. This was the first time she'd actually fought Richard, and even despite her hesitation she could see that his sword skills were far beyond hers. The next two hunters learned from her mistake and went all out, but they didn't do any better. One's sword was sent flying into the ceiling while the other's was turned away and smashed to the ground. Both fights were decided in a single exchange.

Richard showed no joy at this easy victory, instead frowning as he moved on to the druids. The first one buffed himself with a number of traditional barriers, but Richard's sword lit aglow and crashed into the shields. They held, but the druid himself was sent flying away. The longsword was clearly ordinary, but the attack had at least three different effects: Mana Annihilation, Shield Piercing, and Barrier Break. Any one was a headache for a spellcaster, but Richard had all three. The single strike had decimated most of the druid's defences.

Richard followed on with another strike, the glow on his sword changing in mid-air. His sword bounced off once more, but this time the druid turned green. The effects were different now: Weaken Elements, Brittle Armour, And Shield Shatter. Again, all three were a nightmare for a spellcaster's defences. This time the druid's shields broke apart completely, with the first two enchantments reducing his magic resistance and physical strength respectively.

Fortunately, Richard's third sword was merely a pat on the druid's shoulder, “Next.”

The druid left in cold sweat, as did the replacement only a few moments afterwards. Looking at the old mage, Richard just shook his head and threw the longsword to the side. He had done this for two reasons: the first to test the strength of the evernight elves and the second to test the power of Disintegrator. The rune set had two abilities, and the one it was named after allowed him to attach three magic effects to any of his attacks. Alternatively, he could add abyssal flames or strengthen existing fire magic as well. The other effect was more passive, increasing his casting speed and dropping mana costs by more than a fifth.

With his blessings pushed to the limit in the battle with Iskara, Wisdom had levelled up once more in record time. He could now think much faster than the pace of a saint-level battle, which reduced his reliance on instinct to zero and gave him an absolute advantage in fights. His original analysis of the Church's martial arts had already been expanded in scope towards developing a full style of his own, and he was currently a quarter of the way there. With his blessing having advanced once more, the rate of his analysis would only continue to grow. Every new type of enemy he met would feed into his style further and help him perfect it; when it approached completion, he would be twice as effective in battle as he was now.

Originally, he had been focused on the perfect sword strike; a single attack that compressed all the power of Lifesbane into one devastating attack. That was what Decapitate was born out of. Now, however, he had Mana Armament and all the other runes of his set to consider. His fighting style would have to comprehensively make use of those and his blessings themselves until eventually it would evolve into an entirely new type of martial arts. He could already defeat these saint hunters instantly, and even Melia would only be able to last a short while if she went all out.

Of course, this was all with respect to physical battle. The number of possibilities when magic came into the picture were just far too large; he was much better off improvising based on the situation than developing a specific style for that. Google search f𝐫e𝘦𝘸e𝗯𝒏𝗼ѵe𝗹． c𝑜m

Finally taking a seat, he turned to the elves looking at him, “Now, let's discuss the situation of the tribe.”

The elves looked at each other, and one of the druids eventually spoke up. Richard listened quietly, his eyebrows locking together in anger as time went on and his guesses were confirmed.

The Evernight Tribe had just over 1,300 members, 700 women and 600 men. About 600 of these members in total were qualified warriors, 350 of whom could be called hunters with more than thirty druids across all levels. There were also a hundred treants that could help in battle.

However, Richard had no use for slow, lumbering treants and was more concerned about the elves themselves. Greyfeather had sent three entire teams of 50 men each into a mission in the forest, leading them straight to an ambush. A lot of those in these teams were in opposition to his rule, so this had been a way to consolidate his power.

But this was 150 archers! The one thing Richard lacked was stable long-range strike power. He had mages and some drones, but the broodmother's creations couldn't hold a candle to a true elven archer who could shoot more than thirty arrows a minute. When they channelled their bloodlines, they could even triple this speed for a short burst! Elven hunters were quick and nimble, and once he armed them with full enchanted longbows and arrows a force of 350 would be terrifying. Greyfeather had nearly halved this force in one go, and the losses would only have increased further!

Elves were well-known to be slow breeders; to replenish the 150 elite hunters would take at least three to four decades. Richard started to regret just burning Greyfeather, wondering if he should have just tortured him personally in public instead. Hoarse groans were still ringing out from outside the window, but he was already losing resistance. Once the report was done, Richard eyed the druids, “Every quarter hour, heal Greyfeather up a bit. Everyone else is to rest, prepare for war with the Duskword Tribe tomorrow; Melia, you stay.”

The druids' paled at the realisation that Richard wanted to continue Greyfeather's torture, but they nodded and left. Melia stayed behind as instructed, but she had her head hung low.

“You disappoint me,” Richard said the moment they were alone, leaving her unable to reply. Richard had left her with the Skylance upon his return, effectively leaving the tribe in her care while he was gone, but she had allowed the formation of the council of elders and even let three hunting teams die. Amongst those teams were many childhood friends.

Melia hadn't stopped Greyfeather when he wanted to use his blood relation to Tzu to form the council and seize control. She opposed him, sure, but she hadn't used force. Her weakness had led to everything over the past few days. She might have been a daughter of the forest, but she had no skill in politics at all.

Richard sighed, “Give me the Skylance, you clearly don't have the ability to guard it.”

Melia lowered her head and gave him the spear before leaving the room in tears.

908 - City of Sin

Assault

With the top brass nominally under control, Richard spent some time looking through the Evernight Tribe's warehouse. Some of the elves still tried to get the jump on him or berated him in public, but a few quick lightning bolts wiped out all resistance.

The tribe had two fruits of life in total, each one granting fifteen years of extended lifespan instead of just ten. There were also more than a dozen kilograms of moonstone, a material used in crafting superior-grade elven weapons, and dozens of leaves of youth.

The ones he paid attention to the most were the hundred longbows and five branches present in the armoury. While the branches would have to go through fifty years of processing to reach full power, they could be crafted and placed in the hands of apprentice druids for the strengthening process in less than ten. The elven longbows were also half a fold larger and more powerful than standard human longbows, taking twenty years minimum to craft.

In total, the inventory of the Evernight Tribe was roughly worth three top-tier offerings. This was a significant amount, but Richard would not take it away. On the contrary, he was planning to pour in a lot of resources himself to support the development of this tribe.

That train of thought brought him to another problem, however: the tree of life was just too far away from Emerald City. With the powerful will of the forest barring the way, it was extremely difficult to move resources and troops between the two places at a large scale. Even if he wanted to open a kilometre-wide pathway just so a single file of soldiers could march through, he would still need a decade or more. The Evernight Tribe would have fallen to the Duskword alliance long before then. Google search 𝑓𝗿e𝐞𝓌𝙚𝙗𝑛o𝚟e𝙡. c𝚘𝚖

In addition to that, Tzu had mentioned that the Duskword Tribe was backed by the Jadeleaf Tribe, the ones who occupied the world tree. He still hadn't reached a level of power where such a fight would be plausible. Thus, he was faced with a choice: force the tree of life to migrate and sustain a heavy blow, or sacrifice a large number of his own forces and one or two of his followers to permanently defend this place until the channel could be opened up.

It wasn't a tough choice at all. There was no strategic advantage to staying in this place at all, and the damage to the tree of life would easily be healed over time. Summoning the cervitaur form of the tree of life once more, he spoke directly to her, “Prepare to migrate.”

“Migration will leave me weak for thirty to forty years. Could you allow me to use the two fruits of life? Together, they will reduce this period of weakness to only three.”

“Three years? I'll think about it,” Richard didn't answer firmly in the affirmative. The thirty years of life was nothing to him, but that was still two top-tier offerings that could accomplish a great amount. He didn't really care whether the tree of life was weakened for a long time.

“If I am weak, the fertility of the tribe will be greatly affected. In addition, I will not be able to defend the tribe very well; my domain of will is going to be minimal, and the treants will fall deep asleep.” Despite these many reasons, the tree of life still didn't manage to convince Richard.

......

When the dull morning rays lit up the forest once more, the elves of the Evernight Tribe began a new day that was destined to be remembered in the hearts of many; Richard announced that they would leave the land they had lived on for more than a century to move to a city far away.

Whenever a tree of life grew upon a piece of earth for more than a decade, the surroundings would be inundated with the breath of life. Elves could just stand there and do nothing, but their power would still grow slowly; there was also a sense of comfort that they could not find anywhere else. All elves were attached to their trees of life and loved their homeland.

If he had a reasonable choice, Richard didn't really want to move the tree of life either. However, he had far bigger aspirations and problems than the Forest Plane and couldn't afford to station a large number of his rune knights here permanently. The knights themselves wouldn't like the idea either. The elves didn't react much to it; they knew that they couldn't withstand the Duskword Tribe's alliance as they were right now, so it only made sense to flee. However, they still doubted Richard's power.

Or rather, they doubted Richard's power until the rune knights finally appeared.

When the first of the rune knights appeared within the territory of the Evernight Tribe, the alert elven sentinel almost loosed an arrow from his hand. The strength and murderous aura of the knight was far too oppressive, almost frightening him into the attack. There was a strong aura of magic and bloodlust that felt like a natural nemesis.

Fortunately for him, the sentinel had been expecting a force from Richard. Looking at this leader, he started to grow more confident in their chances. However, the other rune knights then started following behind, each with an aura as powerful as the last! Even when just a dozen of them had appeared, the hunter felt all of his energy just withering away.

As the hundreds of rune knights made their way into the meadow, the entire Evernight Tribe fell into chaos. All of the elves walked out of their homes and gathered up to watch the army marching in, the fear evident on their faces. Every one of these mounted soldiers smelled of blood and steel, and together they were a torrent of power that could destroy everything!

When Richard aught a glimpse of his rune knights from what was once Tzu's room, he frowned immediately. Waterflower was sitting right on the back of his unicorn, but he had sensed neither until only a few moments ago. Was his connection to his followers being suppressed by the will of the forest?

The rune knights all dismounted and camped at the edge of the meadow, while Alice was guided up the tree of life. Her short hair seemed to be throbbing like a red flame when she met him, “Your followers didn't just ignore the call to arms, they haven't joined me even now!”

“They didn't meet you halfway?”

“No!”

Richard could understand why Alice was enraged; any good general couldn't tolerate their subordinates not listening to them. However, that wasn't really a worry of his; saints in Norland had a lot of freedom on the battlefield, and with his support most of his followers were amazing even for saints. Waterflower and Tiramisu even had the potential to reach the legendary realm, and Mountainsea's talent left no room for doubt. While he could command them because of their long-term relationships, the same wouldn't hold true for most anyone else.

What he was worried about was the fact that his followers should have joined halfway. Delays were one thing, but none of his followers would completely ignore orders like that. With Waterflower having joined early on, the rest should have been able to use her location to track the rune knights and join up with them.

The only explanation was that the will of the forest had been suppressing their connection for quite some time. This change was enormous and most certainly draining, so there had to be a reason for it. He immediately stood up, “Cancel the break, everyone is to arm up and prepare for battle immediately! Give up on the camp outside and withdraw to the village, we're going to use the buildings as fortifications!”

Alice was shocked, but she immediately flew away. After a moment, the rune knights who had started rest pulled their mounts back to the tree of life. The slower ones were even screamed at.

Melia walked up to the room, clearly having noticed all the turmoil, “Those knights outside are yours? We don't have to migrate now, we can definitely block the attack of the alliance and protect the tree of life!”

Richard smiled reluctantly and shook his head, putting on the sword case Alice had handed him and patting Melia's shoulders, “Let's talk about it after we win this fight. Go call anyone who is able to fight, we're going to need them.”

“The Duskwords are coming?” Melia was shocked. She had just inspected the surrounding lands, but there wasn't any sign of the enemy.

“They shouldn't be far away, maybe even less than an hour.” Richard hurried out to begin checking on his men.

“But I just pa—”

“AAAAH!” Melia's voice was broken by a loud scream in the distance, the voice of one of the sentinels.

909 - City of Sin

Moving Forest

Melia didn't spend a moment thinking as she heard the sentinel's scream, drawing her bow as she jumped out the window and flashed towards the treetops on the edge of the meadow. A slew of arrows zipped past her figure, narrowly missing the target.

Deep in the woords, the Evernight hunters were risking everything to fight back. Some of them retreated to the protection of the tree of life, but one could see the eerie forest turning even gloomier as though night had fallen already. A chill crawled up their spines, leaving them feeling more lethargic and restricting their vision. The will of the forest was suppressing the range of their own tree of life, leaving them significantly weaker than normal.

The arrows continued to fly by, piercing the leather armour and sending explosive energy rippling through the internals of those unfortunate enough to get hit. The ones who retreated in time managed to remain within the range of the tree of life and survive, but those who did not quickly succumbed to the attacks.

A number of hunters from the alliance rushed towards the Evernight Tribe, cloaked in a green aura and moving with greater agility than normal. Even their arrows glowed green, heading straight for the target under the guidance of an unknown force. Further within, dozens of druids were buffing every hunter that rushed past them, and even deeper still hundreds were chanting spells to awaken the treants. Pained roars rang out as the trees uprooted themselves; they weren't very useful in terms of offensive ability, but they would serve as effective shields.
𝗳re𝚎𝚠𝐞𝗯𝙣𝗼ν𝗲l. c૦𝓶

......

Right in the middle of it all was a piece of land that had been cleared of trees and instead filled with vines in the shape of an altar. A dozen elves were stood atop it, each emitting a powerful aura. Amongst them was the grand elder of the Duskword Tribe, as well as Windleaf and the mysterious man in the black robes.

An image of the Evernight tree of life was projected atop the altar, with the Grand Elder chanting furiously as dark green light radiated from his body. However, he suddenly shook vigorously and spat out a blob of blood, causing the image to warp and fade.

“Grand Elder!” The startled druids of the Duskword Tribe immediately gathered around.

Slowly straightening his body and letting out a cloudy breath, the old man said slowly, “It seems like Greyfeather had died.”

“Died? How is that possible?” Knowing the connection between the grey plume and the elder, many of the druids were alarmed.

“Now is not the time,” the Grand Elder turned to the black-robed man, “I need a replacement. If you could please help.”

The mysterious man stood up and walked stiffly to the altar, “This is the last time I will be helping you. Soul attachment requires tremendous energy and takes a great toll on my reserves, be careful with it! Now, bring me the replacement!”

One of the druids carefully opened a bag of seeds and dropped them on the ground, showing lifelike images of more than a dozen elves. These were some of the highest ranking elves of the Evernight Tribe, and if Richard were here he would be shocked to find that four of the six elves he had met in the treehouse had their images projected here. Greyfeather, while under the soul control of the Duskword Tribe, had gathered these just in case.

The Grand Elder scanned through the images before pointing at one of the druids, “I know Oyet, he will be the one.”

“That's boring!” the black-cloaked man interjected, pointing a finger upwards and having the images start spinning. He then focused on a single one, freezing it in place and enlarging it before croaking in laughter, “This is more appropriate!”

“What? Impossible!” the Grand Elder raged. The chosen image was that of a beautiful female hunter— Melia. “Attaching myself to a child of the forest would be a significant risk. Oyet is the better choice.”

The mysterious man was not moved, saying coldly, “That is my concern, not yours. If you are unwilling to do this, have others take your place. I'm sure there are many who will.”

“... Alright then, I'll do it.”

“Haha, that's more like it. Let's begin, you will soon be Grand Elder Melia!”

......

Richard walked down the tree of life at an unhurried pace, trying his best to project confidence despite his own anxiousness. It worked to a certain extent— the panicking evernight elves started to calm down.

The few surviving hunters were carried in, the druids starting to treat their injuries. Most were barely alive with arrows sticking out everywhere, but they would survive. Of the twenty plus hunters keeping watch outside, only six had returned.

Seeing the elves looking at him and waiting for instructions, their gazes filled with and panic, Richard sighed. Despite it being mid-day, the sky up above was pitch-black; fires had to be lit in the meadow for any source of light. Anyone who stepped out of the range of the meadow was immediately suppressed by the will of the forest, reducing their abilities in combat greatly. The elves were right to panic; this meant that the entire forest was against them!

Richard knew he had to do something before the tribe fell to its enemies, so he ordered the rune knights to form into a tight octagon around the tree of life. Under the cover of the hunters who now wielded shields and spears, the druids were escorted to the edge of the meadow to awaken the trees and pull them inwards. The trees were lined up in a compact circle outside where the rune knights were holding, burying their roots into the earth. A few moments later, the wall of trees was being pruned of branches so it became an effective fortification.

The unicorn was resting under the tree of life, utterly exhausted from the long journey. The hunters were gathered for the defence, while the elderly and children were sent to hide in the safety of the tree of life. Alice was directing some of the rune knights to guard the treehouses that they would be placed in to protect from assassins, while Waterflower had vanished from view. Richard could tell that she was sitting right on the edge of the meadow, hidden away; if the enemies invaded, she could drop in behind their forces and start tearing into them.

Having flown up to check, Richard found a black orb a hundred metres in diameter hung above the tree of life. This seemed to be what was suppressing its powers.

The earth suddenly boomed as a wave of treants lumbered out of the forest, numbering in the thousands. These were weaker treants, sluggish and not particularly intelligent, but they possessed the brute force to take down the barrier of trees. This was the first wave of attacks by the Duskword Tribe who hoped to exhaust Richard's energy reserves.

In only a few minutes, it looked like the entire forest was on the move.

910 - City of Sin

Crushing Might

Hundreds of treants wasn't much of a threat, but this was only the first wave of the offence; one could imagine just how many more lay in wait. The treants forged ahead with big rocks in their hands and on their backs, ready to throw them out once they got close. There was a significant amount of meadow that hadn't been blocked up by the wall of trees, and once within two to three hundred metres of the tree of life this volley of rocks would be a dangerous attack.

Every step made the earth quake, causing many of the evernight elves to pale. Their arrows were sharp, but certainly not sharp nor long enough to pierce into the tree hearts and take these treants down. Besides, these young treants that were only just activated by druids weren't very important to the offensive at all; fighting them with one's own would just be a battle of mana wherein they were at a significant disadvantage.

Just the first wave left the Evernight Tribe in despair. Many of the hunters even put down their longbows and pulled out their swords, gritting their teeth behind the wall of trees as they prepared for a close fight. One needed heavy weapons like hammers and axes to properly fight treants, but the tribe did not have a supply of those.

However, while the elves were making their peace, the true defenders made their own move. More than a hundred beautiful streaks of light lit up the sky once the treants were a kilometre away, various kinds of aura twined around javelins that flew faster than arrows to smash into the frontlines. These spears were so powerful that some even took out two trees in one go, and there were ones with dark red glows that lit them aflame. Others with a black aura caused the treants to start rotting away in place, while even more just blew the trees apart.

These javelins were naturally from the rune knights, nearly every one destroying its target. The knights that didn't hold back had even destroyed two or more treants in one blow.

The defenders immediately pulled out their second set of javelins, showing no trace of panic at all. Richard was watching everything from above, and he hadn't even deigned it necessary to enter the field himself yet. Once they were prepared, Alice's voice rang out behind them, “Cover with black powder, add flame energy, throwing strength at two-thirds. Prepare... FIRE!”
𝐟𝘳ℯ𝚎𝘄𝒆𝑏𝗻𝑜ѵ𝚎l. c𝘰𝑚

The moment she had called for the use of gunpowder, the rune knights had dipped their javelins in tubs of the catalyst used to light stonewood. Winding up once more, they had thrown the mass of now-blackened weapons towards the treants. The rear end of the javelin started burning halfway to the target, and in the few moments it took to travel the rest of the way this flame made its way towards the tip. The lowered-strength attack wasn't enough to pierce all the way through the javelins did reach the tree heart. This flame was extraordinarily fierce, consuming the treant in only a brief few moments. The targets were all lit up and could only rush forth a dozen metres before crashing into the ground.

A strange scream resounded through the meadow, an unknown mix of anger and fear; although they had little wisdom due to their youth, these new treants still valued their lives. Over the next 200 metres, just as many treants met their demise. Alice was only using 150 rune knights to repel this part of the offensive; the rest were spread out in all the other directions.

The actions of the rune knights were rather monotonous, but that only added to the terror of their might. By the time they were only half a kilometre away, more than 800 treants had burnt to death. The threat had been completely neutralised before even one of the treants managed to throw their stone.

The rune knights started to stretch and relax, but the evernight elves could barely believe their own eyes. A force of a thousand treants that could easily level their tribe had been finished off before they could even attack! It was also clear that they had been restricted to using two-thirds of their power, but even so the elves knew those javelins would be impossible to resist before the power of those flames were even considered.

The forest went silent, even the enemies hidden within the woods not making a noise. One hundred druids had spent most of their mana to summon these thousands of treants, but they had actually failed to even make it halfway? The two great druids of the Evernight Tribe looked at each other and saw the fear in their eyes; Richard's army seemed to be made of killing machines that were born for war. Even in bear form these druids weren't confident in blocking more than one or two of those javelins before they died; against these 150, it felt like even the Jadeleaf Tribe's legendary druid would be killed.

The druid who was once in Greyfeather's camp felt a chill running down his spine. With such an army, Richard would have been able to take over the tribe even with Grand Elder Tzu still alive; how on earth would they have held off against his attacks even if the Duskword Tribe helped?

A short while later, the earth started shaking once more. Hundreds of treants stepped out as before, but this time they were protecting nearly a hundred high-level hunters behind them. These hunters could fire from 800 metres away, and the arrows shot towards the rune knights with doubled power thanks to the blessings of the druids. The volley ran parallel to the ground, possessing such great power that the earth below the arrows was ripped apart.

“BARRIERS!” Alice shouted behind the lines, her short red hair standing up. Dozens of rune knights stepped forward, pairing up in groups of two as they placed their tower shields before them. The long arrows were slowed down by an invisible force, and by the time they struck the knights they were greatly weakened. Only two of the barrier knights were sent flying away, but even those two just flipped over and landed on the ground; the injuries were minor at best.

On the other end, more than a dozen saint hunters paled, some even coughing up blood. These arrows took a huge toll on their reserves, and at least for some time they wouldn't have the strength to fight anymore. Their eyes were wide with shock; how could the full blow of more than a dozen saints not manage to kill even a single enemy?

These saints were puzzled and angry, but they were forced to retreat. Now, they were even weaker than regular hunters and could not contribute to the battle. However, just as they tried to escape another volley of javelins was lobbed in their direction. In only a few moments the treants protecting the elves had turned into a wall of fire that blocked their retreat, and in the distance the rune knights could be seen lining up to charge.

911 - City of Sin

Cannon Fodder

A forest elf hefted up an enormous bow, silently casting a spell before shooting at one of the rune knights. The arrow was bathed in green light as it raced towards its target, the spell giving it tracking capabilities and doubling its might. Just having thrown a javelin, the knight had no time to dodge.

The distant elf heaved a sigh of relief, her entire body going limp as she staggered back towards a tree. This one shot required almost all of her energy, and it would be ten minutes before she could fight again. Even then, she could only fire one more such shot in the day.

Just before retreating to rest, the elf glanced at her prey in the hopes of imprinting his image in her memory. This was a habit of hers when hunting powerful beasts, a sort of remembrance for those she had felled. However, the sight left her eyes wide open, and she even forgot to retreat.

The arrow did hit the knight square in the chest, but even buried in the breastplate a vast majority of the shaft was still exposed. Less than ten centimetres of the tip were actually buried in, and counting the thickness of the armour this meant the attack hadn't even reached the ribs. With the strength the rune knights had shown just now, this was only an average injury at best, barely dropping the enemy's battle ability.

But this was an arrow that condensed all of her strength! The arrow's power was certainly less than that of a saint hunter, but it was still strong enough to break the bark armour of an actual treant. As for the animated trees they were using here that barely passed as such, this arrow could go right through them.

How could the invaders be tougher than ancient treants? To the forest elves, real treants were mobile fortresses that were incomparably strong. The older ones were treated as absolute powerhouses, and their bark was considered equivalent to a wall. Even ordinary treants were stronger than most war beasts clad in heavy armour.

What the elf couldn't understand was that rune knights were the culmination of Norland's war prowess, and that Richard's rune knights were even better equipped than most of their contemporaries. For this local who didn't even understand the concept of planar war, heavy armour was a distant myth.

However, she didn't have much time to recoil in horror. The rune knights had already prepared their charge, and even though the alliance started to retreat under the cover of the baby treants the gallop reached them in no time. The front row raised their halberds and swept out, blades of light flying a dozen metres ahead before dissipating. The last of the treants were immediately wiped out.

This was Savage Strike, the set ability that was designed purely for a charge! The rune knights continued to rush forward, some throwing their javelins from behind to kill off a few of the hunters. Dozens were killed in one volley, but the remaining elves took the opportunity to flee into the woods.

Alice's expression was frosty, but just as she was about to command the rune knights to pursue Richard finally shouted himself, “Return!”

The moment they heard the command, the rune knights immediately stopped their charge and arced around, returning to the tree of life. Back in the forest, a bunch of hunters looked on in confusion as their prey fell back. These hunters weren't holding their standard longbows but instead extra-long javelins that had each been blessed by the druids and poisoned for good measure. The ambush should have decimated the troop.

Alice looked at Richard in confusion. In her opinion, the woods posed no problems to either Richard's Savage Knights or the Rose Knights; both types had been designed with enhanced mobility in mind. The attempted volley proved that the elven attack posed a limited threat, so it only made sense to chase after victory.

However, Richard just pointed at the sky up above, “It's still dark.”

Alice looked up and frowned and the abnormal darkness up above, but with this being her first time in the Forest Plane she did not understand what it meant. However, Richard continued to explain, “That's the will of the forest suppressing us. If we fight in this environment, we're sure to lose.”

“It's that bad?” Alice furrowed her eyebrows. As a quintessential Archeron, she was never one to let enemies go.

“With the current suppression, a full blow might deal fatal damage to our knights.”

This time, Alice gasped. The ability to deal fatal damage to a rune knight was a great threat that went far beyond a secondary plane. How could the small number of elves here possess such might?

Richard read her thoughts waving at the forest around them, “The true master of this plane isn't the elves or the treants, it's that.”

......

With the rune knights back under the tree of life, the will of the forest was rendered near-useless. Hundreds of hunters had been either injured or killed in the two attempts at assault; this was the equivalent of an average tribe being destroyed. And with all 300-odd rune knights still alive, there seemed to be no chance of breaching the defence anytime soon either.

The leaders of the alliance had met once more at the altar, most silent in obvious depression. One of them eventually spoke up, “The invader has a powerful force; if not for the Will of the Forest, we would likely suffer even greater casualties.”

“What is the point of those words?!” another elder raged.

“What do you mean?”

“The hunters of my tribe have suffered more than fifty casualties! What happened to your reinforcements?”

The first elder sighed, “We were trying to ambush them in the range of the Will.”

“Wanted to? Or perhaps you were just cowards!”

The Duskword grand elder frowned, “Enough! It is time to plan the destruction of the Evernight Tribe, not to pass blame!”

When the Grand Elder's voice rang out, the two other elders went silent. They continued to watch the repeated images of the battle, pausing again and again on the javelins of the rune knights. Those weapons had suffocating power, and most had been picked up as the rune knights fell back towards the tree of life. Even the arrogant young Windleaf was surprisingly quiet, his arrogance all but gone; he knew very well that even ten of those javelins would have forced him to flee.

The Duskword elder turned to the black-robed man and asked respectfully, “What should we do now?”

The mysterious man chuckled in a jarring voice, “Prepare a group of soldiers who are ready to give up their lives, and have them carry the will of my Lord. It will give you powerful warriors who can match the opponents.”

The Grand Elder's face blanched, “How could we do that? Those warriors will become mindless bodies or burn the rest of their lives out in battle!”
𝐟r𝑒ℯ𝘄𝐞𝙗ｎov𝚎𝙡. 𝑐𝘰𝘮

The black-robed man sneered, “Your heart aches for your people? Fool, what sort of enemy do you think you face? That is the main force of war in a primary plane, do you think your pathetic will of the forest can defeat them? The only way to deal with such an enemy is blood for blood! Those warriors would have fought to death regardless, what does it matter if they are sacrificed to my Lord?”

The Duskword elder's expression was filled with struggle upon hearing this, but the man made no further attempt to persuade him. Eventually, the Grand Elder spoke up, “If we defeat the Evernight Tribe, how far can our people evolve?”

The black robe pointed a finger at the image of the rune knights on the altar, “At least their equal.”

The Grand Elder's face twitched, his breathing now rough.

912 - City of Sin

Blood For Blood

The first day of battle quickly drew to a close, and despite a lack of casualties Richard was not happy at all. His army had been trapped here, and the will of the forest had grown smarter and stopped attacking their minds directly. Now, it was strengthening the hunters of the alliance; even a level 16 archer's arrows could match a saint's blow. The barrier knights had been forced to take on these attacks repeatedly and were growing exhausted.

It would take two more days for the unicorn to recover its strength to the point where it could escort the entire Evernight Tribe back to Emerald City. With its help, Richard was confident in being able to kill his way out of the encirclement they were in. However, the road to Emerald City was long and many of the elderly and children of the Evernight Tribe would not survive the trip. The Tree of Life itself could not provide much shelter while moving, and the rune knights themselves couldn't be stretched so thin as to protect everyone.

Things would be much easier if his followers were present, but they were still lost somewhere in the forest. The only thing that let him rest easy was the fact that Phaser, Tiramisu, and Mountainsea were all abnormally powerful and wouldn't die easily in the forest.

On the other hand, he didn't want to leave too early either; he had transferred Alice and all of his rune knights to this plane, and would at least terrify the locals before he left. Blood would flow into a river to teach these savages their place.

However, the forest grew unexpectedly calm over the next few days. Outside of a few occasional arrows, the alliance didn't make any moves at all. However, the sky above the Evernight tree of life remained dark and foreboding, the suppression refusing to fade. The elves felt it the most; the moment they even approached the edge of the meadow, they started feeling a chill down their bones.

The elves knew that entering the forest would only mean death, and Richard was even more thorough with his defence than they had expected. All of the hunters crouched at the edge of the meadow were pulled back and forced behind the wall of trees, with the rune knights manning the actual walls. Many wanted to fight and petitioned for it repeatedly through Melia, but Richard treated them like flowers in a greenhouse and wouldn't let them so much as peek outside.

The calm lasted a few days before the alliance changed tactics. Richard didn't know where they learnt their new strategy, but a few druids and hunters started using mana to have their voices resound throughout the forest and hurled insults across the wall. It was a childish move, but an effective one nevertheless. Elves were a proud species to begin with, and the expletives enraged them beyond measure.

Richard himself lost his temper once Tzu's name was mentioned, taking two hundred rune knights and charging straight into the forest. Waterflower naturally followed behind.

The woods were so dark right now that one could barely his arm before his face, but to the elven hunters who relied on their perception of nature it still seemed as bright as ever. The charging force met an expected ambush only a few minutes deep, a sharp whistling resounding through the woods and being echoed from countless directions. The forest itself shook as numerous trees were brought alive, with several true treants rushing in from the distance.

An enormous sense of pressure settled on the small force, but all Richard could think of was three simple words: that whore Tzu. His blood boiled as he drew his blade, the lava in the depths of his eyes on the verge of eruption. He didn't know who had shouted to kill, nor did he know who drew first blood, but a melee erupted within the forest.

......

Far in the distance under the tree of life, almost all of the evernight elves walked out of their homes and touched their mother tree with hand and body. They could feel the trembling of the earth, and the stronger amongst them could even sense the turbulence in the will of the forest. The distant battle was raging so fiercely that the forest itself was crying out in pain.

It didn't matter to them whether he had rushed out for the late Grand Elder or he had done it for himself; Richard had rushed out into an ambush to protect her pride. Even if he lost the fight, his glorious figure would be imprinted in their minds unto death.

Under the tree of life, Alice was sitting at a whetstone struggling to polish her sword. It was already so thin the edge was growing brittle, but she continued to grind away almost as though she wanted to turn it into the sharpest blade in existence. Sweat was covering her forehead and now-matter red hair, but she seemed to pay no mind.

“Are you worried, my Lady?” One of her generals walked over, glancing at the sword that had been worn down completely.

“No!”

“Alright... If Lord Richard doesn't return, what do we do?”

*SCREECH!* The sword in Alice's hands was immediately twisted apart, her gaze fixing itself on the general who had followed her for many years. Her mere voice sent shivers down the man's spine, “How do you know he can't come back?”

This general was quite experienced. Although he was only level 17, that was due to multiple instances of near-crippling wounds in his youth. While he had respect for Alice, he would not cow away from faithful advice, “The will of the forest, the number of enemies, and their might... Victory is unlikely.”

Alice froze up, her cold rage dissipating ever so slightly. She knew he was right and couldn't fault him for it, “If Richard doesn't come back, then take the remaining rune knights and the elves and return to Emerald City. I don't care how you do it, but you are to get them to safety.”

“Then... what about you, my Lady?”

Alice took out a new longsword and started polishing it, “I'll go take a look at where he died.”

The general gasped, words failing him completely. There were a number of things he wanted to say, but he didn't have the voice to state any.

......

Minute after minute passed by, then hour after hour. Time seemed to slow to a crawl, but somehow the day came to an end. There was no news of Richard or his rune knights, making it almost certain that he had disappeared in the forest. The elves started to grow chaotic.

Yet another day later, Alice had completely worn down seven longswords. She finally gave up on waiting, arming herself and preparing to go out. Richard had left 150 Rose Knights to help guard the tree of life en route to Emerald City, and she was responsible for this task. She had never disappointed Richard before, perfectly taking care of his requests in the past and developing his territory on a primary plane like Norland, but this time she felt like she would have to renege on her orders a little.

The red-haired warrior saddled her horse under the sweaty gazes of her generals, mounting it to get a better view of the tribe. All of the elves had packed their belongings and put them on the mounts of the Rose Knights, and the tree of life was swaying its branches as though in farewell to the land it had lived on for a hundred year. When the horn sounded, it would move its huge body and uproot from the earth, embarking on the long journey to Emerald City. It was just that this journey was sure to be a difficult one, with the number of survivors unknown.

It was when Alice reached the edge of the forest that the black mist lingering within suddenly split apart, a magic mount jumping out of the fog and landing in the meadow. The horse's head was lowered and its steps were unsteady, breath constantly spurting white mist. Large drops of a dark liquid that looked like blood were constantly dripping down its legs.
𝘧𝑟𝙚eｗ𝑒𝒃n𝒐𝘷𝑒𝚕. c૦𝙢

It was only then that Alice noticed the straight-backed man atop the ride, almost dropping her prepared sword. Even with his face pale and a wound that ran from the ear to the chest, it was difficult to look away from his charming smile.

“RICHARD!”

The battle had been won.

913 - City of Sin

Unfulfilled Duties

Richard's rune knights started making their way out of the woods one by one, their formations neat as ever and imposing presences only boosted from the recent fight. They were all soaked in blood, many of them even injured with more than half missing their halberds, and their swords were chipped all over as well. Nearly twenty of them didn't even return.

The battle amidst the darkness was still lingering in the minds of Richard and every single one of his rune knights. They had charged into the encirclement head-on, using no tactics or strategy as they simply killed their way out. Richard had ordered them to repeatedly break in and out of the forest elves' formation, extending the battle for a day and night of repeated charges. The only time they even got to rest was when they had killed one set of elves and were moving on to the next.

Hunters, treants, beast tamers, druids... They had encountered all sorts of enemies but everything in their way was torn apart. Richard was in the lead of it all, a simple orb of light floating above his head to give them vision of their targets. His own kill count was the greatest of them all, and not by a small amount. Every enemy that faced him was eradicated.

It was only when a tree of life appeared in their sight that the rune knights realised there was order to all the chaos. In the midst of their attacks, the alliance had left their homes with minimal defenders and the civilians could only mount a desperate struggle to resist. However, Richard had only turned more cruel and savage as he ordered them all dead. It was here that casualties began to mount up, but those who remained only seemed to be empowered further by those deaths.

The core of the tribe's resistance relied on an ancient treant that managed to maul three rune knights all by itself. Many charged towards it dauntlessly, but even the full-power javelins did little damage to its thick bark. It was only when a young knight had leapt into the air and tried to cut further into the pits left by the spears that they had found success. On the verge of sacrificing his own life, his energy output had doubled and he'd pushed right through and cut into the treant's heart. Perhaps because of the heat of battle or as a result of being showered in the treant's heart blood, the youth had survived and broken through to the saint realm. This was the first such case amongst Richard's rune knights.

......

Now that they had returned to the Evernight Tribe, Richard looked at his remaining knights with extreme satisfaction. The battle had been partly a reaction to the insults aimed at Tzu, but he had an ulterior goal in mind as well. The destruction of the small Thornleaf Tribe was the catalyst he needed to get his knights used to this plane, and the dangerous situation also cultivated a brutality in them that he desperately needed if he was to win. Even in Norland many families wouldn't dare train their rune knights this way, but with himself and Rosie he could support the deaths of a few to ensure the others would perform to their full potential.

The one young knight becoming a saint wasn't Richard's only gain from this series of battles. Having cut down a tree of life, Richard had gathered a fruit of life, tens of leaves of youth, and enough materials for a thousand longbows and fifty staffs of nature. The heart was cut up into ten parts and hauled back to the Evernight Tribe, and there was even a red tuber that served to substantially increase one's nature affinity and even strengthened their bloodline.

The specific bloodline this tuber granted was called the Font of Nature, something inferior to his own world tree but also capable of coexisting peacefully with most others. Having learnt about this from the captured elders of the tribe, Richard had been rather astonished; this was something that could help someone who already had a powerful bloodline, which was extremely rare. Having experience with the balancing act of making sure his own bloodlines didn't kill each other, he knew just how valuable this was. Overall, it brought his harvests up to nearly thirty million gold's worth.

Leaping off his saddle, Richard ordered the rune knights to put away the spoils of war. The evernight elves were left in a trance as they stared at the bundles of refined bows and staffs, but once they saw the broken pieces of the tree heart their gazes immediately turned dull. The two great druids even rushed over to the greenish-white wood and gently caressed it with trembling hands, the Evernight tree of life swaying its branches in grief.

Elves considered the trees of life as the origin of living beings. While those of a higher level did not think of them as everything, they were still equivalent to minor deities. To the druids and other elves, it was like a god's corpse had been brought before them. It was only now that they felt like they truly understood Richard's might.

Alice blocked Richard's path as he ambled towards his residence, glaring at him with no reservations at all. Richard felt a little awkward and smiled, “What is it?”

“Don't leave me with defence duties next time!”
𝑓𝙧𝚎𝑒𝔀𝙚𝑏𝑛𝑜vel. c૦m

“What? But the tree of life is important, I wouldn't trust anyone but—” Seeing her angry glare, he wisely shut his mouth halfway.

......

It took half a day to take care of treating injuries and repairing equipment; by the time everything was done, it was almost midnight. Richard headed to Tzu's treehouse as before to rest; the elves had already rebuilt the bedroom in a gesture of obeisance.

Just as he took off his equipment and headed to bed, however, a figure quietly slipped into his room. Richard reacted instantly, a cold glow lighting up the room as Moonlight made its way to the throat of the invader. However, seeing the face of the uninvited guest, Richard suppressed a groan and put the sword away, “You could have knocked or something.”

“You're saying I can't come in whenever I want?” Alice retorted.

He laughed bitterly, “Of course you can, but why do you have to be so quiet?”

Alice ignored the question completely, instead staring him in the eye, “Richard, what is our relationship?”

“You're... my partner,” Richard replied after some hesitation.

“Then what is the duty partners share?”

This made him frown. He knew very well what it meant for the two of them to be partners, and it made him glance at her flat abdomen. They had only been intimate once in their lives, and while that day in the cemetery had truly been unique, it certainly wasn't a guarantee of pregnancy. However, he considered their relationship to be more of an alliance; the obligations to family traditions were only a way to secure this primary relationship. Given her fear of sex, he had no intention of forcing her to do things she was uncomfortable with.

Alice took a step back when he looked at her, but she immediately stood upright once more. Her ramrod posture only served to accentuate the beauty of her strength.

“You're sure?” he asked meaningfully.

“Of course I am!” She was just like a general on the battlefield, bold and decisive.

“Do you need some time to prepare yourself? Maybe find a way to relax?”

“Bah, it's just a small matter, why do you need to make it so complicated? Let's go!” She pulled off all of her clothing and laid down on his bed at once, placing her hands behind her head and opening her legs wide. It really seemed simple to her on the outside, but Richard could already see her muscles stiffening into blocks of wood.

He didn't know whether to be amused or upset with her— how was she not nervous? This was clearly the same as before. Still, Richard sighed and nodded before walking over, his hand reaching down to get her ready.

Just as his fingers made contact with skin, she shot out of his bed like an arrow.

914 - City of Sin

Wish

Sex with Alice remained as difficult as ever, but eventually Richard won the battle. He lay on his back and stared at the ceiling, gasping hard at the exhaustion, while she lay about an arm's length away doing the same. It didn't seem like much, but the distance was enormous when on the same bed.

“What are you thinking about?” she asked calmly.

“I'm wondering why it had to be now,” Richard responded. His thoughts weren't unreasonable; with the possibility of an attack at any time, the mental release of sex was easily dwarfed by the physical exhaustion. It wouldn't be much with anyone else, but when Alice was involved she wouldn't give in until she was utterly exhausted.

Alice took a deep breath and patted her chest, “I guess I just wanted to know that you're really back.”

“Don't worry, I'll always be there.” Richard still didn't know about her plans to follow after him alone, but he vaguely understood the implications of the sentence. It was something he felt all the time as well; the fear of losing those dear to him.

“Is that a promise?”

“Yes.”

......

The Evernight Tribe seemed to embody the name, the little village still covered in darkness when Richard walked out. The only source of light here was moonforce, but as he walked down the tree of life Richard still noticed a young girl standing on the side of the road staring at him.

He walked over to her and knelt down, looking her in the eye. She almost recoiled, but he could see that the fear was drowned out by curiosity.

“Why don't you go to sleep?” he asked softly, “You need rest if you want to fight hard.”

“Are we leaving?” the girl asked.

“Yes. There are a lot of bad people here that don't want us, so we have to leave. Don't worry, I'll show you a new place to live where these bad people won't make trouble for us.”

“But I don't want to leave the Tree of Life though...”

Richard smiled and pointed at the tree behind him, “She'll come along too.”

“But... But... She doesn't want to go, I can feel it!”

“Huh,” Richard's smile twitched ever so slightly, “And what about you?”

The little girl shook her head, “I don't want to go, I don't want to go at all!”

Richard's gaze moved up from the little girl to the group of elves that had stopped to listen. He didn't see the two great druids in this group, he didn't see the three saint hunters. There was no mage from when they were still on Norland. These were the most common elves of the tribe, those at the bottom of the hierarchy whose bloodlines did not qualify them for any respect.

These elves normally avoided contact with him, so despite the tribe having a thousand elves Richard hadn't interacted with them at all. At the same time, they were the ones that Tzu had charged him to care for; the hunters and druids would find a way to survive, but those gathered here would not. Judging from the traditional perspective, Tzu really didn't qualify as a good leader.

Richard returned his gaze to the little girl, “But if we don't leave, we might be attacked by the evil people. Why stay here? Our new home has a forest too.”

“But it isn't this forest... I... I like it here...”

At this point, an older man stepped forward, “Lord Richard, forgive her. Most of the tribe has lived on this land for the past century, and this place is familiar and comfortable. This is a special meadow, one not easily replaced; even if the Tree of Life lasts the journey, it will take another century for the tribe to grow comfortable with it.”

Richard frowned slightly, putting his hand on the ground and beginning to feel the aura of the place. He didn't feel anything special at first, but as his mind calmed further his elven bloodline pulsed ever so slightly. As he tried to capture that feeling, his perception started to warp.

A silken warmth started radiating from the ground under him, the power of nature weak yet extremely pure. He slowly inhaled this energy and felt its strength, realising that it was the power of the tree of life. The tree had spent a century pumping energy into this fertile land, and it had slowly taken on her qualities. The evernight elves would grow stronger just living here.

To the elves, this meadow was a hometown but on a much larger scale. It felt like one's very soul was meant to be here, and feeling the sheer comfort of it all Richard quickly realised just why the elves were so attached to their trees of life.

Sweeping his gaze across all the elves present, Richard returned to the little girl and squeezed her cheeks, “Well, I'll try my best to make sure we can stay. Is that okay?”

“Really?” the girl's eyes immediately lit aglow, as did those of many of the others watching. They did not need resources or luxuries; they just wanted to live where they were comfortable. Looking at them, Richard was reminded of the small village he had spent the first decade of his life in.

“Really,” he smiled, “Now go get some sleep.”

All the evernight elves knew that Richard's words were for them as well. However, several of the older ones hesitated at his words; they understood what Richard's promise meant, and what dangers it would pose to the knights currently protecting them.

Richard stood up and walked over to the rune knights, saying a few words before picking up Moonlight and heading into the forest alone.

A short while later, Alice walked out of the treehouse frowning. Her clothes still messy, she headed over to one of the rune knights and asked what was going on. A few moments later, a scream rang through the meadow, “HE'S IN THE FOREST AGAIN?”

She hurried back, eyes spitting fire at the elves who hadn't yet dispersed. The rune knights agreed with her as well; the forest was extremely dangerous, they had experienced it themselves. The only reason they even let Richard go without contesting him was that they had been conditioned to obey first and ask questions later.

Alice pulled a longsword from a rune knight's waist, walking over to the evernight elves. Her short red hair was swaying like it was an actual flame.

“Who wanted to stay, stand up! Don't push the blame on this little thing!” she said coldly, her sword pointing at the little girl who had just spoken to Richard. Sword light was already billowing out half a metre forward; so long as she wished it, the girl would be cut in two.

“Stop!” A tall elf jumped in front of Alice's sword, glaring at her. His aura was even stronger than her's, forcing her to step back. The saint hunter glared at her, “What do you want?!”

Alice didn't even look at him, continuing to ask, “Whoever wanted Richard to stay, stand up!”

Feeling his dignity challenged, the hunter could no longer restrain his anger. His aura burst forth as he screamed, “What are you doing, woman?!”

An invisible force slammed into Alice, knocking her back a few steps. She felt ringing in her ears even as her vision went black, almost coughing up blood.

915 - City of Sin

Negotiations

When the saint hunter tried to take another step forward, his veins started popping as a near-unbearable pressure assaulted him. The entire rune knight army had focused their attention on him, forcing him to fall back.

The rune knights started emitting various colours of light as they silently assembled behind Alice, ready to deal a fatal blow at any moment. Each one was comparable to a saint on average, and there were many that could take the hunter on. Two of them could give him a good battle, three others had hopes of winning, and an entire five were so strong he would have to flee the moment a battle erupted.

While Richard's rune knights disdained Alice's generals, they still respected her capability as a commander. She was still a core member of the Archeron Family, while the evernight elves were merely the natives of a secondary plane. They would set aside all their differences to ensure that she could never be bullied, and with their numbers even three tribes would be crushed under their feet.

The saint hunter froze for a moment, but his face went beet red in the shame and he bellowed, “This is my tribe's land! Get the hell out!”

As he howled, the hunter started radiating green light and braced himself, forming an enormous phantom that was several metres tall behind him. The figure drew its bow immediately, sending an illusory arrow headed straight for Alice. The rune knights immediately felt a chill down their spines, realising that this attack was equivalent to a Norland saint's.

However, four barrier knights immediately placed themselves before Alice and activated their yellowish barriers. Each one could take on the full attack of a saint, and with two on each side the attack was dispersed instantly. Others were waiting right behind; Richard had a much larger proportion of barrier knights in his forces than he allowed for other armies.

The saint's expression changed slightly, but he was still unresigned. A sharp screech rang out as the elven figure flickered and changed completely, now with delicate branches wound around the bow and golden inscriptions upon it as well. One could see similar inscriptions on the drawn arrow, while the phantom itself had worn imposing armour; this was an attack that could break through the barrier.

Alice's eyes lit aflame as she raised her sword, the rune knights behind her drawing their javelins or swords. The moment her sword fell down, the full attack could easily decimate even a legendary being. Forget the saint, even the other elves behind him would be wiped out as well.

The two great druids and Melia had rushed over, but they couldn't figure out a situation to the problem. None of the three had particularly quick minds, and a single mistake would cause both sides to attack.

It was at this moment that the little elven girl finally burst into tears. Alice immediately frowned before glaring at the hunter, “You live for now, but remember that staying here is only waiting for death. I won't stop you from killing yourself, but if you try to bring others down you'll wish you had just committed suicide. If you think you're so capable, just stand your ground yourself and survive!”

She sheathed her sword and turned to leave, no longer glancing back at the elves. The army of rune knights followed her in single file, but it was only when the last of them had left that the hunter dispelled the giant phantom behind him. His face turned deathly pale as he spat out a mouthful of blood, aura weakening immensely. Calling upon this ability took a huge toll on him, and having to maintain it for more than a few moments only made it worse.

The two druids silently healed the hunter while the rest of the elves left. However, everyone looked grim. The rune knights all returned to their posts, but they kept a natural distance from the elves this time. The saint had cursed at them, and Archeron pride was just as great as that of the elves. A dozen of them had died to protect this tribe, and they certainly were not satisfied with how they were being treated in return. Please visit 𝗳re𝐞𝓌e𝚋n૦ѵ𝗲l. co𝐦

......

Richard had no idea of this huge conflict back in the tribe. He had expected an icy relationship, but he had underestimated just how hard it was to deal with high elves. Even fallen so low, the evernight elves still had the pride running through their veins that made them think of themselves as greater than others. Even being protected by Richard, many of the more powerful amongst them thought of the rune knights as mere soldiers that were far below them in status. As such, the knights were treated the same way a commoner was treated in the tribe.

However, he had other worries right now. Quickly locating the target he was looking for, he masked himself in the aura of nature and crept up behind him. While his connection to his followers had been blocked, the will did not have the power to affect his own strength. The hunter was extremely still and wasn't even breathing much as he watched his surroundings, but there was no response until a tap on the shoulder.

“You're from Duskword Tribe, right?” The question shocked the experienced hunter out of his mind. The man jumped forward by instinct, but in his hasty reaction his forehead rammed into a thick branch. A series of snaps rang out as he fell down from the canopy, hitting the ground while holding his head.

As he struggled to get up, he found a pair of boots before his face. Richard crouched down and looked him in the eye, “Call your elders over, I have things to discuss with them.”

A moment later, the hunter fled like lightning. Even when he was kilometres away, he couldn't understand just how Richard had gotten close to him.

......

Half a day later in an empty plot in the forest, Richard met two elders of the Duskword Tribe and a youth dressed in clothing that was obviously different. The youth was only a little weaker than the son of the forest Fenur, while the depth of his aura was far greater. Richard could tell in an instant that no ordinary tree of life could be powering him.

He nodded at the young elf first, “You're from the tribe under the world tree?”

“Yes!” the youth answered haughtily, “I am Windleaf of the Jadeleaf Tribe.”

“I am the grand elder of the Duskword Tribe.”

“I am Elder Jade.”

Richard bowed slightly, “I am Richard, the current owner of the planar gate.”

Jade snorted, “You have guts to seek us out alone. Speak, what do you wish to discuss?”

Richard ignored her and looked at the grand elder, a man who felt rather strange. It was weird for someone to introduce themselves without a name in this situation, and there seemed to be something hidden under his exterior appearance. Frowning for a moment, he turned back to Jade and smiled, “If you're talking about the 41 hunters and six druids around, they're no threat to me. I'm here right now for the Evernight Tribe; the Grand Elder passed it to my hands upon her death, and I don't wish for them to move. I believe we can end this war right now.”

“End the war? Just because you say so?” Jade snorted, but as she was about to continue the Grand Elder waved her down, “Since you wish for the war to end, you should have conditions?”

“Of course. I'll recognise the Duskword Tribe and its allies, including the world tree and the Jadeleaf Tribe. That means I'll focus my expansion opposite to your world tree, and further alliances will not be off the table.”

“That's all?” Jade actually chuckled.

Richard frowned slightly, “That's all.”

“But if we killed you right here, you won't have the chance to say something so outrageous again.”

“Heh. Even if you somehow manage to kill me, that won't close the gate. Let's see how you like it when my people flood into this plane and destroy everything as vengeance.”

Jade didn't believe him at all and wanted to mock him, but the Grand Elder stopped her once more, “If you are so confident in conquering the sea of trees, why sacrifice so much for a single tribe? Or are you here just to hoodwink us and get through your current predicament?”

Richard smiled, “I share a special relationship with the late grand elder of the Evernight Tribe. For the sake of her final wishes, I don't mind giving up on some benefits. As for cheating you, I really have no need to do that. Even if I can't hold on to the place, my army will uproot all your trees of life one day. The world tree won't be an exception.”

Before the Grand Elder could respond, Windleaf lost his temper and screamed, “THE AUDACITY!”

916 - City of Sin

Assassination

The forest elves considered the World Tree to be a sort of overgod, the highest of existences in the entire plane. As someone who hailed from right underneath that world tree, Windleaf wouldn't allow any humiliation. He already had his sword in hand, and was barely holding back. He didn't believe that Richard would be able to attack so many hunters and druids at the same time.

Richard didn't even look at him, continuing to stare at the Grand Elder, “This forest is enormous. Just like you can accommodate more trees of life, you can accommodate more world trees.”

These words astonished the three elves; this was something they had never thought about before. World trees were the final stage of a tree of life, and just like any other tree of life they could only absorb nutrients from a certain area. This area was enormous, but even at full evolution they needed less than two hundred kilometres all around them to get all the nutrition they required. This was absolutely tiny when compared to the endless forest, and while a world tree's influence far exceeded this range everyone present knew that there was a limit. With Richard's gate 20,000 kilometres away, the world tree could barely exert any control over the area at all.

Even from what they knew, the three elves understood that there could be at least five to six world trees in the forest. On the other hand, Richard had already calculated that there would be twelve possible at minimum. This was his final plan in developing the Forest Plane— he would move his trees of life into specific spots and have them grow into world trees. Ever since he met Tzu, he was planning to use this plane as a jumping board for the return of the high elves.

Windleaf lost his temper completely, lunging towards Richard and swiping at his throat. However, Richard saw it all in slow motion, visualising tens of trajectories that the blade could take. The number of possibilities would narrow down as his blessings strengthened further, but what he had now was still enough to deal with a saint.

Moonlight silently leapt into his hand, and a single thrust pierced through the illusory flowers and leaves around Windleaf's sword, deflecting his strike before continuing on to his chest. The tip of the blade sunk in, and even though the elf realised it and tried his best to stop, he was going too fast; he was basically throwing himself down on the sword, and it was aimed directly at his nature core. This was an extra organ only children of the forest had, and something that was even more important than the heart. The moment it was pierced, he would drop dead in an instant.

*Whoosh!* A huge force erupted behind Windleaf, pulling him back and away from the sword's range. The Grand Elder couldn't help but glance at Richard who didn't even move his sword in response; it was as though he'd known that the youth would be rescued from the start.

The forest went deathly silent. Windleaf was a son of the forest from the Jadeleaf Tribe, and while he was arrogant he was just as strong. For a single attack to turn into effective suicide proved just how advanced Richard's skills were, and the Grand Elder saw even further into the exchange. He noticed just how little energy Richard had expended, quickly concluding that the hunters and druids just might not be able to trap and kill him.

The old elf's eye twitched, “We truly cannot stop you... Alright, we will consider your proposal, but it will take some time to summon a meeting of elders.”

“I can wait,” Richard answered.

The Grand Elder nodded, and with a wave of his hand the hunters and druids waiting in ambush dispersed. The forest went silent once more, and after a few minutes of silent thought, Richard returned.

......

It was still dark in the Evernight Tribe, the only light coming from the faint moonforce in the air and the moonflowers that could only stay in bloom for half a day. Richard stopped in front of one of these bell-shaped flowers that had a few dozen fireflies within, watching the tender green mixed into its milky white light.

In some ways, he understood elvish arrogance. In their hands, even just flowers were the pinnacle of beauty. Perhaps that arrogance was the source of their inspiration, maybe it was their pride that disallowed even the tiniest imperfection in their worlds.

He didn't notice the unease of the elves, only staring at the flower for a while before calling over a passerby, “Tell everyone to pack and make preparations; we're leaving in a few hours.”

The elf was shocked but he didn't ask further, darting off to notify the druids and saint hunters. A short while later, Alice walked over, “Why are we moving so suddenly?” Please visit f𝙧ee𝙬ℯ𝐛𝓃𝐨𝚟𝒆𝘭. c𝒐𝓂

“Negotiations failed. They're probably gathering strength; if we leave now, we'll have a day or two of leeway.”

“But casualties will be immense if we leave just like this. Besides...” Alice glanced at the tree of life.

Richard didn't bat an eyelid, “The people are more important.”

Alice nodded and headed to the temporary barracks, having the rune knights prepare to leave. She had already instructed them to live off their horses for the most part, so it was a quick affair. Estimating the potential losses, she agreed that the lives of the people were more important than the tree of life.

The elves started packing up as well, many crouching and kissing the earth beneath their feet before walking out of their homes. This land was their haven, but they had no choice but to give it up. Some of them had wanted to stay and die here, but Melia and the two druids had convinced them to move; the tribe needed every elf it could when they moved.

Richard was in an extremely bad mood. He had a hint of hope before the meeting, but neither side had even mentioned Iskara during negotiations. He knew he could no longer hesitate, as an hour's delay meant an hour more of vicious battle before they could get to Emerald City. Right now, only he himself and the unicorn could even determine directions in the forest, and that was no good.

The tree of life would reach safety once it was within five hundred kilometres of Emerald City. At this distance, he could use his own tree to contend with the will of the forest and pull all of the broodmother's drones into the defence. However, the journey would be tough.

When the time to leave arrived, many of the elves were still in the midst of packing. They were only arranging a few small keepsakes at this point, but understanding their sentiment Richard had his rune knights hold off from forcing them and gave them another half hour.

As he looked over the sorrowful tribe, an equally sorrowful voice sounded behind him, “Are we really leaving?”

Richard didn't answer, instead gazing up at the tree of life. The canopy was now trembling as it closed in on itself, the thick trunk rocking to a rhythm as the soil was broken apart. The roots were popping out one after the other; the process had already begun.

“I...” she choked on her own tears, whispering softly, “I don't want to move! Do we really have to?”

Richard had no answer. He truly was intent on giving up half the plane to let the Evernight Tribe stay; this was where Tzu's people had lived for over a century and where she had given up her life. Money could always be earned, but kinship was scarce. However, he couldn't deal in such injustice to the warriors under him; he had his own responsibilities to these rune knights. He couldn't just sacrifice their lives because he felt like it.

Such was the predicament of a lord. Sometimes, one had to put his people over himself.

Melia suddenly pounced over, hugging him hard. Just as he was about to console her, he felt a chill under his ribs. A dagger passed right through his abdomen and thrust deep into his body!

917 - City of Sin

Forgiveness

The attack had been far too sudden to avoid. Before Richard even knew it, the dagger was embedded up to the hilt and thrusting in even further. Richard turned around to fight back, but he saw an expression of pure anguish on Melia's face with tears streaming down her cheeks; it almost made him give up on countering. However, the pain suddenly amplified as the dagger started churning within his abdomen.

Richard immediately calmed down, his thoughts reaching peak speed as the entire world seemed to slow down before his eyes. Melia's dagger was starting to tear apart his organs, but instead of fighting back immediately he pulled his consciousness back into his soul space.

Seeing the expanded web of lava that was his Archeron bloodline and the trees within it, he mobilised all of the power he could. The two planets orbiting him shook even as the energy rippled through the well of stars, travelling out into the void surrounding the soul space.

Melia's hair stood on end as she sensed grave danger, letting out a piercing scream before leaping away. Distancing herself from Richard, she turned around and fled into the forest. An ashen ripple seemed to radiate three metres all around Richard's body, turning the dagger to dust. For a moment. she saw the illusion of a pair of eyes opening up in the void, imposing their will upon all existence.

Even while his wound was starting to close up, Richard lifted a single finger and shot a grey light towards Melia's back. She slowed down greatly, and immediately found a dozen fireballs heading straight for her. Each of the fireballs was shot in a straight line with seemingly no break, even faster than the continuous attacks of a swordsman. Each travelling at a different speed, they quickly merged into a single purplish-black orb the size of one's fist. This fireball wasn't particularly fast and didn't look like much of a threat, but every elf in the vicinity shivered instinctively at the mere sight.

“What are you doing?!”

“Stop it!”

Several shouts echoed at the same time, the more powerful elves including the druids and hunters immediately heading over. Seeing Melia take flight while Richard launched a terrifying spell towards her, they moved to intercept. Google search f𝙧ee𝔀𝑒𝚋𝐧૦ѵ𝑒Ɩ. 𝑐𝘰𝒎

Two green orbs and two phantom arrows shot out together, clashing violently against Richard's attack. However, all of them were simply consumed as the fireball continued further, leaving the four in utter disbelief. However, the fireball grew in size and turned a dull red, making it clear that it had weakened substantially.

The two druids tried yet again, one of them shooting out a colourful stream of light while the other summoned lightning bolts to stop the fireballs. It took a few moments, but the attack was finally scattered away completely.

Before the two druids could even register the shock, the hunters moved forward to stop Richard from pursuing Melia further. The one spell had been terrifying enough to melt steel, and she certainly would not survive such an attack. Richard himself remained expressionless, the lava flowing within his pupils making their hearts almost stop in fear.

For the first time in months, Richard used a chant and gesticulated for a spell; a stream of ancient words flew out of his mouth, and in a few moments the world around him seemed to slow down.

This was the ninth grade spell Time Stop. It wasn't a true stoppage of time— such a spell would be at least a few grades higher or require an understanding of time laws that was ridiculous— but it accelerated his own functions to such a degree that the effect was quite similar. He calmly took out his Book of Holding and summoned the two shamans, continuing to flip through the page and buffing them with multiple spells until they could rival saints. Sending another slowing spell towards Melia, he drew Extinction and threw it towards her. As the flying sword left his sphere of influence and seemed to grind to a halt, he returned the book to his waist and allowed the spell to end.

Melia immediately felt herself almost grinding to a halt, the surface of her body covered in a layer of frost. Now at less than a third of her prior speed, she would need an entire minute to escape into the woods. This was enough for Richard to kill her a dozen times over.

The two shamans quickly blocked the hunters, waving their staffs to strengthen their defences before moving up close. Their barriers were extremely strong, needing at least seven to eight arrows of attacks before they would be broken. This was more than enough to block the saints until Extinction reached its target. As for the druids, they just didn't have the reaction time to do anything about it.

Extinction flew like lightning, leaving a trail of grey behind as it reached Melia in an instant. With her current speed, she had no way to dodge the blade at all. Once it pierced into her, its destructive energy would nullify her advantages as a daughter of the forest and kill her off instantly.

From the moment Melia backstabbed him to the launching of Extinction, it had taken less than fifteen seconds. In only two more, Richard would see her head being cut straight off her body. However, seeing her escaping figure he thought back to Tzu's words. Tzu always had high hopes for the girl, and had explicitly told him to take good care of her. He couldn't understand why she would turn this way, but from the one moment he had seen her face he knew something was amiss. It was only because he had no way to chase her that he had decided to kill instead.

And yet, just as Extinction reached the elven girl, it suddenly curved up and cut off a few locks of Melia's hair. Embedding itself into a tree in the distance, it gave her the time to break free of the curses plaguing her and rush into the forest like lightning. Richard sighed and staggered back, but the four evernight elves continued to stare daggers at him as they prepared themselves for battle.

It was only when he swayed and fell to the ground head-first that his wound started spurting blood.

918 - City of Sin

A Road Of Death

The abrupt change caused a huge stir, murderous intent simply enveloping the entire Evernight Tribe as the rune knights went into formation and drew their weapons in rage. Their horses neighed with absolute fury as eight hopped on and charged straight for the four elves who had blocked Richard's attack.

The elves retreated in shock, but only after a few steps they backed into the remaining warriors of the tribe. If they went any further, the rune knights would trample over their kin to get to them. The four thus braced themselves, holding position to face their inevitable death. Sustaining the full brunt of the charge, they convulsed violently as they were beaten to the ground.

Just as the rune knights started to press the attack, Alice's voice echoed through the meadow, “Don't kill anyone yet!”

The second wave that was about to pounce immediately restrained their energy, but continued to charge nevertheless. The remaining elven warriors were injured to some degree as they were all surrounded, while Alice rushed over to Richard's side, “What happened?”

Richard forced himself up, saying weakly, “I was the victim of a plot, no big deal... Hurry, we need to set off. There's no time...”

Carefully shifting away the hand Richard was pressuring his wound with, she groaned softly and started trembling. Immediately placing her own hand down to stop the blood flow, she recoiled at the feeling of blood and flesh flowing below her.

It was only then that the elves realised Melia had tried to assassinate Richard, and despite their own injuries from the charge the druids struggled up and walked over. The rune knights continued to glare at them, but Alice waved the angry soldiers away and let the two come closer, “Can you help?”

“We can try.” There were currently no priests or clerics within Richard's forces; the ones Noelene had promised him were disallowed from entering the Forest Plane for now. The healing ability of druids was sometimes comparable to clerics, but when the two cast their spells on Richard they barely managed to stem the bleeding. A dark grey mist constantly repelled their nature energy; something they knew was set up by Melia. Children of the forest were naturally proficient at repelling the energy they knew most.

Alice watched anxiously as the two great druids emptied all of their mana, the sheer number of healing spells starting to take effect. Richard struggled his way onto the unicorn, pointing in the direction of Emerald City. The very earth began to shake as the tree of life uprooted completely, taking a step forward.

......

The hunters were scattered around the perimeter while Richard's rune knights guarded closer to the tree of life. The young and otherwise weak were in the middle, taking turns to rest on the tree itself when tired. Alice personally accompanied Richard who was in the treehouse at the crown, pouring drops of a dark green liquid down his throat.

The dark green liquid had been extracted from the heart of the tree of life that Richard had killed a few days ago, and it was extremely dense in life energy. A third of this essence was currently in Alice's bowl, and as he absorbed the energy and meditated Richard could feel his organs started to heal. A little portion even went straight to his bloodstream and integrated into the elven bloodline.

The grey mist was still floating around within him, suppressing his recovery, but it was fading by the hour. Richard was using all he could to wear away at it without harming himself, but the process would take time.

When Richard finished absorbing most of the liquid and opened his eyes, Alice immediately asked, “How are you?”

He smiled painfully, “It's going to take more time, at least a month or two. I need to make a trip back to Norland, I have healers at the ready there.”

“I didn't expect her to be a traitor, the other elves might be up to no good as well. My people are watching over them; if they sense anything wrong, it'll be death!”

Richard's brow furrowed as he pondered for a moment, eventually shaking his head, “Something's wrong, it looked like she wasn't in control of herself. Even if she was, I know that girl; she didn't have the ability to hit me this hard before. The power of her dagger was hers, but much more evolved; there was a hint of laws in there, almost like a legendary being.”

“Doesn't matter, she tried to kill you. Don't let her go next time,” Alice said gruffly.

Richard nodded, “I understand.”

Hearing this, she shook her head and sighed, “You don't. The family's hopes are on you; if you die, there's nobody who can step up. Remember what happened when Gaton disappeared? The family almost broke apart even with you present; what happens if that's you? Think of your responsibilities, this little tribe doesn't mean anything in the grand scheme of things. Even if you feel something for the girl, make sure she can't lift a finger against you before you do anything else.”

The topic made Richard smile awkwardly. He knew that it seemed like he was romantically interested in Melia to the outside world, but he didn't really want to reveal Tzu's full relationship with him either. Still, Alice's words were not false; he had many responsibilities now, and his subordinates weren't as united as before either. Years ago in Faelor, the goal was to live to see the next day; now, he had a legendary being's strength with Disintegrator and many of his followers were closing in on the same. It was only expected that they would develop their own interests over time.

The two continued to just remain there in silence for a while longer, but they were interrupted by a bloodcurdling scream. Energy started rippling all around, and Alice's ears shot up as she frowned, “They've caught up. I'll take care of it, you get some rest.”

Richard grunted and closed his eyes, hearing her barking out a number of orders the moment she stepped out. Blood soaked the trees in only a few minutes, but the number of elves from the alliance seemed to be endless. Minutes of fighting turned into hours, but she was still commanding the battle tirelessly.

The tree of life was still moving forward, the earth shaking with every step. A black mist enveloped the area with numerous hunters prowling like wolves, but the rune knights constantly cut through them without any hesitation. The attacks were sometimes frenzy, sometimes slow; sometimes the focus was on arrow fire and other times on awakened trees or other druidic spells; whatever it was, Alice ensured the tree moved constantly. Every step was a step closer to Emerald City and further away from the influence of the world tree.

The tree of life left a wide gap in the woods as it passed, but that gap was littered with the corpses of elves of both sides. There were even the occasional rune knights corpses, but each one of those was surrounded by dozens of enemies at the lowest. With the intensity of the battle, Alice had no way to recover their bodies and could only let them rot into and join the earth.

Eventually, the tree couldn't advance constantly any longer. The attacks were more powerful and more frequent, forcing it to stop until the situation calmed down. Every stop meant death was closing in; once the camp of treants caught up, death would be inevitable.

919 - City of Sin

A Road Of Death(2)

During one instance where the tree of life came to a halt, Richard got dressed and opened the door to his treehouse. This was the first time he had left his bed after suffering his injuries, and his pale face showed just how bad they still were. Still, he easily sidestepped the instinctive sword thrust from a nearby hunter and grabbed an arrow from her quiver, stabbing her in the throat.

As the hunter fell from the tree of life, Richard looked around him only to find battles raging everywhere. This hunter wasn't the only one trying to attack those in the houses, and there were occasional cries as combatants fell off.

Had the situation already grown so bad? He caught an arrow out of mid-air and thrust it into the heart of another nearby hunter, sending the elf tumbling down the tree. All this while, he was still focused on the grey energy within him; the power of law it held was far beyond expected, allowing it to hold on tenaciously and prevent him from healing quickly.

He ambled around the tree, aiding any fights that he passed by. Even without much speed or strength, his technique and comprehension of laws was enough to defeat most elites of the alliance in one blow. Forest elves fell off the tree of life one after the other, but just as many were charging out of the forest. Not too far away, the rune knights were split into ten-man squads and battling a group of treants led by a particularly large old tree. The ancient treant was nearing the legendary realm, and with the aid of the forest's will it could hold off fifty rune knights at once. The worst part was that it raised many other inanimate trees as it passed, giving it an advantage in a battle of attrition.

Richard knew that about five of his rune knights would have to give their lives to topple the tree, and gazing into the distance he found many similar auras not far behind. The treant camp was about to catch up.

*Snap!* His attention was suddenly drawn above, where an elf was busy cutting into the tree of life. One of the branches had just been broken off completely and fell to the ground. Frowning, he hastened in the direction as he grabbed a dagger along the way, activating Mana Armament for a split second to toss it at full strength. The dagger flew through the air and buried itself in the back of the man's head.

The hunters finally noticed Richard's presence, but anyone who tried to attack was left a corpse falling off the tree. Richard looked weak, but every melee fight was won in a single blow and the weapons thus salvaged were used to kill off any ranged attackers. The movements were concise, but they occasionally produced afterimages from the burst activation of Mana Armament. However, Richard couldn't cast any spells to kill multiple opponents at once nor even activate Disintegrator— his killing speed was laughable compared to his peak.

Eventually, a thunderous bellow rang out in the distance as the treant finally crumbled to its wounds. With it dead, the others it animated would follow in only a matter of time. An urgent chirp rang out from deep within the forest, and the attacking elves retreated like the tide. The tree of life began moving once more.

Richard didn't return to his house to rest, instead frowning as he surveyed the tree's injuries. More than a hundred small branches had been cut off its main body, each one a minor wound but summing up into a major one. The next attack could cause a hundred more, and soon it would add up to thousands. There would come a point where the damage was irreversible.

The alliance wasn't sending many saints or high-level druids, and those it did send remained very cautious. They knew that Richard's knights could kill saints in only a second if they attacked together, but time was on their side. Every battle weakened both Richard's army and the tree of life itself; mistakes would grow more frequent and the tree's range of influence would start to drop. Once the tree of life couldn't defy the will of the forest any longer, the elders and saint hunters would show themselves.

Alice leapt onto the tree of life and darted over to Richard's side, her crimson hair now a deeper shade of red from the blood staining it. Richard could see the worry in her eyes at a single glance and whispered, “We have no way to stop them from attacking the tree.”

“Can't we contact Emerald City and get reinforcements?” she bit her lip.

Richard smiled wryly, “Only if we can survive to within 300 kilometres. I still can't feel anyone.”

Alice's expression darkened as she stated coldly, “It doesn't matter if there's one less tree of life. The alliance has eight tribes in total, which means eight trees of life and a world tree that will be ours sooner or later. If it wasn't for that bitch, we'd have been safe long ago!”

Alice's last words were forced between her teeth. She knew things would have been fine if they had left even a day or two earlier, with Richard forcing the migration instead of giving the Duskword Tribe advance information due to the negotiations. At the same time, if he hadn't been injured he could have returned to Emerald City alone and summoned an army to their aid. Outside of the unicorn which they needed to direct them right now, he was the only one who wouldn't get lost in the forest right now. Tiramisu and the others were strong, but their comprehension of laws wasn't nearly vast enough to overcome the natural blockade. Melia's attack had basically killed this tree of life and many rune knights on top.

Richard could understand the hatred, but he patted her on the shoulder, “There's nothing we can do about it now. I still think there was something wrong with that situation, but now you should consider a contingency plan. Once the treants catch up, we'll have no choice but to give up on the tree of life. The unicorn will be able to get us back to Emerald City.”

Alice nodded, leaping off the tree to begin reorganising the rune knights. Another five had died in battle today, four of whom had been taken down by the ancient treant. Watching her back, Richard wanted to say something but stopped himself and sighed. He understood what she was most infuriated by: the unicorn could only help a few hundred people deal with the will of the forest. Despite their large size, the mounts could only carry a limited number of people as well; half of the tribe could not be taken. Given her personality, she would definitely ensure all of the rune knights made it home first.

He returned to his treehouse and sat on the bed, but just couldn't bring himself to meditate. Every decision he had made since entering the Evernight Tribe came to mind, among which were many hot-blooded mistakes.

'Have I grown too soft?' he couldn't help but wonder.

......

The tree of life pressed forward with difficulty. It grew closer and closer to Emerald City, but at the same time it also slowed down. One day, those underneath felt the earth shaking fiercely as the treants charged over at full speed. Every evernight elf fell silent, knowing the terror that was about to come.

Destruction was upon them.

Many elves poured themselves into the battle, trying all they could to avoid thoughts of their impending fate. It was at this point that Richard finally made the only choice he could—

He gave up on the tree of life.

920 - City of Sin

Change

As the battle approached, Richard communicated his decision to the tree of life. It was currently the weakest it had ever been, riddled with so many injuries that it couldn't conjure up its cervitaur form. Even their thought communication was rather rudimentary, comprised more of ideas than anything else.

“You can have everyone leave, I will hold them back for a few hours,” the tree said calmly.

However, Richard shook his head, “Surrender, we don't need the extra time.”

“But...” the tree hesitated.

Richard knew its problem: as a tree from a primary plane, it stood equal to the world tree of the Forest Plane. Bowing to an inferior being was humiliating. However, he continued to persuade it, “Survive, and I'll be back very soon. My troops are waiting right at the portal, and I'll charge right back and rip the enemies apart.”

Eventually, the tree sent him a soft affirmative.

While telling the tree to stay behind was painful, it was actually the easiest part of what he had to do. Now, he had to take care of the elves themselves. Counting the rune knights, only half of the tribe could actually evacuate on horseback; while the most powerful of the hunters would be able to keep up on foot, the rest would fail.

Alice's suggestion was to take the women, children, and the elite warriors. The rest would be defenceless, but they would manage to take along those who were vital to the resurgence of the tribe. Even leaving the most powerful warriors behind would make little difference, so she wanted to focus on rebuilding first. An additional issue was that the older and weaker elves would be more of a burden to take along; they would tire faster and move slower even on horseback, which meant more rune knights sacrificed to keep them safe.

However, the elves themselves disagreed. All of the elite warriors including both great druids and two saints volunteered to stay back, pushing for a bulk of the remainder to leave. They would rather die in war than leave their kin behind; while elven society followed a strict hierarchy of status, it also followed the same hierarchy in responsibilities.

The two parties were arguing constantly until Richard put a stop to it. He had ten of his toughest and fastest rune knights dismount, having them follow on foot. Giving those ten mounts in addition to his own unicorn for the old and weak to ride, he put an end to the conversation. He still urged the elite warriors and druids to follow along— they were far more necessary in rebuilding than they would be to hold the enemy back— but the final decision was up to them.

After a few moments of discussion, the elves decided to leave about a third of the elite warriors behind. One of the saint hunters volunteered his life in delaying the onslaught, while the rest would follow Richard to the city.

Richard nodded at the saint, “You may choose to surrender, I will be back soon.”

However, the hunter saluted to him in a gesture reserved for the highest of elven lords, “Never!”

Richard wanted to argue the practicality of it all, but he just nodded and moved on. The other saint and two druids took the opportunity to salute him in the same way, signifying that they had finally acknowledged him as the true lord of the Evernight Tribe. Seeing less than five hundred elves left, he found little reason to rejoice.

The troop set off immediately; the treants were still on their tails, and they couldn't afford to waste a single minute. The horses meant to transport the elves were completely loaded with the slowest members of the tribe, with Richard himself making the journey on foot despite his obvious weakness. Alice had jumped down to move alongside him, allowing the elves to use her mount as well.

Only a few minutes into the journey, she couldn't take it anymore and asked, “Why?”

Richard didn't respond immediately, instead looking around at the rune knights and elves in his surroundings. Everyone had set aside their differences in the midst of combat, and they were constantly glancing at him to make sure he was alright. Coughing softly, he answered her, “Unity.”

“Unity?” Alice thought over the word repeatedly, but she just couldn't understand. Couldn't one just force their way through now and be a little more gentle afterwards?

Her thoughts were interrupted by Richard coming to an abrupt halt. He slowly turned to face the tree of life in the distance, as did the three strongest elves. Each one heard the pained cry of the tree, who was now flapping its roots and branches frantically to eliminate as many of the treants as it could. Several dark shadows were swarming it, of the same shape as the forest elves but two times the size with black scales instead of skin. These creatures were much faster than the ordinary elves, pouncing up the tree like wolves and biting right into it with razor-sharp teeth.

The tree's howl of pain as it was eaten alive spread far and wide through the forest, accompanied by the screams of the evernight elves that had stayed behind. These monstrous creatures had swarmed everything like locusts, gnawing at what they could without sparing a second thought.

Richard's hands were balled into fists, the exertion so great it seemed like he would pop a vein, but he forced himself to calm down and turned back. The three elves followed suit as he started moving once more, trying their best to ignore the sharp whistling sounds that were the tree's death throes.

Even as accustomed to bloodshed as she was, Alice felt herself wanting to cover her ears. She asked Richard, “Why are they damaging the tree of life? Didn't you ask it to surrender?”

“Those... things aren't elves anymore; they aren't the guardians of the forest,” Richard said with an eerie calm.

Alice sighed, not asking further. She knew that he was just putting up a facade of indifference, but there was no need to expose that right now.

......

Deep within the forest, in an enormous wooden shrine that was a hundred metres wide.

Dark energy circled the inner halls of the building, a sinister force floating all around. The top of the shrine was burning with dark green flames, with the mysterious black-robed figure singing and jumping like a lunatic around it. He constantly clapped and stomped, the entire building shaking to his rhythm, but nobody could understand the language he used.

There were two doors to the shrine itself. Groups of weaker elves, young and old, were streaming into the building through the back, 'helped' on by the Duskword hunters into pitch darkness. Out the front came the transformed creatures that barely resembled what they once were, movements initially rigid and eyes lifeless until a tendril of green flame shot out from above and branded them. This flame quickly turned them into fearsome creatures as they leapt dozens of metres into the air, rushing into the woods to act on orders unknown.

Some of the elders of the alliance had gathered together on the fringe of the forest, looking at these fearsome elves with terror and fear. An elder from the Windscreech Tribe suddenly spoke up, “Didn't the Evernight Tree of Life want to surrender? Why did we still...”

“Exactly!” another elder said angrily, “Every tree of life is a blessing to our existence, how could we do that?!”

The elders jumped into a heated decision about the situation; trees of life were like deities to the forest elves, and they did not like what had been done to one. However, the Duskword Grand Elder spoke up once the rest were done bickering, “The old era has passed.”

921 - City of Sin

The New Era Of The Forest Elves

Old era? The other elders of the alliance didn't approve of the mutants' actions at all. The trees of life were the foundation of their race, and such profanity was unethical at best and unforgivable at worst. However, their discussion was interrupted as the black-robed man atop the shrine screeched and teleported over.

The Duskword Grand Elder bowed respectfully, but the other elders stood as they were and stared at the gloomy shrine. A beam of black light dropped down from the heavens to cover it entirely, the boundless energy flowing through leaving them all breathless. The elves walking out of the building changed once more, larger scales growing on their bodies with sharp bone spurs now popping out of their backs and other joints. Rancid saliva kept flowing from their mouths, sizzling with green smoke as it touched the earth and corroded it. Many of the elves could no longer even stand properly, having to hunch or even move on all fours like beasts.

Even the Grand Elder couldn't stomach this any longer, pointing at the mutated creatures and saying with agony, “This...”

“What?” the mysterious man sneered, “Have they not grown more powerful? Every single one has the strength of what you consider a high-ranked hunter.”

The man wasn't wrong. Each one of these new mutated creatures, despite being made from the elderly and children, were around level 14. The Grand Elder smiled bitterly, “But they lack their own minds, do they not?”

“What use do they have for it? These things only need to know who to attack. As a price for my master's power, this is very mild.” The black-robed man turned to look at the thousands of elves still being pushed into the back of the shrine. Seeing the new creatures, all of these commoners were horrified and started hesitating; even with orders from their elders, they couldn't bear turning into monsters. Many of the hunters were now glaring in this direction as well; they would clearly rebel if nothing was done to remedy the situation.

“This should be enough, right?” one of the elders spoke up, “Can we pause it for a while?”

The black-robed man sneered, “You want to defy the will of my master? It seems you are very confident in your battle abilities.”

The elder who had spoken immediately shut up. The unending stream of mutated creatures had suddenly stopped and stared at their group with amber eyes, with some even returning from the forest. Those eyes were like spectral flames floating in the night, leaving all of the elders sweating. They were each powerful in their own rights, but not to the extent of fighting all of these creatures at once.

Even more mutated elves returned, encircling the shrine entirely. Threatened with death, all of the elves went silent. The man chuckled, “Your protests are pointless, let me show you my master's true might!”

The shrine was suddenly shrouded by black mist that covered the bodies of all the elves that hadn't yet been mutated, pulling them in like puppets on a string. Even the hunters who had shown some rebelliousness hadn't been spared, leaving behind only a thousand warriors who didn't understand just what had happened. Thousands of elves, young and old, weak and strong, had been dragged into the shrine in one go!

“Behold.” The black-robed man didn't move, but the elders felt a chill running down their spines as his gaze swept past them. The shrine itself started trembling violently, compressing and expanding like a throbbing heart. The mist remained for a few minutes as unknown changes took place within, dispersing only when four figures walked out.

These four mutant elves were starkly different from the other beasts; consisting of two males and two females, each one was utterly gorgeous yet much larger than the ordinary elf. Their bodies were flawlessly smooth, black skin and crimson eyes almost shimmering with a mysterious charm of their own.

The biggest difference between these four elves and the rest was the existence of another eye on their foreheads, the pupil vertical and the same crimson colour. The shrine quieted down in an instant, the blazing flames atop it dying out as the black beam from the sky vanished as well.

The black-robed man was almost slobbering as he looked at the four new mutants, “These are my master's creation, the seeds of your new era! They are the origin of greatness, the primogenitors!”

By the time the man's voice grew to its crescendo, the painful whines of the Evernight tree of life had finally died down. The Duskword Grand Elder spoke up, “There are still a number of the evernight elves and outsiders who escaped.”

“A group who couldn't even protect a tree of life; they aren't worth mentioning,” the man haughtily waved it off as he looked towards the heavens, “I already sent three thousand to give chase, they will all be eaten up soon enough. Next, my master's army will trample the invaders and turn this plane into his herd. The new elves with godsblood will spread throughout the plane, becoming His sword as they pass through the gate and conquer the world beyond!”

This was a grand ambition, but the elders could not feel a shred of satisfaction from it. They didn't see their own positions in this new order at all.

......

Richard's troop was currently four hundred kilometres from Emerald City. It would only take a few hours to get within range of his tree of life, whereafter the will of the forest would not be able to suppress them any longer. While the Evernight tree of life was deep in the forest and closer to the world tree, his own portal was a significant distance away and couldn't be dominated in the same fashion. Within Emerald City itself were elite shadowspears and other troops; they would be able to pass on his commands right away and gather to meet the enemy.

The forest was very quiet save for rustling, but this silence was occasionally broken by Richard's cough. One such occasion attracted the attention of a mutated elf, which set its eyes on what it thought was the weakest open target of the group. Growling at the opportunity, it launched itself forward.

The rune knights immediately fell back towards him, raising their halberds to pierce it right away. However, Richard actually jumped ten metres towards it before crouching low, placing the pommel of his sword against the earth and aiming the tip at the creature's throat. The forward momentum of the creature was enough to impale it, but even as it crumpled to the ground it continued to struggle. Richard was forced to put it out of its misery with an extra slash.

He crouched down, closely examining the body of the thing before frowning. He called Alice over, “The elves have mutated, the situation is bad. Take the group and advance at full speed, don't stop until you're within 200 kilometres of Emerald City.”

“What about you?” Alice asked.

“I'll— cough— I'll stall them.”

“No way, you're still injured! I'm not...”

She was silenced by a wave of his arm, “The wounds aren't as bad now. Besides, I'm not staying alone; Waterflower is coming with.”

“... Okay.” Alice didn't believe him at all, but she could trust in Waterflower's strength. She looked towards Waterflower and nodded quietly, receiving a similar nod in return.

922 - City of Sin

Counter-Attack

The troop quickly made their way into the distance, the quiet forest now broken solely by Richard's clear coughs. However, it only took a few minutes before the roar of a wild beast masked everything else, a mutated elf jumping right towards Richard's face. The creature ended up pierced by Moonlight, with Richard taking only a single step back in the process.

Other elves followed soon after, enveloping Richard from all sides. However, a momentary blur flashed past them before they were all cut into two; Waterflower showed herself beside Richard, only half a step away just like back in the Land of Dusk.

Richard shook Moonlight to throw the pierced elf aside, “A bunch of soulless creatures, but they have the numbers. Afraid?”

“What's so scary about a bunch of imps?” Waterflower said harshly, turning into a spectre once more as she disappeared into the woods. The rancid odour of the mutants' blood started to permeate the forest.

It wasn't long before the battle was in full swing. Waterflower killed multiple enemies with every slash, but even more came forward to take their place. It was like they were besieged by a pack of wolves, most from the ground but some even pouncing from the trees. A cold glint flashed in her eyes as she swung left and right, the Shepherd of Eternal Rest reaping lives without end. Even just the ripples of energy from her swings could cut apart two or three mutants every time.

Waterflower had never been one for direct combat, but she plunged into the battlefield and screamed loudly to attract attention. Enemies fell wherever she went, but even with her best efforts she couldn't pull all of the mutants away from Richard. When a few made it past her to run in his direction, she sent an invisible ripple of energy to tear them apart.

In the beginning, Richard just leaned against a large tree. A single mutant managed to make it past Waterflower to get to him, but he simply positioned Moonlight perfectly to pierce it in the chest. Another elf was decapitated by a casual swing, and as he circled around the ancient tree slowly he pierced another two through the ribs.

“Rear right!” he shouted to Waterflower as he blocked an attack, and the girl immediately rushed over to the position. He left cover and took a few swings of his sword, cutting down the transformed elves around him before rushing towards another tree. Using it to limit the number of enemies who could fight him, he killed a few more before dashing ten metres away again. The two creatures who were in the way didn't even realise how they died.

The two ran out almost perpendicular to each other until they were a hundred metres apart. With another shouted signal, they changed directions and arced back to each other to meet again. He pointed a finger forward and she charged to clear the way.

The battle continued to drag on, but they constantly drew close and apart as they weaved through the woods and killed all the enemies along the way. Elves were considered the rulers of the forest, but right now Richard and Waterflower were turning this advantage on its head. Their murderous auras seemed to resonate with each other as the girl occasionally shot out blasts of energy so concentrated they bent space; energy-consuming attacks, but very powerful ones at that. Richard couldn't use such strength now, but he showed a new height of swordsmanship that even many legendary beings could not hope to match; constantly shifting between fast and slow, Moonlight was unpredictable and killed with a single blow each time. In terms of casualties alone, he wasn't far behind.

Within an hour they started to feel the pressure; Waterflower wasn't used to such scenarios and Richard was currently week. There were just far too many of the mutated elves, almost as though it would be impossible to finish killing them. Richard felt Moonlight growing heavier by the minute, and despite his best attempts at being miserly he was losing more energy than he could recover. A majority of his strength was locked up in dealing with the grey energy that was trying to weaken him further.

The first hour turned into two, and time continued to pass by. Waterflower was starting to grow numb as well, and Richard was almost out of energy. However, as they reached a certain point in the woods, his eyes suddenly lit up and he let go of all his inhibitions, activating Lifesbane and speeding into the waiting horde. In only seconds he pushed through hundreds of enemies, tearing them to shreds and leaving a trail of flesh and blood in his wake. It didn't take long to break through the horde, and with Waterflower following behind he sped a hundred metres away.

The mutant elves were taken aback, but they reorganised and continued their pursuit. They weren't nearly as fast as Richard or Waterflower at full speed, but the hive mind knew that he would quickly tire and could then be captured.

Richard stopped after only a minute of running, but as the first of the chasing creatures lunged at him Moonlight lit up in a green glow. It seemed to disappear from sight for a moment before returning to place, leaving a mist of dark blood sprayed onto the foliage. He slowly turned around, taking a deep breath and smiling.

The suppression of the forest had faded away!

Richard's perception spread far and wide as all three minds returned to full speed, making contact with hundreds of nodes all across the forest. He could feel Waterflower relax as their connection was restored, and even chuckled as he suppressed the grey energy circulating in his bloodstream and locked it away. His wounds started regenerating at a visible pace, and with the activation of Schloan his mana pool skyrocketed as well.

Seeing the horde of mutant elves rushing towards him, sparks flashed around him and he raised his glowing blade; the thirty creatures in the first group were reduced to a puddle of blood. Seeing the rest starting to growl at him in wariness, he stopped Waterflower from charging towards them and retreated further. Within the unsullied woods, these creatures immediately grew listless.

......

A short while later, the black-robed man and the elders arrived at the battleground. The man kept absolutely silent, while the elders all had shocked looks on their faces. A skilled tracker quickly started inspecting the corpses to try and reconstruct the scene, but the conclusion left him stupefied.

“There were... only two people?” he muttered quizzically.

The tracker's voice was soft, but everyone present had extraordinary perception. The black-robed man started trembling in obvious rage— he had just announced that three thousand mutants would be enough to kill the enemies, but they had all been eliminated by only two.

......

Emerald City was currently buzzing with activity as all the troops were mobilised for battle. Richard's original plan had been to push back immediately, but with the tree of life killed he had no reason to do any such thing. The rune knights who had just returned needed time to heal, and the elves would need to be given a place. Ordering the army to be ready in three days' time, he quickly returned to Norland.

......

“Ugh. You... How even?” Noelene couldn't seem to find the right words to scold Richard, a situation that wasn't helped by her breathlessness. She had just rushed over the moment one of her subordinates informed her, and seeing the grey energy trying to break free within his body she recognised the power of laws within. Giving up on speaking, she started to mutter a number of counter-curses as she sent a great amount of timeforce into his body to erase the residue.

Richard finally relaxed, “An assassination plan, and the opponent has a better grasp of laws than I do.”

“Bullshit!” Noelene raged, “The elves don't know who they're messing with!”

“Is it that serious?”

“These aren't secondary laws!” Noelene said with a frown. The grey energy started to fade away under the power of her timeforce, but there was still a small lump of black left behind.

923 - City of Sin

Counter-Attack(2)

“You'll have to rest here for three months.”

“Impossible! There has to be some other way.”

“Of course there is, but it takes a lot of divine g—”

“I need it done by today, what do you need?”

“Two custom grade 3 runes.”

“No problem. I also need you to make a trip to the Forest Plane, I need a priestess for the battle.”

“The Church doesn't generally involve itself in planar—”

“A grade 4 rune. I'm holding another convention soon, they'll get more expensive.”

“Deal.”

Moments after this rapid conversation, timeforce streamed out from between Noelene's eyebrows and suffused Richard's body, instantly clearing out the remainder of the dark energy within his body. The slightest of wrinkles appeared on her face, but it quickly disappeared as she tapped him on the shoulder and pulled him up, “There you go.”

“That fast?” Richard muttered in awe.

Noelene rolled her eyes at him, “Of course. How complicated could something be if you're willing to throw divine grace at it? Give me ten minutes to prepare, I'll have someone bring my staff and robes over.”

The sheer efficiency shocked Richard, and he couldn't help but whine, “Grand Priestess Noelene, didn't you say the Church doesn't involve itself in planar wars? What's this eagerness?”

She rolled her eyes again, “I said in general. Equal exchange is a core principle of the Eternal Dragon, of course it takes precedence over a general guideline. Understand?”

“Sigh. Yes.” At this point, Richard wondered whether the old dragon would become someone's mount for the right kind of money. He stretched his body, groaning with relief, “Let's go in two hours. I'm still waiting for some other people.”

The two continued with small talk for a while, and at some point Noelene spoke up about another concern, “I heard you owe other people some runes as well?”

“Yes,” Richard answered honestly.

This caused her to frown, “But you're still promising me one.”

“I already owe so much,” he beamed, “What's one more?”

“You...”

Richard laughed heartily, “Hey, think of the kinds of people I owe. Do you think they'd let someone who can't pay up owe them favours?”

“Ugh... Fine.” Noelene knew that his words made sense. If legendary beings could take Richard's word for it, why couldn't a grand priestess of the Eternal Dragon?

......

Forest Plane, deep within the woods.

Phaser was walking around at leisure, her eyes occasionally turning scarlet and releasing a burst of energy that tore the will of the forest nearby to shreds. This energy would coagulate into a pellet-like form, shooting off in a random direction. If this energy ever pierced through the blockade and came within range of Emerald City, either Richard or the broodmother's clone would be able to track her down.

Outside of two elves on the first day, she hadn't met any opposition so far. The only threat to her seemed to be the forest itself, confusing her direction and breaking all contact with the broodmother, Richard, and Waterflower.

Having walked for days since her last meal, she started to grow tired and leaned against a large tree. The tree shook as Annihilation slowly pierced into it, almost screaming in deep pain as its leaves scattered away and branches began to wither. A minute later, the tree had wilted completely while the special unit's skin was starting to glow. She hadn't used this energy absorption ability in a long time, but with new modifications after the incident with Zangru she could absorb even the life of trees.

The first thing Phaser did after recovering was to send another ripple of energy shooting through the forest, leaving a hole in another tree nearby. This tired her out once more, but she continued to extract energy from the flora and thus weaken the forest itself. Her only regret was that she hadn't seen an elf in all this while, almost as though they were afraid of her power and thus went into hiding. Thinking of this, she couldn't help but frown, “Do they know?”

......

In another part of the forest, Tiramisu and Mountainsea were wondering about something similar. The ogre cut an imposing figure as he walked about, heavy steps causing the earth to shake. The annoyance was obvious in his eyes, and he even swung Tenton repeatedly to cleave down any trees that he found displeasing. There was no way to find one's direction in this forest, and the humidity and smell of rot left him constantly irritated.

At this point, the ogre was even pretending like the trees were elf, giving them random names before killing them in one blow. Many days had passed since he was supposed to meet Richard, but he still hadn't made it out. Given the situation he was facing, he worried for his master's safety.

“When can we go looking for Master, Princess?” he asked, snapping Mountainsea out of her thought. The girl lifted her head off her jaw and looked around from atop his shoulders, finding no change at all.

“I don't know,” she said with a shake of her head.

“We can't just wander around forever,” Medium Rare grumbled.

“We'll find our way back,” the girl said absent-mindedly, “Even Richard hasn't found his yet.”

The statement sounded simple, but the ogre felt like it was loaded with other meanings. He racked his brains in silence for a while before shaking his head and speaking up, “Your Highness, can you come down and walk for a while?”

Mountainsea groaned as though she had just woken up, jumping down from the ogre's body. The ground shook more violently than any of the ogre's steps. She looked at him with surprise, “Why are you tired so soon? It hasn't been more than a few weeks yet,”

Tiramisu frowned as he looked at the steel rod on the girl's back and the black bracer on her arm. One was named Eleventon, and the other had been forged from high-grade lafite that had been hammered so much it couldn't even be considered the same material anymore. Deciding not to explain, he changed topics, “What if we can never find Master? This damned forest!”

“Then we'll just tear the woods apart. The forest can't have a will if it doesn't exist.”

Just like that, the ogre mage and barbarian girl ventured deeper into the forest. Ancient trees fell like sticks wherever they passed by.

......

The planar portal glowed once more as Richard returned, this time with Noelene and four clerics of the Eternal Dragon with him. Behind them were four hundred shadowspears that were armed to the teeth, followed by mages of the Deepblue alongside elites of the Orleans Family and Nyris' private troops.

The astral chrysalis rounded out the rear, hundred-metre-long body taking a long time to pass through. The now-enormous creature spat out a dozen sealed chests before flying off to meet the broodmother's clone.

Richard immediately gathered all of the officials in the city, giving them their jobs. There were now more than ten thousand soldiers in Emerald City, many of whom were quite powerful. The new soldiers would take a day to rest and reorganise, but he didn't even bother waiting as he instructed those who were ready to set off immediately. Those who had just arrived would follow behind when they were ready. Once he sent out the specific deployment orders, all of his captains were taken aback. He had left only a thousand guards behind; he was clearly moving out in full strength!

Once the first wave of troops moved out, Richard himself headed in the opposite direction until he was a hundred kilometres away from Emerald City and close to the broodmother's base. Choosing a random area and digging a hole, he placed the seed of the Golden World Tree within and sliced his wrist, chanting a long spell and using his own blood to awaken the plant.

The seed immediately absorbed all of the blood, and even as Richard started to fill out the earth it germinated into a tiny sapling with a single green leaf. He immediately felt a little dizzy, as though something had just passed through his soul.

At the same time, all the trees of life in the forest started shaking while the world tree of the Jadeleaf Tribe started shedding leaves. They all realised that there was now a new world tree on this plane.

924 - City of Sin

What Is War

Noelene immediately flew over from the distance, “A golden world tree?!”

Richard stood up, looking at the sapling with a single leaf, “Yes.”

“How did you get it?”

“Coincidence.”

This answer left her silent for a while, her eyes glittering with golden light. It took a few moments for her to snap out of it and speak, “This plane seems strong enough to have a world tree already, why plant it here?”

“Oh, I know. That tree should understand that there is no compromise in this war; I'm going to reduce it to ashes by the time I'm through.” Richard waved a team of fifty shadowspears and ten elites over, ordering them to guard the sapling before walking away.

Noelene followed behind, but she turned to look at the knights, “Can we just leave it here?”

The golden world tree was a precious item that even all ten thousand warriors would be insufficient to guard. Back in the days of the elven empire, these things would be guarded by legendary beings until they reached a certain age. For Richard to leave a few dozen knights guarding it was risky at the least and stupid at worst.

“There's enough people,” Richard smiled mysteriously.

How could fifty be enough? They had to all be saints for that! Noelene really wanted to retort, but she sighed and followed Richard to their next destination.

When they two left, a few worker drones quietly crept out from the forest and gathered around the closest tree. In minutes the entire tree was eaten and dragged away, in which time even more drones had appeared. All of the trees nearby were starting to be eaten up and pulled into the distance, the drones so thorough that even the roots weren't left behind. Drone after drone dug into the earth, fertilising the land nearby as they cleared it out.

A thousand drones were here in less than ten minutes, and even more were streaming in. Twenty kilometres away, the astral chrysalis was floating silently in the air and had shrunk down to about fifty metres, the lower half of its body emitting a warm light as the empty ground cleared below was filled with thousands of green egg sacs. One could see the creatures morphing under the chrysalis's light, growing limbs and trying to break out.

It didn't take long for the first tiny spider crawled out of its shell. The egg was no larger than a fist and the spider itself was thus of a normal size, but despite its soft white shell anyone who had been at the previous battle of the tree of life would recognise this bird-eating spider for what it was. Under the instruction of the chrysalis, it quickly finished off its shell and passed through the empty ground to start feasting on the first tree it met. A second young spider appeared beside it, followed by a third and then a hundredth. Soon enough, the entire tree was covered in white.

The astral chrysalis floated quietly in the air, shining light down on the wave of spiders below. These rays gave the spiders crucial energy that accelerated their growth, a result of the broodmother's analysis of the previous battle. These things were initially smaller and weaker, needing the assistance of the chrysalis and time to eat and grow as they underwent seven stages of moulting in total, but despite these drawbacks there were clear advantages as well. She could make as many as five hundred of the eggs in a single day, and with the long period to maturity each spider would end up much stronger than with the last set. This second generation was half a fold more powerful yet twice as numerous as the first, and the Forest Plane had no lack of food for them to grow off.

The astral chrysalis had brought a total of ten thousand eggs on this trip. Within ten days, they would turn into a battalion with good battle capabilities. In thirty, they would be a force to be reckoned with. Their webs, lethal venom, and sharp fangs were all deadly weapons against the woodpecking crows and other denizens of this forest. They were an excellent guard force for the golden world tree.

......

The broodmother's clone was approaching level 6 at this point, now a giant creature over fifty metres in length alone. She didn't have the hardy carapace of the original broodmother, and she was still producing workers, but every time she could upgrade something she had boosted her production capabilities. She could now produce five level 9 drones every day, with two more for every lower level on average. She was even better than the original at making new designs if Richard wanted it, and could create a total of 28 workers in one go!

A square kilometre of the forest had been emptied out all around her, a small drop in the vast ocean, but nearly two thousand workers were eating away constantly. The wax they produced was now the size of a small hill; she could barely even keep up.

Richard had approved her tactics; for the next month, she could continue to focus purely on producing workers. These drones had jaws that could bite through rocks, and just as easily they could bite through armour. They weren't dexterous or hardy enough for battle on their own, but once the swarm rampaged through a place there was nothing that could stop their advance.

However, he didn't plan to use the broodmother's strength for this counterattack. An advance party from the first army travelled at lightning speed as they smeared the new gunpowder from the Deepblue on the trees in the vicinity to blow them up. Now every explosion felled a tree, but the sturdier ones could be brought down with a few chops right after. The astral chrysalis was following behind with ten tonnes of material, so they had no need to be thrifty. The most time-consuming task, by far, was actually pushing the fallen trees to the side.

By the time Richard caught up with the second batch of soldiers in tow, the army had already made it ten kilometres deep. His men were only opening up a path that was a few dozen metres wide, which was nowhere near enough to actually curb the will of the forest but certainly a boost for the unicorn's ability to suppress it. Alongside spells from Noelene and her clerics, the army would be able to withstand the suppression of the forest.

Once both armies joined together, their speed increased greatly. Now they could carve out passages for fifty or sixty kilometres in a day; with such a speed, they would reach their first target in less than two months.

Of course, nearly ten thousand soldiers advancing with constant explosions was a loud warning that didn't go unnoticed. Richard discovered a troop of elven hunters on the third day of the expedition, and despite his soldiers being mobilised quickly a few of the smartest ones managed to get away. However, he had no worries about this; he planned to openly crush everything in his path!

The forest elves were a proud race as well. They might be afraid of his army, but this act of mowing through the forest was an act of war against the trees of life and world tree. On the fifth day of travel, as they crossed the 300-kilometre mark, the will of the forest gathered together in a dense attack. Tens of thousands of mutant elves flooded out with more than a thousand regular hunters in tow.

However, this time Richard had Noelene in his group.

925 - City of Sin

What Is War(2)

The moment Noelene started chanting her counter-curses, every other voice in the forest was drowned out. The low growls of the mutants, the clear whistles of the remaining sane elves, the clanging of steel from Richard's army... it was all replaced by a solemn voice that summoned forth a sphere of pale gold. For a short period of time, the will of the forest would be halved within range.

The spell only lasted an hour, but the way Richard saw it an hour was far more than he needed to take care of this enemy. Looking at his once-predators, he smiled and motioned for his army to charge, the current of steel gushing past him to envelop the enemy completely.

Both sides were about equal in number, and the mutants were actually higher in level than most of Richard's soldiers. However, on the back of their equipment alone Richard's troops could fight back against this disadvantage without issue. Alongside the additional help of the unicorn and the various buffs from the clerics, the knights could decimate any single opponent.

Individual might wasn't even the biggest advantage. Richard's forces were a full army with discipline and order, while his opponents were a bunch of ferocious beasts. Without the will of the forest blocking his mental connections, he had returned to being an indomitable general who could never be beaten with equal numbers.

The rune knights led the charge, followed closely by the shadowspears, royal soldiers, and the elite Orleans warriors. They moved in perfect formation as they spread out like a flower in full bloom, seven petals drilling into the enemy mob and cutting it apart. More warriors and knights rushed in from behind, taking advantage of the gap and pushing it out further.

Forests were never suitable for larger battles, but with Richard's intricate command the ancient trees only served as natural defences and obscurements that helped him manoeuvre his army. Small elite times were rushing all over the battlefield to kill cluster after cluster of opponents, the mutants' corrosive saliva rendered useless against the enchanted armour everyone wore.

......

A group of old elves was currently gathered around a magical screen, watching through the eyes of one of the so-called primogenitors of the new elven race who was silently observing the battle from atop a tree. Currently displayed was an image of a mutant biting into a shadowspear knight's arm, losing several teeth only to leave a few tiny bite marks upon the vambrace. Realising the futility of it all, the creature switched tactics and hissed as it sprayed a large amount of foul liquid onto the knight's breastplate. The knight sizzled with white froth, but another elite quickly rushed over and decapitated the creature in one swoop. Once the sizzling died down, there were only a few unremarkable dents on the knight's armour; it would take a dozen such attacks to break through.

The black-robed man was absolutely silent, the elven elders looking at each other with unease. They had never seen such powerful armour before; in fact, they had never imagined war could be fought in such a fashion.A simple question now haunted them; who could even lead? The mutant elves didn't understand complicated commands, only capable of learning their targets and hunting them down.

There was no suspense when soldiers fought beasts; the battle had been over the moment it commenced. However, the total number of casualties was still surprising; the elves had retreated after nearly half of their forces died, leaving behind four thousand corpses to Richard's mere hundred. Most of those hundred casualties were even ordinary warriors; Richard's elites were virtually unscathed.

......

After a quick cleaning of the battlefield, Richard buried his dead soldiers in the forest before delving deeper. The unicorn had fallen behind and left Noelene's group to do all the work of restricting the forest's will; it had moved to help the worker drones who had just entered from behind.

The drones worked fast, quickly forming a line of movement that shipped the corpses away. Only ten kilometres in the distance, the broodmother's clone was devouring them one by one. She was sending a stream of messages to Richard over their mental connection— her analysis of the forest elves now exceeded 300% while that of the mutants had already reached 100. This number was continuing to rise.

Having the broodmother continue eating, Richard reorganised his formation and moved on. He was ready to teach the elves another lesson; they would learn what true war was like. Day after day passed as his forces blazed through the forest, already used to the constant loud explosions and the sound of trees hitting the ground.

As his forces continued to create the road, Richard sensed some instability in the will of the forest and decided to head forward. Mobilising a portion of his rune knights and shadowspears alongside two hundred elites from Nyris and Agamemnon and leaving Alice in charge, he led a team of 500 into the depths.

With those of the Church present to combat the forest's will and lacking any need to clear out trees, these troops moved forward at a frightening pace. In only a few hours they had covered hundreds of kilometres, meeting several treants and dozens of small detachments of elves that were killed without mercy. It was a one-sided massacre.

Even the oldest and most powerful of treants were nothing in the face of Richard, Nyris, Agamemnon, Waterflower, and the others. Only a dozen lucky elves managed to escape over all of the battles, and after clearing out the three hundred kilometre mark from his army Richard turned around and returned to camp.
𝗳𝒓eℯ𝘄𝘦𝚋𝙣ｏ𝚟𝗲Ɩ． 𝑐𝒐𝘮

......

The treant camp was deadly silent, but the black-robed man was unable to maintain his peace. The last projected image showed two ancient treants being surrounded by attackers, brought down without much of a fuss at all. They had been meant to lie in ambush, but even travelling in a straight line Richard had faced no issues with them at all. He had moved three units over to help right at the beginning, but all of them had been wiped out. Other squads scattered in fear, ending his plan even before it began.

The elven elders were all silent, not daring to speak. The deaths of the two saint-level treants had left them with a question they hadn't considered before; with the will of the forest unable to help them, could the treants even take on Richard's large army?

The mysterious man was thinking of the same question. After a long time, he decided to just shift all of his forces back into the camp and ambush Richard's troops in one go.

......

The forest was still noisy over the next few days, Richard's army continuing to travel forth as they decimated the foliage in their way. Countless ancient trees fell to the ground, the more valuable ones even harvested on the spot, and Richard could even sense that the torrential anger of the trees of life and world tree was now tempered by fear. Most of the fear came from the two trees of life closest to him, each less than a thousand kilometres away.

The treants camp migrated at a slow pace, but luckily Richard's troops weren't particularly fast either. There seemed to be no special change of plans from him after the first charge, so the treants managed to take root along Richard's telegraphed path. The elves heaved a sigh of relief; these trees were half a fold more powerful after taking root.

“The war will end here!” The black-robed man finally broke his days-long silence, his sinister voice filled with confidence and determination. Everything was in place, and Richard would soon walk into the trap.

But would it really be that easy? The elders of the alliance couldn't help but be doubtful; this was the largest war they had ever seen in their lives.

......

At the same time, Richard was speaking to Nyris, Agamemnon, and his generals in private, “The war's done.”

No one knew what he was thinking, but when an enormous shadow darkened everything around them they looked up to see the enormous astral chrysalis floating around them. The stronger members of the group noticed the unicorn was standing atop it as well.

There was another piece of good news that resounded through the camp; with the will of the forest growing weak, Phaser, Tiramisu, and Mountainsea had found their way back.

926 - City of Sin

Ambush

This wasn't the first time Nyris and Agamemnon had seen the astral chrysalis, and the same could be said about Noelene. However, all three were awed as ever by the creature's ever-increasing size. The unexpected return of the followers greatly boosted Richard's confidence in his upcoming plan as well.

Noelene, Waterflower, Tiramisu, Mountainsea, and Phaser accompanied him and forty rune knights atop the astral chrysalis. Alice was left to command the rest once more, and the chrysalis floated high into the sky before shooting into the distance.

The astral chrysalis couldn't travel very fast with such a load, only fifty to sixty kilometres an hour, but with its belly full of the wax from the worker drones it could fly non-stop for a month. In only half a day it reached Richard's intended destination; it would be two more before the main army changed direction from the laughably obvious ambush.

A large tree eventually appeared on the horizon, its crown more than a hundred metres up in the sky and much wider than any other foliage in sight. From hundreds of metres further above it was a breathtaking sight, but the elves below couldn't say the same. Sharp whistles echoed through the forest as many hunters leapt up the tree to defend their land.

Richard's gaze was dripping venom as he looked down at the scrambling elves below. This tree already approached adulthood, but there were few people left to guard it. The majority of the tribe's army had been mobilised, leaving a skeletal force to take care of daily life. He looked back up to see a bevy of fierce followers, all eyeing the tree like it was prey. Headed by Rae the fresh saint, the rune knights behind him were thirsting for blood. This force was powerful enough to massacre a tribe even if all of its forces still remained.

When it was about a kilometre away from the tree of life, the astral chrysalis swooped down to just above the canopy of the remaining trees. Richard was the first to jump off, accompanied by his followers and the rune knights. The knights' mounts jumped off in unison and hit the ground with one giant thud, but that didn't even compare to the ogre's. Surprisingly, Mountainsea's impact was even heavier, catching him off guard and causing him to stumble.

Several young treants rushed out from all directions, and a few dozen elves followed right behind. Richard instinctively set his rune knights in formation before turning back to order his followers along, but his eyes widened as all he saw was a flurry of branches all around. Tiramisu, Phaser, and Waterflower had already massacred the young treants and were headed straight for the elves.

“You ba—”stards, leave some for me. The words never fully made their way out of his mouth. Before he even uttered them, he realised the few elves would be dead before he even finished. By the time he had his rune knights move forward towards the tree of life, his followers were already killing everything in sight. It almost felt like his only job had been testing the knights' formation.

Normally, even with all the warriors off at war this tribe should have had a two thousand members at minimum. However, once all resistance was eliminated, Richard only rounded up nine hundred of them. Some interrogation revealed that the elder had taken away a thousand old or otherwise frail elves to an unknown place.

Were they the basis of the mutants? His heart stirred at the information. If his guess was right, that meant his enemies had a total of twenty thousand men instead of just ten as he'd first estimated. Thankfully, those mutants were just beasts who nobody needed to fear.

The rune knights did eventually find a use— they were put in charge of keeping the elves in check while Richard and his followers started to process the tree of life. The tree had frantically opened a telepathic connection with him, begging for forgiveness, but there was none to be found; every member of the alliance would be uprooted completely.

A few hours later, the astral chrysalis gobbled up the broken sections of the tree heart alongside its leaves of youth, fruit of life, a large number of branches, and even some roots. The warehouse of the tribe was also wiped clean, giving Richard another shipment of longbows, staffs of nature, and rare herbs.
𝑓𝚛𝚎𝗲𝙬ℯ𝘣𝚗𝘰ν𝐞l. co𝗺

Once everything was done in the Tempest Tribe, Richard had everyone board the astral chrysalis again and took off for the Rainmist Tribe a thousand kilometres away. It took twenty hours to get there, but this smaller tribe was in the same situation as the first. It took a few minutes for his followers to wipe out all opposition, once again barring him from showcasing any of his skills, but this time he anticipated it and didn't even bother having his rune knights form up. They merely went forward to restrain the commoners while his party worked on the harvest.

This was the direction his army had originally been heading in. With enough time having passed, Alice would have started diverting it to another target. The treant camp would need to shift several hundred kilometres to pull off their ambush, and each of the treants would be weakened greatly for two days. This would put the elves in a bad spot.

......

There was currently no shortage of strong warriors within Richard's army. Asiris had joined the fray himself, which meant that any scouts sent by the opposition were destined for death. The loss of dozens of skilled men had left the rest choosing to hide away, which delayed the news by a day. It was the head scout himself who had found out, and it left everyone fuming. The news had ushered in another deathly silence within the camp.

The black-robed man had immediately pointed at the scout and burnt him to ash with a black flame. This quelled some of the rage in his heart, but seeing the new trajectory of Richard's troops on the map he could only frown. They would have to set off immediately to catch up in time, and even so the treants wouldn't be working at full strength. However, they weren't confident even if the camp was at maximum power; would they be able to accomplish anything while exhausted? The elders and the man were pondering this exact question, even if they knew there was no real choice. They wouldn't dare admit that Richard's first battle had scared them, but alongside his planting of the new world tree and his relentless advance, each one wanted nothing more than to turn tail and flee.

“Transform more elves!” Once the words left the black-robed man's mouth, he noticed every one of the elven elders flinch. Even those of the Duskword Tribe protested, knowing that there weren't many expendable members left. Every remaining elf was important, and losing them would slow development for decades if not more. Many tribes would even have to deal with the possibility of extinction.

It was at this time that a few messengers rushed into the meeting hall, their pained looks making everyone uncomfortable. When the news was read out, many of the elders flew into a rage.

Three different trees of life had been destroyed!

927 - City of Sin

Breaking Through The Centre

The destruction of three trees of life would have an adverse effect on the strength of the forest's will. Normally, the elders of the alliance would look to the black-robed man for advice on dealing with bad news. This time, however, even the grand elder of the Duskword Tribe just hung his head low in silence. The death of three trees of life was beyond bad, it was catastrophic. There was no way to respond; one could only assign blame after the fact.

The entire hall fell silent, both the elders and the black-robed man not moving a single muscle. The messengers stared hazily at the guides of their race that had turned to stone, realising something mid-way and doing the same.

Only when the morning light dimmed into night did the black-robed man raise his head, movements sluggish and crackly like a rusted blade being pulled out of its sheath. His voice was sinister and slow, as though nothing had changed, but all the elders could feel the sheer rage within, “We retreat.”

A moment later, all the treants of the camp slowly stirred. The ancient trees uneasily pulled out their thick roots from the ground, moving in unison as they carried the buildings along the way. The entire process was sluggish, like an aged beast raising itself off the ground; by the time the buildings were a few kilometres away, one of the oldest trees still hadn't uprooted itself.

The sky in the forest was always gloomy, something the elves and treants were accustomed to. However, many of the elves felt trouble breathing for the first time in their lives; this familiar environment felt painfully stifling. Both the treants and the rank and file of the elves moved along mechanically, dreading their destination; it felt like they had been moving pointlessly all their lives.

An elven hunter felt his heart beating uncontrollably as he leapt up a tree, begrudgingly looking at the sky ahead. He was to act as a sentry on the wings, but he felt rather battered by it all. Sitting kilometres away from the camp itself, he would have more than enough time to react even if he didn't spot something instantly. Google search 𝗳𝙧𝘦𝒆𝑤𝙚𝘣𝙣𝘰𝘃ℯ𝑙. 𝐜𝐨𝑚

“Wha...” His jaw fell open the moment he poked his head through the crown. Unable to believe his sight, he rubbed his eyes once before looking once more. However, the black worm-like creature he had seen speeding over from afar did not disappear.

The elf was dumbfounded and paralysed. He had already heard that three trees of life had been destroyed, and now he was seeing an enormous creature floating through the sky.

......

While the elf was stuck in confusion, Richard's eyes went wide as he looked to his left and found the canopy moving at a brisk pace. It didn't take long for him to realise what it was— the treant camp had been chasing him for quite a while— but it left him rather alarmed. He knew that the camp had an enormous number of powerful treants that all intertwined to support the natural fortress structure, its strength only growing after the trees could take root over a few days. However, that also meant the opposite: moving as it was now, the camp wasn't at full strength.

He paused for five seconds, considering hundreds of factors to come to a decision. However, the conclusion was not something he liked; he didn't know enough about the treant camp yet, and if the elves had planned to use it to ambush the entirety of his forces it had to be strong. His small force certainly would not be powerful enough.

But within this camp was likely the person who cursed Tzu with Iskara's mark. This was the person who had coordinated the assault on the Evernight Tribe, the one who had killed the Evernight tree in cold blood...

“Turn left, fly right over it!” he barked out, eyes pulsing with a hint of crimson. The astral chrysalis obeyed its orders just as normal, immediately turning in a graceful arc and making a beeline for the treant camp.

Richard didn't say a word, just moving to the front of the astral chrysalis. The wind blew his hair and sleeves, but despite his mind screaming about the risk he was taking a smile crawled up his face. Even without orders his followers stretched lazily, preparing their weapons for battle. The rune knights slowly mounted their horses, almost completely at leisure, but by the time the chrysalis got close they were prepared.

Looking over it all, Noelene just nodded softly.

By the time the elves sounded the alarm, the astral chrysalis was almost at the treant camp. They were caught completely out of place as javelins rained down from the sky, impaling dozens of them in an instant. Richard crouched forward, shooting himself down with so much strength that the enormous astral chrysalis was actually paused mid-flight. His blood seethed with rage and power at the coming battle, the smile now a full-face grin.

The camp seemed to magnify before his eyes, a dozen elves in the upper platform rushing around anxiously while the archers made their way to the shooting platform. Some were so panicked they even forgot their shortswords for close combat, while others were still gaping at the enormous chrysalis with no idea what to do. A dozen elves in lavish clothing rushed out of a decorated treehouse near the top, doing no better than the rest of their kin.

He only spread out his arms when he was ten metres from the wooden platform, a starlit barrier popping up around him even as his fall slowed to a halt. In the eyes of the elves, it was like a deity had descended from the heavens.

However, this was a god of destruction. The barrier flew down at Richard's command, shooting into the platform and lighting it ablaze. Countless small bolts of lightning threw the elven archers down to the earth below, injuring and even paralysing them. The druids were left busy protecting themselves, messing up the already-chaotic defence.

Still floating in the sky, Richard opened the Book of Holding and summoned dark red flames at the centre of the camp, bursting out from one point to cover nearly ten square kilometres of area. Every elf in range started burning up, but their screams were eerily silent.

The pages of the Book of Holding continued to turn, raining death down atop a number of the elves. With most of the first wave of guardians killed, the upper echelon of the elves immediately looked drained. Richard's eyes then locked onto them as well, the book flipping to its last two pages to summon two shamans on either side of the platform. The shamans summoned a wave of thorny vines, blocking those below from assisting.

The stars surrounding Richard suddenly withdrew and he flew towards the platform, the impact so heavy that a dozen elves all around him were knocked back. He raised his head and looked at the elders he had landed right next to.

928 - City of Sin

Breaking Through The Centre

Two of the elders who were good at melee rushed forward to intercept Richard, giving the others time to break the encirclement of vines and open up a path for reinforcements. Richard had just landed and couldn't stand up in time, so they took the opportunity to strike.

However, the foremost elder only saw Richard open his mouth before the air seemed to distort. Dark red flames blew out in a cone, abyssal flames burning both elders as well as the few other melee fighters left on the platform. One of the druids who didn't escape in time was burnt into a crisp as well, his own body and mana becoming fuel for the fire.

Many of the druids who were casting spells slowed down from pure fear, almost losing control of their spells. However, Richard didn't take the chance to retreat as he instead flew thirty metres into the air, his arms spread wide and launching a rain of lightning, ice, wind, and fire down on the enemy. Manacycle was pushed to the extreme, stacking multiple spells on top of each other for extreme destructive power.

More than a dozen of the elders shot their spells towards him, but each attack was met with one of Richard's own. Everything collided right in the centre, the different streams of energy exploding with no use.

The elves who saw this could hardly believe their eyes. A single human was taking on more than a dozen grand druids evenly! Was this person in the legendary realm?

Of course, Richard himself knew that he wasn't taking on the druids evenly. Blaze and Manacycle just granted him the ability to pour out much more mana than almost anyone else at his level, but his mana pool itself was limited. In only two more volleys he would be drained dry. The first exchange of attacks ended in an explosive stalemate, but the sharper druids had already started preparing their next spells.

It was at this time that the platform shook violently, knocking most of the spellcasting elders down and interrupting them. A mountainous figure had just slammed down from above, the wood cracking under his feet to leak green fluid. Another small figure followed behind, but this one shot right through and to the platform below.

Tiramisu jumped up the moment he landed, turning around to look for Mountainsea whose entrance was supposed to be even grander than his, but all he could find was a hole. With Eleventon and her special vambrace her weight exceeded even his; given her smaller size, she broke through the wood entirely.

Richard flew down the moment Tiramisu arrived, placing a hand on the wood and lighting the platform aflame. A line of fire quickly spread towards the elders, fireballs the size of fists constantly jumping out from within. The treehouse on the platform was smashed apart, finally revealing the black-robed man within.

Richard stared fixedly at the black-robed man as he drew Moonlight from the sword case, hands already bright red as though stained with blood. The fires on the ground suddenly erupted into walls on either side, isolating the two from the rest of the battlefield. The sheer heat of the flames left the elves reluctant to assist, not that they would have been eager even otherwise; given the time to engage, Richard rushed over to the enemy even as he shot a fireball out.

The black-robed man squatted low, hands stretching out as black flames spewed forth to counter the attack. Both fires crashed and actually combined in his hands, turning into a huge orb of flames that was right before the man's hands. Just as he was about to shoot this combined flame back, however, the man saw Richard's figure blur from ten metres away.

Richard took an instant to travel all ten metres, left fist crashing right into the mixed flames. The barely-stable flames immediately exploded, swallowing both the black-robed man and Richard himself. Richard's epic-grade robes were burnt to ash, as were those of the enemy to reveal a humanoid with the head of a goat.

The explosion forced the two to separate, but Richard only took two steps back before stopping and lifting Moonlight into the air. The red colour of Lifesbane even extended to the blade itself, and everyone seemed to see a red moon in the sky.

The goat-headed monster saw Moonlight and screamed hysterically as it tried to step back, but Richard flashed over in a single step and cut it apart vertically. It immediately froze in place as Richard withdrew his blade, the blood-like colour already vanishing from both blade and arms.

The enemy must have been powerful in his own right, but there was no way to show it. Richard had pushed Lifsebane to its limits and activated Disintegrator, merging with it the power of the crimson moon. This single strike wiped out all of his reserved energy, mana, and moonforce.

Nobody else saw the sheer power of it at first; the goat-headed man still remained standing in place. Many of the elves exclaimed at the sight, but one of the elders gritted her teeth and shot a grade 9 spell in Richard's direction. The attack drained so much that she coughed up blood, but just as it was about to land Waterflower flashed out from somewhere and pulled Richard out of the way. The powerful spell, almost an orb of pure mana, flew right past their scalps and destroyed a nearby tree.

Waterflower immediately picked Richard up, leaping towards the astral chrysalis for safety. He had exhausted himself, but there were still many enemies who wanted his life.

Richard looked down, only to see the goat-headed monster still standing there, eyes burning with unwillingness. The moment their gazes met, he felt a scream in his mind: “MY MASTER WILL AVENGE ME!”

In the next moment, the body crumpled to the ground. The attack hadn't been a physical one, instead crushing the very soul. Richard shook his head; if he didn't know that he had cut through the enemy's existence completely, he might even believe this thing was still alive.

Many other elders quickly came back to their minds, aiming their spells at Waterflower and Richard. However, Phaser silently appeared behind one of them and slit his throat with Annihilation. This was the elder who had just launched the grade 9 spell; unable to move from the exertion, he could do nothing to avoid his death.

A pale gold glow suddenly covered the entire platform, space seemingly distorting within range. The elven elders suddenly found themselves losing control of the spells they were forming, the mana growing so chaotic that it threatened to explode. The elves were horrified at the thought; such a large number of high-level spells exploding would destroy the platform and anyone on it, but try as they might they continued to lose control.

These druids were all experienced. Left with no choice, they forcefully cancelled their spells. Forcing such amounts of mana back into one's body was bound to cause injuries as well, but that was much better than near-certain death.

The golden curtain only lasted a few seconds before it was gone, but Noelene sighed in relief as she fell back onto the astral chrysalis. This was one of the Church's strongest techniques in dealing against spellcasters; distortions in time were a fatal blow to such delicate arts as spellcasting. It had been draining, but Waterflower and Richard made it back to the chrysalis safe and sound.

929 - City of Sin

Triumph 𝙛𝐫𝑒𝐞𝘄ℯ𝘣𝚗𝘰𝘷𝙚𝘭. c𝘰m

It was a testament to the elders' skill that none of their spells blew up before being scattered. Even so, nine of them were seriously injured by the backlash and wouldn't be able to rejoin the fight soon. Noelene had single-handedly taken out most of the druids present with her sphere of time, something that could affect even legendary mages. This ability worked not by affecting the target but distorting time entirely, which meant one could only counter it with extremely quick reactions or a basic understanding of the laws of time themselves. The greatest threat wasn't even to grand mages or druids; it was precisely to legendary beings. Most legendary mages had extremely powerful energy but their bodies could not compare; a failed cast of a legendary spell stood a chance to kill them outright.

At this point, Richard and Noelene had combined to take out a dozen of the elders in the alliance. Phaser had taken out a few more as well, which dropped the high-end power of the alliance by more than half.

The elven warriors were slowly starting to make their way onto the platform. Although Tiramisu was ferocious, he couldn't guard the entire perimeter and Phaser was busy hunting down the elders who had turned to flee. The ogre was eventually overwhelmed, with dozens of hunters finally jumping up to fight. It was at that moment that the entire treant camp vibrated and even leaned to one side, starting to collapse. The elves on the edge of the platform fell flat on their faces, while those still climbing up plummeted below.

A moment later, painful screams resounded through the battlefield. Many of the ancient treants that made up the natural fortress were being destroyed, and one of them on a corner was even lifted up and slammed back into the ground. The impact shook everything, causing many of the branches and vines to disentangle and separate. The bark which was a metre thick and hard as iron was torn apart, revealing milky white pith within.

Mountainsea walked out from below, casually lifting Eleventon and slamming it into another nearby trunk. The treant's bark caved visibly from the leisurely impact, broken wood flying everywhere as a pained moan rang out. The treant lost its ability to support the camp, causing some of the wooden structures to fall down.

The barbarian girl was stunned at first— she hadn't expected it to be this easy— but after some thought she came to accept reality. Tiramisu had destroyed many treants himself in recent days, and he rarely ever needed a second strike. Her rod was even heavier; it only made sense for her attacks to do such damage. She looked over the treants once more, and some of them tried to scare her away while the others trembled with terror. Intertwined with each other to hold up the fortress, they didn't have any ability to defend themselves.

The fortress suddenly vibrated once more, the branches supporting the bottom creaking under the load. Mountainsea looked up and saw a rune knight jumping down to the platform, and heard a familiar whistle from Richard that ordered them to attack. She shook her head at the treants and jumped onto one of them, pointing at the hole. The creature proved extremely wise, immediately dropping a branch and ferrying her to her destination. The moment she was gone, every tree in the vicinity heaved a sigh of relief.

By the time Mountainsea climbed back up, all she could see was a field of slaughter. Half of the elven elders lay dead, and Waterflower was still jumping from platform to platform to chase after the others. Some even chose to just fall instead of fighting; the camp was up high, but the fall would only leave heavy injuries at most. The elven warriors that were still up above had been killed off by the rune knights, who were retrieving their javelins for more volleys.

With the top platform cleaned up completely, the elves had withdrawn to the foliage and lower platforms to try and use the terrain to fight. However, Richard had no intention of granting their wish; the astral chrysalis floated right next to the platform, and all of the rune knights were ordered to get on. In only a few moments the knights were all on and the creature flew back into the sky, barely taking any arrow fire at all. Phaser, Waterflower, Tiramisu, and even Mountainsea remained below for a few more seconds, killing as they wished until the chrysalis was a hundred metres above and they had to follow.

Once the followers were picked up, the astral chrysalis turned gracefully once more and flew into the distance. All it left behind was a chaotic and disoriented mess.

Although Richard had never seen the goat-creature before, he had noticed that its aura was similar to Iskara's; this was almost certainly the person controlling the elves from behind the scenes. With the death of the mastermind and half of the elders, the alliance had been dealt a heavy blow. There were still thousands of elves who were starting to organise a resistance, and staying any longer would cause casualties. He himself was exhausted as was Noelene, which greatly decreased the margin for error. It made much more sense to fall back.

......

Half a day later, Richard was back with his army. He had them turn around and return to Emerald City along the road they had opened up; the four clerics had exhausted themselves to suppress the will of the forest's effects, and the nearest tree of life was at least two thousand kilometres away. With the blow he had just dealt, any elven tribe would have their tree migrate the moment they learnt he was anywhere nearby.

The locals were so badly wounded that the race wouldn't recover for a century. Richard was in no hurry here; he would pull out the world tree sooner or later, it didn't have to be right now.

Late in the night, Richard was patrolling the army camp alongside Nyris and Agamemnon. The latter was still taciturn, but with his increasing strength his equipment had grown simpler as well. Now he only had a big sword slung across his back, only enchanted for sharpness and durability. This was traditional for the Orleans Family— those who wished to lead were to wean themselves off powerful weapons as much as possible. One had to focus on their own might, and he was starting to embody this ideal.

Agamemnon seemed more solid than ever, a single step possessing mountainous strength. It seemed like he was impossible to move. As for Nyris...

Nyris left Richard speechless. The enchanting Fourth Prince had grown even more beautiful since he had entered sainthood, now wearing androgynous armour and with long blond hair tied into a ponytail behind his head. He was constantly staring at the two of them with resentment, likely over strength, but that only made Richard want to run away. Only one word came to mind at his antics: cute.

Nyris' movements were so graceful one couldn't even think him a man. If one wasn't familiar with his identity, Richard was afraid they would be smitten by him entirely. Just the thought made him shudder with fear.

Richard had heard that the prince used to glare at Agamemnon like this a lot of the time, but now the brunt of the rage had been set in his own direction. If looks could kill, and with either meaning of the phrase, he was sure he would drop dead instantly.

930 - City of Sin

Advancement

The root of Nyris' resentment was difference in power. He and Agamemnon had been about equal when they were below the saint realm, but Agamemnon had broken through first. The Fourth Prince didn't mind— it was precisely his intention to delay his own growth as much as possible to focus on technique— but the problem was that Agamemnon had grown too fast. By the time he had broken through himself, there was a wide gulf between them.

As for Richard... Both Nyris and Agamemnon knew that there was no way for them to beat Richard at this point. His transformation had been almost freakish, strength no longer measurable by pure level. Although they hadn't fought yet, the outcome was predefined.

The prince had still been somewhat unresigned to the fact, wanting to duke it out with Richard for the sake of closure if nothing else, but Richard had rushed into battle the moment they met in the Forest Plane. Agamemnon had even mentioned that Richard in the Land of Dusk had been stronger than he himself was now. The meaning was clear: you can't even beat me, why bother trying against Richard?

If not for Richard's blinding light, people would be discussing Nyris' own advancements. He had gotten another private plane from the royal family, opening up a joint venture with Agamemnon. They had already secured their forward base and were firmly rooted, en route to total domination. Of the ten thousand men in the army Richard had assembled, a thousand each came from their own private forces. Another thousand each came from the royal family and the Orleans Family, while the rest were Richard's troops.

The night was dark, but the camp was brightly lit by bonfires all around. There were flames to heat up the soldiers' meals, but every tent also had a small personal fire for warmth. The stonewood had been hacked down from the forest right around them, while every soldier carried enough fuel to last a month. Richard knew that the best way to maintain army morale was by keeping them warm and well-fed, so he spared no expense in doing just that.

The round of inspection proved Richard's conjecture to a degree he hadn't even hoped for; every soldier was laughing happily while talking to comrades, and there wasn't the slightest of annoyance from having marched such a long way only to turn back. He decided that he would immediately order the Deepblue to increase production the moment he returned. However, it was but a pipe dream; the Deepblue didn't have the resources right now to scale up.

Nyris and Agamemnon quickly realised the utility of the fuel as well, but Richard could only spare a few tonnes for each. He had no qualms with selling more, but most of his reserves had already been shipped to the Forest Plane and used on this expedition.

The army finally returned to Emerald City a few days later, immediately turning right around and starting to widen the road that they had opened up. The golden world tree had grown a second life in this time, an event that sent a ripple of energy through the entire plane once more. The first leaf of the sapling represented birth, while the second represented control; the tree now had its own region of influence where even a tree of life could not challenge its authority.

The core territory of the golden world tree was now a kilometre in radius, wherein it had absolute control. On the other hand, it could still exert a modicum of control all the way up to a hundred kilometres away; Richard couldn't help but sigh at its power when he learnt it; this tree certainly qualified to be the base of an empire.

The will of the forest was extremely weak now within a hundred kilometres of Emerald City; in fact, the will had been warped into the control of the golden world tree. Now it was the forest elves and their treants who would be suppressed upon entry, turning the tables on the power dynamic completely. When the tree matured, it would even be able to suppress the original world tree of the plane.

Richard currently had tens of thousands of bird-eating spiders, while the cloned broodmother had 2,500 worker drones. Thinking it over, he decided it was time for his tree of life to advance. This time he wouldn't be caught off-guard: mobilising three hundred rune knights and two thousand elite warriors, he even transferred Senma and Olar from his other planes just in case. The bard still wasn't a saint, but he still had great influence on battles of this scale.

Once everything was ready, Richard finally allowed the tree of life to begin. His soldiers had built simple yet solid fortification around the tree of life, and a trench right outside these fortifications was filled with gunpowder. The rune knights were on the tree itself, responsible for handling the most important situations. The original tribe that guarded this tree had been transferred out almost entirely, leaving behind only its most elite hunters and druids. The surviving elites of the Evernight Tribe had been brought over as well, placed on the canopy to guard it.

Three days ago, the workers had rushed over and entered hibernation here, conserving strength for the battle. Only a hundred of them had been left behind to feed the broodmother, while the rest were all present here.

The tree quickly proceeded with its advancement, growing at a rate visible to the naked eye. It would be extremely fragile over the next few days, but if it survived the onslaught of its enemies its own might would grow significantly. At this point, it was a battle of life and death; loss would mean this section of the forest wouldn't see a tree of life for a long time.

Tens of thousands of bird-eating spiders crawled up the tree of life, nestling themselves in the trunk and on the branches. Many of the local elves had seen them before, but the sheer number still caused one to shudder. There was barely any space left on the enormous tree, and even the nimble elves inevitably stepped on them while getting around.

The spiders were surprisingly docile, not responding even if full pressure was exerted on them, but even so the elves that made this mistake froze up and cringed; this was especially true of the evernight elves who had never seen these things before. The spiders looked rather like puppies at their size, but intuition told everyone just how powerful they were.

It took half a day into the advancement for the first enemy to appear in the distant sky. Woodpecking crows were a creature Richard was familiar with, but when they drew close he was surprised by their low numbers. Ten thousand crows had attacked during the tree's previous growth, but now there were only six.

Six thousand woodpecking crows still wasn't a small number, but Richard had tens of thousands of bird-eating spiders on hand; even two to three times this number wouldn't be a problem at all. Before the birds could even get close they were bombarded by arrows from the canopy and the ground below, nearly a thousand of them going down over half a dozen volleys. When the surviving crows broke through the rain of arrows and rushed to the tree of life, they found grey webbing bursting out to capture them. Please visit ƒ𝘳ee𝒘𝚎𝐛𝘯𝐨ν𝑒l. 𝒄o𝘮

The webbing was sticky and tough, grabbing multiple crows at a time. The spiders skittered over the branches to rush to the crows that were captured, tearing them apart in only a few moments. The entire offensive was broken apart almost instantly, and it didn't take much longer for all of the crows to be wiped out.

It was at this point that Richard heard a faint rustling in the forest. It was very soft, but still managed to send a chill down one's bones.

Huge ants that were half a metre long rushed out into the meadow, leaping ten metres into the air at a time. Their mandibles were clicking together in a disconcerting call, antennae waving as they flooded towards the tree of life.

The myrmekes were here!

931 - City of Sin

Normal Advancement

The soldiers below hadn't finished dealing with the fallen woodpecking crows yet, but most of them turned around to deal with the more-dangerous myrmekes. They were all elite warriors, but they still needed two or three attacks to get through the ants' thick carapace. However, the ants were beasts while the soldiers were an organised army; they took up their shields and blocked the charge, raising spears to skewer the myrmekes that tried to jump above. Some soldiers drew guns and shot the creatures as well, with others following up to finish them off. The tide was quickly brought to a halt.

By this point, many of the bird-eating spiders had jumped down from the tree of life and rushed over to the myrmekes flooding out from the forest, the two sides clashing in a desperate fight. The spiders were twice as large as the myrmekes and close in number, while they could also take orders from Richard himself to coordinate attack and defence. Although he could only schedule simple things at this scale, they were much more efficient than the ants.

Within only a few minutes the casualties had skyrocketed. However, a dozen myrmekes had died for every single spider. Standing on the tree of life, Richard took a glance and guessed that there should be about 50,000 creatures. This was a respectable amount, the same as for any other tree of life, but that only served to confuse him further. This was his tree of life, the tree of life that had bowed to an enemy. It would be polite for there to be 200,000 myrmekes, but the numbers were actually normal.

He allowed himself to fall into thought. Having expected ten times the normal number, his army was overqualified to handle this. Most of his forces didn't even need to lift a finger before the spiders brought down the myrmekes.

The earth shook once more, a ridge forming on the ground and spreading towards the tree of life. This was the last normal enemy during this advancement, the cave spider. These creatures had extraordinary noses, and the roots of the tree of life were like a beacon in the darkness. Hundreds of similar cracks popped up all around, moving as fast as a horse could gallop towards the tree, but when the foremost spider reached a hundred metres within the tree of life the soil next to it suddenly broke apart and a worker bee rushed out. Its mandibles pierced straight into the spider's body.

The cave spider screamed, but before it could react to the first attack four more drones started to tear it apart. In the blink of an eye, it had been bitten to death. The spider had taken out two workers itself during this time, but that was a drop in the bucket. The massive worker drones continued to flood out from below, four or five of them dealing with every single spider. These drones were no match; a cave spider could cut one apart in a single bite, but they had the numbers advantage and used it well. Using one as a distraction, the rest could use their primary skill of eating to rip into the spider and kill it.

These drones were connected to the broodmother's clone, so Richard had a grasp of the situation down below. There were 200 cave spiders, a rather normal number. The original plan had been to sacrifice all of the drones from the broodmother and have his saints deal with the rest, but less than five hundred workers had died while all of the cave spiders were wiped out. The tree of life didn't even need to pull back its roots, a process that would have the same side-effects as migration.

The only anomaly was in the beast tamers, but even here there were only two tamers in total who came with about a hundred beasts each. The animals were surprisingly orderly as they rushed towards the soldiers, but the bird-eating spiders continued their momentum and just flooded over them as well. As for the two tamers themselves, Waterflower and Phaser took them both out in single blows.

At this point, the battle had come to an end. Richard was grumbling in annoyance from atop the tree of life, while many of the rest were confused. Senma and Asiris exchanged glances, while Nyris and Agamemnon exchanged hushed whispers. They were all wondering if it was done.

Richard had gone all out for this battle, not even hesitating to reveal the broodmother's forces en masse. The idea of drones of such might and quantity would obviously tickle anyone's imagination, but most of the spiders and workers actually came out of this alive. The soldiers under the tree of life had only stopped a charge and skewered some jumpers, while the saints, druids, and clerics didn't even need to do anything. If it weren't for the beast tamers, Waterflower and Phaser wouldn't even have moved their muscles. Even with the tamers, it hadn't even been worth warmup.

Richard didn't think it would be so simple, so he waited quietly. Seeing him like this, the others believed there would be more enemies to come and waited alongside him.

An hour quickly passed before Nyris walked over to Richard's side, looking into the distance alongside him, “Is it done?”

“It... should be?” Richard wasn't very confident, but he couldn't just keep everyone wound up either. He finally ordered his men to get disperse, scattering the bird-eating spiders out so they could give him time to reorganise in case there was an attack after all. He had the soldiers clean up the battlefield, digging a huge pit where all of the crows, myrmekes, and cave spiders were buried together. The worker drones quietly opened a passage underground to transport their bodies to the broodmother.

The powerhouses left to rest, while Richard leaned against the tree of life and just mediated. After a while, he connected to the tree of life. Even during its important advancement the tree didn't mind sparing energy to sing praises, but he quickly stopped it and confirmed his conjecture. This was an absolutely normal amount of enemies, and at the standard growth rate an elven tribe would have to sacrifice many of its members to the point where it couldn't recover for decades to a century. The Evernight Tribe would likely be alright within ten years. However, Richard's army had decimated the entire Duskword alliance. There was no problem in dealing with something of this scale.

But how could it be normal? Did the world tree suddenly grow kind and start acting fair to one of its own? That was impossible. Had it not interfered with the process at all for some reason? Perhaps, the golden world tree was growing nearby.

However, the golden world tree was currently only grand in name. It was just a sapling growing a significant distance away, with only two leaves. No matter how much he thought about it, Richard couldn't find a definitive answer.

......

A few days later, the tree of life finally reached the end of its advancement. Richard had eventually decided that the world tree couldn't interfere with the process because of his own; the range of power was likely much larger than what was noted down in the records he had from the silvermoon elves.

The aura of the tree finally started to fade away, replaced by a thunderous booming from within. Anyone who was capable of comprehending laws had been placed directly on the tree itself, using its assistance to analyse the system of the Forest Plane. Opportunities to directly touch the laws of a plane like this were completely unattainable, and Richard couldn't help but feel disappointed. If it weren't for the situation in Faelor, Gangdor and Zendrall would be here as well.

Any specific plane's laws were more useful to some and less useful to others, but there was no case where they were a detriment. Gangdor could have increased his own resilience, while Zendrall would be able to learn how to resist life energy if he was lucky. The necromancer would need special methods to be able to work here, but that was currently doable.

Even when the tree of life completed its advancement, Richard's powerhouses were still immersed in their analysis. It took hours for the first of them to stir, after which they all rose up one after the other.

932 - City of Sin

Hurry Up

Nyris was the most excited of everyone once they were done analysing the laws of life, jumping up and down with joy. Now that he was a saint, his perception and sheer calculation ability had skyrocketed; during the advancement of the tree of life, he managed to comprehend a total of 209 law fragments. This was much greater than the 110 of Agamemnon.

The worst of Richard's followers was Olar, and even then he analysed seventeen fragments. Tiramisu put both heads together for 102, while Waterflower and Phaser who weren't particularly suited to this managed around fifty each. Mountainsea was the same, but she hadn't even been trying; just sleeping under the tree, she had acquired the understanding with ease.

Spellcasters were obviously more suited to such a thing as comprehending laws. Asiris managed 170 fragments, while Noelene finished an entire 231. The two great druids of the Evernight Tribe had made great progress as well; they would soon enter sainthood and unlock their abilities.

Nyris didn't think it was a shame to lose to Noelene, instead priding himself on the small gap. The priestesses of the Eternal Dragon were all geniuses, and Noelene was a grand priestess at that. The Fourth Prince smiled warmly once he learnt of her progress and looked for Richard, recalling he had lost the previous time. He wanted to test his own skills against the protege of Sharon herself.

When the prince asked the question, a number of eyes gathered on Richard. His aura had changed significantly, but their sense of his power level had also blurred. They couldn't tell just how strong he was anymore.

Richard just laughed and didn't answer the question. Each of these people was related to him in different ways, and he couldn't lie. At the same time, telling them that he had cracked more than a thousand fragments to reach the 2,048 point would devastate the Fourth Prince.

And yet, the laugh alone said a lot. Nyris began grinding his teeth, already guessing that he had been beaten. He didn't think Richard would exceed Noelene, so the difference was likely so small it was infuriating. The fake competition ended strangely, but that was understandable. One's ability to comprehend laws also affected their chance to enter the legendary realm; even if the Forest Plane's specific laws weren't suited to a certain type of power, comprehending the laws of life would still greatly increase control. That was a form of strength as well.

With the episode complete, Richard's subordinates found treehouses to rest in. They would need a few days to incorporate the new law fragments they had understood with their own abilities, boosting their strength in battle. The process was long, but it was best to start it early with the comprehensions fresh in one's mind.

Many of the rune knights had gained quite a bit as well. Most of them had the talent to hit level 13 or 14, but it was unlikely for them to enter sainthood in their lifetime. Those like Rae who did qualified to become followers of major families with some autonomy. The shower of law fragments here improved everyone's physiques and loosened their level caps a little. Nobody actually understood anything, but there was a slight chance for one or two more people to break into sainthood in the future.

The benefits to the elves were the most obvious. Many weaker elves jumped a level directly, while the others grew stronger as well. Anyone under the saint realm experienced growth in physique, while those beyond managed to understand a few fragments of law as well.

The first major step in understanding the Forest Plane's laws granted Richard the ability to use nature energy in his attacks. Now, he could draw upon the latent nature energy in his surroundings to boost any compatible spells or attacks. This already approached the abilities of a legendary mage, but Richard himself was still hovering around level 19. Now that he was a grand mage, there were no shortcuts to improvement.

The broodmother had started swallowing the bodies of the tree of life's predators. She had already inherited an understanding of woodpecking crows from the main body, and her analysis now stood at 400%. Myrmekes were also at 200%, while the cave spiders were just beyond 100%. This added a powerful underground unit to Richard's army options in the future, but the clone was too weak to create them right now.

The biggest surprise was the beast tamers. Only two specimens had given her a full 50% analysis, which meant that this was a race of few creatures. The broodmother currently understood the structure of their limbs that allowed them to move quickly in complex terrain, and could apply it directly to the bird-eating spiders, worker drones, and anything else. She could even design new mounts that were designed for speed instead of load.

She had already sent him a preliminary design. The lower body was spider-like with six legs, but it could traverse most types of terrain quickly and was twice as fast at the mounts Richard currently used. Even in the forests, it could move at an amazing eighty kilometres an hour.

This design could be used as a standalone mount or with the upper body of another type of unit, forming a drone similar to a centaur. Richard thought over it as he looked at her analysis of various races, eventually choosing an elven upper body with the new mount style. He couldn't help but think of a humanoid spider when he saw the final design, so he decided to call it a drider.

The driders could be made all the way from level 8 to level 15. The weaker ones could only use bows, swords, and leather armour, but even at level 10 they could diversify into druidic creatures. When the broodmother evolved to level 10 and unlocked her name, beginning to analyse the laws of the myriad planes, the driders could be strengthened and enhanced further. Elite units at that point would even resemble children of the forest, recognised and protected by the forest's will.

Richard was quite happy with this new creation. These drones were even more suitable for forest battles than actual elves, and when they scaled to enough numbers he would be the only one in the current army capable of crossing a location they guarded. Most importantly, they wouldn't be affected by the will of the forest at all; the broodmother took that into account when designing them.

This was the real horror of the broodmother; wherever she grew she adjusted herself to the environment, creating drones that were designed for fighting in the environment of the plane. This was an unparalleled adaptive capability; in planes like this one where the world itself was the biggest enemy, she was the greatest of weapons. The same held true in even more extreme examples like the abyss and the hells, where ordinary humans couldn't even survive.

Once he was done with this, Richard turned his attention to the tree of life itself. It had stored up a lot of life energy since the last time he took a fruit of life from it, and with its advancement it had gathered enough to make two fruits that lasted ten years each. Thinking over things for some time, he had it create a single fruit that could last fifteen years and saved the rest for future growth. In ten years, the tree could advance once more.

He even spared the core branches that were used to form staffs of nature. Every branch harvested was one that had to be regrown, and he already had a total of thirty complete staffs and seventy branches to process from his multiple raids. He didn't even have a hundred druids, forget great druids or stronger! There were other uses for these branches as well— they were a valuable material in crafting— but he didn't really need the profits right now.
ƒ𝑟𝐞ewe𝚋𝑛ｏ𝙫𝚎l. 𝒄o𝗺

What he didn't spare was the leaves of youth. He took more than a hundred in total; these leaves could make nobles of both genders go crazy. Few people in existence actually wanted to look older, and that number vanished into nothingness amongst nobility. These leaves would sell very well to the ladies of high society in Norland.

He also took a big tank's worth of eternal springwater. This water could be used to create vitality potions, and this one batch could be sold for hundreds of thousands of gold coins. In total, the harvest was significant even for him who dealt in enormous sums. Heavily in debt as he was, he welcomed liquid currency.

“Hurry up!” he said as he patted the trunk with an encouraging smile. Right now, he and the tree had a common understanding.

933 - City of Sin

Treant Fortress

Once Richard finished his harvest, the tree of life opened up a passage to its heart once more. As he headed down into the familiar room that could only fit one person, his body automatically relaxed with the density of life energy around it. The place was filled with the aura of nature, and at the bottom was a small puddle of green liquid. The tree still hadn't finished its evolution completely, so the heart was still bathed in a milky white glow. One could see crystallised nature energy sticking out of the pith, a representation of its growth.

Surprised by the sheer amount of origin energy that the tree wasn't using, Richard immediately sat down to meditate. Only moments later he was in the void of the Deepblue Dream, watching rays of life energy flit all around him. This energy was extremely useful for his elven bloodline, but it wasn't his focus right now; concentrating on a scan of the surrounding space, he widened his reach by over a dozen times. His sensitivity to energy suffered at this range— he could no longer sense those life rays— but it wasn't long before something replaced it.

He suppressed the excitement in his heart, focusing on the foreign feeling and drawing closer to it. Moving through the void for an unknown period of time, his view constantly shifted until he was eventually standing before an enormous green star that occupied all of his vision. His heart started beating violently before almost stopping; this was the origin force of the Forest Plane, but it was so enormous that he couldn't even make it budge.
f𝑟e𝙚𝒘𝗲𝚋𝚗oѵ𝘦𝙡. c𝒐m

Even though the Land of Dusk was once a powerful plane as well, it was currently almost destroyed. The blood-coloured star he'd acquired from it was powerful, but nothing compared to the energy of a full live plane. Even so, less than 1% of a dying plane's power had nearly destroyed him back them. This star was beyond his capability to control.

The green star continued to grow bigger in his sight. Richard quickly realised that the power was so strong that it was pulling him, but he wasn't sure just what would happen if they collided. Hurrying to reel his mind back and away, he suddenly noticed a few green boulders that were slowly spinning around. Each boulder was like a mountain compared to him, but they were only pebbles in comparison to the entire star.

He couldn't absorb the star itself, but one of these boulders would be within his limits. Richard moved out of the way and sent a stream of golden strands of energy towards a rock, slowly changing its trajectory and pulling it towards him. The exertion pushed him to the limit, but he managed to shrink it down and pull it into orbit around him.

It was at this moment that the pain assaulted him, pushing him straight out of meditation. He snorted blood as he opened his eyes, taking a long breath. The injury wasn't light, but thankfully he had succeeded in capturing that energy boulder. The tree's heart blood poured into him just as he relaxed, the pure life energy immediately permeating his body to repair the damage. Unlike eternal springwater, this liquid could even heal damage to the mind and soul.

After a short break, Richard entered meditation once more. This time, he saw the large boulder flying alongside the two other stars and sending pulses of nature energy towards his bloodlines. Surprisingly, this energy avoided the Archeron bloodline of its own volition and was instead absorbed by the five trees. The amount of energy being released was actually even greater than the two stars combined.

It was only now that he understood just how useful the tree of life advancing was. Even the smallest division of origin energy in this plane was almost beyond his control, but during its growth the tree tore this energy apart into smaller, digestible chunks. This was what allowed those with talent to analyse the laws of the plane. If not for the tree, one couldn't take on such power without entering or at least approaching the legendary realm.

This success also confirmed one other thing— he would have no problems getting to the legendary realm. His blessings ensured that he could analyse most laws he encountered to some extent, and he could even see the specific flows of energy thanks to Insight. The blessing of truth was growing more and more useful by the day.

Richard now estimated that he would enter level 19 in a month or less. There was no new grade of spell to learn, no ability to unlock, but it was one step closer to the legendary realm. Both of the next level were only a preparatory phase for the next big leap, shoring up his mana pool and expanding his reserves. However, he wasn't in any hurry to advance; he had already been growing so fast that there were things he'd left behind in the process. His research into grade 8 and 9 spells was still pitiful, but that was something that needed time. His bloodline abilities needed to be strengthened further as well, but that would detract directly from how fast he could grow his magic. Even otherwise, his huge debts would ensure that he focused on runecrafting for a while to come.

Just as he withdrew to reality, the tree's voice sounded once more, “Are you ending your meditation, Master?”

Richard nodded, “I've already gained quite a bit.”

“Then there is one more decision for you to make.” Liquid green energy suddenly oozed out of the walls and ceiling, coalescing into a single translucent jade sphere that floated in front of Richard's face. “This is the extra energy I collected during my advancement. I could use it to condense more eternal springwater, but with my new abilities you have a few more options to choose from.”

The green ball of light started to change, first forming an emerald gem that Richard recognised as the essence of the grove. This was something Richard had almost forgotten about; if the tree didn't bring it up, he wouldn't even recall.

However, that was only normal; it was the next thing that immediately caused his expression to warp. The energy now formed a green fruit that he recognised instantly as the seed of a tree of life; he only needed to plant it somewhere, and after years of protection it would form a new tree of life. Although he had guessed it before, it was only now that Richard realised where the trees of life actually came from. When he asked, he was informed that every tree could form a seed once it crossed the middle stages of adolescence all the way up to full adulthood. Any tree could produce a maximum of five seeds in its lifetime, even including the one formed after the end of their lives.

While another tree of life could be precious, there was another option as well. The tree showed him a bunch of seedlings for treants, the basis of an elite treant fortress. Just like the camp used by the Duskword Tribe, it could form a mobile base of operations once all the treants were grown.

Such fortresses could be extremely useful when trying to first settle a new plane. They still depended on the plane they were used in— it made no sense to put them in a plane of fire— but where they could be used they were perhaps even more useful than a tree of life.

Richard immediately fell into thought. Each of the three options had its own uses, and could mean different things to different people. It was hard to objectively quantify their value. Thinking over it for a moment, he shook his head and stood up, “Give me a few hours, I'll go talk to Nyr and Ag.”

“Of course, Master,” the tree answered respectfully, but one could almost feel its disappointment. Its idea of a private bribe to earn Richard's favour had failed.

Richard quickly headed out and met his two friends, spending the whole afternoon in discussion before deciding to take and sell the treant fortress in Norland. Every big family would be interested, and they had much more power than most powerhouses who would want the essence of the grove. Not many legendary beings were as rich as Sharon.

934 - City of Sin

Will

The decision to sell the treant fortress was a mutual one. Nyris and Agamemnon had expanded way too fast in recent times and racked up their own debts, even if their numbers couldn't compare to Richard's. In addition to the fortress itself, they decided to split the income from the three tribes as per their prior agreements; the two would get a third of the total profits.

A rough calculation told Richard that each of the elven tribes had about a top-tier offering's worth of loot alongside twice the amount from their trees of life. This resolved about half of his debts, which was an enormous amount, but such profits didn't come by often. In fact, he was still losing out— he stood to gain far more from allowing the trees of life to grow under his care than slaughtering them for immediate profit. If these trees and their tribes weren't thorns to his eye, he never would have done such a thing.

With this final bit done, the battle at the Forest Plane had officially drawn to a close. Richard had already destroyed the main forces of the elves and wiped out all trees of life nearby, with the nearest one now more than 6,000 kilometres away. At this distance, there was no incentive to pursue the fight at all. It would be difficult to track the smaller armies anyway.

He decided to take the majority of his forces away, leaving behind only a moderate force that would build up over time. With both the world tree and the broodmother's clone here, time was certainly on his side. In a few years he could overrun the entire plane without issue. He was continuing to collect resources from this place, and it could earn him to the tune of 3 million gold every year even without doing anything.

There were other things he could do here, like improving his production lines for the more extraordinary materials of the plane, but his presence was much more important elsewhere; there were still other planes where the situation wasn't as stable.

Richard had turned a net profit during his war in the Forest Plane, but he wasn't happy with it at all. The one person he wanted to call kin had disappeared just as quickly as he'd found her, and it still hurt. He had also failed to protect the Evernight tree of life, and less than half of the elves themselves had survived. Melia, someone Tzu considered a daughter, was still missing. Even if she had come close to killing him, he understood that it wasn't of her own volition. Finding her would be easy with Noelene's assistance, but he couldn't even bring himself to do that.

The troops were reorganised and sent to withdraw to Norland. With the new fuel proved to be effective, he shipped off the mountains of stonewood to Faust as well. There were only six thousand residents left in Emerald City in total, divided into two shifts taking turns to go out woodcutting. The edge of the forest was slowly pushed back; he didn't know how long it would take to cut down the entire forest, but every explosion sounded like the jingle of gold coins.

......

A lone elf was walking in the depths of the forest, her hair a complete mess and the gashes in her tight leather outfit revealing blood. Her beautiful face was almost entirely stained crimson, a single wound cutting from the left temple to the chin. Stumbling at a big tree, she fell down with her back to the ground and started gasping for air.

Melia had been wandering the forest ever since the night of the attempted assassination, now so weak that she couldn't even be called a daughter of the forest anymore. Her eyes were constantly shifting in and out of focus, and deep within the iris one could see two forces fighting for the upper hand. A grey energy gradually gained the advantage, making her head feel heavier even as her eyelids drooped uncontrollably.

“ARGH!” she screamed to stop the drowsiness, pulling a dagger from her waist and cutting a notch on her left arm. Her face distorted in the severe pain, but it managed to keep her awake. Gulping down air for a few seconds longer, she stood back up and ambled forwards.

She grabbed a few grasses along the way, mashing them together and applying the juice to the new wound and the scabs of the dozens before it. The specific grasses she chose were known for being extremely painful to ingest— most beasts and many elves would faint from the sheer agony— but she relied on the torment to push herself on. The moment she gave in to sleep, her body would be taken over and cause her to do something she would hate herself for again.

Like trying to assassinate Richard.

She didn't know where she was now, but what she did know was that Richard had once pointed her in this direction when she asked where his city was. She couldn't figure out why she was going this way, feared it even, but there was a single thought that drove her forward: she wanted to see Richard again!

......

Elsewhere, the treant camp had almost dispersed entirely. There were only two ancient treants and a dozen younger ones left, dragging along the remains of the camp to the Duskword Tribe. The Grand Elder and another elder were in the broken treehouse at the top, while the three other surviving elders of the alliance had dispersed for home.

The Grand Elder was currently in front of an altar, pouring nature energy into it without stop. On the altar was an image of Melia who was struggling endlessly, her footsteps slowing down with every pulse. However, she suddenly drew out her dagger and cut herself again, regaining clarity. The backlash left the Grand Elder pale as a sheet, but he slowly recovered. Glancing at the unyielding girl in the image, his eyes flashed with anger and greed before he returned to a solemn look, turning to an elf standing in the corner, “Get over here!”

The elf came over to the altar and glanced at Melia, his expression complicated. This was Kael of the Evernight Tribe, someone who had escaped in the midst of the war.

The Grand Elder looked at Kael coldly, “There isn't a problem with what you offer?”

Kael felt his heart almost stop, blurting out immediately, “No problem at all! It's hard to find Melia's hair and blood, why would I dare to lie about something like this?”

The Grand Elder nodded, looking back at the image, “I hope that is true. She is difficult to control so long as she's awake, I can only continue to consume her will. But she's going towards the devil's gate, I'll lose that ability soon.”

Kael's face warped with disgust as he saw Melia pour the mashed grasses onto her arm, “This bitch would rather die with Richard!”

“So long as she lands in my hands, she'll be yours for three days. Now, you two grew up together; tell me about her habits.”

......

A few days later, a groggy Melia finally stepped out of the forest. She stopped for a few moments, staring in awe at the sprawling city before her eyes. She was finally there!

Back in the treant camp, the Duskword Grand Elder stared at the city that appeared in the image with his face blue and eyes constantly twitching. Despite several days and nights spent solely on this effort, he had still lost. Melia's will was just too strong, the seemingly weak girl possessing a monstrous soul. Kael and the other elder stood silently; having witnessed the entire process, their hearts had frozen over. If she survived this, she would likely destroy the entire Duskword Tribe in the future.

“Fine, let it be!” the Grand Elder suddenly smiled, “Since she wants to see Richard, let her! I'll give him a big surprise!”

“The war just came to an end,” the other elder interjected, “It might not be wise to antagonise Richard again.”

The elder still remembered Richard's ambush more than a week ago. A god of destruction had descended upon them, raining fire and lightning down on his kin and killing so many of the people he knew. He himself had only survived because he was a coward, having escaped the moment the ambush began. Even so, he had lost one of his eyes forever to Richard's vicious flames.

The Grand Elder's face twitched and he gritted his teeth, “We are so far away from Richard, what are you afraid of?”

The one-eyed elder nodded slowly. According to the devils' standards, the Duskword Tribe was 9,000 kilometres away from Richard's base. With the protection of the will of the forest, this distance was the best defence. However, he still felt uneasy and repeated, “I still think we should let this war end.”

The Grand Elder stared at him coldly, shutting him up.

Back at the forest, Melia had made it a few kilometres closer to Emerald City. She had felt the will fighting her relax the moment she left the woods, but the enormous fatigue and pain still left her wincing with every step.

As she continued to crawl forward, she saw a team of mounted riders galloping towards her. Recalling that these extraordinary warriors were what Richard called his rune knights, she sighed in relief and lost consciousness.

935 - City of Sin

Dark Skies

Back in Emerald City, Richard was directing a group of young mages in setting up a laboratory complex. He had purchased all the equipment for runecrafting, potioneering, alchemy, and enchanting here, the entire complex consisting of nine different sections, including an arena that could simulate different environments, a small library, and an underground testing area for spells. The building was three stories tall, and the walls alone were ten metres thick.

This was already quite a decent laboratory by Noelene's standards, able to support twenty budding mages of all professions. Richard had spent three million gold in setting it up alone, after which every year of operation would require 300,000 once everything was counted up. Magic was something built on money; no grand mage could survive being poor. This laboratory was even worthy of a newly-advanced legendary being.

Of course, it still couldn't compare to the one in Faelor. Rosie's workshop now had tens of millions of gold poured into it, and was at a level even most legendary mages could not afford.

Unlike many of his actions since he'd met Tzu, this lab wasn't driven by sentiment. The Forest Plane had a singularly good environment for anything related to nature, and with his understanding of the laws here, any runes he crafted would be far more powerful than they would normally be. The time-flow here was quite satisfactory as well, and he could already think of ways to upgrade Wanderer's Domain and Mana Armament.

All of the new mages had been hired from the Deepblue. They were young but moderately talented and had signed a strict contract that tied them to him for more than ten years before they could leave. The compensation was correspondingly twice that of the Deepblue, and they would get the chance to witness the more advanced runecrafting procedures he and Rosie employed. Even if one had no talent in the field, just the ability to craft a few elementary runes would make one enough money to live a life of luxury in Norland.

The teens in the group stared at Richard in surprise; having only come to the Deepblue long after his departure, they didn't know that the royal runemaster of the Sacred Alliance was such a young man. Richard barely even looked like an adult! Things were even worse for those who actually knew of Richard's age: a youth of 21 should only have been level 10 at best, struggling to craft his first runes. Reality was freezing cold. This vast and bizarre plane with an enormous base city, the huge laboratory that was almost excessive with state-of-the-art equipment... it all belonged to this young man. A young mage looked at the machine he was installing with a mix of wonder and shock; it had exquisite craftsmanship and a golden signature that indicated that it was a custom design from the hands of the dragon-blooded gnome.

A few of the women amongst the group even looked at Richard with a trace of adoration. Very few people capable of studying in the Deepblue actually looked bad, and they hoped to win his affections during their service if they could.

Richard smiled as he saw another desk being transported into the building, but the smile was extremely bitter. This investment would certainly bear great fruit in the future, but the lab lacked a proper leader to propel its growth. Had Lina been alive, she would undoubtedly be the best candidate. This plane just held far too many bad memories.

Just as he was about to lose himself to distant memories, a rune knight hurried over and whispered something in his ear. His expression changed immediately, sparks flashing around his body as he leapt away.

......

A moment later, Richard saw Melia in a heavily guarded room. The sight was a frightening one, gashes all over her body having scabbed over recently from the healing of a nearby cleric. Her only weapon had been taken away, but there were still eight fully-armed rune knights squeezed into the room glaring at her. They still remembered the results of the last attempt on Richard's life, and if she tried anything similar she would be torn into pieces.

Richard moved towards her immediately, but the rune knights closest to Melia took a step forward and put themselves between the two, “My Lord, be careful!”

“I'm fine.” Richard pushed the two away, going straight up to Melia and cradling her. Melia struggled to get up, but even that action provoked the rune knights who all drew their swords and concentrated their auras on her. Her already-pale face almost turned white, blood streaking down from her nostrils.

“I said I'm fine! At ease.” Richard sighed, his own aura billowing out to block the rest. Melia's expression immediately eased up. Google search 𝐟𝓇𝘦𝒆w𝚎𝐛n𝐨ν𝙚𝚕. c𝚘ｍ

She tried her best to stay calm as she looked him in the eye, but she trembled while saying softly, “Richard... I came back to tell you that it wasn't me... The grand elder of the Duskword Tribe... He took control of me...”

“Shh... I know,” Richard nodded softly, stroking her hair. Melia hadn't expected him to be so soft with her and was rendered speechless.

It was at this point that a grey light flashed in the depths of her eyes. Melia slowly stood up and looked at Richard once more, revealing a twisted smile as she spoke in a hoarse voice, “We meet again, Richard.”

Richard's eyes immediately narrowed, “You're the Duskword grand elder?”

“Yes I—”

“Let Melia go, and we can have a truce. I won't harm the Duskword Tribe in the future, and will consider leaving you with your independence.”

“Melia” smiled grimly as she stepped back, “No, I didn't come here to discuss conditions. I have a gift for you, one that will have you screaming with joy.”

“NO!” Richard yelled, sparks all over his body and nature energy pulsing on his hand as he rushed towards her. However, her heart started beating more and more violently; by the time he was half a metre away, it was rushing dozens of times every second. Before he could close the small gap her heart just exploded, blood spurting out of her chest and onto his hand.

A huge hole was all that was left of Melia's heart, and through it Richard saw that most of her other organs had been blown up as well. She crumpled to the floor, but he took a step forward and hugged her as he poured his nature energy into her body, “Hold on, it'll be alright soon!”

However, those words were a lie. Richard knew that only someone on Ferlyn's level could heal such heavy injuries, and as she was right now Melia couldn't survive the trip. His nature energy only delayed the inevitable; in less than a minute, she would be dead.

Melia turned lucid once more, looking at Richard with tears in her eyes as she spoke in an almost inaudible voice, “Richard... that day... wasn't me...”

“I know! Don't talk!” Richard's entire body was glowing with nature energy as he tapped into everything he had, sending it to her without stopping. In the process he came upon the grey energy that had lurked around in his own body for a long time, the energy that was controlling her. However, he was shocked to find that the sheer volume of this energy was far greater than what he had been affected by.

He suddenly leaned back and grabbed her left arm, stopping it from stabbing into his heart. The hand was trembling with all its might, but Melia was clearly losing control. Even he was rendered helpless by the sheer power of laws within; the fact that she had resisted it this long was a testament to her will.

The grey light filled Melia's eyes once more, the voice of the Duskword Grand Elder ringing out again, “Goodbye, Richard. I hope you enjoy this gift!”

*BOOM!* Melia's head burst open, blood and brain matter splattering on Richard's face and flowing down the rest of his body.

936 - City of Sin

No Survivors

“My Lord!” All of the rune knights rushed to aid Richard, only barely stopping themselves from turning Melia's remains into a pincushion. However, looking at the body falling away, they restrained themselves and stepped back to their positions.

The two great druids of the Evernight Tribe who were waiting at the door just stared blankly, unable to respond to the tragic scene. One could even see tears forming in their eyes; the pride and joy of their tribe had been desecrated in a disgusting way.

Blood was flowing down Richard's forehead and into his eyes, but he stood rooted in place. He held Melia's body in his arms, but his gaze was fixed on a distant spot as countless options ran through his mind. His eyes suddenly glowed as he turned back to the dead Melia, but this momentary hope dimmed as well, “... No soul...“

“My Lord?” It took a few minutes, but eventually one of the rune knights stepped forward, calling out tentatively. This time Richard responded, slowly lowering Melia's body and standing up.

“It seems like I haven't killed enough...” he said in a whispering voice, steadying himself before walking out. He turned to the two druids just before he left, “Take her body, bury it according to the highest standards of the tribe.”

Having said that, Richard disappeared amidst blue sparks. Only minutes later he was on the roof of his castle, all the bloodstains washed away and his clothes replaced. The unicorn was galloping over from the distance, jumping from rooftop to rooftop as it quickly made its way next to him. An enormous shadow covered the sky as the astral chrysalis swooped down, shrinking down to twenty metres in length. Phaser had been summoned as well, bringing Noelene with her.

The chrysalis took off immediately, moving 120 kilometres an hour with its shrunken body. The will of the forest had been beaten back repeatedly to the point that it couldn't mess with him anymore, but even if it could none of the three on the chrysalis was afraid of such attempted suppression.

The moment they left the range of the golden world tree, Richard jumped down to the forest and grabbed an ancient tree. All of its accumulated energy was burnt up in one go, forced out in a torrent that gushed into the sky and fell like rain back to the earth. His own soul cut through the forest's will, “Duskwords, I'm coming for you.”

This sentence wasn't uttered with any sense of gravity, without even much rage. It seemed to be stating a trivial fact that was of no consequence, but both Phaser and Noelene felt the voice ringing in their minds. Neither of the two was ordinary, but an incredible realisation filled Noelene's mind: Richard's voice could be heard throughout the forest!

Richard immediately jumped back onto the chrysalis, which promptly took off once more. Flying a hundred metres into the sky, it stabilised its flight and zoomed towards the destination. The old tree that had been used to transmit this message withered completely.

......

The Duskword Tribe immediately grew chaotic, all the elves trembling at Richard's words. The news of their defeat had already been passed back to them, and as the main force in the war their tribe had suffered the heaviest losses. Eleven elders had died in battle while three others were maimed; it would take at least five decades for the tribe to even recover, forget resisting Richard's army. The fact that they could hear Richard's voice showed that he could even find them!

It wasn't just the Duskword Tribe; most of the surviving elven tribes heard Richard's voice, each one erupting into panic. This was especially true of those elves who had actually seen Richard's ambush; they felt like their end had come.

A number of messages were immediately exchanged between the various elven tribes, the druids quickly discussing giving up the trees of life in exchange for their own lives. They couldn't conceal their panic at all; Richard's threat was a simple one, but the most frightening fact was that everyone had heard them. This revealed at least a glimpse of his power, and that glimpse alone was terrifying.
𝐟𝙧ℯe𝙬𝚎𝒃𝗻𝒐ѵel. 𝐜o𝓶

The treant camp that was about to return to the Duskword Tribe suddenly stopped, the Grand Elder's face warping even as his hands shook violently. A loud whistle rang out nearby as all of the soldiers flocked to their post, looking for an enemy that was still thousands of kilometres away.

The others in the hall were rendered mute as well, pale faces revealing their shock. They looked at each other without any idea what to do, desperately trying to avoid a single word that kept flooding into their minds: legendary.

The Grand Elder felt every gaze slowly coming to focus on him, the animosity clear within. He was the one who had insisted on provoking Richard this time, and the result was certainly worse than expected. He knew he had to do something, so he suddenly shouted, “What are you afraid of? The devils' army cannot come this far through the forest! I will pray to the World Tree and show you this Richard's lies.”

These words reignited the elders' spirits. A minute later, a magical image was put up in the centre of the hall, showing the astral chrysalis flying through the sky with four figures standing atop it. The world tree was the god of the forest, and any place with the forest's will was within its field of sensing.

“Only three people?” an elf couldn't believe his eyes.

“They're coming so fast, they'll be at my tribe in three days!” another squeaked.

“Look at his direction, he's going towards the Clover Tribe!”

“He'll get there quickly, the tribe is—”

“SHUT UP!” The Grand Elder interrupted the heated discussion, holding his forehead in pain. The hall went quiet as all eyes focused on him once more, and all he could do under the pressure was stare at Richard in the image and snort with rage, “He's crazy!”

Richard's strange creature was emitting a soft light, the trees underneath it being swept to both sides as it passed to leave behind a visible track. It was extremely fast, but the sheer power it was emitting could be noticed from more than ten kilometres away. Not only was Richard coming for them openly, he didn't even fear any ambushes or armies.

The tribes were hurt, but did he want to rely on his small group to defeat the Duskword Tribe? Was the second most powerful tribe in the forest so weak? The Duskword elders grew angrier and angrier, eyes almost spitting fire. They started clamouring for the army to assemble, cutting Richard off at the Clover Tribe.

However, the Grand Elder simply closed his eyes and sifted through his memories. He was replaying every moment of the fight with Richard, where Iskara's servant had been killed with those astral powers. It took a long time for him to open them once more, and when he did he looked like he had aged ten years in a single minute, “Tell the tribe to prepare... We're migrating.”

“What?”

“Why?”

The Duskword elves were left in a mess. Migrating would deal a huge blow to their tree of life, adding a few more decades to the time they would need to recover. This was a heavy price, second only to complete annihilation. The Grand Elder was basically saying that Richard and his small army alone could destroy the entire tribe!

The one-eyed elder started in fierce opposition, but looking at the Grand Elder's expression he touched his own burnt eye and went silent. He remembered that Richard had been focused on dealing with the black-robed man at the time, only pushing them away, but even then many of his fellow elders had died.

Looking at the clamour, the Grand Elder bitterly shook his head, “It is easy to want to die, but our tribe needs to survive. It is a painful decision, but one that must be made. If we do not go, the Duskword Tribe will meet its end; we can flee towards the World Tree, asking for its shelter.”

“Richard doesn't kill the people who can't fight...” some still held onto their last hope. Richard had destroyed three tribes in the last battle, but anyone who wasn't resisting had been spared. So long as they planted a new tree of life, these elves could live on.

The Grand Elder stared at the figure of Richard standing motionless atop his flying steed, “He didn't before. This time, there will be no survivors.”

937 - City of Sin

Free Of Debt

A sharp whistle rang through the forest as the astral chrysalis sped along, rows of old trees being bent away in its wake. Richard was standing silently on its tip, but after a while, a seemingly bored Noelene walked over and pointed at the trail they were leaving behind, “Isn't this a bit too arrogant?”

“Those bastards should know I'm coming,” Richard said coldly.

“If we'd snuck there, we would have caught them by surprise. You're just scaring them away.”

Richard snorted at her words, “I gave them a hundred chances to do that already. If they didn't want to fight me, they would have left Melia alive. What, you think they're going to run?”

“I would,” Noelene said seriously.

......

The astral chrysalis flew uninterrupted for more than a day before arriving at the Clover Tribe. However, the Tree of Life had already disappeared; the entire tribe had fled. The empty meadow and broken earth were the only indications that there had once been an elven tribe here.

Richard's face immediately warped with rage. He jumped down and looked for any traces of their direction, but the forest seemed to be untouched in all directions. The tribe's druids had clearly done work to hide their tracks.

“DAMN IT!” he roared, summoning a lightning bolt to strike the empty land. Quickly jumping onto the chrysalis, he directed it straight towards the Duskword Tribe.

Another day later, Noelene's guess was proved completely. There was no tree of life here either, only empty land. Richard visited three other tribes over the next few days, but all of them had fled as well.

Eventually, he just had the chrysalis stop and hover in mid-air. Every elven tribe he knew had relocated, and there were almost no traces to be found. Even using his laws of nature, all he could determine was that all of the trees within range had been controlled for some time. Ten thousand kilometres away from Emerald City and with the increasing strength of the will of the forest, finding these elves was like looking for a needle in a haystack. The world tree couldn't move, but it was still very far away and too strong for him to attack.

He sighed, invisible flames heating up the air around him. From one perspective, every tribe that migrated had suffered major losses anyway. This showed just how scared they were of him; for decades from now, they wouldn't dare to even show themselves to his troops again. He had destroyed their spirit. Suppressing his pent-up rage, he looked towards the direction of the world tree, “Next time.”

......

This event confirmed that there were now no big elven tribes within ten thousand kilometres of Emerald City. There might be one or two small ones hidden about, but they couldn't change the overall situation.

Melia was buried right under the golden world tree, and the evernight elves were placed with the tribe that had originally occupied the tree of life. The world tree itself was sprouting its third leaf, while the broodmother continued to create worker drones under the premise that she wouldn't change to combat drones until she had more than ten thousand. A large number of soldiers were still taking turns woodcutting, but the factories meant to process the stonewood had been shifted back out into Azan. The environment of this plane had been affecting the craftsmen too adversely, and it made more sense to have them performing at full capacity.

Richard approached the golden world tree the moment he returned, staring at the patch of earth where Melia had been buried. Burying the Skylance next to her, he set up a workbench nearby and began producing Mana Armaments. All of the materials he needed were shipped by the astral chrysalis, and nobody dared to disturb him and his work.

Producing Mana Armaments was time-consuming, but he poured all of his focus into it, even forgoing sleep for a few days. Phaser had appeared at some point, lazing around, while Waterflower sat on an old tree branch lost in thought. Tiramisu had gotten a huge elephant from somewhere and was barbequing it, a lovely aroma wafting through the air and attracting Noelene from her residence. All of his other followers had returned to their respective planes, while Nyris and Agamemnon left to manage their new venture.

Life seemed to be calm and peaceful.

By the time the Mana Armament approached completion, the golden world tree could provide some shade. As a sapling that had been awakened with his blood, it was closely linked to his soul from the moment it broke the earth. The surrounding forest was extremely quiet owing to Tiramisu hunting down most big animals, leaving him in a state of comfortable peace as he worked.

There were a few small episodes over these days. The aura of the young world tree had attracted a lot of mutant elves, but as instinctive creatures with no minds of their own, they weren't a threat at all. The worker drones would flood them every time they came, only adding to the broodmother's analysis of this variant.

Perhaps he had experienced far too much in this plane, but Richard found an astonishing level of focus within himself. It took less than ten days for him to complete the first Mana Armament, an enormous feat even for someone as fast as him. On top of the main rune, he had also crafted a Wanderer's Domain rune and a grade 2 strength rune during his breaks.

Calculating that it was around time for the rune convention in Norland, he brightened his expression a little and returned to Norland with his followers and rune knights. Faust had grown extremely lively as it anticipated the formal announcement of another grand runemaster in the plane, and with the large number of attendees, the royal family had decided to hold an auction as well. The fruit of life, leaves of nature, treant fortress, and other spoils from the Forest Plane were sold as part of the finale; Nyris and Agamemnon had played a hand in organising the auction so they could liquidate their assets faster.

The rune convention itself was rather grand, but not all that crazy. The appearance of Mana Armament reminded people of Saint Lawrence once more, but the former runemaster had difficulty even with grade 2 runes now. Richard was still the star of the show, awing everyone with the quality of intricacy of the rune.

In terms of design and manufacturing difficulty, Mana Armament was almost at the level of a grade 5 rune. However, Richard had explained it calmly as though it was nothing. Was he going to become a saint runemaster before even hitting thirty? Nobody present could recall such a thing occurring in the entire history of the plane.

Mana Armament was really powerful, but it was also so expensive that even a legendary mage would hurt for funds if they wished to buy one. On top of that, Richard already owed a number of powerhouses after he had traded all those offerings for the flame potion. Most who could afford it already had one lined up, so there wasn't much demand. The few mages that did approach him were rejected on the basis of him lacking the time.

Beyond Mana Armament, Wanderer's Domain and his Spell Penetration were extremely popular as well. So many people wanted them that he had to force a limit on the number he would make, sending the prices skyrocketing to double the actual worth. Even with Mana Armament announced at the head, everyone stayed all the way to the end and didn't lose enthusiasm at all. The event allowed him to reevaluate his own prices: from now, even standard runes from his hand would be at least 50% more expensive.

Such was Norland, a world of runes where one could never have enough.

The auction itself was extremely lucrative as well, the number of high-level materials piquing the interest of a number of influential families. The final price of the treant fortress had even reached two beyslace spider crystals, halving his debt in one go. After some negotiations with the parties involved, Richard ended up owing only five Mana Armaments.

He then returned to the Forest Plane once more, continuing to work under the world tree. Three months later, the sapling had grown to a proper tree that was more than ten metres tall, while Richard himself had finished all of the Mana Armaments he owed. He breathed a sigh of relief at being freed of his debt, but even more importantly he had entered level 19 in the meanwhile.

When he returned to Faust once more, he received two notices from the assembly of the Sacred Alliance: one for a discussion about his title and the other for Marshal Rundstedt's final trial.
𝒇re𝐞w𝐞𝚋𝒏𝚘ѵeƖ c𝗼𝑚

It was tradition for the head of every family on the floating islands to be a marquess at minimum, while those on the sixth level had to be dukes. Honourary titles didn't count; one had to have the territory to match. A noble had moved the assembly to review Richard's ducal qualifications.

Richard himself hadn't thought much of getting a title before. His goals were developing his private planes and expanding his rune knight army, all the while growing his own strength. However, the motion to consider his title was extremely malicious; it wasn't simply an acknowledgement of his might, but an accusation that he didn't qualify for his island. At the end of the day, the Archeron Family was only held aloft in the sixth level by his wealth and his wealth alone.

938 - City of Sin

Glory And Interests

The Archerons had always been upstarts, but Gaton's rise was very different from Richard's own. Gaton had started from nearly nothing and acquired a marquessate by show of force, his army growing at an unprecedented rate that hearkened back to the founding years of the three human empires. However, just as famous as Gaton's growth was his poverty; even a common rune knight serving the other families of Faust lived more comfortably than the thirteen knights. Gaton himself wasn't much better.

On the other hand, Richard's era was completely different. He placed more emphasis on equipment, supplies and logistics, shoring up Gaton's deficiencies and even overcompensating. In only years the beggarly Archerons now stood on equal footing with the other major families of Faust, with their elites being treated even better than by some of the other families of the floating islands. Richard was pouring gold into his army of fierce warriors, and they were quickly turning from a frightening enemy to a terrifying one. His father's strength had been combined with his money to form an elite force that was second to none.

All this was founded on Richard's unparalleled talent in runecrafting. His followers were growing into their own, while he had established a close relationship with the Church of the Eternal Dragon and received its support on numerous occasions. The other families couldn't even complain of favouritism; every month Richard seemed to be at the altar with a sacrifice, which meant the Church was certainly earning a lot from him. Other churches would have gone even further than just friendship, taking similar routes to the three goddesses in Faelor.

Such quick rises always had their flaws. The term “lack of foundation” wasn't empty; all power without foundation was like a castle built with sand that could collapse with the first wave. Gaton had relied on his own charisma and the miracles he generated to propel the Archerons forward, but this couldn't last long. Disputes would be suppressed when one was on the winning side, but they would erupt all at once the moment the streak was lost. When Gaton died in the Rosie Plane, the Archeron Family had completely disintegrated. Every clown in the family jumped out to try and get a piece of the pie, causing chaos everywhere. The Archeron island itself had been the site of an insurgency.

If Alice hadn't kept the situation under control long enough for Richard to return and take over, the Archeron island would have been taken away. Families like the Mensas or Josephs, on the other hand, had strict protocols in place for the selection of an heir. Some foul play was bound to occur, but it wouldn't be as blatant and humiliating as a revolt. All traitors were routinely rounded up and beheaded alongside their families, seeping the family name in blood to give it strength.

Even now, Gaton's death still had its after-effects. The remaining knights were immediately half-freed, and Ward the Boxer still refused to recognise Richard's inheritance. The situation overall was now stable, but Richard's own death would destroy it all in days.

Richard's rise had its own problems as well. His strengths were more obvious than his father's, but so were his glaring weaknesses: there weren't many powerful beings in the family yet, and Richard himself owned very little territory in Norland. Even counting Azan, he barely had enough for a marquessate; this was far away from a dukedom.

The Archeron Family had made a number of enemies in every step of its expansion. Half of the fourteen families hated their guts, and while the most powerful royal family and Orleans Family had a good relationship with him, this relationship wasn't very deep. Few of the other smaller families in Faust had any goodwill for them either.

Even the internals of the family weren't so great. It was public knowledge that both Marquess Sauron and Earl Goliath were independent from the main family, and while Alice and Richard shared a close relationship she was an ally and not a vassal. Even if she wanted to pledge her lands to count towards his own, her own subordinates would object. Even a lord couldn't transfer their territories as they wished.

When Richard returned to Faust, he immediately cooped up in his study and began reading on the history of the Sacred Alliance, trying to get a handle on the current situation. There was no doubt that the assembly discussing his dukedom was a conspiracy, but he still didn't understand why.

The aristocratic system had been developed over thousands of years, forming a rather rigid code of rights and requirements that many groups depended on. Richard wasn't crazy enough to challenge the system itself, an act that was equivalent to declaring war on all nobles. However, he had always forsaken any expansion in Norland for the sake of more profitable developments in Faelor where the broodmother was located; although territory in Norland was significant, it was more of symbolic value than practical.

However, the assembly had put this very symbolism to the test.

The book Richard was reading was called The Birth of Noble Glory, a rather gritty account of how the system of aristocracy in Norland was formed. Nobles didn't hesitate to fight for family glory, even waging war to avoid humiliation. Glory was an extremely important thing when the empires were first founded, serving as a banner to which the people flocked. Many intense battles in the past often saw the nobles charging in first, knights from birth that exemplified the prestige of their family names. Those who survived attracted soldiers and grew their might, gaining influence over expanding territory.

Millennia ago, nobles weren't allowed to desert the army even in the most desperate of situations. Their glory was what brightened the family's banner; their flesh and blood were what gave rise to the fiefdoms of their families.

Things had changed once the empires were fully established. Glory inevitably faded when generation after generation was born with a silver spoon in the mouth, and the battlefield of choice had shifted to the political arena. Honourable war was replaced with conspiracies, assassinations, and gossip. Most noble children today lived off the foundations of their ancestors, only looking for wealth and privilege instead of their own responsibilities.

Fortunately, Norland was still a war-torn continent where power meant nearly everything. The system of nobility in the Sacred Alliance just lacked the strength to maintain its operation; when Gaton fell, the Archerons would have been cleared out of Faust if Richard hadn't lifted the family up on his own two shoulders. In a more stable country like the Millennial Empire, a situation like his would have been much more peaceful even if damaging.

There was a simple solution to the assembly's attempts: leveraging his identity as the royal runemaster to have himself made an honourary duke. There would still be hue and cry about it— it wasn't the “proper” way— but regulations that weren't specifically defined could always be bent to one's will. However, Richard would rather just be an earl than have such a humiliating title. In fact, he didn't care even if he couldn't become a duke; his sacrifices ensured the island couldn't be touched for six months, and by that time he could track down the offender and destroy them.

Laws were laws. Continuing to occupy an island without becoming a duke would be an enormous insult, and this assembly would paint him as a commoner sitting on a noble's throne. It would harm his reputation significantly, but that was the extent of the damage. There would be no actual losses to bear.

But was that really the case? Richard closed the book and looked back at the title: The Birth of Noble Glory.

Glory was a complicated thing. Mishandling the situation wouldn't just damage the family's already-poor reputation; there would be a number of hidden losses that couldn't be calculated directly. Richard himself wasn't one to negotiate with families that lacked credibility and were known for flouting the rules just for profit. Sometimes, intangibles had more say in decisions than cold hard facts.

Now, there were many gazes focused on the Archeron Family.

939 - City of Sin

Problems

There was seemingly no good solution to Richard's predicament. He wasn't a particularly eloquent orator, and even if he was there wouldn't be any real way to argue for a dukedom right now. The person who brought up the topic had caught the perfect timing; in only a few more months, the Archeron armies would be marching around Norland to expand the family's territory.

Even after a long period of thought, the only reason Richard could come up with for the motion was to block him from getting a dukedom in the near future. As per tradition, it would be another year before he could call upon another vote to give himself a title, but that couldn't be the end goal in and of itself. There was some reason for his title to be barred at this moment, but he couldn't figure out what tangible benefits that would bring to anyone.

Dukes were the pinnacle of regular nobility in any of the three empires. The next higher status was that of a prince, although both titles were actually more on equal terms depending on the empire. Being a price required royal blood, so the only way for a regular duke to advance was to become a grand duke who had completely independent control of his duchy. Dukes were especially powerful in the Sacred Alliance, acting as a check and balance for the royal family. If they united, they could even force the Emperor off his seat.

However, that was impossible. Emperor Philip was currently riding a wave of glory that would last decades if not longer; there was no way for anyone else in the Alliance to replace his position. In fact, becoming a duke right now was only a burden; Richard would be force to station a large number of troops with the royal family for the country's defence, which was why it was low on his priority list.

Richard continued to read through literature on nobility in the Alliance, but no matter how he thought of it most of a duke's powers came from their family's strength. It didn't matter to him whether he had a title or not; he could exert all of his influence regardless.

“Whatever, since when did we tackle situations normally?” he muttered to himself with a sneer, sitting down to meditate. If someone was jumping out to humiliate him, he would just crush them instead. The move had come from a certain Baron Canaan of the Silversword Family, the current patriarch of which was Earl Fenlier. Canaan obviously was just a puppet, but this family would be a good example. Even if he couldn't absorb their territory, he would at least flatten everything like Alice once did to her distant enemies. The scorched earth policy was cruel, but it was effective.

The quickest way to gain land was war. However, the Sacred Alliance would only recognise war on external powers unless he could justify himself adequately; opening up the map of Norland, he marked off the north, south, and southeast. The Deepblue existed to the north, while the south held a tight border with the Millennial Empire. To the southeast was ocean, so west was the best direction to head in. Still, there were quite a few battlefields for him to choose from.

Adding more territory was something he had to get to sooner or later. While he didn't care much about this symbolic value, his rune knights and other subordinates would. The lands he annexed would be theirs to govern in the future, a place where they could grow their own status from through their families. This was the force driving many of his knights into battle.

Richard looked around the map and shut it back down, taking a quick inventory of his resources to figure out how much he could support. The broodmother and now her clone were still his biggest strength, but there were only a little more than a hundred rune knights left that he could mobilise freely. Runes weren't even the problem; he just didn't have enough suitable candidates. Most families would consider a 500-knight reserve force more than enough, and there was fierce competition on which of them would become rune knights once more runes were available, but with him the problem was quite the opposite. Everyone capable of becoming a rune knight still had to be loyal to him, and while contracts helped they didn't enforce unflinching obedience of his commands. He still had a few reserve knights and a number of independent warriors, but another blunder like the Forest Plane couldn't be sustained.

It would soon become imperative to build a regular army that wasn't solely made up of Archerons. This army would need more average combat effectiveness and loyalty, used as the first line to protect his core soldiers. There weren't all that many Archerons in the world, and their numbers certainly couldn't grow to a scale where they would be enough to support all of his military endeavours themselves.

Sighing, Richard turned to a small section of his map table that was constantly flickering between the maps of his private planes. Two of them were dark grey, implying that they weren't under his control. One was the Boulder Highlands where Ward was located, and the other was the Goldflow Valley under Asiris and Cyrden.

One could say the Goldflow Valley was nominally under his control now, but Cyrden had never returned to Norland to pledge his allegiance. While Richard was aware that the situation in the plane was an issue as well, and Asiris had made himself available whenever needed, he still had no idea about the actual scenario there. He had sent nearly a million gold's worth in all sorts of resources there, but there wasn't any good news at all.

The biggest drain on his resources was actually the Resting Orchid Plane. Senma had to remain there to deal with Stardragon just in case he showed up, and he also had to keep fifty rune knights stationed there at all times to ensure that an ambush didn't take out the portal. Faelor had been given a death sentence by Ferlyn herself, so all Richard truly had in hand right now was the Forest Plane.

Even in Norland, the territories were only calm on the surface. Richard had ignored the rebellions when he was away for the sake of consolidating his own power, but at least half of the vassals of the family had betrayed him. So long as he suffered serious losses, they would grow active once again.

There were other issues that required his attention as well. Marshal Rundstedt's trial was still ongoing, but this time it had escalated from a mere insult into a real investigation. The Church had sent a representative to coordinate the proceedings, and the head of every one of the fourteen families would be expected to vote to decide on guilt. The families of the seventh level had one vote each, while those on the sixth had two. The Ironblood Duke had three to himself, a number shared with the royal family. The royal family could also veto any decision that didn't reach three-quarters majority, which would start the voting process once more.

As a legendary powerhouse, Rundstedt was clearly enraged by his trial. His crimes were errors in command and violations of the Alliance's regulations. Even if he was convicted, the maximum punishment was dismissal from his position and removal of his marquessate. He was undoubtedly guilty, but delivering such a verdict was a problem in its own right; who, then, would be sent to guard the City of the Unsetting Sun?

This was a difficult decision to make that would force him to choose sides. He certainly hated Rundstedt's ways with all his heart, but that was a personal decision as a warrior of the Unsetting Sun. Now, he would be expected to make a decision on behalf of his entire family.

Unable to come up with immediate answers for any of his problems, he cleared them from his mind and rang the bell to summon the old butler, “How have our expenses been?”

“Just one moment, Master.” The old butler left and quickly returned with his book of accounts that detailed almost every major income and expenditure of the family. Faelor currently had a stable income of six million gold and growing, followed by the Forest Plane at two million of which a third was shared with Nyris and Agamemnon. Of course, this was old news; the total income from the plane was now three million gold a year.

All of his other planes still needed investment. While the Boulder Highlands hadn't been touched, the Resting Orchid Plane and Goldflow Valley needed about a million each. Another expense came from his support of the Deepblue, which took two million gold coins for operational expenses and an equal amount for his research grants. With another million gold being paid to the antimages who were stationed there permanently, the academy was an enormous drain on his resources.

That amounted to seven million gold, but even that paled when compared to his military expenditure. He'd spent more than ten million gold on equipment alone, and just his followers commanded a total payment of two million gold a year. With the number of deaths amongst his forces recently, he needed to dole out compensatory pay of three million gold as well. And this didn't even count the troops' payments that were inflated by putting them in planes with accelerated time flow! Compared to all that, the 500,000 he needed for maintenance and construction on the island was nothing.

The numbers were almost frightening. His focus on runecrafting had been reduced in recent times in favour of combat, so most of his runes were higher grade and required a lot of time to make. Most of the normal stuff had been left to Rosie's workshop, who could make eight Rose Knights a month while paying for themselves or ten if he gave them the resources. While he could technically make tens of millions of gold in a month if he cooped himself up crafting Lifesbanes, the market would quickly saturate and the rune would lose value. On the other hand, Mana Armament didn't have much of a market in the first place and he had just crafted a large number for the Mage Association.

He looked at the butler who almost faded away into the background to give him space to think, “Do you have any ways of improving the family's income?”

The old steward diligently stuck to his primary duties of taking care of trivial matters, but he still had decades of experience managing lands. He nodded at Richard's question, “Master Gaton believed that managing expenses was much simpler than people made it out to be: throttle extra costs and find extra sources of revenue. In this regard, I believe there are three core issues: the Deepblue, the Goldflow Valley, and the Boulder Highlands.”

940 - City of Sin

Quelling Unrest

“Elaborate,” Richard told the old steward.

“The Deepblue is our biggest extra expense and is growing rapidly; reducing your research grants to them will certainly help the financial situation. As for the Boulder Highlands and Goldflow Valley, both were acquired a short time before Master Gaton went missing. But even at that time, Master Gaton expected a million gold from each of them after deducting your tuition fees. Overall, they should have been earning two million gold each. But now, the Boulder Highlands have no income at all and the Goldflow Valley needs an investment of a million gold instead of earning money. That is five million gold in difference that we stand to earn. However, I have no idea of the military situations in those planes.”

Richard nodded, “I can't really give up on anything in the Deepblue, but I'll think about the Boulder Highlands and Goldflow Valley. You may leave.”

Once the butler retired, he stared at the map for a while before beginning to meditate. A few hours later, he called over a messenger and asked him to summon Asiris from Goldflow Valley.

......

Asiris was very quick to respond, appearing in Richard's study the very next afternoon.

“Is there anything you require of me, my Lord? The messenger did not apprise me of the situation,” Asiris asked politely. In terms of etiquette, he was the best of the thirteen and never disappointed.

“Sit.” Richard pointed to the sofa in front of him, having a maid serve some black tea and close the door on her way out. He started tapping a thick book on his table, staring at the Dark Priest.

Asiris just smiled, maintaining his soft expectation for minutes on end. Priests naturally had a great deal of patience, and while Richard could be patient when it was needed he was also someone who valued his time greatly. It would take a week for Asiris to budge, so he ended up conceding and asked what was on his mind, “How does my military strength compare to my father's time?”

Asiris opened his mouth to answer, trying to ignore the tiny sparks coming from Richard's fingers whenever he tapped, “In terms of core elites, you are only slightly weaker. Your rune knight army is far superior to his, while the general armies are roughly equal. In addition, you have special resources that he did not have access to.”

“So my power is no worse than my father's at his peak?”

“One could say that, yes.”

Richard nodded and began to think, Asiris quietly giving him space. It took minutes before he lifted his head again, “Let's find a time for me to enter Goldflow Valley, hmm?”

A sharp glint flashed across the Dark Priest's eyes, but he bowed low, “It would be an honour. The plane is yours, after all.”

Richard nodded, lifting his finger off the Book of Holding, “Thirteen knights have now dwindled to a mere four, with another one missing somewhere in the abyss; I hope you guys can continue to help me like you did my father, and I can promise you even greater rewards.”

Asiris was slightly stunned, but he maintained his smile, “I am honoured.”

Looking at his attitude, Richard's brow furrowed before relaxing once more, “Once the trouble in the assembly is dealt with, I'm going to the Boulder Highlands as well. What do you think of that?”

Asiris's expression finally warped for a moment, “That... is how it should be.”

Richard sighed, “The Boulder Highlands were a private plane left by my father. I have given more than enough time for Ward to make his decision, and it's time for him to make a stand. He's free to leave the family, but the family's planes and soldiers are not his to command. It would be best if he was willing to stay; but he will need to talk to me about that. If he wants neither, I'll be going there armed.”

Asiris sighed, “I will try to persuade him.”

“Please do, I want to resolve our internal troubles as quickly as possible. We'll be at war soon, and I can't afford generals unwilling to obey my commands.”

Sending Asiris away, Richard called the old steward back once more, “Do you remember the branch families that refused to obey after Gaton?”

“Of course, my Lord.”

“Hmm...” Richard took a few steps around the room before stopping, “Sift through them and list those who are likely to betray us again or committed crimes too serious to forgive. I expect it by tomorrow, it's time to pull out the weeds.”

The man felt his hair stand on end, but he still bowed and nodded before getting waved away. He shivered the moment the study door closed, almost fainting on the spot. The sheer killing intent Richard had been oozing when he asked for the list almost left him incontinent in his old age.

......

Richard didn't sleep that night, reading history books of Norland all the way into the early hours of the morning. Only when a frail figure placed breakfast at his table did he even look up from his books, casting a questioning gaze, “Coco?”

“Y-Yes, my Lord,” Coco tried to be as polite as she could. Even though Richard wasn't particularly gruff, she couldn't even raise her head to look at him; it felt like she was facing an ancient beast.

Richard quickly realised what was wrong and suppressd his aura, letting her relax. While he wasn't particularly murderous right now, a quick look told him that she was still only level 4; her talent was abysmal. He sighed and asked, “Why are you still here, is your father alright?”

“Father is doing well, he's stopped gambling entirely,” Coco answere softly, hesitating as she moved on to his other question, “And... I'm here because... I'm your... mate...”

“Heh,” he shook his head, “I've been reading too much last night, the books have left me confused. Tell you what, next time I'm back I'll arrange for a time when you can come to my room.”

The shy girl's eyes lit up immediately and she nodded hard.

Looking at Coco departing from the study, Richard couldn't help but shake his head. This girl had been caught in the crossfire of his vengeance on Gaton. She didn't have status, blood, or talent, but he had ripped her away from the man she loved just to spite his own father. It had changed her family's destiny, but certainly not for the better. Now, he couldn't bring himself to abandon his original decision; he would fulfil her duties before letting her choose the next steps in her life.

A few hours later, he left Faust and returned to Faelor. Ten days later, exactly one day vefore the monthly meeting of the assembly, he brought back five Mana Armaments and cleared his debts in one fell swoop. It served to oversaturate the market a bit, but he could always sell to the other empires if he was in a pinch.

......

The next morning, a melodious bell rang through the city of miracles to proclaim that the assembly of lords had been convened. As the patriarch of one of the fourteen families, Richard took Rae and Waterflower. Rae was calm and practical, with his Savage Barrier rune set being perfect for a guardian. As for Waterflower, she looked normal on the outside but anyone with actual power would see that she was a sky saint assassin. He himself had songs written about his achievements in the Land of Dusk; there would be no one willing to threaten him.

The assembly hall was chaotic for an entire half hour after the meeting formally began, quibbling over the most mundane of issues before Baron Canaan stepped on stage. The nobles immediately went quiet, knowing that the main highlight of today's show was upon them.

As a member of the sixth level families, Richard sat near the head of the round table in the middle of the hall and could see Canaan from up close. However, his eyes were half-closed as though he was sleeping, not paying attention at all.

“The floating islands of Faust are a symbol of glory, of the grace of the Eternal Dragon. In the long history of Faust, only true nobles have had the qualifications to establish their families on these islands....” On stage, Canaan began an impassioned speech, digging into a thousand years of history to demonstrate his point: only a duke could match the glory of the sixth layer of floating islands.

“.... How many great names have been associated with these islands? One can easily find a pattern to it all. Is it a coincidence? I think—”

“Haaaaaaaa....” The speech was interrupted by a bored yawn.

941 - City of Sin

Passing By

On stage, Baron Canaan immediately froze up in the middle of his speech. He glared hard at Richard who had interrupted him with the obnoxious yawn, but no matter how much he wished it his looks couldn't kill.

Richard didn't even look at Canaan, instead looking over the other nobles seated nearby. When he finally saw Earl Fenlier, he showed a cold smile. The Silversword Earl had been watching him all the while, and his face immediately blanched.

Canaan finally regained his composure, grandly proclaiming to the assembly, “I ask for the assembly to award the title of Duke to Lord Richard, matching the glory of the Archeron Family and their floating island!”

The assembly hall went silent the moment this proposal was heard, all whispers stopping as every gaze focused down on Richard to hear his response. These old aristocrats knew that Canaan held no goodwill towards the Archeron Family, and this conspiracy seemed to be of little use except for annoying the Archerons, but even a blatant conspiracy was still a conspiracy. Richard's response would affect their evaluation of the Archerons.

Richard yawned once more and stood up, heading towards the podium. Canaan didn't give way immediately, but a flick of the hand formed an invisible force that sent him flying off stage.

“You... You used force in the assembly! You...” The Baron wanted to call for disciplinary action, but he eventually swallowed his words. The nobles and powerhouses in attendance were all stirred, not by Richard's tyranny but by the exact manner of execution. Richard had sent Canaan flying from a few metres away, but the power didn't feel like pure mana or internal energy. In fact, it had the nature of both. There was no shortage of even saints here, but even they couldn't tell just what type of force Richard had used. The only given was that his movement was simple and precise, indicative of someone who always killed with one blow.

Every veteran of battle knew one fact: when two opponents of equal power faced off, the one who could minimise his movements always won. For Richard to achieve his simplicity meant he had waded through a sea of corpses during his rise. It brought flashbacks to news from the Land of Dusk about his frightening achievements.

Getting up on the podium, Richard looked around at everyone before speaking, “Distinguished lords and ladies, I believe Baron Canaan is being quite reasonable and agree with him. It would be dishonest to say that we Archerons deserve a ducal title just because we occupy a sixth-level island, but our lack of qualifications is only temporary. We will soon meet the territorial requirements for a Dukedom, so if the noble members of the assembly are willing to give us this honour in advance, we will accept it. If you do not wish to break traditions, then that is as it should be. However...”

He paused for a moment, glancing across the silent hall once more before raising his voice, “No matter what decision the assembly takes, we Archerons will be taking on the corresponding duties matching our stature. Ever since Emperor Charles the Great, the nobles of the Alliance have constantly fought foreigners to win territory for ourselves; this is the duty of nobility. My family will join this effort, our goal the vast territories to the west of the Alliance. We will send our men all the way to the ocean!”

The lion was finally showing its teeth! Many nobles shuddered at Richard's proclamation, relieved that the lunatics of the Alliance had pointed their blade outside. Gaton was a known war fanatic, and his son was clearly cut from the same cloth. However, the assembly was confused by his choice; even fertile land wouldn't be of much interest to the Archeron Family, but all that lied to the west of the Alliance was rolling mountains. There was no real reason to expand in that direction.

And yet, Richard had a meteoric rise in the past few years. Anyone who thinks a fool could achieve all that he did was bound for humiliation. The Mensas, Josephs, and Schumpeters had all paid the price for underestimating him. The assembly thus waited patiently for his follow-on.

Richard flashed a charming smile, speaking in a sweet voice, “However, our existing territory does not border the western frontier. For this upcoming war, my army will need to pass through the territory of a few nobles. I have already scheduled a marching route, passing through the following lands: Viscount Tren, Baron Eibik, and Earl Fenlier. I must thank Baron Canaan once more, you have reminded me of our duties as one of the fourteen.”

The entire assembly was shocked silent, Baron Canaan left stunned and speechless. An angry scream broke the quiet, “I object!”

All eyes were drawn below, where the silver-haired Earl Fenlier had just stood up and was throwing his fists about, “The Silversword territory will not allow any army to pass!”

Richard looked at Earl Fenlier with a smile, “So the Silversword Family doesn't want me to become a duke?”

“Of course we do! I just disagree with your troops passing through my territory!”

“Heh,” Richard chuckled before turning serious, “So what do you expect me to do? Have my troops fly?”

Fenlier blushed with anger, “You can pass through the lands of someone else!”

“My title was a suggestion made by Baron Canaan. Is he not your vassal?”

“Canaan is Canaan, he does not represent the Silversword Family!”

“You expect everyone here to believe the dog doesn't come from the kennel?” Richard stepped off the stage, walking right up to the Earl.

“You—”

“My army has been assembled and the route set. I'm not asking for your consent,” Richard patted him on the shoulder, erupting into a bright smile before the pale-faced earl could protest again, “What exactly are you scared of? My troops aren't marching on you, they are just passing by.”

“Passing...” The Earl was left completely speechless, and as he looked around for help there was no response. Several members of the assembly wanted to say something, but the moment Richard's gaze fell upon them they shut up. The situation was clear; whoever spoke up first would be the new target.

Politics had to be backed by military might. In the face of Richard's hidden threats of war, few were willing to stand up for the Silversword Family. Fenlier hurried out of the hall, filled with horror at the thought of what would come next. He had to rush back home and deal with Richard's “passing by”.

Richard allowed the Earl to leave, not even looking at Canaan as he returned to his seat. The representative of the Wellinburg Family leaned over towards him and whispered, “Are your men really just passing by?”

Richard laughed, “Really, we're just passing through.”

The man flashed a faint smile and stopped asking. Richard had revealed enough.

...

After a few more minutes discussing inane topics, the bells of the assembly hall rang out and a team of knights walked in, escorting a group of judges to their seats on a high platform. All nobles at or below the rank of baron were escorted out; the next topic was only for viscounts and higher, while decisions would be made almost solely by the giants of the floating islands.

Another team escorted Marshal Rundstedt over as well, sitting him down on the same high platform opposite the row of judges. The Marshal was still a legendary powerhouse; even if convicted, he had to be treated with courtesy.

The temperature of the entire hall seemed to drop a few degrees upon Rundstedt's entrance, the laughter and whispers all fading away as gazes gathered upon him. Richard stared at the man as well; even now, he looked like a soldier cast of iron who ate his enemies for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The long investigation had failed to dull his edges, and having fought by his side before Richard clearly knew of his terrifying power. Although there were other legendary beings hidden in the hall, he could still kill all of the judges and most of the remaining members in this hall before he was put down. This was someone who had guarded the City of the Unsetting Sun for decades; there was no way for an ordinary legend to compare to him.

And yet, the old man was quietly sitting in the dock and allowing the judges to go through their trial process with no signs of change. Richard felt like these justices were simply looking for death, and those who planned to vote were no better. It was like a group of sheep trying to put a lion on trial.

942 - City of Sin

Judgement

The prosecutor began to read the final list of allegations, each one backed by rigorous facts and logic. Rundstedt could kill this minor noble with the flick of a finger, but the man didn't seem afraid as he referred to three files that totalled more than 500 pages when summed together. He wasn't elaborating on everything, but these documents would be available for anyone qualified to vote here to read through. The assembly officially gave him only ten minutes; every noble was an important personage who didn't have so much time to spend. Of course, a majority of the viscounts here would rather spend their time on afternoon tea.

Even in the minimal duration, the prosecutor's speech was brilliant and loaded with sound reasoning. However, Marshal Rundstedt only lifted his eyelids at the end and threw a death stare towards the man; very few people noticed the murder implied in his eyes.

This wasn't particularly because of the contents of the allegation. Rundstedt was left impatient by the man's drivel, the same feeling that Richard had with Canaan. Those of actual import didn't have the patience to let flies buzz in their ears for an extended period of time. These people were merely instructed by superiors, but that didn't mean they were blameless in the matter. Dogs barked more when they weren't stopped; Richard believed it was best to cut them down so fewer people would be willing to serve that role in the future. He could even ignore those pulling the strings, but these puppets would be destroyed as an example.

When the young prosecutor finished his speech, his face seemed to glow with satisfaction. Richard sighed softly at the man's naked ambition; these people were quick to seize any opportunities awarded to them. Perhaps this could be taken advantage of.

With the prosecution complete and Rundstedt himself not providing a defence, the judges quickly moved on and requested the upper families of Faust to vote.

“Guilty.”

“Guilty.”

“Not Guilty.”

The patriarchs announced their decisions with cold, mechanical voices. Richard hesitated over his own choice, but he eventually voted guilty. Including the royal family, there were ten guilty votes to five not-guilties. However, most of the sixth-level families voted guilty; the final tally was much more in favour of punishment than otherwise.

The head justice stood up, announcing in a solemn voice, “In light of the poor decisions made in the defence of the City of the Unsetting Sun, the Sacred Alliance shall strip Rundstedt of his rank as Marshal and discharge him dishonourably from the armies. Furthermore, his marquessate shall be stripped down to his original peerage, demoting him to the status of Earl. Earl Rundstedt, do you disagree with this judgement?”

Rundstedt actually smiled in response, “No.”

The judge nodded, ringing a bronze bell in front of him, “This judgement shall take effect immediately.”

The bell was still ringing when the representative of the Turing Family, the Duke's nephew, stood up and yelled, “This is a mess! Only fools would pass this judgement!”

The judge rang the bell once more, “Lord Turing, this is a judgement made by the families of Faust. Please respect the order in the assembly.”

“The order is shit!” the youth raised his voice again, “Can the order hold the City of the Unsetting Sun? Who will keep us safe when the judgement is passed? Will it be you old wastrels?”

The judge's face started to twitch with rage, but he couldn't speak. While he had a modicum of status in Faust, it was nothing compared to one of the fourteen families. If he offended the Turings, he would be dead before the next morning.

The youth continued his rage, turning towards Richard, “Do I not make sense, Mister Richard?”

Even as the hall fell silent to witness the impending confrontation, Richard smiled, “Earl Rundstedt wasn't the only person who held the City of the Unsetting Sun. Also, the judges might not be able to hold the city, but you're the same.”

The youth's face immediately turned ashen, staring murder as he responded, “Would you like to try?”

Richard laughed once more, “You're not worth it, kid. I killed more Daxdians in a month than you've ever killed anything in your life. Fight me, and you'd be a corpse in seconds.”

The youth turned green, but he had no response. Eventually, he just snorted and went away. The judges announced the end of the trial once more, and this time the nobles left the assembly in twos and threes.

......

Two days later, Richard was stood atop the terrace of Blackrose Castle as he watched a team of cavaliers march west from the barracks. Following them were 2,000 infantrymen and another 3,000 soldiers responsible purely for logistics. As expected, the assembly had refused to grant him the title; they would soon realise his vengeance.

It would normally take months to march all the wat from Azan to the western border, but he partitioned his troops. The cavalry was going to go ahead, while the rest of the troops followed them more slowly.

He watched for a few minutes as the cavalrymen slowly crossed the horizon before turning back, “Let's go.”

“Of course, my Lord. The portal has been prepared, we can leave at any time.”

Richard didn't answer immediately, looking into the distance towards a carvan heading their way. Asiris followed his gaze; this was the second such fleet in as many days, and the first one had been loaded with enough equipment to arm 125 knights to the teeth. However, this didn't cause much of a change in the Dark Priest's expression; Richard's military power was expanding almost all the time.

“Eight shipments in total,” Richard commented, “A thousand fully-armed knights in total.”

This number caused Asiris to pause. Even considering the normal expenditure of 3,000 gold for a knight, this still meant three million gold. It was common knowledge that the equipment of Richard's elites was now better than most, so the actual cost was undoubtedly higher. He bowed respectfully, “The Family will shine like never before in your hands.”

These words weren't merely flattery. A thousand sets of knight equipment actually meant a lot of things. For one, such equipment was in limited supply in the market; to buy a thousand, Richard would need the workshops of a duke or two supporting him. In addition, knights themselves were difficult to get. Richard had exhausted almost all of the supply of high-level free warriors from the family and had turned nearly 4,000 of them into real knights. How had he found another thousand soldiers worthy of such equipment?

A source of soldiers, a source of equipment, himself a grand runemaster, and also very young. Richard's future was unmistakeable; outside of a lack of personal might, he was already quite close to Gaton.

This was something Richard knew himself. He sighed and nodded at Asiris's compliment, “Give me some more time, and I'll match and exceed my father. Why can you not follow me like you did him?”

Asiris smiled, “Not every subordinate is willing to be a follower, my Lord, and not every follower will feel like you are family. Every one of us had our own story with Master Gaton; to us, he is irreplaceable. However, you do not have to worry about this; our sentiments will not affect our contributions to the family going forward.”

“Sigh. Alright, let's go.”

......

Goldflow Valley, one of the first three planes Gaton had fought in. The other two had lost their forward bases to the locals, having their portals cut off. The Church had even recovered their coordinates. This plane was part of Gaton's foundational years, before his miracle swept through the world.

The sky here was a pitch black, with a number of gorgeous bands of light slowly drifting all around to illuminate it, more than a dozen stars of various sizes occupying the void. Some of them were tiny specks of light, but the larger ones occupied a huge chunk of the sky.

Richard was almost entranced at the sight, but he quickly had to calm down and take a look around. Earth-shattering screams seemed to shake the earth around him as various lights flashed in the distant sky.

The incoming breeze carried the scent of blood.

943 - City of Sin

Goldflow Valley

The fighting was almost at the portal! Richard felt the earth shudder as an explosion rocked the sky, white light filling his eyes for a fleeting moment. A shrill whistle rang out as a human figure was thrown out from far away, compelling him to activate Insight to determine who it was. Remembering that this plane didn't have any native humans, he intercepted the figure in mid-air and gently slowed its momentum, cushioning the tremendous impact before placing the critically injured man behind him.

*Whoosh!* Before he could even land, Richard saw an enormous battleaxe whizzing towards him, barely crouching down to dodge its path. The axe whistled past his head, singing some of the hairs on his scalp.

For a brief moment, the sequence reminded him of his first forays into Faelor and the Forest Plane. There, too, he had been attacked the moment he entered, but both of those had been arrows. He was much stronger now, but apparently the level of threat was growing correspondingly; this axe would have left him crippled if he took it on without preparation.

Glancing at the enormous axe that looked even more outrageous than Tiramisu's hammer, Richard turned towards the battlefield that was only a short distance away. Even from this distance he could see three giant humanoids, each over a dozen metres tall. Their builds made it clear that they were extremely strong, and one of them was only a hundred metres away with an arm still outstretched and hand empty.

The giants were currently embroiled in battle against the Archeron troops, every single blow sending several warriors flying. The power of these blows was so immense that some warriors started gushing blood even before they hit the ground, destined not to survive, but the soldiers themselves were clearly elites as well. They huddled up in a tight formation around the giants' feet and defended with their shields, using spears to stab deep into the soles and calves. The stronger ones flew up the side to stab into the back, swords cutting off skin and flesh in relatively small yet significant chunks.
𝐟𝘳𝐞ℯ𝚠e𝑏𝒏𝑜𝙫𝘦𝙡. c𝑜𝐦

One of the giants was already covered in injuries, howling wildly in pain as it tried to retreat. However, the warriors around its feet were like a thorny bush that wouldn't let go. The pain drove the thing crazy, and in its rage it suddenly lifted its right foot high and stomped towards the ground. The large foot that was several metres long would smash dozens of the tightly-packed warriors into pulp.

The warriors beneath the foot had no way of dodging at all, but they didn't seem to intend to either. They instantly stabbed their spear shafts into the earth, ducking down to take cover behind their shields. In the end, the giant stepped on what was effectively a board of nails, more than a dozen spears piercing into its foot while some even went all the way through. Howling in pain, the creature collapsed backwards to the ground.

Even so, a dozen warriors had been crushed to death. The fallen giant was stopped from getting up, but it quickly switched tactics to just grab the closest warriors and stuff them into its mouth. Metal creaked and bones cracked even as countless spears stabbed into a weak spot below its ribs.

A river of blood quickly started flowing in the battlefield, most from the giant but a significant amount still from the Archeron warriors themselves.

The giant closest to Richard went wild after tossing its axe, flailing its fists wildly while smashing things at will. Sometimes it crouched and pounded its fists towards the ground, a sickening squelch sounding as humans were popped like berries. Yet, these warriors were all well-trained and not afraid to die for the sake of victory. So long as they wouldn't be able to dodge, they would instantly erect their spears and shields in the goal of dealing the maximum harm to the opponent. Only a few pounds left the giant's fists a mangled mess with more than a dozen spears stuck in, causing the creature to roar in pain.

“CHAINS!” an officer shouted loudly, prompting a dozen strong warriors to hurl spear after spear towards the giant's back at lightning speed. Each spear was about two metres long, the first half covered in barbs angled away from the flesh while the end had a long chain attached to it. A faint glow covered these harpoons, making it clear that every thrower was level 14 or higher. The harpoons quickly cut into the elephantine skin, going all the way to the end of the shaft before coming to a stop at the bones.

Richard noticed streaks of blood running down the giant's eyes as it howled; it was clearly blinded and unable to dodge. The throwers flung the chains to over a hundred warriors behind them, who immediately formed up in groups of seven to eight and started pulling with all their might.

The giant let out a thunderous snarl, but it couldn't fight against the sheer might of over a hundred warriors. Its fifteen-metre-tall frame was slowly pulled back before collapsing to the ground, the embedded spears doing even more damage.

“Get out of the way!” the officer roared, taking the lead and jumping on the giant's chest. Waving his broadsword, he cut right into the giant's throat. Fresh blood spurted out and covered him, but the giant grabbed him with both hands and stuffed him into its large mouth. More disgusting cracks sounded as mixed crimson started flying out from the giant's mouth. Fortunately, this was the last casualty; it wasn't long before the creature's head tilted to the side and it stopped moving.

Although he had only been observing for a few moments, Richard could tell just how tenacious these giants were. Their retaliation on the brink of death was certainly fatal, and the officer had taken it upon himself to execute the last attack despite knowing that the last attackers wouldn't escape death.

Or perhaps it was because of that knowledge that he did it.

The last giant roared and turned around, fleeing into the distance. Although the surrounding warriors took the chance to add a few dozen spears to it, they didn't manage to force it to stay behind. The towering figure took large strides and shook them off, gone in the blink of an eye.

The battle had only taken a minute or so, but it was an absolute tragedy. Richard had practically watched without even breathing, only pulled back when the portal flashed once more and Asiris stepped out.

“NO!” the Dark Priest screamed immediately, rushing towards the figure that Richard had saved the moment he stepped out. This average-looking fellow with his chest caved in and face covered in fresh blood was the Odd Thief, Cyrden. One of his eyes had completely burst open, while the other one was tightly shut; the injuries were extremely serious, even if Richard could feel that his life force was still holding strong.

Asiris crouched beside him and opened the Book of Darkness, tearing several pages out and burning them. The accumulated divine power formed a stream of life force as it rushed into Cyrden's body, causing his broken bones to crack as his sunken chest began to push out once more. The blood flow was stemmed as well, and new flesh started growing out as the wounds closed up. Even the hole in his right eye was beginning to fill up with new flesh as a replacement was being formed.

However, it wasn't long before the speed of recovery was slashed considerably. The divine power from the burning of those pages had already been used up, forcing the Dark Priest to grab a few more.

Richard immediately grabbed Asiris by the hand, pulling him away. He could tell that the Book of Darkness was similar to his own Book of Creation and Holding or Flowsand's Book of Time in that it had few pages that were filled with power, and every page torn would take ages to recover. If this continued, the legendary tome would be ruined.

Asiris was about to argue, but as he looked up he saw green power concentrating in hand as he reached behind him and summoned Moonlight from the sword case and touching Cyrden's chest with it. The sword lit aglow and seemed to act as a conduit, transferring all of the green radiance to Cyrden's body without the slightest bit lost.

For a moment, the sheer power of nature in the air caused Asiris to recall Silvermoon Palace from decades ago. Lowering his head, he saw countless blades of grass having erupted out of nowhere with dainty white flowers in blood scattered all around. Everywhere within ten metres had turned to a patch of grass.

With his understanding of the laws of life alongside the slightly unlocked powers of Moonlight, the power of Richard's Sacred Prayer had doubled. Still, just as fast as they had formed, the flowers wilted and the grass shrivelled. Richard's face paled as his accumulated moonforce depleted completely in one go, more than half of his mana being used up as well. Thankfully Cyrden's condition had rapidly improved as well, dazed eye regaining its light while the new one was being reformed. From the looks of it, he would make a complete recovery soon.

“A... Asiris?” the thief huffed out as he opened his left eye, “Bastard... Finally... What's the little scoundrel been making you do? He's... been pulling you away more and more these days. Hmph, what does that brat even know? All he wants to do is conquer this and conquer that, conquer my ass! Even the Lord didn't think of conquering us back then! If only he hadn't left us in charge of this mess, I would have enjoyed a comfortable life in retirement. You know how annoying it is to see the equipment he sends? I have to...”

“Ahem. Don't spout nonsense, Lord Richard is already here.”

944 - City of Sin

Test

“What? The brat is here?” Cyrden blurted out before stopping, putting some strength into his left eye and opening it to see Richard standing in front of him.

Asiris coughed a little, “Lord Richard just saved you.”

“He did more,” Richard said with a smile and a shake of the head.

“The Book of Darkness has limited power when healing. If you hadn't helped in time, I'm certain the injuries would have repercussions,” Asiris explained. He was called the Dark Priest, but his work was certainly more in line with that of a fallen cleric than a true one; this meant his healing capabilities were minimal. Richard himself could bring Cyrden back to full strength, but he had just exhausted his moonforce and had to wait for it to replenish.

Cyrden looked at Richard and grunted, “Whatever, you heard what you heard. Look, this is all that's left of Goldflow Valley, these are all the people.”

As the thief struggled to motion to the land before him, all Richard could see was a large swathe of desolate earth with deep interlocking rifts that split it into a number of fragments. Every fragment seemed to throb regularly, as though a blade had cleanly cut up the land below.
𝑓𝙧𝙚𝙚w𝙚𝙗𝒏oν𝐞l. c𝑜𝙢

The portal and base had been built on one of these islands, with the surroundings being connected by suspended bridges. Most of these rifts weren't too large, only ten metres across which a horse could leap even with rider, but it would be difficult to move on foot. Of course, these rifts were nothing to the giants he had just seen.

Most of the base city was destroyed, the wall blasted into pieces with many of the streets burning. Some of the buildings were still crumbling from the recent damage, one arrow tower slowly sliding down to the ground. The troops immediately set to task clearing the battlefield, moving the bodies that were crushed beyond recognition all into one lump. Looking over them, Richard couldn't even see a thousand living soldiers; this one battle had consumed about a hundred.

He shifted his gaze closer and saw a pair of enormous eyeballs rolling nearby, something that Cyrden noticed as well. The thief chuckled, “I almost lost my life to get those things.”

He seemed to speak casually, but Richard could tell that every word hurt. Having seen the events of the battle, he knew the main giant would have dealt much greater damage had it not been blinded.

As Cyrden got to his feet, Asiris stepped forward and bowed, “My Lord, it will take some time to clear the city. Let me bring you to Goldflow Valley, the place we named this plane after.”

The eponymous Goldflow Valley was located behind the city, more than a hundred metres wide and certainly kilometres deep. There was one main rift that seemed to stretch on for hundreds of kilometres, with various smaller ones interlocked around it. A thunderous crackle filled the air as currents gushed down some of these small cracks, disappearing into the seemingly bottomless rift.

Compared to this valley, even the giants would seem tiny. Richard bent over to look down, and a sudden gust of wind almost knocked him off his feet. As he stabilised, however, his eyes went wide in shock as he turned to Asiris, “Is that...”

Cyrden jumped into the valley before Asiris could reply, vanishing into the dense clouds. A few moments later, he climbed up the cliff and handed a rock to Richard. This was a piece of cracked black ore that was gushing with mana, and something that Richard would recognise even in his sleep. He gasped audibly and stared at Cyrden, who nodded.

Within this ore was a natural magic crystal, something that was the bedrock of Norland's economy. This single piece of ore could be worth thousands of gold by itself, but Cyrden had found it in only a few minutes.

“Is it an open lode?” Richard asked.

“Only partially. There are stray pieces like this everywhere, but only a small portion of the vein is visible. I don't know how much ore there is, but it should be a lot. However, we'll need manpower to mine it.”

Richard inhaled sharply. Even with difficulty mining it, a magic crystal ore was priceless beyond estimation. If stray ore covered the bottom of the valley, then the entire rift could be an enormous vein of resources beyond imagination. It was no wonder this place was named Goldflow Valley!

He looked around once more, unable to find any mining equipment nearby. There wasn't even any rope on the edge of the cliff. This caused him to frown, “Why aren't we mining this?”

Asiris smiled wryly, pointing towards the burning base, “We're being attacked in our own homes, how would we have the strength to mine? Master Gaton had destroyed all the enemies surrounding the valley before he gathered our forces and left for the Rosie Plane, but none of us could have imagined that he would fail to return.”

Richard took a deep breath, shaking off the man's image, “And why didn't you tell me even when the situation grew this serious?”

Cyrden's face twitched, but he remained silent and let Asiris continue to speak, “We were too embarrassed to return the plane in a worse situation than we were given it. We were hoping to stabilise the situation before returning it to your hands. In addition, we were obligated to wait and see what would become of the inheritance. You might have been Lord Gaton's favourite child and the oldest, but he had other children and his brother Goliath could lay claim to the inheritance as well.”

“That's it?” Richard asked.

“That's it,” Asiris answered calmly.

Richard smiled, “I'm not so sure about that second one. I don't think you were looking to see who in the family would inherit control, but to see whether anyone deserved your faith. You wanted a worthy lord to serve.”

Cyrden flashed a smile as well, “Worthiness is secondary. The most important thing is whether you were an eyesore or not.”

“So? Am I?”

“Heh, I don't like people who look better than me.”

“Lord Richard,” Asiris chipped in, “The cleaning will be done shortly. Let us return to the city, and I'll brief you in more detail about the plane's situation.”

Richard nodded, proceeding towards the command castle with Cyrden and Asiris by his side.

The main gates of the castle were already open, but just as they went in Cyrden brushed up against his side. He suddenly felt his runecrafting pen spring up a little, as though wanting to escape. Without even thinking he stepped forward, Mana Armament and Wanderer's Domain activating together to send him more than ten metres ahead, but just as he came to a stop the pen did manage to fly out of his pocket and lift into the air. If not for his strong perception, he wouldn't even have noticed the thing leaving his side.

Richard turned around abruptly, seeing Cyrden twirling a finger and drawing the pen closer. The gesture clearly displayed impressive control of energy and stealth; even with his blessings, Richard had barely found out. He quickly understood that this was likely a test of sorts, so he immediately unsheathed Moonlight and flashed past the pen itself to swipe the blade towards the thief's nose.

Two sheenless daggers appeared in Cyrden's hands, crossing against each other to block the sword. Richard grunted in surprise and slashed again with greater force, but this attack was deflected as well. Instantly realising that his own power was being used against him, he flicked Moonlight to a side and jumped back while grabbing the pen out of mid-air. He then pointed the blade right at Cyrden, energy swirling around the tip.

Cyrden's smile faded away completely and he crouched down, retreating slowly like a prowling wolf. However, he barely took two steps backwards before the blade was already before his eyes and heading straight for his forehead. The two quickly fell into a more drawn-out battle, neither side gaining the upper hand immediately.

Richard had both hands on his sword, but his movements were simple and direct, every strike a bolt of lightning. Cyrden showed incredible agility as he dodged repeatedly, but he didn't manage to press his advantage of two weapons either. The long blade continued to grow faster as the battle dragged on, forcing the thief to start blocking using both of his weapons, and the soundless battle quickly grew loud and piercing.

Asiris remained by the side, watching calmly. Cyrden was powerful, but with the fight going as it was he would eventually fail to deflect an attack. While it wouldn't affect his abilities in a singular battle much, the thief was also still wounded; his stamina would deplete much faster than Richard's.

945 - City of Sin

A Different Era

At this point, Richard's field of view was inundated with countless trajectories that represented possible counter-attacks or dodges from Cyrden. Although it seemed on the surface like the thief had no chance in the fight, he was still withholding some power that could be used in a surprise attack. For the moment, both sides were evenly matched.

He took a deep breath, his veins starting to throb as lava flowed through them and boosted his powers. He hadn't used Blaze in some time, but the ability strengthened Mana Armament and sped him up further. The number of trails he could visualise instantly halved, not a reduction in his prowess but an increase in the accuracy of his predictions. His attacks grew even more targeted and meticulous, sword only inches away from striking Cyrden's body every time. Now, it was changing angles even in the last moment and throwing off the thief's defence, not losing in speed even to the numble daggers.

At one point, Cyrden was forced to raise both daggers to block towards his shin. Richard's body sparked as he sent a burst of strength into Moonlight right before the clash, the resulting force so great that both the sword and daggers were sent flying into the sky.

Richard stood firm, immediately using one hand to grab the Twin of Destiny and hold it behind his back, “Don't forget, I'm a mage.”

Cyrden's expression soured as he glared at the dark wing on the Twin of Destiny. He knew that any high-level mage could cast spells even without their staffs, while he truly had no weapons left on him. It seemed rather strange for even an unarmed thief to be afraid of a mage at close range, but he could also see that there were two other hilts stuck into the sword case strapped to Richard's back. There was no point closing in and there was even less of a point in trying to open up distance; any action he took would be courting death.

Left with no options, the thief hissed angrily and raised his hands, “There aren't any mages like you!”

Richard had passed the test. Cyrden's original plan was to accept Gaton's son even if he lost so long as it wasn't too bad— he wanted to figure out how strong Richard was— but the result of the battle had been completely contrary to his expectations. He had failed to steal anything, and had lost the ensuing fight as well.

Asiris knew that Richard hadn't gone even nearly all out for this battle. Lifesbane, his greatest calling card, had been left unused; if it had, the fight would have ended in a single blow.

Richard smiled and completely ignored the thief's protest; the only two classes of people in the Land of Dusk were survivors and corpses. Gaton and his thirteen were excellent at standard battles, but they had spent too much time on planar warfare to get such training.

...

Once they entered the command centre in the castle, Asiris activated a map and started explaining the terrain of Goldflow Valley. This was a strange plane made of countless fragments, some joined and the other separate. Some of the fragments flew in regular formations, only rising to surface level when they were nearby, while others remained floating in place for a long time.

The portal had been constructed in one of the stationary fragments that was about a hundred thousand square kilometres in area, but this was also one of the biggest ones. Like Richard had seen earlier, there were many fragments that were much, much smaller than that. Off the fragments themselves was an unknown void; once something dropped in there, it would slowly float away. Asiris guessed that this place was once a complete continent, but it had been broken apart by some kind of calamity that greatly strengthened the local populace. Those giants earlier weren't even the strongest of the enemies.

“What about the planets up above? Can we fly to them?” Richard asked.

Asiris shook his head, “The void here is extremely dangerous, there isn't any ambient energy at all. Once we leave the influence of gravity, it's extremely dangerous even to get back to the fragment; going up should be impossible.”

Richard nodded, but he was still intrigued by the enormous celestial bodies in the sky. He changed topics to the magic crystal vein, being told that the aura was so dense below that only those at level 14 or over would be free of danger in such conditions. The void also seemed to be broken nearby, making the teleportation fees up to 10,000 gold a person. The warriors here had been transported in after a loan from the Deepblue, and it was nearly impossible to return. As for time scales, the plane worked at about thrice the rate of Norland. This was nothing special at all. Please visit ƒ𝘳ee𝒘𝚎𝐛𝘯𝐨ν𝑒l. 𝒄o𝘮

Goldflow Valley promised huge returns, but the investment it required was just as astronomical. Richard estimated that he would need at least one or two top-tier offerings to get the cost down to 3,000 gold or so, and finding level 14 warriors willing to become miners was another problem unto itself. These miners would also have to be well-trained, and the only alternative would be weaker yet skilled miners who were given better protective equipment. He estimated the equipment alone would be 20,000 gold a person or so in that case, which would scale to millions for a decent operation.

This was the block Gaton had faced as well, especially with his infamous poverty. His plan back then had been to gather all of his thirteen and a few rune knights to wipe out everything nearby. Richard himself had already decided to strengthen the passage and send a number of rune knights here first, having them act as guardians for the miners to follow. Gaton's method was one of limited investment and limited results— he would have to return periodically to wipe out all enemies nearby. On the other hand, Richard's was an enormous investment that would work in the long term. The two plans were completely different— one saving money and the other saving time— but this was also because of the circumstances of the individuals. Gaton didn't have Richard's money back then, and Richard right now didn't have a force comparable to the thirteen knights. His followers were getting close, but be it in number or strength they weren't yet on the same level.

Once he understood the basic situation in the plane, Richard stayed behind for a few days before returning. He took the time to understand the situation of the base itself, also using Devout Prayer twice a day. One was to heal Cyrden himself, while the other helped the wounded soldiers. Even with his enhanced healing capabilities, however, about a dozen or so of the warriors still ended up crippled and unfit for battle. There were another fifty or sixty such soldiers in the camp, all working on more benign tasks like polishing weapons, cleaning homes, cooking and the like. Not one of them had plans to return to Norland.

This was something that crushed Richard's heart. He understood exactly why these warriors would rather stay in this strange plane than return to Norland; the transportation costs were just too high. Fifty wounded soldiers was 500,000 gold, an astronomical sum that Gaton could not afford. These soldiers would rather stay here so that Gaton could pay the families of their deceased comrades a pension.

The fourth day of his visit, Richard decided to return to Norland. Before leaving, he gathered all of the warriors, both active and former, in the plaza of the base. Here, he announced that all wounded soldiers could return to Norland at his expense, and every one of them would be entitled to an additional 10,000 gold so they could settle their families down. Back in Gaton's time, ordinary warriors only earned a hundred gold if they were injured in battle, not nearly enough to last the rest of their lives. Now, even compared to the entire Sacred Alliance Richard was amongst the best.

The veterans couldn't even believe what they had heard, just looking at Richard in a daze until he repeated himself. However, opposite to his expectations, nobody rejoiced loudly; some even had tears streaming down the corners of their eyes while others were trembling.

“That's a million gold!” Cyrden muttered to himself.

“Times have changed, Lord Richard has a lot of money,” Asiris said softly.

“We still need resources and men! If we could use that money to...”

The thief didn't go on, while Asiris sighed and remained silent. He understood Cyrden's reasoning; he truly wanted these veterans to lead better lives, but he had refused any information about Richard and still didn't know of the situation in the family. 500,000 gold was three years of military spending back then; if this sum was used to bolster the plane's defences, a lot of the deaths could be avoided.

Richard glanced at Cyrden and smiled, “Don't worry, I have equipment and men on the way.”

The thief snorted; not worrying was out of the question. Unlike Asiris who had followed Richard into battle several times, he had no idea of the scale of Richard's wealth. This knight from Gaton's era had no idea how much just one of Richard's runes could command.

946 - City of Sin

Reminiscence

Once the speech to the veterans was taken care of, Richard spoke to Asiris once more, “I'll transfer ten rune knights and ten mages to help with stabilising the situation for now. Come with me to the Boulder Highlands, we still have some unfinished business there.”

“As you wish, my Lord.” Asiris was respectful as always. Please visit f𝓇ℯℯ𝚠e𝒃𝘯𝒐νel. co𝐦

Richard didn't pay much attention to the Dark Priest's behaviour, simply smiling and turning to Cyrden, “Oh right. Since you can't defeat me, you shouldn't have any ideas on my wallet in the future.”

“I was injured!” Cyrden snorted, “I'll take you out one day.”

However, even the thief himself was unsure of those words.

They continued with some more small talk as Richard prepared to leave immediately, but after a few minutes some of the veteran warriors walked over. The one at the head bowed deeply to Richard, “Lord Richard, we have discussed your grace of returning us to our homes. None of us wish for the extra compensation you mentioned, it would be enough to be given something to do in the family. Also, we can send the ten oldest of us back first, and then send ten more every year. This should save you some of the teleportation fees so you can buy more spears, armour, and shields. The giants have been destroying our supplies, and every time it's like we're paying the beasts with our lives... We can't get on the battlefield anymore, this money shouldn't be wasted on us.”

Richard shook his head and smiled, “I already have weapons and armour sitting in caravans on the other side; they'll be transported here in the next few days. Look, you've done enough for the Family; return to your own houses, there's no need to worry about fees. One has to do at least this much for their warriors.”

Noticing the time, he turned to Asiris, “Let's go, time is money.”

......

When he first stepped foot out of the teleportation gate back into Blackrose Castle, the Dark Priest was left stunned for a moment. He could see a large army of knights gathered before him, consisting of a total of 200 rune knights and 400 shadowspears. Half of the rune knights were Rose Knights, but even then these warriors were plenty powerful. In addition to the cavalry were a hundred heavily armoured barbarian infantrymen, and one could see men feeding the astral chrysalis a number of chests near a distant warehouse. This was the sign of a full war.

“My Lord... This...” Asiris felt a shiver down his spine.

“An army for the battle, if there is one. What do you think, not bad is it?” Richard responded.

The lowest level soldier amongst those gathered here was level 13, and each one was armed with superior-grade equipment that was on par with the personal guards of most earls and even marquesses. Asiris had seen the drones in battle before; although he didn't know what exactly they were, he was certain that they weren't human. These creatures didn't fear death or pain, and were completely incapable of mercy or pity. They followed orders through to the end, no matter how dangerous or gruesome they were.

How could this army just be considered not bad? Asiris suppressed the uneasiness in the pit of his stomach, “My Lord, where do you intend to deploy them?”

“The Boulder Highlands,” Richard answered.

“Uhh... That isn't necessary, is it?”

“Remember two weeks ago when I said it was time for Ward to make a decision? My threat was specifically that I would bring an army to bear if he continued to ignore orders. Anyway, do you think it's enough for a takeover? I don't want to spend too much, but I can still double the number.”

The Dark Priest felt Richard's sword-like gaze weighing him down, having to force a smile as he said, “There isn't any need to be this aggressive. Perhaps there was some trouble in the Boulder Highlands; Ward can be a careless fellow at times...”

Richard laughed, “His loyalty is the most important matter right now, no matter how careless he is he shouldn't be neglecting it. Besides, do you expect me to believe that Gaton would hand an entire plane to someone careless?”

Asiris merely forced another smile, unable to refute. Richard looked at him and asked once more, “So. Do you think I have enough troops?”

One couldn't afford to be careless in answering a question like this. Asiris sighed heavily, “The rune knights alone would have been sufficient. How many families can afford to just mobilise 200 rune knights?”

“Alright, if you say it's enough. You, sound the horns. We'll be leaving!”

A moment later, a long bugle horn sounded throughout the ancient castle. The earth trembled as groups of knights gradually set off, making their way over to the teleportation gate leading to the Boulder Highlands. The hundred infantrymen took the lead, shields held in front of them as they marched in with standard formation. These soldiers would protect the vicinity for the more offensive troops to give them a chance to prepare.

A warrior led the sacred unicorn over alongside a regular magic mount. Richard flipped up onto the unicorn and turned to Asiris, “Let's go.” The Dark Priest had no choice but to get on the mount and follow.

Right before entering the portal, Richard suddenly sighed, “An army like this shouldn't have to be used on one of our own.”

Asiris's hand shook slightly before he stepped into the portal.

......

It was currently twilight in the Boulder Highlands, its three suns slowly sinking below the edge of the horizon. The fiery glow cast a blood-red tint on the desolate desert, the sparse few trees looking like burning torches in the afterglow.

An army brimming with killing intent was stood opposite the teleportation gate, a diverse mix of forces ranging from light infantry and archers to heavy cavalry. Every soldier of this rag-tag group was in perfect formation, the 2,000 men maintaining absolute silence without moving a single inch. Their aura was so intense that it was almost tangible.

Stood before this army were a few generals, the leader of whom was clearly larger than the other people around him. The man had an almost-naked upper torso save for thick pauldrons, but where his body was bare all one could see were steel-like muscles. He almost felt like a volcano that was about to erupt.

The portal started to flash as a group of heavy infantrymen walked out in formation, taking a few steps forward before thrusting their tower shields into the ground and shrinking their bodies behind. Once a hundred such infantrymen had walked out, hundreds more knights split up to cover each flank.

Seeing the heavy infantry and cavalry, the expressions of the generals beside Ward turned grave, their breaths now heavy. They had weathered many wars, but they could tell with one look that this was an enemy they had never faced before. However, it wasn't long before the portal flashed once more, two horses leaping out side by side.

The generals almost froze up as they fixed their gazes on the portal; the rune knights were coming. Every one of them subconsciously held their breath, beginning to evaluate the incoming force. Rune knights were always the basis that Norlanders used to measure an army.

2... 4.... 10... 20... The number continued to rise quickly, leaving the generals' eyes growing wider and wider. By the time all 200 rune knights were out, many of them were shuddering with fear; they had never witnessed such a powerful force in battle before!

When Richard and Asiris walked out of the portal, they saw that the two armies were already facing off against each other. He spurred his unicorn forward to jump ahead of his shield wall, landing in the gap between before dismounting and walking towards the mountainous Ward. The rune knights immediately made to follow suit— they alone could decimate the army in front at half power— but a wave of his hand forced them to stop. The one thing Richard would never tolerate was ignoring orders.

Seeing Richard walking towards him, Ward squinted and headed over as well. The two met close to the midpoint between the two armies, but despite being closer to Ward's men Richard seemed calm and composed, “I still remember meeting you in Gaton's study all those years ago. I was still very young back then.”

A slight smile appeared on Ward's face, “You were a great talent.”

Richard nodded, “Only a talent then, but it's different now. You know, Asiris thinks I'm doing rather well at the moment, that I have a chance of surpassing my father not too long in the future.”

“He doesn't get these things wrong,” Ward said unexpectedly before gesturing to the rune knights, “Looking at them, you've already overtaken Lord Gaton in a few ways.”

947 - City of Sin

Betrayal

Richard smiled, “Since you evaluate me so highly, why not respond to the ultimatum? You make it sound like you would choose to follow me in the end.”

Ward smirked, “There are many people stronger than Lord Gaton, and many armies that outnumber his. However, none of them are Gaton himself.”

“Sure. I'm not my father and I never will be. We came up in different environments where different things were needed of us; his path is not suited to the family today. Give me some time, my achievements will not lose out to his.”

“Haha... Lord Gaton always had his flaws, and we all knew about them. There were things he couldn't accomplish too, but that never mattered. He was the one we followed, him and no one else.”

Richard took a deep breath, forcing a silhouette out of his mind. Innumerable times in his life he had fallen back on the image of Gaton, wondering what the father he barely knew would do. That caricature built from the words of others had driven so many of his decisions back in the day. Now, it was the opposite. He always tried to suppress that instinctual what-if, to wipe the man from memory before every important decision. He was the Archeron King now, and the decisions were his to take. Mirroring Gaton was a crutch he could no longer rely on, and there would certainly come a day when the silhouette disappeared completely from his mind.

He sighed and looked up at the towering warrior, “You don't have to become my follower; you can just be like Asiris and continue to serve the Archerons. You can even become a vassal lord, and if you still want to leave I at least want to reward you for your service. Why must you be my enemy?”

“There is no why.”

“Ward. You will never take away this plane. The Sacred Alliance won't acknowledge you, and half those soldiers will desert once they realise you're leading them into betrayal. Even if all of them joined your revolt, would you be able to succeed? Do you want to have these men die for your ambitions?”

“My ambitions?” Ward revealed a cryptic smile, looking back at his soldiers and generals. Many of their eyes were filled with despair, the others with confusion. These men had no lack of courage, but they had seen the volcano in Richard's flag. Even if the Apocalypse Tree was slightly changed, even the dumbest of warriors would realise by now that they were fighting Gaton's heir.

Eventually, the Boxer shook his head, “This has nothing to do with ambition, but the reason isn't important. Some of these soldiers will support me no matter what decision I take; when push comes to shove, we'll still hurt you greatly. Of course, I don't want them to just die either, so I have a suggestion.

“Fight me, one on one. If I win, this plane is mine for thirty years. If I lose, my troops will surrender and I hope you won't make things difficult for them. They're all innocent in this.”

“And why should I? My knights will crush your soldiers. You forget that I'm the family head first, and a commander second. My own fighting prowess is a distant third.”

“But you won't refuse,” Ward said with a smile.

“Sigh...” Richard thought it over for some time and nodded his head, “You're right.”

Ward laughed out loud, his iron gloves screeching as he rubbed his hands and shouted at his soldiers, “This is Lord Gaton's son, the current head of the family, Richard Archeron! I will be duelling him; if I lose, put down your weapons and surrender! If I win, those who wish to follow me can stay and those who do not can follow Richard back. Do you understand?”

The soldiers and generals looked at each other in shock, not knowing what to do. However, Ward didn't bother with them further and turned back to Richard, entering a stance, “Let's begin.”

“WARD!” Asiris finally lost his calm, “WHAT ARE YOU DOING? YOU WILL BECOME OUR ENEMY!”

The 'our' had a rather special meaning here; it referred to Senma and Cyrden, the only remaining knights of the thirteen.

“I know what I'm doing,” the Boxer said as he performed a secret hand sign, one used amongst the thirteen in battle to ask for absolute trust. Asiris didn't know what to say to this, his heart filled with unease. He and Cyrden had only grazed Richard's bottom line, but this was straight out betrayal.

Traitors were the worst of scum in Norlandic tradition. Even if Ward had secret supporters of his power, his reputation would be destroyed and nobody would ever deal with him in the future. No matter how unruly he was, one of Gaton's thirteen could not betray the man's heir in this way.

On the battlefield, Richard frowned slightly as Ward's aura billowed out, making him feel like he was facing an ancient beast. This certainly wasn't the strongest opponent he had ever met, but the sheer pressure could even compare to the power of Voidbones. Now that he was experienced, Richard instantly realised that this was someone with explosive force who was extremely dangerous; he would exhaust himself quickly, but in that short period he would display terrifying might.

Ward retreated a little, only stopping when there were a good thirty metres between them. He knew that Richard was a mage, and this distance was an act of fairness. However, Richard only felt the pressure mount; it was as though every fibre of his being was screaming that a beast would be rushing him in the next instant.

Drawing Moonlight from the sword case, Richard then tossed it to the side to reduce the weight. Holding the blade with both hands, he fixed his eyes on Ward and resisted the compulsion to attack first.

“Not bad,” Ward looked impressed, “Remember to go all out, kid. You'll regret holding back.”

Richard himself was trembling uncontrollably, his knuckles white from the pressure he exerted on the sword. He didn't need the reminder to know that he had to fight with full force; even the slightest of reservations would leave him dead.

There was no need for an official start to the battle. Ward made his move, stomping the earth so hard that it cracked beneath his feet. His enormous frame moved at an unbelievable pace, barrelling right towards Richard.

However, Richard actually let go of Moonlight for a moment and started forming a few shapes with his hands, an immense mana flow buffeting the place as he started chanting a spell. Everyone felt strange as his figure seemed to blur.

Time Stop. Richard used the brief period of accelerated time to cast eight spells, of which only six were instant. Four were to strengthen his speed, reflexes, agility, and fire magic, while the others were targeted at Ward to slow and weaken him. Using the final moments, he even activated Blaze.

However, as a number of spells shot towards Ward's body and slowed him down, he just roared like a beast and dispelled all of them with a crimson radiance. Bloodline surging, the Boxer's speed soared even further and he closed in just as Richard retrieved his sword.

In that moment, Richard lost his greatest advantage: speed. Before the bloodline ability wore off, Ward's attacks would be impossible to dodge!.

948 - City of Sin

Bad End

Ward raised both fists up high, dark red light swirling around his entire arm as energy surged forth without reserve. Richard saw the slightest hint of black as space cracked nearby, the fists falling down with calamitous force. Insight showed no route of escape, no counter-attacks. All of his spells had been rendered useless, and even with his prowess he couldn't go up against a seasoned close-combat specialist without getting turned into mincemeat.

Richard felt the world stop as death fell from above, his brain blanking out except for what would help in combat. All three minds worked in tandem, activating his bloodlines to the point that abyssal flames started flickering on his body, powered by the destructive might of his truename. The well of stars was no longer just rippling, instead erupting in a geyser of power that shook all three bodies orbiting it.

Richard hadn't used eruption in a long time, but now his musculature swelled up even as mana was transformed into internal energy, circulating throughout his body and forming sparks everywhere. The Lifesbanes went into full effect, turning his arms blood red even as a deep roar surged out from Dizmason.

A dull flame appeared at the tip of Moonlight, quickly spreading through the entire sword and then to Richard's body itself, raging out in all directions and crystallising the earth all around. Everyone felt their hearts stop as Richard blinked, emerald eyes now replaced with the crimson of lava. Only Ward saw further into those depths, noticing an entire universe within.

The Boxer screamed as his fists crashed down, space continuing to crack in their aftermath. However, Richard seemed to turn into an illusion and flickered twenty metres away. The fists hit the ground in a strange silence, but the earth caved for ten metres in every direction.

*Schlick!* Moonlight was pierced into the earth, breaking the strange silence of the world. Holding his sword with both hands, Richard struggled to prop himself up as he spat out a mouthful of blood.

Ward turned to look at the now-distant Richard, his head and even body crackling in the process. Roaring loudly, he pulled his fists out of the earth and turned to face Richard again. On the other hand, Richard himself didn't have the energy to turn around; he was barely even standing in one place.

Both armies were now holding their breaths, watching for the next developments, but the captain of the rune knights grit his teeth and grabbed a javelin from his horse. Every other rune knight imitated his actions, readying the weapons to throw if Ward took even a single step forward. This volley could kill even a legendary being at close range.

However, the shadowspears on the flank immediately formed up and intercepted, a neat line blocking everyone with Rae at the centre. Having been told of their secrets when he became a saint, Rae grunted with a sour expression and put the javelin back in place. Even so, he had made up his mind; if Richard was killed, he would decimate this rebel army with no survivors left behind. His own ruined reputation wouldn't matter at all.

Ward took one step towards Richard, but then he stopped and laughed thunderously, looking towards the three setting suns “Kid, you really are some— Khech!”

*THUD!* the Boxer's enormous frame struck the ground, his head still turned towards the sky. Blood spurted out from a thin line on his shoulders that was growing, forming a small stream flowing down from his back. A cloud of dust covered his body, finally prompting the silent armies to move.

Asiris headed for Richard, flashing ten metres with every step as he arrived to help heal. However, Richard stopped him after the third spell, “I'm fine now, go.”

Blades of grass were forming around Richard's feet, white flowers popping up from between. Noticing the healing energy that Richard was generating himself, Asiris nodded and made his way over to his former friend's side. Getting down on one knee, he opened the Book of Darkness and started reciting a few passages to send this comrade on his last journey.

Rae picked up his javelin once more, directing the rune knights to form two teams that flanked Ward's soldiers. Despite Ward's commands, all of the soldiers followed one general's lead in drawing their weapons with killing intent. Looking over this army, the saint knew that it would be a tough battle. The enemies themselves weren't specifically powerful, but they had the resolve to see this battle through to the end. Still, he showed no fear as a pale cyan energy swirled around his javelin; the moment Richard instructed him to, he would charge straight into these traitors and crush them.

However, the general looked left and right at the rune knights and snorted, raising his longsword before plunging it into the earth. The 2,000 soldiers followed suit, paying respects to their fallen commander. Looking at them, Rae almost joined in their grief; this was the greatest honour a general could receive.

By this point, Richard had finally regained enough strength to walk over to Ward's side. Looking at the fallen warrior who was the size of a small hill, eyes still open as though marvelling in the sunset, he joined Asiris in kneeling beside the man's body and placed his hand on the broad chest, “He restrained himself, but I'd already gone all out... Investigate all of his kin, find out how they're doing and whether there are any threats to their lives. Someone forced him into this, and that bastard will pay ten times the price!”

“As you wish,” Asiris somehow managed a respectful bow.

Richard stood up and looked at the army, shouting into the distance, “RAE! BRING THEM BACK TO CAMP AND HAVE THE GENERALS MEET ME. PREPARE FOR REORGANISATION!”

“YES, SIR!” Rae replied before having his rune knights move into the army.

“HOLD UP!” Richard interrupted, “THEY CAN KEEP THEIR WEAPONS!”

Rae was shocked, but he still obeyed the order. The opposing forces were surprised as well, but after a while many of them heaved a sigh of relief. This meant that Richard wasn't considering them a rebel army.

......

The evening passed and night fell, the sky growing darker. It was a little past midnight when Richard finished talking to all five of Ward's generals, and by this time the corpse had been prepared for shipping back to Norland. He now had a decent understanding of the Boulder Highlands, and could also confirm that these men would not rebel again. This plane was under true Archeron control once more.

When he was finally alone, he slammed his fist so hard into a table that one of the legs cracked, spitting on the floor. This was not the outcome he had hoped for; even Ward seceding would have been much better than this. The soldiers would remain— he had no intention of harming them— but the images of the battle continued to play in his mind. Ward had overdrawn his powers to the point that his fists could break space, but as his fists were about to land he had slowed down ever so slightly to allow for the escape. Richard himself had forced out as much strength as he could in response to the threat, and the attack took Ward's life the moment it made contact. Google search f𝐫e𝘦𝘸e𝗯𝒏𝗼ѵe𝗹． c𝑜m

In the end, the battle didn't end up with him suffering any significant damage. Most of Richard's injuries had come as a result of the exertion, but Ward had paid with his life. The man was clearly looking to die, but knowing what he did of him Richard just couldn't understand why.

949 - City of Sin

Net

From the motion in the assembly that restricted him from becoming a duke for a year to Ward seeking his own death, Richard could feel a pitch-black net slowly constricting around him. This new enemy wasn't transparent like the Mensas and Josephs, instead working from the shadows to harm his interests. However, the opponent's plans definitely weren't long-term; the restriction on becoming a duke would only last a year, so whatever big crescendo to this plan would have to come around then. Unable to predict their moves beforehand, he decided to play it by ear and counter their moves when they revealed themselves.

At the moment, he was dumbstruck by the sight of Ward's command centre. The place was barely decorated, consisting only of weapons, armour, and the heads of local beasts. The man had lived in a small residence attached to the back, consisting only of two rooms and a bath. That place was crude and simplistic as well, completely unbecoming of a general who guarded an entire plane. Even some bandits would do better.

Ward didn't have much personal wealth either. The most valuable things amongst his possessions were his equipment, but other than that he only had a few dozen gold coins on him. For someone who was used to dealing in the millions, this was a shocking level of poverty. Even with Gaton's lack of funds, one of the thirteen being this poor made no sense.

He summoned the generals once more, learning that all of Ward's income had been spent on defensive measures for the plane while a small portion had been sent back to his family. The equipment he used had been obtained from fallen enemies, so he was actually subsidizing their expansion into this plane with his own funds.

Richard took over the command centre after having a look through the castle and finding no good replacement, but he had some men seal up Ward's former dwelling and put himself up in another bedroom in the castle. He had a mage load the current map of the plane into his own portable map table— something twice as accurate and ten times as expensive— and with the descriptions of the generals started to adjust it and mark a number of places.

The planar gate was situated on a vast plateau that was dry and relatively cold; it only rained two or three months a year, and there were few large trees that survived the place. Gaton had only seen a desolate wasteland with boulders all around when he first stepped foot in the place, which led to the name. The expedition didn't believe that these highlands were the only part of the plane, but their scouts had already ventured thousands of kilometres out and found nothing else. If nothing, this plane was huge.

There were a number of native beasts and even intelligent beings here, all fighting over the most precious resource that was water. The gate had been constructed at the mouth of a natural spring and the city built around it, so it was constantly under attack by ferocious beasts, poisonous insects, and even the aboriginals of the plane. Most of the life forms here actually lived underground and could dig tens of kilometres in a single night, making them a huge headache for the troops who had almost no way to predict where they would jump up.

These tunnels had revealed one thing: the land was rich in high-quality iron ore. This ore could be used to smelt high-carbon steel which was the main component of most superior-grade equipment, and mining was already underway in an open-pit mine about three hundred kilometres away from the base. The vein was so large it could be mined for multiple centuries, but just like in the Goldflow Valley they would need manpower to really get the operation going. A path was under construction as well, and with the need for a good way to supply water one would need a large investment to start making profits.

Richard visited the mine and conducted some preliminary checks, determining that he would need at least three to four million gold to get the place properly operational. However, in the long run it would mean his regular soldiers and even the lesser elites would never be short on raw materials for their weapons and equipment. Considering the workshops he now co-owned with Noelene, his war machine would be unstoppable.

The Goldflow Valley to provide a constant supply of magic crystals, and the Boulder Highlands ensuring the army would always be supplied with high-quality equipment; the mysterious Resting Orchid Plane with treasures no powerhouse could resist, the peak of the Godnest holding an inestimable value. It was undeniable that all of Gaton's planes complemented each other, capable of pushing the Archerons to great heights. However, they all had one common flaw: they would need an enormous sum of money as a seed investment, and strengthening the passages to sensible cost levels would require a number of offerings as well.

As luck would have it, Gaton's one biggest weakness was wealth.

Richard sighed and dismissed the generals, closing the map to meditate. Quickly reaching his inner world, he saw that most everything was the same except for a new branch at the crown of the nature affinity trunk with some budding leaves. Once this was fully grown, the nature tree would experience a growth spurt and hit grade 5 as well; he didn't know whether that would awaken a new truename like the astral tree.

Of course, this would be a long time in the future. While it seemed simple for the leaves to fully grow out, that needed the origin energy of a plane like the Forest Plane. However, such energy was extremely rare to come by and was needed by all of his affinities, not just one.

Two stars [1] and a huge chunk of planet were revolving around his bloodlines, the source energies that Richard could draw from. These three celestial bodies were a constant supply of energy to the well of stars, keeping his reserves high even if he didn't actively meditate. As their number increased, he would need to spend less and less time meditating and could instead focus on other pursuits. However, the text of the Deepblue Dream stated that getting a number of these bodies was extremely difficult; one was alright and two wasn't bad, but three and above depended a little on luck.

In fact, the so-called third body wasn't even the actual star of the Forest Plane's origin energy; it was only a boulder that had been ripped out by the Tree of Life that he managed to grab. Heading deep into the Deepblue Dream void, he flitted past spots of starlight and lumps of yellow earthly energy to find a muddy yellow star. The energy in this body was very common, but it was small enough for him to make an attempt on.

He immediately focused all of his attention on the star and gave it a pull, causing it to jolt and change its path as it flew towards him. Controlling it like he was pulling it by a string, he carefully led it back to his bloodlines. Allowing it to crash right into his blood vessels would likely be a disaster, but he couldn't let it just escape as well.

The star flitted across his field of control, but despite a moment where it seemed like it would stick it bounced away and flew into the distance. He immediately reeled it back in and tried again, but the result was no different. His mental strength used up, he was left with no choice but to let it go. Resting for a moment and waiting for his soul force to recover, he went out and looked for another one and tried the same. Facing two more failures, he gave up for the time.

Analysing these attempts, he quickly realised that he would need to find a stable orbit before trying to pull in any new stars. With three bodies already orbiting his bloodlines, the force they exerted on any newcomers would destabilise them instantly, so he would need to take that into account when designing the path. Beginning on this path, he quickly realised it would take about a week to map out a full orbit for the fourth level and exponentially more for every level after.

He understood now why the text of the Deepblue Dream stated that one would need luck to grab more than three. However, that wording left him annoyed; just how much luck would one need to achieve that? He suddenly felt a strong sense of helplessness; perhaps there were more such secrets behind this meditation technique, but they would remain unknown.

The entire series had been taught to him by Sharon, and the text was completely in her style. If it wasn't a book passed down from ancient times, then was it just that she was bad at math? Thinking about it carefully, Richard couldn't bring himself to dismiss the possibility; Sharon had never even brought up mathematics in his presence, and all related subjects had been taught by the other grand mages.

[1] Stars and planets were considered the same thing in eastern Astrology, just to note.

950 - City of Sin

A Reason For War

Once he understood how to approach capturing stars, Richard set one of his minds to mapping out new orbits constantly. Some preliminary calculations told him that five bodies orbiting him would provide the same amount of recovery as when he had the well of stars active now, doubling his mana recovery rate. Extending these calculations, 81 bodies would speed up his recovery to the point where it matched the full output of a normal grand mage. In other words, he could fight with the full output of a grand mage endlessly.

The thought was exciting for a brief moment, but that was short-lived. Calculating that number of orbits was a task comparable to mastering a plane's laws; by the time he did it, he would be at least a few levels into the legendary realm and lack the need to fight on such a level.

Now with the possible addition of new paths in the future, he had to pick and choose his sources of power. The best choice was naturally the origin energy of a plane, but that was extremely rare and difficult to control. Still, the energy of the Boulder Highlands didn't suit him much and would be a waste of a precious slot when he did finish mapping the fourth orbit; he would much rather look at the Goldflow Valley and the mana-oriented energy there. Outside of that, pure astral energy was the best choice as it could also strengthen his bloodlines.

Richard spent a few more days observing the Boulder Highlands and the prospective mines, waiting for some more troops to enter. Once more than a hundred of his trusted knights arrived, he left them to act as mid-ranking officers amongst the troops before returning with his rune knights and drones. Rae was left in charge for now, but he would move into more of an assistive role once Olar was transferred from Faelor.

......

For some reason, Richard felt like the atmosphere in Faust was quite strange. However, there seemed to be nothing amiss; there was no word of any significant upheaval, and he couldn't point out the source of the oddness either. He even went to Noelene, but she said the same thing; with both his own sources and the Church saying everything was alright, nothing major could have happened. However, he still felt uneasy throughout the day.

While he was preparing his griffins for flight, Nyris had gotten word of his arrival and rushed over. The Fourth Prince was covered from head to toe in form-fitting armour, wearing a pure silver mask and covering himself with a cloak. It looked quite strange.

“You're looking to fight the Silverswords?” he asked immediately.

“Yeah... My soldiers are almost there, I need to go lead them. Fenlier isn't an issue at all, but whoever is backing him might make a move behind the scenes.”

Nyris took off his mask, revealing his beautiful face, “What if you don't draw out their backers?”

“Then I'll just wipe out the pawns. I can take the time to destroy Canaan too.:

Nyris frowned, “How will you explain it away?”

“Heh. History's always proved that any war can be fought without reason. You only need to look for one in the aftermath.”

“Sounds deep, but you need to win first.”

Richard laughed, “My soldiers are powerful, well-equipped, and loyal. You really think I'd lose?”

“Let me come with you,” the prince patted him on the shoulder.

“Hmm? Are you that jobless?” Richard eyed him suspiciously.

“I'm in a bad mood right now. Besides, I can learn some things about leadership from you.”

Even as he continued to speak, Nyris didn't take his hand off Richard's shoulders. Feeling a little awkward, Richard grabbed the hand and shook it, “I don't mind, but there isn't anything for you to learn from me there.”

“Eh, enough talk! Didn't you say you were leaving? Let's go!”

Richard nodded, letting him run away for a moment as he fastened his bags to the griffin. Seeing Nyris return with only a single small bag, he frowned, “Is this all you're bringing?”

“Yeah, just some clothes. I'll get anything else I need from you.”

Feeling rather strange, Richard nodded and hopped on. Thankfully, he had bought new high-class griffins recently; even loaded up as they were, they could still accommodate Nyris as well. Six creatures quickly took to the skies, heading west.

“So, why the bad mood?” Richard probed along the way, but Nyris remained silent and refused to answer the question. Instead, the prince buried his head into the griffin's fur and continued flying forward.

......

Even with a short rest, Richard and Nyris caught up to the troops in two days. This set was marching at full speed, consisting of 50 rune knights, 200 shadowspears, 100 javelineers, and 800 cavalrymen. Phaser and Tiramisu were at the lead, with the Thinker alongside them. Even without Richard this group could take over an entire earldom, and with both Richard and the powerful Fourth Prince assisting their victories were guaranteed.

It took half a day of further marching before they arrived at the Silversword territory, a tight coalition of many nobles from the family that all occupied land on the western fringe. The family was an old one, and as such had blocked the attempts of many other families from expanding nearby; they were one of the only powers on the west end of the Sacred Alliance,

Had Richard's soldiers not travelled so quickly, Earl Fenlier would have managed to gather more than 10,000 troops. However, even now they had 7,000 men ready to “welcome” the incoming army. Richard didn't bother killing their scouts, so by the time he approached the borders of the territory he was faced with a wall of soldiers blocking the main road.

Richard swept his gaze across the opposing troops and nodded slightly, “Not bad.”

Nyris piped in as well, “This is an old family that managed to take root on the borders of the Alliance. Feeling the heat now?”

“The heat?” Richard laughed and pointed towards them, “I don't see any rune knights. Do you?”

The prince sighed, “And who'd be foolish enough to feed their precious rune knights to your shadowspears?”

“Then where's the heat?” Richard urged his unicorn onwards, moving forward alone to meet a few nobles from the other side.

He looked over them for a moment before asking, “Where's Fenlier?”

A middle-aged noble bowed slightly, “Father has other matters to attend to, he is not in the territory right now. I am in charge of internal affairs until his return.”

“That means you're Viscount Fouen, the first heir to your family?”

“The only heir,” Fouen corrected.
ƒ𝑟e𝘦we𝑏n𝑜𝚟𝙚Ɩ. 𝒄𝚘𝐦

Richard chuckled, “Then I'm dealing with you now. Tell your troops to get out of my way.”

Fouen frowned for a moment, but the anger seemed to fade away as he smiled pleasantly, “This is Silversword territory, my men have the right to stand where they please.”

“Oh, so we just need to detour through. Got it.” Richard turned around, starting to march back towards the army. However, the faces of the Silversword nobles changed immediately. Most of the land was flat, so Richard could easily go off the road and head wherever he wanted. What if he marched straight towards Swordwind City?

“Hold!” Fouen called after him, “This is Silversword territory! You cannot enter, please turn around!”

Richard suddenly stopped and smiled, “So you're saying you want to declare war on the Archerons.”

Fouen laughed coldly, “Declare war? We only wish to protect our territory! Lord Richard, I'd advise you not to torment others just because of your status.”

“You're blocking my path to breaking new ground for the Alliance; what is this if not a declaration of war? As one of Faust's fourteen, I haven't heard of any family that won't retaliate when provoked.”

“Lord Richard, I do not understand what you mean to say. You have many other options for land to expand into for your dukedom.”

“But this is what I chose. Is this not the fringe of the Sacred Alliance? Am I not permitted to expand my lands here? When did this place become the private property of your family?”

Fouen didn't seem bothered by Richard's stance, “Whatever this place is, you are not permitted to enter Silversword territory.”

Richard looked at him seriously and broke into laughter, “I don't know if you really aren't scared of death or you're just too stupid to understand what's going on. Listen, I'm going through whether your troops step aside or not. Let's see how strong your resolve really is.”

951 - City of Sin

A War Of Wealth

One of the shadowspears broke formation, travelling alone at a slow pace as he made its way towards the Silversword troops. All eyes fell upon the drone as he took step after step forward, calmly heading towards the infantry.

“Stop, or we'll loose the arrows!” the officer in charge of the archers shouted. However, the knight didn't seem to have heard him as he continued forward. Hundreds of archers nocked arrows, the result of their combined attacks certain to turn him into a porcupine, but he still seemed oblivious to it all as he marched forward with grace.

The officer started sweating in his rage, raising his hand several times, but he couldn't order his men to attack. He knew that the order would be a declaration of war against the Archeron Family, and Swordwind City was still a long distance away. Richard's knights would decimate them all before any reinforcements could arrive. This was a decision for Fouen to take.

Richard could see the Viscount' throat bobbing up and down as he contemplated the decision, but while he was thinking the knight drew within thirty metres of the troops. In only a minute he would reach the first row of soldiers who had their spears pointed towards him. Face turning white, Fouen turned around, “Lord Richard, do you wish to sacrifice your knight for no reason?”

“For no reason? I don't think so,” Richard laughed heartily, his smile causing the Viscount to shiver. Fouen wanted to speak further, but he had already turned away and was ignoring him.

The shadowspear walked right into the spears, the tips pressing into his breastplates and the armour of his horse. However, the infantry warriors were the ones forced back; without using strength, their speartips could not pierce the superior-grade armour. Without an order from their commander, they wouldn't dare kill this oncomer.

The shadowspear quickly pushed his way through the spears, making his way further into the formation. His horse was wounded a little, but those injuries were superficial and it merely grunted as it trudged along. Fouen was now sweating buckets; he had to do something at this point, but he didn't have the guts to call the attack.

When there were too many spears to walk through easily, the horse snorted and pushed some of them aside. One such warrior seemed to react by instinct, drawing his sword and plunging it into the creature's stomach. The horse immediately reared up in fake pain, throwing the knight off its back. With a number of spears concentrated on the area and their owners unable to draw back in time, a few pierced through the gaps in the armour and drew blood. The body fell motionless to the ground, not even crying in pain.

The entire battlefield went silent, the Silversword nobles and generals holding their breath in shock. Richard didn't say anything either, silently continuing back towards his troops with a smile on his face.

“Don't let him leave!” A titled knight cried out as he rushed towards Richard, planning to take him hostage. However, he only made it a few steps before Richard flicked a hand out, causing his torso to fly off his horse and to the ground. Two legs hung down the mount's sides as the skin slowly tore under the weight of armour, falling to the ground in a puddle of red.

Fouen watched dumbfoundedly as Richard continued to trot away. He hadn't been able to even see Richard's attack, much less block it in time. The titled knight was only level 13, so he fared no better. It was only when Richard turned around to look at him that he realised hostages could be taken by both sides, immediately snapping out of his stupor and turning his horse away. Richard might have been alone, but he was clearly more than powerful enough to perform the task.

Fouen didn't just return to his army; he retreated far into the distance. Once the rune knights began their charge, no part of the army would be safe.

Richard's troops suddenly changed formation, the dismounted infantrymen climbing on their horses even as the rune knights followed the elite shadowspears to their new positions. The scattered march immediately turned into a spear with Richard at the centre, leaving the Silversword generals in awe.

Moving infantrymen was one thing, but having knights line up in precise formations was extremely difficult. It would normally take years of training, and even so the soldiers would only master one or two formations at best. However, Richard's army seemed to pulse like it was alive, slowly picking up pace as it began its charge. The Silversword generals that had once been somewhat confident in their army now trembled with fear.

Right at the front of the charge were the fifty rune knights. They drew their javelins once they were only a kilometre away, throwing them with full force towards the Silversword troops. Fifty javelins flashed in all colours as they travelled through the sky, landing right in the middle of the archers. Every single pike left everyone in its vicinity with heavy injuries, and their direct targets were killed off in an instant.

The Silversword formation quickly started breaking apart out of sheer fear. The shield wall at the front almost disbanded in the face of the terror the rune knights inspired, and seeing the powerful javelins travel over their heads they were only barely kept in place by their captains. Fifty archers died instantly, while the explosions blew up everything in their vicinity. Some of the javelins killed a dozen men all on their own.

The loud explosions scared the wits out of the Silversword soldiers who finally broke formation, the archers trying their best to flee. Still, the volley ended with more than half of the archers dead and most of the remaining ones injured. In one go, Richard's army had no need to worry about long-range attacks. The spear formation continued to barrel forwards.

Once they were 600 metres away, the rune knights took out their second volley. This time, they were joined by the hundred javelineers who all had their javelins dipped in gunpowder. They were finally in range of the enemy archers, but the destroyed formation barely sent a dozen arrows that didn't find their mark. 150 javelins shot into the sky, many of them now lighting aflame mid-flight. This volley struck the archers as well, but this time they were accompanied by gunpowder explosions that were even louder than the rune knight attacks. These javelins that could blow up ancient trees in one go decimated the remaining archers, leaving not a single figure left standing.

In the middle of the charging formation, Nyris gasped in surprise, “Where did you get those javelins?”

“I had them made,” Richard said indifferently.

“Alright, I want 10,000 of them.”

“100 gold each.”

“Wha... Are you trying to rob me blind?”

“I didn't even include the production cost in that. This was merely the material cost.”

If every javelin was a hundred gold, then wasn't that single volley effectively throwing 10,000 gold away? Even though he had his own plane now, Nyris would never dare to use such costly tactics against his opponents.

200 metres.

Just as the two armies were about to clash, the spear formation suddenly split apart into a number of columns that circled behind the Silversword troops, enveloping them from all directions. The enemy formation that had tightened up to meet the spear immediately fell into chaos, the generals in shock. It was nearly impossible to change the direction of 7,000 men, and even if they tried most of the soldiers would be left confused. This would be a massacre!

Viscount Fouen finally recovered from his shock, knowing that it was a matter of life and death. Funnelling his rage into his voice, he screamed commands for the army to change formation as he mobilised his cavalry to stop Richard at the flanks.

It was at this point that the ground started to shake. When the soldiers split up into two wings, the heavily armoured Tiramisu jumped out of formation and went barrelling straight towards the Silversword cavalry!

952 - City of Sin

A War Of Wealth(2)

Tiramisu roared as he collided with the Silversword cavalry. His own momentum was paused for a moment, but in exchange more than a dozen cavalrymen were sent flying away. Fouen's attempt to stop the flank completely backfired, with his own soldiers pausing and giving time for a hundred javelins to crash into them.

The placement of the javelins was extremely precise, avoiding Tiramisu completely as though it had been rehearsed a hundred times. Explosions of energy and gunpowder blew over from all directions, and as the ogre advanced one could see horses flying into the sky.

He suddenly growled in the midst of his advance, stopping to lift Tenton up high and slam it down towards the ground. The horses nearby all stumbled, and even those warriors who had fallen before crumbled to the ground. With a single blow, every enemy within twenty metres had been brought down. He continued to move forward, crimson energy building up around his hammer before he swung it in a wide arc, sending a crescent of pure power hurtling towards the enemies. Two rows of cavalrymen were cut apart, while a third was left mutilated; another twenty metres had been cleared out.

The rune knights, shadowspears, and regular knights turned into a torrent that gushed from either side of the ogre, destroying the splintered cavalrymen that were left behind. The few hundred soldiers that still survived immediately began to flee in all directions.

Richard chose not to pursue the escaping enemies, instead reorganising his formation and pointing at Viscount Fouen, “Frontal assault! Kill the man in purple first!”

The armies had just collided, but the rune knights took out another volley of javelins and threw them into the sky. Fifty glows appeared in Fouen's eyes; even though none of them seemed to have tracking magic on them, he was certain that he would die. The Viscount screamed and turned around, fleeing as fast as he could. Many of the nobles and generals concentrated in the area did the same.

This was the last straw.

Richard was in no hurry at all, calmly splitting off a hundred men including himself to chase Fouen and the rest of the fleeing cavalry while the rest of his men wiped out the broken army. The chase continued from dusk to dawn, and by the end of it all Richard had chased him all the way to Swordwind City. There were only a dozen men left by this point, and even though Richard only had a hundred himself the Viscount wouldn't dare to turn around even in range of the city's defences.

Richard's remaining forces gathered around him by dusk. A few dozen of his normal knights had been injured, while about a dozen were dead, but in exchange 3,000 enemies had met their demise while many more were severely injured. Late in the night, he mobilised his forces to intercept reinforcements from a branch family; all 3,000 men there were defeated, while the Baron himself was taken prisoner.

Over the following week, Richard's army was like a ghost as it disappeared and appeared in the Silversword lands, completely decimating Fenlier's forces. Seven battles and 30,000 defeated soldiers later, he had captured three cities where he resupplied and had his troops rest. The entire Silversword territory had become his backyard, the Earl himself stuck in the defence of Swordwind City while the rest of the territory suffered violent attacks everywhere. There were tens of lords in the area, but they were now cowering in fear as they prayed that Richard wouldn't find them first.

......

From Richard's arrival to the destruction of the Silversword territory all took only a single week; there simply wasn't enough time for others to react. When they received the report asking for help, most families were still discussing the matter by the time Richard had achieved dominance.

In a forest about 200 kilometres from the Silversword territory. A few messengers and scouts rushed through the woods to come upon an army camp with no flag and no crest, the head messenger jumping off his horse and rushing to the command tent to pass the information he had just received.

Within the tent, a gruff-looking man looked over the letter several times and crossed out several points on the map, “Outside of Swordwind City itself, all of the Silversword cities have been defeated.”

The half-dozen officers within the camp gasped, one of them asking incredulously, “Only a week! Didn't Richard have a thousand cavalrymen at most?”

The general shook his head, “That isn't just any cavalry. They're all elites, and they have 50 rune knights and 200 shadowspears.”

“The Silversword Family also has 30 rune knights, how could it be so bad?”

“Were they killed?”

“It's possible. Charging through 3,000 enemies shouldn't be hard for such a force.”

“Yes, they must have cut right through and assaulted the rune knights first. Once they were flanked on all sides, the infantry must have broken formation.”

“Those rune knights of the Silversword Family don't know what to do...”

The officers talked a lot, guessing at Richard's tactics in battle. They were surprisingly accurate with their guesses, making it clear that they were experienced. However, the general looked at the map and suddenly sighed, pointing at Swordwind City, “Fenlier turtled up with all of his rune knights and elite guards. He's scared of his city being destroyed. Bah, Richard's shadowspears are known as rune knight killers; of course the coward decides to hide.”

One of the officers looked at the map that was littered with crosses, frowning, “My Lord, do we still enter as planned? It seems like Richard has a means of scouting we don't know; it's impossible for regular scouts to have found every one of these forces. It's very likely that we will encounter his army before we enter Swordwind City.”

A cold glint flashed across the general's eyes as he stared at the map in silence. All of the officers felt their own blood burning as they looked at his gaze. Richard had risen like a meteor in the past few years, not only stabilising the Archeron family but also turning from a runecrafting apprentice to the royal runemaster who superseded even Lunor. He was now a grand runemaster, and was also famous as an outstanding general. He had single-handedly decimated the Schumpeter Family and brought the Mensas to their knees, forcing the Josephs to seek peace while the Wellinburg Family abandoned their alliance to become neutral. He had overwhelmed the legend of the Archeron goddess of war, and many were studying his prior battles to learn how he could achieve such precise command of his troops. Fighting a war against him was a temptation for every good general.

This unidentifiable army had a total of 3,000 soldiers in a good balance of all roles. There were less than ten rune knights, but most of them were capable officers in their own right. The general was seriously considering the possibility of taking a fight with Richard, but even he had to concede that he actually had the weaker hand. While he outnumbered Richard three to one, his forces weren't nearly as elite; even Richard's mounts were leagues better than his. He was actually at a slight disadvantage, but he was still eager to try. Many of the officers were filled with such expectations as well; this was obviously not a mercenary army.

A long time later, the general sighed, “Now isn't the time. Since Fenlier is so disappointing, he can't blame us. Order the retreat, we should leave by the morning.”

The order was quickly passed down, and the officers went off to make their own arrangements. When the general was the only one left in the command tent, he stared at the map and slammed his fist into a nearby pole, “Motherfucker!”

He really didn't want to let Richard go.

......

Over the past week, the central hall in Swordwind Castle had always been crowded with every important person in the city. New reports filtered in from time to time and their map was updated accordingly, but every time it was about reinforcements being broken and cities overcome. There was no lack of knights and barons being taken prisoner either.

The command centre in the top floor of the castle was where the true core members of the family were gathered. Fenlier had a more detailed map here, and his eyebrows were locked together with his silver hair a little messy. In times of peace, this would never have been acceptable.

The command centre wasn't big, but it seemed rather empty. At least two-thirds of those qualified to be here were absent, half of them in Richard's hands and the other half huddled in their territories while praying the devil wouldn't target them.

“How many men do we have now?” This was a question Fenlier asked every day.

A young general spoke up, “30 rune knights, 120 silversword knights, 150 heavy cavalrymen, and 6,000 footsoldiers, my Lord.'

The numbers seemed to give Fenlier courage as he sighed and nodded, “Thank the Dragon. Is there any news of the reinforcements?”

953 - City of Sin

Suppressing Resistance

The young man hesitated at Fenlier's question, “Both Earls Robert and Silitus have stopped at the border and are showing no signs of continuing. There is no news of the other reinforcements either.”

“Those bastards...” Fenlier's expression warped.

“They think they can just wait at the border and clear their relationship with us? Richard will destroy them too!” Fouen chimed in.

“Border... Border...” Fenlier's eyes suddenly went round, “Those old coots really are sinister. They aren't reinforcements anymore, but enemies. The moment Richard leaves, they'll try to tear into us! Hmph, their messengers are probably meeting with him already!”

Fouen and the other lords immediately shuddered. Richard had come from afar and possessed no foundation here. Even the worst result of a war with him was abject humiliation and compensation for “starting” the war. He might own the land in name, but he would allow them to keep it at the cost of a yearly tribute or something of the like. In fact, it would even be an opportunity to build a long-term relationship with the Archeron Family. However, the other two earls could potentially swoop in and take that deal instead, dividing up Silversword territory amongst themselves.

Feeling the terror in the air, Fenlier snorted hard, “What are you afraid of?! As long as Swordwind City stands, as long as the family's rune knights survive, we haven't lost our foundation! Let those bastards take a few plots of land, we will recover quickly and repay the debt!”

These words inspired a bit of morale, refreshing everyone's hearts. However, another burning question entered their minds; was it really right to hide the rune knights in the city to avoid losses?

......

That was the same question Nyris had just asked Richard.

“What would you do if you were him?” Richard countered.

The Fourth Prince frowned for a moment, “Hmm... I'd distribute some scouts throughout the territory and minimise the number of soldiers put in castles. Focus all my elites together and manoeuvre in the field, finding a good spot to ambush you...

“No wait! Your cavalry would be breathing down my neck before my army could even assemble. I'd lose most of my troops, and you have too many rune knights and shadowspears for my elites to charge you down. Those javelineers too... Their explosive javelins are gone, but still... Then there's Tiramisu, there's no way of dealing with him... Hell, even if I tried to fight you, Phaser will probably cut me down before I even realise it!”

Seeing Nyris grow more and more excited, Richard laughed and patted him on the shoulder, “Don't worry, why would I need Phaser? I'd cut you down in half a minute myself.”

Nyris's face immediately swelled red with anger, “Half a minute? Do you want to try?”

The prince grew so angry that Richard was forced to pause and look away, “Hey, I'm front-loaded. If my first few attacks don't win me the fight, I'd be in danger.”

“But I'm the same!” Nyris said awkwardly before grabbing and shaking him, “Don't change topics, how should one deal with your forces?”

“Eeeehh... You're right about one way, gathering your elites to fight, but if the armies are even remotely equal I've never lost a battle before. You could try to find a place that gives you an absolute advantage and defend it, something like Blackrose, but then this territory doesn't have such a place... The best way is probably to send a number of powerhouses to try and assassinate me. Are you happy now?”

Nyris snorted, his hands still on Richard's shoulder, “I guess. I'll let you go this time. What do we do now anyway? Are we just camping in this boring old town?”

Richard didn't know why he grew a little nervous, but he snatched Nyris's hand and answered softly, “Of course not. Let the troops rest another day, we'll be heading to Swordwind City to meet Fenlier. I've wasted a week here, I'm already at my limits.”

They were currently camped at a small town called Maplefire, surrounded by mountains and rivers with over half of the town itself being full of maple trees. The place was only a hundred kilometres from Swordwind City itself, less than two hours of travel with his current force. Maplefire was originally a baron's territory, but the man was currently locked up with others of his ilk and 2,800 of his 3,000-strong army had surrendered.

Richard and Nyris were currently living in the baron's castle, an exquisite work of art with sculptures, gardens, and landscapes everywhere. The only drawback was quite a major one, however; there were basically no defences to speak of.

As the two continued to talk, a rune knight suddenly rushed into the room, “My Lord, there are two people here to see you. They claim to be messengers from Earl Robert and Earl Silitus.”

Richard sneered, “Those foxes can't wait any more. It seems like they're even less patient than I expected. Let's go have a look.”

They met in the beautiful lobby of the castle, but the two messengers weren't in the mood to appreciate the beauty. Already shocked by Richard's military might that had lost less than a hundred men to decimate tens of thousands, they tried to begin negotiations immediately.

The offer was quite simple: they knew that important people like Richard didn't like wasting time, so the earls were expressing their goodwill and a desire to split up the Silversword territory in exchange for a regular tribute and loyalty on the western frontier.

Once the messengers were done talking, Richard smiled, “Go back and tell those coots that I'm attacking Swordwind the day after tomorrow. If they want a piece of the pie, I'm expecting their armies to join me; I won't take any tribute at all. If not, all the interests of the Silversword Family are mine. They'd be messing with my things if they try to come in afterwards; I've always been a bit of a vengeful guy.”

One of the messengers shuddered at the proclamation, “Lord Richard, cooperation is good for all sides. Aren't you being too harsh?”

“Heh. You want to eat prey you didn't hunt? I'm large enough of a beast, I'll swallow this family up myself. If your masters want some of the benefits, then they'll have to pay the corresponding price. If they want to do nothing but still share in my victories, then tell them to get off their high horses. Repeat this word for word: If I don't see your armies at the walls of Swordwind City day after, then you better not step into this territory at all!”

......

Once the crestfallen messengers left, Nyris asked, “Are you really going to attack?”

“Why wouldn't I?”

“It doesn't make sense. Even if you take it down, the losses will be heavy.”

Richard smiled, “Let's make a bet. I'll break the city in the siege, and my losses won't exceed 200 men in total.”

Nyris snorted, “What are we betting? You want a kiss?”

Richard immediately felt like something got caught in his chest, his mouth open but unable to speak a word. His breathing grew quick and erratic, but he took a few moments to calm down as he stared Nyris and looked over him from top to bottom.

Looking at his glowing eyes, Nyris shuddered as though he had been looked at by an ancient beast. He immediately frowned and shouted, “What are you doing?!”

Deactivating Insight, Richard wiped the sweat off his forehead and forced a smile, “I wanted to see if you really were His Highness.” He still felt a little off-put, not even realising the respectful address he had used.

The Fourth Prince growled in anger, “You think I'm fake?”

Richard started stroking his chin as he said thoughtfully, “Probably not...”

Nyris truly was someone with astonishing charm, but looking as he did now the prince was no less beautiful than Sharon or Rosie. While most people lost their attraction when angry, his appearance only grew more difficult to resist. Richard felt extremely conflicted by how he felt at the moment, a mix of pleasure and torture.

Noticing Richard's thoughts drifting, Nyris suddenly stood up from his seat and leaned over him, staring hard with fire in his eyes. The two's faces slowly drifted closer; Richard desperately tried to retreat, but his back quickly hit the sofa and there was no place left to hide. Nyris's eyes took up all of his vision, and as he grew breathless he could hear his heart thumping.

“OI!” he called out.

“What?”

“You've taken the joke far enough... Do you really want to kiss me? I'll resist!”

“Heh. Resistance can be suppressed.”

Richard shuddered, recalling the night of destiny all those years ago in the Deepblue. It had been similar then as well; Sharon had wiped away any notions of formality he would have had, bringing out a deep-seated attraction that had been covered up with respect and fear.

954 - City of Sin

Untitled

Back when he was still a teen, Richard wouldn't dare look Sharon in the eye. That wasn't just the pressure from her sheer might; the legendary mage was just so flamboyant that every glance at her lit a flame within his heart. He didn't have any space for rebellion during the night of destiny, but he hadn't wanted to either. He couldn't imagine any man in Norland unwilling to accept her so-called bullying.

But Nyris wasn't the same. Even ignoring that he was a man, Richard considered him a friend and nothing else. He was also fully confident that he could put the prince down in less than a minute; it was just that his heart would twitch at punching that innocent face.

Even so, heartache was better than being kissed. Richard comforted himself and silently activated Blaze, Mana Armament on the verge of running to resist this “suppression” that could come at any time. Nyris was a true talent from bloodline to body, only lacking actual combat experience; he couldn't be underestimated.

“Nyr... You aren't serious, are you?” he asked cautiously.

“Why wouldn't I be?” Nyris said solemnly.

The more serious the Fourth Prince was, the more scared Richard felt. He forced a smile, “But... you weren't like this before, were you... You used to be beautiful before too, but... What's with the... Umm... charm?”

Richard believed he had gotten his point across, and Nyris did nod, but then he smacked his lips as well, “Well, I've recently come to agree with a quote from Wilde.”

The moment he heard the word Wilde, he knew it was bad. This was a name that had left its mark on the history of Norland itself, carrying a number of auras like Marquess, bard, playwright, and philosopher. It was said that even the gods were envious of the man's beauty, and in terms of talent he was the first bard in history to enter the legendary realm.

During his time, the Millennial Empire had been at war with the Naga Empire to its south. 30,000 imperial soldiers marched on 100,000 enemies, but Wilde who had been serving the Empire at the time had improvised a warsong called Exodus that covered the entire battlefield. The imperial soldiers were strengthened so greatly that it was a rout, allowing them to defeat their enemies despite being only a third of the size. The coalition of nagas, lizardmen, and draconians had been pushed down into the sea. Wilde had become famous after the battle, bringing his profession into the limelight as well.

However, even more famous than Exodus were the words he had said to a beautiful woman who offered herself up to him right after the battle: “At this point in my life, only men interest me.”

Richard at this point was drowning in sweat, his self-control weakening as a soft heat emanated from his body in precursor to Eruption. Nyris suddenly stood up and laughed, reaching out and lifting his chin as he chuckled, “I'm letting you go for now.”

Richard couldn't bring himself to laugh, the words “for now” still resounding in his mind.

Before Richard could snap out of his confusion, the prince got back to his seat, “Alright, we don't have much time to play around here. Let's look at the deployment.”

Richard was left speechless. Nyris still seemed to be skirting around the edge of joking and reality.

......

The next morning, the surrendered soldiers of Maplefire City were gathered in the square and swore a simple oath to abandon the Silversword Family and become loyal to the Archerons. They weren't forced to do it, but those who swore were allowed to walk free while the rest remained prisoner in the dungeons. As with the previous conquered cities, the freed soldiers would be left in charge of the city.

The binding force of oaths could be big or small. They meant nothing in a world without honour and faith, but Norland wasn't such a world. The power of an oath also depended on one's strength; swearing in the name of a deity or one's truename could cause serious consequences for oathbreakers, while a casual promise wasn't nearly as bad. Ordinary warriors really faced no problems at all, but Richard wasn't expecting loyal warriors anyway. His plan was just to cause as much chaos in the enemy ranks as possible.

Despite numerous cities being abandoned by Richard, none of the Silversword lords dared to fight back. His lightning tactics and terrifying advantage on the battlefield had already subdued them thoroughly; none of them wanted to attract his attention. Besides, every small lord Richard came across had been taken captive or killed; the only exception was Fouen who had been released intentionally to sow fear in Swordwind City. The lords knew that they would be able to retake these cities at the negotiating table, so they had no desire to fight.

Just like in previous cities, Richard made a show of selecting the guards before marching out to Swordwind. The entire journey only took a few hours, and all the scouts scattered nearby grew frightened and ran back to the city walls as fast as they could. Of course, they only managed it because Richard didn't bother sending anyone to chase; even watching the gates close, he didn't try to speed his way in and cause chaos.

As the army began to camp, he took some people in a full circle around Swordwind City to analyse its defences. He occasionally had his javelineers throw a few explosive javelins at the walls, or a few rune knights target a noble or officer who was looking at them from above. He quickly had to admit that the city was well-fortified, likely because it constantly suffered attacks from across the border.

By the end of his small trip, a large number of fully-armoured soldiers had rushed up onto the walls and were prepared for the fight. Although Richard's men had only killed a dozen officers and two nobles by the end, everyone was quivering in fear of the fact that they could be next.

A few times in the middle of this trip, Richard had even flown a hundred metres into the sky to look down on the entire city from above. This was an arrogant move, but the Silversword Family didn't dare to send anyone to intercept or even to shoot him down. They were far too frightened of the retaliation from the rune knights below.

Once done with the lap, he returned to the barracks and spoke to Nyris, “The old man's way too scared, he can't even keep his army's morale up. Just watch how I take them down.”

Nyris looked at him blankly, “The Silversword Family doesn't have any legendary beings. What are some common saints going to come do, just die? Who do they have that can fight even Tiramisu?”

Although he disagreed on the usefulness of sending a saint to fight, Richard didn't argue and started setting tactics. Swordwind City didn't get any sleep that night, but by the stroke of midnight, all of Richard's soldiers seemed to be scattered. There were knights in all directions, but one couldn't predict where the attack would come from.

Ever since midnight, even rune knights had been pushing right up the walls before retreating, keeping the defenders tense and vigilant of the true attack. Ordinary soldiers were getting killed by the dozens, forcing Fenlier to send his own rune knights and saints, but they were forbidden from leaving the protection of the city wall.

Once the saints were dispatched, Richard used a dozen small skirmishes to determine the position of a saint and quietly concentrate his rune knights in the area, suddenly sending a volley of javelins raining down to kill the unlucky man. Fenlier's response was to rush all his saints back into the inner city, commanding them never to climb the wall.

At the end of the sneak attack, Richard pulled back most of his rune knights and let them continue resting, leaving only ten around Swordwind City to continue harassing them. It was at this point that Nyris was finally allowed to make a move.

The Fourth Prince was obviously depressed, and he decided to take it out on these enemies. Covered from head to toe in armour and wielding a one-handed axe, he jumped directly across the wall and took a fight with an enemy saint. The man was chased a full kilometre along the wall before he fled into the inner city, bleeding from a hundred different wounds.

955 - City of Sin

Breaking The City Please visit 𝒇𝚛𝙚𝙚𝘸𝙚𝗯𝓃𝗼ѵ𝚎𝘭. c𝑜𝘮

Nyris made sure to heed Richard's orders, not chasing the saint deeper into the city. He instead floated up into the sky, aura flaring as he looked down upon the opponents. However, the remaining saints and rune knights could only look up at him without daring to fight.

The Fourth Prince had shown great combat skills during the chase, making perfect use of the terrain and even flying for some time. He made sure to always remain above the wall, avoiding the interception of anyone who wished to assist the saint he was chasing. It showed the enemies that he wouldn't be lured into an unfavourable battle, and nobody was confident in actually taking the fight one on one.

After a night of confusion, the Silversword Family finally looked forward to dawn. Richard switched to more traditional-seeming tactics in the day, forming up his soldiers and trying to attack various parts of the wall. However, each attack was hit and run; they never pushed in.

The walls of Swordwind City were a problem for ordinary knights, but they weren't any issue at all for the magical mounts of the Archeron family. They could sprint thirty metres up vertically in one shot on their own, and with the assistance of their riders the forty metres of the wall wasn't much different. However, Richard was now focused on minimising damage as much as he could. Swordwind City was built for defence, and the soldiers within the small streets of the city would be problematic for mounted knights. Just the thought of losing a significant number of soldiers made his heart twitch as he thought back to Nyris's bet.

Time seemed to fly by, the sun floating high up in the sky. When his clock pointed to noon, Richard shrugged and spoke to Nyris who was nearby, “Those old foxes really think they'll manage anything after this. Well, their loss.”

Even though Earl Robert and Earl Silitus didn't mobilise their armies, Richard's attacks continued regardless as he fought all the way into the night. The defenders were thoroughly exhausted, even the saints and rune knights starting to flag. Although they hadn't lost much physically, the mental stress was enormous. With both Nyris and Tiramisu showing amazing power, and Richard himself not making a move, they didn't dare to fight in full force.

The sky was overcast by dusk, and as night fell nobody noticed that a few of the clouds were particularly low and growing bigger with time. More than a dozen thunderclouds were booming in the sky, but the faint lightning one could see was crackling between the clouds themselves and didn't fall down. With the city itself burning and screams resounding through the area, nobody had any interest in looking up above.

With a day and night of intermittent fighting, the ordinary Silversword soldiers were extremely exhausted. Even the veterans who were above level 5 started to grow sluggish, most of their internal energy reserves already consumed. Most frightening was the fact that fear had gripped their hearts; this was something one could not afford in battles of life and death.

Richard's knights gathered under the city once more, beginning their charge anew. The defenders looked on numbly at these war machines that were reaping the lives of their kin, unable to summon any energy to fight.

“Where are the saints and rune knights? What the fuck are they doing?!” someone shouted on the walls. Of course, most of the rune knights and saints were huddled within the city. The few who dared rush to the walls to fight had been beaten back.

Now was the time! Richard smiled and raised his right hand, bringing it down swiftly. All hundred javelineers took out their last three volleys of explosive javelins and threw them behind the walls, emptying out the area right behind the gate. He then pointed to the gate, prompting thirty of the rune knights to pull out all-black javelins that were much bigger than the normal fare with jagged heads. These were all forged out of lafite, making them extremely expensive, but they could break through steel armour with ease.

All thirty pikes flew across the battlefield and nailed themselves into the steel gate, disappearing until the shaft couldn't even be seen. Every strike caused the gates and the surrounding stone walls to shake, rubble falling down from all directions. The energy in the spears suddenly flared up, immediately starting to break apart the gate that could withstand most alchemic siege engines. However, the gates still held on.

The earth began to rumble as Tiramisu rushed out, dark red aura rising like a blood fire around his body to deflect the arrows, spears, and even a ballista bolt. Rushing right up to the gate, he lifted Tenton high into the sky as both heads roared loudly. A frightening image of a dragon slowly formed behind him, eyes and mouth opening in a silent roar.

*BOOM!* The incomparably heavy gates of the city were dented in one shot, flying out a few metres and falling to the ground.

Some of the more religious once on the battlefield paused for a moment to look at the illusion behind the ogre in shock; this was no ordinary dragon, but the Chaos Dragon worshipped by ogres, orcs, and many other races! The enormous illusion was tens of metres large, but even so it wasn't even a tenth of the actual Chaos Dragon's size. In fact, nobody knew just how large the Chaos Dragon was. Tiramisu summoning this illusion meant he had garnered its attention; this often meant a guaranteed path to the legendary realm!

Back in the keep of Swordwind Castle, Earl Fenlier's ashen face was only outdone by the sheer terror of his subordinates. They had originally planned to rely on the fact that Richard had no siege equipment to withstand the assault, hoping for the arrival of reinforcements, but now that the gates were blown open their hopes had gone up in smoke.

Those with sharper vision noticed the sheer amount of energy that had been poured into those javelins. Most rune knights would only be able to make three such attacks in an entire day before running out, and even Richard's men would likely only manage one more. This was an immediate drop in the power of the rune knights, something that would spell disaster for an ordinary army. Even worse, Richard's ogre had actually used his saint ability as well; from the looks of it, such an attack couldn't be performed more than once a day. It was an absolute waste of resources.

And yet, Richard could afford such luxuries. Swordwind City's defences had been broken, and shadowspears immediately charged in for the melee.

“Order the rune knights to block the gate!” Fenlier ordered, an aide immediately blowing the warhorn to pass on the order. The rune knights that were gathered in a small square immediately jumped up and started charging towards the city gates.

“No, wait a minute!” the Earl suddenly interrupted the command, “Have the rune knights stop! The third heavy infantry is to go first, followed by the fifth and sixth guard garrisons!”

When they heard the order, everyone present was ashamed and confused. The situation was critical, it only made sense to mobilise the rune knights. How could they order the knights that were already moving out to return?

“JUST DO IT!” Fenlier snorted, causing the aide to blow the warhorn once more. The rune knights who were moving out slowed down and eventually stopped.

The silversword guards remained behind in the castle itself. They were all the blood of the family, possessing unquestionable loyalty and resolve. Fenlier hadn't focused on rune knights amongst them, but there were certainly a decent number.

The sharper nobles quickly noticed the black and grey pouring through the collapsed gates in strict formation, immediately recognising the shadowspear knights that were supposed to be rune knight killers. These soldiers were famous for stopping at nothing to kill rune knights, completely disregarding their own safety for the cause.

They finally understood Fenlier's plan; he wanted to have the ordinary soldiers act as cannon fodder and tire out the shadowspears, lest the rune knights be decimated. It wasn't a wrong decision exactly, but the moment the orders were changed the heavy infantry which was charged with intercepting clearly understood it as well. Morale plummeted, and after some token resistance they disbanded and ran away. The two guard garrisons that were meant to come after were nowhere to be seen.

The nobles' attention was suddenly drawn to the clouds in the sky, as the lightning that was flashing between them suddenly started dropping on the city. The first bolt crashed down on a roof and burnt a warrior black, turning a commoner nearby to ash.

956 - City of Sin

Domination

Black clouds covered the sky towards the centre of the city, a dense storm of lightning raining down on the soldiers below. Each blue bolt was powered by astral energy and the laws of life; they could only paralyse the rune knights and silversword guards for a few moments, but most normal soldiers would fall to one blow. The dozen clouds formed a zone of death in the centre of the city that blocked the two guard garrisons meant to aid the heavy infantry; it would take at least ten minutes for them to reorganise.

As it stood right now, ten minutes was too long. The scattered heavy infantry was slaughtered by the shadowspears, and by the time the lightning died out the Silversword army had crumbled in on itself. Richard's rune knights had finally recovered from the exertion and rushed in, their iron hooves shaking the city and drawing attention to the ogre in the middle of their ranks.

“I win,” Richard said with a smile towards Nyris, although there was a hint of gasping to his voice. This was the first time he had set up such a large-scale siege spell, and even with his blessings and Manacycle and all the boosts to the thunderclouds it was difficult to accomplish the equivalent of an entire mage corps as one man.

The regular knights flooded into Swordwind City, marching right up the central avenue towards the castle. The Silversword rune knights were finally dispatched, but they ran into the shadowspears and were slowly eaten up. The first collision killed a dozen of Richard's drones, but they continued to pile on and eliminate the enemy. The knights collapsed quickly; it was only human nature to hesitate, and Fenlier didn't give his men any reason to die for him.

Richard's rune knights and regular cavalry rushed out in the gap opened up by the shadowspears, cutting down the remaining rune knights and silversword guards that were in the midst of retreat.

It was at this point that all of the tactics had come to a head. A day and night of intermittent attacks had tired out most of the ordinary warriors of the city, but this was no problem for elites. When the midnight war began, the soldiers had already lost morale and would fall at the slightest mental hurdle. The thunderclouds were a display of might that were meant to accomplish that, but Fenlier had even done Richard a favour by not sending out his rune knights when he had to. It thus became a war of elites, where the shadowspears and savage knights had an absolute advantage.

Richard and Nyris rose to the sky, a clear challenge towards the enemy saints. If they still didn't rise to the fight, the few soldiers who were still trying to hold on would surrender instantly. Three saints did rise up to meet them, avoiding Tiramisu who was slaughtering rune knights without end. They still couldn't forget the image of the Chaos Dragon, something which inspired fear even if it likely couldn't be used again.

The strongest of the three saints headed straight for Nyris to stall him, while the other two moved to fight Richard. From the looks of it, they wanted to kill the weakest of the group first.

They really thought he was the weakest one here? Richard just smirked. Before the battle could even begin a shadow flashed across the sky, catching up with one of the saints who were rushing towards him. The man suddenly burst into a fountain of blood, his broken limbs falling even as Phaser popped a fresh heart into her mouth. Face flushing red, her aura soared.

The other saint was stunned by the death of his companion, and in his sheer terror he flew as far away from Phaser as he could. However, he quickly realised that there was something wrong; he couldn't feel the wind on his face! Feeling a grave sense of danger, he erected a small barrier of energy before him as he turned back to look Richard's way.

As a green blade crashed down upon him, the saint was left wondering just how Richard had covered a hundred metres in the blink of an eye. It would be the last thought he ever had; the shield was good as paper in front of Moonlight, and the single blow drained him of all vitality and sent him crashing to the ground. One could barely see a red afterglow on Moonlight as the sword was returned to its sheath.

Not far away, Nyris was fighting a dazzling battle with the strongest saint. The Fourth Prince had enveloped his enemy in a storm of attacks, sparks and flames flying everywhere as the saint was batted around like a ball in a cat's hands. Every blow sent him flying tens of metres away, and by the time he could recover the next would already be upon him. This fight was ten times as loud as Richard and Phaser, but the opponent still wasn't dead. Although barely able to defend, the man was slowly making his way west to escape.

Nyris quickly grew frustrated, his offensive growing more and more fierce as he noticed Richard just looking at him from the distance. However, the saint continued his defence and repeatedly tried to break through the barrage, eventually finding an opening and bolting away.

Phaser's eyes flashed in the distance as she moved to help; of course, her real purpose was to eat the saint's heart. The body of Richard's enemy that had fallen to the ground already had its heart missing, but she still wasn't full. Tiramisu looked up as well, all three eyes fixated on the fleeing saint. The ogre lord had no rune knights left to kill, and the silversword guards were too weak to care about. Please visit ƒ𝐫𝗲𝒆𝑤𝚎𝐛𝙣𝐨𝙫𝙚𝚕. 𝒄o𝓂

Both were stopped by Richard; Nyris was actually much stronger than the saint, but he still lacked the battle experience to kill a defending enemy. This would be a good course in the same. Instead, both were directed towards Silversword Castle itself; the castle's fall would end the siege.

The ogre lord bowed his head and lifted his warhammer once more, continuing to move forward and roll over his opponents. His thick steel armour could only be pierced by the spears of rune knights, but most of those were killed or injured with about ten having fled.

At this point, the fall of Swordwind City was a foregone conclusion. There were still 5,000 defenders left, but there were on rune knights or saints to take on Richard's elites. No matter how fiercely they wanted to resist, they would only be able to delay things a little. On the other hand, Nyris had failed to kill his opponent but his battle had still frightened far more people than the quiet destruction caused by Richard and Phaser. The Silversword soldiers saw their strongest saint being beaten down with no power to fight back, and it crushed them.

An hour later, Silversword Castle had fallen. Another hour later, the last people defending Swordwind City had surrendered. Fenlier himself had annoyingly escaped the city with his ten rune knights, but Richard had still caught eight other lords who didn't have the time to escape.

Unexpectedly, Fouen had wished to make up for the shame of his previous defeat and fought to the end until Nyris knocked him out. With the Viscount at his feet, Nyris took off his helmet to reveal a face full of anger. Even chasing the saint for tens of kilometres, all he had managed was to cut off an arm. Thinking of how easily Richard and Phaser dispatched their opponents, he growled with rage.

In the middle of his disappointment, he kicked the unconscious man at his feet and woke him up. Screaming awake, the Viscount saw Nyris's mouth open wide in surprise and gasped in confusion, grumbling to himself, “Beaten by a woman...”

Nyris immediately went red with embarrassment; nothing was going right today! Not knowing how much of it Richard had seen, he quietly turned Fouen around with his left hand and punched the back of his head with the right. The impact was so loud that Richard flinched for a moment.

957 - City of Sin

Unexpected Challenge

In the battle of Swordwind City, Richard had lost a little below a hundred each of his shadowspears and regular knights. On top of that, three of his rune knights had met their demise. However, the Silversword Family had been completely decimated and Swordwind City suffered a devastating loss. One would need master gnomes to even begin repairing the city properly; ordinary craftsmen would leave it with reduced defences that would make it a prime target for a siege. The Silverswords who had ruled the western fringe for hundreds of years were now on the verge of collapse.

It should have been impossible to take the city in the first place, but Richard had done so with very few losses. Once one considered the fact that the shadowspears were replaceable drones, the result was even more amazing.

As they calculated the damages on both sides, Nyris remained quiet for a long time before asking, “Why didn't you bring more rune knights? We would barely have lost anyone if we had a hundred.”

Richard smiled, “I could bring out 250 rune knights and an enormous number of shadowspears. Would Fouen have fought me with his 7,000 men? Would Fenlier have tried to hold the city instead of just surrendering?”

“You... You're an actual bastard, you know that?”

Richard laughed and patted the prince on the shoulder, “They need to think they have a chance to win, that's the only way they'll go all out. Even though I suffered a few losses, theirs were much worse. When we grind away, I always come out the victor. If I brought my full force everywhere, nobody would fight me.”

This prompted the prince to carefully recall Richard's prior battles. There had been many instances recently where Richard actually chose not to mobilise his full forces, using armies somewhat equal to those of his opponents. It was difficult for these opponents to resist the temptation of using their more numerous armies and they chose to fight, but his absolute command over the battlefield eventually sealed their fate.

It was easy to look at these people and call them fools, but most people tended to think very highly of themselves in spite of the failures of others. Those who fought Richard generally didn't live to tell the tale, while those who had not still thought they would be the one. There had been a genius commander in Faelor called Salwyn who had once thought he could beat Richard so long as he had a three-to-one advantage; even with that in hand, his military career had been brought to an end by a Richard who wasn't nearly as skilled as he was now.

Nyris thought to his own situation. If he hadn't fought by Richard's side and known of his sheer terror, he would have considered pulling thousands of what he considered superior knights to battle and tried charging Richard down. After all, his private army was better than that of most nobles. That was only a testament to Richard's strategy.

When Earl Robert and Earl Silitus received word that Swordwind City had fallen in less than a day, neither of them could believe the casualty counts. This wasn't a result anyone would have guessed, and it wasn't like the Silversword Family was particularly weak either. Fenlier might be cowardly, but his tactics were still sound.

Looking at Richard's remaining strength, the two old men began doubting their plans to invade Silversword territory.

......

It was nearly dawn by the time the city was taken over, and by noon Fenlier had sent a messenger asking for talks of peace. Richard had just finished all the formalities by this point and taken off his robes to get some rest, but he could only wear them once more and push the exhaustion away. Holding onto his pillow with eyes half-open, Nyris grumbled about old foxes and rolled off his bed; the Earl must have sent a messenger even while on the road to escape.

However, this decision was quite wise. The Silversword Family was now on the verge of extinction, and even the slightest of delay would lead to other invasions. Richard had expected the request; any competent patriarch would focus on preserving their family over vengeance. He had also considered his demands already; one was compensation for military expenses, the other was Baron Canaan, and the third was the right to freely pass through the Silversword territory. He also added that Maplefire City and its surroundings had to be ceded to the Archeron family, although it could be governed by the same baron that ruled it before.

These four conditions were quite standard for civil wars, and the messenger heaved a sigh of relief. The Earl was obviously quite prepared as well; the messenger had come with a one-time communication circle.

An hour later, Fenlier's reply arrived; all conditions were accepted, with the monetary offer being 1.5 million gold and negotiable. However, the Earl asked that Canaan be allowed to commit suicide by poison to protect his family reputation. Feeling quite refreshed at the frankness, Richard agreed to the truce. The messenger left before dusk, and Fenlier was already on his way back.

With Maplefire now in Richard's hands, the two sides had a formal relationship. If Robert and Silitus tried to invade Silversword territory, Richard would have a reason to interfere. In addition to the pleasant scenery, Maplefire was also a city that overlooked the largest trade route to Swordwind City; it would give him a solid hold on the Silversword Family's loyalty.

Once the messenger was gone, Richard asked the guards to prepare some griffins; his work here was done, and it was time to go back. However, just as the guards left he heard a loud shout, “Richard, come out! Fight me if you're a man!”

Richard frowned in confusion; the sound was very clear, but it was also from outside the city. This was the first time that someone had openly challenged him since he invaded Silversword territory, and he didn't understand why someone with such power would have remained hidden until now.

Nyris looked at him and smiled, watching as he paced back and forth with anger.

“Do I look so easy to bully?” Richard grumbled, his followers already being sent towards the city gate.

Nyris just raised his hands, “Who knows.”

The challenger's voice pierced through the entire city, but the volume of her shouts constantly fluctuated between loud and soft. Both Nyris and Richard quickly realised that whoever it was had only just reached sainthood; even if she had decent control of her power, which she certainly didn't, she just didn't have enough in reserve.

Even before becoming a grand mage, Richard had killed saints in the Land of Dusk like he was cutting vegetables. Phaser and Tiramisu had already reached the gates, but they weren't moving.

“Richard, come out! Don't hide, can you only rely on your men?!”

“The hell?” Richard's face filled up with confusion. He had led a thousand men towards Swordwind City and decimated more than 50,000 troops. How was he the one relying on his men?

He started to move, but Nyris grabbed his hand and smiled, “Don't be in a hurry, let's hear what she has to say.”

“What? No! She'll keep blabbering and ruin my reputation!” Already having a hunch about the situation, Richard ordered Phaser and Tiramisu to just stand their ground and walked out himself. There was a possibility that killing this woman wouldn't be in his best interests.

Seeing him walk out, Nyris hurried to catch up, “What are you afraid of anyway, it's not like your family had a reputation to begin with. Keep listening, let's see what she says!”

The Archerons did have a bad reputation, but it wasn't one of cowardice. Richard snorted and jumped up to the keep, flying directly towards the city gate. He was still a little confused, but even he found himself almost agreeing with Nyris. This really was a position he was rarely in, and the sheer conviction in the voice was almost laughable. It was like someone who had been fooled into thinking a lion was a cat.

When he reached the city walls, he saw a teenage knight waiting outside. She seemed to be only seventeen or eighteen, a little child fat still on her face, but her silver armour glowed brilliantly and seemed to be at least epic-grade. Her mount was also quite rare, looking particularly tall and with an odd head that almost looked like a dragon's.

958 - City of Sin

One Goes Left, The Other Goes Right

Her helmet still in hand and long blonde hair fluttering in the wind, the girl immediately noticed the nearby knights saluting someone flying over from the keep and smacked her spear against the ground, “So you're Richard? How dare you invade my family's lands, come down and fight me!”

When Richard saw the young woman up close, he was quite amazed. Eyes glowing with Insight, he quickly determined that she was quite a balanced talent; most young powerhouses focused on their strength, bloodline, or some other aspect, but she had everything. That did mean she didn't excel in any one aspect, but entering sainthood while still in one's teens was quite the achievement. This kind of person was unlikely to reach the highest peaks, but she would still be a formidable enemy with no glaring weaknesses.

Although Richard and Nyris had forced themselves to stay below sainthood as long as they could to accumulate power, that wasn't the only way. One could also choose to advance early and stabilise their foundation, using their sainthood to start working on analysing laws. This was in fact the better idea for someone as balanced as her, who wouldn't really lose too much in any one aspect by rushing herself. Agamemnon had chosen this route, and to this day Nyris still couldn't compare to his taciturn friend anymore.

However, the girl's intellect seemed nothing compared to her talent. She had only recently achieved sainthood and was too weak to even guard the gates of the City of the Unsetting Sun, but she had still come here to challenge him. Her perception wasn't great either; she hadn't noticed the horror of the ogre lord standing atop the walls.

As the glow in his eyes from Insight faded away, Richard took one last look at the young woman's body through her armour. She suddenly felt a chill and looked around, but unable to find the source of whatever had triggered her sense of danger she returned to glaring at him from below. He sighed softly; the child didn't even notice that he was the source, she was just too inexperienced. While her talent had brought her to sainthood without any issues, she was just like a little flower in a greenhouse.

“And you are?” he asked.

“Alectra Silversword, daughter of Baron Somers and seventeenth student of Saint Thomas. Come down and fight me, you must pay the price for what you did to this city!” the girl raged.

The name Alectra was familiar, and scanning through his memory Richard found that it was one of the three goddesses of revenge. There was a hint of divine power in the girl as well, so it was quite possible that she had their blood. That would also explain her talent.

“Saint Thomas, the famous paladin from the Sacred Tree Empire?” Nyris flew over, “This girl has a good teacher alright. But who's Somers?”

Now familiar with the Silversword Family tree, Richard replied immediately, “Fenlier's younger brother. She should be the old coot's niece, but she doesn't seem to have an idea about the situation. You know what, stay here a moment.”

He took a step back while Nyris waited, making sure that the prince's focus was on the girl before he flashed behind and pushed him forward while saying loudly, 'Richard, this woman was challenging you!“

“What?” Nyris immediately turned around, “You...”

“You're more suited to this game, go,” Richard said softly, grabbing the Fourth Prince by the arm and sending him flying in a graceful arc towards the girl. With his martial arts trained to great proficiency, Nyris just didn't have the time to respond as he rocketed down while cursing.

*Ring!* A halberd flew out from the city walls as Nyris stopped his forward momentum, embedding into the earth right by his side. Looking at the legendary spear in the girl's hand and the superior-grade weapon that Richard had thrown over, the prince felt like cursing. He wasn't one to rely on weapons to win, but at the same time it was a huge embarrassment to lose because the shaft broke upon impact.

The girl stared at Nyris for a long time, her face flushing red as she stuttered out, “Are... Are you Richard?”

The angrier the Fourth Prince got, the more beautiful he became. It seemed like this attraction wasn't limited to one gender. Hearing the girl ask the question, Nyris picked up the halberd from the ground and suppressed his anger with a playful smile, “Yes. Now let's finish this quick, I want to get some dinner.”

Alectra's expression changed a few times before she bit her lower lip, jumping down from her mount and dragging her spear behind her, “Don't think I'm cheap, I'll fight you as an equal.”

Paladin Thomas was a unique presence in Norland; unlike most powerhouses that thrived in duels, his combat skills were designed for the battlefield. His charge was equivalent to that of a rune knight platoon, and as his student Alectra was certainly at her peak while mounted. With her mount also more powerful than even Richard's magic mounts, the girl had clearly given up a significant chunk of her power.

Looking over the scene, Richard had his chin in one hand as he immersed himself in thought. However, a number of strange ideas were running through his mind, a result of his blessing facing something he had little knowledge of yet.

The Fourth Prince seemed to have no regard for the fairer sex, stepping over to the girl and immediately slashing down with his halberd. Alectra exclaimed in shock as she took three steps back, her spear seemingly coming alive with a dragon's roar as she stabbed with every step. These three attacks combined were a famous technique used by Paladin Thomas that he called the Divine Smite.

Nyris immediately realised he had underestimated the young lady, his own energy bubbling up to repel the attacks. The halberd in his hands seemed to tremble as he tried to block the attacks, threatening to break at every step. He managed to catch the first two thrusts with the blade of the weapon, but the third made it through his defences and struck him right in the forehead.

Blue lightning erupted from the Fourth Prince's body as he retreated thirty metres, halberd falling by the side as his helmet split in two. A bright red line appeared from his hairline, leaking crimson down his forehead and the two eyes that were spitting electric fire.

If the Fourth Prince could be considered beautiful and charming, he was now cold and bright like a flower that had just been crushed.

Alectra's mouth opened up in shock; she hadn't expected this result. Having been distracted for a moment, she'd instinctively called upon her strongest trick when Nyris flashed over towards her; she hadn't thought it would actually injure him.

Nyris's expression had frozen over as he looked at the distorted halberd in his hand; had he used his own weapons, the result would have been different. His own aura was fierce, but he needed time to channel energy; the superior-grade weapon alone couldn't keep up with her heavy strikes. Had he not reacted quickly enough, those strikes might just have split his skull in two.

The prince didn't have to look at the wall to know that Richard and his followers were staring at him. Clenching his fist in shame at his poor display, he rubbed the crimson off his lips and shouted into the sky. Blue lightning crashed down and covered his body as he rushed forward once again, wielding the half-destroyed weapon in a flurry of blows on the opponent.

This time, he didn't let up. Zipping all around Alectra like a ghost, he landed strike after strike on her spear and nothing else. There was no energy imbued in the weapon itself, but every blow was immeasurably heavy; all of his rage had been concentrated on that spear, and no matter how she tried to dodge not one strike missed. Miraculously enough, the broken halberd somehow maintained its form even with the shallow cracks on its surface. In the blink of an eye, the girl had been pushed to the brink with no way to fight back.

Back atop the city, Richard, Phaser, and Tiramisu were considering how they would fight against Nyris if they were in Alectra's position. The special unit and the swordmage both believed they would still find an opening in one strike, while Tiramisu put both heads together and decided he would buff himself for strength and send the prince flying with one hammer. Not one of them would require a second attack.

In the meanwhile, Nyris seemed to be done venting as the halberd finally twisted, its blade catching the spear and launching it into the sky.

Alectra froze up in her stance, face willed with shock from the sheer impact of the loss. Grunting at the distorted halberd and throwing it away, Nyris noticed the defeat in the girl's eyes and walked over, gently lifting her chin and whispering warmly into her ear, “You see those three on top of the walls? As long as you can win against them, come find me in Faust. I'm going!”

Having said that, the prince jumped up and flew into the city, not forgetting to glare at Richard along the way. However, Richard sensed from his gaze that he had returned to normal for a bit.

A lonely Alectra was left outside the city, biting her lip as she stared at Richard, Phaser, and Tiramisu to burn their images into her mind. Picking up her fallen spear, she jumped back on her horse and galloped away.

......

Richard had lost some time with all the detours, but as night fell he and Nyris got on their griffins and flew towards Faust. His heart was heavy as they took off; the prince who had just been in good spirits was clearly sinking into a shell as he grew more silent and depressed. Nyris refused to answer his questions either, eventually even just turning away and ignoring him.

He could tell that the prince didn't want to return to Faust, but he had no choice. Already out for an entire week, he had to return to make sure that all of the family's assets were in order. As the king of the Archerons, he couldn't do whatever he wanted with his time.

The griffins flew east for an entire day and night, and as they landed Nyris quietly walked alongside Richard towards the teleportation temple. The royal family's portal was a little on the left, while the Archerons were on the right.

The temple was quite lonely this late into the night, but even though they were about to separate Nyris just continued walking towards the royal family's island.

“Nyris!” Richard called out, stopping the prince, but even so he didn't look back. Feeling the loneliness emanating from this long-time friend's figure, he said softly, “No matter what problems you have, remember to come find me.”

Nyris stood quiet for a moment before responding, “You can't help with my problems. You aren't just a person anymore, but the patriarch of the Archerons. This politics... it will interfere sooner or later.”

“Then I'll help you as Richard, not as an Archeron,” Richard smiled softly.

Nyris turned around to look him in the eye, slowly walking over before embracing him in a gentle hug. Richard felt his friend return for just a moment, but this was different. The very next moment Nyris turned around and headed towards his portal, not looking back at all. Richard watched his figure disappear and sighed, turning to his own portal.

One went left, and the other went right.

959 - City of Sin

Moon Of Pain

As the blue moon replaced the green over Faust, Norland quietly bade farewell to spring and entered summer. Faust, the Sacred Alliance, and even all of Norland were calm, as though the entire plane had lost its fighting spirit and was lazing around.

Mountainsea was sleeping at a window all day every day, basking in the light of the sun and stars. There were occasions where she even forgot to eat for many days at a time, but the floating island never forgot her presence.

Phaser had returned to Faelor to meet with the broodmother, but Tiramisu stayed behind. With nothing to fight, the ogre had returned to his old hobby of cooking, and in other times he just found a big open space and sat down while looking dazed. Still, he was growing bigger and bigger with time; ogres as a race grew naturally, and the bigger one was the greater their strength.

Rosie was still immersed in her workshop every day, working on countless fragmented runes to turn them whole. The pearl of the Mensa Family was a title even she had forgotten at this point, but the young mages serving under her still talked about working for the most beautiful woman in the world.

Asiris had left the Sacred Alliance, heading to Ward's hometown to offer condolences and investigate the situation.

With most of his remaining followers busy training or managing their worlds, Richard had occupied the top floor of the castle and converted it into a practice room, facing the setting sun while meditating calmly in the same place Gaton liked to occupy. The butler had said that Gaton sat here for an entire day before going to the Rosie Plane, and whenever he sat here he thought about what that man would do in his situation.

The original floor-to-ceiling windows had been torn apart completely during the renovations, leaving an open ledge that felt as though one was upon a cliff. Richard liked to think that he was sitting in the arms of the world.

He sat and meditated for an entire month. The environment wasn't particularly silent— Mountainsea's lion-like grunts resounded through the place— but that only added to his inner peace. His life was moving like clockwork, where he went down once every seven days to read through the reports from his private planes. There had been no issues in this time.

Having finished mapping out the fourth orbit, he had spent all this time trying to capture a fourth star. He wanted to try and complete that process here in Norland instead of a lower plane, taking advantage of the more complicated and powerful laws here. He had found many special celestial bodies meditating in Faust, but few of them would even budge at his behest.

One question had plagued his mind all this while— why was it that a plane like Norland was so special? However, there was no answer to be found. Faust hadn't been built by humans, the city of miracles coming from a time before recorded history. Even to this day, there were many mysteries in this city that people had yet to discover.

He'd stopped keeping count of his failures after the hundredth. These powerful stars were extremely difficult to just push around, and angling them properly so they would take to orbit was an enormous task even with his blessings. There was no lack of incidents where he had gotten most of the way there but lost control. Still, he had only grown calmer with his failures; the more difficult it was, the greater the rewards.

In the blink of an eye, he approached the thirty-first day of his meditation. He didn't understand why, but there was a great sense of restlessness within him as many past events sprung to mind. Most of them were from a distant past life, where he was just a mountain boy learning how to be a good young man from his mother. However, every memory ended with the same raging flames, an image so vivid it could have happened only a few moments ago.

Even after so many years, he had failed to fulfil Elaine's wishes. Although he was now the patriarch of the Archerons, holding full control over the family, he still felt an obstacle between himself and the right to control that volcanic cemetery. Even with his accomplishments, he just didn't believe he had reached the heights of Gaton Archeron.

But there would be a day he did. One day, he would retrieve Gaton's body from the depths of the abyss and bury it at the peak of the family tombs. Right next to it would stand a tombstone that read Elena Moonsong; that was the only way he could believe he had properly fulfilled his mother's wish.

Richard was snapped out of his memories by a vast amount of blue filling his sight. An enormous star came into view, but the energy it exuded was extremely familiar. Quickly realising that it was the power of the blue moon and stuck in a state of meditation where he didn't know what was real and what wasn't, he subconsciously pulled upon the blue body just like he would anything else.

He didn't expect to succeed at all, or even get close, but the energy felt extremely subservient in his control. The enormous blue body quickly entered the fourth orbit with no issues whatsoever, and by the time he even comprehended the situation it was floating around him. Feeling the pure blue moonforce within it, he felt his heart crunch up in pain.

Secret sword of Silvermoon, the blue moon: Annihilation. The one move Gaton had seen his mother perform in person, the one move his father had taught him perfectly. This was the sword that Elena had pierced Gaton's heart with. To this day, Annihilation was the strongest of his six secret swords. The blue moon was the one he felt closest to amongst the entire rainbow.

As the blue moon finished an orbit around him, it pulsed and released a star-shaped packet of energy that headed towards him. However, this moonforce didn't integrate into his moonforce affinity tree as expected, instead falling towards the dark red web of the Archeron bloodline. Richard instantly felt a cold shock as indescribable loneliness overcame him, almost driving him to tears from the sheer desolation.

However, as the wave of depression passed, a new realisation appeared in his heart: wasn't this another kind of destruction?

Golden light flashed as the symbols of his truename emerged from the lava, Dizmason quickly expanding into a number of other symbols. The new name still meant the same, destruction, but it was more powerful and complete. There seemed to be infinite things in every symbol, almost as though he was a deity creating a new plane. There were countless mysteries to explore, different types of laws that formed fogs, strips of light, chaotic bubbles, and many other building blocks for an entire machine.

Every symbol represented a law, a force, a certain element of power. One could consider them the basic units of existence that made up a law. However, these laws themselves could combine to form new symbols, a neverending spiral of power with no top or bottom. Exploring upwards was the formation of new laws with the existing symbols, and downwards was to analyse the laws within the symbols he already had. No matter whether one went up or down, it was possible to break away from one's ties to the world.

Richard didn't know which section of this spiral he was in, nor if the spiral even had any ends. However, he could feel that every step taken would grant him earth-shaking power. Even so, the transformation of his truename wasn't done yet; a long string of symbols gathered together and pulsed, slowly merging into each other to form something new. The blue moon released another burst of moonforce in the meanwhile, making these symbols brighter and speeding up the process.

Every symbol was a major world, and every major world contained countless minor ones. Their fusion broke apart the laws within and rejoined them, building a new world with mysterious powers. Richard immediately understood that this was an unparalleled opportunity, more precious than the advancement of any tree of life. Quickly activating all his minds and blessings, he started recording the entire process.

However, this fusion was just far too complicated for him to understand. Each symbol represented myriad laws, and during the reconstruction some of those were destroyed while new ones were formed out of thin air. These changes constantly made it more complicated, and despite his multiple minds he didn't have the time to actually analyse things. Even remembering the entire phenomenon seemed nearly impossible; he could only try to retain as much as he could.

This evolution was long and complicated, and Richard devoted himself to the world of laws and cut off all concerns about his surroundings.

However, the calm of Faust was broken.

960 - City of Sin

Moon Of Pain

The moment Richard pushed the blue moon into orbit, the entirety of Faust shook like it hadn't in decades. Those with keen instincts instantly noticed an abnormal fluctuation of mana in the city, as though an alchemic machine had just started after an unknown period of dormancy.

Most of the city panicked; the change could be a good thing, but it could also be a huge disaster. There were far too many secrets in Faust, and the humans occupying it hadn't decoded much in the past few centuries.

Even as the powerhouses of the city started scanning everything, someone on the streets suddenly screamed, “The Rainbow of the Moons!” Google search f𝙧𝒆𝚎𝘸e𝚋𝓷o𝘷𝚎𝒍. co𝑚

The Rainbow of the Moons was one of the symbols of Faust itself, and also one of its many mysteries. The moons had been revolving constantly for all the time they were known, completing a full cycle every 36 years. The phenomenon was gorgeous, but there were warnings written on stone tablets everywhere in the city stating that one should avoid staring at it for a long time. The moons had a strange power that could burn a mage's mana or a warrior's energy, draining their powers until they were only a husk of their former selves.

Many people thus avoided looking at the rainbow when they could, but with the scream everyone's attention was drawn up above. And once they noticed, they could not look away. Up on the Rainbow, the blue moon slowly separated, falling down towards Faust itself.

Was the Rainbow of the Moons going to break apart? Many were stunned by the sight, forgetting to hold on as the quaking of the city grew more violent. The Rainbow was a forbidden zone of Faust, with nobody able to fly near it. One lost control of their energy as they approached, and even legendary powerhouses were no exception to the rule. Once close enough, all energy would explode and the offender would burn up from within. To this day, nobody had gotten within a kilometre.

Amidst the stunned silence, the trajectory of the blue moon gradually became clear. It was heading towards the floating island of the Archerons!

A flash of lightning eclipsed the sky, a machete zipping across to intercept the moon. However, the blue moon only lit up and illuminated the weapon, causing its magical aura to dim until it turned into a piece of scrap iron and fell down.

The scene caused many to recall when humans had first entered this city. Some people had wanted to dig up the walls and earth for the purpose of research or pure greed, but ordinary methods had failed to even make a dent. Those who tried suffered grave punishments, from personal harm to the deaths of entire families by the will of the Eternal Dragon.

And today, the blue moon of the Rainbow had fallen off on its own. It couldn't be considered to be owned by anyone, and conversely anyone could obtain it. An original part of Faust, one of the seven moons of the rainbow... This was something even more valuable than the Tears of Anubis from the depths of the Abyss. This was a massive opportunity!

Dozens of weapons were shot out in an instant, covered in all sorts of saint auras. Some of them didn't even have the energy of a saint; their masters had thrown them out just for fun. The blue moon shone brightly upon them, wiping out all these auras alongside the enchantments on the weapons themselves. All of the weapons fell to the ground, having lost anything magical about them.

“MY SWORD!” someone suddenly screamed with horror, causing those who were about to follow up to hesitate. The weapon was one's most important tool, and most people spent enormous amounts on theirs. Losing them would be a heavy blow.

It was at this point that a loud whistle rang out, a seven-coloured longsword flying through the sky directly towards the blue moon. At the same time, an onerous chant filled the air as magical chains appeared out of thin air and weaved into an enormous cage trying to block the moon.

The longsword was tainted by the blue light as well, but it released powerful flames that resisted the effects and consumed the moon's energy. It shot right towards the moon, but it quickly passed through and flew out the other side; the blue orb fluctuated for a moment, but then it returned to its original state.

Was it not a physical object? This was another subversion of expectations. Everyone assumed that the seven moons were physical energy sources that powered the magical arrays of Faust. Now, it seemed they were just an accumulation of energy.

The sword drew an arc in the air as it flew back to an ordinary-looking middle-aged man. He looked at the moon strangely before observing his now-faint weapon, finding many tiny holes upon it. The damage was much more serious than he had expected, to the point that the weapon would never fully recover. He hadn't expected the moon to be so overbearing as to affect a legendary weapon, but his eyes that twitched in pain quickly lit aglow as well; this indicated just how valuable the blue moon was.

By this point, the cage of magic chains had completely encircled the blue moon and locked it in. The moon failed to just phase out of this, but then its brilliance slowly shone through from within as the cage began to disintegrate. Suddenly breaking through, it seemed to sense crisis as it accelerated its flight and continued heading towards the Archeron island. In the distance, an old mage suddenly coughed up blood; his legendary spell had been broken, and that carried consequences.

“Ooh!” A voice suddenly rang out of nowhere, a big hand breaking space and sticking out of the void to grab the flying moon. However, it suddenly shrank down to the size of a fist and seemed to gain substance, the fingers bouncing off with a dull clang.

A man in full-body armour stepped out of the void, looking quite strange with the mix of parts to his suit. Different styles of equipment had been randomly put together, and there were spikes that looked like devil horns all over the metal. The man himself looked middle-aged, his pale face and dark circles making him look more like an overworked labourer than a legendary being.

The new entrant turned towards the moon, no aura flaring up around him as his entire person turned into a flash that gave chase. By this point, the moon itself was effectively a ray of light as it zipped across the sky and finally entered the Archeron island, heading straight towards the meditating Richard and disappearing between his eyebrows.

The man giving chase saw the blue moon entering Richard's body and didn't hesitate as he grabbed out, planning to crush Richard's heart. The moon was the only thing in his eyes right now. However, a layer of faint golden light suddenly appeared around the edge of the floating island and blocked his palm.

The inhabitants of Faust were no strangers to this barrier. It was the protection the Eternal Dragon afforded to all floating islands, but most of the time it didn't play much of a role. The barrier didn't significantly affect those who had the favour of the old dragon, and with all the families of Faust being worshippers it was only a formality at best. However, the man bounced back from the impact and many of the thorns on his breastplate were twisted, the entire front half of the armour flattening out from the sheer force of the impact.

The thin film of light wasn't damaged at all, while the middle-aged man himself recovered from a bout of dizziness in the blink of an eye. He flew straight above the protective film and glared hatefully at the invincible defence, shouting towards Richard, “Kid! I don't care who you are, just hand that thing over now. If you don't, I'll kill everyone on your island!”

Richard slowly opened his eyes, a blue glow flashing within the emerald. Still seated, he looked up at the man outside and asked, “Who the fuck are you?”

961 - City of Sin

Failed Threats

The man was immediately enraged, black light flashing in his eyes as he punched towards the film of light. The fist was full of energy, but the barrier didn't so much as budge. Instead, his own face turned red with both nostrils starting to leak blood. He snorted and glared through the film.

Richard smiled faintly, “You can keep trying, but you'll only get more hurt. This is Faust, even legends don't just get what they want here.”

The man gnashed his teeth with rage, “You can't hide there for a lifetime, kid. Let's see any of your people dare to come out... Oh?”

His eyes fell upon Mountainsea who was sleeping next to Richard, face immediately warping with extreme greed. Barely able to look away, he turned back, “You're lucky, boy! I'm going to give you another chance. Just give me that thing and this girl, and I'll let you keep your worthless life. If you don't agree, you'll regret it!”

“Motherfu... You're asking for death!” Richard's eyes immediately flashed crimson, “Who the hell are you, you bastard?”

“Such courage! Don't think this film can protect you!” The man's gaze fell upon Mountainsea, a strange purple light appearing in his eyes as his voice grew soft and erratic, 'Little kid, hurry up and come to me. I'll make sure you enjoy the rest of your life as a woman. Yes, you love me. You're willing to do anything for me...“

The sleeping Mountainsea suddenly screamed and writhed, waking up for a moment and looking around her in a daze. She continued to rub her eyes as she met the man's stare.

The man was overjoyed with the quickness of the effect, continuing to say softly, “Yes, that's it. I'm your master now...”

Just as he continued to mumble happily, the man saw her picking up a small bracer and putting it in front of her face. He couldn't see the material from afar, but the workmanship was quite rough and unlike the mastery of Norland's smiths.

However, the moment his purple gaze fell upon the bracer the rays of light he was emitting were returned to him in full. The man screamed and fell from the air, plummeting down to the depths of Faust. Mountainsea still remained confused, not because she'd been placed under an illusion but because she wasn't awake at all. She threw down the bracer in her hand and went back to sleep.

The moment the unremarkable bracer landed, the obsidian floor half caved in before shaking. This tiny piece of armour had tens of tonnes of lafite condensed into it; even if most of the impurities had been removed, it wasn't much lighter than Eleventon.

Looking at Mountainsea's annoyed expression, Richard almost chuckled to himself. Using soul attacks on the Chosen of the Beast God was a fool's errand; even a legendary being would not meet a good end.

The man suddenly flew back up from below, his eyes now bleeding just like his nostrils. Gnashing his teeth, he pointed at Richard coldly, “You're finished! Your family and island are finished too! I'll turn every woman in your family into a who—”

Richard burst into laughter and interrupted him, “My island is finished? To think there's someone crazy enough to think they can just destroy an island of Faust. How exactly are you even here, if you're such an enemy of the Eternal Dragon?”

The man grew sullen, “So what? You don't know what it's like to become the enemy of a legendary being. You'll find out.”

Richard sneered, “And you don't know what it's like to be my enemy. I think you should know that the Eternal Dragon is quite willing to kill those opposed to him given enough payment? Do you think you match up to an overgod like him?”

The man stared at Richard, his eyes pulsing, “You'll regret this!”

“Stop embarrassing yourself and get lost.”

Finally rendered quiet, the man flew away with a gloomy face. Richard's own expression sank as he looked at the defensive membrane fading around him, falling back into meditation. Deep in his veins, the new symbols of his truename were in the final stages of their transformation. A pale gold light flashed as everything finally stabilised, his truename having evolved.

He opened his eyes and exhaled slowly, grabbing Moonlight and stroking the blade. A whitish-blue flame instantly ignited on the surface, very faint but hiding terrifying power. In only an instant the surroundings were past boiling point, and the temperature continued to rise rapidly. Eyes wide open in shock, he quickly had it fade away.

His meditation now complete, Richard couldn't begin to calculate just how great the harvest was. Not rushing to leave the practice room, he committed as much of the process as he could to memory for later analysis. The fourth moon had an affinity for destruction, which was why the corresponding secret sword had enormous sheer power. Perhaps it was this nature that pushed the blue moon's energy towards his Archeron bloodline instead of the moonforce affinity, having it blend with Dizmason.

However, he still had his doubts. All his life he had been trying his best to balance his demon and elven bloodlines, with the sole reason that they could not be merged. At the very least, he couldn't recall any elves and full-blooded demons that had produced descendants, and even for a half-elf, he was the only one he knew with demonic blood. Unfortunately, that meant there wasn't much of an example for him to learn from; he would just have to react to any issues in the future.

With the new symbols of his truename, he had gained another powerful ability. Instead of just breathing abyssal flames, he could set anything he wished on fire with his destructive powers and attack an enemy that way.

Noticing a frown on Mountainsea's face, he shook his head and smiled. Walking over and cradling her for a bit, he stroked her hair until she sighed with comfort and fell back into a deep sleep. Her body crackled ever so softly as she snored, a sign of her bones constantly being strengthened and adjusted spontaneously.

Slowly setting her back down, he stood up and walked away. She hadn't mentioned how long she would be sleeping this time; in her own words, she had managed as long as a year at a stretch.

.......

When he walked out of his practice room, Richard was extremely gloomy. Ever since he had broken the Mensas, nobody had acted so arrogantly towards him in Faust. The Archerons might not have a legendary being, but they had a horde of rune knights that could make up the difference. He wanted to know who that man was; there certainly wasn't an epic being's aura to him, and he hadn't given his name from start to end.

However, he was pretty certain that the Eternal Dragon would be able to track him down regardless. In fact, he was curious how someone that could prompt the miserly dragon to erect a barrier was left alive by the Church of the Eternal Dragon. Although he had only appeared for a short while, the Church hadn't made a move at all either.

Few people were willing to burn sacrifices to kill their enemies. Even for a saint the investment required was uneconomical; it was a much better idea to just strengthen oneself so the fight was lopsided. This was likely why the man hadn't really reacted to the threat. However, Richard called over a servant nearby, “Ask the steward to take out boxes 1 to 3 from the sacrifice warehouse. Send a message to Blackrose to transfer fifty rune knights immediately, rose knights are fine too. Tell the rune knights on the island to prepare for battle immediately; we're setting off the moment the other knights arrive. Send letters to Nyris, Neil, and Agamemnon too; tell them to come over to the island when they have time.”

Once the servant nodded and rushed away, Richard sent a message in his consciousness, “Waterflower, get ready. We're going to the Church.”

The young woman had been snoring in the grove behind the castle, with Tiramisu sitting down below barbequing a large bowl of raw meat. Hearing the mental command and watching her immediately flash away, the ogre asked, “What about me, Master?”

“You stay here. If anyone rushes over, kill them instantly.”

“Anyone?”

“Give them a warning first, but if they don't listen, yes anyone.”

“Alright Master, I'll try my best.”
𝗳re𝚎𝚠𝐞𝗯𝙣𝗼ν𝗲l. c૦𝓶

Richard remained in the castle hall for a while, waiting for the sacrifices to be prepared and the rune knights from Blackrose to arrive. Once the incoming fifty joined his own to make a full company of 100, he jumped on a mount and led them all towards the portal.

962 - City of Sin

Failed Threats(2)

Richard took away all the rune knights, leaving only Tiramisu on the floating island. The place seemed to lack defences, but anyone trying to take advantage of the situation would be in for a rude surprise.

By the time he appeared in the teleportation plaza, the place was quite noisy. More than a dozen nobles were arguing with the portal guards, some even starting to push around. Richard immediately frowned; these guards were only symbolic, but any physical actions against them was an act of war. None of these nobles were authorized to use the Archeron portals without permission.

“How did these people get here?” he asked one of his soldiers.

A balding and obese middle-aged man in the crowd took a step forward, bowing, “Lord Richard, I am Viscount Learst of the Wingstag Family, our patriarch is Earl Cole. The family has live in Faust for five generations, you should have—”

“Get to the point!” Richard interrupted.

The Wingstag Family was meagre compared to any of the fourteen, but it was still a decent power. The lesser families in Faust also tended to band together, and with a hundred of them they totalled up to a decent force.

The bald man wanted to show off his family's deep roots, but with Richard's cold gaze he quickly skipped the eloquence, “The blue moon of the Rainbow suddenly fell off and we all saw it fly towards the Archeron island. The Rainbow of the Moons is a symbol of Faust, any damage to it might endanger the entire city's interests. We discussed the situation and agreed that we should come over to see what happened.”

“And what if the moon's in my hands?” Richard asked.

The man immediately broke into a sweat, but he still remained clear in his words, “The blue moon belongs to the Rainbow of the Moons; for the sake of the future of Faust, we families believe that you should hand it over to us and negotiate who it belongs to.”

“Wait, what did you say?” Richard seemed confused.

Learst cringed, but gaining courage from the large number of companions behind him he spoke loudly, “You have to hand over the blue moon! Or else—”

“Who said the blue moon is in my hands?”

“So many people saw the blue moon falling towards your island, how could they—” Before he could finish his words, Richard picked up a longsword from one of his rune knights. The blade flashed and sent Learst's head flying into the sky. A fountain of blood erupted from his neck, shocking the nobles nearby.

Richard looked at the headless body before his cold gaze swept across the crowd, “You see, you need to be alive to try and rob me. You lot rush towards my island and think you'll get away with it? Well, you're about to pay for that folly with your lives.”

The nobles froze up for a moment before reacting, screaming as they rushed towards the portal to escape. However, it was too late. Richard's rune knights flew out like the wind and cut down dozens in the blink of an eye, emptying out the place near the plaza. There were still some nobles who were teleporting over from the other side, but seeing the horrific scene they immediately fled.

The rune knights had followed Richard for a long time and executed every one of his orders without fail. However, some of the younger knights in training here were stunned. Anyone able to enter this place could at least become a squad captain in the army, and they had basic political sense. They knew that killing so many nobles, even if they were minor ones, would bring trouble.

“Let's go,” Richard said indifferently, “You lot, throw the bodies off. I expect the plaza to be cleaned up by the time I'm back.”

Even as the guards nodded in a hurry, a rune knight with a few scars on his face sneered and held his still-dripping sword in hand as he stepped through the portal. The rest quickly followed, with Richard in the middle of the formation.

...

The teleportation temple was quite crowded, with many second- and third-class nobles of low status and even more warriors without noble status at all. There were more than a dozen saints present, all here of their own accord; they wouldn't deign to work with the worthless nobles, but they couldn't put aside their greed so they'd come here to see if they could snag anything.

The blue moon was from the Rainbow of the Moons, something even legendary beings hadn't been able to approach for centuries. Many people were calling it an artefact of Faust already, but that word wasn't enough to describe its value. Nobody knew what uses the blue moon had yet, but they had seen two legendary beings fail to acquire it alongside a third mysterious one who was even more powerful than the first two. It only made sense for the moon to have unimaginable value.

The temptations of the minor nobles were stoked, but none of them actually planned to get the moon itself. They knew that something so big might attract even the royal family, so even if they stole it from the Archerons they wouldn't be able to keep it. These nobles had united to extort the Archerons; Richard was now famous for his wealth, with every single one of his knights being armed to the teeth, so they wanted to make a fortune off of him.

Some of the small nobles even thought of forcing Richard to send a rune knight to each of their families in exchange for their solidarity. Richard had hundreds of rune knights, and there were only a hundred noble families in Faust. It was just that the portal could only accommodate so many people, which was why they hadn't made their way over.

As the next batch of nobles entered the portal, one of them immediately came back out and started running, yelling crazily, “They're all dead! They're all dead!”

Everyone was stunned, not understanding his words perfectly, but the look on his face caused their hearts to tremble. The portal suddenly lit up and they took a few steps back, opening up a large space nearby.

A fierce horse-like mount made its way through, atop it a rune knight who was grinning from ear to ear. Feeling his murderous aura and seeing the giant sword on his back still dripping blood and even some meat, many people gasped. They finally understood what all dead meant. Everyone was dead.

The knight pulled up the mask of his helmet, revealing a face with several scars as he looked around at the several people nearby. However, there was no fear in his expression as he sneered, his mount walking right towards the densest section of the crowd.

The nobles were instantly stunned. Although there were many warriors amongst them, some even with experience, none could compare to a true rune knight who had been forged in bloody battle. They subconsciously retreated in the face of his might; this was the difference between a warrior and a soldier.

The portal continued to flash as more rune knights emerged from within, entering formation around Richard. Some of the rune knights right behind him were carrying large chests that were marked with numbers.

The moment they saw Richard, the crowd suddenly grew excited. Someone shouted about the moon entering the island, others asking where it was. Some asked him for compensation for their weapons that were damaged while intercepting the blue moon. The surrounding saints also released their auras, giving the crowd even greater courage. Richard was fierce, but how could so many of them be in the wrong? They had more than a dozen saints!

963 - City of Sin

Princess Apeiron

One of the saints waiting nearby walked out to block off the arch leading to the Archeron portal, butting heads with the head of the rune knights. His aura flared up, and despite some grunting, he managed to stop the mount from advancing. This rough-looking man was only middling for a saint, but he was still much stronger than an individual rune knight.

However, the rune knight was someone from the battlefield as well. A true-blooded Archeron himself, he wasn't one to retreat just because the opponent was strong. He started pouring more energy into the confrontation, lifting his sword off his back.

With the imminent threat of being attacked by multiple rune knights, the saint's eyes immediately bulged with a trace of fear. He immediately shouted out, “Are the Archerons so arrogant that they want to keep the blue moon to themselves? Do you want to become enemies of all of Faust?”

The rune knight simply ducked down in answer to the threat, taking a step back as he prepared to charge. However, he suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder and turned around, seeing Richard shake his head. Despite his unwillingness, he stood down. Richard moved over to the saint, who immediately took a step back himself in fear. That one step became many more as Extinction was pulled from its sword case.

“Wait a—” the man didn't get to finish his words as Richard disappeared into a shower of blue sparks, jumping off his mount and cutting down. He raised his sword and bracer to block, but all he saw was a blue flame that just passed through both without hindrance before cutting across his neck. Before one could even tell, Richard was back on his mount and quenching a blue flame from his blade. A moment later, a soft breeze blew the saint's head off his body, face still stuck in horror.

There was no shower of blood, but the onlookers still felt themselves losing control of their bodies. Even a saint had died so easily? The head hadn't even fallen down before the sword and bracer shattered.

“A mere saint dares block the Archerons?” Richard's voice thundered, waking everyone up from their stupor. There were still over a dozen saints here, but with one falling so easily the rest finally realised that they were at great risk. Nobody wanted to be the second to test his patience; Richard was known to have killed saints before he was even a grand mage.

“I'm going to the Church of the Eternal Dragon,” he continued, “Whoever dares to try and stop me will be killed.”

100 rune knights marched in unison, their auras flaring up in threat. Their bloody swords showed that it wasn't an empty threat, and Richard had them march straight out through the crowd. Some people were about to join the saint who had blocked the path, but their words died before they were even spoken. A lot of people could be foolhardy when the outcome was certain, but dying in vain was completely different. The smouldering body on the ground showed Richard's determination; even if every minor noble in Faust was here, they would just be walking into a bloodbath.

Richard's march was open and uncontested. Nobles, soldiers, saints, and even multiple legendary beings watched him along the way, but not one stood up to fight for the blue moon. The killing intent Richard was radiating wasn't fake, nor was that of his knights. The nobles couldn't offend a major family, the soldiers couldn't withstand the knights' halberds, the saints couldn't help but fear Richard himself, and the legendary beings eyed the tracking javelins the rune knights had in one hand.

Richard thus went all the way to the Church of the Eternal Dragon, his three boxes of offerings undisturbed.

......

Thor watched Richard enter the Church of the Eternal Dragon from the top floor of the Mage Association, shaking his head with a sigh, “He's a really murderous kid.”

An old mage nearby coughed a few times, “Are you really letting him take the blue moon?”

Thor simply stroked his beard, “Maybe it was destined to be his.”

“I know not everything is mine to take,” the mage said with a wistful smile, “But that was an artefact with a soul...”

Thor nodded in understanding. Even legendary mages had to count on fate to get an artefact with a soul, but his concern right now was different. Seeing the old mage continue to cough, he asked with concern, “Don't strain yourself, how bad was it?”

The mage sighed, “The spell breaking wasn't the worst part. Some of the blue moonforce invaded my body, and it's been ravaging it since. I still have no idea how to clear it out.”

“Oh? Alucia should only be an intermediate god now. You've been exploring the myriad planes for many years, how hard can it be to eliminate the power of a single one of her moons?”

“That's what I thought,” the legendary mage smiled bitterly, “Now, I realise that isn't the case about it all. How is Alucia only an intermediate deity? Even this one moon alone qualifies her to be a greater one.”

“Will you recover?”

“Oh, certainly, but it will take time. I underestimated the blue moon's power. Hmm, we have a visitor.”
𝘧𝐫𝑒𝗲𝑤ℯ𝚋𝐧૦𝘃𝒆l. c𝚘𝓂

The old mage looked around, and Thor smiled coldly as well, “Since you're already here, you might as well come in.”

The door opened up to reveal a middle-aged man in a dark swallow-tailed coat appeared, the same one who had confronted Richard a short while ago. He wore an elegant fake smile on his face, and even though he'd just opened the door he knocked in a false display of courtesy.

“And what is an exile like you doing here?” Thor's eyes narrowed

The middle-aged man stroked his neatly trimmed moustache, “A 'Hello, Julian' would do. But since I have returned, Thor, do I really need to tell you what it means?”

Thor's expression warped ever so slightly, and he exchanged a quiet glance with the old mage. Julian swayed with exaggerated poise as he walked inside, a cigar randomly appearing in his hand and lighting aflame. He took a deep whiff and puffed out a cloud of smoke, maintaining his smile, “Which family occupied island 6-6 right now? Do you mind if I destroy it?”

“You want to make enemies out of thin air just for an unknown blue moon? Don't you even dare! The mere precedent of one of the fourteen being attacked... Unthinkable!”

Julian flashed a sinister smile, chuckling as he placed a hand on Thor's shoulder and whispered in a hoarse voice, “You should know the nature of the blue moon better than me. Old man, I'm not asking for myself, I'm asking for her. Do you really want to stop me?”

Thor's eyes flashed with momentary fear, “Who?”

Julian laughed softly, revealing pearly white teeth, “Have you forgotten Her Highness Apeiron after all this while?”

“Ap... Why is she coming back?” Thor lost his breath.

“Why shouldn't she?” Julian straightened up and took another whiff, “Now, you should know you can't intervene in this. Focus on the interests of the entire royal family instead. Now, I've brought you such important news; shouldn't you take out a bottle or two of good wine?”

Thor calmed down, calling over two young apprentices and sending them off. A moment later, each of them carried a tray with three cups back. Seeing the six different shades of red, Julian's breathing immediately grew hurried. However, he managed to restrain himself as he picked up the first glass and swirled it around, tasting the aroma before sipping on it with his eyes closed. His entire body trembled, and after a while he collapsed back into the seat he had taken with an orgasmic moan.

A few moments later, the middle-aged man seemed to awake from his stupor and picked up the second glass, repeating the same process. All six glasses were emptied in the blink of an eye, and his moans grew more and more erotic. His hair was matted down with sweat at this point, and his hands were shaking violently as though he was unstable, “Aaaaaahh... This feels so great. So many years...”

The two female apprentices grew scared and stepped back, but this retreat caught Julian's attention. He turned his head and looked at them, his baggy and blood-shot eyes glowing with desire. Before they could even react he had flashed over, throwing them into the forest nearby and ripping apart their clothes as he penetrated the first of the two with no hesitation.

964 - City of Sin

Offerings

A girl's wail reverberated throughout the semiplane that served as Thor's office, quickly followed by another. It took quite some time for Julian to finish, and once he was done he got up and smoothened the creases on his shirt while smiling at the dying moans behind his back. He walked over to Thor after pulling his pants up, “I used your little girls, you don't mind right? Decades without sex, it was unbearable!”

Thor's eyes were bloodshot at the sight, but looking at his dying apprentices he sighed and sent a grey light over to them. The light entered their bodies and stopped all motion, the struggling girls falling into a deep, eternal sleep.

Julian chuckled, “You really are the chairman of the Mage Association, casting grade 9 spells in an instant. Still, isn't it too much of a waste of mana for two acolytes? They were admittedly quite tasty, but still.”

Thor barely suppressed his rage, “There will not be another time. Dare to do this again in the future, and even Apeiron's name won't preserve your life.”

Julian immediately raised his hands in a sheepish smile, “Don't worry, I was just pent up. Who told you to make your wine so delicious? Haha, no need to be serious over two girls.”

Thor frowned. Even after so many years, Julian was still a difficult person to deal with. He seemed like an impulsive fool on the surface, but looking down on him would be a big mistake. Anyone able to survive in the Outlands for decades with their arms and legs intact had to be fierce and sinister, and would make for a difficult opponent. He wasn't certain in his own chances if they truly were to fight.

Julian glanced at the Church of the Eternal Dragon from the enormous window, revealing a playful smile, “The kid actually went to the Church. He must have some family, being able to pull out a hundred rune knights to defend him. He looks good too... If not for the blue moon, I'd consider playing with him for a while. But he actually threatened me with offerings? Ha, such a joke! What's he going to do, an intermediate offering? The...”

His words were suddenly stopped short as an hourglass appeared over his head, baggy eyes starting to bulge in shock. Looking at it in a daze, he whispered softly, “Is that kid actually using a sac— AAAH!”

The hourglass suddenly burst open, the sands of time pouring atop Julian's head. It turned into a golden pillar of energy that slammed down on his body and soul, starting to tear him apart. Nothing in the vicinity was affected; even the grass below remained green.
f𝑟𝐞𝙚𝘸𝐞𝑏𝙣𝑜v𝑒Ɩ. c𝐨𝙢

“HELL!” Julian screamed, a black aura covering his body to fight desperately against the erosion of time. The aura seemed to be corporeal, fighting off the golden energy and being eliminated in roughly equal proportion. However, blood still started to flow from Julian's nose as fear flashed in his eyes; the light beam suddenly doubled in size!

“A GREATER SACRIFICE? THE LUNATIC, HE'S COMPLETELY CRAZY!'”

Julian struggled under the impact of the torrent of time. It's felt like 10,000 tonnes were crashing down atop his head. Unable to remain standing, the legendary powerhouse fell to his knees. His face warping with humiliation, he roared like a wild beast and struggled his way back up. However, despite numerous attempts his creaking knees only made it a few centimetres up before crashing back down.

Tearing his coat apart to reveal a muscular chest, he stabbed his own hand up to the knuckles into his body, using the sheer pain to recover some of his strength. His legs slowly moved, lifting him from the kneel into a half-squatting posture. He suddenly smiled madly, looking right into the column of light and laughing, “You can kill me, you old dragon, but I WILL NEVER KNEEL!”

Eventually, the burst of energy started to fade away and Julian made it to his feet, “Haha, this is the power of a sacrifice... But what did the kid think I was? That two greater sacrifices would kill me? Just you wait; once this is done I'll rape your ass and turn the girl into a whore for ten thousand men!”

As Julian started cursing madly, the beam of light paused for a moment before returning with renewed vigour. The golden colour grew extremely bright, forcing Julian's laughter to stop as he saw his own hands starting to melt like candles under the power. The rest of his body started to suffer the same fate, the fallen flesh amalgamating into disgusting iridescent bubbles. His face warping with fear, Julian suddenly screamed, “A THIRD ONE? I NEED TO LEAVE! I NEED TO LEAVE RIGHT NOW!”

He screamed wildly as he tried to establish a portal for escape, but with the suppression of the timeforce his black energy just dissipated before it could form anything. His energy was exhausted almost immediately, leaving him with no means of escape. Suddenly looking at Thor, he held out his now-skeletal hand and shouted, “PORTAL! HELP ME BUILD A PORTAL, I'LL OWE YOU A FAVOUR. HURRY! HER HIGHNESS WILL INVESTIGATE MY DEATH, AND SHE'LL HOLD YOU RESPONSIBLE! PORTAL!”

Thor's face twitched, but he eventually waved his hands to form a portal to the Outlands. Julian continued to scream as he rushed through, his body blistering all over by the time he managed to escape.

......

At this moment, Richard was taking out the second greater offering from his second chest. The third was still untouched, containing another two greater sacrifices as well. However, as he placed the offering on the altar, a wisp of timeforce flew into his soul and caused him to sigh, “Can't do it? Is he dead?”

He looked at the greater offering in his hand and the third chest that hadn't yet been opened, frowning, “It can't be... Did he just escape? Whatever...”

Thinking about it with a sneer, he threw the greater offering back into its chest. Three greater offerings would certainly leave Julian gravely injured; even if he'd managed to escape, he would remember the lesson for a long while. Done with the immediate threat, he returned from the altar to talk to Noelene.

“Do you really have the blue moon?” the grand priestess asked the moment he met her.

Richard glanced around and smiled, “Yes.”

“Then get rid of it,” she said solemnly, “and do it now. No single family can afford to take one of the artefacts of Faust, it's best you hand it over to the royal family and get some compensation. The Emperor will definitely reward you handsomely.”

He smiled helplessly, “What's the High Priestess saying?”

Noelene shook her head, “She hasn't been seeing anyone recently, she's not in a good mode. But she'd say the same thing. The original components of Faust are unimaginably ancient; there aren't many benefits to having them, but they'll bring you a great number of enemies.”

“Well, I can't really give it up even if I wanted to. The moon fused into my bloodline, it's a part of my truename now. If I try to pull it out... Well...”

“What?” Noelene's eyes went wide with shock, “Okay. Come back to the Church three days later, bring every sacrifice you can find. I'll try my best to help you and see if I can make a difference.”

“Sacrifices? Why?”

Noelene gritted her teeth, “To get you a guardian from the Lightless Void.”

“The Lightless Void?” Richard frowned, finding the name familiar.

“I can't say more, just that the guardians coming from there are speci— khech!” Noelene suddenly coughed up some blood, her face turning white. Many tiny cracks appeared on her skin and started oozing crimson, and when she smiled it looked absolutely horrifying, “Even that's too much. Anyway, three days. Don't forget.”

965 - City of Sin

A Road Of Battle

“Three days,” Richard nodded before walking out of the Church. He stopped right at the gates and looked down at Faust below, knowing that one more step and he would lose his shelter. Waiting for him was the greed of most of the minor nobles in Faust, perhaps even some of the giants of the floating islands.

He wasn't foolish enough to think that the Archerons could fight against all of Faust on their own, but the blue star he had pulled into orbit was most certainly the blue moon they all desired. That was now merged into his very bloodline and truename; he didn't know whether extracting it was a possibility at all, but even if it was his strength would drop massively. He had never heard of someone losing their truename, but the loss of one's bloodline would limit one's remaining life to a few years at best.

Besides, would handing over the moon even guarantee safety? What would the enemies do when he showed signs of weakness? How would he compete against all the families that wanted him dead?

Gaton's silhouette flashed in his mind; if that man were in the same situation today, he would step out without hesitation. No matter how many enemies he was to face, he would cut them all down. There was no need to fear dying in battle, but which true Archeron would give up their own lives for the enemy's sake?

A hundred rune knights were waiting at the gates of the Church, quietly watching his every move. They knew everything by this point as well, but they were waiting for his orders. So long as he commanded it, they would fight to the end even if all of Norland was against them.

Looking at these men who had followed him for years, Richard suddenly felt a little emotional. He knew the names of every single one, knew the situations of their wives and children. And yet, even more names were only left in his memory; years of war had hardened him to the fact that soldiers had to be sacrificed, but every death still stung. Just how many knights had he buried in the countryside over all these years?

And yet, this was but the fate of a rune knight. They were given equipment and power so they could serve him better, and as their lord his fate was to use their sacrifices to strengthen the family's foundation and grow its glory. Norland was a ruthless world where everyone had no choice but to advance; stagnate for a moment and one's enemies would grow powerful enough to destroy the entire family. If a plane couldn't plunder resources from other planes, it was a sitting duck waiting for the first hunter to find its coordinates.

Morality could not stand above life and death; survival was all that mattered.

He faced his rune knights and took a deep breath, “You all know the situation. I'm up against all of Faust, and the way back will be littered with blood. You men have served me faithfully for years; if you don't want to follow me into this massacre, then stay here. Leave once the situation dies down.

“I won't blame any of you for choosing your families over me. This might be the last time I walk down a road, but it needn't be yours. Those who wish to stay, move inside the gates.”

The rune knights looked straight at Richard, not one of them moving a muscle. When he asked again, the scarred knight with the greatsword stepped forward and bowed, “My Lord, we are Archeron soldiers. The battlefield is our life! We'll keep you alive until the last of us breathes no more!”

The other rune knights cheered at his proclamation, causing Richard's hands to tremble. He quickly walked out of the Church before jumping on his horse, beginning a march towards the teleportation temple. An orb of light floated over his head even as Waterflower appeared out of thin air, following right behind.

The rune knights followed immediately. Richard spent most battles in the back lines commanding them with his control of the battlefield, but every dangerous battle had him in the front. He always put up this orb of light as well, making himself the target for a large number of enemies. This had begun as an imitation of Gaton, but at this point it was just a part of his personality.

The rune knights weren't fools who only knew to fight; to reach such a level required at least a modicum of tactical ability. Their auras flared up to the most violent they had ever been even before the battles would begin; they knew that the only way out of this was to cow Faust into submission with a show of thunderous force. Greed had to be broken by fear, or the families of the city would unite and crush the Archeron Family entirely.

For Richard himself, this meant only one thing. Anyone who even slightly provoked him would meet only one end.

The 100-man army was quite spectacular, attracting the attention of all of Faust. Richard saw many people on either side of the road from atop his ride, but none of them actually did anything. His senses detected a large number of saints in the distance, and as he continued to scan his perception grew fuzzy and he felt a buzz in his mind; there was at least one legendary being nearby.

No small number of sword-like gazes fell on Richard; the more powerful nobles had been caught off guard when he headed to the Church for the sacrifices, but now they'd found the time to gather their cards. In theory there was no need to fear Richard and his rune knights when they had as many or more saints; they just wanted to wait for him to go halfway before they attacked.

However, that was only in theory. Richard's demeanour guaranteed one thing; he would fight to the death. To take his entire army down would need dozens of saints, and nobody wanted to be the sacrifices that were taken advantage of later.

Richard took a deep breath of the dreamy air of the city, a wicked smile filling his face that even the most staunch of people had to admit was quite alluring; despite only being a half, he did have the unparalleled looks of an elf. Yet, the smile did not reach his eyes; those were glowing with blue light. His sheer murderousness was so horrifying that those closest to him heard phantom howls.

The powerhouses nearby were surprised, while Thor who was watching from the distance was shocked. Just how many lives had Richard reaped to condense an aura so powerful? Even many legendary beings didn't have such killing intent?

Despite word of his great achievements in the Land of Dusk, many still primarily recognised Richard as a grand runemaster. Now, those present reevaluated that decision; this was someone who had killed so many that counting was impossible. Richard Archeron was not a young master who shut himself in the lab all day, not just an amazing tactician and commander, but also a powerhouse who had walked his way up a hill of corpses!

Everyone who had hoped the instant death of a saint had been a fluke abandoned that idea. Richard was most certainly a sky saint at this point, and even amongst sky saints he was amongst the peak.

It was in this way that Richard's army marched to the teleportation temple, as slow as a summer stroll. Richard suddenly recalled the night when Gaton had brought sacrifices to the Church of the Eternal Dragon, giving him the first chance to perform a sacrifice in his life with that incomparably heavy heart and skull. That night was similar as well, and Gaton's sheer momentum as he walked past an armed enemy without flinching was still etched into his mind. Perhaps he was still a tiny bit off from that level, but he still had men he trusted accompanying him along the way.

The rune knights gradually approached the teleportation temple, arriving at a small square a short distance before it. This was the last place where they could be ganged up on along the way. There were already hundreds of warriors following, and amongst them were more than sixty saints. Although legendary beings hadn't appeared yet, those watching could get here in mere seconds. It wasn't a good look for a legendary being to attack one of the fourteen families in the first place, and with a hundred rune knights and Richard's own power they had good cause for caution. If they led the charge, even they could possibly lose their lives. These powerhouses would much rather just wait until the time was ripe before butting in.

Seeing Richard and his army about to leave for safety, the mob finally couldn't endure it any longer. Someone shouted from amongst the crowd, “We can't let them go! They killed dozens of people, they have to be punished for their crimes!”

With that one voice as the lead, a large number of people immediately started a clamour and began entering the square. Knowing the psychology of mobs, Richard grunted; he and his men would kill all who came, but they would eventually be overrun. Living and dying would be a matter of luck, and so long as everyone faced the same risk all people thought they were the bastards of Fate and would survive. Please visit 𝙛𝓇𝑒𝗲𝒘e𝘣𝓷𝘰ѵe𝚕. com

He immediately stopped his mount, turning around to look at the gathered warriors. Seeing his cold gaze and charming smile, everyone suddenly felt a chill and subconsciously backed up a few steps.

966 - City of Sin

Swords

“They might not be enough alone. Should I go put some pressure on Richard myself?”

“It's best you don't. In fact, we might have to try and help Richard if his life is under threat. Don't forget who his master is.”

Thor and the old mage were watching as the mob gathered from the Mage Association building, the latter looking quite excited, “But Her Excellency should be asleep. This is our chance...”

“Is it?” Thor smiled bitterly, “And what about when she wakes up in the future? You know she is famous for her divination; if she finds out that Richard died and we helped or even just watched on, we will bear the brunt of her rage.”

“But if Richard has to survive, my own death is looking more and more likely. The blue moonforce isn't fading away,” the old legendary mage sighed.

“Well...” Thor sank into thought, stroking his long beard as he returned his attention to the square.

......

Richard held out a hand, and the Shepherd of Eternal Rest flew from Waterflower's sheath to his hand. He then pointed to a few rune knights nearby and their swords did the same; in the blink of an eye, he had more than half a dozen swords. He then pointed to the teleportation temple, “Go back to the island. Waterflower, you too.”

The rune knights could hardly believe their ears, the scarred leader immediately asking, “My Lord, what about you?”

Richard glanced at the crowd in the square and flashed a disdainful smile, “I'm going to stay behind and test the skills of these saints.”

The knight immediately flashed a bloodthirsty smile of his own, licking his lower lip, “You go, we'll take care of them. I swear to you that these fuckers will piss their pants at the Archeron name in the future!”

“I said go!” Richard waved his hand as he exchanged a glance with Waterflower, “That's an order!”

Having made himself clear, he jumped off his mount and walked to the centre of the square, thrusting the swords into the ground one by one. A simple touch to his sword case launched his own three blades out, and they joined the rest. Standing in the middle of it all, he looked at the hundreds of warriors around him, “You want the blue moon, don't you? Then all you saints step up to die. If you haven't even reached sainthood, don't waste my time.”

For a time, the small square went silent, the hundreds of warriors holding the breath. A lone Richard still managed to overwhelm them, but he was the one with the blue moon. With no reason to chase after the rune knights, they let them leave and surrounded the small square further. Everyone had their eyes on the saints.

Most people capable of entering sainthood had a certain amount of dignity. They could be shameless in some occasions, but in front of such a large crowd where they were known they would act as noble as they could. Richard's words were a slap in the face that left them burning, but they had already heard of how a decently powerful saint had been killed in one blow.

Going up alone was death, but grouping up was no good either. It might have been alright to do so in another situation, but there were just too many eyes here. Any victory they achieved would be hollow, and the victors would only be shamed instead of praised. Even worse, this was the capital of the Alliance; there were diplomats from the other empires here at all times.

Everyone wanted the blue moon, but nobody was willing to step up. Richard waited quietly, not minding at all. All of the rune knights disappeared into the teleportation temple, and Waterflower left with them. His direct orders could never be disobeyed. Thus, he was the only one in this small square facing half of the powerful warriors of Faust; all the eyes of the city were looking at him.

Eventually, a rather large man stepped up to the task. His equipment didn't seem all that special, but there was a legendary sword at his waist. His beard was messy and unkempt, but a fierce light was shining in the depths of his eyes. Looking Richard in the eye, the man slowly stretched his body and erupted with a mountainous aura, standing half a fold taller when he was completely straight. He immediately became the centre of attention, making Richard look like a weak child.

The man grinned from ear to ear, “My name is Atlas, people consider me a sky saint. I don't know if that's true, but I want a good fight with you today. I don't give a shit about the blue moon or whatever, just to see who's better. Be careful, I won't be holding back.”

Richard just stared blankly in response, “Don't care. Step up to fight me and there's only one result; you die.”

Atlas frowned a little before laughing, “What, you're invincible under the legendary realm or something?”

“Yes,” Richard said blandly.

Everyone present immediately went quiet, Atlas's laughter coming to a halt as well. He pulled the legendary sword from its sheath and shouted, “Ballsy. Let's see if it's true.”

The enormous man screamed and shot forward, space starting to crack around him as he chopped down with the greatsword like it was an axe. He condensed as much power as he could into one strike; his strengths were explosiveness and speed, and he planned to leverage them to the fullest.

When Richard moved, there seemed to be an infinite number of him in the square as he left a thousand afterimages behind. Everyone followed him pull two swords from the ground, one blocking Atlas's blade and the other sweeping straight up his body from below. He then took a step back, putting the white-hot swords back into the ground.

Everything was clear, but it was also suffocating. By the time the crowd could follow Richard's actions, Atlas was frozen in place. Only the most perceptive of them all realised that Richard had been so fast they couldn't even react, but his moves were still imprinted into their minds. The only explanation for this was a soul-related power. Richard was so strong that he had shown off to the audience in the midst of killing a sky saint.

Slowly recovering from his stunned state, Atlas smiled bitterly, “Sure enough... Invincible... under the legendary realm...”

As he finished these last words, a shocking red line emerged on his body and started smoking as he fell backwards, falling with a thud. The audience was stunned silent, a number of eyes drawn to him. Even the weakest of warriors present had felt his horrifying momentum, and even saints blanked out at his might.

In the top floor of the Mage Association, in the upper levels of a large hall, and on many of the floating islands, several legendary beings held their breath at the same time.

......

Within a hotel overlooking the small square, a group of rather imposing figures were standing at the windows of a large room watching the show. There was no lack of saints amongst them, but they all lost their voice.

An ordinary-looking youth in the middle of them all smiled softly and broke the silence with his pleasant voice, “I didn't expect someone of such calibre in the Sacred Alliance. Thankfully they're still ruffians who turned out to be like this for a single blue moon. The so-called fourteen really are incapable of doing anything; just a bunch of short-sighted fools.”

Another middle-aged man with sharp eyes spoke up, “Is this not our chance. This is a grand runemaster, we might be able to pull him over.”

The youth shook his head, “People like him have their own principles. He'll come to us if he wants to, but there's nothing we can do to convince him if he doesn't. Such a pity, but at least there's another opportunity... Anyway, let's go.”

......

Within the square, another body had just fallen in front of Richard. Provoked by a few people around him, a saint without good judgement had charged out and gotten his throat stabbed before he could even draw his weapon. The death had been so fast that the onlookers couldn't even process it.

After a minute of stunned silence, many people began exchanging glances. After a few moments of non-verbal communication, three saints stepped forward.

"Finally growing shameless, huh?" Richard smirked. More blue flames flashed, and even as his lips turned crimson the three saints were reduced to charred corpses on the ground. The onlookers were stunned, more saints preparing to move. Three weren't enough, but what about thirty? At this point, failing to kill Richard would lead to their own deaths in the future.

967 - City of Sin

Monkeys

Five of the longswords initially plunged into the ground were now destroyed. These superior-grade weapons couldn't handle the searing heat of the blue flames, melting apart in the blink of an eye. Every activation of the power had caused the temperature in the entire square to rise, as though a furnace was running nearby. The weaker warriors already found it difficult to breathe, while even the saints were sweating.

Richard continued to stand quietly, not wiping off the blood flowing down the corner of his mouth. The single drip that rang through the deafeningly silent square confirmed one thing: he was hurt.

But so what? Everyone knew that injured beasts were the most dangerous of all.

The saints were all staring at each other in fear, trying their best to drum up the courage even to act against him as a group. However, their eyes were constantly drawn to the bodies on the floor that hadn't yet cooled.

“Everyone, attack to—” A dwarf hiding in the crowd started yelling, but Richard's gaze immediately fell upon him. Swallowing the rest of his sentence, he slowly started to back away. Richard picked up one of the molten swords that he had just used, throwing it towards the would-be instigator.

A faint blue flame appeared on the remains of the sword, but it flew very slowly through the air. Still, the dwarf lost all colour to his face and turned to run, only to be held in place by fear and fear alone. His joints stiffened up as though he was a small animal being eyed by a lion, his legs refusing to move. He had already jumped away in his mind, but the onlookers only saw him standing in place.

Seeing the thrown attack, everyone nearby cleared out instantly. There was a saint warrior on either side of the dwarf, but even these so-called powerhouses saw the flames and retreated as fast as they could. The molten sword plunged into the dwarf's body, the tiniest bit sticking out the other side. The flames burst out from his wide-open mouth, and as his corpse fell apart it became evident that all of his internals were charred.

The dwarf wasn't even a saint. He couldn't hide from Richard's unerring aim in the slightest, and none of the saints had the courage to block the attack for him. However, the final result only condoned their cowardice; the flames didn't expand naturally and burn him from within but shot out his mouth in an exquisite display of control. Had someone tried to help, the flames would have jumped to and burnt them instead. The blue fire didn't need any extra abilities; its heat alone was enough to kill most saints.

......

What looked to be a few ordinary nobles were standing in the shade of the trees closer to the peak of the mountain, watching the battle in the square. Although they were far away, they could still hear and see everything that was going on. The middle-aged man at their head had an incredulous expression on his face, “Are the lesser nobles of Faust even allowed to attack the fourteen?”

“Of course not, my Lord,” someone next to him replied, “Although the Sacred Alliance is a country of upstarts, their system is based heavily on our own. Theoretically, the other major families should unite and suppress this mess; they can't leave them unchecked and risk the entire aristocracy falling down.”

The man nodded, “So why aren't the others intervening.”
f𝑟𝐞𝙚𝘸𝐞𝑏𝙣𝑜v𝑒Ɩ. c𝐨𝙢

A lanky man spoke up this time, “The lesser nobles are fascinated by this so-called artefact. As for the other major families, I hear that half of them have conflicts with the Archerons and many of them have even been defeated in prior civil wars. They will interfere, but I believe they are waiting for Richard to be beaten down so they can profit more from the situation.”

The first aide snorted, “All short-sighted. Even if they have enormous problems with the Archerons, they shouldn't just sit back and let this happen! It's the Archerons today, but then it might be the Mensas tomorrow. It's like two monkeys are fighting and one of them just decided to burn the forest down to win.”

“Everything works out for us,” the lanky man smiled, ”They would rather threaten their entire system just for internal struggles, so when they lose one of their pillars how will they fight us?”

The middle-aged man nodded, “Yes. Begin looking into the third option for the negotiations.”

Everyone froze up for a moment. The third option was the most overbearing of them all.

......

The saints in the small square seemed to have gained a level of cooperation, approaching Richard a single small step at a time. They walked together, gambling on who Richard would kill first. Nobody here knew just what Richard's blue flames were, but the temperature was so frightening that the flames should have actually been white. Someone skilled with fire had already tried to claim his glory and failed.

Richard's explosive attacks could kill without error, possessing unstoppable power, but fortunately he was also consuming a great deal of energy with each strike. From the looks of it, he could only make up to ten attacks.

But ten swords meant ten saints! There were already six bodies in the ground, and none of those present wanted to be amongst the rest.

Richard suddenly sighed and pulled Moonlight out of the ground, the flame igniting on the blade as he pointed it forward. The saint he pointed at immediately shuddered; there was no way he would be able to escape if Richard chose to attack. Richard feinted a few times, and the sight of the saint flinching like a child elicited a chuckle, “You're a saint too, and you want the blue moon? Pathetic. And you fools, you really think I can only use a few more attacks? Come at me.”

“Don't believe him, let's go together!” someone shouted loudly to dispel the hesitation. However, a sharp whistle filled the air as a one-handed axe whizzed through the sky, falling right in front of Richard's feet yet with the blade pointing towards the crowd. The weapon was just gorgeous, and at one glance one could tell that it was a piece of legendary equipment. The aura powering the weapon seemed to be a saint's as well.

However, nobody with any sense cared about either of those. Instead, they looked at the mark on the axe; the crest of the royal family.

All of the lesser nobles of Faust could conceivably band together to grab the blue moon from the Archerons, but they wouldn't dare to do anything in the face of the royal family. The royal family had no lack of legendary experts who had been exploring the myriad planes for decades, but even ignoring them Emperor Philip himself was inconceivably powerful.

Bloodthirsty Philip was a man who could attack an entire fortress in a battlefield of despair on his own. Levels were no longer enough to describe him; even amongst epic beings, he was one of the most powerful! A legendary being might take some time to kill everyone present, but to the Emperor even saints were no more than commoners. Nobody would be able to escape.

“You sure are bold to attack one of the fourteen families. Such flagrant disregard for the law... Are you people not afraid of the death of your families?”

Footsteps rang out as the warriors blocking the entrance to the square automatically gave way. They didn't fear the new entrant himself, but they were absolutely terrified by the royal family behind him. It was someone with an unparalleled appearance, his mere presence leaving many short of breath.

The Fourth Prince was here.

968 - City of Sin

Final Offer

Everyone in the crowd exchanged looks of fear, but having gone this far none of them wanted to give up either. They had grown more and more audacious with the other families of the fourteen not making a move to protect Richard, but now they had attracted the attention of the Fourth Prince.

These minor nobles only dared to try and kill Richard because they knew the Archerons were in a rather unique position in all of Faust. They were perhaps the only family with no clear heir, and their reliance on Richard meant that they would likely fall days after he died. Any other family in the entire city, even those without islands, had the history and pedigree to survive. This courage fizzled away in the face of Nyris's appearance. Offending a prince without reason was certain death.

“Richard killed more than a dozen of us!” a noble called out from the crowd.

“And I'd kill a dozen more if they dared step foot on my island,” Richard responded with a smile. Looking at him, Nyris momentarily went into a daze.

An old saint stepped out of the crowd, asking in a low voice, “With all due respect, Your Highness, might I ask if you represent the royal family with your stand on this matter?”

“Benzo Nirk, is it?” Nyris looked at the saint with narrowed eyes, causing the man to pale. Surprisingly, he refused to cower as his eyes instead flashed with killing intent, his chest puffing up in a display of determination. Nyris turned around and gave Richard a meaningful look before declaring in a clear and melodious voice, “No, I'm just here as Nyris.”

Having said that, the prince flipped off the entire crowd and continued viciously, “But I am here. Killing me will have no repercussions from the royal family, but let's see you fools even get to that point first.”
𝙛𝘳𝐞𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝗻𝘰ѵ𝗲𝙡. 𝑐o𝓶

......

Within the window of a nearby inn, Neil jumped to his feet even as his palm struck his face. Cursing under his breath, he waved and instructed a servant, “Go tell... Sigh, go tell Father. Also pass down my orders; every saint under me is to get here right away!”

Knowing the situation was urgent, the servant took off at once. Neil turned to the two saint guards behind him, “If Richard and Nyris end up in danger, I'll need you two to try and rescue them.”

Two against dozens was a suicide mission, but the guards nodded with no signs of hesitation or despair. These were men who were fully prepared to die for their lord. Nodding himself, Neil turned back to the square.

......

Nyris wanted to continue his speech, but he was suddenly grabbed by the back of the neck and flung out of the encirclement. Even as he flipped over in the sky to land on his feet, Richard looked him in the eye, “Fuck off, this is none of your business!”

Richard then pulled out another longsword and continued with his charming smile, “Now, I don't want to waste time going in circles with you lot. You want the moon, don't you? Kill me and you get it. The price is simple; half of you will be left behind.”

Half of them? Nobody wanted to believe Richard's words, but their instincts told them that he wasn't lying. With half of everyone dying, the odds of one's own death would be 50%. In that case, who would be able to grab the blue moon? Even if one did, would they be able to keep it?

While the mob started hesitating, the small square began to shake as a young man that was built like a mountain made his way over. He seemed to be walking at leisure, but before anyone could even react a powerful force gently pushed them away. The youth didn't utter a single word as he moved past them, but he took his place beside Richard.

This caused an uproar in the crowd. Agamemnon was one of the Ironblood Duke's most favoured sons, and his arrival changed the situation in a way that Nyris's wouldn't. Even without any followers or soldiers, he was far more of a threat to go up against. While most of the Fourth Prince's siblings would be rather happy that he was gone, the monster known as Beye doted on this brother of hers. Killing him would cause disaster.

Now, the mob truly was having second thoughts. There was only one factor that compelled them to fight anymore; Richard's vengeance. Everyone that had publicly made him an enemy in the past was eventually punished for their decision, and he was known for his strong memory. Already at a point of no return, they would rather kill the three present before they died than just whimpering away in vain.

However, the crowd was blinded once more as another figure flashed its way over. After a moment of stunned silence, someone whispered in alarm, “Beye!”

Eyebrows and pupils so faint they were almost colourless, dishevelled short hair, and a completely unconcealed aura that was brimming with killing intent; as someone who had managed to kill a legendary being on her own, Beye inspired sheer terror in anyone going up against her. She was even more terrifying than most legends; having forced herself to delay the advancement as long as she could to hone her skills, she would certainly be a terrifying monster whenever she did take that step. At that point, legends likely wouldn't even be able to escape from her.

Both Nyris and Agamemnon were only vaguely important to their families, but the Ironblood Duke would never sacrifice Beye in his life. If she were to fight to the death here, Duke Orleans would most certainly wipe out the family lines of everyone involved. With him as a catalyst, the royal family might move as well!

“You guys...” Richard shook his head in resignation as Nyris jumped back, the blue flame on Moonlight winking out, “Sigh. Why do you want to stop me from venting a bit? The chance is gone.”

A wicked smile that could reduce children to tears crept onto Beye's face, “The old man was worried that you wouldn't be able to help him take care of those young beauties on his behalf, so he told me I couldn't let you die. You represent their happiness.”

Lawrence was far away and had withered to a mere husk of his former self, how could he react so quickly to the events in Faust? This was just an excuse. Richard understood that Beye was nearby and had rushed over the moment she got word; it was just that she was as awkward with relationships as she was proficient at combat; she would never readily express her concern.

However, Richard still shivered at the mention of young beauties. Most of those women were young fifty years ago; by now, half of them were probably buried in the ground. Lawrence's task for him... He couldn't help but want to run away at the mere thought. Still, it made him want to visit the old pervert again. It was just that there hadn't been a single chance of life extensions in any of his recent sacrifices and his tree of life had told him the fruits wouldn't work on someone so old.

Just as he was filling up with nostalgia, Beye's sharp gaze focused on the crowd, “What are you still doing here? Tired of life, are we?”

Another saint braced himself before asking, “With all due respect, Lady Beye, are you here representing your own stance or that of the Ironblood Duke?”

Just as the words left his mouth, the man suddenly stiffened as his eyes went wide. Beye slowly withdrew her index finger from his forehead, the long digit covered in blood and brains. Few people in the entire square had even managed to see how she'd made her move.

“Questioning my presence, you've got some nerve.” She shoved the corpse to the ground, raising her head to look at the dumbstruck crowd, “Any indignity towards the fourteen families will not be tolerated. Any judgements upon one of our own must come from us, not you rabble. Any family that wishes to attack a ruling family of Faust has to abide by the laws that have been around for centuries; you need to march your way into the city first. This is the Ironblood Duke's will!”

This caused an uproar in the crowd, the people cowering with fear. However, someone still worked up the courage to ask, “So this—”

“This ends here. No feuds shall arise from this, no one shall use it as an excuse for vengeance.”

Every gaze in the mob immediately fell on Richard, whose own eyes fixed onto Beye's for a few moments before he smiled and nodded. This was a nod of courtesy, of a patriarch agreeing with the message of another family's envoy. However, just as the people started to breathe a sigh of relief, he suddenly called out, “One second.”

The crowd immediately grew alarmed once more, but Richard continued casually, “I'm feeling generous, here's one last chance for you lot. Pick three people of your choice and we'll battle; no outside interference. Of course, the fights will be to the death. What say you?”

Greed bubbled up in many of the saints once more. Richard's conditions were extremely attractive; there was still a sky saint amongst the dozens present. With him as the core and the two strongest of the rest, that would be a combined power that was comparable to two sky saints. With Richard being the one bringing this up, no one could say anything if he died. Some of those with ulterior motives immediately switched their gazes to the sky saint.

However, the man's expression turned quite grave as he tried to match Richard's stare. In the end, he turned to leave without a single word. In only an instant, his figure had disappeared into the distance.

A sky saint wouldn't dare battle Richard even with two other saints to assist him!

969 - City of Sin

Politics

Richard shook his head with pity as he put Moonlight back into the sword case; even he hadn't expected no one to take up the offer. However, Beye actually frowned a little at him, “You know, every saint is a part of the Alliance. We don't have all that many sky saints, why drive everyone into a corner? Especially at this stage...”

The words “this stage” were thought-provoking, hinting at something far more dangerous being on the horizon. He wanted to ask her what it was, but now wasn't the time so he nodded, “He seemed to be from the Turing Family, was provoking the mob the entire time. He's probably here because of his family, and there should be others.”

“Hmm... That should be Gary, the Blackiron Eagle. I heard he isn't too far from breaking through.” There were few sky saints in the Alliance, so most had at least heard of each other if not met. This held true even for a maniac like Beye.

“Then I'll watch. Not like him advancing is much of a threat; if he makes another move against me, I'll kill him whether he's a sky saint or a legend,” Richard answered calmly. Those who hadn't yet dispersed felt a chill down their spines, quickening their steps.

“So, what's the plan?” Agamemnon spoke up after the crowd left.

“The moon's already integrated into my bloodline, I can't hand it over if I wanted to. Anyone who wants to take it will have to kill me first.”

The taciturn youth nodded and said nothing helse. Knowing Richard's stand was enough; all he had to do was support his friend.

Nyris thought things over for a moment, “Richard, it's not smart to be this hard in your stance either. Everyone needs some pretext to ease up; I think it's best to hand the dispute over to the assembly for resolution according to law.”

Agamemnon nodded. The assembly technically wielded great power, but in the end most of that power was concentrated in the hands of the upper families anyway. It was nearly impossible for them to actually reach decisions, only doing so a handful of times in a decade at best, but there was no lack of small nobles there who were still immersed in their fantasies of achieving instant success based on ideology. The most use the place served normally was as a mask for people to cease hostilities, like in the current case.

Richard wasn't as good at politics as his friends, but he managed to catch on to their meaning after some thought. His eyes glowed as he smiled at Nyris, “Get me a few people then, minor nobles who are eloquent and won't shut up. Eight hours a day, every day, for a month.”

Nyris flashed a dirty smile, “You learn fast.”

The most important part of any assembly meeting was the debate, but it was just a bunch of idle nobles quarrelling in public. They could be talking about anything or nothing at all; these people just liked to make speeches. There was no winner or loser in these debates; even if one side was at a disadvantage, they could shift the goalposts or distort logic to win. If all else failed, they could merely ignore the opponent's points entirely. Anyone who spent a majority of their time here was extremely thick-skinned.

Richard planned to just hog the platform. So long as those representing him dragged out any possibility of discussing the blue moon for a while, the bloodlust in Faust would die down and everyone would return to their senses. If that failed, he could also use the time to amass troops. He laughed at Nyris's compliment, “You're still the best of us at politics.”

“Politics...” Nyris immediately grew dull, muttering the word repeatedly before turning to Richard, “I'll be going.”

Before Richard could even respond, he had flashed away and disappeared into the teleportation temple without even picking his axe up from the ground. Agamemnon and Beye turned gloomy as well.

“What's wrong with him?” Richard asked with a frown.

Agamemnon didn't answer, but Beye did, “It's for him to say, but you'll find out soon enough.”

Richard nodded and got ready to leave, but a hand on his shoulder turned him around. Beye looked him up and down as a thoughtful smile crept onto her face, “So... Invincible under the legendary realm, huh?”

He looked at Beye with his eyes aglow, chuckling in acknowledgement.

“Come to the Land of Dsuk; we can spar for a few days,” she smiled.

“I'd... Sigh, I'd love to, but... If only I had the time.” Longing was written all over Richard's face.

Beye could understand his situation. The Archerons were currently expanding very quickly, and as the patriarch he couldn't afford to be absent for any length of time. Just nodding in understanding, she and Agamemnon left for their island while he returned to his own.

...

The moment he stepped out of the portal, Richard's expression turned blank. The small plaza was bursting to the seams with knights and warriors who were armed to the teeth, infantrymen standing right beside rune knights and even the teenage squires ready for battle. There was a desolate aura surrounding the place, but the killing intent felt almost tangible. Right next to the square, Tiramisu was sound asleep with Waterflower snoring right on top of his large body; they were optimising themselves for a battle to the death.

“What are you doing?” Richard asked dumbly, bringing all gazes onto him. The plaza went dead silent for a moment before everyone erupted into wild cheers, the scarred knight actually rushing forward and hugging him before realising he was overstepping his bounds. There were a few others who did the same, before everyone started throwing him into the sky.

Even if he was supposedly invincible below the legendary realm, Richard was truly frightened by the mass of muscular men who were starting to throw him around in celebration. A leader of men was classically supposed to be more distant from his men, shouting things like “I return!” or “We Archerons will never fall!”, but but the situation was nothing like that.

“What do you all want? Damn it, let go of me, whose hand was that?!” his irate voice resounded from between the sea of steel, but he was completely lost within it.

“What happened?” Waterflower asked even in the midst of her sleep.

“Go see,” Tiramisu grunted.

“You have three eyes!” she complained.

“I have one and he has two!” Medium Rare protested, but Tiramisu reluctantly awakened a little and immediately sensed Richard's presence, “Oh, they're celebrating Master's return... Wait. Waterflower, get up, we don't need to fight!”

“What? But I would have been ready in an hour...” the young lady grumbled.

Richard finally broke away from the sea of soldiers; or rather, he was let go after all of the rune knights had hugged him. Blinking hard to suppress the faint heat in his eyes, he shouted, “Were you planning on disobeying orders?”

”Of course not, my Lord! We would wait until you were... hehe!” The scarred knight chuckled. They would execute all of his orders to the letter, but he truly hadn't told them what to do if he died. These men would likely have filled Faust with blood until the last of them fought to his death.

Richard felt a little emotional; while most of his rune knights were rather new, those stationed in both Blackrose and the island itself were the most loyal of the lot. This was an army of knights that would march by his side even into death. He waved a hand and declared coldly, “Everything's solved now, send thirty knights back to Blackrose for garrison. We don't want a raid there.”

He then cut across the square and flew towards the castle, all the Archerons saluting him along the way. This was normally just etiquette, but today everyone was doing it with the utmost sincerity. The Shepherd of Eternal Rest flew over to Waterflower as he made his way past the still-sleeping pair, heading back to the top floor of the castle to get some rest. Google search free𝓌𝗲𝒃𝓃𝒐𝐯𝒆𝙡. 𝑐𝗼ｍ

The battles hadn't lasted long, but they had drained an enormous amount of energy. While he wasn't significantly hurt yet, every activation of the blue flames had drawn enough mana to power a grade 8 spell. Thankfully, it also had enormous power even in its infancy; as his understanding of this ability grew, so would its might.

Patting the sleeping Mountainsea and starting to meditate, he saw the four celestial bodies orbiting his bloodline; astral energy, the origin energies of the Land of Dusk and Forest Plane, as well as the blue moon he had recently acquired. Wisps of power were constantly being pulled from these sources and fused into his bloodline and mana pool, everything extremely smooth.

Unfortunately, the might of the blue moon came at a cost. It occupied an enormous section of space around his bloodline all to itself, making it much more difficult to map out a fifth orbit. After trying for a few minutes, he estimated he would need at least a year to accomplish it.

970 - City of Sin

Heavenly Guardian

As Richard meditated, a part of the power flowing into his body was siphoned off to heal the damage to his mana pool. Although it had looked easy to kill every enemy, facing a sky saint wasn't the simplest of tasks. However, it felt rather strange; he kept feeling his right chest itching, as though something was growing within. His bloodlines seemed to be thirsty for energy as well, far beyond the usual.

Scanning his body, he quickly realised what it was; a whole new heart was growing within him!

The next two days were filled with dull meditation. The growing heart required enormous amounts of energy that took all four bodies orbiting him as well as the well of stars to power, and even so he only managed to barely satisfy its needs.

From the saint to the legendary realm, there was a tiny chance of another heart appearing with every level up; these new hearts were equivalent to new sources of energy. The more powerful one's body was, the greater this possibility. A new heart would bring a great boost to one's physical abilities, mana, or internal energy and would also increase one's burst potential in battle. This was one of the reasons for the great divide between saints even at the same level.

More than half of all saints wouldn't get a new heart even at level 20, and this signified that they had minimal chances of getting to the legendary realm. Of course, the extra heart didn't even come close to guaranteeing advancement either; it was just one step along the way. Very few people managed to grow a new heart for every single level they advanced, or somehow acquired another source of energy; those people did have a significant chance of reaching the legendary realm.

And then, there were the chosen few geniuses of the world. They would have three or more new hearts before entering the legendary realm, and as such would walk very far down their path and even had a chance of becoming epic beings. Such a great number of hearts, be it for a warrior or a mage, meant they also had enormous physical capabilities.

As the two days of anxious joy passed, there were no more military conflicts in Faust. Most families seemed to have forgotten about everything, with only the assembly still engaged in intense debate about who the legal owner of the blue moon was. They held a tiny bit of hope, but everyone knew that Richard would not give it up. The storm that had swept through the city seemed to have come to an end.

It was an eerie calm.

Richard didn't care much about anything but his heart during this time. He wasn't all that worried about the safety of the island; most of the rune knights in his employ had now gathered close to the portals and would be here within minutes. Even multiple legendary beings would have to think twice about facing 300 rune knights with their enchanted javelins. His quick decisions had minimised the damage to the family, so there was no vengeance to be exacted either. Those who had stirred the pot would eventually be rooted out, but to do that he needed to find new excuses.

Once it was time to meet Noelene once more, he slowed his efforts and gathered every single offering he had on hand. With an escort of fifty rune knights, he headed towards the Church of the Eternal Dragon for the ceremony.

Things were quiet along the way, minor nobles or vaguely powerful warriors glaring at him from time to time. Most of them had lost relatives of friends in the chaos, but all they could do now to show their fury was glower. Within the Church, Noelene was already lying in wait. She looked haggard, a rare sight for someone as powerful as her; she had clearly not rested at all in the past three days. The preparations for the ceremony weren't as simple as she had described.

Pulling her dishevelled hair into order, she asked, “How much did you manage?” Google search f𝚛𝗲𝒆we𝙗𝙣o𝙫e𝗹. 𝐜o𝚖

“About two top-tiers' worth plus some scraps in total,” Richard answered.

Her brows immediately relaxed, “Not bad... Our chances will be pretty high.”

“Is a guardian from the Lightless Void so important?” he couldn't help but question. It was obvious that Noelene had just spent a lot of effort on making preparations, paying a significant price, but this was still two top-tier offerings. It was sadly too late for him to help Flowsand directly anymore, but he didn't want this business partner and great friend to suffer for his sake as well.

Noelene just answered with two names, “Io, Nyra.”

Richard immediately understood her point; both the battle priest and the soul shepherd possessed unimaginable might, and alongside Flowsand they alone could turn the tides on battles of tens of thousands of men. However, he already had a large number of powerful followers. Tiramisu, for example, was basically guaranteed to enter the legendary realm at this point; he need only eat and sleep and it would happen. Waterflower and Phaser were rather powerful as well, and even though Gangdor was a little less talented he was still a saint.

He did lack a powerful cleric since Flowsand's departure, but he had a batch of young clerics led by Caesar that were maturing quickly in Faelor. It wouldn't be long before they would be quite powerful themselves, even if not comparable to Flowsand or her group. That being said, just how many families even could?

A heavenly guardian of unknown origin might not be the best choice. Another assassin would be wasted when he already had Waterflower, Phaser, and Zangru for the task. If he used the two offerings to strengthen his followers, he could push the potential of those outside of Tiramisu up to the legendary realm as well. This would be an enormous benefit in a few years.

When he told her of these ideas, stressing the fact that the incident with the blue moon had ended for the foreseeable future, Noelene shook her head, “No, you don't understand. This guardian will be very important for you; you need great power that you can use right away; the more, the better.”

“Right away?” Richard turned grim, “What are you talking about?”

“Some wheels are turning in the Sacred Alliance,” Noelene said vaguely, refusing to speak further.

Richard frowned a little while as he tried to work out what it was, but after failing he just nodded towards the priestess. The two of them were now on the same boat financially, so she definitely wouldn't hurt him actively. Knowing her power and breadth of knowledge, he trusted in her judgement.

The ceremony prepared as always, and having done this innumerable times, Richard started placing offerings on the altar and waited for them to converge into possible blessings. They disappeared one after the other, but no options appeared as they instead coagulated into one single bundle of timeforce. This was new; generally, one couldn't just club the divine grace of multiple blessings together. Noelene had to be doing something behind the scenes.

Standing up once all of the offerings were placed down, he saw a golden silhouette appearing in the bands of light. The figure kept evolving between numerous forms, going from robed clerics to warriors with greatswords and archers alongside many other things. A beam of light shot straight between his eyebrows, imparting the information he needed, “Blessing: Heavenly Guardian. You shall receive a heavenly guardian that is eternally loyal to you. They will follow your orders throughout their lives, and their limit can be raised with more offerings.”\

971 - City of Sin

Nasia

Once he was acquainted with the blessing itself, Richard was given a number of choices for his heavenly guardian. Essentially being formed by timeforce, they could be formed based purely on the desires of their new master. In fact, for a single intermediate offering one would be allowed to adjust the guardian's appearance, skin tone, gender, physique, and a million other tiny details. If he wanted, he could create a guardian that looked exactly like Sharon.

Of course, that would most certainly cause problems for the legendary mage herself. He definitely didn't want to bear the consequences of such foolishness, and he sincerely doubted whether anyone in all of Norland would. There was no specific order to the information he had received, however, so as he started sifting through for more tangible options he also found out that one could use an intermediate offering whenever they wanted to effect changes on the guardian's appearance. If tired of the legendary mage, one could change the appearance to that of Bloodthirsty Philip instead.

He didn't see much significance to such options, but the Eternal Dragon was certainly a practical merchant. If the choice was present to this day, then it meant it had been used a number of times in the past. Shaking his head, he continued to look at the choices that mattered; broadly he could get a priest, paladin, warrior, assassin, or holy mage, but each one of these choices had a number of specialisations that made for hundreds of options. He would need some time to digest it all and make a choice.

Every time he thought of a choice, Richard was sent detailed information about the class. Some of the options felt rather ancient and esoteric, almost alive; these seemed to be calling out to him, asking him to choose them. Every one of these options seemed to be pulsing with timeforce, making it clear that they were the souls from the Lightless Void. Choosing such an option could result in a special guardian, but it wasn't as simple either; one also needed to accurately select the attributes of the guardian so it matched with the existing soul; even with Noelene helping from behind the scenes, he would need to be careful with his decisions.

With his current biggest shortcoming in battle being the lack of a powerful cleric, he started comparing the various options for priests without any eagerness to make a decision. The more he analysed the characteristics of the special guardians that were available, the more detailed his vision of them and the lower the chance of making a mistake. Noelene had warned him repeatedly that he had to try his best to get someone from the Lightless Void, and that the tiniest of errors would destroy that possibility.

This was a test of perception, patience, and analytical ability. At the same time, it was also a test of luck; one had to have a certain affinity for the corresponding guardians or they wouldn't call out as strongly. These were old souls with their own pride; they wouldn't like to serve just anyone.

As he was going through the options one by one, something suddenly changed. Many of the options started greying out rapidly, information flowing across him like a waterfall. Hundreds of priests rolled across and were followed by dozens of mages and tens of warriors. In the blink of an eye he was at paladins, and just as he thought they would be skipped through as well everything came to a halt and the remaining choices darkened and disappeared.

Richard's mouth opened in shock; the choice had been made. But this wasn't his decision! How could it be?!

Before he could figure out what was happening, he felt a dozen different wills in the void around him. Some were ancient, others cold or hot, but the one thing in common was that each of them dwarfed his own soul in presence. It felt like comparing himself to these wills was like comparing a rock to an entire mountain; the sheer rage they were emitting across an unknown stretch of spacetime threatened to break his mind.

And yet, no matter how the wills declared their power, there was no way for them to hinder what was happening. The other options continued to fade away, and even for the chosen class the attributes, abilities, and other characteristics were chosen in the blink of an eye. Richard couldn't intervene no matter how he directed his thoughts, unable to even comprehend the information that was gushing through his mind. An invisible hand was manipulating everything, and was being extremely overbearing in its choices.

The wills grew even angrier, but just as they were about to assault him a brand new existence appeared amongst their midst. It didn't seem particularly more powerful than the rest, but its arrogance was evidenced by a threatening low roar. The powerful wills hesitated for a while before some of them reluctantly faded away.

Once the rest eventually left, the new will stopped concealing itself as it instead formed a hand covered in castiron gloves, flipping incorporeal pages in front of Richard as it continued making choices. Richard was shocked and angry at the lack of agency, but the timeforce continued to flow as it condensed into a female form that wasn't particularly large. This caused him to frown further; one generally needed large bodies to house great strength, and this one seemed no different from the average. That was fine for those like Io and Nyra, but this was clearly a paladin!

As more than a full top-tier offering's worth of grace had flown into the forming silhouette, Richard felt himself blanking out for a moment. However, the golden glow continued to condense into a translucent figure whose entire body was made of golden light with white patterns on the surface.

The moment she opened her eyes, it was as though two new suns had risen within this sealed space. Richard was instantly blinded, forced to block his eyesight as he waited for the emerald in his pupils to be overcome by lava. Only once his bloodline was activated could he look back, only to see the woman reaching out to grab at the remaining timeforce up above. The timeforce bundled together in her hands, forming pieces of armour and equipment. Breastplate, gauntlets, longsword, buckler, dagger... piece by piece her body was draped over, soon covered from head to foot. To finish it all off, she made a golden mask and put it on, blocking her face.

The moment the mask was worn, the strong light filling the altar disappeared. The transparent woman seemed to fill up with flesh and blood, a strong heartbeat resounding from her body like a thunderstorm. Richard felt his chest heave with every beat, as though an ancient titan was slamming into wardrums; for a moment, he couldn't believe even a dragon would have such a powerful heart.

However, the powerful beat only lasted a few moments before going silent. The woman slowly moved her arms and feet, putting her gauntleted right hand in front of her eyes and examining it. She then walked over and focused on him, her penetrating gaze seemingly seeing through him inside out.

“Richard?” she asked, her hoarse voice making him a little uncomfortable. The sound was jarring, like ants were crawling in his bones.

Richard didn't answer, just staring at the top of the altar in dumbfounded shock; there was no timeforce there at all! More than two top-tier offerings' worth of divine grace had been used up, half of it condensing the form of this paladin and the rest turning into her equipment.

This was all completely beyond his expectations, not following the blessing he was supposed to have received at all. A heavenly guardian needing a full top-tier offering was one thing, but this one had just used another's worth to form equipment for herself. However, this paladin had just scared away many powerful wills from the Lightless Void, and broken the entire creation process to craft weapons with divine grace like she had full control of it. He took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down, “Who are you?”

The paladin laughed, “Call me Nasia, the name vaguely translates to The Faceless. You've summoned me to this world, and I can fight for your side, but don't think you are my master or that I will obey your orders unconditionally. I'd barely be willing to consider you my equal, if even that; annoy me and you're dead."

“You... Aren't you a heavenly guardian?”

“Of course I am.”

“The Eternal Dragon mentions that heavenly guardians are completely loyal to their masters.”

“And you trust it?” Nasia sneered

He opened his mouth to respond, but couldn't bring himself to speak for a while. This would the first time the old dragon hadn't followed through completely on the information he was given about a blessing. Unable to refute her but still unwilling to believe, he decided to try and test it out for himself, “Nasia, kneel!”

This was supposed to be an absolute order that would compel the guardian using the power of the Eternal Dragon himself, but Nasia just smirked in response.

“Bind!”

972 - City of Sin

Covenant

Richard felt an enormous sense of danger, and tried to back away, but several strips of timeforce flew towards him under Nasia's control. The screen of time that blocked others from entering this place now turned upon him, and despite his struggles his mana was just no match for the power of time itself. In a completely lopsided collision, he felt like he had struck a crystal wall as the strips grabbed him and lifted him into the air.

He struggled and struggled, but no matter what he did there was no way to resist. Failing with every kind of energy he had, even the power of laws, his eyes lit aglow with Insight only to show that the strips of timeforce holding him were linked to the entire space they were in. This immediately stopped all of his resistance; he had no expectations of being able to break the power of a space created by the Eternal Dragon.

Nasia spoke up to verify his thoughts, “I control all the timeforce here. No matter how powerful you are, you cannot match me.”

She then glared at him even as she waved a hand to dismiss the chains, “I will not kneel, and this is the last time I will permit such an offence.”

Now calmed down, Richard stared at the woman coldly, “You said you'd help me in battle.”

“Of course.”

“No point. I don't need a knight who disobeys orders. You would only interfere with me.”

This blunt response left Nasia a little surprised; she hadn't expected such a tough attitude in spite of the visible disparity in their strengths; he sounded as though he could give up the massive amount of divine grace without a second thought. The pale golden timeforce still not completely faded from her eyes, she gazed right into him and tried to read the truth behind his words.

Sensing the intrusion into his mind, Richard immediately resisted with all his might. It felt like something was touching the depths of his soul, but a pulse of energy repelled that might. Still, Nasia chuckled, “Seems like you're quite confident in yourself. I admit, I will listen to your commands on the battlefield. I am a holy knight; that is within my obligations.”

Richard still frowned, “And why would you even follow me? Clearly, the fact that I brought you here is nothing in your eyes.”

“Quite smart. Yes, you're right. I simply need divine grace to push my upper limits, and you seem to be good at getting exactly that. So that will be our covenant; I fight for you, and in return you give me the grace I need to advance. The higher in level I am, the more I will help you in return.”

“Sounds good,” he nodded before gesturing towards her, “And what about this?”

Knowing what he was talking about, Nasia immediately activated all of the enchantments on her equipment, saying in a natural tone, “Have a good look. If it weren't for me, that amount of timeforce would not have created all of this. The boost in my power will pay for itself; you're getting away with a deal.”

Having the basic ability to read auras, Richard was immediately shocked by the sheer number of enchantments the equipment had. Every piece was legendary grade! With the amount of timeforce she had consumed, even one piece of legendary equipment wouldn't have been too bad. Thinking about it and deciding to accept the compromise, he reached out a hand, “Alright then, I hope it's pleasure doing business with you.”

The hand reached out was open and for a shake, a gesture of equals instead of a lord greeting a new vassal. Nasia smiled behind her mask as she reciprocated, “As smart as expected.”

“Hmm? You've heard of me?” he suddenly recalled an idea that he had dismissed due to the circumstances.

Nasia nodded, “From Nyra's message.”

“Ah, so she did to it after all. That means you're her sister?”

“No. That woman really wanted to come, but... Let's say I persuaded her to give me the opportunity.”

Richard frowned for a moment, already knowing just what kind of persuasion this overbearing paladin would use. Looking around at the empty altar, he sighed and started walking away, “Let's go.”

“One minute!” Nasia called out, and before he realised what was happening he saw her take a small emerald seed from his pocket. This was a greater sacrifice he had kept prepared just in case; a fallback if the rest of the ceremony didn't go as planned. Unable to move as she blatantly robbed him, he didn't resist or protest either, just watching her next move quietly. This greater sacrifice wasn't supposed to be enough to raise her level limit, so he was interested in what use she had for it.

Nasia threw the seed towards the altar and immediately converted it into opure timeforce, reaching out to grab all of the energy and ripping out an extra helping from the void. Richard heard Noelene gasp back in Faust as Nasia drank the power like water, her aura strengthening further. Only now realising that she was around level 14, he watched as she hit level 16 in a few moments.

Although Nasia hadn't grabbed enough energy to equate to a top-tier sacrifice, she still had enough for about ten years of extended life. Richard couldn't help but marvel at the sheer efficiency; there was still a bit of timeforce left floating aroung.

As he looked on to see what she would do with it, the paladin bundled all of the remaining energy and crushed it into a thumb-sized golden seed that she threw towards him, “Catch.”

Instinctively catching the golden seed, Richard saw a simple message in his mind: “Divine Blessing: Golden Heart. This seed will create a new heart or core in the user.”

As someone who had just gained a second heart, Richard was stumped. He had heard of this blessing before, but it was extremely rare even if rather inexpensive. An extra heart didn't just mean extra power; his path to the legendary realm would have no obstacles at all! And yet, Nasia had only used the grace of about a lesser sacrifice for it!

Looking at his confusion, Nasia spoke up, “If you're planning to give it away, don't bother. This is a version made specifically for you, and could have some serious side-effects. Is there something else you would have liked instead?”

Richard silently swallowed the seed and left with Nasia.

...

Back in the Church, Noelene seemed to be in deep thought. The priestess was visibly fatigued, seeming even weaker than the apprentices by her side, but looking at Nasia's masked face appearing behind Richard she cheered up, “Success?”

Richard nodded, “This is Nasia, she should be from the place. What happened to you?”

Noelene just smiled, “That's good, this is the best I can do to help. Don't worry about me, everything just has a price. Thankfully, it was much cheaper this time than I expected; I'll recover soon.”

Looking at the grand priestess who had quietly started helping him ever since Flowsand left, even if she was profiting herself, Richard didn't know what to say. Eventually, he only managed to sigh, “Thank you.”

Noelene looked at Nasia, who was a foot and a half behind Richard with the silence of a standard heavenly guardian. However, the level and equipment caused visible surprise, “Not bad. I'll try to help you level her up as soon as possible, but she should be able to help you as she is now. Well, go back, I need to... rest...”

Richard nodded, bidding farewell, before heading outside the Church.

973 - City of Sin

World Turned Over

Nasia turned her head to look Noelene in the eye as she walked past. The brief moment of eye contact immediately left the priestess feeling a frightening chill, her entire body locking up and unable to move. It was only until she followed Richard all the way out that Noelene regained her mobility, starting to sweat as she hurried away.

Outside the Church, Richard moved his rune knights once more and returned to the Archeron island. Nasia rode with him, quietly watching the scenery along the way. It was only until they were halfway back that she spoke, “That little priestess now, I heard someone call her Noelene? If you have a chance, give her some more grace.”

“What?” Richard's eyes went wide in surprise, “What happened?”

“Nothing, she just lost a lot of her grace this time. In fact, she has almost nothing left. Quite smart of her; she even gave up on her share just to increase your chances with the summoning. Whenever you get some grace, just let me reward her for it.”

Richard felt incredibly helpless. This mysterious new paladin fighting for him was unique and overbearing, just putting the responsibility of getting more sacrifices for Noelene's sake on him as well. He didn't mind that— in fact, he wanted to rush over and give her as much as he could— but the problem was that the culprit riding with him had just exhausted everything he had. He didn't even have lesser sacrifices left.

He would have to gather some more as soon as possible.

“Oh, right,” Nasia interrupted his thoughts, “This is my ability.”

She sent a message over their soul connection, directly imprinting the one ability she had at the moment into his mind: War Fanatic. This ability was an upgraded version of War Construct, greatly improving the speed, power, defence, and recovery of the target. And while War Construct was only really effective on those below the saint realm, perhaps barely passable on someone at level 18, War Fanatic could work on anyone and even anything under the legendary realm.

This ability was quite impressive on the battlefield, but as an innate ability it couldn't be inscribed into scrolls. This meant Nasia could only keep it active on one person at a time, limiting its effectiveness. Still, for someone who was only level 16 this was quite amazing. Even at level 20 this wouldn't be too bad.

“Impressive,” he said.

“This is just the tip of the iceberg, don't rush to be impressed yet. You'll make me look down on you,” Nasia chuckled.

Something so powerful was only the beginning? Richard couldn't help a smile and a shrug.
ƒ𝔯ℯe𝘄𝐞𝐛𝒏𝐨ѵ𝘦𝒍. com

......

The moment Richard returned to the island, a servant passed on a letter from the royal family. Richard's brow wrinkled the moment he opened it, finding an invitation to the first royal island the very next morning for an important discuss.

He didn't know why, but the letter made him feel extremely uneasy. The actual topic wasn't stated in the letter, but that only made things more suspect. He had a hunch that all of the strangeness in recent times and the abnormalities of his friends would be answered at the meeting, and it didn't seem like the answer would be pleasant.

Arranging a room for Nasia in the castle, he returned to his practice floor that doubled as Mountainsea's bedroom and began to meditate. The golden seed had immediately started forming a third heart in his upper abdomen that was in a triangle with the other two, but his second was still in its nascent stages. With his standard recovery not enough to support both new organs, he had to pump as much energy in manually as he could.

However, his meditation that night had almost no results. The uneasiness was weighing down his mind, and while most normal astral rays were easy to catch the more powerful ones constantly eluded him as a result of his own repeated mistakes. While he did provide some extra energy to his new hearts, it was far from satisfactory.

Struggling his way into dawn, he quickly finished breakfast and headed to the royal family's island under the escort of a small team of rune knights. The masters of every one of the fourteen islands appeared before nine, the first time he had ever seen everyone gathered in one place. Even the Ironblood Duke was present in person instead of sending one of his children.

All fourteen of them were guided to a special meeting room in the palace, containing a simple round table and almost nothing else. The table itself had no markings of status, and even worse it was quite crowded especially with how much space the Emperor himself would take up. Up above was a mural of Charles the Great, depicting the foundation of the Sacred Alliance to the beheading of the abyssal dragon Daramore. It was the only furnishing in the entire place.

This room and this round table where Charles the Great himself had met with his most powerful generals, establishing the covenant of the Sacred Alliance. Those generals had gone on to form the original giants of Faust, and ever since then this was where every important meeting of the Alliance would take place. Here, there was no Emperor; here, there was no level to the islands. Everyone who owned one was theoretically equal.

Taking a seat and looking around, Richard saw that most of the weaker families were bewildered by it all. Only some of the highest ranked of them all were quiet, like Wellinburg and the Ironblood Duke.

Emperor Philip himself walked in right on the hour, his appearance prompting every one of these hegemons to stand up in respect. Squeezing his enormous body into the seat, he motioned for all of them to sit before having his aides and the other servants withdraw and close the doors. Richard suddenly realised that the man had grown even larger, now taking up as much as four normal people would.

The moment the doors were shut, Richard felt a mana fluctuation that he couldn't lock on to. However, the fluctuation itself was easy to read and something most mages were familiar with: an isolation spell. He immediately felt his heart sink; why would one need to stop eavesdropping on the royal island?

“I have a few things to discuss, everyone. The first is about my body; the battles in the Land of Dusk left severe injuries that I haven't healed from. In fact, all of our efforts have failed; after some time, it might be difficult to even have the power of a saint.”

Philip's tone was soft and uncaring, almost trivial. However, his words were like a meteor falling from the sky that could shake all of Norland! In the battle at the Land of Dusk, the Emperor had killed a legendary being even as he repelled two epic beings of Daxdus; with such strength, he likely qualified to be the most powerful being in all of Norland. However, now it turned out that the fight's consequences were far beyond what they had imagined.

The loss of any epic being was a sensational event for the entire plane, and Philip was close to the peak even amongst them. The only other figure one could recall was Charles the Great, the founding Emperor himself. Everyone immediately felt stifled, as though all the air had been sucked out of the room.

And yet, this was certainly only the beginning of their problems. The consequences of this loss would be dire, not just for the royal family but for the entire Alliance. There were exactly three people that could be called epic beings within the country— Emperor Philip himself, High Priestess Ferlyn, and perhaps Sharon— but each of them had their own unique circumstances. Ferlyn was limited to the Church and could only afford a neutral position, while Sharon was known to have little experience. The legendary mage had been exploring the myriad planes all this while with few people knowing of her true strength, but word had already spread that she was injured and hibernating as well.

With Emperor Philip about to lose his powers, this meant the strongest military power in the Sacred Alliance was the Ironblood Duke. While he was more powerful than an ordinary legend himself, he was known to be worse than an epic being. The Alliance was suddenly empty, and an empire with no epic being was like a major family without a legend!

All eyes fell on the Ironblood Duke, retaining the slightest thread of hope. He had entered the legendary realm before he was even forty years old, and had for decades been improving steadily. He was the greatest hope for an epic being in the near future.

However, the Duke showed a bitter smile, “I shouldn't hide this anymore. Only a week ago, I sparred with the Sword Saint of the Millennial Empire. I lost, thoroughly.”

All of the family heads went silent, even Richard feeling faint.

974 - City of Sin

Sacred Covenant

At this time, even blood feuds between the various families were unimportant. The Ironblood Duke had made it clear that he wasn't an epic being yet, and if Hidden Sword had battled him then the Millennial Empire knew something was up and had used the Sword Saint to test the Alliance.

The Sacred Alliance was now under threat of annexation; most minor nobles wouldn't experience any change, but Faust's fourteen certainly would be dealt a huge blow. The peace of Norland was maintained by a tenuous balance of power alongside the external threat of other planes like Daxdus. With the latter having been repelled for quite some time and the former about to be broken, the two established empires that did somewhat see the Alliance as a newcomer would ally to split Norland between themselves.

“That bastard Rundstedt!” someone swore suddenly, causing the rest to recall the strange situation in the Land of Dusk. Had Rundstedt given up and allowed the other empires to assist, the City of the Unsetting Sun would have to be shared but the Emperor himself wouldn't have been forced into his predicament. In hindsight, it seemed like a conspiracy.

However, Philip himself spoke up, “I don't believe Rundstedt was being malicious here; some people might have misled him into his position as well. The man is a natural soldier, but his wisdom leaves a lot to be desired.”

With the Emperor himself saying this, the patriarchs reluctantly accepted. Marshal Rundstedt was also quite powerful for a legendary being; that was the entire reason he had the City of the unsetting Sun in the first place. With the danger they would be in soon, any legendary powerhouse was a valuable force.

Philip seemed to be unfazed by it all, continuing calmly, “The second thing is that I'm planning to give up the throne. The Sacred Alliance needs someone either strong or with potential at its helm, and now I'm neither. My children have already been groomed for this, and right now I have some candidates I recommend. First is Neil; he might never be a top powerhouse, but he is a masterful governor and will certainly bring the Alliance forward. The next is Nyris; ever since he entered the saint realm, he has shown that his lightning destroyer bloodline is the purest in his generation. Becoming a legendary being shouldn't be a problem at all, and he could go further.

“But the problem with Nyris is that he isn't a majestic character, especially with recent developments. That leaves us with a candidate that I'm rather surprised to recommend as well: Ryan. He is only thirteen years of age, but his blood is just as pure as that of Nyris and his character isn't as questionable. If Fate smiles upon us, then he will become the most powerful in the generation and could even approach my own power. But he's too young; if he's allowed to climb the throne, you will need to have the patience to wait for him to grow up.”

Those present fell into thought as Philip explained the situation further.

Both Neil and Nyris were popular candidates for succession. The latter was originally lagging behind in points, but his alliance with Richard over the past few years had greatly grown his personal power to a point where it reached near parity. Nyris had also shown great potential when he broke through to sainthood, his bloodline advancing to the second stage and guaranteeing a bright future.

The lightning destroyers were a collective group of ancient giants with many specific species amongst them. With mythical star destroyers and powerful thunder titans, even the weak lightning giants could match up to dragons. One could only tell which specific bloodline they had once it advanced to the second stage, and Nyris had revealed the powerful darkthunder bloodline. This was a powerful existence even amongst the titans, making his future limitless.

However, his shortcomings were equally apparent; he had a personality problem. Philip didn't elaborate too much, but how could the hegemons present here not know? Something strange had happened during the Fourth Prince's blood awakening, and his personality had been twisted. The most striking of it all was the fact that his sexual preferences seemed to have changed.

Although nobody made a fuss about such things in private, some even participating themselves, it was another matter entirely to let such a person sit on the throne. It would certainly halm the Alliance's reputation amongst the rest of Norland.

However, one couldn't just put the wise and calm Neil on the throne either. He was quite powerful for a saint, but it would be at least middle age before he reached the legendary realm if he ever did at all. Charles himself had codified a bias towards talent during the founding of the Alliance; if one could evolve their bloodline to the third stage, the sitting ruler would have to be a legendary being or they would automatically forfeit their right to the throne. The Sacred Alliance was ruled by a dynasty but it was also partly a union of major powers; the royal family needed to wield power.
ｆ𝓇𝘦𝚎𝑤e𝗯𝑛𝗼ѵe𝗹. c𝒐𝘮

From the looks of it, Nyris would certainly advance his bloodline to the third stage once he entered the legendary realm. If he decided to press his claim, this would lead to great turmoil.

However, the options only went from bad to worse. As the youngest prince, Ryan hadn't even come to mind for most higher nobles. He had great talent, certainly, and there were many maids that proved his preferences, but that was ten years of waiting in the hope that the emperor would grow powerful and wise. This was an enormous gamble that left the Alliance hanging on a thread for a decade, far more than they could afford.

In the decades of Philip's reign, few people could sincerely say that he was a great governor. One could even describe him as aloof, ignorant, but first and foremost he was a frighteningly powerful figure whose stance on anything was clear. Ryan had yet to form his own opinions about many things, and the constant game of politics would certainly affect his ability to be objective.

The Ironblood Duke suddenly spoke up, “Your Majesty, will you be choosing the heir or will it be by vote?”

“Vote,” Philip nodded.

Orleans didn't say anymore, sneaking a glance at Richard.

There were two ways to inherit the throne of the Sacred Alliance: one was to be appointed by the previous emperor, which was relatively common in the other empires. However, the emperor could also propose a number of candidates and leave it up to the fourteen to decide. This was something unique to the Alliance, and showed the relationship between the royal family and the remaining hegemons.

It seemed rather limiting on the emperor, but it was actually quite beneficial for the royal family and even the entire Alliance to take the second route. The chosen emperor would be the one with the most political support, naturally gaining powerful allies, and any instability would be taken care of during the election process. Subsequent power exchanges would be peaceful with minimal internal friction. It also convinced any prospective emperor to foster close ties with the rest of the nobility, ensuring they didn't isolate themselves and give a chance for a revolution.

Richard noticed the Ironblood Duke's glance, as well as those of many others. These men were all old foxes, only caught because his own perception was very high, but it caused him to recall a certain clause in the Sacred Covenant that had been the establishing document of the Alliance. To qualify to vote for the next emperor, one had to own a floating island...

And they had to be a duke.

975 - City of Sin

Danger

The requirement for a ducal title had been placed during the founding of the Sacred Alliance, used as a safeguard to protect the royal family and their most powerful supporters from lesser nobles grouping up to sway the vote. Ever since the Alliance had established its foothold in Norland and reached a relative balance, the positions of the various floating islands had gradually been filled up with those deserving of such honour. At this point, a family without a duchy had no hope in Faust.

However, the Archerons were seemingly born to create miracles. A marquess had upended Faust's order entirely, and his titleless son had only furthered their dominance and taken out many actual dukes from the ruling class. Under normal circumstances, as the eldest son of a true marquess, Richard would only be granted an honorary title as earl.

So Canaan and the Silversword Family were backed by those supporting Neil or Ryan. There were only fourteen families of Faust; with Richard's guaranteed vote removed, Nyris quite possibly could lose the throne. Whoever played this hand was an unscrupulous politician.

Richard seemed calm on the outside, but his mind was racing as he replayed the reactions of every single noble in the room. Some of the nobles were surprised by Emperor Philip's decision to use a vote instead of choosing his heir himself, which immediately ruled them out. Many of the others had looked to their close allies first, but there were some including Duke Anan and the Ironblood Duke who had looked at him instead. Both of them were explainable; the Anans were closely tied to the Archerons while the Ironblood Duke seemed to have a bit of pity to his stare, but amongst the rest was Duke Mensa.

He focused on that particular glance and replayed the few moments over and over again, all but confirming that this was the man behind the scenes. Even if not directly pushed by the Mensas, Earl Fenlier had certainly been influenced by the old man.

He wanted to sneer; if Nyris did lose the throne by one vote, he would find any excuse he could to crush the Mensas outright. Even if he couldn't come up with a reason, he would attack anyway, the Alliance be damned. If the old coot still dared to stab him in the dark, then he would have to face the consequences of that decision.

Richard was someone who was fierce against his enemies, not showing mercy or backing off, but even so people were still plotting against his family. At this point he knew one thing; the day he didn't decimate every single threat, they would suddenly group up and sacrifice him for their own ploys. If he so much as turned his attention away for a second, they were prepared to stab him from behind.

Gaton's way of dealing with such provocation was quite simple; he would beat the offenders up again and again and again until they had no choice but to submit. His own plan was the same; sometimes, barbaric violence was the solution to the problem. Google search 𝙛𝓇𝘦e𝙬𝑒𝚋𝒏૦ѵel. c𝒐𝚖

As hushed whispers rang through the room, Philip motioned for everyone to quiet down, “There's a third thing as well. Messengers from the Sacred Tree Empire and the Millennial Empire have arrived at Faust to discuss the garrison of the fortresses in the Land of Dusk.”

“So quickly?” someone asked softly.

“Those at my level have a certain amount of resonance with each other. When my final efforts to recover failed, they must have sensed it. That was why Hidden Sword battled Duke Orleans.”

The round table went silent once more. They had relied on the Emperor's overbearing might to occupy the Fort of Dawn, and right now they could barely maintain the situation. It was clearly impossible to hold two fortresses all by themselves, and the two other empires had come to discuss assistance.

However, these other empires wouldn't just aid in the defence without compensation. A tacit understanding had been reached over the years that large-scale bloodshed in Norland was pointless, and so the Land of Dusk was used as an alternative arena to determine the breakdown of interests. The greater one empire's performance, the more the rest would be subdued in negotiations.

When Philip had taken the Fort of Dawn, both the Millennial Empire and Sacred Tree Empire had immediately withdrawn from many disputed areas along the borders. Several planes they were fighting over were given up as well. All in all, the Alliance benefitted to the tune of tens of millions of gold every year. However, with Philip gone and Rundstedt dismissed, they would have no choice but to give up a fortress. The Millennial Empire had clearly tested the waters already, so there was no telling how much they wanted to wring out.

Duke Turing softly tapped the table and frowned, “We need to keep hold of at least one of the fortresses, this is the bottom line. I suggest we try to call out to the legends of our families and see if any of them are willing to return; we need at least two who are willing to head to the Land of Dusk to stabilise the situation. If they're not particularly good at combat, we might even need three.”

This advice only caused everyone to frown. It was difficult to get in touch with legendary beings who were off exploring the myriad planes, and even if one could very few were willing to play the boring role of guardian. Most such powerhouses were extremely independent and had little attachment to their families and country; their driving goal was to command the power of laws. They might return if Norland itself was in crisis, but the possible loss of land disputes was beneath them.

Even if all that could be solved, the Alliance still had to pay them. A legendary being's services for years if not decades did not come cheap, and would impair even the royal family. And even if one could call them back eventually, the messengers of the other empires were already here. How would one manage to actually get everyone back in time?

Sitting on the sidelines, Richard quickly realised many of the families had other reservations as well. Quite a few did have methods to contact their ancestors and patriarchs, but they didn't have such great devotion to the Alliance that they would sacrifice the foundation of their families. Even legendary beings could die in the Land of Dusk, and such a loss would immediately destroy any of the fourteen. It was quite established that there were many families here without honour, and they would certainly make a move on the weakened group.

Even facing an existential crisis, this loose union could not unite. Everyone cared about their own interests, unlike the Millennial Empire that was united under Gelan or the Sacred Tree Empire that was united by religion. Of course, this was what all of them wanted; this independence that was the bane of the Alliance was the reason they participated in it in the first place.

The eventual decision was nothing at all. Everyone just agreed to look at just how much the two empires would want before looking at what they would do.

......

All the way back from the royal island to his own, Richard couldn't shake off the gloom. Having been in the Land of Dusk for half a decade, he knew exactly what an epic being was; these were the pillars of a country, even an entire plane. No number of saints could go up against them, and many legends would have to gang up and rely on strategy to kill them. Only epic beings could fight epic beings, and without a large number to deter the Daxdians Norland would quickly be facing its own demise.

With Emperor Philip leaving the stage, the roof had caved in and the sky was being overturned. Richard felt an unbearable pressure upon him, but he had no idea what to do. The entire family didn't have a single legendary powerhouse within it; there was nobody he could send to man a fortress.

Fortunately, he had listened to Noelene's advice and gotten Nasia. While she was only level 16 and could perhaps defeat saints at best, her War Fanatic ability was extremely helpful in battle. Both he and Tiramisu would instantly be able to match up against a legendary being under its effect, and Waterflower would also be able to hold off as well. If push came to shove, he had some way to fight back.

But the most depressing of all was Nyris. Now that he knew of the Fourth Prince's problems, many oddities suddenly made sense. The gap between Nyris and Agamemnon upon entering sainthood could now be explained properly; the latter was using all his might, while the former wasn't. He quickly recalled that he had never noticed Nyris using his saint ability once in combat, and from what the Emperor had disclosed today this was because he was unsure and reluctant to do so.

This was the worst case scenario, and had a much greater impact than a mere change in the type of people one liked. A powerhouse at these levels could not afford to doubt themselves and hesitate; one needed to hone their abilities at all times. Refusing to use one's bloodline didn't just stop growth, it also slowly withered away one's bloodline and could even lead to mental problems with the pent up stress.

However, if even the most powerful being in the Alliance that was Nyris's father himself could not guide him, Richard was completely powerless. All he could do was order his men to remain on high alert and transfer more rune knights to Faust, bringing their number to a hundred. He had to focus on improving himself as quickly as possible in anticipation of the worst.

976 - City of Sin

War Advent

Richard only regained some of his peace when the light drone of Mountainsea's snoring rang in his ears. The tiny squeaks of her bones adjusting were still present, her long sleep continuing, but there seemed to be no signs of fatigue or hunger to her at all. He sat down beside her, stroking her thick hair for a while as he whispered, “We're going to be in trouble... But I'll handle it, you don't have to worry about anything. Just continue to sleep.”

Mountainsea mumbled amidst her snores, turning around and going back to sleep. It was unclear whether she had heard anything, but he didn't really care either. The words hadn't been for her so much as for himself; having regained his drive, he crossed his legs and slowly entered meditation.

A few minutes in, Mountainsea had managed to crawl up and rest her head on his lap. The warmth of her body only made him even calmer and more peaceful; sometimes, such simple trust was all one needed to gain happiness.
f𝐫ℯe𝘸𝙚𝑏n𝑜ѵ𝒆l. 𝐜𝚘𝓶

Meditation that day was far more efficient than he could have expected. His troubles seemed to vaporise in an instant as the pressure turned into a driving force, compelling him to gather as much energy as he could. The new hearts were unfathomably hungry, even eating into his reserve mana, but he managed to appease the new structure of his body and started adapting to the changed energy stores.

His time right now was really precious. Even doing nothing for a month, he could still craft two Lifesbanes and sell them for 20 million gold in total. This was 15 million in profit after deducting all his costs, so a single off day was equivalent to wasting 500,000 gold. With his strongest backer in Philip— one of the main reasons he had managed to come so far— now about to step down, he had to take on more responsibilities than he'd originally planned for. One of those was Nyris; regardless of changes, this was still a friend who deserved his greatest efforts.

Meditation only ended early the next morning, and by the time he placed Mountainsea back down and left the practice room Coco had already prepared breakfast. There was a certain amount of longing in her eyes, her wish for him to free her from the hell of being a sexless partner clear, but he ignored it completely as he scarfed down a hill of dishes while catching up on any news.

One special invitation quickly caught his attention, bearing the style of the royal family. However, the specific crest itself was unknown to him, causing some confusion. He was quite familiar with most of the heraldry of Faust, just like any proper noble, and he was certain that he had never seen this specific coat of arms before.

The contents of the letter were quite simple, not even bothering to address him by name: All of the fourteen are to gather at the royal island tomorrow, in the War Advent Hall. There will be a discussion about the succession of the throne.

Richard immediately fell into thought. The royal island was quite large and had the equivalent of a semiplane attached to it, so not all of the place was under Philip's sole control. While the Emperor was the master of the central palace, many of the core members of the royal family could access other parts of the island and the War Advent Hall was one of them.

Someone was making a play for the throne, but he had no idea who it was. This person could seemingly send letters to all of the fourteen in the name of the royal family, and the venue for this gathering made it clear that this was someone powerful. Even Neil and Nyris didn't have these rights.

Richard searched his memory, but the only vaguely important figure that came to mind was Thor. However, the legendary mage was far more focused on research than politics; it was well known that he wasn't the kind of person to covet the throne.

Whatever it was, he would find out tomorrow. Recent events had made him keenly aware of his lack of information, but that was a product of his short reign that could only be fixed with time. It wasn't like he had many allies to turn to either; most of the other families hated his guts while the Anans were still consolidating his own position; the royal family and the Ironblood Duke generally remained neutral as well.

As he headed out for the study, he reached forward to pinch Coco's butt once. Mentioning that he still remembered his promise, he told her to gather all of his followers. Unfolding a traditional paper map as he waited for everyone to arrive, he readjusted the defence plans for his territories in Norland. At the same time, he decided to tell Alice to go all out in her offensives.

Richard was someone who believed that offence was the best defence. One couldn't achieve real victory by holing up in a fortress and staving off enemies; dominance could only be achieved when the opponent's army was in shambles. Alice was the best person for that, far exceeding Gangdor. While Olar's own abilities at the helm of an army were a little higher than that of the brute, he couldn't compare either and most people wouldn't defer to a weak bard anyway.

The army that he had dispatched to Maplefire City would soon be ordered to speed up, taking root in Silversword territory to exert his control. All planar wars would be put on pause, any extra resources being siphoned back to Blackrose Castle and ready to support Faust at any time. He also planned to get started on a new set of portals as well, increasing the numbers he could send through in a short time.

As he chalked out these plans, his followers quickly gathered in the study. Nasia now joined them, but it looked like she had no plans to mingle as she remained completely indifferent. Conveying all of his orders, he gathered a squad of his ten strongest rune knights and headed back to the royal island to participate in this mysterious gathering. Although he had no rights to vote, he wanted to see what would become of this.

He entered the War Advent Hall an entire half hour earlier than the agreed time. Although he didn't get any useful information from the servants who brought him something to drink, he wasn't much disappointed by their expected discretion. He spent the free time looking around at the murals on the walls and dome, as well as a large number of exhibits. It all detailed the deeds of Charles the Great during his expedition into the Abyss, with the exhibits being souvenirs from the attack.

This hall only lost out to the round table itself in historical significance. This was where the Emperor had sent down the order declaring the war. The expedition took an entire ten years to prepare, mobilising all the resources of the royal family as well as their most powerful generals and allies. Everyone had gambled their entire investment on Charles, prepared to lose their very lives for his cause.

Millions of soldiers had died in battle, thousands of saints never returning to their homes. The number of fallen legends was in the double digits, and the sheer material cost of the invasion couldn't be calculated. The end result of it all was a mere head hanging over the gates of Faust.

The war had caused a great deal of controversy, many political opponents claiming that Charles had been too arrogant and exhausted decades of war potential for a symbolic gain. Humans could not survive in the abyss, so the conquered level would recover to normal in only a few centuries.

However, this was the biggest victory Norland had ever achieved in the abyss. For the first time ever, an entire level had been destroyed, with Daramore's death proving humanity's potential in war. It had prompted a flood of new planar invasions that caused the human empires and smaller countries to flourish greatly, putting great pressure on the three other empires of Norland. It had pushed the entire plane to improve.

977 - City of Sin

Buried History

With his expedition into the abyss, Emperor Charles had forced the Millennial Empire and Sacred Tree Empire to acknowledge the Sacred Alliance. The new third human empire was a wounded one, but it had ushered in an age of heroes.

As Richard continued to examine the murals and exhibits, the family heads arrived once more. Casual attention towards the order and grouping of arrivals gave him a lot of interesting tidbits of information, one of the reasons he had come half an hour early. He was someone who lacked connections, and the information he did receive from his network wasn't necessarily trustworthy. Moments like these tended to be more telling than when everyone was fully prepared.

Some simple pleasantries were exchanged before everyone sat down quietly in their places, some closing their eyes while others looked down in contemplation. When the time came, Richard took his position and greeted Duke Wellinburg and Duke Turing as he waited for the mystery to be revealed.

The moment the clock pointed to ten, crisp footsteps rang in the hallway outside the room. A servant opened the door to the hall and let in a middle-aged noble, one in a dark grey suit with every hair meticulously combed. His moustache seemed to be shining even brighter than the two large rings on his left hand, both with pigeon-shaped jewels that stored an astonishing amount of energy.

Even without those familiar eyebags, Richard would recognise the aura that was so starkly different from most Norlanders anywhere. The aura was what he had used to set the target when he used those greater offerings. He immediately felt his blood starting to boil, but forced himself to stay in his seat and just smirked; this legendary being couldn't manage to hide the damage his sacrifices had done.

Julian walked into the War Advent Hall with slow, measured steps, torturing every single noble present. His gaze was immediately drawn to Richard, but after a flash of humiliation he looked away at the other nobles who seemed to have realised the reason for his presence. Flashing a somewhat distorted smile, he chuckled, “Distinguished lords and ladies, I am very happy to see you all once more. I know not one of you feels the same way, but you have received the invitations and know that this meeting is related to the succession. I have no plans to waste too much of your time.”

He deliberately paused, face glowing with brilliance as he announced in a singsong voice, “The great First Princess of Faust, Her Omnipotent Highness has decided to return and participate in the fight for the throne!”

With their fears being confirmed, many of the leaders fell silent. Those who weren't as well-informed lost their voice, “Her Highness? Is it... Princess Apeiron?”

“Of course it is Princess Apeiron! Who else qualifies to be called the First Princess?” Julian's face was filled with an expression of fanaticism.

Richard grew confused. He had never heard of a Princess Apeiron, but looking at the expressions of those around him he realised she wasn't a simple character. These hegemons were filled with far more fear than surprise.

Duke Joseph stood up, speaking in a deep voice, “The Sacred Covenant states that only the sitting emperor can nominate a new candidate for the throne. Has Princess Apeiron obtained His Majesty's approval?”

Julian's face immediately distorted with anger, “Decades and you're still so brainless! You don't have the right to question Her Highness's candidacy, just vote for her when the time comes! Am I not being clear?”

Another patriarch stood up, “Julian, this tone... Am I to understand that Her Highness is prepared to become an enemy of every family of Faust?”

Julian turned solemn, “I'm just a mad dog that serves Her Highness. You should know just what type of person I am from thirty years ago, don't try to use it against me. Her Highness is only returning to take what is rightfully hers; she has no plans to make enemies of you, but you decide your fates yourself. Those who were already enemies of her back then? I can guarantee that their lives will be hell.”

This was a naked threat, but Richard was surprised to find that none of the patriarchs erupted in a rage. Julian turned to look him in the eye, nodding with a smile, “Ah, the patriarch of the Archeron Family. You might not have the right to vote, but you can still watch on; Her Excellency is a tolerant person who will give you the opportunity to cheer for her.”

Richard stood up and flashed a cold smile, “Indeed, we Archerons don't have much in the way of history yet. But if I was to mention one of our strengths, it is the number of offerings we have.”

Julian's own smile immediately froze. No longer as arrogant as before, he wouldn't dare to fight the power of sacrifice again. The sheer pain he'd felt as time ravaged his soul was simply indescribable; he would rather be bitten down to his bones by the fire ants of the Outlands. Even more infuriating was how Richard had thrown away three greater offerings just like that; this was the type of thing he hated most after beautiful girls.

Julian's cheeks twitched as his eyes spat fire, but he swallowed down the string of curses on his lips; Richard had already followed through on the threat once, and he couldn't actually harm this hateful youth in front of this gathering. He was whimsical, not stupid; pushing every one of the fourteen families against Princess Apeiron ran counter to their goals. Eventually, he just snorted, “Lord Richard, our dispute is private. I hope you don't act impulsively after Her Highness returns.”

Richard flashed a calm smile, “You think anyone who can stand here is all impulse?”

Julian's face flushed red, but he gritted his teeth and chuckled, “That is true. Now, everyone, I have already brought you the message. When you vote for the Empress a few days later, I hope you consider things carefully.”

......

On the way back, Richard caught up to the Ironblood Duke and asked, “Your Grace, do you mind if I visit?”

Duke Orleans looked him up and down before nodding, “It would be my honour.”

A few minutes later, the two were sitting on the Ironblood Castle's terrace and admiring the beauty of Faust as they discussed the situation of the Sacred Alliance. Richard went first, asking the question he wanted answers for the most, “Who is Apeiron?”

“Princess Apeiron...” The Duke had expected the question, but he still went quiet at her mention. His brow wrinkled slightly, a myriad of expressions flashing across his face ranging from fear to envy.

He sipped on his coffee and calmed his thoughts, “Princess Apeiron is His Majesty's younger sister. She was also his main opponent in the fight for the throne, stronger than him and of purer bloodline. It is said that she awakened the astral destroyer bloodline, but the fourteen still chose Philip in the vote...... With no exception”

“The Princess was extremely angry at this and goaded His Majesty into a decisive battle in an unknown plane. Nobody knows the outcome of that fight, but when they returned she announced that she was leaving Norland and would head to the Outlands. His Majesty successfully inherited the throne.”

978 - City of Sin

Buried History

Duke Orleans continued to speak, “Julian was the First Princess's head guard. He was only a saint back then, and he didn't have any significant potential either, but somehow he's become powerful even for a legendary being... I guess I shouldn't be surprised; nobody can stay in the Outlands for so long without growing powerful.”

“And why did all of the leaders choose His Majesty instead of her, especially if she was more talented?” Richard had started suspecting some of the reasons for the general hostility towards Apeiron by this point, but he still wanted to be sure.

The Duke smiled wistfully, “Because everyone was afraid of her.”

“Afraid?”

“Princess Apeiron was one of the biggest prodigies of the entire human race, lacking any need to temper herself as she shot towards the stars like a comet. She began understanding laws the moment she entered sainthood, and there were multiple instances of legendary beings falling at her hands even then. However, she was also insane and moody; her only hobby was destruction. Her solution to any problem was to just kill both sides of an argument. She often said she was reducing the number of fights that way.”

Richard went silent. Even though he was a supposed madman himself, he understood that such a person on the throne would be a disaster for the entire Sacred Alliance. However, it brought up a new set of questions; just what could convince a lunatic to obediently go into exile? Why did she let the royal family and the fourteen eliminate all traces of her existence and bury her very memory alive?

And now, decades later, the First Princess who had scared everyone suddenly snuck back just as Philip gave up his throne. In the political world, coincidence and conspiracy were often two sides of the same coin. At the same time, as they continued talking a little more, he just couldn't ascribe to the idea that a hot-headed warrior would hatch such a meticulous plan.

......

When he eventually left the Orleans island, Richard headed straight to the Mage Association. The building contained the largest and most complete library in all of Faust; Thor wasn't the strongest of legendary mages, but he was certainly one of the most wealthy.

The dark circles under the cheery old man's eyes betrayed his heavy heart. He barely forced a smile as he saw Richard, “You're draining me dry with all of your Mana Armaments.”

Richard responded with a warm smile of his own, “Not funny at all, but no, I'm not here to sell this time. Chairman, could I perhaps look through your library for a bit?”

“What books are you looking for?” Thor asked even as he summoned a young mage to lead Richard to the library.

“Any information about the Outlands,” Richard answered.

“The Outlands?!” Thor stood up, waving the mage away and staring Richard in the eye, “Is it related to Her Highness?”

“I just want to know more about her. There's almost no information to be found, but it looks like we'll be dealing with her regularly in the future.”

“Sigh. Come with me, I have a detailed book.” Thor led Richard into his semiplane, putting up a barrier to isolate it completely from Norland, “Are you planning to stop her?”

Richard smiled bitterly, “I don't even know her, what can I stop? Unfortunately, I don't really have any way to interfere either; I'm not a duke yet.”

Leading Richard to a three-storey building deep in the semiplane, Thor pulled out a thick book from a dusty box and handed it over, “Take this, you can spend your time looking at it. But remember to return it to me, the book itself is much more valuable than the content. It was written by hand by a famous legendary mage.”

Richard nodded and turned to leave, but Thor called out to him, “Richard, Her Highness Apeiron is still the blood of the royal family and a member of the Sacred Alliance. She is also the only one capable of solving some of our current problems; we should look at the big picture.”

The statement itself was a little ambiguous, but the implications were clear. With the legendary mage sealing his lips immediately afterwards and refusing to answer questions, Richard left.

The moment Richard was gone, a silhouette flashed right next to Thor, revealing an old mage looking at the departure with a complicated gaze. The old man sighed, “The aura of the blue moon is almost completely integrated into him; if one doesn't pay attention, it's hard to find. He truly was the one it was destined for.”

Thor nodded, “It's merged into his bloodline, you should give up on any ideas you have for it. The kid is murderous and vengeful, Julian provoked him and was almost killed by offerings.”

The old mage sighed and nodded with hesitation, “That moonforce was important to me, but... Oh well, I have nothing to do in Norland now. I'll be leaving for the new coordinates I found last time.”

Thor frowned, “But the fortresses need powerhouses to guard them. You're good at fighting, can't you think about it again?”

The old mage smiled, “You aren't paying enough. If you want me to act like a sellsword, then you need to offer something good.”

“But you're also a member of the Alliance. This is a moment of crisis, how can you just let it go?”

“Thor, don't try this with me. Since it's such a critical moment, why don't you go to the fortress yourself? Are you not a legendary mage?”

Thor's face went red, “But I'm always doing research! I'm not good at battle!”

“But you're still a legendary mage; you won't lose to a grand mage.”

“You...”

“If you want to fool people into manning the fortresses, then offer more benefits. Your price is only worthy of a few grand mages, a legendary mage isn't that cheap.”

Thor waved his arm in anger, “But this is for the Alliance! How could you do this?”

“You know how old I am. I was born in a time when there was no Sacred Alliance! This country is only a consortium, a union; just adding the word sacred to its name doesn't make it holy. The Alliance never gave me anything, why should I fight for it? I'm no fool like Rundstedt, but I did offer to do so for the right price.

“And to think I considered you a friend for the past century... So be it, I don't think there is any need for us to meet again.” The old mage directly opened a portal and stepped through, leaving an angry Thor at a loss for words.

......

Richard entered his study the moment he got back home, reading through the book from Thor. Please visit 𝗳𝒓e𝚎𝙬𝒆𝙗𝚗o𝙫e𝗹. 𝐜𝐨𝙢

The Outlands was a collective term for a section of the void that contained an unknown number of planes. It was a region of the Darkness where chaos was dominant, with even the Eternal Dragon not possessing power. There was no stability to the place and the worlds were floating around, powerful races that swept through several planes capable of dying out in mere months. The environment was worse than even the abyss and hell, extremely unpredictable and unstable. New planes were born regularly, existing planes distorted, and many were destroyed by spatial rifts that could consume everything.

When the Outlands were first discovered, the expedition sent to explore it came back with most people dead. It quickly turned into a place where Norland's mages sealed those creatures too powerful to kill, and eventually also a land where those rejected by Norland were exiled. It took centuries for the legendary mages of Norland to begin understanding the laws of those planes, carving out a small region of relative control.

However, the power of chaos was still unbearable and stood directly opposite the Eternal Dragon, Most blessings were diminished or even rendered ineffective, greatly weakening the powerhouses of Norland who were used to the power boosts.

This explained to Richard why Julian stood so opposite to the Eternal Dragon; he had only adapted to the laws of chaos that governed existence in the Outlands. For a mere saint to survive in the harsh environment, this was a necessity.

But after reading through it all, he concluded that Princess Apeiron herself wasn't necessarily the same. If she was someone who even eclipsed Emperor Philip in talent, she certainly had no need to succumb to the laws of chaos or use their might. It was the same way someone like Sharon could go on trips to the hells or the abyss without actually changing herself; Apeiron would be far too powerful for the chaos to exert a hold on her. If this was true, the implications were enormous:

She wouldn't be suppressed in Faust at all.

979 - City of Sin

Disgrace

The Outlands were a strange place with no set paths to power. The passage of time and many crises would certainly lead to personal growth, and one could always absorb chaos energy itself to gain a boost in strength. Of course, finding chaos energy required great fortune as well. The fourteen families of Faust were now faced with an uncertain future; they could be facing a high-level legendary being, or they could be facing a full epic being as well. Apeiron could have become a servant of chaos, or she could have retained herself completely. Regardless, she was sure to be absurdly powerful.

Considering everything he had learned from Duke Orleans, Richard found the Emperor's Bloodthirsty Philip title rather ironic. The First Princess was someone so crazy that she had been voted against despite her sheer power; compared to her, Philip couldn't be more normal.

From the looks of it, Apeiron could just claim the throne without even bothering about the vote. As someone who had unlocked her bloodline, she would succeed Philip the moment he stepped down. However, she would participate anyway purely for vengeance. The same people who had voted against her decades ago would now have to endure the humiliation of scraping at her feet.

Richard suddenly laughed. He had been conspired against so he couldn't vote for Nyris, but those who did so couldn't vote for their own candidates either. Instead, they would have to bow their heads while he remained completely uninvolved. It was unlikely for anyone to have expected him to walk away from this better off. Please visit 𝐟𝒓𝚎𝘦we𝐛𝐧𝐨vℯ𝚕. c𝘰ｍ

Once done reading up on all he could, he headed to his practice room to meditate. The two new hearts were still bottomless pits; no matter how much energy was fed in, they would just swallow it without hesitation. Apeiron's strength would be revealed when she showed herself; it was far more important to focus on the negotiations tomorrow.

......

Night slowly gave way to dawn, and at ten in the morning the representatives of each family gathered in a small chamber of the assembly building to wait for the royal family and the diplomats of the two other empires. Everyone was lost in thought, and even long-time enemies like Duke Joseph smiled at Richard's presence. All of their hatred was insignificant in the face of what was to come. This seemed to be an autumn of troubles.

The royal family appeared exactly at 10:10, consisting of Prince Neil and Chairman Thor. Thor personally set up a map of the mainland of Norland in the middle of the hall, so detailed that even baronies were marked down. Everyone soured at the sight; it was obvious that these negotiations would involve reallocating some of the territories of the Sacred Alliance to the Sacred Tree Empire and Millennial Empire. Many of those present had interests in the borders, especially those who had expanded in recent years.

Once the map was set up, the envoys joined the conference room. Marquess Miranes was a famous minister of the Sacred Tree Empire, but his presence was well overshadowed by a youth who looked less than thirty years old. Earl Kimbaye of the Millennial Empire was known far and wide, his father being the Iceridge Duke and his mother being Empress Gelan's blood daughter— a sister of Greyhawk.

The Earl was an outstanding talent who was both gentle and wise. Although he looked rather ordinary for a family of beautiful men and women, his presence alone could make one forget all about that; he was the prince of many young ladies' minds. Despite not liking practice, he found advancing all too easy; entering sainthood in his early twenties, he was already level 19. Kimbaye was the envy of warriors and mages everywhere.

Neil took charge of hosting the negotiations, introducing all parties before they could begin. Once that was done, Kimbaye gestured for Miranes to go ahead, and the Marquess stood up and bowed with incomparable etiquette before starting, “Anyone who can sit here is a hegemon of the Sacred Alliance. I believe all of you know that Emperor Philip has been wounded in the Land of Dusk, but the Alliance is responsible for the defences of both the Fort of Dawn and the City of the Unsetting Sun. Once the Daxdians recover or realise how empty the fortresses are, they will launch another large-scale offensive. Both the Sacred Tree Empire and Millennial Empire are willing to assist in the defences, and if needed we can take on full responsibility for one of them. Which specific fortress can be determined by the Sacred Alliance, but our armies will need compensation.”

The opening remarks were simple and concise, but they still left the patriarchs present with a sinking heart. It was quite clear that the Marquess had no plans of playing nice.

“In order to protect a fortress, the Sacred Tree Empire hopes to receive the following territories as compensation.” Miranes reached out and his finger started drawing a red beam of light, adding an outline to the map. The line wasn't even halfway complete before more than half of the fourteen people stood up and glared at it.

“You... This is a disgrace!” Duke Mensa almost screamed. If it weren't for the fact that he didn't have the power to fight Miranes, he might even have drawn his sword. The Sacred Tree Empire was asking for nearly a sixth of the Sacred Alliance!

Even Earl Kimbaye's rather gentle smile froze up for a bit, and as he pinched a map in his pocket he muttered something about being too kind under his breath. Those on the side of the Sacred Tree Empire were sitting quietly with stone-cold faces, but the excessive calm betrayed their thoughts; they hadn't expected such a dividing line either. There were many places where Miranes had asked for hundreds of kilometres more than even the most aggressive requests in the original plan.

In the end, the Marquess showed plans to draw more than three million square kilometres of land into the Sacred Tree Empire. He then pointed to Earl Kimbaye, “Now, it's time for the Millennial Empire to make its demands.”

“We need the following areas,” The young Earl said, standing up and taking a minute to look at the map. He shot out a turquoise light that demarcated an equally enormous section that shocked the people of the Millennial Empire the most, but strangely enough a considerable amount of his request overlapped with that of the Sacred Tree Empire. It was a meaningful gesture.

Be they standing like Mensa or sitting like Duke Orleans or Richard himself, everyone felt like each dividing line was a scarring whip left on the face. None of them were naive, even Richard could do a good job of enduring humiliation if he ever wanted to, but this was far worse than any of them had imagined.

980 - City of Sin

Disgrace(2)

When added together, both empires were asking for more than a quarter of the Sacred Alliance's land. This was about what a winning empire would take from the loser after a war; they were holding a knife to the Alliance's throat!

Such was the consequences of the pillars of one's existence collapsing. With no epic being to hold down the fort, Hidden Sword alone could cut down the majority of Faust with enough time.

Duke Orleans finally stood up, “This is too much, I do not believe these are the plans of your leaders. Even forgetting about respect as fellow humans, you should at least respect the fact that we won back the Fort of Dawn. There have been many precedents in history where one of the empires is floundering; we have never been so excessive. Does this mean war?”

Blood rushed to Richard's head, his respect for the Ironblood Duke growing further. Even in such an unfavourable situation, the man had the courage to bring up war. Most would consider self-preservation the first priority; none of the nobles ruling the territories would actually lose their rights, they would just have to swear allegiance to their new rulers. Richard himself was hesitating, unable to act as hot-headed as he normally would. His decisions here would impact the lives of tens of thousands of citizens, so he couldn't tread lightly.

Miranes smiled softly, “I admire the valour, Your Grace, but I must say I obtained full authorization from His Majesty before I came to Faust. These are the conditions of the Sacred Tree Empire. If they lead to war...” He looked at Earl Kimbaye, “I don't believe many people would mind three empires becoming two.”

Everyone was instantly enraged. The Sacred Alliance was known to be weaker than the other two empires in the first place, and now that Philip was seriously injured they were grouping together without the slightest of respect. Richard closed his eyes to try and suppress himself, almost instantly burning the disgusting Marquess to the ground right then and there. He had to tell himself that burning the messenger would only make the conditions worse.

Miranes seemed to guess their thoughts, suddenly smiling, “Killing me now won't change the overall situation. Instead, it will only push the Sacred Alliance further into the abyss. I can cooperate with you if you do the same, what do you think?”

Duke Orleans snorted and sat down, closing his eyes. Anyone familiar with him would know that he had already been enraged, and was looking at the pros and cons of starting a war.

“I don't mind killing you even if it doesn't change the big picture,” a calm voice rang through the room. Richard turned around to find Marshal Rundstedt— no, Earl Rundstedt— suddenly in the room. As he stepped forward, Miranes's smile began to distort; although he wasn't the strongest of legendary beings, Rundstedt had spent so much time at war that his aura couldn't be matched.

The former marshal looked across all of those present, “The Sacred Alliance can hold our own fortresses. I am old and confused, not qualified to lead, but I will be a soldier guarding the gates. Those who want to break into the City of the Unsetting Sun will have to step over my dead body!” Google search 𝑓𝒓e𝑒w𝑒𝒃𝑛𝒐𝘃ℯ𝙡. c𝚘m

This caused the patriarchs present to seriously consider exhausting their family resources, ignoring profit and loss for the sake of pride. However, Miranes suddenly applauded, “Truly, a hero. Unfortunately, Daxdians have no respect for heroism. Most of the heroes like you were killed in the war, and many of the surviving saints left the City of the Unsetting Sun. Quite a few of those powerhouses joined our Sacred Tree Empire. A hero like you doesn't need to consider what happens after death, but is that an excuse for what happens when the city falls to Daxdian hands?”

Rundstedt's face flashed with fury and he stepped forward, grabbing Miranes by the throat and lifting him up. In front of the tall man, the level 19 Marquess was like a chicken that couldn't fight back.

The guards from the Sacred Empire stood up and drew their weapons, but the Marquess waved to stop them. Staring Rundstedt right in the eye, he squeezed out, “Kill me... Doesn't... matter... The Empire will... send new messenger... Conditions will get worse... Every minute... Another kilometre...”

The veins on Rundstedt's hands pulsed as he continued to crush Miranes's throat, but after a few minutes Duke Wellinburg stood up and said coldly, “Earl Rundstedt, know your place! Your actions were what led to this situation in the first place!”

Rundstedt glared at Wellinburg before snorting and letting go, dropping the Marquess to the ground. Miranes coughed up blood as his guards lifted him up, but he pushed away the offered healing potion and stumbled towards the map. His energy was clearly in disorder, but he slowly changed the dividing line. The new line was almost in the same place as the old, but that was only due to the scale. Everyone present had sharp eyesight and noticed that the line had shifted exactly three kilometres.

Duke Wellinburg coughed a few times, “Lord Miranes, this is a serious matter. This is not acceptable.”

Still wheezing for air, the Marquess responded, “I stand here representing the majesty of the Sacred Tree Empire! The Empire's dignity is a serious matter; any offences against it must be repaid in full. Since Earl Rundstedt cannot pay up, then it falls to you. He acts like a petulant child who doesn't understand the gravity of the situation, so his parents are to blame.”

Rundstedt started shaking from the humiliation at this point, the conference room growing colder and colder under the pressure of his rage. With the full force of a legendary being's aura, even the saints present found themselves growing dull.

And yet, such pressure was meaningless for those who weren't afraid of death. Marquess Miranes obviously had no plans to back down, and it was clear that Rundstedt would only cause more problems. Duke Orleans exchanged glances with a few others, eventually prompting Duke Wellinburg to stand up and escort the Earl out while trying to calm him.

Regret flashes across Miranes's eyes, but he recovered quickly, “Forgive me, but there is no need to show off your strength like this. The Sword Saint of the Millennial Empire and our Archbishop would be more than happy to meet your challenges.”

This sentence thrust the room into silence once more. The Sacred Alliance currently couldn't find a single person capable of competing against epic beings. Even if Sharon could wake up, she wasn't actually a member of the Sacred Alliance but only a friend who was respected for her accomplishments. Her closest relationship was with Gaton and his son, but Gaton was currently buried in the depths of the abyss.

Duke Orleans eventually posited an alternative, “These conditions are simply unacceptable. We would rather just withdraw from a fortress immediately.”

“Your Grace, both of our empires have a bottom line: we cannot afford to lose a fortress to the Daxdians. This would be a betrayal of Norland, and giving up a fortress directly would never be tolerated,” Miranes said with a smile.

981 - City of Sin

Fairness

“Miranes is using you, my Lord,” one of Kimbaye's aides whispered to him, but the young earl waved his hand to indicate it didn't matter. Anyone who thought they could use the Millennial Empire's name freely was being naive, but he had no plans to raise an objection here.

After all, Miranes wasn't really being naive. He was trying to use the might of the two empires to fight for their best interests, and it was clear that he planned for the profits to be distributed evenly. This was a greater victory for the Millennial Empire than they had originally planned for. Miranes was acting desperate, even suicidal, but his kind of determination was quite rare in negotiations where the possibility of war was minuscule.

Richard was keenly aware of this anomaly as well. He remained in his seat as Miranes and Duke Orleans argued back and forth, all of the information he had on the two envoys rapidly flowing through his mind.

Marquess Miranes was someone born into a mediocre noble family, with his future restricted to a viscounty at most. Struggle, conspiracy, blackmail... he was someone who had taken every opportunity in front of him to advance. This was the greatest opportunity of his life; his marquessate wasn't hereditary, and he didn't have children who displayed the same potential as him; the only way to preserve his legacy was to expand his territory as much as possible.

On the other hand, Earl Kimbaye was someone born into glory who belonged at the top of the ladder. Succeeding in this mission would just be another achievement in a long list; to him, extra success in these negotiations wouldn't be worth much. As such, he could remain calm and restrained, even acting kind to the Sacred Alliance if he wished to; that was the difference in their origins.

However, Miranes was keenly aware of the disparity. That was why he fought so hard, giving Kimbaye a good reason to side with him. It had obviously worked; the two empires were now loosely allied at this table. However, looking at the young earl's quiet and calm, Richard felt like he had another card up his sleeve.

Duke Orleans continued to argue, “If this is your bottom line, then I have to choose war. These conditions have no precedent in hundreds of years.”

“Ever since the Sacred Alliance was founded by Emperor Charles the Great, there hasn't been a single occasion where any of the three empires lacks an epic being,” Miranes countered calmly.

Orleans was frustrated, but he continued in a low voice, “We still have Her Excellency Sharon.”

Sharon had yet to prove that she was an epic being, having never fought the other epic beings of Norland, but upon hearing her name the Marquess who didn't even bat an eye at Rundstedt turned solemn, “But Her Excellency... She isn't a part of the Sacred Alliance? If she is willing to take responsibility, even with a single sentence, I will modify the plan immediately.”

Richard was left quite surprised, as it seemed to be the norm when things involved his teacher. The woman who left him with a radiant trauma and trusted in him was highly regarded even by the other empires, even if she had never once proved that she was an epic being.

However, Duke Orleans just sighed in frustration; getting any confirmation from a sleeping Sharon was obviously impossible. With both sides having played their cards, the Sacred Alliance didn't have any epic beings to force a tempered approach. Miranes did mark a new dividing line, not as aggressive as the first one, but it still took more than 1.5 million square kilometres away.

Earl Kimbaye stepped up as well, giving up an equal amount of territory, but now a lot of the area he took away was what had overlapped in the original demand. In the end, the Sacred Alliance stood to lose a little under 2.5 million square kilometres of territory, a total of an eighth of the entire empire.

Duke Orleans looked at the two lines and walked over to the map, crossing out some important areas and offering others instead. Some of the areas he crossed out were strategically important, while others had important mineral resources or were core territories of some large families. This caused the others to grow awkward; this meant he had acknowledged the boundaries and was now starting to bargain on the details.

Richard didn't speak once during the negotiations, just listening and observing. He was a newcomer to these political confrontations, and didn't have the experience or education in the field to help. Every sentence had to be considered carefully; a tiny movement in someone's finger was a change of thousands of square kilometres or greater. This was a battle he didn't qualify to join.

Seeing the exalted Ironblood Duke now personally negotiating with mere envoys of the other empires, Richard couldn't suppress a twinge of sorrow. Although he had fought tooth and nail to establish the Crimson Dukedom back in Faelor, this was the first time he had felt the sheer pressure of being a leader of a country. Emperor Philip's silent support had allowed them all to grow and even conspire against each other, but now that the pillar had broken the world was crashing down around them.

For a moment, he thought back to Rundstedt. The former marshal was a controversial figure, but he was still a pure soldier who didn't care for his own profits. Even after being deprived of his military command and most of his territory, he was still willing to stand guard in the City of the Unsetting Sun until he was killed. But just as Miranes had said, he wasn't the one to bear the consequences. If not for his stubbornness, Philip wouldn't have been forced to challenge two epic beings.

Family, country, plane... everything came with a heavy responsibility, one that only increased with status. The fourteen giants of Faust seemed to be tyrants, but they were minor in the eyes of the other two empires. Both the Sacred Tree Empire and the Millennial Empire could destroy the Alliance all on their own, it was just that they would exhaust their resources to do so. The other three empires of Norland would then become a threat, while the high elves in Lithgalen also had hopes of a return.

...

Eventually, the negotiations were nearing completion. However, all three parties were abnormally persistent on the last area, and even Miranes and Kimbaye who had never argued before weren't willing to give way. Duke Orleans was the same, and the argument started to drag out for minutes on end.

Richard, who had entered meditation halfway through, was awakened by the dispute and looked at the map. His eyes were instantly pulled by a symbol of a volcano that was the subject of the argument. Having been prepared for this, his expression didn't waver even as all three men glanced at him, but his heart almost froze.

They wanted the Azan Peninsula. They wanted Blackrose Castle.

982 - City of Sin

Lightless Night

Duke Orleans frowned, his fingers tracing out a large, fertile tract of land right next to the Azan peninsula instead of Azan itself. This new land contained quite a large section of core Schumpeter territory as well as several of the Josephs' territories as well, one of which was amongst the oldest fiefs owned by the family. His stance was clear; he could sacrifice much of the profits of the Schumpeters and Josephs, but the core Archeron territory had to remain within the Sacred Alliance.

The Schumpeters were no longer amongst Faust's fourteen, but even Duke Joseph who was in the chamber could only smile without protest as his heart was gouged out. At this moment, even he had to admit that the Archeron Family headed by a grand runemaster approaching the legendary realm was worth far more than a family that was nearly destroyed by war. This was why the Ironblood Duke was personally conducting the negotiations; there would be no room for argument.

As for fairness, equal justice only came with equal power. Azan was the core territory of the Archerons. Richard himself wouldn't be affected much by the transfer in rulership, but that would make him a noble of the Sacred Tree Empire or Millennial Empire instead. He would have to pay taxes to his new ruler, and his soldiers would be obligated to fight different wars.

The borders of the three empires had varied greatly over the centuries, with many large families now owning territory in all three empires. Alice herself had some land in the Sacred Tree Empire that she paid taxes on, but because it wasn't much she didn't have a complete peerage there. Richard's situation would be far more complicated; the split would give him enough territory in the other empire to be an earl, but the rest of the Archeron territories in the Sacred Alliance would make him an Earl as well. This would put him in an extremely delicate situation where he couldn't really support either side.

Both Earl Kimbaye and Marquess Miranes had made their objectives clear. They wanted Azan for one reason and one reason alone; Richard himself. If they could gain some amount of sovereignty over the Archerons, the possibility of getting him to defect over time would grow. As the dispute continued, the young Kimbaye showed surprising resolve, offering to give up a magic crystal mine and several earldoms' worth of land for Azan alone.

The argument raged on for an entire hour with no side budging. Eventually, they agreed to suspend the negotiations and return to them in a few days. As they were leaving the conference room, Kimbaye hurried over to Richard and handed him a dark gold invitation with a smile, “Mister Richard, would you like to share some afternoon tea tomorrow? It would be even better if you were willing to give me a tour of Faust's magnificence.”

Richard shook his head, “Forgive me, I don't think that's appropriate at this time.”

They were already close to the room's exit, but all of the other major families seemed to turn a blind eye to the Earl's behaviour. Kimbaye looked at their backs once before lowering his voice, “We will soon be fellow lords under the Millennial Empire, what's so wrong with sharing tea?”

Richard forced a smile as well, “Are you so confident?”

“Of course! Not just because we'd be sincere towards a future saint runemaster, but also on account of Her Highness Mountainsea. She has imperial blood flowing in her, and as her partner you are nominally a member of the royal family as well.”

Richard frowned slightly, but Kimbaye continued, “The Sacred Alliance does not see your worth. They reject you, conspire against you, even try to murder you in broad daylight! Only a few days ago I saw you being ganged up on by the lesser nobles of this city, but nobody came to your aid. You should know what this means, Mister Richard; they simply do not regard you as one of their own. Why would you want to stay in such a country?”

The Earl's voice was quite opposite to his average appearance; even such a treasonous entreaty sounded like a hymn, possessing fascinating charm. Richard had no answer to his question either; there wasn't really any major difference in terms of race or beliefs between the three empires. A number of lords had changed allegiances over the years, and many had done so without issue.

However, such an implication was patently untrue. There was a major difference between the Sacred Alliance and the other empires: freedom. The noble circles of both the Millennial Empire and the Sacred Tree Empire were near impossible to break into, and any newcomer would be treated with distance. Even more annoying to Richard himself was just why he was being valued; Kimbaye had made it clear that he was wanted because of his runecrafting talent. That was his greatest value in their eyes.

Again, Richard felt like there was another hidden card at play. He didn't know what it was, just that Kimbaye hadn't revealed it yet. Still, he didn't say anything and just bowed with a shake of his head before leaving. The Earl looked at the invitation he had failed to send out and smiled ambiguously.

......

It was rare for the assembly of the Sacred Alliance to be full, but it was even rarer for it to be dead silent. Every noble in the city had gathered here, waiting for the results of the conference. The quiet was only broken once the first of the negotiating parties walked out, and those who were direct subordinates rushed over to get the news. Those who weren't waited quietly for the news to spread.

The differences in networking between the various families was immediately made clear. Even Duke Anan had a number of people asking him about the proceedings, but almost no one approached Richard. Still, word spread like wildfire and everyone knew about the partition plan; although it wasn't final, it was still indicative of what would eventually happen. Someone brought over a map and marked the separations, the lines feeling like two nooses wrapping around the neck. It brought great shame to the entire Alliance.

Richard felt like his footsteps were heavy today. The Archerons had many enemies in the Sacred Alliance, and many of them had led to his own personal tragedies, but there were also those like Philip and Ferlyn who had made sure to take care of him. He had Sharon and Flowsand, the loves of his life; Beye, Agamemnon, and Nyris, friends that couldn't be replaced. This was the place he had grown up in.

He was feeling a sense of shame and helplessness that he hadn't even when being chased around on his last breaths as a weakling in Faelor. It was only now that he realised he still had a sense of identity with the Sacred Alliance and truly wanted to do something for it. However, the current situation left him completely powerless.

Even having given up Blackrose Castle, his dynamic in Faust itself wouldn't change much. He would still maintain ownership of his island and could interact as usual, and with no tensions of large-scale war it didn't seem like he would ever have to make a choice between any two empires. On the other hand, the Sacred Alliance would regain more than a hundred thousand square kilometres of land with many important resources for this sacrifice. If the question ever fell to him directly, he had no idea how to answer.

......

The next few days were spent in intense negotiation. Most borders were finalised completely, leaving only a few points of contention of which Azan was the greatest. However, the attention of the public was gradually drawn elsewhere, as the time for the vote approached.

All kinds of forces awakened in the underbelly of the city, forcing unwilling people to make their moves. Over a dozen assassinations occurred the very night before the election, but the normally active Archeron Family was the calmest of everyone amidst the storm. With Richard having no vote in the matter, there was simply no reason to target him at all.

On this eve to the election, the entire city seemed to be filled with blood. Everyone in Faust was at risk, with assassins running around everywhere. However, a burly middle-aged man was walking alone on the road through it all. He was remarkably tall and with a rather angular shape to him, body covered in common cotton robes. His short, messy hair seemed to be made of steel needles, and his beard was completely out of control.

The man didn't seem to have great power, not even entering sainthood, but every assassin lying in the dark felt an inexplicable sense of unease at his sight. The saints and even legends couldn't tell why, but he just oozed a feeling of danger. Although many of them had orders to kill those heading to the Church on sight, not one person loosed an arrow at him as he crossed through Faust. By the time he was gone, everyone was thinking up excuses as to why they hadn't attacked.

Many of these killers watched with strange faces as the man climbed the stairs to the Church of the Eternal Dragon, unwilling to admit that they had refrained from fear.

983 - City of Sin

Lightless Night(2)

It was a dark night in Faust, the moon that was supposed to be shining in the sky no longer present.

The burly man had long legs, but as he climbed the stairs to the Church he didn't miss a single step. However, this didn't seem to be reverence but nostalgia; despite his lack of power, the man seemed to have a natural aura of sovereignty, of someone who held the world within their palms.

Once he arrived at the doors of the Church, a young priestess walked over, “It is very late now, any offerings need to be made tomorrow.”

The man was dressed like a peasant, but just his aura convinced the priestess to respect him. However, he looked her in the eye and said softly, “Go tell Ferlyn that I'm here.”

It was indescribable blasphemy for someone to reference the High Priestess by just her name. The priestess would have called for the paladins immediately to throw the man out, but for some reason she just nodded and rushed back to Ferlyn's hall in the Church. The confusion was evident on her face— she didn't understand just why she would obey the big man like he was her master— but she ran all the way to Ferlyn's door.

“He's coming?” a soft voice sounded from within the hall.

Still in the midst of her confusion, the young priestess instinctively replied, “He's already here.”

“Alright, you may leave. I'll go see him.”

...

In the central hall of the Church, the middle-aged man was casually looking around at the gorgeous decorations in the storied building. The only thing special about him was his size, but despite him walking around as he pleased neither the priestesses nor the paladins came forward to stop him. It was as though there was nothing wrong with his presence at all.

As Ferlyn walked over and saw his face, she immediately turned stiff. The middle-aged man looked at her and smiled heartily, “Why, can't recognise me? Hard to blame you, I wasn't like this thirty years ago.”

Ferlyn stood still, unaware of the trembling of her body, “Philip...”

The man stroked his cheek, “I think I've forgotten what I even looked like... I'm getting old—”

“NO!” she suddenly flew forward, plunging into his arms and hugging him hard, her slender arms almost disappearing into his bulging muscles, “No, you're just the same as before!”

He smiled as he embraced her, gently stroking her hair, “You haven't changed at all... It's almost as though all this was just a dream.”

Ferlyn refused to look up, continuing to shiver as she held him quietly. Philip spoke again, “Take me to where you're staying now; I still have some time, we can talk. I miss Ticktown so much.”

...

A moment later, they had entered the back hall of the Church. Within this place was the scene of a small town surrounded by mountains, lakes, and rivers. Ferlyn and Philip were sitting on open-air seats right outside a small tavern, smiling at each other.

This was where the two travelling adventurers had first met. Every single detail had been recorded in Ferlyn's heart, and with her power here it had all been reproduced down to the tiniest of details. Thirty years had left no traces on Ferlyn, but Philip had a number of pockmarks and nicks. He couldn't be called handsome anymore, but he still had the presence of a hero who would go on to rule all of humanity.

The Philip of Ticktown hadn't yet become a saint, but he had wonderful power. He was also a lean, fit man; the fat was entirely the Emperor. Ferlyn looked at him and chuckled, “You've grown old.”

“Yes,” Philip had no intentions of hiding his emotion, “Really old. I let my appearance fade with time, I was afraid you'd forget that time was passing while immersed in this place. Look, you're still the same.”

Ferlyn smiled, “I wouldn't dare let myself. What if you couldn't recognise me?”

Philip laughed loudly, pointing to his hearts, “You've always been right here, how could I make a mistake?”

The High Priestess went blank for a moment, “I... don't know how to change.”

“Heh... No, you don't.”

“... And you? How come you're suddenly here?”

“I couldn't wait an entire century to see you, it was agony!”

Ferlyn's head drooped a little, a single drop splashing down onto the back of her hand. However, her voice remained calm as ever, “I heard people were plotting against you?”

“Eh,” Philip continued to smile and wave, “You think those idiots would actually succeed? I just couldn't stop it. They gave me the chance to get in two good fights and then come see you.”

Ferlyn put her hands on his, her head still not lifting up, “You fool... It's only been thirty years, why can't you wait?”

“And how many has it been for you? 300? 500? How could I wait for you?”

Ferlyn's own hall was like the Temple of the Sands, possessing the ability to adjust the timeflow freely. Ten years could pass in the blink of an eye here, and it was something both generations of chosen used in the same way; they hoped to use the passage of time to numb their hearts.

It was just that some pains couldn't be washed away no matter how much time passed. Not all wounds healed in time. Ferlyn whispered, “What should I do for the Alliance?”

Philip shook his head, “I took the Fort of Dawn, but even if it's the glory of the entire human race I couldn't come to care. That place is dead, and I am too. Only a living dragon can become the king of beasts... I...” he smiled reluctantly, “My only regret is that I didn't manage to get you away from that old dragon in all this time.”

His voice was low, but even with her head down she couldn't suppress her tears any longer. They started to flow, the first few drops breaking a dam that had been holding something up for an eternity. She didn't know when it was that she raised her head, but all she saw was the emptiness. There was only a desert all around her, no tavern, no town, no Philip. The earth and the sky seemed to be one, and as she looked at her hand all she could see was some pale gold sand.

She suddenly crumpled to the ground and burst into tears for the first time in centuries. The desert shifted as the sky grew dark, and an inky blackness in the distance rushed forward and swallowed everything.

All that was left was a world without light.

984 - City of Sin

Heir To The Throne

After a night of turmoil, the sun rose as ever; the City of Miracles basked in the golden rays of the morning. The nobles and powerhouses of the city were unaware of the tragedy within the Church of the Eternal Dragon, their afternoon tea parties and playful courting all held up by one worry; the election of the next Emperor was today.

There were a total of thirteen families eligible to vote, a total of four candidates. It didn't seem like much, but there were infinite possibilities that could each elevate or devastate millions of people. The night of assassinations had been inundated by countless pacts old and new, but even now nobody knew just how things would turn out.

The election was to be held in the assembly building, with the bigger nobles of the country allowed to witness for the fairness of the entire process. In fact, both Neil and Nyris had made their names known long ago with their achievements, while Ryan was known to most of Faust's nobility as well. Princess Apeiron was the biggest variable; ever since Julian had announced her candidacy, there had been no more news. Some people were starting to feel it was all a ploy by someone to strike fear into their hearts.

As the clock approached ten, most of the assembly building was filled up. Royal soldiers were patrolling the entire venue, ensuring that everyone was sitting in their seats. Each chair was marked for its intended owner, and those not on the list were simply not allowed entry. There were no exceptions to the strict hierarchy; only those families with expansive networks, forming the backbone of the entire Sacred Alliance, qualified to be present.

By the time Richard entered the venue, half of his peers had already taken their seats. Looking solemn himself, he walked to his own and sat down. There were some hushed discussions about the Archerons not having the right to vote, but talk of the conspiracy never turned to ridicule. Even if he wasn't a duke yet, he had true power that had decimated many other hegemons who had their own floating islands.

A high platform was set up for the candidates, with four chairs in total. Although Princess Apeiron had declared her candidacy herself without Emperor Philip's nomination, the royal family was clearly admitting that she was eligible to participate. Richard clenched his fists at the sight, confirming once more that the rule of law was only applicable to those who could be restrained. Had he entered the legendary realm or become a true saint runemaster already, Canaan's ploy would have ended in a completely different way. Apeiron had only sent a follower of hers and gotten herself into the race for the throne.

A few minutes before ten, the three princes entered the venue on time and occupied their places as per procedure. It was law that any candidate not present by ten would be disqualified automatically, and they respected those bounds. However, even when the bell rang, Apeiron was nowhere to be seen.

Neil still looked as kind and harmless as ever, smiling at those below. Ryan was a very beautiful young boy, but the childishness was still evident on his face. The traces of nervousness were clear, as could only be expected in such a situation.

However, Nyris was completely different. For some reason, the Fourth Prince had worn a neutral dress with numerous lacy frills that looked far too frivolous on men. The bright blue of the fabric was eye-catching, giving him indescribable charm; it had clearly been designed for him and him alone. If one could ignore what they knew, he looked like a peerless beauty with short, soft hair.

Philip had already mentioned Nyris's problems with orientation when adding him in as a candidate; he should have been doing his best to show his masculinity right now, but the Fourth Prince actually leaned into the situation even further. He was making things very clear; this dress was no different from women's wear.

Unlike other nobles, the emperor was someone who represented the entire Sacred Alliance. If he were sitting on the throne, this growing ambiguity would cause countless criticisms. Philip himself had staved off the criticism for his gluttony and sloth purely because he had defeated Apeiron for the throne, but Nyris was no Philip; as a mere saint, he didn't yet have such dominating strength. In fact, Nyris couldn't even claim to be invincible under the legendary realm like Richard did; most nobles would rather choose Ryan who had a similar level of talent. Ten years was a lot, but if they weathered the storm that would be the end to the troubles.

Richard looked at this friend of his strangely as well. For Nyris to wear this dress right under the eyes of envoys from both the Sacred Tree Empire and Millennial Empire, he was declaring to everyone that he didn't want to be voted for. Just why was he doing that? Despite those doubts, however, he had to admit that the attire really suited the prince. If not careful, even he would find his heart fluttering a little.

The time for the election to begin came and went, but the host of the ceremony still didn't ring the golden bell for them to begin. He should have announced that the candidates present would be voted for now, but he seemed to be in a daze as he continued to let time pass by. The only explanation was also a simple one: Apeiron still wasn't here.

The assembly hall fell into a strange silence, all eyes on the empty chair. With none of the voting members objecting, the lesser nobles watched on as well. Only the oldest of everyone who still had some memory of decades past were showing faint worry.

“One moment,” Julian suddenly waked in, quickly heading to the centre of the hall and bowing, “Forgive me, Her Highness received the news and departed from the Outlands an hour ago, but there were some minor problems on the road. I'm afraid she will take a few more minutes to arrive.”

This announcement caused a minor uproar. Everyone who knew about the Outlands understood that one couldn't just take portals in and out; travel between the two places required dozens of stops on transitional planes, with some of the locations being quite dangerous. Even legendary beings sometimes took years to make the trip, only able to hope for no serious injuries, but now Apeiron was returning in just over an hour.

Anyone's first reaction would be disbelief, but as he saw the cold, stunned eyes of the Ironblood Duke he quickly realised that it was likely to be true. At the very least, some of the older nobles here seemed to believe in the possibility.

As a round of hushed whispers rang through the assembly and Julian excused himself from the centre, Thor walked in and took his place. He looked around and spoke in a low voice, “Before we elect the next emperor, please allow me to announce some tragic news from the royal family. Our current Emperor, His Majesty Philip who singlehandedly recovered the Fort of Dawn, left our midst forever last night. His body was left in the Church of the Eternal Dragon, and will not be available for any funerals or ceremonies.”

Bloodthirsty Philip was dead? This immediately caused an uproar, shocking all of the nobles from their seats. Even Richard stood up; although the Emperor had mentioned that he wouldn't even be a saint anymore soon, many of them had actually held out hope. The man had only accomplished two big things in twenty years, but both of them were truly enormous. The first was to exile Princess Apeiron, and the second was to take and hold the Fort of Dawn by defeating two epic beings of Daxdus. Both were miracles that no one else could achieve, so the highest echelons of Faust were hoping he would showcase another.

In fact, even without any power at all, Philip's mere presence would have made people quite confident. The Alliance still had its Emperor, that was all they would care about. But now, even before his successor could take the throne, he had departed this life. The noise went away as soon as it came. Many nobles were stuttering in shock, feeling like the sky had fallen down.

In the midst of all this, Earl Kimbaye stood up and nodded towards Thor, “To express our respect for Emperor Philip, the Millennial Empire shall immediately withdraw half of its conditions for assistance.”
f𝗿𝙚e𝙬𝗲𝑏𝒏𝑜ѵ𝑒𝗹. 𝒄𝑜𝘮

The youth's words immediately stabilised a few of the nobles; it was an indication that the Millennial Empire wasn't about to turn on them in their hour of need. However, their grateful gazes stood in stark contrast to that of Marquess Miranes, who bit his lip a few times before standing up reluctantly as well, “The Sacred Tree Empire will also give up half of its benefits as a tribute.”

This was more than a million square kilometres of territory between the two empires. Earl Kimbaye hadn't cared, seriously making his claim out of respect for Philip's greatness, but Miranes felt his heart bleeding. He didn't want to follow up, but knew that staying quiet would have made the Sacred Tree Empire a target for the other two.

However, his voice hadn't even faded away before a strange chuckle rang through the hall, “Half of what benefits? Did you even get my permission?”

985 - City of Sin

The New Empress

The chuckle quickly grew higher-pitched and more manic, turning into uproarious laughter in the blink of an eye. Everyone below sainthood immediately felt as though a thousand needles were being stabbed into their ears, falling to the ground and rolling around in pain. Even the saints had to resist the pain with their internal energy, barely managing to stay seated.

Richard turned pale as well, forced to use the power of the blue moon to counter the invasive laughter. However, his eyes went wide as he saw small black lines appearing around the hall, looking like tendrils of smoke that were spreading out. He leapt away from one such tendril as fast as lightning, not daring to test himself against it at all. Although he was confident in his bodily strength now, a spatial crack would still injure him.

Watching the sheer number of cracks in the air, he couldn't hold back his shock. With the Church of the Eternal Dragon being present here, Faust's space was extremely stable. The assembly building was specially reinforced with legendary-grade formations to specifically guard against teleportation, but someone was still managing to tear through space.

The sound of glass shattering suddenly rang through the air as one of the cracks expanded, slender fingers reaching out from within. The inky black nails seemed to glow as it grabbed the edge of the crack, forcing it to open up enough for a person to walk through.

Several muted explosions rang out as the walls, pillars and ceiling of the hall started to spark. The defensive formations all around crumbled layer by layer even as a leg made its way through the crack followed by another. Almost unable to breathe, everyone watched someone walking through.

The woman seemed to cut a sorry figure with wounds all over, but she was still quite beautiful. While her short black hair and sharp face were gorgeous, it was the purplish-black lips and dark purple eyes that were most astonishing. Her thin armour was cracked in various places, and the patches of exposed skin seemed to have pale flames blazing upon them. There was even a wound in the exposed thigh that seemed to be infested by black worms.

As the woman jumped out of the spatial crack, her left hand remained within as though holding onto something. Everyone that met her sweeping gaze looked like they were struck by lightning, but once she'd checked her surroundings she muttered, “Looks like I'm in the right place.”

Having said that, she turned around and put her other hand back in the crack as well, starting to pull with so much force that space itself howled. Everyone felt their hearts stop beating, as though time itself had come to a stop. This time, even Richard was no different. The woman emitted a shrill shriek and tore the space apart, pulling out an enormous head that was even larger than her entire body. The still-living creature was struggling furiously to pull back, everyone feeling their souls start to waver.

“Lord Marat!” Julian suddenly exclaimed, watching in awe as she twisted the head left and right repeatedly. It took a few attempts, but eventually she ripped the head off completely in a shower of purple blood, revealing a flailing body on the other side. He immediately went down on one knee as she started cackling at the waterfall of purple that covered her, shouting loudly, “The legendary Lord Marat has fallen at your hands. Your exploits will be praised in the Outlands forever, Your Highness!”

While Julian's words were slightly exaggerated, everyone was still astonished. They could immediately tell that this creature was in the legendary realm, and killing any legendary being was a frightening accomplishment. Nobody got that powerful without a hundred ways of escaping those stronger than themselves.

“The fool actually chased me through a dozen planes, thinking I was afraid. It wouldn't have lasted so long if I wasn't in a hurry.” Princess Apeiron snickered as she put a foot through the spatial crack and kicked the enormous body away, promptly loosening her grip to let the head fall down. A loud crash rang out as the wooden platform for the candidates was smashed into dust, a deep pit being formed even in the stone floor; the beast's head had to weigh several hundred tonnes!

The four high chairs were naturally destroyed as well, but the three princes had managed to dodge in time. Their expressions were terrible; even the nicest interpretation of Apeiron's actions was that she was establishing her prowess. Put more crudely, she had just tossed the head carelessly without any regard for others' lives.

She pulled a strand of pale gold energy out of thin air, “Hmm... Only seven minutes late, not bad. Did they choose yet?”

Still kneeling, Julian answered respectfully, “The voting has yet to begin, Your Highness.”

“Oh, they weren't dumb this time...” Her expression eased up slightly, gaze falling on Earl Kimbaye and Marquess Miranes, “And what half were you two talking about?”

Kimbaye showed surprising resolve as he faced her calmly, explaining the entire situation in three minutes. He made the cause of the division quite clear without once stuttering, astonishing many of the older nobles present who were already shivering.

Once she heard everything, Apeiron waved her hands and stated indifferently, “Bullshit. Go tell those old guys that the boundaries aren't changing, they can come talk to me if they have a problem.”

Kimbaye frowned for a moment, but his brow quickly relaxed as he answered, “I'll make sure to relay your intentions.”

However, Miranes was clearly anxious. The great profits he had painstakingly crafted were being torn away in the blink of an eye, and all because of this woman that had just appeared? He took a step forward and shouted, “The division of boundaries has already been discussed, how can they be changed so easily? This matter concerns the Sacred Tree Empire's dignity; no matter who you are, you'd best be prudent.”

Apeiron's gaze immediately landed on the Marquess, one brow slanting up, “Who do you think you are?”

Miranes felt his heart freeze as his body went stip, turning him immobile out of pure terror. However, he still gritted his teeth and puffed his chest out, “I'm an emissary of the Empire, here representing His Majesty! Kill me if you want, but the next one will only have harsher conditions. Have you thought this through?”

This was the same threat as before, using himself as the stakes to gamble on the fact that the Sacred Alliance wouldn't dare to go to war with his Empire. However, what had worked on Rundstedt and the Ironblood Duke only caused Apeiron to flash a terrifying smile, as she flashed over and dug out his heart in an instant.

Watching the look of shock on the man, the Princess snickered, “You really think so much of yourself? I'll kill you if I want to, what can you do about it?”

Miranes looked down with difficulty, staring at the horrifying hole in his chest as he barely raised a hand to point at Apeiron, “You... The Empire won't let... Khech... let you off...”

Although not particularly powerful, the Marquess was still level 19. Even with his heart dug out, he could still last a few minutes. In fact, he could even recover if the heart was returned to place and a simple healing spell was used on him. However, he could only watch as she squeezed hard and turned his still-beating heart into mush, destroying his last hopes.

“You... Not epic...” he mustered the last of his vitality, eyes spitting fire at his killer.

“So what?” Apeiron sneered, “You should have asked that old man Hendrick if he dares to fight me. He'd be dead even if I don't win... Pity... Julian?”

Julian scrambled over, “Yes, Your Highness?”

“Find some barren land to give to the Sacred Tree Empire as compensation for killing this whatever. A square kilometre should do, doesn't matter where it is.”

Miranes's face flushed a deep red, half out of humiliation and half out of reaching the end of his life. He barely managed a whisper, “You... Maniac...”

“You're right!” Apeiron chuckled coldly as the man fell to the ground, staring at the rest of those from the Sacred Tree Empire, “The borders will be the same. Go tell Hendrick and that son of a bitch Michael: if they want to fight, they can come at me. I'm still injured and it'll be three months before I'm fine, they need to be quick.”

She then looked at Kimbaye, “Tell that old man Hidden Sword the same thing. And tell him to stop pretending like he's always young, that's annoying.”

“I'll convey your words,” Kimbaye said respectfully, as though he was facing a true epic being. This attitude left his subordinates confused, but Apeiron smiled at him and didn't do anything.

986 - City of Sin

The Cycle Continues

The Princess's gaze swept across the family heads of the fourteen and she snorted, “You absolute trash! You've been bullied right up to your doorstep but you still won't fight? Where's your pride?!”

She stopped for a moment on Richard, but continued to shake her head, “So this one's trash as well!”

Richard's eyes narrowed, but he didn't speak.

When Kimbaye returned to his seat, an old Marquess from the Millennial Empire asked him softly, “Isn't this princess below the epic realm still? Why yield so much?”

There were hints of disapproval in the man's voice, but Kimbaye just smiled, “Instinct.”

The old Marquess froze, almost disbelieving his own ears, “Did you just say instinct?”

“Yes.”

“How... How can you make such important decisions based on instinct? What sort of rubbish is that? Go change the proposal at once!” the man's moustache started to twitch.

“You bring it up if you want, I'm not going to die. My life is more valuable than yours.” Please visit 𝑓𝗿𝐞e𝑤𝚎𝗯n𝗼ν𝙚l. 𝑐𝒐𝓶

“You...” The Marquess came from an important family as well, his status equivalent to the Earl's. He couldn't find the words to express his anger.

“You know, that's the difference between us,” Kimbaye pointed to his own head, “I have instincts and you don't.”

This tiny episode didn't catch much attention. The moment she was done berating the fourteen families, Apeiron had immediately started the vote. Julian quietly appeared behind her, giving her a large scarlet cloak that she used to cover her bruised body.

Even before the cloak could stop fluttering, Julian disappeared and reappeared once more, holding an extravagant high-backed chair that he'd gotten from somewhere, “Please take a seat, Your Highness!”

Apeiron sat down on the chair, body naturally leaning to one side. Placing an arm on the rest to support her chin, she looked rather languid and beautiful. As she settled in, however, Julian suddenly grabbed the legs of the chair and actually placed it on his back!

Already in the middle of the assembly, Apeiron was thus placed higher than the various masters of the floating islands. Some people looked at Julian in shock, but instead of shame or disgust the man had a look of gratification on his face as he served as a platform. The nobles looked around while lost, and the legendary beings just stared with an indescribable sense of embarrassment.

It was at this point that the Ironblood Duke stood up, “Your Highness, could we ascertain your strength before the vote?”

Apeiron snickered, “Still not giving up? Fine. If you want to humiliate yourself, that's not my fault. Well, I've already been nice by not killing you all; if I don't hit you until you cry, it seems like you won't remember the lesson from thirty years ago.”

“I've already lost once, what does it matter if I lose again?” The Duke laughed in self-deprecation before shouting loudly, his internal energy exploding around him to gather into eye-catching battle armour. He started walking towards Apeiron, stepping on air itself as he went higher with every step.

With his aura billowing out, those below felt like they had been dropped into the abyss. He seemed like an enormous mountain loftier than the hall itself, but the smarter ones in the crowd quickly realised that this was just an illusion from his power. In fact, many of the stronger members of the assembly seemed to face no discomfort at all; the outburst of power was clearly controlled to do no damage.

Apeiron sneered, “Afraid I can't hold back? Alright; if a single person gets injured in our battle I'll have lost. But you're pissing me off more now!”

She flew up from her seat, silently throwing herself at the Duke. Their figures parted right after contact, but the hall immediately started shaking as a large crack appeared on the domed roof. One of the statues in the area was dislodged, crashing down.

Apeiron's figure flashed in front of the falling statue for an instant as a backhanded swipe sent out black energy that turned the stone to powder. She circled around and pounced towards Duke Orleans once more, exchanging dozens of blows in an instant. Her gale-like attacks stood in stark contrast to his heavy, stable strikes, but whenever their fists met he was the one to tremble. Despite her speed, she still possessed more strength in each strike.

The Princess eventually flashed a malicious smile, her strikes growing heavier and heavier to the point that the Duke was starting to be pushed back. He started to sway around from the sheer strength behind the attacks, finding it difficult to block. When she finally stopped her movements and wiped away the grin, his calm disappeared into slight fear as he realised the worst was about to come.

The corners of Apeiron's lips turned up as she flew towards the Duke directly. He grunted and punched out with such force that his fist literally cracked space, but she seemed to turn into a weightless spectre that flew all around his attack. It was said that primordial giants could smash through mountains with a punch, and the Ironblood Duke's attacks were certainly reminiscent of such a saying, but a dozen attacks closed up each of the cracks before she punched right into the man's arm. There was certainly no need for this— he evidently had such great control over his power that the cracks weren't threatening anyone— but she seemed to be showing off as she swatted him right back down into the hall.

Duke Orleans crashed down into the stone floor, creating a pit that was several metres deep. A flash of light blinded everyone as the last of the defensive spell formations in the assembly was destroyed, but he jumped out and shook off the rocks before throwing himself back into the fight.

The Princess continued to fight using her own exquisite style, only waiting a few seconds before sending him into the pit with another heavy punch on his face. The Duke flew back up with blood dripping down his body and engaged once more, and it wasn't long before a kick to the back sent him plummeting down once more. When he appeared once more, she finally turned stern.

Knowing she had lost her patience, the Duke suddenly sighed with bitterness, “I lose again.”

Apeiron sneered, “You'd never win. Go celebrate that I'm in a good mood, or I'd have killed you right away.”

“Heh, that's true.” Duke Orleans seemed to age by decades in an instant as he silently returned to his seat. The entire hall was deathly silent, everyone in a daze. All they could tell was that this was a fight of the highest standards; only the legends and a few of the most perceptive saints in the crowd had even managed to keep up.

Earl Kimbaye had stood up at some point, mouth agape as he played with a fragment of a jade lion that he had smashed into pieces at some point. His trembling pale hands were icy-cold, but his body was still leaking sweat.

Julian was the only one who seemed the same as before, still acting as a platform while staring at Apeiron with zeal.

The more powerful members of the crowd finally saw that Princess Apeiron truly wasn't an epic being yet. However, the offensive power she could muster was no different from one, while her exquisite display of martial arts in battle could make up for a difference in defences. There was no way to read her movements, and the sheer pace of her attacks showed a level of control over spatial laws. If one underestimated her purely based on level, death was certain.

Looking at it all, Richard could see a level of similarity to his own style. This was someone who eliminated all possibility of long, drawn-out battles, instead pulling in close and forcing one to fight at full force until they made a mistake. Thinking about it for a moment, however, he realised he had to switch around that sentence. He was someone who copied Beye, and from the looks of it Beye had adopted her own style from Apeiron.

It was at this moment that someone muttered in shock, “Isn't Her Highness injured?”

987 - City of Sin

The Cycle Continues(2) Google search 𝗳𝔯e𝒆𝙬𝘦𝙗𝓷o𝘷el. c૦𝑚

Apeiron floated back to her chair even as the nobles present gaped dumbly, “You bastards saw enough, right? Now vote before I run out of patience!”

While the brash ultimatum left many at a loss, Duke Orleans stood up. Taking the golden sceptre that signified his vote, he headed towards the Princess and left it at Julian's feet. The top of his head only reached her calves, so he looked up and matched her gaze with a meaningful look, “I would rather this country choke on its own blood than bow before humiliation.”

These words moved many of the nobles present. Everyone here had suffered indescribable humiliation only a few days ago, and the scarring wounds that were the two dividing lines were still fresh in their minds. They started nodding in consensus.

The Duke's steps were heavy as he returned to his seat. Halfway there, however, he suddenly turned around and said with emotion, “I really hope to defeat you one day, at least once.”

“Not unless I'm dying,” Apeiron said coldly, but he had already sat down and returned to his calm, restrained self. Thirty years of repressed emotions had erupted for one moment, but her strength had returned him to his senses.

With the Ironblood Duke taking the lead, Wellinburg and Turing moved forward and placed their sceptres in front of Julian as well. They hated the idea of being at her feet, however, so they quickly returned to their places. The rest followed suit, making the one choice they could. Richard was the only one who remained seated from start to end.

Thirteen sceptres were placed at Apeiron's feet, signifying the subserience of thirteen families. Duke Orleans's clean defeat had shown that she had strength comparable to an epic being, so there was no other outcome possible. She had already made it clear that her temperament was better than thirty years ago; if not, she would have killed everyone who had voted against her in the past. The humiliation here was rather meek by comparison.

The princes at the side were basically background right now. Nyris and Neil still maintained neutral faces, but Ryan's was a mix of confusion, unease, and fury. He was still far too young to hide his feelings.

The host of the ceremony finally cleared his throat, exclaiming loudly, “According to the Sacred Covenant, the next Empress of the Sacred Alliance has been chosen. With His Majesty Philip currently deceased, the throne shall immediately pass to Her Majesty Apeiron!”

Even as the man's voice resounded throughtout the hall and the rest of Faust, all the nobles of the Sacred Alliance stood up and bowed in respect of their new ruler.

“Ahahaha!” In what should have been a sacred moment, Empress Apeiron suddenly burst into crazed laughter. She flew into the sky, laughing until her body was bent over, somehow mustering the strength to punch upwards and send the entire roof flying.

Still laughing heartily, the Empress pointed at Faust's sky, “I waited so long! I'm finally Empress! Can you see this, you old fuck? Did you think this day would come even when you died?”

She laughed with all her might as she cursed, to the point that tears flowed down her face. Only those who were present thirty years ago understood that she was cursing her own father. Voice growing louder and higher-pitched, her laugh penetrated Faust's skies and buildings, “Where are you hiding, Philip? Come out for a fight to the death! I know you're hurt, I'll only use as much strength as you have! Where's that bitch Ferlyn? Does she have the balls to step out of the Church? I'm back, come out! Come out and kill me!”

All of the nobles present were stunned, not having expected the new Empress to go an a rampage instantly. Causing trouble for the Church of the Eternal Dragon was akin to challenging the Eternal Dragon itself.

Apeiron flew higher in the sky, causing golden bands of spatial energy to form from amidst the clouds and wind towards her. Flying high was forbidden in Faust, and even legendary beings were forced to adhere to limits. Once caught by these bands, it was hard to tell what would happen. The laws of spacetime were present in some form through all planes and were second only to the origin laws of the plane; they were even part of the origin for many.

However, the Empress didn't even dodge. Shouting loudly, she swatted the bands of energy and scattered them in an instant. The powerhouses below watched on, aghast; none of them would dare to touch even one lest they die. While Apeiron's hands were rendered bloody, they were still whole. Just how much control did she have over spatial laws?

More spatial bands found their way out of the clouds as a low, mechanical rumble rang in the skies. Faust's defensive mechanisms were beginning to activate, and in the blink of an eye hundreds of bands of energy were whipping down. Even with Apeiron's skill, her body was left cut up and bloodied in an instant. It seemed like she would fall any moment, turning into the shortest-lived ruler of the Sacred Alliance.

Faust's mechanisms still hadn't fully actiated, but they already could force someone equal to an epic being into dire straits. Nobody knew what would happen if they were completely activated; there were no records of such a thing. Even within this city the Church was the most important space, and past its gates was not governed purely by Norland's laws.

Apeiron herself didn't dare rush into the Church. Even after these thirty years, she had no idea whether she could achieve victory over the Two-Faced Mirror, someone who had been her greatest enemy in the past. Facing a powerful enemy in an environment where she was invincible... Apeiron was crazy, not stupid.

Jacqueline suddenly walked out the gates of the Church, looking up and speaking, “Your Majesty, Her Excellency sends you an invitation.”

Still mid-air, Apeiron suddenly bellowed with a clear voice. Clenching her fist, she threw out a slow, powerful punch. Blood-red light immediately flashed out all around her, destroying every spatial band within a hundred metres. Her voice softened, “Do you see this punch? If you're no match for me, just fuck off and don't ever let me catch you!”

The attack left all of Faust deathly silent. The more powerful a person was, the paler their face. This one punch made it clear that Apeiron's statement of killing Duke Orleans right away wasn't a lie, although most didn't really doubt her. She was many things, but Apeiron had never been a liar.

Jacqueline herself turned pale at the might that was on par with Philip's, partly because Apeiron herself had been injured by the attack, but she still remained standing and repeated. “Your Majesty, Her Excellency sends you an invitation”

The moment her voice sounded, Apeiron flashed down and just pushed her aside before looking at the Church's dark doors. One could see the magnificent halls within, and only those on her level could tell that this was where the independent space started; not just the altar. It was knowledge she had nearly lost her life to gain.

A soft smile appeared about her lips as she whispered, “Do you want me to come in so bad? Sure, I'll do exactly what you want!”

She then took a step forward, entering the Church of the Eternal Dragon! Jacqueline sighed and followed behind, the gates closing behind.

......

When Apeiron reached the middle of the hall, a large amount of spatial energy filled the place as the walls and dome completely vanished, leaving behind an empty void. She froze as she felt raindrops pelting on her body, looking up to see a rain of gold. Slightly lost in the moment, she took a moment to register the raindrops gathering together to form an envelope several metres ahead.

For the first time in decades, the lunatic Apeiron hesitated. Right before she touched it, her hands began to tremble beyond her control. She felt like the letter held the answer to thirty years of suffering, but that frightened her.

“Always acting so cool...” she grumbled. Ferlyn had always been someone adept at charming people, including Philip himself. Still, she gathered her wits and carefully pulled a golden piece of paper atop it. Words slowly appeared on the blank page in Ferlyn's elegant and perfect handwriting:

“You're probably tired, aren't you.”

988 - City of Sin

Still Young And Beautiful

“You're probably tired, aren't you?” For some reason, these words didn't make Apeiron angry. She only sighed, looking on as the rest of the letter showed itself.

“It's been thirty years in Norland. I'm unsure how much time has passed for you, but it's undoubtedly long. You're back because Philip doesn't wish to wait any longer; he came to see me. He's already merged into the flood of time, returned to nothingness. Even I won't be able to find a single trace of his existence again.

“Thirty years ago, I used everything I had to get him a century. Who knew that he couldn't wait that long, coming back after only three decades? It was only when I saw him that I understood; these thirty years have been unbearable torture. The methods we thought best for him... they weren't what he wanted.

“Is this the result of that battle? I've been in this church a thousand years now, wondering that one thing over and over again. If I yielded him to you, would things have been better?

“But then, he came over to me last night, and I was certain that my decision was for the best. Two people peaceful and happy is better than three suffering together. There might have been better choices, like killing you, but he never let that happen. You didn't know this, but I could use the Gaze of Eternity even then. If only...

“When you see this letter, I will already be in the Lightless Void. It shall be my home for the rest of all eternity.
ƒ𝑟𝐞ewe𝚋𝑛ｏ𝙫𝚎l. 𝒄o𝗺

“It's all over. Do you feel empty now?”

The last line slowly vanished and the letter burned, disappearing from Apeiron's hands. She slowly wiped a finger across her hot cheeks, finding a now-unfamiliar liquid sticking to her hand. She hadn't thought she would ever tear up again.

As the letter turned back into spatial energy, the golden rain continued to flow down. It came from nothing, and as it flowed across her it returned to nothing. The resentments of the three greatest talents of the previous generation were being dissolved into the long river of time, as though they had never occurred. Just like three comets moving across the horizon, the bright spots in the sky would only last a moment.

Only the void was eternal.

“Do you feel empty?” Those last words continued to ring in Apeiron's mind.

Do I... she questioned herself silently.

It was impossible to know how long she remained motionless, but the Empress suddenly burst into laughter and shouted with all her might, “Empty? What rubbish! I'm still young and beautiful, watch me live life to the fullest! Hahaha, HAHAHAHAHA!”

She turned around and appeared back at the doors of the Church, kicking them open and leaving abruptly.

As she left, a blurry figure appeared within the hall, watching the woman flying into the distance with a little smile on her face, “Isn't she just as stupid as always?”

At that very moment, Apeiron snorted, 'That wretched old woman must be thinking I'm really stupid now!'

She found herself hating Ferlyn even more.

......

Within the Archeron island, Nasia was on the observation deck of the castle as she gazed towards Faust. Little could be seen beyond the woods that obscured her vision, but she seemed to notice something and shrugged before returning to the interior of the castle.

When Richard walked out of the portal with a grim face, he was just in time to see her standing by the training field and watching the young knights in training. He frowned for a moment; almost every time he saw her, she was just standing around and looking at the most mundane things. Did someone with her control of timeforce need to look at foundational training?

“Come with me,” he interrupted her before heading to his study.

Once they were in the study room, Richard closed the door and sat down with a sigh. His mind finally starting to relax, he immediately broke out into a sweat and felt unbearable exhaustion as though he had just fought an impossible battle. He had felt Apeiron's focus on him ever since she appeared, and it was extremely uncomfortable. Even without facing her in combat himself, he could tell just how terrifying she was.

Wiping his forehead, he looked towards Nasia, “Why are you always on the training fields? Those people are only undergoing basic training, there's nothing to see.”

Nasia smiled, “I'm learning the laws of this place.”

“Laws?” Richard froze up. Just the one statement spoke volumes of her power, but what laws could one learn from a group of young infantrymen? If not for having witnessed her summoning, he would have thought this was bragging.

“Those footsoldiers are training in the most basic skills, things that have been practised to near perfection over millennia. One can see a trace of the laws of a plane from their actions, unless...” she chuckled slyly, “the Archeron Family's inherited techniques are terrible. I've been hearing that you're upstarts without much of an inheritance lately.”

Richard smiled weakly, not in the mood to respond to her taunts as he fell into deep thought. It took a few minutes for him to ask, “Are there any ways for me to get stronger?”

“What time frame? I can give you a method for a month, and another for a year.”

“Hmm... Tell me everything.”

“If it's a month, the fastest way is to bring me to sainthood. War Fanatic will evolve to Warlord, you'll know how good it is then.”

It was offerings again! Nasia seemed to be a bottomless pit for offerings, but he had nothing on hand right now. He couldn't even craft runes for it; all the legendary mages in the Alliance had lost a significant chunk of their savings to get Mana Armaments. Lifesbane's price would drop if he sold more of it in a short time frame as well.

Kneading his forehead, he asked helplessly, “And a year?”

“Then you should bring me to the legendary realm, the higher the better. At that point, Warlord will become Projection of Ruin.”

“Projection of... Ruin?”

“It's too far away right now, there's no need to know. Just work hard at preparing offerings!”

“Argh! I should've known asking you would be pointless!” Richard grunted.

Nasia's mask suddenly moved, showing the image of a smile, “One's path to power should always be their own. The cost of my guidance is enormous, even you wouldn't be able to pay it.”

“Fine, whatever,” he waved her away as he stood up, “I'm going to go meditate; I'm way too tired.”

......

Richard meditated for quite some time before he was awakened by the sound of footsteps. Just as he opened his eyes, Coco's voice sounded from outside, “My Lord, there's urgent news from the royal family. You need to come immediately.”

Thinking for a moment to realise that it was early morning, he sighed and took Mountainsea's head off his lap before dragging his fatigued body out of the training room. He had made it clear before coming up that he was to be informed right away of any changes with the royal family; now that Apeiron was the Empress, everyone in Faust had to watch out.

“What is it?” he asked as he walked out.

“Someone called Julian is waiting for you in the drawing room.”

“Julian?” Richard frowned. His first thought was that the man was here for revenge, but he had to admit that this was also Apeiron's closest servant; he could also be here on her orders.

The moment he entered the drawing room, Julian immediately stood up and bowed, showing a dazzling smile, “We meet again, Lord Richard.”

Richard smiled back and returned the courtesy, “Indeed. Is there anything wrong, Mister Julian? Are you still unable to forget my blue moon?”

Julian's smile only brightened further, “I wanted the moon on behalf of Her Majesty, but it is of no matter. She mentioned that she wishes to see you; shall we go to the palace?”

Richard frowned, “Her Majesty's ascension ceremony will still take a few days, won't it? Why is she summoning me now?”

Julian shrugged, “Who knows? Maybe she likes you.”

The frown developed further, “Now?”

“Now. The faster, the better. Her Majesty has never been one with much patience.”

Richard nodded, “Alright, let's leave.”

......

A short while later, he saw Apeiron in a small lobby within the palace. She didn't look as bad as when she'd just returned from the Outlands, and with her short black hair hung down in all its jagged glory, her purple eyes and black nails were the only things connecting to the terror of the day before.

Richard recalled that he had met Philip in this little place before. The Emperor then had been sitting on the exact same couch as she was now, but he had filled it up completely while she didn't even occupy half. She didn't even seem to have his easygoing air for some reason; deep in thought, the mix of delicate loneliness and confusion she displayed had him doubting his own eyes.

Despite Julian announcing their arrival, the Empress took a long time to speak, “You've eaten with Philip before?”

989 - City of Sin

Trouble

Richard nodded at Apeiron's question, his attention brought back to a menu placed on the table in front of her. Dozens of dishes were written on it, a single page not enough to list them all, but it looked rather old. He recalled a rumour that the Emperor didn't change the menu for years at a time during his rule.

“I haven't looked around yet. Keep me company, the two of you,” the Empress said as she stood up. Pale gold light shining in from the window behind her, the silhouette of her face looked quite graceful and rather frail.

While Richard and even Julian himself were surprised, the former bowed slightly with perfect etiquette to acquiesce. Of course, the latter's obedience was never in question; Julian would follow her anywhere across the endless void without hesitation.

The royal palace was enormous with hundreds of rooms of varying sizes, but Apeiron made sure to look at every single corner. Sometimes she hurried through the maze-like corridors, while other times she stood still without moving for minutes on end. She didn't seem to have any appreciation for the rare artefacts, instead spending ages fiddling around with rusty iron helmets and weapons. It took some time, but Richard finally realised that she was stopping at all the bloody spoils of war that should have been placed by Emperor Philip; she was lingering around wherever he had stopped.

They continued to walk around throughout the day, only done when it was almost dinner. Apeiron ambled into Philip's favourite dining hall to find dishes already laid out on the table, with the maids and a minister lying in wait. Taking a look around, she sized up the hall. Richard's own gaze fell to the familiar food; this was the exact same meal the late Emperor had treated him to as a reward; the nearly raw dragon rib was a specialty he would never forget.

The Empress eyed up the minister, who flashed a charming smile and bent so low it seemed like his back would break, “Please eat, Your Majesty; the soup will turn could soon. If you do not like the flavours, I will have things changed promptly! If you will it, I can cook myself so long as you don't mind me being out of touch.”

“How many years have you been with Philip?” Apeiron asked softly, “I seem to remember you being in the palace even before I left.”

The minister froze, a hint of sadness flashing across his face that was quickly hidden away, “I had the fortune of being His Majesty's aide for 29 years, Your Majesty.”

“29 years? That's quite a long time. I heard Philip granted you an earldom, why are you still here?”

“His Majesty was injured soon after the land was conferred to me,” the minister explained, “I was afraid a new hire would not be attend to his tastes well.”

Apeiron nodded, “Then you're a Marquess now, you'll get more land from the imperial territories. You can retire after tonight.”

The minister immediately froze up once more, his head hanging low before he answered in a cracked voice, “Thank you... Your Majesty.”

“You'll be taking his place,” Apeiron turned to Julian.

“It will be my honour!” Julian immediately puffed out his chest, seeming truly elated at being assigned the role of an aide.

The Empress sat at the head of the table and waved Richard over, “Take a seat, let's eat together! This might be the last time we have dinner together.”

Richard sat calmly and asked, “May I know the reason?”

Apeiron smiled, “This will be the only day I'm normal. By daybreak tomorrow, I'll be back to how I was before.”

He didn't press further. If she were willing to explain, she would. He was already on guard from her actions the day before, and this day of normality wouldn't lull him into carelessness. He immersed himself in eating just like her, knowing that every dish here was amazing. Even now, one of these meals would be a considerable boost to his physique. Google search fr𝚎𝘦𝘄𝙚𝗯𝗻𝗼𝐯e𝗹. 𝑐o𝒎

It was as though Apeiron hadn't eaten in several lifetimes. The food disappeared down her mouth, the raw meat stuffed in so fast that she almost compared to Philip himself. The minister didn't find this strange at all, while Julian stood solemnly by the side. Although his eyes glowed with desire for the dragon meat, he stood there without moving like a dog waiting for his master to throw him a bone.

The Empress ate and ate, but at some point her movements suddenly slowed down. In only a few minutes, she was staring blankly with a large helping of dragon meat in her mouth. The minister glanced at her from the side and saw a slight shimmer at the corner of her eyes, immediately ducking his head while afraid to look again.

Richard obviously noticed it as well, but he decided to pretend to not notice the tear as well. He continued to engross himself in eating, eyes focused on the steak as though the raw flesh was the prettiest of paintings. Apeiron eventually started eating again, but she had trouble ingesting the meat in her mouth. She chewed and chewed but was unable to swallow, eventually resorting to stuffing it down with her fork.

Richard continued to play ignorant to it all.

Having dealt with the food, Apeiron placed her fork and knife down and sat up, “Call all the concubines and the children back to the islands. No matter where they are now, they should be back by daylight tomorrow.”

“As you wish,” Julian bowed.

She then looked at Richard who was still eating with all his might, “Enough, stop pretending. You can't eat anymore, can you? Just let it be.”

Richard sighed and put his cutlery down, looking back up to see Apeiron looking him in the eye, “You're afraid of me?”

“Of course,” he answered honestly.

The Empress sighed, “You should be. Those who don't know fear can't tell the opponent's true strength. So much stronger than Philip's children, and a runemaster too, right? Who taught you?”

“Her Excellency Sharon,” he said briefly.

“Sharon?” Apeiron was surprised, “She hasn't left the Deepblue yet? How is she?”

Before Richard could answer, Julian took a step forward and whispered something in her ear. He had clearly put in hard work to learn the current situation in the Sacred Alliance; while he was violent and acted like a dog, he was still useful for more than fighting.

The Empress listened to everything before looking back at Richard, her dark purple eyes suddenly lighting up as her expression changed, “You really are her student. Less than thirty, but you've already pushed the Deepblue Dream so far. You're much stronger than that Voidbones or whatever he was.”

Richard's gaze immediately turned cold, “You've met Voidbones?”

She nodded, “He lived in the Outlands for a while. He was quite the brat when he got there, but a few beatings brought him in line. It's just that there aren't many humans there, or even humanoids; I didn't want to kill him. Julian's been drooling over him for ages.”

“It's common to stare for months at a time in the Outlands. Anything with meat is considered a delicacy,” Julian supplemented, expression not changing at all. It sounded rather trivial, but between the two Richard gained some understanding of the harsh conditions in the Outlands.

“You have a feud with him?” Apeiron suddenly asked.

“Yes,” Richard answered.

“Then you're in trouble. He just reached Norland and is currently in the Deepblue. Apparently, Sharon is hibernating?”

Richard shot up, but then he calmly bowed, “Many thanks for the warning, Your Majesty. I will never forget this favour. Forgive me for being unable to accompany you; I need to head over immediately. Since he wants to die, I need to oblige him.”

The Empress actually smiled rather sweetly, “You'd be in trouble. He didn't come alone, and judging from the aura the person that came with him would cause me trouble as well. You're no match.”

“I appreciate your intentions, Your Majesty,” Richard said with a nod, “However, I need to leave regardless.”

“Then I won't keep you,” she stated.

Richard immediately charged out of the palace and opened a short-distance portal, flashing over to the Archeron island and tapping Waterflower on the shoulder as he ran into his room. He didn't have the time to explain the situation to his followers, so he immediately sounded the war horns.

......

Less than half an hour later, all hundred rune knights had assembled in full equipment. However, Richard was currently at the basement of the castle trying his best to get the portal to work. After countless failed attempts, he eventually had to conclude that the other end in the Deepblue was either destroyed or blocked. Turning around, he left the teleportation hall and told the guards, “Prepare wyverns, immediately! I want nine of the fastest ones in fifteen minutes!

“Waterflower, Nasia, you're joining me!”

990 - City of Sin

Battle For The Deepblue

Nine wyverns took off into the night sky, flying west as quickly as they could. From the first moment they were driven to full speed, flapping their wings desperately to comply with their master's orders.

Richard's body was pressed into the back of his wyvern as he regularly switched mounts. He didn't fear the cold winds, but the posture was meant to suppress the anxiety in his heart. He wanted desperately to just leave this behind and fly over himself— he would certainly get there much faster— but that would exhaust him completely and leave him useless when he did get there. Never in his life had he regretted his lack of interest in long-distance portals as much as he did right now.

“Are you not going to help him, Your Majesty?” Julian asked Empress Apeiron. The two were watching it all from the royal keep.

“Why would I? It only serves him right if he dies.”

“Didn't you say there was a powerhouse outside of Voidbones?”

A meaningful smile appeared on Apeiron's face, “The Prime Evil herself, Tiamat. She's no ordinary powerhouse.”

“The Prime Evil? Then isn't Her Excellency Sharon in danger? There's no point even if Richard rushes there! Your Majesty...”

“You're suggesting I go?”

Julian bowed his head, “Yes, you're the only one who can get there in time.”

“Heh, I'm not interested in saving Sharon. You don't know her at all, do you? Think she won't be able to defend herself while asleep? I wouldn't underestimate her until she was dead and cut apart.”

He shook his head, “No, the dragon! Once Tiamat enters Norland, her powers will surely be restricted. But she still is a legendary being who is tenfold as strong as what we get in this warehouse. It's a delicacy!”

“Oh? A meal, huh... That's worth considering...”

......

Under the night sky, the Deepblue that should have been silent was now a crass symphony of thunderous explosions. A number of winged creatures were flying around the tower, launching magic attacks or throwing javelins at it. It took a number of attacks over quite a significant period of time, but they eventually managed to break some of the elaborate construction off the main body. The rubble crashed hard into the ground before bouncing up and rolling off the steep cliff into Floe Bay.

A terrifying hole was left behind where the wall had fallen, revealing a figure with green flames all around him and azure ones for hair. His entire body was floating in the air, slowly moving forward towards a black-clothed individual who recoiled stiffly.

The man opposite Voidbones was flickering in and out of existence, evidently possessing a powerful ability. Had he not been affected by the sheer power of the green flames revealing him, he would have gone unseen. The heavily injured man took several steps backwards in a hurry, but after a misstep he fell like a rock and crashed into the rubble below. Losing all ability to move, he eventually dissolved into a puddle of black liquid.

Voidbones snickered as he pulled out a shineless black dagger from his left shoulder, tossing it out of the tower without a second thought. The injury it had left on his shoulder showed no signs of healing, instead festering endlessly from some sort of curse that offset his natural regeneration.

“The third antimage... It should be the last one, no? You really made some good achievements, Richard. If only you knew just how strong I've become now, or who I brought along!” He drew a deep breath, eyes finally showing emotion as he looked towards the uppermost level of the Deepblue and walked towards Sharon's residence.

Just as Voidbones reached the gate, Blackgold quietly revealed himself and held out his gun before pulling the trigger. Thunderous flames erupted in the building, antimagic steel pellets assaulting Voidbones who curled into a ball and used his arms to protect his face. The green flames protecting him were dispelled after a few blows and the thousands of pellets afterwards pushed him into the wall!

The grey dwarf's gun wasn't particularly large this time, but it had evidently been improved. He shot nearly a dozen times before stopping and putting the weapon down, glaring at Voidbones with murder in his eyes.

Voidbones had been forced into a corner, the walls around him filled with numerous holes, but once Blackgold had used up all his bullets he slowly put his arms down and flashed a cruel smile, “Is there more?”

Before the stunned duergar could finish a quick chant, he flashed right in front of his face and smacked him to the ground, “Still too slow as always.”

Looking at the fainted Blackgold, Voidbones raised his hand to deal the final blow. But after a moment of hesitation, he put his hand down and turned to head upwards. Feeling the entire tower rock slightly and a resounding draconic cry ring out in the sky, he gritted his teeth and continued towards Sharon's chambers.

...

Back outside, the dark night had been set ablaze. The clouds were now a mysterious red, as though there were raging flames within. The core of these clouds had gradually grown denser like a bleeding wound, and all of a sudden an enormous fireball shot out to strike a human figure atop the Deepblue.

“The damned wounds... If only...” Countless streams of icy rain appeared around the humanoid figure, extinguishing the flames to reveal his near-perfect appearance. Ensio opened his eyes and grunted; there were no ifs in battles like this one.

The fiery cloud in the skies suddenly started rotating, forming a giant vortex. An enormous head that was several metres long finally poked through, the draconic creature having dozens of horns and hundreds of terrifying teeth. The dragon immediately spewed out a cone of flames that covered Ensio and the top of the Deepblue, even spilling over the top and affecting a dozen of the winged creatures.

These creatures all had high resistance to magic and didn't fear fire, but the moment they made contact with the flames all of the affected creatures burnt up and howled as they fell from the skies. Each one was motionless before it even reached the ground. The rest immediately dispersed; they were Tiamat's underlings, but even they wouldn't dare show themselves to her lest she kill them on a whim.

On top of the tower, Ensio had already crouched and curled up to limit his surface area. The energy surrounding his body was flickering as he barely resisted the scorching flames, but even after the dragon was done her flames continued to burn around him.

Tiamat burst into thunderous laughter, “Ensio, is it? It must feel amazing to contend with my flames!”

As the flames atop the Deepblue winked out, the tower's structure seemed to have sustained no damage. However, Ensio struggled to stand up while grumbling; Tiamat's breath was special in that it had little effect on those who were not alive. Now injured further on top of his old injuries that he hadn't recovered from, he was almost completely drained of his life.

The dragon finally made her way out of the clouds, revealing an enormous body that was nearly a hundred metres long. Landing atop the Deepblue, she sent Ensio flying with a swipe of her tail and produced an ear-splitting roar, “Sharon, you're fated to be mine!”

The Prime Evil's roars pierced through the walls of the Deepblue, entering Voidbones's ears. He immediately turned grim and snorted, rushing ahead faster.

As Tiamat looked down and searched for an entrance into the Deepblue, a dozen rune knights suddenly surged out from the tower and threw their javelins towards her in tandem. They then spurred on their mounts and began a charge, prepared for death.

The dragon hadn't been expecting this at all, and almost every one of the spears pierced deep into her body. However, these javelins that were only a metre long were nothing compared to her enormous body; most only made it half a metre in. The Savage Strike knights had managed to get theirs all the way in, causing her to howl in pain, but even they didn't manage any lasting damage. As they rushed in and stabbed their halberds into her side, she lit them up with a dragon breath and swatted them away with her claws. None of them survived.

By this point, between Voidbones and Tiamat herself, more than half of the fifty rune knights Richard had left behind to guard were injured or dead. The attack had come far too quickly, and Voidbones had picked off a number of them one by one before heading towards Sharon's residence. Even the full fifty in formation couldn't deal with the dragon, but now they were at half strength.

Still, the Archeron knights knew no fear. They charged forward into certain death, doing their best to buy time and injure Tiamat as much as they could. By the time Tiamat dealt with them all, she had to spend some time recovering and pushing out the javelins that were stuck within her.

991 - City of Sin

Pain And Struggle

The explosions continued to ring out in the upper levels of the Deepblue, the visitors and students in the lower levels remaining quiet as they watched the fight. Hundreds of the winged beings were at the middle levels of the tower, standing guard at the boundary. So long as no one crossed the lines, they would not attack.

Voidbones was someone who knew the Deepblue quite well. Instead of fighting a long, protracted battle, he had decided to give those who would rather stay out of it a chance to do so. Without the support of the external mages, those loyal to the Deepblue were no match for him and Tiamat.

The Deepblue was in no way weak; in fact, they had exceptional strength that could stop the polar north from invading southwards. Duergar, orcs, ice giants, gnomes... The Grey Court that ruled the north was one of the three powerful empires of the non-human beings in Norland. It was just that most of the Deepblue's strength originated from Sharon and her most powerful students, namely Ensio, Yori, and Voidbones. With one of those three injured, the other defecting, and the third on another continent, while Sharon herself was asleep, all that was left was the grand mages and regular warriors who were only meant to keep order and support the primary military forces.

As a runemaster, Richard naturally attached great importance to armies and tactical battle. However, Sharon had always been so powerful that she just dealt with her problems herself; even her best students were rarely taken along for the ride. Sharon's hibernation had caused the Deepblue's strength to plummet, and despite what Richard assumed would be ample preparation of fifty rune knights and three antimages to deal with Voidbones, he hadn't expected Tiamat as well.

Only a short distance from Sharon's room, Voidbones hesitated to move forward. He knew that this next step would leave him with no return, and as he looked up his gaze pierced through all the obstacles to land on the recovering dragon atop the tower. He saw Ensio flying over from below, zooming past to get to the top as quickly as he could. Ensio was gravely injured, not even able to notice him despite flying close, but even with the draconic flames still burning him there was no hesitation in his eyes.

Voidbones's hand suddenly trembled; Ensio was someone with a powerful bloodline that was supposed to live a thousand years just naturally. However, at less than a hundred years old he had already lost most of his life force; this legendary being with a vast future was rushing to his certain death.

The sight left him shaken, and for a moment he took a step back to rush over and help deal with the dragon. Every fibre of his being wanted to teach her a lesson for daring to insult Sharon, to teach the Tiamat that the legendary mage was not someone for her to own. But then he looked back and the greed filled his eyes once more. Despite his hesitation, he took a heavy step forward and then a second. While most of the Deepblue's levels were tall, this was one that could be climbed in a single minute. One foot forward at a time, his hopes of the road never ending were dashed as he came upon the door.

Voidbones reached out and pushed gently, opening the door to the Mirror of a Thousand Forms. Feeling strangely relaxed at the familiar sight of the Emerald Dreamscape, he stepped forward as the beautiful waxy scenery around him gradually disappeared into emptiness. However, just as he was halfway through, everything suddenly changed. The verdant trees of the forest turned into black pine, the grass turning into desert even as the river faded into a deep wound across the earth. The blue sky was replaced by a variety of greys, making it unclear if there was any real space there. The space that was as beautiful as a fairytale had turned into a lifeless plain.

He froze up, recalling when Sharon had first taken a young him to this hall. She had told him that the sights of this place would change with one's heart, that this was a place of reality and illusion that revealed the inner self.

“My heart's changed...?” he asked himself, a look of excruciating pain on his face. However, he quickly hardened and his eyes started burning, “Master, I'll be happier than anyone!”

This sounded like a proclamation, but its purpose was more in line with hypnosis. Voidbones finally walked into Sharon's room, seeing her lying still on the stone platform. The room was still devastated from Sharon's earlier defence, pits everywhere from the orbs of lightning. He flinched for a moment, but pulled out a one-handed cross shield and placed it before his body. This was a legendary item that was known for its thunder resistance; he planned to use it to weather the attacks from the lock of her hair.

The one lock made its way out from the rest of Sharon's blonde hair, almost staring at him with confusion; it couldn't understand why this man had the courage to appear. Thinking about it for a moment, it summoned a number of beautiful orbs of lightning that slowly drifted in his direction; after the last incident, it didn't want to cause too much damage to the room.
ƒ𝑟𝐞ewe𝚋𝑛ｏ𝙫𝚎l. 𝒄o𝗺

Voidbones looked at the orbs and held up his shield. Every orb exploded upon impact, blue lightning covering everything within ten metres, but after a few seconds the raging energy dissipated. Both the lock of hair and Voidbones himself immediately looked at the shield, specifically the scorch mark on its surface. There was damage, but it wasn't serious.

The atmosphere in the hall immediately turned electric; it was made quite clear that the shield would last until Voidbones rushed all the way up to Sharon! He looked up and stared at the lock of hair, his eyes ablaze as his body flashed forward towards it. The hair started shaking as well. This time, it didn't even bother with the orbs as it just launched a beam of continuous plasma towards the offender.

Voidbones held the shield in front of him as he flew through the plasma attack, forcing his way up to the crystal platform Sharon was sleeping on. The shield's surface was cracking apart, but it would be enough.

However, he suddenly heard a soft crack. It was a strange sound, almost like a metal bending or a stone breaking apart. The sound was decidedly average, but as he heard it his eyes went wide; there should have been no such thing in this space!

Before he could register just what it was, he heard a click and another soft crack. This time it was like something rubbing up against itself, a machine scraping with rust. Refusing to wait any further for the plasma to dissipate, Voidbones immediately flew forward as fast as he could. He would be injured greatly just to save a few seconds, but he judged that it was definitely worth it: the sound had come from Sharon's neck!

At some point, the lock of hair had stopped spitting out the plasma and hidden amongst the rest of the legendary mage's hair. The attack was gone, but Voidbones suddenly stood still and didn't seize the clear opportunity. The shield had completely fallen apart, the now completely devastated hall still boiling hot, but he couldn't care less about the destruction of the beautiful crystal room as he looked and confirmed the sight of a vein moving on Sharon's neck.

Sharon's eyebrows locked together, her breaths speeding up. She looked to be uncomfortable and wanted to scratch her neck, but her body creaked with every movement like an alchemic machine that had been started up after centuries. The hand started to move, but a low buzz filled the room as she was forced to move finger after finger first.

Voidbones finally recovered from his shock, immediately dropping the broken remains of the shield and throwing himself on Sharon's body as he tried to push her hands back onto the crystal. However, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't so much as make her budge.

The legendary mage's skin was still unspeakably soft, almost like a baby's. As he clutched the hand, Voidbones couldn't feel anything but her plush skin. However, this little hand contained an incomparably majestic force that he couldn't hope to compete with, no matter how much he tried.

At this moment, he felt like an ordinary warrior trying to cling to the claws of a legendary dragon and pull them down. Actively swinging, the dragon didn't even notice as it batted him away. A muffled crash rang out as Sharon lifted her right hand and successfully scratched her neck, her bones still roaring loudly with the effort. Voidbones flew into the dome of the hall, body buried into the crystal.

992 - City of Sin

Long Dream

Voidbones continued burrowing deeper into the dome for a few seconds before the impulse died down. His eyes fixed onto the legendary mage below him, and he watched as her breaths grew even faster until they were almost at the level of someone awake. He suddenly found himself slipping from the crystal embrace, beginning to fall straight down towards the crystal table!

Raping Sharon had been his greatest wish only moments ago, but now that she was about to wake up the situation was completely different. Without even noticing she had swatted him to the top of the hall; if he really did fall straight towards her, his death would be certain. Voidbones tried his best to move, but the sheer force of the impact had paralysed him and he had no control over his muscles; he could only grow more desperate as he fell further.

Someone like the legendary mage had terrifying instincts. Although she hadn't opened her eyes yet, she reacted to the body falling down with a backhanded swat. The small hand grew larger and larger in front of Voidbones until it was all he could see, and in an instant he felt like the world had shattered apart. The force of a thousand dragons assaulted his body, causing unbearable pain.

*Thunk!* was the last sound he heard.

...

The Deepblue seemed to shake as one of its upper walls exploded, revealing a blue fireball shooting out from within. The body flew out a dozen kilometres every single second, sending ripples through the night sky before disappearing into the distance. Several spatial cracks were left behind in its wake; the thing went so fast that it broke through the fabric of spacetime.

The huge energy fluctuation attracted the attention of every decently powerful being on the battlefield. At the top of the tower, Ensio barely raised his head and looked at the space ripples that hadn't yet dissipated, “Voidbones? How did he get... And so strong... MASTER! WHAT DID YOU DO TO HER?!”

He forced his upper body up and tried to stand up, but even this simple action proved difficult. He hadn't yet realised that Voidbones had been shot out by Sharon, but as he struggled an enormous draconic claw stepped on him and sent him back into the ground.

Tiamat cackled, “I really want to know what race you're from... It feels great torturing something that can last so long!”

Just the roar was so powerful that the bay rippled, many of the grey-winged creatures being thrown back. Tiamat's voice alone could drain vitality, and the more injured of her underlings dropped dead directly. Those in the Deepblue went still as well; while the magical formations surrounding the tower brought the power of the roar down to a tenth, it was still excruciating.

The Prime Evil continued to laugh loudly, celebrating the defeat of Ensio. More of her subordinates fell from the sky while the ordinary people of the Deepblue started screaming in pain, but that was only music to her ears.

However, the laughter suddenly caught up in her throat. She turned impossibly stiff, feeling a terrifying chill in the depths of her soul. Floe Bay itself seemed to change, the fiery clouds dissipating in an instant while the sea calmed down. A lone star broke through the darkness of the night.

Sharon had opened her eyes.

The legendary mage looked around sluggishly, not yet fully awake. Stuck between her dreams and reality, she was extremely dangerous; pure instincts alone made her a terrifying being that would be fatal to many so-called powerhouses. Anything that annoyed her would be the target of a subconscious attack. Time seemed to come to a stop as everyone turned into a statue, even the calamitous dragon atop the tower. Tiamat was still in the middle of her roaring action, looking like a decoration placed on the Deepblue.

Sharon suddenly shook her head and struggled up, continuing examining the place dully. She then yawned for a few moments before her eyes closed, her body falling back to the platform and to sleep. The Deepblue suddenly came alive once more, the ordinary people continuing to struggle in battle while Tiamat's roar continued.

But the world only took a single step along this path before growing stiff once more. Tiamat suddenly closed her mouth and swallowed the rest of her roar, leaving the people of the Deepblue relieved and confused. The grey winged creatures had sharper instincts, the leaders turning around to flee immediately regardless of Tiamat's wrath. Their subordinates only hesitated for a moment before following, leaving like the wind. They truly were an elite force in Norland, unstoppable if they wished to escape.

Tiamat glared, but the chill filled her soul once more. She didn't know where this fear came from; the emotion itself was rare for someone like her. Her strong perception was warning her of terrifying danger, but she couldn't find the source.

Back within her crystal room, Sharon suddenly sat back up and continued to look around. Starlight suddenly caught her eyes, and she couldn't believe what she was seeing. Rubbing her eyes hard as she looked around, her eyebrows gradually lifted up high.

“MY HOUSE! MY BEAUTIFUL HOUSE!” a scream resounded throughout Floe Bay, quickly turning from shock to rage, “BLACKGOLD, GET OUT HERE! WHAT'S GOING ON? WHO DID THIS?”

The entire Deepblue went silent for a moment before erupting into earth-shattering cheers. Sharon was awake!

Although some doubted themselves still, anyone who had stayed in the Deepblue for a length of time knew that the legendary mage's rage was as quick as flipping a book. She wouldn't care for status or relationships if someone touched her property; the offender would be killed even if she had to chase them across a thousand planes.

After the two roars, Sharon quieted down. Her ears twitched as she collected the sounds from the surroundings, hand raising again with a blue light flashing across it. In a single second, everything that had happened within this hall in the last few years flashed before her eyes. Her small face scrunched up, and a storm immediately started over the icy bay.

She jumped off the stone platform, her feet burying themselves into the crystal floor until she was buried up to her chest. Struggling awkwardly, she jumped out and landed softly on the floor. Taking another look at the mess of her room, tears started welling up in her eyes. There weren't many things that could bring her to tears, but the destruction of this room was one of them while losing money was another. It just so happened that the former caused the latter as well.

The legendary mage wasted another second to revisit the sights she had just seen, suddenly grabbing the lock of hair on her forehead and crushing it in her hands. Still feeling hateful, she tried to pull it out; however, that only caused her to yelp in pain. With nowhere to vent, Voidbones having sent flying into another plane entirely, she started scanning the area for another punching bag.

It just so happened that there was an enormous one right above. Sharon took a deep breath, her chest swelling up before she roared angrily, “TIAMAT! You dare to climb over my head?! Fine, let's see how you go back! Even if your five colours turn to ten, you're going to pay!”

Atop the Deepblue, Tiamat was immediately ashamed by the contempt. She had never been known as a coward, and her arrogance wouldn't let her be one now. Even against Sharon, she still had the guts to fight.

“Sharon!” she snarled, “Come out and fight me! The other dragons might be afraid of you, but I'm not!”

993 - City of Sin

Suffer Please visit f𝒓𝑒e𝓌e𝚋𝘯૦𝘷e𝗹. c૦𝒎

Tiamat's voice was still echoing through the air when her eyes went wide at the sight of starlight dropping like rain. Sharon appeared only a few dozen metres before her, standing atop the tower with unconcealed rage. The legendary mage's eyebrows were almost vertical as she screamed, “So what if you're not afraid? The only thing you have the right to do here is suffer!”

The Prime Evil's front paw was larger than Sharon's entire body, but the legendary mage actually felt like the taller of the two. Tiamat shuddered for a moment before flying forward to meet the challenge, “Let's see how strong you are!”

The dragon's five-metre-long paw flashed with grey light as she swiped down, containing her unique energy that was anathemic to all life. With this activated, a single scratch could kill most below the legendary realm.

However, the paw only made it halfway before coming to an abrupt halt, not moving any further. Tiamat was puzzled— the ground was still a distance away— but no matter how much effort she pushed in the paw wouldn't press down. She ended up putting her entire body's weight behind the effort, even lifting a hind leg, but it was of no use.

There were no power fluctuations, but her paw was still glued in the air with no sign of an obstacle that could compete with her might. It was only when she tried lifting back to see what trick Sharon had pulled that her eyes went wide.

Sharon was still standing in the same place, one hand held high and clutching at one of the dragon's claws to resist the swipe! Every single claw of hers was more than a metre long, her entire paw much larger than the mage's body, but her full-strength blow had been stopped with one hand!

“You wanted to see my strength? This is it!” Sharon smiled maliciously.

The stunned dragon tried to pull back immediately, but no matter how much strength she put in she couldn't accomplish the task. The paw held by Sharon was deathly still, not even shaking from her grasp. As she continued trying, the legendary mage finally shouted and pulled. The dragon's entire body seemed to lose all weight as it was lifted up, crashing down on the other side of the tower.

Rubble flew up from the terrace of the Deepblue, something extremely difficult to accomplish owing to its blackstone and bluestone construction. It seemed like guns had been fired as small holes appeared everywhere, the entire tower seemingly pushed down a little.

However, it was only the top level of the tower that had been compressed. Near-dead and gasping for every breath, Ensio shuddered as the dragon's enormous body flipped off him; Sharon hadn't noticed his presence during the attack, and he barely had the time to cover his eyes before he was crushed.

One couldn't tell from the expressions that Tiamat was the one who was just slammed down. The tears in Sharon's eyes threatened to flow uncontrollably as she saw the damage she had wrought upon the Deepblue herself, the cost of repairs and reconstruction quickly calculated in her mind. Her eyes blazed at the enormous numbers, hair fluttering in the wind as blue light filled the space around her body. In an instant, it seemed like her surroundings had been replaced with a beautiful plane outside of Norland.

At this point, one couldn't begin to describe Sharon's rage. Tiamat turned around and got back to her feet, but she couldn't see the legendary mage anywhere. Senses sweeping across the tower, the opponent was nowhere to be found. Finally crouching down, the dragon roared majestically, “Sharon! I'm done warming up, let's see your true skill. Use your dragon call, you qualify for my respect!”

These words sounded quite brave and arrogant, but anyone who actually knew the so-called Prime Evil understood that this wasn't the case at all. Tiamat never talked nonsense before winning a battle; she only did these things when buying time to escape. Very few legendary spells were instant, and this was especially true of high-level summonings. The dragon planned to use that time to flee.

However, Sharon immediately erupted with rage, “You dared to destroy my Deepblue! You want to die! No, you have to die!”

Freezing up in fear, Tiamat couldn't even retort that Sharon was the one who had slammed her into the tower. It was Ensio who screamed despite his injuries, fearing that the Dragon would be slammed right down on him again, “Master, I'm here! Mercy, don't hurt the innocent!”

Tiamat felt an inexplicable chill. She had met Ensio many times before in the myriad planes, and he was a majestic being who didn't show any signs of weakness even when severely injured. However, now he was squealing almost like a child.

She had to get out. The dragon turned to run, but before she could even move she felt searing pain from the top of her head. The legendary mage had flashed over and started breaking off horn after horn, throwing them into the distance. She flapped her wings and took off, but a blue figure chased right behind and continued the torture; the Prime Evil started shaking like a plant in a storm, eventually shooting into the earth like an arrow and scooping out more than ten metres of the cliff.

Back on the Deepblue, the place Sharon had been standing in was overflowing with blue energy that made the place look almost dreamlike. Looking at the unstable power, Ensio smiled with an ashen face, “So I don't escape my fate after all...”

Even as he resigned himself to death as collateral damage, Sharon's hair seemed to notice him from the distance. It summoned a few blue orbs that surrounded him, keeping him safe in the midst of her attacks. The lock of hair was shivering as it saw the sweaty man; Sharon hadn't ordered it to protect Ensio, just letting it do whatever it wanted.

The blue light atop the Deepblue finally lost cohesion, vanishing away alongside half a metre of the top of the Deepblue. Everything was absolutely silent without any magical fluctuations or bursts of energy; the people below didn't even sense anything.

Back at the cliff, Tiamat struggled to stand up but was pushed down by Sharon's foot. Her huge head immediately plunged into the ground, entire body angling downwards until she was almost vertical. The legendary mage gritted out, “You dare to attack the Deepblue? Who made you do this? Tell me! Or was it your own idea, making a ruckus near my home! You little... Why can't you people let me take a nap?!”

Sharon's bare foot was pushing into the dragon's skin, twisting left and right constantly. The foot that wasn't even a hundredth of Tiamat's head was forcing her to twist proportionally, a few dozen shakes causing the dragon to drill further into the ground. Many of her horns rubbed against the hard rock and sparked, but even as they were broken off the head went further in.

*RUMBLE!* A loud roar filled Floe Bay as the cliff that had weathered millennia of waves without shaking finally broke apart, a huge section of rock just crumbling down into the water. The water splashed up hundreds of metres high as the cliff face split apart, exposing the dragon head that was screwed into the earth.

Her anger finally starting to fade, Sharon grabbed the tip of the dragon's head and carried it into the sky. Tiamat spat out a large volume of mud that had a dozen teeth mixed in, and as she saw Sharon's hand drawing symbols in the air she started to shiver. Hundreds of symbols were sent out in the blink of an eye, forming the beginnings of an enormous portal that could barely fit even the dragon's huge body. Something so large should have taken days to make, but for Sharon, it took only a few moments.

“You... What are you doing? Let me go! Let me go!” Tiamat started struggling with all she had.

“You expected to lead a good life after messing with me? Come, I'm taking you to a fun place!” Sharon replied without turning her head.

“W-what place?”

“My semiplane.”

994 - City of Sin

The Miserable

“My semiplane.”

The two words sounded scarier to Tiamat than any devil ever could. Any legendary mage's semiplane acted as a prison for their greatest enemies, and within it those mages wielded terrifying power. There was no escape once one was caught within, and soul torture was only the start of one's worries. The body itself could be distorted by the power of laws within the semiplane amongst many other equally frightening outcomes.

Tiamat herself had heard that it was best to start enjoying the pain if one was caught in a legendary mage's semiplane; that was the only way to remain even nominally sane. To make matters worse, Sharon was one on a comprehensive list of the most powerful mages in existence.

“NO, DON'T DO THIS TO ME! I'LL COMPENSATE YOU, I'LL GET YOU A NEW DEEPBLUE! NO, TWO DEEPBLUES, I'LL GIVE YOU TWO!” The dragon roared with all her might as she scrambled, but Sharon was unfazed and continued to work on the portal. She managed to get away for a moment, but no matter how quickly she flapped her wings the legendary mage caught her by the tail and didn't move an inch. No matter how the so-called Prime Evil struggled, she couldn't break away.

It only took a few moments for the portal to be complete, the light on the other end signifying despair. Sharon snorted as she dragged Tiamat in tail-first, the dragon almost looking like a random object being pulled in.

Given the thrifty nature of the legendary mage, the portal wasn't large enough for Tiamat to fit through. The dragon got caught once it came up to the torso, but back in her semiplane Sharon grunted and pulled harder, yanking a good section of the body towards her. She repeated the tugs a few more times until only the head was outside, front paws desperately grabbing onto the edge of the portal as an earth-shattering roar filled the Deepblue, “NO, LET ME—”

The roar came to an abrupt halt as the last of Tiamat was pulled in, a single claw barely hanging on to the entrance. With a final tug, this claw disappeared as well and the portal leading to the semiplane was closed. Floe Bay grew tranquil once more, beginning to recover from the chaos of the night.

Not many witnessed this scene, but every single one was left in shock. Still protected by the blue bubble of energy around him, Ensio shuddered at the thought of what fate would befall Tiamat now that she was captured. He knew of the Prime Evil and had encountered her before, although they had never actually fought. This was a truly powerful legendary being that was left begging for her life; even if he was in that place, he would be no different.

He tried hard to erase the scary premonitions from his head, growing tranquil as he floated in the blue bubble and enjoyed the surges of healing mana. However, his attention was drawn to another ripple of power as space ripped apart above, a man in a black coat being thrown out while curled into a ball. Following him was a purple-eyed woman who stepped out casually.

Apeiron grabbed a strand of timeforce and frowned, “We wasted so much time... Looks like the laws of spacetime in Norland are more powerful than I expected, I need to master them.”

“Your Majesty?” Julian looked confused, “Do you wish to bow your head to that shameless old dragon?”

The Empress sneered, “Heh, of course not! I don't need the dragon's help to master the laws of spacetime. He's just a face for the power of time, not time itself.”

Julian heaved a sigh of relief, “That's good, I was worried that you...”

“Never!” Apeiron said firmly before pointing down at the still-burning Deepblue, “Go take a look at the situation, remember not to provoke Sharon. I'll look for Tiamat, can't sense the dragon anywhere.”

“As you wish,” Julian made a turn and flew towards the Deepblue. In the meanwhile, the sky flickered with afterimages as Apeiron searched everything within a hundred kilometres.

A few minutes later, the Empress started to frown. She had already searched all the places nearby, but still couldn't tell where the dragon was. As someone who could track opponents based on their disturbances to the fabric of spacetime, a massive creature like Tiamat should have been easy for her to track regardless of most stealth spells. However, all she could find was small traces of the dragon's presence around what looked like a tiny portal that couldn't possibly have fit.

Unfortunately, time was less her specialty than space; she didn't possess the ability to look into the past. Frowning, she waited for Julian to fly back up and report, “Your Majesty, Her Excellency Sharon already woke up and engaged in a battle with Tiamat. It hasn't been long since the two disappeared somewhere.”

“Sharon's awake?” Apeiron asked with a slight bit of oddity to her tone, but she quickly regained her calm, “And?”

“I saw Ensio as well, he's recovering from serious injuries in a bubble made by Sharon. I didn't want to do anything rash, so I didn't move close. There were people speaking of Voidbones having been present as well, but right now there aren't any tracks. The people are putting out the fires right now, they seem to think they've already won.”

“Of course they've already won, Sharon's awake. Let's wait here, she'll show up eventually.”

“What about the dragon, Your Majesty? The meat will be great for your wounds.”

“Of course we're taking it.”

“But Her Excellency...”

Apeiron flashed a cryptic smile, “It just so happens that I haven't seen her in many years. I wonder how she's changed, if...”

“If?” Julian asked curiously. He was never one to speculate on Apeiron's emotions and thoughts; he only expressed his own mind and did whatever she told him to. This was one of the reasons why she valued him so greatly; the simple loyalty was something that suited her quite well. It was why she had braved several dangerous battles to keep him alive when they were first banished to the Outlands.

Apeiron opened her mouth to speak but closed it once more. She hesitated for a long time before eventually saying, “I just hope she doesn't disappoint me. A worthy opponent will give me a reason to go on; if she can't satisfy me, I'll have to find others in Norland until I find meaning in life again. If Norland doesn't make the cut, I'll take a look in Klandor or Lithgalen.”

“Your Majesty...” Julian's voice quivered. He knew exactly how scary such battles were. Luck always played a part in battles between those of equal power; there were bound to be times when the Empress ended up on the losing end. Such behaviour was also a declaration that every epic being on the plane was her enemy; it was a deathwish!

He breathed deeply to collect himself, deciding to try and curb this suicidal behaviour for a bit, “Your Majesty, I heard that Sharon was seriously injured and that was why she went into hibernation. Is it not a little undignified to engage her in battle now? Maybe you should give her some time to recuperate.”

“Haha, you don't understand Sharon and her race.” Apeiron shook her head, refusing to say any more. Floating in mid-air, she closed her eyes to rest. Julian took his place by her side and waited in silence. In a place like the Outlands where the concept of time itself was distorted, a single wait could last a moment or a few years. Everyone who spent a significant portion of their lives there was extremely patient.

Eventually, Julian turned his head and looked into the distance at three wyverns flying on the horizon, “He didn't take long.”

Apeiron nodded, “He's exhausted at least two of his wyverns.”

“Hehe, do you want to play with them? Richard and the sword girl look strong.”

“Don't complicate matters.”

“As you wish,” Julian bowed.

The three wyverns in the air seemed to be on the verge of death, barely managing to fly forward. It was clear that they were being pushed on by magic, their bodies lit aglow, but that also made it clear that they would drop dead soon. Atop the leading one, Richard calmly waited for the descent; with a battle to the death ahead of him, he had to conserve every last bit of his strength. He hadn't concealed his presence at all, so any powerhouse in the area would have noticed the challenge in his aura by now.

He turned slightly towards Nasia, “I hope your ability is as strong as you say it is.”

“My ability is no problem,” Nasia responded, “If we can't beat a legend, you're just too weak.”

995 - City of Sin

The Miserable(2)

Although Richard had gone as fast as he could, it had still taken almost the entire night to fly over. The Deepblue tower in the distance already looked decimated, even if its general structure was still intact. Flames were still raging everywhere, making for a ghastly sight.

Richard actually slowed down his wyverns, adjusting himself to peak form. He was too late to affect the immediate situation, so the battle would either have stabilised or come to an end. He would likely be starting a new one, and that he had to win.

As they got closer, they confirmed that there were no fights going on. Shadows flickered as warriors ran around to put out the fire and help the wounded, making it clear that everything had come to an end. The outcome wasn't as bad as expected, but Richard could still smell something rotten in the air that even he found difficult to bear. The traces of laws within were so powerful that they couldn't have come from an ordinary legend; this was likely the powerhouse who had supposedly come with Voidbones.

His expression turned dark as murder filled his mind. He could only blame himself if Voidbones made it through all of his arrangements to protect Sharon, but if he was drawing on external forces to attack the Deepblue it was entirely different. He was already planning how to hunt down and torture the man to death if Sharon was hurt in the slightest.

With the mana supporting them cut off, all three wyverns immediately collapsed from mid-air. Richard looked towards Nasia, but the level 16 paladin who shouldn't be able to fly at all was floating so effortlessly it seemed even more natural with her than him or Waterflower. Seeing she was alright, he looked back and started scanning the Deepblue's surroundings; the silence was unusual.

His aura had already been blazing for a while now, and even one of the grand mages who focused on research would be able to notice the beacon. However, neither Voidbones nor the legend had shown themselves. Deep in thought, he blinked once and his eyes started glowing as he used Insight to sweep across the sky.

Lumps of concentrated energy immediately filled his vision, the remnants of powerful explosions that looked like watercolours blotted on canvas. The largest yet most concentrated of them all seemed to contain traces of teleportation, although a majority of the energy seemed to come from brute force. Sharon herself had used little energy to build the portal, but Tiamat had used all the energy she could in the struggle.

He stared intently and was about to fly over to inspect when a few strands of grey caught his attention. They were so faint that one couldn't notice them without paying attention, even normal legends unable to discover them at all, but there was a path they traced behind. The laws in the vicinity were distorted wherever these threads passed, and it was clear that they came from a legendary being as well. Although extremely faint, Richard was shocked into attention; this energy belonged to Apeiron!

His gaze followed the grey lines all the way to Apeiron and Julian who were floating overhead, something that caused the Empress to raise a brow, “You can actually find me? Interesting!”

Although the two were simply floating in the sky, there were no fluctuations of energy coming from them at all. Powerhouses relied on perception to find their opponents, not their eyes and ears; the more powerful one was, the less useful their eyes and ears. Richard was a level 19 grand mage, someone considered quite powerful even in Norland. Those between sainthood and the epic realm rarely ever noticed Apeiron even from ten metres away.

However, Richard clearly didn't just happen to look at them. He had followed the traces of her path, which really was an anomaly worth investigating. Apeiron started wondering whether he could see the traces of laws.

Nasia looked at Richard with intent as well, but he ignored her and said solemnly, “Your Majesty is here as well.”

Apeiron nodded, “I heard something I'm interested in would appear here, so I came over to catch it alive.”

“So where is that thing?” Richard asked.

“Sharon might have taken it away.”

“Master's awake?”

“That should be the case.”

“So now...” Richard's gaze turned sharp.

“I'm waiting for that thing and your master.”

He nodded, “Then let's wait together.”

Apeiron flashed a faint smile that was almost indiscernible, “Alright.”

Richard closes his eyes, seemingly drifting into meditation as he waited in silence. Nasia drifted over to his side and said quietly, “You're no match for that woman.”

“I'm depending on your ability,” he replied.

She smiled faintly, “War Fanatic can't help you defeat that woman, you'd need a Worldeater for that. If I was really that powerful, what would I be doing with you? I'd have taken her down myself.”

“There's no such thing as impossible, I see no need for discussion.”

“Are you sure you want to make your move if something goes wrong? You'd be courting death!”

Richard remained silent, but Nasia didn't plan to let him off. She asked the question repeatedly until he finally raised an eyebrow and retorted, “Is the question that important to you?”

A smile appeared on the paladin's mask, “Very.”

“Then yes, I'll do it.”

“Even if you're going to die?”

“Even so.”

“Why not retreat first and gather all your forces? Come back and try to fight to the death with all you have.”

Richard laughed bitterly, “I'd still be courting death.”

“But the chances would be a tiny bit greater. Right now, they're zero.”

Richard sighed and went silent for a moment before speaking, “It's too late.”

“Then why don't you just leave? It doesn't look like she'll stop you. Vengeance is better than being useless.”

Nasia seemed relentless tonight, and thinking of his upcoming doom Richard felt rather rueful, “She's planning to fight Master, I can't run away from that. Doesn't matter if I can beat her.”

“That's foolish!”

Richard laughed, “Maybe, but I don't exactly want to be smart right now.”

“How are you not dead already?”

“Maybe the God of Destiny doesn't want to let me die.”

“... There's no such thing as a god of destiny.”

“Is that so? We do have a God of Luck, surely there'll be one of destiny on some foreign plane.”

“No, not even on the ones greater than Norland.”

“How do you know?”

“I just know!”

Richard smiled and stopped the meaningless conversation. Nasia quieted down as well, seemingly falling into thought.

...

High above, Julian watched Richard with the scheming smile of a fox having caught its prey. Floating in mid-air was easy for a saint, but it still took energy. Unlike legendary beings who propped them up with local energy using their laws, saints and grand mages had to rely on their own energy or mana to sustain flight. Richard would grow more and more tired with time.

He was looking forward to the boy exhausting himself.

......

At this same time, Tiamat's shrieks were resounding through Sharon's semiplane. Only ten minutes had passed, but it felt like ten years to the enormous Prime Evil. The legendary mage's dainty hands were shining with azure light as she kneaded the dragon's flesh, rubbing and pinching to shrink her down.

Tiamat had remained a little arrogant in the first three minutes, still threatening Sharon and snarling at her as she tried to dodge, but by now she was begging and wailing as she promised anything Sharon wanted. However, her body continued to shrink down like clay being squished; she fought with all her might, but a single small foot seemed to be a million tonnes of weight that she couldn't push off at all.

It took half an hour for the legendary mage to finish her task, clapping as she looked upon her own work in satisfaction. The enormous Prime Evil that had once been a hundred metres long was now reduced to a tiny, chubby creature that was only a little more than a metre tall; it was rather adorable.

However, Sharon's genius in many fields clearly didn't extend to her artistic abilities. The little dragon admittedly was cute, for lack of a better word, but the body had been distorted no matter how one looked at it. She lifted the creature up and landed next to the mana pool atop the hill, throwing it towards the edge, “Take a look, didn't I do great?”

Tiamat took a look at her reflection in the water and nearly fainted, but even trembling from head to toe she stuttered out, “Y-your workmanship... workmanship...”

“Hmm? How is it?” Sharon pressed incessantly, beaming more and more. After all, direct praise would validate her the most.

“Truly... too wonderful!” The Prime Evil felt her dignity shatter into pieces.

996 - City of Sin

Soul Contract

Sharon's eyes twinkled as she covered her mouth and laughed, heartily, eyelashes fluttering like feathers in the wind, “Really?”

“... Of course!” Tiamat responded, finding the second time easier to swallow.

Sharon picked the dragon up and flew towards the completed weyr, throwing her into a random hole, “This is where you stay.”

The moment she said those words, magical light fell on Tiamat's body and twirled around it. The energy slowly suppressed the Prime Evil's resistance, burrowing into her body and locking up her energy. In this semiplane, Sharon's will was law and could not be resisted, in body or soul.

Standing at the mouth of the cave, Sharon looked at the small dragon and spoke in a lofty tone, “You're going to stay here for a month before you have the right to go out; when you do, you can fly about for five minutes a day. You have to turn up to battles when I summon you, and that'll be used as part of your repayment. Tell me if you're good at anything; if I can use it that can help you towards freedom too.”

“Freedom?” Tiamat stood dumbfounded for a moment; she hadn't expected that to ever be on the table.

“Yes, freedom!” The legendary mage took out pen and paper from somewhere and started jotting down some formulae before passing it on to the dragon, “You have three repayment plans here; the total is the same, 20% over the damage you did, but that's the price for losing to me. You have three minutes.”

Tiamat's heart immediately relaxed a little at the fairness that she wasn't used to. 20% was barely anything when considering Sharon could have just forced her into eternal servitude; it also showed that the legendary mage had no interest in any trickery. Had she been in the same place, she would have forced several times the original debt at minimum. The difference in might here certainly wasn't only 20%.

But when she looked down, the dragon was shocked. There were indeed three options, but the formula for each one had countless symbols that were scribbled all over the page. It was almost impossible to make out just what the calculations were supposed to be.

The dragon sneered at first; as someone who had lived for centuries, she had amassed a wealth of knowledge that included advanced mathematics. In theory, the young Sharon's mathematical skills should have been no match for her own. In addition, three minutes was basically forever for those at her level; if Sharon wanted to stump her with this, it was a foolish choice!

Tiamat acted a little troubled at first, but she had already memorised all the formulae in their entirety. Thousands of numbers flowed through her mind in the very first second, and she went through 900 ways to break the code and select the best choice. However, every time she felt like she had solved it, she found a new stumbling block. Every deduction revealed that she had misunderstood something, voiding all of her prior attempts. She would gather her thoughts and try again, but the process just repeated itself.

She hadn't even solved the first formula, but the dragon suddenly snapped out of thought and checked the time that had passed: two minutes and fifty seconds! Time was almost up, but she couldn't even work out the first one! Every attempted solution revealed more and more, but there seemed to be no end. With no choice, she had to rely on her gut and put her paw on one that didn't look too bad.

The contract immediately took effect, a ray of light connecting the two. Sharon didn't comment on the choice, merely nodding, “Don't pull any tricks or think of escaping; stay away from my mana pool and the energy forest; reviving you will be expensive. If you do it anyway, you'll be paying for the resurrection.”

“Resurrection? Does that mean...” Tiamat's voice started shaking.

“Of course I won't bring you back as undead! Your soul is already bound to the weyr; when you die, it'll come back here. I can make you another body, but a good dragon body is expensive to make. I'm not joking, it'll add on to your debts!”

Tiamat heaved a sigh of relief; such a resurrection was still acceptable. Still, Sharon's nonchalance awed her; the power and wealth required to gather enough materials for a legendary dragon's body was not small. She was certain that it would be an enormous addition to her debts; unless absolutely necessary, there was no way she wanted to bear it. Besides, her current body was extremely powerful; despite Sharon's meddling, it still retained enormous battle abilities. As long as she left this damned place one day, she would definitely recover to her peak.

Sharon tossed the agreement back to the dragon, “This is yours, you can take a closer look when you have time. I suggest you put it away for now, I've already done the calculations. A servant will come deliver food for you every day so you don't starve, but if you want more I'll add that to the bill.”

Tiamat just nodded endlessly, but once Sharon left she immediately opened up the contract and stared at the formula she'd chosen. A grunt rang out a mere minute later; she had gotten a third of the way through calculations before realising that its original premise was completely wrong. Compared to the first one, this was much more complicated.

Pushing down her fears, she stared at the formula and concentrated to the best of her abilities. However, the three formulae seemed like endless mountains that could never be scaled.

A few dragons within the weyr suddenly reared their heads, looking around to find that Sharon truly had left the semiplane before slithering out of their caves. Not all of the dragons in the weyr had this freedom, but these ones took off and flew around the plane. It seemed rather accidental for them to get to Tiamat's, but they saw the Prime Evil constantly doodling on the ground as she inspected the agreement. She seemed completely oblivious to their gaze.

The short flight having drained them of their time, the dragons had no choice but to return to their caves while talking.

“It really is her!”

“She just got pinched down by Her Excellency, looks like we don't need to call her our superior in the future.”

“She's still inspecting the agreement, huh?”

“She'll give up after a month, it's not something we can solve.”

“Exactly! They're all traps!”

“Oh yes, did any of you get even one?”

......

The moment Sharon passed through the void to reappear in the Deepblue, a lock of her hair suddenly stood up and pointed in Apeiron's direction. She looked up and saw the Empress floating in the night sky, frowning for a moment, “You're back?”

“How could the Outlands keep me?” Apeiron shrugged, “I haven't seen you in so long, Sharon. How have you been?”

“I'm doing great.”

“And where's the Prime Evil?”

“I have her stowed away in my semiplane. Why, did you send her here?”

“Eh, no. I just want to eat her, give her to me!”

Sharon tidied her hair before flashing a lazy smile, “You're joking, right?”

Apeiron smiled as well, but hers was much more stern and almost made her look androgynous, “I've been living in the Outlands for so many years, do you think I can't even ask you for some food? I'm getting that dragon, no matter what!”

Sharon laughed coldly, “Outlands? Why would I care? Well, whatever. I need to stretch my limbs a bit, and it looks like you need a lesson.”

The Empress's eyes lit up, “Why are we still talking, then? Let's fight, we'll naturally know the results.”

Before even finishing the sentence, she had flashed right in front of Sharon and thrown her fist straight for the legendary mage's nose. Sharon herself showed no fear, swinging herself to meet the strike.

997 - City of Sin

True Martial Art

Neither Sharon nor Apeiron held back, both terrifying beings intending to use the collision to judge each other's might. Space itself started to collapse as their fists met, cracks spreading out everywhere like it was shattered porcelain. A black wave rippled out from the epicentre, devastating everything within a hundred metres.

Apeiron gasped and fell back the entire hundred metres before bringing herself to a stop, but Sharon still remained in her original position with hair flying in the wind and eyes glowing brightly. The exchange was nothing fancy, a direct test of strength, and it was a clear victory in her favour.

It didn't take long for the Empress to regain her neutral expression, silhouette flickering for a bit before she suddenly appeared behind Sharon and delivered a swift kick. It was so quick that Sharon didn't have the time to dodge or even retaliate, barely putting up a hand to block the attack. The unexpected contact elicited a low groan as the legendary mage fell back ten metres.

Sharon quickly regained her balanced and frowned at Apeiron before charging straight over, causing the Empress's heart to sink; a full-power attack had barely done anything even though Sharon was supposed to be a mage and not a warrior. Just what was she made of? However, she didn't get much time to continue on that train of thought as Sharon was right upon her, coming in with a barrage of blows.

While the legendary mage was strong, her speed left quite a bit to be desired. Her fierce attacks were all dodged easily, only striking air, and after a few jabs Apeiron even found an opening to get in close and attack herself. As someone without much martial arts ability Sharon was at an obvious disadvantage, starting to lose ground very quickly.

Both sides fought a tough battle from the ground to high in the sky, their afterimages causing tidal waves in the bay and fissures in the earth nearby. The clouds they passed through were blown away, causing a thunderstorm over Floe Bay.

Apeiron was perhaps one of the best martial artists in all of Norland, something that put her on par with an epic being despite not having reached that realm herself, but Sharon proved to be much stronger than expected. She couldn't tell whether the legendary mage's punches and kicks were powered by mana or internal energy, but there seemed to be little strategy to these strikes. It was just that Sharon was using the power of laws to compensate, every punch feeling as heavy as a planet. Whenever the Empress managed to land an attack of her own, it felt like she was hitting a mountain.

It was a simple yet brutal battle, one where even legendary beings were of little help. Mere contact with the ripples of energy would result in injuries, and someone like Richard who didn't focus on defence would be crippled after a few exchanges.

However, he had his own opponent. Julian was flying over, smile showcasing his pearly white teeth, “It seems like centuries have passed since I last saw you, kid.”

Richard unsheathed Moonlight calmly, “I don't think you'd forget the sacrifices so quickly.”

However nonchalant Julian pretended to be, the mere mention of the sacrifices caused his smile to fade into anger, “There aren't any altars to the old dragon here.”

“There's still timeforce all around. Norland obeys the laws of time controlled by the Eternal Dragon, you can't use your full strength,” Richard said calmly.

Julian's gaze turned icy, “So what? I still have no problem dealing with legends, and you're not even close. You have a reputation for being unbeatable below the legendary realm? I'm still a legend; killing you is child's play!”

Richard pointed his sword forward, “Let's find out.”

“Hehe, I won't bully you; I'll kill all three of you at once!” Julian's eyes flashed with cunning as several phantoms appeared around him, quickly solidifying into figures that looked no different from himself. They varied in strength; while he was still at the legendary realm, three of the clones were level 16 while two were level 18.

The level 18 clones headed for Waterflower while the others moved towards Nasia, with Julian himself standing in front of Richard with a devilish grin, “Don't think of running back to gather with your followers, fight me like a man!”

“Why would I?” Richard countered, “Those clones took up a lot of power. You're barely stronger than a normal legend now.”

“That's still enough to kill you, haha! Do you really think the great Julian who survived the Outlands is an ordinary legend? Those greenhouse flowers are just there to get trampled!”

“We'll see. Nasia,” Richard calmly waved at the faceless paladin, who immediately bathed him in golden rain. The drops coagulated around his body to form shining gold armour. Julian's eyes immediately twinkled with a cold glint as his aura surged; he immediately realised that the buff wasn't minor and would strike immediately.

Once the armour and helmet were fully formed, Richard suddenly felt his body pulsing with energy as his strength directly tripled. However, that wasn't the great boost that Nasia had described; once his physical abilities stopped increasing, he felt internal changes as his mana coagulated into blue crystals running through his veins. The blood in his vessels started gushing like a river!

All three of his hearts started pumping blood in tandem, every beat generating a number of energy crystals that spread throughout his body. It felt like there was no limit to his energy reserves, the sheer feeling of everything being under control leaving him in bliss. Raising his left hand that was now glowing, he saw some enormous numbers; his blessing of truth was showing that his fist had the power to destroy mountain peaks.

Even a saint would be unable to withstand a single blow from him! Richard inhaled deeply and muttered, “So powerful...”

The greatest shock didn't come from War Fanatic's sheer power; he had felt similar things when under the effect of Flowsand's Outburst. However, this energy was flowing evenly through every part of him without any dissonance; it didn't feel like it came from an external source at all. He had been boosted straight to level 21, the realm of legends; outside of not having a legendary ability, he was no different from a true legend.

He stared at Julian and brandished his sword, “It seems like we're only one level apart now. Get ready to die.”

Julian let out a high-pitched laugh, readying his bare arms, “What kind of place do you think the Outlands is? I'll show you the true art of battle that someone who can survive it learns!”

The man's hands glowed an earthen yellow as he blocked Moonlight's blade directly, but Richard flicked with his wrist and aimed straight for the head as he unleashed a flurry of attacks. It sounded like metal striking metal as blade met palm, but Julian immediately started sweating as his eyes went wide with shock. Even though he had been wary of the golden armour, he hadn't expected a mage to have such close combat ability.

His sweat vapourising due to the abundance of energy, the legend thanked his stars that he had come in prepared; he was forced to use all his might to block the attacks, and even so he was forced to retreat a hundred metres.

Richard didn't rush to follow, instead looking at the edge of his blade that was stained with traces of blood. Sending it all flying with a swish, he didn't even look at Julian as he said, “The Church is what has the true martial arts... You should see a skilled priestess fighting.”

He had spent years analysing the martial arts of the church; although they were so deceptively simple that Flowsand had managed to teach him “everything” when they were both fairly low level, he had found them to be a rabbit hole that just went deeper and deeper until they even touched upon the power of laws. His close combat skills were now as good as Flowsand's had been, and it was not something ordinary martial arts could compare to.

Floating in mid-air, Julian looked at Richard with contempt. However, his coat and shirt suddenly burst open to reveal a few light marks on his chest; these wounds quickly spread apart and sprayed out a fog of blood. The man's face immediately flushed red; if he hadn't managed to suppress the effects in time, the attack would have cut straight to his heart. Only then did he notice a striking red at Richard's fingertips starting to fade away.

Julian flashed a twisted smile, hoarse voice ringing out, “I'll kill your companions first then; I can wait for my clones to gather before I come around to killing you!”

998 - City of Sin

Sharon's Magic

Richard felt a chill running down his spine as Julian smirked. He had beaten the man in this exchange, but that was mainly because he had been underestimated. Decked out in terrifying runes including layers of Lifesbane that turned even the smallest of wounds into lethal ones, he also had the advantage in martial arts with his skills being developed for areas under the control of the Eternal Dragon. Still, he was barely superior in combat. One could only tell who was truly stronger once the legend started attacking in full earnest.

He said nothing as his hand stroked Moonlight's blade, birthing sapphire flames on the sword as he prepared for another flurry of attacks. This engagement was just as quick and brutal as the last one, but now the blue flames danced with no signs of weakening as the weapon slashed and jabbed from all angles.

Julian chose to evade as much as he could, not letting the blade even touch him as his figure flickered mysteriously in the night sky. Even Richard couldn't simulate his future actions, a result of the pure chaos that allowed the man to operate on pure instinct. Having been injured in the first go, he was now wary of being touched again; he thus just spent time trying to avoid getting hit while waiting for his clones to kill off Waterflower and Nasia before merging back to him.

While she was a saint as well, Waterflower's abilities weren't tailored to fighting multiple opponents at once. She slowly lost ground in the one-on-two fight, but the Shepherd of Eternal Rest danced in the air as it blocked all attacks and even retaliated on occasion, scaring off the clones. These clones had sensed a real danger of death from her blade.

Julian almost gasped in surprise as he saw this; the young lady's battle capabilities far exceed his expectations. He had thought of everyone in Norland as dogs, with even the legends only being a little bigger, but she seemed to be able to fight even him off at the same level. When she reached level 20, she would be at the peak of all saints.

Since those two wouldn't be able to gain a quick victory, he placed his hope on the level 16 clones instead. He didn't believe the ordinary-looking paladin would be able to survive too long when faced with his might. Once the three returned, they would be able to gang up on Waterflower and eliminate her as well.

Julian's confidence stemmed from the fact that the faceless paladin hadn't once attacked; after buffing Richard, she immediately pulled the three clones into a chase. This was a smart choice; if she believed Richard could beat him or Waterflower could defeat the other two clones, then buying time would give her a chance of survival as well. It was a praiseworthy strategy.

However, Julian was in no rush; as someone from the Outlands, patience was a thing he had cultivated to a high degree. Even though he was being exhausted by Richard's endless attacks, it was the battle up above Floe Bay that truly decided victory. Besides, he could feel that those blue flames were some sort of bloodline or saint ability, not ordinary mana or energy; there had to be a limit to their usage.

...

Back in the main battle, Sharon had showcased alarming power and defence that Apeiron couldn't even match with her bloodline activated. However, the Empress's lightning pace overwhelmed the legendary mage as well. Neither party could contain the other; ten strikes wouldn't hurt Sharon much, and while a single full power attack would defeat Apeiron the legendary mage wasn't fast enough to hit.

At this point, Apeiron had changed her style and was circling Sharon from half a kilometre away. She was mimicking an archer's stance with neither bow nor arrow, but whenever she let go arrows of grey energy shot towards Sharon and reached the mage within moments. Despite Sharon's best efforts, a little under half of them struck and sent her flying ten metres back at a time, face turning pale; these attacks were so powerful that an ordinary legend would be injured in one blow.

Sharon had unfathomable bodily strength, but she still felt pain every time she was shot. Her defences were of no use, even level 9 barriers only halving the arrows' might. A powerful Gravitational Guard spell would have formed a layer of yellow earth around her body to help, but that was completely contrary to her aesthetics. If this went on, she would eventually die at Apeiron's hands.

The legendary mage suddenly froze in the sky, her expression clouding over until it was frightening. Another grey arrow shot towards her, but it was suddenly blocked by a dark blue force field even as astral energy started radiating from her body. All of the subsequent arrows were blown apart, while the remaining astral energy started dancing in circles around her. It looked like Sharon was a beautiful goddess descending from the sky.

Apeiron's eyes narrowed, “So this is the Deepblue Aria known for its attack and defence... Really terrifying, I'm growing more and more curious about you!”

Sharon remained silent as she traced an outline in the sky with her hands. Before even a second had passed, an enormous portal appeared in mid-air.

The Empress laughed condescendingly, “What, running away already? Or do you want to summon those dragons of yours...”

Before she could finish, her eyes opened wide. Sharon wasn't summoning anything, instead moulding the incomplete portal into a ball the height of a person. She felt her heart freezing up; portal explosions were some of the worst disasters in history, and Sharon was now messing with an enormous one. Just how much condensed spatial energy could that thing hold? Was she thinking of killing herself?

But even Apeiron knew that the terrifying legendary mage wasn't suicidal. Sharon wound up for a throw before shouting, chucking the glowing ball straight at the Empress's face.

“You crazy bitch!” Apeiron shrieked as she turned and fled, her figure disappearing from the sky. The ball of light grew even more glaring as it flew past, eventually so bright one couldn't even look at it directly. From afar, it looked like a sun was rising over the bay as an enormous ball of flames rose into the sky; dark red flames billowed out into a mushroom cloud that floated up above. The entire sea seemed to rise up more than ten metres, forming a wall of water that surged towards the coast. The tidal wave grew even further to thirty metres as it crashed into the cliff violently, causing a thunderous roar that sent ripples of energy through all of Norland.

Several powerful conscients awakened in the void around Norland, all of them focusing on Floe Bay.

Several kilometres away from the core of the explosion, Apeiron stumbled out from the void while coughing up blood. She looked towards Sharon with a complicated expression, never having expected such a terrifying attack. Just the aftermath had left her with injuries; the attack could raze an entire city to the ground. Google search f𝚛𝗲𝒆we𝙗𝙣o𝙫e𝗹. 𝐜o𝚖

Was this even human? As soon as thigh thought crossed her heart, the Empress laughed and corrected herself. Of course Sharon wasn't human.

However, her eyes suddenly narrowed once more; Sharon had raised her hands again, and there was another ball of light within! The legendary mage's azure pupils drilled into Apeiron's, and she threw the death ball out once again. This time, the Empress didn't even have any time to shriek as she dove into the void.

Another huge fireball lit up Floe Bay, turning into a mushroom cloud that slowly dispersed from the sky. This time Apeiron only managed to get a kilometre away, her face pale from serious injuries that had also affected her existing ones. However, she showed no signs of fear as her face started glowing, and she stared death at Sharon and cried out, “I want to see just how many more of these you can make!”

999 - City of Sin

Helplessness

Sharon was cold in the face of Apeiron's aggression, “Try me! Are you going to run away again?”

The Empress sneered at the suggestion, “Not this time!”

“Alright.” Sharon didn't say any more, just drawing the outline of another portal and starting to knead it into a ball of energy. Apeiron truly didn't dodge, instead assuming her archer's stance once more as she shot thousands upon thousands of arrows like a tidal wave straight towards the attack. Another mushroom cloud flew over the bay, but the ball of spatial; energy didn't reach its intended destination and instead crumbled under the assault of so many arrows. Threads of grey energy circled the violent flames weakly, but they destroyed ten times their volume in fire before dying out.

Only a hundred metres away from the weakened explosion, Apeiron kept to her word and summoned a shield of grey energy around her as she curled up to minimise the damage from the scalding winds. The glow flickered and seemed ready to wink out at any time, but it was much stronger than it seemed as it maintained form all the way to the end.

Once the effects of the fireball dissipated, Apeiron stretched out and smiled at Sharon. However, that smile quickly turned around as she saw another blinding flash straight towards her! Immediately fleeing, she barely left a shriek behind, “You're still not done?!”

“Of course not!” the legendary mage's eyebrows stood erect as she prepared the outline of another portal.

The skies above Floe Bay filled up with debris as a storm of flames wreaked havoc on its surroundings, the scene almost apocalyptic. Every attack from Sharon threatened the protective sphere of all of Norland, and the mere fact that Apeiron managed to escape them proved her prowess. When it came to damaging the plane, the ashen grey energy was no worse than Sharon's attacks.

...

“So terrifying!”

“No doubt...”

“They're insane...”

“They'll cause irreparable damage to the plane! We have to stop them!”

“And you want to be the one to do it?”

“Yeah, it's your idea.”

“...”

The powerful conscients in the void continued discussing things amongst themselves.

...

Julian quickly began worrying about the battle, finally understanding the sheer terror that was Sharon. Seeing the Empress getting hunted, he started to worry deeply for her. Richard seized upon this moment of distraction and chased him down ferociously, grabbing the upper hand and forcing the legend to evade with the smallest of margins.

“You lunatic!” Julian cried out in agony, “Aren't you worried about your master?”
f𝑟e𝙚𝒘𝗲𝚋𝚗oѵ𝘦𝙡. c𝒐m

“I'll kill you before I go to her side,” Richard said calmly.

“Kill me? You motherfucker, just wait for my... my...” Julian suddenly froze up in the middle of his cursing, almost getting cut apart by Richard's blade. He had just seen Nasia flying over from the other side of the Deepblue, but his clones were nowhere to be seen. The result was obvious.

Nasia flew to Waterflower immediately, who in turn started approaching the paladin. Pulling one of the level 18 clones away to give the assassin some space. This clone was much faster than the others, but she still had no problem evading it and circling around their battlefield.

It was at this point that Julian finally remembered something and yelled out, “Why is your buff still up?!”

Richard had been wondering about this himself for a while. War Fanatic was an insanely powerful ability that gave him two extra levels in one shot; not even Julian had seen something like that before, and logically speaking it had to have come with the tradeoff of a short burst time. However, the effects still lingered on unabated; only now did Richard realise just how confident Nasia had been when she said losing would only be a result of his own weakness.

Now freed up, Waterflower showcased tremendous skill as the Shepherd of Eternal Rest whistled loudly, destroying the one clone with only three attacks. Nasia arrived beside her just as she dealt with the first one, and the young lady didn't even miss a beat as she chopped this one in two as well. She herself was taken aback by this; she hadn't expected it to become so easy.

However, the most shocked of all was Julian. The middle-aged man spat out a mouthful of blood as he felt the connection to his level 18 clones breaking; with their deaths, he would face a permanent dip in level. He still had to deal with Richard's attacks that were only growing faster and more mysterious with each blow, and he was finally starting to realise that death was a possibility.

It was at this moment that his internal chaos took over. Not running any longer, he decided to fight Richard head-on in a crazed battle, blood gushing out only moments after. When the two separated, staring viciously at each other while snorting like bulls, their bodies were bleeding all over.

Waterflower was about to rush forth but she stopped herself, knowing that the battle was too close for her to assist effectively. If she convinced Julian that he had no chance of victory, he might just decide on a suicidal attack that killed everyone.

Nasia's mask slowly shifted as she floated to Waterflower's side, whispering in her ear, “Now is your chance, go kill Julian.”

Shocked, the young lady shook her head, “No, he'll kill Richard!“

“He won't.”

“He will!”

“He won't.”

“Get away from me!” Waterflower suddenly screamed, alarming both Julian and Richard who turned to look at her. Nasia merely shrugged, acting as though she had seen nothing.

The two red-eyed men looked back at each other, Julian speaking up after a moment, “You little bastard, your liver is already showing. Why not hurry back and wrap it up? Stop acting like you're a hero!”

“I'm not as fragile as you, with your lungs out and all. How does Lifesbane feel, by the way? Scared for your life?”

Julian gritted his teeth and gathered up all his remaining energy, getting closer and spitting out, “Do you think the great Julian fears death? Let me show you who's scared!”

He shot his hands up with some difficulty, fist heading straight for Richard's nose. A loud crack rang out as the bridge of Richard's nose was cut open, but in exchange Richard had straight access to Julian's chest and by extension hearts.

However, Richard seemed to grow dazed as he didn't go for the instant kill, instead retaliating with a backhand straight to Julian's face, “Didn't Her Majesty tell you not to kill me? Where's your loyalty gone?”

“Her Majesty always comes before me, kid!”

“Lies!”

*Thud!* Julian punched Richard once more, “What do you know about being someone's follower?”

*Thud!* Richard retaliated, “You clueless little...”

Cursing under his breath, Julian raised a leg to kick Richard in the chest. However, he fell short as Waterflower pulled Richard away before turning around and staring him in the eye, “I'll kill you!”

The young lady drove the Shepherd of Eternal Rest straight towards the heart. With no way to run or hide, Julian didn't even bother as he resigned himself to death. He even had the gall to make a kissing face in the moment of his death.

However, the lethal blow only struck air; Apeiron had sped over like the wind and pulled Julian back by the scruff of his neck, saving him inthe last moment. She even had the time to grab the girl by her hair and lick her lips vulgarly before laughing and throwing her a kilometre away, “Tastes good!”

The very next moment, Apeiron flashed in front of Richard and almost crushed him in an embrace, violently kissing him on the lips before shouting, “What's so great about you, Sharon? I can toy with your lover whenever I want!”

The legendary mage let loose an earth-shattering cry in the distance before dashing over, but the Empress tapped Richard's face and pinched it hard before throwing him to the side. In the very next moment, she had disappeared.

Sharon suddenly stopped, feeling an extremely bad omen, but Apeiron appeared right behind her and laughed softly before blowing hot air into her ear. Her hand then reached down.

...

Another fireball lit up Floe Bay. Sharon was pale as she moved to cover her buttocks with her hands, but as they moved halfway she stopped and put on a nonchalant expression as though nothing had happened. However, Apeiron shouted from the distance, “Such a supple ass, Sharon! Hahahaha!”

The legendary mage felt powerless for the first time in her life, not even having the strength to curse or flip Apeiron off.

1000 - City of Sin

Rumours

When the first rays of dawn finally broke up the darkness over Floe Bay, they lit up a few trails in varying shades of purple that stretched across the sky. These were tears in spacetime that had been left behind by the battle, the broken fabric of existence slowly repairing itself. People were running all over the Deepblue, supplies being moved out constantly from the now-open warehouse to where they would be used.

Scaffolding had already been erected all around the tower to allow the stoneworkers to begin repairs, countless mages shuttling back and forth as they used levitation spells to send the heavier components upwards. The more experienced ones were examining all the floors for weak points that had risen from the damage, mending them carefully. Since Sharon had awoken with all her powers intact, the residents of the tower were working with maximal efficiency.

The top floor was the most severely damaged of them all. Nearly half the place had collapsed, in turn damaging the lower levels as well. These top three were Sharon's private residence; the majority of a century's accumulated wealth had been placed here. The legendary mage had been like a little girl building her own utopia, laying brick by brick herself over the years to build the most beautiful world she could. While her sense for aesthetics could only be described as peculiar in daily life, her ability to construct an ethereal impression would leave even grandmasters of art marvelling.
ƒ𝚛e𝘦𝙬𝗲𝒃𝓷𝒐𝘃𝘦𝑙. 𝒄o𝓂

Many mages were labouring on the terrace, laying the floor with blackstone and filling the gaps with sapphire crystals before fusing the two with molten blue amber. One could see from up above that they were repairing an enormous and complex spell formation; it would have taken a long time to even make the calculations for it, but thankfully the blueprints had been placed in the public library down below. The mages only needed to follow the original plans.

There were many enormous spell formations in Norland, quite a few that were even larger than the one in the Deepblue, but most of those were made from individual functional modules that were laid separately before being fused together. However, the Deepblue Crown did not have any individual modules; designed personally by Sharon, it was one single entity. None of her subordinates had the ability to come up with something so grand.

The main application of this enormous formation was to suppress any space fluctuations that could arise around the Deepblue, and also to act as a beacon for Sharon who spent a lot of time deep in the void.

Blackstone and sapphire weren't particularly expensive, but at this scale they definitely were tough to swallow. The material costs alone would end up at tens of millions of gold, with the payment to the mages another considerable sum. Fortunately, Blackgold had the foresight during the initial construction and subsequent expansions of the tower to stock up on extra materials; whenever Sharon wanted new toys, she didn't have the patience to wait for large inflows of stone from the market. The restoration had begun immediately without any need to wait, so there would be no price inflation from emergency bulk purchases that soured Sharon's mood further.

The first meeting after Sharon's return was held in the hall where the grand mages met every day. It wasn't as grand as her own hall in the Mirror of a Thousand Forms, but all of that had been destroyed when Voidbones passed through it. Even if the market had enough materials, it would take months to finish rebuilding.

The legendary mage had changed into a blue gown, her normally playful face now extremely solemn as she sat upright on her throne. The crowd of grand mages were stood in rows on either side, with Blackgold and Fayr the closest to her. However, only eleven of the seventeen grand mages were present; three of them had died to Voidbones while three more were critically injured. The dwarf himself had forced himself to be present through sheer will; he was currently in a metal brace because of a broken spine. Fortunately, Voidbones had held back; the blow hadn't been fatal or even crippling.

Two of the other grand mages were lightly wounded, while the rest weren't injured at all. However, this wasn't because of any combat ability; they had just remained neutral in the battle. This was a privilege Sharon afforded to her subordinates; since they weren't master and follower, they had the right to choose whether to fight for her.

The first matter to discuss wasn't the reconstruction of the Deepblue but the relief and compensation for casualties. The grey dwarf had dragged his nearly maimed body around the tower throughout the night, remaining awake so he could note the names of every single person who had lost their lives in the fight. The final figure came up to something rather suffocating: 17 million.

“How much do we have in the treasury?” Sharon asked as she looked over the numbers.

“Three million, Your Excellency,” he answered immediately. This was the minimum amount the Deepblue needed to sustain operations.

Sharon pulled out a pair of spider crystals from one of her rings, “Here, use this for relief and compensation. Any surplus can go towards reconstruction fees. As for the rest... I'll come up with something.”

The legendary mage was absurdly wealthy, but most of that wealth came in artefacts and rare materials that she regularly auctioned off. None of it could be liquidated immediately, and outside of the magic crystals that would be used up in rebuilding the spell formations the only money left was in the form of these two beyslace spider crystals. She was now effectively broke.

With that taken care of, the discussion continued further for a while and the atmosphere in the hall gradually warmed up. However, Fayr suddenly asked, “Your Excellency, would you like to enter Faust?”

Killing intent immediately flashed across Sharon's face, the temperature dropping once more, but the legendary mage pursed her lips and gritted her teeth to calm down, “Forget it, this is nothing big. There's no need to break the agreement just yet.”

When Sharon had just built the Deepblue, the reigning emperor of the Sacred Alliance had already been paying attention to her. The Alliance had gifted her a considerable amount of resources and even helped with military support, just giving away the region around Floe Bay for her to own. In exchange, she was placed in charge of blocking the North's advance and also couldn't enter Faust.

The latter clause was so that she wouldn't interfere in the Alliance's internal affairs when she grew into the dominating power she would soon become. Although Apeiron had fought Sharon and even molested her for a moment, it wasn't too much of a transgression. She had still left Richard alive when she could have killed him easily, something that would have been justified with the near-death of her own servant.

Hearing this response, Fayr nodded, although the action evidently caused some pain, “Then I won't mobilise anyone.”

With memories of the previous night being jogged, the grand mages immediately grew a little fidgety. They had all heard Apeiron's declaration before she left, but while it was rather taunting they wouldn't dare even smile. The biggest impact had come from Sharon's terrifying display of power; the idea of a portal being used to destroy everything within kilometres left them shivering with fear.

There had been rumours about Richard and Sharon before— she was clearly closer to him than to her other students— but that had all been chalked up to Richard being the son of two good friends. However, Apeiron's declaration about a lover brought many other coincidences to mind: the legendary mage had spent a lot of time searching for Richard when he first disappeared, and then entered hibernation due to injuries right after his first return. Richard's own willingness to protect her from Voidbones at the cost of his very life made much more sense as well...

Many dots were being connected, and Richard who was once considered just a pet student Sharon liked was now elevated in everyone's minds. Even if they had dismissed the possibility before, the Empress herself had no reason to lie.

Sharon had wanted to ask about Richard's injuries, but sensing the atmosphere in the hall she suddenly felt awkward and stopped herself. Signalling for the meeting to end, she left the hall and headed towards the laboratory herself. Some of the best labs of the Deepblue had been vacated for the treatment of her most important subordinates, and Ensio and Richard had been placed in the absolute best one.

The entire room was glowing with a blue radiance as mana floated everywhere, with two large leaf-shaped tubes placed against the wall on one side. Deep asleep, Richard and Ensio were half-submerged in some sort of liquid as complicated spell formations on the vessels were pumping mana into their bodies. An aged elven mage was busy recording the reactions of the formations while paying attention to the magic crystals powering them.

Sharon's gaze swept past Ensio and Richard when she entered the laboratory, but it clearly lingered on the latter for much longer. The aged magician didn't notice her arrival in his immersed state, pulling out the depleted magic crystals and replacing them with fresh ones to keep the arrays in operation.

1001 - City of Sin

A Silent Change Of Heart

Sharon's original plan was to place Richard in the laboratory alone, giving him the entire focus of the facility. Ensio was hardy and hadn't suffered nearly as much damage relatively; once the initial treatment was completed, he could recover no matter where he was. Even spending all the money she was, she would only shorten his recovery period by a month. However, with Apeiron having used the word lover in public, she suddenly felt conscious of such favouritism and tried to avoid it,

She had boasted freely about imparting the “trauma” on the night of destiny to anyone who would listen over the past years, but after listening to the Empress she suddenly felt an urge to deny it. It confused her. Was she not the greatest mage of Norland? Since when was she accountable to anyone?

However, she had begrudgingly decided to put Ensio in the laboratory as well. There was no need to spend 100,000 gold to give someone a month when their natural life would last thousands of years; it was an astronomical sum for the miserly mage.

However, Sharon didn't realise that those around her knew her personality very well. The mere fact that she had placed Ensio with Richard had only confirmed their thoughts.

She suddenly raised an eyebrow as she saw shadows circling in the middle of his forehead, projections from nightmare creatures that were gathering somewhere in the void to strike. He had evidently caught their attention once more.

She reached out to touch his brow, fingertips lighting up with astral rays that burrowed into the shadows once more. These rays immediately started burning the grey energy, shooting through the void to rip open the void. A moment later, she dumped an enormous amount of astral energy into his body.

...

The Legion of Nightmares had gathered in the void outside Norland, eagerly awaiting its next exploit. The previous activation of the lighthouse had been cut off by a powerful being, stopping their invasion at only a few groups, but this time would be different. The lighthouse had lit up brighter this time than the last, and they were almost done assembling.

However, the flickering lighthouse suddenly winked out once more, disappearing from view.

...

Sharon's eyes twinkled strangely as she looked at the sleeping Richard, but she sighed gently and turned to leave the laboratory. Summoning Blackgold to a temporary meeting room, she asked for a detailed explanation of the economic situation of the Deepblue ever since she had gone into hibernation.

The grey dwarf's report surprised her. The Deepblue had held up much better than expected, mostly because Richard had pumped in ten million gold and added his own research grants on top. A handful of his projects were starting to reap results, of which three were rather successful. By name, they were the stonewood ignition catalyst, enhanced gunpowder, and a method for low-temperature steel refinement.

The first two solutions were already in large-scale production, the orders from the Archeron Family alone exceeding 500,000 gold in revenue. Even that was because the Deepblue didn't have much manufacturing ability; if not for that, the revenue would be in the millions. The third project had the potential to greatly lower the cost of refining steel and double production across the plane; in a plane like Norland where war was the only constant, this was extremely important. Richard's factories were already working on the method, with the Deepblue and Archeron Family alone using 30,000 tonnes of raw materials. This was enough to arm 10,000 rather skilled soldiers.

The legendary mage flipped through the projects Richard had started and immersed herself in the details, spending the entire afternoon just reading. When she got to the gunpowder formula, she inspected it in detail and flicked her wrist in the air a few times as though she was drawing. After about half an hour, she picked up a piece of paper and wrote down three formulae, “Go test these, they should give you some improvement.”

The grey dwarf picked up the piece of paper with delight. Although he was a mage himself, he still had an instinctive love for firearms; that was why he used a gun himself. If not for the strengthened gunpowder formula, his gun would be nowhere near strong enough to contend with any decent enemy. Now, while he had failed against Voidbones, the weapon had shown enough power to severely injure a regular saint if within range. If Sharon's formulae were effective— as they no doubt would be— his gun would grow even stronger.

Blackgold had been planning for a while now to build a few more guns and sell them to the grand mages of the Deepblue. These old, physically weak men would consider it a god-sent weapon for close combat. Mages were elite war machines, but duels were the death of them if not for such protective items.

The only problem was that this gun cost him 100,000 gold to make even ignoring the price of his own labour. Even 150,000 gold wouldn't be giving him much profit, at which point one could buy many other epic-grade items for cheaper. If Sharon's help pushed the guns to the level where they would be top-grade even amongst epic-grade equipment, then he could make a business out of it.

Once Blackgold was sent away, Sharon suddenly felt flustered and paced about aimlessly, not knowing what she wanted to do. Lost in thought, she didn't realise just when it was that she'd walked back to the laboratory where Richard was being treated. He was still asleep, but the feeling of his three hearts beating steadily left her relieved.

The three-hearted Richard was now at the door to the legendary realm, and he had showcased signs of using the power of laws in his fight with Julian. Even though it was insignificant to someone at her level, she could still tell that he was on the right path and halfway to becoming a legendary being. This also meant that he would have no problems becoming a saint runemaster, even if that wasn't enough to fix the Deepblue Aria on her body.

While Richard's body under the power of the Torrent of Life was just as youthful as always, the last vestiges of childishness in him had long since faded away. Replacing them was now a solemn aura, one that had gotten her to remember a face she hadn't seen in a long time; Gaton's. She reached out to touch his chest that hadn't yet fully healed; that childish battle had still shown just how much the talentless whelp had gone through to make such remarkable improvements.

However, just as her hand reached halfway, she suddenly withdrew it like lightning. The busy old elf shook and looked towards the ground in an instant, pretending not to have seen anything. On the other hand, Ensio was breathing stably in the other vessel but that breath was too regulated. Sharon's ears perked up for a moment as she recognised the bluff, but she just snorted and walked out of the laboratory.

Ensio slowly opened his eyes, his expression turning gloomy; rough times were in store. He even started considering leaving Norland as quickly as he could. However, considering everything that had happened ever since Blackgold had summoned him back, he had to admit it was a special experience. He had been prepared to lose all his progress in the Land of No Beginning when he returned, but not only had he maintained his realm but he was also making breakthroughs in his comprehension of laws.

Richard was the only one in the room who was fully unconscious, but his body turned in the midst of his sleep and started absorbing more of the energy as it reconstructed itself. Strength slowly returned to his body, while the trace effects of War Fanatic remained and kept his power cohesive. Even though he hadn't gained a legendary ability, the brief experience in that realm was priceless. Just like the flame potion, the benefits were far greater than expected and would greatly smooth his path when he actually got there.

Everyone had a different part to legendary status. Most sky saints who failed to get there had one thing in common; they tried to carve their paths inorganically, failing to comprehend the laws of the world. However, the foray into level 21 had shown him his path.

And yet, that wasn't the limit of War Fanatic's effects. With his body finally calming down and the injuries being corrected, the Archeron bloodline went into hibernation but his elven one did not. The trees started growing vigorously as they absorbed the incoming energy, the water level in the well of stars rising slowly even as the liquid mana started to sparkle with astral light. The symbol for Schloan started flickering in and out of existence, with a new symbol popping into existence right next to it.

The spell formation in the laboratory suddenly started to speed up as the crystals placed within were drained. All of the energy started converging in Richard's vessel, his body shining with blinding light. The elven mage was shocked, but fortunately retained the sense to sound the alarm before rushing to replace the crystals.

“Hurry, get more magic crystals! Right away!” the old man barked to the mages who rushed in moments later.

1002 - City of Sin

The Tigress

Ensio quickly realised that there was something wrong with the situation, abandoning his fake sleep and getting out of his vessel in an instant, Cutting off the mana supply to himself, he placed his hand on Richard's spell formation and flooded it with as much as he could to keep the vibrating array from exploding.

Catching hints of astral energy in each of Richard's long, deep breaths, he couldn't help but be astonished. This was a sign of the body being altered, something typical only during the advancement to the legendary realm. Richard was only level 19, why was his mana evolving now?

Richard himself remained in the dark about his situation. Advancing rapidly was rarely a good thing, especially for humans who were comparatively weak. Even though he had some demonic blood and was a half-elf, the dominant human side of him still suffered from the same drawbacks as the rest of his kind. It would put undue stress on his physique.

Ensio's eyebrows furrowed as he realised that his own mana could barely stabilise the spell formation. With Richard rejecting his already-formed energy, it was all he could do to form a crystal-like energy mesh around the sleeping youth's body to absorb any explosions if control was lost.

However, still injured and in a hurry, he let a part of the mesh touch Richard's body. His eyes went wide as he saw it immediately dissolve into Richard's body; this mesh contained the power of another plane! Still, he quickly regained his calm and patched up the gap.

A mage carrying an intricate magic-sealing case scurried over a short while later; while the case didn't look big, it contained hundreds of magic crystals. The elf only glanced at the thing for a second before exclaiming, “Not enough! Get more!”

Surprised but not daring to interfere, the mage rushed back to the warehouse and returned with five entire cases. Despite only minutes having passed in this time, the first case was already half-empty.

The spell formations were pulsing furiously as the crystals powering them were constantly moved in and out, but Richard's body was like a bottomless pit. No matter how many crystals' worth of energy was dumped in, he absorbed it all without a hint of being done. Ensio could no longer mask his utter surprise; the sheer amount of mana would be the death of most powerhouses; Richard would need to refine this raw mana into his own attributes, the aftermath of which would be extremely damaging to the body. However, he had stabilised the formation and ensured that any accidents wouldn't affect the rest of the Deepblue; all he could do now was wait.

As they observed the magic crystals depleting rapidly, the surrounding mages grew incredibly anxious. The old elven mage was already past his authority at this point, so Ensio shouted instead, “Move more magic crystals here, get all you can!”

This time, a number of mages ran to the warehouse. Blackgold immediately approved the request, knowing that it would please Sharon and not having problems regardless. Richard single-handedly propped up the Deepblue's finances, so he would certainly pay it all back in the future.

More cases were brought over, but it didn't take long for them to be emptied out as well. Richard remained in his vegetative state, his mana absorption still seemingly endless, and it was reaching the point where everyone was just watching on helplessly. It didn't take long for them to inform Sharon herself; all of the reserves in the warehouse had been used up. None of them had ever witnessed such a situation before, and they were worried that this reckless absorption of mana would cripple or even destroy Richard from within.

Richard was still in a state of deep sleep when Sharon arrived, but every exhalation leaked astral energy that was absorbed by the spell formations before being pumped back into his body. A strange cycle had slowly formed, strengthening as more of the magic crystals were used up.

The web Ensio had formed continued to flicker in the space around Richard's body. A small piece of it eventually fell on his chest, and even as he patched up the gaps with the power of his laws he felt like infinite stars were flitting past his consciousness from the distant void. He was rendered speechless yet again; this was a phenomenon he had only ever seen when the laws of two legendary figures came into contact.

Sharon paid no attention to him as she pushed through the barrier without effort, inspecting the condition of Richard's body. With her perception much more powerful than his, she immediately found that the power cycle was altering Richard's body and came from his elven bloodline to activate some sort of ability.

The legendary mage frowned; acquiring a bloodline ability was a long-drawn process that would take incremental sums of energy over years. However, Richard's body had changed for some reason and was unlocking an ability right now; this was where all of the energy was going. She immediately opened a portal in the laboratory itself and slipped away, returning through another one even as most of the mages including Ensio shivered from fright. Ignoring their shocked faces, she started setting a number of magic crystals of all colours into the formation.

Each of these crystals had a different attribute, but the mana was incredibly pure and hundreds of times stronger than the average. They had been harvested from the mana pool in her semiplane, which left even her disgruntled, but she still didn't hesitate in giving them all up. Of course, she wasn't one to give up on millions of gold so easily; she swore under her breath to make him pay up for everything.

These new crystals finally brought about a balance to the cycle of energy, stabilising Richard's absorption. Most of the energy gathered at his restoration affinity trunk and allowed it to grow, two young white leaves growing into branches of their own even as they emitted a white fog that covered the crown.

This was the second of Richard's affinities to reach the fifth grade, and the dull runes next to the flickering Schloan lit up to form another section of his truename: Ruven, meaning the Mist of Life. As the two words combined, the well of stars gradually rose up on a huge pedestal and started spewing untainted life energy from its mouth.

As the process of Schloanruven's formation drew to a close, Richard's intake of energy slowed down and the cycle was broken apart. The unabsorbed energy coagulated to form tiny astral stars, and amidst that dreamlike situation he started regaining his consciousness.

Feeling familiar auras around him, he quickly noticed the changes to his body and looked within. He had gained the ability to summon near-boundless life energy, multiplying the power of his Devout Prayer and speeding up personal recovery as well. Coupled with the hydra egg he had consumed, his survivability in battle increased greatly.

This new section of his truename wasn't awe-inspiring, but it was still quite useful. Rejoicing internally, he exhaled the last of the energy he failed to absorb and slowly opened his eyes. What greeted him were two twinkling sapphires for eyes.

Richard bolted up amidst his surprise, but that only left him crashing right into Sharon. A dull thud rang through the laboratory as the entire place shook from the weight of the collision, and those present winced as he immediately turned stiff and fell right back into the vessel. Fresh blood pooled on his forehead as though he had been hit with a hammer, and his dazed eyes showed that he was on the verge of fainting.

However, the legendary mage's own face that seemed soft enough to be blown away by the wind was completely unaffected outside of a trace of redness on the tip of her nose. The collision had been like a fly hitting an elephant; Sharon didn't even budge.

Richard grunted as he recovered from his daze, feeling like he had just crashed into a mountain. Activating the Mist of Life, he slowly wiped off the blood on his forehead. In only moments everyone saw the torn skin recovering to a faint pink scar, and even that quickly vanished. In moments, the injury seemed to have faded away.

Ensio's face twitched as he placed Richard on a list of difficult opponents. In prolonged battles, those who healed quickly were the toughest of enemies.

“Master!” Richard greeted Sharon respectfully as he recovered, the pure joy quite obvious on his face.

However, Sharon just put her chin up and snorted, “Come over when you can move.”

Without even waiting for his answer, she walked away with heavy footsteps. Those present felt like a tigress had just left the laboratory.

1003 - City of Sin

Breaking The Myth

The first thing Richard noticed about Sharon's residence was the new doors. The grand gates had been destroyed by Voidbones, and in their place was some unknown azure-bronze material that felt like stone. It was quite obvious that it was neither produced in Norland nor specifically tailored to the Deepblue, and the workmanship on the edges was quite shoddy as well. The thing had likely been something Sharon had obtained in the past now put up in a hurry as a temporary measure.

The elven puppet guarding the place was dull and lifeless, a far cry from the lifelike realism of the previous batch. Even within, the Mirror of a Thousand Forms had been destroyed and all that remained was empty floors and walls that were broken apart in all sorts of places. The entire thing was practically in ruins, with scorch marks and what looked like once-melted glass everywhere. A breeze was blowing in from the east, likely from what was originally the storage area or power source for the formation that was now just a heap of rubbish that was three people tall.

A ridiculously small number of puppets were moving through the enormous residence, cleaning up the rubble. Sharon would have to undertake this part of the restoration herself, and it was unknown just how long that would take.

As he entered the legendary mage's bedroom, he noticed that the only things intact were the long window and the crystal platform that Sharon had slept on while hibernating. Now that she was healed, she obviously wouldn't want to sleep on such a hard surface; a large mattress had been dug out from somewhere and thrown carelessly beside the window.

Sharon herself was floating in the air as she poured blue energy into the walls to mend the damage. Without the icy blue radiance from the crystal surface, he finally saw the inner walls that were a bizarre blue metal he wasn't familiar with at all. The metal seemed to soften as she controlled it, wriggling around and even recovering part of its structure slowly.

“Fill the bowl,” she instructed without even turning around, sending her enormous fruit bowl flying towards him. Richard didn't say anything and flew over to her personal warehouse, filling the bowl to its brim before carrying it back to her.

“There's a few meteor titanium ingots over there, bring them over.”

Richard ran out again, adding a few strength buffs to himself and activating Mana Armament before he could lift the metal. While each ingot looked to be the size of a regular brick, they actually weighed at least a dozen tonnes.

The entire afternoon passed in these simple odd jobs and errands, but Richard felt oddly content. He even caught himself smiling on many occasions and had to admit that it felt like he had returned to being a student instead of being expected to lead. However, he didn't believe this was all Sharon wanted him for; these ingots were immune to most magic, so it was quite inefficient to have a mage do it. Even though he was plenty strong with his buffs and runes, a saint warrior would have a much easier time.

The sentient lock of hair lay limp across Sharon's forehead, looking deeply disappointed or fatigued for some reason. However, the legendary mage ignored it and continued on with her work, only stopping once the magical clock rang that it was time for dinner. She turned around and glanced at Richard, “Alright, you can go rest.”

That was it? Richard nodded, but he couldn't help but feel something was amiss. Sharon seemed to have something to say, but she was avoiding the topic. He didn't possess the courage to ask himself, but for some reason Sharon's hair seemed to be fed up as it shot straight away and pulled on her scalp with all its might. It didn't manage to go anywhere, but she winced in pain and snorted angrily, “You're asking to die!”

However, this disruption seemed to give her a conclusion to some agonising struggle. Richard had already turned to leave, but she stopped him, “Wait right there, I'll be back.”

Although Richard hadn't interacted much with her during his education in the Deepblue, every moment he had spent in her presence had trained him to obey her every word. It wasn't something she specifically trained her students for, but few were willing to get on her nerves. Even now, that ingrained obedience hadn't faded and he froze up in place.

Sharon flew over to her warehouse and rummaged through it in search of something. Eventually finding an exquisite golden balance, she pulled out a number of weights before running out. Finding no flat table to place the balance on, she simply put it on the floor before casually taking a weight and placing it on one of the pans. She then started adding weights on the other side, muttering under her breath.

Even as a number of weights were dropped in the second tray, it still remained high up in the air. More than a dozen weights eventually failed to match up to the tiny one that had been placed first. The legendary mage was starting to get annoyed, her eyebrows rising further and further She rolled a weight around between her fingers before tossing it into the higher tray, something that would surprise those who knew her well. The reserved appearance was only a facade, and the fact that someone strong enough to crush Tiamat's horns with one hand didn't destroy the weight showed how sturdy it was as well.

More weights were thrown on the tray, but the balance refused to budge. Standing at the side, Richard recognised it as the same set that he had once seen years ago, one that she had used to make a decision regarding himself. He had no idea what it was made of then, but now he used Insight to examine it and found that there were faint lines intersecting each other atop the scales. Every new weight changed the interconnections completely.

It didn't take long for him to realise that these lines represented the power of some law. For the balance to be able to affect something like that was extraordinary, a characteristic exclusive to divine instruments, but he just couldn't tell what the actual laws affected were.

His first train of thought was to try and establish a model to analyse these laws with, but after a few attempts his brow furrowed. He couldn't find even a hint of a pattern in his vision, making it completely impossible to build a model of any sort. Even the laws of chaos itself had a basis, something that tied them together; however, he couldn't recognise any such pattern here. Even the laws atop the Resting Orchid Plane and the temple of the Sacred Tree Empire were vastly inferior.

Richard continued to try a few more times, but eventually gave up and concluded that it was an impossible task for him as he was. Instead focusing on what the legendary mage was muttering to herself, he barely caught a few words like runecrafting and something about an astral something. The weights stacked on top of the tray and filled up with no place remaining, but the other side still didn't budge.

Sharon puffed her cheeks and suddenly grabbed the last weight before grunting and throwing it down, “Tender and delicious!”

A dull thud echoed as the weight was thrown down, the heavens themselves seeming to respond as the balance slowly tilted towards the other side. The legendary mage watched on, awestruck, as the first weight finally lifted upwards.

Just the same as all those years ago. Richard felt like he had witnessed an invisible hand playing with fate, the same last straw breaking the same camel's back once more. However, he didn't have much time to muse over the drama as he suddenly shivered; Sharon had turned and fixed her gaze on him, eyes glowing bright!

In a mere moment, it felt like a catastrophe was looming as the entire planet would strike him head-on. This wasn't too much of a delusion either; Sharon had jumped straight at his face!

The legendary mage was quite average in height, standing a head shorter than himself now that he was fully grown, but the sheer might as she pinned him down felt like an entire continent falling atop him. There was no way for him to dodge. Richard felt everything go black as Sharon became the only thing he could see or even think about; he called himself invincible below the legendary realm, but he was sent to the floor without any way to resist. The term legendary was only a vague modifier to Sharon's title; a legendary being could be level 21 or level 30.

Sharon's body heated up, quickly growing so hot that it felt scalding even to an Archeron like himself. Her mana gathered and shredded their clothes apart, before disappearing into the background like the ambient energy of the void. Richard couldn't move at all under her hold, bloodline, truenames, runes all ceasing to function. He couldn't even utilise his bodily strength, not because it had been sealed but because of instinctive fear. Eventually he managed to gather some mana, but there was no use at all as the delicate hand holding him down seemed heavier than the Deepblue tower itself.

Even Tiamat herself could only submit to Sharon's torture; Richard was nowhere near as strong. Giving in to her whims was his only option.

1004 - City of Sin

Breaking The Myth(2)

Once Richard gave up on his struggles, Sharon adjusted her posture slightly and adjusted him before sliding down, her mouth opening up in a moan. Richard himself grunted like a beast, entire face going red as he tried to thrust as deep as he could, but pinned down as he was his attempts were all in vain.

The experience was an odd mix of pleasure and pain. Richard didn't have much of a problem with her taking the lead, but she started so slow that he constantly felt the urge to push faster himself. However, all he could do was watch as blue patterns lit up on her body and illuminated the entire room; his blood was pumping, but it was to no avail.

It didn't take long for Sharon to give in to her instincts, speeding up until she was bouncing atop him at a breakneck pace. It felt like he was being crushed every time, but somehow she took care not to break him; if not for that, even lafite muscles would have been torn apart. The only problem was that his own urges didn't subside, instead growing more powerful and torturous. It was like he was looking at the best dish in the world but couldn't eat it himself.

Richard gritted his teeth, actively calling upon the ursa essence within him to attempt a response. The ursa warlord was a being who could reach the legendary realm, while its penis essence had been tested by countless noble ladies. It was known to be able to calm even dinosaurs down.

It was a pity that dinosaurs were reptiles of the earth, creatures that couldn't even fly. Most common ones were smaller than a black dragon's leg, but the legendary mage could destroy any number of black dragons without a second thought. Richard's counter was so insignificant Sharon didn't even seem to feel it, still immersed in her own world as she headed towards orgasm. If anything, the attempt backfired; he felt his body going limp as he lost control and climaxed violently.

While he could normally go a few times, Richard felt immeasurably hollow the moment he was done. He wanted nothing but to go sleep right away, but Sharon wasn't done. He yelped as she continued moving, feeling like he would die, but without the strength to even move he could only let her do as she pleased. The ursa essence that he had tried to use now worked against himself.

Time seemed to pass ever so slowly as he was drained dry.

...

By the time Sharon let out a strange moan that was almost a giggle, Richard couldn't een recall how many times he had lost himself. His minds had whited out on many occasions, the mythical power of the ursa essence being trampled upon completely. Of course, anything could be considered mythical depending on perspective. Sharon was someone who shattered many so-called myths casually, this one was no different.

Richard could barely even gasp as the pain and pleasure came to a halt, the very air stinging his member as Sharon went limp and laid down on his chest. Tilting his head to look at the exquisite face that was almost asleep, his heart stirred. Summoning the strength to wiggle his fingers and then his hand, he started tidying her hair. Moaning in pleasure, the legendary mage found a comfortable spot and started snoring softly.

He raised his head and planted a kiss on her nose before moving downwards and kissing her gently on the lips. Sharon responded at first, but it didn't take long for her to grow annoyed and pin his head down with a hand before going back to sleep. Richard laughed helplessly, an indescribable sense of warmth filling his heart.

Still wincing with pain every time the snoring Sharon so much as brushed across his privates, he stayed up thinking for a few more minutes. Some part of his mind screamed the fact that her last sleep had lasted more than a year, something that caused him some concern. While she didn't have any need for food, he still did. Although he was resilient, he would die in a mere three months even with the well of stars and Mist of Life powering him.

However, that concern didn't really last wrong. Richard just brushed the thought aside and smiled before hugging Sharon tight and falling asleep.

...

Thankfully, Sharon only slept for half an hour before waking up, groggily floating into the air and yawning loudly. A snap caused two elven puppets to scurry in with her clothes, and as she wore them she looked towards Richard, “Get him some as well.”

These newly-built puppets weren't nearly as bright as the older ones. They looked dumbly at each other for a moment before one spoke up, “Your Excellency, the warehouse has no clothes for men. Should I bring him a dress?”

“What? No! Just fetch some mage robes!”

“Who from, Your Excellency? Could I have their name, location, any characteristics—”

“No! Just go out and strip the first young male you see!”

While he was still in the midst of waking up himself, Richard was startled by the brutishness of the command, “No, wait!”

“What?” Sharon looked at him curiously.

He smiled, “Can't you just send me to my residence?”

“Oh!” the legendary mage palmed her forehead, flattening her restless hair, “How could I forget?!”

She immediately drew the outline of a portal in the air, throwing Richard through. As he was spit out of the other end, he barely turned around in time to see her send a flying kiss behind him.

Back in her room, Sharon immediately flew out and landed so hard that the tower shook once more. Heading out of her residence, she grabbed the first mage she saw and told him to assemble all the grand mages in the conference room.

The youth had never even come close to Sharon before, and her mere presence caused his head to spin. However, as she sashayed away, he immediately grew delighted and thought a wonderful fate had befallen him. It was said that Sharon had ravaged Richard when the Archeron was only level 10, and he was already level 12 right now. Was she interested in him?

Only once she was a good distance away did the mage wake up from his fantasies, yelling out, “Your Excellency, what is the meeting about?”

“Stuff in Norland!” Sharon replied instinctively, still lost in her own world.

Sharon's aloofness caused a tiny crack in the youth's holy image of her, but he just shook his head and forced his mind to dumbly ignore it as he replaced the thought with an image of her sparkling beauty. The legendary mage was beautiful and strong, anything else was a bonus.

The dumbed youth ran like the wind, heading to the residences of every grand mage to pass the word. The professors were all confused by the message; the Deepblue wasn't even fixed yet, but she wanted to make a decision about Norland? Had she gained a massive amount of power that could even topple Faust?

However, the more one thought of such a thing, the more they realised it was impossible. The legendary mage was lazy and miserly; she never had any great ambition like ruling an empire. Seething with curiosity, many of the grand mages put down everything and rushed to the meeting room.

It was a testament to everyone's eagerness that Blackgold was the last to reach. Unable to fly about for now, the grey dwarf had been forced to drag his injured body to the place on foot. However, his eyes went wide as he opened the doors to the meeting room, mouth almost falling wide open.

Sharon was on her throne, head pointed towards the ceiling with her face switching through a variety of expressions and the occasional giggle. All of the other grand mages were sitting in their places with solemn expressions, but the strange gazes proved that they were worried as well.

The grey dwarf found his seat quietly and leaned towards the mage next to him, whispering, “What is Her Excellency doing?”

“She's been like this ever since we saw her,” the man responded.

“Oh, everyone's here!” Sharon seemed to regain her senses, “I feel so embarrassed, but hehe... I can't contain myself! Haha! Hahahaha!”

The legendary mage used to cover her mouth when she laughed before, but now she was cackling uncontrollably almost like she'd gone mad. She even stood up and posed for no reason, testing the acting skills of every single one of the grand mages.

For their part, the mages did quite well to make it seem like they really were listening to her talking about her plans. However, news travelled quickly and before nightfall word of Sharon's strange behaviour had spread throughout the Deepblue. A few of the astute ones quickly made the connection between her laughing and Richard's earlier visit, although most people would have figured it out in time. Throughout the night, many people discussed this confidential topic with excitement.

Except for a single level 12 mage, who wept uncontrollably at his delusion proving false.

1005 - City of Sin

Pet To Lover

Back in his own residence, Richard dragged his tired body forward as he slowly got to his feet. However, the moment he stood up his legs buckled and he almost fell over. Even with Blackgold incorporating two other residences nearby from the moment he took charge of the Deepblue, he still felt like this place was familiar as ever even if he didn't sleep here at all. The now-enormous building had him feeling nostalgic for a moment.

He suddenly flinched as he felt robes being draped around him, almost freezing up for a moment before he sensed that it was Waterflower who had silently gotten close. This normally wasn't a problem since he would know from their soul link, but tired as he was he hadn't been paying attention.

But where was Nasia? His face reddened as he turned around, finding the paladin standing there soundlessly as though she had no aura. However, she didn't seem to notice him at all, busy studying the closing portal he had just come through.

Now a little curious, he staggered over and asked, “What are you looking at?”

“Verifying a judgment.”

“What judgement?”

“Your master used an unstable portal just now.”

“Unstable?” Richard's voice trembled, the apocalyptic scene of Sharon's battle springing to mind.

“Yes, it's almost the same as the battle. If she loses control in the slightest, it'll explode. Now this one won't affect the Deepblue too much, but it'll still be quite powerful.”

Although he had full confidence in his master, Richard couldn't help but grow a little worried over being so close to death. However, he brushed it off and started to put on some inner garments aside from the mage robes.

“What will we be doing now?” Nasia asked him, “How long are you planning to stay in the Deepblue?”

A trace of hesitation on his face was quickly replaced by resolve, “They're fixing the portal right now. We rest here tonight, and we can be back in Faust tomorrow.”

“And afterwards?”

“Sigh... What else? Planar war, runecrafting, regular war, expanding my territory, getting stronger... there's quite a bit to do.”

The fight between Apeiron and Sharon had been the biggest one he had ever witnessed, and it showcased just how dangerous two legendary beings fighting was for any plane. The sight of their powers destroying the very plane had been burnt into his mind, and was a constant reminder of how far he was from his own goals.

“More lofty ambition,” Nasia pondered aloud, “Why? Are you willing to let go of your master so easily?”

Richard looked up, seemingly staring past the many boundaries to find Sharon herself as he smiled, “What else can I do? I don't want to be her pet forever.” Google search ƒ𝑟𝑒𝙚𝚠e𝗯𝘯𝗼𝘃𝑒𝚕. c𝒐𝒎

“Now you're a lover, not a pet,” Nasia corrected. Surprisingly, she had heard the rumours floating around the tower.

“Is there a difference?” he smiled bitterly.

“Hmm... Yes! Right now, you just have to serve her properly and you can sponge off her for the rest of your life.”

Richard's eye twitched as he felt an impulse to throw her out.

......

News of the battle at Floe Bay shook all of Norland, various versions of the story spreading through the continent like wildfire that collectively gave a complete picture of the events. The apocalyptic battle had announced the epic-level might of both Empress Apeiron and Sharon herself.

The delegations from both empires were recalled from Faust, the issue of borders dropped for now. Julian had already found a small section of a mountain as compensation for Marquess Miranes's death, but nobody complained. Still, the issue would be brought up again in the future; the great battle had proved Apeiron's capabilities, but it also showed an enormous rift between the Empress and the Guardian of the Sacred Alliance that could be exploited.

Both other human empires were now waiting to observe how the Sacred Alliance would defend both of its fortresses in the Land of Dusk. Although Apeiron was powerful, they did not believe she was as strong as Philip himself. Her behaviour had been odd and alienating as well; even doing nothing to govern was better than fighting one's own guardian.

As an aside, Sharon's deadly use of unstable portals and space rifts in battle had spread throughout the magic community. Many mages rushed to the scene to find the remaining traces of her magic, using the accounts of the eye-witnesses to figure out the simple principle behind the attack. One just had to form a portal between two planes and then collapse it from within, slowly moulding it into something that could be thrown that would explode when it lost its stability. A storm of energy would build up into an unimaginable explosion. Even most average mages could at least understand the principles behind this 'spell'.

Many started claiming that this would elevate mages even further in society. When this attack became standard just like Time Stop or Death's Decree, even if only legendary mages could use it the mere existence would inspire awe.

Curiosity was one of the defining factors of a mage. There were many unwilling to fight, but none were unwilling to experiment. A number of the mages of Norland tried to grasp the theory behind the spatial explosion, causing small bursts of all magnitudes across the entire continent. Every single one was an extraordinary failure, the worst flattening almost half a city. Each explosion also entailed the death of at least the mage attempting the magic.

In the very first day, 110 mages died all over the continent, including a legend and 35 grand mages. Their only common attribute was an affinity for spatial magic. This shocked the rest, giving them cause for caution and compelling them to examine the mistakes closely. They found that every attempt had failed the moment one loosened their control over the portal, forget collapsing it from within or moulding the energy.

Planar teleportation was the jewel of spatial magic's crown. Control was the most important part of it all— even the slightest of instability could harbour terrifying consequences. This was why every spatial mage was careful when building their portals, taking extra precautions to make sure both ends were in stable environments. Sharon's attack overturned centuries of convention.

While the bloody results caused casual spatial mages to reevaluate the dangers, the spell was still undeniably attractive. Some continued to reexamine the theory closely, while others sent representatives to the Deepblue to try and figure out Sharon's secret. Of course, the latter group had little hope; why would she reveal the basis of such a unique and powerful spell?

There wasn't even much one could give her. Everyone knew that Sharon was a dragonslayer who travelled the void with ease, stacking up on all sorts of bizarre and exquisite items during her travels. Most people on the continent regularly waited for her auctions to find new and powerful items; they didn't have anything worth such a powerful spell that she would want.

While Sharon grew even more famous amongst the mages of the continent, Empress Apeiron had her own gains as well. Having detoured around the north for a few days before returning, she found herself walking into a palace that treated her with a lot more reverence than the original fear.

As for Julian, he was huddled up all the way in a sleep-like state that helped suppress his frightening injuries. Lifesbane was known to be malevolent, but Richard's was much worse than one could ever expect. He had felt his wounds deteriorating day by day and had no choice but to enter this semi-hibernation to sustain his life.

Of course, Apeiron herself didn't appear worried about his condition, and didn't even have any plans to help. The Empress only knew to kill, not heal.

1006 - City of Sin

The Empress Takes Charge

The first thing Apeiron did after returning to Faust was to throw Julian right into the palace's cold storage room which had several hundred tonnes of dragon meat. He awakened from his sleep the moment he smelled the flesh, grabbing a large foreleg the size of a table and chewing into it ravenously.

“Your Majesty, should I get a chef to cook this?” an aide asked timidly.

“No need,” Apeiron shook her head, “He's fine as long as he has any meat at all. Let him eat as much as he wants; he'll come out on his own.”

“Of course, Your Majesty!” the aide bowed.

Apeiron then headed towards her bedroom with the man in tow, “Did you prepare my chambers?”

“Everything was prepared as per your instructions. The list of every member of the family is complete as well.”

Apeiron slowed down for a moment, her voice turning cold, “There aren't any fakes or omissions?”

The man immediately started sweating, “This servant has gone to great lengths to ensure that there aren't any mistakes.”

“Great lengths, huh...”

In only a few moments, the man seemed to get drenched. However, he still answered resolutely, “Yes, Your Majesty.”

The Empress let out a soft breath, “You've done well. Prepare another list later, containing everyone who gave you difficulties.”

“Your Majesty...” the man immediately turned pale, “If... If this servant were to do that, I'm afraid my family would be ruined!”

Apeiron sneered, “What, you're afraid I won't be on my throne much longer?”

“Of course not!” he cried out.

“Don't worry,” her voice grew sinister once more, “When I eventually leave the throne, I'll make sure to kill everyone who's pissed me off before I leave.”

Hearing this, even the sweat was frightened out of the aide. He barely held himself together and shouted, “This servant understands, you will have the list before dinner! It will certainly be objective and without—”

“Good!” Apeiron immediately headed towards her chambers, two tall warriors going down on one knee as they opened the exquisite doors. The rooms themselves were part of an independent space that was linked to from many of the hallways that were still around, portraits of the previous emperors hung everywhere alongside other important figures of the royal family. Art was everywhere but was overshadowed by specimens of strange beasts as well as equipment. As an empire that was built around the military might of one leader, the Sacred Alliance revered power more than anything else. There were even many legendary items that could be picked up immediately en route to an urgent battle.

With this being the same aide that had once served Philip, still not returned to his new fief, he had made sure to follow Apeiron's orders and remove everything that could even remotely link to Philip's former existence. The Empress didn't really care for luxury, but the one thing she couldn't stand was any reminder of the past.

She already carried around enough anyway.

As Apeiron smiled and nodded at the new decor, the aide waved a servant girl over who appeared in a flash. A short while later, hurried footsteps echoed in the chambers as a peculiar group of people entered the lobby. Tall, short, fat, skinny... the only commonality was that none of them were of average build and they were all covered in extremely fancy clothes and so much make-up that it threatened to drip down their bodies. A mixture of black, purple, green, and red, their faces would likely scare a timid person to death at night.

“These are?” she knitted her brows. She had immediately noticed that none of them were particularly skilled with martial arts, or she would have killed a few of them for fun.

“They are the royal tailors, Your Majesty,” the aide replied at once, “They are here to prepare the clothes for your ascension ceremony.”
𝘧𝑟𝙚eｗ𝑒𝒃n𝒐𝘷𝑒𝚕. c૦𝙢

“Send them away!” Apeiron barked, but just as quickly as she'd said that she suddenly stopped and gave it some thought, “Hmm... Actually, show me their designs.”

“Y-Yes, Your Majesty!” a fat and weak old man said as he was pushed out by the rest, trying his hardest to maintain his calm while he handed over a book of designs with trembling hands.

There were a number of designs within that the tailors had come up with in the past few days. The first few pages were more traditional designs that Apeiron didn't like in the slightest, but she quickly came upon those that were tailored more towards her character. Amongst these were more androgynous and even masculine robes, alongside some dated and even simple sketches. These pleased her a little more, and finding one that particularly drew her attention she threw the book back, “That one.”

“O-Of course, Your Majesty!” The tailors almost ran as they fled the room, as though they had just been pardoned for a crime. The Empress waved the aide and servant girl away before walking into her bedroom, standing in front of a full-sized mirror and slowly taking off her clothes.

Every article of clothing removed only revealed more of her sculpted figure, skin glimmering in the dim magical light illuminating the room. There were few traces of her brute strength showing from behind her soft skin, but her body still seemed to be radiating sheer power that few could match.

It was only when she lifted her left arm that the first blemish showed itself: a cut about ten centimetres right under her left armpit. The wound was so deep that one could see the rib below it, but it had already dried up completely; this wasn't recent. Apeiron touched it gently, her brow furrowing; this wasn't just a scar on her body, but also a deep wound in her heart.

This injury came from thirty years ago and was a major reason behind her loss to Philip. It had never completely healed in all this time, but only because she didn't even try. This was a memento, a reminder of Faust; having been exiled into the Outlands for an unknown period of time, she had been afraid that losing it would destroy her last connection to her past. It was a painful reminder, but a reminder nevertheless.

......

Time slowly ticked away as dawn turned to dusk and then to the dark of night. When a good half of Faust had entered their dreams, a gentle knock resounded in Apeiron's bedroom.

“Come in,” the Empress said softly from near her window, “You've recovered?”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” Julian said as he opened the door, now dressed in a fresh set of robes with a strange lively charm about him, “The injuries were never threatening, I only needed three tonnes of meat.”

“Good!” she nodded, “Now think of something to cheer me up.”

Julian was taken aback, but he bowed, “As you wish.”

The Empress then tapped on the window and asked, “Is there anything I've forgotten to do this.”

“The late Emperor's concubines and children are all gathered on the island,” Julian said immediately, “They have been waiting for you to meet them for a few days.”

“Ugh... Tch, let's go then. Is there anything else I should be doing?”

“Three matters require your personal attention. The first is Emperor Philip's funeral, the second is your ascension ceremony, and the third is making arrangements for the Land of Dusk.”

Apeiron's eyebrows locked together, “Why do I have to handle so many things? Philip's already lost in the currents of time, I'm not setting up a funeral for him! The ascension ceremony too, just make it a simple announcement. It should wrap up in half an hour. The Land of Dusk is the only thing that actually matters... Tch, if only we could use offerings.”

“Your Majesty, Emperor Philip's funeral is extremely important. It's an opportunity for the nobles to pledge their allegiance to the royal family once more...” Julian spent a long time persuading Apeiron before she begrudgingly agreed. She would much rather go kill a few Daxdians and was already starting to miss the constant excitement of the Outlands, but she would suppress herself for a little while longer.

...

A depressingly low bell resounded through the royal palace at three in the morning, sending every single occupant into a frenzy. However, even the most menial of servants here was trained extremely well; after only a few moments, the chaos subsided and everyone assumed their positions. This specific bell was an alarm, and alarms in the palace meant the situation was beyond saving. They would have to give it their all.

However, the entire thing was rather strange as groups of guards walked through the confusion to head to some of the other sections of the palace and pull some noblewomen out. They were all quickly gathered and brought to a single hall, wherein they found another dozen princes and princesses having been assembled as well.

At the end of the hall was a tall platform with a high-backed steel throne upon it, occupied by Apeiron. Just as the group started panicking for fear of their lives, the Empress spoke up, “You're all Philip's wives and children, but he's already dead. Outside of the Empress Consort, every one of his wives should leave this island at once. Go back to wherever you came from!”

Julian bent down from her side, “Your Majesty, the Emperor had no consort.”

“No consort?” Apeiron's face lit up as she fell into thought, recovering only a few moments later, “Then all of you should scram! You better be out of here before noon!”

1007 - City of Sin

Funeral

The order caused a huge uproar amongst the noblewomen. The Empress wasn't doing something particularly wrong— even the royal island had limited space and a dead emperor's surviving concubines did normally end up making way for the next one's harem— but she was acting far too quickly without giving them any time to prepare. They were basically being thrown out of the palace before Philip's funeral could even be held; this basically stripped them of the right to attend the event.

Nearly ten of the concubines from the various noble families of Faust, with the Archerons being the only sixth-level family that didn't have one in the royal household. Confident in their backing, these women immediately denounced Apeiron for violating their rights.

The Empress remained indifferent upon her high throne, listening to them chatter for a full minute before saying lazily, “Julian.” Google search 𝙛𝘳𝘦𝐞𝑤ℯ𝗯n𝗼ѵe𝑙. c૦𝑚

“Your Majesty,” Julian grinned with understanding.

She pointed at one of the prettiest women who was also shouting the loudest, “Strip her and throw her outside.”

“As you wish!” he bowed low, immediately flashing away.

“Wait! Don't dirty your hands, just get a few guards to do it.”

Julian immediately returned and picked out six brutish guards before turning to the now-pale woman, “Make sure she doesn't have a single piece of clothing left.”

“No!” the concubine shrieked, “I'm Duke Wellinburg's niece, you cannot treat me like this! My uncle will kill anyone who dares touch me!”

The royal guards hesitated, but two of them continued towards her. The other four remained apprehensive until they caught Julian's cold gaze, one of them reacting quickly enough to jump towards the lady. He barely made it a few steps forward before he heard a few popping sounds behind him, the thick stench of blood assaulting his nose. The remaining three fell to the ground as Julian stuffed their still-beating hearts into his mouth in one go, a trickle of blood dripping down his chin that was cleaned up with a lick.

The hall fell into absolute silence, the concubine standing in shock until the guards finally touched her. She started shrieking and tried to struggle, but as someone without much physical power she couldn't stop them from tearing off her clothes in a few moments. Her naked body was lifted up and hauled out of the hall, screams quickly turning into sobs along the way.

Julian summoned a few more guards to clear the corpses and clean the blood. While the rest of the hall trembled, he was perhaps the only one who understood the truth of the matter. It was incredibly kind for her standards to not eliminate everyone speaking against her with one blow; she was restraining herself.

She waved the harem to the side before focusing on the royal children, her gaze now softer but still stern. She scanned across them all before asking, “Why is there someone missing?”

“Princess Reyna departed a few days ago, Your Majesty. We are unable to find her.”

“Alright, one missing is fine,” she said as she glanced across them all. Even Nyris, the strongest and most talented of the lot, froze up under her gaze like he had fallen into a cave of ice. It felt like she could see through all of his deepest secrets, his teeth chattering as he gritted them which only stopped once he slackened his jaw. It was only when she looked to someone else that he regained control of his body.

The Empress pointed out Nyris, Neil, and Ryan, “You three, think of how you can contribute to the royal family and let Julian know. If it's enough, your mothers can stay. As for the others...”

She looked at the remaining children, “Your bloodlines are trash, but if you can do well you'll be allowed to stay. You have one week to convince Julian that you're worth keeping, or you can fuck off to your mothers' families. All your territory and planes under the royal family will be confiscated.”

All of the royal children paled at her words. Philip had specifically prepared a plane for each one of them to train themselves in, and it was acknowledged even if not explicitly stated that these planes would eventually become private property if maintained well. Every single one was worth a fortune, but they were being confiscated with a single command.

Neil and Nyris were the only ones who remained unaffected. They had already started expanding into their own private planes, so the ones from the royal family didn't affect them much.

Almost every one of the royal children was backed by some of the remaining families in Faust. Apeiron's move would offend nearly every island-level family, something that even Philip himself wouldn't do wantonly, but she didn't care at all. Outside of the new Archerons and Anans, she had already established an enmity with them thirty years ago.

While everyone was still digesting the change in the situation, the Empress idly ordered, “I haven't been feeling too good recently. At least we're getting more space around here, go find me some toys to play with.”

These words shocked everyone present. Philip's funeral hadn't even been completed while Apeiron herself wasn't coronated yet, but she was already looking for lovers. She was an Empress! Tradition held that she would have one husband titled Emperor Consort, the rest should have been hidden from the public eye.

Of course, Julian himself was never one to care about tradition, “What should I look for in them, Your Majesty?”

She waved her hands in annoyance, “Don't care. Boy, girl, human, elf, whatever... just get me something to entertain myself with.”

“Hmm... The first batch will take three days, is that alright?”

“What? That's so long... Forget it, I can do something else. We'll have Philip's funeral in the meanwhile.”

......

Julian was an extremely efficient worker. Invitations for Philip's funeral had been sent out to the various families of Faust before the first light of dawn, sending the entire city into a flurry. The funeral was to be held the very next day, at ten in the morning! There was simply no time for a grand event commensurate to Philip's glory; there was barely enough time for them to prepare a proper eulogy.

However, this time there wasn't any resistance. With Apeiron on the throne, nobody would be surprised by such crazy things. Besides, she hadn't actually done much bad outside of fighting Sharon, even resolving the problems from the other two empires. Losing territory was one thing, but the only royal runemaster with enough talent to become a saint runemaster was a strategic asset that couldn't be overrated. Just his Mana Armaments had greatly improved the survivability of every legendary mage; the differences would only grow more obvious with time.

Time seemed to fly by, and the next morning everyone important was gathered at the memorial hall of the royal palace. The place wasn't big, so only three to four members of each family could attend. Outside of Alice, Richard surprised everyone by bringing his step-siblings Demi and Wennington. The latter had lost his youth and developed into a tall, buff youth who was already level 15, while the former had honed her powers through large battles and reached a frightening level 17. She was even suppressing her advancement just like Richard had himself.

The Empress was dressed in a brand new set of ceremonial clothes that was almost reminiscent of an army's general, black form-fitting fabric making up the base with a tall collar and knee-high boots that emphasized her lean figure. The uniform itself was androgynous, even leaning towards masculine, with her murderous aura accenting her dangerous beauty. The outfit had two rows of buttons and cufflinks, the neck holding a dark gold emblem of an ancient titan. The only frilly part of it all was a sky-blue rose stuck in the chest pocket, something that added to her charm.

Portraits of the previous emperors were hung on the royal altar in front of her, and after the ceremony Philip would join them. However, this portrait didn't depict the enormous man everyone knew but an unshaven youth who looked more like a humble commoner. The older people present recognised the image of Philip from thirty years ago.

As the bell tolled and the ceremony officially commenced, the Empress walked to the front of the altar and remained silent for a while before speaking loudly, “Here lies a man who would never give his enemies peace. With his death, they can enjoy a good night's sleep.”

That seemed to be the entirety of her eulogy. Apeiron personally took Philip's portrait and quietly placed it in its position alongside the rest, staring at it for a few minutes before turning around, “The funeral's done.”

1008 - City of Sin

Magic Soul

Emperor Philip's funeral turned out to be far simpler than most expected or wanted, but it wasn't any less memorable for it. Richard only understood once he left the palace that Empress Apeiron didn't think even Duke Orleans qualified to deliver a eulogy for someone as powerful as the man; it was a sentiment he couldn't help but agree with.

However, he was also certain that these actions would be another point used to disseminate rumours about how preposterous the new ruler was. Nobles were often forgetful; with the pressure of the two other empires gone, they had already forgotten what Apeiron's tyranny had just saved them from.

As he approached the teleportation gates leading back to the temple, he noticed Nyris hurrying towards him while trying his best to seem casual. The Fourth Prince lowered his voice as they crossed each other, “I'm coming to visit you tonight.”

Having said that, he continued on his way. Richard himself didn't bat an eyelid, acting as though he had heard nothing and continuing towards the portal. However, just as Nyris was about to enter another hall of the palace, a familiar figure suddenly appeared in front of him that caused Richard to frown: Earl Kimbaye.

It was strange for the envoy of the Millennial Empire to even be present still, but from the looks of things he also had quite some freedom around the palace. He stopped Nyris and said something with a smile, causing the prince to hesitate for a bit before nodding begrudgingly. Kimbaye immediately bowed with an even wider smile, turning around to leave. Seeing Richard looking at them, he waved from afar.

When he returned to the Archeron island, Richard felt a lingering sense of anxiety; Nyris's words had a sense of foreboding to them, and the cautious nature of his approach and angry tone said a lot.

A number of thoughts swirled around in his head leaving him unable to relax, but eventually he forced it all down. Any doubts would be answered when Nyris arrived. He chose not to think about it any longer, instead making his way to the basement to pick up some rune sets to finish.

Rosie's skill at runecrafting continued to grow steadily, long surpassing even his own wildest expectations from her potential. It was apparent that talent wasn't a hard limit to one's capabilities; one could improve far beyond where they should through force of will and determination. At this point, only the two most important steps to both Savage Strike and Savage Barrier had to be completed by him personally; even though one didn't require much mana for these, the precision he employed in their design was something Rosie couldn't accomplish yet.

There was also an incomplete new rune in the storage area as well, an attempt to craft the Crimson Inferno rune that was infamously difficult to complete just like Lifesbane. As a grade 4 rune that required one to be on the verge of becoming a saint runemaster to craft, it also needed its crafter to have legendary magic and a great pyromancer's level of fire control. The rune itself had a simple use: it greatly magnified the power of any fire-related spells or abilities. With such difficulty to create and the small niche it served alongside the enormous cost, the blueprint was almost freely available in the open market.

When Richard had first obtained the design for this rune, he had studied it intensively and discovered some issues with it. The designer was undoubtedly a genius in terms of his conceptual ability, but he clearly didn't have the ability to craft this himself. Thankfully, his truename granted him a grand pyromancer's control over fire via the abyssal flames, so he could make the necessary changes to get it to work. After some miscellaneous changes and corrections, he had pushed down the crafting requirements to level 20. He himself, with his other advantages, could now craft it at level 19.

Ever since he absorbed the blue moon, Richard had already fulfilled the requirements to use this altered Crimson Inferno rune. It would greatly increase his capabilities in battle, so he had gotten around to crafting it immediately. However, after a few days of work that almost brought him to completion, he had been distracted by the other events occurring in Faust. Losing inspiration and not wanting to jeopardise the process, he had stowed the rune away and planned to continue when he was calmer.

However, there were currently two figures in the magic storage area that should have been empty, one male and one female. The pair had entered stealthily without triggering any alarms, but from the way they were moving it didn't look like they were here to steal anything. In fact, they embraced each other the moment they came in, lips locked together in fiery passion. The man quickly started exploring the woman's body with his hands, and despite some initial resistance she was quickly moaning in approval.

The dim magical light in the building showcased just how handsome the man was, his beautiful eyes so stunning that they seemed to smile on their own. The young lady was extremely attractive as well, her breasts so massive that they seemingly wanted to force the two apart. The man's hands dug beneath her dress, but they couldn't even grasp the full area.

The woman suddenly moaned loudly, an almost fire-like heat emitting throughout her body and causing the lighting around them to brighten up. The two immediately went into shock, the man exclaiming in fright, “Is there someone else here?”

The lady shook her head, “Impossible. Don't worry, nobody enters this place; I already prepared a barrier for the alarm, and the servants are barred from entering. Richard is entering the Emperor's funeral as well, he can't be here.”

The handsome young man finally calmed down, his eyes almost dazed from the magical light all around him. His voice suddenly grew a little hoarse, “Are all these runes?”

She shook her head, “I have no idea, there might be materials and the like as well. Some of them definitely are runes, though.”

“Ooh... I've never seen a completed rune before, can we open one up to have a look?”

“No! Richard will be mad if he finds out.”

“So what? You're his younger sister, he won't punish you. Besides, we're just having a look; it's not like they'll break or something.”

These words caused the lady to relax, but a moment later the youth grunted softly, “What's that?”

She looked in the direction he was pointing at and saw an exquisite shelf at the corner of the storage area, a single magic sealing case sitting atop it. This case was delicate and refined with a number of spell formations inscribed on it, with a gold-plated, hand-carved signature on the side. One could make out at first glance that this was from a master craftsman. However, a faint red aura was emanating from within it, a beam of light shining all the way towards the ceiling that constantly cycled between red and blue.

How was a premium magic sealing case leaking energy? The young lady was startled, but as the beam of light started to absorb the ambient mana it started to pulse thick and thin, almost as though it was breathing. A moment later, one could even hear a faint heartbeat.

“Magic soul!” the young lady cried out instantly, being reasonably well-versed in her magic studies. The youth's expression warped as well; he recognised the term. A magic soul wasn't a soul in the traditional sense, but it wasn't much different from an actual soul. The circumstances around one's birth were vaguely understood at best, and it was mostly left up to luck. However, a magic soul contained intellect that would turn a regular artefact into a true divine tool. This soul was also the basis of crafting grade 5 runes.

While there were runes like Lifesbane that could compare to grade 4 runes while still at grade 3, the same did not hold true for the difference between grade 4 and 5. While Crimson Inferno was extremely powerful, there still wasn't a single grade 5 rune that was objectively worse than it. Every magic soul was extremely valuable, worth at least a greater offering; even a newborn could be sold for at least five million gold once it was stripped from its source. There were many talented youths who would never earn that much in their lives.

The magic soul's radiance shone down on the young man and woman, outlining their captivated expressions.

“Is that a rune in that case?” the man asked hoarsely.

“I... I think so,” the woman responded.

“Let's open it and find out, just a peek!” he whispered into her ear as he hugged her.

“Absolutely not! If Richard finds out...”

“I just want to know what a legendary divine rune looks like. Just a peek! Don't you love me? Don't you trust me?” the man asked, his tone dripping with accusation.

1009 - City of Sin

Path To Sainthood

The woman felt her heart shiver for a moment from the accusation, and despite her hesitations she begrudgingly nodded, “Just one peek!”

The two of them approached the magic sealing case, the young lady picking it up with trembling hands. Although the case was covered in complicated spell formations, their main purpose was to keep the energy of the contents from dispersing; opening and closing the case could be accomplished by any Archeron with a sufficiently pure bloodline.

Blue and red light burst out from within the case the moment it was opened, a cloud of energy surrounding it that was breathtakingly beautiful. Inside was a thin golden wafer of sorts with a veined pattern engraved upon it, light flickering along the lines as though full of life. This was the newborn magic soul.

This was a rune with a soul!

The woman was still admiring the beauty in a daze when the youth suddenly put his hand into the box, grabbing the soul within.

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!” she cried out; it was common sense that newborn magic souls should never be touched.

Greed flashed through the man's eyes, but he still maintained a blank expression, “I just wanted to touch it... Why? Hey, where did the magic soul go?”

She stomped hard, crying out, “You can't touch a newborn soul! It hadn't fused with the rune yet, it entered your body!”

“What?” the youth seemed to be shocked, “Will I die?!”

“No! Goddammit, it will only enhance your talent. But...”

The youth sighed, “That's alright then, what are you so angry about?”

“It doesn't belong to you!”

“What do you mean? We're the ones that saw it first! Such a spiritual entity will only accept someone who is virtuous, right? Besides, I didn't mean to do it, what can I do now?”

The young lady looked at him blankly, the anger slowly fading from her face. After a moment, she sighed, “Whatever, I don't know. Let's think of a way to hide it from Richard fi—”

“What are you two doing here?” Richard's voice suddenly boomed through the room, “Who allowed you to come in? And who's this?”

The pair immediately spun around, seeing Richard stood at the entrance dressed in common robes. The young man's eyes glinted with a hint of killing intent as he saw Richard without a weapon, but knowing that it wouldn't make a difference he quickly put on an expression of confusion and grabbed the lady's hand.

The young lady's heart stirred as she took a step forward, forcing herself to speak, “Brother...”

“Venica... What's the meaning of this?”

The young lady was the younger sister of both Richard and Demi, a flame guardian like Wennington but not nearly as powerful; she was only level 12. Even though she was unlike Richard who had spent a long time in planar war, Venica was still seventeen; getting to level 12 wasn't too shabby, but compared to her sister who was only a year older and almost a saint, there was an enormous disparity.

In fact, Venica had actually been the most talented of his siblings at one point. However, she was also the laziest of the lot, her current abilities a far cry from where she could have been. He only expected her to become a saint at best in her life, and that too purely because she would want the extended youth. This was someone without the work ethic to actually make something of herself.

He thus left her alone, treating her just like their other siblings who were inconsequential. As such, she was explicitly denied the right to enter sensitive parts of the castle like this. However, not only had she flouted these rules, but she had also shown the gall to bring an unknown young man in without permission.

Richard made it a point to store his completed runes separately from this storage area, which meant this place only had half-complete items that were useless to anyone who wasn't him. While losing these half-complete runes would be a huge loss for himself, there was actually no incentive for a thief to come in here. This was why he didn't add too many barriers to entry; it would just be an annoyance. Besides, only Archerons could open up this place anyway. He hadn't expected a situation like this to arise at all.

Hearing his question, Venica turned white as a sheet, “We... We came in here by accident. This case... we just opened it before you came in! We were just curious!”

“We, huh. And who is this man?” Richard looked at the youth.

“He's Lucian, a bard. He's also my... my...” Faced with her brother's fierce stare, Venica's voice petered out mid-sentence. Because of Archeron tradition, saying Lucian was her lover would only get him killed all the faster. Seeing the anger bubbling in Richard's eyes, she understood that the bard would be killed immediately if he wasn't pacified.

“Lucian...” Richard muttered to himself, his death-glare surprisingly fading away as he asked calmly, “Is he an Archeron?”

“N-No...” Venica only felt her heart freeze up at this change, knowing that a cold Richard was much more frightening than a hot one, “I-it isn't...”

“Do you know what's inside that case?”

At this point, the young lady's teeth were chattering as she forced out, “An incomplete... rune.”

Lucian's expression finally warped as he realised just how trivial Venica was in Richard's heart. He realised the distinct possibility of death, but at this point he could only place his hopes on Venica and pray Richard wouldn't find out about the magic soul.

“You're right, and there are only a handful of people on this entire plane who could complete it outside of myself. Why did you open it, was it just curiosity?”

Hearing the softness in Richard's tone, Venica promptly nodded.

“You know... I really hate it when people lie to my face.” Richard raised his hands and sent faint blue mana into the hidden spell formations in the room, bringing up a hologram that showed Venica and Lucian kissing passionately. Everything that happened afterwards was clearly shown as well; outside of a lack of sound, every moment had been captured. Lucian felt the urge to run, but the fear of instant death kept him in place.

Richard fell silent once he saw the magic soul, raising his head to look at the ceiling and sighing, “So it turns out the rune had developed a magic soul... Even I hadn't expected that, but it looks like my progress to becoming a saint runemaster has been delayed. Tell me, what should I do?”

He hadn't even raised his voice, but Venica could barely stand up at this point. “B-Broth—”

“Don't you call me brother,” he raised a hand, “If you thought of me as one, you wouldn't have opened this case once you realised it was a magic soul. And you, Lucian... Surprisingly not afraid of me, what should I make of that? Are you brave, or are you just a fool?

“Well, whatever it is... For the sake of a newborn magic soul, only the Empress will be able to stop me from destroying your entire family.”

Lucian finally paled, his lips quivering as though he wanted to speak, but eventually he went silent once more. It was Venica who shrieked and stood in front of him, falling to her knees and hissing out, “Don't kill him! No! He didn't mean it, it's all my fault! I was the one who let him absorb the magic soul!”

Richard's expression finally softened a little as he looked solemnly at Venica, “Why?”

“I...” Venica composed herself. Now that she had started lying, it was easier to continue, “I did it because his talent isn't good enough. I was hoping his abilities would grow quickly so we could get your approval for him to join the family faster. He'll work hard for the family's sake.”

There were a number of flaws with her fib, even just the fact that the hologram had depicted an entirely different situation, but Richard didn't probe further and waved, “Leave it for now, I have other things to attend to. Go wait in the lobby, I'll come take care of this when I'm done.”

After he was done speaking, he stepped aside for them to walk. Venica immediately dragged Lucian away, afraid that Richard would change his mind if they stayed even one more second.

Richard remained in place even once they were gone, staring at the opened magic sealing case with no expression. However, the hands behind his back were now balled into fists with blood dripping down his fingers to the ground.

No one knew just how much it meant for him to become a saint runemaster quickly.

1010 - City of Sin

Promise

The ability to observe the process of a newborn magic soul fusing with its rune would be Richard's gate to entering the saint realm as a runemaster; with this opportunity gone, he didn't know just how long he would have to fumble around in the dark until he could find another.

A sibling's betrayal was nothing new to him; in fact, Warren had almost gotten him killed years ago when he was new to Faust. However, thinking of Venica and feeling the blood dripping down his fingers, he couldn't help but think of one person: the source of their shared bloodline. A tombstone hadn't yet been erected in the family cemetery, and without Mordred confirming it he still held on to a thread of hope that the man could return. If such a day arose, would he be happy seeing his children destroying each other?

Richard stood in place for exactly ten minutes before wiping the bloodstains with a handkerchief, leaving the storage area and heading towards his study. He'd felt Nyris's aura entering the island, and knew that the Fourth Prince would be waiting for him in his study.

By the time he walked all the way up, he had regained his usual composure. Choosing to put aside the incident with the magic soul for now, he looked towards Nyris who was staring at the Rainbow of the Moons in a daze.

Nyris turned and laughed helplessly once he heard the door being opened, looking morose. Dressed in a simple shirt, he radiated a rather beautiful sadness.

“What's wrong?” Richard probed as he walked up, only getting close because of how worried the prince seemed. It took constant reminders to oneself to remember not to be captivated by Nyris's looks.

“If... If there came a day when I needed you, would you protect me?”

“Would I ever not? What happened? Does Ag know?”

Nyris looked at the ground in a daze, only answering after some time, “No, and he can't help me either. I was hoping you would.”

“Of course I will! Now tell me!” Richard frowned.

The Fourth Prince forced a smile, “Now now. I can still handle it myself, I'll let you know when the time comes. Richard... please don't forget your promise.”

Richard placed a hand on his chest, “Never.”

Nyris suddenly lifted his head, staring straight into Richard's eyes. There was an outburst of joy within that almost scared Richard into running away as he exclaimed, “Give me a hug!”

It wasn't too much to ask a brother who stood alongside you in facing death for an embrace, but when Nyris made the suggestion Richard hesitated to even lift his arms. However, he didn't even complete the motion before the prince dove into his chest, hugging him as tightly as he could.

Richard's body froze up, his arms still in the air without any idea where to go. However, he felt Nyris trembling even as he felt tears run dampening his shirt, realising that the prince was suppressing his sobs.

At that moment, he felt something strange. Nyris was a dignified saint who had the most powerful bloodline in the royal family, but he couldn't even manage to suppress his tears. Just what kind of pain could drive him so low? The frozen hands eventually returned the embrace as Richard petted him on the back, “It's okay, nothing in this world is unsolvable. You have me... Tell me what happened. I'll help you leave Faust if you want, the worst that could happen is just losing a dumb island.”

Nyris trembled and lifted his head, “Really?”

“Really,” Richard said gently.

The prince broke free from the embrace, regaining control over his emotion and wiping the tears off his face with a smile, “It isn't so serious now, I think I can handle it. Alright, I have to return. Don't forget your promise!”

Richard pointed to his chest once more, and Nyris nodded before rushing away.

Once the prince was gone, Richard opened up a map of Norland and started reading through it silently with furrowed brows. The situation in the mainland was still unpredictable, but he had now realised the greatest shortcomings of the family— networks and espionage. From Philip's injury to Apeiron to Nyris's odd behaviour, he was ignorant of everything. Even though some of the other families of Faust would pass information on to him, that was not trustworthy. He needed his own spies everywhere.

The best short-term solution was to look for Noelene. The grand priestess could probably bring many good intelligence officers under his command, and the Church could help establish a network. With Apeiron's return, he now had to pay great attention to the family's lack of powerhouses.

However, there was still another issue to resolve before that— Venica and Lucian. The young lady and her lover were still sitting in the lobby, so anxious and frightened by him having found out that they didn't even dare to speak to each other in private. Eye contact was their only means of communication, and even running away was something they wouldn't dare imagine.

Venica was by far the more shocked of the two, the bard consoling her as best he could. However, even he couldn't stop a shiver as Richard entered the hall, the air seemingly sucked out of the world with his mere presence.

Looking at the couple squeezed together on a small sofa, trying to sit as far away from him as possible, Richard noted, “Lucian Billius, son of a viscount and level 12 swordsman at age 22. Side-occupations, socialite and bard.”

Shock flashed across Lucian's eyes, but he stood up and bowed deeply, “Lord Richard, I acquired the magic soul by accident. I didn't understand just what it was back then, but I beg for your understanding. I swear to put my improved talent at the mercy of the Archeron Family, doing whatever you need me to. I only hope you can forgive me, and give me a chance to do right.”

Richard ignored him and turned to Venica, “You fucked him? I'm going to have someone check if you say no.”

The young lady immediately paled, but she bit her lower lip and whimpered, “Yes... But it was only a few times!”

“So you broke the family laws. You know the consequences...” he turned to Lucian, “And you might or might not understand how precious a magic soul is, but that doesn't matter. I have more talents in this family than I can count, my challenge has been giving them the resources they need. What I need right now is punishment for a slight; your family will pay the price.”

Venica rushed up to Richard and fell to her knees again, “Brother, please! Don't do this, killing him won't bring the magic soul back! Why not just let him serve the family?!”

“The rules are rules; they cannot be broken no matter who it is. Upholding justice is far more important than whatever tiny profit this fellow will bring me; what happens when there are stronger people with better reasons tomorrow who go against my words? Do you think I can punish others when I show that I'm a blatant hypocrite, especially when they're more powerful and wealthy than you? Talent is no reason to break the law, nor is wealth or influence.”

Lucian wanted to say something, but he kept it in. The Sacred Alliance had the most corrupt justice system of all the human empires; with the royal family not having full control, wealth and power could greatly affect courts. The stronger or more wealthy one was, the more likely it was to be able to threaten or bribe one's way to a lighter sentence or acquittal. However, it was clear that Richard wouldn't care about either, and his so-called talent wouldn't matter as well.

All colour drained from Venica's face as her forehead hit the ground, “Brother, please! Do it for our dead father!”

Richard's hands trembled for a moment as he went silent, but he didn't take long to retort, “Gaton Archeron is not dead until his body has been buried within the family cemetery; don't you ever say such a thing again. You've broken my trust, Venica; stand up for him, and your next punishment will be worse. You'll be stripped of all nobility and fiefs or completely exiled from the family; do you want your mother to pay this price?”

While this threat left her shivering in fear, something in Venica told her that not making a stand now would lead to Lucian's immediate death. Richard had many strong followers, he didn't need to care about a warrior older than him who was still weaker than a single shadowspear knight. As for him being a bard, this wasn't like the elven Olar; the only use of Lucian's poetry was to entertain whimsical girls.

Waiting for his half-sister's decision, Richard studied Lucian. The youth looked bright and outstanding, his appearance alone able to bring many young ladies to a blush. His family was also fairly powerful and he was considered above average in terms of talent; it was also obvious that he spent much more time adjusting his clothing than actually practising anything. This was someone who relied on looks and flattery to complement his wealth in seducing women.

“I'm willing!” Venica eventually said firmly, “Please let him go!”

Richard nodded uncaringly, “Then this is your last mistake, the next will destroy your life.”

“No, I can't let you do this!” Lucian suddenly pulled her into an embrace, but when no one could see a hand balled into a fist in celebration.

1011 - City of Sin

Behind The Scenes

Richard had no choice but to put the issue with Venica aside for the moment, waiting for any potential follow-up. Years of war and recent political events had shown him that there were no coincidences, only conspiracies. The love-addled Venica was perhaps the only one who could believe this was all an accident.

The couple had quietly snuck into his core storage area and blocked the magic alarms, but Lucian himself was only level 12. A smile of annoyance crept up Richard's face; he hadn't altered the seals on the family castle, so Venica still had the same rights as himself. Just who had noticed this detail and made use of it?

The loss of the magic soul would leave anyone enraged, but it was impossible to recover right now. If only Nyra was around... He suddenly shook his head, forcing out an image of Flowsand from his mind; he had to stay on track. The magic soul itself could only be an accident, even he couldn't have foreseen it. Lucian had to be trying something else. It brought back memories of Ward and the currently-departed Asiris; a malicious gaze was locked onto the Archeron Family in the haze.

He had to admit that the bard was a great actor. Outside of the flash of killing intent during their first contact, Lucian hadn't exhibited a single hint of strange behaviour at all. His innocent expressions would cause anyone to pity him, the respect and regret he showcased all seeming genuine. Even Richard would have been fooled if he wasn't paying attention.

For some reason, he remembered when he'd first seen Venica a few days after his mother's death, and then the banquet where he had properly been integrated into the family. She had been just like the other Archerons, full of ambition and a thirst for power, but now she could sell off her own clan for a young bard at the same pitiful level as her. However, this was her own choice; since she was already an adult, she would bear the consequences of that decision.

The entire scenario was rather similar to the one with Raymond Joseph and Princess Reyna. The so-called Mage of Soremburg who thirsted for the truth could lie without so much as a hint, sometimes even believing those fibs himself.

Everything came back to the same problem: inexperience. Richard could absolutely have done more in regards to governing the family, but without someone to point him in the right direction he hadn't realised Gaton's system wouldn't work anymore. Then again, perhaps it never had; the Archerons had just been so busy expanding that they didn't pay attention to internal affairs.

The Empress was actually a very good example in this regard; even though she was overbearing and tyrannical, her decisions still made logical sense. Whereas she had already forced any possible threats out of the royal island, he still hadn't separated himself from his own siblings. They were still core family members in the line of succession, and even when he had children they would still share some right to inheritance. Compared to that, not changing the blood seals was insignificant; after all, there were only four siblings with such rights and Warren was dead. With Wennington fighting wars and Demi following around on his own conquests, Venica had truly been the only chink in the armour.

Even with this betrayal, it was difficult for him to punish her adequately. As a sister with equal rights of inheritance instead of a daughter, being harsh would only give more ammunition to his enemies to incite dissent in the family. Olar was perhaps the only one who could handle these kinds of situations, but the bard had to push his limited talent as far as he could to become a saint. At the same time, Olar was one of his few subordinates who was also a great leader.

He was starting to think war was the easy part of being a noble; it was the political struggles outside the battlefield that were a real pain to deal with. Snapping himself out of his musing, he massaged his temples for a while before jotting down everything he had to do and organising a paper schedule. This was something he'd rarely done since his days in the Deepblue where he had to follow a rigid schedule.

He first arranged to send Noelene 100,000 gold in magic crystals as payment for establishing an information network. It wasn't a good idea to rely too much on the Church, but right now he had no choice. He also started a series of visits; outside of the Mensas who he had marked for eventual death, he spent some time at the homes of every single major family in Faust. Although this seemed to yield nothing substantial— he didn't even talk about much— it signalled that the Archerons were willing to work with the rest.

The next few days would be spent devising his plans for the future. The assembly had been locked in heated debate ever since the bloodbath at the City of the Unsetting Sun, and with all the recent humiliation they had stopped lazing around and gotten to work formalising the duties of every family in Faust in the battlefields of despair. The ruling clearly stated that every family that controlled a floating island would have to earn ten points of battle achievements every year.

A single point could be earned in many ways; any ordinary saint of Daxdus was considered worth a point, while the skaven were worth a third and the more powerful beings graded correspondingly. This seemed simple, but once one considered the fact that Norland was losing three times as many saints as Daxdus, this was effectively giving up thirty ordinary saints a year. This time-scale was even in the local time of the Land of Dusk, so it was more on the scale of every month and a half.

Naturally, nobody was insane enough to do such a thing. There were other ways to gain points, including strategy, construction, resources, and even transportation. Although such jobs were long and drawn-out, they were at least safe. The wealthy families could even purchase achievements directly, the stable rate about 100,000 gold for a point. While the formal requirements had been instated recently, the point system itself had been followed for quite some time; many powerful independent saints sold off their slain Daxdians for gold and resources. Of course, they also kept the valuable materials from the corpses.

Richard had accumulated a massive number of points over the five years he had spent in the Land of Dusk, but these points were only valid for two years and would soon reset. This was to prevent a family's legend from going on a killing spree for a while to let them rest on their laurels for decades; everyone had to make a consistent contribution.

He thought of buying the points directly, but there were a considerable number of planes under him that required investment to start yielding returns. Basically everything outside of the Resting Orchid Plane and Forest Plane needed infrastructural improvements, while the Resting Orchid Plane needed a permanent contingent alongside Senma just to ensure Stardragon didn't destroy the portal.

Considering everything for a while, he decided to prioritise Faelor once more. With the threat of these unknown reapers from the Doomsday Imprint, he had to take as much from it as he could in the short term. He thus put thirty rune knights and a hundred shadowspears each in the Boulder Highlands and Goldflow Valley to hold the fort. Nyris and Agamemnon could take care of the shattered Forest Plane, while Senma's current army could keep Stardragon at bay as well. With another fifty left behind to stop any counter-attacks from the Sacred Tree Empire so Alice could spend some time improving herself, he would bring the remaining 150 rune knights and all of his free followers for another push in Faelor.

At the same time, Richard decided to start publicly recruiting knights and potential rune knights who were beyond level 14. The core base of his soldiers, all the free Archerons, were starting to get exhausted and he had no choice but to look outside the family for more.

......
𝗳re𝚎𝚠𝐞𝗯𝙣𝗼ν𝗲l. c૦𝓶

While Richard was deploying for a huge war in Faelor, the royal family of the Sacred Alliance was trying to make a show of happiness and prosperity.

The very day after Emperor Philip's funeral, Empress Apeiron finally finished her own ascension ceremony. It was an extremely simple affair that only called for the representatives of the various families to share a meal, and even the lunch was far below Philip's standards with only two main courses and some wine that even some barons could outdo. On top of that, a dinner charge was levied upon the guests by the new minister Julian, acting as a congratulatory gift for Her Majesty.

The lunch didn't even last that long, with Apeiron only showing herself for fifteen minutes before going away. Once she was gone, the other nobles didn't stick around much longer. The entire thing lasted half an hour, almost the same duration as Philip's funeral.

Observing the decisions of his peers, Richard ended up offering a moderate gift of 300,000 gold to serve as the so-called dinner charge. On his way back to his island, a rough calculation told him that the nobles present had paid up about four million gold in total; in addition to the million she saved from not having a grand ceremony, Empress Apeiron had basically saved five million gold in the royal treasury. This wasn't a lot of money to him, but it definitely wasn't a small amount even for the royal family.

Perhaps the Empress was less lazy and more frugal?

1012 - City of Sin

Celebration

That very afternoon, Julian had brought ten handsome men and five beautiful women to Apeiron's hall. There was a diverse mix of beings in the group, including humans, elves, dwarves, and barbarians, but every single one was amongst the pinnacle of their species in terms of appearance.

This was the first batch that would make up Apeiron's harem; the palace maids herded them into the palace like lambs to the slaughter, cleaning them up and putting them in attractive clothing before sending them into the hall.

A dull haze covered the entire main hall, an orchestra with over a hundred people playing music almost hysterically along the walls. However, few would consider it actual music; the hall echoed everywhere and there was no rhythm nor key; it sounded like a group of hysterical beasts screaming together. However, for someone who obeyed the laws of chaos like Julian, it sounded like a divine symphony.

A copper incense burner was placed in each of the four corners of the hall, two burly naked men smothered with oil adding a drop of purplish-black essence in ever so often. This essence was the famous silk oil, a powerful aphrodisiac that could flare up the lust in most creatures with a single sniff. The oil was extremely addictive and hard to recover from, and with the sheer amount in this hall everyone was intoxicated. Nobody seemed to be able to control their desires, groping each other as they passed regardless of gender.

The Empress herself was lazing around at one end of the hall, watching the haven of lust with a cold gaze. She was still clad in her black uniform, but her chest buttons were undone while her legs were bare. She didn't try to avoid the fumes whenever they wafted towards her, but her gaze remained crystal-clear without a hint of intoxication; with her power, she could drink entire litres of aphrodisiac without being affected.

A dozen young men and women weaved in and out of the crowd, constantly bringing fruits and snacks to the Empress's seat. They meticulously cut every single fruit before feeding her personally, Apeiron accepting it all. Her slender body seemed to be a bottomless abyss; no matter how much she ate, her stomach wouldn't bloat in the slightest.

When the fifteen new members of the harem were finally brought in, the atmosphere changed completely. All of them were clothed, but their genitals were not covered at all. With them being selected for beauty and not strong, they immediately reacted to the aphrodisiac in the air. The males stood erect, ready to orgasm in the next moment, while some of the women were already shivering.

All fifteen began to display their talents upon Julian's orders, some crooning loudly while others danced and yet more drank as much as they could. Each one was desperately trying to pander to the Empress. A pair of young elves took off all of their clothing, revealing graceful bodies as they strutted to the platform as seductively as one could. One of them lifted Apeiron's snow-white food and massaged it gently before bending over to lick it.

The Empress didn't react, continuing to eat her fruits lazily. Julian secretly gestured to the rest, filling them with the courage to climb the platform one and one to surround her. Numerous pairs of hands ranging from small and gentle to large, strong, and hairy starting groping all over her body. In the midst of this strange scene, the blue rose still in her chest pocket seemed all the more beautiful.

Apeiron didn't react at first, but then she started massaging her temples in seeming frustration. At one point she suddenly lifted a foot and put it on the face of the elf licking it; his body didn't move, but his head suddenly exploded with blood splattering everywhere. Before the sex slaves could even react, ash-grey energy rippled out from the Empress's body like lightning for a single moment to stop them all from moving.

A scant moment later, red lines started appearing across the slaves' bodies. Living beings were instantly reduced into bundles of flesh and blood that splattered everywhere, only to be disintegrated by another grey ripple that turned it all to ash. Just like that, all fifteen of the so-called harem had vanished with not a single trace of their existence.

The music suddenly came to a halt, the orchestra staring at the platform in a daze as though they were in a nightmare. The Empress jumped off her seat and started to walk out of the hall, “This isn't fun at all!”

Julian seemed to be unaffected by the remark, following closely behind her as he bowed, “I'll find a new batch as soon as possible.”

Apeiron nodded and swaggered off.

......

At nightfall, another group of guests visited the royal island. This one was headed by Earl Kimbaye, but he was there not for Apeiron, but for Nyris.

The Fourth Prince received these guests in his courtyard, looking a little fatigued and rather unkempt. However, combined with the melancholy he seemed to be radiating, it only made one feel pity instead of disdain.

Once the maid finished laying out the table and left, Nyris stared the Earl in the eye, “What do you want?”

Kimbaye chuckled softly, “I hear Empress Apeiron was not satisfied with the first batch for her harem and killed them all.”

The Fourth Prince's eyes flashed with disgust, but he grunted, “It's got nothing to do with me!”

“Nothing to do with you, you say... Hehe, let's assume that is true for now. Anyway, it happens that I have a special guest for you to meet today; Macy?”

An armoured man stood up behind the Earl, his appearance changing in the blink of an eye into an enchanting blonde woman. Nyris frowned and stood up; this was a powerful illusion spell that had even fooled the royal guard. Kimbaye himself wasn't known to practise such magic, so there had to be some other grand mage helping him behind the scenes. Still, he managed to nod, “Lady Macy.”

The blonde woman didn't answer immediately, instead sizing him up coldly with surprise in her eyes. Just like anyone, her first impression of someone was by their appearance; Nyris's beauty had stumped her.

Earl Kimbaye smiled, “You must have heard of Macy, Your Highness, but I see no harm in introducing her again. She is a saint just like you, having spent an entire year suppressing herself to train. She is the second daughter of Prince Tumen and Empress Gelan's granddaughter. Formally she's a student of the Sword Saint, but in reality she trains under his disciple Sir Drakons. Still, she's amongst the ten most skilled swordsmen of her age in the entire Millennial Empire. She also has the golden moonriver bloodline, one of the Empire's seven blessed lineages.”

Nyris stood still without expression, waiting for Kimbaye to finish before he bowed and greeted her with proper etiquette, “Pleased to meet you, my Lady.”

Macy returned the bow, “It's my honour, Your Highness.”

Kimbaye smiled genuinely, “Your Highness, Miss Macy is more brilliant than can be described; I believe this connection will benefit not just the two of you, but also our empires. We should find an auspicious date for the celebration.”

Nyris's expression shifted instantly and he pounded the table, “Fuck celebrations, I've had enough! How many times should I tell you I don't agree?”

Kimbaye's smile didn't falter, but Macy frowned. Even an ordinary woman would be angered by a public rejection of marriage, and she was a powerful saint! She pressed her own hands on the table and leaned forward, the tip of her nose almost touching Nyris's as she grit her teeth, “You think I want this? If not for the Empire, would I be interested in a faggot like you?”

1013 - City of Sin

Cold As Night

Nyris's face twitched, but then he smiled mockingly, “Hmm... It couldn't be any better; I'd never be interested in a woman who doesn't even look as good as me.”

Macy froze up, her eyes blazing with anger as she wanted to scream at Nyris to take it back. Her aura started flaring up, but she just couldn't find any grounds to refute him. No matter how much she tried to delude herself, she had to admit that her appearance was incomparable to that of the Fourth Prince.

But she was a saint of noble blood! Was she the kind of person who needed to rely on her looks for survival? She started shivering as she almost lost control of herself, barely managing to swallow down her rage. In the end, Kimbaye had to stand up and pin her down to her seat, whispering, “For the Empire.”

“You heard it too! You heard what he said just now!” Macy snarled.

“I said: For. The. Empire,” Kimbaye's tone grew harsh, prompting her to snort and stop retorting. Having gotten her to submit, he then sat back down and looked at Nyris.

The Fourth Prince sneered, “What? You're going to tell me it's for the Empire too?”

Kimbaye smiled, “For yourself, Your Highness. I think you would consider it heavenly to have Lady Macy by your side compared to Her Majesty Apeiron.”

“Wha...” Nyris was caught off-guard, barely suppressing a laugh, “No, serious—”

“I am being serious. I hear Lord Julian's criteria for the second set of concubines is bloodline. The purer one's blood and stronger the ability, the more likely they are to be chosen. Combined with your heavenly appearance, you are quite likely to be chosen.” At this point, Kimbaye paused for a moment and smiled, “Even if there was an oversight, I wouldn't mind giving him a timely reminder.”

Nyris immediately stood up, “Despicable!”

Kimbaye stood up as well, bowing gracefully, “I don't believe the word despicable exists in the dictionary of true nobles; we're all born with it in our blood.”

“I don't take threats lightly,” Nyris's expression turned icy.

“I don't believe the word impulsiveness should exist in our dictionaries either, for the opposite region. Are you willing to become a toy of Her Majesty? Forgive the honesty, but given her power I do not believe you would last a long time in her service. I've also heard some unpleasant rumours about her derision for your mother's side; with her temper, I'm certain she would wipe out the entire family if she had the justification. In fact, I'm sure she could come up with a justification if she wanted to,” Kimbaye sat back down, crossing his fingers leisurely as he watched Nyris with attention.

Nyris paled and went silent; although Kimbaye was clearly attempting blackmail, he had no grounds to flare up. There were no lies in the Earl's words, but they mentioned facts he was trying his best to avoid. If he really was selected as a concubine, this could be his only way out.

Seeing that the Fourth Prince wasn't planning to speak anytime soon, Kimbaye stood and turned away, “There are still a few more days, you can take your time to consider this thoroughly. Although Empress Apeiron is powerful, Her Majesty Gelan will always keep the Millennial Empire safe. Protecting your mother's side shouldn't be difficult either. Now, it's getting late; I hope we meet again rather soon.”

Nyris stood still like a statue, completely expressionless. Passing by his side, Macy suddenly caressed his face with a hand and smiled, “Really a beauty. I've got my eyes on you! Haha!”

It was only when Kimbaye and company were far out that Nyris grunted and smashed his fist into the stone table, using so much force that the skin broke at once. He let the hand bleed freely for a while before standing up and finally pouring some energy into the injury, cleaning the blood off before entering the royal library.

The entire library building was empty this late into the night, with only the guards sitting around. Nyris entered and searched around for a while until he found an ancient tome named Inheritance of the Gods: Bloodline Theory. Sitting down at a nearby table and turning on the magic lamp, he started reading through the book.

It didn't take long to find a chapter called Bloodline Fusion, and a specific section detailing the darkthunder titan and golden moonriver bloodlines. It stated that the offspring of these two lineages could produce a descendant with both flowing in them at once, with a minimal chance of someone possessing a fused bloodline that was of an even higher standard.

This book was written by a legendary mage called Russel, so long ago that he was one of a handful in all of Norland back then. He was a veritable tyrant that could roam through the void without worry, but he was remembered mainly for his pioneering achievements in bloodline theory. Inheritance of the Gods was the accumulation of his life's work, containing a systematic theory on the emergence of bloodline abilities that addressed topics like concentration, fusion, and mutation. Although many of his conjectures hadn't been proven by experiment, they were far ahead of their time. Even now, centuries later, Norland hadn't advanced much further from his foundation; the intermarriage of the Archeron Family came from following his ideas.

Bloodline Fusion was a chapter that stood out from the rest, containing about ten-odd proposals for the combination and enhancement of family bloodlines. Many of those mentioned hadn't even emerged during his time, but as a master of divination he had predicted their appearance well in advance.

A full third of Russel's proposals had already been shown to work at least on occasion, a number high enough that many were willing to pay any price to try the rest despite the low probability. It seemed like the Millennial Empire was amongst this group as well.
𝑓𝚛𝚎𝗲𝙬ℯ𝘣𝚗𝘰ν𝐞l. co𝗺

Nyris threw his head back and covered his face with a hand, ignoring the dull pain from knocking against the bookshelf behind him. He was being treated like a stallion for breeding! Both Macy's golden moonriver bloodline and Empress Apeiron's astral destroyer bloodline, they had a chance of producing powerful offspring when combined with his own. This was a matter of importance to any established family, but he wanted nothing to do with it.

He knew that things wouldn't just be done after some sex. Success would mean there were more people trying to do the same, and failure after repeated attempts would convince the other party that it would be best to get rid of a bloodline with the potential to reach the legendary realm. His bloodline might have awakened, but he still wasn't strong enough to protect himself. If only there had been a way to conceal it from all the powerhouses of the royal family...

The one man who could have saved him from all this was now dead, and in the blink of an eye Nyris was like a piece of greasy meat placed in between starving jackals and wolves. The Millennial Empire was merely the first one that had pounced.

As it approached daybreak, the darkness outside the window seemed unusually profound. Nyris shivered from the chilly atmosphere, feeling the weight of the world upon him.

......

That very morning, Richard showed up at Blackrose Castle with his rune knights in tow and departed for Faelor once more. A burst of loud laughter rang in his mind the moment he entered Bluewater Oasis, “Boss, you're back! I swear, I was going to beat up those Iron Triangles if you took any longer!”

Before he could reply, another airy and sweet voice followed behind, “Master Richard! I wish to serve by your side at all times!”

The voice sounded a little unfamiliar, and scanning his mindscape he found it was hundreds of kilometres away. Richard had to think for a moment before realising it was Zangru, the bastard demigod able to communicate with him because of their soul contract. It was just that Zangru was supposed to be extremely arrogant and temperamental, not as sweet and fawning as he was right now. Just what had happened?

It was the broodmother that cleared up his confusion, “Master, it has been so long. I'm almost through advancing to level 10, I need you to decide my direction and path. My truename might be awakened this time, and the process could be dangerous. I need Zangru's help to advance successfully, please allow him to stay by my side and assist.”

“NO!” Zangru let out a piercing scream that made even Richard's heart throb. He was confused by how the demigod had heard this, but he quickly realised the broodmother had passed the message on to him as well. He could understand the reaction; even for a bastard demigod, the torture of having one's blood drawn out dozens of times every day was unbearable.

1014 - City of Sin

Intuition And Survival

The broodmother was quick to show him just how much she had learned from Zangru. Analysing the bastard demigod's blood had given her a deeper understanding of creation, to the point that her drones now lived almost half as much more than they used to. On top of that, she had also stored enough blood to be able to create beings similar to Zangru, although not nearly as powerful at only level 16. These fake demigods would be instinctive creatures that only knew to kill and eat, but every round of extraction gave her enough blood to create three.

The worm nest was large enough to hatch over a hundred of these beings, with a batch incubated every ten minutes. Although these false demigods could only live a dozen hours or so, that was more than enough in case of an emergency. She already had enough blood stored up to create 4,500 of them, a terrifying temporary army in any plane.

This information shocked Richard; he had never thought Zangru could have been so useful. That being said, this also meant Zangru had been drained dry more than 1,500 times; such torture explained why the arrogant demigod had grown so humble and obedient. He didn't want to be a follower; it was just that he would do anything to get away from the broodmother.

Scanning their positions, Richard found that Zangru and the broodmother were almost in the same location. He shook his head and sighed; while this gain was extremely important, Zangru had definitely contributed greatly and had to be rewarded as such. Going over the information a few more times, he asked, “How important will he be for your advancement?”

“He can directly influence the chances of success, and could also affect the truename I awaken,” she responded.

“So he's basically indispensable... Fine, you can have him until you're done. Just make sure not to hurt him too much.”

A wave of joy spread from the broodmother as she explained, “Master, Zangru is a bastard demigod, not an ordinary human. The harsher we treat him, the better he will behave.”

“NO! I'M NOT ANYTHING! I'M A HUMAN, MY SOUL IS HUMAN! I JUST HAVE A BIT OF DIVINE BLOOD IN ME!”

“Then I have to extract your blood more often to make up for the concentration,” the broodmother immediately stopped the interjection.

Shaking his head, Richard went through as much of the information as he could. All of her criteria for advancing to level 10 had been met with an actual excess of divinity; a result of his followers achieving great success in the barbarian planes as they subdued the allied armies further and occupied two more shrines. All items from these conquests that possessed divinity were naturally sent over to the broodmother.

At this point, the broodmother had more than a hundred thousand possible changes to her body alone, the number doubling if one considered abilities. If he had to make every single decision himself, Richard would be left with nearly a thousand choices to make that ranged from how she breathed to the texture at the tip of her claws.

Thankfully, her own body hid an enormous brain that didn't lose out to his; she had already spent a long time mixing and matching, coming up with three main directions she could take: survivability, drone creation, and reproduction. Each of these main paths also had three different options within that decided the degree of focus. For example, she could pour all of the acquired energy into strengthening her body to the point that there would be no change in her drone creation capabilities at all. On the other hand, she could also spread this energy a little more evenly. As such, Richard himself didn't have to go through the trouble of deciding everything.

He almost instinctively told her to strengthen her unit production— after all, that was her greatest value— but a moment later, he suddenly thought of the Doomsday Imprint that was meant to signify Faelor's death. The mythical reapers would soon enter this plane and destroy all of it, but the only accounts of them came from questionable sources or weak divination. The only thing he knew was that Faelor could be destroyed within ten years, so he had to prepare for that possibility. After some thought, he told her to focus on survivability.

“Master, why?” she immediately sent over a wave of confusion, “I do not fear anyone below the legendary realm!”

“I need you to be confident even against legends,” Richard said.

“The half-demigods are very quick, they can even fly. I can drag a legend down to their death,” she replied earnestly.

“Then you need to be prepared for a group of them!”

“What group of legends will we find here?”

Richard didn't answer. Ferlyn's warnings had been stuck in his subconsciousness for a while now, and he himself felt an odd sense of danger in Faelor that he could only call intuition. With his power, such intuition was similar to prophetic magic.

The broodmother fell silent for a while, but then she seemed to come to a realisation, “Are we about to start a divine war?”

“Soon,” he nodded.

She went quiet once more as she made some calculations, “I do not believe we are prepared yet, but I can begin the initial stages of preparation.”

“Get on it once you're done advancing.”

“Yes, Master.”

“Oh right!” Richard thought of something, “I've brought some powerful beings for you to analyse, send a cloned brain over to collect them.”

“Thank you, Master!” she replied with glee.

By this time, the rune knights had already crossed through the portal with a few hundred infantrymen who had proven themselves loyal in previous wars. Every single one of them carried enormous chests of resources to be used as war supplies. Grabbing a magic chest inscribed with the volcanic world tree, Richard made his way to his room in the back of the new castle.

After many years of development, Bluewater had been transformed into a sprawling citadel with over 200,000 permanent citizens. On top of this number were the merchant caravans going back and forth, alongside a large number of refugees and adventures that numbered even higher than the registered commoners themselves.

The place was now under absolute control, with caravans requiring permits to even approach the city. The core was also a site of constant construction as the city grew. The area that housed the Lighthouse of Time was no longer on the fringe, instead now a central section of Bluewater. Gangdor had marked out a huge swathe of land and built a castle to serve as the capital of the Crimson Dukedom, containing anything one could ever need. This place was guarded purely by the soldiers brought over from Norland and the broodmother's drones.

Outside the castle, the original core district of the oasis city was in a state of rapid development. With the water source stabilised, a number of low-level mages had realised the potential for gold and settled down; the environment here was changing by the day. Wide, clean streets were lined on either side by enormous foliage, with exquisite buildings and gardens all around. One could see a few warriors in full armour slowly patrolling the streets, youthful infantrymen whose duty was to keep the peace.

Each of these warriors was around level 10, a luxury that even the nobles of large kingdoms normally didn't get. Besides, the greatest value of these soldiers came from their identity; they were direct soldiers of the Crimson Dukedom and attacking them was a declaration of war. Of course, the residents themselves bore this cost, paying for every expense these soldiers entailed.

The commander in charge of this city was the mysterious Andrieka: Raymond Joseph. Managing an enormous city like this was no easy task, especially for a place with no laws to speak of that was being built from the ground up, but from defence and politics to cleanliness and the mundane things like attitude towards beggars, he had built everything up from scratch. Gangdor was nowhere near qualified for this task, but a Mage of Soremburg was almost trained for such things.

1015 - City of Sin

Undercurrents

Raymond had started his governance of Bluewater with a treaty with the council and churches, coming up with a fifty-year plan for the city. This plan encompassed everything from expansion and landscaping to major military positions and everything in between. A map was hung in a small meeting room in the city hall that depicted the end of his plan, a physical representation of this agreement.

The city had immediately been embroiled in large-scale construction that began with the core district being rebuilt, also demarcating huge swathes of land for future developments. He had even built an auction house to serve as a hub of economy, reorganising the city greatly. Turning the once-messy oasis city into an exquisite garden was child's play for someone of his calibre, especially with the basically unlimited money Richard made available to him.

A well-built internal garden city by the oasis was an alluring symbol of status, especially now that there was a strong separation between church and state. It looked like the city was still governed by a council, but all of those leaders were Richard's friends or family that had been appointed with loyalty as a criterion; many of them had risked life and limb in the Bloodstained Highway project. With the army also stationed nearby, Richard's own name was a guarantee of the core district's safety.

When the first batch of wealthy retirees headed into Bluewater, Raymond collected an absurd amount of tax from them and reinvested most of the money back into the core district, improving sanitation, buildings, gardens, and even putting some dwarves on an enormous sewer project. The most supported of his measures was to have Richard's own soldiers patrolling the interior of the city, ensuring the safety of the district. The residents could even pay higher taxes voluntarily to increase the number and pomp of the patrol. What better way to showcase one's status within the Crimson Dukedom than to have the Crimson Duke's personal cavalry patrolling at one's front door?

Many nobles were even thinking of ways to marry into Richard's family, despite few sightings of any blood relatives outside of the soldiers he employed. This was the biggest arena in the city right now, with the three churches and even other religions participating as well.

Raymond himself still lived in his little courtyard, but he also had an office in the newly constructed city hall. Formally he was General Andrieka's chief aide, responsible for managing various miscellaneous affairs that didn't require a report in the monthly council meetings. Of course, this also entailed affairs that were intentionally suppressed so word wouldn't get out.

At this moment, he was talking to two elegantly dressed old men with imposing auras, both quite famous lords of their own countries. They had hidden their status as they personally snuck into Bluewater for opportunities, showcasing just how alluring the city now was.

Once he was done listening to their requests, Raymond smiled and nodded, “I'll make sure to fulfil all of those requests. However, I do not have the authority to mobilise His Grace's soldiers to act as guards specifically for your residences; I'll make sure General Andrieka knows and the decision will be conveyed to you shortly.”

“We'll leave you to it,” the two old men smiled and left.

A young lady who had been taking notes at a small desk raised her head and sneered, “They want Richard's knights to guard them? They're dreaming!”

This woman was absolutely beautiful, her presence enhanced further by a lofty aura that came partly from bearing and partly from her saint-level power. This was the First Princess of the Sacred Alliance, Reyna.

Once she had been ridiculed by Richard, Reyna had returned and evaluated her own worth. Considering her own strengths and weaknesses, she had eventually gifted him a batch of ten skilled mastersmiths that were capable at alchemy. Richard had put them into the Deepblue and Noelene's factories to improve the processes, with a few even sent to Faelor to help out here. All of them knew their place and had proved extremely useful, capable of running workshops on their own; he had been quite satisfied with the gift.

Having reached a point where external purchases just couldn't sustain his army anymore, Reyna's token gift had been a huge boon. Combined with the supplies from Nyris, Agamemnon, Noelene, and the Deepblue, his expenditures had dropped considerably. After some consideration, he had decided to extend an olive branch; she had been snuck into Faelor to meet Raymond the moment Philip's death was announced, serving both as a favour to her and a reward for Raymond's service.

Reyna currently functioned as Raymond's clerk and personal secretary, and in the span of the many months she had been here she had grown to love handling the trivialities of his life. Although this was incomparable to the life of luxury she used to live as a princess, just the occasional holiday left her in ecstasy. Very few people knew that she was a saint, and even fewer knew of her status, but she believed it was enough to be Raymond's gentle and timid wife who enjoyed cooking desserts.

“This is Bluewater,” Raymond smiled, “Most of the people coming here are looking for wealth, not status. There's no trust to speak of, and the only thing they value is business. Getting others to believe in one's might is difficult, and those two just want to skip the line. A few cavalrymen guarding them is basically a stamp of Richard's approval.”

“Oh... So you're going to approve it?”

“Approve what? We need to think of our own worth as well, how could we give them what they want so easily? What I can do is get five squads and hold an auction, assigning them to the highest bidders. We can even go a few steps further, allowing them to pay to add their own family crests to our equipment alongside the apocalypse tree. Of course, everything gets put back up for auction every few years... let's say three.”

Reyna's eyes lit up, “So we have an easy way to identify the five most powerful families... Why not do a few more?”

“Supply and demand. We don't need to rely on this to make money; in fact, I'll channel the money back to them,” Raymond laughed and pointed out some parts of the map right next to the core district, “That's where we're earning.”

“So you're giving them all this luxury to get others to buy in...”

“Exactly.”

As it approached dusk, Reyna packed up her documents and changed into ordinary clothing as she headed towards the market to choose a few strips of fresh yellow antelope meat. Raymond loved the soup she made from it, and she knew a fresh batch was coming in soon.

Raymond himself returned to his quiet courtyard, the once-bleak building now much more comfortable under her care. Two small gardens were tended to everyday, a docile golden dog lazing around in the last rays of sunset while newborn kittens were playing with each other nearby.

He sat down at a small stone table and spread out a sheet of paper before him, writing and drawing on it. Immersed in his work, he didn't even react as a low buzz rang in the air and a hummingbird the size of one's palm landed on his shoulder. The bird stabbed its sharp, needle-like beak into his upper arm with a single flesh, pumping some fluid into him before pulling out and flying before him.

Raymond felt a warm current spreading through his entire body to eliminate all of his fatigue, at the same time giving him an indescribable feeling of joy that made him think he was the king of the word. Moaning in satisfaction, he looked the hummingbird in the eye, “I'd get a dose every day if it wasn't so bad for me... This thing is deadly, can you increase its addictiveness?”

“I can make it twice as addictive, until even saints cannot resist its lure. Why, can you not bear it anymore?” the hummingbird said in a sweet voice.

“It's close to my limits. Since we are aware of the effects, you can take out the addictive bits when you give it to me in the future. I feel like the grassland plan can begin, how much can you make of this?”

“As much as you need.”

“A few dozen kilograms, then. Just make sure to add something that can push one's life a bit further.”

“Extra nutrition will... triple the cost. Is there really a need?”

Raymond smiled again, “It would be worth it if the cost grew thirtyfold. I'm going to sell this sanguine for mountains of gold, but we need to make sure the people who can afford it live long enough to give us all their money.”

“Alright, you will have the sanguine tomorrow.”

“I'll need some time to confirm the results.”

“I look forward to it.”

“Hehe... When have I ever let you down?”

1016 - City of Sin

Awaiting Freedom

The hummingbird fell silent for some time, the broodmother thinking of something far away. A moment later, she said casually, “I'll be advancing very soon.”

“To level 10?” Raymond immediately grew serious.

“Yes. Master has already chosen the direction; I have to strengthen myself as much as I can.”

A profound smile appeared on his face, “He thinks that's what is best for you? Amazing. A war machine should focus on strengthening her drones over anything else.”

“I was surprised as well.”

Raymond stood up and circled around the yard a few times, “You should awaken your truename then, which means you can try my method to free your soul. There have been successes in the past.”

“It will consume a large volume of resources,” the hummingbird responded.

'Wait, is she really considering this?' Raymond's heart started beating faster, but he took a few breaths and kept his voice calm, “The most difficult resources to obtain are the remains of powerful beings. The rest can be purchased in bulk in Norland, and Richard has the money to give you everything you need. Zangru should make up for a bit of the powerful beings; the worst that can happen is a lower success rate.”

The broodmother fell silent for a few more minutes before retorting, “The likelihood of success is only 27%.”

“Oh?” he raised his eyebrows, “That's quite high, my own calculations told me it would be 15. This is good news; after all, there aren't many repercussions even if you fail, are there? The resource consumption is nothing to speak of; trust me, this entire plane will be yours in the future!”

“Perhaps... I can try.”

“Then you'll act according to the agreement and give me an entirely new body with eternal life?” Raymond said with seeming fervor. However, with him walking quickly and turning away, the hummingbird didn't notice the absolute stillness in his eyes.

“As I said before, I cannot. Even if I can craft bodies purely from divinity, there will still be flaws. Every body will last 1,100 years, and afterwards I will have to craft a new one. Every replacement will weaken your soul until it fades from existence.”

“That's still better than now, isn't it?” Raymond said with a chuckle as he nodded at the end of the conversation. The hummingbird then flapped its wings and rose into the sky, flying away like a bolt of lightning. By the time he returned to sit at his table, the longing and nervousness had been replaced by serenity.

He casually picked up a journal and opened it, revealing a few simple ink paintings. The first was a large mosquito with a bloated abdomen, followed by a bat and then the beautiful bird that had just flown away faster than any of the previous creatures ever cold. By now, the creature had rudimentary intellect of its own, lasted an entire year, and also served as a direct line to the broodmother herself. He believed it was also capable of recording all of their conversations.

Combined with the changed correspondence over the past years, one could notice just how much the broodmother's understanding of life had evolved over the years as she supplied him with life. The hummingbird's voice was now less mechanical, feeling more and more human. He had even felt the twinge of emotion from her when discussing advancement.

He gently knocked the tabletop as a smile spread from one corner of his face to the other, “A free broodmother... Just what will you think of it, Richard?”

......

In a corner of the Crimson Castle was a section with very tight security, the magic workshop where Rosie's laboratory was located. The place was vast and took up nearly a third of the internal citadel, separated from the rest by high walls and constant guard. Spell formations regularly dotted these walls, capable of absorbing mana and other energies to limit the impacts of any explosions from within.

A cloned brain took off from Richard's own separate laboratory within this space, holding onto a magic sealing chest that was inscribed with an eye-catching crest as it flew towards the Land of Turmoil under the escort of a dozen elite wind snakes. Watching it fly away, Richard headed towards Rosie's area with another smaller case of his own.

He melded with the consciousness of the elite shadowspears guarding the entrance of the area as he walked in, finding Rosie's location in an instant alongside the best way to get to it. However, he was a little sad at what he found; even though it was late, she was still in her laboratory instead of her residence.

His heart stirred a little at her sheer determination; it had been years since she'd entered Faelor, but Rosie never once wavered in her discipline. She was spending the prime of her life in a world of runes and magic, the pearl of the Mensa Family a distant memory that even he would forget if he wasn't careful.

As he walked the familiar path towards Rosie's laboratory through a long corridor built above ground, he stared down at the bustling workshop below. Most of the desks were occupied, with hundreds of young apprentices rushing between the workbenches to gather the components while performing inspections. The place looked like absolute chaos at first glance, but everything was in perfect order; from the new runemasters to the weakest apprentices, everyone had their own jobs and were performing them without any conflicts. This was the result of intricate design and astute governance; it was no wonder that a rose knight would be produced every day and a half. Rosie's runecrafting abilities weren't even the beginning of her value.

Passing the long corridor and turning into Rosie's lab, Richard frowned at the faint sound of an argument. Hearing an unknown voice alongside her's, he suppressed his aura and quietly pushed the door open a tiny bit. There were many alarms in place here, but he had the authority to circumvent everything.

As he snuck in and walked through the lab, the sounds of quarrelling grew much clearer.

“Don't you know how I feel about you?” a young male asked.

“I don't care,” Rosie responded, “My world is one of magic and runes.”

“And Richard, isn't it?”

“Yes. Magic, runes, and Richard. He's everything to me.”

“Why?!” the youth roared, “What did he even do to deserve you? It's been a year, an entire year, and he hasn't come to see you once! I recently heard that he's become a pet of Her Excellency Sharon back in Norland! But I've been here for you, through the past three years! Don't you understand? If you choose me, I'll return to my family immediately and inherit an earldom from my father. I don't want you as a lover or companion, I want you as wife! How is being a countess worse than what you have here?”

Rosie sighed, “You don't understand, Link, Richard gave me the entire world. Go home, and I'll pretend nothing happened tonight. I'm not to be blamed for what happens if you keep annoying me.”

However, the man didn't leave, instead staying there silently. His breaths grew louder and louder as his anger built up, waiting for the opportunity to erupt.

Richard had already walked inside, looking the two up and down. Rosie was still her simple self, her hair in a long ponytail designed to let her work without obstruction. The safest way for her was to cut her hair short, but she couldn't bring herself to disregard her looks completely. Opposite her was what looked like a young great mage, tall and handsome with short golden hair and an impressive aura. He clenched his fists tightly and bent forward, as though ready to pounce forward at any moment, but she just stood there and glared him down.

Richard was only ten metres away from the two at this point, but he was so skilled at stealth that even a Daxdian saint couldn't identify him at this distance. The man didn't notice him at all, continuing on, “The workshop will lose productivity if I leave. There are six entire components only the two of us can craft.”

“I can just sleep a little less,” Rosie said with a shake of her head, “You can leave right now.”

1017 - City of Sin

An Apology For Being Late 𝗳re𝚎𝚠𝐞𝗯𝙣𝗼ν𝗲l. c૦𝓶

“You!” The young mage called Link obviously hadn't expected Rosie to be so resolute. He had believed he was more important in Rosie's heart, or at least that he was vital to the rune workshop that he had laboured in for years.

However, his voice suddenly grew tender, “Rosie, why do you think a successor to an actual earl like myself would be willing to slave away here for years? Isn't it all for you? I'll obviously become a great runemaster in the future, why would I live here?”

The moment he heard this, Richard scanned the man with Insight. It didn't take much effort to determine that he was level 16, with only enough talent to become a grand mage at best under normal circumstances. Even level 18 would take all of his efforts, only accomplished in the latter years of his life. Without the mana now, he would likely only be able to make grade 2 runes at best; becoming a great runemaster was an exaggeration. Or did he really think he had such prospects? But then, what sort of methods could give him that confidence?

“You can go become an earl, I stay. This is the world he gave me, and I'm not leaving it no matter what conditions you bring up. I already gave myself to him long ago, I'm not selling myself again.”

Link went pale, hissing loudly, “Don't think Richard has any status! He's just a manwhore who depends on his women; without Sharon's support, he would never have money! If his father hadn't died so suddenly, he wouldn't be able to take over his family! What good is he anyway, he just has luck. That'll pass, though; my family has already contacted Empress Apeiron, and she'll be taking care of those upstarts soon enough. Do you think he can compare to old families like ours with long histories?”

Rosie stiffened, but the expression of alarm on her face slowly relaxed, “If that's true... I'll need some time to reconsider. How about I give you an answer in two days?”

The youth burst into laughter, “Nope. Do you really think I don't know that you'll tell Richard the moment I'm out of here? If you're really sincere, then give me your body! I can't wait any longer!”

He suddenly pounced upon the unprepared Rosie, grabbing the collar of her robes to tear them apart. However, despite repeated tugs, the clothes didn't even budge; it was as though they were made from the most durable material on the plane. Trying once more, he finally realised that it wasn't his clothes that were too sturdy; he had just grown so weak that even clenching his fist was difficult.

Rosie suddenly beamed, breaking off a lightning spell she was halfway through. The grade 3 spell would only have numbed his arms a little, but they would have set off the alarms and drawn the closest shadowspears over. Shoving him down, she leapt up and ran towards the door like lightning.

Tumbling to the ground, Link discovered that his entire body was incredibly feeble. He couldn't even get up, barely turning his head to find a young man at the entrance with his arms now cradling Rosie's body. He grew so furious it felt like his head would blow up, but despite an enraged howl he could only strike the ground without getting up.

“Just fuck off and sit there quietly,” the man said indifferently, “You can't get up for five minutes.”

It was only then that the red faded from Link's vision, allowing him to recognise just who it was, “Richard! Wait, is this an enfeeblement spell? Impossible, what did you do today!”

The only spell he could think of was Enfeeble, a grade 3 spell that drained a target of their strength by a little under a third. This spell was only used by low-level mages against strong warriors without any magic defences; as a level 16 great mage, his resistance should have suppressed the effects to the point that he would barely be affected.

Richard had no plans for explaining; as someone with runes and skills that were meant to break through magic defences, even pathetically weak spells were unimaginably terrifying in his hands. Link would be down for five minutes no matter what he tried.

“He's saying Her Majesty will target you!” Rosie said in a hurry as she hugged Richard tightly, “You have to be careful!”

Richard patted her on the back, “Don't worry, it's just a brainless kid. Her Majesty looks crazy, but she doesn't do stupid things. In fact, she just might be a better ruler than Philip; these clowns just wag their tails hoping to get her to pity them.”

“Who are you calling a clown?!” Link raged, “Lord Julian himself confirmed to my father that he will kill you soon!”

Richard chuckled, “Oh? And he thinks this attempt will end up different from the last two? Did he tell your father that Her Majesty had to save his ass the last time he tried?”

Link snickered, “Go on, keep shooting your mouth! Kill me if you have the guts, Father will find out sooner or later!”

Rosie stared at Richard uneasily, “I'm sorry... I should have known, this is going to be a problem.”

“It's not your fault,” he smiled, “I'd find it strange if people didn't drop dead just seeing your face. I can still deal with these annoyances.”

Looking at Link whose gaze was filled with poison and fury, she frowned, “He's very stubborn, and because of me... He detests you, and he also knows the creation process for our rune sets. He's also been to the city hall a few times, he should have some understanding of Faelor's situation too... We should just execute him in secret and give the family an excuse... Let's just say it was the barbarian plains, losing mages in divine wars isn't uncommon.”

Link immediately trembled at the lack of mercy, but Richard just shrugged. Nobody who had been raised for politics was squeamish over a few necessary deaths. He glanced at Link, “No need. He wanted to rape you, which means he should die with humiliation. I'll have some people send him back to Faust and execute him publicly.”

Link immediately gritted his teeth, “My family won't let you get away with this!”

“Please, they're welcome to try.” Richard smiled.

“This isn't a good idea,” Rosie continued to frown. While Link's family wasn't one of the fourteen, they were still a ducal house. For him to be able to inherit an earldom at his age showed just how vast their territory was. This was her problem, and she didn't want Richard to provoke another powerful enemy for her sake.

Richard laughed, “No need to worry. I fought hard to get where I am, nobody can take it all away from me so easily.”

He summoned two shadowspear knights and had them take Link to a prison; he would be sent to Faust and publicly executed the next day. Before that, Zendrall would meet him and work on his soul a little, ensuring it wouldn't divulge any secrets, dead or alive. With that done, he looked Rosie in the eye and took out the magic sealing case, “This is for you.”

Rosie took the case from Richard's hands and placed it on a table, opening it up only to cry out in surprise only a moment later. Within was a striking magic pen that was completely black with intricate magic formations inscribed all over it. As now a skilled runemaster herself, she quickly realised that this was a divine pen.

“You... shouldn't have,” her voice began to tremble. This was the best gift a runemaster could get.

“It's what you deserve. Pick it up, there's stuff below it too,” Richard said with a smile.

Rosie's eyes had been fixated on the pen the moment she opened the case, to the point that she didn't even notice there were other things. Now, looking at the vast array of items below, she froze up.

1018 - City of Sin

The Price Of Suppression

Besides the pen, the case held three little potions. Rosie didn't know what they were, but the magic crystal vials alone were worth tens of thousands of gold and showed just how expensive the contents would be. When she picked up an attached note and read it, her hands started trembling.

The note was simple: “Mana Harmony Potion; legendary grade. For half an hour from consumption, one's control over their mana is greatly enhanced.”

These three bottles were basically priceless treasures for any runemaster; unlike Richard, many faced bottlenecks in stabilising their mana output. This mana harmony potion would greatly enhance their control, allowing them to jump the grade of rune they could create when used during a critical moment. Rosie was confident this would let her craft true grade 3 runes, taking her a long way along the path.

However, even that wasn't the end of it. Below the three potions was a wand that was less than a metre long, loaded with three defensive spell slots that could also serve as a small mana bank for the holder. Next to it were two epic-grade rings and a bracelet. All in all, this would increase the mana she could call upon by a third and strengthen all her spells by a tenth. It also made for a total of seven defensive spells that could be cast in an instant; even if they were all grade 3, they would still greatly increase her ability to survive.

“We're going to battle?” she asked after looking through it all.

Richard nodded, “I'm planning to go to war with the gods this time, come with me. You won't advance anymore without actual battles, I'm still waiting for you to become a grand mage.”

“Me too!” Rosie leapt up. Becoming a grand mage wasn't just about mana or spell grades; her physique would change to the point that her life was extended. While the leaves of youth kept her looking twenty and the small amount of life blessing from Richard helped as well, such things only grew less effective with usage.

“Like them?” Richard smiled at her jumping like a child.

“Of course I do!” she hugged him.

Returning the embrace, Richard sighed, “I forgot about the flow of time; I should have visited you a few more times all these years. This present was long overdue.”

“Not at all! You know how fast time flows when you're crafting; it's like I last saw you a few days ago. It's fine!”

He was about to respond to the obvious lie, but she suddenly pulled back and pressed his mouth shut, a mischievous glint in her eyes as she whispered by his ear, “I have a present for you too. Close your eyes and don't move!”

Rosie didn't even give him a chance to object as she took out a silk cloth and covered his eyes, starting to kiss and touch all over him before slowly heading down. Richard shivered when she eventually found her target, sucking in a breath. A long time had passed in Faelor with Rosie's magic and runecrafting improving by leaps and bounds, but she had clearly not forgotten her other skills either.

...

Late in the night, Richard was on his back sweating profusely from the exertion, Rosie looking surprisingly lively having survived their most exhausting night yet as she was drawing circles on his chest. Moonlight was shining on them through the window, and feeling a cool breeze across his fatigued body Richard couldn't help a wry smile. Even Rosie, who he had to be careful around before, could now keep up with him; it looked like the last bed he could win in was about to disappear.

It felt like half a day later when Rosie spoke up in boredom, “Why the sudden crusade?”

Richard sighed, “I need to take care of the issues here quickly, I don't have much time.”

“Then what do you want? Influence? Strength? Something else?”

“Influence, strength... I want both, but that's not the end goal.”

Now interested, she flipped over and put an arm on his chest, “Then what is?”

“The goal?”

“Mm, are you still unsure?”

“Of course not!” he shook his head with a smile, “I thought of it long ago.”

“Then? Tell me!” her eyes gleamed as the hand on his chest started crawling downwards.

Richard trembled, but he suppressed his desire and shook his head, “I'll tell you when you become a grand runemaster.”

“Grand runemaster...” Rosie's smile suddenly grew dull, “Sigh, will there ever be such a day? I don't... have the talent to become a grand mage.”

This much was certainly true. While the Mensa Family had been wrong in misidentifying her talent at runecrafting, most of her achievements today still came from his guidance and her work ethic. If she were anywhere near normal, becoming a true runemaster would have been an enormous barrier in itself. Most families in Norland tested their core lineage thrice; birth, just before deciding on their class, and adulthood. Even the Archerons used their mages to test most of the family, with some of the most powerful warriors chiming in.

However, Richard just chuckled and patted her face, “Don't worry. I can't promise more, but I'll get you to level 18.”

“You mean the dragon... That's so much money wasted!” Rosie grumbled.

“Is it? Do you really think all your effort over these years isn't worth at least that?”

“I'm already yours. You don't need to compensate me for anything I do, it's all yours.”

“All mine, huh?” Richard smiled maliciously and hugged her hard, “Then shouldn't you shut up and let me do what I want with you? If that means making you a grand mage, you don't get to complain.”

Rosie glared at him for a moment, but then she put on a flustered expression as she bit at her lower lip seductively. Richard almost pounced on her immediately, but she shifted down herself.

This time, he was left so exhausted he didn't even want to move. For a moment, he felt like he would rather be in the Land of Dusk barely eking out victories over Daxdian saints.

......

The Land of Turmoil would leave adventurers pale far before Richard's rise, but in the dozen or so years since the Crimson Dukedom had been established many had cast their gazes towards the mysterious land of spatial rifts in the hopes of finding a secret passage to a new world. However, none of those that actually tried had returned, not even a full expedition led by a sub-legendary being. The enigma of this place had only grown with time, and it was now considered a forbidden land that not even the strongest beings of the plane would venture into.

A strange forest covered the heart of this land, the eerily synchronised swaying of the trees causing anyone to shiver in fright. Underground, one would find their roots penetrating a hundred metres into the earth to absorb every last drop of nutrition that could be found. At the centre of this forest were four enormous organic constructions that looked almost like beehives, but the most striking sight of all was a humongous insectoid creature that seemed to have raised its upper body as it stared towards the Crimson Dukedom with its dozens of eyes.

“Just you wait!” Zangru's now-sweet voice resounded through the forest, “We're not done here! I definitely won't let you off if you don't let me down right away!”

“Broodmother, I'm serious! Why aren't you letting me down yet?”

“You'll have to put me down one day. I'll show you what regret means when the time comes!”

One could see Zangru on top of one of the nests, hanging from dozens of tendrils of various sizes as others with hollow tips were buried deep into him and drawing blood at a constant rate. He seemed to be in great pain, but there were occasions when his expression warped into a moan. Even otherwise, he didn't look like someone whose blood was being drawn at all, extremely lively and shouting so loud that his voice travelled kilometres in each direction.

Still staring at the sky, the broodmother eventually deigned to answer, “Don't you enjoy this?”

“W-What do you mean? How's that possible? I'm not that kind of pervert!” he shouted in a flustered voice.

“What kind of bastard god isn't a pervert?” she countered.

“I'm a human, not a bastard god!”

“Forgive me, bastard demigod.”

“I'm human, I said! HUMAN! Both inside and out!”

...

Similar conversations were a regular occurrence, and they were only interrupted by a tiny black dot that quickly zoomed across the sky. The cloned brain flew quickly with its escort, but less than half of the elite wind snakes had made it back with many of even those injured. Even the cloned brain had two arrows stuck in its body, but it still had a magic sealing chest grasped tightly in its tendrils.

Although she knew everything that had happened along the way, it was only now that the broodmother allowed herself to relax. This kind of thing was strange to her; she was growing more sentimental by the day.

Zangru's cries suddenly felt annoying to her, and without even considering it for a moment she sent a giant tendril out from the worm nest deep into his mouth.

“It's not— GLUG,” he couldn't even finish his sentence.𝒇𝑟e𝗲𝚠𝚎𝐛𝗻𝐨νel. 𝒄om

1019 - City of Sin

Complete Soul

It isn't mealtime yet! That was what Zangru had tried to say before the tendril stuffed his mouth, pumping a larger amount of sticky fluid right into his stomach. His face distorted with the struggle, but the broodmother had no plans of letting him utter so much as a single word.

Although the bastard demigod was immortal, he still needed to consume food to keep his blood replenishing. His blood was drained almost completely nearly twenty times a day, a process that took thirty minutes to complete. It took just as much time for him to digest the nutrient fluid prepared for him, and he also normally got about twenty minutes between extraction and infusion. However, the broodmother hadn't even given him that small amount of time to recover.

The cloned brain flew down and put the magic chest on the floor, passing on a detailed account of everything that had occurred on the way. It had met a group of a hundred soldiers led by two sub-legendary warriors and a grand mage; one of the warriors had a legendary bow with thirty enchanted arrows, which was what had injured the brain. Thankfully, it had managed to escape while most of the elite wind snakes perished in suicide attacks to delay.

The broodmother started analysing the battle immediately, the appearances of the three powerhouses matching information she possessed: Earl Frank, grand mage Burley, and a mysterious man only known as the Ace of Hearts. Frank and Burley were both feudal lords from the south of the Land of Turmoil, while the Ace of Hearts was someone who had only appeared recently. He had united the remaining Red Cossacks from the Crimson Dukedom and become their new leader, now active south of the Bloodstained Lands.

It looked like the three were only hunting; they seemed to have no idea what the cloned brain was from start to end and only treated it as a new monster to study. The interception was unlikely to be premeditated. The cloned brain had managed to return without being followed, while only a day's worth of elite wind snakes had been lost. From all perspectives, it was a minor issue.

However, the broodmother found herself growing furious at the gall. She roared and her ridiculously tiny pincers knocked against each other horrifyingly, the four huge worm nests bursting open to let loose a swarm of enormous translucent flies. These flies formed up in mid-air, revealing humanoid warriors sleeping within each that started moving around in discomfort. Even more warriors at the base of the nests revealed red eyes that looked like pools of dried blood. If they were all mobilised, the small troop would be massacred.

Her belly suddenly rumbled, a flood of steam leaking from her spiracles to dispel the rage. The activated troops calmed down once more and returned to sleep, while the flies returned to the nests which gradually closed up.

Noticing the activity below, the struggling Zangru quieted down and looked towards the broodmother with uncertainty. He had been noticing her learning to feel emotions all this while, but never had there been a mood swing like this.

The broodmother extended ten tendrils to lift the chest right up to eye level, opening it up with ease. The insides were much larger than they seemed, and the most striking part within were a pair of eyes that were much larger than a human's palm; these came from the giant that Cyrden had blinded in Goldflow Valley. Examining every inch of the eyeballs with a tendril, she then wrapped them up carefully and swallowed them whole.

Right next to the eyeballs was a vial stand with ten magic crystal bottles of varying sizes. These bottles were extremely precious, capable of preserving their contents for decades if need be; opening one of them, she shivered with excitement at the strong odour it released. This was dragon's blood!

The broodmother stuck a tendril into the bottle and sucked it dry of the dragon blood, even scraping off the inner layer of crystal. She then opened the second bottle and shuddered once again; this was dragon's blood too, but it was a different species! All ten were sucked dry in the blink of an eye, leaving a single dark purple vial within that she only smelled for a moment before shutting once again.

Even she needed some time to recover from what she had felt there, but when she picked up the bottle again she inspected it closely and found a few words carved into the crystal— Tiamat's Blood. The handwriting was Richard's, but the broodmother didn't know what this Tiamat was. All she knew was that it was a powerful giant dragon whose blood was thick with another plane's aura. Forget level 10, it could help with her advancement even when she was getting to level 12.

After some consideration, the broodmother decided to swallow the entire vial this time before continuing to look through the chest. At the bottom was a block of pith, snow-white in colour with hints of cyan radiating from within. This was a part of the heart of the tree of life, alongside a seedling; they weren't directly useful for advancing like the rest, but they would certainly speed up her analysis.

Even after the chest was emptied, the broodmother held it for a long time without moving as she looked at the seal fading away. It was Richard's own personal imprint that contained fire energy and runic lines that represented his power as a grand mage and runemaster, and the fact that it was still radiating power showed just how far he had come.

Once the seal was completely blown away by the breeze, she turned her attention into herself. Within her mind was a secret space, containing ten nodes that connected to a ball of bright light. Beside this light was a single phrase written in a language not of Norland, simply reading: Complete and Independent Soul.
f𝘳𝒆𝑒𝓌𝒆𝗯n𝗼𝘷ℯl. 𝑐𝚘𝘮

Each of these nodes was one section that contributed to healing a damaged soul, and when she concentrated upon any one there were a number of instructions that would help fulfil that node's requirements. Right now, most of the nodes had lit aglow, which meant the conditions had been met. Only a few had been dark before, but with Richard's gift they started lighting up as well. There was only one node that remained dark— Reach Level 11.

However, that node wasn't absolutely necessary. It only increased the chances of success, and right now that wasn't a problem at all. Once she got to level 10 and awakened her truename, the broodmother believed her chances of healing her soul were already over 50%; even if she didn't succeed then, she would eventually at the next level.

To the broodmother, having a complete soul was special. It meant becoming a true fully-living being just like Richard or anyone else... It also meant freedom. She examined the chart once more and confirmed that all the important nodes were lit before pulling away. Just before she dismissed it from her thoughts, however, she peeked at a small symbol at the corner of an opened tome with a lit candle. It was a curious symbol that was incredibly well-known in Norland— it represented a Mage of Soremburg[1]. Every single candle represented higher status.

She burned the symbol into memory as she withdrew, going silent for a moment before lifting her head to look at the sky above. Richard had once mentioned that the natural environment of Faelor was similar to that of Norland; the skies were an azure blue while the vegetation was green. It was just that Norland went to red and gold during harvest season while Faelor entered varying shades of purple.

The only clouds up above consisted of a small strip that covered the sun, giving a bit of a chill to the air. Most of the sky was clear, save for the ribbons of spacetime rifts that glowed all colours of the rainbow.

The tendrils suddenly retracted from Zangru, but as he fell to the top of his nest he didn't shout like he normally did. It was obvious to him that the broodmother had somewhat changed, and it was obvious even from the silhouette of her body that resembled a small hill.

She was lonely.

[1] Formerly Solomon

1020 - City of Sin

Horns of War

“How would you like a chance to become a complete being?” the broodmother suddenly asked Zangru.

The demigod fell silent for a while, contemplating something before giving his answer, “What do I need to do?”

“Become one of the Eternal Warriors of the Night. Fuse with Asura; it will become a part of your body, and I will complete your soul. That will rid you of your life as a bastard demigod, but your contract with Master will still be in effect. At the same time, you will become one of my own subordinates and my commands will supercede even his.”

“So what's different?” Zangru shrugged, “I've wanted to give up this damned life for a long time.”

“Are you certain? You will lose your immortality.”

A bitter smile crawled upon his face, “Immortality? What is that even worth? A long life is just more misery; I got my chance to kill everyone in that bastard's harem, my goals in life are complete. I would have killed myself if this damned body let me; even that saint of rot under Raymond didn't have much effect. I ended up having to escape because I realised he would be left with no choice but to keep me alive.”

“I can kill you whenever I want,” the broodmother said casually.

Zangru jumped in shock for a moment, “Ah, no! I haven't lived this new life long enough yet. I think Asura suits me well!”

He knew just how treacherous the broodmother was. If he took her words to be true, she would just burn his mind and keep his body alive to draw blood from everyday. The true torture came from the fact that his body considered pain to be pleasure; he didn't want such a life.

However, he didn't expect an actual laugh coming from her, “Well, I won't be drawing any more blood from you. I have enough in store.”

“Hmm? Didn't you want to create more of these half-demigods?”

“I have enough for now, I will not have to rely on them too much in the future. I am more eager for the Eternal Warriors of the Night.”

“But that needs complete souls, it's an enormous amount of divinity. Those two other demigods you ate won't be enough, how will you get the rest?”

“That is my problem to worry about,” she dismissed.

Zangru then raised his head to look towards the sky as well, “Broodmother... Are you lonely?”

“Do you think that is even possible?” she replied icily.

“Heh, freedom and loneliness are two sides of a coin. Sometimes... being bound to someone is just better. Whatever, I think that Asura thing suits me quite well. Remember to use all your divinity, don't be stingy!”

“... I will not give you a single additional unit.” Google search 𝐟𝓇𝘦𝒆w𝚎𝐛n𝐨ν𝙚𝚕. c𝚘ｍ

“So you won't give me less than I'm worth? Hahahaha—GLUG!” his voice was interrupted by a thick tendril.

...

“Master, I am ready to advance. I will need about a month,” the broodmother's voice rang in Richard's mind.

Still lying in bed in his laboratory, so tired he was barely even awake, Richard sprang up to his feet, “That fast?”

Ever since she had hit level 5, her advancements had taken progressively longer for each level. Getting to level 9 took her more than a year, so an important watershed like level 10 taking only a month was strange.

“I am well prepared now,” she answered, pausing for a moment before continuing, “It is also because of the... gift you gave me.”

The last part of that had been said in a strange tone, especially the word gift, but this didn't register in Richard's heart. He got up and put on his robes, pulling the covers over Rosie before pacing back and forth. After a dozen rounds, he finally stopped and made up his mind, “That's good. Give me all the data on your troops; we'll be going to war once you're done.”

“Your army is prepared,” she answered, sending a deluge of information before he could even finish nodding.

Richard walked to the laboratory window and gazed at the city in the afternoon, looking up at the beautiful red clouds that were lined by the sun's gold. He tapped gently on the window, muttering to himself before sending out an order in his mind, “Everyone commanding 3,000 troops or greater is to return to Bluewater at once. I'm giving you a month.”

The order quickly reached the cloned brains, who started transmitting it to the ends of the Crimson Dukedom. In only a few moments, his voice resounded throughout Faelor from the Iron Triangle Empire's borders to the south of the Land of Turmoil. All of Richard's territory knew at once that he was going to war.

......

Far away in a barracks on the borders of the Iron Triangle Empire, Gangdor was drinking with a large number of officers. Having just lost a guessing game, he cursed in jest as he poured a huge cup to the brim and lifted it up. Just as he was about to drop it all into his mouth, however, he suddenly froze up and let some of the liquid spill onto his bared chest.

The officers sensed something amiss and fell silent immediately, staring at the commander they loved. While the mysterious Andrieka was by far the most successful general of the Crimson Dukedom outside of the war god himself, Gangdor was the one who commanded loyalty.

A mysterious smile appeared on the brute's face as he stood up abruptly, emptying all of the liquor into his mouth before smashing the empty cup onto the table with full force, “It's about damn time! Get ready for war, brothers! Actual war!”

It took a moment for the words to register, but a cacophony of cheers quickly filled the barracks. Wine flew everywhere while some of the boorish men started wrestling, everyone roused for battle. Everyone started picking up entire barrels of ale to empty; they wouldn't be able to drink themselves stupid during the war.

These men hadn't fought seriously in a year and a half. They had tried repeatedly to provoke the Iron Triangle Empire at first, and did have some success getting into minor skirmishes, but these always ended quickly and without any satisfying end. Under orders to not go more than fifty kilometres into the Iron Triangle borders, with clarification that they couldn't spend much time even within that limit, they couldn't give chase. Richard had decided that he would let the Empire play smart for a while as he focused on business elsewhere, most importantly the barbarian plains where a lot of divinity could be found.

Of course, Gangdor was never one to challenge orders from Richard himself. Raymond had tried to use the Andrieka identity to make some changes at times, but the two had butted heads and in the end Gangdor was the one with the authority. That had led to the situation where the Crimson Army garrison here had nothing to do. Gangdor himself could only watch on as Kellac, Zendrall, and the rest made regular trips deep into the barbarian plains and defeated powerful enemies. For someone who loved battles, this patience was extremely rare.

As the generals were venting, the brute suddenly raised a hand to quiet them down and smiled mysteriously once more, “His Grace has returned!”

““His Grace has returned!”” These generals were trusted aides, most of them having started as free Archerons. They knew exactly what Richard's return to Faelor meant, and that the Dukedom would be expanding very quickly in the near future.

Gangdor raised his voice again, “Stay put and guard this place for me, watch those weasels like hawks! His Grace just summoned me, I need to go back. Nobody's attacking without permission, got it? Hahaha, my axe is feeling... Eh...”

Looking at his enormous axe, Gangdor snorted strangely and returned to his command tent and sat down, “I'm a big commander now, I have to maintain my image! Which of you is good with a blade? Come, get me bald! Make it so shiny that people can see their reflections!”

“Let me!”

“I'll do it!”

“I'm an old man, I won't get this chance in the future!”

“You're just an archer, you bastard! Go away!”

The officers grew rowdy one again, rushing over all at once. In the end, each of them took a turn with the razor to do something so honourable, cutting tiny sections at a time. Eventually, a fat man covered his large hands with grease and started kneading Gangdor's bald head. The group was only satisfied once each of them had a chance to appreciate their reflection.

1021 - City of Sin

Land Of The Gods

Looking at his reflection on the blade of his axe, Gangdor grinned with satisfaction before bounding out of the tent and jumping on his mount. He didn't even pack anything and charged out immediately, although he stopped after a while and reined in the horse before circling twice. Calling over an elite shadowspear knight, he whispered a few instructions into the drone's ear. The knight nodded and gathered a small squad, setting off westward at a gallop.

It was only when this team was out of sight that the brute scratched his head with excitement and a twinge of fear, cursing quietly before galloping across the red earth.

......

Thousands upon thousands of warriors in tattered cloaks were steadily marching through the barbarian plains, leaving behind a cloud of dust in their wake. Some of the soldiers were ambling forward with exhaustion, but anyone who assumed weakness would be making a fatal mistake. These men had already defeated several powerful barbarian tribes, completely wiping out quite a few.

Two men in robes were riding at the centre of the army, a strange combination of black and white. The man on the right was evidently old, his wrinkles so deep they seemed to be carved by a knife. On the left was a middle-aged mage, but his face was unnaturally green. They were Kellac and Zendrall. The combination of a priest and necromancer was quite unique, especially with both at level 17, but they made for a terrifying duo. Formed up around them were hundreds of level 10 humanoids from the broodmother, the drones of war having become a nightmare for the barbarians.

The pair didn't talk much, but Zendrall's expression suddenly changed one moment as he closed his eyes for a minute, “His Grace is gathering his followers, we must make haste and reach Bluewater within a month.”

The necromancer had already received a message from Richard before, asking him to take care of a spy who was to be publicly executed. He was to imprison the target's soul so that others couldn't take it away, but having found out that he and Kellac were almost at their next target Richard had allowed him the time to finish this task before returning. However, he was now summoned alongside the rest of his peers.

Kellac hesitated for a moment; the situation in Bluewater had clearly changed. They were only a thousand kilometres from the core of the barbarian plains, where the last of the Highland Wargods shrines hid the current pope. That shrine's destruction would completely eliminate the Highland Wargod from Faelor, completing his vengeance once and for all. Without any faith, the deity would fall.

Kellac didn't know if Richard had the ability to force his way into even an unstable divine kingdom, but he considered it a victory just to set up the Highland Wargod's eventual demise. As a mortal, this was still incomparably glorious. And yet, the target was in their palms but they were to retreat; it was a difficult decision to make.

Still, the priest smiled wryly, “Alright, what about the army?”

“Let's bring them to the Land of the Gods for now, we still have the entire month. We can rush back to the Oasis after the soldiers are settled in.”

Kellac nodded, “Agreed. Do you know why Lord Richard is summoning us all of a sudden?”

“Hmm... Perhaps a new war?”

“At this scale? To put the plains aside... The target might just be the Iron Triangle Empire or even a god.”

“Lady Flowsand already destroyed barbarian morale when she was still present; conquering the place is only a matter of time. They won't recover for decades, we can leave for now.”

Kellac frowned and shook his head, “I'm afraid it isn't that simple. The Wargod already rebuilt his church twice, and the priests we fight haven't been dropping in levels. The rate at which his faith has been recovering is astonishing... I feel like there's something hidden within the City of Beginnings that we need to learn of soon; I still feel a faint sense of fear even thinking of the depths of the plains.”

“Even you?” Zendrall looked at Kellac in surprise, “For a grand cleric to... Nevermind. His Grace has returned, and Faelor isn't comparable to Norland; even if there are any threats hidden in there, he will find a way.”

Kellac visibly relaxed and nodded, starting on orders for the soldiers to encamp. However, Zendrall interrupted him once more, “His Grace wants me to return to Bluewater immediately, the astral chrysalis is on the way. I need to deal with a criminal.”

Kellac nodded, not asking to go with. Zendrall was bound to Richard by the soul, and with their level and the assistance of the network of cloned brains it wasn't difficult for them to communicate both ways. He himself was more a follower of Flowsand instead.

The Land of the Gods that they were turning away from was an enormous new city in the barbarian plains, located where the Church of the Highland Wargod once was. This was the same place Richard had taken the Doomsday IMprint from, but now it was a sprawling city with a church of the Eternal Dragon at the centre. Of course, the altar here couldn't compare to the ruins found naturally in other planes; without a powerful priest watching over the ceremony, a majority of any offering would be lost in transmission. Still, Flowsand had strengthened the place with her Book of Time when she was still around; it was at least stable.

The Land of the Gods also had shrines to the three goddesses now tied to Richard, all located in a ring around the central church. This was what gave it its name, and over the past years it had evolved into a tactical base for the Crimson Dukedom in the barbarian plains. It was a military city, with more religious officials and soldiers than commoners.

Even the goddesses themselves had been shocked when they learnt of the city's construction. Although they were now staunch allies, they had started to fear this powerful deity who kept his real name a secret from them. Flowsand had originally told them that the giant dragon was only a servant to the true deity, but even his timeforce was so powerful that they would be shackled to him if they tried to use it. Just how powerful was the god backing this dragon? They were likely strong enough to head their own pantheon.

And yet, the name of the city alone made it clear that the dragon had little care for fame or glory; he was quite willing to share it all. Of course, this didn't mean he would yield to them either. It was futile to even guess at who this was; the deity was such a powerful existence but still had no interest in faith at all. The two churches in Faelor didn't even gather much piety, instead just functioning as markers for his existence.

If Richard knew about the goddesses' worries, he might have quoted what a grand mage in the Deepblue had once told him— the old dragon just liked to leave his claw marks everywhere he went.

When Io and Nyra had left with Flowsand for the Darkness, Kellac had ended up becoming the head priest of the Church. One could still present offerings here, but the rate of return was so low that it wasn't worth the effort; Richard's own followers just went to Faust for any ceremonies before returning. There hadn't been a ceremony in Faelor in months.

This lack of divine grace had slowed the training of new clerics and priestesses, their advancement slow enough to just match the followers of the three goddesses now. Still, the city continued to develop rapidly as the Crimson Dukedom poured money into it, blooming into a population of more than ten thousand people with merchants and mercenaries always abound. There were many supply points and fortresses around, the various armies taking advantage of this place to mount their assaults deeper into the barbarian ancestral plains.

1022 - City of Sin

Rights

A fierce battle was currently underway in the vast barbarian plains. One side consisted of a few hundred barbarians including the elderly and children, everyone capable of holding a weapon engaged in battle to try and break their way out of the encirclement. However, the small tribe was no match for the 2,000 or so people surrounding them.

The aggressors didn't really look like an army; they were a mix of different races using all sorts of weapons and not even in a standard uniform. It looked like they'd been put together in haste, but the battle flag flying amidst their core was one that struck terror into the hearts of every local of the barbarian planes— the Apocalypse Tree, the standard of the Crimson Duke.

Somehow, despite the chaotic mix of soldiers, the army was surprisingly competent. The soldiers had great chemistry and were arrayed in neat formations that cut off all routes of escape, the spearmen and crossbowmen forcing the barbarians to retreat further and further even as they took down any stragglers.

The commander at the back suddenly pointed her sword straight upwards, prompting a loud horn that had her men part ways. Moving through the opened path, she came before the encircled tribe, “Surrender now, and I can guarantee that your elderly and children will be treated just like any normal citizens of the Crimson Dukedom. All adults will be put into fifteen years of hard labour or military service, after which you will gain freedom. You have one minute to think it over; keep struggling, and you will be slaves unto your death.”

Her voice was sharp and melodious, yet full of a murderous spirit. It was hard to make out anything about her physique— she was covered in black armour and a thick cloak with a cloth veil covering all of her face save her eyes— but the nonchalance with which she stared at the near hundred collapsed bodies on the field spoke volumes of her experience.

An old man in shaman's clothing soon walked out from amidst the tribe, arriving before the commander and sighing before prostrating himself at her feet in surrender. The surrounding soldiers from the Crimson Dukedom immediately erupted into revelry; another victory!

Every tribe that surrendered was a large amount of money for this specific army, a good chunk of which trickled down to every soldier. Most barbarians were powerful warriors regardless of gender, so they normally chose military service and would be loaned out to the nobility as bodyguards. With the close bonds these people shared with their elderly and children, loyalty was not an issue and the pay was thus high.

The commander jumped off her horse and watched her subordinates taking in the barbarian warriors, pulling her mask down to reveal an exquisite smile. A mage next to her quickly stepped forward, “The profit is about 13,000 gold after deducting the warriors' pat, my Lady. This is enough to buy the Zaart brothers; their presence will help our operations greatly.”

The woman sighed, “Or we could but a hundred warhorses. It should be at least as useful.”

“We can buy horses at any time, outstanding rangers like them are rare. We need their scouting abilities.”

“Alright, I'll think over it... What's that?” the woman's eyes immediately narrowed as she looked into the distance.

One of her subordinates immediately crouched down and put an ear to the ground, listening for a few moments before jumping back up, “A ten-man heavy cavalry squad.”

Why would heavy cavalry be around the barbarian plains? The terrain in this place was complicated and the climate terrible, the days scorching hot and the nights freezing cold. One couldn't even reliably find water for hundreds of kilometres at a time; this wasn't a place for heavy cavalry. The only exception to this was Richard's shadowspear knights and another humanoid drone that was created specifically for these plains, but this commander didn't have access to either of those core soldiers.

Although there weren't many, she still gathered her troops into a defensive line while the light cavalrymen mounted their horses as a precaution. There were far too many ways with magic and the divine to hide traces of an army, and this could be an illusion used to mask an incoming enemy.

However, once the cavalrymen did appear, the warriors sighed in relief and dispersed. The sinister black armour and lofty mounts were a signature of the shadowspear knights, and from the looks of it this was a messenger squad. There had never been news of these soldiers betraying the Crimson Dukedom, so there was no need for them to worry about it. At this point, it was common knowledge that these soldiers weren't normal humans.

The woman sighed and waited for the elite shadowspear leading the squad to gallop towards her. The drone dismounted and bowed formally before speaking, “Lady Sisley, I come bearing orders from General Gangdor. His Grace has returned to Faelor and is gathering his followers, saints, grand mages, and any generals with more than 3,000 soldiers in Bluewater City; they're to gather by the month. You are to join them immediately, your army can withdraw to a nearby fortress until new orders are given.”

Sisley asked the knight a few questions before letting him leave, standing in a daze for a while as the conversation played through her head. A single thought dominated everything: was she really worth the summoning?

The entire situation was strange. Richard was gathering his core team, but she had been forgotten ever since the Schumpeters had given her to him as a peace offering. Starting from a paltry few hundred gold in Faelor with only a dozen subordinates, she had been sent off to the life of a mercenary. It had taken years to build this army of 2,000, and in recent times she had been allowed to join in on the colonisation of the barbarian plains with a payment of gold and equipment. She was starting to hire talented warriors and mages, growing the scale of her battles as she hoped to snowball into a truly formidable force.

However, she wasn't there yet. Richard's orders were clearly for those commanding 3,000 men or above, and she didn't qualify for that requirement. For the orders to come from Gangdor meant that he was putting his own name on the line and vouching for her in advance. This wasn't the first time the brutish man had shown her kindness; he had provided her a lot of aid throughout her growth, making sure the Dukedom never gave her any troubles when it came to selling her spoils or employing warriors.

Sisley sighed and looked around at her closest subordinates whose eyes were shining with glee; this army had never been considered an official part of the Crimson Dukedom, and being drafted into the official forces would mean a lot to these half-mercenaries. Their status would grow immediately, and the equipment and pay were twice as good as what she could afford right now. Being a soldier for the Crimson Duke was a life with just as much luxury as responsibility, unlike now where they were fighting just to make a living.

Suddenly feeling a little stifled, she took off her helmet and let her gleaming black hair come loose, taking a few deep breaths before looking around, “You heard what he said. Don't go around making trouble when I'm not here, stay on the defensive.”

The cheers that erupted around her before she even finished left her a little surprised. Truthfully, she didn't want to go meet Richard, at least not yet. However, even if it was for these men that had followed her all this while, she had to.

......

Within Bluewater, Richard ended his routine meditation at the crack of dawn. This was the third day since he had come back to Faelor, and he had a special person to visit.

He returned to the magic section of the inner city, entering a quiet courtyard behind the laboratory. The place wasn't large, with only a small wooden building that wasn't even locked, but he gingerly opened the door and entered the living room that had become a library with a hundred bookshelves.

He walked over and casually looked through a few pieces of paper laid on a desk, spending an entire half hour immersed in a world of jumbled formulae and abstract diagrams. It all looked to be broken, but it didn't take him long to see the link between them. Of course, any grand runemaster would gasp at the sight; someone here was working on improving a fundamental activation unit!

Trying to improve singular activation units was no simple task, requiring prohibitively large calculations for the slightest change. Every unit had been altered and improved over centuries, with even legendary beings having contributed to some; these structures were near perfect. And yet, having spent some time validating the conjectures within these pages, Richard found that the change was likely to be positive!

Footsteps echoed in the corridors as an old man eventually came down to the living room, freezing up in disbelief, “Richard?”

Richard turned around to look at the white-haired man whose movements were visibly slowed, locking onto the still-youthful eyes as he waved the writing in his hand, “Interesting idea. To think you could actually come up with improvements on this scale... You really are talented, Perrin.”

1023 - City of Sin

Quickthink

Perrin ambled over to a cabinet nearby and took out three designs, “Take a look, these are what I've come up with. They're not complete, but I've written down my thought process if that helps.”

Richard took the designs and glanced at them, his expression quickly changing. Two of the runes were grade 1, but the third was grade 2 and could increase cast speed by 10%. This was an extremely useful rune for any mage. He immediately pulled a chair over and sat down, starting to analyse every activation unit in the design.

He could already be considered a master of rune theory, but even so it took him an entire hour to go through it all. The rune was called Quickthink and approached the idea in a way he hadn't even imagined, using three entirely new activation units amongst the 23 in total that made it up. This design standard wasn't far from his own; if not for the curse and low level, Perrin would easily become a grand runemaster in the future.

If one thought about it, this wasn't even that surprising. This was a true genius who could seek out knowledge about the myriad planes when he was completely in the dark, laying a good foundation for the development of planar geometry in all of Faelor. Perrin's talent in this specific field surpassed Richard's own, the access to Norland's systemised education in mathematics only furthering his view. Even in Norland, his talent as a mathematician would be at the very top of the plane.

Such a pity that he wasn't even level 10... Without the mana to support, even the most talented runemaster would never be able to go far. Richard noticed a number of issues with the rune design, but every one of them had arisen due to the same reason— a lack of comprehension of how condensed mana worked. Perrin could only use his imagination to substitute for a natural understanding. Without corrections, these designs would never work.

Richard sighed and scanned Perrin with Insight, hoping that there had been some changes to his condition over the past years that gave him a chance to develop. He gasped at the sight, his eyes growing brighter and brighter until they were spitting flames in front of him. The black fog around his heart that came from Runai's curse was expected— perhaps only Ferlyn could do something about this and even so at an impossibly high cost— but all around it was a wave of timeforce that was constantly eroding away at the divine power; while this wasn't enough to resist the curse in its entirety, it could at least slow the rate at which he lost his life.

“Were you healed by any priests recently?” he asked.

“No, but in my research into timeforce I went to the Church of the Eternal Dragon twice. It's just that nobody here can access the power directly ever since Miss Flowsand left... Oh, right! The first time I went, I had the Quickthink design with me. I heard a voice telling me to put the design on the altar, and it sounded like Miss Flowsand's so I did that. The voice then told me the design wasn't complete, and to come back when I did finish to offer it completely.”

“Offer it?” Richard was astonished. He hadn't thought rune designs could be used as offerings, especially at grade 2. Even the weakest he had seen as options during his own ceremonies was grade 3s that had the potential of grade 4.

It was all rather confusing, but he brushed it off and continued, “You're quite lucky, that should be the will of the Eternal Dragon. You said completely, does that mean you got a partial blessing now?”

“Yes. The voice told me that it would weaken the curse, and that any future extensions to my life would have a greater effect.”

“Huh... That's good, it looks like we have some hope after all. I thought I'd need to kill Runai entirely, but now it seems like getting her down to a lesser deity should be enough. Now we just need to think of ways to restore the life force you already lost.” Richard opened a little magic-sealing case and pushed it over, “Drink this when you can.”

Perrin took a crystal bottle out of the case, revealing a clear liquid within that held a small section of a branch. An intense aroma assaulted his nostrils the moment he opened it, but the one whiff washed away all of his fatigue. His eyes went wide, “This is...”

“Branch and sap from when a young tree of life first advances. I expected it to give you three more years, but it looks like there will be more than that now.”

“Three years... Isn't that too precious?”

“This is payment,” Richard waved the designs around.

The two continued talking for a while, mostly discussing rune design and mathematics. Even Richard lost track of time quickly as he immersed himself in the conversation. At this point, Perrin could talk to him on level ground in terms of mathematics. On top of that, he was a font of ideas that were quite inspiring; within a year, he would likely be designing grade 3 runes. While he would only ever be able to come up with designs, that was fine— innovating was much harder in any profession than execution; one could always look for a great runemaster to craft these runes but it was impossible to just find people who could design them. Even Rosie couldn't compare in this department.

Richard himself found himself learning a lot from the discussion, all three of the designs having piqued his interest. This was especially true for Quickthink; an ordinary rune wouldn't provoke the Eternal Dragon's attention. He spent all evening immersed in research, only realising a short while before midnight that the rune's value wasn't in the new activation units but in the ordering of the existing ones. The main problem with speed casting was that it required greater mana control, and this rune facilitated that.

With this new inspiration, he immediately came up with ideas that could imitate one of Flowsand's classic spells— Outburst. No ordinary rune could reach her standards, of course, but it would still be able to stand shoulder to shoulder with his own bloodline ability, Blaze. If the design succeeded, it would be grade 4.

He immediately buried himself in the project, not taking much time to draw a general sketch of the first draft. It was already light when he looked up, and despite the surge of fatigue he skipped to the window and looked at the morning sun with glee.

Few people understood the joy of research and exploration, of coming up with something new. Some respected it, others did not, but only the innovators new just how exhilarating it was to work on the cutting edge. Countless people threw themselves into magic for this very reason; without the contributions of generations of legendary mages, Norland would not be where it was today.

Not finding it in himself to rest, he headed straight into the command centre at the castle. There were still countless things to take care of before a large-scale war, and Zendrall was nearby as well.

The necromancer reached the hall at exactly ten in the morning, and looking him up and down for a while Richard's gaze dulled, “You still aren't healed?”

“Not yet, my Lord. I am still someone who deals with souls, even the Eternal Dragon doesn't take too kindly to me. I can only wait to heal with my own strength.”

“Ugh...” Richard tapped the table softly, grumbling to himself.

1024 - City of Sin

Eve Of The Execution

It had been a year since Zendrall had led a large amount of undead alongside the regular army to bring down the second shrine to the Highland Wargod, but he had also been ambushed by a demigod in the process. An enormous amount of divine energy had burrowed into his system, dropping him by two levels directly. This was also with the fortune of his practice of Norlandic magic having changed him somewhat; otherwise, there would have been a real possibility of all his mana being destroyed. Had that happened, he would have been forced to become a lich entirely and give his phylactery to Richard for safekeeping.

Zendrall had become a grand mage a few years ago, but after this injury he relied on extensive battle to slowly recover the death energy he had lost. Still, he had only regained one level in all this time and had found a new bottleneck in getting to level 18 that hadn't existed before. Richard noticed from Insight that the necromancer still had an enormous amount of divine energy tearing him apart from within; he hadn't properly recovered at all.

Still, this didn't seem to bother the man himself, who said calmly, “I only need time, my Lord; you needn't worry. Now, where is the prisoner I need to deal with, and by when do you need it done?”

Richard fell into thought for a moment. Link was a level 16 great mage, and with Zendrall's condition imprisoning his soul would incur a huge cost without even a guarantee of success. The Highland Wargod's divine energy could also use the moment of weakness to launch an extended attack that would be devastating. Considering all these factors, he firmly shook his head, “No need for now. Whatever, let's see just who will try to stop me from killing that bastard; I'll return to Norland tomorrow, get some rest.”

......

By the time Richard returned to Faust, news of a Link Myron being marked for execution by Richard as a result of attempted assault on Rosie Archeron had already spread. With the turbulence already existing within the City of Miracles, this news had been blown up by the minor nobles who didn't have an island of their own. Many still hated Richard for killing their saints not long ago, and yet here he was starting a new issue.

The Myrons were a ducal family that had accelerated their development in recent years. Many believed that they would earn themselves a place amongst the fourteen in ten years, which spoke volumes of how powerful they were. Link hadn't been sent to study in Rosie's workshop for money; as someone who had formerly studied under Lunor, he was an olive branch to the Archeron Family to test whether an alliance was possible. Rumours were abound even then of altercations between him and runemaster Lunor's direct disciples.

Ever since he had become a true runemaster, Link had grown from a talented youth to a core inheritor of the family. The current Duke was Link's uncle, and he wouldn't sit by as the hope of the younger generation was snuffed out. Everyone was eager to see just what would happen on the day of sentencing.

The Archerons had already booked the execution grounds for Faust in advance; it was to occur the next day. When Richard arrived at his study, the old butler knocked and entered to pass him some news, “Duke Myron sent an envoy a short while before you returned, my Lord. There was a public declaration that Link had to be put on trial in a court overseen by the assembly, and that the conviction could not be determined by the Archerons alone.”

“Where's the envoy?” Richard asked.

“He... already left, my Lord. Forgive me.”

“Sigh,” he patted the old man's shoulder, “It's not your fault; it wouldn't be a good idea for you to detain him without me present. But it isn't too late yet. Go spread the news that I'm back; Myron will rush over once he hears about it.”

The Archerons were currently the talk of the city, so all news regarding them would spread quickly. The envoy was back on the island within two hours, arrogantly bringing the same message. However, this time a few rune knights burst forth from the darkness and killed all of his guards, breaking both his legs before throwing him straight through the portal. The shrieks of excruciating pain when he landed resounded through the common lobby, a slap in the face of Duke Myron.

A short while later, the furious Duke was outfitted for battle as he led hundreds of heavily armed warriors towards the Archeron portal. Every one of these soldiers was at least level 12, and from the looks of it this wasn't a mere threat. These men moved as one with a frightening killing intent radiating from them; this was a troop that had killed thousands upon thousands of enemies.

Myron's expression was cold as frost as he took big steps towards the teleportation temple, pointing his heavy sword at the ground the moment he was inside. His gaze was now as sharp as a sword, half-white beard covered in a layer of frost as he waved his soldiers to file into the alcove that led to the Archeron island.

However, the portal suddenly lit up and an enormous figure walked through, aura alone frightening half the people in the shrine with a significant number of them falling to the floor. “Ogre lord!” someone screamed.

The Duke's eyes twitched as he glared at Tiramisu. He had heard long ago that Richard Archeron had a terrifying ogre lord following him, and seeing the man in person that description couldn't be more accurate. Just the weight of the hammer and armour would render anyone speechless with awe, while the ogre's aura seemed as frightening as a dragon's.

The Medium Rare head sneered, his lone eye glaring at the soldiers, “These runts are here to die? I've seen the crest before!”

“Not yet!” Tiramisu scolded him, “Wait until Master arrives, or he'll be unhappy.”

Medium Rare groaned, “It's so annoying to wait for Boss!”

At this point, the ogre lord swung Tenton around, the air parting with a whistle as everyone at or near the saint realm shivered with fear. That whistle was so high-pitched ordinary people couldn't even hear it, but even so the threat was obvious. Myron himself paled, realising immediately that he himself was no match. He could perhaps kill the ogre using all of his troops, but that would still entail huge losses.

However, the portal continued to glow as a row of rune knights walked out, getting into a dense box formation right behind the ogre. While the onlookers stared with interest, the Duke's face only grew more ashen.
f𝘳𝒆𝑒𝓌𝒆𝗯n𝗼𝘷ℯl. 𝑐𝚘𝘮

The number of rune knights that had just walked out came close to the number of heavily armoured soldiers he had with him. In comparison, even the disciplined and ferocious troop he commanded was a joke. Without a significant superiority in numbers, no elite army could match rune knights. These 200-odd rune knights alone could crush Myron and his troops to dust!

However, the Duke's expression suddenly changed and he started laughing, “The Archerons really are interesting, gathering so many of their rune knights in Faust!”

“I might not have many other skills to speak of, but I do know how to use my superior forces to get my way,” a clear voice chimed in.

Myron's eyes narrowed, “Lord Richard!”

“Duke,” Richard smiled from ten metres away.

“Rune knights aren't everything,” Myron sneered.

“My experiences are to the contrary. When the number's high enough, I've found they are,” Richard flashed a dazzling smile.

“Heh, but why do I hear that there still aren't any legends in your family?”

It was at this point that a tall figure entered the teleportation temple, “Lord Richard! I haven't seen you for a few days!”

1025 - City of Sin

Considerations

Richard first took a look at Julian and then turned back to Duke Myron and laughed derisively, “This is your backer?”

The Duke's eye twitched, but he quickly nodded, “And what of it?”

Myron had no idea what had happened in Faelor, but knowing how dangerous Richard was he had summoned some of his elite troops as a backup in case reasoning failed. At the very least, he hoped to be able to obtain a public trial which would give him a chance to save his nephew. Julian was supposed to have come in later as a last resort, but the man wasn't one to listen to anyone.

Richard smiled at the faux pas. The Myron Family had vouched for Link personally to get him into Rosie's workshop; although this wasn't a formal contract of alliance, it certainly would be considered a beginning towards that. To find them working together with a publicly known enemy of his all this while was annoying, even if Link had revealed it before. “Nothing,” he shrugged it off.

It was at this moment that a fully armoured knight appeared behind him, standing there quietly. This knight was only level 16, quite a bit away from sainthood, but even amongst the rune knights who had many members of a higher level than her, she stood right next to Richard. The Duke was about to mock Richard at the sight, but he suddenly sensed something strange and turned to find Julian's smile gone. His eyes seemed to be frozen on the knight.

This prompted Myron to look at her once more, giving more weight to the full suit of legendary armour. The blank mask covering her face implied that she had an identity to hide, but she was still level 16 through and through. Was she hiding her strength? This line of thought was quickly dismissed; it would normally take a legend to hide their might from him so thoroughly.

While the Duke continued with his conjectures, Richard turned to Julian, “What is it, Mister Julian? Is a mere level 16 paladin making you hesitate? This doesn't quite seem to be your style.”

“Who is she?” However, Julian paid no attention to the taunts and continued to stare at Nasia. Their last encounter had left a deep impression on him, from the powerful buff to Richard to the death of his three clones that tipped the scales of battle. Each of those level 16 clones had the same amount of experience and technique as he did, but they had still lost three to one. It hadn't even taken much time; she had just slipped out of sight and destroyed them before returning.

“A follower of mine, her name's Nasia,” Richard mentioned calmly.

“Nasia...” Julian repeated the name, his eyes glowing a deep purple that was almost black. This was an ability similar to Richard's Insight, but despite his best attempts the paladin seemed to be hidden within a fog that blocked all vision. The woman's aura was detestable, almost giving him a feeling of fundamental rejection. It was similar to timeforce, but not quite the same either.

Richard calmly allowed him to do as he wished. His own attempts with Insight had been blocked by Nasia's armour before, and he hadn't come across an ability that surpassed it even amongst legendary mages. He believed it was impossible for Julian to glean anything.

Julian remained expressionless, but his eyes kept flickering with hesitation. With Nasia around, either Richard or Tiramisu would be able to fight him off while the 200 rune knights would be free to gang up on and eliminate him. He also didn't know how many times that buff could be used; he could still hold his own somewhat against just one, but fighting both the ogre and Richard in a buffed state would be the death of him.

The man grunted, flipping off the Church of the Eternal Dragon that was within sight in frustration. If not for his power being suppressed so much in Faust, he wouldn't need to be so cautious around this arrogant kid. Even if he wasn't sure of victory, he would at least know that he could escape if things went south.

This was a gamble where being wrong meant death and being right wouldn't even guarantee survival. There was no way anyone would actually take it. Still, Richard kept up his guard in case Julian went berserk. Those who succumbed to the laws of chaos tended to lose their rationality, and the inherent unpredictability of their actions was what made them so dangerous.

Eventually, Julian broke the silence with a soft laugh, “Why so nervous? I'm just here to greet you; go on and deal with whatever you want, don't mind me!”

Myron's face blanched at the betrayal, but he just sighed and stepped forward, “Lord Richard, Link might have committed a crime, but saying he deserves the death penalty for it is a serious accusation. My family does not believe your public statement, and even if you were speaking the truth this should be a matter for the courts to decide. The boy is an earl's successor, the assembly has to consider this case. I ask that you send him to the Alliance prisons.”

“That righteousness is nice and all, but what if I don't? Do you plan on snatching him away?” Richard asked dully.

This caused the Duke to go stiff. His elites had been the first backup plan, hopefully able to rush in and exfiltrate Link, but Richard's military force was much stronger than expected. Just what kind of family was so bored as to leave hundreds of rune knights lazing around on their island at all times? Weren't they supposed to be used in war?

It was at this point that he came up with a conjecture that terrified him. The Archerons had been played in the political arena in recent times, and Richard still hadn't retaliated against the conspiracies. The Myron Family had just delivered itself to him on a silver platter, becoming a scapegoat that allowed him to demonstrate his power.

Just as he was about to respond, Richard waved his hand and took a sword from a rune knight nearby. He then stuck the weapon into the ground, “If you want to catch him, you're welcome to try. Know this— any Myron who passes this sword will be killed!”

Having said this, Richard turned back towards the portal. Tiramisu and Nasia went along with him, but the 200 rune knights remained in formation and focused their unwavering attention on Myron and his soldiers. The sword stuck into the ground was extremely eye-catching in this hall, the provocation so great that Myron kept clenching his fists.

The Duke wanted to charge in without a care, but he knew that this was just suicide. His greatest backer seemed to be scared of Richard, so there was nothing he could do. Wait... he suddenly turned towards Julian who was staring at the portal, before looking back at the 200 rune knights; they could do this!

The rune knights only posed a threat to the legendary Julian if they could attack as a group. With how close the two sides were right now, he could break into their formation and cause chaos. At that time, Myron believed his own army would be able to strike down the majority of Richard's knights, dealing a huge blow to the Archeron Family.

The possibility of destroying hundreds of the opponent's rune knights in one fell swoop was almost irresistible, and Myron immediately whispered these thoughts to Julian. However, the man just stood in place as though he had heard nothing for a while before turning and walking away. The Duke was stunned, but he could only smile ruefully and let the feverish thoughts dissipate.

Julian had originally planned to come in with a grandiose excuse of maintaining the order of nobility and promoting fairness in his role as the prime minister. However, that idea was predicated on being able to snatch Link away in one fell swoop without causing bloodshed. The fourteen families of Faust were the pillars of the Sacred Alliance; it was one thing for there to be infighting, but a representative of the royal family attacking them would cause chaos.

The Myron Family trying to steal away one of their own whose sins hadn't been proved was poles apart from attacking the rune knights of one of the floating islands. The latter was an insult to the order of Faust itself, one so grave that it could break the entire Alliance apart. No matter how much hatred he had for the Archerons, how could Julian agree to give Apeiron such a huge problem?

And yet, this should have been a special case. It was common knowledge that Empress Apeiron and Her Excellency Sharon had engaged in battle at Floe Bay. Given her past temper, Her Majesty should have just destroyed the Archeron Family outright. Why was she being careful around them? The Duke came up with a conjecture that he couldn't believe; was Apeiron planning to rule the Sacred Alliance properly?

1026 - City of Sin

Ransom

Once he realised that Apeiron might not be petty after all, Duke Myron changed his attitude completely. His killing intent faded away as he sheathed his longsword, silently turning to his soldiers and having them leave despite the weird stares. Once he was gone, Richard's rune knights retreated as well.

With everything settled down, a pleasant hum rang through the teleportation temple and two puppets walked over to the Archeron alcove, one of them pulling out the sword while the other shone a red beam onto the ground from its chest. The floor in the area started to bubble and froth, slowly filling up the rupture until it was smooth as silk once more; all the damage was recovered. The two puppets then returned to their original positions, turning back into statues.

Nobody batted an eye at the sight.

......

It didn't take long for Duke Myron to send another envoy, this one respectful enough to actually warrant an audience. The man first asked how Rosie was doing, and learning that she was unharmed he argued that Link had too bright a future to be killed off. As per tradition, he requested a chance to pay a ransom for his life.

The envoy then passed over a list of items that would be included within the ransom, the final figure quite significant even considering Richard's wealth. Including a barony in the northwest, the total value offered was far more than what Link was worth.

While the show of force had been one form of diplomacy, this display clearly demonstrated that Myron was anything but brutish. The barony had been carefully picked out to be of great use; although it wasn't large, the place was fertile and on the same road as Maplefire City. It would make for a good supply point and outpost for a marching army, becoming a base for Richard's western endeavours.

However, Richard raised his head and looked the eager envoy in the eye before shaking his head with a smile of regret. The man immediately panicked, his lips quivering as though to say something, but he stopped himself. Richard then placed a palm on his forehead and continued looking through the list, acting as though he was still considering it although his decision had already been made.

His thoughts had already sidetracked. The Link problem was representative of an endemic issue with the current state of the Archerons; their own population couldn't sustain any further expansion, so he had to turn outwards instead. Although external recruits signed strict contracts that divided responsibilities from the start, the only thing that mattered when things went south was power.

Looking back at the list, Myron did present a generous ransom, far more than an ordinary runemaster was worth; the list made it clear that he hoped for Link to become a great runemaster at minimum. Richard was well aware that the youth was already at his limits and wouldn't advance much further at all.

But it mattered far more that a potential ally had tried to stab him in the back. Link might have degraded himself to enter Rosie's workshop, but even so, the only reason he had learned many core secrets of their design philosophy was the backing of the Myron Family and the potential alliance. All chances of a proper alliance had been decimated, and they were about to become enemies instead. He didn't know what the precedent was for dealing with betrayal like that, but while he waited for Noelene to gather the intelligence he needed he didn't mind showing Faust how he handled these issues.

He looked up and beckoned to the envoy who now looked uneasy, passing the list back to him, “This tiny ransom is too small for a future great runemaster.”

...

The envoy returned as quickly as he had left, this time bringing a new barony alongside a huge volume of magic materials and uncommon metals that were a specialty of the Myron Family. This was an enormous list that was worth an entire year's revenue from the whole family.

Richard frowned to himself when he first saw it. It was impossible for the Duke to be unaware of the worth of what he was giving out; this one transaction would set them back for a few years at minimum. It was a bet of current assets for future potential; Myron was hoping for a miracle like Richard himself. After all, not just any family could summon hundreds of rune knights for a rather minor scuffle.

However, the man didn't understand the situation in Richard's main source of income. 150 rune knights being used on a secondary plane wouldn't be a wild number, but Richard saved most of that with the broodmother's drones. He himself wasn't an ordinary runemaster either, while Rosie was starting a revolution in the industry to which the Archerons were the direct beneficiary. Anyone estimating Link Myron's potential using Richard Archeron's display was being a fool.

Richard smiled, beckoning to the envoy once more. However, this time he didn't return the list and instead tapped it softly, “This still isn't convincing enough. Also, Link's been in my personal plane for a long time now, and he knows some things I don't want him to disclose. We need to solve that problem. Now, my specialty is with fire and the other elements; I don't deal in the soul. I'll consider the offer if you present a good solution, but if you can't Link will be executed right away.”

The envoy left and returned swiftly, placing two magic-sealing cases in front of Richard. He opened one to find ten divine crystals within, all standard unit power. This wasn't too great an amount; with the broodmother around, no amount of divinity was adequate. However, the other case contained Duke Myron's solution to the problem that left even Richard taken aback for a moment; it was a Camarilla's Silence scroll!

Camarilla's Silence was a legendary spell that prohibited the target from revealing information, holding similar power to a deity's restrictions on their pope. It was near impossible to break this compulsion, but the spell hadn't been seen in hundreds of years. A scroll containing it was an invaluable treasure. This truly was a way to give both sides what they wanted. Link would be unable to discuss anything related to Faelor while the Myron Family would still regain their future great runemaster. Richard smiled with satisfaction, noting the envoy's sigh of relief.

He closed the case and looked towards the envoy, “Alright. If Duke Myron can hand over the ransom by dawn tomorrow, we have ourselves a deal.”

The envoy bowed respectfully, “His Grace has already prepared everything, the items will be here shortly. I will inform him immediately.”

Richard nodded and let the man leave, looking at the list on the table and two magic-sealing cases with a strange smile. Things were getting even more interesting; the fact that Myron had placed so much value on a single runemaster showed his ambitions. Reading through the list for a while longer, he eventually laughed and sent a guard out to inform Rosie to return immediately.

Myron acted very quickly. The first batch of goods was in Faust before noon, consisting of the magic materials and metals. Following that, a batch was sent out every hour or two and placed in the plaza of the Archeron island. Richard didn't have any of it moved in, instead letting the shipments pile up in the open for everyone to see. Please visit f𝙧ee𝙬ℯ𝐛𝓃𝐨𝚟𝒆𝘭. c𝒐𝓂

1027 - City of Sin

High Stakes

Within a lavish residence in Lower Faust, Duke Myron was watching a group of soldiers hauling another shipment of goods to the Archeron island from his balcony. Beside him was a tall woman with a lofty aura whose brows were knitted together, “Is this worth it just for Link? You can hire ten runemasters for some time with this; if Link doesn't have the talent we think he does...”

“No!” the Duke snapped, “Richard didn't commit even to the second offer. If I hadn't raised the ransom, Link would have been killed. Tell me this; would you give up so much to kill off an ordinary runemaster? What threat would Link have posed to him that drove him to such a decision?
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“The public execution was to show his stance. If Link had actually raped Rosie, there wouldn't even be an announcement before he died. Now, since there wasn't any substantial damage, why would he kill the offender instead of asking for a ransom? My second amount was enough for even a great runemaster, but he still rejected me. The leader of any family wouldn't stab his own knee with an arrow like that; he has to think Link is worth that much.”

“And what if it really was only because Link knew something he shouldn't?” the woman said with worry. Link's conflicts with Lunor's direct disciples weren't fabricated, but he himself was the source of most of it. However, she wouldn't dare to say such things to the Duke; the youth's mother was extremely dear to Myron, but the talented mage had died from complications during a difficult birth.

“That...” Myron's face contorted with pain as he watched another batch of people leave. The price he had paid was extremely high, but he knew that this was the only way to get Link back. The ransom was worth twenty years of a great runemaster's work, but the Duke kept comforting himself with the thought that there would be eighty more to follow. The worth of a great runemaster wasn't solely in gold either; patience was a virtue any rising family required.

However, the woman's words struck the depths of his heart. What if Link never became a great runemaster? This thought made him lose all semblance of his calm, composed self, and despite an initially calm reaction he suddenly flew into a rage, “Shut your mouth!”

The woman immediately paled, falling completely silent. She had spent decades supporting the Duke, helping him craft his strategy, and this was the first time he had yelled at her. She knew the man was completely lost; not only had he given up a vast amount of resources, but he had also given up some strategic positioning.

The woman knew that Myron would rather have any other family as enemy; only an idiot would challenge the destroyers of the Schumpeters, Josephs, and Mensas when they themselves were planning their march. However, they now had no other choice. Even though the Archerons' crazy assaults had left the seventh level of Faust's islands rather weak, the weakest of those families was a staunch ally of Richard's. The only way to ascend quickly was to seek an ally, and with the investment of Link not having paid off for quite some time, he had been forced to look somewhere else.

The strongest member of the Sacred Alliance was undoubtedly the Empress herself, and Julian was her top aide. The man had approached the Myron Family himself to offer cooperation, so there had been no way to reject. This alliance also meant that the Archerons became an enemy by default.

“HALT!” the Duke suddenly screamed at a group of soldiers heading out. The men stopped in their tracks and turned to look at him, but his mouth opened and closed repeatedly without any words coming out.

“This is the last batch,” the woman beside him stated softly.

Myron's eyes went wide, and he suddenly woke up to reality. This was indeed the last batch, with five others having left before now. How could he take back what had already been given out? The only course of action now was to deliver this last batch and recover Link before planning his next move. He felt like his throat had been lit aflame, but he managed to lower his hand, “Carry on, guard it carefully!”

“Yes, Your Grace! Young Master Link will return!” the saint leading them responded immediately.

The last team set off, quickly disappearing into the night. The Duke heaved a long sigh, speaking in a bitter tone, “I just have to accept that it's all gone. Whatever, I could only hire an ordinary runemaster with this batch.”

Of course, what he didn't mention was that the ordinary runemaster could be hired for thirty years. This didn't even mention the fact that both territorial deeds and the rare materials had been sent over with the first batch.

Myron suddenly felt extremely tired, rubbing his face hard. The woman at his side spoke up, “Don't worry, Link is already a full runemaster before he's reached thirty. His potential to become a great runemaster in the future is very high.”

“But Richard...” the Duke forced a smile.

“Richard did become a runemaster before twenty, but he's someone that Her Excellency Sharon earmarked to become a saint runemaster in the future. He's also a grand runemaster already. Do you expect Link to go that far?”

.......

Rosie arrived in Faust by the time the second of the shipments had arrived, rushing to the study only to see Richard busy studying a rune design.

“That was quick,” he raised his head.

“Huff... Yes... I didn't delay at all... Huff... Why did you... need me so urgently?”

“No need to be so anxious,” he smiled, “I'll go show you some stuff later.”

Rosie nodded and sat down, resting for a few hours to regain some of her energy. While her level as a mage was fairly high, one needed regular experience to get used to planar travel. Having spent years without a single teleportation of this scale, it took especially long to recover. Richard himself remained patient, calmly studying the design as he waited for the remaining shipments to arrive. Once everything had arrived, he put the blueprint down and took Rosie out to the island's plaza to show her the stack of boxes within.

A few of the boxes had already been opened, glimmering brilliantly with the shine of various metals. The soldiers guarding the place couldn't help but gape at the heap regularly; even if they were used to extravagance by now, this was millions of gold. Right at the top were even some magic-sealing cases, the exquisite design and materials alone showing just how valuable the contents were.

Waterflower and Tiramisu had come out to view the spectacle. Although the ogre had basically given up on magic by now, only buffing himself before his physical attacks or otherwise just using it where it made sense, he still enjoyed the aura of magic.

Nasia was present as well, holding the two title deeds and slowly reading through the contents. When she saw Richard come out, she waved the documents in her hands around, “Do these pages really determine ownership of a territory?”

“Yes,” Richard nodded; the paladin was still learning the systems of Norland. He pointed at the documents and sent a small burst of mana within, causing a number of three-dimensional crests to form above the paper that quickly disappeared.

Nasia shrugged, tossing the deeds back into a random box. However, the papers were quickly snatched away by Myron's envoy who was watching from the side, the man so hasty he almost knocked over the box in his rush. He only let out a sigh of relief when he saw the documents were undamaged; these were two baronies, something he might not be able to earn even if he dedicated his entire life to it! Why was someone throwing them away like they were trash?

The paladin ignored the dirty glance, looking at the wooden crates, “If we count it all, it's worth a top-tier offering.”

“Of course. Isn't a future great runemaster worth at least that much?”

Rosie's expression changed immediately, but she swallowed down the words that she was about to say. Richard turned around at that exact time, “Look, this is everything Duke Myron offered us as ransom in exchange for Link's life. There's two baronies as well, quite fertile and in good locations.”

A smile spread across Rosie's face, “Hmm, makes sense. But just how many great runemasters are there in the Sacred Alliance? Is this bit enough?”

The envoy's face immediately warped with anxiety, sweat dripping from his brow.

“Forget it, I already said this was enough,” Richard waved his hand, causing the man to sigh with relief. He then looked over all the crates before pointing at the man, “Follow me, let's go get Link.”

1028 - City of Sin

Execution

The envoy immediately grew excited at the prospect of finding Link, hurrying behind Richard. Rosie, Nasia, and Waterflower followed along, even Tiramisu shrinking himself to enter the castle. Richard headed down into the dungeons, heading through the narrow and humid corridors to one of the best cells in the place that even had a window at the top.

Link was sleeping against one of the corners, hands and legs tied in bronze shackles with silver chains. These antimagic shackles were meant to imprison mages, capable of draining any mana they tried to use. Despite being fatigued, however, he turned around at the sound of footsteps arriving. Disdain flashed across his face as he saw Richard, but he shut his eyes, “What do you want?” Google search 𝐟𝓇𝘦𝒆w𝚎𝐛n𝐨ν𝙚𝚕. c𝚘ｍ

Seeing him, the envoy quickly scrambled forward, “Master Link, His Grace has paid a ransom to free you! I'm here to take you back.”

“Huh?” the youth grunted, “What... Richard will never let me go.”

Standing outside, Richard simply threw the ransom list into the room, “This is how much you're worth, you can have a look.”

Link glanced at a magic scroll that had appeared in Richard's hands before starting to read the contract. Words of sarcasm got stuck in his throat as his expression darkened, and after a minute he looked back at that scroll with fear in his eyes.

“Read everything first,” Richard commented, “And think before you speak. I just might change my mind.”

Link looked down once more, the surprise vanishing from his face. He knew just why the Camarilla's Silence scroll would be part of the exchange, but he groaned and suppressed his pride. Sometimes, survival meant bowing one's head down low.

Richard himself remained calm and collected, watching Link recover his wits at an astonishing pace. He recalled Rosie mentioning that the youth was a soul mage, a field where strong wills were essential. It was rather admirable.

Link eventually put the list aside and looked Richard in the eye, “That thing's for me, isn't it? What are you waiting for, I consent.”

The envoy heaved a sigh of relief, joy flooding his face. The Camarilla's Silence spell was perhaps even more intrusive than any magical slave contracts, and the dynamics of its working were an insult to anyone. Richard would be able to see through every one of Link's memories in the process, something that the youth might have disdained.

However, as he took the item list back from Link, Richard smiled and tore it apart, “Well, I don't.”

Almost everyone froze up in shock, Nasia being the only one who saw it coming as she shrugged in boredom. The envoy flinched, starting to shake as he pointed at Richard, “You... Didn't you agree to the trade?!”

“When did that happen?” Richard asked.

“You clearly said we had a deal if all the ransom was paid before dawn!”

“Hmm.... Did I, now? I've changed my mind.”

“How could you do this?!” the envoy raged, but as his aura started to flare he noticed the cold glint in Richard's eyes and recoiled like someone who had ice water poured over him.

For his part, Richard turned to look at Rosie, “Like I said, anyone trying to rape you is going to die. I didn't go back on those words.”

Rosie's eyelashes fluttered as she looked down, speaking in a soft yet determined voice, “Master, this ransom exceeds a top-tier offering! My grievances are worth nothing in comparison.”

Richard smiled, understanding the form of address as a tactful way to remind him of their relationship. However, he wasn't one to let such sins against someone so important go basically unpunished; those with evil intentions had to fear the Archerons' wrath.

“You mean the pride of a future saint runemaster is worth less than a top-tier offering? No; in fact, no amount of wealth is worth that.” He turned to the envoy, “Go tell myron that the ransom will be with me as insurance in case he tries something stupid; when the execution ends tomorrow, I'll give it all back.”

“D-Deposit...” the man still hadn't recovered from his shock, “With you...”

Richard just chuckled, “Heh, you underestimated how much the Archerons' trust is worth.”

The envoy didn't dare say anything further, leaving quickly. By this point, the rage had faded from Link's eyes as well. He just sighed in disappointment, closing his eyes and curling up once more.

Richard didn't say anything as he left the dungeon, with Rosie following him all the way to his study. She only stopped for a moment along the way, looking at the expensive crates of materials lined up in the plaza. When they entered his study, he buried his head into a rune once more, “Have a look. This design is really amazing, especially thi—”

Before he could even finish, Rosie hugged him from behind. She seemed to turn into a snake as she reached around in the embrace, sealing his lips with a kiss. The two runemasters then lost all ability to concentrate, even on the Crimson Inferno design that had once produced a magic soul.

......

The sky brightened quickly, the surroundings of Faust heating up as people rushed to the execution grounds and filled up the available space. This chaos was quite rare, but many were looking forward to the fight between Duke Myron and Richard Archeron. Some minor nobles were even hoping both sides could kill each other off.

It was almost nine when an army of rune knights set off from the teleportation temple, marching in a snaking formation with their line so long that one couldn't even see the end. Tiramisu was not in this troop, but those with keen eyes noticed many other powerful beings accompanying them regardless.

“Those people look different,” some whispered softly.

“Aren't they his followers?”

“Seems like he's aiming to win this time; they have to beat the rune knights and then his followers to get to him.”

“And then he's the hardest fight of them all.”

“Really? Isn't he a runemaster?”

“Go look at his achievements in the Land of Dusk......”

Outside of those whispering amongst themselves, many just stared at the awe-inspiring sight before them. Many noticed a subtle difference between these rune knights and the ones Richard had first marched through Faust with. The armour and mounts were the exact same, but those with trained eyes quickly noticed an obvious difference.

Were all of these knights new? This was such a wild idea that anyone who came up with it rejected the thought immediately. Just like Richard had said, rune knights grew terrifying even to legends when they reached certain numbers. Many looked on in fear as they realised that this was another display of prowess.

Different people saw different things in these 200 rune knights. The route from the teleportation temple to the execution hall was long, so Richard trusted that the message would be conveyed.

The execution hall itself wasn't very big, and its dark stone construction was vastly different from the natural gold of the remaining buildings in the City of Miracles. This place had been earmarked for this purpose by the very first settlers of Faust, the only similar one being the Alliance's dungeons.

The packed hall couldn't fit all of the rune knights, so Richard just waved for most of them to stay behind. He strutted onto the platform without asking anyone, claiming the only high chair that overlooked the hall and supporting his chin on his hands. He looked extremely arrogant, but it seemed to be natural. Waterflower, Nasia, Phaser, Asiris, and Rosie flanked around him, the special unit offering Moonlight up to him.

Everyone in the hall felt like a cold breeze had swept past them when Richard grasped his sword, shivering from unknown fear.

Link was escorted to the central stage and knocked down to the floor. He struggled in an attempt to stand up, but one of the rune knights just forced him down once more. This provoked some outrage from the onlookers, a few nobles screaming for him to be given a dignified death that allowed him to stand, but those voices quickly fell silent as Richard's gaze swept past them.

“I don't think rapists deserve dignity,” he announced without sympathy, prompting two rune knights to shove Link down hard. The youth's knees broke from the impact and he mewled before cursing under his breath, but he had already lost the strength to scream.

As the crisp sound of the bell resonated through the hall, Phaser jumped off the judge's platform and appeared right behind Link. Her hand stabbed into his back before the bell stopped tolling, blade appearing through his chest.

A collective gasp rang through the hall as a talented young runemaster was snuffed out, even his ducal heritage unable to save him, but the crowd couldn't tear their eyes away from the blood pooling in the middle of the hall. The fear in their eyes intensified as they looked towards Richard once more.

Sitting up on that pedestal was a man whose prestige could not be questioned. This was a lofty ruler of men who was indifferent to their opinions about him. The youth who had picked up his broken family and struggled to keep it together had outgrown his father's shadow.

1029 - City of Sin

Doomsday

As Phaser withdrew and Link's dead body fell to the floor, an old mage in a corner of the hall left in a hurry. Richard spotted the man leaving, but he only smirked and turned to the rest of the crowd.

The massive execution had ended extremely smoothly, surprising many of the onlookers. However, since Duke Myron himself hadn't dared to revolt against this, these minor nobles wouldn't dare to meddle in the matter themselves. The body hadn't even cooled yet, and it was a perfect example on Richard's stance towards provocation. In fact, this was the same stance the Archerons always had; nothing had changed. Making it a grand event was just to show that they truly did have capabilities commensurate to their position.

......

Duke Myron was staring blankly at the bookshelves in his study, specifically the section on history and philosophy. He barely reacted to a gentle knock on the door as an aide entered the room and said softly, “Master Carpi has returned, Your Grace.”

These words immediately jolted him from his daze. Myron got up and walked out of his study, heading to the lobby to meet the same old mage that had snuck away from Link's execution, “So? Did you manage to save his soul?”

The mage only offered a forced smile, taking out a crystal ball and placing it on the table. The inside was completely ash-grey, lacking the radiance of a soul.

“What...” the Duke was shocked, “How?”

“The dagger used in the execution struck Master Link's soul. I'd heard the Archerons kept Extinction and Annihilation when Richard killed Sinclair, and this seems to be the latter. Link's soul was torn apart the moment he died, and I barely managed to collect a few shattered fragments. I'm ashamed to admit that I didn't even notice.”

This left Myron at a loss for words. He went quiet for a long time before sighing heavily, “Forget it, I hoped to find the secrets of his workshop, but... Whatever.”

“Your Grace,” the aide suddenly walked in on them, “Lord Richard has returned the entire ransom.”

The Duke stood up and walked over to the window, looking outside to see the crates of materials he had sent being transported back into his residence. He stared blankly for a moment before letting out a long sigh, his plans of war with the Archerons withering away. He himself would have struggled to return such a hefty sum to an enemy, but the ease with which Richard had done so was stifling.

......

Richard's first task upon returning to the island was to meet with Asiris who had only returned recently. Moving to the command centre, he sat down and looked at the priest with an obvious question in his eyes.

Asiris brought up a map of Norland and pointed to a few places on it, “I went to every place that held someone related to Ward, and I found an old lover. The woman gave birth to a son, his only progeny in this world, but the boy came down with a strange disease that couldn't be understood. There were no symptoms normally, but when it acted up the boy would go into a frenzy that could not be stopped. The only solution was a medicinal powder prescribed by a local witch doctor, but that only suppressed the effects and didn't stop them entirely.

“The woman had turned to Ward in her desperation, telling him about the child's condition and asking him to help with a solution. But Master was already planning his invasion of the Rosie Plane then, and Ward had ended up being put in charge of the Boulder Highlands. With that much pressure on him, he could only let the status quo continue; if he'd left the plane, the situation would have collapsed.”

“So this was why he was acting strange? Someone was using his child to threaten him?”

Asiris sighed at the question, “That is what I believe, yes. Ward might be strong, but his specific training methods also rendered him sterile after he reached sainthood. That was the only child he would ever have in his life, his one weakness.”

“And what happened to the child after?”

“The witch doctor was gone by the time I got there, and the child had relapsed. He transformed into an abomination right in front of me, burning to death...” Asiris struggled a little to say these words; he had lost one of his comrades, and the child couldn't be saved either.

“You didn't manage to suppress the condition?” Richard asked in shock. This was the Dark Priest, the one amongst the thirteen who was most familiar with curses.

Asiris forced a smile and shook his head, paling ever so slightly as he recalled the scene before speaking in a shaky voice, “When I saw the child, the insides of his body had been warped completely; it was just a monster in a human shell! I tried my best to suppress it, but the creature broke out of the skin and exploded; that power was so profound that it was like an ocean bearing down on me. It just ignited itself with a black flame, and there was nothing I could do!”

Any power that could force the Dark Priest to such a state had to be in the legendary realm. However, that wasn't all. Asiris composed himself and continued, “But I did make some discoveries. Using my full strength, I managed to keep the tiniest part from burning down.”

He took out an exquisite steel box and opened it carefully before passing it over to Richard. Within was a small piece of claw with only the tip discernible, the rest scorched beyond recognition. The tip was dark and solid, the quality of material entirely different from that of an ordinary creature despite being only the size of a finger. Richard picked it up and turned it around in his hands to observe, an icy feeling flooding his senses. He didn't know why, but this claw reminded him of the sharp pincers of the broodmother.

Asiris spoke up at the same time, “My Lord, I couldn't help but feel like the aura from the child was similar to that of your broodmother.”

“She's never left Faelor before, and all of her drones are under my supervision,” Richard dismissed the idea immediately, “She can't do these sorts of things... Yet. She can't do these sorts of things yet.”

Richard's own voice started to tremble, but Asiris ignored it and forced a smile, “That's the terrifying bit.”

Richard stood up and started tapping the table with his knuckles as he furrowed his brows, the restlessness evident on his face. Asiris wasn't just an ordinary powerhouse; he was someone with knowledge and perception that came close to that of legendary mages. Another broodmother that was even more powerful than his? There could be no worse news.

“Are there any other leads?” he asked eventually.

“I stayed in the area for a few days, but I didn't manage to find anything so I rushed back. This enemy is more powerful than we imagined, but they're still cunning and prudent. Their plans are foolproof.”

“This is bad... Shit, we'll have to start taking some risks or we might get caught off guard.”

“My Lord, you mean...”

“I'm returning to Faelor tomorrow, you're coming as well. We're going to war, divine war. You'll be a crucial factor.”

......

Unable to sleep, Richard hurried to the Church of the Eternal Dragon in the middle of the night. Noelene rushed over the moment she heard of his arrival; she was already the most powerful priestess since Ferlyn's sudden disappearance, but she remained a strong ally.

“Richard! How are—” she suddenly stopped in the middle of her greeting, brows raising up as she listened to something before casting a strange glance at him, “Follow me, the High Priestess has something to give you.”

Richard nodded quietly, following Noelene to the back of the shrine. Noelene seemed to struggle with something the entire way there, but eventually she spoke up, “Richard, do you know what happened to the High Priestess?”

“I don't. Is it something like with Flowsand?” Richard asked.

Noelene shook her head silently, “It's nothing much. Let's go in, I'll tell you later.”

As the two arrived at Ferlyn's hall, the doors opened automatically. Dense timeforce filled the church building as belts of energy stretched everywhere, revealing Ferlyn herself floating mid-air with her eyes tightly closed in deep sleep. Many of the destructive strips of timeforce brushed past her body, but they didn't have the slightest effect.

“Richard, you're finally here!” her voice resonated through the hall, “Here, this is something I wanted to leave you with. It was originally yours anyway, but I just removed the outer shell. Make sure to spend some time studying it.”

The belts of timeforce in the air gathered together into a round lump, forming a transparent crystal ball that was as large as one's fist that flew towards Richard. Despite a huge change to its appearance, Richard immediately realised what it was: the Doomsday Imprint.

1030 - City of Sin

Mysterious Machinery

Once the doomsday imprint flew into Richard's hands, the doors to the back hall shut immediately; it was evident that there wouldn't be any further contact. Richard turned towards Noelene, absorbed in his own thoughts, “That felt like a conscient, not the High Priestess herself.”

Noelene nodded, “Her Excellency has already set off on a journey far away. I didn't know of this conscient before, but it triggered once you entered the church and sent me a message.”

“Where did she go?” he asked curiously.

“I... cannot say.”

Having expected this, Richard didn't press further. Thinking for a moment, he asked a different question, “Alright, I'm going to Faelor soon. Is there anything you need me to do?”

“Nothing for now... You seem to be making more enemies.”

“That's inevitable,” he smiled.

Noelene looked at him with a hint of concern in her eyes, “Be careful. I've been trying to scry into your future repeatedly, but all I can sense is that a great danger is approaching you. It's been by your side for so long that it has almost merged into your existence, but I cannot pinpoint what it is.”

“Hmm... I think I have an idea,” Richard furrowed his brows. She had probably seen the nightmare creatures, but he didn't understand why. Was there a problem with Sharon's seal? Unfortunately, the vagueness of the prophecy left a lot of room for speculation; he could only keep an eye out. Turning to leave the shrine, he suddenly thought of something, “Do you have enough divine grace?”

Noelene forced a smile, “Enough for now, don't worry. The Turing Family is offering a sacrifice in a few days, I'll get some more then.”

He nodded, “I'll try to come up with some as soon as I can.”

“It's a minor matter. Just do what you normally do, no need to worry about me.”

......

When he was back on the island, Richard immediately headed for the laboratory. Placing the doomsday imprint on the table, he started inspecting it close-up. The object was now a clear crystal ball with some sort of dark metal floating within, and it even responded to energy input unlike before. He didn't know how Ferlyn had removed the outer shell, but it could now be studied.

After a few tries, he realised that there was no specific limit to what type of energy the imprint could absorb. The first bit of mana he inserted caused the metal within to quiver as though some sort of alchemical machine had been activated, and as he increased his output the vibrations sped up. By the time he was pouring a full grand mage's worth of mana into the object, it started emitting an orange glow from the depths of the metal that was now starting to crack. The outer shell opened up like a flower, a finger's worth of the metal floating out and starting to spread.

This was no metal piece, it was a machine! Richard's eyes immediately lit up as he activated Insight, trying to capture every intricate detail of the machine's working. However, it only maintained the flower form for a second before it started transforming once more, going through hundreds of different shapes in only a few minutes. Each of the metal pieces was made of dozens of smaller sections, and as he focused on these sections he found that they were subdivided further and further until he couldn't even keep track. The components were also splitting up and rejoining at a rapid pace, so he couldn't pinpoint what the smallest unit was.

This was a mysterious machine that seemed to have its own soul, switching between different forms at a constant pace. Richard could barely even notice the transformations at the smallest scale, and that was on the assumption that there wasn't anything further below. Numbers filled his field of vision, the deluge of data so vast that he couldn't find any pattern to it at all. He didn't even know if his vision was precise enough to glean everything that mattered.

He quickly concluded that the doomsday imprint and so-called reapers followed a system of laws that was completely foreign to him, a situation somewhat similar to Sharon's balance. While Ferlyn had said he could begin analysing the thing, it would be far more difficult than anything he had ever tried.

Eventually, he was just too dizzy to continue. Forced to withdraw from his state of Insight, he looked at the clock and discovered that less than ten minutes had passed since he began. His mana and stamina had been drained utterly in such a short time, while the blessings he valued so much proved inadequate. By the time he turned back to the imprint, it had reverted to looking like a harmless crystal ball. Finding a magic-sealing case for the object and carefully placing it within, he sat down to recover.

While he was feeling exceptionally tired, Richard felt faintly that his blessing of truth was on the verge of a breakthrough. This was an unexpected surprise; while Wisdom had grown rapidly as he continued to command larger and larger armies, Truth had barely even changed in all this time.

......

Richard had only recovered half of his mana by dawn, but he still set off for Faelor. Fifteen days had already passed in the short day and a half that he had spent in Faust, and Bluewater had changed greatly in this time. His followers, saints, and generals had all gathered together, and news of it had already spread far and wide. Many local kings had learnt that he was about to do something big, and considering his previous achievements they knew that this meant war with an empire or a god.

The news stirred a lot of unrest, with various popes and rulers meeting in secret before sending envoys out to try and strike agreements with the Crimson Dukedom in secret. These envoys had one goal and one goal only; ensure that they weren't the targets of Richard's conquest.

......

Mirrorlake Castle was considered by far to be the most beautiful castle within the Sequoia Kingdom. Located in the heart of the Grasberg Dukedom, it was known for its beautiful view and exquisite design. The castle itself had little in the way of defensive capabilities outside of what nature afforded it, but on the shore was a barracks with almost a thousand infantry soldiers and Duke Grasberg's elite cavalry.

Part of the castle's upper levels were considered a special zone, consisting of a living room, bedroom and study that was almost isolated from the rest. The carpet here was a faint blue unlike the deep red everywhere else, and be it the servants or soldiers, everyone would lower their voices the moment they entered it. A few fully-armed soldiers were stationed at the entrances to this wing, their badges showing the crest of the Sequoia Kingdom itself instead of the Grasberg Family.

Within the spacious bedroom was a luxurious bed, currently occupied by an unreasonably pale young man whose defining characteristic was his obesity. This was one of Duke Grasberg's grandsons, the one with unicorn blood flowing in his veins who was in the process of awakening. This was Viscount Zim.

Two young nobles were outside the door of the bedroom, discussing the political climate in the mainland. Richard summoning his troops was the largest issue in Faelor right now, and their conversation was thus centred around it.

“I hear the Crimson Duke is planning war? He's summoned all of his strongest warriors.”

“Yes, Duke Richard has so many guardian-level warriors under him. Who knows who he'll be pointing his sword at now.”

The conversation was lively, and despite their location the two were speaking in fairly loud voices as they listed all of the known sub-legendary experts under Richard. Nobody noticed Zim's furrowed brow in the bedroom, the viscount starting to mutter in his sleep, “Richard... summoning... strong... warriors...”

These words were repeated over and over, Zim's breathing growing hurried.

1031 - City of Sin

Awakening

Both of the conversing youths were grandchildren of Duke Grasberg; while they didn't have the same status as Zim, they had full access to Mirrorlake Castle. While the servants made sure to remain as quiet as possible near Zim's section of the castle, they didn't really suffer from the same restrictions anymore. The rule had been set up to avoid disturbing Zim's slumber, but after years with no sign of him waking up anytime soon things had grown more relaxed.

“Richard... summoning... warriors...” Zim constantly repeated on the bed, his speech growing faster and faster as his eyes started racing around underneath their lids. His pale skin that had grown almost ashen in his sleep was starting to flash pink.

The antique porcelain on the shelves started to shake, one jar eventually even lifting into the sky. The two youths maintained their conversation at first, but eventually one of them noticed and yelped loudly. The other soon realised the change, noticing other objects starting to float into the sky as well. Panic only intensified by their own bodies growing lighter and starting to float, they eventually screamed in fright.

The two boys were each level 10, but this was the first time they had witnessed the gravity around them disappeared. Noticing that a flowerpot at the end of the corridor was still in place, they quickly concluded that this was some sort of spell formation and tried to counter it with their internal energy. However, it was all in vain.

All of Mirrorlake Castle suddenly stirred as a powerful beam of light charged into the clouds, pulsing energy that caused every strong warrior to shiver. This was the mark of someone advancing to become a guardian-level being!

The items in the bedroom started floating around with no rhyme nor reason, gravity having completely disappeared outside of Zim and his bed. He was still fast asleep, continuing to chant the few words he had heard, but his breaths were growing more and more urgent. Every time some pink flashed on his skin, the gravity in the room changed. As his voice got louder and louder, the two youths nearby finally realised that he was waking up.

“RICHARD!” Zim suddenly yelled, sitting up from his bed at once. He opened his eyes and looked around in a daze, “Where... Where am I? Invaders! Fire! No... is this Mirrorlake? Why am I here? Who's there? Who said Sir Richard is summoning his warriors?”

The words were slow at first, his eyes half-closed in his drowsiness, but the objects in his surroundings switched from floating to flying around in random directions. The gravity grew extremely unstable, flower pots smashing into pieces against the wall while the two youths outside shrieked in pain. They couldn't manage to escape the field no matter what they did, so they were dragged around with the changes as they smashed into the floor, walls, and ceiling repeatedly.

In the room, Zim stared blankly at the flying items, barely avoiding a flower pot that was zooming towards his head. The gravity grew even more chaotic, but a melodious voice suddenly rang out from the corridor, “Is my little darling awake? Look at this beautiful scene! Look at this chair flying by! It's him, it's definitely him! I'm coming, darling, I'm coming! You must be dying to see me!”
ｆ𝑟𝑒𝐞𝚠𝒆𝚋𝚗૦𝐯ℯ𝙡. com

A huge woman who was nearly two metres tall rushed into the area, her long, pleated skirt seemingly large enough for a baby elephant to fit beneath. One could consider her a natural beauty, but all of her features were buried under layers of white makeup and scarlet lipstick.

One of the two youths who were trying their hardest to not break bones cried out, “Lady Katrina, be careful! This region is extremely... strange.”

Countess Katrina had already rushed into the area before he was even done. Her tall figure floated into the sky, but she quickly landed back on the ground with a loud thud, “Wait for me, darling!”

The Countess looked like a charging mammoth as she pushed through the corridor all the way to the bedroom. The two youths in her path were sent flying, slamming into a wall before passing out. Two servants followed behind her, almost hidden in her shadow as she entered the bedroom.

The dazed Zim suddenly opened his eyes wide at the sight, letting out a piercing shriek. The gravity around him grew even more volatile, the two servant girls losing control of their bodies and hitting the ceiling. The Countess yelled as well, her body floating into the air, but she suddenly jiggled her body and landed on the floor once more. Interlocking her fingers and placing her hands on her breasts, she giggled in admiration, “Such wonderful control of gravity, this is the hallmark of the unicorn! Ah, my little darling, wasn't the beam of energy the mark of a sub-legendary being? You're simply amazing, outstanding! How I adore you, my love!”

She leapt into the sky, a graceful swallow landing in Zim's embrace. More bluntly, she tackled and crushed him in a bear hug. The sturdy bed frame creaked a few times before eventually giving in, crashing to the floor.

Katrina continued to squeeze Zim amidst the rubble for quite some time before letting him escape from her mountainous breasts, placing him at eye level and staring fondly as she planted kiss after kiss all over his body. He only came up to her shoulders, and even with his size he was barely more than a third of her girth; he had no way to resist her.

As Zim woke further, the gravity returned to normal. He looked at Katrina strangely, “Why... are you like this?”

“I don't know what happened either. Once we consummated our love, I grew stronger and stronger with time. But my body grew bigger as well, and I've gotten to where I am. Ooh!” her voice squeaked, “You haven't seen the fruits of our love! You two, go fetch my babies!”

“B-babies?” Zim stuttered.

“Yes!”

It didn't take long for the two servants to return with a child each; both of them were level 12, and without the strange gravity they moved like the wind. Zim was presented with a handsome young boy who was about ten years of age and a pretty little girl who looked five to six. They were both beautiful, but they didn't resemble Zim or Katrina.

The Countess immediately pulled the boy over, putting him in front of Zim, “Look at our child, see how rich his bloodline is! His Majesty has decided to adopt him, he'll have a dukedom in the future!”

Zim was immediately shocked by the sight of a small bump on the forehead, looking like a horn in the early stages of development. He wasn't really concerned by the fact the children looked different from him— he himself didn't resemble his father at all. This was common when it came to powerful bloodlines; they tended to change the appearances of one's progeny significantly.

“How long have I been asleep?” he asked after gulping down some saliva.

“More than ten years.”

“Hmm? Then how did she come about?” he pointed at the little girl.

Katrina blushed, an awkward smile creeping up her face, “That... You were asleep for so long, what was I supposed to do alone? I found out that not all of you went to sleep a few years in, and you still had the support of your bloodline... It felt incredible, but eventually I got pregnant with her.”

Zim suddenly felt a little faint, shuddering to think of what other horrors she had inflicted upon him in his sleep. However, his mind suddenly drifted back to the reason for his awakening and he looked around, “I heard someone talking about Sir Richard!”

1032 - City of Sin

Devotion

Countess Katrina frowned for a moment, but she quickly understood, “Oh, the Crimson Duke is gathering all his powerhouses. Many kingdoms and even churches are scared of him turning towards them. There's far too many powerhouses under him, and then there's also Andrieka. Since he's planning on leading the fight himself, it can't be any dukedom or even most kingdoms; he's aiming at something big.”

Having fainted during the invasion of Bluewater, Zim had gone into a deep sleep and been locked up by Duke Grasberg ever since. Terms like the Crimson Duke and Andrieka were incredibly foreign to him, but he still understood the gist of what she was saying, “Sir Richard is gathering powerhouses! I want to go!”

“But there isn't enough time left. The deadline will pass in ten days.”

“I can get there in five!”

“Five? But when are you going to leave? Just preparing the clothes, servants, and supplies will take three days.”

Zim leapt up and grabbed a maid, “Get me my hunting gear and sword, and find three good horses. Put a bag of dried meat and bread there, that's enough. I'm leaving in an hour, it better be there by then. I don't need people who are weaker than me!”

The Viscount quickly washed up and changed his clothes, getting some food before rushing out from Mirrorlake Castle. As his horses thundered into the distance, Katrina watched from the balcony with her mouth hanging open. It took a long while for her to be able to speak, “Oh, my darling! You're so handsome!”

Zim seemed to be an entirely different person after awakening, acting decisively without a care about luxury. The old Viscount would never have dared to travel through the Sequoia Kingdom to the Bloodstained Lands with just a bag of rations and some horses. He seemed extremely formidable now, so great that Katrina's eyes shone even as she blushed red.

“Someone come!” the Countess suddenly shouted, causing the two servants to appear before her. Their faces were still bruised from their fall, but she didn't even notice, “Tidy up my carriage and gather the elites, find any saints you can. We're going to the Crimson Dukedom to participate in Duke Richard's war!”

The two maids darted away, and it wasn't long before all the lands within a hundred kilometres of Mirrorlake Castle were in an uproar. Countess Katrina's troops were being gathered at the Mirror Lake before rushing towards the Crimson Dukedom, with the Countess herself having left for the place in advance to convene with Richard. She still had a moronic smile on her face, but the thirst for power in her eyes was unmistakable.

......

While the entire west of Faelor was in an uproar, the culprit of it all was surprisingly quiet. Outside of a few generals that were far away, most of Richard's subordinates had already gathered at Bluewater and were awaiting deployment. While the limit was still a bit away, many people couldn't wait any longer.

“Let's leave right now, Master! It doesn't matter if we miss a few little guys!” Tiramisu's voice sounded in Richard's mind for what felt like the billionth time. The ogre lord's body was continuing to grow in size, now over six metres tall with no signs of stopping. With Bluewater being a mostly human city, the streets and building were far too small for his liking. He couldn't even squeeze into most of the roads, while there was a chance of him accidentally crushing a building or two if he turned the wrong way. Cattle and pets fled or outright collapsed in his presence, and even some magic beasts were paralysed with fear. He couldn't wait to leave this wretched place and go into battle; these days he was forced to pump energy into his limbs just to keep the feeling of him rusting away.

“We can discuss things when the emissary from the Iron Triangle Empire gets here,” Richard answered with a smile before turning back to the rune he was crafting. The Crimson Inferno was only a few days from completion, and posing no problem at all. Things might have been different if the rune had managed to absorb that magic soul, but as it was right now he could afford to chat with his followers while he worked on it.

A short while later, with another component completed, he took out a piece of magic parchment and started drawing a spell array on it. Minutes later, he wrote a few words on it and imbued some mana. The words vanished into thin air, the parchment catching fire and turning to ash.

......

Far away, in the Church of Valour, the cardinals had just finished an important prayer ceremony and were chatting as they walked out. The centre of attraction, as he had been for a long time now, was a recently-promoted cardinal called Busquets. He was known for having the courage to face the heretic Richard and his accurate prediction of the Crimson Dukedom focusing on the barbarian plains. He was one of the rare instances where a cardinal had been chosen because he held the favour of Neian himself, not the sponsorship of the pope or an existing cardinal.

Busquets suddenly felt the holy book he carried under his arms growing a little warm, and quicky found a way to disconnect from a conversation with two older cardinals about Richard's movements. Rushing back to his residence, he carefully closed the door before opening the book and flipping to a specific page.

Try to avoid this war.

They were simple words, but they caused his heart to pound. He wouldn't ever forget Richard's handwriting, but he still read it multiple times to make sure that there was nothing strange about the communication. As the words disappeared, he cautiously surveyed the room and only relaxed once he found everything was normal.

This room was the standard one allocated to cardinals, considerably tall and wide, but the furnishing was at a bare minimum. Busquets had added nothing in all his time here, to the point that even a village priest could live a better life. Nobody present would be able to match this with his own previous life, where he had been known for a life of luxury that got him reported to the pope multiple times.

Before becoming a cardinal, Busquets had announced that he would live in hardship until he redeemed himself for his sins. People had thought he was just putting on a show at first, but those voices had quieted down after three years. Now, about a decade later, all doubts had faded into praise.

Sitting behind his table, Busquets thought back to that fateful encounter many years ago that had brought him to where he was. When Richard had passed him that sheet with a divine spell on it, he hadn't thought his life and faith would change so much. His gaze landed on the sacred book that had conveyed Richard's message and he trembled; that spell had been able to fool Neian himself. He had fulfilled his own part of the deal, passing on the most confidential secrets of the church over repeated correspondence, but he had gained so much that he was afraid.

Busquets was now level 18, so powerful that he reached the minimum requirements to become pope. Of course, a pope so weak was rare, but then only one in history had ever reached level 21 as well. The other cardinals and current pope thought highly of his discipline and hard work, believing he would have no problems getting to level 19 at minimum.

He was a fearful man, afraid that coming so close to the God of Valour would expose him eventually. He had made it clear that he had no ambition for the grand position of pope, and he had even refused higher positions amongst the cardinals twice, but that had only increased Neian's favour.

1033 - City of Sin

Target

This very afternoon would be time for the cardinals to meet and discuss their stance on Richard's movements. Busquets steeled himself and got a bowl of clear water, dipping a finger into it and writing Richard's words down on the table. Staring at them, he racked his brains over and over until the water dried, at which point he dipped his finger in and wrote once more. This occurred more than ten times before he understood the full implication of those words, barely able to suppress his shivering.

Taking out some black bread and finishing it off alongside the rest of the water, the new cardinal finished up his lunch. With some time left till the meeting, he closed his eyes for a short nap; he would face an arduous battle very soon.

The bed was made of hardwood, and the jute sheets were rough and uncomfortable. However, this simple lifestyle was what drove away Busquets' hesitation and fear. Deep at night, when he felt bewildered and confused, it was what gave him purpose.

...

The meeting began right on time at three in the afternoon, all of the cardinals having arrived on time and taken their seats before the pope's aide rang the bell. The crushing defeat during their previous war against Richard was still etched into the minds of everyone present, the loss of nearly an entire kingdom's worth of parishes still hurting Neian to this day. Now, years later, the Crimson Dukedom had become a tremendous weight bearing down on the throat of the Church, one that many believed could only be rid of through battle.

Surprisingly, right at the start of the meeting, the normally low-key Cardinal Busquets was the first to stand up. This was extremely rare, but whenever he had done so he had normally been right. The cardinal's eyes flashed with determination as he spoke, “I believe we are not Richard's target this time....”

Busquets had spent hours thinking of the argument he would use, but convincing the pope to decide opposite to the opinions of everyone else would require a long and intense debate. The meeting went from afternoon to deep in the night, lasting until the first rays of dawn the next morning. Even though each of the cardinals was quite powerful, they were all exhausted by the end.

Eventually, Busquets won out. The pope decided to stay neutral in the upcoming war, but the Church would still stay on guard just in case. When announcing his decision, he mentioned that this wasn't based on logic but out of trust in the new cardinal.

......

With less than three days till Richard's deadline, the capital of the Iron Triangle Empire was in an uproar. The Emperor and all of his ministers had been meeting together everyday for nearly a week now, but they hadn't come to any sort of conclusion.

These discussions were all centred around the three requirements that Richard had made known: firstly, Salwyn had to be handed over, swearing by the gods to be loyal to the Crimson Dukedom; secondly, any organisations related to the Red Cossacks were to be purged from the Empire, their leaders brought to trial and handed over to Richard; thirdly, the Goddess of Time, Runai, was to be declared unwelcome within the Empire and Richard was to be given the right to send his elites to destroy her churches.

Every single one of these requirements were difficult to accept, but they did make it clear that the Empire wasn't the target of Richard's impending assault. At the thought of the flood of steel that would soon be upon them if they refused, however, even the staunchest of warmongers would go silent. Agreeing to these requests would erode away all dignity and authority, but disagreeing could mean their demise.

Salwyn had been summoned back urgently to consult with. He was one of the few who was firmly for fighting Richard, but despite his trust in his son the Emperor was still hesitant. After all, this was a decision that would determine the fate of the Empire.

......

Within Bluewater, Richard had gathered his forces and finally managed to complete the Crimson Inferno. While he was still working out how to combine the rune with the rest of his own, an unexpected visitor broke his train of thought.

“Boss!” This was Zim's first word after seeing Richard, leaving him with a chill down his spine. Few people amongst his followers called him boss, and even Medium Rare wasn't joined by Tiramisu in doing so. For this word to come from the fair and delicate Zim made it a little hard to accept.

He calmly sidestepped the fanatic who had pounced towards him, but even as he fell to the ground Zim crawled up with an enormous smile on his face, “You've gotten stronger, Master!”

As he tried to drown out the flattery that followed, Richard scanned Zim over and couldn't help but feel surprised by Zim's strength. He couldn't help but feel rueful over the strength of the unicorn bloodline; just by sleeping for a decade, a piece of trash had become a saint. Even within Norland, this would be one of the best.

Zim was adamant on becoming a warrior on the frontlines, but that caused Richard to laugh. The Viscount might have the power of a saint, but his experience was basically nonexistent. Even a level 12 Nasia would probably cut him up in two or three attacks. Still, having another saint was good; there was no lack of enemies to fight when under his banner.

As he was about to agree, however, the broodmother cut in, “Master, I sense something exceptionally sweet in Zim's body. His bloodline will be very useful, could you lend him to me for a few days? Don't worry, I just need a bit; I won't harm him or reduce his life force, and it won't affect his future growth.”

“Heh, you want to use him like Zangru? He can't take it.”

“I'll be gentle!” she said softly.

After some discussion, Richard eventually agreed that Zim would be helpful to her. A day later, the Viscount screamed in despair as he was carried into the skies by a cloned brain and flown towards the Land of Turmoil.

Once Zim left, Richard thought over things and spent a full day looking over the information the broodmother had given him. Eventually, he realised a restriction on the broodmother that he should have a long time ago; she could reproduce something and perhaps improve it, but she could not create. All of her drones came out of what she knew, and at best she could mix and match. The type of evolution Zim could experience when awakening his bloodline ability was out of her faculty.

Unfortunately, powerful beings were few in number and wouldn't just give up their bloodlines easily. While the broodmother's drones made for a powerful regular army, she didn't really have the wherewithal to create many true elites. Considering this, he would have to change his own strategy slightly.

......

Time passed quickly, and while Richard examined his decisions the deadline for his subordinates had arrived. This was also the deadline that he had given the Iron Triangle Empire, and an emissary had already used a long-range teleportation formation to arrive in Bluewater.

Richard called the emissary to his study and tore open the envelope that had been sealed with magic, scanning through the contents with his expression changing to one of surprise, “ALl conditions rejected, and... the war is to commence immediately?”

The emissary bowed, “Yes, Your Grace. This is the decision of His Majesty! Our Empire shall fight to the end for our dignity!”

Playing around with the piece of paper, Richard sighed, “Is Salwyn alright in the head? This has to be his idea.”

“His Highness is going to command the expeditionary force!” the emissary yelled.

“Expewhat? Hahahahaha.... And how far do you think you'll go? Get into my Dukedom? Oh, Salwyn... He's lost so many times already, how can he still have such blind confidence?”

“Your Grace, please respect His Highness Salwyn! I'm afraid I need you to apologise.”

Richard looked at the emissary with confusion, “I know you're not afraid of death, but piss me off and you'll just lose your life. Empty talk doesn't win wars, go tell Salwyn that I'll consider this my loss if his forces get thirty kilometres in.”

The man gaped with shock, unsure of what to say. Richard's words were arrogant, but far too many miracles had come about from his hands. He eventually just bowed and left hastily, rushing back for a long-range teleportation formation.

Looking at the messenger's back, Richard could only shake his head. Faelor wasn't like Norland, with long-range teleportation much more draining on the user. To go through two such ports without resting would destroy the man; he likely wouldn't be able to live for more than a decade. Still, he had chosen to do so just to send the message himself.

Every country had resolute warriors; it was just that war was never determined by courage alone.

1034 - City of Sin

Arrangements

When Richard convened the meeting, nearly a hundred of his subordinates, each a saint, grand mage, or accomplished general, had gathered in the command centre. There were huge maps hung on the four walls that could change as per the viewer's needs, with many small offices within for these generals to fine-tune his orders for their own troops.

When the bell rang, Richard walked to the platform and looked down at the huge group in the hall. Outside of those followers that needed to guard his other planes, basically everyone was present.

As his gaze swept across the area, he was rather surprised to find a black-haired woman in the prime of her youth here. He'd almost forgotten Sisley after he got her as 'compensation' from the Schumpeters, only now recalling that he had thrown her into Faelor to do whatever she wanted. For her to be present meant she commanded an army of at least three thousand, which was a significant accomplishment when she had started out with nothing. His interest reignited, he decided to look over her later. He didn't lack saints now, but he did need legends, generals, and powerful healers.

However, another look was all she would get. With his own focus being on hitting the legendary realm as quickly as possible, he had pulled far ahead of minor characters like her. He would give her some more resources to see what she could conjure up, but anything short of a miracle would lose his attention rapidly.

“You're all gathered here in preparation for a war that will shake this entire plane!” he started off, a wave of his hand quickly zooming in the world map behind him to the Iron Triangle Empire, Ashen Plateau, and Barbarian Plains. The entire area of the Empire lit up, “The Iron Triangle Empire has rejected my conditions, declaring war on the Crimson Dukedom!”

The crowd immediately went into an uproar, chattering amongst themselves with excitement. The Iron Triangle Empire was enormous, but in the eyes of the generals, it wasn't a worthy enemy. Even a large army of hundreds of thousands of soldiers would only be an annoyance that took time to eliminate and nothing else.

Waiting for the excitement to die down, Richard continued, “Their troops will be led by Prince Salwyn. I just informed the emissary that I will consider it my loss if they manage to get within thirty kilometres of the Dukedom.”

This caused all the experienced generals to freeze up in disbelief. Some of them quickly seemed to come to a realisation, however, and one of those said loudly, “Are we gathering their forces to eliminate them all?”

Richard shook his head, “No, it was a fair wager. Salwyn's an old rival of mine and knows me well, he's aware that I won't cheat him. He'll think of whatever he can do to get that far in and force me to admit defeat; while the loss itself means nothing, it's implicit that I'll give the Empire some time to build up if I lose.

“But of course, losing isn't even an option. The Empire is our first target, and we're going to charge all the way to their capital to force them to capitulate. Once this is done, I'll officially lay claim to the Dukedom becoming a kingdom.”

These words left a lot of generals excited, especially those that were natives of Faelor. Becoming a kingdom wasn't just a difference to Richard's title; he was implying that he would allow the formation of noble houses that could inherit lands and titles. This was the greatest motivation for those locals who had followed him for a long time.

On the other hand, his followers remained calm. Status and lands meant little to them; it could all be achieved whenever they wanted. Greater power was the way to build up their foundation. However, Richard knew this and intentionally looked at them right after, “This is a country with a proper foundation. We'll meet many powerhouses on the way, and at least one legendary being.”

This time, all of the followers grew serious, even Tiramisu. All legends were worthy enemies, even the worst of them. Someone like Stardragon, who hadn't even entered the realm with his own power, was still causing a headache over in the Resting Orchid Plane. Those of Faelor quieted down as well; in this plane, legends were the same as gods.

“Alright, that's what we're doing for the first phase. I'll tell you about the rest once the conditions are met, now here are your stations.”

While Richard himself would be leading the assault on the Iron Triangle Empire, the command structure still needed to be solidified; after all, even he couldn't control enough drones to eliminate the need for officers entirely. At the same time, he also needed to leave troops behind to guard the Dukedom from any armies that snuck across the borders, and any possible retaliation in the Barbarian Plains. It took an entire hour for every general to be given a role.

......

At that very moment, an army of tens of thousands of elite soldiers was heading towards the border of the Iron Triangle Empire. Right in the middle was a fully-armoured Salwyn on his warhorse, looking no different from the ordinary generals beside him. The luxurious carriage that used to be his signature was nowhere to be found, as were the beautiful assistants he used to bring around with him.

A large hawk flew over the sky, circling in the air for a bit before recognising Salwyn and swooping down. Landing next to him and transforming into a middle-aged druid, he placed a letter in the Prince's hand. Salwyn opened the letter and took a look, his brow furrowing as he ordered some men to bring him a map. Spreading the parchment across the back of his horse and analysing the borders, he passed the letter to his generals to read.

“The gall!” one of the men bellowed, “Does he think the elites of the empire can't even make it thirty kilometres into his border?”

The letter was quickly passed around, the rest of the generals joining in on the fury. The border between the Iron Triangle Empire and the Crimson Dukedom was a thousand kilometres long, so there were bound to be possible holes everywhere. One only needed to find one and go on a quick march to make those thirty kilometres.

The generals quickly came to the conclusion that this was bait, intended to lull the imperial troops into a deep charge so Richard could eliminate them all in one go. However, Salwyn suddenly looked up from his map, “He won't lie.”

“Your Highness... Why?” These men had faith in the Prince, but they couldn't believe this.

“Because there's no need to,” Salwyn said calmly.

No need to? Why wasn't there a need to? The generals grew solemn.

Looking over the long, twisted border, Salwyn wondered repeatedly where any weaknesses might lie and where Richard could have hidden traps. Knowing Richard, he understood that this was the only chance the Empire would have; if they really could break through the line, it would give them perhaps a year of time. But what even could be done in a year? He had no idea how to save his home from this crisis, only hoping for some legends to show themselves. Richard and his Crimson Dukedom were monsters that grew rapidly, time forever on their side.

Suddenly feeling fatigued, he rubbed hard at his eyes. As he suppressed a yawn, he suddenly felt an idea flash in his mind, 'What if there are no holes in the border?'

Impossible... That was his first reaction to the thought; defending such a long battle line would require an astronomical military force. However, he suddenly felt uncomfortable and looked into the sky, noticing a black dot hovering around in the clouds. It was a black-tailed hawk that was rarely seen in the north, but today it looked particularly striking.

“Can you shoot it down?” he pointed up at the skies.

“The hawk? No problem.” An archer beside him followed the direction he was pointing, nocking an arrow and pouring energy within. However, the hawk seemed to notice the attack and started flapping its wings, flying into the clouds. Please visit ƒ𝘳ee𝒘𝚎𝐛𝘯𝐨ν𝑒l. 𝒄o𝘮

“Huh? That's strange, how did it find out?” the general looked surprised.

On the other hand, Salwyn paled; Richard knew his whereabouts. The prince stared hard at the map for a long while, eventually drawing a line straight to the Crimson Dukedom's border.

He would take the shortest route.

1035 - City of Sin

Warcry

Salwyn promptly gathered his generals and ordered for the army to march at full speed. They would reach the borders and then attack immediately; even if there was only one person left at the end of the battle, they would make it thirty kilometres into the Crimson Dukedom!

The black-winged hawk made its way out of the clouds, watching the army speed up in a gambit to reach the borders. Screeching loudly, it spread its wings and quickly disappeared into the horizon, reaching a cloned brain near the border within an hour. The brain hovered in place as it transmitted the message to the rest of the network.

Moments later, all sorts of birds took off towards the Iron Triangle Empire like a cloud of black, spreading out just as they reached Salwyn's army to monitor everything within dozens of kilometres. No movements would go unnoticed.

Salwyn looked up at the skies and smirked, his generals following his gaze. If the first hawk was strange, then the rest were blatant. One of the generals grew dejected, “Are all of these from the Crimson Dukedom?”

“They're Richard's eyes,” he answered dully.

“Really? Then how are we supposed to fight this battle?”

“We rush! We're much closer to the borders than Bluewater, there's no way for him to make it in time!” Having said this, Salwyn waved for the army to go faster, darting towards the Crimson Dukedom in a straight line.

......

A while later, news of Salwyn's route was transmitted to Richard. When he marked the route on the map, Gangdor, Zendrall, and Kellac frowned immediately. Salwyn's army would reach the border within twenty hours, which was barely enough time to gather 5,000 soldiers from the surrounding regions; how were they to block off ten times their number?

Richard's troops at the border were battle-hardened, but few of them were shadowspears or even humanoids. With such a huge disparity in numbers, the border troops were unlikely to even delay. Without enough drones to work as a mesh in the system, even he himself could barely overcome three-to-one odds.

Standing in front of the map, he eventually drew a cross on the map. That was where Salwyn would enter the Crimson Dukedom, and where he would have to mount his defence. The followers watching him didn't know that a series of orders had just been transferred to the broodmother through dozens of cloned brains, her prepared soldiers heading to their positions as quickly as possible. The 500 men at the potential point of incursion immediately started working on extending the defences as best they could.
𝙛𝘳𝐞𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝗻𝘰ѵ𝗲𝙡. 𝑐o𝓶

Nearly a thousand flying creatures flew out of a worm nest in the Land of Turmoil, spreading out in a giant semi-circle as they flew towards the Iron Triangle Empie. By the time they reached the borders, these drones, would occupy the entire 1,000-kilometre line and serve as advance warning in case another troop tried to head in. Behind them were a dozen or so cloned brains, prepared to transmit information as quickly as necessary.

Two other nests opened up entirely, humanoid knights surging out from within like a flood. Each one found their own mounts and assembled into regiments of a thousand, charging to the borders under the lead of a cloned brain. Two warehouses were already set up in the interim, holding equipment from Norland. 15,000 fully-armed soldiers would thus meet with Richard's main force within the Empire.

Richard's own soldiers had been assembled long ago. With a decade of development behind it, the Crimson Dukedom had a population of more than ten million; with most of these residents having moved in from the outside, the number of strong, young men was quite large. The entire Dukedom could easily mobilise an army of more than 500,000 strong, but Richard only pulled on a fifth of that number to act as a militia in case any other countries tried to take advantage of his army being absent. In the meanwhile, his own 100,000-man army marched towards the Iron Triangle Empire, followed by five times their number in logistical troops.

While this army was frightening, even the light cavalry would take three days to intercept Salwyn if they hurried. The few thousand Richard could gather at the border couldn't hold on that long. Salwyn had given up on all tactics to just march at full speed, making this a race for time. This was the only weak point in Richard's plan.

At least, that was how others saw it. Richard smirked as he turned to his followers, “The war's already begun. You guys have two hours to return and organise your equipment.”

“We're ready right now, Master. There's no need to wait!” Tiramisu chipped in. While he could cover the distance with time to spare, regular saints and grand mages couldn't fly continuously for that long.

Richard chuckled, “Don't worry, we're going to fly.”

Two hours later, all of his followers had gathered at the plaza. Besides his followers, Richard had also summoned a hundred rune knights and an equal number of level 10 mages. An enormous shadow suddenly covered the square, the astral chrysalis flying over to land slowly. Already used to it, some of the followers got on its back while others allowed it to wrap its tendrils around them. The mages got on as well.

As the chrysalis took flight towards the borders, several dozen similar creatures that were smaller than it flew over to the square. These were a new type of drone based on the astral chrysalis; without much offensive strength, their only use was in flying troops over long distances. Being cheaper to produce offset the issues of them being half the size and being able to transport a tenth as many supplies, and with one of them able to transport five rune knights with full supplies that still left an entire thirty free to transport 300 shadowspears to the battlefield.

The flying chrysalides quickly formed up and flew north, joined by a number of windsnakes that acted as protectors. Gathering a large group of other flying units along the way, the eventually became a black cloud zooming across the sky. The scene was rather awe-inspiring.

Richard himself was starting to reconsider the standard methods of war. The broodmother could only create one of these flying chrysalides in a day and they were very fragile on the battlefield, but they revolutionised military movements. He hadn't gotten her to create many of them, but they were still already proving their worth. If he could get to 200 of them, then he could send a thousand rune knights or 2,000 elite shadowspears in one go. This was enough to change the outcome of any battlefield, and the same flying chrysalides could allow armies to march much deeper into enemy territory without worrying about supplies. Although these things could only fly a hundred kilometres at a time before needing some rest, he could place an elite army anywhere within 1,500 kilometres in three days' time!

1036 - City of Sin

Fame

A cloned brain flew over and landed in front of Richard, who leapt onto it in one graceful movement. Nasia did the same from behind him, after which the drone promptly flew towards the borders. Being much faster than the astral chrysalis and flying chrysalides, they reached the base when the reinforcements were still more than a hundred kilometres away.

However, by that point Salwyn's vanguard was less than ten. To make matters worse, only 3,000 soldiers had managed to reinforce the base while the rest of the troops had been delayed along the way. The base was rather crude as well, the few walls of pitiful height with shallow pits scattered all around.

The soldiers that had just gotten here were making efficient use of their time, wolfing down their rations with big bites. A young mage from the Deepblue had come up with a recipe of ground meat, fish and vegetables mixed together that could be washed down with cold water or cooked as required, the result dropping supply requirements by a third.

Shadowed by Nasia, Richard walked around the base and re-organised his soldiers as normal, ensuring that he wouldn't have any problems commanding them. Even knowing that they would be fighting nearly twenty times their number, these soldiers were fearless once they knew he would lead them; over the years, he had accomplished far too many miracles for anyone to be able to doubt him.

The troops were still resting when the earth began to tremble. Salwyn had come quickly, far earlier than even Richard had expected and having beaten the reinforcements by an entire hour. However, this had come at the cost of a constant march; the Iron Triangle soldiers likely had low stamina, and Richard even believed that the infantry could barely even stand.

A black flood appeared on the horizon, Salwyn's vanguard. Standing in front of his own troops and gazing at the distance, Richard noticed the prince himself leading the force. All traces of luxury and elegance had been washed away, the man now kitted out in black armour with the aura of a soldier instead of a king. The only thing that could even connect him to the past self was the same carefully trimmed moustache.

Salwyn charged another kilometre before seeing Richard standing in front of the formation, pulling the reins tightly and getting his mount to twirl around a few times before it stopped. Seeing him come to a halt, the rest of his soldiers followed suit.

The two sides were several kilometres apart, but it felt like sparks would erupt where the two's gazes met. A general by Salwyn's side bellowed, “Your Highness, they have such a small force! How about we just go at them right now?”

The prince's face twitched, but he eventually raised a hand, “No, all troops are to rest. Sub-legends on guard!”

“But the cavalry can still fight! Can we not deal with 3,000 footsoldiers?”

“3,000 footsoldiers led by the Crimson Duke himself? Richard Archeron?” Salwyn countered.

The words Richard Archeron immediately terrified everyone present. Richard's name had become a taboo in the Iron Triangle Empire, a legend who nobody was willing to bring up. Every heroic general willing to challenge him had died in the Bloodstained Lands, and the jewel of the crown Salwyn had only barely escaped across their encounters. Even the campaign on Bluewater with vastly superior forces had ended in failure. The other famous general of the Empire, Rislant, simply didn't dare take the stage.

The imperial cavalry slowly retreated and joined up with the infantry, dismounting to rest. Seeing this, Nasia's eyebrows furrowed with confusion, “Why do they seem so afraid of you? Just which part of you is that amazing?”

Richard burst into laughter, “Like I said. As long as I'm standing here, they won't take any risks.”

“Hmph! They're just stupid. Don't think you're great because you've won against a bunch of pigs. It's going to be a hard battle later, don't let your guard down.”

“I never let my guard down.”

“Keep bragging!” she refused to have any of it. When he just smiled wryly without refuting, she continued, “This bet is still foolish.”

“Heh, maybe if you're only looking at it on the surface. Think of the big picture; the Iron Triangle Empire is just a stepping stone and not the ultimate goal; I've given them a shortcut to survival, and they accepted it without hesitation. That means they don't have the confidence to face me in open battle. Imagine the morale of their army if they can't even accomplish something so easy; once I beat Salwyn here, they'll probably surrender after two more battles.”

“Perhaps,” she shrugged, starting to wander around the base observing the troops' weapons, armour, rations, and the like. She was incredibly curious about everything in the world and refused to let go of any details, especially when it came to war.

...

Half an hour later, the imperial troops had reorganised themselves and began to press forward. Salwyn was still at the front, only stopping a kilometre away and allowing the flanks to march in to envelop the rear.

“You let your guard down, Richard!” his voice resounded through the sky.

Richard chuckled, “I don't recall you caring the first time we battled.”

The prince's face immediately flushed red, “I hope you stick to your promise.”

“Let's see you get through my defences first.”

Salwyn didn't say anymore, waving his hand for his army to surge forth like a flood.

Richard waved an arm and sent two fireballs hurtling towards the incoming infantry. They quickly swelled to about half a metre in diameter, swirling as they flew forward. In the distance, Salwyn and his other mages immediately shrank back for a moment; they had never seen anything like it before. The fireballs Richard launched were a pale red on the outside, but the core was an eerie flickering blue that caused one's eyes to hurt if they even looked at it.

Salwyn wasn't an outstanding mage by any means, but based on his extensive knowledge he quickly realised the danger of these strange fireballs. However, his troops were formed up too close and wouldn't be able to scatter in time even if he gave them the command, not to mention the chaos that would cause. It was only when the fireballs reached his formation that he realised another strange thing about them: they had flown an entire 300 metres!

Just how could they fly so far? The dozen mages of the imperial army flew into the sky, each using their best spells to try and intercept. This had been their main assignment when they were dispatched; they were to melt away enemy attacks. A barrage of ice, acid, fire, lightning and a dozen other spells exploded on the fireballs, but once the smoke dissipated the mages were appalled to find that only the thin layer of red on the surface had been worn away. The blue cores continued to shoot forward.

“RUN!” someone cried, the mages spreading in all directions and allowing the two shimmering fireballs to land amidst the troops. The explosions were strangely silent, spreading about ten metres or so before beginning to dissipate. The troops affected went stiff as the blazing blue flames caught on their bodies, everything starting to melt away. Even the weapons and armour weren't spared, leaving behind only a puddle of red that cooled to black.

In no time at all, two holes had appeared in the imperial formation. Over a hundred warriors had disappeared.

“Th-This is... Grade 8 spell!” a mage trembled. The rest didn't even dare to look at Richard; the ability to boost a grade 3 spell all the way to grade 8 showed just how accomplished he was in magic. All of them were considered grand mages in Faelor, one even sub-legendary, but they couldn't compare.

All colour drained from Salwyn's face; he had never seen a fireball with so much power before. None of his mages would be willing to take Richard on now; before his mana was gone, anyone standing in his way would be committing suicide.

“CHARGE!” a general bellowed, “He's just one man, he can't cast that many spells!”

The troops immediately came to a realisation and charged towards Richard as quickly as possible. Nobody even thought about conserving the little stamina they had, only one goal in their minds; they had to get through this path of death as quickly as they could!

1037 - City of Sin

Enemy

The only voice of disdain towards Richard's fireballs came from his own side. Nasia lazily commented, “Doesn't look bad, but why are you using so much power against peasants without a bigger area of effect? This is actually terrible!”

He didn't reply to the assessment, forming three more fireballs in his palms. They looked to be ordinary ones at first, but a boost from his elemental affinity turned them red while his truename turned the cores into half-frozen lava. Finally, the power of the blue moon turned those cores blue and shrank them down. The fireballs started to swirl before being shot out, the sheer speed demonstrating their increased range. Flames started to jump around on their surface, a measure against other spells that Faelorians couldn't comprehend.

These three fireballs seemed to be the same as the first two initially, but landing in a triangle formation the outer edges of their ranges overlapped to form a faint ring that was fifty metres wide. All the soldiers within its coverage immediately caught fire, but the stronger ones on the edge managed to survive. Even so, the damage would likely be lethal given time; all in all, just this second ring caused more damage than the three initially had.

““CHARGE!”” the commanders shouted hysterically, the soldiers charging forward with reckless abandon while the light cavalry on both ends picked up the pace to block off the retreat. Once they crossed the next hundred metres, they would be past the road of death.

Salwyn looked on calmly; once his army surrounded the defenders, Richard could escape but his troops would be destroyed. The scouts reported nobody even close to challenging them for the next thirty kilometres; this war was already won. His face was twitching at the humiliation of having to consider something so lopsided a victory, but he suppressed the shame.

The imperial army was like a black tide that slowly enveloped Richard's troops. Richard shot out five more fireballs, straight towards the infantry that was charging head-on. However fearless an army was, the soldiers would still instinctively try to save themselves from death. The dodges and rolls at the last moment slowed down those behind them.

Blue explosions rocked the earth once more, clearing another five circles and ploughing a path of three hundred metres through the charge. While the fireballs themselves had been responsible for a tenth of that, the scared soldiers had instinctively spread apart. This path was pointed straight at Salwyn, who was at the centre of the troops!
𝒇𝘳ee𝚠𝘦𝚋n૦𝐯el coｍ

Shock flashed across Salwyn's face, but before he could even give the command to fill the gap he saw Richard rising up into the sky on the other end. They were half a kilometre apart still, but that seemed to vanish as the Crimson Duke picked up speed, the air whistling as he shot straight forward.

The imperial mages took to the air in an attempt to block Richard's advance, but a wave of his left hand shrouded them in darkness. They suddenly felt their limbs growing heavy and their bodies numb, mana flow becoming sluggish as they plummeted straight to the ground. Even simple slowing curses were terrifying at his hands.

The only person who didn't fall to the ground was a level 18 grand mage, but a wave of Richard's right hand brought three fireballs barrelling towards the man. These were much quicker than usual, only spending a moment to arrive right in front of the mage. The barrier shattered with the first strike, the second breaking all defensive items and charring the body. When the third passed, two separated legs fell from the sky, the huge tears all cauterized. The torso was nowhere to be found.

Richard flew past like the wind, continuing his pursuit of Salwyn. Many lighter whistles filled the sky as dozens of sharp arrows shot out like electricity, evidently the work of a strong warrior. Richard calmly dropped an equal number of fireballs the size of his finger, destroying them mid-way in a display that terrified those watching.

At this point, a warrior who had been running around like a headless chicken suddenly launched himself into the sky, quietly heading towards Richard's back. His impressive aura made it clear that he was a sub-legend, and he was quickly joined by another man who jumped up from amongst the soldiers. A trace of glee flashed past Salwyn's eyes; his trap had worked!

However, that expression froze just as quickly as it had arrived. A piece of rope shot out from an unknown location on the ground, coiling around the second would-be assassin and trapping him in mid-air. The man yelped in surprise, turning around to find that the rope was standard issue and the other end was fastened to the waists of a group of soldiers. Even though he was powerful, he couldn't use his energy alone to fly against eight heavy infantrymen.

The man gloomily kicked out, energy congealing at his toes to form a blade that cut him loose. However, this delay had broken their coordinated strike. He swept his eyes across the battlefield, but he couldn't find the culprit at all.

The first assassin had already made his way behind Richard, double daggers swiftly thrusting down. However, an emerald sparkle filled the sky as the blades met a sword Richard seemed to have pulled out of nowhere. Forcing the encounter into a straight fight, Richard twirled the longsword like it was made of air as he smacked both daggers away within ten exchanges. A horizontal swing of Moonlight cut off the assassin's head.

The other sub-legend had just rushed over, now at a distance where he could strike. However, his companion had already died at Richard's hands and he knew immediately that he would meet the same fate if he continued. All courage melting away, the man fled.

Richard didn't even bother, continuing to head towards Salwyn. The prince finally realised the danger and started fleeing; this caused some confusion amongst the troops, but the seasoned generals steadied the charge. The one at the front led the men forward to continue the assault on Richard's soldiers.

Hundreds of arrows shot into the sky, chasing close behind Richard. His body continued to glow as all sorts of spells tried to assault him, only to be blocked by his barriers. The army's archers and mages displayed alarming coordination as they tried to cut off all means of escape; even with there seeming to be infinite layers of protection around him, they kept up a constant assault.

Eventually, something had to give. A mere hundred metres from Salwyn, a dark aura settled around Richard and his body immediately sank down. He tried to use his powers to get through a dozen other curses, but he was finally hit by a slowing spell as well. Expression changing, he immediately fell back and looked at the arrows that were now closing in on him. A hail of fireballs destroyed half of them, but war drums resounded in the distance as the archers continued to fire more.

Shaking his head begrudgingly, he decided to give up the chase and return to his troops. A rope flew across the battlefield immediately, coiling around his waist and pulling him towards the army. The sudden change almost scared him out of his wits, but he quickly noticed Nasia holding the other end.

There were imperial soldiers all around Nasia, but she seemed oblivious to them as though they were troops on her side. As she launched Richard back to his own side and turned around, she was blocked by a sub-legendary warrior from the Iron Triangle who brandished his longsword, “Who the hell are you?”

“Your death,” the woman who'd introduced as the Faceless Knight said dully, grabbing two swords from a soldier beside her and charging towards him. The swords swished a total of three times, the first flicking away the opponent's sword while the second and third went for the heart and head. The man fell instantly, making Richard's killing of the assassin look like a sloppy job at best.

“To think they actually want to play with swords in front of me,” she snorted as she threw both blades to the ground, turning around and disappearing in the crowd of imperial soldiers.

1038 - City of Sin

Deadly Battle

The imperial army had already surrounded all of Richard's troops, screaming murder as they charged. The defenders looked like a small blot in a sea of black that was constantly crashing into them, leaving behind a trail of blood.

A humanoid warrior suddenly rushed past the battle lines towards one of the commanding generals, body and horse inundated with wounds in only a few seconds amidst his charge. Still, he seemed to feel no pain as he charged forward with full force, eventually dragging his weapon forward and plunging it into the general's chest. All sorts of weapons cleaved away slabs of flesh from his body, but he didn't even notice as he focused on twirling his weapon to enlarge the wound.

Similar scenes played out everywhere, both sides killing a substantial amount of the opposing forces. The short spurt seemed to drain all stamina, the battle devolving into a war of attrition that tested the soldiers' training. This situation showcased the Crimson Dukedom's advantage in equipment; even an ordinary bordier soldier's equipment was worth more than a hundred gold, whereas the imperial elites only measured up to a third of that. The infantry had to use all their might to pierce through the armour of the border guard, and even so the wounds weren't deep. It would take three or four attacks to bring someone down, with their blades starting to bend in that time. On the other hand, the border guard could take out a soldier with every full power attack, and their weapons lasted much longer as well.

Blue flames inundated the imperial army, lighting up everyone within ten metres before disappearing. Each appearance was targeted at the points of greatest pressure, greatly relieving the defending forces. Standing in the midst of the army, Richard tilted his head back and gulped down a mana potion, feeling his drying mana pool starting to recover. More than 2,000 soldiers had already died to his spells, but the amount was almost negligible compared to the 50,000 total.

The army's attacks grew more layered as time passed, placing tremendous pressure upon him. More than 5,000 of his own soldiers had already died, and every loss cemented Salwyn's advantage further. The only reason they were still in it was his own magic; it was much more powerful in such a large-scale battle, and despite Salwyn's best attempts he always managed to find perfect wedges to tear the formations apart.

Still, there were simply far too many imperial soldiers. Richard could theoretically whittle away at all 50,000 soldiers, but that would require nearly a day of battle where his army held them back. As it was, he could only fight to delay how quickly his troops would be wiped out. Taking a short breather to wait for the potion to kick in, he picked up the Twin of Destiny and shot two streaks of blue towards critical regions to set dozens of imperial cavalrymen on fire.

Salwyn truly was showing stellar control of the battlefield, his rhythmic attacks greatly tiring out the border guard. The prince had grown more composed in the time since they had last met, now understanding how to build upon small tactical advantages to become more deadly.

And yet, the gap between the two planes couldn't be bridged so simply. Richard eventually shook his head and shouted, “Nasia!”

Normal heavenly guardians were connected to their masters by the soul, but Richard could barely ever feel that sort of connection with the faceless knight. Without any way to send orders through his mind, he could only yell out his commands. Still, a golden glow covered his body the moment he called her name, the effects of War Fanatic beginning to show.

“Guard the battlefront!” he screamed before shooting out. While he had no idea where she was, she certainly could hear him. The momentary distraction proved to be a flaw, however, as a grey arrow shot into his back. He groaned softly, a golden glint popping the shaft out and patching up his flesh, but he didn't even care about the sub-legend that had shot him as he zoomed in the direction of Salwyn.

Several spells and sharp arrows landed on Richard's body, but they bounced off the golden armour without exception. Seeing his lone grade 9 spell ricochet off the glowing barrier, a grand mage cried out in shock, “LEGEND!”

The word rendered almost the entire battlefield silent for a moment; in Faelor, the word legend was extremely sacred.

Richard didn't even try to dodge as he made his way towards his target; now at grade 10, his barriers treated any attack from the Faelorians as a joke. Anyone foolish enough to block his path was instantly reduced to ashes by the blue flames.

*Thud!* he landed right beside the prince, a single tap of his hand reducing the warhorse to ashes while the unscathed Salwyn fell to the floor. He grabbed the prince by the collar and raised him up, “Get your army to surrender.”

Salwyn sneered, his voice amplified by magic as he laughed loudly, “Execute the final order!”

All of the generals looked over with complicated gazes, but Richard's heart sank as he saw that turning into determination. One of them suddenly bellowed out, “KILL THE CRIMSON BASTARDS!”

“CHARGE!”

“KILL THEM ALL!”

Various shouts echoed through the battlefield as the generals started to act insane, running past the ordinary soldiers and charging into the frontlines personally. As they were buried under mountains of corpses, the imperial soldiers' eyes grew bloodshot at the valour of their leaders and they charged straight towards Richard's troops as well. The border guard reacted with hoarse yells of their own as they formed up to defend, but they quickly started to get torn apart.

Richard's expression turned cold and he pulled Salwyn into the sky, rising a few dozen metres into the sky before forming a wall of blue flames around his troops. His figure then flickered in and out as he appeared next to the mages and strong warriors of the opposition, sword flashing with moonforce as it stabbed into the enemies' hearts. The skies were cleared out entirely, with more than ten Faelorian saints meeting their demise.

Looking over the battle below, he suddenly felt as though it was all a mirage. It seemed like the slaughter didn't even exist, but a ruthless bloodlust still erupted from within that compelled him to destroy every living thing below. Lost in his emotions for a moment, he was only snapped out of it by Nasia's voice, “I've done everything I should, staying any longer will be dangerous. I'll be leaving for now, you can continue the battle.”

Richard knew that she was long gone by the time these words reached him. Even with War Fanatic, he had no way of knowing just where she had disappeared to. Instead looking towards the prince in his hands, he shook him hard, “Are you not going to surrender?”

Watching Salwyn just close his eyes, however, he looked away and his figure started flickering once more. Moonlight glimmered on occasion as it started executing the generals leading the imperial army. He then rained down translucent blue flames; these weren't nearly as powerful as his initial fireballs, but they still covered everything within five metres and injured their targets to the point of taking them out of battle.

“ONWARD! IGNORE HIM!” People continued to yell, the remaining generals setting an example as they charged through the ring of fire leading their troops.

At this point, even Richard didn't have many solutions to the problem. He had already mobilised all of his drones to their limits, putting them on the outside to take the most dangerous fights, but many of them had already died. Many of his living soldiers were also taking casualties, lives lost at every second.

No longer caring about his mana, he suddenly called upon an enormous volume of blue fire to reinforce the flame walls, this time making them impassable. However, the imperial soldiers seemed to have lost all sanity as the ones in front just charged in anyway, giving up their own lives to whittle away at the flames. Their comrades didn't even care about stepping on their corpses as they maintained the forward momentum.

1039 - City of Sin

End

Richard tossed aside an unconscious Salwyn, heading to the densest section of the imperial army. Moonlight turned into an glimmer that flashed all around him, anyone touched by it going stiff before toppling over.

“The Crimson Duke doesn't have any more mana!” someone screamed, tempting all the imperial troops nearby to charge straight at him. Soon enough, they were feeding into his frenzied massacre. It looked like he had no space to dodge, and the glory of killing Richard Archeron drove these men to try and fight despite all rationale telling them to run away.

However, the death they had expected did not arrive. Instead, the warriors felt their minds go blank as they impulsively looked upwards, seeing a pale blue illusion of a beautiful woman. She seemed to be crying, but none of them could hear anything. In fact, the world started to go dimmer and dimmer until she was all they could see. Everyone felt like she was staring right at them, suddenly pouncing right at their bodies and passing through to leave behind pure terror in her wake.

Standing in the midst of the encirclement, Richard silently watched the dense crowd of soldiers wither away around him. These fighters who couldn't wait to bring him down just a moment ago were now standing in a daze, expressions gradually twisting as the life in their eyes rapidly disappeared. Blood began to seep out of their nostrils and ears; Insight activated, he could see dark wisps floating into the sky from their bodies that seemed to be in terrible pain.

Wail of the Banshee was already a grade 9 spell, but with War Fanatic activated it was boosted to the legendary realm. Everyone within thirty metres had their souls ripped apart, while those a little bit further started rolling around in pain. Only those who were at least fifty metres away even maintained control, but many of those started vomiting immediately.

Hundreds of soldiers had died with a single spell, many more disabled for hours if not their lives. In a short moment, the wave of corpses radiated out with Richard at the centre, exposing him to the eyes of everyone but with nobody daring to get close. Salwyn, who had already recovered and was jumping on a warhorse in the distance, barely suppressed his trembling as he saw the scene. He realised immediately that this would mark every soldier for the rest of their lives, the place turning into a shrine of death for those of the Empire.

Of course, that was only if they even managed to survive this.

Fatigue was etched deep into Richard's face as he buried Moonlight into the ground, using it to support himself. Murder had become a daily sight ever since he was fifteen, war and death just a part of his existence, but every fearful, empty gaze here was still burned into his mind. He suppressed his own trembling, shaking off the revulsion and nausea.

He looked at Salwyn who was far away, lips moving silently. Even though he didn't make a sound, the prince understood the words: “It's over.”

It's over? Salwyn looked at the little over thousand soldiers that Richard still had, unable to believe in that judgement, The border guard would be wiped out in ten minutes at most, the area completely cleared out. The meagre reinforcements on the way wouldn't be able to stop him from charging all thirty kilometres.

He felt the embarrassment of this charade burning his entire body. He had no idea why Richard wanted him alive, but the results of the battle were clear. Even if he won this arbitrary wager now, Richard could still leave safely and the Empire would lose in the near future.

But what was Richard waiting for? It didn't take long for the question to be answered. Salwyn suddenly felt the ground beginning to tremble, more like a dragon charging over than an army. His expression changed as he immediately remembered the most famous of Richard's followers: the ogre lord.

A towering figure crested the horizon, jumping over with hilariously large steps. It seemed like the ogre only put a foot forward every few seconds, but with his six metres of height every one of these steps took him several metres forward. Magic started to flicker on his body, greatly increasing the distance he covered.

Tiramisu bellowed loudly, waving Tenton around in a show of force. The only way to meet such a charge was with heavy cavalry, but Faelor's warhorses just scattered in fear at his draconic aura. Still, the imperial army showcased remarkable adaptability as they sent a batch of knights anyway. Half the horses threw their riders off immediately, but Medium Rare made sure to look at each of them. The glances alone caused the creatures to go limp and collapse, the men on their backs barreling into the ground. The few that made it past all that were just flung away by the hammer.

Watching the ogre deal with fifty heavy cavalrymen so easily, even roaring as he pounced right into the fray and started flinging soldiers out left and right, Richard couldn't help but grumble. The fellow had a natural advantage due to his race, needing two similarly levelled human experts to even deal with him on equal grounds.

There was some chaos amidst the army, but just like Richard the ogre lord was only an individual. It would take him some time to kill so many soldiers. However, Salwyn's heart sank immediately; he knew that the ogre lord was only the beginning. This meant that the rest of Richard's terrifying followers would be arriving as well.

The prince closed his eyes instinctively, taking great effort to open them up again. He sighed with disappointment before looking on; if Richard wanted him to watch this final loss, then he would stand until the end. Slowly raising his right arm, he signalled for the men to go on the defensive.

Just as expected, a few soldiers on the outer edge suddenly went stiff and collapsed. Two figures started flickering around the imperial formation, blood flowing like water in their wake. An enormous shadow covered the battlefield as the astral chrysalis finally flew over, those on it leaping off.

“MY AXE CAN'T HANDLE THE HUNGER ANYMORE!”

This sound caused many of the imperial generals to shiver. This warcry had brought nightmares to so many imperial soldiers in the past years; outside of Richard and Andrieka, Gangdor was the third commander to have defeated Salwyn in battle.

However, this time Gangdor wasn't leading any troops. Just like any ordinary powerhouse, he was whirling his axe around as he advanced through the battlefield, glistening head noticeable from far away. He was right in the centre of the imperial formation in the blink of an eye, cutting down enemy after enemy without pause.

The brute's commotion was a close second to that of the ogre lord, but his death toll was much smaller. In fact, he didn't even match up to Waterflower and Phaser who were flitting around. A few sub-legends amongst the imperial army immediately noticed the situation and went straight for him, starting to hold him off for a moment.

Gangdor immediately grew embarrassed, his axe turning into a storm as he tried to cut them down, but despite the great danger the experts barely managed to dodge each slice. One could almost see the steam starting to radiate from the bald head.

One of Gangdor's opponents was eventually forced to jump backwards, but an armoured knight appeared out of nowhere and aimed the tip of her gold sword at his waist. The man felt a chill as he tried to dodge, but the blade had already gone deep in. Before he could even retaliate, his life force withered away.

“Thank you!” Gangdor grinned, giving Nasia a thumbs up. However, the woman just shrugged and disappeared into the tide of people once more. Only then did Richard realise that she had returned at some point.

1040 - City of Sin

Five To One

The earth broke apart on the outer edge of the battlefield, groups of undead creatures crawling out from below to join powerful warriors of darkness and death knights. The corpses from both sides swayed as they stood up, joining the battle once more. While Zendrall had lost a few levels, that hadn't translated to a weakening of his army.

The flying chrysalides swept in from above, dropping off the rune knights and shadowspears for Richard to take control of. In only minutes, the cavalry had formed up and was advancing towards the imperial army. Kellac and the other priests buffed them with a dazzling array of spells as they passed, the world itself seeming to shake as they picked up their charge.

Did all of them possess sub-legendary might? The empire's generals and powerhouses paled immediately at the glow of energy radiating from the tips of these knights' halberds. However, they had no time to dwell on this disaster as it sped right into the crowd, every knight a mountain that crushed down upon them.

Energy flickered at the tips of the rune knights' lances as they swept up the imperial soldiers and cut them apart, the cavalry just swimming through the imperial formations. In only a minute, they had broken through 10,000 men and appeared on the other side, leaving behind a trail of blood.

The spear formation slowed down quickly, turning around and reorganising for another charge. Seeing the rune knights in such numbers for the first time, the generals of the Iron Triangle Empire were dumbfounded. The few that maintained their bearings yelled for the soldiers to regain their calm, but all hell had broken lose.

Salwyn should have been easing the worries of his army, but he sat blankly on his horse and watched the men being torn apart. He knew that it was pointless to even try; the next charge would break morale regardless. In front of such might, ordinary troop formations were merely numbers.

The earth trembled once more as the nightmare descended on the imperial infantry, ploughing right through. The soldiers in their path started to flee in both directions, trying their best to stay away from the line of death. This broke apart the entire formation of the army, and before they could reorganise the horses turned around and prepared for a third charge.

“STEADY, STOP THEM! THEY CAN'T GO A THIRD TIME!” one of the generals shouted with all his might. He was one of the few that had still remained calm, his personal guard still packed around him as well. However, before he could say any more Phaser pressed right into his back and dug his heart out. At the same time, the rune knights picked up momentum for their third assault, looking not one whit weaker than the first two times.

Facing this massacre that couldn't be repelled, even the most elite troops couldn't keep their calm. Nobody knew how many more rounds of attack these knights could sustain, only that it was nearly impossible to survive if one was targeted. Most of the imperial soldiers had lost the will to block even if they thought this would be the last assault. The horn for retreat sounded, and the troops scattered instantly. Google search 𝗳𝔯e𝒆𝙬𝘦𝙗𝓷o𝘷el. c૦𝑚

Richard didn't pursue, instead having a hundred rune knights line up defensively and watch as the imperial army left. For tens of thousands of soldiers to scramble away from only a hundred looked ridiculous, but no one felt any shame.

Richard was somewhat satisfied with the battle; only two of his rune knights were lost, and 1,200 of the 3,000 border guard had survived as well. Most of the casualties he had taken were drones, which could easily be replaced. In contrast, the imperial army had lost a stunning 11,000 troops, of which he killed 4,000 himself.

As someone on the verge of possessing legendary might, Richard could cause massive damage on any battlefield. However, he thought nothing of the number he had killed; Sharon could easily destroy the entire 50,000 with one or two of her portal blasts.

The army continued to gather, the astral chrysalis and flying chrysalides flying back and forth without sparing any strength. Able to transport a batch of shadowspears every three hours, they had already gathered an army of 2,000 for Richard within half a day. With this army and all of his followers around, he could easily wipe out the rest of Salwyn's army.

Which was exactly what he planned to do. No longer waiting for the rest of his troops, he gave chase for a hundred kilometres and caught up. The imperial soldiers were exhausted and asleep, not having expected the ambush at all. Three simple charges through the base scattered them once more, while Salwyn was captured again. With most of the sub-legends having perished to Phaser and Waterflower earlier, another third of the remaining mages and powerhouses were eliminated in this attack. A third managed to flee, while just as many surrendered. Twenty to thirty thousand soldiers managed to flee deep into imperial territory, but he couldn't bring himself to care. With his prisoners of war in tow, Richard returned to regroup with the rest of his army.

......

The skies above the Iron Triangle Empire were incredibly gloomy over the next few days, the dark clouds covering the skies so low that they touched the spires of the tallest buildings in the capital. A cold storm blew across the city, forcing people to wrap themselves up in many layers of clothing while cursing at the wretched weather. It was supposed to be summer, but it felt more like late autumn.

The imperial palace had to be lit up with torches and lamps even though it was noon, both for light and warmth. Some of the halls with centuries of history activated magic formations to make them cosy, but the atmosphere was still stifling. The magic heat did little to dispel the chill in the people's hearts.

A few mages were busy building a magic map. Ever since the Crimson Dukedom's unthinkable rise, everything related to Richard had become a matter worth investigating. His military choices especially were revered, with the magic maps he used quickly becoming popular across the entire northwest of Faelor. Mage associations everywhere had tried to keep hold of the technology as best they could, but heavy pressure eventually forced them to cave and start selling magical maps in batches. Had they clung to the rules of the past, some scattered workshops would have taken over the market and by extension their status.

The Iron Triangle Empire had used traditional maps drawn on leather for centuries, but in the past three years they had switched to magical maps as well. However, it took them a long time to get things up and running, unlike with Richard where he just popped in a memory crystal to bring up whatever he required.

The map eventually lit up, the mages sighing with relief before retreating with haste. It showed everything in the vicinity, with a green tint on the east where Rislant had managed to fight his way into Walvis Bay and captured a number of ports. In only two years they would finish building an enormous port city there, cementing their rule of the ocean nearby. However, all gazes were focused instead on the southwest with the Crimson Dukedom, the colour here pulsing from dark red to scarlet to a pale pink.

An old man opened up a leather scroll, “Divisions 3 and 7 have gathered, and can be dispatched at any time. 2, 6, and 11 are mobilising their men; it will take an estimated three days to complete.”

“What are you still reading all this useless stuff for?” the Emperor suddenly snapped. With his ashen white hair and deep wrinkles, he looked like a lion with its head hung down. The old minister was startled and the scroll fell to the ground, but before he could stutter out his response the Emperor continued, “Just tell me how many divisions we need to gather to stop him.”

The ministers exchanged glances silently, leaving a marshal with no choice but to step forward from his line, “Richard has dispatched 80,000 men, with another 20,000 invading from the Land of Turmoil. To combat that total... we might have to dispatch 500,000 soldiers.”

1041 - City of Sin

The Two Stars Of The Empire

To combat the army of 100,000, we need to dispatch 500,000 soldiers.

Such an implication was almost comical, but nobody laughed. Salwyn had once claimed he could take on Richard when he had three times the troops, but the other generals would need fivefold. The Emperor sighed deeply, “We've lost Salwyn to Richard. Even if I get that many together, who will lead them?”

The marshal hesitated for a moment before probing, “Your Majesty, Lord Rislant might be able to step up to the task.”

Rislant was once considered on par with Salwyn, another star of the Empire, but his unwillingness to battle Richard had greatly diminished his standing. Still, the Emperor nodded slowly, “Alright, pass the decree; Rislant is to return to the capital within three days. Make sure the messenger gets to him immediately.”

As the guard who received the order rushed out, the Emperor thought to himself for a while before continuing, “The Empire is in troubled times. I'm sending a troop of royal swordsmen to Mount Knowles to guard it from bandits.”

Many of the ministers had to suppress a shiver. Mount Knowles was the core of Rislant's territory, where his family and children lived. It was right next to imperial lands, just how could there be any bandits there?

......

Regardless of the movements by the Iron Triangle Empire, Richard had already started planning for the upcoming battle. Nearly a thousand flying beasts of all types now patrolled the skies of the Iron Triangle Empire, with ten cloned brains forming a network that allowed for the information to be passed on quickly. So long as the Empire mobilised more than a thousand men, he would know in only a few hours.

He had already gathered the army for the assault, the entire force now organised with the logistical and auxiliary forces right behind. Even with many having stopped off in the middle to set up the supply route, he still had more than 300,000 men on hand. 30,000 elites had already set off ahead of the pack, making inroads into the Empire.

Within a carriage in the moving army, Richard was sat opposite Salwyn with a holographic map between them. Fiddling around with a crystal ball while occasionally making changes to the display, he left Salwyn turning paler with every passing minute.

Knowing the formations of the imperial army by heart, the prince realised just how badly Richard was outplaying them as he saw the arrangements being made. Depressed yet curious, he eventually lifted his head and asked, “Just how do you do it?”

“Hard to believe? This is normal, it's just the difference between our planes.”

“So you really are an invader,” Salwyn didn't seem too surprised.

“Heh, don't go around hoping your gods will catch me. After all, once I'm done with your puny empire, I'm going for them next.”

“You're challenging the pantheon?”

“What? No!” Richard shook his head with a smile, shaking the crystal ball in his hand, “I'm just picking them off one by one. I don't think they're quite prepared to ally with each other right now; in fact, they just might defect if I give them enough. Just like the three goddesses.”

Salwyn went silent for a while before asking, “Do they know you're an invader? The goddesses?”

“What do you think?”

“But... That's betrayal!”

“Is it? If they didn't, they would have been destroyed by their peers.”

Salwyn sighed, looking Richard in the eye, “And why did you keep me alive?”

“Because you're a talent. If you weren't bound to this plane, your achievements would have been great. I don't want to let those like you go to waste.”

Understanding the multiple implications in those words, the prince pondered over it for a while before smiling bitterly, “And what's your real motive here? To conquer us?”

“Yes, I'm here to conquer you.”

“And then? Plunder us, or just destroy us all?”

Richard chuckled, “Neither. I just want trade.”

“Eh?” Salwyn frowned, “Why trade?”

“Because it gets me more than just destroying or plundering you.” This was a theory Blackgold posited as well. The gold-obsessed dwarf believed he could earn ten times as much from a plane when implementing trade as compared to just pillaging it.

Salwyn remained silent for a long while. He wasn't just a naive commander, but also a potential emperor. He could understand Richard's reasoning, and also that he would have to make a decision soon before he lost the chance. He raised his head to look Richard in the eye, “How can I believe you?”

Richard snickered, “You can't. I have no reason to promise you anything, you'll just have to work hard and try to influence my decisions.”

These words made it quite clear: they would be lord and servant. Still, Salwyn stroked his moustache and considered things before sighing, “What will I become?”

“You'll help me govern the Iron Triangle Empire,” Richard responded immediately.

“After it's conquered?” there was a hint of pain in those words.

“Not necessarily. The Empire can keep existing, and the royal blood can continue too. It's just that the person on the throne needs to change, and I think you'll do a good job with that.”

“But it won't be the same as before, will it?”

“Of course not. You will have to pledge your loyalty to me, eternally. My will supersedes everything else, no exceptions.”

“Then I'll go down as a traitor to the Empire. I'll be cursed for decades after I die, maybe even centuries!”

Richard just smiled quietly.

Salwyn felt lost and hopeless. Death was easy— as a noble who was also a grand mage, he had many ways to die immediately without the worry of his soul being trapped. He knew Richard had a necromancer around, but that wasn't much of a deterrent. Still, it was a serious matter. He didn't know whether Richard would respond with just picking a new scapegoat, or he'd just level the Empire entirely.

Attempting to influence the Crimson Duke's decision? The idea almost made him laugh. Richard's voice still carried the carefreeness of a youth, like the alluring voice of a siren on the seas. There were two choices before him, but the bait had been placed on the more challenging of the two.

“How many shadowspears do you have?” he changed the topic. Outside their carriage was a regiment of shadowspear knights that had left him with terrible nightmares for the past decade. Nobody would willingly take on these powerful cavalrymen who didn't hesitate to fight to the death, but now their equipment was even better while their coordination remained unparalleled. It was difficult for him to imagine the power of a thousand such soldiers, but their escort alone contained that number.

“A little under five thousand, but the numbers aren't going to grow.”

“Huh? Why not?” Salwyn asked with shock.

The answer, however, would leave anyone feeling hopeless, “Because I'll have stronger ones pretty soon.”

“Like those rune knights?”

“Those too, but their numbers won't be comparable to my new army's.”

“Sigh... Do you need me to lead troops in this war?”

“Not for now. You're still unfamiliar with my army composition and style, just shadow me for some time to familiarise yourself. I'll just be using your name.”

The carriage fell silent once more as the relationship of the two within changed tremendously.

......

The war between the Crimson Dukedom and Iron Triangle Empire had shaken western Faelor completely. Those who knew of the situation did not believe the Iron Triangle Empire would emerge victorious, but plenty of lesser nobles and commoners fervently believed in the strength of their ruler. The Empire could gather nearly a million soldiers if pushed, while Richard's side had less than a hundred thousand. This innocent comparison of numbers was something anyone could understand.

However, two messages spread through the land like wildfire over the next few days. The good news was that Commander Rislant had been recalled from the eastern front to take on Richard. One of the two greatest generals had come to save them from the Crimson Duke's tyranny.

The bad news was that Prince Salwyn had just been put in command of Richard's troops. The other of the two greatest generals was coming to conquer them on the tyrant's behalf.

1042 - City of Sin

The Battle Of Godstear Pass

The citizens of the Empire couldn't believe the news when they heard that Prince Salwyn was now fighting under the Crimson Duke's banner. He had always been the one most bent on going to war with Richard, so for him to turncoat so easily made no sense. Those from all walks of life started cursing him for his treachery, discussing how Rislant would defeat his rival head to head.

The magical map in Richard's carriage changed on a daily basis, showing a red tide flowing into the vast lands of the Empire and surging towards the capital. A few black lines charged at them from time to time, attempting to block their advance, but all manner of guerilla warfare did little to curb the steady assault. Richard's troops advanced six hours a day, covering a total of sixty kilometres before making camp; no challengers affected their path.

It was at the Godstear Pass that they met their greatest challenge since their invasion. 200 kilometres southwest of the imperial capital, this mountain pass was extremely cold and narrow, making for a natural barrier to block Richard's men at. Only ten metres wide with the cliffs going up nearly a kilometre, it didn't resemble natural terrain at all.

Legends spoke that it wasn't. An ancient titan said to be an enemy of the gods had sundered the mountains here in an attack that brought about the fall of a deity. This was the reason for the name, and it was also the only break in the mountains for thousands of kilometres on either end. The path before and after this was completely open, so this was where Rislant had decided to make his stand.

Richard's holographic map showed soldiers streaming in towards the pass from all parts of the Empire. More than 200,000 soldiers had gathered already, with other divisions on the way. More than half of the Empire's forces had been mobilised, to the point that they weren't even considering any other paths. Perhaps the only reason the rest weren't moving was that there were other enemies that would tear into them if they did.

Several images of the pass were transmitted to Richard's mind thrice a day. This was originally the southern tip of the Empire, but after repeated expansions, the fortress here had been abandoned and degraded over centuries. Thousands upon thousands of warriors were currently rebuilding the castle from its ruins.

Looking at the map, Richard commented, “He's going to try and tire us out.”

Salwyn nodded his head from opposite him, “He's always been a safe player. He only fights battles he thinks he'll win; if he can't gauge the opponent, he'll choose defence first.”

“You said the Empire would need five times my number to defeat me? How many do you think Rislant will have by the time we get there?”

“500,000 minimum,” Salwyn replied quickly.

“Oh? Six times my number, isn't he afraid of losing his reputation?”

“He's more afraid of losing his life.”

Richard smiled and snapped his fingers, the red glow of the map flickering a little to show an image of the castle that was being rebuilt. Even as Salwyn looked at the image blankly, he spoke up, “It doesn't matter how many soldiers he manages to gather, he'll still fail. The difference between our planes isn't something you can overcome with numbers.”

......
f𝘳𝒆ℯ𝑤𝚎𝚋𝗻𝚘𝘷el. c𝗼m

Seven days later, the vanguard of the Crimson Army finally reached the Godstear Pass. By this time, the castle had been rebuilt into a powerful fortress with more than 400,000 soldiers cramped into it, others still flowing in. Layers of wooden walls had been erected throughout the valley, the magical glow showing their enchantments. Strangely enough, none of these wall layers had any gates; Rislant had no plans of coming out.

Right before the pass, Richard's 80,000 soldiers watched as an enemy more than five times their number turtled up. Allowing his soldiers their first full day of rest since the start of their march, he sent Salwyn out to ruthlessly humiliate Rislant.

His voice amplified by magic, Salwyn's words rang in the ears of every imperial soldier as he hurled insult after derogatory comment towards their commander. As the man's only peer as a general, he was perhaps the one who knew best to get under his skin and tarnish his reputation.

The prince emphasised one thing; ever since the Empire had been established, no marshal with such superior troops had chosen to close off and defend. The army was meant to be famous for their victories through frontal assaults.

Richard actually didn't care about the psychological warfare itself; all he wanted was to parade Salwyn around to show that the rumours were true. In the eyes of the Iron Triangle Empire, this was a war that would decide their destiny. For him, it was a tame start to a series of battles where he had the freedom to test out the new strategies he had been planning.

Early morning the next day, a large batch of elite reconnaissance drones flew up from the Dukedom's camp and circled the skies around the Godstear Pass. It wasn't a secret anymore that he was using magical beasts to scout, so he was just open about it all. Hundreds of metres in the sky, no ordinary archers could pose a threat to them while the powerful ones who could didn't want to waste energy when they could be attacked at any time. They were also afraid that this was a trap; if they revealed their positions, Richard could order the beasts to launch suicidal attacks.

Those of Faelor didn't have much knowledge of Richard's drones, only assuming that they answered to hidden trainers who could only roughly understand what they observed and direct them. Had Rislant known that whatever they saw was transmitted directly to Richard's mind, he would have spared no cost to make sure they were shot down.

As the crimson sunrise slowly gave way to the golden rays of the morning, desolate warhorns seemed to whisper about the arrival of the reaper to every imperial soldier. Standing on a cloned brain to take to the sky, Richard got a view of the entire battleground from above. The equivalents of Norland's saints and grand mages flew up from the imperial army in provocation, but he ignored them as he slowly raised a hand and pointed forward.

Soldiers surged forth like a current, thousands of humanoid cavalrymen charging out on their horses to encroach towards the first of the wooden barriers. Loud war drums echoed through the valley as they entered the range of the imperial archers, thousands upon thousands of arrows almost blotting out the sky as they rained down.

Each of the humanoids immediately raised up tower shields that had been hung on the magical horses, angling them almost straight upwards to cover most of the area. These shields that were metres long covered almost the entirety of the drone and beast, and their metallic construction deflected most attacks. Even the occasional arrows that made it through the tiny gaps couldn't penetrate the heavy armour of either rider and mount, while the handful from high-level experts failed because they targeted what would be a vital weakness in a normal human.

Looking down from the castle's hastily reconstructed keep, Rislant's silver hair almost stood on end as he clutched the armrest of his chair tightly. Decades of experience had taught him that his slightest actions could affect his soldiers' morale, but all of his practice had almost failed him at the first engagement.

The rain of arrows was something the imperial longbowmen specifically trained in, using arrows of blacksteel that were enchanted to pierce through armour and expending a large amount of energy. They could only loose three such volleys at a time, but each shot should have been able to penetrate tower shields or full suits of armour. And yet, the coordinated attack of 20,000 archers managed to bring less than fifty of the cavalrymen down.

Even though Rislant barely managed to remain calm, the officers and generals around him all flew into a state of panic. The tower shields the humanoid cavalrymen were wielding were so strong that only titled knights in the Empire would normally be able to afford them. Were the first 5,000 cavalrymen of the Dukedom armed better than their titled knights?

“What's all the panic about?” Rislant said gruffly, “Once more! Loose!”

Still in formation, the humanoids inched forward with uniform velocity. The general in charge of the archers quickly calculated the difference and yelled out his orders, “Up three notches, three units of strength. LOOSE!”

Two volleys of arrows were shot out, managing to kill less than 200 cavalrymen in total. All 20,000 longbowmen paled, showing an urgent need for rest, but just as the general was about to give them some reprieve the humanoids suddenly holstered their shields once more. Pulling the bows off their own backs, they nocked arrows and fired in a perfectly synchronised return of the favour.

Five thousand soldiers on the low ground should have been no match for twenty, but the arrows shot out this time were extremely strange. Tied to the back of each one was a cylinder the width of one's fist, constantly billowing out black smoke.

1043 - City of Sin

Richard's Sky

Just like the rest of his trained soldiers, one of the archery captains of the Empire dodged an arrow heading towards him and knocked another one to the floor. Lifting his eyes towards the sky, he continued to look for other incoming attacks. However, a strong sense of unease rose in his heart and he instinctively looked towards the ground, watching on as the arrow twitched up and down.

Then, all he saw was white. A thunderous boom resounded through the battlements as an explosion threw the captain and everyone nearby into the air, similar sounds ringing out everywhere on their side of the walls. All of the archers who had been trained for five years turned into pieces of charred flesh, many of them not even realising how they died.

Rislant stood up as the thunderous explosions rocked Godstear Pass, the armrests of his chair destroyed as he stared at the position of the archers. A single explosion wasn't too scary, only equivalent to a shot from a level 11 magic archer, but there were less than 500 people of such skill in the entire Empire. Ten times that number attacking at once was terrifying!

The humanoid warriors came to a halt and calmly released a second volley, tearing the archer formations apart. The mages of the Empire were the first to recover, throwing barriers up amongst the troops while also trying to intercept the attacks, but they quickly realised that these explosive arrows weren't magical at all. The standard large-scale counterspell tactics failed entirely, with only direct collisions managing to get the things to explode ahead of time.

It was already too late by the time the heavy infantry made it to them, the two rounds having left thousands dead with the others scattered in panic. Only a sparse few elites remained calm enough to try and shoot down the incoming arrows in mid-air, but that attempt was utterly inadequate. While trained archers were extremely valuable to any army, they were also not known for being the most courageous in the face of death.

The tall walls stopped the humanoid knights and the imperial archers from seeing each other. The archers had to rely on spotters who signalled locations to them, calculating the general directions before attacking. However, Richard's drones were much less restricted; the flying beasts passed on enemy locations to the Thinker through a cloned brain, who then sent out individual orders to maximise the damage. The third volley was extremely scattered, causing many of the soldiers and even some generals to rejoice at the idea that the humanoids had exhausted their strength, but the powerhouses of the army turned grave as they looked at where those arrows would fall.

There was no pattern to this set of arrows, but most of them fell where many archers were running and focused specifically on the densest regions. A full third of the 20,000 archers were dead or injured by the end; without any reorganisation, the rest would be useless.

6,000 deaths was still minuscule compared to an army which had nearly a hundred times that number, but what surprised Rislant the most was the complete accuracy of the third volley of arrows. He suddenly looked up at the sky and screamed, “It's those things, shoot them down!”

The mages and saints of the empire quickly started a volley of attacks, dropping tens of flying beasts from the sky. Even Richard couldn't help but admire the instant insight; while his choices were a little too safe, the man clearly had an instinct for war that was no worse than Salwyn's. However, he just sighed from his place atop the cloned brain; it was a pity that this ability didn't make up for all the other shortcomings.

Richard ordered the beasts to rise 200 metres further, rendering the imperial archers unable to kill them. At the same time, thousands of windsnakes and lightning windsnakes rushed over to their defence. A sub-legendary archer from the Empire took to the sky, imbuing his arrows with a tricolour aura and shooting them up above. Every attack took down exactly three of the flying beasts, and even when the windsnakes surrounded him he didn't flinch as he rained down more and more arrows. However, a dozen or so smaller windsnakes that were dark blue in colour shot out a web of blue light that surrounded him, and before he could even realise the danger he had been trapped. A blinding flash filled the sky soon after, and a charred body fell to the ground.

With this example set, nobody from the Empire dared to take flight. The corpse was a clear indication that this was Richard's sky.

Although the flying beasts were very high up, Richard just had the Thinker use more of them to ensure the humanoids remained precise. The explosions continued to resound through the valley as the newly-built fortifications collapsed, every boom accompanied by dozens of screams of terror.

Rislant's silver hair quivered as he focused on one of the humanoids, the world seeming to fade away as he zoomed in on the knight's quiver. Every arrow had a special slot here, and after the half-dozen that had been deployed already he could still count fourteen more. The implication almost caused his heart to stop.

The imperial mages continued trying to organise a long-ranged defence, but the Crimson Dukedom's arrows just rained down in too large a number. One couldn't even just launch a mana arrow at them head-on once they got close; the explosions from up above could still blind, deafen, or otherwise incapacitate their shoulders. Being forced to use both offensive magic and localised barriers, they quickly started running dry.

Some had already started to realise that this was the gunpowder of the dwarves from the Ashen Plateau, but even a concentrated army of dwarven riflemen couldn't possess such terrifying power. The humanoid knights continued with no end in sight, killing half of the empire's archers by their seventh volley.

Once the archers had no chance of reorganising again, the knights then shot a line of arrows perpendicular to the mountain pass, placed right between the imperial army and the second defensive line, forcing them to run forward. Volley after volley pushed these soldiers closer to the first wall, until a point where there were so many people packed right under the walls that they would all die with a few volleys.

However, there were no gates to run out of. Some of the soldiers desperately climbed the fence in a bid to survive, but all they met was 5,000 more knights awaiting their arrival. Nearly 50,000 had been gathered in the small space, but only three sets of explosions would have been enough to take them out. They tried their best to crush the barrier, but the enchantments on it proved effective in the worst situation possible.

Some men desperately jumped down and charged straight into the humanoids for a suicidal attack, but the power gap was just too large. The knights at the front twirled their halberds calmly, killing everyone who came.

1044 - City of Sin

Levelling The Opposition

Behind the Dukedom's army, Salwyn suddenly leapt out of his carriage and grabbed a nearby horse, galloping towards Richard while screaming, “RICHARD! LEAVE THESE PEOPLE TO ME! I BEG YOU!”

High up on his cloned brain, Richard heard his voice and looked down to match his gaze. Salwyn jumped off the horse and went into a half kneel, “Stop the arrows, please! Just leave them to me, I can persuade them! I can definitely persuade them!”

Richard's gaze focused on Salwyn's left knee that had knocked into a stone, starting to bleed ever so slightly, and after a moment he nodded and gestured the prince forwards. All of the humanoids stopped their movements, but those glimmering explosive cylinders still left one shuddering with fear.

The constant explosions came to a halt, the tremors of the earth calming down. The battlefield suddenly became quiet, almost unbearably so as all the soldiers behind the wooden wall held their breaths, eyes locked onto the explosives. They were afraid that a single sound would call upon the rain of death once more.

Salwyn urged his horse towards the walls, amplifying his voice with magic, “I am Prince Salwyn, the future emperor of the Iron Triangle! I command you surrender to me, right away!”

Many soldiers looked rattled. In a situation where they would have died the next moment, the feeling of life was exceptionally pleasant. In the meanwhile, the officers and nobles latched onto the idea of Salwyn being the future emperor. If that was right, one could just consider this a rebellion with external assistance. This meant the Empire would continue to exist, and royal blood would still sit upon the throne. Defecting to another party in a civil war was nowhere near as treasonous as joining an invader.

A million nuances were suddenly inserted into this war. Surrendering to Salwyn would not be an undignified action, and the prince had a good reputation for his talents. While politics had held him back for quite some time, many still acknowledged that he was the most qualified of candidates for the throne. This placed another heavy weight on the balance.

Salwyn continued to shout anxiously, commanding the troops to put their weapons down and surrender. They were to jump across the barrier and run through the battlefield, heading to Richard's camp to become prisoners.

“Think about your wives and children!” he screamed, “They're waiting for you at home!”

He knew Richard didn't have much patience for this charade, and wouldn't care whether these soldiers lived or died. Thankfully, those last words seemed to hit a chord as the soldiers finally wavered, some men beginning to toss their weapons aside and jump down the walls. Many more quickly followed.

From within his keep in the distance, Rislant pointed at Salwyn and made a concealed gesture. A few of his subordinates immediately separated, and in the blink of an eye a dozen arrows flickering with mana snaked through the sky in his direction. The enchantment was clearly a targeting one.

Salwyn sensed it immediately, his face warping as he tore two scrolls and instantly activated his barrier before starting a long chant. However, he knew that this was a futile struggle in the face of imminent death; he had reached level 16 two years ago, but most of his advancements came from research and not battle. It was impossible for him to survive so many tracking arrows. Old Rislant might be a coward, but he was still merciless when he needed to be.

The arrows whistled through the sky, even the weakest of them coming from a Faelorian saint and strong enough to gravely injure him. However, a mountainous shadow suddenly covered Salwyn entirely as Tiramisu appeared before him, using his body to block the attacks. The ogre lord's thick skin and blubber were even better at blocking attacks than his frighteningly thick armour.

“Ow!” The first arrow pierced deeply into the ogre, going more than halfway in, but in total this wasn't even enough to get past his fat. This was the full-power attack from a sub-legend! He just plucked it out and tossed it away, flaring at the wretched fellow that had the gall to prick him. Had Richard not ordered him to protect Salwyn, he would have torn through the imperial army to crush the offender.

More arrows flew over, but magic and divine spells now flickered on Tiramisu's body and turned him into a mobile fort. He brandished Tenton as he snarled, not dodging at all as a wind vortex pulled all the arrows towards him with sheer force. The arrows still maintained at least four-fifths of their total power, but there seemed to be infinite barriers around the ogre's body that could never be exhausted. No matter how many layers were broken through, they would be replenished in an instant. Rather than a show of the imperial archers, it became a display of Richard's priests and mages.

At that moment, Rislant suddenly stood up from his keep, “Archers, four notches up, four units of strength. LOOSE!”

Thousands of archers at the rear gathered their focus, carrying out the order without a second thought. It was only when the arrows left their bows that they realised they were targeting the imperial soldiers gathered on the walls!

They hadn't surrendered yet! This thought resounded in the minds of many, but no one said it aloud. Rislant had always been strict on the battlefield and killed his own men easily; anyone doubting his orders would be executed right away.

Thousands of arrows landed amidst the crowded army, blood shooting into the sky. The imperial soldiers were stunned by the fatal blow coming from behind them, from comrades that they had fought with shoulder to shoulder. A hint of fury flashed across Richard's face and he promptly ordered his humanoids to fire, the wave of explosive arrows shot at the imperial archers that had just regathered. Another earth-shattering tremor rocked the pass as nearly all of them ended up dead.

Those soldiers lucky enough to survive no longer hesitated, all of them jumping in the direction of Richard's army. The humanoid knight formation opened up to give them two lines of passage all the way to the back of the battlefield; the other locals of the plane would deal with them.

Escorted by a group of shadowspears, Salwyn began to retreat into the rear. He turned back to look at the tall, gateless fence and laughed bitterly; his efforts had failed. That last wave of arrows might have sent the first line of soldiers over, but it had also forced the rest of the wavering troops to stick to their side.

“Steady the defence!” Rislant took advantage of the Crimson Dukedom getting busy, sending out orders to mobilise the second line of defence. Giving up a single wall was far from a disaster; he had set up four lines of defence in this long and narrow pass.

With the first set having surrendered, all that was left was a sole wall. Richard raised a hand and pointed at the enchanted wood, “Level it!”

4,000 shadowspears promptly walked out of the army, silently heading up to the wall with energy flickering on their halberds. Stabbing deep into the wall, they pulsed even more energy until explosions rang out from within, forming huge holes in the wood. Only a few waves of such attacks caused the wall to come toppling down. The army then rushed forward, passing the ruins and halting in front of Richard's second line of defence.

Next, Salwyn and Rislant finally found out just how large the difference between the two planes was. Hundreds of loaded supply carts were pushed to the frontlines, the contents shocking both stars of the Empire. Within these trucks were stacks of quivers, the kind with twenty explosive arrows each.

Rumbling resounded through Godstear Pass, Richard's humanoid knights ploughing through the second line of defence and sending 50,000 soldiers to their deaths along the way. This time, Rislant sat back on his half-destroyed chair and didn't even bother to look at the flickering explosions. The army then headed to the third line of defence, the first batch of knights having rested by now and taking over from the second.

Deafening noised rang throughout the pass for the entire day as Richard's army levelled all of Rislant's defences, their explosive arrows leaving everyone in despair. They only stopped once they were out the other side, with Rislant having fled to their last haven in the Ice Fortress right before the capital. The grand army of 400,000 had less than half of its soldiers remaining; 100,000 had died, and over 50,000 each had surrendered or been maimed. All four lines of defence had fallen apart alongside the reconstructed castle, and during all this time Richard hadn't lost a thousand men.

1045 - City of Sin

War Won With Gold

There was a little interlude amidst the war where six sub-legends of the Empire tried to attack Richard together. It was an intense fight in mid-air, but all six of them ended up dying with Richard not even suffering injuries. It was only then that Rislant realised that Tiramisu, Waterflower, Phaser, and Gangdor weren't the only powerhouses to be afraid of; the Crimson Duke himself was the strongest of them all.

The battle at Godstear Pass finally came to an end, the results exceeding the most audacious expectations anyone could have come up with. 400,000 soldiers had been completely and utterly defeated by an army a fifth of their size with almost no losses to speak of. Richard had used up 500,000 explosive arrows during the entire battle, and with each one costing nearly a hundred gold he had essentially destroyed the Empire with 50 million gold. With 200,000 soldiers dead, injured, or surrendered, that was effectively 250 gold per opponent.

As he walked out with the army, Salwyn suddenly looked back at the steep valley that felt rather desolate. Those explosions had signified the end of an era for the Iron Triangle Empire, and Faelor would be soon to follow. The cold wind of the Empire had never fazed him, but as it blew at his dishevelled hair it now chilled his blood and bones.

After taking over Godstear Pass, Richard left 10,000 soldiers with Salwyn so he could work on reorganising the remains of the imperial army. All sorts of materiel were still piled up high in the valley, and could be used to arm the 35,000 surrendered soldiers who were still able. The rest of the army began to reorganise, while Richard himself took 15,000 cavalrymen and chased after Rislant.

Rislant truly proved his worth as a commander, continuing to gather the stray troops even as he retreated. It only took a few hours for Richard to see the incoming streams of black changing direction, heading towards a small city that wasn't too far from the Ice Fortress.

However, when he measured the distance between the assembly point and Godstear Pass, he sneered, “Only 85 kilometres? You think too highly of yourself.”

He promptly gave out a new command. Not far behind him, the Thinker who was clad entirely in black robes cried out at such a high pitch that only the broodmother's drones could hear him, having them pick up speed. All of Richard's army was now equipped with the broodmother's mounts, which were far better than ordinary warhorses be it in terms of speed or endurance. Despite having been active for more than a day already, they still managed to catch up to Rislant within a mere hour.

When he saw Richard's cavalry appear on the horizon, Rislant nearly fell off his horse. However, he quickly made a decision and shouted out, “All footsoldiers are to stop and set up formation! Cavalry with me, full speed!”

With many of his soldiers having split off, Rislant only had 80,000 soldiers under him with more than half of those being standard footsoldiers. Having received the order, they didn't show any signs of rebellion or even dissatisfaction as they turned around and set up formation, preparing to fight to their deaths.

There were two different classes of infantry in the Iron Triangle Empire. Outside of the regular footsoldiers, the mobile corps was designed for additional logistical support and equipped each of its soldiers with a horse trained to carry heavy weights for a long time. While these soldiers still fought on foot, they could also act as light cavalry whenever needed and thus had greater status than the regular footsoldiers. Rislant was like a lizard breaking off its tail, sacrificing the worst of his infantry so that the rest of the forces could flee. This was a brutal decision that conformed to his style; on a real battlefield, the old man only cared about victory. This mercilessness had brought him victory over many other generals who were much more talented than him.

More than 30,000 cavalrymen crowded around Rislant and fled in a hurry, the old commander spurring on his warhorse to almost-untenable speeds. A sub-legendary being swiftly flew over to his side and kept up while on foot, an aide that had been left behind to keep an eye on Richard's movements. With Richard having such mastery of the skies, anyone without such strength would just be food for the windsnakes.

“How many people is Richard sending over?” Rislant asked.

“Nobody else has mobilised. I fled as soon as his followers discovered me, but it looks like all of his soldiers are dealing with the troops we left behind.”

Everyone sighed in relief at these words. After being ousted from Godstear Pass in such a humiliating fashion, they had been filled with unspeakable terror. The generals slowed their horses without even realising it, the army following suit. As the tension dissipated, exhaustion started to take over. More than 40,000 soldiers had been left behind, while Richard had only brought 15,000 cavalry. With a good amount of heavy infantry in that mix, he would need to spend some time to take them out. By that point, Rislant would have gathered his soldiers at the assembly point before retreating to Ice Fortress.

Ice Fortress wasn't particularly large and there was a limit to how many soldiers it could hold. With the Empire focusing on offence instead of building up their strongholds, the place hadn't been changed in years. Rislant planned to head straight to the imperial capital, the home city of the royal family that had been the capital ever since the country's founding. That was the most fortified city in the Empire, and during its early years had kept many powerful enemies locked outside its high walls. Still, after seeing the might of the explosive arrows, Rislant suddenly had little confidence even in the capital's defensive abilities.

Far in the distance, Richard stared down at the situation from atop his cloned brain. The imperial soldiers had huddled up together with their spears pointed out, looking like a cowering hedgehog, but the dense formation seemed to have no effects. The spear formation of the rune knights broke through it repeatedly, and this time they had thousands of shadowspears behind them that tore into the small holes they caused.

Richard had indeed only brought 15,000 cavalrymen, but that was 11,000 humanoids, 4,000 shadowspears, and 200 rune knights with his followers leading them all. The imperial soldiers were only level 5 or 6 on average, but the weakest of his troops was level 10. With the difference in mounts and equipment only furthering that hap, even a humanoid could kill five or six footsoldiers just rushing in blindly.

It didn't take long for massive holes to form in the imperial formation, and the soldiers at the outer edge showed signs of breaking down. Only half an hour after the battle began, more than half of the army was dead. Looking at the despair in the eyes of these soldiers, Richard eventually shook his head and muttered to himself, “Fuck it, I better leave some people for Salwyn. That guy...”

The imperial soldiers that were almost blindly waving their weapons around suddenly felt the pressure on them drop. They looked around in bewilderment, only to find that Richard's knights had formed a giant arc that encircled them all. The cloned brain lowered slightly, Richard's voice covering the battlefield, “This is Richard Archeron. Soldiers of the Empire, you have already shown your valiance; I do not believe there is any need for you to give up your lives so meaninglessly. I suggest you head to Godstear Pass and surrender to your new Emperor, Salwyn. He will be the one that leads your people into your new lives. You have ten minutes to leave the battlefield; those who remain afterwards will be eliminated. I urge you to consider your wives and children waiting back home.”

The battlefield went deathly silent, many soldiers darting towards the valley. There were only a few at the beginning, but it quickly turned into hundreds and thousands until only a few hundred were left behind. These last men exchanged glances and huddled together, creating a tiny formation.

1046 - City of Sin

For The Empire

Richard raised his hand and a thousand shadowspears broke out of formation, charging forward at the few imperial soldiers left.

“FOR THE EMPIRE!” a veteran shouted loudly, his brethren quickly joining him. However, a black wave crashed across and drowned them all; the veterans showcased surprising grit in their attempt to hold on, but in only a minute there was no one left standing.

Richard had the cloned brain turn around, heading northeast. At the same time, the Thinker commanded all of the magic mounts to activate their bloodline abilities, increasing their speed, power, and endurance substantially. The price for this boost would be half a year of lifespan, but it allowed the cavalry to sustain a speed that was normally only reserved for full charges.

......

Rislant had travelled at a sluggish pace for less than ten minutes before a new thought struck his mind; just why hadn't Richard sent anyone to chase him? Was it really because he didn't have the resources to spare, or was it because he had full confidence in being able to catch up?

The second idea quickly dominated his mind, and he immediately instructed the troop to head straight for the Ice Fortress at full speed. A messenger was dispatched to the assembly point, telling the soldiers there to start heading to the fortress as well. This was a sinister command; by the time the news got to them, they would be just in time to intercept Richard's chase; their lives would be forfeit, but he would live instead.

After hours spent at a gallop, the Ice Fortress was finally on the horizon. The imperial generals let out long sighs, but they suddenly felt the ground underneath them trembling abnormally. Turning around, they saw a line of black in the distance surging towards them from the south, looking like the prelude to a storm.

“HOW CAN THEY MOVE THAT FAST?” a few of them cried out in surprise, the same question also stuck in Rislant's throat. A quick calculation told him that Richard's pursuit had been faster than what they could manage during a charge.

This was the disparity between Norland and Faelor. Even with the Ice Fortress right before them, Rislant's army didn't have the ability to go all the way.

It looked like a grand battle between two cavalries, nearly 50,000 soldiers of different kinds in a bloody fight here in the cold north, but Richard was showcasing his flawless command once more. His soldiers moved around seamlessly like their beasts weren't even a factor, while the tired imperial cavalry were extremely pathetic. Every humanoid knight could kill four to five opponents, especially the mobile corps who weren't used to fighting on horseback.

The victory wasn't surprising, nor was Rislant's escape. As expected, the man had made the decision to leave behind the last of his own soldiers as he withdrew with his personal guard. The generals understood this decision; his life was perhaps one of the most important things to preserve on this battlefield. As such, a small unit of a thousand bypassed the Ice Fortress and headed straight towards the imperial capital that was only ten kilometres away.

Richard was in no rush, staying in battle for another fifteen minutes to defeat most of the imperial cavalry before having his cloned brain fly in Rislant's direction. At the same time, 300 shadowspears and 100 rune knights split off from the main contingent and followed close behind.

Rislant felt the biting cold of the wind much more fiercely than he had ever done before, as though axes were tearing into his face. On top of his flagging warhorse, the man tried hard to recall just when he had been chased around so humiliatingly before, but no memory was forthcoming. And yet, there was no trace of shame in his heart, only an icy despair that threatened to drown all of his senses.

Salwyn's voice rang in his ears from a decade ago, advocating using the entire might of the Empire to thoroughly destroy Richard before he unified the Bloodstained Lands. Because of their rivalry, he had been the loudest voice of opposition and even helped drive the prince out from the capital to sever any hopes of succeeding the throne. Now, he couldn't help but regret that decision. The battle at Godstear Pass had been another victory against Salwyn, but Richard had crushed him instead.

As he thought of this, Rislant felt pinpricks in his heart. The wind grew colder and his horse more bumpy; it was a good thing that the silhouette of the capital could be seen in the distance.

It was only then that he noticed a cavalry troop speeding across the icy plains at an unbelievable pace, cutting in right between his unit and the imperial capital. The last of his chances to retreat had been blocked off.

A horrifying aura suddenly covered all of them as the sinister bug-like cloned brain floated down from the sky, landing amongst the cavalry of the Crimson Dukedom. The imperial war horses reared up in fright, and Rislant who hadn't rested for a day and night felt his limbs go rigid as he fell from his mount.

Stood atop his cloned brain, Richard silently stared at the imperial commander who was struggling on the hard ground. Rislant's helmet had been misplaced long ago, so his grizzled silver hair was now full of first. It was only with the aid of a guard that he struggled up, coughing crimson onto his breastplate. Taking a minute to catch his breath, he raised his head and forced a smile, “Richard?”

“Mm.”

Rislant pushed the guard holding him away, making his way closer to capture Richard's indifferent expression, “So young... You and that legendary mage supposed to be teaching you... You're not of our world, are you?”

“Nope,” Richard drew closer himself, until they were almost face to face.

“Even we mortals can tell this, why don't our gods react? How could the three goddesses align with you?”

“They probably would react, if they could. Master fought them all into sleep, so they don't really have the strength right now.”

Rislant's eyes went wide, but after a moment he returned to normal, “So that's what happened to all the gods. Then the three likely switched sides fearing your master or their own peers. Sigh.”

Richard turned around to glance at the imperial capital, “I didn't bring many soldiers, but I can still kill all of yours in a single charge. Don't put your hopes on the Emperor saving you.”

“Heh, I might have hoped for that at some point, but it's just wishful thinking. Come, then; I might be old, but I can still swing my sword like a warrior!” Rislant unsheathed his sabre, displaying a stance used commonly by the imperial troops. As someone who had grown up in the army, he had trained their techniques to near perfection.

Richard barely even felt the man's murderous aura, simply floating back as he gestured forward. His soldiers charged forward around him, killing Rislant and his troops all at once. This was the first major defeat in Rislant's life, and it would also be his last. The man was steady and dignified, possessing a ruthlessness that Richard or Salwyn never could, but it was a pity that he was just outclassed in every way possible.

At the end of it all, the commander lay crouched on the field with a bloodstain spreading across his chest. The wound was something Richard was familiar with, coming from a halberd's pike as it drove through. The rune knights preferred impaling a couple of weak enemies at a time before sweeping out to throw them away. Rislant was perhaps the most imposing figure in the Iron Triangle Empire, his name famous across the entire west, but in the eyes of Richard's rune knights he was just an old man without any significant ability in battle.

The commander's chest heaved with a lot of difficulty, his eyes losing focus as they stared at the dark sky. The man's lips quivered as he spat out his last words, “For... the... Empire...”

Richard jumped off his cloned brain and walked to the side of the commander's corpse, personally adjusting its posture to make it look like he was sleeping on his back. He then took Rislant's sabre and plunged it into the earth beside him.

This loss wasn't a shameful one. 500,000 against 80,000 might seem shameful, but those 80,000 included drones from a creature meant for war and rune knights who showcased tremendous power. This army could defeat half of the families of Faust, even most legendary beings no match for the combination of Richard and Nasia. The biggest threat to an invading army, the local gods, weren't even involved in the defence here.

In fact, Sharon had been acting mysterious and secretive as of late, still noticeably pissed about having been hurt to the point of needing to hibernate. Some clues showed that she wanted to come back to Faelor and finish her job, but Richard had followed Blackgold's advice and not given her coordinates that adjusted for the regular drift between planes. Still, it was only a matter of time before she found the place and returned for her vengeance.

1047 - City of Sin

Dead End

Rislant was a formidable man who had struggled to do something in turbulent times, but unfortunately he had stood opposite the tide. Whether it was a piece of paper or a sturdy rock, the waves could weather anything into dust.

One could hear the faint sound of warhorns from the distant imperial capital, sounding like an elegy for the Empire. The gates were slowly opened as platoon after platoon of cavalry in full black armour surged out, moving to try and investigate. Richard had 400 cavalrymen under him, but the capital sent out a full 3,000 of their elites.

Seeing the incoming soldiers, Richard knelt beside Rislant's corpse and flattened a crease on his collar, “You deserve more people buried with you.”

He then stood up and climbed up the cloned brain, but this time the bug-like creature didn't take to the skies. Moving like a horse on land, it quickly crawled across at a speed not significantly slower than the magic mounts. The 400 knights followed behind him, crashing into the incoming imperial guards head-on.

It was a one-sided slaughter. In less than ten minutes, only a few dozen imperial soldiers managed to escape the battlefield. Richard lost 11 shadowspears, while a handful of rune knights suffered light injuries.

Some of the rune knights wanted to chase down the stragglers, others wanting to break down the imperial gates right away, but Richard held them all back. He looked at the enormous capital on the horizon, more than half hidden in darkness as the sky turned dark. It looked like a behemoth watching every move before it, but the impression of profound and dignity was replaced with bleak desolation today.

He waited into the night, but with no movements from the capital he climbed the brain and floated into the sky as his cavalry regrouped with the rest of the army. Most of the battles had come to an end, with only a few thousand in total managing to flee; all of the toughest imperial soldiers had given their lives in battle.

Almost every usable soldier belonging to the Iron Triangle Empire was now scattered. Withdrawing from the East would cause them to lose their wars on that front immediately, and the only other soldiers were the ones in the imperial capital right now. The lesser nobles of the country could perhaps come up with a few divisions' worth, but such a disorganised army wouldn't last against Richard, especially with both Salwyn and Rislant having been lost.

The battle at Godstear Pass had crushed the Iron Triangle Empire. Although this was the expected result, the other rulers in the region wouldn't be able to believe just how little of a fight they had put up.

Richard had some shadowspears and the rune knights head out in search of a suitable location for a camp, while a large group of humanoids and the remaining shadowspears stayed behind. Once the rune knights were gone, these drones immediately dragged the horse carcasses together and started tearing into them; they didn't need their food to be cooked and didn't care for taste either.

He flew all over the nearby area before selecting a place about ten kilometres from the battlefield, landing and observing his drones silently eat their meals. Anyone near this location already knew of their identity, so they had stopped faking conversation entirely and communicated through their internal connections.

A long neigh rang through the silent area as a unicorn darted past it like a ray of silver, appearing before Richard in a flash and rubbing up against Richard. This creature, just like Phaser, was different from the rest of the broodmother's drones in that it had a soul of its own. He could sense its annoyance with him having used the cloned brain all day, forcing it to roam round just like the rest of his followers while killing opponents.

The unicorn was no longer a pony, its back alone coming up to two metres in height while its horn was almost a metre long. As he played with the tip that sparkled with a peculiar silver glow, Richard suddenly felt a strange instability in spacetime and whipped his head around towards the imperial capital. The unicorn did the same, growling in a low voice.

Richard's eyes lit aglow with Insight, capturing the instability of the laws in the area. The clouds above the imperial capital were starting to swirl slowly, a sign of an immensely powerful being crossing planes.

Norland had an established system for planar war, with almost every spatial mage capable of borrowing the power of the Eternal Dragon to minimise the energy ripples caused by planar travel. If not for this assistance, most portals would cause violent fluctuations in the target area even if a Lighthouse of Time already existed within.

But Faelor was completely sealed off to the outside world. How would someone be travelling here? Richard shook his head and sent out an instruction for Salwyn to meet him at once.

It didn't take long before a cloned brain zoomed over carrying Salwyn, the prince vomiting the moment his feet touched the ground. It took a few spells for him to calm himself down, and even so he dry heaved a few times. Without the strength to stand atop the cloned brain when it was going at such speeds, he could only let it carry him all the way.

“Do you have any legendary beings or special gods you can contact that are outside the plane?” Richard asked immediately.

Salwyn was taken aback, and after he was told the reason for the question he turned serious, “The Empire has many secrets, but only the sitting Emperor and the elders of the family know them. I've only heard that we've been preparing emergency measures in case astral beasts invade again, but there hasn't been anything mentioned about it in a century.”

Asking a few more questions and determining that Salwyn really was clueless, Richard nodded and allowed him to return to his new troops. He would find out what was lying in wait soon enough.

......

Deep in the imperial palace, the old Emperor was walking down a long corridor with heavy footsteps. He moved at a snail's pace, taking half an hour to reach the end of the passage and open a huge door into a towering hall.

This hall was fifty metres across and ten metres tall, countless metal beams interweaving between jagged natural rock to form the domed roof. Along the walls were huge metallic pillars that were a metre thick and more than ten metres tall, supporting the entire structure.

In the centre of the hall was an altar with more than a dozen people busy working around it. A young man with a pale expression was bound atop it, struggling constantly, but with his mouth stuffed all one could hear were unintelligible whines.

“Everything is prepared, Your Majesty,” an old man said in a low voice.

The Emperor nodded and took huge steps towards the altar. The young man's eyes lit up with a trace of hope at the sight, and he tried to break free and rush forward, but two burly men held him down tightly.

The Emperor walked over to the youth and looked at him intensely before sighing, “Let us begin.”

1048 - City of Sin

Secret History

Eighteen people tugged at chains on the ground, causing one of the altars in the area to shake as the centre of the hall sank down into a pit that was ten square metres in area. The walls of this new recess started creaking before blood spurted out from openings, slowly filling it up into a small pond. This blood was extremely sharp on the nostrils, but there was a hint of sweetness to it as well. A mixture of the blood from ice giants and mammoths, it would be a crucial medium for the next part of the ceremony.

As the blood started to overflow, two of those involved in the sacrifice worked together to skin the young man until he was all exposed flesh. One of the elders took up a golden dagger and made his way over, but the Emperor suddenly stretched out a hand to stop him, “Let me do it.”

“That isn't in line with tradition...” the man said hoarsely, but seeing the old Emperor's hawk-like glare he had no choice but to hand over the dagger.

While small, this blade was extremely heavy. The handle was quite coarse, never smoothed since its construction centuries ago. Looking at this blade that had taken hundreds of years to forge yet had only been used once, the Emperor seemed deep in thought as he stroked the blade and turned to a rock altar nearby that had a silver sword and an iron spear stabbed into it. This dagger had originally been placed inside as well, but the time had come to call upon it.

He finally withdrew his gaze, walking over to the young man with a complicated look in his eyes. Leaning over to pull out the gag, he gently caressed the youth's flesh and bone, “You're my favourite son, but unfortunately you're also the one of purest blood. We need your blood to summon our ancestor from the depths of the void; you will be remembered.”

The young man recoiled with more disgust than pain, turning his head to avoid the old Emperor's palm. He used so much strength that the two men trying to hold him down almost lost their grips, his eyes shooting flames, “You're the one with the purest blood! You can summon even more powerful ancestors, you bastard! You don't like me, you just want to sit on your throne! Any number of deaths won't make you flinch, you freak! You should have just died ten years ago, Sist—KHRK!”

The golden dagger flashed across the prince's throat, bloody foam spurting out from his windpipe and putting an end to the hateful speech. The Emperor sighed deeply with seeming regret, taking his son's limp body to the side of the blood pool. A small amount of energy was enough to get the blood to shoot out like arrows into the pool, the corpse growing dessicated in mere moments. The Emperor then threw the body into the pool and turned around, “We can begin now.”

A dozen assistants headed to their designated positions, the lea shaman standing atop a raised platform and chanting in a hoarse voice, “Great Ancestor of the North, the Auburn Commander who conquered the frozen mountains, Son of Gold, Godfrey, this descendant beseeches you. The powers of the devils threaten to crush us all, the Empire built upon your inheritance is in danger of extinction! I pray you stop your long journey for a moment, and deliver us from our crisis. Return, mighty Godfrey!”

““RETURN, MIGHTY GODFREY!”” everyone chanted in unison.

The old shaman's voice echoed constantly in the hall, the blood in the pool starting to bubble violently without a single drop spilling out. All of the assistants went white, one of them quickly screaming loudly before fainting. Blood started flowing out of that man and was absorbed by the altar, leaving a dried corpse behind. All of the other assistants fell down one after the other, meeting the same fate.

Panic slowly filled the old shaman's face, but his chants grew louder and louder until he was shouting at the top of his lungs. A golden ray of lightning suddenly shot up from the altar, a blade ripping a hole into space. A black fog leaked from the depths of the endless void, looking like something that was struggling to get out. A moment later, a huge golden hand shot out of the crack and grabbed it by the edge, ripping it open to reveal a golden giant.

The golden giant stepped through and lowered his head, thunderous voice echoing through the hall, “Who is it that summons me? Thirty years spent hunting prey, wasted! Convince me that my return serves a purpose, or your souls will be used as fuel to warm me in the void!”

The old shaman quickly gave the giant a concise report of the situation in the Empire. Historical records spoke of Godfrey's cruelty and temper; testing his patience was a fool's errand. The giant silently heard the man speak before lowering his head and sweeping his eyes across the hall, pinpointing the location of the Emperor, “You are the current Emperor?”

When he caught the gaze of the giant, the Emperor felt like a mountain had been placed upon him. Under the immense pressure, he hurriedly stated who he was. The Son of Gold just snorted, mumbling to himself, “They get worse with each generation.”

The giant then leapt into the pool of blood, his body shrinking as he went. It became quite obvious that the form was more ethereal than corporeal, and as the entire silhouette submerged into the pool the blood suddenly calmed down and started draining away. A minute later, the dead young man was standing amidst dried stone once more, with the slit on his throat having disappeared. The look in his eyes had changed completely, a profound rage sealed within.

Moving his new body for a while, Godfrey snorted loudly and flashed in front of the old shaman, “Why do you give me such a weak vessel?!”

Sweating from every pore, the shaman hastily defended himself, “Forgive me, Son of Gold, we wouldn't dare offend you. Nearly a thousand years have passed since the original treaty of the gods, there is no way to supplement our ancient blood. This is the purest vessel of this day!”

“The treaty of the gods!” Godfrey bellowed angrily, golden lightning flashing from his eyes. The old shaman quivered in fear, crumpling to the floor. Fortunately, the Son of Gold's anger slowly dissipated into a sneer, “Those idiots in their divine kingdoms, do they think they won't be found by predators if they just hide themselves away? They will pay the price for their folly soon enough. We should not sit by as those idiots drag this plane to destruction, that treaty... it will be trashed soon!”

This information scared the old shaman witless. He wasn't particularly powerful, and gods could see into the very soul. Even hearing such heresy would be grounds for eternal punishment.

Godfrey didn't rant much longer, gaze turning icy as he shifted the topic, “Now, give me my equipment! I want to see just who dares to attack my descendants.”

......

“Looks like the teleportation's done.” Stood atop the cloned brain, Richard was staring at the imperial capital in the distance.

“Very primitive,” Nasia yawned lazily.

Looking at the sky that looked like it would fall down, Richard nodded, “Mm, I didn't make such a ruckus even when I transported my entire army. Won't such a thing alert every god on this plane?”

“Bah. That's just because your portal uses the laws of that old dragon. What happens if you don't, do you think you'd even be able to transport your army at all? Sending three to five people to another plane is already a huge achievement; without using the target plane's laws, a mana portal can only take one. Even masters of spatial magic can only reduce the ripples of teleporting themselves, not take others with them.”

Richard was taken aback for a moment. These were basic principles of spatial magic, but his reliance on the lighthouses of time had drawn him away from this question.

Nasia continued, “How do you think people conquered planes before the Church? Only true powerhouses could survive the spatial storms between the planes, exploring through the void. Entering any foreign plane would be just as noisy as you saw now, inevitably resulting in an enormous battle. It was only after the old dragon appeared that just about anyone could engage in these things.”

“Huh... How do you know this?” Richard was a little confused. Nasia wasn't a local of Norland.

“Reading. Everything is in historical records,” she answered surprisingly.

1049 - City of Sin

World Of Millions

Looking at the imperial capital where the skies looked like a disaster had just occurred, Richard muttered under his breath, “I still feel like this entire thing with blood sacrifices and souls is a huge price to pay. It doesn't even seem stable.”

“At least it might succeed,” Nasia said sarcastically, “The person being teleported can take care of the instability. Who'd want to explore the void if they aren't even legendary? Faelor might be primal, but their strength is at least their own. And you? You can teleport legions between planes at an incredibly low price, but what if the Eternal Dragon stops taking care of you? Forget everything else, will you even be able to return to Norland by yourself?”

“I have the coor...dinates,” Richard trailed off. He could be considered a master at planar geometry now, but even he couldn't make those calculations easily. The coordinates he did remember all came from the system of the Church, described in simplified divine tongue to only represent the real coordinates.

This was the point of registering planes with the Church. It resulted in simplified coordinates that could be used to construct Lighthouses of Time, praying to the Eternal Dragon to keep the channel anchored. The stability of the passage was then strengthened by timeforce, reducing the dangers of teleportation greatly and throwing out most complicated calculations for the dragon to take care of.

A quick estimate revealed that he was only performing a tenth of the total calculation himself, with the risks thus being reduced by a similar degree. Spatial magic had developed quickly in the past millennium, but coordinates were all restructured into the simplified ones from the Church of the Eternal Dragon. Many grand mages could pass between the myriad planes themselves, and it relied on the assistance of the dragon.

Perhaps less than half of the legends within Norland actually qualified to explore the myriad planes.

Richard turned around to look at the paladin who was behind him, “You're pointing me in a dangerous direction...”

Nasia shrugged, “I'm doing no such thing, just bringing your attention to a possible situation in the future. The actual chances of such a thing happening are none of my business; if not for our cooperation, I wouldn't be bothered. By the way, these bugs of yours look rather cute, even if their shells are too soft. How about you give me a few hundred of them?”

It was only then that Richard snapped out of his daze, noticing the low shrieks of the cloned brain beneath him. Nasia was stabbing its shell with boredom, the metallic black being poked full of deep holes. He immediately felt his face twitch for a moment; both of her swords were legendary items! Even the broodmother herself wouldn't be able to block such a thing, forget the cloned brain.

He ignored the greedy request entirely. After several boosts, the cloned brain's value was second only to special units like Phaser, the unicorn, and the Thinker. Each one needed some divinity and two days of production time, an enormous drain on resources. He had only built up a hundred or so himself in the past decade, there was no way he'd sacrifice years of the broodmother's time to give Nasia hundreds.

However, the idea that these things were cute was still food for thought. It might have been a joke, but it could also be indicative of Nasia's tastes. Putting away any possible interesting histories, he looked at the capital that was covered in fog, “Looks like some extra profit is falling into our lap.”

“The exploration of any plane is bound to have unexpected harvests. Even a plane limited to level 10 will have something interesting or useful,” Nasia stated.

Richard nodded, having the cloned brain fly back to base.

......

A few days later, the Crimson Dukedom's army reached the imperial capital and set up a huge camp several kilometres from the city. More than 300,000 soldiers were encamped in such a vast area that one couldn't even see the ends, but few of those were actually going to be in combat. Many of those here were logistical troops; they could fight, but Richard had no intention of letting them enter the battlefield.

Built upon a snow-capped mountain, the Empire's capital was called the Frozen Throne. Spread out along the incline, the city's walls had not been torn down during its repeated expansions and were instead maintained in pristine condition. This gave rise to a tiered city with many layers of walls, making defending the place easy. No enemy had ever gotten to the core of the city before.

While most mountain cities were vulnerable to prolonged sieges, the Frozen Throne despite its million residents had three rivers passing through it that provided a constant source of water. As for food, the entirety of Faelor had never faced a problem with that before; as one of the most fertile planes, even the cold north with only one harvesting period had no lack of provisions.

The Crimson Army was in no hurry to attack the city. Richard dispatched thousands of rangers to wander around and cut off supplies, but this didn't have much of an effect either. The stockpile of rations could last an entire year, and materiel was already piled up like mountains within.

In the command tent, Richard looked like he was in a daze as he stared at the enormous map in front of him, going through a miniature version of the Frozen Throne whose details were constantly being improved. Hundreds of birds were scouting for him in the sky, while moths and rats were sneaking in through the rivers and sewers to check out everything within. The city was just so enormous that they would still need a week to cover everything, but thankfully the Thinker could take care of updating the map. Despite a lack of combat ability, the special unit was one of his most useful subordinates.

When the last detail was added to this map, the imperial soldiers' terrain advantage would be rendered void. Outside of a few cordoned-off areas, Richard's knowledge of the capital would be even better than that of the imperial guards, and his ability to coordinate large numbers meant the alley fights would be to his advantage. Still, 200,000 soldiers with nowhere to run was not a force to be underestimated, and there was also a legend aiding the defenders. He would be patient and carve away at their advantages bit by bit.

“My evolution is done,” the broodmother suddenly snapped him out of his thoughts. He was disoriented for a moment, she had been silent for months, but that was quickly replaced by delight. Her upgrade had worryingly been delayed by an entire month, especially since this was the most important one since she had broken out of her shell. This evolution had been a long time coming; a year in Norland and ten in Faelor.

A deluge of information was promptly transmitted over, overloading his mind instantly. Thankfully, the broodmother had taken care to organise the data into levels, each single level within the limits of his ability to absorb. Still, it occupied all of his attention in an instant, to the point that he didn't even notice that she hadn't called him Master for the first time.

As per his decision, the broodmother had chosen to maximise her survival with this advancement. From amongst her countless options, she had chosen a core ability called World of Millions. It allowed her to nurture numerous tiny broodmothers within her body, each the size of a mere fist. Producing ten of these miniatures required a unit of divinity and an appropriate amount of the world's origin energy, but once created they would go into hibernation with her soul brand upon them. Whenever required, one of them could evolve into her true self. Google search 𝗳𝔯𝒆e𝘸𝗲𝗯𝓷𝗼𝘃𝘦l. 𝒄o𝓂

If in danger, the broodmother would just catapult the countless miniatures into the outside world, launching them all across the plane. Even if her main body was destroyed, these clones could still grow. Only one of them would ever grow to become a new broodmother, the others continuing in eternal sleep, but they were all extremely adaptable and wouldn't be destroyed unless they were thrown into abyssal lava or some other such powerful thing. Every miniature had the energy stores to last for centuries before they were rendered useless. With the World of Millions, the broodmother was basically indestructible in this plane.

1050 - City of Sin

Untamed

Getting to level 10 greatly improved the broodmother's dronemaking ability as well. So long as she had enough resources, she could now make eight level 14 or two elite level 15 units in a day, with the possibility of a level 16 that took two days of time. This meant she could mass-produce what Faelor normally called saints; unless all of the gods somehow awoke and destroyed her, Richard would take over Faelor sooner or later.

She could even combine the worm nests and the energy forest, forming a single unified structure that both absorbed the latent energy of the world and helped produce drones. The new forest would even release a fog with all sorts of toxins and hallucinogens, greatly weakening any hostile forces that charged in while simultaneously strengthening her drones; in that respect, it was almost like a domain that required no energy to maintain.

With enough materials and energy, these larval forests could create an endless supply of level 5 creatures. That didn't seem like much at face value, but Richard quickly realised that this was the same level as normal mounts. In other words, every single soldier under him could be equipped with a drone mount that drastically increased mobility.

The ascension requirements for level 11 were rather simple as well. The broodmother would only require divinity, even if the total amount was absurd. The thousand units she needed was equivalent to what any of the three goddesses had before they started cooperating; in other words, the broodmother needed a lesser god's worth to advance. She had finally reached the point where she would have to eat gods to advance.

Defence, speed, recovery... Everything was greatly enhanced as a result of this ascension. Her mind flay was already comparable to the attacks of a grand soul mage, and her personal strength in battle exceeded that of a Norland saint. She could even hold against most legends, even outlasting some on stamina alone. This strength made Richard much more confident in his decision to start an all-out war.

......

Even as Richard was reading through the information from the broodmother, Raymond suddenly opened his eyes inside a caravan meant for transporting supplies. Almost moaning with delight, he rolled up his left sleeve to reveal a faint red mark that looked like a fresh scar, pulsing up and down regularly as though it had a life of its own. He pressed softly on the scar, the pulses growing much faster before the broodmother's voice rang in his mind, “You're looking for me?”

“Yes. Congratulations! Since you've awoken from your slumber, you should have gotten to level 10 already.”

“I have, yes.”

“And your truename?”

“I have it.”

“Hahaha... Even for a seed of war and destruction, awakening one's truename at level 10 is rather rare. This means you managed to heal your soul without reaching level 10, doesn't it?”

“Not for you to know,” the broodmother answered coldly.

However, Raymond didn't seem to care, “Alright, I'll stop asking. My life is still in your hands anyway, isn't it?”

She didn't respond, the worm in his arm burrowing deeper into his flesh once more and returning to the form of a faint scar. This was a drone sent by the broodmother that allowed her to communicate with him directly, the exchange invisible to Richard.

Raymond glanced outside the window of the carriage before returning his gaze to the magical map before him. Richard had passed on all logistical duties, which was an enormous responsibility. The Crimson Army was known for its exquisite equipment and supplies, to the point that he had 50,000 soldiers under him just to protect the thousands of tonnes of material he was sending over. With the battle lines having been pushed in, he himself had to leave Bluewater to better coordinate the process.

Logistics was an extremely complicated thing; providing supplies for 300,000 soldiers over a thousand kilometres away was unimaginably difficult, but to him it was still a simple puzzle to solve. Less than an hour after the conversation, he had finished up the plans for the entire next week and left himself with nothing to do.

Staring outside the window again, he suddenly chuckled and muttered to himself, “So you already have a complete soul... Hehe, what's going to happen next? I anticipate the surprise.”

Closing the window, he took out some magic paper that scrolls were normally made of and began writing on it:

“Across all of the Soremburg tomes, there is little information on the seeds of war and destruction. Generations of Scholars have been interested in this topic, but there have been far too few opportunities to study them. Luckily enough, I have managed to obtain such an opportunity.

“Most records state that the seed of war and destruction, otherwise known as the broodmother, is a wondrous weapon of war. They have one master that they imprint upon, and they are completely subservient to this person unto their deaths. The broodmothers possess high intelligence, but all of that intelligence is purposed towards one single goal: to better complete their master's orders. In this sense, they are still tools of war. One of the smartest, but tools nevertheless.

“Some suspect that the broodmothers aren't as simple as they appear; that we just assume their attributes based on limited research. The secrets of their origin are so well guarded that nobody knows where they come from or how they are created. Magister Quill's notes on this are quite interesting; he persisted that the depths of their incomplete souls hid a world that nobody knows about. I am considering the merit of his judgement as of late; while he did not provide any evidence or even much reasoning, a master of divination does not always need such a thing. Many of his predictions are instinctual.

“There is no doubt that I am luckier than most Scholars; not only have I personally seen a broodmother, but I can also communicate with it through our souls. This is a curious situation, and it has allowed me to verify many assumptions. Many believe the broodmothers always take the form of giant larvae or other insectoid creatures because insects are one of the best suited to survive, but that might not be all. From our interactions, I am beginning to believe that this one's reason to mend its soul was not for freedom but so it could be untamed. This is a sudden change in my reasoning, and the cause behind it is worth studying as well. I'm not quite sure myself; is it because I've seen her true form, or is it because of Richard? However, I am certain that she does not know the soul mending method also has the effect of creating a personality.

“As of now, I anticipate more surprises, even if the price to observe them is my body and soul.”

By the time he put the pen down, the paper was completely filled up. He read what he'd written twice over before sending a wisp of transparent flames from his index finger, watching as it burnt to ashes. The ashes themselves seemed to be caught at a boundary where space was frozen, winking out of existence alongside the flames.

A short while later, this journal would be wiped from his conscious mind as well. It was a secret technique that allowed him to bury the words deep within his memories, such that even a legendary soul mage would be unlikely to find it. If he ever needed this information in the future, he had a way to bring it to the surface.

Built in the style Faelor's natives used for their mages, the carriage Raymond was travelling in was spacious and comfortable, so large that he could pace around. His face flushing with excitement, he had to walk around a few dozen times to calm himself down.

“I want to see your expression when you realise the truth, Richard!” he muttered to himself, unable to hold in a wide grin. This was the terrifying thing about the Scholars of Soremburg; their vast reserves of knowledge and many secret techniques passed down across millennia made mana dispensable in many situations. Even after losing all of their power, they could still cause immense destruction.

1051 - City of Sin

Truename

Having repressed himself for a long time, Raymond finally grabbed the opportunity before him to break the chains binding the broodmother. If she went out of control, it would be an unmitigated disaster that Richard had no way to deal with; he himself had gotten her to strengthen her survivability with her level 10 advancement, simply making things much more dangerous.

He laughed repeatedly, but that loss of control only lasted a few moments. Even the smile quickly faded away as he returned to his seat, returning to his usual, gentle self. Even pent-up emotions over years could be vented quickly by someone of his calibre.

The Scholars of Soremburg were notorious for their objective views of the world. After years spent in the organisation, they had no grasp of the difference between impartiality and cold blood. Raymond pulled open the window out of habit, looking at the crimson sky and the heavy carts outside.

All of these carriages were exquisitely designed, remaining stable even in rugged terrain. They alone showed that Richard's investment in his troops went past what was required for battle, extending to things like tents, supplies, maintenance, and food. The Crimson Army was a holistic upgrade over any other force in all of Faelor, not allowing any holes for others to exploit.

A group of light cavalry charged past the street, youths from Faelor equipped with stellar equipment who had undergone rigorous training. Any single one of them could contend with an elite of the Iron Triangle Empire, but they were second-class troops in the Crimson Army that Richard didn't even bother mobilising.

Raymond suddenly felt a sense of envy for the youths. There was no shortage of battles in the Crimson Dukedom, but Richard was guaranteed to triumph in every one while the most dangerous missions were undertaken almost solely by the drones. They got to chase down routed troops and clean up the battlefield while travelling in luxury that even many merchants could not afford. Their equipment reduced the chance of injury or death, while the pay was amongst the best in Faelor. There was no better country for a soldier to serve than the Crimson Dukedom.

The sense of being stifled was unexpected, almost confusing. Raymond felt as though he couldn't breathe as he started thinking deeply about Richard's actions so far. Rare minerals were being drained from Faelor constantly, the astral chrysalis ferrying 3,000 tonnes of resources to Norland on a weekly basis, but equipment and resources from Norland were also being poured into this plane as well. It was almost an equal exchange, but as the middleman Richard's lands had grown prosperous everywhere; many would even say he was conjuring his wealth out of thin air.

However, Richard was actually looking at the long term. Instead of burning through Faelor, he was building sustainable trade that would last centuries or even millennia. Even just ten years of development had turned the Crimson Dukedom into a centre of power in the west of Faelor, with countless people flocking to the country in the hopes of fulfilling their dreams of wealth and luxury. Many of them even succeeded, only lighting the fire of hope in those watching on.

Raymond himself had his profits in the past decade. He couldn't deny that he enjoyed the life he now led, working busily each day only to return to his home and work with Reyna to tend to the garden or renovate small sections. Even the mundane task of preparing dinner was a daily bliss. Nobody even knew that the beautiful, gentle lady willing to lend a hand to anyone was in fact a saint.

Perhaps the only sore point was that she was still without child. Raymond was suddenly startled by his own thoughts, shaking his head with a bitter smile. He, a Scholar of Soremburg was hoping for a child? Was he really longing for such a dull, ordinary life?

The carriage had entered the Iron Triangle Empire's soil, although perhaps it would be called the Crimson Empire's soil in the days to come. Wealth and prosperity would spread to this land as well, the dreams of the locals ignited as they reached for their own little stars. However, if the broodmother really lost control, what would it look like?

The depths of Raymond's knowledge immediately showed him a vision of a dark sky with the earth cracked all over, the rivers dry and oceans muddy. The entire plane would turn into a place unfit for anyone but the broodmother and her drones, a mountain of a body constantly pumping out creatures into the land, sea, and sky. Once all of the plane's energy had been sucked dry, she would then feed on the core. The core's destruction would wipe out the crystal sphere protecting the plane, leaving the world bare to the energy storms of the void that would destroy everything. Even the broodmother herself would not survive.

All this for what? For vengeance, or to study the origin of this plane? The answer should have been clear; both. All Scholars of Soremburg wished to be spectators that got a front-row seat in witnessing the broodmother destroy a plane; this was a chance they would die for. The many secrets of Soremburg were not employed only against others; there were techniques that they applied to potential scholars to ensure that exploring the world was the biggest goal of their lives. For a Scholar, there was a lot to learn about the supreme existence from the death of a plane.

And yet, for some reason, Raymond suddenly felt like he would choke at that thought. The so-called supreme existence started to lost its worth.

Whatever the case, the worst had already been done. All Raymond could do now was to observe from the sidelines. Quietly closing the window, he returned to the map and started planning out logistics for what came after. For some reason, he made a million mistakes.

......

By this time, Richard was done with a surface scan of the information from the broodmother, having gone through the most important parts in detail. He contacted the broodmother, “Getting a thousand units of divinity will be a pain, but the war with Runai should give you half of what you need. She should only be a lesser god now from the damage done to her, so you can consume a few of her avatars and children.”

The broodmother was silent for a while, seemingly deep in thought. It took a minute for her to respond, “I can participate as well. I can deal with lesser deity avatars or demigods on my own now.”

“Oh? You managed to get your truename, then?”

“Yes.”

“What is it?”

“Feikenbolo Sillo...” she quickly transmitted a huge name that was much longer than his own. Richard's blessing of truth reacted slightly when he heard the name Sillo, feeling a connection with her new World of Millions ability. Confirming that it was supposed to be her real truename, a smile crept up his face; there was no reason to fear betrayal. He had now noticed the difference in how she addressed him, but that wasn't something he had an issue with.

“Alright, build a plan for a new type of troop. I need long-range troops that are fast and can move unassisted for long distances. Average defences are enough, and... toxicity should be the theme.”

“Any requirements for appearance?” she asked.

“Nope. Maximise their offensive capabilities, but keep my logistics in consideration.”

“Mm...” the broodmother agreed, falling silent.

Richard then walked out of his tent, surveying his surroundings. Bonfires were burning throughout the camp to combat the cold, wet breeze, with a line of wood being pulled from the nearby forest. If the Empire hoped to lower his troops' morale, that plan was destined to fail.

Half the Frozen Throne was buried in fog, but the majestic construction felt a little overbearing even to him. It had to be said that the humans of Faelor were good at construction; even in Norland with its abundant earth mages, building such a city was rather difficult. The generations of walls had been paired effortlessly with the other additions to the city, making it clear that there were genius architects involved. With their limited planar teleportation on top, one could consider it a miracle.

He couldn't help but think back to all of the planes he had visited so far. Even those that seemed to have no value at all, like the Resting Orchid Plane that was surrounded by endless ocean, still turned out to hide deep secrets. It felt like there was no plane in existence that didn't have a miracle or mystery to unravel.

He puffed out a misty breath; whenever he thought of such things, he could feel the pressure of his potential destiny weighing down on him. A single step missed along the way would have crushed him under the torrential waves of time, but he had constantly kept moving forward to avoid it all.

Still some time away from finishing his exploration of the city, he turned around and walked towards the barracks. However, he had only taken a few steps before he turned around, gaze growing extremely sharp.

The gates of the Frozen Throne were opened, a young warrior in golden armour stepping out. In one hand was an enormous two-handed sword that was larger than his body, and everything within a hundred metres was bathed in his light.

1052 - City of Sin

Siege Google search 𝘧𝓇𝗲e𝑤𝑒𝙗noѵ𝒆𝚕. 𝒄o𝓶

The miraculous scene caught the attention of almost every soldier. Richard felt his heart skipping a beat when the youth's gaze landed on him, but the other two pumped with force and made up for the loss of strength. As the imperial capital burst into earth-shattering cheers, he whispered to himself, “So the legends are finally showing themselves.”

“Kid, a weakling like you has the guts to attack my empire?” The warrior threw his head back in a laugh, the golden aura around him growing in intensity. The rays of light were like blazing flames, soaring into the sky with power that was rare even for the legends of Norland. Everything within range would be under his control.

However, Richard was no longer at a point where legends were a threat. His voice remained calm as usual, “So you're saying a weakling has buried your empire's best generals and marched to its gates. I see we agree that your descendants are useless.”

“I am the Son of Gold, Godfrey!” the youth sneered, “If you know the meaning of this name, you'll regret your impudence.”

“Don't know, don't care. I don't pay attention to trash.”

The flames around Godfrey suddenly pulsed with his rage as his voice grew loud as thunder, “I'll show you worms the power of legends!”

He actually walked straight towards Richard, completely ignoring the hundreds of thousands of soldiers nearby. His eyes narrowed as none of the archers fired at him out of line, but then he chuckled, “You know what? There's no fun just killing you. Let's play a game... that girl over there, she suits my tastes!”

The Son of Gold seemed to grab at the sky, a beam of golden light falling from the sky a hundred metres away. It seemed like there was no one there at first, but the light revealed Waterflower's graceful figure even as it trapper her in a spherical golden cage. The cage slowly rose into the skies, a tendril of flame shooting out and landing on her body.

With no room to dodge, Waterflower could only use her internal energy to fight it head-on. She managed to keep it from harming her body, but her clothing quickly started to burn away. In a moment, almost the entirety of her left leg was bare.

Godfrey chuckled, “Not bad, she seems to have some power. I like it that way.”

Richard's eyes flashed crimson, but he forced his voice to remain calm, “Godfrey, I'm going to massacre your city.”

“Haha. Don't be so anxious, kid, I made sure the flames will only burn off her clothing. If you don't want the girl to be exposed in public, beat me quickly.” Amidst crazed laughter, another tendril of flames flew out and burnt a majority of the clothing on Waterflower's back. She didn't even try to cover herself, instead swinging around in place to strike at the golden cage. The energy dimmed with a strike, but it quickly regained its full brightness. Godfrey's eyes brightened as he watched on, continuing too laugh as he lugged his sword and walked towards Richard.

At some point, Nasia had appeared behind Richard, “This guy isn't easy to deal with, but at least he's stupid enough to waste his energy on the cage. Looks like he's underestimating you, want me to do a bit extra?”

“How?” Richard asked flatly.

“He looks to be someone who controls laws related to metals. I can alter War Fanatic to give you the same capacity, letting you vie over control with him and weaken him. Of course, it'll come with a high price; you need to think it through.”

“What do you want?”

“That dagger by his waist isn't too bad.”

“It's yours,” he didn't hesitate.

“Huh?” Nasia looked to be a little surprised, “That thing is comparable to a top-tier offering. You won't regret this, right?”

“I need to kill him to get it, don't I? While beating the fucker back won't be a problem with the normal way, I want him dead.”

Godfrey started running as the two were talking, suddenly leaping a hundred metres into the sky and flashing above Richard's army. He waved his giant sword in a large arc, shooting what looked like shards of solid gold down on the soldiers. Even superior-grade armour crumbled in the face of his might, and any wounds caused by these shards turned the skin nearby into metal. Even the humanoid knights couldn't resist this attack, while the ordinary soldiers were killed instantly.

“Let's make your heart bleed a little, kid!” Godfrey laughed maniacally, flying around and launching a number of these attacks down. Very quickly, more than 2,000 soldiers were injured dead.

Richard suddenly burst into laughter, voice amplified by mana, “What else should I expect from the Iron Triangle? Just a bunch of cowards that can only vent on commoners.”

His voice resounded so loudly that even those still in the capital could hear him. Godfrey immediately turned towards Richard, shaking with rage as he grumbled about torture, but he found Richard charging in his direction of his own accord. The sheer gall of it all felt insulting, his fury so great that he bellowed, “Let me show you what a legend is!”

The words were like thunder in the ears of Richard's soldiers, causing a thousand of them to crumple to the ground in pain. However, Richard continued to fly forward, forming a fireball the size of his fist along the way.

Godfrey froze at first, but then he chuckled, “You're trying to beat me with a fireball? What can such a small fireball do? Just—”

His voice suddenly faded away, eyes going wide open as he saw the fireball go from red to orange to blue. Every mutation added two grades of might to the spell, bringing it to grade in an instant. This was something that even he wouldn't just take on thoughtlessly, but on top of that he sensed something within that made him uneasy.

Kilometres crossed in an instant, Richard and Godfrey were no more than a hundred metres apart. Richard waved a hand over the fireball, causing it to spin rapidly as it shot out of his hand.

“Speed, distance, tracking, instacast... How?!” the Son of Gold exclaimed. A grade 7 spell, when boosted with so many effects, was more difficult to cast than most grade 9's. However, Richard had cast it instantly!

A faint figure appeared behind Godfrey while he was distracted, stabbing into his back at once. A strange whistle rang out from the sky as Gangdor leapt out from the masses, chopping downwards with his axe. At the same time, curses from all sorts of sources flickered on Godfrey's body and caused him to groan, suddenly spitting out some fresh blood with hints of gold within. He had pushed through a barrage of curses before, but some of these spells were much more powerful than he had expected. At his level, even most higher-level spells should only have worked on him a fifth of the time or so, but many basic curses were striking true every other cast.

It was only now that the Son of Gold felt true danger, bellowing and sending a surge of golden energy in all directions to push out the curses. He also formed fourteen golden shields to protect him from head to toe.

1053 - City of Sin

A Series Of Mistakes

The golden shields flew around Godfrey to defend him from the two attackers. Gangdor huffed and activated his bloodline ability, the giant axe cutting two shields in half before it lodged into the third. In the meanwhile, Phaser's dagger seemed to pass straight through four shields before being deflected by the fifth.

Gangdor grunted in annoyance at losing out, but Godfrey's eyes widened in surprise instead. Each of the shields was meant to be able to take on a sub-legend of Faelor without breaking, giving him protection from dozens of attacks, but Gangdor had taken out two in an instant. Even worse, the assassin had managed to get through a full four. In Godfrey's eyes, both of them were only level 18, equivalent to a normal sub-legend, but one had the force of three of his level while the other had the power of more than four.

It was at this point that Richard's fireball flew over, Godfrey's senses screaming at him to block it with everything he had. He backed away, ramming Phaser with his body before redirecting his remaining eight shields.

The first golden shield cracked immediately, the blue flames almost flowing past it like a liquid as it melted away. The same happened to the rest of the seven, but fortunately the blue flame showed hints of red and eventually returned to a normal flame. The red flames blazed with a horrifying crackle, but they could only compare to a drop of the blue.

The power of the fireball far exceeded Godfrey's imagination, its high temperature the bane of all metals. Feeling a hint of something familiar within them, he shuddered with fear as he realised he couldn't afford to hold back any longer; a large golden palm smacked Gangdor into the sky, allowing him to put up a defensive stance as he stared at Richard with caution.

A faint blue light erupted from Richard's body, not too eye-catching and even weaker than a saint's aura, but it caused Godfrey to freeze up. He could see divine symbols floating around in the blue light, many of them extremely familiar to him. They were used to control the law of metals. This could only mean two things. One, Richard already had control of a law, which was proof of him entering the legendary realm. Two, he had actually mastered the law of metals, which meant his own power would be greatly affected in this battle.

How was this kid a legend? Before the Son of Gold even had time to react, Richard conjured another, different fireball in his hand. Although the surface of the fireball was covered in orange flames, one could see liquid blue fire with a metallic lustre floating around within. The fireball silently flew over at twice the speed of a regular one, leaving him with no place to hide. Godfrey roared loudly as golden light burst out from his body, forming a column from earth to sky. A number of shields flew out from within, but their golden lustre dimmed as the fireball approached and the intricate runes started breaking apart.

Godfrey's heart sank; Richard truly did control the laws of metal, and it wasn't just on the surface either. His own power instantly dropped by a third! The blue fireball went through two shields before its shell even broke, and the liquid flames that spread out after just melted his shields away. He poured all of his energy into making new ones, but it took a full twenty before the fire slowed down.

“The star of destruction!” he suddenly screamed in realisation, “Who are you?! Why do you have fire from the star of destruction?!”

Richard ignored him, starting to form a fireball in each palm. He had never heard of the star of destruction before, but it was likely just another name for the blue moon. The boost from the blue moon's power and his own truename brought the spells to grade 9 power and grade 8 consumption. He hadn't used all of his power in the last attack, but despite Godfrey's greater volume of energy the density was low enough for him to break through it easily.

The two blue fireballs whizzed towards Godfrey, with more forming in Richard's hands immediately. Godfrey was quickly exhausted, forced to use magic on his own body so he could take on the attacks. Richard stopped throwing fireballs after the sixth, but relaxing at the sight turned out to be a mistake; he suddenly found the golden light around him dimming as his control of laws grew unstable instead.

Godfrey felt extremely uneasy, his speed, control, reaction times, and defence having declined in battle. A black mist suddenly surrounded his head, and before he could realise what was happening he felt his body drop from the sky. It was divine magic!

The enraged Son of Gold looked around and caught a glimpse of Asiris retreating, bellowing as he charged towards the Dark Priest. Each of his steps covered a great distance, giving him twice the speed even as any soldier within ten metres of him was annihilated by the faint golden energy.

However, Godfrey wasn't allowed to just kill the soldiers for long. A mountainous figure charged towards the corridor of flesh and blood, swinging a hammer straight towards Godfrey's head. Godfrey drew his sword and roared angrily, a full-strength attack sending Tiramisu flying away, but he himself was forced back a few steps. The earth around him was transformed into gold with each step, but even with the tenfold increase in hardness he sank further and further. By the time he finally stabilised, he had to spit out a mouthful of fresh blood.

A young woman in weird clothing suddenly appeared out of nowhere, almost casually swinging a black metal rod towards him. Rage flashed across Godfrey's face— the woman didn't even seem to be a Faelorian saint— but there was a hint of alarm as well. How did someone so weak get to his side unnoticed?

The Son of Gold raised his sword and shouted loudly, meeting the woman head-on. She matched the volume as she pushed down on her rod, bright light erupting when the two weapons made contact. The sword actually started to bend!

Godfrey instantly realised that he would not be able to resist the sheer power behind that rod, one knee going on the ground as he put a palm up to support the weapon. His entire body turned to gold and bonded with the weapon, but even so the two were in deadlock for a moment before Mountainsea finally flew ten metres away. The Son of Gold just stared at his sword in shock; the blade had bent so far inwards that it snapped in two!

The gold on Godfrey's face faded away as he turned pale, his throat bobbing up and down as blood threatened to spill from his mouth.

On the other hand, Richard flew down from the sky to help Mountainsea up, “How was it?” Please visit f𝗿e𝗲𝘄𝚎𝐛𝚗𝐨𝙫ℯl. c𝗼𝚖

The barbarian girl shook her head a few times, “A little dizzy...”

Godfrey's face filled with rage once more. His fierce defence only left the girl a little dizzy?

1054 - City of Sin

A Legend Falls

Godfrey wasn't a native stuck on Faelor; as a powerhouse who was beginning to explore the myriad planes, he knew of people with powerful bloodlines who didn't need to be high level to take on powerful opponents. Regardless of their shape or size, such people could not be provoked; they normally had terrifying families and elders backing them.

The Son of Gold didn't say a word as he took to the skies, fleeing towards the imperial capital. Mountainsea's appearance made it clear that these invaders had powerful backers, and were definitely not people he could take care of himself. The choice of the three goddesses made much more sense now as well.
𝑓𝚛𝚎𝗲𝙬ℯ𝘣𝚗𝘰ν𝐞l. co𝗺

However, Richard's lips curved into a sneer, “Think you can just flee?”

A black mist surrounded Godfrey's body once more, forcing him down. He was prepared this time and burst forth with energy to counter it, but even if he started to look like a descended star some of the black still remained around him. These tendrils of gas were extremely resilient, and it would take ten seconds or more to whittle them away. While he didn't fall to the ground completely, his speed was greatly reduced.

His blood immediately froze; he had assumed he'd overestimated Asiris, but even so it still wasn't enough. All of his power couldn't instantly dispel the curse, making it clear that it held a hint of the power of lows. Someone who wasn't even legendary could use laws? It was only in the fiftieth year after he entered the realm that he even managed to start, and a century of twisting paths led him to the law of metals that suited him. Even so, he was luckier than most legends of Faelor; and yet, there were so many people here today that overturned that common sense.

Those ten seconds of slow down were the difference between life and death. Godfrey grew determined, planning to unleash all of his trump cards if need be. He still had the strength to fight, and the priest in the distance was already dazed from using forbidden spells twice in a row. However, the expected attacks didn't come at all. For two full seconds, nobody even approached him and just watched as he flew out of their formation. This only left him more apprehensive; the calmer they were, the more dangerous the situation. He didn't think he would be able to leave without paying a price.

It was in the third second that all of the 200 rune knights reached their spots, as many specks of light in Richard's mindscape indicating the shadowspears directing them. A large, invisible web had formed during this battle, and Godfrey was flying right into the middle of it.

It was in that third second that Richard sent the order to attack, leaving the Son of Gold feeling like he had been plunged into a frozen ocean in an instant. The world screamed about his impending death, and before he could even figure out what here could threaten his very existence 200 auras flared up amongst the soldiers like stars in the sky.

When the javelins were launched in his direction, it felt like the reaper was smiling at him from above. This was Godfrey's first time seeing the rune knights' attack, but it didn't stop him from realising the sheer danger they posed; he could take on the combined attacks of a dozen sub-legends, but a hundred of these would be enough to kill him. Even if he dodged a full half of them, he would die!

The javelins were incredibly fast, giving Godfrey no time to dodge. His eyes filled with blood as he instantly made a choice, golden energy surging out of him as he formed all sorts of weapons and equipment around his body, using the momentum to charge straight for Richard as he tried to dodge the dozens of javelins in this direction. Those he couldn't avoid or deflect were taken on directly.

Half of Godfrey's body turned into a bloody mess, with hundreds of javelins still trained on him from behind. However, he just chuckled madly as he activated all of his energy without a care, a dark gold armour wiping out the last of Asiris's gas and returning him to top speed. The Son of Gold pounced towards Richard like lightning, his reformed sword stabbing straight towards his chest.

“You're dying with me, bastard!” his roar thundered into the clouds.

Richard didn't dodge, pursing his lips and blowing out a breath of blue fire that shot a dozen metres forward. It looked like a line of pure blue, so concentrated that it was almost solid. The tip of Godfrey's sword melted in an instant, the rest of the blade following before the gauntlet and the Son of Gold's very arm. By the time he was within ten metres, Godfrey's very body was being destroyed by the flames. He still didn't stop, pouncing towards Richard while laughing like a maniac. However, this laughter came to a sudden halt as Richard seemed to disappear from view, a green blade now lodged in his chest.

Richard twisted Moonlight to enlarge the hole in Godfrey before pulling out, calmly retreating. Godfrey slowly turned around, watching all the javelins suddenly fly past him before turning away and landing harmlessly in the distance. His voice croaked as he spoke with difficulty, “How...”

How had a grand mage dodged him with the skill of someone in the legendary realm? How had that mere epic blade managed to pierce him without taking any damage? How could someone control flames from the star of destruction? There were just far too many things that he wanted to understand, but the Son of Gold would never get the chance. Blue flames already covered the entirety of his body, flowing across it like water and melting him into nothingness.

Godfrey's body shrank rapidly as it fell to the ground. The soldiers below had been dispersed already with a silent command, but some still hadn't made it far enough away. Those within a hundred metres of the landing crumpled to the ground, some even beginning to burn right there. Richard instacast a snowstorm to cover up Godfrey's remains, but the high heat immediately vapourised the snow and even destroyed his magic. He had to cast the grade 8 spell four times before the temperature returned to normal, causing even him to shudder. This heat all came from the blue flames, used at full strength with his truename powering them.

At the very centre of the army was an empty area several hundred metres across, containing dozens of charred bodies as well as hundreds of soldiers that were crying out in pain. The clerics and priests of the three goddesses were all hiding far away, cowering and afraid to approach the corpse. Their very souls shook in fear of those blue flames.

Richard floated down and walked towards Godfrey's corpse, Nasia appearing by his side as well. As they entered the shallow pit that had now formed, they saw the golden dagger Nasia wanted alongside an orb of gold that was the remains of the Son of Gold.

Richard walked over and picked the ball up. It wasn't particularly large, but it weighed an entire tonne and forced him to use Mana Armament just so he didn't drop it. He immediately felt traces of Godfrey's aura within, and as he used Insight he realised there was a chance to analyse the laws of metals from it. However, there were just far too many laws for him to analyse right now; even tens of thousands of years wouldn't be enough for them all.

While he was hesitating, Nasia picked up the golden dagger on the ground and flipped it over, staring at it, “This thing can actually tear through space, and I smell that guy's aura on it. This was probably the key to summoning him, but it's far more valuable than that. This is worth more than a top-tier offering; I can give it to you for one. What do you say?”

1055 - City of Sin

Profits

Having been told it was special, Richard accepted the golden dagger and activated Insight to see through its structure. Outside of affirming that the material was basically 99% pure gold, he didn't find anything special about it, especially no suggestion that it could cut through space. However, the very fact that it didn't melt under his breath showed it was unique. He turned to Nasia, “What's so special about it?”

Nasia sighed as though she was looking at a moron, “This dagger is made of auvitrum, or golden glass. Known as the Light of the Vortex, it's a rare material that can withstand enormous temperatures of up to a hundred thousand degrees. This dagger only has a tiny amount, but it can still hold up against ten thousand itself; your impurity-riddled flames can't reach such temperatures.”

“But it still looks like a standard divine weapon...” he muttered as he focused on the 1% of difference, trying to figure out the secrets of the dagger. When Nasia didn't answer for a while, he looked up to find her staring at his eyes. A little confused, he couldn't help but ask, “What's wrong?”

“Nothing...” Nasia suddenly sighed, showing a look of helplessness for the first time since he had summoned her. Her eyes filled with nostalgia, she stared into the distance for a while before training her gaze on him once more. However, he could still sense the weight of her emotions even if they were hidden behind the mask. She pointed at his eyes and tried to smile, “That's an interesting ability you've got there; it'd look cool when you're trying to impress girls.”

“And?” Richard asked without a change in expression, ignoring her flirtatious tone. He knew that there had to be a reason for her to bring up Insight all of a sudden. This woman who had lived an untold number of aeons wouldn't just make such a tasteless joke.

She eventually snorted, “This ability of yours seems to encompass some special laws or some such thing... They might be the key to avoiding the situation I find myself in. Make sure to invest in it in the future, if only I had something similar back then...”

Her interest quickly withered away as she took the dagger and broke it in two without a second thought, “Here, you'll only be able to see through its secrets from the break. It can help you touch upon the laws of metal, maybe even that of the auvitrum itself. That Son of Gold guy improved his path using this, but he didn't have the guts to destroy the weapon. Even if he didn't die now, he wouldn't have progressed much further.”

“This auvitrum has a law?” Richard was surprised.

“Mm. Every material and type of energy in this world has a reason for its existence, even a grain of sand is a manifestation of the world's laws. The more special a material is, the more unique the law it represents. Auvitrum is a rare metal across the myriad planes, and the law it represents is powerful. You'll need to grasp the laws of metal and advance for three levels before you can begin attempting to control it, needing a combination of heat, solids, metals, and other high-level laws. Godfrey wanted to work on this, but he overestimated himself; he was lucky enough just to get any laws at all.”

Richard chuckled, “So you think I'm definitely capable of analysing and unearthing this law of auvitrum?”

“That term... analysing... it makes you different from the trash who worm themselves into the legendary realm. Of course, this law is also quite potent; if you focus solely on it, then with your current standard...” Nasia suddenly looked him in the eye, sending a chill down his spine as he realised all of his existence was laid bare to her. It left him extremely uncomfortable, to the point that he had to hold himself back from doing something stupid like forming a barrier, but she eventually finished her answer, “200 years, give or take.”

Richard was astonished. Staring at the broken edge and making an attempt himself, he had come to the conclusion that it would take 60,000 days. This wasn't much different from Nasia's conclusion. While the Godnest's laws would take 500,000 and the Doomsday Imprint a tad lower, this auvitrum was actually above the laws of life from the Forest Plane. However, what surprised him wasn't the difficulty but Nasia's understanding of him.

“You know me well,” he smiled.

“You'll get a similar ability in the future,” she said calmly before pointing at the dagger in his hands, “Outside of analysing its laws, this thing has other uses. The auvitrum within it can be exchanged for a top-tier offering on any plane, or you can trace your way back to Godfrey's nest within the void and take anything valuable there. Of course, you'll need to find your way there.

Weighing the golden ball and broken dagger, Richard sighed. He could still sense Godfrey's aura within the essence, making the orb priceless. It could form the basis of two pieces of legendary equipment or even a divine weapon; it alone was worth a top-tier offering or greater. In the meanwhile, the dagger was even more useful; two of Nasia's suggestions would earn him immediate benefits.

While he was struggling to make a decision, he suddenly remembered that the broodmother had grown the ability to analyse laws after hitting level 10. He immediately pulled on the relevant information in his mind and started going through it carefully.

Right now, the broodmother was comparable to a basic human legend. However, her speed at analysing laws was much faster than his own, roughly one upgrade of wisdom apart. However, she would likely advance herself by the time he got there, and her enormous brain would only grow further. While he had multiple minds within, there were hundreds of thinking units that contributed to her every decision; he couldn't match up to it at all.

He immediately contacted her and sent some information about the golden ball and dagger, receiving a prompt response, “Master, these things will be very useful! That golden glass in particular, it'll be key in my evolution!”

Even before she was done speaking, she sent a flood of information about how she would use the auvitrum. Although there were only trace amounts, she could scatter it to the most important sections of her shell and thus keep her core well-defended. She would even grow immune to most Faelorian flames, able to walk on lava at will. So long as she didn't jump into a volcano, she wouldn't be easily injured. At the same time, even legendary equipment wouldn't be able to damage her hearts with ease.

The broodmother also mentioned that she could reach Godfrey's standard in the laws of metal within two years, then able to take apart the orb's materials and use it to create one or more special units.

“Okay, they're yours,” he quickly made his choice. One of the cloned brains promptly flew over, taking the orb and the dagger before speeding towards the Land of Turmoil.

Richard gave out silent orders, immediately reorganising his soldiers and having them clean up behind the dead and wounded. Dozens of warhorns resounded through the sky, their desolate tones echoing in the hearts of the imperial soldiers as a line of knights marched on the Frozen Throne. In only minutes, the army was closing in on the enormous city in the distance.

Richard jumped on a cloned brain and slowly rose into the skies, staring down at the imperial capital that was covered in cold mist. The Frozen Throne had towered over these lands for thousands of years, standing strong like cold iron, but today it trembled in fear with the earth. His voice rang in the ears of everyone present, “With Godfrey dead, we have no need to wait any longer. Let's take down the Frozen Throne!”

1056 - City of Sin

Siege(2)

The outermost walls of the Frozen Throne were a full fifty metres tall; this wasn't just a fortress in name; it truly deserved to be the capital of an empire. Still, a city without a powerful guardian would not be able to hold up against Richard's army.

Surprisingly, there were no signs of chaos even in the face of impending disaster. Groups of warriors were marching out from various parts of the city, gathering at a plaza before being assigned to the walls and gates. Dozens of alarm bells seemed to announce the impending destruction, but the citizens didn't seem too scared. Richard's scouting drones had already shown him that most of the buildings were closed and barricaded, the men converging into dozens of gathering points to pick up weapons and shields.

Those handing out the weapons were almost boys, but a good number of them were armed with shortswords and bows themselves. This was a city whose commoners were willing and determined to protect it.

Richard had his cloned brain fly up, giving him a good view of the entire city. Many considered such a thing foolish and arrogant, but the death of Godfrey served as a powerful reminder of how dangerous the Crimson Duke was. It added even more pressure to the soldiers.

The cloned brain was flying so low that the stronger bowmen could easily cover the distance, but nobody made a move. Ordinary soldiers couldn't harm someone capable of killing the Son of Gold.

After a period of silence, an old grand mage suddenly took to the skies. Richard watched on with surprise as a dozen others joined him; at this point it was clear that anyone below the legendary realm would just die picking a fight with him, but basically every sub-legend of the Empire had been gathered here. Outside of the handful that were stuck defending the Empire from the Dragon Church in the east, even the most reclusive warriors were gathered.

Even facing so many opponents, Richard retained his composure. He didn't even bother to open up any distance, just raising a brow, “A battle of powerhouses is foolish, you know. Rislant would have told you to hide amongst the common soldiers and only reveal yourself during the most crucial point in the battle; that would have given you a chance against my followers.”

Faced with the mockery, the warriors held their ground. Only the mage inched forward ever so slightly, his robes starting to glow with magical light. Any magical goods was considered extraordinary in Faelor, and despite looking so old he could die at any moment this grand mage seemed to be someone renowned for his power. However, Richard's expression didn't change in the slightest at the provocation, as he spent his time sizing up the warriors instead.

The mage stopped when he was thirty metres away, “Your Grace... No, I suppose it will be Your Majesty soon... We witnessed the fall of the Son of Gold, who had strength to rival the gods. We are well aware of how this battle will turn out as well, but we hope to fight fairly even if we all die in battle. As a favour for us not causing you much trouble, I hope you can extend mercy to the people of the city instead of massacring them.”

“You are?” Richard looked bored.

“Grand Mage Harold, the Emperor's uncle.”

“Well, Harold, this city isn't surviving the night and I have no need to agree to your conditions. If you think being sneaky will help you do damage, you're welcome to disperse and do what you want. Now if you want my troops to stop, you lot have to surrender.”

Harold's eyes opened wide, but before he could even respond Richard had already started flying away. The mage felt a strong urge to attack, feeling no magical ripples on Richard at all, but his palms filled with sweat and he didn't dare make the first move. Even when he was inching forward earlier, his probes had been met with a brazen lack of defences that belied absolute confidence.

Richard suddenly spun around, chuckling as the grand mage went stiff, “This is a war, you dimwit, not a silly game played between strong warriors. Besides, you don't even have the full support of your own men, not everyone is willing to be buried with your fallen empire.”

Done speaking, he started tapping out in empty space to summon black clouds in the sky. Lightning quickly started flashing between the clouds, resembling the grade 7 Thundercloud spell that Harold was familiar with. A single thundercloud wasn't hard to conjure up, but seeing how easily Richard was coming up with dozens of these grade 7 spells, those of the Iron Triangle Empire shivered in fear. This alone proved that any ambushes would only have resulted in their deaths.

With the clouds taking position atop the city gates, Harold had no plans to let them bombard the guards below. He took out a scroll and cast a grade 8 Tornado spell, but the winds horrifyingly just melded into the clouds. In fact, the lightning only seemed to grow more potent right after, starting to draw upon the surroundings to strengthen itself. Not long after, a huge black spiral had formed right above the Frozen Throne.

“Don't let them converge!” Harold cried out, throwing all of the spells he could towards the clouds. However, they had simply grown far too big already and were starting to become a funnel aimed at the gates. His attacks only managed to disperse the slightest bit each time, and the latent energy absorption was enough to offset it all.

In only a minute all of Garold's mana had been used up, with no more scroll in his robes. The royal mage was left staring blankly at the dark clouds before slowly turning his head around. Only one other grand mage was attacking the clouds with him, the other five making a move. In fact, one of them was already sneaking away.

Most of the sub-legends were focused on Richard, worried that these clouds could soon target them. However, Richard himself didn't bother as he smiled at his creation, nodding before flying back to his camp.

Not everyone is willing to be buried with your fallen empire. These words echoed in Harold's ears as the old grand mage felt his body burning from exhaustion, control slipping away. He eventually groaned in pain, losing his flight magic entirely; mana and vitality exhausted, only a corpse hit the ground.

The black thunderclouds in the sky were now rumbling loudly, the atmosphere growing so thick and gloomy that even some of Richard's men started to feel down. A bolt of lightning crashed down and attacked the upper level of the city, setting the imperial flag aflame. Not long after, the second and third bolts turned any soldiers who couldn't escape to ash.

A lightning storm quickly descended on the city, occasional at first but growing more frequent and dense until it was everywhere. The clouds in the sky seemed to stretch out for a dozen kilometres and they were still expanding, with starlight shimmering from amidst the pitch black clouds. Powering this all was Schloan, the well of stars. Before that energy dissipated, the clouds could multiply without end.

“Interesting,” Nasia nodded in a rare moment of praise, “This spell has legendary elements to it.”

Richard didn't reply, not even smiling as he fixed his gaze upon the imperial capital. It quickly started to rain amidst the lightning, the water flowing down the mountainside and starting to clog up the city streets until the water was ankle-deep. The torrential rain increased the damage from the lightning tenfold, every bolt downing everyone within a dozen metres. Blue light flashed amidst it all, each strike now reaching a grade 5 spell in might. Even sub-legendary beings would be turned to ash if they took it on thoughtlessly.

1057 - City of Sin

Capturing The City

As the entirety of the Frozen Throne was ravaged by the lightning storm, the Crimson Army began advancing once more. To the warriors on the city, the horns that marked their advance sounded colder than the rain crashing down on them from above.

The first to attack was an army of 10,000 made mostly of humanoids, shadowspears, and local troops. Many priests and mages followed at a distance, buffing them significantly. Even the native soldiers of the Crimson Dukedom were level 6 to 7 at minimum, a higher standard than the city guard of the Frozen Throne. However, they weren't even a part of the main assault; their job was to carry a large amount of dirt and rocks to build a mound right under the walls that was thirty metres tall. The mages from the Empire tried to break it down, but the repeated lightning strike made it impossible for them to concentrate on any powerful spells.

The storm was mostly concentrated around the city gates, and when the few mages there switched from maintaining their barriers to attacking the new platform before it could be built, the casualties mounted immediately. The humanoids kept firing their explosive arrows from below, rocking the garrison repeatedly. Wave after wave of soldiers ended up marching to certain death.

It took half an hour for the hill to be completed, but once it was the Crimson Dukedom's army retreated like the tide. The imperial soldiers watched on in confusion for a moment, but then an earth-shattering explosion resounded in their ears as they were sent flying hundreds of metres into the sky. By the time the raging flames had died down, the enormous wall was now broken in several places.

The Frozen Throne was one of the most successful construction projects in all of Faelor, with its sturdy Skygates having been built during the city's final expansion. This was the accumulation of millennia of expert fortifications, and the Empire even claimed that the gods themselves would find it difficult to go through. It took a dozen mages pouring their mana in just to open and close them. However, those gates were now ajar; had the gods abandoned the Iron Triangle?

In the distance, Richard frowned at the sight of the walls still hanging on, “That was ten tonnes of gunpowder, dammit!”

The enormous cracks in the now-slanted walls revealed steel rods as thick as the average arm spaced evenly throughout the structure. He immediately gave up all hope of taking the walls down easily, instead sending the order for his humanoids to charge. The incline was still steep, but each of the humanoids was comparable to a captain of the imperial army; a black tide flowed up the walls and tore apart the defensive lines in the blink of an eye.

With their city about to be captured, many of the imperial soldiers threw themselves at the humanoids with no regard for their lives. However, the drones couldn't be scared off by valiance and didn't tire of bloodshed, killing any that came. Hundreds of them charged straight into the midst of the imperial formations below, their halberds tearing into multiple opponents before they burst forth with energy and cut down everyone in the vicinity.

Streaks of energy shot into the skies, activating some thunderclouds that had been absorbing energy all this while. A concentrated web of lightning crashed down right in the middle of the melee, killing drone and soldier alike. A second batch of humanoids went forward to push the battle lines, their lives ending in the same way.

By the end of the third suicide attack, an enormous hole had opened up in the imperial army's defensive line. More than 10,000 soldiers had already died to the lightning, the clouds finally starting to calm down. Of course, that didn't give the Empire any room to relax; Richard's soldiers now controlled the first layer of walls. Dozens of rune knights had even pushed open the gate, and knights were streaming through from below as well.

The Empire had expected an intense fight in the alleys, but they were routed in minutes. The Crimson Army seemed to know the terrain of the Frozen Throne even better than the local troops, every move read and countered while their troops were constantly surrounded and wiped out. Quintal Plaza, the Grand Shrine, the slums... every place with a mass of soldiers was torn apart, dozens of separate troops weaving in and out of the streets as they played the tune of a massacre.

“You know, I can't even complain about losing to you when you can do this. Forget threefold, even if I had five times the number I wouldn't be able to win.” Flying beside Richard on another cloned brain, Salwyn let out a deep sigh. He was looking on as a thousand imperial soldiers were celebrating being able to repel the attacks of the Dukedom, not even realising that there were two streams of soldiers about to tear into them from behind. No more than 60,000 soldiers from the Crimson Dukedom had entered the imperial capital, but they moved like gears in an enormous machine that was designed to maximise the enemy's casualties.

Richard smiled, not saying a word as he looked on with leisure. Most of the commanding had been taken over by the Thinker and cloned brains, so all he needed to do was take care of the surface-level strategy. That still needed multiple commands a second, especially to direct his followers, but that was nothing to him now.

However, the joy was suddenly interrupted by a yellow glow that quickly covered the entire castle. Feeling a pang in his heart, he quickly rushed towards the outskirts and jumped straight down, shocking a few soldiers who were carrying Gangdor away. Two of them were hauling his legendary axe, now so dented that it would likely drop in quality even if it could be repaired. Gangdor himself was bathed in blood, a dozen wounds of varying sizes littered all over his body. The deepest of them all had almost cut into his heart.

The brute did his best to get up, smiling wryly, “Boss, those cowards all hid in their castle. I charged in to teach them a lesson, but they suddenly used this strange defensive domain and ten people ganged up on me. You have to be careful, our movements are slowed down in there.”

“Let's see you keep being reckless,” Richard snorted before patting Gangdor on the shoulder, “Let's get a pope or two on this for now.”

A cloned brain quickly transmitted a message to a distant shadowspear even as it flew towards the priests; it would return with them in a few minutes. In the meanwhile, Richard's hand remained on Gangdor's shoulder as a jade moon appeared above his head, bright coloured flowers blooming all around on the charred black soil. The moon quickly faded away, but the wounds clotted over and started to close. Any threat to the brute's life had been eliminated.

Richard then took a good look at the castle itself. Although there were multiple layers of walls to the city itself, the Crimson Army still working on getting through the second, the castle only had one. The road leading to it was wide enough to accommodate eight horses side by side, with an enormous semicircular plaza halfway up. Green climbers were twined around metallic pillars here, but one could distinctly see the entrance to the castle itself hundreds of metres away.

Glowing runes were revolving around the outer perimeter of the castle, pale yellow light reaching all the way into the square. Richard had five shadowspears charge straight in, but when they entered the yellow domain it looked like they had stepped into mud. Their speed was halved, with all of their movements delayed and sluggish.

Richard frowned and threw a few detection spells in the direction, but none of them got a reaction; this most certainly wasn't a swamp spell or a curse. A quick vitality spell on the shadowspears went through without issue, but the knights still didn't regain their speed.
𝘧𝐫𝑒𝗲𝑤ℯ𝚋𝐧૦𝘃𝒆l. c𝚘𝓂

*Whoosh!* A sharp whistle suddenly rang through the skies as long arrows were shot out from the crenellations, burying themselves into the knights' armour and exploding within. The drones were torn apart, causing Richard's expression to darken.

1058 - City of Sin

Fireball? Fireball!

Managing to regain his breath, Gangdor pushed away the soldiers who were supporting him and propped himself up with his axe, forcefully cracking his neck before shouting, “Ignore them, boss! The barrier is strong, but I'm sure it takes a lot of energy. I don't think they can hole themselves up in there for long; as long as we encircle the place, it'll fade out.”

The brute was right; a domain of such power was rare even in Norland. It just covered too much; considering Faelor's level in magic, lasting a few days would be an amazing achievement that would take all of the resources of the Empire.

By this time, the rest of Richard's followers had gathered up. All of the spellcasters started trying to analyse the barrier, with even the exhausted Asiris and Tiramisu making attempts. Meanwhile, the Medium Rare head turned to Richard, “Should I try, Boss?” Google search 𝐟𝓇𝘦𝒆w𝚎𝐛n𝐨ν𝙚𝚕. c𝚘ｍ

The ogre lord was still a little dizzy, the tip of his horn sparkling with an abnormal golden glow. The head-on collision with Godfrey had left him injured, and even the popes of the three goddesses couldn't instantly heal the damage from a legend. The ogre had even insisted on returning to the battlefield early, adding more injuries on top of his existing once. When his meagre mana pool ran out, he relied on his thick skin and regeneration to destroy his opponents in physical combat.

Nasia stepped forward as well, “I can assist with this flimsy thing, but there will be a price to pay. An intermediate offering, what do you say?”

Richard waved the ogre back, ignoring Nasia's exorbitant demands as well while stepping to the front, “You people forget I'm a mage.”

This statement caused different responses amongst his followers. Those who hadn't been with him during his early years dismissed him; they were more used to him cutting people up with a sword. Even those who knew him best were a little sceptical; the two main paths to dealing with this thing were to either figure out how it functioned or to use an attack that overwhelmed the barrier's limits. While the former was plausible, he was implying the latter with his actions.

Sure enough, he started a chant for a spell. Everyone's curiosity was piqued; the two most important things about his spellcasting was that his offensive might was boosted manifold and he finished them in a fraction of the time. Everyone had already seen him cast grade 7 spells without even a chant, but now his voice rang out for a long time.

The mages present quickly recognised the first section of the chant as for a fireball, and many could cast the spell without even a single syllable. Did a mere grade 3 spell need so much chanting, even if it was upgraded?

A ball of fire did appear between Richard's hands, looking the same as any other. However, he clearly wasn't done with it yet as he continued on, only a handful even able to vaguely make out the runic words he was starting to use. Many priests started understanding more than the mages; he had slowly switched to divine tongue.

Divine languages were a strange thing. Theoretically, every plane and pantheon had its own unique tongue, but knowledge of one generally translated to at least a decent understanding of the rest. Perhaps because divine language was influenced by the underlying laws, even most regular priests could feel the reaction of the world to the words and make out what was being said. Even those on the side of the Empire could understand 70-80% of the individual syllables, but they had no idea how those words mixed together to affect the whole.

...

A pair of sub-legends appeared on the castle ramparts, happily chatting away with no worries about their impending doom. Their voices were spirited, ringing across the entire kilometre in Richard's ears. It was clear that they were speaking with purpose.

“That fellow is the Crimson Duke, isn't he?”

“I heard he's a grand mage?”

“Yep, a grand mage that can't even conjure fireballs instantly! Hahaha!”

“Does he really plan to break down our divine barrier with fireballs? How many does he want to try? Ten? Twenty?”

An older mage walked to the front amongst the two, looking outside and saying calmly, “Perhaps he plans to cast a very special type of fireball. But no matter; the barrier will resist it all. He won't get to us unless he's willing to fill the entire plaza with the bodies of many soldiers.”

...

The old Emperor was on the balcony of the castle's keep, looking at the distant plaza. From this distance, he could barely make out anything.

Standing at attention nearby, a royal mage reassured him, “You do not need to worry, Your Majesty. Unless the core energy of the mountains is consumed entirely, this shield cannot be broken; at the very least, no number of fireballs will accomplish the task... Hmm... If the Duke gets impatient, we might even be able to recoup some of our losses.”

The Emperor didn't know much about magic, but he was still a smart man. He shook his head with suspicion, “Would a fireball chant really go on that long?”

“Of course not, even grade 9 spells don't take that much... Wait!” the mage suddenly panicked, finally remembering that the Crimson Duke was the disciple of a legendary mage. A spell that needed so much time to prepare would definitely be unbelievably powerful, perhaps even reaching the fabled legendary realm! He immediately cast a scrying spell, bringing up a screen of water that zoomed in on the situation in the plaza.

...

The fireball between Richard's hands hadn't even gotten a metre wide, but Richard didn't seem even close to done. Very few people could even understand his words anymore, the chant now almost exclusively in divine tongue. It took minutes for the fireball to finally start growing, approaching more than two metres in diameter.

The incantation slowly turned more bleak, rustic, and lofty, a strange aura permeating the city as though a powerful force from the abyss had locked its eye upon Faelor. Everyone nearby was affected, growing solemn and stern; even Mountainsea had woken up from her sleep on Tiramisu's back.

Starlight started pouring into the raging flames, power coming straight from the well of stars. The fireball quickly turned similar to the thunderclouds, absorbing all the latent energy nearby, but instead of expanding it grew denser and denser. With the blue moon's energy finally inserted, the core started sparking with blue light as the liquid flames expanded to cover the interior.

The royal mage beside the Emperor was now starting to shiver in fear, the old man himself full of despair as he stared at the screen of water. The sub-legends atop the walls turned deathly pale, no longer able to speak, while the grand mage looked up to the sky and began a chant under his breath.

As he approached the end, Richard switched to an entirely foreign divine language that nobody present could understand. However, every word that rang out drilled confusion and icy despair into the hearts of its listeners. Nasia herself was now staring at Richard without even blinking, her mouth hanging open a little.

In a random room within the imperial palace, a withering old man's eyes suddenly shot wide open, “The tongue of primal chaos! This is what my Lord demonstrated to his most loyal servant, who has the power to wield it? This is not... AH!”

As the man started screaming, the strange fireball had left Richard's hands and was silently flying towards the palace. It wasn't particularly quick, but it didn't take too long to enter the domain of the barrier either. The fireball caused the light to ripple all around, continuing on unaffected as it slammed into the castle gates.

The world was suddenly overcome by blue and white, only saints able to see even the slightest amidst the bright light. The fireball quickly turned from blue to red, forming a pillar of flames that was a full hundred metres across. The barrier shook violently before shattering into a million fragments, but the flames continued to engulf everything within range.

Be it the old Emperor on the balcony or Richard's own followers, everyone froze up in shock as they watched the majestic castle of the Frozen Throne get shaved away by a third in moments. The gates disappeared completely, the five sub-legends stationed on the walls having been disintegrated. The entire world stood still.

1059 - City of Sin

Aftermath

The world slowly awakened, the earth starting to shake violently until its rumbling was the only sound in the world. Shockwaves spread from the point of impact, like powerful invisible hands flattening the rubble wherever they went. Even the distant soldiers of the Dukedom retreated in fear, with the imperial soldiers within the castle itself scattering in fright.

However, the shockwaves only travelled a mere hundred metres before some invisible force pulled them all in, condensing them into berserk energy that shot into the clouds. A pillar of light shot up a hundred metres before disappearing entirely, not because it lacked the energy but because it had broken through space and disappeared into the void.

Even after the pillar dissipated, everyone held their breaths for a minute in anticipation of more damage. Zendrall was the only one who broke, the mage unable to hold himself back from asking, “What's the name of that spell?”

“Fireball, I guess...” Richard shrugged it off. No matter how much he had added, this thing was still a fireball at its core.

However, the necromancer grew agitated at the nonchalance, “How can it be a fireball? This is a mighty legendary spell, it needs a name!”

“Alright, alright. Let's call it Core-Melting Explosion, how about that?”

Richard had said that in jest, but Zendrall sank into deep thought before nodding seriously, “That isn't a bad name. We now have another epic spell in the world.”

“Heh, epic? This is... nowhere close,” Richard shook his head. Sharon's exploding portals immediately came to mind; a single one of those could level the entirety of the Frozen Throne, but he had only affected a third of the palace. Overall, this fireball had maybe a tenth of the power. The only problem with Sharon's portal bombs was that they were difficult to control, and she didn't show any signs of being able to add tracking effects to them...

He had to shake this thought away. Would a terrifying ability that even Empress Apeiron couldn't dodge completely need to be controlled? Just how powerful would those portals get if one could change them like normal spells?

Although Richard's interest in the subject was waning, Zendrall and the others from Faelor didn't think the same. They had already seen Godfrey's power, and this spell was certainly beyond that. The necromancer believed this was definitely an epic spell, a miracle of magic. Even those from Norland appreciated the spell's might, even if they knew it wasn't epic-grade yet. Even Norland saints would almost certainly die within thirty metres of impact, being maimed within a hundred. Any soldiers at level 10 or below within 300 metres would be unable to survive. The only flaw was the minutes it took to cast.

However, that was because Richard had built this spell up academically. He had started from a fundamental fireball, adding layer upon layer of changes that made it so terrifying. No matter how dissatisfied he was, this attack destroyed any will the Empire had to resist.

A line of people slowly walked out from amidst the ruins, their figures distorted by the rising heat. At their centre was an old man in extravagant clothing, his garb making it clear that he was the Iron Triangle Emperor. He looked far too frail to survive the heat, but a sub-legend nearby was constantly pouring freezing cold energy into the area to resist the high temperature.

The visible exhaustion on the man's face showed how powerful even this aftermath was. The earth all around had turned to glass from the sheer heat, the sub-legends once on the walls now only ash floating around. The ground was almost slippery to walk on, its blinding gleam thankfully reduced with the dark clouds up above.

The Emperor looked like he was walking to the edge of the world as he reached Richard, puffing out his chest, “I am the thirty-fifth Emperor of the Iron Triangle, Yorik. I will order my soldiers and citizens to stop the resistance, so I hope you can have your soldiers from murdering commoners.”

“There won't be any more deaths if they put down their weapons,” Richard said dismissively.

The old Emperor grew solemn, “I take it this is your promise as a monarch?”
𝐟𝘳ℯ𝚎𝘄𝒆𝑏𝗻𝑜ѵ𝚎l. c𝘰𝑚

Richard was startled for a moment. He just had no desire to kill those who weren't even resisting, but hearing Yorik's words he realised just how high his status was in Faelor now. The Crimson Dukedom would soon be christened an empire with this victory, which made him important to everyone across the plane.

It was only when Richard nodded that the Emperor relaxed, speaking to the people behind him. The aide who had kept him comfortable took out a horn and blew hard, its desolate tone ringing throughout the city. Hearing this sound, most of the imperial soldiers just stopped in a daze, some tearing up as though their very souls had been stolen away. Some even continued to fight, throwing themselves at the Crimson Army like madmen, but they were quickly dealt with.

The Frozen Throne had been a tiny city at the beginning, but its walls had never been breached in a thousand years. They had slowly turned from a vassal state to an independent dukedom, and then a kingdom and finally empire. The city itself grew with the lands surrounding it, what had once been the outer limits now only the castle walls. The imperial buildings went higher and higher up the mountain, while the commoners went further down. The mountain itself had been hollowed out to allow them to build further.

However, that desolate horn announcing surrender blew away all of that pride. None of the imperial soldiers had ever expected to hear that sound in their lives, but now it filled their ears with its mournful cry.

Richard didn't move, but his army continued to kill those who kept up the resistance. Those that put down their weapons were herded together into the open sections of the city, monitored by rune knights and shadowspears. The sounds of battle gradually faded away, only a small number of troops still trying to use guerilla warfare. However, the humanoids would quickly wipe out that minor annoyance.

Yorik seemed unable to stomach the scene, turning his head upwards and closing his eyes as tears started to flow down his face. It took him some time to regain his calm and continue the conversation, “Your Grace... No, Your Majesty, I believe it is time to discuss the conditions of surrender. First, the family bloodline...”

At this point, the Emperor couldn't suppress his fear any longer. It was tradition in Faelor to completely eliminate the kin of any defeated ruler. They normally had powerful bloodlines, and leaving them alive could come back to hurt in the future. Even a benevolent conqueror would kill off the male line and use the women for his harem, getting an opportunity to merge the royal bloodline with his own.

Richard muttered to himself for a while, his eyes glowing blue as he looked the Emperor up and down, “I am to see the entire imperial family. Not all of you will live, but not all will die either. Salwyn will be the next Emperor, so your empire will continue to exist; he'll be the one dealing with it all. I wouldn't be surprised if he turns them into minor nobles that still have the same rights as the rest.”

Yorik's eyes widened, those around him staring with disbelief as well. This was unexpectedly generous, something not even the most optimistic of the lot had imagined after this thorough defeat.

Before they could even respond, Zendrall stepped forward and asked uneasily, “Is that alright, my Lord? What if they try something behind the scenes? It's tradition for everyone to be killed.”

“I spent an entire decade getting Salwyn, you know. I still need to leave him with some relatives,” Richard chuckled, but his expression quickly turned cold, “Of course, they can try if they want; it's not like the ants can do anything. Anyway, Salwyn should know how to deal with them; I don't think he's the type to leave possible rebels alive.”

The Emperor shivered in fear, knowing that Richard was just speaking the truth. He didn't care about the royal family, and would wipe them out if they acted up.

1060 - City of Sin

Hidden Past

“How does it look, Master?”

“There is some part of the royal bloodline that has to do with the law of metals. Are you sure you can extract the ability if you have enough specimens?”

“If you have identified the traits, I can certainly analyse them and put them into my drones. How complicated can the bloodlines of this plane be?”

“Alright, if you say so. Send over the chrysalis, I'll have them prepped.”

“Your troops will grow stronger. I also require the Thinker to return soon, I will need to make some adjustments to the unit to improve its intellect.”

Richard was conversing with the broodmother while the Emperor gave him a trip of what remained of the royal castle, waiting for the surviving members of the royal family to gather. The Crimson Dukedom had already fully occupied the Frozen Throne, with many of the generals thoroughly searching through the building to prevent any assassinations. It was a little laughable— with Godfrey dead, nobody in this Empire could hold a candle to him in a fight— but they were just fulfilling what they viewed as their duty.

The Emperor was acting like a professional guide all the way, introducing the various sections of the storied castle with tidbits about when they were created and their history. He was calm and gentle all the way despite knowing he would be the first to die, but he shivered every time Richard's eyes lit up.

Insight could already break things apart a full metre deep, and while this wasn't enough to discover any deeply hidden secrets, Richard was using it to spot any traps in the area. There were a fair number all around the castle, but most were in a state of disrepair. From the looks of it, they hadn't been maintained in hundreds of years; the Empire had grown arrogant.

It was at the debate hall that the earth trembled for a moment before the entire castle shook violently, thunderous echoes ringing through the city. It sounded like an entire mountain had collapsed, and Richard barely looked over in time to find a momentary expression of relief on Yorik's face. Maintaining his calm, he looked the Emperor in the eye, “What happened?”

Already having returned to normal, Yorik shook his head, “I am not certain. It might be the sounds of those unresigned to their fate.”

Waterflower seemed to walk out of thin air as she threw a pair of youths onto the floor, “They just activated some mechanism that collapsed the mountain behind the castle. I was too late to stop them.”

The two struggled violently, dark energy rippling through their bodies as they took their last breaths. It was clear that they had ingested some sort of lethal poison to make sure they didn't say anything. Richard only spared the corpses a single glance, “They arranged it quite well, let's go take a look at the site of the collapse.” Google search 𝒇𝚛e𝗲𝘸e𝚋𝑛o𝘃𝙚𝒍. c૦𝒎

Almost half of the mountain peak had come crumbling down, but the area of the collapse itself was quite a bit away from the castle's rear. A few quick calculations told Richard that this would be the prime location for any secret passages, but whatever secret was hidden here had been buried deep beneath the earth. He turned to the Emperor, “What's inside?”

“The tombs of the founding emperors. This is protocol; the guards collapsed the passage to ensure that their eternal rest would not be disturbed. Forgive me, it is just that I haven't actively thought about this in my life. It didn't spring to mind.”

However, a single sweep of Richard's gaze showed the traces of timeforce and the law of metals that still lingered in the area, “False. This isn't a tomb, it's where you summoned Godfrey from.”

Yorik shivered, but he forced a smile, “The Son of Gold was also one of our founding emperors.”

Richard grunted in acknowledgement, “And who else?”

The Emperor pretended not to hear, going completely silent. However, Richard ignored him and rose into the sky, flying around the ruins before returning to the side, “Looks like the collapse was complete. I'd need to shift the entire mountain body to get in, which would normally take a few years. So the thing underneath is important and needs time, huh? Since you're fucking around, I'll just return the favour to your family. Now, keep an eye on this place; you'll get to see just how fast I get through it.”

Once he was done speaking, he completely ignored the old man and flew back to the castle. All of the surviving members of the royal family had been gathered in the main hall now, and he went through them one by one. The Thinker was right next to him, speaking constantly.

“Useful.”

“Average.”

“Useless.”

The Thinker was sniffing at everyone they passed, evaluating their bloodlines one by one. Sometimes he even stretched out and pinched them for some reason, but it didn't take long to go through the hundreds of people in the royal family. Over thirty were chosen in the end, demarcated to be sent flying back to the broodmother. Yorik himself had the richest bloodline of them all, but Richard planned to keep the Emperor for a while longer.

......

The Frozen Throne welcomed a special night, the surviving royals who had been pardoned gathered together to witness Salwyn's ascension. Nobody knew what the future would hold for the Empire, but from the looks of it it wouldn't be nearly as bad as they expected. Of course, nobody had thought that a million soldiers could be destroyed by less than a tenth of their number just a month ago.

With everyone present as witness, Salwyn went down on one knee and accepted the royal sceptre from Richard's hands before allowing the crown to be placed on his head. For this to happen despite Yorik being alive and present showed his subservience to the Crimson Dukedom; it was symbolic, but not all oaths had to be binding.

Even as the brief ceremony signified a new start, flames shot out all over the city at irregular intervals. Screams of death broke the silence of the night as the remaining rebels tried to cause as much havoc as they could, but Richard's troops quelled all the resistance the moment it reared its head. As a whole, the reactions was relatively calm. The princes had gone silent, and none of the dukes had dared to protest the ascension. It was unknown just how many approved of the new ruler and how many had just been cowed into submission by Richard's show of dominance.

......

While the Iron Triangle Empire was enveloped in darkness, the night sky of the Land of Turmoil was still filled with the same beautiful colours as usual. The deadly auroras of timeforce slowly drifted through the sky, having clearly grown in number in the last decade. It implied that the space here was growing more unstable.

The larval forests had already been formed, the trees towering into the sky while their roots formed the nests deep in the earth. All of the foliage bent do the ground as the astral chrysalis descended, opening up a wide berth for it to land. Worker drones flooded out and crawled atop it, packing themselves as tightly as possible. A dozen strange ones that were about two metres tall boarded as well, these ones striped purple instead of all black with space seeming to distort around them where they went. Once it was filled, the chrysalis took to the sky and headed towards the Frozen Throne.

Three days later, the chrysalis finally reached the imperial capital and slowly landed before Yorik, several elders, and those who would be sacrificed. The transformed workers immediately rushed over to the crumbled mountain, drilling their way straight in as though the thing soil and rocks were made out of sand. The rest of the workers started to expand these small holes, cracking the rock with a few bites before carrying it out. Holes that were big enough for men to crawl through quickly formed in front of everyone's eyes, constantly expanding until multiple people could walk through unhindered.

It didn't take long for the purple workers to cover the full kilometre into the mountain and dig through to a vast hall. They went through the entire area once before tunneling back out, transmitting what they had seen to Richard.

Richard then spun around, looking at Yorik and the rest of the royal family, “So I found the altar used to summon Godfrey... It'll take me a full week to dig out the passage... Tell me, which one of you is willing to spit out the truth? The first one keeps their life.”

The Emperor remained calm, but some of the elders around him started to tremble slightly. A fat shaman suddenly cried out, “I will speak!”

1061 - City of Sin

Hidden Past(2)

“TREASON AGAINST THE ANCESTORS!” Yorik suddenly screamed, launching himself towards the fat shaman. The fingernails on his right hand extended until they looked like five thin knives, stabbing straight for the man's throat.

Richard simply took a step forward, Moonlight's pommel smashing right into the Emperor's face and sending him flying away. Teeth and blood fell all over the floor, half of the old man's face caved in as he fainted immediately. He then walked towards the shaman who was cowering in fear, tapping his shoulder, “That obstacle isn't here anymore, speak.”

Conflict flashed across the shaman's face, the mortal and divine within him engaged in intense battle. However, Richard's glare quickly brought one side to victory, wiping all delusions from his mind, “This is a secret known only to the sitting emperor and a few select elders, dating all the way back to the Empire's founding. We weren't always called the Iron Triangle; this name came when three extraordinary warriors were born into the royal family in successive generations. Each of them learnt the law of metals and even progressed beyond, becoming hegemons in all of Faelor.

“The first of them mastered the power of iron, known as the King of Steel. The second acquired a good grasp of silver, coming to be called the Friend of Silver. The last of them all was the Son of Gold. Despite his best attempts, Godfrey's control of his chosen metal wasn't as expansive as those of his ancestors, but he left Faelor just like his predecessors. He warned us all not to walk this path in the future, that it was far too difficult to finish.”

By this point, the shaman's entire body was pouring sweat, “These three legends were what gave rise to our Empire's name, iron being used because the King of Steel was the strongest of them all.”

Richard sighed, “And that altar can summon all three of them, can't it.”

“Yes. Each of the three left tokens behind when they left, allowing us to summon their will. The ceremony allows them to be resurrected in the body of a member of the royal family, retaining a vast majority of their powers for a few days before the vessel breaks down.”

“Oh?” Richard was a little surprised, “So Godfrey would have died regardless?”

“The wills of our ancestors can only last in Faelor for seven days before they must return,” the shaman said carefully.

“Huh, well that's still a lot of time for a legend. Anyway, the tokens from the King of Steel and Friend of Silver are in the altar, aren't they?”

“Yes,” the shaman nodded. Most of the royal family present seemed shocked by the news, while a few elders closed their eyes and tried to suppress their pain. With the secret out, the Empire had lost all hope.

“Excellent,” Richard nodded, “so what's going on now?”

“N-Nothing...” The shaman's expression changed drastically, sweat pouring down from his face as he forced a bitter smile. However, Richard's cold gaze immediately changed his mind, “After His Excellency Godfrey fell in battle, we summoned the other two ancestors as well. We also left behind enough material for them to occupy their bodies, but it will take time for them to return. We didn't expect the city to fall so quickly, but that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. When you let your guard down, the ancestors would return and defeat you all in one extraordinary strike.”

“And if you were that confident, why tell me all this?” Richard asked with a little confusion.

“Because... because... Sigh, because of the royal records. If their description of the King of Steel is true, then he will destroy the entire city while he kills you! I don't want my wife and children to die, and you said you wouldn't kill everyone!”

Richard nodded, “Alright, get me those records so I can have a look. Wait a bit for the passage to be complete, we'll go down together.”

The remaining members of the royal family were sent away, all of them looking uneasy. They too were unaware of these secrets, and even the elders would have chosen differently if they knew that the King of Steel's return would bring destruction. Richard had already shown surprising benevolence; they didn't have the strength of will to sacrifice themselves just for his death.

......

As the night grew dark, the Frozen Throne fell completely silent. Anyone daring to create trouble had already been cut down, and even the incontent ones remaining didn't have the guts to try anything else. Richard was in a quiet courtyard, reading the secret royal records that contained a wealth of information about the history of the Iron Triangle Empire, a book each dedicated to the three legends alone. For some reason, all of these records had been locked in a secret room that even the royal family didn't have access to. The shaman had directed dozens of people to transport the records, taking two full trips for the entire bookshelf to be cleared out.

The King of Steel Lyos, the Friend of Silver Cyril, and the Son of Gold Godfrey had all appeared within a few decades of each other, with four more legends having popped up in the vicinity. This period was called the golden era.

“Wait, what?” Richard grumbled as he read on. The three kings had abilities far beyond that of their peers, being the first to leave Faelor to explore foreign worlds. However, the Empire they had left behind was renamed in their honour. This period in Faelor was extremely similar to the golden era of Norland's own past, the only difference being that Norland had experienced even more astounding growth for a longer time. However, looking at the timings, Faelor should have expanded to the point where commoners learnt of the myriad planes at that time.

Norland from millennia ago was no better than the current Faelor. Generations of legendary warriors had explored the void, eventually discovering the Eternal Dragon and setting up churches to make offerings to it. Norland had quickly entered a period of constant planar wars, absorbing the resources of those it conquered to progress quickly and lord over its peers.

Faelor should have been on the same path a millennium ago, and this much time should have at least brought them to a rudimentary planar war system. The power level of the entire plane should have gone up a few levels as well. Had that happened, Richard himself would have met much more terrifying challenges when he first entered, perhaps even being destroyed outright. At the very least, there would have been no way for him to destroy the most powerful empire in the western hemisphere within a decade.

Even the sub-legendary beings of Faelor were completely cut off from the rest of the void. Most of them didn't even know exactly what other planes were, thinking that invaders were servants of devils, demons, or other deities. They assumed that outside of Faelor was just a void where astral beasts and the like lived, with nothing else. In hindsight, a plane with so many legends should never have remained with such a closed mentality.

As he was wondering about the absurdity of it all, Richard noticed a book called the Treaty of the Gods. Intrigued by the title, he spent hours reading it from end to end. It was only once he flipped to the last page that he had a proper answer to his questions.

It turned out that the gods of Faelor had realised that the laws of the plane were changing when the first batch of legendary warriors went out to explore. This was definitely not good for them; they relied on divinity for their power and this change in laws was starting to limit it. The effect was limited, but they immediately grew fearful of what would happen if more and more legends ventured out. After a prolonged period of panic, they ended up coming to a conclusion that had set Faelor on the path to ruin.

1062 - City of Sin

Surrounded

Exploring the myriad planes was extremely difficult in dangerous, something the first wave of legends from any plane would never know. Nearly all of Faelor's first batch had gone out to the void, but many of them died or got lost in the following decades. With their number starting to dwindle, the gods of Faelor had taken the chance to launch an assault on the ones remaining.

This was the first war of man and god. The three kings of the Iron Triangle Empire displayed profound might, killing the avatars and children of numerous gods in succession to put a stop to their plans. Each one of them had might comparable to a god's true form, but the gods couldn't muster up the courage to face the remaining legends in that way. Once out of their divine kingdoms, their deaths were permanent. Even worse, their divine spark could be stolen and used by the legends to strengthen themselves.

Eventually, only one of the nine other legends that managed to return to Faelor survived. However, alongside the three kings of the Iron Triangle, they went on a rampage and killed every single demigod and avatar they could find. Only a greater god could form avatars with legendary might, but the trio had strength beyond that. Every death also warped the laws of Faelor further. The situation eventually reached a stalemate. The legends could not attack the gods in their divine kingdoms, but the gods couldn't catch them in the mortal realm.

In an incredibly petty act of vengeance, the pantheon gathered their secular churches to eradicate the Iron Triangle Empire in one go and kill all descendants of the three kings; while the legends could flee, the rest of their families could not. However, just as this dark purge was about to begin, the three astral beasts had followed the traces of the returning legends and broke through the crystal sphere into Faelor.

Then came the single most terrifying incident in Faelorian history, the invasion of the astral beasts. The sheer destruction had buried the rest of the past within the annals of time. These beasts ate through all energy and caused a rain of blood where they passed, leaving no life behind in their wake. In the face of this unprecedentedly huge enemy, the three kings and Faelor's gods had no choice but to band together and begin an earth-shattering battle that killed these invaders. The gods ended up paying the painful price of many of their kind falling.

After this war, the three kings and the gods finally settled their dispute and signed the Treaty of the Gods. It stated that all legends who began exploring the myriad planes were blocked from returning to Faelor as they wished, and barred from spreading information about the outside world. Only new legends were allowed the right to this knowledge. Having been weakened and also at fault for the invasion, the kings agreed. Ever since then, Faelor had been closed off.

It wasn't as though the kings had left no backups, keeping some of their powers in Faelor to ingeniously evade the treaty entirely. However, the gods were no fools either; such blatant rulebreaking would have been punished had they been awake.

Reading through those records for a full night, Richard found that few legends popped up in Faelor after the legends departed. One would come about maybe every few decades, quickly leaving and heading outside into the void. This frequency was astonishingly low, making it obvious that the gods were doing something behind the scenes.

And thus, the situation today. Richard had found a sealed-off world that knew nothing about the rest of existence. The people here just assumed they were all there was, thinking their gods were the highest existences with most having the final goal of igniting their own godfires. To explorers and invaders, they were weak and ignorant, worthy of not worship but testing and harvesting. Having gotten to level 10, the broodmother even just saw them as food.

By first light, Richard closed the records and sighed softly. This was a vast and fertile world, the plane in which he had begun his own career as a conqueror. It was a place that once had the opportunity to be like Norland, perhaps one day becoming a primary plane. However, that had been destroyed by stupidity and short-sightedness.

It hearkened back to a different answer he had found for questions earlier in his life. Why do we war with the other planes? He had realised that trade was fundamentally impossible between two different factions when one of them had the power to plunder the other. Now? He realised that a plane couldn't even hide itself from its eventual fate. Then again, was Norland missing something that other, higher planes possessed? Were they the same as Faelor, not knowing of the consequences of their ignorance?

He started pacing around, quite shaken by what he had read. Without the care of the Eternal Dragon and thrust right into exploration, most of Faelor's legends were destined to die before it even mattered. Even Norlanders would go through years or even decades of preparation before beginning their journey.

Looking around the room, he started surveying the various antique articles within. This was a study that Yorik liked, so it had a fair number of precious and meaningful items within alongside paintings of varying sizes on the walls. A magic lamp projected his shadow as he walked around, the flickering flames making him look like a dancing elf.

As he walked on, his shadow crossed an oil painting that depicted the infamous Rainbow War of years past. At a point outside his field of view, a general in the painting suddenly came to life and stared at him, his blade silently cutting off a part of the shadow. The soundless call prompted the other soldiers to scramble over as well, swarming the tiny piece of shadow that had been cut off and splitting it into hundreds of pieces!

Richard suddenly stopped and turned back, but all he saw was an ancient painting. It wasn't even the best of the lot, and there wasn't any difference from what he had seen before. He frowned and looked around, but found nothing strange; his shadow had already been repaired. There was this constant feeling that he had lost something, but he couldn't tell what it was.

Brushing off the strangeness, he started walking around again. However, the moment he turned the eyes of the general moved once more, gaze landing on his back. Richard felt his heart skip a beat and turned around, but things looked as normal as ever.

This time, he carefully examined the area. Grand mages didn't just feel things for no reason, it was a reaction to changes in the ambient energy. Something had to have happened, and he needed to find out. Muttering to himself for a while as he looked away, he suddenly flipped around in an instant.

The generals and soldiers of the war rushed back to their original positions, the portrait of a lady in the corner quickly turning her head away. Their movements were incredibly quick, finishing even before his flip, but he just sneered as his eyes started radiating light. The world seemed to turn grey as the room warped, and with an increase in strength he could look through everything nearby.

This was Field of Truth, an upgraded ability from his newly-advanced blessing. It could reveal most illusions and stealth spells, showing him the true state of the world. The colours in his vision constantly changed until he caught a large shadow squirming across the wall.

It was a nightmare creature!

1063 - City of Sin

Altar

The nightmare creature seemed to sense that it was detected, the black mist just phasing through the wall in an attempt to escape. Richard waited until two-thirds of its body was through before waving a hand, forming a blade of mana that cut off the rest of the body. The creature twitched violently in pain, but the part that had already made it through just disappeared quietly as a mana cage closed off the rest.

Floating the thing upwards, Richard took one glance at it before turning his attention back to the wall. Adding Insight to his Field of Truth, he saw a twisted trajectory left behind by the rest that he had allowed to escape. He had been curious as to what it would do, but now it looked like it had just fled the plane.

“They're acting up again... Did Master's seal grow weaker?” he raised his brows, deep in thought. He could still remember the terrifying scene with the Legion of Nightmares in his battle with Ensio, where nightmare creatures had tried to tear the legendary mage apart. His own abilities had improved greatly since then, but he wasn't certain he would be able to best the Ensio he had fought that day. He had a spell that was no weaker than most legendary magic, but it just required too much time to cast.

Sweeping his gaze across the surroundings to confirm that there was nothing peculiar going on, he sat back down and started reading through another book. The cover of this tome was scarlet with the royal insignia emblazoned upon it, showing that it was a book about the royal family itself. In particular, this was the biography of the three kings.

With all three controlling the laws of metal, their abilities overlapped quite a bit. It was just that their accomplishments were different, leaving the three with different overall strength.

Godfrey was the weakest of the bunch, only able to influence the purity of gold in a small scale. This was quite useful, able to help in the crafting of legendary weapons, but it didn't have as much utility in battle. The Friend of Silver Cyril could change the properties of silver, making it more refined, while the King of Steel had full control of iron.

Lyos could turn his opponents into iron or steel, even draining the properties of many metallic weapons to destroy them in battle. Everyone within a kilometre would find their blades were extremely brittle, while their armour was as fragile as porcelain. With the power of his laws, the King of Steel could even control all the steel around him; there were details of a fight against a church where he had used their own heavy infantry as wrecking balls against the rest of their army. However, that wasn't his most powerful ability either; he was capable of animating steel, giving him the ability to summon powerful golems to fight in battle that had hardy bodies capable of defeating assassins and many saint warriors. These abilities only grew more powerful in an area with a large concentration of iron; the records detailed that the Frozen Throne had thus been built atop a frostiron vein.

If the King of Steel returned quietly, just how many powerful golems could he summon out of this city?

......

“Your Majesty, I await your instructions.” As the sky grew brighter, the fat shaman was already waiting outside the study room. From the looks of it, he hadn't even had the time to get some breakfast before rushing over. The man had been appointed as the head of the elders, tasked with assisting the new emperor in all of his tasks. Those who had been marked out by the Thinker had already been taken away alongside Yorik himself, their fates unknown.

Richard looked at the shaman, “Tell someone to inform all the vassals of the empire to reach the capital by some designated time to swear their oaths again. Calculate the time yourself, give each one just enough time to get here without any rest. If they don't manage it, it'll be counted as treason and punished with the deaths of their entire family and confiscation of their lands.”

“Y-Your Majesty...” the shaman was shocked, “I-is that... alright...”

“What's the problem?” Richard asked softly.

“This is a... very important issue. We should give them a little more time to think, and to come to a... wise decision.”

“Heh, you mean you want to wait until Lyos and Cyril have been summoned?”

“N-No! That...”

Richard patted the man on the shoulder, “Don't worry. If they do come, they'll end up like Godfrey.”

“Of course, Your Majesty! Of course!” the shaman nodded repeatedly in flattery.

At midday, dozens of enormous hawks carried messengers to all the vassals of the Iron Triangle Empire. As to whether these feudal lords would make the right decision, that was out of the shaman's hands.

......

Three days later, the workers had already chiselled through the later of stone wall towards the altar to make it accessible. Richard immediately summoned the shaman and got ready to enter; the fat man clearly didn't want to head down there, but he had no choice but to follow all the way. Behind Richard were a few dozen shadowspears alongside Phaser, Waterflower, Nasia, and Asiris. The rest of his followers were on standby outside.

Alongside the group were two others, one a black-robed man with a wide hood that covered his face completely. One could tell at first glance that this was someone whose head was much larger than their body, or they weren't human. Although it hadn't been for a long time, the shaman had seen this person before.

The other was a beautiful young man with long, silver hair, muscles bulging in all the right places with the pale gold armour looking beautiful on him instead of gaudy. In fact, the lavish armour almost looked like a carapace of natural armour, and one look showcased that this was the perfect fusion of speed and power. A single smile felt like it would bring about spring as well. From top to bottom, this person was virtually flawless.

In the youth's hands was a very strange weapon, five full metres long with a handle on each end. The mid-section was extremely thick, about half a metre across, but the gold casing pulsed with life. As he paid attention, the shaman saw the weapon open up with dozens of tendrils peering out from within, constantly wriggling around before moving back in.

These two people were quite peculiar, and the shaman couldn't help but steal a few more glances at them. It wasn't long before the youth discovered this, flashing a dazzling smile. It truly felt like spring would arrive, but it almost scared the fat shaman to death. He didn't have much power to speak of, but his intuition and sensitivity were what brought him to his current role. In his eyes, the youth's smile felt like an ancient beast baring its fangs!

“Don't look at them,” Richard said nonchalantly as he continued to walk along. The shaman quickly nodded and forced his gaze away, continuing to walk down the long passageway.

The one under the black robe was the Thinker, while the youth was none other than the remodelled Zangru, now also known as Asura. He now felt like an actual whole being instead of a failed husk, which had been a surprise to Richard when they first met after the change. The weapon in his hands was also one of the broodmother's latest creations.

In fact, the broodmother had been extremely excited when he brought up the altar, asking for the Thinker to be taken along despite his near-uselessness in combat. All three of her special units were thus present here, second only to the broodmother coming herself. In fact, she would likely have come herself if she wasn't a hulking behemoth that was hundreds of metres wide.

The shaman quickly caught up to Richard who was in the lead, “Your Majesty, there might be danger down there. Should we have someone else go down and look first?”

“Eh, it's fine,” Richard waved it off, prompting the shaman to retreat in embarrassment. He still frightened, but recalling how the Son of Gold had died, he couldn't help but shiver. The Crimson Duke was handsome and graceful, even acting gentle and polite, but that only made it easy to forget just how powerful he really was.

As they reached the end of the long passageway, the shaman found the altar hall just the same as before. The pool of blood in the centre was bubbling, with a dozen other shamans were huddled up in a corner surrounded by hundreds of workers.

Richard looked at the pool of blood for a moment before examining the spell formation of the altar, his gaze quickly locking onto the silver sword and iron spear still embedded in the stone.

1064 - City of Sin

Chase

Looking over the rock with the sword and spear, Richard quickly noticed a small crack in it that perfectly matched the form factor of Godfrey's dagger. He pointed over and turned to the fat shaman, “So these things are the totems used to summon the other two?”

“Y-Yes, Your Majesty!” the shaman answered nervously.

“It doesn't look like they were touched.”

“The summoning process doesn't need them to be removed, necessarily. So long as they're in the same hall as the altar, the ancestors can use the totems to come here. The dagger was removed by the Son of Gold to use in battle.”

Richard nodded before pointing at the other shamans that had been surrounded by the worker drones, “And they were in charge of the ritual? Has it already begun?”

The fat shaman's face twitched as he glanced at the roiling pool of blood, “The ceremony... has already begun. In a few days, the two ancestors will... stand up from the blood pool. This cannot be stopped.”

“Nice,” Richard smiled.

“Invader!” one of the other shamans yelled out, “We will never stop the ceremony! When the ancestors descend, you will turn to ash amidst the molten metal!”

“Heh. You know that your so-called King of Steel will destroy the entire Frozen Throne if he returns, right? Regardless of whether he can beat me, all of your citizens will die.”

The old man's expression twisted, but he gritted out, “It is only justice served on weaklings who do not dare to fight you to the end! They should all die!”

“Huh. Why don't you pave the path?” Richard nodded, sending a dozen drones swarming on the man. He then turned to Asiris, “Look over the formation and change it a bit; I want to know exactly when the two are going to get here. In fact, I don't have all that much time to wait for them; make the coordinates a little clearer.”

Asiris answered with an affirmative and flew up to the altar, beginning to study the formation carefully. With its scale, he would likely need a day to analyse it.

The Thinker walked up as well, hunching down and checking every part in detail before moving on to the pool of blood. Taking a few gulps of that, he then started exploring further. A large amount of information was quickly transmitted to Richard's mind as the blood was analysed with precision greater than Insight's, showing that a good portion of this blood came from some exceptionally powerful creature. The essence of life within was extremely dense, so much so that even a corpse could be reanimated after throwing it in. Unfortunately, it could only restore the physical body and had no effect on the soul; that meant it only worked in cases where the soul was preserved. The three ancestors of the Iron Triangle Empire used this method so they wouldn't have to vie with another soul for dominance first.

Richard had read in the imperial records that the core blood for this ceremony came from an ancient race of giant mammoths. The creatures had long lives but were barely fertile, now on the brink of extinction. The Empire had been saving up this blood for centuries, but now they had used all their reserves to summon Lyos and Cyril; Richard didn't want it to be wasted.

Having said everything he knew, the grand shaman was escorted out of the altar by two shadowspears. In the meanwhile, Richard flew towards the rock with the iron spear and silver sword, planning to study these legendary weapons. However, two of the blades in his case suddenly started vibrating in response to the presence, pulsing desire straight into his mind to devour these weapons.

He was immediately startled, this was something that normally only happened with divine weapons that had souls. Carnage might have been acquired from the Eternal Dragon, but it wasn't a fully divine weapon itself, and Moonlight had fallen from such status aeons ago. This was a sign of the two evolving, one starting on its path to divine status while the other started its return. Perhaps they had evolved after so much time with him as well.

He pulled out the silver sword, lifting it up to head level to have a close look. The blade looked simple, with no interesting properties outside of the uncommon material. Even calling this thing a magic weapon would be a stretch; if one wasn't told beforehand, it was hard to believe this was a legend's weapon.

However, the golden dagger made it clear that things weren't as simple as they seemed. Richard checked the material of the sword and found that it was somewhat similar to mithril, and just like the auvitrum this blade hid some special material as well. Unknown materials were far more valuable than mere legendary items, especially to a mage who could experiment and learn from the new.

Carnage started buzzing as he continued to observe, seemingly growing impatient with the passing time. On the other hand, Moonlight quieted down, its interest seeming to have waned. Breaking off the sword's tip and stowing it away, Richard pulled out Carnage and placed it on what was left. His eyes went wide as numerous tendrils shot out of the outer jagged blade, wrapping tightly around the silver sword until both were wound together like a cocoon. From the looks of it, it would take a few days for the weapons to combine.

The iron spear looked even more ordinary than the sword, even having some stains and rust on the surface. However, that only made things more interesting. This altar room was very humid, and a spear that could rust would have turned to dust over the millennium.

As he started probing further, he found that the spear had a vast internal world within it. The structure was extremely peculiar, similar to enchanted iron but not quite the same and yet changing constantly. It took a period of analysis to find the rhythm of these changes, and exploring further he was surprised to find a crystal core within. It was tiny but active, rushing around the interior of the spear and changing its makeup. This seemed to be a rudimentary consciousness that absorbed the excess energy of the metal, eliminating any rust it found.

The core sensed his consciousness the moment it arrived, starting to dodge with extraordinary speed, but despite some trouble Richard had grown used to such tasks long ago. After a long chase, he figured out the pattern to its movements and managed to position his web in a location where it would get caught. The core barely brushed past his mental tendrils at first, but things quickly grew more dangerous and it was eventually captured.

Richard smiled when he finally accomplished the task; the chance of catching the thing was one in a few thousand, and he had taken more than a thousand tries to succeed. Opening his eyes, he suddenly felt a wave of fatigue wash over him. Looking around, a hundred shadowspears were formed up in a circle while Asiris and Zangru were waiting by the side.

“What's going on?” he asked while trying to get up. However, his knees immediately buckled at the attempt and he had to catch his breath; there seemed to be no mana inside him at all. Google search f𝙧𝒆𝚎𝘸e𝚋𝓷o𝘷𝚎𝒍. co𝑚

“You have been here for three entire days, my Lord,” Asiris said with a bow, “We didn't dare disturb you, so we waited with some guards.”

“Three days? Ugh, I need some mana potions,” he grunted, “Anyway, what about the altar?”

“I have everything prepared. I can quite accurately direct what time the two legends will arrive at, and with the extra time I added a curse formation that will stop them from sensing any danger until they merge into their new bodies.”

“Good. Anyway, change of plans. Set the time of return for seven days; I'll have a couple surprises ready by then.”

1065 - City of Sin

Surprise

The seven days seemed to pass by in the blink of an eye. Richard was in the altar room once more, standing on a platform that extended from the wall as he looked down on the pool of blood before. The skies of the Frozen Throne were overcast, but there wasn't any terrifying vortex like during Godfrey's return. Norland's planar portals were a millennium ahead of Faelor's, and Asiris's summoning formation didn't cause as much of a ruckus as the original.

Space was already starting to crack above the altar, ripping wider and wider until two illusory figures flew out. The pool of blood was already at a full boil, some of the streams flying several metres high. The two figures were in no hurry to enter the pool immediately, instead taking a look around as they conversed.

“This return was strangely successful, Lyos. I hadn't thought the coordinates would be so clear.”

“Agreed. Our descendants have been growing weaker over time, it shouldn't be possible for them to send such an accurate signal.”

“Hmm... Well, it's been several centuries since we were last here; maybe there were a few geniuses in the meanwhile. This should be good news, those pieces of garbage in their divine kingdoms won't be too happy, though. How do you think the war is going?.”

Lyos went quiet for a while, “Hopefully not too bad. The enemy this time seems troublesome, there wasn't any news from Godfrey after he went. I can't help but worry.”

“What does it matter? Since both of us have returned, the troublemakers will just have to pay the price. What do you think of destroying their country?”

“They likely have a god backing them if they got to the city. We need to find out who it is and wipe out all of their demigods and churches in the mortal realm.”

“Hehe, that's a few million lives!”

“Just a number. They need to feel the heat of molten iron swimming in their blood! They should have withdrawn their main forces by now, right?”

“Right... Let's take a look at the bodies first; the bloodline feels alright, but hopefully they have enough to last a few more days. Doesn't look like there's any problem here.”

Lyos nodded in response, entering the pool of blood alongside Cyril. The surface quickly calmed down, draining out to reveal two youths who were checking their bodies. It was when they nodded in satisfaction and flew up that countless black runes burst forth from the altar, covering the pool like a huge net and branding them.

The two legends immediately screamed out in rage, their bodies dropping from the sky under the power of the brands. Even more black sigils flew across the empty pool to cover them, like a hornets' nest that had been disturbed.

An intense silver radiance burst forth from the pool before it was quickly restrained, the runes nearby burning away under its might. Cyril rose into the sky and surveyed his surroundings, “Who is it? Come out, you dirty coward!”

“Now, now, Cyril, I believe we've come across someone who has true strength. The strong should be respected,” Lyos said in a deep voice as he rose up himself.

Richard dispelled the spatial warp that had been covering all this while, allowing his aura to flare up to its limit. The two legends immediately turned towards him with confusion before growing serious. Even the violent Cyril suddenly calmed down, “Whose descendant are you? Call your ancestor over, I believe we know them.”

He could tell that Richard was close to the legendary realm at an absurdly young age, implying there was a powerful figure and an equally mighty organisation backing him. Even amongst the gods, something like this was rare in the plane's history.

However, Richard shook his head, “This is my decision, it has nothing to do with my ancestors. You couldn't possibly know them anyway; just focus on your own circumstances first. You've been branded and can't leave this plane.”

Cyril's body shone with silver, threads of metal seeping out from his body and dancing around the place. In the meanwhile, Lyos floated towards the altar and touched the ground, causing the entire hall to tremble as a loud metallic creak filled the air. Steel arms started popping out from the earth, the hard granite flooring looking as loose as sand. The golems that crawled out opened their eyes one by one, turning towards Richard.

His first show of power alone had allowed Lyos to summon more than ten steel golems despite the branding of sin that affected his power. It showed just how suitable the Frozen Throne was for him to fight in. However, Cyril's silver threads that seemed like they could blanket the entire hall only managed a dozen metres before stopping entirely, prompting a smile from Richard. While the King of Steel and Friend of Silver used different metals, the base law they built their foundation upon was the same. With only a limited amount of that law's energy in this space, one would have to give way to the other.

Of course, such restrictions wouldn't exist outside the altar space. However, the two couldn't use all their strength right now, and the conflict would likely make the two worse together than just Lyos going all out. The altar hall was in the middle of the mountain and surrounded by stone and ore; very little ambient energy managed to seep through. This had been intentional during the hall's construction, but right now it posed a huge obstacle.

Richard looked down on the two from above, a huge smile on his face, “I've prepared a present for you. Hope you like it!”

He reached out as he spoke, outlining something in the air to form a portal out of nothing. Cyril glanced at it and snickered, “Calling on nighmares? What kind of surprise are you trying to give us? Four shadow soldiers? Ten? That's inconse— WHAT?”

The legend's eyes suddenly opened wide as the portal in front of him evolved, growing more solid until it was a giant door nearly ten metres tall. The door had an actual frame with two shadow snakes crawling along the side, showing the mark of the Legion of Nightmares at its crest to protect a giant gem that was emitting green light.

This portal gate was completely black, emanating a realistic metallic lustre that looked nothing like a product of magic. Mysterious runes were carved all over it, so complex that Cyril couldn't even begin to understand them. Even with a small slit opening up, countless shadow warriors gushed out from within!

This wasn't just ten nightmare creatures, not even a hundred. It was an endless tide!

Even Lyos flinched at the sight, immediately trying to tear space apart and flee, but the brands on his body activated and kept his soul stuck inside the current body. If he left now, just the ambient spatial storms in the void would rip him to shreds. He looked for Richard, but all he saw was a barrier that blocked the exit.

Richard shook his head at the cries of rage and walked out the passage to the other side, glancing at the various magic arrays near the exit. All of his followers were lying in wait here, with the 200 rune knights forming a second line of defence not far away.

The mountain was trembling slightly at this moment, causing everyone's expressions to change. They hadn't expected Faelor's legends to possess such terrifying might before; the ability to shake the mountains definitely wasn't weak even in Norland. Godfrey had already been a huge blow to the followers' ego, and now there were two people more powerful than him down below; they wouldn't dare underestimate the situation again.

As they watched Richard walk out, a few of Richard's followers trembled a little in surprise. This effect was even more pronounced in Asiris and Nasia; nobody knew what Richard had designed in there to confront two legends, but the shaking of the mountain made it clear that the two were going all out. If this wasn't a one-off, that meant he now had the power to contend directly with legends even though he had only recently entered level 20.

1066 - City of Sin

The Nightmares Return

Tiramisu was one of those whose attitude would never change; in his two minds, Richard was the most amazing being alive. He brandished Tenton and smiled, “Will those two come out, Master?”

“What does it even matter?” Zangru said lazily, “We can just kill them if they do. Do you think two legends are a match for our lineup?”

“But what if they don't?” Medium Rare snorted in disapproval, “Then I'll have waited here all day without even a fight!”

Richard butted in at this moment, “Heh, you're in for some disappointment. They probably won't be able to get out.”

Within the altar hall, the portal from the Call of Shadows slowly closed up. A number of nightmare creatures pushed through and tried to stop it, but the force was unstoppable and just crushed them entirely. More than a hundred that were stuck in the opening exploded, a dozen or so image diamonds falling down to the ground.

The closing of a portal was determined by spatial laws, and even the most powerful creatures couldn't survive between two spaces that were being disconnected. Their return blocked off, the remaining nightmare creatures turned to Lyos and Cyril.

However, it was in the outer void that things were most interesting. Having lost the signal from the lighthouse, the creatures in the region started trickling out from the area at a steady pace. Only the Legion of Nightmares waited quietly, hoping for it to open once more.

A portal had opened up in the middle of a large group of random nightmare creatures not too long ago, a powerful suction drawing everything nearby within. Many were alarmed at first, but looking at the foreign plane on the other side they quickly flocked in. However, none of them expected the portal to close with force in only a few minutes, none of them able to get it open.

However, the gate didn't just disappear as it normally did. Instead, it towered silently in the void with a faint golden light flashing across its surface; the colour leaving them with a strange sense of fear. Some felt the impulse to destroy the door and bust in, but they knew that it would likely just end the portal entirely. Instead, the Legion of Nightmares quickly mobilised from the nearby region, preparing just in case the portal would open again.

......

Back within the altar hall, Lyos grabbed a shadow warrior by the neck and pulsed green energy into it, causing half of its body to disintegrate into rust even as the shade materialised in the real world. Its threat greatly reduced, he broke it apart and threw the pieces to the ground. The two-part corpse joined a number of its brethren, each looking like a distorted steel statue. While the lesser nightmare creatures had just been killed directly, the more powerful ones had been forced into a material form before being killed.

The King of Steel only had it this easy because of the giant frostiron vein under the Frozen Throne. Cyril faced much more pressure, dozens of silver threads dancing around him but growing dimmer with every creature he killed. When he finally tore apart an enormous creature and found no other enemies nearby, he nearly collapsed from the effort.

The two panted and looked around, only sighing in relief once they could confirm that there were no other nightmare creatures nearby. Cyril looked at Lyos and smiled wryly in helplessness, starting to inspect the most serious of his injuries where one could see the internal organs wriggling. None of the wounds were fatal, but both of them had used up a great amount of their energy. Lyos only had a third of his reserves remaining, while Cyril was at a lowly tenth.

“To think he could summon so many shadows,” the Friend of Silver commented.

Lyos coughed a few times, looking at the two steel golems that still remained by his side, “He isn't easy to deal with; he prepared this just to deal with us. None of them left the hall.”

Cyril started, looking at the walls around him as his expression grew darker. The four walls were black and shiny, made from a material he could not recognise that evidently wasn't the original. Their senses had been dulled by spatial warping at the beginning, and with the battle starting quickly he didn't get the time to look around. A silver thread immediately cut out a good chunk of the wall and pulled it towards him, but that only revealed that this material had seeped several metres deep into the stone.

Before Cyril could study things further, Lyos suddenly soared into the sky and screamed, “Careful! The portal's still there!”

The Friend of Silver was surprised, looking up to find that the bizarre gate had slowly grown clearer once more. Runes lit up on it one after the other, getting faster and faster with time. The gate quickly showed signs of opening once more. Lyos pounced forwards to destroy it, knowing that a second opening would be the death of them both, but he suddenly froze up mid-flight and turned towards the passage in the wall.

Richard had appeared there at some point, an azure flame bouncing around in his hands as he stared at the two legends. The tiny flame left him feeling a sense of extreme danger, so much so that the threat of the shadow gate felt minor in comparison. He felt like the flame was terribly familiar, but he just couldn't remember where he had seen it before.

It was Cyril that pointed with a trembling voice, “You... You can actually control the flames from the Star of Destruction?!”

Richard frowned for the slightest moment; this was the second time he had heard this phrase but he didn't understand its origin. His blue flames definitely came from the energy of the blue moon, one of the seven satellites orbiting Norland's sky. However, he simply stayed silent in agreement.

Lyos turned towards Richard and was about to launch forward, but he hesitated to do so. He could tell that there was an enormous ambush waiting at the end that would definitely kill him, and if Richard dared to show himself he had to be prepared. He also couldn't shake off his fear of Richard's flames; in such a narrow passageway, they would be impossible to avoid.

Richard took advantage of this moment to open the shadow gate, but he felt his heart freeze over the very next instant. He promptly decided to close the gate with all the mana he could throw at it in a single moment, throwing the blue fireball in his hand towards it as well. Without even caring about what would happen, he fled up the tunnel to the exit.

Even near the exit, Richard could sense the sheer danger emanating from the portal. Being much closer, Lyos and Cyril almost lost their senses. They couldn't help but stiffen as they saw a number of nightmare lances fly out towards them from the crack, each one quite powerful in its own right. Cyril quickly recalled a terrifying legend, “The Legion of Nightmares!”

The Legion of Nightmares was different from ordinary nightmare creatures. They were an organised army that behaved with intelligence more than instinct, each troop led by a powerful general. These nightmare generals were brutal and sly, each possessing legendary might yet still possessing the same property of immunity to physical damage. The Legion was a terrifying enemy that even most legends exploring the void didn't wish to provoke.

Just the first wave of lances numbered in the hundreds, leaving Cyril and Lyos with no choice but to give up the defence. With a flood of nightmare creatures gushing through the crack, they had to focus on killing as many as they could and just hoping they were lucky enough to survive.

The portal started to close almost as soon as it opened, but a furious bellow rang out from the other side as a large claw poked out and stabilised the connection. Within the next second the gate was fully open once more, hundreds of nightmare creatures rushing into the world. The closing of the portal might have used the power of spatial laws, but the being with the claw evidently had the sheer power to stop them at least for a little while.

However, Richard's blue fireball flew over and slammed into the gate, instantly lighting the whole thing ablaze. These flames were incredibly aggressive, burning every nightmare creature that made contact and only growing more powerful with time. The claw pressed into the gate burnt up as well, prompting an earth-shattering roar of pain from the other side.

With the tip of the claw starting to fade away, it shook once and was withdrawn, allowing the portal to crumble to the flames. However, the altar hall was now practically filled with nightmare creatures, most of them powerful shadow warriors. Lyos and Cyril shivered, but before they could even respond a wave of blue fire flooded down the only tunnel as the few dozen warriors chasing Richard were burnt away.

1067 - City of Sin

Two Legends Fall

Richard turned around the moment he left the tunnel, his followers already alerted and prepared to fight the incoming nightmare creatures. He could already sense that the portal was destroyed, but in the few moments it was open thousands of powerful shadow warriors had streamed through.

Had he known an entire troop from the Legion of Nightmares were secretly lying in ambush on the other side, he would never have opened the portal the second time. There were other ways to go up against Lyos and Cyril, but the threat from the Legion was much more dangerous. Even he couldn't know just how many creatures had made their way into Faelor.

The entire mountain started to tremble as he unsheathed Moonlight, holding it before him. The sword had grown aged and dull, lacking the lustre of its past. It had been kept alongside the iron spear all these days, starting to absorb its essence. Its nature had been altered over the process, the blade growing to legendary might. Strangely, Carnage was still in its cocoon without any signs of coming out; it was taking much longer than expected.

As the vibrations grew in intensity, even Zangru lost his happy-go-lucky smile and turned serious. A dozen shadow warriors rushed out from the tunnel and were blocked immediately by Richard, only three left for his followers to deal with. Each one of them was level 16 or 17 in strength, and without a physical body they were difficult to defeat. Moonlight with its power of nature was a natural choice to take them on, especially with his own laws of life. He could cut through the nightmare creatures like cloth, the cuts burning with milky white flames.

In stark contrast, Waterflower cut her enemy into ten parts but the different sections just wriggled and reformed into one body. The shadow warrior lost a few levels of strength, but she had to cut it down multiple times until it was only a bunch of fragments in the air. Tiramisu smashed Tenton into his, but the core evaded him and just reformed without any damage. Unlike the Shepherd of Eternal Rest, the hammer wasn't a magic weapon and couldn't do much damage to the incorporeal creature. He could only roar around in annoyance, eventually killing it with a blast of mana.

Even as the first wave of shadow warriors met their end, more of them emerged from the tunnel. Although they did not have a physical self, they still found it much more difficult to move through some materials than others. The worker drones lining the walls with a special material that they could not pass through. This was originally meant to make for a strong cage that forced them to attack Lyos and Cyril, but now it was serving as a funnel that directed them.

The mountain kept quivering as more nightmare creatures rushed out. Richard could intercept almost all of them at first, but soon he was at less than a third. Moonlight was a powerful blade for the situation, but there were far too many enemies to deal with. Even the Ring of Destiny could only attack up to ten shadow warriors. Still, all of these creatures could only come out of the narrow tunnel instead of swarming like they were used to; past Richard were his followers, and further still were the rune knights. Not one enemy got past all three lines.

As wave after wave of nightmare creatures was destroyed, the mountain eventually stopped quivering. Things seemed to calm down for a moment before hundreds of nightmare creatures poured out in one last push, injuring almost half of his followers and even some rune knights. By the end of it all, everyone was panting hard.

Richard waited for exactly ten minutes before he could be sure that all the nightmare creatures were annihilated. Even then, he refused to let down his guard and led the party down to inspect the battlefield. The tunnel looked the same as when he had retreated, but the altar hall itself was an unrecognisable mess. Scars from powerful attacks were everywhere, all the stone construction now reduced to debris. Strewn all across the ground were ruined golems, each carrying an enormous number of scars from the shadow warriors' attacks.

Richard walked up to one of the golems, carefully examining the wounds on its body. While the nightmare creatures were incorporeal, their powerful weapons had still left deep cuts that were many centimetres long all over it. The fatal wound was in the chest, looking especially deep from the combination of many attackers. It had accurately damaged the inner core, finally stopping the golem's function.

Searching around underneath, he quickly found an image diamond. This crystal was an especially dark black, containing power that even his attackers normally didn't possess. It seemed like the nightmare creature that had left this was some sort of captain in the Legion. He stood up and looked through the hall, a light going off in his mind; most of the shadow warriors this time had been powerful! This meant a windfall of image diamonds!

Image diamonds were a crucial component required to grow the astral chrysalis. This being was extremely useful in battle, to the point that he couldn't do without it anymore, but to improve it further from where it was would take 500 diamonds. Even after years of ambushes from the nightmare creatures, he had only accumulated 200 of them. Now, this one event would give him all he needed.

“Master, there's a tunnel here!” Zangru called out.

Tunnel? Richard flew over with some surprise as the former demigod smashed into the wall, leaving a gaping hole with only a few strikes. He looked closely and saw signs of intense battle everywhere, with the auras from Lyos and Cyril prevalent. Not too far into the tunnel were nearly a dozen glimmering image diamonds that were clearly of high quality.

“It doesn't look like they've gone too far,” Zangru commented, “Unfortunately for them, the small wall they put up wasn't enough to block the more powerful nightmare creatures.”

Richard nodded and made his way further in, conjuring a blue fireball both for light and safety. Lyos and Cyril were still legends, and one could never be too careful with those.

As the tens of metres ran into the hundreds, Richard summoned a dozen worker drones to follow along them. More and more image diamonds could be found within, and the amount of blood on the walls increased with distance. Evidently, both legends were seriously injured.

It was a kilometre in that he suddenly came to a stop, ordering the drones to investigate further up front. A few hundred metres further, the tunnel stopped at a hall that was a few metres wide. He saw Lyos standing silently through the mental connection, Cyril crouched unmoving behind his legs. Seeing the extent of damage, he flew over and only stopped a few metres away. Google search 𝐟r𝚎ewe𝚋𝚗૦ν𝘦𝘭. 𝐜𝚘𝗺

“You're the invader?” Lyos asked.

“Mm, Richard Archeron.”

“Archeron... Sounds familiar, is that an abyssal name? But I don't sense any abyssal aura on you.”

“The bloodline's thinned out over time,” Richard dismissed.

“Hehe, Your Majesty Richard. Even though you are an invader, I greatly respect power and intelligence. Now, I wonder whether you would be interested in a deal.”

Richard's eyebrows rose up, “I'm listening.“

1068 - City of Sin

Law Of Metal

Seeing that Richard's interest was piqued, Lyos explained calmly, “I hope you will allow my bloodline to continue existing in this world, even if you banish the imperial family. In return, I will give you the coordinates of the residence the three of us shared in the void. All of our treasures over many years are stored there, ripe for the taking. In addition, I don't mind giving up my life to put you at ease.”

Richard's followers immediately showed signs of agreement with the deal. Even at the brink of death, a legend was extremely dangerous. Lyos being willing to give up his life meant their own wouldn't be in danger; this was the best outcome.

However, Richard just smiled, “You know, Lyos, I have much more experience with the nightmare creatures than you do. They're incredibly sensitive to life, incredibly. So why would they rush out to attack me without a single one staying behind to continue hunting you? I believe the answer is simple...

“You're already dead.”

Lyos froze up before flashing a wry smile, “So I couldn't fool you. You know far more than I expected, I'm really curious about where you're from.”

“Norland, a primary plane.”

“Primary plane... I've been exploring the void for centuries, but what is a primary plane?”

“You don't even... Unfortunate, this is common vernacular in the higher echelons of the myriad planes.” Richard shrugged; the word primary plane had obvious requirements behind it to anyone in the know, but the legends of Faelor had no such experience. As a first-generation explorer, it was unlikely for Lyos to have even come close to a primary plane and survived. Many got to know of such things through other legends, but not coming across one for centuries was quite normal in the boundless void. Had such an encounter occurred, Faelor's destiny might have been changed long ago.

Although Richard didn't explain anything, Lyos' expression changed and, in an instant, understood what had happened. He slowly calmed down, “So what's your evaluation of Faelor?”

“Pretty good, second only to a primary plane.”

“Hehe, so that means we'll never have the chance of getting there. In that case, none of you should even think of getting something I can't! Let's die together!”

The entire mountain started trembling once more to the tune of his bellows, coming from deep underneath. The tunnel started shaking heavily, starting to collapse.

“You can go down with me!” Lyos yelled like a maniac even as the earth below them sank down.

Despite the imminent danger, Richard maintained his calm, “Do you really want everyone in the Frozen Throne to die? Aren't they your descendants?”

“So what if they die? Useless trash has no value anyway, only the strong have the right to say anything!”

By this point, the tunnel was already filled with rocks. However, Richard still showed no signs of being flustered, even his followers just forming up back to back and watching out for debris. He continued peacefully, “Let me tell you a secret I found out recently. The main frostiron ore vein under this mountain passes right below the Frozen Throne. Right underneath is a world of magma, and the entire mountain is supported by a few dozen pillars of metal.

“Now, let's say someone wanted to have a backup in case they failed, to bury their enemy with them. That someone might be using steel golems to destroy the pillars right now.”

Lyos's expression quickly changed, “How did you know?”

Richard just smiled softly, a golden aura shining around his body, “You're not the only one who can control metal, and with your current state you're not even the best. Nasia?” Google search 𝙛𝓇𝘦e𝙬𝑒𝚋𝒏૦ѵel. c𝒐𝚖

The tremors in the mountain gradually calmed down, the earth coming to a halt. Lyos's eyes twitched a few times before going wide as saucers, “You're... Legendary! How? You weren't! How?”

A strange blue colour quickly spread across Lyos's skin, his voice gradually weakening until he was only a steel statue. Cyril's body quickly followed suit, turning into a statue of mithril. As the souls of the two legends dissipated, the power of laws in their bodies had gone out of control and reformed them into their metallic essence.

Deep below, the golems trying to destroy the pillars let go and fell into the magma one by one. The stone walls and pillars of the mountain that had already started growing brittle were coated in a layer of frostiron, becoming solid once more. Some worker drones could no longer stand the high heat below, falling from the holes they had burrowed into to scout.

Richard walked to the two statues and examined them calmly, trying to analyse their structure. Lyos seemed to be made of common frostiron; this was a valuable metal, but this entire amount was only worth a million gold or so. However, a more thorough scan revealed a similar yet more powerful consciousness like the one in the iron spear. Even if damaged, the sculpture would reform on its own. Taking advantage of his legendary state, he trapped this consciousness quickly as well.

This left a bland statue of pure material, but it was no easy task to obtain such pure frostiron. Even a small sliver would bring any weapon or tool to the superior grade, with increased resistance to fire alongside extra hardness and sharpness. There was enough frostiron here to arm 10,000 people.

Richard couldn't find any similar consciousness in Cyril's statue, but the material itself was pure mithril and worth over ten million gold. This metal had various uses in creating enchanted weapons and armour, with chainmail made from it especially resistance to mana.

He suddenly had a thought of turning a dozen powerhouses like Cyril into their base resources, gaining hundreds of millions of gold in mithril portions. However, he burst into laughter at the thought; there were a hundred ways to use them that were better than something so stupid.

Unless... he suddenly fell into thought, making a few calculations in his mind. There were many legendary materials that even Sharon did not possess. Auvitrum itself was one such material, but it would only be on the lower end of the spectrum. If he could turn legends into one of these materials, then the value of such a transformation would be much greater than that of the legend if they were alive.

Still, this was all just wishful thinking. Richard wiped away the stray thoughts and had his followers prepare the statues for transport; thousands of workers were already burrowing furiously into the mountain. In only half an hour an elite broke through the wall, with the passage large enough for everyone to walk upright in an hour more.

Once the party returned to the surface, Richard handed an image diamond to the Thinker and directed him to guide the worker drones in a search. This was painstaking work that required patience, but thankfully the drone had that in spades. In the meanwhile, Richard returned to the castle and allowed his followers to get some rest, heading straight for a temporary lab he'd set up to start studying the cores from the spear and Lyos's body.

1069 - City of Sin

First

As the night grew deeper, Richard didn't even realise when the first few minutes of his research dragged into hours before he got results. Even so, this was especially fast due to one factor; when War Fanatic wore off after his fights with Godfrey and Lyos, he still managed to retain a good chunk of the understanding of the laws of metal he had gained. It should have dissipated completely, but his blessing of wisdom had managed to retain a good section of the state he had entered.

It was around midnight that he discovered the consciousness from Lyos's statue was akin to a soul. It could only act upon instinct and lacked true sentience, but with a suitable stimulus it could do anything he wanted it to. The thing possessed great control over metal, able to give life to any that it was put into.

He soon found that this consciousness was a combination of the laws of several metals, changing the law it used according to its environment. With many possible combinations, there would be a variety of uses for it. However, it would take only a year of passive analysis to come to a full understanding of it; compared to his laws that would take centuries or millennia, this was a tiny investment.

Hesitating for a while, Richard decided to focus all of his minds on this one task. Delving deeper into his research, he quickly found the inspiration to craft a new rune. Pulling out whatever materials he had at hand, he immediately set to task bringing his new ideas to reality.

Preliminary tests showed that this consciousness would meld best with a nature affinity rune, so he chose a grade 3 version that he could craft easily. Spending hours immersed in pure simulation, eyes occasionally glowing, he started to draw the first lines of the rune.

The sky lit up and grew dark once more. Many had come looking for him in this time, but they were blocked by a barrier and told by his followers to leave. The day was followed by a week, and before he knew it more than ten days had passed without a single moment of rest. At some point, the consciousness had already seeped into the new rune.

It was midnight on the eleventh day that Richard finally finished up the last section of his rune, the arrays finally linking together to form one whole. Sending some mana coursing within, he watched with glee as the arrays began to light up one after the other with dull yellow light.

The consciousness in the rune suddenly realised it had a vast world to play with, starting to dance around in joy. Its movements brought the entire rune to life, green light shooting out from within and piercing through the ceiling towards the skies!

The pillar of green radiance wasn't all that dazzling, but it ignored everything in its path and didn't dissipate even after minutes passed. The laws of the world responded to its power, an invisible message being transmitted to every corner of Faelor. As someone who was fairly well-integrated into the plane by now, Richard felt it as well.

He immediately slapped his own forehead, realising that the rune had developed a magic soul. While such things weren't born naturally, they possessed all the fundamental characteristics of a true soul and would stir up the laws of the world when created. Their very existence went against the fundamental laws of the plane, and gods thus saw them as heresy. Even necromancers weren't looked upon with such levels of hatred.

The soul was the only domain that gods retained full control over. Even manipulating them was considered taboo, forget creating them. The birthing of magic souls would be an issue for the entire plane, and even Norland had suffered from such an incident in the past. An enormous battle had arisen between the gods and the saint runemaster, known as the infamous Saint War. The newly-born magic soul had been destroyed, but when they tried to wipe out the memories from the runemaster's mind they were thwarted by the legends of the plane. After a protracted battle, they were forced to back down and give up on their monopoly.

Ever since then, magic souls were a regular occurrence in Norland. The gods could only pretend to be blind to it; they simply did not have the power to match the ire of the epic beings if they objected.

Given this history, it would be obvious that Faelor would have an enormous reaction to its first magic soul. Richard immediately realised that he had been too careless, not considering the implications of such a development.

......

“WHO IS IT?” Neian's roars resounded through the Domain of Valour, “WHO DARES PROFANE THE SOUL?”

Sitting on her high throne, Cerces looked down on her servants calmly, “An enormous evil is budding in the mortal world.”

Troops were already marching out in the divine kingdom of the God of War, millions of valiant souls setting up in formation for assault. His voice thundered through his mountain, “All who sully the domain of the gods must be destroyed! Use your swords, blood, and unyielding souls to decimate this enemy!”

In another corner of the void up above, the three goddesses had gathered together to discuss. After a decade of development, the Goddess of the Hunt and the Goddess of the Forest were already peak lesser gods while the Goddess of Spring Water was intermediate-grade. For beings like them who measured time in centuries, this development was unimaginably fast.

The Goddess of the Forest was the first to speak, “I believe this evil is related to Richard.”

The Goddess of the Hunt nodded, “I agree, but we must think it over before we take this up with him. Don't forget that all of our central churches are now in Bluewater Oasis, and our clergies are fighting under him. Anything that happens to him will involve us as well.”

“Are we going to give up our duty as gods? Are we going to desert Faelor?” the former asked unwillingly.

The Goddess of Sprint Water spoke up, “Have we not done so already?”

“Ugh... But...” there was no retort. Over these years, the three goddesses had been bound closely to Richard. They had started to learn a few of his secrets, sometimes even possessing their worshippers to witness his country up close, and the shadowspears, rune knights, and followers left them in deep shock. It was an open secret that Richard was an invader, but this was the person who had given them the worship to avoid falling when they were on the brink of destruction. Having struggled on the verge of destruction for many years, nobody thirsted for faith more than them.

After a short period of silence, the Goddess of the Hunt spoke up, “Even if Richard conquers all of Faelor in the future, it will still be our plane; we will still be its gods. We haven't really deserted it; as long as our worshippers are still around, we will... have distanced ourselves from its past.”

This time, there was no retort. The Goddess of the Forest knew that these words were forced, but she could understand the need for followers just as much as any of them. Most of their worship was currently based in the Crimson Dukedom.

1070 - City of Sin

Saint Rune

Mountainsea slowly awoke from her dreams, eyes glazed over as her nose sniffed all around her. She struggled to her feet, turning towards Richard's makeshift laboratory, but the drowsiness quickly won over and she fell back down and started snoring.

In the courtyard next to her, the ogre lord had sat up as well. Medium Rare's one eye shone brightly, “What is that, it smells so tasty! Do you smell it?!”

Tiramisu scratched his head in confusion, “Tasty? Why don't I sense it? You're interrupting my sleep!”

“That thing will help us evolve! If we eat it, we'll become a legendary lord! I told you before, stop studying magic or whatever. We're already strong enough, we just need to focus on improving that.”

Tiramisu snorted, “There's been so many legendary lords in the past, but not one legendary mage. I want to be the first! My name will go down in history!”

The two heads continued to bicker constantly, their voices growing in volume.

Waterflower suddenly sat up from her bed, sweeping across her surroundings while on guard as her hand grabbed the Shepherd of Eternal Rest she had laid beside her. Unhindered by the darkness, she looked around with confusion as she felt something calling out to her; the thing seemed very important, to the point that her instincts were telling her to jump for it. However, the voice in her mind was very distorted and she couldn't seem to find the source. Sitting silently for a while, she forced her pounding heart to slow down.
𝑓𝙧𝚎𝑒𝔀𝙚𝑏𝑛𝑜vel. c૦m

It wasn't just the gods of Faelor; many of the strongest warriors in the plane felt the appearance of the magic soul in tandem.

......

“Whatever, it's done,” Richard waved off after a few moments of worry. He was currently overwhelmed by immense joy, the hand stretched towards the rune even starting to tremble a little. The glow slowly dissipated as he picked it up, but the pulses of mana within were still obvious and held a spirituality that almost wanted to explode out.

Despite the enormous phenomenon that was no less eye-catching than a lightning storm, he doubted his own eyes for the first time. Activating Insight, he carefully verified the composition of the rune. After repeated inspections, he finally had to admit that the consciousness from the King of Steel had assimilated with the rune's powers, thoroughly remoulding itself into a magic soul. This was a rune with a soul!

In Norland, such runes had another name. They were called grade 5 runes, or saint runes. In other words, he was now a saint runemaster! There was still a gap with a true saint runemaster— he wasn't yet legendary— but that only made his accomplishment even more terrifying. In all of Norland's history, maybe a handful of runemasters had achieved sainthood in runecrafting before becoming legendary mages.

With the magic soul confirmed, he now had to test out the specific abilities of the rune in detail. Ordinary runes were rigidly defined from their designs, the craftsmanship and user only determining the extent of their power, but this did not hold true for saint runes. The magic soul would impart certain properties to the rune that couldn't be predicted 100% of the time, so different creations of the same saint rune tended to be different. This was the same case with the seven Angels of the Sacred Tree Empire; each set of Saint Peter's Heaven's Armour was different.

However, Richard couldn't bring himself into an analytical mindset at all. Memories started surging through his mind, a certain legendary mage with golden hair flooding his mind's eye. Sharon was a huge influence on his life, perhaps second only to Gaton and Elena, and the night of destiny had left an everlasting memory in his mind. Today, after decades of dedication, he could finally go up to her and claim equality.

Of course, perhaps even that was wishful thinking. A saint runemaster was worth orders of magnitude more than an ordinary legendary mage, but she was different, unique. With her, it felt like the realm of legends was just a casual accomplishment that only served as the foundation for everything to follow.

He quickly decided that he would visit the Deepblue once the situation in Faelor had settled down, to talk to her once more. He had once made a promise to explore the depths of the myriad planes to finish the grade 6 Deepblue Aria, and now he finally qualified to begin working on that promise.

It was only once he reaffirmed his resolve that his emotions calmed down, allowing him to examine the rune's ability. He quickly detached his existing Ruler's Domain rune and placed the new one on his body, not even paying attention to the pain the process brought. As he felt the energy coursing within, it quickly became apparent that the magic soul had retained Lyos's ability to control metal. This was far beyond ordinary manipulations, standing on par with the laws of the King of Steel. Put simply, he had inherited a portion of Lyos's laws. This rune's ability alone would be equivalent to another legendary skill!

With many upgrades, the Ruler's Domain rune had become an important part of the Disintegrator rune set that allowed him increased mobility and minimised the effects of the environment upon him. It couldn't be underestimated on the battlefields of despair. However, the loss of that ability came with a huge advantage in any places with metal. This would be no problem; there was no shortage of metals in a majority of the known planes of the world.

Because of its origin and properties, Richard decided to call this rune Kingsteel. A faint green aura spread from his hand as he started to activate it, but he suddenly sensed something and left the room.

Only moments later, Nasia walked into the courtyard, “It felt like you made something great, I came to take a look.”

Just as Richard was about to speak, the earth shook as though a giant was lumbering towards them. At first he thought it could be Tiramisu, but even the ogre lord wouldn't make such loud noises. Nasia clicked her tongue, “Look, someone sensed it and is coming over now. Let's guess who it is, a god's avatar or a legendary warrior?”

As the earth started to shake even more violently, it suddenly felt like an ancient mammoth was charging at them. A savage aura flared out in the distance, so strong that normal people wouldn't be able to breathe, but there was nothing to be seen on the horizon. However, Richard immediately calmed down and looked back to Nasia; it was a familiar aura, and as it drew closer he could only flash a strange smile.

Klandor's princess had her eyes closed, relying solely on her nose to lead her all the way towards him. It was a familiar scene, but unlike all those years ago Richard was now strong enough to not be mowed down. Even if Urazadzu was still around, there would have been no way for him to control Richard's movements.

Moving in her half-asleep state, Mountainsea wasn't pulling back on the strength of her footsteps. Had he closed his eyes, Richard could easily mistake her for an ancient beast that was charging across the plane. Her beast-like aura was so pure that even Nasia couldn't help but praise it, “Such a powerful bloodline!”

Richard looked at Nasia in surprise; this woman seemed like she knew everything, and for her to wholeheartedly praise something without a snobbish tone felt almost impossible. At the very least, this was the first time he had heard such sincerity from her.

Mountainsea continued to beeline towards Richard, her nose twitching constantly. It looked like she wanted to have the best of both worlds; she was asleep, but her instincts were leading her to the magic soul. Charging straight into him, she pushed him all the way to the courtyard's wall.

Richard couldn't help but chuckle in desperation at her behaviour, knocking her on the head several times to wake her up.

“What did you make, it smells good!” she buried herself into his embrace, “Ahh... Still not as good as you.”

Nasia flashed a smile, “This little monster will grow up into someone great. Careful, she might even eat you after she gets older, you should eat her now.”

Richard snorted at the bad play on words, completely dismissing it as he turned towards another smaller trembling in the earth.

“Boss, you made something great again? Can I eat it?” Medium Rare shouted out, his eye glowing with desire.

Seeing Waterflower appear nearby as well, Nasia was taken aback a little. She mumbled to herself before saying, “You really are something, being able to find so many people with such terrifying gifts. This isn't all due to luck, is it?”

“That...” Richard immediately stuttered, memories of the past flashing across his mind. Nasia was right; anyone who could sense a magic soul's birth was an extraordinary being. Their innate talent alone would bring them to the brink of the legendary realm, perhaps even beyond. Very few such people would actually get stuck on the border, unable to advance.

Waterflower might need a bit of luck, but she would eventually become a legendary figure in the future. Tiramisu was already halfway there, while Mountainsea was guaranteed to enter the realm of epic beings. Compared to them, Richard's own talent was mediocre, his advancements only fuelled by meticulous attention to detail and relentless work.

Dumb luck couldn't explain the ability to gather a group of such strong followers. In terms of talent alone, so long as one didn't include the mysterious Mordred, Richard had ended up with a better set than even Gaton. However, this wasn't all his accomplishment; in fact, it was barely his accomplishment at all.

A pair of pale gold eyes silently opened up in his mind, his heart aching at the mere memory of them. When he had first found Waterflower and his other followers, Flowsand had been present as well. Thinking back to it, she was the one who had guided him on who to pick, even giving him an idea of the realms they would reach all the way back then. She had seen something in the river of time that identified their potential.

However, the laws of time were fair and ruthless. While she had amassed a group of powerhouses around him, she herself had been forced to move away. Perhaps she had been paying the price even since then, but still helped him far more than she should have.

At this time, the imperial castle was stirred up as the rest of his followers quickly gathered together. Everyone was eager to learn just what Richard had created after holing himself up for such a long time.

However, he didn't answer these questions directly, instead having a rune knight bring over a heap of ordinary blades and armour, several of which were standard issue for the imperial guards. This equipment was made from decent material, but it was in no way great.

“I'm calling it Kingsteel,” he said as he pulled out a random sword and played around with it, “Check it out.”

He moved towards Gangdor and swung down, the brute pulling up his battle axe to block. With a loud screech, one of the axe heads was broken right off!

1071 - City of Sin

Path Of Legend

“My... my axe...” Gangdor stuttered, eyes wide open in shock. He didn't really care about the axe— it had already been dented quite a bit in the previous battle and would be replaced soon anyway— but he just couldn't understand how it had been broken. Even stuck at level 18 his aura should still have been strong enough to protect the weapon, but a strike without much power behind it had cut the head apart. Even a legendary sword couldn't just cut apart epic weapons so casually, needing the power of its owner as well.

And yet, it had felt as though he had been holding a piece of wood as Richard cut through it, splitting the metal in two with an average sword. It wasn't even like there were flaws in the weapon, or he would have found out in all the time he had used it. Even inspecting it now, he couldn't find anything in the split that suggested a structural problem.

The brute frowned in confusion, believing that he was missing something. Richard looked at him and chuckled, picking up a random shield, “Come, give me a chop.”

Testing out the new balance of his now one-sided axe, Gangdor maintained his frown as he poured his full aura into the weapon, the edge starting to radiate light. Although he didn't fully believe the shield would hold, he understood that Richard was fast enough to dodge a full-power blow from him in the last second anyway.

Sparks quickly surrounded Richard's body as a few balls of lightning started to orbit him; a sign that he had already activated Mana Armament. He opened up his stance and dug in, meeting the axe head-on to stop it!

The axe was unable to withstand the impact, its shaft quickly distorted beyond recognition. The head remained stuck into the shield, but it didn't get all the way through the iron.

“What's going on?!” the brute finally roared in frustration. The axe that had been faithful to him for half a year suddenly felt so foreign to him.

However, Richard didn't look interested in answering just yet, instead grabbing a full set of armour and tossing it over. Gangdor was instructed to just hold the armour out in front of him, not wear it. While the bald man did as told with confusion, a green glow suddenly rippled towards him.

Gangdor didn't feel anything affecting him, but the armour in his hand suddenly creaked and distorted beyond recognition, forming large spikes on the interior. He immediately shuddered in fear, imagining just what would happen to someone wearing it.

By now, even the thick-headed brute understood what was going on. The armour had changed without any warning, and even after the contortion he didn't realise just what had happened. There was one category of abilities he knew had this affect— anything involving laws!

“So, like I said, Kingsteel,” Richard proclaimed, leaving all of his followers with their breath held. They were all quite sure that this was a saint rune now, even if Richard hadn't confirmed it himself. Even Nasia listened with rapt attention as he explained its abilities.

The essence of this rune lay in manipulating metals. The first and most direct use was in enhancing equipment: armour grew tougher and lighter, weapons heavier and sharper; effectively, it was a two-grade bump in effectiveness. The second was the exact opposite; it could corrode and decay any metals in a range around him, the effect more powerful the closer it was. With their armour and weapons weakened, opponents would be thrown off guard and use too little power in their strikes or ignore attacks that would end up deadly. Last of all was complete transformation, like when the armour had formed spikes. This effect could be achieved quietly, and although it wasn't an absolute control it was still extremely useful. Even Gangdor would be injured to some extent, while those below sainthood would be killed in an instant.

Of course, these were only the obvious applications. The ability itself was more abstract and could be used in other ways as appropriate. Richard could feel at home anywhere with metal, with the only potential annoyance being its limited range. Of course, his followers knew that this wasn't really a limitation at all; he could already cause immense destruction from far away.

The courtyard fell silent after the introduction, with Gangdor only testing after a long time, “Boss, are you a saint runemaster now?”

“Yep,” Richard nodded.

Saint runemaster... It still took a moment for the response to register, but then many of those present suddenly swarmed him and threw him into the air. These earliest followers of his were more childhood friends than subordinates now, people who were close to him that trusted each other with their lives.

Nasia remained silent by the side, pondering about something. Only after the cheers in the courtyard died down did she signal to him and ask for a private conversation. The celebrations continued on until it was only a few hours to dawn before everyone dispersed under his command, going to get some rest. Mountainsea just walked into his room and plopped down.

Once only Richard and Nasia were left in the courtyard, things grew strangely silent. The Faceless Knight seemed to be thinking long and hard about something, eventually asking faintly, “Did the magic soul for the Kingsteel rune come from Lyos?”

“Hmm? Yes. I found a small consciousness in his mind and remains, and I managed to use its spirituality as a foundation to complete the soul.”

Nasia nodded, “You say spirituality. Do you understand the essence of that term?”

“Essence... From what I felt, it was very similar to a full soul. If I were to analyse it deeper, it actually felt like the remains of Lyos's understanding of laws. Unfortunately, it didn't have anything.”

“Hehe... That 'spirituality' isn't just similar to a soul. It is a soul, specifically a part of Lyos's. Even though he died, a fragment of his soul still survived for a few minutes after his passing. I wouldn't have imagined that you could capture it...” Nasia paused for a moment, “Actually, capturing it isn't even the astounding part. You even managed to analyse the abilities he had, that's frightening. Do you already comprehend some laws?”

“Some small parts, but they're mostly plane-restricted laws like the laws of life from the Forest Plane.”

“Ha, but you're not a legend yet.”

“And I don't plan to be anytime soon. I haven't finalised my full path just yet.”

“But you did. Haven't you realised it yet?”

“Realised what?” Richard frowned, but then felt a chill down his spine as he understood the implication behind her words, “You mean... that spirituality?”

“Can you make more Kingsteel runes?” she topics.

There was a sense of weight behind this question, so Richard thought hard about it before answering, “Yes. But it will be slightly different from what I have now, weaker. There wouldn't be too much of a difference, though.”

“Mm. That magic soul wasn't fortuitous, you refined a legendary being's soul to make it. Analysing someone's laws to turn a soul into a magic soul isn't difficult, most legends get to that point eventually, but the ability to discover and capture fragmented souls is very rare. From now, it's best you never tell anyone about this ability. People will learn of it soon enough, but the later, the better.” Please visit 𝒇𝐫e𝑒𝔀𝒆𝚋no𝐯𝘦𝘭. c𝑜𝗺

This time, Richard shifted topics slightly, “You're saying obtaining the consciousness wasn't down to chance?”

“It isn't just a consciousness. If you want the correct term, it should be the fragmented soul of laws. When legendary beings that can manipulate laws die in battle, their understanding survives their deaths for a short period of time. These fragments disappear quickly, and most people are unable to even notice them. Fortunately... Maybe unfortunately... you're clearly not one of the majority. And you're also a saint runemaster.”

He smiled bitterly, “So you're saying I can potentially have a constant stream of grade 5 runes?”

“Every legendary being in existence can theoretically be a material in your crafting. In the Darkness that the Eternal Dragon cannot touch, people like you are called soul hunters.”

1072 - City of Sin

Soul Hunter

“Is this my path?” Richard muttered, unable to even smile at the revelation. The combination of soul hunter and saint runemaster sounded amazing, allowing him to gather a number of legendary abilities very quickly, but it also put him in great danger. Gods would hate him even more than they already would, while other legends would think it best to get rid of someone so dangerous. Of course, there might be some who would take the risk to cooperate with him as well.

“That's all I'm saying. Since you have this talent, just walk down the path. You'll face more legends and gods in the future, there's no need to waste such excellent materials.”

Excellent materials... Nasia said this with ease, but it left Richard in a cold sweat. Once she left, he stood alone in the courtyard through the night pondering over things.

The ability to sense the remnant soul came from the blessing of truth. Nasia's wording of it reminded him of when he had first chosen this blessing, all those years ago; whatever entity granted it to him had told him; at the end of the path, he would see other things. From the beginning with his numeric vision to Field of Truth today, the blessing had been growing stronger and stronger with this end; without it, he wouldn't be able to visualise the working of laws and analyse them so early in his life.

On the other hand, Wisdom only sped him up; it didn't add much that he didn't already have. It was an outstanding weapon to aid him in his climb to the top, but Truth allowed him to look at the very basis of the world.

Nasia's words kept ringing in his ears, and he couldn't find any way to refute them. Someone who had won against so many other powerful existences to tamper with the Eternal Dragon's system and come over to his side definitely had a basis to her words. Was this really the best path for him?

The most obvious advantage of becoming a soul hunter would be that he'd have a plethora of magic souls on hand, each of differing types. He could even control which ones he wanted, even if that meant more legends to kill. Powerful beings like astral beasts and even gods could become targets as well.

While all this was shocking, the most frightening revelation came just before dawn. He had started to fiddle around with the Kingsteel rune while deep in thought, but there was a point where he managed to manipulate metal without the rune even being active. It was very limited, certainly not to the level of control someone like Lyos had over iron, but it showed him that his basic grasp of the laws of metal had improved greatly. What would have taken three years was completed in less than two weeks.

Truth was beginning to show just how terrifying it was. With it, Richard was allowed to basically skip any initial contact and training, beginning straight from analysis and moving on to control.

The first rays of dawn felt so bright that his eyes hurt, but Richard barely even blinked. As they broke through the deep darkness, he looked up and watched as the sun slowly peeked out from the horizon to bring new warmth to the cold north.

It was daybreak. For some reason, this word filled his mind and led him to someone, a girl that had travelled to the Darkness for his sake. Visions of the future suddenly filled his mind, reminding him of oaths he had sworn long ago. Those were scenes he had to stop at all costs.

Richard sighed deeply. The morning warmth seemed to melt away the last of his hesitation; if his destiny was to become a soul hunter, then he would grasp it with both hands!

......

Roughly cleaning up the laboratory, Richard notified his followers to gather in the castle. With the month since the city had fallen, Richard's army was already done with resting and reorganising for the next campaign. Salwyn had properly taken on his new life as emperor, spending his time placating the public, reorganising the imperial army, and making plans to rebuild the Frozen Throne.

Richard's followers and the Dukedom's generals gathered in a side hall at exactly nine in the morning, reporting about the situation. The Crimson Army was scattered all around the Frozen Throne, with only a few stationed in the city itself. Thousands of flying beasts were scattered across the Empire, dozens of cloned brains commanding them in turn. They had formed an enormous network that made it impossible for anyone to cause harm to his supply lines.

Raymond had done a great job with the logistics. As someone who had even manoeuvred Gaton towards his death, the Joseph definitely was capable of the task. At the same time, he was also a ticking time bomb; Scholars of Soremburg were far too erudite and could cause great damage before one could even realise it.

Richard had always felt like Raymond was planning something behind his back, but the broodmother kept him reassured that he was under control. Even if Raymond allowed his physical body to die and tried to escape via the soul somehow, Zendrall could stop the process.

Expelling the thought from his mind, Richard continued listening to the reports as he stared at the map of the Empire's territory. A piece of news caught his attention, “Duke Zabal wants me to attend a banquet in his territory?”

“Why are you bringing up something so dumb? We already have the Frozen Throne, and he's just a puny duke. He wants to invite Boss to his lands? He's forgotten his place!” Gangdor snorted, glaring at the general who had made the report.

However, Richard waved a hand, “No. This guy's got guts to stay away from the Frozen Throne and ask me to go to him. He probably has something up his sleeves, send someone to check things out.”

The general quickly sent an aide to gather information before continuing with the rest of the report. After a while, an imperial official was led to the hall to answer any questions Richard might have.

The official revealed that Duke Zabal wasn't someone who was easy to deal with. His territory was at the northern edge of the empire, bordering the frozen wastelands to the north. Spanning hundreds of thousands of kilometres, his territory was extremely vast and comparable to a kingdom in itself. However, only a narrow ring in its south was free of the frozen deserts that blocked agriculture. With the limited space to grow, his development had always been curbed.

However, the territory was still self-sufficient in terms of food. It was also a major exporter of minerals, especially its famous ice mithril ore that had generated a lot of wealth for the ducal family over generations. Zabal might formally belong to the Iron Triangle Empire, but he was basically an individual ruler who was a vassal only in name. The Empire had basically no control over either his military or politics.

Most importantly, it was said that the Duke had very close ties to the Dragon Church that had plagued the Empire for more than a century. While the Iron Triangle Empire had two famed generals in this generation, they still didn't have the wherewithal to start a war against him.

“The Dragon Church, huh... So do they really have a dragon backing them?” Richard muttered.

Wiping off a layer of sweat, the official responded, “Rumours are that they do, but nobody has actually seen this dragon. The lunatics talk about a primordial dragon living in the skies, possessing unthinkable power.”

“Where's their headquarters?”

“Nobody knows, Your Majesty. They seem to come out of nowhere, and no matter how many we kill new ones always flow in.”

“Mm... Interesting... Inform Zabal that I'll make a visit soon, he should prepare,” Richard sent the official away.

“Are you really going, Boss?” Gangdor asked.

“What, afraid I'll be in danger?”

“N-No...” the brute immediately recalled the terrifying Kingsteel rune and shook his head hard, “But if you just go to his territory, won't you seem weak?”

“I just want to take a look at his territory anyway. The Dragon Church has always been an issue; don't you think they operate too similarly to us when we started out?” Google search 𝗳𝔯e𝒆𝙬𝘦𝙗𝓷o𝘷el. c૦𝑚

“They're invaders too?” Gangdor's eyes brightened. Having stayed in Faelor for so many years, he'd never felt truly challenged by many fights. He was thirsting for individual battle, but with his skill at the head of an army Richard was adamant in not letting him go to the Land of Dusk.

“Perhaps. I'll know once I take a look. Now,” Richard returned his gaze to the map, “The time limit has passed, right? And these are the dukes that haven't made it here yet?”

1073 - City of Sin

A Pact For The Peak

Richard looked at three duchies that were marked on the map, “Gangdor, Tiramisu, take fifty rune knights and 500 shadowspears. I'll give you the astral chrysalis and a hundred flying chrysalides, you have three days for each.”

“No problem, Boss!” Gangdor grinned.

“I hate the chrysalis!” Tiramisu muttered resentfully, “And Gangdor too.”

Richard chuckled, “The chrysalis was just upgraded, you don't need to use any spells or get carried under it this time. And you know what? Choose one of the dukes, you can lead the battle there. How's that?”

The corners of the ogre's lips turned up, “Yes, Master!”

......

Once the troop mobilisations were taken care of, Richard suddenly got a message from the broodmother, “Are you a saint runemaster already, Master?”

“Yes,” Richard answered.

“In that case, I think we should meet once for a good discussion. I hope I can see you as soon as possible.”

This request confused Richard a little. With the cloned brains as relays, he and the broodmother could communicate no matter how far apart they were. Delays were sometimes a problem, but the Land of Turmoil was very close to the Frozen Throne at only a few thousand kilometres away; there was no need for them to meet at all.

However, he gave it some thought and agreed, “Alright, I'll leave in the afternoon.”

“I'll have one of the cloned brains pick you up.”

The cloned brains flew very quickly at over 150 kilometres an hour, much faster than griffins and even wyverns. With escape in mind, the broodmother had designed them to sustain such flight for three hours straight.

“Alright, we'll meet soon,” he answered calmly.

Richard was nearly 5,000 kilometres away from the broodmother's larval nest, so he got on the first of the cloned brains right after lunch and started his journey. The creature flew more than 400 kilometres before meeting another one that was already lying in wait, ready to take over for the depleted drone. Three more hours later, another brain was lying in wait. The broodmother was very meticulous when it came to such arrangements; in terms of pure logistics alone, she was far beyond Richard himself.

Sitting on the cloned brain, Richard closed his eyes and meditated without thinking too much about what she wanted him for. He continued analysing the laws of metal, planning to supplement Kingsteel with his own understanding to improve its power.

The soul remnant from Lyos had its limits, but Nasia had boosted him with War Fanatic twice in his war on the Iron Triangle Empire. He had forced the feeling into his memory using Wisdom both times, and calling upon those memories made it much easier for him to improve rapidly. He estimated he would need only seven days to finish analysing what should have taken three to five years. At that point, he would be able to control metals completely without the rune, even if that was to limited effect and range.

Even flying continuously, it took more than a day to reach the Land of Turmoil. Richard spent this entire time meditating and analysing the laws of metal, his attention only broken when he had to switch mounts.

The Land of Turmoil now seemed even more mysterious and strange than everybefore. The larval forest extended for hundreds of kilometres, all of the trees linked to the underground nests directly. The roots now went hundreds of metres deep, constantly absorbing power from the depths of the plane to supply the needs of the dozen incubation nests.

One couldn't even see too far into the distance; black smoke filled the air and affected the natural light, distorting the image of the forest. The only light that pierced through came from the rifts in spacetime, a phenomenon that had grown many times in number since he had first come across it. The black smoke seemed to writhe around the ribbons of timeforce, coiling constantly. It even seemed able to affect the rifts and guide them wherever it wanted them to go.

When he saw this scene, Richard had the cloned brain stop in the sky for a moment. Activating Field of Truth, he noticed the spatial fabric around the Land of Turmoil was being ripped apart, the crystal sphere no longer able to stop the erosion of the spatial storms from the void. This was all a result of the broodmother and her production; her flood of drones could only be supplied by a constant drain on the depths of the world.

The most striking monument in this entire forest was a spiralling platform that towered three hundred metres into the sky, supported by hundreds upon hundreds of trunks. The platform itself was more than half a kilometre long in an oblong shape; big enough for the broodmother to relax on.

“Master, I'm so happy to see you!” As he got down on the platform, the broodmother's compound eyes started glowing as she brandished her hilariously small pincers. It looked like the excitement of a child, but with them constantly flickering one couldn't tell whether this was emotion or just another process. The pincers continued to chatter as she spoke, “This meeting is very important to me, and I hope I'm very important to you.”

Richard stared the broodmother in the eyes as he walked towards her, feeling like an ant standing before an elephant. He felt something crack deep in his soul, as though a part of him had been ripped away. In reality, that part had disappeared a long time ago; it was only now that he had been allowed to notice. He said slowly, “There's no need to call me master, is there?”

“If we're talking about the soul restrictions, then yes, there isn't a need,” she answered straightforwardly, but there was no soul communication. Her mouth moved visibly to make these sounds, not in a general communication of ideas but Norland Common.

“The dragon never mentioned that you would free yourself when I got you.”

“All rules have loopholes. The Eternal Dragon isn't omnipotent, and anyone who sets their mind to it can find a few...” She paused for a moment before continuing ruefully, “Norland's humans are truly daring.”

Richard felt a sense of familiarity from the broodmother's words, quickly realising that it came from a famous saying of the Scholars of Soremburg. However, he had never given her this kind of information.

“You severed your bond to me,” he muttered.

“Not exactly; I completed my soul. I'm now a complete being, and I don't need to depend on you to survive.”

Richard's mind was left a stormy mess, but he tried to maintain a face of calmness. He calmly asked how she had managed to mend her soul, a topic anyone would be interested in.

The answer was surprisingly detailed, and with his interest piqued Richard continued to ask questions. The broodmother answered whatever she knew, hiding nothing at all right into the night and dawn.

From a mage's perspective, the soul-mending plan was ingenious. Some parts of it were awe-inspiring, clearly not completed by a single person alone. This was likely the work of multiple Scholars of Soremburg working over generations to come up with a viable project. The broodmother had used it to convert a massive number of souls into a true soul for herself. She was likely one of a handful in all of history.

There was no question that the soul-mending plan had come from Raymond. Richard had allowed the broodmother to control his life and monitor him, but he had never thought that he would still have such a plan at hand. The broodmother could even test the feasibility after advancing to level 10 and awakening her truename, compelling her to leave Richard's side.

1074 - City of Sin

A Pact For The Peak(2)

Sweat started to well up under Richard's clothing. He had thought of a hundred things before coming here, but he hadn't expected this at all. The Scholars of Soremburg were truly far too dangerous, whether they had mana or not.

It was hard to tell what the current situation was; having lost his control of her, Richard had no idea what the broodmother would want to do. Was he just a meal in her eyes now?

His eyes shone as he silently surveyed the surroundings, trying to find a way out. Unfortunately, everything for kilometres was under the complete control of the broodmother and the amount of metal nearby was very low. The larval forests were the broodmother's home ground, and up in the sky were rifts in spacetime that had been guided over as a defensive measure.

However, he didn't feel particularly threatened as he matched her gaze, his own filled with curiosity. Despite her terrifying appearance, this was someone whom he had raised from her birth. The broodmother herself seemed to sense his thoughts, her enormous body trembling as she spoke, “Every incomplete being hopes to become whole, but once they reach that state they only wish to go back to the days of being incomplete.”

Richard froze, not expecting something so emotional to have come from her mouth. The broodmother he knew was purely a war machine that cared for nothing but power, viewing everything in terms of its base materials. It seemed like a lot of things had changed with her completion.

She continued to wave her tiny pincers, “I didn't feel any satisfaction from mending my soul, only confusion. I suddenly found that I didn't know the point to my own existence, that I had no idea what I wanted to do next... It's such a strange thing to me, wanting for myself and not to fulfil a purpose. My instincts scream for me to devour everything I can to become stronger, but I can see there's no end to that path. The entire plane will be mine, but then it will just be destroyed. What do I do then? Go to another and repeat the same thing?

“I had my first dream a few days ago, it was a nightmare. I saw what I believe will be the end of this path, with the crystal sphere breaking apart. I only felt darkness, loneliness... It wasn't fun.” She suddenly stopped and lowered herself, “Do you remember the first time you came over here and drank till you fainted? I tried so many times since then, but I just couldn't until my soul was complete. That was a few days ago too, and it was such a strange feeling. All sorts of strange thoughts came out of nowhere, but I got a chance to look at another perspective.

“Which brings me to why I'm meeting you today. I've realised that a drunk person doesn't have their guard up, especially when it gets that far. At that point, you had absolute trust in me.”

Richard suddenly felt the weirdness starting to subside. The broodmother was voicing how close they were in the past, and this wasn't untrue. They shared a soul, depending on each other to survive a million dangers. Intimate couldn't begin to describe their relationship.

He attempted to reach towards her head, but that only served to send his arm towards her giant mouth. However, she lowered down further and closed the pincers, allowing his palm to caress her. A feeling of comfort immediately spread out from his fingers, a familiar wave of heat.

“This means of communication suits us best, Master,” she said softly in his mind, their connection established once more.

“You're still calling me master?” he mocked.

“I'm used to it, and it's still suitable.”

“Huh, then what relationship will we even have in the future?”

“I... couldn't decide before you came over, but just looking at you gave me the answer. I wish for things to remain the same as in the past; you can plan and direct my growth. I only hope for our relationship to go both ways this time; in human words, I want to be a partner. I hope you'll remain focused on your path to the peak; if you become too slow to guide me anymore, then our partnership will end. You might even become my prey.”

“That's not a pleasant image,” he said with a chuckle.

“There already exists a precedent for this type of relationship, and she's right by your side?”

“Right by my side?” he was puzzled.

“You and Lady Nasia.”

“Nasia?” Richard frowned, “But we're only working together. It's not like she'll destroy me.”

“Master, there are some things you might not understand yet. You possess the ability to see the truth of the world, a priceless ability amongst those with power. Even though the chance is less than one in ten thousand, devouring your soul could pass that ability on. With Lady Nasia's ability, she would definitely be able to increase that chance as well.”

“Hmm...... How do you know this?”

“I just do; it came as a part of what I learned from unlocking my truename.”

Richard smiled, “Sounds like I don't have much of a choice.”

“This is the best choice,” she said gently, her voice growing a little distant, “I believe we'll definitely stand atop the myriad planes, you and I.”

“So what was the point of all this?”

“Sometimes, agency is all that matters. The point was freedom, for my fate to be my choice.”

He softly knocked on her head, “Alright then, I'll succeed.”

“You have to, or I'll eat you.”

“Heh. Anyway, one last question. You should have mended your soul by the time you awakened your truename; why did you still tell me? It felt real.”

“And it is. My truename Sillo, in my main language... It literally means millions. If you were to try and restrict me with my truename, you would only affect a single clone or seed, not the main body.”

“Huh, I see. I assume this was part of the plan too? They really thought of everything.”

Surprisingly, the broodmother shook her head, “The original intention wasn't to set me free. The Scholars of Soremburg had a few traps in the plan that could bring me under their control in the future. Unfortunately for them, I managed to deal with it all accordingly. If any Scholar tries to control me, I can enslave their bodies and souls instead. They will suffer an endless nightmare for the rest of their lives.

“In fact, the plan was meant to sneak a special rune into my soul that only the Scholars can sense. After that, they would realise I had finished the plan and some wouldn't be able to hold back their greed. I actually left a fake inside that reversed the process; I'll be able to track all of them, and it will be really difficult for them to hide. Raymond is just far too arrogant and conceited, he doesn't have the full spirit of learning that the other Scholars do. In their minds, family and friends are only limitations.” Google search 𝐟𝚛e𝗲𝚠𝗲𝑏𝓃𝑜ν𝐞𝘭. c𝒐𝓂

Richard couldn't hold back a deep sigh and a long laugh. In the short while since the broodmother had obtained an independent soul, she was already starting to scheme against others without much effort. He shook his head, “Since this is settled, I'll be on my way. I don't want to be eaten, and there's still a long way to the peak.”

“Wait, I have some things to show you.” The broodmother summoned a few flying chrysalides to the platform, displaying a few troop types that Richard had never seen. Intrigued by a three-metre-tall warrior in black armour, he activated Insight and couldn't help but freeze. The warrior was level 17!

1075 - City of Sin

Flesh Furnace

The black armour of the battle drone was emanating a blue glow, his mask formed in a demonic manner with sharp horns twisted around into barbs. The tips were glimmering an icy blue, making it clear that this wasn't just a regular ornament. The chestpiece also had blue symbols flickering on it, making it look mysterious and powerful.

It truly did live up to the image. Below the surface of the armour was a live tissue similar to a living creature's tendons, binding the armour together and also connected to the stream of nutrition for its upkeep. If needed, the armour could move around.

What surprised Richard was the quality of the frostiron in the armour; there was some sort of other metal mixed inside that made it more sturdy than the base, and it also merged perfectly with the drone as though it had been born that way. The armour alone was only a step short of being epic grade.

“This is an optimisation I came up with after combining many races,” the broodmother explained, “Your need for humanoids dropped its power by a quarter, but it is still very powerful. I call it the winter soldier; these full elites are level 17, but normal soldiers are 15 and regular elites are 16. Just as before, only the elites will be able to link to you directly so we reduce costs and your own burden.”

“Mm,” Richard nodded before walking over and knocking on the armour, “What's with this?”

“Another achievement I wanted to show you. After awakening my truename, I obtained the ability to analyse laws. With the remains you sent me, I managed to make a few breakthroughs and add metal to my products. Get on, let me show you something.”

A cloned brain flew over, and after he hopped on it sent him deeper into the Land of Turmoil. After flying for a dozen or so kilometres, they came upon an enormous building that was hundreds of metres in circumference. However, Richard soon noticed the entire structure was pulsing ever so slowly, and despite the worker drones sending all sorts of materials in and out the various doors, he couldn't sense any other life there.

Most of the output from the building was waste and slag, but a few of the worker drones were slowly transporting metallic ingots out in long rows. There were a few other doors where the workers only entered once every few minutes, taking out sets of armour or weaponry that was the same alloy as what he had seen on the winter soldier.

This wasn't a building but a creature, an enormous one that was constantly absorbing different materials to spit out metal ingots and even equipment!

“This is a flesh furnace,” the broodmother explained, “I can refine most metals I know inside it, but its internal processes mimic digestion instead of a traditional furnace, As my control over the laws of metal is enhanced, the types of metal this furnace can purify will increase. There might even be a day when I can process the auvitrum. The furnace is currently being fuelled by a small frostiron mine under the Land of Turmoil, but that vein can only support one more in the future. If you wish to increase production, you will have to bring in material from other regions.”

Looking at the giant furnace, Richard was rendered speechless for a few minutes. Compared to this, the workshops he and Noelene controlled in Norland seemed childish. Even in Norland, this was a considerable scale. Most importantly, the flesh furnace showcased a model of mass production that only the central furnace of the duergar could compare to.

However, the grey dwarven furnace was constructed above a pond of magma, and building it had taken decades. On the other hand, this flesh furnace had evidently been grown in a matter of a dozen or so days. There was simply no comparison.

While the cloned brain was transporting Richard back to the broodmother's platform, she transmitted a large amount of information consisting of various types of troops for him to choose from. Most were the same basic ones he had with new features, and as he gave ideas she evaluated the construction costs for them.

There were three more examples from her still waiting on the platform. One of them looked like a tall warhorse, but it had claws instead of hooves and a strangely long neck. This wasn't even a mount, exactly; its true value lay in the arrows stored within its throat that it could launch over five hundred metres away. Each unit could store fifty arrows, and within range could pierce through full plate.

The broodmother called this drone the arrowbeast, a design specifically meant to bolster Richard's long-range capabilities with a dedicated force. It was also an extremely good idea; be it in Norland or Faelor; such troops were second only to mage regiments.

The attacks of the arrowbeast were a threat even to a level 14 shadowspear, but the level 12 creature only consumed the materials of a level 10 drone. The broodmother could create thirty of them in a day, needing only a month to give him a terrifying ranged army.

In the same vein of thought was a humanoid archer, using common bows and arrows. The range was comparable, but these drones didn't have as much sheer power and they took more to make. At the same time, they would need to rest after a hundred shots; the arrowbeasts could do double that if they were being resupplied.

The broodmother's archers were certainly better than most human elites, but they were also weaker than the arrowbeasts and could only be spawned at 24 in a day. When the broodmother reached level 12, she could even put her larval forest to the task of creating arrowbeasts, but would need to wait another level for the archers. It would take much more time for him to get a sizeable army.

The last drone type really piqued his interest. The example was a dozen times smaller than the original and called the flying wasp, similar to the chrysalides but even more clumsy. In their full state, they could be nearly a hundred metres long while retaining the ability to fly through a light gas they emitted in their bodies. This design wasn't even quick, but it was large enough to transport several dozen tonnes of supplies and fly more than ten days for every feeding. In large wars, they were invaluable.

Eventually, Richard decided to greenlight the winter soldiers, arrowbeasts, and wasps. He also asked the broodmother to make a second flesh furnace as soon as possible that was meant to refine the frostiron ore from the Iron Triangle Empire. He would sell the refined ingots back in Norland, earning over 10,000 gold coins for every tonne. With the output of a single furnace, he could earn around three to four million gold every month, an amount that he could reinvest into more elites or upgrade the equipment of his followers such that all of them had epic-grade equipment for everything.

As he left the Land of Turmoil, the broodmother's voice resounded in his mind, “Master, I anticipate standing at the peak of many planes by your side.” Please visit 𝗳re𝐞𝓌e𝚋n૦ѵ𝗲l. co𝐦

Still young himself, Richard couldn't help the fire that started burning in his chest. He patted the cloned brain under his feet, immediately having it change directions to fly quickly towards Duke Zabal's territory.

1076 - City of Sin

Overestimating Capabilities

Duke Zabal's territory had a very beautiful name: the Pearl Necklace. Located at the foot of the northern mountains, it was sustained by the glaciers melting into a series of beautiful lakes that looked like the pearl necklace of the Goddess of Ice. These lakes ringed around Neverwinter City, the Dukedom's capital.

Richard did not head directly to Neverwinter, instead spending more than half a day flying overhead to figure out the general situation. The Dukedom had a population of three million, with dozens of cities of varying sizes within. A pass over the place showcased no obvious spatial tears, indicating that no powerhouses had entered recently. At the same time, this was a strictly heretic state that did not allow the faithful.

He snickered; this would be no problem. While the combined efforts of the local gods had left Faelor's experts oblivious, even decent mages in Norland knew some things better than any deity here could. The situation was obvious; there had to be a legendary being controlling the Pearl Necklace in secret. Zabal had always been independent from the Iron Triangle Empire, but he wouldn't dare to challenge the new Emperor without any backing.

Richard sneered to himself; having witnessed the power of the three kings of the Empire, he had an idea of how strong Faelor's legends were. They were widely considered the best legends of Faelor, but be it in terms of power of knowledge, they were barely ordinary in Norland. Anyone who had been stuck in Faelor for a long time would be significantly weaker.

Even though Richard wasn't a legendary mage yet, Disintegrator, Kingsteel, and Moonlight were powerful weapons even in quick close combat. If the opponent did try to open up range, he could just melt them down as well. He had the well of stars for a prolonged engagement, or Dismazon in an intense one. Combined with vast experience in battle, he didn't even need War Fanatic to face ordinary legends from Faelor.

He steered the cloned brain towards Neverwinter, swooping down from high up in the sky and jumping off when he was still a hundred metres away. As he flew down to the ground, the drone swooped around in an arc and flew away. Almost every gaze in the city was attracted by the loud whistle from the brain's swoop, watching Richard's descent.

He slowly came to a halt a dozen metres from the keep of the mansion, voice amplified by magic to boom through half the city, “I am Duke Richard Archeron of the Crimson Dukedom. Where is Zabal, he invites me to come over and can't even greet me personally?”

In the next moment, urgent alarm bells rang out violently as fully armoured soldiers rushed out and took their places on the mansion walls and arrow towers, pointing their weapons at Richard. However, not one of them dared to fire; the name Richard announced was one that resounded in their ears as the most accomplished ruler in the western end of Faelor.

While many had known the Crimson Dukedom would eventually win against the Iron Triangle Empire, the upper echelons of the plane even believing otherwise, Richard had decimated a millennia-old country in one go. They were outmatched in every single aspect of power, the imposing Frozen Throne melting away at first contact. Alongside the Son of Gold having met his end outside the imperial capital, the other two legends weren't even seen.

None of those here actually knew how Richard looked, but this was far too eminent of a name to attack without confirmation.

After announcing his arrival, Richard waited patiently in the air. A small fireball was throbbing in his hand, a weaker version of the Core-Melting Explosion that was still strong enough to destroy the mansion doors. He didn't have time for games; if Zabal didn't show himself within five minutes, the attack would charge up to full power.

The doors popped open in the fourth minute, a tall and buff man stepping out from within. He seemed powerful, but instead of armour he was dressed in luxurious robes, as though he was rushing to a meeting. The middle-aged man was firm in his footsteps as he hurried towards Richard, both arms stretched out in a warm, welcoming stance as he laughed heartily, “Your Grace! I did not expect you to arrive so quickly, forgive me for the delay in welcoming you! Oh, yes, I forgot to introduce myself. I am Zabal; please, come into my mansion.”
𝐟𝓇ℯe𝒘𝘦𝒃𝑛𝒐ѵe𝙡. 𝑐𝗼𝓂

Richard pursed his lips into a mocking smile, raising his hand and shooting the fireball into the sky. It flew a kilometre vertically and disappeared into the clouds before exploding, dying the sky a deep crimson.

Witnessing the might of the fireball first-hand, Zabal's smile turned stiff for a few moments before he returned to normal, “You do not need to demonstrate your awe-inspiring power, Your Grace. Your deeds already ring across the continent, and we are well aware of your capabilities. Please, follow me, my chefs are well-trained and will only need an hour to prepare a delectable banquet. The Pearl Necklace has the best food you will get in the western mainland; you will definitely be pleased.”

Richard landed on the ground indifferently, following Zabal into the huge mansion. The man might have considered this a show of force, but he just couldn't be bothered to dissipate all the mana. A true show of force would have so much more power added into it.

Neverwinter had a rather unique climate. It was spring-like in all four seasons, the trees never yellowing unlike the rest of the north. This mansion was in the centre of it all, absolutely enormous and almost as the scale of the imperial castle.

A soft, refreshing breeze was blowing through the interior of the mansion, making it much more comfortable than the outside. It quickly became evident that there were spell formations everywhere, controlling the climate of the mansion in individual sections. To do this in such a huge mansion would have been extravagant even in Norland, but here this was just a display of wealth and power. Zabal barely kept his arrogance in check, but Richard could only chuckle internally. Anyone else might have been surprised, but he was the upstart among upstarts back in Faust, sacrificing top-tier offerings just to insult his opponents. No amount of luxury could impress him.

The Duke walked at a slow pace, taking a quarter-hour to reach the main hall of the mansion. Instructing the butlers who rushed over quickly to prepare lunch, he led Richard towards a storied guest room.

Just like with a majority of the nobles in the Iron Triangle Empire, there were many paintings hung in the room to illustrate the glories of his ancestors, one corner showing a number of heroes battling a huge monster.

Richard's gaze was attracted to that painting first as he entered the room, after which he calmly swept across the rest. It wasn't particularly special, but the background looked like a semiplane instead of somewhere on Faelor. Traditional paintings in this plane did not fantasise backgrounds, so it was a little curious.

As the two sat down, Zabal waved his servants away and leaned forward, “One could never imagine the Crimson Duke who shook the entirety of Faelor is so young. Even if one has the information, it isn't nearly as shocking as when seeing you in person.”

Although Zabal's attitude seemed humble, he was still putting himself on equal footing. Richard knew this but didn't expose it, waiting for the man to show his cards. Noticing the lack of reaction, the Duke laughed to himself, “You really are unlike ordinary folk, Your Grace. I invited you to my territory this time to give you a glimpse at the Pearl Necklace; if you feel the same way I do, the upcoming discussion will be much easier.”

Richard let out a faint smile, “It's clear why the gods have neglected this place.”

Zabal smiled aloofly as well, straightening his back, “Your knowledge truly is amazing. Since you know this, I believe I don't need to go into specifics. We can speak frankly.”

“Alright then, go on.”

“First, let me express my sincere goodwill. I will continue to acknowledge the new emperor as my liege, but it will only be in name. I have no objections against Prince Salwyn's ascension, and I will even stand on his side against dissenters. In short, I'm willing to stand by your side and even provide many... special items.”

“And what do you want?”

It was at this point that the greed in Zabal's eyes couldn't be masked anymore, “The Pearl Necklace hasn't expanded for a long time, and the lands I own currently are no longer sufficient to provide a decent living for my citizens. I wish to obtain a new fief for myself, Ruhr would be ideal.”

“Heh, that's a big appetite!” Richard said with a sneer. Ruhr was a famed mining site in the north of the Empire that had the best frostiron vein after the capital itself. The ore there was optimal in both quality and quantity, also possessing many other rare minerals. One of the three largest rivers of the Empire flowed through this territory, making transportation easy. This region was responsible for a full third of the Empire's economy.

Hearing Richard's ridicule, Zabal didn't shy away, “Haha, appetite is linked to one's power, is it not? Please be patient, Your Grace. I'm not done yet. The Empire has always maintained an assembly of elders by tradition. I hope for a change that allows me to send a representative to it. If, and I say if, Emperor Salwyn has to make any decisions relating to the Pearl Necklace, he has to get the representative's consent.”

1077 - City of Sin

Overestimating Capabilities(2)

Hearing that Duke Zabal wanted veto power, Richard's sneer disappeared entirely, “You want to split the Empire with me.”

Zabal laughed heartily, “Of course not! You conquered the Iron Triangle Empire, of course it belongs to you! As long as Salwyn doesn't make any decisions to harm me, I won't interfere with matters of the state.”

These were childish words. One could calculate benefits financially alone, but control was a form of wealth as well. Zabal clearly wanted to insert himself into the greater continent. Even with his own breadth of ambition, Richard froze for a moment at the sheer greed before calming himself down, “You really have the appetite, but what about ability? Do you match up?”

“You must have heard of the Dragon Church?”

“Yes, Rislant fought them for decades without results. Why, are you related to them?”

“Haha, not to them. But the dragon behind them, that thing is closely related to me!”

Interest piqued, Richard leaned forward, his eyes sparkling with the excitement of a hunter seeing new prey, “There really is a dragon?”
𝒇𝑟e𝗲𝚠𝚎𝐛𝗻𝐨νel. 𝒄om

“An ancient foreign dragon!” Zabal said in a deep voice, emphasising the word foreign and chuckling to himself at Richard's reaction. No matter what people said, a sub-legendary mage was bout to be more interested in power than land. Dragons were powerful beings, and they only grew more powerful with age. As for the word foreign, it was as close as he could get to saying another plane without actually using the word.

Zabal fell silent after saying this, giving Richard time to digest the news. They didn't talk for fifteen minutes before the silence was interrupted by a bell, prompting the Duke to smile, “The servants have finished their preparations, it would be an honour to share a meal with you.”

As they walked to the dining room, Zabal showed another of his cards; the special items he mentioned at the start. He was willing to trade in draconic eggshells, bones, hide, and many more such things. He even claimed he could get Richard a dragon crystal, something that reduced the impact of mana on one's body and thus extended a mage's lifespan.

The Duke was very confident in his offer; indeed, dragons were rare in Faelor and almost no one would be able to obtain them. This was enough to sate an entire mage association, tempting even a legendary mage. However, he didn't know that such things were only normal for Richard. There were millions of planes in existence, and when summed up dragons weren't even particularly rare beings.

Zabal made it a point to serve himself, trying to get Richard to pay attention to the feast that he had arranged. Richard looked at him and smiled ambiguously, gaze turning to the table that was filled with dishes that emphasized the roasted dragon in the centre.

The Duke proudly described that this was real dragon meat, but a single glimpse showed him that it came from a green dragon. Green dragons were the lowest of all dragon species, only considered intelligent after adulthood. Even one that was thousands of years old wouldn't qualify to be placed on Philip's dining table.

Thinking of the late Emperor, Richard couldn't help but take a deep breath in nostalgia. Black, red, copper... he had eaten tonnes of meat from some of the best species when under Philip's care. Compared to that, this mere kilogram couldn't even fill a small corner of his stomach.

“This is... memorable,” Richard looked down, as though he was scrutinizing the meat on his plate. However, while Zabal fluffed up further, a sneer crept up on his own face. It had become clear why a trained general like Rislant had failed to annihilate the Dragon Church despite decades fighting them; he had been fighting another plane.

Not noticing the sneer, Zabal leaned forward, “Now, you know what I offer: dragons and another plane related to them with at least one legendary being. Does this not put me on the same level as you? Think about it, I've given you enough even in this trade; dragon crystals are legendary items! You Grace, it is time for you to make your decision.”

Dragon crystals truly were nice, but Richard was still under the blessing of the Eternal Dragon and could push his youth further in the Church of the Eternal Dragon. To him, these benefits were negligible. However, he smiled, “Is it finally my turn? Good, I think the Pearl Necklace can officially secede from the Iron Triangle Empire...”

Was Richard offering support for an independent kingdom? Zabal's face lit up with glee, but he said with reservation, “This does not feel like the right time, but it isn't—”

“I'm really interested in these dragons and the foreign plane. I'm taking over this territory, you can get lost with your family within three days. If you're still here afterwards, don't blame me for the purge.”

“Huh?” Zabal grew confused, “Wait, what did you just say?”

Richard pointed at the table, dome, servers, and even the guards, “I said, all this? It's mine now. Get the fuck out now, or you're going to die.”

“You...” Zabal started laughing, “Hahahahaha, Richard, I think you're still confused. Do you expect to be able to make it out in one piece after coming here? No matter how many soldiers can march on me, you're going to die!”

The Duke slammed the dining table, causing the hall to buzz with draconic roars as the magic arrays on the walls lit up. Teleportation was immediately blocked off.

Although the hall was enormous, its walls were thick and the windows only a quarter the width of normal ones. The window frames were even filled with magic arrays, and they clearly weren't just decorations. The dome was made from hard stone as well, so with the doors closed this place was a natural cage. Luring Richard here seemed to be part of the plan.

There were eight double doors in total that allowed entry to this room, and soldiers in enchanted armour streamed in through each one. The entire hall filled up with warriors, mages, and some warlocks in exotic attire; these were the disciples of the Dragon Church. This was a group of hundreds that were all level 10 or above, some of the leaders even equivalent to Norland saints.

However, Richard stayed where he was and didn't move, not even making an attempt to take out any scrolls. The Dragon Church stopped a mere ten metres away from him, a distance at which ordinary mages would be stabbed full of holes before they could do anything at all. Even a legendary mage likely wouldn't be able to cast something like Time Stop in this space either.

“I recall you're a mage, Your Grace. In a situation like this, even legends can do nothing! What do you think of these troops of mine? It's best you reconsider my suggestion just now, I'm giving you ten seconds. I'm such a generous person, heh!”

Richard's voice cut through the crazed laughter spreading to every corner of the hall, “Looks like you've planned well.”

“But of course! Even without you, I was planning on entering the political arena soon enough. I've made ample prepara—”

“But why do I only see corpses?”

And then, it was a rain of blood.

1078 - City of Sin

Immediate Destruction

Miserable cries rang through the dining hall as Zabal's soldiers fell to their knees, blood spurting through the gaps in their armour. The superior-grade equipment warped at a speed that was visible to the naked eye, creaking until it looked like primordial giants had kneaded it. It was difficult to even imagine what had happened to the poor bodies within, but there was no need to.

Even the mages and warlocks had it no better. Many of them wore metallic inner armour for protection, and even those that didn't carried daggers as a contingency. Even the rings and other accessories on their bodies creaked, twisting the bones apart. With the broken magic, some of the disciples just burnt up from the shattered magic.

Zabal's expression was frozen in the middle of his gloating, brain taking time to process the hellish scene before him. The miserable cries clogged his ears, and even as the scent of blood spread out he saw the cutlery on the table twist and start to dance around. The scene was terrifying, and it seemed like some voice was shouting a warning into his mind. However, he had already lost all ability to respond.

“Lyos?! Isn't he dead?!” an old voice rang out, not loud but still enough to wake Zabal from his daze. He surveyed the surroundings, but found that everyone on his side had fallen to the floor and dyed the velvet carpet crimson.

Richard didn't even bother with the Duke, looking towards the dome up above as he activated Field of Truth to capture a faint shadow disappear into the distance. He smirked to himself in acknowledgement; there was no way the pathetic man down below was capable of deploying such a large formation in one go.

However, that revealed the other enemy. Richard locked onto the legendary conscient with his own mind, forcing it into a battle of mental strength. A miserable cry rang through the sky as the conscient barely broke free, fleeing at twice the speed after having sustained heavy damage. Richard chuckled; this soul felt like an assassin, and they were normally amongst the weakest of will. Battles of the soul depended on determination, bloodlines, and sheer power; without significant natural advantages, one would need to train all three constantly.
ƒ𝑟e𝘦we𝑏n𝑜𝚟𝙚Ɩ. 𝒄𝚘𝐦

For the legend to have remained hidden for so long and lose his calm after recognising Lyos's ability meant his will was nothing great. Besides, he had only sent a conscient over and left his main body behind; caught in a surprise duel, it immediately lost.

But Richard wasn't content with the small victory. While the enemy broke away, he still managed to leave an imprint that he could track in the conscient. It looked like a simple wound, but it served to distort the laws nearby to a minor extent that could only be noticed with the Field of Truth. Unless the opponent's control of laws exceeded his ability to see through, he would be able to track the clone back.

Before that, he still had to take care of Zabal. The Duke seemed like he had stepped on fire as Richard looked at him, pulling out an orange shortsword and jumping on the long table to charge forward, “You're a mage, but I'm a killer! DIE, YOU BASTARD!”

A trace of pity filled Richard's gaze as he pulled out Moonlight, slashing down calmly. The attack wasn't fancy, but it was fast and accurate. Before Zabal could even blink, a sword seemed to pop up out of nowhere. He raised his shortsword to block, but the blade just passed through both it and himself as though nothing had happened. Going stiff, he watched as the upper half of his blade just fell off.

“This... is... legendary... sword...” he muttered, falling down face-up. A ghastly red line appeared on his forehead and went down to his chin, tearing him apart as he continued to mutter, “I'm... sub...”

Blood suddenly burst out from the middle as the body split in two, Zabal's last living moments spent watching a blue fireball destroy the dome that was meant to resist magic. The Duke just couldn't understand how his legendary shortsword had failed to block the attack.

What Zabal didn't know was that Moonlight had already risen back into the ranks of divine weapon, being indestructible and sharp enough to cut apart epic-grade weapons without issue. On the other hand, his own sword had been corrupted by Kingsteel and weakened to the point that it was barely even epic; the result was obvious.

Richard didn't even care about whether his strike had killed, already in pursuit of the legend. Flying outside through the new hole in the roof, he was intercepted by three dragon disciples that were each comparable to a Norland saint. They closed the distance just like Zabal, but Moonlight just flashed a few more times and cut them all to pieces.

At this point, even Richard was startled. With the effects of Kingsteel layering atop Disintegrator, Moonlight's power was unthinkable. These disciples weren't much weaker than real Norland saints, but they couldn't resist at all.

“The mighty Ramillon is eternal!” one of the disciples who was chopped at the waist shouted in draconic tongue. The man actually burnt up what remained of his life and seemed to obtain boundless energy, flying towards Richard with his hands spread out. However, a few more flashes of Moonlight quickly took care of that problem.

Richard looked at the disciple that had been struck again, sniffing something strong before he cursed, “Fucking lizards...”

This was the smell of a half-blood, which meant this disciple was actually a draconian with a weak bloodline. Human and dragon did not mix, their combination only making for brutal creatures that enjoyed blood, sex, and basically nothing else. Draconians tortured weaker beings for entertainment, and those with lesser bloodlines were the worst of them all. In many planes, they were considered the lowest of the low.

Richard had even seen absolute faith in the eyes of the half-blood, lacking even a hint of a fear of death. Such enemies were always the hardest to deal with. Cursing some more, he Activated Field of Truth and looked around to find a trail of sparkling light heading off northwest. These were disturbances left behind by his brand, clearly showing the direction the conscient had fled in.

Confirming that there was no more opposition near the mansion, he flew out and met up with the cloned brain along the way. While he could travel a few kilometres much faster, that would be a drain on mana and wasn't sustainable. The drone was much better at a prolonged chase if he came to it.

Not long after Richard left, the sparks in the sky started to dim and fade away, the disturbed laws calming down. In only a few minutes, all traces would be lost even to someone whose perception was even greater than his.

1079 - City of Sin

Man In The Shadows

The cloned brain sped along for nearly fifty kilometres, heading deep into the mountains north of the Pearl Necklace. The trail of disturbed laws ended at a mountain peak hidden in the clouds, and Richard let the drone fly away while he slowly closed in.

When he was further away, he had almost missed this mountain peak despite looking closely. Even if everything here was covered in ice and snow, he should have been able to see it from much further than a hundred metres away. Even now, he had to use Field of Truth or he couldn't keep track of it; without that, there would have been a chance that he'd just bump into the thing before discovering it.

The entire mountain range felt vast and empty, not even housing any birds or beasts. The wind was biting cold, and from high above all one could see was snow. Every breath left a puff of white that hardened into shards of ice in mere moments, falling to the ground below. As he went higher towards the peak, Richard had to summon a tendril of warm yellow flame from his fingers.

However, even that flame dimmed away. The flame started wavering in the air, its heat sucked into the mountain peak until it was all but gone. Richard ended up having to activate some moonforce to keep it working. At the same time, the surge of heat dimmed the dense cloud cover before him and turned it translucent, revealing the black rock of the mountain.

“How did you find this place?!” a furious voice rang out all of a sudden.

Richard locked in on the source of the voice, snickering, “Is it really that difficult?”

“Nobody can find this place, not even Lyos! Zabal told you, didn't he? I knew he wasn't trustworthy!”

“Heh, just come out. There's no point hiding now.”

The clouds started to shift away from the mountain, changing the scenery behind it entirely. The empty peak soon revealed an intricate courtyard with shady trees, a carpet of grass, and a clear stream running through it. A large illusion had evidently been hiding this all, and for it to even exist amidst the cold north hinted at a number of other magic arrays that kept the ecosystem stable.

A balding old man walked out of the house on the peak, flying up and stopping right before Richard. He wasn't very tall, but he looked dignified and well-groomed. His eyes that looked like inverted triangles looked Richard up and down, scanning for his age and mana.

“You're not legendary yet,” the man's voice was piercing.

“Nope, level 20,” Richard stated honestly.

“Then how did you find this place? Even the Goddess of the Hunt can't track me down, who's helping you? Is it your teacher? Get them to show themselves!”

“She isn't in this plane.”

“Isn't in this... Isn't in this plane? You really are an invader!”

“And? Don't your dragon disciples come from another plane too?”

At this point, the man gasped in surprise, “H-How did you know?”

Richard snorted, his own eyes starting to glow, “Only you Faelorians who've been dumbed down by your gods are actually too stupid to realise it. Anyway... are you going to surrender immediately, or will you be an annoyance?”

“What are you doing?” the man asked with a shiver, grey energy surrounding him. This power was akin to the internal energy of a warrior, but he seemed to be a special kind.

“Surrender or fight?” Richard repeated, Moonlight already in his hand.

“Fight?” the old man fumed, “You're not even a legendary mage! Who is your teacher, and what is your relationship with Lyos? Be honest, and I'll consider leaving you alive.”

Richard stroked Moonlight's blade, causing it to light up, “So what if I'm not legendary? I slaughtered saints when I wasn't one myself, I don't need to be legendary to take down a dying man. By the way, when I say saint, I mean what you people call sub-legendary beings.”

“Impossible! You—”

“Stop the drivel, you're wasting my time. Annoyance it is, I guess.”

“I've been a legend for centuries, and I haven't yet seen someone as arrogant as you...” The old man's expression froze over. He was still a legendary being with pride of his own; he wouldn't take such disrespect from a child. However, his figure still disappeared in the midst of his speech; having decided to battle, he had only stalled for time so he could enter stealth.

The skies seemed empty, with no signs of the old man at all. Still floating in mid-air, Richard acted like he was surprised and immediately looked around, instacasting a few detection spells but with no success. Seconds later, he started throwing fireballs all around to cover as much of the area as he could. The clouds underneath scattered immediately, but some barriers around the courtyard kept it from sustaining any real damage.

Still hidden, the old man smirked. Trying to force someone out with blanket attacks was far too primitive, and wouldn't work on a legendary being whose strong suit was stealth.

Richard didn't stop the pointless attacks, but his eyes had locked onto light grey traces long ago. The old man certainly managed to conceal his aura and break away, but the remnant signs from his usage of laws couldn't be wiped away so easily. The spells were all a smokescreen to present the facade of being unable to track him, when in fact he had noticed the assassin only moments after the first escape. Every quick jump away from a fireball left traces that showed the man was getting closer and closer.

There was something else that caught his attention. The marks the old man left behind had sometimes interacted with the flames, but there were no changes in those areas at all. It was as though the man had no physical body, something that was definitely unusual. While they were a distraction, each of the fireballs had a trace of his truename's power within as well; even legends couldn't take them on directly with no damage at all. On the other hand, the assassin was clearly barely a legend; he would die very quickly in the myriad planes. In other words, the sections where the flames were unaffected were illusions.

He meticulously crafted a trap, acting like he was looking left and right while his perception was focused straight in front of him. Moonlight suddenly lunged forward like lightning, appearing to strike nothing, but the blue moon appeared above Richard's head and formed a shadow blade that shot forward. A scream of agony rang broke through the howling winds, the old man's pathetic figure popping out a hundred metres away. He was now in complete disbelief, glancing between the grey shortsword in his hands and the injury at his abdomen with panic and fright.

There was a visible nick in the assassin's shortsword, faint blue flames still burning across the blade. The abdominal wound was a clean stab through, a faint blue line of fire failing to conceal the air blowing through. The man had never seen such powerful flames before, or anything even remotely similar to the pure destructive power they held. Such powerful laws were clearly beyond that of ordinary legends, but Richard hadn't even reached the legendary realm yet!

Voice trembling, he stared at Richard's sword, “Where did this sword come from?”

“Silvermoon Palace,” Richard answered.

1080 - City of Sin

Death Of Ambition

“Silvermoon Palace?” The old man had never heard of such a place. Richard even noticed his momentary daze; the wound had dealt a heavy blow to him both physically and mentally. He already believed that Moonlight was such a powerful weapon that any legend would be cut apart by it, and that made him consider just what kind of background Richard himself possessed.

Richard had no plans to give him time to recuperate; the best way to deal with stealthers was to end them quickly. His left hand started to spark as a fireball formed within, going from red to blue before it was shot out like a bolt of lightning.

“The Star of Destruction... You actually...” Before the old man could even express his shock, the fireball was already upon him. He had to gather as much energy as he could to jump away, not bothering with stealth at all as he instead fled as fast as possible. The tracking fireball made a sharp turn to follow him before suddenly exploding, blue flames raining down on him from above. Not daring to even be touched by this fire, he weaved between it all and sped up straight towards Richard.

The shortsword in the man's hand seemed to turn into dust as it swarmed around Richard's body, stabbing a hundred times. Richard knitted his brows as he evaded and deflected the attacks, but by the end of it all he still sustained a dozen cuts.

However, he quickly relaxed his brows and smirked at the old man who had already opened up some distance. The assassin looked shock as he looked over his now-dim blade, the weapon completely ruined. Moonlight's combination with Lyos's legacy was strong enough to destroy it. Even though Richard's laws couldn't completely contort the weapon, they could still drain away at its powers until Moonlight's attacks started going through.

The assassin now had a wound on his upper left arm, blue flames still burning away the grey fog that tried to heal it. The entire limb was drooping down lifelessly, making it clear that he had lost all ability to battle. Thoroughly frustrated, he glared at Richard, “You're wounded yourself!”

Richard just smiled, a green moon forming above his head and bathing him in its glow. The energy burnt away at the grey fog covering the wounds, stemming the bleeding before the cuts started to close up. By the end of it all, he was back to full fighting form. On the other hand, the blue flames continued to burn on the old man's body; if he didn't manage to get them under control soon, they would burn off his entire arm.

The man's face was ashen as he stared at the green moon; all he could see was a mass of law energy that clearly did not belong in Faelor at all. In a short span of time, Richard had displayed the laws of metals, destruction, and life; had he not experienced it all personally, he would have thought it a joke.

This youth wasn't even legendary yet!

He threw the shortsword away, taking out a legendary dagger from a storage ring while confused as to whether he should charge in or increase the distance. Richard was clearly a mage, but still held the upper hand even in a melee. No matter where he went, there was no victory to be had. His legendary ability involved creating illusions, and that combined with his profession as an assassin to make him a powerful figure in his generation. However, his illusions were now broken and that dropped his ability drastically.

Richard didn't allow him the time to rest, moving fifty metres with a single lunge to appear right in front. Moonlight slashed out with a dozen energy blades, all the power of the Ring of Fate focused in one direction. The startled assassin did all he could to evade, but the skill was just far too wide in scale and struck him once more.

He didn't hesitate to retreat any more, but with his heavy injuries his movements were constrained. Richard shot out a stream of faint blue fireballs to tail him, the blue moon forming over his head to work in conjunction with the well of stars. There seemed to be no dearth of moonforce at all as he shot out fireball after fireball with no visible signs of fatigue.

Blue explosions blossomed in the sky like beautiful fireworks, but few could see the grey shadow bouncing between them desperately. Layer upon layer of attack culminated in a pained scream as the old man fell from the sky, his legs almost completely burnt off before he even reached the earth below.

Richard felt a little surprised. He had been preparing to chase after to finish off the assassin physically, but the fireballs alone had done the trick. He flashed over and cast a featherfall spell just in time, stopping the assassin from falling to his death. With just a thought, the blue flames were extinguished.
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Landing gently next to the clear pond, the legendary assassin stared at the sky as the last dregs of his life were burnt away. Richard landed next to him and watched in silence, the blue flames had already started burning into the soul and guaranteed destruction. Even Zendrall would be unable to save the old man, perhaps only Nyra being up to the task.

The old man didn't even seem to notice Richard anymore, just staring at the sky and mumbling, “Ambition... It was all ambition... If not for...”

Richard stretched out his hands as the last light in the man's eyes dimmed, but he was unable to place them down. After a moment of hesitation, he finally sighed and pressed down, activating the Field of Truth to capture a tiny consciousness that was still wandering about. The feeling was so obvious he couldn't even lie to himself if he wanted; shaking off the hesitation, he started to capture the runaway soul fragment.

With extensive experience in general and the recent encounter with Lyos's soul, it didn't take long for this legend to be captured. It only a few minutes the consciousness had been absorbed into Richard's body, the secondary minds tasked with analysing the laws it embodied.

Surprisingly, the old man's laws were an offshoot of the nature laws that Richard already had some experience with. His specific version was focused on assimilating into the surroundings to hide himself, at the same time summoning illusions to confuse his enemies. The illusions had an almost-physical presence to them, even pushing away air as they moved, but unfortunately Richard with Insight and Field of Truth was the complete antithesis of this ability.

Richard sensed a strange aura of death after he collected the remaining law fragments, but as much as he tried he couldn't figure out what it was. Knitting his brows, he stood up and wandered aimlessly into the old man's secluded home to do some research.

The courtyard was enormous, its walls engraved with spell formations that could adjust the climate within. It contained a garden and water spring, alongside rows of huge trees that split it into separate biomes. These magic arrays were also the foundation of a larger formation that functioned as a simple barrier and visual illusion.

Standing by the yard wall, Richard closely inspected all of the formations. A master in the field himself, it only took him a cursory glance to realise the function of most of these arrays. While Faelor's magic was far less robust than that of Norland, they still had a few things they did well. Some parts of this construct were new and surprisingly clever, especially the illusion of emptiness.

As he was studying the arrays, he suddenly drew out Moonlight and swept it behind him, causing two soft schlicks followed by dull thuds as corpses fell to the ground. Both were women with voluptuous figures and pretty faces, absolutely naked with rudimentary rune-like patterns on their bodies that bestowed invisibility. Blood started leaking from their necks once they fell, but Richard just returned to the formations and continued to scan through them.

A short while later, once he was done with the key sections of the formation, Richard turned around and flipped the corpses over to look at them. The patterns themselves were utterly uninteresting to him, but he discovered that their souls were badly damaged to the point of not even having independent thought. They were almost humanoid puppets; the old man had clearly kept them around for lust more than anything else.

Once he was done with the yard, Richard entered the main building itself. He killed a few more beautiful puppets along the way as he scanned through room after room, eventually finding the old man's journal in the upper level. Sitting down in front of the open window, he flipped open the thick leather tome to read through it.

1081 - City of Sin

The Land Of The Dragons

The old assassin's name was Shattler, and he was the great-great-grandfather of Duke Zabal. The man had lived for hundreds of years and was one of the powerhouses from the golden era; however, unlike the three kings of the Iron Triangle, he was cautious and cowardly because he was the weakest of the batch. In the war with the gods, he had fled the battlefield and hidden himself away, only showing himself once the war was over. He had then hidden away and built up the Pearl Necklace with centuries of effort.

What Richard found most interesting came just under a century ago, when Shattler had chanced upon a natural passage to a foreign plane. That was a plane ruled by dragons, the source of the Dragon Church. The portal had been strengthened ever since then, only recently stabilising to the point that it could be travelled at all time.

With a point of entry for their allies, the Pearl Necklace under Zabal finally grew ambitious. Although the rise of the Crimson Dukedom was surprising, the Duke had never faced Richard in battle and didn't treat him as a threat. Even the idea of splitting the Iron Triangle Empire equally was only a stop-gap; the plan had been to annex everything eventually. Unfortunately, neither Zabal nor Shattler himself had expected someone who wasn't even a legendary mage to walk into their trap alone and kill all of their soldiers. Richard had even slaughtered Zabal and the legendary assassin himself, going so far as to overestimate the old man.

Saint runemasters were figures standing atop even Norland, and not just for their runecrafting ability. The very conception of saint runes required great power and comprehension of laws; even if he didn't have a full legendary ability yet, Richard was a threat that the locals of Faelor couldn't even begin to fathom. Alongside Disintegrator, two divine weapons, and a rune that condensed the essence of the most powerful legend to ever walk Faelor's earth, he was nigh unstoppable. Realistically, even without the set bonuses of Disintegrator, Lifesbane and Mana Armament alone would make him a frightening foe. In all respects, Richard's skills and equipment far surpassed that of an upstart.

Shattler had been living in seclusion for half his life; even if he had been training the entire time, such a long period without any serious fights left him rusty. True powerhouses were forged in the blood of the battlefield, not in a luxurious manor atop a mountain.

Richard couldn't help but sigh; it all came back to the same thing. If one dared to sit on their laurels, they would only be devoured by a greater power. This was true with individuals just as much as it was with entire planes. Hiding was never a permanent solution; one couldn't put off their problems indefinitely.

He continued flipping through the pages, finding Shattler starting to worry about his own mortality towards the end. He had started looking for a path to immortality, even considering godhood, but Faelor's closed system left no room for old gods to be killed. With no deities having died in centuries, there was no way for him to gather enough divinity to ascend.
𝘧r𝙚e𝓌𝐞𝑏𝗻𝑜𝘷𝙚Ɩ. com

He had ended up with the thought of becoming a lich; although reluctant to sacrifice his body, he had been experimenting constantly and saw no other way out. With some experience with magic owing to his legendary ability, he made some progress and ultimately managed to channel part of his soul into a phylactery. This was why he refused to leave the mountain so long ago; his soul was still injured from the effort.

Ultimately, it was all for nought. Richard had appeared well before the phylactery could be completed, and Shattler was much weaker owing to the attempt. His soul had been shattered by the blue flames, destroying most of his existence.

The last few pages contained plans to split the Iron Triangle Empire with the Dragon Church. At the same time, Shattler had been researching alchemy to create puppet bodies for him to occupy; it would take an enormous amount of resources that he could only obtain by conquering the empire. He was also looking for a necromancer to help him through the process. The female puppets Richard had killed outside were the products of repeated experiments in the crafting of bodies; they were used for his own pleasure, but eventually he planned to use the knowledge to make one for himself.

By the time Richard was done reading the diary, he had a rough understanding of Shattler's life and found the location of the portal to the dragon plane. He then moved to the laboratory and warehouse in the basement, gathering everything the assassin used to own. Most of it was epic-grade, with only a few mediocre legendary items, but most of Shattler's wealth had clearly gone into the shortsword. Even Zabal's weapon was better than what was in this warehouse.

At this revelation, Richard smiled bitterly. Kingsteel and Moonlight were a deadly combo, but the side-effects were obvious; he would never be able to pick up an opponent's equipment for his own use. Still, Shattler's stash was good enough for some of his followers, and he could sell the rare ores and materials back in Norland. It took an hour to take stock of everything, but he roughly estimated that it would be worth about 10 million gold in total, equivalent to a top-tier offering. For someone from a secondary plane to accomplish that was impressive.

After searching through the entire courtyard, Richard fixed and changed the arrays protecting the mountain before flying to the peak. Summoning the cloned brain, he oriented himself and started flying north. Less than a hundred kilometres away was a valley unlabelled in any maps of Faelor, hiding the portal to the dragon plane. The winds were freezing, but a smell of sulphur filled the air as his bloodline surged in excitement; it felt like he was back to his days in the Land of Dusk.

With the addition of Kingsteel, Disintegrator was now a grade 4 set that was much more valuable than any single grade 5 rune. The killing of Shattler had lit a fire in Richard, giving him a greater understanding of his own strength. He didn't even feel like waiting for his followers, his mind screaming that he was wasting time with every passing moment.

The cloned brain flew quickly, reaching the valley recorded in Shattler's diary within an hour. Richard stopped and hovered over a mountain at the side, looking over the valley under him. It had already grown into a sizeable town with hundreds of people bustling in the streets, the entire valley able to accommodate more than 10,000 in total. No wonder Zabal talked had the confidence to ask for a good chunk of the Empire, the Dragon Church was prepared to invade!

However, there were no magic arrays set up in this valley at all. Richard didn't even discover any alarms with Insight or the Field of Truth. Were the dragon disciples so confident in this location being secluded, or were they so strong they didn't care? No matter what the reason was, he didn't even consider changing his plan as he flew down towards the valley.

As he approached the ground, Richard activated the new ability he had acquired from Shattler. It wasn't anywhere near perfect yet, but to those below the realm of sainthood he had disappeared from sight entirely. Even saints wouldn't be able to find him if they weren't actively looking.

The portal to the dragon plane was already solidified, surrounded by an enormous stone gate that was erected on a circular altar. Colourful lights flickered on the gate, with a few draconian guards standing guard on both sides.

Richard walked past the guards confidently and stepped into the gate. He might have been caught if they were legends or maybe even alert saints, but they were only level 11 or 12 each. Even casting a full grade 9 barrier before entry, they wouldn't be able to detect the energy change at all.

The passage itself was very stable, and after some flashing lights Richard was in an entirely new world. One could smell sulphur in the air, with both the sky and earth a deep reddish-brown in colour. The few trees he could see nearby were all twisted with thorns over their trunks, barely even alive.

As he stepped out of the gate, Richard squinted his eyes. As the blurred vision from the portal disappeared, the first thing he saw before him was a troop of a hundred fully-armoured draconians formed up in a semi-circle fifty metres away. Powerful flaps stirred up a gale as a thunderous roar rang through the sky, “You've made me wait, human.”

1082 - City of Sin

The Prime Evil

While Richard had expected the enemy to be waiting for him on the other side, he was still surprised. He looked up to meet the dragon's gaze, “So there really are dragons, and there's a prophet here.”

The dragon just roared arrogantly, almost laughing with pride. However, Richard just chuckled as he swept his gaze across the draconians down below, “These people aren't here to welcome me, are they?”

“You cannot take the coordinates away with you,” the dragon answered, “The invader must stay here forever!”

”Heh, you of all people should know that prophecies aren't omnipotent. Do you realise where you went wrong?”

“Wrong?” the dragon roared in anger, his voice rumbling, “By the Prime Evil, that is impossible.”

Richard's face suddenly twitched, “Wait, what did you just say? The Prime Evil?”

“She is our lord.”

“When you say Prime Evil... You don't mean Tiamat, do you?”

“It is the Prime Evil to you, mortal! Such disrespect!” the dragon bellowed.

“So... this is the place the Five-Coloured Dragon comes from too.”

“That is the Sovereign Divine Dragon! How dare you sully their names, you vulgar creature?”

Richard looked back up at the dragon in the sky. The edges of its scales were covered in a golden pattern, making it look elegant and mysterious. Its body was over fifty metres long, and the size of its horn indicated that it was at least two to three centuries old. This was only a juvenile in dragon years, but prophetic dragons always had great status amongst their peers. This dragon was only level 20, and even with its racial strengths it could barely match up to a human legend; Richard was far beyond it in power.

This was a pertinent issue. All divination abilities, be they innate or magical, relied on pushing against the river of time to spy on what lay ahead. These prophecies were extremely limited, consisting of only a few fragmented scenes like what Richard had once seen during a ceremony. However, there was a fatal flaw; the destinies of powerful beings were similarly powerful; while it wasn't hard to predict the future of a commoner, prophecies could not determine the full extent of incoming threats if they were beyond one's own ability to contain.

Even those who trained in divination could only barely direct what they would see. For this dragon to ignore all defences on the other side, it was confident in its ability to predict any dangers. In other terms, it also underestimated any threat that could come from Faelor; in its eyes, those mortals were all ants it could kill with a swipe of its paw.

“It's been a while since you saw Tiamat, hasn't it?” Richard grinned.

“The Prime Evil is a sovereign of the race, how would we be able to meet her?” the dragon snorted. By this point, it was starting to find things strange. Richard had been covered in powerful barriers ever since he stepped out of the portal, but even now they hadn't dissipated yet. He didn't seem to be re-casting those spells either, giving it no gap to attack him in.

Richard himself was concerned with different things entirely. At this point it was clear that he had somehow wound up on the plane Tiamat came from, which Sharon would likely be interested in. The Five-Coloured Dragon was Tiamat's master in theory, an epic being who could probably fight Sharon for a long time. At the same time, this was the Dragon Sovereign; the other epic beings of Norland would likely want to join in on such a hunt as well.

“You know, Tiamat's already dead. Have a look,” he said with a chuckle, producing a transparent test tube that held dark purple draconic blood. The blood seemed to have a life of its own, constantly jumping around and seeking the exit. Richard lifted the stopper ever so slightly before pushing it back in, allowing a trace of Tiamat's aura to leak out.

“L-Lady Tiamat's blood!” the dragon in the sky exclaimed in horror, “Mortal, why do you have this?”

Richard burst into laughter, not deigning to give it an answer. Quickly summoning his mana into a spell, he formed a magic array in the sky that quickly absorbed the surrounding energy, forming a vortex of power. Walking into the eye of the storm, he started lobbing a fireball towards the draconians every second. The dragon in the sky got its own gift; a pure blue fireball that zipped towards it like lightning.

The world seemed to melt away as the dragon's eyes focused on the tiny blue fireball. All of its neck scales stood on end as it shivered from crisis, its instincts warning it to flee immediately. Roaring in alarm, it flapped its wings hard and shot straight up as fast as it could go.

As expected, the fireball curved to follow. Looking at the attacks aimed at its subordinates, the prophetic dragon hastily threw down a barrier and didn't even look where it went before continuing to fly upwards with all its might. All spells had a range, and it would be safe from the tracking so long as it escaped that distance.

Richard stopped bothering with the beast in the sky entirely, instead continuing to attack the draconians around him. He even activated Blaze once to send out a dozen fireballs in a row before pausing, watching as streams of yellow and blue flames burnt the warriors charging towards him. The draconians had tried to dispel his magic and just destroy the vortex the moment it was cast, but the first wave of attacks had been absorbed safely while the frontline was burnt to ashes. The fireballs continued to explode amidst the formation, taking down a large number in moments.

However, there were saint-level powerhouses amongst these draconians as well. Powerful arrows and spells were shot towards the mana vortex, shaking the barrier until it almost broke, but this only served to reveal their positions to Richard. He quickly cast three pure fireballs and threw them into the fray before stepping back through the portal and returning to Faelor.

Ten kilometres up in the sky, the prophetic dragon finally managed to escape the pure blue fireball. It watched in terror as the condensed flames exploded, tearing apart the clouds. By the time it swooped down, it could only watch as three of its most capable subordinates were enveloped by the flames and burnt to ashes in an instant. Half the area around the gate was scorched, with charred corpses scattered everywhere.

The prophetic dragon estimated that it had lost at least a third of its manpower in this one fight. All of the draconians present were its direct subordinates, and the short battle had dealt it a heavy blow. It roared in anger, but frightened by Richard's fireball and not knowing how things were beyond the gate, it didn't have the guts to chase after him alone.

However, it still pointed at one of the draconians and shouted, “You! Go see what's on the other side!”

The dragon disciples were all zealots who did not fear death. The mages who was pointed to just gleamed in joy, immediately rushing towards the gate. The dragon didn't bother waiting; one could never tell whether a teleportation would take a few minutes or a few days, so it had its remaining subordinates clean up the mess as it returned to report that the interception mission it had been confident in was a complete failure.

The casualties didn't even matter; the main point was that Richard had set foot on this plane and was allowed to return. One could only hope he had no spells to determine the coordinates, but considering how he walked through the gate with several barriers on him those hopes were just folly. One couldn't cast spells during teleportation, while those cast before were invariably weakened in the process; one needed great control over space to be able to minimise the impact of porting on their barriers. Of course, if the dragon had known that Richard stepped through the portal in stealth before instacasting the barriers, its opinion of his power would only increase.

Another important piece of information was the news regarding Tiamat. The prophetic dragon had confirmed that the blood belonged to the Prime Evil, and this had to be brought to attention immediately.

1083 - City of Sin

Higher Being

Still invisible as he walked out the other side of the portal, Richard gingerly passed the guards and soared into the skies, silently disappearing into the distance. He didn't even glance at the draconians, his mind focused on the moving warehouse of materials that was the prophetic dragon. He had already started picking it apart in his mind to deduce the strength of its soul, wondering just what he could get when it was killed.

Would he be able to acquire some divination as well? As the cloned brain's arrival distracted him, he suddenly laughed at the idea. He was already thinking like a soul hunter, even though the idea had been off-putting only days ago. He could only rationalize it with the fact that many powerful humans still saw dragons as prey; eating the soul of a beast was much more palatable than that of a fellow human.

He mounted the brain and had it circle around the valley once, sending out a stream of orders in his mind. A few minutes later, the Crimson Army would begin mobilising and set out for the Pearl Necklace. He marked the locations for his followers and other elites in advance, planning for them and fifty rune knights to mount the astral chrysalis and fly over. Only a few hours later, dozens of flying chrysalides would gather and transport another fifty rune knights as well as a thousand shadowspears.

......

The Crimson Dukedom's elite forces were prepared for battle before nightfall, and a 30,000-man army set off at the crack of dawn. Gangdor led the regular army, while Richard's other followers had already gathered to him.

Deep below the Land of Turmoil, three enormous cocoons started wriggling from within their nests. The dark outer layer cracked and was torn apart, revealing creatures that looked like creased, rotting buns. These creatures ate up what was left of their cocoons and crawled out of the forest, taking huge breaths of air and bloating up as they moved. Their bodies slowly turned into enormous versions of the chrysalides, at which point they stopped crawling and instead rose into the sky. Openings in their skin started shooting out streams of air to guide them as they floated to their destinations.

These three were what the broodmother had referred to as wasps, enormous transportation drones that were meant to support the military. Each one of them could carry more than a thousand soldiers with them, flying for days towards their destination.

......

In a small town in the Iron Triangle Empire, Raymond was sitting by a fireplace looking over his map to plan the new supply route. While the army was stopped for now, his workload only grew as he set things up for future wars. Replenishing supplies required extra care, and a failure in logistics could easily lose entire wars.

Beside him, Reyna had her head buried in her own work. The princess had learnt a lot over the past years, and grown into a capable assistant in her own right.

As he continued to write down his plans, a cloned brain suddenly connected to him and transmitted an enormous volume of information; the broodmother had made him a node in her system, one of the benefits granted by the worms burrowed into him.

The data this time was regarding the newly completed wasps. As the one in charge of logistics, they were most important to him. However, as he read through their key functions, Raymond only grew more and more despondent with time. These drones provided a huge boost to Richard's logistics, but that was a problem. The broodmother should not have designed such creatures at all, they weren't in her personal interest. Had she not broken free yet?

The soul-mending plan was Raymond's biggest secret and also the grandest conspiracy he had ever planned; it was in essence what fuelled his continued existence. This decision from the broodmother left him extremely uneasy, so much so that his facade slipped for a moment. He even had to flash the now-concerned Reyna a smile to reassure her.

Excusing himself, he walked over to the garden and started pacing about. Even after circling it a few hundred times, he couldn't hold back the unease and ended up trying to contact the broodmother.

It took a while for her to respond, and her first words were dismissive, “What is it? I am very busy right now.”

Raymond was taken aback. The broodmother had been changing ever so slowly since she started on the soul-mending plan, and he could make out the traces of that change. Now, however, her tone was drastically different; it was clear that a majority of her soul damage had been mended.

“Is your soul complete?” he asked directly.

“Yes.”

“But you aren't level 11 yet—”

“Sillo is powerful enough, I have no need to go that far.”

This response filled Raymond up with immense joy, to the point that he ignored her revelation of her truename. He couldn't even tell whether this was due to the completion of the project or success in causing trouble for Richard. He barely contained his emotions, “So Richard...”

“Master still requires my help.”

“Master?!”

“Yes, Master,” she said patiently.

“You already have a complete soul, aren't you free of his control?!”

“I am, but...” That one word was like a dagger stabbed into Raymond's heart. He staggered back and had to lean against the wall to remain standing, allowing her to continue her words, “... I feel like continuing my previous relationship with him.”

“But... But...” Raymond couldn't find any response. The broodmother wasn't human; even with a completed soul and full range of emotions, she was still a massive war machine whose forte was her mind. One couldn't just expect her to do what they asked, especially when she was freed. If she was planning to continue her relationship with Richard, that only meant he was that useful to her growth. Without an adequate response of his own, there would be no way to convince her otherwise.

But even the soul-mending plan had been devised by many Scholars of Soremburg over years; Raymond only had access to this knowledge because of his status amongst them. Only the best of the Scholars even stood a chance of offering something so valuable. Dazed and feeling his chest grow tighter and tighter, he eventually spat out a mouthful of fresh blood and fainted.

...

An alarmed voice rang in Raymond's dull head, bringing him to his senses. Coughing as he barely sat up, he saw Reyna brandishing a shortsword as she confronted something.

“You're awake!” she shouted as she felt him stir, her voice trembling, “What... what are these things?”

Raymond looked towards the door, finding a dozen bee-like creatures that were each twenty centimetres long. Reyna had a look of absolute disgust on her face as she cut down a few more, adding to a number of carcasses in the garden. However, dozens more were flying in from the outside, ready to burst in at any time.

“I-it's alright,” he said with a bitter smile as he placed a hand on her leg, calming her down. Sending her to the side, he allowed one of the bugs to stab into his forearm.

Reyna shrieked for a moment as it happened, but noticing the rosiness return to Raymond's cheeks as the creature pumped him with some liquid, she calmed down. Still wide-eyed, she asked in astonishment, “What... what's all this about?”

Raymond only forced a smile, “I'll tell you in a bit, go wait for me back inside.”

He then closed his eyes, connecting to the broodmother once more, “I'm still of use to you alive?”

“Not to me, no, but Master could still use you.”

“And why do you think I'd still be willing to work for Richard?” he asked with a bitter smile.

“Why not?” the broodmother's tone turned icy, “Even if you Scholars are heartless turncoats, you are still mortals with flesh and blood. Your instincts to spawn a brood should still exist; do you not wish to see your own children?”

“Children?!” Raymond asked in shock, before turning to look at Reyna who was a little ways away, “What did you do to her?!”

“Nothing, you don't need to act so angry. But, so long as I am willing, Reyna can have your children at any time.”

“Heh, my children?” he mocked.

“Your children.”

“And how can I be sure of that? How should I be certain you won't alter its blood, that my beloved child won't become something like this when I'm old?” he pointed at the bug still stuck into his arm.

“You will never understand the aesthetics of higher beings. Pigs don't believe humans are particularly beautiful either.”

1084 - City of Sin

Final Choice

“You have no choice, Raymond,” the broodmother explained calmly, “You can continue working for Master and have children of your own, or I can kill the two of you now. I'll use your soul to craft a new logistician, while I'll find some use for her as well.”

“A new me will just be an empty shell,” Raymond snickered, “It won't possess my knowledge and secret techniques.”

“A shell is adequate. The soul-mending plan was your greatest use, and all we need now is your aptitude for managing supplies.”

Raymond recalled a legend about the soul-mending plan when it was brought up, a confidential secret of Soremburg that even he himself had only heard a few words about. However, he pushed the thought aside and spoke without a change in expression, “You'd best be careful. Every Scholar is a disaster waiting to happen.”

The broodmother just hummed and broke off the connection. In the meanwhile, a few more bees replenished his health before picking up their dead companions and flying away.

“What's going on?” Reyna asked as he walked over, clutching tightly at his arm.

“Sigh. Come, let me tell you everything,” he flashed a comforting smile.

Raymond prepared some snacks before joining the princess in the drawing hall, speaking at length about everything so far. He hid almost nothing at all, explaining how he was beholden to the broodmother, his grudge against Richard, and even the soul-mending plan. Of course, he didn't mention the back door the Scholars had left in that plan to control her; it was something he had forced himself to forget just so the broodmother wouldn't find out by scanning his soul.

He was completely unaware that the broodmother had found the trap within the plan long ago, setting up countermeasures and using it as bait. While the Scholars of Soremburg were beacons of wisdom when compared to most, she was a mysterious war machine with a mind beyond compare. Even Richard himself barely kept up with her, and the Scholars were far from adequate.

This was a very long story that took the entire afternoon to finish. Reyna's face had warped countless time throughout the process; she had always been rather simple-minded, and the deal with Richard that brought her to Faelor was the most daring conspiracy in her life. She hadn't even expected such undercurrents to the years of peace she had experienced.

At one point, she trembled and leapt up, “We have to leave, now! You tried to hurt Richard, he definitely won't leave it alone! We should escape!”

Raymond held onto her and patted her head, “It's fine, I already came to an agreement that keeps me working for him. We're safe, at least for now... It looks like there's still some value to me, and they aren't ready to throw me away just yet.”

“Oh...” she was a little reassured, but just the thought of Richard left her shivering.

Raymond smiled, “Since we can continue, we should consider having children at some point.”

“What? Really?” her eyes immediately lit up.

Raymond's own darkened; he didn't quite know what the point was in continuing his bloodline. However, the woman who loved him wanted children, so she could have them. He reached out and pulled her into his arms, burying his head into her beautiful hair to hide his expression. Tired more in mind than body, the First Princess of the Sacred Alliance soon fell asleep.

Once Reyna was snoring lightly, Raymond returned to his desk and continued planning out the allocation of resources for Richard's war. Richard was being very flippant with his use of troops, greatly increasing the pressure on logistics. Alongside the information about the new transport units was the plan for the next march that had already begun, with 30,000 elites headed for the Pearl Necklace in the north. Both the route and destination were foreign to him, while the orders were vague; it seemed like the decision had been made in a hurry.

Thankfully, the three new wasps could transport immense amounts of materials wherever needed. They also flew high up and weren't affected by the terrain; even if they were slow, they covered bird's eye distance and not established paths.

As he was working, Raymond constantly tapped the table. It looked to be thoughtless, but his movements had a strange rhythm to them that seemed to resonate with the entire room. The rosiness that had returned to his face quickly faded away, as though every tap was draining him of his life.

Far above in the skies, these taps rang out loudly. Their movements even affected the laws that supported the crystal sphere along the plane, causing ripples on the surface as though a pebble had been dropped into a lake. These ripples quickly spread out into the void, shooting into the distance.

This was a secret technique of the Scholars of Soremburg; with years of brutal training, even ordinary people could affect the laws of the world. These ripples could travel vast distances in a mere moment and thus send messages across the void, but accessing the power of laws came with its own costs. The sheer drain on energy couldn't be sustained by commoners, and most would just die from a single attempt. This method was normally used to send one's final message while at death's door.

However, Raymond was currently being kept alive by the broodmother. He didn't know whether she would notice the abnormal damage to his vitality, but the thought only caused him to smile. Calming down completely, he recalled the entire conversation and focused on the revelation of her truename. In many respects, this truename was like that of a deity; it could not harm her in the slightest. The world truly was strange.

......

An untold distance away in the void was an enormous storm of spatial energy. A single blade of power from this storm could destroy anyone nearby, but at the surprisingly peaceful eye was an entire demiplane! The entire landmass was no more than a few hundred square kilometres in size, but it had an enormous translucent barrier that blocked the threads of berserk energy that occasionally made their way over.

This demiplane seemed to have its own climate, with one of the four seasons in each corner of the rhombus. The north held snowing mountains with a towering old castle, formed of crude black rock and not particularly pleasing to the eye. The square right before the castle had a statue of a tall man holding a book and feathered pen.

Atop the terrace of the castle, and old mage was engrossed in a thick magic tome. He occasionally stretched with fatigue, looking into the distance for a moment before turning back down. This section of the terrace was an outcropping in front of the mountain peak, allowing one to see the entire demiplane if they looked behind. However, the only thing in front was the terrifying energy storm that surrounded the landmass.

The invisible shield was visibly blocking some of the nearest blades of energy, causing beautiful yet violent patterns all across its surface. A good chunk of the energy had been condensed on the outside until it looked like a layer of dark clouds, forming a ring that covered the entire demiplane.

One couldn't see the top of this ring or even the end when looking down, but given its size it was easy to have the misconception that it could be reached with a simple stretch. However, even dragons couldn't cover the distance in decades without spatial jumps, nor would they want to. The condensed energy would tear one apart from tens of thousands of kilometres away. Only existences like the Dragon Sovereign would be able to approach without dying.
f𝑟𝐞𝙚𝘸𝐞𝑏𝙣𝑜v𝑒Ɩ. c𝐨𝙢

For this tiny demiplane to exist so peacefully amidst this storm was even grander than a divine miracle, but that term was a disservice to the achievement. One could truly experience the vastness of the world here; no matter how people called themselves saints and legends, this lawless energy was proof of how tiny life was in the void.

In a secret room within the castle below, a young man was reading an enormous tome that was nearly half as tall as himself. On the verge of falling asleep from the tedium, he was suddenly startled by a mirror on the wall before him starting to glow, sparkles rippling across its surface. Not long after, a number of magic symbols took shape that had him jump from his seat.

The youth quickly grabbed a pen and magic paper before jotting down the symbols carefully, checking thrice for mistakes before daring to put the pen down. Once the symbols disappeared and the light in the mirror died down, he suddenly sighed with fatigue and wiped off the sweat lining his brow. Sinking back into his seat, he had to catch his breath for a moment before he could move his limbs.

He was one of four apprentices that were placed on rotational duty in this mirror room, tasked with copying down any symbols that appeared on this mirror. The youth read through the message, but despite being able to understand every one of these symbols it read like a bunch of gibberish. This was the first time he had seen anything in his four years stationed here, but he realised that the message was likely encrypted. Carefully folding the piece of paper and placing it in his robes, he rushed to the top of the castle to report.

1085 - City of Sin

Severing Fate

Before stepping out into the open, the young apprentice mage boosted himself with more than half a dozen defensive spells. There was an ancient magic array protecting the interior of the castle, but the terrace did not have the same. While the entire demiplane was protected by the surrounding barrier, a part of the energy from the storms outside still managed to seep in. Even a small amount was fatal to anyone who wasn't a grand mage; ordinary people would die in a few minutes with even their souls extinguished. Of course, even grand mages weren't completely immune; they could only last an hour themselves.

While the Scholars of Soremburg had a number of special techniques to help mitigate the damage, more than five minutes outside would still be harmful to both body and soul. Whenever he ventured outside, the youth was always filled with respect for the old mage on the terrace. The man frequently studied his tomes out there, staying for days at a time.

The apprentice hurried over to the old mage and placed the magic paper on the table before him, “My Lord, the mirror sent a message.”

“A message?” the old mage was startled, taking the paper immediately. Skimming over it and frowning, he looked over at the youth, “You did well; being the one to receive this news is a form of destiny. How about this— head over to Grand Scholar Rhodey; if you can pass his test, he will take you under his wing.”

“Thank you, my Lord!” the youth said with enthusiasm, rushing back into the castle. In the meanwhile, the old mage composed himself and read through the magic paper repeatedly until it yellowed from the radiation, crumbling to ashes. A frown now plastered across his face, he sighed and slowly stood up.

...

By this point, the apprentice knocked on the door to one of the castle's towers, the residence and library of Rhodey. The Grand Scholar was a middle-aged man who was known for being stern, inspiring fear in all his underlings. However, Rhodey only nodded as the youth stated the reason for his arrival, bringing him up several floors before activating a portal array.

“Go in, this is your test. So long as you make it out, you'll become my personal apprentice,” the Scholar said expressionlessly.

The youth nodded hard, not even asking for more information as he gripped his staff and barely walked inside. Even a test like this was nearly impossible to come by in the castle, and he wanted to use the chance to impress. The old black stone of the castle slowly faded away, the world distorting until he was on the other side.

When he saw the test waiting for him, the youth promptly shrieked. The sky here was dark red, with dense lava flowing across the earth and a pungent smell of sulphur burning his nostrils. Black shadows were pouncing in and out of the flames, gravitating towards servants crawling around on the ground. While the youth had never been to this place before, he had heard it described to him so many times that the surroundings couldn't be more familiar.

This was the abyss!

The youth almost couldn't believe his own eyes. He was merely a level 12 mage, how could he survive the abyss? This was supposed to be a test! Forget taking on demons, just the environment of the abyss would be enough to kill him!

On top of all this, the youth was still suspended high up in the sky. The magic from the portal had yet to fade and kept him in place, but that power was quickly diminishing and letting him sink downwards. He screamed in despair as his mana refused to move at all, even his limbs frozen with fear. He was hundreds of metres in the sky, but even if the fall somehow didn't kill him the lava and demons would.

Although eager, the youth was still a genius in the outer world. He immediately understood that this had all happened because of the message in the mirror. While he didn't know what the message itself was, he did have all of the symbols in memory. The old mage had sent him to Rhodey not for a test but to kill him, just so the string of fate between the message and the Scholars could be severed.

“YOU BASTARDS!” he screamed with hatred as he fell to his certain demise.

However, his body suddenly came to a stop. An enormous hand grabbed him by the nape, and while he couldn't see anything a thunderous voice resounded from behind him, “This one looks interesting, so many destinies he's tied to!”

......

Within the castle at the heart of the energy storm, the old mage walked into a secret room. The hall was circular and contained thirteen seats placed in a ring, the number said to be special to their founder. The current interpretation was a belief that the world was governed by laws, but the laws themselves were an illusion. However, the interpretation had changed many times in the organisation's history.

Every one of the seats was a high-backed armchair, the base completely solid while the backrest was filled with ornamentation. This was a style used by the popes of churches, the base representing the foundation of faith while the decorations on the back were meant to be in praise of the deity. However, these backrests were designed differently from the arched ones supported by beams; they contained carvings of all sorts of creatures from demons to elegant celestials.

The old mage activated a magic array in the room and took his seat, the room gradually filling up with mana until the rhomboidal gems on each of the other chairs started to glow brightly. In a few minutes, holograms of varying shapes and sizes occupied most of the remaining seats, some not human or even close. The door quickly opened, and Rhodey entered and sat down on one himself.

As the two exchanged glances, a soft nod from Rhodey left the old mage much more relaxed than before. Eventually, the remaining figures grew more distinct and stabilised; outside of one single chair that remained empty, all of the rest were occupied.

Everyone turned to the inscription of a book and pen in the centre of the hall as a round, ball-like figure spoke up, “Acting Lord, Grand Scholar, a full emergency meeting hasn't been called in years.”

The old mage who was the acting lord of the castle nodded, “We received a message that a new seed of war and destruction has been found on Faelor, a subordinate plane to Norland. It has just reached level 10 and awakened its truename.”

Nearly every figure in the hall trembled a bit in surprise.

“A new broodmother? In all the centuries!”

”And awakening its truename at level 10 as well. This one is much more valuable than average.”

“It will progress our research into the Darkness greatly. We might even be able to jump an entire era in knowledge!”

As everyone started to chime in, a figure that looked like a giant beast spoke up, “Our development has stagnated in the past few centuries, and many resources have grown unstable. I cannot call on more manpower to safekeep these materials; the broodmother would solve all of these problems.”

“The seed provides great research value!” a human snorted, “How can we allow it to remain a mere source of soldiers? That will slow our research.”

“Losing our resources will still slow your research!” the beast snarled, “We currently have 62 unstable nodes, your supply of green sulphur crystals will drop by 71% in the next three decades!”

“That...”

“Cough!” a shrivelled old figure suddenly interrupted with a few coughs, immediately garnering silence as a hoarse voice sounded, “History has warned us countless times that every broodmother is backed by a powerful organisation. Countless strings of fate are tied to it, and for this one to awaken at level 10 should only make us more cautious. Prudence will do us no harm; has the string of fate been severed?”

“The apprentice has already been tossed into the abyss,” Rhodey answered, “We did not kill him directly, nor did we receive the information ourselves. No prophets will be able to discover us.”

“Good... It's just a pity about the apprentice...” the thin figure nodded in satisfaction.

“Such is his fate,” the acting lord of the castle dismissed the sentiment. Everyone else in the room indicated their agreement.

1086 - City of Sin

Battle In The Valley

With everyone in agreement about the death of the apprentice, the acting lord of the castle continued, “The message had more pleasant surprises in store. The discovered broodmother has already used the soul-mending plan and completed it, and it was the most recent version as well. However, we only received half of this information, and it is impossible to tell what was lost.”

Everyone grew excited. Each of them knew of the backdoor in the soul-mending project, which meant they would have direct access to this broodmother's soul. There was a good chance for them to take control of it for themselves, which was much more valuable than having to devise a method to do so from scratch.

While they still couldn't decide on just how to use the broodmother, all of them agreed that they had to take control of her as quickly as possible. As for the one who had sent the message, nobody even tried to think of who it could have been. This was intentional, another way to sever the strings of fate.

Once the decision had been made, it was now time to go into details. Someone asked about the current situation in Faelor, and the acting lord of the castle glanced at Grand Scholar Rhodey who took out a stack of papers, “The person currently in control of Faelor is a duke of the Sacred Alliance... Ah, only a future duke, actually. He doesn't have the title yet. His name is Richard Archeron.”

“Archeron?” a wavering shadow interrupted him, “That sounds demonic. Wren, you spent some centuries in the abyss; do you know about it?”

“Barely a powerful family. They might have given rise to some lords in the past, but it was a handful over tens of millennia.”

The shade nodded, “Then we have no need to worry about their destiny. We can balance it out.”

“We might have to consider the Alliance itself,” someone interrupted, “Apeiron is a troublesome woman, we will have to compensate her for her to pull support.”

“Apeiron is also very greedy, just satisfy her. Regardless of what she demands, the broodmother is worth the investment.”

“Mm, we can make up for a part of it from Richard, perhaps even the entirety.”

“Do we have detailed information about him?”

“It is said that he will become a saint runemaster soon, we should consider a more gentle approach.”

“There are many people who are about to become saint runemasters, only a handful ever get there. Unless he succeeds, it is pointless.”

“Hmm...” Rhodey took out another stack of papers, “We also have some information about Faelor. It is his personal plane and not much information leaks out, but he recruited mages on a large scale a few years ago and we managed to get a few informants out of that group. He has only been managing the plane for a decade or so, but he's been lucky and capable in that time. He currently rules the Crimson Dukedom that is on the verge of becoming an independent country, and he has religions on his side as well. As for profits...

“Most of his profits come from mines and rare resources, but he also sells mounts to the Alliance... The estimated earnings are over 10 million gold a year! And his other planes combined earn a similar total, but two of them have been advancing quickly. They will reach Faelor's level soon.

“That income is...” the giant beast couldn't finish, but everyone knew what he wanted to say. Richard's income already totalled a fourth of what their own organisation possessed, and in a few years would grow to half. The Scholars of Soremburg shared their resources and had been managing them for nearly a millennium!

“Our resources have been drying up in the past century, and our new planes have not been developing quickly. The lack of materials is starting to affect research, this might be a chance.”

“I have a suggestion,” the old mage spoke up, “We should take Richard in; he is still someone with potential. Many things will work out smoothly in that scenario, and offering some materials for our development will only be natural.”

“Those resources will only be wasted on passion with him, our research progresses all of Norland. Considering the grand scheme of things, it will be necessary for us to manage those resources on his behalf.”

“With better offerings, our studies on the Eternal Dragon will progress as well!”

...

Soon, everyone had expressed their agreement and the resolution was passed. However, Rhodey spoke up to remind them all, “Richard is a student of Sharon, she's a troublesome woman. And considering the past, he himself has an unyielding personality as well. Our... persuasion might meet a wall.”

Someone who had been silent all this while spoke up, “I have my own guesses about Sharon's race. If I'm correct, I can leak some information that will put her in quite a bit of trouble.”

“Sharon is one of the premier powerhouses of Norland!” someone raged immediately, “You're thinking of weakening the entire plane!”

The previous figure shook its head, “Her personal problems are not something for us to worry about. What is more important, her or the broodmother and the resources?”

The dissenter snorted, but didn't say anything.

“As for Richard, we have many ways of making him yield. It might not even come to war, although that is the last resort. Perhaps Hastings will be useful.”

The meeting came to an end, and only the old mage and Rhodey were left in the room. The mage looked at the crest of book and pen in the centre of the hall, speaking only after a few minutes, “I'll leave him to you.”

“Of course,” Rhodey nodded before turning to leave the hall. Even afterwards, the acting lord of the castle continued to stare at the symbol of the Scholars for a long time.

......

Back in Faelor, Richard had already stopped outside the valley for three days. He had no idea of the decisions made in a demiplane far far away, of the invisible web that was slowly being wrapped around him. Still waiting for his army to assemble for the next battle, he was working on analysing the laws from Shattler.

Perhaps it was because of his elven blood or his prior analysis of the laws of life, but his progress was far smoother than with the laws of metal. Shattler's illusion laws were quite surface-level, powerful in battle but imitable by a grand illusionist. He estimated that it would only take a week to achieve an elementary understanding of their working, greatly improving his ability to hide him from even powerful opponents. At that point, even saints wouldn't be able to sense his movements easily.

Strangely enough, things were quite silent in the valley itself. The draconians continued on as though nothing had happened, and there wasn't particularly a surge of more troops either. Five more days passed by in the blink of an eye, and a hundred rune knights as well as 1,500 shadowspears were now ready for the assault.

On a plain a short distance away from the valley, he gave his followers their own missions and smiled, “Finally, we're getting lucky with these things. The gods must have caught on to the teleportation and delayed it or something, the messenger still hasn't appeared. I expected we would need to go on the offence, but an ambush should work just fine. Let's destroy them!”

With his command, a few flying chrysalides escorted each of his followers individually into the sky while the rest brought his soldiers to the mouth of the valley. The army would use the distance to charge at full speed, while the followers took out any saints on the enemy side.

The draconians promptly sounded the alarms when they discovered the flying chrysalides, grabbing their weapons and rushing out. A number of saints rose to the skies to meet the threat head-on, auras flaring in threat.

Some of Richard's followers smiled; this opponent was a complacent one, revealing itself without any effort needed on their part. Faelor had been far too easy an opponent for them, and they had lost their vigilance. The sky flashed with light of various colours as both sides clashed, draconians falling down one after the other. The three assassins of Phaser, Zangru, and Waterflower seemed to flicker in and out of existence, killing their targets in mere seconds.

1087 - City of Sin

Conspiracy

While Richard's assassins were taking care of the enemies in mid-air, most of the rest continued towards the teleportation gate before leaping down. Tiramisu's mountainous body whistled as he descended a hundred metres to land right in front of the portal, jolting all of the draconians nearby. By the time they got back on their feet, Mountainsea's landing took them right off again.

Only a handful of draconians managed to get up quickly and charge towards the ogre warlord, but they were sent flying immediately by Tenton. His body was quickly covered in milky white light as the priests who had come along buffed him, and before they could even despair the guards nearby were blown away. Already overbearing, Tiramisu grew into an impassable guardian before the priests had even landed.

Mountainsea and Tiramisu were tasked with preventing the draconians from sending any messages back through the portal. In case the victory was too much of a landslide, they were also to ensure that the desperate zealots wouldn't destroy the gate. With them present, none of the draconians even had a chance to get close.

The draconians in the valley quickly descended into chaos; before they could even deal with the influx of powerhouses, a large army had charged down the valley and was starting to pick them off. There were over ten thousand of them present, even the weakest at least level 5 or 6, but at this point the invisible Richard watching over it all didn't even consider the two saints a threat. He didn't even feel like lifting a finger; if he wanted, he could finish all of them off by himself.

Still, the battle lasted longer than expected. Each of the draconians was a mindless zealot, fighting with no regard for themselves. By the end of it all, over half of the 10,000 had been killed while only a thousand or so were captured, many of even those heavily injured.

One gain was that the draconians had stockpiled enough rations to support themselves for three years. Even for an army of a hundred thousand, this was enough for at least three months. The dragons had evidently been planning a long invasion, their army about to enter Faelor very soon. They even had enough equipment to arm 20,000 soldiers, the armour all fit for a kingsguard in Faelor.

Zabal clearly hadn't been lying when he said he would have entered Iron Triangle politics soon himself. The Dragon Church was planning a large invasion that nobody in Faelor was prepared for; if not for Richard's own decimation of the Iron Triangle Empire, Rislant would certainly have fallen to this onslaught.

However, as he scanned through the valley, Richard quickly started to frown. Having followed him all this while, Nasia stopped and asked, “What's wrong?”

“This place isn't right... It's missing a lot of people.”

“What?” Even Nasia was confused at his statement.

“Look around at the prisoners, there aren't any children, or even any childbearing women.”

“... And?”

“And planar travel requires a lot of energy, no matter which plane you're from. Regardless of the strength of the passage itself, it's best to send in young men and women to have them reproduce here. The dragons are in this for the long haul. These guys either have another portal to Faelor, or they have a way to mitigate the costs of transport.”

“Hahaha,” Nasia suddenly chuckled, “You've never been to a plane of dragons, have you?”

“No,” Richard answered honestly. Sharon's so-called weyr was just a cage, and in all of its history Norland had never come across the coordinates to a plane of dragons. While dragons themselves were still ubiquitous, there was little knowledge to be had about their societal structures.

“Alright, here's the simple explanation. Dragons always live in places with excess energy; what you would think borderline excessive is nothing to them. So that cost you're talking about? They don't mind paying it at all... And here I was thinking you wanted all of their energy sources and that was the reason for the hasty assault.”

“I just wanted to get the upper hand,” Richard went a little red.

“Your Grace!” a rune knight suddenly rushed over and bowed, “We have discovered a secret hall!”

Richard motioned for the knight to lead them; there would undoubtedly be something to uncover.

While the entrance to the hall was through a random building, the hall itself was enormous and took up a number of streets' worth of space below the town. Magic arrays were set up everywhere, keeping the place warm and humid to the point that it was packed with a dense mist. Richard took a single step inside, but he immediately retracted his foot; a large amount of sticky yellow fluid was now stuck to the bottom of his sole, and as he activated Insight he found the goop everywhere.

In some places, the yellow gunk was piled up into large mounds that contained giant green eggs within, looking very rough on the outside with some even having thorns upon them. At a glance, there were nearly a thousand eggs within. In no hurry to investigate, Richard called over a mage and had him record notes as he sniffed the air, “Environment is damp and humid, almost 100%... There's a thick stench of sulphur as well.”

The mage immediately wrote down everything, watching as Richard finally walked in. This time, mana was flickering on his body as a lightening spell took effect, ensuring that none of the fluids got onto his feet. The apprentice tried to do the same, but his floating spell dissipated within half a minute; the magic arrays all around them were also absorbing mana. Eventually, the youth just grunted and allowed himself to fall in, trudging through the slime with difficulty as he took down notes.

Richard walked around most of the hall, having the young mage write down his observations whenever he stopped. It was an entire round before he even got to the giant eggs, of which he took a dozen or so samples with most crushed to pieces. Some were still new, but others already had visible embryos as well.

Several hours passed as Richard went through the standard process of research, making sure not to miss anything. The young mage was exhausted by the end, but Nasia had been leaning against a wall and staring for the entire period. Her gaze was focused on him the entire time, not showing the slightest hint of boredom.

He walked over to her and sighed, “Heh, what was that about not caring about the energy costs? This is a hatchery for the draconians, and from the looks of it they'll be incubated in three months. I estimate they'll also need another nine to grow once they hatch, but that's still a thousand soldiers in a year.”
𝒇𝙧𝐞ℯ𝒘e𝚋n𝚘𝙫𝐞𝑙. c𝐨m

Nasia shook her head, “I believe they're more afraid of drawing the attention of the local gods. However, why spend so much time looking at this? You should have seen records of these things before. You could just have asked me.”

“Books never manage to give you all the details,” he countered, “Besides, I can't rely on you for everything either; our relationship will come to an end someday.”

Nasia remained quiet for a while, no emotions shown on her mask as she said dully, “Do as you like.”

1088 - City of Sin

The Judge Of Destiny

After taking over the valley, Richard set up a new array at the teleportation gate and stationed ten rune knights and fifty shadowspears at it. His followers were also placed their in rotation, at least one guarding the portal at all times.

It was in the afternoon of the next day that the first prey walked into their trap. A female draconian walked out of the gate and was immediately inundated with javelins, leaving the saint critically injured. The shadowspears rushed over to take her alive, but the moment the dizziness of travel and the shock from the attack wore off she used a technique that blew up her body and soul.

Once he heard about this, Richard sent a shadowspear through the portal to investigate the other side. It was ordered to make a quick visual scan of the area and return immediately, with an additional drone being sent every two hours. However, an entire day passed with not one of the knights managing to return.

Richard himself wasn't in a particular hurry, arranging for the Crimson Army to attack the Pearl Necklace as he continued to study Shattler's abilities. While there wasn't much to comprehend in terms of laws, the illusions were still very valuable in actual battle and would greatly increase his survivability.

The second day passed, but none of the shadowspears managed to make it back through the portal. It was on the afternoon of the third that Richard sent Zangru through, telling him to turn tail the moment he got out the other end and return.

Zangru returned in only half an hour, chuckling as he walked out of the portal. He headed straight to Richard's lab and placed his strange weapon on the ground, laughing the entire time, “There were so many draconians in there, even three dragons! It felt good to kill that much! This guy got its fill of dragonblood too, one of them was half dead before I had to leave. It'll probably evolve a bit after a month; it better be legendary by then.”

Richard glanced at Zangru and frowned, walking up to him and tearing apart the undamaged clothing with a single thought. The former demigod's once-supple skin was riddled with wounds that were centimetres long, with a few claw marks that cut from his shoulder to abdomen. There were even a couple of puncture wounds at his waist, and the fact that they still looked fresh showed just how grievously he'd been injured. The battle definitely wasn't as easy as he made it out to be; even just returning was likely because of some luck.

“Didn't I ask you to just check out the situation and return immediately?” Richard grunted.

“You told me I could kill a few of them if I saw the chance,” Zangru said casually.

“I wanted you to ambush them, not enter a fight with three dragons!”

“Well, I did... I just got caught up a little and let it devolve into a full battle. And this thing!” he kicked his rod-like weapon on the floor, “It's so difficult to find chances to fill it up. How could I give up on that? Future fights will be much easier.”

Richard stared at him for a while before sighing, “I know the broodmother can just create a new Asura with your memories and data if you die. But that won't be you, do you understand? That Asura will be a pure special unit.” Google search f𝐫e𝘦𝘸e𝗯𝒏𝗼ѵe𝗹． c𝑜m

“Eh, is there a difference? It will still be my memories, my soul.”

“But not you,” Richard emphasised once more, his expression now stern.

Zangru finally stopped acting like everything was a joke, growing serious for a moment, “Aren't I Asura now?”

“You're Zangru, one of my followers. Asura is a special drone the broodmother can create, and you just so happen to have its powers. Now, a follower is actually worthy of my time and care, a drone is not.”

Feeling strangely emotional, Zangru couldn't help but look away, “It isn't worth it. I'm a cursed demigod, my mere existence is a blight on this world. It isn't wor—”

“Enough! Don't make me repeat myself, just... go get yourself treated or something. You really will die if you bleed out any longer!”

“Alright, Master,” Zangru suddenly bowed, picking up his living weapon before heading out.

Richard shook his head with a wry smile, traces of fatigue showing on his face. His followers were all powerful beings in their own right now, perhaps even close to Gaton's thirteen, but each of them had a strong will that matched their power. They weren't content with the boundaries he set for them, but that was partly his own fault as well. Even Zangru had been with him for years and years now, while the rest of his followers had started out with him when he was a nobody. It was difficult to see them getting hurt, but he couldn't keep them caged up either.

Ordering another shadowspear to enter the portal, he returned to his room.

On the floor next to his bed was a rock that flickered with silver light, the cocoon that Carnage had formed when it absorbed the Friend of Silver's sword. The weapon was taking much longer to absorb the energy than expected, not reacting at all, but through Insight he had been able to see slow, constant changes within.

It had been a few days since he had checked on the weapon, and when he put his hand on it to sense the interior his eyes widened with delight. He made quick work of the rocky cocoon, even tearing at some of it with his mana to reveal a jagged longsword within.

A desolate growl rang through the room the moment that Carnage's new self was revealed, an aura of savagery radiating from the blade. The sword itself jumped a little before the aura faded, the bloodlust now bottled up within. Richard reached out and grabbed the hilt, but it jumped up once more and grew extremely aggressive. It struggled to break free of his hold for an entire minute before calming down.

Richard was startled by the development; the pull had been so great that he'd actually felt his muscles starting to stretch from the effort. It was only because of a quick activation of Mana Armament that he'd managed to reign it in, and it still took some of his martial arts techniques to make sure the force didn't damage him. Others would clearly need legendary might to control this weapon.

Thankfully, it didn't try to escape again once it calmed down. Richard placed the sword on the floor and examined it, connecting to it mentally to learn what it could do. Just like when he had first acquired it from the Eternal Dragon, the weapon readily revealed its abilities.

The original ability of Carnage was still preserved, with the sword growing more powerful against those he hated the most. It had grown significantly sharper as well; while not as powerful as Moonlight, its edge was still legendary grade. However, it was the last ability that caused him to tremble with shock: Judge of Destiny.

Judge of Destiny was a marking ability just like Carnage, but it was far more powerful. Those with the mark would essentially be rejected by the laws of the world, greatly dropping their defensive abilities to the point that even dragons would be injured easily. The weapon was tied to his own understanding of laws; the more laws he grasped in a battlefield, the more acclimatised he was, the more powerful the effect.

Of course, such a powerful ability came with a high cost. Calling on the power of laws was taxing, and after a minute of calculations Richard estimated that it would be equivalent to casting two grade 9 spells or using up some of his soul strength. Normally, he would only be able to use it thrice in a day.

However, even a single use of such a powerful ability was enough. At the same time, with his own understanding of laws beginning to grow rapidly, it would scale with him. This ability had great potential.

Having understood the ability in its entirety, Richard decided that Carnage was no longer a suitable name for this sword. Sighing with a mix of delight and slight horror, he changed it to the Judge. With this on hand, he thought things through for a while before deciding to change his tactics. Quickly leaving the room, he stopped a shadowspear that was about to enter the portal and went in himself.

The moment he stepped into the portal, he saw the same dazzling lights that he had grown familiar with over the years as his sight started to fail him for a few moments. This was a flood of raw spacetime that could contain any number of planes in any stages of their life. Most people lost control of their senses as they entered a portal, feeling like only a moment had passed when they came through the other side, but as one grew more powerful they could vaguely sense the minutes, hours, and sometimes even days passing by.

Richard himself was no longer the wide-eyed youth of the past, now able to sense the powerful yet chaotic energy all around him as the portal dragged him across the void. At times like these, his respect for the Eternal Dragon only grew. A spacetime flood was far more dangerous than an energy storm; it was chaotic and lawless, able to destroy entire planes without any way to stop it. However, the Eternal Dragon could construct stable passageways through such power that was unlikely to ever harm the traveller; its power was unthinkable.

As ever, the feeling faded as quickly as it arrived. The scenery before his eyes changed to the dry forest of what he now just called the Dragon Plane, and he was met with a flurry of spells and arrows targeted at him. However, as someone valuable to the Eternal Dragon his Planewalker title wasn't just for show; it also allowed him to avoid the dizziness of teleportation, with his senses only blurring for a moment because of the change in environment. Before any of the attacks could land, he blinked several hundred metres away to appear behind the draconians attacking him.

1089 - City of Sin

Attacking the Dragon Plane

With the draconians still focused on their bombardment near the portal, Richard calmly looked around to assess the situation. Hundreds of disciples were on full alert, while the same dragon he had seen before was flying in loops overhead. In a camp not far away, another dragon had just taken off.

Richard smiled at the dark green dragon in the sky, “We meet again. Tell me, did you see anything this time?”

“You again!” the dragon roared in anger, “You will not escape this time!”

He only drew the Judge out and prepared for combat, “Who said I even plan to? You, though... Please don't run.”

The prophet's eyes shrank at the sight of the silver sword, steam bursting out from its nostrils as it snorted. The dragon that had taken off from the camp found its way over, letting out an earth-shattering roar before it shot straight for Richard like an arrow. The new entrant was a copper dragon that was twice the size of the prophet, and despite being the same level it was clearly much stronger.

“Copperscale, run!” The prophet did not seem to share the same idea. It didn't know just why it was so afraid, but in the blink of an eye it had fled kilometres away.

“You... COWARD!” The dragon called Copperscale was startled at first, but staring at Richard for a while longer he lost all his apprehension and continued the charge. His maw opened wide as he approached, releasing a corrosive breath that covered everything around Richard.

Copperscale's brown breath attack reeked of rust, its corrosive potential much greater than that from the green dragon. It was the natural nemesis of anyone wearing heavy armour, but even for those without the particles would shred the body apart in seconds.

However, Richard just smirked at the sight. The breath might have been powerful, but it was mostly metal. Using Kingsteel to divert the damage, he pointed the Judge towards the copper dragon and activated its ability. In fact, he could even turn the attack around if he wanted.

A dull red glow covered Copperscale's body the very next moment, the dragon feeling extremely uncomfortable and sensitive. Before he could even understand what happened, he froze up at the sight of Richard standing on his snout. As the dragon reared back to snap, Richard dodged under the attack and stabbed the Judge into his neck, the blade buried all the way to the hilt.

The copper dragon roared in misery, swatting everywhere like he had gone crazy before he managed to get Richard off. He couldn't understand why his scales hadn't even blocked a part of the attack, but thankfully his body was enormous and even the full thrust wasn't too serious.

Richard looked down at the Judge and shook his head. He knew nearly nothing about the laws of this plane, so Judge of Destiny had only served as a couple levels' drop in defence. However, the copper dragon clearly had abnormally tough skin and scales; even with the drop, its defence was still equivalent to the prophet's. Even though the Judge had gone all the way in, there weren't any aftereffects.

Still, this wasn't too much of a cause for worry. Switching the sword to his left hand, he drew Moonlight out from behind him. Before the enemy could even process the chilling fear, he rushed straight through the breath attacks and struck at the flank. Spending a few seconds just tearing away at nearby scales, he eventually blinked onto the back and switched to reverse grips before stabbing straight down.

Pushing both blades all the way in, he twisted them within before drawing them back out and blinking a hundred metres away. Copperscale froze for a while in mid-air before howling in misery, a fountain of blood spurting out the back.

Richard finally smiled; even a legendary blade edge wasn't accomplishing the task, but Moonlight was even sharper. It managed to do enough damage for Disintegrator to activate, grievously injuring the dragon from within. If he had to rely on just the damage from the cuts, it would take forever to kill this dragon that was a hundred metres long.

His figure flashed back in front of Copperscale, the Judge blocking an instinctive swipe of the paw while Moonlight cut into one of the dragon's claws. Before the scream of pain could fade out, he had appeared at the chest and cut into the ribs. This time, he didn't even dodge the pillar of blood, instead taking a deep breath just before and blowing out a line of liquid blue fire that burrowed into the wound. After flashing away, he relaxed and watched calmly as the opponent slowly fell down from the sky.

Repeated activations of Lifesbane had mangled Copperscale's internal organs, but that wasn't nearly as bad as the final fire breath Richard had used. It was turning the dragon to ashes from within, quickly sapping it of its strength and regeneration. Crashing into the ground and rolling around a few times, the copper dragon only managed to kill a number of draconians before failing to get up.

Copperscale barely lifted his head, looking in the direction the prophetic dragon had fled. He seemed to be seething with rage as he finally understood why his ally had fled so desperately, but there was nothing to be done now. Richard himself found it a pity, but he just shrugged it off.

The greatest weakness of prophets was that they knew of the threats they faced at each turn. Most of them ended up cowards; it was difficult to possess the courage to fight destiny when that destiny was actually known. Had the green dragon worked together with Copperscale, Richard would have found it much more difficult to win. Even just a better warning to the copper dragon would have gone a long way. However, that could also attract his own ire, and in a full fight he would certainly target the weaker opponent first. Perhaps this was why the prophet had just fled.

Copperscale looked up one last time before roaring in failed resistance, the head quickly falling back to the ground. The surviving draconians were left frozen in shock. The battle was just as short as they had expected it to be, but man had duelled dragon and the latter was crushed. Someone gave a command and they launched a number of spells and arrows towards Richard, but not one of them dared to rise to the skies.

Richard didn't even bother looking down; the draconians were so far away that their attacks could never reach him. Focusing on the base in the distance, he saw another dragon struggling into the sky as it attempted to fly away. Recalling Zangru saying that he had drained half the blood of one, he just smiled with malice, “Now, now... We can't have you running.”

His figure flickered as he activated Mana Armament and rushed over, leaving afterimages behind as he caught up in the blink of an eye. The Judge was used once more before he blinked onto the dragon's neck, stabbing Moonlight into the nape. Twisting the sword around, he ground all the flesh in a thirty degree angle to activate all of the secondary effects of his runes.

This dragon roared as well, struggling with all its might to remain airborne. However, its back was quickly dyed red and its wings stopped listening to it, eventually giving way and letting it crash into the ground. Already maimed before, the creature lost its life instantly.

1090 - City of Sin

Loan

Feeling a sudden chill down his spine, Richard turned around to see two tracking arrows flying towards him. However, he just chuckled at the attempt; the arrowheads disintegrated before they were even close, the shafts losing momentum and falling to the ground. Looking at the chaotic army below, he threw a few fireballs into any regions where the soldiers were concentrated. Sometimes he waved his hand to form clouds of fire, using them to identify the more powerful draconians and bring them down. Although some of them were saints or grand mages, they were burnt down by his fireballs with ease.

Two dragons had died and one had fled. Their saints were found and killed, while Richard continued to launch a storm of fireballs down from above as though he had no limit to his mana. While the draconians weren't afraid of death for their masters, they still had a survival instinct; a few minutes into the massacre, the survivors split up to escape.

Richard didn't give chase, instead landing in front of Copperscale's body and using the Judge to dig through the dragon's skull. Groping around the brain matter for some time, he eventually managed to pull out a crystal that was flickering dull yellow. The crystal was abnormally large, much bigger than any others he had seen before.

However, this did not bring a smile to his face. The power of a dragon was normally linked to the size of its crystal, and Copperscale most certainly did not have the strength to match his. The only possibility was for the copper dragon to be an adolescent or young adult that had a lot of room to grow, and in dragon society that almost always came from powerful parents. The dragon's family would not take this lying down, and he would have to face the vengeance of several legendary dragons.

At this thought, he shook his head and sighed. He had naturally come to this plane with a plan to take over its resources; a few legendary dragons were no big deal. They might be able to defeat him, but none could stop him from leaving without significant time put into setting a trap. He didn't even have to fear them venting on those close to him; if they came into Faelor, the Judge would be so much more powerful and allow him to kill them as they came.

Still, he flew over to the other body and retrieved its crystal as well before flying back to the teleportation gate. There was no dearth of dragons proficient at portals, and the carnage he had caused here would invite retribution. Having used up a good chunk of his mana, he couldn't afford to face a legend right away. He planned to stick to the idea of a surprise attack; unlike Zangru, the broodmother couldn't resurrect him with full strength.

......

Not too long after Richard's departure, the sky twisted and rippled as a dark gold dragon passed through. It was a massive 150 metres long from head to tail, with its black horn covered in a number of unknown runes. The dozens of irregularly spaced eyes on its head seethed with rage as it swooped down towards Copperscale's body, the hole in the head causing it to pause.

With the crystal gone, there was no hope of resurrecting the copper dragon even if one could afford it. The gold dragon that looked rather like a chaos dragon howled in rage as it looked up, light shooting out from each of its eyes and weaving together to reveal the past. As it saw Richard heavily wound Copperscale with Moonlight, the dragon roared with such rage that everything for kilometres around trembled.

The battle was short; in under ten attacks, Richard had ended the copper dragon's life. His two swords had cut through the metallic scales like they were mere wood, tearing apart the defences repeatedly.

However, the vision in the sky wasn't clear nor coherent. There were several skips in the middle, and Richard's body and face were blurred beyond recognition. The golden dragon could only vaguely tell that this was a human, but it couldn't make out an identity.

“Human... A human that can use the power of laws... A human! A HUMAN!” the dragon roared with rage, front paws smashing down on the earth before it. All of the draconians within kilometres were launched into the sky before a strange suction force pulled them towards the dragon's mouth.

Before they could even realise what was going on, the draconians were all caught up in a near-transparent breath attack that covered their bodies in ash green. Fabric and metal disintegrated instantly before flesh was torn from bone, leaving behind a number of fragile bones that were blasted across the sky.

However, the few dozen deaths wasn't enough. The dragon roared in rage as it looked towards the teleportation gate and rushed towards it, but it hesitated a moment before charging in. It shouted towards the sky, “BAHAMUT! Do you hear me?! I want that passage strong enough for me to go through!”

A number of clouds in the sky suddenly caught fire, a cold and dignified voice ringing out, “You do not have enough resources, Kralkalor.”

“You do!” the golden dragon exclaimed.

“Loans from me come at a high price. Think over it, looking for Tiamat is a better option.”

“She has been missing for a long time, who knows when she'll return? I can't wait that long, help me!”

“Alright, I can lend you the resources you need. However, you will need to return twice the amount within a year.”

“Twice?! That's daylight robbery!” Kralkalor shouted furiously, causing the earth to shake.

The voice in the sky remained calm, “You can choose to reject it, but you have no other source of spatial stones. As I said, you can wait for Tiamat.”

“Grr... Alright, I'll borrow from you. However, I cannot fish the stones out from the spatial floods myself, how am I to repay you?”

“You can use other resources, but there will be a 30% markup on the equivalent value. If you cannot repay me at the end of the year, Mesmerwing will be mine.”

“She's my mate!” Kralkalor roared.

“If you cannot pay your debts, you don't have the right to a mate,” Bahamut said indifferently.

“Grr... ARGH!” The golden dragon suddenly tore into the earth again, “Copperscale was my most outstanding child, he must be avenged! Fine, I agree. Prepare the stones.”

“A wise choice,” Bahamut chuckled, the blazing clouds starting to disappear, “I hope you kill all of Faelor's humans soon.”

Kralkalor didn't respond, instead picking up the two corpses and flying into the distance. Dragons always flew freely, as though their wings slid through the sky, but today its wings seemed very heavy.

......

Back in Faelor, Richard gave the dragon crystals to his subordinates before returning to his lab to study the draconian eggs. They seemed different from what his books told him about natural-born draconians, but he had been interrupted by Zangru's arrival before he could delve deeper.

He remained engrossed in his lab the entire day, carefully looking through all the information he had to determine what they were. It was only at dawn that he finally walked out, looking slightly worried.

“Good morning, Master?” Tiramisu nodded as he came out, “Did you find anything?”

The ogre had been assigned to both protect the lab and prevent people from disturbing him, possessing a natural advantage with the two minds. However, Richard didn't answer immediately, instead looking at a number of eggs in front of the ogre himself. Only one of them was still intact, with the others being broken shells.

“You... ate them?”

1091 - City of Sin

Dark Void

“Those eggs taste horrible, Boss!” Medium Rare suddenly woke up, rubbing his eye, “There's enough energy in there, but almost no lizard at all. It's basically human, that's such a bad taste!”

Ogres were able to somewhat analyse the composition of things they ate, with this ability only growing with both their level and mind. However, Richard smiled softly; the only reason this one hated humans was that he had been brought up by one. Most normal ogres ate anything from dragons to bugs and sometimes didn't even mind plants. Humans were decidedly average for their palate, which was why the original word for ogre in old Norlandic translated to something like “man-eating devil.”

“Anyway,” Richard shook his head, “I agree. These eggs aren't natural; they should be human infants injected with draconic blood with some growth catalyst.”

“But what's the point?” the ogre scratched his heads, “These people can't breed, so they'll only be useful once.” This was a general rule. Most artificially created lifeforms— and even a good chunk of normal ones that were modified— ended up losing a good chunk of their reproductive abilities. Even the Schumpeter Family that had studied selective crossbreeding for years had failed to overcome this issue.

“It still allows them to send a large number of soldiers through to another plane quickly. Each of these things can get to level 10, and half a month's worth of blood is enough for hundreds. Even for everything in the hall, two dragons would have been enough.”

“But that needs so many babies. Won't the chance of fusion be low?”

“Would you worry about chickens if you could use a few of them to maybe make clones of yourself?”

“Uhh... I understand,” the ogre nodded hard, realising why Richard looked so uneasy.

Richard himself sighed, heading for the hatchery where hundreds of worker drones were tending to the eggs. They had taken up the draconians' job perfectly well, and in some cases were performing even better than the original caretakers. In charge of them all, the Thinker was present personally and directing the hatchery.

Looking at the special unit, Richard suddenly thought about how useful it had become in recent years. Outside of small battles, the Thinker was now more useful in any situation than Phaser and Zangru, with the astral chrysalis sharing a similar status. Be it the regular flying chrysalides or the wasps, nothing could compare to the astral chrysalis at logistics and transport; just it alone was enough to support a small war.

Brushing away the thoughts, he waved at the Thinker and asked, “How is it going?”

“The samples have been sent to the Creator, but she will need a month to completely analyse them. The eggs have been slowed down as we wait; she anticipates that she can turn all of these things into obedient servants just like us.”

He nodded and left the hall. The hatchery was a rudimentary attempt at creating drones, as were most draconians, but the broodmother was someone at the end of that path. He didn't need such techniques when she was around, but now that she was completely independent he needed to grow his own sources as well.

Once he was out, he soared a kilometre into the sky to overlook the entirety of the valley. After sweeping his gaze across the area, he flew over to check on the battle situation at the Pearl Necklace.

Gangdor was currently leading an army of 30,000 to attack Zabal's remaining forces, but this time he only had 2,000 humanoid knights on hand while the rest were living warriors. He had even been ordered to refrain from using the drones as much as possible; Richard wanted to make sure his generals would be effective even without having to rely on the broodmother's drones and communication system.

To his credit, the brute had won every battle despite being outnumbered six to one. In mere days, he had exterminated the two main legions of the opponent, and was currently marching on the capital. His talent at the helm of an army was clearly leagues beyond his personal talent for battle.

The entire battle situation was actually a sham that was only being used as training. If he wanted, Richard could lead the army personally and destroy the Pearl Necklace in a day. However, planar wars were meant for resources and not conquest; without a proper use for the land, he had no need to pay attention to it himself.

Confirming that things were going smoothly on that end as well, Richard took out the Doomsday Imprint and activated it. Many mechanisms within fluctuated rapidly as he put his mind to the device, warping into all sorts of miniatures that represented objects with great power. These weapons were extraordinarily complicated to the point that he could barely understand the surface of their functioning, but even so he knew that even the flying warships and ballistae of the dragonblood gnomes could not compare.

Every time he studied these machines, Richard felt a strange gloominess. Norland's powerhouses thought of war machines as large toys— after all, a legend could destroy most with a single good attack while someone on Sharon's level could wipe out an entire fleet of gnome airships with minimal effort— but he didn't feel so confident against these. His own Core-Melting Explosion could turn a flagship to ash, but his instincts told him that the ships he was seeing in the Imprint were far more resilient. For some reason, they reminded him of the terrifying scene at the end of the Godnest in the Resting Orchid Plane. The dead battlefield was a testament to the desperate battle of ages past.

Sighing, he lifted the Imprint higher and continued to study its changes. This had become a pastime in recent months, an exercise that strengthened his blessing of wisdom and allowed him to improve rapidly.

However, he was less than an hour into the process when he suddenly lost all vision, body suddenly dropping out of the sky for a moment before his senses returned and he caught himself. Shaking his head as he felt the onset of a headache, he stowed it away and returned to the valley before heading into his room to meditate and recover.

One's mind and soul were the source of their comprehension of laws; if their minds were exhausted, it was impossible to control laws accurately. As someone who depended on laws for a lot of his power, from the Judge of Destiny to Kingsteel, he couldn't take the high risk of using the Imprint to drain himself completely. It was only when he was assured of his safety that he did such a thing, but sometimes he just grew immersed in the process and couldn't break out.

Assigning a troop of shadowspears to guard his room and entering meditation, Richard quickly realised that something was strange. Not too long after entering meditation, his mind was pulled from the vast world of the Deepblue Dream to what felt like a closed void. He sent feelers out in all directions and got nothing back, but he felt strongly like the darkness before him hid a number of different worlds.

No matter how hard he tried, he remained unable to break through the veil of darkness covering him. For a while, he even seemed to be stuck in this strange world, unable to escape to reality. Second after second began to pass, and as time dragged on he felt his thoughts starting to slow.

Strangely enough, none of this affected his mood. He felt no fear, no unease, no frustration. Constantly trying to feel out his surroundings despite the failures, he eventually managed to find a fundamental resonance in the world that anchored him in time. With the support of Truth, he quickly realised that the sluggishness was just an illusion from a process that stretched out the time he had. It felt like every second could be stretched to millennia in this dark void.

Nobody could hold on in this environment for a length of time. Richard felt a wave of fear passing over him as he realised that he could have lost himself in this darkness, but with the anchor the empty world seemed to change. An enormous warship leapt out from the darkness, sweeping past him before floating away.

In that moment, all of Richard's minds froze. The warship looked odd and complicated, clearly made of millions of metallic parts linked together in an unbelievably intricate manner that he failed to comprehend. It took up all of his senses and even his mind, but produced no numbers at all. Truth seemed to lose all effect, with his own ability to judge things fading away. He couldn't even be certain if the ship was enormous or tiny, but his instincts told me that this definitely wasn't a normal size.

1092 - City of Sin

Lost Memories

The warship looked extremely similar to Richard, reminding him of something he had seen in the Doomsday Imprint. It wasn't exactly the same, but the aura was quite similar. He tried to recall and extrapolate, but after a few moments of trying to analyse it, his head started to hurt before his vision went white!

Screaming soundlessly, Richard realised that this object was far too complicated for him to dissect even in the slightest. It was rather reminiscent of Sharon's balance, which had left him in a similar situation. As the white slowly receded and the empty world returned, he realised he had missed something significant.

Forcing down the headache to look around, he suddenly went back. Far in the distance was a desolate stretch of land, where the sky was black and the earth cracked all over. Thorny bushes were all over the place, but they didn't radiate an aura of vitality at all; the only thing one could feel from them was pain and suffering. This was an isolated, quiet world. There was no obvious source of light, but somehow one could see the surroundings.

There was only one sign of life in this land, a lone figure wrapped in a black cloak that seemed to be moving almost mechanically. There was no road under her feet, nor was there an obvious destination, but she moved steadily with no sign of weariness.

This figure froze Richard's heart. He shouted as loudly as he could, but there was no body in here to carry that voice. He tried to fly over, but there was no way for him to move. A name that he had sealed in the depths of his very existence bubbled up to the top of his mind, violating the restrictions he had intentionally placed until he reached the legendary realm.

“Flow—” he woke up from the meditation, almost screaming a name before he muffled himself. Drenched in cold sweat, he barely kept himself up as a frightening sense of fatigue threatened to leave him unconscious. His body, mind, and even mana pool were completely exhausted, as though he had fought a bloody battle for days.

Richard was afraid that he would rush to become a legend if he so much as thought about Flowsand, jumping into the Darkness as quickly as he could. However, that legendary version of himself would not be optimal, and certainly wouldn't be powerful enough to actually rescue her from her trials. He wanted to train extensively before getting there just so that he could unlock a powerful ability that increased his chances, somewhat akin to how Sharon's combination of Manaforge and Master Summoning allowed her to overpower most other legends when she had just started out.

Even the edge of the Darkness could kill a legend easily. Richard had steeled himself and worked on the slow burn, expanding his military forces, runes, and personal strength to reach the top. Even without a true legend, the Archerons now fully deserved their position in the sixth tier of Faust's islands, while Nasia's existence allowed them to contend at the high end as well. He himself was now more powerful than a new legend with his runes, and as he used his strength as a soul hunter that power would only grow.

Now that he had powerful weapons too... He had to force the thought from his mind. He could perhaps survive the edge of the Darkness, but that was not enough. He had never known clearly just how important Flowsand was to his existence, but he did know that burying her deep in his heart was the only way to prevent himself from doing something stupid.

He had never expected to see her again while meditating, in this odd, empty void that his blessings were telling him was real. This was Flowsand, somewhere, sometime, and that fragment of existence had brushed across his own. Closing his eyes and resting for a while, he headed out to down some mana and energy potions in one go.

It took half an hour before Richard could even think again, but the moment he was able he completely ignored the million tiny wounds he had sustained from mana depletion to try and burn what he had just seen into his memory. He was still certain that he had seen something real, but he could not tell when nor where it was. Both the warship and Flowsand walking through that broken world might have occurred already, or they could be a vision of the future that would never come to be. He did not know yet, but he would find out eventually.

Thankfully, the injuries themselves were minor and would heal in a few days. Richard sighed and leaned back into his chair, muttering to himself that he would have to wait longer, but to anyone looking it would feel as though he had aged a decade. Hours later, he opened his eyes and activated his secondary minds, resuming his analysis of various laws; for now, these memories would be buried until he could act on them.

As Wisdom was activated, he found that some of the calculations he had found difficult to make suddenly grew a lot easier. He was startled for a moment, but it didn't take long to realise that the blessing had grown sometime during this process and was now at grade 7. This upgrade only increased the speed of his thoughts, but while he would have needed a million days to analyse the laws of the Godnest at grade 5, that number was now quartered to 250,000. Even the new speed was still unacceptable, but he estimated that he would be ready to tackle the task after two more upgrades. Most legends focused on tiny fractions of a single world for their entire lives, but he would be able to comprehend and control much more.

The question of just why he had entered that dark void plagued Richard's mind, but after some thought he could only conclude that it had something to do with the Doomsday Imprint. He took out the crystal and sent a tendril of mana within, but as the metal started warping frantically he felt the sliver of mental strength he had recovered fade away once more.

The Imprint was an odd thing. Every time he tried to study it, his minds were overloaded to the point that his head started to hurt. This was great practice for his blessing of wisdom, but it also ran the risk of leaving him too weak for a serious battle. He had considered sharing it with the broodmother at one point, but the thought had left him anxious and now that she was independent, he had even less of a reason to give it to her. There were far too many secrets within the crystal ball, and he couldn't risk anyone else getting their hands on it.

All sorts of legends about the reapers flitted across his mind. He had once tried to verify some of them, but there were no first-hand sources to rely on. The most accurate accounts still came from mere fragmented prophecies, but for a race touted to be so powerful it was impossible for human diviners to predict things accurately. The only guarantee was that they would be powerful, and they would show themselves in Faelor at some point. However, that could be in a few years or centuries upon centuries.

Resting for a while, Richard eventually left the room and had Bluewater send over a shipment of the best mana and energy potions they could get their hands on. He couldn't afford to rely on natural recovery if he wanted to progress as fast as possible, and even a hundred thousand gold a day was a cost that he could handle if it meant greater speed. The resource he lacked the most was time; there were far too many things he had to do, from preventing his visions to rescuing Flowsand to recovering Gaton. Now that he was a saint runemaster, the money was the least of his concerns.

Just as he asked the broodmother to convey the message, however, a rune knight suddenly rushed over to his residence, “Your Grace, the teleportation gate is fluctuating. We have already taken precautions, but Sir Tiramisu is asking you to come over and examine it whenever you can.”

1093 - City of Sin

Legendary Theatre

Richard immediately followed the rune knight to the portal, finding the gate flickering in a frenzy of various lights. Thirty rune knights were already in formation around it, alongside a dozen priests and mages that maintained every blessing possible on the front row. Whenever an enemy did come out, the first ten would stall while the rest were buffed as well.

“Hmm?” His eyes were immediately drawn to a young priest that was standing before the portal, emitting pure light gold timeforce from his hand to keep the gate under control.

The priest heard Richard's voice and immediately stopped his spell, turning around to bow, “Your Grace, the portal is being strengthened greatly. This isn't only for capacity, either; if this keeps up, it will quickly be able to accommodate legendary beings.”

“Legends, huh... Looks like I was right. Anyway, you've done well for yourself, Caesar.”

The youth's eyes lit up, “Thank you, Your Grace. It is an honour to be recognised even after all these years.”

At the mention of time, Richard couldn't help but lose focus. It hadn't even been two years in Norland, but more than a decade had passed in Faelor. The once-emaciated noble teenager had grown into a powerful priest, and from the looks of it had reached level 15 even in this plane which the Eternal Dragon neglected. This was a great talent, even considering the entire Archeron Family.

“Fontaine was my friend, of course I'll remember his children...” he muttered, “You seem to have a gift with timeforce as well. Tell you what, remind me when this war is done. I'll take you to the Church in Norland and let you see a true altar to the Eternal Dragon.”

“R-Really?” Caesar immediately paled before his cheeks flushed with joy. No gift was worth more to a priest than the ability to witness the miracles of the deity they worshipped. He even stood a chance to gain a level just from the experience.

Richard smiled softly and patted his shoulder before walking towards the portal, probing it with his mana to confirm the assessment. While he trusted the youth he had nurtured, it also took an enormous amount of energy to upgrade a portal's level beyond what was normal for the target plane. One only needed to stabilise a passage to increase the number of people that could pass through, but expanding it was orders of magnitude more difficult.

“It seems like I really pissed them off,” he chuckled. Even though he knew little about the dragon plane itself, he did understand Tiamat's wealth and where she ranked within it. Extrapolating a little, it quickly became clear that the cost of upgrading a portal like this was massive even for the dragons.

“Do we get to fight a legend, boss?” Medium Rare shouted with joy, “I'll be here every day!”

The ogre warlord's greatest advantage was his brute strength. Coupled with Mana Armament which he could activate in an instant, he could burst forth with concussive levels of force even for metallic dragons. Unlike Waterflower of Phaser who needed to target weaknesses, he could also just slam any potential entrants right in the head.

Muttering to himself for a while, Richard eventually nodded in approval. Although the portal had been strengthened, it was impossible to know just when the opposing dragon would arrive. Tiramisu was the best guard for the portal; without the Judge or Moonlight, even he himself couldn't beat the ogre convincingly.

He then connected to a distant cloned brain, looking up the transportation schedule to find an important shipment currently en route from Bluewater that would take an estimated five to six days to arrive. He deployed a few dozen winged serpents to act as guards. This shipment contained fifty dragonblood javelins that had been blessed in Norland by the God of Death, each one almost an epic-grade weapon in itself. When dealing with dragons, each one held the power of a saint going all out in itself, and their users' power would only stack on top. Even against legends, they were quite effective.

Each one of these javelins cost nearly a hundred thousand gold, but the reason Richard only had fifty was that Faust didn't have the inventory to satisfy his requirements. He had already placed an order for a hundred more, which would be transferred to him soon. Considering that each of these javelins would lose their special powers with a single use, this was a staggering cost.

However, they were certainly worth it. The fifty javelins could kill even a legendary dragon with a bit of luck, or grievously wound it at minimum. With a five million gold investment, the body and materials from the dragon alone would make up for the loss.

Five days would pass quickly, and in all likelihood the portal wouldn't even be stabilised before the javelins arrived. It would likely take even more time for the dragon on the other end to pass through. Of course, Richard wasn't one to pin his hopes on such a thing if he had a choice; three groups of fifty rune knights each were stationed at the portal in rotation, supplemented by 200 shadowspears. The remaining hundred would also remain nearby, prepared to reinforce if the dragon did appear.

Once all the arrangements were done, Richard contacted the broodmother.

“Do you need anything, Master?” she asked the moment he connected to her.

“I need some special drones.”

“Should I stop production on the winter soldiers?”

“No, this isn't in bulk. In fact, there isn't much of a combat requirement either. One second,” he transmitted a few images and descriptions from his mind, “These are some famous legends of Norland, I need you to make a few clones of them.”

“I can't build legendary beings yet, Master...”

“I don't need them to be legendary, I just need the exteriors. They need to make a strong impression, but that's it.”

“Hmm... I recently figured out how to make some of my drones emit saint-level auras for a few seconds. Will that work?”

“Perfect, how long will they take?”

“Not very. They only need to be level 5, so the forest can make them without me being involved. You can have the first batch by tomorrow.”

“Alright, make a few copies of my followers as well. Also twenty of myself, swords included this time. The dragons already saw me once.”

“Oh! I see now, that's genius! I'll get right on it.” She had finally understood his plan.

......

A number of cloned brains flew into what was now called Dragon Valley the next morning, bringing over a hundred newly-built drones. Each one looked grand and imposing, coming from a mix of various races and resembling powerhouses of Norland's past and present. There were even half a dozen resembling Tiramisu alone, both heads perfectly animated and pretending to speak with each other.

At first sight, Richard's followers couldn't believe their eyes. However, it didn't take long to realise that these drones were only empty shells without substance that would die to one strike. Facing their questioning, Richard smiled wordlessly and gestured to the portal. Picking out a drone that looked like the historical Dragonslayer Nolan— a powerhouse that more than half of all plane-faring dragons had heard about— he had it enter the gate.

1094 - City of Sin

Legendary Theatre(2)

Thousands of draconians were running around in the withered forest, building a huge magic array. Every warehouse nearby was already packed to the brim with materials, and even so large heaps could be seen all over. Dragons were regularly flying in to offload more resources, just the fact that they were willing to do this personally showing just how valuable the materials were.

Kralkalor was circling up above in the sky, roaring in anger ever so often. Every roar caused the draconians down below to shudder in fear; he had been violent and temperamental in recent days, killing his subordinates regularly. Every glance at the mountains of materials reminded him of the huge debt that he had just incurred from Bahamut; he would lose his beloved mate if he could not repay in time.

Mesmerwing wasn't only a beauty in the draconic world, but also held a powerful bloodline. Her descendants were destined to be powerhouses, and in only a year she would go into heat— something that only happened once in three decades. Kralkalor only had one thing in mind; he had to kill all of the humans in Faelor and hope they had enough resources to pay off Bahamut. Reneging was not an option; Bahamut was a powerful existence on par with Tiamat that he was far from being able to contend with.

Kralkalor had always been quick-tempered, unwilling to wait even a second. He had been glancing at the portal ever since it could first fit him through, only refraining from rushing through because he was likely to be wounded in the process. It would also alert the gods on the other end, and he didn't want the gods of Faelor interfering before he could find the wretched human that killed his son.

During one such glance towards the portal, he suddenly saw it flash as a lone silhouette walked through. He started diving down, but as he saw who it was he flapped his wings hard to stop himself.

This was Nolan! The Dragon Slayer was here!

Nolan had once left many dragons trembling at his feet. Kralkalor himself had a close brush with death at the human legend's hands in his youth, and as the Dragon Slayer's aura started to flare traumatic memories bubbled up to mind. The dragon roared in fear and rage, launching a breath attack before the guards could even do anything.

The so-called Dragon Slayer disappeared into a wisp of smoke, many draconians accompanying him in death. Two modules of the teleportation gate were also destroyed in the process.

Kralkalor froze in confusion; the nightmare of all dragonkind had disappeared just like that?

Before he could even recover, another familiar figure walked through the gate. This one was no less familiar than Nolan; the Celestial Sage Ruben, surrounded by his signature rain of starlight. Kralkalor spewed another breath attack instinctively, and this figure disappeared as well. Another of the portal modules was damaged in the process.

The portal went quiet for a few minutes before a third person appeared. This time, it was Richard. Kralkalor had learnt his lesson and didn't act at first, instead having the draconians get into formation; he found the human familiar, but could not recall the name.

Just like Nolan and Ruben, Richard's aura flared up to the level of sainthood, and he started going through the motions of spellcasting. However, this time there was no illusion; a dozen fireballs were sprayed out of Richard's hands, and a storm of blue flames instantly swallowed the draconians nearby. It was only when he turned around and returned through the gate that Kralkalor realised this was a real opponent.

......

That first attack by Richard was only the start of the torment. Over the next few days, Kralkalor saw a number of legendary beings from the Blood Sovereign Orden to the Elemental Lord Tumon, High Scholar Soremburg, and even the recent Dragon Slaver Sharon.

The dragon felt like his heart had grown much stronger in a matter of days, more so than his past eight centuries of experience. No matter who came out from the gate, he would no longer attack at full strength; if that happened again, he would be out of materials to rebuild the spell formation. Already having used up the entirety of what he had borrowed, a single spatial stone more was beyond him. Still, it took all of his patience to calm his pounding heart whenever he saw a recognisable figure.

At this point, he even felt like being a dragon wasn't a good thing. His kind had long lives and too much knowledge; if he didn't recognise all of the frightening figures coming through the portal, he would not be as vexed as he was.

All sorts of powerhouses came through the portal. Orden appeared six times, and Nolan a total of nine. Richard showed himself eight times, while Zangru, Phaser, Waterflower, and Tiramisu each did five or six. Most were fakes, but every real one caused massive casualties around the portal even if they didn't harm the portal itself. While draconians were basically livestock, even Kralkalor felt uncomfortable losing as many as he was.

Unable to endure the losses, the dragon eventually withdrew the guards a safe distance away from the portal to allow any entrants to come in closer. This worked against the first few fakes, but then Richard changed his strategy. He only took one step out of the portal before turning to an incomplete magic array, hurling a fireball towards it.

The moment he saw those blue flames, the dragon felt like someone had clawed into his heart. He howled in despair and charged over, planning to block the next attack with his own body, but Richard just stepped back through.

The dragon knew that Richard's strange blue flames were exceptionally powerful, but even so the damage to the spell formation almost caused him to faint. Nearly a cubic metre of the sturdy base had been melted away; how was this the power of a mere fireball? Even an adult red's breath wasn't this strong!

It took some time for Kralkalor to calm down. Taking a good look at the damage, he sighed with relief that the spatial stones had suffered minimal damage. While the other resources were still expensive, he could get more. The grade 9 barrier around the module had been of some use, but that had already evaporated.

Gritting his teeth, the dragon decided he couldn't suffer these losses and sent his subordinates to guard the gates once more. A staggering number of them died each day, depleting another of his limited resources. He eventually lost all of his, having to borrow from other dragons to maintain the cost. With his credit lowering by the day, he could only agree to increasingly stringent conditions.

At some point, the gold dragon had become the laughing stock of the Dragon Plane. However, there was no going back at this point and nothing to fall back on; he could only hope to conquer Faelor and pay off all of his debts. Kralkalor had once dispatched a group of draconians through the portal to harass the human in a similar manner, but when none of them returned he realised the stupidity of the idea. He had to protect the spell formations around the portal, but Richard did not. Even now, he was relying on the humans being overconfident enough to let him finish the portal without just closing the other end. At the same time, he had lost most of his saints and grand warlocks, while those that remained couldn't compare to the human's followers.

Outside of Richard, Tiramisu, Phaser, Waterflower, and Zangru all had the ability to kill dragons. Mountainsea had gone through the portal once as well. While her energy levels weren't worth mentioning, her body was frighteningly powerful. She had found one of Kralkalor's subordinate dragons the moment she stepped through, rushing over and smashing down with Eleventon. The dragon completely ignored the toothpick-like rod as it tried to smack the offender away with a paw, but a crisp shatter rang out as its claws were smashed to pieces.

Thankfully, that dragon had been quick-witted enough to take off immediately, flying away before she could give chase. For her part, Mountainsea saw that she couldn't get to the dragon immediately and followed Richard's instructions to return.

Days passed, and the dragons guarding the portal saw an increasing number of legendary beings that were famous in the myriad planes. Richard had first only sent models of Norlanders, but he had eventually contacted Thor at the Mage Association to get all non-secret information on any others. In a single day the astral chrysalis then shipped over a few hundred legends of various types, even including Maranos the Brain-Eater whom Philip had killed during his attack on the Fort of Dawn. This was a miniature version, only ten metres long from head to tail, but with Richard having seen the corpse himself, the broodmother hadn't missed a single detail.

Over the next few days, almost every famous plane-farer in this section of the void showed themselves in the Dragon Plane. Many bored dragons came after receiving the news, wanting to look at the display while they mocked Kralkalor for his failures.

1095 - City of Sin

Setup

Kralkalor was irritable, quick-tempered, and overbearing; he wasn't well-liked within the Dragon Plane. Hundreds of dragons had gathered around the teleportation gate in a matter of days, acting purely as spectators.

A few of them were still excited and tried to participate ever so often, but their conceit was met with a crushing defeat. None of Richard's followers was a legend yet, but a fair number of them were sky saints. They all had excellent equipment and vast experience; taking out a few dragons wasn't all that difficult. It was only when Waterflower almost killed one in a single engagement that the rest learnt not to stick out for Kralkalor anymore.

The stalemate lasted nearly an entire month, and during this time Kralkalor learnt how powerful Richard was. Just he and his followers were frightening opponents that had the gold dragon wondering whether he would manage to conquer Faelor even if he entered it. Even with his temper, he had grown hesitant; charging into Faelor could mean life or death. The only reason he still entertained the idea was that he had already backed himself into a corner with his debts.

Many of the dragons watching realised this as well, and the fact only served to amuse them further. The details of Kralkalor's deal with Bahamut had been leaked at some point, and everyone knew about it.

......

As the days dragged by like a year, Kralkalor welcomed a special day when Richard appeared a full three times. Having heard of the audience to his play, he had decided to take a look personally. Only able to stop and look for a short period every visit, he had to use the multiple visits to survey his surroundings. Of course, he didn't forget to wipe out hundreds of draconians each time.

Once he had seen everything he needed to, Richard returned to his lab in Faelor to ponder over what he had seen. He had managed to count out more than 200 dragons just in that area, and even dragons weren't all bored enough to just watch one of their own get humiliated repeatedly. There had to be thousands or even tens of thousands of dragons on the plane at minimum, and that was a very conservative estimate.

The Dragon Plane was far more powerful than he had expected. He had estimated that it was a single weyr ruling lesser races, but this was clearly untrue. This meant the plane was far more valuable, but it was also far more than he could handle at the moment. He would need a change of plans.

Shaking his head, he sent a message for his followers to gather at the church building the draconians had left behind. While the statues within had been demolished, the main hall and its entrance were still a dozen metres tall; Tiramisu could finally enter the meeting without shrinking himself.

Once the map of the vicinity of the portal was set up, Richard marked the ring of dragons he had seen with great detail before turning to his followers, “This plane is far stronger than expected, but thankfully they don't seem to have any plans to attack together. Of course, we can still block them off at the bottleneck if they do, but I don't think there will be a chance to build a base on the other end for years. Do any of you have any ideas to get it done?”

Everyone exchanged glances, but none of them spoke up. Richard waited for a few minutes as they thought, sighing with faint disappointment. His followers were all adept at killing, but few of them could even lead armies and none were the type to manage planes. Even Gangdor, who was left in charge of Faelor for long stretches of time, was only able to hold down the fort with the help of Olar and the broodmother. As he continued to acquire more planes, he needed talents like Salwyn and Raymond, as well as those like Rosie and Perrin. He hadn't met any such people as of late, and even Raymond was a thorn he had to deal with eventually.

Given the current situation, there was little he could do. Sighing, he changed the map to one of the Pearl Necklace and updated it with the newest information with Gangdor. The Crimson Army already controlled everything outside of Neverwinter itself, and he was in the midst of a siege on the capital city as well.

Even on the verge of the Dukedom's end, Zabal's laughable children and siblings were fighting over the throne. They had summoned nobles to vow loyalty to them, but secret messengers had arrived at Gangdor's tent to discuss the terms of surrender. They were all delusional enough to think they would just become vassals to what would become the Crimson Empire.

He had no plans to entertain such clowns. Gangdor had already been instructed to ignore all such attempts and continue his siege; the fates of the existing rulers were not for him to worry about. The Pearl Necklace contained Dragon Valley, and he couldn't afford it being in the hands of an other; a stable planar passage was worth more than even the entire Iron Triangle Empire.

After some thought, he marked a twisting route eastward that headed to the ocean that passed through the Iron Triangle Empire and many other dukedoms, “Once we take over the Pearl Necklace, give the army three days of rest before continuing on this path to the ocean.”

He then circled a point on the route, “This is the location of Runai's central church, and it will be our biggest target. Taking it down will destroy her foundations in the mortal world, dropping her to the strength of a lesser god or even dropping her immediately. That will be our primary goal for this battle.”

“The other gods will interfere if we don't have a fitting excuse, my Lord,” Kellac cautioned him.

Richard shook his head, “This will be divine war against a false faith. Runai doesn't have the power to control time. She can only warp its flow, but she proudly proclaims that she is the Goddess of Time. Is that not enough?”

Kellac's eyes glowed at this question, “Then is the Eternal Dragon...”

If the Eternal Dragon chose to draw faith from Faelor, the entire pantheon would be shaken.

“No, the dragon doesn't need faith like that. If he thought Faelor was useful, he would have formed a natural altar somewhere on the plane. It's just an excuse,” Richard said with a shake of the head. He had asked Noelene about this already.

“In that case, Cerces will interfere at a minimum; the central church is close to our route. Neian isn't too far away either.”

Richard smiled, “Just because I can't kill those two yet, that doesn't mean I can't teach them not to meddle in my affairs. Let them try, a few demigods and avatars should be enough of a lesson. If they annoy us too much, it isn't a bad idea to take over their churches too.”

A few of those born in Faelor looked uncomfortable with the topic, but Richard's core followers remained perfectly calm. Even Norland's gods were only equivalent to legends in their eyes, while those of Faelor weren't even worthy of that respect.

As his followers started to leave, Richard connected to the broodmother and had her focus on creating a large batch of flying chrysalides. While they weren't as large as the enormous wasps, they were a better balance of speed and capacity for transporting soldiers instead of supplies. The broodmother agreed to create a chrysalis every day for the next twenty; added to what he already had, that would give him over fifty to use at any given time. This mobility would be key to some future battles.

Fiddling with the Doomsday Imprint, he continued to stare at the map until he was the only one in the room. His blank expression eventually gave way to a frown, and as his strength was being drained by the Imprint that frown only grew worse.

1096 - City of Sin

Prisoner Of War

“Something doesn't make sense?”

“Eh? Oh, yeah,” Richard nodded at Nasia who had appeared at some point in time, leaning against the door, “The Dragon Plane is far stronger than I estimated. I had thought that a plane where Tiamat is a deity of sorts can't be all that powerful, but it looks like I was wrong.”

“That isn't because she is too weak, Sharon is just too strong. You wouldn't be able to escape from Tiamat even with her being suppressed by the laws of Norland.”

“Hehe... Yeah, I'd forgotten,” he smiled mockingly.

“It's really interesting, though. You always underestimate Sharon subconsciously and very rarely do the same for others. Sometimes your insight is surprisingly accurate, but with her... Such is love, I guess.”

“W-What?” Richard suddenly blushed, “I don't!”

“I mean, it's just some bitterness over your current power dynamic, isn't it? You're always suppressing your opinion of her just to think you have a chance of an equal relationship.”

“You...” Richard grunted in shame, glaring at the knight, “How do you know?”

“Books!” she smiled, “I've been reading a lot of fiction recently. Even the driest, most boring book can teach you a lot of things!”

Hearing this answer, he could only shake his head. Nasia ignored him and continued, “A primary plane can't be conquered so easily. In fact, few planes can. Every new plane normally takes a few large organisations working together to attack, just look at the problem the dragons are facing now. You can harass them through the portal endlessly, and they have to just bear it if they hope to invade. Building a base and stable passage isn't easy.

“But you lot wouldn't know that, would you. You have the old dragon taking care of all that stuff for the right price, now and in the future. You Norlanders have forgotten how to work together to conquer planes, or for anything at all really.”

Hearing this lecture, Richard suddenly trembled with enlightenment as the seeds of an idea took root in his mind. As she walked outside, Nasia made herself even clearer, “Since you can't conquer it alone, why try? Isn't your biggest problem time?”

This simple advice immediately undid all of the knots in his mind. Just as he hurried behind her to thank her, he saw a trace of something unimaginable in her silhouette. All three of his hearts stopped beating altogether, time itself coming to a stop.

“Nasia!” It was only when she was on the verge of leaving his sight that he finally unfroze.

“What's wrong?” she asked without turning back.

“Can I take a look at your face?”

“The mask is my face.”

“What's underneath?”

“Nothing.”

“Then you won't mind me taking a look.”

“Sure,” she turned, a smile appearing on the mask, “But it'll have to wait until you can beat me.”

Richard froze once more, “I... can't?”

Nasia was currently at level 16, while he was level 20 with two divine weapons and a saint rune. He could already defeat normal legends and even kill the weaker ones; there should have been no way for her to make this claim. While the Faceless Knight was a powerful and mysterious person, he himself was equally talented. No matter what secrets she possessed, it should have been impossible for her to bring them all to bear; after all, one needed energy to move energy.

“Want to give it a shot?” she beckoned with her finger.

Richard didn't say another word, activating Mana Armament, Lifesbane, and Kingsteel one by one. With both the Judge and Moonlight in his hands, he buffed himself with every spell he could think of before flashing towards her. He even activated Judge of Destiny immediately, treating her like the most powerful of opponents.

However, Nasia just chuckled. Calmly drawing her two blades of differing sizes, she allowed the red aura to cover her as she looked him in an eye. Richard watched in shock as the light faded as quickly as it had come, a layer of grey covering his own body to quickly drop his mana levels. He quickly cast a cleansing spell, but before he could even check whether it was effective she had pounced towards him with her blades trailed on his neck.

*Clang!* A hundred blows only produced one drawn-out noise, each exchange differing from the last ever so slightly. Richard had been confident in his own swordplay at first, but that soon changed to surprise as another grey light flashed across him and dropped him by a level. The sudden loss of strength felt extremely strange and messed up all of his timings; before he even knew it, both of his swords had flown away while Nasia's were resting on his neck!

Nasia's smile turned to a laugh as her shorter blade tapped his nose, “Practice hard, handsome! Come look for me when you're done.”

Richard's mouth fell open from the shock, the two divine weapons on the floor buzzing in humiliation.

“Alright, I still need you to get me some offerings. I won't bully you anymore, take a look at this and you'll know why you lost,” she said as she sheathed her blades, sending some information through their soul link. This was another ability she hadn't told him about: Prisoner of War. Prisoner of War was the absolute opposite of War Fanatic, reducing the strength of its target. It could cause the opponent to drop in a level, which would immediately mess with their movements and coordination. Even a master duelist would be put off for a few moments, which was more than enough time to sway battles.

However, none of this was the most formidable part of it all. It was the last section of the explanation that left him without a suitable response: the spell could be stacked! Although they had only fought for a moment, Nasia had stacked a number of the spells on him and brought him down to level 16, where she used her superior experience to win. The Judge of Destiny had failed for the same reason.

Thankfully, it wasn't all haunting news. His cleansing spell had managed to remove the effect at first, but it could only remove a layer at a time. Still, that she had brought him to level 16 did not mean this was her limit. One couldn't tell just how many of these Nasia could cast in one go. Even if he filled his Book of Holding with cleansing spells, would that be enough?

“How can this ridiculous ability exist?!” he grumbled as she walked away once more.

“There's a lot of things you don't know about, just get to work and stop thinking about the useless stuff,” Nasia waved her hands and left.

For a long time after, Richard kept pondering about the details of the battle. He hadn't been able to use his abilities to the fullest, but that had been true in many other situations in the past. But Nasia had also straight-up beaten him in swordplay; in a scenario where they truly were of equal strength, he would have no way to retaliate against her at all. Ever since he had practised the Church's martial arts to a grandmaster level, this was the first time he had met an opponent where he was at a disadvantage. He had already surpassed even Beye, while even Sharon only used brute strength. Perhaps only Apeiron was equivalent.

Shaking his head with a sigh, he had to accept that he just couldn't match up. Be it War Fanatic or Prisoner of War, both abilities were far beyond reasonable. It only made sense to lose to an opponent like that. He just had to take it on the chin and add some renewed focus towards martial arts.

Eventually, the gloominess was replaced with hope, and his thoughts grew lively once more. Bursting into laughter, he resheathed Moonlight and the Judge before walking away.

1097 - City of Sin

Bad End

Richard rushed through Dragon Valley until he was at the portal, jumping on the back of a Maranos clone that was heading over to the other side. A few of his followers that were chatting idly nearby saw him and exchanged glances.

“Master is in a really good mood today,” Zangru commented.

Phaser nodded in agreement, “He looks excited. Did he just sleep with some priestess of the goddesses?”

“Who knows? It isn't really special even if he does. So many of them have been waiting for years; if they don't succeed soon, the goddesses might just punish them.”

“Why don't you sleep with them? That way, they won't come seduce Master.”

“Not interested. Don't forget, I'm the same as you.”

“We're nowhere near similar!”

“Perhaps...”

“Guys...” Tiramisu suddenly interrupted, “Why do I feel like Master just got beaten up?”

Zangru froze, “Beaten up? Who here can even do that? Don't joke around!”

The ogre nodded in agreement, but he still looked confused. While there was no way to fault Zangru's words, his own instincts were telling him otherwise.

“I think Boss was beaten too!” Medium Rare suddenly agreed. Not as prudent as his brother, he was loud enough for Richard who had just walked back through to hear. Shivering under his Master's glare, he brought up a hand to cover his mouth.

Richard grunted before shaking his head, ignoring them and hurrying back to his room. Not long after, he sent them an announcement that he would be going to Norland for a while. Only minutes afterwards, a cloned brain soared into the skies above Dragon Valley and sped towards Bluewater.

Those followers present watched as he disappeared, the atmosphere stifling. A billion conversations were had between eyes alone, but nobody could actually understand.

Eventually, Zangru spoke up, “Was Master really... beaten up?”

“But who did it?” Phaser countered, leaving everyone silent once more.

......

Over 7,000 kilometres away, Bluewater was a long journey even by cloned brain. The broodmother had already arranged for a journey with zero downtime, but it would still take nearly two days to make it all the way.

There were currently four separate logistical convoys moving through the Iron Triangle Empire, seven if the flying chrysalides were included. An enormous and complicated web currently kept the Crimson Army supplied even if it was so far away from home, and the brain of this network was Raymond.

The man had stationed himself in a small town within the Empire, located centrally to the network and allowing him to monitor most of it in real time. He gave out dozens of orders every day, doing a better job than even the Thinker could accomplish. While the Thinker was proficient at handling mundane tasks, Raymond could predict Richard's moves to an extent and prepare correspondingly.

Early in the morning, he arrived in his office as always and connected to every cloned brain nearby. He suddenly found a large number of them moving in a strange manner, establishing a route that was not in his plans. Eyeing the map, he quickly realised that they were making a straight line from Dragon Valley to Bluewater, but there was a small detour in the middle that would put his little town on the road.

Slightly startled, a wry smile appeared on his face as he walked to the window and opened it. Far in the distance, a tiny black speck zoomed closer before flying overhead, a familiar figure leaping off and flying to the ground.

“Long time no see, Richard. Come in,” Raymond said with a forced smile, stepping away from the window. Richard nodded and flew straight in, circling around the room once before occupying his seat.

Scanning through the room once, Richard focused on the former rival who had now become an aide to his plans. Time had flown quickly in Faelor, and Raymond was already in his thirties, now with a little beard and looking very much like a middle-aged man. The delicate handsomeness of years past had turned into a more mature elegance.

Watching Raymond stroke his beard without speaking, Richard eventually sighed, “You're not going to say anything?”

“I tend to wait for the other party to speak first, it averts unnecessary mistakes.”

“Fair enough. But you're not going to tell me you don't know about the soul-mending project, will you?”

“Of course not, I'm the one that gave the broodmother access to it.”

“You... You nearly destroyed me.”

“Unfortunately, it did not work out. No, I should say it didn't work entirely. The broodmother is still completely free, and while you're working together you can't rely on her as much as you did in the past. You've been weakened greatly. Like I've said multiple times; never use mana to judge a Scholar.”

Richard actually calmed down, looking at him carefully, “You've planned my death ever since I set foot in Faust. You trapped my father and personally led an army into Faelor to kill me, as though you would never be at ease if I don't die. Was I such a huge threat?”

“That is only a rivalry from generations past. You were the most outstanding of the young Archerons, there was nothing wrong with being hostile to you. I believe circumstances have proved that even my overestimations weren't enough.”

“But that wasn't the only reason, was it? Whatever, it's all in the past. Right now, I have to decide how to deal with you. Should I kill you? You don't care either way. Torture is an option, but I believe you have a thousand ways to deal with that. Can't even hurt those close to you, you're an emotionless machine who doesn't care in the slightest. Even the Josephs don't really matter to you, do they?”

Raymond went silent for a while before nodding, “You are correct.”

“What I don't understand is the purpose of you Scholars. What's the significance of your existence?”

“Our objective has always been clear. We are to explore the mysteries of the world and bring all of Norland up the ladder of evolution.”

“A bunch of machines with no sense of responsibility like you? That's such a joke.”

“Many races grow foolish just because of burden and emotion. We only free ourselves of those fetters.”

“You mean you're a bunch of lunatics,” Richard shook his head.

“We're a bunch of clear-headed sages,” Raymond corrected him with a smile, “So what do you plan on doing? Kill me? That obviously isn't the best choice, the benefits of keeping me still outweigh the hostility I'be shown you. The soul-mending plan has already been executed, and the broodmother has made a deal with me to keep your war machine running smoothly. In fact, you can just give me Faelor; two Norland years and the plane will be yours. You will be the ruler of every corner of it, from the four cardinals to the divine kingdoms in the sky.”

He paused and flashed a flattering smile, “Richard, I know your biggest weakness is a lack of leaders. Salwyn and I are the only ones who are fit to be leaders, but he is a local and now an emperor. No matter what you offer, will he truly serve you? Even if—”

“Ah!” Raymond was interrupted by a soft shriek as Reyna entered with the breakfast tray, dropping the moment she saw Richard. Richard didn't even look at her, stopping the tray with a thought and having it float back into her hand.

“R-Richard... My Lord... Why are you here? I mean... It's so sudden...” She was quieted down when Richard waved for her to stop speaking, only able to plead with her eyes.

Raymond continued, “So, you can see the best option, can't you? You're someone fated to do big things, and so many rely on you for their lives and livelihoods. Emotions have no part in decisions like these. Isn't it great to leave things as they are? Leave the trivial matters to me, and you take care of the broad strokes. It's a perfect match! You should continue on your way and let me start on breakfast.”

“Heh,” Richard suddenly chuckled, “You're right. What's happened has happened, and I should consider how to maximise profits.”

“Exact—” Raymond's smile suddenly froze, the hand that was stroking his beard stuck in mid-air. He slowly looked down at the dagger that had just been thrust into his heart, following the other end up Richard's hands to stare at his face.

“You... actually...” Completely shocked, he couldn't even form proper sentences.

1098 - City of Sin

Loss And Determination

“You... actually...” With the dagger stuck in his heart, Raymond couldn't even form full sentences from the shock.

“Killing you really isn't what's best for me,” Richard remarked, but then he shook his head, “But why would you think I'd act like you?”

“You...” Raymond's shock gradually turned into understanding. He seemed to have something to say, but bloody froth started to spew out of his mouth until he couldn't say a word.

Reyna paled and tried to jump to his aid, but after a single step she stopped herself and bit at her own hand to stop herself from crying. The other hand brushed across her abdomen.

Richard continued to match Raymond's dying gaze. Even at the end of his life, the Scholar remained almost ruthlessly calm, as though his own death wasn't worthy of emotions. However, a blue spark suddenly launched out from Richard's finger and burnt through Reyna's womb, jumping out the other side before disappearing through the wall.

The princess exclaimed in shock, all colour draining from her face as she looked down at the cauterized wound. This injury wasn't really serious for someone at her level, but seeing its location she screamed in despair. Richard ignored her completely, continuing to look at Raymond, “A month old, about the time since the broodmother told you to have children. Did you really think you could just shift your soul and memories into a newborn and I wouldn't realise it? Just die already, no need to look so confused. You bastards aren't the only ones who can see the truth of the world.”

Raymond finally closed his eyes, the moment of anguish and questioning fading away. Richard pulled out the dagger and let his corpse fall to the ground, watching it in confusion. Almost a decade of his life this man had fought him both openly and in secret, but things had finally come to an end. It was actually a little frustrating; in many ways, this wasn't much different from losing a close friend.

However, there were other things to be done. Shaking his head, he looked at Reyna, “I've already called for priests, they'll tend to your injuries. You're still welcome to remain here.”

She didn't even respond. Her face had gone blank the moment Richard brought up Raymond's plans, and right now she was just staring at the floor while clutching her belly. She had felt that things would turn out this way long, long ago, back when she had first made a deal. Raymond had never truly lost before, and she knew he wasn't the type to take one sitting down. Even after revealing his betrayal, he had lied to her in the guise of granting her wish for children.

But then, did it even matter? That was still a child in her that had been taken away.

Richard sighed and left the room, quickly resuming his journey to Bluewater. A few priests entered and began to check on Reyna's injuries, casting some healing spells on her while she sat in a daze.

......

As he returned to Faust, Richard felt a strong sense of loss. It was as though something was missing. While Raymond himself couldn't understand it, this outcome was only logical to someone who knew that there were things more important than profit. However, Raymond's death also severed his one connection to the Scholars of Soremburg, a group he had been planning to study over time.

Ever since the events of Klandor, the Scholars had seemed to express a certain amount of goodwill and considered the war with Raymond to be a personal feud. Richard had still remained on guard for a long time, but with the passing of the years Raymond had actually used his lowered guard to rattle his very foundations.

Thankfully, there were still some things to gain from this experience. Richard now knew that the Scholars were a group of emotionless lunatics who wouldn't mind stooping to any level to accomplish their goals. He had hoped it was otherwise, that they were a group worth cooperating with, but the entire situation with Reyna had proved him wrong.

So many years had passed, and if one ignored the soul-mending plan Raymond had actually worked miracles in Faelor. From managing Bluewater to planning logistics to acting as Andrieka in Richard's absence, he had done everything almost perfectly. As the administrator of a plane, he was perhaps better than Richard himself, experienced from the Josephs' planes and possessing great talent. From a lord's prospective, there could be no better candidate to manage an important plane.

However, after all these years and so many enemies, Raymond was the only one who had come close to killing him twice. The man had even trapped Gaton in the Rosie Plane with unknown methods. If only...

Richard pushed the matter to the back of his head, handing a few letters to the old butler before sending a message to ask Nyris to visit. By the time he got some paperwork done, Nyris had already rushed over.

Looking the Fourth Prince up and down, Richard sighed with disappointment, “You're wasting away.”

“Every day is a year, how couldn't I?” Nyris smiled wryly, but then his expression filled with hesitation and he stuttered, “I... I'm preparing to get engaged to Lady Macy. I... I...”

“Macy? One sec,” Richard shot up and pulled out a book from his shelf, flipping through it until he found what he was looking for, “Hmm... Empress Gelan's granddaughter, huh... Her father is Prince Tumen... That should be on par with the Ironblood Duke. She's considered powerful too, and a beauty to boot. Her status shouldn't be much lower than yours, especially about now... Not bad!”

“Richard!” Nyris shouted, “You... I don't want that woman!”

“Hmm?” Richard frowned, “Don't like her? Is there a reason?”

“I... Sigh, I just don't. Do I really need a reason for it?”

Richard sighed as well. When it came to political marriages, affection rarely played a role. However, he still nodded, “Alright then, but I heard you're not in a good position right now.”

He didn't elaborate, but the meaning was clear. Empress Apeiron had constantly been venting on Philip's harem, already having found excuses to execute three of his concubines without so much as a peep from their children and families. Neil had gone to the Empire's various planes to develop them, while Ryan was already showing talent after entering the Church. Nyris was the only one not even trying to defend himself.

For a prince's marriage to be political was only expected; it would in fact be strange if it wasn't. All things considered, Macy was a really good choice, and her background would protect his family as well. No matter how crazy Apeiron was, she wouldn't make an enemy of the Millennial Empire over pettiness.

However, Nyris's head remained low. Richard suddenly thought of a possibility, “You love someone, don't you.”

Nyris froze up, only nodding after a long time. Richard sighed, standing up and pacing around the room with a frown, “Then things will be a little tricky. Handle this badly and you'll face pressure from both Her Majesty Apeiron and the Millennial Empire. Who's the other party?”

Nyris shook his head slowly but resolutely, making himself clear— he wouldn't say.

Richard didn't force him either, taking a few more steps before turning around to sit in front of him and look this good friend in the eye, “What do you need me to do?”

The Fourth Prince's breathing suddenly grew hurried, and he didn't dare to meet Richard's gaze. His eyes flitted around as he mumbled, “You promised... You'd protect me... Does that still count?”

“Of course!” Richard smiled.

Nyris's eyes went wide, “Even if... that means becoming enemies with Her Majesty?”

“I mean, I don't want to, but I'm not condoning everything she does either,” Richard said calmly.

Nyris seemed to make up his mind, his face blooming into a radiant smile as he stood up, “Thank you, Rich. Don't worry about me, I thought this through. I'll get engaged to Macy.”

Having said this, he turned around and left.

1099 - City of Sin

Furor

“Wait!” Seeing Nyris walking away, Richard was startled and reached out to stop him. He caught the prince's hand, but for a moment was distracted by a strange sense of coldness coming from the soft skin. His grip loosened long enough for Nyris to jump up like he had been burnt, forcefully pulling free and bolting for the door.

Even then, Richard just stood in silence as he touched a part of his palm that had been scratched by Nyris's nails. It hadn't been enough to draw blood, but even that section was still icy and emitting a delicate fragrance.

Thankfully, he could rest assured that the prince would be safe for now. Marriage engagements were slow and complicated, especially when they involved two individuals of royal bloodline. He only needed five days of time to be able to guarantee the Fourth Prince's safety himself. With the time approaching dusk, he took the long-range portal below the castle to the Deepblue.

As Richard left, the entirety of Faust went into an uproar.

In his demiplane in the Mage Association headquarters, Chairman Thor reclined into his chair as he opened a letter that had just arrived, “It's from Richard, and looks rather important. Let's see what he has to say.”

Sitting across him was a mage who looked to be in her late twenties, but from her robes to the large rings on her hand, she was clearly armed like a legend. One could also see traces of her true age from her eyes as she responded calmly to the Chairman, “The Archeron kid? He's gotten quite the reputation these days, I always hear people talking about him. Some are even saying that he could be a saint runemaster in thirty years, I hope he'll manage to craft something good for mages. That damned Lawrence talked about Mana Armament for so many years, but he didn't manage to make it.”

Thor chuckled, “Thirty years? He won't even be fifty then, can you imagine a saint runemaster under the age of fifty?”

“I know, but he's already worked miracles with Lifesbane and the grade 4 Mana Armament. I've already heard of a few old guys travelling to the abyss just for the Archeron bloodline; they're becoming a popular demon to hunt.”

The aged Chairman drank some tea as he started reading through the letter, but after only moments he spat out everything in his mouth until the sheet was soggy! The other mage sat up with shock as well; something that could unsettle a legendary being had to be momentous.

“Impossible! This is damn impossible!” Thor screamed as he tried to dry the paper immediately.

“What happened? Surely, even a declaration of war from the other empires wouldn't merit this reaction.”

“How else should I react? The Sacred Alliance has another saint runemaster! What else matters?”

“Saint runemaster?” the mage yelped, no longer caring about her own appearance as she tried to snatch the sheet from Thor's hands, “Who is it? Rufus? Roth? Why would they defect now of all times? Wait... No, impossible!”

“See for yourself!” Thor let her take the sheet.

The mage didn't even care that the letter was covered in tea and spittle, carefully reading through every word as though it was an illusion. Her own eyes widened before she seemed to deflate entirely, “Kingsteel, Stealthwalker? Isn't he Lawrence's student, shouldn't he be crafting Mana Armament?”

The Chairman groaned loudly, “Have you gone senile? Who cares about the function of the runes, don't you understand the key point to them? If you can't understand, someone else will.”

The mage's eyes twitched as she returned to the letter, reading through it a few more times while muttering the words Kingsteel and Stealthwalker over and over again. It took her a moment to yell, “There's two!”

“Finally!”

“Who announces two saint runes the moment they advance?” the woman shrieked, all of the plants within a hundred metres starting to tremble and collapse.

Thor sighed deeply, “He announced two rune sets for his first official convention. Now he's announcing two saint runes for his first in this realm. It's... no big deal.”

The woman knew that this was a huge stretch. A number of saint runemasters in the history of Norland only managed a single grade 5 rune in their lives, just like Saint Lawrence. She took a few deep breaths to calm herself down a little, “This means we have a reliable source of saint runes in the future. If I can get one that works, some of the secret realms I have access to will become explorable. Why is the convention in five days? How on earth am I supposed to gather enough funds to buy them right there if they're nice?”

She immediately waved her arms, opening up a screen in thin air and pointing it at a constellation of floating islands in the midst of the void, “I am the South Star! Listen up, you old coots, come to Faust right now! Get moving, there's going to be a rune convention in five days! There will be two new saint runes! Don't tell me I didn't warn you about this, and get some of my money. I didn't bring too much this time!”

The South Star wasn't as impactful a name as it once was. She hadn't returned to Norland often in two centuries, and even when she did she didn't make a public appearance. However, this title still held great power amongst the upper echelons of the Sacred Alliance.

...

News travelled quickly, and cries of surprise resounded throughout Faust.

“A saint runemaster only in his twenties? Goodness!”

“What is Kingsteel? Such an uncommon name!”

“Stealthwalker? The name is a little bland, but I'm sure it's very useful. I want one!”

“Want? Do you have the capacity to get it?”

...

Within the imperial palace, Apeiron was enjoying a massage from a batch of beautiful youths, her body only covered by a small towel. Every one of these youths were trembling with fear; personally attending to the Empress was a task destined for death. This was especially true now, when there were a number of bone-deep wounds across her snow-white skin. Some of the injuries were spewing black smoke, while others sizzled with rotting flesh or had energy worms crawling in and out of them.

A few priests and doctors were standing by her side, healing her to the best of their abilities while covered in sweat. However, the Empress herself acted as though the multitude of injuries were nothing.

Julian walked into the room and bowed with the grace of a true noble, his voice now magnetic and charming, “Your Majesty, the entire Sacred Alliance is in need of your guidance; you cannot take the risks you did before. The Land of Dusk is an issue for all the noble families of Faust, they cannot just push the responsibilities to you.”

“Don't be annoying,” she said lazily, “I hadn't been hurt for a long time, it left me itchy. The Daxdians haven't improved at all; I killed two of their legends, but they didn't manage to really hurt me. Anyway, why are you here?”

“There has been a major incident in Faust.”

“Speak.”

“Richard Archeron has sent you an invitation to his next rune convention.”

“Is he dreaming? The kid should know that I'd have killed him long ago, what's so special about this convention of his?”

“He plans to announce two new runes, both grade 5.”

It was only now that the Empress's eyes lit up, “Two saint runes?”

“Yes,” Julian nodded.

She squinted her eyes, retreating into her own mind for a second before saying, “What do you think?”

“If one of them suits you, we could return to the Outlands for an expedition. We can teach those bastards a lesson they will never forget!”

1100 - City of Sin

A Lesson In Love

“Hmm... this sounds nice,” Apeiron's eyes started to glow purple, an indication of her killing intent. Even Julian quietly retreated a few steps as she looked at the youths that were massaging her, “You lot are annoying!”

A wave of her hand sent out a dozen whips of invisible energy, dissecting the youths into evenly portioned sections of flesh. None of the doctors and priests managed to dodge in time, blood spurting on to their faces and bodies, but they just froze up on the spot without crying out. A pair of them fainted in shock, but they had learnt not to annoy the Empress further.

As he watched from the side, Julian's eyes glowed with reverence. Apeiron was the only one he knew to have such control of her energy; if he were trying to do the same thing, half of the priests would have wound up dead. Pain flashed across his eyes as the Empress threw away the towel and stood up, revealing even more criss-crossed wounds that made one wonder how she was still intact. However, that was quickly suppressed as he flashed away and returned with a set of lavish ceremonial robes that she could wear directly.

These robes had actually taken a herculean effort themselves. An enormous amount of the family's wealth had to be spent to hire the tailors and leatherworkers to design this legendary outfit, matching both the tastes of modern nobility and Apeiron's own preferences. They had even prepared a spare set; even being extremely tough, one could never tell when the Empress would destroy her armour.

“When is the convention?” Apeiron asked as she dressed up.

“In five days, Your Majesty.”

“Five days?” she was a little surprised, a subtle smile flashing across her face as she thought it over, “Many of the older people will have to rush over as quickly as possible, it won't be cheap. Looks like the kid is really confident in his work.”

“I believe it is a good time for us. Many of them will be unable to make it, giving you the pick of the lot.”

Apeiron sneered, “Anyone who wants to come should be allowed. I'm the Empress of the Sacred Alliance, and I took over the position from that damned fatass; I can't have the old coots looking down on me. Go to the warehouse and make an inventory of what we have; if it isn't enough, go to the women and take from them too. I'm going out for a bit, I'll see if I can meet up with that cursed fellow and bring back a top-tier offering. Who knows how long it'll be before Richard makes another.”

“Of course, Your Majesty. Should I obtain the details about the runes from Richard?”

“No, not knowing is part of the fun. I haven't felt excited in so long!”

“As you wish, Your Majesty. I will also prepare the sixth batch of your harem before you return.”

“Ugh, it's been so long! You're getting sloppy, I didn't find one person I actually want to have sex with!” Apeiron raged.

Julian remained calm, “I needed to calm your mood swings. You haven't returned to Norland in so long, you've forgotten that you can enjoy the world at a slower pace. Isn't it good to give you more choices? That's why I showed you people from all races and styles. If you wish to be serious, I suggest moving to the special list.”

The purple in Apeiron's eyes started flickering from internal struggle, and after a while she finally said, “You said there are only three people on it?”

“Yes, and only two of them are from the Alliance itself.”

“Fine, choose whoever's name is at the top.”

Julian flashed a smile that was both graceful and sinister as he bent forward, “As you wish, Your Majesty.”

Apeiron nodded and threw a fist into the sky, tearing a hole in space that she stepped through immediately. Julian only straightened up once the aftershocks faded away, staring at the priests and doctors who had been scared out of their wits, “Clean this place up. As always, forget everything you just saw; if I hear so much as a word circulating about this, all of you will be dead! Am I clear?”

The priests and doctors hurriedly agreed before starting to clean up the flesh and blood.

Julian flipped out an intricate little notebook and flipped to a page with three names on it, every name supplemented with a number of scribbles below. Taking out a feathered pen, he circled the name in the middle and squinted his eyes, fading into his own thoughts.

......

In island 5-5, the Ironblood Duke was in his study repeatedly scanning through a letter in his hands. There weren't many words on the sheet, but it still took him fifteen full minutes to put it down before he started to contemplate.

A long while later, he tapped a copper bell on his table to summon Agamemnon, “Word is that you've been associating with a girl recently, why didn't you tell me?”

“She is only level 17,” Agamemnon replied. It was an important rule in the family that for a core member to decide their own marriage, the other party had to be a saint or grand mage. The only exception was for extraordinarily talented individuals like runemasters. If neither of these conditions were fulfilled, the family would pick their partner instead.

“The girl is a very gifted cursemaster, isn't she?” the Duke muttered, “Richard's sister?”

“Yes, her name is Demi.”

The Duke looked Agamemnon in the eye, “Are you serious about her? If you are, I will allow it.”

“Huh? But she's only...” Agamemnon was shocked; he had never recalled his father making exceptions to family rules.

“She has a gifted bloodline, that is good enough to give her an exemption.”

“But the Archeron bloodline is not in the list.”

“It is now,” Duke Orleans grabbed a sheet of paper embalmed with the family crest, writing a short order before signing his name and giving it to Agamemnon. Reading through it, the youth trembled; the letter stated that the Archeron bloodline was now top-class in the Sacred Alliance and all of Norland, granting it diplomatic immunity from the Orleans Family.

Agamemnon frowned, “The Archeron bloodline isn't top class!”

“It soon will be,” the Duke quickly penned down another letter, “Make a trip to the Land of Dusk and give this to Beye, try your best to summon her back. Also, ask her to borrow a top-tier offering from Saint Lawrence for my personal use.”

Still confused, Agamemnon took the letter and walked out.

“Hold up,” his father called behind him, “If you really do feel that you love Demi, if you even just don't hate her... try your best to make her happy. This is a good chance; Richard... he's already a saint runemaster.”

Finally understanding why his strict father had changed his view, the silent youth just flashed a true smile and walked away.

Similar incidents occurred in all the other families of Faust, some sooner than the other. The first to react were the core nucleus of the city who had received official invites, and the news rippled out layer by layer until the other two human empires and even the rest of the mainland knew about it.

......

By this time, Richard had already reached the Deepblue. When he stepped out of the portal, Blackgold who had received the news rushed to him and leapt into an embrace, “You bastard, I thought you'd died in Faelor!”

Richard just laughed, returning the momentary hug before letting the grey dwarf go, “Where's Master?”

“Her Excellency is currently guiding Ensio in enchantments, I can take you there.”

“Alright,” Richard nodded, following him to the upper levels of the Deepblue.

By this point, almost all of the damage to the Deepblue had been restored. This included Sharon's personal laboratory and testing arena, a vast land constructed in folded space similar to Thor's demiplane. This place was covered in protective arrays; with enough energy, it could even withstand legendary magic.

As he followed Blackgold into the training arena, Richard saw a scene that would leave others speechless. At least seven enormous dragons were flying around in the sky, circling around Ensio who was in the middle. Sharon was lazing into a chair enjoying some fruit, her legs just shaking about in mid-air.

While she seemed completely at ease, Ensio was facing a very difficult situation in mid-air as he often barely escaped the dragons' attacks. Richard was a little taken aback by this; well aware of the bald youth's terrifying powers, he knew that ordinary black dragons were no match. Besides, wasn't Sharon instructing him in enchantments? Why wasn't he using any magic at all?

Sharon suddenly waved her hand, lighting up Ensio and the dragons in a bright glow. However, Ensio slowed down to a third of his speed while the dragons behaved like they were in heat, growing extremely ferocious. Not long after, a black dragon managed to get to him and pin him to the ground.

1101 - City of Sin

A Lesson In Love(2)

Watching Ensio fall, Sharon sighed with impatience, “I've been teaching you for so long, why can't you beat a few dragons? There's so many others in my collection that I haven't even brought out!”

Trapped under the black dragon's claws, Ensio struggled to stick his head out and yell, “You're just bullying me! All these years, just sending dragons to bite me, how is that teaching?!”

“It taught you to survive under a dragon's claws!” the legendary mage dismissed, but it was obvious she was just talking big. A loud snap caused the dragon to press down with more strength, making Ensio scream in pain.

At this point, Richard realised that Ensio couldn't use even a tenth of his powers, which was why he was being beaten so easily. This was naturally the result of the few spells Sharon had cast, but those were clearly rudimentary slowing spells and the like. How was someone in the legendary realm succumbing to them?

A hum of confusion from him finally caught Sharon's attention, “Oh, Little Richard is here! Alright, I'm letting you off; Richard, you're up!”

“Uhh...” Richard froze up a bit, “Against these dragons?”

“What else?” Sharon retorted.

Ensio broke free of the black dragon's claws, struggling to his feet before rushing towards the entrance of the training arena. As he passed Richard, he tapped him on the shoulder and smiled with a strange mix of pity and joy, “It's your turn!”

As the bald youth and Blackgold left, Richard nodded and made his way towards the centre of the laboratory. Flying into the sky, he opened up some distance from the dragons and eyed them closely. Only two of these dragons were real, while the six summons included three reds and three blacks.

Sharon's eyes sparkled with interest when he signalled that he was ready, the three red dragons charging straight towards him with a wave of her arm. The three blacks flanked around, while the two real dragons pincered him vertically to block off all paths of escape.

Richard immediately tried to open a random portal, what was considered the best way to break a siege on all ends. However, his head bumped right into the rift in space when he tried to walk into it, leaving him a little dizzy as he recoiled. Even an instant portal had lost its effectiveness? He shook his head even as the sound of a snap finally made its way over to him, indicating that Sharon had closed it off.

Unable to blink at will, he then switched to using his speed and agility. However, the moment he made a move Sharon waved her hands again, dark light flashing all over his body as he was cursed for weakness, vulnerability, and slowness. He had foreseen this and casted grade 7 counterspells instantly, but those barriers broke apart instantly and the curses struck him without so much as being weakened. The result left him taken aback even as he finally understood Ensio's predicament; just how powerful was her magic penetration?

Sharon's abilities were vast as the ocean; without battling her personally, there was no way for someone to know what skills she possessed. Even powerful defences were clearly just paper in front of her. Richard suddenly felt himself grow sluggish and weak, just like when he had fallen victim to Nasia's Prisoner of War. Even worse, Mana Armament started to grow sluggish as well, the rate of transformation of energy not nearly enough to support his actions. With the dragons rushing down on him, hoping to depend on it would be a fool's errand.

Now a little slower than the dragons, Richard decided to abandon Mana Armament entirely, relying on his swordplay and predictions in an attempt to control the battle. However, he quickly realised he had no room for error; Sharon cast a spell that broke all of the barriers he had set up, and even weakened his body until he wasn't much better than a regular human. Even just brushing against a dragon would kill him.

“Be careful!” she chirped happily, even waving at him.

Richard's expression turned cold as he drew a deep breath, a loud buzz emanating from his body as all of the runes in Disintegrator were activated in tandem. An imposing aura burst forth from his body as the power of laws destroyed the curses in one go, returning him to peak performance. Even as Sharon cried out in surprise and childish joy, he activated the Judge on one of the black dragons and flashed behind it.

The dragon immediately sensed something was amiss, but before it could run away one of its wings had been severed from the body, starting to float down to the ground. It only felt the piercing pain a moment later, screaming as it disappeared into a tuft of magical smoke as it returned to its home plane.

Richard made good use of Sharon's momentary distraction, blinking behind another of the summoned blacks like a shadow while activating the Judge from afar. Moonlight pierced straight into the dragon's nape, a fountain of blood spurting out from within. Before this dragon even disappeared, he moved on to the third and stabbed both of his swords into its back. While he didn't use Judge of Destiny this time, which meant that Disintegrator and Lifesbane did not activate, he blew a cone of blue flames into the opened wound before retreating. The dragon's scales started to contort and even melt in mere moments, and eventually it disappeared as well.

When Richard's figure reappeared at his original position, only the two real dragons and three summoned reds were in the air. He was pale from the exertion that had consumed more than half of his energy, but he was starting to recover already.

Sharon's eyes lit up like the tears of Anubis, “Not bad! My little Richard is so much stronger than that bastard Ensio. Again!”

Again? Having said that, she waved her hands to form a number of symbols in the sky. Before Richard could even process what she meant, a number of dragons shot out from the void; six blacks and one red in total. The red wasn't an ordinary one either; this was an ancient red dragon!

Richard couldn't help but take a deep breath at the sight, barely dodging the first set of attacks. As he minimised the curses Sharon sent towards him, the Judge was quickly pointed towards Sharon herself as its ability was activated. Seeing the red glow on her body, he shot towards her like lightning.

This was a skill he had practised many times, achieving the pinnacle of his speed and burst power. Moonlight even lit up with a blood-red glow as he activated Lifesbane to the fullest, the attack capable of hurting even someone like Tiamat.

Sharon's golden hair stood up in awe, and she even felt a tinge of pain on her face as her instincts warned her of the danger. Seeing the fleeting moment in slow motion, Richard distinctly noticed the shock and even panic in the legendary mage's expression as she seemed to gear up to scream in alarm. He almost instinctively held back, but knowing that this full-power attack couldn't even harm her hair, he pressed forward.

Sharon shrieked, a rather adorable little yelp like a child who had just seen a bug in their home. However, Richard's vision turned black as he lost all sense of sight and sound, only able to vaguely sense a small hand rising into the sky and smacking his back.

He came crashing down to the earth below, and as a burst of colour occupied his vision, all he could think of was that Ensio was lucky to just be trampled by a dragon.

1102 - City of Sin

A Lesson In Love(3)

Amidst his confusion, Richard could barely remember that Sharon had slapped him down from the sky. His limited mental faculties were occupied by the imminent danger as the huge group of dragons in the sky were flying down towards him. As he was right now, even a baby dragon could kill him with a single bite; his body just refused to follow his commands.

However, a loud explosion rang out as Sharon landed right next to him, facing the dragons in the sky, “DO YOU HAVE A DEATH WISH?”

The dragons immediately grew confused. They couldn't understand just what had changed; only moments ago, Sharon had ordered them to kill. Unfortunately, the legendary mage wasn't one to practice patience; seeing them continuing to swoop down for another second, her expression darkened as the entire arena went cold.

“Scram!” she shouted, voice so clear and deep it seemed to come from ancient times. Mana spread out from her immediately, covering the panicking dragons and dissipating their figures one by one.

The Banish spell could range from grade 5 to legendary, dealing great damage to summoned creatures and potentially even driving them out of the current plane. Sharon's use of it was formidable, expelling all of the dragons immediately.

However, two black dragons remained, an eyesore in the otherwise empty sky. The legendary mage's hair flew upwards as each of her pupils warped into a pale blue cross, “Outstanding magic resistance you have there.”

The two dragons flew up in shock, shouting in the draconic tongue, “Your Beautiful Excellency, we are not summoned creatures! We are your servants, residents of your weyr!”

Sharon was stumped, the blue fading from her eyes as she massaged her temples in annoyance. Summoning creatures from her weyr was easy, but sending them back took effort and time. With not a single shred of patience left, she scolded them, “Why not say that earlier?”

How were they to speak when covered in the storm of mana? The dragons wanted to scream, but knew better than to do so. They waited patiently as she finished a short chant, wailing pitifully as their figures shrunk down and were transformed into gnomes; wings lost, they fell down to the earth and were promptly buried into the depths of the arena.

While they had been shrunk, these dragons were still tough enough to barely be bruised by the fall. However, they immediately decided that they wouldn't dare crawl out without Sharon's permission, even if the effects wore off. There had been a lot of gossip around the weyr lately about her and Richard, and they didn't want to see something forbidden.

With the arena finally cleared, Sharon quickly bowed down to examine Richard's injuries. He had showcased great power during that lesson, so much so that even she felt a sense of actual danger. The momentary fear had led her to counter-attack subconsciously, and in that state she hadn't held back. Even Tiamat couldn't withstand an attack from her, forget Richard with a multitude of curses on him.

The legendary mage's mind went blank at the sight of Richard coughing continuously, blood flowing freely from his nose and mouth. While she was talented in many fields, healing certainly was not one of them. She couldn't think of any way to help. Fortunately, his body quickly surged with vitality with a bed of green covering the earth around him, white flowers blooming everywhere. His aura started to grow steadier, and after a few minutes was almost back to normal.

It still took a few more minutes after that for Richard to get up, wiping off the bloodstains on his mouth as he smiled wryly, “Your hand is still so heavy, I almost couldn't get up.”

Sharon groaned, staring at him blankly. Her empty mind still couldn't react properly.

“I'm a saint runemaster now,” he added.

“Oh.”

“I'm announcing it in a convention in five days, I have two runes prepared.”

“Oh...”

“There's still a ways to go, but—” he suddenly stopped speaking, pulling the dazed Sharon into an embrace and kissing her forcefully.

Sharon's eyes suddenly widened as she awoke with a start, but her muffled groans were cut off when he put more effort into the kiss. The legendary mage found herself pressed into the ground for the first time in her life, but her mind remained scrambled as she just stared at Richard in shock. It was only when she felt him enter her that something clicked at the back of her mind, her hands raised up and put down a number of times before she eventually shook her head and hooked onto his body.

The cold atmosphere was quickly blown away, replaced by a fiery passion as Sharon's own desires surfaced. She slowly took more initiative, and despite Richard's best efforts he was quickly overtaken. Returning to her savage nature, the legendary mage flipped him over and pinned him to the ground, beginning her own pursuit for orgasm. Any concerns about hurting him were thrown away as she crashed into him repeatedly, almost causing him to bleed once more.

By the time Sharon moaned in satisfaction and lowered herself into his embrace once more, Richard could barely even move. It took everything in him to just stroke her golden hair, giving her a gentle peck on the lips.

The legendary mage went blank again, although this time she fell into deep thought, “What does this mean? Are we in love?”

Richard thought over it for a while, “I'm... not sure either.”

“Why?” Please visit f𝒓𝑒e𝓌e𝚋𝘯૦𝘷e𝗹. c૦𝒎

“We're still too far apart. Even now, I can barely catch a glimpse of you. Why did you even pick me back when I was a nobody?”

“Because I felt like it,” she shrugged, “The Balance told me to as well.”

“Huh? You follow that thing?” Richard was a little confused.

She snuggled onto his chest, propping her chin up with an elbow, “Destiny's Balance. It's been with me forever, but I need to let it absorb chaotic timeforce for years between every use. It can guide one's destiny, and I've always felt like I can't go wrong following it. I used both of my last two uses on you, and the result didn't change.”

“And before that?” he grew curious. The balance concealed extremely complicated laws, to the point that he couldn't even begin to analyse it. He knew that such an artifact didn't belong to Norland at all; it far surpassed this plane's standards.

Sharon cocked her head sideways, seemingly struggling to recall. Of course, she could remember anything she wanted to so long as she tried, but right now she was lazy and just wanted to sleep. It took nearly a minute for her to answer, “It told me to establish the Deepblue, and before that it had me increase Gaton's debt. I can't remember the... Wait, it cheated me that time! I never got everything I was owed, and he always wanted more. Hmph, if only...”

It was at this point that she recalled Gaton had fallen in the Rosie Plane, a twinge rocking her from her sleepy state. She turned back to Richard, “S... Sorry.”

That might have been the first time she had ever apologised in her life. However, Richard's own emotions were confused, and he could only sigh and pat her back. He had already killed Raymond, extinguishing the man's soul and feeding his body to the worker drones. If he still had the ability to return, the Scholars of Soremburg would have conquered the myriad planes long ago. Gaton's vengeance was half-complete, but now there would be no way to find out just what had happened in the Rosie Plane.

“No, there's still some hope...” he muttered. Ferlyn had caught a glimpse of Mordred taking Gaton's corpse to the depths of the abyss; nobody knew just what would happen there. The depths went by many names, from the Source of Chaos to the Eternal Battlefield. It was the endpoint of the River of Death; anything was possible.

Unfortunately, he still wasn't powerful enough to chart those depths. Even just moving about on the edge of the Darkness or the Outlands would be an easier task. Not wishing to keep thinking on those lines, he suddenly changed the topic with a smile, “Do you want some dragons?”

1103 - City of Sin

A Legend's Dream

Dragon. The last dregs of Sharon's sleepiness melted away the moment she heard this word, her eyes glowing with excitement, “How many? Where? Did you find a nest? Has anyone robbed them yet?”

“Not a nest,” Richard's smile spread wider, “It's an entire plane.”

“A PLANE?!” the legendary mage started to emit golden light, looking like a young girl who had been given a toy, “Where, where?! I only went to a dragon plane once, that place was basically heaven! You can't even imagine it, there were dragons everywhere in the sky and nests all over! It was so sad, I couldn't keep track of the coordinates. I swore that I would find it once I was stronger, and catch any dragon I want!”

Hearing of Sharon's dream, Richard didn't know whether to laugh or cry. She was jumping around like a little girl given candy, but that candy was a plane of powerful beings. It gave him new perspective on his own strength.

“This place is powerful too, I can't conquer it just yet. There's hundreds just on the other side of the passage, and the Five-Coloured Dragon rules it.”

Sharon frowned, “Really? Then things might be a little difficult, I can't say for sure I'll win.”

“That's alright. I have a good idea, so you can just watch while I handle it. But you can go take a tour first, see if there's anything you can get.”

“Alright, I'll pack immediately. We'll leave in half an hour!”

“Huh? No, let's go when my rune convention is—”

“Who cares about a dumb convention?! It's just a grade 5 rune, I'm not interested in that. Give me the coordinates and I'll go myself. Right. This. Instance!”

“Uhh...” Richard was dumbstruck for a moment. Having become a saint runemaster, he was amongst the most important people in all of Norland. He dearly wanted Sharon to see his growth and be proud of it, but clearly the dragons were much more appealing. However, this was strangely relieving as well. The legendary mage had the grade 6 Deepblue Aria, why would she bother with mere grade 5 runes?

The patterns of the Deepblue Aria were still carved deeply into his mind. While incomplete, it was still far more powerful than any grade 5 rune, perhaps even a set. The single rune occupied all of Sharon's rune slots, providing offence, defence, and any other utility as well. Most other legends could only afford a number of runes that served each of their individual requirements; some couldn't even get grade 5 runes at all. That was why his convention was so important to them.

She ended up taking much longer than half an hour to prepare, but by the time she returned she had seven rings on her fingers and four bangles up her arms. Five entire necklaces shone brightly as well, and from one look it was obvious that everything was enchanted for storage. This was enough space to plunder a dozen nests.

While Sharon left, Richard still had to meet with Blackgold to discuss the operations of the Deepblue. The mages and researchers here were the source of his superiority, but they still needed some direction in terms of funding so they developed what was most important to him. Any single improvement coming out of the laboratories was minuscule, but it stacked up quickly to make his army one of the best in all of Norland.

With his entire network of planes now on the right path, every one of them starting to add a constant stream of resources to the family warehouses, he finally had the means to focus on technology he didn't need immediately. At this point, even all the mages in the Deepblue weren't enough for this purpose, and many projects faced a shortage in manpower. Planning things out with Blackgold, he was going to raise the benefits of everyone actively working on a project to entice more mages to join.

While Sharon left before all of that, thankfully she at least waited long enough to listen to his suggestion not to charge straight into the Dragon Plane's crystal sphere. Instead, she used the portal to Faelor at Blackrose to head into the plane that way. The passage to Faelor itself wasn't built for legends to use— a fact that annoyed her greatly because she would have to spend some effort to maintain it when she passed through— but Richard managed to convince her that it was better than being blocked off by the Five-Coloured Dragon or a being that was even more powerful.

......

Faelor and the Dragon Plane didn't remain calm in Richard's absence. The Thinker had been stationed beside the portal at all times, and recently it had found the fluctuations of a powerful being passing through. An enormous shadow was currently zooming across the empire as the broodmother flew towards Dragon Valley at full speed.

A full kilometre up in the sky, she looked to be worming her way through the sky. Her limbs moving rhythmically, her body constantly contracted and expanded, each burst moving her dozens of metres forward. On her body, all sorts of winged serpents were preparing their abilities for battle; while fast, these creatures couldn't cover as much distance. Between the winged serpents were irregular projections that looked like black rocks, beings that looked like masses of writhing flesh crawling out on occasion. These were the nests of her legion of bastard demigods; even legendary beings would meet their demise if they were all activated. In many ways, the broodmother herself was serving the purpose of an enormous astral chrysalis.

The Iron Triangle Empire was completely still, not reacting to the broodmother's presence at all. The country had few powerhouses left, and all of them had been warned of their imminent demise if they dared annoy her. A couple of them had still flown up with interest when she first started making her way across, but volleys of attacks from the winged serpents didn't even leave corpses behind.

Next to a quiet lake fed by a river valley, a middle-aged man was cutting down trees to build a wooden cabin for himself. He looked up as the broodmother flew across, his expression changing instantly as a huge book appeared in the depths of his eyes. The pages turned on their own to display the picture of the broodmother, the entry marked with red. His breathing started to grow harried and the hands holding the axe started to tremble, only calming down once the broodmother disappeared from the horizon.

“The news was accurate...” he mumbled to himself, taking a flat piece of wood and starting to write something down with his finger. However, after only a few letters, his expression changed, “This might be a chance...”

The man went quiet, paralysed for hours until he made up his mind and tossed his axe aside. Instead of following the broodmother, he rushed towards the Land of Turmoil that she had flown from.

1104 - City of Sin

Arrogance

On the Dragon Plane, Kralkalor had finally finished his teleportation formation for a terrible price. The moment the formation was completed, he felt more despondent than anything else. While many of his peers were congratulating him, be it sincerely or otherwise, none of them understood the magnitude of his investment. Bahamut had already put him on a path of no return; it was win or die.

At this juncture, there was no point in doubting his choices. With the passageway completed and powerful enough to allow legends to pass through, however, he hesitated. He had no idea what awaited him on the other side, only that the communication array on the other end had been silent for a long, long time. Any who passed through the portal failed to return.

The other side of the passage seemed to be shrouded in a sea of fog. The humans of Faelor were clearly far more powerful than his subordinates were familiar with, and with the images of the mythical beings in recent days, his perception of them was warping constantly. Sometimes they were tiny and cowardly, other times tall and ferocious; the image seemed to pulse with his growing nervousness.

At some point, the gold dragon realised that his surroundings had gone quiet. Looking around, he found all of his peers quietly watching as they waited for him to step into the portal. However, a strong sense of unease flooded his mind, screaming that he would die if he went through. He surveyed the group around him and suddenly growled in a low, dignified voice, “Paero, go in!”

The dragon that was called out shuddered in shock, unable to believe what he was hearing. However, he was one of Kralkalor's direct subordinates and couldn't disobey orders; hierarchy was one of the founding tenets of draconic society that enabled a race of long-lived creatures that were rarely fertile to continue. Nobody would frown at Kralkalor killing him on the spot.

Having made up his mind, the gold dragon showcased his own power once more as a tremendous orb of energy burst forth and escorted Paero through the portal. Once the rippling surface calmed down, hundreds of dragons crowded around the teleportation gate and awaited the result.

Portals were inherently unstable. Paero could be gone for a few minutes or a few weeks, but it would be impossible to know which until he returned. However, dragons all had lifespans of over a thousand years; waiting a few days was nothing much.

......

It was early morning in Faelor, but the sky was covered so thickly in clouds that it was impossible to tell. Phaser and Zangru were the ones guarding the portal today. Things had been calm for quite some time, and the rune knights had all been chased away to give them some rest. Constantly being prepared for battle was quick to wear down morale, so they were all happy at the rare holiday. Also knowing just how powerful the two of them were, nobody else bothered remaining nearby.

This was perfectly in line with their plans. The Thinker appeared near the portal at some point, checking around before poking his upper body inside for a moment. Retreating only a moment later, he looked up at the sky to transmit some information.

Phaser flashed to his side and picked him up, jumping dozens of metres into the sky even as she tossed aside all of her clothing. Only her natural armour remained, alongside part of a blade peeking out of her hand. It was when she got rid of all her limitations that she was at her most powerful.

While she was grabbing a bunch of dragonblood spears and preparing to launch them, Zangru lost his normal smile and slowly walked to her side. His living polearm started pulsing with hunger as he prepared for battle as well.

The wind suddenly picked up.

Far in the distance, Mountainsea's nose twitched and she got up. However, her eyes didn't even open and she remained in place. The thunderous snoring outside her window didn't stop either, but Tiramisu opened an eye and said lazily, “They'll take care of it, we won't even get a turn!”

The ogre mage then returned to sleep and joined his brother's snores. Mountainsea collapsed back into her bed at the same time.

In another room, Waterflower slowly got out of bed and pulled out her sword. She didn't go out either, but she did start warming up just in case. Taking a thin biscuit, she started cutting it with the Shepherd of Eternal Rest; every slice took off a layer so thin that it was near invisible, perhaps even lighter than dust. One could see the layers peeling off with every swing, but it was as though the biscuit would never run out.

It was under these circumstances that Paero reached Faelor. It was his first time travelling through such a long portal, but his enormous body belied his quick recovery; in only a few moments, he had recovered from his dizziness.

However, the dragon's eyes immediately opened wide in shock, pupils narrowing into near-slits. The two humanoids in front of him weren't much, but the weapon in the hands of one was something he recognised well. In fact, he felt his scales beginning to itch. Even a dragon's flesh would be torn out by the living polearm.

As he managed to tear his gaze away from that, the throwing spear in the other humanoid's hands made him shiver as well. He could sense an aura quite similar to his own coming from the weapon, making its purpose clear; there were also a good number more buried into the ground all over.

With a gentle smile on her lips, Phaser tossed the dragonblood spear and started heading towards Paero. The dragon suddenly realised that he had lost track of Zangru at some point, but that was quickly remedied by a painful jab to his rear end. That jab distracted him for the single moment it took for the spear to land, burying itself into his body and making him lose feeling in one of his claws.

Paero howled in pain, fear, and rage, glancing at Phaser grabbing another spear and throwing it towards him. He fled upwards as quickly as he could, trying his best to dodge the two other spears that were now coming in his direction. Unfortunately, losing ground with a few complicated manoeuvres showed him that both were enchanted to track their target; he had no choice but to try and outfly them.

The dragon suddenly felt the entire world go dark, looking up to see an enormous body flying out of the clouds with an aura more frightening than his own. In front of the broodmother that was now nearly a kilometre long, he looked like a little cat. Before he could even respond, he was caught by a number of tendrils with pincers and legs being thrust deep into his body.

Paero struggled with all his might, but he just couldn't break away. He roared with fury and turned around, doing all he could to bite at the broodmother, but the shell he struck was so hard that his teeth actually began to hurt and creak. He used all of his strength to tear off a small section, only to find that there was a second carapace beneath.

With her own analysis of the laws of metal at an elementary level, the broodmother had remodelled her shell to increase her defences greatly. At the same time, her pincers had been strengthened as well, able to pierce through most things. The intensity of Paero's struggles reduced quickly as she bit in hard, the dragon eventually just wriggling around like a fish out of water.

With her meal secure, the broodmother prepared to enjoy herself to the fullest. However, she suddenly stopped all actions and turned towards Bluewater Oasis, feeling a faint yet powerful aura erupting from that direction. It was an aura that was powered by laws, only visible to those who had reached such a realm.

That aura also had a message within it, “I'm here! Anyone who should be hiding away better do so, don't make me beat you up!”

1105 - City of Sin

The Wolf That Found The Pen

Anyone who should be hiding away better do so, don't make me beat you up!

While they had never met before, the broodmother quickly determined the source of such an arrogant statement. It was almost certain that there was only one possibility; Richard's Master, the Dragon Slaver Sharon. She immediately turned around to fly back to the Land of Turmoil at full speed; Sharon's target was obviously this valley, and staying here for any length of time was ill-advised in that scenario.

The moment Sharon's message spread throughout Faelor, all of the gods suddenly got too busy to notice. They all had things that they just had to do immediately, rendering them unable to respond to the threat.

Thunder resounded in Faelor's sunny sky, a lucky few beings able to spot a graceful blue trail crossing towards the north. The legendary mage was constantly blinking forward several kilometres at a time, the unstable mana behind her exploding into fireballs and lightning. While Richard had convinced her to go through Faelor, he hadn't arranged for any means of transport within the plane itself. Sharon obviously wouldn't do something so boring as using a long-distance portal; while robbing dragons was important, she wanted to take a good look at Little Richard's plane as well.

Of course, she didn't care about the commotion she caused. Even the most ordinary people could tell something strange was going on in the skies, but the west of Faelor was going through a tough time and most powerhouses put their own safety before anything else. Feeling the sheer power of the aftershocks, they decided to ignore it altogether. There was one dukedom where a bunch of sub-legendary warriors were travelling together, the group rising up with confidence in their numbers, but they didn't even manage to get a proper look at Sharon's face before they were blown away by the ripples of her energy. One of them was charred almost to death, causing them to flee for their lives.

......

In the Dragon Plane, Kralkalor couldn't stand the wait any longer. While it had been less than half an hour since Paero had entered the portal, it felt like half a year had passed for him. He sighed in relief when the portal surface started to ripple, but his eyes went wide when he saw the Dragon Slaver walking out instead.

It was this again! None of the dragons outside of Kralkalor himself were really disconcerted by Sharon's appearance, some even stretching their bodies and yawning. They had seen hundreds of famous powerhouses in the past few days, each one only showcasing their auras before pretending to unleash their signature attacks. While Sharon hadn't appeared too often, she had still come twice. They had already learnt that the true threat came from those they didn't recognise; or at least, hadn't recognised before. Right now, Richard and even his followers were growing familiar to them.

When the legendary mage walked out of the teleportation gate, she saw dragons all around her and shivered in excitement. It was like a wolf had walked into a pen of sheep; her breathing had already grown rough.

However, a sweeping glance showed that these dragons were completely lax. Some were lying around napping, and a pair of mates were even going at it on a little hill in the distance. Most infuriating was that it was the pathetic half-blooded weaklings that came forward to challenge her, and even they didn't seem particularly scared.

Sharon's brows shot up in rage. She was fairly well known within the myriad planes, and her reputation had been built through battle. This kind of dismissal was a slap to her face! Even saints barely made a meal for her, but she had to fight a dozen-odd level 10s?

Of course, the legendary mage wasn't one to talk things through or wait for explanations. Her expression darkened and she pulled her hands apart, a portal dancing between her fingers.

The dragons all watched with interest, expressing all sorts of opinions.

“Oh, this one almost looks real.”

“Exactly! Her expressions are so lifelike!” Google search f𝙧𝒆𝚎𝘸e𝚋𝓷o𝘷𝚎𝒍. co𝑚

“Is she trying to cast a spell?”

“Not bad, there's some actual mana in there. Nice one, the spell looks good too.”

“What is she trying, though? Is that a portal, or have my eyes gone bad?”

“Interesting. Can a portal really be compressed and pushed around like—”

...

Everyone went quiet for a moment before a scream broke the silence, “It's a real portal! Planar!”

The dragons broke out in a frenzy, quickly taking to the skies and flying as far away as they could. A few of the smarter ones flew close to the ground, avoiding the large group. Some even began to just run across the earth in desperation. They didn't even dare to look back and wonder just how Sharon had managed to knead an actual planar portal; they just knew that the spatial rifts from an explosion would kill them.

“Too late!” the legendary mage snickered, lifting her arms high and tossing the unstable portal like a stone. A few moments later, an enormous explosion rocked the skies and sent many dragons careening towards the ground. A mushroom cloud blocked everyone's vision, so large that its rapid expansion seemed slow to a distant observer.

*ROAR!* Golden light flashed as Kralkalor flew through the flames, heading straight for Sharon. His golden scales turned red from the intense heat, but this only increased his offensive powers. With him taking the lead, a dozen more turned around to join in on the attack; while they weren't as smart as humans in many other contexts, dragons were geniuses at battle and knew that fleeing from someone with long-ranged magic was pure stupidity.

As the mushroom cloud continued to rise, the dragons quickly found their balance and flew up once more; only those who were too close to the explosion or otherwise too young and weak landed on the ground. Even of the dozen that had been struck by the attack, less than half of them died; their naturally powerful bodies were apparent.

After flying a few circles, the panic-stricken dragons quickly formed up to attack Sharon together. With Kralkalor taking the lead, breath attacks, bites, and swipes were everywhere. The dragons on the outer edge couldn't even find a way to attack, only able to fly around and replace anyone who was injured,

The battle was fierce, a loud howl of pain ringing out every few seconds as a dragon was thrown out of the encirclement. Every such dragon had fractured bones and torn ligaments; enough to immobilise, but not enough to kill. Those outside couldn't tell what was going on within, but the twisted limbs and dangling wings left them terrified. They just couldn't imagine how such a tiny human could cause so much physical damage to a dragon; evidently, the damage came from brute force and not magic or weaponry. Was she really that strong?

From the very beginning of the battle when Sharon had thrown the portal, the dragons were terrified of her. If not for Kralkalor being the first to fight, they could just have dispersed. Even now, those on the outside were watching closely with fear; it looked like the woman was tied down, but all of the injured dragons were dropped in one region and could only moan pitifully on the ground. These were also the rarest breeds amongst them; it was the ordinary ones she didn't pay attention to.

The clouds up above suddenly blazed as a dark red dragon covered in flames descended from the sky. Its body was enormous, spanning nearly a full kilometre from head to toe, and all of its scales were spewing fire. Pure draconic flames burst out of its nostrils with every breath.

The Flame Dragon Bahamut was just like the Prime Evil Tiamat, considered one of the most powerful existences on the Dragon Plane. With his appearance, all of the dragons grew excited; in their minds, this meant the situation would be taken care of.

However, the Flame Dragon immediately roared in shock, “Sharon?!”

This left the dragons flustered. The most infamous beings to the residents of this plane were those titled Dragon Slayer, Dragon Slaver, and the like. They had seen many fakes in the past few days, so even with Sharon showing her power they hadn't thought it was really her. However, Bahamut's reaction made it obvious that this was the genuine one.

Bahamut himself roared so loudly that the earth trembled, half the sky turning red as the temperature of the surroundings rapidly rose. The already-withered grass and trees just burnt up and crumbled to ash as flames spread across the ground.

This was his most powerful ability, World of Fire. It was a domain that changed the laws of the environment, allowing him to showcase his true might and limit that of the opponent. It also took a great chunk of energy to use it, but Bahamut clearly saw Sharon as a major threat.

1106 - City of Sin

Stalemate

Most dragons could endure high temperatures, many fire dragons even able to bathe in lava. Putting minimal pressure on his allies, Bahamut pounced into the fight. The dragons in the tangle all fled to give him space, with only Kralkalor and two more of the most powerful dragons continuing to contend.

Wreathed in flames, his body quickly shrank down until he was less than fifty metres long; however, the temperature of the flames only grew while his red scales turned translucent. Sharon dodged his immediate attack, but her golden hair started to curl and char from the heat.

Sharon growled in anger, grabbing Bahamut by the tail. If this was any other dragon, she would be able to rip it off then and there, causing it to lose its balance and fall to the ground. However, she immediately yelped in pain and released her hold in panic; her palm was charred black with a green smoke that smelt like roasted meat spreading out. Google search 𝐟𝚛e𝗲𝚠𝗲𝑏𝓃𝑜ν𝐞𝘭. c𝒐𝓂

The legendary mage jumped a thousand metres away, rubbing her hands hard to drop the ash as new skin grew over. She was back to normal in the blink of an eye, but despite glaring at the dragon she didn't jump forward again. Instead, she started a quick chant that couldn't be intercepted.

A number of new dragons appeared in the sky, with the legendary mage twirling her finger around and whistling clearly before she blinked on top of Bahamut's head. Combining both hands, she smashed downwards.

A blue meteorite fell from the sky, striking the Flame Dragon's head mercilessly and sending him crashing towards the ground. Half a dozen more followed in quick succession, but Bahamut regained his balance in mid-air and shrank down to a third of his size to dodge all but one. He also took the opportunity to counter-attack, managing to strike Sharon with his tail. The damage was minimal, a scorch mark on Sharon's thigh, but the attack managed to burn off half of her skirt.

However, this time she didn't grow furious. Her sky-blue eyes glimmered with a dangerous light as she calmed down, scanning her surroundings, “And here I was wondering when you found the guts to fight me. So it's because you're familiar with the laws of this plane.”

“Exactly!” Bahamut answered honestly, pouncing over once more.

Sharon's hair flew up as she blocked the paw swiping down at her with one hand, the other spreading out and pointing at Bahamut's face. Resplendent blue specks of light started to shine in the gaps.

Starbreaker Blast! Bahamut's eyes narrowed as he pushed away, starting to flash around to avoid the attack. The light grew even brighter until it became a pillar that shot into the distance, disappearing after about ten kilometres. This didn't seem like much when compared to its name, but only moments later spatial cracks started to litter the path it had left behind. The beam had pierced straight through space!

This single attack had cut a tremendous wound into the plane itself, so powerful that even the origin energy of the plane would be affected. Even Kralkalor would be pierced through by it, not to mention ordinary dragons. The spatial cracks themselves acted like the sharpest of blades, easily able to cut through an adult metallic dragon's body.

Bahamut did all he could to flee the attack, barely escaping it before rushing back to battle immediately. Kralkalor and the two others charged forward to engage at close range, unwilling to fight from any distance. While Sharon was strong, that strength wasn't enough to kill them outright.

The battle soon entered a stalemate. Bahamut's growth in power from being at home was far too great, while his three allies were plenty strong as well. Although she had the power of an epic being, Sharon couldn't take all of them out at once. If time allowed for it, such as if the fight dragged on for days, she would certainly manage to tire them out and kill them, but who knew how many other powerful existences would show themselves. Bahamut definitely wasn't in the strongest tier of being on this plane, and there was at least one other existence with power equivalent to the Five-Coloured Dragon.

Realising this, Sharon's expression darkened and blue light shimmered in her hands. Knowing how powerful the Starbreaker Blast was, all four dragons immediately manoeuvred away to dodge; the attack's weakness was very clear despite its might. Once it was charged up, Sharon had no choice but to release it in a few seconds.

As they dodged the deadly attack, the dragons saw Sharon starting to create a portal in the sky. Bahamut bellowed and shot towards her to intercept, but Kralkalor quickly roared out a warning for him to get away. The Flame Dragon's hesitation lasted long enough for the portal to explode, and despite his affinity for flames he quickly noticed the spatial rifts within and knew not to give chase.

Through the raging flames, the dragons could only watch Sharon land on the ground and grab a few of their injured kin, stuffing them into her spatial equipment. Four dragons were gone in the blink of an eye, leaving Bahamut completely shocked. He had never thought that spatial equipment could actually fit entire dragons, and would never have considered that the legendary mage had more than one.

Unfortunately, the rest of Sharon's equipment was planned for the plunder of nests; it wasn't nearly as spacious. Having to leave so quickly, it would all remain unused. Grunting in dissatisfaction, she grabbed another of the dragons by the tail and dragged it towards the teleportation gate.

Bahamut was absolutely furious, craning his neck as he bellowed wildly, but he didn't dare to follow right through the explosions. While he could cross with limited damage, the three others could not. Without their help, he had no confidence in taking Sharon on even for a few moments. With someone of her power, the duration of a fight didn't come close to determining its danger.

The Flame Dragon returned to his original size and floated quietly in the air as he watched Sharon escape, no emotion in his deep eyes. In stark contrast, Kralkalor couldn't hide his despair as he flew over, his enormous body still small when compared to that of the Flame Dragon. The entire area went deathly silent as the flames sizzled away, the dragons even breathing quietly as if afraid Sharon would return.

“On the other end of this portal... is Sharon,” Kralkalor eventually broke the silence.

“That's obvious,” Bahamut answered icily.

“What do we do now? If Sharon is there, I... I can't go.” The outcome of the battle was obvious; Sharon had brazenly taken five dragons even when surrounded by Bahamut, Kaloh, and others in an unfamiliar environment. If the venue was elsewhere, even if she wasn't a native of Faelor either, he would only be serving himself up on a silver platter. Even Bahamut would likely be captured.

The Flame Dragon whipped his tail around in frustration, glaring at Kralkalor, “That's your problem. When it's time, you still have to repay your debt!”

He then turned around and flew into the skies, entering the clouds in the distance. The gold dragon couldn't say a single word, just landing in front of the portal and watching the imposing frame in a daze. The portal was still rippling from Sharon's passage.

In that moment, Kralkalor felt incomparably lonely. Nobody planned to approach him, just silently cleaning up the area while taking care of the dead and wounded.

Seven dragons had died and five were captured in one go, the losses immense enough to shock the plane. The dragons were overcome with fear and rage, killing thousands upon thousands of their disciples once they returned. That number didn't even count the number of elderly and children, which caused the numbers to skyrocket. Some turned entire villages into seas of fire as they vented.

1107 - City of Sin

A Legendary Rune Convention

Once she exited the portal in Faelor, Sharon looked more infuriated than excited. She currently looked rather pitiful, her blue robes in tatters with the legendary equipment most certainly destroyed. Her exposed skin was riddled with shallow wounds, some of which were covered in a black mist that stopped them from healing.

The thirty rune knights now around the teleportation gate formed a semi-circle around her, pointing their halberds upwards as they shouted in unison, ““Your Excellency!””

They had been informed that she would return soon, and Richard knew the kind of things the legendary mage liked. Their loud bellows resounded through Dragon Valley, much louder than the roars of one or two dragons. Sharon's brow furrowed for a moment, but looking at the source she immediately broke into a smile and posed. Showing off was one of her favourite things to do.

Not just anyone could send thirty rune knights just as a welcoming committee. Even the families with so many rune knights wouldn't do such a thing; rune knights were considered heroes of the battlefield and would think of such a thing as humiliating. Only Richard had the sheer numbers where rune knights didn't feel all that special, agreeing to these kinds of tasks that could leave the picky Sharon excited and satisfied.

She had no idea that there was another meaning to Richard's orders. This shout from the rune knights informed everyone within a dozen kilometres that Her Excellency had returned. Those without anything better to do were to stay in their homes, just in case they provoked her by accident.

“You're all pretty good!” Sharon burst into laughter, “And so... handsome!”

She had been about to say they were strong, but their strength truly was nothing in her eyes. Sharon loved to exaggerate, but she wasn't really one to lie. It wasn't exactly easy for the rune knights to dispute the fact either; as she walked forward, a dying dragon was dragged out of the portal behind her. All of them just watched in a daze as she flew away, doubting their own eyes.

Sharon moved quickly this time, not causing nearly as much of a commotion and even going a little slower than before. A blue bubble blocked the strong winds high above; if she moved at top speed, her quarry really would die.

Even going towards the Dragon Plane, she had felt a sense of instability in the passage. When she tried to transport five adult dragons back, she immediately met trouble. The passage had nearly collapsed entirely, but thankfully she had managed to block many of the storms with pure strength. Barely keeping the connection intact, she forced her way through the spatial floods and returned to Faelor.

However, that had left her riddled with wounds while the dragon she was holding nearly died. If not for wanting to keep it alive, she wouldn't have looked nearly as pitiful as she did now. Of course, a live dragon was worth so much more than a dead one; thinking of the profit she stood to gain, she didn't care at all about how pathetic she ended up looking.

About halfway to Bluewater, the legendary mage suddenly sighed in dejection. She had captured five dragons in one go, which was a pretty big haul that was worth celebrating, but that image of dragons all around still filled her mind. She was someone who believed everything she saw was hers; instead of having caught five, she focused more on the hundreds she hadn't.

Although disappointed, she still rushed over at full speed. The dragon in her hands couldn't hold on for long, and she didn't have any way to heal it right now. She could only wait until she got to her weyr.

It was only once Sharon left Faelor that the plane suddenly came back to life. All sorts of people grew active, the gods finishing up all of their “important” tasks and beginning to announce orders for their avatars and children to move. It was like moss growing after the rain.

......

The atmosphere in Faust was incredibly stifling right now, with many people feeling a strange weight in their hearts. Those in the know understood where this came from, but even the ones out of the loop could feel the tremendous pressure all around.

The pressure had already been held back greatly, but some bits of it would still leak out. It was so tremendous that it felt like a storm was buffeting the city, centred right around the Mage Association. It was in the top floor of this building that Richard was currently holding his first rune convention as a saint runemaster.

Unlike with the normal conventions where he attracted thousands, Richard only had an audience of twenty or so people this time. However, each and every one of them was a powerhouse famed throughout Norland, including Her Majesty Apeiron. The handful of sky saints actually stood out from the lot, all representing legends who couldn't personally make it. Some of these people included the Sword Saint's disciple, Drakons, as well as Empress Gelan's right hand, Countess Zaney.

The weakest of the lot was a level 18 priest, incredibly young but with a gentle smile on his face that oozed confidence. The others in this room would likely crush him without any real fight, but when it came to status he was no less important than most of the legends. This was Saint Martin, the newest saint of the Sacred Tree Empire's Church of Glory and currently the most likely candidate to become the next pope. He was even more important than the renowned Archbishop Hendrick.

Ever since Martin lost his battle with Richard, he had been on the rise. He had jumped several levels in a short span of time, and all of the other candidates for sainthood had disappeared all around him. This sudden focus by the Radiant Lord was out of everyone's expectations, but even as his peers wondered how someone who almost let a grand cathedral be looted he had seemingly grown without any merit.

Richard was currently up on a temporary platform, explaining Kingsteel and Stealthwalker in great detail. He didn't need much effort to convey their functioning to the experts present here, but he did need to put in more effort to explain how they interfaced with laws.

The appearance of a magic soul wasn't completely random. If a runemaster did not grasp the corresponding laws, it was near impossible to obtain a related magic soul unless there was divine interference. Grade 5 runes couldn't be tried, but as long as Richard explained clearly enough those present could tell if he was being authentic. This was why even representatives had to be sky saints.

Those present included legends of previous generations like the South Star and Kenny, with even the mythical Celestial Sage. Ruben had become an epic being centuries ago, renowned not for his strength but his deep understanding of planar systems. He might not be able to defeat Apeiron, but he was far better at exploring the myriad planes.

This concentration of powerhouses was the reason for the pressure on Faust, but almost none of them could even care as they listened to Richard with rapt attention. Interruptions were regular as they asked questions about every tiny detail, making sure they knew all they could about the runes.

Saint runes grew in power with their users. An improvement to one's understanding of the base laws increased their might, perhaps even unlocking entirely new possibilities. As the discussion carried on, an entire day passed by in the blink of an eye. There was no applause, no flowers, no beautiful girls; this was just a group of all sorts of people discussing cryptic numbers and profound theories.
f𝚛e𝚎𝙬𝑒𝚋𝚗𝚘ѵ𝐞𝒍. c𝐨𝙢

This was a saint runemaster's rune convention.

1108 - City of Sin

Splitting The Feast

Early into the second day, the Celestial Sage shook his head after his last question was answered, “Sigh. I feel really old now.”

The legends here were hundreds of years old, with even some sky saints approaching the turn of their first century. Most of their gazes were filled with emotion as they stared at Richard, even Apeiron herself showing a hint of awe. Both Kingsteel and Stealthwalker were limited in functionality and were crafted with weak magic souls, making them amongst the worst of saint runes, but they were still saint runes nonetheless. The important fact was that he had launched two saint runes with entirely different functions in one go, showing that he was delving into the power of laws in two different fields before he even became a legendary mage. One could tell that he had massive potential in the future, perhaps even to become an epic being.

Even more frighteningly, he had claimed that he would create another saint rune in half a year during the discussion. This was an unprecedented speed that even the South Star was impressed by, a fervent look in her eyes. It didn't matter if these two runes didn't match; there would be plenty of opportunities in the future. A few Norland years was nothing to these long-lived beings.

The two runes ended up being sold for a total of three top-tier sacrifices, while Apeiron also made an order of 50 more rune knights for the Sacred Alliance. This was a power move that left the Millennial Empire and Sacred Tree Empire uneasy, but the representatives from both couldn't stop her at all.

In normal times, this would be the end of the rune convention. Both Richard and the legends would leave, having their subordinates take care of the formalities. Some legends even got up, but Richard gestured to everyone and asked them to stay as he set up the screen once more.

An image of hundreds of dragons appeared behind him.

“I'm sure all of you know what this is; a full plane of dragons. My own estimates are in the higher ten thousands, perhaps even a hundred thousand in total.”

Everyone immediately calmed down, taking their seats once more as they waited for him to continue.

“I'm certain that all of us present will have opportunities to work with each other in the future. I'll honest; this plane is far too powerful for me to conquer in the near future, so I want to share this opportunity with you all.”

“How will you do that?” Julian asked the question on everyone's minds.

“Simple. I'm planning to provide one-way portals to the Dragon Plane, as well as a fixed return point to leave. The entry portal can be randomised or at fixed points, that's up to you. You can move freely in the Dragon Plane, and when you're done you can return to Norland through one of my private planes called Faelor. This will require two interplanar portals and one that's intraplanar, but they have all been strengthened to accommodate legendary beings. As for the few of you who are beyond that, I'm sure you know to keep such passages stable as you pass through.” Richard then smiled jokingly, “So long as you're not too violent and keep your strength in check, there shouldn't be any safety concerns.”

With spatial arrays on both ends of the passage, any powerhouse proficient in the laws of space would be able to obtain the coordinates of the Dragon Plane. This was how Gaton had found the Forest Plane originally. Although Richard seemed to be joking, it was in fact a veiled threat about trying anything untoward.

However, he wasn't really worried about the possibility. His most effective means of prevention came from the two portals that could transport legendary beings; even amongst this crowd, few had the resources to throw at such a project. Legends could still tear through space to get where they wanted, but it was a huge drain on energy and put them in danger on the other end. A fixed passage was always a preferable option if the price was reasonable.

Richard looked over them all one last time, bringing up the part they were all waiting for, “As for my compensation, you'll need to pay me a greater offering or equivalent resources for every entry. If you wish to stay for more than a month, the price will be a greater offering for every two months. Additionally, you shall acknowledge my right to own the plane as a whole; if anyone tries to steal it away, you will be obligated to help me stop them as best as you can.”

Those present were actually quite surprised by the leniency of Richard's conditions. A plane of dragons was bound to have treasure everywhere, and a single adult dragon was equivalent to a greater offering. This wasn't an obstacle even to a sky saint.

In fact, even with bad luck it was unlikely for someone to get fewer than four or five greater offerings in a month; considering it all, they really weren't paying much. They all knew that the resources to maintain powerful interplanar passages were astronomical; a good chunk of the payment would go towards that alone. In fact, half of those present would have been willing to give up a full half of their profits with every trip. With this low price, even the sky saints would be confident in making a profit while some of the stronger regular saints could try their luck.

A short human smiled softly, “I assume I can stay indefinitely if I have enough offerings to give you?”

“Of course,” Richard nodded, leaving the man to blush and fantasize while he changed the screen to an image of Dragon Valley, “I have a forward base here, and I'm working on expanding it for supplies. You will be able to buy a number of rare materials in the near future, and most importantly my lab can provide some common runes and repairs. You can decide what combinations you need according to the situation, and make an appointment with me or Rosie if you need something at a higher level. I suggest you return to base frequently, I'm not limiting the number of times you can take the portal.”

“All that's well and good, but when can we actually go?” Kenny asked anxiously.

Richard smiled, “Right now, in fact! The portal to Faelor is in Blackrose; you can get there from my island after our discussions conclude. I already have people ready to guide you once you're in Bluewater, my capital.”

Kenny clicked his tongue, throwing a ring over, “There's a top-tier offering in there, it should be enough for me to stay for half a year.”

Richard grabbed the ring and inspected it closely, finding that it was a spatial item with a fairly high capacity, “This is worth a full year.”

“I can only stay for half, consider the ring a gift. It's just a small thing, don't obsess over it!”

With someone having started, the rest of the powerhouses present lost all pretence of calmness. All of them declared their intentions of entering the Dragon Plane except for Martin, even Apeiron announcing that she wanted to practise a bit. They seemed to have a tacit understanding with each other and all requested random teleportations; they didn't want to overcrowd one area and bring up the possibility of a fight over prey.

Outside of a few sky saints who rushed back to report to their masters, most of the powerhouses rushed towards Blackrose Castle immediately, planning to go to the Dragon Plane to gain their fortune. In such uncharted territory, being even a second late could be a massive difference. Coincidentally, they came across Sharon flying towards the Deepblue while pulling a dragon behind her. Most of them noticed the weak auras on her body as well, one of them saying softly, “Five of them!”

It was obvious where the legendary mage had come from, and the reality only made everyone more hungry. Sharon was a little confused by so many of her peers gathering nearby, but she was more worried about the condition of her new slaves and just waved before continuing to fly away at full speed. The legends continued to rush towards the castle down below.
ƒ𝐫𝒆e𝓌𝒆𝚋𝗻૦𝘷𝑒𝙡. 𝑐𝘰𝐦

Even Richard himself didn't know then that this convention would decide how the Dragon Plane would be partitioned in the future. It would be called the Domed Conference after the hall they had met in, and would change the lives of the dragons drastically.

1109 - City of Sin

Decisions And Details

When Richard returned to his island, even he himself couldn't believe his harvest this time. Almost everyone had shown interest in the Dragon Plane, each of them purchasing stay for much longer than a month. It showed him that his understanding of the pinnacle experts of Norland was still very shallow; he had assumed that dragons weren't all that rare and wouldn't be an interest to planefaring beings, but he was clearly mistaken.

It left him deep in thought. He needed to study the behaviours of these people as he joined their ranks, but Sharon was clearly an outlier. Unlike her, he still needed to walk a steady path. Eventually, he decided to record down the profits and supply requirements of the powerhouses passing through Faelor; hopefully, he could glean some insights from that.

Noting down his thoughts, he then began to calculate his profits from the convention. Including what came from the two saint runes, he totalled about eleven top-tier offerings! His own costs were about a single top-tier offering's worth in terms of materials for his runes.

In a single go, he had already surpassed Saint Lawrence's savings, and the Dragon Plane still had much more potential for profits. The legends from the meeting were only making a tentative foray into the plane, but if they made a good profit they would certainly return for more. Moreover, they would certainly choose his route through Faelor.

His conditions had already made it clear that anyone who wanted to steal the coordinates would need to do it in absolute secrecy. A large-scale invasion from another end would be identified and traced back immediately, and the retaliation of dozens of legends would make sure that such an endeavour would be self-destructive. Most people at this level of power knew to look at the long term instead of such immediate profits.

Deep in thought, Richard suddenly hit upon a spark of inspiration. He decided to create a processing factory in Dragon Valley; if those bringing back dead dragons didn't have the patience to harvest them, the mages on-site would take care of the task for a small fee. Many people would only ever care about the rarest materials, giving him a steady source of the other valuable bits they would leave behind.

He immediately sent Blackgold a letter via remote transmission, stating his plans to recruit eighty to a hundred mages that had basic skills in research and were competent at handling dragon corpses. They would be paid three times what they got in the Deepblue, but that would come with a ten-year contract with no freedom and absolute secrecy.

Despite the rather long period, he wasn't worried about a lack of candidates. Most mages would jump at the opportunity to come into contact with dragon corpses, the dissection a process that would benefit their own growth. A large number would have taken on the contract even if it offered no pay at all, but then he would need more time to meet his requirements.

For now, he planned to have a fully-functioning service base up and running by the time the first legend stepped back through the portal to the Dragon Plane. However, a number of other ideas started to pop into mind as well. He would need a portal from Bluewater to Dragon Valley; a direct portal to the valley from Blackrose Castle would work as well, but that necessitated a Lighthouse of Time and would be a massive sink of resources.

Should the powerhouses remain in Dragon Valley during their downtime, they would need accommodation as well; their family, friends, or subordinates could also need lodging. There were bound to be a number of saints who wished to try their luck as well, and they could even form the bulk of the inflow in the future.

Studying the terrain of the valley, he circled a section of land next to a mountain stream and started adding some notes. Looking at the land available, he decided to build thirteen separate estates here, each equipped with its own facilities that ranged from foundries to fully-furnished laboratories. Each estate would occupy about a square kilometre in area, with the main manor and surrounding gardens having magic arrays that regulated the climate. It would take a considerable sum to maintain their operation, but that sum was insignificant to those who had just returned with multiple greater offerings.

Since the cost would be reimbursed soon enough, he decided that being grand wasn't an issue. Each manor would be built in a different style to suit different tastes, and he would block off the stream to build a lake right in the middle of them for water supply. The digging would be a large project for most, but the worker drones could take care of it in three days while subsequent landscaping would only take a week. It would be the manors themselves that needed more time.

He fully planned to put all of his drones to work for this. While the humanoids were great fighters, the Thinker could also direct and micromanage them to make sure they built efficiently. The astral chrysalis could transport all the required materials in a single trip, while the workers would prepare the foundation.

Richard continued adding details to this framework, such as adding rune knights on patrol around the manors. This was completely unnecessary— there were few thieves in existence that would steal from legendary beings— but this stunt would allow departing legends to leave their families behind.

...

It was deep in the night by the time all of the plans were done, and Richard made sure to memorise it all so he could transmit it to the Thinker and begin work immediately. However, moments after he started to stretch, a brass bell rang out as the old steward knocked on the door, “Master, a gentleman called Martin wishes to see you; he said he is an old friend.”

Martin? Richard frowned at the thought of this former enemy and uneasy ally, “He's in the lobby? Tell him I'll be there in a moment.”

A short while later, Richard had changed into formal clothes before walking down to the lobby. Hearing his footsteps, Martin turned away from an oil painting on the wall and smiled, “Why change? It's so late.”

Richard returned the gesture, “You're the only saint of the Church of Glory, the next pope. You deserve the respect.”

“Damn that, it's so boring,” Martin shrugged, “There are even limits on my smiles! My mouth should be angled like so, I should show exactly this much of my teeth. Can you imagine how dull that is?”

Richard raised a brow, “You should be a little more devout, don't you think?”

Martin wagged a finger and pointed at his own chest, “Faith is here, not in dumb rules and superstitions. Besides, the Radiant Lord doesn't need my faith; my value is in solving his problems, not hiding in his cathedrals singing hymns.”

“Huh,” Richard looked him in the eye, “Looks like I underestimated you.”

Martin broke into a broad grin, “No, you don't underestimate anyone. Except, perhaps, the Scholars.”

Richard felt a chill down his spine, but he managed to keep the smile on his face, “What do you mean?”

“Nothing special. Everyone know you can't trust the lunatics of Soremburg, can you?” the saint acted innocent, as though he had brought up the topic randomly. He walked around the lobby a few times, “Richard...

“Don't you think Hendrick and the Pope have lived too long?”

1110 - City of Sin

Transaction With A Saint

Don't you think Hendrick and the Pope have lived too long?

Richard couldn't stop himself from laughing at that statement, “You want me to get rid of them for you? Don't even think about it!”

Martin sighed, “What happened to all your valour when you attacked the Sacred Tree Empire all on your own?”

“Valour? That was just an image. The Sacred Alliance had Emperor Philip back then.”

“So it's true that you and Her Majesty are at odds?” Martin's eyes gleamed.

“Heh, not really. She just isn't the same kind of ruler, not to any of the houses.”

“Tch, I knew I couldn't take advantage of a bastard like you. How about a transaction instead?”

“Depends on the conditions, but why not?”

“Alright. You've heard of Midren, haven't you?”

“The Heaven's Armour set?”

“Yes. Would you like its design?”

This question nearly caused Richard to jump, but he managed to keep calm. If the design for Midren was going to be the bargaining chip, then the requirements would be just as monumental. He shook his head, “Be more specific.”

Martin turned serious, “I have the broken fragments of Midren, alongside a portion of the original design. If I give them to you, will you be able to make a complete version?”

“Depends,” Richard replied indifferently, “How much of the fragments are left, and how complete is the blueprint? Do you need a carbon copy of the original, or do you need it modified?”

“How much of the blueprint do you need?”

Richard chuckled, “Again, if you have all of it, I can make a perfect copy of the original. If not, I'll have to fill in the gaps.”

Martin was startled for a moment, staring at him for some time, “Do you realise that your words make me want to kill you on the spot?”

“I do. I also know you couldn't manage it in a hundred lifetimes,” Richard replied calmly. He had basically said that he was even better than Saint Peter at his peak; every runemaster had a strong personal style, and to be able to copy another saint's work without modifications required far greater skill than making an equivalent set oneself.

Martin continued to pace around the room, but Richard just leaned back into the sofa and waited patiently. It took a few minutes before he stopped and turned over, slowly extending his right hand, “Do you want to be my friend or my enemy?”

Richard looked at the hand and gently pushed it away, “Business partners only. Your enemies are numerous and powerful, I have no plans of getting myself stuck in with you.”

Martin left his hand out, showing no intention of withdrawing it, “Our problems will only fade away if we work together. I believe our ultimate goal is the same; an alliance would help us both.”

Richard completely ignored the hand, maintaining his tone, “Business. Partners. Only.”

“Sure, but my hand will stay here until you're ready,” the saint smiled without any hint of displeasure.

“Sure. Now, tell me about the terms.”

“I want three complete Midren sets, but I have no materials. I have 87% of the blueprint left, and 60% of the fragments. I believe that should be enough for a near-exact replica.”
𝑓𝔯e𝚎𝒘𝗲𝚋𝒏oѵ𝒆𝒍. c𝗼m

“Doesn't seem like a good deal to me,” Richard replied dryly.

“Of course, there's two more conditions. Do you still have the scripture I gave you?”

“Hmm? Yes, one moment.”

When Richard retrieved the Book of Creation and Holding, Martin's eyes went wide, “You collected so many pages?!”

“I've come across a few in my time.”

The saint opened up the book and flipped through a few pages before closing it again. Gently stroking its cover with an expression of uncertainty, he eventually snapped out of his daze, “I can give this to you.”

A milky-white radiance immediately burst forth from his arm, causing Richard to freeze up for a moment. This was pure divine power, and one could see traces of armoured warriors within. These warriors did not wear helmets but instead the high crowns of priests, the signature of a particularly formidable force from the Church of Glory: the blood inquisitors.

“As long as I add this to your book, you will be able to summon blood inquisitors to fight for you regularly. They will be anywhere between level 18 and 20, but you should know that there is a greater significance to them than that.”

Richard had no way to disagree. Blood inquisitors were extremely powerful, capable of empowering their allies greatly while being powerful melee warriors themselves. They only had one form of ranged attack, but that was sacred fire fuelled by divine power that was equivalent to a grade 8 spell. Almost no warrior of equivalent level could compare. The Church of Glory itself didn't have more than a hundred living blood inquisitors, but a single one effectively boosted a thousand warriors by a level. The Church rarely ever lost when they were deployed.

However, that wasn't the shocking bit. What really mattered was that these blood inquisitors would be summoned by the divine power of the Radiant Lord; every time he summoned these soldiers, Richard would be able to delve a little into the laws of light.

He looked Martin in the eye, trying to see beyond the standardised smile. Did this man know that he was trying to analyse the laws of light? If he did, was this an expression of goodwill or a trap? Unfortunately, even Insight couldn't determine anything.

“No acquisition of power comes without a price,” Martin said solemnly, “Don't you want to risk just a little bit to get this sort of power?”

Richard remained unmoved, “I have many ways of attaining power, there's no need to take on an unknown risk. This still means nothing to me.”

“Sigh, you really are a handful. Alright, my next condition involves my friendship, that of the future pope. Once, and only once, I will use everything within my means to accomplish a request for nothing at all. How about that?”

“And I'm just supposed to trust that you'll do that?”

Martin pointed to his heart and smiled calmly, “That's the only way.”

Richard nodded, “Then trust it is.”

Martin flipped his palm over, pushing the sphere of divine power into the Book of Creation and Holding before handing it to Richard, “You can use the summoning once a day, and it will spawn one or two inquisitors at a time. If you want more, you will need to add to the book.”

Richard flipped through the book to confirm that an imprint had been added before nodding.

Martin smiled, “You'll receive the fragments and design in a bit; when can you pass the three sets to me? Of course, more would be appreciated, as would soon.”

“Two months, Norland time,” Richard replied calmly, taking a step forward as killing intent flashed across Martin's eyes. He placed himself right within the saint's defences, flaring his aura up ever so slightly to make sure the point got across.

“This... Sigh, I really can't help but want to kill you. Why tell me?”

“Why insist on showing your killing intent?”

“To stop myself from doing something foolish. I have more than enough enemies, I don't need someone on your level. Anyone who wants to kill you is welcome to, but it won't be me. No wonder you didn't accept any orders at the convention, you don't need them. I thought you were the same as the other saint runemasters, having a lack of materials; that clearly isn't the case.”

“And how do you know that?” Richard raised a brow.

“Hehe, you didn't even bother asking what materials Midren required. That means you have reached enough of a pinnacle in your craft that you can find substitutes, or that you have a variety of rare materials at your disposal. The former is a given, but the latter should be true as well.”

“Why so sure?”

“Lifesbane, Mana Armament, Kingsteel, Stealthwalker... I can't recall a single time you've asked for the materials for a rune instead of just selling them outright. Given how much time you've spent on your secondary planes, you have to have accumulated an enormous amount of materials. Even if you're missing some, you can always buy them.”

“You know,” Richard sighed, “I'm starting to want to kill you too.”

“Ooh, that calls for friendship!” Martin beamed, walking over to the Book of Holding and pouring in his divine power. Shortly after, the pages flipped of their own accord until it was showing the images of three blood inquisitors with the crest of the Radiant Lord in the background.

1111 - City of Sin

Creation and Eternity

Martin paused for a moment after he was done with the Book of Creation and Holding, carefully stroking its cover before sighing, “I strengthened the Inquisition Mark so you can tailor it to your needs. You can choose between three level 16s, two level 18s, or a single level 20. I also added the crest of the Radiant Lord inside; it can absorb energy passively and allow you to perform the summoning once every two days. Good for you?”

Richard took the book and looked at the page with the mark, knowing clearly the sheer value of what Martin had just added. Now, he wouldn't even need to wait for a summoning to try to analyse the laws of light; the crest alone would be enough. Regular wealth was quickly becoming inconsequential to him, and these sorts of opportunities to study laws were what had true value.

“Thank you,” he nodded.

Martin reached out once more, asking with a smile, “So, about that alliance...”

“Nope, business. Each of us has our own problems, and things will only get worse if they're entangled.”

Martin chuckled, “So paranoid. Anyway, this is yours. I'll be waiting.”

The saint undid a necklace and passed it on before donning a concealing robe, having the steward lead him away. A cursory scan told Richard that the necklace had an internal storage that isolated all auras within, containing a half-naked statue and a few smudged papers.

However, Richard was far more interested in the Book of Creation itself. The tome had been heavy and large, refusing to enter any spatial equipment and possessing an aura that could not be isolated. These issues had led to him using it less and less as of late, but now its worth had increased greatly. When Martin broke the level limit, he had also changed something else about the book's functioning.

He left for his meditation room under the castle, adjusting the magic arrays within to boost nature magic before placing the book on a platform and activating the power of his Schloan. Once the well of stars appeared, he also activated Ruven.

Milky-white life energy bubbled out from within him, being poured into the Book of Creation which guzzled it all up. The image of an elf gradually showed itself, dressed in an elegant white ceremonial robe with golden edges and two scarlet ribbons hanging from the shoulders. While the silhouette was still a little blurred, he could tell that this was one of the famous pale shamans of the ancient elven empire.

The pale shamans were amongst the best healers of the elves. They couldn't match up to human priests, but unlike priests who ran out of energy quickly they could sustain themselves in battle for a long time. The two ribbons signified that the shaman was already level 18; any further levels would have been denoted by dark gold branches that signified a level each. Unfortunately, he had already pushed Ruven to its limit; this was as far as he could go.

With a thought, he started to increase the amount of mana he poured into Schloan as well. The white fog started to turn light green, the aura of nature strengthening and also changing the image of the elf on the page. The white robes switched to blue, and although the scarlet ribbons remained the platinum staff had turned into a staff of nature. Thus was a jade shaman, another famous healer meant for a different kind of battle. These shamans had much greater range with their healing, able to support large dispatchments of soldiers instead of individuals or small parties. However, the level was still limited to 18.

Richard next flipped to another page of the book, starting to use Dismazon instead. The power of his truename formed a demon— something he expected given his bloodline's lineage— but it looked rather odd. The demon had a slender form and three elegant horns reaching towards the sky, almost even handsome instead of the brutes that were the rest of its skin. The flaming eyes, long tail, and reversed joints in the lower limbs made its identity clear, but it looked almost like a devil as well.

Although Norland didn't have too much detailed information about the hells or the abyss, it was a known fact that the demons and devils had been warring for hundreds of thousands of years. Any mixes had already been eliminated by both sides, and it was impossible to believe that any members of the two collectives could have offspring. However, the demon on the page most certainly didn't exist within any records; the more Richard looked, the more devilish some of the characteristics seemed.

The figure grew clearer and a little more devilish as he increased the amount of energy he poured into it, but it stopped at a midpoint and the properties didn't become more distinct. Richard was rather fascinated by this; the strange figure already had power comparable to saints, but he hadn't even activated Dismazon to the fullest extent or started on the power of the blue moon.

Oh, right... He started adding some blue moonforce into the page, causing the image to change once more. The demon's eyes turned blue while its body started to crack apart, the same blue flames visibly flowing through its body. However, as the amount of moonforce added grew, it suddenly vanished!

What replaced the demon was four specks of azure light, connected to each other by energy lines to form a slowly rotating tetrahedron. Richard was stunned by the change; this new... thing felt more like a mechanical product than a summoned being.

Even with his output capped, Richard couldn't find out anything about this object. He could only guess that it was stronger than the demon, but by how much was a complete unknown. When he ran out of energy, it stabilised on the page.

Closing the Book of Creation, Richard huffed for a moment before gulping down a number of mana and energy potions in one go. Leaning back into his chair, he rested for a while before feeling slightly better. Just like with the power of laws, using truename power took a huge toll on one's mental faculties, mana, and stamina. However, unlike saint runes which could act as a conduit for the power of laws that dropped the consumption, there was no such thing for bloodlines. Of course, there were few people like Richard who could use any laws they came across as well.

Placing the book on his knee, Richard softly tapped the heavy cover while deep in thought. Martin clearly knew much more about it than he did, revealing that there were a number of secrets still to unlock. This book definitely wasn't as straightforward as it seemed, and there were definitely many other pages scattered around.

“Master,” the steward's voice suddenly rang from a communication array in the hall, “Mister Martin just sent a letter with someone. He says you are to open it yourself.”

Richard opened the door and received the letter, unlocking it with his mana signature and starting to read through the saint's perfect handwriting:

'Dearest Richard,

'I forgot to mention something to you when I was visiting. Or rather, I believed that I had given you enough already, but now I believe this is a way to strengthen our friendship. Ancient records in the Church state that when the holy scriptures come into contact with objects possessing the power of time, they stand a chance to fuse together and evolve.

'I sincerely hope you manage to find a book with the power of time during your travels, and please do be mindful. I noticed the book has already evolved once, but this is far from its final form. If such a thing does happen, I hope you will let me take a look at it. Curiosity kills the cat, but what is living without it?

'Yours Sincerely,

Martin.'

1112 - City of Sin

Trivial Matters

As he read through the letter, Richard could only think about one thing: Flowsand's Book of Time. He didn't really care about upgrading the Book of Creation and Holding, let alone sacrificing Flowsand's Book of Time for it, but the letter had led him to consider a train of thought buried at the back of his mind.

A small fire lit up in his hand, burning the letter until not even ashes remained, “Has the messenger left yet?”
𝘧𝔯𝑒𝒆𝓌𝘦𝘣𝓷𝘰ѵ𝑒𝘭. 𝐜oｍ

“Not yet, Master,” the old steward replied.

“Good, tell him that I read it.”

“Yes, Master,” the steward turned around and left.

Richard sat alone in the room, unable to return to his previous train of thought. His heart was suddenly beating fast and heavy, but he couldn't think of any reason why.

His gaze landed on a few exquisite magic-sealing cases in the corner of the hall, containing those top-tier offerings that he had received immediately after the rune convention. These offerings came in various shapes and sizes, the largest being the skeleton of a beast in the void that required a full chest. Suppressing his annoyance, he pulled out a few of the tattered Midren design pages and started poring over them.

The world of runes was tranquil and serene, and before he knew it Richard was immersed completely. However, his focus was eventually broken by a barely audible argument between a man and woman, and hearing the familiar voices he stowed away the papers and heightened his perception.

Since he preferred the room atop the keep, this meditation hall was normally quite deserted. Wennington and Venica had likely come here to keep their dispute private.

“Shouldn't this be trivial?” Venica asked in a hushed voice.

“To you, maybe. I won't give up my honour,” Wennington answered calmly.

“You're already qualified to train on Brother's planes. Besides, you'll only be losing once; there aren't any implications even if you lose, are there?!”

“We Archerons don't let others win without giving them a fair contest.”

“Can't you do it for my sake?” Venica's voice softened.

Wennington didn't respond initially, but after a bit more pestering he raised his voice, “Venica! You know I wouldn't choose you as my partner, I have someone else in mind already.”

“So you're like that too... Just because of Lucian?”

“Just find someone else, there's always someone who won't mind... helping you complete the family obligations.”

“Think about it again, Wen, please! I'm begging you! This... this is extremely important to him.”

“He's a level 16 bard and level 14 swordsman, his overall strength is actually higher than mine. What are you worried about?”

“But you're much better at actual battle, and this will be a competition between mounted knights. He won't be able to display his true strength. Why do you want this championship when you already possess the Archeron halo? He wants it so bad!”

“If he wants it, he should get it himself. Richard is back, you'd better keep a low profile. There won't be a happy ending if he learns you're still with that man.” This was Wennington's last reply. Richard heard heavy footsteps as he left the corridor.

A loud thud echoed through the halls a few moments later, as though something had been broken. Richard sat unmoving on his chair, waiting until everything outside had returned to tranquility. When he stood up, having recovered a good portion of his mana and energy, he returned to his study and summoned the old steward once more, “Give me an update on my siblings. Also, has there been anything in Faust targeted at youths?”

The steward took a minute to organise his thoughts before beginning a report. Demi was undoubtedly the most outstanding of Richard's siblings. She was currently attempting a breakthrough to level 18 with Agamemnon's new plane, but her current situation for unknown. Wennington had grown much more powerful recently as well, almost reaching level 17 as a blaze warrior. He had trained as much as he could in both battle and leadership, and was starting to show a gift for command.

It was Venica who showed no progress at all. She had only visited other planes twice, and each for a pitifully short time. At eighteen, Richard himself was the only one physically younger than her; of course, he accomplished that due to his blessings. Just playing around in Faust all day, she was still stuck at level 12.

As for events, the royal family was currently hosting the eagle-hunting expedition targeted at young nobles to display their prowess. This was a contest where they showcased their personal might in battle, their leadership of troops, and tactical capabilities as well. The battles were fought with real weapons, and winners were ranked with different rewards based on position.

Those ranked in the top ten would be granted extra soldiers, and given the chance to lead them into a special secondary plane to battle each other. Any loot won in these battles would belong to the individual, and there were prizes for the champion as well.

This hunting expedition was hosted every three years in Faust, and was one of the best ways for talented youths to distinguish themselves. Those without the appropriate backing and resources would find a way to pull ahead of the pack here, infusing fresh blood into the upper echelons of the Sacred Alliance. The other two empires held these sorts of activities as well.

Wennington was only average amongst the youths of Faust, but he had actually managed to get into the top ten. He was showcasing real ability, especially at leading troops. Of course, the truly outstanding powerhouses of the younger generation wouldn't join these expeditions; they were busy conquering new territory. Richard himself qualified to participate, but he would just sweep through the competition and end up wasting his time.

Considering that Wennington wasn't all that talented naturally, alongside the fact that he didn't receive much resources from the family, it was a great accomplishment for him to be able to reach his current position. The family right now was much different than in Gaton's time; where Gaton had distributed his limited wealth to everyone, Richard controlled all of his vast resources and used them to fuel his own growth. The so-called elders who tried to take power from him were now a pile of bones, and nobody else dared to ask him for more than what he gave them.

In fact, even those vassals who had tried to become independent had changed their minds, obediently falling in line. Richard had planes to make them suffer for the betrayal— he would never tolerate such a thing— but he had constantly been sidetracked by other things. Now, he realised he should have diverted a bit more attention to developing the family's youth.

Thinking over it for a moment, he told the steward, “Buy two secondary planes, those with only a forward base are good enough. Leave one in storage, and open the other up to the family. Make plans for an expedition similar to the royal family's, it should help us pick worthy talents to develop.”

“... Yes, Master,” the butler replied, but he couldn't hide his surprise.

“What's wrong?” Richard asked.

“Nothing... It's just that the spend would be massive,” the old man said tentatively. Having served Gaton for most of his life, he still couldn't get used to Richard's style. Any single plane was worth a greater offering at least, and Richard wanted to buy two at one go. In addition to the upkeep and costs of running these new competitions, this was almost ten million gold.

Richard smiled softly, “It's nothing, there's more than enough money for it. I'll be leaving soon; if Wennington can win the expedition, make sure to give him a squad of rose knights and another fifty footsoldiers.”

“Master?” the steward was taken aback, “Even when Lady Alice became a Viscount, she didn't have so many rune knights under her.”

“Doesn't matter, we're Archerons. Our youths need to learn how to command rune knights, they're the one thing we don't lack.”

Once the steward nodded and left, Richard contacted an elite shadowspear in his mind, “Check in with Sauron about the intel I asked for.”

The shadowspear left quickly for Marquess Sauron's territory, giving Richard time to deal with some paperwork and trivial matters. For example. someone had just become a marquess and that necessitated a renegotiation of their relationship. Each single issue was minor, but it required careful management or it could impact his network.

Hopefully, he would have some actual news to look forward to when the shadowspear returned.

1113 - City of Sin

Hard-Earned Victory

The shadowspear knight returned with a letter personally penned by Marquess Sauron, detailing some information on the Billius Family and important members. Richard started reading through it, but his attention was quickly caught by a small annotation: suspected Scholar of Soremburg.

It was Soremburg again! Richard's eyes narrowed with rage. If the Billius Family really had a Scholar, that would explain why Lucian stole the magic soul. Only, were the Scholars so formidable that they could accurately predict when a magic soul would form? That wasn't likely either. Lucian should have arrived to probe the Archerons, entering the warehouse to see what was stored within. The bard had gotten lucky to chance upon the newly formed soul.

Given that, any possibility of the Scholars themselves being neutral were to be thrown out the window. If Lucian was here on behalf of a scholar, he would have known the implications of the theft.

Richard drew a thick circle around Baron Billius's name. The man was Lucian's uncle, and there wasn't any sign of doting or even particular fondness. Executing Lucian would be easy, but tracing that back to the Baron himself would be impossible.

Looking through the information a few times, he eventually burnt the letter to dust. With his meteoric rise in recent years, even the Archerons who weren't direct subordinates of his had come around as well. Sauron and Goliath were still independent, but ever since the defence of the Unsetting Sun, they had become uneasy allies. Goliath continued to manage the family's death training camps, having provided more than a hundred good rune knight candidates to date, while the Marquess leveraged his intelligence network to act as an informer. The two had managed to resist in the face of Gaton's rise, but Richard himself had just been far too overbearing for them to even think of continuing their aspirations for the throne.

Sauron's information was quite reliable, especially if it came from him personally. Billius almost certainly was a Scholar, which would make Lucian an enormous threat as well. However, he didn't understand just why Soremburg held such interest in him, from Raymond, to Billius to whoever had given him that feather back in Klandor.

He didn't like this one bit. Even though he had still managed to become a saint runemaster, his work on the Crimson Inferno rune had come to a standstill. If not for his own innate talents showing themselves, he didn't even know when he would have crossed the threshold. The Scholars were an unusual bunch with no obvious sense of purpose or reason to interfere with him. Such variables had to be eliminated.

Even pacing around in his study until the first light of dawn, Richard still couldn't figure out a reason for this excess attention. Fortunately, not knowing the cause of a problem didn't necessarily mean he had no solutions to it; he contacted a few elite shadowspears with his mind, “Go to the Resting Orchid Plane and call Senma back to Blackrose, tell her to be on standby. Recall Phaser from Faelor, same orders. Get Alice to return to Faust at once; close the entire western front, the Sacred Tree Empire won't do anything for the near future.”

After giving out the orders, Richard immersed himself in studying Midren's fragments. Time flew quickly, and by the time he had collated a list of materials it was already late into the afternoon. Phaser contacted him once she and Senma were at Blackrose, and a shadowspear informed him that Alice wasn't far either. Once she reached the castle, she could portal over to Faust directly.

He transmitted all the information he had about Baron Billius to Phaser, “Kill this man, make sure you do it cleanly and take the soul too. Take Senma with you.”

“Is it really necessary to send two of us for one man?” she replied, “I'm more than enough myself.”

“That man is a Scholar. You're to destroy his soul, while Senma takes care of his body. That's the only way to guarantee he'll be gone.”

“Aaalriiiight,” Phaser said lazily, before standing up in the castle to nod to Senma, “We have orders, follow me.”

Not kong after the two left, Alice used Blackrose's long-range portal to return to the floating island. The war goddess had grown more beautiful in recent years, her features now more delicate and charming as a result of her usage of the leaves of youth. In fact, some of her scars had been smoothed out as well.

“You look pretty now,” Richard said with a smile as he saw her, leaving her speechless for a moment as he patted her cheeks, “You still looked better before, though.”

“Eh... Is that so? Why were you looking for me?” she started breathing quickly, her face reddening.

“Nothing much. There's a bard called Lucian representing the Billius Family in the royal hunting expedition. He stole a magic soul from me once, so you're to go capture him when the event comes to an end tomorrow. Bring him back and execute him, no need for an interrogation.”

“Lucian? Isn't your sister in love with him?”

Richard sighed, “I'm going to write the order up in a bit, she'll be banished from the family come tomorrow. What point is there to having Archeron blood when you're not burning with passion? She's always thought too much of herself and squandered around in life, she'll find out how much of that came from the family name soon enough.”

“But she's still your sister...”

“Which is why I'm not feeding her body to the broodmother and soul to Zendrall. She's a traitor.”

“Sigh, alright. If you've made your decision, then I'm not going to stop you.” Alice tried to leave, but she suddenly found that Richard had switched positions and blocked her path to the door. She immediately grew flustered, “What... What are you trying to do?”

“We haven't finished with our obligations yet,” Richard chuckled, reaching to unbutton her dress.

She desperately tried to stand still, but her body refused to listen to her commands and her leg rose up in a silent kick. It was more sinister than Richard had expected, but his eyes went wide and he managed to dodge the attack that would have destroyed his manhood. Just the residual energy caused a shockwave that overturned his desk, clearly showcasing her power.

With all of the resources at his disposal, Richard hadn't found it difficult to bring Alice to sainthood. She already had ample experience on the battlefield, so even with a short tenure in the realm she was starting to show great power. Despite her attempt to control herself, that kick had been at full power and would be fatal to most.

Thankfully, Richard knew of this problem and had also figured out how to deal with it. Once he got serious, he quickly pinned her to the desk with her face down. A few spells pulled her limbs taut with invisible ropes, tying her to the feet of the table. Before she could even resist, a dozen curses brought her down to the level of a commoner.

Alice certainly was trying her best not to resist, which left her moves a mess. Weakened by the curses, she quickly tired out in a few minutes and started shivering in fear, “What are you trying to do?”

“What I need to,” Richard said as he removed her clothes, entering her instantly.

After a bout of tightening, Alice slowly softened and started to cooperate. However, Richard knew that her problems could flare up at any time and the magic ropes wouldn't be able to hold her forever. He tried his best not to give in to the pleasure, keeping alert at all times.

Moaning at first, she suddenly let out a yelp and her body suddenly tightened as the ability of the ursa warlord was activated. She started to grow louder and shriller until he had no choice but to stop and put up a barrier, but he himself enjoyed her response and started going faster and harder.

In some ways, he managed to solve some of his own trauma that evening.

1114 - City of Sin

Descendants

When it came to Alice, “fulfilling traditions” was a difficult task. Even though this time went much more smoothly than the last few, he needed to activate his truename to quicken the recovery of his energy. It was through pure strength of will that he even managed to remain standing with his wobbly legs.

Overcoming any saint was no easy task, but Alice was a particularly powerful fighter. Thankfully, she had already exhausted herself to the point that she barely managed to put on her clothes. As they tidied up in silence, she turned to him and asked, “When are you leaving?”

“Tomorrow morning.”

“Oh... Why don't you bring me along this time?”

Richard paused for a moment, “I want to, but you're the only one who can suppress our enemies in Norland. If the outer shields fall, the portals in Blackrose will be under threat.”

“Sigh, alright, I understand. Don't worry, this land will always belong to us.”

Richard nodded, his recovering mana now put to use to clean up the study room quickly. Alice blushed and started to help, but she suddenly stopped and asked, “Richard, we've mated so many times. Why aren't I pregnant yet?”

Richard felt a slight shiver in his heart and tried his best to keep it from showing, “I was thinking about that too. Maybe it just didn't take the last few times.”

“Then... we should try more often,” she said through gritted teeth. She had always felt an impulse to run away whenever she thought about this matter.

However, Richard ignored her reaction while deep in thought about other things. It was common knowledge that powerful beings found it difficult to have children, and it was far too much of a coincidence for none of his partners to get pregnant after all this while. Unfortunately, there wasn't much research into this subject and especially no solutions. Even with blessings from the Goddess of Fertility, one had to rely largely on luck and mating like lunatics to increase their chances.

For the family head of the Archerons to have such problems was a huge deal. Things would grow very complicated in the future if he didn't have a qualified descendant of his own, but thankfully there was a silver lining right now. It could also be seen a sign of his extremely powerful bloodline.

This wasn't the first time he had thought about this, but the problem also partly stemmed from the kinds of women he had been with. Sharon, Flowsand, Alice, and even Rosie to an extent were all powerful themselves, which lowered the chances of success further. Of course, it was possible for an exceptionally powerful bloodline to drain a common mother before they were even born, so that wasn't the best of options either.

However, many men did end up mating with a multitude of common women; while there was a possibility for either the mother or child or both to die before carriage, there were also quite a few examples of commoners carrying to term successfully. Gaton himself had more than ten concubines, with everyone outside of Elena herself being less than level 10. He had only managed to leave two brothers and four sisters in total, which showed just how difficult it was.

Snapping out of his daze, Richard smiled, “Don't worry, I'll think of a solution.”

By this point, Alice had returned to normal as well, “I believe you should find a number of weaker women to increase your chances. Some generals are already discussing your legacy.”

“Heh, I have a thousand years ahead of me or more, this isn't important right now. If anyone plans to use this to threaten the stability of our family, you should know how to handle them. Your generals have no fucking business interfering.”

“I'll... give them a warning,” she nodded curtly, quietly heading out of the study.

Looking at her back, Richard suddenly called out, “Wait!”

“Hmm?” she turned around calmly.

“Umm... Sorry. I've been in a bad mood with the Scholars, and that was hurtful. I... hope you don't take it to heart.”

The Archeron war goddess stared at him expressionlessly, short red hair waving around like flames. Richard felt more and more anxious, but it was only when his own gaze started to flicker that she laughed, “Have you never apologised to someone before? Why is it so hard?”

He smiled bitterly. Ever since his mother had burnt herself to death in his youth, he had become a complete introvert who didn't interact with people unless he needed to. Becoming the ruler of the Archerons had changed that outwardly, but he was just putting on a front of arrogance to cover for a lot of his own shortcomings. With his own blessings and intellect alongside the fact that he mostly ever dealt with his subordinates, he had rarely come across situations where he needed to apologise. It was only with Alice where he was comfortable enough to burst out.

Looking at him lowering his head, Alice sighed, “You're still just a big boy.”

This comment drew a chuckle from Richard. He was already a saint runemaster at the pinnacle of Norland, but he was just a big boy?

Before he could even react, Alice had walked over and planted a kiss right on his lips. His eyes went wide in shock; with her own past, she was extremely resistant to any sort of intimacy with the opposite sex. This had to be the first time she had taken the initiative to kiss a man in her life.

Of course, things never went that well. Just as he was about to tell her that she was improving, he felt a strong blow to his stomach that stopped both of his hearts instantly. He fell back and clutched his stomach, vision going white with paint.

Alice was immediately dazed, just staring at her left fist in confusion and horror. When she saw the traces of green around him that indicated recovery, her face suddenly went red and she ran out the door.

It took a few minutes for Richard to regain his breath, reactivating his two hearts and healing the internal damage from the blow. He couldn't even bring himself to be angry; she was clearly trying her best to make progress. In the end, this just affirmed the fact that any intimate contact with her had to be undertaken with his guard up.

......

Richard meditated until dawn before taking along some rune knights as he headed for the Church of the Eternal Dragon. Faust was a bustling city where people moved around at all times of the day, and everyone saw the numerous chests of offerings he was taking along. Many people thought of robbing him, but it didn't take long for them to remember just how powerful the Archerons were now. The incident with the blue moon was still fresh in everyone's minds, and he was bound to have grown more powerful since then.

Thus, although surrounded by fiery gazes, he reached the Church without a single annoyance. Noelene was already waiting for him at the gates, even the grand priestess showing some fervour in her gaze at the number of chests. As the two walked in together, he lowered his voice, “Make sure to do this alone; there's more offerings than normal.”

“How many?”

“Ten, all top-tier.”

“Ten?!” she hissed, “Alright... I understand, let me make the arrangements.”

“Arrangements?” Richard grew confused, “Can't we just go in?”

“Jacqueline has arranged for Prince Ryan to host the ceremony with me. He has great talent with timeforce and she thinks he stands a chance to become the next Chosen. She wants to help him accumulate grace as quickly as he can.”

“Jacqueline?” he frowned, “Since when is the appearance of Chosen up to her? How can she even interfere with my ceremonies?”

“With Flowsand having left for the Darkness and the High Priestess gone, there isn't a Chosen in this church. Any conflicts with the others in this plane will be at a disadvantage, especially since Flowsand used her power to force the Sacred Tree Empire's hand and forbade them from interfering in Klandor. She also forbade them from providing any aid to the royal family there. Right now, Jacqueline's ideas are... normal.”

“That can't be it,” Richard shook his head, “They're just acting up because you've been getting too much grace from my sacrifices.”

Noelene responded to the guess with a bitter smile; her silence was good enough to be acceptance. His frown deepened, “They don't know that all of your grace was snatched away by Nasia's summoning?”

Noelene laughed sarcastically, “You think they believe me?”

1115 - City of Sin

A Conflict For Offerings

“Jacqueline can choose to nurture whoever she wants,” Richard grunted, “You're the one I'm offering sacrifices with, and no one else. Go tell her that.”

Noelene hesitated a little, “That... isn't how the rules work. Customarily, all priests and priestesses have a rotational opportunity to host the sacrifices unless a decision is taken by the high priestess. With her absent, our own agreements aren't binding.”

“I'm a titled offerer to the Eternal Dragon, I'm pretty sure that puts me above most grand priests.”

“Oh?” Noelene was a little surprised. Obtaining a title wasn't purely about the number of offerings sacrificed, it also showed a certain amount of favour from the Eternal Dragon. Her face lit up in joy, “That might make things a little easier to handle. Wait for me, I'll see what I can do.”

Richard sighed softly as he watched her leave. There were bound to be conflicts over profit anywhere in the world, and the Church of the Eternal Dragon was no exception. Ferlyn could suppress the rest and allow him to do what he wanted, but Noelene didn't have the same power.

It didn't take long for Noelene to return, but accompanying her were Jacqueline and two other familiar priestesses that he hadn't been introduced to before. Behind them was a fragile, delicate-looking silhouette— that of Prince Ryan.

Just like Nyris, Ryan was beautiful by any metric; that beauty was only enhanced by the nobility of the priest robes he wore. On the other hand, it was Jacqueline who had lost her gentleness and instead started to radiate some murderous intent, “Your Grace, it is tradition in the Church for all priests and priestesses to get a chance to host ceremonies. With Flowsand and Her Excellency Ferlyn gone, I hope you can uphold these traditions.”

Richard barely spared a glance at her, “Don't care. Are you going to reject my offerings?”

Jacqueline exchanged glances with the other two grand priestesses, “In principle, we can. If three of us agree, you will no longer be entitled to perform sacrifices in this church. Your entire family will be denied that right.”

Richard scanned across the three of them and smiled, “You know, Flowsand and Ferlyn haven't been gone very long, but here you are, already having forgotten about them. Amazing memories, really. Do you think a bunch of grand priestesses can do as they please in the Church of the Eternal Dragon, even affecting me?”

“Watch your words!” Jacqueline hissed, “This is the Church, not your island. You do not qualify to criticize our actions.”

“You know where my island is. Since you're so confident in your authority, why not try dropping it to the seventh level?”

Jacquline's expression turned ugly, “Your Grace, please leave this place at once! The Church does not welcome your presence any longer!”

“You've actually gone insane,” Richard's voice finally turned cold as well. He looked at the other two, “And you're joining her?”

There was a flash of hesitation with the two priestesses, but it disappeared quickly as they nodded. Noelene just flashed a bitter smile, “I'm sorry, Richard. I can't overturn this decision.”

Richard nodded to Noelene, “It's fine, I'm still going to honour our agreement. We can keep working together.”

“If you mean with regards to sacrifices, there will be none of that,” Jacqueline quipped.

Richard abruptly turned his head, his aura flaring up as he looked at the grand priestess. The woman felt her heart freeze, subconsciously taking a few steps back before she regained her senses. Immediately overcome with anger and shame, she shouted in a shrill voice, “GUARDS! Send this person out, and never allow him to return!”

Fully-armoured paladins emerged from the shadows, but recognising Richard they didn't rush to take action. The entire Church knew of his close relationship with both Flowsand and Ferlyn. Richard didn't even look at them, instead turning to the two other grand priestesses, “I'm not just a sixth-level lord of the alliance, not just a future duke. I'm also a saint runemaster, and making an enemy of me has its consequences. I believe both of you still have family and friends down below?”

All colour drained from Jacqueline's face, “Richard, you're threatening priestesses of the Church!”

“And you just pissed me off. I'd rather be threatening the clergy, honestly.”

One of the other grand priestesses suddenly stepped forward, “Your Grace, Jacqueline, is there a need for such a plight? Can we not compromise? We will strive to serve Your Grace as before, but we request that you respect the traditions of the Church. Ryan could be the next Chosen; his quick growth would be a benefit to all of us.”

“You know what? Men!” Richard called out, prompting twenty shadowspears to enter in single file. Amongst them, they were carrying ten magic-sealing cases and chests of various sizes. The drones silently opened up all of them, putting the contents on display for all to see.

Even though Noelene already knew what was within, she could hardly believe her eyes at the sight. Jacqueline and the other two priestesses gasped, turning pale as they muttered the words “top-tier” repeatedly under their breaths.

It was a hilarious scene, but Richard didn't really feel any mockery or derision. He of all offerers knew that this was a clergy that existed solely for timeforce. Even Nyra, Io, and to a lesser extent Nasia would lose their minds at such a sight. “This was what I was going to offer today, but do you really think I need to come here for it? Both other empires will have their churches welcome me with open arms.”

Jacqueline trembled for a slight moment, the greed visible in her eyes. She clearly wanted to order the guards to confiscate those offerings for her to use, but she wasn't truly insane. Using these guards to detain Richard would be courting her own death; it could have been possible if the legendary captain and vice-captain were still present, but both were heavenly guardians that had disappeared when Ferlyn left returned to the Lightless Void. Another option was to borrow the divine power of the Eternal Dragon to kill him instantly, but she didn't have enough power here to perform such an attack. It would only be possible if all four grand priestesses grouped up, but Noelene would never agree.

While she was still thinking about such things, Richard shook his head, “But even without these offerings, you clowns are overstepping. I'm quite curious, do you have the guts to inform the Eternal Dragon about your actions?”

Timeforce immediately gathered around him, golden divine symbols dancing around. All the energy in the church began to ripple, as though acquiescing to his presence.

“A title!” Jacqueline cried out in shock. It was impossible to fake the flow of divine power, making it clear that he was blessed by the Eternal Dragon himself. Even if he had the lowest title of them all, he would have the right to offer a sacrifice in any Church across the myriad planes. She simply did not have the right to even stop him from it, much less banish him.

She gritted her teeth as the surprise faded away, “Do you think a mere timewalker can give orders to a grand—”

Her words were cut short as the timeforce around suddenly surged towards Richard much faster, condensing into bright orbs of light that danced around him. If one looked closely, they would notice innumerable divine symbols.

“A... planewalker...” she yelped in surprise, her chest starting to heave as she swallowed the rest of her words. She had been considering swindling him a few moments ago, but now she didn't have such guts. The Eternal Dragon could see everything, and a planewalker would certainly warrant some attention. Trying to thwart Richard would be equivalent to betraying the Eternal Dragon.

Still, she took a few deep breaths before saying with hatred, “Impressive. I truly can't stop you from offering sacrifices, you may proceed if you wish. But don't get too excited, you still do not have the capacity to change the Church's traditions; Ryan will host.”

Richard looked at her and sighed, not expressing any opinion as he just stared Ryan in the eye before heading for the altar. The former prince remained calm and composed, not betraying any signs of his age as he followed him into the altar room.

1116 - City of Sin

Rules Of A Sacrifice

The sacrifice of ten top-tier offerings at once was an imposing spectacle that none of the grand priestesses wanted to miss. Despite their differing views, they all stood at the side to watch. Noelene was the gloomiest of them all; the divine grace that should have been hers would now go to someone else, and if Ryan did become Chosen in the future this would only be the spark of an enormous conflict later.

Once he entered the hall, Richard placed his hands on the altar and quietly started to pray. An enormous amount of timeforce converged in the blink of an eye, forming a huge isolating screen that protected him from the outside world. This was a scene he had watched far too many times to count, but now he truly noticed this section of the world detaching from Norland and connecting elsewhere; he would remain protected until he was done.

He suddenly jerked his head upwards, staring at the seemingly endless void that was occupied by faint strips of golden timeforce. These strips would converge on any offerings he put up on the altar, dissolving them and sending them away before coagulating into blessings for the offerer.

For some reason, he felt like activating Insight to study them for a moment. However, his vision suddenly went black as his entire body was drained of all its energy, warm blood starting to leak down his nose, ears, and the corner of his eye. His body shook and almost fell down, overwhelmed with the sheer shock from what he had discovered within. Every single one of those strands was changing so quickly that one could not even see the individual states properly; there were millions of combinations they went through.

In the moment before his senses were fried, it had felt like he had viewed billions of years of evolution in a single second. It felt like an ocean of information being dumped into his wineglass of a soul; if he hadn't reacted quickly enough to cut off all of his senses, his mind would likely have been destroyed instantly.

When he recovered his senses, he looked up at the strands again. Now, there was a trace of reverence in his eyes at the vast world that he couldn't yet perceive. Bright realisation suddenly hit him as he realised what they were; this was a pure current of time! The altar was currently in the beginning of everything!

The strips of timeforce constantly phased in and out from the void, glowing and fading with complete disregard for everything around them. This was the current of time, where space and time truly fused into one with the past, present, and future all weaved together. There were countless great people in Norland's history, but not one of them had managed to touch upon understanding such a thing. Some had stepped into the current of time in an attempt to solve its mysteries, but they had never been heard from again.
𝐟𝓇ℯe𝒘𝘦𝒃𝑛𝒐ѵe𝙡. 𝑐𝗼𝓂

Calming himself down, Richard crossed his legs and started to meditate right underneath the altar to recover a little before he continued. At the same time, the screen of light surrounding him slowly faded away as a strong and imposing will suddenly enveloped the altar space. This wasn't his first encounter with the Eternal Dragon's mind, but this time his reaction was particularly strong. He found his body trembling uncontrollably, an instinctive reaction to a being so much more powerful than him. Now, he could actually sense a smidgen of that vast power.

Richard had advanced quickly in the past few years, but the higher he stood, the more he realised just how vast the world was. Even something like Norland was tiny in comparison to what lay out in the void. For someone who desperately wanted to control his destiny, this was extremely uncomfortable.

“I didn't think you would come so far as to probe the currents of time, kid,” the Eternal Dragon's voice boomed from above the altar, “Consider yourself lucky that your soul wasn't destroyed.”

Richard smiled bitterly; his actions just now had been akin to suicide. But then again, who could expect those harmless-looking strands of timeforce to be a part of the current of time? In fact, the word current was wholly insufficient to even describe the feeling of experiencing the history of the myriad planes in a single moment.

“Place the offerings atop the altar,” the voice boomed, following up as he placed the first skeleton, “All of them together.”

Richard was taken aback a little, “Shouldn't it just be one by one?”

“That is only the limit of the conscient I left behind. What you call top-tier offerings are the limits of that conscient's processing capabilities; since I am here personally, you can just offer it all at once. I'll even show you a few blessings I don't normally give out.”

Richard's face immediately lit up. He had been shown a grade 5 rune design years ago for a single top-tier offering, so ten had to be much better. Could he even get a grade 6 blueprint?

As he started hauling all the offerings onto the altar, the dragon spoke again, “You can also add the necklace you wear, if you wish.”

“Nope,” he answered immediately. The necklace being referred to held the tooth of the Beast God, having gone through some alterations from its original form as a bracelet. He hadn't agreed to give it up back then, and he wouldn't do so now.

Still, even with the rejection he had been given the broodmother and sent to Faelor, triggering everything that brought him to his current position. Even back then ,the Eternal Dragon had shown him a certain level of preferential treatment. Seeing the offerings dissolve into the timeforce, he was overcome by his curiosity and asked, “What would I get if I offer the necklace as well?”

“Not much, now. The grace from this necklace is worth two rank 3 offerings, what you call top-tier.”

This answer left Richard a little surprised. This wasn't even close to what he had expected, but he also caught on to the specific wording of the answer as well, “You're saying I would have gotten more if I offered it to you back then?”

Surprisingly, the dragon was patient enough to answer, “Yes, and by a great amount. During that time, that necklace would have been somewhere between a rank 1 and rank 2 offering. My system grows in orders of magnitude, so you can think of it as about fifty rank 3 offerings. In fact, I was in great need of it at the time; I would have given you access to my premium list.”

“Premium list, huh...” Richard smiled bitterly. The Eternal Dragon was someone who existed in a realm he couldn't even begin to fathom; for it to call something premium meant it would be an item that could shake all of Norland. Falling from such a level to only two rank 3 offerings was strange. He couldn't help his curiosity, “How did it fall so much?”

“You should already know that I was looking for the tooth; it belongs to a direct descendant of the Beast God, making it extremely valuable. When you first came across my altar, I had never received something of its ilk before, making it very valuable. However, I have come across three such things since then; it no longer matters as much.”

Richard's heart froze. This information was invaluable, giving him some insight into events that affected a large portion of the myriad planes. He sighed in awe, “Three of these things in such a short span of time...”

“Surprising, yet not very,” the Eternal Dragon commented, “Mortals have always guessed at the kinds of offerings I require, and I passed on the requirement once I saw your tooth. Naturally, they searched through the myriad planes and found them just for the sake of my blessings; Klandor isn't particularly resistant to such desires. In fact, the number of Klandorian offerings has gone up tenfold ever since I started offering extra grace for them.”

Richard chuckled. He himself was one such person, leaving no stone unturned in his quest for offerings. Even though many powerful beings had warned him against relying too much on the Eternal Dragon, many of them couldn't wean themselves off their dependence themselves. He had noticed the spike in value of Klandorian offerings himself in recent times, but hadn't really been able to do much with it.

The Eternal Dragon truly needed no tricks to worm its way into the hearts of men; just a tiny bit of information would get even legendary beings to look for what it desired.

1117 - City of Sin

Value And Temptation

Learning about the beast tooth's past value, Richard sighed ruefully and stroked the necklace for a moment. However, it was only a moment of disappointment without regret; no matter what reward was offered, the necklace itself was far more important to him.

He bowed towards the altar, “Thank you for the generous explanation. It will help me reduce the number of detours I will have to take in the future.”

This conversation had given him a better understanding on how offerings were valued. While the pure amount of energy an artefact held could help determine what class of offering it was, he could now pay attention to what the dragon might need and thus reap the greatest benefits.

“You're a titled offerer, this is something you should know. Raise the level of your title and you will be able to access more information; that is my advice.” The voice paused at this moment, with all the offerings having been dissolved, “You have sacrificed ten rank 3 offerings; with your bonus as a Planewalker, you shall obtain the blessings equivalent to twelve. Now, choose the type of offering you wish for; this is the first advantage you will get in this focused ceremony.”

Richard had already prepared a broad priority list of things he wanted, but now he could just use what was on top of that list directly. He didn't hesitate even for a moment, “Title upgrade.”

“Your next title is...” the Eternal Dragon's voice suddenly grew distorted and unclear before returning to normal a moment later, “Lord of Space.”

Detailed information about the benefits of the title appeared in Richard's mind. First and foremost was greater control over spatial skills; random teleportation would allow him to travel a thousand metres instead of five hundred, and he could actually demarcate a ninety-degree range instead of letting it go anywhere. His bonus was bumped up to 30% as well.

However, neither of that was what really mattered to him; it was the last benefit that he was looking for right now. Blessing Redirection allowed him to select who would receive the reward for hosting any of his ceremonies, allowing him to channel the grace to someone who wasn't the host so long as they were still a priest or priestess. On top of that, he could also permanently affect the allocation of grace to someone of the clergy who wasn't particularly favoured.

Richard's expression warped slightly. From what he knew before, a Lord of Space was only meant to be able to reallocate a third of the divine grace, of which half would be used up. In other words, the person targeted would only receive a sixth of the entire divine grace. However, now he could redirect everything without cost; this was several times stronger than expected.

The benefits from the upgraded title were more than worth the two top-tier offerings it was worth. However, the information he had previously couldn't be wrong either; the only explanation was that the Eternal Dragon had strengthened the abilities personally.

As if sensing his thoughts, the dragon sent a wave of acknowledgement, “This is the second advantage you shall get. I hope it allows you to serve me better in the future.”

Complicated emotions filled Richard's heart from that statement, but he didn't have much time to be distracted as a tendril of timeforce left the void and floated towards him. The Doomsday Imprint flew up automatically and floated in the sky, “The third is a prompt. All offerings related to this shall give you twice the grace in the future. In addition, as a reward for upgrading your title, I am giving you one chance to look at my wider list; I will show you some blessings that normally require a rank 2 offering. Make good use of this opportunity.”

The tremendous aura covering the altar slowly dissipated, making it obvious that the will of the Eternal Dragon had left. Richard stared at the Doomsday Imprint that had been sent floating back to him for a moment before sighing and stowing it away. Walking to the altar, he reached out to touch the ball of glowing light.

A long list immediately appeared before his eyes, a small number of the items at the top flashing gold. These were the rank 2 blessings, and he only managed to get to the fourth before he felt his heart stop.

'Blessing: Midren, Battle Edition (Materials Included). This is the design for a rune set belonging to the King of Angels in his battle form, composed of six runes in total. Midren is much more powerful in his battle form than in his normal state, bringing this rune set's power to that of a grade 6 rune. As a blessing limited to rank 2 offerings, this portion of the required materials will be provided: adult astral beast soul crystal.'

He had to calm himself down before reading through the explanation a few times, carving each word into memory. Midren had experienced numerous battles and killed powerhouses of all races on his path to power. He was the personification of justice and benevolence, so every rune in the set required a soul crystal belonging to a powerful evil entity: devil, demon, fallen angel, astral beast, nightmare creature, and primordial giant. Each one needed to be from a lord as well.

Amongst them all, he was confident in sourcing every type of soul crystal except that of the astral beast; even the one Sharon had given him long ago wasn't a lord. If the astral beast soul crystal hadn't been added in, he would have given up on the set immediately. Now, however, he began to waver.

This blessing also made it painfully obvious just how much the Eternal Dragon knew about it. He was planning to extrapolate from Saint Peter's Heaven's Armour series to rebuild the original designs, but that would take a long time and would be filled with detours. Even if Midren's battle edition wasn't the perfect version of the King of Angels, and didn't qualify to be a full rank 2 blessing, a required material had been added in.

He thought about the hatred many powerhouses had for the Eternal Dragon, and he could vaguely understand the reasoning. It understood them all so well, and just like it could add these blessings to a list it could also take them away. That way, one would have no choice but to increase the number of offerings they sacrificed.

Of course, no good businessman would do such a thing to a client they believed would earn more for them in the future. The Eternal Dragon clearly believed that he would still accomplish more in the future, but if and when he plateaued this favouritism would go away quickly.

He focused himself and scanned down again, preparing to look through the entire list before making his choice, but the very next option left his heart pounding as well.

'Blessing: Manaforge Array(9). The Manaforge Array increases a mage's mana reserve, each single unit providing a 20% increase on base mana. It also greatly enhances one's regeneration, with all nine units providing a full ninefold increase.'

A mage with limitless mana was definitely a terrifying opponent. Richard naturally knew about Manaforge, the same ability that allowed Sharon to toss her portal blasts around like there was no tomorrow, but he had no idea just how many units she had. His research into the field told him that it was normal to have five or six, but the Eternal Dragon was offering a version with nine.

He couldn't help but waver, his desire to reconstruct the full Midren waning ever so slightly. With a legendary ability like this, he would have no need to continue suppressing himself and would enter the legendary realm right away. His efficiency at analysing laws would grow in orders of magnitude, overthrowing the mixed path he currently walked and letting him become a pure mage again.

This was the ultimate legendary ability that mages could only dream of. Just what could there be in a rank 1 blessing? For the first time, he felt a hint of regret at not offering up the beast tooth in the past. If he had the chance to look at some rank 1 blessings, his strength would have skyrocketed much more quickly. Wouldn't he have been able to protect Mountainsea all the same?

Still, that regret promptly disappeared as well. He had been forthright in those decisions he made, and he still believed in those choices. The beast tooth had never been about power anyway. He shook his head and continued to read the last bit of the explanation.

'Requirements: Core Manaforge.'

Looking through the list, he saw that the Core Manaforge was another rank 2 blessing, which meant he would need two rank 2 offerings in total to complete the array. It made sense for an order of magnitude growth in power, if not more. Even a three-unit Manaforge Array would make one significantly stronger than most legendary mages, a version with nine would definitely open up his path to the epic realm immediately.

The price of such strength was only twenty top-tier offerings. This was something that any legendary being could collect if they worked zealously enough; even Saint Lawrence still had a number in his broken trunk. This was a temptation that few could fight.

1118 - City of Sin

Staying True To Oneself

Richard almost selected the Manaforge Array out of sheer desire; while it was useless right now, he would manage to gather enough for the other part someday. Thankfully, he managed to reel himself back by reminding himself just what a rank 2 offering was; he would need to find an important organ from an abyssal archlord or some other similar existence.

He smiled wryly and retracted the hand that had reached for the list; he had no idea when he would be able to obtain the Manaforge Core, and even he didn't have the kind of money to throw around for the gamble. He was already progressing quickly; growing stronger on his own would be much more stable than taking shortcuts. Please visit 𝘧𝗿𝐞𝐞𝒘𝗲𝘣n𝘰𝘷ℯ𝒍. 𝒄o𝗺

Beyond the Manaforge Array were two powerful divine weapons, followed by a special ability as well as two rare materials. The materials in particular were so rare that he hadn't even heard of them before; even reading pages of information about them, he had no concrete ideas of a use worthy of the price. Still, every one of these blessings left his heart pounding.

However, it was at the very end that he saw the most enticing option of them all: Midren, Complete Form.

This was a grade 6 rune design, but there was no caption for it at all. There were no materials either, but even so his eyes remained glued onto the option no matter how much he wished to move on. There was a point when he hadn't expected to see a grade 6 blueprint in his life.

However, he sighed softly and found it in himself to move on. The complete edition would certainly require materials that he had no means to get; even just the battle edition was enough to give him a headache. At the very least, Norland didn't have the materials on hand for a grade 6 rune.

With the appearance of the true grade 6 rune design, the battle edition that was on the borderline lost all its appeal. However, Richard knew that he needed something that he could use right away. After spending some time looking through the rank 3 blessings and making sure that there wasn't something very important in there, he eventually chose the battle edition design. With a single top-tier offering's worth of grace remaining, he acquired enough rare materials for five to six saint runes and three divine sharpening stones to get Adjudicator to the same level as Moonlight.

When the last bits of timeforce faded away, he couldn't believe his luck. He had been hoping just to obtain the complete design for the grade 5 Midren set, but even that had been a slim hope. While he could recreate the rune set from what he had acquired from Martin, there would inevitably be mistakes.

Heaven's Armour was a rune set different from even other saint runes. Its power was nearly the same no matter who used it, requiring the user to adapt instead of otherwise. There was one other rune he had ever seen that gave off the same vibes— Sharon's Deepblue Aria. He had suspected all this while that the sets were weakened versions of grade 6 runes, and that conjecture had been verified today.

He recalled how Sharon came from a different race and felt like it could be connected to the origin of Heaven's Armour as well. Unfortunately, he didn't know enough to come to a concrete conclusion; pondering over it for a while, he returned his focus to what he had obtained.

Even back when he had acquired the fragments and partial design from Martin, he had discovered a secret hidden in Midren that was likely connected to all of the other Heaven's Armour set. It had a controlling effect on the power of lower tiers of Heaven's Armour like Gabriel, Raphael, and the rest. This was likely Martin's goal in ordering three sets at once, an order that would give him and his subordinates great control over the remaining angels of the Sacred Tree Empire. To reach this goal, he hadn't even cared about leaking a portion of the Radiant Lord's laws to an outsider.

On one hand, Richard had wanted a completed design of Midren just for study. He could always make a full version instead of a reconstruction, selling it to make up for his material costs. On the other hand, he hoped to be able to use it to trace the secrets of grade 6 runes and officially begin repairs on the Deepblue Aria. the battle edition was so much better in helping him accomplish that goal, even if it came with an equivalent price.

......

When the ceremony finally came to an end, Richard felt like he had been in there for an entire season. However, he was still absolutely delighted when he left; it felt like he had just passed a secret test. Not everyone could stay true to themselves in the face of the Eternal Dragon, but he had done so for the second time.

To the four grand priestesses and Ryan who were waiting outside, it had only been a few minutes. The light slowly disappeared, timeforce gathering into an orb of divine grace that flew towards them.

Seeing the colour and density of the divine grace, all four of the priestesses went wide-eyed. Even Jacqueline looked regretful at having given the position to Ryan; had she obtained such a blessing, she would be able to level up immediately. As the light floated towards him, the teen lost all of his ability to contain his emotions and his face flushed in excitement. He knew that this was enough divine grace for him to reach level 17, only one step away from becoming a grand priest. This would be beyond even the other two Chosen at the same age!

Ryan suddenly turned to look at Noelene, a sinister expression flashing across his face as his eyes paused on her breasts. Noelene snorted coldly and glared back, but he didn't back off and instead shifted his gaze to her waist as he smirked. Noelene actually shook for a moment, having to restrain herself from attacking him for the humiliation.

“Whoop!” Richard walked out at that moment, stopping the divine grace with a gesture before pointing it towards Noelene. The timeforce immediately covered her and a pillar of light shot into the ceiling, her aura flaring up enormously in only a few moments. When the timeforce faded away, she had gone all the way to level 20, well surpassing the other three who were still level 18.

Jacqueline's mouth fell open as she stared at Richard, “H-How?! Impossible!”

Richard smiled, “Well, you've probably heard of Blessing Redirection, hmm?”

“You upgraded your title!” she cried out in surprise.

“Yep.”

“YOU STOLE MY GRACE!” Ryan suddenly screamed, charging over, “IT WAS MINE! ALL MINE!”

The youth's face was now completely twisted, his hopes and dreams having fallen through in a single moment. He had forgotten everything about Richard amidst his shock, only one thought ringing in his mind. He had to kill this demon!

A cold glint flashed in Ryan's hands as a platinum dagger was thrust towards Richard's waist, but a crisp crack sounded as a slap to the face sent him flying away. In only moments the boy's face flushed red and swelled, but before he could try to get up Richard had flashed behind him and stomped him into the ground.

Richard leant down to look at Ryan's distorted face under his shoe, “You really wanted to kill me? Stupid and unlucky, such a bad combination. This better be the last time you look for death.”

1119 - City of Sin

The Dragon's Fairness

Seeing Richard grind his sole against Ryan's face, Jacqueline picked up her staff and gripped it tightly, “Richard! You dare beat up a future Chosen of the Eternal Dragon? This is heresy!”

Richard looked up at her before lifting his foot and stomping down once more, causing the youth to lose consciousness, “Oh? I just hit your Chosen again. And again. And... again. Why don't I see any divine punishment here? Tch, you'd be best served rethinking the meaning of Blessing Redirection.”

“Guards! Kill this heretic!”

The paladins surrounded Richard at her orders, but having seen what happened none of them acted upon her orders. Their confusion was especially exacerbated when Noelene stepped forward, “Withdraw. Nobody is to point their weapons at Duke Richard; that will only be disrespect to the Eternal Dragon.”

Jacqueline paled, looking at the other two grand priestesses, “What do you think?”

However, those two only retreated silently to open up some distance.

Watching this farce, Richard chuckled, “Grand Priestess, have you not managed to remember what Blessing Redirection is? Should I jog your memory?”

Hearing these words, Jacqueline's eyes suddenly went wide as she remembered the full effects of Blessing Redirection. One could choose the target of the divine grace from their ceremonies, but they could also affect the blessings others gained as well. Even she didn't have such a right. Google search f𝐫e𝘦𝘸e𝗯𝒏𝗼ѵe𝗹． c𝑜m

She then realised she had overlooked another important point; the amount of divine grace from the ceremony was only enough for her to go up by one level, not two. Noelene had gone straight to level 20, and that sent a chill down her spine. Be it due to favour towards Richard or Noelene herself, this signified the Eternal Dragon's stand. The two were much more important here than she was.

Richard was in no hurry, waiting for Jacqueline to process everything before he pointed at her. An hourglass suddenly appeared above her head and cracked, most of the sand within it trickling away. Jacqueline went white as a sheet, her voice trembling, “W-What did you do to me?”

“You know very well,” Richard chuckled like a devil.

Jacqueline's entire body shook as she bit her lower lip, understanding just what had happened. Richard had used Blessing Redirection on her, which would mean she would get almost no grace from future ceremonies she hosted. With Noelene now positioned to become the next high priestess, which would certainly come with a drop in the number of ceremonies she was allowed to host in the first place, she would certainly take ages to level up.

Her eyes filled up with despair and hatred, but she didn't say anything at all; she knew there was no point in doing so anymore. She hadn't ever imagined that Richard would upgrade his title so quickly, with the Eternal Dragon favouring him to the point that Blessing Redirection had worked on a grand priestess. Even amongst the Chosen, she had never heard of anyone possessing such authority that made them almost a speaker for the dragon itself.

Richard had just offered way too many sacrifices in the past few years, nearly half of the church's entire throughput. Flowsand and Noelene had gobbled it all up, and with Ferlyn and Flowsand now gone she and her peers were unwilling to watch as Noelene just took all of his divine grace. She had weighed the danger of offending Richard and decided it was worth it, but she most certainly hadn't expected this.

Richard walked towards her and raised his hand, intentionally leaving it only a few inches from her breasts. She gritted her teeth in humiliation, but she remained rooted in place and silently acquiesced to him doing whatever he wished. He touched her breasts for a moment and praised them, “They're pretty big! How about this— you forced my hand just now, but I'm very generous and will give you a chance. Come over for a night, and I'll pretend none of this ever happened and undo the redirection. Of course, you can just stay at level 18 forever. Careful, though, you might just get chased out if you keep being stupid. I've already warned you.”

He didn't even wait for her answer and headed out of the church with his knights. Seeing a glimmer in Jacqueline's eyes, Noelene started and immediately chased him down to the gates, “Were you serious just now?”

Richard shrugged, “Fuck no, but I can't kill her, can I? Best alternative, humiliate her until she can't keep her head up; it's not like she'd actually have sex with me.”

“You never know,” she said solemnly, “I saw some hope in her, she was about to agree. She'll come looking for you soon enough.”

“Wait, what?” Richard grew dazed, “She's a grand priestess, though.”

Noelene shook her head, “She'll come.”

Richard wanted to retort, but he couldn't find any words. He ended up smiling wryly, suppressing a long sigh. Blessing Redirection's extra effect had no way to undo it. He had just hoped to eliminate the threat from Jacqueline, but if she really found him he had no idea what to do.

Perhaps another offering? However, that was extremely wasteful. Others might think the chance for intercourse with a priestess of Jacqueline's calibre was worth a lot, but he certainly didn't put it at even a lesser offering. If she really lowered herself to the level of accepting his offer, he would have shot an arrow into his own knee.

“It's best for me to return to Faelor as soon as possible,” he commented.

“What about Ryan and the other two?”

“The priestesses know their place, they won't try anything. As for Ryan, he's a nobody. Let him ruin himself.”

Noelene frowned, “But Ryan really did show signs of becoming Chosen. That's why Jacqueline paid so much attention to him. She might also have others on her side.”

“Heh, he might have shown signs before he had the gall to attack me. Let's see how happy the dragon is with a priest attacking his biggest offerer.”

Noelene went silent at that comment, shaking her head, “Congratulations, and thank you!”

These words came from the bottom of her heart. The conflict today made it clear that Richard was above grand priestesses like her in the eyes of the Eternal Dragon, second perhaps only to true Chosen like Flowsand and Ferlyn. A young priest with potential had been crushed and lost his future. Without Richard's full support, she would have had a difficult life.

However, Richard didn't look all that happy, “It's nothing much, just shows that I'm more important in the dragon's eyes for now.”

......

This important ceremony and all of the events within would end up becoming a secret only a small circle of people knew about. When Richard returned to his island, a young mage from the Deepblue was already waiting for him with a black pack whose expense showed through in the material and handiwork alone. Within was a spatial enchantment that could hold two cubic metres of materials, possessing excellent sealing enchantments.

Within the bag were all sorts of high-quality magic apparatus and tools, the focus being placed on precision and economising space. This bag and its interiors were all the signature work of the dragonblood gnome Tion, called the legendary mage's pocket lab. It was a nearly fully-fleshed laboratory available on the go, each of these bags costing over three million gold and requiring years of advance booking. Even with some connections through Professor Fayr, Richard had only gotten one after a year's wait.

The pocket lab only had half a cubic metre's worth of space left. Dismissing the courier, Richard filled it up with the materials he had acquired from the ceremony before passing on a list to the old steward for material purchases. Also writing a letter to NYris, he rushed for Faelor.

Not long after he'd left, a mysterious guest arrived at the floating island, a woman whose appearance was hidden under a large hood. Producing a recommendation letter from a Marquess, she requested to meet Richard. Finding out that he had already left Faust, however, she froze and silently left.

1120 - City of Sin

Settling Things

In the flickering light, Nyris slowly opened up the letter that Richard had sent. The contents weren't meant for him, instead a proclamation that he could show anyone:

'His Highness Nyris, The Fourth Prince of the late Emperor Philip, shall forever remain an ally to the Archerons. Any imperial, family, or personal decisions affecting his interests will need the approval of our family, or they shall become an enemy for life.

'Duke Richard Archeron.'

It was a simple statement of protection with no date of expiry, a formalised version of the promise from before. With Richard's current status in the Sacred Alliance and all of Norland, it was more important than ever.

Nyris stared at it in a daze, a sparkling icy teardrop suddenly splashing on the paper. He sat in his study through the sunset until the next sunrise, all signs of life fading away as he stared silently at the message from his friend. It was only when the dazzling gold light of the morning filled his room that he sighed, picking up the proclamation and tearing it apart meticulously.

......

The very same day, an imperial portal in Faust lit up as ten noble youths walked out. Some looked rejected while others were elated, but the one common feature across them was that all of them had suffered some degree of injury. These were the boys and girls that had returned from the hunt; today had been the last round where they proved their excellence, and every one of them would acquire some sort of financial assistance from the imperial family. For many of minor nobility, this was the kickstart they needed to at least get to the same starting line as the bigger families of Faust.

Of course, even with the support these winners wouldn't et close to equalling the fourteen families of Faust. However, some of the bigger families had shown interest in these youths, giving them a chance to obtain even more resources in the future. Regardless of how things turned out, they would all make something of themselves so long as they didn't get too ambitious.

Lucian looked like one of those youths with a great future, while Wennington with a number of injuries didn't come close to standing out. However, all of the other youths had their gazes focused on him, jealousy and even hatred in their eyes.

Many people were already waiting in the teleportation hall, most of them elders of the youths' families that were hoping for the revitalisation of their line.

Venica pounced straight into Lucian's arms, hugging him tightly, “How did it go? Did you win?”

A look of gloom flashed across Lucian's face, but then he smiled as though everything was alright, “Almost. You Archerons really are crazy.”

Venica froze up, “You lost?! How could you have lost?!”

“Brother won't be happy if he sees you like this,” a low voice rang out from the side, startling her into taking a step backwards.

Venica turned around to see Weenington passing by, flinching slightly before she charged straight to him and asked loudly, “Did you beat Lucian?”

He nodded, “I did.”

She pulled at his collar, “You... How could you have won? Brother helped you, didn't he?”

Wennington's eyes twitched with rage as he slapped her hand away, “Don't forget who you are, Venica!”

“So what if I have? He shouldn't be helping you in secret! If not, how could you have won?!”

The squabble immediately drew attention, the nobles nearby starting to chat amongst themselves and giggling at the show. Some discussed the possibility of cheating; it was definitely possible with Richard's current status, but there was just no point. Anyone with a brain knew that giving incapable people positions on the battlefield would just end up in more deaths.

Lucian pulled Venica back, “Alright, don't make a fuss. This isn't anyone else's fault; I split my troops because I didn't think things through, which is why I lost. He's a true knight and wouldn't do something like that. Besides, isn't coming second place pretty good too?”

“But you need the rewards, and he doesn't! Richard already has a squad of rune knights ready for him!”

Her words immediately caused a commotion amongst the spectators, the nobles sighing at the wealth of the Archerons. Such a young man was about to get a squad of rune knights, this was something even most viscounts could not get when starting out.

Wennington took a deep breath, “Brother will know of this, of every detail. Lucian, I suggest you stay away from my sister until she finishes her obligations to the family.”

Venica wanted to argue, but Lucian stopped her with a wave of his hand. He flashed a confident and enchanting smile, “I've already made a deal with His Grace, you don't have to worry about my relationships. In fact, let me give you a suggestion instead; having your entire army attack a single point will only ever work once. You won't stand a chance if we meet again.”

Wennington snorted, but instead of arguing he just headed for the doors. However, it was at this point that a troop of fully-armed rune knights marched through with the Archeron crest on their armour. Many recognised the woman at the front with fiery red hair as the war goddess of the Archerons.

Alice swept her gaze through the young nobles before landing on Lucian, beginning to walk towards him calmly, “Lucian?”

“Yes?” Lucian paled a little, as though he realised something.

“Come with me,” she reached out to grab him, but was stopped by a slender hand halfway. She tried to push on, but the hand clearly had power far beyond her own.

“Beautiful Earl, the royal family plans to nurture these youths. Taking him away like this doesn't seem very appropriate; could you give me a reason?”

Alice took a step back to distance herself, only then feeling the sense of danger lessen. Suppressing a shudder at the presence of the poisonous snake, she took out a letter and passed it to him, “Lucian stole His Grace's magic soul, and he must pay the price.”

“Magic soul!” someone exclaimed from the audience. This was a chance for a grade 5 rune.

Lucian suddenly yelled, “What magic soul? I've never seen it! Where's the proof of theft? I'm a noble too, you'll need to go through a trial by court to punish me!”

He showed no intentions of escaping, his voice only growing louder, “I might be from a small family, but I will not stand for this. Think about it, if I really did steal a magic soul, would I have been allowed to stay alive until now? Evidence! If the Archerons take me away without evidence, they can do the same to all of you!”

The expressions of many nobles changed as they thought back to the battle over the blue moon. Many of Faust's families had taken risks to try and obtain it, forming animosity with Richard that could not be forgotten. Both parties had technically agreed to let it go, but there was no telling when he would come to collect on that slight.

“There should be a court trial!” someone echoed.

Alice's face darkened as she put a hand on the hilt of her blade, the twenty rune knights behind her following suit. The voices immediately died down, nobody daring to challenge anymore. Now that Richard was a saint runemaster, their numbers meant nothing. Many people would be willing to kill off a dozen families if it meant a saint runemaster would continue to produce runes for them.

Julian was still pretending to read the letter, although it had been long enough for him to have read it a dozen times already. Seeing Alice maintain her stance, he suddenly grinned and stowed it away, “His Grace's word is evidence enough. Please!”

With him stepping aside, Alice grabbed Lucian by the scruff of his neck and threw him to the rune knights behind her.

Julian bowed with a charming smile, “Please give His Grace my greetings. Her Majesty has had him on her mind lately.”

Alice froze, unable to understand the implications behind Julian's words. She could only bow back, “I'll repeat it to him, word for word.”

Julian's smile grew more dazzling and he motioned towards the exit.

Just as Alice was about to leave, Venica suddenly charged out and yelled, “What are you trying to do, you bitch? Release him!”

1121 - City of Sin

Settling Things(2)

Venica tried to run to Lucian, but Alice's blade was quickly unsheathed and blocked her path. The girl glared, “You dare to stop me? Do you know who I am? You're just a bitch the family is taking care of, who gave you the right to act so arrogant? I'm the daughter of Gaton, sister of Richard; I have the blood of the family! Who do you think you are to stop me?”

Some of the young nobles present were quite close to Venica, and a few stood out to hoot in support of her. Those who weren't as foolish recognised Alice and went quiet, watching as things progressed.

For her part, Alice didn't grow enraged at the insults, “At least you know this is your only chance to save him. Tch, if only you could use that smarts where it mattered. Here, another order from His Grace. I was going to announce it after we returned, but I can just say it here.”

Handing over another letter, Alice amplified her voice, “Venica, you are henceforth banished from the Archeron Family. You have one hour from now to return to the island and pack, but effective right afterwards you will be considered a stranger to the family and disallowed on Archeron property.”

“W-What?” Venica shuddered in shock, not able to bring herself to even open the letter and verify. Alice just shook her head and left for the Archeron island, leaving the girl to deal with the collapse of her world herself.

It felt like her heart had stopped beating, her limbs gone icy cold and stiff. Even collapsing to the ground felt like it took effort, and she couldn't even imagine how life would be like once she was banished. As she looked at all of the friends that had sworn to be united through life and death, many of them just avoided her gaze and dispersed.

......

Lucian seemed strangely calm as they entered the Archeron island, asking the moment they stepped foot through the portal, “Where is Richard? I have something to say to him, a deal I believe he'll be interested in. It can make up for that magic soul.”

“A deal?” Alice smiled, “What kind of deal?”
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“That'll have to wait until I see—” He suddenly went silent, looking down in disbelief at the dagger stabbed into his heart, “Soul-eating dagger... He's actually trying... to attack us...”

She leant forward and whispered into his ear, “Your uncle should be dead by now, too.”

Lucian's eyes widened, but he could no longer speak.

......

Within the Deepblue, the legendary mage who had been dragging a dragon along finally landed. Her face showed great fatigue, golden hair hanging listlessly down her forehead, but the pitiful dragon behind her was frothing at the mouth.

Thankfully, things were much easier now. Activating an existing formation on the terrace, she opened a portal to her semi-plane and headed through. While she could have made the jump from any place, this was the only passage stable enough to let the dragon survive.

About an hour later, she jumped back out while humming a little tune. Nonchalantly opening another portal to her bedroom, she suddenly sensed something and looked towards the back of the tower. About ten mages were hard at work on the top floor; she could easily use the formation with a wave of her hand, but maintenance work after that needed the work of a dozen decently-levelled mages for half a day.

Looking in their direction, she found all of them busy at work with nothing seeming odd. That slight feeling of discomfort had disappeared as well, so she paid it no mind and prepared to get a good rest. She had gotten a good harvest already, and she felt she deserved a reward.

The busy mages had learnt long ago that they had to work whether she was around or not. Even from another plane, the legendary mage had far too many methods to monitor them. Besides, the rewards for this work were quite generous; nobody wanted to lose their job.

A mage who was busy changing magic crystals stood up and wiped away the sweat on his face, stretching his limbs as he gazed towards the beautiful scenery of Floe Bay in the distance. This was something most of the Deepblue's mages liked to do when they worked here; the scenery was inspiring and revitalising by itself.

This mage was level 13 and seemed to be about thirty years of age, clearly quite average. He wasn't particularly handsome, but the beard he maintained meticulously gave him a sense of charm. He was known for his work ethic and earnestness, but was still approachable enough to share a few drinks with. This was the picture-perfect representative of a hardworking person who dreamt of becoming a grand mage before the end of his life.

Nobody noticed the man taking away a tiny, tattered blue fabric with a drop of dried blood on it that had fallen from Sharon's robes. Pretending to tidy up his beard before continuing to work, he secretly swallowed the fabric whole.

As night fell, the mage returned to a single house residence near the base of the tower. The place only had a bedroom and a living room, the latter doubling as a laboratory for his purposes.

When night fell, the mage returned to his residence. With no windows to the outside, the place was illuminated entirely by magic light.

He closed the door and wrote down a large amount of information on a blank piece of paper, a detailed analysis of the fabric Sharon had dropped. His own body was actually capable of such a task. The numbers disappeared as he wrote them, and once he was done he opened up a little box and regurgitated the fabric into it before setting up an odd magic array. A soft light flashed to form a spatial crack just above the box, sucking in the fabric before vanishing.

In order to hide this all from the mana probes installed all around the Deepblue, this teleportation formation did not use regular magic crystals to work. Instead, it consumed the mage's own life force; in only a moment, he seemed to have aged a decade.

As the spatial crack disappeared, the mage sighed and took out an intricate little box. Under the lid was a piece of paper with the portrait of a beautiful young woman and two lively children. His gaze was filled with reluctance, but he stood up as the clock rang and set up another formation on his workbench before standing in front of it.

Flames immediately engulfed the room.

An unfortunate lab accident in the lower-middle section of the Deepblue had taken the life of a high-levelled mage. Accidents like these were very common around the year, the study of magic always filled with danger especially in the lower sections where individual labs were rather crude. While some of the mage's friends would mourn for a longer time, these sorts of mishaps occurred once or twice a week; most people would forget soon enough.

......

Late at night, the lights in the little town called Blue Icorn in the central regions of the Sacred Alliance went out. This was a small town that was named after a common magic ingredient found in the nearby hills, the major source of income for the locals.

Several kilometres from the town was a summer manor, large but not particularly luxurious. The few decorations it did have were elegant and intricate, matching the status and wealth of its owner. The light in the study was still on, with Baron Billius currently reading his favourite history book. The door to the study slowly opened, a maid placing black tea and biscuits on his table quietly before withdrawing. The Baron didn't even seem to realise it, completely immersed in his study.

On an ancient tree a kilometre away, two graceful figures met up. Phaser took off her robes, “Is there an ambush?”

A red glow slowly faded from Senma's left eye, “There aren't any powerful traps, but there's quite a few invisible warning systems. There might even be some things I haven't noticed, looks like Sauron was right.”

By now, all of Phaser's clothing was off, her scarlet tongue licking her lips, “Whatever, he'll be dead tonight.”

“Getting close to him might be a little troublesome. Dealing with those warning systems won't be easy.”

“We don't need to. Let's see how he escapes before we get to him.”

“Sigh, fine.” Senma retrieved three metal tubes from her back, linking them together to form her lance. In the next moment, the two disappeared.

Within the study, Baron Billius suddenly looked up with a sharp glint in his eyes. Hearing a few high-pitched squeaks, he stood up at the realisation that enemies had invaded the manor.

For some reason, he sat back down and continued reading his book as though nothing had happened. However, before he could even look down, the study window exploded into tiny fragments and a dull lance flew through the air, piercing through his chest and nailing him to the seat. He also felt someone appearing behind him, a blade being jammed into the back of his head.

The Baron's eyes went wide open in disbelief as his skin turned red, his blood escaping his control and stopping his secret techniques. His eyes quickly glazed over as he gapes, saying with difficulty, “Ill...ogical...”

Phaser just smiled as she pulled her blade out, looking at the milky-white soul that it had just absorbed. Once Senma was done taking care of the body, they leapt back out through the window and disappeared into the vast night.

1122 - City of Sin

The Dragons' Troubles

All of the one-time random portals set up in Blackrose had already been used up; that was how eager the legends were to rush to the Dragon Plane. Richard hadn't expected the rush at all, to the point that the large amount of magic materials he had stored in the castle were completely used up.

It had ended up in an awkward situation where there wasn't enough to teleport everyone. Thankfully, the Celestial Sage had changed his mind last minute and decided to go through Faelor.

When Richard returned to Faelor, he received news that Ruben had already headed through the portal and was now in the Dragon Plane. The long-distance portal from Bluewater to Dragon Valley had yet to be completed, which meant the Celestial Sage had travelled over 10,000 kilometres in less than a day.

Oftentimes, speed was a good measure of strength. In terms of speed alone, Ruben wasn't much different with Sharon. Richard's fastest way to get to Dragon Valley was the array of cloned brains, but even that took three to four days. He could only sigh at the enormous gap, contacting the nearest drone to relay his orders.

Not long afterwards, the orders reached the Thinker who spent a few minutes making sure he understood them before beginning operations. He was still in Dragon Valley, but the entire process took less than an hour before Richard's giant machine started to move.

A short while later, the Iron Triangle Empire's treasury was opened up as carpets, equipment, and luxury items were taken out for delivery. Construction materials were transferred to pick-up points all over the Empire, a flying chrysalide quickly making its way over to transport it all to Dragon Valley. Thousands of worker drones had already been mobilised, and would take a day's time to completely restructure the environment around Dragon Valley.

A third of Rosie's factory was suddenly dispatched to the valley, where a new workshop was already being built to handle creation and repair of some basic runes. The Dragon Valley was like a magnet that pulled half of the west's items, wealth, and talent to provide for the powerful beings that would soon be walking through.

Getting onto a cloned brain, Richard rushed towards the valley as well. The place was far too important, and at least at the beginning he would need to supervise himself. Thankfully, the travel time wasn't much of a waste anymore. With the pocket lab, he could even run some tests and study Midren's design.

......

The Dragon Plane suddenly noticed a spike in the number of incursions, but when people were dispatched to take a look they could only find some chaotic energy left behind by portals. It was impossible to tell what races the invaders were, how powerful they were, or even where they'd gone. Dragons were natural predators; if they couldn't find any clues at all, that meant these invaders were both sly and powerful.

However, the abundance of energy on the plane attracted beings from everywhere like it was a slab of sparkling meat. There were incursions nearly everyday, but most were adventurers without much strength and would soon become snacks. This was likely just an aberration.

If one were to link all of the powerful invasions, they would find that more than twenty incursions had occurred. This was enough to shock even the Five-Coloured Dragon, but everyone who encountered such issues thought they were individual problems and just warned their friends to take care of their nests. Nobody really paid any mind, instead gossiping about the battle a few days prior between Bahamut and the Dragon Slaver. They also talked about the plight of the poor golden dragon, Kralkalor.

......

The days passed by dully until the arrival of the Celestial Sage, Ruben.

Kralkalor had remained in front of the portal all this while, not moving a muscle. Even the ripples on the portal didn't bring any life to his eyes. It had been days since anyone walked out, but the damage from Sharon had left him numb to it all. The other dragons had learnt their lessons and moved kilometres away, being prepared to run if someone truly frightening walked out.

There were only a hundred or so dragons surrounding the portal now, but their overall power in battle had actually risen substantially. Most of them were elite subordinates of Bahamut, while a small portion were left behind by those dragons who had territory nearby. The battle with Sharon had been earth-shattering, and the deaths of seven dragons with the capture of five had warned them clearly that this was a huge threat.

Most of the weaker dragons had fled after that day, returning to their daily routines, but even they didn't bring up the idea of just giving up on Faelor. These dragons were just far too proud to admit such defeat.

The portal was thus watched at all times, with the dragons having sent their strongest fighters for the defense. Bahamut himself was nowhere to be seen, likely having gone to the Five-Coloured Dragon to ask for reinforcements.

Kralkalor was the only one with no subordinates around. With the incident regarding Paero as well as the fact that the gold dragon had no way to repay his debt to Bahamut, those under him had all jumped ship. Mesmerwing had been the first to flee.

When another familiar figure walked through the portal, Kralkalor continued to just lie on his belly dispiritedly while the other dragons exchanged glances. Everyone knew the Celestial Sage, but was this one real or fake? Sharon had only appeared a few days ago, it made no logical sense for Ruben to be here as well. Faelor was only a secondary plane; for two epic beings to be nearby was unfathomable.

Just like Sharon, Ruben was also someone who preferred blue. Starlight glittered all around his blue robes, while his long blue hair was one of his most distinctive features. When he walked out of the gates, an expression of surprise flashed across his face. None of the dragons had broken into an uproar or fled upon his arrival, but their defences were far from enough.

“Are they new to the myriad planes?” he muttered to himself. Only a plane that had just broken through its crystal sphere wouldn't recognise him; in the depths of the void, his fame was far beyond his strength. But that conjecture didn't make sense either; this plane was clearly of a high level.

The Celestial Sage's face lit up in joy; strange incidents like this were a chance for a great discovery. However, he finally noticed a familiar figure that he had instinctively ignored because of its listlessness, his delight being tempered somewhat, “Kralkalor? So this is the Five-Coloured Dragon's territory?”

Kralkalor jumped in shock, finally understanding that this was the real deal. Glaring at the Celestial Sage, he slowly started to retreat.

Ruben facepalmed, “Ah right, I think I invited you to my lab once but you didn't agree. How about now? I'm sure you'd be willing to.”

However, Kralkalor didn't flee as expected, instead roaring to the skies before turning around to attack. Ruben froze up for a moment as he saw dozens of dragons following right behind, unable to help but scratch his head. Had he been so peaceful in recent years that nobody feared him anymore? He certainly wasn't the most powerful epic being, but that was only relative to those like Philip.

......

By the time Richard made it to Dragon Valley, the Celestial Sage was already walking back through the portal. The old man who had lived for untold centuries pulled a dragon through just like Sharon, and his first words upon seeing Richard were, “Kralkalor managed to escape again.” Richard actually had no idea who Kralkalor was, only managing to understand after a description.

The Celestial Sage was always elegant and wise. His blue robes hadn't been seen torn in over a century, and this time was no exception. It was impossible to tell how intense the battle at the other side had been. However, Richard was certain that the Dragon Plane had to have set up a powerful guarding force if they didn't destroy the other end of the portal; to be able to go through that and return peacefully with a dragon in tow definitely showed his experience and might.

1123 - City of Sin

Five-Coloured Dragon

Richard took a single glance at the dragon being dragged by the Celestial Sage; it was a green dragon, one of the most common species. Although all dragons were valuable, he didn't understand why Ruben had even bothered picking it up. He asked with curiosity, “What do you need that thing for?”

“I need the crystal, heart, and brain, everything else is useless,” Ruben answered before chuckling, “When is your portal going to be done? I can't keep flying around with a dragon!”

Richard gestured towards the workshop that was already being built, “There will be a processing centre up soon, my mages are on their way and will arrive tomorrow. If you don't mind waiting a few days, just hand it to me and I'll process it.”

“Huh, you really are very detailed; this will save a week. Fine, take it; I only need those three things, you can keep the rest.”

“No, it's all yours. They'll process and pack everything, and someone will come inform you when it's ready. My only question is about the meat; we can handle that too, but I don't think it's really worth it.”

“Of course I don't want the meat,” Ruben waved, “How much is it for the processing?”

“None,” Richard smiled, “You can bring any number of dragons in, it'll all be free.”

At this point, even the Celestial Sage was amazed. He patted Richard on the shoulder, “You really are a great businessman.”

“That isn't all. If you have the time now, you can come take a look at the other things I'm preparing.”

Richard brought the Celestial Sage to the command centre in the valley, setting up a small map and activating it. Thirteen estates appeared on the table, displaying what they would look like when they were completed, “These things are going up right now, and they'll include essential facilities like a lab and forge. You can sub-let them out or transfer them to others if you want, I'm not going to control any of that.”

Ruben's eyes lit up as he looked at the image with interest, even playing around with the hologram to look at things from all angles. As someone with high standards for living, just the fact that he muttered something about them being not bad was a telling sign. In fact, the Celestial Sage only wanted Norland's standard of living in Faelor; nothing could really compare to his tower. Although certain places in the Iron Triangle Empire were decorated well, their functions were obsolete in his eyes and definitely weren't comfortable.

Zooming in on the plans for the lab and forge, he saw that they would come fully equipped and nodded with satisfaction, “When will these estates be ready?”

“Two weeks if we don't meet any hiccups, three at worst.”

“That fast?”

“Mm, I transferred 3,000 knights to help with the construction.”

“That's a big number, young man,” the Celestial Sage smiled, pointing out the biggest estate of them all that was in a prime location, “Leave this one for me. I'm planning to stay in the Dragon Plane a bit longer this time, at least a month; hopefully, everything is ready by then.”

“True mages never exaggerate,” Richard smiled as well.

Ruben chuckled, “I feel like you're more suited to being a lord.”

“There isn't any problem with being both.”

Just like that, an estate that was still a blueprint was reserved by the Celestial Sage. Neither party had even discussed rent, but no matter how high it was, the sum would be negligible to an epic being. Once Ruben moved in, Richard would have no difficulty selling the rest either.

Richard's primary source of income was still the offerings that he would be paid for the legends to hunt in the Dragon Plane, alongside the sale and repair of runes. The dragon processing centre, estates, and amenities were all nothing compared to that, only tools to make staying within Faelor as convenient as possible.

Truth be told, even with a year of hunting reserved, the Celestial Sage wasn't in much of a hurry to make a fortune. As an old epic being, he had accumulated an astounding amount of wealth already. Just an opportunity for conversation with him was worth offerings; he was renowned for his knowledge and wisdom that encompassed nearly everything in existence.

People like Ruben normally only cared about two things— extremely rare treasures or the finer details of daily life. Richard's estates managed to capture the latter, drawing his attention. He stayed in Dragon Valley for a few days as the green dragon was processed, even taking some time out to guide the mages who were busy setting up the portal to and from Bluewater.

During this time, the dragon crystal, heart, and brain were all extracted and packaged well before being passed on to the Celestial Sage. While it would take a lot of time for a mage to work on such things alone, Richard had assigned knights to help with removing flesh and scales. Leaving the heart and brain behind to be transferred to the new estate when it was finished, Ruben headed back into the Dragon Plane.

When he heard that the wait had purely been for the dragon crystal, that it was an essential material for one of the Celestial Sage's spells, Richard was stunned beyond words. A spell that required an adult dragon's crystal to activate was likely even more powerful than Sharon's portal explosions, comparable to Sharon's Rainbow Bridge that required a beyslace spider crystal for every cast.

Richard personally went through the portal with the Celestial Sage and fought the horde of dragons guarding the gates until they dispersed. Afterwards, Ruben left to continue exploring the Dragon Plane while he returned to Faelor.

......

In a secret space deep within the Dragon Plane, the sky was suddenly lit up by a patch of fiery clouds. The clouds quickly started to shimmer before Bahamut flew through, taking a moment to appreciate the world before him.

This place was elegant and enormous, the majestic mountains all around covered by an abundance of trees. Some of the leaves were red as fire while others yellow like gold; all the colours seemed to be equal here, making the world look like it was constantly covered by a spectacular rainbow. There were also clear streams within the mountain, beings both humanoids and otherwise frolicking in the water as they appreciated the golden radiance falling from the sky.

Even the huge flame dragon looked like a normal bird in the sky here, letting out several deafening roars before he tucked in his wings and dove towards the peak of a particular multicolour mountain that was beautiful. He said in a deep voice, “Mighty Goddess, the Sharon and Celestial Sage Ruben have both appeared at the portal leading to Faelor. The situation is precarious; Ruben has already infiltrated our world, and if Sharon appears a few more times I worry that we will hand control of both ends of the passage to the other side.”

As the dragon finished speaking, the five-coloured peak in front of him suddenly started moving, white mist pouring out of a crack that widened to reveal amber. It was only when the rocks blinked that one would realise this was an eye that was a hundred metres in diameter.

The single open eye stared at the flame dragon, a voice like scraping metal filling the secret space, “Bahamut, you interrupt my sleep.”
ƒ𝚛e𝘦𝙬𝗲𝒃𝓷𝒐𝘃𝘦𝑙. 𝒄o𝓂

The entire peak slowly started moving turning around to face Bahamut directly. This wasn't a mountain with coloured stones; it was the enormous head of a dragon!

1124 - City of Sin

Please Be Patient

Under the gaze of the Five-Coloured Dragon, Bahamut immediately grew flustered, “Forgive me, Goddess. I believe the appearance of the Celestial Sage and Sharon necessitated the interruption. Sharon has already defeated me... she is a very dangerous opponent. When she returns, she will have had the time to research the laws of her plane, and no one will be able to stop her outside of you. Ruben is not known for his power, but he has enjoyed a great reputation for centuries; this is his second time here, and we have completely lost track of his whereabouts. The potential damage he can cause is just as great.”

“Sharon... Is that the child they call the Dragon Slaver?”

“Yes.”

“I have only heard of her recently. Can you not even defeat a young girl?”

Bahamut lowered his head, “I had Kralkalor's assistance at the battle near the portal to Faelor, but even so I could not stop her escape. She still captured five of our kin and killed seven others.”

The Five-Coloured Dragon yawned, “A few captures is no need to interrupt my... Wait, how many did you say?”

“Five captured and seven killed in battle. We lost a total of twelve in a few minutes.”

The Five-Coloured Dragon's eyes widened, rainbow fog shooting out from between her teeth as she snorted in fury. The entire secret space shook, causing the lazing animals to flee in all directions.

“What are the other brats doing? Do they only know how to feast and wait for death?!”

“Tiamat has gone missing for some time now, while the Ice Dragon is in gestation. The other two are hibernating.”

“Where is Tiamat?” the dragon goddess snorted.

“Rumour has it that she went to Norland, falling into Sharon's hands.”

“Are you certain?”

“No, Goddess. It is hearsay.”

“Then go find out! A child that hasn't yet lived a thousand years dares to enslave one of my legendary dragons? She will pay the price for her arrogance.” Seeing Bahamut nod, her voice softened, “Is there anything else that requires my attention.”

“Only trivial matters. Three of my dragons are missing today, and only one can be linked to the Celestial Sage. The other two were far apart, they could just be harmed in petty fights.”

“If it's trivial, don't bother me with it! More than ten planes and hundreds of thousands of dragons, are you going to inform me of every little skirmish?”

The flame dragon immediately went mute. Just as he was about to leave, however, a strange creature no bigger than a human palm flew into the space. It looked like a dragon shrunk countless times over, but it had transparent wings similar to a dragonfly instead. It flew at speeds comparable to Bahamut itself, letting out a series of sharp cries.

This was a dragon spirit, a type of creature that acted as a messenger for the Five-Coloured Dragon. Although it was tiny, it shared the power of the Goddess herself and could control her laws to an extent. Even legendary beings would pay the price for underestimate it.

As the creature conveyed its message in its own language, the Five-Coloured Dragon blinked and raised her head, “Five more disappearances? Is this including Bahamut's territory?”

“No, my Goddess.”

The Five-Coloured Dragon's eyes narrowed and raised its hill-like head, looking at the flame dragon who was cowering like a little pup, “Eight missing in a single day, this is strange regardless of distance. Go, find out if there are more. I need to know immediately!”

With the Dragon Goddess's building rage, the entire secret realm dimmed. A wave of power buried Bahamut, leaving him unable to even raise his head. Struggling to his feet, he rapidly shrunk down to his absolute limit of ten metres before opening a portal and running away.
𝐟𝙧ℯe𝙬𝚎𝒃𝗻𝒐ѵel. 𝐜o𝓶

The Five-Coloured Dragon did not return to her sleep, instead waiting for the results of the search. Spirits from the forest dispersed in all directions, and less than an hour later Bahamut emerged from a cloud of fire once more.

“Mighty Goddess, a total of nineteen people have gone missing in the past three days; we can only confirm the one that was due to Ruben. The range is vast, and there seems to be no connection between any of them.”

The Five-Coloured Dragon stared at him and asked calmly, “What do you think?”

His voice trembled, “So many dragons vanishing cannot be a coincidence, and we cannot attribute it all to infighting. There aren't any large-scaled civil wars right now that would cause this, and even so there should have been corpses left behind... We are being hunted.”

“That is to say...”

At this point, Bahamut put aside his fear and went straight to the point, “Even the Celestial Sage couldn't cause more than a third of this damage. At least ten legendary hunters have infiltrated this plane, and I cannot understand their route of entry. I cannot deal with them alone; we need your assistance.”

The Five-Coloured Dragon nodded, her enormous head that was more than a kilometre long whipping up a powerful gust as it moved. Her large body seemed to meld into the surrounding mountains, making it difficult to tell which was which, “I was interrupted before even a decade, Bahamut. You have disappointed me greatly.”

Her voice was calm, but the flame dragon's body shuddered.

......

Back on Faelor's side, Richard had set up heavy defences around the portal. One of his sky saint followers was nearby at all times, leading fifty rune knights with dragonblood spears prepared. Even if Kralkalor himself emerged from the portal, he would be grievously wounded at minimum.

This watertight defence was a stark contrast from the other side, where there still wasn't any organisation at all. However, this was also a general difference between Norland and the Dragon Plane. Norlanders excelled in strategy and tactics, but the dragons were so powerful they wouldn't concern themselves with such things.

At this moment, Dragon Valley was Richard's biggest priority, with a large number of rune knights converging on the location. Knowing that legendary beings were coming to Faelor soon, the broodmother had also returned to the Land of Turmoil and focused all her energy on reinforcing the defences of the larval forest. At this point, she even controlled the laws in the location to some extent, greatly hurting the combat ability of any legend that wandered in.

The most deadly trap of all was the belts of timeforce. The larval forest could now push them into specific locations at seemingly irregular intervals, ensuring that even Richard couldn't fly around as he wished. The rifts constantly disappeared and reappeared, so only someone on Sharon's level could go through the place without a significant risk to their life.

Even if someone managed to break through the larval forest, the broodmother still had another ace up her sleeve as well. The legion of artificial demigods were extremely powerful even if short-lived, capable of making anyone suffer.

Remaining in the Dragon Valley, Richard spent most of the next few days on Midren. However, he was also using his breaks to examine the possibility of building a base on the other end of the portal. He came up with over a hundred ideas in only two days, but most were infeasible or too slow. They would also lock up a good section of his army in Faelor. The best plan actually had an 80% chance of success, but he vaguely felt a sense of unease in his heart as though he had overlooked an important factor. Eventually, he decided to put the plan off for the future until the situation was clearer.

Although Dragon Valley was important, there were other matters he couldn't delay too much as well. Estimating the time it would take, he eventually flew straight east.

......

At the border of the Iron Triangle Empire, a large army was marching in formation through muddy roads. Right in the middle of the troops was Gangdor, yawning from exhaustion due to the journey. He suddenly slapped the top of his bald head, causing a slight squelch as a mosquito the size of a finger was smashed into a mangled mess.

“THIS GODFORSAKEN PLACE!” he cursed, cleaning his head for what felt like the billionth time. He suddenly looked up into the sky, “OI! CAN'T YOU MAKE SOMETHING TO WIPE THESE MOSQUITOES OUT?”

A cold voice responded from up above, “Your request has been submitted. Please remain patient, it shall be dealt with quickly.”

“Fuck your quickly! I'll be sucked dry before you do it!” he bellowed, waving his fist in anger.

“Please remain patient,” the cloned brain transmitted again.

Gangdor almost jumped off his horse in rage, but he just shook his head and sighed helplessly. No matter how much he protested, the cloned brain only answered with the same sentence each time. It was impossible to know whether the broodmother actually received the message.

The northern wastes of the Iron Triangle Empire were vast yet sparsely populated, the conditions to harsh for living. Even the summers could freeze over and it rained whenever it wasn't snowing; the place was just one huge swamp. There were no special species of magical beasts here, but all sorts of strange insects were present in large numbers. Sometimes, a swarm of poisonous mosquitoes would cluster so densely that it looked like black fog spanning an entire kilometre.

The Crimson Army had a number of mages that could wipe out the swarms with fire magic, but nothing could be done about those mosquitoes that came individually. Moving along the road, even Gangdor's bald head was peppered with a few swells everyday.

The ordinary soldiers fared much worse. Even with the excessive supplies of the Dukedom, many warriors had fallen out of the march due to illness. Several hundred had collapsed from disease in the past half month, having to be sent to the rear for medical attention. The army was only saved by a special dispatchment of two wasps and a dozen chrysalides to help them along.

1125 - City of Sin

Expedition

Having crossed the eastward path, Gangdor's respect for Rislant had grown considerably. Not only had the man managed to bring his soldiers across this desolate land, but he had also managed to utterly defeat the coastal alliance right after and acquire a strategic harbour for his country.

The brute also knew just how annoying of an enemy the draconians could be, but Rislant had managed to contain them for so many years as well. It was truly a glorious achievement. Rislant's greatest trait in battle was that his troops were robust, making almost no mistakes as he waited for his opponents to err. Once he noticed a flaw, he would seize the opportunity to tear into it until all of his enemies were dead. The biggest misfortune of his life was to have met Richard, who both commanded a perfect battlefield and also wiped out his enemies quickly.

Bored still, Gangdor took out the map once again to study the marching route. It seemed like this road could only lead to the eastern coast, but there was a hidden route southward in a hundred kilometres that led straight to the Grand Cathedral of Runai. This path didn't appear on most maps, but with her beasts scouting throughout the Empire the broodmother had caught it long ago.

The Crimson Army would soon turn south, heading straight for the cathedral and crash into it. While Gangdor was most certainly a brutish man, he always remained cautious in the way he commanded his troops. He had looked over this path many times, ensuring that nothing would give away their true intentions until the last minute.

A shadow suddenly flitted across the sky, and when he looked up he saw Richard slowly flying to the ground as the cloned brain that had just dropped him off flew away. Surprise and elation flashed across his eyes, “Boss! How come you're here? This is perfect, get the broodmother to make a few bats to eat up the mosquitoes! Those things are huge!”

As though to illustrate his point, a large mosquito flew straight for Richar. Richard's eye twitched as he activated Mana Armament, orbs of lightning appearing around him and zapping the thing to ash. Another huge mosquito followed right after, but it was burnt as well.

Gangdor looked at him with a face of envy, “It's so good to be a mage!”

Richard took a look at the troops and smiled in satisfaction; they were still marching in formation and nobody looked too down. To keep up morale in such sinister conditions was a challenge in and of itself.

“Keep the army moving east. Grab a thousand elite cavalrymen, that should be enough for our attack south.”

“You're commanding!” the brute's head shimmered, “I haven't fought under you in ages! Can I storm the front? Can I?”

Richard chuckled at the comical exaggeration. Having been stationed in Faelor all this while, the hunk was in his thirties. Although he still behaved like a hot-headed youth when they were together, he had a knack for governance and leadership that made him an irreplaceable right arm.

Thankfully, he was prepared for this request and pulled out a full-body suit of legendary armour from a ring, “Wear this if you want to.”

Gangdor took a look at the armour and grumbled, “How can I kill as much as I want if I'm wearing something so heavy...”

Still, he put on the armour anyway. The thousand elites were selected by midday, and Richard also mobilised all of his drones and rune knights as well. The smaller army quickly split off from the main group, marching quickly for their target.

......

Up in the skies of Faelor, the three goddesses had just received a message from Richard. After a short conversation, they activated their divine kingdoms and headed towards Runai. Their strange activity immediately set off a tempest amongst the pantheon; what came next was obvious.

Divine war!

The relationship between Richard and the goddesses was an open secret, but the gods of Faelor strangely didn't choose Runai's side. Some of them tried to see if things would be negotiable, but everyone ended up in a neutral stance. Runail sent out pleas for help to all of her allies, but most of the replies were just moral support with no greater deity being willing to involve themselves in the battle. A few even chose not to reply at all.

These gods knew very well about just what was happening in the mortal world below. The three goddesses were at least allies of Richard, if not puppets already, and there was no doubt that he was a foreign invader. However, none of them were willing to bring up this issue; unlike the astral beasts, Richard wasn't so foreign to them that they could unite the entire plane against him. Besides, he was clearly more powerful than the King of Steel and other legendary figures from the golden age, and their churches would be able to do nothing even if they grouped up. Four legends that had forced them into a compromise long ago had fallen at his hands.

But that wasn't all; even despite all that, most gods still looked down on mere mortals. However, Sharon's appearance had destroyed that perception entirely. Just how many years had passed since that fateful battle at the crystal walls? Most of those who had taken part were still injured, but she had returned not too long ago at full power. They could only sigh in relief that they weren't her target; she had just entered a portal previously unknown to them and left.

Before they could recover from that shock, another powerful figure appeared. Intentionally or otherwise, the person they now knew as the Celestial Sage leaked an aura that had them nervous. He wasn't stronger than Sharon, but he was clearly an experienced powerhouse in his own right.

The pantheon of Faelor was significantly powerful, but that was only in their divine kingdoms. Outside in the void, their power was passable at best. The laws of the plane restricted them from interfering personally in the mortal realm, forcing them to rely on avatars and children to do battle. Nothing could be done about someone on the level of Sharon or the Celestial Sage.

Both of those frightening beings clearly had close relationships with Richard, so they could do nothing but ignore him. He had already sent a message to the God of Valour that he was only after Runai, a war not against the gods themselves but for divinity and to attain a formal title for the deity backing him. As long as the other gods didn't involve themselves, there would be no conflict.

Since Neian was made known of this fact, the others were aware of it as well. If it was for position, they could convince themselves that standing by was alright. Only close allies generally joined in on such a war, but none of them felt that close to Runai anyway. They didn't want Richard to be able to use that as an excuse to target them next. Please visit 𝒇𝚛𝙚𝙚𝘸𝙚𝗯𝓃𝗼ѵ𝚎𝘭. c𝑜𝘮

As the three enemies drew close, Runai resigned herself to fighting alone and mobilised every petitioner in her divine kingdom. The divinity she had gathered over her entire existence bubbled up to strengthen her defences as she prepared for a battle to the death.

Divine wars were usually long and drawn out events. Even at a higher level, most gods wouldn't be willing to fight in an opponent's divine kingdom early; an intermediate deity would still be defeated by a lesser deity if they made that mistake. The preferred means of warfare was to send in the petitioners and valiant souls, trying to use up the opponent's divine force.

This process could take anywhere from a few years to a few centuries, the war only coming to a close when one side was completely spent. Knowing that fighting all three goddesses at once would likely be the death of her, Runai planned to delay as long as she could. The one advantage gods had over legendary beings was lifespan; if she could last a few centuries until Richard died, the other gods would naturally come to her aid afterwards.

Thankfully, the three goddesses had still come close to falling in the past. Even though they had a massive increase in number of worshippers as of late, their combined divinity was still lower than her own. Runai believed she would be able to hold on.

1126 - City of Sin

Soldiers At The Gates

When the divine kingdoms of the three goddesses started to move, Richard and Gangdor were already a few dozen kilometres along their way. It took an entire afternoon and half a night at a brisk gallop for them to advance 200 kilometres, coming close to the cathedral before they set up camp. This was why he had chosen only the elites of the army; he wanted to ensure that they could move as quickly as possible.

In fact, the cavalry could have held out charging straight to the gates of the parish. Unfortunately, the mages and priests in the army weren't nearly as durable. They needed time to rest and meditate, recovering their mana and divine force in preparation for battle.

Late in the night, Richard and Gangdor were patrolling the camping grounds to make sure everything was alright. This was a habit from back when Richard had commanded only a few hundred men, but he still liked doing such a thing before personally leading a battle.

“It was so much easier back then, Boss!” the brute said as they walked between the tents, “We didn't have to think about anything, just chop up everyone in front of us. Look, I haven't grown much in years, now I can't even put up a fight against Waterflower. When we were back in the death camp, I managed to get her out of trouble a few times.”

Richard sighed, “True, commanding troops takes too much effort. But who else can I trust?”

“Olar isn't too bad. He's not the best general, but he has enough tricks to maintain it.”

“He isn't a saint yet, and it doesn't look like he'll become one soon. If I leave him in charge of Faelor, do you think he'll be able to control your generals?”

“I'll beat up anyone who dares to disobey him!”

“Hehe, see? You're proving my point. Don't you use your fists to suppress dissenters?”

“That's not true!” Gangdor answered hastily, “I've won respect with my victories!”

Unable to even reach his shoulders without stretching anymore, Richard just patted him on the chest, “A little while longer. The moment I find a good replacement, I'll send you to the Land of Dusk for a few years.”

“Deal!” the brute's eyes lit up.

“Ugh,” Richard shook his head, “Everyone is scared of that place, but you can't wait to go there.”

Gangdor wiped his head, “Boss, we're people who survived the death camp, why would we be scared of dying on the battlefield? You don't know, but Waterflower always complains that she wants to go back to the battlefield of despair; it's so boring following you around. We don't even get to fight for long! Google search 𝙛𝒓𝚎𝙚w𝑒𝘣𝘯𝘰𝐯𝚎l. cｏ𝙢

“Oh right, how are we going to attack a church with such few people? I heard there's tens of thousands of people stationed in there, and they'll definitely have a few avatars.”

“We have reinforcements,” Richard said with a smile, pointing at the sky. Gangdor looked up to see an enormous shadow covering the moon, bigger and faster than even the wasps. The astral chrysalis stopped a few kilometres outside the base and started spitting out a number of supply chests, ten large silhouettes jumping off its back at the same time before walking towards them with steady steps.

Three-metre tall bodies with tough armour and all sorts of heavy weapons showed themselves, their powerful auras surprising Gangdor as well. The brute pointed at them in confusion, “These are...”

“Winter soldiers, a new drone type.”

“Like the shadowspears?” Gangdor drew a deep breath, “But isn't this way too powerful?”

The shadowspears were each level 12, while this batch of winter soldiers was level 16! The broodmother's troops were also more powerful than their level indicated, which meant these troops were almost equivalent to basic rune knights. However, rune knights required a large investment while the broodmother's soldiers could be mass-produced.

Richard smiled, “They're not as scary as you think. These are the elites, normal ones are still only level 13.”

Gangdor relaxed for a moment, but he quickly realised something was wrong, “Wait, still! Boss, if the broodmother goes up... two levels... won't she be able to create rune knights?”

“Maybe. Maybe we can see a dragon she's created flying through the skies one day, too,” Richard chuckled.

“Boss! That isn't funny at all!”

Richard paused for a moment. Thinking over what he had just said, his own smile faded away.

Following the winter soldiers, dozens of arrowbeasts jumped off the astral chrysalis followed by hundreds of shadowspears. Once it had unloaded everything, it slowly rose up into the sky and departed. With this huge boost in power, Gangdor was much more certain about the upcoming battle.

This was one aspect in which Richard was different from Raymond. Raymond preferred quantity and always tried to create an overall advantage so he could win with numbers. On the other hand, Richard preferred nurturing a smaller group of powerful soldiers that could tear into enemy formations and retreat quickly, using mobility to their advantage as they wore away at opponents. With his micromanagement, he could bring much more out of these smaller units.

......

The next day, Richard led his soldiers another 200 kilometres forward before setting up camp at a spot less than thirty kilometres from the Grand Cathedral of Time. He didn't make any attempt to cover his traces, so not long after the tents were pitched the parish started bustling. The city was brightly lit with many torches on the walls, and a sweeping beam of light roved through the regions nearby to prevent an ambush.

The defences around the cathedral were heightened greatly that night, but Richard's troops just slept like logs. Some spies and scouts were dispatched from the city, but they never managed to get back to report. A few paladins were eventually sent out as well, alongside a few larger squads, but once all of those were captured the church stopped its attempts and focused on strengthening defences.

Richard was sitting alone in his tent, looking at a report that had just been handed to him. The paladins sent by the city had spilt everything after a few minutes of torture, giving him detailed information about the city.

The Divine Fort was true to its name, a city that existed solely to protect the Church of Runai. Most of the hundreds of thousands of residents served the Goddess of Time, a good number of them even being an official part of the clergy. The cathedral had more than 2,000 members, but that didn't include their 3,000 paladins. About 300 clergymen were capable of useful levels of divine magic, with that number having doubled as Runai constantly transferred priests from other churches in the last few months.

There were currently 50,000 trained soldiers and 10,000 mercenaries protecting the Divine Fort, and the captured paladins revealed that there were at least two avatars and several demigods aiding the defence. Runai was clearly planning to use this as her last bastion in the mortal world. The central church was the primary source of a deity's connection to their worshippers, and its fall would reduce their ability to replenish their divine force greatly.

In terms of power in the mortal realm, Runai couldn't begin to compare to Richard's army. She had initially formed an alliance with many other gods just to have an even battle, but with the appearance of Sharon and the Celestial Sage, they had all changed their stance last minute. Some even pretended to be mute and deaf, like they had fallen into a deep sleep.

“It's me this time, but you'll be next!” Even now, the goddess was calling for help in the skies. However, there was no one to answer. Unlike deities, legends could do whatever they wished in the mortal realm because their power was their own. If Sharon decided she wanted to destroy every church in Faelor, there would be no one to stop her. Gods like them only survived because people of that calibre rarely cared for such inconstant power as divinity.

As long as the plane still continued to exist, deities would be around forever. The specific individuals occupying a domain could change, but that domain would always exist. Right now, the gods of Faelor just hoped that Richard wouldn't care about them after a point.

...

By dawn, Runai's pope had already delivered the message that Richard was here with his troops to his goddess. The cathedral was brightly lit at that moment, all the cardinals kneeling on the ground and praying in low voices for a miracle to destroy their enemies.

There was no statue on the altar, only an enormous hourglass that represented time which slowly flipped over under the power of divinity. Every complete turn signified a day had past. The hourglass was black on one end and white on the other, signifying the cycle of day and night. This symbol was Richard's excuse for starting this war.

As the prayer drew to an end, the hourglass suddenly emitted a majestic aura and a ray of light fell from the sky. The pope's ears perked up as his body went almost flat on the ground, listening to Runai's words before slowly standing up and raising the sceptre in his hand, “Our Lady has given us an order; she will send down a third avatar to resist the heretics, we are to wipe them out!”

They had three avatars! The cardinals immediately started cheering.

1127 - City of Sin

Thunderclouds

Outside the Divine Fort, Richard who hadn't slept the entire night was staring at the map before him. To him, the city was in a strange location. This area was still close to the northern wastes, with freezing winters and rainy summers that were not comfortable in the slightest. It was also surrounded by hundreds of kilometres of barren land, requiring food to be hauled from more than 200 kilometres away. This was enormous pressure on a city that had hundreds of thousands of mouths to feed.

Richard thought about it for a long time, but after he couldn't come up with a good explanation he eventually just smiled and realised he had complicated things once more. He was already bearing down on the city, he could just figure things out after the battle. When the first rays of the morning sun lit up the sky, he led his troops towards the Divine Fort. The pope's face darkened at the sight of his army, an expression mirrored by his cardinals of whom one fumed, “They actually want to invade us with such a small group?!”

“This is an opportunity,” the pope's deep voice rang out, “Attack them at full force, burn these heretics with the pillar of judgement!”

With a wave of the sacred sceptre, long trumpets resounded through the sky as a good half of the cardinals took off their robes to reveal armour underneath; this group were originally battle priests.

Smoke and dust polluted the city as the army was mobilised, the gates opening shortly after as the brightly-armoured paladins rushed out followed by the battle priests, regular priests, and even many cardinals. Tens of thousands of soldiers poured out of the city unendingly, taking battle positions before it.

Gangdor rubbed his head with disbelief, “They want to fight outside? Is that godspark's brain intact?”

“Look at their defences,” Richard replied, “There's no difference either way. Our army will jump over their walls easily, and then our smaller numbers actually favour us. Here, they can at least mobilise their full force. They think we're only the advance party, they're trying to wipe us out quickly.”

Gangdor nodded in understanding. Outside of the thousand elite human knights from the Dukedom, all of the broodmother's drones could scale the ten-metre city walls with ease. The astral and flying chrysalides would also allow them to just launch an attack on any section of the city they wanted to, outmaneuvering the opposing army. It would just be another repeat of the Frozen Throne.

Still, a trace of anger flashed across the brute's face, “They think they can wipe us out head-on? Let me go out and vent!”

Richard just stared at him, “Put on your helmet.”

Gangdor immediately smiled, “That toy is too heavy, and it blocks my sight. It'll just be a hindrance!”

“No point in me giving you a full set of armour if you're not wearing it all.”

“I'm already a turtle like this, you see—”

“Put. It. On.”

Gangdor could only grumble to himself at that point, retrieving the helmet from his mount and donning it unwillingly. Once the helmet was put on, the entire set of heavy armour started to glow.

Richard then gestured a few times towards the sky, sending out orbs of grey energy that turned into thunderclouds floating above the city gates. A lightning storm at this position would cut off the retreat.

As the first of the clouds took form, one of the cardinals on the walls sneered, “What is that, a lightning storm? Are they cheering for our triumphant return?”

However, the faces of everyone in the gate tower immediately turned ugly. The cloud rapidly expanded to cover a large area in front of the gates, lightning bolts slowly starting to fall from its location. The bolts were spaced apart by more than ten seconds each, making it impossible for the cloud to cut off the retreat of so many soldiers, but the gate tower itself was within range! With clouds forming over the other towers, this meant the pope and cardinals could be attacked at any time!

The city gates were over a kilometre away from Richard. To place the thunderclouds here so effectively meant this was perfectly within his casting range. Not even all legendary mages had such control!

One of the cardinals quietly raised his own sceptre, shooting a ray of white light towards the thundercloud above them. However, the attack only caused the cloud to surge and rumble a little violently before returning to normal, continuing to expand at a rate visible to the naked eye. The man brandished his sceptre and shot a number of attacks right after, managing to carve a few craters into it, but once his strength was depleted the holes quickly started to patch themselves up.

“What power is this?” he huffed in shock. It took two more cardinals attacking to finally destroy the cloud, but the others Richard had deployed were now starting to speed up their lightning strikes. Their ceaseless growth left people unspeakably depressed. These clouds were more difficult to dispel than any grade 9 magic they had seen in their lives.

Runai greatly exaggerated her divine domain by calling herself the Goddess of Time, but she could still influence the flow of time to a certain degree. However, Richard had made countless offerings to the Eternal Dragon in his life, and every instance was an opportunity to come into contact with the laws of time. Although he couldn't yet analyse such laws, his personal comprehension dwarfed even the pope's; a few adjustments made his clouds very resistance to Runai's divine power.

He certainly didn't mind that one of his clouds had finally been dissipated. Waving a hand, he sent another seven right behind it.
𝐟𝓇eℯ𝒘𝙚𝚋𝓃𝐨𝘷𝗲Ɩ. co𝓶

The cardinals immediately paled, no one willing to use their limited reserves to eliminate the clouds. The pope, who had been looking up at the sky all this while, frowned and whispered, “Those clouds hold the power of laws!”

The power of laws! A few of the cardinals were terrified, but most only had a blank look. They didn't possess enough strength to truly understand what the power of laws was.

Fortunately, Richard would show them. A bolt of lightning struck down with a snap, killing a heavily-armoured knight and setting off a fiery explosion that knocked down everyone nearby. This wasn't even a dent in the numbers of the huge army, but it caused people to turn around and notice what was going on behind them. Fear immediately crawled up many of their faces.

The thunderclouds in the sky gradually joined together, spanning hundreds of metres and still expanding towards a kilometre radius. This spell was more powerful than most of the soldiers could comprehend; even backed by a god, the hearts of the ordinary warriors were shaken.

Looking at the growing clouds, one of the cardinals murmured... “Where is the Goddess...”

He suddenly stopped as the pope's stern gaze fell on him, but before he could explain the deep voice rang out, “You suit the front lines. Go!”

A few special paladins clad in black armour flocked around and pulled the cardinal away from the tower. The man could only scream in surprise, bursting out, “How much longer do you think you'll remain the pope?! Even now, the Lady is nowhere to be seen, when will she appear? Those thunderclouds can withstand her power, will you just watch as they bring down the army?!”

This cry was mournful and loud, spreading far away. The army in front of the city was thoroughly disturbed as even more soldiers raised their heads and looked up, showing signs of fear as an enormous shadow blotted out the path back to the gates. The entire force suddenly pushed forward, not an order from any knights or generals but a natural reaction from the rear of the army wanting to escape the range of the clouds.

Only one lightning bolt had struck the army so far, and its power wasn't particularly great either. There was no evidence of activity amongst these clouds outside of their expansion, but their size alone was now overwhelming enough. Richard just sneered as he saw the confusion in the enemy ranks, his own mages and priests starting to buff the soldiers at his command. Everyone was rooted in place during the process, not twitching a single muscle.

Richard's preparations were methodical. He had fewer than 3,000 men going up against over 50,000 but his soldiers were faster and far more powerful. The blanket of thunderclouds would ensure that the enemies remained disorderly at all times, allowing them to burrow through formations with ease.

Strengthening the clouds against Runai's divinity wasn't the only thing he had done. Using his elven truename and the power of Ruven in particular, he had empowered the clouds with nature energy that greatly increased the speed at which they grew. This had slightly dropped the effectiveness of each bolt, but that didn't matter nearly as much.

Slowly floating into the sky, he took a good look at the army he would soon crush.

1128 - City of Sin

Final Battle

One of the paladins suddenly pulled out a dagger, thrusting it into the back of the cardinal who was in the middle of a big fuss. The man's cries were immediately stopped as he slowly turned around, staring at his killer with shock on his face.

Most churches in Faelor, Runai's included, made it clear that a cardinal had status similar to a demigod. Attacking a cardinal in any circumstances would violate the dignity of the gods themselves. However, a mere paladin who had been escorting him to the frontlines had suddenly stabbed him! This man wasn't even a battle priest!

The cardinal suddenly came to a realisation, turning towards the gate tower to meet the pope's gaze. The old man's expression was frosted over, making the source of this order clear.

How dare he? Sentencing a cardinal to death was in direct defiance of the divine canon! Before the dying man could voice his rage, the pope turned back to the army and proclaimed in a cold voice, “Today is a battle for life or death! May you all bring glory to our Lady, and fight for her to the end! Anyone who flees shall be considered a heretic!”

Divine force had carried the pope's voice into the ears of every single warrior. As the army trembled with fear, the pope then pointed at the cardinal, “Behead him!”

Another knight pulled out his sword, and after a flash of light the cardinal's crowned head soared into the sky. Even in mid-air, his face didn't relax from the shock.

Beheading was the heaviest punishment in Faelor, any sinner who was decapitated never allowed to attain eternal life in their deity's divine kingdom. No cardinal of the Church of Time had been beheaded in all of its existence.

The pope looked back at the rest of the cardinals who were now pale, “May the glory of Runai live on forever! But if that glory must fade, it shall only happen over my dead body! ARMOUR!”

All of the soldiers heard this statement as well, some having the perception to see several paladins covering the pope in half-plate. Escorted by ten of his most powerful guards, the pope then walked down the tower and towards the front of the army.

The soldiers went silent for a moment, but the entire field quickly burst into deafening cheers.

...

The pope moved as fast as a warhorse, but it would still be some time until he reached the front of the army. Gangdor lifted his enormous axe and roared, “This is our chance, Boss! Let's destroy them before the coot arrives!”

Richard waved the brute back, “No need, give him some time to arrange his troops.”

“But don't we have an advantage now?”

“Heh. Yes, we do. But I also need to shut some people up.”

“Who?” Gangdor couldn't understand what was happening at all.

Richard pointed to the sky, “Those brats up there, of course!”

“Oh, okay! We'll let the old man waste some time then, it'll be more thrilling later!”

The pope soon arrived at the middle of the battle formation, only stopping before the paladins on the front lines. He gently lifted off the ground, facing Richard from a distance as his entire body glowed with divine radiance.

“Richard! Why do you invade our Lady's cathedral? The pantheon shall crush you for your blasphemy!”

While the man remained loud, Richard had no interest in bickering with him. Raising his right hand, he drew two circled in the air before pointing forwards. The entire army started moving forward until it was charging, heading straight for the heart of the opposing force that was more than ten times its size.

Gangdor lifted his axe and followed the current of steel as well, leaving 200 knights to guard the mages and priests while everyone else advanced. His mount quickly sped up and overtook the rest of the knights, winter soldiers, and shadowspears, bringing him to the head of the troops just as they reached the pinnacle of their charge. Howling loudly, he threw himself into Runai's army and sent a dozen heavy infantry flying out.

At this point, the brute had also grown quite familiar with mounted combat; his steed constantly slammed down with force to destabilise any nearby soldiers, while he made use of the shockwave to reach out and cut those who managed to stay on their feet. This cleared up a huge gap at the head of Runai's army.

Following right behind Gangdor was the classical spear formation of the shadowspear knights, thrusting deep into the opponents like a sharp dagger. These drones didn't even care about self-defence, focused purely on killing the enemies before them. There were only a hundred of them in the first charge, but by the time the last one died Gangdor's gap had been turned into a wedge that broke enemy ranks completely.

The second wave of shadowspears rushed in to follow the first, the new drill at a small angle to the original one. The huge winter soldiers rushed in right behind, their heavy steps causing the earth to shake as their weapons that weighed over a hundred kilograms smashed enemy knights into pulp. They were spaced twenty feet apart from each other, ensuring that they optimised their attack range into a giant net that allowed no escape as they cut a bloody path through the battlefield.

Because of their strength and visibility, the winter soldiers attracted almost all of the ranged attacks. However, their heavy armour was designed specifically to deflect arrows, with even armour-piercing crossbow bolts barely making a dent. Even the strongest javelins only made it halfway through, but they seemed to be unaffected as they continued to advance steadily.

The winter soldiers attacked in waves, speeding up while the shadowspears and the other knights of the Dukedom were elsewhere and slowing down for the cavalry charge. This cooperation gave them time to ready themselves for extended combat, keeping them from suffering unnecessary damage and also giving the Dukedom's knights time to recover their strength between charges. These elite drones were like sawteeth on the end of a blade, greatly increasing its power.

Floating behind the troops, Richard overlooked the entire battlefield. It was an arrogant move that had attracted hundreds of arrows and dozens of javelins, but none of those attacks had pierced his endless barrier. Starlight was spilling out around him as he replenished most of the mana he was losing; he could soak up all of the attacks for an entire hour if need be. The enemy archers would be exhausted long before then.

From high up in the sky, his army was like a sharp blade with a buzzing edge, harvesting lives almost effortlessly. Nearly every one of the knights was playing their part, with only the humans needing breaks every now and then so they could keep up with the rhythm.

At this point, Richard's blessing of wisdom had advanced to the point where he could effortlessly command a thousand nodes in battle. His army didn't even have 400, leaving him with a lot of mental capacity to command his other troops.

As the situation on the frontlines stabilised, a dozen flying chrysalides suddenly appeared on the other side of the Divine Fort. Each one carried twenty humanoid knights, flying towards the city at full speed. This force of nearly 400 was a decisive force; with the city's main forces now caught up in battle in the northwest, they would have free reign to destroy the interior.

When the defenders noticed these chrysalides, there was a moment of confusion before they blew their bugle horns in alarm. The cardinals who were watching the battle from the northwest gates suddenly looked east in shock; how was there another front? The land all around them was open with no path, and none of them had sensed the mana fluctuations of a portal's opening.

The flying chrysalides quickly crossed the city walls, heading straight towards the cathedral and swooping down to drop off the humanoid knights all around. High in the sky, two cloned brains constantly transmitted Richard's orders to control this dispatchment.

These humanoid knights didn't have any mounts, instead moving about on foot armed with swords and four javelins each. They quickly assembled together into groups of thirty, charging the entrances of the cathedrals.

The group of priests and clerics that had been left behind to protect the cathedral charged out, almost no paladins amongst their ranks. Even as they activated their barriers, the humanoids threw out their first wave of javelins.

A middle-aged battle priestess amongst one of the groups of clerics stepped forward, a gloomy expression on her face as she stretched out both hands. An ocean of energy suddenly surged forward, stopping the javelins headed towards her group in mid-air.

The moment he saw this scene, Richard smiled; Runai had finally appeared!

1129 - City of Sin

Final Battle

Richard's orders reached all of the humanoid knights at the same time, and they immediately launched all of their javelins. At the same time, three groups rused over at full speed.

Runai's avatar smirked as golden light streamed out of her body, freezing the javelins in mid-air. The humanoids started struggling as she focused upon them, their blood starting to boil. However, her eyes suddenly widened as a strong sense of danger filled her heart, bringing her attention to the frozen javelins which were now shooting flames.

One of the javelins broke apart, the explosion targeted straight at her divine force. Her expression darkened as a hastily-constructed barrier rippled, another of the javelins exploding right after.

*BOOM!* The noise of hundreds of explosions overpowered everything else in the world, fire drowning out all vision as the priests and clerics were flung hundreds of metres away. When the thundering and the flames subsided, the avatar was the only one that remained; even the thirty humanoids had died to the explosion.

The avatar was currently kneeling on the ground, protected by a wavering golden shield. She wasn't injured at all, but her aura had weakened greatly and all of her subordinates had died. This was an unprecedented defeat.

The avatar fixed a frosty glare on the remaining humanoids rushing towards her, form suddenly disappearing as she rushed into the middle of their formation and cut dozens of them in half. However, her expression faltered as she saw the cross-section of one wound and realised that these drones had a different bodily structure to humans; even as she turned around, those who had been cut at the waist threw their javelins towards her anyway.

Another string of explosions converged into a thunderous sound, the powerful shockwaves crashing into the avatar and tearing away the divine force protecting her. Although this still wasn't enough to kill, her divinity faded rapidly.

Continued explosions could be heard on the other side of the cathedral, caused by the attacks of the remaining knights. The avatar left to deal with them, but this time more cautiously as she cut off the limbs of the drones before targeting what she thought could be the vitals. All 300 humanoids were dead in only a few minutes, but they still managed to kill one cardinal and mortally wounded another, with almost all of the priests, clerics, and paladins in sight now dead.

Although the avatar looked perfectly fine on the outside, the real damage was the exhaustion of her divinity. She had less than half of her reserves left, weakening her greatly. While the main bulk of the cathedral itself was still intact, the surroundings were filled with corpses.

Rage overcame Runai's face as she looked at everything around her, looking up at the sky to discover the two cloned brains hovering above. The drones completely ignored her sharp gaze, but as she floated towards the sky to hunt them she suddenly changed her mind and flew back into the church. The exploding javelins had taught her a painful lesson, and she had no idea whether there were any other enemies hiding in the clouds.

... Please visit 𝒇𝘳𝗲𝚎w𝑒𝚋𝚗𝐨v𝒆l. 𝒄𝒐𝚖

By this time, the main battle was approaching its climax. Runai's cavalry moved forward to flank Richard and tear into his backlines, but huge arrowbeasts suddenly rushed out from amongst his troops and took aim at them. Their chests and necks suddenly rippled as they took a step backwards from the recoil, conical arrows shooting out like lightning.

The first of the arrows pierced through a knight completely before lodging itself into the one behind him, the shaft completely buried into armour and flesh. The two continued running forward a few metres from the momentum, but the movements of their horses eventually threw them off and caused a commotion in the troop. A sharp whistle rang through the sky as a barrage of arrows covered the flank, not giving the knights any time to react at all. Even the few that managed to raise their shields found out that it was useless; the arrows were strong enough to pierce through anyway.

The mouths of the beasts rippled with every shot, the arrows almost as powerful as magical ballista bolts. Even the heavy armour of the shadowspears couldn't withstand this attack, and Runai didn't have an elite cavalry to match. Much faster than Faelorian warhorses, dozens of arrowbeasts roamed on either side of Richard's formation, ensuring that the flank was never a danger.

Runai's cavalry descended into chaos. Some continued to run forward in keeping with the original plan, but some others moved away to try and kill the arrowbeasts instead. However, these beasts that looked almost like normal animals were far more powerful than they could deal with; before long, hundreds of dead knights were strewn across the battlefield.

On the other hand, Gangdor had finally met an obstacle. A paladin that was bathed in a golden glow had finally managed to block one of his axes, and despite swinging harder it took him three full attacks to defeat the level 10 knight. Three more immediately replaced the man, their bodies lit up in a divine glow as well.

The brute looked up at the pope who was floating nearby, threads of diving light flying out of the old man's sceptre to empower the paladins greatly. Aura surging, he laughed, “Let's see how much divinity you have, old man!”

However, the paladins rushed together and attacked him viciously. Not scared of death at all and with many level 15 and 16 powerhouses in their midst, they were able to put up a good fight. Gangdor fell into a tough battle, taking several blows that would have injured him heavily if not for the legendary armour. WIth him obstructed, Richard's frontline slowed down as well; they were reliant on the brute opening up a path for them.

However, Richard still maintained his calm, looking at the pope and remarking, “Only your priests will become martyrs, why should you take these warriors with you? Surrender, I can promise to spare the lives of the worshippers who don't oppose me. I can even make them citizens.”

This sort of leniency was rare in Faelorian history, but the pope's expression darkened and he bellowed, “Today is the final battle! We fight for our Lady's glory! This is where you die, heretic!”

“Sigh, whatever. Then I'm done playing nice.” Richard took out the Book of Creation and Holding, a blaze of light shooting towards the sky as an indescribable weight settled on the battlefield. Everyone froze for a moment as he flipped through the book and pointed to his left and right, two jade shamans immediately appearing on either side of his army.

A powerful aura of nature filled the sky as the shamans immediately started waving their staves, green light covering the soldiers of the Dukedom and reinforcing them. Be it the shadowspears or the human knights, everyone suddenly found it easier to move and felt like their energy reserves had expanded as well, their wounds slowly starting to heal. The effect wasn't great on a single knight, but these jade shamans were an ace of the ancient elven empire. With the two of them alone, a full half of Richard's army had effectively gone up a level.

But he didn't stop there, instead pointing to his front and covering the battlefield with a powerful holy light as a tall and imposing blood inquisitor walked out. Holding his crimson canon in his left hand and placing the right fist on his heart, the man shouted majestically, “In the name of my Lord, I am here to judge the heretics. Where are they?”

Richard pointed at the pope, “Those who oppose me this day shall be deemed heretics.”

The inquisitor's vicious gaze immediately swept through the battlefield. He flipped through the holy canon and pointed at Gangdor, a pale crimson light suddenly covering the brute's body. Gangdor instantly felt endless power surging through him, howling with joy as he cleaved through one of his opponents in one go. Even he was shocked slightly by the power.

The brute quickly recovered his senses and cheered, rushing into the paladins and starting to massacre them as he screamed, “This feels great, Boss!”

1130 - City of Sin

Tancrede

The blood inquisitor covered a number of knights in crimson light, strengthening his targets even more than Runai's pope could manage. In addition to the jade shamans, he immediately improved the strength of Richard's army greatly and broke the momentary stalemate.

Runai's army quickly devolved into chaos once more. The pope was burning all of his divine force to support his troops, body visibly shrivelling up, but the difference in power between the two sides was too wide to close. Even now, Richard hadn't entered the fray himself.

Be it the jade shamans, the blood inquisitor, or the terrifying thunderclouds, even casual participation from Richard was frightening. Nobody could doubt that he was the strongest being in the Crimson Dukedom.

However, there were surprises in store for him as well. A flying scout suddenly noticed a small cavalry unit approaching the battlefield at a high speed, prepared to charge into his rear in a few minutes. Although there were only a hundred paladins, their speed and stealth made it clear that this was an elite force comparable to the shadowspears.

Richard turned around in mid-air, glancing at the paladins charging towards him with surprise, “Does Neian want to get beaten up again?”

At the lead of the paladins was a knight in his early thirties. The man raised his longsword and his aura surged, “I am Tancrede, the captain of the Grand Cathedral's paladins. Today's battle is my decision alone, it has nothing to do with my Lord.”

Hearing this, Richard smiled faintly and pointed at the troop, “Not bad, you snuck pretty close. But aren't you just looking for death with such a small army?”

Tancrede laughed, “What does it matter? Life and death will be determined in battle. Come, Richard, show me your so-called unrivalled ability!”

At the knight's command, the platoon of paladins rushed straight towards Richard's rear. There wasn't much time to adjust the battle formation, but Richard didn't want to slow down his assault anyway and just swung around to face the knights himself. The Book of Creation and Holding flipped open to a page of its own accord, and glancing at the bizarre tetrahedron on it he began the summoning.

A faint light emerged from the book, outlining a glowing tetrahedron that slowly started rotating by itself. Richard felt a chill down his spine as all three hearts skipped a beat, an indescribable feeling of desolation, loneliness and deathly silence overcoming him. It almost felt like the end of the world.

“ON GUARD!” Tancrede shouted abruptly. He couldn't tell what the floating tetrahedron was, but the aura of apocalyptic danger it gave off made even him want to turn tail and run.

However, it was too late. A faint beam of white light shot out from each corner, piercing through four paladins in an instant. Aura, energy barriers, armour... nothing stopped them even for a moment. Starting to grow faster, the object shot out another four beams followed by four more. It quickly became what looked like a whirling orb of white lightning that rained death rays down on its targets, destroying every opposing paladins within a few dozen metres.

Tancrede himself soon had a finger-width hole on his left arm, having managed to turn his head away the moment the beam was shot towards him. Some of his comrades had tried to fight back, but any ranged attacks were shot down or bounced away, with one combined attack even countered by a concentration of death beams from three of its vertices.

Even Richard was at a loss for words. The tetrahedron was just far too powerful; even without any signs of actual life, it seemed to be an object designed to slaughter its enemies. He almost felt like this thing could turn him into one of heaven's mythical battle angels. Google search 𝑓𝗿e𝐞𝓌𝙚𝙗𝑛o𝚟e𝙡. c𝚘𝚖

Everything within the tetrahedron's sphere of control had died, with only Tancrede himself managing to reach Richard through sheer force of will. Looking at the knight who was inundated with holes, Richard could only sigh and deflect the flaming greatsword aimed at him with Moonlight and the Judge.

The blade of the greatsword fell to the ground, while Tancrede crashed down and tried to support himself with the hilt. He almost fell again as he tried to look up, eyes gradually losing focus, “Richard... Neian's worshippers... courage. Faelor's knights... bravery...”

With only a few random words actually sounding out, the captain of Neian's paladins lost all of his ability to speak. His eyes completely faded, but his body refused to fall.

Richard sighed and looked up at the tetrahedron that was still spinning in the air, suddenly feeling like the world had grown a little stranger. He had never thought a massacre could be so simple and efficient before today. Recalling it into the Book of Creation and Holding, he gently caressed the tome and felt its familiar ridges as he decided to rename it: it would now be called the Book of Destruction.

When he turned back, Runai's army was already wavering. Everyone had witnessed the valiant assault being broken down with almost no effort at all, Neian's powerful paladins now strewn about in pools of blood. Richard's own last blow had been crisp and clean, but the only thing in people's minds was the tetrahedron that had caused them to blank out.

Massacre wasn't a sufficient word to describe that scene. The paladins had no way to block or even dodge those beams of death, their powerful armour pierced through like it was cheese. The strange object was extremely precise as it killed all of its opponents and even their attacks with constant high speed, and there were no signs of slowing down either. It seemed like the thing could kill a hundred or ten thousand with no change to the effort required. Even facing a demon or devil, one would not feel such hopelessness.

Richard sighed again, looking at the pope that was still desperately burning himself up to boost his paladins, feeling strangely bleak. That tetrahedron had left him feeling a vague sense of pressure, and the ice-cold massacre left even him depressed. Retrieving the Twin of Destiny that he hadn't used in a long time, he brandished the staff and connected to the distant clouds.

A bolt of cyan lightning immediately struck the airborne pope, thicker than his entire body and covering his vision in an instant. The pope's divine force was ignited in a dazzling golden inferno as his body turned to ashes in the blink of an eye, depriving the paladins of their only hope.

It didn't take much time afterwards for the battle to be decided. Dismayed and outmatched, Runai's soldiers quickly fell apart at the hands of Gangdor and the drones. Richard breathed a sigh of relief, but he suddenly felt a sense of overwhelming danger and managed to glimpse a red beam of light zooming across the sky.

His vision suddenly turned crimson as he fell to the ground, every corner of his body burning and tearing apart. Even he nearly blacked out from the pain for a moment, but his hearts pumped with great force to try and grapple with the unknown force that had invaded his body.

He struggled to sit up, coughing out some blood. Schloanruven was activated to heal him internally, but even with the tree of life at full power the energy attacking him only dissolved slowly.

“Blood... sacrifice...” he suddenly raised his head towards the Divine Fort, watching as another similar beam of light shot towards the sky.

1131 - City of Sin

City of Death

Knowing that the strange energy was the curse from a blood sacrifice, Richard came up with a few ways to defend against it. Six barriers were put up in the moments before the second beam struck him, but the attack was unexpectedly dense and wiped out all of his defences before entering his body once more. His face went bright red as he spurted out some blood from his mouth.

A number of his knights immediately rushed to his aid, but the mass of blood shot straight towards them. The shadowspears lost their footing for a moment before continuing on, while the humans were instantly paralysed and fell to the ground, all fluid gushing out from their bodies as they dried out rapidly.

Richard cringed, “This is a sacrifice with more than a thousand people!”

Where could the city find so many sacrifices? The answer was obvious.

As another pillar of light shot out from the Divine Fort, all colour drained from Richard's face as he rushed to Gangdor's side and threw him away. Having lost its target for a moment, the mass of blood deviated from its original path to strike down on him instead. Mustering up all the energy he could, he slowly floated into the sky and tried to confront it head-on.

“BOSS!” Gangdor screamed in shock, shivering as Richard's barriers were broken once more.

This blood curse was immensely powerful against living beings, and the first two strikes had already left Richard injured. The blood energy within his body was roaming around and trying to destroy the organs, and the third curse amplified its power greatly. He was forced back to the ground, kneeling down as he gasped rapidly with blood spilling out of his mouth.

Richard himself wasn't sure if he could hold out against the power of these curses, but he was certain that Gangdor and the rest of his knights were helpless against it. He spat out the blood that was clogging his throat, but the red in his vision did not change. If he had enough time, he could wear away the curse and recover to full potential; however, the tens of thousands of people in the city could fuel quite a few more curses.

“Stand up, get yourself together...” he muttered to himself, pushing down on the Twin of Destiny to get to his feet. His entire body felt like jelly, limbs taking forever to act on the instructions from his mind. Amidst all the chaos, he realised that he hadn't yet used the power of Dismazon. But that would be stupid! his rationality screamed. The power of destruction was to be used against enemies, not against oneself.

As another blood-red pillar shot up from the Divine Fort, Richard mobilised the trace remains of his consciousness. A trace of his second mind finally pulled back from its never-ending analysis of martial arts, immediately pulling a jade shaman in front of him. The blood curse immediately turned the summon into red mist, but the attack was finally neutralised.

Gangdor ran towards Richard for a moment before coming to a halt, watching the blood inquisitor and the remaining shaman head over. Taking off his helmet, he growled fiercely before charging back into the fray with his axe. The brute was immediately swallowed by the sea of enemies.

...

His mind failing him by the second, Richard found himself falling into a strange world without light nor matter. He looked around him, only finding darkness beyond darkness, but it felt like something was hiding within.

“This isn't right...” he muttered to himself, forcing himself awake ever so slightly, “I should... be on the battlefield.”

This sentence seemed to break through the silence of the dark world, illuminating him in a ray of light. The light wasn't particularly strong, but it broke through the darkness and showed him the path to escape. Suddenly realising that this was the power of Truth, he forced himself to float up and out as quickly as he could.

In the deep darkness, a pair of irisless eyes opened abruptly right after Richard's departure. Each one of them seemed large enough to occupy an entire world, but there was an inexplicable grace to their translucent red glow.

The eyes moved to follow Richard's departure, a deep voice ringing through the darkness, “I should be on the battlefield indeed.”

...

When he finally returned to his senses, Richard was kneeling in the centre of the battlefield. The blood inquisitor and remaining jade shaman were nowhere to be seen, while the corpses of a handful of shadowspears were strewn about nearby. The blood curse was still tearing at his body, and the war was still ongoing as well.

Runai's troops had been on the verge of complete collapse at first, but the sight of him getting attacked endlessly had obviously revitalised them. With his second mind also pulling shadowspears from the battlefield, they had managed to survive.

Gangdor and the winter soldiers were tearing through the mob, drawing blood wherever they went. However, Runai's soldiers were basically giving up their lives just to exhaust them, delaying for time and hoping for a miracle.

...

The loud cries of Runai's priests rang throughout the Divine Fort, “Move Faster! Your entire families will be burnt to death if you delay!”

About 800 people were gathered in the arena, with more being chased out of their homes to join. A hundred paladins were killing all who tried to escape, and after a few dozen turned into a stream of blood the rest grew more obedient.

“Kneel! Pray, all of you!” a red-robed old priest bellowed at them. Most of the citizens followed his command, but the few who refused were killed by the nearby warriors. The priest pointed at a stern-looking middle-aged woman that had shown herself on the temporary platform nearby, “This is an avatar of the Lady! We are going to witness a miracle today!”

Seeing the priest crouch on the floor like he would cry, most of the city's residents quieted down. Their prayers grew clearer and more organised.

Runai swept her gaze across the crowd before pointing at the priests and warriors around it, “All of you, stand with them!”

The clergy was confused, but they wouldn't refuse a divine command.

“You as well!” she pointed to the old priest.

The priest staggered into the crowd, turning around to look at the avatar of his goddess. He saw red light illuminating her figure before his body was assaulted with great pain, tendrils of blood shooting out from the ground and piercing through his body. As the fear washed over him, his vision turned black and he lost consciousness.

Everyone in the arena fell, but there were no screams or struggles. It was like they had all fainted and slept, but an ocean of blood washed through and flew into the sky at the avatar's command.

Seeing the desiccated corpses, she smiled to herself, “If you want this city, you'll get a city of death!”

...

Watching another pillar of blood shoot out from the city, Richard blanched. His estimation told him that there shouldn't have been many people at all; given the strength of the blood curses, nearly ten thousand people had already been used.

However, this time the blood curse itself didn't really inspire fear in him. Seeing the affront to his dignity, he focused his gaze on the sky and let out a savage growl. A phantom suddenly appeared behind him, a demonic face with the grace and pride of a devil. It largely resembled him, but the several long and twisted horns on its head suggested an exotic lineage.

The phantom flew out and charged towards the blood pillar, causing the earth to shake from the exchange. Amidst the chaos, Richard entered combat against Runai's conscients that controlled it.

The phantom quickly returned to Richard as he collapsed to the ground, but back in the Divine Fort the conscients controlling Runai's avatars were hammered back to her divine kingdom. Losing the force driving them, Runai's two avatars quickly fell down and burnt to a crisp.

Now laid on his back, Richard smiled a little despite his dazed eyes. After a moment, he even laughed out loud. This was certainly the most exhilarating part of the battle yet, and he had fought a goddess's mind and forced it back to its divine kingdom. Even though he had suffered some injuries in that exchange, this was victory in a frontal battle of souls and laws!

The surviving shadowspears quickly re-entered the battlefield, and Gangdor grew even more violent in his attacks. Most of the legendary armour had been taken off by this time, wounds all over his upper body while he was covered in a mass of blood that belonged to both his enemies and himself.

Still lying down, Richard managed to connect his mind back to the broodmother's drones and the brute, “Gangdor, come back.”

It took a few repeats of the command, but Gangdor reluctantly returned to Richard's side. The surviving knights immediately withdrew into a defensive stance, opening up some distance from the church army.

A split-second later, lightning and thunder covered the entire world. The thunderclouds exploded into lightning storms that turned the earth into hell, Richard's own soldiers only protected by earthen barriers from the surviving mages. The storm didn't last long— he didn't have much energy to replenish it with— but the smell of burnt corpses quickly covered the battlefield.

1132 - City of Sin

Buried History

The priests and mages on Richard's side looked extremely pale, having exhausted all of their power in a short time. Had the three goddesses not moved their divine kingdoms to a spot right above this battle, the clergy would have given out long ago. Of course, the same was true for the other side.

Lying down for a bit longer, Richard slowly started summoning the green patches and flowers below him and recovered using the laws of life. He still couldn't fight right away, but soon enough he wasn't on the brink of death.

One of the Dukedom's knights helped him up, taking a chance to look through the surroundings before letting out a soft sight. Silence washed over the vast battlefield as everyone looked at the lifeless bodies all over.

Of the 50,000 warriors on Runai's side, more than 20,000 had died in the raging battle. Another 20,000 died in the lightning storm, while only a few thousand managed to flee the scene.

Looking at the stragglers, Gangdor lowered his head and snarled, “Let me go after those bastards, Boss!”

Richard shook his head, “Enough people have died today.”

“But...” Gangdor refused to let it go. This was the best chance to wipe them out.

Richard stopped him before he could organise his thoughts, “Didn't you hear the pope when the war was announced? This will be the last divine battle. They've already run, and Runai won't have any faith in the future. Our aim was to destroy the priests and zealots; that's already been done.”

The brute rubbed his head in annoyance, but he didn't argue any further.

......

A short while later, Richard's troops entered the Divine Fort. The city had become a land of death, the dozens of arenas within stuffed to the brim with dried corpses that couldn't even be recognised. Richard himself walked past them calmly, but by the third Gangdor started to lose his calm. This hell-like scene affected even the experienced warriors.

“Aren't all of these people her worshippers, Boss? Why would she do this to them? There have to be tens of thousands of people here!” the brute asked.

“Don't you have your own share of kills on the battlefield?”

“How is that the same? That's battle! Even if I killed them, they died fighting with the honour of warriors! I wouldn't have a problem if I died like that. But these are different, these are commoners without the chance to fight back. It's a massacre!”

“No, it was a slaughter. Do you really think the gods believe their worshippers as equal beings? Even comparable? They think of worshippers as livestock; what does it matter if one animal is killed or ten thousand?”

Gangdor rubbed his head even more aggressively, “But the gods back in Norland aren't like this!”

“Sigh. That's because we have epic beings who surpass them. If they try this shit, they're going to be dead in a matter of days. Faelor is completely different.”

“Then... These types of things will happen again?”

“What should we do? Can't we fight those stupid godsparks anymore?”

“No, we push on. When half of them are dead, they'll realise that mortals can't be treated like livestock. Norland was the same too.”

Gangdor shrugged and nodded; he had no interest in the theological history of Norland.

With the conversation finished, Richard started heading straight for the cathedral. A small cloud of cloned brains and worker drones descended from the sky to escort the Thinker, who immediately followed in to collect any artefacts which contained divinity.

The cathedral was dead-silent, with no human beings within. Only a small portion of the people present died to the initial ambush of the humanoid knights, while the rest were sacrificed to Runai.

While his soldiers combed through every inch of the building, Richard paid all his attention to a thirty-metre tall statue of Runai herself. He had seen one that was bigger— that of the Highland Wargod— but that was a deity even weaker than the three goddesses. This was a strange thing about Faelor; the weaker a deity was, the grander their statues. Powerful deities like Cerces paled in comparison to Runai, only having a sacred crest.

A while later, he shook his head and turned elsewhere. The statue had no remains of consciousness left behind, and from the traces of existence previously the counter-attack had injured Runai pretty badly. With her ability to control the flow of time completely shut down, she had lost decisively.

Truth be told, Richard still got the shorter end of the stick in that battle. However, he wasn't even legendary and had been severely injured already when engaging in that battle of souls. Once he advanced, his soul force would grow exponentially and allow him to crush her without any harm to himself at all.

He walked through the cathedral and watched as the knights carried out oil paintings and ancient artefacts like holy grails, inspecting the entire building for anomalies but with no success. This would be the point at which less devoted worshippers were given an opportunity to change their faith, but the entire city had been killed so there were no people to extend that offer to. Even most of Runai's avatars and children had been killed, with only one currently missing. With the huge drain from having to activate the curse repeatedly, the avatars had only managed to sustain themselves by forcing the powerful demigods to become sacrifices as well.

Thus, the next obvious thing to do was to topple the statue and destroy the cathedral. With that, the city would be as good as a wasteland and he would just have to wait for the results of the battle between the three goddesses and Runai. However, Richard found himself coming back to the same issue as before the battle; just why would someone build their grand cathedral in such a place? Google search 𝐟𝓇𝘦𝒆w𝚎𝐛n𝐨ν𝙚𝚕. c𝚘ｍ

Thinking over it for a while, he eventually sent a new command to his worker drones, “Dig down until you find something.”

...

It took five days of searching and a 500-metre dig before the workers managed to find something, coming across an entire underground shrine. It was impossible to tell who it belonged to or how long it had remained there, but the defence systems were still usable and very effective. The first batch of humanoids that had been sent to explore had encountered a stream of starlight that killed them instantly.

When the scene was transmitted to him, Richard was shocked as well. The broodmother's drones had always possessed great amounts of life force, capable of fighting to their last breaths even if they were cut in half. However, the stream of starlight had killed hundreds of them almost like they had just fallen deep asleep.

He immediately flew over and had ten more knights enter the shrine, watching the entire process. He saw a number of tiny stars flying down from the entrance and landing on them, but they didn't react at all and let it happen. He quickly realised that he had lost his connection to the drones entirely the moment they stepped through; he could still see them, but it was like they were in two different worlds.

By the third batch, he had realised that the starlight was completely draining the knights of their life force, causing them to collapse. Sending over many batches of workers right after, he found that the amount of power within that starlight was limited and every mote would eventually expire. A single spark could last many hosts, but it only ever attached to one at a time.

Richard stepped back and started observing the outer details carefully. This was a six-pillared rectangular portico made of pitch-black material that was neither rock nor metal. He didn't feel anything out of place while staring at it, but as he scanned around he saw stars blinking in and out of existence atop the pillars.

Blinking a few times to make sure his eyes weren't playing tricks on him, he walked close to one of the pillars and reached out to examine it. As his fingers traced across the strange material, he quickly felt an invisible bump and followed it, feeling what seemed like a floral pattern.

He stepped back again, but this time he used Field of Truth and everything changed. The portico was immediately surrounded by the stars of the night sky, with flowers and vines crawling around the pillars and painting them in bright colours. He even smelt a faint fragrance emitting from them. This would have been such a beautiful place before it lost its divine support.

Outside the doors of the shrine was a stele half-buried in the ground. Having a handful of workers dig it out, Richard found a strange divine crest with a hexagram at the centre that didn't belong to any current god of Faelor. However, it only took him a moment to recall what this crest was; he had even seen it once before.

This was the Lady of the Night.

1133 - City of Sin

Buried History(2)

The Lady of the night was one of the three gods who had succumbed to the invasion of the astral beasts, and also the strongest of them. Her divine domain was eventually taken over by Runai, who had then been the Goddess of Day. That was how Runai became the so-called goddess of time, but Richard had always been confused about one thing regarding the entire process; just how had Runai never become a full-fledged intermediate deity despite possessing two divine domains?

Even though calling herself the Goddess of Time was an exaggeration, Runai should still have been strong enough to become a greater deity directly with that fusion. It was impossible for Faelor to obtain a true deity of time— even for Norland, in fact— but that shouldn't have mattered. This shrine seemed to hold the secrets behind that weakness.

This shrine seemed to be Runai's reason for building her city out in the middle of nowhere. The stars were a defence system that clearly hadn't been breached yet, and from the looks of it any absorbed life force was fed back into the system and turned into divine force somehow. One had to break through the entirety of the defences before going through, but there was no telling when all of the stored divinity would be exhausted.

Loitering around the outside of the shrine, Richard could tell that it was likely his biggest gain from this war. Spending some time on it, he eventually came up with two solutions to get in.

The first was to perform an analysis of the divinity of the Lady of the Night. It wouldn't have to be complete, just sufficient enough to suppress the effects, but it was still easier said than done. Looking at the type of divine power within the starlight, he estimated it would take him a thousand days to get to that point.

The second method was a simple one, and a stupid one as well: he just had to use an enormous amount of life force to wear out the shrine's defences. Even with the absorbed life force being fed back in, it couldn't be a perfect cycle with no leaks— if she had that ability, the Lady of the Night would never have lost to Runai no matter how weak she was. At some point he would be able to exhaust the defences entirely, but that was the whole question; just how much life force would he need to accomplish that?

However, something suddenly clicked in his mind. If a single mote could only carry so much divine power and every one could only latch on to one target at a time, he could run the shrine dry very quickly with a number of low-level lives!

He tried bringing in a few rats, but they simply triggered a different kind of defence system that was unbelievably weak against even normal humans; clearly, that loophole had been predicted. However, as the only one on this plane with a broodmother on his side, he was the one person who would find this problem trivial. Contacting the broodmother, he asked her to create a drone between level 3 and 5. The broodmother herself wouldn't have to bother with such a thing; her larval forest could handle it with a single command.

Once she had his requirements, she quickly decided on a metre-long worm with twenty days of life and no special abilities, a single one of the now-buried worm nests capable of producing 10,000 a day. Production began immediately, and the astral chrysalis as well as a few wasps were sent back to the Land of Turmoil to carry them over.

After finalising the plan, Richard left the underground shrine and returned to the city, a priest rushing towards him the moment he was in sight, “Your Grace, most of the books and records in the shrine have been burnt to ash. However, we found a handful of hidden notes in the pope's chambers, please take a look. This is the list of important divine items and materials we found.”

Richard nodded and took the list, reading through it as he entered the cathedral once more. Runai had been operating in this city for centuries, but there were clearly no exceptional items within. The best was enough equipment to arm 50,000 men, but none of it was up to his par and only good enough for the Crimson Dukedom's militia. There was only a year's worth of stored food, and the treasures were only worth a million or so gold as well.

It was the art that was perhaps the most valuable. All of the pieces depicted Runai's great deeds and were beautifully made, many of them centuries old and a few even more than half a millennium. They could be worth a few million gold as well, but liquidating them wouldn't be that easy. Faelor was in times of chaos right now, so few people were willing to spend their gold on art instead of armies. Such a thing would have to wait for later.

The haul was disappointing, but still within the boundary of expectations. To build a city in such a desolate area meant most necessities would have to be moved hundreds of kilometres to take care of the citizens. Most of Runai's money would definitely be spent there.

Compared to the loot and the city itself, Richard was much more concerned with the plight of the residents. Anyone who had chosen to live in this isolated city definitely had to be extremely faithful, but Runai had just sacrificed all of them like pawns in an attempt to kill him. Even those who acknowledged their own villainy would think twice about such a thing.

He eventually came across the residence of the library, consisting only of a bedroom, a living room, and a private library. The library looked quite grand, but the other two rooms were quite simple in design. The hidden notes had been found behind a darker brick in the bedroom wall, with no traps set in place to stop any intruders from taking them.

Flipping through one of them quickly, Richard realised that these notes came from all of the past popes of the Church of Time, extending all the way back to when Runai first became a god. There were six books in total, containing the notes of 37 leaders of the Church who had passed on their experiences to the next when on their deathbed.

Sitting on the library table, Richard opened one of the notebooks and started reading. It was an account of the invasion of the three astral beasts, detailing the enormous price the gods had paid to kill them. Two deities had died, while many greater gods had suffered serious injuries. The pantheon had been left in shambles.

It was at that time that a divine war had erupted between the Lady of the Night and Runai. It was likely that Runai had been the one to ambush; the Lady of the Night was always significantly stronger, but she had been gravely wounded during the war so she was in no state to engage. Even so, she almost managed to turn the tables and even escaped with her soul intact.

With her domain seized and kingdom destroyed, it would be nearly impossible for the Lady of the Night to return. However, divinity worked in strange ways; so long as her defeat wasn't complete, there would be a day when she returned. Runai searched for dozens of years afterwards before she finally found the underground shrine, believing that a spare body was hidden within. So long as the Lady entered this body, she would be able to light her godfire once more and regain her godhood.

Runai had immediately tried to break through and retrieve the body, but she had been stopped by the defences of the shrine. Two avatars, four demigods, and thousands of paladins later, she eventually gave up and sealed off all the entrances. Moving her own cathedral here, she built the Divine Fort to protect from the eventuality. Even if the Lady of the Night awakened, her soul would be caught before it could enter the spare body.

There was some history about the Sunset Shrine as well. One of the popes had deduced that the appearance of the Sunset Shrine was connected to the Lady of the Night, her soul still possessing the power of laws. People had started converting out of nowhere, the skills and tenets of the Church of Night embedded into their very souls.

At their core, gods were embodiments of faith that were connected to the laws of existence. So long as the core laws still existed, a fallen deity would eventually be replaced. Having tried to usurp the laws of night and thus form the laws of time, Runai was trying to cut off any chances for the Lady of the Night to return.

It was three popes later that the matter was brought up again. This particular pope received an oracle ordering him to investigate the source of the Sunset Shrine. At that point, Runai believed the Lady of the Night couldn't hold on much longer and was starting to dissipate. As long as her shrine was guarded for a few more centuries, she wouldn't have a chance of coming back.

The biggest threat at that point was the Sunset Shrine trying to steal the body or any other divine items in secret. Having tried everything she could think of, Runai eventually allowed the pope to just close off the last of the passages and bury the shrine underground.

1134 - City of Sin

Entering The Shrine

The flickering candle on the desk slowly burnt down as Richard finished reading the last of the papal diaries. These shabby notebooks had recorded a bitter battle between two gods that had lasted hundreds of years.

Despite the constant warfare and threat from the legends of the plane, the pantheon of Norland was actually much more stable than the one in Faelor. The rapid expansion ensured that most people with great power wouldn't even consider becoming a deity, and the gods in general performed their duties and stayed out of the way. The divine wars in Faelor were primal and miserable, with both sides doing whatever they could to achieve victory.

Having finished reading, Richard finally realised just why Runai hadn't managed to get in over all this time. It seemed like the shrine was a self-controlled area, and the stronger the people sent in to die, the more powerful the attack from the starlight was and the more life force the formation had to replenish itself with. Runai had thus made the mistake of thinking the only way to get in was to overpower the laws of the Lady of the Night, which was impossible for an existing deity to accomplish.

Unfortunately, the goddess didn't have anything similar to the blessing of truth that would allow her to look behind the cycle. Richard had realised the path of laws himself, and it was actually a possibility in his case, but unlike Runai he had also realised that sending in a large number of inferior beings would be the key to it all.

Over the next two days, he ordered his drones to expand the tunnel leading towards the shrine while he made an inventory of everything he had acquired from the cathedral. It was midnight three days later that the astral chrysalis brought the full army of worms to the city, transporting more than 50,000 with its back now completely white. Behind the chrysalis were a number of wasps, transporting 40,000 more in total.

By this time, the workers had already dug out an enormous courtyard adjacent to the shrine that would be able to accommodate all of the worms. While the total number was impressive, comparable to the population of a big city, the volume they occupied was minimal.

The vicinity of the shrine was occupied solely by the broodmother's drones; the knights of the Dukedom were forbidden from nearing the area. Taking a look at the lofty pillars, Richard quietly sent out the order in his mind and had the worms start crawling forward.

A wave of white surged up the stairs into the shrine, activating the defences immediately and covering them in starlight. The astral motes started to latch onto them one by one and kill them off, but even as the frontlines stopped moving the rest of the drones crawled over and beyond. The starlight rained down endlessly, but the same was true for the wave of creatures.

Feeling the energy reserves of the shrine starting to drop, Richard soon ordered the rest of the worms that were still in the courtyard to flow into the shrine as well. Only a few minutes later, less than 10,000 larvae were left in the courtyard while corpses piled up ten metres high on the stairs.

A small crackle eventually rang out from atop the portico, the central statue of the Lady of the Night starting to break apart as her black crystal eyes shattered to pieces. The entire shrine started fading, the starlight disappearing completely. Although only 2,000 worms were left, Richard had easily destroyed the system that had stumped Runai for centuries.

Runai could have used about 10,000 of her worshippers to accomplish the same thing, and from his experience with the blood curse Richard knew that she would easily find it in herself to do so, but she just couldn't see the possibility. The Lady of the Night had exploited that perfectly in her defence.

Once the central defences were broken, Richard sent the remaining worms into the shrine and had them crawl through every corner to check for any leftover traps. Fortunately, there didn't seem to be any secondary measures, but then again the starlight was already enough to stop a god for centuries.

Richard walked through the great hall of the shrine and past a door to enter the central section, observing the many niches in the wall with sword-bearing knights within. These knights had obviously been here for centuries on end, but their bodies hadn't decayed at all, even having rosy complexions. If not for his ability to detect that their bodies were soulless, even Richard could have thought they were deep in hibernation.

Walking up to one of these knights, he observed her carefully. Insight and some physical contact showed that the skin was soft and all internal functions were intact, but this body was just a hollow shell. There seemed to be no secrets within, but he quickly realised why that was.

Pouring a tiny amount of life force into the knight revealed that these knights converted all the energy absorbed by the motes of starlight into the divine power of the Lady of the Night. The process almost resembled a prayer; these weren't morbid statues or decorations, but the core of the entire shrine's defence.

Richard had thought of combining living beings into magic arrays before, but that line of thought hadn't led anywhere. Any such attempts would place an enormous burden on the target creature, and in almost all cases it was just more efficient to add a few units to the magic array to achieve the same effect. Following the knights one by one, he realised that the Lady of the Night had managed to accomplish this task; these knights were absolute fanatics that were willing to guard this underground shrine unto their death.

No matter how cruel this method was, the entire system was a genius idea. Even as a saint runemaster who used the souls of deceased legends, Richard couldn't help but be amazed by it all. Regardless of whatever else was within the shrine, this system alone would make the effort worthwhile.

Continuing through the shrine, he found a large cluster of dozens of halls of various sizes, each with complete facilities. It was at this point that he realised this wasn't just a shrine, but a full church complex with everything supporting it within. There was enough equipment to arm thousands of paladins and tens of thousands of warriors, and there was even an enormous library with books about history, magic, and the divine.

Richard took a book at random and flipped through it for a while; a lot of missing Faelorian history from before the time of the astral beasts could be answered by these records. Any historian or theologist would give up everything for the chance, but it was all quite valuable for him as well. Some of the books detailed information about godhood, chronicling the process of deities lighting their godfires when they were still mortal as well as secret divine wars that the mortal world never learnt of. There was even information about the golden era where a number of legendary beings had been born.

The Lady of the night had managed to become an intermediate deity while her counterpart had never managed to achieve even a similar level. This church alone was proving that she was a genius in many fields, so her private library was all the more valuable.

Faelor had been shut off for a long time, and just when they were about to open up the astral beasts had attacked and set the entire plane back by centuries if not more. Their divine wars were primal and chaotic, and these books gave Richard a glimpse of that side that he had never come across before. It allowed him to obtain a deeper understanding of the entire plane and its laws.

It was only then that he realised just what Nasia meant by trying to observe the laws of Norland through the basic training of footsoldiers. He wasn't anywhere near that level yet, but as he read through the records it felt like they were only inches away from directly describing the laws of the plane.

News soon started trickling in from the worms and other drones about the results of their exploration. Weapons, armour, divine and magic spell scrolls, rare materials... the church had it all, more than enough to revive a full sect. This was obviously a last haven that the Lady of the Night had prepared purely for the eventuality that there would be an attempt on her life. All gods could look into the future somewhat; perhaps she had predicted this well in advance of Runai's ambush.

Not in any rush, Richard silently flipped through all of the books in the library as his drones continued to search. An entire day passed as he absorbed everything he could, only ended by a message that one of the drones had found the entrance to the basement.

Arriving at the entrance, he saw a steep stairway leading downstairs. The end was shrouded in a darkness that even his sight couldn't pierce, leaving him unable to tell how long they were at all.

However, stood at the entrance, he could feel a faint aura that couldn't be detected by normal senses. The blessing of truth almost went out of control, screaming at him that there was concentrated divinity downstairs.

1135 - City of Sin

An Unusual Sacrifice

Richard slowly descended down the steps, his surroundings soon plunged into darkness for a moment before the flicker of starlight illuminated his surroundings. He had quickly arrived at a peculiar space— not particularly big at only ten square metres, but completely surrounded by emptiness.

The earth was paved with golden rock and in the centre was a platform made of black crystal that held what looked to be the most flawless woman in existence. Even Richard stopped breathing for a moment as he laid eyes upon her perfect form.

At his level, beauty was a fleeting thing that could be achieved whenever one wanted. However, this sort of subtle absolution was something that never appeared in the mortal realm. It didn't take powerful senses to realise just why this was; this body was a manifestation of the power of laws!

Richard walked towards the platform and looked over the spare body of the Lady of the Night, something Runai had tried to achieve for hundreds of years. He paused for a moment before reaching forward and touching her face, examining the mysterious aura on her distant expression.

The Lady of the Night wasn't breathing and her body was cold, but within it was bubbling a torrent of life force that made it feel like she was just asleep. Activating Insight, Richard realised that her body could change infinitely within this space. What he saw was an adapted image of his perfect woman, but a woman coming in could just as well see the lover of her dreams. Someone with the right amount of ability could change what this body looked like through self-control.

Once he noticed that, all Richard could see was a ball of primal divinity, almost equivalent to a lesser deity and worth more than a thousand units. This was easily the most valuable thing in the church, the accumulation of hundreds of years of faith that Runai had desired.

The crystal platform itself was no ordinary object, made entirely of astral crystal. Common ones were normally around the size of a palm; one big enough to form a bed was rare even in Norland. The Lady of the Night had likely crafted this platform with divinity; it in itself was a top-tier offering.

Grinning with delight, Richard returned above ground to take stock of his harvest. He had enough spare weapons and armour for 50,000 men now, albeit it would only be considered elite equipment by Faelor's standards, as well as a hundred units of divinity outside of the body itself. All the other treasures around made for more than ten million gold as well as one and a half top-tier offerings.

Looking over the list, he immediately contacted the broodmother, “You can get to level 11 now.”

“You found it?” the broodmother asked with excitement.
𝒇𝑟e𝗲𝚠𝚎𝐛𝗻𝐨νel. 𝒄om

“Yep, more than a thousand unit. This will be your first level up after you've unlocked your truename.”

The broodmother sent a wave of affirmation, “It feels like my true growth has only just begun.”

“Good, send a convoy to take the body. Careful, Runai's been looking for this thing for centuries; the other gods might interfere if they get wind of it.”

“Don't worry, I'll be careful. We control the skies of Faelor, nobody challenges us there.” There was a hint of pride in the broodmother's reply, and Richard had no way to refute either. As she grew more powerful, even demigods and avatars became less and less of a threat to her. From the astral chrysalis to the cloned brains and winged serpents, there were a number of ways for her to make sure the body travelled unhindered.

She suddenly asked, “Aren't you scared you won't be able to control me anymore?”

This was an important question. The broodmother had made it clear that she chose to work with him due to his abilities, and their continuing master-servant relationship hinged on him still being somewhat superior. However, Richard just chuckled, “Won't be a problem yet.”

Her voice immediately turned gentle, “You'll have the information as soon as I level up.”

Ending his conversation with the broodmother, Richard then contacted Nasia, “I've found some offerings, there should be enough to get you to sainthood. Let's go make the sacrifices once we get back to Norland.”

“Not bad,” her reply came a few moments later, her voice filled with lethargy, “We don't need to go to Norland, though. Just bring them here, I'll take care of it.”

Although he had told himself to never be surprised by her anymore, Richard was still stunned for a moment, “You mean the altar in Bluewater? It doesn't work very well.”

“No, I'll just build one on my own. It isn't all that hard, the old dragon's altars are so shabby,” she replied in a confident tone.

Richard didn't know how to feel about that. She wanted to build an altar on her own, and was saying it wouldn't be hard? Even Chosen like Flowsand needed significant effort to build an altar, and that still required the Book of Time as a medium. The so-called shabby altars connected directly to the current of time; such a thing couldn't be built by mortals.

However, he had already given up ever since the trauma from Prisoner of War. The woman was impossible to read and even more difficult to defeat in battle; she was an anomaly in every sense of the term. He decided not to argue with her, “Then go ahead, just tell me what you need. The offerings will be there tomorrow.”

“You finally got a conscience. Why didn't you think of giving me any of the ten you got last time?”

He smiled bitterly, “I wanted to, but I was offered some of the things I needed most urgently. I didn't expect to run out so quickly.”

“Hmph, you just wanted to boost yourself to try and defeat me, didn't you?” she poked at him. Because of her level, almost all legends could break apart the effects of Prisoner of War immediately. If Richard broke through, he would have an actual chance in battle.

Richard sighed in annoyance, “I'm not going to just become a legend to beat you, you know. I still need to make sure my ability is powerful enough, there really were just some things I really wanted.”

Nasia grunted, “There will always be things you really want as long as the dragon sees potential in you. You better reserve some for me next time; unless that old thing's consciousness isn't present, nobody takes offerings out of the church.”

“The dragon's consciousness? Isn't it absent most of the time? I've only seen it twice.”

“Wrong, he always pays attention to those with potential. You just don't know about this; in your words, the dragon's just a voyeur.”

“Umm...” Richard took a few seconds to manage a reply, “Well... that's hard to imagine.”

“Just hurry up and send the offerings, I'll start on the altar. You won't need to spend so much effort on Dragon Valley after this, I'll teach any legends trying to cause trouble a proper lesson. Do you want to bet whether any legend will want to fight me even at level 16?”

......

It took a few hours for both the Divine Fort and the underground church to be looted clean. Everything was piled up by category, waiting for the astral chrysalis and wasps to transport them away. At this point, the broodmother had focused a majority of her efforts into producing dragonflies, with more than a dozen now flying through the skies of Faelor. Richard's troop and resource transfers had sped up drastically, but he still felt like there could never be enough.

Once they were sure they had taken everything, Richard planned to have all of his troops leave. Maintaining a city in this barren land was a huge cost, and without any residents left alive he had no plans to do so. Instead, he had a cloned brain pick up the crystal bed he had found before heading to Dragon Valley.

1136 - City of Sin

An Unusual Sacrifice(2)

Within Dragon Valley, all of Richard's followers who had nothing else to do were gathered at Nasia's courtyard, watching her build the altar. The Faceless Knight had become famous in Richard's absence, almost single-handedly being responsible for how peaceful the valley had remained despite the addition of nearly a hundred followers of the legends exploring the Dragon Plane.

The portal wasn't done yet, but Richard had arranged for griffins and wyverns to transport the followers of the legends directly to the valley. Half of them were saints and grand mages, with two even being saints; although they were servants and sometimes helpers, many of them were arrogant and looked down on the Archeron. None of them were dumb enough to scorn Richard himself, but they had no respect for his followers.

Several conflicts had arisen once these people arrived at Dragon Valley. Richard had made sure his followers knew to be firm in their control, killing the troublemakers if necessary, but Nasia had taken care of everything before the rest had to take action. Seven battles in one afternoon had resulted in seven opponents with broken bones, with one of her opponents even including a sky saint. She had dragged everyone down to level 16 before beating them up.

In fact, there was even a level 14 fellow amongst her opponents who she actually boosted to level 16 with War Fanatic. The poor youth didn't even find the time to get used to the new power before he was filled with bruises.

The Faceless Knight had a distinct fighting style when disciplining the unruly. She always fought in close quarters, punching her opponent's face until their nose broke. It was only when the one sky saint was reduced to a swollen mess that the unruly new entrants learnt their place. Some of them would rather just be injured heavily than have to live with a black eye for several days.

Most of Richard's followers were armed with items acquired from the Eternal Dragon. Hearing that Nasia was building an altar for sacrifices, many of them had their interest piqued. If there was a proper altar in Faelor, the plane as a whole would rise greatly in value. However, as she found a section of land in her courtyard and started building, they were all dumbstruck by her choices.

The materials she used for the altar were simple mortar and stone, left over from the construction of the manors. There weren't any magical resources at all; in fact, even a family of peasants could do better. She spent two hours making a plain platform, but then she declared that she was done and started lazing around nearby.

This was meant to be an altar? Nobody could understand at all. Even a goblin would know to use some branches as decorations. They wanted to laugh it off and leave, but Richard had sent word that he would arrive within the hour so they just chatted while waiting. Just like Richard, they had learnt not to underestimate her.

Not long after, the cloned brain descended into the courtyard. It set down a crystal platform that was exuding a mysterious glow, drawing a rare expression of seriousness even on Nasia's mask. She circled around the platform a few times as Richard climbed down, checking everywhere before cutting off a small piece and throwing it into her mouth. Chewing it for a bit, she remarked, “Not bad.”

Even as Richard's eye started to twitch in wonder at the capabilities of her stomach, the knight swallowed and nodded, “Mm, this thing is worth two top-tier offerings.”

“Two?” Richard was a little surprise. When he checked himself, he had estimated it to be worth only a little more than one.

“Don't compare your crude methods with mine. Go put this on the altar, we can start.”

It was only then that Richard realised the crude stone platform was supposed to be the altar. His annoyance only increased; a true altar of the Eternal Dragon looked shabby because of aeons of erosion from the current of time. Those things were filled with ancient desolation, this platform was just crude. However, he knew it was unwise to argue with her and just did as he was told.

Richard watched as Nasia walked over to the altar and placed her hand on the platform, his eyes widening as motes of pale gold energy flew out and fluttered in the sky. This was the sands of time! Having seen the procedure countless times in the past, he instantly recognised that this was the step before timeforce would absorb the offering and turn it into divine force. However, that had all been in the Church of the Eternal Dragon; Nasia wasn't even a priest!

This had to be proof that the altar truly did work, but when he used Field of Truth to look at it he couldn't tell the difference from regular stone. He couldn't explain just how the crystallised timeforce had appeared, but at some point he had stopped breathing. The same was true of his followers; even the ogre lord felt tiny in the presence of the sands of time.

The ceremony proceeded silently, the entire platform dissolving away. Richard felt a faint tremor in Faelor, as though the laws had been changed, but the feeling passed in a moment.

......

An enormous war was currently underway in the skies above Faelor. Several battlefields dotted a section just outside of the crystal walls of the plane, portals on each end. Divine warriors bathed in golden light were gushing out continuously, entering the bloody battlefields.

There were no commands or formations here, just a chaotic brawl to the death. A hundred blades would find their way to every warrior that so much as lost their footing, ripping them apart before moving on to the next target. The mangled body would then disintegrate into divine force and disappear into thin air. More warriors would quickly take their place, continuing the seemingly endless cycle.

This was the divine battlefield between the three goddesses and Runai. Every dead warrior was turned into pure divine force and absorbed back into their respective deity's divine kingdom alongside their soul, used to form a new divine warrior once more. This process wasn't perfect, losing a bit of the original divine force each time, but far more dangerous was the weathering of the souls involved in it. Even an elf would be permanently destroyed after a hundred iterations.

The defences of a divine kingdom would only start to weaken when it started to run out of divinity and warrior souls. Only then would an invasion grow feasible, the process normally taking at least a few years while some drawn-out wars could last centuries. Divine wars were undoubtedly primal, cruel, and dull.

In an effort to hasten the progress of the war, the three goddesses had opened up six battlefields in tandem, resembling six pearls that formed a ring in the sky. Right in the middle of these pearls were the divine kingdoms of the four deities involved. Each one looked vastly different from the rest, but their surfaces were covered in hazy glows of different colours that represented the laws their owners controlled. If one observed closely, they would notice that this glow came from thin, disjointed crystal barriers similar to the sphere that protected the entire plane.

Within their divine kingdoms, the three goddesses were seated on their respective thrones as they observed the situation on the various battlefields. Even though they now won out in total faith, centuries of accumulation still left Runai with access to both a greater pool of divinity and more souls in general. Ten years of rapid growth just couldn't make up for such a vast difference, and being too hot-headed would only lead to their own demise.

Even now, the battlefield was almost at a stalemate with them on the back foot. Runai just had too many soldiers for them to fight on an equal footing, but they were still pushing up and maintaining a delicate balance. While they weren't in a position to win right away, the power of faith was still constantly refilling their lost divine force. With the Divine Fort destroyed, Runai had already fallen far below the point of being able to keep up; she would eventually run out.

1137 - City of Sin

Changing The World

With her grand cathedral lost to Richard's hands, Runai's contact with most of even her surviving worshippers was cut off. Only the strongest and most pious of them managed to reach her with their prayers, but to make matters worse, most of her clergy had been killed in the war. Even if Richard just gave back the cathedral instead of destroying it, she would take decades to recover at best.

The three goddesses were gazing quietly at the various battlefields, supported by the unwavering faith of their worshippers in the Crimson Dukedom. It was only a matter of time before they won this war, be it decades or centuries.

A formless wave of energy suddenly emerged from the void and quickly swept across the crystal sphere. Ordinary divine warriors were oblivious to its existence and continued their battles, while the valiant souls under the three goddesses momentarily stopped moving before devoting themselves to the war once more. The three goddesses stood up, turning completely pale as they immediately scanned the void.

“There was a law fluctuation,” the Goddess of the Forest said.

“Did something affect the laws of the plane?” the Goddess of the Hunt added on.

It was the Goddess of Spring Water that remained quiet for a moment, scanning the world with astonishment on her face, “No, not affect. Something changed the fundamental laws of the plane! I don't know if this is permanent, but who could have done this?”

All three goddesses rose from their thrones sweeping through the void. The last time the laws had changed fundamentally was during the invasion of the astral beasts. As slaves to the plane, even the smallest difference could affect the pantheon immensely.

...

As the three goddesses wondered about it all, Runai remained silent. Below her divine throne was a mountain with an endless sea of petitioners and valiant souls, all prepared for battle in the name of their goddess. However, her normal stream of commands had come to a stop as her gaze shifted away from the battlefields to her own left hand.

The transparent wine glass that held golden wine cracked out of nowhere, the entire divine kingdom falling silent as they heard the soft shattering of flawless glass. Several precious gems in a massive ring started cracking as well, but none of it as the source of the noise.

That sound came from the crystalline walls protecting the kingdom!

The goddess looked away from her ring that was millennia old, looking at her protective walls that were now full of cracks. One piece suddenly broke off, allowing the energy storms in the void to enter and tear everything apart.

In the blink of an eye, a small section of the divine kingdom was ravaged by the storm. Trees, buildings, souls... everything was smashed apart. Runai stood up and bellowed in rage, timeforce flying towards the gap to mend the damage, but even as the wall was blocked off once more everything descended into chaos. Shattered rocks floated around in the sky, a full third of her divine mountain ruined with all of the valiant souls and petitioners there now dead.

She ignored the scene of destruction as her gaze swept across the entire protective sphere. There were minute cracks running through the entire length, not yet sufficient to cause them to collapse, but still an enormous threat to her very existence. This barrier was the most direct embodiment of her laws, and the cracks on it represented a subtle shift in the world. She instantly lost more than half of her battle might.

“It'll be fine if it's temporary.” Runai had only meant to think this, but amidst her shock she had actually said these words out loud. She immediately shuddered in fright; how could a deity allow such a slip? She also knew that the chances of it being temporary were minimal. Even if that were the case, however, it would take decades or even a century to recover everything; this was long enough for the three goddesses to breach her kingdom several times.

She sat down in dejection, heaving a long sigh.

...

There was an immediate breakthrough in the six battlefields. Runai's army crumbled almost immediately, the tide of warriors from the three goddesses rushing across their disintegrating opponents and flooding to the other end like a tide. They quickly occupied all six portals.

One of the valiant souls of the Goddess of Spring Water raised his battleaxe and took the lead, rushing into the portal to enter Runai's divine kingdom. The brave warrior was decapitated instantly by the guards on the other side, but more petitioners and valiant souls joined him and started pushing through. As they entered the plains below the divine mountain, they pushed Runai's lines back ever so slightly until they reached a stalemate once more.

......

Within Dragon Valley, Nasia had just finished transforming the crystal platform into timeforce. Next would be the timeforce returning to the Eternal Dragon, who would then assess its worth and grant a blessing. Richard had fully expected that as well, but his eyes suddenly went wide as she pointed at the timeforce in the sky and pulled it straight into her body!

He had never imagined that offerings to the Eternal Dragon could be intercepted half-way. However, he quickly realised that something else was off as well. He couldn't feel the Eternal Dragon or even a conscient nearby.

Nasia observed his reaction before chuckling, “Not bad, you can actually see the problem. No need to hide it from you, I offered those things to myself, not the old dragon.”

As she pointed to herself proudly, Richard couldn't find the words to say. The reason one sacrificed offerings instead of absorbing them was that these offerings could only be broken down by the power of specific laws. Gods only accepted sacrifices of a special kind, while even powerful demons and devils would use sacrifices, but it always had to be in the realm that their laws could handle. The Eternal Dragon could do with almost anything because time was such a general and powerful thing.

Had she already grasped the laws of time?! Time and space transcended the myriad planes, being a fundamental building block of all of existence. Richard had spent a lot of effort on analysing laws, but even now he couldn't work on higher-grade laws or even the fundamentals of a primary plane. His progress was in the laws of life of the Forest Plane and the more basic law of metals. There were things like the Godnest in the Resting Orchid Plane, the flame potion from Ferlyn, Sharon's balance, and even the Doomsday Imprint that he couldn't even begin with.

While Richard was filled with awe, Nasia's body suddenly crackled as she grew a little taller. Her aura flared up as she suddenly reached sainthood, but moments later it faded back into obscurity as she stretched her arms, “Ahh, that was good, better than what I'd imagined. I still have some surplus, four or five more and I'll hit the legendary realm.”

Richard just looked at Nasia and then the altar, then again at Nasia before returning to the altar once more. He was now certain that she had changed the laws of Faelor during the so-called ceremony, and the change was to the law of time. However, no matter how he looked at it, the altar was just a pile of stone that had nothing special about it whatsoever. Please visit ｆ𝗿𝗲𝒆we𝚋ｎ૦𝘃𝚎𝒍. 𝒄o𝚖

Thousands of years of experience had taught Norland that an altar was a bridge that linked both parties, its importance far more than just a means to make contact. Even back in the day, the broodmother had needed a goblin altar to absorb some divinity at first. He wracked his brains but to no avail, his blessings repeatedly telling him that this was the same stone and mortar he had used for the manors and nothing else.

Starting to doubt his own perception, he had to swallow his pride and ask the knight, “This altar...”

“Huh? Oh, that's just a pile of rocks,” she said casually.

Then how had it broken down the damned platform? Richard felt his mind going blank.

1138 - City of Sin

Midren

Nasia laughed at Richard's confusion, “I was offering the thing to myself, why would I need an altar? I just have to convert and absorb it personally, that was just a surface to put it on. It also made it look a bit more grand and official. Anyway, here's my new ability, take a good look! Don't forget to keep searching for offerings and giving them to me.”

Before Richard could even respond, his mind was filled with a plethora of details about the evolution of War Fanatic. Just as she had stated before, it became War King and greatly raised the defence, strength, mana, and many other attributes of the target. Effectively, it was like gaining two or even more levels, although legends would only gain one. Of course, even that one level was mind-numbingly powerful. Even just the difference between level 21 and 22 was vast.

The reason the ability changed to War King was because there was another aspect to the buff now. Outside of one's own boost, the target could also cast up to ten instances of War Construct on their own soldiers. This made them roughly equivalent to a level 18 battle priest in terms of impact on the battlefield; they would temporarily gain a squad of immensely powerful subordinates to aid them.

War Fanatic was already powerful, but War King went well beyond it into unthinkable. A number of his followers were now sky saints, and any one of them with this spell upon them would be able to battle ordinary legends.

“And Prisoner of War?” he asked with interest.

“Oh, not much of a difference. The casting time was halved and the number of layers went from four to seven.”

Not much of a difference? Richard almost wanted to smack her in the head. A legend with Prisoner of War cast on them would drop from level 21 to 14 if they couldn't resist the ability; against a level 18 Nasia, they would be defeated before they could blink. This mysterious woman had just turned from astonishing to frightening; even now, he had no idea what she wanted, what her goals were, and just how one was meant to control her. As someone who generally liked to be prepared for things, it felt extremely uncomfortable.

Thankfully, Dragon Valley was now definitely safe. Outside of the Celestial Sage and Empress Apeiron, even the other legends involved were likely no match for Nasia.

......

With the war against Runai having ended in the mortal realm, Richard didn't have any pressing matters to attend to. With this rare time for leisure, he immediately engrossed himself in studying the King of Angels, Midren.

Within his laboratory, he had arranged three designs on the table. The first was the incomplete original design that he had gotten from Martin, some sections of it lost to time. The next was what he had pieced together based on that incomplete version and the fragments, slightly deviant from the original design but at least complete. Following these two was the battle edition that he had acquired from the Eternal Dragon for a full ten top-tier offerings.

All three designs came from the same place, but they possessed different levels of strength and were each independent. However, putting them in a row like this, it was clear that the battle version was not the end of the road. While the three designs were spaced evenly amongst themselves, he had left a gap for a fourth version after the battle edition: Midren's perfect form.

To date, this was the only rune design he had seen over level 5. Compared to the perfect version, all three other Midren designs seemed significantly weaker; looking from the fragments, however, one could also stand a chance to peek into the world of grade 6 runes.

He had already finished a cursory analysis of the battle edition. The rune set wasn't a grade 5 set in the traditional sense; to him, it felt like the concept of a grade 6 rune that had been dumbed down to fit grade 5 techniques.

With the Deepblue Aria as a point of comparison and the battle edition as reference, he had understood that all grade 6 runes were singular designs focused around the power of laws. They could have multiple manifestations of the core law that showcased themselves as different abilities, but a true grade 6 rune only had one rune. However, these runes were just so powerful that they occupied all of the user's slots and still had enormous requirements on capacity. If a regular saint or the like were to get one, all of their vitality would be drained in a single activation.

Midren's battle edition was composed of six primary runes, three secondary runes, and twelve binding runes. These runes weren't directly drawn onto the user's body, but built into pieces of equipment and then connected to the user through the six primary rune slots. They would thus form the entire body of the rune set.

Just crafting the runes for this set was only a third of the job. One also had to link them all together, and then find someone who could actually make use of the power. Lowering the requirements for capacity would require an absurd amount of incredibly rare materials; without any means to focus and limit the power, Richard suspected that only epic beings would be able to use it. Even with precious materials like the soul crystal of an adult astral beast, one needed to be a legend or at least a sky saint if they wanted to harness any of the power at all. Outside of that, regular saints would require a top-tier bloodline akin to those of Apeiron, Nyris, or Macy.

That being said, the ordinary Midren rune set wasn't particularly better either, mainly because there weren't any legendary materials to act as substitute foci. Saint Peter had solved this problem by designing the set for a very specific bloodline, aided by the fact that the imperial bloodline of the Sacred Tree Empire had a link to the Radiant Lord. Richard had already figured out that saints from the imperial family could use the set, but other legends should have been able to as well.

The Heaven's Armour series worked on an entirely different paradigm from traditional runes, and combined with the fact that this wasn't a design he had come up with himself, Richard knew there would be a lot to learn during the process. He was already itching to try out many of these ideas for himself, like the bloodline-centric adaptations. To him, these three rune designs were treasure veins that would never run out.

Making it clear that he wasn't to be disturbed if nothing important happened, he immersed himself in his craft. This time, he would use the traditional, time-tested methods of decoding any rune; splitting up the design into its building blocks and then putting them back together one by one to see how they worked. This was a long job; just the fragments had over a thousand individual arrays, while his first version had just about 3,000. As far as he could tell, the battle edition had more than 10,000!

......

No matter how many arrays there were, one would eventually be able to finish studying them all. Whatever the grade of the rune was, its essence remained a way to direct mana, energy, or the power of laws. A month passed in the blink of an eye, and the once-empty shelves all around Richard's lab were suddenly filled with designs of basic arrays that he had broken down and put together once more. He didn't just want to create Midren, but also to improve it or perhaps even invent an entirely new set. Only in that way would the battle edition be worth all the offerings he'd used.
𝘧𝗿𝚎e𝓌𝗲𝒃𝑛𝒐ѵ𝗲𝒍. c𝐨𝗺

Few runemasters could ever stand in Richard's position. Most of them spent their lives crafting from designs that others had made, and even if they designed a new rune or improved an existing one, it would be a few bing improvements or maybe one rune in their lives. To create a fully custom grade 3 rune alone needed grandmaster-level ability in a dozen related fields. To such people, someone planning to modify a renowned grade 5 rune was just crazy, even if it was a saint runemaster.

It was widely accepted in Norland that all saint runes had souls. The soul wasn't an easy thing to grasp, especially for a design that had been created a long time ago and had been modified over time. Normally, the death of a rune's creator would be the end of its growth; others would come around that could perhaps recreate it, but it was almost impossible for someone to improve on another's design. But then, Richard wasn't just planning on modifying Midren. No, he was far too crazy for that.

He was planning to modify the battle edition straight away!

1139 - City of Sin

Provocation

With the month of effort, Richard had managed to decode more than 300 base units of Saint Peter's Midren design and completely understood the principles behind designing something for a bloodline. It needed a certain degree of familiarity with the bloodline's properties, but one could use the blood energy as a substitute focus to reduce the requirements. In a way, one needed to design the runes around the bloodline energy.

It was undeniable that Saint Peter was extremely creative. A rune set that had been restricted to legendary powerhouses could thus be opened up to saints, and even those below sainthood could use it if their bloodline was powerful enough. It immediately gave him many ways to improve his existing runes. With Lifesbane, for example, someone who could originally use five would now be able to hold seven.

At the level of sky saints and legends, many powerhouses found it difficult to grow even a little stronger. The price they had to pay for improving their runes started to skyrocket, making it difficult to justify them. Many legends didn't really care for Lifesbane; its real power only showed with many stacks, and losing the carrying capacity for their other personalised runes would cripple them. Attack speed and power weren't the only things determining one's combat effectiveness; even Richard himself wouldn't mind losing his Lifesbanes but would have to change his entire combat style without Mana Armament.

However, if the capacity requirements on Lifesbane could be dropped, the situation would be vastly different. It was easy to reject three stacks, but few could ignore the pure boost to power from five or more. Of course, he would have to be willing to craft the rune for them in the first place.

Considering speed and cost, Lifesbane was still his most profitable rune. However, he had already sold a large number and pushed the market close to saturation; in order to maintain his price, he'd been left with no choice but to space things out. With this improvement, however, the market would open up once again. Those who didn't want Lifesbane before would want to get it, and those who already had bought the rune before would look to him for upgrades. He already knew that it would cost one sixth of the original cost of the rune to upgrade it, but he could ask for a third or even half the price. If the demand was high enough, he could even go to two-thirds; that was still better than buying a brand new one.

It was almost like a path of gold had been paved before his eyes, a thought that prompted a chuckle and shake of the head. He currently needed as much battle power as he could muster; it was useless to just earn money. Pushing open the door to his laboratory, he walked out for the first time in a month.

Dragon Valley was surprisingly lively, with many unfamiliar faces bustling about. A wasp was flying through the sky, and he could see the completed estates on the horizon. The lake in the centre was crystal clear and surrounded by lush greenery, some of the trees not even native to the north. The entire place was encased by a huge magic array to control the climate, a cost much higher than the antique oil paintings and other such decorations within the manors themselves, but it was still negligible to the powerhouses who could explore the Dragon Plane.

The Thinker sent him the details about the estates with a single thought, informing him that all of them had been sold out and three that were still undergoing construction were reserved as well. The Celestial Sage had come back and moved into his manor, but no one else had arrived yet. Some of the legends hadn't even heard about these estates, but their followers or kin had decided to buy them in advance anyway. There weren't many chances one could find to be neighbours with the Celestial Sage.

With the long-distance portal complete, followers were still streaming into the valley. News about the Dragon Plane had spread far and wide through Norland, bringing a number of new customers as well. Outside of the legends and sky saints, ten regular saints had already paid the fees and gone through, a number that exceeded Richard's expectations. Although there were many legends currently taking up the dragons' attention, these saints were still facing mortal danger venturing in so early. Most of them wouldn't be able to earn enough in their ventures to pay for the fee of entry, and some were destined to die, but a handful could get lucky and become rich overnight. If they managed to raid a nest without the adult present, they could find more than one top-tier offering.

Of course, everyone always thought they would be the lucky one.

The valley was still in good order. Many small conflicts had bubbled up, but his followers had dealt with them promptly and made sure that the newcomers were behaving well. The 200 rune knights stationed all around could be a part of the reason for that as well.

Stretching his body as he floated into the sky, Richard took the moment to relax. He took a few rounds around his house before heading back towards his laboratory; he wanted to try and craft Midren in his peak state. He had constantly felt on the verge of a breakthrough to the legendary realm these days, and was seriously considering using Sacrifice once to push himself back down. Thankfully, the process of runecrafting also trained his mana control and allowed him to stay on the edge a little longer before he got to that point.

The distant portal started flickering, indicating someone's return from the Dragon Plane. Noticing it, he immediately contacted the Thinker again and found out that a number of legends had actually started to return in recent days. They were all pleased with the changes to Dragon Valley, being especially satisfied with the services he provided that saved weeks of time shuttling between Norland and Faelor. Not just anyone had the spatial equipment to store dragons or even the brute power to drag them through portals.

Having experienced the tumultuous journey to drag a single dragon back— even the Celestial Sage couldn't really pull many more— they were delighted at the presence of the processing centre. Depositing their dragons and pointing out what they wanted and what they didn't, they returned to the Dragon Plane immediately.

Smiling, he returned to his workbench. However, before he could activate the noise-cancelling array, an enormous pressure descended on his laboratory and a thunderous voice bellowed, “RICHARD! COME OUT!”

This was the pressure of a legendary being! Richard was stunned a little, having to stop his followers from rushing out to beat back the offender before he grabbed the Judge and Moonlight and left his desk. Walking out of the laboratory, he slowly rose into the sky.

An imposing legendary mage was floating a hundred metres in the air, robes glimmering and dragonbone staff even larger than his body. Richard recognised the man as Saunder, someone in the first batch of customers to enter the Dragon Plane. A corpse was still lying right outside the portal; he was clearly the one that had just returned.

“Your Excellency, what makes you so angry?” Richard smiled as he flew towards the man.

Saunder glared, “One of your followers beat my son up, do you think I shouldn't?”

Richard frowned, “What?”

“You heard me. Would I lie?”

“The bitch was called Nasia!” a young man on the ground screamed, “She's always wearing a mask! Ask her to come out, I want to teach her a lesson!”

Richard looked down and glanced at the young man, eyes filled with suspicion. The youth was clearly quite alert, noticing the expression and jumping up as he shouted, “You have the balls to suspect me?”

'And could a whelp like you actually jump around after Nasia beat you?' Richard had to suppress a smirk.

1140 - City of Sin

Lesson

All of Dragon Valley was startled by the ruckus, many people leaving their houses to look at Richard and Saunder who were facing off in the sky. On one side was a legendary mage who had been famous for a long time, and on the other was a newly-advanced saint runemaster. Nobody wanted to intervene before they knew what was going on, nor did they even qualify to.

He's talking about my balls? Richard looked at the rowdy youth once more before shaking his head; even Saunder wouldn't speak to him so rudely. Instead, he contacted Nasia mentally, “What's going on here?”

It took a moment, but she replied lazily, “Does it matter? If you don't want to do it yourself, I'll take care of it. That old man hasn't felt like a saint in centuries, I bet. Let me give him a taste of his youth.”

“Tch. What's going on?” Richard asked again.

This time, Nasia sighed, “Alright, alright. That kid heard about Rosie's beauty and wanted to take a look. You know how she spends her days; he tried to force his way into the workshop, but I happened to be around so I stopped him. Then the kid wanted to take my mask off and see what I looked like. He even wanted me to go back to him, promising me all sorts of things. I remember things about making me a legend and giving me a few top-tier offerings and stuff like that. Tsk tsk, look how sincere he is compared to a certain someone!”

A few top-tier offerings? He couldn't help but laugh. Even Saunder likely only had a few in total. “So he treated you pretty well, and your reaction was to beat him up?”

“Beat him? Heh, he'd die in a second. He wanted to take my mask off so I slapped him, simple as that.”

Oh? Richard was a little surprised. Nasia hadn't revealed her face even to him; for the kid to get away with just a slap instead of being beaten half to death meant she did consider the consequences after all. He suddenly smiled, “Still, to think he'd be interested in an old hag like you.”

Nasia went quiet for a moment before responding viciously, “Are you forgetting how it was at level 13?”

He wisely avoided the topic, ending their communication. It had all been quiet, and Saunder was running out of patience, “Hand that knight over right now, and we'll consider this matter settled.”

Richard snickered, “And that's my best option?”

“Am I wrong?” Saunder asked coldly.

“Nasia did nothing wrong here, your son was trespassing through my rune workshop. That is not a public location.”

“She is a mere servant! I'll repeat myself once. Hand her over, or else!”

Richard's smile died down as he snapped, pointing downwards, “Take a good look around you, Saunder. This is my plane, my land. My will is law here; if I say a place is out of bounds, it's out of bounds. You should be thankful your son is still alive.”

At this moment, the portal suddenly flickered as another legend walked out, taking a look at the confrontation in the sky and asking immediately, “Saunder! How have your profits been... wait, what's going on here?”

Saunder waved it off, “I have some issues with Mister Richard here, Duane, just watch. Hehe, a saint runemaster really is an amazing thing, huh, you don't even care about legends anymore. Why do I recall that the Archerons don't have a single legend?”

“No legend has managed to bully us before either,” Richard retorted.

“Then I better teach you a lesson in Sharon's place. You should know to respect a legendary mage.”

“Please, no need to bring Master into this. You're not worthy of speaking her name,” Richard replied calmly.

Saunder went red, his robes billowing despite the lack of wind as he stated coldly, “You leave me with no choice.”
f𝚛e𝚎𝙬𝑒𝚋𝚗𝚘ѵ𝐞𝒍. c𝐨𝙢

Having heard this, Duane rose into the sky and grinned at Richard, “Your Grace, if this isn't a huge issue, do compromise on my account. Saunder doesn't have a good temper, he'll take this seriously.”

Richard answered icily, “Rosie is a great runemaster and Nasia is my most powerful follower. If this isn't a huge issue, what is? Saunder's son wanted them both? Just because he's the son of a level 22 mage?”

Even Duane cringed hearing this, but he still continued, “Even so, they're still your subordinates. This shouldn't be a big problem, right? I believe it's best to let this go; give them to Saunder and make him pay you some compensation, isn't that enough?”

Hearing the threat in those words, Richard looked Duane straight in the eye for the first time and chuckled, “You want to participate in the battle?”

The legendary warrior clearly hadn't expected such a direct counter-threat, his expression growing worse, “You shouldn't put it that way, Richard. Aren't you just forcing my hand?”

Richard stopped paying attention, his swords leaping into his hands and starting to buzz, “If you don't want to get involved, then get lost. One more minute here and you'll be considered an enemy; a pathetic mage like this one doesn't qualify to take Rosie and Nasia from me.”

Hearing this, Saunder couldn't even stay angry, laughing thunderously, “Fine! I'll see just how a level 22 mage has no right getting two women from His Grace and Saint Runemaster Richard. Don't bother yourself with this, Duane; if I can't even take care of a kid who doesn't know his place, I don't need to show my face in Norland again.”

Duane shook his head, but he flew a distance away to a point from which he could intervene whenever he liked. Richard noticed and snickered, sending out orders for his rune knights to assemble. A dense formation assembled in only a single minute, bloodlust flaring all around. Duane's eyes narrowed in shock as he saw 160 rune knights below him, all preparing javelins for ranged attacks.

Just how could so many rune knights be here? This was Duane's first time in Dragon Valley; he had originally used the random portals back from Blackrose Castle. Knowing that the Archerons had half a dozen planes under them, he couldn't help his confusion. Did their other planes not need rune knights? Did their land in Norland not need rune knights? Did their floating island not need rune knights standing guard?

He couldn't even take on the attacks of eighty rune knights, much less double that number. So long as Richard stayed within range of them, he would have no way to intervene.

Saunder's expression grew terrible as well, “Do you think you can just beat me with rune knights, Richard?”

“Not at all!” Richard shook his head, “Those guys are just here to deal with any idiots that want to interfere.”

These words were extremely humiliating, but they allowed Duane who had just become a legend to finally understand the power of the Archerons. No matter how angry he was, he could only shift further away. He had no choice but to yield.

At this point, all of Richard's followers showed themselves as well. Almost every one of them was powerful or mysterious, causing Duane's expression to sour further. Even ignoring everyone else, just Tiramisu and Waterflower alone were enough to force him to retreat. On top of that were Phaser, Zangru, and Zendrall, with Nasia being the only one he could read perfectly. However, her strength was far too clear, to the point that she felt like the most fearful of them all. He had never seen a saint with a full set of legendary equipment before; such people likely had powerful families backing them or astounding battle might that couldn't be measured by level. Neither type was someone he was willing to provoke.

Even though he could still run, Duane clearly wasn't a threat to the Archerons. Saunder looked just as horrified, realising just how much he had underestimated Richard. While he was stronger than his friend, he still couldn't compare to Richard's forces. Duane couldn't take on eighty rune knights, but he couldn't take on ninety.

Nasia glanced at Duane, a smile appearing on her metallic mask, “This one looks like he wants to get involved in something he shouldn't. Want to give him to me? I haven't had a good fight in a while now.”

Richard shook his head, “Don't do anything rash. He can do whatever he wants unless he butts in.”

“Then can I take care of that mage?” she asked eagerly.

“He's mine!” he almost bellowed, his aura starting to flare.

1141 - City of Sin

Duel Between Legends

Nasia shrugged when Richard marked his territory, but the exchange left sweat pooling on Duane's forehead. He had felt restless ever since her gaze had fallen upon him, but her aura was that of a fresh saint.

Saunder stared at Richard, “You really want to fight me?”

“Of course,” Richard smiled, “Don't worry, though. My rune knights and followers won't intervene.”

“You think I'm scared of them?!”

“Heh, You think you'd be talking if you weren't? What happened to that lesson you wanted to teach me?” Richard's expression suddenly darkened, his tone now freezing, “If you don't have the balls to fight me, just scram!”

“Balls?” Saunder laughed, “Alright then. If I can't even take care of a whelp who isn't even legendary yet, I won't be able to keep my head up!”

Before he was even done speaking, the first parts of a spell formed in Saunder's hands. Red light surged around his body as the temperature of the surroundings surged up, a blinding sun forming around him in the blink of an eye.

This was Sunbeam, a legendary spell renowned for the damage it dealt to undead. It was powerful even against normal beings, possessing frightening power. The fact that Saunder had gone straight to it showed how great of an opponent Richard was.

The sun quickly stabilised, launching a thick beam of golden-red energy towards Richard. This energy was condensed to the point that it almost had a physical presence, but its speed slowly grew with time as it tracked the target. Eventually, it would be too quick to escape.

Richard smiled at the attack, shouting loudly as a shadowy face materialised in front of him that looked like a combination of both devil and demon. It immediately started chanting a spell, its pitch so high that nobody could tell what it was saying, but a blue fireball shot out only moments later.

A loud explosion rang out as the fireball came into contact with the beam of energy, dispersing it greatly. However, Saunder continued to chant furiously as he pumped his mana into the spell, replenishing what was lost.

*BOOM!* Another fireball collided with the sunbeam, extinguishing another small part of it even as the attack continued barrelling forward. The illusionary voice went even higher until one couldn't hear anything at all anymore, shooting out more fireballs in an attempt to scatter the attack. However, the legendary spell continued to amass speed and power!

Just as the energy was going to overcome the attack, Richard suddenly howled and materialised two more faces on either side. The one on the left was a typical demon with chilling fangs between its lips, while the other was angelic and radiated vitality. Both had their eyes closed, but their lips moved furiously in an odd combination of sparkling melody and low rumble. It looked and sounded like a duet of heaven and hell.

Two more fireballs were launched towards the sunbeam, these completely different from the blue ones. The angelic face had shot a milky white fireball filled with the power of life, while the demon had launched a dark red one with boiling magma at the core. The immediate impact from the demon was much greater, dispersing a large section of the attack, but even once it was exhausted more than half of the flames of life were still burning.

Saunder almost stopped chanting at the sight. Three faces of different types, all shooting out fireballs with different attributes that could each match the sunbeam in power for a few moments. This was a spell at the legendary level, and it could compete with a pyromancer like him on near-equal footing. It was a huge blow to his confidence.

The situation quickly turned into a stalemate, the fireballs bombarding the sunbeam and keeping it from reaching Richard. This was a direct duel of magical ability, comparing mana pools, control, and focus.

Each of Richard's summoned faces chanted at about the same speed as he would. He was already extraordinary in that department due to Manacycle, but now his speed had tripled. The spell couldn't be countered directly either; the lava was his Archeron bloodline, the flames of life came from his elven heritage, while the central face was the strongest and held both his truename's power and the power of the bluemoon. They were vastly different but all powerful in their own right.

Veins started popping up on Saunder's forehead even as his eyes filled with blood. Mana gushed out of his body endlessly, but the sunbeam was slowly pushed back. He eventually put his palms together, the small movement causing him to sweat profusely as he increased his output beyond his limits to survive the onslaught.

It was at this point that Richard laughed, “Did I tell you about this little ability I have? It's called Blaze.”

Before Saunder even had time to be shocked by Richard separating his body from the spell, his vision was filled with red, blue, and white as the faces sped up their chants even further. A hundred fireballs were launched in ten seconds, forming an enormous web that threatened to kill the legendary mage instantly.

Duane's eyes went wide and he flew forward to try and stop Richard, but he suddenly ground to a halt and looked down. Nasia had appeared below him before he even knew it, staring at him with the amusement clear in her eyes. He felt like a frog being eyed by a snake, a shiver running down his spine. The strong sense of danger kept him from acting recklessly, but that also caused the situation in the battle to deteriorate.

“Don't you want to know why I'm so good at fire magic?” Richard said leisurely, “Let me give you a taste of the flame potion.”

Saunder yelped. The flame potion was a forbidden medicine that had already been missing for hundreds of years. He quickly realised the danger and activated all of his accessories, but the faces still broke through the barriers and sent more fireballs towards the sunbeam.

He suddenly made up his mind, shouting as the last dregs of his spell exploded to dispel the immediate threat. Having gained a bit of time, he blinked straight towards Richard to engage in close combat.

At the legendary realm, mages were perhaps even more frightening during momentary close combat than warriors. They could blink over and launch a barrage of spells up close, devastating their opponents before they even knew what hit them. As an experienced combatant, Saunder was confident in this tactic.

At least, he was until he saw Richard's two blades gleam. Feeling a tremor in his heart, he immediately stopped mid-blink and cast a random teleportation spell to pull away.

As a level 22 mage, Saunder had another legendary spell outside of Sunbeam— Negative Energy Blast. It was a powerful spell with extremely long range and tracking abilities that could be cast from a kilometre away.

Saunder's silhouette flickered as he disappeared into the skies, Richard's own figure doing the same. The legendary mage smirked; random teleportation covered a much greater distance than mere blinking, and it could be cast faster with less mana. Richard wouldn't be able to close the gap reliably.

He appeared hundreds of metres away in an instant, but he immediately detected something and looked to the right, expression darkening as Richard appeared fifty metres away. He frowned and repeated the spell, certain that lightning wouldn't strike twice, but this time Richard was only a few dozen metres apart and had already appeared before him!

The to started an intense chase in the skies, but no matter how Saunder tried to escape, Richard easily kept pace. After dozens of teleportations, even the legendary mage felt the exhaustion stacking up as his mana reserves fell to a dangerous level.

At one point, the spell flickered and then dissipated promptly. It had failed!

1142 - City of Sin

Small Victory

Saunder tried to recast the random teleportation the moment he failed, but before his figure could disappear he felt his existence yanked back into the material realm. Richard had used the moment of failure to cast a spatial lock to hold him down.

The three faces continued their chanting, sending three enormous fireballs towards the legendary mage. However, these ones were different from the ones before them; one was pure lava, the other almost completely life energy with barely any hint of fire, while the last was flaming blue liquid that felt like it could burn up an entire world.

Richard paled the moment these fireballs were cast, growing so weak he could barely even move while the three faces started to fade away. However, Saunder couldn't find any solace as he realised the sheer power that had just targeted him. If the three faces had been equivalent to a legendary spell when working together, now each one held near-legendary might. It would take his full effort to deal with a single one, leave alone three at the same time that had vastly different properties.

Unable to care about the consequences, he quickly burnt into his mana pool to send a barrage of low-level spells to chip away at the fireballs. Most were concentrated on the blue orb in the centre, and once that as broken he chose to advance instead of retreating. Barrelling straight into the magma fireball, he forced it to explode before the life energy could amplify its might.

Red covered a sector of the sky for a moment, but a multitude of barriers kept Saunder alive. Only a small number came from himself, the various artefacts on his body and his legendary robe providing the rest. Over half of them had faded away by the time the magma had dispersed, which was exactly when the flames of life attacked him instead.

The milky white energy was so thick that it almost felt like it should heal someone instead of harming them, but it trapped Saunder in an orb of transparent flames. Fortunately, the attack was so mild that his cracked barrier didn't break immediately, only flickering on the verge of collapse. This gave him time to replenish it before heaving a sigh of relief. It looked like two more barriers' worth would be enough for him to power through this.

However, his face suddenly warped as the life energy powering the flames suddenly pulsed, strengthening them greatly. It quickly became apparent that they wouldn't fade for a long time. No matter how weak they were, hours of burning would definitely leave an impact; moreover, Richard's flames of life were only weak compared to his other fireballs.

While Saunder was glaring viciously at him, Richard himself could barely stay airborne. The molten lava within him seemed to come to a halt, the elven trees stopping all signs of life. What little was left of his mana was now going haywire, constantly wounding him from within as a result of using Sacrifice. Overall, the price he paid was much greater than what Saunder did burning his mana pool.

Still, Saunder could only grunt in resignation as the last of his barriers exploded, the mana extinguishing some of the flames of life while causing some backlash that injured him severely. With the remaining flames still burning on his body and causing him to cry out in pain, he just fled at top speed. There was a clear winner in this battle, even if that winner wasn't much better off than the loser. Of course, the disparity in subordinates was much greater; Richard's men could abolish Saunder's few subordinates without even breaking a sweat. If the rune knights went all out, they possessed the power to kill the legendary mage twice over.

This was mostly due to the power of the flame potion. Its primary purpose was in strengthening its drinker's soul and exposing them to the laws of fire, giving Richard the same sort of opportunity as when Nasia had cast War Fanatic on him with the laws of metal, but that wasn't all. The potion also upgraded the power of one's pyromancy by about a level; this wasn't much on the lower end, but it meant that an all-out Richard could have legendary-level spells on hand. When also using Sacrifice's boost, he could overpower even true legendary magic.

Watching Saunder run away, Richard sent a mental command that caused Zangru to flash behind the legendary mage's son, placing his polearm on the youth's shoulder. Phaser turned her gaze to those people who had initially been guarding the young man, ensuring that they didn't move a single muscle. Zangru's weapon shot out a dozen sticky tentacles that licked at the boy's face repeatedly, causing him to shriek.

Far away, Saunder shook and came to a halt, slowly turning around, “Richard, what are you doing?”

“Is it not clear?” Richard said calmly, “You can escape, but what about him?”

The mage's expression turned frosty, “Do you really want to make a mortal enemy of me? You will not be lucky enough to stop me next time, and I can always have another son. Remember this day, Richard; you and your people better watch out even in your sleep.”

Richard laughed, ”You think a weakling like you threatens me? Did you forget I'm not legendary yet? Let's see how you fare when I come over.”

“If the legendary realm was so easy to get into, there would be legends walking around on the streets!”

“It isn't any of my concern how difficult it is for wimps to enter the legendary realm. I can do it whenever I want,” Richard said flatly, showing absolute confidence in himself.

Saunder wanted to sneer, saying he had gone through hell and high water to become a legendary figure, but the words suddenly caught in his throat. He thought of a terrifying possibility; Richard was currently restraining himself from the advancement! If someone dared to do such a thing, their power once they entered the legendary realm would far surpass that of their peers.

Many people longed dearly to enter the legendary realm, trying their best throughout their lives only to never attain it. How could they just suppress themselves? Saunder himself was a classic example of someone who had needed luck to cross into that realm, being extremely blessed and lucky.

His expression only grew worse at the realisation; now, he didn't know whether to advance or retreat. In the world of the powerful, followers and subordinates weren't nearly as important as kin. A saint runemaster was worthy of respect even from a legend, but that didn't extend to their followers.

He didn't really feel like his demands had overstepped bounds, and in fact he knew very well that taking on the Archerons was a death-wish even if they didn't have a legend. It was just that he believed he was worth far more in this world than others, but Richard had somehow stacked a number of sky saints and an enormous troop of rune knights in the valley. Richard himself was also the strongest sky saint of them all!

Duane suddenly laughed, flying over from the side. However, he only went forward a few metres before stopping and smiling bitterly, “I only plan to say a few words, I have no other intentions.”

However, Nasia continued to stare at him expressionlessly with her sword hilt not leaving her hands. All of the rune knights locked onto him as well; a single movement would prompt a hundred javelins. Seeing that she had no intentions to relax, he could only shrug helplessly and just increase his volume, “This is only a misunderstanding, why does there have to be a fight to the death? This issue stemmed from an error from Saunder's son, and he also suffered a small defeat in this battle. Conventionally, he has to be the one to pay off any resulting damages. With such an exciting duel, I believe it is worth a greater offering. As for the boy, his words might have been inappropriate but they didn't cause any real damage. Your Grace, I hope you can be magnanimous and let this issue rest. What do the two of you think?”

Saunder's expression quickly relaxed, “I have no objections. I will pay him a dragon as compensation.”

“And you, Your Grace?”

Richard looked at the two and grunted, “Whatever.”

1143 - City of Sin

Laws Of The Night

Despite Richard's clear disgruntlement, Duane sighed in relief, “Alright. How about this? I'll treat the two of you, let us get a drink together. One doesn't get very many opportunities for a good drink in the legendary realm.”

Richard agreed, but Saunder just flew to his son's side and picked him up before heading away. The subordinates who hadn't managed to protect their quarry were naturally ignored. Not too long after, word got out that he had returned to Norland; the humiliation of having lost to a grand mage in a duel was too much for him to endure.

Richard shared the drink with Duane before returning to his room to meditate. The proposed solution had been a decent one, and a greater offering would more than make up for the damage to Dragon Valley from the battle. While he had dropped to the bottom of level 20 due to Sacrifice, with the Deepblue Dream he would only take a few weeks to get back to where he was.

After this duel, the kin and followers of the legendary powerhouses started to act more careful in and around Dragon Valley. Nobody dared to challenge Richard's authority anymore, while the other legends would take care to treat him just like any long-time legend like Duane. The biggest problem the Archerons faced in the world was their lack of legends, and his status as a saint runemaster would only stop others when it was obvious that they were in the wrong. To most people, he was primarily the head of the Archeron Family, which meant there were weaknesses to be exploited. Regardless of whether someone had manipulated things behind the scenes or Duane really thought that a legend just had the right to take a saint and a true runemaster from him, this duel showed anyone with ill intentions that messing with him was a mistake regardless.

......

Over the next month, Richard slowly recuperated from the duel while attempting to craft Midren. A number of legends returned from the Dragon Plane during this period, most of them having good harvests while one lucky person even managed to steal three intact eggs. Dragon Valley started to grow more and more crowded as the saints who wanted to try their luck trickled in, with the first batch of manors being snatched up quickly.

Rosie came up with a plan to build another group of manors not too far away from the first. These would be smaller and with a lower rent, unfit for legends but just the right size for saints. While legends didn't really care about hundreds of thousands of gold coins, many saints still lived on a shoestring budget while pouring all their resources into equipment.

Even as the drones started on the second set, she had already begun planning the third and fourth group as well. These were even smaller than the rest, eventually only tiny villas that weren't much larger than courtyards. These would be meant for those who came much later; those people would have very little wealth and all the easy harvests would have been snatched away by then. The tiny homes would be cheap, but they would number ten times the first group and overall even earn much more than the manors for the legends.

Such was the economics of scale. Large margins on limited projects almost never compared to making a decent margin from the general public. Of course, bringing in that public would also require publicity that the large projects could provide.

......

All this while, the Crimson Army had embarked on their campaign east. Gangdor had gone through great hardships to bring his army through the wasted north, only to come across the allied forces of the coast that had gotten word long ago. There were even some stragglers from the Iron Triangle Empire that had once served under Rislant. Altogether, he had to face about 200,000 enemies.

He had led his soldiers straight in, engaging in battle on the bank of the Somme river. A violent fight had ended in a rout, with the brute giving chase for thirty kilometres before letting the remnants escaped. Less than 20,000 opponents survived, but he still wasn't satisfied and continued all the way towards the beach. Five massacres and seven days later, he was finally upon the bay.

As time passed, the astral chrysalis and flying wasps reinforced them with large batches of winter soldiers and arrowbeasts directly from the Land of Turmoil. While they were still level 14, each one was far more powerful than the shadowspear knights. The arrowbeasts especially had greatly improved the ranged power of the army, allowing them to tear holes into the enemy formations and allow them to rip in.

Whenever he had the time to rest, Gangdor regularly flipped through records of the Empire's campaign towards the seas. Rislant had led an army of 150,000 back then, but by the time he had crossed towards the coast he only had a third of that number left. On the other hand, the coastal alliance had an army of 500,000, ten times his number. He had been patient and careful over the many years, slowly picking them apart until the numbers dropped by more than half. Eventually, he had fought a decisive battle of 40,000 against 120,000 and destroyed them completely, forcing them to give up a good harbour.

In terms of commandership alone, Gangdor knew he couldn't match up. He had achieved a similar result, but that came from a powerful supply chain and soldiers that were anywhere between three and five levels above what Rislant had access to. The man had only died because he couldn't comprehend the sheer gap between the two planes and prepare for it, a difference that couldn't be made up for with experience alone.

......

In the distant Land of Turmoil, the broodmother had just finished assimilating the divine body of the Lady of the night. She had swallowed the corpse and all the other divine items the moment they had been brought to her, but it had taken time to strip away the divinity bit by bit and absorb it into her own pool. It was a rather silly method, but also one that gave her a better opportunity to understand the Lady's religion and divinity. With the process complete, she even transmitted a base framework to help with understanding the divinity to Richard.

When he received the model, Richard estimated it would take at least a decade to fully grasp the laws of the night. This was clearly someone who stood above Runai; if not for the assault from the astral beasts leaving her injured, Runai wouldn't have had a chance to do anything.

Unfortunately, he had no idea where her soul had escaped. Seizing a god's soul was the fastest way to analyse their divinity, shortening the time taken to mere months. While the night and darkness weren't particularly important to him— her worshippers were strengthened during the night— the underlying laws behind her divinity came from the stars and moonforce. This was the first time he had come even close to a model that could help him analyse moonforce, and that had piqued his interest.

The Goddess of the Moon in Norland was very mysterious. Most of Alucia's worshippers were pure-blooded elves that had almost all moved to Lithgalen. There weren't any divine items that still had Alucia's divinity still on Norland itself, and the single codex he had seen when young had burnt down with his mother. Ever since, he hadn't found anything related to Alucia anywhere, while the seven moons of Norland were near impossible to study on their own. Even with the blue moon within him, he couldn't even begin with setting up a model to analyse it.

It was accepted theory, at least in the Deepblue, that all power was a manifestation of laws at varying degrees. From this point of view, the laws of moonforce had to be even more complicated than those of the Godnest in the Resting Orchid Plane, on the same level as Destiny's Balance or the Doomsday Imprint. If analysing the laws of the night could give him direction towards that greater goal, it was a tempting proposition. Unfortunately, a decade was just too long; he would be able to complete his analysis of the laws of life from the Forest Plane in only a year. He simply needed to grow quickly, and a full system in a year was easily more justifiable than a possibility in ten.

Thinking over it for a moment, Richard shook his head. After committing the framework to memory, he prepared to continue crafting Midren. However, a different thought suddenly struck his mind and he picked up a piece of magic paper, jotting down everything he could about the model.

He then sent for Perrin.

1144 - City of Sin

Worm

Perrin looked the same as ever, a withered old man with the passionate eyes of youth. He had firmly grasped the fundamentals of Norland's mathematics in the past decade, regularly creating new designs and improving on existing magic arrays. His knowledge of planar geometry, spatial constructs, and magic arrays had already reached the level of a grandmaster, proving his immense talent even in the context of Norland.

Just like with laws, specialisation was never an issue. It was comprehending the most basic formations and improving them that posed great difficulty; one needed to climb beyond the accumulated research of hundreds of previous geniuses over millennia. In terms of mathematics alone, this youth's achievements even brushed against the realm of laws, allowing him to create new functional units for array design.

He and Rosie had been working together seamlessly in the past few years, each one improving by the day. Rosie's understanding of mathematics didn't come close to his, but she had the ability to bring his designs to life even with near-perfection, allowing him to test and validate theories. In exchange, she gained a number of new functional units in her own repertoire that allowed her to make improvements to her own designs.

A great example of their improvements came through the Savage rune series. Ignoring the standard runes, even Richard's custom designs had very high standards and little room for improvements; to improve the sets while keeping the runes elementary or grade 2 was practically an impossible task.

In the beginning, Rosie had dropped the difficulty and cost of the runes by lowering their power, forming the original Rose Knight rune set. She had showcased great creativity in her implementation, but many other runemasters could do the same in her circumstances. It was her improvements in the later years that were hard to come by, wherein she had tightened up the connections and improved the efficiency further. At one point, she was left with no choice but to alter the grade 2 runes, which basically meant redesigning the entire set. Some of her troubles in this process had been tackled with traditional methods, but she had also gotten Perrin to come up with brand new functional units whenever she faced a block. In the end, she had arrived at what was essentially a completely different set.

Richard's Savage series rune sets were simple, effective and practical. They allowed for a singular focus on either defence or offence, boosting that one aspect of the rune knight as much as was possible. These runes weren't meant for individual use but in large-scale battles; there wasn't much of an obvious advantage in 5v5 or 10v10 battles, but once the numbers scaled beyond that his rune knights showcased terrifying strength. In those terms, these runes weren't a showcase of genius so much as frightening efficiency; it was his success rate and high speed that allowed him to mass so many. For most minor families, the Savage series only produced sub-par results.

Currently in its third iteration, Rosie's rune set was only a little weaker than Richard's originals. However, a third of the production time was shaved down while the costs were basically halved. Now, one could get twice the number of Rose Knights for the same price as any other set knight; the loss in individual ability was certainly worth it. She had even designed a third rune set that was a mix of both Barrier and Strike, although in weaker amounts. These were even more suited to small families who would need to use up their savings just for a few.

Rosie had originally planned to sell her rune sets to weaker families, reaping huge profits in the process, but she hadn't anticipated the massive growth of Richard's forces at all. Outside of the token five rune sets that they gave to the royal family every year, all of the rest were used on Archerons. Richard now had more than 500 rune knights under him, and the number continued to grow with no signs of stopping. Just how many rune knights did he think would be enough? 800? 1,000? It was impossible to know.

Seeing Perrin, Richard couldn't help but grow a little nostalgic once more. His current status had been built off the back of countless close battles back then, and the Direwolf Duke Bevry was still one of his most cherished memories of that time.

On the other hand, Perrin was feeling myriad emotions as well. The man in front of him would one day rule the entirety of Faelor, but had given him a new lease of life. Richard had also granted him information on Norland's planar geometry, also acting as one of the best mentors during their limited interactions. To him, Richard was basically a god.

“How have you been?” Richard asked.

“Not too bad. The recent fruit of life gave me two more years, and the broodmother's assistance helped bring that up to three. The power of the curse seems to be fading as well.” Both the fruits of life and any blessings from the Eternal Dragon used pure life force to stimulate the target's body and increase their lifespan. Having analysed a number of trees of life and with full access to Richard's own laws, the broodmother had come up with a certain type of fluid that modified the user's body and made them more receptive to such blessings. Her newest version improved the effectiveness by about 50%.

Having spoken about the fruits, Perrin laughed in self-mockery, “At least I get to be somewhat useful by testing out the life fluids.”

“What?” Richard immediately lost his smile, “You don't know your own worth. Somewhat useful is such an understatement. What have you been working on lately?”

“Quickthink, grade 3. It's nearly done, I'll be able to create a complete design in around a week's time. It should be able to reduce casting time by a quarter, maybe. I have some other ideas too, but haven't moved forward with them yet.”

“Sigh. If only that was still useful to me, time passes so quickly. But you should know, your current achievements would be considered great even in Norland. I need you to do something big.” Richard pushed a thick stack of magic paper towards the old youth.

“This is?” Perrin picked one of the sheets up, taking a look. All sorts of symbols and formulae were on the page, alongside many numbers. He had never seen these formulae before, but he could vaguely notice some similar variables all over that indicated they were all geared towards the same thing. As he picked up another sheet and started looking through, his expression slowly changed. He put the paper down nearby the moment he was done, grabbing the next one and skimming through that as well. His breathing grew rough, and as the minutes passed he was quickly huffing. When he broke out of his trance, his voice was trembling with fear, “This... is it the divine?”

Richard nodded, “An analytical model for the laws controlled by the Lady of the Night. It's very rough and needs a lot filled in.”

“Divine laws!” Perrin flushed immediately, “I knew it!”

He grabbed the papers firmly, seemingly afraid to lose a single piece. His hands were now shaking with excitement.

Richard smiled and patted him on the back, “Calm down, this is all yours to keep. It's very rough and needs a massive number of calculations. I estimate you'll need a full century to be done with it. Don't lose yourself to grinding away at this, I need you to modify the theories and calculation methods to speed up the process.”

“Modify? Is that... is it alright?”

“You're not modifying the laws themselves, just the model used to derive them.”

These words immediately put him at ease and started him on flipping through the papers once more, “How did you get these?”

“The broodmother came up with it.”

“Huh? The broodmother?” Perrin was shocked again, “Then... can I even modify it?”

He knew very well that the broodmother was an ultimate intelligence that even Richard found difficult to match. Her calculative abilities were terrifying.

Richard smiled and pointed at his own head, “Intelligence isn't just calculations, at least not until you push those calculations to the limit. She isn't there yet, and your or I won't likely come close to her, but we use our own talent and creativity instead. I don't think you're particularly slower than her when it comes to this; I believe you have a chance to succeed.”

Perrin's thumping heart slowly calmed down and he nodded.

Richard took out a magic-sealing case and placed all the papers within, “Here you go, this case contains the secrets of a true deity.”

Perrin almost felt like his heart would burst out of his chest, but he stowed the case away and headed out. He would be the first human in Faelorian history to understand the secrets of the gods on a truly deep level, the first mortal to pry into divinity.

.....

After Perrin left, the broodmother contacted Richard once more, “Master, I've finished absorbing the spare body. If you don't need anything else, I can begin my ascension to level 11. I'll be asleep for three months.”

“Only three months? How come?” he asked in confusion.

“Pure divinity is one of the best sources of energy; it can be changed into any form. The process this time will be much simpler.”

“And what new abilities will you get?” he asked. In the past, the broodmother had given him options for her growth during every ascension. This time, there was no such thing.

“No new abilities,” she answered, “Only a direct boost to all my current abilities. Speed of thought, bodily strength, level limit, drone count... it's the simplest upgrade.”

“Heh, but also the best kind.”

“Indeed.”

“Looks like you're only going to start growing properly now.”

A strange emotion like a sigh was transferred through their connection, “I feel the same way. Also, a little worm made its way into my territory; there is a high possibility that this is a Scholar. I'll lure it out during my advancement.”

“Huh?” Richard found this strange, “You can't find them even in your territory?”

“Mm. These opponents are more sly than we had anticipated, but he definitely will not be able to resist the bait. He'll try to make a move when he senses me asleep for my advancement, but that will be his end.”

Richard frowned, “Careful, our understanding of that soul-mending project might not be complete. They might still have some other traps in there.”

“If that is the case, I will simply rejoin your soul and become one with you again. You will certainly be able to overpower them.”

“But won't that be giving up your independence again?”

“It's better to serve you than be controlled by those worms. In their eyes, I am only a tool. When was the last time you called me it?”

As the broodmother's consciousness faded, Richard sighed. She really was a weapon of war with limitless potential, but that had just turned her into a target for schemers and adventurers alike.

1145 - City of Sin

Battle of Souls

There was a special tree on the edge of the Land of Turmoil. If a normal person were in front of it, even the weakest of mortals or just a child, they would instantly say that it was a person, but no powerhouse could identify it from afar. However, as a land conquered completely by the broodmother, the only inhabitants were drones who detected thins in a very similar way to the latter.

This was Krowes, a mage unknown to the world but renowned amongst the Scholars of Soremburg. He had stood in this one place for nearly a month now, observing the pitch-black horizon of the larval forest with strands of timeforce floating above it. It was a beautiful view, but also a terrifying one.

Krowes had seen the larval forest and the various creations of the broodmother. Three days ago, he had seen an enormous bug-like creature of some sort flying overhead and immediately felt a surge of uncontrollable excitement; he had found the right place! The moment of distraction had elicited a scan from the powerful consciousness— there were some cases where ignorant or arrogant explorers entered the Land of Turmoil and even reached this far— but to the senses of the broodmother, he had still remained a tree amongst many.

Having waited for the opportunity for a long time, Krowes now knew he had found his chance. His eyes locked onto a drone that was crawling past the plains, the creature clearly injured and separated from its kin. These drones weren't very valuable, but it was still rushing back all the same; the broodmother was ever the resource-minded one and could recover half of the resources for a new drone through it.

Krowes silently flashed behind the drone, stuffing his left hand into the part connecting the broken wings to its body to grab a fist-sized core that was the source of its power and limited intelligence. He crushed it immediately, causing the creature to collapse immediately without a sound.

...

A nearby cloned brain realised that a connection had faded, investigating the death only to find that the drone had been injured and dropped behind. It automatically removed the connection from the list of entries; accidental deaths were common when one produced thousands every day.

The broodmother lost hundreds of drones on a daily basis to natural lifespan and accidents, especially since she had created new ant drones with the larval forest that were only the size of a cat. Those things were scavengers, porters, and cleaners, performing the most menial of tasks. An ant drone wasn't even level 1, but their number was in the millions. Thus, the number of nodes in the broodmother's network was unimaginably large. Regular refreshes of the list would cause a heavy burden even to the cloned brains and her own massive mind, so she passed on some duties for the network itself to keep track and update her slowly. For example, there were ant queens that were responsible for their own colonies and would report to the cloned brain if necessary. These intelligent creatures could manage a colony of around ten thousand ants themselves.

...

Krowes extracted the bodily fluids of the drone and quickly smeared them across his own body. He then placed some in his mouth and tasted carefully, modulating his aura until it was the exact same as a drone. He immediately removed his clothes and burned them with magical fire, burying the ashes before casting a spell on the drone's corpse to age the wound. This couldn't deceive the broodmother herself, but he already had an accurate grasp of the limits of the cloned brains.

Once everything was set, he headed deep into the larval forest. Every tree here was like an eye of the broodmother, but they only saw a single drone crawling through the forest. Although they didn't have any records of the drone, they assumed it came from a different worm nest and weren't alarmed at all.

The Scholar headed further into the forest, sometimes a drone and sometimes when resting resembling a tree to most senses. Some of the things he saw along the way made him want to scream, like the enormous flesh furnace that resembled a giant castle. Wasps were constantly flying over and depositing hundreds of tonnes of frostiron ore into the huge mouth atop the furnace, and a while later groups of drones surged in through the lower openings and dragged out perfect ingots and a large amount of slag.

He also saw the worm nests that were a hundred metres tall, with many packed compartments near the centre. Most of these compartments contained sleeping combat drones, all just waiting for a chrysalide to transport them to the battle lines. A single nest contained more than a thousand units of all shapes and levels, and there were many such towers all around.

It took a week of walking around to reach a strange open space, about ten square kilometres in size and surrounded by the larval forest. The sky above was filled with strands of timeforce, the lowest a mere 500 metres above. Even as someone skilled with space, Krowes wouldn't dare navigate the dense field of death; if he couldn't control the timeforce or at least predict its movement patterns, he estimated the chances of death exceeded 95%.

In the middle of this enclosed area was an enormous being, resembling a huge bee but 1,200 metres long and 150 metres tall. From the distance, it looked like a small hill!

Krowes' heart almost stopped beating at the sight. This was a broodmother, and one who had gone through the soul-mending project! In his vision, the magical marks on the body were so eye-catching they were the only things he could see.

The broodmother was motionless and looked dead, with no drones nearby transporting food towards it. A strong mental scan would sweep through the entire area every half an hour, a routine check that proved the being was still alive. However, this sort of check wasn't sufficient to detect Krowes; the Scholar stood next to a tree and his feet warped, multiple tendrils digging deep into the soil and connecting to the larval forest before he watched silently.

He waited for an entire month, exhibiting the signature patience of the Scholars. The process of exploring the world was rarely exciting, and one had to get used to solitude and stretches of no activity. It took that entire month for him to finally confirm that the broodmother was deep asleep due to a level-up.

This was an excellent chance. Krowes didn't know just how a broodmother that had just reached level 10 was going through another level-up so quickly, but there were many sources of divinity in this plane and it was still plausible. However, its defences would be the lowest at this point and it was hard for it to awaken from its sleep.

He quickly made up his mind, a gust of wind sweeping through the calm space. The drones walking or flying about crumpled to the ground, and while his body still remained standing in its original spot it was now only a hollow shell. His soul had already rushed into the broodmother's body, following the signs to his target.

In his soul form, he could see empty space all around him with a huge ball of light in front, an image of the broodmother floating within. This was the barrier to the broodmother's soul, and there was a small crack upon it that was marked with a dark red sign. Unable to keep up the soul form very long, Krowes flew into the crack rapidly and shot towards the core; there would be a tough battle of the souls soon, but he was an expert in the field and was confident against a sleeping broodmother who could only defend itself by instinct. If it refused to surrender, he would destroy it completely and replace it with himself.

Of course, this was the last resort; doing so would leave him unable to obtain the most important secrets of the broodmother; knowledge about its evolutions. Prepared to make it bow in one go, he turned into a beam of light and shot towards her at full speed. Google search fr𝚎𝘦𝘄𝙚𝗯𝗻𝗼𝐯e𝗹. 𝑐o𝒎

1146 - City of Sin

King of Angels

The broodmother's soul didn't respond at all when Krowes shot towards it, making it obvious that it was still deep asleep. To him, this was the best result. Both souls would fuse together and he would gain control, giving him access to all of th ebroodmother's secrets. With success in his hands, he felt a surge of excitement within him.

It was at that point that a thread of faint red energy suddenly appeared before him. Krowes immediately felt a chill, like he was facing an entire forest of swords as even more strands wove together into a big net that instantly covered him!

His soul started trembling as he realised that those threads weren't meant to catch anything. Each one was pulsing with energy, able to deal enormous damage to a soul. He tried to retreat instinctively, but he couldn't stop his great momentum. It could have been a hallucination at that point, but he thought he even saw an eye behind the ball of light.

Trap! He finally realised what the situation was, but by then he had crashed into the net and his soul was shattered instantly.

In the distance, Krowe's body slowly collapsed. Roots stretched out from the ground and wrapped around him, quickly drying the corpse as they pulled him underground. He would soon be a real part of the larval forest.

The broodmother herself was still sleeping in silence, waiting for her level-up to complete or new prey to show itself.

......

A few experienced mages within Richard's workshop had received a brand new mission at the start of the month. Loud clangs resounded from their independent workspace as they constantly struck a mould that had been made with magic, using hammers and mana to bring it into the required shape. This was the job of an alchemist, but experienced mages were erudite in various fields and many in the field of runecrafting knew alchemy as well.

One of the mages who was waving a small silver hammer muttered, “Damn it, I've never heard of anything requiring this much precision? What do you think it will be used for, even legendary armour doesn't need this much attention.”
ƒ𝓇ℯ𝑒𝒘𝐞𝚋𝓃𝚘𝚟e𝚕. 𝒄𝗼𝐦

Another mage nearby had a newly-made armour piece floating in front of him, controlling liquid metal in his hands and blowing out a cloud of mist from it to form a thin and even coating. Hearing the complaints of the first, he shrugged, “The blueprint clearly said that this was a basis for a rune. Can't you even read Norlandic anymore?”

As they were talking, the coated part was handed over to the next one in line. This was an older mage at around 40 years of age, having the same blueprint on his desk as well. He joined in on the conversation, “I've been learning about magic arrays for decades and even managed to craft elementary runes, but I've never heard of a rune that needs to be crafted on something like this. How is one supposed to join it to the user?”

“Just do your jobs!” a strict old man walked over, “If you could think of how to do something, you wouldn't be an apprentice anymore!”

Once the man left, the middle-aged man whined softly, “You can only craft two grade 2 runes yourself, you bastard!”

After the small interlude, the mages continued with their work. Every part was coated with a thin material that allowed for magic arrays to be drawn on them. Once they created the arrays, another coating was added on top followed by more arrays. A single part was only finished with seven whole layers. The processed part would then be sent to Richard, who began work on the actual rune. Everything before was just preprocessing.

...

Seven layers of material and arrays gave Midren room for more complexity, increasing its capabilities significantly. However, the requirements on accuracy, material layering, and the arrays themselves were low enough for trained mages to take care of. This had dropped Richard's crafting time significantly.

However, this part of the design brought a brand new direction to his mind: three-dimensional runes. He had realised he could layer multiple magic arrays on top of each other to diversify their functions, giving each rune unprecedented power. There would be a proportional increase in capacity requirement, but those nearing the epic realm far exceeded normal legends anyway. The issue for them was normally runes being too weak, not them having too little capacity.

Midren truly had inspired Richard greatly. He had memorised everything he could before starting, and progress on the first of three sets for Saint Martin was unbelievably smooth. He would finish in only a month, and the next two would take a month and a half each or even less.

With the battle edition as a standard, his understanding of the set was even better than Saint Peter's. However, the more he uncovered about the rune, the more confused he felt. All saint runes had souls, and those souls could give one a glimpse at the original. The real Midren was wise, erudite, detailed, and powerful. He was ferocious in battle but only wished to save the world. All in all, the King of Angels was an amazing individual. Just how was one person so... perfect?

Unfortunately, that was a question he didn't have answers for. He could only continue crafting the runes, hoping to one day find the answer himself.

......

During this time, the legendary powerhouses who'd gone out to explore the Dragon Plane returned to Dragon Valley one by one. All of them were impressed by what Richard had prepared for them; they also heard about his victory over Saunder and saw the rune knights stationed in the valley. No one else had been stupid enough to try and extort him.

The valley was currently prospering, with everyone in high spirits. The most common topic during conversation was just how much one had gained in their excursions, almost a way of competing to see who was the better adventurer. Some conflicts arose from this mentality, but the serious ones were settled outside in private battle. All legends had a general gist of each other's powers, so they normally didn't fight each other without good reason. If they truly wished to compete in terms of skill, they would just enter one of the battlefields of despair and kill enemy legends to gain glory.

Richard spent almost all of his time locked into his lab, rarely ever showing his face, but no one really minded. While a good chunk of them were older now, they had been the exact same when they were young and placed all of their focus on their individual talents. Besides, the more focused Richard was, the quicker he would create the next grade 5 rune; that was worth the wait in and of itself.

The benefits from the Dragon Plane were certainly the primary reason for everyone having gathered here, but for some, a close second came in terms of the opportunity to be recognised by Richard. At the very least, they hoped to be invited to his next rune conventions. Many of them didn't have any saint runes yet, and even with 20 Richard's rate of two a year would give them each a rune by the decade-point. Those who had barely squeezed their way into the legendary realm were hoping for those runes to give them a significant boost in power.

......

Time seemed to fly past. One day, Richard carefully placed a silver part on the armour stand holding Midren, looking over the completed rune set that looked imposing yet elegant. A bright light swept across the surface of the armour set, making it seem like it had come to life as it started radiating a majestic aura.

Sighing in fatigue and delight, he turned to his right and had to pinch himself once at the sight of two more sets nearby. Even now, he found it a little difficult to believe just how quickly he had managed to finish them all; it had only been 133 days since he had started.

With these three sets complete, he had fulfilled his promise to Saint Martin. Calculating the time, he realised only half a month would have passed in Norland; in only half a Norland month, he had reproduced three sets of the most powerful rune set the Sacred Tree Empire had.

He wasn't even legendary yet!

However, he wasn't in a hurry to take that last step either. He wanted him to train himself fully so he could obtain a good legendary ability; rare skills like Manacycle or Manaforge weren't nearly as important to him right now as a powerful combat ability.

However, a flash of light seemed to go off in his mind as he thought of that, bringing him back to his fight with Saunder months ago. He already had a powerful ability!

1147 - City of Sin

Vile Flames

During the battle with Saunder, Richard had veered away from ordinary chants, gestures, and foci to cast spells. Using his three minds as a base, he had managed to cast three entirely different spells with an illusion of fake masks that could enhance their own specific spell with the power of his bloodlines. This was essentially a way of creating tripling himself, an ability no less powerful than Manaforge.

He practically charged to the door of his lab, setting up some warning lines and tossing out a number of stored counterspells to keep from being disturbed before he holed up. All of his followers received orders not to disturb him unless absolutely necessary.

Sitting quietly inside his lab, he combed through his own abilities bit by bit, from his bloodlines to the laws he was studying to his multiple minds. Their activation during the battle against Saunder had been the first time he had tried such a thing, so he closed his eyes and returned to his memories of that time in an attempt to recreate the feeling.
𝗳𝒓eℯ𝘄𝘦𝚋𝙣ｏ𝚟𝗲Ɩ． 𝑐𝒐𝘮

However, something changed as a number of figures appeared in his mind's field of vision. Gaton. Sharon, Flowsand, Mountainsea. All of his followers and good friends like Nyris, Agamemnon, Fontaine, Bevry. He even remembered Erin the girl who had left him heartbroken as a child.

His memories ran through time until he was back at the huge fire, seeing the smile of a beautiful grand shaman amidst the flames. For the first time ever, he made the connection to his own affinity towards fireballs, realising that experiences were a sort of power in themselves. Consciously or otherwise, he had trained himself in the very same magic that his mother had used to kill herself.

He slowly opened his eyes, now just emerald eyes now a bottomless pit of blue.

......

*BOOM!* Richard's lab suddenly trembled as a blue pillar of fire shot through the roof, bursting several dozen metres into the sky before going out. Everyone in Dragon Valley felt their hearts skip a beat, turning their attention to the source of the noise and flames.

Finally opening his doors, Richard walked out for the first time in forever, looking a bit of a mess. Right outside, he found Duane just standing around and looking confused.

“Good afternoon!” he said with a smile.

“Er... Hey!” Duane barely managed to return the greeting, then pointing at the traces left behind by the blue pillar, “What happened?”

Richard turned back to check and smiled, “Just a small issue, you should know us mages. Right, I'll be holding a small banquet tonight; I hope you'll attend.”

“Of course,” Duane answered, looking at the traces left by the fire.

Richard then waved at the man and left. Duane stared at his back dumbfoundedly, only yelping in surprise when he finally understood just what he had found so strange. Richard's aura had changed, and he wasn't yet able to hold back oppressing power. It was definitely a legend's strength!

Had Richard... already become a legend? The warrior gaped, unable to believe this conclusion. Of course, he had no idea that Richard had also unlocked a powerful ability that had never been recorded before: Apocalyptic Triad.

Duane ruffled his thick, short hair as he watched Richard vanished, rooted to the spot as he muttered in a daze, “He just became legendary like that?”

He suddenly recalled the battle from months ago and shivered, glad that he hadn't intervened. From the looks of it, Saunder would never have a chance for revenge. Richard had already been terrifying before entering the legendary realm, and now there would be no fighting him. What could his ability be? Was it one of the three legendary mage abilities? He already had one of them.

As he pondered over it and turned to leave, his movements suddenly went stiff and he looked to the side. Nasia was leaning against a large tree around the next corner, staring at the sky in boredom, but he had the impression that this was just a front. Her focus was on him, like a venomous snake targeting her prey. Unwilling to stay for a moment longer, he squeezed out a smile and left in a hurry.

Nasia clearly did notice. A smile appeared on her mask as she turned to look at him, but that only sent more chills down his spine and he flew away quickly. He only sighed in relief after he was out of her sight, unable to tell what was going on. Was she just interested him because he was legendary?

But he could tell that it wasn't just interest, it was a challenge. It wasn't impossible for saints to challenge legends, he had personally seen that with people from Beye to Richard, but they were all sky saints while Nasia was fresh. Did she really have the guts to challenge him? And yet, his instincts told him not to provoke her at all costs if he wanted to stay alive.

Duane suddenly felt like the Dragon Plane was much safer than this valley, immediately deciding to rent a random portal the next day and continue exploring.

Under the large tree, Nasia stretched her body and sighed. She really wanted a good fight, but none of Richard's followers bothered with her and the legends' servants were terrified. Even sky saints would hate being forced to fight as level 16s.

......

Over the next few days, Richard stabilised his mana and arranged for a time to return to Norland. He would finish his deal with Saint Martin before seeing if there was anything else he could take on. Improved versions of Lifesbane and Mana Armament would likely be of interest to many powerhouses.

In the meanwhile, a beautiful little plane called the Orange Crescent welcomed Empress Apeiron for the first time. This was a private plane of the royal family, with vast landscapes, great climate, and a number of lakes like pearls scattered around on a green mat. There were no intelligent life forms here, but all sorts of powerful beasts roamed the land. Thunderbirds lived on the hills and white dragons on the snowy mountains, unicorns frolicking around the forest and demons charging out from the volcanoes in the east.

Very close to multiple primary planes, the Orange Crescent wasn't very stable and would have rifts open up ever so often, forming passages to other planes. The royal family used it as a hunting and training ground for this reason. Apeiron hadn't come here since her ascension; hunting was child's play in her eyes compared to bloody battles on the edge of life and death. This time, she opened a huge crack in space before forcing it apart with her hands, pulling two enormous bodies out and dropping them in front of the castle below. She then turned around and punched the crack she had just walked out of, shattering it entirely.

The residents of the palace had surged out the moment the rift appeared, and seeing Apeiron walk out they had all fallen to one knee to pay their respects. She nodded slightly, “Not bad. Get someone to take care of these two, and prepare some clothing.”

The guards stared dumbfoundedly at the two dragons that were before them for a while. These were true dragons! They had heard all sorts of horrifying rumours about the Empress in the past, but how could that compare to the shock of seeing two dragons drop out of the sky?

Apeiron flew straight for the castle to shower and change, sending the servants scattering everywhere in panic. Thankfully, they were all well-trained and managed to deal with the matter without many issues. She didn't wait for long, returning to Faust through a portal when she was done.

That return caused another commotion, with a junior minister running over to attend to her. Walking towards the harem, she asked the man, “Is Julian not back?”

“Lord Julian is scheduled to return tomorrow afternoon, Your Majesty,” the man answered.

Apeiron frowned, that one action causing the man to break out in sweat, but thankfully her brow quickly relaxed, “Have him come see me when he's back.”

“As you wish, Your Majesty!” the man bowed low.

Back in her quarters, Apeiron sent all of her servants away and sat alone in front of the window, watching the beautiful view of Faust before her. In that moment, she suddenly wondered: just how would things have been if Philip had taken leading seriously? The man was definitely smart and far-sighted; if he had tried, the Sacred Alliance would be as dazzling as during Emperor Charles's reign.

However, he had just eaten and whiled life away until he seemed to sense something, prompting him to leave the palace and head to the Land of Dusk. He had shocked Norland with his achievements in that battle, but she knew that it was no big deal in his eyes.

She suddenly felt a wave of uneasiness, a fire in her heart that refused to fade.

1148 - City of Sin

Matriarch

While in the Outlands, Apeiron would always head to the most dangerous regions alone and have her fill of murder before she returned. She never had any expectations of keeping her life, but battle after battle on the brink of death had honed her technique until she could fight epic beings.

However, the environment of the Outlands had also wore away at her body bit by bit. It was only after returning to Norland that she had the chance to heal from numerous old injuries, slowly suppressing the laws of chaos that ate away at her life. If not for Philip's summons, she definitely wouldn't have returned; she had already decided to turn into a pile of bones in the Outlands.

Had she known the fatty had pulled her back to make her empress, she definitely wouldn't return. It definitely felt like he and Ferlyn were sitting and staring at each other somewhere. Even if they couldn't do anything, only converse, being able to see and sense each other was enough cause for happiness.

And their happiness was her hell. Google search 𝗳𝔯𝒆e𝘸𝗲𝗯𝓷𝗼𝘃𝘦l. 𝒄o𝓂

She suddenly got up and walked out of her sleeping quarters, “Bring me to the colosseum!”

The royal colosseum was built on a different demiplane. There were hundreds of ferocious beasts around ranging from mammoths to behemoths, and the battles between them and humans were an event that many nobles enjoyed.

This afternoon, however, the Empress had torn apart the ten most dangerous beasts bare-handed in less than three minutes. The purple in her eyes still hadn't receded, but the remaining beasts had all collapsed to the ground and couldn't be pulled up. The few that could still move were unwilling to step inside, the one exception having fallen prone immediately to moan and beg for its life.

Bored, Apeiron ended up brushing her sleeves and leaving.

......

At the same time, on another mysterious plane, Julian was stood on the back of a flying beast as he headed to a view something with an old acquaintance. The earth below him was withered away, the dried riverbed and dead trees visible even from this distance, and there was not a single sign of animal activity. The sky was a turbid grey, the hint of light on the horizon not moving at all. The world seemed to be frozen in a strange twilight.

Julian had his hands behind him as he observed the area, stood ramrod straight and letting off an imposing aura despite his simple travel clothes. Compared to his humility to the Empress and his lunacy during his first return to Norland, he now showed that he was a true powerhouse. Behind him were a black-robed mage and a dozen other mages who were working hard to steer the flying beast below them.

The beast looked almost like a giant, wriggling worm that was thirty metres long, possessing no wings but instead two rows of strange organs at its abdomen and tail that were emitting green light and pushing it forward. These organs had lines coming out from them that led to the operators up top, giving them control of the creature's movements. While the mechanisms were complicated, these operators were clearly trained to do their job well.

It wasn't long before the beast arrived at a black mountain range and descended, with Julian jumping off and looking up at it with interest. The black-robed mage landed next to him, “It can carry fifty tonnes of goods at a hundred kilometres an hour. With a complete meal, it can fly for ten hours continuously. Not bad, right? If we can get more of these, we can change warfare completely! You've seen how proficient these controllers are; as long as we train some low-levelled mages, numbers won't be an issue.”

Julian continued smiling, but one couldn't tell whether this was praise or a different evaluation, “A war between the peasants won't determine the true outcome.”

The black-robed mage nodded, “Those who win the mortal war are unlikely to suffer in the battle of the strong.”

Julian thought over it, “Hmm, makes sense. Well then, Master Hasting, shall we look at something else?”

“Of course!” Hasting answered, “Please, come with me. I believe this will leave an impression on you!”

“Hopefully,” Julian remained calm.

Hasting then gestured downward, leading Julian towards the mountain valley. The latter stopped the moment he stepped foot within, retracting the foot and looking below. A faint imprint had appeared on the earth, but the mark suddenly wriggled and turned smooth again in the blink of an eye. The ground here was soft!

Seeing this, Hasting smiled, “We're now walking on its body.”

Julian nodded with a glint in his eyes, following Hasting further in. The two left faint rows of footprints behind, no matter how he adjusted his steps and even when he tried to walk on air. Hasting just smiled, clearly knowing about this beforehand.

Not long after they entered the valley, they could see a row of black towers amidst the fog. These towers were around 300 metres tall and 50 metres wide, their pitch-black colour only interrupted by long lines of red or yellow. Julian breathed out slowly, doing his best to suppress his awe, “These are... worm nests?”

“Yes, we can have a look around the vicinity.”

This time, Julian couldn't hold back anymore and soared up the side of one nest, carefully observing the enormous construct that he couldn't see the top of. Hasting flew to his side and let him do as he pleased.

The surface of the worm nest was covered in black armour, just like a bug's shell. Pushing with his hand, Julian found that he could only go a few centimetres in. Although he hadn't used all of his strength, even a metal cylinder would take more damage from his hand. Raising his hand and covering it in the energy, he finally managed to send the entire arm into the worm nest as well. However, there was only awe on his face as he retracted it; this was comparable to a saint's full-strength attack, but he had only formed tiny cracks around the hole. Seeing the way his power was dispelled, even at full strength he would likely only be able to penetrate two arm's lengths into this thing.

Hasting calmly explained, “This is three metres thick and capable of taking on a legend's attacks. The defensive might of these things is undeniable, especially with combat drones protecting them.”

Julian nodded and looked the worm nest up and down before suddenly landing on the ground. Several enormous tubes pulled away from the worm nest's roots, sneaking towards a mountain far away. All the tubes were swollen and wriggling around, causing a chill down any observer's spine. He cut a hole into one of them with his hand, causing thick yellow fluid to gush out, but black bubbles quickly frothed and hardened to close it up.

“Regeneration is a little slow,” he said as he tasted some of the fluid, “Not very fresh, not enough nutrition.”

Hasing's expression changed slightly, but then he returned to normal, “It is strengthening its vitality; this is a long process.”

“How long?”

“A decade longer.”

“And if we give you what you need?”

“Three years.”

“Sigh. Not unacceptable, but is this the surprise you wanted to give me? A broodmother that will only be revived at some point in the future and some combat drones that might or might not be controllable? I'll have to admit bringing a dead broodmother back to life is surprising, but that's not enough.”

“This isn't just a broodmother!” Hasting stated in agitation, “It's a matriarch!”

Julian shook his head, “Be it a broodmother or a matriarch, it's far from enough.”

Hasting froze up for a moment before gritting his teeth, “Please come with me, my Lord. Your surprise is up there.”

Julian followed Hasting to the thick upper regions of the worm nest, watching as the man pulled out a section of the shell. Within was a cabin about three metres in circumference, sealed by a transparent membrane and filled with clear liquid that housed a strange being. The creature's head wasn't all that large and there were dozens of little holes all over, while the four arms ended in numerous tendrils. The lower body was even that of an insect, with a carapace and six legs.

Seeing this strange being, Julian immediately turned grim. Even here, he could sense that the being was alive and filled with vitality. If awake, its power would be comparable to a saint's. He narrowed his eyes, “How many?”

Hasting didn't answer, instead revealing a dozen more cabins at one go. Each had its own strange creature sleeping within, their forms varied, but the one common point was that their average strength was that of saints. There was no need to show more; Julian quickly extrapolated that there had to be a hundred units or more.

The mage then flew a little further and pointed further into the body, showing dozens of enormous worm nests with the silhouettes of more in the fog. Julian's gaze froze for a long time as he sensed the flaring life force; this was an enormous number of saints. He shook his head and pointed at the matriarch, “Can you control it if it regains awareness?”

“It's just an empty shell whose soul vanished long ago. It can only be resurrected because of its powerful vitality... As for a possibility of regaining awareness, I'm not trying to go in that direction at all. I don't believe I have the ability to control this if it were alive.”

“Agreed,” Julian expressed his approval. Anyone who wanted to control a matriarch was definitely a lunatic. He then pointed back at the combat drone, “So what are you planning to do with those?”

Hasting took one of the soldiers and pulled it towards a mage tower by the valley. A dozen black-robed mages walked out and activated a formation on the ground, with the drone being thrown into the middle and enveloped in magic light. He flew up above and started a long chant, guiding a speck of light out from his body and into it.

The drone immediately thrashed about for a minute, but afterwards it slowly stood up while swaying. Seeing Hasting in the air, its limbs suddenly went soft as it somewhat kneeled to the ground, speaking in Norlandic, “Master.”

Julian raised a brow, “That was a soul you implanted in its body... Feasible for control, but that soul is very powerful, and there are so many drones. How are you going to come up with all you need?”

“I already have enough,” Hasting smiled mysteriously.

Julian smiled with incredulity, “That... isn't a good joke to make, Master Hasting. Where would you get so many saints?”

“Can you not think of a place I've been in that has no lack of powerhouses?”

This time, Julian's eyes widened as he realised the implication, “The Land of Dusj?”

“Mm. Every moment on a battlefield of despair is a chance to gather the souls of the strong.”

Julian regained his calm, but then had to hide all of his emotions as he asked, “So the Battle of the Unsetting Sun was your work?”

“Marshal Rundstedt believed guarding the area could nurture powerful martial souls, which is something he has always been focused on. I merely persuaded him to... take it further.”

“So he knew about your plan?”

“Yes.”

1149 - City of Sin

Behind The Scenes

Hearing that Rundstedt had conspired to kill hundreds of Norlanders, Julian frowned, “It doesn't make sense. The Marshal might have his own ideals, but he would still prioritize the overall situation. If not for the intervention from the Millennial Empire, the City of the Unsetting Sun would have fallen to the Daxdians.”

“And that was the plan,” Hasting nodded, “We wanted the city to collapse; it would have given us the entire Land of Dusk.”

“Continue.”

The soul mage pointed at the soldiers below, “We wanted them, we wanted the souls of the many powerhouses who would die in the City of the Unsetting Sun. There would be some Norlanders, but the Daxdians would lose far more people in their attack. I wasn't relying on the city to exhaust their strength, but to get their souls. I already had a magical formation ready to collect the souls of the dead, and that battle gave me 4,000!”

Hasting then took a deep breath to calm himself down and reiterated, “Of course, most of those souls were from Daxdians.”

He gestured to a warehouse nearby, a rumble quickly spreading through the area as the door opened to two rows of soldiers marching out. There were nearly a hundred of these soldiers, all silently waiting for further orders. “These are my results. Every one has the power of a saint, obeying orders without question. They're a powerful army. And what of our saints? How many obey orders without question? This type of troop would be more effective on the battlefields of despair than 200 saints, and there's still a chance to reuse their souls once they are killed. The process can be repeated thrice before the soul is worn out, so the fall of the Unsetting Sun should give us 10,000 saint warriors! That is enough to conquer the Land of Dusk!”

Watching him wave his hand around forcefully, Julian looked back up with dark eyes and joked, “So you sacrificed all of the powerhouses in the City of the Unsetting Sun...”

“So what if they have to be sacrificed? We can beat the Daxdians back and conquer their plane. This is for the greater good!”

“Hmm... Was the marshal of the same opinion?”

“Rundstedt... and I had some disagreements on this. He eventually decided to fight to the end with the guards, having his soul join the plan.”

“A twisted redemption.”

“This wasn't a sin! This was a chance for victory! They should be happy to die for the greater good!”

“Heh, but you'd never make your plan known to the public.”

Hasting paused amidst his rage, replying coldly, “Those lesser beings are lowly fellows, selfish, ignorant, and only caring about their own pathetic needs. They think that a bit of power grants them entry into the upper echelons of society, but they don't even understand that only legends with noble bloodlines are truly great beings. The biggest value of these idiots is their souls!”

Julian chuckled, “I don't concern myself with morality. But I've definitely seen what I needed to; now, what is it you need?”

The mage's face immediately filled with delight, “I need resources that can supplement the vitality of the matriarch and the worm nests. I also need materials to implant souls into the bodies of the soldiers. You already have the list.”

Julian nodded, “I'll convey everything to Her Majesty.”

“Thank you very much!” Hasting bowed deeply.

Julian formed a portal behind him, walking through it back to Faust, “Master Hasting, your definition of high society doesn't include me, either.”

Hasting could only look at the disappearing silhouette with shock on his face.

......

It was about dinner time when Julian got back to the palace. He quickly changed clothes and returned to the humble and polite manager, kicking the assistant aside to serve Aperion's dinner personally.

There were only a few plates in the feast, but together they took up a full two-thirds of the table. The main dish was roasted a dragon wing that weighed more than ten kilograms, fresh off one of the dragons that the Empress had just brought back. Apeiron listened to Julian's report expressionlessly as she cut through the meat in her plate, fork and knife shredding through the mass quickly.

Julian finished his report about Hasting and then looked at Apeiron's plate discreetly, seeing that the now-small chunks of meat had barely been eaten. He immediately knew that the Empress was confused and frustrated. Her gaze wandered as she asked, “Do you think we should accept?”

“Yes, we should,” he was already prepared, “Hasting has a huge power in his hand. Even if he doesn't conquer the entire Land of Dusk, it will definitely be a blow to the Daxdians that gives us three to four fortresses and an overall advantage. This will leave a big mark on history and put you in books, placing you ahead of Emperor Philip.”

Apeiron had smirked at the mention of history books, but that faded away at the mention of Philip's name. Growing sombre once more, she asked, “That's it?”

“No. Hasting is very ambitious; he won't stay put after he gets all that power. But before he conquers the Land of Dusk, we should send another person in. It will be easy to convince Rundstedt to involve himself, and a few battles will leave him dead or mortally wounded. If he somehow survives, I'll kill him personally.“

Julian's voice suddenly lowered, “Those two are the main culprits behind Emperor Philip's death.”
f𝔯𝒆𝑒we𝚋𝓃૦ν𝙚Ɩ. c૦m

Apeiron fell silent for a while before saying slowly, “Give Hasting what he wants. And don't bother yourself with Rundstedt, I'll do it personally.”

Julian flashed a wicked smile and bowed, “As you wish, Your Majesty.”

“I also don't feel like eating!” the Empress pushed her utensils away.

Julian looked at the dragon wing, “Mm, this is quite boring. How about something from that special list?”

Apeiron sighed, her voice growing cold, “Sure.”

“Actually, Hasting is quite useful for managing to resurrect a matriarch. We don't need to look at the broodmother anymore—”

“You've been thinking too far.” These words stopped Julian in the middle of his speech, evoking a shiver of fright. Apeiron then stood up and headed out of the room, “Send him tonight.”

“Yes, Your Majesty!”

......

As ever, Faust's night sky shone brightly.

In a lonely courtyard on the imperial island, Nyris was looking at this scenery from his window. He hadn't been training or even reading in recent times, cooped up inside day and night while watching the city and the stars. His mother had sent many people to check on him, but they had all been chased away. He didn't feel like talking to anyone and just sat there alone, with no one knowing just what he was waiting for.

The soft hum of the magic lights was suddenly interrupted by a few loud knocks, abruptly pulling Nyris out of his daze. His hand trembled, sweeping a glass off the table and sending it crashing to the ground. The crystal shattered immediately, red liquid splashing all over the floor.

The prince still just sat there dumbly, trying to recover from a sudden onslaught of dizziness that arose from the sight of the blood-red wine. As the knocks rang out once more, he eventually shuddered and stood up slowly, walking out to open the door of his house.

Julian was standing outside, a creepy smile on his face that was filled with malice. Nyris immediately felt his entire body turn cold, his face going white as a sheet while the shivering grew uncontrollable.

“Please follow me, Your Highness. The Empress wishes to see you,” Julian said slowly, savouring Nyris's reaction to every word.

“It's so late... What is it?” Nyris asked reluctantly. However, Julian just watched him with a smile for minutes on end.

He eventually nodded, “I understand, please wait a moment.”

1150 - City of Sin

One Night

As Nyris moved to close the door, he was blocked by a smiling Julian, “My apologies, Your Highness. I must ensure you stay within my vision.”

The distressed prince took a deep breath and returned to his room, looking around only to find nothing that he wanted to keep or bring away. He placed a piece of paper on the table, thinking about what he wanted to write, but after lifting his pen multiple times, he just crumpled it and threw it away.

Julian stood patiently the entire time, not looking anxious at all and only speaking when Nyris tore up the paper, “Your Highness, this is useless. You still have some time now, some chances. You should do something meaningful, or look for someone who can help you.”

Someone who can help you... Nyris froze as he thought of something, but he shook his head to push the thought away. Julian coughed and decided to make himself clearer, “You should have someone useful by your side right now. For example, that lady from the Millennial Empire or one of the fourteen. They could help you stay tonight, although that would depend on their attitude and how much they are willing to do for you.”

Nyris suddenly laughed, his face regaining some of its colour, “You mean Macy? What's the difference if it's her? As for other people... there's no one else.”

“Is that so? That's a pity. Please follow me.”

Nyris didn't hesitate longer either, nodding and following Julian through the island to Apeiron's quarters. Still with that smile on his face, Julian opened the door and stopped, “I have to stop here, please go in on your own.”

The prince walked in slowly, the door behind him closing with a bang. He started and turned around to look at the closed door, but then he walked in with determination. The vast residence was empty without a person in sight, leaving him more and more fearful as he walked around. It soon felt like he was the only person left in the world.

“Scared?” a distinct voice eventually rang out next to him, prompting him to freeze and slowly turn around. The Empress was sitting next to a window with her feet sitting on the windowsill, a bottle of wine in her hand. She had been there the whole time, but he hadn't detected her presence at all.

He puffed out his chest and said loudly, “Why would I be scared of you?”

Apeiron smiled sarcastically and asked, “Do you know why I looked for you?”

“Isn't it just for my bloodline?!”

“Then why not just agree to Macy? I might have let you off.”

Nyris laughed, “It's all breeding, is there a difference?”

The Empress's smile turned cruel, “There is. I always break my toys, you might have lasted longer with her.”

“Do whatever you want!”

“Oh, I will. You've gone all out, but let me tell you the real reason you're here. All that talk about bloodline and descendants is bullshit, I summoned you because of your mother.”

“My mother?” Nyris had a bad feeling.

“My fight with Philip and Ferlyn a long time ago, it was mainly due to your mother. I was still young and fell for that whore's words, going to duel Ferlyn. That ended up in a battle with Philip, after which I went to the Outlands. Imagine my surprise when that bitch became Philip's consort and even had a bastard like you.”

“Who's the whore who sleeps with a new harem every week?” Nyris asked coldly.

*THWACK!* His face immediately swelled from a powerful slap, but for all he could tell Apeiron was still motionless. He just laughed and didn't even bother to wipe the blood off his lips, “Heh, actually stupid enough to be tricked by my mo—!”

Before he was even finished speaking, Apeiron lifted Nyris up by the neck. Purple fire spewed from her eyes, but looking at his calm and even relieved expression she laughed. Threads of power tore his clothes apart.

“Seems like I really do need to break you. And here I thought you were smart... hmm?” she stopped in the middle of her words, looking over his naked body in surprise. Seeing him relax and close his eyes, smirking with an expression that dared her to do whatever she wanted, she laughed heartily, “You actually... You think this will be enough? No matter what you turn into, I'll still teach you a lesson. Let's watch you struggle!”

She leaned forward and whispered something in his ear, causing him to scream with widened eyes as he started struggling violently. However, she just threw him to the bed and stepped on him, letting him flail like a fish out of water.

......

Julian opened the doors to Apeiron's residence at the crack of dawn, finding Nyris already standing on the other side. His golden hair was rumpled, eyes bloodshot, and he still had streaks of tears on his face. His lips had lost all colour, as though the world had died in front of his eyes. Dressed in the Empress's casual wear, he looked far more androgynous than normal.

The royal manager seemed surprised, but he immediately bowed with a smile, “Where are you headed now, Your Highness?”

“Back to my room.” Nyris's voice was weak and hollow.

“As you wish.”

......

Over the next three days, Empress Apeiron locked herself in her palace and refused to see anyone. Surprisingly, Nyris had returned to normal, even starting to pack and gathering people to go back and manage his personal plane.

During that time, he found a representative of the Millennial Empire and broke off his engagement with Macy, not giving the man a single reason. The envoy had been stunned by the change; the prince had recently accepted the proposal and Macy was already back home preparing while the news had already spread. This was a great humiliation that would carry repercussions, but he clearly didn't care at all.

......

When Apeiron finally came out of her residence, she pushed open the door of her palace only to find Julian waiting there. He had been in the same place for all three days, not moving an inch.

“I'm hungry,” she said.

Julian beamed, “The chefs are already in the kitchen.”

A short while later, the Empress was in the dining hall with a table filled with food. More dishes were being served continuously, but her stomach was an endless pit that everything disappeared into. Only after the 35th dish did she have them stop, finishing everything off before belching out a puff of purple flames, “Ah... that hits the spot.”

She took a napkin and wiped her lips, “Julian, none of the games have been fun.”

At this point, even Julian was a little shocked, “Including Nyris?”

“Yes.”

“That shouldn't be the case...” he frowned.

“Ha, you don't have to think anymore. I've found the reason.”

“Oh? What is it?”

“There's a more interesting game to be played!”

“What do I need to do?”

“Nothing, just look after the palace. I'll have to leave for a few days, you know how to contact me if anything serious happens.”

“As you wish, Your Majesty.”

Apeiron stood up and leapt out the window, tearing a hole in space mid-flight and disappearing into the void. Julian sat ramrod straight, looking at the crack that was slowly mending itself.

...... Google search fr𝚎𝘦𝘄𝙚𝗯𝗻𝗼𝐯e𝗹. 𝑐o𝒎

The portal array on the Archeron island started flickering as Richard walked out, followed by a few shadowspears who were all carrying large cases. When he sat down in the study, the old steward quickly rushed over to report.

“Anything big happen recently?” he asked as usual.

The steward shook a bell gently, and the door to the study opened to reveal Coco with a stack of documents in her hands. She walked in and put the papers down on his desk. Richard glanced at her before ignoring her completely, paying attention to the documents instead.

Outside of just public news about the plane, there was some information on family income from various territories and branches as well. Although there were no core secrets amongst these documents, there was still some sensitive data. According to convention, the steward would take care of these things personally.

However, Richard didn't say anything and just finished looking through all of them, signing off on what needed it and adding input where he found deficiencies. The entire stack only took fifteen minutes for him to go through, and Coco carried the signed documents away.

It was only once the door was closed that he asked the old man, “Did you arrange this?”

1151 - City of Sin

Honouring An Agreement

The old steward didn't even flinch at Coco's mention, “I've gotten old, Master. I don't have the energy I once did, and she was the perfect helper. You control her life and she still has an obligation towards you.”

“She's a traitor,” Richard stated coldly.

“Perhaps, but nobody can live their whole life without mistakes. She might have done wrong in the past, but she shouldn't repent for it her entire life... Cough, cough... Coco's been working diligently, learning how to manage a territory so she can be helpful.”

Richard stared the old man in the eye. This butler had seemed to age decades in the past few years, and one couldn't fault him. Outside of the most important decisions, he had been managing all of the Archeron territories ever since Gaton left for the Rosie Plane. Richard had yet to find someone capable of taking care of everything so well, and fruits of life or blessings of time could only do so much for those without much power. The degradation of their energy just couldn't be helped.

He sighed softly, his gaze mellowing out, “I'll think it over, but she can help you unless I say otherwise.”

“She was a partner you chose yourself, Master!” the man was surprisingly stubborn, “You're one of Faust's fourteen, you cannot just let your word mean nothing!”

Richard gaped for a moment before smiling wryly, “Well... Let it go for now, I'll make a decision the next time I return. There's some things I need to do now. Go send someone to the ambassador from the Sacred Tree Empire, have him tell Martin I'm ready with his order.”

He then picked up a piece of paper that he had set aside and read through it repeatedly, looking hesitant. It was an invitation from a certain Marquess Raoul of the Millennial Empire, requesting him to attend an auction in the imperial capital. The auction was held once every decade and was one of the most magnificent events of the entire Empire, only allowing saints, grand runemasters, and the most powerful noble families on the entire continent.

Richard didn't have much of an impression about this Raoul, but the steward had made sure to add that this man was the younger brother of Prince Tumen, making him Macy's uncle. His noble blood gave him the qualification to send such an invitation.

Attached to the letter was a list of some of the items that were confirmed to be appearing at the auction, many amongst them things that left Richard's heart thumping with excitement. This included the heart of a valley archlord, blood of a primal giant that would allow an ogre to evolve, as well as five hundred units of divinity in pure divine crystals.

Valley archlords were the greatest evolution of primal mountain giants, terrifying beings that were extremely rare in the myriad planes. They were masters of the mountains, where even dragons had to yield. A heart of such a being wasn't only an offering; it could substitute as a core material for a saint rune, and Richard already knew it could replace many of the materials for the battle edition of Midren. The giant blood would definitely boost Tiramisu's power greatly, and of course the divine crystals were huge for the broodmother; they were basically a third of her growth between level 11 and 12.

Almost every item on the list was useful, and as a saint runemaster, Richard didn't even need to pay immediately. He could just sell his runes or even just contracts to make some in the future, making it a considerable temptation. If he could obtain a number of materials he needed in a single auction, that would save a lot of time. It was the divine crystals that left him feeling uncomfortable. They were strangely ominous, almost feeling like they were targeted at him personally.

Whatever it was, this was an auction worth attending. Looking through the list a few more times, he finally nodded, “I might be going.”

“I'll arrange things,” the steward replied, taking the letter and leaving.

Once the man was gone, Richard remained seated in his study with a great feeling of discomfort. As someone who was on the verge of mastering multiple laws, his intuition was much more profound than in the past. So-called bad feelings were like pebbles landing in the calm lake of the world; he was just sensing the ripples.

With meditating not giving him any results, he eventually put the matter out of his mind and returned to his room to sleep. Not long after, the door was opened cautiously and a graceful figure tiptoed in, carefully lying on the bed and squeezing up to him.

“Did the steward let you in?” he asked calmly.

A soft yelp sounded in the bedroom as Coco shivered in shock, shrinking to one side. However, she gritted her teeth and pressed back up to him, hugging him tightly. Richard was startled by the sheer heat coming off her body, and confused by the constant trembling. Sighing, he patted her head softly, “I'm not in the mood right now, maybe next time.”

“That's what you said last time!” she looked him in the eye. It was very dark in the room, with a single beam of amber moonlight illuminating it, but her eyes were so bright it was almost frightening.

Coco was a timid girl, while Richard himself had grown more and more imposing day after day by virtue of his sheer power and authority. She normally didn't even have the courage to meet his gaze, much less speak back to him. The determination she was showing was abnormal, as were the sly movements of her hands and legs as she grinded against him. He lifted her chin and pulled her mouth open, frowning the moment he took a sniff, “You've had schlane?”

Schlane was a famous spirit that also doubled as an aphrodisiac. He was pretty sure that Coco was drunk on it, but there were likely some other things as well. He sighed and was about to tell her off, but she forced a kiss on him before staring with sparkling eyes, “You chose me as your partner, take responsibility for it! I don't care if you're not in the mood, I'll get you there!”

As she spoke, she lowered her head and kissed down his chest, slowly making her way to his penis before taking it into her mouth and getting down to business. It immediately became clear that she had no experience at all, but Richard was aroused almost solely by her fierce determination. He gave up on restraining himself, reaching out to pull her up.

...

When the two separated and lay down once more, the clock indicated that it was past midnight. Coco's legs were still trembling, a small trail of blood running down her thighs. This was her first time, but thankfully Richard had maintained his clarity throughout the process and didn't break her entirely.

“This isn't like you,” he said as he laid down.

“That's because I thought it through. I can't keep living like I used to.”

“Oh?”

“My family needs my help, and I... I need safety as well. I don't want there to come a day when I get kicked off this island; you're so busy with bigger things that you wouldn't even notice. So many people are talking behind my back every day, trying to chase me out so the position of your partner can be opened up.”

“Huh?” Richard frowned, “And why wasn't I informed of this?”

“The steward has been keeping everything at bay, but things are getting harder on him too. Many lords with higher status than him are starting to poke their noses in, and it's put him under great pressure. I need a child. With a child, I won't be chased off this island, and I won't need to worry about daily life. I don't have any expectations of getting your heart.”

Richard stayed silent. He hadn't known the girl's wants were so simple, just security for her to live her life in peace. Such a small desire had changed her entire personality.

......

When Richard was having breakfast in the morning, news arrived that Saint Martin would make his way to Faust as soon as possible. He would be taking a temporary long-distance portal, which would let him arrive at the very next day. Richard hadn't expected Martin to come so quickly, but this only made it all the more apparent just how important these three rune sets were to the man.

There was another piece of important news at breakfast. Richard had wanted to meet Nyris and Agamemnon, but the Fourth Prince was apparently holed away in his residence refusing to see anyone at all. There were no exceptions.

This response was entirely unexpected. Already having heard about the marriage being cancelled the day prior, he knew something had to have happened. The more he wondered about it, the stranger it all felt; he eventually decided to go to the royal island himself to see what was going on.

1152 - City of Sin

Honouring An Agreement(2)

Richard had been to the imperial palace more than once, and everyone there recognised him. Even so, he was rather surprised at the complete lack of obstacles on his way to Nyris's residence.

The door opened the moment he knocked on it, Nyris himself popping out and bellowing, “I ALREADY SAID I DON'T WANT TO EAT... Oh, Richard.”

Richard immediately noticed the bloodshot eyes of the Fourth Prince, ringed by swollen circles and a pale face that seemed to be devoid of blood. He also noticed the extreme stiffness and bewilderment. It took a moment for his own surprise to fade away, but then he acted as though nothing had happened and asked, “I'm not allowed in?”

Nyris gritted his teeth, but he made way. The two of them entered the lobby and sat opposite each other, but the prince quickly turned to look out the window and remained silent. He absolutely refused to make eye contact.

“What happened?” Richard asked directly, but Nyris continued looking out the window as though he hadn't heard anything. He knitted his brows and asked, “I sent someone to give you a letter a while ago, did you get it?”

This time, Nyris finally responded, “I already tore it up.”

“The hell? Why?”

“It... isn't worth it to embroil you and your family in this.”

“Nyris,” Richard turned solemn, “That letter didn't represent my support for you, it just made my position clear. I'm protecting you, no matter who the opponent is.”

“I said I'm not worth it!” Nyris stood up, “You know that means war! You might even make enemies of legends!”

“Heh. We Archerons have been fighting since we first came up; this won't be the first time we've fought legends. No matter who the enemy is, I'm protecting you. That's the end of it.”

Nyris's breathing grew more rapid and he suddenly tore off his clothes, yelling loudly, “I'M REALLY NOT WORTH IT! I'M NOT WORTH YOU DOING ALL THAT! DON'T YOU SEE WHAT I'VE BECOME?”

“What...” At this point, Richard jumped up from his seat as well, face full of shock. Nyris had gone completely nude, and the first thing one noticed were two lumps at his chest. His gaze then travelled down to the bottom half, noticing a distinct lack of penis. Nyris had transformed completely into the woman.

However, he couldn't understand how. He, Nyris, and Agamemnon had basically lived together during their time in the Forest Plane, and he knew for a fact that he— no, she— had been a man. This had to be after that.

And yet, that wasn't the worst of it. Once he managed to shake off the astonishment, he saw a number of bruises and scars all over Nyris's snow-white skin. There was even a dark blue scar on her navel heading down! A frosty expression quickly climbed up his face; he wasn't an inexperienced young boy who would need to ask why this had happened.

Taking off his own outer robes, he wrapped Nyris up and asked calmly, “Who did this?”

Nyris seemed to lose all strength, wrapping herself tightly before burying her head into his chest and crying uncontrollably. This was perhaps the first time in many days that she could cry with such reckless abandon.

“Who did this?” he asked again as he stroked her hair.

Nyris's body was trembling gently, the fear almost radiating from her. However, Richard didn't give up and continued questioning her until she finally answered softly, “The... Empress.”

“Apeiron?” he was taken aback, “Why?”

“She's a pervert, a demon! That woman can do anything when she goes insane!” she cried out as something broke within.

Richard lowered his voice and hugged her a little tighter, feeling the tears soaking into his shirt, “Tell me, just what happened?”

In between her sobs, Nyris quickly tried to hold back her emotions and even managed to force a smile, “Nothing, I was just the victim of some bullying. It's no big deal, what can a woman do to another woman anyway? I just... just can't accept it, so I felt a little upset. Let's talk about something else.”

He pulled up her hand, seeing a long scratch on her inner arm, “Was this why you rejected Macy's engagement?”

“What do you think I can do? Those people want my bloodline, not me. How am I going to give her a child when I'm like this?” Nyris said helplessly.

“And why did Apeiron look for you? Did she come before or after you broke the engagement?”

“Sigh. Before. She's been choosing pets for her harem, but she didn't find anything that she was satisfied with. It's rumoured that none of them could make her happy, even for a moment. On the other hand, I and two other people were on a special list. I knew this day would come eventually, but I thought she would wait until I broke the engagement. Well, people are whispering that I was the only one to excite her enough to keep alive. Should I feel proud?”

Nyris raised her head, looking Richard in the eye for the first time, “Apeiron isn't a bad choice. Macy or whoever else, I'm not going to be a breeding tool! I don't care what price I have to pay!”

Richard didn't say a word, listening intently as she lifted her robes up to reveal her crotch, pointing at it, “Once we go through the second awakening of our bloodline, we get a chance to change our bodies from head to toe. Muscles, skeletal structure, internal organs, we can change anything we want. It's meant to be a chance to upgrade ourselves, but I used it to make myself a woman inside and out. You should be thinking I'm crazy right now!”

Richard didn't know just what to say, only able to sigh for what felt like the billionth time in a few minutes, “There was no need to go this far just for Apeiron and Macy.”

“That... yes, it's not worth it just for them,” she said softly, but her spirits seemed to lift a little, “But you don't understand, the Empress wouldn't let me go so easily. My mother was the reason she fought Ferlyn and Philip, having to go to the Outlands. Ferlyn was impacted greatly as well; it's said that she had to confine herself to the Church just so she could save Father. Mother then became one of his concubines, and they had me. Nobody expected Apeiron to come back and become Empress, and she won't let my mother go. She didn't strike earlier because she wanted us to live scared everyday.”

“I understand,” Richard nodded.

Nyris laughed in distress, “No, not fully. But I don't plan to let her live comfortably; breaking up my engagement is part of that. I've embarrassed Macy and her family, now the Millennial Empire wants vengeance. Some people are even talking about war. Since the Empress wants to torment me, she'll have to suffer my wrath too! I know it won't be much use, that crazy bitch isn't scared of anyone... But... But...”

“But I am, damn it. Imagine both the Sword Saint and Empress Gelan being on my back. You really know how to give me trouble.”

“What?” Nyris was taken aback, her heart starting to beat faster.

However, he held her hand and pulled her up, “Go change into something else, and pack some stuff too. We're getting out of here.”

“Getting... out?” she suddenly felt a little dizzy.

“I. Will. Protect you. No matter what,” he dragged her towards the dressing room, completely ignoring her struggles.

“What's a fight with the Empress!” Nyris screamed, “Do you know what you're getting yourself into?”

“Of course I do!” Richard tossed her in, closing the door, “You have three minutes!”

“How can I get changed in three minutes?” Nyris cried in shock.

“How long can it take, stop acting like a girl!”

“But... I am a girl...”

“Uhh...”

......

It took Nyris a good amount of time to get dressed, but once she was back in front of Richard she was wearing a unisex dress that exuded charm. She had a strange allure about her, so much so that Richard had to force himself to look away.

“Come with me, don't come too close or go too far. No matter what happens, you're going to stand aside and watch, there will be no intervening,” he instructed. Nyris suddenly felt like there was an imposing air around him that was bearing down on her, forcing her to nod subconsciously.

Richard nodded as well, heading to the exit of the residence after picking up a sword from a suit of armour in the hallway. The blade was ordinary and paid much more attention to its beautiful patterns than the material, but he still placed it by his waist.

It didn't take much walking from the residence before Julian's unique voice rang out, “Your Grace Richard, Your Highness Nyris, are the two of you going out on an expedition?”

Richard turned around calmly, “Just going for a walk.”

Julian smiled, “You're free to walk where you want. Unfortunately, I have some things to discuss with His Highness; he will be unable to join you on your walk.”

Seeing Julian, Nyris immediately started to tremble. However, Richard stretched out a hand to pull her behind him and looked the man in the eye, “She will be taking a walk with me.”

“That... will put me in a spot.”

“Sorry to hear that, have fun in the spot.”

“Such tyranny,” Julian smiled, even giving him a thumb up. But then, his gaze landed on the sword by Richard's waist and his eyes narrowed, “That's a pretty decoration.”

Richard grabbed the hilt firmly, “It can kill people too.”

“Oh? I would really like to see that!” Julian's eyes lit up.

“No!” Nyris's cry was cut short as he was enveloped in a chill, unable to say a word. Both Richard and Julian remained immobile as they stared at each other, just like two statues.f𝔯e𝘦𝒘e𝑏𝙣𝑜𝚟𝚎l. co𝑚

1153 - City of Sin

Honouring An Agreement(3)

Everything around Richard and Julian seemed to freeze, both Nyris and the royal guards who weren't far away not daring to move a muscle. They all knew instinctively that even a single twitch would have fatal repercussions. A lone leaf flew by amidst the silence, but before it could reach the ground it suddenly split into two, then four, then eight. In the blink of an eye, it was reduced to such tiny fragments that one couldn't even see it anymore.

Julian was the first one to make a move, his body vanishing only to be replaced by a naga with four sword-wielding arms. Richard simply raised his own blade and thrust it towards the monster, the move neither fancy nor fast but possessing a special trajectory within. It was the same attack that he had practiced countless times in the Land of Dusk, possessing nothing but perfect technique. Three faces flickered around him for just a moment as the monster disappeared entirely.

Richard's attack seemed to have missed, but a startled cry rang out as a circle of fire spread a dozen metres in all directions, Julian appearing a several metres away and huffing once before the crimson flames were pulled back into his body.

“Your Grace, you've already...” Julian watched the blood dripping down the corner of Richard's lips, but even though he only had a slight flush on his face he didn't press the offensive. He watched Richard throw away the bent sword and flashed a charming smile, taking a large step to the side.

Richard smiled and led Nyris away through the path that had been opened up for them. She was incredibly pale and couldn't help but be terrified, afraid that Julian would attack at any moment, but even as they stepped into the portal the legendary warrior didn't make a move. Seeing this, the royal guards didn't do anything either.

Once the light of the portal flashed, Julian suddenly bent back and coughed up a surprising amount of blood. Wiping it away with a handkerchief and looking at the crimson stains on the cloth, he smiled and muttered to himself, “That was fun!”

......

It was only once they were at the Archeron island and Richard claimed that it was safe that Nyris found the strength to speak. He had been emitting a slight pressure during the entire journey, and even without it being aimed at her she had felt suffocated and afraid to speak. Now, she shuffled around uneasily, “I'll bring you a lot of trouble.”

“Too late to worry about that.”

“But what can I even do to repay you?” she found her mind failing her entirely.

“Simple,” Richard relaxed, “Wear your armour, grab your axe, and go fight in the myriad planes.”

“Like back in the Forest Plane?” her eyes brightened.

“No, it'll be more dangerous than that.”

“I like danger!”

“And I like trouble!” Richard grinned.

Nyris suddenly couldn't respond, only able to lower her head and sigh, “If I wasn't so stubborn, you wouldn't have to deal with all this.”

Richard shared the expression, “You really gave me no time to consider my options. I had to bring you back here immediately.”

“Huh? Why?”

Richard's eyes suddenly widened at the realisation that she didn't know, “Did you think becoming a woman would leave you immune to Apeiron and Macy?”

“What else?”

Nyris looked confused, her eyes wavering in a way that Richard could only call cute. He sighed powerlessly, “You still have your darkthunder titan bloodline, right?”

“Of course!”

He then tapped on her abdomen, “Didn't you even realise that women are the ones who have children?”

Nyris's face turned pale as she realised what Richard was trying to say, mouth falling open in shock. Richard stood up and shook his head, “Alright, go bathe and rest, I'll have someone send food to your room.”

“But the Empress...”

Anger flashed on Richard's face as his voice turned cold, “Even an empress can't do whatever the fuck she wants.”

......

For the rest of the day, Richard headed out to visit the masters of all the floating islands outside of the Mensas and Josephs. Most of the families chose to remain neutral, but both the Ironblood Duke and Duke Anan pledged their support. He then went to the Mage Association and met Thor.

When it came to Richard's decision to protect Nyris, Thor found the situation to be extremely difficult. Apeiron's strength and personality could leave anyone with a big headache, but Philip was extremely close to him and he couldn't just abandon the child. In the end, he agreed to try his best to stop Apeiron from torturing Nyris further, but only on the condition that no direct conflict arose.

This was all the support that Richard could get, and that came because he was a saint runemaster on good terms with Ruben and a student of Sharon. If not for everything, he likely wouldn't have gotten support even from the Ironblood Duke. No matter how talented Nyris was, he was only a prince that wasn't even legendary; there was no comparing him to Apeiron.

Thankfully, the situation was such that he could at least fight back. With the support he did have and the backing of Sharon, even Apeiron would have to draw the line. It was only that she had no logic to her working; if she wanted to kill him, Sharon would never arrive in time.

It was late in the night when he returned to the island. Sitting in his study, he suddenly felt tired in both body and mind as though he'd fought a powerful enemy. Politics was not his battlefield, but he had to take part in it regardless. It was only when he thought things over that he realised the support he got was nowhere near as firm as he'd thought initially.

One fact remained. If Apeiron were to act out, nobody would be able to help him. It would be unlikely for him to flee as well, while it was certainly impossible to save Nyris. However, he could only smile wryly; there was no way out at this point.

During this period, he had been informed that the Empress wasn't in Faust. This gave him time to make some preparations, but waiting was another form of torture.

......

Late at night, Apeiron was floating alone in the night sky as she stared at the distant Deepblue. The tower city was elegant but also frightening; with all of its prior damage repaired, this building showed its terrifying power. The Deepblue wasn't just a research institution, but also a fortress that blocked the duergar and orcs from breaking into the Sacred Alliance.

As the Empress was staring quietly into the distance, her expression suddenly changed and she leant to one side. She and Julian had their own methods to communicate over long distances, and he had just contacted her.

Once she heard the report, the corners of Apeiron's lips turned up into a mysterious smile, “Richard? That kid's pretty daring.”

She turned around and her figure blinked away, appearing several hundred metres in the distance silently. In only a few moments, she was gone.

Early morning the next day, Richard met a special guest right after finishing his breakfast: Saint Martin. However, Martin wasn't alone this time and had brought servants, one of whom was an aged priest of unknown position in the Church of Glory. Another was a paladin who looked just as aged, while the other two were another paladin and a monk, both in their thirties.

Seeing the four of them, Richard's heart skipped a beat. The aged knight and priest were both legendary, while the younger two were sky saints. Each one of them had an aura of dense bloodlust that showcased their skill at battle as well.

“Rather interesting troupe,” he commented.

Martin burst into laughter, “I've shown you all of my trump cards! But then, I had no choice; these things are far too important and I can't let anything go wrong. How did you actually finish them so quickly?”

“I made them in a private plane, the time flow there is 10 times Norland's.”

“But that's still very fast.”

Richard grinned, “Then I've shown you a trump card as well.”

Martin extended his hand once more, “So, about that alliance...”

Richard slapped the hand away, “It'll be the death of me.”

“Haha, how's that possible?” Martin's voice dropped to a whisper, “Shall we?”

Richard nodded, bringing him to the warehouse.

1154 - City of Sin

Pointless Negotiations

Once they were in the warehouse, Martin examined every bit of every single set of Midren carefully, his movements and focus on key areas making it apparent that he knew the rune set very well. Just the ability to tell if these runes really were complete meant he was skilled with magic arrays, perhaps enough to be a runemaster himself.

It took an hour before Martin relaxed, breathing out slowly, “Everything is perfect! You truly are a genius, these three sets are no weaker than the original Saint Peter had left behind. All this before you even entered the legend—” A look of astonishment appeared on his face, “You're already legendary?”

“You've got good eyes.” Richard was a little surprised as well. He had stabilised himself in the legendary realm now, and in such a relaxed state it should have been near impossible to figure out.

Martin didn't conceal anything, his eyes flashing with white light before he smiled, “The Lord bestowed the Eyes of Insight upon me, allowing me to see deeper than the surface level. It isn't all that useful.”

Martin's answer left Richard a little startled. He didn't know if there was a difference between the so-called Eyes of Insight and his blessing of truth, but he knew the obvious uses regardless. Such a gift was anything but not useful.

After examining everything, Martin placed the sets into magic-sealing chests that he had brought and called for his servants to transport them back to the Sacred Tree Empire immediately. It was only after they disappeared into a portal and sent news that they had arrived safely that he relaxed.

He then smiled and turned to Richard, “It can't be helped, these things are far too important. You must think this is hilarious.”

“I'm just happy to know that there are things that make you nervous too,” Richard chuckled.

The two then walked into the study, where Richard called for the servants to send some wine and snacks. Martin made a toast to their successful cooperation, “Our deal is mostly done, I just owe you a favour with no limits—”

He suddenly paused, looking at Richard's expression, “You don't plan to call on that right now, do you?”

Richard nodded, “I'm in the middle of a problem right now.”

Martin laughed wryly, “If even you think it's a problem, it must be a huge one. What is it?”

Richard gave a brief description of what had happened with Nyris, but even in the few minutes, Martin's smile faded completely. When he was done speaking, drops of sweat were beading on the holy youth's forehead, so annoying that he had to wipe them off.

“This... you call it just a problem?” he sighed, standing up and pacing around the room, “You have to be crazy! Nyris is just a prince; no matter how important your friendship can be, is it worth gambling the fate of your entire family? Forget Apeiron's personality back then, she's someone who's returned from the Outlands! Do you think the Sacred Alliance or the royal family will be important to her? Those are nothing, and I can't come up with anything she cares about at all. This is just suicide, not a problem!”

Richard listened to the grumbling patiently, only speaking up afterwards, “So I can't use your promise on this, can I?”

“When did I say that?” Martin snorted, “I'm the future pope of the Church of Glory and the most important worshipper of the Radiant Lord; my promises don't change. I'm only making sure you understand we won't be able to resolve this matter peacefully, you'll need to fight.”

“I'm aware.”

Martin stared at Richard and heaved a deep sigh, “You absolute nutjob! Whatever, there's no other way. If you really have to take on that crazy woman, count me in.”

Richard was a little startled. He'd only wanted Martin to show political support, but the fellow was actually offering to participate in the battle itself. He stood up and extended a hand.

“What are you doing?” Martin asked.

“So, about that alliance...”

*Thwack!* “An alliance with you will only lead to an early grave!”

......

The passed quietly, and an envoy from the royal family arrived at dusk to inform Richard that the Empress wanted to see him the next morning. Receiving this news, Richard actually sighed in relief; whatever was meant to happen would happen.

It was ten in the morning when Richard arrived at the meeting hall of the palace. The heads of all of the other islands were present as well, already seated in their places, and Apeiron and Julian appeared right after. The Empress calmly walked to the highest chair in the middle and fell into it, lifting her feet up and resting them on the table. Julian took his place behind her and stared at Saint Martin, but the youth only flashed the standard smile of a priest.

Apeiron said lazily, “If everyone's here, let's begin. Richard, you stole my toy; explain.”

Richard straightened his back, “Nyris is a friend of mine, not your toy. I will not tolerate your treatment of him.”

“Even if it results in war?”

“Even... so,” Richard's voice lost all hints of emotion, turning ice-cold with determination.

Nobody had expected the two sides to get straight to the point. A few family heads started trying to defuse the situation in an attempt to calm the tense atmosphere, but Apeiron dismissed them all as she played with her nails, “Hand Nyris over right now, and give me some compensation for your rudeness. We'll consider the matter done.”

She didn't speak loudly, but her voice pierced through the din and clearly stated her stance. With many of the family heads here knowing about the background between the Empress and the Fourth Prince, they chose to go silent.

Richard spoke up in a deep voice, “Grudges from prior generations are in the past, and should not affect the Alliance as it is right now. Nyris is my friend, he shouldn't have to endure this.”

Apeiron chuckled and looked straight at Richard, “Who said this has anything to do with previous generations? I like him, so I want to toy with him. Which of you can object?”

The hall of mirrors went deathly silent, even Richard turning pale. Apeiron seemed to have no interest in waiting long, however, her own expression darkening as her voice turned cold, “Do you know why nobody's objecting? They know very well that this stupid throne means nothing to me. The laws are meaningless; I can kill off all of their families slowly if I want to. You can't keep Nyris, and the only outcome of provoking me is the death of all the Archerons. Or maybe I'll just kill you here, who can stop me?”

Richard looked terrible; what he had worried about the most was happening. In front of absolute power, all political schemes were pointless. Even a family without a legend needed the ability to stop one, and the same was true for an epic being. Apeiron essentially had nothing to lose, so there was no way to stop her outside of pure power.

Martin suddenly stood up and burst into laughter, “Your Beautiful Majesty, is there a need to go so far? Perhaps we can abide by ancient customs. You may propose a feasible condition and have Richard fulfil it; the wisdom of the past is still rather valuable.”

He paused and surveyed the family heads around him, “Of course, as someone from the Sacred Tree Empire, I do so wish this goes on. When my army's powerhouses reach Faust, things will go so much faster if there's civil war already.”

Martin's voice was very pleasant to listen to, as though he was singing in a choir, but his words were sharp as needles pricking under the skin of every family head present. Both the Millennial Empire and Sacred Tree Empire had at least two epic powerhouses and perhaps had even more trump cards under the surface. The Sacred Alliance had a millennium of history and wasn't as powerful as it seemed either, but the two epic beings within its borders were like fire and water. It was already a great display of temperament for Sharon to abstain from attacking Faust.

With Richard managing the Archerons, they were now amongst the five most powerful families in the entire Sacred Alliance, and his runes had allowed all of the powerhouses of the Alliance to grow stronger. If Apeiron killed him here, the Archerons would scatter and that source of strength would dissipate instantly. At that point, there would be no way to fight the armies of the Sacred Tree Empire. Apeiron herself would have to flee if two epic powerhouses personally came to Faust.

But that wasn't all. With Philip dead, Richard and the Archerons were Sharon's main connection to the Sacred Alliance. She wouldn't let things go if someone else attacked, but that was only as long as he was alive. If Apeiron killed him, the Deepblue would secede instantly and the legendary mage would join the Sacred Tree Empire to hunt her down. Even if the Millennial Empire came to their aid, that would still be three against three.

Richard had always been a threat to the remaining families of Faust, growing far too quickly in power yet continuing his war against multiple other families of the Alliance. Even if those wars were justified, it was difficult to accept a new power that would not stay neutral. However, he was already a cornerstone of the Sacred Alliance, perhaps even more so than Apeiron herself. His death would tear the country apart.

However, logic would not work with the Empress. Continuing to stare at her pitch-black nails, she said calmly, “Condition? That's easy. Hand Nyris over right now, or you're going to die.”

1155 - City of Sin

End

With the death threat against him, Richard slowly got up and walked to the middle of the hall, drawing his two divine blades, “Just try me.”

For the first time, Julian coughed and spoke up before the Empress, “Your Grace, is it worth it?”

Richard said calmly, “It isn't about worth anymore, but honour and dignity. Not everyone has to bow to epic beings.”

Applause rang out as Saint Martin walked over, “Well put! I'm going to participate.”

The family heads all looked shocked, while Julian frowned hard as well. Saint Martin was the only holy child of the Church of Glory, slated to become the next pope. To the theological society of the Sacred Tree Empire, he was one of the most important people in the world. If anything happened to him here, war was inevitable.

Seeing Martin walk to his side, Richard frowned and hissed, “Go back, you'll die!”

Martin shrugged, “I know, but whose fault is it that I owe you?”

“You'll really die! Go back!”

“You talk a lot of shit, stop trying.”

At this point, the Ironblood Duke finally stood up as well, “This is enough. Your Majesty, as the Empress of the Sacred Alliance, please mind yourself. We can still relieve you of your position and form a council instead!”

Apeiron glanced towards the man and asked, “Does that mean you're on his side?”

The Duke hesitated, but then he steeled himself, “In this matter, yes.”

Her gaze then swept across the other patriarchs, “How about you? Who else wants to side with him?”

This time, Duke Wellinburg stood up, “This is not in support of Richard, but I do not approve of your methods. Even an empress cannot do as she likes, waving her sword at the fourteen. Charles the Great cemented our relationship as equals when he founded Faust!”

To this point, the other family heads expressed their approval. However, Apeiron suddenly chuckled, “You want to go against me? How are you going to do that?”

Her laughter suddenly grew piercing and maniacal as she abruptly stood up, no eyes in this room able to catch her movements. She was suddenly hovering in mid-air, a tremendous aura surging from her body and enveloping the hall.

*CRASH!* The mirrors all around immediately shattered into smithereens, but the shards were left hanging in mid-air as though time had frozen. The entire island suddenly rose and was covered in flickering golden light that threatened mass destruction, but nobody within could tell and those outside only felt a sudden sinking feeling.

The hall remained deathly silent, the family heads all frozen with expressions of fury or terror without any movements at all. Only the two legends who had challenged Apeiron managed to move, but this wasn't a good thing either; they suddenly spat out mouthfuls of blood, auras quickly weakening. Duke Orleans took several steps backwards in shock and fury, an unnatural flush rising on his face.

Even without doing anything, Empress Apeiron had used her powerful aura to injure two legendary opponents. This was the power of an epic being!

Eyes blazing with purple flames, Apeiron asked coldly, “I was riddled with injuries when I returned. Did you think that was all I had?”

Even though the Empress didn't look at him particularly, Richard felt more pressure upon him than on anyone else in the room. The invisible force rushing against him was like an entire plane pressing down, locking him down to the point where the only thing he could do was keep his blades from dropping. He felt an urge to step back with every word she spoke, the laws of metal, life, and flames torn apart in front of the formless might. He even mobilised the other laws he barely knew, like that of the night and time, but those were shredded as well. When she was done speaking, his vision blacked out and he coughed up a mouthful of blood.

It was at this point that a tender hand pressed into his back, gentle divine force surging into his body to help him contend with the destructive power Apeiron was pouring into him. He froze up in surprise as he realised who it was; in a situation where everyone in the hall was injured, Martin was surprisingly fine!

Are you not afraid of her? Unable to speak, he could only turn around and ask the question with his eyes. Still, Martin seemed to know what he was thinking and grunted, “Who says I'm not? That woman is so much more powerful than before, even the old man Hendrick would probably get beat up. This is all I can do for you, you'll have to rely on yourself.”

Having said this, Martin even patted Richard's back before crumbling to the floor and falling unconscious. Although he was still shocked, Richard could only turn back and meet Apeiron's gaze head on.

The Empress hummed and a chilly wind spread from her body, holding some strange power of law within. The wind immediately destroyed the revitalised power of his own laws, making his entire body turn soft. The Judge and Moonlight were immediately thrust into the ground, both blades barely managing to keep Richard in a half-kneel instead of collapsing directly.

“You're really naive to think you can talk sense with me,” Apeiron said coldly, and nobody managed to rebut her. Even the Ironblood Duke looked ashen as he remained silent, not by choice but because he, too, was unable to speak. A powerful glow at his arms was barely keeping him protected, but if he lost focus on it for even a second a single blow would be fatal.

As Apeiron's blazing eyes fixated on Richard further, he felt himself sink down. However, he struggled back against the humiliation; even when he couldn't lift his head, he made sure that he would not fall.

His blood suddenly started to flow rapidly, the five world trees within sparkling with power as they drew out all of their power. The volcano deep within rumbled with a dark red stream of magma, the power of his full truename pulsing in preparation to go all out. In the strange world where his bloodlines intertwined, three masks were beginning to take shape.

However, Apeiron suddenly snorted and her aura fell back like a tide, everyone in the hall regaining their ability to move freely. Half of the family heads started coughing up blood, even the legendaries having to do all they could to suppress their internal injuries. The stronger ones amongst them had only been more injured, not less.

The Empress walked over to Richard, who was still struggling to get up, “Since your dignity is so important, that's what I'll take. Come, kiss my boot. As long as you do it, I'll forget this and let you two go.”

Seeing the shoe appearing in his vision, Richard shuddered with unadulterated rage. However, he looked up and stared at her for a full minute before turning back down and kissing the mud-covered boot.

“Leave. Don't let Nyris come near me ever again,” she turned and left the hall. Julian gave Richard a long look, his gaze seeming to hide various emotions, but he didn't say anything and just followed behind.

Richard slowly got up, putting his blades back in their sheath and spitting out the dirt on his lips. He then picked up the fainted Martin and turned around as well. As he exited the hall, he suddenly found himself feeling very calm.

......

Exactly three days later, a proclamation shocked the Sacred Alliance and all of Norland. The current head of the Archerons, saint runemaster and legendary mage Richard, had announced his withdrawal from the Alliance. Henceforth, the Archerons would be an independent noble family.

In only three days' time, everything had been taken care of in secret. When the proclamation spread throughout the Sacred Alliance, the last of the Archeron soldiers had just entered the portal to Blackrose Castle.

Richard stood in front of his window, fiddling with a black spatial gem the size of one's fist. This gem held the Archeron family tombs within. In front of him was the view of Faust, in all of its dazzling glory and extravagance. Numerous people lived here far too comfortably, but many many more struggled for their lives. This was the hotbed of countless evils in the Sacred Alliance, as well as the wellspring of boundless dreams. There were just far too many memories in this city of miracles, but he now had to leave them all behind.

“I'll be back,” he whispered to himself as he put the gem into his pocket, blue flames filling his eyes.

1156 - City of Sin

Preparing For War

While Richard busied himself in Blackrose Castle setting up those who had just moved from the Archeron island, Faust was still abnormally silent. Nobody could react to his proclamation, with many families gathering their elders and important members in emergency meetings to discuss the consequences of the Archerons withdrawing from the Sacred Alliance.

However, before most of these meetings could get underway, many people suddenly came to a realisation and surged towards the teleportation temple as though they had gone crazy, attempting to take control of the portal that led to the Archeron island. This was a floating island on the sixth level with no master! Just the bonus to the offerings one could make from that was amazing!

Dozens of small duels popped up as the impatient people vied for position, the entire temple descending into chaos amidst the bellows and screams of pain. Some people entered the portal early, guarding the other side. If anyone else tried to charge through, they would be stabbed in the back before they could step out.

Things were a huge mess and nobody noticed a ghost-like figure floating in the sky, smiling down at the chaotic crowd that was immersed in battle. However, a thunderous voice eventually roared with dignity, “STOP!”

A tremendous aura covered the entirety of the teleportation temple, exerting the pressure from a legendary being. Most eyes were immediately drawn to a tall figure at the entrance; even if they didn't recognise the Ironblood Duke, they could still tell who he was by the platinum crest with the fleur de lis on his chest.

The chaos immediately stopped, the violent ones who had been overcome by bloodlust and greed finally learning fear. A troop of elite soldiers from the Orleans Family surged into the teleportation temple and surrounded them, leaving even saints unable to act without thought. At this moment, the Ironblood Duke himself was still the second strongest person in the Alliance.

Duke Orleans turned to a youth who was radiating bloodthirst, “Go take a look at the island and kill all trespassers.”

“Understood.” The youth's aura flared as he led a group of soldiers through the portal.

As he walked away, the Duke gave another order as well, “Capture everyone in here. Kill those who resist.”

The soldiers immediately pounced forward, suppressing all resistance and pressing everyone to the ground. The troublemakers were then bound with special cuffs. With the situation under control, the Duke looked up towards the ceiling, “You've watched enough, Lord Julian.”

Everyone looked up in a daze, only now seeing Julian hovering near the top. The man chuckled, “I'm just the royal supervisor, a loyal dog to Her Majesty who's in charge of caring for her alone. I don't know anything about this; look, didn't you take control of the situation the moment you got here?”

Having no intentions of dealing with the sophistry, Duke Orleans levelled a frosty glare, “You might be a slave to chaos, but you're in the Sacred Alliance. If you keep following on those dirty instincts deep in your bones, I don't need to tell you what will happen. If the Empress is the same as you, tell her to step down!”

Surprisingly, Julian didn't flare up, “Your Grace, Her Majesty will be a good ruler.”

The Duke snorted, “She'd better.”

He then glanced at the people who were now under his control, “You lot want to become one of the fourteen? If you want an island, then you better march your armies to Faust like everyone else. But you should know, my army will join the defence for the coming year.”

Everyone broke into a commotion, some furious and others frightened. The sixth level families traditionally didn't interfere in any attempt to make it into Faust. Even Richard's intervention for the Anans was excusable only because he was just fighting the Mensas. The Ironblood Duke's decision meant that nobody could even consider entering Faust for another year.

Over the next few days the assembly was stuck in constant argument. All the heads of the thirteen families appeared, debating at length over who would take the island and reap the benefits of the improved ceremonies. Nobody even bothered putting on a guise of warmth and emotion, trying their best to win.

With such immense profit at stake, one couldn't just come to an outcome in a few days. Considering traditional assembly rules, there wouldn't be a result for at least a few years. Even worse, the topic had shifted to actually setting a precedent and law for a repeat of this scenario; that would take even longer.

......

Outside Blackrose Castle, a new long-distance portal had just been completed. A dozen mages were hard at work, ensuring it was calibrated correctly to the capital of the Sacred Tree Empire. At such distances, any tiny mistake would be an error of hundreds of kilometres.

Martin and Richard were stood before the teleportation gate, watching as it was completed. However, their conversation was strange.

“You'll have to bear two-thirds of the cost. I fainted for you!”

“Who knows if that was real?”

“Couldn't you tell?”

“Of course not.”

“What bullshit. Your eyes are like mine, are you saying you couldn't tell even despite that?”

“... Fine. I'll bear a third of the costs.”

“Two-thirds. I fainted for you!”

“It was a part of of our deal. Half.”

“Fine!”

Seeing the holy youth so excited, Richard couldn't help but shake his head. While a long-distance teleportation array wasn't expensive, both of them could handle it easily. Yet here Martin was, acting as though he'd won the world.

Once the mages were done testing the formation, an apprentice was sent through to check. Not long after, he walked back out with a document in hand confirming that he had entered a portal in the Church of Glory.

“Alright then, dear Richard, I've got to go. There are quite a few lovely ladies waiting for me back home!” Martin gave Richard a light hug before heading towards the portal. Just as he was about to step through, however, he turned around and yelled, “By the way, remember to send the beautiful Miss Alice to the northern lines! They'll need her even more now!”

The Azan Peninsula that held Blackrose Castle was right at the border between all three empires, putting it in a precarious position. The northern frontlines were the border with the Sacred Tree Empire.

As the lights of the portal flashed and swallowed him, Martin seemed to remember something and yelled, “Careful of the Millennial Empire! They're conspiring against you—”

Before he could finish, the light swallowed him and sent him away. Richard smiled with relief; the man never seemed to shut up.

He turned his focus back to Azan and the surrounding territories. Elite soldiers were now heading here from the family planes and distant lands, while the newest batch of winter soldiers and arrowbeasts were being transported from the Land of Turmoil. A number of fortresses were beginning construction in the most defensible positions in the peninsula, with all aggression reined back for the moment. Martin and Richard may have formed an alliance, but the holy child couldn't even speak for the Church of Glory yet, much less the Sacred Tree Alliance.

......

Not long after Martin left, the envoys from the Sacred Tree Empire and Millennial Empire arrived at Richard's doorstep. Both of them had one single goal— to convince him to join their empires. Their terms were shockingly similar, including treating him as the royal family's leading runemaster and making him an archduke. This was the best treatment he could get. Please visit fr𝗲𝙚𝔀e𝙗𝓃oν𝐞𝑙. c𝚘𝘮

Richard didn't give the envoys an immediate answer, instead putting them up in residences next to each other while he planned out the defences of Azan. The Apennine Seas flanking him were a powerful defence in their own right while the natural terrain in the one open direction was under his firm control, but this was far from enough to contend against entire countries.

1157 - City of Sin

Emerald Skylake

While everyone was moving into Blackrose Castle, Nyris put on male clothing like before and worked like any ordinary Archeron, doing all kinds of work and even participating in menial construction tasks without a care for how dirty she got. She had met Richard the moment he gave her a chance to ask what had happened on the royal island, but Richard just said there was an argument with Apeiron that wasn't worth mentioning. She knew that was a clear lie, understanding him much better than he understood her, but she didn't press further and just gave him a hug. Outside of moral support, she could only help him by going into battle like the rest of the Archerons.

Becoming an independent noble was only one step away from forming one's own country, especially for someone with Richard's resources. He had some buffer time now because the two other empires were fighting over him, but a definite rejection or just the passage of time would change their attitudes sharply. Before that point, he had to deal with the Sacred Alliance; no country would put up with a large noble just up and leaving, and without the aid of one of the other empires he would have to fight his way out.

Three days after Richard arrived at Blackrose, Sauron, Goliath, and Alice arrived in secret to hold a meeting. Richard explained everything that had happened with Apeiron to the three, ending with a simple statement, “There's no retreat.”

Goliath and Alice immediately expressed their agreement with his actions, but Sauron asked to clarify a few details from all of the times he had met the Empress. Richard obliged, and after some thought over the answers the Marquess spoke up, “I feel like this was planned. Even if it wasn't for Nyris, she would have found some excuse to force us into a corner.”

“Why would she do that?” Goliath asked curtly. He'd always had a tumultuous relationship with Sauron, even if they weren't in direct conflict after the defence of the Unsetting Sun.

“Epic beings might be crazy, but fools don't get to that level of power,” Sauron replied. Goliath thought over these words repeatedly, but he couldn't find any rebuttal.

With the conversation dying down, Richard continued, “Now, it's time to make a decision. I've withdrawn from the Sacred Alliance, but you three don't need to. I welcome you to stand beside me, but do know that you might lose your territories close to the core of the Alliance. We may have to go through hell, or it might all end peacefully. I won't hold a grudge against any decision— you're still my kin— but you should know that either choice cannot be changed. I'm afraid there won't be an opportunity to change your course for a long time.”

“You know my decision,” Alice said immediately.

Goliath deliberated for a moment before flashing a terrifying smile, “So you're saying I'll get to fight a good war if I stay by your side.”

Only Sauron was left, and the Marquess took some time to make his decision, “I... stay.”

Richard nodded, “Alright, I'll give you my territory in the northwest, but I want all of your land near the peninsula.”

“No problem,” Sauron promised without hesitation. Although his lands near the peninsula were much better developed, the territory in the northwest was vast and held a lot of potential. On the other hand, Richard needed to consolidate all of his territory in his push for independence.

“Now, can I still get intelligence from you after today?” Richard asked.

“Yes, there won't be a change to that. The only difference is increased price,” Sauron smiled, “One price for families not in the Alliance.”

“No problem,” Richard replied as well.

Sauron thought over things for a moment, “I have a tiny request. You've met my son Sua before, I want to send him to your side. I'll spread news that he died, and have him change his name. He's a little foolhardy, but he is still competent at leading troops.”

Richard nodded, “I'll give him a shot.”

Sauron flashed a smile, the wrinkles on his face as deep as a gorge. He stretched out his hand to give Richard a firm handshake.

“Stay alive in the Alliance,” Richard said.

“I will, get back as fast as you can.”

......

Once matters were settled, Sauron, Goliath, and Alice all left for their own territories to make arrangements. They had to hand over territories, break up joint control of certain places, appease their subordinates, and gather their armies as quickly as possible.

Richard himself had a sizeable force under him right now, but Blackrose Castle was being expanded to accommodate the flow of people heading for the Dragon Plane. He had to complete that as quickly as possible to ensure he was battle-ready; the next few days would perhaps be the last peace he would enjoy for a long time to come.

Calculating the time, he decided to leave for the Millennial Empire first to participate in its auction and offer some sacrifices. He didn't need to— even as an outsider now he could definitely get Duke Orleans or another family to let him perform the ceremony in Faust— but he didn't want to head back into that city right now.

He didn't bring any attendants or followers, just carrying some simple supplies and heading out alone. With a combination of griffons and portals, he arrived in front of the Emerald Skylake in two days.

The Emerald Skylake was the capital of the Millennial Empire, once considered the most beautiful city in all of Norland. The grass was like velvet and glistened a bright green, just like from a painting that hadn't completely dried yet. It had just finished raining, and the ashen red clouds covering the skies were a sight to look at as well. A large city stood in the middle of it all, a dense metropolis of vibrant colours and light. Enormous decades-old vines covered all of the walls, hiding the mortar and stone and replacing it with a dull, pleasant green. The city gates were an arch made of red sandstone, covered with the multi-coloured sunflowers that were the national flower of the Millennial Empire.

Richard was currently dressed like a travel-worn wandering mage, covered in thick robes with a strange magic-sealing case strapped to his back. The case was obviously worn out in many places, but there were a number of eye-grabbing symbols all over that made it almost seem like the creator was afraid people wouldn't realise what this was. This made him look like a common mage who needed to work to make a living, having no choice but to put himself on display in the hopes of getting jobs.

There were no visible checkpoints in the Emerald Skylake, making it seem like the city was open to the entry of travellers from all over the world, but as he went in Richard felt a warm current pass by his body to probe his abilities. Richard quickly noticed that the energy was weak but ingenious, able to cause a reaction from the negative auras of the hells, abyss, Outlands, and many other areas.

Once inside, it felt like he had entered a country of elves. One's first impression was the ancient trees that looked to be thousands of years old, treehouses on all of them while some of the ancient dead trunks had homes carved in. However, closer inspection revealed a stark difference from other elven construction. In the Evernight Tribe, the treehouses had been built on top of the trees and the huts down below were made of wood as well. The elves were experts at crafting trees into ideal shapes, creating natural pillars and walls for support. Here, however, the magnificent buildings were carved from stone and overgrown with vines or melded into bark, giving off the illusion that it was the same. Please visit 𝒇𝐫e𝑒𝔀𝒆𝚋no𝐯𝘦𝘭. c𝑜𝗺

Still, the city was plain gorgeous. Almost all of the structures had delicate statues on top, and even the garden fences were welded cast iron in fanciful patterns. The entire city was a dark green, but there was no lack of other colours either. Be it electric blue or rose pink, one could find everything here that showed this wasn't a dated city.

Richard wandered around the path aimlessly, seeing people from all sorts of races and countries. Just like Faust, this was a tolerant and welcoming city, at least on the surface. Only such a city could prosper for a long time, even if the tolerance was only superficial.

Walking down the main road for a while and passing a plaza, he saw the horizon suddenly open up into a vast green lake. The surface seemed boundless, to the point that one could assume it was an ocean, but this was the Emerald Lake that gave the city its name. The city district was shaped like a crescent surrounded by the lake, and at the edges were the famous Whispering Woods.

Gazing upon the water surface that seemed to be polished from stone, Richard couldn't help but let his attention drift away. He looked towards a snow-white bridge to his left that crossed the vast lake, connecting the city to a splendid palace. At the heart of the lake was an enormous tree that slanted to one side, its crown looking like floating green clouds. The palace itself was white and blue, built all around the tree and snaking upwards.

The enormous tree was larger than the trees of life Richard had seen in the Forest Plane, no smaller than what he expected the world tree to be. Atop the humongous tree was a cluster of palaces that made the residence of the royal family.

1158 - City of Sin

Gone With The Wind

The entire royal palace was basically defenceless with no arrow towers in sight. There were a number of mage towers, but from the looks of it they were research laboratories or climate controllers instead of defences. At the very least, Richard couldn't see anything that could use magic attacks. If enemies were to head through the Whispering Woods and ambush the city from the lakeside, they could take over the palace in a matter of days.

Of course, that idea was cast away the moment he thought of it as well. Within the palace itself was Empress Gelan, while the Sword Saint's manor was somewhere deep within the Whispering Woods. The Emerald Lake's walls were more of a decoration meant to mark the city boundaries than anything else, but that didn't matter at all. During the founding of the Millennial Empire, Empress Lomora had stated that the empire would be no more if enemies reached the gates of its capital. All future generations had to possess the courage to stop opponents from even entering their territory.

The rulers of the Empire had expanded outwards over generations, and their only major failute had been in the north. Charles the Great and his seven generals had been incredibly arrogant, sweeping through the entire north of Norland to establish the Sacred Alliance. After that, he began the largest incursion in human history and accomplished the task of killing an archlord of the abyss, Daramore. He possessed exceptional ability, and it was said that nobody could compare to him.

Outside of the natural beauty of the Emerald Lake, one could sense remnants of ages past as they walked through the city. Even some of the ordinary statues here had long histories, which differed vastly from Faust's melting pot of different cultures.

Richard eventually arrived in front of a medium-sized inn and was transfixed by a fountain at the centre of the main hall. It depicted a young elven girl, but that was nothing special for this city that seemed to almost revere them. Even at more than a century old, the age wasn't particularly remarkable either. What caught his attention was the detail in the girl's clothing.

“Do you like this statue, Sir?”

His thoughts interrupted by a clear voice, Richard turned around to find a young woman dressed in the clothes of a servant. He smiled, “Yes, it looks to have some history to it. The clothes and ornaments are rather interesting.”

The girl took a closer look at his face before her eyes lit up, a dazzling smile finding its way to her own face, “You truly are well-learned for someone so young. This statue actually came from Evernight Forest; it was left behind by the silvermoon elves.”

“It is a master—”

“The silvermoon elves were true noble beings!” the girl suddenly exclaimed, “Evernight Forest was said to be the most beautiful place in all of Norland, but those merchants and barbarians from the Sacred Alliance destroyed it. I heard they even burnt the World Tree! Goodness, can you imagine how vile they are?”

Richard immediately grew uncomfortable; he himself was someone conceived in the aftermath of Silvermoon's destruction between its shaman and destroyer. Ever since then, his mother and father had never met again. He sighed deeply, “Yes, truly an eternal regret.”

“Mm... Oh, I've got to get to work. If Aunt Vesper finds out I got distracted again, she'll scold me! Did you just reach the Emerald Lake? Do you have accommodations? If not, just stay here. I'll prepare a vase of flowers for you, and Aunt Vesper bakes the best biscuits in town! So many people come over just for that!”

“Sure,” Richard agreed, starting to size up the building seriously. It wasn't all that large, but it was immediately apparent that it was maintained well and had a history of a few centuries. He asked for a bright and clean room, starting to settle in immediately.

The girl had her own impression of Richard. He was a young, elegant mage with a bright future, looking for an opportunity to gain a level or perhaps hoping for a path forward in the Emerald Lake. She sent him a bottle of wine and some desserts before darting away, her voice barely audible as she left, “My name is Erin! Ask me if you need anything!”

Erin? This was a name that Richard hadn't thought consciously about in the longest time, so much so that it took him a moment to recall where he knew it. However, he could only shake his head and bury the memory of his first crush, smiling at the bell-like laughter of this girl with the same name and taking a whiff of the flowers in the afternoon heat. For just a moment, it felt like all of his worries were gone with the wind.

He blanked out for a few minutes before returning to his senses, proceeding to pick up a map of the city that the inn provided for free and carving every detail into his mind. His attention was drawn to the plant-rearing district, a place known to be the adventurer's paradise. The district had all sorts of stalls selling weapons, armour, maps, and a bevvy of goods like scrolls, potions and the like. Most of these stalls also bought materials from visiting adventurers, so there were quite a few odd items as well. There was still a day until the auction began, so he could take a stroll around and hopefully find some interesting stuff.

His first impression of the district was the bright and colourful signage, each door a work of art unto itself. Adventurers from all walks of life were passing through the area, looking for items or trying to exchange their spoils for gold. Passing through the stalls, he was surprised to find a number of powerful magic artefacts; in general, this place was even better than Faust's commerce district.

Along the way, his backpack slowly filled up with materials, some even useful for the crafting of Midren's battle version. Those materials were quite expensive— his pack's contents soon worth more than 500,000 gold— but it was certainly worth it.

When it was time for dinner, he returned to the inn and enjoyed Vesper's biscuits, chatting with Erin for a while before stretching and heading for his room. The girl looked a little disappointed, but he just flashed her a smile and closed the door. Once in his room, he opened the portable laboratory he now always carried around and started working on a batch of important arrays. The night passed in peace.

......

Early morning the next day, Richard hired a horse carriage and headed for the auction at Duke Arbidis's personal theatre. Two guards in superior-grade armour stopped him at the gates, a few powerful scans from within making it evident that the weak level 10 guards weren't representative of the true defence, but Richard just passed them his invitation and waited in silence. It didn't take long before an old mage to dart out in a hurry and bow solemnly, “Please come with me, Your Grace!”

Richard was led to a compartment in the theatre where three others were already waiting for him. The first was Marquess Raoul who had sent him the invitation in the first place. Another was a grand mage who was on the verge of entering the legendary realm, while the third was a middle-aged noble.

Marquess Raoul looked to be in his fifties, his fading white hair combed neatly to match the rest of his attire. He stood up alongside the others when Richard walked in, smiling with a short nod, “I hadn't expected you to come despite the sensitive times, Your Grace. We are honoured by your presence. Please allow me to introduce these gentlemen.

“This is Magister Thomas, a master at appraisal,” Raoul pointed to the mage. Richard reciprocated the man's mage greeting, and although neither party spoke the mage's expression turned gentle.

The Marquess then continued, “And this is Earl Lyndoch, here on behalf of the imperial family. He handles most of the important purchases from up there. Well then, there's some time till the auction; is there anything you need?”

Richard took out a small magic-sealing case and placed it on the table, “I have two things I would like to sell during the auction, I hope to use that money to pay for what I buy.”

Raoul nodded towards Thomas, and the old mage opened the case carefully. A dense aura of bloodlust seeped out and immediately caused the expressions of the three people to change, but the appraiser composed himself and took out the first rune and opened a separating layer to reveal the second. He took out a gold magnifying glass and started examining the runes slowly, almost pressing his face into them. Combing through them centimetre by centimetre, he took nearly half an hour before looking up, “I can confirm that these are Lifesbanes.”

Raoul and Lyndoch couldn't help a slight sense of disappointment; they were hoping for an entirely new rune that had never been seen before to cause a huge commotion. It was difficult to create grade 4 runes, but Richard had brought too many surprises to Norland already so they were almost used to it. Lifesbane was definitely expensive, but it couldn't be the main attraction of the auction.

However, Thomas wasn't done. Wiping away some sweat, he continued, “But these aren't ordinary. I estimate the capacity requirements have been halved.”

1159 - City of Sin

Auction

“Capacity halved?” Earl Lyndoch almost screamed, grumbling about Thomas taking so long to finish before going over to examine the rune himself. If the requirement had been halved, the two Lifesbane runes would only need a single slot, allowing another grade 4 rune or even more of the same. Either way, this was a definite upgrade to one's battle strength. To sky saints or legends, even a minuscule rise in strength was massive. These two runes had to be twice as valuable as the ordinary ones!

“They're not quite complete,” Richard clarified, “I'll need to put in a small amount of work to finish tailoring it to the eventual user, but it won't take long.”

Lyndoch immediately said firmly, “I want both of them, and I'm willing to pay three top-tier offerings or magic crystals of similar value. How about it? I'll also buy any more you have!”

Richard went a little stiff at the proclamation. This price was slightly lower than he'd expected, but a promise to buy an unlimited amount was valuable as well. He didn't take too much time to make his decision, “Alright. I'll have it ready for you before the auction ends.”

Lyndoch was absolutely delighted and nodded towards Raoul, who promptly smiled, “Then we will give you a slight advantage, Your Grace. Anything you buy during this auction will have no fee attached to it.”

The auction house's fee wasn't a lot at this level, but it was still a thoughtful arrangement. Parting on good terms, Richard allowed a few servants to lead him downstairs to a resting area where he finished the runes for the Millennial Empire's royal bloodline. At exactly six, he went back up to a compartment on the second floor.

By this point, most of the compartments had guests seated within. The hall below was nearly full, and more people were surging in with every minute. A sinking aura passed through the area at ten past six, a magic array activated to lock the space so thieves couldn't flee immediately. A number of other energy waves passed through as well, all invisible spells that prevented external casters from interfering.

Once everything was prepared, the hostess of the auction slowly walked in. Earl Lyndoch entered Richard's compartment and sat next to him, “There are far too many profitable items in this auction, Your Grace. You might not be familiar with the trade rules of the Millennial Empire, I would be glad to assist you.”

“I'd be honoured by the help,” Richard answered, also passing over the two Lifesbane runes. It seemed like he was now on good terms with this agent of the imperial family.

The auction officially began at 6:30, when the saint host placed a large magic-sealing case on the stand and opened it carefully to reveal a glimmering sword, “Ladies and gentlemen, this is a legendary-grade sword. It is enchanted for...”

The woman gave a simple explanation at a decent speed, with no intentions of playing it up as she led the audience's attention to the details of the blade. This was an auction visited by higher nobles and powerhouses; exaggeration would only backfire. Everything in this once-a-decade auction was a premium item, so there would be no problems with enticing people to buy them.

Even the first item caused a small commotion, everyone starting to talk amongst themselves. Most auctions tended to leave the best items for last, so there had to be a few astonishing things somewhere along the way. Richard leaned a little forward as well, eyes glowing as he examined the properties of the sword. Weapons were the most expensive of legendary items.

“Interested?” Lyndoch asked.

“Mm,” Richard nodded. Many of his followers used swords, especially the three assassins. If the price was appropriate, he would give one of them an upgrade. However, he quickly realised he had underestimated the wealth of the Millennial Empire. The price of the sword soon surpassed his expectations, and he eventually just shook his head and gave up on the bid. There would be more important things coming up later.

...

The auction quickly blew up, the hostess's voice growing higher and louder in a befitting manner. Money flowed in a million, the numbers almost mind-numbing as high-purity magic crystals became the main currency. Offerings of various grades frequently appeared on the list, and Richard himself got two rare materials.

Soon enough, the event reached its first climax: the heart of a valley lord.

The hostess exhibited the item cautiously, the hunter obviously a legendary being who was a master at preserving their spoils. The metre-long organ was still beating lowly, and with one look Richard could tell that its vitality was almost completely undamaged.

His own heart started beating hard. The heart itself was a top-tier offering, but because it could be used on runes, its real value was far greater. Outside of being attractive to runemasters, it was also used in all kinds of alchemical machines and enchantments. Some mages would be interested in it as well.

Before the hostess was even done describing its origin, someone had already yelled out, “Ten million!”

The hostess immediately went silent, and a cold voice rang out, “Eleven million.”

“Twelve million.”

The fervent atmosphere had disappeared, the voices of those still bidding slow and calm. Millions were added on with almost no pause. Richard waited till it was sixteen million before stating his bid, “One top-tier offering.”

The bid immediately caused a small commotion. A top-tier offering wasn't necessarily worth sixteen million if one waited, but they very rarely would be exchanged for gold. The hostess had to meet the appraiser next to her for a moment before announcing their recognition of Richard's bid. The hall erupted into a furor; the exchange rate itself was a small issue, but the use of an offering would make things brutal.

“A top-tier offering and one million,” a thick voice sounded from another compartment nearby.

“Plus two million.”

“Plus three.”

The bid quickly reached nine million, at which point most of those in the hall couldn't bid anymore. The voices were only coming from the compartments now, of which this theatre had a full thirty. Just that alone showed the difference in wealth between the Millennial Empire and the Sacred Alliance.

Richard was in no hurry, waiting until things started to die down before he added another million. The auction grew incredibly quiet, with most of the competitors having given up since they could find better items for the same price. Seeing the still-beating heart, he knew he had to have it at all costs; a dozen designs were already floating through his mind, including that of the Midren battle edition.

“One top-tier offering and twelve million,” a piercing voice eventually broke the silence, radiating an aura of arrogance. Someone leaned half their body out over the railing of their compartment and continued in a prideful tone, “I'm an agent of Master Fazelok, and he just sent word that this item is very important for his path to becoming a saint runemaster. I hope the rest of you can give up on bidding for this heart, or you'll have to bear the consequences.”

The theatre broke out into a commotion once more, voices of dissent ringing out everywhere even though nobody stood out. Richard recalled that Fazelok was the oldest of the three grand runemasters of the Millennial Empire, the one with the best chance of becoming a saint runemaster. He had mastered more than ten grade 4 runes, including three that he had designed himself. Having broken through to the legendary realm at less than a hundred years of age, he had spent the last decade preparing to craft a saint rune.

Fazelok was following the standard route to becoming a saint runemaster, slowly improving day by day both with his runecrafting and in terms of status. He was now the leading grand runemaster of the Millennial Empire with a number of benefits coming from that title, and when he became a saint he stood a chance to tip the scales of the power balance in the continent to their favour. He was unlike Richard who had just popped up out of nowhere, going from the very first rune convention to showing off saint runes in a matter of years.

Because of his meteoric rise, Richard hadn't really interacted much with the other runemasters of Norland. Quite a few had been willing to hold conversations with him when he released his grade 3 runes, but he was far too busy in Faelor and the Forest Plane to take up those offers. Once he crafted runes like Lifesbane, the offers eventually died down.

While he was trying to recall everything he could about Fazelok, there had been no more bids in the theatre. The hostess frowned, speaking up angrily, “Please mind yourself, Earl Auro. This auction has 350 years of history, you cannot use methods to stop our guests from bidding freely!”

1160 - City of Sin

Auction(2)

Earl Auro walked up to the railing of his compartment and bowed deeply to the audience, “My apologies, but this item is extremely important to Master Fazelok, I must get it at all costs. I believe you lovely ladies and gentlemen here have no intention to stop him from becoming a saint runemaster?”

The threatening tone in his speech angered many of the nobles present, but they didn't dare to speak. The heart of the valley lord wasn't an essential item to any of them, and it definitely wasn't angering Fazelok. Although the hostess was displeased, she couldn't do anything either. Auro wasn't just Fazelok's representative; he was also a sky saint.

Hearing the silence of the audience, Auro smiled arrogantly and leaned back into his high-backed chair, placing his legs directly on the railing of the compartment. His actions were clear disrespect to the crowd, also indicating his confidence in his master.

The hostess almost shook with rage, but she controlled herself and asked loudly, “Is there anyone who still wishes to bid for the heart?”

Silence enveloped the entire theatre and Auro laughed softly, even if his voice was still audible to half the people present, “Why waste your time? I don't believe there is anyone who dares to cross Master Fazelok here.”

“I repeat, any more bidders?” the hostess asked gently.

This time, an equally gentle voice responded, “Two top-tier offerings.”

Richard's voice was soft and melodious, but it felt extremely loud in the silent hall. Auro immediately leapt up from his seat, scanning across the compartments before glaring at him, “You want to become enemies with Master Fazelok?”

“This is an auction,” Richard answered calmly, “If you're not going to raise the price, then get out.”

“You...” Auro's eyes instantly went red, but he still managed to remain rational and controlled himself from doing anything. He gripped the railing tightly, almost bending it out of shape under the host's annoyed gaze before laughing, “You want to compare wealth with a grand runemaster? Fine, let's see how rich you are. Two top-tier offerings and one million.”

“Two million, Richard's voice was still calm.

“Three!”

“Five.”

The bidding war continued. Compared to Richard's calm demeanour, Auro was growing more and more agitated with time. Those in the know understood that he was quickly reaching his limit, to the point that few could blame him for losing his calm.

Even Earl Lyndoch seemed a little disturbed, leaning over to whisper, “Your Grace, isn't this price too high? You must be careful, he might be setting a trap.”

“No,” Richard answered clearly. As a saint runemaster, he knew just how special this heart was. It could definitely be used as the core material for a grade 5 rune, useful even for grade 6. Fazelok had to be giving it his all. Making another bid, he leaned back to ask, “Why would Fazelok use this one as a representative? He's offended almost everyone here.”

The royal agent relaxed upon seeing Richard's demeanour, flashing a calm smile, “Fazelok has always been extremely rude and arrogant. There aren't many people in the Empire he hasn't offended yet, but there are a few grade 4 runes only he can craft. He isn't stupid enough to offend everyone, but if he thinks he's the better he'll make sure it is known. Auro is quite capable himself, and the brother of Fazelok's favourite lover. All of that arrogance rubs off.”

Richard felt a sharp gaze land on him, but he continued carelessly, “It seems like this genius thinks Fazelok will definitely become a saint runemaster, so he has no qualms with assuming that status already? Two top-tier offerings and ten million.”

This price left Auro on the verge of collapse, his entire body leaning out from the railing as he shot Richard a death glare, “Who are you to fight me?”

Richard didn't even look at the man, instead just nodding at the hostess. She started asking whether there were any more bids, preparing to lock in the sale.

Auro's face soured as he turned to Lyndoch instead, “My Lord, does your presence mean that the royal family supports this idiot?”

Lyndoch wasn't just a normal noble himself. Rage flashed in his eyes as he stood up, bowing once in apology to the audience before facing Auro, “Lord Auro, please mind your tongue. Even if Master Fazelok becomes a saint runemaster, I do not believe he will tolerate any insults to the royal family.”

Auro had no response to this, his face turning red with embarrassment. Grunting, he said viciously, “Twelve million!”

This price far exceeded what the heart was really worth, but Fazelok wanted it at all costs. Additionally, Auro wasn't just boasting when he asked who dared to compare wealth with a grand runemaster.

Unfortunately, he was facing an anomaly in this bidding war.

“Three top-tier offerings,” Richard still remained calm.

This jump completely defeated Auro, who screamed, “You could never afford this! You liar!”

However, Lyndoch nodded at the hostess, endorsing Richard's ability to pay the price. At that point, the rest of the attendees grew surprised and curious, discussing the identity of this unfamiliar face. Even extremely wealthy nobles wouldn't just throw away three top-tier offerings, and to most people this heart definitely wasn't worth it.

“Any more bid?” the hostess's voice echoed through the hall.

Auro looked terrible. He really couldn't bid higher, but he also clearly knew the importance of this heart to Fazelok. He glared at Richard with bloodshot eyes, “Are you sure you want to become an enemy of Master Fazelok? You still have time to remove your bid!”

Richard smiled, “But then I'd be penalised a third of it. That's a full top-tier offering.”

Thinking Richard was backing down, Auro laughed, “That's your punishment for bidding wildly.”

“Heh. Like I said before, get lost if you don't have the money.”

“YOU'RE COURTING DEATH!” Auro immediately bellowed, drawing his sword and crossing the auction hall as he leapt towards Richard. He was clearly using his full strength, planning to kill.

Everyone was caught off guard by a sky saint attacking so blatantly, and even the legends present didn't react in time. In only moments, Auro had crossed the theatre to arrive almost at Richard.

Lyndoch was a saint swordsman himself, but he suddenly felt his blade go missing as he stood up, only to see Richard rushing out to meet the challenge. Auro was charging like lightning, leaving most people only able to see the trail of his aura, but Richard looked graceful and slow like a leaf flying in the wind. Every one of his moves was clear for all to see.

However, the saints and legends present quickly realised that this slowness was just an illusion coming from precision. Richard easily managed to stop Auro's attack, a blue flame bursting from the tip of Lyndoch's sword and curving across the sky. It quickly occupied the entirety of everyone's vision, to the point that they felt their very souls being touched by the blade.

The two legends in the hall suddenly realised what they were feeling: perfection! This strike was of optimal speed and power, tailored perfectly to Auro's might. There was no way to block.

By the time they could think of this, everyone saw Richard flying back to his compartment and sitting back in his original place like he hadn't even moved. Auro's arm was still swinging down, but it took a moment for them to realise that it wasn't attached to his body. The limb was covered in a layer of pale blue flames, spreading quickly across it surface and even covering the sword!

Richard smiled and blew, a gentle breeze turning Auro's arm to dust that was blown away by the wind. The legendary sword was bent out of shape, falling to the floor as a pile of scrap metal.

1161 - City of Sin

Secret Of Bloodlines

Everyone in the theatre stopped breathing as they realised Auro had lost an arm, the legendary sword that had accompanied him through countless battles now twisted into uselessness. In a single blow, Richard had gravely injured a sky saint with crushing power, and it was clear that he could have just ended Auro's life if he wished. Just what flames could have such destructive ability?

Many had also sensed the dark, desolate aura in the air from the moment the blue flames exploded, a feeling of pure destruction at the end of all things. Auro himself remained frozen in mid-air, taking a moment to process what had just happened. It was only after he heard the gasps below that he looked down and screamed, “MY ARM! MY ARM!”

The blue flames atop Lyndoch's sword finally died out as well, but the blade was now a third shorter than before. Richard tutted as he returned it, “Pity. It was a good blade. I'll compensate you for it.”

Lyndoch smiled, sheathing the weapon as he shook his head, “Seeing that attack more than makes up for this sword. It just couldn't contain your strength.”

By this point, Auro had calmed down, clutching at the cauterized stub on his shoulder as he exclaimed coldly, “You... You've become a mortal enemy of Master Fazelok! You'll soon learn the consequences of offending a future saint runemaster; who are you?”

Richard stretched back into the comfortable chair, “Why do you think I left you alive? Go, tell Fazelok that you've made him an enemy of Richard Archeron.”

Everyone in the theatre immediately went crazy, standing up and pushing around just to see what Richard looked like. Outside of a select few, most of the nobles present had never seen Richard before, and with his youth there weren't many portraits circulating either. Outside the Sacred Alliance, he was actually a mysterious figure with all sorts of secrets, the youngest saint runemaster who had turned the tables during the Archerons' weakest moments. He was also a wargod second to none, the favourite student and lover of the legendary mage Sharon. He was also the thief that had gone to Klandor and stolen away its princess... Just the exploits in the public eye were more than enough to discuss for a full month.

However, the Millennial Empire truly lived up to its name. The commotion died down in mere minutes, all of the nobles turning back to look at the auction. Auro had left amidst the confusion, knowing that staying would only make him a bigger joke than he already was. He had already paid a huge price for his foolishness; even if he managed to regenerate the arm that had been burnt to ashes, it would be off balance from the rest of his body. The legendary sword also made for a majority of his wealth. While Richard hadn't killed him, there wasn't much of a difference.

Before he left. Auro looked back at Richard and carved his appearance into memory. He knew just how important the valley lord's heart was to Fazelok, and knew fully well that the grand runemaster would tolerate no obstacles on his path. There would be no compromises.

The auction continued on, the steady stream of high-quality goods leaving everyone excited. Having been placed at the mid-section, the heart certainly wasn't the most valuable item up for grabs. It was only the desires of an experienced grand runemaster and a fresh saint runemaster that had brought the price up so high.

By the end, Richard had spent two more top-tier offerings to buy the five hundred units of divine crystals and another top-tier offering's worth on numerous precious materials. This one auction had wiped out all of his savings, even leaving him in debt for two top-tier offerings. However, that was just a year's worth of work even for a normal saint runemaster; he could even do it in less than half the time.

Auro had been right about one thing; in terms of wealth, almost no one could compare to runemasters.

......

Once the auction ended, Richard left the theatre in the company of Lyndoch. Many nobles used the Earl to try and get close to him— after all, he was famous for his ability to make custom designs— but he politely cut them off and headed back to the inn.

Many of the powerhouses present were left with other questions in their mind. While there had been rumours of Richard's strength in the past, they had thought them to be exaggerated. All runemasters were mages— that was common sense— and for Richard to be a legendary mage wasn't all that shocking either. It wasn't strange for a mage to be capable in close quarters, but Richard had shown a level of pure skill with that attack that was typically the domain of legendary warriors.

The very next day, startling news spread throughout the Emerald Lake. one of Norland's four saint runemasters, Richard Archeron who had recently announced his secession from the Sacred Alliance, had arrived at the decennial auction and displayed his astonishing wealth by spending six top-tier offerings. He had outshone one of Fazelok's closest aides, even cutting the man's arm off in one stroke when he had gotten too aggressive for his own good.

Not long after, even more exciting news spread in a small circle. The imperial master appraiser at the auction believed that the blue flames Richard had displayed were very similar to the flames of the Star of Destruction, and could even come from the same source. This was even more startling.

......

Tumen was one of the four princes of the Millennial Empire, once famous throughout the land, but he had now grown much more plump and was starting to lose his hair. He looked almost like a regular merchant instead of a powerful politician who controlled a good section of Norland in his palms, but his beady eyes occasionally flashed with a glint of confidence that betrayed his capabilities.

The Prince heard the news during the breakfast report, and once he learnt of it he surprisingly put his cutlery down and started to ponder over the situation carefully. A while later, he looked over at one of his aides, “Call Lyndoch and Master Yeondu, I'll be waiting for them in the drawing room.”

The room they met in was clearly in the style of the elves, most of the furniture grown naturally on the spot. Prince Tumen leant against a reclining chair made of interweaving vines and closed his eyes, listening as Lyndoch and Yeondu explained everything they knew and peppering in his own questions.

An entire hour later, he sat up straight and looked at the two while sighing, “So it's likely that Richard can control flames from the Star of Destruction. This shouldn't come from runes, so it has to be bloodline. Does that Archeron bloodline really have such great ability?”

Master Yeondu ruffled his white beard in frustration, “I believe so. That also means the Archeron bloodline is one of Norland's best, beyond even Lady Macy's golden moonriver and the lightning destroyers of the Sacred Alliance.”

Tumen's eyebrows were trimmed extremely thin, but one could still see as they locked together. The Prince didn't say anything, but Lyndoch eventually spoke up, “Based on our current information, Richard's true age is around 25. It's been nine years since he turned of age, but he's yet to have a child. That might be more proof in itself.”

The Prince smiled in thought, “Interesting, an ancient bloodline that hides such great strength. To my knowledge, the Archerons can barely be considered amongst the upper classes of the abyss.”

“But we also only know less than a tenth of the upper levels,” Yeondu shook his head, “Not many can reach its depths, and there just isn't any way to get the information easily. The Archerons on the surface levels might just be a distant branch, and Richard could be awakening the source.”

Lyndoch added on, “We have to remember his father as well. Gaton had power far beyond his level, and I'm starting to believe an interesting rumour I had dismissed long ago. It's said that Gaton was initially a mage, but he became a warrior after coming of age.

“Thankfully, he never reached the peak of his strength and died to the fools from the Alliance. Imagine having to deal with two of those monsters.”

Tumen nodded, “Then it might be a bloodline worth investing in. Help me find some Archerons with dense bloodlines, we can test what sort of children can be created.” Google search free𝓌𝗲𝒃𝓃𝒐𝐯𝒆𝙡. 𝑐𝗼ｍ

“Why not try to convince Richard to join us?” Yeondu asked.

The Prince grinned, “That's an issue for the Empress to worry about. If she loses interest in him or fails, that's not our responsibility. At the very least, it isn't our time yet.”

*Knock!* The steward's voice sounded from the other side of the door, “Your Highness, Lady Macy heard that Richard is in the Emerald Lake and has left to confront him. From the looks of it, she is planning to cause trouble; should we send people to protect her?”

1162 - City of Sin

Fight For Honour

“Protect? No, there's no need for that,” Prince Tumen laughed, “It's normal for young people to make a little fuss. With Macy's temper, it's about time somebody taught her a lesson. Who knows, she might even be able to give me a surprise this time.”

Within the imperial palace, Empress Gelan was currently sat on her throne as she looked towards a mirror in the centre of the throne room. She was dressed in dazzling long robes with a dignified metal mask on her face, carved with a beauty second to none, but the edges and upper portion of her mask had a few long, slender, and curved horns similar to those of devils.

The mirror was clearly formed purely of magic, with nine female mages covered in thin veils knelt around in a circle to power the spell. It showed Richard's figure, but that figure was warping constantly; sometimes young, sometimes old, wearing different clothes and in different environments. Yet, whenever he grew significantly older, the image grew extremely murky and sometimes went completely black.

Sweat quickly soaked through the clothing of the nine mages, and eventually they had to stop the spell entirely. The mirror scattered the moment the first of them cut off her mana supply, evaporating into thin air. Their leader walked up to the Empress and went down on one knee, “Your Majesty, there is always a strange force interfering with out probes; it feels impossible to see Richard's future beyond scattered fragments.”

Gelan nodded calmly, “You've done your best. You may leave.”

Her voice was very unique, a strange mix of hoarse and tender with an element of metallic friction. It was impossible to say whether it was pleasant or terrible, but those who heard her felt their very bones itch, and listening to her for too long made it feel like their hearts would jump out of their bodies at any moment. Having been given permission, the nine mages immediately took their leave without wishing to linger around her for too long.

The Empress waited until all of them had left before speaking, “What are your thoughts?”

A middle-aged man with an elegant appearance walked out from behind a nearby curtain, the Sword Saint's voice gentle and pleasant as always, “I don't believe it's a force blocking their probes. It feels more like Richard himself doesn't exist in the river of destiny, he is a variable that is outside of the laws.”

Hearing this, Empress Gelan's expression changed, “How sure are you?”

“Only a guess.”

She sighed, “If he really isn't bound by destiny, then this is interesting. Why do you think he's suddenly here at the Emerald Lake?”

Hidden Sword chuckled, “One obvious reason is the materials we put up. I checked the list, and he essentially took two-thirds of that batch. He might also want to duel some of our legends; put simply, he's here to establish himself.”

“Haha, a gutsy one. But even if we don't do anything, there are enough people in the Empire that can teach him that becoming legendary is only the beginning. How is Mountainsea doing?”

“The child recently entered her resting period; she's probably sleeping all day long. Do you mean...”

“Yes,” Gelan nodded, “I'm quite interested in finding out what'll come out as a mix of the Beast God's bloodline and the Archerons'.”

Realising the anticipation the Empress was feeling, Hidden Sword couldn't hold back a few coughs, “Well... It seems like Richard has yet to touch her, for some reason.”

“Huh?” she frowned, “Then there's only one way.”

“Heh, let's hope Her Highness won't cause trouble for me after she grows up.”

......

Once the auction ended, Richard returned to the inn. It was called the Forest Nymph and wasn't particularly famous in the Emerald Lake, owned by a mere knight. Hierarchy was extremely strict in the Millennial Empire, with each stratum of society almost isolated from the rest. Nobles, commoners, slaves, soldiers... they rarely communicated. Thus, neither the guests nor the residents of the Forest Nymph had realised who it was that currently occupied one of the rooms.

Richard quite liked the innocent and quiet environment, feeling refreshed and invigorated by the simplicity. Once he returned to his room, he organised his spoils before starting on meditation, slowly regaining his mana. The Emerald Lake was a city blessed with a great environment, and mana regeneration here was almost a third faster than in most other parts of Norland. A tremendous magic array underneath the city absorbed all the energy within a hundred kilometres, pumping it up to the surface for its residents to use.

The Emerald Lake, Faust, the Deepblue... all of them could enhance meditation and training speed. The benefits of staying in such a city weren't only in terms of status and glamour; there were practical side-effects as well.

...

Richard only awoke from his meditation when the clock indicated that it was two in the afternoon, walking over to the window and pushing it open to look at a girl below. The beautiful young lady was covered in a powerful aura, bloodlust radiating from both herself and her armour.

“Richard?” she asked coldly.

“That's me.”

“I'm Macy Tumen, come with me.”

Richard didn't move, “I have a lot of valuable things in my room. If they were to disappear...”

“I'll make it up to you!”

“Oh? This is ten top-tier offerings' worth.”

Macy suddenly felt suffocated, her ire promptly dying out. Ten top-tier offerings? Even her father Prince Tumen would have trouble getting that!

“You...” she got annoyed almost instinctively, wanting to tell Richard off for exaggerating, but she quickly remembered that he had spent six top-tier offerings only recently and likely had other goods in his bags as well. Ten top-tier offerings suddenly didn't seem impossible; he was a saint runemaster anyway. Please visit f𝘳𝐞𝒆wｅ𝚋𝗻𝚘𝚟e𝑙. c𝘰𝓂

Unable to scold him, she just flicked her wrist and shot a gold dagger towards the door frame, “This is a token of my family. Anyone who dares to touch your things will be chased down and killed.”

Richard nodded and just leapt out the window, following her into the distance. Walking by her side, he suddenly questioned, “What if my stuff disappears? You know, some thieves like to walk on the edge of danger.”

“I'll.... I'll compensate you!” she gritted out, but this time she no longer sounded so confident.

He nodded, “Alright, I'll believe you.”

Macy's footsteps slowed slightly and she discreetly sent a message somewhere, but Richard pretended to see nothing. The two walked together to a small duelling ring, looking ordinary on the outside but filled with luxury and even a spatial magic array. She tossed a magic crystal to the manager and walked in, “This place can take the attacks of legends, feel free to fight at full strength.”

However, Richard didn't enter and instead asked calmly from the side, “But why should I fight you?”

The girl's expression immediately warped into one of rage, “Because Nyris broke off our marriage!”

“But that has nothing to do with me,” he shrugged.

“He's under your protection now, and you withdrew from the Sacred Alliance for him! Don't think I'm oblivious to everything!”

“But that's a problem between you and Nyris, or am I wrong?” Richard asked as he spread his hands in a question.

Macy suddenly drew a large sword from her back and planted it firmly into the ground, speaking with a cold tone, “Cut the crap! If you beat me today, I'll let things go. If you lose, hand Nyris over! Humiliating my family has consequences!”

One of Richard's brows went up, “And what will you do if I hand him over?”

“I'll rape and kill him!”

Richard immediately shuddered, a small frown appearing on his face. The girl before him seemed almost innocent, but he could tell she wasn't joking. Her words made it clear that this feud was serious. Nyris had broken off their marriage, which was effectively a resounding slap in Prince Tumen's face and humiliation to the entire Millennial Empire.

Having experienced the Emerald Lake now, Richard understood just how rooted the Empire was in its glory and hierarchy. The more apparent the difference between the classes, the more attached the higher classes were to honour. It didn't help that these were the people who succeeded the almost ludicrously rigid elven traditions; Nyris would definitely have to pay a huge price for what she'd done. Macy would likely have blamed even Apeiron herself, but he was a much easier target.

Of course, the vengeance was just beginning. Macy could still see the bigger picture, and even with her hatred of Nyris she still wanted to rape him just to get his bloodline. These were good ideas, but thinking of Nyris as she was now, Richard could only sigh, “Well... I'm afraid things can't go as you want them to.”

The young lady brandished her sword, “I knew you wouldn't agree to this. Hmph, as long as you beat me, I'll be too ashamed to drag this on.”

However, Richard smiled, “But you're not saying others won't.”

“Of course, I only represent myself!”

“You do realise I'm a legendary mage.”

“A recently-ascended one. That doesn't mean you can beat me.”

“Heh. Alright then; if you want a duel with me, that isn't enough. Let's add some stakes.”

“Stakes?” Macy ground her teeth, but her response was rather quick, “How much?”

“One greater offering.”

“Fine!” A greater offering was still a little difficult for Macy to source, but with her status it was doable.

1163 - City of Sin

Challenge

Macy pointed her greatsword to the sky, golden light rushing down the blade like a current to surround her. Seeing these energy waves, Richard could immediately tell that she had activated her bloodline ability.

The golden moonriver was one of the top bloodlines of the Millennial Empire, second only to a handful in all of Norland. It could give rise to all sorts of powerful abilities, including a general boost to offence, defence, speed, and magic resistance. This was why Macy had the guts to challenge Richard when she wasn't even a sky saint herself.

Another reason was that she was completely decked out in legendary equipment, many with long histories. Runemasters themselves were creators, not fighters; she didn't believe he was all that strong.

Richard's eyes glinted as she raised her sword even higher, studying the ripples of gold on the blade that had become even more apparent. This was a sign that her bloodline ability had already evolved once. Now, she could drop a spell's power by almost three whole levels; in other words, even a grade 9 spell would only have grade 6 power when used on her. For a saint, this was almost an ant bite.

“DIE!” she shouted loudly, golden hair flying through the sky as her long blade chopped down. A wave of energy formed a crescent that shot straight for Richard. He took a huge step to the side and dodged the powerful attack by several metres, but she didn't seem to mind as she slashed horizontally and sent another blade towards him.

Everything the energy touched was wreathed in golden flames; they didn't seem particularly powerful, but even Richard felt a slight threat from them. Ordinary saints would likely succumb to the burn which was only elongated by the flames feeding off the energy in their surroundings.

“Let's see where you run to now!” Seeing Richard dodge up, Macy's golden hair danced madly as she raised her sword up straight. A rain of golden energy attacks covered every corner of the ring, covering it in flames that could burn mana.

But then, Richard's figure just blinked out of existence before her eyes. Macy immediately looked everywhere and tried to sense any spatial disturbances in the surrounding space, but there was no sign of his target at all. By the time she felt the threat to her life, a powerful hand grabbed the back of her neck and pushed down with mountainous force.

*THUD!* Unable to fight back, the woman was slammed straight into the ground. Richard chuckled and patted her on the head before getting up, “You lost.”

His control of space already enhanced greatly due to his title from the Eternal Dragon, Richard had become a master at silent teleportation once he entered the legendary realm. Blinks and random portals barely caused any disturbance at all, allowing him to be extremely dynamic on the battlefield.

Macy got up and stared at Richard in a daze, still unable to understand just how she'd lost. However, Richard had no intentions of explaining anything to her and walked out of the duelling ring.

“Wait!”

He ignored the shout behind his back, continuing to walk away, “Remember to pay up, you can just send it to my room.”

“But...” she wanted to say more, but Richard had already left. Her squarish eyebrows locked together as her eyes glowed with rage and unwillingness. Eventually, she spat out, “This isn't over! Just you wait!”

......

With Richard's residence having been publicised, more trouble made itself known before Macy could even plan her next move. Right after lunch, a few swordsmen in bright armour walked inside the inn.

The entire Forest Nymph went silent at their arrival, the few guests who were still eating staring at them in a daze. Magic light kept flashing on their helmets, making it obvious that it was all superior-grade equipment. Each one also had an imposing aura, and they were all nearly saints. These were amongst the higher classes in the Emerald Lake, and rarely appeared in inns like these.

The leader of the swordsmen scanned through the interior of the inn and shouted in a deep voice, “Richard, come out! We represent Master Fazelok!”

Richard? The figure of a handsome young mage appeared in everyone's minds, looking down and out in life. How could someone like that have offended a grand runemaster?

The swordsman's expression darkened, but just as he was going to shout again he felt like his face was pricked by a needle. His expression changed immediately; this was bloodlust so thick it was almost material!

The owner of the bloodlust obviously wanted them to know the source, a room at the end of the corridor on the second floor. Growing serious, the swordsman waved his hand and had the rest wait by the entrance as he headed inside.

There was no lock to the door, and within was a small but tidy room. A young mage was engrossed in playing with something on his desk, an orb of sorts that had all kinds of intricate mechanisms on it.

“You must be— Ugh!” The swordsman went mute in the middle of his speech, gazing blankly down at the sword now resting on his neck. He had prepared himself already when he felt that intense bloodlust from downstairs, but he still had no idea how the weapon had gotten there. Richard was now less than a metre away, blade's sheath still in his hand. The jagged tip of the sword emanated a chill that pierced through his aura and into his skin. He gradually turned more ashen. There was no doubt that this was an incredibly sharp divine weapon, one that could behead him with a single slash.

Richard looked the man in the eye and patted his face with the Judge, “This is where I'm living, I'm sure you understand what I mean when I say no peasant should disturb it. Now, give me that letter.”

...

A while later, the captain walked back downstairs. While looking slightly pale, nothing looked amiss and he gestured his subordinates out, “We got the wrong person, let's go.”

The swordsmen all looked stunned, but they still left with their leader. Meanwhile, everyone in the inn heaved a sigh of relief. This made sense; how could that young mage have anything to do with Master Fazelok?

Back in his room, Richard nonchalantly tossed a paper ball into the wastepaper basket before sitting down to meditate. This was a challenge from Fazelok, who wished to respond to the humiliation by way of a duel.

Having advanced to the legendary realm, he could now train in the Deepblue Aria. The meditation technique was now beginning to show its true effectiveness, his mind space expanding to show a sky full of stars. Each star represented a different type of origin force that could be converted into mana, but he still didn't have the strength to access all of them. He was nearly done calculating the fifth orbit, and in a few days would be able to capture another star that would continue to replenish his mana endlessly.

He opened his eyes just past midnight, ending his meditation and walking out. He thought over things at the door, returning to grab the Judge before leaving with nothing else on him.

This late in the night, most of the city's residents were deep asleep. Richard walked swiftly through the dark streets, each footstep following a silent rhythm. Numerous powerful conscients were fixated on him, but he seemed to feel nothing and just walked along at a fixed pace.

His destination this time was the duelling ring where he had defeated Macy earlier in the day. The doors to the ring silently opened before him, all the lights within already on with someone waiting for him. As he entered, the doors closed without a sound.

Time quietly flowed by. The entire ring seemed to shake a little at one point, shocking a passerby, but seeing the building completely silent afterwards the fatigued man rubbed his eyes hard and left in a hurry. Just as he turned the corner, the door to the arena opened once more.

Richard walked out calmly, his pace the same as before. The judge was in its sword case, but he now also had a magic-sealing case in his hand that held a top-tier offering within. These were the stakes for the nightly battle.

In the ring behind him, a middle-aged swordsman just stared blankly at his departing figure.

1164 - City of Sin

Challenge(2)

The powerful conscients in the distance were discussing things in secret.

“Klopp has been defeated.”

“Isn't that expected? Richard isn't someone just focused on research.”

“Not like this. Richard didn't even use his legendary ability or any high-level magic.”

Klopp was a legendary swordsman, Fazelok's friend and follower of many years. He had represented Fazelok for this battle, the latter having offered a top-tier offering as the stake for which Richard agreed to the duel.

He had been beaten thoroughly.

......

When Richard got back to the room, he threw the case into a corner before looking at his fully-packed and sinking into meditation once more. This time, he could hear a vague, majestic melody in the starry sky, the symphony of energy which was the source of the Deepblue Aria's name. The stars were converted to mana one by one, sparkles of astral light appearing within his mana pool.

At dawn, he finished his meditation and walked out of his room for breakfast like a normal adventurer. He then left the inn, visiting the various attractions of the Emerald Lake. Stories could be found everywhere in this city that was millennia old, and just a full tour of it would take a few months. However, he wasn't in a rush either. Roaming around like a common mage, he acted as though he didn't notice the gazes watching him closely the entire time.

He only returned to the Forest Nymph in the evening, having spent the whole day just eating and playing as he toured the city. The young girl called Erin welcomed him, waving a letter she was holding, “This came for you while you were gone.”

“Thank you! It's an honour for someone so pretty to hand me my letters,” Richard said with a warm smile, leaving the blushing girl behind to return to his room.

The letter, envelope, sealing wax... it was all of common materials, but the contents were anything but: “Dear Richard Archeron,

“I've heard that Nyris is under the protection of your family, and you are willing to bear the responsibilities. You definitely wouldn't reject Her Excellency Rosanne's request to compare magical abilities; I have attached with this letter some information on Her Excellency, and the bet for this battle will be a top-tier offering.

“Yours Sincerely,

Prince Tumen.”

Just like Richard, Rosanne was a level 21 legendary mage, but she had more than forty years of experience in the realm and was someone who forged herself through battle. Richard crumpled up the letter and threw it into the wastebasket, following the same arrangements as the previous day and beginning to process the heart of the valley lord so it could increase his vitality. This wasn't an easy task, requiring skill in both magic and alchemy.

He only managed to finish the task during midnight the next day, stowing the heart away with care before he picked up Moonlight and left the Forest Nymph for the same arena he had now been to twice. With only an hour left to the battle, he had to be slightly faster than before.

This time, the arena shook continuously for a while before settling down. However, just like before, Richard left with another magic-sealing case.

...

“Rosanne lost.”

“Unbelievable, he didn't make any mistakes at all.”

“He still hasn't even used his ability.”

“We should consider him more seriously...”

...

As ever, Richard pretended not to notice the conscients and started meditating once he returned to his room. By dawn, dozens of starlike glints were floating in his mana pool.

The next day, he continued roaming around the Emerald Lake and observed every corner in the city. When he returned in the evening, another letter was waiting for him.

This was another challenge with some information on his challenger, but after defeating two legends his opponent would now be a saint.

However, this was no ordinary saint. Richard turned grim for the first time, because the challenger was Drakons; this was a disciple of the Sword Saint. He of all people knew that levels weren't everything to some people, including those like Beye, Martin, Zangru, and himself. Now, it seemed like Drakons would be on the same list. Still, after thinking for a while, he crushed the paper again and threw it into the basket.

Midnight the next day, he left the inn as usual and headed to the familiar ring. This time, he brought both Moonlight and the Judge. It took an entire half hour before he left and disappeared into the night, carrying the third of the magic-sealing cases. Moments later, a suppressed shout rang through the arena.

......

“Drakons was flustered.”

“Who can remain calm when they face an opponent who never makes mistakes?”

“This is a good thing, he was growing too arrogant.”

“But Richard still hasn't used his ability. I'm starting to wonder what it is...”

......

Life continued to repeat itself, and Richard received a new challenge letter as well. This one was from Romir, a level 22 assassin and experienced legend who had just returned from a battlefield of despair. It was undeniable that he was extremely dangerous; the man hadn't returned in a dozen years. Of course, it wasn't a coincidence for him to return either; he had been invited by Fazelok, having come specifically for the duel. In the Land of Dusk, he was renowned for killing black sorcerers.

Perhaps he was scared that Richard would reject; Fazelok added an additional greater offering to the top-tier offering for the bet on this battle. Richard accepted gladly, he would have gone ahead regardless.

The time was still midnight, and the venue was the same, but this time it only took five minutes. The battle between the assassin and legendary mage could be decided in a single burst of power; neither side could sustain a prolonged battle against the other. Of course, with these two that burst was just too strong. Half of the arena that was designed to accommodate duels between legends had collapsed.

......

“He's... never made a mistake.”

“No ability either.”

“That really is the flames from the Star of Destruction.”

“Maybe it's time to have Kelly fight.”

“... Maybe.”

......

That day, Richard didn't receive any challenge letters. He didn't continue touring around the Emerald Lake either, but instead went to the Church of the Eternal Dragon to make a few offerings. Nobody knew just what he obtained, but once the ceremony was over the young priestess hosting it couldn't recover from her daze for a long time.

When he left the church, Richard had nothing left anymore, not even a lesser offering. In exchange, he got a box filled with magic materials. Without any letters over the next three days, he fully immersed himself in runecrafting. The young girl walked to and fro outside his room, staring at the two untouched meals at the door but also knowing that a mage could not be disturbed in his research. The only thing she could do was to change the food and drink from time to time, ensuring he got fresh meals whenever he did walk out.

By the time Richard finally received his long-awaited challenge letter, he had almost run through all of the offerings. This time, he read through the name of the challenger a full three times and spent an entire hour preparing before he left for the battle. This was the first time he had prepared so seriously since coming to Emerald Lake.

The challenge letter itself was much simpler than the previous few, with only a name on it surrounded by the stamp of the imperial family: Kelly.

There wasn't a need for more information either. Kelly was a level 23 knight with a powerful moon-eating tide bloodline, the captain of the royal guard, one of Empress Gelan's four children... no matter which title one looked at, she was definitely worthy of Richard's attention. This was likely the strongest enemy he had ever faced in his life.

In only a few days, the collapsed half of the arena had been repaired to look the exact same as before, even up to the vines covering the walls. Richard walked in with leisure as usual, the door closing behind him and separating him from the outside world.

The night was quiet, time passing soundlessly. However, there was a suffocating sense of weight to the atmosphere around the duelling ring, compelling anyone nearby to leave quickly.

It was almost dawn when the door to the arena opened once again, but this time it was the mages responsible for maintaining the arena. They ran out at full speed, blinking away continuously as if there was an ancient beast chasing them. A wave of blue light followed them out, quickly disintegrating the entire ring and enveloping it in surging blue flames.

Richard slowly walked out of the fire, but at the exit he suddenly shook and almost fell to the ground. He stumbled forward a few steps before stabilising, resuming his walk towards the Forest Nymph. This time, it took him threefold the normal time of half an hour to return.

1165 - City of Sin

The Clouds Before War

The conscients up above broke their silence once Richard closed the door to his room.

“I never thought of such a legendary ability...”

“That burst potential... Kelly was beaten fair and square.”

“I don't think I could withstand it myself.”

He continued pretending to be oblivious to these conversations, doing his own things. But this time, he started packing his bags. A letter from Alice had just arrived this morning, the thin piece of paper having been sent through a long-distance transmission circle at great cost. The contents were simple: Some nobles from the Sacred Alliance and Millennial Empire had formed an alliance and placed their troops at the borders of Azan, obviously with bad intentions. On the southwest, nobles from the Sacred Tree Empire including Duke Solam were preparing their forces as well.

Richard left the same way he came, looking no different from a young mage roaming the world. When he left, the young girl hid herself in an empty room and sobbed her heart out.

......

Within the palace, Empress Gelan stood in front of a window and looked down at the Emerald Dreamlake before her. The Hidden Sword was standing by her side, looking down at the calm surface of the lake as well. However, their real attention went past the numerous obstacles and settled on Richard who was walking towards a portal.

When Richard disappeared into the array, the Sword Saint smiled, “He's finally left. The kid is really good with money, he managed to make back almost everything he spent.”

The Empress sighed, “The items in the auction were why he'd come here in the first place, in addition to battling a few of our legends to warn them not to have any ideas on his land.”

“Mm. A saint runemaster who's good in combat? Heh, even I wouldn't want to provoke someone like that. But those 500 units of divinity crystals... they were strange, almost like they were aimed at him. I think some annoying people might be behind it.”

“Are they making trouble again?” Gelan's voice was suffused with murderous intent.

“When don't they?” Hidden Sword answered calmly.

“... Let's observe for a little while. The time will come soon.”

A look of surprise flashed past Hidden Sword's face, but he switched topics, “I went to take a look in the past few days. The kid is crafting an impressive rune; he just finished the framework, but the aura is already leaving me uneasy.”

“A rune that can make you uneasy? With just a frame?” Empress Gelan was shocked.

“Yes, just the frame.”

“Hmm... Could it be ... grade 6? No, no way. There hasn't been a single one made in Norland yet.”

“Regardless, this fellow is outstanding. He's learning from battle to battle, gaining experience in addition to his fame. I can already feel his laws strengthening.”

“He could become a troublemaker as well,” the Empress commented wryly. She then turned and asked, “When are you planning to go to Klandor?”

“Maybe in a few days. It's felt like the longest time since I saw Greyhawk; he still looked young the last time I saw him, but now it looks like his daughter's growing up.”

Gelan drew a circle in front of her, forming an orb in mid-air that showed another part of the world. The ball of light depicted an average-sized house with simple and plain decorations, the stone bed in the middle occupied by a young girl who was sleeping soundly. Mountainsea was imposing even in her slumber, her limbs radiating sheer power in their stretched state. It looked like she was sleeping in the plains instead of at home, the very sky her blanket.

Her long, black hair was spread out, still made up in dozens of braids. The only difference was that the end of her braids didn't contain priceless diamonds anymore, but colourful stone shells and metal pieces. These accessories weren't even worth a gold coin in total; even the servants who cleaned the imperial palace wouldn't take a second glance at them. Empress Gelan grunted in anger.

However, the Sword Saint saw something completely different instead, pointing at the stone bed the girl was lying on, “That's a full slab of iron ore, but it's still starting to crack. Her Highness is getting heavier. And those accessories... Haha, Your Majesty, don't you feel like she's become more considerate?”

“It looks like the runt's bloodline is finally going to awaken,” the Empress said softly, her expression growing gentle as well, “Come back soon, I have this feeling that something big might happen soon.”

The Sword Saint turned solemn and nodded.

The two epic beings stared at Mountainsea again through the screen of light, but the barbarian girl was still deep asleep and unaware that she was being watched.

......

When Richard walked back out of the portal, the atmosphere in Blackrose was unbelievably oppressive, with troops of fully-armoured warriors marching past from time to time. The three permanent army bases originally outside the castle weren't able to accommodate all of the soldiers anymore, and now needed many tents pitched around them.

One could see many large caravans on the horizon, merchant groups bringing warriors, ore, food, and other war supplies. There were more than a hundred guards with each group, most of them Archerons with a few mercenaries mixed in. Ever since Richard had withdrawn from the Sacred Alliance, he had started recruiting all of the Archeron warriors in Azan. As for mercenaries, he offered them extremely lucrative conditions and convinced them to join his side for battle even under threat from all three human empires.

As resources and warriors continued to gather in Azan, Richard had almost a hundred thousand soldiers in his territory of which a full half were Archerons. This sudden growth left Alice extremely busy, and even Goliath's experienced officers eventually had to step in. If not, the army would quickly have descended into chaos.

Once Richard was back, he immediately summoned Alice and his followers to the command centre. The mages and generals then marked out all activity in the surrounding territories, a mage in his twenties starting to explain, “The greatest pressure is from the Sacred Alliance. They have gathered a total of eleven families, including two of the thirteen, with the Turings as their leaders. Initial reports are that there are more than 100,000 soldiers gathered here and rising. The number of legends and rune knights is unknown, but from the base setup I think it's fifty rune knights.

“The Millennial Empire are a little smaller in number, seven or eight families. Still, that makes for 80,000 soldiers with more rune knights in their midst compared to the Alliance. The Sacred Tree Empire is the least of all, a small retinue led by Duke Solam.”

It looked like the Sacred Tree Empire was the only one whose royal family didn't instigate the rest to go to war. Both they and the Millennial Empire wanted to gain Richard's loyalty in the future, but defeating him was one effective method of doing so. They could still offer him a position as duke and royal runemaster after regardless, but his personal force would be whittled away to the point where he had to align himself completely with their interests.

“How long till they finish gathering?” Richard asked.

“A month, tops,” Alice replied.

On the map, there were three arcs encircling Azan which were constantly being reinforced. Richard frowned and looked at the situation silently; this wasn't an army of Faelor he was up against, but elite soldiers from the lords of Norland. Even if these weren't the best warriors those lords had, they still far surpassed Faelorian troops. The Archerons only had a slight advantage in equipment, not level, while the opponents had an absolute advantage in numbers.

A moment later, Richard marked the side of the Sacred Tree Empire and asked Alice, “You think you could defend this castle for a while if you only had a quarter the number of your old friends?”

Were they going to give up a part of the battle? Everyone fell into thought, but Alice answered without hesitation, “Give me fifty rune knights to keep us safe from sky saints. If I'm controlling everything, I can hold this castle for two months.”

He smiled, “No, I don't need that long. Just hold it for two weeks.”

Alice frowned, “And what will you do by then?”

A small fireball landed on where the Sacred Alliance had gathered on the map, Richard's voice filled with murder, “I'll take care of my old friends before finishing off the Millennial Empire. Once I'm done with those two, I'll turn around and tear into Solam's back lines.”

1166 - City of Sin

Civil War

Richard wanted to defeat the armies of all three empires! It was a simple strategy in theory, but anyone who heard it could only call him insane. How was one noble to stand up to such combined might?

One of his generals gulped and asked hesitantly, “Your Grace... Would that be alright? They still haven't started or even declared their attack; if we send out our troops, won't we be giving them the perfect excuse?”

“To attack us?” Richard chuckled, “They'd do that regardless.”

Over the next few days, Richard locked himself in his laboratory and never left. However, tens to even hundreds of orders were given out every day, some going to the soldiers around Blackrose while others were sent to his various planes. Exactly five days later, the portals in the castle all lit up for his followers to pass through one by one, each possessing an imposing aura. Senma, Asiris, Tiramisu... outside of Olar and Gangdor, basically everyone had showed up.

Behind these followers were an endless stream of warriors, those from Faelor coming in the greatest count. The tall, muscular winter soldiers were especially adept at drawing attention, taking the limelight from the arrowbeasts who were just as powerful. Other drones had joined as well, with the humanoids being the weakest of the lot and still a powerful troop that was rare in Norland.

Most important was the numbers; the long line of soldiers stunned even some of Richard's generals; all major nobles hid their core battle power in their private planes, but for it to reach this quality and quantity was unusual at best.

Once all the soldiers were out, Richard showed himself as well. Taking a glance at the gathered troops, he summoned the unicorn and rode it down the hill. His followers immediately tagged along, with the rune knights, regular knights, and footsoldiers all getting into formation right behind. In only minutes, an army of a hundred thousand was following Richard northwards.

......

The troops of the Sacred Alliance got wind of Richard setting out before his soldiers were even in formation. Duke Turing immediately called an emergency meeting to discuss strategy, a full hundred people squeezed into his command tent with some of them forced to stand. This was despite a limit of two people per family joining in; almost everybody had found some reason or the other to bring extras along for the pure status.

“He actually dares to attack us?”

“He's out of his mind!”

“We should take him head on!”

The tent grew chaotic, many considering Richard's initiative an unacceptable provocation. The nobles were all furious, almost having forgotten the power and aggression of the Archerons when and even before they owned a floating island.

Duke Turing knitted his brows together, realising it was all hot air. Those screaming right now didn't possess the ability or resources to do anything meaningful, and there weren't any strategies being suggested either. They were all just venting their feelings with hollow words. However, he couldn't just dismiss them either. This was a very loose alliance, and those who had brought their troops could just as well leave at any time. He was the commander, but he didn't possess absolute control over everyone.

The Duke turned to a middle-aged mage and asked softly, “What do you think, Mister Cassius?”

Cassius wasn't very high in level, not even a grand mage yet, but Duke Turing was still extremely respectful to him. The man pointed at the nobles and smiled, “Look at them, the situation has already come to this. Can we still not fight this battle? Do you really believe we stand a chance to lose?”

Hearing this, Duke Turing's tightly knitted bows finally relaxed. There were more than 150,000 soldiers gathered here by the Sacred Alliance, with twelve full squads of rune knights backing them. Although most of the soldiers were from lesser families and not elites, the numbers were more than enough to make up for that gap. Meanwhile, they had far more saints than Richard as well. If they didn't dare to take the challenge despite these advantages, it would be a joke.

Turing suddenly realised he had actually been scared of Richard's undefeated legend, but looking at Cassius once more, his confidence grew immediately. He had recruited the mage more than a year ago; despite being personally weak, only level 15, this was someone with unparalleled leadership and management abilities that was an asset to any family. In only a few months, Cassius had broken a years-long stalemate in a private plane and defeated the two strongest empires there to conquer the entire plane. The Duke trusted him greatly.

Still, he had to make sure to give the man a warning, “Richard isn't an easy opponent.”

“I know,” Cassius chuckled, “Trust me, I never underestimate my enemies.”

Nodding, the Duke walked up to the podium and gestured for silence. Once everyone quieted down, he stated clearly, “If Richard dares to challenge our dignity, let's give him a fight!”

After a short moment of silence, the hall was filled with loud cheers.

......

To the north of Azan was a large plane dotted with some mountains and rivers. This was a natural battlefield, suitable for both large-scale engagements as well as tactical guerilla warfare. When Richard led his army into the plains, he saw a long row of tents on the distant horizon already waiting for him. Cassius had chosen this place as the battlefield as well.

The war started the very next day. Richard placed 30,000 soldiers on the wings and led 60,000 directly into battle, staring down the 120,000 under Duke Turing.

...

“He's definitely going to lose,” Cassius stated calmly.

Turing nodded, “He already has a numbers disadvantage but he still dares to split his troops. This is a full battlefield with hundreds of thousands, not a small skirmish. Ha, the so-called king of the battlefield doesn't understand the difference at all.”

“You shall be the new king of the battlefield from now,” Cassius said in flattery, prompting a poised smile.

...

Richard stopped his unicorn and looked at the army of the Sacred Alliance that was a kilometre away. They had been on the same side not long ago, but they were now opponents on the battlefield. He felt his heart stir and stopped his troops from advancing, riding forward alone. From the opposite side, Duke Turing galloped over as well.

“Richard, you can't fight the entire Alliance by yourself. As an acquaintance, I'm giving you one last chance. Surrender immediately, rejoin the Alliance, and swear your loyalty to the Empress. This is the only way for you to avoid destruction!” Turing said firmly.

Richard smiled, “Took the words right out of my mouth. Surrender immediately, and your family will still be able to hold on to your island.”

The Duke's expression darkened, “So be it; we have nothing to talk about.”

As the two returned to their armies, chilling war cries reverberated above the battlefield and the huge armies started to move. Turing glanced at his platoon of rune knights, the full 120 present leaving him excited. He didn't hope to defeat Richard with them— it was public knowledge that the Archerons had more than 200— but with many tied down in other planes he expected to hold Richard's higher-level soldiers at bay while his army won the war. With Richard's advantage in terms of rune knights, the battle was half won.

Or at least, that was what he thought. As the black tide of Richard's cavalry started moving, the vicious mounts, black armour, and boundless auras of the shadowspears going into full effect, he still felt a chill in his heart. The other nobles around him paled as well, thinking of what the shadowspears were known for— these were rune knight killers.

“Don't worry,” Cassius reminded him promptly, “We have the elites to match.”

All of Norland's families had started discussing ways to deal with Richard's shadowspears the moment he showed them off. While some families had their own special troops to fend them off, Cassius had identified two key points. One, a large number of rune knights would be able to crush them regardless. Two, a troop of specially-trained elites would be able to hold them at bay and target their actual weaknesses.

1167 - City of Sin

Battle of the White Deer

Despite his trust in Cassius, Duke Turing still felt uneasy about the war that had just commenced. The enormous warriors in Richard's army left him slightly apprehensive; it was one thing if they were natives of a foreign plane without any special abilities, but then Richard wouldn't be dumb enough to use them here. Something had to be up. Turing didn't enjoy the feeling of not knowing what was going to happen, and that feeling was only amplified in Richard's presence.

There wasn't much time for thought before the battle began. The frontlines of both sides approached each other rapidly, the archers already shooting storms towards the opponents. Colourful magical lights were flickering in the sky as well. Just as it seemed like both sides were evenly matched, however, loud whistles rang out as hundreds of dull arrows suddenly shot towards Turing's rune knights. One could almost see the air parting as these enormous arrows zoomed past, a sign of their power.

“NO!” Turing jumped off his horse, Cassius's eyes going wide as well. These arrows were extremely powerful, equivalent to a full-blown attack from a level 14 archer. This was a huge threat; level 14 was enough to be knighted even in Norland, while those with leadership ability could even become baronets. Turing knew that Richard was recruiting mercenaries, but he couldn't understand just where so many high-level archers had come from.

*Clang! Plop! Thud!* The barrage of arrows buried themselves into the core of the rune knight formation, and Duke Turing felt like every sound had pierced his own heart. The rune knights were well trained and managed to deflect or dodge a good number, but some unlucky ones were still shot in the vitals or had their rides heavily injured. Turing suddenly realised that he hadn't spent enough on their equipment; if these soldiers had epic-grade equipment, the number of injuries would be drastically different.

10 rune knights of the Alliance were lost after the first wave of arrows, while almost thirty of them were injured or lost their mounts. This was a full third of the rune knights removed from battle in one blow! The hundreds of arrowbeasts in Richard's army slowly fell back to recuperate, but they would return to the battlefield in mere minutes.

Floating up above, Richard smirked and issued a dozen orders in an instant. The troops below started shifting around to evade the spear formation in the middle, instead choosing to attack the sides.

As the shadowspears at the front parted ways, they finally revealed the rune knights amidst them.

“How...” “What...” “So many!” Gasps rang out from the nobles of the Sacred Alliance, and Duke Turing finally had to give up on his image. Flying up rapidly, he looked into the distance and froze. As a saint himself, he could quickly estimate the number of rune knights that Richard had.

500! There were 500!

This was a number that only appeared in all-out wars between empires. Duke Turing had never even dreamt that he would see this number in a civil war. Even if all 500 rune knights were grade 1, they still surpassed his remaining force and would leave a number free to annihilate his army while the rest kept his rune knights occupied.

Annihilation! This word flashed through the minds of many nobles, causing them to shiver just like Turing. Even with all the resources one could ever need, rune knights were still very uncommon. That quality of knight and mount, number of runes, weapons, equipment... everything added to the cost of upkeep and acted as a filter.

If the families present all lost their rune knights, there would be no victory even if they captured Richard. There were a total of eleven of them on the battlefield today, but they all had “allies” behind them that were watching like hawks. The enemies weren't the only ones who would tear them apart.

“Tyrian rune knights, retreat! Now!” an unknown noble shouted amidst the chaos.

With someone having started, the other family heads started shouting as well. Everyone wanted their rune knights out of the battlefield. Already disrupted by the arrowbeasts' volley, the rune knight formation completely descended into chaos.

“ALL DESERTERS WILL BE EXECUTED IMMEDIATELY!” Turing had to bellow in anger and shock, only then managing to get the rune knight formation to stabilise. However, Richard's soldiers had already swallowed them like a tidal wave.

In a single clash, ten rune knights collapsed on either side. However, this just bloated Richard's advantage further and allowed his rune knights to completely surround the opponents and massacre them. The shadowspears went past and rushed at the enemy, showcasing their terrifying disregard for life as they bored through despite great losses.

From a bird's eye view, the black tide was only stopped after it flooded a hundred metres into the enemy troops. However, the ground quickly started shaking as the winter soldiers who looked like giants moved past the shadowspears to join the frontlines. Each of them was comparable to a basic rune knight, and with their heavy weapons, they could warp and crush normal warriors in a single blow.

Powerful magic exploded on the ground and in the skies, hundreds of people battling each other up above with some screaming and falling ever so often. Tens or even hundreds of warriors died with every explosion, but this number was negligible when compared to the near-300,000 on this field.

Magic couldn't cause much damage to Richard or his followers, and even many high-level spells sometimes only resulted in a dozen or fewer casualties on his end. This was despite Richard's mages not even attempting to cast a single defensive spell, going all-out on targeted attacks. Someone eventually realised that the armour of anyone at level 10 or higher was magic-resistant, and the old grand mage could only laugh bitterly as he had to change strategy and have his subordinates focus on defensive spells instead.

Richard was floating in the skies, commanding the entire battlefield while flipping through the Book of Destruction to summon jade shamans and blood inquisitors. His actions seemed normal to anyone else, but to the legendary mage observing him from a hundred metres away, they were anything but.

The white-haired old mage wasn't particularly tall, his own staff longer than his body, but his richly-decorated cloak was currently active and the symbols flashing on it gave him an aura of majesty. With all of his other enchanted equipment, he looked like a perfect representation of the average legendary mage.

This mage had appeared here to fight Richard, or at least suppress him so he couldn't do anything on the battlefield. News of the advancement to the legendary realm had already spread throughout Norland, and although runemasters didn't grow much more powerful when entering the legendary realm, they still ended up stronger than most saints. Richard himself was known for his battle prowess, so defeating him would not be easy.

Baynard was only level 21 himself, but he had been in the realm for a hundred years and accumulated vast amounts of experience in both exploration and battle. He was quite revered in the Sacred Alliance, with even those at higher levels having some modicum of respect for him.

Hundred metres was an optimal distance for a legendary mage, but as Baynard closed the distance Richard completely ignored him and continued summoning and commanding his troops. He even shot out a volley of five fireballs, killing a saint/

“Richard, you're underestimating me!” Baynard said angrily.

Richard smirked, “I don't underestimate my enemies, I just kill them. Stand still and don't move, becoming an enemy isn't smart.”

Even as he spoke, a small spark lit up on his fingertips and he flicked a lightning bolt towards a flying saint a little ways away. The man screamed and managed to withstand the attack, but the power caused him to lock up for a moment. In that single instant, Waterflower appeared behind him like a ghost and stabbed her sword into his heart. This was an indescribable level of cooperation.

Baynard's face warped under the humiliation; every saint falling to Richard's sword, every command issued was a direct insult to his power. On the other hand, even though he only used basic spells, Richard's attacks were all extremely powerful and swimming with additional effects. He could sense the power of laws within.

A hundred years of experience didn't count for nothing. Baynard had keen senses and powerful sight that had allowed him to escape from many near-death experiences in the past. Now, his intuition was screaming that this situation was the same.

1168 - City of Sin

Battle of the White Deer(2)

“Richard,” Baynard said after a while, “I've been a legend for more than a century. At least respect my experience enough to show me your strength; if you're powerful enough, I'll withdraw immediately. If you keep ignoring me, I'll have to fight despite the danger.”

Richard turned to face the old mage, “Alright, here's my ability, the Apocalyptic Triad.”

Three distinct faces emerged before Richard. On the left was the demon, filled with an endless thirst for destruction and ruin. On the right was the impeccable beauty, an androgynous face that looked like a mix of elven royalty and celestials with an indescribable sense of vitality. Right in front of him was perfection, every line exactly where it should be even despite the sharp curved horns on top; a combination of demon, devil, and angel, chaos, order, and purity.

Baynard had never seen such an existence before. He found himself speechless the instant the three faces emerged, only able to feel three frightening wills focusing on him simultaneously and exerting such immense pressure that his soul was almost torn apart. It eventually dawned on him that each of these heads would be able to cast a different spell; even three grade 9 spells were impossible for him to block, but these seemed like they would be legendary grade. And if those spells actually layered together well... he shuddered at the thought.

The old mage had been able to live peacefully for so long despite his low talent because his legendary ability was defensive in nature. Even so, death would be inevitable if Richard targeted him. He also couldn't recall a single person that would be able to face such power when at the same level, a thought that was all the more terrifying.

Would he have to lock Richard spatially, or maybe just alter timeflow to mess up the cadence? Baynard's rich combat experience allowed him to assemble a number of response plans, but he couldn't think of one which actually gave him a chance of victory, just survival. His robes were quickly soaked through with sweat.

...

Down below, Duke Turing's face was turning uglier by the minute. His rune knights had been decimated, and as he looked to call upon his saints to assist them he realised most of the casualties at that level were from his own side. Richard's subordinates were flashing around like beams of light, killing saints everywhere they went. Even most of the defensive warriors could barely withstand a single blow, while the rest died instantly!

Turning to find Cassius just as pale, his heart sank. The general sensed the Duke's gaze, “Richard has far too many sky saints. Your Grace, we only have one option left; have His Excellency make a move. We can only win if Richard himself is defeated first.”

“Alright,” Turing gritted his teeth, looking up and shouting, “Your Excellency Baynard, make your move! Consider your offer accepted!”

Baynard had still been hesitating, but the Duke's cries seemed to bring him to a decision. He nodded towards Richard and even bowed a little, “Your Excellency, today's conflict was a misunderstanding. I will be taking my leave.”

A bright yellow flame enveloped Baynard's body, vanishing from sight and leaving a stunned Turing behind. The legendary mage had actually escaped? And without even trying?

The Duke wasn't the only one who couldn't believe his eyes. Many saints and the hundreds of thousands of troops below looked up in similar shock; even an experienced veteran like Baynard wouldn't dare to fight Richard?

With all eyes upon him and Turing howling in rage, Richard simply pointed towards the Alliance troops and uttered a single phrase, “Destroy them.”

On the ground, the black and red Archeron army sped up and stabbed deep into the enemy's flanks, turning right in place and burrowing a hundred different holes into their formation. The superior forces of the Sacred Alliance were massacred in a matter of hours, only a fifth of the original 150,000 soldiers escaping with their lives were the rune knights were annihilated. A full third of all their saints were killed, while Duke Turing was captured alive.

Amidst this all, few noticed as Turing's personal guard of twenty soldiers of whom many were saints were eliminated in a single stroke by Richard. The Duke himself was dumbstruck as he was captured.

......

After the battle, Richard ordered his army southwards, marching an entire day and night to appear on the flank of the Millennial Empire. This time, he personally helmed the attack, with his followers, rune knights, winter soldiers, and other drones in the vanguard. It was an all-out attack with no route for retreat, and he was at the very tip of the spear.

Before the battle, Richard had only uttered a single order, “Follow me!”

From the ogre lord down to the ordinary knights of the army, passions were immediately inflamed. They chased after the increasingly distant figure who was personally slashing through dozens of opponents a minute to open up the attack. This battle dealt a heavy blow to the Millennial Empire, allowing only 10,000 of their 100,000 soldiers to escape while the elites were completely wiped out. Two dukes, four marquesses, and a number of earls were taken prisoner, and a majority of the saints fell in battle.

The Millennial Empire had a sense of honour that was evidently stronger than the Sacred Alliance. Even though they quickly realised they had lost, most soldiers refused to retreat or surrender. A lot more of their own died because of this attitude, but Richard suffered greater losses as well. At the end of it all, he had to leave his ordinary knights and soldiers to rest and reorganise as he brought 10,000 elites forward for a decisive battle with the Sacred Tree Empire at the foot of Blackrose Castle.

......

The engagement with the Sacred Tree Empire was the toughest of them all, but it was also the most brilliant display of command. Richard's formations didn't collapse or grow confused even for a second, and during moments of stalemate Gangdor suddenly brought 5,000 humanoids through from Faelor while Alice launched an attack with her own troops. The three-pronged attack slowly routed Solam's forces and forced them away.

The Duke himself wasn't convinced by this defeat, rising to the sky heroically to face Richard in a great duel. He was meant to possess a huge advantage as a shadow antimage, but Richard had promptly displayed the Apocalyptic Triad and sent an endless barrage of high-grade spells towards the assassin. No amount of magical resistance could withstand the intense volleys, and even using his ability and skills to deflect most of the damage, he'd once been locked in position near a melee and drowned in fireballs. The moment he fled with serious injuries, the army scattered in all directions.

In less than ten days, Richard had mustered his army to secure the surrounding areas and killed countless powerhouses while winning all of his battles. The countless nobles of all three empires quickly fell silent, none of them daring to speak out against the Archerons any longer.

......

Heavy, urgent footsteps rang through the dark corridors of Blackrose Castle as an exhausted Richard hurried to the command centre and flung himself into his chair.

“May we begin, Your Grace?” a mage cautiously asked, and sweeping his gaze around to see all of his followers and important generals Richard reluctantly waved his hand.

The mage opened a magical map that displayed the current military situation, his voice growing a little incredulous, “The forces of all three empires have been cleared from within the White Deer Domain. Gold Valley and the Kebi River are now firmly under our control, but the casualties are as follows...”

What followed was a tedious list of statistics. The war had barely ended, but a majority of the followers were still unclear about the situation. Having been more concerned with the battle between powerhouses, many of them hadn't had the opportunity to pay attention to their losses earlier; their faces grew heavier with each number.

Richard's losses were severe. He had lost nearly a hundred rune knights, and only half of the 100,000 troops had returned to Blackrose Castle. Most of the deceased were the broodmother's elites and Archeron warriors, every death a heavy loss.

In exchange, they had decimated nearly 300,000 from the three great empires, killing a staggering 250 rune knights and nearly a hundred saints. This was equivalent to destroying three of the sixth-level families of Faust, a heavy burden to bear even if it was shared. Any number of ordinary soldiers lost wasn't a problem— most nobles had an endless sea of such soldiers sitting in their private planes— but no one could overlook the deaths of the saints and rune knights. In many respect, the rune knights were even worse; while saints were generally less restricted and tended to escape more quickly, rune knights were soldiers through and through. Even in Richard's battles, half of the saints had fled while only a handful of rune knights survived.

A normal soldier would be called a deserter if they escaped the battlefield, while one would only say that a saint had left. This was Norland's reality; saints were respected beings that played by different rules, while rune knights were not.

Richard's achievements were near-unbelievable. This wasn't a battle against a frail secondary or tertiary plane, but a war against elite troops from the three great empires! All the families participating here combined likely had dozens of private planes put together, maybe even reaching a hundred!

As the mage finished his lengthy speech, an untimely snore rang through the command centre. All eyes turned to the origin, Richard himself.

1169 - City of Sin

Peace Through War

During the campaign, Richard had personally fought the legends of the Millennial and Sacred Tree Empires, all the while retaining command of the entire army. His mana had been drained countless times and he had wounds of varying sizes all over his body, but he had directed his clergy to heal the soldiers instead of himself. Mana potions only helped so much, repairing the surface-level exhaustion while leaving the deeper threat intact.

All of this stress had only been given up the moment he was back in the command centre and able to relax. Thus, he had lost control and fallen asleep.

The hall immediately went quiet. Richard's followers and generals stared at each other for a moment before continuing the meeting in absolute silence, planning to leave quietly and let him get some rest. However, in only a few minutes, his steady breathing was disturbed once more as he recognised the strange silence, “Huh... You're done?”

He took a deep breath and tried to keep himself awake this time, “Is there anything you guys want to talk to me about?”

“Your Grace...” one of the generals under Alice asked, “There's something I still don't understand. The three empires only gathered their armies at our borders and didn't actually invade us; they didn't even formally express their intentions. Why did we attack first?”

“For peace,” he answered.

“For... peace?”

Richard smiled, “True peace is always achieved through war.”

......

It would be a few days before the general truly understood the meaning of Richard's words. The vengeance he had been expecting from the three empires never arrived, instead replaced by envoys. These envoys surprisingly all had similar intentions as well; they wanted to propose an armistice.

At this point, Richard had already returned to Faelor and sent Olar back to deal with the politics. He had made his bottom line clear before leaving: the three empires were here seeking reconciliation, and the best he could do was to ignore his own losses. Prisoners would be dealt with the same as any civil war and ransomed off as usual.

Strangely enough, the envoys agreed. This was a huge concession to give to a single family; even if Richard had lost some of his men, he was still technically the aggressor in this matter. However, these envoys were even trying to form an alliance. The Sacred Tree Empire and Millennial Empire both prepared long lists of resources that could leave anyone dazed, the envoys fervent and sincere in their hints that they just needed him to refrain from joining the other side. Even the Sacred Alliance implied that Richard's return would mean everything was negotiable; Apeiron herself could possibly yield a little.

Even Olar had never expected the envoys to behave this way; he understood politics from more of a microscopic perspective through his interactions with the upper class, while war negotiations in a lesser plane like Faelor were different from interacting with one's superiors.

The nobles of Norland experienced the lunacy of the Archerons once more, a family that was known to attack instead of defending. This time, a sea of rune knights and a powerful legendary mage had shown just how great the price for war was; one couldn't conquer Richard quickly, which meant he had ample time to negotiate with their rivals to join the other side. The current situation where he was unaffiliated was much better, especially since he had implied that he would still take custom rune orders even from the Sacred Alliance. In that regard, it would be as though the war never happened.

......

Things had gone quiet in Faelor, Richard's return not causing any particular commotion. In the eyes of the other countries on the continent, the vile Crimson Dukedom had suddenly grown calm and peaceful, stopping all military operations as though Richard was completely sated by the eastern coast.

However, the dozens of dukedoms around Walvis Bay all felt very uneasy, even worse than when Rislant had made his desire for them known. 20,000 knights were still stationed on the coast, the terrifying humanoids and shadowspears having been reinforced rather recently. Gangdor had shown them that this was enough of a force to wipe out hundreds of thousands of their soldiers rather easily, so they were all the more afraid of Richard's hunger being stoked.

The situation in the Iron Triangle Empire slowly calmed down as well. The nobility recognised Salwtyn's claim to the throne, and at least on the surface the orders of the new Emperor were effective throughout the country. All in opposition to Salwyn were already either conquered or just dead.

In the eyes of the nobility, this was governance through power and terror. However, the commoners and other countries around didn't feel the same way. The Iron Triangle Empire had lost the war completely, suffering such a terrible defeat that it wouldn't have been a surprise for the country to be destroyed. However, they had only lost a vassal's land as well as some other border territory while the royal bloodline still remained on the throne. No slaves were taken, no massacres had occurred, and the overall losses were unthinkably low.

......

Dragon Valley continued to prosper. Most of the legends and sky saints had returned from the Dragon Plane at least once, bringing along their great harvests. The valley itself had become a completely self-sufficient town, containing all sorts of things like a brewery and vineyard, rune workshop, blacksmith, and even a brothel.

Forty rune knights constantly patrolled the valley, in charge of guarding the portal to prevent random dragons from poking their heads in. They still caused a bit of a commotion whenever they patrolled the manors; even legends didn't normally use a single rune knight for such a low task.

Of course, there wasn't anybody in the valley foolish enough to challenge Richard anymore. News of him defeating a level 22 mage when he wasn't even legendary had spread long ago, as had the fact that he had now become a legend himself. Even though he would have to spend some time stabilising, nobody had the courage to challenge him. Some of this had to do with Sharon and Ruben, but his own power and status had made him an equal to the other legends here. At this point, his arrival and departure were considered significant events.

When Richard walked out of the portal from Bluewater, he had to squint a little to see through the strong sunlight. The sky was a boundless blue as far as one could see, and the red sun was constantly pulsing heat. He grinned, seemingly muttering to himself, “Such good weather is so rare.”

“Indeed, Your Excellency,” a voice rang by his ear, “We haven't met before, my name is Aaron.”

Richard turned around to look at the sky saint that had spoken up, the name quite familiar. The handsome young man looked to be brimming with talent, and his bloodlust and unconcealed confidence made it clear that it wasn't an understatement. This was someone who possessed power and the achievements to show for it; Aaron's name was no less famous than Beye's.

“Was it a good harvest?” Richard smiled, nodding in greeting.

“Much better than I could ever have expected,” Aaron replied.

“Great. Make good use of this opportunity.” Please visit fr𝗲𝙚𝔀e𝙗𝓃oν𝐞𝑙. c𝚘𝘮

“I will, Your Excellency. I plan to return right after I hand everything over to my family.”

Richard nodded and headed to the depths of the valley. It was only when his figure disappeared that Aaron realised he had been bowing all this time, such respect something he only showed to his parents and other elders. His eyes filled with fear as he stared at where Richard had gone; he hadn't even meant to bow in the first place!

Richard returned to his residence and threw Moonlight and the Judge to one side before plopping down on the sofa. Nasia had appeared by the entrance before he knew it, but he only grunted in response to her greeting as he stared down with chin in hand.

“Got something on your mind?” she chuckled as she walked over.

“Mm, I lost.”

“Oh? Was it bad?”

“It was... absolute.”

Nasia seemed to grow even more interested, crouching beside him and watching his eyes for a while in amusement, “Absolute, huh? That's interesting. But there shouldn't be anyone outside of me who can beat you so easily, who was it?”

Richard took a deep breath, actually flashing a smile, “Apeiron.”

“Apeiron? You mean the Empress? Wait...” the lips on her mask seemed to open up as her pitch went higher, “You actually went and challenged an epic being? Are you stupid or just insane? Absolute loss? It's amazing you didn't die right there! What do you think an epic being is?! Just seven or eight levels on you?! You just became legendary, do you even have a demiplane yet?! Have you finished any of your laws?! Has your mana stabilised?! Do you have your ability?!”

The barrage of questions seemed to smash down on Richard like a storm. He grinned without answer, but his eyes definitely weren't smiling.

1170 - City of Sin

Path Of Laws

Seeing Richard so down, Nasia suddenly got up and sighed happily, patting him hard, “It's alright, losing to Apeiron is normal. You'd have no chance against her even when she first returned. How about this, keep buttering me up and get me a few more offerings. I'll teach you properly, and within the next year—”

“I'll be able to beat her?” his eyes lit up.

“Impossible!” she immediately destroyed his dreams, adding on, “But you should be able to beat anyone below the epic realm.”

Richard's brows furrowed, but she leant over until the nose of her mask was almost touching his own, “You're already a legend at such a young age, and not the useless kind either. Isn't that enough? Apeiron wasn't this strong in her thirties, and she was famous for her combat ability even back then.”

“Hmm... Wait, how do you know so much? Even I never heard about this,” Richard asked with surprise.

“Never underestimate a woman's ability at gossip,” Nasia smiled proudly.

“It's just... something's wrong,” he explained, “I feel like there's a loophole in Apeiron's laws.”

The brows on Nasia's metallic mask jumped, “You certainly do leave a huge impression.”

He went silent for a while before standing up and waving his hands to project Faelor's map onto his table, gazing at it silently.

“There's something else on your mind?”

“Mm. I keep having this feeling that I don't have enough time.”

With a flick of her finger, Nasia dissipated the map that Richard had formed, “Before this plane, you should think about getting yourself a demiplane first. That isn't just a resource, it's also power. It will allow you to see the very origins of existence, the source of power that allows a legendary mage to slowly outshine warriors on their way to the top.”

He waved his hand and restored the map, “A demiplane is important, but there are still many valuable things here. Things I can do right now.”

“You mean...”

He pointed straight up.

“You... you really have gone insane.”

“Mm-hmm, fight fire with fire and all that.”

......

Not long after Nasia left, three priestesses and two priests arrived at Richard's lobby. Since he himself hadn't come down from his study yet, they all sat down and conversed silently.

Each of these clerics was quite powerful, the weakest already level 16. When it came to the three goddesses, they were second only to the popes and paladin captains.

Richard had gotten these clerics transferred to Dragon Valley long ago to service those who went out to the Dragon Plane. Without Flowsand present anymore, there wasn't any cleric from the Eternal Dragon whose healing could match up to that from the local gods. At the same time, they acted as eyes and ears for the three goddesses and allowed them to know everything seen and heard here. The three goddesses were currently going all out in their divine battle with Runai, mainly because of the sheer number of legends and even two epic beings in Dragon Valley.

The young clerics muttered secretively amongst each other until the doors opened, at which point they all stood up and bowed reverently, “Your Grace.”

From Faelor's point of view, Richard had already reached the pinnacle of strength. Even the gods could not send avatars of equivalent strength down to the mortal world.

Richard's gaze swept past the clerics and he suddenly understood what they were thinking. Their priestesses had always been trying to tempt him, but he'd shown no inclination towards them whatsoever. They had likely thought his tastes were rather eclectic, sending out two men who were no less beautiful than the women.

As always, he just couldn't comprehend their obsession with sex. However, he brushed it off and asked, “Which of you can talk to your goddesses right now? I have things to discuss with them?”

Talk to the goddesses? The five clerics exchanged glances. Before coming to Dragon Valley, they would have thought he was crazy. However, their days here had shown that he truly did have the right to talk to the three as equals. In the end, the three women started praying silently.

In the meanwhile, he gently started stroking the blade of Moonlight as he thought back to the battle with Apeiron. Her aura had attacked like a gentle wind, but before he could realise it wasn't a breeze against his cheeks it had become a storm that could tear through anything. The laws of chaos within were unpredictable; even having fought Julian before, he had never seen something similar. It felt like the entire world was being warped into one where chaos was the norm, his body an anomaly that was suppressed by existence itself. In only a moment, he had been defeated.

This was a duel of laws, completely different from normal battles. Just like Nasia had said, he couldn't even come close to competing with Apeiron in that regard yet; be it in depth of understanding or ability to control them, he was far from capable. He certainly had performed some very rudimentary analysis of laws with equivalent power, but he was far from done and he still had much to do. He hadn't even gotten a demiplane yet, and he still had to master the Deepblue Aria and so many other things.

If he took it step by step, it would take over a century to truly mature. Richard recalled the moment Apeiron's aura had been thrown at him once more, but this time slowed to a thousandth of the speed. In the Field of Truth, that invisible aura had been composed of countless shimmering fragments that held the power of chaos. Each was a sharp weapon that could cut through near anything, as dangerous as a spatial rift. His instant barrier had barely lasted a moment before being destroyed, and the sea of chaos fragments had rushed towards him like a wave.

He needed to find a way to break through the limitations of laws themselves. He quickly opened his eyes, wiping off the sweat from his pale forehead. The thought left him stumped.

Two dull thuds suddenly rang out as the two male clerics fell to their knees, quickly drenched in sweat and looking ready to collapse. They had already damaged the coffee table in their bid to hold on. Richard was startled, but he quickly understood what was going on and slowly retracted his aura, “My apologies, I lost control for a moment there.”

The pressure quickly disappeared, but the two clerics still felt incredibly tired. Only one of them even managed to speak, “Your Grace, your power truly is—”

“Alarming,” a tender and pleasant voice interjected, bringing Richard's attention to the three women who had now straightened up. Their bodies were emitting faint golden light, eyes having turned into pure gold as well while their auras had climbed significantly. The three goddesses currently occupied their minds.

“Spring Water.” “Forest.” “Hunt,” they conveniently introduced themselves.

Richard didn't beat around the bush, asking directly, “How are things going with the war?”

“We've successfully entered Runai's divine kingdom and formed a stable base.”

“The war is at a standstill right now. Her divine force is still more powerful and her soldiers are in her own domain.”

“But she's already lost the source of her faith, so she is bound to lose. The millennium of saved divine force just needs to be exhausted, but that will take three decades, give or take.”

“I can't wait three decades,” Richard shook his head, “Give me the coordinates, I'll have a look myself.”

“What? No, that's too dangerous!”

“Runai was almost a greater god. You'll lose a huge chunk of your power in her divine kingdom!”

“Even we don't dare to use our true forms there yet!”

Richard ignored their warnings, flashing a dazzling smile full of confidence as he sent a piece of magic parchment floating towards them, “This is a spatial formation that needs to be set up in one of your kingdoms. I need it as a transfer point.”

“Richard, you truly are powerful, but your body is still...” the Goddess of the Forest tried once more, but Richard's gaze forced her to retract the last word, mortal. Eventually, the Goddess of Spring Water took the array and nodded, “Fine, I'll have my strongest valiant soul protect you.”

There was nothing gods couldn't do in their divine kingdoms; setting up a portal like this would only need a thought. It was Richard himself who would need some time to set up his end, a few grand mages already hurrying over to help.

1171 - City of Sin

Entering A Divine Kingdom

It didn't take long before the portal was in the final phase of testing. The grand mages working on it weren't his subordinates, but came from the others in Dragon Valley and had volunteered to help. A portal to a divine kingdom was a rare chance at improving one's own understanding of space, so they had been eager to join in on the construction.

As Richard watched the busy mages quietly, Nasia had appeared by his side at some point, “You've made your decision?”

He nodded without a word.

“Runai has a lot of divine force, don't count on the law suppression being weak.”

“Isn't it a rare opportunity to experience a full suppression of my laws?”

“Sigh, there's that ambition again. You just became a legend and you already want to fight epics.”

Richard's gaze cut through the space before him, “No, this isn't ambition. I... I can't explain what I'm feeling, but I know that I don't have much time left. Everything here, this glory, peace, and security... it's all an illusion. There's something far behind the silence that's leaving me uneasy... afraid.”

Nasia stared him in the eye for a full minute before shaking her head, “Then go. Do you need King of War?”

“No, I want to experience actual suppression.”

“Well then... just come back alive.”

He didn't know how to respond to that for a moment, but then he smiled, “Of course! I haven't gone completely crazy.”

Just as he was about to leave, Nasia took out a piece of paper and handed it to him, “Sign this first.”

“Hmm?” he took a look, finding that it was basically a will that gave her control over all of his resources, “What's this?” Google search 𝘧𝓇𝗲e𝑤𝑒𝙗noѵ𝒆𝚕. 𝒄o𝓶

“Even if you die, I want all my offerings,” she replied.

Richard immediately burst into laughter, signing it quickly before returning it to her, “But you won't have the chance to use it!”

Nasia shrugged, “Who knows?”

At this point, he knew to never argue with her if he could avoid it. Stepping into the portal, he felt himself being pulled towards the divine kingdom.

...

When the lines of magic light dissipated, Richard found himself faced with a scenery that was rather strange. He was on a mountain forest, and in the distance he could see the greenery topped with clumps of red and yellow trees that dyed the world in a sea of brilliant colours. The sky was light blue with ribbons of all colours floating around it, illuminating the equally-colourful ground below.

However, before he had the chance to examine the beauty before him, his body lurched forward and he nearly lost balance. It suddenly felt like several tonnes of rocks had been placed on his back, a scorching pain running throughout his body as though he had been immersed in acid. He cast Thunder Fort immediately with a thought, the grade 8 spell barely managing to neutralise the discomfort.

During the process, he discovered something rather interesting. Within the laws of the divine kingdom, there seemed to be no difference between different types of defences. So long as one's barrier was of a certain level, be if physical or magical, regardless of the element, it would work.

“Welcome to my kingdom, Your Grace,” the voice of the Forest Goddess rang out.

Richard stood up straight, but the simple movement caused his bones to creak under the strain. Faint light shot out from his eyes as he activated Field of Truth, revealing specks of green divine force all around him filled with vitality. A few chains that came from nowhere were wound around him and weighing him down, which was why he felt like lead.

This was the true face of the suppression of a divine kingdom. With a single thought, a god could turn divine force into the most damaging of poisons. Under this powerful force, Richard immediately lost a third of his strength and became weaker than even a sky saint. It was no wonder that even Norland's legends did their best to refrain from fighting in divine kingdoms.

“This is how much I can suppress you,” the goddess continued, “Runai's power is much more powerful than mine, and the suppression will be stronger as well. Have you thought this through?”

“Give me a few minutes,” Richard said as he sat down, closing his eyes and starting to analyse how his combat would be affected amidst the suppression. A short while later, he got up and ambled down the mountain he was on, gait as natural as the flow of water without any hint of being affected by the suppression.

Sounds of shock rang in the sky as the three goddesses talked endlessly, unable to believe what they had just seen. Divine force surged nearby and revealed a stunning woman in long green robes with golden eyes and a divine mark between her brows. This was the Goddess of the Forest, but all Richard could see with the Field of Truth active was an enormous ball of divine force. “Please come with me, Your Grace. The passage is this way.”

The portal to Runai's kingdom was located in the middle sections of the mountain, right above the dense part of the woods. They had to cover nearly a hundred kilometres, but with the goddess taking the lead it was quickly done.

In front of the portal was a vast staging area where endless legions of armed divine soldiers were entering in order. Even from a distance they looked like an endless tide, as numerous as the trees in the forest. There were two giant portals facing the divine passage, and groups of hundreds walked through every few minutes. These soldiers had different weapons and armour, with even their auras being distinct. They belonged to the other two goddesses, grouping up here before they entered the passage.

The two other goddesses appeared by Richard's side as well. It was rare for deities to enter their peers' kingdoms no matter how close they were, but Richard had catalysed the relationship of these three into something far more stable than a mere alliance. The goddesses each took out large crystals and placed them in his hands, the crystals dissolving into light that entered his body.

“This is the crystallisation of our divine force; it can help you resist any direct attacks from Runai for some time,” the Goddess of Spring Water explained.

Richard nodded, “Okay, I'm going.”

He took to the skies and flew towards the divine passage, the soldiers at the front moving aside to open up a path.

Just before he entered the passage that was a hundred metres tall, Richard suddenly paused and looked down below. His gaze seemed to pierce through the divine kingdoms and fall to Faelor's mainland down below, searching for the source of a frail heartbeat that he had heard amidst the clamour. That heart was pulsing ever so softly, but it resonated with his very soul.

For a moment, he felt an emotion he never had before. As best he could describe it, it was a strange combination of satisfaction, anxiety, emptiness, and even a bit of fear. He just couldn't tell what it was meant to be. However, he examined himself carefully and chuckled, his aura immediately blasting out as he found the source before entering the passage.

...

At the other end was a battlefield with hundreds of thousands of divine soldiers, each fighting fearlessly for their deity. Souls constantly flew into the sky up above, returning to their own divine kingdoms where they would be given new bodies to enter the battlefield once more. This war would only end when one side exhausted all of its divine power.

The moment he walked out, Richard felt a huge tremor under his feet. A thunderous boom drowned out everything in Runai's divine kingdom, the top of a distant mountain breaking away and floating into the distance. Specks of flickering starlight could be seen in the air, and the Field of Truth managed to trace them to their source: the crystal sphere surrounding the divine kingdom.

The detached mountain headed straight for the walls, but instead of an impact it passed right through before starting to shatter. The hard rock immediately scattered like powder, the grains being divided into smaller and smaller parts until he couldn't see them at all anymore. Richard suddenly realised that this was complete annihilation; the mountain had been wholly unable to withstand the energy storm of the void!

As he took the first step into the battlefield, the scenery warped as the figures of the fighting soldiers blurred. Those that were far away seemed right next to him, while those nearby disappeared from sight. His sense of distance was completely destroyed.

“A mere mortal dares enter my kingdom?!” Runai's roar resounded through the sky, a powerful conscient descending from the skies to attack. Richard immediately felt like he had been struck by a boulder, his knees going weak and almost giving way completely.

White light shot through the skies and illuminated his body, his skin starting to boil like acid had been poured upon it while emitting white gas. However, just as his knees were about to touch the ground, he snorted and all his joints crackled violently, three hearts pumping as hard as they could. Strength that had been hidden away for the longest time was called upon once more as his body shook off the suppression, slowly bringing him back to his feet.

Richard turned to look at the highest mountain in the divine kingdom, his lips curving into a disdainful and provocative sneer. Up there was the Goddess of Time herself, true form glaring at him with ire and rage.

Runai was a true god. Even if she only belonged to a secondary plane, she was still a personification of laws. He laughed, his elegant demeanour fading away into zeal and bloodthirst. Standing up straight right under her gaze, Richard stretched a little and walked towards the frontlines while leaving three-coloured light in his wake. The suppression seemed to lose all effects.

1172 - City of Sin

Attacking A Divine Kingdom

“DAMN YOU THREE! I'M GOING TO BURN DOWN YOUR KINGDOMS AND TEAR YOUR BODIES APART! YOUR SOULS WILL BURN IN HELLFIRE FOR A MILLION YEARS!” Runai's growl caused the entire divine kingdom to tremble.

The petitioners and valiant souls under the Goddess of Time all felt her wrath, fighting even fiercer than before to push back the troops of the tripartite alliance. Richard's own vision started to blur again as the pressure on him increased, but another mountain split open and half of it fell away from the kingdom and into the void. The wrath immediately subsided, the weight on him lifted.

This immediately confirmed that Runai was doing her best just to keep the fight going and sustain her kingdom. This place was on the brink of destruction, and once it was damaged beyond a limit the laws it controlled would disappear. At that point, the goddess would lose her protection. Theodore had written that damage to the divine kingdom was the sign of a deity's fall. Once this symptom surfaced, the fall could occur in as little as a few years or as many as centuries. Please visit 𝒇𝒓𝗲e𝔀𝗲𝚋ｎoѵℯƖ. c𝑜m

At this point, Richard was already fighting on the frontlines against a knight from Runai's kingdom. The man was over two metres tall, wielding simple armour, a tower shield, and a one-handed axe. His thick beard and general build and weapon choice were in line with the northern knights of Faelor from hundreds of years ago, something Richard had already analysed casually. He had level 13 power, but fighting in Runai's kingdom his abilities went up three levels to equal a Faelorian saint. There was a bizarre golden sheen in his eyes, signifying that he was powering himself with divine power instead of internal energy.

The man's gaze was filled with arrogance and wrath, not a single speck of fear, doubt, or hesitation to be seen. Glaring at Richard, he growled and hacked down with his axe. The bladed edge cut Richard's body open before falling heavily to the ground. The knight was just about to growl in victory before he realised the opponent's body was dissolving into nothing; he jumped in anxiety, but his attempts to trace Richard's location only revealed a wound under his ribs that was starting to spew out divine power.

The knight staggered before falling face-down, his body dissolving into a golden mist that floated towards the shrine in the distance. A phantom was just about to do the same, but before it could turn into divine force the Judge swept past it soundlessly. The phantom screamed before disappearing into countless specks of light that were absorbed into the blade.

Richard touched the edge of the Judge in awe, rather surprised that the Judge could actually devour a soul like that. Once it returned to Runai's shrine, the soul would have been fused with divine force to give the knight a new body to enter battle with. The three goddesses worked in the same way, making it a competition to see who could outlast the other.

The soul of a petitioner normally only expired after six or seven reincarnations, but given enough time to recuperate and enough divine force, they could quickly be returned to their peak state. As long as Runai didn't run out of divine force, she would effectively have an endless supply of divine force. However, the Judge would clearly break that balance, dealing a huge blow.

After some consideration, Richard retreated several metres in an instant, almost knocking into a knight that the Judge had already stabbed. He turned quickly and came to position behind her, his blade splitting the chests of two others open. As the souls of the three tried to escape, he promptly absorbed all three of them.

A few dozen knights wasn't a big loss to Runai, but now that Richard was harvesting souls every one of his kills counted for half a dozen or more. This was a foundational threat.

“Mortal! It's that mortal, he's infringing on the divine domain. Kill him, my knights! Bring his heart and head to my throne!” Runai shouted furiously, the suppression of the divine kingdom increasing once more.

Three beams of light immediately shone down on Richard, halving Runai's suppression in an instant. Richard himself used what little he knew about the laws of time, melting away the rest in a split second. As a Lord of Space with some rudimentary analysis of time himself, the timeforce he could mobilise was leagues better than anything Runai could ever come up with. Despite having much less at hand, he could push back just fine.

An hourglass appeared before Richard, the laws of time pulsing out and covering everything within ten metres. Runai's soldiers immediately lost all their support in this radius, unable to even see him as his silhouette flashed behind them one by one. They all started slowly falling to the ground, slaughtered and having their souls absorbed.

The Judge seemed to be slow, but in only minutes hundreds of souls had been destroyed and absorbed by its jagged blade. Richard felt the sword growing lighter and lighter with time, much easier to wield than when he first started.

Eventually, he met a valiant soul that was three metres tall, in the form of a female knight wielding a two-handed longsword. The crest on her brows was much larger than those of a normal knight, with a flower wreath wound around it indicating her status and power.

The knight's steps were extremely heavy, the earth trembling as she quickly dispatched of those in her way, “Lowly mortal, how dare you step foot in my Lady's divine kingdom! Your head and heart will be proof of my victory!”

As the valiant soul yelled in rage and brandished her sword with surprising speed, Richard's figure was cut into a thousand pieces. As the illusion dissolved once more, confusion crawled onto the woman's face before she went stiff; he had already appeared behind her, the Judge driven so deep that even the hilt couldn't be seen. Waving Moonlight softly, he cut her head right off.

The massive body fell to the ground while the head rolled for a while, the confusion still etched onto her face. A gleaming soul floated above her body, but before she could escape the Judge drove right through her.

The blade trembled slightly, and this time Richard clearly felt the pure power being absorbed. Most of it was stored for later use, but a part of it was actively changing the structure of the blade and strengthening it, making it even lighter to wield. The edge slowly acquired a soft glow. He immediately flashed over to another knight and cut him into, feeling the attack to be much easier to execute than before. The sword was obviously growing with the souls it absorbed.

With the support of the divine kingdom, the strongest of the valiant souls possessed saintly strength. However, their fighting styles were outdated and simple while relying heavily on that support. The knight had lost the battle the very moment she stepped into Richard's small domain, becoming an easy target instead of a powerful opponent.

Eventually, Richard had to stop using the law of time. Its principles were still beyond his control, and maintaining the control field required an enormous amount of energy and soul force that his kills couldn't completely replenish. Just like his greater laws of time were an antithesis to Runai, her own laws, although inferior, were detrimental to his.

Back in her shrine, Runai's eyes widened in fear for the first time. This was the first time a mortal had stepped into her divine kingdom in centuries, but she could feel his power of time was far beyond her own. This was the law she had once chased after, but she had soon realised that it was beyond the scope of Faelor even with both the domains of day and night under her control. In the end, she was only a false deity of time. The laws she desired so much were in the hands of a mere mortal!

The mortal was travelling through the battlefield like a phantom, leaving a heap of bodies in his wake including the strongest of her valiant souls. The blade in his hands could destroy those souls as well, and was only growing stronger with time. Its power almost seemed endless. There was another divine blade in the human's hand that he rarely used unless he was facing a particularly powerful opponent, not one of her knights able to block or evade its strikes regardless of how much divine force had been poured into them.

Seeing the faint glow on the tip of that blade, Runai's grip on her goblet of wine trembled ever so slightly. She looked towards her left hand and saw a thin cut on her index finger, oozing out sacred blood. All of the worshippers in the shrine seemed to notice something as well, looking towards her.

1173 - City of Sin

The Distance Between Mortal And Divine

As the most pious of her worshippers stared at the drops of blood flowing down her finger, Runai made it all disappear with a stroke of her thumb. In only a moment the cut was gone, as though nothing had happened at all.

However, the calmness of her face was only a facade. Her heaving chest betrayed the chaos in her mind, the deep breaths she was taking to calm herself an obvious sign of unrest. She had just borrowed the body of a valiant soul to test Richard's strength, but the warrior had still been decapitated instantly while the damage from the green blade had cut her through the connection. She was the only one who knew how deep and painful that thin cut was, but above all it caused her to feel fear.

This was a weapon that could hurt a divine body!

She stirred in her seat before returning to a stable position. The passages around her divine kingdom weren't personal territory any longer, her control weakened by the alliance she was battling. If she entered the battlefield, the three opponents would join hands to attack her. Now weaker than even the Goddess of Spring Water, she would stand no chance.

Her goblet cracked and was crushed into a ball as her eyes started spewing sacred flames, her rage starting to affect those around her. This anger was directed towards the gods of Faelor; she would never have come to this state if the rest of the pantheon hadn't refused to interfere. How could an invader be allowed to suppress the Goddess of Time? With so many legends appearing in Dragon Valley alongside the frighteningly powerful Sharon and Ruben, and the person who had warped the very laws of the plane currently present within the valley as well, all of the gods had gone quiet. No one responded to her requests for assistance, not even when she started cursing them. Her lone voice echoed in the skies like she was the only god left in Faelor.

Her anger was quickly focused on Richard once more. This was the first time a mortal had come so close to her since she lit her godfire, and it felt like the remaining distance was one to her upcoming fall.

When she first heard about opposition in the mortal world, she had paid it no mind; even after repeated engagements, she hadn't even bothered to memorise his face. Now, his face was burned into her mind and she couldn't get rid of his shadow haunting her. Richard was like a moving black hole, swallowing up all of the knights and valiant souls that charged towards him. His jagged blade was like a demon's fang, mercilessly swallowing all of the souls that came its way.

The fearsome sword was even gaining power quickly; it had already reached the point that the edge didn't even have to strike a soul for it to be absorbed. The number of warriors who'd died to his hands had grown unbearable, and the battle lines that had remained unmoving for many days were slowly being pushed back. This allowed more soldiers from the three goddesses to occupy the field at any given time, making it even worse.

*BOOM! Bang!* Another explosion resounded through the kingdom as a large boulder descended into the void. Runai slammed a fist into her throne and bellowed, “Richard! You can't be perfect!”

Hearing her growl, five of her strongest valiant souls finally made their way into the battlefield. The ones she was sending were powerful heroes skilled in ranged attacks, all stopping about a kilometre away from Richard and staring straight at him. The moment he showed a weakness, they would shower him with attacks. In the divine kingdom, their spirit arrows could cover the distance in mere seconds.

Runai snorted as she leant back into her throne, visibly more relaxed. She could tell that Richard was almost at his limit, barely avoiding the melee attacks from the opponents he had chosen. Risky battles like these seemed extravagant, but they couldn't be sustained for very long. A single mistake would quickly bring him to death.

Richard would soon pay for the transgression, and all she needed to do was wait patiently. For deities who measured time in years, patience was rarely a resource in short supply.

......

One hour, two hours... Five hours he had stepped into the frontlines, Richard silently returned to the divine kingdom of the Goddess of the Forest. When he left, Runai shot up in disbelief. All this while, he hadn't made a single mistake! How could a mortal be so perfect?

Runai's soldiers had fallen back ten metres that day. This distance was inconsequential compared to the entire divine kingdom which was thousands of square kilometres in area, but in context the three goddesses hadn't managed that distance even in the past few months!

Back in the shrine of the Forest Goddess, Richard was busy digging into a meal set before him. The three goddesses were seated all around, but he paid no attention to them at all as he wolfed everything down. It was a pathetic amount— a large bowl of fruits, a pot of clean water, and some roasted meat— but having been prepared by the goddesses personally it was much more useful than it seemed. The fruits could raise one's affinity to all elements ever so slightly, improving mana control in a way that mages almost never came across. The water contained a shocking amount of life force that was visible to the naked eye, capable of healing most injuries and enhancing the potency of nature-based spells while also improving one's lifespan. The two chicken-like animals were a rare species of beast that could greatly improve a human's physique, a limited boost for someone at Richard's level but useful nonetheless.

This meal consisted of some of the most valuable treasures that the three goddesses had to offer. Its worth couldn't be measured in mere gold; the goddesses themselves could only provide two or three more before they ran out. In a way, this was them investing their life savings in his success.

After sweeping through the dishes without a trace of humility, Richard let out a burp of satisfaction. His breath smelled of fruits, emitting such thick energy that even he was a little shocked. His body was saturated with energy, his blood slowly spreading it to all of his extremities so he could absorb it bit by bit.

His cheeks blushed and body swayed from side to side, vision starting to blur from the excess energy within him. Letting out a huge yawn, he mumbled something about being sleepy before falling to the ground.

The three goddesses looked at him quietly, communicating in their minds.

“He really is tired.”

“How could he not be, battling with his life on the line?”

“Yes, even we couldn't fight so perfectly for such a long time. Even with our support, how could he sustain himself for so long?”

“Do either of you get the feeling that he's anxious?”

“About what?”

“I'm not certain, but he seems to be in crisis.”

......

For the first time in a long time, Richard slept soundly until his body woke up naturally. He was a little surprised by the three goddesses still being by his side, but even with the illusion that he had only taken a nap he quickly placed himself in time. His face twitched at the number he had come up with; he had slept for a full seven days!

He felt rather stiff all over, as though his joints were rusted. An attempt to stand up left him feeling strangely light, as though there was no earth below him and he could fall at any time. It didn't take long for him to recognise the source of his discomfort; his body had been strengthened significantly enough that he had lost his sense of balance.

“Finally awake?” the Goddess of Spring Water asked.

“Mm, it's time to fight.” Richard had no plans to converse any further, standing up and walking towards the divine passage once more.

......

Runai had felt a great drop in pressure once Richard left, having taken command herself to push the frontline back to its original location. However, those days were short-lived; on the eighth day, she saw the human that she despised so much back in her kingdom.

However, this time things were different. He had obviously grown more powerful, but his actions seemed rather clumsy while his combat ability had dropped significantly. This had left her hopeful, but that only lasted a short time as he started employing magic in his fights to remind her that the mortal was actually a mage.

Divine spells had a suppressive effect on magic, especially if they came from a pure force. Most spells were weakened by two or more levels in Runai's divine kingdom, which was also true for the divine kingdoms of her peers as well. This was why so many gods were warriors despite legendary warriors generally being weaker than their mage counterparts; a powerful physique wasn't suppressed nearly as easily.

However, Richard's display of magic served as a rude awakening from that dismissal. The suppression being minimised was frightening in and of itself, but his magic was just far more powerful than she could ever have expected. Masses of her knights fell to his magic flames, and even her valiant souls were maimed if they were close to an explosion. He quickly covered the battlefield in fire, ice, and lightning, a lord of death raining murder down on her subjects.

1174 - City of Sin

The Fight Never Ends

Richard barely fought an hour before retreating through the portal, but Runai's casualties were significantly worse than with his first attack; over eighty valiant souls had perished in that hour alone, an alarming figure when none of their souls could escape.

This time, he reappeared after a single day's rest. Outside of his magic and swordplay, he also changed up his usage of the power of laws. Instead of forming a constant domain around him, he now only added it when using large area of effect spells that could preserve his energy for a longer time.

Runai stood up multiple times, but she eventually managed to resist the urge to join the fray herself and returned to her throne. The three goddesses were clearly observing every move, and they wouldn't hesitate to attack if she dared go near the neutral zones. With the source of her faith cut off and the very laws of the world warped against her, she was slowly growing weaker than even the Goddess of the Hunt.

However, her divine servitors had already caught on to her restlessness, and they mirrored her worries. These servitors weren't the same as petitioners or valiant souls, but instead false deities that lacked their own godspark and divine domain. Unlike the rest of her worshippers, they could still retain independent thought in her domain instead of listening to her every word.

In the distant battlefield, the mortal god of slaughter was bringing destruction wherever he went. The flash of a blade, the rumble of a spell, the blue blazes of fire that could leave even gods trembling in fear... Runai's warriors were being harvested for his glowing blade. No valiant soul even approached him anymore.

Just killing petitioners was like plucking leaves off an enormous tree. The leaves could be regrown, and the only way to determine victory was to see whether the regrowing process was faster than the plucking. However, Richard was effectively digging up the roots and cutting them apart, cutting things off at the source.

...

To Richard himself, this was an entirely new battle experience. He had been on the weaker end of battles before, but he had never had to overcome a constant erosive force amidst battle in a similar way. Today, he had halved the amount of protection the three goddesses were offering him, relying on his own body's strength to sustain the defences. At the same time, he had to keep his barriers up for the entire duration of the fight to remain safe from Runai's sneak attacks.

Whenever the goddess focused her will on him, the erosive force would double in power. His barriers would be breached within seconds, requiring immediate patching. He had been injured like this yesterday, stuck in the middle of a rather long spell and unable to stop. When Runai had breached his barrier, she had doused his body in a dose of fiery divinity.

Besides, the enemy here never rested. The divine warriors were rather straightforward as they swarmed him whenever they could; it wasn't the most creative of ways to do things, but it was certainly effective. These beings were like his own drones, not understanding fear as they charged at him with full obedience and total disregard for their own lives. It was just that they were simply no match for him regardless.

Whenever the fights started, all he wanted to do was kill, kill, and kill endlessly. Even with tens of thousands of enemies defeated, he still had strength left over to continue. What shocked Runai was that he didn't make even the slightest of mistakes amidst the bitter hours of battle, something that he was impressed with himself for as well. When the next day's battle started, he would continue devoting himself to his endless killing spree.

Over the following days, Richard felt like he was fighting through an endless horde of enemies. Every day he walked in just like any ordinary fighter, and after thousands of soldiers were dead he walked out exhausted. Amidst all the pressure and bloodshed, his martial arts improved to what he could only term as perfection. The weight constantly on him forced him to use simpler, more direct moves, not wasting even a single muscle's effort in combat.

Even by the third week, it was starting to feel like his mind was drifting out of his body. Combat had become instinctive to the point that he almost never decided actively what move he would make; he just knew the right way to fight in any situation, and his targets would never escape.

All sorts of spell burst forth without warning from the three faces whenever they appeared. His control of magic was perhaps improving even faster than his battle abilities; he only ever picked the most appropriate spell for the situation, using the lowest possible grade to conserve his mana. The exercise was paying off in huge dividends; he now had a vast repertoire of low-grade spell combinations that were far more powerful than the sum of their parts. Some were very simple: a momentary group freezing spell followed by a shockwave could shatter a dozen divine warriors into pieces, or a combination of earth and raing magic before a lightning storm would form an electric arena with no escape. Even a simple multitarget slowing spell used at different grades would break up a formation instantly, giving him a huge opening.

Battle after battle, day after day, even Richard lost count of how many divine warriors he had killed. Hundreds of thousands of warriors had been absorbed into the Judge as he grew more and more fluid in battle, only anchored to the rest of the world by carving the days away on a stone pillar where he rested. As the war raged on, the frontlines crept towards Runai's divine mountain, with her reserves of divine force melting away.

......

Three towering figures loomed over the divine passage controlled by the Goddess of the Forest, watching the battlefield and the hundred thousand warriors that were streaming into it. These were the true bodies of the three goddesses, here to keep tabs on Runai's moves. At the same time, the goddesses were launching attacks of their own on the divine kingdom. Even though Runai's divinity left them doing less a tenth of their full damage, they could still whittle away at her power.

The portal flashed as Richard returned, exhaustion visible on his face. Thankfully, he had a lot of authority in this kingdom and could travel kilometres with every step. In only a few seconds, his figure flickered away and vanished into the depths of her shrine.

Up above in the void, the three goddesses watched him leave and started conversing with one another, the Goddess of Spring Water the first to speak, “Do you two think he knows he's pushed the war forward a hundred years?”

“I think he only cares about the battles right now,” the Goddess of the Forest replied.

The Goddess of the Hunt continued to watch until he fell asleep, “Don't you feel he's becoming more terrifying? Those swords of his can harm our bodies! What if... and I mean, what if... he's training in a way for mortals to kill gods?”

The Goddess of the Forest was shocked, “You're saying he doesn't just want Faelor, but... us?”

“Runai might just be the first.”

“But don't we have a deal with him? We'll retain our godsparks and domains even after his plane takes control of Faelor. He even promised more at the time.”

“Mortal promises are unreliable,” the Goddess of Spring Water said with a sigh.

“But... It was a magical oath...”

“And what's to say that oaths constricting us so heavily are not trivial to his plane? Have you forgotten the woman who nearly destroyed our entire pantheon herself?”

The two other goddesses went silent. They had been inconsequential when Sharon first entered Faelor, and with the Goddess of Spring Water now an intermediate deity while they were on the verge, they understood just how terrifying she was. Was this a powerhouse from a primary plane? Someone who could wipe them out herself? It wasn't surprising that nobody had questioned her when she was heading to Dragon Valley. She had severely injured many powerful deities like Cerces and Lutheris, but in merely thirty years she had clearly recovered while Faelor was still struggling to recuperate.

It was obvious that this Sharon wasn't just a special exception either. The appearance of the one known as the Celestial Sage had completely shattered their delusions; clearly, Norland didn't just have a single powerhouse at that level.

The Goddess of the Forest grunted in agony, “We've always cooperated with Richard... Without him, our kingdoms might have been destroyed already. However, we are still gods of Faelor. If he doesn't respect the pact... If he turns us into targets... what should we do?”

Even though this entire conversation had been silent, she still reduced the volume of her mind, “How about we make use of this opportunity to destroy him?”

1175 - City of Sin

Servitor Falls

The Goddess of Spring Water sighed at the suggestion to assassinate, “Don't be silly. He might be in your divine kingdom right now, but what guarantee do you have that he won't be able to escape? He possesses powerful laws, including one of time that far outstrips any of us. At the very least, he will manage to escape.”

“But out there is the void. He's only a new legend, how can he survive?” The Goddess of the Hunt was still eager.

“We have no knowledge of his trump cards. Don't forget that he has weapons capable of harming divine bodies; is it so unthinkable for him to have a teleportation stone? Besides,” she cracked a bitter smile, “what happens when we do kill him? Did you forget Dragon Valley, and all those legends working with him there? Do you forget the terrifying person who can alter the very laws of this plane? What if she alters something related to us in retaliation?”

The other two goddesses shivered, unable to respond. Nothing was more important to a deity than the laws that sustained them. Just a small modification would cause chaos in their divine kingdoms, leading to ruin.

The Goddess of Spring Water continued, “Our goal should be to win this war. As for Richard, we can only hope he fulfils his promises.”

The void went quiet. All they could do now was wait.

......

Back in the shrine of the Forest Goddess, Richard smiled faintly. The trio had still underestimated his capabilities; ever since he had been granted great authority in this divine kingdom, he had been studying the laws that were unknowingly opened up to him. He was already more than half done with the analysis, giving him powerful perception here that allowed him to overhear the discussion completely.

He didn't particularly mind the thinking of the three; they still wouldn't dare to betray him after all the power he had displayed. Had they been so bold, they wouldn't have been pushed to a corner where they had to submit to an invader for the sake of keeping their faith. Right now, most of their worshippers were still under the control of the Crimson Dukedom. Even if the three had come to the false conclusion that they would be able to kill him, they would quickly realise what that meant for their faith in the mortal world and shy away.

A part of the shrine had been specially modified for Richard's use. Within was an endless pool of spring water that was formed from divine power, a single mouthful capable of replenishing his mana. There weren't any of the negative side-effects that came with excessive potion use, but this pool couldn't replenish internal energy or soul force. The Goddess of Spring Water could only replenish one of energy and mana at a time, and soul force was impossible unless she used her divinity.

He stretched and walked towards a stone pillar erected by the spring, intent on carving another line to keep track of the dates. He was taken aback as he realised the row he was currently on was complete with no space left to add another; it had been three full months since he started participating in this war.

Three months but there was hardly any progress? He finally went over the battles again for the first time since he had started, tallying up the warriors and valiant souls that he had killed. The number quickly blew up, and it took a minute before he arrived at an astonishing count: 340,000 divine warriors as well as 5,100 valiant souls. With his ability to steal the souls of those he killed, this was equivalent to anywhere between 1.5 to 2 million casualties if the three goddesses were attacking!

No matter how many worshippers Runai had amassed over the years, she couldn't have more than a few million warriors. He had effectively destroyed a tenth of her army, an unbearable loss. Seeing this number, he murmured to himself, “So the servitors should be appearing soon.”

......

The war continued ceaselessly, and it wasn't many days before Richard's prediction came true. As ever, he looked at the hundreds of thousands of warriors fighting to the death before moving to join the fray. Battle had become an instinct at this point, with the number of deaths at his hand in the last three months alone exceeding the sum over the rest of his life.

This time, the earth shook before he could take part in the battle. One of the three most powerful servitors who had been taking care of Runai finally walked down the divine mountain to the battlefield, the stride alone making his target clear.

“You shall go no further, mortal!” the servitor's voice shook every inch of the divine kingdom. Every step of his covered a hundred metres, allowing him to appear before Richard in the blink of an eye.

Only when directly facing this false deity could one truly appreciate the fifty-metre height. Richard was barely at his ankle, forcing the servitor to stoop down to look at him. The sky darkened as his fist pounded down, carrying a hundred tonnes of force.

Richard remained motionless until the servitor stepped into the area of contested divinity. Timeforce suddenly flooded out from his body, forming a dark gold beam of light that shot straight up. A loud explosion rang out in the ears of everyone present, sounding as though something had shattered right beside them.

Even the valiant souls present looked around in confusion, only the servitor looking up at the barrier meant to protect the divine kingdom. His eyes narrowed as he saw the depths of a void; a fist-sized hole had been opened up in the crystal walls, allowing the energy storms of the void to rush in.

The servitor lowered his gaze to the beam of light that continued to coalesce, slowly materialising an enormous illusion of a rotating hourglass. Runai's divine insignia was an hourglass as well, but this false deity knew that her timeforce couldn't even begin to compare to what this illusion depicted.

Shocked, he looked back down at Richard. The mortal didn't have the expected fear or adulation of facing a deity; only a cold, indifferent stare. It was an expression of someone looking at the dead.

The servitor was immediately overcome by humiliation and rage. An insignificant mortal ant dared to look at him like that?! Did the fool really think he could kill a deity just because of a few warriors and valiant souls?

Of course, Richard didn't care. Three faces materialised around him in a moment, the angelic one launching an attack of pure vitality while the demon sent out an orb of destructive heat. The servitor's chest suddenly pulsed and swelled up in the form of a tumour, and although it was destroyed immediately by the destructive force the power continued nibbling into his body. His defences were broken in an instant.

However, this was not the end. The elegant face that looked strangely devilish finally finished its own short chant, a pale grey ripple immediately shooting towards the wound that had just opened up. The servitor's body froze and he slowly lowered his head, staring in disbelief at the mere metre-wide wound that inexplicably left him unable to move. His back suddenly exploded, shattered flesh and divine blood spurting out for a hundred metres.

“This... is not the end!” the servitor roared, but his voice was filled with panic and fear. As a servant of Runai in her divine kingdom, his body could recover to its normal state within mere minutes so long as he had enough divine force. However, he realised he couldn't interact with her power at all; Richard's own energy was intertwined with all of his injuries, actually blocking her divinity!

“This... law...” Unable to even finish the sentence, the servitor fell to the ground with a loud thud. Incidentally, his fall crushed a dozen divine warriors belonging to the three goddesses; that was the extent of his impact on the battlefield.

Richard leapt up to the fallen deity's head, Moonlight effortlessly retrieving a divine crystal from within. Just a second later, the body would vanish and the crystal would lose effectiveness. He looked down at the divine blood flowing on the ground and tutted, “Such a waste.”

Divine blood was a precious material, but the power of his truename was truly tyrannical and rendered it useless. Even the divine crystal he had extracted wasn't nearly as potent as he could be owing to the destructive capabilities of Dizmason.

...

Back in her shrine, Runai stood up from her throne but could only stare at Richard with indignance. Her divine kingdom had grown increasingly unstable with each defeat she suffered, forcing her to use the majority of her power to keep it from falling to ruin. She didn't have the capacity to duel Richard at all, a sorrowful reality for any true deity; an attack on the divine kingdom was just as good as an attack on the deity's body.

No longer bloodthirsty, Richard left the divine kingdom rather early for the day. Still, this battle had inflicted heavy losses and forced the war forward another decade. The Goddess of Time snorted at his departure and returned to her throne, but even recovering her dignified bearing her thoughts were no longer on the divine war. Her gaze instead pierced through the void, landing on the ancestral plains of the barbarians in Faelor down below.

1176 - City of Sin

Intuition

Having gone into the depths of the barbarian plains, the Highland Wargod had recovered from the brink of death and miraculously recovered his divinity, even growing steadily in power. If not for Richard coming out of nowhere, he might even have had an opportunity to become a greater deity. There was definitely some kind of secret hidden within those highlands that had allowed him to recover so quickly, and as someone who was about to lose her divine kingdom Runai knew that this was her last shot at survival.

The invaders would have to leave eventually. As an immortal being whose life was tied to that of the very plane, Runai could take her time returning to power. She quickly made the decision, having her last avatar hidden in the mortal realm head towards the ancient highlands to explore its secrets. Now feeling more at ease, she returned her attention to the battlefield. Please visit 𝑓r𝙚ew𝚎𝚋𝐧૦ѵ𝗲𝘭. c𝘰m

With Richard gone, the situation returned to a standstill. For as long as he wasn't present, the three goddesses actually lost more troops than her, taking months to push the lines only a few metres. However, Richard always destroyed that balance thoroughly. She was losing far too many souls and was at her limit; it had reached a point where the three goddesses could take her down if they attacked together without caring for their losses. They would be weakened for a while from that war, to the point that any lesser god could harm them, but with the powerhouses in Dragon Valley and a higher plane backing them, nobody would want to become a target like that.

Another section of the divine kingdom slowly slid away. While the land was very far from the grand shrine, it was still a beautiful piece of scenery there that Runai adored where she placed her most powerful valiant souls. Now, she had no choice but to give up that border region.

......

Back in the shrine of the Forest Goddess, Richard took out the divine crystal from the servitor and examined it carefully. It had around a hundred units of divinity within, but it would have 150 had he not used his truename. Stowing the crystal away, he carved a new date on the stone pillar and began wondering about how he would use this divine force.

Divine force was the basis of a deity's power, forming the bodies and equipment of their soldiers. It was a much greater quality of energy than mana or internal energy, and the gods' use for it was rather fascinating. Divine warriors were basically magic summons, but unlike summons that lacked extensive intelligence or were projections from other planes, these summons had no time limits and could operate independently. He had killed hundreds of thousands of divine warriors in the past months, but the damage to Runai's soul reserves was much more significant than that to her divine force reserves. The loss of energy from a single unit's death was almost negligible. For context, a similar level of control over his mana would give him control of thousands of summons with his current mana pool.

From another perspective, divine warriors had more power and intelligence than even the broodmother's battle drones while retaining most of their advantages. Gods truly were war machines; within her divine kingdom, Runai could constantly keep up an army of hundreds of thousands.

However, the inherent quality of divine warriors that gave them their advantages was also their biggest weakness: their souls. A large army didn't come out of nowhere; every petitioner was once a pious worshipper who had prayed and held to their faith all their life. These souls and their own image of themselves made for an easy template to reform a warrior from, requiring little effort on the deity's part. With them helping, the gods themselves could focus on a better use for their minds in their avatars.

The soul was still a mystery to Norland. Generations of legendary mages had thrown themselves at the topic, but the results of their research were meagre and didn't progress general understanding significantly. Even the gods who used souls didn't know the working of the process, only able to access it through their connection to the plane.

A legendary mage had once said that souls were the most powerful energy source in the world. However, his research in that direction hadn't gotten very far when his laboratory had been turned to dust in an accident. The explosion had been so powerful that the entire lesser plane the laboratory was located in had been blasted apart, killing all life on it.

Another renowned mage called Garillo had been performing research on the creation of souls, claiming that a complete soul would allow him to create entirely new races whose every attribute he could control. However, he had left for the depths of the void before he finished his research, deciding to complete his work so far away that he could never return to Norland. He had left an open letter to the public whose words had been carved into the minds of many mages, “I do not know what lies behind this veil. There might be nothing, or the secret to all existence, or an unstoppable monster that will destroy everything, but I cannot resist the urge to part it.”

Richard recalled the underground shrine belonging to the Lady of the Night. The defences there had left even Runai at a loss; the Goddess of Time had known exactly where it was, but couldn't enter despite her best efforts. The core of that array was composed of once-living servants who acted as both conduits and energy sources; an arrangement that had powered the defences for centuries. All of it had been sent to the broodmother for analysis, but having tried and failed himself, he didn't have high hopes.

He shook his head from the diversion, looking back on the three months to evaluate his progress. The constant cycle of battle and rest had greatly improved his combat ability on all fronts, leaving him completely different than when he started. Wisdom had broken through to grade 8 at some point, dropping the millions of days that he had once needed to analyse a number of laws to a few hundred thousand. This was still uncomfortably large, but at the very least it could be accomplished in his natural lifespan. Once he managed to finish the analysis of a top-tier law system and control the power it held, he would become an epic being.

His blessing of truth had been upgraded as well, but the best term he could find for the new ability was Intuition. From what he could tell, it would just give him a vague sense of unease whenever he met issues that would have a huge impact on his life. It was a strange, uncontrollable ability that did not make much sense to come from this particular blessing.

One major benefit over the past few months was his increased control over his legendary ability. The angel and demon allowing him to multicast spells was one thing, but the middle face that held control over life and death showcased the true might of the Apocalyptic Triad. He had the feeling that this was far from complete, and it would likely evolve at least once more. He would need to grow his control of the related laws for that to happen, however, and that would take time.

He walked back to the stone pillar and looked at the line for the new date, adding a few flourishes to make it look different from the rest. Today, he could finally claim that his powers had matured; all he needed was his own demiplane, and he would be able to call himself a true legendary mage.

Once he was done, Richard tried thought a little about the situation down below. Realising that this was around the time the broodmother would be done with her own ascension, he tried to contact her. It took a while, but a faint voice rang in his mind, “Where are you, Master? I can't... reach...”

It was only then that he remembered he was in the divine kingdom of the Goddess of the Forest. All communication with the outside world normally needed her as a conduit, but somehow the broodmother had managed to contact him. However, he hadn't yet realised the significance behind this and continued to speak, “I'm right outside Faelor, in the divine kingdom of the Forest Goddess. There's—”

*BOOM!* A huge clap of thunder interrupted him before he could finish speaking.

1177 - City of Sin

Predator Of The Divine

The Forest Goddess's shrine swayed around, sending everyone within it scrawling as three loud shrieks rang through the sky. Richard was startled and immediately blinked outside, looking up to find an enormous crack in the crystal walls of the divine kingdom. A terrifying energy storm surged in and cracked apart the sky, the resulting lightning bolts so powerful that even he was left a little powerful

How did the walls crack? He didn't have much time to ponder this question as the three goddesses charged towards the crack that was at least a kilometre long, their divine force dispersing the energy storms as they slowly mended the rift. All three of them were nearby and managed to fix the issue quickly, but even so the energy storms had reduced a huge section of the forest to burning cinders and eliminated tens of thousands of divine warriors and even their souls.

“Master, I heard your summons but something was blocking you. I am coming over immediately!” the broodmother's voice rang in his mind.

“What? No, stay put!” he barely managed a reply before the rift was mended once more, the three goddesses shrinking down to arrive before him

The Goddess of the Forest was the first to speak, “Your Grace, my kingdom was just attacked by an unknown force. The source seems to be from Dragon Valley.”

Richard could only flash a wry smile, “That... was an accident. A certain follower of mine was trying to contact me after an upgrade, and she found that our soul chains were being blocked. So she might have tried to clear any obstacles between us...”

“And so she broke my kingdom's walls,” the Forest Goddess couldn't help but smile wistfully.

“Umm... Yeah, something like that.”

“This... follower of yours is truly special,” the Goddess of Spring Water said with a little tremble in her voice, “I'd never imagined a divine kingdom's walls could be so fragile.”

Richard sighed, “That she is.”

How could a crystal wall be fragile? Even with the broodmother's power, a single soul strike from her shouldn't have had that power. Even a greater god couldn't do such a thing. This only made one thing clear; the divine defences of the gods were exceptionally weak in front of the broodmother. She was a natural predator.

Excusing himself, he returned to Dragon Valley to continue his conversation. A slightly embarrassed voice rang out the moment he stepped out of the portal, “I didn't know you were in a divine kingdom. I thought it was an emergency...”

“That attack pierced through her divine kingdom!” Richard chuckled with exasperation, “You've really helped Runai out.”

“Sorry... But...” she seemed to hesitate for a moment, but eventually couldn't resist the temptation, “Her defences were just so weak. A single hard knock could collapse them, and those fragments also smelled delicious. They would be an amazing meal.”

“You mean the divine force? Like this?” he modulated his aura to resemble a few kinds of divine force.

“Yes, that's what I'm talking about!” she couldn't contain her excitement, “It smells so much better than the divinity inside those idols.”

“Of course it does; this is so much purer!” Richard said in annoyance. How was he supposed to feed this glutton if she got used to pure divine force? Shaking his head, he switched topics, “Hmm, you made Zangru a weapon that can absorb the power of his opponents. Can you do something like that for divine force?”

“You mean...”

“I'm in the middle of a divine war right now, but I have no way to stop Runai from recovering her divine force when I kill her soldiers. I could try to burn it, but that's so much of a waste.”

“Hmm... Give me a minute...” She went silent for some time, sending over random yelps and mutterings as she went through everything she had to come up with something. Having reached level 11, her calculations were even faster than him with his grade 8 Wisdom. In fact, she could advance even further so long as she had the resources while he needed to find another way to push his mind to its limits. There just wasn't a way to compete with her enormous body with multiple brains.

Eventually, she sent over a brand new drone design that she just called a feeding worm. It was an odd creature with eight tendrils and a large belly, its appetite endless and capable of absorbing all sorts of energy to survive. They were particularly efficient with divine force, and once they absorbed enough they could form high-quality crystals with a corresponding amount of divinity.

This was exactly what he had wanted: a cleanup unit that could gather the scattered divine force and deal Runai a heavy blow at the same time.

“So what can you do with this? It isn't the same as a normal divinity crystal,” he asked.

“It's still a powerful source of energy, especially since it can be enchanted with the power of laws. Sustenance aside, it can power the larval forest and all my other constructs easily, while helping to create some special battle units.”

As always, she sent a mass of information for him to evaluate. Divine force crystals would give her the leeway to build what she called battle elites, an entirely new paradigm of creature where the digestive system was replaced by a much smaller organ that could absorb energy from the fluids produced by the larval forest and worker drones; a single cup of fluid would be enough for an elite shadowspear to remain active for three days. This meant a lot of space was opened up in the internal body for muscles, bones, and combat-specific organs; this was a huge boost to combat ability.

This new model was effectively a full level's boost in combat ability. Currently able to create level 15 drones normally, they would all be upgraded to level 16 and be no weaker than an elite. However, there would be no increase in the time they took to create.

“How many can you support?” he asked.

“Ten thousand right now, but as long as I grow the number of workers it's actually limitless.”

“Good. You know what to do, 10:1 of these battle elites to ordinary elites.” Having sent this command, he returned to his study to deal with any issues in his territories.

......

Now with quite a few territories under him, Richard had a number of things to deal with. Authorising everything took up an entire day, and on the morning of the next a strange wyvern-like creature smaller than an ordinary griffon landed on his roof. Just like the chrysalides, it had organs meant to reduce its weight on its sides, and tied to its back was a satchel containing a row of small boxes. The moment Richard detached the satchel, the strange beast took to the skies and flew away like lightning.

This was something the broodmother called the messenger, a new unit that used mana and energy to fly at blazing speeds of five hundred kilometres an hour. The creature could last ten full hours at a time before needing to stop, allowing to cross a majority of the vast territory of the Crimson Dukedom in one flight. It had been created specifically to send messages and small items very quickly.

The satchel contained a total of a few dozen boxes, each containing a greenish-white egg the size of one's fist. With these feeding worms on hand, Richard felt like he would be giving Runai a huge surprise soon. Packing them all up again, he returned to the Forest Goddess's kingdom through the portal.

...... Please visit 𝗳re𝐞𝓌e𝚋n૦ѵ𝗲l. co𝐦

When Richard reappeared, the Goddess of the Forest who had the most affinity with nature suddenly shivered. The other two had slower reactions, but they soon turned deathly pale as well. The strongest of them even started trembling from the indescribable feeling of icy destruction.

For a moment, the three goddesses lost all ability to communicate. They pulled back all of their divine force and focused on a scan into the surroundings, their conscients as timid as squirrels out of fear of attracting a terrifying existence.

1178 - City of Sin

Devour

Once within the shrine of the Forest Goddess, Richard scooped up some of the spring water and poured it over the feeding worm eggs. They immediately absorbed every drop and swelled up, growing enormous and translucent to reveal strange black figures within. The bellies of the insects swelled up as their hearts started to beat in unison, their pulse shaking the very soul.

Richard himself was completely unperturbed, scanning the eggs to ascertain that all of the eggs were incubating. The worms' minds slowly awakened, linking to his own.

While the feeding worms were small and lacked combat ability, every one of them was an elite unit. In fact, they were a full level 17 once they hatched, and their final evolution was well beyond that level. The broodmother herself had only managed it because she had awakened her truename early; one would normally need to be at level 13 to accomplish this task.

Based on the information she had given him, these feeding worms would evolve once they obtained enough divine force, achieving their true forms which were two levels higher. Richard was quite curious about how a level 19 drone with no combat abilities worked, but that would have to wait until he got them to that point. He submerged the satchel with all the eggs into the pool, “You can absorb all you want, but you're not to break your shells until you have permission.”

Each of the feeding worms gave him a clear affirmative response; their intelligence was clearly beyond their size. However, what came next was a surprising scene that left Richard wide-eyed: The large pool of spring water started draining visibly, and in only minutes was emptied! This was a magic spring coming from the Goddess of Spring Water herself! Even he could only have three mouthfuls before he was full!

“Oof, you really have quite the appetite,” he sighed before picking the satchel back up, his figure flickering away as he appeared before the divine passage. The three giant goddesses went absolutely silent the moment he looked at them, only resuming their conversation once he entered the portal.

“This is... such evil!” the Goddess of the Forest groaned, her voice almost a sob. Every inch of this divine kingdom was effectively a part of her body, and for those worms to be upon it for even a moment felt like insects crawling all over her.

“I can't believe it...” Even the battle-loving Goddess of the Hunt now sounded like a frightened rabbit.

The Goddess of Spring Water was the last to speak, her voice fragile and hoarse as though she had come down with a terrible illness, “We need to fulfil our part of the deal with Richard... And then, we wait for him to show mercy on us.”

The two others had no objections. They had never imagined that Richard could possess something so terrifying as to threaten the very core of their existence, leaving them trembling in fear. They simply couldn't think of a way to deal with what they realised those worms could do; even elephants would die to ants that could bite through their skin.

Once their short exchange was completed, the three goddesses looked back towards the battlefield, waiting for what they knew would eventually happen. Not long after, the divine passage jolted as a powerful wave of energy was transmitted from Runai's divine kingdom. Surprisingly, this wave left them heaving a sigh of relief; this meant Runai was the one who would have to deal with the problem, and in the best case she would die after wiping all of those creatures out.

...

“WHAT ARE THOSE? HOW DARE YOU BRING THEM INTO MY KINGDOM, HERETIC? KILL HIM, MY SOLDIERS!”

Richard had stepped out of the divine passage and headed towards the frontlines as usual, but to his surprise, Runai welcomed him very fiercely. An enormous rock that was a few hundred cubic metres was launched straight for him, startling him for a moment before he blinked a hundred metres away.

The earth shook as the boulder hit the ground, rolling for a few seconds before coming to a stop. A deep imprint was left on the earth behind it, hundreds of divine soldiers crushed under its weight and beginning their journeys back to their shrines. The slaughter had been indiscriminate, affecting both sides equally.

Richard appeared back where the boulder had just landed like a ghost, the Judge's glow arcing through the sky as he picked out Runai's souls to kill them. The sword had grown immensely over the past months, the soul force stored on its tip almost ready to burst out the moment he commanded it. That one blow would be the strongest in his life.

At this point, the blade's power was growing difficult to control. Despite his best attempts, a simple swing tore apart all the souls within ten metres of the strike, eliminating quite a few of his own allies as well. The Judge had long since outstripped Moonlight in terms of damage it could deal, even if the green blade was still able to cut through things more easily.

A dull thud rang out behind Richard as a valiant soul leapt high into the sky, spinning with his battle-axe as he tried to chop down. He used all his strength for the attack, but it merely struck the ground and buried itself within. He gripped the weapon and tried to pull it out, but suddenly found that he lacked the strength to do so. Richard drew the Judge out of his chest and nonchalantly stuck a feeding worm egg into the wound.

Far in the distance, a sturdier knight was accelerating towards Richard with a sword in hand. However, Richard brushed past this new enemy in a moment and sent her head soaring into the sky; divine blood spurted out from the neck, but it was quickly plugged by another egg.

More and more valiant souls rushed towards Richard, but he killed them before they could even react. Every kill he blinked dozens of metres away, appearing at the next strongest one while leaving an egg behind. Even the strongest of them didn't manage to react to his presence, chest exploding alongside the soul before the remaining body was flung a hundred metres forward from its existing momentum.

Once all the valiant souls nearby were wiped out, Richard ambled towards a group of Runai's divine warriors. They noticed him and roared loudly before charging over, but he just smiled at the fact that they had saved him the trouble of chasing. As these warriors fell to the ground and their souls were devoured, the first of the eggs finally hatched!

A worm-like creature the size of a fist leapt out from its shell, all eight tendrils grabbing onto the dissipating body of a dissipating soldier. The mouth in the middle was opened up wide, expanding to larger than the stomach before a light snap rang out and the creature swallowed the flesh. The flesh immediately dissolved into divine force, but a maze of organs within the stomach wiped out all of Runai's brands and refined the energy into a crystal. The crystal was so small that it was nearly invisible, but the worm was soon taking its second bite to continue the process.

In the blink of an eye, a large section of the warrior's chest was missing, with more disappearing by the moment. When the soldier's body started disintegrating to return to the shrine, the worm's compound eyes suddenly bathed everything within a metre in yellow light to stop the process. Not everything was covered, but when it was done the worm had grown to the size of a human head and started looking for its next target.

1179 - City of Sin

Eve Of Destruction

The body of a dead divine warrior landed beside one of the feeding worms that had already eaten once. The drone immediately jumped onto him, activating the freezing light to prevent the body from dissipating as it started swallowing. This time, it managed to swallow all of the body before the energy could flow away, having to switch to another target that Richard had thrown in its direction.

The other feeding worms broke through their eggs one after the other, devouring the corpses of the divine warriors and valiant souls. When the first of them had finished its fourth, its light could cover the entirety of the warrior's body, giving it all the time in the world to finish up its target.

Finally, the divine force wasn't being wasted. Or at least, that was Richard's point of view. To Runai, her divine force couldn't be retrieved. The number of corpses these fifty worms could swallow was almost negligible, but that was the same case as with Richard when he had first started swallowing souls. The damage would quickly add up.

Once the first worm was done with twenty bodies, its entire abdomen lit up with coalesced divine force. It stopped feasting and turned motionless, abdomen wriggling around for a moment before it suddenly split open. The creature forced itself a few metres forward before losing all signs of life.

Richard immediately blinked behind the corpse and picked up the palm-sized divine force crystal the worm had left behind, stowing it away before grabbing the twenty eggs that were now lying in its wake. He returned to a battle with dozens of divine warriors, cutting them apart before placing the eggs in their corpses.

The first batch of feeding worms all quickly died, leaving behind the divine force crystals and numerous eggs. The second batch went up to a full thousand of them, reaching the point where they could keep up with his killing rate without issue.

This time, it took half an hour before Richard managed to give all of them enough corpses to feast on. His bag was immediately packed with divine force crystals, with the remains forcing him to summon a valiant soul from one of the three goddesses and have him arrange for warriors to transport these crystals back.

At this point, he had more eggs than he could handle. He decided to just pile them all up, pulling in enemy warriors and valiant souls with spells or just throwing their destroyed bodies onto the eggs. As the worms absorbed the blood and awakened, connecting to his mind, he almost buckled under the weight of 20,000 existences directly asking him for direction.

This time, there were some changes to the appearance of the worms. They had grown a pair of wings that allowed them to fly short distances, keeping up with him and saving a return trip. They already ate faster than he could kill, so he had to battle for hours before this third batch reached maturity. The team of divine warriors transporting the divine force crystals grew immensely.

Richard's brow furrowed as he looked at the knights and soldiers charging towards him with utter neglect for formation and strategy. Runai's army had gone crazy today, but such attacks just allowed him to kill even faster.

......

The Goddess of Time sat motionless upon her divine throne, goblet long since crushed into dust. Scarlet wine flowed down her fingers like fresh blood, but she couldn't be bothered to clean it up. The two remaining servitors only grew more frightened at this sight; this was the most depressed they had ever seen her.

With limited divine might, the servitors couldn't sense the danger that she could. She had felt the threat the moment Richard entered with his eggs, and now she was acutely aware of the sharp decline in the amount of divine force she was recovering from the battlefield. It was still bearable now, but she had calculated how much worse it would become over the next few days and... it wouldn't be a month before there was none.

No matter how vast her reserves were, once she couldn't recover the souls and divine force of her warriors Runai would quickly run out. The divine kingdom would shatter the moment she ran out, resulting in total defeat. Originally, the loss had been a distant threat more than a few centuries away, during which she could execute a number of plans she had in mind. Now, however, destruction was looming right before her eyes.

“Go back, there's no point staying here to watch,” she said to her servitors as she left the throne, walking towards the back hall. To her there was no difference— her ability to see everything in the divine kingdom wasn't predicated on where she was— but she just didn't want to face reality.

Once away, Runai sketched a portrait in thin air, depicting a graceful and mysterious lady with an air of cold indifference and pride; this was the Lady of the Night. Was this how she felt when her divine kingdom fell?

......

Even the divine kingdom had daybreak and nightfall. Richard was exhausted by early dawn, the feeding worms now numbering in hundreds of thousands with a steely carapace surrounding their cow-sized bodies. He had no way to provide for even most of them any longer, so they began scavenging for their own food and even participated in the battles. A portion of them ate through the divine kingdom itself— extracting divinity from the dirt, flowers, plants, and stones before dispelling the impurities— while a number just attacked the divine warriors. Most divine attacks just bounced off their tough shells, while they could still bite through divine bodies with ease. Only a few bites could incapacitate a warrior, turning him into fodder. They ganged up on the valiant souls, whose fate wasn't any better.

Some of the worms had continued their evolution while others died amidst the battle. Although divine attacks were ineffective, bludgeoning weapons were still quite powerful against them. Thus, the fifth generation evolved even tougher carapaces with crisscrossed skeletal structures to allow them to withstand strikes from even valiant souls. Even the external edges of their tendrils sprouted dense scales for protection.

The new feeding worms had an obvious increase in combat ability. Although their bodies had shrunk slightly, their speed and agility grew enough for them to consistently manage the first bite. They could even bite into the valiant souls' weapons right away, while their resistance to any divine spells rendered them practically invulnerable. At this point, Richard didn't even need to participate; these worms could wipe Runai out before long.

The entire divine kingdom was filled with the sound of chewing, everything in sight having been stripped of its outer layers as the worms ate all they came across. Richard had perched himself atop a high boulder, recovering his mana as he watched the terror these creatures inflicted as they threatened to wipe out the entire divine kingdom in days. He now waited for Runai to appear.

......

The three goddesses were currently staring at a pile of divine force crystals, the numbers so great that perhaps half of Runai's accumulated divine force had been concentrated into one place. There were many uses for this energy, but outside of placing it in the bodies of their warriors and valiant souls it shouldn't have been retrievable. However, they had personally seen Richard's army of creatures eating up Runai's divine kingdom.

Even though they were just here as projections, the three goddesses carefully maintained their distance. Ringing the pile of divine crystals were a number of pale green eggs, the shells littered with divine runes. The trio could barely understand what the runes did, but it seemed to be a powerful seal that kept the eggs from hatching; even so, these eggs projected a stronger sense of danger than they had ever felt before.

As they crept closer, they could hear the steady pulse of hearts from within those shells; evidently, the creatures within had terrifying vitality and could hatch prematurely if prompted to. These were sixth-generation feeding worms in their true forms, possessing great power against anything to do with the divine.

The Goddess of the Forest was flickering, her divine force unsteady due to the great danger in her realm. She wanted nothing more than to shriek and throw her entire shrine into the void, hoping the energy storms there could destroy the terrifying creatures. She just couldn't understand why Richard would place such dangerous things in her divine kingdom without giving her any sense of security. This was her own shrine, but she, her servitors, and her valiant souls couldn't enter without inciting a reaction. Only the divine warriors managed to approach, but they just added to the pile before moving away as quickly as they could.

The Goddess of Spring Water was the one to answer her suspicions, “I think... he might have overheard our conversations.”

“That's... impossible...” the Forest Goddess wanted to shriek, but that sound quickly came to a halt. She went almost mute, shivering as she continued to stare at the divine force crystals.

These crystals left the three goddesses with a trace of sympathy for Runai, but by far their predominant reaction was fear. Every egg quietly pulsing in that ring was an enormous threat that had could rear its head at the slightest provocation.

1180 - City of Sin

The Final Battle

Loud explosions rumbled throughout Runai's divine kingdom as the distant mountains and plains broke away, tumbling out of the crystal walls. Her power was rapidly depleting, and the damage from the feeding worms was similarly fatal as they rummaged through the earth and extracted all of its divine force.

Richard was quietly giving out orders, watching as the worms went through the piles of corpses that he had directed the three goddesses to form. Slowly but surely, the fifth generation of worms entered maturity and died.

The horrifying rate of reproduction finally slowed as well. The majority of the fifth generation only left behind divine crystals, while a few dozen managed to produce sixth-generation eggs. The new eggs were gathered and drenched in the divine blood of valiant souls, activating their minds and prompting some of them to hatch and start foraging for their own food.

The sixth-generation worms were extremely slender, with their abdomens forming a major part of their bodies that were covered in a pitch-black carapace. In many ways, they were like tiny versions of the broodmother, except much, much faster. In an environment with divine force, it almost looked like they were fish swimming around in water.

One worm was smashed under the earth by a valiant soul's hammer, but it just burrowed out the moment the knight withdrew her weapon and leapt on her body, cutting through with a loud snap. At this point, even the heavy weapons were largely ineffective; Runai was doomed.

One thing he paid attention to was a sixth-generation worm whose abdomen had been rumbling for a while now. It had received special treatment, having been brought its food so it didn't have to move, so it had entered maturity very early. He was quite eager to know just what the next evolution was.

After several minutes of gestation, the worm crawled forward with its abdomen split apart before coming to a halt. Just like the others, it left behind a handful of eggs and a divine force crystal. The eggs didn't seem to be any different, but unlike the pale white ones from the rest this was golden and contained extremely pure divine force. Richard immediately guessed that the broodmother would have even more formidable variants she could create with this, and found himself eager to find out just how formidable a combat drone like that could get.

After achieving their complete forms, the feeding worms didn't evolve further and the reproduction rate slowed down. However, this wasn't particularly regressive; it was just that there was no longer a necessity for a swarm. The sixth-generation worms could swallow almost a thousand divine warriors and dozen valiant souls before entering maturity.

One worm suddenly soared into the sky, releasing its amber light dozens of metres in all directions. The divine warriors and valiant souls caught within the area immediately turned sluggish, their speed halved. This was something that left even Richard a little surprised. The light itself didn't discriminate between friend or foe, slowing down all bodies constructed of divinity, but the worm took care to only attack Runai's soldiers.

It was clear that Richard's drones were disciplined soldiers, not ferocious creatures just following their instincts. However, the goddesses couldn't understand just who had designed such dreadful creatures, who had created it. Was it the broodmother?

...

Richard suddenly jolted from meditation, standing up and drawing his swords. The divine kingdom started shaking more violently than ever before, the valiant souls and divine warriors out in full force while being lead by Runai's two remaining servitors who caused mountains to crack with every step. Her wrath was clear to everyone.

The Goddess of Time herself was walking in the centre, golden sceptre in hand while she was covered in divine armour she hadn't used for centuries. The figure that originally stood hundreds of metres tall was now shrunk down to thirty, no taller than the two servitors flanking her. Countless golden runes danced around her body, a physical manifestation of her laws that gave rise to golden stairs under her that led directly to the battlefield.

“I might fall, mortal, but you shall perish with me!”

“With you? Impossible,” Richard replied indifferently.

“I will show you humility before the divine!” she shouted.

“The mortal is humbled by the divine, the divine is humbled by the law,” Richard replied, a popular saying amongst powerhouses in Norland. He added on a moment later, “Any law can be controlled by mortals, so there's no need for humility. Our pursuit of strength has no end, yours does. It's deities who need to be humble.”

He had paraphrased this from one of Theodore's works, a quote that was a motto for many legendary beings. Runai was shocked by his words, never having heard of such an argument or even thought of its implied meaning. She knew that divinity had a limit, but to her that limit was the limit of all power. If Richard's words were true, then that would shatter everything she had ever believed.

And that thought brought about wrath that she had never felt before. How could a mere mortal be so arrogant?

She rushed forward, entering the battlefield without hesitation and leaving behind the protection of her divine kingdom. The servitors blocked by the army of feeding worms and the soldiers of the three goddesses, she had nobody protecting her sides. Tides of divine force surged out from the divine passage and crashed into her figure, forming a field of protection around Richard that sprouted young trees, a clear spring, and the phantoms of hunters all around. The laws of the three goddesses were being used to the utmost, not an iota of strength being preserved.

However, an enormous hourglass formed behind Runai and the sands of time within started burning up, turning it into a torch as her power suddenly spiked. The divinity of the three goddesses was immediately dispersed, returning control of the area to the Goddess of Time. She glared at Richard, “It is your time, mortal. WITHER!”

For a moment, it was like her voice was the only one in the world. As she waved her sceptre, divine power flooded towards Richard and threatened to devour him. Decades of time being compressed into an instant was even more effective than direct attacks, especially because it was difficult to ward off. Even most legendary beings were unlikely to be able to sustain such an attack. Runai didn't just want to kill him, but she wanted to strip him of all his might and have him crumble to the ground with a head of white hair! This shameless heretic would have to kneel before her might!

As the golden divine force poured down, all life nearby began to age rapidly. Even the feeding worms quickly broke under the pressure, their resistance to divinity clearly not strong enough to offset Runai's might. However, Richard himself remained upright and looked just as imposing as his opponent, an hourglass of his own revolving atop his head to block the rain of power. This was the power of his own laws of time; even though he was inferior to Runai in terms of overall might, the laws he was trying to control were at least the true fundamental laws of time instead of her approximation. Even with his limited comprehension, he managed to last quite a while.

Runai's eyes filled with hatred; she just couldn't imagine a mere mortal grasping laws stronger than her own. However, his accumulated timeforce was clearly minimal compared to her own; as she brandished her sceptre, she continued to push out all she could to bury him with her divine force. This was a crazy tactic to use, but it was the correct one. The hourglass atop Richard's head quickly dimmed and began to crack before finally shattering into pieces.

1181 - City of Sin

Godkiller

Just before the hourglass shattered, Richard's heart shook as he quietly reached into his chest pocket to grip a crystal slate. This was the last of his destiny crystals, something that had accompanied him through countless dangerous situations. There were many times he had wished to use it, but every time he had fought the urge and was lucky enough to avert disaster himself. So long as this was around, he would have a sliver of hope to deal with any issue he came up against.

However, now he was fighting a deity in her own divine kingdom. It was impossible to press down the anxiety, but he knew that Runai could at best injure him severely. Even with a hundred years of his life drained, he could just make a few offerings and recover quickly; this was a gamble he could afford to take.

As the sands of time were burnt up, he loosened his grip on the destiny crystal. Three faces appeared around him as the last of his protection was being burned away, all the power of his truename and laws being injected into them for one powerful gambit. Three unparalleled bursts of magic rushed out at once and struck Runai, knocking her back.

The laws of life and destruction were the first to reach, their combined prowess almost shattering Runai's body instantly. Just as she stabilised herself, however, the central attack ruptured her barrier and drove cracks all over her armour! The Goddess of Time was taken aback; even legendary beings were meant to have no way of even leaving a nick on this armour, but Richard had cracked it. The laws of life and destruction were terrifying in their own right, but this attack also held traces of the primal chaos!

This was a terrifying force that even gods had to fear, the same energy that drove the storms that ravaged the void. Even greater deities had to be careful when facing the power of primal chaos; this was the source of all unrest in the myriad planes, and it could destroy anything.

A mere mortal had control of timeforce and primal chaos? Even if both were mere approximations, this was unfathomable!

When Runai looked back up from her armour, she found that Richard had vanished. A searing pain immediately assaulted her abdomen, pulling her gaze back down to reveal that Richard had blinked beside her and opened up a huge wound in her divine body. His green sword had cut through her with ease, but before she could even register that shock she saw him trying to stuff a few eggs into her wound!

Even gods knew fear. Runai pulsed almost all of her divine force in an instant, activating a surging flame that exploded with her at the centre. Richard was knocked a dozen metres away, most of the eggs in his hands were dropped and reduced to ashes, while the two that did start absorbing energy were overwhelmed instantly and just exploded with two golden crystals dropping to the ground.

Runai was instantly left in a difficult position; not only was her armour severely damaged, but the sceptre in her hands had also halved in size. She had basically destroyed a good chunk of her power to escape the danger, but that panicked action had hurt her greatly.

Just as she was about to yell out in rage, a sudden sense of cold gripped at her heart. This was her law warning her of grave danger, but Richard was still in her sight and the three goddesses hadn't broken through her hasty barrier just yet. The fear was only amplified as he raised his silver sword high into the sky, the blade bursting forth with a bright glow.

'Does he want to fight me in close combat? What a joke...' she thought to herself in a daze. A dozen metres to a god could be as far as the horizon or no distance at all, especially when she could manipulate the flow of time, but with his laws broken he did not have the same opportunity.

However, she still brandished her damaged sceptre to form a golden screen that covered her body; the first time since she had lit her godspark that a mortal had forced her into a defensive stance. Richard already had the Judge straight above his head, activating all the soul force within as he chopped down towards her, “It's done.” Google search 𝑓𝗿e𝐞𝓌𝙚𝙗𝑛o𝚟e𝙡. c𝚘𝚖

The soul force was like a lightning storm crashing down on Runai's divine body all at once, breaking right through her and continuing a hundred metres further. Hundreds of thousands of divine warriors and thousands of valiant souls were burnt all at once, making for an earth-shattering blow that shattered the divine body into a million fragments.

A mournful cry rang out as Runai's body disintegrated, the fragmented pieces flying back towards the distant shrine. Richard moved forward to give chase, blinking a few times, but he suddenly stopped and sent a tiny trace of energy forward to reveal a layer of gold that signified the goddess's control. He immediately flashed back with a sneer, prompting a disgruntled yell as a huge phantom from the shrine wasted a full-power attack.

He flew back to the area where Runai's divine body had exploded, looking at the hundreds of motes of divine force that hadn't yet managed to escape. At the centre of it all were three golden crystals the size of a fist, a sight that caused him to hold his breath.

This was godsblood, a powerful material second only to a deity's godspark. However, unlike the spark which was only really useful to those who wanted to become deities, the blood was useful to anyone. These crystals were filled with law energy, and a single drop could spawn a magic soul that formed the basis for a higher-end grade 5 rune.

He had already considered such a thing before. A rune with Runai's laws would be able to create a slowing domain around the user, drastically crippling everything within. Since this slowing came from a change to the passage of time itself, normal spells could not combat it. In fact, only beings that could make themselves immune to timeforce would be able to escape. Such a rune would be powerful enough to warrant four to five top-tier offerings at worst.

The godsblood could also replace any non-critical material on Midren; two drops would be enough for him to be able to finish his construction right now. He could also think of a dozen other uses purely in terms of runes, and that was only in his field. Godsblood was powerful but varied in use, with every legendary mage having some use or the other for it. It was one of the best materials in all existence, compared to some other powerful items that had a very limited set of properties.

A faint smile spread across Richard's lips as he stored the blood in a case. He already knew just how he would use these things, and with her essence gone Runai would die in a few months at most. He glanced at the distant shrine before returning to the passage; this war was now over, and he had come out of it with a god's death on his hands.

With the blood and divine force crystals he had already collected, there wasn't much left over that was truly of importance to him. Of course, what he left behind happened to be what the three goddesses would want most; Runai's divine domain and her godspark. Even the servitors had already fallen once Runai was destroyed, their divine force having taken enough of a hit for the feeding worms to start nibbling away at them.

...

As he returned to the divine kingdom of the Forest Goddess, Richard saw the trio standing on the other end of the passage with armour donned and weapons in hand. It was evident that they were prepared to join the war. With Runai's current condition, they would no longer need to maintain the situation and could just head straight into her shrine and finish her off, capturing her godspark.

And yet, their actions were full of puzzling hesitation that caused him to frown, “Not going in? She's almost dead, what are you waiting for?”

“Those...worms, there are too many of them,” the Goddess of the Hunt said with some trepidation.

“Oh, those things are just getting me some more divine force. Tell you what, I'll have them all withdraw tomorrow, and I'll have someone take the crystals and eggs away.”

“That's a relief!” the Forest Goddess sighed subconsciously, pulling Richard's attention to her. She immediately shivered like she had just been doused with ice water, her entire body going rigid.

Richard ignored her and put the worm eggs and divine crystals in a magic-sealing chest he had already prepared, carrying the chest that was twice his size and proceeding to leave the divine kingdom.

......

“How was the harvest, Master?” the broodmother's voice rang out the moment Richard was in Dragon Valley.

“It was... fruitful,” he chuckled.

“So you're a godkiller now?”

“Huh? How did you know?”

“Your aura. I sensed it through your soul. Anyone who's killed a truegod has a certain air to them that I can sense.”

“It's just a puny deity from a secondary plane, no big deal.”

“What are you saying? It is a big deal! If gods were so easy to kill, they would all be dead right now. Master, I feel like we must meet.”

“But why? I have to get back to Norland.”

“The messengers are prepared, I won't take much of your time.”

He couldn't refute this point. With the speed of the messengers, he would be able to get to the Land of Turmoil in half a day. The moment he sent an affirmative, a loud whistle rang through the sky as three messengers descended like lightning and landed beside him. She didn't seem to be ready to wait at all.

Richard summoned a few knights and had them split his one chest into two smaller ones, placing them on two of the messengers before he got onto the third. All three took to the air the moment he stepped on, quickly vanishing into the horizon.

1182 - City of Sin

Reunion

Richard had almost run out of mana by the time he arrived at the Land of Turmoil. Travelling at 500 kilometres an hour, just the wind was as strong as a grade 6 wind blade, forcing him to keep a barrier up at all times. Having travelled continuously like that for ten hours, he had stopped bothering to keep track of how many times he had to recharge his barrier.

“Master!” the broodmother's voice rang out the moment he entered her territory, “Welcome to my... no, our kingdom!”

Dozens of cloned brains connected to him instantly, giving him a combined panoramic image of the entire Land of Turmoil. The place truly had been formed to her needs now, the larval forest covering the entire area while worm nests that were hundreds of metres high towered everywhere. The sky was flickering with strands of timeforce that even he wouldn't want to pass through, and three flesh furnaces were operating at full speed in the west. Two of the furnaces were refining frostiron, some for sale and others used to create the winter soldiers, while the third was creating equipment parts like sword blades and scalemail to be transported to Norland for enchanting.

Two wasps were slowly making their way through the skies, carrying hundreds of tonnes of frostiron and weapon parts towards Bluewater Oasis. Meanwhile, a good number more were heading over from the Iron Triangle Empire, bringing in raw ore. Drones were bustling everywhere in the huge underground maze formed by the larval forest, tending to the trees and any other organisational tasks. The roots of the forest had dug kilometres in to extract all the energy in the earth, while their tall crowns were swaying in the sky absorbing energy there. A single tree only managed a tiny amount, but with the hundred thousand square kilometres of area, it had grown to an astronomical figure.

The larval forest had grown alongside the broodmother herself. It could now create units below level 6 without any need for intervention, able to form an army of a hundred thousand in only a few days if need be.

After giving him the view of the Land of Turmoil, the broodmother then connected to Richard herself, “Master, I need the divine blood!”

“Will that get you to level 12?”

“No, but I'd be very close.”

“Then no. I have other uses for it.”

A strange noise was transmitted over their connection, almost like a groan, “Fine, I can wait. There are many gods in Faelor, you're not planning to stop just now, are you?”

Richard smiled. “Of course not. I'm just waiting to see who provokes me next.”

“Okay then, let's take a look at the divine force crystals.”

He opened the two chests and poured the crystals down into a pile. The broodmother picked one of them up with a tendril that moved incredibly slowly, turning it over attentively before almost moaning, “So beautiful!”

“You know how you're going to use them?”

“It's a tough choice; I have many options for them. I was hoping for your help.”

He nodded and opened up his soul, connecting to her completely to form one combined consciousness focused on finding the best way to use the crystals. This was an extremely pure form of energy that could do anything from growing her own battle abilities to increasing the levels on her drones and creating the battle elites she had spoken about. They could even grant special abilities to elite drones, and a few quick calculations revealed power equivalent to a grade 7 spell. A single small piece of crystal could power many abilities more than ten times, posing a threat to even legendary beings when massed.

Eventually, they decided to use a majority on creating battle elite versions of the winter soldiers, a thousand level 17 warriors with the same strength as rune knights. A small part would be used to enhance a special batch of 500 arrowbeasts, capable of shooting up to three magical tracking bolts that had a range of a kilometre. This didn't seem like much, but even legends would have to focus all their efforts to survive a single such volley.

Once they had decided on the best course of action, Richard finally heaved a sigh of relief and disconnected from the broodmother. The moment he returned to his own body, he realised just how much time had passed and was left dumbfounded; they'd spent a week on this!

“Master, will you not reconsider the divine blood? We could do the same as just now; I think we'll find a better use for it.”
ƒr𝒆𝑒𝔀e𝒃𝚗𝒐𝘃𝐞𝑙. c𝗼m

The broodmother clearly hadn't given up yet, but Richard just chuckled and ground his knuckles against the flat side of one of her pincers, “Stop thinking about them!”

“Ugh, fine. There are so many gods in Faelor anyway, you said you're continuing!”

“Yeah, yeah,” he laughed at the whining broodmother and jumped back onto one of the messengers, heading straight for Bluewater.

......

It took another day to reach Bluewater, but Richard only stayed there for a few hours before returning to Norland. The situation in Azan was still tense, and he had spent a significant period of time away. While he was confident in his display of power, one could never tell when someone would come looking for vengeance.

Having moved through with the shipment of frostiron he had seen when he first arrived at the Land of Turmoil, he arrived at Blackrose Castle to see a merchant group already waiting for it. There was limitless demand in Norland for high-quality enchanted weapons, and every batch of frostiron gave him a hundred thousand gold in profits that as always flowed back into the Archeron army.

Archeron soldiers were continuing to gather around Azan, with a number of mercenary groups flocking over and even a few saints willing to fight under him because of the potential profits. However, he didn't need to handle any of this personally; with both Goliath and Alice helping him, there was very little work to be done and he managed to finish up and head to the Deepblue the very same day.

......

The first thing he saw stepping out of the portal was the figure of a grey dwarf, rushing off somewhere with a chest that was even bigger than his own body. Blackgold slid to a stop the moment he saw the portal flashing, turning around and shouting warmly, “Richard! Why are you here? Anyway, doesn't matter. My experiments are going well, come take a look! This will change everything!”

Richard walked over and gave the duergar a big hug, “Is Master here? I need to meet her first.”

Blackgold shrugged, “Her Excellency is in her residence, but you should be careful. She hasn't been in a good mood lately.”

“Alright, I'll take note of that.”

“Come find me once you're done with her! I have a surprise for you!” the grey dwarf exclaimed once more.

By this point, the upper levels of the Deepblue had been restored to perfection. The only difference now was that the elves guarding the gates had become saints, and there were four instead of two. They still knew who he was and let him through immediately, but unable to use detection spells in the huge hall he had to walk around to the different sections of it one by one. After fifteen minutes of trying a few different rooms and failing, to his surprise he finally found Sharon in her lab.

The legendary mage was working on a mana crystal, so focused that she didn't even notice him enter. Beams of mana flowed out of her fingertips into a crystal, the mana so dense it almost flowed like a solid rod of starlight.

“You stupid witch, I'll show you!” she was muttering viciously under her breath, but as she grew agitated the crystal cracked loudly. She immediately threw the crystal into the wastebasket nearby, bringing Richard's attention to ten others, “DAMN IT!”

“Hmm... Let me try,” he said as he walked in, his sudden voice startling the legendary mage. Her eyes started glowing only a moment later, and she rushed over and knocked him to the floor while kissing him a few times.

Richard smiled and grabbed her body, about to kiss her back, but Sharon suddenly bounced up and blinked away. She was back the next moment with a basket in hand, emptying it down onto the floor, “Quick! Charge these things for me!”

1183 - City of Sin

An Efficient Charger

With hundreds of mana crystals put in front of him, Richard smiled helplessly and picked one of them up. Even though he didn't have Sharon's power yet, his output was much more stable; in a few minutes, he was done. The magic crystal started glowing a pale blue, motes of starlight leaking out from within.

Sharon immediately cheered, snatching the starlit crystal and fondling it with admiration. At the same time, she didn't forget to shove a brand new blank crystal over to him; there would be no breaks. Starlit crystals were a specialty of the Deepblue, made from ordinary magic crystals with the power of the Deepblue Aria. This added astral power to the crystals, giving them a large array of uses related to spatial magic. Many mages without much experience in spatial magic relied on them for experiments related to the void.

However, the problem with starlit crystals was their scarcity. The legendary mage was lazy as always, only producing a few batches whenever she felt like it, leaving this item in short supply around the year. Outside of her, Richard himself and maybe Ensio were the only ones able to produce these things.

Sharon normally needed to make six or seven attempts for every success, but Richard went through a full dozen crystals without a single failure. Her eyes glimmered with the joy of a dragon having found a new treasure, only to be replaced by shock when she saw him pause, “Why did you stop? Ah, don't worry, I have many more crystals; this is only a small portion!”

Richard broke out into a cold sweat; she was making it seem like he had to become a charging machine for the next month. He held his forehead in one hand, trying to push away the oncoming headache, “I need to meditate, my mana's gone.”

“Huh? You've only done... twenty! I can go to two hundred before I get sick of it.”

“Get sick, not tired? You know what, never mind,” Richard chose not to follow that route. He already had a vast mana pool for an ordinary legendary mage, but he would grow tired ten times over before she got bored! He finally decided to clarify a suspicion that he'd had for a long time, “Master, your legendary ability was Manaforge too, right?”

“One of the bunch, why?”

“One of... the bunch?” This was even more shocking than her mana pool. It was extremely rare to meet people with even two legendary abilities, but Sharon was clearly indicating she had way more.

“Of course, what kind of person do you think I am?” she laughed arrogantly.

“... Sigh, okay. How many forges do you have in your array? Nine?”

“Oh? There are arrays with nine forges?” she asked with surprise, but her next words almost left him crumbling, “Why so few?”

This time, he didn't even make a sound in response. He decided he would never ask about any of Sharon's other abilities again; knowing too much would be a huge blow to his confidence.

Sharon grumbled, her face growing dull, “I have eighteen, but it's so little! Do you know how many levels there are in the abyss where I can't recharge at all? I can never have enough... Grr!”

Astonishment was never a new thing when Sharon was the topic. Regardless, this meant she had more than ten times the mana of an ordinary mage with four times the recovery speed. Given the boost from the Deepblue Aria, that meant something like seven or eight times that of other legendary mages... no big deal at all, right? Of course, there was no need to wonder why she had eighteen forges; anything was possible with her.

Beye had once told him that Sharon could kill someone with brute force, but he had dismissed it off-hand. At the very least, she had to actually cast powerful spells and that took study and research. However, now he realised just how true those words were; with that much mana, he could just send a barrage of even grade 3 curses endlessly until the opponent was drowned out.

He decided to focus back on his task, adjusting his posture and beginning to meditate. Everything went quiet for a moment, but then he suddenly heard a thunk from Sharon's direction, “Damn it, how did I forget? Wait right here!”

He opened his eyes just in time to see her jump into a portal, coming back out a few seconds later and stretching out her palm, “Drink this!”

In her palm was a small vial made of golden crystal, containing a few drops of liquid that radiated an aura of pure mana. Richard's expression immediately grew animated, “Is this mana extract?”

Mana extract was at the pinnacle of potioneering for mages, able to completely replenish even a legendary mage's mana in one go while doubling their recovery over the next hour. This was a legendary elixir that could save one's life in crucial moments. It wasn't strange for someone with Sharon's wealth to have it, but why was she going to waste it on something so trivial?

He took the extract from her, but he wasn't about to be wasteful enough to drink it. Pocketing it quickly, he smiled before her eyebrows could stand up completely, “Right, I brought you a gift!”

“A gift?” Sharon jumped up like a little girl, saying with excitement, “What is it, a bag of spider crystals?”

He fetched a small case from within his robes, opening it up and showing it to the legendary mage.

“Godsblood!” Sharon moaned, snatching it immediately and starting to inspect it, “Complete law energy... some time laws... Oh, space... but only a little, tch...”

After a few minutes of mumbling to herself, she suddenly opened her mouth and just threw the godsblood in, crushing it with a few bites before swallowing it.

“Ah, this is some good stuff. I'm going to go teach that bitch a lesson later!”

Richard stared at Sharon's mouth in shock, taking a long time to recover. Godsblood was tougher than lafite steel, requiring weapons at the legendary realm to even cut through it. However, she had just bitten through it like it was a piece of candy. Those snow-white teeth were as strong as a legendary weapon!

Once high on the godsblood, Sharon forgot about squeezing more work out of Richard and dragged him into a feast on her fruits while they talked. After a few minutes, he had an understanding about her grudge against the Blackmist Witch. The Blackmist Witch was a special being that was a cross between human and nightmare creature, producing great magical powers that allowed her name to ring louder than even the Celestial Sage Ruben. A different legend had chanced upon a meteorite with powerful spatial laws during his exploration and decided to sell it; after a bidding war between a dozen different races, it was now a toss between the Witch and Sharon. Neither party was willing to back down, and the legendary mage's wealth eventually edged out a little.

However, the agreement had been for payment in starlit crystals. This meant Sharon wouldn't just have to pay a higher price, but also work bitterly for some time to finish the transaction. This left her with bitter hatred for the Blackmist Witch. To her, such dry and repetitive workloads were the most annoying thing ever; three thousand charges to make 200 starlit crystals would drain her of the will to live.

After cursing for half an hour, Sharon suddenly sized Richard up from head to toe and exclaimed, “Don't you have a demiplane yet? Just get a random one, you only ascended recently and don't need one that's too big.”

Richard kept his mouth sealed shut, having no plans to respond. She acted like getting a demiplane was a breeze, but reality was anything but. He would need to find a stable position in the void, find and somehow transport a landmass to the location, and construct a mana pool, portal, and defensive arrays all around it. Every step consumed a great volume of resources, and most people ended up having to turn to specialised spatial legends who sold related services like coordinates and transport. A demiplane also required investments for over a century before it became a stable source of energy. The costs often reached several top-tier offerings, and even if Richard didn't consider that an exorbitant amount it was still a drain on resources.

Although Sharon didn't completely understand his expression, she took it as acceptance that he didn't have a demiplane and jumped out through a portal, “Wait here!”

A minute later, the legendary mage returned and dragged him back out with her.

1184 - City of Sin

A Demiplane In The Storm

Behind the portal was the vast void. Richard felt suffocated the moment he stepped out, having to create half a dozen barriers before he felt even a little better.

“Look, this is a great place to build your demiplane. Mine is nearby, and the place is only a little better than this!” Sharon said with delight, almost like a little girl showing off her toys.

Even as she spoke, a loud boom rang out as three of Richard's barriers were destroyed in tandem. Richard's mana rushed to repair them, but in only half a minute the outermost one was flickering once more. In the end, they managed to last only one full minute before they broke apart again.

Even as he was looking around at the area, Richard calculated the rate at which his mana was being depleted and found that he wouldn't last ten minutes in this place. What sort of great place was THIS supposed to be?

Every single book he had read about forming one's demiplane said the void had to be stable and calm, the energy storms as gentle as possible to minimise the impact on one's defensive arrays. Sometimes demiplanes even had to be relocated if their location grew particularly chaotic, the move's cost measured in multiple beyslace spider crystals. And here Sharon was, saying this extremely aggressive energy storm was great!

Richard was new to the legendary realm, but his power was anything but. As someone who controlled multiple laws with three sections to his truename, his defences were worlds apart from that of an ordinary mage. Schloanruven even allowed him to recover faster than basically any other mage his level, but he could still only last ten minutes here. Ordinary legends wouldn't make it past three; only beasts like Sharon could be comfortable.

From what he could tell, the power of the energy storm here was almost as violent as known spike points around Norland, areas where most legends would die instantly. Was she really planning to have him build his demiplane here?

When he asked that question, Sharon looked at him like he was stupid, “Why not? This is the strongest unoccupied energy storm near Norland. The next closest one needs me to teleport ten times to get there, you won't manage it at all. Even ignoring that it isn't much stronger than this, how will you build your demiplane if you can't even get to it?”

'What the hell is she talking about?' Richard couldn't make heads or tails of her words. Every book he'd looked at, every one of the half dozen legendary mages he'd consulted with regards to the topic, even the Mage Association, the answer had been uniform: he had to look for a null point in the void that had been calm for a few centuries for a good demiplane.

“Shouldn't a demiplane be built where it's calm?” he asked testingly.

“What idiot said that?” Sharon immediately glared back at him, rendering him silent immediately. Even the answer he wanted to give of everyone got stuck in his throat. Her glare quickly turned to disappointment and she waved her hand imperiously, “Stop listening to fools. Here, I'll show you how it's done.”

The legendary mage touched one of her spatial rings, covering the surroundings in light as a boulder was left floating in the void. With a wave of her hands, an aquamarine shield protected the land from the energy storm.

Looking at the boulder that was maybe ten square metres, Richard didn't know how to describe his emotions. How could one consider this a piece of land? Was this the so-called demiplane she was giving him? Many legendary mages truly did have tiny demiplanes, but that was because they were made of extremely pricey materials like jade stone that could boost their mana absorption. Those special demiplanes could have a diameter of only ten metres, but their material was worth more than a demiplane that was hundreds of square kilometres in area. However, Richard was quite familiar with the kind of boulder that Sharon had thrown out; it looked like a random piece of rock from Floe Bay.
𝒇𝘳ee𝚠𝘦𝚋n૦𝐯el coｍ

While he was immersed in thought, the legendary mage had already flown down to the “land” and was looking around with satisfaction. She took out a few shoots and plunged them into the rock, the seemingly fragile plants displaying terrifying might as their thin roots dug into the rock like needles entering cotton. They anchored themselves in only a few moments, those roots showing the power of a saint as they burrowed out through the other side. The ten plants quickly started growing new leaves, starting to wave around in joy as they grew incredibly quickly.

Just how terrifying were these things? This wasn't the sunny Norland, it was the void where even legends couldn't survive! Richard watched in shock as the roots continued burrowing out the bottom of the land, waving happily in the skies. The plants grew to a metre tall in a single minute, thin branches pushing out from their trunks and growing towards the skies. The violent energy storm around them seemed to warp, strands of energy being pulled away and absorbed.

The energy quickly entered the branches and pulsed down all the way to the roots, forming motes of yellow light that quickly solidified into pellets of soil. Richard immediately flew over and picked up a small granule, Insight quickly confirming his suspicions that it was elemental soil.

Elemental soil was an extremely rare material, and at this purity, it could be sold for dozens of gold a pinch. Looking at the hundreds of motes of yellow coalescing around the roots like gold, he was rendered speechless. In only two minutes a fistful had been added to the boulder, and it continued to grow. He almost forgot about the energy storm around him as he watched it grow into a clump of earth that was a cubic metre in only fifteen minutes.

Having lost himself in analysing the soil, Richard took a while to realise the implication of what was happening. His entire demiplane would be made of elemental soil! This was an idea that anyone would dismiss immediately, but it took root in his mind just as powerfully as the plants that had now grown into small trees.

Green leaves unfurled on the vertical branches that started to stretch more than ten metres out, waving in the energy storm of the void and absorbing it without pause. They seemed incredibly fragile, but waving around amidst the storm that could shatter legendary armour they didn't seem to be affected at all.

Richard suddenly realised that the intensity of the storm had dropped around him, growing more gentle right around the growing demiplane as it spiralled towards the branches. He thought of something and immediately flew a hundred metres away, confirming that the storm grew even more aggressive than before at thirty metres before returning to the original intensity. From this far away, he could clearly make out the energy vortex. The vicinity of the trees had turned into the gentler eye of the storm, while everything else had grown even more intense.

In the middle of this land, Sharon's face was filled with hesitation. She looked at Richard's fascinated face a few times before taking out a few more shoots and planting them in the ground. This time, however, the heartache was clear and she looked like she would cry.

Richard landed back on the ground, “What trees are these?”

“Energy-absorbing trees!” Sharon grunted.

A cursory attempt to recall the term proving fruitless, Richard went through all the rare plant species he had heard of to no avail. This was clearly a species of plant that was incredibly valuable; given the kind of literature he had access to, it should have been impossible for him to not know about them. There was only one conclusion he could come to that made sense: this was a species that was considered beyond the legendary grade, so rare that only a handful of Norlanders had ever come across them.

1185 - City of Sin

Squeezed Dry

As the new saplings began to grow, Sharon glared fiercely at Richard and hopped to the other side of the demiplane, her landing forming a metre-wide square pit.

“This will be your mana pool,” the legendary mage fumed between gritted teeth, flying back and forth as she carved three notches to link the pool with the energy-absorbing trees. The pool started emitting a faint mist as mana started radiating from within, clear liquid slowly starting to fill it. Richard walked over and cupped some of it with both hands, finding it strangely viscous with a strong aura of mana that made it clear that this was amongst the best mana springs in existence. A single vial of this would be considered a powerful mana potion, able to fetch over a thousand gold coins.

Despite all that, this wasn't a fortified mana pool but a hole stamped out into the ground with no measure to prevent the outflow of mana. For the pool to be expanding showcased the inestimable value of the eighteen energy-absorbing trees.

Sharon sighed, “These are the coordinates, you should be able to get here in three portals, and you're strong enough to survive as long as you keep yourself inside. It should be easy to control the energy transformation, so finish building this thing yourself when you have time. Hmph!”

Eyes still focused on the energy-absorbing trees, Richard pointed asked, “How can I get more of them?”

“You want... Bah, if you use all the absorbed energy to grow new trees you can get a new sapling every three to five decades. If you use them like now, it'll take about a century. So many years of finding and collecting these things, and now they're all yours. Being your master is simply driving me to death! What use are you outside of being tender and delicious?!”

With the legendary mage right up in his face, Richard could only smile bitterly. He had been delighted when he brought some godsblood back to the Deepblue, thinking he was finally able to stand for himself in this relationship and give as much as he took, but now he was saddled with another enormous debt that he didn't know when he would be able to repay.

Sharon's expression immediately melted as she noticed his face. She smiled softly and caressed a cheek, “Don't worry about my rants. You're doing very well, much better than I'd ever imagined. Take your time and become strong; one day, you'll surpass me. In the meanwhile, don't let anyone know about these trees, even those girlfriends of yours. Understood?”

Richard nodded. Such powerful and mysterious objects like these trees could attract the attention of epic beings.

The legendary mage stretched up on her toes and gave him a peck on his lips, “All of my stuff will be yours one day anyway.”

Richard's heart trembled the moment he heard those words, mind going back to the vision he had seen now decades ago of an endless void with nothing but a figure floating in slumber or in death. Turning pallid, he squeezed out a reluctant smile, “Impossible! You've said it before yourself; you might not be the strongest, but you'll definitely be the richest.”

“Of course!” her face brightened, “Now, let's go back and give the trees some time. You can return tomorrow.”

While Sharon opened a portal to the Deepblue and stepped through, Richard drew a stabilising array on the ground and activated it before forming his own. At the other end of this portal was the very same lab they had come from, and as he stepped out the legendary mage was shocked, “You managed it in only one portal? And it was so precise? Your spatial laws are outstanding!”

For once, Richard was happy that he was the one doing the surprising, “I was titled a Lord of Space by the Eternal Dragon; that's helped grow my understanding.”

“That's good!” she patted his back heavily, slapping him right into the ground, “Now get to work, there's a hundred starlit crystals left! No need to worry, I have as many mana potions as you need!”

......

Over the next day, Richard experienced the taste of running dry of his mana before going back up to full rapidly a total of four times. Even with his patience he was starting to feel a little nauseous at the sight of them, but thankfully the time to work on his demiplane arrived and he quickly escaped.

In the span of a single day, the demiplane had grown two full metres. The roots of the energy-absorbing trees were still fluttering about, condensing the energy into elemental soil. He dug in straight towards the boulder that had formed the basis of the demiplane, and while that was still normal rock for the most part he could already see the same thin elemental crystals forming within as in the rest of the soil. It wouldn't be long before it was changed completely, making this demiplane purely of elemental earth that was tougher than most rocks.

The mana pool had already been filled to the bring, the liquid flowing out and being absorbed by the earth. Grains of magic crystals were forming where the mana water was absorbed, and a thin layer with dozens of them had already been formed at the bottom of the pool; one of them was already milky white, showcasing great purity.

Just this pool alone could harvest ten thousand gold a day, but it was clear that the place Sharon had opened up was insufficient for it to reach its full potential. Richard retrieved some tools from his spatial storage to try and expand it, but the moment his superior-grade shovel hit the ground it snapped in two. He rummaged through his equipment to see if he had any epic-grade item he could try, but realising there was no better option he ended up pulling out Moonlight and stabbing it in. The divine weapon immediately radiated reluctance, but it ended up suiting the task.

After bustling around for half a day, the pool had now been expanded to three metres wide and an extra metre deep, the excavated soil scattered across the region where the boulder had been to transform it. Carving a magic array that could control the operations of the mana pool, Richard then strengthened the spatial stabilisation before returning to the Deepblue.

The moment he returned, he had to face the starlit crystals once more.

......

A week quickly passed by, bringing Richard's demiplane to twenty square metres in size and much more presentable than before. The expanded pool had filled up once more, but he chose to allow it to condense into mana crystals instead of bottling any; there were already two high-grade crystals at the very bottom, and it wouldn't be long before the entirety was filled.

The defensive arrays to mitigate the energy storm had also been completed, but they were left inactive for now. Their purpose was to allow weaker beings to travel here, but with the secret of the energy-absorbing trees he couldn't afford that just yet. He had yet to reach Sharon's level, with both wealth and power that outdid whole empires.

A teleportation gate had been constructed over this time period, saving on a lot of energy for future trips. This finished the very base foundation of the demiplane, with things like the magic tower, lab, and homunculi left for later. The eighteen energy-absorbing trees had maintained their location on the edge of the land for the proximity to the energy storm, so he was planning to build a warehouse in the centre to store his most important items.

His time in the Deepblue had been spent on the starlit crystals. He had now finished a grand total of 400, well beyond Sharon's original requirements, but having seen how efficient he was she had decided to squeeze him dry of mana. Of course, she also squeezed him dry in entirely different ways every night in her bedroom, an experience that was still painful but enjoyable. Amidst this all, he was studying the Deepblue Aria on her body in preparation to start working on it in earnest.

At the end of the week, as he finished the foundation for the warehouse and returned, the familiar bucket of crystals was not laid before him. Instead, Sharon was moping around at a corner of the lab, turning to him the moment he arrived, “You withdrew from the Alliance?”

This question left Richard a little confused until he recalled that he hadn't actually told Sharon about it. Although just recalling the events left a bade taste in his mouth, he explained everything from start to end.

The moment he got to what happened in the Hall of Mirrors, Sharon leapt into the sky and started radiating killing intent, “THAT BITCH! Who else would dare to bully my people? She thinks she can get you to lick her boots and I'll still care that the fatty helped me in secret all that time ago? Fuck being whatever protector. Don't worry, I'll go and tear Faust apart to teach them a lesson!”

Sharon patted Richard heavily on the shoulder as she flew into a portal, knocking him to the ground. “No, I'll deal with it!” he tried to shout behind her, but he had already gone away. It took a moment for him to get back up and recover from the impact, but as soon as he felt the numbness fade away he opened up a portal trying to follow her aura.𝙛𝐫𝑒𝐞𝘄ℯ𝘣𝚗𝘰𝘷𝙚𝘭. c𝘰m

1186 - City of Sin

Fight In The North

When Richard stepped out of the portal following Sharon's aura, he realised he wasn't near Faust but instead a few hundred kilometres west. Julian was standing in the skies before him, a look of shock on his face, “Why is it you?”

“Where's my master?” Richard asked.

The man shrugged, “If you're talking about Sharon, Her Majesty intercepted her here and they're heading north to fight in duergar territory.”

“Oh?” Richard beamed in mockery, “Apeiron intercepted Master, did she? Does she also have the power to see the future now?”

Julian stroked his moustache and smiled, “Nothing is impossible, Her Majesty's true power is beyond what you can fathom. She has now recovered and can unleash her full potential; do you think just anyone could be more powerful than Emperor Philip himself?”

Richard had already stopped listening, silently flying towards the north, but Julian flashed over to block his path, “Why are you in such a hurry? Take your time, you can clean up Sharon's corpse later. Oh, maybe the grey dwarves will be interested in it? A lot of their people died in the Deepblue War, after all.”

“I really will kill you, Julian. Fuck off!”

Despite the belligerence, Julian smiled calmly, “It's too late to go now. Maybe you'll see Her Excellency in the hands of the grey dwarves, I hear they're interested in human women.”

“Fine then!” Richard took a deep breath, the anger on his face dissipating into cold ice. Blue flames burned in the depths of his ice as he drew Moonlight, his mouth chanting an unknown curse.

Once the three faces appeared, Julian finally stopped smiling. His sight was suddenly swamped by darkness, everything twisting about as auras of life, destruction, and chaos rammed into him. He curled up and activated his defences to try and fight the power, but in only a moment he screamed and flew a hundred metres away with flames burning him all over. Seeing Richard's silhouette appear right before him and disappear all in one moment, back in his original position as though he'd never moved at all, the legendary warrior ran away without another word. His body sank down a little as he flew, but he fought the weakness and rose up into the sky.

Richard remained standing in his original location, but blood dripped down Moonlight's blade to the ground. As the three faces disappeared, he paled before blushing unusually and spitting out a mouthful of blood. Bloodlust radiated from him as he turned to Julian and wanted to give chase, but even knowing he'd catch up he was more worried about Sharon and soon turned north. Downing a number of healing and mana potions, he opened another portal and headed north.

......

The Far North of Norland was filled with snowy mountains and frozen plains, a scant few river banks thawing in the summer to form some sparse greenery. The barren land was quite vast, containing hundreds of species like the duergar, dragonblood gnomes, and orcs. There were a number of humans as well, with some powerhouses having set up dukedoms, but most humans here were considered slaves or even food.

The lands here were loosely controlled by a conglomerate of the most powerful races called the Frozen Court, one of Norland's six great empires that was no weaker than the Sacred Alliance or the other two human empires. Most of the Frozen Court was located underground, forming a maze of passageways that were rumoured to originate at the boiling flames down below. The food issue was solved with blackell mushrooms grown underground, relying on the heat from the flames instead of sunlight and water.

Because blackell mushrooms were so abundant, the duergar controlled an army of millions and soundly defeated the orcs, taking up a full third of the seats in the Court. The dragonblood gnomes used their wealth to take up another fourth, while the rest were divided amongst dozens of other powerful races and legendary beings. Any race or tribe without representation was considered free to enslave or rob.

The border between the Far North and the Sacred Alliance were always filled with conflict, countless aggressive tribes trying to kill and steal their way to a livelihood. They had tried marching south and taking the lands of the Alliance, but being a very loose coalition they were beaten back soundly every time. Google search 𝙛𝒓𝙚e𝚠𝐞𝚋𝙣𝚘𝐯𝗲𝚕. c𝚘𝓶

Flamewood City was a town at the borders that gathered many outlaws and criminals, a hotbed of criminal activity with more than a hundred brawls and a dozen murders everyday. It was a big node in Norland's slave trade, controlled by the cure black dragon Lord Tegras.

This day, there was a huge commotion in the city during dawn. Someone had seen two humans outside the city, and both of them were young and beautiful women! A young woman was worth a pouch of gold in this city, while beautiful ones were worth ten!

Duergar, orcs, blackiron dwarves, and harpies all rushed out of the city, heading for the women facing each other in the skies. Both were utterly beautiful, almost to an unbelievable level, and that caused blood to fill their eyes. The grey dwarves especially were so excited that it looked like they had gotten drunk, shouting and cursing as they leapt towards the piles of gold.

However, they didn't manage to get anything; the two piles of gold weren't on the ground, but flying a hundred metres in the sky. These weaker dwarves couldn't fly, or even throw their axes up that high. Only the harpies could reach them, which was why the duergar were directing the foulest of curses to try and threaten them into giving up a portion of the profits. The mostly female race of eagle-bodied humanoids were quite powerful, but they were barely smart enough to be considered sentient and lived under subjugation.

A strong harpy lifted up into the skies and flew towards the two women, but she was still eighty metres away when her body suddenly went stiff and fell to the ground with a thud. The entire crowd immediately went quiet as an orc rushed over to inspect her, announcing loudly, “She was scared to death!”

The dead harpy's body was still in perfect condition, but her heart had exploded and left tiny red dots on her chest. The orc himself was shocked by the diagnosis; the aura required to do such a thing could only come from someone on the level of a true dragon. Even as one of the weakest dragons in existence, Lord Tegras could still rule this entire city!

“Is Lord Tegras here?!” someone exclaimed, sending the duergar into chaos even as some harpies flew up to inspect the vicinity. It wasn't long before one of them confirmed these suspicions.

Three black spots appeared on the western horizon, zooming towards the two women. Even the blackiron dwarves with poor vision quickly recognised the enormous body of Lord Tegras, as well as his smaller red dragon guards. He arrived above Flamewood City in only a few moments, huge globs of saliva dripping down onto the town below; this was two human powerhouses, and the black dragon's favourite hobby was to fool around in his humanoid form.

1187 - City of Sin

More Than Just A Battle 𝗳re𝚎𝚠𝐞𝗯𝙣𝗼ν𝗲l. c૦𝓶

Seeing the beauty of the two human women, the black dragon Tegras grunted in arousal. The petite lady on the right with her golden hair and blue robes looked especially delicate, a soft lustre on top of her skin making her almost ethereal.

Wait, golden hair, blue robes? The dragon had heard of this description before, and there weren't many mages in Norland who matched it. Considering where they were, he narrowed it down immediately, eyes going wide as he shrieked, “SHARON!”

However, he was flying far too quickly, closing in on the two women who were facing each other. Recalling the Dragon Slaver's reputation, he immediately dove towards the ground and practically crushed his own face, his claws digging constantly to stop the forward momentum. He eventually came to a stop after a hundred metres, a deep groove in the plains behind him, but he rejoiced that he had managed to stop at all.

The two unsuspecting red dragons still flew along in the sky, not able to react nearly as quickly. Once they were within a kilometre of Sharon, they suddenly froze up and hissed in terror, failing to keep control of their wings as they fell from the sky.

At this point, it didn't matter who the other woman was. No mere black dragon could afford to provoke Sharon. Tegras quickly made a decision and turned around, sprinting along the ground and vanishing in the direction from which he'd come. His two guards were still rolling around in pain, unable to get up.

Was he fleeing? The ferocious and cruel Tegras had actually escaped? The duergar, harpies, and orcs were stumped for a moment, but they quickly connected the dots and dispersed in all directions. The various tribes of the Far North were violent by nature, but they also had to be cunning to survive.

Up in the sky, Apeiron flashed a faint smile, “The bugs are running.”

Sharon's face was cold, “You're the one I'm here for. Are you going to run too?”

“No, here's fine. And I guarantee I won't run again; have you come to kill me?”

The legendary mage calmed down, “This time, I'm going to beat you up. If you ever make another move against my little Richard, then you'll die.”

“He's the one that stole my little Nyris away first. I've already been tolerant of that treason.”

Sharon smiled coldly, “Stop quibbling, it's your fault.”

“Then let's fight!” The Empress suddenly blinked in front of Sharon, aiming a punch right at her face. It was covered in an electric aura, but the most frightening thing about it was its speed.

However, even as her fist landed on Sharon's face Apeiron felt a chill in her heart. Knowing there was no way that the legendary mage would have let it land so easily, she retreated almost instinctively. Moments later, she saw an orb of light fly out from her opponent's hands.

*BOOM!* Sharon's portal explosion rocked the Far North for the first time, the shockwave and unprecedented heat spreading in all directions and wiping out the fleeing duergar and orcs while knocking the harpies to the ground. The searing flames brushed past Flamewood City, burning down any building that wasn't protected by a barrier before a mushroom cloud rose into the sky. Seeing the distant explosion, Tegras almost lost his footing before launching up into the sky, getting to his maximum speed and fleeing with no hesitation.

Two silhouettes flew out from the fireball, both appearing to be in a sorry situation. The legendary mage's robes were tattered and scorched, fresh blood flowing down from her delicate nose with a light hint of bruising around it. A few hundred metres away, Apeiron's legendary-grade uniform was damaged as well, while her face was pale and burn marks covered her bare skin. Compared to Sharon, her injuries seemed much more severe.

The Empress's eyes narrowed as she found that her punch had only left a slight nosebleed behind. It had admittedly been a probing attack, with the focus on speed rather than power, but it wasn't much weaker than a regular full-strength blow. Even a defensive saint would have died to that hit, but it barely left a mark on Sharon's face. Clearly, the mage's body had grown stronger than when she had just awakened, while the spatial explosions had grown massively more powerful.

“How does that taste?” Sharon smiled sweetly.

Apeiron grinned with malice herself, “You crazy bitch, you just blew yourself up to hit me!”

“Eeehh, I wouldn't mind a few more rounds. This means nothing.”

“Oh? Then go ahead, but I won't be so easy to hit next time.”

As if by some tacit agreement, both of them commenced their attacks together. The plains shuddered as solid ice from thousands of years was vapourised by high heat, mushroom clouds started to blot out the sun. Dragons appeared amidst the explosions, some black, some red, and even some fire dragons. Apeiron's figure was constantly blinking from place to place, occasionally making its way to one of the dragons and causing it to shriek and fall from the sky before dissipating into mana.

No matter how many dragons the Empress killed, Sharon always maintained it at a dozen chasing her. These dragons were all powerful, capable of injuring Apeiron if she were struck. At one point she appeared on a random black dragon's back and grabbed it by the horns, but when she tried to twist it with both hands the head only moved a little. Shocked by the resilience that even legendary metal dragons should not have possessed, she exerted all her strength and finally caused the neck to creak. However, she only managed to twist it a quarter turn, but this was still far from the breaking point.

No black dragon had such strength. The Empress realised this was a trap and retreated like lightning, understanding that the dragon wasn't a magical summon. It turned its head towards her and shot out its breath, neck crunching back into the original position with no real signs of damage. Apeiron instantly recognised the power within the breath and screamed, “Tiamat, how dare you try to fight me? Don't think the Five-Coloured Dragon can protect you!”

This was indeed the Prime Evil, disguised as a black dragon to try and get close. She shot out another breath attack and smiled, “My master is the beautiful and unrivalled Sharon!”

Given this momentary distraction, Apeiron barely sensed a portal forming behind her and turned around to see Sharon stepping through, blocking off her retreat. Her expression warped and she charged straight in, brazenly engaging in close combat that caused a number of residual shockwaves and spatial tears that even Tiamat wouldn't dare approach.

*BOOM!* Another explosion rang out with Sharon and Apeiron at the centre, but even as the flames raged the legendary mage shrieked from within and left the space nearby unstable. Tiamat felt a chill down her spine and escaped from range even as Apeiron dashed out within, laughing loudly and retreating into the distance.

Sharon flew out of the fireball as well, clenching both fists and shouting at the disappearing figure, “Didn't you say you wouldn't escape? I'll tear your island apart!”

Apeiron had already disappeared, but her voice still rang out in reply, “Touch my island and I'll kill your little Richard! Hahaha!”

1188 - City of Sin

Disparity

The sky rippled at the border between the Far North and the Sacred Alliance, a pallid Richard stepping through only to come across an orc and two duergar. He didn't even wait for them to speak, growling loudly, “Fuck off, and I'll ignore you.”

A legend himself, the orc brandished his warhammer and brought down a few lightning strikes before snarling, “This is the land of the Frozen Court. Leave now, or you'll be turned into a corpse!”

Richard didn't utter a word, simply brandishing Moonlight and charging. The three faces appeared around him, cursing the two duergar until they dropped to the ground. Seeing the human moving in for close combat, the orc sneered and held his hammer horizontally, waiting for the right moment. From his point of view, a mage had just exhausted all of his mana in an instant and was now attempting to engage in close combat; this was the first time he had encountered such a situation.

However, when they were only ten metres apart, Richard's figure suddenly flickered and disappeared. Blink! The orc hadn't expected this, but he didn't show any signs of panic and just gripped his hammer tightly while looking all over for Richard. Unfortunately, the situation took the worst turn imaginable; Richard appeared right behind him, sword flickering in a dozen strokes.

Surprisingly, the orc actually managed to block all of the attacks. Richard tutted in disappointment; had he finished upgrading his Mana Armament to grade 5, bringing his internal energy to the legendary realm, he would have injured the opponent grievously. Unfortunately, he just didn't have the strength to break through the orc's defences even with Moonlight's aid.

Richard soon blinked to another side and sent another flurry of attacks, but despite some uncoordinated movements the orc managed to block everything once more. However, now he had to take a moment to recover, opening up a perfect opportunity that Richard took to flash behind him and thrust both of his swords towards the lower back.

The orc finally realised that he was facing a true-blue swordsman instead of just a combat mage, but the angle of this last attack was extremely tricky. He yelled in rage and struggled to turn around, using his thigh armour to block the strike.

Richard was stunned for a moment, almost losing control of his blades. Why would someone use their bare flesh to try and block his blade, even if it was an orc? Even someone like Kralkalor couldn't stand a single hit, what more a mere orc?

He suddenly let go of the Judge and allowed it to return to its sheath, putting the freed right hand on Moonlight and adding force to the blow. A loud screech rang out as the twenty-centimetre-wide armour was split open like paper, and the orc watched in shock as his thigh was almost sliced off completely. Roaring in pain, he flew fifty metres away before daring to look down at the damage. The thigh that was thicker than Richard's entire waist was dangling by a finger-sized strand of flesh.

Once saint-level energy was poured in, Moonlight had erupted with terrifying power. If not for the orc's tough body, Richard would have continued with another swing that cut him apart completely. However, the opponent did show great ferocity, ripping off the leg with a single tug and hanging it on his back. Both hands on his hammer, he turned to face Richard and slowly took a few steps back, baring his fierce fangs.

Seeing the orc's stance, Richard gave up all plans of pursuit. It would still take some effort to kill this enemy completely, but his priority right now was to get to Sharon. He couldn't use too much of his mana until then, or he would just be a mute spectator to the showdown. Sheathing Moonlight as well, he blinked north.

...

Richard's next portal crossed a kilometre, but the moment he appeared out of the void he completely froze up. Apeiron was standing less than a metre away, the rumination in her eyes visible through her icy aura. In the absence of any defensive barriers, he was like a lamb that had delivered itself to the slaughter; there would be no way to survive if she wanted him dead. He could already feel the power of chaos welling up within her body, prepared to strike a fatal blow in response to any sudden movement.

He could feel the laws of space around him warp, almost like Norland itself was being distorted by her power. The powers of his truename, his laws, his mana... they all seemed to hide away under his consciousness, leaving him suspended on a cliff and on the verge of dropping down. This was only his second time being confronted by the Empress so directly, but now he realised the gulf between them.

His vision was quickly consumed by the dark purple of Apeiron's eyes, bringing his mind to rumours floating around the Sacred Alliance that this was an indication of being in a murderous mood. It was supposed to be black irises that indicated her being reasonable.

The Empress slowly lifted a hand and touched his neck, gently caressing his throat. Her slender hand was cold as ice, like a snake slithering up his skin. He could feel the softness of her fingers, but that was just a facade; even with dragonscale protection they could easily cut into his throat and destroy him.
𝐟r𝑒ℯ𝘄𝐞𝙗ｎov𝚎𝙡. 𝑐𝘰𝘮

As he remained still, Apeiron eventually reached up and tapped his face a few times, flashing a gentle smile as she leaned forward until her mouth was almost on his ears, “You took so long...”

Before he could understand what she meant by those words, she had disappeared far away. An orc's cry rang out on the horizon as she showed herself once more, holding a large, still-beating heart that she devoured in a few mouthfuls. The purple in her eyes faded quite a bit as she smiled, silhouette flickering a few times to take her towards Faust.

Behind her, the legendary orc was still floating in the sky, struggling to keep himself from falling down. Several guttural groans resounded from his throat as he looked down at the terrifying cavity in his chest, trying to use his hands to cover the wound. However, blood and internal organs started to seep out from the gaps between his fingers, eyes slowly losing focus until he eventually dropped to the ground and dyed the snow red.

Richard quietly floated in the sky, head bent down and not moving a muscle as though he was a statue void of life. A grey dwarf that managed to survive watched him for a long time, and seeing him still plucked up the courage to sneak up behind him and raise his battleaxe to attack.

*Schlick!* The glimmer of a sword blinded the dwarf before freezing him in the sky; mouth opening but to no avail. The duergar slowly lost hold of his axe before falling to the ground with it.

Richard let out a long sigh as he glanced at the clouded sky, feeling just as overcast. He at least knew the disparity now, but still couldn't understand how Apeiron had predicted his teleport. If he managed to figure that out, he wouldn't be far from becoming an epic being himself.

The clouds started rumbling in the distant horizon, Sharon's figure blinking over as well. She was moving in a straight line for Faust, but seeing him floating she changed course to appear right before him in a few blinks. The legendary mage cut a sorry figure from head to toe, traces of burns on her golden hair while her standard blue robes were damaged in a number of places. However, this was nothing new; there was already an annual budget in the Deepblue for fixing them. As they were right now, the robes were barely enough to cover Sharon's body. She looked almost nude, but anyone who dared to look where they shouldn't would be blinded by the radiant light of the Deepblue Aria.

When she saw Richard, Sharon quickly asked, “Why are you here? Did you meet Apeiron?”

“Huh?” he realised that he'd forgotten to dissipate the aura left on his throat, “Ah, yeah, it's nothing. I just didn't expect her to just be there when I teleported so she had the upper hand. She didn't do anything.”

Sharon's eyebrows almost locked into each other, rage filling her eyes, but she suddenly sighed and that anger faded into disappointment, “It would be useless even if you were careful. She's the fastest epic I've ever come across, and her martial arts are the best I've seen too... Try not to provoke her in the future.”

“You lost?” Richard was shocked by her attitude. He had noticed Apeiron's state earlier as well, and that her injuries were even heavier than Sharon's.

The legendary mage flew into a fit of rage, tugging hard at her hair, “How could I possibly lose?! I obviously beat her up so bad that she ran away!”

Hearing this, he heaved a sigh of relief. Faced with an enemy like Apeiron, losing meant death. However, this was a little confusing; why was she so depressed even after winning? Was she just sad that the victory wasn't thorough? But, even in all of Norland, who could guarantee winning against Apeiron without having fought her before?

Unfortunately, Sharon was on the verge of erupting. Tactfully deciding to bury these questions in his mind, he accompanied her back to the Deepblue.

......

Back in Faust, Julian almost crashed into the imperial palace. Immediately stripping off all his clothes, he got his servants to douse him in ice water before drying himself with internal energy and switching to new robes before rushing to Apeiron's chambers. Just as he entered through the door, the Empress fell like a lightning bolt towards the centre of the courtyard.

Seeing how she looked, he rushed over and asked, “Your Majesty, this battle...”

Apeiron ignored him, looking at her own two hands before raising them to the tip of her nose and sniffing hard. She then let out a hearty laugh, “This battle had a marvelous result! Sharon will have nightmares the next time she sees me!”

“Your Majesty... For the sake of pleasure... You truly aren't afraid of trouble.”

“It's getting interest— BLEGH!” she suddenly swayed and almost fell to the floor, her mouth filling with fresh blood.

Julian shuddered as he helped her back up, “Your Majesty... Maybe you should change your target.”

Apeiron forced the blood back down her throat, eyes turning a deep purple as she flashed an insane smile, “No! It's only interesting this way!”

1189 - City of Sin

Hidden Threat

When Sharon returned to the Deepblue, she locked herself into her bedroom and refused to see anyone, not even Richard himself. He wanted to find out why she was so depressed, but with her refusing he was helpless and couldn't afford to squander more time. Packing his travel clothes, he prepared to return to Faelor; Runai's divine kingdom should have fallen, which meant it was time to clean up.

However, he felt a tug on his heart as he walked to the portal, as though his back had been pricked by a needle. This was a sense of hostility that could only have been picked up by Intuition, which meant this threat would have a substantial impact. He slowed his pace and scanned through the surroundings, but outside of the occasional great mage there wasn't anyone significantly powerful nearby. Even with the Field of Truth that at this point could identify anyone even at the legendary realm, there was no response. He quickly dismissed the possibility of an epic being that was bored enough to come up to the Deepblue, which left one prominent option in his mind.

The threat had to be coming from an ordinary mage without hidden powers, and there was only one type of such mage that could form a threat to him: a Scholar! He slowed down further, an invisible domain extending from his body and paralysing the dozen mages in his surroundings. Even as they cried out in shock trying to figure out what happened, he stretched out a hand, “Silence!”

“What are you doing? Let go of—” one mage raised his voice, only to be silenced by magic. The rest immediately shut up and looked at Richard with fear; at this point, it was public knowledge that he was a legendary mage.

Richard looked over the faces of each of the paralysed mages, “One of you is a Scholar. No, no need to be too eager to prove your innocence, the professors will be able to identify who it is.”

“A Scholar of Soremburg?” a young mage asked, “How are you going to deal with them?”

“Soremburg has antagonised me repeatedly; any Scholar found in the Deepblue will be executed immediately.”

The young mage seemed to have more to say, but a chill ran down his spine as he met Richard's gaze and turned silent. Professor Fayr had appeared by this time, and after enquiring about it he had the mages taken away. He hesitated a little, but after meeting Richard's determined gaze and seeing the nod he decided to launch the investigation.

To most mages, the Scholars of Soremburg were scary monsters with the knowledge of ancient spells and an affinity for stealthy and underhanded means that made them fatal. Castle Soremburg was known as a hallowed ground for mages, controlling the famed Mystic's Set that was the pinnacle of all mage rune sets. Richard was a saint runemaster himself, but he still hadn't publicly displayed anything at that level; even a grand mage like Fayr had to be cautious when dealing with the millennia-old behemoth.

Richard hesitated as he watched the mages being taken away, but after a moment he continued to the teleportation gate. Given Sharon's strength, it was impossible for the Scholars to harm her significantly with any simple plot.

......

Once he was back in Faelor, Richard immediately went through a series of portals before arriving at his office in Dragon Valley. He threw himself onto the spacious sofa and covered his eyes with both hands, deep in thought.

At this point, it was clear that even Sharon wouldn't be able to stop Apeiron from killing him if she wanted to. Her frightening speed and unrivalled technique were almost beyond understanding; perhaps Sharon or Philip could suppress her with their sheer might, or Ferlyn could use her laws of time, but he had no such recourse. She clearly didn't seem to have any intent to murder him yet, but he just couldn't forget the deep purple in her eyes.

He spent a long time pondering, simulating more than a thousand battle scenarios, but each one ended in a crushing defeat where he couldn't withstand a single attack. He just had no response to her full might. He eventually grunted and jumped up, grabbing a bottle of wine from his liquor cabinet and breaking the neck off with a finger before swallowing half of it in a single go. Cursing under his breath, he threw the wine bottle into the wall!

Shattered glass rained down on the room, some even striking Richard's face, but he didn't even bat an eyelid. Just the act of destroying something left him feeling a lot better, as though a knot in his chest had disappeared. When the doorbell rang, he didn't even move from his spot, “Come in.”

Olar went stiff after he took a few steps inside, shocked at the sight of the room. He immediately activated his own strength as he looked around for an intruder, but Richard waved him down, “I'm fine, come in.”

“Alright, my Lord,” the elven bard nodded and walked in, activating a map of Faelor and giving a concise summary of recent events.

Runai's divine kingdom had finally collapsed a month before Richard's return, the burning landmass falling into the depths of darkness like a meteor streaking through the sky. Her fall had shaken all of Faelor, drastically changing the attitudes of the pantheon to the three goddesses and, by extension, Richard. Some had grown friendly, but even former enemies now just remained neutral.

On the other hand, Gangdor's forces had finally occupied the eastern coast, wiping out the last of the armies the coastal alliance had cobbled together. He now controlled over a dozen dukedoms and one kingdom that had been resisting strongly, the royal lines all eliminated. He was now probing Walvis Bay, trying to look across the Stormfront Ocean that had no recorded crossing till date.

The Stormfront Ocean was said to be an endless expanse forbidden even to the deities, with even divine avatars not daring to pass through. However, Gangdor was just the type of person that such a description roused into action. The brute had thought of many plans while Richard wasn't around, even getting into contact with the broodmother to see if she could create giant sea creatures that could traverse the ocean.

“Right, he also wanted to give you this letter,” Olar said as he handed over a sheet of paper, almost shuddering as Richard skimmed through.

As he'd expected, Richard snorted blue fire. Gangdor had dared to ask for a few high elven warships, hoping to couple that with the broodmother's creations to form a combined fleet that would attempt to cross the ocean. If the risks were too great, he had a plan B where he would lead the fleet southwards and vanquish anyone who refused to pledge their allegiance. In his final line, he stated pompously, “Whoever rules the ocean, rules the world!”

“Did you read through this letter?” Richard asked, eye twitching as he stared at the paper in his hand.

“Yes, my Lord.”

“And you still passed it to me.”

“I had no choice! That shiny head bastard said he'd beat me up if I didn't give it to you!”

Richard helplessly shook his head, a blue flame burning the paper to ashes. The warships of the high elves came from when they still ruled all of Norland, each one a colossal construct spanning 1,300 metres. They possessed unfathomable strength, a pinnacle of magical civilisation that were no less complicated than saint runes. Only seven had been built in three hundred years, but they allowed for a stranglehold on all naval activity that managed to kill nineteen legendary creatures before discovering Lithgalen itself. The warriors of the fleet had wiped out all of the natives and turned the continent into an administrative location. The war that had burned down all of the locals was what gave the continent its Norlandic name: the Ashgreen Continent.

When they met their steep decline, the most powerful elves of Norland had retreated to Lithgalen and sealed themselves off with the help of their warships, using their naval superiority to preserve their lives. Almost a thousand years had passed and seven had been whittled down to three, but they hadn't been able to build another yet. And Gangdor wanted him to source a few and somehow transport them to Faelor!

Even ignoring the outrageous request for the elven warships, the sea drones were a problem as well. After a quick consultation with the broodmother, Richard had to stop himself from teleporting over and beating some sense into the brute. The requirements had been extremely high, asinine even; even the broodmother herself would only meet them when she was level 13, forget her drones!

1190 - City of Sin

Cleaning Up

Richard quickly tossed Gangdor's fanciful dreams aside, trying to throw the request out of his mind and turning back to Olar, “How is everything?”

“Running smoothly as ever. Our lands are flourishing, and Salwyn consolidated his position in the Iron Triangle Empire so he's now focused on rebuilding their army. His initial plan is to set up four main regiments as well as a battalion of knights.”

“Any possibility of betrayal?”

“No, he's experienced our might and is a smart man; he knows that there's no way to oppose us. He also understands that we want the same thing as him, a prosperous Faelor.”

“Alright, what about the rest?”

“The barbarian plains are almost completely under our control; the enemies have retreated to what they call the Genesis, but we haven't given chase yet. We have enough troops stationed to defend the city As for Forgefires, Bamor has managed to take control of most of the dwarven colonies and is continuing to supply us with ore; there are no signs of rebellion on that front.”

The bard's hand circled around to the south of the map, “Many of the human countries have sent people to swear fealty to us, while the bigger ones are requesting alliances. Considering the treaties, they're vassals too, in all but name.”

Almost a third of Faelor's map was now covered in dark red, areas including the Iron Triangle Empire that the Crimson Dukedom directly controlled. All along the perimeter were swathes of lighter red, indicating independent countries that were allies or had sworn fealty. Most of the blank areas were barren lands unsuitable for life, while some belonged to countries south of the Crimson Dukedom's southern allies that Richard hadn't yet conquered.

“What about the Dragon Plane?” Richard asked.

“Here's the information on it,” Olar handed him a document, “Our clients have killed or captured a total of at least 532 dragons, but that's only the number that were transported back. The actual number is likely half a fold higher.”

“Hmm... They should be running out... Give me a moment,” he said and switched to mental communication, “Broodmother?”

“Yes, Master?” the response came immediately.

“How many battle elites do you have ready?”

“500 winter soldiers and 300 arrowbeasts.”

“Send them all to Dragon Valley, and have the astral chrysalis bring a hundred rune knights from Bluewater.”

With that completed, he returned to Olar and pointed at the sea, “Tell Gangdor not to have any ideas on the seas. He can try to find a route linking to the south, but before that he needs to conquer the entire eastern coast. He has a year to do this.”

He then circled the south, including the vast region between the Crimson Dukedom and the sea, “This is for you. You'll have a year yourself.”

The elven bard looked at the huge area that was almost 10 million square kilometres, his face sinking, “My Lord, this is too much! It's hard to even travel there, and they're supposed to have a number of gods. One year isn't enough!”

“One. Year,” Richard wagged a single finger, showing that there was no room for negotiation. However, he continued to console the bard, “I'm giving you the troops to do it. Choose a hundred thousand soldiers from the Crimson Army, and get some soldiers from Salwyn and our other vassals. In total, you need to get to about 300,000.”

“My Lord? Wars can't be won with just numbers; you've always showed this yourself. The weaker troops are just dead weight, they'll put a huge amount of pressure on my supply chain. A year wouldn't be enough to even make a single round around the place. Give me more drones, they work so much better!”

Richard laughed, “Numbers can still be useful sometimes. Nobody knows whether you're taking a top tier army or the reserve forces until they battle you; they'll take their chances if the numbers are near equal, but if you take 300,000 then not many will still have those guts. You'll need to leave a large number behind at every territory you take over anyway.

“As for the broodmother, I'll ask her to prep them for you. What do you want, shadowspears?”

“Hmm, not too many of those; 500 should be enough. I'd prefer the regular humanoid knights, at least 3,000 of them. I also want 20 wasps and a thousand workers, as well as three cloned brains. The brains will be essential.”

Richard smiled at the bard's comprehensive request. This was something the rest of his followers didn't possess; Gangdor would have just asked for a few thousand shadowspears and maybe a few cloned brains, but Olar was looking for a more complete army. He nodded, “I'll send Waterflower with you, but keep an eye on the churches. If any of them are acting up, feel free to start a war. Once the three goddesses are done with the aftermath of Runai, I'll have them head south to join you.

“Oh right, take these as well. If you find any demigods or divine avatars, feel free to use them,” he handed over a magic-sealing box which Olar opened immediately.

“Feeding worms!” the bard gasped as he saw the twenty eggs inside, taking a deep breath to calm himself. Richard's followers always had a regularly updated list of the broodmother's drones to make mobilisations easier, and this type was making the waves lately.

“Mature feeding worms,” Richard clarified, “There's enough to deal with a greater god's avatar, you should be fine.”

Olar shut the box carefully, still feeling a little uneasy. These worms were vicious creatures that could eat divine bodies; even though they weren't interested in mortals, they were still frightening to carry around.

Finally, Richard pointed at Dragon Valley, “Inform all the rune knights to make their preparations; we'll be attacking the Dragon Plane in ten days. Go check with everyone in the valley who's a saint or higher too, see if any of them want to help clean up.”

......

Once Olar left, Richard informed his followers to prepare for battle before shutting himself in his laboratory for ten days. He spent the entire period processing materials for Midren.

By this time, the battle elite versions of the winter soldiers and arrowbeasts had arrived at Dragon Valley, the rune knights all gathered up. More than half of the saints around were willing to join the expedition, as was a legendary warrior.

Once all the winter soldiers and arrowbeasts entered the valley, even those who weren't going to participate in the expedition put aside their work to come look. Each one of these drones had a terrifying aura, so much so that even the saints in the audience looked on with fear. Both the winter soldiers and arrowbeasts were almost saints, and three of the former could easily defeat a saint. With two arrowbeasts added on, most saints wouldn't even be able to escape. But the power wasn't the most frightening part; that came to the numbers, uniform appearance, and absolute synchronisation. While the 50 saints gathered for this expedition were a powerful force even considering Norland's standards, the 800 drones could kill them two times over without even considering the 300 rune knights already waiting at the portal!

If Nasia and Richard had displayed their individual combat ability before, Richard was now showing his true prowess as a lord.

A large man who was almost three metres tall flew over and landed in front of Richard, looking at the winter soldiers and arrowbeasts with a calm gaze, “Your Excellency, when do we depart?”

“Right now.”

“Good, I'll be the first one in!” The warrior plucked his two-metre tall shield from his back and swung it once, the action sending a breeze through the valley. This man was Tannan, a level 22 warrior who focused on strength and defence. He was extremely powerful in melee combat, capable of fighting dragons with his bare fists. Just like Richard's own forces here, there was bound to be a defensive barricade on the other end; defensive legends were the best kind of person to go through first.

Tannan quickly disappeared into the portal, and Richard followed behind with Nasia in tow. Just before they stepped into the gate, he turned around, “Anything sacrifice-worthy in this trip is yours, that should be enough to get you to the legendary realm.”

Nasia was stunned for a moment, “Huh, you're not guarding against me anymore? You'll never be able to beat me if I become a legend; you can't even do that now.”

He smiled, “Well, let's just say I've decided to stop caring about that.”

Richard didn't explain anything further, directly walking into the portal. Nasia just shrugged and muttered to herself before following, “He's going crazy again. Whatever, it's not a bad thing.”

1191 - City of Sin

Cleaning Up(2)

When Richard walked out of the other end of the passage, he immediately heard a thunderous roar. Shield in hand, Tannan was fighting five dragons in the sky. He was definitely at a disadvantage, but the legendary shield managed to deflect the claw swipes and breath attacks handily; it would take a long time for him to start getting hurt.

There had been a total of seven dragons guarding the passage, but now only had to deal with two. He flashed onto the back of one that was heading for the legendary warrior, cutting into its wings easily. The wound from the Judge dried up rapidly as the blade absorbed the essence of the blood and flesh, causing the creature to howl in pain as it fell from the skies.

It was at this point that Nasia walked out the portal and reinforced him with King of War. The skies within a kilometre shuddered as energy surged forth into a spiral with him at the centre, distracting even Tannan and the other dragons for a moment. Even the powerful legendary warrior was filled with fear as Richard's aura pulsed crazily, his body a bottomless black hole that devoured the energy from its surroundings. The very space nearby started to shudder, and as he felt a faint sense of suppression Tannan realised that the mage had reached level 23 at minimum.
ƒr𝒆𝑒𝔀e𝒃𝚗𝒐𝘃𝐞𝑙. c𝗼m

Once in the legendary realm, every level was difficult to cross. Nasia's spell had almost seemed like a light show, but it had given Richard a full two levels! Even as a temporary boost, this was an amazing ability that Tannan had never heard of before.

Richard himself was shocked by the energy surging through him, but his attention was quickly pulled to the direct boost to everything. His legendary ability, strength, speed, toughness, mana... everything had been buffed far beyond just going up two levels. He almost forgot about the other dragon next to him, but fortunately the creature was just as shocked and forgotten to attack. By the time it managed to react, he had collected himself and the face that was a combination of devil and angel appeared in front of him, “Heavy.”

The dragon suddenly felt like it had grown ten times heavier, wings no longer able to sustain its flight. It yelped and plunged into the ground, forming a huge crater that sprayed rocks and dirt everywhere. Its body was extremely tough, but after spending enormous effort to get up and move, all it heard was an excited roar. An enormous figure rushed out of the portal, the earth shaking as it rushed towards the fallen lizard.

The huge dragon that was thirty metres from head to tail was pushed over, the being that had just rammed into it taking a few shaky steps backwards. Still dizzy, it vaguely saw the silhouette of a two-headed ogre and almost screamed in fear.

Dragons normally didn't fear ogre warlords, even considering them good prey, but that was with the condition that they could fly. On the ground, the strength of an ogre lord was a huge threat.

The dragon saw the ogre rushing it once more, but this time its attention was drawn more to the dazzling green armour than the huge warhammer. Unable to dodge, it clumsily lifted a paw to try and block the attack, but the hammer cracked the claws apart like they were glass. The whole impact crushed the entire paw in.

Deafening howls of pain rang throughout the battlefield, the dragon glaring at Tiramisu and screaming in surprise, “You have the blood of a valley lord!”

Ogres were rumoured to have descended from valley giants, an extremely powerful race of beings most of whom were taller than twenty metres. Valley giants could throw multiple tonnes of stone kilometres into the sky, making them a perennial nemesis of dragons, but once they evolved they stood a chance to become even more powerful. A valley lord was a terrifying being that stood almost a hundred metres tall, one punch capable of annihilating legendary dragons.

Tiramisu was still within bounds for an ogre, but his strength was unbelievable. A single hit from him could cave a metallic dragons paw in; even ten normal ogre lords couldn't accomplish that. The ogre himself was confused by the frightened statement, not knowing whether it was true. He found himself sleeping and eating more and more recently, but that was normal for any ogre. As for his strength, he was originally quite strong and Medium Rare's power now resided in him as well. On top of that, he reinforced himself with Mana Armament, his legendary armour, and War Fanatic. It would be strange if he couldn't smash a mere dragon's paw in.

The ogre wasn't about to waste time talking. Swinging his hammer hard, he repeatedly smashed the dragon until it couldn't get up anymore. Afterwards, he didn't even bother to check if it was alive as he ran towards another dragon with an injured wing. He knew that time was of the essence; once those vicious fellows came, he wouldn't have a chance to battle anymore.

The portal suddenly flashed and two silhouettes shot out from within, overtaking Tiramisu instantly and pouncing on the injured dragon. Medium Rare immediately cursed at the two before looking at the sky, “Boss, send a few more down here! These guys are being shameless”

Size and weight gave the ogre unparalleled strength and defence, but they also came with their own cons. Until he became a legend, flying would only be a dream. His best attempt at flight spells could only suspend him in the sky or let him jump really high; they wouldn't work for battle.

Up in the sky, Richard flew towards Tannan's battle and showcased the devilish face once more, “Heavy.”

“Heavy.”

“Heavy.”

Three dragons howled and fell down, suffering even worse injuries than the first one. One wind dragon couldn't even get up, while the others barely managed to crawl.

“Divine tongue!” Tannan yelped, pulling Richard's surprised attention. The warrior who looked to be all brawn and no brain clearly knew quite a bit.

Divine tongue was an ancient, mysterious, and powerful language that could replace spell incantations. Humans couldn't actually understand it, but they could understand its meaning naturally. Spells casted in this language were simple yet powerful, as though being controlled by the gods themselves. That was the origin of the name.

While divine tongue was powerful, unlike regular magic it was driven purely by the power of laws. Only legendary mages with a significant amount of talent could have control of it, and with his level boost Richard had just qualified. He had also become able to summon only one of the three faces of the Apocalyptic Triad at level 23, allowing him much better upkeep against weaker opponents. The three faces also had separate arsenals of divine spells.

After dropping three dragons to the ground, the elegant face disappeared and was replaced by the demon, eyes burning like lava as it stared at one of the dragons still up above and bellowing, “Burn!”

Translucent flames quickly covered the creature's body from out of nowhere, and no matter how hard it tried they could not be extinguished. The metallic dragon's scales stiffened before twisting and finally melting, the dragon itself writhing in pain and even trying to use its own breath attack to extinguish the disaster that had befallen it. However, the demon added more flames wherever it looked, eventually dropping it to the ground.

Tannan only realised once the face disappeared that he was drenched in sweat. Seeing Richard's gaze move towards the last dragon, he shouted in a hurry, “That's mine!”

Richard smiled, leaving the warrior to it as he flew towards the portal.

1192 - City of Sin

Cleaning Up(3)

A chain of light flew out from Richard's hands, connecting to the planar portal, which in turn rumbled and emitting powerful light as it slowly grew wider alongside its frame. By the time he was done, the passage was now double the width; it took quite a bit of his divine grace with the Eternal Dragon, but transporting things would now be much cheaper.

The first batch to come through the modified portal were Richard's remaining followers and the rest of the Archeron saints, followed by thirty other saints who had volunteered their participation. Behind them were powerful members of the clergy and combat mages, and then his rune knights, winter soldiers, and arrowbeasts. The army stunned all of the participants into silence.

Up in the sky, Tannan was still engaged in battle with his opponent. It would have been easy for him to just destroy the dragon, but needing some of its internals intact he had to be careful with his power, which drew out the battle.

However, there were a total of six dragons on the ground, all of their movements extremely sluggish! Phaser and Zangru were even berating a few who could crawl while herding them together. Tiramisu had gotten a huge chain out from somewhere and was tying a dragon up, a bound one already by his side wiggling its fastened wings in despair. Another metallic dragon nearby was completely motionless, evidently dead.

These powerful warriors all knew that Tannan had been the first one to enter the portal, but very little time had passed before they had come through themselves. It should have been impossible for him to defeat six dragons in this time; even considering how time could mess up when travelling between planes, there was no way to explain this.

The mindsets of many saints changed in an instant, going from self-preservation to reckless abandon. They had to charge right away, or the large formation of soldiers behind them would leave no room for glory. Seeing their expressions, Richard smiled faintly before organising everyone.

More than half of the saints involved were assigned to scouting duties, fanning out for a hundred kilometres around the core army to locate the dragons. They were explicitly ordered not to fight if they came across any danger; they were to either lead the threat back to the main group of rune knights and battle elite drones, or return themselves in case it was a significant force. Richard made the purpose of this expedition clear: they weren't here to hunt, but to fight a war.

While the rune knights entered square formation and started advancing inwards, Tannan was still struggling with his target. Capturing a creature alive or preserving some of their body was much more difficult than just killing them quickly, but given his status as a legendary being no one dared step forward rashly to offer assistance. Richard didn't bother himself either, directing his troops to set off.
ƒr𝒆𝑒𝔀e𝒃𝚗𝒐𝘃𝐞𝑙. c𝗼m

Dozens of saints flew out in all directions, rushing towards the depths of the Dragon Plane. Richard floated a hundred metres above ground, advancing with the rest of his forces while Nasia fiddled with her dagger beside him. Watching the sharp blade dance around her ten fingers, he asked casually, “You added something to King of War, didn't you.”

Nasia shrugged, “Good observation. It would only be the level boost normally, but given how you're transferring the offerings to me I wanted you to enjoy a real upgrade.”

“Thank you,” he nodded.

“Don't thank me. Aren't you afraid that it'll destabilise your foundation and stunt future development?”

“Heh, maybe for someone else.”

“Ugh... It seems like you have a lot of secrets.”

Richard sighed at that statement, “Not nearly enough.”

The blessing of truth allowed him to bring out the best of any ability, and his blessing of wisdom allowed him to analyse everything he had. The concept of unstable foundations didn't really apply to him in the same way as to others; the only reason he'd held himself back before sainthood and the legendary realm was to improve the abilities he gained. As long as there was enough time, he could gain full control of anything he had access to; there was no need to worry about not understanding something completely.

Even now, he had already recorded all of the divine spells he'd used in his mind; after some time, they would be analysed completely. Even without the Apocalyptic Triad activated, he would soon be able to use the spells themselves. At one point, he could even try to learn the entirety of the language of power. Unfortunately, that would take an inordinate amount of time; this was an advanced law even more powerful than the Godnest in the Resting Orchid Plane.

At the same time, he had also remembered all of the boosts he had obtained from King of War; one of his minds was already focused on analysing them. When the time came, he only had to get to level 22 in terms of mana. Just like with the flame potion, this temporary boost had given him a clear path to take for future development.

“Hey, don't get distracted now!” Nasia interrupted his train of thought, “We have a battle to fight!”

“A battle?” Richard snapped out of his ruminations and looked around, finding nothing nearby.

She pointed off into the distance, “That direction, there are a dozen dragons there.”

Richard followed her direction, but he couldn't see even a glimpse of a dragon nearby. However, he still had his troops turn around and had them advance in that direction. It took 200 kilometres before they came across a very tall mountain, a number of nests constructed at its various peaks with a few dragons flying around.

Seeing the army approach, the dragons immediately bellowed and called their kin out from the caves. It wasn't long before a dozen of them were looming in the sky, roaring threateningly. Watching the mountain peak, Richard leaned towards Nasia and asked, “Are these the dragons you saw?”

“Why, are the numbers wrong?”

He smiled bitterly, “No, the numbers are right, but what about the distance? How did you see them from 200 kilometres away?”

“Not your business. Let me be clear; the eggs are mine, and all the other treasure is for you.”

He shook his head begrudgingly, waving his hands to have the troops advance. However, Tannan and the other saints didn't wait for any assistance from the rune knights, surging right into the midst of the group and engaging in battle. The saints especially seemed to have been drugged, ignoring all but the most dangerous attacks as they tried to kill.

Once Richard's followers joined the battle, dragons started falling from the sky one by one. Tiramisu was filled with excitement at first, but the ogre warlord was soon disappointed as he realised that the dragons who fell were covered in injuries and not far from death; there was no need for him to do anything.

Still in the sky, Richard watched the situation silently. It seemed like he wouldn't need to get involved in this battle at all.

1193 - City of Sin

Crushed Gold

Less than an hour later, most of the dragons had died in battle while a handful were captured. The saints retreated to rest and heal from their wounds while Richard's followers led the rune knights up into the nests, scooping up the spoils of war. Almost all of the saints were injured to some extent, two in immense pain as a handful of priests treated them. However, even they were beaming with joy and would rather wear out some vitality by getting healed instead of resting to recuperate naturally.

Richard's troops looted all of the nests in quick succession, gaining a lot more than just a few dozen dragons. Even with him taking most of the spoils, every saint got a third of a full dragon's worth; on the other hand, most of them couldn't even hunt alone in the Dragon Plane yet! With his transparency in splitting up the loot, even the people suspecting him of being unjust had no leg to stand on.

The rune knights found about a dozen eggs and two hatchlings, while the material wealth piled up into a small hill. It could all be sold for astronomical prices in Norland; outside of high-energy crystals, there was a large amount of metal ore as well. The material was shiny and translucent, to the point that Richard didn't think it had the same properties as normal ore, but Nasia calmly confirmed that it had just absorbed too much energy. It was still metallic in origin, but it could be used to create legendary equipment.

Richard himself had two divine swords, but he definitely wasn't at the stage yet where legendary items were commodities. This would certainly boost morale greatly, but Nasia had treated it as no big deal. However, before he could complain, Nasia pointed in another direction, “Twenty.”

This time, he was smart enough not to ask how she had been able to see so far, instead taking the lead and having the army advance in the direction she had pointed out. 200 more kilometres and a huge harvest later, she “saw” thirty more.

......

Ten days passed by in a flash, and Richard had basically circled once around the portal and wiped out all of the dragons within 300 kilometres. The battle elite winter soldiers found no use in this time, having become porters carrying the killed dragons. He'd even been forced to send two shipments to Faelor already, lest his remaining soldiers suffer the same fate.

After many days of intense battle, the saints were finally fatigued. Even Tannan had dark circles around his eyes, despite the general air of excitement all around. Richard decided to withdraw back to the portal, consolidating his profits before returning another day. For the time being, he had managed to clear up the surroundings of the portal and could build a base.

However, they weren't far into their retreat before Nasia stopped and said seriously, “A top-tier offering's here.”

“A top-tier offering?” Richard could not understand what she meant.

“An old friend of yours, Crackler or whatever. The dragon that dreamt of destroying Faelor.”

“Kralkalor? How far away?” Richard immediately turned serious. Kralkalor was level 25, possessing power second only to Tiamat and Bahamut. Even with his current abilities, he wouldn't be confident in taking that fight unless he was boosted with the special King of War. The gold dragon's destructive capabilities were just far too great. Thankfully, Nasia could see far into the distance and had warned him in time.

However, the aforementioned paladin quickly broke that notion, “Fifty kilometres away, and it's moving over at full speed.”

“Fifty?! Why didn't you mention earlier?” he raged. It seemed like a large distance, but dragons flew quickly as well. He promptly sent out orders for all participating saints to enter defensive formation, making it clear that they had to listen to every command. These saints were considered powerhouses in most circumstances, but they were fragile in front of the gold dragon who could kill a number of them with a single breath attack. Crazy attack tactics just wouldn't work.

“No need to be nervous,” Nasia remained calm as ever, “It's not like we can't win.”

“But I don't want my people dead!” Richard grumbled, reorganising his troops. Some of the saints couldn't understand his orders at first, but he gave up all pretense of respect and just dragged those to their spots so the formation would be set up in time.

Not long after, a mass of black appeared on the horizon. Dragons were zooming towards them like lightning, but the full number was much more than Richard had anticipated. Nasia suddenly spoke up from beside him, “Right, I forgot to say. The dragon also brought a hundred others.”

“WHAT?” Richard wanted to scream at her, but instead of arguing he just yelled, “KING OF WAR!”

A golden pillar descended on his body, his aura pulsing stronger and stronger until he was level 23.

The dragons flew very quickly, arriving in only a few minutes with Kralkalor at the lead. The gold dragon had seen Richard from far away, dark red clouding its eyes as it swooped towards him. Tannan grunted and swung his shield out to block the charge, but after a loud clash he was pushed a dozen metres away but a swat of one paw. He took a deep breath and let out another warcry, green light covering him as he grew larger and charged back in, but this time Kralkalor slammed into him with a tail and sent him flying away. The warrior immediately coughed up blood, staring in shock.

However, a clear and pleasant voice suddenly rang by his ear, “Life.”

A tremendous amount of life force surged into Tannan's body, healing most of his injuries instantly and beginning work on the rest. He was both shocked and delighted by the recovery; this was equivalent to a full-power healing spell from a grand priest, but it hadn't drawn upon much of his own life force. Glancing in Richard's direction, he saw an angelic face focused on him opening its lips once more, “Protection.”

The life force surrounding him immediately solidified into three solid white barriers, revolving around him and prepared to take on any strike. Immediately feeling the boost to his defences, Tannan regained his confidence and smiled when Richard told him to stop Kralkalor, “Leave it to me!”

The furious dragon slammed down with his claws, thinking he could send Tannan flying once more, but this time the warrior only slid a few metres backwards before bursting into laughter and rushing forward once more.

“Nasia, stop Kralk!” Richard exclaimed as he looked to the back, but at some point she had run off to get behind a different dragon. Using its tail to flip onto its back, she sped up to its neck before stabbing her twin blades in all the way up to the hilt. The creature's eyes went wide and it roared in pain before collapsing.

Nasia plucked out both blades, extracting a shiny crystal in the process before turning towards Richard. The eyebrows on her mask went up as she pointed to herself and then at Kralkalor before asking with disbelief, “You want a mere saint to go against a legendary dragon?”

For a single moment, Richard was at a loss for words. Her question seemed to make sense; most saints couldn't take on a single blow from the gold dragon, and taking it on in battle would be a death wish. But this one wasn't most saints, was she? She was the only one he had ever met that he couldn't defeat at an equal or lower level!

“Fire!” With no other choice, he could only resort to the demonic face and watch as the dragon's right wing caught fire. However, Kralkalor's defences were far greater than those of ordinary dragons and it took almost a minute for the scales to begin distorting. He roared in pain and moved to pounce on Richard, but Tannan managed to stop him once more.

Thankfully, a disgruntled Nasia eventually blinked onto the dragon's lower back, aiming her blades at the scales that had been softened by the flames. She cut away with no remorse, sending flesh, blood, and scales flying in all directions. Kralkalor flapped hard to send her flying away, but this only tore at his injuries and spawned another roar of pain.

It was at this point that the remaining saints rose into the skies, beginning their battle against the dragons Kralkalor had brought with him. Half of them listened to Richard's orders and fought within the range he marked out, but the other half did as they liked and flashed towards the dragons they found easiest to deal with. In this process, some of them left the throwing range of the rune knights.

Multiple miserable cries suddenly rang through the skies as a number of saints were knocked off-course. Before they knew what had happened, two of them were surrounded by multiple dragons and torn to shreds in an instant.

1194 - City of Sin

Crushed Gold(2)

With two of their number being wiped out in mere moments, the volunteer saints all paled. They hadn't expected the dragons to be capable of using tactics and traps, always having considered them to be intelligent beasts and hunting targets. However, these dragons were proper soldiers under Kralkalor that had the organisation of a human legion; those who didn't listen to commands thus paid the price.

It was only then that many of the saints remembered that Richard had marked a region for them to stay within. Turning back, they found the area filled with the radiance of magic, javelins shooting straight up into the sky. A handful of dragons ignored the tiny polearms and tried to swat them away with their claws, but this immediately left them with cause for regret. Many were pierced straight through, while others were still injured by the residual explosions. The most unfortunate ones were even ganged up on by a dozen rune knights, turned into pincushions before they fell from the sky.

Each stationary saint had been supported by three to five rune knights who stuck to their side, acting like a mobile fortress that forced the dragons to split apart and lose their cohesion. Outside of Richard's followers, only a single sky saint was moving freely.

It was only at this point that the rest understood what was going on, quickly retreating to their designated positions. However, many of them were caught and killed by the dragons en route; in less than a minute, ten saints were dead.

Richard had a frown plastered across his face as he shuttled through the battlefield like lightning, the divine chant all around him dropping dragon after dragon from the sky. The winter soldiers below were already positioned to surround the targets, their heavy weapons hacking into flesh with ease. Tiramisu was having the time of his life, growling in pleasure as he ran around and tore them down one by one.

Up in the sky, Kralkalor, Tannan, and Nasia were engaged in battle. The gold dragon roared in threat while unleashing a barrage of attacks, but the legendary warrior managed to hold his own and keep the damage to a minimum. In the meanwhile, Nasia was like a phantom as she appeared on random spots around the dragon's body, stabbing in deep before disappearing once more.
ƒ𝚛e𝘦𝙬𝗲𝒃𝓷𝒐𝘃𝘦𝑙. 𝒄o𝓂

The battle seemed to be in a deadlock, but Kralkalor's swipes and breath attacks were slowly growing more and more violent. From the looks of it, it wouldn't be long before it managed to hit Nasia or slow Tannan's movements. Seeing the situation devolve, Richard suddenly stopped in his tracks and stared the gold dragon in the eye, his own turning into little slits as he muttered in divine tongue, “Chaos.”

Kralkalor suddenly felt like he had been caught in a massive net, movements slowed down even as a number of spikes threatened to pull him apart in all directions. Every one of his movements was immediately thrown off, even the simplest of claw strikes starting to fail while his flight was growing unstable as well. He growled in wrath and burst forth with power, shattering the forcefield around him, but the spell still didn't dissipate and returned with vigour. It would take some time before he could wear it out completely.

While the dragon continued to struggle, Richard took the chance to send the most important command. 300 silent arrowbeasts all raised their heads at once, the glow of divine force intensifying in their eyes as they shot their bolts right towards Kralkalor. The gold dragon quickly noticed the divine flames covering these arrows and turned around to flee, completely ignoring Nasia who took the chance to start tearing into his back.

All 300 arrows adjusted direction uniformly, chasing after the fleeing dragon. In the meanwhile, the arrowbeasts fired another full volley that burnt the exact same way, both sets soon catching up with Kralkalor before stabbing into its body. A rain of crimson immediately covered the battlefield, and even with the dragon's struggles the second volley brought him to the ground.

Richard quickly blinked up to Kralkalor's nape, driving both of his swords so deep that their hilts dug into the dragon's flesh. The very next instant, he withdrew and blinked several hundred metres away to avoid the desperate final attack. Watching the opponent fall to the ground, he turned to Nasia who appeared right next to him, “This is the end.”

“Hey, you stole that from me!” the paladin complained, “That's so wrong!”

“I'm afraid there might be an unexpected surprise.”

“Huh? What can go wrong with me here?”

“Didn't someone just fail to tell us about the number of dragons a while ago?” He looked over her once before charging back into the battlefield, using his spells and swords to send the remaining dragons towards Tiramisu and the winter soldiers.

Left in mid-air, Nasia shrugged and muttered to herself, “So what? It wasn't you guys who died anyway, isn't it better for more of them to die?”

The battle had finally come to an end, a hundred dragons killed or captured while only a dozen managed to escape. Richard had lost twelve saints and five rune knights, of which two of the saints were attached to the Archeron Family. The casualties also included over 60 winter soldiers, a great loss that couldn't be recovered until he conquered another divine kingdom. The arrowbeasts were unharmed, but every one could only launch three divine force arrows and now they were left with one. They were almost reduced to the normal version. Of course, getting a powerful legendary metallic dragon with two volleys was a fair trade. He had only planned to get three legends in total anyway.

In the distance, Kralkalor's carcass that was splayed across the ground had left a deep gutter in its wake. Despite no signs of life, the body itself still looked majestic and powerful.

“Your offering,” Richard pointed to the corpse.

“I know,” Nasia answered.

......

Once they were back in Faelor, all of the surviving saints were left in a mix of sadness and excitement. Many of their friends had lost their lives in this expedition, but there were also great rewards for the survivors. With the last set, each one of them earned a full dragon's worth of treasure, a value far greater than a single greater offering that would have taken them years under normal circumstances.

The once fearsome Kralkalor had become a dragon crystal in Nasia's pocket, as had a hundred others that made for a full half of the total number of dragons killed. Every single one was an offering of some grade, and that belonging to the gold dragon was certainly top-tier. However, Nasia had said that all this was barely enough to get her to the legendary realm. Richard had been dumbfounded by this and asked why, but now he wished he hadn't made that mistake.

According to Nasia, since he already possessed two divine weapons, she deserved a full array of equivalent equipment once she advanced. That was what she planned to use the remaining divine grace for; to upgrade all of her current equipment from head to toe. He truly had nothing to say to that attitude, nor could he complain. If he were offering them to the dragon, he certainly wouldn't get nearly as much out of them.

Thankfully, she only needed the crystals and left the remaining materials to him. They were also worth just as much if ont more, the materials from them enough to arm around 500 rune knights. A handful of mages were already scurrying back and forth under the protection of knights, while more were rushing over from Norland every day.

Richard's base had quickly grown to a majestic scale, the entire area below the workshops carved with a spell formation that could greatly boost one's mana and regeneration. At more than ten million gold the cost of the finished base was comparable to a mage tower and needed three months of effort from hundreds of mages, but once the construction was complete one would only need a single legendary mage manning it. He had already talked to a pair of legendary mages and was offering them a greater offering every three months and full access to any spoils of war in exchange for manning the place on rotation, so once everything was done even the Five-Coloured Dragon wouldn't be able to conquer the place without an investment of time and effort.

Everything seemed to be on track, Faelor's destiny set. Richard returned to his room and opened up his map to observe the beautiful plane quietly, taking out the doomsday imprint and starting to play with it out of habit. Every time he saw the everchanging machinery within, it reminded him that he was on a timer and all of this could be gone very soon.

The map indicated that everything was in place. There were still some territories he hadn't conquered, but those were just minor lands with nothing worth taking. The true unknown was the city deep within the barbarian plains, a place that loosely translated to the Genesis. It was a total blank to all of Faelor, with the barbarians themselves unsure of its contents while the rest of the plane had no records of it at all. No one had ever returned after entering the place, so the name itself was just a vague interpretation.

As he stared at the location of the Genesis on the map, Richard suddenly felt a trembling deep within. A strong, steady heartbeat rang out in his mind.

The heartbeat felt ancient, primordial even, every pulse transcending the myriad planes. It felt exactly like what he had heard up in Runai's divine kingdom, but it was much clearer and was starting to pull his mind towards it. However, it disappeared as quickly as it had come, leaving him doubting his ears for a moment. It wasn't long before he realised that he truly hadn't heard anything, but he felt an immense weight settling on his shoulders.

This was Intuition being activated once more, giving him an extremely vague premonition that there was something significant in the Genesis that could affect his future.

1195 - City of Sin

A Barren Land

Richard's eyes remained locked onto the map for a very long time. The Genesis was the sacred grounds of the barbarians, a forbidden region full of mystery. However, there were hundreds of such places in Faelor that his followers had investigated before, only turning out to be legends born of rumours and hearsay that contained no value. Even with the strange circumstances of the barbarians, he hadn't been left with much interest in this area once he had found nothing in the plains which were larger than even the Iron Triangle Empire.

The barbarian plains were so barren it was quite shocking; one couldn't even find any decent ore anywhere, nor were there any rare species of flora or fauna. Even abandoned planes normally had more resources than that. Given those circumstances, he was already preparing to pull his followers out and have them work on the other resource-rich planes like Goldflow Valley or the Boulder Highlands.

Richard hesitated for quite a while, but eventually he furrowed his brows tight and made the decision, “Let's end this quickly.”

He immediately contacted the broodmother, “I need the astral chrysalis at Dragon Valley right now; also get ten messengers and wasps. Have the cloned brains fan out and build a passage straight towards the Genesis, I want every battle elite at the barbarian plains right away.”

“Is there something important there, Master?” the broodmother asked as she made the arrangements.

“I'm not sure, but I feel like it'll be big.”

“Hmm... then I'm coming too.”

“Huh? What for?”

“I have been feeling a vague draw from the area as well. I don't know what it is, whether it's good or bad, but it feels like the drones won't be able to handle it themselves. I'll have to go personally.”

Richard's eyebrows knitted together. The broodmother was a powerful combatant at this point, tougher and stronger than most legends, but the manpower he possessed right now was a force to be reckoned with as well. Even without her, he could still kill powerful legendary beasts like Kralkalor. Mobilising her for combat was a loss of almost eighty level 5 drones and two level 16 elites every day.

“Fine,” he decided to let it happen, “Let's meet at the plains.”

Shortly after ending the communication, Richard sent an order for all of his followers to assemble apart from Olar and Gangdor. However, Nasia informed him that she was in a crucial phase of her advancement and wouldn't be able to join them; her absence would greatly impact their top-end combat prowess, but since it also meant Dragon Valley was safe he didn't really mind. This valley was the source of his fortune, giving him more than thirty greater offerings every month, and protecting it was perhaps even more important than the assault on the Genesis.

......

Even as Richard was preparing to advance on the Genesis, a strange traveller appeared in the barbarian plains. It was a feminine figure covered in a dark grey cloak, her face hidden within the shadows. Every step she took covered dozens of metres as she headed into the depths of the plains, invisible to those around her.

......

One week after Richard made his decision.

A barbarian tribe was currently migrating through the plains. It wasn't particularly large at only about a hundred members, with three carts able to fit all of their belongings, but tribes like this one were common throughout the barbarian plains. These highlands were just too barren and unpredictable, rivers often running dry in years and forcing those living off them to move elsewhere for sustenance. Wildlife and flora appeared and disappeared almost at random around these rivers, making any form of food gathering unpredictable. Only a tribe that was light on its feet could survive the rigours of the plains.

The barbarians walked slowly yet steadily, the tough environment leaving even the children resilient enough to walk continuously for twenty hours a day. One such bored youth who was gazing at the sky suddenly pointed at the distant clouds and asked, “Elder, what are those?”

The tribe elder's once-majestic body had been withered by the merciless flow of time, his salt-and-pepper hair a testament to his age. He looked in the direction the youth had pointed, but couldn't see anything in particular, “Those are just clouds, child.”

“No, there's something in them! They're coming here!” the youth shouted in panic, catching the attention of the rest of the tribe. Everyone looked at the distant clouds, but they saw nothing outside of the ordinary.

However, the youth was quickly on the verge of tears, screaming in anxiety, “There's really something there, it's coming!”

As he broke down, a massive object soundlessly broke the line of the clouds, looking like a mountain flying through the skies. It was squirming ever so strangely, every wiggle propelling it several kilometres forward. Behind the mountain was one large and wide creature followed by ten huge puffs, finally followed by a horde of bugs and winged snakes.

The company silently flew through the sky, no flaps or any other noise indicating their presence if one wasn't looking. Witnessing their might, the barbarians shuddered in stunned silence; even the red-eyed bulls pulling the carriages fell straight to the ground and refused to move a single inch.

...

Standing on the broodmother's head, Richard attention was suddenly drawn to a cloned brain that relayed the image of a whole tribe focused on a youth. Seeing the child staring straight at them, he hummed, “Not bad, he looks to be gifted at perception.”

“Should I have him brought up?” the broodmother asked.

“Hmm... Nah, let it be. He might get to sainthood some day, but that should be it. I have a lot of gifted subordinates already, I'm much better off putting my resources into them. But still... Zendrall, why are there so many migrating tribes here? Didn't we build a number of cities all over the plains?”

Having fought in the plains for many years now, Zendrall answered immediately, “Not everyone was willing to accept our offering. The cities can provide a much better standard of life, but many of them insisted that dying during migration was how their souls joined their ancestors.”

Richard frowned, but he didn't question it further. If the barbarians wanted to keep living like savages, there was nothing he could do. He had hoped to assemble an army of them at one point— even limited to level 10, they were an impressive race— but now he was focused on elites that were much more powerful. There were almost no true barbarians left in his army.

As they continued flying westward, Richard's doubts grew and he called Asiris over, “Is this supposed to be normal? I don't see any usable resources at all, and I can't recall such a thing in any other plane I've been to. Even deserts should have something.”

“It is rather strange; the plane's origin force should permeate through every corner of the land to create a number of resources or at least ore veins. Even dying plains have some resources or at least traces, but there's nothing here. It's like something is sucking away the essence of this land, but... that should be impossible. Even a god doesn't have the strength to draw in all of the origin energy in this vast region. How could there be something like that here?”

Even though he wasn't the strongest of Richard's subordinates, the Dark Priest was the most experienced in planar war and more erudite than any of Richard's followers. Faelor only had a handful of greater gods, and none of them could do something like this without being noticed.

Seeing his confusion, Richard put forward a conjecture of his own, “I think there might be a deity from a primary plane here.”

1196 - City of Sin

Broken Souls

“A deity from a primary plane? How is that possible?” Asiris was astonished; from what he knew, gods could never cross planes that way.

“We'll know when we get to the Genesis,” Richard responded, “I feel like we'll find something there.”

The unprecedented airborne troop passed through the vast highlands, quickly nearing the Genesis. The earth grew even more desolate as time passed by, with no signs of birds, beasts, or even insects. In only two days, the occasional bushes and shrubs were gone as well; there wasn't even any wind!

At one point, Richard had the broodmother pick up speed, flying towards a small group of people on the ground until they were about a hundred metres apart. It was a gang of about thirty barbarian warriors, wearing traditional leather armour and armed with simple, primitive weapons.

These warriors possessed surprising strength, averaging at an impressive level 15 that surpassed the shackles that left normal barbarians unable to pass level 10. One of them proclaimed loudly, “This land is sacred, any creature that comes here must die! Kill yourselves, or you shall suffer the wrath of our ancestor!”

Richard's followers just stared at each other, not knowing how to respond. Any one of them could kill this entire group easily, but the barbarians were still asking them to commit suicide. Even Richard himself couldn't figure out where this immense confidence came from.

Asiris frowned, “They seem... strange. They possess no judgement skills, almost like puppets.”

Richard nodded and waved a hand, having the barbarians killed. He had thought of just leaving them alone after scaring them, but they didn't choose to flee no matter how many of their number had died. When he flew down, Asiris landed next to a warrior who had just fallen and pressed his hands into the woman's head, black energy flowing into her brain for a moment before he stood up, “Her soul is almost completely broken; I couldn't gather any memories.”

Richard nodded, “Leave it, let's keep moving. I want to know what this sacred land and ancestor are all about.”

The broodmother continued to advance, and the number of barbarian warriors they met along the way slowly went up. Their average level also slowly grew to level 16, and once they were 200 kilometres in that was now level 17. At the same time, they started seeing strange bushes on the ground with sharp spikes for leaves that vaguely resembled cacti. Still, Asiris couldn't find a single complete soul that he could gather memories from.

Once night arrived, Richard had the broodmother land and allowed all of his cavalry to get off her and rest; they would resume their journey early in the morning. He was determined to fight a decisive battle this time, bringing 300 rune knights, all of his battle elites, and more than twenty members of the clergy including four grand priests, but at this scale they needed to be well rested and organised for maximum impact.

The earth started shaking at dawn, dark shadows appearing on the distant horizon as numerous figures in black hide walked over with slow and steady steps. Their march caused the earth to tremble constantly, the very winds starting to shift in the face of their march as the dust they set off mixed into the clouds. Deep footprints were left behind in their wake as they surged forth, a tidal wave of warriors who were all over level 15.

Even Richard's followers couldn't help but hold their breaths at the sight; compared to them, this small army of a thousand suddenly seemed unremarkable.

“This is gonna be hard,” Medium Rare scratched his head, looking at Waterflower who was gripping her sword silently. Her eyes were flickering with a dangerous glint, a natural reaction she had to high-pressure situations.

Zendrall spoke up from behind Richard, “I can sense an aura of death from them; it's very faint, but definitely there.”

“I can see some darkness and chaos as well,” Asiris added, “Almost like a fallen creature.”

Richard squinted his eyes a little, looking at the black tide and asking calmly, “Do you see the so-called ancestor?”

All of the followers shook their heads, and after a moment the broodmother sent a message as well, “This is the only life in a hundred kilometres.”

“So their master just escaped, or they're hiding somewhere and controlling things. Let's give the coward a surprise, then; broodmother?”

“Yes?”

“Let's go straight, we're splitting them in the middle.”

“No problem.” The broodmother leaned forward a little, slowly picking up speed. Shockwaves rippled out as her immense body moved, covering the ten kilometres of distance in only a few minutes.

“Master was never scared of large hordes of enemies...” Richard muttered from on top of her, seemingly to himself but also as though there was an unknown being listening to him. A faint, cold smile spread across his face as he continued softly, “Neither am I.”

The earth started to shake violently as the broodmother crashed down, a loud explosion ringing out as she slid forward a full kilometre before stopping. Her mountainous body formed a trench that was a hundred metres wide and more than a dozen metres deep, splitting the barbarian warriors into two while crushing those right underneath her.

However, the barbarians clearly knew no fear and took to the sky in tandem, jumping atop her and plunging their weapons in. A full attack from a level 15 warrior was something even the broodmother's armour could not withstand, and as they erupted with all their energy they started cutting in. However, it was like an army of ants trying to gnaw on an elephant; even though an individual strike went as deep as it could, that was nothing when compared to her armour that was several metres thick.

A ring of flames suddenly burst out from the broodmother's body, exploding and sending all the barbarians on her flying. The warriors that were about to jump up were also torched by the raging fire, struggling before falling back down. These flames were a dark red and not particularly hot, but they were extremely viscous and near impossible to put out until the energy fuelling them was gone.

Richard walked past the broodmother's back, fireball after fireball shooting out from his hands and covering her entire back. The horde of barbarian warriors tried to charge him with reckless abandon, but they were met with fireballs to the face that left nothing behind. He seemed to have no limits to his mana, drowning the world in a sea of fire and screams.

As Richard made his way down, the thunder of hooves rang out as the 300 rune knights split into two and charged down the broodmother's wings, charging to the flanks of the battle. The arc they took was filled with sparks as they launched their javelins, every attack bursting a barbarian to shreds. Constant explosions filled the air.

This set of javelins was coated in the most powerful batch of gunpowder yet, each explosion knocking down a number of barbarian warriors nearby. Richard had brought out all the stops right from the get go, prepared for a quick yet decisive battle. However, even with severed limbs flying all over the place, many warriors struggled back to their feet. The explosions weren't particularly lethal to any level 15 warriors, and these barbarians were especially virile and could fight on even without some of their bodies. Outside of those who were close to the epicentres of the blasts, most did not perish.

With their armour now damaged, the barbarians revealed muscular frames. However, their skin didn't look the healthy brown of an ordinary barbarian, but a strange grey with a green tint to it. Their expressions were also stiff and lifeless, the only change after the volley of javelins being that the injured ones had terrifying red clots in their eyes. The limbs that were severed didn't leak the normal red blood, but instead a translucent yellow liquid.

Fortunately, Richard's rune knights were seasoned veterans of war that fought alongside the broodmother's drones and had killed a number of dragons before; few creatures could actually terrify them. They nimbly drew out their second volley of explosive javelins, injecting their energy within before launching. If the first wave of explosions did not work, there would be a second. Their horses were carrying ten each, while the flying chrysalides at the back carried even more.

While the rune knights were dealing with the flanks, the winter soldiers and arrowbeasts started working in tandem to protect the closer sections. Each winter soldier was almost four metres tall and had an absolute advantage in strength over even these strengthened barbarians, their weapons capable of sending anything within twenty metres flying upon contact. Forming up all around the broodmother with covering fire from the arrowbeasts, they kept her from suffering the attacks of too many opponents before fanning out and opening up some distance.

1197 - City of Sin

Dizmason, Destruction

Richard's followers climbed a cloned brain and crossed the barbarians' line of defence, attacking them from behind. Tiramisu jumped down from the sky and crashed right into the middle of their formation, his momentum creating a huge crater and flattening a few barbarians nearby.

Dark fog covered one section of the battlefield as Zendrall finished his summoning array, undead knights walking out one after the other. There were more than a hundred at level 16, a force that was much more impactful than a single grand mage. The knights got into formation and stabbed into the left flank, leaving Richard and the broodmother to take care of the right.

The broodmother constantly sprayed out a dark green mist from her body, the corrosive fog causing the barbarians caught within to howl in pain as they collapsed. Those clinging to her body fell off as well, their hands melted down to the bone until they couldn't hold onto their weapons anymore while their faces had been reduced to drooping meat.

Richard moved right through the fog while remaining completely unaffected, a thin barrier around him deflecting the acid that even heavy swings from the barbarians could do nothing to. This was another advantage that came from having shared their souls; just like his flames didn't hurt the broodmother too much, he understood the properties of her mist and could push it away easily. Even if he wasn't pushing it away, he would still barely feel an itch.

The broodmother turned around in a circle, a simple move that caused enormous ripples all around. Every obstacle in her way was flattened in an instant by her unparalleled mass, two metres of the earth being gouged out in the process.

“CAREFUL!” Richard shouted at her as he flashed to the skies; even with his powerful body, he wouldn't dare to take on a physical attack from her. At the same time as taking out hundreds of barbarians, she had also squashed some winter soldiers and arrowbeasts as well. She never really cared about her own drones during battle, and that sentiment extended to Richard's warriors as well. Outside of Richard himself and the few followers who had made an impression on her, everyone else was expendable.

He floated above the battlefield and lava surged in his eyes, a short chant forming a barrage of lava fireballs that rained down on the barbarians below. Numerous explosions rang out as flames covered the battlefield, all connecting to each other and spreading outward with Richard at the centre. The earth beneath his feet had already melted, the searing flames spreading wider and wider to engulf the barbarian warriors.

On the outer edge, Richard's rune knights were done with their gunpowder javelins and had picked up their weapons for melee battle. They were slowly wrapping around the enemy, pushing in and forcing the barbarians into Richard's world of flames.

Blocked by a powerful melee force on one side and an impassable mountain of a creature on the other, the barbarian warriors maintained their aggression even amidst the flames. Green light surrounded them as they tried to stay alive, attacking the rune knights or just jumping onto the broodmother and peeling off her armour as much as they could.

The battle soon reached a stalemate, but Richard wouldn't have that. He suddenly pointed a finger at the sky and activated the power of Dizmason for the first time since he had become a legend, astral fireballs the size of a fist gathering together and absorbing an endless amount of energy from the sky. They quickly turned blue as they expanded rapidly, going from a metre in diameter all the way up to twenty!

Space itself was starting to be affected, sections of darkness appearing in the middle of the sky as it folded in on itself from the sheer amount of energy nearby. The rune knights on the outer flanks were ordered to run as far away as they could, something they would have done even without a command. Although they didn't know what spell Richard was using, they could sense its sheer power.

“Master!” the broodmother shouted from down below, trying her best to curl up as she shouted furiously, “You're being petty!”

Zangru faded into visibility from upon her back, not saying a single word as he shot away like lightning.

It was at this moment that an extremely loud voice rang throughout the plains, “STOP!”

A huge figure appeared on the distant horizon, a true giant that was a hundred metres tall. His silhouette towered over everything even from kilometres away, but the anxiety in his face was evident as well. Every step left a huge hole behind as he rushed forward.

Seeing the mastermind showing himself, Richard smirked, “Too late.”

The power of Dizmason finally reached its peak, the enormous fireballs combining into one huge orb of blue liquid flames. As he was about to bring it crashing down, Richard felt his bloodline boil as the divine symbols of his truename shattered into small fragments, falling into his bloodline to form huge waves of lava. A demonic face was formed within him, far more elegant than any ordinary demon while still retaining all of the ferocity. It was strangely majestic, almost perfect even, and as he roared a devil and angel flickered on either side.

The head looked like a combination of the three faces that appeared during the Apocalyptic Triad, but Richard knew that it was almost entirely different. Every face of the Triad represented a different domain of laws that he controlled, but this face only had the law of destruction. This was instead three different aspects of destruction.

He let out a strangled grunt in mid-air, body shaking as he closed his eyes in pain. When he opened his eyes again, his left eye had turned a dark gold.

The huge fireball crashed down onto the earth, a dark gold glow at its centre. It crashed into the middle of the barbarian formation and exploded like a water balloon, spreading waves of liquid flame that leeched all colour from everything they touched. The warriors still remained in position, expressions still life-like, but one that was in mid-jump crashed into an ally of his and cracks started appearing on their bodies. Moments later, both bodies shattered and crashed to the ground.

The blue waves continued to spread out on the edges, the rune knights running for their lives to avoid the flames chasing them. The broodmother finally managed to curl up as the waves struck her body, crashing across her before rushing to the other side of the battlefield. Her shell rapidly dissolved to the power of destruction, a faint scream ringing out as it warped and distorted.

Even with their powered halved by the obstacle of the broodmother, the flames still devoured hundreds of barbarian warriors and dozens of drones. Even two rune knights were swallowed by the waves of fire. The barbarians lost all colour and turned into grey statues, the winter soldiers and arrowbeasts managing to hold on for a few moments longer, but even the rune knights couldn't withstand this power. Both of them were thankfully Savage Barrier knights and managed to use the set ability to survive, but after a few steps all of their equipment exploded and their exposed skin turned grey. They remained breathing, but they would never return to their peaks.

The battlefield suddenly went silent, both sides temporarily pausing their battle to look at the aftermath of the blue and gold fireball. Although the barbarian warriors were almost zombies and couldn't think properly, they still had instincts that screamed about the unstoppable power of those flames.

2,000 barbarians were eliminated from the right side of the battlefield. Richard considered it a mercy to release them from their strange state of servitude, but even so he shivered at the hellish scene before him. The attack had been many times stronger than he had expected, something that he surmised must have come from that image. The blue fireball was originally inanimate, but the golden flames in its core had given it something akin to a soul.

1198 - City of Sin

Surrounding The Opponent

The giant didn't enter battle immediately when he arrived, instead looking around vigilantly at the shadows flickering through the sky. The fireball had distorted the space around it, and even though it hadn't managed to break anything completely, passing through would still leave one with severe injuries.
𝘧𝑟𝙚eｗ𝑒𝒃n𝒐𝘷𝑒𝚕. c૦𝙢

Richard slowly turned around, his eye now back to normal as he fetched a small vial from his robes and downed it in one go. The mana extract immediately rushed through his body, restoring everything he had consumed in a single instant.

The giant's gaze twitched at the display of dominance, but despite the rage on his face he didn't dare to charge through the unstable space. Seeing him just stare, Richard ended up being the first one to speak, “Are you the ancestral spirit of these things?”

“Stop killing my citizens and leave immediately, and I will pardon all of you for your sins,” the giant replied with dignity.

“Citizens? These husks?” Richard had no plans to stop the battle, his forces now tearing through the aftermath and killing the remaining barbarians.

His eyes lit up as he activated Insight on the giant. His appearance wasn't anything noteworthy outside of the high cheekbones being unlike most of Faelor, but the ten braids of dark brown hair were covered in various ornaments which were mostly from the bones of ferocious beasts. He was wrapped in animal hide for the most part, only a small part of the shoulder actually covered in metallic armour, and in his hands was an enormous hammer the size of a small hill.

This was a true blooded giant; at a hundred metres tall, one could even call him a titan. The hammer seemed to weigh a hundred tonnes at first glance, but it was possible for it to be even heavier. This was an absolute advantage in pure strength that was difficult to match. He even sensed Richard's probing gaze immediately, crying out in rage, “What are you doing?”

Richard had already looked away, “Half corporeal and half not, how old are you? You're barely alive, just like the rest of these creatures; what's the point of such an existence? Are you going to become another zombie, afraid of the sun with a muddled mind? That rotten liquid you spend every day in reeks!”

He was speaking quickly, but every word was still clear and seemed to push the giant's buttons just right. Trembling with rage, he bellowed, “You're talking rubbish! Rubbish!”

“Heh, you're just afraid. Attack!”

The order came too suddenly for the giant. He waved his warhammer and was about to rush forth, but looking at the spatial instability from the astral explosions earlier, he hesitated to move in. Richard was correct in his judgement, and the incorporeal part of his body would be ripped apart by the fluctuations. He suddenly felt a searing pain from his feet, letting out a cry of pain as he lifted his right leg up. An ogre had just smashed into his sole, going right through his hide boots and crushing two toes.

The instinctive kick sent Tiramisu flying far away, but three figures immediately took his place and stuck to the giant's calf. Zangru's weapon immediately started to pulse as it was stabbed into the shin, consuming the flesh and causing the area around the wound to wither and shrink. Phaser and Waterflower made their way up to the back of the knee, stabbing their swords in as far as they went, but given the creature's size they barely made it past the skin. They would need several more strikes to actually cut into the tendons. The giant's enormous body was its best defensive tool.

Feeling the searing pain in his leg, the giant stomped back down and the ground immediately cracked, the tremor knocking many of the barbarian warriors and drones to the ground. Phaser and Waterflower were thrown off by the shaking as well, but Zangru's polearm had dug deep enough to allow him to hold on.

Asiris immediately flipped to the last page of his tome, raising his hand and sending dense black fog towards the giant and slowing his movements. However, an angry yell quickly dissipated the curse, leaving the Dark Priest pale and coughing up blood. The curse had been the most powerful one he had, but it crumbled in the face of the giant's burst of strength.

The giant took in a deep breath, chest puffing up as he bellowed in Richard's direction. A formless shockwave was sent in Richard's direction, the same darkness of spatial folding present in its aftermath as that of the fireball. However, Richard squinted his eyes, irises shrinking to almost nothingness before suddenly widening to the entire eye. The left iris turned dark gold before narrowing into a vertical slit.

The three faces appeared once again, all facing the giant and chanting as quickly as possible. A barrage of fireballs with all sorts of properties crashed into the shockwave, over a hundred of them slowly breaking apart the energy contained within. Once the attack drew within close range, the golden eye started glowing as Richard opened his own lips and said loudly, “ATTACK!”

A pale blue orb shot out from Richard's lips, charging right into the shockwave and passing a hundred metres in. The shockwave was immediately deflected by the flames, and when the orb exploded the entire sky was suddenly swept clean of energy. The spatial folds increased in density, half of the sky now completely invisible.

As the adrenaline of that attack wore off, Richard looked at the aftermath and felt a smile crawling up his face. The giant was clearly an ancient being with exceptional power, hailing from a race where normal adults reached the legendary realm and had far greater power than humans, but that being's all-out attack had been quelled. What came next would be much easier.

The giant's gaze was suddenly drawn to an enormous shadow, his eyes going wide as he saw the broodmother charging towards him with full speed. He roared angrily as he squatted on the floor, his mountainous hammer viciously slamming into the top of her head and pushing half her body into the ground. Richard had to suppress a shudder in the face of such strength, but even with a metres-deep hole in her head the broodmother continued pushing on. For someone like her, this was only a minor injury.

Seeing her shift her ligaments and struggle to get up, the giant grew determined not to let her move. He stomped down on her with his foot, pressing hard and keeping her buried in the ground. In the end, she was not a creature designed for combat; while she could take a really hard beating, the only offense she had in her situation was her acidic fog. Her spiritual attacks only worked against ordinary opponents; an ancient being like this giant had a soul comparable to a god's.

Thankfully, the acid did show some effectiveness. The giant's skin and his warhammer started to corrode, but his hide armour wasn't affected in the slightest. Moreover, his skin was extremely thick and it would take a long time for her to burn through.

A burst of dark red suddenly filled the giant's vision as bullets of flame shot right into his face, an array of explosions covering him in abyssal flames. These flames didn't have the burst potential of Richard's blue moon flames, but over time the total damage they could cause was impressively close. The giant screamed in pain, rubbing his face repeatedly to try and put them out, but as he gave up this huge opening he heard a low voice ring out in his ear, “Attack.”

Blue streaks pierced through the acific fog, shooting into the giant's face and torching the hair on his skin. The flesh started melting away under their liquid might, but even after going half a metre in one couldn't see any bone. The giant slapped his forehead repeatedly and managed to put the flames out.

However, he suddenly straightened his body and moaned in pain. Richard had already blinked behind him, both Moonlight and the Judge being plunged into his lower back and dragged down. A single strike caused a wound that was almost ten metres long. And that was only the first wave of injuries; Lifesbane activated when Richard teleported away, a flurry of explosions sending blood and flesh flying off into the distance!

The giant roared in pain and tried to cover the wound, but its location was difficult to reach and the attempt only caused him more pain. This distraction was enough for the broodmother to push up and send him off balance, charging him down. He roared and grabbed her with both hands to wrestle her back, but this time he didn't have the advantage.

In the meanwhile, Richard appeared at the back of the giant's knee like a spectre, leaving a long gash that was a metre deep. With the tendon cut, the giant couldn't support himself any longer and fell to one knee. He quickly felt his left leg go limp as well, this time from Tiramisu who had taken the chance to jump up and slam into the cap.

1199 - City of Sin

The Depths Of The Barbarian Plains

Sent to his knees by Richard and Tiramisu's attacks, the giant finally lost control and was pinned to the ground by the broodmother. A pair of sharp mandibles tore into his chest as she took a few bites out of him. Numerous clacks weaved together with a pained roar, the giant struggling to get up but forced to remain on his back.

Richard took a few deep breaths and flashed forward, blinking seven times around the fallen giant before flying away. Seven different wounds that were each two metres deep exploded on the giant's body, blood gushing out from within. Exhausted by the effort, Richard himself retreated to the back and downed a few potions while issuing orders to his rune knights and followers.

200 rune knights rushed towards the giant with their halberds, charging in obliquely before stabbing their long weapons in as deep as they would go. Explosions of energy blew apart those sections of the giant's body, the momentum thus generated allowing them to get away before any retaliation. The earth around the giant was quickly dyed red, endless waves of attack depleting his strength steadily. The broodmother soon started releasing her acid as well, the liquid bubbling all around the giant's body.
𝘧𝔯𝑒𝒆𝓌𝘦𝘣𝓷𝘰ѵ𝑒𝘭. 𝐜oｍ

Phaser, Waterflower, and Zangru were returned to fill the spots of the rune knights, continuing to attack the barbarian warriors. Unable to do significant damage to such a huge opponent, they were much better used to eliminate the lesser threats. After all, even Richard with his divine weapons and the terrifying Lifesbane needed great effort to heavily injure such an opponent.

The giant eventually got a hand free and managed to slam down on six rune knights, quashing them instantly, but that was his final struggle. With the limb out of the way, the broodmother tore his throat apart and dug into his spine, killing him in minutes. Surprisingly, his limbs were still twitching after death, continuing on for a long time as she ate into half of his flesh before retreating.

Once the broodmother was done, the giant was almost a skeleton with some bits of flesh on it, parts of the body dissipating into nothingness. He had relied on some strange ability to convert energy into flesh, but with him dead there was no way to keep that conversion active. The trapped energy was quickly released into the air.

Richard landed on the giant's chest and sliced the last bit of flesh open with Moonlight, revealing a heart that was bigger than his entire body. It was a strange greyish green, but it continued to pulse ever so often with the power to support such a massive body. Looking at this, he let out a relieved sigh; this clearly wasn't much worse than the heart of a valley lord, making it a top-tier offering that could be used in the completion of Midren's battle edition.

Looking carefully at a few sections of the heart, Richard managed to confirm that the giant had a titan bloodline. However, such a powerful being shouldn't have appeared in Faelor; a full-power strike from him could destabilise the entire spatial structure of the plane. The same thing happened when he himself used Dizmason, but he wasn't from this plane either.

The battle was still raging on the outer edge, the half-undead barbarian warriors not knowing fear nor retreat. However, with the rune knights returning to battle and an additional summoning of blood inquisitors and elven shamans, they were quickly wiped out. Richard himself landed on top of the giant and started working to preserve the heart, while the rest of his mages and priests joined afterwards to start work on the organs and bones. A large number of drones joined in to assist, perfect helpers that could execute every order to the letter.

Almost every part of the giant's body was an invaluable treasure, especially the skeleton. If he managed to preserve it in one piece, Richard could potentially one day create an enormous homunculus like no other; in comparison, the barbarian corpses were worthless. However, the corpse was just far too large to transport; it had to be taken apart carefully, the bones shrunk down with alchemy until they were at a manageable size. A thousand drones and most of the rune knights would need to help during this process, and it would still take three days.

Richard spent this time inspecting the corpses of the barbarian warriors using his portable laboratory. A number of them had aged rapidly once they died, sometimes tens of years in a single day, but surprisingly enough there wasn't a single trace of rot. By the end of the second day of cleanup, he had a bottle of translucent yellow liquid in his hands that substituted for their blood. Having analysed it, he found that it was an extremely strong preservative; some of the half-undead barbarians had only been in their forties, but others were close to a thousand years old and still managed to fight.

However, the blood wasn't what gave these warriors their sheer power. There was a strange energy hidden within their bodies, a power akin to planar origin force that was extremely pure. It gave them unnatural power and physical prowess, but came at the cost of reducing them to barely intelligent creatures. Richard had some guesses as to what this power was, but he still needed to verify things to be sure. If he was right, all the answers would be revealed in the core of the Genesis.

The army of undead barbarians was extremely strong, capable of sweeping through half of Faelor. Had Richard not gathered power equivalent to three lower-level families of Faust and possessed such great destructive potential himself, it would have been extremely difficult to overcome the giant and the undead troops. This force at least confirmed why nobody had managed to sneak in and then return from the depths of the Genesis in all these years.

......

While the giant's corpse was being handled, the broodmother had used the time to repair her armour. Once the three days had passed, Richard stepped on her back once more and brought this small troop of absolute elites towards the Genesis. They flew for a full day and night, fighting a dozen smaller armies of the half-undead barbarians before finally arriving at the core of the barbarian plains.

This was a flat, shallow valley located right next to a small mountain. The mountain wasn't even a thousand metres high, but it looked outstanding in the open plains of the Genesis and was filled with greenery unlike its surroundings. There was fertile land in the valley with huge patches of agricultural land, containing dozens of small villages and a sense of vitality that even the Forest Plane couldn't easily compare to.

Richard's gaze was immediately drawn to the small mountain of black rock, specifically the puffs of steam being released from its cracks. There were dozens of caves of varying sizes at its foot which had regular traffic from the barbarians, but the entire place felt oddly compelling to him.

He suddenly zoned out, hearing the huge heartbeat once more. However, this time it was clearer and lasted much longer before, prompting his own hearts to beat heavily to the point that he almost spit out some blood. He felt something amissed and forced the sound out of his mind, but despite his confirmation that this was the source he couldn't understand just why he'd felt that strong sense of resonance. Furthermore, now that it was clearer he also recognised that there were two, much smaller heartbeats ringing out in tandem with the larger base, one so soft that it was nearly impossible to detect.

A commotion rang out in the valley as its residents saw the army in the skies. Many barbarian warriors rushed out into the fields and looked up, waving their weapons uselessly. Some of the more impatient warriors launched their spears, but they couldn't reach the broodmother who was hundreds of metres high.

Richard's gaze swept across the barbarians below, discovering many warriors who were above level 10. The leader was actually level 18, but even with such power he still couldn't fly. He shook his head and sighed, “Prepare to attack, we're conquering this place.”

Following his order, the broodmother, astral chrysalis, flying chrysalides, and wasps started their descent. The winged serpents rushed down first, blasting spells into the barbarians to break their formation, and the rune knights and winter soldiers quickly followed. Richard's followers descended last, remaining vigilant of any saints in the valley.

The battle was extremely successful, the first attack by the winter soldiers utterly destroying the barbarian ranks, but as the barbarians were split into dozens of smaller battles and gobbled up thirteen towering warriors rushed out of the mountain. They were all covered in dark red armour, and while ten of them had multiple stumps on their foreheads three were taller than the rest with thick, curved horns. Seeing them appear, the commoners immediately fell to the ground in reverence and started singing praises.

However, this didn't bring them any luck. When Tiramisu blocked their path with a hundred rune knights and a sneer, the outcome of the battle had already been decided. The entire resistance was crushed in a matter of minutes, all of the warriors disabled or just dead.

1200 - City of Sin

One True God

Richard spent the entire afternoon crushing all resistance and occupying the valley. Once the barbarians were all suppressed, he sent out a number of workers and other drones to conduct a thorough exploration.

In the meanwhile, he started inspecting the warriors that had rushed out from the cave. In only minutes, his eyebrows were almost locked together, “They've been stained by demonic blood.”

Asiris looked around before speaking, “I sense the aura of the abyss.”

“And fallen deities.” “And death,” the broodmother and Zendrall added.

Given this analysis, Richard was in no rush to enter the cave. He instead spread out his perception and explored the spatial laws in the surroundings, finding a number of abnormalities. The energy of the land here was converging from all around, entering the depths of the valley below.

Unable to find any immediate threats, he shook his head and turned towards the mouth of the cave while his followers formed up behind him, “Let's go have a look.”

The cave system was surprisingly vast. Not longer after they entered, the party found themselves in a huge natural opening underground that was almost a kilometre wide and nearly a hundred metres tall, spiral stairs carved into the walls that led to a dozen more passages that led this way. On the ground was a huge spell formation with three pools at the centre, dark red fog slowly rising from within. The one in the centre was empty, while those on the left and right had enormous skeletons within.

The lingering aura from the central pool made it clear that it had held the giant that had just walked out. On the left was another set of humanoid remains that stood a hundred metres tall, but behind the dark fog it was clear that it hadn't recovered to an active level yet. It was the remains on the right side that left Richard catching his breath; a huge beast with six sets of wings and tail that forked into two telltale whips. This was an astral beast!

Confirming that the aura was the same as well, Richard frowned in confusion. This astral beast seemed to be very young, but they were a rare sight even in Norland. Every piece of them could be turned into a spatial enchantment, and the skeletal remains alone would be worth more than eternal servitude from the giant he had just slain. While the other skeleton wasn't familiar, the energy it exuded showcased its value as well.

Barbarians draped in grey cloaks were bustling all around the three pools, either offering sacrifices or casting spells. When they finally noticed Richard entering the hall, they cried out in shock and dropped their tasks to go confront him.

One barbarian that was withered to almost unrecognisable levels took a few steps forward, “Leave this place, invader! You have stepped into the sacred grounds of our Lord, but you can still be forgiven. Remain here, and the flames of the Lord's wrath will scorch this earth! His guardian will rip you all apart!”

Richard smiled faintly and pointed at the central pool, “You're talking about the big guy that just walked out of there? I have some bad news for you, I've already 'ripped him apart.' Have to say, his heart was nice.”

The old barbarian started trembling as he heard Richard's words, anger overcoming his rationality as he bellowed and charged forward. However, Zangru, suddenly blinked over and stuck a leg out to trip the man, leaving him crying in pain as he fell to the ground.

The barbarians here in the belly of the mountain had virtually no combat skills at all and were defeated easily. However, all attempts at interrogation failed spectacularly; they wouldn't say a word no matter how much they were tortured or what they were promised. Eventually, Asiris stepped forward and whispered into Richard's ears, “I can make them talk, Your Grace, but the process will be rather unpleasant.”

Richard immediately knew what he wanted to do, but after a few moments of hesitation he nodded. Asiris waved for some knights to send the barbarians into a side room, and once he went in bloodcurdling screams rang out from within. Just the sound made it clear that this was a pain of the soul.

It took maybe an hour for the screams to stop, Asiris walking out as calm as ever, “I got everything you need.”

The words of the Dark Priest left everyone feeling extremely uneasy. Tiramisu's heads started talking amongst each other, while Waterflower knitter her eyebrows and looked away. While many of his followers were stronger than Asiris at this point, few could bring themselves to be crueller. Even worse, Nyra's practiced ease at these things had conditioned them to a method that wasn't nearly as painful as a brute-force extraction of memories. She could get everything she wanted out of one individual, but Asiris needed to piece together memories from dozens to get a complete picture. Each one of those was left a mangled mess, an empty shell of a soul with no depth to it.

Ignoring the disgust and contempt, Asiris gathered his thoughts, “Your Grace, these people were in charge of keeping the spell formation active, and they also directed the barbarians in the valley to worship their so-called god. They are similar to priests or shamans, but they also adjusted the gathered energy and distributed it between its various uses. For the past 300 years, they had been focused on the giant; in two more centuries, it would have been resurrected completely.”

“And their purpose?”

“To open a passage for their true god to descend upon this plane, transforming Faelor into a new, stronger world.”

Richard snorted at this explanation. Any higher-level being that entered a lesser plane would first modify the environment of the plane to suit them, even changing the laws to make it more comfortable. This would have drastic consequences on the original inhabitants, perhaps even to the point of global extinction. This was something even apprentice mages in Norland knew, but these barbarians were clearly tricked. Any worship of a foreign god was just suicidal, and those so-called gods were oftentimes just demons and devils.

Be it mankind, the barbarians, or even the local gods, they had all existed for a few thousand years at best. How could they possibly trick or even just use existences that had lived a hundred times as long and dealt with powers they couldn't even comprehend? Even fair trade with the hells or the abyss was near impossible to achieve.

Giving the cloned brains some orders in advance, Richard flew to a platform protruding out of the cave where he could see the entire spell formation from. Setting up a mobile work desk, he started jotting down the magic arrays that had been used to build it, trying to analyse them and unravel their secrets.

Hundreds of worker drones circled the interior of the mountain, constantly exploring and forming an image of the mountain's structure in Richard's mind. A number of secret caves were discovered in quick succession, most sealed shut with spell formations on the inside that resembled the one in the hall.

Within each cave was a grid of steel barrels, each filled with the same translucent yellow liquid that flowed through the veins of the zombified barbarians. Most of these pods had a barbarian body within, some missing limbs, others having wounds that oozed white energy, but when Richard put down his work and went to investigate he found that they were being nourished by the spell formations in the caves. Just like with the three enormous beings, the origin energy of the plane was being injected into them to allow their damaged bodies to heal. Any being that still had their skeleton intact would eventually turn into one of those undead warriors given enough time. Google search 𝑓𝒓e𝑒w𝑒𝒃𝑛𝒐𝘃ℯ𝙡. c𝚘m

The spell formations themselves were being powered by the same yellow fluid that preserved the bodies, a network of metal pipelines underground allowing the formations to draw the origin energy of the plane. The strange liquid distributed all of its nutrients and energy after a single cycle through a cave before returning deep underground, going off to an unknown place. Even without a close examination, it was clear that this mountain hid far more than it seemed on the surface. Deep underground lay the true secret of the Genesis.

1201 - City of Sin

Divine Vengeance

Once they were done checking the sealed caves, Richard gathered all of his followers once more. Phaser and Zangru were sent to have a small troop of rune knights patrol the mountain for hidden enemies, finding any other surprised like the thousand warriors and two massive creatures that could pose a threat.

Asiris was ordered to investigate for anything related to divinity or the abyss; he was the best candidate to look for the mastermind behind all of it. Judging from what they had found in the Genesis, the creator of this place evidently transcended Faelor's might and knowledge, and would be rare even in Norland. It would be astonishing if it hadn't come from an abyssal lord or a deity of some sort.

Kellac rushed over once Richard headed out of the caves, “Your Grace, the barbarians are in the middle of another uprising!”

“Another?” Richard frowned, “Isn't this the third time?”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

“We've been here for less than a day.”

“These cretins have no manners at all. They even injured a priest this time!”

“What? Didn't we already imprison all of their warriors? Did we miss any of them?”

“Uh... He was hurt by the women and children.”

“The women and children? Then what did you...”

“As ordered, all the participants in the uprising will be executed!”

Richard quickly recalled the distribution of barbarians in this valley. There were a total of 50,000 or so, and a fifth of them had died in battle. The remaining warriors had been captured, leaving only women, children, and a handful of elderly behind. This was the only tribe that seemed to be normal in the entire barbarian planes; unlike the others who were naturally limited to level 10, they could advance as long as they had the talent and put in enough work. He lifted his hand to stop Kellac, “Execute the ones who attacked the priest, reinforce the security for the rest.”

“Your Grace, this isn't the time for mercy! They're just barbarians, our priests are far more precious and important than them! If we don't enforce stricter punishments, they might waver!” Kellac insisted.

In a world where the gods reigned supreme, the clergy was revered sometimes even more than the nobility. Kellac was unusually stubborn whenever it came to situations involving status and class, a standpoint that caused Richard to sigh, “Fine, lock up everyone who participated in the uprising and have some priests trace their faith. But that's the limit.”

Sensing the finality in his tone, Kellac reluctantly agreed and left quickly. He shook his head at the fallen priest's receding view and returned to continue examining the spell formation in the caves. Tracing one's faith involved a number of divine spells that could verify whether one had any faith at all and also the origin of that faith. If Kellac had to be violent, Richard at least wanted to find out who the real source of the barbarians' faith was. They claimed it was the bloodline of a titan, but he had his doubts about that. The only problem was the process of tracing faith was excruciatingly painful and could break the target's mind, quite similar to how Asiris's extraction of memories worked. The original plan had been to use the maimed barbarian warriors, but the women and children would give up the information much more quickly and hopefully without being broken entirely.

The Genesis slowly grew more peaceful over the next few days. The worker drones had already dug hundreds of metres into the ground, but they found nothing valuable while Richard was focused on researching the spell formation.

The massive array in the mountain was so powerful that it could directly pull on the origin force of the plane, fuelling the growth of the giants and zombie warriors. This was an exciting discovery that explained the reason for the desolation all around the Genesis; this array was just drawing far too much energy. There were infinite uses to such a spell formation, and there were situations where this could be used as the only energy source.

However, even repeated calculations told Richard that this formation alone couldn't bring a vast region like the Genesis to its current state. It would be impressive enough for it to render a few dozen kilometres around it barren, but the affected area was far greater than the amount of energy the formation was pulling. The total surface area of the land here was millions of square kilometres, but the formation only supported a few thousand.

Then where did all the origin force go? This was the question he couldn't answer.

......

While Richard was deep in thought, a mysterious woman cloaked in dark grey was walking through a long underground corridor. The place was filled with murals of various demonic battles, the entire place painted black and red with the ground made of volcanic rock that occasionally spurted thick steam.

The smell of sulphur filled the entire walkway, making one feel like they were constantly burning. Common people couldn't last here for more than a minute, but the cloaked woman continued to walk steadily as though she could reach the end of the world.

Eventually, the corridor gave way to a large door. The woman hesitated before reaching forward to push the door, her pale hands shaking visibly, but the moment her fingertips touched the bronze door her surroundings warped and she found herself in the centre of a huge hall.

Despite the darkness, the hall looked ancient and magnificent. The roof was a hundred metres away, but the demons carved upon it looked like they could come to life at any time. The walls were covered in thick dark fog, but her attention was quickly drawn to the floor and she jumped in shock. She was stepping on lava!

Realising that she was being protected from the fog and lava by an unknown force, the woman slowly calmed down. It was only then that a majestic voice rang through the hall, “Weak one, how dare you hesitate and doubt me? What more do you stand to lose at this stage?”

The cloaked figure trembled and lifted her head, the gas slowly dissipating to reveal a darksteel platform and throne. Even to the naked eye, it was obvious that this platform was made for a giant being that stood over a hundred metres tall, leaving the observer feeling as small and insignificant as an ant. The throne was currently empty, but the cloaked figure still looked towards it and spoke up, “It's only normal to be careful when dealing with a demon.”

The voice laughed maniacally in response, “But you won't be able to reject what I'm giving you!”

The woman went silent for a while before asking, “Are you the one who helped the Highland Wargod return to godhood?”

“Of course! I used the origin of this plane to craft a new divine body for him, and then I built him a new divine kingdom. The former I'll just give you, but the kingdom depends on your wealth.”

“I still have half of my wealth left,” the cloaked figure said after some thought.

“Half?” the demon asked in disappointment, “How much can a weakling like you have? It won't be enough to build a full kingdom; do you want to freeload off a ruler of the abyss?”

“No, it's not like that! My kingdom was destroyed too quickly, this was all I could gather in that time!” the woman defended herself.

“Alright, let me take a look.”

The cloaked figure took a ring off of her finger and threw it in front, a hill of treasures suddenly forming on the ground. Most of it was extremely pure divine crystals, but there were also a hundred legendary-grade items, rare raw materials, ancient skeletons, and the eggs of various creatures. Google search 𝙛𝒓𝙚e𝚠𝐞𝚋𝙣𝚘𝐯𝗲𝚕. c𝚘𝓶

“This is it?” the demon sounded rather disappointed, “Do you think those useless divine crystals will make all these other things look valuable?”

“This is all I have...”

“Sigh, I can't expect more from a plane the devils don't even want to come to. But whatever, consider yourself lucky. I still have three godsparks you can choose from; do you plan to keep your old name once your new body is built?”

“Of course, how could the great Runai settle for anything else!” The woman lifted her hood, but her dignified voice was not matched by her twisted expression. She quickly hesitated for a moment before changing her mind, “No, I might need to change my name. I no longer have any worshippers in the world; when I rebuild my kingdom, I will burn the souls of those invaders in divine flames for a thousand years! I will capture everyone related to them and make them my slaves; the men will work in the abyss for all their lives, and the women will be breeding whores!”

“A complete vengeance!” the demon complimented, “That's more malicious than I will ever be. You can compare to a devil lord!”

The figure beneath the hood was the last avatar of the Goddess of Time, now her main body given the fall of her divine kingdom.

1202 - City of Sin

Wavering Faith

As Runai blushed in awkward shame at the praise from the demon, it suddenly turned serious, “You puny little god, your tracks weren't hidden well enough. Those who destroyed your kingdom are already at the Genesis, and they even seized the base of my servants.”

“W-What?” her voice trembled, “Then what do we do now?”

Seeing her break down, the demon laughed loudly, “Nothing, it doesn't matter! As powerful as they are, these beings are barely legendary; they could never discover this place. They'll find a few little toys and go away, but when I arrive this plane is mine anyway. Their discoveries don't matter at all!”

Runai relaxed at the confidence in his tone, “Indeed! Those fucking mortals should be kneeling before us, but they still behave with such arrogance! The maggots will pay for their crimes; I will cut their hearts out and feed their limbs to my hounds!”

An endless stream of curses resonated throughout the hall, the hidden demon basking in the malicious ambience as it fuelled Runai's wrath ever so often. The former goddess of time seemed to abandon all of her class after her fall, using the same vulgarities most deities looked down upon.

......

All the way above Faelor, the divine kingdoms of the three goddesses were slowly heading south, carrying Runai's fallen kingdom between them. The land was crumbling apart without its barrier, but a shield of light kept the damage from being too severe while the three divine kingdoms slowly absorbed whatever did dislodge. The land all around still carried traces of Runai's control, so it would take time for the goddesses to assimilate all of it.

An inexplicable emotion was flickering in the eyes of the three goddesses as they stared at Runai's divine kingdom from upon their thrones. Their current means of dividing up the kingdom was almost stupidly slow and ineffective, and given their status it would make much more sense for them to focus on strengthening their faith in the mortal world, but only decades ago they had been on the verge of falling and were unable to respond to the prayers of their priests. This was an extremely long time for humans, but for beings like them it was only a short chapter that had changed their lives entirely. Still able to remember the traumatic experience of their kingdoms on the verge of collapse, they just couldn't bring themselves to give up on Runai's.

Bestial growls resounded through the halls of the Spring Water Goddess. As the strongest of the trio, she had formed a cage of divine force in her lands which trapped two massive servitors. A dozen rays of concentrated divinity were constantly whipping out from the walls of the cage, lashing into the bodies of these servitors and prompting them to attack the cage madly. However, these were beings that were barely stronger than demigods trying to break a cage from an intermediate deity; it would be impossible even in a thousand years.

The two servitors were the last and most powerful of Runai's servants, and whenever they screamed loudly the eyes of the Forest Goddess and Goddess of the Hunt were drawn to their struggles. Eventually, the Forest Goddess spoke up, “Can we really do this? Richard clearly told us to destroy all of Runai's followers.”

The Goddess of the Hunt replied, “Sister Spring's divinity is already at the intermediate grade, she can destroy any traces of Runai's power without issue. Until then, the most these servants can do is transmit a little divine grace to help Runai's children and avatars last a little longer; she doesn't have any avatars left, and even if she did her kingdom is gone; what is the threat?”

The Goddess of Spring Water looked at the two servitors with a conflicted expression herself, “If we were to rely on our own strength, it would take at least a century to gain such powerful servants. We need greater power. If we are strong enough... perhaps we could get ourselves out of this sticky situation.”

The Forest Goddess's voice immediately cracked, “You want to go against Richard?”

A strange glint flickered in the eyes of the Goddess of Spring Water as she laughed bitterly, “Go against Richard? How are we supposed to do that? But ultimately, we're all still deities of Faelor. Think about the time before we became divine beings...”

“But, isn't Richard the reason for everything we have today?”

The Goddess of the Hunt sneered, “He's only a mortal, even if he came from a powerful plane. How could he compare to us? Those who worship us have nothing to do with him. Have you forgotten all the times he's disrespected us throughout these years? Now, he doesn't even bother treating us as allies; he just orders us through our priests!”

The three goddesses went silent, the cries of the servitors filling the air.

......

After studying the energy gathering formation for a few days, Richard's notebook had a fully annotated description of every single component array. A complete analysis only increased his admiration for the designer; this thing couldn't have been created without a strong understanding of how laws worked in general.

Once he was done jotting down the last section, he tapped his workbench and projected an image of a different complicated spell formation, the one he had found powering defences for the Lady of the Night. The broodmother had spent some effort on analysing this one, finding that it could pull near-unlimited strength from the souls of one's most devout believers. This energy was similar to the power of faith, but it was much more direct and pure, allowing a flow of much higher quantities of energy than any single worshipper could normally provide in a hundred years. It was uncertain how much longer it would have kept functioning without his intervention, and how much energy a single soul truly contained, but he just had no way to accurately estimate that.
𝙛𝑟𝘦ℯ𝘄e𝙗nov𝙚𝑙. 𝐜𝑜𝗺

Closing the two designs up, he sighed in annoyance. These two spell formations were most certainly his biggest gain from Faelor, giving him the ability to utilise a plane's origin and a worshipper's soul. They would ensure that he never had to worry about energy on any of his future expeditions as long as he could work on deciphering the plane's laws, but it was still difficult to find a way to use them.

Within the past few days, the worker drones had made more progress in their excavation as well. They had found another pool of concentrated energy underground, the base of all the underground pipes that seemed to contain the real secrets of the Genesis. However, it still didn't answer his biggest question. He was now certain that the formations he'd seen could only wipe out the energy within twenty kilometres, but the actual damage to the plane was far greater. Having spent what was now the majority of his life here, he knew just how much origin energy Faelor had; the actual discrepancy was enormous.

He walked to the edge of his platform and looked over the hall while deep in thought. Moments later, he summoned two brains and ordered them to have the workers dig further in until they found lava. Thousands of drones immediately headed straight for the centre of the mountain, digging deep in.

Once the workers set to task, the broodmother's voice rang in his mind, “Master, do you have any use for the three skeletons?”

“Hmm? Good for sacrifices and magic materials, but nothing specific, no.”

“Then I'll take them. Given the time, I can use them to build three giant war beasts.”

“Ooh? How strong?”

“A hundred units of divinity, and legendary.”

“Then they're yours,” he nodded. The giant had possessed the power of a level 24 being, but three legendary war beasts wouldn't be much weaker. The source of the giant's power was the origin energy of the plane, and it had taken hundreds of years to even get it to half full, but the broodmother would certainly be much faster.

1203 - City of Sin

Crystallised Soul

Richard had the worker drones continue their excavation for the next two weeks, hiding himself in his laboratory and working on the giant's heart until it was refined into a finger-sized clear crystal that held all of the life force. Satisfied with his work, he took out a silver armour piece and embedded the crystal within. However, just as the crystal and armour piece started to fuse, he heard a violent roar and blacked out!

It only took a moment to regain his sight, but Richard discovered that the entire mountain was shaking, broken boulders raining down from above. His rune knights and followers quickly looked up with alarm, many of them silently flaring up their auras to shatter the falling rocks. Even with their combined strength, a full mountain's collapse would kill a majority of those present.

However, Asiris suddenly let out a sharp cry and slowed the trembling significantly. Richard recognised a spell that intimidated souls, useful against ghosts and other spectral beings. The tremors came from the resistance of the giant's soul; even with the physical body eliminated, the soul had probably escaped back here. Given aeons of time, it would perhaps be reborn. Unfortunately, it had seen Richard turning its heart into a rune component and lost its composure, determined to bury all enemies in the belly of the mountain.

Asiris let out another shrill shout to ease the trembling further, but standing behind him Richard shook his head ever so slightly. The Dark Priest wasn't accomplished enough in the domain of souls; were Nyra here, she would have pulled the giant's soul out from its hiding place and enslaved it. On the other hand, his spell was only suppressive in nature; it didn't even do any real damage.

Richard himself walked to the fringe of the platform, lifting his left hand and pointing towards a section of the mountain, “Unwilling to accept our fate, are we? Since you chose to make me your enemy, this is the destiny you're doomed to. Submit, or be destroyed.”

Countless blue sparks shot out of Richard's open palm, looking almost alive as they flew around in beautiful arcs to trace out blue threads. All the followers, even Asiris himself, felt like these sparks were only ethereal without an ounce of power, but the giant's roars quickly transformed into a cry of surprise. A phantom was revealed in the sky, starting to crackle and burn as it made contact with the sparks.

The surprise quickly turned to pain, and then fear. The giant's soul tried to escape, but even as it tried to push away the sparks with several fragmented images even more surrounded it and started burning it up. The blue flames seemed to be nothing in the face of the hundred-metre tall phantom, but they quickly shrank the soul down before turning it into a sapphire that fell into Richard's palm.

Absolute silence filled the hall as Richard's followers stared at the gem that was now in Richard's hands. Asiris shivered, suddenly realising that his robes were drenched in sweat. He also felt a sense of powerlessness, as though he had just awoken from a nightmare that had lasted all night.

He suddenly realised that this was fear. Fear... The Dark Priest thought he had already forgotten what that was. Even death, the eternal slumber, didn't inspire even the slightest bit of fear in him. Even facing monsters like Gaton and Mordred, he had the courage to battle to the death. However, now he was feeling terrified, like he would never be able to bring himself to actually fight Richard even if his life depended on it!

Those dazzling blue sparks had managed to confine and then crystallise a soul, something that was supposed to be the exclusive domain of the gods. Asiris suddenly felt like he no longer knew Richard; was this the same young man he'd met all those years ago, eyes full of stubbornness yet too shy to even speak? Only those like him who had experience with the realm of the soul would know how terrifying this was. Even the flames from the star of destruction could only destroy souls, not capture them like Richard had. There was only one possibility behind such an ability, an ancient taboo the very thought of which caused him to shudder in fear.

Holding onto the crystal that was the giant's soul, Richard felt a connection to a new law, one of size and power that would put him on the path of the ancient titans. He was rather surprised by this discovery; it was one thing to be able to extract a target's laws from their soul after killing them, but refining that soul into a solid crystal containing fragments of those laws was entirely different. It was a frightening display that left his followers unable to mask their instinctive vigilance, with the rune knights looking confused at the sense of danger they felt subconsciously.

However, it was Asiris's expression that drew Richard's attention the most, the Dark Priest's mixture of fright and recognition stunning him for a moment. Did he know about soul hunters, and had he sensed something despite the ability being hidden in the sparks?

Thankfully, he managed to keep the alarm off his own face, calmly stowing the crystallised soul away while acting calm as usual, “Everything's back to normal, continue exploring. But be careful, there might be more enemies hidden around.”

The spell formation in the hall continued to run, constantly absorbing the origin energy of Faelor. However, the broodmother had already ingested the skeletons, and replacing them were numerous large eggs derived from the skeletons of the giant and the astral beast. It took three whole days to digest the latter even with Richard taking away the skull in hopes of analysing some of the laws behind its disintegrating gaze, but she was already far into her analysis. The eggs would hatch in roughly a month.

In the scant few days she had been here, the broodmother had already formed a small larval forest nearby. There was an enormous cocoon within even larger than a flying chrysalis that she was nurturing herself, but the contents of it were unknown.

Richard began work on his endless list of tasks, currently analysing the inner structure of the mountain that was being revealed by the worker drones. He took quite a while performing calculations to see where exactly the plane's origin energy was flowing, eventually marking his estimated direction on the map. Once he had graphed all of his options, he sent orders to the cloned brains to have the workers dig down in that direction.

This particular task didn't take very long, so once he was done he started working on another piece of Midren's battle edition. This one was built around the godsblood, the foundation alone taking more than a hundred steps, but he finished it all in half a month with no mistakes at all. Just as he was about to move on to the next crystal of godsblood, news came from the worker drones that they had found an underground passage; his vision connecting to one through the cloned brain, he saw the same corridor that Runai had once walked.

Richard instantly noticed the abyssal architecture to the corridor, and with everything else he had seen he could confirm that the demons were the source of the strangeness in the Genesis. Ordering the workers to widen the passage leading there, he gathered his followers and rune knights before blinking over.

The moment the party arrived, a dozen workers rushed into the long corridor and were met by a number of lesser demons that had blinked in from an unknown location. There were more than a hundred demons that were around level 6 or 7, but the drones were completely unafraid of death and tried to use their acid and stingers to kill the opponents.

Richard raised his hand, sparks floating on his palm as he prepared to attack, but the entire corridor started pulsing in a set rhythm. It distracted him so much that the sparks dissipated, and he even left himself completely defenseless.

1204 - City of Sin

Endless Corridor

As the corridor starting shaking, all Richard could hear was the rhythm of a heartbeat. Three hearts were pulsing at the same pace as the corridor, leaving him extremely uncomfortable. The regular beats were only interrupted when Tiramisu jumped out, swinging his hammer to kill a few lesser demons that were about to pounce on Richard, “What happened, Master?”

Richard snapped out of his daze, “Don't you hear the heartbeat?”

“Huh?” Both of the ogre's heads frowned in confusion, “What heartbeat? I only hear the demons”

“You really don't hear it?” Richard asked again, consulting with his two other minds to make sure. In the meanwhile, the rune knights and winter soldiers rushed in and rapidly formed a defensive line to block out the waves of lesser demons.

The broad corridor allowed Tiramisu to fight comfortably, but the strange thing was that nobody could see the end of it behind them. There was the passage they had come in through on one side, and demons were surging out from in front, but the other end seemed to have no stop to it. As for the demons themselves, there were so many of them that their numbers quickly grew overwhelming. Even the rune knights couldn't withstand them for more than a few minutes, slowly starting to retreat.

Demonic corpses covered the floor of the corridor, but new lesser demons just stepped over their kin's corpses and attacked from above. In only minutes, an army that could sweep through all of Faelor was actually forced to retreat.

Asiris quickly headed over to Richard's side, “Your Grace, this is the Endless Corridor of the abyss, connected to one of the layers. We're taking on an entire layer's output of demons!”

Richard nodded, but made no move to order the retreat as he attentively observed His eyes lit aglow as his vision pierced through the illusory fog and detected some strange movements, demonic sculptures on the walls of the corridor that were moving. He felt a fluctuation in space whenever a part of the corridor was emptied, the sculptures sending a new batch of lesser demons to fill the gaps.

His face sank as he realised that Asiris was right, “Will we face any greater demons or demon lords?”

Asiris shook his head, “This isn't a planar portal, just a way to connect the abyss to a number of specific planes or secret places. Greater demons shouldn't be coming to one that connects to a secondary plane.”

“And how are we supposed to go through?”

Asiris pointed in the directions the demons were surging out form, ”Just follow the corridor this way, and we'll reach the exit eventually.”

“And the other way?” Richard looked behind him and frowned.

“There is no end in that direction.”

Richard nodded and started to examine the situation closely. While his army was slowly retreating, there hadn't been any casualties yet. The rune knights and winter soldiers had formed a tight line of defence, shifting in and out to make sure they never exhausted themselves. In the meanwhile, Richard's followers stood right behind the defensive lines and killed any demons that managed to slip through.

The army was efficient as ever, minimising damage while killing the maximum number of enemies, but the formation was slowly being pushed back by the endless tide. No matter how many demons were killed, another batch just took their place; morale wasn't sagging yet, but even the strongest of warriors couldn't find it in themselves to battle a truly endless horde.

Kellac just finished a spell, a glob of black light appearing over the lesser demons that magnified his scream to everything within a ten-metre radius. Their souls were all shocked out of their bodies and shattered by this divine version of Death's Decree, killing more than 300 in one go. However, even more demons rushed in and promptly filled the empty space, while his expression darkened. This was a grade 9 spell he could only use thrice in a day, and he was still needed as a backup healer.

Richard stopped the other followers who were about to make their moves and walked towards the front of the formation himself, standing just behind the line of rune knights. Taking out the Book of Destruction, he flipped through to the page containing the blood inquisitors. A single blood inquisitor was more than enough to power the entire battlefield here, so he could summon them one by one to freeze the lines.

As his mana brought the book to its designated page, Richard caught a single glimpse of the strange tetrahedron and felt a chill in his heart. After some hesitation, he flipped back to that page and poured in his mana and the power of his truename, summoning the strange object from the tome.

He didn't know just why he wanted to summon the tetrahedron, but he had a gut feeling that it would be different from previous summons. Was it Intuition again? He wasn't sure himself.

Four orbs of light floated out from the book and into the passage, connecting together to form the mysterious glowing object once more. Richard suddenly felt a strand of consciousness connecting to him, almost asking for orders, and he glared at the endless wave of lesser demons, “Kill them all!”

This was an impossible order; Richard wasn't sure if he could accomplish such a thing himself. Theoretically, there was a limit to the number of lesser demons in a single layer of the abyss, but he didn't know how big that number was.

Once it received his orders, the tetrahedron started glowing and shot out a beam of plasma from each of its corners. These beams were unimaginably hot, cutting deep into the walls of the passage and slicing the demons in two like they were made of air. The beams seemed to move randomly, but the corridor turned into a slaughterhouse where dozens of demons died every second without a single splatter of blood.

However, this wasn't the end. The tetrahedron suddenly started rotating, the pace completely random just like that of the beams. The four attacks seemed to form a random web of destruction within ten metres, and the strange object buzzed before shooting down the corridor.

The Endless Corridor suddenly went quiet, so quiet that it was frightening. The annoying chittering of the lesser demons had disappeared completely, and the rune knights that were still in battle position just stared in front of them with shock. A thick pile of demon parts had been formed on the ground, the cut surfaces as smooth as mirrors. The four walls of the corridor were filled with deep cuts as well, but they were secreting a black liquid to start repairing the damage. There was a soft buzz with every cut that recovered, almost like someone crying. At the very least, no new demons were being spawned.

Richard himself was shocked by the results, but he was also the first one to recover. He pointed to the depths of the corridor and started moving forward, “Let's go.”

It proved difficult to clear out the numerous chunks of flesh, so the rune knights used their shields like shovels to push them all to the sides of the corridor and make a path down the middle. The number of demons in the passage reduced as they ventured further in before finally disappearing, but from the looks of it there were tens of thousands of corpses in total.

The mysterious tetrahedron had disappeared as well, but Richard opened the Book of Destruction to find it back on the page. It was much lighter now, looking like a shadow of itself, but an attempt to pour in the power of his truename made the image sharper and brighter. The tetrahedron formed once more, starting to rotate on its own.

Richard wasn't sure whether he could control such great power, especially when he didn't even know what exactly it was, but this wasn't the time to worry about that. He had the troop speed up and rush towards the depths of the Endless Corridor.

For some reason, the corridor itself seemed to be on his side after that display of power; not only did it not spawn more demons, but it had also secretly reduced the distance to only a third of his initial estimate. It only took a few minutes before they were standing in front of an ancient bronze door.

A few rune knights walked forward and pushed the heavy door open in tandem, revealing a majestic hall behind it. There seemed to be no one within, but the moment Richard stepped in a thunderous voice rang through every corner of the underground building, “Who dares disturb a greater lord of the abyss?”

1205 - City of Sin

Lord Of The Abyss

Not feeling threatened by the loud voice, Richard walked directly into the middle of the hall. A wave of his hand prompted his followers and rune knights to file in as well, entering battle formation around him. Google search 𝐟𝓇𝘦𝒆w𝚎𝐛n𝐨ν𝙚𝚕. c𝚘ｍ

Tiramisu was the last to enter, and the ogre lord kicked down the doors before he joined the rest of the troop; he wanted to make sure that the exit wouldn't be sealed off. Seeing this, the self-proclaimed abyssal lord grew even more enraged, “Disgusting insects, I will burn you all in lava for ten thousand years!”

The palace started shaking violently, rocks falling from up above as an enormous conscient gathered to attack the souls of those present. A few of the rune knights immediately paled, almost paralysed with fear, while even Kellac and Asiris had unnatural expressions on their faces. Spellcasting didn't matter the slightest when it came to a direct contest of souls.

Richard was the only one who remained entirely unaffected, his legendary might showing itself as he took a look around and said dully, “A lord of the abyss? You don't even sound like a lesser lord, and even if you were, there's no need for your arrogance here.”

“Even your gods have to crawl before me!” The demon's growl turned even more fearsome, its spiritual attack trying to pin Richard to the ground.

“Not my gods, but there's a limit to my patience. This ends here!” Richard raised his right hand, blue astral sparks forming in his palm. Similar flames formed all around the palace, dancing in the air like a magnified version of the display above his hand as they started burning through the thick fog all around. The fog seemed to be absorbed by the flames as they passed through, making them brighter and more powerful.

The demon suddenly let out a cry of pain, “These flames, how can they burn souls? How can you conjure something so powerful? Who are you? What kind of fiend are you?!”

The mournful cries almost brought the rune knights to fainting, but Richard merely sneered, “I'm Richard Archeron. Curse me all you want, but fuck right off to the abyss for now.”

The sparks in Richard's hand quickly grew in number, mirrored by the flames in the hall until there were hundreds of blue fireballs rushing around. The demon's cry immediately went up in pitch, but its powerful conscient was swept away like a current until it completely disappeared.

“I'll be back!” a faint voice rang through the hall, the change so sudden that even Richard was a little surprised. He growled in disappointment; he had hoped it would press the attack and give him a chance to catch its soul.

With the mind controlling them having vanished, the fog in the palace immediately faded away. This mist had been a physical manifestation of the conscient's spiritual power, which was why Richard had burnt it up. With the demon lord having escaped, Richard just clenched his fist and all of the flames flew back into his body.

“Tch, escaped so fast,” Richard muttered under his breath, looking around a few more times before shaking his head helplessly. He then ordered the rune knights and winter soldiers to spread out and probe the magnificent building.

The palace was enormous, larger than even the hall upstairs. It seemed to be created naturally and was devoid of decoration, but at its end was a tall darksteel platform with a throne. The arm rests were in the form of demons facing each other, a classic design for abyssal lords.

Once the mist cleared, the sheer size of the platform and throne became all the more apparent. The demon that occupied it had to be at least a hundred metres tall, signifying great might in a society where a being's power was represented by their size. At this height, even if one wasn't necessarily an archlord that controlled an entire layer, they were still much more powerful than a lesser lord. To Richard's knowledge, no lesser lord was big enough to occupy such a throne.

He didn't think the demon earlier was a greater lord; had it been one, it would have been impossible to scare it off so easily. However, he was still interested in just how the demon conscient had managed to slip away from his powers before escaping; his flames would normally have followed the conscient all the way back, but this time they had failed.

He floated up to the platform and flew once around the throne, but even after close inspection couldn't find anything of value. The only thing worth a significant amount here was the darksteel that made up the throne itself as well as the engraved art. Behind the throne was a hidden door where the space was rippling ever so slightly; Richard quickly figured out that this was a short distance intraplanar portal, and given its stability there was nothing to worry about.

Entering this portal, he found himself coming upon a strange space that smelled of flames and sulphur. Smoke filled the air and twirled around constantly, illuminated by the rays of light coming from the dome. His gaze pierced through this natural barrier and swept across the surroundings, finding a natural underground space that was large enough to fit in a dwarven city. The domed top was a hundred metres high with a dense growth of glowing mould all over, and there were two waterfalls flowing right out of the void in the distance.

All of Richard's attention was drawn to the two waterfalls and their strange aura. The liquid from them converged into a small stream that made its way to a distant hill, and a faint blaze could be seen on the other side. Flying over to examine closely, he was surprised and delighted to find that the liquid contained so much energy that a bottle would be considered a high-quality potion without any refinement.

Activating Insight, he finally came to the conclusion that this was where the majority of the origin energy of the Genesis was headed, converging into these two waterfalls of pure energy that flowed towards the hill. The stream shimmered ever so softly, and the bottom was filled with scattered specks of magic crystals just like in his own demiplane. The surprisingly fast current made its way around the hill that was a few dozen metres tall, finally converging into a pool.

When Richard flew up to see what exactly was on the other side, he almost lost control of his flight for a moment. Lying in the pool of energy was a demonic body over a hundred metres tall, clearly coming from a powerful demon lord who could even have been an archlord of a layer. He instinctively flew back a hundred metres, but still couldn't bring himself to feel safe at all. If the demon stood up, even an unconscious swat could hit and kill him.

Demon lords were the top beings of the abyss, every one of them powerful enough to leave the other demons trembling. Many powerful ones ruled entire layers on their own, with only the largest or most powerful of layers being divided between multiple. Even Sharon couldn't beat a greater demon lord yet, and his first instinct was to just run as far as he could.

It was only after he retreated that Richard realised the demon lord wasn't moving at all. In normal circumstances, it definitely would have noticed him, standing up or at least sending a curse or other skill to turn him to ash. Instead, his ears were filled with the loud heartbeat that had plagued him for months, this time confirming the source of that sound.

This heartbeat felt a little abnormal. It didn't cause him any discomfort, just a faint sense of temptation that pulled him closer. Rationality told him to stay as far away as he could, but his subconscious mind was telling him that approaching the demon wouldn't result in any sort of threat to his life.

Composing himself, he calmed his followers who had sensed his uncontrolled shock and ordered them to stay in the hall until he gave them the signal. Taking a deep breath, he decided to trust his gut feelings and carefully approached. Demon lords didn't need to care about any number of opponents at the level of sky saints; a single attack could wipe them all out. Only those in the legendary realm even qualified to be considered pests.

Even when Richard flew up high, the demon lord's mountainous body still remained prone on the floor, not making a single movement. Only then could he be sure that it was dead. It wasn't unusual for the body to still be in such pristine condition either; demon lords were equivalent to deities in other planes, and their bodies were even more resilient. It wasn't surprising for them to last millennia without a single sign of decay.

However, this corpse clearly had a steady heartbeat that was drawing him closer. Richard's own heart almost froze as he observed the demon lord carefully, the Field of Truth turning its body translucent and revealing the interior. Thankfully, most of the body's energy had drained out so he could see past it, revealing great damage to the internal organs. The heart was basically the only part that looked alright, but it was much weaker than at its peak as well. Even so, each beat caused a tidal wave of energy in its surroundings, sometimes even ripping space apart for a moment.

A quiet calculation told Richard that a single pulse from the heart was more powerful than a full-strength blow from him. He wasn't even on the same level as the demon lord; this was clearly an epic being or even greater.

1206 - City of Sin

Secret Of The Genesis

The stream brimming with origin energy curved past a small hill and formed a lake behind it, the demon lord lying within. The lake was quite shallow, exposing half of the demon lord's body, but that was because a huge amount of the water being gathered here was being absorbed by the demon's heart. It seemed like the dead demon was relying on the origin energy of Faelor to maintain the power of its heart.

This was the true secret of the Genesis. A layer of the abyss could support an archlord as well as dozens of lesser lords, but Faelor's origin energy wasn't nearly as powerful. A single lord had turned everything within thousands of kilometres barren just to maintain his dying heart.

Looking into the distance, Richard saw a deep trench extending from the lake into the distant fog. The tracks made it seem like the demon lord had crawled to this point before dying of exhaustion, the trench a memento of his life's last journey.

Just what sort of being could kill a demon lord? And who built an array to absorb Faelor's origin energy and maintain the lord's heart? Richard swept through the surroundings with all of his senses, but he couldn't find a single trace of life within a kilometre. He followed the trench a few dozen kilometres in, the surrounding temperature starting to rise quickly while the air started to smell strongly of sulphur and other poisons. By the time he was at the origin of the trench, only those at level 10 or above could move about freely.

He continued moving forward through the seemingly endless fog, relying on intuition and instinct until he eventually crossed through a dense wall and was met with a stunning view. In front of him was an ancient battlefield, millions of demons all lying on the ground in the last throes of their death. Their opponents were strange beings that looked like giant beetles, but while there were less than a hundred each one was more than ten metres tall and almost a hundred metres long.

Richard's attention was quickly drawn to a black hill in the middle of the battlefield, but looking closer he realised that it was a huge bug even larger than the broodmother, its lower body almost a thousand metres long and supported by hundreds of joints. The upper body was collapsed, but were it standing it would have been kilometres high, with thousands of small sharp blades all over.

The creature was completely surrounded by demons that seemed to have died all in the same moment, many in the middle of their attacks. Tens of thousands had been trying to climb up its mountainous body to its head, and Richard could already imagine the blades mincing them every step of the way. From the state of the battlefield, the bug had likely used a soul attack to wipe out everything within dozens of kilometres, wiping all life out within its field. That one attack had exhausted all of its life, but despite their victory the demons had lost most of their number as well. The one survivor, the lord himself, had only managed to crawl a small distance away before he died as well.

He felt breathless just looking at the enormous body of the creature, like all human labels of saint, legend, and epic were a joke in front of this being. While he had known this for a long time now, the enormous body reconfirmed that size was the best way to fit power. Demons, titans, dragons... they all used size to contain their sheer strength.

Humans preferred maintaining their original size, but even so when someone focused on strength became legendary, their body would grow. The physically strongest human powerhouse to date, Emperor Philip, resembled a small hill. Although most human legends focused on the power of laws, that could still be overcome with enough brute force. Considering his own increasing power, he started wondering whether it would be wise to let his own body grow from its average build.

Putting the thought to the back of his head, he flew towards the large bug. However, the trace amount of mana he activated in this process seemed to be a spark that lit up the entire battlefield, breaking the balance that had lasted thousands of years. The demons all started collapsing before his eyes, turning into fine dust that was almost impossible to see with the naked eye. As he looked up, the enormous bug started dissolving as well, the dirt rolling down like a mudslide as the mountainous body disappeared.

It was only then that he understood just how much the origin force pool had kept up the demon lord's body. All of these remaining combatants had been drained until they were empty shells, but the lord had still managed to set up the enormous energy gathering array that the other demon had taken advantage of and managed to keep himself intact.

Once the bug's body disappeared, the earth shook and started sinking down. The rocks and soil fell in to form a hole that was a few kilometres wide, and flying over it Richard's vision was blocked by thick fog a thousand metres deep. He saw vague specks of fire amongst the fog, but after some hesitation he flew down.

His senses dulled the moment he entered the fog, the feeling almost the exact same as when entering a portal. He went forward anyway, appearing on the other end a few moments later. As he exited the kilometres-wie portal, he was stunned by what he saw.

The sky here stretched infinitely in all directions, dark red flames occasionally raining down to the bottom. A thick smell of sulphur filled the atmosphere here, making one feel like their lungs were burning up whenever they inhaled. Richard's body adapted to it immediately, but he also realised that even saints couldn't last long here. The cracked black ground was overflowing with lava all around, some eruptions going more than a hundred metres high before falling back down.

This was a place he had never seen before, but also one that couldn't be more familiar. For a moment, he felt like he was back in the Archeron family tombs, but something in the air felt hostile and left his blood surging. Hundreds of lesser demons were roaming around below, attacking each other constantly, but as one discovered and pounced towards him he just grabbed it by the head and burnt it to ashes with blue fire. The headless corpse then fell to the ground, limbs still twitching.

Indeed, this was the abyss.

Looking behind him, he saw a huge mirror-like surface in the air that was the exit back to Faelor. However, it was a full kilometre wide, large enough to fit a lord of the abyss and his million-strong army through.

Richard stood rooted in place for five minutes before he could accept the fact that he was in the abyss. In that time, a dozen demons had pounced him and were killed off. They were only level 6-7 back in the corridor, but here they were covered in a red glow that brought them to level 8 or 9. They eventually realised how strong he was, backing off and staying far away. However, he didn't stay long himself; even though this portal seemed to have been abandoned for some time now, demons had sharp senses and could be attracted by his presence. He didn't even care about greater demons, but he definitely wouldn't want to fight a lesser lord within the abyss.

1207 - City of Sin

The Source Of The Archerons

Once he was back at the ancient battlefield, Richard calmed himself down and started summoning his followers. They were all surprised by the massive corpse of the abyssal lord, his pulsing heart exerting great pressure on them. Tiramisu was the most affected of the lot, actually collapsing next to the corpse and unable to get up.

No one laughed at the ogre's state, instead looking at him with envy. For a race that relied as much on talent as ogres, sensitivity was an enormous indicator of potential. The fact that the abyssal lord had shocked him to the floor made it clear that level 21 wasn't his limit; he would make it far into the legendary realm.

Once they walked past the corpse, the followers saw the endless abyss. Asiris was the one with the biggest reaction, actually yelping at the sight, “Your Grace, this couldn't be...”

“Mm, a portal to the abyss,” Richard smiled bitterly.

“Master, there's a shrine here!” Zangru suddenly sent a message, “I think you should take a look.”

A shrine at the edge of the battlefield? Richard headed over, finding a moderately sized building made completely out of darksteel with a demon head on the roof. This was typical architecture for the abyss, but the small size could just have been due to a lack of manpower.

The space inside wasn't particularly big, but demonic letters carved on all four walls were emitting a dark red glow. Having learnt the language recently, Richard used his limited knowledge of it to conclude that this was a spell formation that gathered energy, just like the others he had seen so far but at a smaller scale. There were two deep pools at the end of the shrine, with powerful divine auras radiating from within.

Richard walked to the side of the pools and looked in, “Hmm... The Highland Wargod and the Goddess of Time, huh.”

Having followed him into his divine wars against these two deities, the followers recognised the bodies as well. He fell into deep thought, starting to connect the dots between past events, but he suddenly felt a cold wind envelop him as two translucent silhouettes rushed towards his body.

Spirits? Richard barely felt a threat from this attack, but before he could act both Asiris and Kellac shouted loudly. The symbol of a fist appeared above Kellac's head and sent a golden beam towards one of the spirits, while Asiris threw out a black warhammer formed from divinity. These were Smite and Hammer of Judgement, two divine spells that were especially powerful against spirits. The attackers immediately howled loudly, dissipating into thin air. By the time Richard recognised the conscients of the Highland Wargod and Runai, they had been wiped out from the plane.

With the minor threat dealt with, the party started to examine the shrine more closely. In the end, Richard determined that the divine bodies and pools weren't the most valuable thing here; they could give him about 200 units of divinity, which was a small fortune, but the demonic spell formation could convert any amount of origin energy into divine force.

In a side hall of the church was a thick diary left behind by the Highland Wargod. Having his followers search the battlefield, Richard stayed in the church alone and read through the notebook attentively.

The Highland Wargod was one of the deities who should have fallen during the battle against the astral beasts, but he had sealed up his divine kingdom to delay the process of its collapse. He then used the strength of a servitor to support his avatar's journey into the depths of the barbarian plains to activate a backup he had hidden behind here.

A long time prior to the invasion, the Wargod had set his sights on the potential of the barbarians, destroying their three strongest ancestors in a divine war before disguising himself as their true primogenitor and stealing their faith. However, out of fear of their battle ability, he had cursed them upon their ancestral altar, spreading the curse through their bloodlines over generations. The power of this curse limited the barbarians to level 10, absorbing any excess energy they tried to accumulate afterwards and sending it to his divine body.

In many ways, this was similar to what the Lady of the Night had prepared, except that he actually got the chance to use it. Successfully escaping to the barbarian plains, he used his powerful backup body to reignite his godspark and return to divinity.

During this process, he had unexpectedly discovered the Endless Corridor underground, following Richard's route to find the ancient battlefield. As someone who had never left Faelor in all of his existence, the deity was shocked by the power of the demon lord and came to a deal with the conscient. The demon lord had tricked him into thinking that he was the corpse with the still-beating heart, teaching him to extract origin energy from Faelor for the sake of resurrection. Once that was complete, they would conquer all of Faelor and the Highland Wargod could become the Overgod.

The Highland Wargod immediately commanded the only barbarians in the valley with remaining potential to build the energy gathering array. Continuous absorption over hundreds of years had turned the Genesis barren, the scope of decay expanding further out until it had reached its point today.
f𝚛e𝚎𝙬𝑒𝚋𝚗𝚘ѵ𝐞𝒍. c𝐨𝙢

However, Richard quickly determined that the Highland Wargod had been misled as to the function of the energy gathering array. If this went on for a few more centuries, the damage to the planar origin would be unrecoverable and the Genesis would collapse. This would form a passage that directly linked Faelor to the abyss with no energy cost to teleportation, allowing the demons to surge in endlessly and turn it into a plane of fire and lava. If Faelor could withstand that, it would be assimilated into the infinite layers of the abyss; otherwise, it would become food for the demons' growth.

This was certainly a plane with potential, but given how the gods had messed with its evolution it would never be able to withstand the might that came with being part of the abyss. Once the plane dissolved, all the deities that relied on its laws would dissipate automatically. Both the Highland Wargod and more recently Runai had sold themselves to a demon for the sake of resurrection, but they had been tricked into putting Faelor on a path to ultimate destruction.

......

Richard and his followers combed through the ancient battlefield for the next few days, but the didn't find anything valuable and eventually returned to the surface.

A dazed Richard stared at the heart that was almost as big as himself, feeling the life force in every pulse. If he offered this thing to the Eternal Dragon, even it wasn't rank 1 it would still be five rank 2 blessings or so. Were the dragon kind enough, it could give him a method to repair the Deepblue Aria and perhaps even one or two core materials for the same. Unlike devils, where the skull contained a majority of their power, the heart was where a demon's essence coagulated. This was why devils could be killed by beheading, but powerful demons still fought on for a while after.

Despite such great value, he felt no compulsion to actually use the heart as an offering. Every beat drew in his own three hearts and forced them to join in its rhythm, and no matter how hard he tried to separate them a moment's relaxation brought them all in sync. Something like that shouldn't have happened, but knowing his own heritage, he understood just what this was: bloodline resonance.

In other words, the demon heart before him belonged to an Archeron. That lord with unimaginable might who had been killed by the bug? Likely the source of all Archerons in Norland, or at least someone strongly related to that source. That battlefield was incomparably huge. Richard could tell that it had originally been a complete plane, but the place had been destroyed in battle and left with that small broken piece that floated to connect to Faelor. No powerful Archerons had been found in the abyss before, but maybe that was because the progenitor was dead.

When it came to it, this heart was one of his ancestors, something that left him with very complicated feelings. He had brought it into his lab for study, but even with his irreverence it felt just wrong to throw this towards the dragon or cut it apart. His thoughts suddenly drifted to Gaton; the man had been taken to the depths of the Abyss by Mordred, and the moment he himself had stepped into that unknown layer he had felt a strong urge that compelled him in that direction. It had taken a lot of effort to calm himself down and return, his instincts urging him to ignore the fact that he wasn't nearly strong enough yet.

Amidst all this confusion, his hand stretched out subconsciously to touch the heart.

1208 - City of Sin

Descendants Please visit 𝐟𝒓𝚎𝘦we𝐛𝐧𝐨vℯ𝚕. c𝘰ｍ

The moment his fingertips touched the demon lord's heart, Richard suddenly felt his Archeron bloodline erupt violently. His temperature skyrocketed even as he completely lost control, a searing pain from every corner of his body almost numbing his mind.

Countless black tendrils suddenly shot forth from the demon lord's heart, wrapping around his wrist and then crawling up his whole body. Richard was shocked and tried to summon his followers and the broodmother, but the heart had actually caged his consciousness and cut off all communication. He couldn't even scream as the heart turned into a multitude of black threads wrapping around him, and his heart sank as he realised that there would be no help. His followers were explicitly trained not to disturb him if he was in a lab, so unless new enemies showed up outside they would just assume he had cut himself off to focus.

No one could save him.

A black cocoon pulsed rhythmically in Richard's laboratory, lasting one day, then three, then seven... Half a month had passed quickly, but even though the followers felt like the experiment was taking a particularly long time they weren't worried. They continued to train and sleep doing whatever they wanted with the short break.

......

After a month passed in quiet, the huge cocoon finally started moving. A crack appeared on its surface before a hand shot out from within, the perfectly formed fingers grabbing the edge and ripping it apart with force. A body then dropped out of the shell, falling to the ground.

The moment he emerged from the cocoon, Richard started coughing violently and vomited mouthfuls of clear water, the fit lasting a good few minutes and covering the floor all around him. When he finally found the strength to get back onto his feet, he almost collapsed again.

His looks hadn't changed significantly in this time, but he had gotten significantly thinner. A closer look would reveal that his already elven features had grown even more delicate, now bordering on those of a true-blooded elf or even a celestial.

As he struggled to stand, Richard was suddenly overcome by an indescribable hunger. The feeling was so great that it easily overcame his rationality, his eyes drawn to the black cocoon before his vision focused on that and that alone. He let out a bestial growl and pounced onto the threads, biting down strongly.

By the time Richard's eyes regained their clarity, there wasn't a single trace of the cocoon on the ground. Pain, hesitation, confusion, and panic flashed across his face, but eventually he found it in himself to calm down and sigh. For the most part, he still felt like himself; he hadn't thought he would act like a drone and eat the shell that nurtured him, but that cocoon had been formed by the demon lord's heart. In effect, he had eaten the demon lord.

He laughed bitterly at the realisation; he had just swallowed an offering that was higher than rank 2! From another angle, he had basically eaten away the repaired Deepblue Aria or a complete version of Midren. If one called this a meal, it truly was a luxury that even Emperor Philip or Empress Gelan couldn't afford.

He moved back towards his table and leaned against it, but the ironwood desk that was stronger than steel immediately creaked and splintered apart, sending him falling to the floor. The hand that tried to block the fall went right into the dense floor that was made to resist any sort of corrosion, and by the time he managed to stop his fall half the arm was buried.

Carefully standing up, Richard looked at his hands in disbelief, pulling a legendary warhammer from his spatial ring and exerting his strength on that. With the hammer in one hand and the handle in another, he actually managed to twist the weapon out of shape! He hadn't even used his laws of metal or buffed himself with any strength spells; this was pure physical power!

After struggling for some time, he finally managed to find a way to stay on his feet. A shelf had shattered in the process, only because he had tried to hold it to balance himself.

After his month-long disappearance, Richard finally reconnected to the broodmother and his various followers. A few minutes later, Asiris walked into his laboratory with a fresh set of clothes; his original sub-legendary robes had disappeared in the growth process.

“What's happened in this past month?” Richard asked, and Asiris gave him a rundown of everything that had happened during his hiatus.

Faelor, Norland, and all of his other planes were right on track, everything going just as scheduled with no hiccups at all. However, Richard stayed extremely still despite the reassurance, listening attentively without moving at all. Asiris was a little confused by this, but he soon got the answer to his doubts. Richard's body moved ever so slightly, but the chair immediately shattered.

Thankfully, he was prepared this time and didn't fall right to the ground. Smiling in embarrassment, he stood up, “It's fine, I just can't control my power yet. Continue.”

Half an hour later, Asiris left the laboratory while Richard moved around carefully, slowly adjusting himself to his new strength. He felt like a drunk man with no control of his own power, having to put far too much effort into reeling himself in. It already felt like he was no weaker than an ogre warlord.

All of the demon lord's essence had been poured into his body in the past month, completely transforming his internals from head to toe. Even some of his internal structure had changed, forming a fourth heart right in the centre of his chest that was now ringed by the other three. The vessels coming from his heart stretched out in all directions, fully resembling the heart of a demon.

Even if he couldn't figure out just how humans infused with the lord's bloodline had made it to Norland, it was basically confirmed that this was the source of the Archerons. The bloodline resonance was just too strong for it to be otherwise.

Wait, bloodline resonance! Richard suddenly remembered that he had heard multiple sounds when he felt the resonance earlier, one of them extremely weak and feeling like a newborn. With this experience, he now knew that it hadn't been an illusion, which left a possibility that caused his jaw to drop, “I have a child?”

As he stood up in shock at that judgement, his legs put in so much force that he barrelled straight through the roof and a hundred metres into the sky. Shrugging it off and unable to wait any longer, he summoned a messenger and flew towards Bluewater as fast as he could. After hours upon hours of non-stop flight, he finally reached the portal and flew straight in.

......

Blackrose Castle was just as orderly as always, the old steward managing the estate well. Thousands of knights were currently gathered in the square, all decked out for a march as Alice would momentarily lead them into an attack on some old enemies in the Sacred Tree Empire.

Heavy footsteps rang through the halls of the castle as a fully-armoured Alice walked downstairs. Behind her was a troop of ferocious rune knights, and despite her steady gait her stormy expression showed that she was in a bad mood.

Coincidentally, the old steward and Coco were walking down the corridor on the other end. The young girl was carrying some of her clothes with the steward advising her on some things, while two servants carried the rest of her belongings behind her.

Alice's expression worsened at the sight, and she stopped and snorted loudly. The energy behind the snort shocked Coco into dropping her clothes, but the steward stepped forward in protection and bowed, “My Lady, are you going to war again?”

The Earl levelled a sword-like gaze at Coco's abdomen, “Yes, I'm earning a few territories for the family. There seem to be a lot of people in line to inherit them. What are you doing, changing rooms?”

The steward bowed humbly, “Yes. The upper levels of the castle have more sunlight and space, that would benefit Miss Coco's body. I made the decision to switch her room up there.”

The old man's tone was respectful, but there was no room for discussion either. He perfectly hid that he didn't need to get her permission, but that only made Alice feel worse.

1209 - City of Sin

Pregnancy

“The upper levels? Which floor?” Alice asked.

The steward hesitated for a moment, but under Alice's sharp gaze he still answered firmly, “The fifth floor, my Lady.”

Alice's eyes started glowing with rage, her red hair burning like flames as she activated her aura. Blackrose Castle had been renovated a few times after Richard moved in, and the main building now contained seven floors in total. The top floor was Richard's lab and meditation space, while the one just below had his personal quarters, study, command centre, and private library. The second to fifth were where the rest of the family stayed, but the fifth was reserved for the most important members of the family. Even Richard's followers had rooms on the fourth floor, with Alice and Goliath being the only ones with access to the fifth. Coco had originally been on the second floor, befitting of her status, but now that she was being moved so far up, the old steward was basically confirming that she was just as important as any of the other lords in the family.

Thankfully, the Earl managed to calm her rage and turn back to her knights, “Let's go to war, men; the battlefield is where we belong! Let's leave the castle to the pretty ladies!”

Once done with her disdainful words, Alice ignored the steward and left with her knights in tow. Moments later, a long warhorn resounded from the plaza and the earth started shaking as the fully armoured knights marched out.

Meanwhile, Coco put her belongings down in her new residence and looked around easily. This suite with multiple bedrooms, two living rooms, a dining room and even a private kitchen was just far too big and luxurious for her. There were only four like this, and it was meant for nobles with a large number of servants.

“Isn't this... too much?” she asked nervously, “I'll be alone, all the other rooms will be a waste.”

The young girl was obviously worried, not just because of the huge living area but also because of Alice's undisguised enmity. However, the old steward just smiled, “Of course not. I'll arrange for some servants and a chef overnight; tell them if you have anything you need from now. I'll also have a few of the rooms cleaned up for some new guards to move in; those women will be responsible for your safety.”

“Safety?” The girl felt lost, “I'm in the family castle, why would I be worried for my safety?”

“Danger doesn't just come from outside the castle, my Lady,” the steward answered, reminding her of Alice's fierce gaze. She shivered softly before accepting those arrangements, her hands drawn to her abdomen where a new life was being birthed.

......

In her residence in the Deepblue, the legendary mage yawned as she struggled up from bed. A point and wave immediately turned the wall in front of her into a clear window, giving her a complete view of Floe Bay. The wall itself was something she had designed when she was bored, but it had turned out to be a huge boost to comfort now that she could control the entry of sunlight.

“Eeeeehh, it's just the afternoon.” Sharon mumbled in a daze, “I haven't slept all that much... Wait, what?”

She suddenly shook her head, pulling a gnomic timepiece towards her that contained eight clocks in total. Looking at the current date, she staggered out of bed, “I've slept for ten days?! How? I only sleep for eight... Since when did I get this weak? Ten days to fill up my mana... No, I'm sick!”

As someone who had never fallen sick before in her life, the legendary mage shivered in fright. Just what sort of illness could hurt her? Her limbs turned cold as she tried to check her body, the fear of finding that something was wrong paralysing her.
𝐟𝘳𝐞ℯ𝚠e𝑏𝒏𝑜𝙫𝘦𝙡. c𝑜𝐦

However, her stomach suddenly distended for a single moment, a clear heartbeat ringing out from within!

The legendary mage screamed, immediately casting a dozen barriers around herself before looking at her stomach. The sound of the beating heart travelled through her body, each pulse surging with energy that distorted the space around her. As she touched her belly, a complicated expression came over her face until the pulse fell silent once more.

Although it was obvious by now, Sharon still inspected her body thoroughly to confirm that a new life was now being nurtured within her. Her mind went blank, taking a few minutes to process just what had happened.

“I'm pregnant?!” Unprecedented joy suddenly filled her heart, information that was hidden within her bloodline surfacing of its own accord. Hers was a race of low fertility, a normal woman only able to manage two to three descendants in their thousand years of life. The highest ever recorded was seven, something considered a miracle that had never been surpassed. Every member of her race was unimaginably powerful, but their inability to spread quickly had been their downfall.

The legendary mage had never come across or even heard of another member of her species in the past century. She wasn't certain if she was the last survivor, but there couldn't be more than a handful left across the myriad planes. And she was going to have a baby!

The small life had fallen asleep once more, but she could tell that it was extraordinarily powerful, much more so than any of the children in her inherited memories. The embryo was only as big as a grain of rice, but its heartbeat could still release so much power; if it continued to grow at this rate, it could even be born a saint!

Joy, worry, confusion... a number of expressions crossed Sharon's face. She started walking all around her room, pulling at her golden hair and muttering from time to time, “How do I tell Little Richard about this? How?”

To her, this question was more difficult than fighting a dozen legendary beings.

Her pensive thoughts were suddenly interrupted by an elven puppet, “Your Excellency, a mage called Praton is at the Deepblue. He said that he's your friend.”

“Praton? I don't think I know someone called that... Wait, is it a baldy? Right, there was that old man!” Sharon recalled that she had met this legendary mage twice, forming a short alliance. She couldn't recall if or when she had invited him to the Deepblue, but they certainly weren't enemies. Although a legendary mage visiting would normally be a big event, she ordered the puppet to lead Praton to the lobby while she had a dozen servants dress her before joining him.

...

If one didn't know Praton's identity, their most likely guess would be that he was a merchant. He had all the stereotypical characteristics: bald head, plump body, and a constant smile that was borderline unsettling. The man was shocked by Sharon's appearance and jumped up from his sofa, casting barriers all over in paranoia. There was almost no angle from which he looked to be a prestigious legendary mage.

However, the old man seemed to forget this embarrassment as soon as it was lived out, smiling in relief and falling back to his seat.

“Speak, why are you looking for me?” Sharon went straight to the point.

Praton leaned forward, “Your Excellency, I've chanced upon a natural portal at the edge of a spatial storm in my travels. That portal led to a strange plane that definitely has a lot of resources and powerful beasts; I thought you would be interested, so I came to invite you to explore it with me.”

Sharon's interest dipped the moment she heard that it was another plane to explore, “There's like a dozen I haven't even gotten around to yet. I'm not interested unless there's something worth it for me.”

“Umm, I discovered some strange beings in that plane, but I don't have the erudition to recognise them all. I was hoping you could,” the man pulled out a sheet of parchment, clearly not having given up yet, “Have a look, these are some of the beings there.”

Sharon was about to just dismiss it offhand, but she still took the parchment and looked through it absentmindedly. However, her eyes suddenly landed on an unremarkable little drawing and she cried out, “Stonelord!”

1210 - City of Sin

Those Who Were Left Behind

“Stonelord? What is that?” Praton asked in confusion.

“... Nothing.”

Sharon shook her head and calmed down, but anyone could tell that the stonelord wasn't just a trivial thing. As an astute man, Praton immediately wiped away the traces of annoyance and forced a smile, “Then you'd be willing to explore the plane with me?”

To his surprise, Sharon just caressed her belly while muttering to herself, not giving him a response. His eyebrows lifted and he gathered all of his determination, “If you're willing to go with me, I'll give you 60% of all loot and give you first pick!”

These conditions were quite surprising for Sharon and finally got her to nod. It was clear that the stonelord was the target of her attention; her eyes still hadn't left the figure of the little creature that seemed to be a sort of earth elemental.

Praton heaved a long sigh, “Then make your preparations, we can leave in three days.”

“That long? No need, let's go tonight.”

The old mage smiled with glee, agreeing immediately. Sharon was known to be a fickle person, and he didn't want to risk her changing her mind. As night fell, two beams of light shot out from the Deepblue into the endless void.

......

Elsewhere in the void, at the core of the tremendous energy storm, an old mage dressed in grey robes was looking over the millennia-old Soremburg Castle from its balcony. This castle was far older than any Norlandic history recorded; even few Scholars knew that Soremburg himself had only found the place, not built it. The key to its stability in the void was an ancient spell formation deep underneath, but not one of the extremely talented Scholars of each generation had managed to unlock its secrets.

In the face of the energy storm all around, any so-called power was just a joke. The architecture and longevity of this ancient castle was awe-inspiring, prompting a gentle sigh from the old man before he continued to flip through the pages of the book before him. On the page he flipped to was the image of an elf-like earth elemental, labelled a stonelord.

The old mage carefully read through the description that had already been burned into his memory, chuckling softly as he muttered to himself, “Ah, Sharon... If you really are what I think you are, these should jog your memory. Will you be able to withstand the temptation of your favourite food? The meal that will bring you to your next evolution?”

He suddenly went quiet as urgent footsteps sounded from the balcony, closing his book and looking at a pretty young woman who was walking up to him. The young lady that looked to be fourteen or fifteen years of age had a magical parchment with her that she placed on the table, “My Lord, this news just came from the mirror.”

The old mage picked up the parchment and read through the information carefully, only putting it down a few minutes later, “You did well; being the one to receive this news is a form of destiny. How about this— head over to Grand Scholar Rhodey; if you can pass his test, he will take you under his wing.”

“The Grand Scholar?” the apprentice went giddy with delight, “I... I understand! I will not let you down!”

The young lady immediately sprinted away. As he watched her departing back, the old mage sighed heavily, “Destiny...”

However, the girl suddenly returned, a hint of uneasiness in her tone, “My Lord, I just remembered. The Grand Scholar left the castle this morning, and he will only return in a month.”

“Rhodey isn't around?” a trace of emotion crept onto the old man's face, “It cannot be... This destiny...”

He sighed and pointed upwards, forming an elaborate teleportation circle on the ground, “Since Rhodey is not available, allow me to complete your test myself. You will find your task at the other end of this portal, and you will be inducted once you return. Come, brave child, seize your destiny!”

The young lady blushed with emotion, shaking her head hard to steady herself before running to the portal. Light flashed and her figure disappeared in an instant, reappearing only ten kilometres away.

Seeing a full view of the castle in front of her, the girl's eyes suddenly went wide in disbelief. Without the protection of the castle's defences, a passing wave of energy turned her into ashes before she even had the chance to scream. The acting lord of the castle sighed deeply, a few more wrinkles seemingly added to his face as he stood up and headed towards the meeting room.

......

“Ah, everyone is present,” the acting lord nodded, “Let us begin.”

“Aren't there two missing?” one of the holographic figures asked in confusion. It was rare for Scholars to miss emergency meetings, especially two at the same time.

The old mage clarified, “Grand Scholar Rhodey has just started his journey towards the Endless Swirl; he cannot attend. As for the other, the Ascetic is now indisposed as well. This is also the reason I gathered you all here.”

All the holographic images all fell silent, allowing the acting lord of the castle to continue, “The respected Scholar fell to a despicable trap. The broodmother in Faelor has completed the project to recover its soul, but it also discovered our own mechanisms in the process. It used this as bait to try and obtain control over the Scholar, but that process failed and destroyed his soul in the process.”

The old man paused for a moment, allowing everyone to digest the news, “The venerable Ascetic gave up his last chance to escape, using all of his remaining energy to send out a warning that I only just received.”

“Has the thread of fate been cut?” one image asked immediately.

“Sigh. It has been disconnected, but Rhodey wasn't here to do so perfectly.”

After an uncomfortable moment of silence, the voices started discussing the matter at hand.

“The Ascetic was one of our three strongest when it came to the soul; if he fell as well, we stand no chance in a spiritual war.”

“This is a broodmother that has awakened its truename and can eliminate any hidden dangers. It won't be long before it follows the trace of destiny back to us.”

“We have to think of another way.”

The acting lord raised a hand to silence the hall, “It is clear that a broodmother without any flaws in its soul cannot be controlled.”

A tall, skinny figure hummed in disdainful agreement, “The broodmother is a dangerous force; we will only be safe if it is under our control. Such power cannot lie in the hands of anyone else, especially Richard.”

“What about Sharon?” a beast asked, “She is very troublesome as well.”

“Rhodey has gone to take care of it,” the acting lord said, “She will not be a problem for long.”

The beast shuddered in unease, “Does the Endless Swirl conceal...”

“Yes, it is the lair of the primal chaos beast, the natural enemy of all ancient races.”

One image asked in a low voice, “Must we resort to this? The primal chaos is an enemy to all life and order; it brings destruction everywhere it goes and returns planes to the void.”

Hearing these words, the bestial figure seemed to grow even more uneasy and curled up into a ball. However, the acting lord maintained his calm, “What else can we do? Would you be willing to try taking this task on yourself?”

The voice just snorted. It was clearly angered by the suggestion, but wasn't willing to fight Sharon either.

An indescribable sense of oppression filled the meeting room, and without anything else to discuss the holographic figures started leaving. Evidently, the primal chaos beast wasn't a topic that brought joy.

1211 - City of Sin

The Problem Of Inheritance

Far away in Norland, the portal in Blackrose Castle started to flicker as Richard stepped through. A throng of servants immediately surrounded him as he started walking through, some rushing in and out with every order he passed, “Prepare the communication circle and portal to the Deepblue, you have half an hour. Has my map been updated? It better be in five minutes. Tell the steward to meet me in the study, and Nyris too.”

The entire castle was roused by the arrival of its lord, the ambient volume rising sharply as the officers sent out orders to their subordinates. Richard himself quickly reached his study, but he was in no state to deal with his documents right now. He wanted nothing more than to head to the Deepblue immediately, but that portal was only used very rarely and was left turned off when not in use. Worse still, the portal was currently in the midst of its regular maintenance cycle; the mages working on it could only speed up and finish.

He certainly did have other ways to get to the Deepblue quickly, but he still wasn't skilled enough at teleportation to be able to manage that without depleting his mana. All three human empires were currently paying attention to him, and he couldn't afford that moment of weakness.

Thankfully, the communication circle was much faster to set up. Richard felt his heart thumping the moment he heard Blackgold's voice, but he found that the legendary mage had left to explore a new plane for an unknown length of time. Although frustrated and worried by that, he could only enquire about the general situation in the Deepblue before cutting off the channel.

If he really was going to have a child, it would be with Sharon, Alice, Rosie, or Coco. Rosie had already confirmed to him that she wasn't pregnant, and he himself felt strongly like the child had to be in the belly of the legendary mage. This could only be confirmed by Sharon herself, but given her character she wasn't one to announce this. Given that she had left, it was unlikely to be her; after all, she was one of the most experienced plane wanderers in Norland and knew the dangers.

Standing there as the holographic image of the grey dwarf winked out, Richard suddenly felt an intense throb in his heart. A strange feeling of desolation overcame him, as though he had just lost something valuable. His expression immediately soured with anxiety, his subconscious mind screaming for him to prevent something from happening, but he just couldn't understand what it was. He didn't know what he needed to stop, what he had to do to stop it, just that it was of paramount importance. This was another warning from Intuition, but this evolution of his blessing of truth was proving vaguer and stranger by the day.

“Is something wrong, Your Grace?”

Richard's attention was drawn to the two mages who were maintaining the spell, both their expressions uneasy from a small leak of his aura. Shaking his head, he reined himself back in and said that he was fine before returning to his study. A mage had already updated the map and was waiting for him to go through it, but a single look and he knitted his brows, “What is Alice doing at Lightflow Valley right now? She's a complete idiot; does she think she can conquer that place all on her own?”

The river flowing through Lightflow Valley was a tributary of the sacred river of the Church of Glory; of the twelve original saints, two had been born in that region. It was considered somewhat akin to a hallowed ground, set apart from secular wars. Even if Alice managed to defeat the Empire's troops and paladins, the Church of Glory would do everything it could to reclaim the territory. They wouldn't even mind declaring war on himself; after all, his relationship with the Earl wasn't particularly a secret.

Hearing Richard's enraged question, the mage instantly panicked, “Y-Your Grace, the Earl said this wasn't an expedition to conquer. S-She is just venting some frustrations...”

“She's what?” Richard's eyebrows only knitted further. Every warrior was a precious resource that he spent huge amounts of money to protect; survival was enough to turn weaklings into seasoned veterans. Throwing away troops just to vent frustrations was extremely stupid.

More importantly, the fact that she dared go into battle clearly indicated that she wasn't pregnant. But that just left Coco... Richard pushed the notion away instantly; her body was just far too weak, she couldn't possibly bear his child. A child's base potential was often the average of that of their parents— this was why he was the most talented of Gaton's children— but even so, Coco's weakness wasn't enough to offset his own strength. Was it...

As he was considering the possibilities, the old steward suddenly barged into the study with a huge smile on his face, “Master, I have great news! Miss Coco is with child!”

“Coco?” Richard was a little stunned and confused. While it was true that one weaker parent sometimes ensured that there weren't any bloodline conflicts limiting the chance of conception, weak bodies just couldn't even support the child's formation. He was a little disappointed that it wasn't Sharon, but much more worried about the fact that she just wouldn't be able to carry the child to term.

A lot of his life had been spent without any desire for children, but as his empire continued to expand, Richard was starting to come around to the idea. The Archeron Family was growing more and more unstable with time, and the primary reason was that he always put himself in danger and there was no set successor. He hadn't announced any contingencies, so his siblings, Sauron, Goliath, and Alice were all playing their hands just in case. This was completely unlike what had happened with Gaton's death in the Rosie Plane; even though that was so sudden, Richard had gotten formal control of the family. With his own talent winning Philip's favour and the recognition of the other families, the rest of the family was eventually forced to bow down.

No matter how weak Coco's child would be, it would still be a continuation of his bloodline. He muttered to himself for a while before looking at the steward, “Increase her allowance, you choose by how much. Make sure she's given the best care possible; if you aren't attentive, she might suffer a miscarriage. Don't tire her, don't frighten her, don't harass her. You have blanket authority to deal with offenders as you see fit.”

“Yes, Master,” the steward nodded.

...

Just as the steward left, another figure rushed into the study like the wind. She almost knocked straight into Richard, stopping just a few feet short before stabilising herself. Her chest heaved up and down as she looked up, gasping for breath, “Richard... you're... back...”

“How are things?” Richard asked with a smile.

Nyris took a moment to regain her breath, “It's going well. We're continuing to eat into the forest, and tens of thousands of trees are going down every day. I'm only keeping it there because we can't send everything out; if we had the astral chrysalis or something, I could be pushing so much more out. Right, the Golden World Tree is fifty metres tall now; come pay a visit if you can, it's beautiful...”

She spoke quickly as ever, but the situation in the Forest Plane was so complicated that it took more than an hour to finish a detailed report. Outside of the Golden World Tree, the broodmother's avatar had already grown to level 8. Perhaps it was due to their common relationship with Richard, but she and the tree got along in perfect harmony and could even replenish each other's energy. The avatar's combat drones kept them safe, while the tree suppressed all intelligent opposition.

Normally, the Golden World Tree would have to spend a thousand years just in its first growth period. However, it was already able to force the will of the forest hundreds of kilometres away, taking control of that territory entirely. In terms of coverage alone, it already exceeded most mature trees of life.

Nyris's battles had been going well, making use of small armies of elites just like Richard did elsewhere. She had just received a shipment of ten tonnes of the latest version of gunpowder, this batch so powerful that she could blow up tens of thousands of the thickest trees with it. However, she already had eight small hills of wood ringing Emerald City that still hadn't been shipped out. She would need time to take care of that first.

At this point, the wood wasn't even a focus anymore. Her real goal was to wipe out any elven presence nearby, especially when it came to their druids. Having taken dozens of them out recently, she was now finishing up the path to the tree of life. This was an enormous undertaking that had started when Richard was still actively overseeing things there, but she was finally about to finish it.

1212 - City of Sin

The Price Of A Bloodline

Compared to when Richard only had ten thousand soldiers and had to use them for battle, Nyris had the broodmother's constant output of drones helping her greatly. The Forest Plane needed manpower instead of battle ability right now, and the level 8 avatar had maximised her production of combat units which was already boosted by the abundant life energy in this plane. Her ability to produce standard combat units had actually caught up to the main body, giving Nyris tens of thousands of drones to command as she saw fit.

The biggest disadvantage of the broodmother's drones was that their lack of soul made them especially vulnerable to the will of the forest. Outside of the avatar herself, even her level 12 knights couldn't move about very freely. They were an enormous asset within the control of the Golden World Tree, but outside of that Nyris had to rely on her regular soldiers.

Thinking of this, Richard turned a little solemn and warned her, “Careful, the Jadeleaf Tribe still has a legendary druid.”

“Hmph, I'm just scared he won't show himself,” she snorted. Having spent years in the Forest Plane now, she had managed to stabilise in the saint realm and also coordinated well with the twenty rune knights following her. Half her equipment was legendary while the rest was sub-legendary, and she always carried a special leaf from the Golden World Tree that could absorb a third of most incoming nature attacks.

With all of these boosts, she certainly had the confidence to battle a legendary druid. On the other hand, Jadering and Wildrage, the druid and hunter that were the pillar of support for the resistance in the Forest Plane, couldn't afford to take the risk. Even if they weren't afraid of losing, just a draw would be a huge blow to their reputations, destroying elven morale.

According to Nyris's report, the situation in the Forest Plane was very stable and the elves hadn't appeared in a long while. The problem was with scale; the forest was just far too large and the elves constantly ran away. It was near impossible to find them unless they wanted to show themselves. With the trees of life having run away, there were no tribes within a thousand kilometres.

“Is there anything you need to help speed things up?” Richard asked.

“Hmm... Your unicorn! 30 more rune knights would be good, too,” Nyris answered.

“What? You plan to attack?” Richard was surprised. The unicorn could create a moving sanctuary that fought the will of the forest, keeping the drone army effective in battle.

She smiled slyly, “Not necessarily, I can use it to create a path, too.”

“Hmm... Give me two days, I'll be visiting with you.”

“You're finally uprooting that world tree?” she chuckled.

“Heh, if only. I still don't think I'll be able to find it. But I won't be bringing too many people this time; just a handful. The army will be on standby in case we manage to find anything.”

Nyris nodded vigorously and left like the wind. Richard only managed to relax when she was gone, heaving a sigh of relief as his sweat pores finally opened up. No matter as a man or woman, this royal felt like she was on the verge of pouncing on him at any time.

......

Richard spent some time on more urgent tasks before walking into Coco's room, looking at the young lady who was watching the beautiful territory of Azan in silence before sitting next to her, “How do you feel?”

Coco turned to face him and touched her belly, pale little face smiling with joy, “I can feel the child now. It's leaving me tired, but I'm fine.”

“Phew... Don't move, let me take a good look.” Richard's eyes glowed as his vision pierced through her body, but he didn't see any foetus within. Instead, what he saw resembled the core of a demon surrounded by a layer of meat, pulsing with a regular rhythm.

This revelation shocked him a little. Most Archeron children had slight displays of their demonic bloodline within them, but it took an extremely pure manifestation for a core to appear. With a core formed even before birth, this child would have at least the same talent as Goliath or Sauron, if not greater. He hadn't expected a child with Coco to have such talent; with the proper grooming, it could even reach the legendary realm.

However, as he retracted the Field of Truth, his gaze at Coco was far more complicated than anything else. Powerful bloodlines came at a price. Even demon lords grew from small cores, but those cores absorbed an enormous amount of energy that no common mother could provide. Coco, who was still a level 4 illusionist, definitely didn't have the strength within her own body to support this growth. She was already pallid, and he could tell that her life force was draining away even with a core no larger than a fingernail. She would die within the next month.

The lady herself clearly had no idea about this, pride being the dominant emotion on her face, “Your Grace, I've finally fulfilled my duty as your partner.”

“Yes... Yes you have,” he forced a smile, but seeing her face he stood up and started walking around the room, “Coco... You need to know this, having this baby won't be easy. Be careful and follow the steward's advice; priests can't help either you or the child, so there won't be a chance to save you if something happens. No need to worry about your family from now, I'll send people to take care of them.”

He hesitated before continuing, “You know that the family is in a complicated situation, there are a lot of people who wouldn't like to see my child being born. I don't have much time to spend in Norland, so you need to be careful and avoid trusting people so easily. If anything happens, just look for the steward; in the meanwhile, I'll send for some knights to protect you.”

“Thank you, Your Grace,” she stood up and bowed in gratitude, knowing that Richard would never have cared this much for her safety before.

“Alright, get some rest. I have to leave.”

...

Once he was out of Coco's quarters, Richard frowned and walked to his study. Activating the maps of his various planes, he stared at them silently. Normal potions would be useless on Coco, and most kinds of divinity would kill the unprotected child. Even a blessing of time from the Eternal Dragon would be of no help; those blessings served to freeze one's life force for a certain amount of time instead of boosting it directly.

From the choices he had right now, the best method to increase Coco's vitality would be a fruit of life. However, the Golden World Tree was still too young to bear fruit and the tree of life that had surrendered to him only had a single fruit that would only help for a year. Even with the different scales of time, it would take more than a year for the next fruit to appear.

Even he couldn't just source ten fruits of life out of nowhere. He could perhaps find one or two trees, but ten was near impossible. As he stared at the map of the Forest Plane, his gaze turned cold and he thought of another idea; fruits of life might not be good enough, but there was another part of these trees that was: their hearts.

As long as he managed to catch one tree of life quickly, he could chop it down for its heart and ensure his child's safety. However, the will of the forest was still quite strong and Nyris couldn't move about freely. He would have to do this alone.

1213 - City of Sin

Mana Armament

Before leaving for battle, Richard went about checking his equipment as always. He didn't need much anymore, his two divine swords and the legendary Twin of Destiny enough to tide him through all his battles, and as far as runes went his were almost unparalleled in Norland.

However, that didn't mean there weren't deficiencies for him to shore up. Mana Armament was still at grade 4, which translated to a sky saint's energy levels at best. While he currently had the skill of a legendary warrior, his close range attacks relied far more on brute force and speed than energy combat. His mana was quickly crystallising, to the point that every level up would come with a minor transformation of his body, but he just couldn't sustain close-ranged combat as well as someone like Tannan.

Even though Mana Armament couldn't give him a legendary ability, he could use his magic to close that gap with a warrior. That was why he could sell the grade 4 rune for such a high price in Norland; the sheer amount of versatility it added to one's arsenal couldn't be underestimated. However, now that he had surpassed Lawrence in pure skill at runecrafting, he could confirm that the small gaps in the grade 5 version were actually deadly flaws. He had tried repeatedly to find ways to fix these flaws, but it had been to no avail.

Every saint runemaster took a different path to reach the pinnacle of their field. Lawrence himself might have been able to finish his grade 5 version of Mana Armament one day, but Richard couldn't follow the exact same path. He would have to explore things on his own.

Thankfully, he had been fortunate enough to see two grade 6 runes; the Deepblue Aria and Midren's battle edition. Although the latter was considered less than a proper grade 6, that was only because the material requirements were reduced in consideration of Norland's standards.

Wait... materials! There were two reasons grade 6 runes were so powerful: laws, and materials! His eyes started sparkling as he pulled on the design for Mana Armament once more, going through the list of materials it used. Indeed, Lawrence's version only cost a few million gold's worth of materials to make, unlike Midren's battle edition which had taken such powerful items as an astral beast's soul crystal, the hearts of a valley lord and primordial giant, and two drops of godsblood. Google search 𝐟𝓇𝘦𝒆w𝚎𝐛n𝐨ν𝙚𝚕. c𝚘ｍ

He'd always been suspicious of just what the Deepblue Aria was made of, but right now he suddenly understood how he could get around his failures with Mana Armament quickly. He had spent a lot of effort on the arrays that composed it, but he'd never thought of using more powerful materials. No matter how skilled at battle a child was, they still couldn't swing a hammer that weighed in the tonnes.

And right now, he did have a number of powerful materials he could use. The divine bodies of both Runai and the Highland Wargod were available to him, and only one of them was relatively new. There was also the font of origin energy underneath the Genesis, something that would be able to fuse these bodies into a core that reached the level of an astral beast. With it on hand, he could expand his current grade 4 design and empower it instead of trying to get the broken grade 5 design to work.

With this divine core, Mana Armament would have the capacity to convert legendary mana to energy. This would be a peak grade 5 rune, somewhat similar in power to the battle edition of Midren. Of course Lawrence had failed; he had tried designing something as difficult as a grade 6 rune!

He immediately summoned a grand mage and alchemist he had recruited recently, sketching down a few array blueprints for them to prepare. The mage's eyes went wide as he received the first one, and the alchemist actually yelped. They could tell immediately that this was a chance to forge a divine core.

The principles behind forging a divine core weren't very complicated and could be accomplished by a few grand mages. However, the value of the core was in the base materials; one needed a true deity for even the lowest grade of body! In fact, only one core formed from greater gods had ever appeared in Norland, a result of a number of epic beings ganging up on one of the plane's strongest deities. The Founding Empress of the Millennial Empire had used that core to form what was only the third item in the plane that surpassed divinity: the Orb of Guidance.

Both the mage and alchemist were immensely excited by the prospects of crafting a divine core. A single experience like this would enhance their reputations greatly, and even otherwise interacting with divinity was effectively interacting with laws; they stood a lot to gain. The two masters of different fields looked at each other, hardly able to contain their shock and awe.

Richard had a divine body! This meant he had killed a god!

Even on a secondary plane, killing a true deity was anything but easy. It took a deep understanding of laws to even be able to fight in a divine kingdom, forget actually eliminating its master. Their gazes on Richard filled with even more respect than before.

“Send me a message once the arrays are up, I'll send the divine body and origin water to you. I hope to get the core in a week.”

The old elven alchemist bowed deeply, “You will be given absolute perfection.”

...

Once the two left, Richard started looking at his list of materials as he upgraded Mana Armament's components one by one in his mind. His combat ability would skyrocket once he succeeded in this, giving him true legendary battle might at any range and allowing him to survive all sorts of dangers.

This rune would be a key to his exploration of the Forest Plane. Defeating a tree of life on his own was one thing, but that would be near impossible if the Jadeleaf Tribe's legends got wind of his presence and moved to intercept. He needed a tree heart to save his life, but there were none on the market right now.

As he looked through the list of materials, he quickly found that one important piece was missing: divine gold. This was a type of pure black gold soaked in divinity for a long enough time to greatly enhance its mana carrying capacities, making it a perfect material for grade 5 mage runes. The Church of Glory was the only organisation that sold this material in Norland, and with a very low output the price was always high. One also needed to be on good terms with them to get a hold of this at all.

Richard certainly wasn't on good terms with the Church as a whole, but he clearly remembered that he had gotten a batch of divine gold from Saint Martin that should have been in his warehouse months ago at this point. It was a total of a hundred grams, enough to craft five runes, but even that much had cost three million after Martin's assistance.

Had anything happened to the divine gold, it wouldn't be possible to get more easily. There was a limit to how much the Church of Glory produced at a time, and all of it was already divided between a number of organisations. Even worse, Mana Armament was a rune that absolutely needed this material; there could be no substitute!

Just how had such an important material gotten lost without him even being informed about it?!

1214 - City of Sin

Lost Goods

When the supervisor in charge of the warehouse entered Richard's study, he felt his legs turning to jelly in an instant. Richard was tapping his table ever so softly, but every tap just felt like a punch to the heart. Without any attempt to conceal the rage, his aura was frightening. It took a lot of effort from the level 16 mage to just not collapse.

“Where's a batch of divine gold that should be in my warehouse right now. Where is it?”

“Your Grace, that delivery was being made by the paladins of the Church of Glory. They were to send it directly to Azan, but they were ambushed near the border and completely annihilated. All their goods were taken away as well.”

“You're saying someone in the Sacred Tree Empire decided that they could kill a full group of paladins? Who did it?”

“It's supposedly a group of mercenaries that call themselves the Crimson Hawks. They were merciless; not one of the paladins managed to flee.”

Richard's rage simmered down into an elegant yet chilling smile, “So what did you do? No need to talk about how these Crimson Hawks managed to discover the divine gold, we'll talk about that later.”

“I reported it to Earl Alice immediately, Your Grace. I also sent my men to the lord of that territory to have him investigate. The man is called Marquess Brahms. I also sent men to the Church of Glory; technically, the men were still lost on their side, so the goods haven't been handed over yet. They should either give us a new batch or some compensation.”

“A new batch?” Richard snickered, “It'll be a whole year before they'll send me another batch. I can't wait that long; what did they say?”

“They said they would send word soon,” the supervisor answered carefully, wiping the sweat off his forehead.

“Alright, and what about Brahms? I've heard he's difficult to deal with, is the investigation done?”

“I believe a letter has already been sent our way, Your Grace. Could I be excused for a moment to go retrieve it?”

With a wave of Richard's hand, the mage ran to the door and looked out. One of his subordinates was sent to fetch the letter, and a few minutes later the supervisor entered the study once more with a confused look on his face, “Marquess Brahms said he found the base of the Crimson Hawks... He supposedly killed them all, and found the equipment that was taken, but there wasn't even a single gram of the divine gold.”

*BAM!* Richard's finger tapped the desk just as gently as before, but this time the entire desk turned to powder. He calmly reached out, and the supervisor passed over the letter in his hands. It was all very polite and to the point, even having a list of items obtained from the raid.

Not one of the weapons had been lost, but there wasn't a single gram of the divine gold? And none of the Hawks had been left alive either? The supervisor immediately started feeling uneasy, as though a huge boulder was weighing down on his chest. The letter's wording was polite and elegant, sure, but it would take a fool not to see the sheer arrogance within.

Richard placed the letter down every so gently, as though it was from a lover. While the desk itself had turned to dust, the letter and all of the other documents there continued to hover in mid-air as though there was still a sturdy table beneath them. This required a terrifying amount of control, and from the looks of it was being accomplished with pure mana. From the perspective of the great mage, it was practically a divine miracle.

Richard continued to tap the table, producing clear thunks as he asked, “The news that the Crimson Hawks attacked our shipment came from Brahms?”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

“Alright, you may leave.”

The supervisor sighed in relief and retreated from the room. The moment before the door closed, he saw blue flames silently burning the letter and shrapnel to dust; in the meanwhile, the unread documents remained intact. He couldn't help but shudder, quickly closing the door to the study before leaving.

......

“Richard! What's so urgent that you needed to contact me this way? It takes a hundred thousand gold per minute; you can't just use it as you like because I'm the one paying! I don't have much money...”

Richard felt a slight headache coming on and interrupted the ever-smiling Martin, who for all his whining felt quite comfortable rattling on for minutes on end while using this expensive formation, “How much divine gold do you have?”

“How much do I have?” the Saint showed an exaggerated expression of shock, “Dear Richard, this is not your frostiron we're talking about here. I already gave you everything I had from the past five years; there isn't a single gram left. If you want more, you'll have to wait until next year.”

“This batch got stolen,” Richard said coldly.

“What?” Martin's joking expression faded away instantly. He knew just what divine gold menat to a saint runemaster, especially a mage. “I've been taking care of some heretics in the Desolate Highlands recently, so I haven't had much contact with politics. Did you find out who did it?”

“It happened on Marquess Brahms's land. Somehow, I'm to believe that a bunch of mercenaries killed all the paladins, stole the divine gold, then shipped it to an unknown location before they themselves were completely annihilated by Brahms.”

“That's just...”

“Yeah, way too obvious. It's almost like he's afraid I wouldn't know who did it?”

“Hmm... But there really isn't a loophole in what he did. At least on the surface, he's acting by the law and shows a good attitude.”

“Do you have any suggestions?”

“You're asking for my opinion?” Martin smiled wryly, “You'll have thought of something by now already, so what's the point? I can only say that Brahms is someone of high status, the nephew of Archbishop Ruford. He's second only to Hendrick, and the difference in their power isn't particularly great. At the very least, he's much stronger than me.”

“So it's someone important,” Richard smiled softly.

Martin just maintained his own expression, “Who's important in the face of a genius saint runemaster like you? Nobody outside of the epic realm matches, they're targeting me this time.”

Richard looked up and sighed, “Doesn't matter, they've involved me now. Are they trying to stop me from crafting saint runes this year? Is it a warning?”

The Saint could tell that Richard's tone was different than usual, and he suddenly felt an itch on the tip of his nose, “This shouldn't affect you too much, should it? It's just a few million; they still know their place, they just don't want you to keep helping me.”

Richard's lips quirked up in an odd smile, “It's not money, it's time. I need to get something to ensure the survival of my unborn child, but for that I'll be doing something dangerous. I need a rune to increase my chances beyond the flip of a coin; if I wait a year, the child and mother will be dead. Is that considered affecting me enough?”

Martin's expression changed immediately, “Oh. Give me a few days, I'll return to the pope and get him to spit some out from his personal collection. I'll also send men to Brahms and see what I can pull out of him, but that might take time.”

1215 - City of Sin

Investigation

“Hmm? Are you ready for an all-out battle against the pope already?” Richard asked Martin. The holy child was already at odds with the pope, so he could only get more divine gold through mutiny.

“Of course I'm not ready!” Martin complained awkwardly, “Some of the old folks are still on the fence. If we fight now, I'm not likely to win. But what else can I do?”

“Nothing,” Richard replied, “This is my problem, and I'll handle Brahms. I've already dispatched troops.”

“You... Argh, whatever. Why are you asking me then?”

“Just wanted to inform you.” And find out how many others were involved. Richard cut off communications.

Standing in the middle of a dilapidated shrine, Martin looked at the fading light and shook his head in dismay. Brahms had pissed Richard off, and the only question now was how far the Archerons would go before stopping. He thought about it for a moment before activating a different communication array using his own divine aura as a signature. Looking at the six shrouded figures that answered, he said solemnly, “All soldiers on standby for battle. Wake the apostles.”

All the six figures quivered, one of them asking, “Which ones?”

“All three.”

“Your Excellency,” a hoarse voice rang out, “I must remind you that we aren't prepared for battle yet.”

“But we need to be ready regardless. Things could go very bad very quickly.”

Seeing Martin's determination, the six subordinates bowed in submission, the light from the array fading away. A graceful figure appeared behind him, a faint feminine silhouette with two pairs of celestial wings, “You'll be wasting a lot of stored energy. Is that okay?”

Martin flashed a dazzling smile, his gaze seeming to penetrate through space and time to land in some distant place, “Sometimes, being too careful isn't the best choice. One needs to seize their chances, no?”

“You always have my support,” the figure said softly.

......

The atmosphere in Dragonwing Castle was incredibly depressed, almost as much as the Marquess who owned it. Everyone of any import in the Brahms territory felt like it was winter, word already having spread that an army was heading towards them.

Loud crashes had resounded through Brahms's study all day, antique desks, paintings, and other treasures being crushed under the enraged Marquess's hands as the man read through a letter repeatedly. The Archerons were supposedly here to investigate the Crimson Hawks, but their intentions were just as clear as the farce before. The proud Marquess felt his face almost burning from the humiliation of an army entering his lands without permission or even warning.

......

At the same time, Richard's mood was no better. He wanted nothing more to fly right to Brahms and flatten his castle, but his troops had a speed limit. They were still 300 kilometres from their target, a distance that the astral chrysalis could cover in a matter of hours, but the chrysalis couldn't transport the entire army. The 50,000 soldiers he'd brought along would still take another day to march all the way.

Five Archeron regiments was completely different from most other private armies. Richard had led less than twice as many soldiers only a scant few months ago, crushing combined armies across all three empires and crushing any hopes of annexation. Even now, he had power comparable to multiple dukes at minimum.

While such a large army couldn't take shortcuts or move quickly, Richard had no plans of being sneaky or quick. Even now, he was staring at a small troop of soldiers that were rushing towards him, a combined force from two viscounts and one earl that had been informed about the march only hours prior. Seeing the vast army where even footsoldiers had glowing armour, the men leading this detachment gasped.

The old earl was the first one to move forward, “Your Grace, might I ask why your troops will be marching through my lands?”

Richard nodded, “I lost something in Brahms's land, and I'm taking my army to go look for it.”

The earl and two viscounts gasped, unable to believe what they had heard. Marquess Brahms was an important figure with close connections to the Church of Glory, giving him such status that even many duked wouldn't dare offend him. Richard was clearly going in equipped for battle!

All three of these nobles were vassals of the Sacred Tree Empire; hearing Richard's words, they could only chuckle bitterly. However, Richard just waved them away, prompting them to leave and have their armies retreat instantly.

......

The next day, Richard's troops were at the borders of the Brahms territory. The place was marked by a small town that had a surprising number of soldiers gathered within, the prosperous settlement located right along a major trade route that brought in a lot of taxes every year.

A few kilometres before the town was a large checkpoint with a hundred soldiers, a mix of mostly footsoldiers and a few knights. Even seeing the army approaching them, they showed no intentions of letting them walking through. Richard remarked indifferently, “He's trying to test my determination. Go show them.”

“Me?” Senma yawned lazily, stretching a little before moving forward, “You're flattering them.”

A few hundred knights followed the Blood Paladin, inspiring fear in the soldiers at the checkpoint. The defenders were only lightly-armed swordsmen, but Senma's troops were all heavy cavalry that could charge them down easily.

Even a few of the officers started to waver, but a ferocious man in the middle spoke loudly to reassure them, “Don't be afraid, brothers, stand proud. We are citizens of the Sacred Tree, they wouldn't dare attack us. So long as we stall them here, I will have my sister ensure the Marquess rewards everyone!”

The troop relaxed at these words, beginning to display the arrogance of powerful warriors once more. The knight even shouted at Senma and her troops, “Stop! This is the territory of Marquess Brahms! Nobody can enter without permission!”

The knight's voice rang out with confidence, as though he wouldn't relent even if the army charged, but Senma just yawned, “His Grace is here to deal with some issues, how dare you block the way? Are you bastards blind?”

The man immediately paled in rage, drawing his sword and hissing, “I don't care who your grace is, you dog—”

*THWACK!* The butt of Senma's spear smacked straight into his face, breaking his nose and sending most of his teeth scattering as he was thrown a dozen metres away.

1216 - City of Sin

Power

Once their leader was attacked, the rest of the knights and warriors fell into chaos. They drew their weapons and started swearing at Senma, but not one of them had the guts to actually fight her.

“Still blocking me?” Senma smiled flirtatiously, but the bloodlust was clear in her eyes as she licked her lips and waved her spear, “Crush them!”

Every knight behind the Blood Paladin was level 12 or higher, and as they surged forward the formation of swordsmen was broken apart instantly. The mounts alone did all the work, with not one of the cavaliers ever lifting their weapons in a charge that wounded half the enemies. The officers paled and ran away immediately, followed by the rest of the soldiers.

Only once the charge was completed did the injured leader actually manage to stand up, seeing only a handful of soldiers even left behind. He almost forgot about the pain in his mangled face, just watching dumbly as his men continued to flee.

Fortunately for him, Senma's mood had improved considerably in this time. “Why are you still here?” she joked, “Shouldn't you be running away?”

The knight immediately moved to flee, but then Senma shouted behind him, “Wait! Clear up the road before moving!”

The swordsmen who were still around dragged the dead and wounded to the side of the road, while three low-level mages cast some water magic to clean off the bloodstains. The warriors then showed surprising strength as they broke the checkpoint apart, opening up the road for Richard's army. By the time Richard had his horse walk over, the place was almost as good as new.

“Good job,” he nodded to Senma, “Now let's go, we don't have much time.”

“Yes, Your Grace,” Senma answered gently, her horse falling back into step. Nobody could imagine someone with such a subservient voice had caused all the violence only minutes prior.
𝒇re𝐞w𝐞𝚋𝒏𝚘ѵeƖ c𝗼𝑚

......

“DAMN THIS RICHARD! WHAT DOES HE THINK I AM? HOW CAN I LIVE THIS DOWN?!” Brahms's roars resounded through Dragonwing Castle, a brand new desk that had been brought out already smashed to pieces. Everyone in his study was completely silent, not one of those present daring to even console him.

Brahms cursed for a full ten minutes before stopping, already heaving from the exertion, “Which... Which way did he go?”

One mage hesitated, replying slowly, “He... followed the Autumn Road, my Lord, heading towards Sunset City.”

Everyone in the room was visibly shaken at the mention of that name. Dragonwing City was the capital of the marquessate, but that was mostly because of the scenery and defensibility of the location. The city allowed Brahms to guard himself from the independent nobles in the north of the Sacred Tree Empire. On the other hand, Sunset City was the most prosperous city in the territory, containing portals to four of the seven private planes the Brahms Family owned. Richard was a legendary mage who studied under Sharon, one of the most powerful masters of space in all of history. If he was allowed to even glance at those teleportation gates, he would likely get access to all of those planes.

A middle-aged general stepped forward, “My Lord, this is war! We have 200,000 soldiers and a powerful backer, why should we be scared of Richard? Let me go see if Richard can actually afford to fight the entire Sacred Tree Empire!”

The man was called Calor, and he was Brahms's best general and a close friend. Although only a sky saint, he was particularly suited to battles against mages and would hopefully be able to last against Richard long enough for help to arrive. He patted the man on the shoulder, “I'll give you 70,000 troops. Make sure he pays the price, but be careful. He's known for his prowess in battle.”

Calor grinned, “No need to worry. He might be good at command, but I'm aiming to whittle away his troops. He might or might not beat me, but I'll make sure his army will be too weak to leave the Empire alive! My Lord... What do you want me to do if I win?”

“Hmm... We must teach him a good lesson, but we cannot kill him. Sharon is just too powerful, even my uncle wouldn't dare provoke her easily.”

“We're letting him off so easily!” Calor grunted. His saint ability was extremely powerful against mages, and he planned to catch the enemy off guard. How strong could the defences of a new legend even be?

......

The day after he entered the Brahms territory, Richard was blocked by a troop of 70,000 soldiers. The sky saint leading them galloped forward and bellowed, “Richard, this is the Sacred Tree Empire, not a place for boors like you to act insane! Leave our lands now, and I'll let things be. If not—”

“If not?” Richard interrupted with mild interest. The sky saint had just moved too close, having arrived within a hundred metres of him. Even when facing a normal mage this would be a problem, but he was someone who specialised in one-hit kills. Even a normal legend would find it difficult to survive an offense from him at this range, and a sky saint would certainly die within moments.

Calor felt uncomfortable under Richard's toying gaze, a gaze he knew all too well. It was the same gaze he levelled at weaklings who wouldn't even be worth a fight. He grunted and suppressed the humiliation, saying coldly, “Then there'll be war!”

“War?” Richard laughed and waved his hand: “Senma, go try him out.”

“Me again...” The Blood Paladin answered reluctantly, but she still put on a sensual display as she walked towards Calor awkwardly. The man lifted his enormous warhammer and leaped down from his horse, meeting her in battle.

Senma turned into a red shadow that attacked Calor from all directions, but the man managed to deflect everything with a thick yellow barrier of energy. She didn't dare to take him on directly, and within moments Richard frowned as he realised she would lose. This opponent seemed stupid, but he at least had power.

A few minutes into the fight, Calor roared and swung his hammer around repeatedly, unleashing a flurry of blows which Senma tried to dodge. She was eventually forced to block one strike with a sword, but the blade immediately shattered and some blood formed on the corners of her lips.

“Come back,” Richard's voice rang out, prompting her to retreat towards him immediately. The Blood Paladin was already pale from the exertion, clearly unable to match up. Thankfully, there wasn't any lasting damage done; she still managed to mutter something about Calor being older as she returned.

Calor shouted loudly, aura flaring up and increasing the temperature of his surroundings. Having warmed up, he struck the ground hard enough to make a pit that was half a metre deep, “Having the women go first, are all of you such cowards? Come, show me your strength!”

“Strength?” Richard smiled with the same toying gaze. Calor suddenly saw the mount collapse, looking almost like a sack of flesh as it just spread out in all directions. He tensed up immediately, his three hearts stopping as he realised that Richard had disappeared from his vision. Before he could regain focus, Richard was right before him and had a hand on his chest, taking a single step forward to shove him into the ground.

1217 - City of Sin

The Search

The entire battlefield was rocked by a shockwave centred around Richard and Calor, destabilising both army formations instantly. The Brahms army immediately fell into chaos, but even with some people falling the Archerons recovered in moments. The powerhouses could only look on helplessly as Richard crushed Calor into the ground with incredible ease, slowly getting off his knees and patting the dust away. Cracks had spread out in all directions from the impact, with the sky saint having fainted in the centre.

Before he lost consciousness, the only think Calor could think about was the feeling of being crushed by an ancient titan. How could a human have such strength?

As he stood up, Richard raised his right arm and drew two circles in the air before pointing at the army opposite. The Archerons immediately charged towards the Brahms army, drowning the larger force out.

.......

By dusk, Calor had been brought back to Dragonwing Castle by his closest guards. He hadn't been able to move a single muscle the entire time, only staring into the sky and muttering to himself, “Strong... strong... strong...”

Marquess Brahms felt all of his arrogance fizzle away in the face of an incredible defeat, and even more heartbroken at the state of his close friend. His fists were clenched as he heard Calor whisper crazily, knowing fully well that this man wasn't as weak-willed as it would seem. He had fought legendary opponents on multiple occasions without faltering even in defeat, but Richard had crushed him in both body and soul.

Before this evening, Brahms had believed that the worst case scenario against Richard was the loss of his soldiers and perhaps even Calor. However, the general's current condition was clearly much worse than death. A cleric who had inspected him only a short time ago had confirmed that all of his bones had been broken, and it would take half a year to heal. The cleric herself had been shocked by her assessment; just how much strength did it take to crush every single bone in a near-legendary warrior? According to witnesses, Richard had just pushed Calor into the ground with one attack. However, the extent of the injuries made it seem like he had been stepped on by an abyssal dragon.

“How many dead?” The Marquess stood up, fixing his gaze on the four guards. Calor had taken 70,000 troops when he left, but now only five in total had returned. Richard had evidently allowed them to flee just so they could make this report. The rest of the army had been conquered completely.

“About 5,000 dead, my Lord, the rest surrendered,” one of the guards answered.

“And on Richard's side?”

“A... few hundred...”

*Bang! Thud!* After breaking through two solid stone walls, a corpse slumped onto the floor. Brahms still couldn't control his rage, bellowing hysterically, “ONLY FIVE THOUSAND DEAD AND MY ARMY SURRENDERS! WHAT POINT WAS THERE IN FEEDING YOU ALL?”

The generals in the room stared straight down, not even daring to breathe audibly. They knew that 5,000 dead would also involve about five times as many injured, and the immediate loss of their commander made surrender sensible. If anyone was to be blamed, it was Calor for overestimating his abilities.

“So tell me, what do we do now?!” Brahms growled after a few minutes of swearing, but the generals only looked at each other in dismay with no one making a sound. They already knew what the best options were— either leave Richard to his devices and hope he went away, or hand over the divine gold. No one was silly enough to mention either.

The Marquess clearly didn't intend for that question to be answered either, shooing the generals away while leaving only a few priests from the Church of Glory behind.

“When will he be here?”

“Three days,” a priest answered.

“Three days?! That's enough for Richard to destroy my lands!”

The priest remained calm, “This incident was far too sudden. His Excellency is currently amidst a crucial military campaign, three days is the fastest he can arrive.”

“So you're blaming me for taking things into my own hands?” Brahms asked in a dark voice.

“I wouldn't dare,” the official made a small bow of concession. The mere formality of the gesture was clear to everyone, but the Marquess also knew that he didn't have any power over the church even as a nephew of an archbishop.

......

Richard's next move confused everyone.

After his first victory, his army marched the prisoners of war up to Sunset City. The castle fell in only six hours, and 10,000 more injured troops signalled their surrender. This was all reasonable, but then he split his army into five parts that marched on the most important towns in the territory. Ten smaller patrol groups spread out to cover the land while these armies marched, making it clear that he was digging around for the Crimson Hawks.

Each of Richard's armies contained anywhere between five and six thousand soldiers, easily taking over their targets. While Brahms claimed to have 200,000 troops, most of his elites had been lost in the two major battles. Now he only had 10,000 men that were actually worth something in battle, and they couldn't be moved out from Dragonwing Castle.

And yet, Richard didn't plunder any of the towns he conquered. In fact, he basically did nothing at all, just occupying the places to ensure his army could roam about freely to look for the Crimson Hawks.

Nobody could decipher what his motives were; from the surface, it really did seem like he just wanted to perform his so-called investigation and nothing else. He could have marched straight towards Dragonwing Castle after his first victory, but he hadn't done so. Several other nobles nearby were left with no excuse to intervene, nor did they have the desire to in the first place. This allowed the humiliating investigation to go unchallenged.

Most garrisons gave way the moment they saw Archeron troops, expressing their intent to cooperate. The few who refused were decimated, and in no time Richard had no overt enemies in the area. For two full days, Marquess Brahms suffered in silence as Richard dragged his reputation through the mud.

And things didn't stop there. Richard set up multiple checkpoints all over the marquessate to screen every traveller thoroughly, which only meant the news of this investigation spread faster than it had to. Willingly or otherwise, Brahms became the centre of gossip for all of Norland, the blatant theft of the divine gold clear to many. Now, everyone was waiting to see just what the response to this deadly counter would be; if he wasn't firm enough, the Marquess would become a joke for decades.

Anxiety tore away at Brahms's appetite, but as somewhat of a voracious eater he eventually ordered some guards out of the castle to hunt down some fresh boar. However, the men returned within minutes of being deployed, shaken and empty-handed.

“RICHARD DID WHAT?!” another shout rang out as the Marquess put on a scarlet cloak and walked out of the castle. He was still confident in being able to hold out until reinforcements arrived if Richard were to attack, but when he came across a checkpoint outside he almost fainted from rage.

The so-called checkpoint was only a small wooden fortification that seemed like it would be blown away by a breeze, and manning it were only ten soldiers! Dragonwing Castle still had the military forces to swarm even ten saints, but these were only regular soldiers. Only one of them was wearing a badge, and that badge signified that he was just a captain!

Brahms immediately gathered a hundred elites and rode out to face the Archeron soldiers, “Are you tired of life?!”

However, the demeanour of the Marquess didn't seem to intimidate the Archerons at all. The young officer stepped forward, “Upon orders from His Grace Richard Archeron, we have set up a checkpoint here to interrogate any passersby. No member of the Crimson Hawks can be allowed to escape.”

Brahms whipped the air loudly, pointing at the castle behind him, “Open your wretched eyes and take a good look! This is my castle, there aren't any Crimson Hawks here!”

“I know Dragonwing Castle,” the captain answered calmly, “My orders are to control passage and collect proof from everyone passing that they aren't the bandits.”

Brahms froze for a moment before chuckling, staring the captain down as he activated his aura, “So would you check within my castle if you can't find anyone here?”

“Hmm... Perhaps. If I receive the orders to do so, I hope I'll have your cooperation.”

1218 - City of Sin

Dignity

*Ting!* Brahms unsheathed his sword and placed it on the captain's neck, “The gall! Do you really think I wouldn't kill you?”

“Marquess Brahms, we Archerons aren't afraid of death. However, His Grace did mention that all the soldiers at the checkpoints are true-blooded Archerons, his kin by birth. If anyone kills us, their only fate is total annihilation.” The captain was only level 10, but he seemed completely unafraid as he slowly pushed the blade away from his neck, “If you have no plans to follow through, it's best you don't tire yourself out.”

The Marquess turned bright red, the vessels on his neck pulsing in his rage as his eyeballs almost popped out of their sockets, but his trembling hand refused to go forward. Despite his bloodlust pushing for him to mince the arrogant peasant, he abruptly turned around and returned to his castle without a word. The surprised guard platoon could only follow behind, having to bear the arrogant smirks of the Archeron soldiers.

A short while later, a group of griffins took off from Dragonwing Castle, quickly moving towards Sunset City. Richard might have set up checkpoints down below, but as far as Brahms knew he had no control of the skies. The Marquess didn't want to face any of the Archerons down below; if they egged him on enough, he knew that he would lose control and kill some of them. His scouts had already reported that 63 Archeron soldiers had been injured or killed in similar scenarios so far, and Richard's retaliation had killed over 4,000 soldiers and fifteen high nobles. If he actually bit, Richard would have the excuse to storm Dragonwing Castle in less than a day.

......

Even though he now lived in Dragonwing Castle, Richard left both the defences and administration of the city up to its original mayor and forces. 30,000 fully armed soldiers seemed massive compared to his 3,000 men, but they had already been cowed into submission and all of the nobles in the city knew they would die if a legendary mage was forced to fight within the walls.

He had stayed in the city for the past two days, continuing to work on Midren's battle edition as planned. All of the materials had been gathered, so the only thing left to do was meticulously create every part one by one. The armour pieces had already been prepared a while ago, as had a number of the individual section; he was actually on the verge of completion.

This rune set was draining far more mana from him than anything before. Even with his current mana levels, he was normally exhausted by the longer curves he had to draw despite his control. For most other runemasters, they would need to be level 24 at minimum to attempt something like this.

Richard sensed Brahms's arrival from kilometres away, but he just sent a few knights to guide the Marquess to the castle's study. The atmosphere was frigid when the two met, but after a tense minute Brahms slammed his palm into the desk, “What is the meaning of this?!”

Still seated calmly, Richard answered, “It's obvious. I lost something, and I'm here to find it.”

“Are you trying to wage a war against the Sacred Tree Empire?!”

“No, but I wouldn't mind if it came to it. Then again, why are you so eager to have your family thrown out of nobility?”

“You...” Brahms was shocked and furious, not having expected Richard to be so unyielding. Were he to start a war, he was definitely in for some trouble. It was rare for such wars to result in total annihilation, with treaties being reached far earlier that involved funds, planes, and land, but it was clear that this wouldn't be such a case.

The Marquess took a deep breath and sneered, “Fine. I hope you won't regret making an enemy of every noble in the Empire, Richard!”

Richard finally closed the book in his hands, “I see you haven't learned your lesson yet. In that case, there is nothing for us to discuss. Get out, and take care of your attitude next time. You won't be getting any leniency from me.”

Brahms immediately turned furious, raising his hand up high to slam the desk again, but Richard's gaze landed on him and he immediately felt a strange sense of fear. His hand trembled, unable to move down at all; it felt as though he would lose his arm for that transgression. Gulping with difficulty, the man hurried away with his tail tucked between his legs.
𝑓𝙧𝙚𝙚w𝙚𝙗𝒏oν𝐞l. c𝑜𝙢

As she walked over, Senma stared at Brahms's figure with disdain, “What a coward. Why are you letting him leave? Shouldn't you have taken a few limbs?”

“People will get scared if I'm too brutal,” Richard smiled, “I'm still waiting for them to come after me.”

“What... I don't get you at all.... Wait, you still can't control yourself?”

His smile immediately turned to one of embarrassment, “I'll need some more time.”

Outside of runecrafting, Richard barely ever moved in recent days. His motions were still a little awkward owing to his newfound strength, but thankfully his control of his hands was still perfect as always. It would take more training just to ensure he wouldn't randomly crush objects.

He opened his book once more, “Since he isn't willing to give up, you should take care of things.”

“Fine,” Senma shrugged, “But I'm telling you now I'd rather have smashed his face!”

......

Just as Marquess Brahms dismounted from his griffin back at Dragonwing Castle, a senior mage rushed over and handed him a report. Taking a single look at it, he couldn't help but shout, “Richard's army is in my planes?!”

Most of Brahms's planes had been conquered long ago, so they were managed with very little military power. Given the power of Richard's army, those troops wouldn't last more than afew days. All of his wealth in those planes would become Richard's!

Shivering at the Marquess's expression, the mage continued, “That isn't all, my Lord. Measurements show that the coordinates of the four planes have been altered.”

“What?”

“The portals aren't in Sunset City any longer. They're in Azan.”

Brahms nearly fainted in that moment. This was four fully-developed planes, combining for millions of gold every planar year! Even if they could create a new passage in the future, the Archerons would be waiting there!

It was a testament to the man's will that he even managed to remain standing, “Go, prepare the communication circle. I need to speak to Archbishop Ruford, right now!”

......

“Uncle, Richard just stole four planes! Is the Empire still hesitating to send their forces?!” Brahms exclaimed the moment he saw a slender old man appear on the screen. Even through the transmission, one could feel a sense of dignity from the figure, and the splendid robes and sparkling sceptre revealed his status.

Archbishop Ruford stared Brahms in the eye, “This incident has caused a huge commotion in both the Empire and the Church. I'm afraid there won't be a decision anytime soon.”

“A commotion? Richard is raking the reputation of the entire Empire through the mud! Have they gone senile?!”

Ruford smiled helplessly, “Heh, you don't understand why Richard is doing this, do you. It's true that he won't be able to craft a saint rune for the next year, but that isn't the core of the issue. The rune he's working on right now is said to be for himself, and it's very important.

“It has to do with the survival of his unborn child.”

1219 - City of Sin

Fighting An Antimage

Hearing that Richard's offensive was for the sake of his bloodline, Brahms immediately shivered at the magnitude of the situation. Such a reason definitely tipped the scales in Richard's favour, and even the Church would have to back off a little.

However, that wasn't the end of the bad news. Archbishop Ruford continued, “I've heard his child's bloodline is very powerful, showing signs of manifesting within a mere month. Whoever interferes with Richard will be an enemy to all Archerons.”

“What? What sort of coincidence is that?!” Brahms exclaimed in shock.

“It doesn't matter whether it's true; the problem is that Richard's stance is clear and justified. Saint Martin seems eager to make a move as well, so I can't support you completely. This decision was far too hasty, and Yowen has always been sly; I'm afraid we've been played.”

The Marquess opened his mouth, but he didn't know what to say. He had only wanted to give Richard some trouble and make sure he didn't create a saint rune this year, but the matter was now completely out of his control. Richard could very well destroy his entire territory and the royal family would still hesitate to go to war against him.

It had to be an excuse. It just had to be! No matter how many times he told himself this, Brahms couldn't help but shudder at the thought of a blood feud with a saint runemaster. One of the reasons for the theft of the divine gold was as a favour to a grand runemaster named Yowen. The man was planning to exhibit a few borderline saint runes this year, but Richard's conventions had wiped away all interest. On top of that, Yowen also had a feud with Sharon.

“I... I just wanted to make sure Richard couldn't support Martin with new runes,” he eventually muttered, trying to justify himself in front of Ruford.

The Archbishop shook his head, “This might just be an opportunity. We aren't prepared just yet, but neither is Martin. Your situation can't be dragged further either... I'll have Saint Thomas lead 50,000 men down to help you, and convince the lords around you to help as well. That should give you about 200,000 men; we'll discuss things further after we force Richard back.

You need to endure things until then. Even if Richard spits on your face, just take it until the spittle dries.”

*BANG!* As the hologram faded, Brahms left a deep hole in the wall. He would restrain himself, but that was far from an easy thing to ask. Richard definitely wouldn't make things easy.

......

That very night, a nephew of Brahms was executed after a conflict with an Archeron soldier. The man had only struck the warrior in anger, not even killing him, but Richard had shown no mercy!

Before the Marquess could even make sense of this, a group of soldiers forced their way into the four watchtowers around Dragonwing Castle and kicked down the family flags on top. Their reasoning was that the high flags somehow blocked their view of the passage.

......

In sharp contrast to Brahms's fury, Richard was completely relaxed. With Moonlight in hand, he was training in a few simple sword exercises while admiring a suit of exotic silver armour on the wall. The armour was elegant and beautiful, with intricate golden patterns all over and a design that screamed of the Celestial Plane. His smile only grew wider and wider with every glance.

At some point, he stretched lazily, “Why are you still hiding?”

“Your senses are sharp,” a low chuckle sounded from outside the window, “Looks like you aren't an embarrassment to your teacher, boy.”

A middle-aged man in black leather armour seemed to meld out of the darkness, a smug expression on his face. Any experienced fighter would be on guard at the mere sight of the natural patterns all over the leather, knowing that it was made from the hide of an adult black dragon. This set of armour was just as tough as darksteel, with outstanding magic resistance that other materials couldn't compare to.

“Oh nooooo!” Richard's voice oozed sarcasm, “An antimage! Should I run for my life? Oh wait, should you really be underestimating mages like that when Master did what she did to you?”

The man's face warped with fury for a moment before he controlled himself, “Losing to Her Excellency isn't an embarrassment.”

“You'll learn that losing to me isn't either,” Richard turned to stare out the window at the old acquaintance. Solam seemed to have forgotten about the crushing defeat only a short while ago, and he could already guess that the man's thoughts had to do with battles of attrition and being outnumbered.

He wasn't particularly wrong, either; Richard had made sure that Solam was almost exhausted before they'd crossed blades before, and now he didn't have the time to cast any long spells. With the proximity and walls all around in the middle of the night, this had to be the best battlefield for a shadow antimage, and Solam seemed to know it as he drew his twin blades, “Duelling isn't just about laws or mana levels. For Sharon's sake, I'm willing to let you go if you leave the Empire; I'll pretend I never came here tonight.”

“Let me go?” Richard snickered, jumping right out the window to face the would-be assassin, “It looks like one mage giving you trauma wasn't enough.”

“Then don't even consider leaving!” Solam growled, his figure blending into the darkness once more. The very next moment, he was right behind Richard with a dagger aimed at the back.

Only a few feet away from Richard, the dagger suddenly sparked as it hit a barrier. However, Solam just sneered as he covered the weapon in black energy, immediately ripping through multiple layers with increased speed. The barriers exploded with none of their usual power, and in a moment the weapon had made contact with the clothing on Richard's back! This was Magic Break, the most important legendary ability for any antimage. It could destroy barriers almost instantly, which was what made antimages a nightmare for all spellcasters.

Before the dagger could hit flesh, Richard had blinked a hundred metres away. Two streams of fire shot straight for Solam's chest, but the man suddenly charged right through without caring. A smile was on his face as he appeared before Richard once more, reaching a similar point of almost making contact before the mage could flash away. The two streams of flames were each equivalent to a grade 7 spell, but Solam was almost completely unharmed. It was clear that the dragon leather wasn't the only thing keeping him safe. Now, it made complete sense why he had decided to fight despite being drawn out before.

But these were the wrong tactics at the wrong time. A smile formed on Richard's lips, partially from pity at the man's timing, but also due to what would be revealed in a moment.

“What? You want to chant something?” Solam asked calmly, striking his weapons against each other to create a shrill keen.

Richard suddenly felt a bout of dizziness as his vision seemed to distort, making spellcasting extremely difficult to focus on. A normal mage would be out long enough to be killed several times over, but he managed to recover and blink away before Solam could strike. He remained nonchalant as when they had first started, “Nice swords.”

“Just the swords?” Solam's smile disappeared, “Then here's a whole other experience!”

Before the antimage could pounce on him, Richard cast a slew of curses towards him. Solam gasped in shock as his movements actually slowed down, but the black energy covered him once again as he recovered his sneer and continued forward, “That's your plan to traumatise me?”

1220 - City of Sin

Breezing Through Battle

Richard blinked away again, but this time he saw that Solam had already changed directions and was charging towards him. His eyes twitched as he felt a hint of admiration: mind-numbing speed, high magical resistance, spell-piercing attacks and powerful stealth abilities combined to make Solam the perfect mage assassin. The man had supposedly chosen this class just to fight better against Sharon, but she had also mentioned that he was better suited to becoming a judgement warrior. It took great talent to excel so much outside of one's biggest strengths, but one could also tell just how much of an impact she'd had on his life.

Solam's fast charge left Richard without any time to cast high-level spells, and his specific abilities made barriers almost useless. However, he just lifted up his sword and placed it before his chest, planning to use that to stop the opponent's double daggers.

A moment before they clashed, Solam smiled with malice as he smashed down with all of his strength. From his perspective, Richard was still a mage; even if he could somehow withstand a tempest, a physical fighter would have the advantage in close combat.

*CLANG!* Black energy twirled around the two blades as they rammed into Moonlight. Solam had used basically all of his energy for this blow, but it felt like he had struck a mountain! A loud crash echoed through Sunset City, and while Richard didn't move an inch, the antimage dropped a dozen metres before stabilising.

“That... strength!” Solam cried out in shock, his voice growing hoarse as he started coughing violently. Blood started to seep out from the joints of his fingers and drip down his daggers, a sign of the injuries he had sustained in the engagement. With Richard remaining in place, almost all of the energy had been rebounded.

Antimages were known for many things, but energy and defences were not amongst them. Direct clashes against warriors would always end in a loss, and Solam had severely underestimated Richard's strength. The Duke's eyes narrowed as he gave Richard a death stare, speaking in a shaky voice, “You... You did not move!”

“Yes, I didn't move at all,” Richard smiled. His eyes seemed to glow, but in Solam's eyes they very much looked like those of a demon. This was a scene that defied all logic, bringing a certain concept to mind. When warriors grew strong enough, their physical might was so great that they could use the space around them as though it was solid. When a warrior reached that level, making them move was as difficult as tearing space itself.

However, such strength required at least level 25 power, and that was for warriors! It was an extraordinary level of power that crossed into the domain of epic beings, and Richard was just a newly advanced mage!

Before Solam could regain his senses, Richard finally started his counter-attacks. He showcased speed that wasn't significantly worse than that of the antimage, but it was a stark contrast from the coarse and uncoordinated slashes. He seemed almost like a complete stranger to swords who had picked one up for the first time, his attacks alternating between fast and slow while striking all over the place. However, Solam found himself fighting an uphill battle; each wave of Richard's blades sent black shockwaves as space was almost ripped apart. While not particularly skilled, these strikes were incredibly powerful!

The Duke was scared witless by the sight. Even though he could stab straight into Richard if he only suffered a glancing blow, he didn't dare to take on the risk. One thing was clear to him; were it not for Richard's lack of control, he would have been dead in less than a minute.

The two fought fiercely in the sky. Solam was afraid of opening up some distance with a legendary mage, but at the same time he wasn't efficient at prolonged close combat. Richard was fighting like a berserker right now, and it was almost impossible to deal with. He had already dealt a handful of superficial blows, but that green sword had almost grazed him two times and he was already scared witless.

Still in the heat of battle, Richard suddenly smiled, “I'll hit you sooner or later!”

Hearing this, the Duke immediately gave up any hopes of resistance and turned around without a word. His body melded into the darkness as he attempted to make a break for it, but Richard chuckled and snapped to push his body almost right into the ground. By the time the slowing magic was dealt with, a stream of pale blue fireballs were now whistling over.

As blue fireworks filled the night sky, a dark figure staggered out and fled as fast as possible. Richard's eyes followed Solam's fleeing figure, but he made no move to chase. Instead, his lips curved up in a smile, “Interesting.”

One couldn't know just how Solam would have felt if he heard such condescending praise. The man had used his own body to withstand the blue flames, taking advantage of the resulting knockback to flee the rest of the explosions. He undoubtedly suffered, but at least he was still alive.

Not good at range and mediocre at close combat, Solam had a number of glaring weaknesses in combat against Richard. His one strength was in assassination, but at the same time he was someone who cared a lot about honour and reputation; he wasn't the type to try and stab someone in the back. That was perhaps the reason Richard didn't feel like pursuing either.

He didn't know whether this battle would leave some trauma in Solam's heart, but Richard was certain that the man at least wouldn't pick a fight with him for the next few years. To him, that was good enough.

He suddenly felt curious; just how would a face-off between Sharon and Solam go? He remembered that she had been gloomy when she first returned from this battle, making some of the grand mages feel like she had actually met her match. Now that he had witnessed the skills of both sides, he felt like he could simulate it accurately.

Closing his eyes, he started visualising an open battlefield. Solam immediately hid and rushed through the darkness, but with her limited care Sharon would allow him to find an opening and close in. He would jump out of the darkness and stab both of his daggers towards her, and the blades would scratch her skin a little and she would scream in pain.

And then... And then she would slap him out of the way, sending him to the ground to end the battle. Richard's pride vanished as he fell deep into thought, trying not to think about it; chasing Solam away wouldn't end things, the true trials had just begun.

After a few minutes, all of Richard's soldiers in Sunset City were gathered in a plaza to the north. He waited with them until it was almost dawn, flying towards an army camp at the northern borders of the Brahms Marquessate that had a hundred thousand men.

......

The commander of the army camp was quite young, but his generals didn't even dare to breathe as he stared at the map with knitted brows. His silver breastplate scraped against his thick mage robes as he stretched, marking another crimson arrow towards the south. Of the seven dukedoms around the Brahms Marquessate, three had already sent troops out.

The youth made a valiant effort to hide his rage, but the veins popping out from a hand holding some paper made his emotions clear to everyone in the war tent. Eventually, he lost the battle to his own rage, “Retreat?! Why do we have to retreat?! We're already here, are we just going to let Richard do whatever he wants? Where's the honour of the Empire?”

An elderly general coughed softly, “Lord Steven, this is an order from His Grace. We are short on time, we must move immediately.”

*Bang!* The paper disintegrated as Steven slammed his fist into the table, “Are all of you so afraid of him?”

The generals glanced at each other with pained expressions on their faces, but none of them dared to reply.

...

Elsewhere in the camp, a beautiful young woman cringed as she heard Richard's name being shouted out from the war tent. Memories flooded through her mind, bringing her back many years to when she was young and the object of desire for countless mages. She was now a level 16 mage herself, pretty good for her age, but as one of Sharon's students in the Deepblue she had once been so much more.

As she grew in power, Minnie had come to look up to people like Ensio, Yori, and even Voidbones as she realised the freakish extent of their talent. However, Richard was the one whom she had the most memories of, who left her with the greatest regrets. While her situation had barely changed since all those years ago, the poor kid who knew nothing but work had now become a legendary mage who crushed all sorts of talents under his feet. He was now a venerated saint runemaster who qualified to be Sharon's lover, someone whose every action sent ripples throughout the Empire.

1221 - City of Sin

Reunion

Back in the Deepblue, Richard had been an inexperienced youth who silently spent his life absorbed in the world of magic. He had his talents, but that was a world made up of geniuses; his true value was in his sheer diligence that allowed him to spend five years with almost no personal life at all. It truly had been impressive, but no one could have guessed he would have reached his current accomplishments either.

If only she'd known... Minnie had pondered over this countless times. Had she been able to foresee even a glimpse of today, she definitely wouldn't have missed that opportunity. Steven was a prodigal talent in his own right, far stronger than ordinary mages at his level as well as an apprentice runemaster and skilled commander, but she couldn't be satisfied with that alone. His shortcomings were just as obvious as his aptitude; ever since he had left the school, arrogance and vanity had started to drive every single one of his decisions. Most of his time was now spent socialising and politicking, and the sheer nepotism in his army left the rank and file on the verge of mutiny. Almost nobody without noble blood was promoted to positions of leadership, agitating his more talented soldiers.

Absolute fairness could never be achieved, but most commanders at least tried to maintain a semblance of impartiality. While fellow nobles were more likely to be promoted amongst equal candidates, a more qualified commoner would advance just as quickly. On the other hand, most capable officers had already left Steven's army for another under Duke Solam, while skilled generals didn't want to enter the army from the outside either. The youth himself didn't think this was his own fault; to him, the peasants of low birth just had shallow world views.

Minnie knew that Steven had reached his ceiling; with his mindset, there would be no way for him to advance further in life. It constantly left her regretting Richard's heartless rejection all those years ago; had she been more determined, acted more pitiful or sincere, would the outcome have been different?

But these thoughts had to be confined to the bottom of her heart, with not a single person allowed to know. Steven flew into a rage at the very mention of Richard's name, and every sensational rune convention resulted in just as many wounds on her own body.

Walking towards the command tent, Minnie sighed as she heard fragments of the debate. She was no longer a simple mage herself, having gained experience from numerous planar wars. She had been studying accounts of battles with and against Richard, coming to a simple conclusion: man for man, the Archeron army was likely strongest in all of Norland. Even as a small number of elites, they were stronger than even the 100,000 men Steven had cobbled together. The best case was a direct massacre.

In reality, even Alice could lead the 50,000 Archerons to massacre Steven's forces without losing more than a handful of soldiers. Steven's generals knew this as well, but the warlock himself stubbornly refused to admit it. It was only with the recent order to withdraw 200 kilometres in a single day that they had a case to have him retreat.

However, Steven was still unwilling to fall back. They were only thirty kilometres from the Brahms territory, a distance that could be covered in two hours if the army were marching quickly.

“My Lord, we cannot defy His Grace's orders!” the older general emphasized once more, now more firm than ever.

“But—”

Loud bugles suddenly interrupted Steven's reluctance, shocking everyone present. They all rushed out of the tent, feeling the obvious trembling of the earth as they noticed a black tide rolling over from the distant horizon. It didn't take long for the generals to notice the volcanic world tree.

The Archerons were here! The generals were dumbstruck, knowing that they didn't have the capacity to take this on. Without Duke Solam, they didn't even have anyone capable of resisting a legendary mage.

The army camp instantly fell into chaos, forcing the dazed generals to try and rebuild a semblance of order. All of the squadrons were quickly rushed to their positions, but arranging a hundred thousand men wasn't easy.

“What are the scouts doing?!” Steven shouted, “Not a single alarm, I'll kill all of them! I knew those peasants couldn't be trusted!”

Solam's troops formed a basic line of defence, but the Archeron army had already entered charging distance. The knights separated from the black tide, a full regiment of cavalry picking up speed. Right at the head of it all was a row of a hundred rune knights, their iron hooves pounding into the earth like thunder!

The rune knights threw their javelins when they were nearly a kilometre away, destroying the wooden walls of the camp in a rumble of explosions. The flood of steel quickly crashed into the defending soldiers, starting a massacre.

...

In only half an hour, Steven's army was on the verge of collapse. Morale rapidly dell to an all-time low, and Richard's presence as he floated in the sky ensured no one else could support them from above. Even though he wasn't doing anything himself, not one person in this army was foolish enough to challenge him.

As his gaze calmly swept through the battlefield, Richard eventually saw two familiar faces in the distance. He immediately disappeared from his location, landing like a meteor in the centre of the battlefield with a dozen-metre-wide crater surrounding him. The warriors nearby were sent flying just by the aftermath of landing, causing him to frown as he stood up.

Pushing away the warriors lying atop him, Steven struggled to his feet. However, he suddenly froze up as he saw Richard standing in front of him, a shiver running down his spine.

Richard observed Steven intently. This was his biggest rival during his time in the Deepblue, but he looked nothing like the confident youth back then. Now, the only things he could see in Steven's eyes were anger, envy, and deep-seated fear. Steven had aged ten years since they had last met, but this warlock whose talent had been greater than his own had only reached level 16. He himself had added a few more decades than that to his own life, but the difference between them was clear for anyone to see.

While Steven was cowering before him, Richard also singled out Minnie from the crowd. This former senior of his was looking at him with a complicated expression, but while she was at the same level as Steven, he could see that things weren't quite the same with her. She had clearly focused her energy on growth, but looking at all the bruises, neither the years nor her husband had been kind to her.

As Richard spent his time recalling past events, the surrounding Solam warriors struggled to their feet and surrounded him. However, Steven just stared at Richard, not giving them an order to attack. Most of the saints and generals had gathered around, but they were just staring at the pit in shock. Richard had forced everything a metre down in the pit, implying sheer power that could match a giant or a dragon.

1222 - City of Sin

The Church Appears

Fear had overcome the hatred and jealousy in Steven's heart. He clearly understood what the pit he was currently in signified; Richard could crush them all with pure strength alone. Richard didn't even need an instant spell to kill him.

A strange situation thus developed. The Archerons were still massacring the Solams on the frontlines, but the core of the Solam army was completely silent. No one dared to make any rash moves, just letting Richard stand there in thought. Outside of Steven himself, most of the other generals were in Richard's range as well; fearful of an attack, they stopped commanding entirely and let the troops fall into further chaos.

“Surrender,” Richard eventually returned from the trip to his memories, his one word prompting a sigh of relief from most of the generals.

Every gaze focused on Steven, but the warlock seemed to find some courage out of nowhere as he asked angrily, “What if I say no?”

Richard laughed, “Then you all die. I'm not sure if anyone here is confident in surviving a Death's Decree.”

The generals paled. Death's Decree was already a grade 9 spell, and cast by a legendary mage no one would be able to escape. Steven himself gulped in fear, “I... surrender.”

“Mm. Don't worry, you two can leave. Just tell Solam to send the ransom quickly; one top-tier offering and I'll release your warriors and generals. He has three days, but he can just send someone else if he'll still be too hurt by then.”

Steven was shocked. Too hurt? That meant Richard had fought his father and won!

The battle thus ended quickly with Steven's soldiers suffering some minor casualties before surrendering. Richard noticed Minnie struggling to say something to him, but she eventually looked at Steven and went quiet. He didn't particularly care, focusing on the other two armies that Solam had nearby, but a short while later his scouts reported that they were too far away already. The other dukes still weren't close enough for a raid to make sense, and once they received news about this attack they would never approach.

All of the armies focused on the Brahms Marquessate thus gave up on the offence, but to Richard this wasn't even a factor. After all, the Sacred Tree Empire had clearly recognised the seriousness of the situation and wouldn't be helping Brahms in his foolish decision to start a blood feud. This was what allowed him to kill Brahms's relatives with no issue, caging the Marquess up in his own land and taking over the land and sky.

......

When Richard led his troops back to Sunset City, he added 70,000 prisoners of war to the existing 80,000. This was worth a huge ransom; even at 20 gold per soldier, this would equal the value of the batch of divine gold.

Steven and Minnie had been let go; these two former rivals were now so far beneath him that he didn't even consider them high-priority prisoners. He actually hoped the foolish warlock would still waste the potential of Solam's army, but he didn't think that was particularly likely after such a high-profile failure.

Once back in the castle, Richard continued his basic training while admiring the armour in the study, awaiting a new battle. It didn't take long for that battle to present itself, either— it took three days for news that Saint Thomas was leading 50,000 paladins into war and was less than 50 kilometres from the Brahms territory. The private armies of three dukes who had retreated had met up with his, bringing the army to a full 300,000 strong.

With this army picking up numbers by the day, even Richard couldn't ignore the difference in number. He gathered his troops, planning to confront the new opponent head-on. Just before leaving, he executed two of Brahms's uncles that were both earls before hanging them on the front gates of Dragonwing Castle. The Marquess's study and bedroom were thrashed completely, but he still refused to surrender.

......

Richard eventually met Thomas's army at a river valley on the northern end of the Brahms Marquessate. 300,000 soldiers seemed to cover the entire area, with the paladins and holy knights right in the middle. The white armour, red ribbons, and capes looked extremely imposing when lined up together.
𝐟r𝑒ℯ𝘄𝐞𝙗ｎov𝚎𝙡. 𝑐𝘰𝘮

In comparison, the 30,000 troops Richard had behind him were outnumbered but not outclassed. Their combined aura was pushing up against the divine army before them, refusing to budge an inch.

Once the two armies were in position, Richard and Thomas went forward to meet in the middle of the battlefield. There were a few red-robed bishops behind the man, including a cardinal, but Richard only had Senma.

Age had left deep traces on Thomas's face, each wrinkle showing a bit of history. The paladin was currently over 300 years old, having lived through six different emperors and nine different popes. However, his expression was resolute and gaze determined, as though nothing could affect his judgement.

“Richard Archeron, stop your invasion and retreat from the Brahms Marquessate immediately. This is your last chance, or I will destroy Blackrose Castle!”

Richard was a little shocked. Thomas's tone was excessively threatening and arrogant, rude even to a normal lord. It was obvious that the man had no plans to settle things peacefully.

Not hearing a reply, Saint Thomas bellowed, “Why, do you wish to challenge the royal family and the Church? If not for your collusion with heretics, do you think you would even have a chance to retreat? Scram now, or I'll consider it a rejection of our grace!”

Richard beamed at this point, but the paladin continued, “Leave behind your rune knights as collateral. Once you repay the Church to satisfaction, we will return them.”

“Oh? Does this condition come from the Church of Glory, or from you?”

“You don't need to know that!”

As bloodlust filled Thomas's face, Richard turned calmer, “It makes a big difference, you know. If this condition comes from you, I suggest you withdraw it right now. You don't have the authority or the capacity to represent your church.”

“I don't have the capacity? Then I'll let you know, my decision is the Church's decision. Now, make your decision; leave your rune knights and go away, or I'll help you leave.”

Richard's expression suddenly changed, a charming smile appearing on his face as a melodic voice filled the battlefield, “Saint Thomas, your decision most certainly does not represent the Church.”

1223 - City of Sin

Before The Radiance

With the voice ringing out from up above, a huge commotion broke out amongst the paladins of the Church of Glory. Saint Thomas winced for a moment as the sky brightened, a thick beam of soft divine light opening a path for dozens of people in divine robes. The man at the head of the group had his own robes decorated in gold, staring at the legendary paladin from up above.

Thomas reluctantly bowed, “Your Excellency, why are you here as well?”

“Wouldn't you have claimed to represent the Church if I hadn't? Pride is the greatest sin, Saint Thomas; I will bring this incident up for discussion during the meeting of the cardinals. I do not believe you are suited to lead our holy armies any longer.”

The paladin gasped, all the faux respect on his face fading away as he straightened his back, “Saint Martin, you do not get to decide whether I lead the forces of the Church. Even if you wish to make things difficult for me, that will happen afterwards. Right now, I have my orders and my decisions do indeed represent the Church. You should focus on handling the heresy.”

Martin smiled: “Are you saying that I am unfaithful?”

“Only the Radiant Lord can decide whether you are faithful, but your actions certainly do not benefit the Church!”

“Martin,” Richard interrupted as he stared at Thomas, “I explained the reasoning for my actions to you already, and the rest of the church must know about it as well. For this guy to show up anyway, I believe some people have made their decision. But whatever; paladin, since you keep trying to make a decision for your church, you should know about the background too. In that case, fine. I'll give up on my child; let's see how your pathetic family withstands a generational blood feud with the Archerons.”

Thomas finally shivered. Generational blood feud wasn't a common term, implying that both families involved would battle each other until one was completely annihilated. Although the consequences of tampering with the divine gold had been more serious than expected, he had actually been prepared to return it all if Richard just stopped supporting Saint Martin. However, Richard's arrogance in the Brahms Marquessate made it feel like the dignity of the Church of Glory had been trampled all over; so what did a single genius matter, there were prodigies all over Norland.

However, this situation was entirely different from what he had imagined. He was using the nobility and clergy of the Sacred Tree Empire, but Richard had instead chosen to target him and his family for vengeance. If the Church got caught up in Martin's policy and was too slow to provide aid, his entire line would be annihilated by the Archeron forces!

“Richard, you dare threaten a paladin of the Church of Glory?” he asked in a cold voice.

Richard laughed, “You little bastard, you threatened a saint runemaster and legendary mage.”

Thomas's eyes flickered. The wrath of a legendary mage was truly disaster, and even if he could hold his own in battle against Richard, he just didn't have the same mobility. The support of the Church wouldn't matter if Richard just went into hiding and sniped everyone from afar. He grunted, “Your arrogance is unparalleled! All should be humble in front of the Lord's light! Knights of the Radiant Lord, prepare to attack!”

A long horn resounded through the battlefield, prompting the paladins to lower their visors while their mounts started pawing the ground. However, Saint Martin flew down and shouted, “Knights of the Lord, put down your weapons! As the divine child, I hereby announce that Saint Thomas is immediately stripped of his position as the commander of the holy army!”

A commotion immediately ensued. Saint Martin had an extremely high position in the Church, second only to the pope. With him giving an order completely in contradiction to their commander, the paladins didn't know what to do.

Thomas pointed at Martin and roared, “You dare oppose the orders of the cardinals?”

“I can confirm that the cardinals did not give you your orders!” the holy child refused to give in.

However, the old paladin had developed great loyalty in his time. He grinned and waved a hand forward, prompting thousands of knights to move forward immediately. This started off a chain reaction that eventually pushed the entire army forward.

Martin's gaze flickered and he waved his hand, prompting his followers to form up behind him, “Knights of the Lord, stop now. One more step will be making an enemy of me!”

The paladins were shocked, immediately stopping their rides. To the faithful, the divine child was like a human incarnation of the Radiant Lord. Attacking him was the same as attacking the god they served.

However, the paladins closest to Thomas continued moving forward without the slightest hesitation. Martin's expression darkened, and he grunted loudly. Some of his followers suddenly flew up further, spreading out wings of light.

This time, everyone fell into an uproar. These were celestials, citizens of the Celestial Plane that served as the Radiant Lord's staff and sword! For the only divine child of the Church to have celestials by his side, it was clear that the Radiant Lord loved Martin dearly. This time, even Thomas's closest aides came to a stop.

Richard remained seated on his mount quietly, glancing at the raging paladin in front of him before heading back to his own troops. He had already felt a spatial ripple on the eastern edge of the battlefield, making it clear that this hadn't come to an end yet.

As he expected, a melodic hymn rang out as half the skies brightened up, divine light rolling down from the clouds to form a majestic door of light. A troop of white-caped paladins marched out, followed closely by a number of bishops and even cardinals, with Archbishop Ruford following at the end. When he stepped out, there were almost a thousand members of the clergy standing right outside the door.

“Saint Martin, are you turning your back on the Lord's care?” Ruford asked slowly, his voice ringing throughout the battlefield.

“You're the ones who turned your back on the Lord. He will judge us all fairly in time,” Martin replied calmly.

“You are helping an enemy of the Church and Empire, this is treason! Do you wish to become a heretic?” Ruford's voice grew louder and louder, crashing down like thunder.

“Have you ever heard of the Lord's chosen being a heretic? You're becoming braver by the day, Ruford, abusing your power to a disappointing extent. Killing loyal paladins of the Church just to get at me, who's the heretic here?”

The paladins on the battlefield were all confused, not knowing who to listen to. One was a divine child while the other was an archbishop with power second only to Hendrick, both were at comparable positions. Their accusations grew increasingly harsh as well, leaving no way to make amends.

As the tension escalated, an extremely glaring pillar of divine light suddenly shot out from Ruford's door. It went straight into the skies, disappearing to a location that no one could see as an indescribable aura spread throughout the battlefield.

A thin old man walked out of the door, clothed in robes only normal clergymen would wear with a dull black staff in hand. However, Richard promptly found his eyes glued to this newcomer, who to him looked like a ball of extremely powerful light. Both the robe and staff were divine items with unimaginable power! His heart froze as he recalled two legends of the Church of Glory— the robe and staff that the Radiant Lord had used when he lit his godspark.

Once they saw the old man, every knight on the battlefield got off their horses and knelt on the ground. The paladins, bishops, and even cardinals knelt and bowed, with only Ruford still standing. A bitter smile came upon Martin's own face, “Your Holiness, I didn't think you would come as well.”

'If you really want to come find me, wait until you can bring down the pope of the Sacred Tree Empire. You should be strong enough then.'

A letter and woman that he had tried to bury suddenly surfaced in Richard's mind. He felt his blood start to boil, his body almost shooting forward of its own accord.

1224 - City of Sin

Celestial

The pope who seemed to be an unimposing old man looked Martin in the eye, “I didn't think you would have come to this point.”

“It would have come to this sooner or later, wouldn't it?” Martin sighed.

The pope sighed as well, “Perhaps. I tried my best to avoid a situation like this, but it seems like I have failed. When I personally handed you the Book of Fate, I was hoping you could take over my responsibilities one day.”

Ruford's expression turned a little awkward, but anger appeared on Martin's face, “Oh, really? That damned book was given to me out of goodwill, was it? If not for the fact that I could look through destiny and see your intentions, wouldn't I have met with its disaster?”

Richard's heart stirred as he heard this. The Book of Fate they were talking about had currently become a number of pages in the Book of Destruction currently hanging on his waist. From what Martin said, it seemed like anyone holding it would meet with inevitable disaster. In that case, the divine child had no good intentions when giving him the book either.

“I gave you the book exactly because you can see through destiny. Only you could find its final owner, freeing the Church from millennia of controlling it with our power. You have already found its owner, have you not?” The pope's gaze fell on Richard for a moment before turning back to Martin, “Come back to me. I'm old and tired; as long as you return, I will pass on the mantle and make you the next pope.”

Ruford immediately shook and yelled, “How can that be, Your Holiness? You must be cautious!”

The pope lifted his left hand, gesturing for silence. The hand was dry and yellowing, covered in spots of all shades, but the magic ring on the index finger was clearly visible for all to see. The gesture itself was simple, but Ruford shivered and didn't dare to speak again.

The silence was only broken a few minutes later when a surprised Martin started laughing bitterly, “I would want that as well... Although the Lord hasn't answered our prayers in the longest time, I still don't plan to turn my back on the oath I took. However, I cannot accept this; Your Holiness, I know you're trying to intercept the faith in the Lord and replace him.”

Martin's words were like a bomb exploding in everyone's ears. The pope wanted to become a deity and replaced the Radiant Lord? If true, this was a secret that could shock all of Norland.

Richard stared with disbelief as well, but he quickly realised something else. It didn't matter whether Martin was lying or not, there would inevitably be a battle today. This situation had spiralled far out of his control; he had only wanted to defeat Thomas and his army, but now he was facing the entire Church of Glory!

Ruford was the first to react, shouting loudly, “Martin, how dare you insult His Holiness! Angels, capture the heretic!”

Four mysterious people behind Ruford immediately took off their robes, glaring divine light illuminating their bodies as unique sets of armour formed around them. Each set was majestic and instantly recognisable to anyone who worshipped the Radiant Lord: Uriel, Raphael, Gabriel, and Remy.

Seeing the angels appear, the morale of the soldiers below was greatly boosted. Some cheered loudly while others started muttering prayers; to the faithful, this was a divine miracle.

The four angels flew towards Saint Martin. As the weapons of the Radiant Lord, they could suppress his worshippers. Some of the people behind Martin immediately grew fearful; the radiant glow surrounding them wasn't just for show, it burnt and slowed anyone in contact with it. Every angel could affect everything within a hundred metres, making them especially powerful in wars. While Richard had fought an angel himself before, that had been one-on-one so this divine glow hadn't been employed.

“Midren,” Martin sighed. Three warriors behind him immediately took off their own robes, divine light flickering on their own bodies as full sets of armour and pale crimson wings covered them. The paladins below gasped in surprise as they recognised the signature of the King of Angels.

Midren had a very high position amongst the celestials. While they were outnumbered three to four, Martin's followers actually took the upper hand and took up three-fifths of the skies with their red light before they reached a stalemate! Although he had expected this, Martin still heaved a sigh of relief.

Thankfully, Richard always exceeded expectations when it came to his runes. These rune sets were perhaps even stronger than Saint Peter's peak, a fact that caused some regret. If only there were two more Midrens, the situation would be entirely different. Unfortunately, Martin only had three apostles capable of activating this armour set; he couldn't use any more.

Seeing the three angels, Ruford's eyes went wide open in shock. He pointed at Martin and yelled, “How dare you do this?! Midren was actually in your hands all along!”

However, the pope remained calm and smiled warmly, “Martin, you disappoint me. Do you really think you can do whatever you want as a divine child? It seems like you have prepared well for today's battle, but it isn't enough. Lord Michael, I hope you can prove my devotion.”

Strong light surged out from the door once more as an athletic silhouette appeared in the divine light. Three large sets of wings appeared on his back, the divine light coming from them blazing hot. It was almost like a new sun had appeared in the skies!

Martin's expression changed instantly, while a young lady with four wings appeared behind him and glared, “Michael! Are you betraying the Lord too?”

The six-winged angel remained expressionless as he flew towards the battlefield, his golden glow covering everything within a thousand metres and suppressing Midren instantly. Michael stared at the woman coldly, “I am loyal to the Radiance. The Radiance is the Lord, but the Lord might not be the Radiance. Anyone who obtains the recognition of the Radiance shall be the Radiant Lord.”

“You...” the woman was shocked speechless.

Richard frowned and blinked to Martin's side, “This guy feels different, what's going on?”

“There are seven different types of Heaven's Armour. The four battle angels over there were made by Saint Peter, as was the weaker version of Midren. However, two pieces were special; the Radiant Lord condensed his divinity into two cores, having Peter craft the runes around them. Strictly speaking, these were sets made by the Lord himself, Michael and Lucifer. Only celestials can unleash the full potential of these sets, so I never expected such a thing to happen. It... seems like we'll be losing today.”

“And what about Lucifer?”

“Unusable. Not even celestials have suited that set in the longest time.”

“Well then, it looks like we're in for a fight.”

Martin sighed, “Sorry, I got you caught up in all this.”

“Heh, but we might not lose.”

“This joke isn't funny!”

As the two conversed, the pope lifted his staff and pounded it into the ground. The entire sky turned dark as divine hymns rang out, an illusion of countless celestial ringing the horns of battle. A concentrated divine glow surged out from the door, covering the entire battlefield in a kingdom of light that strengthened the knights, paladins, and clergy of the Church by a level at minimum.

1225 - City of Sin

Battle Of Light

Even as the paladins from the Church of Glory grew stronger, the normal soldiers within range of the pope's powers felt like they had been put in flames. Their eyes started watering as well; while they didn't actually drop in level, the effect was no different.

However, Richard's expression didn't change in the slightest as he continued to size up the pope that seemed to have become a being of light, “It's the robes and sceptres.”

“Mm,” Martin nodded, “They're the Saintly Robes and Sceptre of Glory.”

“Knights of the Lord, Charge!” Saint Thomas roared. Tens of thousands of cavalrymen spurred their horses forward, picking up speed as they crashed into Richard's troops like a violent tide. Up in the air, almost a thousand paladins started chanting hymns as they rushed towards Martin's group.

Be it on the ground or in the sky, Richard and Martin were vastly outnumbered. Michael led his angels in a battle against the three Midrens, acting as the core of the entire battlefield with every swing of his sword sending an opponent flying away. Swords and holy flames blazed in the sky, every clash holding the potential to kill.

The paladins quickly surrounded Martin's forces, giving Richard an opportunity to see the divine child in battle for the first time. The youth had a very unique approach to combat— he had somehow gotten a thick tome that was nearly a metre tall, cursing his opponents until they could barely move before whacking them with the copper spine. Numbness, blindness, all sorts of strange effects bogged down his opponents before the heavy tome crushed their helmets and the heads within.

The strange thing was that Martin's muttering was clearly a prayer. There were no signs of anything affecting the paladins themselves, but they all turned clumsy enough to be struck by even ordinary fighters. Richard himself felt his head vaguely hurting from just seeing this, and even using the Field of Truth he didn't manage to understand just what the guiding principles behind these prayers were. All he understood was that even his own resistance to curses would likely be overridden by this power.

“You shall not be able to walk, and you shall not be able to lift your arms... Your axe will grow a tonne heavier... Your handsome face will be warped by the pain of a stomach ache...” After a long time, the muttering alone could hurt one's mind.

“HERETIC! REPENT FOR YOUR SINS!” a furious roar interrupted Richard's thoughts. He turned around to see a glowing paladin bringing a two-handed hammer down towards his body, the sheer power behind the attack comparable to a saint's.

To the paladin, it seemed as though Richard had no time to dodge, barely lifting an arm to try and block the strike. He grunted even louder as he increased the force in his arms, the flesh already on his weapon from a previous target sloshing as he struck.

*Thud!* The paladin's eyes went wide as Richard stopped his strike with one hand, not moving in the slightest. For a moment, he questioned reality; had time stopped?

That hypothesis was disproved in the next instant. His hands went numb like he had just struck a divine mountain, all of his might rebounding while the hammer almost flew out of his grasp. He roared in fury, barely managing to keep his weapon in control and the recoil from destroying his organs. His arms immediately filled with blood, rupturing his veins and curling his muscles.

While the man went speechless with shock, Richard grunted in surprise as well. He shook his head and swatted the man away like a bug, sending him flying a full kilometre away. A mangled corpse was all that reached the ground, with the point of impact having sunk in completely.

Reaching out, Richard grabbed a hammer from another paladin and waved it around casually, taking him down. He waved the weapon around like a toothpick, sending everyone who wished to attack him flying. Anyone even scraped ended up dead or dying.

After a dozen paladins were sent flying in quick succession, the hammer creaked and its head snapped off. Richard froze for a moment, but then he shrugged and tossed the handle into another paladin before looking around and grabbing a heavier flail. The three heads turned into a black blur as he swung it around, but before he could attack he felt the chain grow lighter. All three heads flew off in different directions, two of them killing some unlucky attackers.

“Tch... Piss-poor quality...” he mumbled in annoyance. He was now stronger than even Tiramisu, able to rival an adult dragon. Although he couldn't equal someone like Tiamat yet, he could still hold his own. Moonlight was the one weapon that would handle his power no matter how strong he got, but it just felt so much more fun to swing a heavy weapon around.

Surprisingly, Martin wasn't much slower than himself at taking out these paladins. However, even with the two of them killing dozens of opponents, the situation steadily grew worse. A third of Martin's followers were dead or disabled within a few minutes of the battle starting, while the pope and archbishop had yet to move. Some of the cardinals had grown weaker with age, but most of them were still beyond level 18. Archbishop Ruford himself was level 21, and the pope even stronger.

On another battlefield, the three Midrens were showing signs of defeat. They were already wounded all over, blood staining their armour. On the other side, Michael had retained command of the various angels and ensured that Raphael was the only one who was even slightly injured. His golden radiance was practically filling the skies, the red lustre from Midren suppressed to within ten metres of the user. Both Martin's subordinates and Richard's troops were in great pain, unable to battle to their full capacity.

On the ground, Richard's soldiers had been surrounded by a wave of enemies and were now at a critical stage. Knights and horses were toppling down with dozens of weapons sticking through them, but even with such a rough battlefield Richard's forces weren't the ones with the advantage. He had already lost multiple rune knights and 600 ordinary knights, defeating a thousand opponents in the process. Considering that his men were a few levels above the enemy on average, he was suffering a huge loss.

At this point, the angels were the key to the battle. Richard snorted, launching a dozen blue fireballs towards the six-winged celestial. Michael immediately sensed the danger and swung his flaming sword to try and disperse them, but they weren't so easy to deal with. They spread all over him and started burning his body, but his divine light quickly eroded them into nothing.

The single attack depleted a good chunk of the angel's divine energy reserves, but Richard immediately turned gloomy. The distant pope finally made his move, and a single wave of his sceptre covered the celestial in a thick pillar of white that returned him to peak state.

1226 - City of Sin

King Of Angels

Divine spellcasters were always an annoying enemy for anyone to contend with, especially mages. They had high resistance to all magic attacks, and their natural perception allowed them to sense mana from a distance. They also had access to mana-dispersing spells that could disable a lesser mage. Even Richard's blue flames of destruction weren't immune to this. Contending against Michael's pure divine force, they were no longer as overbearing as in other situations.

Without a way to defeat Michael immediately, Richard knew that this was a losing war. Even Senma was weakened greatly in this kingdom of light, and despite her advantage in equipment she was barely able to stay alive against Saint Thomas. His rune knights were faring even worse, and their formations would soon start to collapse.

“I don't care who you are. If you don't want to die, you better scram this instant!” he remarked in an icy voice. The Celestial Plane was more powerful than Norland; he didn't want to go to war with them just yet.

However, Michael sneered and waved his large sword, “You will all die here today, heretics! Nobody can save you!”

Richard clenched a fist in fury, but as he looked down at the Archeron soldiers that were collapsing one by one, that rage simmered down into calmness. He turned back to Michael, “Then you can die now.”

A low hum filled the battlefield as a crimson pillar of light shot into the skies, making even the divine door seem dim in comparison. It pulsed twice, sending out rings of crimson that spread to every location within ten kilometres; the entire battlefield turned a shade of red. Richard hovered in the centre of the pillar, numerous silver armour pieces gathering around him in mid-air and combining to form a full-body suit.

Richard had Heaven's Armour? Every worshipper of the Radiant Lord was shocked by this revelation. This was the exact same way Heaven's Armour was equipped, but that rune set could only be activated by those of strong faith! Saint Martin's three Midrens made sense; he had as many saint-level paladins serving him. It was obvious that Richard didn't have any faith in the Radiant Lord.

They could only see the armour clearly when the pillar of light faded away. The armour itself was of exquisite craftsmanship, with a silver base and intricate crimson patterns on top. The helmet was a metallic mask that covered Richard's face, currently with a sullen expression as its large eyes looked down on everything nearby.

“The King of Angels!” an aged cardinal exclaimed, shuddering as he pointed at Richard. This man had been a grand runemaster in his time and studied Heaven's Armour all his life; he couldn't be wrong. This also explained where Martin had gotten his angels from.

“Does Midren not shine in the gold of purity and noblesse? It shouldn't be this red we see; did Richard modify it? How could he do that?” a bishop asked in shock.

It was with a complicated gaze that the cardinal muttered his response, “Have you all forgotten? It is rumoured that the Lord declared the King of Angels to have three forms. The first is his initial form, which is what Saint Peter crafted. The second... is the battle form. It is said that this version emits the crimson of its enemies... I'm afraid this rune set is beyond grade 5...”

Those final words weighed down on everyone like a heavy rock. The most powerful runes Norland had crafted to date were grade 5, but the Church of Glory had confidential records and rumours of runes beyond that level. One example was the Deepblue Aria.

However, most runes above grade 5 disappeared after the briefest of showings. Even if some were still around, nobody could activate them. These runes had terrifying requirements on the user, ensuring that even legends would wither into corpses if they activated them.

The battlefield turned deathly silent as the battles in the air and on the ground slowed down. Countless eyes gathered on Richard, watching this mysterious angel that had never appeared before. They could sense unimaginable power within the set of armour, as though anything that dared stand in its way would be destroyed without mercy.

Richard stood quietly. The four slots that this rune set linked to his body through were like four holes in a dam, sucking out all of the energy within him. The full mana pool of an ordinary legendary mage was drawn out in the blink of an eye, but that still wasn't enough. His three hearts were thumping wildly, but every drop of energy they produced was absorbed in an instant. Small tears were starting to appear on their surface, oozing droplets of blood.

If this continued, he would wither into a corpse before being able to activate this rune; behind the supreme strength lay a terrifying demand on the carrier's body. However, the abyssal core within him finally awakened, pulsing with strength.

“Which god is this?” The pope's eyes went wide open as a deafening heartbeat filled the battlefield, the hand holding his staff trembling. He surveyed the battlefield, but his gaze only landed on Richard once more as the armour suddenly came to life. The crimson patterns on the surface were beginning to move.

Midren's battle edition had finally been activated!
𝐟𝙧ℯe𝙬𝚎𝒃𝗻𝒐ѵel. 𝐜o𝓶

The ancient demon core had pulsed only once before going silent, but that one pulse had produced enough energy to meet the requirements of this rune and even replenish all of Richard's mana. He raised his left arm somewhat clumsily, examining himself for a moment before he looked back at the six-winged celestial, “I told you, you can die now.”

As he spoke, Richard balled his left hand into a fist and waved it forward. The armour set pulsed once more, six crimson wings of light appearing behind him before cradling him within. As these wings merged into the armour, he opened the fist to send another ring of crimson that instantly destroyed all of Michael's control!

The golden light that had covered more than a thousand metres was now flickering with less than a tenth of that amount. The lights of the four other angels died out almost completely, reduced to tiny barriers that surrounded their form. Meanwhile, Martin's three angels experienced an enormous boost in power, their own lighter glows spreading to 500 metres. They also absorbed the crimson energy around them and repaired themselves at a speed visible to the naked eye, returning to full strength almost instantly.

“HERETIC!” Michael roared in fury as he shot forward with his sword, “HOW DARE YOU PROFANE A CITIZEN OF THE HEAVENS?!”

Richard blocked the giant flaming weapon with a casual flick from Moonlight, “Don't you see? This rune is greater than yours. What right does a traitor to the heavens have to accuse me of profanity?”

“YOU SHALL BE BURNT AT THE STAKE!” the celestial pressed down further, but to no avail. Rings of golden light shot into his surroundings, but the crimson all around quickly gobbled it all up.

The earth and sky were all dyed red, and Richard's soldiers were being strengthened in this domain. Many of them physically grew larger to various degrees, experiencing a boost to both speed and strength. Some of them even gained improved regeneration. On the other hand, things were entirely different for the opponents. They felt like they were wading in water, and the crimson light burnt their skin. The stinging pain caused many blows to miss, and many parries to come up short.

Even Richard himself hadn't expected such a thing. After all, there wasn't a straightforward conduit like the power of worship between him and his soldiers. It became clear that Heaven's Armour didn't function on faith in the Radiant Lord, but instead on the user themselves. Perhaps it could be used to identify traitors...

This rune set wasn't one meant purely for personal battles. Its greatest advantage came in the form of strengthening one's army, making it unrivalled in wars of faith. Richard had gotten the design from the Eternal Dragon, and the first opponent he was using it against was the Church of Glory. It felt like there was something deeper to this irony than met the eye.

1227 - City of Sin

Angelic Battle

Michael growled like a primordial beast as he began a blitzing attack, but Richard managed to deflect every one of his slashes with minimal effort. The powerful celestial who could destroy any number of Midrens felt challenged by the youth, a fact that left him greatly confused. He was born to eliminate the heretics! Even if strength wasn't his strongest suit, he was still on par with dragons! There was another realisation he made as well; his combat abilities were far below those of Richard.

Having dedicated one of his minds to a constant analysis of the martial arts of the Eternal Dragon for decades, Richard had reached a point where there was almost no way to improve his battle skill significantly. While some of that skill had been lost for a while as he got used to his newfound strength, that problem was now mostly behind him.

“What? Annoyed that your strength can't compare? Don't worry, there'll be other things to feel bad about soon,” he laughed at the angel's anger and confusion before pulling the Judge out of its sheath, “Why is it that I find you winged worms annoying?”

The aura of the Judge changed with these accusational words, the blade lengthening to almost two metres as its jagged edge turned from unorderly to regular. A faint black aura started dancing around the blade, an aura from the hells!

Although they were both beings of order, devils were the nemeses of angels. Each side was quite powerful against the other, their attacks amplified to a great degree. The bishops and paladins of the Church of Glory shuddered as they felt the aura of the sword, an aura that they certainly considered the worst of sins.

“How dare you deal with the devils, here— AAHH!” Michael screamed as the Judge swept past one of his wings, the black aura destroying much of the golden barrier and dismembering it in the process. Only the root of the wing was left behind, a significant change compared to the small cut the sword would have left in its earlier form.

The celestial staggered backwards, his domain shrinking further to only fifty metres around him. The Judge itself continued to squirm, trying its best to digest all the light that it had just absorbed. That dark energy continued to strengthen in the process.

Richard pointed his weapon forward once more, “Saw that? The gods didn't give you strength for you to flaunt it.”

“A MERE MAGGOT FROM A LOWLY PLANE DARE HURTS A DIVINE BEING? YOU AND YOUR ENTIRE PLANE WILL PAY FOR YOUR SINS, YOU DESPICABLE CREATURE!”

Richard's eye twitched, but so did those of the other side. Everyone from the Church here was considered a servant of the Radiant Lord, and there was supposed to be no hierarchical difference between the different races serving him. While the bishops and cardinals could only look annoyed, however, Richard laughed, “Then let this maggot teach you a lesson.”

Bright light started radiating from the silver and crimson armour, turning Richard into a blood-red meteor that threw itself at Michael in an instant. The sky exploded in a display of red, black, blue, and gold, and amidst the flashes of light Michael was struck repeatedly while his own attacks were all blocked. His blazing sword was a weapon from the Celestial Plane that was considered divine even there; the Judge was clearly a weaker class of blade, but he had only broken three of its sawteeth and Moonlight actually managed to keep up with no damage at all! Richard had quickly learnt and started using the green sword as his main blocking weapon, reserving the Judge for ambush attacks from time to time.

Michael's expression was a mixture of shock and anger. The Judge stole a portion of his light every time it swept past him, and this light was just as much a part of himself as his physical body. Richard could just cut the air and hurt him greatly, while he had no way to really retaliate.

Amidst the fierce battle, Richard suddenly flashed a smile. Michael felt an extreme sense of danger and tried to fly away, but it was far too late. A blood-red sphere erupted in the sky even as another mournful scream rang out, with Richard being thrown out a few dozen metres before stabilising. Golden flames raged all over his body, but they were quickly extinguished by Midren's power and his smile hadn't been broken in the slightest. Please visit 𝗳𝒓e𝚎𝙬𝒆𝙗𝚗o𝙫e𝗹. 𝐜𝐨𝙢

When the sphere of light dissipated, the cardinals gasped at the sight. Another wing had been ripped off Michael's back!

Celestials used their wings of light as a source of energy, considering them a symbol of status and prestige. Six-winged angels were supreme beings, which was why Midren's battle edition had so many as well. However, Richard had withdrawn these wings at the start of the battle to aid in his mobility, while Michael had kept his active. Now, agony was the only thing on the angel's face as his golden radiance was flickering even at a mere ten metres all around him.

The celestial suddenly turned to the pope, “Give me all your power!”

The cardinals recoiled in shock, but the pope remained calm and raised his staff high. Golden light was pulled from Archbishop Ruford and all the cardinals in moments, gathering at the tip. Ruford suddenly realised that the divine grace he had accumulated for years was starting to burn without control, going away at a rate that would turn him into a powerless human within minutes.

“NO! STOP!” the Archbishop screamed, while the rest of the cardinals just stared in paralysed shock.

Wary of what would happen, Richard disengaged from Michael and went into a defensive stance. Martin flew over at the same time, “It was said that the Radiant Lord did not possess enough power when he first tried to light his godspark. His worshippers willingly offered their own light to the Lord, allowing him to ascend to his divine throne. This staff must have gained that function.”

“Willingly, you say?” Richard stared straight at the masses of stunned clerics, thinking otherwise, “Is there a record of this in your holy book?”

“No, it was a secret circulated between the popes and the divine children.”

“No wonder.”

A beam of light shot out from the tip of the pope's staff, forming a golden barrier around Michael and starting to heal his wings that had just been destroyed in battle. However, Martin just glanced at the Judge in Richard's hands with a complicated expression before warning, “Michael's a tough one. You be careful.”

The black aura was rapidly healing the damage to the judge, restoring the teeth that had been destroyed. Such weapons were rare even in the hells; given his identity as a divine child, Martin felt extremely uncomfortable in its presence. However, Richard brandished the weapon the moment it restored itself and grinned, “Well, I don't feel like just waiting around here.”

All six of Midren's wings spread out, turning Richard into a bolt of red lightning that charged towards the four other enemy angels on the battlefield. Crimson spheres of light exploded in quick succession, dropping all four of them one by one. The bodies within the Heaven's Armour were thoroughly crushed, blood and flesh devoured by the black mist until the rune set itself split apart, and as the individual armour pieces struck the ground they sent out rings of explosive power that injured swathes of paladins and other enemy soldiers. Cracks appeared all over the metal as they were almost completely destroyed.

1228 - City of Sin

Archangel's Demise

“Oh noble citizen of the heavens, we can finally fight fair.” Once the enemy angels were dead, Richard returned within range of Michael who was rapidly recovering using the energy from the pope. The three serving Martin lined up behind him, crimson swords in hand.

The four opposing angels had barely managed to last all this while, but then Richard had just aborted his fight against Michael and come for their heads instead. The balance had immediately been broken, leaving them unable to last for any length of time. Now, Richard and the three Midrens were ganging up on the lone Michael. The celestial had never been Richard's match even when they were one on one, and now the result was obvious.

Still, Richard wasn't going to play fair or give the opponent any time to prepare. He felt sickened by the archangel's unfounded arrogance for some reason, and he couldn't help but want to wipe it off the man's face. Crimson light shot onto the three Midrens as he stretched out an arm, the paladins within instantly losing control as they became puppets for him to control.

Although he was a fair distance away, Martin immediately felt the change. His eyebrows locked in perplexion, but he didn't say anything at the realisation that Richard could control the hierarchy of Heaven's Armour so effectively. Perhaps he was meant to see this; a friendship would only last if both parties were about equal.

The three Midrens charged towards the celestial, showing no mercy as they fought in perfect harmony. Michael screamed and cried endlessly, but even without Richard making a move he could barely hold them back. Just as the angel started losing patience, a blood-red light flashed covered his entire body and almost drowned him. He managed to cut it apart, but his body started trembling in the aftermath as he almost dropped his sword.

As the red dissipated, Michael finally realised that he was going up against the same sword that he had managed to damage before. His eyes went wide in surprise; had the weapon grown immune to his flames? So what about the other? A sharp pain quickly answered his question, an anxious glance revealing a green blade pierced in his midriff. The armour had done nothing to stop the weapon at all.

“This... sword...” Something seemed to have clicked in Michael's mind, and he stared at Moonlight with all colour draining from his face.

“Yeah, it's pretty good,” Richard smiled as he drew back. The celestial stared in shock as the small wound suddenly burst into a rain of golden blood. Lifesbane had finally taken effect, even if it was only the one that had absorbed his blood.

Michael's eyes blazed as he glared at Moonlight, his hatred for the sword even greater than that for the Judge. He was about to say something, but all three Midrens pounced on him at once.

The battle in the sky thus reached its climax, a golden sun forming as the celestial mobilised the last of his energy. The three Midrens were tossed far away, but each of their hands held a broken wing. Moonlight had one wreathed around it as well, while the Judge was trying its best to swallow another.

Michael was drenched in golden blood, his one remaining wing struggling to keep him in the sky. Looking at the once six-winged angel, Richard said slowly, “You had your chance.”

“You... You work with evil... You will meet your destruction one day...” Michael staggered, his last wing disintegrating to the crimson light. His blood started burning fiercely, forming a golden aura around him as he fell to the ground.

*BOOM!* Thousands of soldiers down below were sent flying by the impact, raging flames leaving a huge pit that was dozens of metres wide. Everything in range was burnt to a crisp, even rune knights. When Richard descended, the only thing left was a set of golden armour and flaming sword.

The armour was the set of Heaven's Armour that formed Michael, cracked and dented all over but still in one piece. The breastplate and helmet themselves were flawless, the crest of the Radiant Lord still shining bright on the latter. With a single look, Richard knew that he could repair this without issue.

The sword was still burning with sacred flames, but he also noticed that they were drawing on the last remnants of Michael's divine force. In only a few minutes, they would go out. He reached through the heat and pulled the weapon out of the ground, dissipating the energy in all directions to the point that the charred ground crystallised from the heat.

In terms of power alone, these sacred flames were nowhere close to the liquid flames created by the blue moon. That flame had destructive properties that destabilised the structure of any being it came across, while these could only rely on pure temperature. However, it was also obvious that these divine flames burnt much hotter than the blue ones. This sword was a true divine weapon, likely second only to the robes and staff the pope currently wore.

The only unfortunate part was that the sword was beyond massive. Three metres was just right for a large celestial, but humans were minuscule in comparison. Of course, Richard himself didn't really feel like that would be much of a problem, he had more than enough strength to wield the weapon anyway. This was also only the first time he had seen a weapon as physically tough as Moonlight.

Once he had the sword, Richard looked into the Heaven's Armour set on the ground with more care. Moving the breastplate revealed a large gold crystal floating within, the celestial core that was somewhat similar to a demonic core or human heart. This was the fundamental source of energy for celestials, and Michael's was already on par with that of a lesser demon lord. In the system of the Eternal Dragon, it would be a borderline rank 2 offering.

“HERETIC! YOU DARE PROFANE THE SACRED SKELETON” Saint Thomas suddenly screamed as Richard extracted the core, his body trembling with rage. Martin looked rather uncomfortable as well, and it was in fact the pope that was calm.

The old man just stared emotionlessly at the dozens of red-robed corpses under him, not even caring for the deathly grip Ruford had on the edge of his own robes. The legendary priest was no more than a hundred years old; even though the clergy lived shorter lives than those who obtained their power themselves, the man would still have another century to grow stronger. If not for Martin being a divine child, he would actually supercede Hendrick in terms of a claim to papacy.

However, everything was over now. Saint Thomas wanted to charge over, but he was restrained by a reinvigorated Senma. The three Midrens were currently supporting the battlefield, allowing her to tie the man down. Richard stowed both his swords away and raised his newest weapon up high, injecting his own energy within. The crimson veins on his armour lit up once more, turning the sacred flames blood red. By the time he turned to actually face the offender, Thomas could see nothing but indifference through the mask.

Richard stretched his left hand out, drawing a portal in the sky. The legendary paladin was stunned as he disappeared into it, barely remembering that he was a mage before blood-red flames devoured him from behind.

It took a few moments for the flames to simmer down, but everyone saw Saint Thomas barely holding the sword back with his own lance. However, the crimson flames had already swept across his body and left him pale, his hair trembling as he tried to resist with all his might. His silver horse cried out in pain as its limbs were smashed into sludge, the beast that had fought alongside the paladin for over a hundred years unable to bear Richard's strength.

Thomas screamed in grief, but that was quickly cut short as he turned back to see a spear stabbed into his back. Senma gritted her teeth as she flooded the paladin's body with her energy, crushing all of his organs. Richard withdrew the sword and sighed, “Like I said, a blood feud. You're the start.”

Thomas's throat bobbed, but he couldn't utter a single word. When Senma pulled her spear out of his body, the last dregs of his vitality faded away and his corpse fell to the ground. The battle was over.

1229 - City of Sin

Dividing The Loot

Richard raised his head, calmly staring at the pope floating in the sky, doing nothing to stop the old man as he heaved a deep sigh and disappeared through the door of light. The distant Saint Martin was doing the same.

The moment the door of light started to fade, the corpses of the clergy started falling from the sky. The platform of light that Martin had formed remained, but the battle there quickly grew much less chaotic as the paladins lost their confidence in their cause. Only fifty or so of the holy child's followers remained, fighting against hundreds of paladins, but with Michael's death, the fall of the angels, and the slaughter of the cardinals, they were suddenly at the loss. Victory meant nothing anymore.

“Why aren't you chasing?” Richard asked Martin.

“Why aren't you?” Martin returned the question with a smile.

Neither of the two actually answered, looking back at the raging battle down below. Richard obviously wouldn't take that fight; the pope was still unscathed and had two divine items, while he himself needed his newfound strength, the fusion of Disintegrator and Midren, the Judge, and Moonlight just to battle an epic being once. Even if he somehow won that battle, there was no telling how much energy he would expend in the process; he would then have to deal with Martin afterwards. Although he wasn't sure how much energy the holy child had used, he looked fine for now.

Perhaps Martin felt similarly.

A few moments later, the Saint raised his voice, “Followers of the Lord, the traitor has failed. In his name and as his divine child, I command all of you to set your weapons down!”

Martin's voice resounded through the entire battlefield. With the pope gone and Ruford dead, he was definitely the highest religious authority present. The various feudal lords promptly fell back, while the paladins laid down their arms as well. Only a few of Saint Thomas's closest aides still continued to fight, but Richard's knights quickly exterminated them. Seeing the losses stacking up, even they eventually let go of their weapons and knelt in submission.

The troops of the opposing sides started to retreat, and Richard's army quickly reshuffled to form a frontline of soldiers that had experienced the least amount of battle so far. The slightly wounded ones were placed in the centre to be protected, replenishing the strength of the army immediately. On the contrary, the Sacred Tree Empire's side was in chaos as private soldiers tried to look for their own flags, while Thomas's right hand man gathered the surviving paladins still loyal to him and positioned them at the perimeter to guard from a surprise attacks.

The sheer difference in organisation between the Church of Glory and the nobles was painfully obvious, but despite the inferiority of both their combined strength actually dwarfed that of the Archerons. A third of Richard's 30,000 men had been killed or maimed, and once one included lighter injuries only 17,000 soldiers were left. The combined army had lost far more soldiers at 70,000, but they still had more than 200,000 left which actually increased their numerical advantage.

The Church had actually suffered the greatest loss. Only three of the ten thousand paladins Thomas had brought along were still alive, while Richard had lost about 30 of his 200 rune knights.
𝘧𝘳𝑒ℯ𝔀𝘦𝒃𝘯𝒐𝐯e𝗹. co𝐦

Up on the divine platform, the two sides had been unified into one and the same. The air on the battlefield seemed to change at that moment, all of the clamour quieting down until even the wounded held back their cries of pain. A suffocating silence fell over them as they all stared at the two figures in the distance, with Richard and Martin just staring at each other in silence.

The power ratio on the battlefield had been altered greatly in the silence. Martin was now the leader of the Church of Glory here, with 250,000 soldiers and hundreds upon hundreds of paladins serving him. In comparison, Richard's military might seemed paltry. Richard had been confident in taking out Saint Thomas earlier, but if a fight broke out now, he knew that he only had one choice: he had to sacrifice the wounded and his drones so his rune knights and elites could escape. Less than 3,000 would return to Azan alive.

But he didn't give his soldiers a command to retreat, instead just standing next to the ruined Heaven's Armour and staring at Martin with no plans to run. The Saint suddenly laughed and looked at the three Midrens around him, each stood silently with sword in hand. To the layman it would seem like they were keeping him confined to an area, but the paladins actually within those armour sets were completely paralysed and their bodies were under Richard's control.

“It seems like you were prepared for this, Richard,” Martin smiled.

“Preparation is never a bad thing, is it?” Richard replied.

The holy child glanced at the golden armour below, “If I had power that surpassed Michael, things might have been different.”

“No one can foresee everything.”

“Indeed! So, has the war come to an end?”

“If you think it has, sure.”

“Great!” Martin rubbed his hands together in excitement, “Then it's time to split the loot, right?”

Richard was rendered speechless by the abrupt change of attitude, but he couldn't really refute the point. His troops were already starting to clean up the battlefield, so a division of the spoils was indeed his only task. Of course, he had Senma lead the rune knights and most of the other Archeron troops out first, leaving behind only 2,000 people to attend to the wounded. The Blood Paladin had already suffered considerable injuries fighting Saint Thomas, so she needed to be moved away.

Once a majority of his forces were gone, Richard relaxed immensely. Even an epic being wouldn't be able to stop him from running anymore, and he still had control of the three Midrens under Martin as a blackmail chip. Martin wouldn't even be able to touch him even if he destroyed the three rune sets and left, so the war was indeed over.

The two sides seriously started to split the loot, with the main point of contention being the five sets of Heaven's Armour and the flaming sword that Michael had brought down from the Celestial Plane. After a round of discussion, it was decided that Martin would take the four regular sets while Richard got Michael and the sacred sword. Richard ended up making more off this exchange, so he had to restore the four angels and also hand over a simplified version of Michael that humans could wear. This would greatly reduce the power of the rune set, but the holy child didn't mind. On top of the three existing Midrens, this would bring him to eight angels in total, each one equivalent to a sky saint. This was the strength of at least two or more legends, and much more supportive capability than that in actual war.

They also discussed the source of this entire war: the divine gold. Martin promised to hand over anything that the cardinals had stockpiled in the Church once he returned, while Richard could think of how to handle the current set. It would be a bonus if it could be retrieved, but he would have enough for his purposes regardless.

1230 - City of Sin

Outside The Battlefield

Once the spoils were discussed, the time arrived for Richard and Martin to part. Both of them stood on the divine platform and stared at each other; Martin had never allowed that platform to fade, while Richard never took off his armour either. One couldn't see any expression behind the cold silver mask, but that was only because Richard wasn't presenting any at all.

Martin was the first to speak, “Richard, wasn't the original rune set on your body a full grade 4 set as well? With the battle edition of Midren on top... I'm curious, just what is your capacity? Shouldn't the armour alone suck common legends dry?”

“You know a lot.”

“Eh, I definitely have some amount of understanding when it comes to Heaven's Armour. Back in the years when Michael was first created, a dozen saint paladins died trying to command it. Even a legend suffered the same fate, which was how the set ended up becoming the property of the celestials. Not even the most pure-blooded members of the imperial family dared to try using it after that. But your set can actually suppress Michael, and I don't believe in a free lunch.”

Richard laughed, “Want to try it on?”

“No, keep it to yourself! I still want to serve the Lord for a few more years!”

“Then don't ask too many questions that don't matter. I'm leaving,” Richard waved and started drawing a portal.

“The war's already over, why aren't you taking your armour off?” Martin asked as the space started to fluctuate.

Richard didn't even look back, “If I take it off now, I'm afraid I can't tell whether the war would start back up.”

“How could it?” Martin chuckled.
ｆ𝓇𝘦𝚎𝑤e𝗯𝑛𝗼ѵe𝗹. c𝒐𝘮

“Our alliance is too brittle to be tested.”

“Then at least tell me why your capacity is so high! I'll die of curiosity!” Martin shouted as Richard disappeared into the portal.

“I have a strong body.”

Martin was stunned by the fading voice, taking a few seconds to process it before shouting angrily, “Strong my ass! Are you stronger than a half-beast?”

However, the holy child recalled how effortless it had been when Richard was knocking the paladins away one by one. He suddenly twitched, feeling like that assessment wasn't wrong at all. He retreated to his 100,000 soldiers and hundreds of paladins, voice resonating through the sky, “We're going back home.”

In that moment, he was the only voice in the Church of Light.

......

The war had indeed come to a close, but to some it was only the start of a nightmare. Steven and Minnie went straight towards Duke Solam's lands after being released, but it was a long journey so they stopped multiple times along the way.

One hundred thousand men had collapsed so easily to Richard's ambush! Resting in the inn, Steven simply couldn't get over the loss. The terrifying might of the legendary mage hadn't just scared his soldiers, but also himself. It filled him with regret; just why hadn't he had the courage to fight to the death?

The warlock knew he was never a match for Richard, but that couldn't be a reason for cowardice. A glorious death would have been much better than the situation he was in right now; he would be stripped of all power the moment he returned, and there were still dozens of nobles and generals alongside his entire army waiting to be ransomed off! The sheer cost of a top-tier offering left him shivering in his boots.

Steven also knew that his fear for Richard had been carved deep into the soul, the knowledge that he would never measure up draining him of energy the moment they crossed paths. It was rage-inducing, but he just couldn't do anything about it.

Groaning in self-pity, the warlock threw his tired body onto the bed. The room they were in was simple and pathetic, even worse than those of his servants, but it wasn't the time for pleasure right now; he needed to think up an explanation to his father.

Minnie was quietly tucked away in a corner, her thoughts unknown. She had barely spoken a word since they were released, and seeing her figure Steven suddenly sat up and glared at her coldly, “What are you thinking about?”

She flashed a forced smile, “Nothing, I'm just tired.”

*THWACK!* A resounding slap launched Minnie into the air, knocking her head against the wall. She screamed in pain, rolling around for a moment before she could pull herself up with difficulty. Her face quickly swelled up, and blood started dripping down her cheeks.

“You slut! Don't think I don't know your mind. You're thinking about Richard, aren't you, thinking about why you didn't climb into his bed instead of mine! Am I wrong? Answer me, am I?!”

She choked out a bitter laugh, “Why would I? Don't you know you're the only one on my mind?”

Steven suddenly laughed like a maniac, “I do know! I know I'm worse than Richard in every way. My runes are shit compared to his, and Sharon actually likes him. He's already a legend, an Excellency, but me? Where even am I? I was wiped clean by the Archerons with more than triple their numbers, and you only have me in mind? How can a piece of trash like me be worthy of you, beautiful Miss Minnie?”

He grabbed her by the neck, holding her up and staring into her eyes as he said through gritted teeth, “You really think I don't know about you going to look for him when we left the Deepblue? You only followed me back because he didn't give a shit about a slut like you!”

Minnie gasped, “H-How?”

“I was watching from the tunnel as you got chased out,” Steven's voice suddenly went back to normal, volume low and tone almost gentle.

However, this only caused Minnie to start trembling, “I... I can explain!”

Sexual Violence

*THWACK!* “Explain? Alright, I'll let you explain! Here! Explain!” Blood flew from her mouth and nose as Steven started slapping her repeatedly, the sound ringing throughout the inn with blood splattering everywhere. It was a gruesome sight.

A gentle knock sounded on the door as a maid called out from outside, “My Lord, are you alright? The other guests are complaining that they can't sleep because of loud noises.”

Steven suddenly dropped Minnie down, rushing to the door and swinging it open. The maid screamed in fear at his bloody face, but he threw a huge pile of gold towards her, “Take these! If the bastards have any more complaints or just want to die, tell them to come to me directly! I'll break their bones one by one!”

A few angry guests stuck their heads out at the commotion, but all of them shrunk back once they made eye contact with the warlock. He slammed the door in the maid's face, and she immediately picked up all the gold before hurrying away. Just the thought of what was going on in that room made her shudder.

Back in the room, Steven kicked Minnie's face so hard that hot blood vandalised the wall. A tooth even smacked into the wood before rolling away, the sight somehow calming him down. As he looked at the spasming Minnie on the ground, the girl not even possessing the strength to make a sound anymore, he suddenly felt a wave of arousal wash over him as his penis started to swell. He threw himself onto her and tore apart what little was still covering her body, slamming right into her with full strength.

He quickly started humping her like a boy having sex for the first time, cursing with every thrust, “Does it feel good, slut? Why aren't you replying, didn't you want to get fucked anyway? Why don't you—”

Steven's entire body suddenly froze amidst the rape, the warlock slowly lowering his head to find an exquisite dagger stabbed deep into his ribs. A massive influx of energy suddenly started ripping his internals apart.

1231 - City of Sin

Protection

“How... dare... you...” Steven barely voiced as he stared at the dagger in disbelief. He managed to shift his gaze to Minnie with great effort, then looking back at the dagger as a powerful chill swept across his body. He suddenly calmed down, coldly glaring at his killer.

“Di you oh? I waet u hab you fom da firs hime you fuck e.” Minnie's tongue was swollen to the point that her words were basically gibberish, but her gaze was bright and calm as she stared at her abuser. Steven couldn't believe his own ears, but his vision slowly darkened until everything around him blurred. The cold seeping into his bones was amongst the very last things he experienced, followed by a few heavy thuds before the darkness consumed him.

......

With many wounded soldiers on his side, Richard's army couldn't move very quickly. It took two days for them to cover the distance back to the Brahms territory, and along the way a surprising guest showed up at his camp. Minnie wouldn't be a threat to him even if she was a legend, so Richard met her in his own tent with only Senma by his side.

However, the appearance of the person that came before him left him shocked. Minnie's face was battered and bruised all over, her nose evidently broken and left eye so swollen that it could barely open. The corner of her eyes had dried blood on them, and her right arm was hanging limp by her side with the forearm trembling unnaturally.

His eyes narrowed as a green moon appeared above his head, its radiance starting to heal the damage done to her, “Did Steven do this?”

“Yes.”

“Looks like I'll have to teach him a better lesson.”

“No need, he's dead,” Minnie said calmly.

Richard's eyes immediately went wide, “You killed him?”

“Less than a day ago,” she dismissed almost trivially, as though she hadn't just killed the successor of a legendary being.

“Mm, so what do you want from me?”

“I want to be your woman.”

“Heh, impossible.”

Seeing Richard chuckle, Minnie laughed as well, “Oh, well. It was worth a try. So my actual request— I want your protection.”

“Protection, huh...”

“Duke Solam won't let me off for killing Solam. You're not afraid of him, so this is the only way for me to survive.”

“And what do I get in exchange? Protection from a legendary assassin doesn't come cheap.”

“I know! I'm only at level 16 because I didn't dare to overtake that bastard. Give me the resources, and I'll become a grand mage soon. You know how picky Her Excellency is, she wouldn't have taken me in if I didn't have talent.”

Richard nodded, “That I acknowledge. And what else?”

“If necessary, I can come to your bed whenever. My technique is pretty good.”

Richard sighed, turning to Senma, “What do you think?”

“Eh, Solam's given us a fair bit of trouble. If we keep the person who killed his son, he'll probably go mad with rage.”

He immediately burst into laughter, “True! Alright, Minnie, you can stay. I can never have enough mages anyway, that's enough from you. I'll send some men to notify Solam that I have you; let's see if he has the guts to try anything. He won't escape this time.”

Minnie felt her entire body shiver at his words; she'd known he was powerful, but not to the extent that he was confident in killing an antimage.

......

Within Dragonwing Castle, Marquess Brahms was feeling uneasy once more. His intelligence network had already revealed that Richard had left Sunset City to confront the combined army of the Church and the Sacred Tree Empire, and the difference in forces was significant as well. Saint Thomas was an experienced legendary paladin; even though he was still level 21, his three centuries of life made him a formidable opponent The 10,000 paladins he led were reinforced by hundreds of thousands of knights, bringing their force to a staggering tenfold the number of Richard's troops.

Brahms had been awaiting good news, but for some reason the communication circles in the castle had gone completely silence ever since he spoke to Archbishop Ruford. After two days of no information at all, he'd resorted to bringing a chair over to the messaging hall and just waited there for the result. However, it was his own guards that eventually sent him a physical letter: their sentinels had seen the Archeron army!

The Archerons had less than 10,000 people as they headed in the direction of Dragonwing Castle, looking like they had just gone through a terrible battle. With only a third of the forces returning, it was clear that they had suffered a massive blow. However, the Marquess started to grow more doubtful instead of excited; how did the enormous army let these people run?

“Let's go, I need to see this myself,” Brahms got up, summoning his personal guards. He hastily climbed up the keep, getting to the observation deck right in time to see Richard leading a full charge of knights towards his castle!

The Marquess paled at the sight of more than a hundred rune knights leading the assault; Richard still had the strength to fight! The Archerons seemed to be in proper formation as well, and one couldn't see the imperial army no matter how far they looked!

Even with these diminished numbers, Richard had more than enough soldiers to take Dragonwing Castle easily. The battle was almost symbolic; a three-minute chant to a legendary Core-Melting Explosion destroyed the castle gates and killed hundreds of guards, which was followed by an immediate announcement of surrender.

When Richard arrived at Brahms's meeting hall, his rune knights surged in like a tide and occupied their positions next to the walls. In the meanwhile, he walked up the red carpet and sat down on the throne, watching as Brahms's family were brought into the hall one by one. Every noble that entered had a look of terror in their eyes as they saw the sheer number of rune knights around them, the aura alone making it difficult for the weaker ones to breathe.

However, the Marquess himself didn't appear immediately. He sent a guard to ask for half an hour, and for some reason Richard chose to humour him. Half an hour later, Brahms appeared in luxurious clothing as though he was attending an imperial banquet, standing before Richard with his head held high.

Resting his chin on one hand, Richard looked down at the man before him, “We meet again, Brahms.”

“I wish the circumstances were different, but what are you going to do? This is the Sacred Tree Empire, and I am a Marquess. Your actions here are a challenge to the royal line, and they will certainly punish you for the transgression!”

Richard stared at the Marquess with interest. Even now, the man was unwilling to admit defeat, “Sigh. Admirable courage, but without the intellect to match. Yes, this is a challenge to the Sacred Tree Empire. Yes, the Empire does want to punish me. Unfortunately, I already beat them back once.”

“You... what? How?!” Brahms was truly shocked.

“Mm, don't expect any help. Thomas is dead, as is Ruford.”

“Thomas... Ruford...”

“The news should come here soon, but it's a pity you won't be around.”

Brahms didn't even hear Richard's last words, already having turned deathly pale with his eyes glazed over as he muttered the two names to himself repeatedly. These two had been his final hope, the last anchor he had held onto with all his might.

1232 - City of Sin

Back To The Forest

Richard stared at the dazed Marquess for some time, but he quickly grew bored and clapped to snap the man out of his daze, “Now, where's my divine gold?”

Brahms suddenly looked up, his eyes turning bloodshot, “Don't even think of getting it from me! I might lose everything, but I'm taking your child with me!”

Richard chuckled, “You're the one who provoked me, and you still act like the victim in all this. Such honour, such dignity... Pathetic. You know what? I'm getting a new batch in a few days, straight from the reserves your uncle had before he died. Enjoy that knowledge while you can.”

He then got up and nodded to Senma before walking out of the hall. The Blood Paladin remained at attention until he was out of sight before shifting her gaze to the Marquess and flashing a charming smile. Her expression was bright, but it left Brahms shivering in fear.

Senma gestured to a few of the rune knights, “Send every member of his immediate family to the back.”

Brahms's expression changed immediately, fury overcoming him as he pounced towards her, “WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!”

However, even a gravely injured Blood Paladin was far stronger than the Marquess could handle. She nonchalantly grabbed the sword and knocked its sheath on his head, leaving him crumpling to the ground. She then stepped on his face, grinding against it until he recovered from the momentary blackout, “Isn't it obvious? I'm killing them all. Don't worry, I'll leave your wife alive or something. She can choose which of your nieces and nephews gets to succeed you.”

“You... Khech!” an attempt at cursing was cut short by a heel to the mouth.

......

Dragonwing Castle suddenly went up in flames at dusk, the traditional residence of the Brahms Marquess for centuries turning to ruins amidst the fire. The Marquess and his family all died in the conflagration.

The Blood Paladin returned to Blackrose Castle the day after Richard, but when she said it had been taken care of, he didn't ask her a single question. Brahms was only a small pawn in this battle, and destroying him meant nothing. The Church of Glory and Sacred Tree Empire had gone quiet as though nothing had happened, with no way to know whether the fight between Saint Martin and the pope had continued or died down.

However, Richard had to admit that the Church was quite impressive. The deaths of all the bishops and a quarter of the cardinals hadn't created any commotion at all; had he not witnessed it himself, he wouldn't ever learn of something so huge having occurred. Martin himself proved to be very efficient, a few paladins from him reaching Azan by portal in only three days. The small troop spent more than the cost of the five portions of divine gold just getting there, also bringing more than 10 million gold in ingredients.

Richard was quite thrilled once he saw all the items that he had been given. Some of these materials had already gone extinct They were payment for repairing the four angels and replicating Michael, but he could use his existing reserves for that. These could instead help him move forward with a number of ideas that he was waiting on resources for.

By this point, Coco had grown extremely frail. Druids had been brought in to heal her every three days, but even so she could only hold on for a month. Richard immediately headed to the Forest Plane once he received the divine gold, spending two months there to build the grade 5 Mana Armament.

At his current level, Richard could sense the upper limits of the plane. With two divine cores, the new Mana Armament was nearly as powerful as Midren's battle edition, and the plane itself had started fluctuating whenever he neared completion. While he succeeded in the end, that had come off the back of four repeated failures. Other runemasters would be over the moon at that result, but to him it was actually disappointing. Thankfully, the process had at least stimulated his mana growth.

Most legends were bottlenecked by their comprehension of their chosen laws, but things were different for Richard. Having started on that process while he was still a grand mage, he controlled a number of them already. His analysis of the laws of life were even approaching completion; he only had the sixteen foundational laws left. The moment he finished that, he would be on par with the World Tree itself..

Nyris had stayed by Richard's side the entire time he spent modifying Mana Armament, not speaking nor moving as she merely watched him quietly. As someone who grew excessively focused when at work, sometimes he grew absorbed for several days and nights. Whenever this happened, she sat along for the same duration. Even with her saint strength, she was on the verge of collapse whenever he returned.

The idea of the princess waiting by him with anticipation left Richard's heart fluttering a little, leaving him with the urge to flee. Thankfully, he managed to keep himself in check without doing anything, even if the patient Nyris felt more charming by the day. Sometimes, escaping a problem was just the best way to deal with it; runecrafting provided that escape. However, no matter how difficult the rune was, it was eventually finished. He finally had to look her in the eye.

“You're setting off?”

“Mm, soon.”

“Can I come with?”

“Ugh. No, it'll be dangerous this time. I'm not sure I'll be able to take care of you.”

“Alright,” she nodded, never bringing up the topic again.

......

The Forest Plane's sunless skies were gloomy as always, the dull grey threatening to wear down one's soul. Thankfully, Emerald City had been adapted to this environment; stonewood bonfires constantly burnt in the streets to create warmth, and not far away was the Golden World Tree that provided a semblance of time's passage. The tree was now fifty metres tall, its vast crown more than twice its height in width. It was still only a tiny sapling compared to a real world tree, but its warm light already showed its uniqueness.

When Richard first saw a small elven village amidst beautiful golden light, he was taken in for a moment by the magnificence of the scene. The evernight elves had already built a small shrine to Alucia and a moonwell; although it was a little slow, the well was filling up with moonwater. It was currently filled to the brim, and just being in proximity to it left his elven bloodline trembling with excitement. He scooped up a bucketful and examined it for a while, and when he eventually took the first sip he immediately felt intoxicated. A bit of this water could restore even a legendary mage to full mana in minutes, and it could raise one's upper limit as well. During the downfall of the elven empire wars had been fought over mere jugfuls.

This moonwell was still young, and not nearly as powerful as those in Norland, but it still managed to awaken his elven affinity. He finished off the entire bucket as the tree above him rustled gently, the rays of light slowly dimming down to indicate dusk.

1233 - City of Sin

The Broodmother's Avatar

Standing under the Golden World Tree, Richard could sense its conscient dancing around him in delight. It was almost like a child excited to be around their parent, but that made sense. He was the one who had planted its seed with his own blood, so the tree had determined that he was the closest thing he had to kin.

However, the tree's will had only just awoken, and it was like an infant that didn't know much. There wasn't much intelligence it could show, only a simple representation of its mood. On the other hand, its innate abilities were already beginning to show; the radiance from its crown could greatly boost the growth of any elves, and finding the lack of a sun in the Forest Plane, it had adjusted to form a day and night cycle of its own that mirrored Norland.

The tree had been given almost all of the water that the moonwell of the Evernight Elves could gather, the rest only reserved to treat injury or illness. This had greatly boosted its development, which in return allowed it to enhance their growth as well. The two sides were moving forward briskly, hand in hand.

The broodmother's avatar was less than a hundred kilometres away from the Golden World Tree as well, a distance that wasn't really all that much given that the mature tree's canopy alone would stretch all the way. When Richard approached her lair, an almost-unfamiliar tender voice greeted him, “Welcome, Master.”

“Master? Your main body is already independent of me, you don't need to call me that anymore.”

“The main body is separate from myself. You're the one who brought me to this plane and gave me a chance to live; you will always be my master.”

A little surprised by this answer, Richard flew over to the avatar's lair and looked down. All the trees within ten kilometres had been cut down, replaced by the familiar larval forest with a hundred towering worm nests in the distance. For a moment, it shocked him; even the main body didn't have so many nests in the Land of Turmoil!

Of course, the main broodmother had her reasons as well. The worm nests and drones needed nutrition to maintain, and even with her forest she didn't have enough output to sustain more than what was currently running. Here, the drones could just eat the trees all around, so there was no need to worry about food.

Richard flew around the broodmother's lair once before slowly descending onto her. She was only level 8, but her 900-metre-long body was almost the same size as the original. She was currently in the middle of a meal, with countless workers flocking over to spit out pale yellow honey before flying away. There was a small lake of the thing that she was drinking out of.

A wave of the hand pulled a glob of the honey towards him, but Richard hesitated for a while before holding his nose and tasting it. He almost gagged from the sour taste, but he immediately felt a wave of pure energy with life force flowing through him. His blood flow immediately accelerated, to the point that he had to suppress arousal.

Landing on the clone's head, Richard could tell the differences from the main body almost immediately. He jabbed down with a single finger that was covered in pale blue flames, the exoskeleton just melting away to the application of even a meagre force. This one's shell was less than two metres thick, almost paper compared to the body.

His brow furrowed, “Far too weak. Even a saint can maim or kill you, forget a legend. The main body can withstand any legendary being's attacks for a long time.”

The clone seemed entirely unbothered by the attack, replying calmly, “There's no being in this plane that can threaten me, Master. Why should I waste my energy protecting myself? Every drop used on my shell is a drop I'm not using to strengthen my army. Our entire purpose is to create drones, and the cycle strengthens every day. A single drone not created a year ago would have an enormous impact today, and the process snowballs very quickly.”

Richard was a little surprised by the reply, but he didn't entirely agree with her perspective either, “Even a tiny threat could destroy you now!”

“But this was the only way to grow so quickly.”

“Why? Why so many weak warriors, what's the point?”

“Numbers can always make a considerable force.”

This sentence wasn't illogical, but it did run contrary to Richard's own reasoning. He had always had the main broodmother create smaller troops of elites, using his own formidable mind to control them all like his limbs. Of course, this was also because he had been hamstrung by his own limits in the past; a large army of weaker drones wouldn't have worked nearly as well under his control.

The clone seemed to be aware of his thoughts, “Master, have you ever thought of how destroying a plane works?”

Destroying a plane? Richard had to pause for a moment as he pondered it in all seriousness, beginning to understand what she meant. Even a level 15 broodmother couldn't create true legends, but as long as she had the food she could send out an infinite army of low-level troops. Low-level to her was still level 10, strong enough to be a knight in most planes known to Norland. An unending sea of such soldiers could definitely sweep through all of the empires currently occupying the world, and despite their damage potential the epics of the plane would eventually tire out and have to escape. On the other hand, even the most powerful elite drones would be nothing against a true epic being, and only special units reinforced with divinity could even come close to mattering in a fight against legends. Between barely impacting the higher end and absolutely crushing the common troops, the choice was obvious.

However, there were problems with such a line of thought as well. Richard wasn't someone focused on pure destruction, but Nyris had clearly let the clone do whatever she wanted and she had chosen that path. Thinking over it for a while, he decided to take control of things himself, “Stop your combat drone production right now. Focus on 30,000 workers first, and how far is your analysis of the woodpecking crows?”

“175%/”

“Then start on a modified version of them after. Level 10 should do, but they should move around on land instead of in the sky. Call them tree eaters or something, you choose the design.”

“Hmm? What use would they be?”

“You talked about numbers, didn't you? They're going to destroy the world tree.”

......

Richard spent a little more time just conversing with the clone. He had noticed that she was basically independent of the main body long ago, but apart from a guess that it was related to the excessive life energy in the Forest Plane he didn't know why nor care. He eventually returned to Emerald City and packed for travel, preparing to leave immediately.

Nyris had returned to his side along the way, watching him quietly until he was about to leave. She then walked over and said softly, “Be careful, and come back alive!”

Richard laughed at the strong concern, “I'm only toying with a tree of life, there's nothing to be worried about. I'm a legendary mage now!”

“Sigh, I just have this bad feeling that something will go wrong,” she looked him straight in the eye.

“And? Things go wrong, that's just how life works. I'll take care of any problems.”

This time, she didn't persist, just watching as he left.

......

The sea of trees was the same as Richard remembered, but he didn't feel even a hint of the will of the forest until he was hundreds of kilometres away. The Golden World Tree still didn't have a complete personality, but its sphere of influence was extremely wide nevertheless. By the time he felt any sort of force around him, his aura had already adapted until not even a tree of life would be able to tell the difference.

Ever since he planted the Golden World Tree in public, Richard was well aware that the trees of life all around would have migrated far away. Flying would be very obvious even with the disguised aura, so he could only run rapidly through the woods in search of prey. Covering a few hundred kilometres every day, he scoured through the jungle for any signs of elven life.

1234 - City of Sin

Eternal Vortex

While Richard was moving through the Forest Plane in search of a way to save his child, another individual was trudging through the void with just as much difficulty. Grand Scholar Rhodey had nearly forgotten how long he had travelled, time having blurred into one big slush of drudgery. There was just no keeping track of the number of energy storms and savage beasts he'd braved, but thankfully he was about to reach his destination. Please visit 𝘧𝗿𝐞𝐞𝒘𝗲𝘣n𝘰𝘷ℯ𝒍. 𝒄o𝗺

In front of the Scholar was a curtain of clear blue light, looking absolutely tiny but actually spreading thousands of kilometres in each direction. This was the last obstacle to his goal, but the beautiful blue light was actually immensely dangerous. The radiance came from the Star of Destruction, and even a tiny bit on one's body would result in death.

However, Rhodey didn't hesitate in the slightest as he blinked to the other side. He started teleporting through the place repeatedly, taking great care to ensure that his destination was exactly as required. Even a tiny drift would leave him lost for anywhere from a few months to forever.

It took a few hours of travel, but once he was on the other side Rhodey heaved a sigh of relief. He was the only Scholar of Soremburg who could actually travel through this land of death, so failure here was the end. The Grand Scholar quickened his flight to arrive at a strange amalgamation of hundreds of landmasses that ranged from a few dozen kilometres wide to thousands, floating around with seemingly no pattern but rebounding occasionally off an invisible boundary.

There was a strange forcefield around this place, but even with his abilities Rhodey couldn't tell just what it was. He hesitated for a while before recalling everything he had memorised before setting off; he had never come to this place by himself before, and he had no idea what would happen after he arrived. Everything so far had been based off hypotheses by the Scholars, and even if most of it was verified there was a good chance of death. With no reason to retreat, he passed through and headed towards the largest landmass.

The moment he crossed the forcefield, the Grand Scholar felt like he had entered a brand new world. Things were extremely calm in here, the fierce energy storm giving way to absolute silence. These landmasses themselves weren't particularly special in makeup, so the enormous domain was the only reason they could manage to survive.

Just what was the source? Before he could wonder about that, a voice rang out in his mind, “Greedy human, why have you come to the Eternal Vortex?”

The voice was not speaking via any language, transmitting the ideas straight to Rhodey's mind. None of his defences had even been triggered, leaving the Scholar sweating. This being could take over his soul whenever it wanted.

“Your worries are needless, human. Your soul is suspicious and greedy, filled with desire for that which you cannot handle. It is tasteless to me, only the devils with no taste would enjoy it.”

“Are you one of the mighty beings of chaos?”

“My race was born with the void.”

“I heard one could exchange information on primordial races for rewards.”

“That is true, but if I do not approve, your soul and being will be mine. I suggest you look around a little better before confirming the deal.”

Rhodey had already realised that the floating landmasses seemed strange and familiar, and now that he was prompted to look at them he examined them more closely. An empty pit in one of the rocks suddenly caught his attention and he noticed that its walls were far more structured than nature would allow, making it clear that it had been a mana pool created by a mage. His heart thumped loudly as he realised what these things were— abandoned demiplanes!

Demiplanes were considered the lifeblood of any legendary mage, and they weren't abandoned outside of a life-or-death crisis. If they were all floating here, that meant their owners had already died. Rhodey's own demiplane was amongst the largest of the Scholars at fifty kilometres wide, but as he looked around he found only a handful of landmasses that were smaller than his. If these were all... He suddenly looked at the largest landmass that was over a thousand kilometres wide; just how powerful was its owner? Even such a being had fallen to this primal chaos beast?

He didn't dare think about this further, making up his mind quickly and taking out a crystal the size of a fist, “This is a clue about a remnant of a primordial race; I hope it satisfies you.”

A landmass suddenly changed its direction and flew towards the Grand Scholar, stopping right in front of him to reveal the ancient beast in its true form. It had an almost-flat body, with two appendages that resembled wings extending outwards from the side. At the rear was a tail that was several thousand metres long, covered in dark grey scales. On the creature's back were rows of enormous bone spurs. Rhodey could already sense that each one of those spurs was magical, possessing the ability to tear apart most armour with one strike.

The beast's head was rather odd, most of the face being occupied with a large mouth that held more than 10,000 misaligned teeth. Its eyes were as minuscule compared to the size of its body, but on a whole each was larger than the Scholar himself. With hundreds of such eyes focusing on him, Rhodey immediately went stiff; even his mana was frozen!

A ray of light shot out of one of the beast's eyes and shone on the crystal in Rhodey's hands, bringing it close to the creature. The crystal quickly shattered to reveal a strand of golden hair alongside a few red specks as minute as dust, but these insignificant items suddenly seemed to become the centre of the world. The chaos beast looked at it for a long time before sniffing deeply, producing such a great suction force that a rainbow of energy formed in the vacuum.

Rhodey cried out in surprise, his body immediately lighting up in a barrier, but that barrier quickly flickered and was about to be pulled away as well. Thankfully, the force eventually subsided before his mana was depleted completely, but now he had no energy at all. His potions were all in spatial equipment, and the laws of chaos here suppressed all else.

“A familiar scent,” the beast spoke after a while, “The power of astral order, from the true celestials of the deep space. Good, I never expected a descendant of the astral era to exist; you possess the right to make a deal with me. Tell me her location and your request.”

The Grand Scholar almost couldn't hold back his excitement, “Mighty being, I wish for knowledge regarding the primordial chaos.”

All of the beast's eyes promptly focused on Rhodey, and he felt everything from his mana to his very soul freeze up in terror. The creature spoke with a tone of mockery, “Your greed surpasses my expectations, human. Do you wish to enter the ranks of chaos and become one who cleans the world of its filth?”

The Scholar gritted his teeth, “Even if you know her whereabouts, you won't be able to get close to the order of the primary planes. But I have a way to lure her out to the boundary between chaos and order.”

The beast's gaze turned a little gentler, “Even so, your ambition is beyond your ability. Even the smallest fraction of primordial chaos would eat into you, turning you and everyone in your pitiful faction into nothingness in an instant. Do you still want it?”

Rhodey's eyes widened, “Is the primal chaos so powerful that it can pass through the crystal walls of a plane?”

“It is not power, it is hierarchy. The primal chaos gave birth to the myriad planes. Do you think your puny existence can support even a single world?”

1235 - City of Sin

The Boundary Between Order And Chaos

With his original idea having been shut down, Rhodey sighed in disappointment, “What can you give me?”

The primal chaos beast replied calmly, “I can give you what you call an extradivine weapon or strengthen your soul. Alternatively, I can give you some information about the alter world.”

Rhodey immediately started struggling with his options. An extradivine weapon could be passed down amongst the Scholars for all time, while a strengthening of his soul would give him a huge chance to become an epic being. Information on the alter world was valuable as well; only one Scholar had even attempted to go there in history, but they had immediately been taken over by the power of darkness there and turned into nothing. The only information that was transmitted back was a few paragraphs of indecipherable text.

The alter world was the darkness to the void's light. Very few beings in all of Norland's history had even been able to peek at its existence, and nobody had ever explored it to a significant degree. In this regard, humans were somewhat like mayflies. Their entire existence hinged around order, and as such it was impossible for them to comprehend a different aspect of reality. Information about this world would be an enormous benefit to the entire race; it would allow them to actually start exploring the darkness beneath the light. They would be able to break apart the limits of laws themselves, obtaining absolute power in their own right.

The primal chaos that Rhodey wanted was actually the origin force that allowed the chaos beast to exist between order and chaos. It was far beyond mere knowledge of the alter world, which was why his greed had surprised the beast so greatly.

While an extradivine weapon was a significant boost to the Scholars, a boost to the soul would allow Rhodey to become the strongest of them and leave his mark on Norland's history. However, neither held a candle to the enormous lighthouse that was information on the alter world. But then, what did the advancement of mankind really have to do with him?

Rhodey struggled enormously with these options. He knew that a chance like this would only come once. Thankfully, the chaos beast was extremely patient. It could wait a few centuries or even a millennium, all of its focus placed on the strand of golden hair floating before it.

......

Elsewhere in the void, a portal opened up to reveal Sharon and Praton walking through.

The latter immediately threw out seven small balls of light, a spatial spell that could help determine how far one was from their target. At the same time, legendary mages made it a habit to drop these spatial anchors when exploring the void, allowing newer generations to locate themselves more accurately. In many ways, this was like exploring a new plane. One person would open a path and build the Lighthouse of Time, allowing others to finish the task.

It didn't take long to calculate their location, but the result left Praton spaced out for a brief moment. The plump mage eventually turned to Sharon and smiled carefully, “Your power truly is remarkable, Your Excellency.”

This was no empty praise. The man's bald head was shivering in nervousness as he realised just how great the gap in their power was; Sharon's portal had taken less than a day to cross a distance that would require a year of travel for him. Unlike interplanar travel supported by the Eternal Dragon, time still passed in the external world as one shuttled through the void. Sharon's speed was hundreds of times his own, a gap that he couldn't even comprehend!

Sharon stared hard at the space around her, her brows furrowed in worry as she ignored Praton's words. After a moment of hesitation, she turned and asked, “Are you sure there's a stonelord in there?”

“Yes, I saw it personally, but I haven't been able to catch it at all. The creature digs into the ground and reappears hundreds of kilometres away, and it just had a little elemental essence all around it with nothing special. I didn't try too hard.”

“Mm, that's a stonelord,” her brows relaxed slightly. She was sensing some sort of dangerous existence somewhere, but she couldn't tell just what this feeling was; it was surprisingly weak and hard to locate, and even Destiny's Balance didn't give her an answer.

However, her belly suddenly rumbled a little as the child's heart pulsed from within. It only ever beat once in a while, but she could sense that each pulse created a huge amount of energy that supported the young life's growth. Even now, the power of those pulses was comparable to a legend's full-force attack. It left her extremely excited about how strong her child would be after birth, but she also found that she didn't really care. Just the idea of a baby felt blissful.

Sharon had never seen a stonelord before, but knowledge deep in her soul told her that this was the favourite food of her people, a key being that would help her evolve. That still wouldn't have been enough to override her instincts of danger, but now she hesitated. That stonelord wasn't just useful for her, but also for the little life in her belly. It could boost her child's power greatly!
𝗳𝐫𝘦e𝔀𝚎𝚋𝓃𝚘vℯl. 𝑐o𝚖

Just like the legendary mage herself, the stonelord was a primordial race that should have gone extinct. If she missed this chance, she would likely never be able to find one again. Considering things time and time again, she eventually pushed down her worries and decided to take the risk, “Can you tell me exactly where you saw it?”

“Of course!” Praton felt himself sweating under Sharon's bright blue gaze, waving his arms to project a map into the air, “Here, at the boundary between order and chaos.”

Reading the coordinates, Sharon silently calculated that it would take about a month's time. She nodded and opened another portal, pulling Praton in with her. In the blink of an eye, this section of the void returned to normal.

......

Deep in the void, a dozen abnormal existences were gathered outside a desolate plane. They were all of varying forms, but their focus was fixed on the plane as they scanned it repeatedly. This plane wasn't large, nor was it particularly developed. Intelligent creatures had appeared only a few millennia ago, and the continent was still home to all sorts of powerful beasts.

The only race here walked on six feet, the tips of their arms containing countless giant tendrils that they used to craft with. They had simple magical tools and small towns, alongside one single kingdom that was grander than the rest. They already had two gods, the forefather of the natives and a huge sea beast that had terrorised them for millennia. Neither of the gods had even vaguely sensed the beings scanning them.

A few more specks of light eventually appeared in the distance, a few powerful beings beginning to show themselves. Some walked through portals or tore through space, and there was one that just blinked through the void. Amongst all these beings was a single human.

“It's time,” a thought was transmitted to every single existence, “Let's go in.”

1236 - City of Sin

Interplanar Trade Fair

As the group of powerful beings surrounded the tiny plane, someone in the form of a wild beast spoke up, “Let me clean the place up.”

A powerful wave of spiritual energy shot out from the speaker, crashing right into the plane. Two divine kingdoms started burning brightly in the skies, the gods owning them falling instantly. The group broke through the crystal sphere protecting the plane while leaving huge holes behind, the entire plane shaking as it tried to repair the damage. Even the human mage, the smallest of the lot, had left behind a hole that was kilometres wide. The damage one did to the crystal wall was a direct indicator of one's might. The biggest beast wasn't the one that left the largest hole, that honour being reserved for an octopode of sorts that cut apart more than ten kilometres in all directions.

The group chose the highest peak in the plane and descended one by one, their bodies ranging from less than two metres tall to over a thousand. They communicated purely through a common telepathic connection, overcoming all language barriers.

“The fifth Interplanar Trade Fair has some new participants, but they have already been briefed on the rules. If no one has anything to preface with, we can begin right now.”

Powerful conscients immediately exploded in the skies, displaying rare and powerful items to everyone present. Amongst the offers were entire planes, and even a lesser god with godspark still intact.

At a corner of the peak, the human mage was talking to a foreign being who was tall and thin as a pole. If Richard were present, he would notice instantly that this was a wanga black sorcerer from Daxdian, but this one was far more powerful than the ones that were routinely killed in the Land of Dusk. An enormous black crystal covered more than half of his forehead, a representation of his accumulated power. Richard had hesitated to fight any sorcerers with crystals when he was still training— each one had a sky saint's power— but this one was clearly far more powerful than that. In fact, this was one of the ten epic beings of Daxdus.

“The doomsday imprint is very important. I will need to have a look before I make any decisions,” the human said seriously.

“Is my reputation not enough?” the sorcerer asked coldly.

“Heh, is reputation going to replace materials?”

The sorcerer grunted, “These imprints are called the beads of disaster on Daxdus. Once they appear on a plane, it is marked for destruction by the reapers.”

The human laughed, “This plane was going to be destroyed anyway, wasn't it?”

The sorcerer nodded, taking out a normal wooden box and opening it carefully. Within was a pure crystal ball with a black metal core, seeming more like a toy than anything else. However, the mage's irises narrowed rapidly as he enlarged the image more than a thousandfold, finally seeing some dense cracks on it. The sight left him in a daze; this wasn't a natural piece of metal, but an object that took so much skill to produce that it went beyond one's imagination.

The plane immediately started changing, the winds all around picking up speed while dark clouds rapidly covered the sky. Any boats still out in the waters scrambled for the coast, but it was already too late. A fierce storm roared at the coastline, sending in tidal waves that were more than ten metres high. Even many powerful sea beasts that were hundreds of metres long were thrown into the sky, falling back down as corpses.

The earth started shaking, cracks appearing all over the ground as towns and cities started to shake and collapse. Lava started surging out from within at places, spreading in all directions. A strange wind appeared in the skies, and despite sensing the danger a huge eagle suddenly lost all of its flesh and blood, leaving behind a skeleton that crumbled to the ground.

All this had arisen out of the enormous gaps in the crystal walls, allowing powerful energy storms inside that ravaged the plane. Even the trace amounts left behind after travelling such a great distance could destroy the weak beings here.

The powerhouses on the peak seemed to ignore it all, still in heated discussion. Every transaction could take multiple days to finalise, but with thousands of years at the minimum they each had great patience as well. Even the human just stared at the imprint for a whole day before sighing, “Truly a divine miracle.”

The sorcerer who had been floating at the side opened his eyes at the mage's words, a sneer forming on his face, “How could a mere god make something like this?”

The human nodded, “Alright, I only have one check left.”

“You better be quick! You humans are so troublesome!”

Ignoring the quipping sorcerer, the mage placed his hand on the crystal orb and channeled a strand of mana within. The metal within immediately cracked apart, forming countless pieces that started to morph in shape.

*Slam!* The box was suddenly closed, “That's enough. You can continue looking at it as much as you want after buying it, but not in front of me. I don't want to be tracked by a reaper for no reason.”

“Sigh. Deal, here's everything you wanted.”

The sorcerer grabbed a bracelet thrown towards him, sweeping through its contents before nodding with satisfaction, “Good. You humans rarely keep your promises.”

“The Scholars of Soremburg have always had good reputations.”

“Haha, these materials are enough to craft three divine weapons and allow a batch of legends to break through. You Norlanders will see at least ten new legends in the Land of Dusk in the coming years, I really don't understand what your kind is thinking of.”

“The Land of Dusk is a problem for the empires to deal with, none of our business. Sometimes, crafting a perfect world requires that we remove some rotten leaves and branches. It doesn't matter whether you're the ones who do it or us.”

The sorcerer grunted, “Such cunning! If not for your backstabbing, we would have lost that battle years ago.”

“But that wouldn't align with our benefits.”

“Fine, who am I to question a source of profit. If you have more of these materials, we can transact again in the future.”

“Of course we do, but what can you offer in return?”

“A fruit of darkness or an eternal core.”

Surprise flashed across the mage's face, “The fruit that grants control of darkness origin? And the core is a thousand years of life, I presume?”

“You know quite a bit.”

“One year, you'll get what you want.”

“Perfect!”

The deal was thus completed. As for how much power Daxdus would gain over the next ten years, the Scholar didn't care.

Once the trade fair was over, the tyrannical beings left the plane one by one. Just like how they had arrived, they left enormous holes in the crystal wall when they departed as well. The planar source was unable to repair all of the damage, holes starting to form on its surface that expanded rapidly. The main continent of the plane started buzzing before breaking into pieces; it wouldn't be long before the entire plane was ravaged by an energy storm that only left behind a pile of rubble. Any information related to this exchange would also be eliminated in the process.

1237 - City of Sin

Another Doomsday Imprint

A human mage's silhouette suddenly appeared outside Faelor's crystal walls, the same one that had participated in the mysterious trade fair. This time he didn't barge in, instead placing his hand on the crystal and slowly dissolving it until a passage just large enough to let him through appeared. He then blinked through and disappeared, the small hole quickly repaired by the planar origin. None of the deities of Faelor actually detected him.

His timing proved very fortunate. The entire pantheon of the plane was focused on the south, where the divine kingdoms of three goddesses were floating opposite seven of their peers. These seven deities were mostly focused on the countries to the south of the Crimson Dukedom, six human and one from a different race. Although their numbers were great, they were all lesser deities with minimal power. Overall, the three goddesses were still more powerful. With their battle against Runai having ended within a mere year, all eyes were focused on them to see just how they had accumulated so much power.

While no one noticed this human mage, there wasn't a single deity in Faelor who could do anything to him anyway. He quickly flashed through the sky, heading straight towards the Land of Turmoil.

The mage didn't particularly hide himself, but his aura seemed to meld into the environment to the point that few would ever notice his presence. The occasional powerful scan from the broodmother missed him entirely, as though he didn't even exist.

The Scholar looked down at the flashes of timeforce in the sky, a power capable of deterring even legends, but he didn't seem to care about the dangers as he slowly floated downwards. A number of rifts opened up all around him, but he seemed to dodge every single one in the nick of time until he was less than 500 metres away from the broodmother's body.

The broodmother's entire body was pulsing as she gobbled up her food, a flood of worker drones constantly bringing her nutrition before flying away. On her back were ten huge egg sacks, each swaying ever so slightly, but the mage couldn't help but focus on a red mark in his vision that implied a completion of the soul-mending plan. This red mark was supposed to be the loophole, but he shook his head and gently mumbled to himself, “Were I the first to see you, I might have fallen for your deception. Such a perfect evolution, this strength of body and truename...

“Sigh, strong, simple, and with boundless potential. A pity you cannot serve me; we are the only ones who deserve you, but one broodmother is enough for Norland as well. So long, beautiful beast.”

The mage was actually speaking every word, but the broodmother didn't detect this at all. She suddenly sensed a hint of danger, as though someone had been spying on her, but no matter how much she strengthened her perception she couldn't notice anything at all. The mage himself remained floating above her, rooted to his spot.

He eventually shook his head, flying back from the Land of Turmoil. He casually threw a crystal ball into the larval forest along the way, the doomsday imprint that he had bought from the wanga sorcerer.

One of the broodmother's workers quickly spotted the crystal ball in the woods, crawling over to sniff at it. However, finding no source of energy from the object, it assumed that it was only a rock before climbing across and pushing the crystal into the earth along the way. The mysterious metal within remained dormant, an occasional blue glimmer flitting across its surface to transmit a message into the depths of the void.

......

Richard had walked through the forest for three full days, covering nearly 2,000 kilometres along the way before finally growing tired enough to need rest. He leapt onto a large tree, adjusting his aura and pulling up his cloak to nap for a while. The well of stars constantly radiated astral energy to replenish his mana, and his connection to his demiplane boosted that greatly as well. Although it was still developing, it greatly strengthened his recovery speeds.

The sky was gloomy as ever, the deep green canopy hiding the fact that there was almost no other life here. This forest had no natural birds, beasts, or insects, no weeds or shrubs. There were trees, trees, and even more trees all alone, a world of life that couldn't be more empty for it.

Richard suddenly got up, sighing with discomfort after a short nap. This was a sea of trees that left one feeling death amidst all the life. The entire plane always left him uncomfortable no matter how much time he spent here or how far he got in mastering its laws. When he was weaker, the sense of discomfort had come from the will of the forest. However, now the plane considered him more natural than its natives; that suppression was nowhere to be found. In its place was the feeling that he was in the home of a stubborn obsessive who couldn't tolerate the slightest speck of dirt.

Although the Forest Plane wasn't too much weaker than Faelor, Richard had realised that it didn't have the potential to ever become a primary plane. There wasn't a single deity here; while the World Tree and trees of life were similar, they didn't have any of the ability to actually affect the plane's future. Faelor's pantheon had made the decision that secluded it from the rest of the myriad planes, removing it from contention in planar wars. However, they would have been the ones to push the plane in that direction had they chosen it as well. The World Tree could only perpetuate the status quo.

Standing up, he sensed something off and examined his body. He suddenly realised that he had crossed the threshold to level 22 at some point; crystallised mana was now flowing in his veins, pulling a stray mote of the plane's origin energy into him. This strand was for him to do with as he saw fit; he could just meld it into his mana pool, or he could use it to strengthen parts of his body or aura. The number of possible uses depended on his control of the plane's laws; there were incidents in history of people advancing in planes that they weren't familiar with that led to random bonuses. Mages with increased strength or warriors with a boosted mana pool were only some of the possible results.

Thankfully, Richard was in the plane that he perhaps had the most control over. He didn't even have to decide instantly, but with a number of options he felt a little paralysed by his options. Mana pool was a perfectly valid choice, but ever since he had absorbed the ancient heart his body was extremely powerful as well. He could now fight dragons hand to claw, and the matchup between Sharon and Apeiron proved the uses of taking that advantage further. Unlike Sharon, he was someone who had spent his life mastering martial arts as well; being able to take a lot of damage and dish it out in equal measure would be very useful.

However, he eventually decided that strengthening his magic was the way to go. His mana pool itself wasn't a problem, and with the well of stars neither was recovery, but the Apocalyptic Triad was an ability based on his mana output. Strengthening and expanding his pathways would greatly increase the power of each face. In turn, this would increase his total destructive potential in battle.

With that issue decided on, Richard put the strand of energy to task before jumping up and forward, gliding a hundred metres before landing on a branch and propelling himself ahead once more. His arc flattened further and further with every jump, some steps leaving behind deep indents on the trees as he continued his search.

It took a day and night of travel before he was more than 3,000 kilometres from Emerald City, and it was only at this point that he finally sensed something that wasn't a tree. His ears perked up as he stealthed towards the forest elf whose aura he felt.

Where there was an elf, there had to be a tree.

1238 - City of Sin

Divergence

Blinking a full kilometre at a time, Richard was quickly floating a hundred metres above the elf he had sensed. He had planned to go straight to her, but the moment he realised the situation he froze up for a moment in nostalgia.

The elf was quite young, but she was already at level 16. Although it was unlikely for her to ever become a legend, even powerful tribes only ever had two or three people with her talent at a time. Completely oblivious to his presence, she was currently leant against a large tree and gasping furiously for air, armour at her side as she examined a large arrow-hole on her right breast. He could tell that the arrow had been pulled out by force, and despite the pain the half-naked woman managed to focus on healing her wound.

A mangled chant through gritted teeth summoned a ring of green energy, the glow covering the wound and stemming the flow of blood. The flesh started quivering, but it was far from even beginning to heal. The cast seemed to drain the woman's energy, leaving her without the strength to even put her armour back on as she leaned against the trunk and closed her eyes.

Just as she started to rest, the elf's ears suddenly twitched and she opened her eyes once more. Richard's brows arched up as he took an interest in her; she was currently looking accurately in the direction that a dozen hunters and two druids were heading over from. Those chasing her were multiple kilometres away, and sensing them required perception on par with sky saints.

The scenario itself hearkened back to one he had come across decades ago, bringing up memories of a bright girl who had felt almost like a sister despite their brief acquaintance. He had to shake thoughts of Melia from his mind, suppressing the rage as he focused on the situation at hand. He was on a timer, and this was the only lead he'd found since he started.

The woman struggled into her armour, the stretching causing the barely-sealed wound to split open once more. Pallid and with gritted teeth, she gathered her bearings and started to flee in the opposite direction.

“I can smell you, Lora. You can't run!” a druid's voice suddenly rang through the forest, but the elf just gritted her teeth and dashed away. Blood started seeping out of her leather armour, but she ignored the pain and continued to move. Richard shook his head at the sight; she was forgetting that her blood left obvious tracks behind. The hunters would get to her sooner or later.

Richard continued to observe as the girl continued her escape, but it wasn't long before the chase came to a close. A dozen kilometres in, she was blocked off by a large black panther, the same druid that had spoken earlier on.

“Don't give up your soul for no reason, Lora, come back with me and fulfil your responsibilities.” The panther inched closer even as the young lady stepped back, her back eventually bumping into a tree trunk. However, she suddenly seemed to fill up with rage, shouting loudly, “I'm never going back! The Jadeleafs killed my soul! I'm not going to marry whatever son of the forest!”

The panther growled, “Windleaf was not your soul. Your soul, my soul, they all belong to the Tree of Life and World Tree. Without it, what is the purpose of our existence? The Jadeleaf Tribe are the guardians of the World Tree, and Windleaf injured their child. The World Tree is our everything; execution was a lenient sentence.”

“Gah! How is the World Tree everything? Why do we have to give it our life and soul regardless of treatment?!”

“Because it's the World Tree,” the druid said calmly. This was a conviction that all elves shared.

“Then what if I tell you there's another one far away?”

“What? Impossible! The World Tree is the only will of the forest!”

“No, I sensed it. There's another, and I can feel its call. That tree feels safe and warm, treating us elves like its children. It wants to bring sunlight to this world.” Lora suddenly seemed to lose focus, her expression and tone growing gentle, “Do you know what sunlight is? It was bright and warm, feeling so happy...”

“You've gone insane!” the panther growled.

“No, I'm not crazy. I heard its call, I saw the future it wants. Windleaf saw it all too, that's why the Jadeleafs killed him! They're afraid!”

“Rubbish! That isn't a world tree, it's a demon with a distorted will! The elders of the Jadeleaf Tribe sent word to guard against the will of the demons, falling means expulsion!” The druid's voice was full of rage, but there were also hints of fear within, “Lora, the elders of the Jadeleaf Tribe have already decided that fallen elves are to be brought to the World Tree and burnt to death. Only flames can cleanse their souls. Return with me immediately, and I'll pretend you never said anything.”

“The Jadeleafs?” the girl sneered, “They're scared. They haven't dared face the invaders ever since the war. They have the most hunters of all of us, the strongest druids, even the support of the World Tree. But what are they doing? They're cowering far away, avoiding contact at all costs. Tell me, have they sent anyone to fight the invaders? Even I know that the enemy is growing stronger every day, but outside of forcing our tree to move, they do nothing else! They're simply allowing the forest to be taken over!”

The panther's voice suddenly turned somewhat hoarse, “Druid Jadering and Hunter Wildrage are very powerful, and they have a dozen children too. They have the strength to kill the invaders, they must be waiting for the right time.”

The young lady threw up her hands, “Don't even try. I understand my choice, and you know what they did. I'm not going to marry someone who killed my love, and I won't be going to his tribe. You raised me all these years, just kill me now.

“Once I'm dead, go have a look at the new tree far away. You'll realise it isn't a demon, but a real world tree. It's even more pure and noble than ours.”

The druid hesitated, a look of pain in his eyes as his beastly aura dissipated entirely. It took a few minutes before he decided to move, baring his cold fangs. The girl just sat down and offered her neck, stroking the panther's head, “Thank you.”

After a moment of deliberation, the panther eventually bit down. However, it was suddenly blinded by an orb of light, finding its fangs crunching down on something so hard that two of its teeth broke off. Richard descended from the sky, landing right next to the young elf, “You can actually hear the call of the Golden World Tree. I'm the chief of the invaders; tell me what else you can hear and see, you'll get a reward for it.

“Why should I believe you?” the woman quipped back immediately, leaving him a little shocked. He frowned for a moment, but eventually pulled out the sword he'd gained from Michael; the flames erupting on its surface were much better proof than any words. This was a divine weapon that no elf could forge, clearly signifying his status and power.

“Come with me, I'll show you the tree that is calling out to you,” Richard extended a hand. The young elf flinched at the divine flames, but the doubt in her expression faded away. She continued to glare at Richard uneasily, but she placed her own in his and allowed him to pull her away.

A jade moon suddenly appeared above Richard's head, a powerful pulse of vitality converging on Lora's chest. Enormous amounts of life force flooded into her, starting to heal her wounds at a visible rate. The girl looked down at her feet, staring in awe at the flowers that were growing around her.

1239 - City of Sin

Choice

As the elven girl marvelled at her restored body, Richard turned her around and pointed into the distance, “Run that way for ten days, you'll enter the territory of the Golden World Tree. Its call will strengthen as you approach, and you will be able to go to it yourself.”

“Golden... World Tree?” Lora struggled, “Are there elves living below it?”

“Mm. This is the same tree that supported the Silvermoon Palace. Only the noblest of high elves had the right to bathe in its glory once, but you will join those ranks. Go, this is a rare opportunity.”

“Silvermoon... Palace...” Perhaps it was an ancient bloodline, or perhaps it was a memory in her soul, but the girl seemed to understand the meaning behind those words. However, suspicion quickly flashed in her eyes, “Why would a world tree that can support the Silvermoon Palace be here?”

“I planted it.”

“Oh...” She bowed low before jumping up and running away. Two elven archers screamed and rushed towards her, but Richard merely snapped his fingers and brought the trees all around to life. A human face appeared on an ancient trunk nearby as it tied up the surprised elves, not sparing even the druid.

“W-Who are you?” the panther stammered, “How can you...”

“Awaken a treant? It's pretty easy, you leaf-servants just don't understand it. Maybe you should change your world tree, that thing's been useless to you.”

“You're one of the demons!”

“Demon this, devil that, do you people even know what devils and demons are? How do you know about things you've never seen?” Richard grew a little more interested as he asked this question, mainly because he saw the druid hesitating. It seemed like he was different from the other narrow-minded elves he had seen in the past, or maybe it was just that Lora's words had worked on him.

“Anyway, take me to your tree of life.”

“W-What? Why?”

“I'm going to help you make your choice.”

......

A while later, a strange group of treants ambled into a clearing in the forest. A small number of archers were walking next to them, but many more and a druid were grappled by branches and held in mid-air.

Richard was seated on the largest tree at the very front, chatting with an aged druid. The sallow man just stared ahead blankly; he hadn't even bothered to try fighting once Richard showed the treants, knowing fully well that summoning full-faced treants was something a grand druid like him took hours at a time to accomplish. Even the legendary druid Jadering could only keep three active at a time after minutes of a chant, but the youth had done it all with a snap.

While the druid had been shocked by this accomplishment, Richard had no plans of explaining. His mana was likely even weaker than Jadering's— this plane was limited to level 23, not 22— but his comprehension of the laws of life was clearly the most advanced. He could just mobilise the breath of life all around to animate batches of treants with ease.

Lora had actually managed to escape more than 3,000 kilometres from her tribe before getting caught, a full ten-day chase. The sheer wariness of the World Tree to do such a thing had surprised him, but thankfully his trees were almost a hundred metres tall each. They might look clumsy, but with the boost of his laws and their large strides they covered the distance in only three days.

When he saw the tree of life, Richard couldn't help but frown. Its aura was very weak and the leaves showed signs of yellowing; it was clearly exhausted for some reason. Under the tree, a group of elven warriors were waving their swords repeatedly as they escorted commoners to some temporary treehouses. What looked to be elders were arguing with some of the warriors.

“The Jadeleaf Tribe?” the druid sat up in shock, “What are they doing here?”

“Weren't they here for Lora?”

“No, that is only a group of emissaries. There shouldn't have been so many people, they sent an army!” The old man looked terrified.

The moment the treants walked into the clearing, a number of the Jadeleaf warriors were alarmed. They drew their weapons and entered battle stance, the archers amongst them jumping onto the tree of life to use its branches as shields.

“Which tribe are you from?” a saint-level warrior shouted loudly.

The druid jumped off, “I am the grand druid of this tribe, what is the meaning of this?”

“Your tribe has fallen elves, Grand Elder Jadering does not trust your elders any longer. He has sent us to ensure that your tree of life distances itself from the devil tree further; he has already chosen a new location that is 5,000 kilometres away.”

“Move the Tree?! It hasn't been a decade since the last time, how can it last through one more? Especially such a distance, what is to happen to our people? Half of my tribe will die!”

The warrior suddenly struck the old druid's stomach with the pommel of his sword, knocking the wind out of him to the point that he nearly went unconscious, “A tribe tempted by the demons must be killed off! A way for you to survive is already benevolent, and you still defy us?”

“But... Even if the Tree survives... It won't be able to ascend...”

“That is what you deserve. No need to worry, the Jadeleaf Tribe will take you in.”

“You...” the druid shook in rage, but he suddenly coughed up blood from the injury. The tree of life was everything to a tribe, and inability to advance meant they would no longer be able to expand themselves. Even half the tribe dying off could be recovered from, but that was a death sentence. Entering the Jadeleaf Tribe wasn't any better either; the offer came as one of assimilation, not equality. Only a handful from the tribe would be able to retain any semblance of freedom. With two potential children of the forest having appeared in recent years, the Jadeleafs likely had their eyes on the tribe's bloodline.

“Such a great performance!” Richard suddenly applauded. The warrior immediately turned around to lock gazes, but he suddenly felt an aura that left him shivering in fright, “The aura of the demons! You're working for the demon tree, how dare you appear here!”

Richard smiled, “I don't work for your so-called demon tree. That tree works for me.”

The warrior was so startled he almost fell, but even while glaring he didn't dare give the order to attack. Behind Richard were a dozen ancient treants; regardless of how strong he actually was, they alone would be difficult to handle.

Richard himself couldn't care less about the struggle of the Jadeleafs, instead staring at the tree of life as he lifted up a young branch, “I'm giving you a chance to change allegiance. I'm sure you know what it is, so make your choice. It's best you don't disappoint me.”

He had taken out a young branch which was exuding a faint gold aura, a mysterious energy flowing within that caused all of the leaves nearby to sway. Many of the elves felt the urge to kneel and bow, while the tree of life started radiating both fear and delight. Richard read all kinds of thoughts from its aura, but he calmly waited for it to make its choice.

1240 - City of Sin

Resistance

The tree of life hesitated for a full two minutes, but then its aura suddenly changed and it bellowed, “No, I won't submit to the demons! I won't become a servant of a twisted mind; die, invader!”

Many of the tree's leaves immediately wilted, a white beam shooting into the dark sky. An ancient conscient suddenly descended on the area, changing the tree's voice to a low, echoing rumble, “You and your demon tree shall be destroyed, invader...”

Before the words were complete, Richard's figure suddenly flashed crimson. The full set of Midren covered him, the silver armour radiating an aura that left every single elf trembling with fear. Even the ancient conscient was forced back as he blinked right in front of the tree's roots, plunging Michael's blade deep into the trunk. An enormous hole opened up on the other side as crimson flames burst out from within.

A single stab had created an enormous cavity in the tree's trunk, but this was just the start. When Richard pulled the sword back, the flames within seemed to turn into sharp blades that cut through the insides. In the meanwhile, he unsheathed the Judge and plunged it deep within, the blow prompting mind-rending howls of pain as the tree of life and World Tree fragment were both consumed.

“Fuck trees,” he snorted with disdain, the divine sword cutting through what remained in one go. The World Tree's plan to descend and harm his soul had been decimated instantly, with the backlash being so powerful that it wouldn't recover for a long time. Google search 𝗳𝔯e𝒆𝙬𝘦𝙗𝓷o𝘷el. c૦𝑚

...

Deep inside the forest, a huge tree that could hide the sun suddenly rumbled with pain. A section of the crown to the south-east wilted instantly, leaves falling like rain.

...

Watching the tree of life fall, Richard looked back at the dazed Jadeleaf warrior below, “So, are you going to surrender, or is it death?

What followed was a short yet intense fight. After the deaths of about a quarter thousand hunters, the rest of them surprisingly chose to give in. The one who'd laid down his arms first was actually the saint. He then asked to take another look at the branch, but when Richard offered it to him he recoiled in horror. Sensing that aura once more, all of the Jadeleaf warriors surrendered and gathered at one side.

This was well out of Richard's expectations. He had actually planned to kill all of the Jadeleafs, only offering a token surrender for the other elves watching, but he hadn't expected that the normally stubborn and unyielding forest elves would actually submit. From past experience, he had even been prepared to kill off the entire tribe if need be.

From the looks of it, the branch was the key to changing their minds. It was apparent from Lora's case that even the childlike mind of the tree was starting to affect the forest and the elves around it. The war had turned from one between invader and local to one between two world trees.

The result was obvious. On one hand were natives limited to level 23, and on the other was a golden world tree led by a descendant of Silvermoon itself. The local tree's only chance was an assassination attempt before the Golden World Tree became an adult, but that was basically impossible as well. Even outside of the 10,000 soldiers just sitting in Emerald City, an army of drones was protecting it at all times.

With the Jadeleaf warriors having surrendered, the local tribe didn't persist for long. Many of them had already felt the summons of the Golden World Tree, though not as strongly as Lora and Windleaf. A portion of them were already beginning to be affected talentwise, which was why their children were such prodigies in the first place. With this tree of life being cut down, they would perish sooner or later anyway.

Thanks to the saint warrior, Richard soon had the exact location of the nearby trees of life and even the World Tree. There was only one of the former within 3,000 kilometres, while the latter was tens of thousands of kilometres away. While he could technically go there and then form a portal for his return, Richard didn't want to spend weeks, maybe even months just walking.

Directing his new subjects to Emerald City, he had them break apart the tree of life and carry the materials back to base. In the meanwhile, the tree's essence was extracted into a few drops of clear liquid that he bottled up. Leaving the elves to themselves, he then hurried towards the next tribe.

,.....

The Liferoot Tribe was slightly smaller than the Panther tribe, possessing only a single grand druid and little more than a hundred adult warriors. Richard didn't even have to do anything himself, having his treants deal with the entire issue.

The World Tree was no longer stupid enough to occupy this tree, but it showed a ruthless side of itself that left Richard astonished. This tree of life was the same as the other, stubbornly refusing to switch sides, and it had actually allowed the World Tree to wipe its consciousness and thus kill it. Before he could even do anything, the tree was starting to sag.

Once the tree of life withered away, the resistance from the Liferoot Tribe died down as well. They stood there in a daze, completely unaware of their fate as their biggest support left them. All of the warriors were quickly ripped apart, and they couldn't even get close to Richard who had two dozen treants protecting him. In the end, 300 survivors chose to submit.

The few hundred elves was a surprising harvest, all thanks to the branch from the Golden World Tree. Richard had actually brought the branch along to make movement easier. It could suppress the suppression from the will of the forest so he didn't need to, and it also strengthened his nature spells as well.

After destroying the Liferoot Tribe, Richard gave up on his plans of getting other trees. The internals of the Liferoot tree had withered away, leaving it near useless to him. The elves alone wouldn't be worth the effort, and it was almost guaranteed that they would have started migrating already anyway, a dead tree and some stragglers wouldn't be worth the time and effort.

Now, there wasn't much meaning in attacking the trees of life. All Richard could do was wait for the Golden World Tree to grow, extending its influencing and subduing the trees of life naturally. Considering these battles and the others he had fought before, he started feeling like the first tree that had succumbed to him was more and more of an oddball.

......

Leaving ten ancient treants to help the Liferoot Tribe transport the materials, Richard returned to Emerald City on his own. On his way, he contacted the broodmother and asked, “How far is your analysis of the forest elves?”

“180%, Master, I didn't have too many samples.”

This wasn't too bad; it meant she could currently create level 12 elves, but that was more than enough, “How about merging them with other races?”

1241 - City of Sin

Night Elves

The clone went silent for a while before responding, “Hmm, I have information on nine other elven races, and there are a total of 130 others that I can refer to in part. It would take three months or more to come up with a perfect optimisation.”

“Three months is fast enough. I have some requirements for the new race. Preserve the external appearance of the forest elves to within 20%, and make sure that they can acclimate to all forest environments. I also want them to have at least fifty years of life and the ability to reproduce.”

“Impossible!” the avatar said in shock, “That's the same as building a new race. This is the job of a master of creation, I'm just a weapon that can create combat drones. Reproduction is beyond my realm.”

“Sigh... I see,” Richard frowned, his expectations crashing to the ground. The conditions of the Forest Plane were unique, and elven warriors were the best type of drone here. He had been hoping to create a version of the forest elves that didn't depend on the trees of life for reproduction, giving him a chance to infiltrate the forest and take out the World Tree eventually, but she was right. His requests were indeed in the realm of a new race, not just a set of drones.

“Sigh... Can you at least create elites that are self-aware?” he asked with disappointment, forced to reevaluate the importance of the elves subordinate to him. Unlike the drones, they could grow in number slowly yet steadily to form his empire.

As they conversed for a little while longer, Richard was surprised by another piece of information, “You can level up?”

“Yes, Master. I was waiting for when you arrived, but you seemed to be in a rush so I just suppressed it to not bother you. Do you have any instructions?”

“Hmm... No, stay on your path,” Richard decided after a while. Since she had already chosen to focus on troop creation, he didn't want her to abandon that now. The ninth level upgrade would boost her drones by an additional level in this scenario, allowing her elven elites to be level 15 instead of 14. Even a few dozen of these warriors would be the core of an entire tribe, while druids would become elders in smaller councils.

However, the broodmother couldn't yet create druidic drones; she didn't have an adequate comprehension of the laws of life, so any druid she created would only have elemental magic, not the natural magic it was supposed to. The solution was to absorb a large number of beings or objects that possessed the laws of life.

When he learnt this, Richard froze for a moment. Laws of life? What was more suitable than the trees that controlled them? He had just obtained two trees of life, and outside of the cores he didn't really have a use for everything else on them. He would have sold it all off for money, but if feeding it to the broodmother granted a chance to create druids, that would solve the last deficiency in his army. He quickly ordered the ancient treants he controlled to change course once they entered Emerald City, taking the trees to the broodmother instead of the portal.

......

A few days later, Richard was back at Emerald City. With the impossible requests of long lives and reproduction removed, the broodmother's clone already had a set of four prototype elites waiting for him upon his return.

He almost mistook them for silvermoon elves when he saw them; they were taller and larger than the forest elves, with their bodies striking a perfect balance of dexterity and speed. They weren't as fast or as stealthy as forest elves, but in a one-on-one fight they had a huge upper hand. As was typical, the vital organs of these drones had all been moved around. Locations like the pit of the stomach and groin were now just traps, making them more effective against new opponents.

The clone had quickly concluded that forest elves were mostly useless in smaller skirmishes, their weak bodies ensuring that they were only suited to assassination and scouting. The warriors amongst the locals had limited defensive capabilities, which was why they relied on treants for physical prowess. Trying to hurry out the prototypes for his arrival, she had ended up building something very similar to the high elves of Silvermoon.

Richard couldn't help but agree; there was a reason the silvermoon elves were considered rulers even amongst high elves. They had strength, longevity, intelligence, agility, and magic, making them perfect mages, clerics, warriors, archers, and a plethora of other classes. If not for their low fertility, the elven empire would not have crumbled so quickly.

There was another bonus to choosing this design. Having a point of reference himself, Richard could give the avatar a long list of improvements she could implement. Some she would only be able to implement at level 9, others at level 10, but she would also make her own changes at those points. By the time she hit level 15, her level 20 drones would be no different from true silvermoon elves.

Richard had only seen two high elves that had awoken their bloodlines in his life, namely his mother and aunt. However, he had observed one for all of his childhood and the other had showcased her full ability in front of him. Relying on his own elven blood as well, he could extrapolate many of the attributes that made them what they were.

There was actually another pleasant surprise when he arrived. The four elves were meant to be level 13 elites, but they were all level 14. The Golden World Tree had sensed their creation, and for some reason had been able to imbue some strength into them just before they hatched. The clone had already talked to the tree, and it had confirmed that it really liked this new drone. As long as they were made in range, it would strengthen them whenever she could.

To the Golden World Tree, it took an insignificant amount of energy to strengthen these elves. However, a level each for a full troop was a huge boost; most importantly, this meant the level 9 clone would be able to create full level 16 elites, almost no worse than the main body!

This one change greatly increased the Forest Plane's worth in Richard's eyes. A torrent of elven drones would soon stream out from within, following him on his expeditions into the rest of the boundless void. He had to suppress his excitement to speak, “Let's call them night elves. Maybe you can actually make them a new race if you keep at it, hmm?”

A faint wave of emotion was transmitted from the broodmother's clone in response to the joke, but it escaped Richard's attention. Dismissing the elves, he had her begin advancing.

......

The broodmother's clone advanced in different conditions from the main body. She no longer needed to sleep when she was undergoing changes, but she couldn't create any drones. With Richard acting as a constant conduit between the two, she also had access to enough information on every level up to make the process quite short. It would only take a month for her to be finished.

The first tribe of elves arrived at Emerald City two days in, six giant treants, hauling the enormous trunk of the tree of life to the broodmother's lair. Four more carried the roots, and even amidst her evolution the clone started eating. A tree of life was enormous to most, but compared to a true colossus like the clone there was no comparison. She fed day and night for a week to get through it all, shortly after which the second set arrived as well. Finishing that off too, she lay down and calmly analysed the laws of life within.

1242 - City of Sin

Foundational Laws

While the clone was advancing, Richard remained in the Forest Plane as well. The pure essence of a tree of life was far too powerful for someone like Coco to absorb, so he had to turn that essence into a set of potions that wouldn't turn her into one big, hideous tumour. Here, he could also add the natural life force of the plane to temper the potions further.

Spending nearly three weeks in his laboratory, he successfully created thirty potions that could enhance one's lifespan by three years. The process of extracting the life force of the plane and combining that from the essence had been a learning experience for him as well, strengthening his control of the laws here and giving him some hints to work on for the last sixteen.

With the broodmother about to level up soon as well, Richard decided to stay for a few more days to see what would happen. There was still quite a bit of time before Coco's situation grew serious, and he had something to do anyway.

Covering a huge section of his laboratory in soul-locking arrays, he took out the Judge and examined the light flowing on the edge of its blade. The weapon had been able to digest the soul of the tree of life that it killed, but even this strand from the World Tree was proving beyond its ability and just danced around within. The divine weapon would have succeeded eventually, but Richard had thought of another use for this fragment and stopped it.

As things stood, this strand of consciousness was his only shortcut to speed up his analysis of the laws of life; he had expected to have to hold off until he actually defeated the World Tree itself, but this was a good start. Placing the Judge in the middle of the array, he slowly had it release its hold on the conscient.

A small orb of green light drifted out of the Judge's blade, immediately screeching and trying to fly away. However, a barrier of light immediately stopped it and bounced it back, keeping it from escaping. Richard stared in from outside, “Don't waste your energy, I wouldn't be who I am if I let you escape.”

Scared and angry, the conscient of the World Tree constantly sent threats to Richard's mind. However, he ignored them all and started setting up four alchemical machines. These machines shot out beams of light that converged on the orb; it tried a few times to escape, but they eventually caught it and fixed it in place. The green light started screeching in pain, starting to dim.

Richard smiled at the sight. A conscient that the Judge couldn't digest was being dissipated by some lab equipment? He chuckled as his preparations were completed, eyes starting to glow as he focused on the orb.

Illuminated by the glow, the conscient that was playing dead suddenly noticed its soul barriers were dissolving one by one. This time, it truly started keening in pain, but there was no way to stop the process.

......

Ten days later, Richard finally walked out from his lab. The Judge was now darker and the conscient was nowhere to be seen; he had needed to decompose it entirely to make significant progress. Of the sixteen foundational laws of the plane, he had finished his analysis of the first one. Although this seemed like minor progress, just starting would allow him to work on the others in his free time.

This process was quite significant in another way as well. Although the Forest Plane wasn't a primary plane, this was the first time he completely understood a foundational law and how it related to all the rest. This was more important than even some fragments of the laws of Norland.

However, the price for this analysis was great as well. The conscient from the World Tree was effectively a soul as well, and the strand was strong enough to form the core of a powerful grade 5 rune. He could still use his understanding to work on saint runes, but without a natural-born magic soul they would be amateur at best.

Thankfully, the bitter pill was sweetened by another evolution of his truename. Schloanruven had now become Schloanruvendaer, the new section representing life itself. Ruvendaer in specific now meant life and soul, giving him some rudimentary control over both major sections of any living being. He had also gained the ability to stabilise a soul and stop it from dissipating, allowing even someone who was dying to live on for a while. Even more importantly, it could stop spells like the Finger of Death, Wail of the Banshee, or Death's Decree. As always, the power he could harness with Devout Prayer was increased as well, now comparable to the healing spells of a grand priest.

Once he examined all of his boosts, Richard decided that it was time to leave. After the typical post-evolution information overload that left his mind numb, he was informed by the clone that she had created twenty level 15 night elves and two level 16 elites. In the testing process, they had managed to kill more than a thousand level 5 drones before they were taken down.

A level 5 army was still a significant force even in Norland. Knowing that these night elves could destroy one of a considerable size, Richard was quite satisfied with the result. This satisfaction turned to joy when he was informed that she could now create true druids, capable of using nature and life spells. The only difference was that they couldn't morph into animals, but that wasn't his goal in the first place. He could get magical beasts created, but spellcasters were more difficult. This was similar in principle to how he sacrificed some stealth with the night elves to gain strength and defence. He didn't need scouts or assassins, he needed warriors.

Pleasantly surprised by the quick appearance of the druids, Richard immediately commanded the clone to focus all of her efforts on them. He didn't have any urgent need for the night elves, and it took more resources to create a druid in the first place. Compared to ten level 15s or three elites in a day for night elves, she could only create eight level 15s or two elites. She would create eight normal druids and two elites on alternating days for a month, after which they would assess things further.

As he went through the other data about the evolution, Richard suddenly discovered a strange special unit in the list. Just Like Phaser, Zangru, the unicorn, or the astral chrysalis, she would be using her excess energy from the level-up to create what she called the hive of life. This was an enormous tree that could absorb nutrition and energy from the plane it was in, converting that to pure life force. It could provide some protection from the will of the forest in its radius of influence, and once it had enough life force it could even form a fruit of life that granted ten years of life to a human.

The hive of life was named for the hexagonal pods within its trunk, containing a large amount of nutrients and life force. A night elf could recover even from heavy injuries if placed within.

1243 - City of Sin

Time Is The Best Medicine

Reading about the hive of life, Richard was shocked. If one ignored the unique shape of the hive, then the abilities to condense life force, protect from the will of the forest, and form fruits of life... Wasn't this a real tree of life? Even the hive pods were basically equivalent to the elves' treehouses! He almost felt a little relieved that this was a special unit.

The hive of life could be used as a base camp for the night elves. Once fully grown, it could support more than ten thousand residents completely, making that army entirely self-sufficient. If he was willing to spare a hundred units of divinity crystals and a portion of his now-vast supply of image diamonds, it would even have the ability to shrink itself down to fit into his backpack. Even at its original size, it could uproot itself and travel fifty kilometres an hour, something it could do once a month unlike a normal tree of life.

Once he'd read through everything, Richard didn't hesitate in the slightest to order the hive made. Arranging for everything the clone needed, he left her to things and decided to return. Although he hadn't managed to defeat the World Tree itself, he did manage to destroy a strand of its soul. With the heavy injury, it wouldn't be able to create too much trouble.

Before going back to Norland, he paid Nyris a visit. The Fourth Princess was sat in her room alone, silently reading a history book, but it was clear that this was only to pass her time. She placed a metallic bookmark within the pages once she heard him enter, carefully closing the book and looking up, “Hey.”

“I'm going back to Norland.”

“Alright, then we'll meet the next time you return.”

“Come back with me, won't you?”

Nyris's eyes sparkled at the proposition, but they quickly dimmed once more, “No, I'm fine here. You need someone to guard this place; now that I'm here, even Jadering can't pull any tricks.”

“But time passes so quickly here! A month in Norland is a full year!”

“Sigh. Time, best of poisons, but the best of medicines as well,” she quoted an old saying.

Richard frowned, his hands balling into fists. At this point, he understood her clearly; she wanted to use the passage of time to dull her feelings. As someone who had known her for years, she couldn't hide her love even if she wanted to. However, Nyris was someone whom he had marked as a brother long ago; no matter what she had become now, that friendship and camaraderie was different from romance. He couldn't refute the fact that he found her attractive, but there was just no way for him to close that distance in his own mind.

......

In the end, Richard returned to Norland alone. When he walked into Coco's room, she looked paler than ever. The cheekbones were visible on her face, and her belly had already started to swell at a speed that far surpassed any human child, and it was clearly draining her of her life.

He placed the case of life potions on the desk, taking a vial out and passing it to her, “Drink this.”

It took great effort from Coco just to uncork the vial, but as she downed the liquid a rosy blush quickly appeared on her face. Her bones started crackling with the life force now coursing through her veins, but the blush quickly faded as most of the life force was drained by the child. A strong heartbeat pulsed from her belly, and as Richard opened and passed the second potion over, it absorbed most of the energy once more. Thankfully, this time it left a tiny bit for its mother.

Richard had expected such a scenario, but the amount of energy the child absorbed was still beyond his predictions. Insight revealed that the baby was still in the form of a core, but it had grown to the size of a fist. Unlike humans, demonspawn formed their core first before the body was created around it. From the size, the baby was almost fully grown and would start with a body soon. The total amount of life force needed for that wouldn't be nearly as high.

Richard continued to spend time with Coco, feeding her life potions. He let the baby absorb as much as it wanted, but sometimes he also suppressed that so she could get more energy herself. It took more than a day and twenty bottles before the heart core was finally done, and in the process Coco's condition was now even better than before her pregnancy. With the core formed, he left the remaining life potions with her to drink whenever she felt weak. Relieved that his child would be fine, he returned to his study and started taking care of everything that he had neglected in this time.

The first thing he saw on his desk was a letter from Saint Martin:

“Dear Richard, I'm happy to inform you that your troubles have grown. The nobility of the Empire has started discussing a declaration of war for your crimes against the Brahms Marquessate. Why did you have to leave so many people alive? Now they're all witnesses, I would have just burned the entire castle town.

“Of course, as your closest ally, I can consider using the Church to help you settle this issue. However, that will require some remuneration; persuading that bunch of narcissists isn't an easy task.

“Now, I don't think you'd be able to defeat the Empire's troops, but I also don't think declaring war on you would be a wise move. My three Midrens are still under your control, which is truly unfortunate. In exchange for a 50% chance to stop the war entirely, I hope you would be willing to remove this dangerous control. What do you think....”

The Saint went on to explain the reason for his confidence. There were only two people left amongst the council of cardinals right now: the pope and Martin himself. Issues like this would need to be voted on by the council, and Martin definitely wouldn't agree. Even if the pope tried to push things through, that would be a 1 to 1 vote that would need to be redone in the next meeting. This stalling could go on indefinitely, which was why it would end up in the pope's best interest not to bother.

Richard chuckled at the explanation and offer. He already planned to remove his control over the three rune sets anyway: that had been a one-time thing to keep Martin from betraying him, but it wasn't conducive to a longer alliance. If doing that bought him time to strengthen his forces further, that was just perfect.

He immediately penned a letter in reply, the contents being a single line, “They're free now.”

With that taken care of, he started going through some less important paperwork while evaluating his military power. The clone's evolution would serve to be a huge boost to his resources, making it a matter of time before the World Tree was defeated. It wouldn't even be difficult to get her to level 10; while divinity was valuable, it could be bought or obtained otherwise with time and effort. Taking out a few lesser gods in Faelor wouldn't be much of an issue, and there were always other planes he could look into as well.

Killing gods wasn't the only way to get divinity either. In the worst case scenario, he could just buy some from the Eternal Dragon. It was a little more difficult to make sacrifices given that he wasn't in the Sacred Alliance anymore, but that also meant he had accumulated a large number of offerings. Of course, a saint runemaster who could craft one of eight saint runes whenever he wanted wouldn't be poor even if he wanted to be.

1244 - City of Sin

Blackgold's Surprise

Placing the sealed letter to Martin on a stack of others that would be sent out soon, Richard started wondering about his own problems. The broodmother's avatar had said that she would awaken her truename at level 10 or 11, but that implied she was completely independent of the main body. It was impossible for two mirrors of the same soul to have different truenames.

He spent some time thinking of any potential problems that could come from this, but in the end the broodmothers were just like the rest of his followers. Having two would just be better for him, and while the dangers technically increased, he wasn't particularly concerned.

Now, all he needed was enough time and an elite troop of fearsome night elves would be formed in the forest plane, quickly reaching the heights of the main broodmother's winter soldiers and arrowbeasts. When the avatar got to level 10, her drones would be just as powerful. Once this army matured, he would be confident in sweeping the armies of all three empires.

At this point, the forces from the broodmothers were quickly becoming the core of his army. With all eligible Archeron warriors having already joined his cause in the past few years, they were the only way to quickly expand his army outside of warriors from outside the family. At this point, only about 60% of his 120,000 warriors were Archerons, of which about 20,000 could be turned into some sort of rune knight. Every rune knight took an enormous amount of money, but they were also a terrifying force on the battlefield.

With the main broodmother bottlenecked right before level 12 , the avatar would soon surpass it given time. However, the main body had a far more complicated system with the chrysalides, flesh furnaces, and cloned brains that the avatar did not possess. The clone's army was just a horde of warriors, while she had a complicated logistical and scouting system alongside top-end fighters; she was a fully self-sufficient war machine. If the two went to war, the clone would lose every single time.

That being said, Richard had to acknowledge that the clone was much better as a piece in the whole. While she couldn't create winter soldiers and arrowbeasts, her night elves were plenty strong for their cost.

Thinking over things for the entire night, he eventually decided to focus more of his resources on the night elves. For now, that meant designing weapons and armour for their usage, and there was no better place to have that done than by the Deepblue. His investments were already growing profitable, and the entire process had taught the professors the concept of value for money. They could now maximise performance without any innocent notions of just choosing the greatest strength. Even an idiot understood that a flame dragon crystal would turn a longsword into a legendary weapon, but there wasn't an infinite supply of those. In reality, even his followers didn't all have legendary equipment; the superior-grade items he did provide to his troops was already at the limit of what was feasible.

He decided to talk to Blackgold, making sketches of night elven warriors, archers, and druids and adding relevant data to help in design. Once he was done with those, he thought things over for a moment before adding in the design for an elven mage. The clone didn't have the ability to make mages yet, but the main body did. While this only allowed for a limited selection of spells, almost like magical beasts, as far as he was concerned this was enough.nHe didn't expect any lightning, acid, or poisons, all he needed of them was fireballs.

Richard himself had thrown fireballs all the way up to the legendary realm, even if the fireballs had grown bigger, more numerous, and more blue along the way. He knew exactly how potent a barrage of them was; there wasn't really a need for other spells unless the opponent had a way to resist.

Once done with the preparations, Richard arrived before the long-distance communication circle and activated it. It took half a minute, but Blackgold eventually responded on the other side. The grey dwarf looked rather strange, with bruises on the corners of his eyes while his hair and beard seemed to have been burned away in sections. It looked like he had just escaped from a burning volcano, but there wasn't a single sign of pain on his face.

“Is Master around?” Richard started as always.

“No, she's still gone looking for some food with another mage. She's been eating a lot recently, almost three times as much!” Blackgold beamed. Everyone in the Deepblue was happy if Sharon ate a lot; after all, her universal law was that appetite determined ability.

Richard smiled as well, “Right, you'd asked me to come look at something the last time I was over, but then... things happened. Was it good news?”

The grey dwarf's eyes glistened as his voice dropped low, “You finally remembered, you little bastard. Yes, I have a huge surprise for you, but just make sure to have enough gold in your pockets!”

“Should I come over?” Richard had never seen Blackgold behave like this before. He was never one to exaggerate, so this had to be a huge surprise that really would convince him to throw out his gold with reckless abandon.

“Sure, why not?”

That answer only convinced him further. A one-way trip to the Deepblue cost 100,000 gold, and the money-minded dwarf would never overlook that sum. Richard immediately had people prepare the long-distance portal, reaching the Deepblue after a few minutes. Waiting on the other side, Blackgold immediately took him to an underground experimentation field and had some helpers prepare a full row of humanoid targets. Each target was placed exactly thirty metres apart, armed to different levels from a normal infantry soldier to a rune knight just shy of sainthood. A few mages pushed over a trolley that was covered in black cloth.

“You'll be seeing a miracle, kid. Even those dragonblood gnomes will have to call me Master Blackgold after today!” The duergar jumped up, pulling the cloth off the trolley to reveal a strange object that was almost two metres long. He pulled the thing out to reveal what looked like a cannon with five barrels around it, but a handle and trigger in the middle revealed that it was actually a gun.

Richard was rather confused by the sight. Just a cursory look showed that the machine weighed more than sixty kilograms, and apart from the barrels it also had a number of pipes and gears at the back that made it abundantly clear this wasn't just a gun.

“Watch the fireworks!” Blackgold chuckled like he had just finished off a full barrel of ale, grabbing the strange device with the central handle and placing it against the hip. He then put another hand on the trigger.

Even as Richard started wondering about the strange way to hold this thing, a deafening roar rang out in the field as the gun shot flames a few metres out ahead! It felt like everything shook as the humanoid figure representing the rune knight had its chest sink in, metal pellets having pierced through the breastplate. This was enough force to harm even a rune knight!

Richard quickly estimated the force of that shot, and from what he could tell it was just below harmful to a rune knight when they were armed with a shield. The knight would feel some numbness in the arm, but the damage could be recovered from in moments.

However, this was just the beginning. The gears on the gun started screeching as they spun rapidly, the barrels rotating a sixth of a turn to reveal that there were actually six in total. Even as the empty one showed itself, another loud explosion rang out as its neighbour's contents were unloaded into the dummy as well!

1245 - City of Sin

Thunder Cannon

*BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!*The explosions almost seemed to merge into one as the gun's barrels went through one full rotation, slowly coming to a stop. The aftermath kept ringing in Richard's ears for nearly half a minute after, only disappearing when he poured in a little energy to heal the damage to his eardrums. At the end of the arena, the target's chest had been blasted into shreds; no normal rune knight could survive that.

Richard looked at Blackgold's mysterious gun in a different light. With such a high firing rate, it was formidable within its thirty-metre range. More importantly, it didn't require much training to use either; the only limitation was that it needed warriors with enough strength to handle the recoil.

“Do you think that's the end of it, kid?” the grey dwarf smirked at his expression, twisting the main chamber to pop out a metal disk. He then picked up an identical disk from the mobile trolly, inserting it back in and reassembling the gun in moments before aiming at another dummy.
𝗳𝐫𝘦e𝔀𝚎𝚋𝓃𝚘vℯl. 𝑐o𝚖

Another round of explosions rang through the place, flames blazing from the gun as though it was a dragon's mouth. One more rune-knight level dummy was blasted to shreds, taking only three seconds from the changing of the disk to the end of the bombardment. Its significance was clear.

Blackgold's mood was lifted, his high-arching moustache trembling as he shouted wildly. Twisting the gun to insert a fresh metal disk, he spun the barrels of death once more. This time, a level 10 target was decimated. Only then did he seem to simmer down from his high, inserting a fresh round and pointing the handle towards Richard, “Want to try? It feels amazing.”

Richard obviously didn't reject, but a sense of danger suddenly crept over him as he stretched a hand towards the gun. The gun suddenly started inflating, the grey dwarf's eyes going wide, “Not this again!”

*BANG!* Smoke instantly swept through the arena, the stinging odour of oil spreading into the air. A translucent barrier flickered into existence around Richard, firmly stopping a palm-sized gear that warped upon impact, but even as the lubricating oil splattered into a black flower the nearby Blackgold yelped in pain.

Shifting his gaze, Richard found the grey dwarf looking extremely pathetic. His leather outfit had been torn full of holes, body and face splashed with lubricating oil and littered with burn marks. A massive gear was stuck in his forehead, the flesh starting to swell.

Not this again, huh... He finally understood why Blackgold had been looking so ragged. Thankfully, grey dwarves had strong physiques; this sort of explosion only left the grand mage with some light injuries and dizziness. The other mages seemed to have been prepared as well, having hidden away the moment the gun was being tested with barriers and tower shields protecting them.

As a green moon formed atop Richard's head and started healing him, Blackgold wiped his face clean of the black oil. Looking at his former student that wasn't harmed in the slightest, he smiled awkwardly, “All great inventions meet with some accidents, don't they? Don't worry, this isn't common, it only happens a few times every... few days.”

Richard had no response. The explosion had been limited because it had occurred in the dwarf's hand, but a level 10 knight would have died on the spot. From the looks of it, this thing exploded frequently.

“What are you guys doing? Where are the backups?” Blackgold shouted, prompting some mages to pull several more trolleys over. Each one had a six-barrelled firearm on the top, with several metal disks down below.

Richard picked up one of the guns, but instead of holding it at his waist he just aimed it straight forward with one hand. Aiming at a dummy, he held the trigger down. The weapon started shaking violently as it spat out pellets, but his hand swept in a steady motion that hit six different enemies with a six shots. Twisting the body, he popped out the red hot disk and added another one in. It didn't take long for six more targets to be shredded apart.

Blackgold scratched his head in amazement, muttering softly, “I had to train for a month to get so accurate...”

The gun had stopped rumbling, but the gear continued to spin with its inertia. Richard started examining it with fierce concentration, understanding the magnitude of this surprise. There were many areas that could be improved, but this was just like Rosie's rune workshop; it could change any upcoming wars entirely.

“This thing—”

“I call it the thunder cannon. Fancy name, isn't it? Hahaha!” Blackgold plucked the gun from Richard's hands, snapping it apart into its base components.

A disk was thunked onto the ground, “Copper body, and the pellets are a combination of lead and flexible steel.”

Following that was the barrel, “Iron.”

A heap of gears crashed down, “Iron.”

...

Most of the thunder cannon's components turned out to be common materials, and considering that physical value alone a single one of Blackgold's old two-barrelled rifle could make a dozen thunder cannons. However, he was the only one who could smith that rifle, while these components looked crude enough to have come from novice smiths.

“See? This is why it's marvelous! Not the power, but the cost! I've spent five million gold of yours, how could I not know what you want?” The grey dwarf was so pleased with himself that he almost spat into Richard's face.

Richard picked up each component and examined it meticulously, closing his eyes in deep thought as he simulated the construction of a thunder cannon. A single one didn't even cost 10,000 gold coins, a number that would go down further at scale. He heaved a long sigh, “This isn't just marvelous... It's a miracle!”

With such a high assessment, Blackgold could only laugh.

Richard waved his hands, assembling the components back together with magic, “But I can't have it exploding all the time. My warriors aren't as strong as you, they'll lose an arm at minimum.”

“But the costs will go up!” Blackgold grumbled, “If we could swap materials for some critical sections, it wouldn't explode so easily.”

“What's the difference?”

“The barrel needs to be made of frostiron, and some gears need to be made with high-carbon steel. It'll go up to 20,000 gold each!”

“Then do it. I need you to get this into production immediately, 3,000 to start.”

“Wait... How many?” the grey dwarf shivered.

“3,000.”

“That's... Did I hear you wrong?” With each thunder cannon costing 20,000 gold, three thousand of them would be 60 million. This was a number of top-tier offerings! Even as the Deepblue's treasurer, he'd never had so much wealth flow through his hands. Only Sharon's harvests could even compare!

“3,000,” Richard repeated again, “But change the design a little, mainly dimensions and power. I need one variant to be a little lighter, even if it drops the power. See if you can make it suit these guys.”

Receiving a blueprint, Blackgold read through for a moment before almost jumping in surprise, “Damn, are the silvermoon elves coming back out?”

“Oh? This isn't them, these are just some... other elven warriors I subdued in a secondary plane.”

1246 - City of Sin

Banishment

“A secondary plane?” the Blackgold asked suspiciously, “You randomly just ran into royal elven warriors on a secondary plane?”

“I've always had good luck.”

“Whatever,” the grey dwarf shrugged, “If these thunder cannons were given to these long-ears, then the recoil... Oof, they're how strong? Are you sure these aren't silvermoon elves?”

“No...?”

“It's not that easy to fool me, kid.”

“Does it matter what kind of elves these are?” Richard asked helplessly.

“Bah, forget it. It's none of my business. I'll make it for the damned long-ears, but it'll reduce the power of each shot by a bit. I'll up the fire speed to compensate, there shouldn't be a significant change in total output. You said one variant, what about the other?

“That one needs to be big, no need to consider recoil,” he rapidly sketched an image of the winter soldiers, jotting down any relevant data.

Blackgold marvelled at the information, “And you just managed to subdue extremely powerful barbarians from another plane, too?”

Richard shrugged, “Like I said, I'm lucky.”

The grey dwarf snorted, “And power?”

Richard pointed to a rune knight dummy, “One shot.”

Blackgold immediately drew a breath of cold air, breathing out slowly. This allowed him to pry into Richard's wild ambitions.

......

The two spent the entire night discussing details. In the end, the total requirement for the first batch was dropped to 1,000 thunder cannons; Blackgold certainly wanted to make more, but he just didn't have the required manpower. On top of that, some key components required materials that were specially procured and he didn't have the supply lines ready.

In the midst of their discussion, Richard realised he had overlooked an important detail when asking for the 3,000 guns— ammunition. Taking only a second to finish off a disk, these thunder cannons required astronomical amounts of ammunition to maintain their firepower. Although the process itself was simple enough to be finished by an apprentice alchemist, the process was physically draining. 3,000 guns without ammo were just metal rods.

Outside of the thunder cannons, Blackgold also agreed to prepare a design for night elf armour. The process of manufacturing wouldn't require the Deepblue's expertise, so the blueprints would be shipped off to Noelene's workshops instead. The output there was more than enough to satisfy his requirements.

Just before leaving, Richard gave the grey dwarf a million gold in magic crystals, tasking him with recruiting more smiths, alchemists, and apprentice mages. The thunder cannons would be paid for in offerings, a much more effective currency than gold or magic crystals.

The thunder cannons really were a huge surprise, but they weren't omnipotent. Dwarven gunpowder had limited power, posing little threat to saints no matter how much it was improved. To suppress the true high end, rune knights were still the way to go.

Having settled the night elves' equipment, Richard now had to substantially strengthen the planar portal to the Forest Plane, extending the timescale as well. This required more offerings, leaving him feeling like he was getting tied to the Eternal Dragon further. The fact irked him, but he still contacted Macy on his return trip.

“What's the matter? My time is precious, and calls are expensive!” Just as expected, Macy's face was ugly when she showed herself. She couldn't be blamed; after all, he had defeated and humiliated her in the past.

“I'm the one footing the bill,” Richard smiled gently.

She snorted, “Then should I end things now to save you money?”

“No, no. I'd like to use your family's channels to offer some sacrifices at the Church.”

“Huh?” Macy was stumped, but she quickly gathered her wits, “At what scale?”

“At least one top-tier offering.”

This meant serious business. Despite her loathing, Macy put her feelings aside, “There should be no problem. This exceeds my authority, give me a minute and I'll confirm the cost with Father.”

“I'll wait,” Richard nodded.

While the woman hurried off, he wondered what Prince Tumen would ask for. It wouldn't be anything huge, but some things were more annoying to procure than others. At this point, the prince was his best way to access a Church of the Eternal Dragon; he couldn't exactly return to the Sacred Alliance, and the Sacred Tree Empire obviously was still discussing whether to wage war on him. Google search 𝐟r𝚎ewe𝚋𝚗૦ν𝘦𝘭. 𝐜𝚘𝗺

A few minutes later, Macy returned with a strange look on her face, “Father has agreed to your request. The price will be making me a grade 4 rune.”

“Reasonable,” Richard nodded, “Would it be custom-made?”

“Yes.”

“Looks like he has high expectations of you. Then please, make your preparations, I'll be over in three days.”

Macy bit her lips and nodded reluctantly.

......

When Richard stepped through the portal, Macy and several of her family elders were waiting for him. One grand mage looked at the time and exclaimed, “Less than a minute of error. Your grasp of space truly is astounding, Your Excellency.”

“It's nothing special, let's not keep the Prince waiting,” Richard smiled. Long-distance portals, be they within planes or outside them, often led to deviations in time. The greater the distance, the greater the deviation. He had basically arrived on the dot, and that accuracy directly implied his power.

The meeting with Prince Tumen was only a formality. After some simple greetings, the Prince sent some men to escort Richard to the Church of the Eternal Dragon.

The Millennial Empire's Church was far grander in scale compared to that in the Sacred Alliance, its construction more intricate and delicate. However, the grand priestess who received Richard was also especially arrogant, muttering under her breath, “A peasant from the Sacred Alliance.”

Richard's brows arched up at this provocation. Prince Tumen's men seemed to have no intention to defuse the immediately-tense situation, and while he hadn't come here looking for trouble Richard wasn't someone to back down. He sighed, “Mm, ever since Ferlyn and Flowsand left, the Church back home only has some useless dregs.”

The priestess's expression warped. Ferlyn and Flowsand were the only Chosen in all of Norland, and both were beacons of power. The First Light of Dawn was one of the strongest clerics in the history of Norland, known for her tyrannical power even before she became Chosen, and Flowsand was someone who could mediate sacrifices even outside the Church. Both had emerged from the Sacred Alliance, and with their departure Norland was left with no Chosen at all. When Richard talked about useless dregs, this grand priestess was certainly included.

“You dare insult the Dragon of Eternity?” the middle-aged woman raised her voice.

“I'm only appraising the priests objectively,” Richard replied calmly.

“Blasphemy! Every member of the clergy is an incarnation of the Eternal Dragon in the mortal world. We are the embodiment of his great will! How dare you—”

“You can shut up with your self-inflation. Offering ceremonies are between the dragon and those who have things to give. You priests aren't even involved, stop thinking you can make any decisions on his behalf.”

“You...” the priestess's face flushed with rage as she pointed at his face.

Richard slapped the hand away, “Either host the ceremony, or find a replacement. Stop wasting my time.”

“You still want to offer sacrifices here? As long as I'm present, don't think of ever stepping foot into the Church again! Let me show you what an ambassador of the Eternal Dragon is! Banishment!” The last word had been spoken in divine tongue, drawing on the timeforce within the Church.

1247 - City of Sin

Banishment(2)

Ribbons of time twirled in the grand priestess's hand before flowing towards Richard, prepared to banish him. However, he made no move to resist, just standing still and allowing the timeforce to twine around his body as he smiled coldly. The priestess coughed up blood as the timeforce recoiled, revealing an hourglass floating over his head with a mark similar to her own.

However, the disparity between the two hourglasses was immediately visible for all to see; The priestess's mark was half a metre long, the grey sands within only occasionally glinting the colour of gold. There was a mark of the Eternal Dragon on either end, but that was the limit to its decorations. On the other hand, Richard's was twice that side and the sands within were a splendid gold. His hourglass also had the symbol of his status as a Lord of Space, and it was covered in decorative motifs that were constantly warping.

The Eternal Dragon wasn't one to do useless things. These elaborate patterns had a purpose to their existence; the more intricate one's hourglass, the more favour they held. Every symbol and motif represented a specific type of favour, while the size and colour of the hourglass represented the total amount of divine grace one held. Put simply, these hourglasses were a direct representation of one's status in the Church.

With the two sides jostling against each other, a dozen powerful paladins had rushed into the hall. A good number of priestesses were around as well, observing the confrontation between Richard and this grand priestess. A few of them gasped at the sight of Richard's hourglass, immediately understanding just how much grace it represented. He was perhaps behind only Ferlyn and Flowsand themselves.

The grandeur of Richard's hourglass was completely unlike anything these priestesses had ever seen. Banishment was a spell exclusive to followers of the Eternal Dragon, giving them the ability to eternally mark any living being and cast them outside the Church. The branded would never be able to enter again, even if they became legendary beings. The only way to make up for it would be the intervention of someone with superior divine force. The spell was powerful, but it was also fair. If the target had already accumulated a certain sum of divine grace, they were unlikely to be branded.

The grand priestess was actually just trying her luck; if Richard didn't have enough divine grace, he would immediately be transported out of the Church. Even if he wasn't branded, she estimated that he would be too humiliated to try and enter again.

However, this was a spell that directly compared the divine grace of two individuals, and the Eternal Dragon always favoured those more useful to him. Richard was someone who offered sacrifices as though they were daily meals; towards the end, even rank 3 offerings had flowed without end. While he did a lot of things that others considered stupid, like using divine grace to force a jump in orbit, the old dragon recorded everything. At present, there was likely no one in all of Norland that could match up to him in this regard. Anyone that came close definitely didn't spend all their lives cooped up in a church fighting for scraps.

The grand priestess was immediately brought to her knees, suffering the equivalent of a full-force attack. Gasping for breath, she raised a hand to point at Richard, “You... dare attack... a priestess... Kill... No, banish him!”

The woman wasn't completely muddle-headed yet. She knew that killing someone with so much grace in the Church would incite the Eternal Dragon's wrath. This was why she only gave the order to banish him, but even so the paladins hesitated. After a short pause, however, they started inching towards him. This grand priestess had controlled this branch of the Church for a while now, almost having it dance on the palm of her hand. Over the years, the paladins had all learned to obey her.

An icy smile flashed across Richard's face, “Way too arrogant to actually learn anything. Do you really think you're like any other priests, embodying your god? Might as well show people what happens to such stupidity. Out.”

Richard pointed at the injured priestess, speaking in a soft voice, but everyone in the Church felt like lightning had struck beside them. His words were in the common tongue, making them seem like an empty threat, but the entire Church started to shake as timeforce surged in from the void!

The huge hourglass appeared atop Richard's head once more, and the one on the priestess suddenly shattered to pieces! Those watching gasped, while the other members of the clergy covered their mouths in shock. Divine grace was the basis of a cleric's power, and the shattering meant the grand priestess had lost everything. She had dropped from level 18 all the way down to nothing, making her no different from an ordinary human.

The very next moment, the mark of ruin formed atop the former priestess. Threads of timeforce wrapped around her body, blinking her out of the Church instantly. Silence suddenly reigned in the Church, those who had served her only moments ago just watching in shock. That brand was the brand of Banishment, which meant the same rules applied— she would need to accumulate more divine grace than Richard to be allowed back in. However, even the mages sent by Tumen now knew one thing; that was impossible.

What truly alarmed the clergy was the shattering of the hourglass. Richard would have had to pay an equal amount from his own to do it, but he only lost a pair of marks that decorated his. The change was so minimal it might as well have been nothing!

With the first annoyance gone, Richard turned to the paladins who had moved towards him, “You see my grace and yet you dare approach me. If I don't punish you, how will those plotting against me know how powerful I am?”

Screams of agony immediately rang through the hall, the paladins starting to fall to the floor as timeforce was sucked out of their bodies. This time, Richard showed mercy and only took away half their reserves. They wouldn't suddenly become commoners, but they also lost all right to be called proper paladins.

The other priestesses in the hall watched on in horror, not daring to speak a word. Richard was using Norland Common, but even so the Church had become a tool that executed his will to perfection. The precondition was that he had to pay everything off, but even sucking away half the divine grace of a dozen paladins, he only lost one more golden motif. Looking at how many were left behind, even a fool knew the best choice to make.

Richard turned around to look at the two grand mages sent by Tumen, saying profoundly, “It really is difficult to use the Prince's channels.”

Both froze awkwardly, one of them eventually saying, “There should be no more trouble, Your Grace.”

“Of course now there's no more trouble,” Richard laughed, his gaze sweeping across the clergy in an open threat. There were no politics here, only divine grace, and he had plenty.

The next was the offering, Richard chose a random established divine official as the host, thereafter he went up the altar.

1248 - City of Sin

Compensation

With the nuisances taken care of, Richard chose a random priestess and started the ceremony. Things ended up going very smoothly, with three top-tier offerings strengthening Faelor's passage until one only needed 300 gold's worth in magic crystals to pass through. He also widened it enough for beings like the hive of life to pass through, and extended the current time differential for thirty more years. Two more offerings were used for crafting materials and legendary equipment.

He saw three designs from the Mystic's Set and two from the Scarlet Knight series during the process, but at this point they weren't worth it at all. In terms of higher-end power, he had no lack of runes. What his subordinates needed was good legendary equipment; if they were all armed well, the weakest of them could defeat saints with ease and the strongest would be able to contend against legends.

In the end, he got everything he wanted from the ceremony with no surprises. As he left, the rest of the priestesses in the Church seemed much more enthusiastic, their attitudes completely changed to the point that some of them even looked eager to climb into his bed. The one lucky enough to host the ceremony was now completely flush, saying that she would do anything to repay him.

Of course, this only made sense when he had just given up five top-tier offerings for no reason. This was a huge amount that they hadn't seen in forever, helping them understand how their leader had been done away with so easily. In hindsight, the issue seemed just like a joke. For her banishment to take two marks off his hourglass was a glowing appraisal.

Now, the rest of the priestesses had put aside their egoes and hoped to entice him. If he so much as pointed at them randomly, they'd be able to work a little less diligently for thirty years. When Richard ignored them and left for Prince Tumen's residence, they all glared at the lucky girl and wondered just what he had seen in her. Was it her fair skin, her long legs, her big breasts, her pert rear? They would never realise that he'd truly just picked her at random.

......
ƒ𝔯ℯe𝘄𝐞𝐛𝒏𝐨ѵ𝘦𝒍. com

“Did the ceremony go well?” Prince Tumen asked as they met. He had already been waiting in the study.

Richard smiled, “I had five top-tier offerings. There was no way I wouldn't get what I wanted.”

“Five... I must say, I truly am envious of your kind!”

“What's the point? No matter how many I have, I still needed your channels to get in. Speaking of, they don't seem to be as good as they were chalked up to be,” Richard's gaze suddenly sharpened. No matter how arrogant the grand priestess was, she definitely wouldn't have tried to banish someone coming through the Prince unless he let her.

Tumen himself didn't seem unnerved by the question at all, smiling gently, “I'd heard that you possess a title from the Eternal Dragon, and it is quite high as well. It should be impossible for mere priestesses to bully you.”

“So you were trying to test the power of my title.”

“You can put it that way.”

“And what do you get out of that?”

The Prince poured him a cup of tea, “Knowledge. I get to confirm a title's usefulness. While I can't get blessings I want with my current abilities, hopefully I'll be able to make enough offerings to be granted one myself. All this while, we believed it was best to just trade for what we wanted.”

Tumen was talking about an issue that many powerhouses and rich families faced. The more powerful one became, the more difficult it was to get what they wanted from a single offerings. Some rich families intentionally let weaker subordinates make the offerings on their behalf, but this meant the grace would go to the family that had actually performed the ceremony instead of their masters. The more one used this loophole, the worse their own blessings became. The Eternal Dragon wouldn't suddenly shortchange them, but it grew near impossible to get the things they wanted. In some extreme cases, warriors would end up being blessed with magic abilities. In the end, many rich families and powerhouses chose to sell their offerings instead, using the guaranteed funds to buy the things they desired.

Seeing the great power Richard acquired with his title, Prince Tumen finally understood the point of persisting. The Eternal Dragon wouldn't let anyone profit off him, but nor would they lose out. So long as one put in the effort, there would eventually be results. Tumen definitely wouldn't find it difficult to gather enough offerings, so he would get a title soon enough.

But that meant nothing to Richard himself. He stared at the Prince indifferently, “Your Highness, I had to drain the divine grace of a grand priestess and a dozen paladins. The Eternal Dragon is fair, and I had to give up just as much grace as I took away.”

“That was not what I intended.”

“Then your subordinates were foolish and misunderstood you.”

“But you dealt with the matter a little too zealously,” Prince Tumen chuckled.

“Mm, I agree. Honestly, I should have just punched her face in. That would have been better.”

Hearing that, Tumen's expression turned awkward. Sometimes, respect and honour were far more important than some amount of wealth. Given the grand priestess's attitude, a punch to her face would have been no different from death.

“You truly are... resolute, Your Grace. Tell you what, I did deal with things inappropriately myself. As compensation, I will build a fort wherever you want in Azan and station 30,000 troops there for a year. Once that time is over, I will hand it over. I believe this will help in your present circumstances.”

It was impossible for the prince to be unaware of the Sacred Tree Empire's plans. He was effectively using his own status to assure the Archerons' safety for a year. Richard could just place the fort at the border, making any offense equivalent to attacking the Millennial Empire.

However, Richard shook his head, “No need for that.”

The rejection left Tumen surprised. He stared at Richard for a long while before speaking, “It seems many are still underestimating the Archerons.”

“They always do.”

“So what do you need? Equipment, materials, land, soldiers, planes?”

“A look at your ingredient warehouse would be nice. I could choose something from there.”

“Hmm... That will do,” Tumen nodded.

The Prince's collection was commensurate with his status, and he opened up his treasury completely. Richard felt like he was seeing a list of blessings from the Eternal Dragon when he first entered; a two-headed dragon's heart, a five-headed hydra's heads, a chimera corpse, hearts of elemental lords, an odd metal that could absorb mana and grow, a liquid ore that could change its shape at will... every one was on the level of a lesser demon lord's heart.

In the end, he chose a tree of life seed from the elven era as compensation, also buying three heads from the five-headed hydra. He had already eaten an egg before and gained terrifying regeneration abilities, so he thought the price of two top-tier offerings was fair. The hydra bloodline was amongst the most powerful in all of Norland, gaining an extra head with each bloodline evolution. Six-headed hydras were already at the level of abyssal archlords, and there were rumours of the progenitor somewhere deep in the void with a full seven.

This purchase was a part of Prince Tumen's plans. He wanted Richard to spend the offerings he hadn't, which would help him get to a title that much faster.

1249 - City of Sin

Jelly Legs

Richard stayed at Prince Tumen's castle overnight, being visited by Macy just after dusk. Busy handling the materials he had acquired from the offering ceremony when she arrived, he didn't even lift his head, “Take off your clothes and get on the bed.”

The young woman's face turned scarlet, “What did you say?!”

“I said, take off your clothes and lie on the bed,” he repeated.

*Trrring!* She unsheathed her longsword, placing it on Richard's neck, “Do you think I won't kill you if you keep spouting nonsense?”

A casual flick of the hand pushed the sword aside, “If you don't want that custom rune, then get out. I'll make you a random one later.”

“Why do I need to take off my clothes?!”

Still focused on his materials, Richard replied indifferently, “Because I need an in-depth understanding of your body.”

“I've had other custom runes made for me, nobody else asked me to strip.”

“Nobody else is me.”

Macy finally went silent, remembering that Richard was a saint runemaster with high standards. Perhaps she really did need to remove her clothes? She recalled that there were some runes that were tattooed right onto one's skin, something she had forgotten because she rarely saw such a thing. With trembling hands, she finally removed all her clothes and laid down on the bed. Feeling her entire body grow hot, she stared at the ceiling without moving a muscle as a light breeze tickled her skin.

Richard still took a few minutes to seal up all of his materials, carefully stowing them away before walking to the bedside and looking down at her. His cold fingers then touched her forehead.

'Oh, it's not that bad...' That thought quickly proved itself false as Richard started touching every corner of her body, not missing a single spot. Every touch send a cold chill into her that left her shivering uncontrollably, and in some locations her body spasmed. She quickly shut her eyes tightly, no longer daring to even look at him. Richard had used some unknown force to excite all of the energy in her body, but as a side-effect she felt the most aroused she had ever been in her life.

This examination was repeated a full three times, leaving Macy writhing in agony. Her desires had climbed to peak after peak, but there was just no orgasm to be had. Every touch to a sensitive area incited further arousal, but Richard never took her past the edge. It took all her willpower to keep herself from moaning.

He eventually tapped her on the forehead again, activating all of her previous runes in one go. Examining those visually, he nodded, “We're done, now get up.”

Macy jumped to her feet, glaring at Richard. She longed to throw herself at him, but she managed to grit her teeth and restrain herself, “You did this on purpose, didn't you.”

“Yes,” he answered calmly, grinding out his inks and slotting them into his pen. Two minutes later, he returned to the bed, “Lie down on your left. This rune is complicated, it'll take the entire night.”

...... Please visit f𝘳𝐞𝒆wｅ𝚋𝗻𝚘𝚟e𝑙. c𝘰𝓂

The night seemed to pass very quickly. Richard finally heaved a deep sigh just as the first light of day filtered into the room, stretching his body and putting all his runes away. Macy was gasping on the bed, about to collapse from exhaustion, but on her body was a completely new rune. It looked like a beach rose from the outside, going from her right shoulder all the way to her knees while covering that entire side of the body. The beautiful patterns glittered for a while before receding into her skin.

She struggled to sit up, but then she suddenly grabbed her sword and placed it on his neck again, “Don't think this is over! Fuck me!”

*Snap!* Richard looked at her and flashed a smile. The new rune on her body suddenly started glowing, draining all of her strength in an instant until she crumbled to the floor.

“AH! WHAT DID YOU DO TO ME?” she screamed in shock.

“Oh, nothing. Just a small addition that won't affect you much. I can just make you fall down whenever I want to.”

Shocked and angry, Macy did her best to push her internal energy to her legs. However, they seemed to be completely blocked off, leaving her unable to stand no matter how hard she tried. Saint Lawrence had designed this add-on such that it wouldn't be easy to overcome.

Richard snapped once more, giving Macy back her strength. As she stood up with a bewildered expression, he reached out and tapped her face, “I'll fuck you when I want to, but I'm not interested right now.”

“Why would you treat me like this?” she asked through gritted teeth.

“I have my reasons, but ask your father. I've finished everything I need to here, I'll be going. Bid him farewell for me.”

With all his things packed, Richard calmly walked out of the room, summoning a mage and heading to the teleportation circle. After a flash of light, he disappeared from the Millennial Empire. Back in the room, Macy continued to lie there in a daze for a long time before deciding to try out her new rune.

Richard's design had two great abilities, one passive and one active. The passive one allowed her free movement in natural terrain like jungles and marshes, and when the rune was activated her strength would be multiplied for a brief instant. It was something similar to the Eruption ability, which synergised greatly with her existing runes and boosted her combat ability greatly. This was at least a grade 3 rune on top of a grade 4 rune, but Richard had combined the two perfectly.

Only testing things out did she truly understand just why he had to examine her body so thoroughly. Sucked a whirlpool of emotions, she had no idea how she would face him in the future.

......

To Richard himself, Macy was nothing but an amusing little interlude in his life. He was currently focused on his greatest gain from the trip to the Millennial Empire, the seed of the tree of life. As a seed from the elven era, even having lost some life force over millennia it was still amongst the most powerful species to exist.

While this seed of life couldn't compare to the Golden World Tree, it was still phenomenally more potent as a being than the local trees in the Forest Plane. Fully grown, it would be worth far more than a top-tier offering, capable of sustaining an entire province of elves. Prince Tumen didn't think much of it— cultivating this thing would require centuries upon centuries and a huge amount of resources— but that was only because the high elven bloodline had almost died out in Norland. With the blood of silvermoon flowing inside him, Richard could easily germinate this seed and place it in the Forest Plane under the care of the Golden World Tree.

Once he returned to Blackrose Castle, he immediately headed over to the Forest Plane and activated the seed. He put it 500 kilometres away from the Golden World Tree, a small distance when that tree fully matured, but that would take hundreds of years and things could be moved by then. He spent a full month watching over it, using his powers to strengthen its growth until he saw two tender leaves sprouting from the ground.

However, Successful germination was just the beginning. Following this, Richard had to lead the tree of life in the direction he wanted it to develop in. He thus stayed beside the tree for a little while longer, guarding it and supervising its growth.

1250 - City of Sin

Ultimatum

While Richard busied himself with the tree of life, the Sacred Tree Empire's council had stirred up a storm. Almost everyone qualified to vote had attended, meeting in the Hall of Sacred Radiance as always with such important topics. This hall wasn't particularly large, but its fifteen metres of height made any occupants feel oppressed.

On the ceiling was the famed Radiance Over The World, a mural depicting the story of when the Radiant Lord first lit his godfire. The hall itself had fifteen pillars. The one in the centre was the founding emperor of the Sacred Tree Empire, while the seven on his left were the prototypical seven angels of the Celestial Plane. On the right were carvings of the original seven lords of the Empire.

Just one look at this hall could show just how convoluted the relationship between the nobility and church were in the Sacred Tree Empire. It was only kept together by the fact that the royal family had celestial blood flowing through them, giving their descendants a majority of the Heaven's Armour sets. Angels like Uriel, Gabriel, and Raphael had ended up becoming runes passed down from generation to generation.

The council meeting was supposed to be a secular matter, but in reality even the Prime Minister and the four Grand Dukes could only sit on the right of the Emperor; the left was reserved for members of the Church of Glory. The clergy could only vote on religious matters, but they could also offer their opinion on any topic they wanted to. Today, that left side was empty, with only the pope and Saint Martin occupying two of the seven seats. Others, like Archbishop Ruford and Saint Thomas, were entirely absent.

Emperor Louis XIII looked to be about 50 years of age. Although not as large as Philip, he was quite plump; the idea of appetite determining power had already started spreading amongst the nobility of Norland. He wasn't a bad ruler at all, but his achievements weren't particularly amazing either. With the Church of Glory hanging over them, it was difficult for any emperor to impress.

Sat at the head of the table, the Emperor looked around at the people seated around him. He smiled mysteriously at the conspicuous absences on his left, gently tapping the table to begin the meeting. One duke immediately stood up, “We must punish Richard firmly! Killing a Marquess of the Empire cannot be forgiven; would this not show weakness and endanger the entire nobility?”

“We should consider declaring war,” another duke agreed.

Both other meetings in recent times had started like this as well. Two rounds of intense discussion and everyone agreed to punish Richard, but they just couldn't agree on how. The two dukes from the south wanted to declare war and were backed up by the minister of war, but the dukes from the north and the minister of internal affairs disagreed. The latter were of the opinion that the Empire and Church should send troops out together; they could even use paladins as the main force.

The difference in opinions between both sides were obvious. The Minister of War came a great distance away from Richard in the south. If the Empire were to send troops, their main force would be private soldiers of the northern lords. The problem was that these northern lords had already been at war with the Archerons for many years. Alice had managed to seize a full earldom's worth of territory from them years ago, and ever since Richard came to power she had left them all feeling miserable. Even Duke Solam himself was unable to do anything.

And then came the war for Archeron independence, followed by that for divine gold. Richard had dealt an enormous blow to the northern troops, killing over 400,000 soldiers in a short span of time. These nobles were quite scared of Richard; Alice could at least be beaten back for a while, but Richard just rolled over anything that he came across. Once the war effort wiped out the north's military power, the south would almost certainly start internal wars.

Although the plan to ask the Church for troops had been brought up in the meeting, the pope just looked sleepy and said this would be an issue decided when the cardinals left. Everyone present knew that the cardinals had all died in the war over divine gold; just how long would they have to wait to get a decision?

The ministers and dukes looked at Martin and the pope with confusion. With hundreds of thousands of soldiers present during the battle, everyone knew that there was an enormous rift within the Church of Glory. The pope and holy child had battled ferociously that day, but now they acted like nothing had happened and sat together in the council meeting.

In the end, all planning ground to a halt when the issue of soldiers came up. Seeing this meeting wouldn't be resolved either, one duke from the north grunted heavily and levelled a vicious glare at Martin, “Your Excellency, I heard that you actually fought on Richard's side during that battle. Now that we are discussing punishment, the Church is shirking its responsibility. Could it be because of you?”

“It's finally come to me...” Martin stretched lazily, sitting up straight and staring at the grand duke. He smiled, but the coldness of his gaze sent a shiver down the man's spine, before he moved on to the other lords and ministers and finally Louis himself, “Your Majesty, I admit there was a dispute within the Church a while ago. However, this was a dispute caused by a difference of opinion; we had differing views on how to best serve the Radiance, and it was significant enough to be settled by war.”

The lords all stared at Martin as he gave his explanation. The difference truly was significant enough, enough to kill four angels, an archangel, and all of the cardinals. It would be difficult to make it any more significant.

“Are any of the lords here interested in participating?” Martin suddenly asked with a chuckle, freezing the dukes and ministers present. No one here dared to get significantly involved in matters of the Church, knowing just how messy things were. This wasn't just a battle between the pope and holy child, but a front for a battle between different factions in the Celestial Plane. Nothing good would come out of dipping their toes in.

“Heh, it truly was an internal dispute at the time, and Richard was willing to stand by my side. However, the murder of Marquess Brahms happened afterward, and I had nothing to do with that matter.” These words prompted sighs of relief; everyone knew that the holy child had won the battle massively, now capable of just waiting to force the pope to abdicate. If the Church of Glory was on Richard's side, then punishing him was impossible. However, Martin wasn't done, “That being said, I must remind you all that the Archerons have barely been affected while the lords of the north have suffered great losses. Would it be wise to declare war on him right now?”

This was the exact reason why the two grand dukes from the north objected to the plan; they needed time for their forces to recuperate. The Minister of War coughed softly, speaking up himself, “What you say is true, Your Excellency. The Archerons did indeed suffer smaller losses than expected, and we need time. I suggest the North rebuilds, with the southern lords providing half the equipment they required and one army from two planes for the next year.”

“An excellent suggestion!” the two grand dukes from the north agreed immediately, feeling a load off their shoulders. Those from the south thought about it for a moment before agreeing as well. Their counterparts certainly wouldn't agree to them just sitting back, knowing just what the result of such a push would be.

The Prime Minister nodded, “We have 22 dukes and over 60 planes; the Archerons cannot compete with a combined army. I agree with this plan; even if we give him time to rest, time will still be on our side.”

Martin clapped and smiled brightly, “Such an ingenious suggestion! I agree.”

It was thus decided that the Sacred Tree Empire would spend half a year training new troops. Once they had rebuilt, they would formally go after Richard for killing Marquess Brahms. The council meeting thus ended with a tenuous solution.

...

Martin was the last one to sit up from his chair, only leaving the Hall of Sacred Radiance once the lords and the pope were gone. Looking at their departing backs, his bright smile turned conniving.

Whose side was time on, really? He shrugged and walked away; a few sentences had freed his three angels.

1251 - City of Sin

Inherited Enemies

Richard hadn't spent too many days in Norland time on the Forest Plane, but when he returned he was faced with an ultimatum from the Sacred Tree Empire. They were asking him to explain his killing of Marquess Brahms; if his reasoning was inadequate, they would be forced to take action against him.

This note had a stern tone, but it didn't take any genius to realise that this was a sign of weakness. If the Empire was firm, they wouldn't have needed to explain anything and could just send troops over. He himself had done exactly that, heading to the Brahms territory and killing all obstacles on the way.

These kinds of notes were a common diplomatic dance. Richard spent a few minutes writing some fluff, having a mage find a messenger to send it to the Sacred Tree Empire. However, the messenger would have to travel there physically because it was too 'expensive' to teleport. The other side was buying time, which was exactly what he wanted.

Within the reply, he obviously denied all accusations and pointed out that Marquess Brahms had died in a fire. It was an accidental death that could not be blamed on the Archerons. Such a response was nearly identical to the blatant lies Brahms himself had spouted, but if he wasn't wrong the response would be another note refuting him and asking for another explanation. This dance would go on for a few months, giving both sides time to recover before they decided whether it would be reconciliation or war.

Once the mage left, he put the matter aside. It seemed like Martin was quite capable and had managed to delay things, and even though he had no idea what the Saint's true intentions were, working with the charming man had been a pleasant experience so far.

He raised a hand, gathering numerous specks of light into a holy glow on his palm; this was the light of the Radiant Lord, the source for the divine spells of the Church of Glory. Be it Michael's golden flames or Midren's crimson ones, they all came from this power. It was because of his control of this light that Richard could activate Midren's battle edition.

The sacred light didn't come out of nowhere. Richard had analysed all of the divine items that Martin had given him, understanding their inner workings and decoding the laws of light. Although he had only begun, he could still use divine light that wasn't weaker than any cardinal's.

Every exchange with Martin so far had given him something of value. Richard had no need of wealth or equipment, those could be bought with money. However, rare materials and an opportunity to analyse various laws was different; each chance was a significant boost to his power. This divine light was one such advantage; it gave him a huge amount of resistance to the clergy of the Church of Glory.

Dissipating the glow with a clap, Richard picked up another document with a scarlet exclamation mark on the envelope indicating its importance. Taking it out and reading it, he immediately turned grim. The letter was only a few paragraphs, but he read it over and over again before putting it down. Pondering over things for a while, he eventually ordered a shadowspear to call Asiris over.

Just like Richard, Asiris's expression changed when he read the two pages, “Firefox is still alive?”

“Mm, Sauron sent this. People have seen him at the south of the Millennial Empire, and he seemed to be heading for the ocean. Wasn't this the guy behind the problems with Ward's family?”

“Not just Ward. Senma, Kaylen, and Kayde too, although they got off better. Firefox was always in the shadows whenever something bad happened.”

“He had a grudge against you thirteen?”

“No, I believe he was only a subordinate executing orders. There should have been another hand at work, targeting Lord Gaton.”

“So an enemy of Father's, huh...” Richard grinned, crushing the two pages into a ball and tossing it into the wastepaper basket, “He's got dozens of them. I wasn't strong enough yet, so there wasn't a need to check every single one, and now it's been a long time...”

He suddenly went silent, recalling the raging flames of his past. Gaton had gained glory from his reckless youth, but that had also killed the woman he loved. Dispelling the memories with a deep breath, he continued, “We won't pursue the past, but that doesn't mean it's over. If Firefox is being active, then he should give up on a comfortable life. This is my family, nobody gets to be safe after targeting us.”

Richard stood up and paced around the study for a while before stopping in front of Asiris, “You said he was hard to deal with, didn't you? Then let's leave it to the experts. Set up a bounty for his head, five million gold.”
𝗳𝒓eℯ𝘄𝘦𝚋𝙣ｏ𝚟𝗲Ɩ． 𝑐𝒐𝘮

“Five... million...” Asiris took a deep breath, understanding slowly crawling up his face, “Alright. Calamity, Nightblade, Blood Disaster... They'll all have the bounty up by next morning.”

“Good. We won't be able to get the people behind this, but they'll need to find other lackies once he's gone.”

*Knock knock!* “Your Grace, there is an urgent letter from the Deepblue!”

Richard smirked, “Looks like Blackgold is giving me another surprise.”

The mage delivered a thick envelope, containing over a hundred pages of blueprints and descriptions. It was all equipment for the night elves, from heavy ballistae that required full squadrons to small hand crossbows that could be hung by the waist. Everything was designed meticulously, and it could all be manufactured in large quantities.

Richard spent a bit of time on every single image, taking a full hour to go through all the designs. The equipment was all practical, easy to maintain, and powerful, made with materials that could be bought in bulk or produced by his private planes. For instance, the crossbows used certain woods from the Forest Plane instead of high-elasticity alloy, increasing their longevity and power.

He handed over the designs to Asiris, “Could you go to Noelene and have her workshops focus on these? I need a thousand sets right away.”

A thousands sets meant a thousand night elves, a powerful army of soldiers that were all at least level 15. Even the wealthiest of families wouldn't be able to keep calm at the prospect, but Asiris didn't ask for more details and left quietly.

Once the Dark Priest was gone, Richard opened up his map and examined it while deep in thought. Looking over everything he needed, he found he had seven days to empty where he could do whatever he wanted. He sent word for Senma.

“I swear, if you give me one more task I'm going to blow!” the Blood Paladin shouted as she entered, “I'm taking care of the Brahms planes right now, do you think just taking them was enough? None of those bastards are going to lie down and roll over; if we don't teach them a lesson, who knows when they'll stab us in the back?!”

Richard chuckled, patting her on the shoulder, “Calm down. Those planes were a surprise anyway, I don't care if they rebel. We'll see the ambitious ones and then take care of them together. There's something else we need to take care of now, it won't be too long.”

“Ugh, whatever you say.”

“Pack up, we're heading to the Resting Orchid Plane. You have a day.”

“Resting Orchid? Is there anything going on?”

“Did you forget the mouse hidden in there?”

“Mouse?”

“Stardragon.”

“That guy's a legend!”

Richard suddenly sneered, “Yes. Only a legend.”

1252 - City of Sin

Back To The Resting Orchid

One day later, Richard and Senma arrived at the Resting Orchid Plane. The place was cramped as always, the environment basically unchanged. The people themselves had gotten used to Archeron rule, however, and while there were still some plotting to eliminate the invaders that number had fallen to an insignificant level.

The Archerons and the local king of the Resting Orchid Plane had opposed each other for years before Richard conquered the plane, with the kingdom spending exorbitant amounts of money just to maintain its army. There was a soldier for every five commoners, including elderly and children, and with their lack of resources they had slowly been pushed back.

From his experience at the Godnest, Richard knew that this entire plane was only a fragment of what it was in the past, the former complete plane having been destroyed in an enormous battle. A large section of its population were happy just not starving to death, with just forty years of age being considered a long life. However, Richard had solved that problem once he took control. Even now, as he and Senma stepped through the portal, they were joined by a large caravan of 300 carriages that were each filled with ten tonnes of food rations.

Watching the food being taken away, Richard suddenly turned to the Blood Paladin and asked, “If you were an ordinary citizen of this plane, what would your stance on the Archerons be right now? Would you rather return to the old times, or continue living as my subject?”

Senma shot him a confused look, “Of course I'd follow you. As for reasons... I can think of two. First, I'd be fed well. Second, I can criticise you and you still won't do anything unless I take it too far. There isn't a need for a third reason, is there?”

“Sigh. There are still people who miss the old kingdom, aren't there?”

“We'll just kill all those bastards!”

“Nope, killing them isn't the solution.”

“Why not? My Dearest Lord, you're acting strange today. Is some soul mage controlling you?”

Richard chuckled, “Nevermind, I'm just overthinking things.”

Senma snorted, “Of course there's going to be dissidents, people who want to bring back the old kingdom. If not for the act that we send a hundred thousand tonnes of food every year, many people would starve to death. They have to choose, they can either eat our meat or curse us, they can't get both. I'd rather all the entitled brats be dead.”

“That's...” he sighed again, “If I were them, I'd ideally want both too.”

“How could life be so good?” her eyes went wide.

“I know it's difficult, but we can try to make it work, right?”

The Resting Orchid Plane was quite a peaceful place. Although there were people who wanted to drive the Archerons out, such rebels existed everywhere. Even back in Norland, some of Richard's vassals dreamed of overthrowing him every night. However, he knew the best way to deal with this was to keep the citizens fed. They would still curse the Archerons, but not as many would be willing to worsen their own lives for their principles.

This didn't mean violent opposition was to be ignored. Richard had a blanket policy of treating violence with violence, a motto his followers followed so zealously that he himself had to stop them from overdoing it sometimes, but it was better to deal with things in such a way that he didn't galvanize the entire population of the plane. Right now, that meant dealing with the one symbol of resistance they could gather around.

Stardragon was still in hiding, with no news about him at all. It was as though he had completely vanished, but this was clearly a facade. The spacetime around this shard of a plane warped whenever one got too far from the main continent, especially in the dead ocean. Richard himself wasn't confident in being able to teleport back if he went too far.,With traps all around the portal leading to Blackrose Castle, it was clear that the warrior hadn't gone that way either. He was showing a surprising level of patience, remaining in hiding for decades on end.

However, Richard had a deadly trap this time— himself.

Senma had occasionally sensed Stardragon watching her more than once during her stays in the Resting Orchid Plane. Perhaps it was because her equipment was stronger than his own, but Richard believed that wasn't the case. In his opinion, Stardragon was waiting to strike right at the top. He currently had fifty rune knights dedicated to this plane because of one single threat, and he wanted to free that force for other battles.

......

A shocking announcement passed through the Resting Orchid Plane over the next few days. Richard Archeron, the plane's ruler and master of the Archeron clan, was going to the Godnest to inspect it. He would be staying over in the imperial city for one day along the way.

Climbing onto a griffon for the first time in a while, Richard accompanied Senma on a more scenic route to the capital city of the plane. Having rebuilt the city, he had chosen an important local noble as a puppet king and continued to use the existing infrastructure of the kingdom with little change. The man had been selected mainly for his astuteness; he knew his position well, and acted so respectful that it was almost sickening. Even now, the King had worked through the night to have the central plaza decorated with a wall of flowers, moving the griffon roost for this purpose. Thousands of youths had been summoned and dressed in lavish clothes, performing a dance of welcome.

Half an hour prior to Richard's arrival, the King had led any important nobles over to the plaza, spouses and lovers all dressed to impress. All seven of his daughters were lined up in a row behind him, even the youngest that was only ten years old. If Richard fancied even one, his throne would be secure for the rest of his life.

Just as the clock rang out, a roost of a few hundred griffons appeared on the horizon. Richard had brought a truly intimidating guard force this time; outside of Senma herself, his personal guard included a total of 200 rune knights!

It hadn't been long enough since the conquest for the locals of the Resting Orchid Plane to forget about the absurd power of the rune knights. As they got off their mounts, the crowd that was supposed to cheer fell completely silent instead. The imposing auras from the 200 warriors caused left even veterans quivering in their boots, subconsciously making an effort to keep silent.

Despite that hiccup, Richard seemed to be happy with the respect the nobles were showing him. He even landed directly before the King, conveniently handing the leash of the griffon to him. The King immediately took the leash and bowed, following him into the palace. This was a significant scene, showing that even the most powerful man on this plane was still Richard's servant.

The nobles parted to open up a path to the palace, forming a welcome party on both sides. Richard looked like a general inspecting his troops as he passed them, remaining completely expressionless no matter how seductive some of the women acted. He walked straight to the throne room and took his rightful seat, looking down at the King and all other nobles who stood in a group.

It was only at this point that he opened his mouth, “It looks like things are going well. But I did hear that there has been some instability recently. Has this Wallace not been caught?”

The King's face changed slightly, sweat beading on his forehead, “Only a minor hurdle, any resistance has been crushed immediately. Wallace is... a crafty fellow, but from another perspective he has no impact either. He doesn't dare to engage the royal army in direct combat, and I'm currently enacting a series of traps to lure him and his allies out so I can deal with them all at once.”

1253 - City of Sin

Stardragon's Death

Richard nodded at the report, turning to Senma, “Send a team of rune knights to coordinate, and another 300 shadowspears on standby as well. Any signs of treason must be stomped out at the root.”

“Yes, Your Majesty!” Senma bowed.

This support left the King both elated and worried. He knew how strong the rune knights and shadowspears were— Wallace wouldn't stand a chance— but this greatly weighed down on him as well. If he failed even with this help, his rulership would be in doubt.

“I'm going to the Godnest tomorrow,” Richard said as he stood up, “No need to arrange things. I'll be leaving right afterwards.”

The King bowed, personally leading Richard towards the rear halls of the palace. This section was a specially-designed residence made for him and him alone, even more lofty and luxurious than anything the King occupied. Richard hadn't visited the place once since it was made, even proposing that it be repurposed, but his followers opposed this. This residence was a symbol of Archeron power, so it had to be maintained for that sake alone.

He didn't talk much, sending the King off after a brief report. Some 'secret business' had Senma lead most of the rune knights out of the city, leaving only a few dozen to patrol as guards. With her not choosing to divulge what the business was, even the King himself didn't dare to ask. After all, the Blood Paladin was the true ruler of this plane when Richard wasn't around.

......

A pair of eyes slowly opened in a dark corner of the palace, their sparkle invisible to the human eye. They watched in silence as the rune knights patrolled the entire palace building, a bizarrely soft wheezing sound being followed by a faint voice, “Do you think all these knights will save you?”

As another patrol of rune knights walked across, a black figure floated into the air. It seemed to be almost a hallucination, melding into the shadows of the night and silently floating towards Richard's chambers. Even at full alert, the knights were completely unaware of a threat entering the palace.

The room was still lit, with Richard going through some documents within. The pile quickly wore away as he only glanced through most of them, but owing to the long time he hadn't come here there was still a good amount of work to do. A knock suddenly interrupted him, causing him to frown slightly, “Didn't I say I wasn't to be disturbed if there's nothing important?”

A gentle voice rang out from the other side, “This is very important, Your Majesty.”

“Alright, come in.” he relaxed and turned around, staring at the handsome youth that had just stepped in, “You've gotten gutsy.”

Stardragon closed the door with a smile, “Gutsy? It depends on who I'm dealing with. Your rune knights won't make it here to save you in time.”

Richard tossed the letter in his hands, leaning back into his chair, “So you have men in the palace that are tracking my whereabouts.”

“Heh. I have many men, and not just in the palace. I was the god of this plane before you came here!”

“A junior legend wants to be called a deity? Well, have at it I guess; gods aren't impressive anyway.”

Stardragon's expression warped, but he quickly adopted a perverse smile, “A junior legend is enough to kill you! You know, I won't be killing you slowly; torture is an art! And I'm a great artist!”

Seeing that Richard wasn't flustered at all, not even using a hint of his magic, Stardragon grew more and more infuriated. The last of his words were said through clenched teeth, the corners of the warrior's mouth twitching.

Richard finally changed his posture and leaned forward, gently knocking on the desk, “You know, even as weak as you are, you're still a legend. I'll give you a chance; serve me, or you die.”

“Bullshit!” Stardragon screamed, his voice even breaking a little, “What makes you so arrogant? I can tear you into hundreds of pieces in a second, even your little paladin won't be able to stop me. You actually want a legendary being to serve you? Why don't you just look for a few gods and act the same way? 'Come, serve me or you'll die!' Bah!”

The man's neck seemed to be bloated, bloodshot eyes actually leaking hints of crimson. For a moment, Richard was actually interested in this complete mental collapse and prodded, “I do have a few gods serving me. But looking at your sorry state, it must have been rough on you. How long have you been shivering in your hole, afraid I'll find you?”

“GO TO HELL!” A cold gleam shone on Stardragon's fists as he stabbed two sawtooth daggers towards Richard's head. However, Richard remained seated, only raising Moonlight to block both blows. The warrior felt like he had stabbed into a mountain, the all-out strike unable to move even an inch. He immediately tried to swallow the blood he was about to cough up and pull back, but Richard grabbed his blades and kept him in place.

*CREAK!* The two daggers were twisted into scrap metal and thrown away, Stardragon losing his control as the hilts left his hands. Feeling another mouthful of blood catching in his throat, Stardragon suddenly looked down to see one of the broken hilts being tapped on his chest. The bone was immediately crushed, forming a terrifying hole that exploded into a mist of blood. Half a wall was stained scarlet.

With another knock, Richard almost crushed Stardragon's upper body to pieces. The warrior's face was full of fear as he staggered backwards, back hitting the wall, “NO! DON'T! I PROMISE TO SERVER YOU, I'LL BE LOYAL! YOU NEEDED LEGENDS WORKING FOR YOU, RIGHT?”

Richard sighed and raised his left hand, “Too bad, I lied to you.”

Numerous ribbons of light flew out from the hand, circling Stardragon and entering his body without obstruction. A translucent orb was yanked out of his body, screaming out in pain as it was compressed to the size of a fist. The body itself crumpled, breaths gradually coming to a halt.

Richard looked at the ball of light floating in his hand, watching the occasional glimpses of Stardragon's face. The soul was in extreme suffering; this was the first time he had ever used his soul hunter abilities on a live soul. He quickly tutted, placing the soul in a specially-designed case before calling a few rune knights in, “Hang this on the gate, and tidy the place up. Inform the mages that I need a lab within half an hour.”

The rune knights bowed and got to their tasks, not caring about the room's state or worrying about Richard himself. Having followed him for a long time, they knew better than anyone just how strong he was; this was the most powerful person in the entire Archeron Family; assassination attempts on him were just suicide runs.

1254 - City of Sin

Questions On War

When he received news of an attempt on Richard's life, the King rushed out to the plaza in his nightgown. On the way, he was stunned to see several rune knights carrying Stardragon's corpse out from the central chambers; even though the body's appearance was completely different, he recognised the symbol of highest authority in the old kingdom.

“What's going on?” he asked softly.

The rune knights carrying the body stopped, their captain nodding in recognition of the King's status, “This person managed to infiltrate the palace and attempted an assassination on His Excellency. We were ordered to hang his corpse on the gate; how dare a mere legend try to kill someone who has taken out multiple gods?”

The King was stunned once more, now understanding why the rune knights called Richard His Excellency instead of His Grace or His Majesty; this was a form of respect for his power. He felt as though he was dreaming as he saw the corpse carried away; the entire plane had been celebrating their multiple legends not long ago, but now the last such legend was being dragged away like trash.

A few minutes after the rune knights were gone, a chilly wind blew through the palace. The King shivered and collected his wits, rushing towards Richard's residence, but he was informed that Richard had already entered his laboratory and didn't want to be disturbed. Waiting until dawn with no signs of movement, he left reluctantly.

......

It took three days for Richard to emerge from the lab. Senma had entered his residence at some point, and was waiting for him on a rocking chair. Leaving the city had just been a trap; Richard could have caught the man regardless, but it would have taken more effort.

“Go pack,” he said as he walked out, “We're going to Lina.”

Senma nodded, moving away quickly. They were standing before Lina's tombstone that same sunset, looking at the resting ground that was just as beautiful as before. He squatted in front of the tombstone and brushed away a thin layer of dust, taking out a star-shaped badge and placing it in front. There was a pain-warped face in the centre, Stardragon's face.

Senma raised an eyebrow upon seeing the badge. It was clearly a powerful rune with a legend's soul sealed within; it was grade 6 at minimum.

“The bastard who killed you is dead, I've turned him into a magic soul and sealed him here. He'll suffer for eternity, so rest well. I'll come see you again when I have time.” Softly stroking the tombstone, Richard sighed before turning around to leave. Senma glanced at that badge and waved goodbye, following him away. On their way back, he suddenly stopped and looked at her, “You go ahead, I'll spend some time in the Godnest. I need to be alone for a while.”

She paused at these instructions, but after a moment she nodded and walked away. Her departing figure seemed a little lonely.

However, Richard was feeling no different. Following the winding road up the mountain, he took step after perfectly mechanical step for hours until he reached the peak. Passing through the warped space, he arrived in front of the ancient battlefield once more.

Nothing had changed in this place, as though the last time he'd stood here was just a minute ago. The wreckage of various warships still floated around in the void, various damaged sections scattered all around as evidence of the sky-toppling battle.

Stretching his hand past the invisible limits, Richard saw threads of black beginning to twirl around him in the void. He immediately drew back, now knowing that the space around here was extremely frail. Even simple motions were too much for it to bear, forming rifts so naturally that his hand would have been consumed in moments. Fortunately, the place could also repair itself.

While Richard was quite adept at teleportation and had a very loose grasp on the laws of space, he wasn't confident in being able to move through this broken plane. He estimated that he would only be able to enter safely once he had analysed the laws of the Godnest, gaining the ability to merge in with the wreckage. Then, he would be able to obtain priceless knowledge.

However, that wasn't his reason for coming here. Just like he had told Senma, he wanted to spend some time alone. Facing this vast and desolate battlefield of absolute destruction, he felt like he could give in to his own bouts of weakness for a moment. No matter how terrifying both sides of this war were, they had all been destroyed. Their lives, souls, and achievements were forgotten in an icy wreck attached to a random plane, the very definition of an unmarked grave.

Having been through so many wars himself, Richard now controlled a terrifying army that entire empires would have to be wary of. His own followers now surpassed the surviving members of Gaton's thirteen, making it clear that he had surpassed his father. However, the only thing he felt whenever he relaxed was doubt, the same doubt that had plagued him for most of his life.

War after war, all for what purpose? Just like each powerful opponent he knocked down as a part of his own rise, he knew that he, too, would fall one day as a footnote to another story. He fought with all he had anyway, but what was it all worth? What did it mean if he ended up in eternal silence like this?What was plane-destroying power worth to a dead man?

Beye had once brought him to the Land of Dusk to answer his questions. Every planar war was a gamble out of helplessness; in a world where two civilisations could clash any day, one had to possess great power just to survive. His own experiences had proved that to be the case; planes that closed themselves off were found eventually, and they would be conquered easily.

But that was only a surface-level explanation. In many ways, that kind of mindset was a product of itself. Now that he stood above most things and not below them, Richard felt like this was a self-fulfilling prophecy. Was it just fate? He wouldn't even try to answer that; perhaps even the old dragon wasn't fully equipped to do so.

As he was lost in thought, Richard suddenly saw the image of a damaged warship in the corner of his eye. It wasn't big compared to the giant ships elsewhere, but the moment he saw it he yelped like he had been struck by lightning. He'd seen it elsewhere!

He suddenly felt overwhelmed by alarm, a feeling he hadn't felt in a long time. Filled with dread, he lost his calmness and started searching his memory desperately. A moment later, he took out the doomsday imprint and stared at the constantly morphing metal, gradually recovering control of his expression even if his hearts were still thumping.

The doomsday imprints represented the reapers. Richard had known they were powerful, but not how much. Even though they had destroyed every plane they struck, he'd once fantasized that they weren't as strong as they were billed to be. With the proper preparations in place, including binding numerous legends to his side using the Dragon Plane, he felt like he had a chance to prevail.

But now, seeing one of these warships, he felt a chill overcoming him as he realised the sheer scale of what was to come. The single warship was more than a few hundred metres across, and was only one of dozens of different forms the imprint could morph into. Even though he had no idea just how strong one of these ships was, the damage done all around him showed just how powerful they were.

All sorts of thoughts clouded his mind, but after a while he just sighed and let them dissipate. He had to go to war regardless, so there was no point in being scared. The enemy would come soon enough, and he would do what it took to wipe them out.

Or he would die trying, but thinking of all that was useless anyway.

1255 - City of Sin

Envoy

When Richard returned to the city, Senma noticed that he didn't look alright. She assumed it was a resurgence in his mourning for the Dragon Mage, and feeling similarly herself she couldn't think of a way to comfort him. Fortunately, he didn't stop for long, taking her and most of the rune knights along as he left the plane.

The moment he was back on Norland, Richard contacted Noelene, barely waiting for her image to stabilise in the communication circle before speaking, “I need equipment. Our workshops won't be selling a single thing from today, all production will be for my army.”

“What?” the grand priestess frowned, “That's too sudden. We have a lot of orders we haven't fulfilled yet, our reputation will tank. Did something happen?”

Anxiety was written all over Richard's face, and after some hesitation he admitted it, “Yes, I feel like something bad is about to happen. I need to expand my forces as quickly as possible, it's the reapers.”

“The what now?! How did you provoke them?”

“There was a doomsday imprint on Faelor. I believe I'll be going to war soon.”

“I... Alright, I understand. I'll go apologise to the bigger clients myself, and give them all the equipment we have now. Our workshops will focus on the designs you sent.”

“Okay, thank you,” he said with a sorry expression.

She smiled, “Our fates have been tied a long time ago, helping you is helping myself. But that being said... I don't know if this is my place to say, but from past experience the best thing to do when faced with a reaper attack is to give up the entire plane. Why aren't you doing that?”

“I still might. I just want one fight to be sure that it's the right choice.”

“That's a waste of soldiers.”

“I know... I'll take it into consideration.”

“Noelene nodded, ”Be careful. One plane isn't all that important, you can just buy others.”

“Got it,” he flashed her a quick smile, breaking off the connection before teleporting to his demiplane.

.......

At this point, Richard's demiplane had grown to a circumference of several hundred metres. The energy-absorbing trees continued to drain the energy storm all around, turning it into elemental soil on the edges. The entire place looked like a barren rock, but picking up a random pebble he could see that the soil was extremely fine. Squeezing it a bit, he rubbed off the dirt itself to reveal a sparkling yellow crystal; this was pure earth elemental energy, useful in a number of potions, spell arrays, and equipment.

Tossing the crystal back down, he then headed to his mana pool. The place now had three layers, and the uppermost level that was a metre wide was already full. Liquid mana flowed down from it to the second level that four metres across and a full metre deep, this one a little more than half-filled as well. The third level had several smaller ponds that would eventually cater to individual elemental energy, forming crystals of specific elements, but that would have to wait until the second level was filled.

A thick layer of magic crystals already lined the bottom of the top pool, with quite a large number of those crystals being extremely pure. It hadn't been terribly long, but Richard himself had to go quiet at the sight of more than a million gold's worth of crystals. This was already enough for Noelene to pay the costs of breaching their contracts with customers. The energy absorbing trees were most certainly amongst the most precious treasures in all the planes; seeing their efficiency, he knew that a regular legendary mage would give up their entire life's savings for a single one.

After surveying the little piece of land, Richard strengthened the teleportation array once more before returning to Norland. Arranging the good chunk of crystals that he had taken from the pool, he had a few knights send them off to Noelene. With that dealt with, he was about to go visit Coco when a mage rushed over, “Your Grace, an envoy from Duke Solam wishes to meet you.”

“Solam?” Richard grew a little confused, but he decided to meet the man in a formal hall.

“Your Grace, I was asked to meet you on behalf of Duke Solam regarding his daughter-in-law, Minnie.” The envoy turned out to be a young noble, the silver feathers on his collar making it clear that he was a viscount himself. This clearly wasn't a throwaway messenger, and strangely enough he didn't seem the slightest bit fearful either, “You should be aware that the woman brutally murdered her husband on their way back from the Brahms Marquessate, and there is evidence that she fled to you.”

At this point, the envoy passed and stared at Richard with glowing eyes. His hands already had a stack of documents, making it clear that he was ready to pounce with proof the moment he was denied.

“You...” Richard felt a headache coming on, “You realise that I told Solam directly. So what if I have Minnie under me?”

The envoy froze, all of his sharp words suddenly disappearing. He hadn't expected Richard to be so direct, leaving him completely lost. The two dukes might have had conflicting views, but that was a battle between two lords where different rules applied. Steven's murder was a direct affront to nobility, and Richard would be the target of widesread ire if this came out.

He took a deep breath, deciding to move forward, “Since you admit that Minnie is here, please hand her over. I can guarantee that her trial will be fair.”

“You can guarantee this?” Richard snickered, “And what makes you think you have that ability?”

The young noble's face immediately went bright red, “I am Viscount Toruch Vyan, nephew of Duke Vyan who currently commands the southern forces of the Sacred Tree Empire. Is that enough?”

Richard burst into laughter, “I just defeated your northern forces, so now the south is coming my way? Strange, why did Solam send you instead of coming himself? He should know that any messengers sent to me are at risk of death.”

Toruch froze up, his expression suddenly turning gloomy as he realised that this mission was more than what it seemed. There had to be something else between Solam and Richard, beyond just a territorial dispute. He cursed the Duke in his mind, but he managed to retain all of his energy as he responded, “Your Grace, hiding Minnie away would be unbecoming for someone of your status. I'm afraid news of this would hurt your reputation. As for your challenge to the southern forces, rest assured that I will definitely report what you said, word for word.”

Richard finally retracted his smile, “We Archerons never had a good reputation in the first place, that's how we keep annoying dogs from trying to take a bite out of us. Do whatever you want, but Steven's murderer currently lives in Blackrose Castle. If Solam doesn't like this, he can come try to get her out himself. Obviously, Minnie will be his if he wins the siege.

“And if he doesn't have the ability to do that, then he'd better know his place.”

Toruch snickered himself, “Alright, Your Grace, I will certainly let him know. The Vyans will respond to your challenge at an app—”

*THWACK!* A resounding slap sent Toruch flying, his face starting to bleed before he even got to the ground. Richard was still seated in his chair, having moved so fast that nobody here had even seen him, but it was clear that he was the aggressor. Toruch's guards rushed over to help him up, a few of them unsheathing their swords and glaring at Richard viciously, but he looked as calm as ever as a wave of his left arm unleashed his rune knights on all but the two helping the Viscount up.

“Why...” Toruch asked softly, half his face now swollen and his entire body shivering in pain.

“That is an actual challenge towards your family, brat,” Richard bent forward, staring the Viscount in the eye, “Tell them about this too. I don't know why you wanted to make an enemy of me, but you better hope for some good rewards. Don't show yourself again.”

1256 - City of Sin

Crisis At Dragon Valley

“Just a little brat,” Senma commented as Toruch was dragged out of the castle by a few rune knights, “Tch, no strength to match that ambition. That being said, do you really want to fight the Sacred Tree Empire right now?”
𝐟𝘳ℯ𝚎𝘄𝒆𝑏𝗻𝑜ѵ𝚎l. c𝘰𝑚

Richard shook his head, “They would have declared war directly if they were able to. They're probing for any signs of weakness.”

“And what if he really does go back and convince the Empire to send its army?” she frowned.

“Then we just force them back!” Richard grinned.

“Sigh. Another war? Don't you have enough on your plate already?”

*Thud! Thud! Thud!* Fate seemed to be in line with Senma's thinking today. Hasty footsteps sounded outside the hall as a mage barged in, not even bothering to regain his balance before he started speaking, “YOUR GRACE! EMERGENCY IN FAELOR! DRAGONS... Huff... A number of powerful dragons have suddenly appeared from the Dragon Plane, and those exploring sustained massive casualties. The Celestial Sage was grievously injured as well, and we lost our base. Lady Nasia is currently guarding the passageway, but she's fought a number of battles and will need to retreat!”

“WHAT?!” Richard shot up. He understood the sheer power of the forces he had left to guard against the Dragon Plane. Even Bahamut would have no chance of taking over that base, but many of the explorers were dead? Even the Celestial Sage was injured?

Given his centuries of experience, Ruben was a monstrous epic being. While he couldn't compare to fighters like Philip or Apeiron, he wasn't far off and definitely had a number of ways to hold his own. For him to be seriously injured meant this wasn't just any powerful dragon, beings stronger than Tiamat herself had to have appeared here. Was it the Five-Coloured Dragon?

He forced himself to calm down, returning to his seat. The situation looked critical, but the planar passage wasn't strong enough for anyone stronger than Bahamut to pass through yet. Nasia could definitely deal with the Flame Dragon, especially with the help of all the rune knights he had stationed to help her.

Reorganising his thoughts for a moment, he promptly summoned his generals and tasked them with guarding Azan. A message was sent for Alice to return immediately, and Senma was assigned to guard her and Coco. Everyone he had sent to build a defensive fort at the portal to the abyss was recalled as well, albeit not without hesitation. While the portal was in the depths of the Genesis in a strange demiplanar section of Faelor, it was wide and stable enough for even an archlord to pass through. The distance would be no obstruction to a powerful demon, but he just had to gamble that he would get the time to deal with the dragons before it became a threat. It would still take some time for the archlord's aura to fade away completely from the place, so he believed he was safe enough for now.

Sighing with disappointment, he sent people to both the Forest Plane and the Deepblue. A few hours later, he led 500 mysterious warriors towards the portal to Faelor.

......

The astral chrysalis and wasps were already lying in wait at Bluewater Oasis, immediately picking up Richard and his troops and transporting them to Dragon Valley. The situation had somewhat stabilised at this point, with Nasia showing the ability to beat the dragons back time and time again, so he decided that the enormous cost of the long-distance portal wasn't necessary.

A couple days later, he arrived to a sight that left him stunned. The bustling town had turned into a pile of ruins, the manors and workshops that he toiled over now nothing but charred land. There were signs of battle everywhere, with all kinds of dragon breaths having carved trenches in the valley. The Archeron army had retreated out completely, working out of a temporary base that allowed them to treat the valley itself as the battlefield.

The sight obviously made his heart ache, but thankfully he saw that Rosie's rune workshops had been moved over safely. A quick enquiry informed him that she and those under her were unharmed, which made him feel slightly better.

Richard jumped off the astral chrysalis, meeting with Nasia who had rushed over immediately. The knight looked no different than usual, but there were quite a few burn signs on her legendary armour that had evidently been left behind by dragons. As someone who knew her abilities very well, he could tell just how intense the battle had been after seeing those markings.

“How did this happen?”

“The Five-Coloured Dragon,” Nasia said with seldom seen grimness, “Ruben must have done something to piss her off. Not only was he injured, but she even took out three legends and a dozen saints .The base was destroyed, and she sent a swarm of dragons over this way as well. We lost a full squad of rune knights in the first wave, but thankfully I managed to get the rest out. That's all I could do.”

The rest of Richard's followers quickly began to show themselves as well, but Tiramisu didn't show himself. Closing his eyes and scanning his soul space, he then shot a questioning glance at Nasia.

“Lying in bed. The rune knights needed cover, so the loghead took a direct hit from the Fice-Coloured Dragon for them. That one's a full thousand metres tall when she stands up; tall. It's a wonder he didn't just die.”

Richard sighed in relief. The ogre warlord had powerful vitality, especially with his two heads. So long as he didn't just die, he would be able to recuperate slowly. Even broken and torn limbs would be repaired eventually.

“And where's the Celestial Sage?”

......

Seeing the Celestial Sage, Richard had no words to say. The veteran epic being no longer had an aura of power, just lying on his bed in a coma. He was much thinner than before, with his hair, eyebrows, and beard almost completely burnt away by dragonfire. Lifting the covers, Richard found that he had burns everywhere; the flesh was a complete mess, with many areas almost reaching putrefaction. Knowing the team of clerics that were still waiting outside, he knew that this wasn't down to improper treatment. The lingering power in those wounds was preventing any cure.

As he reached out to one of the rotting wounds, he suddenly recoiled as a phantom dragon jumped out and bit at his finger. He paled at the pain from the attack, feeling everything as a small portion of his mana was taken away, and even though the amount was negligible it could never be recovered. He now understood why even Nasia was having a hard time; if this residual energy could even tear away at his own legendary mana, it had to be powered by strong laws. Just a brush against such a terrifying existence would be troublesome, especially when that being also contained terrifying brute strength.

The Celestial Sage was still unconscious, but even worse his soul had hidden away to avoid the lingering damage. Ruben had a powerful body, but it definitely wasn't enough to contend against the Five-Coloured-Dragon's rot. At this rate, the body would soon die.

Richard sighed. The clerics of the three goddesses could do nothing facing the power of an existence that surpassed their deities themselves. Shaking his head, he decided to try his own luck. The green moon slowly phased into existence atop his head, moonforce immediately surging through his body and transforming into life force that entered Ruben's body.

Divine Prayer accomplished nothing at first, but Richard decided to go all in and activated the power of his elven truename as well. As Ruvendaer was activated, the power of the green moon suddenly flickered in and out, causing a huge reaction. The entire body hissed as numerous phantom dragons crawled their way out, screaming in anguish!

It seemed like the phantom dragons around the Celestial Sage were soaked in dense acid, crying out and rolling in pain as they dissolved rapidly. Some were more indignant, clawing towards the void in an attempt to tear Richard apart, but having tasted their power already Richard used a number of barriers to protect himself.

1257 - City of Sin

Knife's Edge

It only took a few minutes for Richard to run out of moonforce, but he smiled in satisfaction at the results of his healing. The worst of the Celestial Sage's injuries had taken a turn for the better, and if he kept at it for maybe a month the man would recover completely. Although it all meant nothing unless the soul returned, Ruben wouldn't just abandon his body so easily.

Mere moments after he withdrew his hand, Richard suddenly felt the earth shaking. A loud whistle rang out from the camp, warning of an attack. He rushed out and flew into the skies, barely in time to see the portal to the Dragon Plane that was now covered by a giant barrier of light that was almost a kilometre wide. Nasia had told him that this barrier was nearly impassable, but seeing thousands of draconians and numerous giant dragons were flying out one after the other was an entirely different thing. None of the attacks from his side made it through, ensuring that the draconians were unharmed as they walked through.

Richard himself didn't rush to attack, simply observing the giant barrier that would be key to this battle. It was constantly changing in the colours of various elemental laws, but it was rarely stuck on one single element. Combinations of various elements made this a complex fortification that couldn't be outdone easily; one could only deplete it through brute force.

More than twenty dragons now occupied the skies of Dragon Valley, their disciples fanning out in all directions like ants. Some of the draconians were carrying large equipment bags and didn't join the assault immediately, instead starting to construct fortifications and magic arrays on the spot. This was the exact same way Richard had built a forward base in the Dragon Plane.

Up in the sky, Richard's followers, the legends, and saints were wrapped up in a fight against the dragons. The defenders had the upper hand— anyone confident in hunting dragons would obviously have an advantage of some sorts on hand— but that was quickly dwindling. Almost all of Richard's forces were out in force, but on the other end the dragons had a full plane of their kin they could call upon.

A green wind dragon flew in like lightning, attacking a legendary warrior who wielded a shield and axe. The man was basically stuck defending, but no matter how fast or ferocious the dragon was he always managed to block. Two faint lines zipped across the sky as Waterflower and Phaser flew out, their swords digging into the dragon's wings and causing it to scream with pain, but with a good chunk of flesh cut out the lizard quickly lost control of its flight and started plummeting to the ground.

The gales covering the green dragon grew weaker as it fell, but the warrior didn't get a chance to pursue as another one emerged from the portal right after. He immediately started cursing at the new fire dragon in draconic tongue, enraging it with talk of its children, eggs, and family. When the dragon heard that its mate had laid ice dragon eggs, it roared in rage and tried to blast the offender down.

Waterflower and Phaser had hidden themselves once more, but Richard managed to track their energy ripples as they neared the fire dragon. However, he knew that the two alone weren't enough; the fallen green dragon still had the strength to summon numerous twisters, weakening the javelins that the rune knights were throwing its way. Tiramisu would have taken care of the rest, maiming the lizard in a few swings of Tenton, but without the ogre present the two assassins immediately felt the pinch. They had succeeded in their task, but that didn't mean their target was dead.

*ZOOM!* A dazzling column of scarlet flame suddenly shot down from the sky, landing on a copper dragon nearby. It let out a bloodcurdling screech as its body started to warp under the high temperature, and moments later it melted away.

Disposing of a level 22 dragon in one strike was a fearsome achievement, and the spell was one that Richard recognised well. However, this didn't leave him feeling any better. This was a Skyfire Strike that was enhanced beyond the legendary realm; it couldn't appear very often. The old mage who had cast it was already looking quite pale, the exhaustion evident in his eyes. He could be proud of this achievement, it showed his superiority over other mages of his level, but at level 23 the spell had taken more than half his mana. He could recover quickly enough to cast it once more, but that would be it.

A sharp whistle suddenly rang through the sky as multi-coloured rays of light shot into the air, chasing after a number of draconic targets while leaving dazzling trails behind. Most of the javelins were swatted away by their targets, but a few still managed to hit and even a dozen strikes would leave a dragon on the verge of collapse. Three managed to escape into the barrier with severe injuries, while two were killed on the spot.

The rune knights were currently moving around in formations of fifty each, shifting endlessly on the battlefield as each time tried to concentrate fire on a single dragon. Any counterattacks were warded off using group barriers from their sets, the combination of several Savage Barrier runes powerful enough to stave off an attack from even someone like Bahamut. From the start of the battle, they had achieved more than the legends and saints.

Richard was surprised to find Rosie in the lead, commanding the rune knights into battle. He frowned at the sight— she was still level 17 despite his pouring resources into her— but even knowing that she would be a prime target he couldn't bring himself to stop her. She had made sure to hide herself in the middle of a formation, which showed awareness of her own frailty. Her spells were useless against the dragons, but they served as signals for the rune knights to coordinate their strikes.

He was actually surprised by her accuracy in pointing out weak points. Every volley was targeted at the next weakest dragon in terms of defence, and if she had the time she even tried to have the knights take down injured escapees. At one point, she even signalled straight into the empty skies. Fifty spears followed promptly, but even as the knights who threw them thought she had made a mistake a rare spatial dragon suddenly burrowed out from the void and was turned into a pincushion. It had just managed to dodge a fatal attack from a legendary warrior by tunnelling through space, but before it could even rejoice it was dead.

Under Rosie's command, the 150 rune knights were displaying exceptional prowess. However, that strength was quickly becoming irrelevant in front of the increasing number of dragons flying out of the portal. The draconians on the ground were growing in number as well. Although they were only cannon fodder, they still managed to obstruct movements. The broodmother's humanoids and some soldiers from the Crimson Army were fighting them off, but those troops were limited and couldn't kill fast enough.

Richard frowned in annoyance, now knowing that the situation was worse than he had believed. With the reports that Nasia had managed to stave off the attacks, he had assumed that things weren't serious. After all, she could still rely on the broodmother's main body for backup even if Bahamut arrived. However, before his eyes was a serious crisis in just the first wave of attacks!

“We need to make our move,” he turned to the knight.

Nasia shrugged, spreading her arms helplessly, “I knew you wouldn't let me rest. King of War?” Google search 𝑓𝒓e𝑒w𝑒𝒃𝑛𝒐𝘃ℯ𝙡. c𝚘m

“No, not yet. Maybe if Bahamut appears,” he said with a shake of his head, starting his mana coursing through his body. Eye-dazzling crimson light wrapped around him as silver armour flashed into existence, the sword of divine flames falling into his hand. Blinking a thousand metres away into the centre of the battlefield, he brought the now-blazing sword down on a wind dragon.

The lizard barely squeaked before it was cut in two.

1258 - City of Sin

Fighting Dragons

A rain of blood and flesh sprayed down on the ground as the dissected wind dragon quickly lost its life. The two halves separated and crashed into dense formations of draconians, crushing a good number of them underneath. The entire battlefield went silent as even those locked in battle slowed down for a moment, shuddering under the aura of power that swept across them.

One strike, one kill! Richard was now completely encased in his battle armour, the exquisite half-elven face now replaced by the imposing and dignified mask of Midren. Three pairs of crimson wings flickered into existence around him before folding in and disappearing, the flaming blade spinning around before stabbing down. A wave of pure force slammed into empty space, forming blood-coloured cracks in the air to mark his position.

For a moment, it felt as though the gods from the heavens had descended on this plane. Everyone was shocked, but that was far more true for the legends of Norland than anyone else. A six-winged angel? Google search 𝙛𝒓𝙚e𝚠𝐞𝚋𝙣𝚘𝐯𝗲𝚕. c𝚘𝓶

Even Nasia was stunned by the sight, but the mouth on her mask slowly curved into a playful smile as she whistled, “Who'd have thought you'd get something like this when we were away! A six-winged bird sure is uncommon; since you're being so diligent, I'll get more serious as well.”

Her figure vanished into the void, soundlessly reappearing on the battlefield. She blinked in right under a male dragon, her blades stabbing deep between the creature's legs. It suddenly went stiff before roaring in pain and panic, scratching and biting everywhere as it attacked friend and foe alike.

Just like Phaser and Waterflower, Nasia's blades had little impact compared to an enormous dragon. Without any powerful add-ons like Lifesbane helping her, she had instead taken a more unorthodox route of attack. While castration was a light injury to most dragons, it was unbearably painful and enraging; even if they could regrow their testicles, their virility would drop greatly.

That pained cry left all the other dragons with chills down their spines. However, it was only a moment later that a distant dragon squealed peculiarly, flying a hundred metres into the sky while tucking its tail between its legs. Her swords covered in fresh blood, the revealed Nasia quietly smiled before hiding herself in the void once more. This one was female, and the pain wasn't comparable to what she had done to the male, but it was still a weak spot.

Most human warriors would never dare attack a dragon's genitals. While it was true that this was a weakness, the instinctive tail lash could mangle most bodies. However, Nasia was rapid and unpredictable, managing to disappear before any counterattack. Her precision blinks were even better than Richard's; had he tried such a thing, it was quite likely for him to end up under the dragon's hind claws when he reappeared.

Nasia moved towards the third dragon, her figure flickering once more, but she then grunted in helplessness as she failed. Her target had been a young male, but the moment it saw her vanish it had wrapped its tail down and readied its hind claws, leaving her with no point of entry.

The dragons learnt fast in the face of an unprecedented threat. Whenever Nasia vanished, they quickly covered their hinds and protected themselves. Many chose to just fight with their tails between their legs; this affected flight a little, but it was definitely preferable to having two swords stabbed up their rear.

Just as Nasia came into the limelight, a flash of blood-lightning robbed her of it once more. Richard blinked towards a nearby dragon and cut up from the neck, the sacred flames on his sword bursting forth and cutting through completely. He then blinked right back to the centre of the battlefield, leaning on his sword like a statue that had never moved. The crimson glow on his armour started moving a little slower than before.

Richard had only sent out two strikes since he entered the battlefield, but one had cut a dragon in half and the other had decapitated another. All the others subconsciously distanced themselves, leaving a wide blank area in the middle.

“He's resting!” an old dragon suddenly yelled, “Attack, don't let him recover!”

With that old dragon taking the lead, the other dragons started flying towards Richard as well. However, he just snorted and moved again, flying straight for the aggressor with unstoppable momentum. Those watching almost lost the ability to see him as he turned into a blur, crashing directly into the massive beast!

*THUD!* An explosive collision rang through Dragon Valley, leaving both human and dragon alike feeling their hearts twist a little. That had sounded like crashing into a mountain; even the metal dragons wouldn't want to attempt that.

Surprisingly, the old dragon was the one that was knocked away. From a distance it was like an ant sending an elephant flying in a head-on collision, an uncomfortable thought for the reptiles. Stabilising itself after flying a hundred metres away, the dragon looked down to find a terrifying hole in its chest that was gushing out blood.

Richard didn't even wait to finish this target off, instead dashing towards the next like an orb of blood. The ice dragon was quickly riddled with injuries that cut all the way to the bone, his two-metre-long blade tearing into it.

A wind dragon stealthily crept up behind Richard, but before it could make its moves a few brambles appeared around its body and twined around its wings. These were brambles formed by nature magic; not only could they restrict motion, but they could also inflict some damage. While the damage was negligible to the giant creature, it managed to shake them off easily, it didn't get the chance to look for the offender as even more appeared in their place. At about the same time it saw the people responsible, it was bound tightly.

A group of elven druids had shown themselves on the battlefield. Each one was relatively weak, about level 15-16, but looking at their number even the dragon had to pause for a moment. There were just too many of them; over 500! This was enough to bind anyone weaker than Bahamut!

The dragon felt a chill in its heart as it discovered Richard turning around, his right hand still wielding the divine blade while his left pulled out Moonlight. Relying on the sharp edge of the elven sword, he exposed the scales on its neck and thrusted within. Not even sparing a glance at the result, he leapt towards a metal dragon that was bound the moment he arrived.

The dragons quickly realised the threat of this batch of druids, and one wind dragon used its speed to shake off its opponent and sped towards them. So long as it rushed into their formation, it could inflict heavy damage.

However, a few dozen elves on the outer ring suddenly stopped their magic and pulled mysterious metal tubes off their backs. The dragon didn't recognise the six-barreled guns, but as it approached the barrels started to spin and dozens of explosions drowned out all other sound!

A hail of bullets tore into the wind dragon, ripping off its scales and meat in moments. The sheer impact from the concentrated fire of dozens of thunder cannons pushed it off-course, sending it sailing overhead before crashing into the ground behind the druids. Only a mangled body hit the ground, flesh and blood churned into a mix of red slush.

1259 - City of Sin

Killing Dragons

The wind dragon roared one last time, but that quickly faded into a mewl as it lost its life. Those from both sides paused for a moment to stare at the thunder cannons in the hands of the night elves; this was the first time that they had ever seen such a thing.

Swapping out the bullet disks, the elves put the guns back on their backs before rejoining the spellcasting. The entire group cast a flurry of bramble spells, serving to slow and annoy the dragons in the sky. This seemed to be the only magic they knew, but any spell would grow formidable when 500 powerful druids were casting it in tandem. The dragons were trapped one by one, giving those battling them an opportunity to slaughter their targets. The humans made the most of this chance, flocking towards those that were restrained and giving Richard the freedom to save his energy for the strongest enemies.

The impact of the druids on this battle turned out to be even greater than that of the rune knights. One metal dragon tried to enter their formation even after seeing what happened to its kin— it perhaps expected that its stronger body would be able to take the attacks with minimal damage— but a single volley left it riddled with injuries that brought it to the edge of life.

The dragon continued to charge through the explosions, frightened yet excited that it had survived. One more round would definitely kill it, but for now it would be able to tear into the enemy formation. That was what it thought anyway; when flames with an aura of nature formed on the hands of 200 druids that turned to face it, it quickly realised that the bramble spell wasn't the only one they knew.

That knowledge came at a price. 200 volley of grade 6 sunflames bombarded the already-injured dragons, melting its scales in seconds. It tried to escape, but after a few flaps it lost all strength and plummeted to the ground.

The dragons wasted no time in reacting, commanding thousands upon thousands of draconians to attack from the ground. This was evidently a tactic of desperation, but it quickly fell flat. The druids were so powerful as a whole that they didn't even need any knights to defend them; a full bombardment of sunflames formed an ocean of fire that swallowed the draconians in moments. Their presence changed the nature of the battle entirely, making numeric tactics obsolete.

A handful of human legends looked at the druid formation in confusion. They had already figured out the best response of having a legendary mage bombard the entire area, but they quickly dismissed the thought. Richard was still guarding in the sky, and the moment someone started casting a legendary spell he would be on them with his own frightening might. They all realised one thing immediately; the Archerons now truly had top-end battle ability!

Richard was now like a lightning bolt, destroying everything he touched. There was nothing fancy about his attacks, but blood was shed every time he drew his blades. He was showing ability that could perhaps contest even an epic being, and the strange weapons and batch of druids left even the legends feeling a chill. While those weapons weren't as strong as full-powered attacks from rune knights, they were clearly guns that didn't require excessive use of one's internal energy.

Rune knights were affected by the limits of their rune slots and carrying capacity, but from the looks of it these guns only needed the user to be strong enough to withstand the recoil. While that still meant warriors at equivalent levels, the requirements were relaxed significantly enough for it to be possible to make a thousands-strong army of them!
f𝐫ℯe𝘸𝙚𝑏n𝑜ѵ𝒆l. 𝐜𝚘𝓶

Having suffered grave damage, the dragons could no longer sustain the battle. Sending out a signal for retreat, they flew towards the portal one after the other and returned to their plane. Thousands of draconians who couldn't get away in time were sacrificed.

Richard suddenly shot through the sky, instantly blinking behind the largest space dragon in the group. He stretched an arm out to grab it by the tail, but the creature felt the danger and started phasing into the void. However, he activated his own control of space and locked everything down in the surroundings, slowing the creature enough for him to catch it.

The dragon only managed to get half its body into the void before it was forced back into its physical form. It was like it had hit a crystal wall, web-like cracks appearing where it had tried to escape. Bounced back from its teleportation, it was grabbed and then swung all the way to the ground.

*BOOM!* Both human and dragon crashed down, the earth sinking from the violent impact. The space dragon roared in pain, numerous bones broken in an instant that left it paralysed, but Richard quickly stood up unscathed. His body was more durable than a dragon's!

He suddenly sped up, slamming into the dragon's body and sending it flying from the impact. Thrown dozens of metres away, the lizard lost a few ribs as well as the strength to brandish its claws. Richard walked towards it slowly, his footsteps echoing in its ears as he approached.

The dragon raised its head with difficulty, glaring at Richard and opening its mouth for a breath attack, but he suddenly blinked away and appeared atop its head. Using unparalleled strength, he stomped down so hard that the dragon's horns were twisted in odd directions, head buried deep into the ground. This time, it lost consciousness.

When Richard walked off the dragon's body and towards his rune knights, the human powerhouses present could only stare blankly at him. His attacks just now had been based purely on strength, crushing his opponent in no time. While the ability to inhibit teleportation and phasing were shocking as well, at least they made sense. The rest wasn't even how a human battled; it seemed more like he was a powerful abyssal!

The rest of the dragons escaped, while the draconians left behind shouted and charged at Richard's soldiers in suicide attacks. Unfortunately, they didn't manage to take out a single person or drone; the druids split into two, half of them binding the attackers while the rest burnt them to crisps. No other large group could compare to spellcasters when it came to efficiency in a massacre.

In less than a minute, thousands of dragon disciples were turned into charred corpses. The hellish image left even some of the experienced saints and legends a little squeamish, their eyes filled with a little more fear and alarm when they looked at Richard.

Richard himself stabbed his sword into the ground, white light covering him as the armour disappeared. A handful of mages understood that this was a rune, and some even made the connection to Heaven's Armour, but they had never seen something as powerful as what he had displayed. Midren was perfect, dignified, and powerful, well beyond the power of any saint rune they knew.

Was this... beyond grade 5? An incredible thought appeared in their minds, something that left them all frightened at the mere possibility.

The portal finally died down as all the dragons retreated. More than twenty corpses were left behind, with a handful of the ones that escaped also fatally injured. Tens of thousands of draconians were killed as well.

However, the five-coloured barrier surrounding the portal was still present.

A cold light flashed in Richard's eyes as he pulled up his sword and walked towards the portal. Light flickered around his body as he summoned Midren once more, stepping through with the sacred sword in hand.

“Wait! King of War!” Nasia called from behind him, but he had already gone through. She stamped her feet in rage, “Does he want to die?!”

The rippled of Richard's departure had barely died down before the portal started glowing once more. Richard jumped out from within, staggering as he landed and almost falling to the ground. Stowing Midren away, he spat out a mouthful of blood. Waterflower and Phaser immediately appeared on both sides of him, one holding each of his arms.

“Ambushed?” Nasia scoffed as she walked towards him.

Richard smiled weakly, “She was waiting on the other side, right next to the portal in humanoid form. Ugh... she's strong.”

1260 - City of Sin

Five-Coloured Barrier

Hearing that Richard had fought the Five-Coloured Dragon, even Nasia was rather shocked. Those who had seen the dragon's pure strength before were rendered completely speechless. How could he have survived a fight when a legendary warrior had been crushed by a simple paw? Even if he was lucky enough to live, how did he keep all his limbs?

Richard glanced at the barrier, “She's been powering this barrier from right on the other side, looks like I won't be able to remove it for now. Let's go back, just keep guard for a while.”

Nasia sighed, “Needing me to clean up after your ass again... You two, carry this reckless brat back home and force feed him ten litres of potions. He's broken some bones!”

Hearing this, the others nearby immediately understood that Richard was just holding back all signs of his pain. For some strange reason, this made them feel better.

......

Richard shut himself in his room for the next two days to recuperate, during which time the dragons behaved themselves and didn't attack once. Of course, the humans would never initiate a fight when the Five-Coloured Dragon was waiting on the other side.

Many powerhouses visited to seek information from him during this time, receiving some shocking news. Richard was indeed wearing Heaven's Armour, the rune set. As for the specific grade, he only said it wasn't the average saint rune.

A rune beyond grade 5! Many of them had never expected such runes to actually exist. However, the power Richard had shown was clearly far beyond what a grade 5 rune could provide, more powerful than the angels of the Sacred Tree Empire. It had boosted his strength, defence, and speed enormously, and the blood-red domain could suppress all elemental energy. Without the set he was only a powerful legend, but with it he was borderline epic!

Knowing this, nobody brought up a price. Runes grew exponentially more expensive at each grade. These legends could afford saint runes if they forked all their savings, but they could only dream about anything beyond. A handful had already understood that this was Midren, and one of them even knew that this was supposed to be the King of Angels in his enraged state.

Learning about Richard's rune, these legends who had planned to leave decided to stay on and wait for a chance. Although that meant an endless battle with the dragons, Nasia retrieved and refined the draconic corpses after every battle and distributed the loot according to contributions. Even if two of them had lost their lives, they had all earnt well beyond what they could find on solo expeditions. Now that Richard was here with his 500 druids, there was a chance for a miracle.

......

Once he was healed, Richard gathered all his followers to discuss their defence from the dragons. The barrier was the biggest issue, giving all dragons within a huge boost to their strength and cursing anyone else, which meant they could only allow the dragons to control the valley. Those at or above the power of sky saints could resist the curses, but they still didn't want to take the unfavourable fights. In the end, this meant the enemy had time to organise themselves before each assault.

It was impossible for Richard to guard all sides of the barrier, keeping even a single dragon from slipping out into Faelor. Nasia had already given up on a handful, allowing them to rampage all across the plane while she held onto the portal. The rune knights's strength dropped by nearly a third when in the barrier, which was enough to keep their javelins from breaking through scales. Even the spells from the night elf druids would drop two grades.

Thankfully, the barrier couldn't affect the power of the thunder cannons. Richard stationed over a hundred night elves on the edge and built a defensive structure around them, allowing them to respond to any ambush attempts with deadly force. The rune knights were stationed much further away, just in range of the edge of the barrier so they could help protect the druids. All saints and higher were allowed to move freely as usual, but he gave them designated zones to protect if they wished to; most were receptive to that arrangement.

After putting his defence system in order, Richard found that he could still only guard one direction from the portal. The attacking dragons could still fly freely in three other directions, allowing them to attack the rest of Faelor whenever they wanted. However, he was helpless to solve that problem; right now, it was impossible to completely stop an invasion.

As they were discussing things, a rune knight jogged into the command centre, “Your Excellency, five dragons flew out from the passage a minute ago! They only made one round in the sky before returning, we didn't attack because they were outside range.”

Richard nodded, “Good. You can return, stay on alert.”

Once the knight was gone, a chill seemed to envelop the room. Everyone could tell that the Five-Coloured Dragon was surveying the defences, preparing for another violent attack soon.

An old legendary mage who was an expert at fire magic spoke up, “Your Excellency, it might be a wise idea to give up on this passageway. The Five-Coloured Dragon will have no interest in this plane, it cannot hold her strength and the resources cannot compare.”

Richard sighed, “You're not wrong, but I don't want to give up this passage unless absolutely unnecessary. I'm sure you're all aware of its value.”

Everyone nodded at that. The passage connecting Faelor and the Dragon Plane had formed naturally, but it was strengthened by the dragons to allow those like Kralkalor and Bahamut to pass through. Only someone over level 30 like the Five-Coloured Dragon couldn't pass through. If it had to be measured, this sort of passage was worth at least forty top-tier offerings.

“The dragons would be a huge threat to the gods of Faelor as well,” a warrior spoke up, “Could we collaborate with the local pantheon to guard this place together? We would be able to suppress that barrier, and if we borrow some divine power we could even suppress the dragons. Even if some break through our line of defence, they can be bogged down until we follow up and kill them.”

Richard laughed bitterly, “I wish. Truth is, compared to the unfamiliar Dragon Plane, the gods of Faelor definitely hate me more. I killed one of their strongest gods not long ago, and three others that belong to me are currently fighting some of the other members of the pantheon.”

The towering warrior's expression changed in a bizarre way as he muttered, “No wonder... But did you not enter this plane a few years ago? Have you already started to kill their gods?”

“These gods are weaker than Norland's,” Richard dismissed.

The man nodded, but his eyes betrayed his suspicion. Faelor was large and had a pretty high level limit; it would be insane if the gods here were weak. However, Richard had already given his excuse and prevented the conversation from continuing on that path. Pressing for an explanation would only be an annoyance.

1261 - City of Sin

Reward Point System

Taking a last look at the map that marked out the defensive situation, Richard sighed and turned to Nasia. The paladin nodded and took out a list, “Now, for the spoils of the last battle.”

Those present immediately perked up. While this battle was tough, Richard and his sea of druids had inflicted massive casualties upon the attacking dragons. Every single lizard was like a moving treasure chest, and with so many dead and injured they all stood to profit. They had even managed to capture four dragons live; a sky saint would get a greater offering's worth at a minimum.

Nasia slowly read on, “As customary, the dragons are currently in processing and will be turned into materials. As for contribution, the points you have accumulated are as follows: Romney, 120 points...”

A slender assassin suddenly whistled in excitement. The current exchange rate was a hundred points for a greater offering, and 120 was enough for a grade 3 rune. The anticipation from the others present grew immediately; the assassin was only a saint, so the rest of them immediately got their hopes up.

“... Lambest, 190 points. His Excellency Rakis, 310 points...”

The rewards left everyone grinning brightly. Even the strongest of them all, veteran mage Rakis, nodded in delight. He now stood at 500 points in total, which was enough for a top-tier offering. He would normally have to explore a plane for a few years or maybe even a few decades normally to get a top-tier offering.

Nasia finished with the list and continued, “The redemption process is considered active. You can decide what you would like to have and let us know as soon as possible; as always, special items will need approval or waiting time. Here is the newest list of rewards.”

She took out a stack of forms as she spoke, handing them out to those present. Everyone took one sheet each and skimmed through the options, discussing amongst themselves as they left the room.

“Heh, so many more dragon materials! I can get ten teeth and create a powerful dagger!” the assassin named Romney exclaimed.

A sky saint archer snorted contemptuously, “You fool, what's the point of using so many teeth for a dagger? Just get a single fang from a metal dragon, it'll crush everything else.”

“I only have 130 points, you know,” Romney groaned, “I can't afford the 150 for the fang. I still need 20 more after that to get it crafted by the Deepblue.”

“You literally got 120 points in a single battle, is it that hard to wait a few more? You might even just get enough points next time. Imagine I hadn't called you over, you'd never have such a chance. Aren't you regretting your hesitation now?”

“Yes...”

In the distance, the legends present completely ignored all the dragon materials. They had no need for that; what truly attracted them was at the bottom. There had only been a handful of items before, even if each one was enticing, but now there were over a hundred!

“Three top-tier offerings! I might be able to get what I need this time.”

“There isn't as much equipment as I expected. Just a legendary spear, I'm not even trained in those.”

A mage snorted in disdain, “What point is there in getting equipment? You can buy from Norland, or just craft something from the materials here. Two sub-legendary items are going to be better than just one, or just get a few offerings and try that.”

“A few offerings?” the original warrior frowned, “Not everyone can just amass them, you know. What would I be doing here if I had so many?”

“Enough, stop arguing. Did neither of you look further down?” another warrior interrupted.

“What, it's just runes. Nothing special at... wait!” The mage suddenly exclaimed.

A nearby assassin took a close look and gasped, “A saint rune?! Are you looking to get it, Ironshield?”

“No, the requirements are a little too high and it seems like we don't get to decide which one it is. What if we don't get what we want?”

The assassin smirked, “Nor a problem for me. Looks like I'll need to work to kill faster.”

It took a moment, but the legends present understood what he meant. Richard had showed off Stealthwalker at his very first saint rune convention, which was a perfect rune for assassins. Having made one already, he could definitely make another.

However, the assassin's joy didn't last very long. Ironshield nodded, “I could use Kingsteel myself.”

The assassin's gaze turned icy as he glared at the warrior, but the latter didn't mind and returned the favour. The atmosphere immediately charged up; while the assassin was a level higher, Ironshield had powerful defences to negate sneak attacks.

Saint runes were very rare even amongst legends, something that they couldn't afford to be picky about. Most of the time, obtaining even one needed a good amount of luck, regardless of if it synergised with their abilities. It was common knowledge in Norland that a saint runemaster took about a year per rune, and it hadn't been long since Richard's saint rune convention. This meant he would be making these runes to order, and a year-long wait was something none of these people wanted to try. After all, they couldn't even be certain that the option would even come up again.

The assassin eventually calmed down and nodded, “Then we'll just have to see who's fastest at killing. Good luck.”

Ironshield shrugged, “You're faster, but can you compare to a mage? Nobody said we can't borrow points from friends.”

“You're... not wrong,” the assassin's eyes narrowed. Powerful guardians were always a welcome companion for most mages, and Ironshield was exceptional at the task. Many mages would gladly give him points if he were to act as their protector in exploration or combat. However, he quickly regained his cheer, “Indeed, there is no rule to prevent us from buying points.”

This time, it was Ironshield's expression that changed. Assassins always found it easy to amass wealth, the one ability in which even most mages lost out. They could stealth in and out of many dangerous locations with little harm, and robbery was always an option as well.

The two silently exchanged gazes for a while, and the atmosphere turned cold. Thankfully, one of the mages present noticed the strange mood and changed topics, turning to Rakis, “Your Excellency, you're the one with the most points now. What are your plans?”

Rakis was a legendary mage known for his tremendous offensive power. Having lost himself in the list, he quickly looked up and smiled, “I'm not like you folk, I don't really lack anything. But I do have a family, and I'm planning to get some things for the children to play with.”

There was a section for this at the absolute bottom of the list, containing military supplies that could be bought in bulk. Things like a hundred sets of enchanted armour, refined frostiron ingots that weighed a hundred kilograms each, and various other resources were listed for fair prices. This was a good choice for those who wanted to strengthen their families, but it would be of little help to individuals. Most hadn't even looked at the options. Please visit f𝒓𝑒e𝓌e𝚋𝘯૦𝘷e𝗹. c૦𝒎

Now, everyone stared at those options and found two new items that almost had them jump in surprise: Rose Barrier and Rose Strike, each coming with a mount! These were Rosie's version of the Savage series, each one was a powerful rune knight!

Unlike the Archerons, most other families were bottlenecked in rune knight production by the availability of runes. One rune set only required 30 points, and there were a limited 20 sets up for sale. No matter how knowledgeable these legends were, they immediately fell into a struggle. This was two squadrons of rune knights, and the same ones the Archerons were so famous for! Such military force exceeded the full savings from a long line of earls!

1262 - City of Sin

Reward Point System(2)

With the information about the rune knights revealed, all eyes landed on Rakis. As the most powerful mage participating, most weren't willing to contend against him. For his part, the old mage kept up his smile, although it now held hints of a threat. He had brought attention to those rune knights specifically because he didn't want anyone to contest him. Please visit 𝑓r𝙚ew𝚎𝚋𝐧૦ѵ𝗲𝘭. c𝘰m

Glancing at the expressions of his peers, Rakis eventually grinned, “I do want to take all the rune knights, but I'm afraid I don't have that many points. There are other things I want to exchange for as well, so I'll only be getting fifteen sets for now.”

This cleared up many expressions; such a level of ambition was still acceptable and would leave some scraps for the rest of them.

...

Looking on from the distance, Romney asked his friend with worry, “They won't give us weaker runes, will they?”

His friend snorted, “The Archerons have a strong reputation. Both times they opened up the list so far have given everyone what they wanted.”

“Goog, good,” he chuckled with embarrassment, “I was only a little worried because I didn't know how things work.”

...

Rakis sighed, “Now that we have all these options, I think there will be even bigger surprises on the reward list in the future. Looks like my old bones will have to stay here for a little more time.”

Another mage laughed, “This list even has a saint rune, what else could they offer? It couldn't be... Oh.”

He stopped mid-speech, realising what Rakis had implied. Richard had personally displayed the strength of Midren to all of them only a few days ago. What if, just what if... this rune set appeared on the reward list? It sounded unthinkable, but nobody had expected the Archerons to put up saint runes and rune knight sets either.

The same thoughts rippled through the rest of the crowd, causing many powerful hearts to start thumping in tandem. Nobody mentioned the rune set, but that wasn't because they didn't want it. Instead, they just wanted it too much, but it was obvious that the full set would be unimaginably expensive. What point was there in asking for something that was impossible to buy?

However, the reward point system left them all with a ray of hope. So long as they could obtain the rune set with points, then they would be able to inch closer and closer to it over day after day of battle. It didn't matter if they needed 100,000 points, they could stay here for decades if that meant getting the most powerful rune set they had ever seen. After all, legends lived for centuries at minimum, and many of them spent dozens of years at a time exploring random planes for nothing.

The most attractive thing about Midren's battle edition was its accessibility. Be it warriors or mages, everyone could gain a huge boost of power. Richard was a legendary mage, but he had used brute force to crush even dragons with it equipped. Mages definitely didn't train to have such strength; the only explanation for it had to be his runes. For the sake of such power, these powerhouses were willing to brave everything. Time, loneliness, danger... all that meant nothing to souls that lived for battle. As they long as they could crawl up the list and get more points, nothing was a problem.

Still, there were some people who remained practical. Ironshield shook his head, “I'm not even going to consider the King of Angels, I can't withstand its power. What else could be opened up to us?”

“Those thunder cannons,” the assassin said softly, pulling everyone's thoughts in that direction. They had all seen the might of the thunder cannons; they required strength and some dexterity to wield, but they would be monumental at scale. Even if the Archerons only released them in the future, they alone would be enough to convince many of those present to stay and fight.

Thankfully, the Dragon Plane had more than enough dragons to kill. This war wouldn't end for a few decades at least, which would give them time to accumulate points.

......

Once everyone was gone, Richard took a copy of the list from Nasia and had a close look. A while later, he frowned, “What is this?”

“A simple reward point system, all the rules are at the back.”

Flipping over, he found an explanation of how points were accumulated and exchanged. At the core of the system was an allocation of merit points in battle. Every single bit of loot on the battlefield itself would go to the Archerons, granting the rest of the participants a number of points that could be exchanged for goods at a later date. Some items had a stable value, like 100 points for a standard greater offering, which in exchange gave these points a discernible value.

Of course, there were some differences with market value as well. A top-tier offering was 500 points, which was a little higher than its market value in Norland, but the issue was that there was normally no direct exchange to be had. Even a dozen greater offerings could fail to get a top-tier offering sometimes.

Evidently, this system's value depended entirely on the length of the list and the rarity of the items offered. Seeing the list in his hands, Richard felt like he was looking at that long list of blessings from the old dragon all those years ago. The quality of these options was a little worse than what he had been tempted with, but it wasn't far off. With grade 5 runes, offerings, materials, and military supplies up for sale, who wouldn't be able to find something they wanted?

With this one list alone, Richard could tell that none of the legends would be leaving anytime soon. In fact, as news of this system spread, more and more powerhouses would abandon their planar exploration to enter the battle on the Dragon Plane. Soon enough, he would have even more legends fighting than when he had first allowed them to explore the Dragon Plane.

When the Dragon Plane had first been opened up, even most saints refused to listen to his orders and acted on their own. Now, with the powerful legion of rune knights and druids on hand, even the most solitary fighter would have to cooperate. For the sake of points, these powerhouses would be obedient.

But how were they supposed to ensure supply?

When he asked this question, Nasia showed no worry at all. She took a copy and drew a large circle around all draconic materials, “These will be the ones in highest demand, and we'll just need to do some simple processing that even apprentices can finish. It'll need an expansion of our processing centre, maybe even building a few more. We might have to handle a dozen dragons in a day soon.”

She continued to point below, “We don't even need to discuss offerings. The old dragon will take parts from most of his kin, and we don't need too many top-tier ones. As for equipment, we have our workshops. Scales and hides can make good armour, and the teeth will make weapons. Bones for potions, and penis... you want to eat a few?”

“What?” Richard frowned in confusion, “Why would I eat that?”

Even through the mask, he could feel the bright glint in her eyes as she chuckled, “I've been hearing you get wrung dry every time. This stuff is really effective, give it a try. It won't change the outcome, but at least you'll be able to fight, right? You get to spend some more time on that edge.”

“Fuck off!” he grumbled, “Just move on.”

Nasia snickered, continuing down the list, “The Deepblue has quite a few people with nothing to do, you can use them to turn all these materials into equipment. Of course, we don't need to employ them at the usual rate. Have Blackgold organise some younger mages, just give them a few more lessons in refinement. As part of the lessons, they can help us take care of the materials. It'll save us a large sum.”

“How is that a good idea?” Richard gaped.

“How isn't it? Don't they need actual experience? We're giving them such high-quality materials for practice, and without any fees at all.”

Feeling a headache coming on, Richard decided not to argue with her any longer.

She continued, “As for the absolute top end, just use offerings. Go get all the equipment on offer during your next ceremony; we don't need it, but there's bound to be someone who does. This list has to get longer, that's all that matters. Once the system is running at full speed, you'll never have to worry about offerings in the future.”

“And where am I going to the ceremony? I'm not going back to Faust, and the Sacred Tree Empire is impossible. As for—”

“Just go to the Millennial Empire!” Nasia interrupted him before winking, “Didn't that girl Macy almost go crazy from your touch?”

1263 - City of Sin

A Game Of Numbers

“Anyway, get Macy to take you through Prince Tumen's channels, there definitely won't be any problems. Worst case scenario, you just sacrifice yourself and sleep with her a couple times. Who cares if she gets pregnant, the Archeron bloodline has an easy path these days. No need to worry about your body either, we have plenty of dragon penises.”

“That's not my problem!” Richard grunted, now sweating like a pig.

“Hmm? Oh!” Nasia suddenly nodded in remembrance, “Right, you still that ursa penis. But then again, that thing is such a low-class item, dragon will give you more strength and stamina. You're around legends all the time, do you dare to tell people that they'll be swallowing ursa-enhanced penis?”

“Swallowing... isn't... the...” he couldn't even complete his words, his voice fading away completely.

The paladin waved him off, ignoring him entirely as she didn't even drop a beat, “Besides, dragons are so much more virile. Don't you know how many creatures carry dragon bloodlines? Draconians, lizardmen, dragon warlocks, dragonblood gnomes, even the stupid kobolds have dragon blood in them!”

Watching Nasia ramble on without any hint of stopping, Richard suddenly interrupted her, “Wait, how do you know about what happened between me and Macy?”

“I'm your heavenly guardian, I know everything you see and feel!”

“But... it should work the OTHER WAY AROUND!” he screamed in annoyance, finding everything incorrigible. He had no way to access Nasia's thoughts at all, not even to communicate unless she let him. He'd come to accept that she was perhaps just independent, that their link needed both sides to open up, but now she was admitting that he was an open book for her to read.

Just who was whose summon here?
𝘧reewℯ𝚋noѵ𝒆l. cｏ𝙢

Faced with Richard's vexation, Nasia looked at him like he was an idiot, “Just what kind of person am I?”

What kind of person was she? He didn't KNOW! Richard thought back to when he had summoned her, when she sent all the other powerful conscients fleeing. In the end, he just sighed and moved on, “Well, I might have caused a problem with the clergy at the Millennial Empire. I'm not sure if I'll be allowed entry again.”

“A problem with the clergy?” Nasia only sneered further, “Who gives a damn? What do you think your title is for? If I were as dumb as you, I'd have gone up to the old altar and smashed my head until it caved in.

“Listen, here's what you do every time you go to the Church. Walk in, summon everyone, and scold them to your heart's content. Then just choose some pretty-looking girl and have her officiate in exchange for sex. People need to work for divine grace, this is obvious!

“Don't you understand the concept of unwritten laws? Let me tell you in divine tongue, unwritten laws. Yes, that's it. If people are unwilling to follow along, just use your power to throw them out. They're just peasants without divine grace, who said they're anything but expendable? A bunch of vases meant to decorate the place is what they are, nothing more. That's why they're all so pretty, the only actually powerful people in any church are the Chosen.”

Richard was stunned into silence, sweat dripping from his forehead as he had no intention to interrupt her. Once she was done speaking, Nasia pat him hard on the shoulders, “Being a priestess is a cushy job, of course there are some unwritten laws. Go do whatever you want, you shouldn't waste these chances!”

Nasia's strike was quite hard, with every intention of pushing Richard to the ground. However, his body only shook for a moment without moving. Gasping in surprise, she suddenly cast Prisoner of War on him and brought him all the way from legend to mortal, pressing a hand on his shoulder and tripping his legs to bring him down. As he grunted in annoyance, her own mood seemed to be lifted and she lifted the curse, “So long as you have offerings, there's no need to be worried about equipment. You'll get a lot of things you want whenever you talk to the dragon, that's the entire point of the title.”

The next round of explanations came very quickly. Rosie could now make most of the runes in his own arsenal, leaving him only needing to work on those at grade 4 and higher. However, he was now fast enough to craft grade 4 runes in two days. Even some simpler saint runes could be done in weeks.

Nasia ticked the grade 4 and 5 runes on the list, “These are things you need to work on. Finish them, and we can trade them in for prosperity.”

Richard nodded, but as he looked at the points required for each rune he raised a brow, “This is a huge profit.”

“About 30%, don't worry. I've kept it under control.”

“That's 30% over usual. Will people still want to exchange for it?”

“Why wouldn't they? Everyone knows that your runes are expensive, and this will be the only place they can find some really useful item. Rare grade 4 runes, any saint runes... why wouldn't they allow us to make money when we're giving these to them?”

Richard nodded in amazement. Almost everything on this list was profitable, and his runes weren't even the best investment in that regard. He just had to make some as goals to entice more people to participate.

“The offerings are a little expensive too,” he pointed out.

Nasia let out a hearty laugh, “They aren't meant to be fair trades. Think of them as buffers that allow the participants to cash out. If they have extra points and nothing to spend them on, these offerings will do just fine. There's also the scenarios where someone is in urgent need of a top-tier offering or two, but they can't find any on the market. In any case, you already have a powerful title; I don't think offerings make a difference anymore if they're under rank 2.

“Mm, you're not wrong. And the ranking system?”

“This is a core part of the system. People gain more accumulated points as they buy more from us, which is just the sum of all their transactions. Every level opens up a portion of goods for exchange, as well as preferential pricing. For example, you need to have spent a hundred points to reach level 3 before you can buy a grade 4 rune for the standard 300 points. Otherwise, it'll be the full 400.”

“Ah, so that way those who enroll early have an advantage that the latecomers will want to chase after.”

“Smart!” Nasia praised, but her tone made him feel like a child, “Anyway, next is point exchange. We don't encourage trading points, I've already set up a 30% tax and only half of the rest counts towards the level system even after it is spent.”

“But who'll want to trade then?”

“Someone will need it eventually. You heard the two quarrelling over a grade 5 rune. Maybe an additional hundred points will come in handy, and they're confident in being able to repay it or make up the debt some other way.” She suddenly slapped the table, “But we don't encourage that. It's best for everyone to earn their points. Now, if a black market pops up where someone redeems something and sells it to someone else, that isn't our problem. We're still getting our end anyway.”

Richard finally got a good grasp of this system. It was designed inside-out for the sake of profit alone, and that profit was earned before the points were even distributed. No matter how clever the participants in this system tried to behave, there would have to be people who fought hard to obtain their points. This was a game of numbers; the more that joined in, the more everyone would profit, with the lion's share going to the one running it all.

He sighed in awe, “Did you think it up yourself?”

“I just added on a few details,” Nasia showed some rare humility, “Don't you find the basis familiar? It's basically just offering things to the old dragon.”

1264 - City of Sin

A Devious Plan By Devious Women

Hearing Nasia describe the origin of the reward point system, Richard suddenly felt like he was on the other side of the veil for the first time. He had never even bothered to consider things from the perspective of the Eternal Dragon, only hunting down offerings for his own use. Now, he would be the person controlling that fierce temptation.

“Oh right,” Nasia added on, “This isn't in the list, but when there's about twenty plus participants with a decent amount of points, I'll start up a list of accumulated points for everyone. Those in the top three will receive some extra ever so often as encouragement.”

“And you're expecting that to do what?”

A fiendish smile flashed on the paladin's mask, “Let's say you're a level 25 legendary mage. How would it feel to be outdone by a loser at level 20?”

Richard's eyes sparkled as he realised what she meant. She was establishing a public competition; for the sake of glory alone, the most prideful legends would fight endlessly to earn points. Only three of them would get the actual benefits, while the extra work from the rest would feed the system further.

“Here are some more ideas to improve the system. They're from Rosie though, not me.” Nasia took out another piece of paper from her pouch, passing it to him. The first thing on this list was a note that the main premise behind this point system was the idea that they could accurately determine battle results. She wanted to add another cloned brain to each future battle, mobilising the Thinker to calculate points and attend to other matters of the exchange. This would take up the entirety of his attention.

In many ways, the Thinker was a big help in large-scale wars. However, the point exchange system was clearly where he would make them the most money, so Richard felt like he had no choice but to approve the idea. He would just have to get the broodmother to create a few more in the future.

At the moment, it was becoming increasingly apparent that he needed more and more special units, while his divinity was running out. Outside of the seven gods in the south, he started wondering whether he should look at the other deities of Faelor. Unfortunately, killing too many powerful gods would destabilise the entire plane; he could only pick on the lesser ones.

Rosie's second suggestion was to incorporate the abyss into the system. There was bound to be a barrage of monsters appearing from there sooner or later, and the threat from them could possibly even dwarf that of the dragons. At the same time, greater demons were even more valuable than many dragons; a venture there would be just as profitable if not more. She even suggested that he find a passage leading to hell.

Faced with this frightening ambition, Richard didn't know how to react. Devils weren't like demons, following order more strictly than even humans. They travelled in full armies, and even though they were weaker individually than their counterparts their organisation made them a much more dangerous enemy overall.

However, he had to admit that the other part of the idea was sound. He had already been looking for a way to deal with the passage in the Genesis, and this would be the perfect solution. He let out a sigh of relief; not only would this take care of a budding threat, but it would also add to the number of things he could put on offer.

The final suggestion was pretty straightforward; she wanted to increase the number of things that could be bought, specifically in the high end. From thunder cannons to magic mounts, she also wanted him to offer a few drones and even the battle edition of Midren. The last one especially tightened his chest; just how many times had he used that rune set himself? The thing had great power, no doubt, but it was almost impossible for normal people to control.
𝒇𝘳ee𝚠𝘦𝚋n૦𝐯el coｍ

It was the explanation for the idea that stunned him. Rosie wanted to split Midren into its base components, selling each runic armour piece off separately at different prices. This would give hope to even the strongest figures amongst them, allowing them to get at least pieces at a time. Those with strong wills would then start pursuing the set relentlessly.

Of course, this was a path of no return. Rosie's plan was to have each component be more expensive than if it was bought as part of the whole. It would be near impossible for anyone to accumulate tens of thousands of points, but if a single piece only cost a thousand or two thousand it was an entirely different story. Even sky saints could manage that over a few weeks, and the legendary mage Rakis had already earnt over a thousand points in total.

In the future, Richard could also open up the other sets of Heaven's Armour as well. Truly strong figures would continue to chase Midren's battle edition, but others would settle for less. If only one piece was released at a time, people would happily engage in bidding wars to be the ones to buy it.

There were many devilish traits in this plan. Nasia and Rosie had clearly pulled out all their cunning to design this system.

With Nasia still watching, Richard closed his eyes and focused on the original design of Midren's battle edition. He quickly split it up into ten parts, designing them to act at least somewhat independently at a cost of efficiency and increased capacity. Of course, it only made sense for a rune set he put up for sale to be inferior to his own. There was no telling if this would one day land in the hands of his enemies.

He didn't stop there. No one would be willing to spend huge sums of money on runes that barely even worked; many would rather save up all their points before buying it all in one go. Revising the plan, he designed every single part to have the properties of at least a grade 4 rune, thus turning it into a proper rune set instead of a massive integrated single rune. The total power of each rune would be boosted by the number of other parts one gathered, until it ultimately formed the complete version. This allowed both immediate and long-term reasons to bid for these runes.

A complete plan was quickly formed, leaving only a few minute details. However, Richard suddenly thought of a problem; where would he get the materials from? The soul crystal from an adult astral beast wasn't just available for sale, and even if he could replace it with an equivalent material those materials were all rare too.

He suddenly opened his eyes, “We need to tweak the system, allowing people to exchange certain items for points. I'll give you a list that we'll definitely buy soon, find someone to appraise it all and decide on the cost. Anything else, we can go on a case by case basis.”

Nasia tutted in surprise, “You learn so quickly, now you're getting people to offer to you.”

The devious plan was finally complete.

......

The Five-Coloured Dragon continued to guard the portal, her light never faltering. The dragons launched three more attacks over the next week, almost toppling Richard's defences, but in the passion of battle they abandoned dozens of corpses and 20,000 draconians for nothing. After the three battles, many people accumulated a decent number of points, starting to eye valuable items that were in rare supply. All legendary items, rune sets, and the two grade 4 runes had been snatched up, and they were all waiting for the announcement of what would be added.

Outside Dragon Valley, Richard had built a new line of defence and started work on living quarters. Tens of thousands of workers from the Iron Triangle Empire were quickly building new houses, and even though these new ones weren't as lavish as before they were still grand and awe-imposing. After all, saints and legends were swimming in money in normal terms; they wouldn't agree with shabby housing.

As the sun reached its apex and warmed the icy winter, a group of rune knights rode up to a temporary villa and knocked on the door. Rakis's voice sounded from the yard, “Come in, the door isn't locked.”

The rune knights entered and headed to the courtyard, coming upon the legendary mage enjoying tea with two of his friends in the sunlight. There were two other saints and some elderly people present as well, all part of Rakis's family.

The lead knight bowed, “Your Excellency, your supplies have been prepared.”

“So soon?” the mage's eyebrows rose up.

“His Grace has ordered that any redeemed items are to be provided to you first. Your priority supersedes even the Family.”

“I regret the inconvenience,” Rakis chuckled, his gaze barely moving away from the chests that had been brought in. The rune knights opened the five chests one by one, each one containing three rune sets packed neatly within.

1265 - City of Sin

Midren

Seeing the dozens upon dozens of runes within those chests, even the two other legends in Rakis's company went wide-eyed, while the elders present grew more animated. The mage picked one up and inspected it closely for a few minutes before grinning with delight, “Meticulous from the materials to the make. The Archerons truly live up to their prestige.”

This evaluation was really important. The two other legends immediately showed their own regrets; they had hesitated to buy any runes on the assumption that the Archerons might use some inferior goods to deceive them, which gave Rakis the chance to snatch up most of these sets.

A well-groomed elder walked up from the side, barely able to suppress his excitement, “Your Excellency, these are...”

“Rune sets from the Savage series, a total of fifteen. Take these with you and equip our most loyal knights. Remember, I would rather pick nothing than a lousy option; I fought for these things with my life on the line.”

The elder immediately grew so excited that his hands started to shiver. Walking forward to feel the runes in his own hands, he spoke in a trembling voice, “We'll have two more viscounts in the family!”

Rakis waved his hand calmly, “Alright, there will be more opportunities like this one in the future. As long as I can still fight, our family will stand strong. Head back soon, it will take time to pick the right person.

At this point, the lead knight spoke up, “Your Excellency, each of these sets comes with two magic mounts, for a total of thirty. You can pick them up from the stables when ready.”

Magic mounts, and two of them to boot! Rakis was so happy that he had almost forgotten about them. The special mounts from the Archeron Family were famous, now employed by the Sacred Alliance's forces. These ferocious beasts could crush the best bred warhorses easily, and a rune knight with them effectively went up half a level.

Once the rune knights left, the two visiting legends decided to head out as well. Both of them wanted to return to their homes and practice a little, intending to put up a good fight in the next attack. However, the sound of hooves rang in the distance once more and a shadowspear appeared at the door. Once allowed in, he quickly handed over a piece of paper to each of the three and said expressionlessly, “Your Excellencies, this is the latest redemption list.”

Having said this, the knight turned to leave. Although the lack of any physical respect was a little jarring to some of those present, the legends themselves didn't mind. They had all seen that these knights treated Richard himself no differently, so they had concluded that they were just bred that way. Servants had to be loyal and reliable, not necessarily expressibe.

This latest list was something they had awaited for a while. Rakis had an accumulated value of nearly 2,000 points, but with most of those used he only had 700 with three others close by. He feared there would be a fierce competition this time.

As the three legends scanned through the list, however, they cried out in surprise, “Midren?!”

The trio looked at each other with complicated expressions, the temperature of the courtyard seemingly dropping. They calmed their minds and studied each word of the list carefully, verifying that they had indeed read correctly.

The list detailed that Midren was a complete set made of ten parts. One of those would be up for exchange this round, possessing the power of a grade 4 rune. The set effect would activate when equipped with two parts, growing stronger with each one. When all ten were gathered, they would form the true battle edition of Midren that Richard had used to dispatch dragons!

There wasn't a clear explanation of Midren's abilities, only stating that it could greatly boost strength, speed, and defence while amplifying one's mana and aura. There was also a line about being able to draw on the power of crimson divine flames, but just like with the rest there wasn't any actual measurement.

However, everyone here had seen the way Richard crushed enemies with tremendous might. What more proof did they need than that? Numbers were pointless when there was a physical example to look at.

The courtyard went quiet as the three legends stared dumbfoundedly at the thin sheets of paper. Rakis's family didn't understand what was happening, but they just stood still without making a peep. A long while later, the legendary mage heaved a deep sigh, “Surpassing grade 5... This sort of rune can be considered divine, right?”

“Indeed,” Ironshield nodded in agreement.

“But the capacity requirements...” the other mage in the room hesitated.

“It's a divine rune set, how could the requirements be low? That being said, I don't think this rune set is meant for mages. Look at how Richard fights; even if one has the capacity, which most don't, they might not be able to withstand the drain.”

The mage was obviously angered, but he couldn't refute the point that the capacity requirements were beyond his limits. Rakis spoke up instead, “Don't be so certain, you forget that Richard himself is a mage and not a warrior. Midren should be usable by anyone, and as for capacity... let's just say we mages have our means to raise it.”

Rakis had thought of the abnormal physiques the Deepblue's mages were known to have, but he didn't really mind either. His own strength far surpassed the average mage, and the allure of this rune set was far too great. The other mage's eyes gleamed as well, “Looks like I'll have to work out a little, my capacity isn't far from the requirements anyway.”

Ironshield snorted, but he didn't speak further. The trio soon went their own ways.

......

Cries of surprise rang through the residential district, disturbing the prior calm. Those who weren't even saints grew restless as they calculated their accumulated points, and the killing intent in the entire section rose to frightening levels. Many were unable to fall asleep, polishing their weapons and armour as though they would be fighting to the death the next day.

And it just so happened that the low horn warning of the dragons' arrival sounded just before dawn. Many powerhouses who had polished their weapons all knight stood up and armed themselves, a similar thought filling their minds.

It was time.

The absolute silence of Dragon Valley was disrupted by the sound of wings crushing the air, dragon after dragon flying out of the portal and soaring into the sky. The attacking troop felt like their timing had paid off; there were no humans waiting for them in the sky this time.

By the time the torches were lit, more than a dozen dragons were already prepared for attack, with even more flying out constantly. They felt like something was wrong, but they couldn't pinpoint it exactly.

Several dim lights suddenly lit up the valley, looking like the auras of magic beasts. However, those lights quickly grew brighter even as heavy footsteps rocked the earth. The humans didn't soar to the skies this time, but as they put one foot ahead of the other their auras soared nevertheless. The dragons shivered at the amalgamated bloodlust, starting to hesitate.

The enemies were still the same, their numbers not having increased at all, but the attackers felt like there was a subtle change this day. In previous battles, the humans had acted prudently as though they were facing a formidable enemy. Tonight? Their eyes were gleaming like those of hunters looking at prized prey!

Just before the battle, the entire valley went extraordinarily quiet. Only the footsteps, heavy breaths, and flapping wings could be heard.

Eventually, a scream lit the fuse, “GET RID OF THEM!”

“FUCK THESE LIZARDS!”

“THE POINTS ARE MINE, DON'T SNATCH THEM!”

“I'LL GET INTO THE TOP TEN TONIGHT!”

1266 - City of Sin

If There's A Dream, There's A Future

The human powerhouses were like a pack of wolves that had just come across grazing sheep. They shouted strange phrases that the dragons couldn't understand, rushing forward in a bloodthirsty frenzy. Infernos, blizzards, and thunderstorms wreaked havoc throughout the volley even as figure after figure weaved in and out of the melee.

Midren's blood-red radiance was the most eye-dazzling existence in the battlefield, but it wasn't the only glittering star tonight. Many others joined by its side, taking out dragon after dragon with ferocious might. Even as he adopted an imposing stance to rush down an opposing dragon, Richard suddenly found many powerful spells whizzing by his side to severely injure the beast in an instant. An arrogant figure descended from the sky, crashing onto the dragon's neck and crushing the back of its head with a shield. The dragon's bones loudly cracked, showing that the shield was no weaker than a legendary weapon.

But... Richard's divine sword was still pointed towards the sky, prepared to dash towards the dragon so quickly that there would be no chance to respond. This wasn't even the first time he wasn't given a chance. Once they learnt of the attack, he had assumed it would be necessary to show off a little in this battle to ensure that there was greater demand for Midren. However, it was clearly unnecessary. Judging from the attitude of these legends, the runes would sell well.

The dragons suffered their greatest loss yet in this battle, but the powerhouses still injured more than they killed. At least ten dragons could be saved with proper care, but this wasn't out of any mercy. Live dragons were just worth more points than dead ones, so they had all reached a tacit understanding to stop once the target was downed. Of course, there were still some situations where things didn't go all that well. Even a few moments ago, Ironshield had just ended that dragon by accident. The magic had just hit the creature harder than he'd expected, and he didn't have the time to stop his momentum.

The few dragons that were still within range of the barrier immediately flew away, ending the battle less than an hour after it began. The draconians hadn't even appeared yet, leaving many powerhouses confused. How did it end so quickly? They hadn't gotten enough points!

Richard's own tally was quite pitiful by the end of it all. He had only killed two dragons, with five other targets having been stolen. Thankfully, he could just brush it off unlike the rest of the legends on the battlefield. Even as the Archeron warriors started cleaning up, a number of them stuck around reluctantly as though hoping for more dragons to emerge from the portal.

Some legends even approached him to ask how many credits the Five-Coloured Dragon was worth. The group included more than half a dozen people, and it was clear that they hoped to set up a group expedition to go kill her. Google search fr𝚎𝘦𝘄𝙚𝗯𝗻𝗼𝐯e𝗹. 𝑐o𝒎

Many others came to him with another common question: just how many sets of Midren would he release? Facing those hopeful legends, he had waited for a moment before telling them that the only limit was on the materials available to him. The room erupted in cheers when they heard that, a scene that shocked him greatly.

Once he'd sent everyone off, Richard couldn't help but turn to Nasia, “Why are they so excited? They can't get 10,000 credits, that's the equivalent of 20 top-tier offerings! Some of them were even just sky saints, they can't even use the thing!”

“Eh,” Nasia shrugged, “Why do you care? Isn't it good to dream?”

“But there's no way this dream will come true!”

“Yes. It's a dream.”

......

A few hours later, Ironshield came looking for Richard separately. The legendary warrior asked about the materials for Midren, something that he had only made a passing comment about without any formal announcement.

Richard nodded, “The requirements for the core materials of Midren are pretty high, so I'm offering a good number of points for any one of them. That'll also allow me to make more of the runes quickly, so it's a win-win.”

“Mm. I already looked at the list you put up, and I have two of the materials on hand.” Ironshield brought out an unremarkable metal box, carefully opening it up and placing it before Richard. It was only palm-sized, but looking within Richard found that the space within was expanded to more than a dozen cubic metres. Within was an ivory fang the size of one's arm, as well as an enormous eyeball that was still stained with blood and flickering non-stop.

“Beholder eye and... the fang is from a Duke? Definitely a legendary vampire at minimum...”

“An amazing eye,” the warrior nodded. These were both very powerful items that could replace the soul crystal of an astral beast. Alongside the legendary dragon crystal Richard had on hand, he could make the core components for at least three sets; the remaining parts would be much easier to deal with.

Richard's eyes gleaned as he scanned across both items with his Field of Truth, only closing the box when he could confirm their quality, “These materials are far beyond common standards, and I do need them. How about this, I'll give you 50 points above the normal, that should bring them up to 600 points in total.”

Ironshield's face lit up. He'd known that both items were better than normal, but he had only hoped for that to endear him to Richard. The extra points was a nice bonus. After all, he was someone who specialised in defence, not offence; there was no way for him to accumulate points as fast as someone like Rakis.

He stood up and bowed, “I appreciate your kindness. I have a friend coming from the Outlands around tomorrow, and he has the eye of a cyclops lord on hand. That wasn't on the list, but can it be exchanged for points as well?”

“Hmm... I'm sure I could find a use for it. If its quality is similar to these two items, then I'll give it the same price,” Richard promised. He couldn't think of a way to use a cyclops eye for Midren, but if he analysed it well, he could use it as a core material for a separate grade 5 rune.

“Thank you so much. If there is a chance, I hope to fight by your side for a long time.”

......

Once Ironshield left, the legendary assassin came looking for Richard with some other materials on hand. After he was sent off, a nervous Romney carefully entered the study as well. The saint was the most respectful out of anyone facing Richard, his hands trembling as he took out a magic-sealing case.

Richard didn't have many expectations of the saint, but as he opened up the chest the man had brought a dull glow from within instantly covered his face in a layer of grey! His skin was petrified!

Fortunately, the damage wasn't too great. He quickly cast several protective spells and blocked off the petrifying gaze, returning to normal before looking up and locking eyes with Romney.

The assassin had almost fallen to the floor amidst his shock, only snapping out of a trance when he saw Richard's gaze, ”No, this is a mistake! I took all the protective measures I could! This wasn't intentional, Your Excellency, forgive me! Please spare my life!”

Richard sighed, a soft smile crawling up his face, “Relax, this isn't your fault entirely. I see the preventive steps, but you underestimated her strength. Take a look.”

Covered in cold sweat, Romney walked over and looked within. He yelped at what he saw within, having to scrunch up and activate his aura to fight off the energy that assaulted him. Within the chest was a female head with serpentine hair, that of a gorgon. However, this head was almost the size of an elephant's; this one was likely at least ten metres tall. Her power was at the level of a lesser abyssal lord as well; no matter where she was from, she was definitely the tyrant of a large zone.

The most frightening ability of a gorgon was their petrifying gaze. This one's eyes had already been sewn up with enchanted gold threads, a standard protective measure, but the left eye had actually managed to struggle open into a tiny slit. The small amount of light from that had been enough to petrify a thin layer of Richard's skin.

Romney had to suppress a sigh of relief, thanking his stars that Richard was a legendary mage. Were he weaker, this could have spelt his end. Even if a priest managed to cure the petrification, it would leave one weakened significantly for the rest of their life. Of course, he had no idea that even common legendary mages would have been petrified in part by this head. Richard only got off lightly because of his body's power.

Sewing the eye shut once more, Richard closed the chest, “Quite a surprising item, but I'm sure you'll understand my skepticism if you say you took down such a being alone.”

Romney smiled with guilt, “I... wasn't the one that killed this. When I first saw her in the underworld, she was already on the verge of death. Two legends and six saints had been turned to stone next to her, but I managed to behead her with a sneak attack.”

“I see. Regardless, gorgons of this level are rare. If you're selling this to me, I can offer you 500 credits. Deal?”

“500?” Romney almost jumped once more.

......

As he left, Romney suddenly felt light-hearted, as though the world wasn't real anymore. He couldn't believe that he had gotten 500 credits just like that, a jump to level 4 in terms of what he could access. Many things he could only dream of in the past had suddenly become much more achievable.

He quickened his pace, intent on rushing back to take a good look at everything that was listed. He was rich!

1267 - City of Sin

Who Gets The Prize?

At noon the next day, many of those participating gathered at an arena next to the residential district. There was a big notice board here, and Nasia had announced after the previous battle that all points would be tallied and placed on a ranking system that everyone would be able to see. The new item list was being given out as well, with the piece of Midren having stirred up everyone's desires.

Up for offer right now were the pauldrons of the set, costing exactly 1,000 credits. At that cost, even some saints like Romney had a chance to get one. Even if this was only a tenth of the whole, they wouldn't mind spending decades fighting for the Archerons just to complete the set. Of course, most of these people also faced a separate issue; they just wouldn't be able to use Midren even if they got it. However, such worries seemed to fly away whenever they thought of Richard's power; they felt like they would certainly make it to the legendary realm so long as they got even one of these runes.

Exactly at noon, Nasia walked into the arena under the escort of a squad of rune knights. Those crowding nearby immediately grew nervous, but she calmly looked around and spotted a few new faces, “Those interested in joining the reward point system only have to fill in a form. The knights over in that corner have some on hand, please collect them there.”

Even as she spoke, she pulled out the final ranking list and pasted it on the notice board, revealing the information that everyone wanted to know.

A commotion broke out the moment first place was visible! Ironshield had taken that spot over the powerful Rakis, his total already exceeding 2000 points and standing more than 200 ahead of the mage! Rakis's second place wasn't that stable either, an assassin was less than 100 points behind! There was even a dark horse in the top five, someone who some wouldn't even consider a sky saint with more than 1,000 points!

“They definitely sold something!” a random member of the crowd suddenly shouted, causing a huge clamour. Everyone finally understood the reason for the abrupt change in the ranking, some whispers about unfairness quickly dying down. Of course, the three cloned brains dedicated to recording each battle were proof of impartiality even if such rumours continued.

Ironshield laughed, “I just had some things that I couldn't use; it was only logical to exchange them for points. His Excellency is definitely fair when it comes to this system.”

“You're not the only one with spare materials,” Rakis spat out, “I'd like to see just what you had that could compare to me. Know your place!”

“Oh, you've grown so wealthy in the past few years?” a jarring voice rang out, “How enviable!” Google search 𝙛𝓇𝘦e𝙬𝑒𝚋𝒏૦ѵel. c𝒐𝚖

Hearing the words laced with sarcasm, Rakis abruptly looked around and glared at a mage on the edge of the field. The slim newcomer was leaning against a staff embedded with three lightning crystals, electricity slithering back and forth along the shaft. He fearlessly matched the gaze, allowing the atmosphere to heat up.

Many started whispering about the Lightning Master Shaun, a legendary mage whose bloodline gave him a great boost to lightning spells. Even though he was two levels lower than Rakis, his blistering offensive ability could match up evenly.

Rakis scoffed, calming himself down a little, “Are you trying to compare your wealth to mine? This is a fight against dragons, I'm afraid your lightning spells have no advantage here.”

Shaun laughed, “A little competition never hurts. Wouldn't you be too lonely without me? Anyway, who cares if I can't beat you alone. What about if I'm joined by a warrior specialised in defence?”

“Ironshield?” Rakis frowned. The combined power of a legendary mage and defensive warrior wasn't simply an addition; the two together would kill dragons more than two times as quickly as either of them could alone. The Archerons taxed point transactions heavily, but if Shaun and Ironshield collaborated on the battlefield, he truly couldn't compare.

Shaun had actually arrived the previous night, a full day earlier than Ironshield had expected. Eight saints had come over as well, and in the days that followed many legends and sky saints were likely to join in. The competition would grow fiercer than ever.

Perhaps collaboration was the best way forward. Many of those watching the argument fell into deep thought.

Rakis and Shaun continued to bicker for a while before they went their own ways. They only parted because the redemption session would be in the evening, and they each wished to prepare. Numerous powerhouses walked over to the Archeron camps, entering a large tent.

One could originally redeem their points whenever they wanted, but as they system grew in size this had become much more difficult for items in limited supply. Nasia had thus arranged for special days where items with limited inventory could be redeemed in a fair process. Things like rune sets were distributed according to the total accumulated points of whoever wanted them, while one and done items like higher end runes, legendary items, and components of Midren would be bought in a bidding process.

The bidding process in the Archeron systems was different from a normal auction. One could bid for more than the worth of an item, and the highest bidder won, but the total amount deducted for that item would still be its original price. The rest of the points would just have to be used in the same redemption session on other items. For example, one could bid 1,500 points for the Midren pauldrons, at which point they would be paying 1,000 for the rune and another 500 points would have to be spent on other things. These rules were well-received amongst those participating, especially the middle of the pack. This way, they could accumulate enough credits to compete against the best powerhouses at least a few times a year.

......

The dragons were well-behaved after the painful loss, not appearing for two more days. This allowed the whole redemption process to go very smoothly. Most of those in the system were waiting around the Archeron camps only a few hours after Nasia's announcement, hoping to snag whatever items they wanted. Knowing that a piece of Midren would be on offer this round, they couldn't keep calm at all.

There were currently five powerhouses with more than a thousand credits, with four of them standing a serious chance to obtain Midren. Even if the rest had no chance, they still wanted to know the results.

People streamed in and out of the building through which this phase was being run, most of them elated as they walked out. Ironshield and Shaun caused a huge ruckus when they came out together, the former beaming as he held an intricate chest with the volcanic world tree emblazoned on it. This chest had Richard's personal signature carved into it in dull gold, making it clear what it was.

Everyone quickly crowded around him, throwing a million questions at the warrior in tandem. He looked around with pride, “Yes, this is a rune from Midren's battle edition. I merely got lucky, and I'm still far from collecting the full set. Hahaha!”

Ironshield tried to sound humble, but the sheer joy was hard to mask. How glorious was it to have something so many others could only dream of? As someone who had always been proud, it was impossible for him to feign humility properly.

At the request of many others, he opened up the chest and showed off its contents. Within were a pair of silver pauldrons covered in eye-catching crimson patterns, divine light occasionally swimming across their surface. They looked a little different from those Richard wore, but the aura was the exact same. All those watching immediately knew that this really was a part of Midren. Of course, as someone who invested so many points into it Ironshield obviously would check it thoroughly as well.

This rune itself was only grade 4, and pretty weak at that. However, that was because the synergy from the other parts wasn't yet in effect. It would become as strong as a regular saint rune once six parts were gathered.

Icy bloodlust suddenly flowed into the street, Rakis walking out of the building with fury written all over his face. He stopped thirty metres away from Ironshield, staring at him for a while before saying slowly, “You... really took it.”

Ironshield laughed, “I don't see your name on it anywhere, do I? The rules were clear, the item goes to the one willing to offer the most credits. Isn't that fair? I suggest you focus on accumulating more points, Your Excellency. Who knows if you'll find another one in the next round? Haha...”

“We'll see,” Rakis gritted out, “Time is a fickle mistress, and you're not the only one with friends!”

1268 - City of Sin

Service Industry

The final owner of the Midren component was a hot topic over the next few days, sparking countless conversations about Rakis, Ironshield, and Shaun. Everyone knew that there would be a good show when the next part appeared on the list, and with the legendary warrior already showing how powerful alliances were, many others were beginning to collaborate as well.

With the Archeron system being so strict in taxing point transfers, many chose to convert their spare points into materials that they then sold on a black market. Nasia chose to turn a blind eye to this, allowing them to make their own profits. This only increased the number of spent points and thus propelled these people back into the battlefield, a result she was more than happy with.

Barely a day had passed before the full story had been dug up. Ironshield had paid a huge price to gather about 300 points from two other friends, using that to surpass Rakis in the rankings. However, this wasn't something that could be replicated easily; the true contest would still be on the battlefield.

The next fortnight was peaceful, with not even a patrol from the dragons. Only the glowing barrier remained as proof that the enemy was still waiting on the other side. Everyone grew anxious as the days passed, knowing that the length of the silence was just an indicator of the strength of the impending attack. Many were starting to fidget; after all, they could only earn points if there were battles.

New powerhouses were arriving at Dragon Valley almost every day, signing up for the reward point system. Others were likely on the way, stuck exploring the void when the news spread through Norland like wildfire. Many of them were impatient to see what they could get, but fortunately nobody grew hot-headed enough to try and check the other side. The pulsing barrier was proof that the Five-Coloured Dragon still hadn't left.

...

While the common folk were awaiting their points, the man at the top was worried about the exact opposite end. After a long six hours of work, he carefully emblazoned his signature on a pair of silver gauntlets with his blue flames. He immediately fell back into his chair, sighing as he saw the crimson lights starting to flow across. This would be the second piece of Midren on the exchange, the Flamepulse Gauntlets.

Manufacturing this pair took him more than ten days in total. A normal grade 4 rune wouldn't even require a week, but ensuring that any two pieces could activate the set ability even when not connected was difficult to accomplish. It required a good number of reserve connections that skyrocketed the difficulty, but it ensured that many experts would be fighting obediently under him for years to come.

He carefully placed the gauntlets in a chest, finally allowing the exhaustion from depleting his mana to hit him. The runes themselves didn't need much mana output, but for the sake of finishing quickly he was working six hour stretches with only ten minutes of rest in between.

Opening the cupboard beside the wall, Richard grabbed a refined mana potion and gulped it down. More than half of his reserves had been cleared out in only these few days, but such was the price for speed. Thankfully, he walked outside the workshop to find a full meal waiting on the table for him, kept warm by a magic array. Finally noticing that it was lunchtime, he sat down and started sweeping the entire table of roasted dragon meat clean.

Ever since he had absorbed the abyssal lord's heart, Richard's already-monstrous appetite had grown to truly insane levels. Even tens of kilograms of dragon meat couldn't completely sate him, but even with the number of dragons they were killing on the regular there was a limit to how much he could get.

As he immersed himself into the meal, he saw a small orb flashing on the side of the table; this was a message left by Nasia, using magic instead of soul communication to keep from disturbing him. His mood went a little flat as he grumbled for a moment, sending a strand of mana to reply to the message.

“Are you done?” Nasia was unbelievably quick, entering the room only moments after his response. Busy stuffing himself, he just pointed her into the lab. She zipped in and back out with the chest now in hand, her brows rising up in marvel as she opened it, “Not bad, a full three hours before my deadline. You're getting better! Well, outside of naming, anyway. Flamepulse Gauntlets? So... tacky, but at least you've practiced your signature.”

“What does the name matter?” Richard grunted, “It's still Midren.”

“It's Midren a few years from now. Until then, the individual parts are the only things that people can hold.”

“What do you want me to do?” he snorted, inhaling another piece of meat, “You're going to tell me anyway.”

Nasia softly whistled, leaning across the table to pat his forehead, “Good boy, you've been working hard. I'm giving you a full hour to do whatever you want; if you're eager to fight, I won't be so courteous.”

Hearing her words, Richard felt the urge to pound his head into the table. Unfortunately, the paladin just ignored him and went to the door, bringing Rosie into the room with a tall stack of documents in hand.

“Here's a report of the newest week,” she stared, “In terms of raw material conversion, our profit margin is currently sitting at 70%. That drops to about 55% when you add labour on top; that is, eleven offerings in pure profit for every twenty we invest. The margin is predicted to appreciate to 60% over the coming months before stabilising, but it is already showing itself. We have currently exchanged over ten top-tier offerings, gaining more than five's worth. With the current economy in Norland, that's 70 million gold.”

Although he had been expecting something that large, Richard had to hold in a gasp, “It's only been two months.”

“You have twelve legends and more than thirty sky saints working for you, this isn't much.”

He sighed and sat upright, the numbers filling him with renewed energy more effectively than any potion could. Rosie chuckled, “That's our earnings, now for the work. First is Midren; you have ample time now, but the third part will need to be out in a month. Also, pick one of the three completed pieces and remake it right afterwards.”

Still busy wolfing down his meal, Richard asked sluggishly, “Won't that delay the full set?”

“Exactly? We'll add new bidders to the mix and nobody will be able to gather a full set right away.”

“... Oh, right,” he finally nodded, feeling a little happy that this woman wasn't in the ranks of his enemies. However, it only took a few minutes before he regretted her being on his side as well.

Twenty more rune knight sets had to be completed in the next two months, but if it was to be done quickly Richard had to personally craft the core arrays. This was a total of 400 arrays, but the kicker was the amount of time he was given to do it: one day.

Technically, Rosie wasn't wrong. He could indeed complete all those units in a single day, but that needed him at the desk for a full 23 hours. That wasn't even the end of it either. She also expected him to craft ten more grade 3 and three grade 4 runes; while her workshop could help with the former, the latter would be all him.

On top of all this, she wanted something for those who didn't want Midren, a saint rune prepared at the earliest. There weren't any strict rules here, he could craft whatever he wanted, but she suggested Stealthwalker because the rune complemented the many assassins who weren't suited to open battle with Midren. In the words of Nasia, assassins were amongst the richest of legends. They were an enormous market that had to be served.

1269 - City of Sin

Endless Work

Nasia and Rosie had designed a system that could make enormous amounts of money in very little time. However, that system ended up giving Richard an unending stream of tasks that he couldn't help but accept— after all, the number of precious materials used for points was on the rise. They already had enough materials to make three sets of Midren, with seventeen materials that could be used for other grade 5 runes. Every material was priceless, but according to Nasia they all meant nothing unless they were turned into runes and sold.

Even as a workaholic, Richard almost felt suicidal thinking of the sheer amount of time he would have to spend in front of his workbench. He weakly attempted to buy some free time, “Aren't these arrangements too tight? The dragons could raid us anytime, I still need to battle.”

“No you don't! You fighting is a waste of time, all those kids focused on points will only complain that there aren't enough dragons for them to kill. Go make your runes diligently, I'll take care of the battlefield. You'll still need to fight once a month, just as a display to the newer members, but outside of that I'll only call you if you're needed.”

Richard's mouth fell open; he simply had no idea what to say anymore.

Nasia then placed a crystal ball on the table, “This is something we made, have a look.”

Rosie poured in some mana, and the crystal shot out a screen of light. It showed the scene of Richard's battle a few days ago, with some minor adjustments made to cut out periods when he wasn't acting. It showed the powerful King of Angels leaning against his sword, a footstep in empty space flaring his six blood wings as he leapt a hundred metres in an instant. The divine sword burnt brightly in the breeze, every strike drawing blood as dragon after dragon fell from the skies. He looked like a lord of life and death, his sword cutting through the very void!

He could hardly recognise himself in this battle. Each stance was either calm as a mountain or violent as the sea, but this had never been planned. He only adjusted his posture according to the situation, but Nasia's capture showed the air of an epic being. At the very least, someone like Philip couldn't compare. The enormous man only cut down with his cleaver using the same few moves every time, the attacks themselves ugly as ever. However, Richard was showing unbelievable grace, as though the entire battlefield danced to his tune.

“What use is this?” he asked.

A smile blossomed on Nasia's mask, “It's to illustrate the situation of the war against the dragons. We're going to make a hundred or so copies and distribute them to the bigger families in Norland; the crystals will also go with invites to participate and a convenient mention of the reward point system.

Richard felt like smashing his head into the table once more. These two wanted to use the excuse to show off Midren's power, a gimmick to attract more participants. This was naturally a good thing, but how the hell was he supposed to populate the reward list? He'd die making all those runes!

Thinking of the endless days he would soon be spending at his desk, Richard frowned.

“It goes without saying that the work won't be done by you alone. Rosie can share a portion of your burden, but her workshop lacks manpower. I think it's best for you to recruit a few talented mages from the Deepblue, their manufacturing system doesn't satisfy our needs anyway. Maybe shift it to a faster plane? Goldflow Valley doesn't seem too bad, they can get their magic crystals right there. All you need is a few offerings to increase the timescale to match Faelor's.”

Richard thought she was done at that point, but looking up at her he realised she had only paused to take a sip of water. She resumed with shocking speed, “And the broodmothers! You haven't been using them properly at all. Think about it, elite cavalry warhorses are only level 5, and they can be made by the larval forest. There's no need for those drones to live long, just five years should be enough. A single horse is worth a few hundred gold, and even at mass we can sell them for a hundred. Ten thousand horses is a million coins; we can make that in a week! The flesh furnaces too, we can tweak them to add simple enchantments. Do you understand what that means?”

Richard didn't know what to say, but he eventually forced a smile, “How... do you think up such....”

She tapped his forehead, “You're too simple-minded, brat. If you want to get rich, the heart of one abyssal lord isn't enough. Earning money needs intelligence! How does someone with two broodmothers end up so frustratingly poor? I couldn't bear it anymore!”

At this point, Richard felt like blowing his eardrums to escape it all. He almost believed he would have, too, if not for the fact that Nasia could just link to him mentally. He was frustratingly poor? How many ancient families in all of Norland could compare to the wealth he generated alone?

What frustrated him was the fact that she was right. Compared to what this system could generate, the money he had before was nothing. It left him depressed; Nasia's system could compare with the old dragon's.

He even understood that he was only a catalyst. Once they had made enough money from the system, they could employ a number of mages and smiths to build a supply base that constantly turned materials into goods and sold them for points. In the future, he would only have to create top-end runes; anything else would be nothing.

“Anyway, you made the piece early and I promised you an hour of rest. Follow me, I'll help you relax,” Nasia said with a pure face.

......

Richard's hopes were dashed when he was brought to the makeshift weyr that housed the caged dragons. There were a total of twelve that still refused to yield, and Nasia pointed at them, “Beat them up until they submit. Go ahead once you're ready, I'll release them one by one.”

“Why me?” he was puzzled.

“Because you have the abyssal heart. You're the only one strong enough to beat them up anyway, just go punch around and release the aura a bit, they'll become docile. Go ahead, you only have five minutes each. You have to get back to work after.”

Moments later, mournful wails resounded throughout the caverns.

......
𝗳𝐫𝘦e𝔀𝚎𝚋𝓃𝚘vℯl. 𝑐o𝚖

An hour later, Richard was back in front of his desk, looking at the materials piled next to it. Sighing in resignation, he picked up the pen that wouldn't leave his side for the next month.

At the same time, Nasia was bringing a group of spectators to the cave he had just left. Amongst them were legends, sky saints, and nobles from the three empires, even a grey dwarf from the Far North. Holding a whip, she was walking around the cave and commenting on all the dragons, “This male fire dragon is extremely strong, and will be able to recover to level 22. This wind female is so graceful, she will make a great mount. And this one is missing a front claw, but it's a rare space dragon with the thick skin to survive one of Richard's fists. Now, I know metal dragons have terrible tempers, but this one is meek as a kitten. You, sit!”

1270 - City of Sin

Expectations

Hearing Nasia's order, the metal dragon actually bent down and wagged its tail like a pet hound. Everyone was astonished by the spectacle; it was possible to force a dragon into submission, but to do it in such a short time was something else entirely. Not just anyone could convince these prideful creatures to submit.

She smiled cheerily, “As you can see, these dragons are all completely tamed. Half of them will enter the reward list, while the rest will be auctioned off in three days.”

Many lords and legends were reluctant to part with these dragons; a legendary helper in battle would be of great help to anyone. Even those who left immediately only did so to hurry back home and prepare. Three days was far too little to prepare for such a thing.

When Nasia flew out from the weyr, night had already fallen. The lights in the residential area were flickering off as the denizens of this town entered their dreams, but Richard's lab remained bright as day in stark contrast to everything else. She knew that this light would not go out until dawn; for the following week, he wouldn't even have much time to eat or sleep.

She sighed softly, “This is all I can help with. Work hard, you don't have much time left...”

......

Richard did indeed work diligently, putting aside all politics for others to take care of. Thankfully many problems fixed themselves, especially that of the Sacred Tree Empire. The voices calling for war had quieted down significantly once it was known that over a hundred powerhouses were fighting under the Archeron banner for now; if a war erupted, the entire system could be repurposed for battles internal to Norland as well.

The strong draw of Midren coupled with a number of useful items had worked its magic, and with the Archerons basically offering their core resources on the reward point system there was little reason for anyone to attack them. It was much more efficient to fight with the Archerons and buy whatever one wanted than hope to win against a Richard who was showing near-epic strength. Please visit f𝗿e𝗲𝘄𝚎𝐛𝚗𝐨𝙫ℯl. c𝗼𝚖

Many soon realised the secret of the Archeron system, and some even tried to imitate it, but they quickly realised that there was no response. Some of them could take out a lot of resources, but they didn't have anything to compare to Midren's sheer might. The Archerons had already announced that a new piece would be put on the list every month, and it wasn't possible to duplicate even the other rune sets of the broodmother-forged weapons that Richard had on offer.

......

As Richard busied himself with work, the Dragon Plane eventually accumulated enough strength to begin their invasion. They were full of confidence in this attack, having dispatched many elite tribes and doubled their numbers, but when they flew out of the barrier they were shocked to find that the number of humans had tripled. Their eyes were even gleaming red as they applauded raucously.

The battle saw the ambitious dragons beaten back once more, but the humans still felt like it was too short. There were too many participants now, so each individual could only earn so many points.

......

Richard was completely oblivious to the existence of this great battle. He only ever focused on his runecrafting, looking up every few hours to gaze at a special magic clock that was counting down to the birth of his child. Sometimes that one look was all he needed to recover from mind-numbing exhaustion, returning to his task with renewed vigour.

He would be at Coco's side when his child was born. Not only to witness the moment, but also to make sure it entered the world smoothly. Coco had taken many life potions, but her body was still too weak and would be in danger while giving birth.

Time seemed to fly in Faelor, another month slowly slipping away. He progressed much faster than expected, making both the third piece of Midren and another set of pauldrons alongside the core components for fifty sets of Savage Barrier and all of the grade 3 and 4 runes he was tasked with. Stealthwalker was more than half complete.

It was that last rune that he was working on when the countdown timer suddenly rang out. Richard raised his head and looked at the time, quickly finishing the line he was working on before storing the incomplete rune in a magic-sealing case and walking out of the lab. He blinked over to the teleportation gate, porting back to Norland through Bluewater.

......

Within Blackrose Castle, Coco was browsing through a history book next to her window, occasionally lifted outside. Her belly was huge at this point, bigger than most normal pregnancies, but the rest of her body actually seemed skinnier than normal.

“Do you think His Grace will be back in time?” the maid brushing her hair asked.

Coco smiled and carressed her belly, “He's busy, it's alright even if he can't make it.”

“But that's unfair!” the maid complained, “Don't you know how many people hate you in this castle? Those jealous bitches, they can bear his child themselves if they have the ability. His Grace simply doesn't favour them. You mustn't let them off once the child is born, some of them are very hateful. They actually say that the child... it isn't...”

“Enough,” Coco stopped the maid, “You shouldn't be spreading that gossip to anyone. His Grace can learn of anything he wants; if he hearts that, he'll chase all of you out.”

The maid yelped in fright. She had come from Coco's family and had barely ever interacted with true nobles, her attitude hardly better than a normal commoner. She was only here because the steward had allowed Coco to choose a familiar caretaker during the later stages of the pregnancy, and entering Blackrose Castle was a huge leap forward. It wasn't just the powerhouses of the Archerons either; this was the main hub for many powerhouses who were heading for Faelor. If she were lucky one day and had some saint fancy her, her destiny would change greatly.

Coco could sympathise with the woman's train of thought. The two of them had known each other from youth, and she herself had gone to Faust with a similar mentality. She had been a partner candidate then, which was a little higher in status, but the core idea had been the same. She had never expected Richard to choose her, but many many things had happened after that.

Many complicated emotions whizzed through her heart as she recalled the past. It was all like a big dream, where she had been barrelled across insurmountable obstacles almost through no effort of her own. Now, she had arrived at the best ending she could ask for; the small life in her belly was greedily drawing on her vitality, growing with unfathomable speed. It would be born in two or three days.

Would Richard be back by then? She smiled in agony before looking at the scenery outside. Even if Richard didn't return, it was no big deal. The child's birth would fulfil her duties as his companion, and the choice would then be left to him. She could stay by his side and take care of their child, or receive a large reward and return to her hometown to start a new life. She didn't want to strive for anything anymore, she didn't want to live in constant fear. Richard had made her father a noble, and promised her a barony if she carried to term.

When she first stepped onto the Archeron island years ago, she would never have imagined that she could become a true noble one day. However, the thought of leaving Blackrose Castle and her strange life here still left her heart throbbing with pain.

Would Richard return?

“How are you feeling?” a gentle voice snapped Coco out of her daze. She bounced up in surprise and delight, turning around to see a tall and handsome figure at the doorside. For a moment she thought she was dreaming, but she still couldn't bring herself to speak.

The maid behind Coco soundlessly lowered her collar, revealing a pair of breasts that were much larger than her mistress's as she flashed a charming smile. Richard completely ignored the attempt at seduction, stepping towards Coco and supporting her, “Easy, you're in the most critical period. Go lie on the bed, I'll examine your body.”

Coco obediently walked over to the bed, lying down on it and allowing Richard to examine her foetus and herself. Seeing his concentration as he looked through her, she suddenly felt indescribable tranquility. She wanted to reach out to his face, but as she thought of the enormous difference between them her fingers twitched and she quietly lowered them once more.

1271 - City of Sin

Well Wishes

Even with the Field of Truth, Richard spent a long ten minutes examining Coco. He looked at anything that could possibly go wrong, scanning across her countless times before he stretched his back. A smile crawled up his face, “Everything is alright, the preparations should be done by now. She'll be out in three days.”

Coco looked at him with a twinge of worry, “Three more days? Is is alright for you to rush back so early?”

“It's fine.”

She bit her bottom lip, saying softly, “I'm sorry, I can't help you with much.”

“You can help me by resting,” he tidied her hair, taking a look at the time, “Where's the mage responsible for your life potion?”

The door to the room opened a few seconds later, the steward walking in with a young female mage who had the life potion in hand. Richard glared at her, his aura flaring up slightly, “Five minutes late. If this happens again, you're free to leave.”

The mage immediately turned white, not daring to say a word. She quickly helped Coco up and fed her the potion, leaving the room immediately. A rosy blush immediately flooded Coco's cheeks, her body growing ever so slightly. However, this was all temporary; this vitality would all be absorbed by the baby before dusk.

She sighed in relief, “Please don't be too hard on her, my Lord. Five minutes isn't a huge mistake.”

However, Richard's anger didn't fade, “The potion times are set for when you'll absorb them the best. Even ten minutes of a difference would have dropped the efficiency. What use is a mage who can't even read clocks?”

He then turned to the steward, “Why aren't you managing them properly?”

The old man sighed, “Most of these mages are from the Deepblue. Outside of you and Miss Alice, they aren't very prompt when executing orders.”

His face immediately soured, “Is that right? I thought I'd made them obedient, looks like I was wrong. Go take control of a hundred knights, give them full authority over internal affairs. If someone isn't listening to you, have them deal with it.” Please visit 𝘧𝗿𝐞𝐞𝒘𝗲𝘣n𝘰𝘷ℯ𝒍. 𝒄o𝗺

The steward nodded, “There are other things that require your attention, Master.”

Glancing at Coco who was falling asleep, Richard stood up, “Let's go then.”

......

A short while later, Richard was in his study looking at a tall stack of letters with a pained expression on his face. He tore through the letters rapidly, barely glancing at each one before throwing it to the side to join the dozens of others.

Most of these letters were the same, congratulating him on having a descendant. This was quite common in nobility, but what enraged him was the timing and scale. More than two-thirds of them came from individuals at the rank of Marquess or higher, and there was even a duke who wanted to make a personal visit. Six families from Faust were amongst those sending their regards, with Agamemnon being sent as a representative of the Orleans Family.

Outside of their special friendship, Agamemnon had already been confirmed as the successor to the Ironblood Duke, with Beye having refused the throne a long time ago. He had grown steadily in recent years, now already a sky saint at level 19. His personal crest had already been integrated into the family tree, and while his improvements weren't rapid there seemed to be nothing that could shake his pace. In the letter, Duke Orleans had mentioned that Beye would have wished to come as well, but having crossed into the legendary realm a while ago she was currently in an unknown plane trying to strengthen her laws.

The one duke making a personal visit happened to be from the Sacred Tree Empire, and curiously enough he was also the deputy commander of the southern armies. This was a thought-provoking gesture. However, this representation paled in comparison to the Millennial Empire, from which a large plethora of nobles had rushed down to outnumber even the Sacred Alliance. Even Prince Tumen had sent an envoy. However, this made perfect sense; they were the only ones without a grudge against the Archerons.

Looking through the letters once more, Richard could confirm that the true intent of most people was to look at the child and determine how strong she was. After all, the family had produced Gaton and then himself in successive generations. While his father had died in his prime, limiting his achievements to within the Alliance, Richard's own glory went well beyond. He was now truly the biggest runemaster in all of Norland, which alone would have been equal to an epic being, but he also had strength that matched.

Everyone knew that one needed true power to set up an independent country in Norland. An epic being would be allowed to set up a dukedom without any interference, and if they were strong enough to suppress their peers they could expand that into a kingdom or empire as well. Those who weren't at that level would face interference from the older families of the plane, something those clans viewed as a responsibility more than anything else. This was why so many had tried to meddle in the Archeron bid for independence; Richard's wealth was attractive, and they believed that they had the legal right to intervene.

However, Richard was now on the same footing as epic beings, destroying any excuses that those older nobles had. They would have to find new reasons to attack him if they wanted to. Not that they wanted to anymore. Bloodline often determined class on this plane, from the elven descent of the Millennial Empire to the celestial blood in the Sacred Tree and the titan blood of the Sacred Alliance. A strong bloodline was often important in determining the chance of a family producing a prodigy, so all older nobles were working tirelessly to either enhance or merge their bloodlines with others. Many strong voices now considered the Archerons to be equal to the other royal bloodlines of Norland, which would automatically garner respect from the older families.

Of course, that point needed to be proved. Personally being able to verify the child would be the best way; a newborn baby would exhibit their bloodline abilities quite well. Richard himself wasn't against this notion, but what angered him was the time.

Most of the nobles sending letters to him would reach Blackrose in a day or two, and there were some who had arrived a couple days before himself. He had never revealed when Coco would deliver; the date was privy only to himself, Coco, and a few other people around them. Where did the news leak from? If the information hadn't leaked from within, that was a scary thought. It meant that there were opposing mages who could enter and exit Blackrose at will, without him any the wiser.

“What is this about?” he asked the steward.

“I've conducted internal investigations on everyone in this castle. So far, it looks like it was leaked by some servants in the castle who overheard the date. I plan to observe the prime suspects for a little more time to narrow them down.”

“Narrow them down? How many are there?”

“A total of nine people.”

Richard grunted and waved, “Then I have no time to wait for your observations. Send all nine to the dungeons and investigate them thoroughly. Have Ginley help, she'll pull it out of them in no time.”

“That... Alright, Master.” The old man seemed to hesitate, but he didn't insist.

“They're showing off, those bastards!” Richard noticed the steward's disturbed face, slowly restraining his anger, “The Family has grown very large, and we have all sorts of people now. There will be more joining us after today, including those like Ginley. Get used to it, and make sure the rules are established. People should know what my bottom line is; I won't stop personal endeavours, but betrayal shall not be tolerated!”

“Understood,” the steward nodded, but he had to keep himself from sighing. He knew just how much Richard valued the child and the family's interests; the fact that the date of birth was leaked meant the entire plane knew there was a traitor amongst the Archerons. Most of those coming over were here to offer congratulations, but he had no dearth of enemies either. What if someone wanted to cut off his bloodline?

1272 - City of Sin

Newborn

The fact that Richard assigned Ginley to this investigation showed that he was ready to kill. She was a grand soul mage who had joined the Archerons less than a year ago. The woman seemed uncaring about her appearance, allowing herself to age to the point that she was wrinkly all over; there were even rumours that she had accelerated the process on purpose. She was a pervert through and through, possessing a twisted personality that was aroused by torture. According to her, there was no greater pleasure than hearing the pained screams of young men and women.

However, for all these shortcomings, she was one of the rare few grand mages who was willing to accept a slave contract. Even though there was a time limit, few people of such power would just give themselves up to servitude like that. This choice had gained Richard's trust, and he had put her in charge of interrogations at Blackrose Castle. She had never let him down before, showing the ability to break those with the strongest wills eventually.

Perhaps only one of the nine suspects was actually guilty, but all of them would be left with painful memories after she was done with them. There was a time when he would have hesitated in such a scenario, but right now his priorities were entirely different. Looking at the cards on his table, he continued his instructions, “They want to come see her? Let them. Go make preparations for a banquet in three days, I'll host anyone who's come to congratulate me. They'll get a look at the newborn, and there will be a rune convention after dinner.”

Tapping the table twice, he continued, “Oh, add in a battle tournament for youths, the only restriction is age. The champion will get a hundred points, second place fifty, and third thirty. Fourth to eighth will get twenty points each.”

......

Blackrose Castle roared to life over the next few days, a constant stream of people coming in and going out as though it was a large festival. Those who could afford long-range teleportation appeared around the same time as Richard, joining their followers who had set off earlier.

The tournament attracted even more people than had originally been expected. A competition with no restriction on origin, experience, and status was undoubtedly the best way for talented youths to shine. It was also a platform for older families to show off their youngest generation, showing the strength of their bloodlines and inheritances.

Most importantly, Richard himself was a prodigy of frightening scale. There were few people in the entire history of Norland who had gotten as far as him in as little time, and all were poised to reach divinity if they wished. His rewards were immense as well. A hundred points was enough to get a legendary weapon, while the fifty points for second place could give the runner up a piece of legendary armour or a different trinket. Even the thirty points was enough for a Savage Barrier set. Even the powerful Ironblood Duke and Prince Tumen would have to think twice before offering such rewards. Lesser families simply couldn't afford them at all.
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Another important piece of news was that Richard would be holding a rune convention during dinner; it was rumoured that the star of that convention would be Midren's battle edition! This was an event that couldn't be missed; even many runemasters and legends rushed over, alongside a number of family heads. This would be the only chance to look at those runes from up close. Many people were considering participating in a price war for Midren's battle edition. In their eyes, this was a treasure that could be passed down for millennia, something worth spending any amount of money on.

Temporary residences had already been constructed outside Blackrose Castle. The quarters were all in a rather monotonous style, but they were affordable and the conditions were much better than taverns or inns. Richard had already gotten a number of architects under him with expertise in this specific field for Dragon Valley, so things went quite smoothly in that regard.

Everyone Archeron found themselves busy from dusk to dawn. Setting up three huge events within as many days was near impossible, the tight timeline leaving many things half-done. The sheer workload left those in managerial positions with no time to sleep, even with many powerful saints and grand mages having joined the workforce. Fortunately, the Archeron Family wasn't as stratified as most others, and powerhouses didn't really care about such things as image amongst their kin.

Saints were helping ferry crates of food and wine, while mages were busy preparing fireworks. Knights took off their armour and joined the workers building the arena where the battles would take place, moving hundreds of kilograms of rocks each to complete the massive endeavour in a single day.

......

While everyone was busy with their own work, bloodcurdling screams were ringing out in the prison below. Even the veteran guards who manned the dungeons showed expressions of discomfort whenever they heard those cries for help; in their hearts, the paper-thin Ginley was more terrifying than any monster.

When the old steward walked into the prison, a few guards hurriedly opened the gates for him. Even his brows locked when he heard a groan, but he shook it off, “Bring me to Miss Ginley.”

Ginley was in her usual haunt— the torture room. There were a total of nine people here, bound in different ways. One was currently hunched over, with the old hag scribbling into a notepad next to him under a dim light.

She stopped moments before the steward walked in, picking up a tiny knife and cutting into the hunched prisoner in several places. Her touch was gentle as a healer's, only forming razor-thin slits that wouldn't even bleed, but those minute slashes prompted a scream at the top of his lungs.

“It looks like I'll have to add another layer of soundproofing here, my Lady,” the steward said as he walked in, his face twitching a little.

Ginley turned around and started to cackle, her skeletal face almost shaking from the movements. Her eyes resembled two dried orbs of blood, pulsing with malice as she said, “No need for that, I want everyone to hear this music!”

“Sigh. Alright, how far is the progress with Master's orders?”

“His Grace wanted it done after the celebration. Tell him not to worry, these people will tell me everything by then.”

The steward sighed once more, looking Ginley square in the eye before leaving without another word. From previous experience, he knew that even saints wouldn't last a day in her hands. The excess time was merely more entertainment for her, something that Richard tacitly approved.

......

Time passed quickly when people were busy. Three days later in the afternoon, Richard was standing by in the room as the cleric cut his bloody baby off from Coco. The infant was rinsed clean before being brought to him, while Coco wolfed down her last life potion from on her bed and fell asleep. One could see the absolute relief on her face; it had been incredibly taxing to have her vitality replenished and then drained constantly for months on end.

The newborn baby didn't cry, instead looking in Richard's direction with bright round eyes. Her features seemed to be inherited from his elven side, with a partial resemblance to her mother as well. This was a beautiful baby that could even pass off as an elf, but in the depths of her irises he could see the crimson magma of her Archeron blood.

His gaze was drawn to her right ear and the section of her face around it, where there was a dark red birthmark that looked like jumping flames. As the top runemaster of Norland, he recognised it easily— this was a natural rune.

A natural rune was extremely rare, only showing up in babies with powerful bloodlines that also had great potential. They were effectively runes with no tax on one's carrying capacity, possessing far greater power than normal runes and scaling with age. These flames on the baby's face were a good indicator of her talent.

As he stared at the baby, Richard felt like she was watching him as well. Most newborns couldn't distinguish between objects, but he had the strange feeling that this infant was just pretending to be innocent. He also noticed a strange look of fear in her eyes.

A fear of him.

1273 - City of Sin

Winner

The fear in the child's eyes left Richard puzzled. Even if she was intelligent right at birth, he was her father. His heart suddenly paused for a moment, an image of Raymond randomly popping up in his head.

Had the Scholars done something to her? His heart immediately sank, but even as he used the Field of Truth to scan her body he didn't find any traces of external soulforce or mana. As a soul hunter himself, it was near impossible to hide any tampering from him. He was slightly relieved, but the feeling of wrongness didn't go away. He decided to take the baby with him when he returned to Faelor, having Nasia and the broodmother take a look. He trusted those two better than himself when it came to the soul.

Next, he decided to test her talents. Forming a small flame on his fingertips, he placed it underneath the girl's little hand. Tongues of flame licked her fingers, but she seemed to feel no pain. In fact, she giggled at the feeling, looking at the flame with interest and starting to poke it.

The flames slowly changed colour, going from a dull red to bright scarlet and orange. It was only when they burnt close to a thousand degrees that she started to hesitate, looking at them with a little fear. Dropping back to a comfortable level, he then started messing with the attributes to see if she had any specific affinity.

The girl didn't seem all that interested in the various flames, even sneezing a few times and frowning slightly. However, that changed when his flames started growing thicker and more solid. With abyssal properties added in, the girl suddenly chuckled and grabbed the magma with both hands, playing around with it.

Even though the flames weren't in his hands anymore, they were still under his control. Moving on to the last test, he added the power of Dismazon into it ever so slightly, adding a blue streak to the crimson flames. The child immediately screamed and threw the flames away, failing to grab his clothes twice before she finally succeeded and buried her head into his embrace.

Even though the flames were small, with the might of his truename they could burn half of this entire level to the floor if they went out of control. Richard quickly pulled them back to his hands, snuffing them out.

He then rubbed the little girl's head, “So, your turn.”

The baby raised her head to gaze at Richard, planning to act innocent, but looking at his expression her body trembled and she obediently raised a hand. Flames winked into existence on her palm, coagulating into an orb that grew thicker and thicker until they looked solid. She could control abyssal flames from birth!

Despite having high expectations, Richard was taken aback. Even born in the abyss, only greater demons could control abyssal flames from birth. This talent was terrifying, but it only prompted a dazzling smile as he raised the girl up to eye level, “There's a celebration about to start, I'll show you everyone!”

......

A loud horn resounded through Blackrose Castle, allowing the battle tournament to commence. The barracks had been transformed for the event, with the training grounds now forming an arena with seats all around for spectators. Naturally, Richard sat apart from the crowd, surrounded by the envoys of powerful families or legendary figures where he spent most of his time catching up with Agamemnon.

Very few people were focused on the youths battling on the floor, instead staring at the little baby that Richard was carrying. Even now one could tell that she would grow up to be beautiful, with strands of wavy fire red hair stuck to her scalp and her olive skin glowing brightly like a polished ruby. Most attention-grabbing of all was the beautiful red birthmark on her face, a natural rune!

The natural rune prompted various reactions from the audience, from bitter jealousy to deep thought and straight-up stupefaction. Her appearance confirmed that the Archeron bloodline was amongst the best of the entire plane, no matter what the actual effect of that rune was. Natural runes were never weak.

The fights in the arena grew more ferocious as time passed, the disparity between the competitors starting to shrink as the elimination stages drew to a close. Everyone in the top sixteen bracket was a saint below the age of thirty; it wasn't a stretch to say that these youthsa were overflowing with talent.

This also made the next battled more dangerous. The four grand mages Richard had stationed beside the ring to prevent things from getting out of hand were starting to lose control, with some competitors having to be carted out due to heavy injuries. Things came to a head in one of the semifinals between an assassin and mage; after a few minutes of a stalemate, both of them suddenly erupted with their strongest abilities.

The abrupt change took everyone by surprise, with some people gasping that this would end in mutual destruction. However, a stifled boom shook the arena and threw the two youths into the sky, leaving their attacks to explode in mid-air and get absorbed by the spell formations set up by the mages.

As the dust cleared, Richard's figure showed itself in the ring. His daughter still in his arms, the floor under his right foot had cracked apart everywhere, collapsing half the ring. Only legends had managed to notice him jumping in at the crucial moment, a stomp sending out the ripples of energy that moved the youths out of the way. He hadn't even blinked; this was pure speed! And he had been so precise that his daughter didn't even seem to feel it!

The two youths had already adjusted themselves in the air, flying back down to the ring. Both of them looked pale, but they were clearly prepared to continue the fight. Richard glanced at them and smiled, “Alright, continue.”

The battle resumed, but this time both competitors were obviously more careful. The ring was allowed to remain broken— true experts had to be able to fight in any environment. So long as the barrier still remained up, everything else would be fine.

...

The final victor of the tournament came as a surprise to everyone. He was the nephew of the deputy commander from the Sacred Tree Empire, a knight named Kirk who had just turned 25 and become a saint not long ago. He was handsome, had an air of composed nobility, and his saint ability greatly strengthened his defence and recovery speeds. His character seemed to match, focused on stability and endurance over explosive might.

Richard saw a bit of Agamemnon in Kirk, the same kind of composure, patience, and lack of arrogance as the Ironblood heir. The only difference was that Agamemnon had a stronger bloodline and a more powerful father, which gave him resources that Kirk wouldn't have access to. Nephew and son were entirely different things; there would be no way for Kirk to inherit his uncle's estate, so he would have to work independently with the hope of becoming an earl one day. He would then wait and see if any of his descendants had the gift to take his family line to the next level.

However, background was just one other facet of ability. Richard himself had gotten two powerful blessings as the child of the Shaman of the Moon, allowing him to analyse laws faster than anyone else. If not for that, he might not even have rivalled the young man who was now considered a junior before him. He had also inherited the Archeron Family after Gaton's death; even though that was more trouble than it was worth, it allowed him to make a number of offerings to the Eternal Dragon without paying any fees. His own cousin had to fight tooth and nail just to become an earl, after which it would have taken decades to go further. Alice now stood a chance to become a duchess in another decade, but that was only because she had thrown her lot in with him.

To the majority of people, talent was the most important thing. However, in the world of prodigies, accumulation was the cornerstone of growth. Some goals needed several generations to fulfill, this was the true purpose of inheritance...

Richard shook his head, burying these floating thoughts as he walked up to the stage and stood before the top ten. He would be the one rewarding the victors.
𝘧𝘳𝑒ℯ𝔀𝘦𝒃𝘯𝒐𝐯e𝗹. co𝐦

The champion Kirk seemed a little emotional at the moment, his gaze drawn to the gold medal representing his points. All competitors had gotten the latest list of items in the exchange before the tournament began, and they were also given the privilege to buy anything they wanted without any level-based restrictions. A rune set with the mount was only thirty points, but it currently needed someone to have over a thousand accumulated. Some other rare materials and important supplies had such requirements as well, but all of it was waived for these contestants. The list had predictably stunned many of the participants into silence. The first page alone had a number of runes, materials, and equipment that they simply couldn't believe.

1274 - City of Sin

Divine Runemaster

The most dazzling item in the list given to the participants was the battle edition of Midren. News had already spread about this divine rune set that cost a mind-boggling number of points. This one competition certainly wouldn't award anywhere near enough to get even a piece, but one could always not spend and join the battlefield for more. It was rumoured that two pieces had already been sold, and that at least one of each rune would have been offered in a year's time. It was possible to assemble the entire set, showcasing Midren's splendour in battle!

Richard's battle recordings had already been sent to all the powerful families in Norland. The six-winged radiance of Midren, the divine sword dancing like the wind, the aggressive power the moment the dragon was slain... it could all stir the emotions of anyone with even a drop of hot blood within them. Most young hearts were set on fire by the sight.

This was the reason for the near-deadly end to the final battle. Kirk was someone with his own dreams, the nephew of a powerful duke but only a middling officer in the army of the Sacred Tree Empire. He didn't need anything urgently, unlike the second and third place competitors who wanted the rune sets immediately, but he was eyeing some good legendary equipment. Specifically, he was interested in a shield that could deflect spells that possessed about the power of a grade 8 fireball, and a powerful thunder-attribute sword.

Handing over the badge that signified the points, Richard smiled, “Do you know what you want to get?”

Under Richard's gaze, Kirk immediately tensed up. In reality, the two weren't far apart in age, but he couldn't even bring himself to be jealous of the Archeron's might. The disparity between them was far too great for envy to make sense.

“I'm torn between the Spellbouncing Shield and the Thunderflash Sword, Your Grace,” he said honestly.

Richard raised a brow, “Hmm? I don't think either of those really suits you... Let me think, there's a grade 4 rune I made recently that can help control nature. I think it suits you well.”

“Nature? Thank you, Your Grace, I'll consider it.” Kirk didn't agree immediately. Even facing a legendary mage with near-epic might, he still insisted on his own judgement. However, Richard wasn't offended. Laughing it off, he walked to the runner-up; he had already given his advice, and the rest depended on the winner's luck. Controlling nature was only a supplementary ability that improved one's ability to navigate various environments, but the rune was specifically scaled down from Kingsteel so it had some degree of control over metals as well. Even though it couldn't manipulate an opponent's weapons and equipment, it could boost one's own. For someone focused on a balance between offence and defence, this was the most direct way to increase his battle capabilities.

That being said, he understood the young man's choice. While Kirk was technically from a strong family, he didn't have much backing in his own branch. A piece of legendary equipment could be passed down and used by generations, whereas runes could only serve their master effectively. Restoring a dead man's runes for someone else was an expensive task, and that still needed a successor with significant power.

At the same time, Richard understood that the confluence of events that brought him to his current position was vanishingly rare, normally taking hundreds of years to recur. Even if the family had the wealth to get the rune restored, few would be able to do it with the same or similar quality. The rune would definitely deteriorate generation by generation.

In the end, this was a choice between safety and ambition. Choosing equipment not particularly suited to oneself would be a hope placed on one's descendants, while the rune would be confidence in his own ability to bring his family to new heights. Kirk could choose either; Richard had just seen a shadow of something he had once been in the man.

With the prizes handed out, many people were in high spirits. Even those who didn't win had performed quite well, assuring them of the future of Norland. This was a more general feeling that many shared; while Norland had limited lands, there were countless other planes. No matter which family's crest was on the flags planted elsewhere, the flags were Norland's all the same.

A sumptuous feast was served at dinner, paired with aged fine wine. It clearly displayed the taste and generosity of the Archerons.

Indeed, taste. The biggest difference between upstarts and hegemons was in the details, and Richard had hired the best masters in all of Norland. No expenses had been spared in decoration and food, with even a piece of paper being placed in perfect position. Even though his overall standards had still matched other powerful families when he first took over, but there would have been many things to criticise. The same dishes would have been paired with sub-par cutlery, drinks, or even served by waiters with a lack of etiquette. As for Gaton's time, the Archerons had lived off the philosophy of 'just enough'. Gaton would much rather put more meat in the bowls of his soldiers than spend money treating nobles to feasts.

Richard's path was the complete opposite. He was basically never short on money, swimming in gold all the way from his first accomplishments as a runemaster to the reward point system at which point he was beginning to rival entire countries on his own. He basically had an endless gold mine, and he was using it to prove that upstarts could rival ancient families if they broke out enough.

His daughter Fiora was naturally one of the stars in this dinner. She didn't look anything like a newborn, staring at all the attendees with wide-eyed curiosity, and the dark red currents in the depths of her eyes didn't escape the attention of many. The very fact that she was so mature already showed how strong her bloodline was; just like a baby dragon, she possessed great intelligence at birth. Her name was pronounced similarly in Common as in divine tongue, and meant something akin to the Ruler of Flames.

The nobles and powerhouses crowded around Richard, showering him with compliments of various kinds. Under his urging, she also displayed her ability to control abyssal flames and stirred up the crowd. Many dukes immediately found excuses to talk to him alone, formally proposing an alliance through marriage. He could choose any groom they wanted from their families once she came of age, and they promised many other things on top of that. For a period of time, Richard wore a dazzling smile on his face. The proposals were one thing, but he could tell that at least some of these well-wishes were genuine.

......

After a few hours of conversation, Richard handed a yawning Fiora to a cleric so she could be put to bed. What followed was the last major event that he had planned, the rune convention.

It was already past midnight, but nobody showed any signs of fatigue. The hall was quickly filled up, and with all the familiarity of a master presenter Richard walked on stage and started explaining his runes in detail.

“.... And these are the Crimson Wings, the last part of the set...” It took him roughly an hour to give a cursory explanation of all ten components of Midren's battle edition, and the crowd had been dead silent the entire time. They stared at the components and noted down every detail, the more experienced amongst them even able to roughly understand how the various parts interacted to form a rune set that went beyond the ordinary saint rune. This convention was destined to go down in history, and they would be its witnesses.

Silence reigned for a few minutes even after Richard finished, at which point a duke sighed softly, “This is simply divine.”

From that moment on, Richard had exceeded all the saint runemasters in Norland's history, becoming its first divine runemaster.

He clapped his hands, ending the projection before moving on to the next rune, “Next, I will showcase a rune that both has history and yet is completely new. Its power has reached the pinnacle of grade 5, and its usefulness surpasses all saint runes. The only limitation is that it is limited to mages.”

Two legendary mages in the audience gasped in surprise, looking at each other as they understood just what was about to be unveiled. Their hearts started thumping with anticipation.

Richard paused, allowing that understanding to ripple through the crowd before he continued, “This is the capstone of Saint Lawrence's career, the true Mana Armament. Although there is a bit of energy lost, it can convert a legendary mage's mana into internal energy. With this on hand, the greatest problem for us mages is that we need to train in swords as well.”

The rare attempt at humour produced no laughs from the crowd. Everyone just stared at the rune on display, excited murmurs breaking out amongst the audience. Mages and their friends were naturally overjoyed, while those who had magical enemies went stiff. This was a rune that would destroy the already-delicate balance of the two main types of combatants. While mages already overpowered warriors in many situations before, now there wouldn't even be any hope.

Richard himself was a very good example. He could beat most people with swordplay alone, having been famous for being a close combat mage well before he was even a legend. Even if one could doubt Midren, the lesser versions of Mana Armament had already proved their worth in the market.

1275 - City of Sin

Mercy

Amidst intense discussion, someone asked about the price. Norland still had several hidden depths, and there were many people whose treasuries were a complete mystery to the rest of the plane. Mana Armament and Midren both were certain to have astronomical prices, but their eventual owners were still an unknown. Even someone like Saint Lawrence, who had fallen from grace many years ago, still had eight top-tier offerings when Richard first met him. Truly powerful families, especially outside of Faust, could give away a dozen top-tier offerings with minimal impact to their situation.

While Mana Armament was still acceptable, Midren's battle edition would turn a powerful legend into an epic being. This was a military advantage that could not be bought.

Richard already had a plan for the sale of his runes. Because of limited production, Midren would only be available via the point reward system. Mana Armament would appear there at some point as well, costing around 5,000 points, but those who didn't participate in the system would still be able to win it in an auction that would be held soon.

This was all serious news, and many leaders instructed their helpers to get a hold of the current exchange list of the point reward system as soon as possible. They would study it properly after the banquet; for the sake of Midren, anything was worth it.

Dinner ended smoothly, and there were many people who wished for a private audience with Richard. With far too many people asking, he only managed to allocate twenty minutes per person. Even so, it was dawn by the time he sent off his last visitor.

The old steward had waited patiently through the night, delivering his report only when Richard was free. Ginley had gathered all the information he wanted.

Looking at the report, Richard sighed, “Is Coco awake?”

“Yes, she's with the Young Mistress. She seems no different from normal, but the Young Mistress seems to have no attachment to her and even rejects her embrace.”

“Let Fiora play however she wants for the next few days, and feed her as much as she'll eat; I'll be taking her to Faelor in a couple days when I return. I'm going to see the criminal right now, go get Coco too.”

A few minutes later, Richard was sitting on a high-backed chair in the Blackrose dungeons, looking at the culprit with annoyance written all over his face. Ginley was stood beside him, her body stooped down in flattery. Every time she saw Richard, the old woman smiled like an old dog that had caught sight of a room.

The moment Coco stepped in, shock filled her face, “How... Why...”

The person kneeling down was her personal maid, the very one that had been recruited from her family. The woman had been replaced by two young female mages for the past few days, but Richard had explained that it was a critical time so she had put it out of her mind. She had never expected the woman to have been captured in secret.

“My... My Lord, it can't be her, can it?”

Richard's brows furrowed, but he remained silent as Ginley spoke up in her owl-like voice, “Miss Coco, I have never made a mistake in this regard. She might be able to deceive externally, but her soul does not lie.”

The maid shivered in fright upon hearing that, but Richard just looked at Coco and sighed, “You're the one who hired her. She's leaked intelligence about the family to outsiders repeatedly in the past month, already earning over 3,000 gold for it.”

“What... impossible...” 3,000 gold was no small sum for a commoner. Even as an official partner of Richard's, Coco only received a few hundred gold coins a month as an allowance. As someone who had done this herself, she knew just how much the maid would have given away. As for the source of all that information? It was herself.

As someone groomed to be the old steward's successor, Coco often worked with Richard's documents. Although she wasn't in a position to make any decisions herself, she had a general idea about most of Richard's choices. Having known the maid for a long time, she had casually mentioned many things that she shouldn't have divulged.

“I'm... I'm sorry...” she fell to the floor.

Ginley chuckled, “How must we deal with those who bought this information? And what about this woman?”

“Hmm... People will keep doing that, there's no need to treat it too seriously. Still, we can't just let it go either... How about this, look through the list of names this one sold information to, and have the less important ones vanish. She's all yours.”

“Many thanks, Your Grace. This is a large reason for my devotion.”

“And the others?”

“Unstoppable power!” the old hag said in a trembling voice.

Richard nodded, “So you can sense the thing in my body. You'll get what you want if you do well.”

Ginley bowed in gratitude.

Having understood her fate, the stunned maid suddenly jumped up. “Your Grace, no! Spare me, beat me however you want, but don't give me to her! Sister Coco, I'm begging you!”

Coco looked a little disturbed, but she sighed softly, “This was my fault too. I can't help you.”

“I ONLY TOOK A LITTLE MONEY, MONEY I DESERVE! YOU CAN'T HELP ME? DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH I HAD TO SACRIFICE TO COME HERE? YOUR FATHER FUCKED ME, YOUR BROTHER FUCKED ME. THEY USED ME LIKE A TOY!”

The maid leapt towards Coco, but she crumpled mid-flight and rolled over in pain. Her screams resonated through the dungeons, but her voice was quickly silenced as Ginley pointed towards her. Mouth still wide open in pain, she couldn't make any sounds at all.

Coco looked at Richard, seemingly with the intent to beg for mercy, but she didn't dare open her mouth as she saw his expression. He picked up another document, “So I just expanded your father's lands and there were two incidents where citizens have been beaten to death. The reason? Disrespect towards your elder brother. There are interrogations that make trouble for travelling caravans, and constant conflict with all neighbours. Your father just built a checkpoint to collect taxes from incoming caravan, on a road leading straight to Blackrose. Do they think I've given them such little money that they're planning to tax me directly?”

“That's... impossible...” she felt her entire body losing strength, legs giving way as she fell to the floor.

Looking at her sorry state, Richard sighed and brought her to a seat, “How should I handle this?”

Coco was sobbing quietly, unable to speak. Ever since her pregnancy was announced, her father, brother, and all sorts of relatives came to her asking for money, territory, and titles. Amongst them were people she had never seen before. Her brother even claimed that Richard owed him an earldom, using Richard's name to do all sorts of heinous things. She had been worried about this throughout her pregnancy, but now her brother had even killed citizens just for disrespect.

Citizens weren't the same as slaves; no normal leader would execute them randomly. Coco's father wasn't even an independent lord; her brother simply had no right to execute anyone without a trial. Please visit 𝙛𝓇𝑒𝗲𝒘e𝘣𝓷𝘰ѵe𝚕. com

Even as the traitorous maid writhed on the floor, Richard paced around the room in thought. The old steward lowered his head in shame— he ought to have reported this, but he had kept everything under the radar. Unfortunately, Coco's family had grown more and more brazen with time, and the extortion of caravans had blown it up to the point that Richard heard of everything through other means.

Richard walked a dozen rounds, perplexed by this problem. The situation was more thorny than conquering another plane, involving emotions instead of reason. He normally would just execute such bad actors, but Coco was after all the mother of his child.

He eventually came to a resolution, “They're your family, and I'll take care of them. Have your brother enter the army, I'll have him stationed to defend Goldflow Valley. Your father can keep his title and lands, but he will have no right to earn money from them. I'll take care of his expenditure in the future, provided these things are never unreported again.

“Got it?” he stared straight at the steward, even as Coco heaved a sigh of relief at the light punishment. The old man nodded before walking over, escorting her out.

Once the two were gone, Ginley snickered, “You are too merciful, Your Grace.”

1276 - City of Sin

Demonic Attack

Back in Faelor, the Genesis had its peace broken entirely. Formations of soldiers advanced deep into the barbarian plains, subduing or even exterminating any who dared oppose them. Richard hadn't broken the magic array sapping the plane's origin, so the barbarians were still held down by their fetters. They could easily grow to level 13 or 14 if they were freed, but the same race that had appreciated his kindness decades ago was now a staunch enemy that would only rebel. He had no plans to add to his troubles.

Several giant wasps were slowly moving goods through the sky, but the worker drones were still the main task force. Thousands of them supported a hundred-odd mages bustling around in the underground depths, supporting the attempts to unravel the giant array constructed by the abyssal lord. The river of origin energy had already been diverted to a nearby tank, the hill once blocking it now replaced by a huge castle that was under construction. Defensive structures were being built all around the ancient battlefield, preparing for the inevitable day when the demons would attack.

One day, the calm surface of the planar passage to the abyss suddenly rippled, flames shooting out from within as huge black hooves made their way out and landed on the floor. The hooves crushed a worker drone that was scurrying across the ground, but the four-metre-tall figure that was their owner barely noticed as it stepped through.

The newcomer looked around for a moment, taking in a deep breath before speaking in abyssal, “A little cold, but not bad. The Lord's aura is gone, too.”

The demon was just about to explore the surroundings when he heard the sound of metal striking earth, turning around to find twenty humans charging towards him on horseback. He snorted in contempt, taking huge steps forward to charge them down, but as the two sides approached within a hundred metres of each other the knights suddenly started glowing with energy. Fortified javelins shot into the sky, barely giving the alerted demon enough time to block his head and chest before they struck.

*BOOM!* The fist javelin exploded into the arm, taking almost half of the limb off even as others pierced deep into the body. A sequence of explosions quickly rang out, scattering the body into pulp. The greater demon evidently had no idea what rune knights were, having tried to fend off the volley of two full squadrons. Even with power approaching that of a sky saint, this resulted in instant death.

What the demon didn't know was that the workers scurried around the place as sentries. When he had crushed what he thought was a bee to death, he had alerted the cloned brain that immediately dispatched troops to the area.

Even with the demon down, the rune knights slowly circled around it. With their cunning and vitality, one could never take too many precautions. It was only after one of the knights jabbed the corpse half a dozen times with his spear that they calmed down, sending the safety signal. A few mages quickly rode over and started to examine the carcass.

“Fairly matured, but it's used to fighting barehanded. Looks like this level of the abyss is rather poorly equipped,” one of them commented. These mages were all experienced in demonology.

Another diligently cut open the demon's skull, fetching a blazing hot crystal from within and examining it for a moment. He eventually sighed, “Bad news. This one managed to send a message back to the abyss; it won't be long before we're facing a demon army.”

“No need to worry. We need to report this right away, but there are enough people who want to earn points. I believe their only worry will be that there will be too few.”

“Tch. It's a pity we can't get any points ourselves.”

“Actually, we just might. I've heard that His Grace is considering restructuring our pay. A part of our wages might be paid in points.”

“That would be great!”

The mages finished their examination of the corpse as they chatted, allowing the rune knights to carry it back to the castle. Just like dragons, demons were treasure troves of materials that made up many important parts of their bodies. Even broken and mangled, they were worth something.

Not long after, a few strong saints ran to the abyssal portal and passed through it. Shocked to see a number of demons gathered on the other side, with more arriving by the minute, they killed the closest ones before retreating.

Thankfully, Richard was already prepared. There were multiple fortresses in the ancient battlefield, with troops deployed to each. The main castle was even powered by the liquefied origin energy of Faelor, possessing boundless might. Even though it was still under construction— the defensive structures and spell formations were on the level of a mage tower— it could still provide protection.

......

Just as quickly as the demons started appearing in the Genesis, news of the demon army converging was placed on Richard's desk. He knitted his brows when he got the report— it had come earlier than expected. Even worse was the scale of activity; it looked like some lesser lords would be involved.

He now had to prioritise strengthening the defences of the Genesis, for which the first act would be simple. The portal to the abyss would become the second battlefield where one could participate in the reward point system, and the target was obviously the demons.

This news stirred up many powerful figures, some of whom were particularly unsuited to fighting dragons or well-versed against demons. The happiest amongst them were ordinary saints, who were too weak individually to deal with a small number of powerful individuals. Only sky saints could even contend against adult dragons, but even normal saints could fight greater demons without much issue. The chance to accumulate points here was massive, leaving them extremely thrilled.

However, a new battlefield for points wasn't as simple as it looked. Richard would now have to deal with a massive influx of participants, which meant he had to expand his production sites to handle the new load. Converting draconic and demonic materials into supplies, offerings, equipment, and runes was a complicated task, and even with the thousand mages currently serving him across the Deepblue and Faelor he was short on manpower for it. He had to increase the remuneration of all mages, smiths, and alchemists under him, sending the rewards up by 30% to bring Archeron mages to earning 1.5 times their peers in other powerful families.

More than fifty mages signed up the very day that this new reward scheme was announced, but even so this was a trickle compared to what he needed. It would take time to get everything up to speed, and he would have to personally fill the gaps until then. Thankfully, he wasn't really worried about some of his weaker runes being mimicked any longer, which allowed him to recruit more apprentice runemasters to meet demand..

......

Once the expansion plans were taken care of, Richard took a few of his followers and teleported to the Millennial Empire to make some more offerings. With their own production capabilities unable to keep up, it would be best to get some equipment from offerings to tide things over. He also had a few other plans he wanted to execute.

Just like before, Prince Tumen sent Macy to receive him, with the woman accompanying him to the Church of the Eternal Dragon. A few priestesses welcomed him warmly this time, hovering around him like flies, but thinking back to what Nasia had told him he laughed and pointed to the most beautiful at them all, “You'll be the hostess. Where's the high priestess? Why isn't she coming to meet me?”

Awkward expressions immediately appeared on the faces of the priestesses. The high priestess shared a complex relationship with the grand priestess that Richard had chased out, so she wasn't exactly happy with his return. If not for the fact that she knew she couldn't do much to him, she would have tried to use her timeforce to kill him directly.

Nobody expected Richard to call her out when she was avoiding him, and it wasn't as simple as it seemed. He had already shown them last time that there was a limit to their status, and that his own was far beyond theirs. Even just giving up divine grace to the Eternal Dragon for free, he had more than enough to chase out one of their strongest members. Now, he was targeting the legendary high priestess instead.

1277 - City of Sin

Sypha's World

Seeing the priestesses remain silent, Richard sneered, “Does the high priestess really think she can hide in her little hole?”

“The High Priestess is training in some mystic arts,” one priestess tried to smooth things over, “It is an inconvenient time for her.”

“Training?” Richard let out a hearty laugh, “You lot only need to stand on stage and make a few poses to get that timeforce all of you die for, what mystic arts do you train? Do you really think you're all Chosen? Even if Flowsand and Ferlyn aren't here, it isn't her turn.”

The priestess blushed, but before she could continue Richard waved her off, “If she doesn't wish to treat me right, I guess there's no need to be courteous.”

The golden hourglass appeared atop his head, but this time many recognised that there were even more designs than before. He had recovered what he'd lost from banishing the previous high priestess and then some. One of those new designs suddenly disappeared and turned into timeforce, charging towards the ceiling and converging into the boundless sea of time.

The entire church suddenly started shaking, a cry of alarm ringing out deep within. Many of the priestesses present saw two more patterns disappearing from Richard's hourglass even as that alarm turned to pain, a golden blade sweeping across and cutting Richard's threads of time.

Richard sneered at the temporary measures, standing his ground with timeforce slowly twining around him. Even though it seemed like he had stopped, the priestesses felt the pressure on them grow further; they knew just whose scream that was.

Less than a minute later, a young woman was standing in front of Richard, her lavish divine robes broken in many sections. Many trinkets on her body had currently lost their glow, clearly having been destroyed not long ago, but one could still make out her beauty behind all these obstacles.

Richard sized up the new high priestess for a few seconds. While time held no meaning to the appearance of those serving the Eternal Dragon, she was actually quite young and gifted. It was said that the Eternal Dragon favoured her a little, allowing her to cross into the legendary realm early into her life and become the one who controlled this church after the previous leader was banished.

“Richard, this is the Church of the Eternal Dragon!” she said angrily, “You are acting presumptuously.”

Richard was unfazed, “Sypha, right? I presume that you know what the Church of the Eternal Dragon is. You should understand that I can do whatever I want here and it isn't considered impudent.”

A little shocked, Sypha grew serious and glared viciously at him. It looked like she was trying to peer into his soul, but as someone who had lived on the edge of death for a long time Richard wasn't affected by such gazes at all. He stood there calmly, his gaze going up and down her body repeatedly while deliberately stopping at the damaged sections of her robes.

Sypha's expression turned cold as she saw his lecherous gaze, but for some reason she chose not to erupt. Looking to her left and right, she coldly ordered the paladins, “Leave.”

Once the paladins were gone, she then cast a glance at the other priestesses, “You all, do whatever you want and get lost!”

Even though the priestesses seemed unwilling, they had no choice but to listen to her and retreated at once. Only the one handpicked by Richard hesitated, eventually standing her ground. She understood that leaving now would forfeit her chance to host the offering ceremony, of which only one round would be enough for her to accumulate just as much divine grace as she had in several years. For the sake of that much grace, she didn't mind the risk of offending Sypha.

Sypha took one look at that priestess before saying menacingly, “Good job.”

She then turned towards Richard, raising an eyebrow with a hint of provocation, “Let's discuss things in my private hall. Do you dare come with me?”

“Is there any place in this building I wouldn't dare enter?” Richard sneered. He then turned to the other priestess, tapping her nose, “I'll be back.”

Glee immediately flashed across the woman's face; she had made the right choice.

Sypha snorted, walking away with her head held high. Her body radiated cold arrogance as she waved Richard forward, the lights shifting as they were teleported into her private hall.

This was an extremely vast space, with an enormous hourglass hanging above the azure sky. A golden glow covered the carpet of glass below, giving the same sheen to the boundless sea all around. Soft grains of golden sand were constantly washed in and out, their sparkle lighting up the ground. In the middle of this island was a small forest, centred around a small hut that seemed to be Sypha's residence.

This was a beautiful world. Even far from the sea, Richard could see fish of various colours dancing around in the blue and gold water. There were many species he had never even seen before; it was clear that Sypha had put a lot of work into this small world.

He smiled at this small understanding of her character, pointing towards the little hut, “Are we just going to stand around? Let's go, I want to see your home.”

“No!” Sypha yelled, losing the calm she had tried so hard to maintain.

“Then try stopping me,” he said as he stretched his hand towards the sky. The golden hourglass suddenly stopped its slow rotation, the world freezing in tandem. Waves stopped mid-motion, and the fish froze in the water as well. Time itself hadn't come to a stop, but all that governed this little world had.

“So, not going to invite me in?” Richard asked with a smile, following along as the woman bit her lips and led the way. The conflict in her expression had taught him a lot as well; this was someone who was smart, skilled, and arrogant, but she also had self-control. He loved such opponents; they were the kind who weighed the pros and cons of every decision.

Such rationality was actually a shortcoming. He would have to act more cautiously if she was someone with nothing to lose, willing to pit all of her accumulations against him just for her pride. The grand priestess had been such a person, someone with immense will and a stubborn attitude who was completely unwilling to compromise. Sypha would give him so much more at minimal cost to himself.

The hut wasn't particularly spacious, but it was exquisitely designed with every item chosen carefully. There wasn't any particularly extravagant furniture, but it was respectably cosy within. The single bedroom, study, lobby, and kitchen were the kind of minimalist he liked. Sypha could have built an entire palace within this private hall, but she had chosen a small wooden hut.

Richard carefully looked through every single room, even playing around with a few of the trinkets within. Following along, Sypha had an unnatural mix of fear, rage, and even nervousness on her face. This tour was effectively a peek into her own existence, but there was nothing she could do. He had made one thing clear; if she couldn't compromise, she would be ruined just like the grand priestess was before.

He had already drained a large amount of her divine force in the short exchange, obtaining control over most of the church building in the process. The entire process left her frightened; fully aware of just how much divine grace that he took, of which he would have to give up the same amount himself, it felt like his reserves were inexhaustible. Timeforce flooded out at his command, as though the world bent to his will.

Even though Sypha was unwilling to admit it, she had paid a huge price for hiding from Richard. She couldn't bring herself to think of a life without her current status and prestige, and the reason for it all suddenly seemed so stupid it was hilarious. Did she even have any issues with Richard? Did she even have a family backing her in case he stripped her of all her power? She had shared a great relationship with the grand priestess that was banished, but it wasn't to the point that she would sacrifice everything for her friend.

Richard sat down on Sypha's bed, as though he was the one hosting her, “Sit down, this isn't a bad place to speak.”

Anger flashed past the priestess's eyes, but she quickly buried it and pulled a chair over to sit in front of the window. Resignation filled her face as she stared at him, waiting for him to speak.

1278 - City of Sin

Secret Of The Chosen

“Let's take a look at our situation first,” Richard started, “You should know by now that my authority in this church far exceeds yours, even in your private hall. As for the amount of grace I have, I can show you once more.”

He stretched out his hand, a magnificent hourglass floating atop his palm. Although she had already expected this, Sypha's eyes widened in shock as she saw the magnificence of it first hand. She didn't need to meticulously count the number of lines; one glance told her what she needed to know. When it came to the Eternal Dragon, the appearance of one's hourglass was directly related to their importance. It was a rather crude method of establishing hierarchy, but an effective one. Given that system, the visual impact of Richard's was beyond comparison.

She didn't know how she felt seeing that. Just how many offerings had he sacrificed to get it? Ten? Twenty? More?

Richard smiled, “I don't have all that much grace remaining, but I can still chase you and the other priestesses here out of the church. If it's you alone, I can excommunicate you seven or eight times.”

The priestess turned pale, asking bluntly, “What do you want?”

“No, the right question is what can you give me? We might have started out on the wrong foot, and it won't be easy to wipe it from memory. I'm sure a leader of the Church is more experienced than random clerics; you should know what your true role is.” He flashed a cynical smile, with a tinge of something that she couldn't quite understand mixed in, “Not one of you is irreplaceable to the old dragon, regardless of your talents. You meet his standards, and that's enough. There is no point in overqualified decorations, or am I wrong?”

Sypha paled further. Richard's words echoed suspicions she'd had herself, but she'd never managed to word it so frankly.

He concluded, “In the eyes of the Eternal Dragon, only the Chosen and those like me are special. I can turn an ordinary person into a priestess, and a priestess into the master of the church. Just like the one waiting out there.”

“But... how do you know so much about all this?”

“I have a friend with a... complicated relationship with the old dragon. She was the one who showed me how to make good use of my title, or I'd just be bullied by you people. Heh, that would have been a big joke.”

Sypha sighed, losing all hopes of redemption. A helpless smile crawled up her face, “Since you already know so much, then you also know that there's a limit to what I can do. At most, I can allow you to make offerings through me. When you come to the Church in the future, there won't be any need to use the other families of the Empire.”

“That's it?”

She gritted her teeth, asking with determination, “What can I get from you? I'm willing to pay a price, but I need to know what I'm paying for!”

“Tell me what you want,” he smiled. This willingness to make demands was a good start.

“I want the right to host your ceremonies. Not necessarily solely, but it has to be at least marginally more than that w...oman out there.”

He sat up and nodded, “Ambitious, but that isn't worth a channel.”

Sypha's body went rigid, but after a moment of hesitation she finally stood up and walked towards him, sticking close as she sat down awkwardly. She stiffened once more as he lifted her chin with a hand, but she didn't resist and just closed her eyes.

Richard lightly brushed a finger against her lips before smacking her butt, “Deal. But I'll collect on my end later.”

Her eyes shot back open, a flurry of emotions flowing through them. She'd actually been let off so easily? A sigh of relief was tempered by faint disappointment; she knew that the man in front of her might have the secret to being Chosen by the Eternal Dragon, and it was clear that one could use him to better their relationship with the old dragon.

As a high priestess, becoming Chosen was her ultimate dream. Although all Chosen eventually had to head to the Darkness, it was the only way to earn a shot at freedom.

The two walked out of the wooden house, but this time side by side. Sypha only lagged behind a little, lost in thought as she weighed her options.

“Do you know why you aren't Chosen?” Richard asked randomly, piercing into the heart of her desire.

Sypha tried hard to maintain her composure, but her trembling voice betrayed her, “Why?”

He stared into her eyes, “Be good, and I might give you some suggestions in the future. For now, I have one piece of advice: becoming Chosen is never a good choice.”

“I don't care about the price!” she shook her head, clearly full of resolve.

Richard sighed softly, saying no more as he thought back to the halls that Ferlyn and Flowsand chose. Flowsand's shrine was an endless desert, while Ferlyn's was an empty hall with nothing inside. They stayed in those rooms for decades at a time; it was impossible to know just how much time passed during each stay.

But what kind of person could bear to last hundreds or even thousands of years in such an environment? He thought of something he normally didn't pay attention to, Ferlyn's past. He roughly knew about the circumstances that had turned her heart to stone, allowing her to become the high priestess that guarded the Church alone. What about Flowsand? Was there another story behind her that no one knew?

The first time he met Flowsand, she looked like a girl barely into her teens, no bigger than himself. He had easily neglected her status, but it was only in recent years that he wondered how she could endure the loneliness of the unchanging desert. He wasn't confident that he would be able to do such a thing.

“What is it?” Sypha noticed the sudden change of expression.

“Nothing, I just thought about some things that I normally neglect. Let's go make the offerings, I don't have much time.”

Despite the dismissal, the woman nodded and called upon the timeforce around them, warping back into the main hall. Richard walked over to the woman who had been waiting all this time and smiled, “Tell my men to bring the offerings inside, bravery should be rewarded.”

“Yes, Your Grace!” the girl sped away with excitement.

“The cheap whore!” Sypha swore at the retreating figure, prompting a laugh from Richard that silenced her immediately.

Not long after, a stream of rune knights carried chest after chest into the main hall, the sheer number of offerings changing the expressions of many. Just looking at the number of boxes, any of the priestesses could tell that they wouldn't get as much grace in twenty years of hard work. Richard had come prepared this time, with a full fifteen top-tier offerings in hand.

As she saw the number of offerings, the beautiful young priestess was stunned breathless. Richard had to remind her that it was time for the ceremony, at which point she regained her senses and bowed sensuously, “Thank you! Please, let me know if you need anything at all in the future!”

Richard just smiled, walking to the altar. The curtain of light quickly surrounded him, enveloping the inner room.

Standing outside, the beautiful priestess watched the curtain of light rise. Excitement was written all over her face, eyes shining with mad resolution. Richard hadn't mentioned to Sypha that this cleric was more likely to become Chosen than her, that she didn't have the requisite insanity that true Chosen possessed. The old dragon didn't require rational people, he needed lunatics that would willingly give up their future for what could be considered dumb reasons.

Standing in front of the altar, he couldn't bring himself to calm down at all. He wasn't certain why Flowsand would become Chosen, but now he at least knew why she had gone to the Darkness so early. If there was one thing that made her a lunatic...

It was him.

1279 - City of Sin

Blessing: Portal To The Darkness

The list of blessings was dazzling as always, various materials, blessings, and items up for offer. Richard grabbed any legendary or even sub-legendary equipment without much thought, and the Eternal Dragon seemed to really be favouring him as it offered him that equipment more and more often. There was even a number of full sub-legendary armour sets that would undoubtedly be a huge draw to those who couldn't fight for Midren.

Offerings disappeared into timeforce even as a mountain of equipment piled up next to Richard, and the passages to Goldflow Valley and the Boulder Highlands had been strengthened as well. Now, even armies of level 15 warriors could be sent through and be worth the cost.

The entire process was very mechanical, but when Richard placed the last two top-tier offerings on the altar together the list suddenly changed. A brand new option appeared in front of him, stunning him into silence.

Blessing: Portal to the Darkness. This was a special kind of blessing, one that he had never expected, but Richard strangely found himself feeling rather empty within. He didn't tremble as he read the description, didn't even feel emotionally charged. It just felt... strange.

The blessing would form a physical teleportation gate capable of sending an individual straight into the darkness, forming a huge and steady portal that was impervious to any damage. It could be formed in any environment under any circumstance, and using it would also make the user just as impervious until the teleportation was complete. Only those with power greater than the Eternal Dragon could break the barrier, but Norland had never come across such a powerful being before.

However, the Darkness was an enigma that the Eternal Dragon could not control. It wasn't primal chaos like the Outlands, nor elemental like most other primary planes. It was just... an unknown. Richard had put a great deal of research into it ever since Flowsand went there, hoping to follow and look for her when the time was right, but he hadn't found a single way to enter it. Even Sharon was clueless about the place.

And now, the list of blessings actually held a pathway to the Darkness.

Seeing that there were several pages of an explanation, he took a deep breath and continued going through it all. Even for the Eternal Dragon, teleporting someone to the Darkness was a huge responsibility. One had to establish the order of time there before they could return, only able to form a portal back once a Lighthouse of Time was established. Of course, this wasn't for a lack of desire; throwing someone outside one's domain was one thing, but finding them afterwards was difficult. Even the old dragon would need a beacon of some sort to be able to track the person once more.

The detailed explanation for the blessing pointed out that it only existed for the purpose of saving lives. Preserving one's life naturally came with a corresponding price, and here that was to open up a new territory for the Eternal Dragon. If they failed, the individual could only rot to death in an unknown land.

However, another question came to Richard's mind as he went through this; how big was the Darkness? Logically speaking, even the known void was vast and near-boundless, and countless researchers believed that it was only a small fragment of the myriad planes. The Darkness was definitely larger than the area under the control of the Eternal Dragon, something that made intuitive sense to many.

He couldn't just enter the Darkness rashly. If he did so, there was a chance that he wouldn't find Flowsand, or worse, fall into a trap and get lost. However, that didn't mean the Eternal Dragon had no way to reunite him with his love. The old dragon was an excellent salesman, and wouldn't have shown him this option if he was unlikely to use it.

Surely enough, there was an option to upgrade this blessing. It detailed many different places on the border, each named after the Chosen responsible for charting it. Sure enough, he saw the Land of Dawn in the list, the area Flowsand had gone to. According to her agreement, she could regain her freedom once the entirety of that section was under the Eternal Dragon's control. However, there wasn't a single record of a Chosen actually managing the feat in their lifetime.

With this new information, Richard didn't even hesitate as he chose the blessing, alongside the upgrade to the Land of Dawn. Three top-tier offerings' worth of divine grace vanished, the surging timeforce fading away, but as the altar returned to ruins he bleakly looked at the back of his right hand. There was a small hourglass marked on it now, the brand that effectively guaranteed him another life.

However, this only increased the number of problems he faced. He was no longer young enough to abandon everything for the sake of love, having millions of lives depending on his. While Flowsand would always have the biggest part of his heart, he still had his family, followers, Sharon, Mountainsea, Rosie, Alice, and Coco.

Every word of Flowsand's last letter to him was still etched deep into his heart. She had told him not to look for her until he could defeat the pope of the Church of Glory, a mandate that had left him confused for a long time. Even having fought indirectly, he couldn't figure out the old man's limits, leaving him unable to predict the final victor of that battle. It was only because of Martin's help that he had been able to focus on Michael back then, but even that fight had been confusing. The supposed archangel couldn't even compare to Apeiron in terms of ability, but it didn't make sense for him to be restrained by Midren alone.

He eventually reeled his thoughts back in, walking out of the altar. The priestess outside stared at him with a complicated expression before throwing herself into his embrace, planting a forceful kiss on his lips. However, he just laughed it off and patted her on the back, pulling away gently, “Things went well, I'll be coming back soon.”

“I will be waiting, Your Grace!” the woman bowed.

......

The offerings this time were quite bountiful, giving Richard almost everything he had desired alongside a huge surprise as well. He was rather shocked by the bountiful harvest, but he passed it off as the Eternal Dragon judging him to have great potential still. From the looks of it, the old dragon had basically turned him into a Chosen as well, planning to throw him into the Darkness to conquer it.

With the rune knights lugging back all the rewards, he quickly made his way back to Blackrose Castle. This ceremony had given him a total of five legendary weapons, almost twenty sub-legendary ones, and four full sets of sub-legendary armour. This was enough to support the reward point system for three weeks or more.

Once back in the castle, the first thing he did was to call on Martin, the divine child's image appearing in the magic circle only minutes after his first attempt. There was even a smile on his face, “My dear Richard, your calls are always bad luck. Tell me, what do you want now?”

Richard laughed, “What do you think will happen if I fight your pope?”

Martin went quiet for a moment before asking with shock, “Have you gone mad?”

“Of course not. Just tell me what you think.”

“Hmm...” the Saint stared at Richard like he was a drunk, but seeing the solemn expression he said earnestly, “It would be best if you refrain from trying something so stupid.”

“Is the Pope really that powerful?” Richard asked, “Stronger than Apeiron?”

“No, he's an unknown. The ending of such a battle is uncertain, because I don't yet know of his true power. I'm sure you've felt the same; if not for that, I would have thought of a way to pin him down that day. We might win if we challenge today, or we might lose. What I do know is that time is on our side; why would we want to do something we aren't confident in?”

1280 - City of Sin

Whispers From Heaven

“How is the Pope such an unknown?” Richard asked. It was near impossible for someone to reach the epic realm without showing their hand. He knew the rough limits of Apeiron's strength himself, despite the aura of chaos about her.

Martin muttered to himself for a while, “This is related to the situation in Heaven. You know the Radiant Lord's relationship with the celestials; he was possibly one himself. However, the entire plane is currently in disorder and nobody knows the situation. All portals in are closed, and even citizens like Michael couldn't return. The Lord hasn't answered our prayers in a long time.”

He paused for a moment, “Something must have happened that we cannot hope to understand. I suspect he is involved with some outside actors, but I need time to investigate completely. I recommend you don't challenge him until you figure out the aces up his sleeve; like I said before, he's trying to light his godspark. If we find ourselves against a true god walking in the mortal realm, we'll have no chance to resist.”

Richard grew serious as well, simply nodding silently. A deity wasn't at their most dangerous when they raised their divine kingdom, but in the time leading up to it. The laws of the plane wouldn't yet reject them walking in the mortal realm, but their power wouldn't be far from their peak. Even a lesser deity would be strong even for legends, while those at the level of the Radiant Lord could rival epic beings. If the pope had lit hius godspark in secret, then they just could end up facing an epic opponent.

Fortunately, such a period of uncertainty was only temporary. A god without a divine kingdom would be rejected by the laws of the plane eventually, which was why Martin said time was on their side.

The abyssal heart in Richard suddenly throbbed, a ripple of energy bursting through Richard's body. Unable to absorb it all, he could only let the excess formlessly spread away, causing an energy spike in his vicinity that Martin caught, “Still unable to control it?”

Richard nodded, replying calmly, ”The difference in strength is just too great.”

Envy filled the divine child's face, “This is why you can layer Midren on top of Disintegrator, isn't it. Your capacity basically has no limit.”

“Consider me lucky,” Richard smiled, “but I'm nothing compared to you.”

“What do you mean? I'm just like you, struggling all the time. If not for that, how would you take opportunities you come across? You were bold enough to approach that lord's heart when you had just turned legendary. You should have exploded into bits when it rippled, or turned into a puppet body for its original master! You bastard!”

Richard could only smiled at the hateful voice, “Are we even in the same camp?”

“Of course we are! There's no time for infighting until the Pope has been taken out. But people like you should be killed the moment the opportunity comes up. The world is large, but it's small at the same time. It only needs one hero, not two.”

Not knowing how to reply, Richard coughed several times, “So should I side with the Pope now?”

“What?” Martin's expression warped, “Please, no! Your grudges are serious enough that he won't take you anyway.”

Richard stared blankly at him, “And the conflict between you two is even greater. Anyway, let's get serious. How is your situation?”

"Hmm, not too bad. Things with the Pope have simmered down, like there was never any conflict before, and all the decisions are being made by vote at the meetings of cardinals that only the two of us still attend. The old man Hendrick is back too, but his attitude seems to indicate that he can be swayed. I feel like we can win him over if we put in some more effort."

“Then isn't your situation settled?”

Martin nodded, “Indeed. As long as Hendrick is willing to lend a hand, we will be able to restrict the Pope. This old fellow has many aces up his sleeves.”

“And then our relationship will be different?” Richard smiled.

“Of course! Once I put the old coots of the Church back in their places, my first order will be to rally the troops of the Empire and Church to level Blackrose!”

Richard's expression darkened. He had known the divine child for a while now, but he still wasn't used to the constantly leaping thoughts and direct attitude. He coughed, “How does one even describe you? Do you really want a war when even your epic beings are hollow? Your first priority should be to protect your nest.”

Martin shook his head, “You underestimate yourself. To me, you're more dangerous than anyone else. Destroying you is of paramount importance. I can't muster enough strength now because we have to get rid of the Pope first, or I would have personally led the charge.”

Richard sighed, “Then you'll lose your entire army.”

Martin suddenly flashed a brilliant smile, “See, I wasn't wrong! You didn't even use all your aces in that battle.”

“Of course I didn't. Why would I let you know everything I can do?”

“Eh. Anyway, we can't fight until I get rid of the Pope. Let's talk about something else; I have this friend of... rather special origin. She's a citizen of Heaven, but she can't return now. She needs some equipment and runes, and I hear you're opening another battlefield against the abyss. Let her participate, and remember to take care of her.”

“... Why would I help someone who's constantly scheming to uproot me?”

Martin smiled, waving a pamphlet, “You can't refuse.”

“What's that?” Richard's eyes narrowed.

“A travelogue about the Darkness, written by one of the Eternal Dragon's Chosen.”

“And how do you have that?”

“By accident,” Martin smiled innocently, “You know that the Church of Glory has existed for a long time, and we throw many strange things into our treasury every year. Forgive me, I'm ignorant of its origin.”

“Then how do you know I'd want this?”

“A guess.”

Richard breathed in deeply, “Since you know so much, why haven't you come and destroyed me?”

“Trust me, I want to But I can't do it right now. It's just like that old coot Hendrick. I'm quite familiar with him, and I even know how many girls he's groped, but what use is that? I still can't beat him. Just like you said, I'd be wiped out if I attack you.”

“Then what aces does Hendrick have?” he pushed on.

“Don't take my words that seriously,” Martin said with a smile, waving the small book in his hand, “Do you want this thing or not?”

Richard felt like he was being toyed with, but he still gritted and stretched out a hand, “Hand it over.”

“And my friend...” a vicious smile crawled up Martin's face.

“She'll be fine, on my life.”

“As always, it's enjoyable dealing with you,” Martin's image started to fade, but then he seemed to recall something, “The Church treasury still has many things that might be of note, so let's cooperate properly in the future! I'll come beat you up when I've dealt with the Pope, so just relax and wait.”

As Martin's image disappeared, the communication circle rippled out his last muttered words, “Do I know too much...”

Richard didn't need to look at the mirror to know that his expression was darker than ever.

1281 - City of Sin

Trouble

Back in the Church of Glory, Martin continued to stare at the communication circle with his characteristic smile. However, he was already lost in thought. An illusory figure formed behind him, hesitating a little before softly coughing him out of his trance. Looking at a young woman with four wings, he frowned, “Why are you out again?”

“I... I'm worried about you.”

“I should be the one worried about you! Appearing like this is a burden... But no need to worry anymore, I've found all the materials. Once the ceremony is done, you'll have a body that can walk freely through this plane.”

“But...” Worry was evident on the woman's face.

“Your enemies? No need to be scared of them anymore, I've found a powerful brat who's agreed to protect you.”

“Is it Richard? Doesn't he already have a lot of troubles?”

“He has a number of troubles, one more won't bother him much. In any case, he owes me a favour; consider this him returning it. No big deal.”

The lady sighed deeply, opening up her hands to form an image between her palms. The image showed Martin, laughing excitedly, “Finally! The bastard owes me a favour! Heh, he still doesn't understand how important this is. Who should I deal with... the Pope, Hendrick, Messiah...”

Embarrassment flashed across the divine child's face, but he quickly return to normal, “Did I say that? My memory isn't clear anymore. But it's alright, Richard isn't hard to get favours from. Don't worry, just get used to your new body and go find him with this book.”

“I might not have been here for long, but I've seen Richard as well. How can his favours be so easy to attain? You're trading for them with your life!”

“I won't die that easily,” Martin shrugged off. Google search 𝗳𝔯𝒆e𝘸𝗲𝗯𝓷𝗼𝘃𝘦l. 𝒄o𝓂

“But... must you go to that place?”

“Hmm... I can consider not going.”

The woman's face cheered up, and she slowly disappeared. Once she was gone, Martin muttered to himself, “I wasn't serious, don't take it as the truth.”

His expression turned cold, gaze crossing multiple obstructions to land on something in the distance.

......

Half a day after Richard's discussion with Martin, a woman in silver armour stepped through the portal from the Sacred Tree Empire. Taking out a letter from Martin, she was quickly brought before Richard.

Richard's eyes shone brightly as he examined her from head to toe, giving her no way to hide herself. The woman's body quivered softly, but she didn't attempt to block his gaze.

He quickly deactivated the Field of Truth, “So you're the one Martin asked me to take care of.”

She nodded, placing a thin book on his desk, “He asked me to pass this to you.”

Chronicles of the Darkness.

Richard remained unmoving as he read that title, but his hearts almost jumped through his throat. His breathing came to a halt as the abyssal heart pulsed, turning the entire table into grey dust. Thankfully, the ordinary-looking book was protected by the power of laws, not being harmed in the slightest. Having jumped forward to grab it, he gently stroked the spine before sighing and stowing it away.

“You aren't going to look at it?” the lady was curious.

“Not now. I'm afraid my priorities are different at the moment, and I can't risk giving everything up to leave. More importantly, there's no point in going yet.”

“You two... really are the same,” her eyes shone gently.

“What? Who?”

“Forgive me, I was rambling. It's nothing.”

“Alright. Ilene, right? What kind of help do you need?”

“Err.. I'm not certain,” the woman seemed confused.

“Lacklustre equipment, no runes, your net worth isn't even 10,000 gold. I just so happen to have a near-legendary armour set suited to your kind, it should work better for you than most legendary armour. As for runes, I don't have any exceptional ones right now. Once my brains record your battle style better, I'll make some time to craft a few.”

“Doesn't that require points? Martin told me I need to buy things with points here.”

Richard snorted, “If that bastard wanted you to earn points to come ahead, he wouldn't have sent you over looking like a beggar.”

This prompted a blush. Before she came over, Martin had indeed mentioned that Richard would understand and equip her well. In his words, “Who better to rip off than someone with more money than place to put it?”

......

Since the visitor had arrived, Richard didn't delay any longer and brought her to Faelor. The Genesis wasn't calm right now, and even though the demon army hadn't massed completely just yet they had sent numerous squads of scouts. The castle wouldn't be completed for a dozen more days.

When Richard and Ilene arrived at the ancient battlefield, more than a hundred powerhouses had already gathered. Five of them were even legends, but they all seemed to be looking forward to the upcoming conflict. He felt odd being there with Fiora in his hands, but for some reason the kid seemed to handle it just fine. In fact, she hadn't even seemed uncomfortable after the first teleportation of her life.

When they approached within range of the portal, the girl suddenly grew excited and stared at it while bobbing up and down. Richard's heart fluttered and he flew even closer, getting her even more fidgety and eager.

A squad of demons chose that exact moment to step out of the portal, howling the moment they saw Richard. Several cries of alarm rang out from the castle in the back— many of them were greater demons and Richard had a child in hand— but he calmly shifted Fiora to his other hand and drew Moonlight from his back. The blue sword only flashed for a moment before being returned to its sheath, all the attackers having been cut into hundreds in the same time.

The flesh of these demons flew in all directions, with several fresh hearts floating in mid-air. Looking at the beaming child in his arms, Richard suppressed a shiver and pulled the hearts towards himself. She quickly grabbed the one that he presented to her, revealing a mouthful of sharp teeth that started gnawing on it loudly. The entire heart was devoured in only minutes.

Once she was done eating, the baby girl's eyelids started to droop. She quickly fell into a deep slumber in Richard's arms, her small face still stained with dark red blood.

By this point, five legends had gathered around Richard and were entranced by the infant.

“Such pure abyssal blood,” an older warrior proclaimed.

“Yes,” a mage agreed, “She isn't at the level of a lesser lord yet, but she's definitely stronger than the ordinary greater demon. This child will naturally become a legend when she's an adult... Really...”

He wanted to express words of congratulations, but just the thought left him too bitter to continue. This mage had already lived for over 200 years, having taken a century to get to the legendary realm and one more to get to level 22. Richard's prowess was one thing, but the sight of a baby who was guaranteed to become a legend left him at a loss for words.

Hearing this, the other legends were left with complicated expressions as well. Perhaps little Fiora would only become a legend in her life, but this was enough to be terrifying.

Another mage coughed, “Congratulations, Your Excellency. Miss Fiora proves that the Archeron bloodline can stand by side with the lightning destroyers, golden moonrivers, and the like.”

Richard smiled in return, teasing the sleepy girl as he replied, “Too much talent isn't good either. I'm afraid she won't be hardworking in the future.”

“With a father like you, I'm sure she won't disappoint.”

Many powerhouses hid their sorrow, showering Fiora with compliments instead. Many of them tried once more to arrange a marriage in the future, but he dismissed such attempts quickly. After some pleasantries, he brought the girl around as he inspected the defences at the castle before leaving.

The second thinker was rushing over right now, about to take over point calculation for this battlefield. A dozen cloned brais were accompanying him, supporting his job. Richard left Ilene at the castle, giving the special unit an extra job. He was to monitor her movements at all times, with a mobile unit prepared to lend support in an instant.”

1282 - City of Sin

Hidden Perils

With things set up in the Genesis, Richard teleported to Dragon Valley and called Nasia. He didn't even bother with a greeting, just stuffing Fiora into her arms, “This is Fiora. There's a problem with her, but I can't tell what it is.”

Nasia lifted the sleeping baby, examining her all over. The infant looked uneasy the moment she was handed over, her little hands and feet struggling for a while even as her brows met.

“Where do you think the problem is?” Nasia asked.

“Her bloodline has awakened too early, and it's too pure. If I hadn't personally seen her being born, I would have suspected that she was a morphed demon. I know my bloodline, it'll never be this powerful. Her mother is effectively a commoner.”

Nasia sighed, returning Fiora, “Her blood vessels look abnormal. It could be that your life potions just overloaded her, but there might be other reasons too. I can't fully test her yet, my methods might harm her. You should ask the broodmother to take a look, her analytical powers have grown since she absorbed those Scholars. Only...”

“Only what?” A sense of unease crept up in Richard's heart.

“Only you need to be prepared. Or it might just be better not to know.

Richard went silent for a while before shaking his head, “Regardless, I'll have to deal with it sooner or later. I'll be going to the Land of Turmoil, this place is yours until I come back.”

Nasia nodded, but before leaving she suddenly turned around, “The fates of a lot of people are resting on your shoulders. It's alright if anyone else isn't strong, but you're the one person who has to be.”

“I... understand,” Richard nodded, sitting quietly for a while with the oblivious little Fiora deep asleep in his arms. Eventually, he kissed her head and sent a mental command, summoning a messenger to his window. It quickly took him to the skies, first floating towards the portal to the Dragon Plane.

A fierce battle was blazing within Dragon Valley, nearly a hundred dragons fighting twice their number in humans. There were fights everywhere, leaving only the region within a hundred metres of him actually clear of opponents. The dragons recognised him and gave him a wide berth, knowing that attacking him would only mean death.

A legion of 200 tall soldiers had just entered the battlefield, elite winter soldiers that the broodmother had specially created. At level 16 they shouldn't have affected this battlefield, but with the dragons also steering clear of the druids they had been sent forth to march in. These drones had special versions of the thunder cannons in their hands, the guns now three metres long with muzzles the size of fists. The six barrels were flashing with blue light, the external appearance alone sending chills down one's spine.

One dragon that discovered the weak drones roared loudly, swooping down from the sky. However, most of the army continued advancing as only thirty stopped to face it, holding up the enormous thunder cannons in their hands.

*BOOOOOM!* Bright light flashed from the cannons, drowning out the rest of the battlefield. A bloody fog suddenly erupted from the dragon's chest, revealing a terrifying injury that was half a metre wide. Many similar explosions occurred on the other parts of its body as the guns finished their full six rounds, shooting bullets that could kill saints if unprepared. Even with some misses, nearly a hundred strikes turned the dragon into a bloody mess that crashed into the earth.

Once the dragon was eliminated, the thirty winter soldiers changed their disks and regrouped, continuing their search for a target. Now, they all spread out in groups of thirty to forty, each one taking aim at a flying dragon and letting loose. Dragon after dragon fell from the sky, unable to withstand the hundreds of bullets that pierced into their bodies.

Although a single bullet only caused superficial wounds, the cannons shot far too quickly and were amassed in great numbers. They were quite dangerous, especially up close where they were even more terrifying than rune knights.

Both humans and dragons were stunned by this new power, but the elites sent by the Five-Coloured Dragon weren't so easy to deal with. They quickly identified the primary weaknesses of the thunder cannons: short range and long reload times. A few seconds meant nothing on ordinary battlefields, but here that was forever.

A group of winter soldiers that had just finished taking a dragon down were charged by a wind dragon, lightning pouring down on them as it used its mouth, claws and tail to tear them apart. Unfortunately, the lizard didn't know how the broodmother's drones worked. The ten living drones completely ignored the bodies of their companions, finishing the reload and pulling the trigger. The cannons roared to life and eviscerated two drones caught in the dragon's claws, moving on to crash into the dragon itself. It roared in pain and struggled into the sky, but another group suddenly adjusted their fire to target it!

The humans watching gasped as the remaining ten winter soldiers were destroyed amidst the fire, the dragon being taken down as well. Some of them frowned, but this was war and they didn't have time to make any comments. Dragons continued flying out of the portal, and they had to react.

Richard watched quietly, having no plans to participate. This was fated to be a hard battle, but those in the reward point system had grown increasingly resilient in their desires. He knew that they would win in the end. Of course, that didn't stop the mournful cry as a burning sky saint fell to the ground, being cut in two by a metal dragon that was passing by.

Such was war. Even if they won, there was still a price to pay. Heaving a long sigh, he cuddled Fiora and left for the Land of Turmoil.

......

Richard was already in front of the broodmother when night fell, little Fiora still asleep. Floating in mid-air, she remained completely oblivious to the compound eyes staring at her.

“This is a little complicated, Master. I need some time, you can rest for a while.”

Richard nodded at the broodmother, finding an empty piece of land and whipping out Moonlight to practice the same slash he had worked on a million times. He felt far too restless to meditate, only able to calm himself down by polishing his combat skills.

Time passed in silence, the night growing deeper and darker before the first rays of dawn fell upon the forest. Little Fiora was still asleep; having eaten a greater demon's heart, she would need at least half a month to digest it.

“This isn't good,” the broodmother's voice eventually rang in Richard's mind.

“You mean...”

“I see a mark of the Scholars in her soul, similar to what they left in me. But I can't confirm just what it is; it could be a Scholar storing his own soul in hers, or a trap to control her.”

“The fucking... Are you sure?” Richard's eyes blazed.

“A hundred percent,” she said calmly.

Richard's eyes were drawn towards Fiora, a million emotions coursing through him. The usually decisive man had no idea what to do; was the cute little baby actually his daughter?

“What's going to happen now?”

“If her soul was replaced by a Scholar's, it will awaken completely one day. You will have to watch your back permanently from then; you'll never know when the dagger will be stabbed into your back.”

“And ger bloodline?”

“Artificially stimulated.”

“Any solution?”

“Let me eat her right now, it will take care of any problems.”

Richard laughed bitterly, picking his daughter up and watching her sleeping face. The girl seemed to sense the familiar aura, nuzzling into his hand and find a more comfortable position. The little thing occasionally looked at him with fear when she was awake, but that block seemed to fade away when she fell asleep.

He eventually shook his head, “She'll be my daughter until the Scholar awakens.”

“But you won't be able to tell when that is! It's far too dangerous!”

“That's alright. I'm used to danger.”

“Master...”

“That's enough. Thank you,” he patted the enormous body, getting onto the messenger and heading into the distance.

The drone sped along at more than a thousand kilometres an hour, the wind on his face as sharp as knives. He didn't use any magic to protect himself, but his arms made sure his daughter was safe and snug.

Richard knew quite well that Fiora wasn't actually his daughter if her soul had been replaced. It was the soul that was the basic property of life. The broodmother was right; she could eat the infant to eliminate any danger, and perhaps even identify some traces that could lead to Soremburg Castle. However, he just couldn't bring himself to do such a thing; he would raise his daughter until that fateful day, and then he would deal with the fallout from that decision.

The Scholars had crossed the line several times, leaving him furious at each instance. Now, however, all he could feel was helplessness. There were some ways for him to deal with them, but none that he could think of to root them out completely.

Once back in Dragon Valley, Richard passed Fiora over to his clerics, locking himself up in his laboratory and immersing himself in the world of runes. This time he was especially focused, able to finish another component of Midren in the blink of an eye. This was two full days quicker than his previous best, and once he looked at the finished product he couldn't help but lose himself in thought.

It was said that Midren had once changed himself into human form, walking the mortal realm to understand their difficulties. Having created the boots of the set, Richard named them the Steps of Misery.

He had felt empty when starting on this rune, working completely off instinct. There was no expectation to even finish properly, but things had gone better than ever. However, he didn't dwell too much on it, sighing before he stowed the rune away and left the lab.

Just as he was about to gather his followers to understand the situation in both battlefields, his expression suddenly changed. Opening up a portal, he headed straight to his demiplane.

1283 - City of Sin

News From Far Away

Richard's demiplane had grown several fold in the months he hadn't seen it, now at a diameter of over 500 metres. However, on it was a new teleportation gate that had never existed before, thirty metres tall with a hint of mystery around it. The frame was in different shades of blue, made purely out of energy but still looking tangible like any other permanent gate.

There was only one person in all of Norland who could build a portal like this, but why would Sharon suddenly make a portal on his demiplane? Richard walked through the icy portal, immediately arriving at a beautiful world that was nearly fifty kilometres wide with energy-absorbing trees lining the edge. In the distance was a mountain made entirely of magic crystal, pools of liquid energy surging down into various ponds below. These pools then formed a vast lake at the foot, the water so concentrated it could be used as a mana potion.

In another corner was a hexagonal mountain floating in mid-air, filled with caves that made it look like a beehive. Within were all sorts of different dragons; this was a small weyr! However, it looked like larger dragons would barely be able to squeeze themselves in, finding it difficult to turn over.

Richard's heart slowly started beating faster as he looked to the sky, seeing the pitch black void. This was a demiplane, that of a legendary mage. The owner's identity was obvious, but she was nowhere to be seen.

He looked at the palace and portal in the centre of the demiplane, where he could see a dozen elven puppets. They were now all on the ground, as if in a deep sleep. A chill appeared in the depths of his heart, his limbs grinding to a halt as his entire body went cold. Even his legs lost their strength, leaving him crumpling to the ground.

It took a long time to be able to gather his wits, staggering towards an elven puppet that had collapsed to the ground. Turning her over, he inspected her to find a soft breath. It was still alive, just unconscious.

Sharon was in trouble! These puppets were tied to Sharon's soul, able to move entirely according to her whims. Using them was quite convenient, but they relied on a small thread of their master's soul to function. They would collapse the moment they lost their connection.

At this point, it was obvious that Sharon had set up that portal long ago, making sure it would appear on his demiplane in case her own connection to it was lost. The portal to the Deepblue had also been sealed off, which made it clear that it was being handed over to him.

Richard felt like his body had turned to stone, unable to move it at all. He desperately tried to clear his mind, but an image stubbornly rose from the depths of his memories. It was the fragment of a future, of a legendary mage floating in the boundless darkness in eternal sleep. She floated away further and further, disappearing into the depths.

“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!” He howled like a beast, his throat ripping open with the sheer force he put into it. Blood started pouring out of his mouth, but he kept going until he couldn't even stand anymore. His bloodshot eyes finally saw the ground as his neck went limp, just in time for his knees to crash into the ground.

Millions of images ran through his mind, each one involving Sharon disappearing into the depths of that cold darkness. He had to use both hands to keep himself from falling prone, but even so it took five minutes for his fingers to twitch and form fists. His joints kept squeaking, as though he was a rusty machine.

What could only be called a zombie finally got up, staggering to the lake at the foot of the crystal mountain and dunking its head in. It swallowed large gulps of the liquid within, slowly returning to life.

The dragons in the weyr had all noticed Richard by this point, quieting down as they watched him in silence. Amongst them was a special existence; small, agile, and absolutely adorable, but also much more deadly than the rest. Tiamat's eyes were fixated upon Richard, her own mind lost in thought.

A black dragon soon peeked out of his nest, speaking softly in draconic tongue, “That kid's the one who inherited this demiplane, right? He looks weak, we can kill him and get our freedom back! We'll also get all of Sharon's wealth! What do you think, my Lady?”

Tiamat gave no immediate answer, just staring at Richard without blinking. Her eyes flickered in thought, but as the black dragon pressed on she suddenly turned around and crawled back into her nest, “I'm tired, do whatever you want!”

The former Prime Evil quickly started snoring, leaving the dragon gritting his teeth in anger. How could anyone fall asleep so quickly? However, Tiamat was far stronger than him so he didn't dare say much. All he could do was turn and glare at Richard, eyes sparkling with killing intent.

There were other dragons with that same glint in their eyes, but Sharon's restraints were quite sturdy. Most of the dragons just couldn't leave the weyr at all, only given the freedom to move around for a limited amount of time in a day. Still, the few that could move now were already preparing to, but Sharon's might was fresh in their minds and they couldn't help but wonder about the beating if she suddenly returned. Please visit ƒre𝐞𝘸𝑒𝘣𝘯𝘰νℯ𝒍 𝐜𝑜m

By this point, Richard was done drinking and started gasping hard by the lake. He had been injured grievously before, and the sudden influx of mana injured his body further. However, he suddenly straightened up and a thin blue layer of flames appeared on the surface of his body, blazing so hot that even the fire dragons were intimidated by the sight.

He finally got up, blue flames leaping around his body with a powerful aura of destruction around it. Every single one of the dragons shivered, feeling like they were staring death in they eye. They were filled with fear of an unknown power that they could do nothing against, some of the weaker ones collapsing to the ground.

Many of the dragons that had felt like they could eat Richard in one bite were unable to even move, frozen in place with terror. They couldn't even stand, bowing out of fear to a superior being. Tiamat was the only one still snoring loudly in her nest, but if one looked closely they would see that her snout was trembling and her four little paws were digging into the ground.

Richard silently stared at his reflection in the lake, his handsome figure distorted by the heat of the blue flames. They were suddenly pulled back into his body without a single trace, grass sprouting from the barren land under his feat.

The sudden appearance of dense life force stunned the watching dragons, the stark contrast especially jarring to their senses. However, Richard turned before they could react and swept his gaze across them, “I'm pissed right now, you bastards. Anyone who comes over will die.”

The dragons felt humiliated by this threat; even with their pride stemmed a little by Sharon, they considered themselves supreme beings. Many of them had been waiting for a chance to rebel, and this seemed like the perfect chance.

Richard headed straight into the weyr, faint light flashing in his hands as a sapphire scroll dropped from the sky. All of the dragons started breathing roughly, sensing their own souls in that scroll.

This was the contract that gave one control over all dragons in the city. As long as they obtained and destroyed it, they would be free!

1284 - City of Sin

Treasure

Richard had flown straight into the weyr! Every dragon here could attack him!

It seemed like he didn't even understand his current situation, just standing around arrogantly without a care in the world. All the dragons got ready to pounce, and even Tiamat snuck a peek. But after a short internal struggle, she lay back down and continued her pretence. The Prime Evil was someone with great control over her own laws, and she could sense the suppression from his. She had calmed down significantly ever since Sharon beat her to beat death, and she was now much more peaceful.

Richard stood in the middle of the weyr, playing with the sapphire scroll. He knew exactly what was coursing through the dragons' minds, but that was the last thing he could care about right now. It was clear that Sharon had planned this some time ago, giving him full control over the demiplane. She had likely set the portal up for his demiplane when she first laid the foundations for it. The condition was her soul connection being broken.

This meant Sharon was in trouble! Richard couldn't begin to imagine just what could threaten someone who could brush off Apeiron's attacks with eas and crush opponents with a hundred draconic minions, but even more concerning was the fact that they could stop a master of space like her from escaping. Even a normal epic being was hard to stop, but she was much more than that.

However, power was always relative. There were countless dangerous places in the myriad planes, and nobody could live an eternity. He sighed, looking up at the slaves that could each dominate a lesser plane and holding up the contract, "Which of you bitches wants to try?"

His voice and expression remained calm as ever, without any move to activate his mana. However, this only made the dragons feel even more uneasy; they still remembered the aura from when the blue flames had been burning on him. Their only hope was a combined assault.

But since when did a true powerhouse fear a mass of enemies? Many dragons felt a chill in their hearts.

The black dragon next to Tiamat suddenly thought of something, turning to look at her nest. The mouth of the cave was empty, and he couldn't even see her silhouette despite the loud snores. She had obviously hidden herself deep within.

This dragon was thousands of years old and had been legendary for a long time. Google search 𝑓𝒓e𝑒w𝑒𝒃𝑛𝒐𝘃ℯ𝙡. c𝚘m

Thinking of Richard's blue flames, he suddenly shivered and shrank back into his nest. Deep snores rang out from within moments later.

The dragons caught in this weyr were all quite smart, not giving in to recklessness easily. The hot headed ones always met their ends early. Seeing the two most powerful amongst them retreat, the rest knew what to do. Many followed suit, while a few even flew towards Richard and bowed in obeisance to their new master.

Richard had no time to bother with the fawning beasts. Seeing that no dragons dated to oppose him, he unfurled the soul scroll and activated it. An orb of blue light sank into his brow, showing him how to summon all the dragons in the weyr. It also gave him the standard summoning spell for these dragons, but without Sharon's attunement he could only summon one or two at a go that way.

He sighed, continuing to inspect the demiplane. A scroll with the method to activate the puppets appeared when he walked into the palace, which would allow him to keep the entire island running without any active management on his behalf. These puppets weren't very powerful, but they had the intelligence of high elves and a physique to match.

It was Sharon's treasury that gave him reason for pause. There were half a dozen materials able to serve as the core for Midren, and even a sky dragon core that was at the level of an archlord! Even covered in layers of magic arrays, that core was still radiating divine light, divine symbols floating across its surface. When he only got through a negligible chunk after an hour, he realised there was no way to find any clues and moved on.

Sharon's interests were similar to a dragon's. She collected all sorts of crystals that contained a lot of energy, filling two-thirds of the treasury with all colours and shapes of high energy stones. Most of the rest was random equipment she couldn't use, but that included three divine weapons, a dozen legendary ones, and a sea of everything lesser than that. Even if the divine weapons were of lesser divinity, this wealth was frightening.

Equipment took up a relatively small portion of Sharon's collection, a symptom of her combat style. She brawled up close, which was an easy way to destroy her equipment in battle. The miser eventually gave up on fancy equipment entirely, instead using her robes.

Most surprising was the personal library. Distal magic made it enormous, and the place had hundreds of stone platforms with times floating atop them. Some were simply stone or steel tablets, while others were even orbs of light that contained the power of laws. Most of the platforms were still empty, leaving less than a hundred if these things in the library, but every one was surrounded by a magic barrier. One had to decode the laws on any shield before being able to read the book within, and from the looks of it the power of the laws the times themselves contained could kill even legends if forced.

This library clearly had countless years of history. It wasn't a creation of Sharon herself, but a divine item that had followed her from the first days she could remember. In a way, it was like the Archeron family tombs. The books here had never changed, but even she could only read about ten of them.

The construction of the weyr in this demiplane, the energy absorbing trees... it was all knowledge she had gotten from these books, a fact that also stood when it came to her immaculate control of space. This library was an inheritance of her race, and looking at the distribution most of its contents had gone missing in this time. Every book remaining was a treasure of immeasurable value.

The essence of this library was undoubtedly the orb of light floating above the tallest stone pillar in the centre. Richard quickly realised that he couldn't even look at it directly despite his current strength; the laws it contained were too pure, too powerful. This was pure light, but it far exceeded anything he had come across before. Even the Radiant Lord seemed dull and colourless when compared.

He hesitated for a while before stretching out and trying to touch the barrier. Waves rippled across the surface, but as he looked closer Richard found that each ray was composed of thousands of minuscule symbols! These symbols weren't even of divine tongue, designed to be smaller and more intricate so they were more power-dense. Thousands of unique symbols flashed across his sight, but he couldn't understand a single one.

In that moment, Richard saw tens of thousands of symbols, that were all uniquely different!

1285 - City of Sin

Boundaries

Despite his powerful memory, Richard could only memorise a thousand-odd runes emitting from the barrier protecting the light. These runes were a new language that could explain laws themselves, ranked far higher than the divine tongue of Norland. So long as he learnt this new language he would be able to pick up new laws much easier.

However, he was currently overwhelmed by the unbelievable power within that light. Everything else aside, the laws of the shield alone were on par with what he was working on with the Godnest. However, this analysis required that he understand the new language, an immensely difficult task.

And all this was only to be able to reach that light!

Richard could hardly imagine just how much power one would need to control such laws, or the expertise required to trap such an orb in this ancient library. Perhaps only beings like the abyssal king or Iskara qualified, but their powers conflicted with this light. Any contact would cause an enormous explosion that could wipe out entire planes.

Knowing he currently didn't have the power to use that light, Richard looked around and noted some of the runes before examining the other records in the library to try and figure out where Sharon would have gone. After repeated attempts, he found three books and one slate that could be cracked easily, with seven more that he could work on over a reasonable timeframe. This was the limit of what he could read, and there would be no way to start on the rest.

Richard stayed in the library for an entire day, cracking the easiest shields in the hopes that it was a journal or something. He realised after deciphering the laws that he now had easy access to their tomes, able to retrieve them at will. Amongst these books, two explained the power of the elements and one was about the origin and composition of various life forms. It wasn't of any direct help to his situation, but it did help his laws.

After a quick readthrough, he discovered that the descriptions from the three books were about a kind of law that stood beyond mere planes, comparable to the primordial laws that could give rise to primary planes. As for the book on life, a single chapter boosted his analysis of the Forest Plane's laws greatly. He mastered six of the laws he was working on in an instant.

The slate was an introduction to the mysterious runes of the shield. It was the language of primal celestials, completely different from both divine and demonic languages in the current world. Reading through it allowed one to master the language itself before moving on to laws.

The three books and the slate would be a challenge to digest in a short period of time, and the seven others would take years. However, mastering the language would make either effort significantly easier.

......

The books couldn't leave the library, and with a day gone away Richard felt like he had stayed on the demiplane long enough. He went to the library and continued his search, eventually finding the control centre of the place. Most mages couldn't move theirs, but Sharon had built a system that allowed her demiplane to move freely. The energy needed was astronomical, but with the energy absorbing trees that wasn't really a problem. The void lacked a lot of things, but pure energy wasn't one.

Standing next to the platform, he pondered about a lot of things before placing his hands on the two metal balls. His mind quickly linked to the demiplane, and he entered the coordinates of his own before activating the portal. The demiplane roared to life, an enormous portal appearing in front of it. The plane entered the portal and disappeared.

......

A short while after Richard left, a near-transparent being appeared in the void. It looked at the emptiness and grunted, “It should have been here!”

The face of the humanoid tentacle creature suddenly changed, a loud scream ringing through the void as it flew away. In its place was a blue arc that cut off a few tentacles, but the void rippled as it escaped.

Richard walked out of the void with Moonlight in hand, his eyes filled with cold rage. He sneered at the twitching tentacles in his hand, “You still hope to run?”

He reached out and grabbed one of the tentacles, activating the Field of Truth to see streaks of different colour flying away. These were the threads of fate, joining those creatures who were connected in spirit. This was one of the bases of prophecy, a foundational element of magic. The Field of Truth was growing in power with him, and he could already sense the vague movements of laws in the world.

Just as he prepared to give chase, the threads began to vibrate intensely. They quickly tangled up into a mess and vanished, leaving only a few dim strands that pointed in various directions. Richard immediately grunted, his face livid as he realised the half-beast actually had the ability to cut off the threads of destiny. This immediately ended his pursuit; there was no way for him to figure out where the creature went.

The opponent definitely paid a considerable price for this; cutting off the threads of destiny was the same as cutting off a part of one's soul, greatly wounding one's existence. This creature had the grit and determination to escape immediately without hesitation, which meant it roughly knew of his power. Such mysterious abilities and a wish to attack him... there was only one such group he could think of.

“Those motherfuckers!” he hissed. This confirmed that Sharon's sudden disappearance was related to the Scholars, the same bastards who had meddled with his life time and time and time and time again. Those cowards always hid in the dark, conspiring and plotting while acting like fucking saints!

Richard had accumulated a great deal of power and wealth over the years, approaching the top of Norland. However, he still remained unable to track Soremburg Castle, only reacting to their moves. He killed every single Scholar that he sniffed, but that clearly wasn't enough.

He stared at the empty void for a while before teleporting away.

.......

Sharon's demiplane eventually appeared right where Richard's was, the two slowly drawing closer until they were a few hundred kilometres apart at which point he locked them in orbit. His small demiplane then started revolving around hers.

A new option appeared in his mind when the two planes approached: if he so wished, he could merge them into one. However, he shut it down without hesitation, refusing to believe that Sharon could die so easily. He found it much more likely for her to be trapped somewhere that disconnected her soul from her demiplane. So long as the demiplane itself was still moving, she was alive. Please visit 𝒇𝚛𝙚𝙚𝘸𝙚𝗯𝓃𝗼ѵ𝚎𝘭. c𝑜𝘮

If he couldn't find her, he always had the last resort of the Eternal Dragon. While the old dragon wouldn't show him where she was now, it could show episodes of the past so he could trace her. The only problem was the hefty price for such a thing, something that even all of his wealth would not cover. As for what form that price took, Philip and Ferlyn were a prime example.

Once the two demiplanes were connected, Richard walked out of the palace and stared into the void. It took a few minutes for him to mutter softly, “Don't you worry, I'll show these bastards the price.”

1286 - City of Sin

Brothers

Once back in Norland, Richard forced himself to calm down and organised his thoughts. HIs first step was to organise what Sharon had left behind. The demiplane was already his, but the Deepblue nominally was not. Sharon was a woman with a dragon's passion for money, and she would definitely freak out and kill him if something happened to her tower.

Imagining that scenario, his lips curled up into a small smile. However, that beautiful image only lasted for a moment before cold reality swept over, bringing him back to the world. He quickly decided to search for clues regarding Sharon's disappearance. This time, no matter where the Scholars hid, he was determined to root them out one by one and kill them.

He quickly contacted Blackgold, asking him to gather all the grand mages of the Deepblue for an important announcement. He also asked Professor Fayr to inform Ensio and Yori; whether they chose to return was up to them.

......

Early in the morning three days later, Blackgold and Fayr were waiting by the portal. They already had a bad feeling about the impending announcement from Richard, predicting that it would cause chaos. All the grand mages left their work behind as well, waiting in silence. This could be a historic moment, and even without the ability to make decisions witnessing such an event would be important as well.

The wait was suddenly interrupted by a flash of light that cut through space, Ensio slowly walking through the rift to land in front of Blackgold. He appeared charismatic as ever in his common cloak, but his simplistic appearance did not hide his power. Even Fayr was surprised— the way he had walked through space made it seem like he was about level 25, only a couple levels away from officially being considered epic. Although Sharon's students were all known for astounding combat ability, levels were important too.

The bald youth looked around and smiled, “Looks like I was the first to arrive. I guess I really am an insignificant figure; aren't we mooks the first to arrive?”

“A level 25 mook?” a voice boomed behind him, a large portal forming not far away from the existing one. This portal wasn't in the style of the Deepblue, instead composed of large rough carvings in barbarian style. A doe-eyes barbarian walked through, dressed like a martial artist with a pair of long and short swords by his waist. On his back was a stone hammer, only the staff in his left hand indicating his identity as a mage. Dressed more like a shaman than anything else, this was Yori.

Ensio squinted at his peer's appearance, breaking out into a smile, “So you actually attained success.”

Yori laughed, calmly walking to the platform, “All paths lead to the top, it doesn't matter which you pick. I'm not very bright, so I chose the one that fit me most. Who cares about politics.”

Ensio nodded in understanding. While Yori was rather middling for a legendary mage, he also had the blood of ancient beasts and was a level 20 warrior. His abilities weren't much on their own, but they combined together into extraordinary power.

Yori walked up to the platform, but the portal behind him didn't yet close. A few tribal warriors quickly followed through, the one leading them a middle-aged man whose white hair was braided completely. The mages around felt like their bodies were pierced when he saw them; this was a legendary warrior!

The other eight warriors were saints as well, and combined with the legend they could theoretically contend with Ensio. If Yori joined in, even the level 25 mage would be in trouble.

Ensio watched as the light started to dissipate, staring at Yori, “So the rumours were right; turns out you're a big shot.”

Yori chuckled, “Indeed. One should use the power they possess, and status is just as useful as anything else. I came this time to flaunt.”

Ensio's eyes flashed in the face of this blunt proclamation, but Yori didn't back off. The middle-aged warrior suddenly cleared his throat and took a step forward, standing next to his master while the eight others surrounded Ensio with bloodlust in their eyes. The pure mage remained undaunted; he was significantly more powerful than anyone else here, at least to the point that he could escape.

These two men were at odds from the moment they met, and they were clearly displaying their wealth and power. Yori's teleportation alone would have cost millions of gold, an enormous sum to the Deepblue that had only spent four or five in a year before. On the other hand, Ensio's rift made it clear that he was a much better inheritor of Sharon's legacy. Many had grown uneasy since a few days ago, when Sharon's puppets suddenly collapsed and refused to work anymore. They had all reached similar conclusion, and what were once Sharon's two strongest disciples were currently jockeying for status in the tower.

However, the older portal flashed with light before Ensio and Yori could confront each other, a haggard figure in regular mage robes walking out from within.

“What happened?” Blackgold gasped at the sight. Richard seemed paper-thin, hints of blue veins peeking through his skin. Around his bloodshot eyes were pitch-black bags, and his face was pale as a sheet. He clearly hadn't slept in the last three days.

Richard nodded at the grey dwarf who had started quivering in realisation, sweeping a glance past Yori's entourage before looking at his two fellow students, “My mood wasn't very good the last few days, and I couldn't rest. I see everyone's here.”

Blackgold and Fayr started whispering with a few other colleagues, all speculating about Richard's reason for calling this meeting. Something had to have happened with Sharon, and her strongest students were now making gambits for power. However, Richard himself had walked over in humble attire and frail appearance. Did he plan to give up his position as the de-facto leader of the tower?

The Deepblue had bonded with Richard and the Archerons over the past few years, giving up a number of its students and grand mages for his research projects and war effort while receiving a hefty sum for their services. Of course, Richard made his own profits in the process. With Sharon's relationship with him, he was second-in-command here, but if she was gone that position was no longer guaranteed.

When Richard's gaze brushed past him like he was nothing, Yori frowned, “Richard, I hear you've been doing well in the past few years. Why don't you have better attire?”

“I don't need to dress up like a peacock to prove anything,” Richard dismissed.

Yori's face burnt red, but in the presence of the grand mages and a growing group of others, he restrained himself from a direct move. Instead, he rebutted, “Then what will you use to prove yourself?”

“Prove myself? For what?” Richard laughed before answering the question, “Everyone here knows me quite well.”

“Such...” The barbarian's face turned red and then purple, while Ensio slowly started to frown.
𝒇𝙧𝐞ℯ𝒘e𝚋n𝚘𝙫𝐞𝑙. c𝐨m

“How dare you be rude to His Excellency?” the legendary warrior following Yori bellowed, but the portal Richard had stepped through suddenly flashed as a hulking man walked out from within. One could recognise the legendary shield on his back easily, and many in the crowd gasped at his appearance.

Ironshield walked over to Richard and bowed, standing behind him and glaring at the others on the platform. Yori and his warriors were specific targets of his animosity.

Richard's peers immediately grew serious. A cannonlike mage and wall-like warrior were a frightening duo to go up against, capable of stalling any opponents. Even if one could stop these two, they would still escape easily.

1287 - City of Sin

Showing Off

Yori's eyes glinted coldly as he understood the situation. A legendary warrior like Ironshield was an ideal partner to every mage; even his own legendary subordinate wasn't as good. However, such warriors never lacked companions, and only worked temporarily.

“I am Yori of Klandor, why don't you join my side?” he suddenly declared, “I'll pay you double whatever Richard is.”

The crowd instantly heated up. This declaration was humiliating to Richard, but it was also an easy temptation to anyone. Even if Ironshield rejected the invitation, Richard would still be insulted.

However, Richard just stood in place without any reaction, as though thinking about something. It was Ironshield that started laughing thunderously, “The barbarian actually understands that I was hired! But really, you mush-for-brains will never really know, do you. Double? You couldn't afford me at the same price! Phoo, you think a few copper coins makes you rich?”

Yori froze up for a moment, watching the spittle on the floor right before him. His face turned green as he grabbed his shortsword, intending to attack immediately. As he turned back to look at Ensio, the bald mage just smiled and took a few steps back to make it clear that he didn't plan on interfering— after all, Richard and Yori fighting would only be beneficial to him.

Yori glared viciously at Richard, his aura flaring up rapidly as a bestial roar rang through the tower. The totem warriors behind him pulled out their swords, preparing to attack.

Blackgold and Fayr immediately paled. To them, Richard was different from Sharon's other students, he was the one who she loved with all her heart. They hurried forward in preparation to break up the impending fight; Richard was strong, but he seemed to be in a weird condition where he was daydreaming. Although Ironshield was a renowned defensive warrior, this was an awkward situation.

However, the two grand mages stopped after a single step forward, staring at the portal in surprise. Yori did the same, shivering as he felt three powerful auras surge out from within. Three silhouettes walked out in a row, and they were making it abundantly clear that they were all legendary!

As the light dissipated, the air turned freezing. Richard had four legends under him, an assassin, a mage, and two warriors! Each one was recognisable at first glance, renowned for their abilities in combat!

The three newcomers surveyed the situation before walking over to Richard's side. Silence immediately covered the platform, all gazes focused on Richard's entourage. Five legends in total... Even if Richard didn't lift his hand at all, Ensio and Yori could only run away.

However, this wasn't the end. The portal continued to flicker as more people walked through, headed by a mountainous two-headed ogre that was on the verge of becoming a legend. Tiramisu was almost six metres tall right now, and possessed enough strength to beat down a normal legendary warrior with ease. He could even take on two opponents at the same time. Behind him were Waterflower, Phaser, and Zangru. Although they didn't look as intimidating at first glance, their auras were no weaker and they radiated the bloodlust of seasoned assassins.

The pressure from these followers exceeded even that from the four legends. It would be hard to determine the eventual victor in a four-on-four, but when all eight combined together their auras suffocated the others present. Ensio's eyes were already flickering as he considered his escape plan; half of Richard's team were assassins, and a lack of attention would get him killed immediately.

As for Yori, his expression darkened as he maintained his stance, not knowing whether to move forward or retreat. He was a legendary mage as well, and could likely retreat, but his nine subordinates would have no chance. From the looks of it, the only way out would be an alliance with Ensio. Thankfully, his peer seemed to understand this as well, floating over to show solidarity.

Richard was still in his own world, not even noticing Ensio and Yori. However, all attention was pulled away as the portal flashed one more time, saints walking out from within. Their auras differed greatly, but some of them had accrued a bit of fame in their lives and were guaranteed to become legends one day. There seemed to be an endless line of them; it took a full two minutes for all thirty to walk out.

And yet, the numb minds of the onlookers could only be jolted further. The light continued to flicker, rune knights now walking out as well. Ten, twenty, fifty, a hundred, two hundred... Even knowing the Archeron supply of runes, the final number was a staggering 500! This was the same number of knights Emperor Charles had taken on his expedition to the abyss!

The rune knights took up a full half of the portal lobby, forming a crescent with Richard at the centre that surrounded everyone else on the platform. At this point, Richard could capture or kill everyone here in a single attack.

He finally woke up from his thoughts, sweeping his gaze across the people on the platform before saying gently, “I came here to show off my power.”

This sentence was suffocating when it came from his mouth.

......

Minutes later, Ensio, Yori, and the grand mages were sitting on the sides of the table in the conference room where the Deepblue's meetings were held. Richard walked directly to the top, taking Sharon's spot. Considering that this was an internal meeting, he had left his entourage outside.

Crossing his arms in thought, he waited until everyone was seated before lifting his head, “Some of you might have guessed it already, and others should have understood when I called this meeting. Master is in trouble, and I'm not even sure if she is still alive. All I can say is that there is still hope.”

Sharon was in trouble? All of the grand mages were stunned. Although they had been prepared for it, confirming their fears was another thing entirely. To them, Sharon was a symbol of invincibility; she could be annoyed, but she was never in real danger.

Ensio and Yori looked at each other, not saying a single word. It was obvious that they had already guessed it.

Fayr was the first one to calm down and ask, “Should we lock the news down?”

Sharon was the pillar of the Deepblue, the strongest supporter of Richard and the Archerons. Once she was in trouble, both the Deepblue and the Archeron Family would be in danger. Surrounded by three empires with conflict versus two of them, Richard could be attacked immediately.

However, Richard shook his head, “No, announce it. Just let Norland know that Master is in trouble.”

As he said this, Richard radiated a chilling bloodlust that caused the old professor to shiver. He then continued, “I'll be taking over the Deepblue until Master returns. Nobody can touch a single thing of hers until then; I'm the sole owner of this tower.”

“Why does it have to be you?” Yori finally stood up in protest.

Richard just stared at him expressionlessly, but a flare of aura caused the barbarian to gasp. He answered calmly, “Because I'll kill any little whelp that gets in the way, even a level 25 mage.”
𝘧𝑟𝙚eｗ𝑒𝒃n𝒐𝘷𝑒𝚕. c૦𝙢

Ensio's chair cracked, almost falling apart. His demonic eyes locked onto Richard, “Level 25 mages aren't that easy to defeat, are they? Don't you need to look for the people outside or summon another batch of nightmare creatures?”

“Please, I only brought them to show off. A few swords are enough to deal with anyone here.”

“Oh?” the bald man's eyes narrowed into slits as he smiled, “I'd really like to see you try.”

Richard completely ignored the killing intent, “You'll die.”

Yori frowned at that statement, but Ensio himself just looked down in thought. The barbarian finally backed into his seat, but his expression was still grim. If even Ensio wouldn't take on the challenge, he stood no chance.

1288 - City of Sin

Declaration of War

Once the succession was taken care of, Richard acted like Yori and Ensio had disappeared. He stared at the grand mages, “I want to find out who caused this. I don't care who I offend, who I killed; the sky might fall down, but I'm going to get to the bottom of this. Those who are willing to help can join me.”

Ensio and Yori looked at each other awkwardly. They had just made plays to snatch control of the Deepblue away, but despite that they fully wanted to help look for Sharon and the source of her troubles. However, without Richard explicitly inviting them, they couldn't bring themselves to ask if they could join. It was obvious from his expression that he didn't consider them even useful to his plans. Of course, the grand mages didn't have any such concerns, all agreeing to aid the search immediately.

In the end, Ensio and Yori never did manage to swallow their pride. They simply walked towards the portal together once the meeting ended, looking at each other to realise how annoyed they were.

“Are you going to ignore this?” the barbarian suddenly quipped.

“Of course not! I'm going to investigate!”

“I will too, but not with Richard.”

The two of them nodded to each other and teleported away. However, compared to the commotion they had caused when they arrived, their departures were much more subdued.

...

Back in the conference room, Richard and the grand mages were investigating Sharon's last activities before she left, including the people she met and the news she received. He quickly learned that a legendary mage called Praton had visited the Deepblue, and that Sharon had left with him not long after. She had yet to return.

“Go find out everything you can about this guy, I hope to see things by tonight!” Richard ordered.

The grand mages weren't particularly experienced at intelligence work, but Richard's followers and new subordinates were. They quickly leveraged their connection to underground information sellers, obtaining everything Richard wanted before the deadline. Hundreds of thousands of gold coins were spent to compile data on Praton's level, important history, as well as his known abilities and spells. There was also information on his family, bloodline ability, and his students.

Richard read through the entire document thrice under the light of the crimson moon. This was a time when commoners had finished dinner and were preparing for the night, but the upper echelons were going to be in for a storm.

......

Shocking news quickly spread to every corner of Norland through communication circles. The guardian of the Sacred Alliance— the Dragon Slaver Sharon— was in trouble and had disappeared into the depths of the void. This was the same as an announcement of her fall; legendary mages had many methods to communicate with their demiplanes, and the few spots in the void that could break the mysterious soul connection they had were also amongst the most dangerous. Even with Sharon's ability, death was likely.

Once they received the news, most lords quickly realised that there was only one epic being left in the Sacred Alliance— Empress Apeiron. Meanwhile, the Sacred Tree Empire and Millennial Empire had two or more each. Another reaction was that the Archerons had lost their most powerful supporter. How would they maintain their independence from the three empires?

In the Millennial Empire, Prince Tumen called a meeting of his followers once he heard the news.

“This is the best chance to conquer the Archerons,” his best general began, “Her Excellency has likely fallen, and without an epic being Richard won't be able to maintain independence. Merging with us would be his best choice.”

An elder nodded, “That is true, but Richard is still young and has that pride and aggression. We should be careful when persuading him.”

“Why would His Highness need to be nice?” the brutish general frowned.

“Because His Grace Richard is someone of equal status in Norland, if not more.”

“How dare you?” the general slammed the table and stood up, but Tumen waved him back down. The elder had spoken the truth, and the Prince always respected honesty.

The 400-year-old Grand Elder eventually spoke up, “That is enough. Any price is worth the loyalty of Richard Archeron. I believe a marriage with Macy would be a sufficient show of our sincerity.”

Everyone fell silent at this suggestion. The Grand Elder was four entire generations older than Tumen, possessing higher status. However, the Prince still looked at Macy and smiled, “What do you think?”

Macy bowed, “I'm willing to sacrifice myself for the family.”

“Sacrifice yourself? By marrying the most talented man on this plane?” Tommen beamed, “You'd be doing no such thing. However, I wished to discuss something else. Should this news not have been suppressed? Richard could have played it off for years, why did he announce it?”

Those present immediately fell into thought. Did the Archerons really believe they could maintain their independence even without Sharon? This was a shocking theory, but if true they had to be hiding an epic being or at least someone able to contend with one.

At this moment, a guard knocked on the door to the hall. Once allowed in, he rushed over to Tumen and presented a new scroll of information. The Prince looked through it silently and his expression turned grim; after a second readthrough, he passed it to the Grand Elder.

The scroll quickly passed from person to person, the room going completely silent as a chill filled the air. It was only when Macy got her turn that the silence was broken, “He's insane!”

“Perhaps, perhaps not,” Tumen answered, taking the scroll back again and reading the initial line.

Wanted: Information about the location of Soremburg Castle. Reward: 100 million gold if proven. Wanted: All Scholars of Soremburg, dead or alive. Reward: Up to 10 million gold, depending on their level and status.

Such a huge reward was almost unprecedented in Norland, capable of enticing even legendary beings. Most assassination and information organisations would definitely take action upon hearing this. Even if the Scholars were never found, they were in for a lot of trouble. However, it was the target that was most shocking. The Scholars were a mysterious and powerful group that had managed to evade all prying eyes through the years, most of their members recruited proactively. Their ancient inheritance and troves of knowledge made them one of the most dangerous enemies in many situations, and the locations of Soremburg Castle was unknown to even the three major empires.

Most people only knew about the Scholars from the Mystic's Set that Soremburg himself had designed. It was famed for its many abilities; each one wasn't particularly powerful on its own, but they synergised to achieve unexpected strength. Although it was specifically more suited to the style of the Scholars themselves, it had been a mage's dream rune set before Richard released Mana Armament.

Prince Tumen himself was hesitant to even offend the Scholars. However, Richard's bounty was a declaration of war! Although he had shot into the skies as he reached the peak of Norland's runecrafting in record time, he hadn't accumulated the reserves to fight such a powerful organisation. Most of those present here grew worried about his future.

......

Around the same time, Saint Martin had finished reading the same declaration and was walking back and forth in his study. He had gotten another piece of information as well; Richard had displayed shocking power in the Deepblue. Despite that, however, Martin's brows were furrowed. He didn't think the power to attack a level of the abyss was enough to deal with the Scholars.

Did Richard still have some hidden cards? He thought about it for a while before shaking his head. Richard just had too little time; no matter how much power he could accrue, he was still limited by that factor. Besides, such rapid growth of power definitely had its flaws. He already knew that some Scholars had infiltrated the Archerons.

Martin eventually picked up an envelope and took out the letter within, looking at the names written on the paper. These were Praton's students and friends, the more secret ones. After some hesitation, he sealed the letter and called in a trusted follower to send it to the Deepblue for Richard to receive personally.

1289 - City of Sin

Annihilation

Richard was sitting in the conference room of the Deepblue alone, staring at a stack of information in front of him. He looked through it all one by one, piecing the various clues together to form a big picture in his mind. Although there were many gaps, he still had a vague idea of what had happened.

His focus was currently on a piece of magic parchment that had some strange creatures drawn on it, something he had found in Sharon's study. He had made up his mind to go look for her, but he still had to be careful and learn about the enemy first. While he could now at least keep up for a few minutes, Sharon would still beat him in every single battle. An enemy capable of restricting her would trounce him instantly if he wasn't ready.

The paper looked common and was mixed with a stack of useless documents, the writing on it almost a scribble, but taking a closer look he had realised that the Deepblue didn't carry this kind. The papers of both the normal mages and other stuff like moonscar paper was different from this one, which was designed to lock in a huge amount of mana. Although the paper wasn't particularly good, the workmanship was similar to what Sharon used personally. It was definitely far too expensive for normal mages to afford, and no one would just scribble randomly on it.

Richard couldn't recognise a single creature drawn on the paper, but they all had some similarities. Besides, while the strokes in the drawing seemed mediocre without any pattern to them, randomness was a clue as well. A cold glint flashed across his eyes as he thought of a possibility, but he shelved it until he could be sure.

Memorising everything on the paper, he had someone bring Fayr over and passed the sheet, “Help me find out what's on this, and where the paper itself is from.”

Fayr looked at the paper for a few seconds, having to suppress his discomfort from the chaotic energy. He stowed the paper away and nodded, “I'll try my best.”

Richard nodded, “I won't be here for a week or two; I hope you can give me an answer by then.”

“You're going to...”

“Praton was clearly involved in a plan to lure Master into a trap. I don't care whether it was intentional, whether he's dead or alive, he'll pay the price. His family will be dead next week, and any friends or students who had even a finger in this.”

The grand mage shivered, but he couldn't think of a way to persuade Richard to be merciful. He eventually just went quiet, leaving the room.

...

A few minutes after Fayr left, two more mages walked in and placed letters on Richard's desk. Both were labelled confidential, and one was from Saint Martin while the other was from the Shadow Brotherhood. The Brotherhood was Norland's most powerful information network, and had charged a full 300,000 gold for the contents of this letter.

Richard had known to expect the information letter from the Brotherhood, but Martin's came as a surprise. Both had similar contents, pertaining to those close to Praton. Richard frowned at the similarity— how did Martin know he wanted this? However, he decided to ignore it after a while. He had far too many things on his hands right now to worry about this uneasy ally.

......

Afternoon the next day an enormous number of experts and rune knights surged into the territories of Marquess Praton Junior. Staring at the powerhouses flying in front of his castle, the Marquess could barely turn his head to the haggard youth in the middle of it all, “Your Grace, why do you attack my lands for no reason? The rights of lords are sacred, and any disputes can be resolved by the— NO, RUN!”

Praton Junior realised that Richard wasn't listening to him at all, a fist-sized ball of blue fireball being strengthened by three faces that were chanting spells all around it. The fireball quickly grew to five metres wide, destroying morale in the castle and prompting people to flee. However, Richard's rune knights covered all routes of escape, killing them immediately.

“WHY?” Praton Junior shouted in desperation, “WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS?”
f𝘳𝒆ℯ𝑤𝚎𝚋𝗻𝚘𝘷el. c𝗼m

“Because you're your father's son,” Richard answered, pushing his palm forwards. The enormous blue fireball suddenly descended upon the castle, starting to gain speed along the way.

The world went silent as blue flames exploded in the middle of the castle, spreading out in all directions. Everything lost colour, the buildings disintegrating as the castle walls blew apart. When the flames subsided, all that was left was a patch of shining earth.

“Next one,” Richard said calmly, flying south. The legends and saints followed behind him, while the rune knights formed up behind them.

......

Richard led four legends, thirty saints, and 500 rune knights over thousands of miles to annihilate three marquesses and two dukes. This defeated all of Praton's direct family, only leaving some side branches. He didn't plan to let them off either, but for the small fry he split his troops into troops of ten rune knights led by one powerhouse each.

The other lords of the Alliance finally realised what he was after, but by the time they tried to interfere, a family that could very soon contend to join Faust had been annihilated. This challenge to noble order shocked all the lords of the Sacred Alliance, but despite a deluge of protests nobody dared to try and stop him.

While Praton's family was being destroyed, Richard personally led his followers and legends to capture the smaller group of people that he had been informed about. They caught five in total, three men and two women. One of them was a close friend of Praton, while the other four were his students.

Richard looked through their profiles as he leaned against the table, “You should know why you're here, so answer honestly if you don't want the same treatment.”

The five of them shivered, glancing at each other before deciding to cooperate. They told him everything they knew, not daring to hide a single thing.

Richard listened silently, but at one point he suddenly interrupted one of Praton's students, “He visited Faust?”

The thirty-year-old mage nodded immediately, “Yes. Master Pra... No, that bastard Praton told me about it himself!”

“When was that, and why would he go to the palace?”

“Well... He said it was something important and involved someone powerful, but I don't really know the details. I heard it was about another mage...”

Richard fell into deep thought, considering the timeline. Praton had gone to the Deepblue only a short while after his visit to Faust, bringing Sharon away. Whatever he did there, it was likely related to the conspiracy. His worst suspicions were starting to come true.

1290 - City of Sin

Embers

While Richard was still thinking about Praton's connection to Faust and the chaos energy in that paper, a guard hurried in, “Your Grace, the troops led by Lord Romney were stopped in Marquess Sispek's territory. The Marquess is personally leading an army to stop him.”

“Romney?” Richard recalled the mission he had assigned to the saint assassin. Romney had taken two other saints and thirty rune knights to the territory of Baron Alson, a distant nephew of Praton who was actually a bastard son.

“What's he doing?” Richard frowned. He had ordered that all resistance would be threatened with a declaration of war. His dispatchments were particularly powerful against most armies, able to charge straight into the middle of any army and kill the commander. Two other groups had been stopped before the assassin, but both of them had just rushed forward and forced the enemies to retreat. Romney himself was nearly a sky saint, and with the two dragontooth daggers he'd acquired recently there should have been no way to stop him.

“The opposing forces are very stubborn, Your Grace, they aren't afraid of battle. Marquess Sispek is a cousin of the Ironblood Duke, and he seems to have a son who joined the Scholars.”

Another knight rushed over, “Your Grace, Lord Romney sent word that his forces are surrounded, there's going to be a battle!”

“The...” Richard stopped himself and sighed, looking at a black-robed mage behind him, “Where's Sispek's son right now?”

This mage had many contacts in the underbelly, but she made a face of frustration and shook her head, “It is... difficult to track Scholars, Your Grace. He might just be in front of us, but I wouldn't know.”

“Whatever, let's go then. I'll just pull it out of the old man.” Richard walked out of the barracks, summoning his followers and powerhouses before opening a huge portal in the air. He then walked through it at the lead, his followers following behind. Everyone nearby gasped; how could he transport so many people so far away? There were no traces of any divine weapons here, and the portal had been built with the wave of a hand!

The stunned warriors walked into the portal one after the other, finding themselves hundreds of kilometres away. Below was an army of tens of thousands of soldiers, surrounding a few dozen people who were standing back to back.

In the middle of the army surrounded by saints to protect him, Marquess Sispek should have been very high-spirited. However, he currently had a face like death as he looked at the huge portal in mid-air, watching all the strong warriors stepping through the portal.

Why would such an immense portal appear here? The Marquess couldn't figure out any reason; even skilled spatial mages could only transport themselves. Such long-distance portals could only bring others over in one of two scenarios; it was premeditated with arrays on each end, or the spellcaster had divine equipment. It was rumoured that only the Millennial Empire had such an item in all of Norland, and it could only be used a few times.

Sispek felt a chill running down his spine. If Richard could build such a portal on demand, just how powerful was he? Had he really become epic?

Richard looked down on Sispek's huge army, focusing for mere moments on the seven saints and thirty rune knights. Those below suddenly felt like dirt gazing upon the sun, retreating into their formations in fear. His sheer gaze made it clear that just managing to escape would be extremely fortunate this time.

“RICHARD!” the Marquess raised his voice, “You are killing the lords of the Alliance for no reason. You are breaking all customs, this is making an enemy of all nobility!”

Richard looked at the man calmly, “You done with your yapping?”

Sispek's face immediately turned white. He had hoped Richard would be at least a little agitated, but this calmness implied absolute resolve. There were no customs that would stop him; anyone in his way would be targeted by the terrifying Archeron war machine.

The Marquess turned his head around, looking for the grey-robed mage that had offered him valuable advice in the past few months. The man was a good friend of his son, and had helped the entire marquessate prosper to the point of capturing two baronetcies nearby. This interception was that mage's idea as well.
𝒇𝑟e𝗲𝚠𝚎𝐛𝗻𝐨νel. 𝒄om

However, the adviser was nowhere to be found. Sispek went stiff, barely remembering that the man had bid him farewell the night before. His head shot back to look at Richard, face filling with despair at the emotionless bloodlust in Richard's gaze. Richard wasn't even looking at him, instead just gazing into the distance.

He suddenly realised that a billion reasons wouldn't convince Richard to abstain from taking action, there was one that would drive him forward anyway; Her Excellency, Sharon!

“YOUR GRACE, WAIT! DON'T ATTACK! I WILL WITHDRAW MY TROOPS RIGHT AWAY!”

Richard's clouded eyes slowly refocused, landing on the man below, “You want to withdraw? Fine, give me your sun and cut your hand off.”

“What? I... I don't know where he is. He left the family a few years ago for adventure!”

“Then you're useless.”

“NO, YOU CAN'T KILL ME! DUKE ORLEANS IS MY COUSIN! HE WON'T LET YOU OFF IF YOU KILL ME!”

A look of ridicule flashed past Richard's eyes, “His Excellency won't fall out of favour with me for trash like you.”

Having said that, he raised his hand and pointed forward. Blue light quickly gathered into a blast of destructive flames, crashing down on the Marquess and reducing him to ash. Richard reopened the enormous portal and led his subordinates back out, a stern voice ringing out as he left, “Romney, continue.”

In the battlefield below, tens of thousands of soldiers started fleeing in all directions. However, Richard had no interest in pursuing them.

......

News of Sispek's death quickly spread throughout the Sacred Alliance, rippling out to the rest of Norland as well. The nobles who were once protesting went quiet, no one daring to blame Richard any longer. This incident proved Richard's resolve, and there was no point in arguing against such determination.

Not all the lords acted out of economic interests; some truly were working off their own principles and pride. However, there was no point in jumping out to provoke a crazed beast for the sake of tradition; there was no glory in such a death. Furthermore, this could be considered a family feud in some ways, just one with greater influence. Many lords convinced themselves that Richard wasn't completely in the wrong.

In the fifth level of Faust's islands, Duke Orleans was staring at an urgent report with an ashen face. Before him were a number of his closest subordinates, alongside the younger talents of the family including Beye and Agamemnon.

He tapped his desk softly for a long time before speaking, “Sispek is only a cousin, but he has always been quite close. What do all of you think?”

A young man of similar age to Agamemnon stepped forward, “Father, Richard is showing contempt towards our family! If we don't respond to him, we will suffer humiliation for decades! I suggest we demand an apology and compensation, or we will declare war!”

“We won't win,” Agamemnon said coldly from the side.

The youth's face immediately swelled up, “Look at our resources! We are second only to the royal family, what does Richard have? He has strong warriors, but we have them too! Besides, those serving him are just hounds looking for money, how loyal can they be? They'll scatter after some pressure!”

“Bullshit, we'll lose.” Agamemnon rarely swore, and this time made his stance clear.

The young man's eyes almost shot out flames as he glared and gritted his teeth, “What do you mean by this? Father named you his successor, you aren't the patriarch just yet! You're already trying to throw your weight around? Is the Orleans Family's reputation worth a chance for you to kiss Richard's ass?”

Agamemnon's expression didn't change, but he touched the hilt of his sword. For someone who was never fazed by anything, this was more than a simple expression of rage.

1291 - City of Sin

Giving In

Agamemnon would normally have been stirred to action by insults that he was an asskisser, but this time he restrained himself. The Ironblood Duke had heard everything, but he merely frowned without saying a word in response to the indignation to his heir. He was evidently conflicted about the death of Sispek, to the point of ignoring the flagrant taunts.

Beye was the one to speak up, “Those legends under Richard aren't much, just a small advantage in numbers. That being said, anyone who wants to fight a war with the Archerons can go ahead. I'm not sticking my nose into that.”

Outside of Agamemnon, everyone in the room grew alarmed. Even though Beye was the youngest legend of the Orleans Family, her power had skyrocketed the moment she entered the legendary realm. She was already level 23 and had awoken a number of strong abilities, starting to rival even the Ironblood Duke in combat ability.

“Beye, why would you do this?” The youth had been confident precisely because the family had two legends that were close to the epic realm, but if Beye was unwilling to assist this was meaningless. However, he also didn't have the guts to taunt her like he did Agamemnon.

“Because Richard wasn't wrong. There's no reason for the Ironbloods to avenge a worthless man like Sispek.”

”Sispek is your uncle!”

“Yours too. If you want to go into battle, go fight one of the Archeron legends to avenge him.”

“The... How am I supposed to face a legend...” The young man was only an ordinary saint. Basically every legendary being could kill him in one blow.

“Then get the fuck out of my sight,” she seemed to lose her patience.

The youth was shocked, angry, and embarrassed. He cast an accusatory glance at the Duke, but that was all he could do. Beye was known to be the second coming of Empress Apeiron, with an appetite for killing and a complete lack of fear. If he really did provoke her, she wouldn't hesitate to kill him instantly even in front of the Ironblood Duke.

In fact, he knew she would relish it. Just like many other higher families, the Orleans Family had no qualms with inbreeding. He had lusted after her strong nightmare shade bloodline before, but his incessant advances had drawn ire.

“Enough!” the Duke suddenly interrupted, his chest heaving as he looked at Agamemnon, “You're my successor, explain your stance.”

“The fault lies with Sispek, not Richard,” Agamemnon said directly, “There is no point in fighting a battle we cannot win, especially when we are in the wrong. How many legends do you think would tie themselves to a sinking ship just for money? Don't forget the reward point system.”

These words from the reticent youth shocked everyone, including the Duke himself. The clouds in his mind seemed to clear; indeed, there was no one who could become a legend with a weak personality. Some of them could be tempted by money, but four legends wouldn't serve Richard just because of that. He clearly had the capability to offer them more than just that, and they had to be convinced by his personal ability as well.

The Duke still remained a little resentful and looked back at Beye. However, she just walked up and stared at him with her near-white eyes, “He's right. Even if I go all out, there's no way for us to win.”

“What? How?” Even the Duke was shocked.

“Because it's Richard. If he's decided to do something, then he has to be confident. Why would he reveal news of Sharon's disappearance so directly, why would he break all traditions and kill nobles without trial? He's motivated to avenge Sharon, but he isn't the type to just go mad and do so without a plan.”

“But then he'd be challenging the entire Sacred Alliance.”

“So he's confident in taking us all out. Yes, he's young, but you've seen his rise yourself. We might have millennia of history, and he might only have come to power for a few decades if we include Gaton, but longevity doesn't directly correspond to power. His enemy is sitting in the palace, it's not us.”

The Duke sighed, falling back into his seat, “You're right, I'm getting old...”

Beye smiled faintly. When she had first become legendary, there were multiple occasions where others had been offended by her arrogance. Those centuries older than her had been unwilling to give her the respect she deserved, but that had been fixed by violence. Eventually, serious injuries to two of them had shut the rest up. In much the same way, Richard was using the Orleans Family as a stepping stone to power. He might or might not have been willing to do it, but that was how the dice fell. Sispek had forced his hand.

Resolution washed over the Ironblood Duke's face, “Go tell Sispek's family that this matter will come to a close here, I'm not going to pursue it.”

Most of those in the room looked sombre. Even though the Duke's words seemed tough, he was admitting defeat.

......

The next day, another public declaration caused chaos in Norland. The powerful Ironblood Duke effectively gave in to the Archerons, shocking the entire nobility of the plane!

Ever since Richard made a display of his might, every one of his acts had been relentless and completely ignored customs and laws. Sharon's disappearance had thoroughly enraged him, and the ferocious beast was baring his claws.

The Orleans surrender didn't stir up any emotion in Richard; when the news spread, he was in the Deepblue listening to a report from Professor Fayr. The parchment was discovered to have come from the royal family of the Sacred Alliance, manufactured exclusively for the ruler and their heirs. The dozens of beings had been found as well, all from the primal chaos of the void. These life forms couldn't last in the ordered lands controlled by the Eternal Dragon.

Fayr adjusted the magical image they were looking at, picking out one sketch in particular of an earth elemental with a small body and huge head, “I feel like this could be the key.”

“What is it?”

“It comes from a myth about the ancient races, a being known as the stonelord. An elemental with real flesh, it fuses the power of chaos and order within its body. But that makes it unable to live in most environments, restricting it to the boundary between order and chaos.”

“What is it good for?” Richard's brows locked together. Everything on the parchment was etched into his brain, but the stonelord was the one exception. For some reason, his mental image of it always ended up a little fuzzy. Fayr had likely noticed this as well.

“We have no use for it. Order is in the depths of our souls, and its primal chaos is toxic. Even an epic being might have their hearts explode if they eat it. However, it has an extraordinary ability to stimulate mutations.”

“Hmm, then can Apeiron eat it? She uses the laws of chaos.”

“Her Majesty would meet the same end. She has no order left in her, so the venom would apply to her from the opposite direction. However, Her Excellency's race is clearly ancient, and it was said that the stonelord was a delicacy that was key to the evolution of those races.”

“You don't know the name of her race, do you,” Richard asked.

“No,” the grand mage shook his head. Learning all this was already commendable.

Fortunately, Richard already had the answer himself. He nodded and took the parchment away, porting to Sharon's demiplane and walking to the ancient library. Amongst the seven books he had read was one titled 'History of the Primal Celestials.'

1292 - City of Sin

A Glimpse Of The Truth

Richard spent the next few days visiting the library whenever he was free, putting his focus on absorbing the knowledge within those books. After reading all he could about the primal celestials, he spent time trying to decipher that ancient language. He quickly realised that they were a fusion of chaos and order, unlike anything he had seen before.

As with all the other planes under the Eternal Dragon's control, the divine tongue of Norland was an embodiment of order. Richard had learnt some bits of chaotic tongue from the power of his truename and the blue moon as well, but this celestial tongue seemed to pursue a perfect balance of the two. He quickly realised that this stonelord had to be key to Sharon's growth, which was what drew her to such danger. Its strange physique would pose no problem to someone whose energy was from the stars and could assimilate all others.

Praton had used this news as bait to lure Sharon out, but the question now was this: who had given him that parchment?

An answer he dreaded came up in his mind. Richard sat down and closed his eyes, going through every single mark on that paper that was now etched into his soul. Those twisted lines had no order to them, but wasn't that the point of chaos?

As those countless lines danced wildly in his mind, he found himself quickly easing into the analysis. This was his first attempt at deciphering chaos, but he relaxed and threw himself into the task. Slowly but surely, a new image was formed amidst those countless lines, one of slender hands clenched into fists as they punched forward. Power surged through the arms, lacerating space as they crashed into their target. A faint purple trace was left behind as the force travelled a thousand metres, heading for a beautiful and petite figure that hid earth-shattering might. That figure was one carved right into his aching heart, related to the most beautiful of his memories.

Richard's eyes flashed open, lightning crashing into his surroundings as he confirmed his fears. However, that liquid rage was quickly bottled up within himself, starting to bubble underneath cold rationality as he stood up with one question on his mind; just how far was he from becoming an epic being?

Without a question, he was the king of this generation. His achievements were unparalleled, with only the mysterious Saint Martin perhaps even coming close to posing a threat, but Empress Apeiron was a prodigy amongst geniuses in the past. Even Philip and Ferlyn had needed to join hands to defeat her, and her understanding of combat had reached a peak that no one else could match. Sharon could suppress her using sheer talent and bodily power, but he couldn't do the same.

Apeiron finally stood completely in his way for the first time, and there was no way to move around her. He would not kiss her boots once more, so he had to bridge the gap. For that, he would have to feign calmness until he was ready.

......

After causing a huge storm in Norland, the Archerons seemed to disappear entirely. Praton's bloodline had been uprooted almost completely, with basically everyone still in Norland dead. While there were inevitably a few distant relatives still alive, their blood was too thin to capture Richard's attention. He withdrew all of his troops, scattering his most powerful subordinates into his various planes. Outside of the huge bounty for the Scholars, the Archerons seemed to be done.

Everything continued as normal. The Archerons continued with their next list, releasing the sixth piece of Midren, while Mana Armament was shelved until someone had the requisite points. Powerhouses continued to rush towards Faelor to take part in the battles against the dragons and demons, a large number of artisans and mages drawn in as well to join the huge workshops established by the Archerons. Dragons and demons were constantly being turned into points, allowing the strong to grow. While some unlucky ones fell in battle, more and more were surging in to join the front.

In short, everything suddenly returned to normal. The only difference was that Praton's bloodline was now missing from Norland.

Amidst relieved sighs, many nobles wondered just what Richard's motivations were. A large number soon came to the conclusion that he was stalling for time; after all, many other families were starting to emulate the reward point system, and would catch up with him sooner or later. As for the reason for the absolute upheaval for those few weeks, they believed it was out of anxiety.

Indeed, anxiety. The Archerons had just lost their epic backer, which left their position unstable. Perhaps Richard would take up that mantle in the future, but one could never be sure. There were sky saints who failed to become legends, and talented legends who never made it past that line.

Unlike the legendary realm, becoming epic wasn't simply one thing. One could nominally be considered epic if they reached level 27, but that wasn't the basis of the system. The true test was the ability to preserve one's life and escape from the clutches of an archlord, alongside the mastery of powerful laws to fuel combat. This could be higher-level laws in a primary plane or the foundational laws of a secondary realm, but what was important was the power.

The independence the Archerons craved needed the backing of an epic being, and Richard's initial frenzy had been judged as a proclamation that he could match up. However, nobles were fond of conspiracies, and they were starting to get reckless. They felt like Richard's constant shows of power were just a way to distract from the truth.

......

While all these rumours continued to spread, a haggard Richard eventually returned to Norland in silence. His entire body seemed to radiate fatigue, but moments after reaching Blackrose Castle he headed over to the communication room and entered a mark into the circle that he had never used before. It was the circle in the imperial palace of the Sacred Alliance.

Julian's figure appeared the very next moment, panic darting across his eyes at what he saw. However, the agent of chaos quickly smiled and bowed, “Ah, Your Grace. Why would you seek me out of the blue?”

“Is Apeiron around?”

“Her Majesty Apeiron, Duke Richard. Do not forget who I am, any disrespect towards Her Majesty will incur my wrath. I will ignore the first offence, but if there is a next time, I will not speak to you any longer.”

Richard smiled, but he did not say anything. Julian waited for a moment before continuing, “Her Majesty is deep in the void searching for something, she is scheduled to return in three months. She is currently near the Outlands, and there is no way to communicate with her.”

Surprise flashed across Richard's face, “How come you're being so direct? I expected a fight.”

Julian grinned, “I respect your absolute power, Your Grace, and that frenzy you showed a few weeks ago. There was nothing about the old you that was worthy of my respect.”

“Hehe,” Richard bowed slightly, “Alright then, I apologise for my behaviour. Could I know if Her Majesty sent a parchment containing drawings of various chaotic creatures to my teacher?”

The butler's brows joined together for a moment, but he eventually nodded, “Correct. Her Majesty had His Excellency Praton send the drawings over. I am unaware of the reasoning.”

Richard paused for a moment before sighing deeply, “I'm glad that you admitted to it. Also, I want to tell you something in advance. I'm returning to Faust; I'll step foot inside the day Her Majesty returns.”

“Returning? You mean...” Julian was taken aback.

“Yes.”

The man immediately burst into laughter, bending over as he failed to control himself. When he failed to recover after half a minute, he spoke between chuckles, “You're making an enemy of every powerful family in Faust. You'll be decimated!”

“Is that so?” Richard chuckled in return. Google search f𝙧ee𝔀𝑒𝚋𝐧૦ѵ𝑒Ɩ. 𝑐𝘰𝒎

That day, more earth-shattering news spread across Norland. Richard Archeron would be following the old traditions, storming into Faust!

Many thought back to years ago, when Gaton had marched into Faust with a mere thirteen knights. What would his prodigious son do?

Over the next three months, one side would make their mark on the history books, while the other would become a footnote. It would either be the various powerful families of the Sacred Alliance, or Richard and the singular Archeron Family. This would be a road filled with thorns, every step inundated by the blood and glory of ancient nobles that served as stepping stones along the way.

War was coming, and blood would be shed. The storm of Archeron rage would crash down on the Sacred Alliance, crushing all in its path or dissipating along the way.

1293 - City of Sin

Prelude

The next three months seemed like they would breeze past in the blink of an eye. Norland continued to remain normal on the surface, but every major noble was paying attention to the impending Archeron attack on Faust.

This was a special event. Richard had already made it clear before that he was withdrawing from the Sacred Alliance, and for the sake of pride every powerful family would bar his path back. Even those with no grudges against him would participate.

Richard himself left Norland once he informed Julian of his decision, returning to the ancient library of the primal celestials. He had managed to unseal the book on their history, but most of the language was still a mystery to him. However, he had at least managed to determine that the stonelords would greatly ease evolution, which was enough.

Right after he was done with the book, he activated a stone table in the library. Numerous magical images quickly appeared on its surface, moving according to his intentions. This didn't look like much, but it was a laboratory desk left behind by the primal celestials that operated purely on astral energy. Richard, who had trained in the Deepblue Dream, was starting to gain a small amount of this energy to use. The little he had was enough to at least activate the mechanisms within.

This table could both control experiments and handle information, serving much better than even a grandmaster gnome's design. Linking to it with his soul, Richard gained direct control of it and could even pump energy into it through the trees ringing the demiplane. Numerous strange shapes and images formed on the surface, giving him an interface that sped up his calculations tenfold.

His first task was to figure out the fastest way to become an epic. His mana had been pulsing ever since he absorbed the Archeron heart, but it was starting to stabilise at level 23. This was still far away from level 27, the threshold of epics. Even ignoring the mana levels, the four boosts to his various attributes were difficult to account for.

He had focused the energy of his level 23 advancement on his physique, trying to contain as much of the demonic heart's energy as he could. His three original hearts had changed functions, now acting as energy-absorbers that drained the core whenever it pulsed. They would then slowly release it to the rest of his body, lest his organs be destroyed with every beat. His body was quite strong already, but it couldn't even compare to when Sharon reached level 21.

Thankfully, the gap in levels could be shored up with the power of his truenames. While neither of his bloodlines were all that dense, the awakening of their abilities had made them extremely powerful. He had learnt from his reading here that few could ever awaken truenames directly from their bloodlines, and the names that were passed down weren't necessarily constant. In reality, a truename was an instinctive grasp of a law, just like with manipulating mana or a legendary ability. His decision to start analysing laws before he was even a grand mage left him with comprehension far beyond any others at his level, and that had translated into Dizmason and Schloanruvendaer.

Next was his runes. As the best runemaster in all of Norland, every one of his runes was custom-designed to suit him perfectly. Disintegrator now worked with the grade 5 Mana Armament at its core, supported by Kingsteel and Lifesbane. While all of that gave him an effective boost of one level, Midren's battle edition gave him another level and a half. The heart of the abyssal lord actually brought him close to Sharon in terms of carrying capacity, able to use both sets in tandem while still having room left over.

Adding on half a level from his physique and a bit more from his weapons, Richard was at a level where he could challenge level 27 beings right now. In other words, he barely crossed the threshold of the epic realm. However, he was the weakest in that realm, possessing no way to deal with even his weaker peers, forget terrifying women like Sharon and Apeiron.

Sharon... Richard recalled every single thing he could about his master. She had only just passed level 23 when he'd first met her, but her mana could already compare to that of an epic being. While her body hadn't completely matured yet, she was a natural master of space who could flee from any engagement. The battle in Faelor had sent her into her first hibernation, her mana shooting up to a whopping level 29 in the process while her body had been strengthened as well. Even the recovered Apeiron couldn't break through her defences anymore, making her comparable to an archlord.

On the other hand, Apeiron was someone who had a singular approach to combat, possessing speed that almost made no sense. Her techniques approached perfections, and her attacks were unpredictable and dangerous. This was a blistering offence that used all of her strength in every blow. However, this left her weaknesses apparent as well— her body just couldn't match her skill. Keeping herself from submitting to the laws of chaos had taken a huge toll on her body, leaving lasting damage that she couldn't easily heal. Her physique was only as good as an ordinary legendary warrior, which meant the only thing saving her was her chaos and speed. It was difficult to hit her, but any hit would leave her on the verge of death.

A million different colours flickered across the table, but in Richard's eyes the process was slowed down greatly. At the centre of the images was Apeiron making every sort of battle movement; even the smallest wiggle was frozen, the muscle movements analysed as Richard fed in the data from his own memories.

The conclusion gradually became obvious; it was impossible for him to surpass her, be it in speed, technique, or laws. Even equalling her was impossible. For now, his optimal state was still a level lower than her, so the only way to win was exploiting her body.

Watching the figure on the table in various battle stances, Richard suddenly smiled as he realised what to do. He pulled up his sleeves and looked at his right hand, the fingertips blood red from the activation of Lifesbane. He currently had a total of five stacked on each arm; only five.

Why should he limit himself to five Lifesbanes when he still had a lot of capacity remaining? Wasn't this a rune that was meant to be stacked endlessly?

Richard couldn't give himself two sets of Midren, but he could definitely add more Lifesbanes to his body. If there were enough, he would come to a point where even a small brush with Apeiron would kill her.He could also modify the rest of his runes, throwing away all capacity optimisations for the sake of pure power.

Besides this, he could also grow his control of laws. His perception had grown severalfold here, and if he played his cards right he just might be able to fully grasp at least one law by the time he would have to battle.

With that, he knew just how he would get stronger.

1294 - City of Sin

A Glorious Thousand

With his personal strength taken care of, Richard focused on the obstructions along his path to Apeiron. The thirteen families of Faust would definitely obstruct him, and even Duke Orleans would do his best to stand out.

With a thought, the image on the table suddenly shifted to the islands surrounding Faust. A group of knights flew out from each of the floating islands, gathering into a sea of steel that stood in his path. Included were many familiar faces; Joseph, Mensa, Orleans, Wennington... it was an army that could set anyone's hearts pounding in fear.

However, all of that steel melted away, the so-called powerhouses disappearing until only one person stood in his path— Apeiron. Her tall frame and murderous aura... those were the end that would decide everything.

For a moment, he felt like he understood what Apeiron had felt upon her return. Only an epic being qualified to be a final gate in Norland. When Philip died, she ignored her oath and returned to Norland, purely because she knew that the alternative was a total collapse of the Sacred Alliance. Now, she was at the end of his own bloody path back into Faust; no, she was the very reason for it. If he didn't defeat her, anything else was pointless.

Richard sighed and left the library. All the images on the ancient table disappeared, leaving only a purple silhouette behind. He arrived at Sharon's treasury and grunted, whispering softly, “Sorry, I don't have enough time. I've got no choice but to use these. You won't blame me when you're back... right?”

The image of Sharon's return appeared in his mind, drawing a single gasp. If she saw an empty treasury... would she really not blame him?

He snapped himself out of his thoughts, finding a small smile on his face. Wiping it off with a deep breath, he pushed the door open and walked in.

......

Soon enough, the blistering pace of the Archeron war machine seemed to turn into lightning. Two suffocating months went by with each side making its preparations, at which point Richard finally reached the time when he would have to start the march. His forces would set off from Blackrose and spend an entire month fighting their way to Faust, at which point he would duel Apeiron to the death in the city of miracles. The entire endeavour would end in a battle between the geniuses of two generations.

Decades ago, Gaton Archeron had led thirteen followers through a blood-soaked path to enter Faust and shock the entire Alliance. Richard surpassed the man individually, monetarily, and in terms of group power. Just what would he bring to the table?

Every island in Faust had spent the last two months transferring soldiers around, preparing for Richard's assault. In their minds, this was no longer a march on Faust but a challenge towards the entire Alliance.

When it came time for the march, lords from all over the continent had gathered around Blackrose Castle. This included those from the Millennial Empire, Sacred Tree Empire, and even those from the floating islands of Faust. Everyone wanted to know just how much power the Archerons could push into this march.

It was nearly noon, but the castle was deathly silent. As the time approached, the hearts of those watching started beating faster and faster.

The doors to Blackrose suddenly shot open, Richard walking out from within and flying into the sky. His silver and red armour was particularly striking in the sunlight, and his aura had solidified into rows of divine text dancing all around him.

This was Midren! Many who had never seen the rune set before shivered in fright. In actual fact, most of them hadn't even seen a saint rune in their lives.

A number of other figures walked out of the castle following Richard. Most eye-grabbing of them all was Tiramisu, the ogre lord already seven metres tall and now with many tattoos all across his skin. The sole horn on Medium Rare had all sorts of mysterious runes on it, and his killing intent was so dense that it was nearly solid. Every step was like the beat of a wardrum, shaking everyone's hearts. It was obvious that he had already become a legend!

A two-headed legendary ogre had strength far beyond humans of equal level, able to contend with level 24 warriors. He held two enormous warhammers in his hands, but not both of them were his. On his shoulder was Mountainsea, sleepy as always and looking tiny in comparison. However, those familiar with her knew that while she had yet to complete her hibernation, her innate strength was awakening as well. She had already tossed Eleventon aside, opting to use hammers just like her close friend.

Following these two were three more figures, these ones decidedly more muted and restrained. Their auras almost seemed to fade away, and anyone looking felt their focus distorting to the point that they couldn't make out the appearances of the three. It was obvious that each one was an amazing assassin; if they were this hard to notice in daylight, they were practically ghosts in the night.

Waterflower and Phaser were natural assassins, but even Zangru had repurposed himself over time. His body now looked more feminine than ever, having grown enchanting ever since the broodmother managed to get him to the legendary realm. He was currently playing with a tiny lizard in his hands, not a pet but the evolution of his weapon. It was hard to tell whether it was an independent being, but it had strength approaching a sky-saint on its own.

At this point, many people were left dazed. After the display of power in the Deepblue, everyone already knew that Richard had four legends under him, alongside one that was a saint but could crush them regardless. These weren't those four!

Did Richard have eight legends in total? Those that came from the Sacred Alliance all turned sullen, finally remembering to open contact with the families.

While these four new legends were powerful, they didn't make a tide-changing difference from the expected numbers. Those who opened communications were quickly told to watch on; they wouldn't be surrendering just yet. Even with this change, the combined heads of the Alliance believed it was only an equal match-up; the fact that Richard had never lost a war was consciously ignored. In a battle of this scale, army control faded in importance compared to the battles at the top end.

The last of Richard's followers to walk out of the castle were Olar and Gangdor, both looking solemn in full military uniform. They were only saints despite their best efforts, but for this march they would act as commanders and had no need to join the frontlines.

At this point, everyone who had accompanied Richard to Faelor had gathered. The one glaring hole was in the beautiful priestess that had propped the group on her back. The main gates to Blackrose slowly closed.

The onlookers broke out into whispers; this meant Richard wasn't planning on using any more powerhouses. Ironshield and the others were left in his various planes.

“Where are your men?” a hiss rang out in Richard's ears, drawing his attention to Macy who was in the distance. She had been asked by the Millennial Empire to witness the march personally, and would accompany him the entire way.

Richard glanced at her and smiled, speaking in a normal voice instead of responding with a directed transmission, “They won't be able to get into a real fight before we reach Faust anyway.”

The people around looked confused, not understanding the context, but Richard had no need to explain himself. What followed would be enough to clarify any doubts they had.

Olar and Gangdor each produced a bugle, blowing hard into it. A desolate cry echoed through the sky, popping ten portals into existence all around Blackrose Castle. Loud neighs rang out as iron hooves marched out from within, rune knight after rune knight walking out of the gates.

They were finally here! Everyone perked up. Rune knights had to be the final tactic for a saint runemaster like Richard. Ten streams of steel rushed towards the front of the castle, lining up in row after row. The onlookers were shocked after mere moments; they knew that Richard had a lot of rune knights, but they had never expected there to be so many!

The sea of steel only stopped at ten full rows of a hundred each, leaving everyone shocked into silence. Everyone quickly realised just why Richard's legends wouldn't have a chance to act; even his followers were likely brought of nostalgia for his innocent past. These rune knights alone were the biggest force Norland had ever seen, enough to take down all of the Sacred Alliance themselves!

Richard's rune knights would mow through the countryside all the way till he reached Faust, and those here would bear witness to the start of that decimation. They would soon report what they saw:

The glorious scene of a thousand rune knights starting their charge.

1295 - City of Sin

Interlude

Loud bugles echoed again from Blackrose Castle at noon, the rune knights slowly starting to march along established paths. Meanwhile, all of Norland was reeling in shock; Gaton had killed his way to Faust in record manner decades ago, and now Richard was looking to crash right through the Sacred Alliance. This wasn't just a glorious act; not even the most learned historians could find an accurate parallel.

The powerful families of the plane reacted in different ways. In the palace of the Millennial Empire, Prince Tumen was engaged in light conversation with the Sword Saint and Empress Gelan when the news spread to the. Gelan's droopy eyes opened wide for a moment as she locked gazes with Hidden Sword, after which her eyes slowly drooped once more.

“Looks like the amazing young kid is making another show. I heard he brought Mountainsea along?” the Sword Saint said.

“Indeed,” Tumen nodded, “Hmm... It should be about time for her hibernation to end. We might get an unexpected surprise.”

“Impossible,” the Sword Saint laughed, “That kid wouldn't let her get involved in this battle at all. He's stubborn and wants to put everything on himself; quite like Gaton.”

Prince Tumen sighed, “Pity. Even the one time I met him, Gaton felt like a natural king.”

“I hear Richard set out a bounty for all Scholars?” the Empress suddenly interrupted.

Tumen was startled, “Oh? Ah, yes. What about it?”

“We know the locations of a few, and I hear there's a particularly high-ranking individual amongst them. One who can attend their internal meetings.”

“What are you getting at?”

“Dig them out, catch them if we can, kill them otherwise. Hand them all over to Richard.”

A chill flashed past Prince Tumen's heart; the Empress had clearly made up her mind. However, Hidden Sword made a face of confusion, “We can kill them when we flush them out, but why hand them over to Richard?”

“For the reward, of course. That kid is rich, and our treasury is starting to empty. It would come in handy.” The Empress's straightforward reply stunned both Prince and the Sword Saint.

......

Elsewhere in the Sacred Tree Empire, some leaders were shocked while others grew despondent. They all started paying close attention, and nobody knew just how scared those who had tried to impose sanctions on Richard now were.

Naturally, the ones most affected by the news were the powerful families of Faust. Duke Mensa smashed every breakable item in his study that night, but his followers still didn't receive a command to move their troops. The soldiers could only stay put, awaiting actual orders or a plan.

The light in Old Joseph's study was left on the entire night, and when the Duke finally walked out in the morning he looked to have aged twenty years in the blink of an eye. He was now truly an old man, with one foot in the grave.

“My Lord, shall we—” the guard who tried to ask for instructions was waved into silence, before the Duke returned to his room to rest.

In island 7-7, the lowest of Faust, Duke Anan suddenly broke out into laughter, bellowing out, “No need for that fake display of solidarity, not one soldier joins the battle without my command! Anyone who wants to court death is free to do it themselves!”

In the sixth level of Faust, Dukes Wellington, Turing, and a few others quietly discussed their frustrations.

On island 5-5, Duke Orleans seemed to be glued to his map, not moving the slightest as he stared at the glaring red line that the Archerons would be taking to Faust. Richard had already announced his path a month earlier, seemingly unafraid of any surprise attacks or ambushes.

The Ironblood Duke's hands were locked with each other at his back, and the constant throbbing of his muscles was an indicator of his struggle. The Orleans Family was currently the pillar of the Sacred Alliance, second only to the royals in terms of power and responsibility. It was their job to intercept Richard. Even the Wellingtons could just observe, making an excuse that they were awaiting his decision, but he had no such options. He either chose to fight, or retreated into a shell to admit defeat.

Against an entire battalion of rune knights, any long range attacks, ambushes, or other forms of guerilla warfare would be completely useless. Even if all the powerful families of Faust combined their forces, the only ending was defeat. Richard was a stellar commander as well, and would use these knights with frightening effectiveness. Unless...

The only way to win was for all the powerful families of Faust to pool their armies together, attacking Richard with all their might. However, that was an appropriate response to an invasion, not against a standard march into Faust. Duke Orleans himself had preserved Richard's island for when he inevitably returned, he wasn't about to annihilate the Archerons and his own family for no good reason. He still recalled the humiliation when the envoys from the other two empires had asked to redraw the boundaries.

That wasn't all. The Orleans Family would definitely be at the forefront of an all-out war, and there would be anywhere between three to seven others fighting alongside them. However, if even a few families held back their forces, Richard would decimate everyone and continue his march. Faust's rankings would change drastically, and the cowards would end up winning the most. The Ironblood Duke didn't even have the spare resources to just deploy his elites to stop this expedition, and both Beye and Agamemnon had made it clear that they weren't on board with the idea of a war against Richard.

So, retreat? Other families could retreat, but he could not. Retreating at this juncture would deal a huge blow to his reputation, one that could have everlasting repercussions.

The Duke just stood in place, pondering as the night turned to day.

......

The first day was the messiest and most difficult of them all. Numerous people were watching the developments of the situation, prepared to adjust their responses at any time. Richard's army only travelled a hundred kilometres before making camp, and despite a deluge of scouts all around them there wasn't a single attack.

Just like the rest of the route, the camp locations had been publicised a month ago as well. As night fell, RIchard set up a nominal patrol and allowed the rest of his troops to sleep, not fearing ambush in the slightest.

In the cover of the deep, dark night, a few light cavalrymen were looking at the brightly lit camp upon their horses. Seeing the number of guards, a younger scout couldn't help but comment, “They're really slacking on their defences... If we sent a few thousand soldiers to launch a sneak attack—”

“Nonsense,” the captain immediately chided him, ruffling his own large beard, “The people sleeping in that camp are all rune knights! You want to launch a sneak attack? We'd be discovered a kilometre away!”

The young scout immediately dropped his neck, but he still seemed unresigned, “Then why haven't they discovered us?”
f𝗿𝙚e𝙬𝗲𝑏𝒏𝑜ѵ𝑒𝗹. 𝒄𝑜𝘮

The veteran sneered, “Do you really think they haven't? They're just too lazy to come over and kill us.”

“What... Is that really...” the youth paled.

......

Countless eyes gazed upon Richard's camp under the night sky, but actual troops never appeared. When the sun rose the next day, Richard led his army out on the next leg of their journey, travelling a hundred kilometres once more before resting.

The third day passed without incident as well, but by this time the powerful families of the Sacred Alliance couldn't sit still any longer. Their leaders were all holding secret meetings that lasted from dusk till dawn, leaving even those with considerable stamina exhausted by the end.

They had all come to the consensus that they had to fight against Richard, but there was one issue that nobody could agree upon. Who would be at the forefront? No names were decided that night, but perhaps everyone already had an answer in their minds. There was no way to stop Richard's march; even legendary beings wouldn't dare to take so many rune knights head-on. Anyone who fought Richard directly was sure to die.

When the meaningless debate came to an end, the Ironblood Duke was the last to leave the venue. It had just been one night, but he seemed to have aged many years.

1296 - City of Sin

The End

Richard's army continued to move like clockwork, sticking to their schedule so religiously that it almost seemed like he was afraid that his enemies wouldn't be able to track him down.

Macy grew restless after three days of peace, riding up to his side and asking, “Is this your Blood Path? Where are the soldiers that are supposed to intercept us?”

“I told you, we won't be fighting until we reach Faust,” Richard replied.

“Don't they want any glory at all? How are you so sure that no one will try to stop you?”

The corners of his lips twitched and formed a smile, “I obviously can't guarantee that there aren't any fools, but those that do come will never return.”

He spoke in a soft tone, but Macy suddenly shivered. Her breath seemed to catch in her throat as a strange sense of fear overcame her. She suddenly realised that he had changed drastically in the last few months; he wasn't a haggard young mage, but a terrifying dragon with the power to destroy mountains! A mere look left her with an unspeakable sense of repression!

Surprise flashed across Richard's face, and he turned to look at her before nodding, “That's some good perception.”

The journey continued gradually, with more and more scouts surrounding them by the day. Whatever happened in the surroundings, Richard's enormous rune knight army moved perfectly according to schedule. He ate and slept with the knights as before, but he had grown so quiet that there were days where he never spoke.

As for Macy, she had grown more and more unwilling to approach him as the days passed. An unknown aura around him was growing stronger as time passed, and she was the only one who could feel it. Towards the end of their journey it almost felt like a huge rock weighing down on her chest, making it hard to breathe even if she was far away.

With the golden moonriver bloodline within her veins, Macy was one of the most perceptive individuals in all of Norland. One day, she suddenly figured out what that awe-inspiring aura from Richard was— it was the power of laws! His control of his laws was rising with every passive day, and at a noticeable rate.

This fact was more shocking to the young lady than if she had been told someone levelled up twice in one day. As such, she gritted her teeth and suppressed the fear in her soul, following Richard in his advance. She wanted to be there to witness history in the making, unwilling to allow such an important moment to slip by.

Richard's three minds were currently operating at full speed every moment, constantly analysing law after law. He had managed to master the mysterious language of the primal celestials, and coupled with the divine tongue of Norland and that of primal chaos, he could now see the world from the three perspectives of order, chaos, and balance. This holistic view allowed him to analyse laws much more quickly, and the books from Sharon's library were a huge bonus. He no longer had to simulate anything, simply try to comprehend what those tomes already detailed. He had already lifted the barriers on the seven books, and outside of the history of the primal celestials all six other tomes contained foundational laws of various planes.

The primal celestials clearly stemmed from a plane far stronger than Norland. Any single one of those six laws could form the basis of a plane of Norland's strength. Richard focused all of his attention on them, which had also managed to boost his blessing of wisdom to grade 8 in the process. The constant calculations he was working on were currently rippling with force from his body, which was what put such immense pressure on Macy.

......
𝒇𝙧𝐞ℯ𝒘e𝚋n𝚘𝙫𝐞𝑙. c𝐨m

As time passed, the expedition gradually crossed the Sacred Alliance. One day, Tiramisu let out thunderous roars from both his heads and thumped his chest, raising his twin hammers up and smashing them into the ground. The earth all around them started to fissure in the face of his rage, cracks spreading all around and destabilising the march.

However, the ogre lord wasn't excited. This was anger, anger from the fact that they had stepped foot on the Eternal Plains. He had walked a mere hundred kilometres a day for a full thirty damn days, and now they were right next to Faust without having gotten to fight! He had heard various legends of the past, of how Gaton had marched in amidst a path of blood. Now, Tiramisu felt like he had been conned out of his glory!

All the other families in Faust had been through that trial of blood, but in the eyes of the ogre they were all a bunch of liars and cowards. They were nowhere to be seen. Armies had tailed them, deployed near them, set up traps, danced all around in defensive lines... but in the end, they all ran away with their tails tucked between their legs. Not one of them was willing to actually fight, and it had gotten to the point that it was simply embarrassing and many powerful families just pulled their troops away entirely.

When Richard reached the end of his road, his troops had made history. Ever since the formation of the Sacred Alliance, they were the first and only army to not shed a single drop of blood on their way to Faust. In the end, there wasn't a single family in the Alliance that dared to fight his thousand rune knights.

Standing on the Eternal Plains, he stared at the lofty Miracle Peak and smiled. Scenes of his youth flashed through his mind, reminding him of when he had first come here. The only difference was that the person who brought him, and the person he was brought to meet, were both long gone to the depths of the abyss. He had always intended to make a trip to the depths of Arbidis to have a look, but he suddenly felt like advancing that plan to just after he found Sharon.

The expedition thus came to an end, or at least the portion where mortals could interfere. Richard's thousand rune knights had completed their mission, and what followed would be a battle between him and Apeiron.

Richard's perception broke apart the surrounding laws, allowing him to observe as a figure zipped towards Faust from in the void. Apeiron was returning exactly on time. He slowly opened his eyes and raised his head, propping his chest out.

Everyone nearby immediately felt like lightning had crashed down on their eyes, the entire world getting bright and unfamiliar. Sky saints and above quickly realised why this was; someone had taken control of the surrounding laws, ripping them away from the world and warping them!

Richard stretched a hand out, and his three swords flew out to float in front of him. With them around, he turned to Gangdor, “I'll go ahead, you set up camp here and await orders.”

He then lifted into the sky, outlining a portal in mid-air and vanishing within.

Silence fell upon the area for a considerable period of time before someone finally asked, “Isn't it supposed to be impossible to use portals here?”

“It was...” another muttered in reply. Portal spells could not be utilised in the surroundings of Faust, only allowed in designated spots in the city where existing spell circles could form connections. Although such customs weren't unbreakable, only a handful could actually tear through the blockade.

......

A portal suddenly appeared on island 5-3, right within the imperial palace. Richard stepped out into the discussion room that Emperor Philip once frequented, now left unused ever since Apeiron had taken the throne. His figure flickered through the hall, quickly arriving at Apeiron's private chambers.

These chambers were once bustling with activity, but dissatisfied by the pets in her harem the Empress had killed everyone. A huge stench of blood thus filled the air, leaving it unsuitable for the harem.

In one end of the huge room was a stage with an enormous bed, the place Apeiron slept. Richard slowly walked up the stairs and over to that bed, making himself comfortable with his weapons on him as he waited in silence.

Julian barged into the chambers just as he settled down, staring at him and crying out in shock, “You, how did you come in?!”

“Not important,” Richard responded nonchalantly.

“Not important indeed,” a hoarse and icy voice rang through the large hall. The air suddenly rippled as a bolt of purple lightning tore apart the void, Apeiron walking out from within. Her purple hair was flying about and her armour was badly damaged— even legendary equipment couldn't resist the tempests in the void. However, there wasn't a single wound on her body.

“Your Majesty, he—” Julian couldn't even get a word in before all he saw was black. Apeiron had grabbed him and thrown him into the rift that had yet to close!

1297 - City of Sin

Two-Man War

When Julian popped out from the void, he was a few hundred kilometres away from Faust.

“YOUR MAJESTY!” he screamed in alarm, zipping back towards the city at top speed. However, tears quickly lined his face as he realised that the battle would be done by the time he got there.

From the moment he'd seen Richard today, he had felt fear piercing deep into his heart. It made him conscious of the fact that Richard's powers had grown to an unbelievable degree, to the point that Apeiron judged that he would require her full power to contend against.

Such a battle would shred him to pieces if he so much as made contact with any of the combatants, but Julian pulled on all of his power to head towards Faust at mind-numbing speeds. He knew clearly that Richard and Apeiron would fight until one side was dead or close to it; there would be no way for either to calm down until then. He wasn't afraid of his own death, only that he would be of no use to the woman he served with all his heart.

He had always considered himself a mere servant, and would be happy if he could distract Richard for even a moment before dying. However, Her Majesty had used precious energy to vault him away just as the battle started. At such levels of power, this was a momentary gap that could allow for a fatal attack. Even in the depths of his heart, he had never even hoped for such care from her, but now he felt like stabbing himself for it.

......

Back in the palace, Richard remained motionless and let the opportunity slip away. He raised a brow towards Apeiron, “Didn't think you were the type to show concern.”

"I'm better at showing death, especially to trespassers."

“Heh, I want to show death too. Especially to the one who came up with this stonelord nonsense.”

Apeiron's eyes turned purple, “Come on, what are you waiting for?”

"Alright, I'm coming." Richard stood up, casually throwing his swords to the corners of the hall. He walked towards Apeiron unarmed, his muscles throbbing as he gathered strength. A piece of armour surfaced on his body with every step, before sinking back within. By the time he was before her, armour had covered all of him before melding into his skin.

“Midren?” Apeiron raised a brow.

“Specially improved, just for you.”

“Doesn't seem like much.”

“You'll know when you—”

*BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!* Without any warning, the two struck each other at the same time. Three strikes were released in an instant, dark cracks appearing in the space between them. However, the explosions weren't strong enough to force either side away.

Apeiron's fists turned purple, her next punch heading straight for Richard's chest. However, Richard didn't even attempt to dodge as he held his hand straight open, the fingers jabbing towards her forehead.

Danger! Apeiron instinctively waved her hands to push away the attack, abandoning her own as she was launched a dozen metres away into the walls. She walked out without much damage, her gaze now fixated on the red line that still hadn't vanished from the sky. The surroundings of that beam started trembling, as did her own soul in fear of pure destruction.

"What is that?”

“Lifesbane, 36 layers. How does it look?”

“Even 300 would be useless,” her eyes flashed purple.

“You'll know when you try it,” Richard finished this time, retreating to one corner to pick up Moonlight and slash into empty space.

Apeiron's figure appeared right as he cut down, as though she was delivering herself to his blade. She grunted and reached out to deflect the blade, but a red flash blinded her for a moment and the sword was quickly coated with fresh blood. The Empress shrieked and retreated, but not in time to dodge Richard's kick.

Caught in an awkward position, Apeiron could only block the leg with a fist. Muffled groans rang out as they made contact, Richard's face flushing with blood while a purple hue flashed across her own as she was flung away.

He hissed and brandished Moonlight once more, starting to send out a torrent of attacks that seemed to have no purpose. However, Apeiron's figure flickered right next to each attack, barely able to dodge the bright red lines in time.

She eventually gave up, retreating and disappearing entirely from view. Her figure started to blur as she reached speeds that even Richard couldn't track, only phantom images left in his vision. However, Richard stood motionless and tracked the disturbances in the laws all around, timing each strike just as they started to fluctuate.

The attacks missed her by mere inches, threatening to cut Apeiron into half if she made the slightest error. Similarly, her counterattack would claim Richard's life in an instant if he made an error in judgement. Tens, hundreds... they quickly reached thousands of strikes a second, the red lines forming a large net that covered every corner of the hall.

Richard's heart was calm as ice, his own conscious mind retreating and allowing instincts to take over. However, it was only moments after entering this state that he felt no disturbance in his trajectory, forced to take back control and thrust behind himself instead. The edge seemed to near Apeiron's skin this time, but he suddenly felt like a dragon had swatted him with a paw, groaning as he staggered forwards.

Debilitating pain assaulted his organs, as though there were sharp disks cutting all the way through his body. Apeiron's attack was tyrannical as always, ripping his barriers apart and wreaking havoc within his body. He activated the abyssal heart, a pump of vicious energy extinguishing whatever was left, but without his other hearts tempering this strength he only added to his injuries. His cheeks quickly flushed red, blood starting to trickle from the corners of his lips.

Flashing back into existence, Apeiron sneered at Richard. A thin red line had formed on her arm, bearable even by commoners, but she had inflicted serious damage in return.

However, her laughs only rang out a few times before her face warped from joy to shock, snapping down to look at her injury. It seemed like a pair of invisible hands were tearing the wound apart by force, breaking the flesh down into a bloody mist. The tiny scratch quickly turned into a bone-deep wound!

Apeiron's bones were a deep purple in colour as well, filled with symbols upon them. Richard immediately recognised the symbols to be from the divine tongue of chaos, a realisation that left his expression grave. Her control of laws had reached a point where she had managed to rebuild her entire skeleton!

Apeiron stared at the terrifying wound that had torn off half of her arm. She had thought she was dominant mere moments ago, but this flipped the tables entirely. She was clearly worse off from this exchange.

It was Richard's turn to sneer, “How does that feel? Oof, looks like you'll be dead in one solid hit.”

Her eyes blazed at this taunt, “But can you actually hit me?”

“Why not try?”

Richard brandished his blade once more, and Apeiron's figure quickly dissolved into nothing. The palace started to quiver from each exchange, the fight lasting a few more seconds before they sprung apart. This time, he was the one sent flying, tracing an arc of blood through the sky. His back was mutilated, with a piece of flesh torn away to expose the bone underneath.

He only glanced at the blood dripping from her fingernails, ignoring her sneer as he stabbed Moonlight into the floor and moved towards the Judge. He shot around with a wide slash, almost shearing Apeiron's nose off in the process. The Empress barely dodged and appeared behind him, but he unleashed a barrage of chaotic attacks that left her unable to predict his next move.

Apeiron grew a little apprehensive, but when she reappeared at the end of the hall Richard groaned as another large wound was opened in his abdomen. His body started leaking flesh and blood, but he paid no attention as the Judge continued to send dozens of attacks her way. She was quickly cut into pieces, but that turned out to be a mere phantom as the real one had escaped.

Richard stabbed right into thin air, pulling Apeiron out from the void. She grabbed the back of the blade with a hand to try and pull it away, but her face suddenly changed and she recoiled in fear. The brief contact had felt like her soul was bitten into, dropping her speed as well. A whirlwind of attacks took a hold of this opportunity, almost managing to strike her a few times as well. Although this tangle ended with Richard getting hit as well, caution was starting to crawl up her face.

1298 - City of Sin

Two-Man War(2) Google search 𝗳𝘳ℯ𝑒𝓌ℯ𝚋𝐧oνe𝘭. c𝐨ｍ

Apeiron already seemed to be walking on the edge of death; RIchard would kill her with one strike, but half a dozen full-powered attacks had failed to take him down. She had to acknowledge him as a frightening threat, only tempered by the fact that he wasn't completely there yet. His body was already mangled, and despite each strike not hurting him too much they were stacking up. In her eyes, he already didn't have any strength left to do battle. Once his speed started to dip, she would win easily.

Richard's own gaze landed on his opponent's arm. The originally awful wound had already healed a good deal, a purple cloud of chaotic energy bubbling up from the bones to nourish her flesh. This could be considered an advantage she had earned in the Outlands, where her body was forced to recover in extremely short periods between battles. Even without any natural talent in the area, she had ended up outstanding.

However, he sneered and pointed to the sky, a rift opening in the void to bathe him in deep green light. Life force surged as his injuries healed at a visible rate, weeds forming in the bricks all around as the light fell on it.

Apeiron's eyes narrowed, “Jadeite moonforce? No, not just that. Laws of life as well, at a foundational level.”

“A small gift from the laws,” Richard smiled, “I'm sure yours don't treat you the same.”

“Let's see how many times you can recover!” she snorted loudly, punching with both hands. Rich purple energy sprung forth from her body, looking like flames that enveloped within. This light seemed almost corporeal, distorting everything in its field to the realm of chaos.

Richard blinked away, picking up the divine sword as he rushed towards Apeiron. His own body started radiating the crimson energy of Midren's order. Neither side controlled themselves properly. The blood flames collided with the purple light, and order and chaos imploded upon each other. All the energy collapsed into a small black point.

It was a black hole!

Huge gales immediately sprang up in the hall, furniture starting to rattle as it was lifted into the sky. Even the walls and ceiling distorted, the entire palace on the verge of collapse. Thankfully Richard and Apeiron came to a mutual understanding, shooting out their powers once more to destroy the existential threat before returning to their battle. One of them had reached the limits of speed, and the other wasn't far off; any other legend would have failed to contain this in time.

A formless shockwave burst through the hall, disintegrating everything it touched. Richard and Apeiron appeared on opposite ends, crimson and purple each covering half the hall to defend it from this energy. Everything else in the vicinity quickly collapsed, leaving only this one building standing.

The two could protect their battlefield, but not the rest of the palace. Glancing at each other, they restrained their attacks to a level that Norland could withstand before beginning anew.

With their power suppressed, the two now competed in martial arts. Apeiron had reached a peak in combat long ago, but she was surprised to find that Richard was no worse. Decades of constant analysis of the Church's combat had borne fruit; even if he still had a ways to go for full analysis, he was already amongst the best of Norland. He modified his style to grow more erratic; one moment he was fighting up close and personal, and the next he was swinging his sword wide. He was fine even if she knocked into him a few times, but a single stab from his blade would kill her.

When the two separated again, Richard was soaked in blood, small and large injuries riddling his body. He hadn't struck Apeiron even once, but her face had no joy to be seen. She stared blankly as more green light shot down from the sky, healing his injuries in an instant. Even her icy will started to waver.

Richard's recovery ability was just far too powerful, comparable to the best arts of a legendary priest. Added onto his already insane regeneration and bodily strength, he was basically invincible unless one could kill him in a single strike. This was a peak much like her own; while she focused on offensive dominance, he was looking at endurance instead.

“That's two,” she coldly exclaimed, diving back into battle. Her figure vanished as he struck her, fingernails digging a trough into his chest. When Richard waved to counter, she had disappeared again.

The two turned into fuzzy shadows as they fought, slowly transitioning into the void. Apeiron had used this method to try and avoid Richard, but he had followed her instantly and given chase. A smile sprang up on his face; now, he didn't need to worry about destroying anything.

...

*BOOM!* A loud screech rang out as a purple figure shot back into Norland, crimson following hot on her heels. Richard and Apeiron continued their relentless fight, his attacks growing stronger and stronger with time. He even started giving up on defence entirely at times, taking chances to brush against her if he could.

Apeiron's energy started to flag, her actions growing more sluggish as time dragged on. Richard was also using the power of laws to disturb and suppress her, a process he was growing more adept at by the minute. By the time she realised that he could control more than ten different systems, the environment had already turned upon her.

Richard restored himself once more, beginning another wave of attacks. The two figures constantly flickered in and out, now fighting in both reality and the void. The entire royal island was shaking constantly, showing signs of collapse. The staff had already started to flee in shock, but many were still killed in the fallout as the Rainbow of the Moons barely managed to keep the island isolated.

At this point, neither side held back. Apeiron's eyes had been flooded entirely purple, and countless divine symbols floated across Richard's skin. The three divine languages were combined on his body as his bloodlust grew more coordinated, the insanity of the Archeron bloodline slowly taking hold. He was starting to fight more and more like a true abyssal, taking hits just to do even the slightest bit of damage to the opponent.

As Richard and Apeiron neared exhaustion, their power soon started to plummet. However, they continued their relentless fight, now working off instinct more than anything else. Richard eventually managed to grab her in a bear hug, a feeble red light flashing through his hands. Only one of his Lifesbanes activated, sending destructive energy right into her body.

The Empress went rigid, agony filling her face before being replaced by mad fury. She turned around and opened her mouth wide, spitting a violet ball right into his face! Richard screamed like a wild beast, losing the ability to fly as he crashed into the ground. Apeiron was dragged down with him, acting as his cushion.

In the end, his stronger body won out. He flipped the Empress over and pinned her into the ground, one hand holding her neck while the other made sure she couldn't move her's.

“You've... lost...” he gritted out, eyes occasionally flashing purple. Pure chaos was currently wreaking havoc within his body, threatening to take over his last dregs of sanity.

“So what? Kill me if you want, I should have died a decade ago.”

“Why... Did... You... Send... The... Stonelord... To... Master...” he grunted, the purple filling his eyes further.

“Isn't it simple? I want her dead.”

“YOU!” he seethed with fury, strengthening his grip.

Apeiron's neck started to crack under the force, and she closed her eyes in wait of death.

However, his grip suddenly loosened, “LIE!”

1299 - City of Sin

Two-Man War(3)

His eyes still flickering purple, Richard glared at Apeiron, “You... I'll return all the humiliation!”

The Empress just sneered as she watched his breathing grow heavier, not trying to escape even as his grip relaxed. That sneer turned into a smile as he placed her down on her back, positioning himself and thrusting in.

With two epic beings going all-out, basically everything on them had been destroyed. Richard's divine swords were the only survivors of the battle, leaving both of them completely naked from head to toe. Apeiron's near-perfect body had been marred by this battle, but he still felt incredibly attracted to the laws of chaos radiating from her. Thrust after thrust, he picked up speed until she was bouncing around him.

The two seemed to focus entirely on each other, ignoring Julian who had rushed over to the door. The royal butler had wanted to force his way through, but hearing the strange squelches and hoarse cries within he froze mid-flight. Cocking his ears for a while, his expression turned into a mix of joy and worry before he slowly took his leave.

Outside of the portal area and Apeiron's solitary residence, all the buildings on the royal island had collapsed. Everyone had evacuated already; even legends couldn't interfere in a battle of this level. Had the two not been aware of their own might, the collateral damage would likely have destroyed even the island itself.

Julian took slow, measured steps towards a large rock near the portal, opening up an exquisite silver wine flask and downing a mouthful. He then started to hum a little tune, a peaceful expression plastered across his face.

The portal suddenly flashed as Thor rushed through, a number of barriers covering him as he prepared an ancient staff for attack. However, he was clearly hesitant in his steps, almost like a mouse trying to steal food. The Chairman noticed Julian moments after he exited, leaping away in fright before he could even see who it was. It was only once he confirmed Julian's identity that he calmed down and patted his chest, looking at the distant residence, “Is the battle over?”

Julian smiled, “Of course not, that was only the first half.”

“There's a second?!”

“Heh, yes. It is going to be even more intense.”

“Then the island...” the mage panicked visibly.

“No problem, Faust will just create another. Go back, Her Majesty doesn't want any spectators. No one is to step onto this island without explicit permission, on threat of their lives!” Julian said with a smile. However, Thor winced and nodded in reply before flying away. The wider Julian's smile was, the greater his bloodlust.

......

Back in the hall, Richard and Apeiron were now lying side by side, staring at the broken ceiling. The place looked completely barren now, all but the structure destroyed by the shockwaves of their battle.

The two remained motionless. Richard didn't want to move, and Apeiron couldn't. It took a long period of silence before the Empress spoke up, “Why aren't you killing me?”

“Ugh, how can I now?” he smiled bitterly.

“Did I not cause Sharon's situation?”

“Sigh. But not intentionally. I saw that confusion when I told you about the stonelord, you aren't even a main actor here.”

She turned her head ever so slightly, “Then what are you going to do now?”

“I'm going to go look for this stonelord, see if there are any clues that can point me towards where she is. No matter what's happened to her... I need to confirm things myself.”

“... I'll come with.”

“Huh?” Richard frowned, looking at her, “Why? Actually, doesn't matter. I'm not going to sit around and guard myself from a sneak attack all day.”

“Of course I have my reason. Don't you get it yet? Sharon... I... Don't you understand?!” Apeiron started muttering incoherently, a soft blush crawling up her face.

“Understand what? Do you really want to fight her that... Wait, no. You don't mean?”

“Yes,” Apeiron forced a nod, her aura slowly recovering. She gathered her purple hair and struggled to sit up, “Why? Isn't it normal? Who cares about background, gender, race? Just the smell of her laws... Brr, it makes me shiver.”

“But...”

“You shouldn't be one to talk, Mr. I'll Fuck The Woman I Beat Up. Seriously, isn't there a better excuse for sex?”

Richard's face flushed red, his confidence wavering, “Err.. I was thinking...”

"Rape and kill? Extra humiliation, at the cost of your principles?"

The jab left him at a loss for words. Richard had wished to confirm things further when they first met, but a strange expression had flashed across Apeiron's face when he mentioned the stonelord. Instead of clarifying things, she had chosen to escalate to a battle directly. He had taken that as an admission of guilt himself, starting a fight to the death.

While the entire fight only lasted a few minutes, those had been the most intense minutes of his life. Relaxing after that had led to him giving into his desires, and just like a soldier after a great war he had devolved to the state of lust. That being said, Apeiron was right. Her laws were attractive to him as well; that was the entire reason for his goodwill when she first returned.

Seeing him speechless, the Empress abandoned this line of questioning and sighed, “The stonelord was supposed to be the key to a celestial's evolution. I managed to come across the whereabouts of one, but I didn't wish to just give it to her directly. Those other beings were a safeguard against Praton....”

Richard listened intently, slowly starting to make sense of the matter. Apeiron had braved great danger to investigate the border of order and chaos right after Sharon vanished, but heavy injuries had left her with no choice but to retreat. By the time she recovered and returned to Norland, she had actually steeled her heart and wished for death. It just so happened that Richard gave in to his own primal desires instead of killing her, leading to the current situation.

As they talked, Apeiron found her hope reignited by the knowledge that he could control both order and chaos, as well as their mixture. That would give Richard the unique ability to investigate the scenario.

He eventually sighed, “So, how did you come across the stonelord's whereabouts?”

“What do you... Wait, the Scholars?”

“Good chance it's them, they've been after Master and me for a while now.”

Apeiron's expression sank, but she quickly regained her bloodthirst, “Then they must be tired of living. I hear they have many ways to harvest souls and reincarnate, I'll get to kill them multiple times! Why aren't you healing me? Do you want to go another round with me like this?”

Richard shook his head, snapping out of thought as he placed his palm on Apeiron's upper torso. Jade green light fell from the void, encircling both of them within. Their injuries healed in a matter of moments, leaving only exhaustion to deal with.

1300 - City of Sin

Returning To Faust ƒ𝑟e𝘦we𝑏n𝑜𝚟𝙚Ɩ. 𝒄𝚘𝐦

“Go get my clothes,” Apeiron's voice rang out as the doors to her residence shot open.

“Already prepared, Your Majesty,” Julian bowed, bringing two sets of clothes. One was her usual battle clothes, while the other was a robe for mages.

Apeiron glanced at the robe and burnt it to a crisp with her violet flames, glaring at her servant as she hissed, “Don't do stupid things like this again!”

Julian only smiled in return, “I'm just thinking on your behalf, Your Majesty. Shall I arrange a celebration?”

“Bah, celebration? For what, being defeated?”

“Even you aren't invincible, Your Majesty, it doesn't matter if you lose once in a while. But I do believe it's an achievement for you to still like someone even after joining with them. That deserves a celebration.”

Surprisingly enough, Apeiron didn't grow angry at that. Staring at Faust with an unreadable expression, she sighed softly, “Leave that for now. Have people rebuild the palace, and... there's no need to keep my defeat a secret.”

Julian was taken aback by those last words, but he still managed to bow, “As you wish, Your Majesty.”

......

By this point, Richard had already teleported back to the camp under Miracle Peak. He had changed into an ordinary mage's robes, leading his followers and rune knights up the mountain. The road had been cleared long ago, and those who were moving about stopped in their tracks to witness the historic moment.

The Archerons had returned to Faust.

Standing right before that winding road, Richard raised his head to look at the City of Miracles hidden behind the clouds. Wordless sorrow gathered in his heart; it seemed as though it was only yesterday when he and Mordred had walked up this path together. The people had changed, but the road itself remained the same.

He sighed and stepped forward onto the grand pathway, followed by Tiramisu, Phaser, Waterflower, and Zangru. Mountainsea trailed behind, with the thousand rune knights led by Olar and Gangdor following.

When they reached the arch that served as the entrance to Faust, Richard looked up and stared at the head of Daramore for a while. There was a dull light within the beast's eyes, as though it was looking back at him as well. Something flashed in his gaze before he gave it one last look, walking into Faust.

His destination was the Church of the Eternal Dragon, and the sides of the pavement were crowded with curious folk. Few people in Faust were truly commoners; seeing the supremacy of the thousand rune knights, they could finally understand just why no one had dared to fight the Archerons along their way.

Apeiron's defeat was already known to those of the floating islands; although no one witnessed it, Julian himself confirmed the fact. A part of the Ironblood Duke's hair had greyed visibly the moment he was informed of this, as though he'd aged an entire decade. The words Beye had said before leaving still rang in his ears, “We need to face reality. Richard has surpassed us, and by a large margin. We aren't the most powerful family in this alliance anymore.”

Duke Orleans had refused to accept that fact until he received news of Apeiron's defeat. As a veteran legend who had raised outstanding juniors like Beye and Agamemnon, he was used to the status of his family growing by the day. For his position to suddenly be wrested away was gut-wrenching. History would remember him as the Duke who lost that coveted status of the most powerful family in the Alliance, and that was a depressing fact.

The remaining lords were mostly dismayed by the news, apart from those like Mensa and Turing who behaved like headless chickens. Richard wasn't one to show mercy at all. However, Duke Mensa had strangely started laughing after a bout of depression, bellowing at his confused elders and servants, “We have Rosie! Go look for her, ask her to put in a good word!”

The elders relaxed a little as they heard this, seeing a shimmer of hope. Rosie's status amongst the Archerons had grown steadily over the years, and she was now a leader of their runecrafting operations. Although she had severed all ties with the Mensas long ago, they still believed that blood was thicker than water and she wouldn't want to see her bloodline eliminated.

Mensa wasn't the only one who thought of this. Duke Turing grew immensely angry, giving his elders and children hell for their decisions. He quickly ordered for the best girls of the family to be brought over, personally choosing one to be sent over to Richard. It was a little late to imitate what had happened with the Mensas, but it was better than doing nothing.

As for the Josephs, the old Duke had already withered away from the man who had once dared to face Gaton in the past. He was sipping tea in his garden when he received the news, but he didn't react in the slightest.

Of course, Richard couldn't care less about the reactions of the other nobles. Already stepping onto the long stairs of the Church, he met a waiting Noelene with a hug before looking at the three grand priestesses standing behind her in a line. Even Jacqueline showed proper respect now; they had all heard of him banishing a grand priestess in the MIllennial Empire. At least in front of Richard, they were expendable and had no right to be arrogant. He had enough grace to turn them to dust with a snap of his fingers.

“You're here,” Noelene smiled as they parted, an expression of relief on her face. The days hadn't been easy since Richard left the Alliance, her higher level being the only thing that helped her maintain her status. That, and Jacqueline had become more well-behaved after being taught a lesson.

“I said I'd be back,” Richard chuckled.

“I know, but I didn't expect it to be like this.”

“This is the best way though, isn't it?”

“Sigh. Yes. The ceremony is prepared, come in. You'll only be able to complete your Blood Path after the sacrifice.”

Richard nodded, following her into the Church. According to tradition, the last step of the Blood Path was to offer sacrifices to the Eternal Dragon, asking for its blessings to unseal the floating islands. However, it had been hundreds of years since that wish had been granted, and at that time the royal family had opened up their second island and relocated. These days, the sacrifice was just like any other normal ceremony, and the family would then attack an island of their choosing.

Of course, Richard was the anomaly who had lifted his island between levels with offerings alone. Standing before the altar, he casually put a top-tier offering upon it. This was a piece of bizarre metal that a legend had sold to him for points; he wasn't sure about its uses, but he had managed to confirm its toughness and energy density.

Masses of timeforce gathered on the unknown metal, slowly dissipating it into pure energy. The breakdown process this time took much longer than normal, but he waited patiently. To him, this was just another sacrifice.

However, an extreme sense of pressure suddenly descended upon him, shocking him into alertness. The Eternal Dragon was here!

As he looked up, the old dragon's voice rang in his mind, “You've done well, bringing an offering related to the Doomsday Imprint. I will grant a greater reward than normal.”

Something stirred in Richard's heart, “Can I find Flowsand?”

1301 - City of Sin

3-1

“It is not impossible for Flowsand to return, but I suggest that you make certain it is the best ending for her,” the Eternal Dragon didn't avoid the sensitive question, its answer stunning Richard a little, “When your own existence reaches new heights, you will realise that the emotions affecting a higher being are different. Simple happiness is completely meaningless; are you sure that you finding her will help her instead of hurt?”

Richard was left speechless by this retort. He most certainly wasn't a higher being, and he couldn't really understand the difference. Just what did gods and archlords care about, what was important to them? He would have to think about this for a while.

It took a few minutes of silence before he spoke up again, “Then can I know about Sharon's situation?”

“That is a question I cannot answer; it could harm the fundamental laws of my own existence.”
𝗳𝐫𝘦e𝔀𝚎𝚋𝓃𝚘vℯl. 𝑐o𝚖

The two questions resulted in half of the divine grace fading away, despite neither being a truly satisfactory answer. However, Richard ignored that and continued, “I finished the Blood Path. Tradition should allow me to request the right to unlock one of the islands.”

This was something he had said for formality's sake. When he left Faust, he had given up control of island 6-6. That control would have defaulted to the Eternal Dragon, who would then offer it to the next family that succeeded on their path. A brand of timeforce would serve as a key that allowed them to manipulate the island, passing it down according to tradition. He simply expected that the request to unlock an island would be refused, and the brand would be returned to him.

However, that wasn't what happened. Moments after his question, the Eternal Dragon's voice rang out once more, “This grace is not enough to support such a request. Offer more, or recall it.”

This response was surprising, but thankfully he had more than enough offerings on hand. He quickly opened up a spatial ring and placed three more top-tier offerings on the altar, ones that he had originally planned to use for equipment supporting the reward point system. The sacrifices broke down into time force one after the other, flowing into the currents of time.

...

The entirety of Faust shook, the Rainbow of the Moons glowing as a beam of light shot out from the Church of the Eternal Dragon to land on one of the floating islands. A protective barrier surrounding this island suddenly crumbled to reveal its interiors, and another beam shot down from it to the rainbow as it entered an orbit around Faust.

Everyone in the city was alerted to this change, looking up from the streets or stretching their heads outside their window to stare at the massive island in the sky. The orbit of this island was far beyond anything else in Faust; there was an entire layer of sealed islands between it and even the next highest level!

One of the islands was being unlocked!

Only a minority of long-lived veterans in Faust had actually witnessed the previous time an island had been unsealed, and Chairman Thor of the Mage Association was one of them. Standing before his window, he stared blankly as the island drew energy from the Rainbow of the Moons, the wineglass in his hand shattered without his knowledge.

“H-How...” he rubbed his eyes forcefully, feeling like he was under an illusion. However, the sight before him truly was that of an island at the third layer, and it was even the first! He rushed back to his laboratory and spread out some paper, calculating the orbit to make sure. Repeated attempts only confirmed what his eyes had told him.

...

Back at the Eternal Altar, Richard looked at the sphere of golden light that he had received with surprise. He had already expected an island to be unsealed for him with the Eternal Dragon's previous statement, but that was only one of the remaining two islands in the fifth layer. He had never thought he would be granted access to 3-1.

This was indeed an honour, and proof of his favour with the Eternal Dragon. However, the problem lay in the fact that such honour meant nothing to him; there was nothing much to higher layers of islands outside of surface area.

The dragon seemed to read his mind, “The first three layers of islands are unique, this is a special reward. They grant the authority to control parts of Faust; you'll know once you step foot upon the island.”

“Control Faust?”

“Yes, consider this knowledge a part of your reward as well. Do your best to receive more grace, ascend to the top of the city. Once you reach the first layer, you will know the truth of this city. The same holds true for Flowsand's return; the only path is to obtain immense amounts of grace. What you have now is nowhere close to what you need.”

Feeling the conscient receding, Richard shouted anxiously, “How much do I need?!”

All he got in response was a laugh.

The altar slowly returned to its ruined state, leaving a stunned Richard to pick himself up and depart the Church. For some reason, the dragon showed him more care than any others, but judging from how Philip and Ferlyn turned out that was definitely a bad thing. It was just that he always found it difficult to reject these offers.

Noelene was waiting outside the altar, her gaze filled with a mix of happiness, envy, and even a pinch of fear. She nodded as he walked towards her, “Jacqueline wants to see you, she has things to say.”

Richard frowned at the mention of the scheming priestess, recalling how her last attempt against him had ended. At that time, he had no idea what his title meant, only defending himself within reasonable limits. Now that he knew just how disposable she was, even if she didn't realise this herself, he wouldn't be as nice.

“What does she want?” he asked. He had no time to waste on someone whose only good point was her body.

“It's about Ryan. He has mended his ways, and she feels like he is still the most suitable candidate to become Chosen. She wishes for your support.”

“Huh... And what do you think?”

Noelene laughed bitterly, “Can we even interfere? Ryan has aptitude, but that doesn't mean anything. She's procured the support of ten different families, so there will be a ceremony to direct divine grace towards him very soon.”

“She... Sigh,” he shook his head with a sneer, “She really thinks she can pressure me with the other nobles?”

Inexplicable fear suddenly filled Noelene's heart. She realised Richard's attitude to this had changed completely from before; just standing there, the sense of oppression he was giving off was suffocating. It was only then that she remembered that none of the other nobles had dared to fight him on his Blood Path, and that he had even defeated Empress Apeiron herself. How could someone like that be suppressed by a bunch of lesser nobles?

Richard continued, “Go call Ryan, and get Jacqueline and the others too. Let's take care of it in one go.”

Noelene opened her mouth, wishing to say something, but no words came out. She could only turn around and carry out his orders, leaving Richard in the middle of the hall with all the frightened priests and paladins unsure of what to do. Some walked up to greet him as she left, but many others just sped away from the place.

...

It wasn't long before Jacqueline and the two other grand priestesses were before Richard, accompanied by a Ryan who had outgrown much of his youth. The former prince was now taller, looking more mature and steadfast. He was still definitely a pretty boy, having inherited more from his mother's side, but it wasn't to the extent of Nyris who had looked devastatingly beautiful even before she transitioned.

Seeing Richard, Ryan stepped forward and bowed, “It is an honour to be able to meet you again, Your Grace. The unprecedented glory of your Blood Path will definitely leave a splendid mark on the history of the Alliance. I wanted to ask forgiveness for the mistakes of my younger years. Many of the ancient families of the Alliance have been teaching me and helping me temper myself as of late, and I hope to learn from you as well.”

Richard glanced at Ryan, feeling an urge to applaud the boy for his performance. He clearly possessed talent as well, having gotten to level 18 in this short while. His words were calm and smart, showing the poise to admit prior mistakes but using that opportunity to point out that he had the support of several noble families. The hint was obvious.

However, such a threat was laughable to a Richard who was now strong enough to destroy the entire Alliance on his own. Ryan hid his hatred quite well, but not well enough to escape from Richard's own eyes. Of course, Richard didn't believe that a boy who had attempted to stab him at the tender age of twelve could ever truly be docile.

Be it Jacqueline's overbearingness in the past or Ryan's flattery now, Richard understood that their only goal was the divine grace he could give them. He couldn't blame them entirely— the rate at which he accumulated and spent offerings truly was insane— but that didn't give him any respect for them either. He had made more than a third of Faust's offerings even before he left, and now he certainly made more than all the other families combined. That made him a valuable ally, but that alliance had already been won by someone who was much more likeable.

Richard looked into the youth's eyes and laughed, “I don't think you understand this yet. No matter how many families support you, you're still nothing. This Chosen nonsense has been going on for so long now, I think it's time to cut it off.

“Out.”

1302 - City of Sin

Special Zones

An hourglass immediately materialised above Ryan's head, breaking down and shattering the moment it appeared. Grains of sand fell everywhere, dissolving into pure timeforce that returned into the Church. A clear bubble engulfed the youth, silencing his terrified struggles as all of his divinity was drawn away.

The mark of a broken hourglass quickly appeared on his forehead, dissolving into his skin. Seconds later, the bubble just winked out of existence right in front of the four shocked priestesses. Their gazes were drawn to the hourglass now floating atop Richard's own head, so gorgeous that it was stifling. One thing was strikingly different from the time this hourglass had been shown in the Millennial Empire: the sands of time had switched from pale gold to white.

The mere presence of this white gold sand was enough to distinguish Richard from anyone else they knew. He had eliminated all of Ryan's divinity, but there was basically no change to the hourglass at all. Perhaps a few grains of sand had gone missing, but there was no way to prove that.

When they saw Richard's hourglass, the four priestesses turned extremely uneasy. They all realised the terrifying fact that Richard had enough grace to banish them all with minor impact to himself. Jacqueline especially paled until she looked like a corpse, her mouth hanging open in shock.

However, Richard wasn't done with that hourglass just yet. He turned to the aforementioned priestess and glowered, “It seems like the last time wasn't enough of a lesson. Looks like this Church has no need for four grand priestesses. Fall!”

The hourglass over Jacqueline's head suddenly shattered, a huge amount of sand spilling out and dissolving into timeforce. Her face went white as Richard drew away more than a third of her divinity, dropping her to a mere level 12 before his hourglass faded away. While Ryan had been branded to never set foot in the Church again, her own career was basically over.

Richard's gaze finally swept past the two remaining grand priestesses, both of them turning white as he smiled menacingly, “The old dragon needs some priestesses for appearance, or you would suffer the exact same treatment. Don't think you've been let off; if I catch you doing anything behind my back, it won't be hard to find replacements. An offering or two should be more than enough.”

He didn't even wait for their replies, turning around to leave.

“Richard,” Noelene quickly caught up to him, some helplessness in her voice, “Please, there's no real need for this, is there? It seems a little too cruel.”

He shook his head, “I'm busy with things, and I don't have the time to spend on those two idiots.”

“But the power of our Church already lags behind the other two empires. If we don't have enough grand priestesses and no Chosen, won't we be at a disadvantage?”

Richard stopped in his tracks, turning and staring at Noelene, “You can't be Chosen just because you want to. The old dragon is the one that chooses, not us. If he wants it, someone will pop up. If not, whatever. As for priestesses, he doesn't really care about that either. Power, number... all that matters is grace. The Church that ends up with the most offerings is the most valuable one, and they're the ones that get the most.”

“But... then there's no point to our existence at all!”

“Sigh... No, there isn't, technically. But there is a meaning to all of you, and you'd best pay attention to that.”

......

Escorted out by a confused Noelene, Richard took his followers and rune knights to the teleportation temple. Under the watchful eyes of a sea of nobles, he went straight up to the fourth floor and walked into the portal for island 3-1.

The moment he stepped onto the island, Richard realised that it was much bigger than it seemed from the outside. The place was more than a dozen square kilometres in area, obviously constructed by someone with extraordinary spatial abilities. At the northern end was a natural hill with a shrine at the top, in the same style as the ones that had originally been built in Faust.

Immediately sensing that the shrine would hide the rewards the Eternal Dragon spoke of, he walked up the existing steps and headed in. The place was divided into a front and back hall, the one at the front surprisingly containing an altar where one could make offerings to the Eternal Dragon directly. The smaller back hall had three ancient stone platforms, with a scroll floating atop each. As he approached and touched one of them, an enormous volume of information was suddenly dumped into his mind.

These platforms were control mechanisms, and only those branded by the Eternal Dragon could activate them. Each one was capable of creating an independent region of spacetime, forming a demiplane or even separating territory from an existing plane. This new territory would partially resemble a demiplane, but it could encompass a massive hundreds of square kilometres. With three scrolls in total, this island could produce three such zones. Island 3-2 and 3-3 had two and one each of such scrolls.

These special zones were actually supplements due to the lack of space on the island itself, mainly used for facilities or large portals to other planes. When he saw their description, Richard thought of an urgent use for them; he could completely connect the Genesis and Dragon Valley here! Even when the reapers eventually appeared in Faelor, he would be able to preserve the most valuable parts!

These zones were perfect battlefields. While vast, they had limited area and locked spacetime around them. This would allow him to control every single person fighting under him; at the very least, there would be no need for a mechanism to keep them focused or even manpower to track their movements. This was a perfect solution to some of his biggest problems right now.

However, this knowledge only left him suspicious. The old dragon was indeed supporting him in many ways, but what would he have to do to repay this favour? Unfortunately, he could only shake his head, deciding to deal with the problem later.

After some calculations, Richard had his followers gather once more, outlining his plans for the various sections of the island. The family castle would naturally be on top of this hill, surrounding the shrine and the core control mechanisms. Spell formations, guard camps, servant housing, and guest accommodations would all have to be built around it. This control section meant he would have to station at least a hundred rune knights under the lead of a sky saint here before he felt safe.

Completely building out this island was a task that was meant to take time, but Richard had amassed so many architects and earth mages that at this point the construction of ordinary buildings was trivial to him. Everything would be completed in less than a month, and although internals would take some more time he wasn't very concerned about that.

Two groups of mages were assigned to proceed to Dragon Valley and the ancient battlefield in the Genesis, each tasked with surveying the surroundings to mark out a good section that could be connected to his special zones. They also had to prepare the battlefields in general for the moment they were shifted, lest something happen to his people within.

Once the plan for the island was complete, Richard had to deal with all the family heads who came to visit. They all wanted to see just how different a third layer island was; the idea of him skipping the fourth layer to head straight to island 3-1 had been almost as shocking as the news that he had defeated Empress Apeiron. Richard calmly gave the leaders a tour, the key focus being the shrine and the special zones. He already planned to move the reward point battlefields to these zones, so things would be found out anyway.

Almost everyone was shocked once they found out what these zones were. All other floating islands were mere symbols of status without much use, even the ones occupied the royal family. They had started to believe this was true of the entire pyramid, but this function of special zones left the other family heads with a renewed reason to make offerings. After all, the brands for the third layer and higher were personalised; Richard was the one who personally controlled 3-1, and even if he was killed the island would just be locked again. While the other islands could be conquered with force, one could only get to these through sacrifices.

1303 - City of Sin

Journey Into The Void

The powerful ability of the third level islands left many of the visiting lords red-eyed. These zones could be cut out of special elemental planes, or even the abyss and hells. Such places could be used as training grounds, resource farms, or even just a beachhead to start draining the target plane dry. Unfortunately, they wouldn't be able to acquire this place even if the brand wasn't tied to the individual. How were they supposed to chase out a family they didn't even dare to fight when they were supposed to?

Once he'd given the tour, Richard sent these lords back and allowed his rune knights to camp on the island. The butler had already set off to prepare a contingent of masons and mages; once a suitable place was built, he would station a hundred rune knights here to act as a permanent defensive force. At the same time, he planned to move Fuschia back from Alice's side, having her act as the guardian of this island. Waterflower would be sent over in her stead, assisting Alice against tougher individual opponents. His other followers would return to Faelor, while a large number of rune knights would return to their original stations as well/

Once everything was organised, he packed his bags and put his three divine weapons in their spatial sheath, proceeding to the royal island to look for Apeiron. He had to walk through nearly a thousand masons and mages that were busy clearing the debris and fixing any spell formations; it would take a while to rebuild the palace.

Apeiron was waiting in her lonely residence, her restlessness clear the moment he laid eyes on her. She jumped up as she saw him, saying icily, “I'm ready, you?”

“Same.”

“Drink this first,” she tossed a small vial to him.

Richard caught the vial, shock crawling up his face as he opened and sniffed it, “Ice dragon?”

“Mm, I had one myself.”

The elixir of an ice dragon was extremely rare, and its functions were comparable to those of a flame potion. It granted its owner the ability to control the laws of ice for a few days, also granting near immunity to the element and adding frost energy to any attacks. Most importantly, ti could greatly enhance one's understanding of ice laws, something that was especially true for Richard whose analyses were already mind-numbingly quick.

Any potion that could enhance one's laws was immensely useful, but Richard opened the vial and gulped it down without so much as a thanks. He knew that this expedition would be very dangerous, so he wouldn't stand on ceremony. The Eternal Vortex was an infamous danger zone in the void, and he would be entering it during his first foray into void exploration. He would have to make up for his lack of experience with every ounce of power he could muster.

As he sat down to meditate, wisps of cold air were emitted from his body. The temperature of the hall quickly dropped until a layer of frost formed on the walls, enhancing some of the cracks that had been formed by their earlier battle.

A while later, his eyes shot open, “Let's go.”

Apeiron nodded her head, walking to Richard's side and hesitating for a moment before grabbing his hand. He drew an outline in the air with the other one, dragging her through a portal into the endless dark.

When they turned around, Norland had turned into a resplendent star. One could barely make out the outlines of three continents through the crystal walls, floating amidst the endless sea. This was the first time Richard had witnessed this magnificent sight, and after a few minutes of basking he built a new portal and walked through.

......

Portal after portal brought the two thousands of kilometres away at a time, taking them into the depths of the void. Apeiron demonstrated how warriors travelled between planes during the long journey, using her energy to tense the void and send herself bouncing a thousand kilometres away. Her travel speed was even a little higher than his, but her means also consumed a lot more energy.

Richard's title from the Eternal Dragon started proving its worth even more. Every portal of his could take him more than a thousand kilometres forward, vastly superior to the few hundred an ordinary legendary mage could manage. His energy consumption was almost negligible as well, to the point that Apeiron quickly gave up on travelling herself and just clung onto him as he shuttled them through.

The void was anything but empty. It seemed from Norland to be a black curtain with thousands of stars upon it, but each of these stars was an individual plane that could be reached with enough travel. In theory, there wasn't even a need for the coordinates from the Eternal Dragon to move between planes, but even the closest plane to Norland would take Richard weeks to get to at his fastest speed. The furthest planes could take years.

The most prevalent threat in the journey was the chance of terrifying energy storms, popping up out of nowhere and threatening to wipe out their barriers. There were also enormous screens of light that wriggled around, and Apeiron had him detour quickly every time they came across one. These screens didn't look large, but they spanned tens of thousands of kilometres and took dozens of ports before one could escape. Some were slow and others were fast, but they were all deadly even to epic beings. These screens were formed by the collisions of multiple energy storms, and whenever they were caught in one Richard had to teleport himself and Apeiron back to his demiplane for shelter.

The demiplane was the core of what mages superior explorers. Whenever they were tired of moving, they could just use their soul connections to leave a mark in their location and port back home, giving them time to rest and recover. They could thus resume their travels once they were rested.

Richard had built a small hut in his demiplane, storing food and some necessary materials. However, the place was tiny compared to those of other mages, to the point that pathetic was an accurate descriptor.

“Why is it so small?” Apeiron asked during their first visit, but just as those words came out she cried out in surprise and pulled a rock out of the ground, “Wait, is this elemental earth?”

“Yep,” Richard nodded, prompting a look of surprise. An entire demiplane made of elemental earth was invaluable; those of most other mages were simply built from natural minerals. With this knowledge, his demiplane was actually too big, not too small.

Richard headed into the hut to get some food, using the liquid from the mana pools as water. This allowed the two to recover quickly, meditating for only a few hours before they returned to peak condition and could embark on their journey once more. When they returned to the energy storms, they separated and went their individual ways. While he teleported into the distance, she bounced through the void while flickering in and out.

About midway through their travels, Richard and Apeiron chanced upon a plane that was covered in raging flames. The crystal walls had already been broken, and the fire was so hot that no living beings could survive. The two sensed tyrannical auras from within, coming from a few strange and ferocious beasts, but as those beasts approached the flaring of their own auras quickly repelled them. The beasts panicked and retreated slowly, scrambling away once they were far enough.

“They're kind of like space pirates, they probably destroyed this place,” Apeiron explained.

“Let's... Ugh, forget it, we don't have time,” Richard glared at the beasts and turned away, forming the next portal.

Even the supposedly empty sections of the void weren't completely free of danger. There were occasional black holes in the area, threatening to absorb anyone who dared get too close. They could at least sense the larger ones and avoid them in time, but the smaller ones were especially dangerous; whenever Richard's portals ended up too close to one, it would take great effort to free themselves of its pull. Thankfully, black holes were an embodiment of the interaction between order and chaos; Richard could use his divine spells to neutralise them and escape.

1304 - City of Sin

Journey Into The Void(2)

Void exploration grew more and more dangerous the further one went from Norland. The space around any primary plane was relatively stable, but that stability faded as one ventured into the distance. The energy storms of the void grew more and more violent, and several other dangerous scenarios started to rear their heads.

Richard and Apeiron were currently billions of kilometres from Norland, already able to sense the weaker planes on the edge. These were the planes that most legends explored, dangerous enough to perhaps cost them their lives.

Once they were in this zone, Richard's superiority grew even more evident. Mana Armament and his own strong body gave him the physical defence of a higher legendary warrior, and his barriers on top left him with many layers of protection. With the power of order, chaos, and neutrality, he could charge through anything he met in the void that even someone like Apeiron would otherwise have to avoid.

The two zoomed forward like lightning, occasionally meeting beasts and other powerhouses along the way. Outside of a Daxdian legend that Richard slew instantly, they didn't bother anyone who didn't annoy them. Some passersby did make threatening moves, but once they felt the auras of the two they fell back. While Richard was only level 23, Apeiron was showing off full level 28 might; nobody attacked epics without reason.

Their figures constantly flickered through the void, every portal carrying them thousands of kilometres forward. Whenever they were tired, they returned to his demiplane to rest. Richard didn't open up Sharon's demiplane to Apeiron; in any case, his own resources were more than sufficient for energy recovery. While epic beings did consume terrifying amounts of energy, Apeiron could only swallow a few crystals before she recovered her strength. The energy of a dozen trees was enough to sustain them indefinitely.

Richard's recovery rates were higher than Apeiron's as well. After the first few times, he ported away from his demiplane to study in the astral library whenever she was recuperating, continuing to read the books that were already unsealed and sometimes even trying to unlock those that were a level higher. Sharon had obviously been stuck in that level, but he estimated she was close to deciphering the fourth level which had twelve books. The laws there would allow her might to skyrocket.

Day after day thus passed in monotony. The two most frightening things in the void were losing one's sense of direction or one's sense of time, but Richard's internal compass remained strong and his cursory analysis of timeforce kept him grounded. As long as he was in a place that the Eternal Dragon could control, he would never need to worry about getting lost.

He found during the journey that his attempt to access the third level of the library was going slower than expected. After a few different attempts, he finally realised that the problem was his level. One needed mana and energy to keep the runes from warping, and every time he was close to decoding a book the library would change the laws protecting it and send his previous efforts down the drain. After some tests, he concluded that he would only be able to keep these changes from occurring once his mana was at level 25 or greater.

Following this line of thought, he concluded that the fourth level likely needed someone to hit level 30 to open it. He could technically brute force it— after all, there were only so many laws that these barriers could embody— but that would likely take decades on end to accomplish. He could try such a foolish thing if he was stuck at level 23, but with his current body and laws there would be no bottlenecks all the way up to hitting level 29. All he needed was to gather sufficient mana.

The average powerhouse was limited by both their body and laws. However, only the latter was truly a serious problem; while one's body needed to be resilient enough to carry their power, there were many ways to strengthen one's body. One determined enough could warp their body into that of an aquila bug, giving them the same bodily strength as Richard. However, laws were internal and couldn't just be absorbed like that. One had to control that power themselves; this was why the primal celestials had constructed their barriers. If one overestimated their own capabilities and tried to pursue laws beyond their strength, they would be killed by the changes within. Google search 𝘧𝓇𝗲e𝑤𝑒𝙗noѵ𝒆𝚕. 𝒄o𝓶

The majority of books in the celestial library were about neutral laws, but some touched on order and chaos as well. Richard currently didn't feel like he had any obstacles, his analysis rate having skyrocketed with the growth of his blessings. In fact, he found that Wisdom was being bottlenecked by his own body; whenever his body was strengthened, his blessings would be upgraded soon enough. The broodmother had shown him a feasible path to increase his analytical ability as well— he could just increase the volume of his brain or add more.

One single unit of the broodmother's brain was equivalent to one of his at grade 4 Wisdom or so. However, she relied on her enormous volume to produce tens of thousands of them, and that number continued to go up. A hundred thousand thought centres had formed a web of thought that forced her up to maybe around a grade 10; her analytical ability was currently four times his own.

There were many times he had considered the idea of artificially enlarging his body; the many obvious benefits outweighed the slight inconveniences. However, that wasn't the most pressing need for him right now so he could only push it back and focus on mana. Giving up on the third level of the library, he instead headed to the crystal mountain and spent his time submerged in the mana pool.

Richard could connect his mind to the energy absorbing trees that ringed his demiplane, feeling the energy they drew from the stormy void. Excess energy was currently being gathered and turned into elemental soil, but once he sank in he removed his defences and allowed the pure energy to flow into him. This attribute-less power started warping the smallest cells of his flesh, tiny crystals of energy forming within. Schloanruvendaer sent out tiny divine runes every time, branding the internal structure of these cells.

Even as his internals were starting to crystallise, he retained complete control of his body. His blood continued to flow, every pump taking some of these crystals away, either stored or used to remodel himself. The process would slowly turn him into a pseudo-elemental of some sorts, increasing both his physical and magical strength with time. It was a risky process that threatened to kill him, but his truename managed to keep things from reaching that situation.

He counted the time silently, using the rapid process to upgrade himself to level 24 before reaching the Eternal Vortex. That one level of difference would greatly increase his chances of survival. It was only when he felt Apeiron beckoning to him that he realised she was done resting, returning to her and activating a portal to continue shuttling through.

The days and nights thus continued to pass, until one day he suddenly asked, “We're not far now, are we?”

"Only half a day."

“What will we find, outside of chaotic creatures?”

"The people that trapped Sharon."

1305 - City of Sin

Eternal Vortex

Knowing that they were close to the Eternal Vortex, Richard silently went through the action plan repeatedly in his head. Confirming that there were no loopholes, he brought Apeiron towards one of the most dangerous sections of the void.

The two reached their destination half a day later, and cold only marvel at the wondrous might of the world. This was a place where order and chaos interweaved, an immense vortex occupying one's entire field of vision. It was billions upon billions of kilometres wide; even if he gave it his all while teleporting, it would take years before he could fly out of range.

In front of him was a purple fog that represented the power of chaos, and resplendent crystals within that typified order. The crystals revolved around the centre, slowly spinning upwards like a tiny galaxy. Flames raged on their surface as the power of chaos crashed against them, reaching millions of degrees in temperature such that no living thing could survive it. Even an epic being would be burnt to nothingness; not even ash would be left behind.

After this expedition, Richard thoroughly understood that any dazzling colours represented great danger in the void. The more beautiful the scenery, the more it had to be avoided. He felt relieved by the fact that he had brought along someone who had entered this place before. If he had to explore this place himself, he wouldn't be able to find any clues even if he spent his entire life here.

“How should we get in?” he asked her, “It'll take a decade to get to the core if we just go straight.”

“There's a better way,“ Apeiron floated forward, sending a few purple lines of energy into the distance. A purple flash gave rise to a stone platform, “There are many natural portals here that can save time.”

Marvelling once more, Richard teleported them a dozen times to reach the platform. It contained a natural spatial passage, but there was no way to know what was on the other end. There were copper braziers on the four ends, three with the symbol of space and one with the symbol of time. There were some nearly-depleted magic crystals at the bottom of each, and from the looks of it they formed a beacon for adventurers in the void.

"Someone's been here?” he asked as he watched her stabilise the passage.

“Danger breeds opportunity. Some fool tries his luck here every decade or so; these flames are prepared especially for those legendary blockheads. The Vortex is dangerous even for epics, and legends just die, but there are rumours that the depths can lead to the alter world. It only makes sense that there are treasures capable of boosting one's evolution, just like the stonelord.

Apeiron continued to explain the history of the Vortex, giving Richard a broad overview of this place. Many past generations had sought it out, hailing from different races on different planes but with the same ultimate goal. Most of them were just legends, unable to traverse thousands of kilometres at a time like Richard could. A single trip could cost them a century, so they had to proceed very cautiously. These natural portals were a way in, but not all of them were shortcuts. Some were simply fatal traps; one needed to use their flesh and blood to tell which was which.

The first one to discover these portals was an epic being from Aquila. They didn't hide the discovery, instead making the coordinates public and even building a Lighthouse of Time nearby for navigation. That being decided to head into the Eternal Vortex, and nothing was heard from them ever again. Many other portals were discovered after that, but in their memory most made it a point to construct some form of coordinates next to the portals for the convenience of future explorers. Generation after generation slowly progressed into the depths of the Eternal Vortex.

The portal in front of Ricahrd primarily used chaotic energy, and the other end wasn't guaranteed to be safe. Once Apeiron finished stabilising it enough for epic beings to travel through, she turned to him and warned, “Careful, the other end is a land of chaos.”

“Guard,” Richard said in chaotic tongue, accompanied by a nod. Beas of purple light shot out from his body and encased him in multiple barriers, their defensive strength giving Apeiron a moment of pause before she used her own chaotic energy to protect herself. A purple blaze burned around her as she jumped into the portal, with him following closely behind.

This chaos portal felt entirely different from Richard's previous experiences with portals. He completely lost all means to interact with spacetime, endless chaotic energy around him confounding his perception. One moment he felt like he was motionless, the next he was spinning around rapidly. There was no way to know which was real.

It wasn't easy to get through that portal, and when he did he gasped in relief. In front of him was Apeiron, suppressing a mischievous smile. She had clearly known and chosen not to warm him. Grumbling to himself, he tried to fly towards her and suddenly flipped around in space a few times. His eyes went wide as he realised that his body hadn't recovered.

Finally learning from the experience, he extended his perception and used his ability as a Lord of Space to anchor himself in spacetime. Testing and tuning each part of his body, he eventually nodded and flew towards her.

Surprise flashed across Apeiron's face, “Not bad, you're the first I've seen to adjust so quickly. Many can't adjust even after a day.”

“So you just wanted to torment me.”

“Of course not! This isn't even much. Go to the Outlands and you'll meet zones spawned purely by primal chaos. Without the laws of chaos, you'll die or go insane in mere days.”

“Sigh.” Richard shook his head. The brief experience had already been disorienting enough to convince him of her words. For someone to live in such environments for decades... He didn't understand just how she had survived. In hindsight, pushing herself to the edge of madness was perhaps the best way; it could give her the determination to hold on.

Looking around, all he saw was purple fog and black smoke. Gathering some of the mist and observing it closely, he found that it was purely a manifestation of primal chaos, containing no substance at all. The black smoke was actually a little substantial, but that was because it had been sullied by order and other laws.

Richard's skin felt quite prickly as he made contact with the fog. The chaos energy in here was extremely potent, and even spread out so far it hurt even his tough body. Equivalent to a grade 8 spell, it could kill a saint with enough time.

Looking at his surroundings, all he could find was the purple and black. From far away it had looked like a line as thin as a hair, but once immersed within one would realise that it was thousands of kilometres thick.

“Let's go, I'll bring you to the next point,” Apeiron waved to Richard, moving much more freely than him. He understood her meaning, but he hesitated for a moment. He normally just grabbed her by the waist and teleported her, but being the one dragged around would feel awkward.

“Hey, stop dawdling!” she eventually grabbed him by the armpit, bouncing herself into the distance. The two followed the flow of this swirl of chaos into its depths.

1306 - City of Sin

Order Crystal River

“You're up,” Apeiron eventually let go of Richard, allowing him to look ahead. They were at a crossroads between a river of crystal order and a whirlpool of chaos. Only up close did one realise that the river was composed of countless cuboidal beams floating about, maintaining a subtle balance as they supported and repelled one another to maintain their distance at mere centimetres of inaccuracy.

Those crystals didn't once touch each other in the river, but at the crossroads things were entirely different. The beams were shot out from the river, charging towards the whirlpool of chaos with killing intent. The whirlpool countered this with raging currents of pure purple fog, and the moment they clashed the beam's speed slowed down rapidly. The fog was visibly depleted by the process as well, and sometimes a beam would explode violently and trigger a chain reaction that wiped out everything in the vicinity. Near-transparent flames burst forth from these explosions, shining brighter than the sun.

Fortunately, those flames weren't nearly as terrifying as what Richard had witnessed from the outside. Regardless of speed, it would be impossible to survive million-degree fire that spanned just as many kilometres or more. A calamity like that made any human might seem insignificant in comparison.

According to the path Apeiron pointed out, the stonelord resided somewhere close to the inner swirls. They would need to traverse quite a bit of distance to get that far. However, she had suffered constant injuries whenever she had to cross the river of order, and even when she got close to the central vortex she had reached her limit and had no choice but to return. Had she simply gone on anyway, she would have died soon after.

However, Sharon was different. As a descendant of the primal celestials her body was hardy and neutral to both order and chaos. Although there wasn't a particular place that suited her, no environments were too dangerous either. She was more than capable of crossing both the whirlpools of chaos and the rivers of orders, while the flames resulting from their fusion would only be able to kill her if she was caught in the eye of the storm.

Richard was starting to feel several complicated emotions towards Apeiron at this point. It was clear that she had no intent to harm Sharon, and had in fact pointed out the stonelord for her own good. It was like she was giving a present to a girl she liked. It was just that this was the girl he liked as well, and the girl that liked him. Regardless, she had confirmed that the stonelord was genuine before handing the map over, and once news broke about Sharon's disappearance she had rushed back here as quickly as she could to try and confirm things. In some ways, this felt like more than he had ever done for Sharon himself.

Thinking about this, he could only heave a sigh, “Let's go. Protect!”

He stretched an arm out to grab her as he spoke in divine order, a translucent glow enveloping the two of them. Drawing a portal in the empty space, he ported them into the depths of the river.

Within the river of order itself, they were surrounded by white fog on all sides. The huge crystal beams sparkled in the distance, looking like enormous mountains that a pair of birds were zipping between. Every crystal emitted a dull glow, and the combination of them all created a beautiful world.

Richard's mind suddenly stirred, and he turned around to teleport to the top of the crystal peak. Descending down to the surface, he grabbed a huge crystal and examined it. To his absolute shock, his suspicions came true. This was an enormous magic crystal!

All of the pillars around were made entirely of magic crystals, each more than a kilometre tall. Even as perhaps the wealthiest individual in Norland, Richard couldn't help but shudder at the sheer amount of energy here. Every rune he had ever crafted wouldn't combine in value to compare to a single peak, and there were an uncountable number along this river! And this wasn't even the only river of order in the Eternal Vortex!

Unfortunately, he couldn't move entire mountains of magic crystals yet, and the amount that he could move was insignificant compared to his wealth. In fact, nobody who could come all the way here would particularly lack in magic crystals. This frozen energy was an abundance of wealth to all but the people who qualified to see it.

While he was appreciating the view, Richard suddenly realised that there was a problem with Apeiron's aura. He turned around and saw that she had paled significantly, purple smoke being emitted from her skin and vanishing into the glow of the crystal peak. He froze up as he realised that the power of order here was wreaking havoc on her internals, and she was combating it with her foundational chaos energy. Without using such energy, she would be turned to ash even with his barrier reducing the power of this river by a full half!

Just how had she crossed this place the last two times? It must have been like swimming naked in boiling oil!

Apeiron sensed his frustration, her gaze turning icy, “If you're done fooling around, we have to continue our journey. Mere order of such pitiful level can't hope to harm me!”

Richard didn't argue with her, knowing she was bluffing all the way through. What was worse than having to use her foundational energy? He stared with full attention, muttering a divine chant under his tongue before finally saying out loud, “Screen of Order.”

The surroundings darkened at once, a purple screen enveloping the two of them within. Although the light from the crystal river still pierced through this new barrier as well, they had less than a tenth of their energy left.

Apeiron immediately felt more relaxed. She turned to Richard and moved her mouth for a while, but it took nearly half a minute for her to blurt out a “Thank you.”

Richard laughed, grabbing her and continuing to speed through the river. She had already shown him the way to go.

The path to the core might be fixed, but the locations of the rivers and whirlpools was always changing. This was a problem that plagued generations of strong warriors; they had to follow particular paths in here to keep themselves from getting lost, so any obstacle would have to be faced head-on. Apeiron's second attempt to get here had been blocked by a number of rivers of order, ultimately burning her to the point that she had no choice but to return.

However, Richard's title from the Eternal Dragon still held sway even in this dangerous region of space. With the ability to know just where he was at any time, he didn't need to follow the path as rigidly as most others. He swiftly travelled across the river in the general direction, adjusting whenever he veered too far off-course. With the light of order not posing much of a threat to Apeiron anymore, he would much rather stay in the zones of order where the power of his well of stars was amplified tenfold. There wasn't any need for him to return to his demiplane to rest, his mana pool remaining full the entire way.

After he'd crossed a few rivers, Richard suddenly froze mid-flight as he sensed a powerful will locking onto him. That being seemed to be close to an epic being, and from its bloodlust as it approached him it was clear that it didn't have good intentions.

He snorted at the interruption; if not for the fact that he simply didn't have the time to fight against this opponent, he would have destroyed even an epic being in this space. However, he activated his elven bloodline and burst forth with mana, drawing a portal that was twice as big as normal to travel tens of thousands of kilometres away in one jump. The figure chasing him was shocked at the sheer distance, and before it could react he ported a few more times to disappear from its perception entirely.

However, that wasn't the end of it. The alligator-like beast suddenly saw a deep blue orb of light shooting towards it, a distant yell ringing out, “SCRAM!”

The orb of light exploded into hundreds of rays, sending a combined attack to the beast's body. The sparkling rays of light protecting it shattered apart, the light carving through its skin to form hundreds of crossed cuts. After a terrified cry, the reptile blinked away.

Richard laughed coldly, returning to his original path and continuing at a steady pace. That creature had been a being of order, but an orb of astral energy had taught it a good lesson.

1307 - City of Sin

Astral Marker

After taking care of a few more minor annoyances along the way, Richard and Apeiron finally arrived at the next teleportation point. It was another portal of order, one where Apeiron had previously sustained injuries severe enough to halt her attempt.

Looking at the energy radiating from that passage, Richard turned towards Apeiron, “Hold on.”

Apeiron hesitated, but she walked up to him and wrapped her arms tightly around his neck. However, he reached out behind and slapped her butt hard, prompting her to lift her legs and wrap them around his waist despite gritted teeth. Holding onto her tightly, he curled himself up a little as three faces surfaced around them.

““GUARD!”” they all chanted at once, securely protecting the two within a barrier of laws. Following that, he rose up and flew into the passage.
f𝔯𝒆𝑒we𝚋𝓃૦ν𝙚Ɩ. c૦m

...

Two figures came crashing out of a portal, but both of them were in an extremely sorry state. The barrier was shattered into pieces, their underlying clothes ripped apart. A beam of energy shot out from the passage behind them, snaking right for Apeiron who was in Richard's arms.

Richard's expression darkened as he realised the threat to her fragile body, and despite his own misgivings he timed a flip so the beam shot into his back. He groaned loudly as a huge part of his flesh simply disintegrated under the effects of the heat, even his bones burnt halfway through, but as they shot down he managed to resummon his faces with difficulty. The angel started healing and the demon provided flame immunity, while the neutral face formed a barrier that encased them. The beam seemed to have a mind of its own, circling around the barrier for a while, but it eventually returned to the passage.

With all three spells active, Richard and Apeiron fell into a screen of light that quickly folded upon itself, giving them some basic defence. Laying motionless on the floor of this barrier without any strength to move, he struggled to catch his breath but failed to get up.

Apeiron was the first to be able to move, separating from him and flipping him over so his back was facing up. The back had been cauterized, so the best thing to do was to reduce the pressure on it so it could start to regenerate. He wasn't bleeding at all, but looking at that rough burn she trembled as she realised she had no way to help him. As someone who lived by the laws of chaos, healing was completely foreign territory to her.

Gasping on the ground, Richard moaned, “You passed through that tunnel before? How did you survive?”

“Perhaps... Fate doesn't want me dead yet.”

Hearing her desolate tone, Richard's heart shook, “Don't you die, I need you to keep leading the way.”

“This is as far as I can bring you. I've never walked the paths beyond here myself.”

“That's... fine too. When I hea— OW! FUCK!” his wounds stretched as he made a slight movement, the pain so intense that he almost fainted. The air was actually stinging his back as well, even if that meant his body could heal a little bit quicker.

He mustered all of his strength to hold out a finger, a tiny sliver of mana detaching a ring from it, “There's... medicine... inside.”

His injuries were by far the most severe of the two, to the point that he didn't even have the ability to activate his spatial ring anymore. Apeiron gently pulled the ring off his finger, retrieving a few vials of concentrated potions from within and starting to pour them on top of Richard's wounds. A hiss rang out the moment they made contact, white smoke starting to fly up as though a strong acid had been used instead.

Richard immediately groaned out loud, causing her hands to shake until she ended up spilling half the bottle on his back. He let out an even more pitiful scream. The Empress clenched her teeth, slapping his still-intact rear, “It's just a little wound, what's there to scream about?”

“IT FUCKING HURTS! I'M NOT ON A BATTLEFIELD, THERE AREN'T ANY OUTSIDERS, WHY THE FUCK WOULDN'T I? OW!”

Hearing his tirade, her hands shook again and she continued pouring the medicine on his back.

...

By the time the barrier was about to lose power, Richard had already recovered to his optimal condition. He picked Apeiron up and flew towards the heart of the vortex, passing through a number of chaotic whirlpools before a majestic new world appeared before his eyes.

In front of them was a boundless space that seemed to have no end, countless whirlpools of chaos and crystal rivers of order slowly spinning into the centre. It was impossible to see the other end; it was perhaps hundreds of millions of kilometres deep, maybe even billions. The scene was so grand that it threatened to steal his soul away.

This was the first time Apeiron had seen such a scene as well, and she was equally dazed. As two epic humans, they were already tyrannical figures standing at the peaks of their own eras. It was only faced with the wonders of the wider world that they could feel just how insignificant they were. No empress, no divine runemaster, not even an abyssal lord or other archlord was worth being called even an ant in this context.

“So this is the heart of the Vortex?” Richard eventually spoke up.

“Should be,” Apeiron nodded.

He sighed, “Well, it makes sense that you could travel to the alter world from here.”

“Is the alter world even real?”

“Perhaps, perhaps not. There are some clues as to its existence, but it might not be what we think it is either.”

As the two started discussing the nature of the world itself, a strong sense of danger suddenly erupted in their hearts. Apeiron screamed and jumped into Richard's arms, curling herself up as tightly as he could even as he summoned all three faces to add barriers. Layer after layer of defence was formed with every instant, the three different styles melding into a diamond-like wall that guarded the two of them within.

As they looked on, a tiny hint of purple flashed in the depths of the vortex that even light couldn't escape. The colour spread rapidly, gushing out like a raging wave that filled the central abyss instantly before spilling into the sky like a volcanic eruption. Richard had no way to describe what he was seeing, his senses overwhelmed by the surging tides of chaos.

However, those tides retracted as quickly as they appeared, slowly disappearing into the depths of the vortex. Letting go of each other, Richard and Apeiron stared speechlessly at the heart of the Eternal Vortex. That surge was almost like a breath!

The chaotic tides also caused an immediate reaction in the vacant sky, countless specks of order materialising in thin air. They quickly coagulated into enormous crystal pillars that fell into the vortex, looking like a sea of stars descending from the sky.

The crystal barrier finally lost shape, being smashed loudly into pieces. Richard quickly realised that even Sharon wouldn't be able to hold up against such raging tides of chaos, and the only thing he could do was pray that she hadn't been that rash.

“Let's head down,” Apeiron interrupted his thoughts, “the stonelord shouldn't be too far from the edge. If we can find the actual plane, we're on the right track.”

He nodded, but this time he let go of her and allowed her to walk alongside him. Sticking closely to the edge of the core, they slowly looked all around. After a short search, they managed to find small blocks of real earth floating around in the void. This meant real planes could appear soon as well.

As they continued on their journey, Richard suddenly shook mid-flight, his entire body radiating dark blue energy. All of his magic trembled as though resonating with something, his mind lurching as he realised what it was.

Sharon had left a mark behind!

The astral energy in that mark was extremely weak, but as it sensed the magic originating from the Deepblue Aria it leapt through space to find him. That teleportation used up more than half of the mark's power, so it could only point him in a direction.

Richard picked Apeiron up once more, shooting in the direction that mark indicated. Not long after, more marks leapt through space to reach him, tiny bits of starlight relaying information and leading him deeper within.

Although their destination was bound to be close, Richard's expression grew pained as he understood the use of these marks. They were effectively road markers that Sharon had prepared, only meant to be used in case she got lost in the void. They possessed tiny conscients and could record down their coordinates, sensing their owner to lead them in the right direction. This was an art of the primal celestials used to scout unknown regions, and the only reason he could interface with it was because he now had astral energy himself.

But what did it mean for these markers to find their way to him? He couldn't bear to think further.

With the guidance of the signs, Richard and Apeiron advanced much quicker than before to arrive at a rather peaceful section of the vortex. What was once a plane had been broken into hundreds of floating islands, the crystal walls wiped out to the point that Richard barely identified the ruins.

Apeiron flew to one of the islands and picked up some soil, studying it carefully, “This soil can only exist when there is balance in chaos and order. The stonelord should be here; looks like she found it.”

“Yes,” Richard replied disheartenedly. His gaze was fixed on the seemingly inanimate space before him, where there hovered a strand of hair.

A strand of golden hair.

1308 - City of Sin

Breath Of The World

Richard's eyes flickered as he constantly switched between the Field of Truth and his normal vision. He could see traces of enormous astral explosions every time, making it obvious that Sharon had engaged in an earth-shattering battle here. She had gone all-out, but her opponent seemed to be unusually strong as well. Their battle had completely destroyed this plane!

Just who could push her so far? He saw traces of dense chaotic energy all around. It looked to be from a chaotic creature of some sort, but when he checked the energy he found that it was far more complicated than most laws he had experience with. This one was close to the fundamental laws of the very void!

Such power! His body went dead-cold in an instant. If her opponent was what he thought it was, Sharon's chances of survival weren't high. Even if she was trying to flee from the creature, the fundamental laws of the void were something that even a powerful abyssal lord couldn't touch!

Apeiron floated over to Richard's side, noticing his pale face and trembling body before following his gaze. She froze the moment she saw that golden strand of hair as well, her own body starting to tremble as she stuttered out, “She... She... Did she...”

Richard shook his head slowly, “There might... still be a chance?”

He wasn't able to convince even himself with that sentence.

The Empress suddenly leapt away, grabbing something the size of a normal desk before rushing back. It turned out to be a massive scale, and from the size one could imagine just how large the owner themselves were. Richard silently took it off her hands and flicked it three times, using his laws to check for resonance.

Order and neutrality both left deep holes, while chaos merely made a small dent. Richard was currently strong enough to pierce through a legendary shield with such a flick, but he couldn't even penetrate this piece of scale! He squinted, voice growing hoarse, “Chaos beast.”

Apeiron shuddered and fell silent. She had heard of chaos beasts, even seen one from afar. They were the ultimate calamity in the Outlands, with nobody able to survive an encounter. What little understanding humans had of these creatures came from other races, but if one truly had set its sights on Sharon, she likely wouldn't have survived. Judging from the scene, Sharon wounding the thing was already unbelievable, but it was far from enough.

Richard's eyes swept across the battle, the traces left behind indicating that this beast was nearly ten thousand metres long. Sharon had used her portal explosions more than a dozen times, but they had limited damage on a creature of such size. This was the limitation of a spatial explosion; the damage it dealt to an individual was minimal when the enemy was tough and/or large. His own blue flames or Disintegrator would have a much better effect.

It was hard to tell how much time had passed since the battle; the traces left behind were no longer complete. Both Sharon and the chaos beast had impacted the laws of the surroundings greatly, which impacted the Field of Truth which relied on those to be somewhat stable.

Apeiron stood by the side in a daze. Although her hands were bathed in the blood of countless powerhouses, that didn't help the current situation in the slightest. The only thing she could do was stand there helplessly.

Moments later, Richard's expression shifted and he teleported a few hundred kilometres away. There was another blue mark here that landed on his hand, but his face fell as he realised it was left behind after Sharon fought with the beast.

“What?” Apeiron rushed over to his side in a second.

“I'm not sure, but be prepared to fight. Let's go over and take a look.” He grabbed her and teleported to the point the mark was leading him to, only reaching it after a dozen or so portals. This was the end of the battle.

There was nothing on this battlefield except a huge black hole, spinning ever so slowly. However, Apeiron stared at it for a while before being struck by a realisation, “That thing was a portal!”

Richard's eyes narrowed, “This was their last strike, and it pierced through space to form a passage... I'm going to go in and take a look, wait here!”

“What? No! You're insane!” Apeiron yelled.

“Didn't you go through the portal of order too? There's no difference.”

“Of course there's a difference! Stop, or...” her sentence trailed off, the words refusing to come out of her mouth.

Richard took off all of his spatial equipment, passing them to Apeiron, “If I don't make it back, help me return these. Take care of my family if you can, I'll give you my demiplane and Sharon's.”

Wrath immediately filled her face, “WHAT'S THE FUCKING POINT WITHOUT YOU TWO?”

“I'll come back,” Richard smiled, flying towards the black hole before she could raise any more objections.

Apeiron went still, watching like she was a statue. A short while later, she cupped a hand over her mouth and suppressed her sobs, two streams of hot liquid rolling down her cheeks. This feeling was extremely foreign to her, one that she had never expected. Even when she had left for the Outlands in anger, she hadn't felt this.

She couldn't find a reason for her sadness. It wasn't because of Richard or Sharon themselves. She couldn't deny the fact that Sharon was deadly attractive, but her love wasn't that deep. It was more a combination of the two of them; their relationship made her see things that she had stopped believing in.

The Eternal Vortex continued to spin as always. This was the breath of the world, where chaos and order met. Old laws could be annihilated at any time, and new ones were always birthed. However, all of those couldn't compare to the partially formed black hole in front of her right now. She stood there quietly, holding onto the ring and bangle Richard had given her.

Once the passage completely turned into a black hole, Richard wouldn't be able to make it back anymore. When that time came, she wasn't sure what she'd do. She considered fulfilling his request, but the more time passed she felt like just throwing herself into the black hole and killing herself.

She felt tired, tired and fed up. Anyone in this world who piqued the slightest of interest in her seemed to end up dead or worse. She couldn't care less about Richard's last wishes; why would those things matter to a dead man? Google search 𝙛𝘳𝘦𝐞𝑤ℯ𝗯n𝗼ѵe𝑙. c૦𝑚

As the black hole continued to grow stronger and stronger, the fire in Apeiron's eyes gradually died out. Eventually the strength drained from her hands and she released her palm, the ring and bangle falling out. Something clicked within her as she floated up, flying towards the black hole with increasing speed. As she got close, she closed her eyes and relaxed for the last nap of her life.

“YOU FUCKING...” She suddenly felt a pair of strong arms encircling her, dragging her out from the darkness. The first thing she saw when she opened her eyes was Richard's angry face. Grabbing the ring and bangle that were also drawn in, he roared like a beast, “TELEPORT!”

This was an extremely dangerous action. Using a divine spell to teleport required massive amounts of energy, and Richard's aura was extremely frail. His body started tearing apart as the portal formed before them, but he seemed to ignore the blood streaming out of his body as he hugged Apeiron and dashed within. Strands of black gas rushed out from the black hole, attempting to wind around Richard's ankles right before he entered the portal, but he disappeared just before they could get to him.

The portal exploded shortly afterwards, turning into a ball of fire in mid-air. Scalded by the flames, the black energy curled up and yelped like a crying baby before returning to the black hole.

...

Thousands of kilometres away, Richard and Apeiron crashed out of the other end of the portal. Without even bothering to take care of his wounds, he drew furiously in the air with his hands and established another massive portal before going in. The very next moment, the two of them fell onto his demiplane with a thud.

Richard wanted to sit up, but his energy was completely exhausted and he fell back to the ground once more. The fall tugged on his injuries, his face twisting in agony and pain as more blood started flowing from his wounds. Taking a moment to catch his breath and begin healing, he turned to Apeiron and raged, “Didn't I ask you to wait?! What the fuck were you doing? I was counting on you to help me escape! Damn it, if I hadn't worked on a portal spell recently, we would've been—”

His growls were suddenly silenced as Apeiron pounced on him, locking lips to seal away the rest of his tirade.

1309 - City of Sin

New Lease Of Life

Apeiron ended the kiss looking calmly at a softened Richard, “I don't love you, I don't feel grateful to you. But for some reason, you being alive gives this world some meaning. Sharon would be better, but I can settle for you.”

Richard simply stared at the woman who seemed so beautiful and calm, a far cry from the fear-inducing lunatic she normally was. However, he still recognised that fire of determination in her eyes; she was not someone who could be swayed. He heaved a sigh, “I still need to find Master, and if I really get her back then I'll need to go to the Darkness. My chances of survival aren't great in either scenario.”

She fell silent for a moment before responding, “Then you can go die after rescuing Sharon!”

“I can... You know what, nevermind. Help me heal first.”

“Nope, don't know how.”

Richard grew extremely annoyed, but he still managed a smile, “I don't expect you to heal me yourself, Your Majesty. But maybe there's something in this place that can help a mage. I don't know... Maybe a mana pool?”

“...” A look of understanding dawned upon her, and she immediately picked him up and humped to the side of the pool. She threw him right into the centre, causing a loud splash.

“YOU BLUB—” Richard couldn't even finish his bellow, sinking down all the way to the bottom with a trail of bubbles left behind. Regardless of his discontent, his limbs were powerless and couldn't bring him to the surface even for a moment. Lying at the bottom, he could only seethe in annoyance.

...

The pool rippled after a short while, Richard leaping out from within. Almost moaning in relief, he glared at Apeiron for a moment before going quiet. The Empress was just standing there silently, her purple eyes filled with a strange sense of vacancy that was mirrored by her expression. She looked like any lost youth, not knowing where destiny would take her. Unable to vent, he could only continue glaring resentfully, “I didn't think you're one to act like this.”

She smiled softly, “There are a lot of things you can't think of. How about some?”

“You mean...” Richard frowned. He understood her meaning, but their last time having sex was a failure of judgement on his part after losing to his instincts post battle. This time, they were both sober.

“You don't want to do it?”

He furrowed his brows with doubt, “You're not thinking of dying again, right?”

“Of course not, I'm finding a reason to live. Your Grace, if you won't come over, then I will. Don't call me a rapist then.”

Richard's eye twitched. He had just regained his mobility and didn't have any ability to fight her off. Apeiron was someone who walked the talk, and he didn't want another partner where he felt like he did with Sharon, especially with someone he'd already defeated. He bounced forward with large strides, stripping her and pinning her down.

Things went quite smoothly, and to Richard's surprise he wasn't even decapitated midway through. He was basically powerless right now, completely at her mercy, but she didn't turn out to be as evil as she supposedly was.

... Please visit 𝑓r𝙚ew𝚎𝚋𝐧૦ѵ𝗲𝘭. c𝘰m

Once they were done, Apeiron slowly sat up and hugged her knees, staring at the endless void outside the demiplane.

“What is it?” he couldn't help but ask.

She turned to face him, a beautiful smile on her lips, “Thank you. I feel like there's some meaning now.”

Richard was a little taken aback by the reply, but he managed to chuckle, “You're welcome, but what is it? I know I'm charming, but... Heh.”

“No, it's your luck.”

“My... luck... Sigh, alright,” he nodded.

She looked towards the void once more, asking calmly, “You've gotten more energetic, Sharon is alive I presume?”

He smiled bitterly, “Maybe, and I have a small clue as to where she is. That portal... Do you recall our talk about the alter world?”

......

The timing of Richard and Apeiron's return surprised most people, especially those hidden in the darkness. They found it difficult to believe that an investigation into the Eternal Vortex would only require a few months, and many started speculating that they had been met with a setback and simply returned.

Richard naturally wasn't one to explain himself to these people, so once he parted ways with the Empress he returned to the Archeron island. Most of the buildings were already complete by this point, leaving only the internal decorations.

Strangely enough, the nobles of Faust had their heads held higher than ever. Richard's unimpeded Blood Path was a slap to their faces, but now he was a member of the Sacred Alliance once more. The fact that he had defeated Empress Apeiron implied that there were now two epic beings in the Alliance, allowing them to match the other two human empires of Norland.

In fact, their situation was now better than ever. While Sharon had officially been the Sacred Guardian, that was only in name and she didn't have much tying her to Faust. This was especially evident during the battles against Apeiron, leaving her support of the Alliance unknown. However, Richard was different. He now owned the highest island in all of Faust, and was also a noble who had been born and raised within these lands. He was similarly at odds with the Empress, but even before the two had embarked on their journey together people already had ideas to fix that disharmony.

With a few months having passed in Norland, the changes to the Archerons were rather great. Nasia had successfully pulled Dragon Valley and the Genesis into the special zones of the island, with portals leading there situated within Blackrose Castle and the island itself. Nobody had tried anything foolish with the island, and the reward point system had continued as usual. All the runes and equipment Richard himself had left behind were depleted, but Rosie had taken on the load and managed to keep people interested.

Richard had spent his time on the Blood Path crafting, so six pieces of Midren had been released by this point, with Ironshield collecting three of them and the rest going to other random powerhouses. The Mana Armament that Richard left behind in the exchange was also taken by a legendary mage. The family was out of goods, but now they were so wealthy it was mind-boggling. Even Richard himself didn't dare believe his eyes when he saw the fifty top-tier offerings in his warehouse. He could definitely attain many difficult goals with these, especially Sharon.

Another pleasant surprise came from the bounty program for the Scholars. The giant rewards had encouraged many to step forward with traces, many of which proved to be real enough to merit the reward. The Scholars had their own weak points as well, with not all of them being able to hide themselves with no trace left behind. Once the entirety of Norland was searching for them, many of those worms had been exposed to the sun.

The greatest reward was reaped by the Millennial Empire, who had transported a corpse proven to be a member of Soremburg's Council. Nasia had given them a whopping 15 million gold, the other nine they brought amounting to merely three.

When Richard saw these figures, he knew that the Scholars had been dealt a heavy blow. However, he wasn't so easily satisfied, and the taste of blood only left him thirsty for more. He summoned Olar to his office and ordered an announcement that the rewards would now be doubled, leaving the bard with a vicious look on his face as he left to carry out those orders.

The last report Richard had to see was the work schedule Nasia had prepared for him. He had to complete at least three more parts of Midren right away, and any random grade 5 rune on top. He also had to get a batch of legendary and sub-legendary equipment from the Eternal Dragon, only after which would he be allowed free time. However, he actually had to complete this set of tasks thrice in a row if he wished to leave for any length of time.

Such a demand left him feeling rather helpless; Nasia felt more like a slave driver with every day. However, he had to admit that having someone like her helping was a huge stroke of fortune. Quickly penning down a list of items to be sent to Faelor, he decided to go make the offerings and then finish off the runes.

1310 - City of Sin

Alter World

Once everything was handled, Richard headed to the communication hall under his castle to contact Saint Martin.

“My Dear Richard, it has been so long!” Martin was full of warmth as always, “But I know it can't be anything good if you're looking for me. Tell me, what is it this time?”

"I need information on the alter world,” Richard said directly.

“The... alter world...” Martin's smile froze, “Do you really think I'm omniscient?”

“Don't you always find surprises in your treasury?”

“Bah, those are surprises that can be found! You realise I have my faith, I cannot go against it! I believe in the light of the surface, I won't touch anything related to the dark side of the world. The Church does not have any secrets relating to it either!”

Richard was disappointed for a moment. Martin had become an emergency solver for him in recent years, and if even he didn't know the only option left would be the Millennial Empire. Seeing his expression, the divine child calmed down, “Why are you asking about the alter world so suddenly? It is only a legend from what I know, there isn't any evidence to prove its existence.”

“How about the fact that I touched its borders only a few days ago? My teacher has gone missing there, but the channel she used to enter has been sealed shut. I want to find another path.”

“Are you crazy? We're all beings of light, going to the alter world will be like a water elemental entering a plane of fire! You won't even be guaranteed to enter, forget surviving!”

“Then find me a solution,” Richard didn't seem to be bothered by his caution.

“How can I think of a solution for that?” Martin fumed, starting to pace around.

“I'll owe you a favour?”

“Ugh, the alter world will be a one-way trip, how would a favour be of any damn use? You already owe me more than enough!”

Richard had to suppress a sigh at the poorly-veiled concern, but he managed to stay calm as he looked at Martin. The holy child walked around in place for a while before coming to a decision, “Alright, I'll help, but don't get your hopes too high. There are some scattered records about the alter world in the Millennial Empire, it's best you check there. I heard that the elven empire also organised a large investigation when they were still in power, so you might get some answers in Lithgalen. But you should know that those high elves are lunatics, they attack first and ask questions later.”

"Lithgalen, huh... Alright, I understand."

Martin's eyes blazed with rage, his voice almost turning into a howl, “Was my intention not clear enough? I meant the Millennial Empire, not Lithgalen! You won't get any information from the elves, they don't need anything you can give them!”

“I'll make them need it,” Richard replied, “But yes, I promise to try the Millennial Empire first. If I get my answer there, I won't head to Lithgalen.”

Martin's expression improved, but he still snorted, “What else? Looks like you're not done yet.”

“Mm, I want to move up my challenge to the pope.”

"You actual... Did you really just go insane or something? Did your empress fill you with chaos?” Martin stared at him with suspicion.

Richard shook his head, “I just want to solve my troubles before I leave. Challenging the pope will help me test some conjectures.”

“But I don't think there's a need to challenge him. It isn't even clear whether the old man is really an enemy or an ally. I'd rather not make that choice for him unless necessary. Besides, he's very dangerous.”

Richard furrowed his brows, "So am I."

Martin spread his arms helplessly, "Okay, then how about this: I'll arrange for a meeting between you two. No need to fight if a chat is enough."
𝗳𝒓eℯ𝘄𝘦𝚋𝙣ｏ𝚟𝗲Ɩ． 𝑐𝒐𝘮

“Hmm... Alright.”

“Sigh. I know you just defeated Apeiron, but just because your abilities counter hers doesn't mean you can suppress others too. I feel like the Pope will suppress you instead. Meet him and talk to him, then we'll know. Besides, you already have a lot of troubles. You should prepare more and make fewer enemies.”

Richard nodded, cutting off communications. As the magic circle slowly dimmed, he stood there lost in thought. He had felt Intuition kicking in when Martin said his last sentence, feeling like he would soon meet inescapable danger that would force him to port to the Darkness. Flowsand had previously specified that he had to defeat the Pope of the Church of Glory before entering the Darkness, but now it seemed like there was more to it than someone who had escaped the Darkness himself. Unfortunately, there was no way for him to know until he actually engaged in battle.

He continued to think silently as he returned to his study, unable to reconcile himself with the idea. Eventually, he decided to head to the Mage Association; with the imperial palace destroyed in his battle with Apeiron, this tower now contained the best library in the entire Alliance.

Chairman Thor generously agreed to his request and opened up even his personal library, but he obviously had a 'small' request of his own. He wished to purchase a grade 5 Mana Armament, and his offer was quite reasonable. While Richard would earn a great deal more if he auctioned the rune off, Thor agreed to wait an entire year for delivery.

Richard spent a full day in the library, browsing through almost all of the volumes at least once. Records of the alter world were few and far between, and the passages that did exist were quite vague. The more he read about them, the more he felt like it was all just fantasy and not experience. By the time he left, he was completely disappointed. This meant the entire Sacred Alliance was unlikely to have any relevant information.

Once he was back in his study, his gaze landed on a map of the Millennial Empire; it seemed like he had to make a trip there after all. They had likely inherited elven research on the alter world, giving them at least some relevant records.

However, he first had an attending mage send an announcement throughout Norland: the Archeron Family was looking for a magical fleet that could cross the great oceans to reach Lithgalen, and the fleet required at least five warships for a total sum of around ten top-tier offerings. He would prefer directly buying prepared ships, but he could also agree to a custom build. Were he unable to get anything useful from the Millennial Empire, he was prepared to head to Lithgalen and seek out the descendants of the high elves.

Once everything related to the purchase of the fleet was out, he entered the astral library and continued to read through the volumes. Knowing that the primal celestials were at least on par with the elven empire if not better, he first flew around and examined the sealed books to see if he could find anything.

He eventually came across a stone filled with mysterious carvings, the language on it condensed chaotic tongue. The surface implied it was a record of investigations into the alter world, but he found it difficult to be pleased. This rock was on the fifth level of protection in the library, second only to that one sphere of light. This was two levels higher than what even Sharon herself could manage, and she had a full five-level advantage over him!

The fourth level of books required one to be at level 30, while the fifth needed at least level 33. If one needed to be level 33 for the primal celestials to consider them capable of investigating the alter world...

......

When Richard eventually left the library, all of his anxiety had vanished and was replaced with absolute cold reason. He now knew how much danger to expect from the alter world, and that he wouldn't be able to save Sharon if he entered it with his current power. In fact, it was all too likely that he would end up throwing his own life away, which made no sense. He would have to look for a safe entrance and raise his strength to at least an acceptable level before entering.

His only hope now was that the scene that the old dragon had shown him was accurate, and that Sharon was simply deep asleep floating in the void, not killed or destroyed.

1311 - City of Sin

Praise Of Light

Richard sent a message to Macy, asking Prince Tumen whether there could be an opportunity to browse his personal and the royal libraries for information on the alter world. It would take some time to get a response, so he packed his materials and headed to Faelor in secret, suppressing his worries and immersing himself in the world of runecrafting.

Time passed by slowly, and three pieces of Midren were finally completed. Once that was done, he took a look at the remaining materials and started work on Mana Armament. Different materials spawned different magic souls, so each grade 5 rune was rather unique. Even creating the same rune multiple times, Richard could obtain a better understanding of the related laws every time he crafted one. This new one was made with a more powerful core material, so its structure was much simpler and he needed less time to craft it.

With those four runes prepared, the reward point system would be sustained for quite some time. However, Nasia had asked for one more grade 5 rune, and he still had plans to work on that. He was considering something like Stealthwalker or Kingsteel— both were easy to craft yet extremely practical— but as he started designing things in his head he suddenly stopped.

Freezing in place, he stood and wondered silently about all the battles he had fought thus far. What he used most often wasn't Disintegrator nor Lifesbane, but the power of his elven truename and his understanding of the laws of life. Those had helped him defeat even Apeiron herself, and rescued him multiple times from the dangers of the Eternal Vortex. His truename greatly strengthened the power of Devout Prayer, something that was already enhanced greatly by his laws of life to the point that he could recover almost completely from any injuries. This was equivalent to the most powerful restoration spells of a legendary priest, only surpassed by Nyra's ability to resurrect.

When he had cast Devout Prayer on Apeiron to heal her before, he had the vague feeling of touching her soul. Not only could he clearly feel the condition of her soul, but he could even tell which parts were damaged and how to repair them. All of his efforts had failed— there just seemed to be no way to isolate the soul-healing power of his ability— but his hearts suddenly fluttered as he thought of a possibility even he didn't completely believe: was that the true form of Resurrection?

If his guess was correct, then as he improved his laws of life there would come a time when he could use life energy to heal the soul. At that point, he would effectively have the same ability as Nyra.

Thinking of this, he could barely keep his calm. He suddenly changed materials and started on a different design, drawing a brand new array on some high-quality dragon hide. A green moon appeared above his head as the array was completed, its light flowing through his body and adhering to countless motes of milky white light before gathering at his palm. Impuries were slowly removed until it started sparkling like a diamond, a hint of soul energy appearing in its depths. The laws had awakened a minor magic soul that he immediately guided into the rune.

......

After a final flash of bright light, a milky white hexagonal rune was formed in Richard's hands. He was shocked to find that the power of his truename, moonforce, and laws of life had combined into light energy instead of life force, giving birth to a rune of pure light. He was rooted to his desk in confusion, repeatedly channeling mana into the rune only to find that it was all converted into pure light energy.

The original plan had been to create a rune with functions similar to Devout Prayer, capable of increasing the effectiveness of divine life magic. However, things had gone completely contrary to expectations. What he had originally planned to call the Praise of Life was now the Praise of Light; something had gone wrong, and he couldn't tell just what it was.

As he examined the Praise of Light, Richard didn't know how to feel. It could convert mana and energy into pure light, boosting the power of divine light spells, but that seemed to be it. These functions were useless to him and most others; light wasn't as good at healing as life force was, and inferior to most elemental magic in attacks. Barriers of light weren't all that great either, so few people focused on light magic.

He shook his head and sighed. This was a disappointment, but fortunately it wasn't for him anyway. He could just throw this into the reward point system and see if anyone actually wanted it.

However, the communication circle embedded into his desk lit up and chirped once he stepped away, making it clear that one of his servants wanted to meet him and for something big. A mage walked into the lab once he opened it, passing a letter to him before leaving the room.

The letter was from Saint Martin, labelled as a level 1 emergency. He mentioned that he was still looking for clues about the alter world, but in the meanwhile the Pope had agreed to meet Richard. However, his condition was that their meeting had to occur at the Church of Glory, in front of the Radiant Lord.

This was a straightforward condition, but reading the letter Richard suddenly realised something else. Wasn't this rune just perfect for someone from the Church of Glory? Stowing the rune into a spatial ring, he informed Nasia before leaving for Norland. In less than an hour, he had reached the Sacred Tree Empire.

......

Saint Martin was already waiting for him on the other side, grunting as he walked out of the portal, “I knew you would come over quickly. You'll die at a woman's hands sooner or later if you keep roving around without ambition like this.”

Richard laughed heartily. “Then what's your great ambition?”

“To find the end of the world!”

Richard paused for a moment. This truly was an enormous goal, and having recently been to the Eternal Vortex he understood just how difficult such a task was. He believed Martin was joking, but as he was about to tease the man he realised that the divine child looked quite serious. This looked honest as well; Martin meant what he'd said.

'Damn!' He suddenly felt an indescribable sense of absurdity. Even as someone called a divine runemaster with an epic being's strength, he felt rather insignificant in this world. There were only a handful of people on this entire plane who could rival him in either combat or war, but things like the Godnest, the broodmother, the Eternal Dragon, the Legion of Nightmares, and the Doomsday Imprint all exceeded his current understanding. Finding the end of the world was basically impossible.

Richard didn't know what to say to Martin's unusually stoic expression. Unable to find any sarcasm, he had to respect the man's faith. He eventually nodded, “Well, I hope you succeed.”

Martin suddenly laughed. “Success isn't important, it's having a goal at all. If not, life would be so boring. Imagine having to look at a group of old men everyday! I want to be like you, surrounded by beautiful ladies!”

1312 - City of Sin

The Pope's Experience

Martin's sudden shift of attitude left Richard stunned, destroying the respect the divine child had built up only a moment ago. He shook his head, taking out a small box and passing it over, “I just made this bauble. Give me a price if it's useful, or just write off the favour that I owe you.”

“The things you call baubles are baubles from a saint runemaster's perspective,” Martin said as he opened the box, “Of course they are different to us normal— Lord!”

Martin's yelp shocked Richard for a moment, confusing him greatly. As the creator of the rune, he knew just how limited the Praise of Light was. It certainly was a saint rune in the same way as Mana Armament was, but its use was nowhere near as great. He had only brought it over assuming that the boost to divine light spells would help the Church of Glory; a rune with that single function that required a saint rune's capacity wasn't all that great.

Martin channeled a strand of divine power into the rune, his expression warping as he saw the pure light coming out the other end. He stared Richard in the eye, “How did you discover this secret?”

“Secret?” Richard didn't understand what he was saying.

“Sigh. It's fate, it's all fate... Never mind, you'll understand one day. This... bauble of yours is extremely useful, I think it'll help us settle things with the Pope.”

“It's related to the pope?” Richard frowned. Anything that had to do with that mysterious old man definitely wasn't simple.

Martin laughed, “It's fine, say and do whatever you want later. With this... What's it called?”

“I call it the Praise of Light, but you can do whatever.”

“No, that's a good name, there's no need to change it.”

Walking as they talked, the two quickly reached the Hall of Glory. Martin brought Richard straight through the majestic hall, and as they entered Richard suddenly felt a heavy pressure that prompted him to lower his voice. This hall was the source of countless decisions and conspiracies, a condensation of plane-altering power.

They soon entered a long corridor near the back, possessing no decorations and only lit by a single dim lamp. It was hard to imagine a hall as grand as the Hall of Glory connecting to such a run-down corridor, but Richard followed along to a small wooden shrine.

Martin opened up the shrine to reveal a tiny space with no decorations outside of an altar and a statue of the Radiant Lord. There were two rows of wooden benches right in front of the altar, the surfaces smoothed by years of use. On each side was a wooden door, and the one on the left seemed to open into a tiny library with ancient books within. The shelves themselves seemed to be so old they were on the verge of rotting, but impeccable maintenance had kept them in decent shape.

Martin pointed to the benches, pulling Richard over to sit down and wait quietly. Moments later, the closed door on the right opened and the pope walked out, revealing behind him a small meditation room and bedroom that were exceedingly simple.

The pope prayed to the statue of the Radiant Lord for a moment before turning around and staring at Richard, “You have arrived.”

“Yes,” Richard stood up, saying bluntly, “I planned to battle you.”

The pope stared at Richard seriously and shook his head, “Now is not the time. You must have heard from Martin that your style of battle is suppressed by mine. You might have defeated Empress Apeiron, but that does not make you invincible.”

Richard frowned, answering slowly, “I've thought about it, you know. You can only suppress my mind and soul, but that might not succeed if I'm careful.”

The pope smiled sinisterly, “Have I not succeeded already?”

A strong feeling of dread arose in Richard's heart, and he even felt an aura of death all around him. He immediately activated a number of barriers to defend himself, but he suddenly felt like something was wrong. Time seemed to reverse, the scenery warping back to the point where the pope pushed the door open once more.

Richard turned to look at Martin, finding the Saint still sitting on his bench and staring at himself helplessly. He suddenly understood that everything just now had been an illusion, the power so great that he hadn't even realised it happening.

Martin shrugged, “See, I told you that you'd be suppressed by the old man, I wasn't lying.”

Richard's heart froze as he looked at the pope walking towards the statue of the Radiant Lord, the old man praying for a moment before turning around, “You have arrived.”
𝐟𝓇ℯe𝒘𝘦𝒃𝑛𝒐ѵe𝙡. 𝑐𝗼𝓂

Richard was stunned, immediately taking two steps back as he stared at the pope in shock. He couldn't distinguish between reality and illusion, so he couldn't be sure whether everything would return to when the pope had just walked out once more. The world felt like it had fallen into a loop, and it left him extremely uncomfortable.

However, the shock was only momentary. He suddenly activated the power of Dizmason, blue flames appearing around his body. The pope's calm expression immediately changed, his hands flying around rapidly as he cast dozens of barriers on the area. He wasn't protecting himself, but the statue, altar, library, and even the wooden benches in the shrine.

“STOP!” Martin shouted as well.

Richard smirked. The blue flames didn't spread out, but he didn't withdraw them either and allowed them to flow across the surface of his body, “Seems like I'm not that easy to suppress.”

“Who knew that you could control flames from the Star of Destruction! End those damned things immediately, the heat could cause permanent damage!”

Richard's heart stirred, and he slowly withdrew the flames as he glanced around the room, “Are the items here precious?”

Martin laughed bitterly: “Very precious, but they have no value. To worshippers like us, everything here is a divine item. The Radiant Lord lived here for a long time before lighting his godspark; everything here was used by him once, so even if they don't have divine power they are very important.”

Richard's expression relaxed. Knowing this, it was clear that the pope had no plans to battle.

“Well old man, you know I'm right now. Richard isn't an easy target,” Martin picked up a divine tome from the altar and flipped it open, divinity surging in his hands as he looked through the pages before turning to Richard, “Do you still not know why you need to fight him?”

Richard simply nodded.

“Ugh... Well, his proudest experience is that he has been to the Darkness and returned alive. That might be what you need to learn.”

“Probably. I'll need to survive the Darkness and return.”

The pope finally spoke up, “I see no need to show you how. I agreed to meet, and we have met. You may leave now.”

Richard smirked, blue flames starting to dance on his fingertips. Feeling the threat, Martin suddenly coughed and took out the case containing the Praise of Light, “You might want to have a look at this before making any decisions.”

As Martin opened the box to reveal the rune inside, the pope's expression immediately changed. His hand stretched out, but the box suddenly snapped shut before he could grab its contents. The old man's hand started shivering in mid-air; he knew he wouldn't be able to steal that box away, but he was unwilling to let go.

“That thing... Is it...”

“The Praise of Light. It can turn any energy into pure light!”

“No... Impossible! How could such a thing exist? It should never have appeared!”

Martin shrugged, “How should I know? Ask Richard if you're interested, he was the one who made this thing.”

The pope immediately stared at Richard, his breaths ragged, “What do you want?”

“What can you give me?” Richard asked.

“Double the normal price.”

“And?” Richard was unmoved.

Snaps kept ringing out as Martin opened and closed the lid continuously. The sound obviously left the pope restless, but after walking back and forth in the room for a while, he finally spoke up, “I... can let you experience the Darkness.”

1313 - City of Sin

Memories Of The Darkness

The pope explained to Richard that he could grant a temporary experience of the Darkness, a trip through his memories to pass on everything he had seen and felt during that time. This experience would even expose the laws of the Darkness for analysis.

This was an unexpected ability, the equivalent of one safe trip to prepare for his actual one. There was no way to attach any value to such a thing. Glancing at Martin once, Richard slowly nodded his head. A second later, the old man muttered under his breath before stretching a hand out to tap his forehead.

Richard suddenly found himself seeing black, unable to see nor hear anything. All of his senses were twisted, his body's responses shattered to the point that they had no meaning.

However, things warped into colourful light the very next moment. However, it felt very strange; there seemed to be a change to the way he perceived things, with sound having colour and light having volume. All of his senses were meshed into one big whole that was difficult to decipher, leading to a bout of panic that he had to force away.

The harder he tried to piece together the mess, the more confused he grew. The natural order set by the Eternal Dragon didn't work here, giving him no way to parse the information he was receiving. Calming himself down, he activated the Field of Truth, what he could only surmise were his eyes growing louder as he heard strings of laws all around him.

Many of these laws were tangled together, but he could tell amidst the noise that darkness and chaos underpinned the plane he was in. He started trying to analyse those laws, but he immediately hit a hurdle as he realised that his blessing of wisdom was useless. His standard models of analysis didn't work here at all, forcing him to build a new model just to adapt to this world.

With a path ahead of him, he settled down and set about his various calculations. Thankfully, the basic calculations weren't too difficult for him now, giving him results soon. As he adjusted his senses to fit the new model he derived, he finally found a brand new foreign world.

A dry old man blocked his vision before he could take a closer look, yanking him out of the world. The colours of the world warped once more, but this time he quickly returned his senses to normal and saw the pope and Martin in the small shrine once more.

The pope looked significantly weaker than before, so pale that he seemed to have gone through a fierce battle. One of his hands clutched the case with the Praise of Light, while the other waved in exhaustion.

“Let's go,” Martin dragged Richard outside, leading him through a few portals to another small church elsewhere in the Sacred Tree Empire. This was his current residence.

Once they sat down to discuss, Richard finally understood what had just happened. The pope's experience in the Darkness was his greatest asset, and upon his return he had gained the terrifying ability to manifest his memories and pull others into them. The laws of the Darkness were entirely different from the system established by the Eternal Dragon, making it difficult to even track one's own thoughts. Most opponents would fail to adapt, leaving them catatonic for the rest of their lives.

This was the reason Martin had always been wary of the pope; knowing his own limits, the divine child understood that he would never be able to escape that memory. Of course, such an ability had to come with a price. The pope lost his memories every time he manifested upon them, and rumours were that he could use the ability only three times in total. It had already been used to get rid of two extremely powerful enemies in the past, but the one use was enough to leave even Hendrick wary. Martin would definitely die, while Hendrick's situation would be a coin toss.

However, this opportunity had been used on Richard, which meant the pope had just given up the one card he could use to suppress his competition. The old man was still a formidable opponent, but not to nearly the same degree.

This explanation finally allowed Richard to understand just why Flowsand had wanted him to challenge the pope before setting off to find her. She must have known that the pope would send him into those memories; if he could survive that, he would know more about the Darkness. If he died, then that same situation would occur when he actually tried to go over.

This left a different question in Richard's mind; why did the pope treasure the Praise of Light so much? Unfortunately, Martin just smiled without an answer, making it clear that this was a secret he wasn't willing to divulge.

After allowing him to think for a while, Martin continued, “The old man still owes you a payment for the rune, double the standard price for one of these runes. Give me a number for that, and I'll convert it into materials and have people send them over.”

Richard was perfectly happy with fleecing the Church of Glory, writing down a fairly high price before nodding, “It's best if you give me materials strong enough to contain the power of laws.”

“Can do. Also, he also asked me to pass this to you.”

Martin passed him a slip of paper, containing a single line in divine tongue: “Freedom has its price; the heaviest chains weigh on the widest world.”

Richard didn't understand what this meant, and Martin had no plans to explain. Repeating it under his breath a few times, he eventually just memorised it and bid farewell.

“Wait!” Martin stopped Richard as he left, “Be careful, I just felt a warning from Fate, a great danger seems to be coming for you.”

Richard frowned, “Why would you feel the danger before me?”

“Because our destinies are entwined,” Martin smiled coldly.

“Is that your bullshit about you wanting to kill me again?”

“Wouldn't me killing you prove that our destinies are entwined?”

“But I'm not interested in any such thing. You can try killing me if you want, but you'll fail. Every. Time.”

“Don't worry,” Martin nodded excitedly, “I will!”

“Ugh,” Richard glared at him, “I should just kill you and get it over with.”

Martin smiled brightly, “You can't.”

“Oh?” A dangerous blue glint appeared in Richard's eyes, his voice strangely calm, “Why don't we try.”

“You won't, you still have many problems. For example—”

*CRACK!* Richard's expression suddenly warped into one of pure panic, his gaze shooting towards his arms. He immediately looked back to Martin and stood up, “I need to go, have someone send the stuff later.”

“Don't worry, I'm not one to waste my reputation like that. But that sound right now, did anything break?”

“Nope, not at all. You must have heard something,” Richard had already blinked away, flying towards the portal back to Faust.

Standing in place, Martin just watched the flashing figure as all expressions drained from his face. He seemed to be covered in a shadow by the time he turned around to order one of his paladins, “Let's go see Archbishop Hendrick.”

“What? Your Excellency, isn't it too early?”

“Sigh. Yes, but the threat is already here. We don't have the time to waste, let's go right away.”

The paladin bowed, following Martin into the distance.

...

Richard teleported all the way to his island and into his study, barely sitting down before opening up his sleeves. A dark crystalline orb fell from a concealed pocket, revealing a crack on the surface with the living metal within having formed two gun barrels pointed straight at his face.

For the first time ever, he felt a true consciousness within the Doomsday Imprint, a real soul. He felt pure aggression from within, and it only took a moment to realise what that meant.

The reapers were here!

1314 - City of Sin

Reapers Approach

Richard had no time to wonder why the reapers had arrived years before Ferlyn's estimate, his mind swamped by the hundreds of terrifying war machines he had seen when trying to analyse its properties. He felt a chill run down his spine that kept him from being able to move, a wave of pure fear that he simply couldn't shrug off!

Ever since entering the legendary realm— no, ever since he had ventured into the Land of Dusk, this was the first time Richard had experienced such deep-rooted fear. He was unable to quantify the sense of terror that the reapers instilled in him. Many considered that the greatest fear was that of the unknown, but he knew that an unknown could be anything. It was what he knew only a tiny bit about that truly horrified him; he had an idea of what they could do, but none on how to counter it.

The doomsday imprint completely shattered in his hands, the sealed machinery jumping out and shooting two beams of light towards his chest. The beams pierced through his robes and burnt scars on his chest, causing him to move by reflex and crush the metal into trash. Only then did he regain the ability to move, slowly opening his left hand to reveal a sphere of metal that could not be restored.

He took off his robes to examine the scars on his chest. They weren't deep, nor wide, the injury less than minor, but the frightening bit was that the machinery that attacked him was no bigger than a finger! Even Apeiron couldn;t hurt him much without the boost of laws; this thing was stronger than a saint!

He picked up the heap of destroyed metal and stood up, ordering all of his followers to return and gather at Blackrose Castle immediately. Only an hour later, he was at the command centre with everyone except Cyrden and Senma in attendance, the two busy managing his planes.

The command centre had an enormous map of Faelor, and Richard was standing before it silently. It took a few minutes after the last of his followers arrived before he turned around, speaking with a heavy tone, “Faelor was the first plane I conquered, and it will now become the first plane I lose. The reapers are here.”

The entire room went deathly silent, nobody knowing what to say. Those who had participated in previous wars had heard the legends of the reapers, an unstoppable horde of beasts said to prey on entire planes. Not one plane was said to have survived an assault from them.

Those like Asiris that had joined Richard late into his life found it difficult to understand his affection for Faelor. Only Waterflower, Tiramisu, and the group knew his feelings; that was the plane they had fought to the edge of death and back to conquer, the plane where by all rights they should have died. Ten footsoldiers had accompanied his party into Faelor, but all ten of them had returned to their graves. As had Tiramisu's older brother, and the innocence of the group.

It was Asiris who spoke first, “Your Grace, we have to prepare for battle. We will need to resist them until we finish our retreat.”

Richard remained silent, as did the rest of his followers. Previous incidents with the reapers had shown that they would not use portals between planes, which meant one could keep the portals up for evacuation until the last moment. Asiris's intention was clear; he wished to withdraw as many troops and resources as possible, fighting for time to save what they could. Faelor and its natives were assumed to be doomed.
f𝚛e𝚎𝙬𝑒𝚋𝚗𝚘ѵ𝐞𝒍. c𝐨𝙢

Asiris was about as old as Gaton, and while Richard was somewhat special to him he didn't care about Faelor itself. He was someone with an objective view of the situation, a state most of Richard's other followers couldn't claim to share.

Richard eventually nodded, “I know. We should make arrangements.”

The first task was to expand Faelor's portal with offerings, strengthening it to the point that he could mobilise his entire army through it. The plane itself would be mobilised right after, with the broodmother sending out a number of scouts to figure out where the beachhead was while also moving all troops towards Bluewater and the Lighthouse of Time. At a minimum, he couldn't afford those natives who had followed him for decades; he would evacuate them and their families to Norland.

It took only half an hour to give out orders. Richard had been planning for this scenario for years now, so he didn't have to think much. Once everyone had a job, he glanced at a rather special group waiting at one corner of the room; Ironshield and companions, consisting of four legends and ten saints.

That group was different from his followers, more akin to mercenaries hired by the Archerons than anything else. Richard muttered to himself for a while before saying to Ironshield, “You should understand the current situation. The Archerons will be focused on battling the reapers for a while; the threat is beyond our wildest imaginations, and even legends are likely to die. The situation is different from when we first started our partnership, so you have a chance to choose. Decide to stay, and I'll treat you like followers. If not, you can leave right now and it's fine. You can return to the reward point battlefields if you wish.”

Ironshield was the unspoken leader of these powerhouses, but they came from all over the place and most didn't even know each other before they were recruited. He stepped forward, “Your Grace, will the pay increase if I stay?”

“It'll double, and I'll give points out for reaper kills.”

“Then I'll stay.”

“It'll be dangerous,” Richard stared at him.

“Heh, who hasn't almost died a few times at this level? I want to keep improving, that's more important than the danger. If I survive this battle, I'm likely to level up.”

Richard nodded, turning to the rest. Many of them nodded in agreement; while things would be dangerous, the rewards would be just as great. At the same time, becoming a trusted aide of Richard Archeron was an opportunity few even legends would ever have. This was at the peak of Norland in runes, power, and military might, someone threatening to match Emperor Charles and found his own era.

Norland already had three great human empires, but there was still a lot of territory left to go around in the plane. Humans could still expand and conquer the Far North, Lithgalen, or Klandor to found new empires, or even unify the sparse independent countries on the mainland.

Eventually, only one legend and a handful of saints decided to leave. Once they were gone, Richard had Asiris bring over a box of magic scrolls, “This is a difficult time; I can't afford for any betrayal or changed faiths to affect us. These are unlimited enslavement contracts, but I'll give you another opportunity once the war with the reapers ends. Those who stay can continue to remain my followers, and I'll get rid of the contracts for those who wish to leave. I can add this into the text itself if you wish.”

Ironshield picked up a scroll without hesitation, writing his name on it with blood. The contract burnt the moment he did so, turning into two dark gold symbols that flew into him and Richard respectively.

A legendary mage standing nearby went wide-eyed in shock, “Chaos Tongue?”

Richard nodded, “Handcrafted by me.”

The mage shuddered. Having grown up in a world of order, the majority of Norland's powerhouses had learnt how to break slave contracts that were based around the power of order. The fact that Richard could use divine tongue was astonishing enough, but for him to use the power of chaos basically guaranteed the contract's superiority over most people in Norland. Only someone with a grasp of chaos surpassing his could have any hope of breaking the contract without consequences.

However, the mage only hesitated for a while before gritting his teeth and signing. Richard sighed with relief as all of the remaining powerhouses signed as well, moving to Faelor already while he went off to make some offerings with the vast wealth he had accumulated.

1315 - City of Sin

Nightmare Lands

Richard felt fortunate that the reward point system had left him obscenely wealthy; he had no idea how he would tackle the expenses of the upcoming effort otherwise. However, this war would be certain to burn through all fifty of those top-tier offerings given enough time.

As he left for the Church of the Eternal Dragon, news about the situation spread through Faust and all of Norland like wildfire. The reapers had appeared in his core plane!

Reactions were mixed. Some lords worried for him, immediately contacting the Archerons to offer support, while others rejoiced at his misfortune. All sorts of conspiracies took root before the sun could rise the very next morning.

Most independent powerhouses were more concerned with another piece of news. Both current reward point battlefields would still be in effect, but most military resources would be withdrawn from the lists for a while. At the same time, the battle with the reapers would be considered for points as well, and anyone that wished to join could contact the Archerons and head into Faelor.

The ceremony at the Church was hosted by Noelene as always, with Richard personally carrying an enormous chest multiple times his size up to the altar. Just like the numerous times before, the screen of timeforce isolated him from the rest of Norland as the altar jumped into the depths of the river of time.

Richard placed each offering on the altar one by one, watching as they were transformed into pure timeforce that was exchanged for divine grace. He started off by strengthening the portal between Faelor and Norland until it couldn't be improved any longer, with the remaining grace converted into large amounts of equipment and the kind of materials that would allow his workshops and the broodmother to create epic-level weaponry. His followers were decently armed at this point, but he needed his army to perform to its highest potential if he wanted to evacuate everyone.

The Eternal Dragon was quite attentive to his needs this time, giving him zero trouble with finishing off his list. By the time the ceremony ended, he walked back out with a dozen silver chests that contained everything he needed. Unlike Norlandic design, these chests were simple and smooth, choosing utility and utility alone. Perhaps it was because of the scale of the exchange, but the goods had come packaged this time instead of as a pile.

Amidst the sacrifices, Richard had recalled the crushed machinery of the Doomsday Imprint in his pocket and thrown that onto the altar as well. He had been a little startled when that was broken down, but then he recalled that the dragon had informed him of a bonus for anything related to the reapers. Coincidentally, the timeforce for that offering condensed into divine crystals without giving him a choice, even if such crystals were definitely on his list.

......

The skies above the northeastern seas of Faelor started rippling invisibly, each pulse tens of metres thick and moving out a hundred metres in all directions. What looked like a hexagonal prism slowly phased out of those ripples, floating soundlessly in the sky.

Strange beams of light scanned across the ocean below, focusing on the horizon in the distance. The object itself plunged into the icy ocean and went all the way down to the seabed before its lower edges fanned out, shooting out anchors that stabilised its position. By the time the pillar grew still, the other end was mere metres above the ocean's surface with water splashing all over it.

The pillar suddenly trembled, ejecting hundreds of one-metre-long rods that were each under a foot thick, the metal warping into the forms of various small warships as they swam away in all directions. These ships were blisteringly fast, going much faster than even the famed magical swordfish native to these seas.

Traversing a hundred kilometres an hour, these tiny ships still made the time to eliminate all marine life in their way, some of them shooting out translucent net that grabbed the corpses of those killed. Once their nets were full, they dragged the flesh back to the mothership, advancing quickly despite the tonnes upon tonnes of fish they were dragging along.

Dozens of smaller ships floated up to the water's surface, spreading wings and skimming across even faster than those catching fish down below. These ones spread out in all directions, scouting this new plane they would soon consume. The mothership's tip burst open, shooting out hundreds of half-metre-long ships that moved at five times the speed of their larger kin, its body starting to crack open entirely.

The pillar eventually started buzzing, a full third of it splitting off before forming a cuboid that slowly moved towards the shore. Climbing up onto land, it morphed into a tall building with many sharp spires, small doors opening up at the base and dozens of machines the size of small dogs walking out from within. These beetle-like things started burrowing into the earth, fetching crate after crate of soil back to the building that was now illuminated by countless lines of energy travelling across its surface.

As more of the machines crawled out of the building, another cuboid floated up from the ocean and took root a few kilometres away. This one formed a flatter hexagon, with a section of the beetles with soil being diverted to feed it as well. The new building quickly started operating, its roof opening to send a small warplane into the sky.
ƒ𝐫𝒆e𝓌𝒆𝚋𝗻૦𝘷𝑒𝙡. 𝑐𝘰𝐦

The budding base grew more and more active, and the shoreline started to shrink rapidly. From a bird's eye view, it seemed like a black spot had formed on the corner of the earth, rapidly extending in all directions.

......

“NO!” In a castle bordering the ocean, Gangdor shot up from what was clearly a stressful sleep. His inner shirt was soaked through with sweat, but even as he took it off the strong sense of discomfort wouldn't go away. He crawled up from bed and looked outside at the dark sky, a glance at his clock telling him that it was already ten in the morning.

One could see the distant ocean through the windows in his room, the water a deep grey as it reflected the cloudy sky. The brute crossed his arms and muttered a few curses under his breath; it seemed like it would snow soon.

Gangdor absolutely despised snow. Blizzards this far north lasted for days on end, and could put a halt to all marches and wars. As a bald man who hated helmets, it also felt extremely annoying for the snowflakes to melt on his head.

“MEN!” he shouted as he put on a fresh set of clothes, a group of personal guards and assistants hurrying over to help him put on his armour. His frown grew worse as he listened to the report, “Why are they still dawdling? I gave them the order to set off!!

“My Lord, both regiments started preparing immediately, but it has only been twenty hours since they were ordered to fall back. They are still waiting for the border units and packing supplies—”

“Pack your ass! They're leaving within ten hours, they can leave anything they haven't gotten ready by then!”

“Y-Yes, my Lord!” the attendant bowed, shivering in fright. Normally, a regiment of over a thousand men required at least two days to properly set off; however, Gangdor's word was law here, and ten hours it would be. However, even as he departed to deliver the orders, the attendant was full of doubt. This army was stationed to oversee the dukedoms along the eastern ocean, but Gangdor had suddenly given orders yesterday mobilising all troops to return to the Iron Triangle Empire through different routes. The order was completely unexpected, and the time limit was impossible to meet.

This army had been stationed here for three years, and at this point they knew that heavy snow had sealed off the major roads of the region. The march would be slow and arduous, and it should have been unnecessary in a time when every country ceased hostilities. An evacuation order at this time was puzzling, and a little disconcerting as well.

1316 - City of Sin

First Contact

It wasn't long before a completely dressed Gangdor charged into the dining hall, bugles resounding through the camp to summon his generals. They all charged into the room within a mere ten minutes, grabbing their own seats and starting to wolf down mouthfuls of meat in preparation for the impending march. They knew that an opportunity to eat at the table would be rare over the coming months.

“Send three more scouting units to the coastline and search northwards!” Gangdor ordered amidst loud chewing noises, “200 kilometre radius. I don't feel good about this.”

As one of the generals headed out to pass on the order, another spoke up, “When will the wasps be here, my Lord? The path to the Frostcliff Kingdom is completely sealed, we cannot withdraw our troops there.”

Gangdor frowned, closing his eyes for a moment as he communicated with a cloned brain. His expression slowly turned to one of relief, “Two will be there this evening, and ten more will come over the next three days. That should be enough to take everyone out of there.”

Another bald general asked, “My Lord, this unprecedented enemy you were talking about, what are they like? Are they really that formidable?”

“How the hell should I know?” Gangdor glared at the man, “They're unprecedented, I haven't seen them before. All I know is we need to retreat to the Triangle and organise a defence.”

After breakfast, the generals went their separate ways. Some troops were already withdrawing, and most would be done within two days. They had set up a lot of things over their three years here, and they couldn't simply leave without handling a number of crucial matters.

The troops of the Crimson Empire were always overstocked with supplies and equipment, but now that proved to be more of a problem than anything else. The wasps and chrysalides were flying out to scattered outposts to bring back any soldiers stationed in different kingdoms, but those detachments ended up having to abandon supplies to make it back quickly.

......

Another stressful day passed by. The grey ocean looked like an enormous beast that was ravaging the coast, but a dozen different regiments started their journey across the snow-white earth. Gangdor woke up this morning in a cold sweat as well, cursing once more at the noon sky that was dark as night before having his guards help him with his armour. The legendary set was extremely powerful defensively, but wearing it was a hassle and the helmet made him want to cut his own head off at times.

By noon, it was time for the troops from the headquarters to disperse. Those stationed in the Frostcliff Kingdom were already heading towards the castle on their wasps, planning to restock at base before joining the rest of the march.

The weather was not conducive to any troop movements, slowing down even the broodmother's knights. Even wasps and chrysalides weren't immune to snowstorms, and the astral chrysalis which could ignore weather was too busy with other important tasks. By all right there should have been no threat to the troops, but Gangdor still felt extremely restless as he headed outside.

By this point, the fortress was almost emptied into the caravan that would be accompanying them back. His generals were all sitting upon their horses, awaiting his orders to set off. Satisfied with one last sweeping glance across his troops, the brute grunted in relief and smiled.

However, his hair suddenly stood on end as the cloned brain accompanying him transmitted some grave news. The troops from the Frostcliff Kingdom had been attacked!

Fear immediately covered the brute's face. It would have been bad enough for his soldiers to be attacked anywhere, but those from the Frostcliff Kingdom were on the wasps! If they were attacked in the sky and dropped, none would survive!

Richard's wasps flew hundreds of metres in the sky, almost entering the clouds. Even level 12 archers couldn't reach them at such a height, and no military in Faelor would dare to attack a symbol of the Crimson Empire no matter how many saints they had. This was clearly an attack from the reapers, which meant the enemy was finally here.

The fact that the wasps were attacked implied the reapers had airborne troops, which meant the land force here would be chased down as well. Gangdor forced himself to calm down with a few deep breaths, asking the cloned brain, “Can we save them?”

“I have confirmed that the opponents are the reapers; I do not suggest such a course of action. The other wasps en route have already been returned.”

“Grr... Tell those still at Frostcliff to remain in their posts, just last as long as they can.”

“Yes, my Lord,” the cloned brain said softly. Its voice was no longer as mechanical as before; the broodmother had used some divinity to give it a soul so it could take decisions independently.

Gangdor then turned around and yelled at his generals, “Get ready to leave, prepare the infantry, archers, and rune knights for battle! We're heading for the Bellowing Canyon!”

The generals paused in astonishment. The Bellowing Canyon was only the midpoint on their march today, but if the infantry had to be on guard the entire time it was a long march. If enemies were already approaching, it would be more logical to just hole up in the castle.

“DID YOU NOT HEAR ME?” Gangdor growled once more, prompting the large army to set off from the castle immediately.

......

A small yet intense skirmish was currently underway near the eastern coast. A wasp with a large number of soldiers upon it was slowly flying across the sky, but its path was crooked and it seemed about to drop at any time. Metallic machines were circling all around it at high speed, shooting out beams of light or even metal bullets that ripped through its body. The drone had already sustained heavy damage, white steam billowing out of the holes. It was trying to regenerate, but every wound closed up was met with many more being opened. The bullets especially had frightening power, tearing holes that were several metres wide into its body with every shot.

The drone fell faster and faster with time, but it managed to puff just before landing and soften the blow. A few hundred soldiers were shaken off by the impact, but they quickly gathered up in large formations and protected themselves with shields.

A dozen small warplanes the size of eagles whistled down towards them, shooting beams of light that could melt through the warriors' shields in seconds. Soldier after soldier screamed and fell to the ground, almost a hundred casualties being sustained in record time.

“Move your shields, don't stand in one spot!” a hulking officer screamed out, “Don't let that damned spell focus on you! Bowmen, shoot down those damned things!”

The soldiers immediately obeyed orders and started to sprint, also moving their shields to prevent the attacks from focusing. The strategy worked immediately— the second wave was only hurt and not killed— but only one of the arrows shot up in counter managed to hit its target. The officer was about to commend the archer who struck, but he went wide-eyed as he realised the energy-imbued arrow hadn't gone more than a few centimetres into the machine. The plane only shook a little before continuing to fly on like nothing had happened!

Without any ability to retaliate, the infantrymen could only do their best to survive the barrage. Soldier after soldier fell to the ground, and the officer's eyes soon turned red with anguish and bloodlust. Grabbing a short spear, he bellowed and threw it out with all his might, sending it flying into the sky like lightning to impact a small warplane. Fortified with an enormous amount of energy, the spear exploded upon impact.

The warplane finally emitted a few sparks, shakily falling to the ground. However, this attack drew the attention of all the other warplanes, and one of them zoomed overhead and lit up in a red glow. A hail of golden bullets rained down on the officer like lightning.

The man's hair stood on end as he lifted his shield to block, but his figure was soon obscured by explosions and smoke. Moments later, the fires faded to reveal a severed hand gripping tightly onto a warped shield; that was all that was left of him.

Within minutes, hundreds of soldiers and even the wasp lay motionless on the ground; even the drone couldn't survive the damage. The war machines of the reapers continued to shuttle back and forth across the battlefield, a few clunky machines throwing a hundred beetles to the ground. These beetles immediately started to dissect the bodies of the wasp and soldiers, separating armour from flesh with the expertise of skilled hunters. The flesh was compressed into tiny portions that were piled up in a transport ship more than ten metres long, loading it completely before it started to fly back north.

......

Gangdor continued to spur his horse on, following the army in their advance. He had already given orders for all nearby troops to rendezvous ahead; it was already clear that there would be no outrunning the reapers so it was much better to retreat slowly than fall into pandemonium.

He caressed the huge axe that was slung to the left of his horse, also touching the seven javelins on the right before he could feel even a little better. Ever since he had found out that the reapers could fly, he had ordered all of his soldiers to be armed to fight towards the sky. However, that was little consolation to someone who knew that hundreds of soldiers had died while only managing to take out one opponent.

The road ahead would be tough.

1317 - City of Sin

Evacuation Plan

Richard was currently in his command centre in Bluewater, staring at a map of Faelor with a frown on his face. The distant cloned brain had already sent a report of the battle, and things were not pretty. He had lost a wasp and 300 elite soldiers, while the reapers had lost a single flying machine after a level 14 officer went all-out.

The only source of consolation was that the scale of the enemy wasn't all that large, but it seemed like the wasp had only met with a small detachment. How else would the reapers destroy entire planes? Unfortunately, he just didn't have much credible information.

After some deliberation, he decided to send the nearest cloned brain to gather all aerial troops in the vicinity and go into battle with the machines. The brain itself was pretty strong, and with a hundred level 12 winged serpents it immediately set off for a grand battle.

A grand battle that lasted one minute and six seconds. All of Richard's forces were destroyed in that pitiful length of time, and the cloned brain only broadcast a short capture of what it deemed important. That image showed a sizeable machine currently on the ground, mechanical battles carrying red and white cubes into it in line. One part of the image showed a distant beetle cutting into the wasp corpse, another separating armour pieces from the dead humans and trying to compress them.

The sight left him shocked. This was eerily similar to how the broodmother's drones collected resources! The only difference was that the drones were living beings, while the reaper machines seemed almost purely mechanical. However, the way these machines performed their tasks made it obvious that they had to have some form of intelligence as well, intelligence that was not inferior to his drones.

Richard lost all control of the northeastern skies with that battle, even giving up a valuable cloned brain, but he had also obtained some key information as well. Given the fact that none of his drones would have escaped anyway— the smallest machines from the reapers could travel a little under twice as fast as the cloned brain— it was an acceptable compromise.

The attacks from the winged serpents showed that the reapers had great resistance to most magic, but while they were almost impervious to cold, heat and lightning spells did have some effect. Even the smallest of the war machines were extremely powerful and made from metal, full-fledged attacks from the winged serpents only leaving scratches on the surface. The entire battle had only killed ten of the smallest ones, while the bigger ones were completely unharmed.

Richard immediately contacted Gangdor, ordering him to focus on defence and wait for reinforcements. Adjusting the map to focus around the Bellowing Canyon, he marked out a few important areas for scouting. Another cloned brain was ordered into the skies, commanding a squad of aerial beasts to split up into two groups that scanned east-west and north-south respectively. After that, he drew a line near a sparsely populated territory towards the eastern ends of the Iron Triangle Empire; dozens of flying beasts set off to defend the location.

......

Once he was done planning for the initial wave, Richard teleported to the Frozen Throne and met Emperor Salwyn in the palace. The man had grown thinner over the past few days, but his aura had evolved to truly match his position as the ruler of the Iron Triangle Empire. Of course, all that majesty had to give way as he bowed respectfully, “Your Majesty.”

Richard smiled in response. Although it had been some time since he had crushed the Empire, Salwyn seemed to understand his position well and didn't even think about independence. Now, that loyalty would be rewarded, “You've been managing things well for the past few years. How's your army?”

“The original ten corps have been rebuilt and reequipped, and we added ten more. There are also twenty secondary divisions with basic training complete, as well as fifty brigades of militia. Combining everything, we have more than four million soldiers ready for war.”

“Not bad, but that's a million short of our goal.”

“This army is already strong enough to sweep through Faelor, and it still can't compare to yours. You never told me why we needed to build up such a force,” Salwyn stated in confusion. Maintaining an army of this size was a huge burden that would have left him bankrupt without Richard's support.

Richard sighed, “The enemy I mentioned is here now, and they're terrifying. Even with full power, I have no confidence in defeating them.”

“Impossible!” Salwyn's eyes went wide. As someone who had been on the other side, he knew just how powerful Richard's army was. Conquering all of Faelor was a simple task for someone of his power, only delayed because of commitments elsewhere and a shift of focus to the divine. What did it mean if someone who had torn Runai from her throne was now uncertain of victory? This was the man whose three subordinate gods were currently wreaking havoc in the south!

Richard gave him a brief rundown of the situation with the reapers, ignoring the emperor's shock. Anyone would be stunned if they heard that their plane was going to be destroyed.

“Then what should I do?” Salwyn eventually asked.

“Gather your most important subordinates, I'll take them back to my plane. The number of people will be limited, it's best if you keep it under 10,000. Also form up your defences and prepare for a battle with the reapers; it might just be meaningless, but every moment counts.”

“You're... giving up on Faelor?”

“I'm sorry, it's inevitable. I don't know how fast the reapers will attack, I don't know how many of them there are. They might be at your doorstep next month, you need to be ready to leave by the end of the week.”

“... I understand. I'll need some wasps, how many can you spare?”

“Hmm... Twenty, at most.”

“Only... Nevermind,” Salwyn smiled bitterly, saying nothing as Richard pat him on the shoulder. The Iron Triangle Empire obviously meant nothing to someone who had millions of citizens he was directly responsible for, and the twenty wasps were obviously on account of his own worth. They could transport the 10,000 people in two trips, and if he was fast about it they could likely come back and save a few thousand more in that time.

Richard then passed a map to Salwyn, containing defensive lines and their movements. Everything was organised around the most defensible terrain in the Empire; although this wouldn't stop the reaper attack, Richard hoped it would slow things down.

However, Salwyn shivered as he looked at the lines. If he were to set up according to this plan, dozens of major cities in the east would be hung out to dry. That was tens of millions of people! Unfortunately, Salwyn was an outstanding general himself. He understood that this was the line with the highest potential, so he eventually nodded and agreed to the orders.

Time was scarce at the moment, and every second was precious. Richard didn't have any time to console Salwyn, so he returned to Bluewater and started planning his next moves. He planned to use the Iron Triangle and the Land of Turmoil as defensive strongholds, stopping the reaper advance to buy time for his troops to withdraw. He could manage to get 500,000 people out from Faelor if he used the portal to its limit. Cost wasn't the major issue; if he tried to push people through faster, the portal would destabilise and could even be rendered dysfunctional. Given what he had seen, his troops couldn't hold the reapers off for more than a month.

That being said, a larger portal could have been just as dangerous as well. While reapers had never travelled through portals before, anecdotal evidence wasn't something to base one's actions on. He would withdraw and give up on Faelor, ready to close the portal off at the first sign of danger.

1318 - City of Sin

The Eve Of The Sinking

It only made sense to withdraw when faced with the reapers, but Richard felt a sinking feeling in his heart. Arranging for messengers to call avatars of the three goddesses over immediately, he returned to his study and downed a bottle of wine.

The avatars soon made their way over, looking almost exactly like the goddesses but with completely different auras about them. While the three goddesses were grand and majestic, exuding auras of inviolable awe, these incarnations were more gentle and charming, approachable in more ways than one. No doubt it was completely intentional.

“Stop your wars right now,” Richard said the moment they walked in.

“What? Why? Our troops just infiltrated Kamil's divine kingdom; everything there will become ours soon. Stopping the war at this point will just him off easily. We'll take him down in three months, and all the other divine kingdoms are weak as well. I expect we can conquer one every two or three years,” the Forest Goddess spoke up immediately. Kamil was a lesser god of the desert, which was adjacent enough to her own domain that she would be boosted by acquiring him.

The two other goddesses expressed their agreement, but Richard frowned, “If you're already through, then you can continue. But three months is far too long, I'm giving you one week, the feeding worms should be able to take care of things by then. Forget attacking the others, go inform your entire pantheon that you'll have to combine forces to fight off invaders in the near future; these ones are stronger than you'd ever imagine, and they won't be nice enough to let anyone live.”

The avatars instantly looked horrified, “What do you mean?”

“These enemies are so strong that I have no way to deal with them. I'm... giving up on Faelor,” Richard said solemnly, his words leaving the goddesses pale with fright. If he left, they were likely to fall even without a different enemy attacking.

“Are they really that powerful?” the Goddess of the Hunt asked somewhat foolishly.

Richard nodded his head, pondering for a moment before looking back at them, “You three have been working for me for a while now, I can give you a chance. Transfer to another of my planes, that should let you survive. You'll have to give up all divinity, and you'll lose your eternal life, but you can start again as legends and try to light your godsparks there.”

The three goddesses stared at each other in dismay. This choice was both simple and difficult at the same time, the crux of the matter being how powerful these enemies Richard spoke of really were. If what he said was true, then they would leave their divinity behind immediately; who cared for eternal life when it would be snuffed out in a few days? They would do anything to avoid the pure agony experienced when one fell from divinity, a pain of the soul that far surpassed any mortal death.

The Goddess of Spring Water stepped forward, “Your Majesty; if all the gods, kingdoms, and experts of Faelor join together, how likely are we to win?”

“Zero. Your peers are going to be fighting to stall for time, hopefully enough for me to withdraw a few more of my soldiers,” Richard coldly crushed their hopes.

However, there was one tiny spark left in them. “Your Majesty,” the Goddess of the Hunt bowed, “Where are these enemies you speak of?” Please visit 𝗳re𝐞𝓌e𝚋n૦ѵ𝗲l. co𝐦

“The northeastern coast.”

“Could we witness their might with our own eyes?”

“Ugh... Whatever, do it. But I'm giving you half a month to wrap everything up; turning you mortal will take seven days. I can't have you trying to leave Faelor before I cut off your connections to this plane's laws.”

“We will be careful.”

Richard nodded, waving for the incarnations to leave. He then stood in front of his window, staring at the bustling oasis city down below.

Bluewater was currently the most flourishing city in Faelor, and also the biggest one. The urban sections now ringed around half of the lake, with more than a million permanent residents as well as hundreds of thousands flowing through the gates at any time. Most of the people here were dressed like nobles, wearing arrogant smiles as they dealt with outsiders; they were citizens in the capital city of the strongest country in Faelor, automatically making them a cut above the rest. The Crimson Empire was the distribution point for resources from all around.

Richard himself wasn't someone who ruled by plunder, instead being willing to distribute some of his gains to the natives of this plane. That promise of wealth made people much more eager to develop his lands, coming up with ideas of their own to maximise growth. He was someone who relied on the huge disparity of material availability between the two planes to make his money, so a small difference in price per transaction was completely irrelevant. After dozens of years of development, the citizens of the Crimson Empire truly lived lives of luxury, and Bluewater had become paradise. Citizenship by marriage was even being sold on the black market now for sky high prices.

And yet, all these people were completely in the dark about their impending fates. There was no way the passage could take all or even most of them, so they would be left in a city that would soon turn to hell. The beautiful buildings would crumble underneath raging fires, people dying to a storm of bullets and energy beams. Their deaths would be no respite either; flesh would be cut into raw materials, while he had no idea what would come of their souls. Eventually, the entire plane would go silent and be dragged towards the Darkness, wiping it from the history of the realm of order.

He sighed and contacted the broodmother to ask where the messengers were. Three were already nearing Bluewater, and two more were currently headed north to rescue Gangdor in a few hours. Only feeling calm once he learnt of that, he then focused on the broodmother herself, “So, how can you leave Faelor?”

“Master, I already have the clone in the Forest Plane; if my body is destroyed here, I can simply be reborn afterwards. I do not plan to leave; my drones are the only way to fight off the reapers until we evacuate. Without me, you won't even be able to withdraw a hundred thousand people.”

He couldn't bring himself to respond. The broodmother was speaking the truth; with her in charge, the Land of Turmoil was an important stronghold. If she left, it was a supply base that could be raided to reinforce the reaper army. To an existence with countless clones, the destruction of her main body wasn't the end of everything. So long as she had the resources and time, she would regain her strength soon enough.

Richard eventually nodded, ordering the messengers to stay in the oasis awaiting orders. He planned to make one trip back to Norland to reorganise his family forces, seeing if he could get any allies in the process. He was ready to fight the reapers personally when he returned, to see how powerful they truly were.

......

“Yawn...” Saint Martin rubbed his eyes, “Dear Richard, you really are amazing at picking the right times. Out of all the times we could meet, you chose the moment I fall asleep. Shouldn't be in your plane right now, trying to figure out a way to deal with those terrifying reapers? Are they so weak that you could find the time and energy to chat with me?”

It was already late into the night at Norland, and the divine child was in his night robes. Richard would have commented on it any other day, but right now he was focused on more pressing matters, “Time really isn't on my side, I need your help.”

Martin grew a little more serious, “Have the reapers arrived?”

“We've seen how they fight.”

“Mm. I did some research as well, and they are virtually unstoppable. Any form of resistance is ultimately futile, even the most powerful families in Norlandic history have failed to fight them back. The most realistic thing to do is to withdraw your troops at the earliest and destroy the Lighthouse of Time...” He paused for a moment to look at Richard's expression, “The scariest thing is that they can multiply using the resources of the plane they are fighting on, growing stronger and stronger until they are killed. Fighting them is completely pointless, your troops will just die in vain.”

“A dozen people have said the same thing to me, when did you become so naggy?” Richard grumbled.

Martin threw his hands up, “Because it's clear that you're not happy with this decision. No one would be, but your current state is unbecoming of a leader.”

“Of course I know that, damn it! I have a sense of priorities, I've already ordered evacuation.”

“Alright then, what sort of help do you need?”

“Two things. I hope you can restrain the Sacred Tree Empire from attacking me while I'm engaged here, and I also want to borrow some angels, preferably the three Midrens. I need to stabilise order in the reward point battlefields.”

Martin fell silent for a moment, looking the most serious Richard had ever seen him, “Richard, your request implies that you trust me. I need to tell you something as well; the Midrens are on their way, they should reach earl Barton's territories in about a day.”

“Barton?” Richard's gaze turned infinitely sharper. Barton's territory was close to the Azan peninsula, at a range where an army could reach Blackrose in less than a week.

1319 - City of Sin

Hidden Concerns

“How many soldiers?” Richard asked, his aura flaring with bloodlust. The three angels serving at the core of the Sacred Tree Empire were en route to a point from which they could attack Azan very easily, which meant they had to be accompanied by an army.

“150,000 from the Church, 350,000 from the nobility, cavalry hasn't joined up yet,” Martin replied straightforwardly.

“And the purpose?” Richard smiled coldly.

“Hehe, of course they're preparing for Blackrose. They haven't been ordered to fight just yet, but they will wait and observe.”

“500,000 is a lot, but feel free to try me.”

Martin laughed, “Now obviously isn't the best time, but that might change very soon.”

“Are you... forcing me to abandon Faelor?”

Martin smiled, “No, I only feel like an opportunity to eliminate you is at hand.”

......

As Martin's face vanished from the communication circle, Richard frowned to himself. He understood that this wasn't an empty threat— even Martin couldn't mobilise 500,000 soldiers for a joke. If he didn't handle things in Faelor properly, allowing himself to be dragged into a quagmire, the Sacred Tree Empire's troops would flood into Azan.

While the Archerons had formally returned to the Sacred Alliance, they had trampled every other family in the course of doing so. Everyone who could possibly help was still reeling with embarrassment, and he was quite certain that not one of them would help if an entire empire attacked. The Anan Family might, but they were too weak to hold off this opponent for more than a day or two at best.

Richard felt like this was a warning from Martin, that the divine child could understand his indecision. Every family that tried to fight the reapers had paid a heavy price with no benefit, making giving up the only sensible choice. He had to agree himself, but it still felt... wrong.

Brushing his worries away, he teleported over to the royal palace to see Apeiron. The place had been almost completely rebuilt at this point, with the Empress's residence looking back to normal, but there were still signs of construction if one looked. Brought straight to the main hall of her chambers, he picked up on these signs while he waited for her to come out.

Apeiron didn't take long, heading out in only a few minutes. Just having finished her bath, she was still in the process of drying herself and walked over with only a towel covering her. She sat down with a smirk, “Is this about the reapers?”

“Yes, my own power is a little strained,” Richard nodded.

She raised an eyebrow, crossing her legs such that he got the briefest glimpse. A smile rose upon her face as she noticed him flush ever so slightly, but she allowed him to compose himself and continue, “I hope for you to use the name of the Sacred Alliance to suppress the Sacred Tree Empire. I've just spoken with Martin, and I know that they have gathered 500,000 soldiers and are advancing towards my territory. If my casualties against the reapers are too great, they will declare war immediately.”

“You went to Martin just before this?”

Apeiron's smile grew rather cryptic, but Richard still nodded in response, “Yes.”

“So you looked for him and then got threatened.”

Richard frowned, but he nodded once more.

“Heh. Then let me tell you my decision; I'm not helping.”

This answer left Richard a little shocked, his brow creasing in confusion. While their relationship had been chaotic, he had come to believe that the two of them were quite close now. Why, then, was she unwilling to help when the Archerons were in danger? It wasn't even like she needed to do anything, a simple show of her face and the Sacred Tree would back off.

Was she doing the same thing as Martin?

“The Blood Path of the Archerons was very grand,” she interrupted his thoughts, “But that gives you a lot of enemies. I'm quite certain most of the families below us would gladly watch as you got swept out of Faust. If I have the chance, I wouldn't mind personally sending your entire family back to the abyss. Of course, if you're willing to compromise...”

She raised a leg and put it on his thigh, wiggling her toes in indication. She wasn't wearing boots this time, or any clothes even, but Richard couldn't bring himself to kiss that soft foot. Apeiron was someone who generally remained true to her word, but he had promised to himself that he would never endure such humiliation again.

His thoughts as gloomy as the clouds over Floe Bay, Richard shifted the leg aside and bid farewell. Allowing Julian to escort him to the portal, he returned to his own island.

......

Julian quickly returned to Apeiron's side, “Your Majesty, why not lend him a hand? It wouldn't even need a formal announcement... You've finally found someone likeable after all these years... I believe it might be a good idea to treat him a little better.”

“Grr... I wanted to help him too, but... Sigh, he left me in a bad mood,” Apeiron growled.

“Huh? Why?”

"Because he went to look for someone else first!”

Julian didn't know how to assess this reason. It was rather absurd, but in some ways it seemed valid as well.

......

A heavy-hearted Richard returned to his island, unable to understand how a request for help turned into two different threats of obliteration. The only thing he had gained from all this was some knowledge of the dangers that he could face.

As he returned to his office, an attendant passed a letter from the Millennial Empire that contained seals implying both importance and secrecy, alongside the crest of Prince Tumen. Richard immediately knew that this had to do with the alter world, and despite the threat of the reapers he ripped open the letter immediately.

The letter turned out to be from Macy, and the contents were quite simple. They had checked and found some clues related to the alter world and a potential passage towards it, but this information would only be passed to him if he took responsibility for his previous deeds. The closing line of the letter was thus, “So, Your Grace, how is your mood now?”

Having read the letter, Richard didn't know how to respond. It seemed like he truly had gone overboard the night he made Macy the rune, leaving her with a grudge that she now chose to exploit. Unfortunately, he didn't have the time to entertain her right now. Sending a quick reply that his mood would better significantly if he had the information, he heavily implied that nothing would be off the table after his war with the reapers was done. Until then, she could only find him in Faelor.

Sealing the letter and having a servant send it off, he then informed Alice that the Sacred Tree Empire was gathering at Earl Barton's territory. She was to pull back her army and focus on defence, fighting back at the slightest sign of aggression. He contacted Blackgold as well, telling the grey dwarf to be careful about the Deepblue and focus on production of the thunder cannons.

With everything arranged, he set off for Faelor immediately. However, he had barely left his study before a mage ran over with Macy's response, a letter whose contents were simply a “Wait for me!” He was stumped by the speed of the reply, but without the time to wait he instructed the mage to look over the goods that were to be sent to Faelor. Gathering a squad of rune knights and teleporting to Blackrose Castle, he froze at the sight of a girl in golden armour waiting with a heavy sword on her back.

1320 - City of Sin

Battle Of Flesh

"I'm going to Faelor with you," Macy stated the moment she saw him. Given how she had arrived even before he could, she had to have teleported over the moment she sent her response.

“Are you insane? Those are the reapers, you'll die!” Richard barked. Macy was Prince Tumen's only daughter, and the one with the strongest bloodline in her family. If she was killed in action in Faelor, that would mean he had finally offended all three major human empires.

“Do you or do you not want information on the alter world?” Macy smiled, “I'll tell you when I'm in a better mood.”

Richard stared her in the eye, “This information is important to me, enough that I don't mind an altercation with your father. I won't stop you if you insist.”

"Then what are we waiting for, let's go!” she stepped in behind him, following him through the portal.

......

When Richard stepped out of the portal, he immediately ordered the rescue party headed for Gangdor to personally fight the reapers and estimate their strength. At the same time, the cloned brain sent him an urgent message that Gangdor's army had been surrounded, having been locked in fierce battle for over an hour.

Richard's face sank as he calculated the time, knowing it would be too late even if he tried to teleport over. As he rushed to the command centre, however, he was relieved to find that the team sent to retrieve Gangdor himself was almost at the battlefield. Seeing that light quickly approach, he relaxed ever so slightly and waited for updates.

......

Gangdor screamed wildly as he threw the last of his javelins, the speartip lighting on fire as it pierced into the body of a metre-long machine and blew it up from within. However, even as he panted and looked into the skies, he saw more than a dozen more of that size and hundreds of smaller machines circling around, energy beams falling on his warriors like rain.

However, the aerial threat wasn't even the greatest danger this time. Fighting his soldiers all around the battlefield were creatures that were a strange mix of flesh and machine, each only a metre and a half tall with reversed knees like demons. These creatures had four arms connected to their torsos, two holding swords while the other two held guns shooting destructive beams of light. Powered by metallic skeletons, they were extremely fast and strong, even level 10 elites finding it difficult to block their blades.

There were over ten thousand of these reaper warriors in the snowy fields, and the number was still climbing! Enormous flying ships constantly flew over from the distance, dropping hundreds of them into battle with every trip!

The reaper forces were reinforced every minute, but Gangdor's troops received no such support. His soldiers were all experienced warriors that were worthy of being considered elite, but more than half of them were already dead and more were falling by the minute. The brute waved his giant axe and slashed three attackers in half, but even as he let out a grunt his eyes were drawn to a corner of the battlefield. Hundreds of corpses were being dragged over by beetle-like machines, their armour peeled before the flesh was cut and compressed into cubes. The machines even had some sort of film they used to cover these cubes and maintain their form!

Every incoming transport ship was filled with cubes of flesh before returning, leaving only a bloody puddle where the warriors had been. Not even half a bone was wasted; the beetles were processing it all before the battle was even done!

Two flesh warriors dragged a bulky corpse to the processing site, a bald head catching Gangdor's eyes. That man was his best friend in the army!

“FUCK YOU ALL!” the brute's eyes went red as he charged towards the fallen general, slashing apart anything in his way. The flesh warriors seemed to give up on their original targets and jump at him in droves, but he turned into a whirlwind that sliced them all apart. Its glow was starting to dim, but his legendary armour still managed to deflect most of the attacks.

Gangdor was like a lion caught amongst a pack of wolves. He dished out far more damage than he took, but every step forward was growing more and more challenging.

“Break out immediately, run south!” Richard's voice suddenly rang out in his consciousness. However, the brute's eyes only flashed with bloodlust at the sight of thousands of corpses being processed, his hands trembling with sheer rage at the disrespect. For the first time in what might have been forever, he defied orders and continued to attack, roaring thunderously as he trampled the flesh warriors he killed.

At some point, his legendary armour started to crumble. One portion on the back was torn away by a leaping flesh warrior, giving an opportunity for multiple energy beams to brand his back. The warrior than thrush a sword into his body with all its strength, but even amidst an anguished cry he flipped the thing around and smashed its head with his axe.

“GANGDOR! BREAK OUT, HEAD SOUTH IMMEDIATELY!” Richard's voice rang once more, this time much more strict. An ancient contract that had almost been forgotten burnt in the strongman's mind, compelling him to follow orders with a splitting headache.

However, the bald man looked at the slaughterhouse nearby and only growled louder, “BOSS, LET ME SCREW THESE SONS OF BITCHES!”

Gangdor rushed towards the processing centre with a roar, but hundreds of flesh warriors swarmed and pinned him down. The violent headache was replaced by sharp physical pain, but his aura burst forth to the fullest as he stood up and sent them all flying. The legendary armour finally disintegrated, flying in all directions from the eruption, but even as that explosion killed a number of enemies even more took their place.

The brute panted and looked around, only to discover that he was the last one left standing on the battlefield. His twenty rune knights, half-dozen generals, the shadowspears... they were all gone. He staggered for a moment, drawing a deep breath of cold air.

However, he still continued towards the slaughterhouse, towards the tens of thousands of reapers ahead. The northern army was destroyed, and he planned to follow the brothers he had fought with for more than a decade. Any number of enemies he could kill was good enough.

Two lines of black suddenly streaked across the sky, eye-catching lightning blinding everyone present. The smallest warplanes suddenly crashed to the ground, while many larger ones even emitted green smoke and started flying away. A figure no smaller than Gangdor dropped from the sky, heavy shield crashing into the ground and sending dozens of flesh warriors flying.

“His Excellency sent me to retrieve you,” the man turned around, revealing a face Gangdor recognised to belong to a legendary warrior called Ironshield. He wanted to say something, but the moment he relaxed his vision suddenly went black and he fell to the ground.

Ironshield grabbed him before he could crash, carefully placing Gangdor on his shoulders before waving his shield again to send the next set of flesh warriors flying away. He then leapt into the sky, a messenger zipping over and taking them away in an instant.

Another messenger continued to circle the area, the legendary mage on top sending several lightning bolts towards the most clustered areas before retreating. A few of the larger planes and dozens of tiny ones chased behind, but a number of chain lightning spells blew them all up and allowed the mage to fly away.

1321 - City of Sin

The Lord's Choice

Richard was sitting in his command centre with a grave expression. Gangdor was on his way back, but even with the messenger's speed it would take more than ten hours for his return. The brute's injuries were severe, and without the spare protection to send priests with the rescue team there was a chance of death or lasting damage.

At this point, most of his followers had already gathered by his side. A minority were out leading troops, but they were constantly aware of their connection to him so they could execute his orders immediately. There were lines all over the map of Faelor indicating retreat, but the furthest troops in the south would take about a month to group back up.

It was about this time that a number of powerful conscients circled around the northeastern coast, the pantheon of the plane investigating these new invaders after a warning from the three goddesses. However, their senses seemed completely unable to pierce through the region, as though the entire coast was covered in smoke. The only beacon of light came from small shrines to Cerces and a random lesser deity in the Frostcliff Kingdom, but the group of paladins that were sent to investigate only saw a cloud of flying war machines with a hundred enormous transport ships behind them. The fastest to react turned around to flee, but not one managed to outrun the energy beams of the reapers.

It took roughly half an hour from that first engagement for the reapers to arrive at one of the Kingdom's cities. The transport ships flew down to only a dozen metres off the ground before dropping in a full army of flesh warriors and mechanical beetles, the former starting their massacre even as the latter prepped the processing grounds. Half an hour longer, and the city of 40,000 had turned into a land of death. Only minutes later, the transport ships took off.
ƒ𝚛e𝘦𝙬𝗲𝒃𝓷𝒐𝘃𝘦𝑙. 𝒄o𝓂

The reapers continued to spread from city to city, wiping out the entire Frostcliff Kingdom. Despite moving through the skies, they were still taking about as long to move between cities as they were to kill all of the residents. While Richard had given up on the place long ago, the gods tried in futility to amass any forces to resist.

Within hours of the northeast's fall, the pantheon finally took action. Cerces was the first to proclaim the start of a divine war, commanding all worshippers to take up arms and fight for survival and faith. The rest of Faelor's deities followed suit, warhorns sounding in every country on the plane. Every intelligent being, human or otherwise, started preparing for war under divine command. Even the most hesitant of nobles opened up their warehouses, allowing citizens to draw weapons from within.

Every citizen of Faelor had been conscripted to battle, something that had only occurred once before in history. That invasion had led to a change of eras for Faelor, and this one threatened to be the end.

Richard's face was overcast from start to finish. Outside of ordering his troops to speed up their retreat, he didn't do anything else for hours. Sitting beside him, Macy felt the stifling air and silently observed.

However, this tenuous peace was quickly interrupted by surprising news. A small detachment of reapers had passed through unoccupied territory to appear in the Iron Triangle Empire, specifically at a city that Richard had ordered defended. The force was minuscule compared to the number of soldiers defending the place, especially considering the broodmother had elite drones stationed on location as well. However, he still lost more than half of the combined forces before the aggressors were killed, and forty of the ninety thousand citizens were killed.

Already on the defensive perimeter, Salwyn rushed to the city immediately. The broodmother also deployed four cloned brains and a swarm of worker drones over, tasked with clearing all of the corpses and transmit images back to Richard.

The city had turned into hell. The reapers had established two processing centres on the fringes before even going in, and thousands upon thousands of corpses had gone through the entire process. The beetles had eventually entered the fray as the rest of the reaper soldiers were killed, but that meant a number of corpses that were only halfway dissected without any proper packaging.

Not far away, a ruined transport ship had crashed into the ground, the cargo bay damaged and leaking a huge amount of flesh and blood all over. Even the most hardened veterans couldn't keep themselves from gagging at the gory sight, to the point that a pale Salwyn had ordered the location sealed off to keep from traumatising the rest of the Empire's citizens. The Emperor personally entered the processing centres and organised the corpses and flesh, completely ignoring the blood soaking his body despite the fact that hundreds of humanoid drones had already been sent over to assist.

It was only near evening that the cleanup was complete, the intact corpses lined up on the ground. Their less-fortunate comrades were stacked up in several small hills, and Salwyn personally poured oil onto the flesh while his knights worked on the corpses. He made sure that he was the only one to cast the fireballs that lit all of these soldiers and citizens on fire, watching stiffly as the raging inferno sent clouds of black smoke high into the sky.

As shadows danced across his face, the Emperor waved for a cloned brain to descend from the sky, “I wish to speak to His Majesty.”

The compound eyes of the cloned brain flickered several times, with Richard's voice eventually ringing out from its throat, “I'm here.”

“Did you see it all?”

“And more.”

Salwyn nodded, “A full division of soldiers with reinforcements from the Land of Turmoil. We killed the enemies, but all I can say is that we've lost. You were right, Your Majesty, this enemy truly is terrifying. It seems like there is no way to beat them.

“But...” he shook his head calmly, “I understand you can only take a small number of people back with you. Most of my citizens will remain here to face the reapers, and they will have to face their destiny in the near future. I am their emperor, I cannot abandon them.”

The puppet ruler took a deep breath, enunciating every word, “I... stay. I will be with my citizens, their lord will stand at the forefront against this vile army.”

The cloned brain went quiet for a long time before Richard finally responded, “Alright.”

Salwyn looked at the bug, but his gaze seemed to land all the way on the distant Richard as he bowed in thanks, turning around to leave.

Back in Bluewater, Richard had his followers leave and stood alone before the map of Faelor.

......

In the capital of the Sacred Tree Empire, a small group of priests braved harsh winds to arrive at an ancient chapel, knocking on the thick black gate. An old, clearly annoyed man opened it ever so slightly with a creak, caution written all over his face as he stared at the priests like they were thieves.

One of those outside the gate suddenly stepped forward, taking off his hood to reveal his face, “I am looking for Archbishop Hendrick.”

“Your Excellency!” the old priest on the other side of the door gasped, but even so he didn't allow them in. In fact, he started to lean against the door, prepared to close it at a moment's notice.

This attitude only changed when an old voice rang out from the courtyard, “Let them in.”

“But...” the man leaned back for a moment, clearly hesitating, but it was only after the voice repeated itself that he pulled the gate open with force. The leader on the other end had those around him wait in place, entering alone.

Archbishop Hendrick was seated near the altar of the chapel, enormous crown resting on his head while he was draped in the crimson robes reserved for cardinals. He seemed to be reading a book of holy scriptures, but closed it as he saw Martin walking in, “You should not be allowed within this place, it is my territory. Even the divine child can only be captured.”

There was a scent of bloodlust behind the threat, but Martin didn't seem the slightest bit nervous as he continued walking forward. A cold glint flashed in Hendrick's eyes and glowing chains suddenly materialised in thin-air, flying forward to wrap around Martin and lock him tightly. The divine child struggled hard, but the countless symbols that lit up around him could only loosen the chains a little bit.

Hendrick picked up a small dagger from the altar, immersing it in a pool of holy water before walking to the paralysed Martin's side. Calmly placing the sharp blade on the divine child's neck, he cut a thin red line into the skin.

However, his gaze froze as he looked at the few drops of blood that seeped out, disbelief flooding his face.

1322 - City of Sin

Thorny Path

“How...” Hendrick asked dazedly, staring at the golden glow in Martin's blood, “How is your faith so strong... Do you not know that the Radiant Lord is...”

"Of course I do!” Martin grumbled, “I know better than you!”

“Then how? Do you serve the brat now?” the archbishop asked with killing intent.

However, Martin just stared at the old man, “Is it not possible to have pure faith?”

“Pure faith? Heh... How could such a thing exist in this era?”

“Faith has nothing to do with era, only determination.”

“Sigh... Perhaps.”

“Then what are you waiting for? Take your blade away, it hurts!”

Hendrick snorted in response, withdrawing the dagger before removing the chains locking Martin in place. The divine child ran a finger across his throat to heal the wound, rubbing the parts of his skin that the chains had grabbed before asking, “Did you find the contract?”

"I did, but... Take a look yourself,” Hendrick took a page out of the sacred texts and passed it over.

Martin took a look at the ancient leather page, only to find nothing written upon it. However, a few more seconds of staring revealed an inky darkness at the very centre, rapidly extending in all directions. The divine child was shocked for a moment, but when he shook his head and tried to study it again he couldn't see anything.

“What did you see?” the archbishop asked with confusion.

"Darkness, with no sense of order."

“Sigh... So it seems like the ancient light has been contaminated. As I predicted, the source of our faith does not exist any longer.” Hendrick paused for a moment, smiling bitterly, “I couldn't see a thing.”

"I could only see because of my unwavering faith,” Martin smiled warmly.

“But the Radiant Lord—”

“The Radiant Lord does not matter, he is not the target of my faith. Have you forgotten the first line of the sacred texts?”

“Light is the primordus, the beginning of all things...” Hendrick's expression changed, “You worship light itself?”

“No, not exactly. What I worship is more advanced than light, but there is essentially no difference,” Martin smiled.

“But...” the archbishop felt his tongue dry out. The Radiant Lord had taken over the laws of light before igniting his godspark, becoming the embodiment of the laws themselves. This was true of all deities— worshipping them was effectively worshipping the laws they represented— but this level of abstraction was necessary for a worshipper to obtain power from their deity.

Priests gained their power directly through a sort of lease of divinity from the gods they worshipped, which was why they could grow powerful much more quickly than their peers. However, the separating layer from their deities made it near impossible for them to master the laws for themselves. This was one reason why true experts felt disdain for them; their upper limits were simply fixed by the deity they worshipped.

Martin implying he worshipped light itself meant that the Radiant Lord was out of the picture. It directly revealed an ambition to become a god himself. However, Hendrick simply couldn't bring himself to believe such a thing, especially with the example of the current pope being right before them. There just wasn't a good reason to walk down a similar road.

“Incorrect, you haven't truly understood my meaning. I do not intend to replace the Radiant Lord, nor am I interested in denouncing the gods. I worship light, but that is not the extent of my faith. If the Radiant Lord was the incarnation of light, my faith would forever have been ardent. Now, my task is to find the next incarnation; only if there are none suitable will I take on the mantle myself.”

This explanation left Hendrick even more shocked. He sighed loudly, “Are you forcing me to make my choice? Is it not a little too early to show your cards?”

"It is indeed, but I have entered a situation that I cannot walk out of. Don't you think we'll miss many opportunities if we always wait for certainty?"

“Perhaps...” Hendrick smiled helplessly, “What are my choices now?”

“Abandon your original thoughts, and take me as your lord. But only after I return from heaven.”

“You're going to heaven?”

Martin nodded, “Only there can I find pure light, the light I believe in. Those children continue to run amok as well, I need to restore order with my own hands.” Please visit f𝒓𝑒e𝓌e𝚋𝘯૦𝘷e𝗹. c૦𝒎

"You'll die."

"That is why I asked you to wait until I return.”

A complicated expression crawled up Hendrick's face, “Sigh. This is where I cannot equal you. With a long life on one side and a negligible chance to save my faith on the other... I never managed to take that final step. I cannot even compare to the Pope.”

“Faith is faith. We need only strive forwards in service of it, there is no time to appreciate the beauty of the world along the way.”

As Martin's body started to glow ever so faintly, Hendrick went down onto one knee, “My Lord, please permit my pathetic faith. Allow me to give you some assistance on your journey.”

Martin smiled, placing a hand atop Hendrick's head, “Following me will bring you good fortune.”

A short and simple ceremony was thus completed.

Martin muttered to himself for a while before speaking, “There is one matter I worry about before I leave— Richard. I believe he will be walking a thorny road in the future, but the two of us are essentially the same.”

Hendrick frowned, “But the Empire's troops are almost at Earl Barton's lands. I can only restrain those loyal to us, and maybe the nobles to a limited extent.”

Martin smiled, “Just ensure that our casualties are small. It isn't easy to take advantage of Richard; it's best to leave those like him alone if one cannot kill them completely.”

Trembling, Martin nodded in agreement. While he was considered an epic being himself, he knew that those like Martin and Richard wandered around peaks that he didn't dare to touch. Many such beings would face a premature end, but every crisis they survived would allow them to rocket forward.

"When are you planning to leave?” Hendrick asked.

“Tonight. Any longer and I might not have the courage to do something so silly,” Martin smiled bitterly.

......

A short while later, Martin pulled his white hood back up and left Hendrick's chapel. As his group braved a snowstorm to leave in silence, he stopped midway and looked into the distant skies.

Grey clouds obstructed vision all over, with huge clumps of snow landing on the ground. However, Martin's gaze seemed to pierce through the clouds and the void itself to land on Richard in another plane. Seeing a thread of fate, he saw that Richard seemed to be heading towards an abyss of destruction.

“Such a fool,” he scolded under his breath, but as he shook his head he almost forgot that he was being foolish himself. The Radiant Lord had failed in heaven, and he had decided to head over to follow through on that mission. On the contrary, he would only need to wait silently to become the next Radiant Lord himself in a few years, gaining everlasting immortality. With his current choice, failure meant death.

However, Martin didn't feel like he was doing wrong. He did not care for divine status, he did not lust for immortality like most others did. His dream had become his faith, and his faith was to illuminate the ends of the world.

1323 - City of Sin

Doing One's Best

Back in Faelor, one name was running through Richard's mind— Duke Bonamar. He was a rather powerful lord whose personal plane had been attacked by the reapers, but he had refused advice and decided to take the fight. He eventually lost, his army almost completely wiped out to the point that his family's strength crashed. He lost his title and his line eventually died out, but he never seemed to regret the decision. He addressed it on his deathbed, “Giving up was the rational choice. But when I saw what they were doing... being rational was so hard.”

Rapid footsteps suddenly rang outside the command centre, divine energy fluctuating outside the door as Ironshield and the others walked in. Several rune knights were currently carrying Gangdor on a stretcher, two priestesses of the Goddess of the Spring Water doing their best to heal his injuries.

The brute's body was full of scars and scorch marks, one obviously blinded eye obviously leaking blood. Richard activated the power of the green moon, but he knew that even though vision could be restored, Gangdor would never see clearly again. As flowers sprouted around them, he leaned down, “You defied my orders.”

Gangdor suddenly frowned, grabbing Richard's hand, “Boss, you should have seen what those bastards did to my men! They butchered us like livestock! They turned the entire northern army into materials! Please, let me stay, I'll kill every last one of those bitches!”

“They didn't even show their full strength; you'll die.”

“Who cares?! I'll kill a thousand whores first!”

“You don't get to die until I let you,” Richard pushed the agitated brute back into the stretcher, “As for the... whores, I'll take care of them.”

Gangdor was stumped for a moment, but he quickly understood what had happened, “Boss, no! You can't fight them!”

“I'm not fighting them,” Richard said calmly, “I'm kicking them out of my plane.”

“No! No no no! Boss, we can't win against them. I'm just a brute without much strength, it's fine if I die. What will our brothers do if something happens to you? What will the family do?!” Gangdor started ignoring Richard's attempts to respond, insisting that he leave Faelor quickly and seal the portal shut while he himself led those left behind in a battle to the death.

“Shut the fuck up!” Richard eventually barked, using the power of the contract to force the command. Even as Gangdor struggled with his mouth closed, he looked at the rest of his followers, “I've just come to a decision, a very stupid one. I'm staying behind in Faelor to fight to the death with these reapers; we Archerons aren't the kind of cowards that leave our warriors and citizens behind.”

“Your Grace, no! You must reconsider!” Asiris cried out.
𝒇𝑟e𝗲𝚠𝚎𝐛𝗻𝐨νel. 𝒄om

Fuschia spoke up as well, “Your Grace, we can stay behind. You are the backbone of the Archerons, nothing can happen to you.”

As multiple voices of opposition rang out, Tiramisu scratched his head, “I knew it would come to this.”

“Bullshit!” Waterflower snorted.

Phaser and Zangru stood indifferently by the side, not speaking a word. However, both of them were starting to exude hints of bloodlust that made their excitement clear.

Richard raised a hand to silence the room, “I know I'm being a fool. Many people in Norland are just hoping I make this decision; the Sacred Tree even has 500,000 soldiers sitting at our borders. But... so what? So what if we lose to the reapers? So what if we lose to those cowards that can only skulk in the shadows? As long as I'm alive, as long as you're alive, it's all fine. We can always start over again.”

The voices of resistance were immediately suppressed by bestial roars!

......

News that Richard had decided to fight the reapers quickly spread across Faelor, causing cheers to erupt everywhere. Many deities asked the three goddesses why Richard would make such a decision, but even as they expressed scepticism the warmth of their joy spread throughout their kingdoms.

Richard had no time to bother about their thoughts. He had spent the past ten hours mapping out arrangements, and now was the time to implement. Sending out orders for his troops to assemble, he climbed onto a messenger and flew north to personally experience the strength of the reapers. The cloned brain network still occupied most of Faelor, so he could take command of his men even amidst battle.

The enormous net of flying beasts and cloned brains that the broodmother had established on this plane was currently missing a large piece. The vast northeastern coast was completely dark, any beast that dared to approach being shot down, dismembered, and processed in minutes. Richard believed that the reapers had to have a special way to detect living beings, which was why the stealthiest of scouts were still caught.

That also made the enemy goal clear— they would destroy all life on this plane.

......

Once Richard left, the entire Archeron war machine roared to life. An enormous number of people and resources changed directions and were funneled towards Faelor, the movements so wide that they could not be concealed from interested parties and powerful politicians. Even the Far North received accurate news in only a few hours, sending the entire plane of Norland into an uproar.

Richard was fighting the reapers to the death!

Apeiron was currently at her desk, staring at a letter with only two lines written in it, “Worst case, we rebuild from the start. I believe there'll be a miracle.”

She had read those same two lines what felt like a hundred times by now, but she suddenly flooded with rage and tore it into pieces, “MIRACLE MY ASS!”

The torn pieces of paper floated down like snow as the furious Empress walked to the balcony with large steps, staring at the bustling night view of Faust with killing intent. It took a few minutes for her to calm down and look straight upwards, staring at the enormous island floating above her head. Many silhouettes were heading in and out in preparation for the upcoming battle; before long, most would perish for the sake of pride.

She suddenly felt her anger vanish, replaced by an indescribable sense of exhaustion. As she sighed and returned to her room, however, she was stunned to find that Richard's letter was intact and on her table once more.

Shocked for a moment, she walked over and examined the thing to find that it had actually been pieced back together carefully and then fused. There was only one person on this island who had picked up the skills to do that.

“Julian!” she growled.

“Always here, Your Majesty!” Julian walked out of the shadows, bowing gracefully.

She pointed to the letter, “You did this.”

“It does not matter who the source of the miracle is, only that a miracle has happened,” he smiled.

......

At almost the exact same time, Prince Tumen was looking at a letter written to him by his daughter. Macy had conveyed Richard's decision with the same kind of brevity, but at the end she had added a line of her own, “I'd like to see a miracle with my own eyes.”

The Prince's expression warped with rage. He raised his hand to slam it down onto the table, but only moments before he released his might he restrained himself and placed it down gently. Ringing a bell to call in the servants, he sent instructions that a family meeting was scheduled in half an hour.

Tumen walked in exactly as the clock struck the designated time, and all of the family elders were present by then. Some looked dishevelled, as though they had just woken up, but he paid no mind and read the letter's contents aloud.

Macy was more important to the Millennial Empire than she knew herself. She was the only one in her generation to awaken the golden moonriver bloodline, and her ability was quite powerful as well. She was certainly the most talented of those around her age, which gave her a great chance to succeed Empress Gelan in the future. The fact that she'd suddenly run off to Faelor to fight the reapers left them in a precarious position.

The Millennial Empire was closely watching Richard's movements. If it turned out that the Archerons really had made the wrong decision and their power dropped greatly, they would join the ranks of the vultures to enjoy the sumptuous feast. While Tumen or even Gelan didn't really care about the wealth the reward point system had amassed, they couldn't afford to allow their main rivals to take it all away.

Just like the Sacred Tree Empire, the Millennial Empire was slowly amassing forces close to Azan. The maple knights had already set off in silence, replacing their eye-catching crest with other styles of armour and hiding within private armies at the border. However, Macy and Richard moving together left these forces in an embarrassing situation. They would likely withdraw for Tumen's sake, but that would leave him owing so many favours that even he felt like he couldn't bear the burden. Nothing would matter if she became the next epic being of the Millennial Empire, but that was never a guarantee.

Most of the family elders refused to give their opinions, forcing the Prince to eventually come to a decision himself, “Inform all the lords at the front lines that Macy's actions are unrelated to both my line and the imperial family. They can act without worry.”

The elders shivered at this order. If it was passed down, the lords definitely wouldn't hold back.

......

Within the Sacred Tree Empire, Hendrick was reading an intelligence report under the dim light of the altar. It detailed the abnormal movements of the Archeron Family's troops and resources, coming to a startling conclusion— Richard had decided to go to war with the reapers!

The report itself wasn't complicated, but the Archbishop read through it thrice before putting it down. He stared at the wall for a few minutes, watching the flickering shadows as he muttered to himself, “This brat... is he really trying to work a miracle?”

He attempted to put ridicule into those words, but for some reason it came out as awe. He thought of the divine child he had just decided to follow, someone who also did the same. It would take a similar level of miracle for Martin to return alive from heaven, which was why he hadn't gone himself. He simply didn't have the determination to follow through on such things.

Hendrick eventually sighed, summoning the old priest that normally guarded the gates, “Notify those loyal to us. If... If we are to go to war with the Archerons, they must be more careful. Rewards aren't as important as the lives of our warriors.”

The old priest was stunned for a moment, understanding that this was a command to avoid war. However, he had never been one to second-guess the Archbishop, so he hobbled away to convey the order.

1324 - City of Sin

Infiltrating The Enemy

Back in Faelor, Richard's messenger flew at a blistering 700 kilometres an hour for a little over two hours before tiring out, needing to rest for an entire day. He jumped off its back as it floated down with exhaustion, his silhouette blinking a few kilometres away. Opening portal after portal forward, he flew nearly 2,000 kilometres before arriving at another messenger that was lying in wait.

Stepping onto this new mount, he sat down and drank a mana potion to return to optimal condition. This messenger flew about 1,500 kilometres before flagging as well, at which point he went through the teleporting process once more. It took a few cycles of this process, but in a little under seven hours he was already at the northern coast, just shy of the region controlled by the reapers.

Having the messenger that took him through the last leg recuperate, Richard turned invisible and flew forwards. However, he suddenly felt strange energy waves in the area, and even as they focused on him he crashed straight to the ground to blow away the snow and reveal a black object of some sort. The machine was tiny, only a finger's width, but it one of the four rods sticking out of it seemed to be sending information into the sky. It was that same rod that sent the pulses detecting him.

He bent down and picked the machine up, watching as it switched to battle form even while restricted by Kingsteel. It pointed its gun barrel at his forehead, but he crushed it between his fingers and set it aflame. The metal melted until some microscopic silver specks were left behind, but noticing that they seemed special he took out an empty potion vial and directed them within. His figure then flashed a dozen kilometres away where he found another similar detector.

He quickly moved from detector to detector, finding one every ten kilometres on average. They had formed an enormous net that could catch living beings, and they also seemed able to send this information back to the reapers somehow.

It was around his twentieth detector that a much stronger pulse focused on him, prompting him to look towards a patch of black in the distance. Dozens of the tiny warplanes and some of the larger ones were currently headed his way, but the truly stunning part was that there was a small transport ship only a few metres long behind them. The ship itself was empty with a few beetles within; it seemed like the reapers valued resources so much that they wouldn't even let his flesh go to waste.

He blinked right into the midst of the war machines, but unlike most humans they seemed to know no fear or surprise. They adjusted their beam weapons towards him and fired with lightning-quick reactions, so much so that he only managed to blink out of the way after suffering a few moments of attack. A dozen small holes were left on his robes.

As he opened up some distance, Richard looked down and found that his skin was barely charred beneath most of the holes. It seemed like only the larger machines could do any damage to him if they struck, but he also discovered that even the tiny ones would be able to do damage if their attacks focused on him long enough. The beam attacks were too fast for even him to dodge effectively, which made them a huge threat.

With a cursory understanding of their ability, he blinked back into their midst. This time he caught one of the larger machines and twisted apart, but feeling a sudden warning he immediately threw the remains and blinked away. The broken machine quickly exploded, burning everything within ten metres with power almost comparable to a grade 9 spell!

Suppressing his shock, Richard defended himself from the next wave and caught another machine. This time he crushed it into a metal ball, managing to keep it from exploding, but that also meant he had mangled it beyond analysis.

Tossing the ball into his ring, he pulled the flaming sword out of his case and cut a few of the planes around him into two clean halves. As he pounced towards his next targets, however, he suddenly felt a tinge of pain in his back and turned around to realise that the planes were still floating in mid-air with their guns aimed directly at him. Two of them had even drawn close to each other, various components connecting together like they were performing repairs.

Richard frowned at the realisation, but he ignored the tiny machines and flew towards the last of the larger ones and pierced it with his sword. The blade started vibrating as he activated Disintegrator, ripping the machine apart into hundreds of pieces that were swept into his spatial ring. He then returned to the rest of the machines and did the same.

Once it saw that the situation was unfavourable, the transported that had been dispatched to handle Richard's corpse flew away. However, it was even smaller than the warplanes and much less defended. Moments later, it and the beetles within had been turned to parts and stored within his bracelet.

The squad of reapers was thus annihilated, but Richard didn't feel happy at all. These machines were obviously the lowest level of the reapers' battle system, and he had seen hundreds of different machines far more powerful than them during his analysis of the Doomsday Imprint. If even the weakest machines could injure him, the stronger ones would be difficult to deal with. The metal these things were made of was quite tough as well, no weaker than the armour of a rune knight. Normal saints would need effort to get through this defence, but those were a very limited commodity. The planes also had great attack power and speed, their energy beams too fast for even him to avoid. A focused attack could fatally wound even a legendary warrior in the same way that his rune knights used their javelins.

The more he saw of these reapers, the more Richard felt like their fighting style was similar to his own. The only difference was that they were far more thorough, using even greater numbers and precision. Just how was one to overcome such an enemy?

As he cleared the battlefield and melted down all the remnants, Richard gathered about a fingertip's worth of the silver metal. Storing it in the vial, he continued walking towards the coast.

The detectors started serving as road signs. Richard headed towards the densest concentration of their pulses, fighting off two more small squads before coming across what looked like a base. The place was quite strange, surrounded by rectangular slabs of metal that were connected by what seemed like muscles. There was a tower in the middle surrounded by half a dozen other buildings, including a factory that processed flesh. One of the buildings resembled the structure of a beehive, with five large sections containing thousands upon thousands of pods each. It seemed eerily similar to the hive of life, but these seemed to store the flesh warriors with metallic skeletons.

Most of the five hives were completely full!

He tried to move closer to take a look, but he immediately felt a number of pulses focus on him. The reaper base seemed to come to life in the blink of an eye, the flesh warriors jumping out of their hives and rushing straight towards him. Both types of warplanes rose into the sky in an endless hive, flying straight towards him!

1325 - City of Sin

Shrinking The Battle Lines

Regardless of his individual power, Richard wouldn't dare fight hundreds of the reapers and thousands of their warriors on his own. Cutting a few of the approaching flesh warriors and storing their pieces in his bracelet, he materialised his three faces and bombarded the base with fireballs before blinking a few kilometres away.

The reaper planes gave chase, but none of them could catch up. He started ringing around them and taking down any that got isolated, but within moments he suddenly felt a sense of danger that far surpassed the rest. He quickly turned north to see a hundred-metre-long warship in the sky, picking up speed as it rushed towards him. The thing was within ten metres in moments, and it opened fire.

The large warship didn't attack particularly quickly, but each energy beam was as wide as Richard's arm. Unwilling to fight it, he quickly took a series of portals to return to the messenger waiting on the edge of reaper territory. The mount quickly flew through the snowy sky, but as it went higher he eventually sensed the distant warship still giving chase. Fortunately, he was already out of range and the drone was fast enough to slowly open up the distance. It would get tired very soon, but an improved one was waiting for the next leg of the trip that could go as fast as 900 kilometres an hour for very short bursts.

Covered by the translucent barrier of the new messenger, Richard quickly opened up distance before falling back to normal speeds. Thankfully, this new one was also extremely stable, leaving him feeling almost nothing as he headed to the Land of Turmoil.

......

Once he was in front of the broodmother, Richard removed the remains of the reapers from his spatial equipment, “Try analysing the structure, see if you can find any weaknesses.”

The broodmother nodded and opened her mouth, inhaling all of the scattered remains. Some of the flesh was still squirming, but neither of the two seemed to care. Richard had even left a bit still in his bracelet, he planned to run some tests himself.

Once she had eaten it all, Richard flew over to pat her on the head, “So, what do you think of our chances?“

“They will not be victorious, but we lack strength as well. The humanoid nature of our existing drones is holding them back, I will need to redesign them. But then I need time to produce them, and time to analyse the enemy to make a more targeted unit.”

He nodded, sighing himself, “This will be hard. But I'm going to keep fighting until they're gone, or until they destroy me. You're not dying alone.”

“How did you know?” the broodmother responded immediately, but that was only more telling of her shock. She normally timed her conversations with him for normal human cadence.

He chuckled, “I was considering how I'd get the three goddesses out from Faelor. It made me realise that you're rooted into the laws of this plane now too, just as a deity who doesn't need any worship to survive. They can give up their faith by just renouncing their worshippers, but your existence is tied to Faelor's own. You still need a few levels before you can break the entire plane, don't you. When is it? 15? 16?”

“16, Master.”

“So you knew yourself. So what was it going to be, a fake egg with a message for your clone to act like you? Then you'd just sit here and fight the reapers to the death?”

“Yes.”

“But there's no chance for you to win alone. Why? Why lie to me?”

“I was worried that you would refuse to give up on Faelor if I told you.”

“Do you think I'm that hot-blooded?”

“You always have been,” she said directly.

“Ugh... But at least tell me that you lost control of your clone in the Forest Plane.”

“She means you no harm. Telling you would only make you want to stay.”

“Alright, whatever!” Richard waved it off, “Anyway, I'm fighting them back, so go work on your analysis. Right, they also had a strange type of energy wave that could detect living things. I've already figured out how to work around it, so here you go. I'll be leaving.”

Transmitting the information he had, Richard jumped onto a messenger and took off. As the Land of Turmoil shrank in his vision, the broodmother's voice suddenly rang out in his mind, “Thank you, Master.”

He laughed out loud, “Why? I'm not fighting for you... Well, not only for you, anyway.”

He then sat down to meditate during the return, planning the upcoming bloodbaths. Growing hyper-focused in an instant, he missed the soft whisper that came in response, “That's enough.”

......

Back in the Iron Triangle Empire, Salwyn was busy rearranging the imperial armies. It had already been proved that even the first infantry would be killed in battle against the reapers, with only the elites of the Crimson Empire who averaged level 10 standing a chance, so he was picking out his best troops to form a new division.

As he was reviewing the new framework of his army, an elite shadowspear knight entered his study, “His Majesty wishes to speak to you.”

Salwyn nodded, following the shadowspear to the command centre where a few mages were already adjusting the map according to instructions. The new map centred around Bluewater Oasis, with three lines of defence on the outside. With Richard's adjustments, the outermost line had shrunk significantly from before.

“Why are we shrinking the lines!” his expression immediately soured. If this was the new defence plan, tens of cities and hundreds of thousands of citizens would be given up.

Richard's voice sounded from the shadowspear's mouth, “Because we cannot defend the original at all. Both of the outer lines will fall in days, we will only be able to hold back against the reapers in the innermost regions.”

“BUT WE'RE GIVING UP A HUNDRED THOUSAND CITIZENS!” Salwyn smashed the table.

“I know, but they will perish regardless. If we try to hold that line, more who could have lived will die to our stubbornness.”

“But—”

“I'm giving you an order, not asking for your opinion. If you have any problems, I'll look for someone else.”

Salwyn couldn't rebut, but the weight of another hundred thousand citizens pressed hard on his chest. He growled like a beast, but Richard reacted coldly, “You only have yourself to blame. If you were stronger, if the lines had a chance to hold, you could have saved more people.”

The Emperor went down to his knees, hot tears dripping from his chin. However, it took mere minutes for him to stand back up with renewed determination, pulling a bottle of hard liquor from the shelves and gulping it all down. Face flushing red, he ordered his subordinates to bring him a physical map. Google search 𝗳𝙧𝘦𝒆𝑤𝙚𝘣𝙣𝘰𝘃ℯ𝑙. 𝐜𝐨𝑚

That afternoon, he finished a workload that would normally take him days before falling asleep from sheer exhaustion.

1326 - City of Sin

Bridge Of Hope

Richard was stood in front of his map, staring at the red arrows that signified the movements in the eastern Iron Triangle. Salwyn was shifting the entire population of those cities, but that only left him shaking his head. It was clear that defending cities didn't work against the reapers, but this wasn't any better. The people would all die nevertheless, but this way they would have a glimmer of hope.

Did Salwyn really think there was a chance for them to survive? Unfortunately, he couldn't indulge in such fantasies himself. As the one making the decisions, he had to be far more practical.

“Got it?” he sent a mental message.

“Five top-tier offerings... Since when did you get so generous?” Nasia sent an elated response.

“Never, when will you become legendary?”

“Hmm... Fifteen more and I'll be there.”

“What? Stop shitting me, you said THREE would be enough last time.”

“I said one would do fine when you summoned me,” she replied calmly.

“You... Fine, just be honest. How many do you really need?”

“I'm not joking this time, fifteen. Five to become legendary myself, but getting my abilities there will need the ten others. Of course, it would be best if you can give me even more. Five extra and my swords become divine, ten and all of my equipment. You should know what that means.”

This calmed Richard down. Even he agreed that Nasia being legendary was meaningless, it was her abilities that mattered. A full set of divine equipment would also bring her to the level of an epic being, comparable to his own power.

Nasia was truly the easiest of his followers to nurture, but she also felt like the greatest trap. Richard was always reluctant to upgrade her too quickly; this mysterious heavenly guardian was one of the few beings that left him feeling truly threatened when she was just a saint. She seemed to be the most direct of his subordinates, but just like the broodmother there was no way to actually control her. All of his other followers had soul-binding contracts, even the legends.

Richard still had thirty top-tier offerings with him, but he believed that would already be stretched in the upcoming battles. If he used half on Nasia, it would be extremely difficult to finance the full war. However, they would also have an immediate effect with her; if he ignored the risks, it truly was worth the gamble.

Seconds turned into minutes and felt like centuries. The war waged on in Richard's mind, but he eventually shook it all off and connected to Nasia once more, “Alright, they'll be on the way.”

“Mm. How many?”

“25.”

Nasia whistled, “So generous. I'll take it all, but let me remind you that you might not be able to defeat me afterwards.”

“I know.” For some reason, he felt relieved.

“Why so brave, now of all times?”

He shook his head, “I don't know. There's no reason to really trust you, but... I feel like I can. You still scare me, but I can live with it.”

“I scare you?” she laughed heartily, “What are you scared of? That I'll eat you up? Go worry about Macy instead, that girl won't give up until she gets some action. Then again, we can't have you incapacitating Rosie, maybe she'll make a good replacement. Won't it be great to have a woman waiting for you after the battles?”

“Nasia!” he growled, but she chuckled and cut off their connection. Shaking his head, he focused back on the map. The reapers would attack in as late as a month to as early as a week, leaving him without the time to do anything. Dozens of colourful arrows all across Faelor were currently pointed at the Crimson Empire, representing armies, churches, and citizens moving towards the final fortress in Bluewater, but it was unknown just how many of them would make the journey.

He looked out the window, looking at the bustling streets. The entirety of Faelor was panicking, but people in Bluewater seemed as upbeat as ever. After all, they lived under the protection of the invincible Richard Archeron, the End of Time.

He suddenly recalled a quote by Louis the Seventh of the Sacred Tree Empire: “A true emperor knows of his responsibilities the moment he sees his people.”

However, no title of emperor actually mattered to him. In this plane, his power and responsibility reached far beyond any emperor, beyond even any god. And he wanted to save as many of his people as he could.

With only five top-tier offerings left, he picked up a proposal in his drawer and flipped through it slowly. It wasn't very long nor detailed, but it contained a genius idea from geniuses that he trusted. Rosie and Perrin called it the Rainbow Bridge of Hope, and simply put it was a plan to build an enormous passage connecting the Forest Plane and Goldflow Valley to Norland. It would allow almost zero-cost transportation between the planes.

The idea was quite simple, but at the same time it was not. It was near-impossible to form portals directly between two secondary planes for a number of reasons, but the primary one was that the coordinates from the Eternal Dragon wouldn't work. One had to recalculate a spatial surface that both planes occupied in common, and then find coordinates using that new system. This would take months on end if he wanted to do it himself.

The Bridge of Hope turned out to be a surprise Perrin had already been planning for a while now. He would have revealed it once the Boulder Highlands and Resting Orchid Plane were mapped out as well, but even now it would be a huge boost to get the magic crystal reserves of Goldflow Valley and the troops from the Forest Plane. The man truly was a genius, his talent at mathematics far exceeding Richard's own.

He had already spent two days hesitating over this proposal, mainly with the fact that it would need four top-tier offerings and wasn't completely guaranteed to succeed. He would need to cross-check Perrin's calculations himself once, and even if things were right it would take a whole month to finish construction in the best case. It definitely made sense now that he had decided to take the reapers on, but believing in best-case scenarios wasn't sustainable.

Patting the document, he sent a message for Rosie to be called in, hesitating as he saw the look in her eyes. Rosie had lived in Faelor for almost thirty years now, but a variety of things from blessings of time to the leaves of youth kept her looking just as young as when she first met him. She was already a grand mage that could craft some grade 4 runes independently, which qualified her as a royal runemaster in any of the human empires, but she still remained content in Faelor and spent her days exploring runecrafting. There were sometimes years of her time when she didn't even meet him, but she still remained ever so loyal and faithful.

Even now, behind the wisdom in her eyes was a hint of that same affection she had showed him all this while, an affection he had never been adequate in returning. Feeling his heart throb, Richard walked over and caressed her face, “You've been here so long.”

Rosie smiled softly, “That's not a bad thing, is it? You know how minimal my talent is, you've poured tens of millions of gold in potions into me and I'm still only a grand mage. My only accomplishment is that I haven't wasted your resources.”

He hugged her tightly, not knowing what to say, “Stay next to me when this war is done. This plane won't let you grow further.”

She opened her mouth to say something, but after a moment she looked at him and smiled, “Alright.”

He passed the Bridge of Hope proposal to her, “I'll send people to gather everything you want, they'll be sent to Faelor tomorrow. I'll give you and Perrin 500 mages, start tomorrow.”

“But... We'll need at least a month...”

“And I'll give it to you.”

Her eyelashes quivered as she looked down.

...

Richard grabbed his sword case once Rosie left, leaving the room even as he bellowed mentally, “LET'S GO GIVE THOSE BASTARDS SOME TROUBLE!”

1327 - City of Sin

War

Outside of those with other tasks, all of Richard's followers started preparing for battle. Some growled with ferocity, others just stretched lazily, and those like Zangru and Phaser even flushed with arousal. The saints peeking at those two beautiful assassins especially shuddered, recalling their propensity for more violence than necessary when killing enemies.

Richard split them up into different teams, each one capable of fitting on one messenger with an extra as backup. The one exception was Tiramisu, who was so heavy that two messengers needed to work in tandem to carry his team. He was given two spares.

One of the newest messengers descended for Richard himself, gracefully landing at the plaza in front of his residence. He flew over to get on it, but Macy jumped up from the sofa as he exited, “Take me along.”

“You're too weak,” Richard shot back immediately.

“I don't need your help!”

“You'll die if I don't help you, and then I won't have any information about the alter world.”

“Take me along, I'll tell you what I know right now!”

Richard frowned, “Ugh... Whatever, you're the one begging for death.”

She nodded, jumping onto the messenger with him and leaning over to whisper, “The records of the elven empire talk about a natural passage to the alter world. It's located at the Eternal Battlefield.”

Richard's eyes went wide open. He had known it would be difficult to get to the alter world, but not to such an extent. Strangely enough, it just so happened to align with another of his goals; the Eternal Battlefield was in Arbidis.

Putting aside the fact that he had no idea how to get there, Richard knew that it would be near impossible to find a portal on a level of the abyss where the demons and devils were constantly fighting. As a human, he would be a lighthouse in the darkness that attracted powerful beings from both factions.

Macy went on to explain that the high elves had created an extradivine set called the Seven Moons. They used them to form a portal directly into Arbidis, sending an army of powerhouses to explore the depths of the abyss. Unfortunately, they had mostly capitulated to an endless swarm of demons and devils before they could actually enter the portal to the alter world, forcing them to return. Of more than a hundred legends having entered, only two epic beings and four legends returned to Norland alive. While this wasn't the event that directly ended the elven empire, it was one of many points of hubris that had led to their eventual downfall.

Richard took a deep breath and patted her shoulder, “Thank you, but I'm letting you know once more; I won't take care of you when I'm fighting.”

“I'm the oldest granddaughter of Empress Gelan, why would I need your help?” Macy answered proudly.

Richard chuckled, “You're just a baby lioness.”

“You...” Macy was enraged, but she could only go quiet as the messenger picked up speed.

The duo crossed several huge supply wasps along the way, even leaving behind an army of the broodmother's drones that were busy building supply bases. The bases would move closer and closer to reaper territory with time, giving all the saints and legends fighting the reapers a quick stop to rest and resupply.

All of Richard's followers were going into battle this time, with even the weakest of them being a sky saint. He planned to use overwhelming battle power to remove a part of the reapers before they could attack, disrupting enemy plans and using the opportunity to figure out the extent of the reapers' ability. He was still prepared to escape at any time; if all of the warships he had seen in the doomsday imprint were to appear on this plane, then there would be no hope.

A number of squadrons infiltrated reaper territory from different directions. Richard and Macy took the route straight north, the plan being to head deepest in and try to take down one of the large warships if possible. However, that idea had to change a little with the saint warrior in tow, so he instead gave her a rundown on the various types of reapers while teaching her a simple ability to try and survive them. The ability, the Mirror of Light, allowed her to simulate the laws of light and form a reflective surface to protect herself from the beam attacks.

“How did you know I could work with light?” she asked all of a sudden, frowning deeply. Richard just shrugged it off, but it brought her thoughts back to the time when he had designed a custom rune for her and seen through her entire existence. She understood that someone at that level could come up with simple abilities quite easily, but after a few moments of silence she suddenly opened her mouth wide and bit into his shoulder.

Macy put a lot of strength into her bite, clearly intent on drawing blood, but all that followed was a weak grunt as she almost cried out in pain. Drawing her head back immediately, she covered her mouth and whined, “Why is your body so hard?”

He shrugged and ignored her again.

The messenger eventually reached its intended destination, and Richard commanded it to descend. Leaping down to the ground with Macy, Richard had it wait a hundred kilometres away before finally shaking his head at the angry young lady, “It's time for battle now.”

“I know! Don't look down on me, we can... Uhh...” she suddenly stopped mid-sentence, realising that she was about to challenge an epic being to battle. She was still only a saint herself, and Richard could defeat her with his hands tied behind his back.

Going quiet, Macy followed Richard into the depths of reaper territory. It seemed like he was strolling, but his figure flickered with every step. It seemed almost easy to catch him, but whenever she actually tried she found it impossible to actually focus. The one time she tried to follow his footsteps meticulously, she grew nauseous within moments.

“Pretend I don't exist,” he commented as she gagged, but even as she felt much better following the advice she felt like someone was spying on her. Noticing her frown, he paused to explain, “It's the reaper detectors. You can't feel or avoid them, so just let it be.”

“You can?”

“Of course,” he momentarily revealed a barrier all around him. It was designed with the sole purpose of absorbing the specific energy waves from the reaper detectors, making him a dead zone in their system.

As they talked, Richard suddenly blinked a few hundred metres away and kicked a detector out from the snow, melting it down to the traces of silver metal and storing it in his vial. Sensing the waves grow denser in response, he immediately perked up, “They're here.”

A number of black spots appeared on the distance, zooming through the skies to reach Richard and Macy in moments. The reaper warplanes could barely even notice his presence, so most of them rushed towards the more obvious energy source instead. Behind the planes were two transport ships, one carrying the mechanical beetles while the other had hundreds of flesh warriors within. They stopped ten metres above ground, the flesh warriors leaping off and rushing towards the saint with astonishing speed.

1328 - City of Sin

Withered Flesh

Richard watched as a horde of flesh warriors charged towards Macy. Any one wasn't particularly powerful, only comparable to a level 10 being, but they were quite clearly drones that could be mass produced at a rate far exceeding the broodmother's production. They were still comparable to cavaliers in power, and they were simply cannon fodder. It was quite obvious that the reapers were two or even three levels more advanced than Norland.
𝗳re𝚎𝚠𝐞𝗯𝙣𝗼ν𝗲l. c૦𝓶

When the enemy started rushing towards her, Macy screamed in shock. The reapers were too fast for her to react, dozens of energy beams being shot towards her with four of the larger planes amongst them. She realised instantly that her armour wouldn't be able to protect her, and as the beams filled her vision with white she all but gave up on life.

“Kneel, half-sword!” Richard's command rang out as she closed her eyes in desperation, prompting her to fall down and hug her head even as she put her sword in front of her. She suddenly saw three reflective barriers form around her, condensed instantly from mana. The beams of energy lost at least half their energy with every mirror they struck, and by the time the third was blasted apart they were only a tenth as powerful as before.

Fortunately, she still had her battle instincts with her. Quickly recovering from her initial panic, she grunted and activated her internal energy, blocking off the remnant energy before flashing ten metres away.

“Stick to the ground and handle the flesh warriors, don't let the beams focus on you!” Richard ordered before he vanished from next to her, his figure blinking into the midst of the reaper machines. The ones he approached immediately exploded, but an invisible force seemed to guide the remnants into a ball of machinery that warped endlessly in an attempt to reform itself. That was taken care of by blue fireballs that melted the metal down into a fingertip's worth of silver which he stowed away.

“WHY THE FUCK IS IT ME?!” Not far away, Macy was cursing furiously to alleviate some of her frustration from being the focus of the reapers. Almost a hundred flesh warriors were attacking her endlessly with swords and energy beams, leaving her sub-legendary golden armour riddled with holes despite her best attempts to block and dodge. On the other hand, it took her great effort to kill even a single one, their metal bones as tough as a rune knight's armour. Only twenty flesh warriors were destroyed by the time she was running low on energy, and the more than ninety left behind were certain to kill her. She had even tried escaping a few times, but the transport ship flew down and quickly ferried the enemy to her location.

It was only as she started flagging that she realised her own naivete. This was clearly just a small detachment of reapers with limited combat ability, but they alone were strong enough to kill her. No wonder so many families from Norland could only sigh at their misfortune when they encountered this race.

The damn transporter... Wait! An idea suddenly flashed across her mind, giving her a tiny glimmer of hope. She could defeat the transport ship and try to outrun the flesh warriors! It was a risky strategy, but at least it wasn't death.

However, it had to be executed while her armour was still intact. Macy quickly made up her mind and glanced at the machine in the sky, jumping straight towards it. *BOOM!* Crimson energy crashed into the ship, shattering it into hundreds of tiny pieces.

“Good idea!” Richard smiled as he blinked right in front of her shocked face, forming a mirror to deflect the barrage of energy beams from the flesh warriors below. Blinking to the other transport ship and shattering it and the beetles within, he pulled all of the debris into a huge ball that he threw into his bracelet.

By the time Macy had turned back around, Richard was already engaging the flesh warriors down below. He blinked right into their midst and then lifted them all up with Kingsteel— although the rune and his laws weren't advanced enough to corrode this metal or even warp it, he could at least move it. The drones were then spun around rapidly to make them miss their beam attacks, leaving Macy stunned at his expertise.

Even as he spun the remaining enemies, Richard quickly gathered them into one spot and said hoarsely in divine tongue, “Wither.”

A yellow orb suddenly appeared in the skies, its light causing blood and pus to ooze out of the clump of flesh warriors. Almost all of the liquid was drawn into the orb in mere moments, leaving only the metallic skeletons with dried flesh hanging off them that fell to the ground with no ability to move.

“That's... demonic power!” Macy shouted in shock, terror flooding her face.

“Aren't you gasping a bit too much today?” Richard chuckled as he sheathed his sword, “Withered Flesh isn't restricted to demons. Besides, look at yourself. All that talk and you barely beat anyone. At least help me clear this place up. Rifle through the skeletons, there should be a bracket near the gun barrels that has some glowing metal inside.”

Macy grunted in anger, but he was right. Any impact she'd had on this battle was largely negative; if he hadn't spent energy to protect her, she would have died long ago. While she still grumbled in dissatisfaction, she dragged her injured body over to the pile and suppressed her disgust to follow his instructions.

There was only a tiny amount of the metal Richard talked about, and it was extremely soft. Even a light pinch would leave fingerprints on it, and it felt strangely warm and prickly. She started playing around with it, but was suddenly snapped out of it when his voice rang out once more, “Hold it too long and you'll get hurt. You should control your curiosity until you become legendary.”

Richard started rifling through the corpses of the flesh warriors, picking up the glowing metal and throwing it into a case he'd put out. Watching a pile of looted corpses form next to him, Macy quickly followed suit and continued her task. The flesh of these dessicated corpses was so disgusting that she felt her stomach churning continuously, but she persevered and worked through them all.

She tried to think about other things to keep herself from gagging, but her thoughts quickly landed upon the Withered Flesh spell. It was a terrifying ability that would likely be graded legendary in the magic system, but it needed the laws of chaos to master. The ability itself was simple; it could absorb all the liquids from anything it was cast on, causing a painful death to any living being in range.

The biggest difference between Withered Flesh and most necromantic spells was that its range was absolutely massive if necessary. There were tales of demons casting it on entire cities, leaving only husks behind. Its power also scaled with one's understanding of chaos, giving it a chance to surpass most barriers and counterspell attempts.

Macy wouldn't have been surprised if an abyssal lord had cast this spell, but while it was public knowledge that the Archerons had demonic blood it was too faint to actually give them too much talent in this field. More importantly, she had already seen his understanding of the laws of order, which were frightening unto themselves. Just how many secrets did he hide?

1329 - City of Sin

Larger Enemies

Macy was eventually snapped out of her thoughts when she realised there were no more flesh warriors to process. Richard snapped the case holding them all shut, smiling as he sent his blue flames into the corpses to burn them all down. Grabbing the tiny amount of silvery metal that this process left behind, he chuckled, “Good haul.”

“What are these things?” Macy asked curiously as he put his vial and case back into his bracelet.

“The stuff you took out should be the power source for their beam weapons. It's pretty unstable, but there's a ton of energy within that we might be able to use in the future. I'm not sure what the other bit is, but I feel like it's a core of some sort.”

This explanation was a little vague and confusing, but Richard didn't intend to elaborate. Allowing Macy to recover for a while, he then led her deeper into reaper territory even as he cleared out the detectors along the way.

The second wave of reapers was much less troublesome than the first. Richard defeated them quickly enough for Macy to only suffer slight injuries, and this time she even managed to kill thirty flesh warriors and a few of the smallest warplanes. She felt a little proud of herself at the achievement, but knowing that Richard still had to save her multiple times she got down to the process of collecting the energy cores once more. It was at this point that she started feeling the unstable power within the glowing metal, the energy so concentrated that she shied away from it instinctively.

The two continued moving forward, but this time they wound up with the misfortune to face a troop that had one of the larger ships with powerful beam attacks.

Richard immediately had Macy focus on defence only, running around as fast as she could while condensing mirrors to deflect the beam attacks. She finally got used to the process, growing able to condense a mirror immediately whenever she felt danger, but even with this saving her life multiple times there were still many close calls. The worst of it all came when a beam from the large plane shot past her scalp, leaving her heart frozen for a moment as she saw just how close death had come.

It was at the same moment that she saw Richard blink right towards the large warship, merging hundreds of the energy cores and throwing them over. A trace of blue fire caused a deafening explosion in moments, the shockwaves from the attacks blowing the reapers apart and even dropping the distant Macy to the ground. The large warship was completely missing by the time the blaze calmed down, with most of the others gone as well.

Feeling an intense bout of dizziness, Macy forced herself to her feet and staggered forward. Her sword moved to shatter a few of the tiny machines that fell next to her, and she then pounced onto a larger one that was ten metres away. The machine buzzed ominously even as she cut it apart, popping a number of gun barrels that it pointed at her face, but she screamed and struck it wildly until they were all cut apart. Even then she continued attacking crazily, only stopped when a hand grabbed her own and left her unable to move.

“I still have a use for these things, you know!” Richard grumbled as he saw her regain her calm, “Here I was, thinking you were doing alright with timing. Maybe I was wrong.”

“Umm...” Macy blushed at this evaluation, just burying her head down without any idea what to say.

Richard shook his head and sighed, “We used up too much of the energy cores, there's almost nothing else. Need to adjust... No no no, that's enough from you. Focus on healing yourself, I'll clear the battlefield.”

Stopped from going towards the flesh warriors, Macy nodded and took out a few healing salves, but she suddenly realised that she would need to expose herself completely to clean her wounds. This left her hesitant for a few moments, but she quickly decided that it didn't matter and took everything off to start cleaning up.

For his part, Richard made no move to avoid looking at her, quickly clearing up the battlefield before sitting down and staring at her clean her wounds. With her entire body visible, the same woman who always told him to go through with it suddenly felt herself growing a little uncomfortable.

Eventually, she couldn't take it and gritted her teeth, “If you want to do it, make it quick!”

Richard chuckled and shook his head, “Imagine my followers finding out I died because I got ambushed by reapers while having sex. No thanks.”

Macy was embarrassed and furious, but she decided to just ignore him completely and focus on her wounds. She tuned him out completely until her clothes were back on, at which point she turned to ask, “Where next?”

Muttering to himself for a moment, he eventually stood up, “Forward.”

As they started walking, Richard secretly lifted a corner of his robes up and looked inside. There was a large burn on his chest from the large warship, a price he had paid for his sudden attack. Such a wound was normally negligible, but the energy beam contained some sort of poisonous element to it that stopped him from regenerating on his own. Unfortunately, he had blown that warship to smithereens and there was no way for him to study the source for a solution.

They walked for half an hour before coming to a stop. Richard estimated that it would be a half hour more for the next wave to arrive, but while he could battle right away Macy was still exhausted and needed some rest. Taking out a box of the energy cores, he tied them together in bundles of ten and placed them back into the case.

The next encounter was rather quick, with Richard taking mere minutes to destroy the entire army. However, he suffered three beam attacks just so he could leave some of the large warship intact, leaving him far from in optimal condition. Macy was heavily injured as well, losing that ability to fight.
𝐟r𝑒ℯ𝘄𝐞𝙗ｎov𝚎𝙡. 𝑐𝘰𝘮

Once he'd cleared the battlefield again, Richard detected an increase in the number of detection waves. It felt like a pack of wolves surrounding their prey, and it left him hesitant. He could still fight for now, but Macy definitely could not. It would be fine if there weren't any of the large warships amongst the enemy, but otherwise he would have to flee.

In the end, he decided to take her out of reaper territory until she recovered. He allowed her to fly herself at first, but any hint of calmness suddenly disappeared and he grabbed her by the arm, teleporting repeatedly until he was back at the messenger and they could leave.

1330 - City of Sin

Fallen Allies

Half an hour after their departure, Richard was 500 kilometres away from reaper territory in a hidden valley where a wasp had just landed with a large amount of resources and hundreds of worker drones. This was one of the planned supply bases, but he had just arrived too quickly for it to be set up. Waiting for the wasp to descend, he grabbed a bunch of healing potions and armour repair tools and threw them to Macy, “Recuperate and fix your armour, you're not leaving without my orders.”

“Where are you going?” she frowned at his sudden change in attitude.

“Back to the battlefield, things aren't going according to plan.”

“I'll come too! I can take it!” she gritted out, only to be met with a loud slap that sent her to the ground.

“You can't even hold against a single flesh warrior. You can take it? I'm the one who'll have to fucking take it! This isn't a game, it's war!” Richard spat out coldly, looking down at her even as she glared back with more confusion than pain. His own expression quickly dimmed, “This is my fault. I should have put you with someone else.”

He waved his hand and flew onto a messenger, quickly leaving the bewildered Macy behind. However, she seemed to eventually understand something and went still for a while before gritting and getting back up, walking over to a cave freshly dug out by the worker drones to heal. She couldn't help but feel a little afraid as dusk fell, the drones completely ignoring her except when they served her some food. For a few hours, it felt like she had been abandoned by the entire world.

Her insecurity grew with the darkness. For someone who was a complete stranger to silence and solitude, the quiet only gave her a number of fears she couldn't confirm. She was already certain that something had happened to change Richard's attitude so suddenly, but as she tried to comb through her experiences she was forced to face the sheer number of times she had come close to dying today. The only reason she felt like the reapers were manageable was the fact that Richard had only left behind as many as would serve well to train her. Were it a random sky saint or even legend protecting her, she would be the weakest link and die before anyone else.

The realisation that the talent she prided herself on was nothing on this battlefield was a bitter pill to swallow for a princess who'd been coddled all her life.

Macy's growing fears were eventually interrupted by a loud whistle from the distance, something that caused her to freeze for a moment before running out of her cave. Several messengers were hauling an enormous figure through the sky, slowly placing down the green giant who immediately collapsed while breathing heavily. Tiramisu was still conscious himself, but Medium Rare had a broken horn and wasn't even breathing. The thick steel armour was destroyed beyond recognition, scaring Macy out of her wits.

“What happened? Do you need help?” she asked anxiously. No matter how stupidly resilient the ogre was, even he couldn't move under the effect of such serious injuries. An eerie green light was glowing from the deeper wounds, leaving the flesh unable to regenerate on their own.

While unable to turn his body itself, Tiramisu lifted his head and smiled, “Oh, Miss Macy. Could you bring me some potions? I need a box to drink and more to dress my wounds.”

“Of course!” she flashed away immediately, returning with a full box of healing potions that she opened up and fed to the ogre one by one. She then helped clean his wounds before pouring more into his serious wounds. While the armour that was almost as thick as her thighs left her shuddering for a moment, it only confirmed one thing: if Tiramisu was injured despite this, then she really hadn't faced anywhere near as much danger as the other teams did.

“Is it tough?” she asked as she poured bottle after bottle of medicine into the wounds before dressing them, her voice abnormally low.

Tiramisu laughed softly before gasping, “Ah... The reapers are... a reckoning. I haven't gotten this badly hurt in forever... Burp, I'm finally hungry! Thank you!”

Macy heaved a sigh of relief. With ogres, hunger was a great sign that their self-healing was working properly. Hesitating as she watched him pour boxes of rations down his throat, she eventually sat down in front of him and asked, “Did something happen in the afternoon?”

“Afternoon? Hmm...” Tiramisu scratched his head, “Right, I heard an entire team died. I'm guessing more people should have fallen by now...”

“What...” she bit her lower lip, “And what about Richard?”

Tiramisu shook his head, “I'm not sure, but I heard Master went into the deeper sections that were completely controlled by the reapers. He wanted to retrieve the bodies of the team.”

“Alone?!” she gasped, taking a moment to regain her breath, “Don't they all get turned into those flesh cubes?”

“Master would want to get them back regardless. And even if he couldn't, he'd at least want to burn them.”

Macy went silent, hugging her knees and hiding her face. She had already repaired her armour so there was nothing to do, but she didn't know just what she was waiting for herself.

A few hours later, two more messengers arrived with Waterflower and Zangru in tow. Both assassins jumped off with ease, and they didn't seem to be injured significantly, but the same couldn't be said of the saints they brought with them. Although Macy wasn't particularly powerful, she did at least have great perception that allowed her to tell that they were almost out of energy. When it came to those operating from the dark, they either came out unscathed or were left crippled or killed.

For some reason, Zangru's expression wavered as he saw Macy. He eventually just hummed in acknowledgement and went off to get the supplies he needed, while Waterflower merely furrowed her brows quietly. Both quickly took care of their minimal wounds before helping their subordinates heal, then finding themselves a cave to rest in. The saints accompanying each mostly copied their captains.

The atmosphere in the valley seemed to grow very tense all of a sudden, with Tiramisu being the only one who continued to eat. Medium Rare slowly woke up and ate together with him, even chatting occasionally, but Macy knew that the scenario wasn't as jovial as it seemed. The ogre was simply eating faster than the drones were bringing him food, which was his way to try and recover as quickly as possible.

Night slowly crawled away, leaving behind only the continuous movements of the worker drones and the chewing noises of the ogre. Macy continued to hug her knees as she leaned against a large boulder, but with the wind growing colder she started to shudder. A saint like her should have been used to chills, but this one was coming from within. Richard still wasn't back, and she would only be able to relax when she saw that he was safe.

The sky slowly lit up. The ogre had already fallen asleep by this point, but Macy still sat in the same place with her hair now stuck to her forehead with sweat and dew. She looked abnormally pale in the morning light, and that paleness was only amplified as she saw a black dot streaking awkwardly through the sky.

A new messenger quickly appeared over the valley, but this one was flying quite irregularly. Its body finally lost all strength the moment it reached the base, spiraling down to reveal a massive wound that was spewing large amounts of a sticky fluid, and as it dropped headfirst to the ground the person it was carrying got flung into the distance.

“Richard!” Macy jumped and ran over as she saw him roll onto the ground, barely able to maintain a half-kneel as he got back up. She put a hand on his back to support him, but quickly shuddered and withdrew it to find that it was soaked with blood.

“Don't worry,” he waved her off as he stretched, “I'll heal in no time.”

“D-Don't worry?!” she stared at the blood in her hand, voice trembling. She wasn't someone to be afraid of blood, but Richard was an epic being! Just how serious was the injury if he couldn't even stem the bleeding himself on his way back?

Richard patted Macy's hand in reassurance once more, looking up at the grave expressions of his followers who had walked out of their caves. Taking off one of the sacks he was carrying, he revealed a woman's hand within, a beautiful one with an onyx ring attached.

Macy slapped a hand over her mouth to contain her shock. While only one of those here could recognise the hand itself, they all remembered the striking ring of its owner. This was the person who had been the nicest to her whenever she visited Archeron territory, someone who she considered a friend.

Fuschia was dead.

1331 - City of Sin

New Enemies

As everyone stared at Fuschia's hand, Richard gloomily got to his feet, “I checked everything, this was the only complete part I could retrieve. I burnt the rest of the remains.”

Tiramisu answered slowly, “Lady Alice... I guess at least we have seen her for the last time. Master, burn this too, she will only be reborn once her body is burnt.”

Richard nodded, grabbing the ring before having the hand float in mid-air. Specks of blue flame pounced onto the lone hand and quickly disintegrated it completely. He then started walking towards one of the caves, “Go rest up, I'll be reorganising you tomorrow.”

Waterflower and Zangru headed to their own caves immediately, while Tiramisu decided to lie down where he was. Macy was the only one left without knowing what to do, but Richard suddenly turned and beckoned for her to follow. She hastily followed him into his cave, watching as he took off his tattered clothes and started dressing his injuries. The large wounds emitted a strange green glow similar to Tiramisu's, making it obvious that he had been hit by the large warships as well.

“I'm sorry,” he said softly, “I lost my temper, and I shouldn't have taken out my anger on you. I was the one who underestimated the enemy, it isn't your fault.”

“No, I was being wilful,” Macy shook her head, “Don't put everything on yourself, you're not invincible.”

“Heh, no I'm not. But I am their lord, and I'm responsible for the decisions that take them to where I go. Just as I'm celebrated for their accomplishments, I'm to blame for their deaths.” He finished cleaning up his wounds as he spoke, but they were still glowing green with the stubborn poison. However, a glint of determination flashed in his eyes as he quickly brought his blue flames to bear, leaving Macy gasping in shock as he burnt his own wounds to a crisp.

By the time all of the major injuries were treated, Richard's aura had weakened significantly. He was gasping for every breath, but the green poison was entirely gone. He turned to Macy, “Could you bring me some food?”

Macy nodded and blinked away, retrieving a full box of rations. Richard was worn to the point that he couldn't even lift the box himself, but as she fed him his aura quickly started to recover.

......

Richard was back to full strength by nine in the morning, at which point he rearranged the teams. Macy was assigned to Tiramisu while the other saints were shuffled between him and the two assassins, and moments later a flock of messengers flew out from the valley.

The entire day was filled with battle. Killing the flesh warriors and reapers one after the other, Macy felt like she was pushing a boulder up a mountain as every enemy she destroyed was replaced with another. The exact amount of energy to use to efficiently kill these things became muscle memory, but the major fatigue was now to her mind. She only lost attention for a moment in battle before a large warship locked onto her and started a beam attack. If it weren't for Tiramisu's hammer blocking it, she would have died immediately.

When night fell, Macy and Tiramisu finally returned to the base with fewer injuries than before. Zangru was already there, while Waterflower had passed through reaper territory according to plan and was currently heading towards a southern base.

It was only at midnight that Richard himself returned, exhausted and riddled with wounds. Once he was finished with the same processes he had employed the night before, he took out the vial that contained the metal he had been collecting all this while.

The vial was now nearly full, and the metal within had formed a strange sort of liquid that was glowing softly in the dark. Richard felt strangely serene in its presence, as though it had a soul of its own that was conveying peace. This was definitely something he had never seen before, so resilient that even his destructive blue flames could do nothing to it. Even the broodmother had been unable to digest the drop he had sent to her, and she was currently thinking of a way to decompose it herself.

A quick calculation told him that he would only need to kill three more reaper teams before the vial was completely full. The fatigue finally took over as he started wondering what to do with it, his eyelids slowly falling shut as he entered a deep sleep.

This would be the last time he got a good rest for a long time to come.

.......

The rigour of the next day's battle was well out of Richard's expectations. He had already realised that the reaper army was growing in power, but no matter how many teams he destroyed single-handedly their numbers continued to skyrocket. Most of the teams completely disregarded him this time, charging straight past him towards the depths of the Iron Triangle Empire.

A large army of reapers with a handful of the large warships and dozens of the next biggest ones made a beeline for the first line of defence, but what was truly frightening were the transport ships trailing behind. There were nearly a full hundred of them, implying a force strong enough to overthrow the Frozen Throne!

As more powerhouses lost their lives and the pressure started to increase exponentially, those teams fighting in the depths of reaper territory were suddenly ordered to retreat. Although red-eyed from the loss of their brethren, they asked for no explanation and quickly fell back to a marked base that was hundreds of kilometres away before realising what had happened. Sixteen of the Iron Triangle's cities were destroyed in the span of several hours, and the reaper army was expanding in a wing that left all the supply bases alone. The broodmother was the only one who managed to stop them, using her drones and the larval forest to hold them off.

The reapers were expanding far faster than Richard had expected. He could only alter his arrangements and transfer all of his powerhouses to the back lines, giving them a chance to rest as the armies battled it out. Unfortunately, the enemy had the advantage in both quality and quantity, using violent and relentless attacks to crush the Iron Triangle Empire in only two days. Salwyn's newly reorganised troops were summarily crushed without a chance to respond, with the Land of Turmoil being the only area that still managed to hold off attacks. Even that needed some support from the Crimson Empire, and cost an enormous number of lives.

The reaper armies currently looked like a turbid current that had been split around the hard rock of the Land of Turmoil, one portion striking west towards the Iron Triangle while the other aimed east for the human nations there. Both then aimed southwards, wrapping around the Crimson Empire like a pair of pincers.

Richard rearranged his troops constantly even as he fought on the front lines, taking care of all the large warships and transport ships that he could. However, day after day only brought worse news, indicating defeats and broken lines on all ends. He understood that no one location holding would do much good if he couldn't shore up the entire defensive line, but try as he might to maximise his recovery potential he still needed hours of meditation every day to get back to full ability. There seemed to be no end to the reapers, and two new warships appeared with every one he destroyed.

The ground troops were no longer limited to flesh warriors either. The reapers had started deploying a taller, stronger, and faster type of drone that walked on six feet, their upper bodies loaded with even more powerful weapons than before. These new spider warriors were butchers on the battlefield, capable of wiping out entire squadrons of knights within seconds. Thankfully there weren't too many of them, and their defensive capabilities weren't too great, but they had a special type of gun that could launch a hail of large bullets that did massive damage due to sheer speed. Richard had personally seen half of a saint warrior's body being blown apart in seconds, ending his life instantly.

The battle was arduous, and the defensive lines were constantly broken through and mended, but the Crimson Empire gradually steadied its defence. Waves of powerhouses from Norland entered Faelor to earn points, and their addition bolstered the armies and allowed Richard to secure a handful of critical locations. Weeks after the initial engagement, the reapers finally retreated like a tide.

1332 - City of Sin

Ember Essence

As the reaper armies withdrew, the soldiers fighting them remained rooted to their places in surprise. Minutes passed in silence before they could confirm that the enemy had left, after which the cheers built up into a thunderous roar that filled the battlefield. However, the veterans and true powerhouses of the army remained indifferent to the situation. They had all seen the way the reapers collected flesh to make their warriors, and a full fifth of Faelor had fallen into enemy hands. Putting everything else aside, the population of civilians alone was enough to create an endless army of flesh warriors.

Nevertheless, they could finally take a short breather. Even Richard himself felt incredibly stiff all over his body the moment he withdrew from the frontlines, looking down to realise that his robes were beyond tattered. His exposed skin was filled with bloodstains, dirt, and all kinds of fleshly filth, which was only ornamented by his bloodshot eyes from days without sleep or cleanliness. His life had revolved around battle for the past weeks, so much so that he felt his own mind starting to fatigue.

As he walked towards the supply base, he spotted a female warrior in ordinary armour, her face so dirty that the features were basically indistinguishable. However, her sword was still rather striking enough for him to recognise her instantly and call out to her, “Macy?”

“Eh?” Macy turned around, but was surprised by the sight of Richard. She nodded before looking at herself, laughing out loud when she realised she was just as sloppy before waving, “I can finally rely on my own strength now.”

“That's good,” Richard nodded, noticing an acute change to her aura. She had grown more reserved and mellow, but that felt more like a dam holding back the flood. Such an intense change in only a matter of days implied the same sort of lunacy he himself possessed; talent alone couldn't take one that far.

“So, when are you coming through on your end?” she asked jokingly while trying to strike a seductive pose.

“Anytime,” Richard replied with a smile.

“Then how about now?”

“Okay, anytime after this. I have to clean up and visit Norland again.”
f𝑟𝐞𝙚𝘸𝐞𝑏𝙣𝑜v𝑒Ɩ. c𝐨𝙢

“I knew you'd dodge it!” she waved a fist in the air, “Mark my words, I'm staying alive until this war ends. Let's see what excuses you'll give me then!”

“I believe you!” Richard laughed, hugging her more like a comrade than a romantic partner before looking around. His warriors were all tending to injuries, repairing fortifications, and gathering the remains of the reapers into a large pile to be processed. Energy cores were extracted from the bodies and debris before the rest was sent to a workshop in the rear, where Richard would be able to burn entire warehouses down to collect the silver metal.

A mere half hour after the reapers retreated, Richard had gathered three full bottles of the silver metal and was back at the Church of the Eternal Dragon in Norland. He only brought along two top-tier offerings in tow, which were the last of his savings given that he had no chance to produce runes in recent times. The offerings gave him strengthened passages as he wanted, but the true focus of the ceremony was with the bottles of silver metal.

“So much ember essence!” When the first bottle was placed on the altar, the timeforce all around surged rapidly as the Eternal Dragon descended once more. It was rare for the old dragon to sound this excited, the only time Richard could recall being when it saw the tooth of the Beast God Mountainsea had given him.

“What's the use of this thing?” Richard asked, but the dragon's reply left him speechless for a moment. It came in the form of a choice of blessing: Divine Omniscience. It was a partial explanation about how ember essence worked, but it would require a full top-tier offering's worth of divine grace!

This was Richard's first experience with such a direct exchange for information, but he also knew that this meant there would be more times to come. Although it wouldn't directly grow his power, he eventually accepted the blessing to learn about what could just be the key to defeating the reapers.

A simple explanation immediately burnt itself into his mind. Ember essence was a bizarre substance that laid somewhere between life and inorganic matter. It could not form a soul, but beings possessing it would display some features of intelligence. That intelligence grew with the amount of essence used to create a being, as did its power.

The origin of ember essence was unclear even to the Eternal Dragon, and the little knowledge the dragon did have was tagged with the high price of a rank 2 offering that quickly shut down Richard's hopes. However, even the information he was given contained a small hint as to the laws driving ember essence; while rather broken, it would still allow him to improve his control of metals significantly.

The laws driving the ember essence seemed to be strictly in the domain of order, but as he tried to analyse them Richard quickly found that they were breaking down into chaos as well. This was why the laws from the Eternal Dragon were so broken and incomplete.

Eventually, the Eternal Dragon priced a bottle of the silver metal at four top-tier offerings, and offered to pay double that price. Richard immediately threw away all hesitation and placed the remaining two bottles on the altar, which shocked the dragon greatly, “So much! I see, your war has already begun, allowing you to collect more of this essence... Then I can offer you a few more benefits; I will open up a portion of the rank 2 blessing list for what you get from these bottles, but it will cost twelve rank 3 offerings' worth instead of ten.”

Richard was stirred by this offer. Having seen some of the things on offer as rank 2 blessings before, he knew just how useful they were. He wouldn't mind spending twenty rank 3 offerings for a single rank 2 blessing, so twelve was more than palatable. A list of things on offer quickly appeared in his mind as well, from an ancient warbeast's horn to three sets of legendary dragon skeleton. There was an arm of an abyssal lord, a rainbow crystal that was supposed to be the most durable substance in existence... any of these ingredients could assist the creation of a rune well beyond grade 5.

However, he didn't get much time to browse through the list before the Eternal Dragon spoke once more, “This offer will only be valid on your next visit. Your current blessings have already been prepared.”

Before Richard could protest, the dragon's conscient faded away. A perfectly round blob of silver metal suspended itself in mid-air above the altar, alongside a small dark gold scroll. He stretched out to grab the blob first, but even he had to brace for a moment as he felt more than a hundred kilograms of weight in only a few drops' worth. The metal resembled the ember essence, but this was more active and lively with what seemed like a life of its own. Everything he had extracted from the reapers seemed dead in comparison.

Some information about it quickly flowed into his mind. This was activated ember essence, in a state where it could be integrated into other objects. It would inject sentience into most equipment, which meant this drop alone could bring any legendary equipment to the divine realm. On the other hand, it could also serve as the core ingredient for a true grade 6 rune.

However, creating a grade 6 rune was easier said than done. Outside of the core materials, the rest of the rune would also need to be rare beyond belief. Still, this would bring him a third of the way there, which was much farther than he had come before.

Richard then took the unknown scroll. It broke down into timeforce the moment he touched it, entering his body, but every strand also contained the power of laws which integrated directly into his mind. His laws of space were advanced greatly in mere moments even as he finally understood what the scroll was for.

He was finally close to advancing his title once more. Although he was still a Lord of Space, his authority in the Church was increased once more and his laws were enhanced. Space was one of those laws that existed in most, if not all planes, and his control over it had increased in general. At the same time, he was now on the verge of being granted some of the laws of time, which would come when he became a Lord of Time, the last title he could obtain.

Of course, the laws of time were no simple matter. One almost had to master space first to even make sense of them, which was already a near-impossible feat, but they themselves were mysterious and difficult to grasp. He didn't believe there was a single person in all of Norland with the wealth to actually get that far using the Eternal Dragon, but he found himself supremely confident.

That confidence came from the reward point system. So long as he survived this upcoming war, he would have the resources and ability to gain a basically endless supply of offerings.

1333 - City of Sin

The Strongest of Assaults

Having gained a considerable amount from the offering ceremony, Richard left the Church feeling a vague sense of elation for the first time in months. He had the activated ember essence to form the core of a grade 6 rune, with enough left over to upgrade three pieces of equipment to the divine grade.

Returning to his island, he took out three of his best legendary weapons and upgraded them immediately, adding them to the reward point system with a condition: Only points obtained by battle against the reapers could be used to redeem them. News about this spread like wildfire, shocking many legendary powerhouses out of their shells as they rushed to Faelor immediately.

Even otherwise, the mercenaries were slowly transitioning to fight the reapers anyway. The Five-Coloured Dragon had blocked the portal to the Dragon Plane and was sending fewer and fewer of her troops through the portal, while the demons were very erratic in their attacks. Of course, that wasn't the only consideration to be had. The dragons and demons were also much safer to fight, which was why so many powerhouses preferred to remain in the other two battlefields and gradually accumulate credits. Many already espoused a philosophy that survival was the best way to earn points.

Done adjusting the credit system, Richard quickly returned to Faelor. A large space had already been cleared out from the fringe of Bluewater Oasis, with hundreds of mages and smiths bustling about in an attempt to create the largest portal in Faelorian history. Commoners from all over were flooding into the city in waves, desperate for his protection. The Bridge of Hope could transport more than ten million citizens with ease, which was why Richard insisted on continuing to build it even with the dire situation in the war.

Richard new that the peace with the reapers was only momentary. With the enemy base still functioning, they were only gathering more and more power for their final attack. Unfortunately, going over and trying to destroy it directly was effectively a suicide mission even for an epic being.

He used the time to revise his strategies, deploying drones and troops to reconstruct new lines of defence. The night elves from the Forest Plane were also being teleported out from the Forest Plane, steadily streaming into Faelor. A mass of divine crystals had already gotten the clone to level 10, and her regular elves were level 16 and the elites a level higher. She could even work two days straight at a time to produce actual saints!

Richard had already abandoned any hopes of survival if he only relied on his resources in Faelor. While this would reveal his trump card to the rest of Norland, he saw no other way but to use them.

......

“I advanced,” Nasia contacted him not long after he arrived in Faelor, before he could finish optimising the defences.

“Oh? That was quick. Do you need time to stabilise?” Richard responded. He had expected her to take a while to burn through the 25 top-tier offerings, but she had actually managed it within a few weeks.

“Not at all, it's just becoming legendary. But my equipment is amazing now.”

“Why wouldn't divine equipment be amazing...” he cursed under his breath, but quickly shook it off, “Then come over to Faelor and help here.”

“It's more important to settle things with the big dragon first. The dragons haven't appeared in forever; if this continues, the entire system will go down the drain! Think of the money!”

“Who gives a fuck about the money?” Richard griped, “It's not like we can do anything if the lizards won't come!”

“Of course we can!” Nasia scoffed, “Won't killing her be enough?”

“Her? The Five-Coloured Dragon? You think I wouldn't have if I could?”

“It might have been impossible before, but things are different now. Ask your empress girlfriend for help.”

Richard's heart skipped a beat, leaving him confused as to just how she knew everything she did. However, he still shook his head, “No, it'd be useless as long as the passage is blocked.”

With the Five-Coloured Dragon on the other side of the portal, Apeiron would be attacked the moment she stepped through. Her body was weaker than most other epic beings, and it would be difficult for her to hold up against the attacks of the Five-Coloured Dragon. He couldn't even go occupy the dragon first. It would be obvious when she teleported over, and she would just be swatted back into Faelor.

Nasia continued, “Not just her. The Celestial Sage has finally healed up, and I have the Projection of Ruin as well. If we can't even chase that damned dragon away, we might as well kill ourselves.”

A team of Richard, Apeiron, Ruben, and Nasia was four epic beings breaking through into the Dragon Plane. The Five-Coloured Dragon was strong, but not that strong. Richard quickly agreed and headed back to Norland, asking Apeiron for assistance. This invitation turned out to go pretty smoothly, with the Empress lighting up the moment she heard about the enemy they would be fighting.

Nasia and Ruben were already waiting at Dragon Valley. The Celestial Sage's eyes lit up when he saw Apeiron, and he took the initiative to greet her, “Your Majesty! It has been a long time since we met outside of Norland.”

“I have nothing to talk to you about, what's the point of meeting?” Apeiron spat coldly, leaving an awkward Ruben to laugh it off before shutting up. He was a famed scholar, but he definitely couldn't begin to compare to her in combat. The Empress was known as a lunatic who only cared about battle.

While each of those present had a strong personality, Richard naturally took the role of leader. Apeiron wasn't good at strategy, while the Celestial Sage wasn't good at combat. Nasia didn't really care even if she was fairly good at both, so things fell to him.

He stared at the chromatic barrier around the portal, “Your Excellency Ruben, you will be in charge of restricting the dragon's barrier. I will teleport over to the Dragon Plane with Nasia in that time, and Apeiron will wait for ten seconds before entering. I should be able to take care of things after that, but do rush over if you feel the barrier wavering greatly. We will need your assistance to stop the escape.”

“My Nebular Chains are powerful, but they can't lock a dragon down.”

“It's fine, we just have to restrict her. The aim is injury, death is a bonus.”

With the plan set in place, the party flew towards the portal. There were still a few dozen saints and legends strolling through the area in boredom, mostly because the valley had been split off from Faelor once it was attached to the special zone in Faust, but that gave them the unique opportunity to witness what was about to happen.

“Empress Apeiron, His Excellency Ruben!” a saint suddenly shouted, drawing attention to the four figures zooming through the sky. Many jaws dropped as the onlookers saw just who the four were, and they immediately flashed as close to the barrier as was safe. This was three proven epic beings and one whose power could frighten all legends. This was a party with frightening power, and if they were collaborating, the target of their assault was obvious.

Many saints and legends felt themselves itching for battle. If the Five-Coloured Dragon was beaten back or killed, they would be able to reverse the tides and flood into the Dragon Plane, looting it clean! Please visit ƒ𝐫𝗲𝒆𝑤𝚎𝐛𝙣𝐨𝙫𝙚𝚕. 𝒄o𝓂

1334 - City of Sin

Battling The Five-Coloured Dragon

When Richard and party reached the portal to the Dragon Plane, Ruben started his attack. Dozens of glittering chains shot out from his fingertips and wrapped around the chromatic barrier, even more shooting into the unknown void. An indistinct howl rang out as the Five-Coloured Dragon realised what was happening and reacted violently, but Richard and the others didn't so much as flinch.

The Nebular Chains continued to destroy the barrier of light, forcing the Five-Coloured Dragon to send more and more of her power across the portal to keep it up. The two locked in a fierce battle, which in itself was proof of her power. Even crossing entire planes, she could still keep up with another epic being.

However, the battle had begun and Richard didn't have the time to hesitate. He quickly ran towards the portal with Nasia in tow, the latter shooting a beam of radiant gold upon him with a wave of her hand.

Strangely enough, Richard felt nothing when the Projection of Ruin was cast upon him. War King would boost him by a level and buff him in a number of ways, but this one felt like nothing. Still, he found it in himself to trust her ability and his own strength as he charged right through, crashing right into the Five-Coloured Dragon on the other side.

The first thing he saw when he entered the portal was a large fist aimed straight at his face. Ducking to avoid it by mere centimetres, he brandished his swords and engaged in battle with his opponent. His left arm was met with another heavy fist, the collision causing space itself to quiver from the impact. Even with his own enormous strength, his bones creaked as he felt like he had crashed into a mountain, leaving him knocked nearly a metre back.

In front of Richard was a rather striking woman that was almost four metres tall, prideful being the best descriptor of her face. Her amber vertical irises and the five twisted horns emerging from her long, dark hair were the only indications that she was a dragon.

On the Five-Coloured Dragon's face was sheer shock at the fact that she couldn't punch Richard back into the portal. She wouldn't mind if Sharon could withstand such power, but Richard was a mere half-elf! How could a human take a punch that equalled the might of an abyssal lord?

Unfortunately, she didn't get much time to consider this. Moonlight soundlessly stabbed towards her throat, and although she didn't seem bothered at first she saw a phantom of a tetrahedron around the sword and immediately cried out in alarm. The dragon took a step backward in retreat, surprising Richard to the point that his following strike slowed down enough for her to regain her calm.

Richard leapt forward immediately, man and dragon slamming into each other as they fought. Tetrahedrons of various sizes formed all around in the air, each one causing a ripple of laws. One dragon that approached these shockwaves was left with its entire body exploding in a rain of blood, frightening all the others until they scattered dozens of kilometres away.

The Five-Coloured Dragon was considered a supreme deity by anyone with draconic blood. The dragons all around knew that Richard had grown powerful, but they would never expect him to be able to contend with their goddess. However, that illusion was shattered by the fight playing out before them.

It was only moments after Richard walked through the portal that Nasia quietly joined. She surveyed the situation before bounding towards the rear of the Five-Coloured Dragon, grabbing both of her blades as she stared at the dragon's rear with clear intent, but despite the obvious humiliation the enemy didn't have a chance to kill the impudent human. Richard continued to attack relentlessly, giving her no opportunity to disengage.

Every slash from Moonlight caused a number of the tetrahedrons to form around its blade, and the Five-Coloured Dragon was clearly fearful of their power. She continuously fired chromatic blasts to push Richard away, but he simply brushed them off with his blue flames. While the destructive fire was weaker than his opponent's, its attributes gave it the ability to force a stalemate.

Anyone paying attention would realise that Richard was actually at a disadvantage, only forcing engagements using his tough body and superb skill with the sword. It was actually Nasia that caused the stalemate, even if she simply stood there and stared at the dragon's butt. Although it was challenging to accomplish, Richard slowly moved the battle away from the vicinity of the portal by the time Apeiron stepped out. Google search 𝗳𝙧𝘦𝒆𝑤𝙚𝘣𝙣𝘰𝘃ℯ𝑙. 𝐜𝐨𝑚

In a rare display, the Empress was wielding an actual weapon for this battle, a near-divine shortsword that she kept with her just in case. She quickly sped up as she approached the Five-Coloured Dragon, blinking the last fifty metres before stabbing into the dragon's back, but she was flicked away by the opponent's immeasurable strength. Fortunately, Richard still kept the dragon tied up and left her unable to pursue.

With three epic beings now in the midst of battle, the space near the portal started to break apart. Richard, Apeiron, and the Five-Coloured Dragon came to a tacit agreement to fly into the skies where the impact could be mitigated, and while Nasia followed them upwards she continued to do nothing except adjusting her position to keep the dragon's rear in view.

The Five-Coloured Dragon felt more unease from Nasia's lecherous gaze than she did fighting the combination of two of the most skilled fighters in all of Norland, but when she finally lost her temper and was about to attack the portal rumbled once more and Ruben stepped out. The Celestial Sage was the straw that broke the camel's back; already fighting two epic beings and effectively keeping enough energy reserved for another one because of Nasia, she had no way to take on a fourth. She let out a long roar as her body quickly expanded into her true form, a resplendent barrier protecting her as she grew.

The strength of the dragon's aura skyrocketed with the expansion of her body, causing even Apeiron to pause a moment in wariness. Their party were already fighting without a fifth of their powers due to the location, and they knew that things would get bitter if the transformation was allowed to complete. This was a divine beast with strength pushing against the limits of this plane; her size alone was a huge problem to deal with.

Ruben's nebular chains pierced through the chromatic barrier repeatedly, depleting its strength, but they were constantly pushed back with the barrier repaired in instants. Even as hundreds of his chains were wrapping around the expanding dragon, a few even trying to pass through the void to bypass the barrier, the dragon quickly grew to three kilometres long and continued to expand. The chains were quickly broken apart.

Apeiron rushed forth herself, her shortsword burning purple as it cut a large chunk out of the barrier. She jumped in to find that the interior was filled with a dense rainbow mist that slowed even her down, but the bigger threat came from the fact that the mist seemed to be hallucinogenic. Fortunately her laws of chaos helped her resist the curses within, but even she would be affected after enough time had passed.

The Celestial Sage tore an opening through on the other side, but it seemed a lot more strenuous for him than it was for Apeiron. He rushed into the five-coloured barrier, but started groaning shortly afterwards with his body starting to emit a black haze. He tried to disperse the mist even as his chains cut a path towards the dragon's body. Watching her peer begin progress, Apeiron barked and waved her own shortsword. Purple energy tore open a passage that was more than ten metres long, prompting a roar of surprise from the Five-Coloured Dragon.

Not far away, Nasia finally prepared to enter the fray. Crossing her two blades, she slashed outwards to form two bright flashes of light. A giant cross that was around ten metres long crashed into the chromatic barrier and disintegrated it in moments, shocking even her own allies. Both Ruben and Apeiron paused for a moment in shock, scanning her once more to confirm that she was only level 21 and not some epic being that was stronger than even Emperor Philip himself.

1335 - City of Sin

Dragon's Escape

Nasia smiled, jumping right into the hole she formed in the chromatic barrier. Her armour emitted a faint barrier that completely eliminated the effects of the mist within, so she was free to slash out once more and open a passage into the fog.

Initially scanning for a weak point to attack, Richard's attention was shifted to Nasia as she struck. That strike felt like it came from someone at level 33, not 21. Levels weren't a perfect reflection of battle prowess, he was an example of that himself, but skill alone could not make up for an overwhelming difference in energy reserves.

However, the energy Nasia used to propel her blades truly was only legendary. It was just that the swords themselves were insanely powerful, amplifying that might to a great degree. For a moment he felt like they were extradivine; even his three swords combined wouldn't compare to a single one of her two. As he activated the Field of Truth to try and see through them, he realised that the chilling power they contained could allow even a commoner to cut a dragon in two.

The examination of Nasia's swords also brought Richard's attention to her armour, finally allowing him to notice that it wasn't a complete set but instead a mix of various pieces. The two pauldrons were actually different, and the visor and helm were separate as well. Even the scabbards of her swords were enchanted, but clearly not in the same way as the swords. In fact, they barely even fit properly.

The twenty-plus pieces of divine equipment on Nasia's body started glowing with power, making the source of her might obvious. With this amount of protection, she could simply stand still and most legends wouldn't even be able to hurt her. Richard had thought she would have gotten a few pieces of divine equipment with the offerings he gave her, but this was completely ridiculous!

He shook off the surprise, taking advantage of the Five-Coloured Dragon's surprise as he cut apart the barrier with Moonlight and the flaming sword. Strangely, he felt no resistance once he entered the mist, not even needing to resist the curses and hallucinations. A tetrahedral barrier had materialised the moment he went in, dissipating any of the mist that came into contact with it.

Richard was stumped for a moment— this ability definitely didn't belong to him— but he quickly realised that it had to come from the Projection of Ruin. He had assumed the buff had simply enhanced his laws of destruction, but he pushed those thoughts to the side and charged towards the mountainous figure before him.

“How— AH!” the Five-Coloured Dragon screamed in shock as his blades buried themselves up to the hilts, the same tetrahedrons floating out from Richard's body and piercing into her flesh. He quickly retreated a few hundred metres away, leaving what only seemed like mosquito bites compared to her now five-kilometre frame, but the injured section suddenly bulged and a hail of giant scales rained down below. A terrifying column of flesh and blood spurted tens of metres away, revealing a wound that was metres wide and perhaps a hundred metres deep.

Even Richard himself smiled at the impact of the single attack. He would normally have been satisfied by half the power, especially considering that he hadn't even activated all of his Lifesbane layers, but this wound was using the laws of destruction to burrow into the dragon's soul and was certain to be excruciatingly painful.

It was around the same time that Nasia arrived, prying open a few scales and burrowing her blades into the dragon's body. The Five-Coloured Dragon started to panic as she turned her enormous head and tried to bombard the paladin with breath attacks, but the divine armour simply blocked it all.

With the dragon occupied, Richard managed to slash out a wound that was a hundred metres long and ten metres deep, causing her to roar in pain. Apeiron and Ruben had also broken through the fog and were about to attack, but the dragon was still most afraid of the only legend in the attack. She felt like those swords could burrow deep into her body; no matter how strong she was, Nasia could slash her way to the heart, brain, or even dragon crystal.

Feeling helpless, the enormous dragon started a chant that shrank her body back down. Nasia was thrown out in an instant, but that loss of physical superiority meant that Richard's attacks were much more effective. Her attempts to attack him failed to a combination of the tetrahedral barrier and a number of magical ones, with the few dregs of power left behind safely absorbed by Richard's tough body. Apeiron suddenly flew down from above and punched into the dragon's neck, forming a mangled crater that was covered in a purple glow. While still struggling against the mist, Ruben used his experience to target the wounds that were already opened up with his nebular chains, starting to suck out the Five-Coloured Dragon's flesh and blood.

Facing the assault of three epic beings and one that was clearly more powerful than them, the Five-Coloured Dragon eventually gave up on the fight and decided to retreat. Richard seemed unaffected by fighting in her home plane, with every strike of his containing the laws of destruction that left her trembling in fear. With the rest added on top, she simply didn't stand a chance.

Even when the dragon shrank down to less than a thousand metres long, Nasia continued to blink around her body while trying to find a place to burrow in. Scale after scale was torn open savagely, to the point that the matriarch of the dragons felt less pain and more fear. She had a body comparable to a greater abyssal lord, but the bundle of divine equipment was tearing right through her. Roaring out in defeat, she eventually shrank down all the way to a hundred metres long before waving her attackers off and fleeing into the depths of the plane. Ruben's nebular chains broke, leaving him pale, but the damage to her was much worse.

Richard dropped nearly a kilometre before he could stop the fall. His own face was pale as he spat out a mouthful of fresh blood, but Nasia seemed to do much worse as she was thrown multiple kilometres until she almost hit the ground. When she flew back towards him, she was wobbling all around.

“Are you hurt?” he asked.

“Huh? No, I'm fine. But that bitch sent me spinning, so dizzy...” Google search 𝙛𝒓𝚎𝙚w𝑒𝘣𝘯𝘰𝐯𝚎l. cｏ𝙢

This reply left Richard a little annoyed. Even his tough body had sustained decent injuries, and a similar amount of force would have severely injured both Apeiron and Ruben, but this walking chest of divine equipment seemed to be impossible to injure unless all of her items were broken through.

Apeiron and Ruben stared at Nasia with complicated expressions as well. Both of them had received moderate injuries themselves; the former had taken on two breath attacks while the latter was quite weak and had exhausted most of his power in the mist. This meant that three epic beings had been injured, but a legend at only level 21 had come out unscathed.

That being said, they had finally repelled the Five-Coloured Dragon despite fighting on her home field, opening up the Dragon Plane for invasion. With the Five-Coloured Dragon defeated, all the others near the portal had already fled with their tails tucked between their legs. Richard could rebuild the forward base in the Dragon Plane quickly without detracting from the war against the reapers, attracting more powerhouses to the reward point system and increasing the income supporting his war effort.

Unfortunately, he didn't have any time to dawdle here. With Nasia present to take care of both reward point battlefields, he had nothing to worry about anyway. However, he was about to teleport away when the Celestial Sage floated towards him and asked, “Your Grace, will the Dragon Plane continue to be a battlefield for reward points?”

1336 - City of Sin

The Fires Of War Return

Richard was a little taken aback by an epic being asking about the reward point system, but he quickly nodded, “Of course, Your Excellency. You are most welcome to participate as well.”

Ruben nodded back, but he seemed rather embarrassed, “Alright. I saw this rune in the list that would be very useful for some of my plans, but it requires a lot of points and I do not have enough materials on hand for the exchange...”

“Ah, you want the Mana Armament,” Richard smiled in understanding. Especially in its grade 5 version, that rune was something basically every mage would hope for, even more so than Midren. That was why he had set a sky high price of 5,000 points through the reward point system, which left it nowhere near getting sold.

Ruben nodded. Of course, everyone knew that the Archerons were too busy fighting the reapers right now to make another Mana Armament. Thus, it would actually only be available once the war had come to an end. Given that fact, even the Celestial Sage would have to earn it honestly through accumulating points.

Richard quickly sorted through the information he had just gotten. Ruben's abilities were best suited to dealing with dragons, and this battlefield would soon grow more active as well. He would be able to withstand a counter-offensive if the Five-Coloured Dragon chose to return, which gave the saints and legends room to manoeuvre as well. The Celestial Sage was also an excellent tracker, and he would be able to catch wind of any ambush attempts and turn them against the enemy.

“Your Excellency,” he spoke up, “If you plan to continue collecting dragon crystals here, could I trouble you to ensure some stability near the portal? I'll have the system pay you fifty points a month in exchange.”

“Hmm... There should be no problem with that. I should be able to hold off the Five-Coloured Dragon even if she returns, at least long enough for the brats around here to run back to the base.”

Fifty points a month didn't seem like much, but it would be enough for Ruben to earn a Mana Armament even if he did nothing in a little over eight years. For someone whose lifespan was measured in millennia, this was basically no time at all. Given how quickly he could eliminate dragons, he would actually earn enough for a Mana Armament in a year or so.

After a momentary pause, Ruben added, “If nothing comes up, I plan to stay here for two full years. I can also head over to the abyssal battlefield on occasion to have a look.”

“Thank you so much!” Richard heaved a sigh of relief at this offer. This would free him up from worrying about those two battlefields for two years, which would be more than enough time for the war against the reapers to conclude and the aftermath to be taken care of as well. None of his enemies in Norland would cause unnecessary trouble with Ruben in charge; even though he was weak for an epic being, he was still level 29 and strong enough to crush average legends with ease. Perhaps even more importantly, this offer also freed Nasia up to follow him into combat against the reapers, where her Projection of Ruin would be extremely useful.

Now that the effects were starting to wear off, Richard finally understood just what the Projection of Ruin was. It greatly amplified one's laws of destruction, but more importantly it formed a field of control around the target where other laws were distorted and weakened. This didn't seem all that powerful, but it meant he wouldn't be weakened in other domains. With it on hand, he even felt confident in holding his own against Sharon.

“Count me in for the points as well.”

“Hmm? You want to join too?” Richard asked cautiously as he turned to look at Apeiron, although a hint of joy was still showing through his tone.

“No, I just want to be paid for the help right now,” she coldly doused his expectations.

“Ugh. Fine, I'll get someone to send you the points.” As he nodded, he saw Nasia passing the newest reward list to Apeiron. The Empress hesitated for a moment, but she didn't decline.

With the Celestial Sage having taken over her job of taking care of the battlefields, Nasia returned to Faust with Richard and Apeiron. He waited until the Empress had returned to her own island to ask, “Are you sure she'll participate? I couldn't imagine her wanting anything on that list.”

Nasia leaned against the walls of the castle, “She actually really wanted to participate, I just gave her a good excuse.”

“Hmm? She's the Empress of the Sacred Alliance, why would she want to do that? She can't use any of my runes anyway.”

The paladin's eyes suddenly glimmered, “She doesn't need to battle, but she really wants to. Why? I suppose you're the one who should answer that question, what exactly did you do to her?”

“Umm...” Richard was stunned for a while, unable to speak.

......

While there were a number of things he still needed to deal with in Faust, Richard didn't have much time to remain in Norland. He quickly teleported to Blackrose Castle with Nasia in tow, growing solemn the moment he watched the giant army camp that had sprung up in Azan to support his war. Soldiers were still streaming into Faelor through the portal with determination on their faces, many resigned to their imminent deaths.

The first report he got upon his return was on the casualties suffered across Faelor. More than a fifth of the plane's territory was completely occupied by the reapers right now, with two hundred million dead. The troops from the Iron Triangle Empire had lost over three million men, while the Crimson Empire's losses amounted to 200,000. Only 80,000 useful soldiers were still alive.

At the higher end, one of Richard's subordinate legends and two others that were participating for points had been killed in action, with nearly twenty saints added on top including Fuschia. Almost a hundred rune knights, 3,000 humanoid drones, and over 1,000 shadowspears had fallen, with the other troop types losing a third of their numbers.

Richard's heart sank as he saw these figures. Heavy losses had been sustained in merely half a month, and only because of a single wave of assaults. The flesh warriors were quite resilient and their energy beams were near-perfect as ranged weapons. While they could be defeated, they took down far too many targets with them.

He put the report down and walked over to the window, watching the people bustling near the Lighthouse of Time. Large crates were being moved to the wasps so they could be ferried to the frontlines, and soldiers went with. Nobody seemed to have a moment of rest.

He sighed and left his study, climbing on a messenger and starting to patrol the defensive lines. He stopped at the numerous warehouses where the warship remains were being stored, refining them with his blue flames to collect the ember essence. Spending almost an entire day travelling several thousand kilometres, he finally gathered three bottles of the substance.

However, this trip also confirmed that the defensive lines were completely isolated. The Iron Triangle Empire was currently defending the Frozen Throne, while the Crimson Empire was protecting Bluewater Oasis and the Land of Turmoil. Any attempt to join these defenders would spread them too thin, so both sides could only hope that the other survived.

Even the slowest deities to react had now started participating in the battle, sending their clergies, paladins, and resources with no end. Although most of them were useless in Richard's eyes, they could at least help with constructing defences and similar tasks. At this point, anyone below level 10 was better off simply hiding in the cities, lest they be turned into more fodder for the flesh warriors.

Once he was done patrolling the front lines, Richard went to the Land of Turmoil in the southwest. This was the most prominent battlefield with the fiercest attacks, so he felt he was best suited to support it. Nasia followed beside him like a shadow, her armour looking like the steel of ordinary knights. She appeared to be nothing more than an assistant or servant, but only Richard and a few others knew just how much power lied in each piece of equipment she owned.

It was early morning by the time Richard finished his patrol, but just as he was about to get some rest his heart suddenly jolted. He turned around immediately, a grave expression on his face, “They're here.”

Nasia nodded, gesturing towards a soldier nearby. The man immediately picked up a bugle and blew on it loudly, a desolate sound joined by a number of others that relayed the message. Warriors that were joking around immediately grabbed their equipment, preparing for battle as they stared at the empty horizon, some shivering in prayer while others caressed important mementoes and relics with grave expressions.

The enemy was here again.

1337 - City of Sin

For The First And The Last

A black cloud slowly formed on the horizon, zooming over to cover the sky as it floated steadily towards Faelor's defences. Richard's estimate of the number of reapers quickly entered the realm of five figures, and that number continued to grow. Despite his determination, he found himself glancing at Nasia who was beside him.

“Afraid?” a rare, gentle smile formed on Nasia's mask.

“A little, yeah,” he admitted readily.

“So silly. What's so scary about this? Even if everyone here died in battle, you would still turn all of these machines into scrap metal eventually.”

Richard smiled himself, albeit bitterly instead of with mockery, “I know, but I was hoping... Forget it, I understand.”

No one could live forever, and nothing in this world was perfectly predictable. He understood that he would have to bear the consequences of his decision to stay and fight, even if it meant a hollow victory. In that regard, Nasia was absolutely right. Even if all of his subordinates died, he had to win this for the first and the last person who perished in battle.

He looked at his soldiers, many of whom now had fear on their faces. Even the most seasoned of veterans knew that the incoming enemies were death incarnate, and even the rune knights and saints grew fearful.

Richard blinked to the front lines, drawing his three divine swords and stabbing them into the ground. Turning around to face his soldiers, he formed an orb of light atop his head for the first time in years, “To every warrior who acknowledges me as your king, I promise you this: I will be at the forefront of this battle! Crush these machines into scrap!”

This was a rather short speech, but it was more rousing than anything else he could have done. Even as the endless wave of reapers marched towards them, the soldiers broke out into a raucous warcry. Many grizzled veterans were staring at the orb above his head, eyes bloodshot as they related tales of years past.

Richard's own gaze fell upon the incoming cloud of warships, which had some new types mixed in. There was now a transport ship that was thirty metres wide and close to a hundred metres long, flying rather close to the ground but in very large numbers. There was also a massive warship that was over half a kilometre long, charging up massive beam cannons that would certainly be a threat to even him. As the transporters stopped a few kilometres away and dropped a ramp for their drones to flood out from, the flesh warriors and spider warriors were joined by what looked like mechanical elephants whose upper bodies were made of flesh with dozens of different weapons attached.

The numbers in Richard's sight jumped around violently, eventually compelling him to return to his normal vision. However, his mind had already finished calculations by that time; the reaper army was now over a hundred thousand in number!

The flesh warriors slowly spread out and inched closer to the Crimson Army, their gun muzzles threatening a fatal volley of beam attacks. The warships in the sky floated forward as well, initially at the same pace as the land units but speeding up when they were about 800 metres away. A blinding glare filled the battlefield as the beam attacks crashed towards the Archeron front lines.

Long since prepared for this, Richard immediately knelt on the floor and grabbed a specially-crafted shield to cover himself. The heavy infantry erected similar reflective tower shields all around, with the other soldiers withdrawing into the defensive structures and preparing to counter. These shields could scatter a bulk of the energy from the reaper attacks; even if the remaining energy was enough to burn holes through the metal, there wouldn't be enough to get past armour. Only the hundred or so of the large warships managed to pierce through, affecting the soldiers hidden behind.

By the time the first wave of attacks drew to a close, the reaper troops had managed to get even closer. Clusters of warships circled above Richard's first defences, destroying several shields using pure numbers alone. The number of casualties quickly grew.

A cold blaze burnt in Richard's eyes as he disappeared from his original spot, the swords gone with him. A moment later, a squadron of warships that flew too low were caught in a red glow and burst into flames. With over a dozen blowing up in a single attacks, his figure blurred and disappeared before the response could strike.

The huge warship that was far behind the frontlines suddenly shook, a thick beam of light crossing a full kilometre before striking a cluster of ships in the air. Richard suddenly materialised with a grave expression on his face, stretching both hands out to form multiple barriers of sparking light.

However, the power behind the flagship's cannon was just too great. The barriers quickly exploded, allowing the remaining energy in the beam to crash right into him. Richard flipped backwards and disappeared once more, but the flagship turned around and pointed at an empty area where he appeared a moment later.

Quickly realising that the flagship could track him for some reason, Richard decided to use speed instead of stealth. His figure flickered constantly, disappearing from every location before the enemy could lock onto him. He quickly appeared right on top of the ship and plunged down towards it, but dozens of cannon bays suddenly opened up and shot out beams of light that cast a deadly net in his path!

A glint of determination flickered in Richard's eyes as he growled, scrunching up to minimise the impact as he flew straight through the wall of death to land on the enormous warship's deck. He thrust his sword straight into the metal, tearing it apart with an explosion that allowed him to jump in.

The interior of the enormous warship looked like a maze. A dozen beams attacked Richard the moment he landed within, some from cannons and others from flesh warriors, but Richard growled and used the Ring of Fate to wipe out everything within thirty metres. A huge hole was formed in the interior, but without any knowledge as to where a core for such a thing could lie he simply chose a random direction and charged through. Dodging, deflecting, and withstanding the energy beams repeatedly, he aggressively destroyed anything that came close to attacking him.

Some of the soldiers who had engaged in battle looked up as the frighteningly large warship in the distance started to shake, flames constantly shooting out from its body. In only minutes it was falling to the ground, and before it hit the entire thing was carved in two by a flaming sword as Richard flew out from the remains. Those who had even a momentary respite erupted in cheers; this didn't mean victory, but Richard's quick defeat of the enemy's flagship gave them some hope.

Flames were already raging everywhere, the land drones of the reapers having engaged the Archeron warriors. Groups of a hundred rune knights were constantly launching their javelins at the war machines in the sky, with those one the outer edge slaying the ground units to give them space. A few hundred night elven archers were shooting magical arrows into the sky from behind, each one capable of dropping the smallest of the war machines to the ground. Protecting these archers were nearly a thousand druids.

A war elephant charged into the battle lines, dozens of light beams starting to fire from the weapons all over it. However, more than a hundred elven assassins appeared nearby like ghosts, taking out their thunder cannons and destroying the flesh and most metal in a thunderous assault. Once the assassins dispersed, the war elephant's upper body was completely gone, with its metallic lower half creaking around in futility as a dozen winter soldiers crushed the metal with two-handed warhammers.

1338 - City of Sin

Black Hole

The plan to crush the war elephant had come from Nasia, who was spending most of her time assisting Richard with the command of the battlefield. There were only a dozen or so of the mechanical behemoths on the battlefield, and their destruction would be another boost to morale. While it took more than a hundred drones for every kill, those elephants could easily destroy far more than that number if given the time.

The elven assassins had already retreated by the time the bullet discs even fell to the ground, two platoons of soldiers deployed to protect them from the flesh warriors as they reloaded. Nasia herself suddenly appeared amongst the enemy ranks, killing a dozen spider warriors before vanishing into the sky and destroying two of the large warships before returning to the rear.

The ordinary soldiers rushed in to fill the void, tearing into the flesh warriors who had lost most of their heavy hitters. It took three or four of these level 8 fighters to take out a single enemy drone, but none of them showed any signs of hesitation as they fought to their deaths. They knew that their sacrifices were the only things allowing those still in the Crimson Empire to survive. The cowards had fled and died a long time ago.

The main job of the ordinary warriors was to delay and protect, allowing Richard's drones to maximise their killing potential. Less than a tenth of the reaper troops had fallen to anyone other than the night elves or any saint level powerhouse, but without the protection of these brave soldiers most would have been tied up in self-defence. The sacrifice of the masses allowed the druids to continue immobilising enemies, allowing the night elven assassins to charge out with their thunder cannons and rain death down on the machine army. Binding spells slowed down the warships in the air, allowing the archers' arrows to strike with far greater accuracy than would have been possible otherwise.

If one viewed small sections of the battlefield, it seemed like the night elven drones and rune knights completely dominated the battle. However, Richard simply couldn't bring himself to be relieved. There were far too many reaper troops still flooding through, and the weaker soldiers were rapidly dying out. This was a war of attrition where he would not win.

Already having the numeric advantage from the beginning, the reapers were slowly growing more and more overwhelming on the battlefield. The night elves would be targeted in mere minutes after the Crimson Army was gone, at which point a true victory would be near impossible.

Richard floated in the sky, slowly recovering his mana even as he healed some of his injuries. However, he only gave himself a few minutes of rest before blinking into the midst of the reapers' land units, a ring of blue flames wiping out all drones within ten metres. Flesh warriors were destroyed immediately by the scorching heat, while the spider warriors could only last a few seconds before they were disintegrated.

Face almost frozen, he took out the Book of Destruction and started flipping through it. A pair each of elven shamans and blood inquisitors suddenly appeared amongst his troops, bolstering their might in a small area. That section quickly stabilised, but the change was far too limited.

Despite his best efforts, Richard himself started gasping for breath. He had suffered a number of direct hits simply to destroy the enemy flagship, which both injured him greatly and depleted most of his mana. The rest of his army was in a similar state, with three of his rune knight formations already having been picked full of holes. The winter soldiers were starting to fall to the ground under the assault of dozens of energy beams each, their bodies slowly drained of life.

And yet, the opposing army didn't even seem to feel a bit of a drain. He forced all thoughts about the casualties to the back of his head, growling as he jumped a hundred metres forward with his flaming sword drawing a resplendent trail behind him. Any reaper units that it passed were cut in two. He didn't even look back as he leapt into the sky, his figure vanishing for a moment as a few of the large warships burst into flames. Continuing to blink from enemy to enemy, he appeared behind a war elephant that wasn't being targeted and split it with a single attack.

Richard's warriors now knew that the reaper units weren't killed by simply cutting them apart. Troops of night elves and frost warriors quickly appeared wherever Richard had passed, their thunder cannons roaring to life as they destroyed the metal and flesh beyond repair. Even as the war elephant was destroyed, however, Richard subconsciously accessed the numbers in his mind for a brief moment.
f𝘳𝒆𝑒𝓌𝒆𝗯n𝗼𝘷ℯl. 𝑐𝚘𝘮

984. It was a figure that left his eyes twitching, but from a combination of his own observations and the cloned brain network, he knew that the war elephant had killed nearly a thousand of his men before he'd gotten to it.

The distant Nasia took to the sky once more, but this time she was a little more reserved. Only three of the large warships went down before she returned to the ground, resuming her role as the commander of this army. Using her one-sided connection with him to take control of the drone network, she was doing even better than he normally did with micromanaging them all. While her results didn't seem impressive, Richard knew that she was killing the most deadly targets herself. She had already taken down more than twenty large warships, seven of the fifteen war elephants, and almost a hundred spider warriors.

However, more than 70% of the Crimson Army now lay dead, with many night elves already having abandoned their depleted thunder cannons in favour of longswords and hand-to-hand combat. Richard had arranged for thousands upon thousands of bullet discs, with each night elf carrying a total of thirty, but even with it all depleted the enemy hadn't been dealt with just yet.

Richard's heart sank as the sounds of the thunder cannons wound down. His expression turned icy as he summoned three faces all around him, casting spells in divine tongue to form fireballs of three different properties. All three fireballs converged in mid-air, but instead of exploding they merged together in a tiny burst before disappearing.

Those who witnessed this were shocked for a moment, the morale amongst the legends especially dropping. Richard's divine spells were well known for their absolute power, but that meant the onlookers were more surprised by them fizzling away like this than they would have been if he'd destroyed all of the enemies in one go.

Was he too tired to cast? The hearts of Richard's soldiers shivered. As the one true epic being on this battlefield, he was their spiritual pillar. So long as he could fight, those around him would drag their tired bones without any fear. With the king in front, they wouldn't even consider defeat. However, that same strategy the Archerons employed meant that any signs of weakness from the Archeron King decimated morale.

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING?” Nasia suddenly shouted in Richard's mind.

Richard shook his head, “If death is out only option, I won't let them get away so easily.”

Many of the reaper troops suddenly slowed down as he spoke, being lifted into the skies by an invisible force. An elated saint immediately shot three javelins towards some of the warships in the sky, but just as they were about to hit their targets those javelins swerved off course as well. The woman frowned at the sight, but her attention was suddenly drawn to where the three fireballs had disappeared.

A domain of black had formed in the sky, so tiny that one could mistake it for a speck of dust. However, it was slowly starting to grow in size, only discoverable because any energy that went within could not come out. As it started to pull in the flesh warriors nearby, someone finally shouted in alarm, “IT'S A BLACK HOLE!”

1339 - City of Sin

A Painful Victory

It was the most powerful fighters that showed the first signs of panic, especially the two legendary mages still around. Those that had actually explored the void knew that black holes were the most terrifying things in existence, with virtually no escape. Some said they were connected to the alter world, which was what gave them their terrifying devouring ability, but there was simply no way for even epic beings to test this without sacrificing their lives.

Richard didn't move, but a stream of orders were sent out in his mind. Nasia was already screaming for all soldiers to abandon their positions and retreat, and thankfully the Archeron soldiers were trained well enough to flee without leaving their backs completely open to the reaper attacks.
f𝔯𝒆𝑒we𝚋𝓃૦ν𝙚Ɩ. c૦m

The black hole was slowly becoming visible to more people, now looking a little larger than a fist. Its range was now a massive thousand metres, and anything caught in it from reaper drones and warships to rocks and soil were slowly starting to spin around it as they were drawn within. A large warship closest to it started to distort as it was devoured, disappearing from view within a mere minute!

The black hole continued to grow in size, quickly increasing its draw to more than ten kilometres. The ground itself started to crack as a huge section of the earth was torn out, but as Richard's hair started to fly Nasia cried out, “ENOUGH! STOP IT RIGHT AWAY!”

Richard nodded, summoning the three faces once more. The divine fireballs shot towards the core of the black hole, rocking it a few times but not managing to break it up. His expression turned grave; if he couldn't stop this thing, it would consume half of Faelor before the plane's gods could blow it apart. The faces started chanting repeatedly as a barrage of divine fireballs shot towards the small orb, only managing to disperse it after more than half a dozen shots.

As the warships that hadn't been completely destroyed started scattering in different directions, Richard's powerhouses heaved a sigh of relief. If Richard hadn't managed to neutralise this black hole, only the strongest figures here would be able to escape into the void. It would soon have covered a thousand kilometres before the pantheon could finally attack it, by which point everyone in its grasp would have been eliminated.

However, even with the black hole gone there were purple ripples everywhere in the sky. Space itself had been damaged beyond immediate repair, leaking Faelor's origin energy all over. A few powerful conscients swept across the region, making a conscious effort to avoid scanning Richard. The distant pantheon looked down with complex expressions, all shocked into silence by the sheer might on display.

The entire incident with the black hole had lasted a few minutes at best, but in that time it had destroyed everything within a few kilometres and formed a huge, smooth crater in the soil. If not for the fact that the Crimson Army had withdrawn at command, they would have been sucked in as well. Even with their speed, a few hundred warriors still disappeared alongside the enemy. Faelor's origin was heavily damaged by this attack, to the point that the gods could hear their laws droning in pain. Even though the black hole had been neutralised, the damaged plane was leaking origin energy continuously. At that moment, every god present realised that Richard was basically invincible in most secondary planes due to this ability alone.

Most of the reaper army had been wiped out by this attack, leaving only a few hundred warships and ten thousand flesh warriors who had been on the flank. Richard sent out the night elves and powerhouses once more, finishing off the last of the enemy. He and Nasia personally ensured that none of the transport ships could escape, crashing them with various means.

As the last of the enemies hit the ground, Richard suddenly felt quite emotional. The earth here was beyond destroyed, and all around the central crater were corpses and the remnants of reaper troops. Billowing smoke covered half the sky, but behind it he could still see the less than 10,000 soldiers who were returning to camp. Less than a fifth of his army had survived, and most of the survivors this time were actually the night elves, winter soldiers, arrowbeasts, and other drones. Only 5,000 of the 60,000 living soldiers had returned from this war.

The losses were simply disastrous. Richard had lost half of his 300 rune knights, while seven saints were dead and six more unable to fight again. Almost all of the enhanced winter soldiers were dead, with only a quarter of the normal ones having survived. The evernight elves had the most numbers remaining, but even they lost a fifth of their original 4,000-strong army.

This was Richard's first time witnessing such crushing losses ever since he took control of the Archeron Family. Even with the victory, he couldn't bring himself to feel happy at all. Those who were lucky enough to survive seemed to feel no joy either.

Nasia had appeared beside him at some point in time, watching the bleak situation as she patted his back in consolation, “Don't overthink it. This is war; if we want to beat the reapers back, we have to make our sacrifices. We fought for the rights to live on; if these men didn't die, everyone behind them would.”

Richard sighed. If not for the black hole which shouldn't have been used within the plane, their losses would be far greater, to a point of near decimation. However, there was no way to tell just how many more reapers were hidden back at their base. Looking at his surviving troops once more, he turned back to Nasia, “Looks like we're the only ones who can go help the others.”

Nasia shrugged, “Being your guardian is such a pain in the ass.”

He smiled weakly, summoning a messenger to ferry him to another battlefield. He drank potion after potion while on it, but even so he was only back to two-thirds of his strength by the time he was at his first stop.

The troops in this battlefield were led by Tiramisu, with three other legendary beings supporting him. With far fewer reapers having attacked it, the ogre lord seemed to be comfortably in control of the situation. Richard arrived just in time to see the giant charging towards a war elephant, the earth around him shaking with every step. A deafening collision cracked the ground beneath them, but the significantly larger mechanical elephant was sent flying by the collision. Tiramisu jumped up and smashed it back down with his warhammer, at which point a tiny figure leapt off his shoulder and blew the upper half apart with another hammer that was well beyond her size.

Richard smiled awkwardly at the sight. Mountainsea normally spent most of her time asleep or very close to it, acting upon instinct even in battle, but now her sharp gaze showed that she was fully awake. Her level hadn't been exceptional before, but that swing just now showed legendary might! This was just like Sharon, who had jumped all the way from level 24 to level 29 just through a few years of hibernation. For someone who could never slack off like Richard, it was almost as annoying as it was awe-inspiring.

That being said, Richard was not the most depressed of the lot. After all, he was still one of the youngest epic beings in Norlandic history. It was the seasoned legends who had slogged their entire lives to get to level 21 that would feel like ending their lives at this disparity. Would she become an epic being if she just slept for a few more years? It felt like a distinct possibility given the strength of the Beast God's bloodline. After all, why else would the Eternal Dragon have been interested enough in a single tooth to offer a rank 2 blessing for it?

Richard composed himself and beelined towards another of the war elephants. The situation was already stable here, so with him and Nasia added on the reapers were quickly destroyed in a number of sections. However, these drones were completely unafraid and continued to fight all the way until the last of them was destroyed.

1340 - City of Sin

The Fate Of The Frozen Throne

Richard didn't even have the time to talk to Tiramisu before he and Nasia returned to the messenger to leave for the next battlefield. However, Mountainsea suddenly leapt into the sky as the drone took flight, landing right behind him and hugging him from behind. The messenger wailed as she landed, heading straight for the ground, but Richard chuckled and threw her warhammer down to the ogre and stabilised the situation. The head of that hammer weighed more than a hundred tonnes, heavier even than Tiramisu's, and a drone built for speed naturally couldn't lift it.

With the three of them on its back, the messenger left for the battlefield at full speed. Richard met a number of smaller detachments along the way, but without the time to waste he simply headed straight through. Two of the three legends here were severely injured, but even with half of the saints dead he managed to take control of the situation and beat back the reaper soldiers. There were two more battlefields as well, but by the time he was done they had already sent word that both had fallen into enemy hands. Fortunately, both were of lower priority and had been given to the other countries of Faelor to handle, and some of the stronger warriors had even managed to escape.

However, this was only the area around the Crimson Empire. What surprised Richard the most was that the Frozen Throne was still standing, with the enemy beaten back. This was supposed to be excellent news, especially since Richard had barely sent any reinforcements, but when he found out the specifics of just how they had managed it he found himself unable to smile. Salwyn had abandoned the surroundings and pulled all of his troops back into the city, giving any warriors above level 10 an unusual weapon. These were basically balls that contained three reaper energy cores each, with a spell formation engraved on top to break the energy balance. As the reapers charged into the city, they were forced into the narrow streets where the warriors rushed towards the more powerful drones and activated their bombs. The explosions could turn even the mechanical elephants into scrap metals with three or four such attacks, while spider warriors went down in one. However, the warriors who placed the bombs down were certain to be blown to bits as well.

The battle against the reapers would have resulted in heavy casualties, so Salwyn had hardened his heart and gotten the soldiers who were destined for death to engage in a suicide attack. Even a one-for-one trade with a flesh warrior wasn't too bad, but at a minimum these bombers took out a handful of the enemy drones.
𝙛𝘳𝐞𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝗻𝘰ѵ𝗲𝙡. 𝑐o𝓶

When Richard's messenger flew above the skies of the Frozen Throne, he could no longer see the lofty fortress that he had once brought down himself. Occupying its place was a ruined city that spanned several kilometres, with bomb craters all over. People were working like ants amongst the debris, some dragging the remains of the enemies while others dug out blankets and food from the ruins to stave off the frozen death in the night. In the crowd were the elderly, women, and even children as young as five or six years old. Not many were wailing, but it was obvious that the tears had already dried from their faces. Time was precious and it was impossible to know when the enemy would return; there was no opportunity to grieve even if they were dragging the bodies of kin away.

Most of Salwyn's warriors had been blown up with their skeletons, leaving only the metal frames of the reaper soldiers intact. However, the mangled bodies of the soldiers were still stacked up in small mountains, even if no one seemed to want to go near them. There were signs of three processing centres on the outskirts of the city, and Richard was informed that the defeated reapers had chosen to stall with their drones while the transporters took entire cabins full of flesh and left. The fact that those processing centres didn't have a single noticeable chunk of flesh was a testament to the cruel efficiency of the machines.

Within the Frozen Throne, the soldiers lucky enough to survive were dousing the mountain of corpses in oil. Mages started to cast fireballs onto the heaps of bodies, raging flames slowly engulfing them all. It was only as night fell that one could hear sobbing from around these mountains, slowly growing to a crescendo. Unfortunately, there wasn't even much time for those wails to build. As the flames started to burn, people started yelling to clear some of the ruins.

Richard took some time to locate Salwyn who was helping transport some reaper flesh just like a commoner. A few mages were busy at work picking the energy cores out of the weapon arms, casually throwing them into their pockets before shifting the corpses to the side. These cores were extremely dangerous and would certainly cause damage to the bodies of those who contacted them for too long, but these men were unwilling to even walk a few more steps to put the cores in one of the chests until their pockets were full. It would take half a month to go through it all meticulously, but they were working like mad men to have it done as quickly as they could. After all, these cores were the key to the next battle.

“Why aren't they putting those things in the chests immediately?” Mountainsea asked as the trio landed, a look of worry on her face.

The mages hadn't even bothered to acknowledge Richard's arrival until now, but a middle-aged man finally raised his head and glanced at her for a moment, “We don't know if we'll even make it through the next battle, kid. We're almost guaranteed to die anyway, so might as well make our deaths worthwhile and open as much of these things as we can.”

The girl's mouth gaped open in speechlessness, only to close as Richard patted her gently on the head. She had clearly woken up very recently, and wasn't completely aware of the situation. He took her along as he met Salwyn, who was currently throwing some wreckage into the pile.

“Didn't expect me to win, did you?” the Emperor asked with a bitter smile.

“Mm. Their numbers were far greater than expected.”

“Sigh. What is the situation on the other battlefields?”

“4 and 5 were a total disaster, barely anyone made it out. We've held the fort at the other three, but they were cruel victories.”

“So we've lost half our forces?”

“More like two-thirds.”

“What? How many enemies were there?”

“About three times the ones that attacked you.”

Salwyn's eyes went wide, “Then your troops...”

Richard nodded, “Only a fifth are still alive. We'll need to make some adjustments to the second line and activate the reserve guards. I also plan to recruit more troops from the south, I'm pulling all of their elites.”

“The kings and dukes there won't agree.”

“Then their entire royal lines will be destroyed.”

Salwyn nodded and looked at the ruins around him, “Richard, you've seen the situation here. We can't survive the next battle without reinforcements. Is there anything you can do?”

“Err...” Richard started muttering to himself, unable to reply immediately. The most ideal plan for all of Faelor was to gather the humans into one cohesive force. However, the journey from the Frozen Throne to Bluewater Oasis was a few months long for the ordinary citizen, and most of them would die to the reapers even if it was only a week.

Even Richard's own soldiers weren't gathered together. With the Bridge of Hope still under construction, he had deployed Gangdor with 50 rune knights, 300 night elves, and four saints to Goldflow Valley to clear up space for those that would move there. Unfortunately, that stretched him even thinner than he hoped. With most of the remaining soldiers having died just at the second line of defence, dividing his troops further was a death wish.

The most rational course of action was to give up on the Frozen Throne entirely, allowing the people there to be destroyed. The third wave of reapers could only be stopped by a combined effort, not a number of distant cities fighting for survival.

Richard looked Salwyn in the eye, only to see a frozen calmness without hope nor apprehension. This puppet ruler had obviously thought of the very same thing.

1341 - City of Sin

The Scent Of Destiny

“How many people are still alive?” Richard suddenly asked, staring down at the ruined city from his vantage point.

“Huh? Uhh... We aren't sure. But there were eight million when the first wave attacked, and from the looks of it... Maybe two million are left,” Salwyn said after a few moments of surprise.

“Mm... This thing is pretty useful, it might help defend against the next wave too,” Richard said while playing around with the exploding orb, reminding the Emperor that even reinforcements would only help with one more assault. He continued, “I can trust you once more, for the sake of your citizens. You'll get 2,000 humanoids and 300 night elves the day after tomorrow, prepare these things to be tied onto arrows for the elves, but you can use the humanoids however you want.”

Salwyn's eyes brightened and he grasped Richard's hand tightly, so moved that he didn't know what to say. It wasn't a large number of soldiers, but he knew just how important the drones were.

Richard patted the hand holding his, “But I have a condition. No matter how many people are left alive here, you're retreating after the next battle. It's impossible for you to survive the fourth; just pray that your citizens make it to my lands.”

“I understand, I will personally lead my people to you.”

“No. You, and anyone you think is important, will be moved on wasps.”

“But—”

“This isn't a suggestion, it's an order. Choose to disobey, and there will be no reinforcements.”

“But there are two million people here!” Salwyn growled, pointing at the people bustling around the city.

“There are fifty around Bluewater right now, and hundreds more in the south. Those drones can save far more than two million if I use them myself.”

“But... I'm...”

“You're the Emperor of the Iron Triangle, and I'm the ruler of this plane. Your two million citizens are only a small fraction of the near-billion that were under my command.” Richard saw Salwyn cringe at this fact, but he continued, “I'm sending reinforcements because I value you. We'll defeat the reapers eventually, and I won't let Faelor be destroyed. But I can't win a war with my forces stretched so thin.”

Salwyn sighed, “I believe in you as well. But... By that time... How much of this plane will be left standing?”

Richard patted his shoulder, “A glimmer of hope is all we need. Even if Faelor itself is destroyed, our people will continue their lives on other planes. Your legacy will not end unless you let it.”

......

Boarding his messenger to return to the primary battlefield, Richard sent out a slew of commands for his soldiers to retreat to the second line of defence. The third battlefield would be abandoned as well, with all troops concentrating on the primary and secondary locations near the Land of Turmoil and Bluewater.

As he finished his orders, Nasia suddenly tapped him on the shoulder, “Do you want to go after the reapers?”

“Just us?”

“Just us, but that doesn't include you. You should go back to Norland and make more sacrifices. You haven't been crafting runes recently and the reward point system is starting to run dry.”

“Does that matter right now?” he frowned.

“It's the source of funds for this suicide campaign. Do you have any other way to finance the war?”

“Ugh... Alright,” he admitted. If not for the wealth he had amassed from the reward point system, he wouldn't have decided to battle the reapers. This system gave him both the finances and the legendary subordinates to take on such an impossible enemy, and its collapse would be his doom. However, he was still a little worried, “But how are you going to manage things if I'm not here?”

“You can't always be here, but we'll still have to fight, won't we? Besides, you can't even take me on, can you?”

He had no response.

In the end, Richard transferred control over all of his followers and troops to Nasia, returning to Bluewater while she flew west with Mountainsea. At the same time, Zangru, Waterflower, Phaser, and even Ironshield and Shaun flew out to meet up with her.

...

Once Richard was gone, Mountainsea fell deep into thought. Sitting next to her, Nasia asked casually, “Something on your mind?”

The girl looked up at the mysterious paladin whom she had never really liked, finding a sense of security for the first time ever. Leaning over, she took a whiff, “I like your smell.”

“My... smell, huh... You can smell the scent of destiny?”

The barbarian girl grew serious, but a smile slowly appeared on her face, “Your smell is nice, so... Yes, I can smell destiny. I got it from the Beast God.”

“An interesting ability. Does it have any restrictions?”

“Mm. I can only smell fates that are related to me.”

“Still, not bad at all. Seems like the other descendants of the Beast God are destined for death.”

“What? Why?”

“The power of destiny is invisible, but it is stronger than anything else. If I had to give you an explanation, destiny is the combined law of everything in existence. It isn't deterministic, but controlling it is very difficult. Few people can understand all the laws in existence, but you come close.”

Mountainsea was stunned by this explanation. She had never expected this one ability of hers to have such a profound effect.

Nasia continued, “You're gifted, and your mere presence will ensure that destiny abandons the other descendants of the Beast God. They will meet with various obstacles until one eventually removes them from existence.”

“But why?”

“I don't know either. I have only seen this happen before in the past; when someone with a powerful destiny appears in an ancient bloodline, the other descendants of that bloodline go extinct.”

“Hmm... Have I seen anyone like that before?”

“Perhaps. Who knows?” Nasia shrugged it off.

Mountainsea furrowed her brows, but she couldn't figure out who this other descendant could be. She eventually just stopped thinking about it and shook her head vigorously, flinging those thoughts away.

Nasia looked at the flustered princess and asked, “Did you like Richard because of his scent, too?”

“Oh? Mmm...” Mountainsea smiled as she recalled the past, “Yeah, he had a really nice scent. Of everyone I met in Norland, he was the one that didn't seem to care about my money at all.”

The young girl than started describing her childhood in detail, with Nasia listening patiently as she talked about events in the Deepblue. The problems of that time were minute given her current perspective, but she seemed to be able to remember the tiniest of details when it came to Richard.

“I heard he came searching for you in Klandor?” Nasia eventually asked.

Mountainsea fell silent for a moment before replying softly, “Yes, but I regret it now.”

“Why? Didn't he bring you away successfully?”

The barbarian girl looked forward, staring at an unknown spot in the distance, “It changed our destinies. I don't know how, but when I gave up on my totems and came to Norland, I realised I was useless to him. I had no power, no money, and I didn't know how to do anything to help.”

“And so you slept. Slept hard, hoping you could awaken your bloodline quickly.”

“Mm. Thankfully, I seem to have made it just in time.”

“You know, if you really want to help Richard, this isn't the way.”

“But what should I do?”

“When the time comes, seek help from the Azuresnow Shrine. Richard is currently a soldier with no reinforcements, he has no chance to rest at all. If this goes on, he'll die sooner or later. The reward point system isn't a binding force; if things go downhill, no amount of virtual points will lure powerhouses to Faelor.”

Nasia smiled bitterly before continuing, “When the casualties at the high end reach a certain level, you'll suddenly find all our friends gone.”

“So I should go ask the shrine for warriors?”

“No, that isn't it. Just keep your shrine in mind; I feel like we'll be encountering a difficult enemy soon, we might require all the help we can get.”

“What enemy?”

“If I mastered destiny to that extent, I wouldn't have a need to wear this mask.”

The two of them fell quiet, their mount silently flying across the sky to the end of the world.

1342 - City of Sin

A Ray Of Hope

“You requested my presence?” the voice of the Eternal Dragon rang out as Richard placed six bottles of ember essence on the altar, the grand aura of its true will covering the isolated space.

“Yes. I've sustained heavy losses in the battle against the reapers, and hope for some assistance in the war,” Richard replied calmly.

“The reapers come from a domain beyond my light. They are not under my control, and even have the ability to erode my domain. You should be well aware that I cannot assist you significantly.”

“A little is good enough,” he almost seemed like he was begging..

“Who are you doing this for?” the old dragon asked.

Richard paused for a moment, feeling like the dragon suddenly sounded conversational instead of formal. However, he still answered the question, “A small number of people, and for a large number of people.”

“So disappointing. You are a titled worshipper of mine, someone with a boundless future. Your world should revolve around you alone, not the other way around. Your strength should be their hope, but you are engaging in a war with no chance of victory.”

“I'm sure there'll be a miracle.”

“Miracles are not something you can summon whenever you wish,” the dragon's tone turned distant and icy once more, “As someone with a rank 2 title, you do indeed have the right to request a special blessing once a year. This is yours now.”

An orb of light floated in front of Richard, filling his mind with information the moment he touched it. It was Divine Omniscience once more, concerning advanced information about the ember essence. It took five top-tier offerings' worth of timeforce before that knowledge was burned into his mind, giving him a detailed explanation about the properties of ember essence and also showing him how to craft it.

Richard's eyes lit up as he saw these instructions, but as he continued to read the glow faded away. The steps were quite simple and straightforward: all one had to do was place the ember essence in a current of timeforce so it could regain its vitality quickly. However, no one could actually find currents of timeforce accurately and also have the courage to jump within.

A current of timeforce contained terrifying energy that even an epic being would be unable to withstand. It could force hundreds of thousands of years to pass by in an instant, turning anyone to dust. Only a master of both space and time could survive in such a location.

However, there hadn't been a single individual in Norlandic history that had mastered spacetime entirely. From another perspective, the concept of levels of realms simply couldn't fathom a being of such power. In the end, that only meant the Eternal Dragon was the only way he could acquire activated ember essence.

However, Richard didn't believe he would have to give up five offerings for such useless information. In fact, he fully trusted in himself that he would eventually be able to travel in the currents of time without restraint one day, at which point he could find them and test this process himself. As he continued reading, however, his frown quickly dissipated as a small passage gave him what was very critical information.

It was unknown just how ember essence was formed, but the Eternal Dragon had never once been informed of an instance where the reapers had created it in a world they invaded. This meant there was a limited amount of it, in turn implying that the limit to reapers wasn't the resources they obtained, but the amount of ember essence they entered the world with. While he hadn't known this, he was already focused on gathering all of the ember essence to sacrifice to the old dragon anyway; this would be the path to victory!

The conscient of the Eternal Dragon had already departed at this point. With twenty top-tier offerings' worth of divine grace left behind, Richard looked at everything he could get and eventually chose a divine weapon, legendary equipment, and a number of important materials before leaving as quickly as he could. He wanted nothing more than to fly back to Faelor right away; there were entire warehouses of reapers that he hadn't refined just yet!

......

A storm was currently brewing within Soremburg Castle, all available members of their high council currently gathered for a meeting. However, unlike most instances where all of the members showed up, three seats were currently empty.

Unsure of the circumstances, some of the participants turned to each other as they saw the empty seats and started whispering amongst themselves. Seeing this happen, the acting lord of the castle coughed to garner attention, “Respected Scholars, you can see that we have faced heavy losses recently. Two of our former companions have departed, and it is uncertain whether Soulwalker Jinfarah was successful. However, his resonance crystal is still intact, so I believe this is good news.”

The acting lord waved his hand to show an image of a dark hall, with several large crystals placed in a ring at the centre. The image was focused around one crystal whose name plate read Jinfarah, but it was currently buzzing so fast that it was almost a blur. A wave of formless energy suddenly crashed into the crystal's surface, immediately cracking it apart and shattering it loudly. Each of the fragments showed an image of the broodmother. Jinfarah's name plate dropped to the ground from the explosion, turning around before falling bottom-up. However, a falling fragment crashed into it and flipped it back up.

The meeting hall went deathly silent, but the acting lord of the castle eventually spoke up, “It appears I have to recall that statement. The High Scholar has failed.”

“Is that broodmother not only level 12?” a voice piped up.

High Scholar Rhodey answered, “It awakened its truename when it was level 10, and even saw through our traps. This situation is unprecedented, and there is no means to predict its next actions.”

“Two of our members have died at its hands, we might need to deal with it seriously.”

“How?” a bestial figure voiced dissent, “I believe we should look back at every step of our operation and erase all traces. If it truly grows up and leaves its plane, leaving threads of destiny connected to it will lead to disaster. Does anyone here believe they have the power to match up against a matriarch?”

The members started to discuss this with some clear discomfort, but the lord coughed once more and interrupted them, “There might not be a reason to worry. The reapers are already within Faelor, and the broodmother cannot leave yet. Once the plane is destroyed, even a surviving seed would only lie dormant in the broken earth while awaiting its next chance to awaken.”

A withered old man spoke up, “It will be of great benefit to search for this seedling once that occurs.”

As these words rang out, even Rhodey's breathing grew louder. This was the seed of a terrifying broodmother that had already proved itself, controlling it was akin to controlling Faelor. The Scholars knew just how powerful a fully grown broodmother was; with one, they could take over all of Norland in less than a century and bring their united power to explore the mysteries of the world! This was the closest they had ever been to achieving their goal!

The acting lord shook his head, “That is indeed true, but acquiring this seed will demand that we risk a thread of destiny. This will have to be approved formally.”

All the members of the council went quiet for a bit before someone suggested, “Then let us put it to vote.”

Both the acting lord and Rhodey looked at each other before nodding slowly. This was something that could affect the existence of Soremburg itself, so everyone would have to be invested. The vote would tie their fates together, ensuring that they would share in both consequences and benefits.

“Those in favour of retaining the thread of destiny, raise your hands.”

A wave of hands rose in response to the lord's words, with more than two-thirds in favour of the decision. After some hesitation, even Rhodey voted in favour. While he didn't agree himself, the castle lord could not change their minds. He sighed softly, “Greed is the root of destruction.”

Of course, his own hand had gone up and down repeatedly as he struggled to make a decision.

Once the decision was made, one of the members switched topics, “Empress Apeiron has asked Hasting to begin his annihilation of the Land of Dusk. However, Richard is still fighting the reapers; is it wise of us to exhaust ourselves?”

“I see no issue. This is the best time to prove our prowess to the Empress. She and Julian are in control of the laws and chaos, and will be key personnel in the future. Hasting has been prepared for a long time as well.”

“What happens after we defeat the Daxdians? Do we build a forward base in their plane?”

Those discussing this had no idea that the Daxdians were currently enjoying a huge upper hand in the Land of Dusk. From their words, it almost seemed natural that they would win.

“Daxdus still has ten epic beings,” the oldest member countered, “Even if two of them have yet to recover after Philip's attack, that is still eight epic beings to face in the worst case. We need to be adequately prepared.”

“Let us establish a forward base first. It will be easier to absorb their powers afterwards.”

“I agree.”

“Agreed.”

...

The meeting eventually landed on its last topic, the bounty Richard had placed on all Scholars. Rhodey stood up and read out a number of statistics, “We have lost fifteen advanced Scholars very recently, including one member of our council. There are about 90 intermediates as well, and a few hundred lesser ones and 400 imposters. Our surface strength is almost entirely depleted.”

“The bounty was this enticing?”

“The sum was enormous”

“Do not forget, humans are capable of all sorts of foolishness in the face of greed.”

“It seems like we have to introspect. Our disguises weren't as brilliant as we thought.”

Eventually, a member who was so skinny that he resembled a bag of bones asked with bloodlust in his eyes, “Who accepted these rewards outside of the Millennial Empire?”

“All ten of the top assassin organisations on the plane,” Rhodey said calmly.

The skinny man's bloodlust seemed to solidify in response.

“We have another choice,” the acting lord of the castle spoke up, “It is time for the sleeping hawk to return to the sky.”

“I agree,” another member nodded, “Richard will not be able to touch him with his unique identity. That would be akin to declaring war on Klandor.”

“Then I will send him a letter.”

1343 - City of Sin

Countering The Undercurrent

In a valley not far from the Snow Cliff, a middle-aged man with greying hair was practising his swordsmanship under the morning sun. His skill with the blade wasn't much to speak of, and without any bloodlust his moves simply looked like stunts, but he was repeating a small set of movements repeatedly to try and perfect them.

“Breakfast is ready,” a barbarian woman with toned musculature walked out from a nearby house, pausing as she saw the man's face, “Hmm? Something on your mind?”

“Nothing,” the man laughed it off, “Just feel like some old friends will come knocking on our doors soon.”

The woman immediately frowned, bloodlust radiating from her body, “I can kill those annoying cretins this time, right?”

The man smiled and shook his head, “Rash as ever. They might just be planning for that, but... I guess this is why you're stronger than me, you never worry about these things.”
𝐟𝙧ℯe𝙬𝚎𝒃𝗻𝒐ѵel. 𝐜o𝓶

This couple seemed content with their small house in the valley, but the woman was once known as the ruler of Klandor and the man was a former prince of Norland's oldest empire. The two looked up in unison as birdcall rang through the sky, a common black hawk fleeing from a number of grey falcons that were hunting it. A few of its feathers fell off amidst its flight, with one being brought into the valley by the wind to land on one of the stone tables in the courtyard.

Greyhawk walked over and started examining the feather while Asa frowned at the side. It looked common to even the epic warrior, but Scholars of Soremburg could extract the information contained within. This enigma was what allowed the Scholars to communicate effectively.

“They're showing off with their control of destiny again,” Asa scoffed, a formless aura appearing around her. However, her eyes went wide as she saw her husband's expression hardening as well. The black feather was turned to ash and disappeared into the wind, but his long, grey hair was rustling around as well. However, the grey hair turned into a pure black in mere seconds, his aura radiating the same mysterious colour. She quickly recovered from her shock, but worry filled her face instead, “What happened?”

“They want me to join the Castle again, and take up the position of a council member. They also want me to promise to take over the position of the castle lord in the future.”

“And if you disagree?” her expression turned icy cold, the entire valley freezing over as a result of her wrath.

“They'll trap our daughter in Faelor forever.”

Asa inhaled sharply, shooting up into the sky while raising a whirlwind around her. Everything within a hundred metres of the house was levelled in an instant, but Greyhawk himself sat calmly in the middle of her rage with not even a hair lifting up. He motioned for her to calm down after a moment, but even as she grunted and returned to her seat, the distant eagle exploded into blood and flesh.

“Demonstrations mean nothing to them, those maniacs still think they control destiny. Richard's methods are the best way to deal with them.”

“But how are we supposed to kill them when we can't find them?!”

“That's fine too. The point is for people to be unwilling to join their side in the future. Soremburg will slowly lose numbers until they aren't a faction any longer.”

“And what do we do now?” Asa huffed.

Greyhawk chuckled, “Our daughter carries the blood of the Beast God and has a grasp on fate itself. She isn't someone those maniacs can touch, and she's with Richard as well. We don't have to worry.”

Asa nodded, “Mm, he's strange. I can't tell the direction of his destiny, even the Grand Shaman can't.”

“He's someone out of the grasp of destiny itself. I'm not certain if it's a good or bad thing for Mountainsea to be with him, but it is what it is.”

“I don't care as long as he treats her well. Right, how do we deal with the bastards?”

Greyhawk smiled helplessly. His powerful wife was always straightforward, leaving him to think about things while she solved issues with the most direct and violent method possible. The same had occurred during his attempted invasion of Klandor. His preparations had been flawless, but she had taken a hundred totem warriors and charged straight for the core of his troops and captured him.

One had to know that he'd had enough rune knights to kill her with one combined volley, but he had chosen to distribute two-thirds of them to his flanks. His core was indeed weak, but if he could last even a few minutes the wings would have wrapped around her small force and destroyed it. However, the trail of blood she left behind had shocked him beyond words as she appeared right before him in the blink of an eye, knocking him unconscious and capturing him.

The former prince had asked his new wife to explain her reasoning to him moments after he awoke, but her answer was such a simple one that he felt like slamming his head into the wall of his prison. She had charged at him simply because she'd felt like she could capture him, all of his strategy being destroyed at the hands of her intuition.

It was only when Mountainsea was born that Greyhawk understood that this both was and wasn't something as simple as intuition. While not to as great an extent as Mountainsea, Asa was closely linked to the power of fate itself, being able to passively divine many things.

However, their enemies this time were the mysterious Scholars of Soremburg, a group of maniacs who believed they could control destiny. They weren't the strongest faction in Norland, but they were certainly the most dangerous. As a former High Scholar himself, Greyhawk knew just how difficult this opponent could be.

After a few minutes where his wife allowed him to ponder, Greyhawk suddenly smiled, “You have a lot of savings, don't you?”

“The stones and bones and stuff? Yeah, plenty. You want to make some money in Norland?”

“Let's go to the tribe and pick some of it up. I also need to look for some useful things in the treasury of the Shrine. That's fine, right?”

“Anything outside of the totems and blood.”

“I actually need the blood. A single drop will do.”

“Ehh... Sure, I guess. We have a tank anyway, but you'll need to get the Grand Elder or Shaman to approve it. What do you need it for anyway?”

“I heard that Richard has opened up a reward point system that's pretty interesting. We have nothing to do here anyway, let's go join in on the fun. I want to exchange a few things, but there's no rush. Let me make a list; some of these things are scattered around, but we should be able to gather back together in a week if we split the work.”

Greyhawk sat down to write a list, but moments after he was done Asa took it and struck off a number of them. Putting everything that was difficult to acquire under her name, she nodded, “I'll get all this, you take the rest.”

“I'm stronger now, you know? You don't need to go this far,” Greyhawk pouted. Barely a quarter of the list was left for him to find.

“Heh, you're still the same guy that fainted to a single slap!” she smiled with disdain, prompting a look of embarrassment.

1344 - City of Sin

Clouds Of Conspiracy

“Huh? Did something happen?” When Richard returned to his island, he was surprised by Julian waiting for him.

The man smiled and passed him a sheet of paper, “This is the contribution requirement at the Land of Dusk for this month.”

“Contribution? You could have sent anyone for that, and I've already paid... A threefold increase, what happened?”

“Her Majesty has decided to launch a full attack in the Land of Dusk, chasing the Daxdians out entirely.”

“She wants to... what?” Richard was shocked by this declaration. Norland as a whole had always been at a disadvantage in the Land of Dusk despite the cooperation of the three human kingdoms, and it was difficult for any one to renew their focus in that direction as well. While some amount of contribution was expected from all nobility, most nobles simply paid in offerings or gold to support the independent warriors that formed the bulk of the defensive forces. Even he had continued to pay his share while he had separated from the Alliance, simply because it concerned the interests of the entire plane. There simply was no room for the Sacred Alliance to make such a big move.

It was only a few years ago that Emperor Philip had displayed his frightening power to recover the Fort of Dawn, but that had led to his demise. He was just as powerful as Apeiron if not more, so chasing the Daxdians away was impossible. This was true even if he and Sharon joined hands to help; perhaps only Philip and Ferlyn added on top of that could stand a chance.

Julian simply smiled at the question, informing Richard that it was a military secret which would be revealed when the time came. However, he leaned over and whispered softly, “Her Majesty wishes for you to go to the Land of Dusk, even if merely to have a look.”

“Hmm... Alright, let me know when.” With no more information forthcoming, Richard was suspicious but concluded that it was something of utmost importance. Even Apeiron wouldn't waste his time at such a juncture.

Julian bowed deeply, “We shall look forward to your arrival.”

Richard nodded, having a servant send over enough offerings to match the required contribution. He then headed to his study and started going through his administrative duties; even if he did only the minimum required, it would still be half an hour before he was done.

However, on top of the stack of documents for him to review was a letter marked as with utmost importance and urgency, causing him to raise an eyebrow. He read through it to find that it was someone collecting on his bounty, specifically with regards to the identity and traces of a Scholar. Alice had already verified the information, and as someone who had dealt with the Scholars for a while now he realised that the information was almost certainly accurate the moment he read through it. The Scholar was even one on the level of a council member, well beyond Raymond's importance.

However, there was one problem. This Scholar's name was Greyhawk; it was the prince of the Millennial Empire and Mountainsea's father.

Richard walked back and forth in his study with the letter in hand, filled with hesitation and indecision. In a situation where every minute could mean the lives of thousands of soldiers, he spent a full ten before he could come to a decision. He called the old butler in and passed the document, “Reward them as usual, but have Sauron and Alice look into the person who informed us about this.”

Pausing for a moment, he continued to ask, “And how's Coco?”

“Miss Coco has been quite emotional lately, perhaps because of her family. She also seems to be upset that her child is not by her side.”

“Fiora's situation is a little delicate now, ask her not to worry. Anyway, has she decided? Will she stay or leave?”

The steward bowed, “She wishes to stay, Master, but the ultimate decision is yours.”

“Oh? She is aware that it means giving up on her territory and title?”

“Yes.”

“Huh... Well, then let her stay. And she can keep the fiefdom too.”

“Thank you, Master!” the steward smiled with emotion, “There is another matter. Miss Demi plans to marry Lord Agamemnon from the Ironblood Family, but she hasn't completed her duties.”

“She's exempt,” Richard waved of.

“M-Master, but...” the old man was surprised. There had never been an exception to the family laws in all of recorded Archeron history, and violators were punished heavily. Venica's banishment was already the lightest sentence Richard could have passed; in theory, the only way out was a marriage where the Archerons joined with another family formally. However, Agamemnon wasn't yet the leader of the Ironblood Family and couldn't represent his entire bloodline.

“Just ask them to send their second child to us. I won't be able to make it for their wedding, but prepare a gift and send it over.”

......

“Master, I have a surprise for you. You should visit the Land of Turmoil,” the broodmother's voice rang in Richard's mind the moment he stepped into Faelor.

“Spill. I'm not going to waste a day travelling!” Richard grumbled. His runecrafting speed had grown exponentially ever since he entered the legendary realm, and his success rate was frightening as well. He could craft most grade 5 runes in only three days now, so he wouldn't waste time on travel.

“It won't take a day, just a few minutes,” she insisted, directing him to what looked like a portal close to his residence. The thing was obviously different from normal teleportation gates, with a dark brown texture to the frame and a pulsing body, but this left him impressed. He had never even imagined a creature that could form a portal with its body.

“The mana required to power this takes about 300,000 gold in crystals,” the broodmother's voice rang out once more.

At this point, however, Richard didn't even consider gold a limited currency. He gladly walked through the strange portal and found himself in the familiar larval forest, the mountainous broodmother right before him. He turned around to look at the other end, “Not bad at all. Make one for every battlefield.”

“Hmm? The mana cost is simply too high, I don't think that's a good idea.”

“Just needs to accommodate me. What do you call these things anyway?”

“Wormholes, but Master, I don't think it would be wise for you to participate in all of the battles.”

“Of course I have to. This is a war that I personally decided to fight.”

“But... Sigh. Have you thought of the consequences if you die? All of us who follow you do it for you, not for the Archerons. We would part ways immediately.”

Richard laughed, “I won't die so easily.”

“No one is invincible!”

“Sure, but— Huh?” Richard's reply was stopped short when he saw a small silhouette appear on the back of the broodmother. Leaping forward several times, it charged towards him like lightning. He grabbed a sword by instinct and was about to bat the threat to the ground, but he froze as the figure cried out.

“Daddy!”

1345 - City of Sin

Surprise

“Daddy?” Richard froze as the little silhouette jumped into his arms. She was small, but surprisingly had the strength to push him to the ground. Looking at the little girl that seemed about seven or eight years old, Richard instinctively brought his hands up to stroke her lava-like hair, “Fiora!”

The little girl smiled sweetly, burying her head into Richard's chest. However, he quickly returned to his senses and looked up at the broodmother with a questioning gaze. It hadn't been more than a few months since she was born.

“This is the surprise I mentioned, Master. I managed to expel the Scholar that sullied her soul. Miss Fiora is now your daughter, through and through.”

"But how did she get so big?"

“That...” the broodmother heaved a rare sigh, “My plan had been to arouse her bloodline to resist the soul trap, but it accidentally increased her growth rate a hundredfold. Now, she lives a full year in only three days.”

This information actually left Richard relieved. He only relaxed after investigating Fiora's body and bloodline, but once things were confirmed he smiled. There were a number of powerful races whose offspring matured in a single year, living for tens of millennia afterwards. There were supposedly even infants that could roam the void upon birthg. This growth would stop once Fiora passed maturity, so there was no need to worry too much.

“How did you manage it anyway?” he asked with curiosity.

“Quite simple, Master. This Scholar, his name was Jinfarah, used his own soul to cover your daughter's. Her will would wither away with time, allowing him to occupy her body entirely. But that also meant that he would have to bear everything she experienced. So I used the same method we did with Zangru, but this time I placed her in a region of empty darkness where she would be able to sense nothing but her own blood flow. He went mad soon enough, so I managed to find his hiding spot and pull him out.

“Pity he couldn't take the torment. There were almost no memories for me to look through once he was out.”

Rage immediately filled Richard's eyes. Zangru had been drained of all his blood repeatedly, to the point where even the bastard demigod collapsed mentally and was reformed. With the bloodline being stimulated on top of that, the process definitely wasn't pleasant. For his own daughter to go through such a thing almost prompted him to blame the broodmother, but he restrained himself and glared, “No worries. I'll destroy them all one day.”

Bidding farewell, he left Fiora in the broodmother's care and returned to the primary battlefield. One reason was that the Land of Turmoil was the safest part of Faelor right now, and another was that the larval forest and the worker drones were the only way he knew to give the girl the same amount of nutrition in a day that normal children got in a full year.

......

Over the next few days, the broodmother built a wormhole in both the primary battlefields and the Frozen Throne. Richard returned to Bluewater in the time, going back to his fully equipped lab to work on the gorgon head that Romney had sold him a while ago. With some initial processing complete, its laws could be extracted directly into a magic soul or it could be turned into a powerful tool on its own. However, turning it into a tool would only allow three casts of its petrifying gaze before the power ran out.

Three chances was still a lot for a tool that could kill legends, but Richard wasn't one to be satisfied with just that. Ordering all assistants out of his laboratory and nearby buildings, he started working on it from another direction. They left assuming that processing the soul would be dangerous, but a learned soul mage would quickly realise that he wasn't forming a magic soul, but capturing the remnants of the gorgon and absorbing them!

The head full of snakes withered in mere minutes, the picturesque visage being replaced by a dessicated mass of wrinkled skin. Richard pulled an orb of yellow light out of it, within which a tiny image of a gorgon was struggling to break free.

This gorgon was surprisingly strong, which left her soul rather intact even upon death. Observing it for a while, Richard eventually drew it into his body before teleporting to Sharon's demiplane and entering the library, using the laboratory there to assist with the analysis of her laws. It only took until that evening before all of her soul had been analysed, giving him the ability to form a perfect magic soul.

He now had a new saint rune in his arsenal, the Petrifying Gaze. It was not one whit inferior to Mana Armament, and even using a copied magic soul instead of the original it would still inconvenience legends and petrify most saints. Richard worked without rest for the next two days to make two of the rune instead of just one, ensuring that the reward point system would still be attractive for the next three months.

While applying some finishing touches to the rune, Richard shuttled between the major battlefields versus the reaper and gathered all of the wreckage, refining it all into ember essence. The enemy seemed to realise what he was doing, so they shrank their battle lines and almost stopped sending out their warships entirely. Not one to pass up on the opportunity, he sent a stream of scouts and powerhouses into the north to probe them.

......

The entire plane grew quite peaceful over the next few days, but everyone knew that this was only an omen of greater dangers. Those participating in the battles for points started to grow nervous. Many of them had accumulated a considerable amount of points in the past two battles and could potentially start bidding for divine equipment after the next one, but they knew that the chances of death were proportional to that potential reward. However, only two saints gave up in the end, a testament to the temptation that the weapons posed.

As the silence of the Archerons started to grow unbearable, the mercenaries on the battlefield welcomed the upcoming war with their traditional merriment. Many of them flocked to the boards as a new list of rewards was announced, their eyes filled with hope and anticipation for the upcoming auction.

Back in the abyssal battlefield, Romney looked at the point rankings as always, basking in the fact that he still surpassed two legendary powerhouses. It was all thanks to the gorgon head he had exchanged for points, which had given him a head start to becoming a veteran of the system. He now looked nothing like when he had first started out, with a sub-legendary outfit, two legendary shortswords, and a grade 4 Stealthwalker rune. His equipment had improved more in the past year than in the past thirty, and he had called all of his friends including a sky saint to see. The assassin had become the most powerful of anyone he was well-acquainted with, a common success story for those who had joined Richard's system early on.

People like Romney were a large reason for the continuous influx of powerhouses into the Archeron reward system. Those numbers were boosted greatly when the Celestial Sage announced his own participation, the statement from the epic being prompting any legends that were still holding on to false pride to put aside their heistations. However, the conditions now were quite different as well. There was a registration fee of fifty points which would be deducted from one's initial battles. This could be made up for in a single battle by most, but it would ensure that they didn't slack. Nasia had implemented it to exploit the participants' psyche more than anything; the fact that they had spent a bit at the start would convince them to fight longer and harder for more points.

Of course, all that meant nothing if there weren't any truly valuable items on offer. This time was no different, with a brand new saint rune added to the list— Petrifying Gaze. Romney was stunned at the mere sight of it, immediately understanding its connection to the gorgon head he had traded in. While he had expected such an outcome, it had never crossed his mind that Richard would be able to finish something so quickly. Even as a layman he knew just how much work went into crafting a new rune, but considering the battle against the reapers he estimated that it had only taken twenty days at most to go from design to completion!

“What's wrong?” a grand mage tapped the assassin's shoulder, “Found something you like?”

“Hmm? No,” Romney shook his head, “I just feel like His Grace is amazing.”

“You mean the Petrifying Gaze? Of course, it goes without saying! Don't forget that his teacher was the mighty Sharon! You might not know this, but the Deepblue is now the most attractive place of study for all mages in Norland. The alchemy course alone allows students to deal with hundreds of rare materials during classes; if I had an opportunity like that, I would have gotten to level 20 by now.”

“Mm... He really is amazing,” Romney nodded, continuing as the mage slapped his own head in annoyance, “I want to join the Archerons and become his follower.”

1346 - City of Sin

To Follow

“Wait, what? You want to become Richard Archeron's follower now?” the grand mage almost jumped in surprise, “Are you insane? You'll have to fight the reapers! We aren't even legends, killing these demons is hard enough! Are you hoping for your family to collect the compensation or something?”

Despite his friend's attempts to dissuade him, Romney's eyes glowed with determination, “No, I've decided to do it. Doesn't matter if I die in battle, but if I pull through my name will be written down in Norland's history!”

“You've... actually gone insane, haven't you?”

“No, I haven't. Join me!” Romney wanted to pull the man along.

“Nope, there's no way. I'm not coming with you, no matter what you say.”

Romney gritted his teeth in response. He really wanted to speak about the gorgon head, but he had sworn himself to secrecy on that front. Instead, he held the man's hand sincerely, “You know I wouldn't harm you. I feel like this is our only chance; if we miss the opportunity to sign a contract with Lord Richard, we'll never get it again. Come with me!”

"Of course not!" the grand mage stood his ground.

Romney looked at the grand mage with regret, eventually turning around to leave. Looking at his departing back, the man panicked for a split second and wondered whether he truly had made the wrong choice in the situation. However, that fear was quickly suppressed by the much greater terror he felt when it came to the reapers. The casualty reports from Faelor's battlefields froze him in place.

......

In the celestial laboratory in Sharon's demiplane, Richard was working on an analytical model of the reaper warships. He had just finished with the medium-sized ones and marked some finishing touches when a bell rang in the hall, signalling a medium-priority request for his presence. Stopping his analysis, he left the demiplane to return to Bluewater.

In the guest chambers of his residence, Romney was walking about nervously as he awaited his fate. He tried looking outside to calm his stress, but he was met with the sight of two enormous portals that seemed like they led to other planes. He was surprised to find that it was commoners entering these portals, not troops; with hundreds walking through every minute, a quick estimate told him that Richard was spending hundreds of thousands of gold every hour to teleport them out.

“It's called the Bridge of Hope; its a way for my citizens to retreat to safer planes,” Richard's voice suddenly rang out from behind him.

“Y-Your Grace!” Romney jumped in shock, quickly turning around to bow.

Richard pointed at the sofa and smiled, “Sit. I hear you wish to become a follower of mine? You should know what that means, right?”

“I do,” the assassin picked up his courage, “I'll need to sign a contract to the death, and battle the reapers.”

“You'll probably die,” Richard maintained his smile.

“I... I know.”

“Huh. Alright, my time is precious. Give me one good reason for me to accept you.”

“I know that you're an incredible person, I want to follow you so I can leave my own mark on history!” Romney clenched his fists, but seeing Richard continue to stare at him he explained, “I know you're someone who can produce a saint rune in twenty days, a brand new one... That's why...”

As the assassin collapsed into his seat with no strength, Richard nodded, “Thought so, but it's good that you could say it out loud. I appreciate honesty here, and I'll give you a chance. But you should know there will be no preferential treatment.”

“I understand! I'm lucky enough to have this opportunity; the war against the reapers will be my test!”

“Alright, here's the contract. This war really is a test, but I sincerely hope everyone can live through it to the very end.”

Romney bowed in response, opening up the slave contract and signing his name with gritted teeth. At that moment, he abandoned his past life to embark on a new road, one filled with sunshine and thorns.

......

Once Romney left, Richard returned to the demiplane to continue analysing the reapers. Around the same time, a ball-like unit arrived at each of the primary battlefields against the reapers and hunkered down, growing into what looked like a large castle of flesh. These were improved flesh furnaces, much smaller than the original but with the sole purpose of working with reaper wreckage to reduce Richard's workload when refining the ember essence. They more than doubled the speed at which he could gather the essence, giving him a full twenty bottles in only a few days.

Hundreds of thousands of people were retreating to the Forest Plane and Goldflow Valley in the meanwhile, but in order to maintain stability the portals could only accommodate so many transmissions at a time. Thankfully, those lying in wait didn't cause too many disturbances. Once those that were causing trouble were executed without a second thought, nobody tried any underhanded means to push themselves ahead on the list.

As time passed, Richard eventually decided that the reapers had been inactive for too long a time. He contacted the broodmother to have the scouts head deeper in, and despite a large number of losses they quickly found out that almost the entirety of reaper territory had been abandoned as they withdrew towards their base. Please visit 𝒇𝚛𝙚𝙚𝘸𝙚𝗯𝓃𝗼ѵ𝚎𝘭. c𝑜𝘮

The lands the reapers left behind were completely devoid of life, with criss-crossing trenches dug up everywhere in their search for resources. Richard was shocked when he first saw the sight, knowing that this damage was far greater than even that from the larval forest that was tearing the Land of Turmoil apart.

1347 - City of Sin

The Third Wave

Looking at the last section of darkness on his magic map, Richard ordered all of his flying beasts to gather together and advance towards the reaper base at full speed. Hundreds of the tiny warships immediately chased after them, but they tried their best to dodge attacks and flew towards the core without hesitation. When one of the drones eventually broke through, it came upon a thin layer of mist surrounding the base that blocked even the gods from prying. The creature crossed the mist with ease, but Richard's eyes went wide as it saw just what was on the other side.

The reapers now had a huge ship with them, over a thousand metres long!

As the drone was decimated by dozens of energy beams, Richard's table was destroyed by a loss of control. He shivered for a moment before steadying himself, transmitting the last image to his followers, “That thing is mine, none of you are to try and interfere.”

No one retorted, but legendary auras flared up all throughout Faelor as the party prepared for what would come next. Having been found out, the reapers quickly started charging across the lands in a black tide that spelt destruction for everything in its path.

This time, even Richard didn't try to count just how many enemies there would be. It would only be a scant few hours before both sides met, and in that time he prepared his army to function purely under Nasia's lead. His own goal was simple; he had to keep killing the enemies until none were left, and it would be a question of which side ran out first.

......

The third battle against the reapers thus began. Richard occupied his usual spot at the head of his army, facing the enormous black silhouette that attracted the gaze of everyone below. Both the astral chrysalis and the broodmother were as big or bigger, but Norlanders were far more accustomed to enormous living beings than machines of such size. Although they had already fought in two battles, most of the Archeron warriors paled as they estimated the sheer power that this warship would possess. If a single elephant could kill a hundred of them, then what about this machine that was a hundred times its size?

“The big thing is mine,” Richard's voice suddenly reverberated throughout the battlefield, “I'll leave the rest to you.”

The entire battlefield went silent for a few seconds, but someone then bellowed with a hoarse voice, “NO PROBLEM, BOSS!”

“LEAVE IT TO US!” “WE'LL KILL THEM ALL!” “I WON'T FALL BACK UNTIL I DIE!” A sea of roars quickly flooded the battlefield moments later, prompting a smile from Richard as he drew his holy sword and started walking towards the enemy. Every step caused tremors in the ground, the distance covered growing larger and larger until he started zipping through like a bolt of lightning. His figure quickly started to blur as he crossed thousands of metres in a few steps.

Richard's path left a trail of carnage behind. Everything within ten metres lost control and started shaking, the units on the ground floating up while the warships started spinning around without any way to break free. Both quickly exploded into balls of fire, blood, flesh, and metal forming the road of the Archeron King.

Moments before he was under the enormous warship, Richard suddenly jumped up and flew a kilometre into the sky to vault on top of it. He then crashed into it with a thousand tonnes of weight, leaving a cloud of fire behind as he disappeared into its interior.

A deafening cheer rang out from the Archeron army as the soldiers realised he had infiltrated successfully, many starting to celebrate with the expectation that it would crash and burn. Although they knew the enemy was powerful, they considered Richard a symbol of invincibility.

The ship slowly came to a stop, vibrating constantly in the sky, but the other reaper warships continued moving forward and reached the army in the blink of an eye. Energy beams quickly drowned out the cheers, forming a battle where one could be attacked from all sides. Even as they fought back against the flesh warriors below, the stronger soldiers started taking out any warships they could to lessen the pressure.

...

When he entered the ship, Richard was shocked to find that he had dropped into an enclosed room. There was no door nor window here, not even machinery; only holes for energy beams to be shot from every wall. He roared and swung his sword forward, tearing a ten-metre long passage in front of him, but as he blinked to the end of that corridor he was still met with a number of powerful energy beams. He immediately broke down through the metal to escape, but the first thing he met there was yet another attack. There was another enclosed room at the end of the passage he had opened up, and as he looked back he realised he had also passed through a number more in the middle.

However, this room had a few vague clicking sounds and felt slightly different from the rest. Richard immediately pointed his sword in the direction of the noise and blasted another passage through, coming upon a larger space with a strange machine within. He smiled with glee and blinked in, only to find that the thing was only about as big as six of the tiny rooms with the machine occupying most of the space.

A simple palm attack shattered the machine into a number of tubes, with dense energy surging from a central one that was transferred out through the rest. He quickly realised that this was a furnace that provided energy for the beam attacks, but a frown crawled up his face. It was simply too small to power the entire ship, and from the looks of it there had to be hundreds all over.

Blue flames started to melt through the metal as Richard chose another direction and surged forward, a loud explosion ringing out behind him as the core exploded. However, most of the impact was isolated to the vicinity of the blast, with rooms only a few dozen metres away barely damaged. This definitely wasn't enough to affect the ship's structure.

After finding another energy core a short distance away, he confirmed that there was no central core or control centre for this thing, and the only way to destroy it from within was to take out all of the individual energy centres. However, that meant he had to blow the entire thing apart, and its design was making that extremely difficult to accomplish from within.

In a way, this scenario reminded him of the broodmother's methods. She didn't care for one or even a hundred of her thought nodes, because she had spread thousands all around her body to ensure that there wasn't a single weak point. The loss from even a full quarter of the centres would only be a minor slowdown of her thought process.

However, this meant the most effective way to do this was to attack from the outside. Richard immediately chose a direction and rushed straight through until he could exit the ship, sweeping his sword in a huge arc to destroy hundreds of energy beams chasing after him. A fireball was then shot towards the depths of the passage he had dug out, enhanced to form the Core-Melting Explosion. The explosive attack travelled into the depths of the ship before it swelled up from within, raging columns of flames exploding out from the two holes.

A huge crack was formed on the warship's hull.

1348 - City of Sin

Victory

Richard quickly estimated that he would need about three or four more core-melting explosions to tear open the reaper flagship from within, and he immediately got to work on them. Three more consecutive explosions rocked the ship repeatedly, the third finally stacking enough damage for the ship to be broken into two halves that started plummeting to the ground/

Sparse cheers rang out from the battlefield, but while Richard had been focused on the largest enemy ship his soldiers had suffered heavy casualties. Every Archeron had taken out multiple enemies, but there were simply too many of the reapers to kill them all entirely. He heaved a sigh of relief and moved to reinforce them, but just as he was about to blink a thick beam of light shot straight into his body!

Richard groaned with pain and blinked a hundred metres away, pulsing his mana to shake off the energy coursing through him. The single strike had consumed more than a tenth of his mana pool, and as he turned he found that it had come from the main cannon of the enemy flagship. The two halves had managed to stop their falls, stabilising and starting to attack. The warship's primary cannon continuously fired at him, but the secondary ones started to sweep through his troops down below. Even the level 16 night elves were destroyed by only a few shots, and there were thousands of these cannons on the ship!

He roared and teleported back to the warship's surface, cutting apart the main cannon before beginning to make quick work of the secondaries on the surface. He continued to throw a few core-melting explosions along the way, taking a few metres off the entire hull in only a matter of minutes. This was a rather dumb way of dealing with this enemy, depleting a large amount of his mana and energy, but if he left the ship to its own devices his army would be wiped out in less than half an hour. Outside of Nasia and himself, no one could withstand attacks from the primary cannon.

Ten minutes later, the reaper ship was only a number of metal pillars with holes dug all throughout it. However, even without any ability to attack it remained floating in the sky, while Richard blinked away and gasped with pain. It had managed to connect more than a hundred beam attacks while he concentrated on wiping out the cannons, leaving him seriously injured.

However, Richard didn't even have the time to tend to his wounds before he blinked a few times, arriving in the middle of a group of large warships. Using Kingsteel to delay their movements, he waved the holy sword and destroyed the entire group in one sweeping blow. It took a lot of energy to do so, but if he had been any slower a cluster of elven druids down below would have been destroyed.

He then shot down ten more large warships that were surrounding his rune knights before focusing on one that was attacking a pair of saints. The battle seemed endless as he rescued soldier after soldier everywhere, his blessings starting to fail him as he relied on instinct to simply approach the closest powerful enemy. The wounds all over his body started to grow in number, a scorching sensation spreading throughout his body that left his mind starting to slow. He had resorted to taking on the attacks of the large warships multiple times, being afflicted with their poison that slowed even his recovery greatly.

Richard eventually devolved into a mass of instinct, dodging, blocking, and fighting the strongest enemies he could find. Countless warplanes and ground units met their end at his hands, but a significant number had also hurt him in the process. He eventually ran out of mana to power the holy sword with; while the blade was immeasurably powerful against the reaper warships, he needed to use Midren to power it. At some point he simply threw it away, pulling out Moonlight instead to battle. Unfortunately, the more powerful Judge simply wasn't useful against these inorganic enemies.

At some point, he started to find it difficult to target the larger warships and had to fight the medium-sized ones until he found his next target. After a while, the number of those started to drop as well. When he eventually cut five of the tiny ones apart and realised there were no more enemies around him, he lost control of his flight in surprise.

Had they won? Richard struggled to stay in the sky, not daring to believe that the battle had truly come to an end. However, he couldn't find a single moving warship within tens of thousands of metres, his vision completely occupied by burning corpses and wreckage. A dozen people were floating in the sky, but very few down below were still standing. Soldiers eventually started crawling out of the ruins, staggering to their feet as they breathed life into the desolate ground.

He found it hard to believe that nearly a hundred thousand soldiers had been reduced to what seemed like less than two. With a good number of those being drones and rune knights, few of his actual soldiers still survived. He tried to contact the secondary battlefield, but only a few people actually responded to his mental call. It had fallen long ago, with the reaper army there charging to his position right afterwards.

Unfortunately, Richard couldn't bring himself to actually think critically about anything right now. The moment of relaxation had dropped his final defences against the poison now flooding his body, and his abyssal core was barely keeping him alive. In fact, his three original hearts were all on the verge of failure, with only the core from the lord still functioning. When a response came from both the Frozen Throne and Bluewater, he fainted in relief.

Just as his consciousness faded away, Richard felt someone catching him in the sky. Their presence felt strangely familiar, but it was too late for him to pinpoint the source of that familiarity as he entered a strange darkness where it felt like countless invisible people were talking into his head.

......

“The embers!” Richard suddenly shot up from his sleep, the exertion causing so much pain that he let out a groan. He found himself in a dim room with simple furnishing, his only companion being a young woman lying in another corner. Waterflower was bundled in a blanket as she slept with her sword, but she was evidently so tired that even the combination of his mental shock from awakening and his physical groan couldn't wake her.

Cold sweat drenching his body, he struggled off his bed and dried himself with some magic. Stretching as he walked to the table, he checked the clock and found that he had only slept for a single day before waking up. His body ached and he felt strangely hollow, but he knew that this was just because the poison hadn't been dealt with yet. Now that he was awake, he could focus on expelling it and return to normal in two more days.

But not everyone had his physique. Waterflower's breathing was quite shallow, and although she didn't look too bad on the surface a simple scan showed a dozen internal injuries of varying severity. Realising she had been stricken with the poison as well, he healed her with the power of the green moon before silently walking out of the room.

1349 - City of Sin

13

Richard walked out of the simple housing to find himself in a temporary camp that seemed to have been created by the broodmother. Worker drones were bustling around everywhere, outnumbering the humanoids by a hefty margin. In fact, if one counted out the night elves, winter soldiers, and other drones, they were orders of magnitude greater in number than the actual humans.

In the rear of the camp was a flesh furnace that was constantly being fed wreckage from the battle, wiggling slowly as it spat out metal ingots that were sent elsewhere. However, the true value of this system came from the slag that could not be processed, which contained ember essence within that only his blue flames could refine.

As he alerted everyone connected to him that he had awoken, Richard was quickly flooded with requests for communication. He focused first on Salwyn, who was reporting from the Frozen Throne, “I won again, Richard. But it's as you expected, I might as well have lost. There are only ten thousand people left, and few of them can move. I'm going to honour my agreement and set them on the road to Bluewater, but I hope to accompany them on that path. If there is any chance of danger, I'll get on a messenger and leave.”

“Sigh, alright,” Richard relented with a shake of the head. He knew that the man was simply mourning the death of his empire, which had been decimated after the three waves of attacks. Salwyn himself was now only an emperor in name; his legacy was gone. Even if they managed to chase the reapers out of Faelor at some point, the Iron Triangle would be no more.

Faelor's population had been halved by this point, with hundreds of millions of citizens turned into raw materials and energy for the reaper army. If not for the Crimson Empire and the Land of Turmoil blocking the attacks, the mechanical beetles would likely be scouring the entire mainland for stragglers by this point.

Cutting off communications with Salwyn, Richard started listening to reports on the casualties in battle. He had already expected a mind-numbing number of casualties, but when he heard a familiar name he shivered and lost balance. Barely stopping himself from hitting the ground, he contacted the broodmother immediately, “Phaser...”

“She's dead, Master, and the soul was destroyed as well. I can't revive her,” the broodmother responded.

He cut off the reports and sat down, recalling the first special unit that the broodmother had ever created and her past life as a traumatized young girl. Phaser had inherited both the good and bad of Sinclair, revealing a human side to her over time even as her desires and actions grew darker. He suddenly thought of his own treatment of her, and how he'd basically ignored the fact that she even had a soul. He knew that she had a lot of detailed opinions, and he knew at least somewhat about her feelings as well, but he'd handled her like she was just a drone simply because acting otherwise would have been a can of worms.

And now, she was gone. What's worse; she had died for his sake even when she could have retreated. More than half of the saints and most of the legends in the secondary battlefield had survived due to an early retreat, but she had noticed that the reaper troops were heading towards him and thus fought to the death. Richard wanted to believe this was simply because the broodmother's drones were unafraid of death, but the fact was that another who had followed in his footsteps had now departed without him treating them right. From Medium Rare to Flowsand and now Fuschia and Phaser, he was losing the people around him even as he grew in power.

This one death almost added as much to the weight on his heart as all the rest. He started doubting his decision to fight the reapers once more; even with tens of thousands of citizens retreating to Goldflow Valley and the Forest Plane every day, he had given up hundreds of thousands of elite warriors for their sake. The broodmother was still stuck in Faelor, but he had no idea whether he could achieve a final victory for her sake.

However, at this point he was far too committed to this war, and had to see it through. Dragging his tired body, he started refining the ember essence, crafting and repairing runes, and reorganising his defensive lines even as he sent out more scouts. At the same time, his support base was starting to shrink; three legends and a dozen saints had stepped out after this battle, and the rest were sure to do so the moment the reward point system ran out of saint runes. Fortunately, Nasia had already expected this and was working on some remedial measures.

......

Richard spent the next few days connected to the Land of Turmoil, helping the broodmother analyse the reaper troops. They came up with a new type of drone armour which was thick yet loosely fitted, designed more to absorb the scouting waves of the enemy than to provide any defence. New scouts were created with this feature and managed to fly right past the warships and gain a full view of the enemy base.

Almost a dozen square kilometres of the shoreline had now been turned into a base of operations for the reapers, with a number of strange buildings constantly churning our parts for their warships. These components converged with the help of other factories, slowly becoming groups and functional units before they were transformed into the final product. However, these warships couldn't yet move at that point. They were all towed to a slanted metal pillar that poked out from the ocean, which covered them in a white glow that brought them to life. These newly formed warships would then head out to various gathering points, awaiting their next orders.

Richard shivered as he realised that the metal pillar was shooting out ember essence, giving the drones life. However, it was impossible to tell just how much essence was left in that mothership, or if he'd made a dent in the enemy reserves at all. He knew that the mothership's destruction would doom the reaper attack to failure, but as the flying beasts saw a number of enormous warships and other troops he dispelled any such thoughts. The numbers of the enemy made it clear that it was too great of a risk for him to go alone; if he wasn't careful, even his body wouldn't be able to withstand those attacks.

The broodmother sensed his thoughts, “Master, the best way to deal with them is a war of attrition. As long as we continue to take away their ember essence, we'll win eventually. I don't think there's a chance in five for a direct assault to succeed.

Richard grunted in response, but he slowly nodded his head. His attention was then drawn to another image from the flying beasts, where a group of mechanical beetles were dragging the remains of some drones close to the sea. It was quite apparent that these were the remnants of cloned brains, and instead of being minced into the pile for flesh warriors they were being taken into a small building nearby.

Was that a... “That's a laboratory!” the broodmother quickly confirmed his thoughts, although her certainty left him a little confused. For some reason, there was a hint of panic in her voice as well, and she even pulled her scouts away.

However, a group of palm-sized ships suddenly flew out of that laboratory, emitting a strange energy as they flew after the beasts like lightning. The energy turned out to be a signal, and as the scouts were caught a clear order rang out in both the broodmother's and Richard's minds, “Destroyer 13, acknowledge the mothership at once!”

Following this command was some cryptic information that Richard couldn't decipher. However, he turned to look at the broodmother instead, “Is that you?”

After a momentary pause, the broodmother sent him an affirmative.
𝐟𝓇ℯe𝒘𝘦𝒃𝑛𝒐ѵe𝙡. 𝑐𝗼𝓂

“They can order you?” he asked anxiously. If the broodmother really did obey the reapers' orders, he would have to order his followers out of Faelor immediately. Her drones were now the major part of his army, and her main body was comparable to a legendary being. He also knew clearly that she was unkillable due to the abilities from her truename; so long as she wished to, she would devour all of Faelor one day.

“No, Master, I refused. But this will be difficult.”

“You can refuse?”

“Yes. The soul repair plan really did give me my independence. I can reject any orders the reapers give me.”

“Then if you hadn't—”

“They would have had full authority over me that far exceeded yours.”

For the first time in his life, Richard felt like the Scholars of Soremburg had ended up helping him in a way. However, he quickly shook that schadenfreude off and focused on the issue at hand, “You said it's going to be difficult.”

“Mm. That message after the command, it said that I would experience great pain... if I refuse...” her voice was already starting to shake with agony, something Richard had never heard from her in his life. “And this is only the start... They'll... keep increasing it...”

1350 - City of Sin

Of One Soul

“What do we do?” Back in Bluewater, Richard abandoned a rune he was working on and flew into the sky. If the broodmother didn't have a solution to her pain, he would fly towards the reaper base and aim straight for the enemy mothership. He refused to let her suffer extreme pain, and if she truly did lose control the war was lost anyway.

In a rare instance, she truly had no response. There was nothing about such pain commands or other control mechanisms in her genetic memory, so he would have to find a way himself.

He frowned, “Transfer everything you do know to me, I'll analyse it!”

Moments later, he received a flood of information. At the same time, the reapers sent another message through the flying scouts. In the Land of Turmoil, the broodmother's body roared thunderously as her abdomen started to thud, forming a hole in the ground even as the worm nests nearby slanted from the tremors. She started scratching the ground in extreme pain, acid fog leaking from her spiracles. A few sharp noises prompted the larval forest to form a dense layer of fog covering the sky, but that didn't help her at all. Unless she destroyed the scouts to cut off the connection, she would be tormented endlessly.

Richard was confused as to how the reapers could control something given to him by the Eternal Dragon, but feeling her consciousness fading he dismissed the thought and started looking for a solution. He quickly made up his mind, “Cut off the scouts!”

However, the beasts didn't explode as per his command, instead continuing to send images of the reaper base. The broodmother's voice rang in his mind, “Master... I treasure... my independence... I'll... keep at it... Don't worry...”

Even after cutting off his control of her, this was one of the only times the broodmother had rejected Richard's order directly. However, even this was done for his sake, and there was a large price to pay. His frown quickly transformed into worry, even fear. He simply didn't know how to deal with such a crisis.

“What's happening?” Nasia suddenly appeared behind him, patting his shoulder heavily. Almost knocked from the sky, Richard quickly stabilised and told her about his problem, to which she responded after some thought, “You said she was formed of your soul, right? You could just try to use your soul connection to share the pain... WAIT!”

Her scream fell on deaf ears, with Richard having made his decision so quickly that even the broodmother couldn't reject him. His face immediately paled, a few teeth shattering from the sheer pressure he applied on them. His entire body started trembling as he plummeted to the ground, barely kept from crashing as Nasia flew down and stopped his fall. He had felt all sorts of pain in his life before, but this was definitely the worst by far.

Even half of the broodmother's pain left Richard fainting and regaining consciousness repeatedly. He lost all ability to move as his body tried to adjust, vaguely sensing that Nasia was trying to speak to him but unable to make out any words over the high-pitched whine filling his mind. He tried to adapt slowly, but it felt like his soul was being burnt in a furnace before getting covered in eyes.

Hundreds of years seemed to pass in an instant, but Richard suddenly felt the load on him being halved. Regaining control of himself, he immediately realised that there was another passage connected to his soul now, pain flowing out from him to this newcomer. He followed it to find Waterflower, but he found her scrunched up in a corner of the room with her entire body shaking as blood flowed out of her mouth.

Realising that Waterflower had taken on too much of the pain, Richard pulled a large portion of it back, only giving her just enough so that he could maintain consciousness. However, the pain was quickly halved as another sturdy connection was established, this one seemingly made of two parallel passages. This time, however, Tiramisu seemed mostly unaffected by the change, the only difference being that his body heated up and started losing energy. To combat that situation, he started eating immediately, consuming several times what he normally would with no fear of running out. After all, there were enough rations around for a hundred thousand soldiers.

The ogre warlord was in many ways simple-minded, but this naivete was something that gave him a powerful will. Hailing from a race that could withstand much more pain than humans anyway, he was much better at dealing with this scenario than even Richard himself.

Richard heaved a sigh of relief as the ogre joined, but a few more soul connections were quickly established to help him further. One came from Olaf, but two more surprisingly came from Ironshield and Shaun, who had only recently joined him. The legendary assassin also joined in a short while later, and surprisingly enough a small connection was even formed by Romney.

Olar was one of Richard's first followers. Although the bard had limited talent and couldn't get past the barrier to the legendary realm, his soul had been strengthened repeatedly and he was familiar with Richard's soul as well. He could handle this shared pain, but any other saint was simply looking for death. Romney's decision both touched and amused Richard, but he decided to let the assassin know of the consequences by sharing a small amount that promptly forced a blackout.

With the help of his followers, Richard felt greatly relieved. The small amount of pain he was still feeling didn't affect his movements at all, and he could instead use it to strengthen his soul. The broodmother had stabilised as well, and was doing a similar thing. She retained as much pain as she could handle, while transferring the rest to him to allocate. A network was thus formed to deal with the reapers' commands.

Ironshield and the legendary assassin actually cheered at the fact that they could train their souls, but this allowed them to feel each other's presence and they grunted in tandem. Waterflower and Tiramisu knew of this benefit the moment they came into contact with the pain, so one was quietly enduring it while the other ate ferociously. Olar joined in as well, leaving only the poor saint assassin who had fainted to miss out on the opportunity.

They had finally averted the crisis, but this wasn't a long term plan. Richard knew that the reapers would increase the pain threshold further once they realised their orders weren't working, and he even feared any hidden killing mechanisms that they could activate in her soul. There was simply too much that they didn't know about this situation.

“Is there anything I can do?” he turned to Nasia. This was a situation he had never encountered before.

“Since there's still some time, you should go make some sacrifices quickly. Have the broodmother withdraw her drones while you're gone, maybe the old dragon has a solution to this. He's the one who gave her to you, anyway. Take the ember essence, too; he's not going to answer without a hefty sum. I'll take care of this place, don't worry.”

Richard nodded, picking up a large case of ember essence and preparing to return to Norland. Before he left, he asked Nasia again, “Do you need some offerings?”

“No,” she shook her head, “I'll need a rank 2 offering for every level up to 25, and a rank 1 after that. You can't afford it right now.”

1351 - City of Sin

Twined Fates

The huge cost to boost Nasia's level was well out of Richard's expectations. Flowsand hadn't exhausted even a hundredth of what he'd already used to get her to the legendary realm, and a rank 1 blessing was well beyond his means. He did have one right now, but that was himself. His own body and laws could only get a single level out of Nasia, which was an abysmal trade.

After frowning for a while, he quieted down and accepted that there was simply no way to upgrade Nasia in the foreseeable future. He understood that perhaps only races like the primal celestials could actually support someone like her, but that also brought his mind to something the Eternal Dragon had told him ages ago. Was this what the old dragon had meant when cautioning him that bringing Flowsand back wasn't for the best?

Moments before he stepped through the portal, however, the flying scouts sent back a terrifying image. The reapers suddenly started to move out of their base, splitting up into a dozen groups and speeding down the breadth of Faelor. The ground troops jumped into their transport ships and followed south.

This attack was vastly different from those that had come previously. The reapers had finally adjusted strategies specifically to deal with him; knowing that he could do too much damage if they grouped up, they were now going to strike at the fact that he couldn't be everywhere at once.

One thing that surprised him was a dozen new transporters that were designed to store the warships instead of ground troops. They moved vertically upwards and disappeared into the sky, which brought him to a shocking conclusion.

“Nasia, they're headed for the gods!” he contacted the paladin immediately.

“Oh? Doesn't matter, the pantheon isn't that easy to defeat. They'll take a year or two to break in, maybe tell your goddesses to hide themselves in the back until then. What do you want me to do about the enemies still in the plane?”

There were hundreds of millions of people still alive in the east, west, and south of Faelor, but Richard couldn't even defend all of the Crimson Empire with his troops. He felt like the answer was both obvious and disgusting, but the way she asked the question made him think that it was a sort of test. He steeled himself before giving out a cruel order, “Protect Bluewater, and organise a single hunting team to clear up the enemies. Make sure to prioritise the retrieval of wreckage; no moving on from one target until all of the remains are refined.”

It would take almost as much time to transport the wreckage as it would to kill one of the reaper armies. More people could be defended immediately if the hunting team simply focused on killing, but Richard's order was trading those lives for the sake of eventual victory. He would rather play the war of attrition than hope that the reapers couldn't retrieve their remains.

“Alright, I'll follow,” Nasia acknowledged flatly, “You should make your trip quick.”

......

Once Richard had gone back to Norland, Nasia teleported to one of the battlefields and walked into a small camp where a young girl was sculpting a stone statue. The partial sculpture was starting to resemble Richard, but her mediocrity at the craft was obvious and there were huge chips all over. She lost control of her strength when Nasia walked in, shattering half the statue and then pounding the ground in rage.

“You can't help Richard like this,” Nasia spoke up.

“Then what should I do? Kill more of the reapers?” For some reason, Mountainsea had grown unusually trustful of Nasia ever since they had spoken. The paladin had started helping the barbarian to the best of her abilities as well.

“The broodmother is in trouble,” Nasia stated.

“You mean the pain sharing thing that Misu brought up? What should I do?”

“I have no idea either, but I do know that your Beast God bloodline is the only thing that can suppress her soul completely. The reapers are sending out a number of control commands that she's been fighting, but I suspect there have to be means to take control of her or just kill her outright. You should know the consequences.”

“Umm.... Well, I do remember one way to do this... Okay, I'll take care of it.”

Nasia frowned at this statement, “What way? I have a number of methods myself.”

“But none that are effective,” Mountainsea looked at her calmly, “You would have just told me what to do if you knew.”

“You're right. This method isn't completely secure, and the effects might be limited, but it's still a solution—”

“Mine is guaranteed to work. I can't reveal the secrets, but I'll save her.” The barbarian seemed strangely composed for the situation, simply standing up and cloaking herself before walking out.

“What are you doing?” Nasia grabbed her shoulder.

“I'll go talk to her and get a clear picture of this.”

“But...” the paladin wasn't sure why, but she felt a strange portent tugging at her that made her refuse to let go.

“You smell nice,” Mountainsea suddenly turned around and moved closer to Nasia, closing her eyes and sniffing at her face. She then leaned forward and landed a soft kiss on the mask, “Thanks for trusting me.”

She then walked out of the camp leaving a stunned Nasia behind, heading towards the wormhole that only Richard was normally allowed to use. Placing her hand on the doorframe, she spoke in her mind, “Broodmother, I want to talk.”

“I would be happy to receive you, Your Highness!” the response came immediately, the portal lighting up and allowing her through.

......

Mountainsea approached the mountainous body of the broodmother, extending her hand when she was a metre away. The broodmother hesitated for a moment before extending her pincer and placing it on her palm. The pincer was almost ridiculously small compared to the behemoth's size, but it was still larger than the barbarian's entire body. Still, it was ever so gentle in its contact, barely even touching her skin.

“This smell...” she closed her eyes and sniffed hard, seemingly with the entire world under her control when she opened them once more. This time, her voice rang in the broodmother's mind, “Our fates are twining, I already feel your pain.”

The broodmother gently responded, “I can share the pain with Master, but my worry is about losing my independence. Once I'm gone, Master will lose more than half of his power in the world.”

Mountainsea shook her head, “I can help you, and it'll be like helping myself at the same time. This will be our destiny, are you willing to accept it?”

As she received an image of the future, the broodmother responded with shock, “Your Highness, why would you do this to yourself?!”

“Nevermind that, talk about what will happen to you. Are you okay with it?”

“Yes, but—”

“Then let us start. I'll call over the people who can hold the ceremony, and it'll start this time tomorrow. I need your cooperation, you'll need to lie when needed.”

“Including to Master?”

“Especially to him.”

The broodmother went quiet, furiously running through so many calculations that her body temperature started to spike. However, Mountainsea spoke before she was even halfway done, “This is the best solution we have.”

There was no answer as the broodmother continued her calculations. Her body started ejecting steam to keep her temperature in check, but it still took seventeen full minutes for her to get her final answer. “How did you know this, Your Highness? I'm certain your analytical speed can't match up to mine.”

“It can't,” Mountainsea nodded, “I just listened to the voice of destiny.”

The broodmother raised her pincer towards the top of the girl's head, but she was completely unafraid as she stared straight into hundreds of eyes with two glistening ones of her own. The blade softly touched the top of her braided hair like a gentle caress, “You are correct, our fates may be intertwined after all.”

1352 - City of Sin

The Voice Of Destiny

Mountainsea nodded, jumping onto the pincer in front of her and taking a few more leaps to get to the top of the broodmother's head. In that moment, she embodied the vigorous and unchanging savagery of Klandor, starting to sing an old tribal war song. There wasn't much of a tune, but the entire song exuded an inexplicable sense of honour that resonated through the night like a strong wind in a wasteland.

The barbarian girl's voice wasn't pleasing, but it was strong and filled with a passion for life and freedom. It was the tenacity of the ancient barbarians that fought for thousands of years to establish a homeland, never afraid of sacrificing themselves as they knew that death was merely the start of another life. They did not fear powerful enemies, they had nothing to lose. The Klandor of today was starting to grow reticent, contemptuous, but this voice carried the pure spirit of heroism that established it all those years ago.

Time moves so calmly, a voice in the wind,

The steel sky is smiling, its primal call rings,

A light song of wind birds....

Mountainsea's voice pierced through the night sky, breaking through layers of spacetime before ultimately ringing in the sky of Klandor. However, this melodious and bleak voice could only be heard by those acknowledged by the barbarian ancestors. A handful of Klandorians raised their heads to the sky, listening to the song in awe.

When the voice finally dissipated, Greyhawk leapt from the mountain peak and turned into a giant eagle that flew towards the Azuresnow Shrine like lightning. Asa gave up on a beast chase that had lasted half the night, soaring into the sky as well. When the two arrived, Grand Shaman Urazadzu and the Grand Elder of the Council were already present.

The four people didn't need to discuss the phenomenon at all. Urazadzu spoke up the moment the two others arrived, “Her Highness has issued the call. Elder, please send us over.”

“Of course... Ugh!” the old man cut his palm, sprinkling hot blood on the ground that coagulated into a teleportation circle. Urazadzu, Asa, and Greyhawk walked into the flashing lights, disappearing from Klandor.

......

The trio soon walked out of a similar blood circle that had now formed next to the broodmother, freezing for a moment as they saw the enormous creature that their princess was standing on top of. Greyhawk paled, “So the rumours were true. Richard does have a broodmother, and it has also evolved to such a level.”

Asa looked up at Mountainsea, but despite opening her mouth she eventually said nothing and sighed. The Grand Shaman stared up at the girl for a minute before bowing his head low, joining the ancient tribute to his ancestors. A huge blood rune emerged around the broodmother, forming an incomparably large array that enveloped her entire body.

It took until dawn for the blood array to be completed, and Urazadzu, Asa, and Greyhawk had to pour in all of their power to get it to roar to life. A curtain of blood slowly covered the broodmother and Mountainsea, isolating their aura and souls.

The figure of the Beast God occasionally danced around the blood curtain, singing the ancient battle songs of the barbarians. Within, the fates of Mountainsea and the broodmother were slowly intertwined, finally merging into one whole. As the blood array continued to run, the gears of destiny were grinding.

Mountainsea's parents and guardian had understood her determination the moment they heard the song, knowing that she had decided to choose her own faith. There had been no need to discuss things when they arrived at the Land of Turmoil, they only acted on the girl's behalf. However, their hearts still stung as an aura of sorrow started to radiate from the broodmother, her temperature rising as Mountainsea's beast blood began to merge with her own. While their souls calmly watched the process, blending together naturally, their bloodlines started competing for dominance.

Hundreds of tiny red spots started to show themselves in the broodmother's soul, control fragments that had been implanted in there when it was first created. A small illusory beast was currently running all around and swallowing them. Mountainsea's powerful instincts would not allow such a dangerous trap in her soul.

The beast seemed to grow stronger with every crimson mote, and the broodmother's soul suddenly shivered in fright as a strange image appeared within. It was a terrifying insectoid creature, the lower body that of a beetle supported by thousands of limbs. The upper body was enormous, spouting thousands of tentacles that danced through the air in an attempt to strike. Even the beast had to avoid the attack.

It was at this point that the broodmother and Mountainsea joined forces, suppression the projections in their souls. The two figures paused, slowly approaching each other until they merged into one. The Beast God's power tore a hole straight from the Azuresnow Shrine to the Land of Turmoil, pouring energy into the two and giving them the strength to force the combination.

It wasn't long before an entirely new projection appeared, but strangely this one resembled neither type of beast. It was actually a humanoid with a slender body, armoured in a thick carapace with natural golden flowers covering the exposed sections of the body. She had an armoured tail longer than herself, embedded at regular intervals with law crystals. As she looked down at herself, the two breastplates suddenly separated to the left and right to reveal a huge golden crystal in the middle of her chest, countless small runes converging into a small cloud that eased the flow of energy. The hands of this new being were the most human-like part, but even so the five fingers were extraordinarily long with a small crystal embedded on the back of the palm.

This was a being that had never appeared in history. Neither the former Grand Scholar nor the current Grand Shaman had any idea of what it was, and its aura was strange as well. It was impossible to tell her power— there was no fierce domination— but she seemed deep and bottomless, as though there were countless worlds within her.

The phantom moved atop the broodmother, glowing so bright that even the blood curtain couldn't block its image. Countless identical illusions suddenly appeared throughout the Land of Turmoil, and a calm yet majestic voice rang in the minds of Asa, Greyhawk, and Urazadzu, “I am Sillo, and I am also Terrathemus.”

The three people immediately understood the meaning of those two truenames. Sillo, the Master of Millions, and Terrathemus, the Lady of Creation. Everyone here had known that this joining would have unexpected results, but they hadn't expected such a thing at all. The broodmother's lineage seemed to have been changed, while the Beast God's bloodline had disappeared somewhere within. Instead of being merged to form a new truename, the two had retained their original names in parallel now that they were one.

These kinds of changes were beyond mortal understanding, but the three spectators were quite confused about something else. What happened to the bloodline of the ancient beasts? Could Mountainsea still give birth to the avatar of the Beast God?

However, the ceremony was already complete, the crimson slowly starting to dissipate. The broodmother was largely the same barring some dark gold lines on her carapace, but only a phantom of Mountainsea flew down to face Urazadzu.

“Your Highness... Were you devoured?” the Grand Shaman's voice was trembling.

The phantom shook her head, “No, we joined. I integrated into her, and our soul is the same. It's just that I couldn't forget the past, so I left an independent personality behind. That is what you see now.”

She watched on as Greyhawk stopped Asa from speaking, continuing to say, “The broodmother hadn't created a special unit for her level 12 advancement yet, and we found a suitable creature called the Queen. That will be the new body of my personality, it will be how I defy fate's arrangements.”

A rare moment of brooding appeared on Mountainsea's expression, “I refuse to accept a destiny without Richard in it!”

Urazadzu kneeled and bowed down, his head almost scraping the floor, “If that is the case, please give Klandor a path before we leave.”

1353 - City of Sin

Burning Oasis

Asked to guide Klandor, Mountainsea stopped and pondered for a few minutes, “We need to change, or we will soon be conquered by Norland. We do not have the natural barriers protecting us that Lithgalen does.”

“Change?” Urazadzu asked, “How?”

“Think, create. Respect traditions, but no longer blindly. The ancestors were powerful, but we need to break away.”

Even Greyhawk was shocked by her words. Tradition was the soul of all Klandorians, their ancestry being the root of their courage. The various tribes placed utmost emphasis on even the more archaic ways of thought amongst the populace, for no other reason that that it was how they had always functioned.

Uruzadzu pondered for a moment before responding, “Our citizens will lose their innocence. Their courage and candor will devolve into the sly cowardice of Norland. They will learn to lie and deceive; what do we do then?”

“What did it matter when the Sacred Tree Empire poisoned my chosen one right before the sacred shrine? The tribes have fallen long ago; we are simply holding onto an image of the past.” Mountainsea ignored the obvious flush on the shaman's face, continuing calmly, “Teach the people what they need to learn; do not hide our knowledge within the shrine. Let they decide their path themselves; there is no reason for them to be beholden to the guidance of people that lived thousands of years ago. There will be some chaos, but they will learn to moderate their desires in time. Invention and intelligence will supersede bravery and sacrifice; forced contracts will overcome word of mouth to become a new driving force. But this is merely change, not the end.”

Mountainsea spoke very slowly, every word uttered after prolonged deliberation. Her own intuition had combined with the broodmother's abilities to show her several scenes of the future, one that the barbarians could not imagine. Uruzadzu and Asa felt suffocated; even as leaders of the entire continent, they couldn't imagine a world where they deviated from tradition.

However, the ceremony had gradually come to a close. The blood signals lit up under the Grand Shaman's feet once more, an indication that it was time to leave. The three nodded and returned to Klandor, leaving the Land of Turmoil quiet once more. Moments later, Mountainsea's figure receded into the broodmother who finally started to twitch, inching forward to reveal an enormous dark gold egg that was two metres tall. The large creature sprawled weakly across the ground in the wake of the exertion, her abdomen visibly reduced in size.

At this moment, a pair of curious eyes was watching over everything in the larval forest, belonging to a young red-haired girl who seemed to be ten years old. Having grown up in this larval forest, young Fiora's aura was so blended with the environment that even Asa and the other three didn't notice her.

The girl watched as the large egg started to shake, cracks appearing on the surface before it was broken apart to reveal a completely naked young lady within. She looked exactly like Mountainsea, but now there were various marks on her skin that were a combination of red, brown, and white. Especially noticeable were two belts of colour across her face, the mark of a totemic warrior of the Azuresnow Shrine.

The totems of Klandor were a mark of someone bearing the will of the Beast God. Mountainsea had abandoned her's years ago when she left Klandor, but now she had laid claim to that power once more. The combined broodmother turned to look at the totems on her body, after which point she made a few circles with her hands to summon dark clouds in the sky. Washing off the mucous on her body with rain, she scattered the clouds and jumped on top of a tree, quietly tying her hair in braids.

......

In the Church of the Eternal Dragon, Richard placed an entire case of ember essence on the altar. However, the Eternal Dragon's presence did not appear at all, and he didn't see any blessings on the list that would inform him about the broodmother or the reapers. There were two drops of activated essence, and apart from that he could choose a number of other options but without a single one that even approached a rank 2 blessing.

He waited for a long time, but in the end he picked up the two drops of ember essence. In addition with what he already had, that allowed him to create three more divine weapons with enough essence left over for ten on top. With some more legendary and sub-legendary equipment in tow, he returned to Faelor with a renewed understanding of the lack of reliability of the Eternal Dragon.
𝑓𝚛𝚎𝗲𝙬ℯ𝘣𝚗𝘰ν𝐞l. co𝗺

While he had no solution to what he'd thought would be the major problem, many more were springing up along the way. The enormous casualty rate in Faelor had scared any new legends and saints from participating in the battle against the reapers, and the withdrawal of those who had participated before brought news of the situation back to Norland. Almost overnight, nearly every major family knew that the Archeron forces were virtually decimated, with their top end rune knights losing more than half their number. Speculation sprung up that Richard's demise was inevitable, and the hearts of many started to stir.

The secrets behind Midren were tempting to almost everyone on Norland, and Richard's own power as an epic being wasn't enough to deter the most powerful or most desperate of his enemies.

Richard connected to the broodmother the moment he arrived at Faelor, but she informed him that she had managed to suppress the commands and negate the pain entirely. He was surprised by this revelation, but instead of questioning her he reorganised his defences and started pursuing the scattered units of the reapers.

The days passed slowly as he constantly reordered his hunting teams, destroying many prongs of the assault. Mountainsea eventually joined him in his journeys, and despite growing a little more reticent her power had skyrocketed. Her fighting abilities seemed much more refined than before, and she said she had taken on her totems once more to grow in terms of sheer strength. Assuming it was her bloodline awakening instinctive combat abilities, he brushed it off and focused on wiping out as many enemies as he could.

While hunting the reapers seemed rather simple, it was fraught with danger. While these new armies were much smaller than the original, they were also much higher in quality. There were more large warships than small ones, and the truly miniature models were nowhere to be seen. Even Richard had to be cautious when fighting them lest he be brought down by an avalanche of small injuries.

Neverending battle left him exhausted, and his followers found it difficult to keep up. Many were allowed to return simply so they wouldn't fatigue themselves to death, so a rotating group formed around him as he went from battle to battle. The group managed to do quite well overall, but it was in the pursuit of their eighth target that they lost one of the gambles they were making repeatedly. Ironshield's rival wasn't particularly fond of helmets or armour, and in a moment of carelessness was struck by the primary cannon of a large warship that immediately disintegrated half of his body. The soul was dispersed in that one attack, with no way of putting it back together.

It was in their tenth assault that disaster struck. Two waves of reapers had managed to sneak up to the borders of the Crimson Empire and the Land of Turmoil, and they began an assault before Richard could return. The broodmother managed to defend just fine, but by the time Richard arrived at Bluewater Oasis most of the city's defenders and the millions who were waiting to migrate were slaughtered. Half the capital was torched by the flames of war, and the warships were in the process of destroying the planar passages.

He didn't hesitate in the slightest as he jumped straight into battle despite having exhausted his mana just teleporting over. Aiming for the large warships, he took on several powerful energy beams in battle simply to ensure that the passages wouldn't be destroyed. Exhaustion turned to pain and then to numbness, but his mind seemed to fade away entirely as he entered a battle frenzy that didn't stop until the last of the enemies were destroyed.

However, the damage had already been dealt. Most of the city was in ruins, with over two million citizens wounded or dead. Nearly a thousand night elves and hundred rune knights perished in that war, alongside the lightning mage Shaun and a dozen strong saints. The portals themselves were unharmed, but the mages controlling them were now dead. It would take days to find new ones to take over and resume the migration. This was the heaviest blow to the Crimson Empire since its formation, and all Richard got in return was a dozen bottles of ember essence.

1354 - City of Sin

Blood Before Dawn

Richard was devastated at the losses in Bluewater Oasis, but he didn't get a single moment to mourn. At least five more armies were sweeping through the east and south, turning tens of thousands into flesh bags day after day. If they were allowed to finish, the only population left in Faelor would be the ten million or so still in the Crimson Empire.

While the broodmother had maintained control of the Land of Turmoil, it had come at a great price as well. She had lost her pseudo-divine army, and had been forced to call upon a trump card of a number of strange bugs that could fight the reaper warships with an actual advantage. There were only a hundred or so of these level 16 bugs, but they had managed to ensure that the core of the larval forest wasn't touched. The reapers themselves seemed to have been more keen to restrict her than kill her, and while they had tried to increase the pain she felt she claimed that the problem had been dealt with entirely.

He didn't have the time to ask her why, instead assembling an enormous team of powerhouses, rune knights, and these bugs to chase after the next target on an astral chrysalis. He had sensed that their forces were starting to get bottlenecked, and couldn't afford to let them build up another large army lest his army be wiped out. This was a tiny sliver of light after a long, dark night, but he didn't know just how much blood the Archerons would have to spill before the sun truly dawned.

......

While Richard was busy with an endless slaughter in Faelor, the Sacred Alliance finally made its move in the Land of Dusk. Empress Apeiron personally entered the Fort of Dawn, with Hasting and Rundstedt now in her retinue.

This was Apeiron's first time in the stronghold that Philip had given his life for, the pinnacle of his existence. Daxdian influence was still everywhere, from the walls to the buildings themselves. The fort hadn't been able to rebuild properly under the endless assault of the Daxdians, with a near-breach at several instances that had only been alleviated by the presence of Beye Orleans. While Richard didn't directly send any combat potential here, he also contributed enough to hire ten powerful saints that strived to maintain a balance around the area.

“Who's that?” the Empress asked as she pointed into the distance, staring at a horde of Daxdians that had run away the moment they felt her presence. What appeared to be a small black dot was floating high in the sky, but those with good perception could tell that it looked like a Daxdian demon with a pair of giant black wings and three long tails.

The demon was only three metres tall, which was quite small considering the scale of most Daxdians, but Rundstedt frowned at the sight, “That is Blackwing, one of Daxdus's ten epic beings. The Land of Dusk should be his responsibility for now, but I can't tell why he would appear here. It seems like they might be targeting the Fort of Dawn.”

“My bastard brother beat two of them to near death, but one of the Daxdians wanted to appear here alone? Is he tired of life? Julian!”

Julian stepped forward from the shadows, going down to one knee as he held his hands out to receive Apeiron's cloak. The Empress herself had already turned into a purple streak that appeared next to the demon in moments.

Blackwing flared the entirety of his aura as he stepped forward, refusing to be humiliated into running away. Black energy quickly formed a shockingly large tornado around him, but in comparison Apeiron curbed her aura until she was almost impossible to notice. A minute seemed like ten years as her presence flickered within, but after an ear-splitting scream a black figure shot out of the tornado and tore open a way to the void to escape. The tornado dissipated half a minute later, revealing a purple Empress holding an enormous black wing that was mangled at the base.

After a moment of quiet, cheers suddenly filled the vicinity of the Fort of Dawn. All Daxdians nearby immediately scattered in their flight, but Apeiron was completely disinterested and simply flew back to the fortress. The wing was thrown down below, only to be caught by Rundstedt who bowed to her before lifting it proudly in the presence of all the warriors.

Blood immediately started boiling with passion. Blackwing's presence had barely been kept in check by Beye, but that gave the Daxdians the freedom to do whatever they wished in the vicinity of the fortress. They had almost seemed like they were toying with their food for an entire year now, but all of that had been paid back in less than three minutes. Apeiron's dominance was obvious for all to see.

“Tell Hasting that he can begin,” the Empress said to Rundstedt.

“Yes, Your Majesty!” the formal marshal answered, going down on a knee to express his fealty for the first time.

Apeiron nodded and turned to Julian, “Let's go. We'll come back for a look when they start.”

“As you wish, Your Majesty!” Julian flew up gracefully, placing the cloak around Apeiron before following her into the distance. Hasting had cleared a large space in the portal to build his portal, but it would take time for his army to begin moving through.

......

The disputes in the cabinet of the Sacred Tree Empire started to grow more intense. A motion had been brought up to test the waters against the Archerons who had suffered heavy losses, taking advantage of the moment to destroy Richard entirely. The two sides were already enemies, and many believed that this would be the only opportunity to snuff out the growing threat.

To these people, Richard's status as a divine runemaster was more bad than good. He had completely broken the myth that only those with the blood of the dynasty could use Heaven's Armour, and while this didn't mean much to the Church of Glory itself the royal family was no longer irreplaceable. The voices seeking battle were now dominant, if for no other reason than to ensure that the threat to their lineage be wiped out.

The main reasoning of the warmongers was that Richard currently couldn't get away from Faelor. Without him, the reapers would destroy the entire plane and cripple his forces. A sole epic being was not omnipotent, and they had their own ways to deal with that. Martin was the sole member of the cabinet that always opposed going to war against Richard, but he was currently participating in civil war in the heavens. The Pope was never someone to give his own opinion, so Archbishop Hendrick was the only one opposing the war.

Hendrick knew that war would be declared if things were brought to a vote. This was his last chance to take a meaningful action before Martin returned, and it would determine his standing with the divine child. While he had taken Martin as his master, this would be when he gambled as to whether he proved that he was serious.
𝗳re𝚎𝚠𝐞𝗯𝙣𝗼ν𝗲l. c૦𝓶

As one of the dukes was about to ask for a vote, the Archbishop spoke up, “Your Majesty, Your Excellency. Do you all not know where His Excellency Martin went?”

1355 - City of Sin

An Endless War

The meeting hall went silent at the mere mention of Martin's expedition. Everyone present was at the highest echelons of the Sacred Tree Empire, and that meant a certain level of knowledge about the situation in heaven. However, all of them viewed his decision as strange, even foolish. A mere mortal had decided to participate in a battle where even the Radiant Lord had fallen; there was simply no realistic chance of him returning.

Many actually rejoiced at his departure. Although he was an outstanding citizen of the Empire, his style was completely foreign to them. His actions were all predicated on his faith alone, a hard stance that meant he took many decisions that simply weren't rational. This had garnered a number of quiet enemies who would rather he stay out of politics and war, but he refused to bow to political pressure and did things his own way.

True nobles were never liked in high society, but the fact that Archbishop Hendrick had brought up the topic forced everyone here to consider the consequences of Martin's return. He was almost certain to become the next Radiant Lord at that point, and displeasing him could result in the death of the entire Sacred Tree Empire.

However, the chances of that happening were non-existent as well. The duke that had tried to bring up the vote muttered to himself for a while before deciding to go through with it anyway, calling for everyone to make their stance clear.

Hendrick sighed deeply, pushing away from the table and standing up, “Since those present are so insistent, I have nothing to say. But I will not be participating once the war begins, nor will my clergy and knighthood. I shall also be withdrawing from future meetings of this cabinet... Take care.” Please visit ƒre𝐞𝘸𝑒𝘣𝘯𝘰νℯ𝒍 𝐜𝑜m

As the Archbishop turned around, the Pope's eyes gleamed for a scant moment before returning to their normal gloom. A stunned Emperor and his aides did not know what to do; Hendrick was currently the only confirmed epic being in the Empire, and one of the few members of the Church of Glory who hadn't significantly weakened in recent times. He was the first hope to face Richard in a true war against the Archerons, but that plan of action was clearly infeasible now.

All gazes eventually congregated on the Pope himself. The Sacred Tree Empire currently had a total of four epic beings formally under their banner, but three of them were Archangel Michael, Archbishop Hendrick, and Saint Martin. The real Michael had returned to the heavens long ago, and there was no celestial in the Empire powerful enough to compare. Martin was away for the same reason, and with Hendrick's decision the Pope was the only one left behind.

The old man hadn't given his all in a fight for entire decades, leaving no one able to estimate his true strength. However, he continued to seem listless under the expectant gazes of the crowd, with no signs of stepping forward. All of the leaders were left helpless; theirs was the only empire in a unique situation where the Church controlled all the epic beings. The royal family could only rely on the Church's goodwill.

The Emperor eventually caved in, “Your Holiness, would you be willing to assist in a battle against Richard if he appears?”

The Pope shook his head slowly, “I feel the angels are a better recourse. I am growing old, and my confidence has withered in recent years.”

The Emperor almost swore in response. Everyone knew that the four angels of the Empire had been crushed by Richard previously, and even if they were alive Midren was something that could even suppress the armour set for Michael. There was simply no point in sending angels to such a fight. All of the angels were currently in the Church's grasp anyway; although the royal family had managed to replicate two rune sets at a high cost, those were only normal angels that could not contend at all.

The meeting thus reached an impasse. The Pope left with the same lethargy he had walked in with, seemingly ignorant of the expectations of those present as he returned to his little shrine. With this, any hopes of going up against Richard were dashed.

......

Martin was currently resting against a tall tree, surrounded by a dozen soldiers wearing the same regular armour he himself was covered in. This was a common low-end squad in the war, made entirely of celestials except for him. With the citizens of heaven willing to go entire days without a word, his habit of muttering to himself as he rested drew a number of questioning gazes.

He was currently in the process of removing one of his pauldrons, but the dried blood caused the metal and undershirt to stick to his wounds. He gasped in pain as the flesh parted to give way, glaring at the armour as he examined it, “This is supposed to be celestial armour? Bah, so disappointing!”

Despite the harsh criticism, however, he placed it gently to the side. Heaven was different from Norland; if the armour came into contact with the wrong things, it could be eroded in moments. While this was standard issue armour in the celestial army, it would be considered a full sub-legendary set in Norland. While he had an oily attitude at times, he still needed this thing to keep him alive.

Martin grabbed a random ball of light from around him, condensing it into divine energy that he sprayed onto the wound. However, that energy was countered by a different light within the wound itself, slowing the recovery greatly. Entirely unfazed by this, he simply put the pauldron on once more and looked into the distance, “I've done what I can for you, you incarnation of stupid. I hope I don't have to go to your funeral when I come back.”

“Stop chattering if you have nothing to do!” a rough voice cut him off, “Pick up your sword, rookie! There's an enemy squad incoming!”

Martin jumped up from the ground in an instant, putting on his helmet and pulling out his sword. Even as the bugles rang out, the distant horizon was filled with a scarlet radiance. The dozen resting warriors jumped into the sky and spread their wings of light, flying towards the threat. Celestials flew up from every corner of the battlefield, becoming points of pure light that converged into a current of energy that opposed the crimson tide. He was just one point among the many, lost in the sea of light.

Both sides were composed of celestial warriors, their armour the same as well. It was only the light they emitted that was different, and as the two currents collided thousands crashed and burned.

......

Back in Faelor, Richard had just destroyed the last warplane of another batch of reapers, unable to even float properly as he crashed down and panted on the ground. Without even the strength to tend to his injuries, he merely wanted to lie down and sleep. However, he knew that meant his injuries were growing more and more severe, to the point that his own impressive natural regeneration couldn't keep up any longer.

Nasia walked over and patted his shoulder hard, “Is this all the Archeron King can handle? Come on, stick your chest out!”

However, the pat sent him straight to the ground. Grunting with pain, he barely eked out, “Who cares about being a king? Just five minutes... Please...”

Richard immediately fell asleep, not even bothering with the blood on his body. Nasia sighed and called for Waterflower, the two combining to peel his armour off and tend to his injuries. Five minutes was a short time for normal humans, but it was enough for the duo to treat all of his wounds. It was exactly five minutes later that he sat back up as well, moaning softly as he stretched his body.

Seeing his wounds treated, Richard stood up and laughed, “Guys, this means there's only one... Wait, what? Broodmother, is this accurate? Fucking hell, they just sent out ten more squadrons! This... Heh, whatever. This is perfect. See? They're almost done. They only managed ten more this time, and next time it'll be six. Then four, then nothing. We're getting there!”

1356 - City of Sin

A Small Test

“You could die next time, Boss.”

“That's right, sleep another five minutes.”

Richard's impassioned words were met with fragmented jibes. Only a few of those present even had the energy to speak, but those who were still with him were the kind to follow him through thick and thin. At this point, their relationship wasn't simply one of master and servants, but comrades that stuck together come hell or high water.

However, five minutes of sleep was already a luxury to Richard. He was the one who started most battles, and the one who ended them as well. There was no way to keep track of the number of times he put his own body on the line to block fatal attacks on his subordinates; while he was tough and hard to put down, the damage was racking up and starting to deplete him.

He returned his holy sword to its scabbard, “Let's return to Bluewater and resupply. Then we'll send these reapers to hell!”

The astral chrysalis and messengers were mobilised soon after, ferrying everyone back to the Crimson Empire. Richard mounted his own high-speed messenger that flew to Bluewater at more than a thousand kilometres an hour. This supply run would be perhaps their most important one before they ended the reapers; Blackgold had a new model of thunder cannons that he had just shipped out.

The new thunder cannon model was no longer six-barrelled, sporting two parallel barrels instead. Its firing rate had dropped significantly, but the range and accuracy had grown more than enough to compensate. The complicated spinning system had been changed to reduce manufacturing difficulty, tripling the rate of production. The most important innovation came in the form of new special bullets, utilising the energy cores of the reapers that could blow up a small warship in a single explosion.

These thunder cannons would be monumental during the upcoming battles. Richard had already arranged for a hundred rune knights and a few hundred night elves to add them to their arsenals, and the broodmother had redesigned her new bug-like warriors to accommodate the weapons as well.

Richard's first order of business when he returned to Bluewater was to inspect the practical effects of the new model. The weapon was almost two metres long, and despite a bit of roughness around the edges it was eye-catching and durable. A saint-level dummy was distorted with a single shot, fragmenting into bits with a second. This meant that even some of the larger warships would be damaged by these bullets, even if it took the strength of a level 15 warrior to withstand the recoil.

Even rune knights had to rest after firing a few shots with this new gun, but that was a small issue in the grand scheme of things. These guns were a complement to the javelins, not a replacement. They were a little weaker than the javelin barrage, but didn't use up energy and thus could be alternated with the javelins to almost double longevity in battle.

Richard smiled with satisfaction, “Change equipment immediately, tell everyone that they have half a day to familiarise themselves. They can feel free to experiment, we don't have any shortage of bullets.”

However, the weaponmaster in charge of the guns bowed his head in shame, “Forgive me, Your Majesty, but we do not have enough cannons.”

“Huh? Blackgold was supposed to send 600.”

"But we only received a hundred, and only a third of the bullets as well. I heard the remaining were met with an accident along the way."

“A fuckin... Accident, huh?” Richard's lips lifted in a cold smile, “So who's the bitch that dares to cause an accident at a time like this? Tell me everything.”

......

In an ancient yet well-furnished castle, a young noble was toying with a two-barrelled gun in his hands. He aimed at a humanoid figure a hundred metres away and tested the trigger, a loud explosion ringing out as the shot deviated from its target to hit the ground. However, the fierce shockwaves sent the target flying away, the thunderous noise leaving the noble flinching in fear.

The youth quickly calmed down and inspected the weapon in his hands, aiming at the next target and managing a direct hit that turned it to ash. He pursed his lips in surprise, “To think the Archerons actually got their hands on a weapon that can kill rune knights instantly. War really is the fastest way forward.”

“Are we not courting danger, my Lord?” an old mage at the side asked with worry.

“Of course there's a bit of risk, so what? Heh, this is just a small test, to see how the Archerons are doing. If they react too intensely or too weakly, then the rumours are true and their powers are greatly impaired. If they lose the war with the reapers, even Richard himself won't be able to trace everything to me.”

The youth then smiled, “Even if they find us, we just have to return what we took. Uncle is now in charge of the military offensive in the Land of Dusk, and has already conquered a new fortress. Even Richard won't dare try anything.”

The noble was brimming with confidence, but this did not rub off on the old mage, “But this batch of weapons would have been very important for the Archeron war effort. I—”

“Even more reason not to pass things to him. Do you want the Archerons to win?”

The old mage sighed, knowing that any attempts at persuasion would be futile.

“Right, how is the research? This seems easy to make, can we duplicate it?” the youth asked.

The old mage shook his head, “The activation arrays are encrypted, and it will take time to crack or replace them. However, the power comes mainly from a special bullet that the Archerons seem to be taking from the reapers. Without those, these weapons only have a third of their power.”

The youth's face flushed with disappointment, “What use is there with a third of the power, won't they be lumps of scrap? Wait, the Archerons should have sent a shipment of the metal to the Deepblue, go investigate when the caravans left. We should be able to intercept.”

"Yes, my Lord," the old mage walked away helplessly.

......

In less than an hour of his return to Faust, Richard had all the information he wanted. While the situation was complicated, a number of information traders already had their eyes and ears where it mattered. Archeron gold then brought this news directly to his ears.

In the meanwhile, he had entertained a half-hour secret visit from Julian, who gave him a brief overview about the Land of Dusk. Once the other information flowed in, Richard quickly had a rough understanding of the situation.

Everything had started near Azan, where a young viscount forcefully intercepted the passing Archeron convoy and 'inspected' the contents. This convoy had been carrying the first batch of thunder cannons, and with over a hundred on each side dead the caravan had to submit and allow a large portion of the guns to 'go missing'. This wasn't uncommon in the Sacred Alliance, but few nobles dared to do such a thing to the Archerons.

Richard's reports showed that a certain Yaya Turing was connected to all this, a young earl of the Turing Family with wild ambitions for the entire dukedom. Other people involved included a nephew of Hasting and some important people from the Sacred Tree Empire.

“They're trying to figure out whether we're confident of victory against the reapers. Too harsh or too soft, and their next steps will be much more dangerous,” Richard said as he put down the report, looking at Asiris who was currently in charge of administration in Norland.

The Dark Priest nodded, “I agree, and have already come up with a few plans for an appropriate response.”

“What? Appropriate? Ha, those thunder cannons were important in the war against the reapers. That was obvious, and some people still crossed the line. They get to bear my wrath as well. Remember, we're the people that fight fire with an inferno.”
𝐟𝓇𝒆𝐞w𝐞𝙗𝓷o𝘷𝐞𝒍. c𝐨𝒎

As a startled Asiris tried to figure out what he meant, Richard recalled Julian's request to visit the Land of Dusk at least once. With Hasting's nephew being involved in the entire conspiracy, he decided to take up that offer, “I'll head to the Land of Dusk for a bit, see just what Hasting has done that should make me fear him. It better be effective, or I'll give the old bastard a lesson he'll remember. For now, just keep things in check.”

It took only moments for Richard to exit the island and fly down into the royal island, vanishing in a few blinks. The saints guarding the portal to the Land of Dusk were stunned at someone zipping past them and were about to chase after in warning, but a passing message verifying his identity calmed them down.

1357 - City of Sin

Hasting's Ambitions

Hasting's troops were just departing from a fortress that had been razed to the ground, turning towards their next target. The entire army was covered in pitch black armour, marching with a mechanical order and constant speed to the next military stronghold. Every soldier had a saint's strength, and there were over eight thousand of them in total!

In the midst of this unrivalled army was a large earth dragon, several times bigger than average with every step causing the ground to quake. A miniature magic tower had been erected on its back, with Hasting controlling the movements of the army from within.

The accomplishments of his army should have left Hasting feeling even more important than Emperor Philip, but he currently had an unpleasant expression on his face. The battle hadn't gone nearly as smoothly as he had expected, with the cunning Daxdians fearlessly holding their own and leaving his troop with great casualties. To kill two legends, five hundred saints, and thousands of weaklings, he had sacrificed over two thousand of his troops.

All commands had been rigid in battle, with the ordered army exposing a number of fatal flaws that were easily exploited. Hasting had realised in the aftermath that victory wasn't simply a matter of greater power, but he simply did not have the tactical ability to actually control an army. At the current rate, these troops could raze three or four more strongholds before nothing would be left of them; while the matriarch corpse still had more drones in reserve, he simply didn't have enough souls to power them.

Destroying two-thirds of the Daxdian strongholds in the Land of Dusk was no petty feat, but Hasting's ambitions went well beyond just that. He wanted to conquer this plane entirely and build a forward base in Daxdus, looking for the secret of life that the plane supposedly held. If his guesses were correct, he stood a chance to attain everlasting life with his expedition.

However, realising such a lofty dream meant that running amok in the Land of Dusk wasn't enough. Hasting currently had support from Soremburg, but the crafty Scholars would just as easily turn into a noose around his neck. Hasting feared the Scholars greatly. Having devoted his entire life to research, he knew just how insane those completely infatuated with knowledge could become.

Amidst all these worries, the legendary soul mage didn't notice one warrior in the rear of his formation suddenly vanishing.

... Please visit ƒ𝐫𝗲𝒆𝑤𝚎𝐛𝙣𝐨𝙫𝙚𝚕. 𝒄o𝓂

Richard blinked into a hole in the wilderness, throwing the warrior that he had just kidnapped to the ground as he began a thorough examination. The Field of Truth quickly revealed a number of familiar structural decisions to the creature, and the specific optimisations confirmed that this was the drone of some broodmother. He trembled at the thought of someone possessing a broodmother even more powerful than his own, understanding just how much value they brought to one's war efforts.

However, the broodmothers had a fatal flaw that he could exploit much more easily than he could against the reapers. While the reapers could produce hundreds of warships in minutes if he attacked their base, a broodmother took time to create her drones and could thus be taken out by an ambush.

As he continued to inspect the drone, however, Richard found a number of scars that could not be concealed. He also found a human soul occupying the body, with a number of curses restricting it and forcing it to obey orders. He immediately grew suspicious of the situation, knowing that true drones did not require such things as souls. Only special units that could grow independently had them, but this clearly wasn't anywhere close. Such a clumsy way of control meant things weren't as they seemed.

As a master of drone control himself, he had done away with things like orderlies, bugles, and flags almost entirely from his operations. His orders went directly to the units that they were intended for, communications occurring over a soul link established during the creation process. However, he had seen a number of flags and signs in Hasting's army, and concluded that he wasn't up against a broodmother in her entirety. Hasting had either met a true broodmother under complicated circumstances, or found a worm nest and reanimated the drones within using his soul arts. Either way, his limited control hamstrung his army's effectiveness.

This army was undoubtedly the strongest one in the Land of Dusk right now, but seeing through its problems Richard estimated that the strength was rather hollow. If not for the war against the reapers, he could use a mix of night elves, winter soldiers, and arrow beasts to decimate them even with two or more levels of disparity. He could tell that three more fortresses would be the limits, and that was only if the Daxdians didn't reveal another of their trump cards. Thinking back to the devilfish he had first come across, he was certain that the latter scenario was true.

However, this meant Hasting was useful to the Sacred Alliance, at least in the near future. With no interest in the problematic broodmother behind the man, Richard returned to the Fort of Dawn and left for Faust. An unfortunate legendary sorcerer he met along the way conveniently became the intermediate offering that paid for his travel.

......

When Richard returned to his island, the assembly of nobles had been in session for ten minutes. With a squadron of night elves in tow, he quickly headed straight to the assembly hall.

The Assembly was generally only for show, with few of its meetings actually being attended by any of the fourteen families. Even the quarterly conference currently underway only had a few representatives, which was why the crowd burst into a furor at Richard's sudden arrival. Whispers quickly rang out as many guessed at his intentions; for the Archeron patriarch to leave Faelor in the middle of his war against the reapers meant things were serious.

A middle-aged man had been speaking passionately on the podium, but he tactfully yielded the stage the moment Richard arrived. Richard himself didn't stand on ceremony, directly walking up with his guards and looking around at the frightened gathering around him. An icy voice rang out, “A certain Viscount Zieg intercepted one of my convoys recently, and a large amount of goods went missing,”

While most of the assembly was shocked, the better informed nobles immediately understood what was happening. The sensitive news hadn't been spread widely, but the upper echelons already knew that this was a probe into the Archerons' power. If the response was correct, Viscount Zieg would be scapegoated and those behind the scenes would give up their hopes.

However, Viscount Zieg was currently missing, at least formally. Based on customs, his family would apologise and provide adequate compensation to appease Richard, allowing the matter to come to a peaceful resolution. If the Archeron response was abnormal, what followed would be war.

1358 - City of Sin

Crushing Unwritten Law

A personal appearance from Richard at the Assembly would normally indicate that the Archerons were trying to fake that they still had all their power, but some of the nobles present realised that things couldn't be so simple. Indeed, he picked up a strange weapon from one of his guards and pointed towards the roof of the building, a loud explosion forming a gaping whole in the ceiling!

“This is what went missing,” Richard said as he watched the panic amongst those present. Rubble rained down on those below, and after a period of chaos where everyone tried their best to not get hurt they went quiet as they stared at the thunder cannon with fear. Destroying the assembly building was a huge offence, but no one was stupid enough to bring that up. They had all seen that he'd only fired the weapon once, and it was clear that he was out for blood.

His cold voice rang out again, “My family is currently in unique circumstances, so listen well. I don't give a damn about your unwritten laws, I have mine. Anyone who still wants to fuck with me, here's the sentence: Viscount Zieg is sentenced to death, with a million-gold bounty for his head. Any family harbouring him will be exterminated, and his own family is now banished with their lands falling into Archeron hands.” Google search f𝚛𝗲𝒆we𝙗𝙣o𝙫e𝗹. 𝐜o𝚖

This declaration caused a huge commotion, leaving those who had actually made plans against the Archerons pale. This decision completely broke traditions that had been followed for thousands of years; if it couldn't be stopped, then no one would be able find a scapegoat to test the Archerons with.

However, some other nobles thought of something else. Zieg truly was unlucky; he thought he had plundered some normal goods, but they turned out to be such strong weapons that the Archerons clearly needed them for battle. One couldn't blame Richard for his rage in this scenario; normally, the thief would have returned these things the moment they realised how useful they were. Someone had clearly stolen them anyway, knowing fully well that Faelor was a fast plane where a single day's delay could kill off thousands of Archeron warriors.

“What right do you have to punish a viscount?” a young noble stood up, only to be met with the blaze of a muzzle as half of his body vanished into a mist of blood. A single leg flew into the sky and spun around for a bit, shocking the crowd into silence.

Richard growled, “Every minute I stand here could be a reason for the deaths of several of my warriors. I came here to make a declaration, not to listen to your whining. No one here has the authority to doubt my decisions!”

He tossed the thunder cannon back to the night elf, who expertly loaded it with new bullets before aiming it at the crowd alongside its comrades. The nobles realised that he wasn't yet done, which left a shiver running down their spines.

Richard waited for the hall to quiet down once more before continuing, “The person behind this is Yaya Turing, with indirect participation by Weiss Hasting. Both are to be executed alongside their next of kin. The Turings have an hour to hand over Yaya, or they'll bear the consequences.”

“ARE YOU LOOKING FOR WAR?” someone shouted from the crowd, but Richard simply clawed towards the air and pulled the middle-aged man into the sky. His face paled as invisible force crushed him from all side, not even allowing him to speak.

Richard didn't even look at the offender, instead sweeping his gaze across the others present, “I don't want to see such provocation again. Any family that wants to challenge the Archerons can be prepared to pay the price in their bloodline's destruction. You want a fight? I'll give you a massacre. Even if I'm the last Archeron left standing, all of you will be obliterated.”

Richard's voice was calm and relaxed, neither hysterical nor furious. His announcement was direct and factual, but the tranquility was more than sufficient to show his determination. It was only now that many were forced to put aside their prejudice, deciding to give the Archerons the respect they deserved. Many only just realised that he was now an epic being qualified to found his own country, with the power to wipe out a number of the strongest families on his own. No clan without an epic being of their own would be able to stop his wrath.

Who, then, was it that overstepped their bounds first?

As he walked out of the hall, one of his elves raised a thunder cannon and pulled the trigger, turning the middle-aged man up in the air into chunks of flesh and bone. The squad then lined up and followed him out, with no one daring to interrupt. Richard had used two examples to show that anyone who dared doubt him would be exterminated. Such a method was savage, but it was clear that debates could not sway him. There would be no ignoring his will.

......

Upon his return to his island, Richard assembled the assassin unions of Norland and gave them a bounty on Weiss Hasting. His head would be worth two million gold, and live capture would be five. His family had different rewards based on their proximity and importance; while Weiss was a favoured nephew of Hasting's, a single legendary mage couldn't frighten assassin organisations that encompassed all of Norland.

Four organisations immediately accepted the offer, with two more asking for some time for research. However, this was enough to guarantee a favourable result. Things would have gone faster if he assigned Waterflower or Zangru to the task, but he didn't believe a random noble was worth the time of his followers.

There were about ten minutes to the deadline by the time the assassins left, and in that time Asiris had formulated a new plan to adjust logistics so anything related to the thunder cannons would be transported aerially. The new two-barrelled cannons were cheaper than the six-barrelled ones, so the actual bottleneck came in making the bullets out of the energy cores. Blackgold already had his workshops running overtime to make up for the missing batch.

However, Richard shook his head as he read through the plan, “No, keep to the original plan, even for the bullets. Maybe make the individual batches smaller, but that's it.”

"But we don't have enough guards!"

“That's fine. If someone still wants to rob us, I'll have the chance for a proper demonstration... Oh?” His ears perked up as the clock rang out, “Let's make that another proper demonstration. Come.”

Asiris followed Richard out of the castle, a small army of night elves already in the process of assembling. Many powerhouses who had been participating in the fights against the dragons or demons had heard the news and followed behind, but Richard didn't stop them. Outsiders would find it difficult to judge if they were with him or simply spectating, which would only add to the pressure.

“I'll come have a look as well,” a spirited voice rang out, immediately multiplying that pressure with its mere presence. The Celestial Sage was coming along.

1359 - City of Sin

Foundational Laws

“Perfect, I just so happen to be missing a witness,” Richard said as he saw Ruben, not pausing the procession that was moving through the portal to enter the teleportation temple.

The place was already full of people who had come to see just how he was going to take Yaya Turing away from his island— while confrontations between the major families were common, few ever occurred so directly.

A row of knights were stood outside the portal to the island, guarding it carefully. Seeing Richard's soldiers appear, their captain stepped forward and shouted, “This is the entrance to the Turing Family's personal domain. It is closed to all visitors today; those who wish to barge in should consider the foundational laws of Faust!”

Many of the nobles watching felt a chill run down their spine. The city of Faust's operation was based on a number of fundamental laws that could not be broken, and places like the Church of the Eternal Dragon, the floating islands, and the teleportation temple were special zones that were protected. If Richard killed the knights sent by the Turing Family, he would be going against these laws and incur the wrath of the city itself, with the Rainbow of the Moons attacking him. This seemingly put him in a dilemma, because his hour's ultimatum was up. While the Turings couldn't simply hole up forever, but the delay would at least serve as some consolation.

However, Richard wasn't one to follow the rest. He didn't even bother conversing with the knight, simply pointing a finger forward as ten night elves jumped forward and drew their six-barrelled thunder cannons. The captain's eyes went wide in horror, but his scream was drowned out by thunderous explosions that obliterated the entire squadrons.

Once the booming came to a halt, the only sound left in the hall was the whirring of the gun barrels. Richard stepped over the clumps of flesh on the floor and walked into the portal, followed by Asiris, Ruben, and the many night elves. It was only afterwards that the spectators awoke from their daze, starting to rush inside as well.

Duke Turing himself was standing on the other end of the portal, confronting Richard the moment he came out, “Richard! This is unspeakable humiliation towards my family, and the nobles of this city at large! We will not simply give up an important member based on baseless accusation; follow the laws and settle this in court.”

Richard sneered in the face of the denouncement, putting his hand on the hilt of the Judge, “So you won't hand him over? I'll consider it a declaration of war.”

Turing seemed completely ignorant of the threat, “Don't think we'll bow down to your threats. Even the ruler of the Alliance can't treat one of the fourteen like this!”

The Judge was already unsheathed at this point, with Richard losing interest in the conversation. He stared at the Duke indifferently, “Turing, you just made a mistake you shouldn't have. I'm not someone who tolerates repeated hostility, I'm someone who destroys the source.”

By the time Turing realised that the threats weren't empty, the sword was already slashing down. His thoughts froze as he shouted, “This is a floating island! You can't—”

The voice was drowned out as the Judge sliced down to his left and right, the force from the attacking forming a huge ditch as the shockwaves crushed all the buildings and people on the island. A dozen fireballs— each with a red exterior and blue core— flew towards various parts of the island, their individual explosions merging into an enormous conflagration that burnt everything in its path.

The spectators watched dumbly as the shockwave sent the defenceless Duke to the ground, only protected by a barrier Richard had set up for their sake. He had planned to leave them all with their reputations intact, but unfortunately they fell to the ground themselves in sheer horror. As the ashen Duke Turing stood up, however, his response was the same.

There was nothing left on the island, no castle, no garden, no barracks, hills, or treasury. Everything had been replaced by scorched earth, an island that had been planned for decades seemingly left without a trace of its existence.

Turing wanted to believe it was all an illusion, but the heat wafting into his face and the horror of everyone nearby confirmed that this was the truth. He stared at Richard with indignation, but no words would come out.

The power of this strike alone was still acceptable; if one had to measure it, both Sharon and Philip had shown displays of might that exceeded it. However, the truly shocking thing was Richard's gall; did he not fear the wrath of the city?

Richard slowly sheathed the Judge and the hundreds of souls it had just absorbed. Outside of Turing himself, everyone else on the island had turned to ash. These explosions couldn't even be withstood by saints.
f𝔯𝗲e𝒘𝙚𝚋𝐧oѵe𝗹． 𝒄𝗼m

It was after a near full minute of silence that Turing started laughing hysterically, “You actually destroyed the island! Ha, Faust will kill you and destroy your soul! No one can withstand the city's strength!”

As though to lend credence to his words, rainbow light shot down from the sky and illuminated the entire island. Near-boundless magic bubbled forth from the rainbow of the moons, leaving those present feeling insignificant in the face of divine strength.

“It's the Rainbow of the Moons!” “It's going to destroy this place, run!” "It's too late!"

A number of panicked cries rang out, the nobles who had wanted to witness the spectacle now scared witless as the power of the moons covered the entire island. The portal had already lost its effect, and space was locked so no one could escape.

Richard was the only one present who remained calm, “Shame. Faust isn't as unstoppable as you make it out to be. Past, present, future, there are always people who can ignore its laws. As for me... Well, you could never imagine the power I wield here.”

The rainbow of the six moons started to glow stronger and stronger, tides of energy forming in the vicinity as they formed hills, lakes, fields, and forests to return the island to its base state. There was no attack or massacre, however; instead, Turing felt his connection weakening as the island broke away from its initial orbit and started floating down. The nobles all around started screaming in fear as the perimeter started to break down, but their worst fears were alleviated when it quickly stopped at a new orbit and started moving slowly.

The portal soon regained its radiance, the power of the moons fading away. However, a pallid Turing rushed to the edge of the island and looked out, confirming from the angle that he was now island 7-7. The other nobles started understanding just what had happened as well, most of them gasping in shock. Richard had just destroyed a sixth level island in one strike, but instead of punishing him the city had restored the island and then demoted it to the lowest position. This meant the Turings would be the target of the next Blood Path!

“How did this...”

“Are the laws gone?”

“No, they still exist, it's just that...” The person saying this suddenly shut up, realising what he was about to say. The fundamental laws governing Faust still existed, but they simply couldn't restrict Richard any longer.

1360 - City of Sin

Breaking Tradition

Just what was it about Richard that the laws of Faust that even restricted the royal family couldn't affect him? This wasn't an impossible question, and those present quickly thought of the key difference. The Archerons occupied the first island of the third layer, and this island was impossible to seize by force. Richard simply possessed so much authority in Faust that even the fundamental laws of the city did not apply to him.

And the core of it all was sacrifices.
𝐟𝓇𝒆𝐞w𝐞𝙗𝓷o𝘷𝐞𝒍. c𝐨𝒎

Even as the crowd started to realise many things, Richard scoffed at a crying Duke Turing and turned to leave. The Archerons followed in the footsteps of their master, while some of the powerhouses and nobles sighed softly. The Turing Family had been crushed in a matter of seconds; Richard hadn't just destroyed their talisman, but killed off more than half of their talented youths. Even if he didn't kill them all himself, this was a family that simply had no future.

Bloodshed was inevitable whenever traditions had to be broken, and there wasn't a single epic being in Norland that hadn't reached their level without bathing in the blood of their enemies. From the Sword Saint and Empress Gelan to Philip and Apeiron, it was a mountain of corpses that they climbed to their fame. Even the lazy Sharon was known as a god of death in the Far North, with every brick of the Deepblue needing the death of a grey dwarf, orc, or gnome. It was to the point that even when they wanted to advance, the Frozen Court chose to attack the Sacred Alliance instead of aiming at the nearby Floe Bay.

And now, there was Richard. While defeating Apeiron had convinced most of his detractors, this act of cold-blooded murder would ensure that those who still had designs on him sobered up. Anyone who wished to antagonise him from now would come in prepared for death.

Richard didn't stay for long, returning to Faelor immediately after the ordeal. Every family in Faust received a letter after he left, stating that the missing thunder cannons were considered contraband and any use of them would be punished by the Archerons. There were no details about the punishment, but the severity of his wrath against the Turings was enough to show his determination.

Richard left two hundred night elves and thirty rune knights behind with Asiris, ordering him to root out Yaya Turing and kill him. A scan just before the destruction had shown no signs of Yaya in the castle, which meant the Turings had gotten him out on the assumption that they would be able to claim ignorance later. The Earl could either die with honour on the battlefield, or would have a bounty of two million on his head in a few days that would get him assassinated.

......

It was two days after Richard Archeron decimated the Turing Family for harbouring a conspirator against the Archerons. A group of people were currently struggling on a trek through a valley in the east of the Sacred Alliance, leading towards the Sacred Tree Empire.

The window of the sole carriage in the group suddenly opened up, a youth's head popping out from within. Looking at the scenery outside the window before frowning at the sky, he asked impatiently, “How much longer?”

An old mage moved close one his horse, “We will exit the Sacred Alliance once we cross that mountain, my lord.”

“The mountain?” Weiss stared into the distance grimly, “Won't we have to journey through midnight?”

“We have to leave quickly for your safety, my Lord. The bounty the Archerons have placed on you is enormous; there are many who would take the risks.”

“That damned Richard! I'll uproot you and your family one day, don't even think of living happily as long as I'm alive!”

The old mage sighed at this rage, but he didn't speak further. Weiss hated the Archerons to the core, but still managed to retain his conceit even after being forced to flee through the night. The youth had actually refused ardently, only agreeing after a full day of effort. The mage hoped to find those in the Sacred Tree who had masterminded this whole thing, passing the responsibility off to them. When the time came, they would be the one dealing with the wrath of both Richard and Hasting.

“So this is where you were running. And here I was, wondering if I'd lost my prey,” an eerie voice suddenly rang through the forest.

All colour immediately drained from the old mage's face. He shouted for the guards to defend as a tanned man walked out from the nearby woods, possessing a pair of amber eyes with vertical slits for pupils. His long, thick hair was tied into a braid, and he had two longswords on his back.

“Ghoul!” the old mage was stunned by the sight.

“Mm, it's me. Do you still plan to resist? With just two saints and a grand mage?” the assassin scoffed.

“Is Nightblade not afraid of Master Hasting's wrath? You should be aware of the consequences; the Hasting Family can pay you just as much as the Archerons would.”

“Just as much? As the Archerons? There aren't many families on this continent who dare to say such things, don't tell me you actually don't know the price for this brat's head.”

“Indeed, even I was shaken by the number,” a hoarse voice rang out nearby.

Ghoul frowned and jumped back, “Blood Axe! I was here first!”

A large shadow zoomed across the sky, landing right behind the fleeing caravan and blocking the escape. This new entrant was a bald man covered in a leather vest, with scars all over his exposed arms that indicated completely mangled skin.

Blood Axe laughed at Ghoul's complaint, “If even you were tempted, how could I miss out?”

“Where did these bastards come from?” Weiss suddenly hissed from his carriage, “Chase them away and ask Uncle to put them in their places afterwards!”

For the first time, however, the old mage ignored the youth in agony. Ghoul and Blood Axe were the leaders of Nightblade and Blood Disaster, the third and fourth most powerful assassin organisations in Norland. They were known for being vicious and merciless, taking any dirty jobs offered to them if the pay was high enough. The two were both sky saints, and either one could wipe the entire guard team out without a trace.

Weiss finally seemed to understand something from the old man's abnormal reaction, his own face slowly paling with fear. His hand gripping the windowsill started to tremble with anxiety.

The two assassins faced each other for a while before Ghoul spoke up, “The bounty is big enough to share. Why don't we join hands? It'll be easier to bring this brat back alive.”

Blood Axe scratched his bald head with his axe before nodding, “Alright, I agree.”

However, a cold voice suddenly interrupted them, “But I don't.”

A woman in blue-grey armour suddenly appeared next to the mountain, her lower face hidden by a dark grey mask. One of her eyes was a sapphire blue, but the other was a pupilless grey that looked like a mass of fog.

Both Ghoul and Blood Axe were put off guard by the woman's arrival, with the latter even taking a step back as he entered battle stance. His muscles were twitching all over, making his nervousness obvious.

“Calamity!” Even Ghoul reached for his swords as he jumped away.

“Cal...amity...” It was only now that the old mage recognised the woman as well, his heart stopping in shock. Calamity was a name that stood for two things— the most powerful assassin union in all of Norland, and the heterochromic woman who stood at its head. This was an assassin who had reached the legendary realm dozens of years ago, and her grey eye was rumoured to be capable of tracing energy flows that allowed her to see through all invisibility. She was the strongest assassin for hire in Norland, outclassing the competition so heavily that even Ghoul and Blood Axe wouldn't be able to escape her if they joined hands.

Blood Axe laughed bitterly, “Forgive me, I didn't expect you to be interested in this. I'm willing to give it up, can I leave?”

Calamity's gaze swept across the two of them, “None of you are leaving.”

Ghoul's expression turned grim as he brandished his swords, “Then I'll just have to leave my mark on you.”

The legend scoffed, “Both of you came for the bounty?”

“Hmm? What else?” Blood Axe seemed a little confused, “It's a huge sum of money; even if I get half of it, I can retire for a couple years.”

Ghoul nodded his head in agreement. Assassins could earn a lot, but it wasn't always easy. High risks normally meant high rewards, so not all bounties couldn't be accepted. There were, for example, a number of people who wanted to target the Archerons, but with Richard's current standing only idiots would take on such a thing. News never got out because people like that tended to die before they got anywhere near the target. In fact, the Archerons were the highest paying clients whose bounty requests were actually accepted regularly.

1361 - City of Sin

Opportunity

With the answers from Ghoul and Blood Axe, Calamity nodded and pulled her aura inwards, “You can join the mission. We'll divide the bounty equally, but it counts as mine.”

The two other assassins were astonished at this concession. Calamity alone could take care of this mission easily, and there was no need to bring them at all. For her to split the bounty was even more generous; normally, the legendary assassin in this situation would take half the profits while the two sky saints split the rest. Calamity wasn't even a normal legend; it wouldn't be much of a stretch for her to get a full two-thirds of the pot.

All in all, this decision would give Ghoul and Blood Axe a lot of money for no reason. Things would have been different if there were some extra goals to hit, but Richard hadn't mentioned any other rewards for this specific bounty.

While Blood Axe looked like a brute, a knowing glint flashed in his eyes as he spoke up, “If the idea is to get closer to His Excellency Richard, then this much truly is a paltry sum.”

Calamity locked gazes with the man, “You really are as sly as the rumours say. Yes, I want this to count as mine so I can get closer to him. If possible, my organisation is prepared to join the Archerons entirely.”

Blood Axe was taken aback at this news that could shock mainland Norland, “Join the Archerons now? Even if we ignore the reapers, I heard that the Sacred Tree Empire just launched an attack on the Azan Peninsula. They've erupted into war!”

Excitement flashed across Wells's face as he heard this. Richard wasn't completely invincible, and he definitely couldn't stand up to the entire Sacred Tree Empire. Once the Archerons were destroyed, he would have a chance to free himself.

However, Calamity seemed to be deliberately wooing the two, explaining with patience, “Do you think there will be another opportunity? The Archerons are weak right now, and those that help will be regarded as core followers.”

“But the Empire...”

“The Empire's been blocked at Blackrose Castle. Earl Alice has less than a tenth of their number, but they can't break her defences.”

Despite this news, Ghoul and Blood Axe continued to hesitate. It was surprising enough for the Archerons to be able to block the army of the Sacred Tree Empire in their current circumstances, but being able to hold on for one day didn't mean they would last longer. The fall of Blackrose Castle would decimate the Archerons; even if Richard was powerful himself, the Empire had people who could go toe to toe with him.

She continued, “Another piece of news is that Prince Greyhawk of the Millennial Empire and the former Grand Warrior of Klandor Asa have arrived at Faust and registered themselves into the reward point system.”

This was staggering news! Asa was well known as the person who had crushed the Millennial Empire's attempt to claim Klandor, as well as the person who had single-handedly forced back the legends of Daxdus in the Land of Dusk. This was an epic being of great renown, and her husband Greyhawk was one of the four most outstanding individuals in the Millennial Empire during his time. His other three siblings were all legends, and there was no reason to believe he would be any worse.

And yet, this impressive individual might wasn't even the end of it. Asa was backed by the Azuresnow Shrine while Greyhawk was a prince of the Millennial Empire. Neither would simply join the Archerons simply for some items, but without any confirmation it was impossible to tell just what their true intentions were. Even if Asa only half-counted as supporting the Archerons, and the same was considered of the Celestial Sage, that still effectively meant that was the same number of epics as any of the major empires had in total. That kind of power was also likely to succeed against the reapers!

Richard himself could not be underestimated. If the situation turned dire, he would have to give up on Faelor and return to Azan to deal with his enemies. Not even the three imperial families of the plane could withstand his wrath.

Blood Axe finally spoke up, “Great! If Calamity is joining the Archerons, count me in too.”

“Sure,” she nodded and looked towards Ghoul.

“I don't have a choice, now, do I?” Ghoul shrugged helplessly, “But why would we have to join ranks?”

Calamity smiled coldly, “Because the way back will be rough as well. I'm not the only person after this rascal, and I need help. This is the most important mission the Archerons have issued in recent times, and many others will be aware of the opportunity to gain Master Richard's favour. His prospects aren't limited to the Sacred Alliance.”

The two others finally understood. The underworld was also far more pragmatic than upper class society, respecting power over anything else. So long as Richard stood a chance to reverse the situation, their loyalty was confirmed. In many ways, this was similar to the broodmother's stated allegiance.

Their next task was to take care of Wells. The guards were all killed in mere moments, and pained cries rang out as all four of the youth's limbs were torn open and forced shut with secret potions within. He would be completely crippled in a matter of minutes, with the only recourse being to cut everything off and regrow it with legendary divine magic. Blood Axe wrapped him in canvas and hoisted him up, setting off for Blackrose Castle.

...

It was only a few minutes before a number of blurry silhouettes appeared at the scene of the crime, their expressions turning grim at the sight of the mess. An old man carefully investigated the site and looked up at the three others who had arrived with in, “Ghoul and Blood Axe. It looks like they've formed an alliance; the only way to join Master Richard's side is one of our own. What do you say?”

““Agreed.”” Two assassins made their stances clear immediately, while another middle-aged man hesitated, “Has Calamity not shown itself? This should be a mission they can't afford to ignore.”

The old man responded solemnly, “My contacts tell me their three strongest members are not in Norland at present; they shouldn't have been able to arrive in time. As for the woman herself, her whereabouts are unclear. She shouldn't be interested in a mission so easy, however.”

“Who knows? Things change once we consider the favour of Master Richard,” the last man was still apprehensive.

This prompted a sneer, “Shouldn't there be some risk involved for such a huge reward?”

This logic was something most assassins agreed with. Nothing was more suspicious than a mission that was too easy for its reward. The middle-aged man's hesitation stemmed from his fear of Calamity, but such an opportunity was hard to come by. There were rumours from the Archeron ranks that Richard Archeron himself was prepared to take in more followers, regardless of their background or past. Such an opportunity was irresistible.

Even the strongest of beings harboured two near-invariant goals; eternal life and to break through one's limits. There were times where these goals overlapped as well— becoming an epic being would allow thousands upon thousands of years of life. Richard was the only divine runemaster of Norland, and the number of legends he had built up along his way was mind-numbing. Joining his side was certain to boost one's chances of breaking into the legendary realm, a deadly temptation to these sub-legendary assassins who had been bottlenecked for a long time.

The biggest bottleneck to the legendary realm came not in energy levels but in laws. In this regard, the sheer number of saint runes Richard could craft was proof enough of his diversity. In addition, Midren's creation meant that he was even starting to control laws of other primary planes. If he managed to advance further in the future and could decipher the foundational laws of other planes, he was likely to become the premier powerhouse of Norland and unify the entire plane under his control.

With numerous thoughts flashing across his mind, the middle-aged man eventually came to a decision, “I agree to the alliance.”

“Very well,” the old man nodded coldly, “Let us chase after them; I have my ways to track their movements. Even Calamity herself wouldn't be able to escape my pursuity!”

The four assassins and their subordinates merged into one large pack that quickly set out in one direction.

1362 - City of Sin

A New Military Force

Back in Faelor, Richard had just annihilated another of the reaper squadrons before falling headfirst to the ground. He panted endlessly, lacking the will to force himself back up. Nasia walked towards him and kicked his rear, “Get up and drink your potions, you still need to melt this scrap metal so we can go kill the next batch!”

He remained motionless on the ground, refusing to move as he struggled to lift his hand and stretch it out, “Five minutes! Please, even three is enough!”

“I'm not giving you one. Get up, or I'm stabbing you!” she said as she poked his butt with the tip of her longsword. While Richard's skin was tough, it parted immediately and started leaking drops of blood.

When he still didn't move, she dropped all hints of friendliness. Pulsing with killing intent, she pulled her sword back at stabbed straight for his anus with flames lining her blade. Richard jumped from the ground in shock, barely turning around to see the deep hole that had been stabbed in the ground. The lining had been completely crystallised; if he had taken the hit, even his demonic blood wouldn't protect him from being blunt.

Each one of Nasia's swords was as powerful as all three of his combined. Richard didn't want a taste of it even if he reached level 36 in the future, let alone now. His expression turned especially ugly as he heard a gentle laugh nearby, and he turned to glower at the offender who looked away in a panic. Waterflower's shoulders were still bouncing as she tried to restrain herself, but in that one moment he saw a sense of nostalgia in her eyes.

Before Richard could even curse, a handful of potions were thrown his way. He downed them all in one go, sitting down to meditate. Everyone around couldn't help a smile, but their gazes towards him were filled with veneration. He had been heavily injured this time, giving them the chance to enjoy the boosts Nasia could grant, but they realised this pinnacle of buffs came with a painful price. It took a huge toll on one's energy, and when it wore off the fatigue could turn someone insane. One felt like they had been hollowed out, every bone itching so hard that they felt like mutilating themselves. Ironshield even had to cut himself a dozen times before he managed to calm down.

And this was all from War King. Nasia explicitly told the rest of them that the Projection of Ruin was Richard's specialty; even legends couldn't handle its power and could tire themselves out to death. In a similar case, most saints only enjoyed a brief period of War Fanatic before they started to dry out. Knowing this, the fact that Richard had Nasia cast the Projection of Ruin every battle was frightening. Even worse, he couldn't simply rest like the other powerhouses when they were done; he still needed to drink mana potions and recover, using his blue flames to refine the wreckage. The inhuman determination this needed garnered more respect than any words or killing ever could.

For some reason, Nasia seemed to have it out for Richard as well, driving him like a tyrant as she refused to give him even five minutes of rest. Moreover, her threats were the only ones that actually got him moving. Everyone present squeezed their buttcheeks when she brandished her sword; what had been instinct for Waterflower so long ago had been weaponised by the paladin.

Only ten minutes later, Richard was done with meditation and had finished off the reaper remains. Everyone then flew back to Bluewater and offloaded the energy cores before resupplying and heading off to their next targets. The broodmother could have handled this herself, but with the prior sneak attack on the capital, Richard would rather spend as much time as he could close to the city just in case. The broodmother didn't actually believe they would attack again— in her opinion, the ocean had much more flesh to offer now than the few people that remained— but he refused to take the risk.

However, Richard was met with two unexpected visitors upon his return to Bluewater Oasis: Mountainsea's mother and father.

“We're here to participate in the reward point battlefield,” Greyhawk explained with a smile.

“Huh? Which one, the dragons or the demons?”

“The reapers.”

“The what... Oh, right,” he shook his head, trying to regain some clarity. He had almost forgotten that there was a reward mechanic for fighting the reapers. Despite the three divine weapons on offer, even epic beings like Ruben didn't want to take the risk. Returning to his senses, he looked at the two with suspicion, “In that case, I hope you can give me a good reason to accept you.”

Asa was an epic being, while Greyhawk with his now jet black hair was somewhat of a mystery even to Richard himself. The addition of the two would definitely be a huge boost in the battle against the reapers, but knowing what he did about the Prince's background he simply couldn't take on the risk.

Greyhawk flashed a dry smile, “I've come here for knowledge. The reapers hold many secrets of the universe.”

“Spoken like a true High Scholar,” Richard's eyes narrowed.

“I know you want all Scholars dead. I was indeed in their order in the past, even a potential successor to the castle lord, but I have withdrawn and am a free individual. My thirst for knowledge is far more pure, the same as your desire for power.” Please visit ｆ𝗿𝗲𝒆we𝚋ｎ૦𝘃𝚎𝒍. 𝒄o𝚖

“Why did you leave?” Richard pressed on.

Asa frowned at this insistence, snorting as she pulsed her bloodlust into an aura. However, Richard smiled calmly as a red glow shot out from his own body, crushing her aura immediately before fading away. The barbarian's eyes went wide in surprise; his killing intent actually surpassed her own! How could someone so young have more combat experience than her?

Greyhawk allowed the tiny contest to play out before tapping his wife's hand, calming her down as he turned back to Richard, “I understand why you are so resentful; I would be the same. Of course, I have my own ways to deal with them, but that doesn't affect you. I left Soremburg because I found something more important than chasing the root of existence, something more meaningful.”

The Prince lifted Asa's hand as he said this, his gentle expression immediately melting the heart of the cold warrior as she pulled him in for a hug. Richard found himself speechless at the sight, but after a moment of consideration he decided that their involvement would be a benefit to Faelor. The two would need no support, capable of hunting down reaper squadrons all on their own. He would only need to assign messengers to them.

“Do you want to meet Mountainsea?” he asked, “We can be there in a few minutes.”

“No need,” Asa shook her head, “We will have other chances after we deal with the enemy. Is there anything to take note of?”

“A lot, actually, but... Tell you what, I was about to head out for a hunt in a bit. Let's act together, you should be able to assess the enemies in one fight. You two can then act independently afterwards, I'll leave you with a contact for any supplies you need.”

“Alright. I also heard there are three divine weapons we can earn from this battlefield,” Asa suddenly said.

Richard was taken aback by the forthrightness, but he still managed to respond, “Yes, but they are already in the reward point system with a fixed price. I have some other divine weapons if you still want some.”

Greyhawk raised an eyebrow in surprise, “There are five divine weapons in the exchange system, and you still have more on hand? Are you a divine weaponsmith as well?”

Richard sighed, “Heh, I'm not even the person with the most divine equipment here.”

Nasia, who had been standing nearby all this while, suddenly changed to an elegant stance. A blinding glow emitted from her body as all of her divine equipment was activated in tandem, forming a field of white light around her. Asa and Greyhawk froze in astonishment as they noticed the current of divine symbols in the light, losing their speech for a moment in the face of her power.

The two exchanged looks before Greyhawk forced a smile, “Alright Richard, I have to admit that you surprised me. But we've already seen the list and are interested in all three of those weapons; I have some items to exchange for points.”

Richard was handed a simple leather pack with a dozen items within, and as he started looking through it his heart started to race.

1363 - City of Sin

To Repair The Aria

Richard's heart started racing with the very first item he took out of Greyhawk's bag; it was a fragment of a fallen star, extremely useful when crafting spatial equipment. He quickly estimated it to be worth about 200 reward points, and this was only one of more than a dozen items!

The next item was a set of bones that contained the soul of an ancient beast, usable for the extraction of a magic soul to form the basis of a saint rune. With his gifts as a soul hunter, he would even be able to analyse the basis of that entire soul, crafting into countless smaller ones. More than half a dozen other items were quite similar, and following them were special herbs and ores that he wasn't as good at evaluating. The only thing he could confirm was that they were full of energy.

It was when he picked up what resembled a red ruby that he was immediately pulled by what felt like a primordial conscient, almost enchanting him for a moment. He focused and examined the thing closely, finding the silhouettes of fierce beasts flickering within. Activating the Field of Truth, he found that most of the laws defining this crystal were so foggy that they were clearly beyond his current abilities. From what he could tell, the only laws more complicated were the ones that governed Sharon's library.

He gasped with admiration, “Laws that exceed mere planes... No, there are some fundamental laws of the void in this. Just what is it?”

Greyhawk smiled, “A drop of blood from the Beast God.”

“Oh,” he blanked for a moment, staring at the ruby with even more confusion. It was nearly impossible to estimate the value of such an item; he would never have imagined that he would be able to hold something so highly revered across Klandor. This drop alone was definitely worth the three divine items.

The only thing that left him hesitant was that he simply couldn't handle something so exquisite just yet. His control over souls wouldn't be enough to even extract the soul from within, forget replicating its properties. And supposing he managed to do that, any rune with this as the central agreement would be grade 6. He couldn't craft such a thing with decent hopes of success.

Greyhawk continued to explain, “The Beast God is characterised by violent strength and pure offence; all of its defence comes from its high vitality. I think this information should help you decide just how to use this.”

These words snapped Richard out of his daze, and a light went off in his mind. He suddenly remembered something else had that could form the basis of a grade 6 rune: the activated ember essence. The combination of the two could fuse their laws into an optimal mix, possessing incomparable boosts to one's vitality and recovery.

This was the final piece that would allow him to repair the Deepblue Aria!

Sharon's rune was exactly what a combination of ember essence and this drop of blood could bring. While it used astral energy, it still allowed one to switch effortlessly between physical and magical combat, boosting one's passive strength and defence when not used as such. Sharon was powerful due to her heritage alone, but fortified by a fixed Aria her strength would trounce all others. Even an all-out attack from Apeiron would barely cause any damage.

The Deepblue Aria was the rune buried deepest into Richard's heart. He had renewed his research into it ever since he came across Sharon's library, his progress speeding up to the point that he had almost mastered it all. He was only held back because he was thinking within the confines of astral energy, which he still wasn't completely familiar with. The Deepblue Aria already optimised astral energy to near perfection, only lacking recovery. With the combination of the Beast God's blood and the ember essence, it would become a perfect rune that would leave her with no weaknesses.

“What's wrong with you?” Nasia suddenly snapped him out of his delighted thoughts, bringing his attention to the fact that Asa and Greyhawk were staring at him. He smiled awkwardly, “I'm fine, I just had an idea for a new rune.

“A rune that could astonish the only divine runemaster in Norland? It seems extraordinary, would you mind describing it?” Greyhawk asked.

“Sure. It's a rune that harvests the energy of the stars and brings one to near perfection. It's called the Deepblue Aria, a grade 6 rune.”

“Grade 6?” the Prince stood up in astonishment.

“Mm.”

The significance of such a statement could not be overstated. Richard had once said that Midren's battle edition was a rune beyond mere sainthood, but it wasn't truly grade 6. His title of divine runemaster was a little exaggerated, but even approaching grade 6 it had swept every other saint runemaster away. If he managed it, he would truly earn the title of best runemaster ever known to Norland.

Such a title wouldn't just be unprecedented; it was also unlikely to be replicated. Unless Norland itself was strengthened to match other planes like heaven or the abyss, finding the talent to accomplish this feat again would be near impossible. However, even if Norland eventually upgraded it would take millions of years.

However, Richard stared into empty space for a moment. He now had a way to make good on his second oldest promise, but the owner of the rune itself was missing. Would he even be able to find her after all this?

Greyhawk wiped the sweat off his forehead, “Looks like we chose the right time to come here; we fall in the good graces of an incomparable figure. Anyway, tell me how many points I can get. You've already stolen my daughter from me, don't be stingy.”

Richard chuckled at the joke; if the duo had truly come here with good intentions, his prospects in this war would improve greatly. It would also act as a huge deterrent against any schemes and conspiracies. However, the request for points quickly drained him of all emotion, “Fifteen thousand points, and we can add to the list immediately. I'll have someone send you the weapons.”

“15,000? Does that mean I can buy a full version of Midren? It should make me near unkillable!”

“Hmm...” Richard frowned, “Technically? But the requirement on capacity is too great, Your Highness; I do not believe you can use it as you are. If you were to try, you would be paralysed the moment you activate it.”

“What?” Greyhawk was stunned, “Even I can't wear it?”

“Not even you.”

“Err... Then who exactly can deal with this rune beyond sainthood?”

Richard pointed at Asa, “She can manage it, but she wouldn't be able to use any other runes.”

The Prince started stroking his short beard, “So that's why you put them on offer one by one. Those people who get a few won't let go even if they can't wear it. They'll just think of ways to increase their capacity again and again. But then, isn't it only obvious that an epic being would be suited to a rune beyond grade 5?”

......

Not long after, the three divine weapons were sent to Greyhawk and Asa's residence. The two of them replaced their equipment and made some preparations before setting off with Richard on his next hunt. This battle went extremely smoothly; with the aid of two powerhouses around the epic realm, Richard's team had an absolute advantage that limited the losses to one seriously injured saint, a few more with light injuries, and a dozen night elves.

When Richard started refining the wreckage, Greyhawk noticed the silver metal and asked, “Is that ember essence?”

Richard nodded, “This is the core of the reapers, and they only have a certain amount in any given invasion. Without it, they can't build new warships; that's why we need to stop and work on the wreckage after every battle. We can't afford them recovering this and simply refreshing their troops.”

Picking up a piece, the Prince carefully examined the essence, “This doesn't have a bulk of its energy; does it need to be energised before it can be used again?”

“Correct. I obtained some activated essence from the Eternal Dragon, a portion of which is the reason for my wealth of divine weapons. But that's basically the only way for us to activate it; otherwise, we have to find a current of time and somehow wash it within.”

“Hmm... Have you considered how it is that the reapers activate this essence to make new warships? They must have the ability to energise it again, and the source might just be in the mothership.”

Richard was a little taken aback at this simple question, his heart starting to boom with both anticipation and embarrassment. This was an invaluable ability that couldn't be passed upon.

Greyhawk continued, “Let's continue destroying these troops, but if we find an opportunity it might be wise to launch an ambush on the enemy mothership. We will need to act quickly; from what I know, reapers are all controlled by a thought centre on the mothership It would be a problem if it destroyed itself or something.”

“Huh... Alright, I understand. I'll see if I can make an opening.” Richard had already finished analysing most of the warships of the reapers, and was at a point where he could work backwards to try and determine how the mothership worked. If he could strike at the laws governing it, he could paralyse the thought centre and unlock most of the reapers' secrets.

However, this was a difficult decision to have to make. His troops were already wary, and if he went all out at this point the reapers would likely give up and wipe out the mothership themselves. That meant he would have to sustain more casualties simply to keep up appearances and give them a chance of ambush.

1364 - City of Sin

Blackrose Under Threat

Asa and Greyhawk separated from Richard and advanced towards their next target, continuing the war for Faelor's survival. However, the casualties of the plane continued to rise; even with an increased rate of destroying the enemies, most reaper squadrons still managed to wipe out large swathes of land before they were taken care of.

Another chaotic fortnight thus passed. This was only a little over a day in Norland, but to the knights guarding Blackrose Castle the past few days had felt like a full month. They had been withstanding ten times their number in enemies swarming them from all directions, the Sacred Tree Empire seemingly possessing an unending supply of troops. Many of the other castles in Azan had been lost and retrieved multiple times, both sides throwing away thousands of corpses on the battlefield.

Alice truly showcased her excellent ability as a commander, making do with her limited forces with creativity. While she didn't have Richard's ability to micromanage nearly every soldier, she had outmanoeuvred the enemy repeatedly and turned the tides every time the Archerons were about to collapse. While the defence had only lasted a little more than two days, her reputation skyrocketed once more.

While it was unknown if the Archerons could last another hour, it was the generals of the Sacred Tree Empire who were the most nervous of the lot. They had planned a blitz of an invasion that would capture Blackrose Castle in mere hours, sealing Richard within Faelor. While an epic being couldn't simply be trapped in a legendary plane, they hoped to use this as an opportunity for negotiation that could grant them some concessions from him. Of course, many wanted to just kill him, but without any epic being stepping forth there was simply no way to accomplish such a task.

These generals knew that they didn't have much time remaining. Every few hours that passed was a day in Faelor, and the war between the Archerons and the reapers would soon draw to a close. Whether it be in victory or defeat, Richard would eventually recall all of his forces and bolster Blackrose's defences once more.

Starting the third day, these generals started supervising the battle themselves, going all out to advance inch after inch as they removed the obstacles in their path. Blackrose Castle was proving its reputation as an unassailable fortress, the layered defences making it near impossible to capitalise on any one opening and rush in.

However, the slow advance of these troops was starting to choke Alice out. She was left with nowhere to go, with the defence soon reaching a critical point. Even the famed ancestral castle of the Archerons couldn't hold on against such a superior opponent forever.

......

When Richard returned to Bluewater after his last hunt, he found the latest war report already on his table. Scanning through it quickly, he adjusted his map of Azan and started examining it once more. The Sacred Tree Empire was already charging in from the north, and ships had sealed off any hope of escape by see. The entire peninsula was locked in by enemy soldiers; the only way out was through.

“Lively,” he smiled softly, sending an order in his mind.

......

Originally returning to Bluewater after a successful hunt, Asa and Greyhawk found themselves suddenly redirected to another target. The Prince flared an aura that wasn't much weaker than the barbarian's, making his annoyance clear, “He's pushing us to our deaths! Just what kind of son-in-law did we end up with?”

Asa snorted, “Stop complaining like a baby; can't you do something for Mountainsea? If we're being directed to suppress the reapers, that means Richard has something else he needs to do right now.”

“Of course the brat does, he's going to give those angel slaves a surprise!” Greyhawk said with a chuckle.

......

Richard walked towards the portal to Norland in Bluewater Oasis, a giant shadow flitting across the sky above him and unloading hundreds of winter soldiers. These giant drones now came with steeds of their own, a new type of mount from the broodmother called the steel drake. These were similar in appearance to most earth-bound draconids, but at five metres tall towered over the average earth dragon. Their huge mouths could break a warhorse with a single bite, and their metal scales could survive attacks from anything below sainthood. The mounts themselves were level 16, so the combination could go toe to toe with even the best of rune knights.

Besides the winter soldiers were a thousand night elves, split into equal numbers of archers and druids. They had originally been meant to get rid of the reapers, with most of them perishing in that battle, but with the arrival of Asa and Greyhawk he could afford to place them in this battlefield instead. On the other hand, the slow but powerful knights wouldn't be missed in Faelor; they simply couldn't deal with the power of the reapers.

Before stepping through the portal, Richard hesitated and sent his summons once more. Thirty mantis-like drones flew up from one end of the city, rapidly landing before him in perfect formation. Each of these units was three metres tall and covered in bright metallic armour that could reflect most of the energy of the reaper beams. These units were overbearingly fast and powerful, their blades capable of stretching up to five metres away to slice spider warriors in two. They were the most optimised drones the broodmother had made to date, and were called the bladed hunters.

The hunters' bodies were covered in complicated patterns, not for decoration but to act as something similar to natural runes. Although these things only had the power of an elementary rune, they were optimised to boost the power of the drones by nearly a fifth. This brought them to near-saintly powers.

The bladed hunters were a hidden card that Richard hadn't used yet. He had planned to reserve them for the final battle against the reapers, but at this point he made a different decision as he imagined the map around Blackrose Castle. Laughing grimly at the crowd of troops that he would meet on the other side, he walked through with his elite army.

Since the eyesores had actually dared walk into his lands, he would wipe them all out.

......

A legend and more than ten saints walked into the teleportation temple in Faust, heading through the portal to the Archeron island. Meeting with the Celestial Sage Ruben in the island's castle, all of them stood at attention as they carefully passed over a prisoner to the Archeron guards.

This was the group headed by Calamity, followed by Ghoul, Blood Axe, and a number of powerful saint assassins. Each one present was a famous killer, but they were all cautious here. While being in the presence of an epic being was one part of it, another was that they were in the core grounds of the Archeron Family; Richard Archeron's nest.

Countless saints were walking through the portals here every day, even more than the guards placed around the place. Legends were a common sight as well, with many being clumped together in discussion from time to time. Only here would people like Calamity feel like legends like herself weren't worth much.

Ruben personally examined Weiss, whose arms and legs had been knotted around his body. His face was filled with deep fear, but he couldn't spout a single word. He quickly nodded, “Not bad, the mind and soul are intact, and he can even think, speak, and feel. Perfect live capture.”

The Celestial Sage signed a confirmation and handed it to Calamity, giving her the right to withdraw the gold or traded equivalents from the Archeron warehouse. However, she didn't even look at it before passing it on to Blood Axe, instead staring at Ruben seriously, “Calamity's core members are all gathered here to show our sincerity. Would it be possible to join the Archerons and become followers of His Grace?”

1365 - City of Sin

The Battle Of The Black Rose

Hearing that the entire Calamity union wanted to join the Archerons, the Celestial Sage sighed, “You have completed our highest priority bounty; you certainly qualify to make some requests of the Archerons. However, this sort of thing would require final confirmation from Richard. Hmm... Wait, stand up and let me take a look.”

The three saints following Calamity seemed angry at the request, but the woman herself had no objections as she walked towards Ruben and turned around once before taking her seat once more. The Celestial Sage's eyes glowed for a moment before he shook his head, “You seem to be quite wounded, and most of them are new. Is it from this mission?”

“We dealt with some troubles on our way back,” Calamity answered offhandedly. However, it was clear that anything that could injure her was a serious problem.

Ruben nodded, “I appreciate your sincerity. His Excellency gave me some authority over decisions; I can induct you into the Archeron Family at least. Participate in one of the reward point battlefields and gain about 2,000 points; you can then become his followers. Is that an acceptable condition?”

The legendary assassin immediately stood up in delight, “Definitely! Thank you, Your Excellency!”

This condition wasn't even much of a test, just a way to phrase a request for those who wanted to become Richard's followers to contribute to the Archeron Family first. 2,000 points was difficult for normal saints, but an assassin like Calamity could accomplish this easily.

Ghoul and Blood Axe seemed relieved as well. It seemed like Calamity's information was accurate, and the Archerons truly were recruiting followers even if the requirements were strict. The bounty had also definitely played a part in how low the requirements for them were.

As both sides were about to part, Calamity noticed a sizeable army walking through the portal to Blackrose Castle. Feeling auras that left even her frightened, she paused and asked, “Your Excellency, could we know where they are headed?”

“Of course. Richard just declared a special battlefield against the Sacred Tree Empire. The rewards are quite high, but participation is not compulsory. Those participating tend to be free agents who don't owe allegiance to any one empire.”

“Can I join?” her eyes glowed.

“I won't stop you, but you are still injured. It would be ill-advised.”

“These wounds are nothing. As long as our limbs can still move, we'll continue to fight.” Calamity headed towards the door, her three followers standing up and bumping their fists together as they muttered softly, “For Calamity!”

This was a ritual before every battle, both to look towards the future and remember their comrades who had fallen so long ago. There were nine founding members of this union, but the four in this hall were the only ones still alive.

Calamity paused, “No, it's For Points. Once we have enough, it will be For Richard.” Google search f𝐫e𝘦𝘸e𝗯𝒏𝗼ѵe𝗹． c𝑜m

The six assassins left in silence, not noticing the soft sigh and shake of the head from Ruben. The Celestial Sage recognised even Ghoul and Blood Axe, and understood the trouble assassins could bring. All of these hopefuls had killed too many important people in the past, and knew too many secrets. The rich often used them to take care of dirty business and then tried to have them killed, while the families of the victims always held grudges.

Even a legendary assassin for hire was considered nothing more than a dog by the wealthiest nobles. No greater houses would accept such individuals simply for the added weight, so they could only come together and form organisations like Calamity and Nightblade to survive in groups.

The ruthless underbelly of Norland had its own laws. Assassins were not allowed to leave their organisations unless they lost all combat ability, being hunted ruthlessly if they did escape. However, the Archerons had announced that they didn't care about background in this recruitment; while the battle against the reapers had reached a critical point, most assassins went into every mission prepared to die.

Calamity would be a huge source of trouble in the future, but Ruben knew that Richard didn't care. For people at their level, things like disputes between minor nobles could be solved with a simple wave of the hand. The Archerons were willing to battle against all three empires at a point; this was nothing. Of course, with those like Waterflower, Zangru, and Phaser training their top brass, most high-end Archerons were quite capable at dealing with assassins already. Even Gangdor and Olar, whose strength had already plateaued, could deal with sneak attacks effectively.

......

When Richard walked through the portal to Blackrose Castle, he heard the deafening cacophony of constant battle all around him. The closest warrior of the Sacred Tree Empire was less than 200 metres away, already approaching the inner castle. Looking around, he found Blackrose surrounded by soldiers of the Sacred Tree Empire, stretching all the way down the hill and into the distant plains. The Archeron defences seemed like a thin piece of paper compared to the wave of red and white, but no matter how fiercely the enemies attacked they refused to yield.

His first move upon arrival was to take control of the battlefield himself, calling Alice over to relieve her. The war goddess was covered in blood and dirt, her voice hoarse from all the screaming. The filth made her almost unrecognisable, but he still pulled her into a warm hug, “You've done so well. You can leave everything to me now.”

Alice felt heat around her eyes, but she muttered that it was just blood and patted Richard's back heavily herself before allowing herself to relax. Still holding her as he healed her wounds, Richard looked around at the army down below with a mysterious smile on his face, “All of our enemies should be out here by now, right?”

“I think so. I saw the flags of seven dukes.”

“Great!” Richard answered calmly.

It was at this moment that the winter soldiers started appearing from the portal, their enormous size and vicious aura leaving even a seasoned warrior like herself shivering. She felt goosebumps all over her as they got into formation, but that only grew worse as a number of independent powerhouses walked out through another of their portals.

The mercenary powerhouses were led to predetermined areas by the shadowspear knights, but the drones froze at the appearance of Calamity and her group. An elite immediately brought the matter to Richard's attention, but he didn't remember the presence of these people either. When the legendary assassin walked over to a knight and explained her purpose, however, he immediately had a drone lead all of the assassins straight to him. The enormous winter soldiers would serve as the perfect bait that allowed them to unleash their full potential.

Richard quickly finished organising his army, turning to look at the dozens of powerhouses from the Sacred Tree Empire who were floating in the sky. He then laughed as well, floating up to face them.

Alice had previously decided to hide all of her saints and grand mages, ambushing any opponents that flew overhead with rune knights before having someone finish them off. She had used the tactic to perfection for some time, but the enemy eventually caught on and stopped charging her entirely, instead choosing to watch and pick off any stragglers they found. This strategy of hers had also convinced the Sacred Tree Empire that the Archerons were at their wits' end, which was why the armies were attacking more fiercely than ever.

When RIchard flew into the skies, it was the first time an Archeron powerhouse had revealed themselves in more than a day. The bored saints of the Sacred Tree Empire all grew excited at the change of events, but before they could see who it was a blinding flash of red and white filled the sky. As much as they tried to look through the glare, only a few of them even saw crimson wings within.

Those from the Sacred Tree Empire were extremely sensitive to those wings, but before anyone could bring it up the orb of light disappeared from sight. It started flickering in and out of view as it rapidly approached the flying saints, a flaming sword slashing out near four that decapitated all of them in one go.

1366 - City of Sin

Massacre

“MIDREN!” someone eventually shouted the name of the rune set that was half a god in the Sacred Tree Empire. However, Richard had already killed dozens of powerhouses with his flaming sword, terrifying the rest into escape. He continued to chase after the stragglers, cutting down as many as he could.

The attacking army was meant to have two legendary mages protecting them, but both had yelped and teleported away instantly the moment they saw Richard and his light. It was now public knowledge that he was titled a Lord of Space by the Eternal Dragon, which meant his control of space was enough to stop any escapes if he was nearby. Both had immediately made the decision to abandon the army so they could survive.

Richard grunted in annoyance, the sound ringing throughout the battlefield and stopping countless hearts for a moment. Plunging his sword into space itself, he looked down on the 300,000 soldiers that had dared to attack his home, passing his judgement. Although he was the only one in the sky, the huge mass of soldiers below didn't have a single person with the guts to attack him.

The earth suddenly shook as hundreds of enormous beasts rushed towards the frontlines, the steel drakes shrugging off almost every weapon strike as they tramped through the opponents in front of them. The warriors on top swung halberds that were several metres long with exquisite control, taking off multiple heads with every swoop.

While the winter soldiers became the focus of attention for a moment, dozens of large silhouettes roze up from the castle and flew just overhead at a frightening five hundred kilometres an hour. The bladed hunters were so fast that most warriors couldn't even react, the enormous blade limbs drawing waves of blood wherever they passed.

Elsewhere, the enemy soldiers within a thousand square metre section of the battlefield were suddenly trapped by vines that sprouted from the ground, only to be shot in the head with arrows that possessed pinpoint accuracy. Even the captains of the Sacred Tree Empire couldn't withstand a single arrow, and the entire combination popped up repeatedly in the most concentrated regions of the battlefields.

The enormous army quickly fell apart, warriors pushing and shoving each other as they desperately looked for a way to escape. The various dukes soon lost control of their soldiers before even a tenth of their numbers were killed; the mere presence of Richard up above destroyed all morale.

Richard himself was a little confused at the lack of an enemy epic, wondering just what they had planned for him in the first case. Of course, he was currently confident in defeating both Hendrick and the Pope, but the morale boost to the enemy army would have made things much more difficult.

Seeing the troops from the Sacred Tree Empire starting to scatter, those who had come here to earn points suddenly found themselves stunned by the sight. They hadn't even gotten a single point yet! Someone suddenly returned to their senses and roared in frustration, rushing in anyway as they started massacring the fleeing troops.

While most of the sky saints and legends showed the dignity not to participate in such mindless slaughter, that only left them smiling helplessly. The harsh truth was that it was the shameless ones that would get the opportunity to make a killing here, and the reward point system continued to grow more attractive by the day. While the number of regular runes and other war supplies had dropped, a plethora of possible saint runes and divine equipment were now on offer that simply couldn't be refused. While most legends had strict requirements for runes, Richard's repertoire was simply so wide that anyone could find something they wanted.

The items on the reward list continued to grow, but earning potential was starting to drop. One now had to head deep into the Dragon Plane to find a nest, and while the abyssal battlefield was a little better it was much more unstable. While the rewards themselves stayed constant, there were simply too many competitors. One could no longer earn thousands of points in mere weeks, and spending months to earn enough to buy something meant limited supply items could run out. In the end, most people shifted their attention to extra requests the Archerons made; with even an epic being like the Celestial Sage willing to help Richard manage his battlefields, none of them felt embarrassed in effectively becoming errand boys for the Archerons. Please visit 𝒇𝐫e𝑒𝔀𝒆𝚋no𝐯𝘦𝘭. c𝑜𝗺

In the end, pride was the fall of man. One's number of points was both absolute and relative; if others had a large number of them, that meant one's own purchasing power was far lower. Many thus gave in and participated in the competition as well, which only meant increased competition for those trying to prove themselves.

The era where one could earn points easily was over.

Floating in the sky, Richard was completely unaware of this undercurrent amongst his mercenaries. He simply smirked as he looked down on the hundreds of thousands of soldiers trying to escape, the generals and lords quickly giving up on maintaining control. An endless rain of arrows continued to be shot out from Blackrose Castle, with the night elves even leaving the protection of the walls to continue reaching their targets. The druids had changed to flames, while the winter soldiers and blade hunters continued to rampage through the battlefield.

In only minutes, a good section of the troops had simply surrendered, with those on the outer edges trying desperately to escape. The pathetic mercenaries continued trying to earn their points as well, trying their best to achieve their goals.

Richard felt like he was perhaps the only one whose heart wasn't really in this battle, quickly losing interest in the stomp. His thoughts shifted to the alter world, Arbidis, and the Darkness, all mythical places with responsibilities for him to fulfill. Once he was done, there would be more secrets and curiosities for him to uncover.

Norland simply couldn't accommodate him any longer.

1367 - City of Sin

Issa: Redemption ƒ𝑟e𝘦we𝑏n𝑜𝚟𝙚Ɩ. 𝒄𝚘𝐦

In Richard's vision, the souls of the dead were like spots of starlight floating aimlessly in the sky. He suddenly formed a tetrahedron around himself on a whim, and these souls that were about to disintegrate suddenly sped up and started spiralling towards him. Human faces started being formed on the surfaces of the tetrahedron, and he felt a strange energy integrating into his existence with every soul that flew over. His own soul was strengthened over time, but every bit of power he absorbed also left him feeling a vast burden on his shoulders. The deceased still had their memories, emotions, and desires; although he wasn't assailed by all of their dreams at once, it was like having a library full of tragedies in his mind.

The faces on the tetrahedron were a manifestation of the remnant conscients of the captured souls. As he browsed through their memories and emotions, he was flooded with the stories of people who would miss them, those that they could not bear to be parted from.

There was a famous quote by Emperor Charles who had accomplished many military feats and was greatly respected by the lords of Norland: “When we step on the earth of a foreign plane, we do not see lives, only numbers and resources.”

Charles was a prime example of Norland's tendency to view other planes as resource banks and nothing else. He had gathered millions of warriors and rushed into the abyss, fighting the demons with a numerical advantage for the first time in human history. Most of those warriors were from secondary planes, and their lives had been used to pave the path to Daramore's Castle. By the time he accomplished the greatest feat of Norland's history and cut down the abyssal dragon's head, the casualties were immeasurable.

Richard had always been the same, but he suddenly found himself thinking differently. He had already vaguely felt the thoughts of the dead while fighting the reapers in Faelor, but now he was thrust onto another path. This tetrahedron was a reflection of his soul; the faces appearing on its surface were other beings that now weighed on his mind. There was no clearer way to understand that one's decision affected millions.

He looked around and didn't know just what to feel, his body suddenly shaking as his elven truename completely shattered under the soul force pouring into him. Turning into tiny symbols that started spinning around his soul, it absorbed the incoming souls greedily. The spots of light from all over the battlefield were drawn in faster and faster, their minuscule individual power stacking up quickly and strengthening the symbols into bigger, more complicated words before those were simplified once more.

His new truename finally appeared, one made only of two syllables that represented the purest form of order. He knew instinctively that this name was also a path; if he walked to its end, he would become a master of order itself.

The new name was Issa, which meant redemption.

......

The massacre of the Sacred Tree Empire stunned all of Norland. Less than 20,000 of the 300,000 strong army managed to escape the battle, and more than half of the saints had been killed. Only a few tens of thousands had actually died in battle, while the rest were picked off during the following stampede. Only one of the seven dukes had even made it back, and that was through disguising himself as a common soldier. One more was dead, while the other five had been captured.

Recordings of the battle spread across the entire continent instantly, with every powerful lord researching it. Although the recordings were incomplete at best, the few moments that were captured were shocking enough. No one had a response to the nightmarish winter dragoons, night elves, and bladed hunters, all powerful troops comparable to rune knights that were in enormous numbers. While Richard's massacre of the saints was one reason for the Empire's defeat, this was just as much a factor if not more. The normal warriors quickly lost their morale in the face of these unkillable enemies.

Of course, one could consider this only obvious. How could a troop that went toe to toe with the reapers be deterred by the private armies of a few random nobles?

Alice was tasked with finishing off the remnants of the Sacred Tree Empire, given two legends and ten saints to accomplish her task. Richard quickly returned to Faelor to take care of the reapers once and for all.

He didn't immediately return to battle, allowing Asa, Greyhawk, and Nasia take care of the reaper squads with the bladed hunters. Instead, he headed straight to the library of the primal celestials and dove into the last steps of his research. While victory was guaranteed at this point, his success in tracing back the design of the mothership would be what determined how much he earned back for this war.

Allocating a part of the work to the broodmother, he finally managed to build a model of the mothership after ten days, even answering all but one of his questions. Just where was the thought centre? He hadn't seen anything resembling one in all of the battleships that he had destroyed, and the idea of a central control was confusing as well. His own connection to the broodmother couldn't exceed 500 kilometres before it started to weaken, and he needed to use the cloned brain network to go beyond. He couldn't think of a way to ignore the issue of distance entirely.

Unfortunately, the information he did have right now left him with no way to find out. He would just have to hope that it wouldn't be important enough to stop him from disassembling the mothership and freezing it to get answers later.

When he finally left his lab, Greyhawk and the others had just returned from their latest mission, having ripped out all of the energy cores and turned the rest of the wreckage into a refined cube of metal that was a metre on each side. Taking care of the last bit of the process to retrieve the ember essence, he then explained the structure and possible functions of the mothership to everyone present.

Richard chose Greyhawk, Asa, Nasia, and Mountaisnea to be his protectors. The last one hadn't been planned, but her power had increased greatly in recent times and she had managed to join his soul network. While he already had a guess about this and how the broodmother's problem with the reaper commands had been eliminated, but he decided to put off questioning her for a while.

Just as he settled on the final time for the attack, however, another voice piped up in his mind, “I'm coming too!”

The voice was strange yet familiar, being pleasant with a hint of wildness. Richard felt a powerful aura suddenly burst up outside his door, the very fact that they had gotten so close concerning him for a moment. He still allowed them inside, confident that he could even defeat Asa with ease now that his analysis of the foundational laws of Faelor was complete, but as a fiery-haired young lady walked in he frowned with confusion.

“You're...” he asked testingly.

The girl jumped towards him and put her hands behind her back, leaning dangerously close as she laughed, “Take a guess!”

1368 - City of Sin

Nearing The End

“Answer me!” Richard frowned, halving the aura around the young lady in front of him with his voice alone. He had meant it as a warning, but the girl suddenly pouted with tears starting to flood her eyes.

Greyhawk and Asa found themselves staring at Richard, the former with burning curiosity and the latter with caution. The most powerful barbarian in existence suddenly realised that Richard's grasp of Faelorian laws had reached a pinnacle that she couldn't contend with; if the two came to blows, she wouldn't even be able to escape. For someone at the epic realm, that was an extremely disconcerting fact.

Strangely, the girl didn't seem the slightest bit bothered by this display of power as she whined, “Daddy, don't you even recognise me anymore?”

Hearing the girl calling Richard her father, the two jolted in surprise. Their gazes towards Richard were now filled with questioning; as someone who looked around the age of twenty himself, Richard seemed young enough to be her lover instead. As the only one prepared for it, Nasia sat where she was without moving, an eager smile on her mask.

Richard finally realised that the girl did indeed resemble his own daughter, even if the aura had changed significantly. Only half a month ago she had seemed to be a little girl who was seven or eight, but given what the broodmother had told him about her growth rate he realised that she would indeed be an adult now. It was simply that her talent was beyond his anticipation; in mere months since her birth, the girl was already legendary. As someone who had suffered for decades to accomplish the same thing, he simply couldn't help a hint of resentment.

He eventually just sighed, “Well, you're not coming along.”

“Why not? I'm very strong now, Aunt Nasia said so too!”

“Nasia said...” he glared at the paladin for a moment before continuing impatiently, “This has nothing to do anyway, you don't have any actual combat experience. The reaper base isn't a place where you can play around; even the moderately sized warships can hurt you.”

“But I'm already good at fighting! I know how to fight so many kinds of enemies; the reapers aren't one of them, but I promise I'll be careful!”

Fiora's words left Richard dumbstruck. Thinking of a possibility, he glanced at Nasia once more who groaned lazily, “She's awakened the warrior bloodline. Admit it Richard, your talent is garbage.”

Greyhawk suddenly smiled as well, rubbing salt into Richard's wounds with an explanation, “I was about to say as well. Most powerful bloodlines pass experience through the generations. Only the strongest of descendants can awaken this experience. You know, Mountainsea is the same; she didn't just inherit the strength of the Beast God, she also inherited its combat experience. Your gifts truly are lagging behind a little, you should try harder.”

'I can destroy almost all of you!' Richard wanted to shout, but the words got caught on his tongue. As he activated the Field of Truth and analysed his own daughter, he could confirm that she had no significant pool of either mana or internal energy. Her bloodline alone had propelled her to the legendary realm, and the mere circulation of that power was proof enough that she had combat experience she shouldn't. From his point of view, she wasn't much different from a lesser demon lord in human form.
𝑓𝚛𝚎𝗲𝙬ℯ𝘣𝚗𝘰ν𝐞l. co𝗺

Finally relenting, Richard gave everyone a day to make their preparations as he returned to his laboratory and fused the last of his activated ember essence with the Beast God's blood. He sealed the tiny cloud of scarlet fluid within his own body; he simply couldn't fathom how he would fix the Deepblue Aria if it was stolen.

......

Dawn the next day, Richard was staring at a full map of Faelor, with four red dots representing reaper squadrons that were still operating around the plane. His small party passed through a wormhole to arrive at the Land of Turmoil and gathered with Mountainsea, hopping on the latest iteration of messengers and zooming towards the northeastern edge of the continuent.

He felt himself almost completely void of emotion at this point; facing the final battle against the reapers, he felt like it was just any other. They had chosen a point where the reapers simply had no means to make it back to base, greatly lessening the difficulty of the upcoming attack. His entire group was covered by a silencing barrier that could cancel any attempts at detection, the spell so effective that they flew right next to the detectors without issue. Waterflower, Tiramisu and Ironshield were already leading armies of bladed hunters and night elves to fight the four outside squadrons and make it seem like the epics were simply otherwise occupied. While the armies that were made almost purely of drones were destined to lose or win with a small margin, they would hopefully distract the reapers from setting up extra defences.

Safe in their little bubble, the attack team smoothly journeyed all the way to the fog wall covering the reaper base. Greyhawk had nothing but praise for the idea the entire way, while Asa only grew more alert. They already knew how pervasive the detective waves of the reapers were, and both of them believed they would take at least a decade to truly break them down. Richard seemed to have just modified a silencing spell to form this barrier, but in truth it was targeted solely against the reapers and made them completely invisible to any forms of detection the machines had.

Richard had already grown used to Asa's wariness; few epic beings could tolerate being in another's home ground. The fact that she stayed despite knowing that he could kill her if he wished was more indicative of her trust in him than anything else.

He stopped them all just behind the fog, “This is as far as we can go like this; the fog triggers an alert the moment anything passes through. The base is roughly 25 kilometres across, and the mothership is near the centre. I'll rush straight for it, you guys follow half-way and take out the reapers at designated points. Block off the warships for a while, remember to focus on the sky first and then the ground. The buildings aren't important. Fiora, you're to follow Nasia closely, don't you dare leave her sight!”

The girl swung her red ponytail in annoyance, “I have the experience!”

“You have a demon's experience and a human body. There are a number of things that your experience will say you should be able to survive that just kill you in one shot. Promise to stick with Nasia, or I'm putting you to sleep and having you ferried back.” With the admonishment prompting his daughter to shrink back and nod, Richard turned to face the others, “If there's nothing else, prepare to attack.”

He suddenly recalled the barrier that had stopped all probing, the messengers rushing forward at full speed as they charged straight through the fog wall. They passed right through, just in time to hear sirens start to go off in the base.

For a moment. everyone outside of Richard and Nasia stared at the enormous facility with awe. The place was vastly different from anything in norland, and the countless strange structures that seemed to pulse with energy made them feel like they had entered a strange world that they couldn't dream of.

Richard hopped off his messenger and flew further northeast, his party following close behind. The messengers quickly took a u-turn and clumped up together, flying away at full speed as they headed to nearby hiding spots just in case something went wrong.

The reaper command system was surprisingly fast and efficient. Even with Richard's speed of blinking a full kilometre every few seconds, he was barely halfway across before he was blocked by a large group of warships. His flanks were surrounded in mere moments, ensuring that he had nowhere to go. Two absolutely enormous ships took to the skies from both ends of the base, picking up speed as they closed up the net of machines that aimed to trap him here forever.

However, Richard simply shouted as he charged straight forward, crashing into the cluster right ahead.

1369 - City of Sin

Chaos

Nearly a hundred reaper warships in the centre of the closest formation suddenly disintegrated, Richard's figure blurring as he blinked to the next group. The planes all around him either fell apart or just exploded, and he moved on once more. He kept flickering as he pierced into the depths of the reaper base in mere moments.

The rest of the group fell far behind, but they followed and each chose one of the broken formations as a target. Although there were only a few of them, each one left a trail of explosions in their wake. Surprisingly, Fiora was actually one of the people with the greatest impact, using sticky abyssal flames that burnt all around her with seemingly no end. Those warships that were stuck would slowly melt apart under the heat, and dodging was extremely difficult because these flames were near-invisible.

Mountainsea's method was entirely different. Her metal rod that was hundreds of tonnes in weight left swathes of darkness in mid-air that didn't dissipate, pulling in everything within tens of metres and crushing it with a distorting force. The reapers were tenacious, the crashed planes morphing back together under a magnetic pull, but the parts that couldn't be salvaged ensured that fewer and fewer enemies survived each subsequent strike. The ideal way was to melt or otherwise completely destroy the machines, but in such a crowded base that was only a pipe dream. Fiora was the only one that could launch her abyssal flames over at times, melting the reforming warships. However, she was also the slowest of them all at killing, taking a long time with each cluster targeted.

Energy beams formed a large web up in the sky, a constant barrage striking everyone with no end in sight. Fiora kept adding layers of magma shields to protect her, but they were being destroyed faster and faster every time. Her fighting style was seen through far more easily than the rest, quickly forcing her onto the defensive.

Asa weaved in and out with her giant sword, bursting apart the reapers she came across. The warships were oftentimes broken down to a point where only half was left usable, but those halves still joined together with others to form new enemies. Her totems twinkled constantly, one when she attacked and two more allowing her to blink from target to target.

Unlike the barbarian who simply shrugged off the attacks, Greyhawk used a much more conservative approach. He constantly blinked around to keep the enemy from targeting him, but after several weeks of fighting he had also come up with his own effective ways at battle. An electric net formed by orbs of lightning connected to each other detonated the energy cores within the warships it covered, sending them barrelling to the ground. Even the larger warships took a while to return to combat.

Each person in this attack squad was a peak expert of some sort, but there were still too many reapers for them to handle. Even the most relaxed of them, Nasia, was starting to take things seriously as her divine armour found itself unable to deflect all of the incoming energy. While any warships in her vicinity were destroyed simply by her reflection of the incoming attacks, she was starting to focus on targets instead of a blind barrage.

Richard didn't have an easy time either. He faced nearly half of the reapers on his own, and barring his path to the core of the base was a crisscrossed forcefield of energy beams that even he wouldn't dare blink around. Thousands of warships fell at his hands, but even if a reckless charge threw off the reapers enough for them to strike their own, he still suffered a mass of bruises. The over ten thousand warplanes in front of him had formed a silver tornado hovering at the edge of the coast, protecting what could only be the mothership.

This was the only way to end it. His speed suddenly shot up as he approached his limits, starting to move around the tornado of warships while dodging their concentrated power. Only his near-complete analysis of the warships allowed him to swerve and deflect accurately; a slight mistake would leave him dead.

However, the reapers weren't so easy to deal with. Most of the warplanes gave up on their concentrated fire after a scant few minutes, instead starting to shoot randomly. Without the time to defend himself, he was met with a huge section of energy beams that locked him down long enough for the attacks to converge once more.

The night sky went pure white for a moment, but then all of the light was drained away. A dim ring of energy suddenly pulsed from the centre of the darkness, distorting all the warplanes caught within until they were broken apart. The ripple spread without obstruction, tearing a huge hole into the tornado of warships even as it revealed Richard within its core.

Richard had tucked himself up and held his knees, a faint tetrahedral barrier rotating around him. All of his clothes had vanished, including his legendary sword case. Only the beast-tooth necklace and three divine blades survived. Even the barrier wasn't complete, and in the section where it had been broken nor was he. An exceptionally smooth cut on his calf had taken his entire foot away, revealing the squirming flesh underneath.

The Projection of Ruin was capable of enhancing the laws of destruction, the counterattack capable of neutralising the combined strike of so many reapers, but the effort had also drained the spell entirely. He would be completely obliterated if he sustained such a barrage again.

However, he now had a chance.

Richard suddenly opened his eyes, his entire body diving into the hole in the tornado with a blazing trail behind him. Three faces appeared around him in tandem, spitting out fireballs of different colours that destroyed the reapers all around.

“Destroy. Summon,” he started chanting in divine tongues of chaos, order, and neutrality. His hands waved constantly to outline portal after portal to summon through.

The first summon was a dragon, pulled here against its will and dazed from the sudden changed. It clawed in front of it through pure instinct, but even as it sent a dozen reapers flying away a powerful beam struck it dead-on and burnt it into a pile of charred bones.

Dozens of other dragons soon followed, most magical but with some real creatures mixed in. The magical dragons didn't seem all that threatening, but the real ones crashed into the reapers around them like cannonballs.

There was a small commotion amongst the warplanes once more, the command system apparently distracted by a battle pattern that it could not identify. However, the break was only momentary as the ships resumed operations seconds later, finding their step once more. The energy beams formed a large web that accurately struck the dragons without killing their own, eliminating a majority of the summons instantly.

However, the dragons were merely a distraction. A large chant in divine tongue was finally completed, and an enormous beam of light descended from the void and covered the entirety of the weyr in Sharon's demiplane. All of the dragons were morphed into light that was whisked away.

Around Richard were now three towering portals. One spewed out dragons, the other a variety of creatures from demons and devils to lich kings, while the third shot out an endless gorde of nightmare creatures.

This time, the reapers finally descended into chaos!

1370 - City of Sin

A Historic Victory

The skies were filled with a mix of Richard's summons and the reapers, making it difficult for Richard's party to distinguish friend from foe. They fought with pure instinct amidst dragon breath, magma balls, and corrosive strikes, the exploding warships and dying cries of the summons intertwining into a deafening cacophony.

In the midst of this chaotic battlefield was a rather special creature, an adorable little dragon that was only two metres long. Tiamat had felt rather uneasy over the past few days, with the nagging feeling that something bad was going to happen. She hadn't been able to sleep nor eat properly, and now her fears had come true. She had been pulled away from her cave by the strength of her contract without warning, being tossed into a completely unfamiliar environment. A large warship had appeared less than three metres away from where she landed, its beam cannons filled with the power of death. It was only after she swatted the strange metal ship away by instinct that she realised just what it was.

“What is a reaper doing here?!” she screamed with rage. As someone who had lived for many generations, she had seen images of most reaper warships before. Although not all warplanes looked alike, these metal creations with no souls were a hallmark of destruction.

From Tiamat's perspective, the reapers were a threat second only to Sharon in danger. Now completely awake, she felt a chill down the length of her spine and subconsciously grew in size to regain most of her strength. However, this change attracted the attention of the surrounding reapers and gave her a clear view of all the machines around her. Was it thousands? Tens of thousands? Had Richard summoned the weyr to fight this?

It would have been difficult for the weyr to fight a thousand reaper warships, but there were clearly ten times that number around here. Victory wasn't even a consideration; just surviving for more than a minute would be an achievement.

“RICHARD!” she screamed as she saw hundreds of energy beams being shot towards her, instinctively shrinking herself back down to dodge them. The feeling of bullets whizzing past her scared her out of her mind, melting away the tyranny of the dragon that was once considered a demigod. Fortunately, her power still remained; allowing her to zip around like lightning as she swatted enemy after enemy to the ground.

The sheer number of stray shots made the chaotic battlefield dangerous even if one wasn't targeted, but Tiamat noticed a strange stretch of space where the warplanes weren't attacking much at all. She rushed over immediately, with almost no reapers attacking her the moment she entered, but as she smiled and looked ahead to find out just why her eyes went wide.

Right at the centre of the area was a dark orb a few centimetres wide, one that she recognised immediately. She turned around and tried to fly away, but her wings felt exceptionally sluggish like she was a snail. She now understood why the warplanes around her weren't attacking; they were escaping as well!

“RICHARD! I'LL HATE YOU FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE!”

The rushing Richard suddenly felt his heart throb, as though he had been cursed, but the sound was softer than a fly's buzz and he ignored it instantly. All of his attention was focused straight ahead as he continued to fly as quickly as possible, charging into the mothership in the sea.

His flight quickly reached a pace where the reaper bullets couldn't even catch him, only the energy beams still fast enough to hit. He didn't even bother dodging the sparks all around, simply allowing his body to bear the damage as he charged to the centre of the ship like a shooting star. All of Faelor's strength was poured into his body for this dive, origin energy being channeled into him through his laws. The plane itself was investing its all in him as a last ditch effort to avoid its destruction.

The sea parted before him, exposing everything down to the bedrock to reveal the entirety of a slanted pillar. Richard crashed into the mothership at full speed, its barrier letting off blinding sparks as the full might of an epic being crushed it immediately. Most of his momentum stopped by the explosion around him, he gracefully flew down to the walls and plunged Moonlight's sharp blade into the metal.

Cracks spread across the glossy surface, a glaring light shining through every gap. The night sky of Faelor suddenly turned white, forcing even Richard to close his eyes for a moment. When he opened them again, the mothership had been disintegrated into countless components that floated in mid-air under the power of the light. All of the reaper warships froze in place as well, even starting to fall.

Richard waved his hand and collected all of the intact components into his spatial equipment, grabbing a small silver brick from amongst them. This was the last reserve of activated ember essence that the mothership possessed. Amongst the rest were things that he suspected to be the reactivation device and control centre; the only things that weren't disintegrated entirely were things that he had failed to analyse. Please visit ƒ𝐫𝗲𝒆𝑤𝚎𝐛𝙣𝐨𝙫𝙚𝚕. 𝒄o𝓂

As he absorbed Faelor's origin energy to mend his injuries and search for anything that seemed useful, Nasia, Asa, and the rest rushed over at full speed. His success was obvious from the reapers coming to a halt, but they didn't know just how much damage he had sustained for it. They had all seen the tornado of warships nearby, and knew that his wounds couldn't be minor.

Richard heaved a sigh as he sensed that Nasia was the first to arrive. He didn't have too much strength left at the moment, and Asa or even Greyhawk could kill him with ease. For some reason, the one person he knew nothing about continued to be someone he trusted more than his daughter or even Mountainsea.

Nasia blinked past Asa and Greyhawk, blocking their paths with her body as she smiled, “This is rather inconvenient, he isn't wearing any clothes right now.”

The two looked towards each other, a thousand words being exchanged in their gazes before Greyhawk smiled, “It's okay, we'll wait outside the wall of fog.”

“That's a good idea,” she agreed.

Richard finally relaxed; without another epic being nearby, his nervousness started to fade. However, a shout rang out before he could speak a word, “RICHAAAARD! STOP CHATTING AND SAVE ME, DID YOU FORGET ABOUT YOUR BLACK HOLE?”

Almost everyone around cringed, looking towards the source of the cries. If the black hole was allowed to progress, it could potentially destroy the entire plane. Even as Greyhawk and Asa looked at each other with surprise and considered fleeing into the void, Richard floated up and stared at Tiamat who had already been halted by the suction of the black hole. Some of his summons were still ravaging the battlefield, many of them like the demons and devils even fighting amongst themselves, while the shadow portal continued to spawn nightmare creatures that killed every living thing in sight.

He sighed, “I'll take care of the black hole; Nasia, buff me. Greyhawk, Asa, go close the shadow portal and kill the nightmare creatures. Fiora, help Mountainsea take care of the demons, devils, and undead.”

Having assigned duties to everyone, he personally blinked to just outside the black hole's range. His three faces appeared once more, shooting large fireballs into the all-swallowing dark orb.

1371 - City of Sin

Starlit Night

Cleaning up after the battle was almost as difficult as winning it. A flurry of fireballs and Nasia's aid allowed Richard to neutralise the black hole, but Tiamat was a mere ten metres away from it by the time it was destroyed. The Prime Evil's face had a vivid look of trauma that transcended races; this had brought her back to the time when she had been dragged into Sharon's demiplane.

Finding that his party had eliminated the rogue summons by then, Richard heaved a sigh of relief. He suddenly felt like the night sky was exceptionally beautiful, the world filled with more beauty than before.

For some reason, he started hearing cheers break out throughout Faelor, growing louder and louder as the frightened people of the plane started to walk out from their dens. News was transmitted like lightning, and the entire plane seemed to radiate relief and elation that there would be no more energy beams or mechanical beetles threatening to dismember them.

The reapers had been defeated!

The impact of this news on Richard's own subordinates was impossible to express in words. Not one family in Norlandic history had been able to protect a personal plane from the mechanical claws of the reapers, but the Archerons had managed it. There was a heavy price to pay, but this was a miracle that Richard had created with his own two hands!

He quietly floated above the reaper base as he adjusted to the surrealism of the moment, the densely packed buildings below the only real reminder that the past few months hadn't been a dream.

The war had finally come to an end...

The entire ordeal with the reapers hadn't lasted long at all; in his years fighting in the Land of Dusk, Richard had gone on individual expeditions that were almost as lengthy. However, it had felt like centuries since Faelor was first invaded, and this victory felt like the crowning moment of his life.

An indescribable sense of dignity enveloped the land all around them, leaving Greyhawk, Asa, and even Fiora looking around frantically with dread written all over their faces. Mountainsea and Nasia seemed pensive, while Faelor's deities who had been watching from nearby fell silent and looked towards the northeast.

A spot of light slowly appeared in the calm night sky, drifting towards Richard like a firefly in a dream. Richard felt a sense of warmth and tranquility that prompted him to reach out for it, but the moment he made contact his pulse suddenly jumped and the tetrahedron of many faces formed around him. The mote of light threw itself towards the surface and melded in, forming the face of a young girl that smiled sweetly before fading away.

This was a random little girl that no one present recognised, but for some reason her soul hadn't dissipated in all this while. Perhaps she had been confined somehow in the reaper base, or she simply couldn't let go, but from the looks of it she would have drifted aimlessly until the last dregs of her existence withered away.

With the one example, numerous motes of light suddenly materialised out of the void. Some seemed to lurch around with hesitation, but all of them eventually flew towards Richard and merged into the tetrahedron. The scattered souls down in the base below felt his existence as well, slowly gaining direction.

Richard was stunned by the situation, merely allowing the motes of light to enter the illusion covering him. Every soul merged in strengthened him ever so slightly, but it also added a heavy sense of responsibility.

Greyhawk, Asa, and the rest felt something happening, but they were incapable of seeing these souls and couldn't tell what it was. Still, they were filled with a sense of awe as though they were witnessing a moment of greatness and stared up at Richard who was looking around solemnly.

While the powerhouses couldn't see the radiance of the souls, however, there were beings nearby that could. No matter where they were, all of Faelor's deities blanked out and stared at the bright world of starlight down below. Innumerable souls had suddenly emerged from the void, the reaper base, and all around Faelor, forming a vortex of light that slowly gathered around Richard. He was quickly healed of all injuries, his entire body starting to glow as the tetrahedron grew large enough to touch the earth down below. Three faces started to revolve around the top of this pyramid of light, representing the three systems of existence.

Most mortals would never accurately know what transpired, but these deities wouldn't forget this for the rest of their existence.

......

It was just like any ordinary day in Norland when Richard returned to Faust. A quick inspection of Blackrose Castle along the way showed that Azan was bustling with activity as it rebuilt, warriors and rune knights constantly flowing through the city. Macy had finally held him to his end of their promise the previous night, and after going at it until she could barely even move anymore she had returned to the MIllennial Empire full of hope.

Upon his return, he found that Fiora had stirred up quite a commotion when she had arrived a few days ago. The gorgeous young lady had amused herself at the expense of the entire commercial district of Faust, just grabbing whatever she deemed delicious or stealing anything she fancied. A number of merchants had been inconvenienced, but anyone that called her out was met with an assertion that she was Richard Archeron's little sweetheart. This had prompted all complainants to back off, which only bolstered her spirits and convinced her to cause even more trouble.

The girl actually had no need to use Richard's reputation. She wasn't great at masking her legendary strength, and her youth was obvious enough that anyone would realise her frightening background. If letting her play around could give them a favourable impression, most merchants didn't mind.

Richard rushed over in exasperation and pulled her home by the nape immediately, but by then half of the businesses in Faust had been messed with in one way or the other. Almost everyone believed her words, and whether she intended the misinformation or not, Faust was filled with whispers about his new young sweetheart. Unable to do anything in front of her innocent face, however, he frowned and told her to greet her mother.

...

Coco had already been informed about her daughter's situation at this point, but even so she almost couldn't believe her eyes. She had walked out with arms spread open when her maid informed her that her daughter was visiting, but she froze up in fear at the sight. Fiora truly had inherited Richard's powerful bloodline, and her legendary might proved that whispers about being even more talented rang true. She herself was still an ordinary illusionist who hadn't even gotten to level 5, making for a stark difference in status and power. One was Norland's youngest legend, while the other couldn't even be considered average. Without the Archeron name, Coco would have been nothing in the world.

Mother and daughter stared at each other, the fiery girl's eyes losing focus for a moment. Coco's lips quivered as she abandoned her thoughts of hugging her own daughter, and she instead stepped back to salute the legend before her. However, the redness in her eyes could not be concealed.

Fiora sighed helplessly, taking a step forward and bending down slightly to thrust herself into her mother's embrace. Coco went rigid for a moment, but tears immediately flooded her face as she hugged back with all the force she could muster. The girl closed her eyes and snuggled into the warm embrace, her ponytail flying around as the tears kept up for a few minutes.

Coco knew that she had to stop crying in front of her daughter, but couldn't find it in herself to do so. Fiora eventually sighed and struggled out of the tight grip, smiling as she stretched both arms behind her head, “I just fought a great battle next to Father and almost died! I want a gift!”

“Huh? Oh, right, a gift! Come with me!” A flustered Coco wiped off her tears, using her moist hand to pull Fiora into her residence.

With the increased size of the third-level islands, the residence was much more expansive than when the Archerons had first occupied Faust. However, only the most basic necessities were provided by default, allowing the occupant to decorate to their liking. Coco was supposed to have bought whatever she wanted using a stipend, but Fiora's eyes glinted at the now-familiar sight of a residence completely unbecoming of the premier family of Norland.

Coco quickly returned from her bedroom, having retrieved a rather delicate case from her cabinet that she passed to Fiora, “I didn't know you would grow so fast, so I didn't have the time to prepare anything. I would have given this to you when you were older to buy some good equipment to protect yourself, but... There isn't much here, just consider it pocket money and buy whatever you like.”

Fiora opened the case and looked at the tidy row of magic crystals within, estimating them to be worth about fifty thousand gold. She had already asked around about a lot of things, and from what she knew her mother couldn't have saved this from her monthly allowance alone. All of her other money had to be saved as well, including whatever Richard had given her to decorate with.

She turned a momentary pout into a smile before it was noticed, saying cheerfully, “I got you something too!”

Shaking a spatial bracelet on her left wrist, she suddenly dumped a large amount of clothes, jewellery, and antique furniture on the ground, quickly filling up the residence. Coco's eyes went wide as she saw goods worth hundreds of thousands of gold, fancy enough to be fitting of her status. The origin was obvious as well, this was everything that Fiora had taken from Faust's merchants under Richard's name.

The merchants who were wronged naturally wouldn't ask for compensation; they would much rather use the chance to associate themselves with the Archerons. However, Coco knew Richard's character well enough to understand that a few hundred thousand gold wasn't enough to earn his favour. He would pay the merchants for the cost of the goods and even compensate them for the inconvenience. In the end, he would effectively have bought them all.

Bought them all for her.

1372 - City of Sin

Acid Test

Richard sat in his room with a minor headache, massaging his forehead as he thought about his rowdy daughter. Fiora technically wasn't even a year old, but she was already a handful to deal with. Eccentricity was one thing, but she had a cunning to her that he could only chalk up to having grown up with the broodmother. However, she was also hot-blooded enough to truly be an Archeron, the combination of which would undoubtedly serve to hurt the prestige he had built up in Norland.

He sighed and put the matter aside, deciding to handle it calmly for now. He wrote down a few letters on magic paper and sent them out. Less than an hour later, both reward point battlefields were informed that the point system had been closed in Faelor.

Many powerhouses were confused at the news, unable to understand why Richard would suddenly cancel the battlefield in Faelor. Although none of them would choose to fight the reapers right now, some newcomers occasionally chose to try their luck.

Unless the reapers had been eliminated.

Those who managed to make the connection froze in place, unable to believe that thought. Some that had fled after near-death experiences even broke down upon hearing the news. Were the reapers actually defeated? Weren't they supposed to be the most frightening beings in existence? Having fought the war machines themselves, these powerhouses knew just how dangerous this enemy was. Even the palm-sized warships were a headache to deal with, too fast to strike easily and capable of tearing holes in the average saint. The large ones were mechanical horrors that many wouldn't even dream of defeating. Even if all the reapers were tied down and unable to retaliate, these saints would take years to destroy the largest warships.

The news was unbelievable, but the wording was clear and the imprint of the Archeron Family couldn't be faked easily. One saint noticed a squad of rune knights heading towards the portal and stopped an old acquaintance, rushing over to hiss, “Did we really win?”

The rune knight raised his head proudly, “Of course! We're sending so many teams to tear down the reaper base now. Sorry, I've got to leave quickly; Captain won't be happy if I'm slow.”

The saint felt a strange sense of loss upon confirming the shocking news. Would he have gotten better results if he'd stayed in Faelor? That question would never be answered.

......

News of the Archerons routing the reapers spread across Norland over the coming days, but the reaction this time wasn't as obvious. Many lords fell silent as they heard the news, acknowledging it without much fanfare, but congratulatory letters flooded Richard's study. Even knowing they would just be rejected, many nobles asked whether they could convey their regards in person; while the act itself seemed pointless, it was just one more way to endear themselves.

Duke Orleans, Prince Tumen, the commander of the Sacred Tree Army, Archbishop Hendrick, Hidden Sword... All sorts of powerful characters reacted very mildly to the information, discussing it only for a few minutes before moving on.

What could they even do at this point? Congratulate him? Richard didn't lack such a thing. What he'd needed were people like Asa and Greyhawk to help him through a critical period, and those like Calamity who joined the Archerons at their worst. Even someone like Romney who wasn't of much use would be valued far more than anyone trying to suck up to them now; the saint assassin had actually put his life on the line to prove his loyalty. While those like him weren't hard to come by, his actions were an integral piece of the puzzle that allowed for Richard's success.

Ever since Richard destroyed the Praton Family, the nobles of Norland had staunchly supported a military push to bring the Archerons down from their lofty throne. However, even in the worst moment of the war he had wiped out an imperial army that was 300,000 strong. With Sharon missing and Philip dead, he was now the premier powerhouse of Norland with the strongest army on the plane. Those like Duke Mensa could only hope they were insignificant enough for him to forget their feuds.

The reapers had been the best acid test of the Archeron war machine, and they had passed with flying colours. Now, any conflict with Richard was a death sentence.

......

While Richard was officially a part of the Sacred Alliance once more, it was the Millennial Empire that had the warmest response to his victory. Empress Gelan set up afternoon tea at her palace the very day the news spread, celebrating his achievement with some of the most important people in the country.

Alongside the Empress were Hidden Sword, Prince Tumen, and Princess Mina, her youngest daughter. However, the true stars of the gathering took a while to arrive, and when the steward opened the door for them Gelan's hands started to quiver ever so slightly.

This was the first time Greyhawk had returned to the Millennial Empire since he was captured all those decades ago, and equally his first appearance in front of her. The Empress had a lot to say and ask, but seeing her son and the woman who stole him away in front of her she found herself at a loss for words.

“Brother!” It was the young princess who rushed over to him, burying her head into his chest, “Your hair...”

Greyhawk's long black hair truly was eye-catching, and had already left both the Empress and Hidden Sword lost in thought. However, he ignored the comment and smiled, “Look at you, almost as tall as me now! You couldn't even speak properly when I left!”

He then turned towards the Empress, hesitating for a moment before bowing with royal etiquette, “Mother.”

Gelan nodded, “You're finally back. Don't leave again this time.”

“He's coming back home with me,” Asa stated flatly.

“Is that so?” Gelan's voice remained dry, but she didn't conceal her ridicule. Asa snorted and burst forth with bloodlust, but a deep green glow appeared in the depth of the Empress's eyes even as Hidden Sword dissipated it all with two strokes.

“You think I'm scared because there's two of you?” Asa scoffed.

“I'm more than enough to take care of you here.”

“I could say the same in the Azuresnow Shrine, but I'm the one who dares to come and stand in your terrain.”

Sensing the situation had taken a turn for the worse, Greyhawk quickly pulled Asa aside even as he glanced at Mina, “There's still a long time to go, and many opportunities in the future. Let's forget it for now.”

Mina ran behind the Empress and grabbed her shoulders eagerly, “It was so difficult for Brother to return, let's not talk about this right now. I still want to hear how they defeated the reapers!”

Standing by the side, Hidden Sword nodded solemnly, “Indeed, we need to assess the Archerons' true strength. We can then decide whether to draw him in or subdue him.”

“Subdue?” the Princess stuck out her tongue, “Don't joke around, Uncle. You think you can beat Richard?”

The Sword Saint froze up for a moment, but he still answered seriously, “How would anyone know if we haven't yet fought? Besides, subduing him doesn't necessarily require combat.”

“You mean like when you guys sent Macy? Didn't he basically show no interest? It's like I said before, that brat with no charm can't seduce anyone. You might as well have sent me.”

Hidden Sword actually choked on his tea at this straightforward statement, coughing a few times, “Well... Richard's partners are truly powerful. You would have had no chance of victory.”

“I'm a level higher than Macy, my bloodline is purer, and my status is greater. I might not have battle experience, but you don't need strength to seduce someone.”

Empress Gelan finally lost her calm, rapping Mina's forehead with the back of her hand, “How can you be so unreserved? This is the royal palace!”

Mina frowned, “What's the use of reservation when it concerns my happiness? Richard isn't like the trash that some people introduce me to every other day.”

Sensing her annoyance, both Hidden Sword and Prince Tumen turned away in embarrassment. One started coughing continuously while the other raised his head and stared at the ceiling.

1373 - City of Sin

Breaking Through

Asa had been dragged over to this gathering by her husband, but listening to Mina complain about Richard she started radiating bloodlust and glared at Prince Tumen, “Macy's your daughter? And you still sent her to seduce Mountainsea's lover?”

Prince Tumen wasn't someone to fear any opponent, but seeing his brother glaring hard at him he simply snorted and swallowed his words. Greyhawk gripped Asa's hand and said softly, “I'd just like to say that our daughter isn't the only one with him.”

Asa frowned at his words, Sharon's image coming to her mind. The legendary mage was apparently trapped in the depths of the void, but before she had left the Deepblue she was someone that even the other epic beings of the plane didn't want to deal with. Her dragon summons and endless mana were frightening enough, but the spatial explosions she had come up with after her hibernation was something no one had been able to replicate. The lunatic Empress Apeiron was the only one willing to challenge her.

Perhaps the only fault of Norland's most materialistic powerhouse was that she was a little too slow, but even that was only in short distance travel. If it was across a plane or through the void, no one could compare. Even if she was a hundred times as arrogant as she was now, Asa would understand that she simply couldn't compare to the inhuman terror that was Sharon. Of course, the woman was rumoured to be from an an ancient race that far exceeded humanity anyway.

Having taken care of the thorny situation, Greyhawk finally heaved a sigh of relief and started narrating everything he had seen in Faelor. Empress Gelan started to ignore Asa entirely as she listened attentively, but the two epic beings never once crossed gazes again.

The atmosphere of the little tea party slowly changed, with Gelan and Hidden Sword growing more serious by the minute. Even Asa, who had personally experienced the last battle, learnt many new things from her husband's retelling. Prince Tumen's eyebrows knitted together, deep in thought as he felt the tug of laws from the narration. On the other hand, Princess Mina who was significantly weaker had already fallen into a trance, leaning forward so hard that her dress seemed ready to burst. She couldn't understand the mysterious laws in Greyhawk's words, only feeling like she was listening to a mythical hero's tale.

With even Greyhawk himself struggling to finish the story, the three epic beings in the hall remained silent even after it was completed. Prince Tumen seemed to have fallen into deep thought, while Mina's eyes lost focus as she delved into an unknown fantasy.

A few minutes later, Hidden Sword asked, “You said there was a large soul flux after the final battle?”

“Yes, they seemed to converge around Richard.”

“Was there a change in him?”

“Well... His injuries were healed immediately, but as for his power—”

“His power must have spiked,” Asa interrupted, “For a moment, it felt like he controlled the entire plane.”

Hearing this assessment, both Hidden Sword and Empress Gelan gasped in shock. They understood just how difficult it was to control the entirety of a plane, which meant controlling its laws. Even for tertiary planes this was a near-impossible task, and they didn't know of anyone who had achieved it.

In theory, such a thing would allow one to... “Is this a way to break through?” Hidden Sword asked, leaving all three epics and Greyhawk deep in thought.

......

While the powerhouses of the plane wondered about Richard's strength, the nobility was more concerned with what he had made back from his war against the reapers. His harvest was actually far greater than they could imagine, but it fell short of his own expectations.

After taking care of everything he had put off in the past few months, Richard returned to his demiplane and entered his laboratory. There were a number of reaper components spinning atop his experiment desk, but after pulling a few of them down and looking over them he sighed helplessly. These components were the critical parts of the mothership that he hadn't managed to work back to, but in his spare time over the past few days he had unlocked all of their secrets. Amongst these things was indeed a device that could reactivate ember essence, as well as the thought centre.

Detailed research had allowed him to identify the device used to reactivate ember essence was as a small teleporter. It would transport all the ember essence it collected to an unknown place, and receive it again once it was cleansed in the currents of time. The technology itself was nothing short of impressive, but it was obvious that the reaper civilisation wouldn't just activate ember essence for him. As for the thought centre, it was similar to a cloned brain; useful more as a node in a network than anything else. The mothership was communicating with something else to make actual decisions, relaying commands to the fleet.

Of course, this technology represented a different kind of law unto itself. There was definitely value here, but it was like catching a broodmother only to find that it was just a cloned brain. The limited abilities made any replicas near useless.

Still, he hadn't even imagined he would reach a point where he would capture the reaper base intact. Although reality didn't match with his most recent hopes, he wasn't too disappointed with how things had turned out. In the end, he did conclude that the reapers were organised in almost the exact same way as the broodmother; the only difference was that one was mechanical while the other was organic.

He would soon come to learn that his true harvest came in the form of all the souls he had redeemed from the reapers. While each one had negligible strength, hundreds of millions of them had added together to give him full control of the laws of Faelor. Now, he was in essence the plane's overgod. The entire plane was his divine kingdom, and there was nothing there that he did not know or could not do. With the backing of such a system, he would find it much easier to analyse other planes in the future, and even create a brand new plane if he so wished. So long as he had the time and energy, he could construct a new plane of existence in the void and supply it with wind, water, plants, and life. This would require strength that he currently didn't possess, but the doors had been opened.

Examining the parts for a few hours, Richard then left his lab for Sharon's treasury, opening the door to find a near-barren place with only a few half-empty boxes in the corner. The once-magnificent horde of the Dragon Slaver was now worth almost nothing, but he was here to fix that. Retrieving some of the reaper metal from his ring, he softened it with his blue flames before contorting it with Kingsteel to form a shelf of sorts. He then took out a metal barrel filled with silver liquid, gingerly placing it on the shelf. A barrier of astral symbols was formed to safeguard it, but he still examined it a number of times before nodding with contentment.

That barrel was full of activated ember essence, essentially containing the entirety of what he had extracted from the reaper mothership. It was enough to upgrade hundreds of pieces of legendary equipment to the divine realm, making its value immeasurable by normal means. If one didn't count the energy absorbing trees, Sharon had previously been worth less than half this.

Richard finally felt like he had repaid everything that Sharon had monetarily done for him with interest, a trace of guilt he'd always carried fading away. Looking around, he saw the boxes in the corner and suddenly felt like they were an eyesore, walking over and tossing them into his ring so the barrel of essence was even more conspicuous. While the things in the box had originally been useless to him, he would rather have the hall looking neat and spacious.

1374 - City of Sin

Arbidis

Richard admired his art for a while before walking out of the treasury, gently closing the door. As long as this demiplane existed, as long as the treasury had enough value, he would cling onto his hope that Sharon was still alive. At this point, his truename would allow him to restore her even if she had missing limbs or a broken soul. While the price to be paid for such a resurrection was heavy, he was willing to give up everything for her sake.

He returned to the library and started filling out a number of scrolls, packing them all into his bracelet before leaving the demiplane.

Back in Faelor, things were finally starting to stabilise. Salwyn had taken up the position of Prime Minister of the Crimson Empire and was managing the plane in Richard's stead. The former emperor was even given access to Goldflow Valley and the Forest Plane, taking care of internal affairs there as well. While he shuttled between his three dominions, his permanent residence was to be in Faelor where he would dedicate the rest of his life to returning the plane to its original splendour.

Richard's destruction of the reapers had garnered Salwyn's undying loyalty. He had wanted to be transformed by the broodmother and become a special unit so he could live longer, but had to give up on the idea when he was told that he would slowly lose his independence and creativity in such a relationship. Thankfully, the Forest Plane gave Richard a constant supply of fruits of life while his proximity to the Eternal Dragon ensured he never truly lacked blessings of time for his inner circle. Time would not be a problem for at least a few decades, if not centuries.

Salwyn truly was a genius administrator, comparable to when Raymond had managed things in Faelor. Richard only needed to tell him what he wanted done, and things would be settled quickly. Although Faelor was a secondary plane, its potential and resources were high enough for it to advance.

Had Richard not landed here by accident, the Iron Triangle Empire would have reached a new peak under Salwyn's rule. Of course, it would then have been destroyed by the invasion of the reapers. Fate tended to work in strange ways, often taking away some things and compensating for them later in one's life.

......

In Bluewater Oasis, Perrin was standing on the plaza before the rune workshop and directing a group of apprentices as they carried equipment onto a wasp. He loudly berated them for their carelessness, but at the same time was complaining about how slow they were being.

“You seem excited,” a warm hand patted his shoulder.

“How couldn't I be when there's a reaper base bigger than this city waiting for me to study it? Oh...” the aged-looking mage suddenly seemed to realise something, turning around and yelping in surprise, “Your Majesty!”

Richard smiled, “No need to be so anxious, the base isn't going anywhere. But you might want to take a look at this first, it should help with your research.”

Perrin took the scroll he was handed and opened it, his eyes going wide even as his breathing grew more rushed. His hands were trembling by the time he had unfurled the entirety, “Is this... a warplane?”

“Only the smallest one.”

“Then there's more?”

“All here, you can take your time studying them.”

Perrin took the spatial bracelet on offer, probing it with his mind and going mute as he saw hundreds of scrolls within. A look of slight depression spread across his face.

Richard smiled understandingly, “This is all of my research on the reapers, I hope it'll be of help. Your strengths aren't in analysis, they lie in your ability to apply your genius to a problem. I feel like you'll have something surprising for me the next time I return.”

Forcing his dejection into the back of his mind, Perrin shook his head and asked, “Then what domain do you want a breakthrough in?”

“Hmm... Well... I've ordered a few battleships that will arrive soon, seafaring ones I mean. If possible, figure out some improvements.”

“And the design?”

“You don't need it. Just design your dream battleships, I'll take care of bringing them to reality.”

“I understand,” Perrin nodded.

“I'll be waiting,” Richard smiled, marking out a portal to leave. Perrin stood rooted in place for a long while, countless thoughts flowing through his mind. He was someone with extensive knowledge of magic theory, but the idea that a portal could be formed so soundlessly flew in the face of everything he knew about teleportation, destroying the fundamentals he had built up over so many years.

......

Richard didn't know about Perrin's thoughts, focusing his entire attention on Arbidis the moment he returned to Norland. According to Macy, the elven empire had searched their way through the abyss to eventually reach Arbidis, but their army was repelled at the boundary to the alter world. In theory, it was faster to go through the hells— the abyssal layers were interconnected in all three dimensions and following a straight line didn't guarantee getting anywhere— but as someone with demonic blood himself he felt more secure going to the abyss. The abyss was also the place they had the most complete knowledge of; Emperor Charles had mapped out nearly all of the layer that Daramore had been the lord of. They didn't even know if that layer had a new lord now, so their information was still fragmented, but it was still better than the near-nothing they knew about the hells.

The brute force method to reach Arbidis was simple in theory— one just had to fight through layer after layer of the abyss and reach its depths. The elven empire had done just that, but they were fortunate enough to actually succeed before they died of old age. Of course, the pinnacle of Norland's magic evolution had played a part as well; there were a number of elven scholars who focused on all kinds of esoteric fields, expanding both the cultural depth and the technical ability of the plane as a whole. The human empires still hadn't reached the elves' peak after millennia of growth.

With these thoughts in mind, Richard connected to the communication circle of the Millennial Empire, jumping straight into a question when Macy showed her face, “Are there any records of the path the elves took to reach Arbidis?”

“Exploring the alter world was the primary goal of the elven empire for centuries at that point, they almost certainly have records of it. But they took all the important information away when they withdrew from Norland; we don't have much information on the matter either.”

He nodded, “Looks like I'll be paying them a visit then.”

Concern flashed across Macy's face, but she quickly realised that there was no need for Richard to fear elves if he could vanquish even the reapers. However, he couldn't bring too many soldiers if he was crossing the vast oceans, making the risk significant. Biting her lower lip, she asked, “When are you planning to leave?”

1375 - City of Sin

The Flag Of The Frozen Court

“I expect to leave around three months,” Richard said casually, “I have a fleet of battleships that should be delivered soon, but I'll need to make a few modifications of my own to speed them up.”

“Then there's still time,” Macy smiled with relief, “I'll ask the Empress to send a few envoys with you. We still have traces of high elven blood, and Lithgalen still communicates with us on occasion. If there's a chance for things to go smoothly, there's no need for battle.”

Richard smiled, “Not a bad idea. Tell me when the envoys are chosen, you can just gather at the Deepblue before departure.”

“Alright,” Macy agreed.

Once the hologram started to fade, Richard sunk into deep thought. Neither Lithgalen nor Arbidis would be easy targets; even if he somehow managed to go through the elves with ease, he would still have to fight through layer after layer with a chance of meeting abyssal lords. Things could even come to the point where he would have to kill a greater lord or two.

The very idea of killing a greater demon lord seemed insane, but he knew that this was the kind of strength he would need before heading to Arbidis. He couldn't possibly expect dozens of lords to simply let him march through their territories, especially when he was heading to the Eternal Battlefield.

The most important thing to do was to familiarise himself with the laws of the abyss. With some free time on hand, Richard quickly packed up and headed towards the ancient battlefield against the demons. His appearance immediately excited the powerhouses fighting there for points, but it left them slightly worried as well. The problem was the same as with the Dragon Plane— there were too many powerhouses and too few demons to kill.

One major difference between the battle against the dragons and that against the abyssals was that there was no feasible way to actually invade the other end. Even most saints couldn't last long in the conditions of the abyss, to the point that their strength was impacted almost immediately, while demons were much stronger in their home plane. Most powerhouses simply waited outside the portal for whenever the demons charged through, with the minority that did try an assault ending up retreating in minutes. If a lesser demon lord was on the other end, even most legends would have no chance to escape.

However, such restrictions didn't apply to epic beings like Richard. He passed directly through the portal and entered the abyss, picking a random direction and starting to walk away. He slowly disappeared from view, only returning from ten days, but his aura afterwards was completely devoid of the invincibility he'd possessed when he departed. SIlently heading back through, he took the battlefield's portal back to Norland.

In the entire process, he hadn't disturbed a single demon. It was like they didn't even realise he had existed; knowing just how sensitive these creatures were, those who were patrolling around the enormous passage were dumbfounded by his ability to hide himself from them.

......

Once he was back from the abyss, Richard immediately went to Faelor to begin crafting more runes. He now had more materials than he knew what to do with, and was planning to finish off a number of designs before heading to the alter world. One reason was to strengthen the reward point system, but he also wanted to leave more runes for his descendants just in case. As Norland's only divine runemaster, he had to cement his position with at least one more rune approaching grade 6.

After going through several runes, he headed back to the abyss once more. His life seemed to grow incredibly repetitive, constantly switching between his workshop and the abyss.

However, this simple life wouldn't last very long. Only a few weeks later, a fleet of giant battleships appeared on the open sea near Floe Bay, sending the entire Deepblue into high alert. These ships were bigger than anything the sentry had seen before in his life, looking like an entire city moving across the ocean. With seven in total and space for hundreds of ballistae and cannons, they seemed capable of wiping out an entire dukedom from the sea.

The lookout suppressed his astonishment and adjusted his telescope to look closer at the fleet that was closing in, finally catching a flag fluttering in the distance that was a white bear's head on top of a dark grey background. As familiar with this flag as the rest of the Deepblue, he shouted out in alarm, “THE FROZEN COURT!”

The old mage rushed to the door and smacked the alarm, sending a siren ringing through the Deepblue. All trained mages quickly stopped their experiments and sealed anything dangerous, withdrawing to their assigned defensive positions in minutes. Night elves started marching out from the barracks, preparing to deal with any intruders.

“Which blind rats dare to interrupt my research!” Blackgold's voice rang out amidst the chaos, the grey dwarf fixing his beard full of grease as he rushed to the terrace. Followed by a squad of fully-equipped night elf warriors, he was given a wide berth wherever he went.

Blackgold was now one of the most important people in the Deepblue. Even if there were other mages stronger than him, he had been close to Richard for a long time and cultivated a strong relationship with him. Especially with the Archerons showing their prowess recently, no one could afford to offend the duergar, not even a legendary mage. After all, people were already speculating whether Richard could break out past the epic realm entirely.

“Sir Blackgold! There's a fleet of seven large warships on the outer seas! They're flying the flag of the Frozen Court!” a mage rushed over.

“So many years and my people are still stupid?” Blackgold frowned, prompting the mage to slink back. The grey dwarves were amongst the most important races in the Far North; the incoming fleet would definitely have many of them, so his attitude towards these things was a question.

However, bloodlust quickly seeped into the duergar's face and he laughed maliciously, “If they thought this was still the Deepblue from Her Excellency's era, they have something coming for them. You lot, go carry my baby up the tower; I'll teach these idiots a lesson!”

“We cannot lift it,” the night elves rejected the order immediately.

“Then find more people!” he roared. All ten of these elven drones were level 16, and could lift even a few tonnes together, but that definitely wasn't enough for his secret weapon. He ran towards the top of the Deepblue, glancing at the grand mages and rune knights already assembled there.

By this point, the fleet was already visible to the naked eye. Some of the mages present could see the flag of the Frozen Court even without the vision array, and were shocked by the sheer size of these warships. Each one was hundreds of metres long, looking like primordial beasts floating atop the ocean. Even though they were a distance away, they still radiated an aura of suppression.

However, none of the grand mages were particularly frightened. After a number of questioning gazes being exchanged, even the cautious Fayr finally couldn't hold it in any longer, “Do they really want to attack the Deepblue with just seven ships?”

“Perhaps they think His Grace won't reach us in time, and they want to exploit that,” someone posited.

“They don't know how wrong they are,” another grand mage sneered.

“Doesn't matter,” Blackgold grunted, “They've brought their toys all the way here, so not one of them can go back home. I get to test my baby's power today.”

“What? Absolutely not!” Google search 𝐟𝚛e𝗲𝚠𝗲𝑏𝓃𝑜ν𝐞𝘭. c𝒐𝓂

“That thing hasn't had a single success!”

“Go take it to that mountaintop!”

“Are you trying to kill us all?”

Blackgold's face turned red as voice of dissent flooded over, and as he snorted the others felt like he was about to spit fire. Even Fayr was against him this time, but he still rolled his eyes and laughed, “It's too late now, everything's arranged!”

A few of the professors immediately ran to the edge of the terrace and looked down at the lower platform, seeing a strange machine that was flickering with silver light. A turret was slowly emerging from within, the ten-metre wide barrel enough proof of the cannon's might.

Dozens of night elves had combined their strength and pushed the thing into firing position, cooperating with druids to place a five-metre-thick winged shell within. The mages and druids took aim, filling the cannon's body with magic crystals.

1376 - City of Sin

New Battleships

It wasn't long before the northern fleet was close enough to the Deepblue to open fire, their long-range artillery capable of striking even the top of the tower. The seven warships spread out in the standard naval formation of a large row, and from this distance one could barely make out the duergar on board loading their weapons. However, the grand mages weren't flustered at all; the Deepblue was extremely stable and had a number of powerful defensive arrays; artillery shelling wouldn't be able to leave more than a scratch. The only way to take over the place would be to send an army on shore to occupy it from within.

However, that was easier said than done. Done with his war against the reapers, Richard had bolstered the Deepblue's defences greatly. Even if the Far North sent ten full regiments, they wouldn't return alive. This fleet had two to three regiments at best, at which scale they would simply be walking to their own graves.

“Let's have a bet! How many hits do you think my baby will take to sink one of those metal shells?” Blackgold suddenly exclaimed.

“Won't sink anything.” “I bet your baby will explode in three shots.” “I bet one.”

“YOU...”

“Blackie, you numberdumb! You're still alive?” a clear voice resounded from the fleet, interrupting Blackgold's rage. The grey dwarf's expression warped strangely in response, but he ran to the edge of the platform and stared down at the bridge of the flagship to find a familiar face.

“Stormhammer! Why don't you just sit in your cave and look for honest work forging metal? Are you sick of life?” Blackgold shouted at the face that resembled his own.

Stormhammer laughed, “I came to see you. I heard that you're muddling along in the Deepblue, and you're even a treasurer? To think you were the same kid that couldn't tell the numbers apart, what hammer made you smart? Anyway, have you seen these babies under me? They're my masterpieces, how are they? Leave the Deepblue and come back before your masters find out how many mistakes you make in your accounting, or they might just feed you to the sharks.”

Stormhammer spoke so quickly that Blackgold was left confounded, not knowing where to begin his response. However, the other grand mages took this as a sign of acquiescence instead. The treasurer of the Deepblue had been a failure at mathematics!

The gun maniac quickly recovered, but rage clouded his face as he jumped up and down, "I'll show you my baby's power! Prepare to fire, aim at... Left, right... whatever, aim at anything but the flagship!"

The moment Blackgold started screaming out orders, the others retreated to the other corner of the terrace. The fanatic had been trying to combine dwarven gunpowder with the reaper energy cores for a while now, and after initial successes be had immediately decided to go as big as he could. He called his new design the megacannon, but every test run had simply blown up his laboratory.

A hand suddenly patted Blackgold's shoulder, deep voice rumbling out beside him, "If that baby of yours really sinks one of His Grace's warships, I think you'll have to work your entire life to repay him."

The grey dwarf turned around in shock, finding Ironshield standing behind him. This legendary warrior was almost as famous as Richard's original followers now, and having proven his loyalty though the war with the reapers he had a position of trust that many envied. However, it wasn't the man's presence that shocked Blackgold, "This fleet is Richard's? Then why is the Frozen Court's flag flying there, and why are they in formation?"

Ironshield flashed a sinister smile, "Because some brats don't know their places and want to stir things up. There aren't any more idiots in the three empires, but the others might not be convinced just yet. Just leave this to me."

"No! I mean, Your Excellency... that one duergar there is my brother, Stormhammer. He doesn't know anything but forging, he definitely isn't the one commanding this fleet. Please..."

"Stormhammer, huh... Alright, I'll see to it." Ironshield leapt off the platform and flew towards the ships, his aura frightening most of the duergar and orcish cannoneers into aiming right at him. However, he ignored them and called out, "Whoever is in charge here, get the hell out!"

A large orc walked out onto the deck and floated up, "My name is Bladefury."

Ironshield looked down at the sain and smiled, "His Grace ordered this fleet from the Shadow King, it isn't a toy for you to play with. Do you think you could afford to even repair the damages to a single one? I could sell your entire tribe into slavery and make less!"

Bladefury immediately bared his fangs, "How dare you?!"

"How dare I? Did the Shadow King tell you to fly the Frozen Court's flag all the way here? Did he tell you to approach in battle formation? Did he tell you to aim your cannons at the Deepblue? Or maybe it was you that did it."

The questions left Bladefury stunned for a moment, but the orc then puffed his chest out, "Does it make a difference?"

"Of course. His Grace mentioned that the transfer could be a little rocky, and he gave me full authority to kill whoever made trouble. If the Shadow King was the one who ordered it, then, His Grace will go destroy his life."

"HOW DARE YOU RIDICULE HIS MAJESTY?"

"Ridicule?" Ironshield burst into booming laughter that resounded through the bay, the force behind it shattering the orc's eardrums, "Your king is only a legend, and he hasn't fought a battle in decades. Even I can take care of him!"

Bladefury suddenly started swaying before crashing down onto the deck, his guards rushing over only to find he wasn't breathing. Everyone on board froze up in shock.

Ironshield coldly surveyed the fear-stricken fleet below, "Proceed with the transfer, and don't you dare damage His Grace's battleships!"

Stormhammer stared at Bladefury's corpse for a moment before turning to Ironshield and shouting, "You actually killed him! Aren't you afraid of... war?"

The grey dwarf suddenly felt immense pressure on him as Ironshield stared him in the eye, feeling like he was being crushed by a mountain. He was nearly forced to the ground, but he gritted his teeth and pushed against his creaking bones to stay up.

The legendary warrior nodded, withdrawing his aura immediately, “Not bad. Courageous, not stupid, and much stronger than the stupid orc. Here's some information, for your brother's sake. His Grace has no time to deal with the Far North, but if your court wants to dig its own grave, he won't mind disposing of your parliament building.”

“But... we have powerful legends...”

“Like the Shadow King? With his power, he would be ranked number ten if he wanted to follow His Grace. There are a total of nine legendary powerhouses in front of him already... Actually, no, it should be eleventh. There's a saint he won't be able to defeat.”

The grey dwarf was rendered speechless by this response.

1377 - City of Sin

The Value Of A Commoner

The fleet from the Frozen Court slowly pulled into Floe Bay, a large number of the Deepblue's mages boarding to inspect the ships. Each one was custom made according to Richard's specifications and at least twice as big as anything comparable, but a lot of the space was left empty for additions.

Blackgold used the several days it took for the transfer to the utmost, downing barrel after barrel of ale with his brother to pass time by. Stormhammer quickly lost control of his mouth, letting many things slip that the grand mage memorised well.

Stormhammer was now the Shadow King's chief inventor, and was personally responsible for the creation of these battleships. They had been crafted in a private plane rich in minerals and magic crystals, the timeflow increased to a blistering twelvefold just to speed up the process. There were a total of twelve enormous shipyards in that plane, and seven of them had been dedicated to Richard's request for months. The Frozen Court normally wouldn't sell to the Sacred Alliance at all, but the already-wealthy Shadow King had reportedly prioritised Richard's order the moment a letter came in about it. There was definitely an ulterior motive behind this, but it wasn't a secret that Bladefury or Stormhammer could know.

Blackgold quietly asked Ironshield why Richard had suddenly ordered a fleet of his own, but the legendary warrior wasn't aware either and had only been sent over to ensure a smooth transfer. The defender was capable of holding off anyone under the epic realm long enough for Richard to rush over, if not defeat them outright.

Barring the initial hiccups, the Frozen Court didn't cause any trouble during the rest of the process. Ironshield confirmed that all of the battleships were in peak condition, which meant the Shadow King hadn't played any tricks. After the last of the ships was inspected, he headed to the communication hall to relay the news.

The warrior was shocked to see a three-dimensional scene appearing in the magic circle, depicting Richard stood atop a snowy peak right before a steep drop. Behind him were towering mountains with no communication array in sight, leaving Ironshield with a shiver running down his spine. Be they mage or warrior, he had never heard of someone being able to communicate from more than a thousand kilometres apart without a paired communication circle. He felt his reverence grow that much stronger, a common occurrence ever since he started following Richard. He had noticed that it was these minor shows of power that would be miracles to most others.

“Is the fleet ready?”

“Oh? Right, yes it is, Your Grace!”

“Thanks for taking care of it. Stay around for a while longer though, Perrin will be coming over to modify the ships. Make sure nobody interrupts him.”

“Of course, Your Grace... But... May I know just what this fleet will be used for?”

Richard smiled, “I'm going to head towards Lithgalen soon. I've heard all sorts of amazing legends about the elven empire's battleships; I can't go there with an inferior fleet.”

“Lithgalen?” Ironshield's eyes glinted strangely, “Are you giving those elves trouble? Will there be another reward point battlefield?”

“Points are all you can think of, huh... No, I won't initiate battlefields internally unless the other side is the aggressor.”

The warrior was somewhat disappointed by this, but he thought about the existing two battlefields and all the points he had accumulated in his time following Richard. He already had enough to get whatever he wanted, now only limited by his own growth.

Once Richard cut off communications, Ironshield suddenly remembered that he had seen Richard atop a snowy peak the last time as well. Every second was precious to someone so powerful, and the Archeron King could have been spending time crafting more runes. He quickly concluded that there had to be something important with that cliff, but it wasn't something he could even guess at.

Once the fleet had been handed over, Perrin brought dozens of mages with him from Faelor and started work, a small army of warriors moving materials around for him. Even the astral chrysalis had been deployed for this task, standing by for an entire day as he looked through both the interior and exterior of one of the ships before allocating tasks. With Richard's permission, he stopped most of the workshops in the Deepblue and repurposed them with designs of his own, having them churn out hundreds upon hundreds of components every day.

The faux-old man had also brought a large amount of completed attachments over with him, and set out installing them one by one. Anyone who had fought in the war against the reapers would notice that many of these attachments were in typical reaper style.

......

Richard had spent his recent time rather idly. He had woken up every morning and travelled to the snowy north, simply standing there quietly for most of the day before returning to Faust at night to share dinner with Coco and Fiora or chat with his followers. He seemed to start living a commoner's life, neither designing nor crafting runes and giving up all of his territory's management to Alice, Goliath, and Sauron. His strange behaviour was so alarming that one day, Julian eventually rushed over in the morning to inform him that Empress Apeiron wanted to meet.

Richard gladly made an appointment, meeting her on the royal room that very afternoon. The Empress looked sharp as ever, but sitting across from her he calmly stared out towards the beautiful scenery of Faust.

Apeiron was the first one to give in, knitting her brows as she asked, “Why can't I feel your aura anymore?”

“Eh, my mood's changed since the battle with the reapers.”

“And what have you been doing lately? It looks like you have no plans for progress; did you get hurt?”
ƒ𝐫𝒆e𝓌𝒆𝚋𝗻૦𝘷𝑒𝙡. 𝑐𝘰𝐦

Listening from the side, Julian knitted his brows as this question was asked. Although Richard had defeated the reapers, that didn't necessarily mean everything was alright. Even Emperor Philip had severely wounded two Daxdian epics to the point that they had fled, but he himself had sustained fatal injuries that he eventually succumbed to. If it was the same thing here...

Richard smiled at the legendary warrior's frowned, pointing at him with his right index finger. The fingertip lit up a little, but while it wasn't particularly bright the angle and timing managed to catch Julian completely off-guard.

Julian suddenly felt his vision go white, crying out subconsciously as he retreated a few metres. However, Richard calmly picked up his knife and tapped the man's chest before putting it back down. His actions were clear and unhurried, but Julian only retreated after the knife was back in its original position. When Julian could see clearly once more, he lowered his head to find a small hole right in the centre of his chest where he hid his energy core.

Richard smiled, “Even if I lose the majority of my strength, I can still take out anyone who'd have designs on me. Regardless, I'm completely fine.”

“Then what are you doing? Is someone giving you trouble? Is it the old fogeys from the Sacred Tree?”

Seeing Apeiron's bloodlust flaring up, Richard smiled helplessly, “No, they did nothing. Besides, do you really think anyone would dare give me trouble now?”

“Hard to say, you haven't been cruel enough. I'll go and kill an epic or two, that should teach them!

Richard shook his head in exasperation, stretching out his left hand as he formed a small tetrahedron on the palm. Countless faces started jumping up and down along the surface, mesmerising Apeiron and Julian with their sheer number. The latter just gasped in shock, but the Empress was strong enough to see that each face was a soul and simply went mute. She couldn't even begin to count the number of souls there!

“What is this?”

“A manifestation of my truename. All these souls came from Faelor; they're people who died to the reapers.”

“So many...” Apeiron was bloodthirsty and indiscriminate in her slaughter, but that didn't mean she would just kill endlessly. Even she was astonished by the sheer number of dead.

Richard sighed, “Faelor had more than a billion people, but only 30 million were left when I finally won. These souls aren't even a quarter of the total; most simply dissipated with time. I've been looking through their lives and memories for the past few days.”

“What use is that?” Apeiron frowned. To those at her level, a commoner's memories and knowledge were rather worthless.

“I wasn't sure at first, but seeing these stories is like having gone through an entire life. Even the most mundane of lives has its ups and downs, and these people have their own feelings, beliefs, and goals. As far as their souls go, they aren't much different from yours or mine.”

“Our souls are much stronger than those of commoners!” Apeiron dismissed after some thought. However, the hesitation was already visible on her face.

“Doesn't matter, we still only have one soul each. From a higher level, there isn't a difference. Do you think a queen ant is any different from its regular kin to you?”

1378 - City of Sin

Cut Through

Apeiron wouldn't agree with Richard's reasoning, but he smiled and shook his head, “Alright, think of it this way. I've walked through tens of thousands of lives in the past few days, and every time my perspective changes ever so slightly. In a way, I gain a deeper understanding of the laws of the world.”

“You can understand laws this way?” Julian asked with disbelief.

“Mm. Only a little at a time, but it adds up quickly. But the real value isn't in that; I believe it's the strengthened will.”

Julian frowned, but he swallowed his question of what use is there. Apeiron remained silent, lost in her own thoughts.

Richard didn't hurry either, calmly wiping out half the dragon rib in front of him before asking, “How's the Land of Dusk?”

“Hasting defeated another fortress, but with the current situation, I don't believe he'll last longer than two or three more.”

Richard disagreed, “No. He's done at this point.”

“Hmm? Why?”

“Because the Daxdians have their own trump cards too. I saw the devilfish all those years ago in the Land of Dusk, and that was mass-produced like these saint drones. They have to have made some breakthroughs in the years since.”

“Hmm... In that case, Julian. Go to the Land of Dusk tomorrow and observe Hasting. Kill him the moment he's defeated, and bring me his head.”

“As you wish, Your Majesty!” Julian bowed, flashing a ruthless smile.

However, Richard who was cutting into another steak shook his head, “No need. If he'll fight seriously to his last moment, then he's making a contribution to Norland. Let him be.”

“But he's a Scholar.”

“A Scholar-adjacent, if that. It's fine to spare him; I'll take care of Soremburg one day.”

“If that's what you want, but he should know what to do next if he's smart enough. Anyway, what are your plans?”

“I'm heading to Lithgalen to find the route the elves took to reach Arbidis. It'll take decades if I go explore the abyss myself.”

“Tell me when you're heading to Arbidis; I'm coming along.”

“Nope,” Richard immediately rejected her, “What about the Sacred Alliance? There won't be anyone to oversee this place.”

“I don't give a fuck, I just want Sharon back!” Apeiron snarled.

“But it's not like you'll be too useful anyway!”

“The abyss is a land of chaos, it's my strong suit!”

“And what happens when you actually take a hit? You'll die immediately, and I can't save you all the time!” Richard said, looking her up and down. Apeiron was left speechless at this declaration as well, unable to refute his point. Just like during her battle against him, her physical resilience left a lot to be desired.

Seeing her hesitation, Richard softened his tone to mollify her, “How about this. Let's discuss things again before I leave. For now, I need to settle some things before I go to Lithgalen. Namely territory.”

He formed a holographic map of Norland out of thin air, “We Archerons barely have any territory in our name. It's not just about the resources, there isn't enough land for the family to develop. I need to get everyone to a point where they can progress for at least a few centuries without me.”

“Isn't that dangerous?” the Empress replied, “It'll be more difficult to defend a vast territory.”

“Won't be too bad in the near future. Alice will still live another century at least, and I'll push it to three. With her around, there shouldn't be any major losses in battle. As for powerhouses, my daughter should be able to hold her own.”

Apeiron nodded, “As long as I'm alive, I won't let anything happened.”

“You?” Richard laughed, shaking his head, “With your personality, there's no chance you'll outlast me.”

“Are you looking down on me? Want to have another go?”

Richard smiled and shook again, “I'd rather leave you with at least some of your pride.”

“You ba—” Apeiron's growl was interrupted by a cough from Julian, her fury slowly fading even as the impulse to punch Richard remained. She settled down to discuss the new division of territory, giving him everything within a hundred kilometres of the Deepblue as well as a thousand-kilometre stretch along Floe Bay that connected it to Azan. Most of the land taken away came from the Mensas, Schumpeters, and Josephs, with only a third being pulled from various small nobles.

Of course, Richard wasn't done with just that. He took two strategic earldoms flanking Azan from the Millennial Empire, and about two dukedoms' worth of land from the Sacred Tree. Solam's lands were halved, with the most fertile sections being taken away.

“That's all?” Apeiron frowned as he marked his new territory on the map.

“It's enough,” Richard smiled.

“Alright, you do you. Julian, take notes and send notifications to the relevant countries and nobles. Tell them there isn't any room for negotiation.”

“As you wish, Your Majesty.”

After Julian left, Richard finished his own meal and gave Apeiron a soft hug before leaving the dining hall.

......

Many powerful nobles trembled over the next few days, barely able to believe their eyes at the notice from the Sacred Alliance. Only the Millennial Empire remained peaceful, Prince Tumen dismissing all concerns with a smile as he transferred the two earls to barren lands on the frontier, “Looks like Richard appreciates our help.”

In the Sacred Alliance, countless nobles argued the change in the Assembly. The debate wasn't about how much land the Archerons should get, but just what duties they would take on afterwards. A combined area of over 500,000 square kilometres was enough to establish a small kingdoms, completely obsoleting Richard's title as a duke. However, with the Empress still formally in charge of the Sacred Alliance, they couldn't just upgrade him to a monarch either. Many started discussing just what sort of title would be fitting of the Archerons' unparalleled status; if Richard adopted someone's suggestions, that would be a small bond.

Those families whose territories had been broken up could only follow through with procedure silently, trying their best to maintain order. No one dared to make a move against the Archerons at this point.

......

The country with the strongest response was naturally the Sacred Tree Empire. The Emperor and his cabinet debated the matter fiercely; the northern dukes resolutely opposed the proposed division and wanted to use the entire imperial army to destroy the Archerons, but the south refused to support with troops or even finances. On the other hand, the Church had no representation here at all; while Archbishop Hendrick had announced his withdrawal long ago, even the Pope wouldn't pretend like anything could be accomplished here. The North's only hope lay with the haggard Emperor who hadn't slept since he received the notice.

Enraged as he was by Richard's decision, the Emperor had to consider the long term before anything else. The two dukedoms lost today could be regained at another time, but his entire country had fallen apart in their war against Richard. It had started with the Church, but now that the civil war had come to an end he realised that their dependance left them with no room to make decisions on their own.

The debate was still in progress, the country most resentful of the fact that even having fought the Millennial Empire a few times Richard had only taken a token two earldoms away from them. The northern dukes especially couldn't palate the difference.

It took a draining few days that left the Emperor and his cabinet haggard before they even approached a conclusion. Seven days in, the Minister of War stood up to speak, “I feel like we have said everything that needs to be communicated. Richard is already an epic being, and according to convention he has the right to found his own country. He naturally needs territory for that—”

“Nonsense, he isn't even level 25!” a northern duke slammed the table, “Is self-proclamation also counted now?”

The head of the southern faction sneered, “Do you think someone without epic strength could have defeated the reapers? You would have died in one day.”

“You dare look down on my troops?”

“Oh, absolutely not. Your soldiers are so powerful, 400,000 of them managing to destroy Blackrose— oh, wait. Only a few thousand returned, and you didn't even face 50,000 enemies.”

“ENOUGH!” The Emperor pounded his table, stopping the bickering dukes, “Whoever doubts Richard's strength, feel free to go to war against him, or even fight him one-on-one. I'll be awaiting the results!”

The furious man sprayed spittle everywhere in his rage, the dukes stunned by his sudden violence. However, they kept quiet as he slammed a new letter on the table. “Look for yourselves!” he grumbled, watching his subordinates all shiver as they passed it amongst themselves, “Do you understand? They do not fear war, they welcome it!”

This document was the final letter from the Sacred Alliance, stating that it had already been a week and there would only be three more days before a declaration of war from Richard's end. There was also a blatant threat within; if Richard was forced to fight for his rightful lands, he wouldn't care about the safety of enemy generals or hold people for ransom.

1379 - City of Sin

Crossing The Sea

As the Sacred Tree cabinet hushed down in the face of the Emperor's outburst, the Minister of War spoke out, “If the Church of Glory does not appear, I fear we have no chances of winning.”

“An entire empire can't beat a single lord?!” the northern duke started howling again. He would lose more than half his territory if this went through, which was why his resistance was so vigorous. However, he quickly swallowed his outburst and shut up, his head creaking as he looked down in disbelief just in time to see the Emperor twisting a dagger to rip his heart.

“You aren't a lord of the Sacred Tree any longer, the Empire's strength does not concern you,” the Emperor said coldly, prompting a bulging-eyed glare and a frothy mouthful of blood from the dying duke. He then looked around calmly at the rest of the northern dukes, “Are there any more objections?”

......

Richard's demand for territory ended up going just as smoothly as expected. While the Sacred Tree Empire delayed for a few days, they eventually acquiesced as well. This would have been exactly what a new epic deserved, but most epics merely asked for territory within their own countries. On the other hand, Richard had conveniently taken land from all three human empires and even a portion of the coastline that bled into the Far North. The nobility of Norland had no choice but to accept his ways, either; the massacre of the Sacred Tree Army was a final turning point that ensured no one dared challenge the Archerons any longer.

While Richard still hadn't built back up to a thousand rune knights, more and more powerful drones were emerging from the broodmother to take their place. His subordinates had spiked in power after the bitter war against the reapers, each shooting up multiple levels. He was the only one who had gone up a single level, getting to level 25 without much of a visible difference. Of course, that was because the changes were hidden deep underneath. He had possessed the power of an epic for a few levels now.

He continued to idle around, spending most of his time on Norland lost in thought. On the occasions where he visited his planes, he simply destroyed any creature that was an eyesore before returning home. He only completed a single grade 5 rune in all this time, and it was meant to allow land-based beings to control things underwater so they weren't at too much of a disadvantage in the sea. The rune itself was a little strange, but many powerhouses were interested in it for its low capacity overhead and esoteric functions. Many people simply refused to explore underwater because it was dangerous, but this rune would change that scenario.

Faust's aristocracy expected a grand rune convention showcasing a dozen new runes— Richard had thrown a mind-boggling number of designs into the reward point system— but he seemed completely uninterested in such a thing as he strolled around at his own leisure. One notable change was that the Archerons sent a legend and ten saints to the Land of Dusk, but instead of joining the offensive this force simply kept watch at the City of the Unsetting Sun. While they didn't fight much, the current marshal welcomed their presence.

......

Three months passed in silence before the fleet at Floe Bay was finally approved for the sea by Perrin. Richard set out and inspected the ships before beginning his journey towards Lithgalen. The Millennial Empire had come through on its promise of envoys as well; in addition to Greyhawk, he was surprised to find Princess Mina coming along. It was a little annoying to have someone so frail wanting to come to Lithgalen, but he didn't complain.

This trip was unlikely to be peaceful. Richard was determined to get a map towards Arbidis, while the high elves were famed for their arrogance even after being chased off the mainland. In fact, Lithgalen's citizens actively despised all humans, and it would be great simply if a battle didn't break out immediately.

Greyhawk was a very useful companion. Even Richard had to admit that a former Scholar was of great help. This was the same reasoning he had given himself for keeping Raymond alive at first, but despite the unfortunate turn of events he now knew just how much of a boon that was. Had everything with the soul repair project not gone awry, the broodmother would have succumbed to the reapers immediately.

As the fleet readied itself for its long journey, Richard received some expected news. Hasting's troops had suffered a crushing defeat at the Black Vortex, and almost all of the drone soldiers were killed. The soul mage himself had suffered heavy injuries to flee; although his life was saved, his injuries would likely prevent him from getting to the legendary realm again. Tens of thousands of devilfish had surged forth from the fortress the moment the battle began, each only level 16 but combining in such quantity that they washed through the uncoordinated drones. While the devilfish army had been eliminated, the rest of the Daxdians had managed to clean up.

Richard sighed at the information. Hasting's troops were powerful, and if one ignored the means used to acquire such a force the mage had made a significant contribution to Norland. While the Daxdians had won, multiple fortresses had been captured and their forces dwindled. For the next two decades, if not more, the Norlanders would be at an advantage. Considering this contribution, he decided to spare the soul mage's life for the near future.

When it was time to depart, magic steam whistled resounded through Floe Bay as seven modified battleships left the port and snd sailed towards the distant Lithgalen. Perrin had changed them greatly in this time, leaving them looking nothing like the originals. Constructs that oozed reaper style were all over these ships, and the exteriors had faint barriers of different colours. As a touch of style, these ships represented the seven moons of Norland, with the flagship being the blue moon of Annihilation. These ships could actually make use of moonforce to power their functions.

Standing on the expansive bridge of the flagship, Richard stared into the sea as the Deepblue turned into a small dot in the distance. Even to those who had witnessed the magnificence of the void, the ocean waves would leave one feeling insignificant. The wind was sharp, but he welcomed it as he played around with the final destiny crystal in his hands. The thing hadn't parted from his body for years, and as his power skyrocketed the opportunities to use it were few and far between. There were times he completely forgot, but it was more often the case that he simply wouldn't have the ability to break the crystal if he was in a state where he really needed to. Still, the crystal gave him an unparalleled sense of ease, helping him know that he had a way out at the most critical of junctures. In fact, the slate had blocked energy beams from the reapers more than once, even deflecting bullets at times. In many ways, it was a lucky charm that had already saved him multiple times.

As he flipped the crystal around, Richard felt an exceptional sense of serenity that cleared his mind. It felt like he was holding fate itself in his palms, and that emotion helped him decide what he wanted to do.

After Lithgalen, Richard would use the passage in Arbidis to take a look at the alter world. From what he had gathered, the place was just as vast as the void. It would be near impossible to find Sharon in such a vast world, but he was determined to do so anyway. Even if he was destined for failure, he would never forgive himself if he didn't try.

1380 - City of Sin

Outpost

The fleet of battleships slowly left Norland, heading west across the boundless ocean as they made their way towards Lithgalen. While the journey was bound to be a long one, Richard thankfully wasn't without anything to do. He spent an increasing amount of time in Sharon's library, quickly unravelling book after book in the third level. As he grew stronger, he found himself able to crack the barriers much more quickly, and he found the laws he now had access to concerned the foundations of secondary plane. Mastery of this level would bring anyone to the epic realm, and going through the fourth would push them to the limit.

However, he now knew that the epic realm wasn't the end. The library had two more levels and the ball of light right on top, which showed that the primal celestials were far more advanced than Norland could ever dream of.

Still, he showed incredible restraint and spent only a third of his days reading; more of his time was given to looking through the lives of those he had absorbed, giving him a much deeper insight into both humanity and the workings of the world. He didn't know just how the change to his mindset would help him, or if it would at all, but the more he saw, the more he felt like these ordinary lives had a unique charm to them. Most of these commoners led rather bland lives, but the millions upon millions of them left him in a dazed epiphany.

Richard only snapped out of his routine when an attending mage called out to him, informing him that Lithgalen wasn't too far away. He was a little surprised that they were already at their destination, but he followed the mage to the sky bridge and noticed a bird in the distance. The avian presence indicated that land couldn't be far away, and with confirmation from Greyhawk, Mina, and the other envoys he could be sure that this truly was their destination.

As he saw Richard approaching, the navigator spoke up, “Your Grace, we are roughly one hundred kilometres away from Lithgalen. With the current wind conditions, we will reach it in half a day. We do not know if we can dock or anchor near the coast, so I plan to head us a little south to find a natural harbour.”

Greyhawk made his way over as well, “We're likely in range of the elves, they should notice us anytime now. We should be careful.”

Richard nodded and turned around, “Strengthen the guard.”

A few mages immediately sped away from the bridge, carrying the orders to the crew. Drones transmitted the same message across the other six ships, and it wasn't long before the entire fleet was glowing faintly. The battleships also picked up speed, forming small waves in their wake.

Richard suddenly stretched a hand out, forming a portal that he walked through to appear a thousand metres above the sea. The entire process was so natural that even Greyhawk who was mere inches away didn't sense anything, the former Scholar's eyes going wide in surprise. As a legendary mage himself, he had been able to sense Richard's limits back in the final battle against the reapers. Now, there seemed to be none. At this point, it was even difficult to tell that Richard was a mage; if not for knowing that this was an epic being, Greyhawk would think he was a commoner who was no more than level 3.

While Greyhawk gaped in surprise, another portal formed and Richard walked back through, “The patrol is to the west. They haven't discovered us yet, let's go say hi.”

Richard sent out a mental order, having the night elf mage in the Blue Moon's bridge change the heading of the fleet. A few dozen mages and hundreds of sailors manoeuvred the huge ships westwards, still picking up speed.

A few enormous eagles quickly appeared on the horizon, their lavish neck ornaments showing their true identity as elven druids. The flock panicked at the sight of the approaching fleet, but only one of them flew away while the rest headed towards the battleships instead.

The eagles stopped only a few hundred metres away, speaking in Norlandic tongue, “Where are you from? These waters belong to the Elven Empire; stop your ships and prepare for inspection, or we will sink your fleet!”

The druid's words were laced with arrogance that immediately left Richard frowning, regardless of how prepared he was for exactly this behaviour. He looked at Greyhawk, “I know I have silvermoon blood, but these guys really are annoying.”

Greyhawk shrugged in reply, “Don't expect me to comment.”

“Alright then,” Richard looked back up at the four huge eagles, “You'll sink us? Before that, people flying above my head really annoys me. Get Down!”

Those last words were said in divine tongue, and this time Greyhawk got the mana ripples he wished for. However, the man couldn't decipher the spell at all, not even finding a base. It didn't feel like a gravitational spell or a paralyser, but the eagles suddenly screamed as their flapping wings simply refused to catch air. Three of them crashed into the sea, while another slammed down on deck.

While the one falling onto the ship broke its bones, the three that hit the sea barely managed to adjust themselves so they wouldn't splatter amongst impact. Archeron soldiers covered and captured them at Richard's command, having to knock them out as two of the eagles bit the warriors trying to catch them. In the end, the rebels were beaten to a pulp and had their beaks tied together before being ushered into a cabin where they were faced with Richard.

“Wake them up,” Richard said to Ginley who had been summoned with a wave.

“Easy,” the old woman smiled, stretching out her withered hands to caress the eagles' heads. The very next moment, she showed surprising strength as she kicked each one in the abdomen. She didn't use much strength, but the eagles quickly woke up and screamed in pain. They struggled against the ropes tying them, but this only caused more pain that increased the volume of the shouts.

Greyhawk winced at the sight. Pain spells were nothing too amazing, merely amplifying the sensations felt by someone until it hurt, but to leave four eagle druids in such pain that two of them were starting to revert to human form was a frightening feat. Ginley had to have tortured a frightening number of people to be so skilled.

“Enough,” a supreme order stopped the old woman, immediately releasing the four druids from the pain spell. Richard then looked at the two druids that were still in eagle form, “Transform back.”

The two eagles immediately returned to elven form, four naked bodies huddling together in a ball of shame. Three were male and one female, all of them level 16. A patrol like this was an indication of the strength of the elven empire, but ever since his battle against the reapers Richard no longer felt like that was worth much. He looked at them and sneered, “Remember to be polite next time, at least the basic request demanded by an epic.”

“You're epic?” the female druid yelled out, but one of her companions quickly stopped her. The four didn't know how powerful Richard was, but they did understand that it wasn't easy to instantly stop their flight. Even now, they didn't know just how this had been managed, unable to sense anything significant from him.

1381 - City of Sin

Patrol

As the elven druids started to panic, Richard waved a hand to release the ropes restricting them, “Go back and make sure your captain is respectful when they meet me. If they play around, I won't mind sinking your entire fleet. You're escorting me to the closest port, I have something important to discuss with your emperor.”

“You think someone like you can see the Emperor? Release us now, or you'll all be executed!” the female druid cried out once more.

“Ginley,” Richard said with a frown, the old soul mage stepping forward and muttering under her breath. A grey orb of light shot out from her hands and struck the druid, prompting loud wails as a pale green blaze burnt her body.

“MANA BURN!” The three other druids cried out, but none of them dared help. They could only watch as their companion screamed in pain, her mana being burnt away. By the time Ginley withdrew the flames, the elf had lost her voice.

“She'll be staying for now, the rest of you can leave,” Richard said flatly.

The three high elves now realised that they were absolutely no match for Richard's crew. The leader amongst them finally gave in and asked, “May we know where you come from, and why you wish to see the Emperor?”

“Richard, of the Sacred Alliance. As for why I'm here, the Emperor will find out when I tell him.”

The druids asked no further questions, turning back into giant eagles and flying towards the fleet that had appeared on the horizon. There were seven ships in total, the same as Richard's, but these ones were dark blue with gold trimmings and the eye-catching symbol of the elven empire all over them. Only those who had gone through ancient records would know that this was the same design of ship as was made famous in the elven era.

“Have they made no progress on the sea at all?” Richard asked with a frown. While the human empires of Norland hadn't focused on their navies in the millenium since the elves had been routed, his fleet built by the grey dwarves was leagues over the old sailships.

Greyhawk shrugged, “Seems so. Perhaps they haven't spent their time on this? Their ships are more than enough to deal with our empires.”

"But the duergar have gotten so much better."

“We've beaten the duergar back into a small corner of the mainland ourselves. Even if they could win on the sea, they wouldn't be able to beat the elves on land. Lithgalen would have had a few more centuries, but you just happened to set your sights on them.”

Richard shook his head, “Someone else would have done it eventually.”

By this point, the Seven Moons were already in attack formation. The patrolling fleet went on full alert, but without the courage to approach they simply flanked around the perimeter. Of course, no one would have such guts when all seven of their ships couldn't match up to a single one of the opponent.

A few giant eagles flew up from the patrol, two high elves following to land on the deck of Richard's flagship. They were angered at the sight of the druid sprawled across the floor, but as they felt the two legendary auras and the fact that everyone else was at least level 16, they paused in fright. Richard himself wasn't giving off any aura at all, but they couldn't fathom just how such a powerless individual could command such a scary crew.

“We are the thirteenth patrol of the Empire. You hail from Norland, do you not? Why would you wish to see our Emperor?” one of the elves asked. Please visit ƒ𝐫𝗲𝒆𝑤𝚎𝐛𝙣𝐨𝙫𝙚𝚕. 𝒄o𝓂

Greyhawk stepped forward and passed a letter over, “We are messengers from the Millennial Empire, and ask to be granted an audience with the Emperor as well.”

"The Millennial Empire?" the two elves' faces warmed a little. The Millennial Empire had always remained cordial with the high elves, and the royal family carried the bloodline of a previous elven emperor. The captain nodded, “We will pass this letter to our superiors; I request that you drop anchor and wait for our notice. We will also report to you if the Emperor is ready to receive you.”

Greyhawk frowned a little, “We have come all the way across the ocean, and are in urgent need of supplies. This spot is also still some distance from the continent, and it could be dangerous if there are storms.”

“This is imperial territory, you must follow regulations,” the elves persisted.

“Why don't I remember such a regulation? Our fleets always stop directly at port.”

The captain sneered and pointed at Richard, “He humiliated my subordinates, he must pay the price!”

“Ugh...” Richard interrupted with a frown, “Since when do mere saints get to talk to me like that?”

“What will you do? I stand here representing the Empire, you spineless cretin. Your kind plotted with the orcs and dwarves to steal Norland away, but those allies are no longer here. Even allowing you near Lithgalen's beautiful shoreline would be a stain on my reputation!”

“Sigh, elven arrogance indeed. You know what? I wanted to use a branch from a budding golden world tree to exchange for something; can you afford the responsibility of me changing my mind?”

The elf's expression immediately warped, “How could you have such a thing?!”

"You don't need to know."

"I wish to have a look first."

“You don't need to see it either.”

The captain gritted his teeth, “... Alright. Follow my fleet, we will bring you to the nearest port.”

The high elves carried the druid and returned to the patrolling fleet, which turned around and headed towards the continent with Richard's ships close behind.

“I feel like we won't be getting to see the Emperor so easily,” Greyhawk commented as they set off.

Richard smiled, “Of course not, I didn't plan for it anyway. These egotists won't give me what I want if I ask the normal way.”

"So what do we do?"

“Ehh... Follow them for now, wipe out whatever they hope to kill us with.”

The legendary mage smiled and tapped the railing, “I want to see how powerful your reaper modifications are.”

"Definitely not as strong as an actual reaper warship, but they should be more than enough to deal with these brats."

The two fleets floated through the endless sea, heading towards the Ashgreen Continent. The elven patrol's sails were all bulging with magic wind as they sailed at full speed, but Mina frowned at the sight as she walked up to Greyhawk, “Brother, is this their full speed?”

Greyhawk looked at the sails of the warships and nodded, “It should be.”

“But it isn't even half of ours! How weak are the elves? Aren't these the people we act so respectful to?”

He forced a smile at her complaint, “The elves aren't all that weak, you know. It's just that Richard is too strong. This is a battleship modified with reaper technology, how could the average warship compare to it?”

The Princess's eyes glimmered at the response, an unknown plot forming in her mind.

Greyhawk shook his head helplessly, not able to bring himself to say anything. He had to admit that she was the most likely woman in the Millennial Empire to be able to charm Richard, and at this point his desire for Richard and Mountainsea to be together was starting to wane. His heart still throbbed as he thought of his daughter's fate, where he couldn't even be certain that she was remotely the same as before. If Richard and Mountainsea wouldn't join, the Millennial Empire would need to have someone else by his side just to build a good rapport.

The elven patrol sped along desperately, but their magic sails were operating at full capacity and couldn't possible push harder. The navigator of the fleet might have been skilled, but the fifty kilometres he could cover in an hour was already well above average. Still, it couldn't even compare to the average hundred that Richard's seven warships did as they crossed the ocean.

No matter how hard the elves tried, they couldn't pull away from Richard's ship. However, a few eagle druids had taken the Millennial Empire's scroll and flown towards Lithgalen in advance. Whether the response would be peaceful or a war declaration, only the elves knew.

It was approaching dusk by the time Richard learnt of Lithgalen's reply. An enormous fleet with twelve primary warships that were each close two 200 metres in length greeted him on the open seas, flanked by more than twenty other ships that were each more than a hundred metres long. This was a large fleet even when the elves were in their prime, and it implied the presence of a large port nearby.

1382 - City of Sin

Overwhelming Power

Richard watched as a few giant eagles flew up from the incoming elven fleet, one of them flying overhead and shouting with magically amplified voices, “Richard, everyone within the bounds of Lithgalen must obey the orders of the Prince! You are to hand over the branch of the Golden World Tree immediately, and explain its origin! Secondly, your warships will be under our control during your stay in the Empire; we will return them to you when you leave.”

The druid's proclamation left those from the Millennial Empire sullen. Mina even snorted, “We can't trust them to hand these back after.”

Richard remained indifferent, “So there's no room for negotiation?”

“This is a command from the Prince!” the eagle shouted back, “There will be no concessions!”

He nodded, “Good, then I get to sink you and find someone else willing to talk. Also, I don't. Like. People. Flying. Overhead. Forbid!”

The eagles in the sky suddenly screamed, flapping their wings in vein as they fell from the sky like stones. One even bounced on a ship's deck before rolling down the sea.

This time, Greyhawk finally understood a small bit of what Richard had done, “You changed the laws around them?”

Richard nodded in praise, “Only a bit, and temporarily. I made their flapping useless.”

A bugle horn immediately rang out from the elven fleet, their ships picking up speed to engage. The lighter ships even started arcing around, planning to pincer Richard from behind. They were clearly well-trained, capable of maintaining a strong formation even as they sped up to sixty kilometres an hour, and the sides of the flagship opened up to reveal giant cannons shining with magical light.

Elven cannons could fire at targets up to ten kilometres away with frightening accuracy, which was the biggest reason for their naval superiority. A number of other races had tried to enter Lithgalen after the old empire had first fallen, but a thousand years later they had given up all hopes. Elven cannons were still much more advanced than those made by the dragonblood gnomes and duergar.

The elves believed their fleet was strong enough to deal with three or even five fleets like Richard's. The mainland's warships had always been huge, but they weren't particularly strong; in front of the weapons advantage, they were no different from blocks of wood. The powerhouses also took off from the decks, ensuring they had a vantage point to command from. However, Richard's ability to drop them from the skies kept them from approaching.

Richard just smiled as his own fleet accelerated, the outer shells of metallic turrets on deck opening up to reveal metallic rails that were tens of metres long. Several strong cannoneers loaded them with three-metre-long bolts, and the mages assigned to each calibrated for launch. The guide rails slowly rotated, aiming at the lead elven battleship.

When they were nearly thirty kilometres apart, Richard's battleship suddenly stalled for a moment as six enormous bolts were fired into the distance, zooming towards the distant flagship. Even as Greyhawk, Mina, and the other emissaries from the Millennial Empire watched in shock, the bolts dug right into wood without giving the enemy any time to manoeuvre. Violent explosions rocked the 200-metre-long battleship as half the bolts hit, breaking it into three pieces that quickly sank into the sea. Google search 𝑓𝘳𝚎𝘦𝚠e𝚋𝘯o𝘃el. 𝒄om

In the blink of an eye, the enormous battleship had turned into a pile of floating wood and flags. A swirl in the ocean was swallowing even that, about to remove all traces entirely. Most of the elves on board had no time to escape, and even the ones that survived the explosions could only sink into the sea. What happened next depended on luck; half of them would be caught in the wreckage, while the rest would manage to swim away.

With one volley complete, the cannoneers quickly filled the turrets with a new set of bolts. The Blue Moon shot forward, quickly exceeding a hundred kilometres per hour like it was flying atop the sea. The Jade Moon and Amber moon fired not long after, and despite only a third of their bolts managing to strike large holes were blown into their targets. Those were sure to sink as well.

Once all seven ships had finished a barrage, four out of the eleven enemy ships had been sunk. Three more were seriously damaged to the point of not being able to retaliate, which meant the fleet's power had been halved! Richard's fleet then sped up, moving at 120 kilometres an hour as they continued their bombardment. Only one battleship was left intact after the second round, and only four were floating in general.

The Archeron fleet then accelerated towards the cruisers, exposing their paltry defence. A direct strike to the hull would break the enemy ships immediately, while even glancing strikes left enormous holes on deck. By the time Richard was within range of enemy cannons, where his own bolts were two-thirds accurate, there were no enemy cannons to be fired at him.

The seven warships named after the seven moons suddenly felt like demon lords that had descended to the plane, sending enemy after enemy into the sea. Wreckage, corpses, and survivors quickly filled the waters, leaving the desperate elves with no choice but to try and make their way onto Richard's ship. However, no one below the legendary realm could fly in Richard's domain, and those who swam close were shot down by the night elf gunners up above.

One of the two legends of the fleet rushed over to the Blue Moon, but before he could cast any magic Waterflower silently decapitated him. When the other saw the situation and ran, Richard let him escape so that someone would be able to tell the mainland about their loss.

The naval 'battle' was already nearing its end, and the smaller ships were allowed to escape while any survivors were fished out of the water. Those who resisted ended up dead, but with the night elves being the ones sent out on the rescue missions most of them actually watched in shock. From what they knew, the last remnants of the silvermoon elves had already fled to Lithgalen, but Richard's soldiers looked exactly like them. Their sheer power was proof of their lineage and identity as well, so there were minimal problems.

There were more than a dozen sunk ships all around, but Richard wasn't interested in anything from the elven empire. Once all the rescues were completed, he had everything sunk before heading for the nearest port city.

......

In the middle of the Silent Forest in eastern Lithgalen was a huge world tree, nearly a thousand metres tall and capable of controlling everything within a million square kilometres. Although the tree had reached its racial limit and couldn't begin to compare to a golden world tree, it was strong enough to give the current King firm control over this section of the continent.

A slender bird tore through the blue afternoon sky, flying right into the Silent Forest and heading towards the World Tree. It flew into the magnificent palace in the canopy, only stopping on the windowsill of the highest tower.

Prince Syon Lyer was currently at his window, flipping through the latest collection of poems from Lithgalen's premier bard. The work hadn't yet been revealed to the greater world, and outside the King himself only a handful of royals had been given a copy of the draft for their opinions. The piece he was currently reading through talked about a battle during the heyday of the old empire, and the divine writing that contained the power of laws projected the scene directly into the reader's mind.

This collection of poems was no less complicated than a powerful magic tome. It would take an enormous amount of time and energy to produce even one copy, so there wouldn't be more than ten such handwritten manuscripts even once the poems were revealed to the world. However, ordinary elves couldn't experience this power of law even if they had the manuscript, so it was useless to them. One needed to be a saint at minimum to even begin to understand.

Syon frowned as the bird landed near him, rolling a delicate glass tube towards his hand, “Can you not see I'm reading?! You can wait for whatever it...”

His words were cut off as he noticed the bright red mark on the tube, representing a military emergency. He quickly opened the tube and read the scroll within, but as he stood up from the shock of the contents he knocked over his table and sent the poems to the floor.

“The Third Fleet was annihilated?”

1383 - City of Sin

Breaking The Silent Forest

The Silent Forest was quickly awakened by a fierce battle call, the light breeze sending the bugle horns to every corner of the woods. Elven warriors stepped out for a moment upon hearing the call before heading back into their homes, donning their armour, sheathing their swords, and placing their longbows across their backs before bidding farewell to their families and rushing to the World Tree. Prince Syon was calling for his warriors to fight a powerful enemy. Please visit ƒ𝐫𝗲𝒆𝑤𝚎𝐛𝙣𝐨𝙫𝙚𝚕. 𝒄o𝓂

Tens of thousands of high elven warriors gathered from all around, each level 10 or greater. An enormous flock of horned eagles was already flying in the sky, ready to transport the Prince's warriors to the shoreline. Syon himself had worn a gorgeous suit of armour that almost looked like coloured glass, placing his famous two-handed sword on his back before getting on a white peacock with long tail feathers. This was his personal mount, one of the ten most powerful beasts in the empire.

Under the leadership of the white peacock, a large group of eagles circled around the World Tree one last time before flying to the east.

......

Perillum Island was the second largest harbour on the east coast of Lithgalen, the base of the third fleet of the current empire. The city itself had 100,000 residents, with most of the economy catering to the fleet that protected the entire northeast of the continent. The island itself was only a few kilometres from the mainland, close to the beautiful Whitesand City that was named so for its beaches.

This port was normally quite idyllic, but the appearance of seven giant warships had broken that peace quite easily. The guards of the port had been easily defeated, and all the warships were either captured or shunk. On the giant warships were powerful archers that could fire tracking arrows up to nearly a kilometre away; even saints were turned into pincushions if they approached.

Richard spent an hour occupying Perillum, and even less taking down the unguarded Whitesand City. The local revolts were quickly suppressed, leaving the high elves silent as they watched the enemy soldiers occupying all the vantage points nearby. Many were surprised by the silent night elf forces; each one was level 16 at minimum, which was strong enough to become an elite officer in the royal army. The well-equipped night elves were even more powerful than the guards of the empire; even Prince Syon's core soldiers were the same level. However, the Prince only had a few dozen guards, maybe a hundred at most; Richard had thousands.

With everything taken care of, Richard, Greyhawk, Mina, and the others spent some time independently touring the port. The buildings here were in typical elven style, the buildings all slender and tall while the city was full of ancient trees and flowerbeds. The spiral houses were covered in turquoise and deep blue tiles, while the borders were made of gold or a combination of gold and silver. The motif of gold, silver, and blue was the main aesthetic of the elven empire.

The high elves here were taller and stronger than their distant relatives still in Norland like the wind elves and prairie elves. The men were close two two metres tall, about Richard's own height, while the women were closer to 1.8. Alongside their natural magic affinity, it allowed the entire race to be fairly talented at a number of things. Their shamans toed the line between magic and the divine, giving their soldiers powerful boosts to strength and recovery.

Once he was done with a tour of the port, Richard returned to his battleship and met with the rest.

“What did you find?” Greyhawk asked.

“Do you know what kind of shop is most common here?” Richard responded with another question of his own.

“Hmm... bookstores, and there were also a lot of shops selling art and related materials.”

“Mm, there are a lot of so-called weapon processing shops too, but most of them are for decoration, not lethality. They have stuff that costs as much as magic weapons without a single enchantment. Take a look,” Richard threw over a random longsword he had picked up, one of the most common weapons of the elves. It was long and sharp, the workmanship clearly quite good, but the most intriguing parts came from the text engraved on the ridge and the beautiful hilt that was shaped to look like a bird's wings. The text was a verse from a poem, and the hilt proved no purpose other than to make it look better.

“A full two-thirds of the making cost was used on things that have nothing to do with the effectiveness. This is very telling; Lithgalen isn't nearly as strong as they want you to think,” Richard said as Greyhawk examined the blade. He was one of the biggest names in all of Norland when it came to the weapon trade, and his knowledge of value in that department was unparalleled.

Examining the sword in his hand, Greyhawk couldn't help a sigh. This was a common longsword that almost every adult elf knew how to wield, not just a symbol of identity but also a practical weapon. Adult high elves were good warriors who stood somewhere about level 12 on average, forming the basis of the empire that had once ruled over all of Norland. The Millennial Empire still had some weapons from back then, but they were nothing like this. While still beautiful and elegant, those weapons were all enchanted and practical. Here, it was clear that actual enchanters and craftsmen were quite scarce.

A short while later, Richard ordered the fleet into battle position. Some guards assembled in fortifications at Whitesand and Perillum, keeping a strict eye on the populace. He then turned to Greyhawk, “The elven reinforcements are coming, we'll likely see a prince. A letter went out from the port recently, telling the imperial palace that the third fleet was killed.”

“Are we not even going to try negotiations?” Greyhawk asked.

“Not yet, this time we fight,” Richard answered without hesitation.

“Why?” the older man frowned. As someone from the Millennial Empire, he held a certain amount of respect for the elves. It took him a moment to recall the fact that the youth in front of him had thick elven blood as well.

Richard smiled, “They need to know we're strong enough to crush them, or they'll keep up with this attitude. To them, modesty is cowardice.”

Greyhawk wanted to try and persuade Richard, but he suddenly sensed a tyrannical aura in the distance and looked to the west. A huge flock of eagles was zooming towards them, headed by an eye-catching white peacock. His heart sank as he felt the sheer killing intent, knowing that there would be no peaceful resolution to this.

......

Three days later, shocking news arrived at the imperial palace. Syon, one of the ten most powerful elves in Lithgalen, had fallen to a human called Richard in battle. The human had then led a 5,000-man force to capture the Silent Forest, and was currently marching all the way to the imperial palace.

It was only after Syon's death that Richard's original message was released from the east. It stated that he carried a branch from the Golden World Tree, and wished for a trade with the empire. The specifics of this trade offer were unknown.

The imperial palace was located deep in Lithgalen, but it stood upon a white peak and not on a world tree itself. To the elves, the palace could only be placed upon a golden world tree; the regular ones that governed Lithgalen were nothing and could only provide shade.

A naturally planted golden world tree would have grown into a sky tree by now, but the ones in Lithgalen were stuck at their limit after millennia of growth. Only a small number of people in the Empire knew just what a branch of a golden world tree meant; absorbing it would allow their current ruling world tree to become a true sky tree; even if this didn't turn it into a golden world tree, it was better than the current situation. A small step forward would spell huge growth for the Empire. This was a secret Prince Syon was not qualified to know.

1384 - City of Sin

A Returned Legend

The emperor of Lithgalen was currently in a meeting room with the five princes and other officials that had real power. A screen of light in the centre of the hall was currently showing the scene of Syon's defeat, as well as the defeat of the third fleet. The image was extremely blurred, to the point that one could barely see any figures, and when it finally got to Syon's battle all they saw was a flash of crimson light before Syon's white peacock fell to the earth. Before the image cut off, they could see the prince himself in someone's hands.

Although no one here was a stranger to death, for Syon to fall so easily was unimaginable to them all. One druid spoke up at the sight, “One cannot underestimate this Richard. I believe he has the strength of an epic being, there aren't many who can fight with him. I'm not certain of victory if I engage, we need to mobilise.”

“We should have the army intercept him!” one prince proposed, “We cannot let him go deeper into our lands; the dirty feet of the human cannot taint our forests!”

“Intercept how? His Highness Syon mobilised 20,000 elites in the Silent Forest, and he was defeated soundly. Rushing into battle will only lead to failure!” another countered.

The Grand Shaman of the Moon Shrine gently tapped his staff into the floor, silencing the entire hall, “I hear Richard brought seven warships, each corresponding to a different moon?”

The prince responsible for intelligence nodded, “It is true. According to the news from my druids, these warships have never been seen before. Some of their attacks were boosted by the powers of the moons.”

“And the soldiers he brought are mainly elves as well, a tribe we have never seen before?”

“Yes, they're much larger than the descendants we left in Norland. In fact, the weakest of them is level 16, and more than 2,000 are level 17. They have to be a branch of the royal bloodline.”

Everyone in the hall nodded in acknowledgement. Richard's night elf force was even stronger than the moonblade guards. Those guards were also level 17 at minimum, but they numbered only a hundred.

If Richard or Greyhawk were here, they would have scoffed at the sheer pride behind that statement. In the eyes of these elves, the only way other elves could be strong was to descend from the royal bloodline.

The Grand Shaman nodded, “I believe this Richard is related to the prince that disappeared seven centuries ago.”

“Do you mean Prince Starblaze?” a low question rang through the hall. Starblaze was a widely known name from eight centuries ago, the premier talent of Lithgalen. He had been a genius swordsman, archer, druid, and mage all in one, recognised by Alucia and receiving three different blessings in the enlightenment ceremony. This had made him a shaman of the Moon Shrine, with strength not one whit inferior to the standing Grand Shaman at the time.

Lithgalen held an enlightenment ceremony every year, but only the most important and talented youths stood a chance to receive enlightenment. Fewer than three got even a single blessing every year, and Starblaze's three were completely unprecedented. He had redefined what it meant to be a genius, becoming the biggest prodify of Lithgalen and someone who could even compare to the best of the ancient era. Battle, planar exploration, magic... he had achievements in every field.

It was said that he owed his success to his unique blessing of wisdom. Few elves had ever seen this option during their enlightenment ceremony, and there was no one who had chosen it ever since the migration to Lithgalen. Although it didn't directly enhance combat power, it was a holistic boost to every single aspect of his growth. Ever since he received that blessing, not one individual had seen the option in their rituals.

However, for some reason Starblaze was infatuated with demons and the abyss. He had been to the abyss several times, dealing with lords of all sizes, and his tower contained a number of demons as well. He had even led an army of demons to demolish an opponent one time. This was an ultimate taboo to the elves, but he was already a prince at this point and the first in line to the throne. No one wished to fight him, so the matter was put on hold.

However, it wasn't long after the destruction of the tribe when Starblaze's world tree was polluted by abyssal energy and withered away. This finally angered the central world tree of Lithgalen, prompting a crusade of powerful individuals to take him out. It was just that when they reached his tree, the entire place was filled with lava and the tower smelled of the abyss. Starblaze himself was missing. When the crusade started to retreat, an abyssal lord rushed out of the tower and attacked them! Google search 𝗳𝙧𝘦𝒆𝑤𝙚𝘣𝙣𝘰𝘃ℯ𝑙. 𝐜𝐨𝑚

The elves paid a huge price before they could finally seal off the abyssal lord, but they had no way to destroy the opponent and could only throw him back to the abyss. Starblaze's name was never uttered lightly since; some speculated that he had ended up becoming the abyssal lord, but that train of thought was quickly thrown away. He was eventually forgotten by the general populace, all his records destroyed until only princes with access to the imperial private library knew anything about him.

With the silvermoon elves in Norland having been destroyed recently, Richard's appearance, following and powerful moonforce made everyone think of the fallen prince.

The group spent a good while in silence before the Emperor finally spoke up, “Who knows Richard's origin?”

Unfortunately, not one of those present could answer this question. Lithgalen remained closed off from mainland Norland, only ever receiving updates on the general situation every decade or so. Even then, they rarely even cared about legends, only paying attention to epic beings and large political shifts. This cadence left them with no knowledge about the new saint runemaster who was now one of the biggest political figures in all of Norland.

Of course, the elves never took saint runemasters seriously in the first place. To them, only the magic arrays passed down by the ancient empire were considered powerful. How could a race of inferior beings improve on elven magic? If one carefully studied history, they would learn that elven magic arrays truly were the basis of runecrafting. Some people even called the things composite arrays to this day. However, any notion that those ancient designs were superior to current-day runes was just wishful thinking; in reality, human runecrafting had reached a point where the elves couldn't even begin to compare.

In the end, Richard had destroyed the third fleet, killed a prince, and occupied the Silent Forest, but this council didn't even know whether he was a mage or warrior. Those blurry images of battle couldn't be analysed at all.

Rage filled the Emperor's face, “Call every eagle druid that witnessed the scene. Right away!”

It took nearly an hour before three druids arrived at the hall, immediately kneeling at the steps. Even with legendary might, they simply couldn't withstand the Emperor's epic might and were forced to the floor.

The Emperor wasn't in the mood to understand anyone's hardships, immediately asking them to relay everything they had seen. However, their explanations only left the powerhouses of the Empire with confusion on their face.

The legendary druid was the first to speak, “There aren't any high-level druidic spells that can be performed without any movement at all. Are you sure you didn't see him making gestures?”

“I am certain,” the druid replied.

The Grand Shaman slowly spoke up as well, “There are no similar methods for shamans, either.”

The Emperor fell silent, meditating for a few minutes before speaking up, “There is something. Do you all remember the divine spellcasting of the ancient era?”

1385 - City of Sin

Sacred Prince

Richard was currently in Syon's library, reading through a book that seemed to be the prince's diary. All around him were various collections of art, literature, poetry, and sculptures, things that could be sold in Norland at sky-high prices, but he was constantly muttering in annoyance that the level 23 elf was pathetic for a swordsman. The prince had a number of good legendary skills, but his swordsmanship was flashy and imprecise, lacking the utility of someone used to actual combat.

He was certain that every one of his legendary followers would handily beat Syon in battle, maybe even kill him outright. Given that knowledge, the fact that many of the art pieces and literary works here came from Syon's hand enraged him to no end; were the prince willing to spend half that time on the sword, he would have managed to parry at least one strike.

“This is only normal, Your Excellency,” Princess Mina said from the side, watching the distant Greyhawk stare at each of the pieces with an unquenchable thirst for knowledge, “Syon was over 800 years old, and he had no pursuits at all. This is true for most of elven society; even the ancient elven empire considered the pursuit of art a tradition. Almost every powerhouse from them dabbled in at least one of the arts.”

“You know a lot,” Richard looked at the diary in her hand, “But why would they be so dumb?”

Seeing that she had aroused his interest, Mina smiled, “Elves are different from us humans. They are born with strong bloodlines and long lives; even the most talentless of them reach level 4 or 5 without spending any effort, and they live a century or longer. Their legends live for millennia, so they naturally need something to pass the time with. Without any other challenges, almost all of the high elves love art.”

“How on earth do they not have challenges?” Richard grumbled. He had been fighting ever since he entered the Deepblue, going from battlefield to battlefield, plane to plane. Daxdians, demons, dragons... his entire history had been written amidst the battlefield. It was true that the ancient elven empire had ruled almost all of Norland, but that only meant their enemies were mainly external. Wouldn't they be busy working on the battlefields of despair and developing planes?

Mina smiled, “They're born with everything one could need, why would they have our desire? They never focused on new planes, but we're different. We want to put everything we see into our pockets.”

He thought about it for a moment before nodding, “That makes sense, but then Lithgalen might be even weaker than I expected.”

“And is that not a good thing?” she rolled her eyes.

“I guess.”
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With this newfound knowledge, Richard stopped whining about all the art and continued looking through the palace. He quickly found Syon's private warehouse, chancing upon enough materials to make five saint runes. This left him tutting with more annoyance; in terms of materials alone, this was well beyond what most level 23 legends would have had in Norland.

In the end, Richard didn't take any of Syon's treasure, only a strange collection of poems that seemed to contain the power of laws. They seemed to be written by a bard called Eversong, sharing his insights through the manuscript and allowing others to gain insight into his words. This was especially useful for him; he could slowly draw out Eversong's remnant spirituality from this poetry, designing a new grade 5 rune based around his laws. Outside of that, he only took a box of leaves from the world tree before continuing into the elven empire.

Just as predicted, they met a number of opponents along the way. However, a 30,000-strong army might have been huge to the elves, but it was nothing to him. Their attempted assault failed entirely, and they lost thousands of bodies to him alone before they ran away. This battle barely harmed his forces at all, but an entire tribe was destroyed.

It was only after that crushing victory that Richard met his first real opponent in Lithgalen. As an elf flew over to the sky, he raised his hand to stop Greyhawk and Waterflower, “Mine.”

The two immediately fell back, understanding that the opponent this time would be an epic being. Both Greyhawk and Waterflower were fierce, but even combined they couldn't stand up to opponents of that level yet. Richard himself flew up to block the elf's way.

“I am High Prince Casir,” the elf introduced himself as he looked Richard up and down, “I am here to check your qualifications to trade with the Empire.”

At 2.2 metres, Cassie was fairly tall and strong. The pair of swords around his waist made it clear that he was a warrior, and his long golden hair had been braided and knotted so it wouldn't interfere in battle. Richard thought for a moment before bringing up the relevant information, “High Prince Casir, initially an assassin who later turned into a sword saint. Skilled at double blades.”

“Well-versed,” Casir said indifferently, “But that will not stop your failure.”

“And after I fail?”

“Speak of what you want. Leave the branch behind, and I will ensure that someone sends what you desire back to Norland. But all humans who set foot on Lithgalen will die.”

“Better than I expected,” Richard scoffed, allowing the prince to pull out his two swords. An oppressive aura spread out a kilometre in all directions, but outside of Waterflower and Greyhawk, the others felt nothing at all.

Mina looked at the two people in the sky and couldn't help but whisper to Greyhawk, “Is that guy supposed to be very strong? I don't feel anything from him.”

Greyhawk didn't answer, instead pointing at a falling leaf in the distance. Just as Mina saw this leaf, it suddenly split into two halves that continued to float down. Her heart immediately went cold.

The silent confrontation eventually ended up with Casir on the offensive. The prince shot forward with incredible speed that most legends couldn't hope to contend with; unless one was prepared, they were likely to get beheaded instantly.

However, a dull clang rang out as the two blades were blocked by Richard's sword. Richard himself looked completely relaxed and indifferent, but Casir's eyes went wide in shock, “How do you have Moonlight?!”

“Doesn't matter,” Richard flicked his wrist, turning the sword lightly to knock away both attacks before pointing it at Casir's chest. The prince immediately retreated, his swords suddenly sparking as blows started to rain on Richard.

Richard remained calm, only moving the minimum amount he needed to to block the blows. Moonlight's slashes suddenly seemed extremely delicate, parrying hundreds upon hundreds of attacks every second. He remained on the defensive, where it looked like he would be stabbed several times if he made the slightest mistake, but it was equally true that the slightest slowdown from Casir would lead to a deadly counter.

But this wasn't just a contest of speed and sword skill. The two were also fighting over the laws in the region, with Casir trying to manipulate and slow Richard repeatedly. It was just that Richard thwarted him every time, leaving him more and more afraid of relaxing his attack. He quickly realised that even the slightest of freedom would allow Richard to start suppressing him entirely.

The two thus turned into invisible streaks in the sky, so fast that people couldn't even follow their afterimages. Only the constant screech of steel on steel reminded them that there was a battle between plane-shattering powers just above them, with either party being strong enough to kill them all.

1386 - City of Sin

Decisive Conclusion

Watching the battle up above, Greyhawk suddenly sighed, “Richard is challenging Casir at his best skill. We can only wait and see if he makes a mistake.”

The Millennial Empire had always paid attention to the situation in Lithgalen, and they had a decent amount of intelligence on the four epic beings of the elven empire. Price Casir's biggest strength came by his speed and skill; once he gained control of the rhythm of the battle, he would eviscerate his opponents in a storm of blades. A single mistake in the face of this relentless offensive meant death.

Although Mina wasn't particularly high-level, she was still someone with knowledge befitting her status. A puzzled expression crawled up her face; Richard wasn't a warrior, and he had a number of powerful spells on hand. Why was he throwing that away for a melee battle? Would he really make no mistakes?

It didn't take long for the question to be answered. A scream suddenly rang through the forest as crimson blood rained down from above, Casir finally slowing down enough to be seen for just a moment. He immediately flashed away, but his left leg was missing and a stream of blood marked the trajectory of his escape. Richard just sighed and shook his head, flying back to his army.

“How?” Greyhawk asked the moment he landed.

“How what?”

“How did it end so fast?” A battle between epic beings normally lasted days, maybe even weeks. Greyhawk could understand if things ended in a few hours, but it hadn't been ten minutes and Casir fled. From what the former Scholar understood, the difference between the two wasn't that significant.

Richard smiled, “I don't make mistakes, and he can't. He's someone who dances on the edge of the blade, it's inevitable that he'll be put under pressure. He succumbed to it and gave me an opening.”

Greyhawk nodded with some understanding, but he felt like Richard wasn't telling him everything. That notion was true. Even a small difference in skill could barrel into a huge disadvantage when one was at the peak of their field. Richard's oppression had forced Casir to go all out from start to end, quickly draining the elf's physical and mental faculties. This battle was quite similar to the one with Apeiron, but Casir was markedly worse and thus succumbed much faster.

In truth, Richard himself was a little surprised by the ease of the victory. He had expected a quick collapse, but it had still happened far earlier than his predictions. The only conclusion was that the prince's will was significantly weaker than Apeiron's, but when he thought about it this made sense. Few people could have her resilience, especially if they grew up living comfortably like the elves.

He looked at a hand-painted map that he had taken from the palace, “Let's go, we can make it out of the forest and reach the Flowering Plains today. There's a city we can stay in overnight.”

He was talking about the Flower Trail, a medium-sized city supported by a tree of life. It was a quiet town that focused on beauty, making it the choice residence of many artists. Even the royal bard Eversong had a villa over there.

As Richard marched along the Flowering Plains, the imperial palace exploded once more. Casir, who hadn't lost in centuries, was soundly defeated in a battle against the human invaders. The Emperor ensured that the news would be suppressed as long as possible before gathering everyone to discuss things once more.

The prince in charge of the military was the first to speak up, “We have sent a total of 80,000 soldiers to confront Richard, but they were routed immediately. 20,000 are dead or maimed, and half of the rest will need to be blessed by the Moon Shrine to be able to return to the battlefield.”

Another Prince formed a projection of Richard's march, “He has two powerful legends at his side, and his army is extremely powerful. It will take great effort to defeat them.”

The druid spoke up, “We cannot let him return to the sea. His fleet still resides at Perillum, and they managed to destroy the third fleet without taking any losses. If he returns to his ships, he will be able to blockade us completely from the water.”

Several of the princes looked at each other, with one eventually speaking up, “A blockade... would not be too frightening. We do not need to communicate with Norland at all. Lithgalen contains all the resources we need.”

Most of the elves present nodded softly. Given their low fertility, their numbers had grown very slowly since they migrated. The population had tripled in the thousand years they had spent here, but that was still less than half of the peak. To them, the resources on Lithgalen were virtually inexhaustible, which was why they had made no attempt to trade with the other empires. In their eyes, such things as trade and planar war were meant for the lowly humans, orcs, and dwarves. They were above such greed, not needing to engage on paths of blood.

“If Richard blocks the sea, we can evacuate the coasts quite easily. A few empty cities will be nothing,” a prince chipped in.

“How can you say that?” the druid raged.

However, the Emperor closed his eyes and nodded, “That is a solution. Outside of our symbolic communication with the Millennial Empire, we do not communicate with the mongrels anyway. Richard will run out of supplies soon enough, and he will have to return.”

“But we still have two more fleets! Are we going to let the humans take control of our gates?”

“Many of our battleships come from the imperial age. If they end up like the third fleet... I fear we cannot make so many ships,” the Grand Shaman said slowly, every word stabbing into those present. When the elven empire had been destroyed, the elves had lost many things in the process of their flight. Amongst those losses were the blueprints and manufacturing process for the magic warships. In the centuries since, those of Lithgalen had never managed to engineer these ships once more. Without the divine magic of old, it was impossible for them to create the cores that drove these ships, and the replacements they came up with still only had two-thirds of the power. Every one of these flagships lost was one they would never have again.

After a long discussion, the council eventually concluded that if Richard blocked the sea, the first and second fleet would be transferred to the west coast. They would effectively hide their ships to avoid losses, hoping he wouldn't find them. It was a huge blow to their pride, but the motion passed.

However, this decision was not a decision at all. Before things even came to that point, they had to solve the original problem; how would they stop Richard's march?

“We have to fight!” the war prince shouted in frustration.

The druid nodded, “Think of ways to cut off Richard's army, and then hold down the two legends around him. I will work with His Majesty to take care of Richard.”

But how were they to stop that army of powerful elves? The council discussed this for a while, but the war prince eventually grunted with resolution, “Mobilise the entire frozen cavalry, I'll pick up my blade and lead them myself.”

The faces of the other elves immediately changed. They thought about things for a while before slowly starting to nod. Just like their magical warships, the frozen cavalry was a legacy of the elven empire. They were amongst the strongest land units, surpassing even the orc behemoths slightly and capable of going toe to toe with demonic legions. However, the technology behind them was another thing Lithgalen had lost, and having lost some of the armour sets in the past they only had 12,000 men left. This was the last pride of the elven empire, the one troop that allowed them to still assume they were superior to Norland and Klandor.

However, outside of this troop, the high elves realised that they didn't really have any cards to play. The combined army of the empire came out to about 300,000 strong, but 80,000 of them had been defeated halfway to the palace. Even if they somehow managed to gather all the scattered troops in time, they would all be destroyed in battle.

The Emperor finally nodded as well, “Alright, send out the frozen cavalry. Lyren, destroy these heathens!”

1387 - City of Sin

Frozen Cavalry

Richard spent a night in the Flower Trail before continuing the next day. His army was only fifty kilometres into the march when he had it slow down, turning to Greyhawk, “Looks like our elven friends still haven't given up.”

Low thuds rang out in the distance as a wave of silver rolled in from the horizon. Looking at them, Greyhawk's eyes narrowed, “Really. They've actually brought out the frozen cavalry.”

“Anything I need to know?”

“The knights and horses train as one, the mounts are a special breed that they call nightmares, which are similar to your magic horses, but the real core lies in their frost armour which allows them to blend with their warhorse and dramatically increases speed and defence. Think of them as something like your Savage Knights, but significantly weaker and focused on armour instead of runes.”

“These are supposed to be the most famous soldiers of the elven empire?”

“Well, yes, but they don't compare to real rune knights. Not anymore, at least.”

Richard nodded, assessing that the frozen knights were around level 15 on average. For there to be more than 10,000 such warriors really was impressive, and there were still 30,000 more regular soldiers right behind.

“Looks like they're certain of victory this time. And what about those two? Druid and emperor?”

Greyhawk looked into the distance in shock, “Yes, both epic beings... This is a little troublesome, but I might be able to help you contain the druid for a while.” Google search f𝙧𝒆𝚎𝘸e𝚋𝓷o𝘷𝚎𝒍. co𝑚

“Didn't you say the druid was the weakest of their epics?”

“Mm. It isn't easy to become an epic being as a druid, and this one is definitely the weakest of their epics. Casir is the second weakest, and the Emperor is a little stronger than that.”

“And the strongest?”

“It's said that their strongest epic went to explore the void more than a century ago, and this was the person closest to divine laws. But... Wait, why is Casir not here? He should still be able to battle.”

“I guess he isn't,” Richard chuckled, growing serious before he could be questioned, “You two, take care of the remaining princes. I'll take care of commanding the army.”

“What about the druid and Emperor?” Greyhawk frowned.

“Them too.”

The mage didn't refute. He had originally planned to drag the druid away and hope Richard took care of the Emperor quickly, but he was glad to not take on that risk.

Both sides continued their march, only stopping when they were a kilometre apart. The two epics glared from across the sky while the nightmares uneasily scratched the soil; the bloodlust here had materialised into pressure.

Richard flew a few hundred metres forward, still keeping within the range of the archers, and the elven Emperor did the same until they were a hundred metres apart, “How dare you invade Lithgalen? Withdraw immediately and compensate for the losses, and your sins can be forgiven!”

Richard smiled, “I came here to trade. That's still the plan, but I'm pretty sure the price will go down once I beat you up a little.”

The Emperor's brows wrinkled, “What do you want?”

“The route you took to enter Arbidis, and any relevant information about the journey.”

“Impossible!” the Emperor refuted.

“Sigh. It's not like you can mount an expedition again, why would you refuse?”

“The divine footprints are not for humans to see! The branches of the golden world trees as well, all of them are sacred objects of the high elves! That branch belongs to us. Leave it, compensate for our losses, and never return! This is your only way out.”

“Are you actually... Nevermind,” Richard shook his head. He had no response to this overbearing arrogance. Perhaps it would work when the elves ruled all of Norland, but coming from the mouth of a bunch of cowards it didn't even sound funny. He had hoped that there would be at least some sense in this conversation, but that quickly fizzled away, “Try me.”

The Emperor slowly retreated, prompting Lyren down below to put his helmet on. White fog shot out of the vents in his armour as he pulled out his longsword, “CHARGE!”

The frozen knights immediately spurred on their mounts, getting to full speed in only a few dozen metres as they rushed towards the night elf regiment. Their hooves thundered with terrifying force, as though they could level mountains with their might.

Richard's soldiers had been packed in a dense formation, and when the opponent started the charge the front row suddenly squatted to the ground. They immediately set up their thunder cannons, aiming at the incoming charge. The gears on the guns started spinning, but they held back from firing. 800 metres... 700 metres... 600 metres... 500 metres...

*BOOOOOOOOOM!* An ear-splitting explosion thundered through the battlefield, hundreds of shots fusing into one long crash as they unloaded full discs into the incoming opponents. Lyren shivered and parried a few of the incoming shots, but the prince's heart suddenly sank at the force he had to withstand. What would happen to his knights?

The screams of many elves answered that question shortly after. Lyren saw the knight to his right shake at the force of impact to his breastplate; the protective barrier had been activated, but it was shattered immediately by the great force. Although the armour wasn't pierced, the breastplate did have a huge crack in it and the man slumped with pain. His ribs had been broken completely.

It was like the knights had been hit by enormous hammers that sent them flying off their mounts. Those who were struck in the chest were the lucky ones; all shots to the head only resulted in sprays of blood and flesh. As the thunder cannons whirled around, the first and second row of knights were eliminated almost entirely.

“FORWARD!” Lyren screamed as he saw the gears come to a stop, no longer daring to look around him. However, the front line of night elves quickly walked back and allowed the next set forward. Guns already charged, another barrage quickly doubled the casualties. The prince almost went insane, just rushing forward and cutting down everything aimed at him, but the few hundred metres that he normally covered in moments seemed to be taking forever.

Large thorn vines suddenly popped out of the ground, quickly wrapping around the hooves of the nightmares. They weren't particularly powerful— most of the knights managed to push and break out with minimal injuries— but the charge was slowed enough for a third volley!

The power of the thunder cannons was far too great, and they just fired too fast. By the time the frozen knights were within a hundred metres of the night elves, the thick formation had been broken entirely, with many sections that were completely devoid of knights. Having suffered through five full volleys, the twelve thousand knights had been reduced to only two.

Lyren screamed as he charged into the night elves and cut four of them down, but four spears suddenly blocked his way and managed to bring him to a halt. The night elves that he had cut down jumped back up and away, leaking blood but not yet dead.

The prince watched in shock as green light covered these soldiers, bringing his attention to a few familiar figures in the rear. Jade shaman! Blood inquisitor! The former was considered the biggest supportive core of the ancient elven empire, while the latter was what high elves hated. Lyren had never even dreamed that two bitter opponents would fight side by side, but the effect was obvious. The level 17 night elves now possessed saint-level strength, which meant his knights were now fighting their number in saints!

Lyren suddenly screamed out loud, going completely insane as he cut apart his opponents in a frenzy, but the wounds on his body quickly increased in number. He was fierce like fire, but the night elves were cold as ice. No matter how many casualties they suffered, they attacked without the slightest drop in morale.

Richard's troops suffered significant casualties for the first time since they had stepped foot on Lithgalen, but in exchange one of the two mythical arms of the ancient elven empire was crumbling before their might.

1388 - City of Sin

Impeccable

Up in the sky, the battle of epics finally began. Three faces formed around Richard, shooting out destructive lights from the three different law systems that converged right behind the elven lines. The orbs of light combined into a dark grey that quickly shrank and dimmed, instantly bringing a look of horror upon the druid's face as he realised what it was.

A black hole!

Although it was a few hundred metres from the ground, the black hole would be completed in mere seconds. These things had no impact on epic beings, but there were tens of thousands of elven troops underneath! This was the essence of the entire empire; if this black hole formed, Lithgalen was done for!

This was the ultimate destructive ability. Even in the heyday of the elven empire, only two rulers had ever mastered it, and their mere presence had ensured that no other race had dared to harm them in their prime. The druid roared and steadied his shaking hands, sending a beam of green light towards the black hole to try and neutralise it.

However, as he poured his energy into the beam, the druid found that it was much harder than expected. This only meant one thing; Richard's laws were far beyond his own, needing much more of his own power to neutralise.

Of course, Richard didn't plan to let things be so easy. A rainbow tetrahedron suddenly covered the black hole with a wave of his hand, slowly rotating around it. The black hole's creation was slowed down to the point it would take three to five minutes to finish, but the druid was shocked to find that all of his attacks were blocked. He immediately understood that this was a ticking bomb; if he failed to get past the barrier in time, his troops would be dead.

And yet, even strengthening his light beam severalfold, the druid found that he couldn't do any damage at all. He started sweating as he realised that the laws of this tetrahedron were just as advanced as the black hole, which meant he would need enormous amounts of energy to break it with brute force. There were dozens of different laws here, forming their own miniature system. Even if he went all out, there was no guarantee that he would be able to break this in time. Unable to give up on his soldiers, he found himself trapped.

The Emperor discovered this problem as well, but he seemed entirely unafraid as he unsheathed a crystal sword and flew towards Richard. His body was shining with all sorts of divine artefacts and equipment, more than ten different kinds of laws protecting him! Not all of those laws came from himself, in fact he only knew a handful of them, but they still contributed to his total power in battle.

“You will pay for your crimes!” he shouted as he charged and slashed down.

For his part, Richard just parried him off with Moonlight while continuing to summon a few jade shamans and blood inquisitors. Only when the Book of Destruction was empty did he return it to his waist, focusing on the battle seriously.

This might have been a battle between two epic beings, but the total range they affected was very small. Those more than a hundred metres away couldn't even feel their auras. The elves were a race dedicated to the pursuit of elegance, and this held true for their epic beings as well. Their goal wasn't absolute power, but absolute control; they chose to focus all of their energy in extremely small regions, amplifying their abilities within.

Richard continued using his exquisite swordplay just like in the fight with Casir, blocking the Emperor's offensive and dismantling the laws supporting it. Seeing this, the Emperor sneered. There were a dozen different laws protecting him right now, and cracking even one was difficult. He couldn't help but laugh, “If you can crack my barriers, you've won!”

However, this laughter was quickly stopped halfway. Richard suddenly sent out a few strands of energy that wrapped around the first of the barriers, disassembling the laws that governed it!

This battle of epic beings didn't look all that special to spectators, less fierce even than the fight between the legends down below, but that was only because they were fighting on the field of laws instead of pure might.

The Emperor wasn't all that stronger than Prince Casir, but he'd still been confident in himself because of the divine artefacts passed down the royal line. Every piece of equipment on his body was a divine item from the old empire, his sword almost breaking that limit. Even if Norlanders were rich, he hadn't heard of a single human empire with equivalent equipment. He hadn't at all expected Richard to have the terrifying strength to tangle the druid with a black hole, but he had still been fairly confident in stalling until that problem was solved.

After all, how would a few minutes be a problem?

He couldn't have been more wrong. His frozen knights were falling down repeatedly, and there were already less than a thousand left in the field of death. Lyren was bathed in blood, struggling harder and harder with every enemy he killed. Even in the skies, where they held four-to-two advantage with the legends, his four princes were actually losing to Greyhawk and Waterflower!

Greyhawk was fighting like the standard legendary mage, constantly blinking around, strengthening his ally, cursing his opponents, and bombarding them with high-level magic. It was all textbook, but his casting speed and barrier penetration were just frightening. He routinely managed to slow some of the princes down by as much as 30%, giving Waterflower the chance to slash at them and retreat.

The mage couldn't seem more ordinary, barely dodging every attack, so three of the princes soon chose to focus on him first while leaving the other to keep Waterflower busy. This was an impeccable tactic, but implementing it posed a few small problems. The first was that Greyhawk just refused to make a mistake under the siege; no matter how close things got, he was never hit once. The lone prince left to fend off Waterflower eventually slipped, screaming in pain as her sword slashed into him.

The Shepherd of Eternal Rest no longer suited Waterflower's might, but the girl refused to give up on it. The sword wasn't even legendary, so it couldn't sustain the might of ember essence either. Richard could only resign himself to giving her two stacks of Lifesbane, bringing her killing power to barely acceptable levels.

That is, barely acceptable levels in his eyes. The wounded prince watched in horror as the slash on his leg erupted, cutting deep into the bone until it was almost torn off! Waterflower was freed up as he retreated, which meant the three others no longer had a chance to trap Greyhawk. The battle situation quickly devolved, with the woman cutting into the elves every chance she got. Things would still be reversed instantly if Greyhawk made a single mistake, but that situation seemed to be a distant possibility compared to the death of the four princes.𝙛𝘳𝐞𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝗻𝘰ѵ𝗲𝙡. 𝑐o𝓶

1389 - City of Sin

Lyren's Death

On another side of the battlefield, the Grand Shaman of the Moon Shrine led a dozen others into the battlefield. He had been observing the battlefield all this time, looking for the right moment to enter combat, but the frozen cavalry had been routed far too quickly with no room for his subordinates to interfere. He realised in only a minute that Greyhawk wasn't as ordinary as he appeared on the surface, possessing strength close to the epic realm that would allow him to tie down the four princes on his own; with the legendary assassin added on top, the princes would soon be doomed.

However, neither of these things were the biggest danger on the battlefield. The Grand Shaman quickly steeled his will, focusing his energy on the druid to help overpower the tetrahedron and neutralise the black hole.

Seeing that the Moon Shrine was finally involving itself, Richard just glanced at the Emperor and smiled. The elf suddenly felt an unknown sense of terror, his movements coming to a grinding halt as he saw the three faces appear around Richard once more. They started chanting long verses in divine tongue, sending out millions of streams of laws towards the Emperor. The laws protecting him immediately cracked apart, a gentle barrage of power ripping the cracks wide open. No matter how he tried to control the laws around him or activate his equipment, the Emperor was suddenly stripped down to nothing.

An epic being without the protection of laws was like a sheep out of its flock, and the wolf was currently staring right at that sheep. The Emperor squealed and drew back immediately, knowing that he couldn't afford to keep fighting for now. Even if he could recover and return to combat, that would take a while.

Seeing his opponent fly away, Richard couldn't help but shake his head. He was someone who had defeated the most technically skill combatant of Norland, and he wouldn't miss easy opportunities like this one. A barrage of blue fireballs shot forth from his fingertips, hundreds upon hundreds surrounding the Emperor. The elf managed to block or dodge most of them, but two still struck his calf and pierced into his body. The Emperor immediately paled, dropping from the sky and fleeing to safety.

The Grand Shaman of the Moon Shrine quickly greeted the Emperor, the green moon appearing atop his head as he started to heal the Emperor. Richard could have stopped this, but he didn't give chase and instead looked at the four princes who were still in battle with Greyhawk and Waterflower. The one who caught his attention froze in fear, giving Waterflower the chance to leave a huge gash in his back.

Only at this point did the druid finally neutralise Richard's black hole. He exchanged glances with the Emperor, receiving the buffs from the Grand Shaman and planning to engage once more, but all three of them suddenly felt such great danger that their very souls shuddered in pain. The Emperor's gaze fell on Richard's hand, focused on a blood-red glow. Just looking at that glow left him feeling like his eyes had been stabbed, tears quickly blurring his vision.

“What... is that?” he asked in shock, his expression mirrored by the druid and Grand Shaman.

Richard had finally activated Lifesbane, its crimson glow covering Moonlight as well. He had only activated ten layers, but its power was still beyond the imagination of these elves. Even though the rune itself was only grade 3, it had been stacked to the point that only someone like Sharon could bear it outside of himself. If he activated all 36 layers, it would be no different from a true grade 6 rune.

The activation of Lifesbane made one thing clear. If the battle started once more, a single strike from Richard would leave the Emperor gravely injured. A few more would mean death, regardless of the divine items around to suppress the damage. As for the druid, he would die in one blow. High elves were stronger than regular elves, but their bodies still didn't possess the resilience of other powerhouses; even orcs wouldn't be able to match the 36-stack Lifesbane, forget them.

The Emperor and druid stared at Richard's bloody hand with hesitation, the fear starting to show on their faces. They couldn't rush forward, but they couldn't retreat either. If they were gone, Richard would be free to decimate everyone else.

It was amidst this tense atmosphere that the battle on the ground reached its end. The last of the frozen knights fell from his mount, leaving only Lyren himself continuing the fight. The prince was seriously injured, but he continued to cut down his enemies even if he was the last one standing.

However, the formation of the night elves suddenly changed. The innermost circle of elves stuck close to Lyren and held him down, while the rest formed a perimeter around him and loaded their thunder cannons. The prince immediately felt extreme danger and tried to run back, knowing that his enemy didn't care about allies, but just as he tried to dodge Greyhawk managed to spare the time to cast half a dozen curses that halved his speed. The signature explosions rang out as a full round of bullets were focused on the one elf, covering him in explosions and smashing his mount to pulp.

He was rocked around like a boat in a storm, blood constantly seeping out of his body as his energy barrier and armour shattered in quick succession. Richard's eyebrows arched up in praise as he remained standing after the second-long volley, metal covering his entire body, but as he grunted and took a step forward his knees went soft. The elf roared and stabbed his sword into the earth, but his arms immediately lost the last of their energy and his body crumpled. There wasn't much blood flowing out from underneath him, but that was only because he had been drained in the battle prior.

Lyren's fall stunned the tens of thousands of soldiers that still hadn't been deployed. He was an invincible general in their hearts, a god of the battlefield whose prestige was no weaker than the four epics. He had never been defeated before; today was his first failure, and it would also be his last.

The body of the elven prince quietly lay on the ground, only his sword standing tall. The Emperor and druid glanced at each other and slowly retreated, the elven army doing the same. Richard didn't order a chase, having the remaining night elves clean the battlefield while he floated in the sky in confusion.

Were any gods of Norland to look this way, they could see countless souls floating up from the dead bodies, absorbed by a tetrahedron inside Richard. Countless faces flashed across each wall of that object as it floated in the sky. When the blazing light of Lyren's soul was pulled in, Richard actually sank ever so slightly before stabilising.
𝑓𝙧𝚎𝑒𝔀𝙚𝑏𝑛𝑜vel. c૦m

The night elves were very efficient, cleaning up the battlefield in the blink of an eye. The bodies of the frost knights were lined up together; once Richard's army left, the elves would be able to take them away.

Once done absorbing the souls, Richard floated down to the ground, “Next stop.”

“Won't the elves be willing to talk now?” Greyhawk asked.

“No,” he shook his head.

1390 - City of Sin

The Whitepeak Treaty

Richard didn't take his unicorn this time, instead walking on the ground. However, he had only taken a few steps forward when his foot suddenly sank down, leaving a shallow footprint on the ground.

Greyhawk stared at this footprint, deep in thought. Epic beings almost always had absolute control over their power, not leaving footprints even if they were carrying mountains. This was clearly a loss of control.

Richard didn't look back, but he seemed to notice the mage's expression, “It's nothing, things just got a little heavier.”

Greyhawk didn't know that every use of Issa added greatly to the weight of Richard's soul. This time, he had added 12,000 frost knights and Prince Lyren in one go, it was inevitable for him to feel off balance.

The thunder cannons Richard brought out this time had been improved with reaper technology, using their propulsive bullets to achieve an enormous 500-metre range while still maintaining terrifying destructive ability. This was effectively bringing reaper technology to a fight in Norland, which quickly decimated the elven troops. Any hints of their former glory had soundly been destroyed at this moment.

While the entire scenario was tragic, it was also a necessity if the elves wished to ever return to the limelight. They had been indulging in their own fantasies for a thousand years, and Richard had finally stomped them out of that dream.

This new thunder cannon wasn't without its drawbacks. Its recoil was too high and ammunition too expensive, but Richard had decided that it would be better to respect the top-end power of the elves. Without any way right now to replicate the propulsive metal, any bullets used could never be recovered. However, the regular bullets with a 150-metre range would certainly not have been enough to soundly wipe out the frozen cavalry.

As he expected, the elven empire continued to refuse to discuss the trade. Pragmatic people like Greyhawk would have given in by now, knowing that the value of a golden world tree branch was far above some ancient records, especially to a civilisation that no longer had the power to go anywhere close to the depths of the Abyss, but these elves still had their pride.

Having been closed off for nearly a thousand years, the high elves of Lithgalen had just spent too much time in comfort. Having fought three of their epic beings, he knew that not one of those three were truly worthy of that title. They were each far weaker than human counterparts at the same level, especially the Emperor who was actually level 29. Apeiron, one level lower than him, would be able to kill him in an hour if he didn't escape. The druid and High Prince Casir wouldn't take half the time.

In Norland, humans were constantly at war. Amongst themselves, against the three other major empires, against the Daxdians at the Land of Dusk... they spent all of their growth period in combat. Anyone who could enter the epic realm amidst the constant bloodshed truly had the power to back their level. Even the Celestial Sage, someone widely considered weak for an epic being, was no different. This held true in Klandor as well; Asa would be able to defeat any of these three ten times out of ten.

Lithgalen truly was far weaker than Richard had expected. Even recovering from the various wars as they were, the Archeron Family would be able to conquer the entire continent if they so wished. Fortunately for the elves, he wasn't at all interested in new land and just cared about getting to Arbidis.

Since the other side still didn't want to speak, Richard continued his march. Three days later, he destroyed the last of Lithgalen's military. A full 50,000 warriors died in battle, 20,000 were captured, and a scant few thousand managed to escape. This time, he didn't rein in his power and attacked the three epic beings of the other side with full force. The already-wounded Casir decided to join this battle, and he was killed in the melee. The druid was seriously wounded as well, with only the Emperor managing to escape with light injuries.

This campaign shook all of Lithgalen. Only a day after defeating the Emperor, Richard was at the royal palace and had captured the imperial world tree. The fleeing Emperor finally sent a messenger to express willingness to negotiate, but the stakes this time were completely different from what they had first been.

The negotiator had clearly received near blanket authority to ensure peace, paying Richard an enormous sum for the cause. The northeastern section of Lithgalen was handed over to his control, alongside the resources from three private planes. Richard found himself surprised at the ease of negotiations, starting to suspect whether he was even dealing with the high elves any longer.

An armistice was reached quickly. Although the Emperor himself wasn't present, the treaty was signed under the imperial world tree and attached to its leaves. The guardian of the entire continent was a more powerful guarantor than the Emperor himself.

This treaty would soon come to be called the Whitepeak Treaty, becoming one of the most impactful agreements in the history of Norland. It would cement the fall of the ancient elven empire, removing its glory forever from the public mind. When Richard and the druid signed their names on the leaf, elvish superiority had been crushed.

Richard sighed once everything was over. He had only ever seen two silvermoon elves in his life, his mother Elena and aunt Tzu, but both of them had very similar personalities and determination. He had no doubt that, even if they were met with the same situation, they would rather die than sign such an agreement. However, at the same time he knew that such scenarios would never arise with them at the helm. The two women were prideful in their own ways, but neither was arrogant or conceited.

Richard had once been willing to take out something as great as a branch of the budding golden world tree in exchange for the abyssal records. This was in no way an equal exchange, but he had planned to show some goodwill to his mother's cousins. He certainly hadn't expected a smooth affair, but he also hadn't expected things to get to this point. Whatever it may be, he had effectively subjugated the last bastion of elvenkind.

This trip ended up being a huge harvest. Amongst what he received were more than a dozen precious materials from the old empire, some of which even met the standards to be used as cores in grade 6 runes. He also got a few world tree seeds, alongside a basket of leaves from the imperial world tree. Although they weren't nearly as effective as the branch, the broodmother's clone in the Forest Plane could greatly enhance her analysis of the world trees and trees of life. If things worked out, she would even be able to create more units than before.

......

The fleet quickly embarked on its return trip to Norland. Richard spent his time in his cabin, reading through two silver pages that recorded the path the ancient elves had taken to arrive at Arbidis. His assessment of their value had changed the moment he laid eyes upon these pages, helping him understand just why the elves had refused to the supposedly profitable exchange.

The elven empire had explored the abyss at great cost, finally finding a path to Arbidis and confirming its coordinates. They mobilised the entire country to create a rainbow bridge, breaking through numerous obstacles to directly enter its depths. However, it was easier said than done to tear into the space at the depths of one of the strongest planes in all of existence; even finding a passage to the alter world, they had lost the first extradivine artefact in the history of Norland.

Richard didn't have the ability to build a portal that would take him all the way, but even if he could that wasn't the best choice. With two broodmothers supporting him, it was a much better choice to conquer his way through the abyss. The silver pages recorded the stories of those who had first opened up the path, of the pinnacle of the elven empire. They were proof of the ancient empire's superiority, indestructible vessels for elven glory. They were a window into the mysterious divine era of the elven empire, which hadn't been deciphered to this day even by gods.

In the end, he had to accept that the true value of his branch was far below that of these two pages. However, that didn't matter to the elven empire; two pages they couldn't hope to decipher were worthless when compared to a branch that could help their imperial world tree transform into a sky tree. Once that happened, all high elves would experience a growth in power. They had originally hoped to rob him of the branch, but having failed to do that the Emperor finally came to face reality and bowed.

1391 - City of Sin

Mother

The current elven Emperor believed that the real reason for their decline was the loss of their world trees. They'd originally had five golden world trees in Norland, but now the one they did wasn't even perfect. For this sake, he had given away far too much in an armistice agreement that tore apart the last of his race's pride. Only the silvermoon elves of Lithgalen weren't particularly distressed by this; to them, this wasn't the first time they had fled.
𝘧𝑟𝙚eｗ𝑒𝒃n𝒐𝘷𝑒𝚕. c૦𝙢

However, Richard stroked the two silver pages emotionally. He knew clearly that the decline of the high elves had nothing to do with their world trees; they had just refused to allow themselves to grow. Taking advantage of their once-invincible navy, they had locked themselves away from the world and whiled their time away in conceit. They only ever talked about their tens of millennia of history, never understanding that the past was gone. Now, even the duergar were better at shipbuilding than them, and Richard hadn't even needed to use the ultimate weapon of his seven warships to decimate an entire fleet. He had been looking forward to the Song of the Rainbow, but he hadn't gotten the chance.

Thousands of years ago, all the lesser races of Norland had joined forces and taken advantage of a moment of weakness to eliminate the elven empire, driving them out of Norland. Now, any of the three human empires were fully capable of conquering Lithgalen on their own. Before he set foot on the continent, Richard had never expected to see such a weak epic being in his life; the Emperor did have the level, but he didn't even have the combat experience of a legend.

As for the two silver pages that the elves couldn't figure out, he had understood them at first glance. He still felt a little emotionally charged about it, but enough time had passed for him to work up the determination to put these pages to use. Pulling out the Book of Destruction, he placed the two pages atop it and watched as they were absorbed within. The tome was covered in light as it changed once more, becoming less ornate with an extra tetrahedron painted on the cover.

With the addition of these two pages, the Book of Destruction was close to perfection. There were now effectively infinite pages; every time he took control of a new law, he could form more pages. The upper limit of the creatures it could summon had also increased to level 20, making them just shy of legendary.

A simple thought of the laws he controlled opened it automatically, and as he focused on the laws of life the pages flipped to a shrine to the third moon, overshadowed by a tree of life. Richard watched speechlessly as he realised what this was— a summoning of the third moon that focused on healing. This was effectively equivalent to a level 20 healing shaman, but working on dozens upon dozens of people at a time and boosted in power by the tree of life. This combination could basically ensure immortality for a thousand people on the battlefield. The laws of nature continued to form a jade shaman as well, but this one was only level 19. He still hadn't gone far enough in this more general law.

Richard poured the various laws he had comprehended into the book, flipping through page after page until there were dozens of various beings he could summon at will. The only law he couldn't condense into this was that which governed the reaper, while there were no changes to the tetrahedron condensed by the power of Dismazon. However, this time Richard realised that the three lower vertices of the figure represented order, chaos, and neutrality. This left him curious about the top vertex, but he had no clue.

It was almost impossible to express just how satisfied he was with the Book of Destruction. With it on him, he was like a powerhouse who could call hundreds of saints to his side at any time. In the future, he could abuse numerical advantages just like Sharon.

Done with the pages, Richard then picked up the sword that had been placed next to them. This was Moonlight, but much more powerful than before. He had wanted to take a few branches of the imperial world tree for himself and the broodmother to analyse, but in exchange for him abstaining from that the tree had taken the initiative to strengthen the blade further. From one of the premier divine weapons of the elven empire to an indestructible yet otherwise unremarkable sword, it had finally climbed back into the ranks of one of the best divine weapons in existence. The blade had now become a darker green, distorting space around it. It had gained a new property as well, the ability to chase after opponents even through the void. It could phase shift even when its user remained in the base plane.

This was an extremely powerful ability. Had Richard possessed it during his battle with Apeiron, she wouldn't have lasted for any length of time. He would have surprised her during her first void jump, perhaps even grievously wounding her in one go. Moonlight was now truly equal to his other two swords once more, not used purely for nostalgia.

Setting the sword into its sheath, Richard walked out of the cabin and on deck. On the horizon was a large island, and as it approached several high elves joined him in staring at it. One elegant woman walked over to him and bowed deeply, “Our destination has arrived, Your Excellency.”

Richard smiled, turning away from the huge island that was more than 100,000 square kilometres in area. Those who had accompanied here were silvermoon elves, consisting of almost every survivor of Gaton's attack on Evernight Forest. These elves were the friends and kin of his mother and aunt, which made them his family as well. The large island had once been under Lithgalen's control, but it had fallen into his hands once the Empire surrendered.

He had a night elf drone bring a box over, handing it to the woman, “Aunt Niya, this is the seed of a golden world tree. I hope you can use this island as the base of the new Silvermoon, returning to prosperity in a hundred years.”

Niya's hands trembled as she took the box, knowing fully well that this was the future of her entire race. Things hadn't been good for them ever since they fled to Lithgalen. The starpath, windwalker, and nightwind elves held sole control of the empire, excluding them from any political decisions. Those who had fled to Lithgalen long ago actually looked down on the ones who had stayed, leaving the silvermoon elves without a place.

This was why Tzu had ended up exploring other planes, both to find a new home for her kin and also to keep the seed of the golden world tree in her hands. If she hadn't taken it away, the Emperor would have managed to take control of it. Without a world tree, the tribe would be without hope.

Fate had its cruel twists and turns. Once it played its hand, Richard had ended up planting the Golden World Tree in the Forest Plane, and had received another seed after defeating Lithgalen. Having learnt of his other family's plight during his short stay, he had decided to help them.

All the silvermoon elves in Lithgalen had combined to form a few tens of thousands, which was just enough for them to live. With the growth of the golden world tree in the future, they could even increase the size of the island if necessary. As the current chieftain of the tribe, Niya saw no downsides to Richard's offer and accepted it immediately.

As the fleet slowly entered port, the elven empire's warriors had already lined up to board another ship that had tagged along to evacuate them. This transport ship looked like a twig compared to the Seven Moons, and even as they boarded the high elves watched Richard's drones in awe and fear. Richard had just destroyed the Empire all the way from the sea to the royal palace, completely shattering their pride.

As the night elves established a defensive line at the port, the silvermoon elves descended from the giant ship and set up camp. On the bridge of the Blue Moon, Richard and Niya watched them heading to their new home side by side. They could sense the nervousness and excitement in the air.

Niya sighed, “Elena truly had a great son. It seems like my prejudice against humans was misplaced.”

Richard smiled, “There are a lot of elves, and even more humans. With our numbers, there is no longer a point in generalising. A person's greatness is rarely dependent purely on their race; even the elven empire regressed into such a pitiful state after closing itself off so long.”

She nodded, “If you have the time, come and see us in the future. You are of our blood.”

“I will,” Richard nodded

1392 - City of Sin

Sleeping Nyris

Richard and Niya talked for a while longer, but the chieftain eventually left to lead her tribe. As he watched her talking to her subordinates and setting things up, he sighed and sent the order for the ships to set sail.

500 night elves walked over to the camp that was being set up, the elite warrior heading them bowing to Niya, “Your Excellency, we have been stationed under your command for the next five years. You may use us how you see fit.”

At the same time, a long horn sounded as Richard's fleet departed in Norland's direction. Niya stared at the seven ships with a complicated gaze; she knew that the night elves were stationed here to protect them from any retaliation from the Empire. These soldiers represented Richard himself; with the entirety of Lithgalen having been beaten back once, they wouldn't dare provoke another visit. Five years would be enough for the seed to grow into a small tree, exerting its power over the region. Under its protection, they would be able to guard against most attacks.

On the bridge of the Blue Moon, Richard stared at the now-distant island and felt a sense of calmness in his heart. He had finally fulfilled his commitment to Tzu, fulfilling an unsaid promise to his mother as well. He then chuckled at the irony of it all; Gaton Archeron had destroyed Evernight Forest, and the man's son had just set it on the path to resurrection far away.

Unlike the rest of Lithgalen, the silvermoon elves already had a strong basis for the rebuilding of their tribe. They were amongst the highest elven bloodlines in the past, so they wouldn't lack talented youths. Their experiences living on Norland had also given them a hunger that the rest of the elves lacked; they knew the power of the outside world, and they would do their best to prepare for it.

In fact, he wouldn't even have left the night elves behind were he not heading into the abyss. However, he just didn't know if he would be able to return from this journey, so he wanted to be sure just in case.

The fleet gradually sped up, going even faster than when they had first headed to Lithgalen. All seven ships zipped past the ocean at a blistering 150 kilometres every hour, but stabilising magic ensured that it felt like they were actually flying above the surface. In his lab on the Blue Moon, Richard barely felt any movements.

He used the long journey to his advantage. Outside of Lifesbane, which had been redone only recently, he examined and re-engineered every single rune on his body. By the time Norland was on the horizon, every single rune on him was grade 5. This made Disintegrator the first true grade 5 rune set of Norland, the only one designed by a native!

......

Even back in Norland, Richard was faced with an enormous task. He couldn't go into the abyss alone, but he also didn't have the political clout of Charles the Great to just recruit millions upon millions of soldiers. If for nothing else than to give him a break from fighting the endless demons, he needed a large army of drones to let him recover from time to time.

The enormous war machine of the Archerons started roaring again, leaving every major power in Norland cowering in fright. However, what everyone didn't know was that all of Richard's night elves were currently being sent back to the Forest Plane, modified and specialised for fights in the abyss.

When he returned to Faust, his desk was full of documents and requests for meetings, but this time he didn't deal with these things on his own. He divided everything amongst his followers and family, emptying the desk completely. Slightly uncomfortable at the sight of the bare wood, he activated a map of his planes and switched through them all to ensure that nothing was unusual.

A short while later, he called Alice into the study and pushed three golden crystals into her hands, “These are three resource planes, take some troops and go capture them as quickly as possible. Yes, they're different from normal ones; these are top-tier planes of the elven empire. Be careful, they're all hurting after what I did to them, and I can't guarantee they won't try something in secret.”

“Wait... Did you say the elven empire?” Alice asked in rare shock. Unlike humans who spread out, the elves were famous for thoroughly controlling a small number of powerful planes. They held absolute control over the locals in each location, forcing them into endless labour to feed a perfect resource-generating machine. Anyone with these planes would make money doing basically nothing.

The income from any one of these resource planes was more than 100 million gold a year, more than double what Richard made even from Faelor. Of course, the Dragon Plane had higher overall potential and Goldflow Valley would get to such a point as well, but even with the point buy system the Archerons couldn't ignore this huge influx of resources. This was enough money to support 300,000 elites— each a fully-equipped level 12 soldier. This was enough to lay waste to an entire empire!

Richard himself was more concerned with a dozen rare resources produced in these three planes. Three were rare metals that the Archerons had never had access to before, and which would give their blacksmiths a dozen more options when it came to equipment.

As Alice took the crystals and walked away, he made some calculations and frowned. His transport lines were already bottlenecked by the width and cost of the planar channels, and the addition of three new planes would increase the tension. Most of the resources on these three planes were extremely useful, from things as simple as high-quality iron ore and a special metal used for bows and arrowheads, but they were all enormous in quantity. Even if most of the initial processing was taken care of within the planes themselves, they would still need to transport thousands of tonnes of materials to the outside. The astral chrysalis was the best way to solve this problem, but it was a special unit from the broodmother and couldn't be remade so easily.

Richard hesitated for a while, but it was a difficult decision to make. He eventually gave up on making it for now, taking a bunch of resources from the elven empire as well as the leaves from the world tree and setting off for the Forest Plane.

“Where's Nyris?” he asked as he walked out of the portal.

The mage who was on the other side bowed, “Her Highness is not at the base, she is currently sleeping in the Golden World Tree.”

Richard nodded with amazement, sending a few saint guards to deliver items to the broodmother.

There were currently two special areas in the Forest Plane. One was a section of deep purple that was hundreds of kilometres in diameter, while the other was a bright and vibrant jungle that was just as big if not bigger. The trees in the latter were clearly different from the rest of the Forest Plane, and at the centre of them all was the Golden World Tree that was nearly a kilometre tall. The canopy alone was several kilometres from end to end, raining down sunshine from an unknown location.

The warm sunlight sprinkled in all directions from the branches of the Golden World Tree, turning everything nearby into a sunny and vibrant world. The forest here was lively and agile, possessing joy that was completely different from the oppression of the rest of the plane. Richard couldn't help but shudder when he entered the zone, stretching with joy, “See? This is a real forest.”

Before, he had thought the forest in this plane was very uncomfortable to live in. Now, with this special zone as contrast, it felt downright depressing. The creatures growing up naturally in this plane were distorted by the moist vitality, with the forest elves being the prime example.

A lively and joyful conscient connected to him the moment he entered the zone, the soul of the Golden World Tree. However, it was still a small sapling. Compared to the mountainous tetrahedron that was Richard's own soul, this was tiny. Still, it didn't seem intimidated in the slightest as it danced around him, boasting to him about its achievements.

While Richard was gone, the Golden World Tree had gone to battle with the local world tree of this forest and won over three trees of life. The other side had now retreated from battle entirely, the elves and their treants hiding away in fear of the combined forces of Nyris and the broodmother. The night elves were just far too strong to defeat, and could also resist the will of the forest to a great degree. Were the enemy position revealed again, it would spell death.

However big the Forest Plane was, it still had borders. The world tree could hide for a while, but it would eventually be found. Once it became a true adult, the Golden World Tree would have enough power to scan the entire forest, forcing the other side to surrender and downgrade to a tree of life, or be outright destroyed.

The growth of the Golden World Tree was slow, taking hundreds of years, but it also grew astonishingly powerful. Even now, it could already control millions of square kilometres of forest around it, and that range was growing by the day.

Asking where Nyris was, Richard found out that she was currently lying in a special treehouse at the top of the Golden World Tree. It was similar to a pod of sorts, containing a pool of spirit liquid that the naked princess was drenched in. She was deep asleep, only waking up for one day a year unless something big happened.

1393 - City of Sin

Goodbye Visits

Nyris's ability continued to grow even as she slept in her treehouse, her youth being preserved as well, but the most important part was that this helped her endure her lonely life. Richard sighed as he understood just why she did such a thing to herself, but he simply couldn't bring himself to think of her as a lover.

Hoping that her rest would be good for her, he carried the eager conscient of the Golden World Tree with him as he flew towards the broodmother nearby. The clone's body was now even larger than the original, and she had even made it all the way to level 11. Her larval forest had started to assimilate with the systems of the Golden World Tree, the latter extracting origin energy and crystallising it into divinity for her to use in her rapid growth. This unique ability was the primary source of divinity for high elves.

However, things weren't all rosy either. Perhaps because she was only a clone, this broodmother that was already a startling three kilometres long hadn't yet been able to awaken her own truename, and didn't have the capacity to create more special units. She used all of her evolutionary boosts to strengthen her night elf drones.

“This is for you,” Richard landed in front of her and handed over a basket of leaves from Lithgalen.

After a moment of examination, the clone yelped in elation, “Leaves from a world tree. Where did you get them? They feel like they're millennia old.”

“I picked them from the Golden World Tree in Lithgalen. I can get a few more baskets if this isn't enough,” he laughed.

“No, this is more than enough!” her ten-metre-long pincers picked up the leaves with caution, placing it into her mouthpiece as she delicately nibbled on them. The clone could already swallow most dragons with her size, but she still took a dozen minutes to go through the leaves.

Richard wasn't surprised by this, calmly looking around at the clone's larval forest while he waited. Every golden world tree was unique, and these leaves would allow the clone's analysis of world trees to advance significantly. She would move on to needing branches, stems, and sprouts soon enough— which he didn't have the luxury to provide— but any analysis would be useful.

In the larval forest were a dozen worm nests of different sizes, with the smallest still having over a hundred sectors with dozens of night elves sleeping within. Tendrils were buried into each of the drones and were pumping fluids into them, but despite occasional seizures there was no resistance.

A troop of 500 night elves had just walked over to one of the worm nests and were in the process of taking off their armour. Placing all the equipment in a neat pile at the side, they crawled into their pods and allowed a translucent membrane to surround them, nutrients starting to soak into the isolated space. The same tendrils elsewhere slowly entered the pods and pierced into their bodies, starting to transform them.

The drones walking out of these worm nests were clearly larger in stature than the ones that had walked in, their bodies evidently more muscular with dark red inscriptions on their bodies that provided an increased resistance to abyssal heat. These redesigns would be accompanying Richard on his expedition into the abyss; despite his power, Richard simply didn't have the means to last through the billions of demons in each layer.

Richard was very satisfied with the final output. While he still didn't fully agree with the clone's decision to focus solely on combat drones with no effort placed on defence, she had managed to make a powerful troop that was by far the strongest in his repertoire. The main body was now far more focused on special units like wasps, messengers, and flesh furnaces.

By the time he'd finished a round, the clone had only consumed three of the leaves. However, these leaves had pushed her analysis of golden world trees up by a full 10%! While he estimated she would only get to something around 35% by the end due to the diminishing returns, that was still an ample amount considering that a complete analysis would allow her to create her own golden world tree.

The clone suddenly slowed her eating as he approached, sending him a question through their link, “Master, I'm starting to unlock the blueprint for a special unit. I'm not certain what it will do yet, but its price is very high. I will need at least a thousand units of divinity, can I make it?”

Richard paused for a moment at the number she put forward. Divinity was the scarcest resource in his treasury, and a thousand units was equivalent to a full truegod. And that was certainly only a part of the cost; such a heavy unit would likely need an enormous amount of energy from the broodmother and Golden World Tree as well. He couldn't even really tell her to wait; with only 35% analysis, she certainly wouldn't be able to predict the result of forming a special unit without trying.

However, something that required that much energy had to be powerful. Pondering for a moment, he decided that it was worth the risk, “Alright, I'll have someone send things over. How much time will you take?”

“About a week; it should be completed prior to your expedition.”

“Hmm... Okay, I'll be back in fifteen days then. Get my army ready,” he nodded and turned to leave.

......

The Forest Plane had advanced greatly in recent years, with a whole cluster of towns having sprung up around Emerald City. These towns were occupied by previous inhabitants of Faelor who had retreated here during the war against the reapers, and were now unable to leave due to the devastation the plane had suffered in the various battles. While the wooden huts couldn't compare to the buildings of the Crimson Empire, they were still homes.

A few years had passed during Richard's trip to Lithgalen, and the humans had grown accustomed to the climate of the damp forest. Simple businesses had sprung up, mostly focused around woodcutting and herb farming. The plane was exceptionally fertile, with a total of six harvest seasons standing at one more than even Faelor itself. Firewood kept people warm at night, and the excess stonewood had been used to build up facilities to refine metals. Most of the metal had to be imported from elsewhere, but that was perfectly fine; at this point, any single plane was but one cog in the enormous Archeron machine.

Richard used the Bridge to teleport into Faelor, using a wormhole to then arrive at the Land of Turmoil. The broodmother was still sprawled across the centre, a faint glow occasionally lighting up her vicinity. Her body was now a kilometre and a half in length alone, and she had successfully made it to level 13 and was en route to level 14 with speed. Five deities had perished to the reapers, and their bodies had become divinity stores for her advancement.

He landed on her body and knocked against the armour, the impact clanging out like the shell was now made of metal. Her internal construction was now quite similar to the reaper warships, with several times the normal thickness of the epic-grade armour surrounding her. She was effectively a metal fortress now, capable of crushing enemy constructions with her weight alone.

Strangely, the broodmother didn't respond to his arrival, remaining sprawled across the ground with searing gas shooting out from her spiracles. Richard examined their connection to find that she seemed to have devoted herself entirely to analysing the laws of the reapers, being so occupied that she hadn't even noticed him. However, he simply smiled and took the skies, flying a few kilometres away to arrive at a strange lake whose steamy surface was glossy as a mirror. Life force was bursting out of the liquid here, and as he looked in he was surprised to find an enormous brain beneath the surface that was hundreds of metres in diameter. The brain was constantly wiggling about, clearly working on something as well.

Drawing on his connection once more, Richard quickly found out that the broodmother had recently constructed an enormous thought centre to assist her in analysing the reaper laws. She had given up on increasing her own capacity to think, instead now distributing tasks to entities outside her body that could then send their results back to her.

He scanned through and saw a large number of worker drones busying themselves in the Land of Turmoil, with at least a dozen enormous tunnels having begun to take shape. These large thought centres would thus be distributed all over, possessing analytical abilities almost rivalling his own. Once the network was completely set up, he estimated that the broodmother would be equivalent to him with a grade 10 blessing of wisdom, which would allow her to analyse the foundational laws of most secondary planes in under a year. Please visit 𝗳re𝐞𝓌e𝚋n૦ѵ𝗲l. co𝐦

1394 - City of Sin

Countless Futures

Richard called out to the broodmother twice, but she gave no reply. Instead, he saw a small silhouette rushing over from the distance at high speed. Mountainsea jumped straight into him, putting so much strength into a hug that even his bones creaked. He had spent less than half a year on his expedition to Lithgalen, but that translated to half a decade in Faelor. Having not seen him in years, the barbarian girl started sniffing him all over, enjoying his presence to the fullest.

He hugged her gently, caressing her head as he enjoyed her own faint aroma. It was only a few minutes later that he sighed softly and asked, “When will you get to level 14?”

This would have been a strange question. Mountainsea had been involved in the final battle against the reapers, where she had shown level 22 energy with the ability of someone not below level 25. Speed, toughness, strength, martial arts... she had it all from her inheritance. However, now she was being asked when she would get to level 14, and the girl's body went rigid as she buried her face deep into Richard's chest.
ƒ𝓇ℯ𝑒𝒘𝐞𝚋𝓃𝚘𝚟e𝚕. 𝒄𝗼𝐦

It took a long while for the barbarian to relax and pull back, gritting her teeth as she asked, “When did you find out?”

“Forever ago. You refused to leave Faelor, and your mother and father didn't even ask. The broodmother is also connected to me by soul, you know, and you randomly appeared in my network right before that final battle. It didn't take much of an inspection to find out.”

The outed broodmother sighed, “If not for my bloodline, there would have been no way to break the reapers' hold on our soul. My only thought was that you couldn't go on without us.”

Richard sighed again, caressing the girl's braids, “I don't care how many battles we win or lose, it's all meaningless. As long as we're all still alive, there's still hope.”

An unadulterated look of joy spread across Mountainsea's face, “Aren't we all alive then?”

Looking at the innocent smile that was trademark of Klandor's Princess, Richard didn't know what to say. She wasn't wrong, and clearly at least some personality had remained after their special fusion as well. Perhaps that was enough.

“What are your plans?” Richard asked.

Mountainsea deftly pulled on their soul connection, pointing out the numerous tunnels currently under construction, “Build a number of thought centres and focus them on law analysis. The end goal is to fuse the laws of the Beast God with the laws of the reapers, and see if that can lead to a new batch of drones. I already have an experimental set for you to take to the abyss; they might be helpful there.”

Richard nodded, suddenly wrapping his arms around Mountainsea and soaring up into the sky. He flew until he was thousands of metres up above, giving him a field of view that encompassed almost all of Faelor. As he connected to the flying scouts scattered all across the plane, he truly became omniscient.

Faelor was no longer the prosperous plane it once was. There were only a little more than two million humans left, most of them gathered in the core territories of the Crimson Empire while a minority were scattered all across the mainland. In the northeast was a sector of a hundred thousand kilometres that had been destroyed beyond immediate repaid; kilometre-deep holes riddled the earth as the war machines dug for resources, and be it on the ground or in the ocean there were no signs of life. The origin energy of the plane had been scarred as well, and that had left the plane's foundational laws in a state of instability that halved their control. Natural disasters had popped up all around.

In the void, the divine kingdoms of the various deities were shrouded in darkness. As embodiments of the plane's laws, the pantheon suffered with the halving of the plane's origin energy. Even worse, the loss of almost all their worshippers left them without an adequate energy source to recover with; only the three goddesses still maintained any semblance of authority. These three would soon be considered the head of the pantheon, but that wasn't a testament to their prowess at all.

Such was Faelor, a land full of sores. However, it was a land that had managed to survive. The plane would slowly recover its origin energy, and the population would boom faster than it ever had. Once the broodmother became a matriarch at level 16 and left the plane for the void, there would be a new golden era.

Richard lowered his head to look at Mountainsea, “I don't know when I'll be back from the abyss, but I hope to see you at level 16 by then. Ask the goddesses if you need any help. I want you to come with me and explore the depths of the void.”

“You're leaving already?” Mountainsea pouted.

He sighed, “Mm, I have to go prepare.”

“You better come back alive!” she frowned, trying to struggle free of his embrace.

Richard took out his last destiny crystal and smiled, “Look, I still have one of these from Ferlyn. It's another life, you don't need to worry.”

The barbarian seemed unconvinced, but she sniffed the crystal and a smile soon spread across her face, “Such a strong smell! Okay, I'm not worried now. You can go, I'll just sleep for a while.”

He sighed, blinking away and walking through the wormhole to return to Bluewater.

......

Once he was back in Norland, Richard decided that it was time for an offering ceremony. He could have conducted it on his own island, but knowing how dangerous the abyss was he chose to go to the Church of the Eternal Dragon anyway. At least this way, Noelene would get some grace.

The altar was the same as before, with even the angles of the pillars remaining constant as ever. Richard placed ten top-tier offerings upon it, exhausting the last of his reserves in his final preparations for the long expedition. They slowly turned into timeforce one by one, and the will of the Eternal Dragon descended upon the place once more.

Richard was a little surprised at this appearance, especially since he hadn't offered anything special. Was there nothing happening across the myriad planes that the old dragon could keep an eye on him like this?

The dragon seemed unaware of his thoughts, speaking with its usual dignified tone, “This amount of ember essence is minuscule for someone who has defeated a reaper invasion.”

“I used it to repay debts,” he replied calmly.

“Repay debts?” there was some puzzlement in the dragon's voice, “That much ember essence could earn you a rank 1 blessing.”

A rank 1 blessing! This was the highest rank, obtainable only by sacrificing something equivalent to the heart of a greater demon lord! Even rank 2 items like Nasia's swords and the elven emperor's blade were considered unfathomable in Norland, what would a rank 1 blessing be?

However, Richard still shook his head at the offer that was equivalent to a hundred top-tier offerings, “She can choose to do that herself when she's back. I'm not making the decision for her.”

“Very well. Whenever it may be, I will trade for ember essence with a bonus, with a ratio of activated essence returned as well. As for now, you will receive the favour accorded to someone of your title. Any offering you bring back from Arbidis will be worth double the divine grace.”

“Hmm... I didn't feel you trying to read my thoughts.”

“There is no need; I can see the future.”

“Then what's the result?”

“Unknown.”

“Huh? You just said you can see the future.”

“The future is an amalgamation of possibilities, and there are few certainties. The specific outcome is determined by destiny; that is beyond my powers.”

1395 - City of Sin

Zealor

Listening to the old dragon's explanation about the future, Richard immediately felt a different question coming to mind, “So the visions you showed me, they weren't set in stone.”

“That is right.”

“Then why the... Why did you send them to me?!”

“Destiny.”

Richard felt rage surging within him, but he pushed things down. The vision about Sharon had ended up coming true, and Flowsand had predicted their parting as well. It was only Mountainsea's destiny that he'd managed to change, and that had come on the precipice of his own death.

As the conversation ended, the timeforce around the altar gathered to form a crystal necklace. The will of the Eternal Dragon faded away into the void, leaving Richard confused for a moment as to where his options were. He quickly grabbed the necklace and started inspecting it, however, wondering just what a rank 2 blessing's worth of an accessory would be.

The purpose of the necklace turned out to be very simple; it was a source of ordered fire. It allowed its wielder a connection to the realm of order even when deep inside chaos, and could form a domain of order around them on demand.

At the very bottom of the explanation was a tidbit: this necklace could only be used by those titled a Lord of Space or greater. Richard smiled helplessly at the revelation, understanding that it meant the accessory had been sent for him and him alone. He hadn't even come across a Planewalker in all his travels, so he considered it impossible to actually find another Lord of Space.

He had a vague sense that this source of order would play a crucial role in his journey into the abyss. Storing it carefully, he returned to his island to get work done.

......

Time passed quickly as ever, and in a flash it was time for the expedition into the abyss. All of Faust stirred as it was flooded by important visitors from the Sacred Tree and Millennial Empires; this would be the first such expedition in nearly a thousand years and the second of all time.

Hordes of night elves started to gather in Faust, separating themselves into batches and entering the ancient battlefield that they would use as a staging ground for their assault. They were formed up into thousand-man regiments as they marched through Richard's island, entering the portal to the special zone.

Richard currently wasn't inside the city, instead floating outside its arches as he stared at the dragon skull that had decorated it for hundreds of years.

A strange voice suddenly rang out in his mind, “We meet again, boy.”

Even though he'd expected this, he was still a little shaken by Daramore's voice, “So you aren't dead after all.”

The abyssal dragon laughed heartily in reply, “Of course not! Charles and his parlour tricks can't kill me!”

Richard's eyes started glowing, revealing a number of symbols all over the arch. He smiled, “I see. So he sealed you here forever, and added a pain formation on top. Must be agonizing.”

“Are you mocking a noble Abyssal Dragon?!” Daramore roared into Richard's mind, but only a slight adjustment left it sounding pleasant in his ears.

“Just spit it out, I have other things to take care of. If you want to show your nobility or whatever, you can keep hanging there. I'll come chat with you when I'm back.” Richard turned around to leave.

“Wait!” Daramore called out, finally starting to speak quickly, “Are you headed for Arbidis?”

“Of course,” Richard wasn't surprised. All of Norland knew at this point.

“I sense your power to rescue souls. I have been imprisoned here for hundreds of years, and I wish to return home to my kin. Take me with you, I will pay you back for your generosity.”

Richard didn't ask what the dragon meant, instead sneering in response, “Take you to the abyss? So I can resurrect a greater abyssal lord myself?”

The dragon sighed, “My layer will have a new overlord now. Even if I return, I will need at least a millennium to regain my former strength. Take me, and I will grant you the laws of my layer. They will be of great help in your journey into Arbidis.”

“Huh, as expected,” Richard nodded. He then looked at the dragon and sent his soul force into the dragon's skull. As it gathered Daramore's soul and returned to his, the dragon suddenly yelped in surprise.

“YOU'RE A—”

“Soul hunter, yes,” he melted the dragon's defences like snow, engulfing its existence with three tetrahedrons that vanished after a moment. The power of Issa formed a warm, comfortable whirlpool in an environment that felt colder and more terrifying than death, so much so that even the once-epic Daramore cast its soul straight in. The image of the dragon slowly appeared on Richard's tetrahedrons, so far up that it was only surpassed by the three faces of Richard's legendary ability.

Richard's figure glimmered and vanished quietly, appearing on the Archeron island as the last of the night elves walked through the portal. Those who had been participating in the reward point battlefield were all out of their residences, astonished looks on their faces as they stared in awe at the Archeron army.

Richard's force was massive in terms of power, containing a total of fifty thousand night elves. Apart from the main force were hundreds of wasps that would serve as the transporters, now influenced by reaper design to become strange amalgamations of flesh and metal. Even the wasps were covered in red veins that indicated their fire resistance.

Almost as astonishing was the lineup of powerhouses standing by the side. Richard knew that he would have to take on multiple demon lords during this expedition, so he had brought along what could only be considered the most powerful lineup in all of Norland right now. Nasia, Tiramisu, Waterflower, Zangru, Fiora, Ironshield... even Greyhawk had made sure to join the party, reasoning that he possibly couldn't miss such a precious opportunity to explore. In fact, Richard was particularly ecstatic with the level 25 mage's arrival; he was powerful, certainly, but his value was expressed much more clearly in his knowledge of various environments.

Outside of the dozen-plus legends, Richard also had nearly a hundred saints and sky saints following him, almost every single one in the Archeron ranks. For the sake of this trip to Arbidis, the entirety of his forces had been mobilised.

Greyhawk walked over as Richard headed to the portal, asking with a smile, “Aren't you afraid of someone attacking your base?”

He smiled himself in response, “They just need to fend opponents off for a few months at worst. Apeiron has agreed to watch over them for now.”

“Her Majesty is on our side? Seems like those rumours about your complicated relationship were true. Anyway, why aren't we setting off?”

“There's another batch of troops,” Richard pointed at a newly formed portal that started to flash brightly, enormous bugs crawling out from within. Each ten-metre-long creature somewhat resembled the broodmother, but they were rather clumsy as they ambled through the passage. Their armour seemed to be patchwork made of different organic and metallic structures.

“Hmm... there's supposed to be one more... Huh?” his head suddenly shot to the left, focusing on a tiny portal that had been formed for the sake of a single night elf. The drone's beautiful looks surpassed the standard of the rest of its kind, and its aura was strange, but there was a sense of antiquity about it that only primal bloodlines possesed.

The elf looked completely average, with a standard issue longbow and spear, but Richard could tell that it was anything but. His eyes went wide as he scanned it with Insight, realising that it was a staggering level 25! He could also tell that its bloodline was truly powerful, unlike anything he had ever seen before. The throbbing vitality of the Golden World Tree had somehow fused with a faint thunderous energy.

Thunderous... “NYRIS!” he screamed as he found the reason for his familiarity.

The strange, androgynous night elf seemed to show a pained expression for a brief moment, but it quickly returned to a blank face and went down on one knee, “My name is Zealor, Master.”

1396 - City of Sin

Into The Abyss

“Zeal...or...” Richard forced his expression back to normal. He could sense traces of Nyris from within this night elf's soul, but he also knew that it was a brand new one that still reeked of divinity. Nyris had clearly fused his powerful darkthunder titan bloodline into the special unit that the broodmother's clone had been making, giving up his life for the creation of this powerful drone. The ancient lightning destroyers were amongst the most powerful beings in the void, and her bloodline was amongst the purest in recent times. This bloodline was the reason the Millennial Empire had risked falling out with Apeiron just to secure a marriage with her.

Richard connected to “Zealor” and quickly found out just what had happened. After finishing her analysis of the Golden World Tree, the broodmother's clone had set about making a special unit when Nyris convinced her to use her as a vessel. In the process, she had given up her womanhood as well, eliminating all gender to become a sexless being that was the only variant night elf.

A number of coincidences had resulted in an astonishingly powerful unit, but there was a heavy price to pay on all fronts. Nyris had disappeared forever, and the broodmother's clone had dropped all the way down to level 10. The Golden World Tree that fuelled the process had lost more than half its leaves, and would take years if not decades to recover.

Forcing down the churning in his stomach, Richard jumped onto a wasp, “Come, we're setting off.”

“Yes, Master.” Zealor hopped gracefully up behind him, taking his place as Richard's shadow.

The other legends quickly jumped onto their own wasps, the terrifying army taking to the skies in quick succession and disappearing into the portal in tandem. The second human expedition into the abyss had begun.

Most people believed that every layer of the abyss was the same. It was all crimson skies, billowing smoke, cracked earth, and lava flowing everywhere. However, those like Richard and Greyhawk knew that even a single layer could have many different things within. Richard's eyes glowed as he saw divine symbols scattered all about, a physical form of the abyssal laws that were different from point to point. These laws resulted in different levels of power, and those familiar with demonology could tell where a demon was from using characteristics and level alone.

Richard's gaze landed on a magma pool that wasn't far away, just in time to catch a dozen crimson rocks flying out from within. These rocks slowly cracked open to reveal their four limbs, with long tails and small, fleshy wings starting to form. They immediately jumped upon each other, fighting their first battle right after birth. Most of them were killed off within moments, leaving behind only four that arrived at a tacit understanding and began to eat their kin. Their bodies started growing larger as they feasted, and by the time they were done each one was a third bigger than before with the stubs of horns starting to protrude from their heads. Once those horns were completely out, they would qualify as the most common of demonkind.

Such pools were found all over the abyss, spawning an untold number of lesser demons that ate their own kind to grow. Only a quarter of these lesser demons would evolve into actual demons in their lives, and a tiny fraction of that number becoming greater demons. There were only a handful of lesser lords in every layer of the abyss, and not every layer even had an archlord. Such was the cycle of the abyss.

The four lesser demons that had just evolved suddenly looked into the sky, screaming with panic as they saw an enormous shadow flitting past them. That shadow was quickly followed by many more, and the auras radiating from within them were terrifying to these creatures. Even the greater demons around started to flee in panic, scattering in all directions as they looked for places to hide in.

Stood atop his wasp, Richard stared out into the boundless chaos around him. He didn't pay any attention to the frantic demons who were trying to escape, his mind instead focused on following the changes in the laws here to locate a passage to another layer. In front of him was a strange picture made of dozens of lit spots, coordinates that the elves had marked during their search for Arbidis. He had to cross through multiple layers on his own before he could even confirm where he was in relation to these coordinates, and he would then have to find the closest one and start heading down towards the fabled deepest point in the world.

Standing beside Richard, Greyhawk suddenly snapped out of his own recording process and asked, “I've wanted to ask since Lithgalen, are you the most powerful human being now?”

Richard laughed, “Most powerful, huh. What do you think?”

Greyhawk started pondering after the rebound, considering the powerhouses of the Millennial Empire before speaking, “When we were in that final battle against the reapers, I could say with certainty that you weren't. But now I can't see through you anymore. What happened?”

Richard's eyes lost focus for a moment as he sighed with regret. What happened? He had absorbed hundreds of millions of souls in the name of giving them salvation, taking on their memories, stories, and hopes. Those people had now fused into him and were inseparable from his own existence. These people had thus left a brand of their existence behind, refusing to die until he did. They would be scattered upon his own demise, most likely vanishing right after, but one could never be certain.

Every life was unique in its own way. These souls didn't give Richard too much power outside of the spiritual realm, but their worlds had left a tangible impact on him. Like Nasia had said so long ago, it was the fundamental actions that had been trained over generations that revealed the foundations of a world, and the lives of commoners were windows into the inner workings of reality. Even the most lowly slaves had a tiny impact in their own way, and those negligible brands had compounded over millions of people to give Richard a full understanding of the laws of Faelor. At the same time, the experiences he had assimilated allowed him to grasp any law much faster than before.

Richard now had hundreds of full law systems under his control. While he had only grown one level on the surface, his battle techniques, mana, bloodline, and truename were all fused together into one cohesive whole. He increasingly felt like he could do almost anything he pleased in battle.

However, as he thought of Greyhawk's question a number of memories flashed past his mind. He eventually settled on a simple dinner with Emperor Philip, where had marvelled at the large man's ability to devour dragon meat. He sighed, “If Philip were still alive, I likely wouldn't be able to defeat him. The same goes for Ferlyn.”

A strange expression flashed across Greyhawk's face, “Ferlyn doesn't count, she isn't even a Norlander. In fact, even when she stood in front of you she actually experienced a completely different flow of spacetime. As far as I'm aware, she used all of her spare time decades ago and cast herself into the currents of time. The one you've met was possibly just an avatar of the Eternal Dragon.”

“An avatar?” Richard asked in confusion.

“Someone with body and power from the Eternal Dragon, and a fragment of a mind from Ferlyn's soul. I'm not certain why this happened, but it was rumoured that it had something to do with Philip. Her Majesty Apeiron should be the only one who knows.”

Richard nodded silently, thinking back to what the Eternal Dragon had said about Flowsand. Perhaps she was the same...

However, his thoughts were interrupted by a scream, “DAAAAD! I WANNA SLEEP!”

The resounding complaint came from one of the wasps at the centre of the fleet, and the whining tone rang in everyone's ears. Even as Greyhawk suppressed a chuckle, Richard shook his head and blinked away.

“DAAAAAAD!” The shout had come from Fiora, who was currently sitting in a large spell formation within the central wasp. Crimson abyssal flames were raging all around her, amplifying her aura and sending it out to the vicinity so there wouldn't be any foolhardy demons trying to attack them. Even lesser lords would be cautious of approaching them, but of course things weren't guaranteed. Any that did come close simply wound up as a part of Richard's treasury.

Fiora wasn't particularly burdened by this spell formation; even in Norland she could sustain it for a decade without rest, and here in the abyss she simply recuperated faster than she tired herself out. The problem was that she was truly a demon by nature, and sitting still wasn't something she could do.

She was about to whine again when Richard's voice rang out, “Three more days, then you'll get some rest.”

“THREE DAYS?!” she shrieked.

“You want it to be five?”

The girl's body immediately shuddered, and she shut up without daring to make a sound. While she could be casual around her father on most days, his aura of an archlord ensured that she was naturally afraid of his power. Demonic as she was, that meant she simply had to obey the higher power.

1397 - City of Sin

Through The Abyss

With the threat of Fiora's aura, Richard's ship passed through the layer without obstructions. They finally reached a passage after five days of flight, and the wasps formed up in line as they entered the next layer of the abyss.

There wasn't much of a visual change in the place, but Richard distinctly felt a vast difference in the flow of laws here. He immediately realised this was one of those layers which had an archlord, and finding the direction to the nearest passage he had his army march quickly.

“How long until we can determine where we are?” Greyhawk asked as they set out.

Richard looked at the coordinates he had, “Two more layers, hopefully. So... maybe a week each?”

“Great! I'll catch a few demons to study. Have the army move on, I'll return to you in three days.”

With everything remaining the same, the wasps continued to fly along. It was only as they were almost at the passage to the next layer that they were met with a crimson tide of demons— the army of this layer's archlord. Even though the archlord wasn't in the army itself, they refused to retreat in the face of Fiora's power. Richard's own aura could scatter them, but flaring it would be an open challenge to the archlord that would be interpreted as a declaration of war.

Examining the situation, Richard decided to plough through as quickly as he could. The wasps landed together a little before the enemy, and countless night elves jumped off and entered formation to go up against the incoming legion. As the transporters floated back into the sky, Richard flew forward and made a quick assessment of their military force.

A random army meant to guard the interlayer passage had over a million demons within! Only a tenth of them were a significant opponent at all, but there were nearly a thousand greater demons and two lesser lords!

He turned to Greyhawk and pointed at the latter, “Should I kill them?”

The mage shook his head, “It's best not to, or things will get quite troublesome when we return. We might end up going to war.”

“Then I'll beat them half-dead. Tiramisu, Waterflower.”

The ogre lord who looked like a small hill roared thunderously in response, speeding up as he charged straight towards one of the lesser lords as Waterflower disappeared from sight. While he was only ten metres tall compared to some greater demons that were fifteen, any that made contact with him were sent flying away as he carved a bloody path amidst the sea of red. His thirty-metre-tall opponent screeched and rushed forward as well, killing its own kin to take on the challenge.

The earth shook as ogre and demon crashed, both creatures sinking down into a crater as everything within a hundred metres was blown away. Richard sighed while Greyhawk shook his head at the brutality of it all, but the demons all around cheered on at the contest of strength.

As the demon lord regained its senses, it punched Medium Rare so hard that his eye rolled back. However, the ogre simply took two steps back and stabilised himself, Tiramisu jumping up and landing a vicious kick that crippled the demon's knee. The ogre leapt up from the contact, grabbing his hammer off his back and smashing it into the back of the head. However, the demon simply raised one of its hands and pulled the ogre back down into the pit.

Squelches rang out from the crater as flesh was torn apart all over, the contest turning into a brutal one without any of the experience that legendary beings should possess. However, the cracks in space that rippled out made it obvious that things weren't as straightforward as they seemed. Some of the greater demons that were fervent enough to approach were blown into bits once they were close to the edge of the pit.

The demon lord on the other end of the battlefield roared in jealousy at the battle, but tasked with controlling the army he fought his urges and continued his role. However, his shouts suddenly turned into a cry of misery as a black ring of light formed around his neck, the skin tearing open to form a waterfall of blood.

Waterflower appeared behind him, pouting as she stared at her sword and flashed away. The demon had realised a brief moment prior to her attack, and that made things much more difficult. Dozens of black streaks flickered all over the demon's body as she left, cutting into the limbs to reduce mobility.

However, that wasn't the end of the surprises. The demon lord suddenly roared out loud, forming clouds of fire in the air that sent flaming rocks crashing down towards the earth. The woman tried to move as quickly as possible, but the aftershocks of the impact still caught her and sent her flying hundreds of metres away. A trail of blood followed her path.

By the time the meteor storm passed, everything within a kilometre had been wiped clean. Hundreds of thousands of demons were turned to ash, leaving only the collapsed lord on the ground. That summoning had hurt Waterflower, but it had also damaged him greatly. Almost his entire lower half was gone.

As the explosions of the meteors died down, the battlefield was suddenly overwhelmed by thunderous booms that drowned out all other noise. The night elves had been sending wave after wave of arrows into the demons all this while, but now that they were close enough they had pulled out their thunder cannons and fired thousands at a time. Google search 𝘧𝓇𝗲e𝑤𝑒𝙗noѵ𝒆𝚕. 𝒄o𝓶

Tens of thousands of demons were shattered with every volley, and the night elves constantly rotated out to keep the cannons roaring. The entire tide had been split in half in only five rounds, allowing the elves to rush towards the passage in the distance.

In the meanwhile, Tiramisu crawled out of the deep pit. He was wounded all over and Medium Rare's eye was so swollen that it couldn't even open, but the demon lord was nowhere to be seen. The ogre spat some blood and saliva behind him before ambling along, catching up to Richard's army. He grinned as Waterflower flashed onto his shoulder and leaned into him, steadying his gait as he rushed through.

The demon army was left in complete chaos. Without the two lesser lords, they had started fighting amongst themselves. Another force appeared on the horizon within hours, the three lords accompanying it rushing to the passage, but the last of the wasps had already disappeared by this point. What they came across instead was a dark gate that was floating in mid-air, emanating a sense of danger that terrified the strongest of them all.

The three lords halted their footsteps, sensing the darkness behind the gate, but before they could destroy it thousands of nightmare creatures flooded out from within. An intense war erupted in moments.

......

Richard's army was advancing quickly through the abyss, already having gone up against two legions in the current layer. While he had his reservations against the archlord here, four lesser lords had followed him long enough to annoy him into killing them. They were now offerings in his treasury, which was why the archlord eventually sent three more legions after him. This prompted another portal for the Legion of Nightmares to pass through, a goodbye present he had now grown accustomed to sending out.

Thus, they finally passed through their third abyssal layer, giving him enough information to ascertain just where he was. Looking at the glowing specks of light all over his map, he touched the nearest point and calculated the direction. He then pointed off to the side, “That way.”

“Are you sure?” Having made his own calculations to find the nearest passage, Greyhawk was rather taken aback. While every layer had multiple passages in and out, he couldn't even find a trace of one being in that direction. “If we go that deep,.we might end up facing an archlord. Are you confident in a battle?”

Richard knitted his brows, “When they're in their natural environment? I'm not certain.”

“Hmm... I have a few items that could help, but they're only one-time use and the journey will get harder afterwards.”

“Heh. Is there a world in which it won't? We need to go through 97 layers to get to Arbidis.”

The mage had no response.

1398 - City of Sin

An Old Familiar Face

Richard's army was bogged down significantly after deciding to go into the depths of their fourth layer of the abyss. In only three days they had been attacked by a dozen armies, forcing Richard to kill almost thirty lesser lords and millions of regular demons. The night elves didn't face significant losses, but the ammunition of the thunder cannons started depleting at an alarming rate that threatened to turn the guns into useless scraps of metal.

A weapon like the thunder cannon was amongst the best possible kind in the abyss; relying on force and explosive power alone, they weren't bogged down by the changed laws. If these guns went out of use, the army would start sustaining significant casualties. However, Richard remained calm as he had his soldiers charge at an unchanging pace, completely ignoring the swarming demons as they bored a hole through any opposing formation. Any enemies that approached the side or rear were attacked by the druids in the centre of the force, keeping the gunners safe.

It was only a few hours before they were at the portal that Richard's expression suddenly changed, “Greyhawk, take the army forward and head through the portal, don't worry about me.”

Having felt a vague sense of danger himself, the mage knitted his brows, “Why?”

“The archlord is here, I'll go stall.” His figure disappeared in an instant, flickering in the distance as it moved a kilometre every second. Greyhawk couldn't see anything, but he didn't dare relax as he sped up the army and ignored the ammo costs to move at maximum speed. The archlord of any abyssal layer was like a god in their divine kingdom, capable of dictating life and death.

......

Richard suddenly stopped mid-flight, moving back to dodge a pillar of magma that burst out from the ground. The earth started shaking furiously as a terrifying figure that was a hundred metres tall bounded over in the blink of an eye, every step forming a crater beneath.

This was the first archlord Richard had encountered on his expedition, and he seemed to be quite small compared to the rest of his kind. However, his menacing aura still sped up one's heart, and the contortion of laws all around him made it clear that a single misstep could turn a legendary being into ash.

“A human? How dare you insects encroach upon my territory!” the demon bellowed, his voice ringing throughout the abyss. Even hundreds of kilometres away, Greyhawk was scared out of his wits and sped up. It was only Richard who seemed entirely unaffected, the necklace around him emitting a faint glow that rejected all laws of chaos within a hundred metres. The demon lord had imbued a soul attack within the shout, but the powerful wave that could numb even an epic warrior's mind was simply bounced back to damage its own master.

There was no lack of historic examples of powerful figures that had been crushed by an archlord's shout alone, but this demon recoiled in pain as his attack failed. His eyes went wide in surprise, “What is another archlord doing in my territory?”

Even though Richard looked like a human, that momentary contact had left the demon lord with the same aftershocks as having attacked any other archlord. Although the tiny being seemed no bigger than one's finger, the aura was what mattered the most. Of course, not all archlords were made equal. Whenever two met, the usual practice was to fight before any discussion could take place.

On the other hand, Richard smiled for a brief moment as he determined his opponent's name from the contact— Bermond Gauguin. Unlike humans, most demon lords had minute-long truenames of which they could reveal a small part. This part was a unique identifier that couldn't be faked.

Seeing Richard remain silent, Bermond growled as foggy flames started emanating from his body, “Dizmason. I have not heard of that name, is this a challenge to my authority?”

Richard gave him a strange look, “What? No, I'm just passing by. My subordinates should be gone from here in a minute.”

The demon's voice suddenly grew significantly louder, “You cannot just pass through my lands like that! I consider this an invasion, prepare yourself for battle!”

Richard's expression turned even stranger as he sized up the demon lord in front of him. There were records in the Deepblue about him, and Sharon had also gloated about many things in the past. Just as Bermond was about to erupt, he suddenly responded, “I can accept a duel. Do you dare to give me half an hour of preparation?”

“Dare? The mighty Bermond is never afraid! I can give you a year!”

“Half an hour is enough,” Richard said indifferently.

......

“Let us begin, Dizmason,” Bermond shouted after the time was up.

“Very well,” Richard smiled, his figure flickering as he blinked kilometres away in an instant.

“What? You MAGGOT! STOP THERE!” An earth-shattering roar rang out from behind as the demon lord tried to lock space, but the two quickly grew far apart. He tried hard to give chase, but he could only watch as Richard disappeared into the passage a full minute before he would. The angered demon almost ran straight in anyway, but his instincts screamed that it would be suicide and he held back. These passages normally couldn't hold an archlord, and even if he managed to get out the other side he would anger the archlord of the other layer. If things devolved to a three-way fight, capturing the human wouldn't be a priority.

“YOU DESPICABLE INSECTS! YOU'RE ALL THE SAME, WHY DOESN'T ANYONE DARE TO FIGHT ME?!” Bermond yelled repeatedly, a bit of resignation in his voice. Even though he was confident in his own power, he didn't want to fight other archlords in their home grounds. Unfortunately, this wasn't the first time his lack of prowess in long-range attacks left him unable to deal with anyone who could move quickly.

......

“What happened?” Greyhawk asked as Richard flew through the portal. Even knowing that he was in the presence of the strongest human alive, he couldn't believe that an archlord was defeated so easily.

Richard laughed, “Bermond? He's easy to deal with, just run faster than he can chase. Honestly, not a big bar; you could do it too.”

Fortunately, the demon couldn't hear these words. Knowing what he did about Bermond's personality, Richard understood that the demon lord would risk everything and cross through multiple layers if he learnt of this evaluation.

......

Richard would end up remembering the encounter with Bermond Gauguin as a pleasant interlude. As he followed the elven path to Arbidis, his stress levels skyrocketed with every layer he passed. He ended up having to fight through enormous armies and even stall some archlords to allow his army to pass through the next seven to eight layers, and these ones were much more difficult to fool. Anyone could tell that something was amiss.

His first suspicion was that his plans had been leaked, but he quickly dismissed the possibility. Even if a group like the Scholars wanted to do something, the news about the expedition had been spread very recently and couldn't possibly have made it into demon hands yet. In the end, it was Greyhawk who came up with an explanation— while millennia had passed since the elven expedition, that was only a nap to most archlords who were near-immortal. These armies had likely gathered as a reaction to the elven expedition, and it would be thousands of years longer until they were moved away.

Unfortunately, that meant they had a problem with no solution. Even with a multitude of enemies along the way, the elven road was at least a known path. There were maybe a handful of people on this expedition that could live long enough to find a way on their own. He eventually decided to simply get some time to rest whenever he passed through one portal before heading towards the next; there would be no shortcuts.

1399 - City of Sin

The Final Layer

On the rare occasions that Richard's army took a break, the wasps landed and allowed the enormous worms from the broodmother to eat the rocks of the abyss. Each one was a miniaturised flesh furnace, losing most of their efficiency for mobility and the ability to harvest resources themselves. They were the only way to replenish ammunition for the thunder cannons in the abyss, but they only managed two magazines for every thunder cannon in the three hours of rest.

The main problem with resting in the abyss was that the place was toxic to orderly life. Human and drone alike withered away within during their stays here, and almost everyone had a timer after which they would sustain permanent damage or even die. Only legends could resist this corrosion, and the domain from Richard's necklace was barely enough to protect the saints. The drones weakened with every day they spent here, which was why it was so difficult to rest.

Time seemed to freeze over the coming days, with Richard leading his troops layer after layer into the abyss. The path outlined by the elves was a long one with seemingly no end, and every new layer meant an added degree of danger. The army completely ran out of ammunition in only the 20th layer, at which point Richard made the tough decision to abandon half the thunder cannons so they could travel lightly.

On the 31st layer, all of the elven druids were drained of their mana and withered away. The nature energy they required was wildly different from anything the abyss had to offer, so they were the first to perish. Once this 800-strong support force perished, battle casualties rose sharply.

By layer 44, all of the summons in Richard's Book of Destruction had been exhausted. He could continue to summon some demonic creatures with time, but they weren't much.

By layer 51, only 20,000 night elves were left alive, and the worms were starting to sustain casualties.

At layer 66, the number dropped to 10,000.

At the 78th layer, Richard personally joined the fray against an archlord, using the power of Issa and his over-a-billion souls to crack the demon's will and kill it. It was the strongest single enemy he had killed to date.

At layer 86, Richard's powerhouses started to grow weary as well. The wasps starting to die out, forcing Richard's army of less than a thousand night elves, a dozen worms, and the legends and saints to walk on the ground. It took them a month to pass through this level, and when Richard summoned a portal to the shadows no nightmare creatures walked out.

Years passed by the time they finally arrived at the 96th layer, and all of Richard's party was feeling numb beyond belief. Richard, Greyhawk, and Nasia joined forces to injure the archlord of that level, but instead of going for the kill the exhausted force pushed their way through the portal as quickly as they could.

There was nothing special in layer 97, simply an endless battle. Richard felt a little dazed as he entered the final portal, but seeing that this one was red as blood he and his surviving subordinates felt ever so slightly happier. As usual, he was the last to enter the passage, leaving behind a land full of corpses. A tetrahedron was spinning constantly in mid-air, shooting out energy beams at any nearby demons that weren't completely dead. Countless indistinct faces gave this tetrahedron an erratic energy, and the hundreds of thousands of demons that were all around seemed to be overcome by terror every time they tried to approach within a thousand metres. The chaotic beings that didn't care for their lives were paralysed at the sight of the strange object, giving rise to a rare scene of silence in the abyss.

......

“The... Eternal... Battlefield?” Richard muttered as he walked through the portal, startled by the image before him. He immediately rose into the sky, watching the vast land before him.

The sky here was a dark red, and thick layers of clouds covered everything that was more than a hundred metres above ground. Even Richard's perception was distorted by terrifying energy once it entered the cloud cover, leaving him unable to see what lay behind. The sky here was forbidden to all living creatures.

The earth was a dark red as well, gradually sloping downwards into the distance to enter a crimson blur. Richard pushed his perception as far as it would go, but even 10,000 kilometres in he couldn't see any end.

Countless demons and devils were fighting all over down below, the weakest of them being greater demons and devils while lesser lords could be found everywhere. Richard even came across dozens of greater lords and archlords during his scan!

The battlefield was occasionally interrupted by a bright radiance, giant portals dropping a horde of demons or a neatly formed devil army that entered the fray. Richard could sense tens of thousands of small skirmishes all around, and even with hundreds of deaths every second the number refused to drop. The sight made one thing clear: if not for the constant battle between the two existing sides, even 500,000 night elves wouldn't be enough to guarantee a retreat.

With even Richard being stunned by the sight, the rest of his forces were gaping in shock as they watched the battle around them. Fortunately, they were covered by a shield of light that ensured their auras wouldn't seep out, a barrier cast by Greyhawk protecting them from becoming a common target.

A dozen devils were gathered in a circle below Richard's group, using their sharp ten-metre-long spears to attack a lesser demon lord. The pikes constantly pierced into the demon's body and tore every inch of her skin; while she struggled desperately, she was locked in place and unable to break free.

Fiora suddenly howled and shot down in a frenzy, landing on a greater devil's back and pinning it to the ground. Her small frame seemed to weigh a thousand tonnes as it crushed the opponent's skeleton in one go, the sickening cracks followed by dull thuds as she jumped from target to target to crush them all. She turned mid-flight and roared out a breath of abyssal flames, setting seven devils on fire with one breath.

The small force of devils collapsed under the unexpected assault, giving the demon lord time to grab an intact greater devil and tear it into pieces before stuffing it into her mouth. Quickly realising there was no other enemy nearby, she stared at Fiora and growled threateningly.

Fiora's own gaze was fierce, meeting the creature more than ten times her size with no fear as she roared back and picked up a blazing devil to smash it into the offender's face. The lesser lord immediately turned less aggressive, retreating a few steps before picking up another corpse and beginning to munch on it.

Demons were in general much larger than their counterparts. A greater demon easily crossed ten metres of height, but most greater devils were only four to five. The difference in strength wasn't as vast as the difference in build, but a demon lord could finish off most greater devils in a few mouthfuls. As this one started eating through the devils, dark red flames emerged on her body and started to heal her.

Fiora's throat bobbed with desire as she saw the lord starting on a meal, her gaze landing on the greater devils nearby. She suddenly leapt towards the corpses and took a huge bite, but her teeth simply clattered against each other as Richard picked her up by the nape. She immediately shrieked like a cat and tried to reach for the devil corpses, but he sighed helplessly and gestured towards the sky a few times to pull the devils' hearts out of their bodies.

“Just because you're hungry doesn't mean you get to eat like a peasant,” he muttered in annoyance as he offered ten hearts to his daughter, the small meal dimming the crimson radiance in her eyes. Seeing that she'd regained her rationality, he sighed, “You really know how to give me trouble.”

A confused Fiora looked around for a moment, only for her eyes to go wide in shock. This section of the battlefield had been rather uneventful when they arrived, but now it was one of the most chaotic and intense sections around. A large number of demons and devils had been attracted by the human odour as Greyhawk's shield broke, and were now exchanging blows with Richard's subordinates. There were enemies on all sides.

1400 - City of Sin

The Eternal War

Seeing his forces being attacked from all sides, Richard frowned and activated the demonic heart within him, pulsing a ferocious aura that immediately rippled out in all directions. Both the demons and devils nearby were shocked, with the former immediately turning around and clawing at their eternal enemies. That the devils immediately focused on their actual enemies as well, giving the humans around a moment of respite.

Richard's figure flickered as he circled around this small battlefield before appearing in front of Fiora once more, throwing a pile of demon cores towards her. All of the greater demons nearby suddenly stopped moving, dropping like flies as their chests were replaced with a black void.

“What blood are you of?” a powerful conscient swept through the area, voice ringing in the minds of everyone present. It wasn't one of human origin, but everyone understood its meaning clearly as it pierced into their minds. This most certainly had come from a very powerful demon lord, superior to even Bermond and possibly even at the high standard of level 35. Nasia and Zealor were the only legends under its sway that didn't lose their mobility, while the saints fell prone to the ground.

“The abyssal dragons,” Richard's own conscient swept across the battlefield, driving out that piercing voice as he responded calmly. His aura changed to match Daramore's convincingly, black fog starting to billow around him.

An enormous figure appeared in the distance, standing up to reveal a thousand metres of height. The clouds parted around him as he picked up his hammer whose head alone was ten metres across, the giant weapon seeming like a toothpick in his hands. The lord swung his hammer with enough force to smack all of the lesser devil lords nearby into oblivion, then glaring at Richard with his dozens of eyes.

As those around him felt like they had been laid bare, Richard knitted his brows and shot out a faint light that blurred the space around. Taking control of the surrounding laws in an instant, he broke off the demon lord's gaze. He then stared coldly at the abyssal, “You have know business knowing why I'm here. Are you running out of devils to fight or something?”

The demon let out a deafening laugh, “I met Daramore only three millennia ago. I would never have imagined anyone from his tribe to reach the level of an archlord. Your company is interesting, are they snacks you carry around?”

Richard didn't respond to the question, instead growling loudly, “You're looking for trouble. Continue to provoke me, and I'll tear you in two!”

The demon lord immediately erupted with rage, forcing his conscient through the distorted space to try and suppress Richard. Richard's growl turned into a roar as three tetrahedrons flashed around him, a bloody streak shooting into the sky. He had activated the power of Dizmason with all 36 layers of Lifesbane, resulting in a spiritual strike that instantly cut the demon's will in two. The lord roared in agony, withdrawing its conscient right away.

Before there could be any retaliation or acknowledgement, the two belligerents were suddenly interrupted by a majestic portal in the distance, countless devils surging out from within. A powerful aura quickly engulfed everything nearby; a devil archlord had appeared! Seeing its nemesis, the demon lord lost all interest in Richard and charged into the devil army and started fighting.

The mere aftershocks of an archlord's aura could spread hundreds of kilometres on each side. Most of the devils that had come in were destroyed before they could even organise themselves, shaking this section of the battlefield to destabilise everyone. However, the laws here were exceptionally strong and this earth-shattering battle couldn't even tear into the space, forget the planar origin. As shocked as he was by the power of the combatants, Richard was stunned simply by the environment of the Eternal Battlefield.

However, now wasn't the time to just stop and stare. He was currently near the top of the field, and to reach the depths he would have to probe further. He had the feeling that he would have to traverse the entirety of this special plane that had taken the lives of most of the elves' nine epics.

Thankfully, the current expedition was meticulously planned. Richard had his Archeron aura that could fool anyone into thinking he was a demon, but the addition of Daramore's was a blessing that gave him full confidence. Seeing the two archlords getting entangled, he sighed in relief and summoned all of his subordinates to his side. The field of order immediately allowed them to feel more secure.

All of the night elves had already died in battle by this point, with only a dozen of the broodmother's worms being left alive. These worms had evolved during the endless battles, now each comparable to a saint. There were only three wasps as well, but they too had mutated to survive in the abyss. While all of the legends were intact, only half of the saints were still alive. With the corruption of the abyss accumulating within them, these survivors weren't of much use at this point either.

Richard gathered the three remaining wasps together, drawing huge spell arrays on each before placing a shattered limb from a lesser demon lord on each. He then called all of the saints and handed them a map, “You can't be involved in the next phase of this battle; your mission here is done. I've made some alterations to these wasps, making them look like powerful lesser lords to other demons. Be careful enough not to face an archlord, and you should be able to thread along this route to return to the reward point battlefield.”

The saints climbed onto the wasps in quick succession. If they returned to Norland alive, this battle experience would allow many of them to become legends in the future. These were amongst the most loyal subordinates the Archerons had, and Richard didn't want to waste their lives for no reason.

As the three wasps entered a nearby passage, Richard turned around and sent out a dozen drops of fresh blood from the demon lord's heart. One was absorbed by each of his followers, after which he used his laws to activate these drops and give them an abyssal aura. This way, they would seem like demons; even if they had to fight any devils they came across, that was much better than being targeted by everyone. He would also direct them mainly through areas occupied primarily by demons, reducing their chances of getting caught further.

However, Richard didn't even manage to set out before his heart suddenly froze, prompting him to turn to the right. An enormous portal that was a full kilometre tall had appeared only a dozen kilometres away, and an army of well-equipped devils marched through. At the centre of them all was a huge devil that was 50 metres tall, the imposing aura making it clear that this was an archlord.

“Why the FUCK?” Richard swore as the devil locked sights on him. He even felt a surge of killing intent that simply refused to go away; his emotions would not be quelled unless he completely destroyed this devil!

His eyes turning crimson, he growled as he shot towards the devil like lightning, only coming to his senses halfway through. He suddenly felt something wrong, only just noticing the huge green crystal sword in the devil's hands as it charged towards him as well.

1401 - City of Sin

Star Of Destruction

As Richard activated the Field of Truth, he saw countless threads of laws binding him with the devil lord that had just appeared. It became clear to him that he would be chased endlessly if he didn't kill it. Even though he didn't see a point in fighting the devils— after all, he wasn't here to join the Eternal War— he wouldn't be able to move freely if he didn't take care of this problem.

“Get ready!” he yelled out as the devil bounded towards him, feeling the chaos energy around him fade away. Turning off his own field, he allowed the devil to expend the energy to create an orderly domain as he sent Tiramisu and Fiora past it to intercept the army at the back. While none of the 100,000 other devils were a threat on their own, devils possessed enough tactical flair to use those troops to hinder him. The demon and ogre lords were the most skilled at dealing with large numbers of enemies, so they were the best suited to intercept.

In the meanwhile, Waterflower and Zangru disappeared from sight while Zealor floated up into the sky, icy gaze focused on the archlord even as the bow was drawn. Nasia covered Richard in a crimson beam of light that buffed him immensely, the laws of order crumbling wherever it made contact even as chaos was broken as well. Neither demon nor devil could operate in these conditions, but he was like a fish in water. The Projection of Ruin was starting to show its power.

The slender devil archlord was covered in a coat of purple armour made from unknown materials. He had four arms, with each one wielding a different weapon. His human-like face showed a solemn expression, but Richard could tell that this was a powerful devil that had just passed level 30. This gave him immense confidence in this battle; while devils were good at smithing and group combat, their individual strength at any level lost out to the chaotic demons. While the devils won in the battles of the weak, that was offset by their disadvantage in the upper echelons. Google search f𝙧𝒆𝚎𝘸e𝚋𝓷o𝘷𝚎𝒍. co𝑚

The powerful devil lord had a confused look in his eyes. The demon he was facing was ridiculously small, and while he had felt a powerful aura it turned out to be only level 25... No, level 26. The demon just advanced.

But would it matter? Level 25 or 26, no demon should have been able to face him. However, the devil felt an indescribable sense of danger from the tiny demon, and its subordinates that could work together despite being from many different races confused him as well. Coordination was supposed to be the specialty of his side.

While the devil was rightly confused, Richard felt the mana in his body swirling as he passed level 26. He had been on the verge for a while now, and now that he had flared up for a dangerous fight he had advanced naturally. He didn't hesitate for a moment as he pushed the energy from the advancement into his physique, compacting his muscles, bones, and organs further. The boost allowed him to increase his carrying capacity, not just for runes but also the archlord's core within him.

Going through his weapons, Richard ultimately chose to use the Judge. A faint purple energy appeared on the sword as he injected the laws of chaos into it, causing the devil's eyes to narrow as it felt a sharp prick of bloodlust for anyone from the hells. His figure started to flicker as it entered a strange, winding path heading towards the archlord, this time prompting a look of shock as the devil realised that every possible attack had been predicted.

As the powerful devil lord hesitated to smash down with its four weapons, Richard's will suddenly pierced into its mind. A demonic roar rang everywhere in the aftermath of the attack, but the devil's eyes lit up with joy. He didn't know how to fight this strange demon, but he was confident in a confrontation of wills. After all, chaos couldn't breed as much strength in that regard as discipline. A duel of souls would be a direct struggle of their minds without any tricks.

As the devil growled and shot his own conscient out to welcome the fight, he suddenly felt like he had stepped into an empty void. He found Richard's will and charged, knowing that he had to gain the upper hand quickly, but what had first seemed like a tiny mote of light suddenly expanded into three huge tetrahedrons that surrounded him. He felt like a bird that had charged into a mountain as he struck, countless faces manifesting on the tetrahedrons and starting to stare at him icily.

Everything around started to tremble as the devil lord's gaze dimmed, his actions slowing down as well. The momentary absence came with a heavy price; Richard turned into a beam of light as the Judge cut deep into the devil's arm.

The archlord regained his senses quickly, but as he saw the trail of blood on his arm he let out a scream of terror. The small cut seemed insignificant compared to his huge frame, but as he hesitated to cover it up the wound started to split open and erupt like a volcano. Flesh and blood spurted out as the purple crystal of its bones was revealed.

Richard flew back once more, his powerful conscient engulfing the devil entirely. The archlord did its best to dodge this time, ducking and hiding immediately, but that dealt damage as well. The laws all around the devil became a mess, giving Richard even more of an advantage in the fight.

The devil suddenly roared, the three arms that could still move pointing at Richard as a dark glow shot out from its weapon and merged into a beam of energy that was ten metres thick. The symbols of its laws could be seen flickering on the surface of the beam, forming a powerful destructive power that wouldn't lose out to chaos.

Moments before the beam attack struck, a large tetrahedron barrier appeared around Richard and scattered the symbols of the laws. Delicate vibrations disintegrated the laws in the attack, weakening it to the point that it could no longer pierce through. At the same time, the archlord squealed in pain as both of its knees were busted open, Waterflower and Zangru disappearing away moments after the attack. Just as the devil was about to give chase, he went rigid as a long cyan arrow pierced into his back.

“Bullseye,” Zealor muttered a few thousand metres away, nocking another arrow. The arrow flickered as it left the bow, travelling a few hundred metres with every blink. Lightning energy spread across the devil's back, prompting shivers of pain.

The devil had only half-turned before he suddenly shot back, fear written all over his face as he stared at the enormous blue moon floating behind Richard. It was as though Richard had descended directly from the moon as he raised the Judge up high, swinging it down from a thousand metres away.

“The Star of Destruction...” the devil lord abruptly stopped all actions, growling as a blue glow appeared between his brows. That glow quickly shifted within, splitting open the skull to spew viscous, poisonous flames. Richard sheathed the Judge right after, withdrawing from the battle while his subordinates took care of the army's generals. Unfortunately, devils could only be killed off in their entirety. Once all of the lesser lords were eliminated, he summoned a black hole above the legion that wiped them out in a few minutes.

1402 - City of Sin

The Final Path

Arbidis was a strange place, its laws so powerful that they almost completely suppressed everything Richard knew. His black hole wasn't even able to break a small section of the area, leaving the origin energy of the plane entirely unaffected. After a few pulses that devoured everything in sight, it was drained of energy and withered away.

He spent two entire hours processing the devil archlord's corpse, only then able to store it in his spatial equipment. This was the first complete spoils of war he had, and were it placed on the altar of the Eternal Dragon it would likely be traded for a lesser rank 1 blessing.

With the loot taken care of, Richard led his now-small party into the depths of Arbidis. His bloodline finally showed its value, frightening away devil and demon alike to the point that only lesser lords even had the gall to engage him. His followers seemed like beings of the abyss as well, allowing them to avoid more than half the potential battles they would have faced. Richard could even command the weaker demons at times, giving them support in battle.

However, this was still the Eternal Battlefield, a vast land of death and bloodshed with no end in sight. The group journeyed downwards for three straight months but didn't feel any closer; the ground beneath them still sloped downwards, and there were demons and devils engaged in battle all around. Richard couldn't even sense the passage they had come through any more, but he couldn't sense an exit either.

There were also many battles that one simply couldn't avoid. Even Richard didn't know just when a portal would appear around him, and near the end of the third month he found himself facing a powerful level 30 devil with a full army behind. More than half of the broodmother's worms died in that battle, leaving only three alive. Outside of Nasia, all of his followers were hurt in some fashion. He himself sustained the most damage of them all, having relied on his own ability to decapitate the hardy archlord.

Richard's injuries in that battle were very severe, but it was difficult to activate the power of the green moon in the abyss. Left with no choice, he dug out the lord's core and dug in. While the core was larger than his own body, it turned into pure energy as he bit down, flowing in and healing his injuries. He even buffed up significantly, having jumped to level 27 immediately and used the energy on his physique. He could no longer place himself as a mage or warrior in terms of battle style.

The injured followers consumed the cores of the lesser lords as well, silently chomping down as they used the excess energy to heal themselves. Zealor was the most averse to it, instinctively spitting whenever he took a bite, but summoning a burst of courage he shoved as much as he could down his throat before blocking it off with a stone.

After a full day of rest, Richard and his followers were back in optimal condition. However, Richard couldn't relax at all as he realised that there was now a trace of poison in his body, having fused with his energy and become extremely difficult to expel. The rest of his followers would certainly find it impossible to get it out of their system.

Once Richard's party left, the devil corpses littered all over the ground attracted a horde of demons. Those that managed to get at the lesser lords started to form bloody cocoons right where they stood, beginning an evolutionary phase.

Witnessing the scene from hundreds of kilometres away, Richard suddenly had a revelation about the true purpose of the Eternal Battlefield. Both devils and demons came here solely to consume the flesh of their eternal foes, using that energy to evolve into their most powerful forms. Only a handful of the archlords here actually came from the hells or the abyss; most evolved out of the lucky few.

This place was simply a furnace designed to turn ordinary demons and devils into lords! Countless battles over billions of years had made for a system where the lives of the many were sacrificed for the strength of the few!

He suddenly bent down, grabbing a handful of dirt off the ground and grinding apart so he could get a better look. The mud was greasy and dark, smelling strangely like something that had been burnt. Hidden amongst it were countless fine grains of crystal, containing the power of order and chaos.

These actions seemed relaxed, but in reality the black mud was many times tougher than even lafite. The simple kneading would have destroyed most legendary weapons! Seeing what Richard was doing, Zangru grew a little curious and bent down to grab some himself. However, he yelped in surprise as nothing came up, his hand not even making a mark in the soil. He had to prepare himself and gather his energy around his fingers, driving down with force only to dig up a few small fragments.

Richard continued to play around with the mud in his hands, placing some on the tip of his nose and taking a slight whiff. He nodded right after, passing the grains to his puzzled followers, “This isn't mud, it's blood.”

The followers were sceptical for a moment, but as they examined the grains their expressions warped into shock and revelation. Countless demons and devils had died fighting on this land over the untold number of years this war had been fought, and their blood slowly compacted into the earth, layer after layer. The power of order and chaos thus filled this land, welding together into a strange substance that was harder than most metals.

The value of this black mud was inestimable. It could be added into most equipment and boost it by a grade instantly, and a handful would be considered a greater offering to the Eternal Dragon. Such a substance was everywhere in this bloody battlefield, with no way to exhaust it all!

Richard finally understood just why neither the devils nor the demons had grown powerful enough to take over the rest of the myriad planes yet. Each side was too focused on harming the other, so Arbidis had evolved into a place that both strengthened and limited archlords. One couldn't heal here without eating flesh, but that poisoned flesh would eventually accumulate into certain death, even for an archlord. The demons had strengthened their bodies to combat this poison, while the devils tried to assimilate the laws of order to neutralise the danger. Both sides were walking completely different paths, but neither had gained an upper hand.
𝘧𝗿𝚎e𝓌𝗲𝒃𝑛𝒐ѵ𝗲𝒍. c𝐨𝗺

Richard was in no rush to advance, resting for a full three days while his followers dealt with any wayward devils. He spent this time studying the poisonous essence the devil lord had left within him, eventually waking up with a strange look on his face.

“Anything wrong?” Greyhawk asked.

“Sigh, nothing. I just had a strange thought that I might be able to use in the future. Come, let's keep going.”

Over this period of analysis, he had concluded that he was indeed capable of breaking down the working of the poisonous essence. He would be able to unravel these billion-year-old mysteries in under a hundred years, giving rise to a shortcut of sorts that was truly astonishing. While he wasn't a pure-blooded demon, he could still eat devils for power. The poison from the devils was laced with the laws of order, but his elven truename could break apart most of that power. He could thus absorb enemy archlords almost limitlessly, giving him a real chance to become the first person in Norlandic history to break past the realm of archlord.

That meant he would be beyond epic! Even with Richard's strength of mind, he couldn't help but be tempted to simply hunker down in this place for a few decades. Fortunately, he convinced himself otherwise with the fact that he had responsibilities to fulfil, and that pure energy didn't have as much meaning in his realm of power. It was the control of laws that truly mattered.

As he comprehended more laws, Richard had started to feel a longing to be able to break through the limits of power. He wanted to explore the ends of existence, a dream that Martin had once expressed. At that time, he had thought it was just wishful thinking, but now he could truly understand the allure of those words. The pursuit of evolution was a final instinct embedded into every being with a soul.

However, this thought only briefly crossed his mind before he squashed it, continuing to lead his followers into the depths of this boundless land.

1403 - City of Sin

Destination

Arbidis seemed to have no end. Three more months passed in the blink of an eye, and Richard had already consumed his third archlord core while his followers had eaten five or six lesser lords each. After their most recent battle, even Tiramisu's hardy body was starting to approach its limits while most of his other followers were already at it.

He decided not to advance any further, instead drawing out an enormous spell formation in the middle of the battlefield. Even with his current ability it took him an entire week to create, and he used the cores of 36 lesser devil lords to barely activate it. When a towering planar portal appeared within, showing images of Faust on the other side, all of his followers were dumbstruck.

Manually teleporting to and from Arbidis was borderline impossible. Even the great elven empire had to use an extradivine item to do so, but Richard had just deployed a portal without one. It certainly came at a cost— each lesser devil core was equivalent to a top-tier offering— but that was still significantly cheaper than an extradivine item. One had to remember that the elves had exhausted theirs with two teleportations, losing it forever. As far as spatial laws went, this meant Richard was far beyond any of the spatial mages of the old empire.

Those who had followed Richard from the start of his journey seemed the least fazed, but those like Ironshield and Greyhawk found it difficult to mask their astonishment. It had only been a few years ago that they could still sense Richard's power, and now there seemed to be no enemy that was his match.
𝙛𝐫𝑒𝐞𝘄ℯ𝘣𝚗𝘰𝘷𝙚𝘭. c𝘰m

Tiramisu was the first to recover, “Weren't we supposed to explore the alter world, Master? We haven't gotten there yet.”

”I'll be doing the rest on my own, you guys should return,” Richard answered.

“How can we leave you here alone?!” the ogre immediately cried out in protest.

“All of you have reached your limits, you can't continue.” Threads of astral energy flew out from Richard's hand, illuminating the area around them. The blue glow revealed dark smoke circling all around each of Richard and his followers, and as they examined it closely they noticed countless minute divine symbols floating about. Some expressions immediately turned grave.

Richard continued calmly, throwing his spatial bracelet to Waterflower, “This is the poison from the devil lords you've been eating. If it continues to accumulate, you'll die in body and soul. You're done. There's some rank 2 offerings here, go straight to the Church and offer them. The Eternal Dragon should be able to neutralise the poison in your bodies. Now go, I can't keep this up forever!”

Realising that they would only be a burden if they stayed behind, Richard's followers entered the portal one by one. They exhausted their strength to drag the remains of their most recent kill away; if not for the huge storage Richard had gotten from Lithgalen, previous ones would have been impossible to take.

However, not everyone left. The only one amongst them who hadn't consumed a single core, Nasia stayed behind. With her unparalleled abilities and equipment, even in Arbidis there wasn't any opponent that had managed to significantly harm her. When Richard told her to go as well, she simply shrugged, “Nope. I'm even better in these environments than you are.”

Richard stared into Nasia's mask, growing even more curious about her background. However, he knew that any questions would be in vain, simply allowing the portal to wink out as the cores powering it turned into ashen rock. Nodding at her, he turned to continue towards the depths of the battlefield.

......

Three more intense months passed as Richard and Nasia travelled into the depths of the Eternal Battlefield. Their battles grew more intense the deeper they went, and towards the end they were fighting an archlord virtually every day. The laws of Arbidis were strange, and Richard could feel that more powerful devils were being drawn to him as he grew stronger himself. The battlefield itself seemed to place a value on each demon and devil, sending out a corresponding opponent.

Before he set foot in the Arbidis, Richard would never have imagined that he would face off against dozens upon dozens of archlords. He hadn't even known so many existed, but thinking of just how many levels the abyss and the hells had it was at least fathomable. This place was the final destination of all demons and devils, putting them into a vicious cycle of murder with no rest.

One day, Richard suddenly stopped in his tracks and looked over to the side. A powerful aura had erupted in that direction, and as he approached he could sense that two archlords were engaged in a battle of life and death. Both were injured all over, and from the looks of it this hadn't been the first day or even week of their fight.

The devil suddenly let out a frenzied cry, his huge blade lighting up in purple flames as it pierced into the demon's chest. An enraged roar shook the earth, but the exhausted demon slumped to the ground. Richard resumed his journey as he saw this end, but the devil had already noticed him and started rushing over.

Richard sighed, drawing the Judge and waiting silently. Although this archlord was level 35, the battle had clearly been intense and exhausting, dropping its abilities greatly. A single strike cleaved the skull off and ended the battle.

Richard extracted the devil's core and chomped down almost by instinct, but after some hesitation he put it in his bracelet and continued his journey instead. He had sustained a number of internal injuries and was in dire need of healing, but the poison had also reached a critical mass. Weighing the pros and cons, it was better to just risk continuing his journey.

Fortunately, the slope was starting to level off, giving rise to some hope that he was approaching the end of this bloody plane. He would likely reach the true end of this world in a few more days, arriving at the fabled passage to the alter world. His spirit rejuvenated by this fact, Richard slowed down so he could naturally recover from his injuries along the way.

......

After three more days of walking, Richard and Nasia finally exited the formless boundaries of the Eternal Battlefield. He felt the laws all around changing to welcome the completely new world, the crimson sky replaced by boundless black with bright stars all around. Right ahead of him was a stretch of boundless mountains, with an eye-grabbing vortex at the top that covered almost half the sky. That vortex had a diameter of more than a thousand kilometres, and was emitting pure darkness that tainted its surroundings with an incomparable sense of suppression.

Nasia found herself drawn to the enormous vortex as well, being clearly distracted for the first time since they entered the abyss, “That's the path to the alter world, the blackness is the energy of the other side.”

Richard slowly recovered from his daze, “I want to study the laws of the alter world, I won't be going in until I'm more confident. This will take time, you can return to Norland.”

“I'm not leaving. Do you really think it'd be so easy to enter the alter world?”

“What problems can there— Oh,” his face changed as the ground started to shake, one of the distant mountains crumbling away. A dark glow rushed over from the horizon, a humanoid figure that was about three metres tall.

Richard had grown used to fighting beings that were dozens of times his height, but this relatively compact figure was exuding an aura that thoroughly dwarfed any demon or devil archlord! He wore a sinister black coat of armour with a dozen steel spikes all over, and carried a huge axe that was larger than his body. Once he appeared, he immediately dashed forwards.

Richard's eyes dilated with fear; this was the greatest threat he had felt since he entered Arbidis, and most certainly was the strongest enemy he had ever encountered in his life. The black armour and huge axe seemed to be packed full with the power of laws, making it clear that this was an unequalled existence in Arbidis.

His hair moving without any wind, Richard slowly took out Moonlight. Facing an enemy of such strength, he felt much more at ease with his first sword. However, Nasia suddenly walked ahead of him, “Leave this guy to me. Your enemy is over there.”

Richard followed the direction she had pointed out, his gaze landing on an isolated peak right below the passage. This mountain towered above all others, the summit almost touching the portal into the alter world.

This peak had clearly appeared right now. Richard couldn't remember seeing such a thing before. As he focused on it, however, he saw a black metal throne, with a languid figure seated on top.

1404 - City of Sin

The Man On The Throne

The man on the throne was also humanoid, wearing black armour and a mask similarly to the axe wielder. He seemed to have no power to speak of at first glance, but as Richard focused on him he felt like he was staring at a terrifyingly large creature who had the earth crushed beneath its feet. His heart skipped a beat, but as he focused further things seemed to revert to a man lazing on a throne. Richard forced himself to calm down, focusing his vision on the laws all around. Now his vision seemed to pass right through, as though the man didn't even exist.

It was at this point that the man on the throne moved his head, making it seem like his gaze had landed on Richard. Richard instantly felt like his entire body was seen through, and amidst his shock he completely scattered the surrounding laws with a barrier to prevent the scrying. Up on that illusory peak, the man finally sat up straight, “If you wish to go to the alter world, defeat me first.”

The voice didn't resound through the air, nor did it resonate in one's mind. It simply rang out naturally, as though distance didn't influence at all. Richard shivered as he realised that the feeling of being seen through wasn't a mistake; this man had ascertained both his power and his thoughts! He couldn't even figure out how the voice was ringing so close!

He took a deep breath, decades of experience bubbling to the top of his mind and calming his emotions. Before proceeding further, he turned around to look at the battle between Nasia and the axe wielder, who were fighting soundlessly without much energy rippling out from their clash. Their movements seemed like a level 10 rogue and warrior fighting, but he could see the true danger within.

Both sides had different combat styles. The black warrior preferred large actions as he hacked continuously, his movements looking simple or even clumsy at times, while Nasia's swords were dancing around sometimes without even being aimed at the opponent. However, one strike from the axe could cleave mountains while the dancing of the swords was anticipation; underestimating either would lead to death.

The two were clearly a perfect match for each other, their commonality lying in their condensed power. Neither wasted any strength at all, which was why things seemed so dull. Every movement was powered by a different law, and both beings that were stronger than most archlords weren't going to come to a conclusion just yet.

Knowing that Nasia was alright, Richard relaxed and dashed towards that illusory peak, gradually leaving the ground as he stepped on a non-existent road to the top. The throned man finally stood up; although his face was covered by the mask, Richard felt like he was laughing soundlessly. All the mountains nearby trembled, the huge vortex in the void slowing down. The passage towards the alter world had been stopped with a single action!

Richard suddenly felt an abnormal sense of dryness in his throat; everything here exceeded his knowledge. He was now an epic being who was the most powerful of Norland's humans, but he couldn't begin to imagine just how any being could shake the mountains of Arbidis by standing up alone. This was the deepest point of the Eternal Battlefield, a plane that could withstand the tyranny of countless archlords! Such strength in Norland could tear rifts into the mainland, while Faelor of the Forest Plane would collapse!

He felt like he had seen a true deity; not the ones that relied on the laws of their plane and worshippers, but a ruler of all that controlled the life and death of everything. He stopped by instinct as his perception shifted once more to an enormous being that towered thousands of kilometres into the sky, even if his sight told him that this was a man no more than a couple metres tall. The Field of Truth didn't work, unable to tell him what was reality and what was illusion. The strangest thing was that Richard hadn't seen the man use any laws until now. The laws of the abyss seemed to pass right through him, as though he didn't even exist.

Subconsciously stroking the destiny crystal still hidden in his pocket, Richard gritted his teeth and forced himself forward. No matter how scary the existence in front of him was, he still had to go. He simply wouldn't be able to stomach not even trying to find Sharon.

The man on the peak snorted, an enormous will descending from the void and pouring into his body. His aura immediately skyrocketed, filling the sky as he picked up a pitch-black sword from beside his throne and pointed it at Richard. The sword's surface was full of rust and stains, and there were multiple nicks on the edge, but what seemed like scrap metal leaning against the throne suddenly started radiating the bloodlust of a primordial beast. In an instant, the fiery heat of the abyss seemed to dissolve into a chilling winter.

Every move of this man seemed to control this entire plane! As the enormous will descended upon him, his unknown gaze seemed to turn cold and piercing as he stared at Richard and lifted his sword. Even kilometres away, Richard felt like a natural predator had locked on to him, his soul's power crumbling as his body froze in place. He gathered all of his energy to form a giant tetrahedron behind him, but this power only gave him the ability to move. By that point, the man had already sent out a slash.

Black fog rose from the sword and snaked towards Richard, the Field of Truth unable to identify just what it was. Space cracked in the fog's wake, paving a path for the blade to press down on Richard like a black tide. Richard suddenly felt like all of Arbidis had come to life, pressing down on him from all sides. He quickly realised that this wasn't an illusion, as the man's blade had absorbed all the laws within thousands of kilometres and condensed them into the slash. This was equivalent to hurling a sector of Arbidis right at him!

Richard instantly knew that he wouldn't be able to block this blade, or even obstruct it in the slightest. A hundred archlords would be ground to fine dust in its wake, and it could shatter Norland itself. Time seemed to slow down as he watched the countless spatial cracks appearing and vanishing in quick succession, their destructive power softening right at the last moment as the sword darted gracefully from crack to crack. At that moment, he only had one thought in his mind— How could such a person exist? How could such a strike exist?

Time had slowed so much that Richard took what felt like forever to react to another spatial crack opening right before him, this one showing countless fragmented scenes in the void. He felt the same as when he had seen into possible futures long ago; if he could so much as touch these scenes, something miraculous could happen. However, his body didn't move as countless golden beams of light showered down from within, wriggling around and converging on his body to twist into a giant glowing cocoon. The light then pulled him into an enormous portal that appeared out of nowhere, behind it a dark expanse of nothingness.

When Richard disappeared behind the void into the darkness, the big door closed gently. The flow of time seemed to regain its normalcy, while the throned man's sword rolled past to strike at the portal that had yet to disappear. Carving it in two, the attack then dug a hundred-kilometre-long scar into the Eternal Battlefield, disintegrating everything in its path.

“The dragon again!” the man snorted coldly, but he seemed to have no intent to chase as he simply sat back down and returned to his languid pose. A moment later, he and the peak disappeared from sight, possessing no vitality at all.

The sudden change stumped Nasia as well. Glancing at the vanishing peak, she looked back at her fierce opponent before sheathing her blades and jumping out of the fight.

“Not fighting anymore?” the axe wielder was stunned.

“Richard's gone, what's the point of this farce?” she asked as she turned around to leave.

“Where are you going?”

“I'm waiting for him to return.”

“What point is there?” the warrior snorted.

“Hard to say,” she didn't stop nor turn her head, only waving as she vanished into the Eternal Battlefield.

1405 - City of Sin

Into The Darkness

“What... happened?” Richard's mind was hazy as he woke up, the world in front of him blurred and his thoughts slowed to the extent that he couldn't formulate sentences in his mind. All sorts of colours filled his vision, robbing him of the ability to focus on anything. Concentration was something that had come easily to him even as a child, but now it felt exceptionally difficult to muster up. His broken thoughts wandered everywhere, leaving him unable to accomplish anything.

“Need... control...” he struggled, spending an untold amount of time to gather the will to focus. He finally felt his body, but he quickly found that his senses weren't in line with his actions at all. An attempt to move his left hand led to his leg kicking out, and as he tried to raise his head his arm shot down. It took a number of tries for his vision to slowly clear up, revealing a dark sky on the verge of dusk.

Everything around him seemed to be an indistinct grey, with a strange, twisted branch in the corner of his vision that was trembling slightly. Everything felt like a delusion, but as his mental faculties returned he decided to use the blessing of truth. His vision immediately changed, revealing distorted laws all around and clearing up the mismatch in his senses.

Richard looked at the laws in the sky, trying to analyse them while he recalled just what had happened. This process had already become instinctive to him, being the primary method he used to understand any new land. His thoughts started to move faster and faster, his memories awakening to reveal an unparalleled strike slashing down on him.

“The Darkness portal!” he suddenly shouted and sat up, recalling how the timeforce of the Eternal Dragon had automatically saved him on the verge of death. That also meant he was in the Darkness, a land that the old dragon's radiance could not reach, the final destination of all Chosen.

Richard looked into his surroundings and found himself in a barren wasteland with no sunlight, water, nor life. A few dead trees were all he could see in the vast expanse, their branches twisting in all directions with no semblance of coherence. He calmed himself down and recalled the details of the blessing that had brought it here, specifically the fact that it wasn't a random location he would be sent to. He had set the destination to the Land of Dawn, which should have been Flowsand's territory to pull into the light. However, he wasn't certain whether a portal constructed in that sort of emergency could necessarily be accurate.

All around him were desolate plains, with clearly no one to provide directions. He struggled to stand, but his body still felt disconnected and his thoughts jumped around continuously. While he managed to get to his feet for a brief moment, he fell back to the ground once more. He thus spent some time lying motionless on the ground, trying to recall any information he had with regards to the Darkness.

His first thoughts went to the momentary experience that the pope of the Church of Glory had granted him, as well as a travel diary that he had eventually been unable to resist reading. The book had mentioned that the first thing to do upon entering the Darkness was to establish a coordinate system, recalibrating one's sense of space and time to deal with the chaotic laws. This new system would allow him to regain his normal perception and movement.

With both prior experience and his title as a Lord of Space, Richard was amongst the best spatial mages of Norland. Given a goal, his mind started to show its agility as it established a coordinate system and restored his movements. This time, he stood up without as much trouble, shifting his focus to anchoring himself in the flow of time. Thankfully, those last moments where timeforce had whisked him away from death had also given him some material to work with.

Richard started examining his body, only to be shocked that mere traces of his mana were still around. He settled down and checked again, finding that his body was actually riddled with injuries that left most of his organs twisted and damaged. When he fell the first time, it wasn't just because of the distorted space. Forcing his memory as hard as he could, he returned to his last moment of consciousness where the aftermath from the portal being shredded had actually struck him.

His expression darkened with both confusion. He still couldn't understand just how such a powerful being could exist, such that even someone like Iskara was no more than a tiny reptile in comparison. Unfortunately, there were no answers to be found right now. Setting the question aside, he looked around at what he'd brought with him. He still had his sword case, and the destiny crystal lay silently in his pocket, but the rest of his equipment was missing.

Once he had inspected his equipment, Richard turned to the more urgent matter of replenishing his mana. He sat down to meditate, but after a few minutes of coming up short he sighed and opened his eyes. There was no astral energy around in the Darkness, and no other sources that he could seize either. It seemed like replenishing his mana was easier said than done.

He looked again in all four directions, but his perception couldn't identify anything outside of the wastelands. Muttering to himself in resignation, he walked towards the closest tree as he recalled another bit of advice in the diary Martin had given him. The second most important thing to do in the Darkness was to walk. Through movement, one could observe the changes in the laws and understand them better.

The tree itself provided nothing. It was dozens of metres tall and its branches were sharp, but it was neither metal nor wood. It seemed instead to have been petrified into stone, with no energy to speak of. Resigning himself to his state, Richard started walking into the depths.

The laws here did indeed change constantly, but it wasn't the same as in the Outlands where there was no rhyme nor reason to it. Here the distortion itself seemed to be constant, allowing one to analyse and grasp the laws underneath.

Richard walked on for what felt like eternity, quickly improving his analysis until he didn't feel out of sorts. One day, he finally found a change to the distant horizon, a small spot that he focused on to find a number of buildings within. It seemed like a small town that was enveloped by a faint black barrier, with shadowy figures walking around within. His eyes gleamed as he changed directions, but he slowed down once he was close. The Darkness wasn't completely devoid of living beings, but they were of hundreds of different races and were quite possibly hostile. In some cases, they could even see him as food.

1406 - City of Sin

A Nameless Small Town

Arriving at the first sign of civilization in this barren wasteland, Richard stopped to observe before he walked in. The place wasn't big, with only about a hundred buildings, and most houses had just four walls and a roof. Even the biggest building, a two-storey commercial place of some sort, looked shabbier than Norland's slums.

It was instead the translucent black barrier that piqued his interest. It wasn't nearly as simple as he'd first assumed, and the colour came from the fact that it was blocking the distortion in the laws all around it in the same way as a Lighthouse of Time could. Within the curtain, the town was clearly much more comfortable for beings of order.

A group of people walked out from the town, four human and three other humanoids with bestial heads and tentacled front limbs. Richard recognised them as the tanir, a void-faring race known for their stealth and teleportation abilities. They formed the bulk of void pirates and thieves, having raided a number of demiplanes and secret stores. The presence of tanir was eye-opening. This was a race rather similar to dragons in that they reproduced slowly, but their individuals were generally very powerful.

“Outsider!” one of the old humans barked, “Where are you from?” Google search 𝗳𝘳ℯ𝑒𝓌ℯ𝚋𝐧oνe𝘭. c𝐨ｍ

Richard didn't know what language the old man was using, but thankfully, a language comprehension spell still worked just fine. When the old man asked a second time, he managed to understand and reply, “Norland.”

“Norland?!” the old man was shocked for a moment, but he slowly put down his lance, “There are actually people from norland who still come around? Are you the new Chosen? But you don't have that radiance; how did you come here? Well, it doesn't matter. Come in, you shouldn't stay out in this damned place too long.”

Richard nodded, following the old man inside. He intentionally slowed down as he passed the barrier, trying to experience it carefully, but even as his body relaxed from the burden of fighting the distortion he couldn't decipher just how the filters worked.

The old man's face seemed to be ravaged by time and hardships, but his eyes were sharp and his grip remained steady, “Few people come here from Norland. It is a primary plane with a bright future, and the people there look down on a worthless place like the Darkness. Why would you come here?”

“An accident,” Richard replied calmly, “I was exploring a secret plane, and a random rift dropped me here.”

“Accident, hmm? Alright, if you say so,” the old man shrugged, staring at Richard with his razor-sharp gaze, “No matter, it makes no difference. There are some empty houses in the town, just find one to stay in.”

"Aren't there any inns here?"

“Inns? You think the towns in this cursed place get visitors? All we have is a tavern for entertainment, they sell some pretty strong wine. But you can't stay there.” At the mention of the alcohol, the old man's throat bobbed distinctly.

Richard followed the old man to the other side of town, where there were several empty houses. They were tiny shacks where he couldn't even stand upright in, with a wooden board for a bed and rocks for furniture. A hearth was dug into the corner, but there were no pots nor bowls. The place had no windows either. They were all basically the same, so he randomly selected one and walked in, sitting on a rock and combing through everything he knew.

......

Information was hard to come by in the Darkness. The people in town knew there was a city in the distance, but that news had come from an exhausted warrior who died hours after delivering it. No one here had the power to head to the city and take a look; affected by the distortions outside the barrier, they would lose track of direction and time soon enough.

Most of those in this town had grown up in the Darkness, and had grown used to coexistence with other races. Without the strength of the group, perhaps no one would be able to live on here. Very few were like Richard, having walked through the wastelands to arrive here.

Richard sat motionlessly inside his house, continuing to analyse the changed laws. This was a strange world, and he hadn't yet found any means to replenish his mana. Strangely enough, he didn't feel particularly hungry either, even as his stamina was slowly depleting as well. The old man who'd dropped him off here had left moments after, and there wasn't anyone else nearby either. This place had no birds, beasts, or even bugs, and the sky was always that unchanging grey without a day-night cycle or even a weather system to speak of.

About one day later, he had finally analysed one more law, giving him a clearer perception and steadying his movements further. Once he'd gotten used to the extra step of negating the distortion before analysing the laws, he had managed to establish an analytical model in a few days.

It would take sixteen fundamental laws to align his perception with the Darkness, and sixteen others to take control of the laws here. Richard had already finished with six, so basic movements were no longer a problem. It was only with this confidence that he decided to explore the town, specifically the tavern that seemed to be the only special place here.

The town was empty as ever, but when Richard arrived at a plaza near the barrier he heard a loud clamour. It turned out to be a reptilian fighting one of the tanir, with several other residents sitting around and watching.

Richard had seen the tanir before, but the reptilian was a stranger. Walking silently towards a human, he leaned over and asked, “What's happening?”

The woman shrugged, “An outsider that just came to the Darkness. He doesn't understand his surroundings at all, but started acting like he was unparalleled.”

The fight wasn't intense at all, sloppy even. The reptilian's attacks had no accuracy to speak of, and he wobbled around like he was blackout drunk. In no way did this seem like a powerhouse, and the tanir was laughing in mockery as he shook his tail in front of the man's face. The lizardman desperately tried to claw or bite off the tail, but every attempt struck air and it seemed to only get worse.

Richard quickly understood that this reptilian was someone with physical strength but weak law analysis. He truly was unlucky to have ended up in the Darkness. The tanir wasn't moving perfectly either, especially once the Field of Truth was active, but he covered the imperfections well enough.

“Had enough fun?” another tanir called out, “We're still waiting to eat!”

The tanir nodded and unsheathed a dagger, rushing to the reptilian and stabbing into his soft abdomen and slicing viciously. Blood and organs started flowing out, but before they could touch the earth the human beside Richard had pulled out a large pot and placed it directly down below. Everyone surrounded the reptilian, with a few of them taking out their daggers and starting dismemberment.

Richard squinted, finding that the place was more violent than he'd thought. In mere minutes, the lizardman had turned into meat and blood.

The woman whom Richard had met carried the basin of blood and organs back, walking next to Richard, “You didn't contribute, so you won't get any. You haven't fit in yet, but you'll be the same after a while. Still, you're lucky that Old Barduch is interested in you; he won't let us touch you.”

"Who?"

"The old man you met when you arrived. You usually find him in the tavern."

The two tanir pulled each of the rear legs of the lizardman over, the stronger one staring at Richard's sword case as he offered the leg, “Trade?”

“No thanks,” Richard declined the offered leg immediately. He wasn't interested anyway, and his swords were far more valuable.

However, the tanir man bared his fangs and growled, “Rejecting Bloodtooth comes with consequences, kid!”

“Don't care,” Richard repeated, turning away to walk towards the centre of the town.

Bloodtooth immediately growled with rage, pulling out his dagger, but the other tanir pressed down on his hand, “Old Barduch won't let anyone touch him!”

The mention of Barduch prompted Bloodtooth to snort with some fear, stowing his dagger away.

1407 - City of Sin

Meat Soup And Wine

The tavern was right in the centre of the small town, and as the only two-storey building it was impossible to miss. There was a flag with a barrel flying on top, one that Richard was surprised to see. He hadn't noticed it at all when he'd arrived yesterday, which showed just how much his perception was improving by the day.

The two large doors of the inn were also unique in this small town. Most houses simply had open spaces, mainly because a door was a dangerous thing when one couldn't see properly or control their strength. It was easy to slam into a wall by accident, and a light push could instead end up using one's full strength.

Richard considered a number of things as he saw the double doors. They could be a checkpoint to see whether one qualified, or they could be a simple safety measure. He had already considered tying some rope across his house, a simple action that would be devastating to anyone who hadn't yet adjusted.

As he observed the place, a middle-aged man walked over from the side. Glancing at Richard with surprise, he nodded and smiled, “You just came here, but you've learnt to be careful. No wonder Old Barduch likes you. Come in!”

Richard followed the man inside and was immediately greeted by a noisy scene. The place was a lot larger than it seemed from the outside, and the law distortion here was even lower than in the rest of the town. There were seven tables in total, and more than thirty people of various races were laughing and chatting around.

One bulky person exclaimed, “Remember how that lizard had its nose in the air when it walked in? It said it was some legend or something, haha! Eight days later, and all its meat has been eaten!”

Another one laughed, “That was four days ago, you dimwit! How does someone like you dare to boast that you can walk around the wastelands? I think you can't manage a single kilometre!”

The first one blushed, “It was definitely eight, no, seven days ago! How could it be four?”

The two burst into an argument, with others quickly joining the fray. Richard was left puzzled, as he had seen the fight occur only minutes ago. Had another reptilian come over? But this table had mostly the same people, how could there be such a coincidence in a plane with such distortion?

*Clang!* His thoughts were interrupted as a large bowl was thrown on his table, bringing his attention to a woman who was significantly bigger than him. She snorted at his confusion and placed what looked like a wine barrel down as well, the hair on her arms standing up as she flexed, “Your stuff, kid.”

“Hmm? I didn't order anything,” Richard said with confusion.

“Old Barduch already paid for you!” she seemed somewhat annoyed. Richard suddenly noticed that all the eyes in the inn had focused on his food and wine, but she slammed her large hands into the table and leant over, “You better eat and drink this obediently! Don't you dare walk over my arts!”

The woman then stared at the people who were just arguing with contempt, “Time is the thing most people talk about in this damned place. Everyone thinks their understanding time is accurate, and no one can win because there's not much of a way to disprove them.”

“So when did it happen?” Richard felt his heart throb.

“Obviously just now. The meat was still bleeding when they brought it to me.”

Meat? His expression changed, his gaze landing on the soup in front of him. It was black and oily, looking like the water after cleaning old pots, and there were several pieces of meat that had been chopped into various sizes and boiled within. He couldn't tell the source, but hearing what the woman said his heart went a little weak.

Richard had always had reservations about eating intelligent life. Thankfully, the reptilian wasn't really humanoid, and he'd had some experience in the Land of Dusk where even a mouthful of water was difficult to find. Skaven meat was an unrivalled delicacy there, and anyone who survived the damned place had to have eaten many other intelligent beings.

“This is the only place you'll get food in this damned place,” the woman added as she saw his hesitation, leaving for the kitchen right after.

A buff man walked over to Richard right after, “If you're not eating that, give it to me!”

“How about we eat him together?” someone suggested. The man had started a commotion, and more people quickly surrounded Richard with unkind gazes. Some even had daggers drawn, and a cacophony of voices quickly rang out.

“FORGOTTEN MY RULES?” the woman's voice rang out from the kitchen.

The first man didn't seem to be moved, roaring back, “You damn whore! Just because I follow your rules doesn't mean I'm afraid of you! Don't you dare come stopping me, or I'll be nasty!”

The woman snorted, her rage seeming to subside a little as she sneered, “You can't break my rules, no matter what.”

“Ha, alright then, we'll just pull him out. I swear, I'm going to fuck you one day! Kid, come out quietly and I'll make it more bearable.”

The tanir named Bloodtooth suddenly joined the commotion and barked as he pointed at Richard's scabbard, “I don't want to eat it, but that's mine.”

The brawny man frowned for a moment before relaxing again, “That's spatial equipment. Don't you dare pull those swords out!”

"I just want it as a stick."

“If you're that confident, do whatever you want. But be careful not to cut off your head.”

Space was distorted in the Darkness as well, and spatial equipment suffered as a result. It didn't lose its effectiveness, but upon activation the release point could vary significantly. It wasn't too much of a stretch to draw a sword and have it come out at one's neck. Thus, if one didn't understand enough of the surrounding laws, the sword case was indeed just a stick.

As a spatial expert himself, Richard naturally knew this. However, this exchange made it clear that the people in this tavern weren't simply good-for-nothings either. No simple people survived the Darkness.

“Why are you dawdling, kid? Don't test my patience!” a vicious voice rang out beside Richard, someone sending a chop towards the back of his head. It would daze on hit, and its trajectory was surprisingly stable with very little deviation. The attacker was clearly powerful, and rather adept at perception and bodily control as well. He had to be ranked quite highly in this small town.

Another leg shot towards Richard's waist. It seemed like these people were running out of patience and couldn't wait anymore. However, a flash of light seemed to freeze time itself, allowing everyone to watch as Richard grabbed a sword, pulled it out of its case, slashed, and then returned in one motion. The entire process was clear and with a distinct rhythm, but no one could react before two flopping sounds broke the stifling silence. A hand and leg fell to the ground, their owners finally realising what had happened as they fell to the ground and started wailing in agony.

Everyone else in the inn went silent, retreating far away but still afraid of moving too fast. Richard's eyes glowed with annoyance as they landed on the first aggressor's body, and another flash cut through the noise. The man cried hysterically and tried to fight back, what seemed like wild claw attacks actually being fairly well-adjusted to the laws of this place, but the light passed between his fists and dug into his neck. The cries suddenly stopped, the body freezing in mid-flight before collapsing to the ground.

1408 - City of Sin

Debates On Time

Having killed the first aggressor, Richard didn't rise and simply stared at Bloodtooth. The tanir man roared and raised his dagger to protect his chest, leaping forward in attack, but a flash of green stopped his momentum before splitting him in two. Moonlight was showcasing its continued worth; even with the distorted laws, its toughness and sharp edge weren't affected in the slightest. In stark contrast, the holy sword lost its sharpness while the Judge had turned into an ordinary weapon that could break on impact with even the common daggers here.

Once the burly man and Bloodtooth were dead, the inn went deathly still and no one dared to move. Everyone continued to stare at Richard's sword case, but the greed had been replaced by fear. The fact that he could use his sword case showed that his control was far beyond anything they could manage; with the green sword's terrifying power, it wouldn't take him a minute to slay everyone in this inn.

This was clearly an amazing sword, but one had to keep their life to use it. Fearlessness was a quality that the Darkness beat out of everyone within. The survivors tended to grow more cautious and reserved.

Richard sat quietly as two invisible souls floated out of the corpses, being absorbed by the power of his truename. Both were surprisingly powerful, giving him enough information to further his analysis and even craft two new saint runes. However, it wasn't time to research them just yet, so he sealed the souls and waited to see just what would happen next.

The woman walked out of the back kitchen, carrying a large wooden bucket and a cloth so black that it left one nauseous. She headed to Bloodtooth's corpse first and threw his scattered organs into the bucket, collecting the blood with the cloth and wringing it into the bucket as well. She sighed as she worked, “Such a waste! This much blood could have been used for another pot of soup. Be more careful, small wounds not dismemberment. You might be happy with killing, but that means less food for the rest of us.”

Richard was rather shocked by the chiding, and seeing the cloth his appetite went further down. However, the woman ignored him for a moment as she looked at the other patrons who were frozen still, “Go do whatever you need to! You, you, you, help me pack up the meat. Same rules, a ladle of soup each.”

The tavern immediately jumped back to life, the ones that were pointed out happily lifting the corpses and carrying them into the kitchen. Even the severed limbs weren't let go; those who had been amputated simply shrunk into the corners with clotted stubs and no signs of pain.

The woman looked back at Richard, “Old Barduch wasn't mistaken, but he underestimated your power. Don't kill any more people, our town is already at its limits with so few people. And fewer and we might not be able to sustain the veil of order.”

“I wouldn't have killed them if they didn't want to eat me,” Richard replied calmly.

“It's already great that you didn't eat them, who else will try to give you trouble? Anyway, that soup of yours is clean, there isn't any human meat inside. You'd best drink it, there's no room to be picky here. Many of the people you saw were like you when they first came, look at them now.”

Richard continued to cringe at the thought, but he picked up the soup and drank a mouthful to test it. He was immensely relieved to find that it had almost no flavour to it, but as the contents entered his belly they turned into threads of pure energy that replenished his mana. He immediately drank a gulp of the alcohol, and despite the bitter taste it disintegrated in the same way. His expression changed as he realised that this was how one regenerated their energy in the Darkness; neither the tavern nor this woman were simple.

Upon closer inspection, he discovered that not all of the food and drink was turned into energy. As much as two-thirds turned into a residue that remained in his stomach, and the rate of disintegration slowed down. It would take ten days to exhaust everything, and some analysis revealed that the lost energy was mostly due to the distortion. It, too, would get better with his analysis of the laws here.

Richard now understood why almost no one in the town seemed to possess any internal energy or mana. Their grasp of laws was far below his own, so the food barely gave them anything. They gathered at the tavern every day, but it only gave them basic sustenance.

As he closed his eyes to think, someone whispered in another corner, “How could someone so strong come from Norland?”

“Quiet! You've been here too long, I heard Norland produced a number of powerful characters in the last century.”

“Bullshit, you've been here more than 300 years!”

“What are you talking about? I was still exploring the void a century ago. You're so muddle-headed...”

Richard ignored these debates, focusing on his food and drink to leave a clean bowl and barrel behind. Most of the people in the inn sighed dejectedly; they only had tiny glasses of alcohol, some not even having enough for a mouthful, while the few that had soup could see into the bottom of their ladles.

He felt full as he walked out. Although most of the food and wine hadn't been absorbed, it still replenished half of his energy and mana. This meant that he would be able to fully recover if he controlled all the laws of the Darkness, but that thought drew a bitter smile. It was near impossible to control all of a plane's laws; in Faelor, it had taken him a war against the reapers and hundreds of millions of souls to get to that point. In the Darkness, things were even more difficult. If not for his control of space and experience with time, his analytical speed would have been a sliver of what it was now.

Just as he exited the tavern, he turned around and asked the busy woman, “Where's Old Barduch?”

“He went out hunting, he should return in two days. Come back and look for him then.”

“Hunting? There are animals here?”

“Occasionally. Unlucky creatures in the void might end up in a rift that sends them here. If he's lucky, he meets one or two; most of the time, he returns empty-handed.”

"Who else here can hunt?"

“Barduch is the only one. Maybe you? But you don't have the experience yet.”

“Then I'll be back in two days.”

He returned to his tiny hut, sitting down to analyse the two souls he had just captured. Both had legendary strength and controlled a number of laws, but their memories were too twisted and fuzzy for him to be able to decipher anything. This was another side-effect of this place; one slowly lost all of their original memories, forgetting where they came from, what they were, and even their own names. Once enough time had passed, they would regress into a feral state and live a life of instinct.

Still, there were some things to be gained from these souls, namely their own perceptions of this wretched place. Richard began working on the laws of the Darkness once more, using their experiences to further his analysis. The laws of this place weren't too difficult to decipher, only at the level of Norland, but that was predicated on a fully recovered perception and clear recognition of spacetime. In this regard, things only grew more difficult as one adapted to the place, with their senses being permanently warped by it to the point that even recovering would be more difficult than analysing the fundamental laws of this plane.

He shivered at the thought. The Darkness was a place where differences in power were amplified. That reptilian that couldn't grasp the laws of this place had been toyed with by people that should have been far below his level.

1409 - City of Sin

Timeflames

As he sat down to think, Richard organised himself and set out a number of tasks for the future. His first priority was to analyse the laws of the Darkness to the point where he could defend himself, and the next was to explore the wastelands and find out which district of the Darkness this was. He then had to find a path to the Land of Dawn, locate Flowsand, and light the Lighthouse of Time to bring it under the control of the Eternal Dragon. That would allow the two of them to return to Norland.

Upon his return to Norland, he would plan his second expedition into Arbidis. Only now, there was an insurmountable obstacle that he had to deal with. No matter how his memories were distorted, he could recall the matchless blade of that man on the throne with perfect accuracy. Just how was he to deal with an attack that held the power of all Arbidis?

He felt like it wasn't actually possible for an attack to possess all the power of a plane. If that were the case, that man could conquer every other plane in existence with ease. He knew this sort of situation was just a fantasy, and that the system of laws had to continue existing outside of an individual's strength lest the plane itself collapse. Unfortunately, he had no way to solve the problem right now, and could only wait until he returned to Norland.

Now that he had some energy and mana, he set about depleting them once more. Fuelling his analysis with that power would greatly increase his efficiency, and now wasn't the time to be miserly. His mana reserves slowly started to drop as he activated his blessings to their fullest.

Two days passed by in the blink of an eye as Richard used Bloodtooth and that burly man as the foundation to finish his seventh law. He then picked up a stone and unsheathed Moonlight, testing his carving skills with a likeness of Sharon. The result was a piece of workmanship that was top-notch even by Norland's standards, but looking closely he could spot a number of imperfections. The result was a far cry from his masterpieces, but it meant he had recovered half of his control.

Looking at the carving, he felt like he would land in a lot of trouble in this area. Calculating the time, he crushed the stone into powder and left the house. The last thing he needed was a memento of someone who lived in his mind every moment.

“He's here again! I was there when he killed Bloodtooth ten days ago!” someone hissed as he entered the tavern.

“It was nine days!” someone else cried.

“You buffoons, it was at least eleven!”

As the arguments broke out once more, he scanned the area to find the old man who'd brought him into the town near a window, walking over and sitting down, “Old Barduch?”

“That's me.”

“Thank you for the help,” he bowed sincerely.

The man chuckled, “Help? My vision isn't so warped that I can't see clearly yet. If I allowed those brats to attack you back then, you could have killed everyone in this town. I also had a favour to ask.”
f𝑟𝐞𝙚𝘸𝐞𝑏𝙣𝑜v𝑒Ɩ. c𝐨𝙢

“Hmm? I'm listening,” Richard hedged, completely ignoring the part about killing the entire town.

Barduch stared him in the eye, “A long time ago, there was a very strong person who came here. He was stronger than all of us, but not as strong as you. He brought news of a distant city with thousands of people living there, and a veil of order that is much stronger and wider than our small town. I think you would want to go there anyway, or even further, but I hope you can return once and find a way to build a relationship between this town and the city. That way, we can live on.”

Richard frowned, “Why don't you people just move?”

The old man forced a smile, “You've seen how weak we are. Most of us would perish after leaving the veil of order; even I have no confidence in staying alive to reach the city.”

“Okay... I can help, but I'll need to see how these veils of orders are made first.”

Barduch finished his soup and stood up, “Follow me, it isn't a secret.”

Richard followed the old man to a windowless room on the second floor, with a brazier in the middle that had pale gold flames burning within. The flames swayed feebly, but they were emitting strands of timeforce. He was a little surprised by the familiar sight; this was the same kind of brazier that was used outside teleport points in the Eternal Vortex.

So the veils of order were supported by timeflames... Lost in thought, he slowly walked into the room only for his entire body to freeze up and shiver. Barduch seemed to have been prepared, pulling his clothes tightly around himself before he walked in, “This room isn't empty. Many deceased souls here refuse to dissipate, and just reside for an unknown length of time. The vicinity of the timeflames is the best for these wandering souls, so more and more of them squeeze into this room. I don't know how many there are.”

Richard's expression changed for a moment; most people that could come to the Darkness were legendary or close. If he could use the power of Issa to redeem them, he could pull the laws from their souls without even needing to tear them apart. His eyes immediately glowed as he activated the Field of Truth, revealing hundreds of points of light all around. One had to remember that these were all legends or close, with powerful wills to match. A normal person would fall sick simply staying here too long!

These souls had been here for quite some time, and had already been withered down to primitive instinct. They wanted to approach the timeflames, but didn't dare to get too close. One that got too close was immediately burnt by the flames, shocking the others to hide in the corners for a while. As the burning soul cried out in agony, Barduch sighed, “Another unlucky fellow, but at least it's a release. Much better than being trapped in this room.”

“Maybe I could help them,” Richard said as he put a hand over the timeflames, “In my name, I grant you Redemption.”

A soft, milky light shone on the timeflames, the fire suddenly bursting into his hand. Motes of light flew out like fireflies from within, merging into the white light and converging into his soul. This brought an end to the suffering of those who were being burnt by the flames.

However, the appearance of Richard's power didn't end there. The other souls wandering in the room suddenly lit up, rushing towards their redemption like moths, New faces started appearing on the three tetrahedrons within Richard's soul, some even close to the top near the devil lords he had killed. Hundreds of powerful wills suddenly rammed into him, leaving him pale as he almost crumpled to the floor.

“What happened?” Barduch ran over in shock.

“Oof... Nothing much, these souls are heavier than I thought. Redeeming them had its price,” Richard said with a bitter laugh.

The old man's eyes went wide open, “Do you mean... They're all gone! That is... such a relief. I had no way to influence them, or even destroy them, only watching as they got captured by the flames one by one. I could only comfort myself by saying that entering the timeflames was the beginning of the end, and would allow them to return to eternity... I, too... Thank you. Thank you so much.”

1410 - City of Sin

City

Once he'd absorbed all of the souls in the room, Richard looked at the timeflames that had dimmed significantly, “Will they burn out?”

Old Barduch pointed to several twisted wood blocks in the corner, “No, we just need to gather more soul wood. That is the real fuel.”

Richard recognised the wood as the same kind he had seen regularly in the wastelands. He hadn't thought it was worth anything, but from the looks of it this was a valuable treasure. Anything that could store soul power and keep timeflames burning was extremely valuable in the void; just a bit of this firewood could be traded for a top-tier offering.

He nodded, “Then I'll go collect some more. I remember there's one that isn't far from here.”

“You...” Barduch wanted to say something, but he eventually sighed, “I know the tree you're talking of. I've tried to chop it down and bring it back for a long time, but it is beyond my abilities. You... shouldn't have such problems. Oh, the years are catching up.”

As the duo walked towards the edge of the town, the old man suddenly asked, “You were already an epic being when you first came here, weren't you?”

Richard smiled, but he didn't give a reply as he walked out of the veil of order and vanished into the distance. Barduch sat down and waited for an unknown length of time before he saw an indistinct figure reappear in the distance, lugging a tree that was thicker than their body as they walked back to the town with ease. The old man shivered at the sight; he had assumed Richard would have cut down a few branches, not the entire tree. Such a big soul tree was enough to keep the town's timeflames burning for a century!

“Let's go, your drink is on me!” the old man said eventually, patting Richard's shoulder as they headed to the tavern. Moments later, the two were at the tavern with three large barrels of wine and a steaming plate of meat.

The two quickly ate their fill, and Barduch grew rather intoxicated as he started regaling Richard with tales of his heroic youth. In the end, he even tried to jump on the table and ask for a competition, but he instead crashed underneath. Richard smiled wryly and tried to pull him out from underneath, but thundering snores rang out as he fell asleep. He carried the old man to his room and placed him on the stone bed; since the one drunken episode could mean days of unconsciousness, he simply packed up and started heading out from the town.

Richard had barely walked out from the veil of order before the tavern lady suddenly ran up behind him, forcing a bottle of wine and a pack of grilled meat into his hands. This food meant a great deal of energy in the Darkness, so he didn't reject and bid her farewell before heading in the direction Barduch had pointed out.

......

The wastelands were a monotonous biome that remained deathly quiet in the perennial twilight. Ordered life was not welcome here, the distorting laws pushing everything towards destruction, but the world itself refused to change. As he headed deeper in, Richard grew increasingly curious about the lack of any need for food; it seemed like a simple question, but the answer could grant enlightenment on this world's fundamental laws. His intuition told him that this wasn't the true face of this world, but a farce that he could only see through once he could eliminate this distortion completely.

The wastelands also seemed endless, the barren lands only broken up by the occasional soul tree. These frighteningly twisted trees could each power a small town for a century, but chopping them down required strength that few could muster. After walking for what seemed like forever, Richard suddenly turned around and inspected the tracks he had left behind. He couldn't see all the way to the start of his journey, but even towards the end of his vision the traces of footsteps remained impeccably straight. Were it anyone else, the track would have curved or at least wobbled.

Time continued to pass as he walked further and further, his analysis of the laws here strengthening by the day. In two days he had finished the eighth law, in three more the ninth. The tenth and eleventh eventually followed, and as he went through the memories of hundreds of distorted souls he quickly shot towards the fourteenth law in his grasp. He had a renewed understanding of the Darkness by that point, but one question started to plague his mind— why didn't this world have any creatures of its own?

He recalled the diary that Martin had given him, and a comment about this very quandary. The man who had returned believed that there was indeed an indigenous race, and that finding them would be the key to unlocking the secrets of this world.

When he eventually came to a stop for the second time, it was because a nearby soul tree had caught his attention. Seeing marks of branches being chopped off, he sent out a few motes of light that served as tracking magic for any signs of life. The motes swirled around the tree for a bit, quickly streaming into a line of footprints that headed in the same direction he was walking in.

Richard was a little elated at this sight, but he also turned solemn and started to nibble on the food he had brought with him. He waited to finish off all of the meat and wine, ingesting it completely before following the trail. His experience the first time had warned him to be careful of meeting others in this forsaken place. The laws here distorted even personalities, sometimes to the point that members of the same race would view each other as food. According to Barduch, this city had multiple epic beings within.

It took two more days to see the silhouette of the city on the horizon, an ugly construction with walls barely taller than a grown human with some gaps that were filled by sharpened stones instead. Of course, scaling even the shortest of walls could be fatal to those not acclimated to the Darkness, and the fact that people from here could cut down soul trees two days away showed just how powerful they were.

...

Richard was noticed quickly as he headed towards the city gates, with several people looking at him alertly. There were a number of various species here, but humans seemed to form the majority. Their eyes focused on his sword case as he approached, with many unable to conceal the greed in their gazes.

A skinny youth chuckled, “Another newcomer, and he looks tender.”

However, a burly man leaning against the walls commented lazily, “This boy has thorns. Careful not to tear your mouth off.”

“That's none of your business, Nanook! You've meddled in my affairs enough, I'll give you a good show if you stick your nose in this!”

“Oh?” the man sneered, “Then I'll just wait here.”

By this point, Richard had crossed the veil of order and arrived in front of the gates. He stopped for a moment, but then picked up his pace and continued into the city. The protection here was surprisingly weak, not even as good as the small town he'd just been in, but another veil of order further within indicated that there was a higher-class area within.

The city gates were quite narrow, almost as small as a manor's doors. Richard was about to walk through when he was stopped by the youth raising his leg, “Did I say you could enter?”

1411 - City of Sin

Three Thousand Years Waiting

“I need permission to enter the city?” Richard asked the youth who had blocked him.

“Obviously!” the youth stomped down, “I'm the boss here. If I don't let you enter, you're going to scram out of the veil of order! I've taken a liking to that thing on your back. Hand it over and come serve me; once I'm satisfied, I might let you in. Otherwise, you'll rot outside!”

Hearing these shouts, several other loiterers nearby surrounded Richard as well. However, he ignored them and stared at the primary instigator, “And what if I don't agree?”

“Then go to hell!” a sharp cry rang out from behind him, the air rustling as a heavy stick smashed towards Richard's head from behind. There was a considerable amount of strength behind the accurate strike, with some aura inserted as well. Most would have their skulls split open and lose their lives.

The burly man named Nanook went wide-eyed, but he was too late to get up and help block. However, a green radiance suddenly blinded everyone nearby and the stick didn't actually land on its target. Instead, it split into two and the upper half flew away, the wielder who was from another race watching as his arms separated from his body before his head rolled onto the floor.

“... BOSS!” It took a moment for the youth to react, and before he could retract his leg that was blocking Richard's way a hand gripped his ankle while Moonlight slashed across the sky. He screamed like a banshee before the pain even set in, so frightened that he blacked out for a moment.

Richard casually threw the leg aside, looking back at the others nearby who started screaming and ran away instantly. He didn't give chase, simply sheathing Moonlight and continuing into the city.

“Do you plan to leave just like that?” Nanook suddenly asked.

Richard stopped and looked at him calmly, “Are you with them too?”

“Of course not!” the man sighed, walking to the youth who was now squirming in pain and smoothly sending a dagger into his heart. Even Richard frowned slightly as the dagger was shaken around, but he stood up and explained calmly, “Taking away a leg is no different from killing him. To keep the meat fresh, the people here will slice off as much as they can while he's still alive. It's a painful process.”

"It could also be enjoyable to some,” Richard dismissed.

Surprise flashed across Nanook's face, fear now clouding his eyes as he stared at Richard, “You're not new here. Where did you come from?”

"I've only been in the Darkness for a short while, but that was in a small town nearby."

The burly man even retreated two steps, “A small town? All the towns here are far away. Did you cross the entirety of the wastelands?”

“Hmm? Not the entirety, but quite a bit maybe.”

“How long?”

“Why would I tell you that?”

Nanook hesitated before looking at Richard's sword case, “Is that spatial equipment?”

“Yep,” Richard admitted freely.

“Sigh. You're more powerful than I thought. But I must warn you not to go too far; we have powerful people here as well, and they've been in this city for a long time. If you follow me, I'll bring to a place to stay in. You might be able to help us deal with those things in the future.”
𝘧reewℯ𝚋noѵ𝒆l. cｏ𝙢

“Things?” Richard asked calmly even as he motioned for the man to lead the way.

"I can't describe them well, but... You'll know when you see them. They should be the natives of this damned place."

Natives? Richard was surprised; he hadn't thought he would obtain this information so quickly.

......

Nanook brought Richard to a small and shabby estate, but unlike everything else nearby it had a gate and even a courtyard. He walked in first before inviting Richard, “Come in!”

Richard followed, finding that this place was built only slightly better than the small town. They still used rocks for tables and chairs, but they had been carved and tidied up a little.

In one corner of the building was a skinny old man, constantly drawing strange symbols on the ground. He raised his head when Richard walked in, his empty eye sockets still locking onto Richard's position with ease. He flashed a creepy smile, “You're finally here! I've been waiting for 3,000 years!”

......

The civil war in heaven was currently in full swing, with battles occurring at every corner of the vast world. Countless celestials fell by the minute, their bodies and souls returning to the origin of light. This was a special world where newborns were actually reincarnations, but that cycle of life was currently threatened.

The celestials had only ever pointed their blades towards the outside for hundreds of thousands of years, but the race that worshipper the origin of light had suddenly split into two factions. All celestials were purists, unable to tolerate any deviation in faith. In their eyes, there was no middle ground or compromise when it came to belief. Both sides believed in slightly altered explanations for the source of this origin, but that gave rise to a war that now encompassed the entire plane.

Amongst the incessant fighting of the celestial warriors was an unusual specimen— a human named Martin who had come from one of the lower worlds. He would not return to the origin of light like the other warriors here, and his death would be a true dissipation of body and soul, but he fought on with vigour regardless. He wasn't the only one of his kind here either; both sides had mortals participating that were viewed as insane fanatics by the celestials themselves.

However, amidst the incessant fighting, Martin did a truly crazy thing— he had the warriors under him break away from the main fight. The war had been in progress for a long time, and while Richard had defeated the reapers, crushed Lithgalen, and even reached the depths of the Eternal Battlefield Martin had survived battle after battle after battle. Regardless of how much of a disadvantage he was in, he fought with the same passion he had first entered with and was now a low-level officer who led thirty true celestials.

Celestials were a contemptuous lot who disdained all mortal life. Martin wasn't promoted because they appreciated him, but because most of the other warriors he fought alongside had died. With the other recruits being too green to take command, they had no option but to give control to him.

Martin had gained many memories of running with his tail between his legs during this war, and now he faced his fourteen remaining warriors and prepared them for their last mission. They would break away and cover the retreat of the main force; their side had lost again.

The team of thirty had been whittled down over the course of this battle, and those that remained were riddled with injuries. Most of them looked numb and simply weren't listening to him anymore; were it not for his four massive wings of light, they would have dispersed long ago. However, a four-winged warrior had the qualifications to lead a thousand-man force of celestials, while Martin only had thirty at best who were constantly malcontent. However, he didn't even pay attention to such things as he focused on the relentless battle.

“That piece of is our last battlefield. We will fight to the very end, until the main army can counterattack!” he pointed at a floating rock in the distance, a common one that was found throughout the heavens. It represented stable space, and the enemy would have to pass through that region if they wished to pursue the fleeing forces. Any detour would add enough of a delay for the retreat to be successful.

“For the Light!” Martin screamed and waved his sword, the same actions he had always taken to spur on his subordinates. He spread his four wings and flew up to the tip of the pumice, preparing for the white tide of celestials that were rushing towards his position. Turning around for a moment, all he saw was fourteen pairs of wings desperately flapping into the distance.

1412 - City of Sin

News From Far Away

Martin's face gleamed with a holy radiance as he looked fearlessly at the endless sea of opponents before him. He flashed a helpless smile at being abandoned by his warriors, but it only took a moment for him to regain his peace. Countless enemies were pouncing in from all sides, and his longsword started dancing as it plunged into the closest one. Raging flames melted the torso of the target, and as he fell to the ground the warrior turned into a beam of light that vanished into the horizon. He was quickly followed by a number of others that the sword cut through, but more and more enemies continued to charge up the boulder.

The small floating rock had become Martin's personal battlefield, raging flames and blinding lights drowning it regularly. Only occasionally could one see the two opposing sides in battle, but Martin constantly prayed in a low voice even as his longsword sent enemy after enemy back to the origin of light. A beam of pure white eventually landed on him and replenished his waning energy, giving him the strength to continue fighting.

This was how the origin of light repaid devotion, but the replenishment of divinity and vitality was limited. It wasn't a benefit Martin enjoyed solely, with the same beams covering celestials from both sides. However, it was when a second beam landed upon him that those trying to attack were shocked. How steady was his faith for his prayers to be answered twice?

However, this didn't bring the slightest of hesitation to these attackers, instead infuriating them further. The more he believed in the alternate faith, the more of a blasphemer he was. The crowd of warriors trying to kill him only grew in number, but Martin was like a small canoe in a raging storm that simply refused to go down.

......

Back in the Darkness, Richard frowned at the old man who was staring at him with empty eye sockets, “You've been waiting for me for three thousand years?”

“Yes,” the old man nodded, and as though he knew what Richard was thinking he added on, “My perception of time is quite precise.”

Richard didn't believe that statement. Ever since he had arrived at the Darkness, he hadn't seen anyone with a truly precise grasp of time. Even epic beings couldn't necessarily build a precise model to understand this place, and he had only done so because of his titles and momentary grasp of timeforce from when he had been teleported here.

However, he was stunned when the old man stretched out a hand to reveal a small hourglass. The grains of sand fell one by one as it was flipped over, and while it truly was accurate Richard was more shocked by its style. The thing was pure silver, with the sand inside being of the same color as well. This was an hourglass more ornate than his own, which meant only Chosen could possess it!

It wasn't surprising to find Chosen in the Darkness— that was after all their entire purpose— but these were people that beared the burden of building a Lighthouse of Time and pulling their lands into the Eternal Dragon's domain. A blind, old man, couldn't possible accomplish such a task, especially one who didn't show any strength even under the Field of Truth.

“You really were waiting for me?” Richard asked again.

“Of course. Master of the Elven Swords, Titled Worshipper of the Eternal Dragon, Lord of Destruction and Redemption.” These words astonished Richard once more. He didn't understand just what sort of ability could give this old man a clear grasp of his own power, but the man seemed to read these thoughts and sighed, “There is an imprint of destiny upon you, it tells me that the person I've been waiting for has finally arrived.”

Richard took a step back for a moment, his hand reaching for his chest pocket where the last destiny crystal lay dormant. However, that panic only held for a moment before he calmed down and walked back in front of the old man, “Why?”

“Do you want to return to your home world?”

"Of course."

“Sigh. Then you must leave this area and head to the Land of Dawn.”

“You waited three thousand years just to tell me that?” Richard frowned. The old dragon's Chosen had unique titles, and as Daybreak Flowsand was in charge of liberating the Land of Dawn. She had only come here a few years ago, however, so this talk of three millennia made the old man seem like a liar. However, he forced himself to calm down, “Which Land of Dawn?”

“There is only one, the area that Her Excellency Flowsand is the master of. She sent me here to wait for you, to show you the way. It was only that this wait took three millennia...”

Richard's facade of calmness was going to break, but he reined himself in, “Flowsand hasn't even been gone for ten years, how could three thousand have passed? Are we talking about a different person?”

The old man smiled, “Of course not. Who else would go by that name but Lady Daybreak?”

“Then why have you waited so long?”

“Time is a difficult thing to control, even outside of the Darkness. I believe you have already noticed that it is the greatest point of convention amongst those here. Truth be told, they are all correct in their perception. From another perspective, they are all wrong. This is the Darkness, and nothing is too strange; I've been waiting for you for three thousand years.”

Richard frowned further. His gut told him that the man wasn't lying, but the implications were unfathomable. Had that much time passed while he was unconscious? He shook the question out of his head, “So how do I get to the Land of Dawn?”

The silver hourglass appeared in the old man's hand once more, but this time the timesand flowed out onto the ground and outlined a picture that was difficult to comprehend. It seemed like a map, but everything was a mess. Richard silently memorised the image; it was indecipherable to others, but to him it was a clear map with only a few distortions. Once his analysis of the laws here was complete, he would be able to read this map like any other.

“So what do I do at the Land of Dawn? Simply return home?”

“Of course not. You need to build the Lighthouse of Time and finish Her Excellency's incomplete mission. That will allow you to return to the Eternal Dragon's radiance.”

“And Flowsand? Where is she?”

“You will understand once you arrive at the Land of Dawn,” the man replied mysteriously.

“Just say it,” Richard's aura flared out.

However, the old man was unperturbed by the threat, “I cannot.”

Richard's expression sank further, but knowing how the Eternal Dragon enforced secrets he shelved his doubt, “Do you have anything else to tell me?”

“This is the method to build a Lighthouse of Time, but I believe this information isn't new,” the old man passed him a tattered piece of leather. HHe scanned it quickly and nodded; there were only a few small things that he didn't know here.

"Is there anything you'd like before I set off?"

The old man smiled, “A cup of water, if possible. I haven't drank anything for centuries.”

“Alright, wait here,” Richard stood up, turning to Nanook, “Where can I find water?”

“Follow me,” Nanook said softly, his mood seeming rather downcast.

As the two walked out of the courtyard, the old man smiled with satisfaction. His figure started disintegrating and turned to ash, a beam of light shooting out from within. It was a radiance as brilliant as the sun, with the figure of a noble battle priest within. It was a figure that Richard would have recognised instantly had he been present.

1413 - City of Sin

Fuel

When Richard and Nanook returned to the courtyard with a cup of water, the home was entirely empty with only a small pile of grey ash where the old man had been sitting. He was so shocked that his hand trembled, almost spilling the water he'd brought. His gut told him that he knew this man very well, but even with the ability to recall his entire past he couldn't tell who it was. He felt the laws of distortion tugging at his mind, covering the truth with chaos.

This was perhaps the only person who knew where Flowsand was! Looking at the pile of ashes, he realised that the millennia-long wait had thoroughly exhausted the Chosen's energy. Now that contact had been made, it was impossible for the old man to maintain his existence any further.

Richard sighed. Even in the Darkness, no matter how strong someone was they would perish after not eating or drinking for thousands of years. He turned to Nanook instead, “Did you know his name?”

The burly man smiled helplessly, “He never said. He was already here when I came to the city. I... I actually wanted to take his house from him, but he just sat there unmoving and let me. We started living together, and one day he told me that he wanted to find a young outsider that matched your description. I brought you over because I saw you today.”

Richard took a deep breath before puffing, turning to Nanook and offering the cup of water with a nod, “Thank you.”

“What... No! This is too precious!” Nanook was shocked. In the Darkness, anything that could be ingested represented strength, energy, and mana. That in turn meant increased combat ability, and a chance to survive. The cup of clear water in Richard's hand was valuable enough to trigger a murder.

"I don't need it anymore," Richard dismissed, passing the water over. Nanook remained cautious; he knew this was a form of repayment, but he wasn't sure he wanted to accept that. If they were even, he could lose a connection that was far more precious than this water could ever be. However, the short-term interest still won out. He carefully accepted the water and poured it into his waterskin, stowing it away carefully.

Richard smiled and walked out of the house, walking into the wastelands and travelling for an entire day to find a certain soul tree. Digging a large hole below, he watched as jet-black fluid seeped in.

This oily fluid contained a mysterious energy that the creatures of the Darkness loved, and it had been marked with a special spot on the old man's map. Richard sat beside the hole and waited patiently, but it didn't take long for a strong breeze to blow across the wastelands and a strange creature to appear with the wind. The creature looked like a disgusting garbage-filled pile of sludge, but its surroundings were actually filled with an alluring fragrance.

The creature jumped straight for the fluid, but it stopped and hissed sharply mid-flight. Richard had quietly appeared beside it, and Moonlight had just sliced through it. Even Apeiron wouldn't have hit her mark with how abruptly the creature backtracked, but with almost all of the laws of awareness analysed he quickly blew the thing apart into countless lumps of mud and rubbish that flew in all directions.

He reached out to grab a lump of jet-black oil, his main target on this journey. This oil was fuel to light the timeflames in the Lighthouse of Time, allowing for a powerful surge of orderly laws that would encompass the world. These oil lumps could be found in the wastelands as well, but the quality was best when obtained from the land's creatures themselves. It was just that the natives of this plane were rarely seen and abnormally powerful; even legends like Nanook would turn from hunter into prey in the blink of an eye. The garbage was actually the remains of powerhouses that hadn't been completely digested yet, including their equipment.

Richard carefully placed the oil lump in a specially treated leather bag and tightened it; this was almost the same as the origin energy of this plane, so its value was inestimable. The main requirements for a Lighthouse of Time were the materials to build the lighthouse itself, the brazier to hold the fire, fuel for the fire to burn, and the material to ignite it. These requirements were also in ascending order of importance, so the fuel was second only to the tinder.

He had received information about where to obtain the other three materials, but he was clueless about the tinder. This was the core secret of the Lighthouse of Time, and only Chosen would know where to find it. Some materials seemed really simple, but in the distorted environment of the Darkness even simple things could become exceptionally dangerous. Most powerhouses that were stripped of their energy and mana acted just like commoners; a small bit of impairment to bodily defence was enough to put them in constant danger.

After taking the fuel, Richard started searching for any usable items amidst the garbage. Anything that could be used had a thousand times its normal worth in this god-forsaken place, and even epic beings couldn't be picky with where they went looking. These strange creatures were called butchers, and it was said that few had ever won a fight against them before. With personal experience, he understood why; his killing seemed simple, but had he failed with his ambush the creature was strong enough to threaten even him.

After cleaning up the battlefield, Richard constrained his aura and hid in the void once more. Not long afterwards, another butcher appeared from the void. It surged out of a small black spot that was about the size of a fingernail, but before it was all the way out Moonlight had cut it in two.

......

Richard continued to rely on Moonlight and stealth to kill half a dozen butchers in a row, finally gathering enough fuel to meet the requirements for a Lighthouse of Time. However, he was midway through cleaning up when a sharp cry rang out from nearby, “So many butchers!”

Startled, he looked up to find a group of eight nearby. Even he hadn't noticed their arrival, and their gazes refused to leave the corpses littered on the ground. Please visit ƒre𝐞𝘸𝑒𝘣𝘯𝘰νℯ𝒍 𝐜𝑜m

The man who looked to be their leader finally noticed Richard and barked, “Where's the core oil, you bastard?”

“What does that have to do with you?” Richard replied coldly.

A scarred yet beautiful woman walked out from behind him and sneered, “We killed so many butchers and you're trying to steal their core oil away? Put everything down, and we might spare your life.”

The rest of the team split up and surrounded Richard while a skinny boy ran to the soul tree and saw the hole below. He squealed with joy, “It's a ditch of black oil! We're rich!”

The group seemed to lose interest in Richard almost immediately, running towards the hole to take a look at the black fluid that was oozing from the base. The handful within was almost the same amount as could be obtained from a butcher, and one couldn't blame the team's excitement about that. The biggest use of this liquid was its ability to increase one's adaption to the Darkness. It could raise one's control over the distorting laws, directly boosting their battle capabilities.

Only the leader and woman didn't move, continuing to stare at Richard with solemn faces. The latter eventually spoke up, “The brat's rather useful, how about...”

“No, we can't handle him.”

“Then we just eat him!” she revealed a nasty grin, pulling out a pair of serrated daggers that were covered in blood before walking towards him.

Richard's eyes glowed ever so slightly as his gaze flitted across their bodies, numbers filling his vision to expose all of their secrets. He had recovered most of the use of his blessings over the course of his analysis, and in places like this some things that he hadn't touched for a long time proved to be quite useful. Analytic showed him just why they could suddenly appear next to him; there was a strap on their wrists that could distort the laws around them to conceal them entirely. This was better than most stealth arts, and without a complete analysis of the distortion it was difficult to see through.

Once he understood how they had snuck up on him, his gaze turned cold as ice. The woman shivered as she met his gaze, but she still rushed over and swung one blade towards his body and the other at his throat. Her moves were vicious and beautifully accurate, showing that she had three or four of the laws here mastered, but unfortunately this was nothing in Richard's eyes now. Moonlight slashed across with ease, and despite a shocked attempt to raise the daggers in defence the woman lost both her blades and her head.

1414 - City of Sin

Land Of Dusk

Richard seemed to be floating on water as he flew past his first target before her head even touched the ground. The leader that he was moving towards cowered for a moment in shock, but the man quickly turned ferocious and roared as he drew a short spear and threw it forward. Richard simply flickered and allowed the strike to hit the ground, sparks flying out from the point of impact as the weapon was distorted. In the meanwhile, its owner trembled and collapsed to the ground, blood leaking from all over his body.

The entire process took only a few moments, to the point that the people around the ditch were still jumping with excitement. They each fell backwards as Richard circled around them like a flash of light, holes bored through their hearts. He then took all of their wristbands before gathering the remaining black oil.

Once he'd taken what he could from the battlefield, Richard looked at the mess of corpses around him and sighed. Technically, he hadn't extracted everything of value; there was now a ton of meat here that could sustain him for a long time. Butchers couldn't be eaten, so humans all fed from the same source.

He silently activated the power of Issa, a faint tetrahedron floating up and drawing out the souls from the corpses nearby. The earth suddenly shook as a multitude of souls shot out from the butcher corpses as well, seeming to be all the beings of order that the creature had eaten in all these years. More than a hundred souls flew out from each of the half-dozen butchers, making for nearly a thousand of mostly-legendary beings. The motes of light converged into a current that surged into his body, the virtual impact causing the earth to crack as his legs sank in from a loss of control.

The rate at which Richard absorbed these souls was limited, but large numbers of them fluttered around him in circles, refusing to leave. It eventually took seven days to redeem them all, integrating them into his own power before allowing the tetrahedron that was now much more solid to fade away. When he finally opened his eyes, a ripple of energy engulfed everything in a hundred metres and turned it to ash.

Someone familiar with Richard would be able to tell that he'd changed, but they wouldn't be able to pinpoint just what this change was. He cut two branches off another soul tree on his way back, shaping them into usable firewood before returning to the city. Two days later, he was back in the house looking at Nanook who was lying around with nothing to do. This was the life of many people in the Darkness— there simply wasn't much that one could entertain themselves with.

“Nanook, I need your help with something,” Richard said to the man who jumped up with liveliness, handing over a leather map and a sack of items, “This is the town I passed through when I first came to the Darkness. I hope you can go there and pass these things to them.”

In the sack were equipment, pure water, and food. Half had come from the hunters who'd tried to rob him, while the rest came from the butchers' remains. A hint of greed flashed across Nanook's eyes as he saw the items, but as he suppressed it and studied the map he eventually shook his head, “No, it's too far. I can't walk that way, and if I meet a butcher I'll die.”

“No need to worry about the butchers, I've taken care of any that are nearby,” Richard dismissed casually, the words shocking Nanook silent. The burly man took a step back and bumped into the wall; killing all the butchers nearby? He had never heard of such a thing before. Even the hunting groups in the wastelands almost never managed that feat for a single one.

However, the surprises weren't done yet. Richard handed Nanook a leather belt and a small globule of black oil, “These are for you. They should help you cross the wastelands and get these things there safely.”

“Clamskin? And... core oil?” Nanook couldn't believe his eyes. The leather would make him near-invisible in the wastelands and defend him against the distortion, while the oil could increase his control. Most people in the city would kill for these things, forget traversing the wastelands.

......

Having settled his debt to old Barduch, Richard left the house in relief and walked towards the inner city. The second veil of order was quite small and well-guarded, but after revealing the soul wood he had chopped down Richard was allowed to enter and meet the lord.

The city lord's name was Suman, and he was reportedly an epic being from before he had fallen into the Darkness. He had been here for nearly a century, and was an invincible existence in the vicinity that had lit a second timefire and formed another veil of order to expand what had been a small town into its current size.

Richard met Suman in the city's only four-storey building, the place crawling with guards. Seated on his high throne, Suman stroked his beard as he stared at Richard and the two piles of soul wood with interest. This wasn't a lot, but it could sustain the city for a few years. Even with Suman's strength, he would lose a number of subordinates whenever he went out to get some.

“You want all this just for a look at the timeflames?” the lord asked.

“Yes.”

“I have two.”

“It would be best if I could see both, but just the ancient one would do as well.”

Suman chuckled, “Interesting! Here I was, thinking you wanted to figure out how I lit a timefire myself, but you were actually interested in that small bonfire.”

Richard's brows furrowed slightly, but the lord continued, “You might not know this yet, but this is the Land of Dusk. The Chosen assigned to this sector failed tens of thousands of years ago, and until a new one is selected we will never be able to build a Lighthouse of Time and return to order.

“But I don't believe in resigning oneself to destiny. I fought for decades and personally lit a second fire. I will build a new Lighthouse in the future, and reestablish order in the Land of Dusk. There's no need to wait for that old dragon who takes forever to send his Chosen!” Suman's voice grew louder and his gaze sharper as he stared at Richard, “I can tell that you're very strong, perhaps only slightly weaker than me. People like us shouldn't place our destinies in the hands of others; we don't need the old dragon's charity!”

He stood up and looked down at Richard, extending his hand, “Come with me. Let's bring this place back to order ourselves!”

Richard stared at Suman and replied dryly, “And if I refuse?”

Suman's face sank, "Then leave all your things behind and scram!"

Richard smiled, "If I leave everything behind, then it'll make it that much more difficult to leave."

Suman's expression turned gloomy and he sneered, “You're right, you can't leave! You've been lucky enough to get so much core oil; tell me how, and I'll make your death a little easier!”

1415 - City of Sin

A Cruel Kindling

With the existence of the core oil discovered, Richard looked at his leather bag and then back at Suman with surprise, "I didn't expect your perception to be this sharp."

Suman laughed, “You thought a treated leather bag would be able to hide something that distorts the laws everywhere around it? Men, come and kill this brat!”

There were eight guards in the hall, and all of them leapt forward in tandem as they aimed their blades at Richard. However, a ring of green light suddenly blinded everyone in the room, and Richard walked past the would-be attackers who fell to the ground.

Suman's eyes went wide as he stared at Moonlight, slowly picking up the giant axe beside his throne. However, Richard stopped and shook his head, “You're wrong, Suman. I'm not slightly weaker than you; I'm so powerful you can't even fathom it.”

He had barely finished speaking before he blinked forward, Moonlight aiming for the man's throat like a flash of lightning. Suman roared and brandished his axe like a storm, but it was barely a minute later when he howled and the weapon flew out of his hands. He went rigid as Moonlight sat on his throat, capable of cutting his head off with a gentle stroke.

“Bring me to the timeflames,” Richard said calmly.

Unable to decline, Suman brought Richard underground to two stone rooms that contained braziers of different sizes. One seemed ancient and had been burning for hundreds of years, while the other was a little dimmer and reeked of blood.

Richard's gaze froze over as he looked at the dim brazier, and he turned to Suman, “You used living souls to light this.” Google search 𝗳𝙧𝘦𝒆𝑤𝙚𝘣𝙣𝘰𝘃ℯ𝑙. 𝐜𝐨𝑚

Suman showed no shame, “They deserved to die in the first place! Weaklings have no point other than to be used as food here; leaving their souls would have been a waste.”

"You were a weakling when you first came here as well."

“But I'm a lord now, and that's enough. Besides, do you have any other method to light timeflames?”

Richard fell silent. Only Chosen had access to tinder that could light timeflames naturally, and this ruthless method was perhaps the only other possibility. Suman seemed to see that hesitation and continued, “These people deserved to die! I only brought it to them earlier, and their sacrifices lit a second veil of order that quadrupled the size of the city! How many people managed to live because of this? What have you done to be upset?”

Richard sighed. Perhaps the grey sky was a theme for everything in the Darkness. Suman definitely had benefited a large number of people, and he himself wasn't a samaritan by any means. Falling silent for a long time, he eventually answered, “Soulwood can sustain the timeflames after they are lit. I'll be taking the ones that haven't dispersed.”

Suman felt an inexplicable chill around him. His perception was powerful, but he couldn't see the hundreds of souls that gathered towards Richard and merged with his soul.

......

A few hours later, Richard left the city and followed the path towards the Land of Dawn. A dazed Suman was left in his throne room, unable to understand how Richard had spared him and even left the city. He simply couldn't fathom why someone would want to head out into the forsaken wastelands when one could stay in the city and at least live comfortably.

For his part, Richard understood that Suman wasn't particularly cruel to the residents of the city themselves. Someone would want to be the lord of such a city regardless, and Suman was at least strong enough to stop a butcher if it charged through the veil of order. Leaving someone like that behind was much better than subjecting the city to turmoil.

The grey sky, fissured earth, and twisted trees seemed to blend into an endless landscape of distortion with no start nor end. Days turned into weeks and weeks turned into months, but Richard continued to walk more than a thousand kilometres a day. He had realised that keeping track of time here was meaningless; while he could track it accurately in the Darkness, it was impossible to know how that mapped to the worlds of order.

He spent the entire journey silently analysing the laws of the Darkness, both by himself and via the souls he had absorbed along the way. He had over a thousand legendary beings within him after going through the two timefires in Suman's city, and with that assistance his analysis had been boosted greatly. Law after law was unravelled, boosting his power massively by the time he crossed over a veil of formless energy to arrive at the Land of Dawn. Over a hundred days had passed in this time, and he had analysed all the laws of awareness and fifteen laws of control. Only one law was left, and even after tens of days working on it he felt like he was an unknown distance away from an epiphany. He could solve things in the next moment, or it could take months.

Richard had the faint feeling that the Darkness would present itself differently to him the moment he finished analysing this last law. Even now, he found it difficult to describe just what this place was. This wasn't a solitary plane, nor did it seem to be connected to any powerful mainland. This place was supposedly just outside the Eternal Dragon's control, ringing the void, but from his experience the void was an incredible expanse. Just how big did a place have to be to surround it?

Lost in thought, he walked into the Land of Dawn, feeling his entire world change in a moment. The place grew much brighter as the monotony of the sky was broken up, with what seemed like layers of clouds moving around. The terrain here also had some undulations, with a significant increase in the number of soul trees. He even saw a small hill forest in the distance.

He saw occasional flashes of presence all over the ground, the inhabitants of the Darkness that included both butchers and many other things he had never seen before. He could only sense them because he had almost entirely resolved the distortion, but one thing was certain; this was a land of life.

He tried to observe these natives on the way, but they seemed to be alarmed whenever he arrived and vanished no matter how stealthy he tried to be. He quickly gave up, deciding to focus on his goals of finding Flowsand and returning to Norland. According to the old man's route, his journey would bring him to the City of Dawn where he could collect a key ingredient to building the Lighthouse of Time, cyanite. It was a special product of this domain, acting as proof of having gained control of it.

Richard harvested a few soul trees along his route to exchange for some cyanite, and speeding up steadily he arrived at the city in ten days. The place seemed to be able to house tens of thousands of people, and the glamorous veil of order gave off a golden radiance that almost completely suppressed the distortion in the surroundings. Even a saint would be able to live in this place without much issue, and legends would be able to thrive.

He noticed people entering and leaving the city regularly as he approached, a group of people even pushing wagons with goods into the distance. However, his attention faded the moment he arrived at the gates, focusing entirely on a set of statues erected in the plaza. It was a sculpture of three people walking through the wastelands, and even restricted to seeing their backs he felt his heart throb as he recognised them immediately.

1416 - City of Sin

Hallowed Dawn

The trio in the sculpture had covered themselves in protective robes, faces covered by masks with only a little skin under the nose being exposed. This was familiar attire— it was said that the first people that had fallen into the Darkness, the initial Chosen of the Eternal Dragon, had walked across the endless wastelands until they found a suitable place to light the flames of time. They then established order in the area, dissipating the distortion in the laws so they could build a city. This city was the final refuge for those souls that had fallen to the Darkness; anyone who couldn't find it in time would waste away and die.

“Flowsand...” Richard muttered, rooted in place as he stared at the stonework. It took all the effort in the world to move his eyes away, but as he saw Nyra and Io he suddenly recalled the old man who had been waiting for him in Suman's city. His face paled instantly; had three millennia really passed while he was being teleported? What would Norland be like when he returned?

He finally forced himself to walk in, reading a tablet beside the statues that explained their origin. Lady Daybreak and her heavenly guardians had found the Darkness a region of chaos, a sector of sparse light that would kill anyone that fell within. They had walked for years to find the origin of the distortion, fighting endless battles against the creatures of this plane and conquering the elements. Flowsand strived on until order and light were returned to this earth, giving independence to the City of Dawn.

However, their work wasn't done so easily. The Land of Dawn had been in a much worse state than the current Land of Dusk, so Flowsand, Io, and Nyra had soldiered on and struck down the distorting lairs one after the other, slowly returning the laws to order and bringing life to the wastelands.

It was an arduous process, and even the master sculptor who had left behind these statues didn't know how many centuries it had taken them to clean up these laws. Nyra failed to persevere, falling to ash within a thousand years and turning into a part of the Land of Dawn. Flowsand started construction on the Lighthouse of Time not long after, but she failed to finish it and disappeared with no news. Io was the last to show himself, but he had visited this city three thousand years ago before vanishing as well.

No one knew where the Lighthouse of Time was, nor Flowsand's whereabouts. The people here believed that she was still alive, continuing to revere her for all she had done for them.

Richard felt something strange after reading this history, his heart thumping with enough force to crush a saint's chest. These statues had nearly three millennia of history themselves, and the veil of order wasn't as stable then as it was now. The sculptor that had carved them had a near-complete grasp of the laws of distortion, at least no weaker than his own right now. They seemed to be a source of order themselves, allowing this city to thrive in the thousands of years that followed. The place had a significant number of people on the streets, with shops on the roadsides and almost every building having windows and doors. He had even seen a guard patrol, indicating that there was a sense of law and order here.

......

Richard spent the following day walking around the City of Dawn, listening to the many legends about Flowsand. He gradually gained a picture of just what had happened when she had initially headed to the Darkness. She had broken the balance of order and distortion, building a city that anyone within ten thousand kilometres would feel a calling from. This had started a landslide process that brought it to great heights. Wanton killing was illegal, with both an executive leader and a city council present to make decisions. There was even a home for the elderly, as well as a court and jail. The strong still ruled, but the weak at least had dignity in life and death.

Compared to the Land of Dusk, this was heaven. However, Richard was the only one who could cross the hundreds of thousands of kilometres to come all the way here, and he felt like leaving immediately. There were traces of Flowsand in every corner of this sacred city, and he found himself shivering constantly as he imagined just how she had passed thousands of years in this place alone. It would have been a miracle if she actually succeeded in building a Lighthouse of Time on her own. It would only take one more generation of Chosen to finish the task.

It wasn't long before Richard couldn't take it anymore, buying as much cyanite as he needed before running away from the city. He hadn't cried in forever, but tears streamed down his eyes as he deviated from his path to destroy any nodes of concentrated distortion nearby. Every time he was attacked by the natives, but he simply killed them all and moved on with his task. Every node removed was another step towards order, making it easier for him to finish the Lighthouse of Time.

The tears dried up as he spent day after day finding and eliminating all the nodes along his path. While there were few left in the Land of Dawn now, his mastery of the laws of distortion made it easy for him to track them. Every node destroyed was some improvement to his own analysis of the final law, and after the fourth he decided to slow down and make bigger detours along the way.

One day, he came across an incredibly powerful node of distortion, with three villages of inhabitants and more than ten butchers guarding it. It took half a day of killing to wipe out most of his enemies, leaving only the strongest of the butchers and one skinny native who was in the distance. Panting hard, he held Moonlight and didn't move; if he'd learnt anything about these creatures, they were impatient and would lunge forward of their own accord within minutes. It quickly followed that prediction, and he matched its speed while jumping away to give him the freedom to cut it all over. After a minute of attacking he suddenly sidestepped and brought his blade forward, cutting the thing's body in two.

He let out a long sigh, feeling completely exhausted. There was another wound on his arm, and infected as it was by the distortion it would take a lot of food to heal. He raised his head to look at a colourful ball of light spinning in the air, a node that was invisible to the normal person that was constantly emitting the power of distortion. He plunged the injured hand straight in, scattering it into streams of coloured light that dissipated in moments.

At the same time, he finally finished his analysis of the final law of distortion, gaining a complete understanding of the Darkness. An understanding that he had just slaughtered three villages of civilians.

1417 - City of Sin

Rear View

Richard closed his eyes before slowly opening them once more, able to see the true side of the Darkness at last. The natives were no longer incorporeal, but living beings that were about a metre tall with four legs and two arms. They were clearly intelligent, with altars, houses, and all sorts of tools within, but all three villages were dead quiet with their populations dead.

Of course they couldn't handle the full power of Norland's strongest being. All this while, Richard had subconsciously treated the natives the same as he did nightmare creatures, cutting them down as he saw them by pure instinct. However, now he realised the truth of this world; even if he hadn't dirtied his own hands, the removal of the distortion node was effectively like removing the veil of order from a normal town. They wouldn't last very long in the environment that had mostly adapted to order.
𝘧𝐫𝑒𝗲𝑤ℯ𝚋𝐧૦𝘃𝒆l. c𝚘𝓂

His gaze moved past the corpses strewn across the ground, to another new scene in the wastelands. A good portion of the place was still lifeless, but the vicinity of the distortion node had been brimming with life. Lush grass covered the villages, only fading away into the distance.

......

Despite the newfound information, Richard continued to eliminate the distortion nodes along his journey. He didn't go out of his way to find them anymore, but at this point he knew one thing— if he succeeded in building a Lighthouse of Time, they would all be wiped out in the process as the Eternal Dragon pulled this sector into the void. It was at his 56th massacred village that he found some soulgrass on the central altar of the village, which would serve as the wick for the Lighthouse. Now, all he needed was tinder.

According to Io's map, he was also quite close to where the Lighthouse of Time had been built. He only needed to make some minor repairs, after which he could light the timeflames and bring the Land of Dawn into the domain of order. The tinder would be waiting for him there.

Over the next few days, he was forced to revisit a thought he had been dreading ever since he found out about the passed time. His heart was throbbing as it pulled him towards the Lighthouse of its own accord, and he stopped caring about his energy and mana as he dashed, blinked, and teleported there as quickly as he could. It still took two days and more than 10,000 kilometres of travel, but he finally came upon an almost-perfectly concealed distortion node that even he wouldn't feel if he wasn't within a hundred kilometres. If even he needed Intuition to notice it, no one else in this land would have been able to tell.

There were no natives living around this node, and after destroying it he found what would barely qualify as a village. The place only had three wooden houses and one well, but as he drew a bucket of pure water and drank from it to replenish his mana he found that below the well bed was the boundless void. This well could absorb energy from the domain of order and turn it into pure water!

He moved on to the central house, revealing a simple room in the style of Norland. The place had a wooden desk and chair near the window with a clothes rack and bed nearby, the desk having a quill pen and an ink bottle on top. However, he was stunned for a moment by a familiar figure sitting in that chair, watching as she picked up the pen and started writing something down on a sheet of paper.

“FLOWSAND!” he suddenly screamed, jumping into the room in excitement to grab her. However, time seemed to slow to a crawl as he saw her put the pen back into the bottle, stretching her body before her figure disappeared. His hand froze in mid-air, quivering at the realisation that it was only a phantom.

Tears started to trickle down Richard's eyes as he confirmed his greatest fears. The phantom seemed so real that even he couldn't differentiate, but his gaze landed on the table to find the letter with its ink still wet.

“Hey,

“Three thousand years should have passed if you ever see this letter. Maybe you won't even make it here like I divined; your destiny is very strong, but it can still be changed.

I have some good news! I've already built the Lighthouse of Time, so lighting it shouldn't be hard. At this point, I can truthfully say I've done everything I could. It isn't my turn anymore.”

It was a simple letter, but Richard collapsed to the ground as he read it. He tried to hold onto it as it turned into motes of golden timeforce and dissipated through his trembling fingertips, but it disappeared from his blurred vision like it had never existed.

Unable to even speak, he gazed towards the table which now had a thick leather book with a bronze cover sitting on it. It was a tome he was very familiar with, one that Flowsand had never been apart from in all the time he'd known her. But now, the Book of Time lay silently on the table with its owner nowhere to be seen. The phantom she'd left behind only gave him a miserly view of her back.

Richard sat silently for some time, using his infinite memories to stabilise himself before he reached out for the Book of Time. It opened easily in his hands, flipping to the title page that had a single sentence in elegant handwriting, “The truth of the world is often the opposite of what we see.”

At this point, the meaning of this sentence seemed both obvious and vague. He couldn't bring himself to think more on it, so he continued reading row after row about how to activate the Lighthouse of Time. Once he had gone through everything and the book had faded into blankness, he closed it.

A long time later, Richard brought himself to leave Flowsand's room to go look at the two others. They were clearly the ones that housed Io and Nyra, possessing the two guardians' distinct styles, but he only examined them briefly before leaving the small village and heading towards the Lighthouse of Time. He had considered protecting the entirety of this small residence, but with their owner gone he believed it was best for them to be torn down by the current of time as the Land of Dawn was brought into the void.

Seven days later, he arrived at a magnificent tower that was hundreds of metres tall, its mere sight making it clear just why it would take over a thousand years to build. Although people lived forever in the Darkness, they did not have outstanding strength. The materials to build this tower had to be ferried from tens of thousands of kilometres away, and the trio had accomplished that block by block, brick by brick. They had laboured ceaselessly to bring it to this stage... and then she hadn't lit it.

He slowly walked up the Lighthouse, memorising every single brick and ornament within and without. It took a day to get to the lamp room and the giant copper brazier within, revealing a missing corner that he filled with a mere seven bricks of cyanite. He then poured the core oil he had gathered into the various individual pots, the black liquid bubbling as it was transformed into lamp oil. He heard weeps with every bubble that burst, but he moved on and twisted the soulgrass into a wick that he placed within. The black lamp oil immediately dyed it in its entirety, summoning streams of colourful light up in the sky.

The laws all around started to froth and rage, large shadows flickering about in the distance but being blocked by an invisible barrier. These were the inhabitants of the Darkness; they had realised just what was about to happen, but there was nothing they could do. Tens, hundreds of thousands of them started to charge over from the distance, but a few golden beams of light streaked across the sky and landed atop the Lighthouse to stabilise the barrier. These beams came from each of the cities in the Land of Dawn, the thickest coming from the City of Dawn itself.

1418 - City of Sin

Return

People walked out of their residences in every tiny town all across the Land of Dawn, staring at the sky. The could all feel the world shuddering as the one thing they had hoped for since falling into the Darkness was coming true. They felt the call of order as the Lighthouse of Time was completed, knowing that it only needed to be lit.

Everyone prayed by instinct, motes of light flying out from their bodies to merge into the timeflames in their cities. Everything converged into the golden beam of light that shot into the distance, using the power of the souls from order to protect the Lighthouse of Time from the Darkness.

Standing atop the Lighthouse, Richard adjusted completely to the laws of distortion and was granted a changed view of the entire world. The sky in the Land of Dawn was a faint purple, motes of energy floating down to sustain the locals' lives. The tall soul trees were surrounded by purple bushes where berries were being foraged, some natives carting the food back to their villages. This type of bush seemed to surround every village, and the wastelands were throbbing with all types of flora and fauna. It was just that those of order could only see a barren field under the influence of the distortion.

There were large black sectors on this endless plain, places completely lacking in energy that the natives carefully avoided. Within those black sectors were the cities and their veils of order, contaminating the purity of this land. A black spot suddenly appeared and expanded in the distance, contaminating everything like ink that had landed in water. A person struggled to stand up in the centre of that spot, someone who had just fallen to the Darkness that was still radiating the energy of order.

The man struggled to his feet, staggering towards the closest city. It seemed like he was both lucky and powerful, capable of making it to the city to survive, but he left behind a pitch-black line that branded the colourful fields. A group of natives seemed to cry in despair at the sight, slowly appearing behind and spraying colourful liquid from their bodies to ease the contamination. However, it seemed like it would take an entire week to completely eliminate the black poison.

The walking man couldn't hear nor see any of this, only continuing to lumber on while Richard saw everything. The natives desperately tried to replenish their source of food, but it was all doomed for failure. Once the Lighthouse of Time was lit, the Land of Dawn would disappear from the Darkness and they would simply be collateral damage.

He suddenly understood the gravity of the words Flowsand had left behind in the Book of Time. The truth of this world was indeed the opposite of what one saw when they arrived here. This was a bright world full of life, not an empty wasteland. It was outsiders like him that actually distorted the laws of the Darkness, and the Eternal Dragon was the worst offender of them all. Its Chosen worked tirelessly over many generations to successfully destroy the places they arrived in, forcing the land to accept the laws of order so it would separate from the Darkness and join the old dragon's domain. In the eyes of these inhabitants, the Chosen and people like Richard were no different from the reapers.

And were they wrong to feel that way? He sighed, understanding that the truth wasn't always pleasant. Sometimes, knowledge was a burden and nothing else. Flowsand certainly wasn't the only one who had realised all this, but it was difficult to tell what they thought about it. Was this any different from Norland conquering other planes? Would the same logic they justified themselves with even apply here?

Unfortunately, such emotions no longer affected Richard's actions. He wouldn't give up on the Lighthouse of Time out of remorse or pity; there were others like him struggling here and he had his own goals to meet. He turned around and opened the Book of Time, a golden radiance shooting out from within and lighting the wick. Golden sparks immediately burst into a small flame, and he heard a snap as the image in front of him cracked apart. Fragments of this world separated themselves and tumbled down into the endless void below.

The snaps grew louder and more numerous as the laws of the Darkness were shattered, giving Richard one last glance at black marks now marring the entirety of the bright purple plains. The sky seemed to crack apart as well, pitch-black energy dripping through and infecting this world. The natives started rushing about aimlessly, but the black energy boiled into a dark fog that burnt away the purple pastures. One lump of darkness fell right onto a village, destroying its protection and drowning it out in the black tide.

The apocalypse had descended upon the Land of Dawn, with countless natives being forced out of hiding and flying around in despair. Unfortunately, there was nowhere for them to go; the black tide enveloped the place, turning even the butchers to dust. A momentary blink into the world of order revealed the black tide as the golden current of time, but from the perspective of the Darkness this was a flood of destruction.

Richard suddenly turned back, seeing the timeflames raging within the copper brazier. However, these flames were now black as well, sending ripples of dark energy all around that powered a majority of the destructive tide. The colours of the plane were constantly defiled and annihilated.
f𝔯𝗲e𝒘𝙚𝚋𝐧oѵe𝗹． 𝒄𝗼m

At this point, it was obvious that the timeflames were a construct that created a channel between the Darkness and the domain of order, allowing timeforce to flow in and destroy the local laws. Richard quickly felt his eyes starting to burn in the presence of this timeforce, the Eternal Dragon's energy considering even him an enemy given that he had tuned himself into the locals.

A momentary switch of perspective quickly fixed that problem, and what he saw was now the golden timeflames connecting to gorgeous beams of light from the various cities. The sky was no longer grey but a burning red, with huge slits that were bathing the world in a golden radiance. The barren wastelands were being filled with radiance and warmth, about to become a land of hope filled with life. Richard heard cheers as those in every city sang and danced like lunatics, bringing out the food and wine that they had been so miserly with before. Everyone was smiling at the sight that they had been waiting for all this time.

The sky began to rupture, large chunks falling to the ground with earth-shattering rumbles. The earth split as the wastelands were cut apart, a black curtain separating the Land of Dawn from its neighbours. Someone was shouting desperately as he tried to enter the Land of Dawn, but in front of him was a widening chasm. The curtain was about to cover the place, but he suddenly leapt across with all of his strength. Unable to cross the chasm that was hundreds of metres wide, he cried out in despair as he fell into the empty space.

The Land of Dawn broke away from the Darkness, the isolating barrier quickly vanishing into the distance. The sky continued to break and fall apart, burning flames reducing all life outside the cities into ash. The light of order became an impregnable shield that protected each city as the earth started to break apart as well, revealing the void behind.

Timeforce rapidly converged around the Lighthouse of Time, expanding space to the point that the most distant cities quickly stretched beyond Richard's perception. The Land of Dawn had only been a few hundred thousands of kilometres in diameter, but it instantly grew a thousandfold in size, continuing to expand at an unfathomable speed.

The various broken sections started to twinkle like stars in the void, turning into convergences of energy. In the distance they seemed no bigger than a finger's width, but these nodes would birth new planes in the future that could perhaps match or even exceed Norland. Richard felt like he was seeing the birth of the myriad planes, the foundational laws of existence being exposed as they built the new planes up bit by bit.

A single sector of the Darkness had given birth to an uncountable number of planes.

1419 - City of Sin

A Woman Who Holds Grudges

The birth of the planes took a long time, but it eventually came to an end. Submerged within, Richard who felt like a fish swimming in the sea of laws suddenly snapped out of his daze and looked all around him. The Lighthouse of Time was on a solitary piece of earth that was only a few hundred kilometres around, and while the building itself was undamaged the timeflames had been extinguished.

All around was the void, but even the stars were nowhere to be seen. This enormous sector was too far from the rest of the domain of order, such that even the closest plane's radiance couldn't make it here. However, he felt the laws that were familiar to him all around, making it clear that he was back home. Walking out of the Lighthouse of Time, he outlined a portal towards the calling in his soul and walked in.

Moments later, he was in his demiplane once more. He felt some weight in his robes as a red and faint gold light appeared within, revealing the Book of Destruction that he'd assumed was lost in his teleportation. Was it with him all this while, simply unable to appear because it wasn't in a world of order?

He felt like he was grasping at something, but the changes to the world around him distracted him from that epiphany. His demiplane had grown half fold, and the original energy pools were now overflowing into lakes at the base of the hill. Magic crystals were littered everywhere, filling the place with a rainbow glow.

Richard teleported to his island in Faust, finding no changes to the place as everything seemed to be in perfect order. His sense of time had already been synchronised, allowing him to know that three years had passed since he'd first left for the abyss. Many things should have changed in such a long time, but the land before him seemed almost the exact same as normal with many more powerhouses bustling about.

Were the reward point battlefields still running? Before he could process this thought, he saw a glistening bald head jump across in front of him. It passed him at first, but it suddenly flew back and turned to reveal a shocked yet delighted face, “BOSS!”

Richard looked at Gangdor, actually taking a moment to recognise one of his oldest followers. Only three years had passed in Faust, but he felt like he had spent several decades in the Darkness as he'd grown accustomed to the distorted time. It took a long while for him to adjust again and respond, “Yes, I'm back.”

“EVERYONE OUT. NOW! BOSS IS BACK!” the brute's voice resounded through the entire island, immediately bringing on a flood of cheers.

......

Not long after, RIchard was in the castle's meeting hall, listening to his followers describe the big events that had occurred in the past three years. His first question was whether anyone came looking for trouble, but Gangdor responded with an “Of course!” that dropped the temperature in the room significantly.

Having learnt to control the distorted laws of the Darkness and seen the birth of new worlds, Richard's power had grown in leaps and bounds over the past few years. Even he himself wasn't certain of just how strong he was, but in terms of laws alone no one in Norland could compare to him. At this point, he felt like he would have the upper hand even if he fought someone like Philip. Outside of that man on the throne in Arbidis, no one was a match.

The only Norlandic power Richard could think of being stupid enough to attack the Archerons was the Frozen Court, but as he listened to Gangdor's explanation he was left between laughter and tears. Richard had greatly expanded the Archeron territory before leaving for the abyss, and with the questionable allegiances of the new lords that had been created in this process it wasn't difficult to stir up some trouble. Without even a supply line being established, most people assumed the expedition to the abyss had been annihilated and started testing the Archerons.

However, the family wasn't easy to deal with even in his absence. Empress Apeiron still backed the Archerons, and Rosie's rune workshop had expanded operational scale and was now producing full grade 2 savage knights that were even stronger than the average saint. The night elven army continued to walk through the Bridge of Hope, and their average level of 16 made for a frightening troop that could crush all opponents in Norland. Under Alice's talented command, they crushed all the fake bandits and minor rebellions before heading around to the offenders and quieting people down.

It wasn't long before Waterflower, Tiramisu, and the other followers returned from the abyss, making up for the lack of true elites. No one dared plot against the Archerons after that, but once Nasia came back as well she decided not to take the previous offences softly. She formally placed Fiora in the position of the family head, taking control of the family and transferring Asiris back to Norland to serve as the military advisor for the family. The Dark Priest was given full authority to conduct any conspiracies he wanted, and the Archerons attacked in all directions as they crushed everyone that had wronged them.

With a number of legends knocking at the door, even families like the Turings had to back down. The hot-blooded youths of these families who fought back were often simply killed. While Richard wasn't around anymore, Nasia had killed a level 26 knight of the Turing Family to ensure that no one dared challenge the Archerons' authority again. That knight had only been a step away from becoming an epic being, but he hadn't lasted even three minutes before all of her divine equipment had crushed him.

When Richard was around and in charge of the Archerons, he often had more important things to attend to than minor annoyances. He couldn't be bothered to exact vengeance for petty things, and was too busy bringing the family to a peak where the Turings, Mensas, Josephs, and even Orleans Family were just pushovers. However, the same didn't hold true for Nasia, who took hold of a family that was already the strongest in Norland. She didn't let anyone go, even if they were friendly or humble now. All the plots of the Turings and Mensas were paid back with interest.

The Archerons were delighted to be suppressing their former enemies, but inwardly they also vowed never to offend Nasia. This was a woman who held grudges forever, digging up even the slightest offences from decades ago to crush her targets.

One other important matter was the reward point system. Richard had made a handful of saint runes before leaving for the abyss, including three more parts of Midren, but there had only been enough to support the system for a year. He had assumed that he would most likely have died if he didn't return by then, at which point the system would be unsustainable anyway. Unfortunately, he had met that terrifying man and sword in Arbidis, forcing the Eternal Dragon to activate the portal that saved his life. He had spent two more years in the Darkness, and Nasia had taken it upon herself to back the system in his absence. While she wasn't a runemaster, she hosted sacrifices with an efficiency even he would have to be envious of, coming back with large swathes of divine equipment that propped the system up for the past two years. With Rosie's occasional grade 4 runes added on top, they still managed to attract a number of powerhouses.

While things had died down in the Dragon Plane, the abyss had become more and more popular with time. It was incredibly vast, and with the expedition finding pathways to other layers the humans were now looking at a limitless treasure trove. A large number of legends and sky saints flooded the ancient battlefield and killed the demons, harvesting them for everything they were worth.

Surprisingly, the Celestial Sage had gone beyond his obligations and remained to keep things in order. Although he wasn't famed for his combat ability, his defensive skills with the nebular chains were top notch and he was still a threat against anyone aiming at the Archerons.

1420 - City of Sin

Fetters Of Distortion

Once he was appraised about the situation in Faust, Richard then asked about the broodmothers in Faelor and the Forest Plane. The former had now embraced her new identity and taken on the name of Mountainsea, and having gotten to level 15 she was only a step away from breaking through the limits of the plane. With Faelor's population having bottomed out to the point that any deities outside of Richard's trio were on the verge of falling, she made her move on the pantheon. The three goddesses had remained neutral instead of siding with her, but that hadn't mattered as she swept through the rest with ease. That war had spanned three years, and only the three goddesses still remained in its aftermath. With that time being decades ago in Faelorian time, it was now termed the Twilight of the Gods.

The fallen deities and their divine kingdoms had become food for Mountainsea. She was still absorbing that energy to strengthen her two truenames, but it wouldn't be long before she got to level 16 and officially became a matriarch.

Things were different in the Forest Plane. The clone was still only at level 12, but with the help of the Golden World Tree she could produce saint-level night elves and had amassed a frighteningly powerful army. Having devoted the entirety of her effort into creating combat units, she was well beyond even the original in this regard. She could specialise her drones for certain traits, like vision and elbow strength enhancements on archers that made her units much more effective than any saints. Richard's own attention was drawn to the fact that she could add an elite's level of intelligence into even the common drones now, which would be a huge boon to their autonomy in certain situations.

It took an entire afternoon for Richard to have a grasp on the situation. Once all of his followers had given him their reports, he dismissed them and called Nasia to his study. As they entered, he turned around and smiled, “Thank you!”

“Just a thank you isn't enough,” a smile floated up on her mask as she said something he completely agreed with. She had been supremely impactful on his life ever since she had entered it, playing her hand at every stage to better his chances of victory. She was the one who had established the reward point system, allowing him to amass his wealth and defeat the reapers. She had personally handled things whenever he couldn't, and despite Faelor approaching mere inches within destruction it had turned him into the premier powerhouse of Norland. In the abyss she was the only one who could follow him to the end, facing the mysterious and terrifying existences in the depths of Arbidis and somehow managing to return alive. When he was stranded in the Darkness she had taken on the role of the Archeron leader, keeping the reward point system running and beating back all enemies to amass a huge fortune for the family.

Without Nasia, neither Richard nor the Archerons would exist today. However, now that that he saw her again, now that he knew what he did, he couldn't bring himself to say much. He eventually asked, “How did you return from the abyss?”

All of his other followers had been teleported back, but while he'd had plans to make one more and ask her to guard it he hadn't expected to be thrown into the Darkness with a single strike. This had left her stranded in the depths of the Eternal Battlefield, but she had clearly made it back unharmed.

“I just took our original route back,” she gave him an answer that left him speechless. Even he would have found it difficult to deal with everyone he had left behind during the initial expedition. However, it was clear that she had no plans to explain as she looked him up and down and changed topics, “You seem to have gained a lot.”

Richard was a little confused, unable to understand just how she could tell that. The 32 laws of distortion were his greatest gain in his journey, but those were pretty much useless in Norland and there wasn't a significant leap in his power otherwise.

Nasia seemed to know what he was thinking, and she quietly conjured a mirror for him to see himself in. Richard was surprised by what he saw; everything around him was distorted by wisps of black energy that constantly emanated from his body. Only now did he realise that he hadn't completely shaken off the influence of the Darkness, and was subconsciously using the strength of the distorted laws. He had returned in a hurry and barely stopped over in his eagerness to make sure the family was safe, and as a result he hadn't even paid notice to the fact that Norland itself was suppressing him.

Seeing himself in the mirror, he momentarily felt inclined to just leave things as they were. However, he slowly adjusted his body to fit back into the domain of order, letting go of the distortion and feeling his body relax as the invisible pressure eased off. He was once more an epic being that belonged to Norland, a child of the plane that it cherished.

Suddenly relieved of his burden, he couldn't help but moan in comfort. However, a thunderclap suddenly resounded through the study as everything seemed to lose weight for a moment, floating up before landing once more. He immediately borrowed the laws of the plane to extend his perception outside of Faust, seeing booming thunder and patches of light in the sky as a huge vortex of lightning started spinning on top of Faust.

The people of Faust froze in their steps and looked at the sky, each of them stupefied by the strange sight. It seemed like the entire sky was spinning around the city, and the Rainbow of the Moons glowed bright as even the missing blue moon reappeared as a phantom with its kin. The city itself started shaking, throwing many people to the ground. Screams started ringing out everywhere.

In the palace, shock crawled up Julian's face as he rushed to the window outside, a hand gripping the dagger in his sleeves. However, Apeiron's eyes only went wide for a moment before she revealed a tranquil smile, “No need to worry, Richard is back.”

“Richard? But—”

“It seems like he couldn't control his own strength.”

“His strength?” The fearless warrior's voice turned hoarse, “His Grace... is this powerful?”

The Empress didn't answer, only sighing softly. There was some joy in her eyes, but there was a sense of annoyance as well.

1421 - City of Sin

Azure Roar

“Someone's here!” Back on his island, Richard had already drawn Moonlight and was preparing for a tough battle. He could already feel the crystal walls of the world resonating with frightening power, something he himself would only be able to manage in Faelor. However, it was thousands of times more difficult to control the laws here, making it clear that this would be a difficult enemy to face.

However, Nasia had a look of annoyance on her face as she grumbled, “Enough, how long are you going to fool around?”

"Me?" Richard was stumped.

“Get the hell out of here!” she barked, grabbing him and teleporting to his demiplane. This fact shocked him once more; he had never even brought her to this place, and finding a demiplane in the void was like looking for a specific grain of sand in the desert.

She ignored his shock entirely as she snorted, “You just came back from the Darkness, and the distortion there has become a habit. You need to stay in a place where there isn't anyone until you can control things. Here I was, assuming you'd already gained control of things, but you're just a little twat!”

Richard went mum, examining what he had seen to understand what had just happened. He had given in to instinct the moment Norland's suppression had eased off, and the activation of his laws had resonated with the foundational laws of the plane. If things had kept up for a few more minutes, Faust could have been shredded by the force he had summoned.

However, this left him a little incredulous. Had he already grown this powerful?

“Thinking of how strong you've become?” Nasia snorted again, grunting when he nodded in response, “Hmph, you don't even know how to use the plane's laws properly, you call that strong?”

Richard frowned, thinking of the man in Arbidis. The entire plane seemed to follow his will, gathering around his sword that contained unimaginable power. That was the true limit of controlling laws!

He looked up and smiled, his eyes gleaming with excitement, “I know what to do now.”

A question mark flashed across Nasia's mask, “You thought it through so quickly?”

“Mm. I already control the laws, I just need to practice releasing them. But I'm still not familiar with Arbidis yet, I need to find a way to offset the local laws there.”

"You're going to go back?"

"Of course! And I won't fail this time!"

“You... Whatever, you're all insane anyway. At least make some preparations, and what can you do if you enter the alter world anyway? Do you know what it is?”

He shook his head, “No, but I definitely need to get there!”

Nasia sighed, “It might be useless even if you do.”

“I know, but I should go at least once. Even if I can't find her, I need to make sure myself.”

She shrugged in response, “That's up to you. Stay here and wait first, only return to Norland once you're back in control. Time isn't an issue anymore anyway.”

......

It was the very next evening that Richard returned to Faust, coming upon a Nasia who had buried herself in a mountain of documents. One of her eyebrows rose as she saw him walk in, “I thought you'd take at least a month.”

“You underestimate me!” Richard laughed, picking up a document on the table, “Looks like the reward point system is going pretty well.”

Her head already back in the files, she answered calmly, “Your runes are the system's core. If you're going to be idling here, why don't you go make a few runes. Besides, it's time to get some more pieces of Midren. We can't just make only one half of the set, our reputation will tank.”

“I just came back and all I hear is work!” Richard shook his head helplessly.

“Work, huh?” Nasia snorted, “Well then, i don't want to deal with this mess anymore. How about I go take a trip to the Darkness without a care in the world? I'll come back in a thousand years maybe.”

He could only raise his hands in surrender, leaving the study for the lab that hadn't been used in the longest time. He holed himself up for three days, and once he walked out he handed a few magic-sealing cases to the attending mage. Despite having been away from his pen for a long time, things had gone extremely smoothly and he had only taken a little under half a day for each piece of Midren. It was just that the result left him feeling rather incomplete, the desire to draw more runes gnawing at his mind.

He brushed off the itch and headed to the warehouse, planning to make a few offerings in preparation for his upcoming second attempt, but he suddenly felt a pull on his heart and looked towards the sky. The Rainbow of the Moons sat silently in Faust, but his attention was drawn to what was supposed to be the phantom of the blue moon that had replaced the original. Most people could tell that this image of the blue moon was different from the real one, but as he focused on it he noticed that every flicker was accompanied by countless changes to the surrounding laws. This wasn't a simple change of brightness, but an entire process of birth and death.

To those of Norland, the color blue represented destruction. This was the final destination of all life, which was why the moonforce of the blue moon powered the secret sword known as Annihilation. It was just that this was a move that ended in mutual destruction; Annihilation drew upon its user's power with reckless disregard for life, inevitably injuring or even killing them.

Watching the phantom moon, Richard felt like he had seen the life and death of the world. His thoughts drifted to when he had witnessed the Land of Dawn being pulled into the domain of order, birthing a number of new planes before his very eyes. The laws of the Darkness weren't truly extinguished, but that sector had been pulled away and destroyed.

He suddenly realised the connection between the blue moon, creation, and destruction. As The one person on Norland whose very truename meant destruction, he gasped and rushed back into his lab. This time, he spent an entire month within.

......

The powerhouses in the reward point system cheered loudly at the launch of the remaining pieces of Midren. Years had passed since the last release, but this time all of the remaining four pieces had been opened up!

Counting the duplicates, the eight runes Richard had released so far had been scattered in the hands of five different powerhouses. Now that all four of the rest had been released, they would be snatched away by at least two or three different people. Collecting the entire set this way would take years. Some people had already changed their minds and were selling their pieces on the exchange, but it took far more than the original 10,000 points to collect them all this way. The effective price came up to forty top-tier offerings, a wealth which even the Celestial Sage would find difficult to amass.

Still, many people couldn't control themselves once the exchange cycle started, many spending their accumulated points in an instant. The end result was that all four pieces landed in the hands of different people, making collecting everything that much harder.

Once the auction ended, those who had emptied their pockets wanted nothing more than to rush back into the abyss. They only had points in their eyes, but even the most agitated of them had to wait for two days as the next exchange list was delayed for two days before being announced. This list was the motivation for all of their struggles, and with Richard's return any delays could only bring good news.

All of the powerhouses restrained themselves and waited patiently for the new list, and two days passed in the blink of an eye. When the time arrived, Nasia arrived at the plaza and placed a thick stack of papers on the table, the copies being snatched up immediately as everyone read through carefully. One impatient sky saint suddenly let out a weird shriek, followed quickly by a legendary warrior. It wasn't long before even the more powerful legends started whispering to their friends, but their voices were as loud as shouts anyway.

This season, there was only one high-grade rune up for exchange, and it required a whopping 50,000 points to win. It was called the Azure Roar, and the first line of explanation alone made it worth ten times that price.

This was the first true grade 6 rune in Norland!

1422 - City of Sin

Endless Energy Core

The news of the Azure Roar shocked everyone in Norland, resounding just as much as when Emperor Charles had slain Daramore or Philip had attacked the Fort of Dawn. This was a grand occasion for the entire plane; most people didn't even know just what a grade 6 rune signified, but they had seen the power of Richard's saint runes and Midren and had an inkling of what more powerful meant.

The reward point system of the Archerons had always been fair, the pricing accurate to the total value. Considering that, the Azure Roar at 50,000 points had to be at least five times as powerful as Midren's battle edition. While the description was rather simplistic— it provided an increase to all attributes and added the flames of destruction to one's attacks— the power of Richard's blue flames that originated from the star of destruction were obvious to everyone.

At the same time, being worth the price didn't mean there was anyone that could actually pay it. 50,000 points was far beyond the reach of even most epic beings, and no one had even accumulated that much spent since the system first sprang up. Of course, that wouldn't stop the renewed spirit of the powerhouses in the system; as long as this existed, there would come a day when someone had enough points to buy it. The abyss wasn't going away anytime soon, and there would always be demons to kill and points to earn.

Richard himself was unaware of this reaction. Standing before his window, he'd recalled the entire process of crafting the Azure Roar a hundred times over now down to the tiniest of details. This rune was a milestone for Norland and a highlight of his life; with its appearance, the entire plane's destiny had been changed and it would rise to new peaks. It had used a demon archlord as the core ingredient, and had taken an enormous amount of activated ember essence to power. In tandem, they managed to perfectly reproduce the power of his truename, and the entire process had allowed him to consolidate his experience with the laws of destruction.

That being said, even this rune hadn't allowed him to express himself completely. His understanding of Issa was nearing completion as well, and with it another grade 6 rune that he called the Final Redemption had already been designed. Unfortunately, he didn't have the right kind of materials at the moment to craft it, forcing him to shelve the idea. It was slightly disappointing, but he didn't really care too much; he hadn't made the Azure Roar for anything but the feeling of making a true grade 6 rune, so that goal had already been achieved.

Now, he was recalling the entire production process for one simple reason; with this experience, he was that much more confident in being able to repair the Deepblue Aria. Thoughts of Sharon still brought a twinge of pain for now, but he consoled himself with the fact that he would make his next attempt soon.

After sorting through the power of his truenames from head to toe, Richard exited his lab and headed to the underground warehouse to pick up the offerings within. This next sacrifice would be extremely important; he needed something to deal with that terrifying man in Arbidis. With the complete skeleton of a devil archlord on hand, he would be able to get a rank 1 blessing.

......

No matter how many times Richard had been there, the Church of the Eternal Dragon never changed. The ruined altar in the current of time was the same as ever, and as he thought of its value he wondered just how much it was worth in itself. Could one even sacrifice that thing? However, that was just a thought. His night elf warriors brought in chest after chest of offerings, placing them on the ground. The family had earnt a grand total of fifty top-tier offerings during his absence, and he had brought them all in the hopes of earning combat potential.

Once everything was prepared, Richard walked up the altar and activated his spatial bracelet, adding the devil lord's skeleton on top. The curtain of timeforce quickly hid him from a gaping Noelene, and for the first time in a long while he was the first one to speak, “I hope this will satisfy you.”

The devil lord's skeleton gradually dissipated into timeforce on the altar, converging into the current of time. The Eternal Dragon's voice rang out in Richard's mind, “A grand harvest, you do not disappoint. Place your offerings atop the altar and state your desire.”

Richard didn't hesitate, putting all fifty top-tier offerings on the altar. Once they had been transformed into timeforce, he continued, “I met an insurmountable enemy in the depths of Arbidis. I want to know who he is, where his strength comes from, and how to defeat him.”

Within this altar space, the Eternal Dragon was omniscient. As Richard thought back to the course of events on that fateful day, the dragon learnt of everything as well. As he went through the memory of that fearsome attack, its voice rang out once more, “The depths of the world are a special place, a passage that links light and dark. Even my radiance cannot illuminate Arbidis, and the information I can provide will not help.”

Timeforce converged into a ball of light in front of Richard, floating there lightly. A touch told him just what it was: Divine Omniscience— Arbidis. This information even contained a small hint of the laws that Arbidis followed, and for that reason it was also very expensive at a rank 2 blessing. It was certainly worth the cost, but as someone whose strength lay in the analysis of laws his understanding of Arbidis in that sense was already beyond what this blessing would provide. The dragon was correct in stating that this wasn't what he needed.

However, he wasn't even given a chance to reject it before the old dragon recalled the blessing on its own, instead offering a few more balls of light that were his true options. They formed quite slowly, and there were only three of them of which he had one choice, but these orbs were different from those he had seen before. Their glow was more platinum than gold, and liquid energy seemed to be flowing within. Reaching out to touch them, he found that all three were rank 1 blessings!

The first orb contained a beastbone shield with a layer of hide. It was an ancient product of chaos, and the crude workmanship was a bad representative for its true ability. This shield was known as the Everlasting Rampart, and could withstand the impact from the fundamental law of a plane of existence. Even the cannons of the reapers' mothership could not break through this shield's defence, and hiding behind it someone could block the combined attacks of all of Norland's epic beings.

However, could even an extradivine shield like this withstand that apocalyptic sword strike? Richard thought about it and shook his head, withdrawing his consciousness from the first orb and moving onto the second.

The second blessing was known as the endless energy core. It seemed similar to the energy cores of the reapers, but even having solved the laws governing them Richard couldn't see its uses. Reading into the description, he found that it could transform the energy of the void into a usable form. It was also indestructible, but these factors alone weren't enough to make it worth a rank 1 blessing. He continued to find something truly shocking— this core had come from a powerful ancient race, and had been acquired when an airborne fortress had drifted into the domain of the Eternal Dragon. Its difference from the reapers was that its energy output was practically boundless, capable of moving an entire continent through the void! This was the only such piece in the Eternal Dragon's domain!

What moved Richard the most was that the output of this core could actually be used by living beings. If he chose to enlarge his body, he could implant it within himself and reach a level of energy output that far surpassed the Archeron archlord's heart.

The last blessing on offer shocked him again, but for a different reason this time. It actually contained a few energy absorbing tree saplings, but only seven were actually worth a rank 1 blessing! It was only now that he could put a monetary value to the wealth that Sharon had given him.

1423 - City of Sin

Flying Fortress

Richard had no need for the energy absorbing trees, while the Everlasting Rampart could not block the abyssal man's sword. Only the endless energy core actually had any use for him, capable of creating a floating stronghold that he could use in the future. Once he made his choice, all of the timeforce he had accumulated faded back into light and returned to the mighty current of time. This stumped him; the complete skeleton was worth a rank 1 blessing and he had an entire fifty top-tier offerings that should have been equivalent to four rank 2s. However, the will of the Eternal Dragon had already departed, leaving him forced to accept this reality. Still, the old dragon had always been fair, which simply meant that this endless energy core was well beyond a rank 1 blessing.

The core was currently in a silver metal case, and he could hardly believe that the cylinder that was only a metre wide and three across could actually move an entire continent. The ceremony hadn't yet given him an answer to how he would deal with the man in Arbidis, but as he turned to leave two motes of timeforce apparated from the void and merged into his body.

Both contained information of the highest value— the first was that the sacrifice of a rank 1 offering and his existing wealth of divine grace had brought his authority in Faust up once more. In addition, his title finally reached the zenith of those worshipping the Eternal Dragon, the Lord of Time. The reward for this was a small fraction of the laws of time, bringing him a huge step forward in his analysis of the foundational laws of existence.

As he left the Church and teleported back to the Archeron island, he suddenly felt a large amount of energy converge in the void. A shiver ran down his spine as streams of timeforce converged from all around, the Rainbow of the Moons glowing brightly as their radiance covered the entire island. Things shook as it slowly separated from its original orbit, rising towards the skies.

The island floated higher and higher, quickly crossing even the second tier and settling right on top of Faust itself. This was the only island to be located even higher than the Church! The landmass itself continued to expand, and the shrine at the peak grew into a vast palace that was no smaller than the church building below.

Richard immediately blinked over. The shrine was the control centre for the island, and now that it was in the first layer he expected it to have some control of Faust itself. It certainly looked more magnificent at first glance, and the most striking difference was that the offering altar in the middle had transformed to look exactly the same as the one in the Church. At the back was a tall desk with an obelisk rising out of the centre, topped by a large, glowing crystal. Three smaller ones stood at each side, and there was a scroll floating atop each.

Richard first examined the small obelisk, finding the expected information that they were special zones. The number available had doubled, and with each one having grown to a thousand kilometres across they could all approach the size of a large kingdom. He then walked to the large one in the centre, heart throbbing as he touched the crystal on top.

“Activate Faust?” a pleasant yet mechanical voice rang out in his mind, leaving him breathless for a moment.

“Yes,” he said almost subconsciously, but the crystal flickered a few times before the voice rang out once more, “Insufficient energy. Please replenish, or add an energy core.”

Energy core? His thoughts moved to the endless energy core he had just obtained with a sacrifice, a strange feeling enveloping him. Had the old dragon known this would happen?

“How do I replenish the energy?” he asked, receiving a flood of information in return. He scanned through it all quickly, gasping as he verified that the core could indeed be used for Faust. He had been to many strange places at this point, exploring places considered taboo even for epic beings, but the truth that this information revealed was still something he could never have expected. Faust's true form was not a city, but a flying fortress!

The City of Miracles had an unknown origin, having been on Norland long before humans explored the middle-north of it. Even the Eternal Dragon had no information on who built it or why it had appeared on this plane, but it had extracted the energy core long ago and marked it as a powerful blessing. The fortress had a number of powerful capabilities, but the one that enticed Richard the most was that it could suppress a plane's laws! Even powerful planes like heaven or the abyss would have their laws eliminated, forced to conform to the foundational laws of the world itself.

This was the perfect tool to fight that man with! Richard knew that a good portion of that man's power came from the plane itself, and if that could be suppressed this would be a battle on equal footing. At that point, he couldn't make any more excuses for failure.

He immediately decided to activate Faust when the time came, steering the fortress towards the abyss. However, it alone could not guarantee success. The man on the throne seemed to be a child of Arbidis itself, and even without the plane's power was still a frightening opponent. His strength, speed, and equipment were unparalleled, and a small advantage in terms of magic and tactical proficiency wouldn't give Richard enough of an edge when his laws weren't nearly on the same level.

He quickly summoned Nasia, passing an orb of light to her that contained a miniature image of Faust.

“Ooh, what's this? It looks quite amazing!” she chuckled.

He smiled, “Rights to the island, and control over all of Faust.”

She whistled, “You could actually do that? Terrific! But... why do I feel like you're giving this to me so you can shirk your responsibilities again?”

“Err...” Richard's smile instantly froze, and despite opening his mouth repeatedly he couldn't come up with a rebuttal. He eventually admitted, “I plan to go around for a while, making some preparations for the final battle.”

“Final battle? As if!” Nasia shrugged, grabbing the ball of light from his hand and merging it into her body.

“F... Nasia...” he looked at her and muttered.

“What? Any other annoyance to give me?”

“When will you show me your face?” he asked.

“My face? Sure! Come back alive from the alter world, and I'll remove my mask for you,” she answered directly.

Richard hadn't expected her to accept, but he nodded and allowed her to leave. Staring at the Rainbow of the Moons nearby, he began to inspect the state of his various territories and private planes.

The Archerons currently had a terrifying army, with over a million soldiers in Norland which included a thousand rune knights. A third of those thousand were grade 2 set knights, while a full fifty were grade 3! Already level 17, that last set could easily suppress most saints in battle.

Another million soldiers had been amassed across his various planes, of which 100,000 night elves in the Forest Plane were core elites. His will transcended the crystal walls of Norland to connect to the broodmother's clone and the Golden World Tree, but before he could do so he was stunned by a number of changes to the plane.

Emerald City was no longer a military stronghold with limited scope, but instead a true city with almost a million residents. Most of those citizens were from Faelor, and dozens of small towns were scattered all around the city to support it in various ways. Surrounding the Golden World Tree and the broodmother's clone were another belt of nearly a hundred towns, though these ones were more appropriately called villages instead. Living in these villages were the night elves!

Richard was surprised at the sight, humming with interest. While the night elves had been built upon the evernight elves that Tzu had led to the Forest Plane, they were still drones and behaved as such. However, these night elves had actual males and females, children and elderly. There were even several infants that had just been born, looking completely like a natural race and not a set of combat drones made by a broodmother.

Just what on earth had happened here? He decided to visit the Forest Plane himself, figuring out just how the night elves had proliferated as an actual species. Was this some sort of result of the evernight elves being enhanced? The question could only be answered by the broodmother's clone, so he quickly arrived at Emerald City and blinked into the distance.

1424 - City of Sin

A New Race

As Richard sauntered into the forest, he found it completely different from the one he had first encountered while he was conquering this plane. The symbol of this world was glowing in the distance, now standing nearly a kilometre tall with golden light spilling out from its crown to chase away the cold and damp of the plane itself. The tree brought a fantastical warmth and color to the world, with flowers all over the forest floor and rabbits, hamsters, and reddish-brown deer bounding across everywhere. They were all docile creatures.

A few small shadows suddenly ran into his field of vision, children that were barely a metre tall. These night elves behaved nothing like drones, frolicking around and enjoying the merriment of childhood. They only discovered Richard when they nearly bumped into him, but they immediately squealed and looked at him vigilantly as they started to retreat. Their movements were slow, but at any moment they could erupt with strength and speed that far surpassed even most adult humans.

Richard squatted and smiled, extending a hand towards the children. In it was an orb of faint green light, spinning and jumping around as it pulsed with life and nature energy. This mix was a deadly temptation to any elven race, and the children's gazes locked onto the orb while their faces wrinkled up, but surprisingly they didn't just jump at it immediately. As a natural battle race, they showed significant self-control.

A soft breeze blew across the forest as a number of other shadows appeared amongst the trees, arrowtips glimmering with a faint blue radiance being pointed towards him. Richard was a little surprised to find his skin tingling in response; these sharp arrows could actually damage him. It was only to the point of leaving tiny scratches on his skin, but given his current power that was still a huge accomplishment for any saint.

A rather old night elf appeared on a tree about ten metres away and barked, “Who are you? What are you doing here? I'm warning you, don't move!”

This time, Richard was actually shocked, “You don't recognise me?”

“Answer me!” the archer pulled his bow harder. Richard frowned and looked for these elves in his soul network, but unlike the army from before he actually couldn't even find them. This meant he had no control.

He stood up and dissipated the orb of nature, scanning the elves around him with interest, “I'm Richard Archeron, and I should be your... god.”

“Rubbish! Our God is Zealor!”

“Zealor?” he recalled the special unit that had taken levels away from the broodmother's clone to create. The night elven archer had slowly lost all traces of Nyris as he matured, so it wasn't even a consideration in his mind any longer. While he was impeccably precise and could blink around with ease, he hadn't been all that impactful against the big-bodied demons so Richard had almost forgotten about him.

For these night elves to worship that drone... A lot of changes had obviously taken place during his struggles in the Darkness. So the night elves, the broodmother's clone... Was it even the Golden World Tree that had gotten out of control?

He continued to smile, but his gaze turned cold. Even the main body would be nothing more than a thorn in his side, and this clone who didn't enhance her personal strength at all was defenceless against him. Moonlight sensed his attention and keened softly, a chilly radiance streaking past its hilt.

The clone's voice finally rang out in his mind, “Master, no! Everything you see is the work of the Golden World Tree and myself; if you have enough patience, I can explain!”

“Don't you think you're getting too slow with the greetings? I've been here for a while now,” he scoffed.

“I thought I could discuss the current situation with you once you'd seen it.”

“Seen that you've made your drones fully independent of me? You think that would give you the qualifications to discuss things with me?”

“I... did.”

Richard laughed, “And now?”

“Now, you've returned from the Darkness, and things naturally aren't the same.”

“Alright, I'll come over.”

The clone fell silent for another moment before sending an affirmative.

......

It wasn't even a minute later when Richard stepped out of a portal and came before the broodmother's vast body. At over ten kilometres long and a thousand metres tall, she was now effectively a moving hill. Everything within hundreds of kilometres of her had been turned into the larval forest, with countless workers bustling around and nearly a thousand night elves being deep asleep. He could see the crown of the Golden World Tree in the distance, illuminating her body with a faint layer of golden light.

His face softened as he saw her; he had been allowed to come here without any resistance, which meant at least that she had resigned herself to his judgement. Of course, it would have been useless to resist anyway— what was a cloned broodmother to someone who had overcome the reapers themselves— but it did show that she hadn't become a complete enemy just yet.

“I'm waiting,” he said as he sat down on her carapace.

“Umm... Master, do you remember when we were first designing the night elves? You asked me for a number of things that I couldn't do, but... as a being whose entire purpose is to create drones for others to use, I started dreaming about something. I wanted to become the creator for an entirely new race...”

Richard was rather surprised by her words, a smile crawling up his face. Just like the one in Faelor who'd dreamed of independence, this one had her own dream as well. Was that not true for all beings with souls? Still, he chuckled at the irony of a seed of destruction wanting to become a creator.

When he had fallen into the Darkness, his connections to everyone in Norland had naturally been cut off. The clone had only been a single overarching order, and she had a great degree of autonomy in how she accomplished it. That order had been to evolve the night elves into his main army, and the specifics of the design were up to him to decide. She had decided to use that autonomy to begin chasing after her dreams, but to become a creator she first needed her own soul.

Fortunately, this huge step was quite simple for one that had already broken free of her main body. Borrowing the help of the Golden World Tree that had grown up alongside her, she easily broke Richard's control and obtained full autonomy. He would have been able to stop the entire process if he had been anywhere in the domain of order, but unable to feel his existence this was a risk she had been willing to take.

Following that, she had started on her grand path of creation. Still somewhat heeding his commands, she started with the night elves that were already approaching perfection. As a type of drone created with a near-epic Richard who controlled all the laws of the Forest Plane, their design made them even more powerful on average than most high elves.

The biggest obstacle on the way to creation was the difficulty of making souls, but with the evernight elves around as well as the Golden World Tree's assistance, this wasn't a difficult task to complete. The Golden World Tree was the mother tree of elvenkind, the origin of their faith and power that had the task of preserving their souls. High elves that reached a certain degree of power would place a portion of their souls within it, allowing a newborn to inherit this memory when they died. Such elves would be prodigies as they grew up, and this style of inheritance allowed them to amass a large number of epic beings during their peak. Even weakened, Lithgalen itself still had four epic beings of its own.

The combat prowess of someone birthed in such a way couldn't compare to someone who had swam through oceans of blood— to the point that even someone like Greyhawk could match them while Richard shattered their myth entirely— but it did solve the most basic difficulty with creating a new race. The Golden World Tree could produce blank souls without a life imprint and insert them into the newborn night elves, filling the void in the entire project.

1425 - City of Sin

The Final Tour

While the combination of the Golden World Tree and broodmother could go a long way, blank souls were terrible for a species to advance. In order to address this issue, the two had built a system of faith with the assistance of the evernight elves. The Tree itself was their ultimate divinity, but Zealor acted as a god that would be a conduit for this faith. This cycle made for a source of power, and it also nourished the blank souls.

Zealor was extremely useful in this system; having been created with such care that the clone couldn't even create as one that had robbed the clone's ability to create any more special units, his soul was the most flawless amongst all the drones and special units either broodmother had made. His existence was the end point in the evolution of the night elves, forming a frame of reference that the others could strive towards. As a perfect soul, Zealor had no bottlenecks in the path of his evolution. His strength could rise to whatever the upper limits of the plane's laws allowed, so he would be the eternal guardian of this new race.

The plan itself was astonishing, but it had actually succeeded. Richard was surprised to be told that the supposed deity was already level 27, having become an epic being without much trouble. He himself was only level 28 if one measured mana, but of course that was no longer an accurate way to estimate his power. Outside of Nasia, who used external power to get there, Zealor was the first of his followers to become an epic being.

“What is Zealor doing?” Richard asked. He had tried sending a command to the special unit, only to find that their connection was far too weak for that. With the so-called god constantly gathering the power of faith, any restrictions on the soul were bound to fade away.

The clone was the one to reply, “He's in the depths of the sea of trees, looking to destroy the original world tree. This world doesn't need a second.”

“So he's trying to get stronger,” Richard responded as he continued to digest the information given to him.

“Yes. Chasing perfection is his natural goal.”

He smiled, “Mm. He's designed to surpass me sooner or later, huh.”

This time, she took a moment to respond, “... It should only be a matter of time. This is a being close to perfection.

“He should succeed in level soon enough,” Richard dismissed. He understood why a creature like the broodmother would think levels were everything, but he knew the truth behind the matter. He hadn't even been level 27 when he grew strong enough to routinely kill archlords that were level 30 or stronger, and he had even taken out a powerful devil that was level 35.

The clone clearly didn't understand this implication, pausing for a moment before saying solemnly, “Your Majesty, I have no intention of making an enemy of you. Since you're back, I'll continue to obey your orders in the future. My reserved elven warriors are still your weapons; I only ask that you preserve these ones. Allow the night elves to become a true race.”

“Sure,” Richard nodded, turning around and drawing a huge portal in mid-air. It took a few minutes to finish, but as he walked in the clone's entire body shuddered while the Golden World Tree's branches shook. They had both felt the aura of Faelor through the portal, which was a testament to his mastery of space and time. If he didn't even need to go to the void to move between planes, his power was unimaginable.

......

In another end of the sea of trees, Zealor suddenly stopped and looked at his surroundings vigilantly. His face paled and unease flashed across his eyes as formless energy wrapped around his soul, jarring him to the point that the epic being almost fell out of the trees. Fear flooded his mind, but he couldn't think of any existence even capable of striking such fear into him. Even when the energy faded away, that moment of terror had been burnt into his soul, almost like he had met a natural predator that left him unable to react.

He breathed in deep and forced himself to calm down, slowly returning to normal. After moving for some more time, he suddenly drew his enormous bow and summoned a line of energy to serve as the arrow. Multiple mana arrows were shot into the sea of trees, drawing screams from as much as a thousand metres away.

Zealor had just effortlessly shot down multiple saint-level archers and druids, but he didn't feel the slightest trace of happiness. That chilling fear instead rooted itself within his heart, turning his entire body cold.

However, the perfect elf wouldn't allow such an accident to mar his path to greatness. Suppressing the unease in his heart, he continued forwards and spotted an enormous canopy in the distance. He was finally at the ruler of this plane.

Under the World Tree were the strongest elves in the sea of trees, but they were harmless bugs in front of Zealor's power. Both Grand Druid Jadering and High Hunter Wildrage perished to a single arrow, and the excited elf increased his body temperature to fight off the cold. He grew incomparably excited at the thought of success, not only as repayment towards the Golden World Tree but also so he could absorb the strength of this enemy and grow in level once more.

Would he surpass Richard once he reached level 28? Zealor chuckled at the thought. Richard had only been level 26 in Arbidis, and while it had been some time since that war it was unthinkable for him to have levelled up thrice. The flames of desire burnt in the perfect elf's eyes as he jumped into the sky towards the distant tree.

......

While Zealor was busy killing the World Tree, Richard arrived at Faelor and teleported to the Land of Turmoil. This plane was still rebuilding after its near-destruction, and the broken ecosystems were making that a long and difficult process. Policies to encourage dozens of children had exploded the population at a quick pace, already having doubled from just after the war, but even that rapid growth would still take time to bring numbers back to what they once were.

The Land of Turmoil itself was more or less the same as ever, only with even stranger and more powerful drones. Giant insect warriors were crawling all around, each one easily hundreds of metres long with strength to match that size. Some of the elites were even level 20, and considering the fearlessness and recovery of the Mountainsea's drones their real strength was beyond even most sky saints.

He sighed as he paused in the sky; now that he was at the peak, he suddenly found that he didn't really need such an army anymore. The seed of war and destruction had finally germinated into a powerful military force, but in the process of getting it all the way he himself had outgrown it.

However, his focus quickly shifted to Mountainsea herself. Her enormous body had completely changed in his absence; she was more slender than he had seen her before, and dozens of feelers danced around her body and kept her constantly airborne. She was now over five kilometres in length, but her entire body had a streamlined elegance to it that appealed to even his aesthetic senses. The mysterious golden patterns running across her body almost screamed speed and flexibility.

Atop this graceful body was a small figure, hugging her knees and staring silently at the distant sky. Richard slowly landed in front of her, but it took a moment for her to respond.

“RICHARD!” she shouted immediately, directly jumping into his embrace and pushing him down.

He simply relaxed, allowing himself to snuggle into the broodmother's body, “How much longer until level 16?”

“I'll be done soon, I just need three more months,” she said with a yawn, clearly not fully awake. She soon buried her small face into his chest, her breaths slowing down until she stopped moving and started snoring like a lioness.

Richard didn't move from this strange situation where he was snuggled into someone who was snuggling into him. He slept for what felt like the first time in forever, and it was three entire days before his eyes opened once more. Mountainsea was still asleep, so he put her down gently before floating up to survey the Land of Turmoil. The next time she woke up, she would truly become a matriarch and break through the restrictions of any single plane.

In reality, matriarchs were a nightmare to all living beings. It was only this incarnation of sloth that was different. One form was a lord of millions, and the other a lady of creation. She had completely broken away from her destiny of war.

He silently opened a portal and left Faelor, arriving at the Resting Orchid Plane instead. He silently headed north into the Godnest, this time analysing all of its secrets with ease and breaking through the forcefield to enter the abandoned battlefield. Now he was certain that this was the aftermath of the ancient celestials fighting the reapers, and the giant ships here were designs he hadn't seen himself. He silently supplemented the information he already had; while the reapers that had attacked Faelor were a planar combat force, this fleet used the void as its main battlefield.

1426 - City of Sin

Ongoing Crusade

A month passed in the blink of an eye, and once his analysis was completed Richard left without a sound. Even the Archeron guards defending the plane were clueless throughout the process, and remained so even as he left. He followed up the Resting Orchid Plane with Goldflow Valley and the Boulder Highlands, as well as the personal planes of many other nobles in Norland. Having reached a point where no one in Norland could sense him, he passed through without attracting any attention.

He spent half a year combing through nearly a thousand different planes, even landing on three other battlefields of despair. Every time he redeemed countless souls, gaining renewed understanding of and familiarity with the foundational laws of order. The man who had blocked him in the depths of the abyss had already grasped everything Arbidis had to offer, and in this aspect the two were at most equal. For even the slightest advantage, the laws of existence itself were the only way to move forward.

Another half-year whizzed by as he wandered the void, not visiting a single new plane. His perception had grown to the level of near omniscience, and he could teleport wherever he wanted in mere moments.

The half-year following that was spent exploring the countless lands of danger in the void. Places like the Celestial Palace, Star of Destruction, River of Comets, and the Grave of the Titans were no longer secrets to him. He even tried to approach the current of time, only giving up reluctantly once he realised that it was not a place that living beings could enter. Along the way, he paid a visit to the Plane of Annihilation and enacted his vengeance on Iskara, repaying his debt to Tzu once and for all.

At this point, he had come up with a new conjecture about the Dragon of Eternity and Light. He was starting to suspect that the old dragon wasn't a tangible being but a will birthed by the current of time itself. This will would thus be driven by those given into it, namely all of the Chosen across history. Unfortunately, he couldn't verify this theory at all.

With years having passed, Richard finally returned to Norland and placed the Book of Time and Book of Destruction together. As he had expected, the two divine items merged instantly into a thick bronze tome, one whose name he understood the moment he looked at it— the Book of Eternity.

The Book of Eternity had many uses; it could accurately provide one's coordinates no matter where they were, and it had a small hold on destiny itself. It could store things within as well, preserving them in frozen time forever. So long as the book wasn't destroyed, even living beings wouldn't perish within.

With the new book in hand, he returned to the library of the ancient celestials. The ancient desk there was no longer useful in his analyses, but that only showed him that he had become a powerhouse that even that near-extinct race rarely came across. Still, the desk wasn't his primary purpose in coming here; walking through the barrier with ease, he retrieved one of the crystals and started to study the laws contained within.

There were no obstacles in his perusal of the library. He read book after book with ease, imbibing the laws contained within in a matter of mere days. It wasn't long before he was left with only the pure beam of light, but as he was about to touch it he hesitated and withdrew his hand. The barrier couldn't block him any longer, but now he knew exactly what it was— pure light that would degenerate upon contact.

The laws of this light weren't of much help to Richard, and he couldn't comprehend why the ancient celestials would place it in such a position of importance, but he understood that this was something precious that had been pulled from the very source of light itself. Even examining it for a full week he couldn't understand just how the ancient celestials had affixed it there, and unable to make progress he eventually gave up. However, he could at least confirm that this library was the greatest inheritance of the ancient celestials, which made Sharon's identity a bigger question than ever.

......

When Richard finally returned to Faust, he felt like his mind was more open than ever. It was as if the entire world was a part of it, but as he drew a long breath and felt Norland itself respond, he knew that he was at the end of the road for mortal beings and unable to take another step forward.

He had transcended the bounds of an epic being, reaching a point that no one in Norlandic history had before. In the records of the ancient celestials, people like him were simply termed pinnacle powerhouses. At least in this world, he truly had reached a peak; without heading to the alter world or breaking through the domain of order somehow, he had no opportunity to advance.

Returning to the Archeron island and entering the control shrine, he surveyed the City of Miracles that was a symbol of both luxury and erosion. A moment later, he looked up towards the sky and sighed, “How are you doing over there?”

The void warped to reveal a mirror-like screen, showing a fierce battle where celestials were dying on each end. A six-winged warrior in the centre was the most eye-catching sight, eliminating droves of opponents that should be as powerful as him with ease. The warrior brandished his flaming blade to cut down a few enemies before turning around, “As you can see... Not great.”

Richard smiled, “You're already up to six wings. How is that anything but great?”

“You— DAMN IT!” Martin was interrupted as another enemy leapt towards him, forced to dodge before cutting the opponent down. He gasped for breath and continued, “You sure know how to be trite. My side is losing, how could that be great in any way? I'm not like these guys that can revive after death; if I fall here, I won't appear again no matter how much you miss me!”

“Huh... That would be so great for this world...” Richard seemed to fall into thought.

“Damn it, how am I friends with such a cold-hearted bastard?” he flashed the finger before turning back towards another group of enemies.

Richard frowned, “I'm serious! I feel like you dying in heaven would benefit all of Norland. This is my intuition at work, never underestimate a mage.”

“You...” Martin groaned in the middle of his fight, “Ugh, you might just be right. But you can't possibly have contacted me just to say that.”

“Well, I found something that really suits you.”

“Aww, a present? That's such a great idea, I haven't gotten one in forever! But I'll have to win this damned fight before I can thank you.”

He furrowed his brows, “What does thanking me have to do with your battle. And why are you up there anyway? Doesn't your church have anything better to do?”

"It's a war of faith, you wouldn't understand even if I told you. But if you must know, it's the same logic as when you fight the reapers. This is something I just had to do, even if I die.” Martin continued to hack at his enemies, but more and more surrounded him. A number of them were now four-winged, and even with his six he was starting to lose.

“Okay, you're right. Want me to help?” Richard asked.

“This is a holy war! Only those who worship light can fight in it, there's no need for outsiders to interfere!” Martin roared, his face lighting up with divinity and sacrifice. This garnered a lot of respect from Richard, but that was shattered the very next moment as he followed, “But it's fine to borrow a friend's strength to win wars that must be win. Don't just stand there, come quick! I'm almost dead!”

Hearing Martin's flustered voice, Richard almost regretted making the offer. Pausing for a moment, he eventually answered, “I'm going to the alter world, I can't come personally. But I can help in other ways. For example...”

He opened the Book of Eternity, a beam of light shooting out from within and passing through the screen to appear in front of Martin. It quickly formed a tetrahedral body in mid-air, expanding around Martin's head and starting to rotate above him. A beam of destruction shot out from its tip, piercing a celestial that was charging over and killing them in an instant.

The scene quickly turned into one of massacre, with all four corners of the tetrahedral shooting out their rays of destruction. In mere moments, the section of the battlefield nearby was cleared out.

“I knew you'd have a way! You can go to the alter world, I'll come congratulate you after I win this battle!” Martin waved happily, immersing himself in the endless battle once more.

The image in the sky flickered and disappeared, but Richard suddenly had the thought that this so-called divine child was unlikely to be finished even when he returned. He smiled and shook his head, retrieving a crystal from the Book of Eternity and throwing it through a portal. There was a dazzling radiance within that crystal, containing the pure light energy that the primal celestials had left behind. It would be sent directly to Martin, and with his pure faith in light he believed this would be useful. This also counted as repaying his debts for repeated assistance, so Richard could head to the alter world with more peace of mind.

He walked out of the control shrine and blinked towards the royal palace, appearing before Apeiron and Julian who were currently in conversation.

“You're back,” Apeiron said coldly as always, although a bit of her worry seeped onto her face.

“Mm,” he nodded, “I need your help with something.”

1427 - City of Sin

Setting Off

Apeiron seemed surprised by the fact that Richard was actually asking her for help, but she quickly nodded, “I'll try my best.”

Richard smiled, “I've gotten authority of island 1-1, and that came with a few secrets about Faust. This isn't a city, but a lost warship from some ancient race. It has some powers that would be really useful when I return to Arbidis, so I want everyone in the city and on the islands to leave. I'll activate it and head into the depths of the abyss.”

Apeiron had lost her calm and stood up in the middle of the explanation, but as she listened to the request she sat down, “I never would have thought... But do you really not need me?”

Richard shook his head, “This is a singular fight; if I can't win, you won't be able to help either. The Alliance needs someone to keep watch, there isn't someone to take over if both of us fall in the alter world.”

Purple energy rolled around in her eyes as she stared at him, the struggle evident in her gaze. However, she eventually sighed, “Alright. I'll wait here... for the both of you!”

......

Shocking news spread through Faust that afternoon. Empress Apeiron had decreed that the city and all islands had to be evacuated in three days, an order that was personally enforced by Julian who brought a number of royal warriors around to kill anyone who vocally refused. The decree did not mention the Church, and some nobles tried to appeal there, but they were merely greeted by a large notice on tightly shut gates by High Priestess Noelene: there would be no offering ceremonies in the near future.

Faust's Fourteen were far more practical than the rest. Seeing the royal palace and Orleans Family evacuating at maximum speed, they maintained their silence. Once they found that the priestesses and paladins were leaving as well, they started moving with haste as they grabbed all the valuables they could.

Only the Archerons did not move, but at this point no one was foolish enough to doubt the true rulers of the city. Once three days had passed, everyone gathered in the Eternal Plains and watched as the entire city rumbled and flew into the sky, opening an enormous portal and disappearing from view. Silence reigned in the aftermath for the longest time, with everyone refusing to believe what they had just seen. It was only at night that Apeiron finally turned around, flying into the distance with Julian in tow. The nearest royal castle was at the northeastern border of the plains.

......

Norland wasn't the only plane to be shocked by a flying city. The abyss erupted in activity as many archlords were faced with threats for the first time in millennia, fear filling their minds as the enormous city jumped into existence a thousand kilometres away. For the first time ever, they stood rooted in place and didn't order their armies to charge.

Without any leadership and supervision, the regular demons quickly retreated and opened up the passages; the giant city exerted a type of pressure unto itself, but the fierce aura emanating from within was something no demon wished to offend. The Rainbow of the Moons shone with a splendid radiance as Faust flew from layer to layer without issue, quickly heading towards the deepest point in the world.

The city seemed to advance slowly, but that was only in relation to its size. Many demons were actually ploughed down in its path, some lesser lords turning into offerings because they couldn't escape in time.

Within the control shrine, Nasia was constantly adjusting the city's direction to have it follow the same path the first expedition had taken towards the Eternal Battlefield. In the meanwhile, Richard was at the mouth of the volcano in the Archeron tombs, silently pondering over everything he had experienced from birth. In his hand was the final destiny crystal, glittering with a faint radiance that could almost make one believe in its lie. He had realised at this point that the voice ringing in his mind when he broke the first two had actually been Ferlyn's manipulations, and try as he might he couldn't even break this last one. However, force of habit allowed him to feel more confident whenever he so much as touched the thing.

Their journey this time was exceptionally smooth, with only one brave archlord charging them down during the entire journey to Arbidis. However, that archlord's end was tragic; with the city eliminating all abyssal laws within a few kilometres, he had been thrown off significantly and was cut down before she could recover.

The battle went surprisingly smoothly, to the point that Richard even suspected that the archlord was suicidal for some reason. No fool could grow to such heights in power even amongst the demons, but he brushed it off as a brief interlude and nothing more. All of his focus was currently on the man who had sent him to the Darkness, and the effort it would take to defeat him.

The flying fortress eventually arrived at the depths of the world in Arbidis, prompting an unprecedented silence on the Eternal Battlefield. Demon and devil alike paused their battles as they noticed the enormous city flying through the sky, watching in a daze as it flew overhead.

Almost all of Richard's powerful followers had been gathered for this expedition, From Nasia and Waterflower to Tiramisu and even Ironshield. There were a total of three epic beings as well, Richard, Zealor, and Mountainsea. In her Queen form, her level had been synchronised to twice that of the broodmother; having become a matriarch, that meant she was now level 32 and the highest-levelled being to ever come out of Norland. She was almost unequalled in power as well, giving her name a new meaning. It had once meant her wealth could equate to the mountains and the seas, but now she herself had the power to match.

Zealor had risen three levels in the past two years, reaching a height of level 30 that was frightening to most others. While Richard was touring the planes and the void, he had digested the essence of the Forest Plane's world tree. That had brought him to level 28, but as a being built to seek perfection he hadn't stopped there. With the broodmother's clone and the Golden World Tree unable to guide him much further, he had been directed to look for either Richard or Nasia. The former was missing, and while the latter was only level 21 she was known as the second strongest being in all of Norland. She also wasn't difficult to find, always stuck in his study taking care of his endless paperwork and politics for him.

......
𝘧𝐫𝑒𝗲𝑤ℯ𝚋𝐧૦𝘃𝒆l. c𝚘𝓂

“You want to become stronger?” Nasia had asked him the moment he walked through the door, not even looking up from the documents she had buried herself in.

He had been stumped, but while a strange sense of unease rose in his heart he still answered, “I want... to become perfect.”

“Perfect? Ha, ambitious. Do you want to become omnipotent?”

He had felt like perfection and omnipotence weren't exactly the same, so he had eventually nodded. She had then directed him to Mountainsea in Faelor, stating that the main body was the best person to solve the problems of a clone's creation. She had also mentioned a book that Mountainsea had found during her advancement to become a matriarch, and that it would be quite suitable for him.

When the young night elf still hesitated after that advice, Nasia had finally raised her head to look at him. He'd immediately grown nervous, feeling like she could see into his very soul. Just as he felt the urge to flee, she had finally spoken once more, “Go to Faelor. You need to find your chance, and grab a hold of your direction.”

Zealor had tried to find deeper meaning in Nasia's words, but he failed constantly. With hesitation flooding him and the allure of powering keeping him awake for days thereafter, the perfect elf had eventually succumbed to the desire and headed over. The poisonous thought that he was already likely to be at a higher level occupied his mind more than once, but he chased it out every time and eventually arrived at the Land of Turmoil. The powerful laws overflowing from the matriarch's body had shocked him, and the moment he saw Mountainsea he knew that it was someone with a higher level than even himself. Fervour had filled his mind at that moment; if the matriarch could bring Mountainsea to such a level, what could she do for him?

“I want to be perfect!” he had started, “Lady Nasia said you would be able to help!”

Mountainsea had finally opened her eyes and scanned him, speaking without enthusiasm, “You just want to become perfect?”

“Yes!”

A heavy, ancient book had materialised in her hand, “What you want is inside. It can let you become omnipotent, but you need a firm grasp of direction.”

These words had been very similar to what Nasia had said, but the excited Zealor didn't pay any attention and took it with trembling hands. The book should have contained all of the broodmother's experiences from when she had advanced to become a matriarch, but as he flipped through eagerly he had found that its mere seven pages were completely blank. Understanding dawned that the book would only tell him what he wanted to know when he was worthy of it, and with that newfound knowledge he had turned it into a stream of light that merged into his body.

Ever since then, it had been like a highway had been opened in front of him. He jumped a level every year, having reached a frightening level 30 by the time Richard returned and brought his army to Faust. Even now, no one but he and the broodmother knew exactly what he had seen in that book, except perhaps Nasia herself.

1428 - City of Sin

A Fair Fight

Faust quickly reached the depths of the Eternal Battlefield, with all of Richard's followers starting to release their power along the way. He had no need for them to fight, but they would help the city in suppressing the laws of Arbidis. The Rainbow of the Moons was glowing brightly, each crescent overflowing with boundless might as they transformed the energy from the core into a nullifying field around the city.

By the time one could see the towering mountain range in the distance, even Zealor and Mountainsea had been called upon. The spinning vortex up above was oppressive as ever, but one of the peaks fell as the axe-wielding warrior clad in black walked down while laughing. The entire abyss shuddered to the tune of his booming voice, his small figure casting a shadow large enough to cover all of Faust.

Zealor felt his blood surge, aura erupting as he tried to communicate with Richard for the first time, “Your Majesty, let me fight!”

“No, your job is to suppress the laws here. That's it,” Richard responded immediately. His voice was calm, but there was no room for questioning.

“I feel like I can beat him!” the elf insisted, still not used to Richard's finality like the others here were.

“Your job is to suppress the laws here,” Richard reiterated, this time severing their soul connection to make things clear. This meant there was no room for negotiation, and as he flew away Zealor frowned in confusion as to why he couldn't join this battle even with his strength. Richard himself only had eyes for the vanishing peak in the distance, not even looking at the axe-wielding warrior as he walked towards the throne. To him, nothing else was an obstacle.

The black axe suddenly blocked his path, the warrior roaring thunderously, “Brat, I'm your opponent here!”

Richard finally turned to look at the warrior, but he calmly pushed the axe away, “You don't qualify. Call the other one out.”

The warrior's mask spewed out two gusts of white mist in his rage, but before he could react he saw the mist dissipating under Faust's radiance. Richard simply pushed his axe away and walked towards the distant peak, maintaining the same gait but with each step covering more and more distance until he started crossing a thousand metres in his stride. Faust's radiance followed wherever he walked, dissipating the aura of the abyss.

The vanishing peak appeared from the void, and the throned man finally opened his eyes. Even with the mask, Richard felt his gaze fall upon him like two bolts of lightning.

“Reckless!” the man sneered, picking up his heavy blade and standing slowly. The two drew to only a hundred metres apart before Richard stopped, and the glows of Faust and Arbidis also found a balance right between them.

The man looked towards the floating city and nodded, “Good idea, but not enough.”

“Why do you have to stop me?” Richard asked calmly.

“Haha, simple! I'm the will of Arbidis; if you want to pass through here, you have to kill me! You managed to run away last time, but what will you do now? Will that snake save you again?”

“I don't need it,” he answered calmly.

“Just based on that?” the man sneered as he pointed his giant blade towards Faust.

“That's just to have a fair fight. I won't take advantage of you, but I don't want to fight on your home turf either. Let's have our deathmatch amidst the laws of the world.”

“Only the laws of the world? Interesting, but do you think that's enough to beat me?”

Richard slowly pulled out Moonlight, throwing his sword case back into the city, “We'll know once we fight.”

Up in Faust, everyone channeled their strength into the Rainbow of the Moons, expanding the city's radiance once more until it stretched beyond Richard and enveloped the vanishing peak and the entire mountain range. The aura of the abyss was nullified entirely, leaving only the foundational laws of the world active. From a certain point of view, this was the only way to have a true test of might between two powerhouses; only the one who had a better grasp on existence itself would have an advantage.

“I'll show you what strength is, kid!” the throned man swung his sword down, the black and red energy around it shooting out across the distance. Richard smiled and lifted Moonlight with a single hand, slicing the energy wave in two.

All of Arbidis shook as tiny cracks appeared in the void beneath Richard's feet. The Rainbow of the Moons flickered as well, and many of Richard's legendary followers tasted iron in their throats as their veins bulged. The least harmed of them all was Romney, but that was because he was a new legend and hadn't been exposed to the damage. The truly powerful ones shivered as they saw the cracks in the void beneath Richard's feet; knowing just how rigid space was here, they couldn't fathom just how much power was needed for mere testing blows to tear it apart. Google search f𝙧ee𝔀𝑒𝚋𝐧૦ѵ𝑒Ɩ. 𝑐𝘰𝒎

The giant blade pressed down on Moonlight like a mountain, pushing it down bit by bit. Ever since he absorbed the demon archlord's heart, Richard had only ever been matched in strength by Mountainsea who had fully awakened her Beast God bloodline. This was the first time he was actually on the weaker end.

However, he was already near the pinnacle of speed, strength, and defence. While he had lost in one attribute, he roared and repelled the giant blade before blinking a hundred metres away. Space cracked in his wake as he flashed behind the man like a phantom, Moonlight slashing towards the neck.

“Such a girl!” the armoured man snorted, placing his enormous sword in Moonlight's path. However, the giant blade was blown away by the thin sword, a good half of the peak underneath exploding as the throne was torn apart. The man himself was flung a thousand metres away, spitting out a mouthful of black blood.

“That's more like it!” the man stopped his body with difficulty, slowly raising the mask up to his chin and spitting out a few mouthfuls of bloody saliva, “Again!”

Richard appeared from the void, his face a deep red. He clearly wasn't faring much better than the man; his speed and strength had summoned a strike beyond the plane's limits, but there was a price to pay for that power. He didn't even reply to the challenge, simply floating over while Moonlight brightened once more. The blade seemed to disappear in an instant as it slashed out, but the man gripped his sword with both hands and roared with the power of Arbidis. Their contact was silent for a moment, but Richard was quickly flung a kilometre away himself. He left a chain of blood pearls behind as he was sent flying, with the man just snorting at the sight as he breathed out a mist of blood himself.

1429 - City of Sin

Winding Destiny

Richard stopped the backward momentum with great difficulty, coughing out a few more mouthfuls of blood before breathing in sharply and staring at Moonlight. There was actually a nick on its edge!

His expression darkened and he turned to look at the man in the distance. Moonlight was supposedly indestructible, but that had its limit. It was difficult to muster the strength to damage it within the bounds of the laws of order, but his opponent this time had a similarly indestructible weapon with power that approached the limits of the world's laws. An inconceivable thought crawled into his mind; had this man already reached the limit of pure strength?

This was a shocking revelation. Richard himself wasn't at the true limit of sheer power, only infinitely approaching it. His other attributes were similar, and he had believed his opponent would at best be the same. This meant the world's laws would apply as normal, but clearly that wasn't the case.

The man looked at his own giant blade as well, staring at the defect on its edge which was even bigger than on Moonlight's. It seemed like the quality of the rusty blade wasn't the same as the elven masterpiece, but the difference was minor at best. If these two weapons weren't in the hands of people so powerful, this situation wouldn't have occurred.

“You really are delicate, kid!” the man laughed.

“Is that so? A slight difference in strength is now delicate?” Richard retorted by instinct.

“A slight difference is still a difference! Being close to the peak and upon it are entirely separate things!”

“That simply means our paths are different. You're at the pinnacle of strength, but what about all the other factors. I'm near-perfect everywhere, while you're perfect in one thing and mediocre at the rest.”

“Why would you think that?” the man chuckled.

“Because otherwise you wouldn't be able to exist. There isn't any perfection in this world.”

“Haha! Less nonsense, we'll know once we fight!”

Hearing this laughter, a smile appeared on Richard's face as well, “Exactly!”
ƒ𝓇ℯ𝑒𝒘𝐞𝚋𝓃𝚘𝚟e𝚕. 𝒄𝗼𝐦

His figure disappeared, forming behind that man and sending ten thousand slashes his way. Every attack left a crack in space, surrounding the two entirely, but both completely ignored that as they knew that only the other side's blade was the real threat.

The giant sword seemed to spring to life, dancing around in mid-air as it cut space into a million fragments. It made repeated contact with Moonlight, and despite most occasions being glancing blows the two blades started chipping further.

The pair suddenly separated without warning, facing each other from a hundred metres away. An invisible ring of energy rippled out from them, destroying the entire mountain peak and shaving hundreds of metres off the earth. Everything outside of Faust in the vicinity was destroyed, and even the floating city bobbed up and down as some of the lower islands turned to ash. Richard's followers paled, some having blood ooze out from their noses or mouths. A number of the night elves just died immediately; even with saintly power, they couldn't resist the aftermath of a battle between two pinnacle beings.

The large sword was now so jagged that it seemed like a sawtooth blade, but Moonlight wasn't much better. One more all-out attack and both supposedly indestructible weapons would become objects of the path. However, the man didn't care and simply swung his giant sword, lava erupting around his body and extending into the void, “Come on, kid! One last strike!”

“Alright,” Richard gripped Moonlight with both hands for the first time, a giant tetrahedron appearing around his body with countless faces upon it. He breathed in deeply and drew the sword towards his chest, a pale blue moon appearing above his head. He suddenly merged with the sword, turning into a beam of destruction as he zipped towards his opponent.

This was the peak of Annihilation, an attack that would destroy both the opponent and himself. This was the first secret sword that he had learnt, and the one he was attuned to the most. Coupled with the power of his truenames and the blue moon, this was also his most powerful strike.

His opponent seemed to be stunned for a moment, resulting in an imperceptible delay in picking up his sword. However, at a battle of this level even the smallest of mistakes was magnified, and Richard's sword passed by and pierced right into the man's chest. Both combatants crashed into the ground from the force, creating another huge wound in the earth.

Richard's hands still gripped Moonlight as before, but his body was constantly shivering. He had expected mutual destruction, planning to rely on his stronger body and recovery to win, but his opponent had made an elementary mistake that no one at such a level should.

“Exactly the same... as that day...” the man below him suddenly laughed, though it was quickly replaced by coughing. Richard shuddered and his eyes went wide; they had been speaking in abyssal all this while, but he had suddenly switched to Norlandic!

And the voice... All colour drained from his face, and he didn't even realise that he'd thrown Moonlight's hilt aside to lift up the man's mask. Behind was a dignified face full of vitality and charm, one that he had buried in the depths of his heart.

It was Gaton.

Richard's hand started to shudder, but he didn't dare to pull his sword out. Only he knew the power of destruction contained within that strike, and the fact that anything struck by it would be wiped out completely. That one attack possessed the capacity to wipe out an entire divine kingdom, destroying even Moonlight in its entirety. No one could withstand its might.

“Why... does it have to be you?” he muttered, eyes warming up as he entered a daze.

“I... died in the Rosie Plane. When I woke up, I became... one with the will of the abyss... an avatar... whose duty was to guard... this plane... You could never... pass through here... if you didn't defeat me... But still... my son turned out to be amazing!” Gaton suddenly seemed to fill up with energy, heavily patting Richard on the shoulder, “You actually managed to bring Faust all the way here. You're so much more capable than your old man! Hahaha...”

Richard watched vacantly as the fiery man moved his lips, but he almost couldn't hear any words. His vision blurred with tears as he formed a ball of vitality in his hand capable of resurrection, but he didn't dare release it because he knew that it would kill his father immediately. It was already too late.

The sword down below had vanished, Moonlight fading into ash, but Gaton himself seemed intact. Even the wound in his chest was gone, and he patted Richard once more, “It's fine, kid. I died a long time ago; if I didn't come to this damned place, I wouldn't have seen you all grown up. Don't be a wimp, we Archerons shed blood, not tears! Yes, if you have the heart, just repay all my debts. That's something I was always worried about...”

Richard nodded, still not daring to use the orb of vitality in his hand.

Gaton's gaze passed Richard, losing focus as his voice started to fade, “Just want... to see that pretty girl... again...”

A light breeze picked up Gaton and whisked him away, scattering him into the winds. Richard watched with blurred vision as his father's face faded away, stuck in his stance with one hand raised as though he had solidified into a statue.

It felt like years had passed when a big hand patted him on the shoulder, “Master is gone, kid.”

“Father...” Richard swayed, finally getting to his feet. There was only a broken suit of armour where Gaton had once laid, and he picked it up and sighed, “Mordred... Why?”

1430 - City of Sin

The End Of An Era

Mordred knelt down before the suit of armour in Richard's hands, giving it a knight's salute, “The abyss is the source of all demonkind. The Archeron Family hasn't even been considered close to a strong bloodline in the abyss for ten thousand years, but after he died this was the only place that could revive him. Arbidis is the beginning of both hell and the abyss. Its master is the highest existence across both.”

Richard pursed his lips and listened.

“When Master died, I brought him here and offered him to the Eternal Battlefield for resurrection. We then came over and removed the previous abyssal king, giving him the position.” Mordred's tone was casual, but behind each word was clearly a heavy story, “The fact that he became the abyssal king have Master's bloodline the favour of the abyss. The Family was destined for an archlord in the future, and his bloodline in the human world would grow even more powerful.”

“Then why did he block me?!” Richard clenched his fist, having to take a moment to open it back up, “Wouldn't letting me go or explaining be better?”

Mordred shrugged, “That is the will of Arbidis. Guarding the portal to the alter world and maintaining stability in the Eternal Battlefield are the two primary responsibilities of the abyssal king, and they suppress all other thoughts. Master had to stop you because you tried to cross over; he couldn't recognise you until he was released from the will of this plane.”

“But the will of this plane doesn't affect you. Why didn't you tell me?” a cold light flashed across Richard's eyes.

Mordred laughed, looking up at Richard and locking gazes with his deep black eyes, “So Master could kill you? He didn't remember his own identity, and was simply the embodiment of the abyss. But if you knew, would you still fight with all your strength? A moment of hesitation and you would die. How could I let him kill his own son?”

Richard took a long time to response, “If that was the case... then why did he have to take that position?”

“I already said it was for the Archerons. You should know what kind of man he is...”

Richard nodded, recalling the terrifying will that had occasionally touched his soul. Even from the depths of the world, his father had watched over and protected him in the worst of times. He sighed and looked at the enormous vortex in the sky; the barrier protecting it had weakened greatly, and he could see countless strange objects beyond that seemed desperate to escape.

He suddenly understood why the will of Arbidis protected this passage. Not only was it preventing creatures from the domain of order from going to the other side, but it was also preventing the creatures in the darkness beyond from wreaking havoc here. He frowned, “You said you killed the previous king to take over the position. Does that mean I'm the abyssal king now?”

Gazing at the barrier between the two worlds, he felt exceptionally calm but also a little regretful. Once he assumed this role, he would be changed by the will of the abyss and sit on that icy throne forever. Perhaps another devil or demon would defeat him in a few millennia. Guarding this place was the natural responsibility of a creature of the light, but he felt like he still had too many unfinished things to take care of.

Mordred smiled, “I'm sorry, kid, but not yet. The position of abyssal king is rotated between the devils and demons. So I'm the next king, not you. The Mordred name in the hells is similar to the Archerons' position in the abyss; I need to look out for my own family as well.”

“I... Thank you,” Richard turned back to Mordred, matching his deep gaze.

The Devil King laughed in a low voice, “No need to thank me. Master fulfilled his responsibilities and deserved to be freed. You can go take care of your own things; I'll stay here and reminisce. Not a bad result, don't you think?”

He pointed towards the vortex, “Go and come back quickly, you won't have much time. I can still hold on for a while before I'm assimilated, but if you take too long you'll have to fight me when you return. Whether I kill you or you kill me, it can't be a good thing.”

Richard nodded, stowing the armour away and blinking back to Faust. A look of determination flooded his face as he looked at the warped creatures on the other end, “We're charging through.”

The flying fortress picked up speed, the Rainbow of the Moons lighting up Arbidis as it barrelled through the barrier and arrived at the other side. Mordred watched on in shock as Faust turned into a burning meteor, crushing all the creatures in its path. Only once it had gone through did he actually respond with an incredulous cry, “That's actually possible?!”

......

The moment they shifted between worlds, everyone felt their vision dim into complete darkness. All the crushed creatures vanished, but suddenly there was no light nor sound in the surroundings. The Rainbow of the Moons was still shining brightly to protect Faust, but the city seemed to be a bubble in a pitch-black sea.

This was the dark side of the world.

Richard felt the fear within many of his followers, their minds rocked by the experience. He knew from experience that this wasn't true emptiness— one simply needed a different perception to actually see it for what it was— but one could only understand that once they had successfully switched their perceptions at least once.

The alter world was considered the dark side of the world, where the laws were inverted entirely. Controlling the laws here was much easier than in the Darkness, as Richard could already see the flows of energy with his truesight. It wouldn't be long before he could perceive and control the laws here, so he transmitted that information to calm everyone down.

However, Nasia's voice rang out in his mind, “The city is losing energy, and there's no way to replenish it. If we can't think of something quick, we'll be stuck here forever.”

“We'll analyse the laws of this place and adjust the city to work with them. Won't that work?” Richard asked.

“Sure, all we have to do is figure out the laws of another world! You get to it then, I'll take care of adjustments once you're done.”

“It really isn't hard,” he chuckled, quickly working on establishing a model. However, he wasn't relying solely on himself this time, instead passing a majority of the information he had to Mountainsea. She herself was sitting on the roof of one of the city's shrines, staring into the pitch-black void, but in one corner of the city was a large lake filled with green water that started to boil. Within was an enormous creature that was an amalgamation of ten giant brains, a combined thought centre that had been established over the past few years precisely as an emergency scenario.

Richard continued building model after model, sending them to Mountainsea for validation until the thought centre was completely occupied. He then began analysing things himself, sitting at the research desk of the primal celestials that he had whisked away from Sharon's library. He was many times faster than even the enormous thought centre down below, and as the days passed the darkness gradually faded into indistinct images and noises. The shapes were strange and the sounds felt like the creepy chatter of insects, but it was still progress. He passed things to his followers as he went, with the one exception of Nasia who seemed perfectly fine even here.

Fortunately, the Book of Eternity and Richard's presence ensured that they could never lose track of time. That was something extremely important in a land of such isolation, and allowed everyone to keep track of progress as things steadily got better. The radiance from the Rainbow of the Moons was also something that kept them from going insane.

1431 - City of Sin

The Alter World

After a few days, Richard had broken through the surface layers of the alter world's laws and could finally perceive the unique scenes here. This place was no more empty than the void between the myriad planes, with strange landmasses in the distance and dense energy storms all around. Faust's radiance protected them from it all with ease, but until they could take control it simply floated around without direction.

Those in the city felt like they weren't moving at all, but they understood that they could actually be zooming around at high speeds until they actually unraveled everything and took control. Richard continued transmitting the progress of his analysis to his followers as he explored the space around them, his field of perception slowly widening with time. It was only a few hundred metres on the first day, but he was already at a kilometre on the second and three on the third. The veil of the alter world was slowly lifted before his eyes, revealing a twisted world of chaos.

After a month of adjustment, Richard could perceive everything within thousands of kilometres. Faust finally started adjusting direction, heading towards the closest major landmass. Its speed and direction weren't perfect, and it snaked around as the power his followers put in varied, but those here were amongst the cream of the crop in Norland. While none of them had his speed, they still adjusted quickly and reduced the variance. In only two months they tried their first teleportation, crossing tens of thousands of kilometres in an instant. However, that was only the start.

Two and a half months later, the flying fortress reached the first major landmass nearby. It was completely different from any plane on the light side, without any crystal walls to defend it from the energy storms all around. The violent energy occasionally blew onto the surface and tore apart anything that wasn't sturdy enough, making the continent seem like a rotten piece of meat covered in bubbles of pus. There was no shape to speak of, but even more frightening than the parts that had been smoothed out by the storms were those areas that still had their craggy peaks.

Even this twisted land had its own form of life, looking like rats made of piles of rotten meat. These creatures looked like the fabrications of a lunatic's mind, and as some of them noticed Faust's existence and started approaching Richard had the city teleport away. These creatures were hundreds of metres tall, and having scanned the entire surface without finding a single clue he had no interest in fighting them.

At this point his perception covered over a hundred thousand kilometres, and was continuing to expand. In this world of chaos, even the slightest difference in power was magnified enormously.

Faust continued to move from landmass to landmass, occasionally fighting any enemies that got too close. Richard took care of everything at first, but as more of his followers got used to this world they started participating as well. Zealor actually burst forward in his first appearance, shooting a hundred kilometres into the void and destroying all the chaos beasts approaching them instantly in an unprecedented show of power. Where on the light side a group of saints could overwhelm a legend and there was a critical mass of legends that could even fight an epic, here that possibility didn't exist. An epic being could slaughter a hundred legends with ease.

Once his followers took over in battles, Richard stopped moving out of his study, focused purely on his analysis and exploring the domain all around him. They didn't have much time remaining, and if they didn't find Sharon's whereabouts they would have to turn back soon. No one knew if the creatures of the light would be assimilated into the dark side if they stayed too long, but when Mordred was finally broken by the will of Arbidis they would have to go through another deathmatch to return.

The days continued to pass, but one day Richard suddenly gasped as he scanned a region that was 150,000 kilometres away. His heart leapt into his throat as he noticed a little blue star, prompting him to blink out of his study and cut the chaos beast that was currently fighting them in two. He then turned to his followers, “Change of direction, follow me!”

The giant city slowly changed directions, but impatient as he was he directly teleported to the star. It flickered with a dim light, and being powered by astral energy it couldn't replenish itself in the alter world and had almost been extinguished. He stretched his hand, and feeling the astral energy within him it jumped over and transmitted a message. This was the coordinates of a distant location, where an injured Sharon was currently in hiding.

There was still hope! Richard's hand shivered as delight flooded his face. After decades of searching, he finally had a chance to change the destiny he had foreseen!

However, his expression suddenly turned cold and he swept an icy gaze through the surrounding void. Countless mechanical warships suddenly slipped out of the darkness and surrounded him, an enemy that he could recognise even with his eyes closed.

The reapers!

“The... Fucking... Scholars...” At this point, it was obvious that the coordinates had been used as a trap. Richard's aura pulsed with unadulterated rage as he realised that the Scholars had an actual connection to the reapers, and he erupted with power. He was no longer the epic being that had struggled to defeat them, but a pinnacle powerhouse that would crush them!

He didn't even wait for Faust, blinking a thousand kilometres into the centre of the enemy and grabbing everything within a hundred kilometres within his field of control. Everything but the two largest warships lost all control, getting crushed into metal balls that were then thrown away. He personally flashed over to the ones that he couldn't crush, simply knocking on their exteriors to tear them apart.

Almost all of the reaper warships were destroyed, leaving behind only a metre-long silver barrel. This was the only component that he hadn't finished analysing, the control centre that received and executed orders.

A gentle feminine voice rang out from within the barrel, “My adorable runemaster, welcome to the dark side of the world! I have been waiting for so long, you did not disappoint!”

“Who are you?” Richard asked calmly.

“Who am I?” the voice laughed with hysteria, quickly devolving into gasps for breath, “Let's... keep that little secret for now. If you successfully pass my test, I will reward you with my identity!”

“Not interested,” Richard pointed at the metal barrel and flicked at it, disintegrating it into countless tiny components. His hand reached out like lightning to grab a crystal, but before he could touch it the thing actually exploded alongside the conscient talking to him.

“You'll pay for this!” a shrill cry echoed through the void, “I swear!”

“Escaped again...” Richard frowned. In another moment he would have grabbed the conscient and managed to track the main body, but whoever was moving behind the scenes clearly wouldn't give him that chance.

The void behind him lit up like a rainbow as Faust teleported over, finally catching up. The city could go farther with a single teleport, but it took less time for him to build a portal for himself. As the city approached, he gathered all the reaper remnants into a giant metal ball that he threw over.

Tiramisu grabbed the remains, stacking them nearby as he smiled with malice, “Is this where the reapers come from?”

“Exactly.”

“Then let's tear it down!” the ogre lord's eyes gleamed ominously. The hatred he had accumulated in Faelor was something he would never forget.

Richard shook his head, “We don't have the time, or maybe even the energy. I'll find another way here in the future, we can crush them then. But for now, Sharon is our goal. I know where she is.”

1432 - City of Sin

Another Encounter With The Reapers

Faust moved smoothly through the void, a portal materialising in its path and taking it millions of kilometres away. It jumped again and again as Richard forced himself to calm down and continue his analysis of the world's laws, understanding that this was the best way to be prepared for an ambush.

They travelled through the void for nearly a month before he arrived at the location indicated by the coordinates, and surprisingly they weren't attacked even once all the way to the end. A small landmass appeared at the edge of his perception, a lonely island floating in the void that was about the same size as Faust, but all around it was a blue barrier that kept the chaotic storms away.

Richard immediately recognised the astral energy that made up the barrier, but he didn't rush over immediately and instead ordered Faust to slow down. As the city came to a halt, he floated out with a cold face, “Prepare for battle.”

The radiance of the Rainbow of the Moons multiplied, the top island entering orbit around the city as all of its kin started to circle around. A number of homunculi popped up all over the city, rapidly preparing its weapons as a few of the shrine buildings parted to give rise to giant crystals that were hundreds of metres tall and wide.

Floating in the control shrine, Nasia was currently cocooned in the light of seven different crystals. A faint smile formed on her mask as she whispered to herself, “One last time... I'll help you one last time...”

Richard was stunned by the sight. Although he'd obtained control of Faust, he hadn't gone through everything before handing things over to Nasia. He had already thought it to be a miracle that the city could move, suppress laws, and defend itself, and while he understood that a flying fortress needed some offensive might he had expected those capabilities to be lost when it first crashed into Norland. Offensive capabilities rarely outlasted defences, and his own might was at a level where he didn't even need to consider this support.

Countless reaper warships appeared in the void, including enormous starships that were bigger than Faust itself. This fleet was far more powerful than the one that had ravaged Faelor, and it was accompanied by that excitable voice, “My adorable runemaster, you've finally arrived! You cannot begin to fathom just how long I've waited for you, how long I've journeyed through the sea of destiny to find this unrivalled road. It was such an arduous and uninteresting road of despair, but I've finally walked it to its end! You are the end, my beloved Richard!”

The shrill voice trembled and moaned, as though its owner had just climaxed. However, Richard frowned at what it revealed. How long had this person been plotting against him? “You sure look up to me. I don't think a single grade 6 rune is that important, and there are multiple planes with more power than Norland. I definitely wasn't the only one with the potential to become a pinnacle powerhouse.”

“You simply don't understand your true worth!” the voice spoke melodically.

“My true worth, huh? And where's that, my bloodline? Heh, neither side of me comes from a particularly strong race.”

“Of course it isn't your bloodline, I know of a dozen races that are more powerful. Your value is in your ability to see the truth of the world. How about this, my beloved Richard, I've already given you an answer in advance as a reward for making it here. Now, it's time for my side; work hard to resist your capture! That will maximise my joy, and the... climax!”

“You can rest assured, my resistance will surpass your expectations,” Richard sneered, playing with a small crystal in his hands, A red pillar on Faust suddenly lit up and shot a beam of energy towards one of the reaper starships, turning it translucent for a moment before it exploded into a giant fireball. His expression changed under the intense radiance, and he muttered slowly, “I guess mine as well.”

Another amber beam shot out right after, destroying a hundred different warships. The reapers finally started to move and shot countless energy beams towards Faust's barrier, but as bullets screamed through the sky and battered the flickering barrier to the point that it started to fluctuate, a green crystal flashed and covered it in another layer of radiance that stabilised it.

Richard calmed down and continued to observe, confident that this wouldn't be the end of things. As expected, hundreds of giant portals opened up all around and countless warships flooded out like a black tide. Three of the portals were even bigger than the rest, and they transmitted strange amalgamations of flesh and metal with no eyes, mouths, limbs, or teeth. They seemed like three piles of meat, but their presence alone exerted enormous pressure on everything in the vicinity.

“Looks like I'll need to move out,” his gaze sharpened.

Nasia replied, “Go on, kill them like you mean it. Don't be merciful like you normally are, we might die if you're a second too slow.”

“I'm not that immature,” he muttered as he opened up a portal.

“Hard to say, my adorable runemaster!” she snorted in response. Rendered speechless, he dove through the portal and appeared on top of the nearest beast.

These strange beasts seemingly had no sensory organs, but they discovered Richard's arrival immediately. They finally split open to reveal enormous mouths, the millions of sharp teeth within chomping down as a powerful suction drew him close. Even legends couldn't withstand the force, likely to be torn to shreds before the teeth even clashed.

Muddy yellow eyes appeared around the mouths, their blank irises shooting out piss-yellow light towards Richard's body. He immediately sensed his barriers weakening under the corrosion of mysterious energy, the laws here corroding his mana and astral energy in mere moments. A chill ran down his spine as he summoned his three faces, each roaring as a blue fireball was shot towards the mouths.

Drawn in by the suction force, the blue fireballs sped through the void like lightning and dived into the depths of the mouths, the giant beasts screeching eerily as flames burnt in their depths. The suction force vanished as they closed their mouths, giving him a moment to blink away and dodge the beam attacks. His finger then shot out a thin blue line of fire that burnt one of the eyes, burrowing a deep hole before exploding from within.

Chaotic energy was the best fuel for the flames of destruction, and these behemoths made of flesh and metal were inherently creations of chaos. Richard found his blue flames were far more effective than against most opponents, so he summoned it all around himself as he dove towards the closest beast like a meteor.

1433 - City of Sin

Sera

Back on Faust, Tiramisu was leading hundreds of night elven warriors in pushing the metal balls made of the reapers' remains into a new pit that had appeared within the ground. Flames were raging in the depths, burning so hot that the elves couldn't even go all the way and had to leave the last hundred metres to the now-sweating ogre.

The forge seemed to swallow with every ball rolled in, melting it completely before throwing out a large portion as slag. Only a small amount of silver essence remained, and that was sent to another smaller forge deeper within. In that one, the ember essence that could withstand even the flames of destruction started to vapourize, pulsing energy into the system and powering the seven giant crystals. The city's barrier grew even sturdier, capable of withstanding the increased number of attackers.

The seven crystals combined powers into a single white beam of energy, sending it straight into one of the reaper beasts. The mountainous figure was pierced through cleanly, forming a terrifying hole that was almost a hundred metres wide.

In the depths of the other beast, Richard was blasting out dark red fireballs that hit the squirming lumps of flesh within. The ball shone with a blinding radiance and exploded with a shockwave that blasted everything within a kilometre apart, leaving only ash behind. Core-melting explosions were even more effective than the flames of destruction here, their initial might far exceeding the long-term effects of the blue flames.

Unfortunately, his analysis of the alter world wasn't at a point where he could create black holes yet. He could have destroyed these beasts with only one black hole each, but no matter how much power he put into it the explosions had limits and could only take out a small section. These beasts were of a similar design to the reaper starships, made of many scattered sectors without a central core. The only way to completely kill these things was to destroy them sector by sector.

Faust was the best way to deal with these kinds of massive weapons of war. Richard's followers supported the Rainbow of the Moons in withstanding the assault, rushing out after every counter-attack to grab the remains and toss them into the forge. The ember essence turned Faust into a formidable war machine, the crystals taking out swathes of opponent every few seconds.

However, there were simply too many reapers, and their constant bombardment was difficult to bear. They had already figured out that the floating islands were all defensive nodes, and were focusing fire on one at a time to take them out. A shrill cry rang out in the void as the one beast that wasn't being attacked shuddered, sending a metallic block that was ten metres wide shooting towards the city. The enormous bullet caused an earth-shattering explosion as it struck one of the islands, destroying it completely while also halving two of its neighbours. The entire fortress was pushed thousands of kilometres away with force, and in the control room Nasia groaned as one of her armour pieces split into two.

“This useless idiot!” she grumbled as she quickly adjusted her attack to a point in the void, piercing a hole into the beast and disabling it for a moment.

One of the giant beasts scrunched up, countless holes erupting on its body and spewing blue or red flames. Richard flew out from one of them, looking back at the writhing beasts with a trace of exhaustion in his eyes. It quickly lit aflame everywhere, allowing him to heave a sigh of relief. He had been forced to burn down almost the entire body before he could get rid of it.

However, he didn't even get a second breath as another beast shot its corrosive light towards him. Cursing under his breath, he activated his blue flames once more and entered the depths of his body.

Richard quickly burrowed through the maze of flesh and metal, alternating between the core-melting explosion and the flames of destruction. His three faces were being used to their fullest as they bombarded the internals of the enemy.

“RICHARD!” Nasia suddenly roared in his mind, so loud that he blacked out for a moment, “Could you go any slower? How long does it take to deal with a lump of rotten flesh?”

“This thing is a damn mountain range! I can only take out one peak at a time!” Richard replied. Both his flaming attacks were rare spells with terrifying effects, but these beasts were just impossibly large.

"Your city only has six islands left. Do you want them to be gone as well?!"

"Well, I welcome any suggestions for how to speed up!"

"Think of how Sharon would do it!"

"She'd just blow the thing up with portals. You think I can do that? I'm not a primal celestial!"

"But you're a Lord of Space, aren't you? Wait no, you're even a Lord of Time now. Whatever, can't you collapse anything? How about some black holes?"

“Nope, I can't do that here!”

The two continued to bicker, but Richard eventually destroyed the second beast. When he moved on to the third, the result of the battle had already been set. Without their backup, the reaper fleet simply couldn't breach Faust's defences. The fortress itself still had more than enough energy to support its crystal cannons, and swept through the remainder of the fleet with ease. His followers continued to collect the reapers' remains for energy, allowing the city to function endlessly.

Once the final beast was turned to ash, the space all around was filled with scattered remains. Nasia manoeuvred Faust around to collect the remnants, but Richard couldn't care as he quickly flew to the distant landmass with the astral screen.

The astral screen was a near-perfect barrier, hiding the situation within from any attempts at probing. Richard hesitated when he arrived before it, afraid that he still wouldn't find Sharon behind, but he eventually smiled wryly and crossed through. On the other side was an empty space with hundreds of lightning orbs floating around, with a stone platform at the centre where Sharon was sleeping soundly just like in the Deepblue.

New orbs appeared regularly, occupying a random space and holding in place. The small space had an astonishing amount of energy within, and Sharon's body itself seemed to hold a storm that was slowly seeping out.

However, this alone wasn't enough to stop the reapers. Richard didn't hurry to try and wake Sharon, his gaze instead sweeping across the landmass as he looked for the other existence he felt within.

“Are you looking for me?” a soft voice rang out in his mind.

Richard was stunned by the traces of youth in that voice, but he calmed himself down and nodded, “Yes, I'd be very happy if you could come out.”

"I'm here..." a small silhouette appeared before him, revealing a girl who looked to be about seven or eight. There were already traces of beauty in her young face, but that was only to be expected of someone who looked like a childhood version of Sharon herself. Richard also saw some of his own features as well.

The girl didn't have normal human hair, instead possessing dozens of dark blue tentacles that stretched down to her shoulders. He shivered at the sight, but he smiled and squatted down in front of her before staring into her azure eyes, “What's your name, and why are you here?”

The girl's gaze was as clear as water, and that alone dissipated all of Richard's worries in an instant. She smiled wide, her eyes glued to the Book of Eternity at his waist, “Sera, I'm here to protect Mom.”

1434 - City of Sin

The Second Miracle

"Sera? That's a good name,” Richard felt his heart throb as he called his daughter's name for the first time. Unlike Sharon she looked completely like a true primal celestial, and unlike either of her parents she possessed an aura of pure ice, but he could only write that off as destiny working its mysteries once more, “Did the machines outside come in?”

“Yes!” the girl nodded with a frown, “They used to come in many times a day, and it was so tiring to wipe them out! Now, there aren't as many.”

He felt a whirlpool of emotions swirl through his heart. Even with the help of the astral screen and the lightning orbs, it would take more than legendary might to wipe out the reaper attacks. Beneath Sera's tender appearance was power not befitting of her age, as well as hardship that no child should have to suffer.

He reached a hand out to her, “Let's go home.”

Sera placed her small hand into his palm without hesitation, “Home? Where's that?”

“In a world filled with light,” he smiled.

......

A moment later, both Sera and Sharon were on Faust. Sharon continued her hibernation— she was critically low on astral energy, and would only be able to recover and awaken once they were back in the light. There was a silver lining that this slumber would strengthen her like any other for a primal celestial, but he hated having to wait.

As Faust slowly turned around and set sail, he knelt down and hugged Sera, “I know I said we're going home, but we need to make one stop on the way. I need to get rid of the bad guy who put you and Mom here.”

“Okay, I'll be here with Mom,” Sera smiled, looking at the Book of Eternity once more, “I want the book.”

Richard was stunned for a moment before shaking his head, “Not yet. Let's discuss it when you're older.”

“Then I'll grow quickly!” she ran outside, prompting a helpless sigh. The Book of Eternity was something even Richard hadn't understood completely just yet, and just like the destiny crystal was something that could affect one's fate. This twining of fates with the book rarely led to a positive outcome.

“That bastard Martin,” he muttered under his breath. The divine child had passed the Book of Destiny to him all those years ago, and it seemed like it had all been to escape such a complicated life. He hadn't actually lost out, gaining many advantages both within battle and without, but he didn't want his child bearing the burden that came with it.

......

Sera had just left Richard's room and was rushing towards Sharon's when she suddenly topped, her gaze turning icy as she looked at the fiery Fiora who had appeared nearby.

“The book is mine,” Fiora said softly.

“Yours? Dream on!”

“Oh? You want me to settle this with violence?” the demon smiled.

Sera sneered, “You wouldn't dare to do anything here, and when we're back in the light I'll recover and beat you half dead!”

Fiora's gaze turned icy cold, but her smile actually grew even more charming, “You sure are confident, brat.”

“It's not confidence. We're not like Dad, and depend purely on our bloodlines. Do you think yours is better than mine?” Sera walked past her older sister with large strides, not even sparing her a glance. Fiora's fingertips burnt with black flames, but she didn't actually let them loose.

......

The City of Miracles was peppered with battle scars. Only four islands remained in total, and most of the buildings had been destroyed by the bullets and energy beams of the reapers. Richard found it surprising that it had even survived, but that question was answered by a shrine in the depths that was littered with night elven corpses. Tens of thousands of night elves that each had near-saint strength provided an energy that far exceeded what the core could extract from the void, and was perhaps only second to the energy produced by breaking down the ember essence. This entire hall had been built to extract the vitality of slaves or prisoners or some such thing, but the drones had been sacrificed instead to power the flying fortress.

This dual method of extracting energy from the void and using prisoners from planes that had already been conquered combined with the power of the Rainbow of the Moons to make for a construct that only pinnacle beings like Richard could crash. However, the fact remained that the city had crashed into Norland at some point in time, and the race that had created it had disappeared into the annals of history.

The battered city quickly moved through the void, crossing many chaotic landmasses until it arrived at a strange place that actually had light. Within was a magnificent metal fortress that stood over a thousand kilometres tall, looking like a giant mage tower with countless bridges drawn out from which reapers were launched. From the distance, it looked like a giant hornet nest.

“Oh, my adorable runemaster, you actually found this place!” the voice rang out, “Even my omniscience did not predict such an achievement. This is a minor mistake, but certainly unforgivable. I will quickly improve myself and patch up this last loophole. As for you, you should be proud of being here. This means you are the second great miracle in our world!”

At this point, Richard wasn't surprised to hear the voice jabbering on and on. He flew out from Faust towards the metal tower, “And you're the first?”

“Of course,” the squealing voice somehow went up another octave, “No, I'm not insane. What I dream of is something neither you nor any other living soul of light can imagine! It is a true miracle!”

“Whatever, it ends today. The reapers will be gone,” Richard said coldly.

The voice laughed until it almost ran out of breath, “Ignorant! Immature! Foolish! Self-righteous! All a bunch of snake-slaves that guard some rotten meat like it is the greatest treasure in existence!”

“Did I make a mistake now?” Richard sneered.

“Of course! My adorable little runemaster, you simply do not understand the reapers' nature! Do you think destroying me and this fortress will make them vanish? No, no, no; they will appear once more, no matter how many of them you destroy or how much ember essence you collect. They are a construct of the world itself!”

This was a statement that Richard had no retort for, especially since he himself was inclined to believe it to be close to the truth. He hesitated and wondered whether he should continue to probe this self-proclaimed miracle, but the voice grew impatient, “Alright, enough! It is an incomparable honour to perish to the Light of Annihilation. This is a weapon that has never been used before, the final power of the alter world. Be proud, snake-slave!”

Amidst the high-pitched squeal, a thin black beam shot out from the top of the tower. It was so narrow that it almost couldn't be seen, and it wasn't particularly fast either, but everything within tens of thousands of kilometres lit up. The fear of death suddenly gripped Richard's heart, stronger even than when Gaton had sent him to the Darkness with a single strike. If Gaton's sword had been the convergence of the power of Arbidis, this beam was the consolidated strength of the alter world!

The beam wasn't too strong by itself, but the laws it carried were frightening. If they could not be suppressed, no object would be able to block it. It would form a terrifying chain reaction in the domain of order, capable of destroying large sectors like the Land of Dawn and destroying the composition of space to form a second Eternal Vortex!

Richard could never have imagined something with such power. Even with his current power, he could not withstand this light. That would necessitate him reaching the peak in nearly every aspect, which was impossible in this world!

Would he really die just when he had found his lover and daughter? His mind went blank for a moment as the beam struck him right in the chest. Its zip was accompanied by a high-pitched moan from the tower, “A perfect beam of annihilation, such beautiful destruction... This is the miracle of the... Damn it, how?”

1435 - City of Sin

Fulcrum Of Fate

Still floating in mid-air, Richard looked at the small hole in the chest area of his robes. At only a needlehead's width, this was the true size of the Light of Annihilation. However, on the other end of the hole was the bright glow of the destiny crystal!

Helped again... A smile crawled up his face. He had wondered why he couldn't break this last destiny crystal, but now he realised where its true purpose was. He would have been dead if he had actually managed to crush it, but perhaps Ferlyn had foreseen all of this when she had Flowsand give it to him.

Was this thing truly indestructible? The question was quickly answered by the glib mouth, “The Fulcrum of Fate! How? How do you have something that no strength can destroy! How does it exist? How is it with you? Impossible!”

“Nothing is impossible,” Richard sneered, “Just accept your end.”

He raised both hands, countless electric arms forming around him as the power of his truename reached its peak. The Light of Annihilation had given him an idea, and he distilled his power into a single point of energy even as a vague melody rang out around him. The laws of destruction resonated as a thin blue beam of light split the tower in two.

“The Deepblue Aria! How do you have this? No—” the voice suddenly squealed like a hen being choked, the blue light vanishing as the tower split apart. The reaper warships all around immediately lost their mobility; the one attack had almost laid waste to the entire reaper base!

Richard wouldn't give the reapers a chance. He quickly blinked to the centre and was about to charge in, but paused for a moment as another giant portal opened in the void. The Legion of Nightmares flooded through, but strangely enough they didn't so much as touch him as they aimed for the reapers instead. He didn't understand why they had appeared, but quickly sent Nasia a warning, “They might be another opponent. Careful.”

"Relax, they won't dare to come close,” she dismissed his worries, so he nodded and flew through one of the cracks and started tearing the base apart from within. Countless ground and space reapers rushed towards him, but they were broken apart before they could even get close. A summoned avatar of destruction destroyed everything nearby with its energy beams, the rain of bullets that came in response simply bouncing off the tetrahedral surface or being bogged down and ground to a halt.

Richard strolled through the void, breaking down the tower as he went. Everything he approached lost all signs of activity, the broken components unable to reassemble again.

“Impossible!”

“Haha, these are my latest battle units, they will definitely!”

“Look at my cute babies... Oh no, why aren't they moving?”

He eventually grew tired of the squealing voice's outrage, deigning to reply, “Because my understanding of the reapers is better than yours.”

“Impossible, I designed them!” the voice groaned.

“And I fought them,” he responded, burning through a thick wall to arrive at a wide hall. The place was a few kilometres across and filled with many strange machines, but most eye-grabbing of all was a transparent tube in the centre that was filled with some sort of reddish solution. In the middle of this solution floated a solitary human brain.

“So this is your original appearance. Shall we talk, or should I destroy you right now?” Richard remarked coldly.

The image of a middle-aged man who dressed like a mage appeared on a nearby screen, with not a single hair out of place. He had bluish-grey eyes and wore a large silver ring on his left hand, the crest of the Scholars on it being a familiar sight. He gave Richard a mage's salute, “Let me reintroduce myself. I am Layton, Layton Soremburg. I am the person who built Soremburg Castle.”

“Soremburg, huh,” Richard muttered. He had already guessed it at this point, but for it to be true was still somewhat surprising. The Scholars were the greatest nemesis in his life, and despite many attempts to find them he hadn't been able to track them down at all. While he managed to reduce their power on the surface, these relatively weak individuals were quite difficult to deal with.

His eyes glowed brightly as he scanned across the root of his nemeses, “Should I thank you for all the presents your castle has given me?”

“Oh no, those brats are completely unrelated to me. They might walk a little faster or farther than most, but they are still snake-slaves,” Soremburg waved it off, “I have no idea what they are doing, nor do I have any interest in their little tricks. As the lord of the reapers, I am the first great miracle in all of history, and as someone who managed to bring Faust here and stand before me, you are the second. You have the right to work with me; let us set out to do something that has never been done before!”

Richard pointed at the brain in the tube and sneered, “You mean getting to this state?”

Soremburg laughed with a charm that even Richard had to admit he was inferiority to, “The value of life is not in its appearance, but in its soul. I only keep my brain here for commemoration.”

"Commemoration?"

“Yes. I was once a human, even if that doesn't matter now. I am a demon to the abyss, an elf to the trees. When you look at me, I remain human. I can be any race, but in reality I belong to none.”

“But I'm a human through and through,” Richard sneered.

“Is that so?” Soremburg smiled like an elder facing a wilful child, “Let me see what the core of your existence truly is.”

Richard suddenly felt violated as the Scholar's gaze swept across him. Grunting, he raised his brows, “You have truesight as well?”

"Truesight isn't a singular blessing, dear Richard. The true value in your body is that archlord's heart, and your soul with the... that is billions! This is captivating, you truly deserve to be called a great miracle. I'm convinced, you qualify to explore the new world with me."

1436 - City of Sin

Queen Of Shadows

“Explore the new world?” Richard was confused by Soremburg's proposition.

However, the mage responded to the question with another question of his own, “Have you thought about the final meaning of life?”

This was a question that Richard had no answer to. Power? Longevity? Experience? Nothing truly made sense.

Soremburg smiled, “It is evolution. However, that evolution has a forced limit to it, and you qualify to explore that problem. I believe you have already discovered that there is a limit to strength in this world, and it isn't a natural limit based on talent. We simply cannot attain true perfection; the laws of the world serve only as a fetter to drag us down. The world does not welcome existences like us, and in fact tries its utmost to bring about our destruction. I arrived at the dark side of the world and seized authority over it so I could test my conjectures. The reapers are designed to bring down those races that finally reach a pinnacle. Grasping the foundational laws of existence is actually a death knell, and was why six powerful races were eliminated before us. Norland is in the Seventh Era, while the primal celestials hailed from the Sixth.”

“Then your aim is...”

“I want to explore the limits of existence and break the shackles on the world, bringing about a new beginning.”

Richard fell silent for a moment before saying indifferently, “The reapers haven't been hard to deal with so far, be it here or in Faelor.”

Soremburg laughed, “Those were just toys I sent to play with you. I strictly followed the rules of the game and only dispatched one starship, but your power to destroy it was still beyond my expectations. That was when I knew you had the destiny to accompany me.”

“So that was you, huh. Thanks for admitting it,” Richard sighed, a dazzling blue radiance lighting up in his hand. Lightning zipped around in a beautiful melody as it begged to be released.

“Wait... What are you doing... NO!” Soremburg screamed as the light was shot towards his brain, tinging everything in the vicinity blue before breaking it down and scattering it all over. The entire hall was broken down into dust.

Things were finally done... Richard sighed. The Scholars were difficult to track, but in a real battle they couldn't last longer than a single strike. That was simply the path they chose.

From laws to knowledge and even evolution, Soremburg had left Richard far behind. The two viewed the world from entirely different levels, and despite being an unrivalled existence Richard was almost like a wild beast in comparison to the cold, calculating Scholar. He actually agreed with the man's theories, and perhaps would one day embark on the same kind of path, but right now he had to destroy the Scholar and everything he stood for. Even if his own vengeance could be thrown away, he couldn't ignore the wishes of the billion souls he had picked up in Faelor.

However, his instinct was screaming that things weren't truly the end. Scholars were crafty and had many tricks up their sleeve, and he had been burnt by supposedly dead ones before. His truesight caught nothing, but he frowned and summoned the tetrahedron of his truename. With even the billion eyes failing to see anything, he now knew that something truly was wrong. There should have been a soul ripple left behind if Soremburg had been killed, and no such ripple could escape the combined souls of his truename.

However, he wasn't really concerned with things any longer. Now that he had destroyed Soremburg once, he could do it again whenever necessary. He would only grow stronger with the passage of time, unearthing the many secrets of Faust and exploring the various planes that were even stronger than Norland. The Eternal Dragon still had a number of rank 1 blessings to offer, and time would forever be on his side. If the Scholars ever revealed a trace of their existence, he would just extinguish them.

He was just about to look through the broken fortress when the shadows nearby gathered together, revealing a beautiful elvish woman walking towards him with a small mote of light grasped in her right hand. His truesight showed that she was an epic being that was made of amalgamated shadows, but she felt like the pinnacle of what a nightmare creature to become. In her hand was actually Soremburg's soul!

Richard recalled the portal that had opened up just as he attacked the tower. He didn't know what enmity lay between Soremburg and the nightmare creatures, but someone capturing this soul had saved him a great deal of trouble. He smiled and bowed, “May I learn your name, my Lady? And could you give me that soul in your hand?”

The ten-metre-tall woman flicked a finger, bouncing the trapped soul over to Richard, “You are the only one who can completely destroy this man. As for me, my name is Alucia.”

“Alucia? The Goddess of the Moon?”

The woman grimaced, “Once, but I fell from grace long ago. I was killed by Soremburg and his reapers, and my divine power was integrated into his final plan. I am now the Queen of Shadows.”

The fall of the Moon Goddess was news that would shock all elves. Recalling that his mother had guessed this long ago, he frowned, “Then why would you become the Queen of Shadows?”

“All souls exterminated by the reapers eventually become nightmare creatures. We wander around in the cracks of existence, filled with a desire to destroy all physical things. Such a strange balance, isn't it?” she chuckled, but Richard could tell that she wasn't as calm as she looked.

“But then, how did I feel your divinity in my enlightenment ceremony?”

“Because I had apportioned the power for that ceremony long ago. I still recall yours clearly.”

Seeing her smile a little, Richard's eyes went wide in understanding, “You were the one who gave me the blessing of truth?”

Alucia nodded and sighed softly, “The ability to see the truth of the world, it is something unique to beings of shadow. Perhaps it is compensation for the unjustness of existence; the strongest of us can bestow our gifts upon other beings, hoping for them to end the reapers once and for all. You were only one of many we gambled on, but amongst hundreds of millennia you were the only success.”

Richard opened opened his mouth with the intent to say something, but he eventually sighed and burnt Soremburg's soul to a crisp.

Seeing Soremburg's soul completely annihilated, Alucia finally relaxed and saluted him, “You have the gratitude of all shadow life. I hope we never meet again.”

“I wish you peace,” Richard returned the salute, watching as Alucia dissolved into the darkness and dissipated away. He continued to investigate the fortress, retrieving a few important components that weren't too heavily damaged before refining the rest into ember essence that he took back to Faust.

1437 - City of Sin

The Beginning Of Dreams

Faust slowly picked up momentum, but before it jumped Richard looked back at the reaper base one more time. Alucia clearly didn't know that the reapers were products of the world's laws. They only appeared in the alter world because true order could only arise in the depths of chaos, and their responsibility was to wipe out all existences that could threaten the existence of the world. They would not truly vanish; another base would naturally be produced in time, and that one would likely be even stronger.

However, this wouldn't really matter to the Queen of Shadows. Her kind drifted in the cracks of existence, and strictly speaking they didn't belong to the world at all. They were only projections left behind by harvested souls, and the reapers that had killed them once would not target them again. He recalled the moment when he had summoned the Legion of Nightmares in the final battle against the reapers in Faelor. They were at best an annoyance, unable to do any real damage. Abstaining from telling Alucia the truth would at least allow her to stay relaxed until the new reaper base was formed.

The flying fortress was quickly covered by the rainbow radiance, disappearing into the newly formed portal as it embarked upon its return voyage. Consecutive teleports and almost a month of travel finally brought them back to there they had entered, but as they exited they found that the space around them was empty.

The passage couldn't simply vanish. There was always a connection between Arbidis and the alter world, so it was just the location on this end that had changed. However, just like in the light the dark void was nearly limitless. Without any clues, it could take thousands of years to be able to find the passage back home.

A deathly silence enveloped Faust as everyone felt their hearts sink. However, that fear was suddenly dissipated as a powerful beam of light lit up the void, even more dazzling than in the world of light as it couldn't be missed even from millions of kilometres away. The beam expanded into a pillar that shone on Faust, extending into the far distance with a familiar aura on the other end. This was a way back to the light! Google search free𝓌𝗲𝒃𝓃𝒐𝐯𝒆𝙡. 𝑐𝗼ｍ

Martin's signature voice rang out in Richard's mind, “Could you be lost, my dear Richard?”

......

A brilliant ray of sunlight pierced through the dense clouds of Floe Bay, shining on the bustling Deepblue. It passed through the tall windows and landed on the sparkling crystal bed at the top level of the tower, causing the woman on it to scrunch up her eyebrows and purse her lips. She muttered in her sleep, but the light continued to creep up until it covered her face.

Sharon's breathing grew faster, her nostrils starting to spark with starfire, but the sunlight didn't bother with these omens of destruction. Hundreds of lightning orbs suddenly sprang up in the peaceful room and turned it into a land of destruction, and the Dragon Slaver suddenly sat up and scanned through her surroundings with blazing eyes.

This was her familiar room, and her familiar bed. The windows were in the same style as always, making her feel like she had returned to a few decades ago when she had lived without a care and only worried about growing her treasury.

She recalled a bunch of youths that had dared to challenge her, only to be beaten down by her pet dragons in mere minutes. However, the stupidest one of them all who had a few screws loose had jumped forward to take responsibility, signing a contract to repay her for wasting her time. She had come up with a debt that was near impossible to repay, but the fool had simply stared at the paper for half a day before signing his name.

She knew the moment he signed that the hot-blooded brat had no idea what he was getting into, but he strived hard to repay her. He rose like a comet and accomplished a number of miracles, but his family was just so poor that he couldn't even afford to feed his army. Even so, thirteen other gifted fools had somehow decided to follow him around. She herself had been unable to bear seeing the family's situation, eventually starting to support them a little. It had all been a loan, but every time the man returned some money he would borrow even more.

She had wondered for a long time whether she had truly made a profit in that relationship, but that had all changed when the fool had sent his son to the Deepblue for education. In reality, the man had hoped his son would show some promise and be able to repay some debts. And the youth really was delicious...

Every scene of the past seemed to fly by in an instant, and Sharon finally awakened from her daze. However, her face paled as she saw the hundreds of lightning orbs floating all around her, and she cried out by instinct, “My room—”

The lightning orbs immediately lost all control.

...

“MY ROOM!” a resounding shout rang throughout the Deepblue as an enormous explosion blasted everything in the top layer. Everyone nearby shuddered at the power of the blue lightning, but after a moment they erupted in thunderous cheers. Sharon was finally awake!

However, the legendary mage couldn't be bothered with the happiness of her subordinates. Immediately welling up with killing intent, she ran out to look for the delicious boy to settle the score. She had entrusted the Deepblue to him before falling asleep, and he was going to take responsibility.

......

News of Sharon's awakening quickly spread throughout Norland, and Richard hurried over within minutes. Faust teleported right above Floe Bay, and he blinked over in the next moment. Sharon was about to burst forth in anger, but as she pointed at the ruins of her room he suddenly sealed her mouth with a hug and kiss.

The delicate legendary mage suddenly felt giddy, her mind going blank from Richard's presence alone. She lost herself in the moment, melting into his embrace.

......

A long while later, Sharon and Richard left his residence and started to inspect the Deepblue. The tower city had now evolved into a small country of its own, with dozens of small factory towns all around it to process materials and thousands of mages studying within. The population had grown tenfold, and the legendary mage who believed anyone 'studying' under her was a free worker was quite satisfied with the situation. However, her face remained straight throughout the tour, even as Richard brought her to her demiplane and returned it to her control.

The first thing Sharon did upon her return was rush to her treasury, a shrill cry ringing through the air, “Where are my treasures?!”

The empty room looked quite miserable and cold, the barren scene only marred by a crystal desk and bucket of activated ember essence in the centre. Richard pointed at that essence and smiled with pride, “It's there.”

There was now much more essence than when he had first returned from his battle in Faelor. He had placed all the excess from the reaper fortress here, making it more than ten times as valuable as the entirety of Sharon's former treasury. It was one of the reasons he had been so eager for her to wake up, and he looked expectantly at the legendary mage as he awaited compliments or even a reward.

However, Sharon's face still remained frosty as her brows stood like sharp swords. She suddenly whined, “I know this is ember essence, but... I had a house full of things, and you're only giving me back one?!”

1438 - City of Sin

To The End Of The World

Norland quickly entered an era of great changes, with the human territory being warped greatly. The Crimson Empire became a behemoth that far outstripped the other countries of the plane, the Archeron bloodline reaching a peak of existence while the silvermoon elves piqued the interest of any powerhouses proficient with bloodlines.

An army of night elves set off for the Land of Dusk, initially to take charge of the one fortress that the Crimson Empire was now responsible for. However, they were quickly amassing in number, and it was only a matter of time before they began their offensive. Once they set out, the fall of Daxdus would only be a matter of time.

Right around the time Richard returned to Norland, a young mage arrived at the Deepblue and asked to see him. The youth carried a letter from Mordred, claiming that sending him here was Mordred's last act before truly merging with the will of Arbidis. This was the same youth that High Scholar Rhodey had thrown into the abyss all those years ago, and having been saved by Mordred his destiny truly had changed forever.

Richard actually met with the youth, granting him his dream of studying magic in the Deepblue. However, it wasn't only this one life that had changed; with a thread of destiny at hand, Richard quickly found the location of Castle Soremburg in the depths of the Eternal Vortex. He quickly teleported over, staring at the Scholars who had repeatedly attempted to change his life for the worse before sighing. A black hole formed above the castle with a mere thought, and he turned around and walked back through the portal he had just arrived in without even waiting to see the result. Only a pinnacle powerhouse could escape the draw of his black holes now, and even a resurrected Soremburg wouldn't be that powerful. The tranquil corner of the Eternal Vortex would soon be completely destroyed, consigning the Scholars to the current of time. They could be remembered or forgotten, but he wasn't concerned at all.

Some time after Castle Soremburg was destroyed, Richard returned to the Archeron tombs. He climbed step by step to the highest peak, digging out a pit and placing Gaton's armour within. He then took out a small case that contained Elena's ashes, pouring it into the armour and burying them together. A tombstone appeared with the wave of his hands: Gaton Isaiah Satanistoria Archeron and Elena Ragobar. His mother's last wish was finally fulfilled.

Before leaving the cemetery, he thought for a moment and left an empty tombstone for himself: Richard Dizmason Issa Archeron.

......

Time passed quietly as Faust crossed the boundless void to arrive at Faelor, merging with Mountainsea's main body. All damage to the city was repaired, and it became an unprecedented amalgamation of organic and mechanical excellence that would allow him to chase after the final goal of all existence— exploring the limits of existence.

Richard spent an entire year preparing for his exploration, and Faust changed beyond recognition in that time. Everyone who mattered to him gathered in the city, except for one person who was perhaps the most important of them all.

“Do you have to go?” He was currently floating in the skies above Floe Bay, staring at Nasia.

“Of course,” she dismissed lazily as ever. Her divine equipment was shimmering under the evening sun, but behind her exaggerated pretense he finally saw the sadness hidden within.

“You still owe me a look at your face,” he suddenly remarked, recalling the promise she had made long ago.

“Was there such a thing?” she tried to act ignorant, but under his firm gaze she eventually shrugged, “Alright, there was. But whether you see it or not makes no difference, I'm still leaving.”

Having said that, Nasia raised her hands and slowly removed her mask, prompting a gasp. Under the mask was nothing! She actually looked like an empty shell of armour that could move!

She slowly put the mask back on, “Do you understand now? I don't want to go, but I shouldn't have come here in the first place. I should have left three millennia ago.”

She turned and left towards the sunset, her figure slowly disappearing into the distance. Richard felt an incomparable weight on his heart, wanting to call out for her to stay, but he knew it was futile. As she was now, every moment with him only caused her suffering. She had already given her everything for him over thousands upon thousands of years, and he had no right to demand more.

......

The time eventually arrived for Faust to set off. Richard sat at his window and watched the magnificent scenery of Norland, an image he was likely looking at for the last time. The new generation of Archerons were striving to build a myth of their own, but they could just disappear into the annals of history just like the others before them. Whatever the end, destiny wasn't set in stone.

“My dear Richard, are you sure you don't want to come with me?” His tranquil mood was suddenly broken by a voice resounding in his mind.

“I've told you 99 times already, no! Never!”

“Dear Richard, you should know that there are no such things as forever in this world. If you've refused me 99 times, then I'll ask the hundredth. Do you really not want to come with me?”

“I'm about to set off, I'll find the end of the world in my own way.”

“But your path is fated to have no outcome. Only mine can break the fetters of this world and explore higher meaning!”

Richard snorted, “Says someone who would die in a minute if he challenged me. Even with all your followers, you aren't my match. If I hadn't helped you with the avatar of destruction, you wouldn't even have won your measly war!”

“No matter what you say, you would have helped me win,” Martin responded, this time manifesting an image as well, “If I was going to lose, you would have run to heaven yourself.”

“Impossible,” Richard grunted.

“Come on, you know that lying to yourself is meaningless.”

“Ugh... Even if I went, it would have been to repay your debt!”

Martin smiled wickedly, “Suuure, whatever you say.”

"Whatever I say is the truth!"

The incarnation of light ignored Richard's snarl, changing topics instead, “Alright, there's no point in bickering. Let's talk about our path. You know I believe in pure light. What you passed to me brought my faith to perfection, and allowed me to keep walking down my path.”

He waved his right hand, revealing strands of light floating within, “Richard, our world is like a giant prison, an endless loop of destruction that eliminates all powerful beings. I think you know that we are in the Seventh Era, and that the six powerful races before us were destroyed. Now, you're attracting the world's attention to Norland; isn't that why you want to leave for the depths of the void?”

Richard remained silent, which was as good as agreeing. At their level, there truly was no point in self-deception.

A little darkness now appeared in martin's left hand. “There are two ways to break out of our cage— from the light, or from the darkness. Setting off from the laws of darkness would destroy this world, but there is a chance with the light. I'll morph into light itself, and you can adhere to me as I break the laws of the world and reach another dimension of existence. We might find a new world, or there might be nothing. If it comes to certain destruction, I'll become the pivot that supports the laws of the completely new world.”

“But you would lose your soul regardless,” Richard quickly pointed out the problem. Both transforming into light or into a world would destroy one's soul.

“There is a price to be paid for exploring the limits of life,” Martin said with a smile, “But your path won't go anywhere.”

“Still no,” Richard simply didn't want to debate any longer.

“My dear Richard, you've sacrificed so many offerings that your strength is too reliant on the dragon. Your soul has too many imprints of this world, you simply cannot find a way to break through the laws of the world.”

Richard felt a headache coming on and started to massage his temples as he dispersed the image, “I'm starting to feel like anything is alright as long as it isn't with you.”

“You'll come with me one day!” the incarnation of light shouted in the background.

“Fuck off!”

As Martin vanished, he instantly felt like the world was tranquil and beautiful. Teleporting to Faust, he gave his orders to the City of Miracles and watched as it blinked into the void.

......

“Huh, let's go check it out.” After some time and quite a few teleports, involving the exploration of countless new planes, Richard's awareness swept across the endless void and found a rather interesting plane. Faust nimbly flew towards the new target, a beautiful secondary plane with a giant altar in the centre of the boundless highlands. A million warriors had gathered up in formation, but the only thing on their faces was dense sorrow.

On the altar was a priest so old that he could barely even stand, gazing into the sky. Around him were dozens of other priests, generals, and kings.

“Your Excellency, have the demons from another land finally arrived?”

“Are we truly going to die?”

“Can our destiny not be changed?”

Many people couldn't bear the unspeakable repression and were badgering the priest with questions, but the man who had been ignoring them suddenly spoke up, “They have arrived.”

The sky rippled, showing the grotesque image of an organic machine of a city sliding through the sky instead of the demons they had expected. The priest suddenly slammed an ancient tome into the alar.

......

Up in Faust, Richard continued to play with the Fulcrum of Fate as he observed the million soldiers gathered below him with surprise. He would never have expected such a large-scale battle in a secondary plane, and the mobilised troops were far stronger than those of Norland. “Hmm? Why aren't there any enemies.”

“My dear Richard, this is my 1,314th time asking. Don't you want to come with me?” Martin's voice suddenly rang out without warning.

So annoying... Richard had the power to destroy entire planes with a wave of his hand, but he couldn't stop Martin from talking in his mind. He snorted, finally giving a different answer for the first time, “You know what? Fine. Only if this crystal shatters.”

He tossed the destiny crystal into the sky, allowing it to gracefully spin through the air before grabbing it and forcing down.

A soft crack rang out as the firmest material in the world shattered.

1439 - City of Sin

Author ƒ𝓇ℯ𝑒𝒘𝐞𝚋𝓃𝚘𝚟e𝚕. 𝒄𝗼𝐦

Two more years have passed before I even knew it, and my fourth book has come to a close. I still can't believe it... When I first sat in front of my monitor to type out Blasphemy, I wouldn't have dreamed of coming far enough to do City of Sin. It's all thanks to you readers, who've supported me along the way in my endeavours. Whenever I think of the sheer number of people wanting to read my works, all laziness fades away and I get the strength to continue showcasing my worlds.

I've managed to try four different styles in four different books so far, all thanks to you guys. If not for the confidence that people would respond if I poured myself into fleshing out the worlds, I wouldn't dare to try and take the risks I have. I know that I will be forgiven for mistakes, so I try to avoid playing it safe. Not all hard work is rewarded like mine is, so thank you all for your support and understanding.

For a moment, I felt like my own destiny crystal shattered after City of Sin... Bah, such a thing couldn't exist in reality, but it does feel like my gateway into this world. Now that the shard is broken, the story has come to an end. However, there are many more shards gleaming before my eyes, and I don't know which one to share with you guys. My mind has already started wandering to other realities...

So, let's meet in the next world.

Theo

Fun coincidence, we've taken just over two years to finish the translation as well. Man was it a fun ride, but it's been a hectic one. Turns out I've edited 3.5 MILLION words in the past three years. For context, that's 3.5x the Harry Potter series in half the time. Or, 40 days of CONSTANTLY writing at a steady 60 words a minute without break. Once you think about it that way, it's a lot. Especially for someone who only does this part time; I was a college kid when I first joined Team OMA, but now I juggle two and a half jobs on top of doing this stuff.

Speaking of, I think I'm done, at least kinda. I've done a lot of things with CoS that I'd never imagined I could get to. I mean, we even had our own D&D game for a bit, for crying out loud! Then there were other stuff, like the art, the audio chapter... was a really fun ride. I've tried a number of things, and as far as web serials go I can be pretty content with what I've accomplished. I plan to stick around regardless, though, so you'll always find me in the discord.

So, about me saying kinda done. Well, at this point there were two ways I could go. One was the original plan, which was to get some writing experience and transition into hopefully having an original book up on this site myself (How many of you would be interested, by the way? Interested to know). The other option was to go further into editing, and for now that's what I've done. So I'm happy to say that the City of Sin ebooks are currently in production. I'm currently editing the first, and this time I'm trying to see how far you can stretch a web novel to make it read like a real book. It's new territory for me, but the series is being cleaned up, re-edited, reformatted, reordered, and a bunch of more re's to hopefully get it feeling at least somewhat like a normal book series. More announcements about that should be coming out soon, keep your eyes peeled.

Good day guys, cya.

OMA

Hey all, CoS is finally coming to a close! We started in December 2017, and finished 1420 chapters just before the end of February 2020. That's more than 200 chapters greater than WMW, so despite the lower peak release rate, our overall time scale has still been the same! It's been an amazing two years, and it wouldn't have been possible if not for the entire translation team and Theo. We've had people come and go over this duration, but I'd just like to let you all know that I'm proud of the work you do. To our readers, we express our heartfelt gratitude for gracing our work with their eyes. We haven't always been on time, even if we always made up for it, and you've been patient and understanding along the way. As always, I am always thankful to Overlord RWX and 17k for allowing us to bring this novel to the English-reading world, and to our amazing admin and technomancer duo of Jaspaar and Mitch who've helped us along the way no matter what it was that we needed.

Normally, this would be where I announce a new book that I'm taking up. However, I've been reading through dozens of books in the past few months and nothing yet seems to be what we're looking for. We've worked on two amazing projects back to back, and moving up from here is truly a tall task. Still, I hope you guys understand, and be there when we do finally pick up another series. Keep your eyes on this space and WW in general, I'll fill you all in soon.

Until then, see you guys in the next book!